Application for Empatheias

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⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Sker
Contact: bendable/PM
Age: Over 18
Current Characters: N/A


⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Korra
Age: 21
Canon: The Legend of Korra
Canon Point: Book 4: Post Episode 9

Background: Korra’s history on the Avatar Wiki.

Personality: A tomboy in every sense of the word, Korra is partial to doing just about everything in a rough manner and it is highly likely that her father was her role model growing up considering how pugnacious she is. When attempting to sneak into a gang's hideout with Mako, Korra simply kicks the door down and is ready to start fighting at the drop of a hat. Other tomboyish examples are when Korra bemoans about possibly being taken for shopping and doing makeovers, meaning she prefers to be natural as she is since we've never seen Korra wear any makeup. Save for the one time she reluctantly tried to powder her face, the resulting explosion of white powder left her less than thrilled. She isn't above being rude right back to someone and while Korra has shown to have some table manners when eating with the airbending family, she has also pigged out and belched shamelessly on her date with Bolin. As rough as she is, Korra’s led a sheltered life before getting to Republic City and has shown that she doesn’t mind being pampered when she stated with a smile that she had always been taken care of. Though she doesn’t mind being catered to, Korra has shown to be capable of surviving on her own by catching her own food (fishing, having likely used waterbending to do so) and sleeping outdoors without much, if any, discomfort or supplies. Another instance is when she lived with the kind homeless people of Republic City and happily enjoyed their “food”, whereas Asami couldn’t stomach even a bite.

Compassion is a trait that many past Avatars have exhibited and Korra is no exception. When Bolin told Korra that he and his brother had been living on the streets ever since their mother died, Korra sincerely offered her condolences and apologized for possibly stepping on their toes unintentionally. As rough as she is, Korra has shown compassion for those that have wronged her in the past. After Tarrlok had given her the advantage she needed to expose Amon and end the Equalist revolution, Korra wanted to free Tarrlok from his prison even after he had arrested her friends on ridiculous charges and kidnapped her with the intent of keeping her his prisoner. Despite how much she despised Tahno and his massive arrogance, Korra agreed to get back at Amon for taking his bending away. And of course she has shown compassion for the young airbenders, like when Tenzin had blamed Meelo for ringing a bell out of rhythm and she assured him that his ringing was just fine the way it was. Korra even convinced Tenzin to let Kai, an airbending thief, to take him in so he wouldn't be arrested under the insistence that the young boy only needed a second chance with some proper guidance; despite her dislike of criminals. This is definitely fostered from her living as practically being a member of Tenzin’s family, where she’s practically a big sister to the children and a daughter to Tenzin. Caring and showing sympathy for others is something Korra's known thanks to her loving parents and has shown it to all of those who have needed her help. Whether it was non-benders who were being wrongfully arrested or a dragon bird she accidentally injured in the spirit world.

However, Korra is just as self-centered as she is compassionate. After her first fight in Republic City, Korra was astonished to find out that she got arrested for tearing up the city and being a vigilante. She tried to convince Lin that all of it was acceptable simply because of her status as the Avatar, and even asked to see Lin’s superior when that failed just so she could convince them that she was an exception. Even when she and Asami were clearing the air between them in regards to Mako, Korra assumed Mako had told Asami that they kissed and did not apologize like Asami had done while admitting of her own stolen kiss from the firebender. When her father is sentenced to life in prison, she threatens the judge’s life without taking the ramifications of doing so into account and even goes so far to violently interrogate him for the whereabouts of her father. A yelling match ensued when Korra angrily confronted Mako about telling the President of her plans to get unsanctioned aid from the United Forces naval command, and didn’t take his reasons into account at all.

One of Korra's biggest traits is her temper. In that same scenario with Mako, Korra airbended his desk aside with a kick during a tantrum and made no apology for it yet again. While she can be patient if she tries to, Korra gives into anger and frustration more often than not. The very lesson Tenzin tried to teach her when they began airbending training was to utilize patience and instead, Korra became angry at not being able to and set the training apparatus on fire; even yelling to blame Tenzin that it was his fault she couldn't learn. After infiltrating the Equalists and doing reconnaissance, Korra was about to blow the entire operation and take the entire regime head on; and would have most likely met with disastrous results if Mako wasn't there to tell her to be patient. Even while in a pro-bending match, Korra became angry enough to blatantly break the rules to rough up an opponent and even menacingly splashed the referee who called her on it. Authority and Korra's short fuse have a bad history. When Tarrlok arrested the other three members of Team Avatar, Korra threatened him with earthbending and was only talked down by Mako assuring her that everything would be okay. She's regretted her actions before like when she had separated from having Tenzin as a teacher and selecting Unalaq to be her spiritual instructor, which she apologized to him later. Even then, her regret for flying off the handle has even been immediate. Upon Bolin seeing Korra and Mako kiss, Korra escalated a shouting match with Mako and she chided herself merely seconds after it was over. Korra is aware of her temper and is usually harder on herself for it than others are on her. While a well mannered Avatar might respect authoritative figures, Korra doesn't; that respect has to be earned, and even then... A good point of this is when she grabs Chief Saikhan by the chin and scolds him; if that isn't enough, she does the exact same thing to the President himself. Korra has, however, been showing improvement in being able to help others in solving discord and even went so far to help Tenzin find a better method to engage his airbending recruits. So long as Korra isn’t at the heart of a conflict, then she’s capable of thinking with a clear head and patience.

