#come back makorra stans

[anghraine]

A few bad but fairly typical P&P takes got me thinking about ... Mako from Legend of Korra, actually, and also, just fandom dynamics.

Many of you weren't in that fandom (or perhaps any fandom) back when LOK aired, but I was very active in it. I actually liked—and still like—some aspects of LOK better than ATLA, and I certainly liked the fandom better than ATLA's.

That said, LOK fandom was still less a dumpster fire than a landfill explosion. To this day, I couldn't even identify the single character who got hit the hardest by LOK fandom's approach to discourse, which like most fandoms today, painted a thin veneer of social justice over good old-fashioned stanning/ship wars, but did it much more transparently.

In any case, if I were going to try and pick the character who got hit hardest by the LOK discourse truck, Mako would at least be in the running. The later days of LOK fandom can give the sense that the basic ship war from Day 1 was Korra/Mako (Makorra) vs Korra/Asami (Korrasami). But my strong impression back when the first book aired was that the ship war dynamic was much more Korra/Mako vs Korra/anyone-but-Mako.

There were plenty of not-Mako options. Korra/Bolin was pretty big for awhile. Korra/Tahno had a substantial following during/after Book 1—Tahno was the waterbender from the rival pro-bending team who got curb-stomped by Amon. There was, of course, Korra/Asami (seemed like no chance in hell at the time, but sweet). It was even a good fandom for hero/villain shippers like me.

I think a lot of this activity ultimately coalesced around Korrasami. But at the time, it hadn't quite happened yet. The fandom was wanky (sorry, discourse-y) about virtually every character, but a lot of people really, really, really hated Mako in particular—Mako haters could encompass people who liked or hated the first season, people who loved or hated Korra, people still mad about Zutara, whatever. I didn't like him at the end of Book 1, myself, though I couldn't buy into the screeds about how abusive and exploitative and otherwise problematic he supposedly was.

Since I didn't actually have much of a stake in the main ship wars, I've always found this dynamic more interesting than anything else in terms of fandom behavior, because I've seen it happen many times, but I hadn't often seen it at the level that Mako hatedom took it to back then. So I was thinking about how this happens, and the particular way it happened with Mako back in the aftermath of Book 1.

Early in Book 1, Mako is revealed to be a tragic, brooding orphan with a slight edge trying to support his sweet-natured younger brother and himself through a mixture of industrial work and magic sports. He gets swept off his feet (literally and metaphorically) by a beautiful, very cool, very rich girl (Asami) and enters a romantic relationship with her, only to feel increasingly drawn to his beautiful, very cool, very powerful friend Korra, our heroine.

Some people pointed out that "which awesome and hot girl do I choose :( it's really hard :( :(" is not the most sympathetic quandary for a character to be in, and for the target audience, particularly unsympathetic coming from a young man. And the choice to repeatedly cut from shippy Mako/Korra moments to Asami looking upset didn't help (especially since Asami lost almost everything when she chose to stick with them and turn on her father). And Mako's eventual apology to Asami was genuinely a bit underwhelming—it's basically "mistakes were made."

And, yeah, those things are true. But fandom is not always so OTT hostile about the man in that kind of love triangle taking awhile to get his shit figured out, even when the man is much older than Mako, a literal teenager. Like, I never thought I'd compare Avatar to Bridgerton, but the Edwina-Anthony-Kate dynamic seems roughly similar and most of the fandom came away from it really invested in Anthony/Kate and sympathetic to them. It depends on the fandom and on the depiction.

It's not that Mako didn't screw up in Book 1. It's that the reaction—he's an awful person for pretty ordinary missteps and some poor relationship choices, he's an abuser, he's the worst character in the show, whatever—just seemed wildly disproportionate.

And also, yeah, overreacting to minor misdeeds and reducing a character to ultra-exaggerated versions of their worst selves out of sheer annoyance is a fandom staple (especially when the misdeeds take up as much air as the early LOK love triangle seemed to for many people, with other aspects of the story crammed into limited space). But the extent of the hatred still struck me as rather extraordinary, especially since he seemed to go from reasonably well-liked to feverishly hated in a short period of time.

My theory after B1 aired was that this really came from the intersection of a fandom that was very prone to this kind of exaggeration and poor faith readings with the actual structure of his characterization in B1. We quickly discover his tragic past with his parents being murdered, and that he's been struggling on the streets, and has to look after a cuddly but clueless brother who doesn't seem to get the urgency of their problems. He uses his prodigious lightningbending abilities to make just enough money in a sort of magic power plant to get by in combination with pro-bending successes. Essentially, we're given far more than the minimum required to sympathize with him and tolerate the occasional asshole moment.

But later on in B1, a lot of his characterization and scenes are directly tied up in the love triangle, and many of his original, somewhat more ... pressing concerns, end up getting pretty much resolved in one way or another. So a lot of those original sources of sympathy that were so concentrated in his early scenes are no longer a concern, while others are no longer being emphasized by the narrative.

And it's certainly the case that Mako was much less widely and disproportionately hated later on, at least in my fandom experience. Some people still hated Makorra with a passionate fire, but Mako himself seemed much more endearing to many people once the narrative dialed down the love triangle, explicitly paid attention to his loyalty as a friend, his basic heroism, his close yet sometimes difficult relationship with his brother, and a certain adorkableness that was not absent in B1, but which wasn't as heavily emphasized.

I don't mean to argue that this later narrative treatment was necessarily better, but I do think the more even distribution of sympathetic qualities or revelations about him alongside his flaws made him much more palatable to a lot of the fandom. It's like people ... just kind of forgot why many of them originally liked him unless the narrative went out of its way to remind them.

This is really long, but I did feel that B1 kind of overplayed its hand with Mako early in the season, and then underplayed it in the later parts of the season, and fandom being fandom, people enormously overreacted to their sense of what was going on in that phase of the story (for many: ARGH!!) and not all the information they actually had.

This isn't a hill to die on for me, exactly. It was just how I saw what was going on—this kind of toxic mix of fandom bullshit with some peculiar choices in the structure of his characterization and what got emphasized (or even mentioned) where. That is still my general impression, though—that the fandom's response wasn't coming from nowhere, but that we were getting this kind of intersection of a fandom even more prone than most to over-reaction and poor faith assumptions + some genuine oddities in structure and emphases in his characterization during that first season.

What does this have to do with P&P? Well, I'll get to that. But this post is honestly long enough already, so I'll do the follow-up tomorrow, probably.

#anghraine babbles #more than usual! #long post #i need a tag that's not a main tag for this tbh #i guess i'll start with #lok fanwank #mako critical #it's not the point but definitely digs into some of the stuff in the show that people were overreacting to #general fanwank

[klkbass]

What Happened to Mako? (My Legend of Korra story)

I realized the other day that the Legend of Korra has been over for nearly a decade. Although many believe it is the inferior of the two Avatar shows, I have watched the entire series at least five times (maybe six). The biggest reason: Mako. Here was this handsome, cool, Firebender. I was a stan almost instantly.

After the series ended, I was disappointed with his outcome. I thought for sure he should be with Korra. So, I did what any good fan would do when they are displeased--I started writing my own version of events. The more common nomenclature: fanfiction.

It started as a Makorra story, but it wasn't NSFW or anything of that nature as many fan stories tend to rise. I wanted something that stayed true to the nature of the original cartoon. Something that could be shared with any audience similar to what "The Legend of Genji" was doing. Also, after reading the graphic novels, I wanted to further explore the ramifications of having humans and spirits living so close together. Thus, the question became, "What if Mako got cursed?" With his position as a detective, it could happen. It would also put him opposite of Tokuga. So, I wrote several thousand, thousand, words and, as things tend to do, eventually the story drifted out of my purview. It was fun while it lasted...but the seeds had been sown.

Fast-forward to San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) 2022. Avatar studios announce two new graphic novels. One to feature Azula, and the other--Mako; both to be released in the summer of 2023. I was ecstatic. After so many years we were finally going to get more LoK content and, more specifically, Mako content. That's when I decided to revisit my own story. Maybe it would have some similarities to what was to come. I rewrote the entire thing to be more canon. No longer was it Makorra. Korra could be there, but this was going to be his adventure. What started as a few chapters, evolved into what is currently around two-hundred thousand words of what happened to Mako after Korra.

