{Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea; 'Idiom'-a situation where there are two or more equally unpleasant alternatives, or outcomes.}
Sticking to one-shot as of now. May continue later.
.Abnegation- The Selfless
.Candor-The Honest
.Amity-The Peaceful
.Erudite- The Intelligent
.Dauntless-The Brave
Supposedly, as the Avatar, Korra was a conglomeration of five feelings and passions, that, if strung in other people, would cause an uproar. And most likely sentence that poor soul to death if they refused to be factionless. (Which, in popular opinion, was a fate worse than death.)
The future belongs to those who know where they belong! was the motto of all the five factions, and Korra couldn't help but cringe at the hypocrisy of it. By having the test, and the Choosing Ceremony, you were basically asking the candidates to defy their own people, and the status-qua.
Because 'normal' people could only be in one faction- be it the same one they were born into, or a (treasonous) new one that the sixteen-year old picked during the Ceremony- many (all though they tried to hide it) envied the Avatar. These feelings of envy and resentment, Korra thought, obviously made matters worse.
Now, Korra wanted everyone to be safe; as the Avatar- as a person- she wanted no harm to come to the people of the factions. Perhaps her Amity shone through the most, as she was the Amity-born Avatar this time around, but she'd like to think that this need for peace came from within, and was not based on her home.
Korra sensed a calling in her- a calling no Avatar in all her lifetimes had ever even hoped to achieve- or to conceive- for the future: to reunite the five factions. You are not what your faction says you are, Korra always dreamed of saying. For she aspired for a future where a person was not defined by one trait, but was a plethora of emotions and feelings as was life long ago. Korra had a mission as the Avatar, and she would bring the world into a new era; an era where every faction was united, and peoples' personalities were so unique and diverse, that your identity was all your own.
She was getting closer; she could feel it.
Her honesty prove strong, though, as she looked out and saw all the faces of the factions candidates; she could say without a doubt, or a hint of shame, that defiance- true, strong defiance- hung in the air at this Choosing Ceremony.
She was proud.
.
She couldn't quite say for sure when she knew, but once that name was called from 'Dauntless'- Asami Sato, please step forward- one look on the girl's face, and Korra knew.
The girl-Asami- all dressed in black and leather, was only a predator on the outside. Korra saw the twitch in her lips, the conviction in her eyes, and she knew a star was about to be born. Asami was handed the knife, told to choose her fate by one of the five pedestals, and spill her blood upon her choice.
Not once did Asami turn back towered the sea of 'brave' faces behind her. No, she held the knife upside down, by the blade, swinging it carelessly inspite of her faction's training.
Korra smiled. That was sure to piss them off.
Asami strode past all the whispers and the stares. Not once did she hesitate when her father called her name through the crowed.
She reached the pedestal of The Amity, made a cut on her palm, and let her blood sprinkle.
The Dauntless roared, the Amity cheered, and Asami took her place among her new family.
Korra watches as, not even five minutes later, 'Candor' is called upon; The Honest lose two of their members to 'Abnegation'. The Selfless. One is a candidate by choice-Mako, please step forward- and he is followed by his younger brother Bolin, who is not of age yet. Bolin is only allowed to come with Mako (that is, by his own choice, rather than staying in Candor) because Mako is considered his guardian, and minors are ordered to stay with their guardians, or with their own faction, until of age. Unfortunately, orphans like these two brothers are not unheard of. ( The average life-span and orphan rate is the highest in 'Dauntless' and the lowest in 'Amity'. But even Korra knows life is hard, despite where her home is.) Bolin will undoubtedly stay with The Selfless for the rest of his life, Korra thinks, for they have showed him and his brother great animosity, and Candor is known for being a bit harsh with their 'tough love'.
As expected, after the knife is drawn, and Mako's blood spatters, Candor sputters out some very colorfully (honest) language, and 'Abnegation' welcomes the brothers with open arms.
Surprisingly, only one more switch is made for the day: a tiny 'Amity' girl, Hazel. Korra knows her from her home neighborhood. Korra admits she feels a pang of sadness watching Hazel leave and go to 'Erudite', and she is sure to hear the hurt, angry words in Amity about her switch when she walks in the streets, see Hazel's saddened parents; thier eyes singing tear-stained betrayal.
But Korra also can't deny the overwhelming surge of pride in her as she watches all the factions leave the Ceremony.
Revolution hung in the air, and its taste, so sweet.
And Korra thinks for the first time in her life, maybe she finally understands now what it means to be the Avatar. To not just be a plethora of overwhelming, clashing emotions, always at odds inside of her.
No, the people wanted more. Craved for a revolution.
You can be Selfless, and Honest, and Peaceful, and Intelligent, and Brave, Korra knew, if only given the chance.
For the first time in years, Korra walks off the platform with a hope for the new generation.