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army-of-mai-lovers · 4 years

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Why Amon Should Have Been An Android

(spoilers for LoK and Young Justice season 1)

If you followed my LoK liveblog at all you may have noticed that I theorized at one point or another that all four major villains of LoK (Amon, Unalaq, Zaheer, and Kuvira) were secretly robots/androids (the term I used was robot, but the more accurate term would have been android.) Now, with Unalaq it was definitely just because I found him boring, with Zaheer it was to make fun of the fact that he was an Airbending prodigy with zero training, and with Kuvira it was because it was a thing at that point for me to predict that an LoK villain was a robot (and I was kind of right that time!!)

But with Amon? I was completely serious. We never see his face, his cause is stupid (and the perfect way for his programmers to start some trouble in Republic City), and he was able to resist bloodbending, which, if you’ll recall, requires that the victim have blood for it to work. You know who doesn’t have blood? That’s right, androids/robots.

But there’s another reason that I sincerely thought Amon was going to be a robot (android), and it’s the reason I’m writing this. There was something naggingly familiar about LoK to me, and no, it wasn’t that it was a sequel series to ATLA. To me, LoK doesn’t really feel a lot like ATLA (barring, of course, the very poorly shoehorned in fanservice cameos of Iroh, three times, like he’s a recurring character or something.) I struggled to pinpoint exactly what it was, but in my own observations and the observations of other people that I was talking to while liveblogging, a couple key differences became clear:

[ID: an image of Korra from the back looking out towards Republic City, which is shown to have large white skyscrapers, a bay, and numerous smaller buildings. Much of it is obscured by fog and clouds. The city is built in the middle of a sprawling bay. /End ID]

1. the setting of LoK is incredibly Americanized and Eurocentric. While ATLA displays a lot of cultural insensitivity towards the cultures it borrows from in choosing how to depict them, LoK...doesn’t really depict other cultures. Republic City to me felt very similar to how 1920s New York is typically depicted in media, and no setting in the Earth Kingdom or Water Tribe was explored enough to really explore the unique cultures of those settings. While you can tell in ATLA that bryke was somewhat interested in (a vague, exoticized, unrealistic vision of) East Asian culture, LoK is very clearly inspired by America and Europe, with very little else influencing how the setting was depicted.

2. there are no “unimportant” people in LoK. Everybody is related to somebody we know from ATLA (or somebody from ATLA), a powerful business mogul, military, somebody high up in the government, a celebrity, and/or the Avatar. The only character I can really think of that’s an exception to this is Kai, who really does not have much of a role. (I guess you could argue that Mako is an exception but y’know...he was a famous pro-bender for a while there) You don’t just get to meet a regular person living in a village anymore. Every character in LoK has political, social, or cultural power.

These points, put together with the technological prowess of the world of LoK (which is different season to season and sometimes even episode to episode depending on how the writers are feeling that day), made the show feel very distant from ATLA, but very, very close to another show that I have watched and loved. And that show is Young Justice.

[ID: an image, from left to right, of Batgirl, Blue Beetle, Bumblebee, Beast Boy, Miss Martian, Nightwing, Superboy, Wondergirl, Robin, and Red Arrow in the foreground, posing together. Above them and in the background are the adult heroes, obscured in shadow. From left to right, Red Tornado, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Batman, Superman, the Flash, Green Arrow, and Wonder Woman. They are all against a gradient blue background. /End ID]

For those not in the know, Young Justice is a DC animated cartoon focusing on the teen sidekicks, proteges, and relatives of superheroes like Batman, Superman the Flash, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and others banding together to form their own superhero team. YJ is set in America, vaguely, with characters residing in cities with names like Gotham City, Star City, and Central City (a naming convention that Republic City fits right into). And as is apparent from the premise, most of the characters you’ll meet in YJ are superheroes, related to superheroes, or otherwise important business moguls, celebrities, or political figures. And while the world of YJ is of course significantly more technologically advanced than that of LoK, there’s more overlap than you’d think. Besides spaceships, teleportation, smartphones, and genetic engineering, there’s really not a lot of tech that YJ seasons 1 and 2 have that LoK doesn’t.

So you may be thinking, “ok Arthur, we get it, you’re a fucking nerd, what does this have to do with robots?” I’m glad you asked! One of the storylines of YJ focuses on the war between rival tech moguls Tio Morro and Professor Ivo, in which they build increasingly sophisticated androids. Ivo’s are pretty much just designed to kill supers, but Morro’s are expressly designed to mirror the human psyche, and desire to be a part of human society. Amon very clearly also desires a community, and does much of what he does to integrate himself into a community of nonbenders where he really doesn’t belong. Further, Morro’s androids are immune to threats that humans are not immune to because they are not made up of organic matter. For example, in season 1, episode 3, Miss Martian attempts to read Red Tornado’s mind, to no avail, because she can only read the minds of organic beings. In a similar vein, Amon was able to resist bloodbending, and while unfortunately that was not because he was an android, it would have made sense given the conventions of the cartoon android genre. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my previous YJ knowledge very much influenced the way I read that scene. The way Amon’s body was animated very much mirrored the animation of Morro’s androids trying to resist their evil creator’s programming.

So, I’ve taken you through the what, the how, but I promised that I’d say why Amon being an android would have been better, and I plan to deliver. First, it needs be remarked that while Amon being an android wouldn’t have made much sense, it would have only made slightly less sense than the canon explanation of Amon being Tarrlok’s secret brother. In fact, I’d argue that, if handled correctly, Amon being an android could make more sense and be more impactful. Here’s how I envision it: android! Amon would be pretty similar to Red Tornado, in that he would know that he was an android and be programmed to help people. He was of course, built by Hiroshi Sato (that man designed and likely built all the Equalists’ weapons he has the range), who sees himself as a sort of father to Amon. Hiroshi tells Amon about the systemic disenfranchisement of nonbenders and how a Firebender killed his wife, and Amon, being programmed to want to help people and to desire participation in human society, decides he wants to lead a revolution against benders. However, an android can’t very well openly lead a revolution (you could add a bit in the backstory episodes about how humans don’t trust androids or something), so Hiroshi and Amon come up with the story that Firebenders burned his face and hands, which is what prompted him to lead the revolution. Thus, his whole body, including his face, is covered, and his followers assume that it’s because the burns are so bad, and they follow him. In the latter half of the season, the krew would uncover Hiroshi’s involvement with the Equalists, but Asami would be the one to realize that Amon is an android that Hiroshi built. Amon being Hiroshi’s “son” of sorts would be another element of Asami coming to terms with the evils of her family, as Amon in this case would be a machine programmed to be easily manipulated to follow Hiroshi’s cause and would consider himself her brother, and she would have to reckon what to do with both of them. The nonbenders’ cause would still be legitimate after Amon was exposed as an android (unlike it is when the literal figurehead of their movement is also antithetical to their movement) and the heroes would have to reckon with the realities of bender supremacy and the hurt it caused. Amon could even get a redemption arc and work with world leaders to make a better society for nonbenders and androids like himself (I’m sure there’s some parallel you can draw between nonbender oppression and android oppression, though I can’t think of one atm) As an added bonus, Amon wouldn’t be able to bend, so he couldn’t bloodbend Korra, which would be one less time that an LoK villain took away Korra’s bodily autonomy. Amon could even be a recurring character in the later books, because really, wouldn’t LoK have been more fun with a newly-redeemed android sidekick still learning about what the world is outside of his creator’s narrow worldview? Plus, that would give Asami more to do in books 2 and 3 than meet Varrick and participate in love triangle drama (Amon is of course replacing Varrick’s presence on the show), and getting to know and bond with Amon could be the catalyst for her visiting her father in prison in book 4.

Remember, I didn’t claim that this would be good, I claimed that it would be better, and since the bar was on the ground with that secret brothers twist that wasn’t too hard to accomplish. tl;dr bryke are cowards, take the plunge and make him an android.

#still don't understand why bryke cut pro bending after b1 #it was genuinely brilliant #i know amon's not a bender but i would want him to be involved in a pro bending storyline post book 1 somehow #longpost #meta #ehhhhh is this a meta tho?#genuinely kind of a stupid meta but once my brain made the republic city star city central city gotham city connection this genuinely #would not leave my brain until i made it #amon #lok #idk honestly i feel like what i wrote is actually more thematically appropriate for an atla sequel series #like found family and redemption and that junk #plus asami could potentially get an arc #if i were writing it she'd get an arc #well generally if i were writing the show asami would get an arc but also specifically with this android thing #tbh if you ask me how much of this is a joke i couldn't even tell you #it is a thing that exists and you can interpret it as a high effort joke or as sincere #it's 2020 cringe is dead

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rwbyconversations · 4 years

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The Scarlet Letter: Let’s talk about RWBY’s male LGBT rep

I have been sitting on this post for nearly four weeks waiting until the 15th due to the Before the Dawn spoiler rules.

So let's start with a blunt statement: RWBY's male LGBT representation has not been good. If the series' handling of female LGBT rep is good (which... well there's worse shows) and the general standard for how you write LGBT characters in a show like this, its handling of male rep has been... how not to. And Before the Dawn kinda solidified the idea in my head that the show's handling of its male LGBT cast just isn't good enough, either by the standards of when RWBY began in 2013, or today in 2020 when compatively massive steps have been taken over the past decade to show a more diverse list of characters... or at least a more diverse list of female characters.

I don't wanna make this a pissing match over how over-or-under-represented male or female LGBT characters are, but I feel like it's safe to say that the majority of the trend-setters for modern romances, especially in western animation, have been between women. Korra and Asami from Korra, Chloe and Max from Life is Strange, Marceline and Bubblegum in Adventure Time, (insert the relevant Steven Universe characters here, never watched it), and more recently, Adora and Catra in She-Ra and Luz in Owl House.

Compatively, while studies have shown that in general male LGBT characters get more appearances on a purely numerical level, in general they're more one-off characters there to pad a roster, or played more for comedy (see Josh Gad in the Beauty and the Beast remake or the gay guy in Avengers Endgame that was more notable for how hard China and Russia snapped him out of existance). The only big male-LGBT focused media I can think of from the last decade would be Yuri On Ice, Moonlight, IDW's Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye (Chromedome/Rewind best pairing fuck you Roberts for issue 16) Love Simon, and the anime adaptation of Banana Fish.

So it's no surprise that RWBY basically follows these ideas. It's big romance is (unless the writers are very stupid) going to be between Blake and Yang, their first out character was Ilia, Coco got sent to the Book Dimension where she confirmed "I use my sunglasses to perv on women without their knowledge" which uh... yeah you can definitely tell RWBY is written by men... and Volume 6 had Saph and Terra being a good example of an LGBT couple without any real drama. In the last three years alone, the show has drastically increased its lesbian and bisexual characters, alongside even including its first out trans character in May Marigold (albeit only revealed on Twitter). In general, these depictions of sexuality have been pretty OK. Would have liked it if Ilia wasn't immediately written out of the show after Volume 5 as it made her feel a bit more disposable than intended but whatever, subject for another day.

RWBY's male rep though is a bit spottier. There's the plant bois in Volume 5's premiere, we nearly had Pilot Boi until some last-minute revisions, and... Scarlet.

Why Scarlet's a bad launchpad for male LGBT rep

I don't like Scarlet or how his sexuality has been handled. Scarlet's homosexuality wasn't revealed in the show, or by the writers, or even in anything that's actually canon. He's confirmed gay in his sole of dialogue in a non-canon fan anthology, where the manga's Twitter team had to say that Miles suggested the idea and approved of it.

In short, Scarlet is Dumbledore'd, where his sexuality is revealed in out-of-show material and in a way that doesn't make it supremely obvious (Miles himself never commented to confirm this so this news was limited in how far it could spread. I'm genuinely curious how many people still don't know Scarlet's gay), and Scarlet himself is a nothing character who was written out of the show after Volume 3 and only reappeared in Before The Dawn, half a decade after he vanished. Compared to Ilia, as this came out after Ilia's entire arc in Volume 5, it's not a great starting point for mlm rep. But things would have been forgiven if it had gotten better, if the show did have more male LGBT characters introduced, even just on the Saphron/Terra level of just being around for a few episodes before leaving. Then it would have been a misfire but then we could all say "Things got better."

It... didn't. Which is why when Before the Dawn released in 2020, a full two years after Scarlet was first confirmed gay, while the franchise had more than doubled its wlw rep, Scarlet remained the one male character in the entire franchise who had a name and liked men. I remember vividly a fake leak for After The Fall which claimed Yatsuhashi would come out to Velvet and admit to having a crush on Fox. And I remember as well how many people were disappointed when it was said to be false, because it would have been nice for Yatsuhashi's character, especially after the fleshing out he gets in the CFVY books. If Yatsu had come out as gay in the books I'd like his writing enough to say he's a good case for rep, albeit with the caveat of "This is all in side material." But in reality, the leak was fake and Coco was confirmed gay instead.

Unfortunately, Before the Dawn proceeded to ruin Scarlet and made me at times feel genuinely uncomfortable as a queer man! Let's talk about that.

Before The Dawn is crap and Scarlet's writing is borderline offensive

I hate Before the Dawn. It's... bad. I read it while on a vacation and the only solace I had about the entire thing was that I'd bought an M&M chocolate bar. The bar was finished before the book. That bummed me out. It's not a very well written book, the prose is very Early 2010s YA Writer, none of the characters are memorable and there's various Fun Incidents like "NGDO using children as bait for Grimm," and "Neptune's hydrophpobia being used as a threat to torture him and the scene is played for comedy."

Theo was cool. I can't wait to see him as written by good writers, he should be a highlight of the Vacuo arc.

I had two hopes for Before the Dawn- "Don't be bad," and "Let Scarlet and Sage be well written." I'd liked how After The Fall had handled some of its characters (barring, y'know, Coco perving on women), especially Fox and Yatsu who were surprising in how much I liked them. I was looking forward to seeing Myers give Sage and Scarlet similar treatment- two relatively nothing characters meant he'd have a blank slate to write them however he wanted, he could give them unique personalties and if nothing else it could be cool to see their Semblances.

And then I read the book. (Sage fans I am so sorry for you, you got baited harder than Johnlock fans)

Scarlet's a giant dickhead in the book. It's his sole character trait and his inner monologues go on, and on, and on about how much he hates Sun, how he revels in mocking him. Most of his dialogue is sarcastic put-downs about Sun and how lame he is, and Sun is never properly allowed to defend himself or point out how going with Blake meant he was able to help save Haven Academy.