When SDCC 2023 came around, I waited with baited breath for news of the aforementioned graphic novels. Azula's story was being pushed back to fall (fine), there was going to be a new story featuring Iroh and June (who asked for that?)--and that was it. No mention of the Mako graphic novel. Not even if it was officially canceled. It was simply non-existent. I was disappointed to say the least.

Alas, at least I had my own nonsense.

Then, a thought slowly began to build. I could share my nonsense. There are still fans out there who want to see more of Mako. Maybe I could find someone that might appreciate what I've done. No sense putting in all this work and keeping it to myself. I was hesitant of course. I've never shared any of my stories before. I'm hardly a wordsmith though I pretend to be one on the internet. After several months of waffling, I decided "what difference would it make?" I could keep it to myself where no one else would read it, or I could share it and maybe find someone else who might enjoy it. There was very little risk short of the wrath of the internet. Keyboard warriors are never shy about sharing their displeasure of things they don't like.

I guess, at this point in my life, I'm too old to care. (Don't ask my age!)

So, if you've made it this far, let me add my shameless plug. If any of this sounds interesting to you, you can find my story here.

Please enjoy, and here's to hoping we get something official.

#mako #legend of korra #legend of korra mako #mako fanfiction #legend of korra fanfic #Mako fanfic

[kirbyspits]

A lot of Makorra shippers only moved on because they’re afraid of being called homophobic for not shipping korrasami. I LITERALLY saw someone on Instagram yesterday call a makorra shipper homophobic just for saying korrasami came out of nowhere. Also, Korrasami shippers LOVE to bring up the "popping bottles" backlash to make fun of makorra shippers. I left the tlok fandom in 2014 bc it was so toxic as a teenager, but now i’m 23. I’m no longer afraid of shipping something i always loved.

Ah, yes, I realized I didn’t address the fandom's toxicity in the last ask, but I’ve spoken about it before. I don't talk too much about the past because I was at the edge of the fandom back in 2014/2015. I was aware of fights, but the discussions I saw were moreso on bi-erasure. I saw one post saying it was wrong to ship Makorra. I remember being really confused about why Makorra was actually problematic, but I didn’t appreciate being told who I can ship the only dark-skinned woman protagonist on a major television network with. Why are you forcing me to ignore Mako and Korra’s relationship? Book 1 is practically about Mako and Korra, all other characters be damned. Me preferring the story of one pairing and a popular romance trope, second chances, is not wrong, and no one would know how I view the LGBT+ community based on who I ship in one show.

I ended up leaving the community because I was disappointed with season 4 in general. When Korra was released on Netflix, I figured it was time to rewatch the series again (plus, I’ve been binging all my favorite romance anime). So imagine my shock when I created a new Tumblr and Twitter account to rant and rave about TLOK, and I saw nothing but hate and name-calling in the Makorra tags. I saw people casually throwing around the word “homophobic,” and one person said people who don’t like Korrasami are just misogynistic. 

I just wanted pretty pictures, and people are out here psychoanalyzing shippers! So, I dug through some blogs and to feel more grounded with this fandom I didn’t recognize. After reading through their commentaries and experiences, I actually became more upset at Bryke than the teenagers/children who comment on Makorra posts saying how much better Korrasami is or accuse Makorra shippers of being homophobic. 

Yes, I truly believe these comments are mostly coming from people in their late teens and younger, at least in 2020. I can’t speak on 2014/2015, but since we were younger, the early 20s/late teens, I wonder if our age group was also the loudest. Don’t get me wrong, adults can be horrible people and can get really nasty. However, every time I look up the rudest commenters' profiles, they were teens. When one Korrasami shipper wrote “screw Makorra” on my AMV, I figured I’d have some fun trolling them until I clicked on their profile and saw a child. Needless to say, I ignored them and reflected on how parents are allowing their babies on TikTok while my parents freaked out at the idea of showing my picture on FB growing up. 

*I’m not still mad about that*

Also, while it doesn’t give anyone an excuse to make such a strong accusation, part of me, as a straight person, feels like I can’t get too upset because I also become very aware of my privilege. The space I’m in is a majority of young LGBT+ fans (at least on Twitter where I’ve seen the most toxicity). Some people see TLOK as their safe space and imply why should there be Makorra shippers when they have all these other cis/het shows they can engage with. It doesn’t work like that, of course. TLOK doesn’t only feature Bi characters. They’re POC/Indigenous, women, and Korra has dark skin. That’s a lot of marginalized communities. Makorra/TLOK is my comfort show, not because she’s with a man, but because of the reasons I just listed. Also shipping Korra with Mako doesn’t mean she’s no longer bi. She’d still be attracted to women.

Here’s who I am upset with tho, Bryke. Mostly Bryan. While Makorra shippers called out Korrasami shippers for cyberbullying, the focus seemed to be on Bryan for making it seem like there was something wrong with them for not finding Korrasami’s narrative satisfying. It was especially sad to read bloggers who identified as being part of the LGTB+ community saying Bryan’s hetero-lens dismissed their experience and then having to defend/proving themselves to anonymous messengers. 

Fans saw it as a betrayal. They saw it as the go-head for the rude Korrasami shippers to harass Makorra artists because they “didn’t watch the show correctly.” When the creator, the person you admire, also puts the blame on you, that kind of pain is on another level.

Korrasami shippers played a huge role in kicking Makorra shippers out of the fandom, but we can’t underestimate how much Bryan’s statement is a slap in the face. He used his characters and social justice as a shield for reasonable criticism. Just because we say a story is bad and Asami is grossly underwritten doesn’t mean that we’re against the idea of Korra and Asami being a couple. 

Of course, I’ve seen some very problematic statements from Makorra shippers. After all, homophobia is real. However, aside from the actual bigots, people have no issue with Korrasami. They just wanted a stronger connection between the girls. Many people seem to think Makorra shippers were looking for more romance, but we know we couldn't expect that. We can expect more screentime, musical cues, and more emotional support, which most people can see as platonic, but be romantic if you really want to. Mako’s interactions in book 4 can be seen as platonic, but all of us Makorra shippers saw it to be romantic.

Popping bottles! I completely missed that joke in 2014 and I discovered it this year. I agree it’s pretty annoying, but I become a troll and say I’m popping bottles for my Makorra moments. I don’t get any engagement, but I don’t seem to lose followers for it. Maybe popping bottles represents “straight-baiting?” I don’t get it why it’s so funny after all this time, but we’re Makorra shippers. We’re the joke 🙄

Anyways, to wrap up, lately, there seems to be a bit of a shift on Twitter. When I first created an account. I stayed in my little corner live-tweeting about TLOK and Makorra. I had to stop looking at the Makorra tag because it was so negative. Now, I’m seeing people admit they’re cute, and then saying they’re platonic soulmates. I’ll take it, although, as one commenter said, “that’s boring!” 

Someone led a Makorra Week back in October, and it was really nice! I have feeling people speaking up on the name-calling and reminding people that we’re talking about 2D characters helped. We just want to be left alone and enjoy the scenes we have in the show, art, and fanfiction. 

Keep shipping who you want! Don’t let any stranger shame you for your shipping preferences, especially in fiction! I’m so happy you feel more comfortable shipping these two dorks! You’re not alone! I’ve been a Makorra shipper since 2012, and while I find Korrasami cute (I love Korra, and I love Asami), Makorra is my OTP. I really like them, and I think they were meant for each other.

#kirbyspits answers #come back makorra stans #anti bryke #makorra #tlok fandom

[hitchell-mope]

Do not reblog yet. It’s not finished

My unpopular opinions about fandom and entertainment

Armour should protect not be sexualised. This goes for both men and women

Canon > fanon except in the case of scrubs and the Star Wars sequels

Women being “weak” for being emotional and men being “whiny” for being emotional is a concept that needs to die

Villains need to be hated again

Strong women in a position of power ≠ lgbt character. At least not all the time

Man who’s more interested in cooking and is in tune with his emotions ≠ lgbt character. At least not all the time

As long as the current CEO’s are still in power we’re not getting canon lgbt content in things like Disney animated movies to the degree that most fandoms want

I’m not very fond of the “superpowers/magic/fantasy race used as a thinly veiled sexism/racism/lgbt metaphor” trope.

