OOC Things We Lost in the Fire OOC/Resource Thread

Welcome all players and watchers to the TWL resource thread.

Here is where everything ranging from discussions, questions, plot ideas, and summaries can be posted. Feeling a bit overwhelmed? DRL taking your focus? Let us know here! We're a family, guys.

Thank you all for your time and participation!

 

If I may, given the nature of the opening scene in front of the Tea House and the path it is starting to take, it might be a good idea to let us know what the proclaimed charges for the convicted are. Just as a suggestion.

But already intense from the beginning! Very good! And yes, I shall have a post up shortly, honest!

 

*cracks knuckles*

Agreed Elu. In the post, I mentioned the second in command was reading the crimes of the convicted in the background. They are as follows.

Feng Yuan - Convicted of acts of sedition against the Fire Nation and Princess Azula to include
-inciting violence against the Fire Nation
-questioning the legitimacy of Princess Azula’s authority
-conspiring to rebel against the authority of the Fire Nation
Kensai Oban - Traitor to the Fire Nation. Convicted of attacking his fellow soldiers and officers in the line of duty. Also abandoned his post and duty station.
Mii Yisho - Convicted of the Assault of three Fire Nation soldiers. After Fire Nation personnel defended themselves against an attack by Mii Yisho’s sons, they neutralized the targets. When their backs was turned, Mii Yisho lashed out at them with her waterbending.

 

Very good. Thank ye for the information.

You convicted felon, you. Prepare to face the wrath! @Shadowsun

 

No rush or anything with the new update. I post updates whenever the timing is right and I feel inspired. I do update randomly and quickly at times, but that is by no means to put pressure on anyone's schedule. Post at your leisure.

I also wanted to salute @galactic-vagabond422 for Jiao's post. It really kind of stole my heart reading Jiao's reaction. No joke. While I was of course expecting a reaction, the response was very well written and I've read it several times. So thank you G_V.

 

No worries regarding updates on my end. And yes, Vagabond as usual, very well done! I've noticed you are good at capturing the essence of characters like Jiao extremely well. *bows in respect*

Quick question, Master GM...how warm is it currently would you say?

...Seems like we've dominated the thread so far too.

 

Warm? In game...the earth nation seemed like a pretty moderate temperature, despite being kind of in the middle of the desert. I'd say it'd be about 70-80 degrees. No wind, partly cloudy skies with a chance of...

EXECUTION.

 

@Shadowsun

FIGHT THE PAWAH!!!

 

I'm beginning to notice a theme that all the characters I make really need some anger management. I don't intend it that way just sought of happens....
Also that was my first "fight" post I have ever written ....and I had to keep rewriting it cuz @greyjedi125 and @galactic-vagabond422 just posted so fast....

 

Am on the road, typing on my phone right now...

Give me a chance to respond before you beat me to a pulp, guys!

 

It was a well done post!

*watches his hand approach the keyboard*

Must.

Resist.

Updating.

 

Thoughts on convening bending abilities and techniques in written form? Part of the reason I think that made the show so good was the visuals of bending. A couple examples:


I understand that you can describe them, to an extent but I feel like the visual medium just invokes power, skill and techniques of bending in different, clearer way. Like they say a picture is a thousand words. I am also relatively new to the RPG scene, character development and focus I feel like I at least I have a slight handle on but fighting and even more so bending not so much. My plan for the most part was to do what I did in my last post and have an image for the particular move I am doing. Anyway apologies for the ramble if anyone has any suggestions please do share.

 

You are absolutely right. The visuals in Avatar are everything, it lends it an incredible amount of power in storytelling. In the end, as writers, the best we can do is simply that. The best we can.

I also just attempted to describe Varayik's movements. Probably not the greatest, but I did my best. I am sure I will improve as I get more and more used to writing him, especially in combat. Which I hadn't expected so soon!

 

Its a hard road, or it was for me, to describe fights as you imagine them in written form. Of course, the visuals in Avatar help a lot, and even fighting in movies in general. One fight scene I adore is from the Matrix, when Neo and Morpheus practice in the dojo. Can you imagine writing that? It would be hard work. I only recently felt somewhat competent in writing a fight scene, and half the reason that went down so well was because it was a combo with one of the players in the game I GM who really helped bring it to life. Fight scenes are hard, let alone bending. It wouldn't reach the same amount of awe in the show, because you simply cannot show as much. I do see one clear advantage, however, and that is the ability to imagine much more in what you read rather than watch. There are hundreds of visual interpretations people have when reading, so it could easily boil down to how much you give the reader, and of course practice makes perfect. I would recommend just writing freestyle fight scenes just to get a feel for how you want to present a fight in words. Show these scenes to friends and fam and it can go a long way, I will stop rambling now lol.