(hey remember when Sun in Volume 6 expressly says to Blake "I was a bad leader for ditching Neptune and the others, and I need to work on that" only for Before the Dawn to have him staunchly refuse to accept that he let the team down? I don't think Myers did but I do)

Scarlet being a ratty bitch would be one thing if, again, the franchise had done more rep. He'd still be a badly written character, but it wouldn't sting as much. But because Scarlet is still the only expressly confirmed male LGBT character in canon (the book teases that Nolan is gay but there's never confirmation either way beyond him smiling at Scarlet), it means that he has to represent that entire ideal. So when the one gay man in Remnant is being an asshole and a snide loser, that means that by extension, this is how the franchise sees gay men. And that fucking sucks! I wanted to come out of Before The Dawn singing its praises, I wanted to like the book, but it was a massive letdown, especially coming off of the other big 2020 RWBY controversy involving gay characters.

Yeah. We're doing this.

Clover and Fair Game: Technically not queerbaiting. BUT:

Let's pre-empt this: Clover wasn't queerbaiting, and Fair Game, while cool and I dig it, kudos to them for becoming one of the top 5 RWBY pairings on AO3 in one year that's fucking impressive (I say with mild malice as an IronQrow main), never had a chance. The writing never seriously boosted it barring one interaction which was flirty (them talking in the lobby of the Schnee Manor), and everything else was out of show boosting through the social media teams and CRWBY hyping it themselves by saying they liked it. If you wanna blame people, blame the animators who went off-script with stuff like Kim Newman adding the wink as a deliberate nod to the Volume 4 waitress, or the social media team deliberately using the same policies for Fair Game as they do for Renora and Bumblebee.

It wasn't Eddy's fault that things escalated, and he himself has said that in retrospect, he should have warned people that this never had a shot.

But I can't blame the Fair Game fanbase. Because Fair Game took off like wildfire. It came right as the fanbase began seriously asking for more male rep, Qrow's pretty hot, and the Clover wink came right after the Great IronQrow Reawakening of November 9th, 2019. The rocket was primed, and they rode it to the moon. Finally, to these people, after seven years RWBY seemed to be doing something with mlm rep in show. People started getting into RWBY just for Clover and Qrow's interactions. And if heroes were boring, Watts and Tyrian also had a fantastic dynamic that made Nuts and Volts one of the more popular villain ships overnight. Things seemed to be turning around! RWBY was remembering that gay men existed! You could hear the choir sing!

... And for those people, that meant that episode 12 hit like Truck-Kun.

People got pissed. People were horrified. And it didn't help that some members of CRWBY had said in the build-up that episode 12 would have some shots that made them nauseous (probably the Tyrian thumb thing) Out of context, it looked to these fans like CRWBY were basically laughing at their suffering, like they were saying "Lol, you thought you had a chance, get fucked, I hope your vomit burns on the way up."

Yeah, Fair Game was never gonna be canon, and I think some people ran too far with it. But in the wider context of how desperate RWBY's mlm community had gotten for basic crumbs of content? I can see why they'd run with what they had. The writers aren't at fault for what happened, but CRWBY didn't help matters. And that desperate mix of what felt like official backing from the crew, jokes about how cute the ship was, and the hope that finally the show would have onscreen rep? I can see why people ran with it.

So why is the show more lackluster in depicting mlm characters?

Money. Let's be honest, most RWBY fans don't care if the show doesn't have good male rep. I'm willing to bet some of you reading this won't care and just dismiss it as not being that big a problem. I don't think the writers care if the show doesn't have good mlm rep because they're not poaching that market. They're after what they see as a bigger, more lucrative market, which in this case is female LGBT rep. That gets people buying games, watching shows, raising awareness and boosting awareness of your property, which means you make more money. In short: Two women kissing hits more markets and generates more attention than two men.

Am I saying that Miles, Monty and Kerry deliberately sat down seven years ago and said "We're not doing gay men because it won't generate enough ad revenue and traffic to be worth the loss in revenue from homophobes?" No, that's silly. But I'm saying that it's less important for them, and it shows in the things that are small and add up. Things like Miles not verifying Scarlet's sexuality or retweeting the manga account's confirmation to spread the message (compared to how he enthusiastically confirmed Ilia being a lesbian himself during the Reddit AMA). It shows in how Pilot Boi would have been the first mlm character only to die in his second full episode until M&K were told about the Bury Your Gays trope. It shows in how Shannon believes that Ozma is "megaqueer" and Miles jokingly laughs it off instead of confirming it, leaving it to just be Shannon's headcanon. It shows in how actor shipping is compared between the mlm and wlw ships, where Arryn and Barbara's frequent pushes for Bumblebee are seen as "official confirmation that it's endgame" while Michael and Kerry saying they enjoy Seamonkeys is treated as "well it would be cute if they did it, but they're never going to."

I'm not gonna say anything like "CRWBY are gonna have Qrow end up with a woman like Robyn out of spite against the bad apples of the Fair Game crowd." I'm not gonna say that I don't think CRWBY cares about male representation in the series. It is, however, definitely a low priority for them, and because that leads to gaffes like Scarlet's writing in Before The Dawn being offensive in his depiction, it only makes the contrast between the sexes all the more painfully apparent.

I'm kinda tired of waiting for Rooster Teeth to show that they do care about mlm. I'm kinda tired of RWBY's male rep being written like it came from a 1993 time capsule where I have to enhance the screen to see a guy holding a sign of Sun's abs or be content with the only onscreen rep still being the plant bois in Volume 5. I'm tired of how often the crew dances around answering basic questions about sexuality (and age, and birthdays, and heights, and so on) by treating it as a spoiler question, as if just wanting to know what way people swing would ever be a spoiler. I'm just... tired of all this. When the best mlm rep in Rooster Teeth's history remains the two dads in Camp Camp who show up in a few episodes, that should say something really bad about your company and your biases (To say nothing of the recent Red vs Blue seasons and their blatant queerbaiting for Grif and Simmons and the whole can of worms that is Donut).

I'd like to not feel like I'm borderline unwelcome because I'd like to see two men in this show kiss, and that the sole thing that represents people like me in this show is some British twat who complains about sand.

I'd just like to feel like my sexuality isn't a joke to Rooster Teeth (or at the very least, be like Donut and have it be a funny one). But at this point after the last few years? I feel like a very uncomfortable punchline to them. And it just sucks.

#rwby #rwde #fair game #queerbaiting #rwby before the dawn #mlm #lgbt #rwby analysis #Rooster Teeth #clover ebi #scarlet david

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thesideblogformyotherships · 3 years

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so I’m not super familiar with lok discourse but on my first (and a half) watches I started notice some similarities and I kind of wonder if anyone else feels the same way

Is it just me of does it seem like the writers really tried to do something with MaKorra? And is it just me or does it feel like they were trying really hard to take a lot of “inspiration” from Zutara...except they also had a complete lack of understanding for the characters and why people actually like them together ??

And personally Korasami is ADORABLE(and also my preferred ship) but also didn’t seem like from a writers (specifically bryke) stand point that it was the relationship they were super behind & wanted to be endgame...I FEEL like they wanted MaKorra to be endgame

Evidence: (to clarify I don’t actually like MaKorra, like I said it feels like Bryke saw Zutara and they wanted to do something to ‘appease’ fans w/o actually giving any depth or clearly written character arc to anyone) (a lot of these are very surface level and I wouldn’t usually consider them actual parallels, but all together it gives me the vibe that it was on purpose...like they took attributes from Zutara and tried I make a ship almost to say ‘you didn’t actually like Zutara you just liked this awkward dynamic’)

Design: Okay so obviously, the characters look pretty similar in design, which at first isn’t something that stood out to me (it’s a cartoon, not a lot of characters have extreme looks) but there’s more to consider

Fire bender/ water bender dynamic (again, not a huge deal, I mean how many people are in each nation?)

Asami: when Asami was first introduced I believe it was in that “meet cute” with Mako, and I’d like to point out that are some (minor) similarities with her design and Mai, dark, red tones, shiny black hair

Personalities: Mako seems like a VERY poor attempt to replicate Zuko’s personality, they took a bunch of surface level attributes (gruffness, affection for his family member whos seen often in watch kingdom colors 😗, general stand-off-ish-ness around most people) and combined it with a similar character design

Korra: her personality isn’t super close to Katara, which, yay!, but they do have enough similarities to say oh well that can’t be what they tried to do (because it feels like bryke saw another strong woman and said ‘oh let’s do that thing everyone liked last time)

Parallels in plot/moments

So lok has some messy writing sometimes and it’s been a while since I first watched the show, but every time I watch the final mech-suit battle where Korra and Kuvira are fighting and Mako and Bolin are in the spirit vine area, I’m struck by how much it feels like a Agni Kai rip off (not the whole thing, just the final lightning part) and you know what, I’m selling to bet that before the team decided on Korrasami, that scene would have had Korra in it because I would NOT put it past Bryke to take Korra away from the main fight to have a cheesy romantic moment

There’s definitely more throughout the series but I really could not get over the rip-off Zuko having a dramatic lightning scene in one of the final episodes of the series, and if it had a Katara stand in, you could ABSOLUTELY NOT convince me that it was in no way related to Zutara

So Mako and Korra feel like a bad attempt to prove either that Zutara wasn’t that good/they could do it to or like a bad attempt to make Zutara fans happy (hey you couldn’t have a relationship with three seasons of emotional build up and two characters who had a deep emotional connection...how about a relationship that LOOKS like it but without any of the emotional depth?)

#this isn’t necessarily anti-makorra #and no hate if you like them because tbh none of the ships really are my favorite favorite (I’m not out here salivating over them)#and korrasami is so cute and they’re actually happy together #zutara #legend of korra #makorra #please I actually didn’t hate makorra while watching let the record show #it just felt like Walmart brand Zutara

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uncloseted · 3 years

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So is it problematic if a character in fiction is gay or bi or trans, but that idea is never explored as a part of their character arc or struggle? Like it's just a one off aspect of them? I see some people get upset, especially in the case of Loki or JK Rowling, when characters are revealed as canonically queer but it's not an important part of the story. Does every queer characters arc and backstory specifically have to revolve around their sexuality or gender?

I think whether or not it's problematic depends on the larger context of the piece of media, but I actually think it can be more problematic when their *tragic queer backstory* is the only thing about them (although it's also good to have LGBT stories where that is discussed). For example, I think the [minor spoilers] Korra/Asami reveal in Legend of Korra is okay, despite it not really being part of the story, because it took so much for the writers to be allowed to show them in a romantic relationship at all.

Likewise, I don't actually have a problem with the "Dumbledore is gay" reveal. JKR has a lot of ideologies that I find horribly problematic, but in context, I don't think the Dumbledore reveal is that bad. It was in response to a fan who asked whether Dumbledore had ever found love. Rowling responded that she “always thought of Dumbledore as gay," and that “Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was." I always found it to be an honest answer to an honest question, the same way that she's answered questions about McGonagall's romantic past, especially since none of the teachers have romantic partners in the books at all. I think it's an answer that's relatively well substantiated in the parts of the book that discuss Dumbledore/Grindelwald (or at least, as substantiated as it could be for a children's book released in 2007- gay marriage wasn't even legal in the UK until 2013). I also think it's pretty profound for the most powerful wizard in the world to be a gay man, although it would have been better to have him be the most powerful wizard in the world *while being in an LGBT relationship*. I think the reason people struggle with this reveal is because they feel like JKR "announced" that Dumbledore was gay in order to get "woke points" without having to actually write an LGBT character or risk offending people, but I just don't think that's how this actually came about. I actually think it's more problematic that she wrote an epilogue where all of the characters were suddenly in straight marriages.

In the case of Loki, however, I do think it's problematic. Loki came out this year, when 70% of US Americans support gay marriage and it's legal in all 50 states, their target audience is adults aged 18 to 34, and Marvel constantly queerbaits because they know it will make them money. The reason Loki (and Marvel movies in general) doesn't contain any LGBT content is because they're afraid of losing business in China. They're being cowards, and we shouldn't keep letting that happen.

In general, I don't think an LGBT character's entire personality should revolve around their sexuality/gender, and I don't think their backstory needs to be about the *trauma* of being LGBT. But I do think they need to be allowed to be shown with a same-sex partner, the same way that straight characters are shown with opposite-sex partners. Thirteen in the TV show House is a pretty good example of this; she's bisexual and she's shown with both male and female partners, in both casual and committed contexts, but her storyline never really revolves around being LGBT. It revolves around the trials and tribulations of her being a doctor, her relationship with her own health, and the struggles she has within a relationship (regardless of who that relationship is with).

Jules in Euphoria is another pretty good example- she's trans and she talks about her experience as a trans person trying to understand what that means to her. She's also bisexual and is shown in romantic relationships with men and women. But her gender and sexuality aren't ever the focus of her character arcs; her relationship to herself and to the people around her is. She's pretty much accepted as both a trans person and as someone who's bisexual, which gives room for her stories to be about other things.

GLAAD released an LGBT analog to the Bechdel test called the Vito Russo Test which I think helps to illustrate which portrayals of LGBT people in media are and are not problematic. The criteria for passing the Vito Russo test is as follows:

The film contains a character that is identifiably lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer.

That character must not be solely or predominantly defined by their sexual orientation or gender identity (i.e. they are comprised of the same sort of unique character traits commonly used to differentiate straight/non-transgender characters from one another).

The LGBTQ character must be tied into the plot in such a way that their removal would have a significant effect, meaning they are not there to simply provide colorful commentary, paint urban authenticity, or (perhaps most commonly) set up a punchline. The character must matter.

I would add a fourth criteria to that list about sexuality specifically, which is "The LGBQ character must be shown engaging in an LGB relationship comparable to that of their straight counterparts".

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starline148 · 4 years

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I hope you feel better soon! ;u; For the ask meme, 001 with KdFd, GouTora and/or SomeFubu!

Hi! I’ve been really busy this past week but I’m better, thank you and thanks for asking too! I did the three of them because I just love all of them :D

001 Ship: KdFd

When I started shipping it if I did:

Here it's again the story of how my little brother with only 10 years opened my eyes and changed my life. So we were watching Inazuma Eleven 3rd season (before the rewatch) and I was watching the anime without shipping (or realizing) anything at that moment. Then my brother sighed and told me "Jude and Caleb should marry, they're so obviously in love" and I was like OMG it's TRUE. (Funny thing is that he has this good sense for canon ships, like he said Korra and Asami would end together when half first season was on and has done it with other couples too -also he could adivine who would fall on an ice skating rink, he would be a very good fortune teller-)

My thoughts:

They're my OTP. Like, they're the ship I like most of every ship I ship. And I have some old “growing with” ships in the list like pokeshipping, takari and harutake, which are from some animes that were truly important to me as a child and so are these ships.

I love Kidou and Fudou as individuals, as friends and as a couple. Fudou is my favourite character from Inazuma (and my favourite character in general). And well, I just adore their relationship so much, like they're so pure somehow. I love their moments, their episodes, their hissatsus. I was really excited when Killer Fields happened. And the match against Team K or the Demons/Fallen Angel. I love so much when they're holding hands, such a moment.

So, summarizing I LOVE THEM.

What makes me happy about them:

THEY, EVERYTHING about them makes me happy. I love watching anything about them. And I love creating drawings/stories about them because I just love them so much.