Let villains be unattractive in looks again as well as personality

Main characters need to be scrutinised less. Again this goes for both men and women

Rich hero who tries to do good however they can > rich villain who tries to kill everyone because they’re pissed they didn’t get their way

Tying into point 8. Stop having characters with magic or superpowers experimented on. It’s not cute. It’s disturbing

We need more G rated shows with main gay characters like Andi Mack and less of shows like riverdull and Netflix Sabrina

Token straights need to be a thing.

Not everything has romantic undertones. Especially if they’re two white men who hate each other

It’s not ooc for characters like Toph, Mako or Lin to be part of law enforcement. Especially when you know they’re histories

If the main straight pairing is between a white guy and a non white girl. Don’t disregard it and pair the guy up with another white guy (looking at you merlin fandom and kelvin timeline fandom)

Just because it’s not spoon fed to you doesn’t mean it’s a plot hole

A character being psycho and wearing less clothes then others isn’t a fitting substitute for a personality

The villain section of the Hayes code should definitely be brought back full force

Fictional women don’t need to be “saved” from healthy heterosexual relationships. Same goes for men in health heterosexual relationships

White guy who yells a lot ≠ attractive god like being. Especially if he’s the unequivocal villain

Older siblings are not responsible for their younger siblings if they have a perfectly functional parent who’s only problem is “head up their ass syndrome”

Older siblings just deserve better in general really

Fandom misandry is on the same level as fandom misogyny if not a little worse because people don’t think it exists unless a pairing comes into it

The “obnoxious whiny uses cuteness to get their way younger siblings” aren’t as cute as people think

Constant use of current slang words in an effort to be modern needs to stop. It leads to the work being incredibly dated in a very short amount of time

Half baked reasons to depower the rightfully overpowered protagonist for unnecessary drama are ridiculous when we all know if they had full access to said powers and had the proper training they’d wipe the floor with the problem (this applies to the worf effect and forgot about his powers tropes. Not things like kryptonite and other weaknesses)

Enemies to lovers is a nice trope, yes, but fans have twisted it into “villain hating and/or trying to kill protagonist = Shakespearean romance” which leads to really unhealthy dynamics. Essentially. Be like batcat and not like reylo

Fantasy shows shouldn’t be steeped in sex, nudity and rape to be taken seriously as adult worthy material.

Stop shipping women with men who want them dead

Pairings like Jake x Rose/makorra > pairings like z*tara

People need to accept that films, shows and books that were made decades or even five years ago will not match up to what fans now deem as culturally sensitive

Stan culture is fucking terrifying

Not being spineless doesn’t mean being a raging bitch

Fandom as a whole need to hold women accountable more. Especially villainesses.

No protagonist, no matter their age or gender, should be expected to keep it together 100% of the time

Characters that aren’t Mary Sues but get turned into one by the fanbase

Canon same gender deeply meangingful platonic relationship >>>>>>>>>> non canon same gender romance between those two characters

Abusive parents/family members should never be forgiven

Hype fatigue is a real thing

We need more characters like Alex Danvers and Winn Schott. Close friendships between lgbt characters and straight characters

Once again. Just because it’s gay doesn’t mean it’s good

The constant adding in of more characters doesn’t add depth. It just leaves everything half baked.

Characters like Doug, Ron and Finn >>>>>>>>>> characters like Harry, Draco and Kylo

We are the fringe demographic for Disney movies. Until the current people in charge die off and our generation take over, unless we are very lucky, we aren’t getting actual fully canon lgbt characters in Disney animated canon anytime soon

Death doesn’t need to equal redemption. Sometimes villains just need to be killed off to thin out the cast so the main characters get the attention they need

Not every villain deserves redemption

Same applies to petty bitches from DCOM’s. Especially petty privileged rich girls who can’t take no for an answer

Everything’s better with airships

Not liking a too popular for their own good non canon pairing, wether it’s straight or not, doesn’t make you a bad person.

The “xyz thing that has no evidence in canon but I’m saying it did because it’s what I think should’ve happened is canon now because I said so, sorry, I don’t make the rules” phenomena is really annoying since these people ALWAYS fucking ACT like they make the rules

Men calling women out on their crap should be normalised more

A lot of the time’s I feel that when fans try to make a platonic relationship romantic the resulting pairing loses everything that made the friendship work

They might not NEED a man but they might sure as hell WANT one. So why shouldn’t they get one?

Fictional feminism needs to be done better. Stop bashing men for existing please

Face the fact that you might think a character is attractive while someone else may not. The reverse is also true. Attractiveness is subjective after all. A character or actor who’d attractive to one person may look like a foot to another person

A villain doesn’t need a sad backstory. Some are just shitty people. And fans need to deal with it

No protagonist, either man women child fantasy creature or animal, should be expected to silence themselves to make others feel comfortable

Magic should be fun and intergrated more. Not a secret to be ashamed of

I’m so damn sick and tired of the “home wrecking lesbian” character type. It’s boring. And cruel. Stop it. Please. (Side eyeing Neighbours and Friends)

While we’re at it. Enough of the man hating lesbian character type please? It’s just another nail in the coffin for healthy platonic friendships

Stop equating the actors real life personalities with the characters they play. Tom Felton ≠ Malfoy. Katie McGrath ≠ Lena Luther. Etc etc

Stop using actors real life friendships to prop up your unhealthy toxic ships

I don’t care what the actors say about their own headcanons in interviews. If it’s not what the writers intended to happen they just need to shut up and do the job they’re paid to do

Actors shouldn’t give false hope to fans. Ie: don’t encourage a non canon pairing that you know isn’t gong to happen. It’s unfair to both sides of the fandom (side eyeing the main actress from descendants)

There is such a thing as being too woke to function. Especially if it’s someone’s only character trait. It just leads to them being completely unsympathetic (side eyes Lisa Marie Simpson)

Using the word “heterosexual” as an insult needs to stop. It’s wrong when gay or the “f-a” word is used as an insult and it’s wrong when heterosexual is used as an insult. Just stop

Characters that use their gender race or sexuality to evade criticism (again, neighbours and far too many sitcoms to count)

A lot of fans, more often than not, completely misuse nuance. A villain who’s only traits are mass murder and thinly veiled adjacent racism doesn’t deserve to be three dimensional

When characters like Sheldon Cooper or John Dorian have to move out of their own apartment to satiate their inconsiderate friends. Especially when it was the formers apartment first

In a similar vein. When the man has to move into the woman’s house instead of the other way around.

Characters like Erik Lehnsherr. When you have a Jewish Holocaust survivor ranting about how “we are the cure” to a massive crowd of his black clad like minded followers. THAT is when you should realise you’ve failed to make a sympathetic villain

I’m really tired of the “nagging wife of a man in a high pressure job is the one you should side with” trope. It’s annoying. And it always leaves me siding with the husband

Children being used as a mouthpiece for the writers views when by all logic they shouldn’t even be aware of said views.

How awkward it is when characters who are clearly not teenagers use teenage slang and jargon in an ill conceived attempt to appear “relatable” to their children.

The gradual abandonment of boys as a target demographic.

Shows where feminism is weaponised.

Characters like Meredith Grey shouldn’t be expected to play happy families with any secret sibling who melts out of the woodwork. It’s kind of insulting actually.

Characters with blue and orange morality shouldn’t be punished for not having black and white morality.

Law of inverse fertility. Just let women who want kids actually HAVE kids. And stop foisting children on women who are in no way capable of being decent mothers.

The absence of proper villains in Disney movies.

The fact that anti intellectualism directly led to the overuse and misuse of the word himbo

When men get rightly jealous of other men their wives and girlfriends hang out with and get dragged for it when you KNOW that if it was the other way around then the woman would be seen as right.

Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh belong under copyright. So does Sherlock. Some things aren’t meant to be in the public domain

Modernising the classics is a sickness and needs to be stopped.

Relating to #86. I’d much rather be mad at period accurate prejudice then be driven to exasperation by parent/government/teacher characters born before tv existed being A-Okay with poc interacting with them in a social setting

Things made decades and even 3-4 years ago will NEVER match up to todays morality standards on this site. So please. Stop fucking bitching about the miniskirts in og Star Trek or how Ross Gellar was a “homophobe” because he didn’t like the fact that his wife cheated on him and left him for the other woman who then proceeded to try and cut him out of his unborn sons life. You all sound like morons.

