#Zaofu

[count-horror-xx]

The one thing that truly irked me about legend of korra (there might be more I just can't think of them rn lol) is that there's not one mention of the kyoshi warriors. Not fucking one. And they're like multiple places they could of put them and I have three examples:

Zaofu

Literally instead of having guards that didn't know wtf they were doing, they could've had the kyoshi warriors. And before yall say "well it's a metal bending city they need metal benders" bro they could've had metal bending kyoshi warriors! And their uniform look like a mix between republic city police armor and traditional kyoshi warrior uniform. I know I'm definitely stretching with this one but hear me out. (Also thier fans I'm pretty sure are made of metal if not in lok they could make them metal) speaking of republic city-

Republic city

I feel like it would've made 100% more sense if suki had transferred some of the kyoshi warriors to be the protectors of republic city than toph all of sudden giving a shit about making laws and creating a police force. Like how cool would it be to have Lin be a kyoshi warrior??? THE daughter of toph beifong being a kyoshi warrior would've been cool as fuck.

Just keep them being the fire lords bodyguards

It's literally cannon that they protect zuko when he becomes fire lord 😭😭 I don't understand why they just didn't keep that for firelord Izumi. Especially during book 3 when zaheer was going after all the world leaders zuko could've mentioned the kyoshi warriors protecting his daughter but worried it wouldn't be enough or something.

Like dude kyoshi warriors were probably on of my fav part of og atla and I hate how they completely got rid of/ not mention it in lok 😭

#legend of korra #tlok korra #avatar korra #korra #korrasami #tlok fanart #avatar: tlok #tlok #kyoshi #kyoshi warriors #avatar: the last airbender #avatar #avatar the last airbender #netflix avatar #avatar: tla #atla #atla live action #netflix atla #natla #toph beifong #toph avatar #toph atla #lin beifong #zaofu #republic city #fire nation

[wilcze-kudly]

Special type of feels over the Beifong kids having grown up here (the Beifong estate sector of Zaofu)

Like. On one hand. It's beautiful, and kids could have so much fun here. But like. No one else lives here. No one except family and probably staff. The only way off being the monorail. I wonder how quiet it must be there and how isolated.

How often do you think the kids got to leave home, even if to just go to any of the other sectors? Did they go to school? Did they have friends other than each other?

Suyin building a gilded cage to keep her kids close to her forever. I'm chewing drywall as we speak.

#suyin beifong #zaofu #kuvira #baatar jr #baatar #huan beifong #opal beifong #wei beifong #wing beifong #legend of korra #tlok #avatar #the legend of korra #avatar the legend of korra #atlok

[blackflash9]

At some point, we as a community need to seriously discuss the implications of this woman having possibly caught a few bodies.

#suyin beifong #legend of korra #earth kingdom #zaofu #avatar the last airbender #she literally doesn't give af #moved on like nothing happened #said her own “daughter” can get it too #probably made dessert for the kiddos afterwards #triple triad life #suyin be like “morals where bitch?”

[tamras-shieldmaiden]

The subject of Kuvira's childhood has always intrigued me, and after the release of Ruins of the Empire, I've been mulling over some ideas, leading me to come up with some headcanons. A couple have found their way to my fanfics and since my muses are currently taking a breather after Lin week, I've decided to share some of the other headcanons I've come up with so far, so here they are:

Before she manifested her bending abilities, Kuvira had enjoyed a regular childhood. Her parents were strict, and her father, in particular, was known to be a disciplinarian. Things took a downward turn when they realized that the strange mishaps around the house (cracks in the wall, rocks that seemingly appeared out of nowhere around the house) and the reason why the little girl would return home with her clothes soiled with dirt were because she realized she could earthbend. Kuvira was the first bender in the family after several generations. The discovery hadn’t been a reason to rejoice for the couple because bending had mostly led to criminal careers for their relatives in the past, the most notorious example being of a great uncle who had been associated with a powerful daofei in Gaoling. Little Kuvira had noticed how disillusioned her father looked when she demonstrated her abilities to him, and his expression on that fateful day is something that is permanently branded in her memory.