What makes me sad about them:

Ares/Orion. But as I don't like it in general… Something I missed was Kidou not returning to Teikoku in the end of OG. But I also would have liked them interacting in Go. Like, I want to rewrite Go movie so Fudou can go save Kidou when he is kidnapped.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me:

Here I really have something. When they make Fudou not being faithful to Kidou just for drama or kinks. When I don't like a summary I don't go further but I found twice something not expected in tags or warning and well, went sad because to me they are LOVE made couple.

Also, this is very particular and based in personal trauma. I don't like smoking Fudou. I don't like smoking characters in general, because my mother smoked when I was little and somehow this is a traumatic experience. But I can go with it. Like I'll read the story although I don't enjoy this specific little thing.

Things I look for in fanfic:

If they're there in a respectful relationship or going to it, I'm on board. I love them so much that I'll read almost anything with them. I even read a story where Kidou died and I didn’t like them but the story was beautiful.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

I can't imagine another person for them. And what's more I never saw Kidou as an easy partner. I think it's hard to go on with him based on his personality, but that's just my view of him.

My happily ever after for them:

While I like the idea of them working as professional football players I absolutely love the idea of Fudou and Kidou being the first ones to start the time travelling thing. Like first investigations, first ideas of how this is in fact possible, etc. Maybe not being able to travel, but putting the seeds for further investigations.

So, they marry after Genda and Sakuma. They’re in the Japan Football Team but as the same time they work in their own business of ingenery/physics helping with prototypes of really complex technology (I can see them working in collaboration with Tatsuya and Midorikawa). They have three kids and live in an expensive and luxurious flat near a park. They often travel to Italy, they even have a second residence there. They in fact (as any other couple you can ask me) have a long and happy married life. Kidou dies first, Fudou’s the last one of his friends and he makes a special bond with his great grandson Kidou Akira.

Who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Fudou is the big spoon most of the time to cheer Kidou up. Sometimes despiste it is Kidou who hugs Fudou from the back.

What is their favorite non-sexual activity:

Watching Happy Feet 😂😂 ok, seriously. I imagine them being very competitive so they enjoy any game they can play. Chess, Go, Super Smash Bros, Monopoly, any game. They enjoy playing and trying to beat the other so the winner can show dominance.

I also think they'd enjoy walking at night together and sitting on a bench (Kidou's romantic rival) just to breathe air and hold hands in silence, sometimes they'd talk, sometimes they wouldn't.

001 Ship: SomeFubu

When I started shipping it if I did:

The truth is that the first time I watched Inazuma I didn’t like Fubuki, the anime was in middle of the second arc and I didn't understand what was going on. It also happened someone I didn't like loved Fubuki. So it took me some time to like Fubuki and start shipping him with Someoka who is one of my favs. More truth to be said, Someoka was the one that helped me to like Fubuki XD The scene that started everything was the one of "being like the wind together" and AND the Ogre movie. When Someoka gives his T-shirt to Fubuki to defend Raimon, he didn't know him yet and still trust him so much. Being Someoka that meant a lot.

My thoughts:

I adore Someoka so for me is a bit unbalanced, I mean, I love Someoka so so much that Fubuki doesn’t get all my focus here. Anyways, this couple is just adorable, the thing I like most is thinking that Someoka would be so soft and tender with Fubuki, Someoka loves everything in him, he knows him so much. You can’t convince me that Someoka wouldn’t be the best boyfriend ever. And Fubuki would absolutely love him back at 200% or more, supporting his dreams, improving his self steem and being for Someoka when he needs it. I like to imagine them as one of these extra sweet couples.

What makes me happy about them:

I’m always happy when I know someone else ship them because they are amazing. But as they’re not canon there’s no so much content. BUT the only good thing Ares had to me was Someoka being in Hakuren Team (I don’t like how he was used there, but well… that’s another story). And I love watching art or reading of them.

What makes me sad about them:

People being assholes and insulting Someoka and Someoka’s fans. Especially when they ship Fubuki with Gouenji. Ship whatever you want to ship and leave the others alone. Don’t come insulting us.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me:

Sometimes I find that SomeFubu relationship is portrayed as toxic as hell and Someoka is really abusive. And that makes me sad even if I’m not going to read that.

Things I look for in fanfic:

Fluff, comfort, daily life. Happy stories.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

I don’t have any particular ship for them aside from SomeFubu. But if not with Fubuki I wish Someoka to be with the BEST PERSON he could dream.

My happily ever after for them:

They live in a little house in a little town in Hokkaido. Someoka at least plays in the National Team and Fubuki is Hakuren’s Coach. They both play in a smaller local team too. When they are too old to play in the National I can see them running an Adventure and Excursion business, maybe aimed at children so they can enjoy and have fun at the mountain. They have a daughter and a fox Someoka rescued.

Who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Someoka is the big spoon and he loves it.

What is their favorite non-sexual activity:

I really think they’d love to go skiing and snowboarding together, in general they’d love to enjoy snow and then go back home to drink hot cocoa. I also see them cooking together, being the main chef Someoka and Fubuki helping him with the little things like putting near the salt or taking the carrots out of the fridge.

001 Ship: GouTora

When I started shipping it if I did:

If I remember right it was in the match against Fire Dragon. But I’m not so sure with this ship, it could be sooner, but not later.

My thoughts:

I am usually don’t like so much ships where one of them starts with such an admiration for the other because I think they tend to not be healthy. But Idk, I just love them so much? I love Toramaru, I don’t usually talk or write about him but he is one of my favourite characters and I totally felt with this ship. I like the idea that Gouenji can be himself with him too, even if this means that he is sometimes a bit mean or impatient, not that he can mistreat Toramaru because he wouldn’t, just not need to be always perfect.

What makes me happy about them:

I love how their relationship evolves and how Toramaru wins confidence in the anime. I think that shipping or not shipping it’s a really nice relationship. And I also really really like Tiger Storm. I was also happy that in Go Toramaru is the only one of Gouenji’s friends to whom he not only told the truth but asked for help, like their bond is so lovely.

What makes me sad about them:

Not about them, but I was sad Toramaru wasn’t in Inazuma Legend Japan. I think he was in the bench, with Tachimukai, Midorikawa and all the others that didn’t appear in the Team, you can’t change my mind.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me:

Not sure, I didn’t see many fanfic for them ;v; which is the most sad. So, the lack of stories.

Things I look for in fanfic:

As there are only a few fan fics of them I think I’d like whatever I can find if they don’t have my no-no (main character death, and so)

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

I don’t have any other for Gouenji but for Toramaru would be Gouenji’s sister Yuuka :,) (I prefer her with Yuuichi anyways).

My happily ever after for them:

Toramaru runs his Detective Agency and Gouenji plays in a national team (can be boring but they are football players so being professionals I suppose is the best for all of them ;v;). They live in Okinawa, near the sea. Being neighbours with TsunaTachi and HIjikata. They have a really really really big dog called Tiger because owning tigers isn’t allowed (as Gouenji discovered). They’d have 3-5 children, adopted from Hijikata orphanage. When retired Gouenji starts working as a doctor because he actually studied Medicine and because I fucking love the detective+doctor duo :D They have the best garden in Okinawa.

Who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Toramaru is the big spoon or jet pack.

What is their favorite non-sexual activity:

They love going to the cinema together, Toramaru couldn’t go but a few times as a child because he had to help his mother so he is always super excited when they go to watch a movie. Once they grew having the best garden, it helps them to relax and keep stress away. But they always like to watch a good movie, specially if it’s about detectives. I also think they’d enjoy the sea a lot: swimming, surfing and all, once Tsunami teaches them how to love the sea.

#inazuma eleven #kdfd #somefubu #goutora #askgame

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roselevesque · 3 years

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are there things you're critical of the writing in atla/tlok?

Hmm in ATLA's case I don't have much to complain about, since I consider it a pretty cohesive narrative ( post-show material is a different matter ). TLOK some more, but that shouldn't be surprising given its production nightmare and not only that.

Generally when it comes to ATLA while I do think of stuff that I would have also like to see, it tends to simply be an extension of what the show already gives us and works regardless in my opinion. Such as: Aang's past, Toph's relationship with her parents etc. The character who I think could have benefited from a few more scenes focused on her is Azula actually. I think the existent story did good in presenting the cracks in her armour, her vulnerability underneath it and the environment that shaped her, but a flashback perhaps or said environment affecting her early on. We do get glimpses through her hallucinations, the beach episode and her comment about not being treated like Zuko. However the one direct window towards the past we see is through Zuko's POV. I think a scene of young Azula and Ozai interacting would have been perfect.

( Be warned that I haven't rewatched TLOK in a while so I'm listing what stood out to me all the way back the last time I did though I won't elaborate much because of it )

TLOK is a messier case., as much as I do love Korra. For one, the conflicts are pretty clustered and completely left hanging in Book 1's case. The fact that all four season weren't greenlit at once has to do with it, but it did affect nonetheless the flow of the whole thing. The benders/non-benders narrative could have been a whole show by itself and it was also the one wrapped up the worst in my opinion. Book 2 has received all the criticism in the world already, well put and aligning in large with my own views on it. Book 3 & 4 were improvements that also suffered from their villains. To a lesser degree than the first seasons admittedly.

I also think the relationships between the main friend group don't get a lot of room to breathe. The dreaded love triangle was such a huge focus in Books 1 & 2 that the friendly bonds were pushed to the back. Mako & Asami don't start as friends to begin with and Mako & Korra jump almost straight away to love interests territory while Korra & Asami barely receive screen time together 'till Book 3. I'd say the brothers and Korra + Bolin were best developed in that regard at the start, yet a certain level of bonding together is never reached and a certain awkwardness never quite leaves. Not to mention that Korra is the one member with a solid arc while the rest don't have much even with the interesting backstory/personality/skillsets.

#answer #answered #avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar the legend of korra #tlok #tlok critical #atla critical #i guess...#to be safe

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rotationalsymmetry · 4 years

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Avatar and Korra and gender roles, Part 2 of 2

So, that brings us to Legend of Korra, which continues and fulfills the trajectory Avatar: The Last Airbender was on in terms of how female characters are integrated into the story. Summary of Part 1: Avatar: the Last Airbender started out with an imbalance towards male characters, and in general only had female characters when there was some “reason” for the character to be female, such as showing a conventionally female role or so that the character could be a love interest for a (more significant to the story) male character. Often the female characters were powerful and nuanced and well-written anyways -- I’m definitely not saying that any of the characters are in there just as a love interest. What I’m saying is that, there’s a noticeable difference between female characters in Season 1 vs 2 and 3, and that difference is the writers stopped writing all characters as male by default, and only female if they couldn’t more easily be written as male. Which is how we got Toph and Azula and a wider range of female minor characters. In Legend of Korra, we’ve gone from “women can fight as well as men, sometimes better” to a fighter’s gender not even being relevant. They could have had some big story about how Lin Beifong had to fight against sexism to become the chief of police, or keep fighting against subordinates who wouldn’t respect her authority later, and...didn’t happen. Her gender was a non-issue. When Tenzin’s family is escaping from the Equalists towards the end of Season 1, and Lin risks her life to protect him, there’s no weirdness about a woman protecting a man who’s capable of fighting himself. It’s just the logical choice. And you don’t see that in action movies often: a woman risking her life to protect a group of people that includes a man who can fight but isn’t. He’s a dad, his kids need him; in the moment, that’s more important than gender. And it’s not just fighting, for instance Asami races cars and runs a major business. Lin’s sister is the head of a city; she’s a metalbender, but as far as I know she’s not a fighter at all. We get a bit of Mako and Bolin’s grandmother: a frail old woman who’s nothing special in the wider world but who definitely wields authority as the beloved matriarch of the family. We get an Earth Queen who’s a terrible and self-indulgent leader, and Kuvira the conquering dictator.

And it’s also not just that all women are tough and bad-ass; women get to be tough in different ways; women get to be tough in some ways and vulnerable in others; women get to be just ordinary people and have interesting lives (like Caia) or to be in conventional supportive roles (like Pema.) Women can be uncomfortable with children (Lin) or feel fulfilled with motherhood (again, Pema.) We get relationships between sisters (Lin and Suyin, Jinora and Ikki), which I don’t think we have at all in ATLA. And men can be athletes, artists, movie stars, non-action guys who are into fashion, devoted and protective brothers, fathers and sons. We have an arc with one of the central male characters falling into a relationship with an abusive girlfriend (although ymmv on how well that was handled -- the dynamic isn’t explicitly named as abusive in the show, although it is shown as being pretty unambiguously bad for the boyfriend.) In the first season, Mako is in an awkward position where dating Asami is financially advantageous to him and breaking up would leave him and Bolin in a difficult position, but he’s not entirely sure he does want to be dating her -- a storyline you see more often given to women, when that sort of power and relationships situation is addressed at all. It’d be easy to dismiss a lot of the interpersonal dynamics as “just love triangle stuff”, but it goes a lot deeper than “which of these two wonderful people do I want to be with.” There’s power and vulnerability and what healthy and unhealthy relationships look like. Legend of Korra’s central characters are a little older than Avatar’s characters, and they have different problems, ones that are more focused on romantic relationships. But they’re not badly done or just-for-cheap-drama. They’re saying things. And with the older characters, there is so much family drama: difficult parent-child dynamics and difficult sibling dynamics and Tenzin having trouble acknowledging he was the favored child because he was the airbender and Lin still not being ready to forgive Suyin. And the dynamic between responsible Mako and impulsive Bolin. (Incidentally, not my main point here but that’s another thing the show does well: writes characters of dramatically different ages well. The protagonist is a teenager, but younger characters (Tenzin’s children) get significant roles, and older characters aren’t just parents and authority figures, they get their own drama as well.) The plots kind of waver between classic bad guys and something more complex, and the more complex stuff...I’m not sure it always works. The overarching theme in Legend of Korra is balance, in the same way that the overarching theme in Avatar: The Lost Airbender was saving the world from the Fire Nation. There’s still, power can be corrupt and bad, but mostly the bad guys are not the ones in power (or with Kuvira, weren’t initially in power), they’re extremists trying to change the (admittedly far from perfect) status quo. Which can be frustrating if your politics run more anarchist/revolutionary/anti-colonialism. But I don’t think it’s actually a change from ATLA: ATLA actually was pro-status quo, or at least pro the status quo from before the fire nation started its take-over-the-world war. And basically pro-authority/pro-good-government. You *can* read anti-Western-colonialism messages into ATLA, but it’s a relatively indirect read; the Fire Nation is modeled on Japan and if anything the war is modeled on WWII, not on hundreds of years of Western colonialism. If ATLA was meant to be about Western colonialism, there’s a lot more they could have gone into and didn’t. It...kind of “works” better (the interpretations are more consistent) if you see it as a really simple anti-war/anti-aggression theme, rather than an anti-colonialism theme.