You can make all the headcanons you like. But for the love of god. Respect EVERY character’s sexuality. Not just the lgbt ones. If a character says they’re straight. They’re straight. If you’re writing about canon. They’re straight. Just because you think that they’re gay doesn’t mean that they’re gay.

In the same vein of the above. Many, many, of you in various fandoms need to get it through your heads that quite a few women and girls in the shows and films you obsess over, like Jane Hopper, actually like being feminine. And you lot need to respect that. Because in the grand scheme of things. Your opinion means jackshit.

I’m never going to like this recent trend of making the romantic platonic and the platonic romantic. All those batshit crazy “elmike” people are just bylers in another font.

All shows and films where the brainiac lead male character is chastised for being a “robot” just reeks of anti-intellectualism to me.

A character is not automatically lgbt just because they are capable of shapeshifting. I fully concede that it would most likely be easier per se. But it doesn’t automatically make them lgbt.

Shows really need to think about feminism in more ways than “man bad/woman good” because a lot of the times. It makes the woman look a lot worse than intended

I completely support that women should not be forced into motherhood. But by the same token. Some shows need to get it through their heads that men shouldn’t be forced into fatherhood.

You HAVE to respect a characters canon sexuality. There’s no two ways about it. It’s basic human decency. BUT you are not required to like how that character or their relationship is handled. Or the character themselves. Case in point. Catra, Thomas Barrow, Nicolette Stone. Their sexualities are not the problem. They are.

If the man knows more than you. Then just fucking listen to him. If the woman knows more than you. Then just fucking listen to her. Forget about mansplaining. If someone knows more than you. Then for the love of Christ. Just fucking listen to them for fucks sake

Directors who disrespect the source material should not be adapting them. And yes. I’m talking about Taika Waititi, Greta Gerwig and whoever made that ridiculous Persuasion film for Netflix.

#me #about me #personal #fandom problems #fandom #stan culture #hype fatigue

[devildogdemon]

Why Episode 3:“The Revelation” is the Best Makorra Episode

“I personally loved Makorra, but I loved it for what it could have been, not what it wound up actually being in the show--but that’s because the love triangle was sloppy as hell and poorly handled, and it took the place of actual bonding for the krew and development of their individual friendships.” 

This meta by the ever-so-cogent @firelxdykatara​ has resonated with me a lot ever since I read it. I don’t know how many Makorra stans feel the same way, but it seems like many of us also saw great potential in their prospective love story and how it could have greatly benefited both their characters. But no thanks to the dark abyss that is Bryke-written romance, that potential was tragically never recognized. Instead it was wasted for love-triangle drama that did not do any favors for Mako and Korra as individual characters, and greatly damaged both the foundation for Makorra and the Krew as a whole (heck, it even puts a chink in Korrasami for a lot of people). 

So that begs the question, when and where did we see that untapped potential of Makorra? Obviously for everyone, it’s different. I mean, people were shipping Korra and Mako before the show even aired! 

For me though, I say look no further than:

I remember quite well on my first viewing this is when I began to vociferously root for Mako and Korra to get together! While Episode 2 had me someone lukewarm on Makorra, Episode 3 got me on board gleefully and excited for more to come! 😭 And rewatching the series in 2020 hindsight (lol), I think it truly is the episode that could have been the cornerstone for Makorra to be a much stronger ship than it ended up being in canon. In my opinion, no episode highlights the wasted potential that Makorra had nearly as much as this one.

So without further adieu, here are my reasons why “The Revelation” is the best Makorra episode. 

Time Devoted to Just Mako and Korra

It’s easy to say the reason why this episode is the best is because Asami, and in turn the love triangle/square, had yet to come barreling into the story on a moped.

And I do think that’s at least partially true. But only because Korra and Mako’s relationship dynamic in Episode 3 was already so compelling and well-done on its own merit. It showed that the love triangle really wasn’t needed at all, even if it had been written with any slightest bit of competence better. I’m not anti-Asami or even anti-Book 1 love triangle necessarily, but what transpired in that storyline fell quite short of the much more captivating romance arc we were promised in Episode 3. 

Then there’s also the fact that Bolin is mostly out of the picture, allowing Mako and Korra to learn to connect with each other without a third wheel. I don’t think I’m alone in thinking Bolin’s crush on Korra should have been dropped after Episode 2. Mainly because it adds very little to the story/his character and only frames Mako and Korra, as well as their romance, in a pretty bad light later on. Conversely, Korra and Mako putting so much dedication into rescuing Bolin in this episode makes both of them come off much more likable and admirable. 

So taking Asami and Bolin out of the picture, what is it about Korra and Mako’s relationship that works so well in this episode? 

Perfect Application of the Battle Couple Trope 

Mako and Korra’s relationship, in Book 1 at least, is very much jock/jock. For that reason, it makes perfect sense for their growing romance to follow the beats of the Battle Couple Trope:

This is the kind of couple where bullets figure prominently in the story of their romance. Where "war buddy" and "significant other" are synonyms. If you harm either one of them, the survivor will kill you as surely as the sun rises. Their mere presence increases the chance of a Back-to-Back Badasses scene to nearly 100%. They may also bicker or flirt in the middle of a fight, much to the confusion or consternation of their opponents. 

And in “The Revelation,” that is pretty much what we get (on an abstract level at least). And the results work beautifully! Korra and Mako’s dynamic here is less that of the argumentative, drama-ridden, old married couple they would later devolve into, and more like a badass action duo with romantic hints sprinkled in here and there. Something you’d see in an action movie/mystery thriller: a romance developing organically between two people within a grander overarching plot of working together to discover a secret/rescue someone they care about. As well as learning more about each other and the world in the process. 

Korra and Mako spend the episode working together as a pair of efficient, sagacious, mutually-dependent pair of sleuths. With Korra showing Mako just how competent and reliable she is, and Mako gradually getting closer to Korra and learning to stop pushing her away. All while chasing after an elusive mystery and putting the pieces of a bigger puzzle together, solidly establishing their chemistry.  

They track down leads,

fight side-by-side,

solve puzzles,

and in doing so grow closer as the episode progresses. 

Why I think this works so well is because Korra and Mako’s interactions here remind me a lot of some of my favorite pairings of this trope. Most notably: 

Nate and Elena from Uncharted,

Steve and Natasha in Captain America: Winter Soldier,

(Yes, I know the Russo brothers said they never intended to set up a romance between Cap and Widow. But at the very least, they heavily teased it with no degree of subtlety).

And Ripley and Hicks from Aliens.

Some other examples include Diana/Steve Trevor from Wonder Woman, pretty much any Disney adventure couple, and Luke Cage/Jessica Jones in Season 1 of Jessica Jones.

Just like with all these great pairings, you get some great lighthearted banter:  

Pet names:

Fortuitous sexual tension:

Using PDA as an excuse to get some of that hunk of man as a diversionary tactic:

Wishing each other well before splitting up: 

And the girl saving the guy’s ass like a boss!  😎 

Korra and Mako needed way more moments like this throughout their relationship and the show as a whole. Making them more of a Battle Couple rather than a teen love drama fits both their characters much better AND establishes chemistry and complementarity between them much more naturally. 

Honestly, there’s times I wish with all my might the show just copied and pasted Nate and Elena’s relationship to Mako and Korra. Their romance was done so well, they even made it work throwing in a love triangle in Uncharted 2. Had the show gone that route and continued that dynamic, I’m confident Makorra would have been a fan-favorite pairing. 

Korra’s Trademark Nicknames

As mentioned above, this is the episode where we get Korra’s pet names for Mako that have since become iconic among in the Makorra fandom!  

I actually forgot that Korra sadly never calls Mako these terms of endearment again in the show. Despite that, there is a ton of Makorra fanmade content out there where she employs them regularly!

Clearly this episode deserves extra points for featuring such a momentous element of the Makorra fandom! 

Emotional and Physical Closeness: 

So we get plenty of the fun power couple dynamic, but there’s also time dedicated to having Korra and Mako connect on a deeper level. Spending more time with Mako allows Korra to dig beyond the coldhearted, distant loner façade he puts up. And spending more time with Korra allows Mako to see she is both strong and capable, but also very compassionate and understanding. This is done most effectively in the park scene, when Mako divulges to Korra his past with the Triple Threats. While Korra is initially hostile in response, she shows sympathy when she sees she has no right to judge his circumstances. Mako sees this, and not only does he eventually open up to her by telling her about his parents, but afterwards he stops directing undeserved animosity towards her. 

