reclamatory | (no subject)

Name: T
Contact Info: noreally @ dw. PM please.
Other Characters Played: N/A.

Character Name: Jet
Canon: Avatar: the Last Airbender
Canon Point: At the end of episode “Lake Laogai”
Background/History: here
Previous Game History: None
Personality:

Born into an agrarian Earth Kingdom village, the area he’d been raised in bordered the sea, with its major economic draw and trade potential being in fishing and in logging. In this map here, we see the area he grew up was nestled between a trading and fishing village, and bordered the Fire Nation’s colonies. It’s not surprising, then, that his village was brutalized and occupied so quickly after Ozai’s placement to the throne.

All that is known about Jet’s life before that specific attack is that he had two parents. It was never stated if he was an only child or not, but siblings are never mentioned. When Jet was eight years old, he witnessed the burning of his village as well as the murder of most of its inhabitants – his parents included – before his eyes. Though the Fire Nation Military was not officially or directly responsible for this attack, it was carried out by Nationalist Mercenaries called the Rough Rhinos that did not have to answer to military law. A run-in with General Iroh shows that the leader of the Rough Rhinos was a former important member of the Fire Nation military, and spin-off comic series shows a couple of the members had history as loyal warriors for the Fire Nation Royal Family.

Jet is profoundly and overwhelmingly defined by three traits: his unwavering passion, his unbridled anger, and his uninhibited charisma. Introduced first as a swash-buckling type, Jet’s courageous resistance against the Fire Nation military paired with his strategic ambush and interception of their military supplies and aid work to cultivate an aura of leadership around him almost immediately. He parries with blades and words, he keeps a playful demeanor while fighting, and even takes time to greet Katara with a sweet smile and warm introduction in the middle of it all. Jet heads a vanguard of guerilla fighters that he’s deemed as the “Freedom Fighters”, working to help decolonize Earth Kingdom territory and fight off the oppressive Fire Nation occupation through acts of sabotage, ambush, physical confrontation, and supply intervention. Jet’s shown as analytical, resourceful, and incredibly accomplished as a 16 year old revolutionary with little to no funding, having his own shelter and place for children displaced by the Fire Nation up in the trees of the forest he lives in. Living off the land, he’s come to see it as an extension of not only his pain, but of the various assets he can use against the Fire Nation. He’s talkative, but elucidates a casual air about him that sinks people into comfort rather quickly with him. He is a sweet-talker, prone to flattery but straying from becoming too saccharine, mostly in part because he channels a genuine need for camaraderie when he’s amicable and attempting to form alliances. Jet is friendly and charming, understanding when to play up people’s strengths and quick to try and formulate a kinship between himself and another based on similarities.

He’s compassionate and openly sympathetic to those who have been hurt, especially those who have had their lives ravaged by war. Shown by his care for displaced youth in the forest, Jet has a soft spot for those who are hurting because of war, and is defined in his leadership abilities by his willingness to risk his own safety to keep his freedom fighters safe. On the ferry to Ba Sing Se, it is Jet that quickly decides to do something about the uneven distribution of food aboard. The war refugees were being fed next to nothing, while the captain of the ship was hoarding. Jet seized the opportunity by formulating a plan to rob the Captain of his food supply and spread it out among the refugees, showing an ability to recognize power disparity and abuse in many instances outside of the Fire Nation’s cruelty as well.

Well, he’s able to recognize these abuses in many places but within, that is.

At the age of eight, Jet looked on in helpless terror as his village was burned to the ground, and he was left without a home and without family. Displaced and having to witness his land become colonized and occupied by an aggressive Fire Nation military presence and settlers, Jet was eventually pushed into the forest as an orphan in order to live. Since then, life has been a game of survival for Jet. He learned how to get what he needed, one way or another, and how to take what he needed when it wouldn’t be given to him. Slowly, he amassed a tight-knit group of followers that looked up to him unquestioningly, and he gradually decided that he needed to make the hard decisions for their safety and survival. He would refuse to be powerless again in his life, and refuse to surrender no matter the circumstances. Life became a battle for him, and everything he’d done was justified by helping the unfortunate. Jet began to firmly believe that in order to be a leader, you needed to understand the sacrifices of war, which were mainly that the ends justified the means and that the occupation must be fought at all costs. This meant human cost too, as Jet’s anger and pathological hatred for the Fire Nation led to him plotting to drown an entire occupied village.

