cyclicality | [open] Downtown Republic City

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[open] Downtown Republic City

[Connor arrived in Republic City a day ago, so while he isn't as clueless as he was when he first arrived, he's still at something of a loss. Things are so different in this time: the satomobiles and airships still make him jumpy, and the sheer amount of people in the city are overwhelming. So far Varrick had shown him kindness by helping him, but Connor didn't want to rely on a fellow tribesman's generosity for too long, no matter how wealthy they happened to be.

So, even though he's still very much unfamiliar with the city, he's looking for a job when construction listings advertised catch his eye in a window.]

"Must be good at working with heights"... [He turns and cranes his head at the dizzyingly high skyscrapers, considering. Even with his climbing abilities, these were higher than anything he'd ever scaled.] Perhaps it could be a worthwhile challenge.

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(ooc: continued from here!)

It is a shame not everywhere has benefited from this wealth and technology equally. But maybe that will change, in future. [Having inspected all but every inch of the engine room, Connor stops to wait as Varrick finishes the repairs.]

What were the other parts of the ship you mentioned?

[Something about a jacuzzi? Whatever that is.]

Yeah, well. Since when was the world a fair place, right?

[He didn't know you were so eager to get a little hot and wet, Connor.]

I don't even remember everything I told you before, but hey, we got all day! Why don't we start the tour from the bottom to the top.

It should be a fairer place, even if it is not yet.

[At least the war ending has given him a little hope, even if old divides don't seem to have gone away. To Varrick's suggestion, he nods.]

Lead the way.

You know what they say about wishes and ostrich-horse, pal.

[Really. You're cute. He feels like he wants to read you a bedtime story.]

Come on. This floor the the one over it is all crew quarters, some guest quarters a little further up. I get lonely sometimes, so I like to have people around. After that's where the fun stuff starts. Wanna start in the ballroom?

[He'll brush off Varrick's first comment. He looks somewhat disgruntled, but he's used to his ideas being dismissed, by now.]

I suppose a large ship like this could become lonely, if only you and your crew live here. [He looks around as they continue on.] Why would you need a ballroom aboard a ship?

To have parties, of course! No one would stick around here if I didn't make it worth their time, and there's nothing people like more than one of MY throw-downs. Last time we had one of those champagne fountains, it was pretty swell, lemme tell ya. Ahh, here it is!

[Yep, that is a proper ballroom. Gleaming floors, chandeliers, orchestra stage, grand piano, the whole shebang. It's ringed with windows looking out over the water and harbour around them.]

Sometimes I'll also take off my shoes and slide around in here in my socks. When no one else is around, of course.

[Connor's eyes widen, and he stares at everything, dumbstruck. He almost doesn't want to step inside for fear of his boots getting the polished floors dirty.]

I have never seen anything like this!

Thanks! I'm pretty proud of it, myself.

The kitchens are next to this, but I assume you've seen kitchens before. The pool is one deck up, if you wanted to check that out!

...Why would you have a pool, when you have an entire sea around the boat in which to swim?

[Connor seems to be missing the point, here.]

Are you kidding me! That things CRAWLING with bacteria! I think I would die of eighty seperate kinds of plague just for dipping a toe in it.

[Let it never be said Varrick isn't a ridiculous hypochondriac. But also there are factories on the waterfront ew]

I have never heard of anyone from the Water Tribe who is afraid of water.

[Now he's just gonna kinda crane his head to look out one of the windows at the bay. It doesn't look all that polluted from here, but he guesses Varrick knows what he's talking about? Maybe?]

I prefer the term 'appropriately cautious.'

[Like wow rude Varrick isn't afraid of anything clearly. Except death by horrible crippling disease.]

And it's not like I would be taking a dip in mid-winter anyway. The marvels of indoor plumbing, am I right?

(ooc: continued from here!)

[Connor frowns at the apology.] Are you talking about the Civil War? I have heard about it... but I still do not really understand what happened. Or who Unalaq is...

[Would she believe him, or think he was crazy? Either way, it was easiest to be honest with her than to pretend he knew anything otherwise.]

[There's a momentary pause before she answers. Certainly, he should know about what she's talking about, right? Well, unless he's from one of the smaller villages that was outside the capital of the Southern Water Tribe; they could have other villages, yes? Though still...

[Nevertheless, she gives him a quizzical look as she looks at him over her shoulder.]

Yes, I am talking about the Civil War.

As for Unalaq, he was... our former chieftain in the North, and... well, apparently he wasn't exactly the best of chiefs, though he had us fooled for a number of years. He created dark spirits and took over the South so he could force the Avatar to force open the portals into the Spirit World and merge with the dark spirit Vaatu so he could become an evil version of the Avatar. All under the guise that the spiritual balance of the South was out of whack and that the chieftains of the South had been causing all of the dark spirits in the world.