This is how romance should be used ideally in a story: as a tool to further develop the characters and create an exclusive bond between them that only they can understand. That bond helps each to see the other as they truly are and be a better version of themselves.  

This growing emotional bond is symbolized with Mako gradually getting closer to Korra as the episode progresses. And even more so later when Mako lends Korra his scarf, as @kirbyspits​ perceptively noted here.

Canon Zutara

Disclaimer: I apologize, non-Zutara shipping Makorra stans. I try not to compare Makorra to Zutara too much. But it’s almost impossible not to do at some point! The popular fandom theory behind Makorra has always been that it was intended to be a canon, romantic recreation of Zutara, endgame or otherwise. To my knowledge, this has never been confirmed nor denied by the creators, so its anyone‘s guess really. (I’ll do my best to keep this impartial, but if you absolutely can’t stand Zutara, feel free to skip this section.)

But let’s say just for now that yes, this was in fact Bryke’s intent while setting up Makorra in Book 1. The Makorra park scene in “The Revelation” would have to be their equivalent of the Holy Grail for Zutara shippers: Zuko and Katara’s Crystal Catacombs moments in Book 2, Episode 20: “The Crossroads of Destiny.” The scene that launched 1000 Zutara ships. 

The parallels are certainly there: 

Girl makes an angry (but not totally unjustified) presumption about the boy she’s stuck with,

Each boy lashes back using the exact same line of defense,

Shortly followed by the boy revealing the loss of his parent(s):

(😂 I’m so sorry! I’m going to hell. I just can never reference that line without thinking this.)

There really should have been more scenes like this between Korra and Mako. This gradual bonding and heartfelt discussions between two people who otherwise couldn’t stand each other was and still is one of the biggest appeals of the Zutara ship. It’s what Zutarians saw developed further in following episodes like “The Southern Raiders” and the series finale.  

What Makorra Could Have Been

A common argument Zutara shippers make in the shipping war is that Zuko is more on Katara’s level of overall maturity than Aang. Whether or not you agree with that, a more mature take on romance would have been a strong foundation for Korra and Mako’s relationship, and also helped to differentiate it more from Kataang. Especially for a show that was trying to be ‘darker and more mature’ compared to its predecessor. Book 1 could have spent more time tapping into Mako’s trauma and checkered past, and Korra finding her place in Republic City both as the Avatar and among her circle of friends. 

To steal from the excellent @magiesheartlove​‘s Deviantart page 

Maybe Makorra would have worked better as a slow burn instead, with more time devoted to Korra's character arc during the Equalist thing, and learning humility with Mako being the one to show her just how bad the city is from an insider's perspective. Mako's more cynical side could have been what helps Korra truly understand the real world, and her more free-spirited and outgoing ways could be what helps bring Mako out of his shell and have some fun.  

A dynamic similar to Rapunzel and Flynn in a way, while at the same time understanding how it feels to have such a responsibility (being the Avatar and being the only family for a younger brother and growing up without that many friends in an environment in which things sometimes felt limited) would have brought them closer as well.

I’m always on the hunt for Makorra fanfiction where Korra and Mako have a relationship that functions more like it did in “The Revelation.” Stories like that do a way better job fleshing out Korra and Mako’s characters and building upon their romance than what we got in canon. 

“The Revelation” is the best episode because it laid the groundwork for Makorra to be an entertaining, supportive, naturally-bonding, character-growing romance. It showed Korra and Mako being capable of both lighthearted small talk and deep, complex issues with each other. The following episodes should have featured more quippy banter, more use of Korra’s trademark nicknames, and most importantly, more mutual vulnerability and support exclusively between Korra and Mako. 

Those are my thoughts. If you agree/disagree/have any more thoughts to add, go for it! 

Thank you very much and Happy New Year, fellow Stans! 

#makorra #makorra 2.0 #can't hop off this ship #lok book 1 #makorra stan

[zoetic-aerography]

It’s funny when people can lie and be a total dick and not ashamed of themselves and then block me just on the grounds that I challenged, not even relegated or rejected, their ship. You guys are totally successful in life aren’t you. That is why you can’t politely challenge me back. I noticed many of the Korrasami stans attack me not my arguments. And one made such a stupid argument of Mako bringing Wu to the reunion meeting (So, lemme get this Wu is a future emperor and he needs to be protected and Mako will not listen to Lin Beifong and then Wu would have successfully been kidnapped making Mako, Korra and Asami look bad and that’s okay right?)  that I didn’t know what to say. 

Firstly, I am happy KA is getting a comic. I needed that comic to answer many of my questions about KA like when did Asami become really interested in Korra and when Korra also thought of Asami more than a friend. Also, having Mike tell that they went to the spirit world to “know each other” is a stupid thing to say. That completely unhinges all the things that KA fans used to say that this is why Asami and Korra are together. Asami and Korra knew each other beforehand, as KA people say, and also I think there is some truth in it. THAT IS WHY THEY ARE TOGETHER. The fact that Bryke knows nothing about their ship was pretty apparent. Even I know more about KA without being a KA fan. And, that is telling something.

Secondly, The KA fandom should be ashamed of themselves, Literally, even if some asshole Makorra fans acted mean to some KA fans during 2012 when the show first started no one was in that emotionally, mental and physical anxiety and TRAUMA after KA fandom started bullying them. You guys are not good people. You may kid yourselves thinking you are. But you are not. Ganging up and witch burning people, making T-shirts out a meme someone even didn’t write which was redacted still the person apologised for, telling people they are not queer basically erasing Korra and Asami’s bisexuality. Who the hell do you think you guys are? This is a bloody ship like Makorra is a bloody ship. I am not gonna strip down people to nothing but bones and then shatter them because they don’t like Makorra or Zutara or any ship. This is like the epitome of being bad people. You know there is some KA fans who actually are decent and actually are annoyed how their fandom acts. They realised that they loved their ship but they also love ACTUAL, LIVING BREATHING PEOPLE. People who go through the same problems as you. People who love and get hurt as you. People who might be facing bullying in real life as you and treat tumblr as their safe place. You know some of those fans maybe closeted queer people themselves, or queer but not so vocal about it or queer and are vocal about it. Just like you. But you made a ship come before them. You basically undermined the very thing KA celebrated. At least when I DO celebrate KA I don’t forget how so many people can like it. My criticisms were aimed at writing and how Bryke handled things not people. And stop it with your catch-all homophobia argument because you guys, I have seen, are biphobic, demiphobic and acephobia. You don’t support each queer category equally. You say KA is representation then you shatter the very queer spectrum it stands for. 

Thirdly, I had to write this. I am tired of people vilifying me to the point of me being nonexistent more than ships. I exist. In different dimensions. Our ships don’t. They never will. They only exist in our heads, hearts and media. But we all have to live the everyday world. I am so tired of people dehumanising me to kingdom come. Of me getting panic attacks and feeling like I am being completely pushed outta orbit just because I didn’t completely like one ship. I loved many ships, of many orientations, since 2005 and even earlier. Even before I knew the word queer I have been shipping queerly without my consciousness knowing the words, labels and placement. And, suddenly because I only criticise not even condemn one ship I am like a demon? If I criticise I can criticise well. I criticise because I want the best representation. I want people to look at a show and feel happy and validated and for all posterity. Not like oh maybe they could have done this and that. Why should a show have so many severe failings if they are standing up for a disenfranchised minority? Why should a fandom be so damn divided? Why should people be harming themselves and others? A fandom should be a place where people can rely on each other. We go through so much every single day. No one even asks us. And sometimes that’s okay if fandom allows us to forget. Why should it not? You guys want inclusiveness on YOUR terms. That is the mainstream either/or argument. You don’t want inclusion or a safe place for everyone. You just want everyone LIKE YOU and NO ONE ELSE. This is the problem in the world today. You guys are creating NEW EXCLUSION POLITICS and NEW CATEGORIES then being done with the labeling and excluding. You guys are acting just like the people you hate. You guys are doing it within new categories. How can you just do this suffering as many of you have? Doesn’t this hurt your conscience?  Frankly, it should.

