[FFML] [Firefly][ATLA] The Powers in the 'Verse

[Lawrence Chu]

I was thinking that while benders could work their magic anywhere, the Avatar, being designated by their respective planets, could only end all the elements on their respective planets. Outside of that they could only work their "native" element. Also, how would the planet react if the Avatar is away from his planet for too long? Would the native spirits rage, with their interface with humans taken away? Could the Alliance take advantage of that somehow, too?

It's also under the base notion that each planet's (or its spirits, I suppose) choose the Avatar that the idea of single-element planetary colonies wouldn't work; if the cycle is to continue, it needs to happen on that particular planet, or there will be no Avatar.

The mechanics I would use/am considering using have been forming in my head over the past few hours. Obviously they may change further down the line, but working out interplanetary mechanics for something that really wasn't designed beyond one planet and how the central government would manipulate them is becoming a pretty interesting hypothetical exercise, and I thank all of you for the discussion―it's fun!

Lawrence

On Jul 24, 2012, at 10:13 PM, skychan <skywize at gmail.com> wrote:

> I definitely see the Core as wanting to controll the Avatar's.  Probably
> going so far as to imprison them and or hide them away.  It might even be
> the reason or part of one for the war.  Avatars started popping up in the
> core as the population grew and planets could support them.  The Blue hands
> might even be going around specifically trying to prevent the rise of
> benders once more depending on if you wanted to keep the talent very
> hidden.
> 
> A pervasive generations long effort to wipe them out would be a good enough
> reason not to have seen them in the show until 'now'.  Who knows the pax
> could be what happened when a worlds avatar was terribly corrupted, or
> kidnapped from their world.
> 
> I find it more likely that bending would be secret if the government has
> for thousands of years hunted down and killed open benders, no matter how
> useful.  It would also be a reason why benders might voluntarilly be part
> of the outer colonies raising the percentage of benders from .00001 to only
> .0001 percent of the populations for example.
> 
> It would also give a reason why you might have a world with mostly one or
> another type of bender if you wanted for the plot.  A clan of airbenders
> hiding out on whitefall for instance, their genes spread through that
> native population but still maintaining it as a secret from every other
> planet, and certainly not showing it off to travelers.
> 
> It could be that Book is actually white lotus and traveling specifically
> because he hopes to find an avatar reborn again.