#gender #gender roles #legend of korra #legend of korra spoilers #mild spoilers #atla critical #feminism

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i-am-extremely-mad · 3 years

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Discussion I have on YouTube under video 'A Mediocre Recap of Mediocre Alternate History Shows' from AlternateHistoryHub

Sir Reginald Meowington 1 month ago Uh-oh here comes the Korra Stans. Back to the topic, I feel that some of the people who worked on Fringe most likely worked on Man in the High Castle. It's too early similar or they are Fringe fans.

Extreme Madness 1 month ago (edited) Becase she wasn't Mary Sue... an argument that ignores the original meaning and is actually used against any female character that shows even hints of self-confidence or arrogance or is even better at something than male characters. Aang learned and became a master of all four elements in less than 9 months, almost constantly dominating his opponents, somehow people don't consider him Mary Sue, Korra who spent 13 YEARS! of intense training, and despite that still could not airbending, struggling in fighting opponents who have some superior abilities, ended up in a wheelchair, recovered for more than three years from mental and physical trauma ... somehow it makes her Mary Sue, if she was a male character no one would even thought of considering him a Mary Sue...

Sir Reginald Meowington 1 month ago @Extreme Madness I like how you automatically assume that I dislike Korra out of misogyny or a hidden agenda despite enjoying female characters like She-Hulk, Wonder Woman, Rogue, Big Barda, Phoenix, Zarya (Overwatch), and Noi (Dorohedoro). Basically, women who fight like men and have the muscles/powers to prove it. There is a reason why I dislike Goku, Wolverine, Batman, and similar characters. Nice try on attempting to find a non-existent bias. When it comes to a wheelchair recovery story I prefer Barbara Gordon's journey and triumph to become Batgirl again, over Korra's lackluster 10-minute portrayal. There was more emotional weight seeing Barbara doing normal mundane tasks like eating, showering, attempting to walk (after failing numerous times), and talking to a therapist about her trauma in the course of several issues than it was for Korra getting a quick fix in one episode. Korra isn't a well-written character and it shows. She never has to own up to her mistakes like the time she broke up with Mako by wrecking his desk and threatening him for doing the right thing. Does she apologize for her behavior in the police station? Never. Did she apologize when seducing Mako so he can cheat with Asami or apologizes to Bolin for using him as a way to get Mako? Never. Does she apologize to Tenzin for yelling at him for being a horrible teacher? The story forgets it. Do any characters tell Korra she is making the wrong decision or that her going in fists first will cause more damage and be proven right. Nope. Was Korra shown to be wrong when wanting to create a fictional Gulf of Tonkin incident to get the United Nations in a war with the Northern Watertribe as careless and harmful? No. The plots dictate that she can never be wrong even when it could potentially put people in danger. Korra is given fixes too quickly. She gets her bending taken away. That's interesting. We can see her work through her anger, hurt, and self-delusion, Oh nope sorry she gets it back 5 minutes later after crying about it. Oh no she lost the past Avatars. Why should Korra care? She never talked to them or formed a relationship with any of them similar to Aang and Roku. Oh wow, she is disabled are we going to get two or three episodes where she deals with her new life in a wheelchair including how mundane tasks are now a struggle? Sorry, we don't get time for that or life-long PTSD, we have to rush the plot because we can't understand how to tell a story in 12 episodes. You can also tell how much of a fetish they have for brutalizing Korra and show it in meticulous detail. Ah yes, this is what I asked for more man pain and people wonder why I hate Wolverine.

Extreme Madness 3 weeks ago (edited) @Sir Reginald Meowington Even if everything you said was true (it isn't), that's still argument against her being Mary Sue (character that supposed to be ridiculously perfect and not having flaws and weaknesses). Her being in wheelchair was just part of her slow recovery through entire season (she didn't recover immediately, she was in wheelchair for months, while trying to walk again, and after that she was still recovering for 3 years). How is she guilty for Mako cheating? He have his own agency. If he really loved Asami he could just said that he wasn't interested. Korra give up to be with Mako anyway when she became friend with Asami, she even ask Mako to go to Asami after they escape from her father. Everything after that was on him. She didn't use Bolin to get Mako, she just go out with him to have fun. Bolin was the one who mistakenly thought that they are on date. Mako was technically right when he stop Korra attend, but he still did that behind her back, she was right to be angry, especially when it was desperate attempt to save her tribe from occupation. Isn't she apologized to Tenzin when she come back after learning what her uncle trying to do.

Sir Reginald Meowington 3 weeks ago @Extreme Madness "Even if everything you said was true (it isn't)," Talk about denialism there. I don't like the evidence you presented to me therefore it is not true. That doesn't refute anything I have said or why it's problematic. That just tells me you don't like any argument presented to you therefore everything you don't like is false or a lie. Just a reminder Korra isn't right to create a Gulf of Tonkin situation and starting a war will cost the lives of citizens who are unaffiliated with the conflict. (Looks at Vietnam and Spanish American War) It is not right for a high ranking member (General Iroh) to create a situation that leads to justification for war. You know what happens with that right? Court Martial and possible execution. We have whistleblower laws for a reason. Apologizing isn't enough. The writers should known better and have everyone call her out for it. It's the biggest reason why Korra is problematic in the show. The writers have no understanding of writing Korra or any political ideologies (Everyone ranting how Amon is communist is using red-baiting arguments) present in the show that they flaunt to make them appear edgy and mature. It's why Korra comes out bad for forcing a kiss on Mako and telling him "Yeah, but when you're with her, your thinking about me, aren't you?", never apologizing to Bolin for cheating only Mako apologized, having her disabilities skipped because they don't know how to scope within 12 episodes (Barbara Gordon did it better and in less than 30 pages), Asami getting back with her dad was brought up last minute and then he is dead. Just because someone apologizes doesn't mean they deserve forgiveness. Especially not after destroying property damage over a fit. You do that and I get the restraining order.

Extreme Madness 1 week ago (edited) @Sir Reginald Meowington I actually started watch the show again and look at that, you are full of shit, Korra actually apologize to Tenzin for calling him terrible teacher in second episode of Book 1! Korra didn't use Bolin to get closer to Mako, that's what Mako accused Korra for, doesn't make it true, Korra was actually right about his feelings for her, and Korra literally apologize to Bolin while healing his arm in episode 5 for whole situation. About situation when she desperately trying to free southern water tribe from occupation, it's interesting how you blame entire situation on her and not at her uncle. She have every right to be frustrated. She make only few brash decisions, in most situations she listens and work with others like when she listen Mako how they should save Bolin from Amon, she was doing that for the rest of the show, especially after she returns after having vision of Avatar Wan and learning what her uncle actually planning, in book 3 she surrender to Red Lotus so others can save Airbenders. About her recovery, you don't see the forest for the trees, her being in wheelchair was just part of her slow recovery, it wasn't only important part of it. When did Barbara Gordon stopped being Oracle? It's another lazy retcon from DC? DC couldn't work with other batgirls so they took one of rear example of superheroes with disabilities and make her somehow magically recover from spine cord injury. Lazy writing I'd say. Bad example. I will stay with Korra.

Extreme Madness 5 days ago @Sir Reginald Meowington "Does she apologize for her behavior in the police station? Never." I know you ignored my previous answers but ... Just a few days ago I watched the finale of Book 2 and look at that, Korra actually APOLOGIZED to Mako for that before they broke up! When you actually watch the show you see how many arguments arose from people who didn’t actually watch the show or didn’t pay attention to such important details.

Sir Reginald Meowington 5 days ago @Extreme Madness You lost all credibility when you put Barbara Gordon and Gail Simone under the bus to make Korra look good when a 10-minute google search into the story arcs and fan discussions regarding disabilities and whether or not she should walk again were ignored. Not to mention the decades of critiques and discussions of the event in The Killing Joke and the input of various writers who talked about it for decades in several series starting Barbara. Then you go by using ad-hominem attacks towards me by claiming I am a liar and that I don't watch the show. I quoted the episodes and the scene in the last comment that mysteriously disappeared including why that was problematic and how the show does not do a good job at addressing her faults. As mentioned before, apologizing after enacting violence against your partner during a break up is not enough. As I said when I addressed it, "Just because someone apologizes doesn't mean they deserve forgiveness. Especially not after destroying property damage over a fit. You do that and I get the restraining order." and this is the problem of the writers not understanding how to write Korra or her archetype. It is obvious she was sacrificed in the altar of man pain for character growth and the most abysmal love triangle since the Jean Grey/Scott Summers/Wolverine ship. It's the only reason why I started shipping Asami and Korra as I do with Jean Grey and Emma Frost due to the levels of toxicity. Of course, that would require you to have basic reading comprehension or understanding of social/political issues when moving the goal post so you don't have to address those ugly truths when questioning the romance even fans addressed was badly handled. So now you are trying to grasp at anything in an attempt to make yourself look good after calling you out about supporting a toxic relationship with a female abuser. But of course, it ain't toxic or bad when it's female on male. It's just for laughs.

Extreme Madness 5 days ago @Sir Reginald Meowington "apologizing after enacting violence against your partner during a break up is not enough" Originally you only claimed that she never apologized, which is a notorious untruth, now you claim that her apology is not enough, who here moving the goal post actually. "supporting a toxic relationship with a female abuser" What the hell are you talking about ?! Korra, abuser ?! Go fuck off. I also don't care about the convoluted mess that DC and Marvel comics are for which no one knows which continuum they follow anymore. So no I don’t want to see them as an argument.

Sir Reginald Meowington 5 days ago @Extreme Madness Saying they don't count as an argument because it is not your preference is a lame excuse to dismiss evidence regarding a comparison between two similar story arcs between Korra and Barbara. As for the other point It would be good of you to stop time traveling between comments and look at the entire picture of why throwing your partner's desk while they are at work during an argument is problematic. As defined by several resources that talk about relationship and spousal abuse.

It is not okay for your significant other to throw or breaks things when angry in front of you even if they have no intention of physically hurting you.

That is a person who is purposefully threatening you and reestablishing the power dynamics of control/dominance when their partner does something they do not like. That is a person with massive anger issues who is one step away from physically hurting you someday. It's a big red flag that you need to get out and it's only going to escalate from there. There is no excuse for that kind of behavior, no excuse for your partner to throw items in front of you, no excuse for them intimidating you, and no excuse for creating a scene or atmosphere of violence. That is damaging to the psyche of the person that it is enacted upon. In any situation, get out and contact the authorities immediately don't wait, especially if you feel you are in danger. Grab your things, file a protection order, and don't look back. Nobody should vent or release their anger at someone like that.

Ugh...

How do I answer this, they first claimed that Korra never apologized to anyone and that her recovery is worse than some completely different character who has nothing to do with her and now claims that Korra was abusive in her relationship with Mako. I don't know what to say anymore...

#r/ant #personal r/ant #some people are just so... ugh #just ugh #personal post

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whoslaurapalmer · 4 years

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For the ask meme: The Last Airbender, Kataang, Azula! And if you're up for it: Legend of Korra, Korrasami, and Korra herself.

oooo!! thank you!!!!

so i have previously done last airbender and azula, and i still have such absolutely boring kataang takes, so --

KORRA TIME

Favorite character: JINORA, zhu li, kya, ikki, eska, korra, bumi

Least Favorite character: okay.........meelo grates on my nerves, often, i feel bad about that but he does, and i like Get zaheer as a character but i’m very ‘meh’ about him, really, same with unalaq

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): i am just as boring in my ships with korra as i am with last airbender so it really is just, korrasami

Character I find most attractive: ....asami’s hair flips are so pretty

Character I would marry: tough call. not really any of them??

Character I would be best friends with: god you know what it’s probably still katara only now i get old badass katara.

a random thought: i think the show is better watched binged straight through from beginning to end than it was watching it in real time, with the space between books, because i remember being really irritated by korra especially in book 2, but when i sat down to watch it straight from beginning to end after it was all over i liked the pacing a lot more and i liked korra a lot more.

An unpopular opinion: back when book 1 first happened i thought it would be better if korra could still only airbend at the end of book 1 and spent the rest of the books getting the other elements back but in retrospect i don’t know how that would work (although i mean given wan and the lion turtles? that could’ve actually worked.) but i still get a little Irritated about her just regaining her bending like that. sometimes i feel like the writing in korra, as good as it is OVERALL, is kind of, uneven because i think bryke weren’t ever sure if they’d get the next season???? oh this is not unpopular i’m really bad at unpopular

okay this is probably the true unpopular opinion, i don’t think pema should’ve been pregnant in book 1 solely because in general (but not always) i Do Not like pregnancy plots because they’re mostly used for certain dramatic moments and then afterwards you have a baby to deal with that usually isn’t ever talked about again because no one has the time to bother with them because now it’s not an optionally angsty plot point i mean seriously what do we really see of rohan after he’s born and if we see him he’s just passed around like a lil potato and not that we HAVE to see character in A NEWBORN but YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN i am of the firm opinion that if you write something you have to deal with the repercussions and that means Dealing With New Baby Character and rarely do i see that happen

My Canon OTP: korrasami!

My Non-canon OTP: ..........honestly like the whole cast/happiness

Most Badass Character: IT’S STILL TOPH

Most Epic Villain: the thing about korra was because there’s a different villain for each season they all have sort of......an Epic-ness about them, i think? they definitely have a finality about all of them, but they’re all, fairly well-written, but in terms of BEING EPIC i think zaheer is epic in terms of grandeur and kuvira is epic in terms of her whole side-character-to-accidental-villain thing

Pairing I am not a fan of: is there anyone who’s a fan of mako and korra, at this point? okay probably but. no

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): okay it’s not that like, i think they screwed up here, but like, what i would’ve done for more info about izumi and just like, zuko as a parent, OH but at (my usual) a passing backwards glance over the series, maybe mako could’ve been, written better, idk, there’s a thin line sometimes between ‘a character rightfully changing over time and making mistakes and other important character stuff and i’m just rightfully irritated at some of the stuff he did cause like the audience is supposed to be’ and ‘a character should’ve just been written better’

Favourite Friendship: su and lin do become better friends, right?? (it’s been so long.) and i specify ‘friends’ because i think their relationship has to exist as them being friends compared to them being sisters (not because they’re half-sisters but because of just how they were as sisters)

Character I most identify with: it’s korra because of The Depression Arc like damn

Character I wish I could be: yeah it’s still jinora, even before last airbender happened i was always super-fascinated (in the way that children are with the idea of magic) by the idea of controlling air so when the show happen i always wanted to be an airbender, just in general, and i always really liked jinora’s wholehearted belief and confidence in her abilities and how take no shit she becomes (and also “i will make no such promises.”)

korrasami!