Fourthly, I am gonna always root for Korra, Asami, Mako and Bolin. I will support the Krew and I will also support KA when I see it helping people. I have always done this. I will always never undermine how someone relates to a ship and how it makes them feel because it is IMPORTANT TO THEM. I criticise writing and studios because I love writing myself and I know I would do KA hella justice because even if it were not my fav ship I still knew I could not let it go off either way. Being an adult and being a person means to handle your responsibilities to the fullest even if it may be something you don’t necessarily always enjoy and necessarily always like. Frankly, this also happens when you love a ship: your OTPs can cause you frustration. This is how you learn, how you face and overcome challenges, how to grow and connect with others. I tried my level damndest to act as responsibly as I could. I wrote posts because I wanted people to debate and discuss with me, and some of you have. I did not write the posts to hurt anyone and to make them feel small. The responses I got for them were aimed at trying to humiliate me, condescend me, tried to dehumanise me and make me small. This is NOT what discourse or analysis is about. It is about trying to understand and shape better ideas and execution. I even wrote KA fanfiction, have my own KA headcanons (if people asked me they would know) and have seen Korra and Asami with other women of different fandoms. I did it because that is what I do. I have always been a polyphonic and multifarious shipper.  Yet, no one knew that about me. Just a few posts talking about KA wasn’t handled as well and poof people came at me with stakes as though I was vampire sucking the life force outta them and needed to be messed up through the heart. It completely hurts. Other people by now would have said EXTREMELY mean things back But I am not other people. I wanted to handle all of this with dignity, grace and understanding. But none of you all left much of that. What you guys left me was the option to leave. It was the “my way or the highway” at work here. And you did cast out others to the highway of desolation. Maybe, you also did this to other shippers like you. Nowadays I see the signs coming up of intra-fandom malevolence. That is also very sad and pretty callous. 

Fifthly, fandom has become like 1984. It is either what fandom brother wants or we will cull all out of you that you are driven insane enough, hopeless and helpless enough to look starry eyed, blank eyed and with tears of desperation, and consciousness gone done-down the drain and say “I love Fandom Brother.” Why should things be like that? Why should we make memes out of misquotes and redacted material? WHy should we gang up on everyone and why should we make t-shirts to humiliate others? The fandom who does this can they really say they are part of a minority? The mainstream all act like this thus people who did this are part of that slander and bullying culture. The net, just because it has no libel lawsuits and no seemingly written down codes of conduct, is not an anti-materialist space. Just because we say Cloud doesn’t mean a cloud is not layered and built on things. This is not a scenic landscape of codes and faraway data. This is a space, a bridge where you actually walk, talk and meet people. YES PEOPLE. ACTUAL LIFE FLESH AND BLOOD PEOPLE. Who go through things just as you or regardless to you go through life. Demonising someone takes away their humanity: both their bad and good. Demonising someone makes you try to take responsibility for their actions, good or bad. Demonising someone means you don’t count them human enough. Fandom should not be this. Fandom should be accepting. 

Sixthly, Fandom should stand for diversity. And should not go after people who have different ideas of diversity than you. It is easy to say people are prejudiced and discriminatory without knowing them. Actually, read and then try to understand. Fandom people can be young and not know much. Fandom people may be old and not know much. Fandom people ARE NOT ALL WHO THEY ARE AND HOW THEY ARE WITH THEIR SHIPS. You can criticise how they are handling something but ALL OF US SHOULDN’T GOING AROUND SAYING PEOPLE ARE MESSED UP, HOMOPHOBIC, SHOULD BE AVOIDED AND BLOCKED just because they didn’t MEET OUR EXPECTATION of “who they should have been.” We can make requests but we cannot demand unfairly. We must understand that people will take time to understand things and we should be be patient with everyone. If we can wait over 1 year to see a ship in a comic can’t we all be patient with other people? We can. And, we should.

TL; DR: Fandom should not be Fandom Brother. It should not police anyone to the point it is equivalent to a totalitarian state. It should be accepting, inclusive and loving. It should welcome all forms of diversity. It should be kind to people not shipping what they are shipping. It should be patient with others. It should be ashamed of witch burning type actions and not make memes to humiliate people, should not also do that with apparel like T-shirts. People involved in fandom should understand that being an adult and a person means taking responsibility for everything, even work that you may not necessarily enjoy and like, and being answerable to your actions. Just because it is the net and called cloud still means it has layers and materiality. It is not a dimension of non-matter we carry all that we do and say. Fandom should stop being bullies and STOP the intra-queerphobic mentality of one queerness is “more queer” than the rest (yes KA fandom looking at you). Fandom should not call out people as homophobes and other names so callously because words can destroy people’s lives and their reputations. Fandom should grow up. 

[kirbyspits]

Makorra shippers died off the face of earth and never came back. They need to grow a backbone. It’s been 8 years and they’re still hiding in the backgrounds. lol sorry, but i’m just tired of recycling old makorra art.

Oh man, seeing the same art all the time is real! I’m guilty of raising art from the dead myself. I hope those artists aren’t too mad at me for bringing their old work back into the spotlight.

*accurate photo of me eyeing that reblog icon on 2013 posts

Let’s be real tho, it’s been 8 years like you said. We og Makorra shippers are older now and most moved on. There seems to be less than 100 Makorra shippers here on Tumblr now. You might have some luck on TikTok and maybe Instagram. 

To be honest, I’m only back in the fandom because I decided to watch TLOK out of order when it arrived on Netflix. I started with Season 2 and ended with Book 1. It had been so long since I’ve seen TLOK it was like I was watching it for the first time again, and I can barely describe rewatching Book 1 except that I fell in love with the show all over. It was the first time I saw Book 1 in 7 years (my 3rd viewing). None of the other seasons came close to the feels Book 1 brought on, and if I watched the seasons in order, I know I wouldn’t be commenting on your message. Instead, I would’ve vented about wasted potential and bad writing on Twitter before watching live-action shows to make a statement. 

*you did this Bryke

We also have a new generation of fans, and not only does everyone know what happens, but there also seems to be a shift in attitude about shipping. The other day I saw someone post about how they can’t ship anyone who isn’t canon, and I found that confusing. They wouldn’t know who’s canon until the end of the show. Not sure if I can even call them a shipper as waiting for the writers to tell you the pairing defeats the purpose of shipping couples. 

Maybe I haven’t been in enough fandoms to know if it’s always been this way. My engagement with fandoms growing up was with fanfiction, and writers ship whoever the hell they want. 

Me on FanFiction: Does Sakura even meet Itachi in the anime? FanFic Writer: No, what’s your point? Read and Review

All in all, yah, I wish the Makorra community was bigger and more active. I’ve considered taking drawing lessons because my need for Makorra art is strong, but I’m sticking with AMVs for now. We have so many shots of Mako and Korra together, so there’s plenty for me to work with.🥰

#kirbyspits answers #makorra #can't hop off this ship #come back makorra stans

[kirbyspits]

Am i the only one that wasn't that much of a Korrasami fan? Pretty much I always thought Korra being with Mako made much more sense

Nope! Makorra is my favorite ship of all time (Zutara is my second-fav)! There’s also a lot of fans who ship them as platonic soulmates, while shipping Korrasami romantically. I don't engage that much with the Korrasami tags, but I’ll check in every now and then for pretty art. I love Asami, but she's too underwritten for me to be invested in her relationships. Korra's character also changed too much for me to want to continue her story in comic form (my no-nonsense, chin-grabbing, hot-headed teen is gone 😭). Now that I'm back in the fandom, I'm a bit more open to reading the comics, but Book 4 pretty much wraps up everything I was invested in. 

Sadly, it looks like all the avid Makorra artists/writers on Tumblr left the fandom since things got very toxic when the season finale first aired. It was particularly hurtful to have Bryan place any confusion, surprise, and criticism back on the viewer by saying they weren't open-minded enough:

If it seems out of the blue to you, I think a second viewing of the last two seasons would show that perhaps you were looking at it only through a hetero lens.

- From Bryan K’s post about Korrasami being cannon

That statement ironically includes any LGBT+ fans who questioned the ending.

Bryke did the bare minimum with downplaying Mako's feelings/reducing his screen time and developing Asami as one of the most important people in Korra’s life. Bryan’s statement becomes particularly frustrating when rewatching TLOK and trying to have an open mind, but all you get are musical cues or closeups of Mako. At some point, you have to accept there’s either something wrong with you as the viewer for not seeing Korrasami coming or deeming Bryke bad writers. I deem them bad writers.* Bryke at least acknowledged they didn’t plan as well as they could have.