The village of Gaipan was a settler-village, mostly full of lumber trade, and was occupied by both the Fire Nation military and Fire Nation settlers alongside the original native residents. Jet showed an understanding of knowing that his plan would be reviled and seen as wrong by others, which is why he specifically used lies, manipulation, and psychological separation to trick Katara and the Avatar – both younger than him – into increasing enough water flow into a dam and ultimately assist in the demise of the civilians that inhabited the village. The fact that he hid this plan from Katara and Aang rather than tried to appeal to their sympathies and get them in on it (as some of his Freedom Fighters were) showed that he understood the extremity of the situation, as well as his words to Sokka when he attempted to justify it. Basically, Jet knows that he has to make the hard decisions that might lead to people hating him. He even knows that he might be seen as nothing but a terrorist or a monster in some people’s eyes. He thinks they’re blind and wrong, though, and completely passive in the hegemony and widespread suffering the Fire Nation causes.

Initially, he feels little remorse at almost murdering an entire village, and attempts to justify himself and even turn the situation around on to Sokka, Katara and Aang right until the end. They leave him, and the details are vague of what happened to Jet between then and their next meeting, though the Freedom Fighters did disband in that time.

On the Ferry to Ba Sing Se, Jet admits he’s ready to start over, showing remorseful reflection on his past actions and an acknowledgement that he’d let his anger take hold of him. His hatred for the Fire Nation still present, Jet shows that his way of living and way of coping with what he’s been through is deeply ingrained in him, and not so easy to change. Though his philanthropic passions and sympathies on behalf of other refugees stays strong, it doesn’t take long for Jet to quickly fall back into his old ways. Initially, he fixated on Lee, showing a strong interest in his “outcast” status and a need to get him on his side. He even attempts to restart the Freedom Fighters, and excuses his actions in a smooth stream of denial to his two concerned best friends, Longshot and Smellerbee. When Jet thinks or feels, it quickly can become obsessive, and he often spirals into a familiar pattern of self-justification and rationalization. Ultimately, Jet has a desperate need to be understood, which runs parallel to his paranoia and conviction that he’s misunderstood by a weak-willed world. Though he is somewhat pushy and persistent in trying to convince Li to his side, he relents and is willing to respect his decision when he’s firmly refused. He shows traces of disappointment for a fleeting moment before his expression turns to unfathomable anger at seeing a confirmation that Li’s “Uncle” is a firebender.

From then on, it’s a quick spiral downhill for Jet, whose paranoia and rage keeps him up at night, stalking two people to prove they are spies, and becoming angry at the concern of his friends. Eventually, he gives way to violence and assaults Zuko (“Li”) and his Uncle, attempting to draw them out and force their hand so they have to firebend. Eventually he’s arrested as he shouts that the Fire Nation is trying to silence him, and remains defiant to the Dai Li until he’s brainwashed and has his memories suppressed. The only thing that truly wakes him up from his dormant state is evoking the pain he’d experienced under the Fire Nation, and his life as a Freedom Fighter. To the very end of his short-lived life, Jet stays firm against authority and for what he knows is right. His fight against the Fire Nation and against corruption is essential to his identity, as he’s shown to be completely lost without it. After having his old life torn away so violently from him and left with nothing, Jet worked hard to rebuild a family for himself, and had the driving force of his battle against the Fire Nation to keep both him and his fighters surviving. He has a strong sense of family, and finds himself most comfortable in a role of working towards a greater goal with a mobilized, impassioned, united front of comrades. Jet loves being in a role of leadership, and thrives in groups where he can feel he has purpose and also be held accountable, or else he quickly falls into self-destructive habits. Though his wrath can blind him and his fury can be insidiously indiscriminate and unforgiving, Jet is ultimately guided by his pain and his yearning to be relied on and understood. His survivalist nature has led him to trying to get understanding and cooperation by any means necessary, including dishonesty and exploitation of someone’s emotions justify a goal in mind. Most of what Jet does is in the name of foresight, with an emphasis on the bigger picture, from his waged war to his relationships. That is not to say that Jet isn’t genuine, but rather that it tends to be his modus operandi to interact with some sort of hidden motive. Even the categories of friendship, flirtation, and confidantes are tools he can use to assure someone is on his side in the future. This is both his survivalist way of looking at things as well as his need to have someone accompanying him in his fight against an unjust world. Jet takes on a heavy burden by accepting the responsibility of taking down the Fire Nation in any way he can, and is quickly disillusioned and betrayed by protests against his behavior. Jet also has little patience for inaction and neutrality, seeing it as cowardice and collaboration. It’s the extremities of his passion and his world view that earn him the admiration of followers and the concern and fear of people who wish to see things in a more nuanced view. Jet’s thoughts are often all-consuming, especially when he has his mind set to a goal, and he’ll ignore any warnings or concerns raised about his behavior in seeing his goals through usually; he’s quick to feel betrayed and unsupported in these cases.

