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comradekatara · 8 months

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No but fr I wanna know all ur Yangchen thoughts 🥺🙏

Are we gonna get a review of Dawn of yangchen?? 💛💛 I really love ur analysis stuff, it’s fun to read

thank you and sorry for taking so long to reply! i kept meaning to write a review of the dawn of yangchen but then the sequel came out, which i just read, and i figured i'd just combine the little i had written with my overall impression of both novels. it might just be recency bias, but i really enjoyed the legacy of yangchen, it hit all the right spots for me. my review isn't formal in any way, but here are my scattered thoughts in the form of bullet points (in no particular order), and if there are any details you'd like me to expand on or analyze more formally, please don't hesitate to ask! i'd love to discuss these novels further.

obviously, spoilers for both the yangchen novels under the cut.

i like how i can tell that fc yee is a sokkagirl the same way i can tell that will arbery (one of my favorite playwrights, worked on s4 of succession) is a romangirl. and that’s all i’m gonna say on that!

in my draft of my review of the previous novel, which i had only outlined but never actually finished, i said this: “zongdu chaisee seven months pregnant and effortlessly running an entire city from the top down in a way that makes her completely untouchable despite her obviously criminal tactics vs zongdu henshe gripping the public bathroom sink sobbing into the basin and flailing around throwing tantrums whenever the avatar questions his competence. a girlboss running her empire vs a pathetic little boytoy imploding under the weight of his own ineptitude. i love them both.” which i stand by even more now that chaisee is given more prominence in the sequel. she was already my favorite character in the yangchenverse, but now she’s EXTREMELY my favorite character. and rip henshe lmfao you were fun but we won’t miss you.

that said, kalyaan swiftly moved up the ranks. his scenes in this novel were so excellent. the way he humiliates kavik as simply as breathing, but also the way he completely fell apart when he thought kavik was hurt. their relationship is so fascinating, im obsessed with their toxic undying brotherhood!!!! and im the number one hater of guys with smug auras usually, but he’s so beautifully written in this novel i just couldn’t help but relish every scene he’s in.

i also wrote last novel: “mama ayunerak was also a very cool character. at first she seems like just a sweet little old lady but it turns out she’s actually extremely shrewd and has eyes everywhere!! best spy in the whole damn spy novel, perhaps??” and my opinion has only somewhat changed. i still love her, don’t get me wrong, but i don’t think i was giving yangchen herself enough credit. she can evade the white lotus masterfully when she wants to.

i also, of course, LOVED seeing the white lotus in their banal, daily operations. how the sausage gets made, if you will. as a white lotus lover, and a kavik lover, and a lying liars who lie lover, this was all extremely satisfying for me. the fact that they were the ones to orchestrate the platinum affair is so beautiful to me. fc yee understands me. he gets it.

yangchen and kavik have such a beautiful relationship. i love that by the end, yangchen still doesn’t even realize that kavik isn’t remorseful because he betrayed the Avatar, but because he betrayed her. he doesn’t even really give a shit that she’s the avatar in like, the grand, spiritual sense. he just loves her for who she is. a smart, funny air nomad who wants to make the world a better place. and she has it so bad for him lmfao i don’t think she even realizes it tho 😭

i loved the references to gurus laghima and shoten, the koans yangchen quotes to herself throughout the novels, the portrayal of air nomad culture in general. it’s great to be able to spend time with air nomads in a real way, even if most of the action still takes place in the earth kingdom.

jetsun is such an incredible minor character, that final scene tells us so much with so little. and i love the stark contrast she provides to kalyaan, which yangchen even says. the difference between older sisters (queens & legends) and older brothers (toxic male manipulators) i suppose.

a minor detail i enjoy is the confirmation that airbenders can use airwaves to detect the movement of objects. it’s only fair that each element gets its own version of seismic sense, and if firebenders have heatbending and airbenders have wavebending, i think waterbenders could theoretically do the same via the moisture in the air. just a fun piece of lore i like to think about.

i love that despite how intelligent and studious she is, yangchen is, fundamentally, a jock. she thinks in koans and sports references. she prides herself on being airball team captain. she is competitive and fun loving, just like any other air nomad.

also yangchen being called “a terror” (by jetsun) and “a horrible little girl” (by yingsu) is so real and adorable she’s literally a little sister & a menace!!!! <3

combustion bending lore getting expanded upon was great for me. i love that chaisee’s history as an exploited pearl diver gave her both the idea and the will to use people as weapons. it’s not that she thinks it’s okay to do, but she thinks it’s fine because it’s how the world works. though she’ll use the cruelest methods, she’s not innately cruel, she’s just been jaded enough to become amoral, and thinks doing whatever it takes to secure her position is always justified. excellent character i fucking love her truly.

we never actually find out what happened to jujinta or the history behind the yuyan archers, but that’s okay. the toll it has on him is what’s important, and that’s communicated effectively enough without exposition.

i thought that surely yangchen would find a way to end the platinum affair, but i actually loved that there was no getting through to feishan, and ultimately, he had the power. i think her strategy of becoming the zongdu for the entire earth kingdom and personally distributing funds is fascinating, because it’s exactly the kind of un-air-nomad behavior that separates her from aang. yangchen is wise and spiritual, but she is also shrewd and pragmatic. her air nomad status strengthens her integrity where it matters, but it doesn’t hinder her ability to make the necessary calls that burden the avatar. as much as she doubts herself and resents her responsibilities, she handles her role beautifully.

her bison dying to save her is just. sheer pain. first jetsun and now nujian, not to mention her banishment from the northern air temple, avatarhood demanding sacrifice is the one constant across all their lifetimes. except roku. roku’s just a spoiled brat.