As a writer, I'm disappointed Bryke didn't develop a stronger bond between Korra and Asami. I needed way more scenes showing how close the girls became to be satisfied as an unbiased viewer. The season finales for Books 3 & 4 handled this well, but Mako had episode after episode after episode with strong emotional ties to Korra. Their friendship, which seemed to be on a path of rekindling their relationship, easily overshadows Asami’s growing bond with Korra. If you like Mako, it’s impossible to ignore his interactions with Korra. 

As a Makorra shipper, I'm obviously happy and wouldn't want it any other way!

*it’s not just because of Book 4. Book 3 is probably the only season that was well written. Book 1 is my favorite, but there are many flaws, especially with the romance that I happily ignore.

#Makorra #makorra 2.0 #come back makorra stans #kirbyspits answers

[kirbyspits]

The part where you said "I’ve considered taking drawing lessons because my need for Makorra art is strong” is something i’m currently doing. 😭 Og Makorra shippers obliviously aren’t coming back, so it’s up to the none drawers to create their own fanart.

Whoo!! Best of luck! I constantly check the Makorra tags for new content, so I hope I can like your work someday! 

#kirbyspits answers #come back makorra stans

[kirbyspits]

I hate how everyone blame mako for makorra being toxic but don’t hold Korra responsible for her role in it too. She accused him of conspiring behind her back, humiliated him in front of his coworkers, yelled at him, and flipped his desk over. Book 2 was a nightmare.

Part 1/2 Asks

Listen, Book 2 is dead to me. When antis say Korra is unlikable in Book 2, I can’t defend her. Korra’s stress and insecurities are so subtle and downplayed, it’s hard to even feel sympathetic towards her. Combative characters don’t normally bother me, but Korra was too much, especially since Mako also had no clue what to do. Korra’s the one who had over a decade of training and had all the old wise teachers. 

I only started tolerating their fights after catching one line that helped me understand how Korra spiraled into this raging bundle of blueness. She mentions being “locked up” and people telling her what’s best for her. So my headcanon is all those years in isolation with older men controlling every aspect of her life came to a head, and that took a major toll on her mental health. 

Book 2 was a missed opportunity to explore the confusion, loneliness, and isolation that comes with being the Avatar. The fights with Mako could have been more bearable because they’d make more sense, with those issues being the heart of the problem. However, since we already got into most of that in ATLA, I guess Bryke wanted to focus on spirits, the spiritual world, and frankly speaking, breaking up Mako and Korra. 

So let’s get into Makorra Book 2, specifically before Mako’s lie, because I have more thoughts about that. Ngl, I’ve been dreading writing about this. I get so frustrated and sad because this could have been a beautiful story about a relationship's trials. 

Korra is the one who made the relationship toxic. Trying to keep the peace by downplaying your own opinions and beliefs to avoid making your partner angry isn’t healthy. Walking on eggshells in a relationship is never a good sign, and it’s uncomfortable to watch.

I tend to think people who place all the blame on Mako just don’t like him. Mako was nearly perfect. And I’m not just saying that as a Mako stan. From the beginning, he has done nothing but try his best to support Korra. This is pretty much the pattern during the southern pole arc: Korra vents, Mako responds with what he thinks is supportive feedback. Korra accuses him of taking sides and then shuts the conversation down.  Mako is not the problem. At least while he’s in the southern pole. Korra’s responses are extreme, for starters, mostly because we as viewers are not given enough context to sympathize with her and see why she’s upset with Mako. Mako also listens to Korra’s responses in an effort to remedy the situation the next time there’s a disconnect. When Korra shuts down the first time after he offers his outside perspective, Mako changes his approach. The next time Korra vents, Mako responds by telling her he’ll support whatever decision she thinks is right instead of his opinion. Sure, there is a slight difference in the way Korra talks to Mako. The first time, Mako speaks without her asking for his advice on the matter, while the second time, she asks. Only Korra wanted him to voice his thoughts without her giving him the ok based on the dialogue: Korra: “Well?” Mako: “Well what?” Korra: “What do you think I should do?” 

No wonder Mako is confused and eventually becomes frustrated. It’s also important to note that Mako doesn’t do anything wrong here unless we’re supposed to blame him for not being a mind reader. In fact, Mako takes it a step further and asks Korra how they should communicate to avoid fighting.

Mako: “Do you want advice, or am I supposed to just listen? Still not clear on that.” 

Korra apologizes, but she never answers him, which becomes a problem when they return to Republic City. 

Antis love saying how Mako and Korra were so young when they dated and needed to mature first. I love Korra, but sorry she needed to stop suffering from the hands of Bryke, who just wanted the relationship to end mature. Mako’s approach was very satisfying to watch, and he handled the relationship in a way that would have led to something more healthy if extreme events didn’t occur.

Korra was also mean, and Mako is not a punching bag. He wasn’t going to just let Korra insult him. Mako only becomes combative when Korra makes jabs at him. Mako was the one who either diffused the situation if Korra couldn’t walk away. Otherwise, he’d stick up for himself whenever Korra became sarcastic. 

One of my favorite lines is Mako saying “I thought you wanted me to be supportive. Now you want to know what I think?!” I’ll admit he might have taken it too far when he told her to make up her mind (you were right Mako, but time and place 😬). That was how he got an air bison plushie shoved into his face. Korra was wrong for that, but I understand why she did it 😅. 

Once they got back to Republic City, things became terrible even though Mako and Korra had made up, and I guess Bryke wanted them to go back to square1. Mako finally hit his breaking point and started yelling back. In his comebacks, he threw Korra starting a civil war and messing up the world in her face, something she already felt guilty for. However, these insults were always said in response to Korra demeaning him. You can argue he shouldn’t have fought fire with fire, but again, Mako was at his limit, and Korra was beyond hers. 

The most ironic line in their fights is Korra telling Mako, “I can’t talk to you when you’re like this,” before storming out. I love it because this line really belongs to Mako! He’s the one who can’t talk to Korra and says so!

Even the breakup scene shows Mako starting out as the diplomatic one. His inner Tenzin came out. Korra, on the other hand, basically tried to intimidate him during the confrontation. She first leans over his desk and yells at him for answers. Mako remains seated, explains himself, and Korra doesn’t accept it. Instead, she then kicks his desk out of the way, so there’s nothing in between them. Idk stans, rewatching that scene makes me wonder Korra was actually looking to fight.   

Mind you, Korra has every right to be angry. Her feelings are real. This fight was probably the only fight I was ok with because we got to the source of the problem. She felt betrayed by Mako. This was the only time her accusation about Mako choosing sides makes sense. Of course, Mako was put in an impossible situation, dealing with an angry Avatar or being tried for treason. He made the right decision. Korra would forgive him at some point, and no one goes to jail. 

Also, I noticed that those who say Mako’s the toxic one conveniently forget he ended the relationship. I also don’t think that he would’ve if Korra didn’t say anything about him getting her way and alluding to choosing sides again. Look at his face:

I’m probably getting into headcanon territory, but I think something broke here. Maybe his heart. For 5 episodes, Mako has been trying to convince Korra that he’s on her side. He wants to help her and support her, but she never believes him. He couldn’t take it anymore it more and honestly, Mako did the best thing for his own mental health. And Korra, after all that talk and gusto, jogs out, and runs away. It’s almost comedic. Siighhh, shipping Makorra, and watching Book 2 is torture! 

Still, we have some really sweet moments of our favorite couple, like Mako asking Korra out to dinner 🥰. It’s moments like this that make rewatching Book 2 a little more bearable. Part of me cackles at the idea that Korra and Mako were so in love, it took a war to break them up. Safe to say wars can end any relationship.   

#kirbyspits answers #makorra #pro mako #mako #book 2 spirits

[kirbyspits]

ok but what I will always wonder about makorra and zutara is why bryke would write characters with such compelling love-hate-but-really-love dynamics and sustained development (both individually and as a team) over multiple seasons and just ... not... follow ... through??? make it make sense

The biased part of me desperately wants to say logic doesn't apply when it comes to Bryke's romantic plots. However, as a novelist, I know I should be as objective as possible 😩.

Unfortunately, I can't speak too much on Zutara since I'm not as involved in ATLA's fandom, nor have I done an in-depth analysis of the show. So this will be more of a general overview. Zutara stans, please feel free to add on, especially if you know the ins and outs of the development!