Passing up a chance to deliver some sarcasm or sass isn't something Korra does often. Korra told Tenzin, over his obsession of being the Avatar's spiritual guide that she'd rather trust the spirits who have actually been to the Spirit World (since they do kind of come from there) and she didn't even hesitate in saying so. After Mako stated she was the Avatar and he was an idiot, Korra politely agreed and showed no remorse for saying so. Learning that Lin and Tenzin used to be an item when they were younger was something Korra had to tease Tenzin about by calling him a heartbreaker and being incredibly invasive about it. Tenzin tends to be her favorite target for sass, such as when she answered his rebuke for irresponsibly using the Avatar State by reminding him that it's the Avatar State and she's the Avatar with an eyeroll in her voice. Even when she first met Bolin, she blatantly refuted Bolin's intentions as being nothing more than innocent. She’s even gone so far to refer to the stern Lin Beifong as Chief ‘Crankypants’. All in all, Korra prefers to toss in a snide or snarky remark if it will be taken in good humor and won't sweat the details if it isn't.

Just like everyone else, Korra's experiences in the realm of love show a side we don't get to see too often. Korra was buoyant when she and Mako were just being two teenagers on a date, even enjoying feeding him and being fed by him. None would think it, but Korra didn't shy away from doing public displays of affection and they even used nicknames like sweetie with each other. Something that Korra cringed at when she saw Mako and Asami doing the exact same thing. Book One showed a change in Korra from being jealous at seeing Mako with Asami at the party, to being concerned for Asami's well being and encouraging Mako to comfort her despite how she had feelings for him. This growth in how she treats her love life is expanded upon in Book Three when she and Asami bond over their love life fiascos with special guest Mako. Both breakups with Mako were hard on Korra, enough that she cried both times; but she hasn't let it affect her Avatar duties and managed to keep them separate.

If there's one thing Korra is not, it's being cool and collected; when a situation becomes awkward, she does as well. When she learned that Hiroshi Sato might be an Equalist sympathizer, she bumbled out a horrible excuse to give Asami at suddenly having to leave ("I have to air sit- I mean babybend-"). Seeking romantic advice from a ten and seven year old may not have been her greatest move, but Korra did take Pema’s advice on how to tell Mako her feelings for him; which ended in Korra blurting out her feelings in a very jarring manner that backfired. When knocking on Lin Beifong’s door after she had a fierce fight with her sister, Korra tossed Bolin towards the door because she didn’t feel comfortable doing it herself.

Being a natural athlete has left Korra with a penchant for training and exerting herself, something she does enjoy doing and prefers to do in her spare time. Though she is far from the stereotype of the bright and early fitness crowd, Korra is not a morning person at all. Proud of her physical capabilities, specifically her bending, the Avatar doubts her abilities if she’s rigorously practiced it. She’s not afraid or hesitant to dive into learning something new, even when she wasn’t able to airbend; Korra still fiercely wanted to master the art. And it goes without saying that she fully embraced pro-bending after just being shown a couple of tricks by Bolin, picking up the new style almost naturally. This continues when Korra shows excitement at being able to metalbend after attempting it in under a minute. When she had the chance to teach airbending to Opal, Korra was happy to instruct her and managed to do so in an encouraging manner, showing that she is at her most focused when physical exertion is involved.

One of the major issues in Korra's life, if not the biggest, was a very personal one. Being poisoned by the Red Lotus, believing her father was killed before her very eyes, and nearly escaping death after fighting Zaheer in the Avatar State left Korra with a strong case of post traumatic stress syndrome. For three years she suffered restless nights and when she did sleep it usually involved nightmares of the entire event. Physical therapy and rehabilitation at her home to recover her legs did little to comfort her as did most of her personal journey to solve it. Korra's taciturn and thorny pessimism (snapping at her long time mentor Katara and barely acknowledging her own mother) three year mood changes course and she shows delight for the first time in years at meeting Toph. Once the poison is out of her system and she grudgingly accepts Zaheer's aid in restoring her spiritual balance, Korra's sourness abates and she's mostly back to her old self. The experience has left its marks on her and she does show more of a solemn side from time to time.

While Korra has grown since her first day in Republic City, she is still a rambunctious eighteen year old teenager who does the best she can with the powers she’s been born with and takes her role as the Avatar seriously. It doesn’t take a whole lot to stir her anger and she will resort to threats then violence if she feels it’s warranted. Anyone she’s befriended gets more of the soft side of the young Avatar and Korra will go out of her way to help them. Generally good natured and polite, with a healthy dose of humor, Korra is an earnest person at heart and will only go against the rules if there is a greater need for it. Or a grave personal vendetta or great injustice, worse if it’s both.