something i love about kavik is that he is an excellent liar. i think that if he continues his career in espionage instead of becoming a healer, he could really flourish. also the fact that he’s really good at mental math is very funny to me. when you long to be a doctor but your skills are in accounting and spycraft…

the chaisee yangchen foilage is so rich & juicy i love how chaisee genuinely loves air nomad philosophy despite her own modus operandi being so antithetical to air nomad values. how it’s clear that despite commiserating with the burden of the avatar, she so desperately wishes she had that power and built-in clout and eternally preserved legacy. how she calls yangchen her “little sister” in a parallel with kalyaan & kavik, but jetsun is her actual big sister so the thought of chaisee calling her that disgusts her. i actually think that if chaisee had joined the white lotus instead of becoming a zongdu she could have enjoyed all the benefits of power and protection without actually putting herself at risk. but she is also far vainer than she would like to admit. alas.

i would have really loved to see the dynamic between chaisee and kalyaan. i know they would be such a fascinating couple, these inverted foils of yangchen and kavik, who are so smart, and shrewd, and talented, and fragile. i could read an entire novel just about their domestic disputes.

i love the way the novel dealt with questions of avatarhood—its unfair burden, its unfair power, the ghosts of past lives possessing you, the way it can be so isolating even when you have community and personal support and the adoration of the masses, the arrogance that unique power can lead to. it’s a very difficult question if you actually try to consider the in-universe political implications of it. i hardly find it surprising that an anarchist (such as comrade xai bau) would come to the conclusion that avatars should not exist.

fc yee does such a great job of incorporating lore from atla & lok, both small details and major plotpoints, in a way that feels natural and seamless. despite the fact that the tone of this novel is very different, it still feels like it takes place in the exact same universe. and for what it’s worth, i prefer the tone here. not that i don’t love the grand sweeping quest narrative of atla, but the daily minutia of exploitation, the manipulations and machinations of power players on a more balanced world stage is far more intriguing to me as an adult. the same way that as an adventure-loving child i was obsessed with katara, but i grew into loving sokka as i matured. i will always enjoy atla’s righteous battle between good and evil, but the nuanced, grounded politics of the yangchen novels really hit the spot for me now. i said in the past that the kyoshi novels do what lok tried to do, but this novel is actually the most perfectly illustrative of that idea for me. maybe because it explores the exact kind of archetypes and themes im already predisposed to enjoy in this franchise. maybe it’s just recency bias. but i loved this book.

#sorry this took a year and a whole other novel to write this lmao #notsosecrettunnel #asks #the dawn of yangchen #the legacy of yangchen #chronicles of the avatar #yangchen #chaisee #kavik #kalyaan #ayunerak #jetsun #tagging the characters i have already drawn and/or know i will draw eventually #also heavily considering changing my url to smth yangchen related and maybe just straight up becoming a yangchen blog period.... 😬

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wildsidejazz · 7 months

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Seriously Kopi Luwak could have been such an interesting antagonist for Legoshi, there was so much potential. I feel like that organisation would have been far better at exploring the hardships of mixed species than solely just relying on Melon. Sure, Melon was the product of what can happen in extreme cases if someone is pushed to the margins but I feel like Kopi Luwak was set up to be a way darker foe than Melon just killing to feel alive.

Our introduction to then is that they targeted children in a kindergarden of mixed species animals and according to Free their goal is to eliminate all mixed species animals and the leader wanted to assess Melon's "worth". Gosha was there to defend the kids but based on his reaction this gang may have genuinely killed literal children.

It would have been super interesting to have Gosha more entangled with them, perhaps getting critical damage or barging in when Legoshi was there and thus expose Legoshi as a mixed species animal and turn him into the Kopi Luwak's target. Especially if they learn Legoshi's love is not only not of his own species, but an herbivore to the boot. Like what if they tried to capture him to turn him into a test/study subject.

Then the composition of the Kopi Luwak could be a dangerous combo as well. Deshico himself looks harmless but the bats he employs are a different case. Bats can carry around diseases like rabies (that is a certain miserable death to other mammals) for their entire life. Being a reptile descendant Legoshi may have a survival chance but if they used that for their means that would be terrifying.

Another interesting question would be how would Yahya come into this. We know he has a deep grudge towards mixed species relations as a whole since in his eyes that took Gosha away from him and he is prone to excessive force when it comes to carnivore criminals but I don't want to think he'd be on board with full-on genocide.

It cannot be denied though that the government shows favoritism for same species couples and will subsidize bringing forth children, while mixed species families are just barely tolerated and usually are massively frowned upon to the degree that kids are not accepted into regular daycare. With an environment like that I don't find it impossible that aithorities would willingly turn a blind eye to or outright support the vile conduct of the Kopi Luwak, just as the Mayor wanted to keep Haru's kidnapping a secret to preserve the fragile facade of peace.

Further complicating factor could be if on top of all this Legoshi wanted to keep Melon from this group's grasp because even his murderous ass doesn't deserve whatever the Kopi Luwak wanted of him and Melon slowly finding that he actually does enjoy being around Legoshi and not in his usual mocking way

#beastars #legoshi #gosha #yahya #melon #idk i feel like there is a change in the story since the introductionof kopi luwak #like it was meant to be something else entirely something so vile even the peeps of the black alley market would shudder #but got scrapped #i wish we could have dwelled in it #but paru said she had bloody urine by the end so 😬#they should have just let her go on hiatus to organise her thoughts #bc i feel like kopi luwak as a foe would have hit harder #and much much more terrifying than riz yahya or melon combined

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