There's also so much to unpack with Makora and TLOK, but I'll give you a TLDR. My follow-up posts will have all the deets! My commentary has become monstrously long, and since we're talking about two ships in two different shows, my metas will be much more digestible in parts.

For starters, I'm not sure how involved Byke was in writing Zutara's scenes, but it's important to understand that ATLA had several other writers, unlike TLOK B1&2. I also had to accept Zutara did not have a chance of becoming canon after rewatching the show last summer. ATLA is your typical hero's journey narrative, and who does the hero get? The girl. I'm not saying the formula never changes, Harry Potter, being an example of this, but the writers set viewers on a Kataang endgame trajectory in the very first episode. It's love at first sight.

One anime that does a fantastic job of setting up one pairing before throwing viewers off is Princess Tutu. I'll try not to spoil anything, but halfway into the series, the writers develop a love square that wasn't frustrating to watch. Ahiru, the protagonist, remains at the center of the story. Even if shippers didn't get the ending they want, the show made it clear early on what fate had in store for everyone. As if that wasn't enough, we have an additional scene where the characters acknowledge that they might not get their preferred ending, but they'll continue to support each other when it's all over. Zutara was not set up in the same way.

There are a few hints of Zutara in Book 1, but it didn't seem to take off until the season finale of Book 2. However, while I was one of many who hopped on Zutara the moment Katara touched Zuko's scar, the previous episode covers Aang struggling with the idea of giving up Katara to master the Avatar state. ATLA would need significant changes to continue to fit the Hero's Journey stages. Letting Katara go aligns with the trials stage, which is right before Aang reaches his lowest point, the belly of the whale/the abyss stage.

There was no way the Bryke would let Katara end up with anyone else after this. She's Aang's reward for his sacrifice and perseverance. It makes perfect sense from a storytelling perspective. Seeing this play out as a woman? Not great. Unfortunately, no one seemed to account for how popular romantic tropes are, and for some reason, Katara's attraction to Aang is barely present. 

Of course, audiences love unrequited romance subplots, but there's always going to be a trope that people resonate with more. ATLA revolves around Aang while Katara is mostly on standby witnessing Aang become a worthy partner. Enemies to lovers offer much more agency for Katara than Aang's unrequited love. With Zuko, there's more tension, more emotional capacity needed to hate and then forgive. Watching Katara forgive Zuko while Zuko, in turn, change is one reason why Zutara continues to be one of my favorite ships.

The ATLA writers knew people enjoy enemies to lovers, and that's why they wrote it. Developing a connection between Zuko and Katara was to maintain a continued interest in the show. Maybe the writers underestimated how many people would connect with Zutara and downright prefer it. They also made the mistake of not having Katara display strong romantic feelings towards Aang. She was very affectionate, yes, and they have some great scenes together (I adore their dance), but there's hardly any romance, at least the shippable kind of romance I prefer to see in my pairings.

Then I question where would a Zutara ending leave Aang as the protagonist? How much time did the writers have to change the romance without compromising the story's integrity? Pretty much every episode centers around Aang, and if he's barely present, the episode sets him up for more character development. The Southern Raiders is also about Aang. We essentially learn how he feels about killing someone regardless of how evil they are. Katara's quest for revenge was the perfect segue into Aang's struggle with how he should defeat the Ozai.

Got to be salty for a hot second: I wish they did clever episodes like that for Korra in Book 4. We fans know how horrible it is to see creators push their main character aside. 

In the end, I think it was just an oversight and not knowing a significant portion of their audience. Rather than switch everything up, the writers decided to keep things simple and stick with the original ending. While the audience, I'm sure has some influence back then, I highly doubt the call for Zutara affected viewership to the point where the writers felt compelled enough to make the sweeping changes they needed without compromising their overall vision. By sticking to a tried and true script for creating an epic action/adventure story, it's little wonder how ATLA became known as one of the best-animated television series.

Now for the Makorra tldr: TLOK is one beautiful hot mess. There was an extreme amount of production issues, which affected the writing. Bryke utterly destroyed Mako's character. Viewership tanked. Asami remained well-loved, and Bryke made a choice.

#kirbyspits answers #zutara #atla #makorra #makora 2.0 #is this anti bryke #zutara stans #super late on this answer #I hope you see this anon!

[kirbyspits]

Can Makorra Fics fit in with Book 4?

So I'm compiling a list of my favorite makorra fanfics for times when I want to rewatch the show and need some fillers for certain episodes & happenings between seasons. During my search for stories, I noticed something really intriguing. Most of the fanfics I found are for Books 1-3. There’s one that I'm adding to my list for Book 4 and the one "post" Book 4 fic I like is an AU. It’s so interesting because I don't necessarily believe all these stans jumped ships when Korrasami became canon. 

As a reader and a fan, once I discovered the lack of Makorra fics on both FF.net and AO3, I started considering what I was actually looking for: canon compliant ones. I realized I don't know what I want to see in a post Book 4 fic as a Makorra fan. I may not ship Korrasami, but that doesn't mean I want to read about them breaking up or Asami dying just so Korra can get back with Mako. I'm more open to breakups or things changing when it's years down the line (like they get married and had a falling out or something), but even then the premise of the story has to sell me into believing it's something that could happen. I found one I think handles this very well that's an ongoing story. However, it's an AU and Hiroshi is alive, so it's different enough for me to enjoy it.

I can't help but wonder if other Makorra writers felt the same way. They pushed out so many one-shots and there are so many good ones that expand on our favorite episodes. Book2 is dead to us of course, but man do these writers kill it with the breakup angst and romance. 

I didn't find much for book 3, but book 4 is a graveyard. Maybe it's because there's a 3-year gap, giving Mako the opportunity to finally move on? We could have a nice reunion one-shot for Makorra for a couple Book 4 episodes, but not much else. There also aren't many opportunities where you can have a fic that seamlessly ties in with Korra's trauma and Mako being there for her. The only story I can picture myself enjoying is Mako trying to reach out and Korra harshly rejecting him. It would tie in nicely with Mako being as far away from Korra as possible in the last episode in Book 3. As for Korra returning home, Mako can visit her, if you really want to stretch it, but I just can't imagine Korra accepting him or letting him in.

Fanfic writers already have our back by providing closure for Mako and Korra's relationship and breakup. TLOK establishes that Mako will always remain in Korra's life. The show handles this perfectly. I may have wanted more screen time, but Mako didn't need to say much else. There's nothing I would've wanted him to say that didn't lead to a confession or a conversation to try and make things work again. So, what else is there to write about?  What else is there to expand upon for Mako and Korra? IMO, not much unless you want to take the time to write a whole new arc, which is time-consuming work with little to no payoff, especially since the majority of fanfic readers don't like or want Makorra fics.

So that's my main theory. My other theory is Korra fatigue. We enjoyed Book 4, but then we hashed out the ending. We spoke about representation, biases, bi-erasure, expectations, and more. I can't speak for everyone, but after Book 4, I kind of didn't want anymore Korra. I was happy with the finale, but I wasn't craving for more content. It has nothing to do with my preferred ship either. I think it was just the story being fine and seemingly coming to a close. I had no desire to rewatch book 1 again either. I was active on Tumblr for a bit and then completely fell off. I was happy to see Korra trending on twitter ever now and then, but I never had any desire to rewatch the series until it came on Netflix. 

When I skipped Book 1 and started with Book 2, I had the same reaction as I did 6 years ago. I enjoyed the series, but was ready to move on. It was only after watching Book 1 for the first time in 7 years that all my obsession with tlok took hold. I feel the desire to create again and I'm writing more than ever. So I can't help but wonder if what happened to me happened to a lot of Makorra fanfic writers out there and if maybe they need to rewatch Book 1 again to get some of that drive and inspiration back. Only, once again, how will they want to bring that creativity to Book 4 and beyond? Tbh, I can't picture it. Maybe it's because Mako and Korra are not canon and Korra is already happy being with Asami. Therefore the bulk of the works remain in earlier seasons or are turned into AUs.

Btw, it's a bit humorous how little fics are canon compliant. Makes it easy to avoid binging! The list is coming soon! I bookmarked a few more and will be reading them over the weekend!   

#kirbyspitting #Makorra #makorra fanfics #mako x korra