Abilities:

All bending draws from Korra’s chi, the energy that flows throughout her body, and is the major factor in what makes her bending possible.

The Avatar State is when Korra and Raava merge their spirits completely, her eyes glow and it provides a phenomenal boost to all her bending capabilities. When she had her past lives, Korra was able to channel all of their energy through her body while in this state. It is strongest weapon and the greatest vulnerability of Raava and the Avatar in general. If Korra is killed while in the Avatar State, then the reincarnation cycle ends as does the Avatar who keeps peace and balance in the world.

Waterbending: The ability to manipulate and control water, Korra is a master of the traditional art and it is her innate bending talent since she was born a waterbender. Her teacher was the best waterbender in the world, Katara, and she has learned most its sub-schools. She is able to change the pressure of water to where it can actually hold or lift almost any amount of weight, as well change its shape to her imagination, even mist. Temperature change from snow to ice to scalding and even steam is something Korra do so fluidly that the change is immediate. Healing is also one of Korra’s few non-combative abilities and it takes waterbending to do, but she can heal physical injuries as well as stress and possibly undo damage done to the mind considering her teacher was Katara who exhibited the ability before. A different facet of waterbending is the purging of spiritual energy that she learned from Unalaq, and has vanquished dark spirits and even made the massive spirit vines in Republic City recede even if it was only briefly.

Earthbending: The ability to manipulate and control earth, Korra is a master of the traditional art and it is the second element she learned. Dust, dirt, earth, ground, mud, sand all falls under the element and Korra has been able to cause rifts through the earth, swing an entire stone wall to swat a corrupt councilman, create a crater in a second story landing, and get a penalty bending the earth disk in a pro-bending match. Anything from subtly moving the ground under someone’s feet to creating giant crops of earth to toss at someone is easily with Korra’s capability. Metalbending, a school of earthbending, is something Korra has just started learning and she has already shown impressive, fluid skill in trying it for the first time. The purer the metal, the harder it is to bend since metalbending focuses on the crude earthen impurities in metal.

Firebending: The ability to create, manipulate and control fire, Korra is a master of the traditional art and it is the third element she learned. Due to Korra’s personality matching that of the element, she took to it very naturally and, for a long while, it was the element Korra relied on first and foremost. From large, long blasts of fire to softball sized fireballs to breathing fire; Korra’s firebending is always fast and power packed. As Korra matured throughout Book One through to Book Three, she has only used fire when it was needed; showing that she was exhibiting control over potentially harming others recklessly. Even the propulsion from firebending is able to keep Korra aloft for a period of time and keep her balance while running alongside a wall.

Airbending: The ability to manipulate and control the air itself, Korra has become extremely proficient in her airbending abilities and comes closer to mastering the art the more she uses it. It is the fourth and last element she learned. Originally being the only element Korra couldn’t even manifest, airbending has become Korra’s preferred element of choice as it can be one of the most non-lethal forms to use while still being a powerful force to be reckoned with. Large gusts of wind, able to fly with her air staff, strike just hard as a physical attack or cut like a blade, to even the simplest use of cushioning a landing makes airbending one of Korra’s useful skills. This has become the element Korra uses the most since it is always available to her and provides her with a safe way in dealing with threats and even teasing her friends.

Energybending: The ability to bend the energy within one’s self and others is a rare thing, originally only known by the Lion Turtles during Avatar Wan’s era. The only two humans that have ever been able to use have been Korra and her predecessor, Aang, who imbued her with the ability. Through energybending the Avatar can give knowledge and restore bending (like Aang passing the knowledge of energybending to Korra while restoring her bending), as well as remove someone else’s bending. Using her connection to the cosmic energy of the universe, Korra was able to bend the energy within herself to project her own spirit in giant form. In this form, her spirit was able to affect the physical world, shoot light energy, and even waterbend to defeat Unavaatu. This extends to the energy in spirits as seen in Book Four when Korra bends a destructive beam of it, not unlike Unavaatu's energy beam attacks, and deflects it away to save both Kuvira and herself.

Martial Arts: Learning all the elements meant Korra had mastered the four martial arts associated with them. She has mastery over T'ai chi ch'uan, Hung Ga, Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, and Baguazhang as well as some forms and moves from other martial arts. Korra has been shown using unarmed combat and she frequently mixes it in with her close-combat bending. An empty handed Korra is just as dangerous as a Korra with her air staff. She has also used other tools in tandem with her fighting style, such as rope and even Mako’s scarf to entangle her opponents and immobilize them.

Alignment: Sosyne. Korra has had, and probably always will, have a short temper making her ideal for the anger aspect. She knows how to become calm, but it's not the easiest path for her right now and this push/pull part of her is at the core of her personality.

Other: Naga, Korra’s animal guide, would be brought along with her as well as her air staff that also works as a glider.

⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
Sample:
TDM entry and TDM emotion sample.

Questions:N/A