This Old (Avatar) House

[avatar_state]

Who: The whole Avatar gang and you! (OPEN)
What: Korra and Asami have been working on a home. And, since Korra is paranoid as hell about Trench, also a fortress. Now it's meet-and-greet housewarming time.
Where: Cliffside House (Name subject to change), Darcmouth, towards The Rocks
Warnings: Only what you take with you.



The House - Exterior

From the land side, there's very little to actually see. The address specified is at the very edge of Darcmouth, so definitely far away from the epicenter of anything. For some Darcmouth's working-class nature and poverty may make it unattractive - but for someone like Korra, at least, it's a sign of something else: honesty. Besides, it's near the water, and near fishing - it's more like home than she'd like to admit. There are days where she misses the cold of the Southern Water Tribe - the starkness, the lack of pretension and the honesty of its work.

But she, and Asami, have been working very hard to create a space that is their own - and also has a...practical side of thinking. A small lantern will reveal that near some natural cliffs...a stairway has been cut into the rock. Earthbending is a tremendous building tool, done right. The stair winds its way around and downwards a bit - just wide enough for a Polar Bear Dog, as it happens - though humans may want to rely on the guard-rail just a bit, in the gloom.

And then, as they pass around to the front of the cliff-side - the warm glow of a house carved out of the cliff itself is revealed. There are three visible levels, the lowest about ten meters above the water - though if one looks carefully, there are further stairs running right down to it. The lowest floor has an extensive deck that extends outwards, one that is well-lit for the party, and the torches give a warmth even against the chill of the night.

The House - Interior

The main floor faces the water with a large window cut into it. Glass is also not an issue when you can bend all the elements, though the result is a little bit imperfect. But the main room is a large sitting room, recessed downwards a bit lower than the outside. Lots of space to lounge about on couches and chairs - with tables with significant amounts of food for guests. There's also a roaring fireplace.

A corridor branches off from it, heading upwards to the second level - their personal living spaces. But there is, also, an elevator - like something out of a turn-of-the-century hotel in Paris. That is one of the many Asami touches throughout - technical solutions to a variety of problems. The elevator goes up - and clearly down, though the downwards button requires a key to operate. Strange. For the moment, it's also locked out of their living spaces. One of Asami's key requirements was it be their space, and both have gone to some lengths to keep it just that.

But the top floor is split into two spaces. The first is a library, slowly being filled with comfortable furniture, tapestries, carpets, and above all the books. Korra has, since Deerington, been very keen to provide a safe place to store knowledge. In fact, a card on one table indicates that anybody wishing to store volumes they find, or personal journals or any other written materials may do so. Given the thick stone walls around it, it would take probably First World War-era artillery to put the library in any danger. The other half, unfinished as yet, is a surprise for Asami - a large secondary workshop. Korra has been reading everything she can on providing lighting to put it together - put at the end it's still a wide rectangular opening, directly on the sea. She's working on a sort of garage door - you never know when an experiment or project needs...ejecting.

But the heavy, thick tables are all assembled, and the key thing here is space - it's a long rectangle that, in future, could maybe even see collaborative work. But for now, enjoy the library, or the view out into the water.

For Team Avatar and Close CR - The Basement

Once there is a spare moment, Korra will take close friends into the basement, pressing a copy of the key into their hands. It's mostly finished. Mostly. The lighting is done, but the areas are...mostly empty. But what will become apparent is that there is room for a good number of people down here. One room is currently empty save for metal bunkbeds pushed into a corner. Another is clearly meant to house multiple toilets and a bathing area. Another is a large, unfinished kitchen - still another a pantry, another to dine in - bare bones, but livable in case of emergency.

"Welcome to Fortress Avatar," Korra says, with more humour than she really feels. "It's not much yet, but if something goes wrong..."

The Wilds - Open

Of course, the space around the house is mostly wild - and that's where Naga tends to be found. Want to meet an incredibly friendly - if you're a good person - Polar Bear Dog? There she is! Or perhaps you'll find something else in the gathering dark...

Comments

Basement

[imaglyphwitch]

"Are you kidding me? Fortress Avatar looks amazing, and from scratch! So cool!"

Luz is here and has not only brought several treats from Lysithea's bakery, she also had brought them a full set of pots and pans along with some cutlery, and it turned out that they would have room for it after all. She also felt pretty privileged to have a key, and her eyes were practically shining with gratitude.

"Were you thinking of getting any weapons here, just in case someone tried to get in?"

It was not a question she liked asking, but she knew it was important to have in case someone attacked.

Re: Basement

[avatar_state]

"Heh, when you can earthbend, it's not all that difficult. Just a matter of precision," she replies. And ugh, those treats. Who knew Lysithea was that great at baking?