He can be kind of melodramatic and self-aggrandizing.

Overall, Jet is a very independent thinker. He’s not easily swayed, and as black-and-white as his mind might seem, he has an intelligent and observant grasp on situations. He knows how to control people, is an effective communicator, a convincing liar, an excellent strategist, a deadly adversary, and has a sharp ability to analyze a situation of power abuse or imbalance. He can be impulsive, and absolutely refuses to subdue his spirit of resistance, even when it’s stupid to do otherwise and a danger to his survival. He’ll put himself in danger for others easily as well, and is willing to risk getting imprisoned for strangers and allies alike, as he exhibits a strong and natural need to help the poor and fix imbalances. He can be warm-hearted and honestly sympathetic, and is always interested in being of use or being of help to a person or cause. He’s not someone who stays on the fence, and is quick to find an angle on a situation and take action to remedy anything bad he sees with it. Jet doesn’t compromise himself, and though he’s capable of self-reflection, regret, and a greater understanding and expansion of his world view, he’s ultimately ruled by the pain he’s experienced in his life, and his refusal to ever be powerless to prevent it again. He possesses an irrepressible spirit and an unfathomable rage, taking both to the grave unadulterated.

Abilities/Powers:

Jet is mostly self-taught in his skills, as he’s been on his own since he was eight years old. Since he’s lived in a forest for half of his life, and has helped establish a pseudo-enclave of marked territory, shelter, and his own “band” of refugees, it’s assumed that he has very honed skills of survival in the wilderness. His armor, for example, is an amalgamation of armor he’s collected –mismatched as it is—which shows his ability to patch up what he can scavenge and gather resources adequately and efficiently. His craftsmanship is also above par, and he’s incredibly good with stealth, spying, and… well, stalking. He can come up with very impressive – through ruthless—plans of sabotage and guerrilla warfare.

Jet is a non-bender, and mostly fights with the aid of throwing knives, daggers, and his set of “twin hook” swords. Seeing as he’s been able to hold his own relatively well not only against benders, but against a refined, scholarly and professionally trained swordsman like Zuko, his swordsmanship is also considered well above average, as well as his ability to use the environment to his advantage.

Jet carries on him a couple of daggers (shown to easily hide when he pulled out the poisoned dagger he’d alleged that the elderly man from the Fire Nation was carrying), throwing darts, and his weapon of choice: the hu tou gou, or Tiger Head Hook Swords. These two blades are 3 feet long each, which more added components to the deadly efficiency of the swords: the back of the swords are sharp, and can be used as regular blades. The hook at the end of the swords can trip, grapple, catch, block, and give a deadly slash. The end of the hilt of the sword is also sharpened and can be used to stab someone, and the crescent guard is also used to block and slash. The two swords can also be linked, wielded to make a six-foot long reach for the blades.

Items/Weapons: Jet will be carrying the aforementioned poisoned dagger, throwing knives, and his twin hook swords.
Sample Entry: thread

Sample Network Broadcast:

[ It’s taken him a while to learn how to interact with this device, let alone get used to attempting to mass communicate in such an instantaneous way. The young man looks incredibly uncomfortable at first, with his brow knit in torrid frustration and his lips tightened into a confused purse. His fingers scratch at the coarse, thick tufts of hair atop his head, burrowing themselves against his scalp as he summons the courage to finally speak. It’s not as if he was usually a shy type, but it’s not often that he felt so out of his element when trying to get through to others. ]

So uh… [ Jet clears his throat, finding it odd to look into an object rather than directly at a crowd when talking. ]

Anyone here good with a chisel?

Really, any kind of chisel… I just was thinking of sharing techniques.
[ He’ll glance offscreen for a moment. ] And about that well -- [ He looks back with a more pleading look, his expression softening just a bit, though the tiredness worn on his expression is everpresent. ]

Has anyone tried to form a team to make another one? I know some techniques, and I think with the right people we could start on another one. Maybe even a couple more.