When I started shipping them: the finale happened and i was like ‘well there’s no way i’m not gonna ship them’

My thoughts: i really wanna rewatch the show (i haven’t since......when did pokemon go come out, it was that summer. 2016????? really????? fuck.) and really pay attention to their relationship because memory tells me it could’ve been a little more consistent, but in general they have the most genuine, heartfelt chemistry built upon actual respect and admiration for each other and they get each other in a way that mako clearly did not get them. also goddddd the fact that asami is the only one korra can comfortably write to while she’s depressed really fucking gets me

What makes me happy about them: they make each other happy and (idk in my opinion which rapidly builds headcanons at the speed of light sometimes) make each other feel happy about themselves and that’s really all you can ask for, in a relationship

What makes me sad about them: when they were weird rivals for a while in book 1 because girl rivals (especially over a boy) hurt my soul

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: i’ve never actually sought out fic with them!!

Things I look for in fanfic: in general, i am, a terrible stickler about characterization, and that doesn’t change in any pairing or fandom

My wishlist: my Absolute Jam, across the board in all fandoms, is post-canon fics (or during canon sometimes that’s applicable) where, the actual canon trauma is discussed and worked through (in some way or another) so if i was going to look for fanfic with them, that would be, at the top of the list, but i would also just take slice of life cuddles because i always think about that sweet art bryan did where they’re in the turtledove float and that’s so comfy and warm

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: personal happiness

My happily ever after for them: they get to chill and not have to run around saving the world all the time

korra!

How I feel about this character: korra took a while to grow on me, and also like, main characters tend to be typically underrated in a large cast and aren’t usually people’s favorites compared to other characters, but i have come to really like her a lot!! she really is more lonely than people gave her credit for and she has to deal with A Lot, constantly, and so much of korra is her trying to figure out not just how to be the best avatar but how to be the best her and when she gets to do either one and who lets her do either one, and her frustration and rage are so quick and volatile and personal and high-key relatable, and damn was her depression/recovery arc done well

also the fact that she was accidentally holding onto the remaining lead and had to get it out herself is, yeah

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: asami!

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: KORRA AND NAGA i was going through my korra tag and found the comic where she finds naga and god it’s just the best

My unpopular opinion about this character: hmmmm. is this still unpopular? korra’s occasional brattiness is completely justified when you look at the series as a whole (which is why i mention watching it that way) because wow she’s grown up completely isolated from anyone else her own age and people in her life inadvertently or on purpose took advantage of that

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: all i would say is her, awkwardness in interacting with people at the beginning of the show because of how she grew up but we do get that, don’t we

Favorite friendship for this character: korra honestly needs more friends her age

My crossover ship: none!

#CAN LULU ANSWER AN ASK WITHOUT OVERUSING 'I THINK'?? THE ANSWER IS NO #cerealninjakat

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flying-elliska · 5 years

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What are the important bisexual characters that you said helped you? I am having a hard time finding good bi representation in which they aren’t considered promiscuous or unstable

Hiya anon ! What a quality question, thank you ! Here’s another mini essay about bi rep lmao. If there are some that I forgot please tell me ! And to everyone, tell me about the bi characters who made an impact on your life, I’d love to know !!!!

Okay so.

- When I answered the anon and talked about the characters that helped me come to terms with my sexuality, I talked about two in particular. Jack Harkness from Torchwood is depicted as very promiscuous, and somewhat instable. He still meant a lot to me because a) him sleeping around was never that much of a problem, it was because he was from the future, where things were different, which I thought was refreshing and b) his instability was because of the weight of being an immortal hero. Also fanon!Dean Winchester from SPN, as an older, more macho, emotionally witholding, badass dude written as bi meant a lot to me, but he doesn’t really avoid that stereotype either. But at least they were heroes. However, I can understand wanting bi characters that actually don’t fit that stereotype, because bi people irl aren’t all like that, even if there is nothing wrong per se about sleeping with a lot of different people, or having mental issues to struggle with. And that was a while ago and now we have more and more cool characters ! Such as :

- Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn Nine-Nine. One of the best portrayals of bisexuality on TV imho. She didn’t start out as bi, she was this tough, cool, scary but with a heart of gold cop who had a lot of other plotlines before. But then, since they saw that a lot of wlw got this vibe from her, were really into her, and the actress came out as bi herself, they decided to use this. So it was super organic, and the way they introduced the subject was true to Rosa herself ; she’s a super private person, she doesn’t like anybody knowing about her life (it’s actually a running joke and Rosa Diaz has been implied to not even be her real name). But then she is dating a woman, and struggles with her parents not understanding and her coworkers find out, help her and support her. Her gay captain is there for her in his typical stoic but hilarious way. They organize game night with her when her parents won’t anymore. We see her crushing on women and dating, but it is treated exactly as the other character’s love life, they never make a big deal out of it. She isn’t the token queer character. She says outright she is bisexual and there is a specific point about her mom not understanding it’s not a phase and thinking she’ll end up with a man anyway, which #relatable. The focus is on the team as found family. Also right now she’s dating a butch woman, which is awesome since they are so underrepresented on TV and I hope we see more of her. That show really is my comfort show, it’s still bloodly hilarious and it really transcends the format to say some really deep woke stuff too, but never in a way that feels on the nose. Everyone should watch it tbh.

- Korrasami ! Oh my god, I was so blown away when they got together. They’re two characters from the animated series Legend of Korra, they start out as rivals in love who have feelings for the same guy, but as they have to fight baddies together, they become bestest of friends, and both fall out of love with the guy. Then in season 3 and 4, their relationship becomes central to the show, as Asami stands by Korra through some really tough shit. Also, they’re both ultra badass and fight really well together. A lot of fans started reading their chemistry as romantic, but we’d never thought they’d actually go there. But the show ends with them walking into the ‘sunset’ (well, the spirit lands) together, holding hands. Now, it was never completely explicit on the show BUT they were dealing with a lot of censure from the networks and you have to be willingly obtuse not to read it as romantic. And after that the creators drew them on dates, and there is a comic series in which they are shown kissing, talking about their feelings, introducing each other to their families, etc. It made me feel so validated when it happened, and I just adore the whole ‘love triangle ditches the middle one and fall in gay love with each other’ trope. (is it a trope yet ? it should be.) It’s still a kids show at its core, but it has amazing depth and deals with some very deep shit. Korra starts off as a bit annoying but she has a really cool development, she’s a girl character we need more of - brave, dynamic but also brash and reckless and action driven in ways that are almost always exclusively shown for boys. And Asami is a more typical girly girl but she’s also a brilliant engineer and has a spine of steel and she’s also very slyly funny. They’re amazing. And the comics are super cute.

- Now there are a lot of characters who are bi/pan that I love, and are good characters in themselves, but their arcs do intersect in some ways with promiscuity and mental instability. I’m thinking about Even from Skam and all his remake variants, Magnus Bane from Shadowhunters, several characters from Black Sails, Sarah Lance and Constantine from Legends of Tomorrow, Eleanor Shellstrop from the Good Place, Bo from Lost Girl, Ilana from Broad City, Joe McMillan from Halt and Catch Fire, God/Chuck from Supernatural (lmaooooo), several characters on Penny Dreadful, or in a totally different category, Vilanelle from Killing Eve or Hannibal from the series (who are hella bad guys but it’s never linked to their sexuality, and are also incredibly compelling to watch.)

And even though these characters taken individually, I would argue, are good rep because they’re complex and layered and interesting and never one-dimensional (and watching them feels incredibly empowering at times)....it’s still a trend. I feel like when writing a character that is attracted to multiple genders, there is always this sort of...tangle of tropes that writers default to, unconsciously. Some negative and some positive. It used to be this trope of bis being villainous, instable, jealous, flaky, immature, perverted, manipulative, cheaters, amoral, greey, etc...and then it evolved into something of a reclaiming and subverting this trope. So now you feel like the Bi Character kind of has to be badass, glamorous, seductive, often superpowered or extraordinary in other ways.. And they also for multiple reasons (they’re immortal, they’re sensitive artist souls, they’re from the future, they’re psycho, they’re exccentric comic relief, they’re daring adventurers and pioneers) don’t care about social norms which allows them to sleep and fall in love with whomever. And so they tend to have those super busy romantic/sexual histories and very troubled backstories. In the past it was a bad thing, now it’s often presented as this positive, enlightened or at least fun and badass thing. They’re heroic, with big hearts, a tremendous lust for life and a cool rebellious attitude. They’re complex, dramatic, tortured. Which can be super cool, too.

But it would be nice to have more ‘normal’ bi characters. I mean, boring bisexuals need to see themselves represented too ! Our sexualities don’t give us super powers. At the same time, it is true that bisexual ppl have higher rates of mental illness, which deserves to be explored, but it would be nice if it was actually articulated and not just part of this trope. But still. We need rep, I think, that is more grounded and varied. So I think that’s also why I read a lot of fanfic. (I was really into the idea of bi Steve Rogers for a long time, partly also because he’s both very mentally resilient, kinda boring in a good way, and very unexperienced in terms of sex/romance, which is pretty much the opposite of the trope)

- I think books, and YA in general, are a good place to find these ‘normal bis’ characters. I’m thinking in particular of Leah from Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (from the same book series that gave us the ‘Love, Simon’ movie) which is a super sweet coming of age/romance story about a super normal teenager who just happens to be also into girls (esp her best friend) and is loud and funny and very lovable and has zero doubts about being bi. You also have Adam Parrish from the Raven Cycle, another one of my forever faves ; he has an abusive family so PTSD from that but it never feels tropey, and it’s completely detached from his sexuality. He has magic powers, too. But his character feels completely opposite to the trope. He’s hardworking, somewhat withholding, prickly (and sometimes awkward), ambitious, determined, down to earth, and has a beautiful love story with another boy. And also Jane, from Jane Unlimited by Kristin Cashore, also really cool ; she’s a nerdy, smart girl who is actually inspired by Jane Eyre who has cool adventures in a weird house where we can follow her on different paths depending on the choices she makes, several of which are love stories. And finally the main character from The Seven Husbands from Evelyn Hugo, kinda fits the trope yeahhh since she’s a super glam actress who well, has seven husbands but it’s a pretty clever deconstruction since it turns out (slight spoilers) that Evelyn is actually through most of her life faithful in heart to the same person and the rest is mostly out of necessity, and her story feels very real and raw and down to earth.

- I don’t go there yet but I really want to check out Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Schitt’s Creek which I have read have very good bi rep. And I want to catch up on Orphan Black (Cosima and Delphine both don’t have exact labels but they’re multi-gender attracted and they’re this cool couple of scientists in a relationship that gets a happy ending). I will never forgive what they did to Lexa so I stopped watching but I do think that Clarke Griffin from The 100 is very good bi rep. Alexia from Skam France, meanwhile, is a bit of a boundary case for me because, even though she’s presented as the ‘weird one’ from the group, very colorful and liberated and exccentric, she’s still a very normal teen who’s happy and comfortable in her own skin, which is awesome.

- Disclaimer, I included characters in here that are also pan/omnisexual or don’t have a label but are attracted to several genders, for the purpose of this discussion i don’t think the difference is all that relevant at least to me (i mostly identify as bi for the sake of simplicity but tbh i could also fit under pan so i feel represented by all those characters). But I understand the importance of characters that state their identities more clearly and with pride.

- So in conclusion : there is nothing wrong with having a sexually active life or struggling mentally (even tho that one is not fun). And I do love all my badass casanova time travelling super powered bis.

But we need more bi characters that don’t fit that trope. We need bi characters in children’s shows, or that don’t have more than one relationship, or that don’t have a relationship at all, to break the tendency to always show bisexual ppl as overly sexual. We need bi characters in committed relationships to break this idea that bi characters are bound to cheat or can’t be satisified with only one person. We need bi characters that are mentally stable and successful and happy, to show that it’s possible. We need bi characters that are boring, bookish, nerdy, ordinary, clumsy, not particularly seductive, socially awkward, rule-sticklers, etc...to show that bi people are not all party animals, or doing it for attention, or to be wild, rebellious and socially progressive. It’s just a sexuality, it doesn’t say anything about your personality. Even though there are some correlations with MI or being bi might bring you in contact with more progressive ideas and to see life a bit differently, there is nothing automatic about it.

- In conclusion, reading testimonies from real people also helped me a lot. It’s a very dated but I got the book “ Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out “ when I was struggling with my own sexuality and it helped a lot, to read that even back then (1991) you had all sorts of regular ppl claiming to be bi and that it was not a phase or a fad or whatever.

#bisexuality #bi rep #media representation #bi pride #lgbt #bi characters

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 6 years

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Michael After Midnight: The Legend of Korra

Avatar: The Last Airbender is, without a single doubt in my mind, one of, if not the, greatest cartoons of all time; it’s up there with Batman: The Animated Series, The Simpsons, and all those other time-tested classics. But even as it ended, there was always this feeling like the magnificent world created for the show could be explored ever further, expanded upon, and just in general be given a whole lot of new perspectives.

Enter The Legend of Korra.

The show is set several decades after Aang saved the world (as Katara always believed he could, according to the opening narration). Aang eventually died and a new avatar was born, the titular Korra; the show is all about how she comes into her own as the Avatar.

Now, just from that brief summary, it seems like this show would be an awesome thing right off the bat, right? Everything is there for this to be an epic continuation of an incredible animated work… and yet, it took this show two Books to truly find itself, and even then there were some truly questionable storytelling decisions that leave this show far behind Avatar in terms of quality. And look, I like this show. I really do. I enjoy it, I enjoy seeing the callbacks to the earlier series, I like most of the villains a great deal, I love the mythos they created about the Avatar as a concept by showing us its origin, there is a lot of genuinely great stuff that’s on par with the original series here. But while the original show had weak episodes here and there, Korra had entire weak Books; where the original show had some occasional bad writing, Korra had some truly bad plot points; and where the original show had a dragged-out romantic arc that, while a bit tedious, never really overstayed its welcome, Korra had one of the absolute worst romantic arcs in modern fiction with the most terrible, stupid, pandering, and nonsensical ending imaginable, one that insults me on so many levels.

But I’m getting far ahead of myself there. I’m going to briefly go over each Book and what works about each, and what doesn’t. The best place to start is from the beginning, so… let’s start there.

Book 1 has a sort of reputation as being a Book that was too rushed to really live up to its full potential. And you know what? I’ll agree to that. Nickelodeon really screwed this show over big time throughout its run, but the tiny amount of episodes they allowed the first Book was a big problem. The plot that doesn’t really get going until halfway through, the inane twists, the rushed conclusion… with more episodes things could have been fleshed out a lot better. Here’s the thing, though: even with more time, if they kept a lot of this Book the same… it would still suck a whole lot of ass.

Book 1 is pretty much a trainwreck, evident from the first scene, which shows a toddler Korra bursting through a wall, showing off every kind of bending save air, and saying “I’M THE AVATAR AND YOU GOTTA DEAL WITH IT!” This is our introduction to our main character. This is the first time we see her, our first impression. And they decide to introduce her in the least likable, most obnoxious, and dare I say most Mary Sue-ish way possible.

