Anli Ying

Anli Ying Annie, Lili (much despised nick-names) PEOPLE Female Natalie Dormer 23 BENDER 5'6'' 123lb Personality: Anli has always had a strong inner belief in herself, to the point that she sometimes acts in a way that some would consider foolhardy. She knows that she wants to thrive, not just survive in her life and this means that taking a few risks is unavoidable, which she acknowledges. Often if any plans of hers do not work out, she will see them through to the bitter end anyway, because of her inner belief that things will always end up well and for the best. For Anli, any set back is just a single backward step after two steps forward, so ultimately her mind always believes that she is progressing and improving anyway. Some have criticized her rash decision making as she believes everything will be ok, however. She also has a rather sharp tongue which she uses on those she has little patience for. Those she has little patience for, however, are not necessarily always bad people. She just cannot stand those who are slow, or in anyway stagnant to her, and even if their heart is in the right place, Anli does not consider herself above offending those people to get them moving. However, 'moving' means different things to different people, so sometimes Anli will just be impatient with people who she subjectively finds to be boring, which is another one of her personality flaws. Also, since ceasing contact with her father, it is possible that anyone who discriminates against her in the same way that he did, will send her into an uncontrollable rage and put themselves at risk of a fiery attack. Not only does it trigger her deep-seated feelings of inadequacy from the past, but she used up all her patience and tolerance for dealing with people like him a long time ago, and those days are over now. Likes: Healing - An unusual interest for a fire bender, but this is perhaps exactly why Anli is interested. In the back of her mind she is always seeking ways to undo the damage of her fire, being saddened by the idea that her only purpose in life is to destroy. Manipulation - As a child Anli was always good at talking her way out of trouble, and as time has passed she has only strengthened this ability. Nowadays she finds she gets a kick out of it too, being able to set off the ticking time bomb in anyone's mind. Animals - When she is finished manipulating others, Anli enjoys the company of animals. It always feels so much simpler than debating with those who she should know better not to. Fire bending - It's hardly surprising that a fire bender enjoys fire bending, but Anli has noticed that there are some among her people who act like the gift of fire is a curse on them, whereas others thrive in the flames. Anli is one such person, and she is never happier when she excels at fire bending, what she knows she was born to do. Art - It's always been a struggle for Anli to feel like a well rounded person who is not just fire, fire and fire. When that fire bending is over, Anli is always happy to retreat to her creative world. Whether it be music, painting or dance, Anli is passionate about all forms of art. To cultivate just one talent, to her, would simply be boring. Dislikes: Tradition - Anli has always scoffed at tradition, and this often got her into trouble, but she always found it difficult to understand how moving forward could be possible with limitations from the past. To her, the only thing that really matters is the present and the future. Arrogance - Anli has always despised those who think too highly of themselves. To her it reeks of immaturity, so when a person in a position of power is arrogant, she thinks the position might as well have gone to a child. Purposelessness - Idle chat is not one of Anli's greatest pleasures. Without having any kind of purpose to achieve at any particular moment, Anli feels stagnation coming on and that is one of her greatest fears. She always wishes to be changing and learning. Discrimination - Anli often felt the pain of being discriminated against as a child, her older brother getting all the glory. So naturally, she often becomes fiercly protective of any female, herself included, who she feels may not be getting treated fairly. Gossip - Anli gets extremely paranoid at the thought of people talking about her behind her back. It is possible that this is due to some insecurity about not being liked the moment she leaves a room. History: Anli was lucky to have been born into a noble family. Her father was a commander and her mother was a fire bending instructor. However, sometimes Anli is conflicted about how lucky she really was, as being born into this good family has meant that lots of expectations have been piled upon her from a young age, and it is her utmost desire to run away from all this, though she says nothing to anyone. Her father always neglected her in favour of her older brother Feng, the pride of the family. Anli was very envious as he learned all the best firebending moves, and her learning was secondary. However, this did not mean that Anli was not at all influenced by her father and his military ways. She was a fast learner, and soon picked up all the moves her brother had learned when they had play fights, or even real fights when they got into arguments. (Of course, she was always the one who got into the most trouble, whilst Feng was praised for practicing his skills.) Anli's real support in life came from her mother, Zara, who knew well Anli's frustration of having a male in the family who was favoured most. As such, she did sympathise with her on many occasions and taught Anli how to be charming, how to be cunning. Anli felt a little better about having a sexist father when her mother told her the advantage she had been given, in this seemingly lower place: No one suspects a thing of a woman, so she could work her way to the top in this sense. And with the skills she had learned in real fire bending as well, Zara always assured her that she would do just fine in the world. Still, nothing stops Anli