 

Water Whips!!?? @Darth_Elu


Oh, I got something for that! LOL!!!

Buuuuut.......

WaitfortheupdatewaitfortheupdatewaitfortheupdatePUMMMMAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!

 

Good advice there. To Vo'un'var, you must listen, @Shadowsun.

*grins* Oh, don't worry my friend. @greyjedi125 Tis only the opening gambit!

.....PUMAS! UPDATE NAO!

 

Keep writing, keep improving your craft. Be descriptive, don't rush it, give yourself time to evolve. I'm glad you wrote this, because I would like you to look back on this sometime in the future and see how much you've improved. Hard work pays off. No one starts at the top, but we can sure enjoy the journey there.

@Shadowsun

 

I feel like you guys have to live on the west coast.lol

As far as fighting and bending in this game for action sequences, shadow I’d say do both. I see Avatar as an amazing opportunity to explore creativity in how your character utilizes their element. There’s opportunities to use your element in ways the show never exhibited.

On the other side, as you indicated, it can be hard to perfectly translate what you’re imagining in someone’s head. And in some cases, downright impossible without the use of imagery. So don’t be afraid to use images or gifs from the show, either here in the OOC thread or in the game. Whichever is fitting.

Example: one of my favorite bending moments from the show was Zuko broke down into a leg sweeping spin and shot fire out with every rotation.


To write that without imagery can be challenging, but it can be done.

“Zuko drops to all fours and spins, sweeping his legs out in a whipping notion with every turn, only using his hands to balance. And with every turn flames erupted from his feet in wide arches around him.”

Also, don’t be a afraid to use non avatar images for clarification. Lets say that scene from avatar never happened, but you wanted to convey what you were talking about.




Though I’d prefer non avatar images to posted here in the ooc thread lol. Hope that helps!

 

Oh, actually, for bending GIFs or writing, it may be useful to know these martial art forms:

Tai Chi - Waterbending influence, we see Tai Chi, or forms very similar to Tai Chi, in the show when characters water bend. This applies to the other forms below.



Hung Gar (Ga) - Earthbending influence



Northern Shaolin Kung Fu - Firebending Influence



Next one is not as useful as the others, but since I did the other three elements I might as well do air, even if no one will play an airbender lol
Baguazhang - Airbending influence



Giving these forms a simple google can go a long way for finding that GIF that perfectly matches the image of your character you have in your head. Or, if your bored and waiting for another update in this game you could watch some of these styles in action on youtube. You can actually already see the different bending styles when looking at the images I attached, minus the elements. Hope this helps.

 

Wow did I wake up to Christmas morning? Thanks guys I really appreciate it @Master Vo'Un'Var The martial arts aspect will definitely help. I knew each element was inspired by a particular one I just did not know which was which.

 

I’ve actually given a lot of thought as to what you guys are talking about. I used to try to use the least amount of pictures, gifs, music, what have you in my RPing. Because, I thought, you don’t get that in a book, where all a writer has is their words to convey what they’re trying to convey. So why aren’t we also striving to make the best of our abilities and let our imaginations work?

But then I thought, hell, RPing isn’t writing a book. We should use the tools we have at our disposal to enhance our experience in the best way we see fit. So now I embrace using music to convey an emotion or a tone I’m going for in a post. Using different pictures to describe people and settings. It’s a unique advantage we have in this medium of cooperative storytelling, and I say we should maximize on the benefits.

 

*Looks at @Master Vo'Un'Var 's well articulated, thought out post*

*Looks at his own post containing a gif of a dude breakdancing*



EDIT: @Darth_Elu in the current theme of using gifs to convey attacks, this is currently how the "Boy in Blue" is attacking

Except the lumps from the ground are turning into masses of sand.

@Master Vo'Un'Var and @TheSilentInfluence : I meant to post a picture in the First update of Bohi but I forgot...Not really sure how. But this is Bohi Shohun:

 

Thanks for the further visuals, Blu!

If I may ask, could I have a rundown of any and all available water around me. You know, cause reasons.

 

Sure!

At the journeyman level, the water Varayik used as a whip from his personal supply is still available and the water you pulled from the jugs is halved. You are in front of a tea shop *hint hint*but the boy in blue is standing in the way and will not be relinquishing his position easily.

Note: Fighting a sandbender is specifically harder for Varayik because there will be diminishing returns per water attack that is blocked or absorbed during attacks.

Edit: You are free to exercise limited control over Captain Chirou. By limited I mean fire attacks and defense that could be coordinated with Varayik.

 

This opening scene is all kinds of good!!