As time went by and her abilities proved more powerful than anyone could’ve anticipated for a child her age, Kuvira's parents grew more overwhelmed by her bending and the damage it inflicted on their house, and in response, they began to turn cold and distant. The negative bias they had about bending prevented them from seeking a proper sifu for their child, judging benders to be self-serving and dangerous, and instead, they encouraged her to suppress it. The negative feedback Kuvira received in turn begat frustration, and she began to act out, not understanding why her parents were acting differently around her, what could be wrong with her, or why she couldn’t fit their expectations. She became an introverted child who didn't have friends. After the incident with her mom, neighbors feared her, and children had cruel names for her.

The child was cursed with a precocious ability coupled with cunning and a quick temper. She didn't have anyone around to realize that her mood swings happened because she got bored quickly and was desperate to properly control her bending. Her parents eventually realized that they were way out of their league to deal with this situation by themselves. Ironically, one of the reasons she later thrived in Zaofu was because she was provided with the proper outlets for her energy and her intellect. Music and the dance troupe, in particular, were instrumental in her development because it became a way to channel her energy into something productive while learning the ways bending could be applied for creative and non-violent purposes.

Her father had heard about the city of Zaofu through a group of merchants who had returned with stories about a city built in platinum by a powerful metal bender related to the Beifong family. For Kuvira’s father, who had recently dealt with the incident where Kuvira nearly killed her mother in an outburst and was at his wits' end, the news provided the opportunity he had been waiting for, so he told his convalescent wife to seek this master earthbender’s help, convincing her to send their daughter away under the pretext that it would be a temporary arrangement. Unbeknownst to her, he had no intention of bringing her back.

For a time, the sound of the wheels of a wooden cart approaching would startle Kuvira because she instinctively looked around to see if it was her father returning to take her back to the family.

During first months living in the Beifong estate, Suyin noticed Kuvira had kept her belongings in the humble travel pack she had arrived with as if expecting to depart. She liked spending as much time as possible outside the mansion because she wanted to keep vigilant about the people who arrived at the estate. Several times, Suyin had to fetch her from the city walls after receiving word from the guards because the girl had snuck out to ask the guards if they had seen her father arrive for her.

When people talked to her, she commented that she was there to learn earthbending, but it was a temporary arrangement, and as soon as her sifu gave word to her parents that she could control her bending, they would come back for her. But as time went by without word from them, her temper would flare at the smallest provocation as a way to hide her growing insecurity. During this time, she struggled deeply with guilt and from having hurt her mother, and she grew convinced that it was her fault that her family ended up separated and no longer wanted her back. It was during this period that she would lash out at Opal, whom she felt saw her as an intruder to the family, and it took a long time for their sibling rivalry to cool, although they never grew close. Kuvira's status as a prodigy only complicated things even further, as Opal saw Kuvira as a rival for her mom's attention. This rivalry between Opal and Kuvira was the reason why Kuvira believed she was never treated or considered as a Beifong, and once she acquired roles in the household, she saw herself to be more of a trusted employee than an adopted child.

It took time for Kuvira to make friends in Zaofu. Baatar reached out to her because he was also introverted, and despite his position as the matriarch’s firstborn, he struggled to make real friends, and those who gravitated around him did so to seek personal favors for their families. She realized he was a fellow outcast despite his status, and his praise gave her the validation she desperately wanted. Kuvira thrived on praise, and she would seek praise and approval, especially from Suyin. Suyin quickly became her role model, and Kuvira emulated her, going so far as to follow her in the matriarch's morning routine overseeing the city, and Kuvira ended up overcoming her introversion, learning her social skills from Su.

#the legend of korra #legend of korra #tlok #lok #kuvira #zaofu #headcanons #childhood #suyin beifong #opal beifong #my writing #ruins of the empire #rote

[salty-medley]

Not the best I can do but overall it's not that bad I guess. Still need modifications, and details.

#zaofu #lin beifong

[alnstarr]

Kuvira 🖤

#digital art #art #kuvira #legend of korra #avatar the last airbender #zaofu #metalbending #earthbending

[doomface]

Back again with another sketch of a LOK next gen/fankid! Meet Bao Beifong! I couldn't resist the urge to make a Beifong who takes after Toph in being super skilled and kinda OP lmao. She's good in the formal sense of bending training but she wants to expand her skills by trying out probending next. She's also Kallik's girlfriend :) Maybe she will get him to join a team with her...