Now I have gone on record before saying I absolutely loathe the term Mary Sue; I find it to be a term that lacks any real substance to it and is really just shorthand for someone to dismiss a character. But the most common definition - a character who has so much going for them, rarely suffers any consequences, and is just well liked by everyone while getting the world handed to them - actually, sadly, fits Korra in the early episodes. She’s good at all forms of bending save air from when she’s a toddler, she almost instantly becomes a pro playing sports, she gets two cute boys fawning over her, she gets the greatest possible airbending teacher anyone could ask for… One could argue she gets built up so much like this to make her being torn down halfway through the Book more powerful, but it just really comes off as grating and obnoxious to watch.

It’s not like the other characters are written much better. Mako in particular is written to be one of the biggest morons on Earth, and Bolin, while charming, is something of a Diet Sokka. Tenzin is easily the best character of the Book, what with being voiced by J.K. Simmons and all, but his children… yuck. All of them are annoying and just feel superfluous, with Meelo in particular existing for seemingly no reason other than fart jokes. It’s not like Avatar was above using those kinds of jokes, but they didn’t have an entire character dedicated to them. Lin Beifong is pretty cool, a worthy successor to Toph, though be warned: she takes a lot of stupid pills between this Book and the next. Asami is pretty and badass, and she’s also one of the better characters of the Book, but sadly she gets tangled up in the worst aspect of the entire first Book: the love triangle.

The love triangle involves Korra, who is loved by Bolin and Mako, though Mako was in a relationship with Asami after they met, and Korra is with Bolin, but secretly likes Mako and… who cares? This is not what anyone wants out of a show based on Avatar. Just because they’re teenagers doesn’t mean they need to get up in all of this sub-par soap opera bullshit. This here honestly ruins the Book; while some would say Book 2 was the weaker Book due to its incredibly stupid plot and lackluster villain, at least Book 2 had Varrick and the Avatar Wan episodes. This Book really doesn’t have any big plus it can count in its favor. No, not even Amon.

Amon is the villain of Book 1, and early on he is just indescribably cool. His menacing voice provided by the always excellent Steve Blum, his creepy mask that evokes the titular V of V for Vendetta, his ability to remove bending, the fact he manages to scare Korra shitless… it’s all amazing. And then comes the reveal that he’s actually a bender. A waterbender, even. He has been using bloodbending this whole time to remove people’s bending. All of the shit from the big reveal really just leads to defang Amon from a nightmarish force to be reckoned with to a miserable bundle of angst. Noatak, who he is revealed to truly be, feels like an entirely different character. Still, even with his derailment, his final scene is one of the most effective in the entire series: as he and his brother escape on a flying ship, his brother, despite his brother’s words indicating that he wants to start over a new life with him and have things be good between them again, takes an electrical gauntlet and fires into the ship’s fuel tank, causing an explosion which kills them both. This is a murder-suicide that was shown on Nickelodeon. It is emotional, powerful, and truly shocking in a good way. It’s easily the standout scene of the Book, and almost makes it worth it.

Then comes the asspull.

You see, Korra had her bending taken by Amon. This could have led to so many incredible storylines as she worked to gain it back, utilizing only the airbending she was stuck with, the one kind of bending she wasn’t instantly good at. Sure, it may have ended up retreading a bit of Aang’s struggles, but that was good stuff! But instead… Aang’s spirit comes out of nowhere and the past Avatars all combine their powers and POOF! Korra gets her bending back. This is a dreadful resolution; I get they were unsure if they’d get to follow up on this or not, but leaving the door open with uncertainty is so much better than closing a bunch of doors. Why not have her just get a talk from Aang, telling her she can get her power back with enough training? End it on a dark but still hopeful note, with her having to work back up to how she was before. That would have been a hell of a lot better than this deus ex machina crap.

Overall, Book 1 is just a hot mess. It has isolated elements that are pretty good, but overall it’s kind of a complete mess story wise and character wise. It’s frankly amazing this show got a second Book… but it did. And oh lord is this Book something.

Book 2’s biggest crime is that it is utterly forgettable. I hardly remember anything from the first half of this Book because it is just so bland and uninteresting, and while it’s nowhere near as bad as Book 1’s love triangle, it doesn’t even stick in the mind. The shining gem of this first half - and the Book as a whole, mind you, if not the SERIES - is Varrick, the eccentric inventor, and his beleaguered assistant Zhu Li, who is frequently asked by Varrick to “do the thing.” These two make all the difference; without them this Book would easily be more unwatchable than the first, but with them… well, it still sucks but they manage to carry things.

Unalaq, the villain of the Book, is an utter bore. He’s obviously bad from the get-go and he is easily overshadowed later by the far more intriguing Vaatu, who ties deep into the mythos of the series by being one of the reasons the Avatar came to be at all. Unalaq also has two kids who are just as boring as he is and who spend the series not doing much anything noteworthy.

The real draws of this Book are basically everything to do with the spirits and their realm, as well as the origin story of the Avatar. Avatar Wan’s big two parter is the first part of the series to feel as fresh and epic as the original series, and it shows us just how the Avatar came to be in the first place. The other scenes in the spirit world are pretty great, featuring appearances from Uncle Iroh, Wan Shi Ton, and Admiral Zhao of all people. Then there’s the big shakeup at the end: Korra is now cut off from her past lives, and spirits and humans can now live together. These are some huge changes to the status quo of the series to the point where it feels like an apology for how bad and pointless Book 1 feels in the grand scheme of things. And you know what? Apology accepted. Book 2 is a mess, but it manages to find itself in the end and help steer the show into being the great work it ended up as.

Now on to Book 3.Book 3 is where the show really was able to show off how great it could be, to the point my only issues with the Book are minor. Most of my problems stem from the fact that Korra had very small Book, with about 12 or so episodes per book as opposed to Avatar’s 20. This is kind of a problem, because it gives some characters less of a time to develop, a fate that unfortunately befalls the members of the Red Lotus who aren’t Zaheer. Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore the Red Lotus and think they’re all fascinating villains, and Zaheer is one of the most interesting villains in the series as an evil airbender, but Ming-Hua, Ghazan, and P’Li sadly get very little in terms of backstory. You DO get something, but they end up feeling more like the Cobra Unit from Snake Eater than fully fleshed-out bad guys… which is to say, they’re fun and effective, just don’t expect them to show great complexity. I wholeheartedly believe that they could have been expanded on if Book 3 had those extra seven episodes in it, and it’s a real shame we didn’t get to truly explore these fascinating characters.

My other problems, again, are pretty minor. I didn’t much care for Bumi becoming an airbender, and felt like it sort of cheapened his and Tenzin’s character a bit. Kai, a pubescent airbender scamp, was not a very likable character here, and it was pretty annoying having to put up with him, not to mention his ship tease with Jinora. Zuko also shows up, but it’s in a very minor role and he’s not really focused on at all. There’s a few more nitpicks here and there but these things are really my main issues.

The story is a lot darker and more mature here, especially in its repercussions for the rest of the series. Korra’s near-death experience here leaves her broken and haunted by PTSD, which becomes a major focus in Book 4. This Book is also where they really stopped giving a shit, and there are several particularly shocking and gruesome deaths for the show. We have Zaheer answer that age-old fan question “Could an airbender suck the air out of somene’s lungs?” with a demonstration on the Earth Queen, P’Li’s laser eye backfires and blows her head up, Ming-Hua is painfully electrocuted to death, and Ghazan takes a page from Gollum’s book and dies immersed in lava (and rubble for good measure).

This Book truly delivers the experience this series promised us in the beginning; it truly feels like an evolution of the Avatar series in the best way possible. While there are a few bumps here and there, there’s nothing really brutally bad that could derail the overall quality of the season. It has a great villain, and that villain has a great villain posse; there’s a lot of great cameos and character appearances, including some surprising ones; we learn more about Lin’s past; we get a whole lot more airbenders and an interesting plot going on with them that even in the end makes Kai more likable; and most importantly we have a solid plot with real consequences on the characters.

Oh, and there’s that little Zelda Williams character who appears near the end… wonder what her significance is…

She’s Book 4’s bad guy.

Book 4 is the final season of Korra, and while I don’t think many would say it surpasses Book 3 (which is quite the task, considering), I definitely think it’s a really great final season that wraps up just about everything that needs to be wrapped up. It also does a really good job with character development, like, REALLY good.

This season is where Korra really becomes a character I love, because her struggles are very personal and interesting. She’s constantly haunted by what happened to her in Book 3, and is stalked by a shadowy version of herself wherever she goes. Long gone is the obnoxious borderline Mary Sue character that she felt like in the first season; here, Korra truly feels human and relatable. More impressive than even that may be the transformation of the character Prince Wu, who starts the season as one of the single most unlikable characters in the whole series but ends up as an amusing and even somewhat heroic figure. Frankly I find it hard to hate a character who utilizes his terrible singing to help evacuate a city.

As I mentioned before, Kuvira is the villain, and she’s very much a visionary sort who thinks ruling the world under her iron fist is what’s best for everyone. Zelda Williams really gives her a real air of importance and even a bit of sympathy; she’s definitely a great example of an anti-villain of the quality of Zaheer, though I wouldn’t go as far as to say she’s as good as him exactly. Still, one can’t help but appreciate a woman who creates a massive robot that fires death lasers made out of entirely unbendable platinum. I know a lot of people find this thing to be utterly ridiculous and stupid, with little foreshadowing of its existence and just in general how ludicrously impossible and impractical it could be… but come on, it’s a GIANT ROBOT. I guess it just appeals to my inner Metal Gear fan, even if I do realize and accept it’s the most ridiculous thing in any of the two series.

I think what’s really great about this book is how it really just makes things that shouldn’t work, work really well. Case in point: there was an annoying, executive mandated clip show that, if they didn’t do, would have caused a lot of staff to be laid off. So what does the team do? They use the episode to take the piss out of everything in the show that didn’t work, from the shitty romance subplots to a hilarious scene where Zaheer, Amon, and Vaatu are all on the phone and trying to keep not just Unalaq, but Varrick’s movie version of Unalaq, out of the loop. In fact, the entire thing basically being Varrick doing an abridged series of the show is golden, because everything Varrick does is golden. Speaking of Varrick, his “Do the thing” catchphrase is used interestingly three times: one time it is a legitimately heartbreaking tearjerker, and the other two are just the sweetest, most heartwarming things you will ever hear. This sounds absurd, but again: this Book is all about making the most implausible things end up pretty good.

There’s so much about this Book that really makes it stand out - from Hiroshi Sato managing to reconcile with his daughter and sacrifice himself to the return of so many characters to just about everyone getting a happy ending… it’s a shame that it all got overshadowed by the most shallow, stupid moment of the entire series. Hell, BOTH series. You know what I’m talking about, you know what it is, it’s the thing that made me want to write this review in the first place:

Asami and Korra end up an official couple.

Now, generally speaking I wouldn’t have a problem with this. I like both characters, I myself am bisexual so it’s nice to see characters represent me in media, and hey, I’ve always championed Dumbledore as a great LGBT character when he was never explicitly shown to be so, so why do I hate this so much? Well, in regards to the latter, here’s the thing: Dumbledore is not the main character of the series, and his homosexuality is foreshadowed. We are not privy to Dumbledore’s private thoughts, we are not even given an in-depth look at his character until he dies in the penultimate book, and romance was never really a focus of the character. In contrast, Korra is in fact the main character of the show and who we follow the most, romance has unfortunately been a major factor in her development since the first Book, and the biggest problem: her being bi for Asami comes right the fuck out of nowhere.

There is like one line earlier in the book where Korra, while wandering, only really wrote to Asami. That’s it. These two barely interact or show any signs of romantic interest in each other until that final moment when they walk into the portal together. It feels like the ultimate ass pull, just a really lame third option to resolve all the love triangle garbage while simultaneously winning brownie points for being such a bold, daring move for a cartoon… but it doesn’t even show them kiss. They stare longingly at each other. THAT’S IT. Contrast Steven Universe, which is wholly and unabashedly filled with LGBT romance, particularly Garnet, who is literally the physical embodiment of a lesbian relationship, or even Adventure Time, who built up PB and Marceline’s past romance before having them get together and even kiss onscreen in the finale of that show. Korra is ultimately nothing`special, and that final moment was not a big step forward for representation or an important moment in TV history. It was a poorly built up shocking swerve that ended a series that had finally risen to the quality of the series it spun off from with the same bullshit that hampered this show’s original seasons to begin with.

Despite this, Book 4 is definitely a good finale to a show that, while it didn’t start out as such, ended up great. Really, the fact the final book was good despite having a lot of stupid elements and bad romantic resolutions is sort of a microcosm of the show as a whole, and showed despite those things the show could still tell an interesting story and be as grand as the original show was.

I don’t think this is one of the greatest cartoons of all time, but as a sort of follow up to the original series, I think it’s pretty solid. It was at its best when it was trying to tell mature stories and deal with darker subject matter than one would expect from a modern cartoon, and fumbled when it tried to shoehorn in the sort of romantic gunk one expects from teenagers. It worked best with its characters when their flaws felt natural and their issues were personal, and its villains worked better when they had simple yet fully fleshed out goals rather than overly complicated backstories or evil for the sake of evil. Korra is most definitely a mixed bag, but it’s a mixed bag I definitely recommend opening up sometime. If you liked the original show or just like story-driven or action oriented shows in general, this is one of the best ones of recent years. You have to slog through some crummy stuff to get to the gems, but boy oh boy are those gems shiny.

Also, I should have mentioned this earlier, but I am just so happy Toph is just a cranky old bad bitch even after all that time. Even while the Avatar world changed so much, it’s nice to know that some things will never change,

#Michael After Midnight #Review #TV show review #legend of korra #The legend of Korra #Korra #avatar #Avatar: the last airbender

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airspeedprime · 5 years

Note

R U going to do a written review on goodreads, if so could you link your profile, would like to read it.

I just did a brief written review through edelweiss, I don’t know if they make them visible, in that I think it was submitting them to the publisher I got the review copy from.

I don’t really enjoy writing written reviews since they are so time consuming and I feel I can get more across through a video/podcast.

Here are the copy and pastes of them in case anyone does want my brief written review thoughts. Keep in mine I purposely did not write as much as I used to for the site when I did written reviews, since most of the early reviews I have seen elsewhere were usually VERY short, I wanted to be detailed, but not write a ton.

Imbalance Part 2 - 8/10

Imbalance Part 2 is definitely an improvement over Part 1, it adds depth to the main bender vs non-bender conflict while also featuring many fun character moments as well as some strong set up moments for the finale in Part 3.

Like Imbalance part 1 it again is a book where there is really nothing to point out as a clear negative, it is a very, very solid book on all counts. It does unfortunately also lack in notable moments, there are only a few truly discussion worthy scenes from this book and the series in general is now 2/3rds of the way through.

We get the return of Suki to the comics after she was oddly not featured in North and South. This makes for a nice moment since she is a fan favourite character and everyone has been waiting for her to team up with Team Avatar again since she is a member. They don’t focus on her a lot once she arrives, but it is always nice to have her around again especially to get some nice relationship moments between her and Sokka.