He betrayed both the North and the South, far more than stealing an artefact could ever be.

[As she talks, her voice becomes hardened and bitter. Clearly, she's harbouring a lot of harsh emotions towards Unalaq.]

[Connor listens, and narrows his eyes, troubled.] Another leader using his power for personal glory... In that regard, he sounds little better than the Fire Lord.

[He hasn't realised the oddness of that comparison, given Fire Lords in this time are no longer a byword for power-hungry tyrants.]

That's—no, that analogy isn't even close to the truth! [Mia says, suddenly kind of put off by the relationship.] The Fire Nation has been a staunch ally of the Water Tribe for a good many years now. I mean, I realize that it is Lord Zuko's daughter that is the current Fire Lord, but Lord Zuko has done so many things for our tribe ever since he ascended to the throne.

It's not the heights that will kill you, anyway. It's the hitting the ground part that's the problem.

[Judar doesn't have anything better to do at the moment that invite himself into one-sided conversations, but you never know where those are going to go. He cranes his neck and looks up at the skyscraper as well, but it's really not that impressive to him. Not many things are, really.]

[Connor turns to look when addressed, and replies with simple confidence:]

I would not fall.

[He has years of experience in climbing, whether it be trees, mountains, cliff faces, smaller buildings... who's to say he couldn't manage on Republic City's skyscrapers? The only difference is the greater height.]

No? What are you, one of those new airbenders? Everybody falls eventually, even them.

[Literally, metaphorically, messily.]

Someone ought to tell whoever thought it was a good idea to build buildings this high, huh?

[Or show them. He could show them. It would just be a matter of finding a safe angle where he wouldn't get caught in the destruction. That's really the only inconvenient thing about combustion bending.]

New airbenders?

[He misses the rest of what Judar says, staring at him like he's grown an extra head.]

I thought there was only one airbender, the Avatar.

Have you been living under a rock or something? Air Temple Island is crawling with them.

[More of them seem to be showing up by the month. It's actually a bit irritating in a way. He liked it better when there were just the few. There was hope they'd die out then. There's just something about there being people who are able to bend elements that he can't that irks him, but airbending is especially a sore spot. He's mastered combustion and he's almost figured out lightning, and as he understands how those things work, it almost seems like airbending should be within his reach. Just another reason to hate the Avatar.]

Something to do with the Spirit World or something. I'm sure they'd feed you a plate of vegetables and tell you all about it if you were unlucky enough to end up there for an afternoon.

You dislike them. [Said bluntly; it's not a question.] Why?

[Personally he thinks it's great news if there are more airbenders in the world again. Maybe he should go see this island, sometime...]

I don't do vegetables and if that's all they're gonna eat, there's something seriously wrong with them.

[That's not actually the answer to the question he was asked, though.]

Plus there's the whole "giving people hope" thing. I could do without that.

[That's closer to the truth, but it's the sort of thing he gives as a preamble before he really gets rolling. Most people get horrified and leave, though, which isn't much fun. Or they try to argue, which is marginally more entertaining.]

[Connor doesn't look horrified, although he does look incredulous. Hating people based on what they eat, seriously? It sounded petty to him. He stares at him hard for a long moment, before replying.]

How can you fault in their giving people hope? Every nation has endured much in the war, and my own people were almost wiped out, as the Air Nomads were. That they are rebuilding is a good sign for us all.

If you had lived through the war, perhaps you would better understand their significance.

[Judar rolled his eyes. Now it's time for "you don't get it because you're a kid" thing, apparently. People really liked hauling that one out because it made it easier to dismiss everything he had to say while making them feel better about themselves at the same time. Annoying.]

"Hope" is useless. It's just an excuse not to worry about what's going on around you. "Airbenders are coming back, so everything's going to be okay." "The Avatar will protect us, so everything is going to be okay." And then when everything goes to shit, they have someone handy to blame, too. It's a crutch. People are going to keep being lame and boring and worthless as long as they can cling to things like that.

[ Jin leaned in close to him with a big smile on her face. ]

We'll you're already miles taller than me, so heights shouldn't be a problem at all, right?

[ She might have been eavesdropping. ]

[Connor actually looks slightly embarrassed by that, although it was true. He's taller than a lot of people.]

I do not think personal height matters in construction.

[No, he isn't very good with jokes.]

[ She covers up a giggle and smiles up at him. ]

I guess you're right. Although I'm sure it helps you reach high spots in the building work, right?

I suppose it would...

[He seems to be seriously considering that. Do they hire people based on height, here? Who knows how serious she's being, so much of this place is still unfamiliar to him.]

But that's not to say you wouldn't be just as good at jobs for smaller heights too.

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[open] Downtown Republic City

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