#legend of korra #lok #fankid #next gen #bopal #earthbender #lavabender #metalbender #my ocs #d00mart #earth kingdom #zaofu

[kingwuko]

in secret zaofu is referred to as not part of the earth kingdom but isnt it? like yeah it's isolated from the rest of the mess but It's still part of it.

Interesting question! As I've always understood it, Zaofu is autonomous in its governing. Su runs the city herself as the 'Matriarch', refers to herself as it's leader, calls it her city, openly trash talks the queen, and the wiki refers to Zaofu as an "Autonomous City State". So geographically it's within the Earth Kingdom, and I'm sure before Su bought that plot of land, the empty land itself may have been technically under the sovereignty of the Earth Queen, but apart from when Kuvira invaded, its government has always been separate from the Earth Kingdom. And I think once Kuvira was defeated and Wu took over, he would have just handed Zaofu back over to Su. But, it's not a democratic city, Su is in charge.

So what I was mentioning in Secret, is that Su would be very intrigued by the fact that Wu is doing exactly what she was trash-talking Hou-Ting for not doing: Abdicating and reforming the Earth Kingdom to help it evolve with the times. And with that in mind I think Su would be curious about the progress of the democratization and consider reforming Zaofu in a similar way, and then joining under the umbrella government for the Earth Republic or Democractic States or whatever they're going to end up calling it.

#prince wu #suyin beifong #king wu #Zaofu #answered ask #anonymous #if i've misunderstood Zaofu's deal I'd be eager to hear what i've missed #but I'm pretty sure in canon they do not answer to the earth monarch

[bumirang]

“So what’re ya thinkin’ fer supper?” asks Quyt into Akiya’s shoulder. Still in their work clothes, they’re snuggled up safely in their shared cot. Even without the security a door provides, it’s comfortable enough in the ladies’ bunkhouse. Shapes flicker like shadow puppets across the thin privacy curtain as other workers pass by, on their way to and from their own shifts. The evening is young, and there’s still plenty of money to be made, rubes to be had.

“Zaofu.”

“We’re better off savin’ up.”

“The monorail’s free while we’re in town. S’what I heard.”

“Hrmph…”

“C'mon! Zaofu has real food! Not just food; cuisine!” Akiya reaches up toward the ceiling with one hand, as if beseeching the heavens, and clenches her fist. “I swear, if I have one more deep-fried cabbage-on-a-stick, I'll barf myself to death.”

Quyt pushes herself up onto an elbow and smirks. “Fellas’d probably pay t’see that, actually.”

Akiya clenches her jaw to suppress a grimace. She doesn't do sideshows. Girls are always expected to get their tits out for extra cash, and hers have an exclusive engagement. Even shill work beats the sideshows. Before the ticket booth gig, her main job was tending the circus animals between sets. It was messy but straightforward, and none of the hog-monkeys ever asked her to take her shirt off.

“We can afford a night out. Look,” says Akiya, sitting up. She reaches into her jacket and pulls a tightly folded paper envelope from an inner pocket. As soon as it’s free, it pops open, sending loose change tumbling all over the cot. “Dangit!”

“Where’d ya get all that? Knock over a candy stand?”

Akiya snatches up a coin before it can roll off the edge and drops it back into the envelope. “Walk money, mostly. Not bad for a day’s work.”

“Mostly?”

“I found some of it on the ground.”

Quyt sits up and narrows her eyes.

“Hey, it’s not like I’m shortchanging anybody! If townies wanna leave a little cash lying around, it goes in my pocket, is all,” says Akiya. “Like a tip,” she adds with a shrug.

“Not so high ‘n’ mighty now, are ya?”

Akiya rolls her eyes. “I never said fortunetelling was wrong. I’d just feel weird lying to people like that.”

“You think that’s what I do all day?”

“You mean, what you do all day in the tent with the signs all over it proclaiming magical knowledge of the future?”

“That’s just some spooky showmanship. Gettin’ in their heads. Lettin’ their guards down.” Quyt cups her hands in front of her. “You think I’d get any customers if I walked up to ‘em holdin’ a bowl o’ oily water?”

“I dunno. I’d be curious.”