The main big moment that I am sure will get people talking is a spoiler, and it happens right at the end. I won’t say much, beyond that I think it is a very effective cliffhanger ending that is sure to be a huge plot point in Part 3.

Of the other characters Toph is the one who gets the most spotlight as she seems to start her transition into Chief of Police Toph. She is invested in the plot since her father’s factory was targeted and she is out to find who did it and is of course the perfect one to make it happen with her seismic sense able to sense if people are lying. You can tell that writer Faith Erin Hicks had a lot of fun writing Toph here as there are so many moments that feel like they would fit perfectly in an episode of the animated series.

Surprisingly most of the other main characters don’t get much focus in terms of set up for any sort of character arc, they are all present and helping out with the investigation, but only Toph feels like there is an arc in place that will lead to something going forward, minus the big reveal at the end I mentioned earlier on where Part 3 is sure to bring more characters into focus.

The new characters for this series, our villains Liling, Ru and Yaling do get to shine a bit more here than in part 1 and remain interesting villains even if I still feel we are waiting for their true motivations to be revealed. Again this places a lot of importance on part 3 to finish off this trilogy well, I just hope they have not put too much on the shoulders of part 3 when some reveals could have happened here in part 2, especially when it is not the most eventful book.

So in conclusion while Imbalance suffers a bit due to its plot mainly being there to set up stuff in Korra way down the road, meaning the stakes can only be so high here knowing that bender/non-bender tensions remain a thing all the way up to Korra’s time. Despite this the book still manages to be very high quality in terms of character writing and art, it is definitely an enjoyable read, just let down a bit by not feeling as important as previous books have been and knowing that there is the potential within these comics to tell some very important stories. Myself and many other fans are eagerly awaiting the focus to shift back to Azula who has been a standout character in previous comics.

Despite some misgivings, I still highly recommend any avatar fan to check out this comic since I am sure the steady set up from part and and part 2 here will allow Part 3 to finish Imbalance with a bang.

Ruins of the Empire Part 1 - 9/10

In short this is the Korra comic fans have been waiting for. After “Turf Wars” which was fine, but lacking in many notable moments, “Ruins of the Empire” part 1 was an incredibly enjoyable read. The main thing that stood out to me is that the simple focus of this story on Kuvira instantly adds double the interest and intrigue, she is the star of the show here in a similar way to the Ursa focus from “The Search”, that book has gone down as the most popular Avatar comic and from part 1 “Ruins of the Empire” looks set to immediately jump to the top of the list of Korra comics.

With Kuvira every time she is on a page she draws your attention, what is she thinking? what are her goals? and so many other questions. Part 1 sets up some ideas and gets the reader thinking about how she has changed and the details of her past, in that sense it accomplishes everything the first of 3 books has to do. I am so excited for part 2 and 3 because of the potential for amazing character development.

Commander Guan and Dr Sheng are set up as our villains with Guan taking over what remains of the Earth Empire that Kuvira had ordered to surrender back in Book 4 Balance. The reaction to Guan taking over is what brings Kuvira into the story in a big way beyond just her trial. He seems like a solid antagonist who is clever and won’t be able to be defeated with just some powerful bending. It is early days with it only being part 1, but I think we have a solid villain in play here, he is far more interesting that Tokuga from Turf Wars.

Another improvement over Turf Wars is how many of the other characters are used. Korra and Asami got the spotlight there with very little time for the likes of Mako and Bolin. Ruins of the Empire brings Team Avatar back together, meaning we get a lot of interaction between our main cast in addition to Wu and Zhu Li playing important roles with the Earth Kingdom elections quickly approaching.

Michelle Wong comes in as the new artist replacing Irene Koh who did Turf Wars. Like many have already said, her art is incredible, it feels like the show while still having an identity of its own. Consistent and nice looking, everything you want from comics art.

In conclusion this book is an excellent start to this comic trilogy. It has a great combination of elements that is going to excite many Korra fans, the focus on Kuvira, the earth kingdom elections, incredible art and strong character writing. This is the best Avatar/Korra comic since the end of Smoke and Shadow.

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maneaterwithtail · 6 years

Text

One of my first submissions

however..Korrasami ship war stuff.

Not a fan myself but….I want to encourage more submissions and at the least this is showing lots of effort and points of reference to wide fandom discussion and their feelings.

—–

korrasami was aforced ship there was no actual build up for it korrasami shippers like to use the car scene or blush ( when korra blushes at compliments she blushed at bolins compliment ) and there was actual evidence and chemistry for makorra in contrast to korrasami. in b3 and b4 there was actual chemistry and we got to see mako talk about korra the person while asami talked about korra the avatar. or how we actually got the camera zoom in and music swell at mako and korras hugh to highlight importance kXa shippers bring up asami bbeing with korra at b3 ending claiming that we would see it if asami was a man but in reality no we wouldnt. (not to mention while she smiled with her dad , the air babies and bolin suggestion of pen pals she didnt smile at them) heck the break up scene in b2 finale even hinted at them still having feelings and getting back together with the I will always love you line. not to mention that both korra and mako over came the flaws which led to their breakup which wasnt due to a lack of compatabiltiy but due to certain flaws like korra expecting an echo chamber from mako basically mako being so afraid of conflict that he disappoints everyone his tendency to avoid conflict and I am sickened by the demonization of mako claiming that it was just that he ends single for he made a couple mistakes in the relationship department in book 1 and they claim he was a creators pet or gary stu. which is bs makorra was handled well (people like to claim it was only a couple wekks when it was months there was a noticeable change of seasons

http://ikkinthekitsune.tumblr.com/post/146055648351

http://ikkinthekitsune.tumblr.com/post/122071981927/i-take-comfort-in-the-fact-that-although-korra

http://zoetic-aerography.tumblr.com/post/138417305243/korra-was-undecided-about-what-to-do-about-mako

http://fantastic-nonsense.tumblr.com/post/150196235205/you-love-battle-couples-that-means-you-love

http://fantastic-nonsense.tumblr.com/post/150197542245/reyshepkorra-replied-to-your-post-you-love

http://ikkinthekitsune.tumblr.com/post/151521486788/lucisfenrir-noctis-is-very-weird-when-it-comes-to#notes

http://ikkinthekitsune.tumblr.com/post/124974796098/structural-shortcomings-of-the-shipping-variety

http://makobend.tumblr.com/post/116620716280/i-hate-mako-because-he-does-remind-me-of-an-ex

http://redheadjcb.tumblr.com/post/134574174309/reasons-why-asami-isnt-my-favorite-character-and

“

TV creators’ job isn’t to just do whatever their audience wants, though.

What the fans want isn’t always what’s best for the show. Remember this train wreck:

Korrasami was an extremely popular pairing during the show’s first season. They took advantage of this and made it canon with no real build up and just pasted it onto the very end of the show.

“

http://ikkinthekitsune.tumblr.com/post/105947039308/bryankonietzko-korrasami-is-canon-you-can

http://ikkinthekitsune.tumblr.com/post/119960030921/robert-submitted-korrasami-devolpment-imeline#notes

https://magiesheartlove.tumblr.com/post/113897307625/why-makorra-and-not-korrasami?is_related_post=1#notes

http://archer-bro.tumblr.com/post/160877420151/reblogingblog-archer-bro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMLk77yoyvg

“. All the “subtext” they said they saw clearly existed only in their delusions, as proven by the aforementioned facts. And like Appabend said, the subtext was so subtle it might have well not just existed. The “evidence” all just seemed like what platonic friends would have done. There was not even a single concrete moment that you could find that crossed over the romantic line and tied all the other moments together, an aspect all well-written subtle romances have. The circumstances show that the fans simply wanted to ship them because they were two girls, and it didn’t have anything to do with their characters. I dislike the idea of pandering/giving the satisfaction and vindication to these fans who ship for such superficial/shallow reasons. They had no basis for their reasoning other than “but muh lesbian pairing” and just got lucky in the end because MD and BK were the type of people who liked to pander to their audience and virtue-signal about how progressive they were, emphasized by how much they milked it afterwards in that tumblr post and everything else they’ve done about it since. In the end, my friend changed her mind and completely disowned the ship and fandom because she realized that it was all just pandering (which surprised me because I didn’t ask her to do that). I also hate how pretentious and over-the-top it was at the end with all of the background visuals and making it the very last thing you remember of the series even though it was focused on mostly other things. PS Sorry for the long comment, I type a lot:) …. In this case, the slash shippers would be using a straw man because we don’t have a problem with the same-sex relationship itself. It was how it was executed in terms of writing quality and context within the story. They’re not asking for same treatment, they’re asking for special treatment and we know that because the creators admitted their intent on doing it because it was a same-sex relationship to please their fans, are clearly glorifying it, shoving it into our faces, and virtue-signaling about how progressive they are. It’s 100% being politicized. They wouldn’t do any of those things if it was just a straight relationship. Heck, Korra ended up with Mako after S1 and you can see the clear difference between that and KA on how that was treated by creators and fans alike. In terms of hints, I stated that the hints themselves were too subtle to prove they were intentional, and one of the ways people can tell if it’s going romance is that there is usually at least be a early single moment in which it clearly goes over the romantic line to tie it all together, like smiling and blushing while looking away or getting embarrassed by being pointed out how close you are to that person, etc. And if they were bi, they would have shown it in general, not just with each other. “ http://wuuthradical.tumblr.com/post/163111623958/autistic-2-d-wuuthradical-buffallura

https://g00doldboy.tumblr.com/post/163111027317/is-this-it

http://wuuthradical.tumblr.com/post/162964426138/what-really-gets-me-about-korrasami-is-how-it

http://celticpyro.tumblr.com/post/164869535184/firelordderpy-aggravatedvincevaughn

http://snowembrace.tumblr.com/post/166247501865/so-anon-meant-korrasami-option-i-remember-the

http://fantastic-nonsense.tumblr.com/post/148337966795/the-authors-are-dead-drikei-i-just-fucking-hate

I am personally annoyed at how bryke try to act like korra and asami were friends since b1 when

their friendship started at b3. which is something that they brought up in b3 commentary ( and check out other fantastic-nonsense posts because they made alot ofposts criticizing korrasami and support of makorra

http://fantastic-nonsense.tumblr.com/tagged/makorra

http://fantastic-nonsense.tumblr.com/post/169571636785/about-mako-going-with-korra-to-finish-her-recovery

http://fantastic-nonsense.tumblr.com/tagged/anti%20korrasami

http://fantastic-nonsense.tumblr.com/tagged/korrasami

http://fantastic-nonsense.tumblr.com/tagged/lok-fanwank

http://fantastic-nonsense.tumblr.com/tagged/makorra-defense-squad

——–

Now personally I think Korrasami is one of those mixed blessings. Yeah kids show went there but its as sudden and shallow as existing hetero relationships. I DO think the build up was there but its unsatisfying because, like any anime, its not there much post confession and its more teases.

This is especially, for me, because I REALLY didn’t like the character of Asami or get everyone’s deal with her. She seemed to exist to be Best Girl and… that it. My biggest disappointment was the closing of her arc with the death of her father and then, surprise, another love plot.

Overall though I can’t devote much dislike for the relationship as a whole so much as a connected but not causative (Gabrielle and Janet did have some decent chemistry and there were possibilities) phenomenon of “the men suck so GO Muh Lesbians” which so underlies my experience with the idea I can understand OTHERS attributing the change as “pandering”

However, ultimately, I’m just over it. For some its meaningful even if not all that. And considering into Fangbone AND Sailor Moon when I know there is more challenging or at least advanced if not better fare? I should just accept it.

I am not anti- Korrasami so much as against anti-Mako (and Makorra) and really its a simpler but more nested problem as I think people latched onto Asami as one of the characters who… lets say retained her potential untainted for many fans. But for me she was more of a waste than Mako ended up for me by the time he became a cop and not just Edward Cullen if he was from a K-drama. S2 fixed him so much for me but thats also when the hatchet was put into play and then S3 started and…it hurt how I could see they were handling the ex-boyfriend (and way WAY WAY buttering up this Suddenly Sisterhood of Korra and Asami

“ as a whole she’s missing something. She isn’t ‘moe’ but she reminds me of the sketching and depth of such a style of character. A collection of traits to interest [the audience] as to full person even as she is interesting but feels thin. “

-me

#submission #shipping is serious business #Makorra #Korrasami

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orpelia · 6 years

Text

Air: “Endgame”

Eleven episodes and a two-week hiatus later (oops!)~~

My praise, my wishes, and my feelings of the season finale of Book I.

[Heart eyes.]

Oh, Bo. What would we do without you.

As always, he gifted us with his silly and endearing humor,

but he also starred in some fantastic collabs.

Bolin x Naga

Bolin x General Iroh

Honestly, Bolin x Any Character <--- now that’s my kind of ship.

General Iroh is just as stupidly fearsome and heroic as his grandfather.

This is fact.

His stunt with the planes?

Cray.

I’m looking forward to seeing more of him in the future, preferably in the same scene(s) as Zuko because that’s something I desperately need in my life.

My favorite Mako: protective and powerful.

Let’s not forget, he can break free of Noatak’s bloodbending!!!

Korra---the freakin’ Avatar---couldn’t even do that! At least, not at first.

Amon admits it himself: “I'm impressed. No one has ever gotten the better of me like that. It is almost a shame to take the bending of someone so talented.”

I hope Mako’s talents become focal points in the next books. Please, oh please don’t revert him back to a frustrating, lovesick puppy who can’t make up his damn mind. It really doesn’t do his character justice.

Speaking of lovesick puppies...

Without a doubt, Mako and Korra had the most compelling scenes of the entire episode (and not because they were fighting Noatak).

Canon couple or not, these two make a great team. They obviously care about each other, but they’re fiercely protective of one another as well, and that’s what makes their chemistry so palpable.

Although I wasn’t over the moon about dropping the love bombs, even I recognize how heartwarming their moments were.

Take, for example, the penultimate scene of the finale:

Recap: Mako tells Korra he loves her, Korra dramatically runs away with Naga, and Tenzin tells Mako they have to be patient with her, which is old people code for “give her some space.”

If you ask me, that’s shitty advice.

In real life, I want someone to go after me, even if I say I want to be alone or I tell people to go away.

Yes, I am that person.

So you best believe my heart SOARED when the boy chased after the girl:

At first, Mako’s shocked.

No surprise there.

He just witnessed Korra in the Avatar State, which means 1) her bending is back and 2) the Avatar State is no joke!! The glowing eyes!! The command of the four elements at your fingertips!! That’s hardcore, bro!!

But then he fondly smiles at her, which I wholeheartedly interpret as “Ah, yes. That’s my girl.”

And look at her face!!

These two aren’t endgame, so I’m allowing myself to savor in the swoon.

FYI: If there’s anything you should know about me, it’s that I’m a sucker for cheek caresses.