[ He doesn’t look too concerned with maybe the fact that others have thought of this before. There were many questions he wanted to ask: if art disappeared since writing did. If stories and information could be passed on through pictures, still. If the rainwater was as reliable as the groundwater from the well to drink. If anyone had dug around the well to see where the source of water was coming from. All of these and more, and yet his insatiable curiosity was stifled by his anticipation of passivity and inaction.

He was no stranger to anything like that, though.

And certainly no stranger to rousing people up out of it. ]

I mean, there has to be more people around here that like to use their hands, right? I can’t really rest unless I’m doing something with them. [ With a frown, the wheat in Jet’s mouth twists. In the end, he had to convert his desperation for company into productivity, right? What better way to bond with others? ]

If they're gonna force us to live here, we can't let them deny us comfort. They're trying to keep our spirits down by forcing us into squalor! None of you want that, right?

Sample Entry Two:

His presence alone could often command absolute loyalty and unquestioning obedience. It was in this that he often basked, letting these thoughts warm him on cool nights and comfort him in a blanket’s stead. The process of leading hungry, angry and frightened orphans was a delicate one; the planks of their tree-house had become dank and in need of maintenance and the grand feasts were punctuated by too many moments of hunger or terror. He was failing his fighters, in his eyes, and things were falling apart. He needed restoration of morale. He needed to claim more resources and notoriety.

He needed control, and he wanted to make things better.

There was too heavy of a silence that hung over their shelter that night. They’d attained infamy by displacing an entire village, and now everyone had wondered what to do about the Fire Nation’s inevitable heightened search for the guerilla fighters. They knew it wouldn’t be long before they were found out, and their leader was uncomfortably quiet at dinner.

He heard the whispers of leaving. He caught the words slip by like a current: Jet was crazy, Jet had gone too far, Jet didn’t tell all of us about this. That if they had known, they would have never went along with him. Even his closest companions seemed dislodged and unsettled, silently ruminating on their actions with looks of shame and remorse.

Jet stared out ahead, listening to the soft sounds of a cat-owl in the distance. His eyes fixed blearily ahead on to the village of Gaipan, the flooded ruins stretching down the land and over the hill. Emptied of its inhabitants, the atmosphere that loomed over the floodwaters seemed to mock Jet, aiming a pointed silence at him to show off the emptiness of his victory. He found himself feeling lost from the core of his being and right down to which direction he should face. Somehow, looking to the colossal, bare wreck before him was easier than turning around to face his comrades, of which he’d felt their stares hot against his back.

“Some of the younger ones are talking,” Smellerbee’s voice hit the air behind him with trepidation. “You know we have to get them out of here.”

“Well,” Jet replied, a little coldly. “Do they want to leave?”

“Not all of them,” she sighed, turning away with a frown. “Not most of them.”

Jet spared a look over his shoulder at her, his visage appearing barren and hollow to his friend. He glared at her with something that she could tell was residual, and that she didn’t need to take it personally. Squaring her shoulders, Smellerbee continued.

“They’ll try to smoke us out for good this time. We can’t let them get hurt,” Smellerbee started, then looked back to Longshot for reassurance before continuing. “You went too far.”

“We went too far.” Pipsqueak bellowed at them without missing a beat.

“We can just relocate.” Jet closed his eyes with a knit brow, rubbing his fingers against his eyelids with a tired, sluggish stutter in his movements. “They need me to look out for them.” He looked over at some of his younger comrades, scrutinizing, with his plastered sneer of cool command fading at the sight before him.

They looked scared.

“We’re sorry, Jet.” The youngest member known as the Duke interjected solemnly, looking frightened and overtired.

It was then Jet realized that his Kingdom had crumbled – whatever he’d amassed of it – and he could be alone again for the first time since he was a child.

“No,” Jet’s gaze averts, suddenly unable to meet the eyes of anyone before him, and unwilling to remember them as their last salvaged moments. “I’m sorry.”

His voice is hoarse as it pushes the apology through, and he realizes he isn’t quite sure what he’s sorry for. It feels like nothing and many things at once, and somewhere deep inside of him, a child is clawing its way through his ribcage, screaming it wasn't my fault and they pushed me to come to this.

Somehow, he knew that wouldn't go over as well with the others.