“Tell ya a secret,” says Quyt, leaning closer. Her big, turquoise eyes manage to gleam in the paltry light of their bunk. “The water’s the thing. The trick is gettin’ ‘em lookin’ at the shapes while I lookit them. You c’n tell a whole helluva lot about a fella if he doesn’t know he’s bein’ watched.” With a smirk, she leans back against the bunkhouse wall, and Akiya relishes the way her hair rustles like soft hay. “I tell ‘em what I see. Throw in a few educated guesses so they don’t feel cheated. They like it. They expect it.”

Akiya joins her girlfriend against the wall, shifting her weight carefully to avoid hurling loose coins off of the cot. “I seem to remember you telling that jerk-ass he was gonna have three kids. If that was an educated guess, then I’m a Dai Lee secret agent.”

Quyt giggles. “That was an outlier an’ shouldn’t be counted.”

#tlok fanfic #avatar fanfiction #lok fanfic #fanfiction #atla #lok #lok oc #tlok oc #atla oc #my art #my stuff #link #text #tddh #zaofu

[original-sheepsandwich90]

#Ghazan #Red Lotus #P'Li #Ming Hua #Avatar Korra #Korra #Pjs #Zaofu #Benders

[loklove48]

Well, just had to draw Kuvira too.

#kuvira #kuvirafanart #tlok fanart #suvira #great uniter #avatar the legend of korra #legend of Korra #tlok #tlokfanart #my tlok queen #gay for kuvira #earth empire #metal clan #metal bender #earth kingdom #Zaofu #suyin beifong #I pledge my loyalty to you great uniter

[xea-of-thimbles]

So I'm rewatching Korra and it feels like there is no criticism of Zaofu. It's literally an art deco city made by a supposed "free spirit" out of the generational wealth of the Beifong clan that she then continues to rule as an autocrat supported by a police force that relies 100% on a flaw version of the polygraph test which we have seen in canon both been fooled(by Azula) and used for corrupt purposes(by Aiwei). Also it seems to have next to no poverty when compared to Ba Sing Se meaning it probably is exclusively populated by the wealthy. Also it controls major parts of the Earth Kingdoms mining industry and it refuses to offer any aid to the Earth Kingdom even in just food and medicine. It also seems to be only inhabited by earth benders and non-benders and Kuvira must have gotten her facism rhetoric from somewhere.

Just as a TL:DR it's an autocracy that acts separate from it's country with different laws, policed by essentially a racist task force that has a flawed methodology that is also controlled by the ultra rich of the earth kingdom.

Suyin literally built a city where she had complete autocratic control and essentially declared it a sovereign state. It just seems like she's very evil

The fall of Zaofu while it was very bad in the small scale leading to Kuvira's complete control of the Earth Kingdom. It just seems like some form of government oversight was inevitable and probably completely necessary

#zaofu #rant #tlok

[wilcze-kudly]

The funniest thing to me is the domes being back on Zaofu in RoTE.

Because like. Kuvira removed the domes and melted them down to build the colossus, right? And you can't tell me Platnium doesn't cost a shitton on the Avatarverse. Like the only metal that is know to be able to withstand metalbending?

But then I thought, if anyone in he Avatarverse is gonna spend a huge amount of money trying desperately to claw her way back to her carefully crafted, perfect status quo it would be Suyin Beifong. So in the end it kinda checks out.

My girl has so many issues and her family and city are the only thing preventing her from an absolutely earth shattering mental breakdown.

#suyin beifong #beifong brainrot #zaofu #legend of korra #tlok #avatar #the legend of korra #avatar the legend of korra #atlok

[blackflash9]

Forging Bonds: The Unlikely Connection Between Suyin and Bolin

While there is much discussion on the relationship dynamic between Lin and Mako, I also find myself deeply drawn to the quieter yet profound bond blossoming between Bolin and Suyin. While Lin and Mako's connection rightfully garners the attention it deserves, it's also intriguing to observe Suyin's own maternal role toward Bolin. A thing to note is that unlike many of the other characters in the show, Suyin doesn't once judge, exploit, or disregard Bolin. She consistently recognizes his worth and potential, even when he doubts himself. It is this unwavering belief in him, that underscores a defining characteristic of Suyin in her innate ability to nurture and encourage the best in people like any leader or mother would.