"Oh, weapons, um...no, hadn't...thought of that." She looked at Luz, cringing a little bit.

"Think we'd need them?"

Re: Basement

[imaglyphwitch]

"I'm super jealous about that then! I can use plant life, but I can't do anything like what you do with earth!"

Ah yes. Lysithea was really gifted when it came to her perfectionist zeal making sweets. Luz was honestly not surprised there.

"For this place? Yes. I'd say that is a good idea. You never want to be lacking for ways to defend yourself."

Boy, Luz wished she didn't have to say stuff like this, but it was true.

Re: Basement

[avatar_state]

She rubbed her face with a sigh.

"Yeah, guess I can't rely on just being the weapon, gotta figure out other weapons. Fun fun fun."

Re: Basement

[imaglyphwitch]

"I'm not a fan of, well, having to rely on that kind of stuff in regular, normal situations. Trench is very much not normal though, and as it is, I live with people who have weapons all over their rooms. They're more helpful than you think!"

Looking right at YOU Fern, and your vast collection of swords which are forbidding and very, very cool.

Exterior leading in

[onerthes]

Vira-Lorr was coming by, just as promised, with a basket of shitake mushrooms under her arm. Minako hated them, so they'd become a regular trade item at market. Despite the chill, she still stopped by the market from time to time to make sure that she had enough of the supplies that January wouldn't be a problem... hopefully.

Knocking at the door, bundled up, she watched her breath misting. Thankfully, she wasn't rubbing her joints these days. She'd managed to handle all of that, and as long as she kept any visions to her second sight there wouldn't be problems. It would be good to see Korra, so she had a smile on her face.

[avatar_state]

She opened the door as soon as she could, smiling at the face revealed.

"Hey, great to see you!" she says, stepping aside. "Please, come in!"

She's dressed in typical Korra fashion - a classic of the Southern Water Tribe. Which by itself is a bit revealing. She's not adapting to Trench. It'll adapt to her, or nothing.

[onerthes]

"I love this outfit," she said as she slid in, taking a look at the whole of it, her face beaming. As usual, she still favored her ao dais, this set in reds and blacks. There were a few in the town who liked styles like this, though it wasn't exactly common. Vira-Lorr was one to adapt, but striking looks always made her grin. "This is from your world, isn't it? I know I've never seen the like in Trench or the dream."

She slipped into the home, grinning and in a ... well, surprisingly good mood considering the whole malaise of the month. Then again, for all that she'd suffered she considered December manageable, even if the fighting and hunting was worrying.

[avatar_state]

If you're going to be yourself, you have to fly that flag. Even if it's a rare one. And Vira-Lorr certainly is the sort. Korra nods.

"It's formal Southern Water Tribe," she replies, with a nod.

Korra, here and there.

[avatar_state]

She hasn't exactly given much ground to Trench, really. Certainly not in the realm of dress. She's there in a dress she worked on herself, a classic of the Southern Water Tribe.

She's happy to greet everyone as they come, or find them later on. For once, she actually seems to be genuinely enjoying herself in a Trench event. Possibly because it's one of their making.

[laminae]

Hey Korra, guess who made sure to drag Varian here! The two of them even brought a housewarming gift which is... definitely something. They tried their best, okay.

Anyways, Fern is going to approach Korra and hold the weird statue thing out for her to take. "Hey, thanks for the invite. Your house is really sick," he says, after a moment noticing the dress. He should probably say something about that, right? Girls like compliments about dresses. "Uh, also, the fur on your dress is rad. You skin one of the monsters around here to get it?"

Smooth.

[avatar_state]

She takes the statue, in some confusion given what he said. Is it some sort of talisman to ward off sickness? How can a house fall ill? Is this a chi thing she's not heard of?

She looks around. "Is it? How...how do we make it...better?" then she looks down. "Oh, um, no, it's fake. I've tried...really hard not to get into any fights or anything since I've gotten here."

She has so many worries about that. So, so many.

[laminae]

Sadly, it isn't anything as useful as those ideas. It's just a weird statue, meant to inadvertently unsettle anyone who looks at it for too long.

"Oh," Fern replies, sounding awkward. In hindsight, maybe asking a lady if the fur she's wearing was from a monster she skinned might not have been the most eloquent thing to do. Good job. "Really? Why not?"

A beat, then he adds: "Sick means cool. Your house is really cool."

The Basement

[laminae]

After receiving the invitation there was no way Fern wasn't going to drag Varian to another party. The one at Mako's seemed to have made a tiny bit of difference with his condition, so Korra and Asami's invite is, in his opinion, incredibly good timing. Maybe they'll get lucky and the parties will keep coming and Varian will keep improving until he's back to normal? A guy can dream, okay.

