Storyline: The Shadow of Sado

Having consulted with the administration, I want to propose a character based story arc for us to follow. Up to this point, we have a veritable plethora of heroic characters with little to nothing to do or struggle against.

I have a character in reserve which could change that significantly.

In order to make him powerful enough for so many other players to be challenged by, he will need a certain amount of power and influence, which means he needs some kind of allies. Or maybe not allies per se so much as minions or business associates.

What is this character and what does he do? His name is Sado and he is a psychopathic murderer. I normally make him anti-political and an anarchist, but for this setting, I think he would be better off as a revolutionary, politically and socially active in shaping the world to fit the truth seeded deeply in his black and twisted heart. A vision of the freedom and fairness of chaos, of the justice and natural order of Anarchy. He is a Force of balance in a world too far tipped in the direction of Life and stagnant growth. He is a harbinger of death who wants to purge and purify this world through fire, perfecting it in brimstone.

I would say that he wants to turn heaven into hell, but he would say that every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.

Be warned that many of his posts will be R rated for graphic violence or suggestive themes.

You'll probably see some similarities to Heath Ledger's Joker, who was an inspiration to the character along with Captain Jack Sparrow and other characters. While he would tend to agree with the Joker on many levels, both of them would know that there isn't room for more than one psychopath like them in the world and wouldn't work together long before killing each other for monopoly on the joys of tormenting the world.

Let me know what you think, or if anyone is interested. I have to go to class, but I'll be open to questions.

Well, you know full well that I am totally up for it, and that he has a potential ally in Sanaki, and we've been over the details of that.

Granted, I am no staff member, but I think as far as any R-rate material, at the very least, maybe they'll let us put it in spoilers and warn the younger audience to read it at their own risk. That way, we can still have some crazy, twisted characters without scaring off the younger crowds.

But yeah, hit me up if you want to cover more details. You know where and how to find me.

I'm up for anything as well, however the character provided is R - rated and so some members would not be able to read it. Also I don't see the connection to a Avatar based story line, I'm not saying that the character should be completely Avatar based (anything deviating from the Avatar LAB is great), but to add a little cannon-ity... try to make it something more plausible.

When I mean something more plausible, I mean something that could actually take place in the Avatar universe, people like Joker would make the Avatars look like a bunch of altruistic Buddhist monks that can't do anything to stop him. Elements + Joker = even worse joker and its a little radical and out of character for something a little more kiddish like Avatar the Last Airbender, with that being said:

I agree with anything the majority says, and I like the maturity with which the character development is proceeding.

I've integrated the character into the Avatar universe before in other games. He's more than fit for the role and plausible.

While I understand what you mean about ATLA being kiddish, I respectfully disagree. There were some really mature elements in ATLA which weren't omitted, but merely shadowed in cartoony nonsense and mystery.

Bryke actually made fun of themselves for it at one point: "Did Jet just... die?"

"It was very vague."

I mean, come on. Koh ripped people's faces off and wore them for crying out loud. The content of the story was never kiddish. Only the presentation of it was.

I suppose that is true to some level, but it was because it was presented in a kiddish manner that it turned out to be a success.

Without Soka's comical humor and Aang's childish nature/depiction, Avatar wouldn't be half as good as it would have. I agree there was some weird content such as Koh and Jet, but those are only two instances of mature story line, if we look at the entire story line it just seems like a giant war caused by one nation on all the rest, nothing mature about that other than the fact its a war. We didn't see any real killing or actual combat in which blood was actually being shown.

The point being is that, the Joker and Sado have too many cross connections, insert Joker into a story line and I guess you could carve a nice smile into Aang's face.

If you truly insist, then I don't mind adding Sado, go for it.

War is an ugly thing. it can be presented in sugar-coated manners, and sometimes the final product can be very legit.

but... when you get to the bottom of it, war is ugly. There is no way around it. people die, and some wounds cut deep enough that they never fully heal.

admittedly of course, much of the actual violence wasn't shown, and, like in many stories, not many people tend to think of the unnamed, faceless soldiers (or even Dai Li at some points) as less than real people which is why we're totally okay with Aang going all glowy and killing thousands of Fire Navy soldiers, or for seeing many events that went down in Day of the Black Sun. those faceless goons were people too.

So what it comes back to for me is that no matter how you sugar coat it--even if you put it into a kid's show, war is still a very ugly thing. Avatar: The Last Airbender showed us a variety of characters, including a boy whose entire people was annihilated in a mass genocide that burned and slaughtered thousands; a unique firebender whose powers backfired and killed him by blowing himself apart [Combustion man, just FYI], a couple of kids who missed witnessing the death of their mother by a few minutes, at the most, and a kid whose own father burned his eye as punishment for insubordination, more or less.

[had to throw the Combustion Man death scene in there since Jet got mentioned.]
Now, I'm not trying to say that ATLA should be some "dark, gloomy, evil series", or that the storyline we as fans and RPers make, should be that way. I more believe that a handful of us are a bit older than the 6-12 demographic (correct me if I'm wrong on that one), and therefore that keeping things as child-friendly as the show isn't entirely necessary.

And while I am not entirely clear on every aspect of Norio's Sado character, I know that he's not just The Joker with a new name and identity slapped on. I think he was just using that as a comparison. He said that there would be some things in common with The Joker. In his defense, One could compare Azula to The Joker at certain points before her mental breakdown. [and slightly related, here's yet another image for your viewing pleasure.] I think that was just a simple summary so that he didn't have to go into huge detail, especially if his idea(s) get rejected.

Sorry for the long rant. just stating a few things as I saw them. :B

Well I guess if you put it that way, I don't mind adding this new character.

woo!