This is especially important for a young man like Bolin, whose character centers on seeking validation and finding his place in the world. This is often seen in him finding it in the wrong places. Interestingly, these are also issues that Suyin once struggled with.

Bolin: "Okay, why don't you come with me, and you'll see for yourself? We've done a lot of good, and Varrick is working on some new innovations. We're making history." Suyin: "You know, before I built this city, there was nothing here. I wanted to make my mark on the world." Even when he served under Kuvira, Suyin isn't shown to be upset with him, nor is she ever suggesting to Opal that she should break up or distance herself from him, which speaks volumes of how she feels about him, even going as far as to be personally offended that Kuvira tried to utilize another one of her own children against her.

Please, Avatar Studios. Give us more of these two together.

#suyin beifong #pro suyin beifong #legend of korra #earth kingdom #zaofu #bolin #lok bolin #avatar the last airbender #avatar studios

[tamras-shieldmaiden]

The Kuvira childhood vibes just hit me with a cute headcanon that expands nicely what I already developed here.

So I've always believed that little Kuvira was a prodigy who just needed positive reinforcements and the right environment for her to thrive. She was a quick learner, and once something genuinely caught her attention, she would fully devote herself to it. That's how she became part of the Zaofu troupe, as their youngest member, no less. Her interest initially came from her efforts to emulate Suyin because she realized she felt very happy when Suyin paid her attention and lavished her with praise. So, being the troupe one of the matriarch's favorite pet projects, Kuvira decided she wanted to find out what was all about. She had also heard Huan talk in length about it at the dinner table with enthusiasm. Her curiosity piqued, she asked for an audition, and like the little infuriating gremlin that she could be, she ended up stealing the spotlight from the lead dancer with her raw talent. That didn't endear her with the troupe, instigated by the lead dancer who didn't take well that a kid could outstage them. Suyin, fearing the ostracizing would reverse the progress with Kuvira who was finally leaving her taciturn and moody attitude behind, was ready to take her out of the troupe when she realized that the girl was completely unaware of the silly drama. During breaks, while the other dancers got together to gossip, Kuvira would join Huan, who, along with the stage hands, were in charge of the metal props the troupe used as part of their performance. Kuvira would sit down, and while she shared her snacks with him, she would watch Huan work as she listened to the explanations to his work, because despite his age, he took his art very seriously. Half of the time, she wouldn’t understand what he meant, but it didn't matter because she enjoyed listening to him and he liked that someone in the family aside from his mom took interest in his work, and they would end up coming up with even more grander and weirder ideas together. After a prank that Su suspected had been orchestrated by the stage hands and her kids, the diva dancer quit the troupe, and after that, the practices became drama free. The kids continued to hang out together until Kuvira joined the Zaofu Guard, and so they ended up drifting apart. But unbeknownst to Huan, Kuvira always kept in her pocket a small metal badgermole that Huan had sculpted for her during the troupe practices as a good luck charm, as reminder of the good times they shared together.

#the legend of korra #legend of korra #tlok #lok #headcanons #childhood headcanons #kuvira #huan beifong #suyin beifong #zaofu #dance troupe

[wishingforatypewriter]

Last Few Paragraphs Line Tag Game

Thanks @linnorabeifong for tagging me!

Kuvira had earned her first metal ornaments six months after she arrived in Zaofu. When she bent the space rocks in the meteorite garden into diamonds, spiked balls, and crescent moons—passing Suyin’s first test, the first of many—she was rewarded with cuff bracelets and a scalloped collar along the neckline of her tunics. These had been simple, only steel, but Kuvira had cherished them as her silent initiation, a sign that she had earned her place as a true member of Zaofu's Metal Clan. 

Now Suyin bent thin sheets of white gold into floral shapes and fused them onto a band to form a circlet not unlike her own. Once the ornament was crafted to her liking, she placed it on Kuvira's head and arranged her hair around it. 

“There,” the matriarch said, smiling as she glanced at them in the full length mirror. “You look perfect.”

This is from chapter 18 of The Successor, which I am fighting for my life to finish before the end of the year. This section may get revised to oblivion (or cut entirely) later, but I thought I'd share it as it is now since it's the last thing I worked on today.

I am tagging @orangepanic, @nyamadermont, @blackberrywars and anyone who wants to play!

#legend of korra #kuvira #suyin beifong #zaofu #metal clan