Besides, their house is really, really cool. It's like something he'd see back in Ooo, and while he makes sure to stick his boyfriend he does still make sure to explore the main floor. The two of them have even brought along a housewarming gift, though the... carving? Statue? Is kind of wall-eyed. It's a cat, right? Or something cat-like. Maybe. Yeah, these boys aren't very good at housewarming gifts or figuring out what women like.

Eventually he'll make his way down to the basement to see the setup, amazed that the two of them have gone to this much trouble. "Wow, geez." A whole fortress! He can't believe it. "Dang, you guys are going all out to be safe."

[droptheious]

Varian is very much still wrapped up, his bandana covering a good chunk of his face because he doesn't want to stress his friends out with how bad his corruption has gotten. The thought his friends might be more stressed out about how much he's hiding his condition didn't occur to him. He's peering around the place, seemingly pretty pleased with the awful, awful gift the ladies have been given.

"Yeah, this is really impressive! I thought my bolt hole was cool, but this is something else."

[avatar_state]

She's pretty sure that cat is going to give her nightmares. Those eyes. But a gift is a gift and...that's good, and she's thankful. Means they're a real couple now, right? I mean, you start getting gifts you put out only when that company is coming over - that's absolutely a thing that adult couples do.

Positive sign. Just so long as she doesn't look it in the eyes.

"Honestly, I remember the stuff in Deerington. If we're going to retreat anywhere, at least this way we're near a water source and there's room for a bunch of us. I can probably dig out more spaces, that's not the hard part. It's getting it lit and livable and not, you know, a frozen hole in the ground."

[futureinventor]

Asami already knows that cat isn't being put on display, not anywhere she can see it anyway, but she's a pro at being gracious and she truly does appreciate the thought. At least that's not what they're talking about; they're talking about this wonderful home Korra's made for them.

She links her arm with Korra's and smiles wryly at her. "Yes, no frozen holes in the ground for me, please. Only one of us grew up at the south pole, after all."

basement

[royalfling]

"It's sure... something," Wu looks around at the bunker with an attempt to not grimace that is definitely still a grimace. He lets out a long breath. "But I suppose things did go wrong in Deerington. I keep hoping Trench will be different, but, honestly? It isn't that different."

[avatar_state]

Definitely not his sort of place, no. But it has to be done. Has to be prepared for. She sighs, looking over at him, wondering if he means more by that statement than he's saying.

"I wish it were otherwise, but it'd be foolish not to prepare, given what I saw. And this will be here no matter what happens to me, and can help a lot of people."

[royalfling]

"Yes, but can't it be..." he waves a hand, searching for the word, "less depressing?"

Like, why does an end of the world bunker have to be so stark? Shouldn't there be homey touches?

"Yes, yes. Like all of the safehouses. It's good to have them! But it doesn't mean that they have to be a punishment."

[avatar_state]

She looks down at the floor a bit sheepishly, kicking at it.

"Well, I was thinking about, like, carpet or something."

She shrugs.

"Decorating isn't exactly my strength."

the basement, late, hello!!

[arclightning]

"Uh," is the first thing Mako says as he comes to a halt in front of all the worked stone. He has to stare for a second, turning quietly in place with the key biting into his palm. Bunkbeds, a kitchen...

Korra really went all out. He's impressed, quietly (in the fragile sort of way that goes with his fluctuating feelings. Corruption is high and his skin is an ashy sort of gray, cracked in places; he doesn't seem to notice or really care).

He takes a few echoing steps forward, his brows rising, and then finally turns back to Korra with a growing smile of his own. "If we have to live together in this you know we're all gonna kill each other, right? How long did this take?"

[avatar_state]

She notices. She notices very much. She's very careful around that sort of thing, in her friends.

"Well better us than some Pthumerian jerk," she manages, in return, trying to make her smile in return convincing.

"And I started...pretty soon after I got here, at least with the basics. The earthbending isn't hard just...extensive. I'll probably do some metalbending to reinforce parts of it, especially down here. But the important stuff? Wiring, all that? That's all Asami."

[arclightning]

Mako glances sideways at her as he moves over to inspect the bunkbeds. Korra's trying for levity, clearly, and maybe in an ordinary month Mako would let her get away with it, but he's on a knife's edge right now, cracked and thin, and so he frowns as he runs his hand over the edge of the bed. His eyes are bright as live coals.

"I... don't know if that's true. If it's one of them, we come back from it, fine. If one of us kills each other, we both have to live with that."

[avatar_state]

"...Right," she replies, again very carefully.

"There's a lot of room in the place. I figure we could fix maybe sixteen comfortably. Significantly more if people are ok cramming in a bit."