Though on a slightly less related note, I apologize if I sounded like I was trying to force my way in and turn this into an argument. The last impression I want to give off is that Norio [or moreso, me, since I can judge myself, and can't really speak for him] or me are trying to 'take over' or anything. While I am obviously still in favor of going through with this, I don't want to go through with it if you and/or other staff members aren't comfortable/okay with it.

I enjoy RPing, and I enjoy playing by whatever rules the site owner(s) set. Isn't to say I'm against suggesting story/game/plot ideas or whatnot--I guess I just want to make sure that it wasn't peer pressure or anything. I'm a guilty-feeling sucker like that. heh heh.

Nah I understand what you guys mean, go ahead with it as long as everyone else approves.

I am of the opinion that anyone who reads this and doesn't care enough to post about it one way or the other is giving permission by omission or else they aren't active enough to truly matter. Let me explain a few things about this storyline.

Sanaki hit most of my points swimmingly. Sado isn't the same as the Joker, he's only inspired by the Joker. But before you go saying, "Joker would just carve a smile on Aang's face," think back to the time Aang repelled the entire Fire Nation Navy with the help of the Ocean Spirit. Or the time he nearly tore apart General Fong's base. Heck, even Gyatso, who died, managed to take an untold number of Firebenders with him.The balancing factor here is that the Avatar universe has equipped the forces of Good with the power they need to fight against the evil of Sado, if they can find Heroes who are willing to stand up against him (hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, *coughcoughpcsneedtostepupcoughcough*).

This doesn't mean it will be easy. It's intended to be a challenge. It's also designed to test the players and the characters by exposing them to some mildly disturbing material. The difference between a story and pulp fiction is that a story is either based in some kind of point or argument made by the author and/or it is the generation of empathic connection with individual characters who suffer emotional, spiritual, physical, psychological, or any other kind of strain or distress. The point of a story is to present an obstacle which opposes either the reader and/or the character in the story, resulting in either a comedy (in which the obstacle is overcome) or a tragedy (in which it is not). Pulp fiction, on the other hand, offers no obstacle and merely aims to please the author and/or audience with an exhilarating experience which has no other meaning.

When I ask if anyone is interested in this story, I am asking if they want to be challenged, or if they would prefer to keep the adventures in the ATLA universe purely a matter of indulging in wandering the world. I'm not so much asking permission at this point, since I have permission from Liao. I'm looking for participation. Who wants to fight the threat of Sado? Not that your character's reaction need be so one-dimensional as fighting him. There's nothing to stop your character from joining him or redeeming him (if that is possible). But the entire point of the character of Sado is that he will force you and your character to look deeper within yourselves to find deeper meaning in your existence. Sado believes you will find evil there in your character's deeper personality and that it should be nurtured rather than neutered and he will try to make that a reality in everyone he meets.

But there's not much point to a story where he interacts in this fashion solely with NPCs. That would make his story into a novel, rather than an RP.

I want to see who wants to be part of this story, not who does and doesn't approve.

you know I'm up for it, yo.
[man I seem like such a suck-up. >.>]

but ye. uh... insert something else witty here.

Im always in with the majority

cool! another crazy somebody like my character! i think we'll be good friends hahha

Well, I'd be interested, if for no other reason than that there doesn't seem to be a massive amount of roleplay going on around here at the moment. I was about to have Daiyu start out in the Fire Nation capital, where something is kinda/sorta stirring, but I don't really know how much sense it'd make for a 10 year old earthbending girl to just be happening through the capital of the Fire Nation.

Then again, I dunno how well my character would fit into the darker-themed stuff you have planned here, either. Daiyu is really more interested in fighting and challenges, not specifically causes, and she'd probably be against killing unless it were absolutely necessary.

The thought of the joker meeting a child came to my mind. The resulting scene was rather unholy, to put it lightly. Let's best not think about it, eh?

I am kind of into the darker themed stuff myself, but if I go under the assumption that Sado will start in the Fire Nation, it would not make too much sense for Meili to be there either, and so I'll let it swing for a bit. The idea them meeting is appealing, though I need more info on Sado to make it work with an earthbender. I'll wait and see.

Daiyu--chances are, I'll start something up in one of the Earth Kingdom boards, provided my character gets accepted. Just a thought.

Sado likes kids. They're honest about their thoughts, open to new ideas, and malleable.

Just remember that Toph was only about 12 years old and was by far one of the most powerful benders in the world. You guys really undersell the balance of power bending puts in this situation when you think of the Joker.

Remember also that he's NOT the joker. Just inspired by. He's not even a spin off. He's a different person with similar themes and interests.

Also, just because he's from the Fire Nation doesn't imply that's where he stays all the time. He wanders quite a bit by nature. He probably spends quite a bit of time in the Earth Kingdom because it's easy to get lost out there. Probably doesn't spend much time in the Air Temples or the Water Tribes just because they're really small areas and it's hard for outsiders to not be noticed. The Fire Nation probably wants to hang him more than anyone, too, so he has reason to wander the Si Wong Desert from time to time.

In fact, odds are that he'll come into the story having just returned from getting lost in the desert to lose pursuit from authorities and bounty hunters.

hm. If he's wandering the Earth Kingdom he very well might run into Meili then. Isn't to say I have the slightest idea how they'll react to each other, but at least now I know the possibility lingers.

Well, I'm more or less sold. It amuses me to think of Daiyu and Sado bumping into each other, lost, out in the desert or something. I guess I'll introduce Daiyu when you're ready to begin with Sado. If that's okay.

Earth Kingdom eh?

In that case, you're in Mama Meili's Territory now, baby, and there ain't no turnin' back.

Some men just want to watch the world firebend.

https://lastairbender.rpg-board.net/t392-shadows-at-midnight#2393

For those who are interested. If you would like to be part of the storyline, but aren't in the desert, you can post threads you would like to connect to events of this storyline here in this thread.