for feeling strong contempt every once in a while, contempt for her father, contempt for her brother, contempt that she, as a women needs to rely on charm and wit at all, even if that does give her an advantage. Anli moved away from home a while ago to find her own way in the world, and was happy to cease contact with her father, although she does still write to her mother, and even meets up with her brother every once in a while, as in their hearts they are still just play-mates, and there are no hard feelings deep down. Skills: Anli has perfected almost all fire abilities thanks to her high place in society, and is now in the master category but still has a few things to work on. Weakness: It is hard for her to conjure up the strength for a larger amount of firebending when she is not feeling particularly angry. When she is aggressive the fire is able to flow from her much more freely, but of course, getting angry is not always the most sensible idea. Having received less training than her brother, she is not able to perform all of the master abilities very well, her weaknesses being intertwined fire streams and fire missiles, which she is still working on. Role-Play Sample: (Some time in the late teenage years) "You were talking about me again. You act like you don't, but I know you are." My voice burned as though I was about to breathe fire, in the metaphorical sense this time. Feng was always slightly nervous when he had to meet my gaze, blue and fierce. I hadn't said anything about this issue for a while now, but it was time to address it. For if I did not, who would? Father was the one who had started it, and Feng was scared of our father. Even mother was scared of our father. Suddenly, Feng's brow furrowed deeply. He appeared to be displeased with me. "I don't know what you are talking about, sister." "I don't know what you are talking about, sister!" I mocked instantly. "Who told you to say that? It was him, wasn't it?" Feng glared at me a moment longer, then looked away, rolling his eyes. "It seems that anything I say will anger you Anli. So it seems best that I say nothing at all, and not indulge this childish paranoia you seem to have." He sighed. He always treated me like I was so... little. I was younger than him, it was true, but I was not little. He was the one who seemed small to me, in his spirits. He had been treated well all his life and now it had made him weak. I walked away from his side, instead beginning to pace the room like a caged animal. My hair was all rumpled - I had tried to sleep but it was this pressing issue that had woken me up again. My anger was threatening to boil over as I drew out these words: "Silence is for the dead, Feng. Now you are alive you WILL speak to me." There was a pause, and to my amazement, Feng appeared to have the nerve to laugh at me. "For the DEAD? Are you saying that you're going to kill me, sister?" I gritted my teeth. "Of course not, silly." For some odd reason my swelling anger converted itself into mischievous amusement. "Unless you go silent again, in which case you might as well be dead." My lips pulled themselves into a sideways smile, challenging him. My brother rose from his seat, and opened his arms wide, seemingly in a form of surrender. "But can you actually..." He started to grin. "Kill me?" I was going to wait no longer after such an inviting offer. I charged at him like a lightening bolt, hot and fast, his bemused face zooming towards me as I neared. But just when I thought I had reached him, he was already out the door. The ice cold wind whipped into my eyes, making my vision blurry, Feng just a blurry black figure in the distance. But still, I waded out into the harsh white snow, still shivering yet determined as ever. When I finally found him I was angry enough to shoot at him a thousand fire balls, but the abnormally cold weather allowed me only one. "Boring!" Feng shouted and threw a snowball at me. A snowball?! It was actually kind of funny, and my mouth dropped open in mock outrage. What a splendid weapon for a fire bender. Before long we were throwing snowballs and fireballs at each other in equal measure, just like children, which I suppose, we kind of still were. Exhausted, we collapsed together in the escaping night. The snow cushioned us nicely, and cooled us right down. And for a moment I was happy, as in our contentment and fatigue there seemed to be no more need for words. Cruel, exhausting words which made us forget that we were just brother and sister, small friends in this big world. But Feng did speak. And I HAD to ruin it. "Father tells me my skills are getting so good, he's willing to let me do an important job for him! I don't know what it is yet, but I think I'm feeling confident enough to try it." I looked away from him, resulting in the crisp whiteness to be right in front of my eyes, nearly in danger of dripping in. I sighed bitterly and muttered, "And Father tells me I should not help him with anything. For I lack nothing more than you in skill, yet I am still merely, a woman." My brother shoved me. "Feng...." I groaned in annoyance. He did it again. "FENG!" I whipped my head round again and observed that he was about to explode. "It's always about YOU, isn't it." He seethed. "You and your insecurities, you and your resentment! Just for once, when I achieve something, can you not just be happy for me?!" I sat bolt upright at once, flakes of snow falling from my hair. "Happy? No. I will be happy when you do what you want, not what HE wants. I will be happy when you stand up for US, not just YOU. And I will be HAPPY, when you stop running around like his pathetic little show dog, jumping through hoops just so you can indulge in the empty, shallow, meaningless attention he gives you and the lies he feeds you on, like little doggy treats!" Feng stood up and walked away, anger sparking off his finger tips, storming into the distance. I immediately regretted what I had done. I felt like I hated him, and he hated me, but really he was the closest thing to a friend I had.