Board Thread:Citizenship Applications/@comment-26499078-20150621051019

Character Name: Ran Wu

Bender Type: Non-bender

Age: 20

Appearance: Skinny. Dark brown hair and eyes.

Personality: Calm and quiet, but can ramble if he gets his mouth going. Being a former gang member, he's slightly on edge at first regarding possible attempts on his life, but this will pass with time. Given his escape from poverty, he can be frugal to a fault, emphasizing function over form to the point that he'll wear cheap, easily-replaced clothes over anything formal and expensive (and easy to ruin) whenever possible. Because he's trying to turn his life around, he may butt into others' business a little too much, even though he's just trying to help atone for his past. All his life, he's liked to climb things. Loves to play various kinds of games, to the point he'd try to be a probender if he could, well, bend. Secretly, he wishes he had a girlfriend he could put his trust and protection into...

History: Born in Gaoling in the Earth Republic to two non-benders, Ran Wu's mother died of an illness when he was just one year old. This drove his father to seek refuge in alcohol, a mistake that would lead him to to his own death by an ostrich-horse cart accident when Ran was 14. Lacking direction and guidance in life, he found solace in a rather unlikely source: an earthbender-led street gang, known as the Fissuremen.

Lacking in options, Ran decided to join the gang. While trying to tough it out through his initiation, he accidentally discovered something that would help define his life. While defending himself against leader Wen Bao, he struck his power-lacking fist against a very specific point in Bao's arm, which led to said arm unexpectedly going limp. This led to Ran winning the fight, via inadvertent chi-blocking. The rest of the gang, realizing what just happened and what Ran could do, welcomed him with open arms, tattooing their symbol (a circle with a lightning-bolt-like crack, or fissure, down the middle) onto his left shoulder blade.

Realizing he actually had a means to defend himself against benders who would do his newfound friends harm, he took up every study he could, going to libraries to look up the various pressure points and anatomical knowledge he'd need to make the best use of this talent. He also took the time to practice running and climbing, knowing that if he couldn't actually cause much harm to those that would attack them, he could at least get away and live to see another day; his skinny build only helps in this regard, giving him less weight to move. His methods of seeking to evade and overcome every physical obstacle and remain in motion may not have a name in this world, but the real world knows it as freerunning, or parkour.

For the next six years, he served as an accomplice for the Fissuremen, disabling the bodies of any law enforcement who would try to use their means to catch them. This made the gang rather elusive during his tenure; though a few stragglers did get caught here or there, his respect and pull within the gang only grew with time. Even when the police wised up to his methods, wearing armor to protect their pressure points, the fact remained that he had good enough agility and landscape knowledge to get away when the heat was on.

However, as the months and years past, while his respect in the group grew, his satisfaction with his chosen path only dwindled. Yeah, he was a menace to anyone who dared cross into Fissuremen turf, but how exactly had his living conditions improved? He was still living in poverty, ostracized from society, and he was in constant danger. For months, it stewed in his head: was this really the way to live? Had he made a huge mistake in joining these guys?

Looking upon the other residents of the city, seeing them live their law-abiding lives, is what helped him make the hardest decision he's ever had to do: betray the Fissuremen. Snitches get stitches, but that's only when they're caught.

One night, in secret, he went to the local police station, and explained that he wished to not only turn himself in, but set up a sting operation to catch the other gang members. Of course they didn't believe him at first, but after offering to sign a sworn affidavit to prove his willingness to help, he was finally allowed to set it up, in exchange for leniency on his own criminal charges.

One sting, several jabs per person, and several infuriated and incapacitated delinquents later, the Fissuremen fell overnight.

Apparently surprised by his level of cooperation, Ran himself was sentenced to lengthy probation instead of jail or prison time. However, realizing he'd just made himself a lot of enemies, he knew he had to seek other pastures. Thankfully, the Gaoling police informed him of the Citizenship Project in Republic City, and allowed him to travel there, far away from anyone he'd just sent behind bars, so he could get a new start in life. Ran's story begins as he gets off the boat, onto the Yue Bay port...

Character Alignment: Chaotic Neutral, transitioning to Neutral Good

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 125 pounds

Sexuality: Heterosexual

(NOTE: No relation to Prince Wu. This name just stuck.) 