Twirling hugs also make me a lil weak in the knees.

Running to someone and barreling into their arms is just stupid cute.

[Heavy sigh.]

I was really rooting for Asami.

After Chapter 7, I thought we were going to see how Asami was coping with the reveal of her father’s conspiring nature. Instead, her character seemed to revolve more around the love triangle (or whatever shape you want to call the ridiculous Asami x Mako x Korra situation). When Asami does mention her father, it’s only a sparse comment every other episode or so.

Thus, the showdown between father and daughter lacks an emotional weight, and it’s partly because we haven’t explored enough of their relationship to truly feel for these characters.

That isn’t to say their sequence doesn’t have powerful moments.

I just want to take a moment to holla at ma boy @Jeremy Zuckerman, sole music composer.

Your music is always stunning, but the accompanying track in Asami and Hiroshi’s showdown (plus the music in the boat scene and everything in the third act) is what carries the entire segment.

Your melodies tugged at my heartstrings in ways the story couldn’t.

Their final fight, for instance:

Asami is so caught up in the battle---defending herself against her father, no less---that you think she might actually do it, she might actually hurt him.

But then he’s looking at her like this,

and she starts to hesitate (this is her father after all),

which is the exact moment Hiroshi strikes.

In the end, Asami captures her father, but not without remorse: “You really are a horrible father.”

Dear Creators,

Please give your characters the emotional depth they deserve and explore the nuances of their relationships.

Trust me: they can lift the weight of their stories just fine.

I am unbelievably disappointed in Noatak’s arc.

I just---

I mean---

How?

How are you going to build the foundation of a character on a lie?

How are you going to develop that character’s arc for ten episodes, then discredit almost everything with deceit??

How are you going to completely undermine your character like that???

And to add insult to injury, Noatak keeps lying, going so far as to reveal a fake, painted scar:

Here’s the thing: Zuko is my world.

Of all the characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender, I found pieces of myself in his story the most. Scars, then, are sore subjects for me; sometimes, I feel like I’m as sensitive about his scar as he was.

Yes, I jumped in my seat upon first seeing Noatak’s “scar,” but make no mistake---I’d rip that lie off his face in a heartbeat.

Undermining your character with lies is bad enough, but this shit felt like mockery, and while I’m certain that wasn’t the creators’ intents, I’m taking it personally anyway.

However, attention should be paid to Noatak’s last scene:

Again, the music is so beautifully somber, but the dialogue here is probably some of the episode’s best.

From Noatak’s “I had almost forgotten the sound of my own name,” to Tarrlok’s "It will be just like the good old days.”

From the tear that rolls down Noatak’s cheek,

to Tarrlok's decision to sacrifice them both.

It doesn’t make up for butchering Noatak’s arc, but this was, quite simply, a beautiful ending to a sad story.

Dear Creators,

Please don’t make the same mistake twice.

You compromised the integrity of your character the moment you sacrificed a fleshed out plot for woaw!shock factor.

Villain or not, he deserved better.

Also, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU.

It was at this moment that I wanted to jump into the screen and rescue Tenzin and his beautiful children myself.

LOOK AT THEIR FACES.

I WAS SO MAD.

LIKE:

HOW COULD YOU.

It should be said: I loved Korra in this episode.

I mean, she was pretty daft to think that hiding under a table would keep her safe from a bloodbender. A bloodbender (a psychic one at that) can feel your blood, Korra, of course he knows you’re under there.

So just for that:

Yeah, don’t you look all silly and fuzzy.

Aside from this idiotic little slip, she was pretty badass, unlocking her airbending and fighting against Noatak’s bloodbending:

What a crappy screenshot of her airbending, haha. Would you believe me if I said this was genuinely the best I could do?

And unlike Asami and her father, I actually felt for Korra. I was devastated when Katara couldn’t repair her severed connection to the other three elements.

Though I wonder if I felt more for Korra because she acted just as I would. That is, she’s clearly distraught over losing her bending, but she wants to spare her friends and family the trouble of making a scene:

So she waits until she’s alone to let it all go:

:’-(

As I said, I loved and felt for Korra in the finale, and I don’t have a problem with her...

I have a problem with the writing.

Korra’s airbending was very badass, but I completely forgot about her airbending struggles.

The first four episodes show Korra’s conflict with the element (i.e., it’s literally the plot line of Chapter 2). If anything, these episodes have small moments that remind us of Korra’s airbending training---practicing in the temple’s courtyard or doing exercises with the kids, to name a few examples.

Then, in Chapter 8, Tarrlok insults her with the “half-baked Avatar” comment, snidely remarking on her less than satisfactory airbending. It’s in this same episode that Korra reminds Tenzin---and the audience---that she’s never been able to connect with her spiritual side. (More on this later!)

And... that’s it.

After the eighth episode, she’s kidnapped by Tarrlok, who reveals himself as a bloodbender; she’s rescued but then Amon and Hiroshi attack Republic City, separating Korra and the teens from Tenzin, his family, and Lin; Korra decides to take Amon on her own (but not really because Mako decides to tag along) and the two of them bump into Tarrlok, who reveals that Amon is actually his long-lost, waterbending, psychic bloodbending brother, Noatak.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing. If the creators were prioritizing awe! and shock! and woaw!, then unlocking Korra’s airbending this way definitely did the job. But it felt a little too... convenient? Plus, there was no explanation for why her airbending worked when it did.

I mean, saving Mako obviously had something to do with it, and they didn’t have time to get into the details because, duh, they were trying to restore Korra’s bending.

Still, the audience shouldn’t have to interpret everything.

(Or perhaps I’m just being petty, lol.)

For a book titled after the element, I guess I just expected more.

Ultimately, I wish we saw Korra practicing more airbending; I wish we got an explanation for how and why she airbended when she did; I wish her success in unlocking her final element had not been overshadowed by the loss of her water-, earth-, and firebending.

Which brings me here, to this special moment:

I cried.

100%.

And the gentle, yet all too familiar Avatar theme playing in the background? Yeah, I was a puddle of tears.

However, as nostalgic as this was, I wasn’t too pleased at how quickly Korra’s bending was restored because it felt like the creators were taking shortcuts again.

For the record, I like that Noatak took Korra’s bending away (though I would have liked a more epic battle?), as it debunked the whole “the Avatar is invincible” concept. But, really? A quick touch of Aang’s fingers and her bending is restored, just like that?

Maybe it’s just me, but I would’ve loved to see Korra struggling to get her bending back. Perhaps we could’ve seen her retraining and relearning the other elements, which is something I still feel we were robbed of.

Furthermore, as much as I enjoyed seeing Aang and all the former Avatar reincarnations, I didn’t like that this was also the moment Korra connected with her spiritual side. Similar to her airbending moment, I forgot about her spiritual struggles; the issue is last mentioned in Chapter 8 and, before that, all the way back in Chapter 1. But, honestly, I think the ease and convenience of this moment lends to the problematic pacing of Book I as a whole.

Dear Creators,

While I thank you for restoring Korra and Lin’s bending, please don’t resort to convenient endings. I recognize that you only had twelve episodes, but please, no more shortcuts.

Your story will suffer.

Your characters will suffer, too.

p.s., I’m sorry for being so mean to you. I have a lot of feelings, is all.

Cheers to Book II, though!

Parting Thoughts

Before sitting down to write the finale’s review, I took a two-week break.

In that time, I rewatched (and re-rewatched) the entire first book.

I even had time to indulge in the fifth season of The Great British Baking Show.

Shameless Plug:

I absolutely recommend this charming baking competition.

You learn quite a lot about the science and precision of baking, endure (but also adore) countless baking puns, and witness what true competition looks like. That is, genuine camaraderie, rooting for your fellow bakers to succeed, and sometimes, lending them a hand if they’re pressed for time.

Warning: do not watch late at night. You will reach for a baguette.

And yet, I still feel meh about Book I.

The season has its share of success: the music is as impeccable as ever and the technological and industrial components of the Avatar-Korra universe are developing and expanding nicely.

However, it will always come down to the story, and the writing just wasn’t up to par.

Truthfully, the real triumphs are the characters, who---after only twelve episodes---have built a home for themselves in my heart:

Although, our bright, blue-eyed Avatar still has much to learn.

(i.e., how to stop being an impatient little dumdum)

But take heart...

Her story’s only just begun.

From Beginning to End:

“Thanks for looking out for me, Aang.”

credits

#legend of korra #book 1 #1x12

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knightofbalance-13 · 6 years

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Media Comparison: Legend Of Korra Vs. RWBY

So between a show with all the budget in the world, an already existing world and mythos, some of the best writers of our generation with some of the bets animators and artists while being based off a fucking legend of western animation and some anime-inspired show with the budget of a high school theater show made by a bunch of people I hadn’t even heard of before hand: You’d think the choice would be obvious right?

*sigh* Yeah, I wish it were that simple.

Yeah, if the introduction wasn’t obvious enough, I’m a fan of RWBY but NOT a fan of the Legend of Korra. Despite all of Korra’s advantages from budget to time to exposure to name recognition: I just found myself at best mildly entertained by it while at the same time, I really enjoy this web series my friend just happen to recommend to me with NO knowledge of it beforehand. So why is it that I enjoy one over the other despite logic saying otherwise?

Well, I’m here to explain that.

First off, the fact that I knew nothing about RWBY before hand may have actually helped the show in comparison. My only expectation for RWBY was a mildly amusing web show since at the time, I had only watched Abridged series on the web and this was before TFS really started getting good so my expectations were pretty level at the time. Meanwhile, I went into Korra with pretty high expectations for the show because it had the “Avatar” title on it and I had seen the previous series. So obscurity kind of helped RWBY there.

Even then, there are a LOT of problems that plague Korra that either are lesser in, solved in or just didn’t exist in RWBY. One of the biggest aspects is just the basic writing. In Korra, you have the Tomboy Savivor Jerk With A Heart of Gold, the generic everyman meant to ground the protagonist, the comedy relief younger brother and the pretty supporter. Basically, we have your average tropes as protagonists with next to nothing done to make them stand out. Even the character development for the group is by the book. Korra learns to not rush into shit and...actually that’s it for Korra. There is an “arc” in Seaosn 4 about letting people help her but that aspect is quickly dropped and never mention or referenced or used again. And Asami (the pretty supporter) just learns how to fight.

Contrast this in RWBY where a young idealist is forced to learn that her way of looking at the world is too childish and naïve to ne effective. However, instead of developing into a cynic like normal, she just adjusts her world view to accommodate reality while keeping the core values of her belief. Or that the freedom fighter, instead of being seen as absolutely right, is forced to come to terms that her cause isn’t black and white and that her comrades aren’t justified in all their actions. Or that the weak, audience surrogate actually has a REASON to be weak and to not know what is going on, actively tries to fix that and still suffers for it.

Then we have the world of both shows. Somehow, Korra managed to have one the simplest but most effective worlds given to it on a silver platter...and completely fuck it up. The world goes from being similar to an ancient Asia-like world to somehow being 1920′s America-esque in only 100 years. Like...I do not even understand HOW that can happen. Asian culture is already heavily different from Western culture, ESPECIALLY America due to taking place on two sides of the planet with VERY different values and such. I cannot for the life of me see how one can develop into the other. And this is excluding the fact that the entire setting did a 1000 year leap in technology in a tenth of the time.

Meanwhile in RWBY, the world is bare bones but it DOES make sense. Dust is highly valued due to being the main power source of the world, they value positivity and self expression due to facing off against a rather identical and uniform enemy that feeds on negativity with powers that rely on their personalities without falling into stupid bullshit like suppressing all emotion (in fact, the world TRIED doing that once and showed why that is a terrible idea.) The four kingdoms have some central values shared but have many differences due to the differences in each region such as the hostile Vacuo being welcoming of anyone who can survive there or Atlas being cold and calculating due to the necessity in the past to quickly adapt or die.

Then we have the characters themselves. I’ll keep this brief by focusing on the main characters of each, starting with LoK and Korra herself. Korra is...a complete and total jackass. And NOT in the intentional way were she gets called out and is forced to change. She DOES get called out...issue is that Korra almost NEVER learns her lesson because she either forgets about her actions latter on or the person who called her out is the one being punished. Korra defies her teacher’s instructions and later he’s forced to bend to her will because the narrative says Korra is right. Which is just a recipe for pissing the audience off. She’s also arrogant, full of herself, stubborn as hell, childish, immature and just a pain to watch. Even when she loses her arrogance and immaturity, she’s still reckless as hell and she still barely has a personality beyond being combat happy and short tempered. So at best, Korra is just your average Shounen protagonist with nothing new or unique of her own.

Meanwhile the main character of RWBY, Ruby Rose, stands out pretty well on her own. She’s energetic, optimistic, hopeful and yet shy and inexperienced. However each of these aspects actually has something to do with Ruby herself with an explanation and get explored quite a bit. She’s all these things because she’s young and comes to bite her in the ass quite a few times. Her energy causes her to rush into battle without thinking, her optimism was originally a near blindness to the world around her, her hopefulness is taken advantage of a few times and her shyness and inexperience originally gave her trouble trying to talk and relate to others. Ruby also has quite a but more to her as she is a natural leader and knows how to use her teammates’ abilities to their fullest, she’s adaptable as she accepts the world isn’t inherently good but still chooses to be optimistic and she has a hard time dealing with grief and rage, bottling them up until they start to leak out. Combine this with her earnest attempts at being a hero as well as some cute shy tendencies and you have a very loveable main character.

And then we have the romance. Korra was an absolute TERROR when it came to romance. The first romance in the show was a fucking love square which all started because the main heroine refused to understand the concept of “boyfriend”. Numerous relationships throughout the series are either badly done (Asami and Mako) or rather disturbing (from what it sounded like: Tenzen’s wife broke him and his then girlfriend Suyin up) or downright abusive (Bolin and Eska, Suyin’s reaction to the break up and Mako and Korra were just horrid.) There are only TWO passable relationships and that’s mainly because they barely get any focus. Also Korra and Asami but that was last minute and means nothing.

RWBY had a similar love triangle going on but unlike Korra, this was actually handled well. Jaune drops his affections for Weiss and helps her out, Pyrrha helps Jaune out and Jaune cheers Pyrrha up. It’s also one of the few shows to have a rather heartwrenching love story between Jaune and Pyrrha that ends up majorly affecting the show and helped make both characters stand out more in the fandom.

And,,,Listen, I can go on and on about the different ways I think RWBY is better than Korra but at the end of the day, Korra was a mess of somewhat interesting idea bungled up by messy execution and amateur mistakes along with some political issues seeping into the writing: RWBY also started out this way but the show DRASTICALLY improved and grew from these mistakes, learning how to avoid them and grow beyond them instead of stumbling back and forth between getting better or worse. All inall: LoK was either aggravating to watch or just dull while RWBY has been fun and I’ve grown to have a deep respect for the show.

#rwby #legend of korra #media comparisons

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