Shiro Iko

Full Name: Shiro Iko
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Element: Earth
Birthplace: Village outside far out of Ba Sing Se
Position: No official ranking. Just a bender.

Personality: Shiro is a quiet young man. Quiet to the point where most believe he is absent-minded, and stupid. However, Shiro is on a quest; not a quest to become the best bender in the world, or anything. He is on a quest to learn, and to make a name for himself. He wants to rise above his family’s small, failing farm, wanting to make it to the city and learn properly. He is constantly curious, and thinking about too many things at once, which is where the “stupid” kind of comes in. Admittedly, he isn’t the brightest when it comes to common sense sort of situations.

Abilities: Shiro, along with his 3 other brothers, was born with the ability to bend. He is skilled at his earth bending; being the youngest of a line of earth benders did have its perks. His father and two oldest brothers can metal bend, and he hopes to achieve it one day, but he can’t grasp it quite yet. He hasn’t even tried sand-bending.

Appearance: Shiro is a tall, skinny boy, taking after his mother more than his father. This did not help on the farm; while his brothers could both bend and do heavy lifting, Shiro relied nearly entirely on his bending if he wished to get anything done. He has bright blonde hair that as he gets older, he fears will dull out into his father’s mouse-brown hair. His eyes are a deep blue, wide, nearly like a puppy’s. His brothers often made fun of him for being so lanky, but when he had to fit into tight places (ie: to hide from his brothers), he found it quite handy. Post running away from his home, he reserved his clothes to a few of the same, drab gray outfits; loose fitting and comfortable, durable for cold winter seasons, but ones he could roll up in the summer. Once he settles into Ba Sing Sei, he hopes to get a place of his own and get seasonal clothing.

History: Shiro, true to his name, is the fourth son of his family. All 4 of his parent’s children were male, much to their father’s happiness. Since they could walk, the boys have been pushed to work on the farm, to extend the family’s business and name. When Shiro was born, no one thought he was going to live. He was premature by almost 2 weeks, and a tiny, frail baby. But he did make it, even though as the fourth child, he received the brunt end of all of his brother’s cruelty. Being treated like a bag of rocks by his brothers, he decided that the “farm life” was not for him. When he was 13, his father took him to the city for a vital and rare trip to sell some of their crop. Shiro knew that Ba Sing Sei was where he belonged. The two days they stayed were the most magical two days of his life; and seeing the city folk mesh with his hill-billy father made him realize that they weren’t intelligent people. Their knowledge of the world was so limited. Filled with a desire, that as he grew older grew into an aching need, he vowed one day to leave and go to the city. So that is what he did. He left in the night, leaving a note for his mother—who was the only person who he ever loved in that home, after an extremely abusive father, and relentlessly cruel older brothers—and making his way, on the trip to the city, where he hopes to find a place to get a proper bending tutor, and a teacher to show him the world through ways he can’t even imagine.


**OPTIONAL**
Sample RP:

Character Box:

Shiro Iko

Can a metal bender bend someone’s lead feet…? Shiro thought to himself; though he may have said it out loud. At this point, he wasn’t quite sure. The sun had set many hours ago, and he had been walking all day, but he felt like he hadn’t gone far at all. His head was pounding, and he felt like every step took the effort of two people. But he wasn’t comfortable making camp without a stream or something nearby, even though he easily had a three-day supply of water in his backpack. Maybe he was paranoid, but his compulsion to find water heavily outweighed any aching pain he had. He paused, looking up from the ground as he caught a sound of something. Not the usual bumps and ticks of the forest, but the distinguishable sound of shallow water splashing over rocks. Letting out a cry of happiness, he headed for the noise, his pace suddenly quicker. He smiled wide as he happened upon the stream. It was small, nearly nothing, but it was good enough for him. He immediately kicked off his shoes, sticking his throbbing feet into the forgiving water. He sighed with relief, leaning back on his hands, looking up at the sky above him. He was free. Free to go where he wanted, do as he pleased. He wanted to stay like this forever, but he knew that he’d die as a nomad. His home was in the city, somewhere far away from where he currently was, but it was reachable. He pulled out his compass, checking it. He knew the city was due west from his farm, but getting to this stream had taken him a little bit off-course. He took a moment to think and reorient himself before slipping the compass back into his pocket. He glanced back at the stream, biting down on his lip. What had he done? He’d run away from home. Run away from his mother, brothers, and father. He’d always been different from them; his eldest brother was engaged to a beautiful woman. His second eldest brother was dating a girl, and the one older than him had a new girl every other week. His mother had always expressed concern for her youngest—when was he going to meet a pretty girl? “You’re so sweet,” she’d tell him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you put yourself out there?” He had never had the courage to tell her that no, he didn’t like women. He was gay, and would rather jump off a cliff than even pretend to be in a relationship with a woman. To an extent, he feared women. But if his father or brothers caught wind of that, he knew that he wouldn’t ever be welcome within fifty yards of the farm. But now, with the promise of the city—and not just the city, the world—Shiro found the courage to speak the words he had always dreamed of it. Quietly, and to himself, but still, out loud: “I’m Shiro Iko, and I’m gay, and I’m not just a farm boy. I am a student of the world.” And then, he smiled.

Mood: Tired Condition: Healthy, albeit, hungry…

Link: N/A

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