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nono-bunny · 5 months

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You think the ATLA fandom would have done a better job writing the show?

Thanks for the ask!

Honestly? Absolutely not. Treating the ATLA fandom as one entity here is a bit of a misnomer here imo. When talking to @phoebester, I mentioned that I kinda feel like I'm more a part of the Zutara fandom rather than the general ATLA fandom- !nd that's for good reason! Zutara fans are inherently more critical because we like something that deviates from canon, and I find that the ATLA fandom are large much more closely matches the disposition of casual watchers, who maybe watch the show once and never think on it further- which is also a valid way to interact with media, it's just not my way, especially with media I find lacking in some way. ATLA is great overall, but it has some glaring flaws -some of which are more controversial than others- and I feel that only fans would really bother to ruminate on those in the way I find a lot of Zutarians do. I'm certain some Kataangers or fans of other ships also have issues with canon, but I feel that no one moreso than Zutara has such beef with it.

So if the question is simply about the fandom at large? No, that's unfeasible, a whole fandom can't write a cohesive story when it already has such huge disagreements about where canon ended up... But I gather that's not what you really meant, anyway. I have read fanfics that feel like they genuinely fixed a lot of the bad writing decisions of the show, but there are also many that made it very clear to me that not everyone necessarily understands/are capable of recognizing the core issues behind them, which makes it difficult to fix them. I've read fics retelling the whole story of the show that change one core thing, but fail to recognize that it would then mean that events don't happen in exactly the same way (Zuko joins early and Aang not being the Avatar are frequent offenders here). So like? At the end of the day, it once again comes to individual writers and their ability to write this story in a competent and engaging way- ATLA had good writers on board, which is why it succeeded despite Bryke being shit ones. I definitely believe that there are writers in the fandom that could've done a better job than Bryke, but like... At its core, the issue with them is about control and entitlement- they don't care about being the ones to put forth solid writing, and it shows. Quite frankly, under Bryke's supervision, no one could've made a better show than what we got, and as tragic as it is... Without them there would be no show, so this is all kind of a moot point in the end, unfortunately.

Also, to me "a better show" would've meant Aang getting completely rehauled, removed, or changed to a villain, and that's a bit of an extreme position because I know that plenty of people do enjoy at the very least season 1 and 2 Aang, but like... Yeah that's just not something I can vibe with anymore unfortunately, even if I tolerable him lol. I also believe in Azula redemption and that Aang should've killed Ozai, both of which are yet again controversial issues, so like.. What to me would be the perfect, most sensible version of show would really not jive with others, which is why a lot of different fics exist!

Adding this in immediately after posting: Also endgame Zutara but that's like. Literally my whole bread and butter so I forgot to add that because of how obvious it seemed to me

#avatar the last airbender #atla #anti kataang #anti aang #anti bryke #atla critical #zutara

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maripolifan · 1 year

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Two Sides of a Coin

This is also technically a super late contribution for the @zhaozaipalooza for the prompt "Redemption (or lack thereof)", since it just fits for these two. The similarities between Endeavor and Firelord Ozai are just glaring.

Both saw their families as stepping stones for the way to the top. Both saw their youngest child as their favourite and placed near impossible expectations on them. Both were constantly eclipsed by the fame of someone they viewed as less capable than themselves, and both were absolutely ruthless in their aspirations, tearing their families apart in the wake.

Ozai and Enji started out as pretty much the same character in different fonts (except that Enji has a significantly shorter fuse), until Enji's character got the development and care by Horikoshi in later seasons that I wish Ozai had gotten by Bryke.

Solo versions of the trash fire dads below! ⬇️ 🔥

So, while this was originally meant for the Zhaozai Palooza back in August... I uh,,,, somewhat got carried away and gave up on the drawing like three different times in the following months lol. Anyway, this is the end result because I didn't really know what else to do with the background. 😅

#maripolifan #my art #endeavor #enji todoroki #bnha #mha #atla #avatar the last airbender #firelord ozai #ozai #my hero academia #tw blood

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juana-the-iguana · 2 years

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Every time I read someone say "Katara followed Aang's advise in the Southern Raiders and forgave Yon Rha," part of me wants to scream. Just because Bryke shipped Kat-aang and ended up controlling the A:tLA narrative after the show ended, doesn't mean that every single one of the show writers did as well, nor that every single writer had the same interpretations of the relationship dynamic as Bryke did. In the show, Katara explicitly stated that she did not forgive Yon Rha, that she never would forgive him and gave Aang a death glare for even suggesting it.

When it comes to interpretations over Katara's choices in TSR, I am more inclined to believe the words and actions that came from the character than I am from people who a) did not write the episode and b) were hardcore shippers of a relationship that only worked by denying Katara all of her agency and valorizing the toxic behavior of Aang (who was very clearly a self-insert character).

#anti kataang #the southern raiders #tsr

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randomgirlyoudontknow · 4 years

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tired: letting the word of god dictate how you view a show

wired: ignoring the creators completely and enjoying it however you want

#glares at bryke #listen i’m a lit student it’s what i do #avatar the last airbender #the legend of korra #atla #lok #fanwank #zutara #makorra

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sporadictimetravelgarden · 3 years

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Jet really is just like, “the reason i can’t say i love you is because love is just something the government wants you to believe in so that they can guilt you into buying chocolate and wedding rings. no its not because of the trauma, its because i won’t let capitalism win.”

#the absolute madlad #commie jet rights #btw this is a joke #im sure he'd have no problem saying 'i love you'#maybe a little during canon tho bc he was kinda going through a lot #but nothing that time can't fix #time he has after not dying under ba sing se #*glares at bryke*#jet #jetru #jetko #jetara #jetkka #atla

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notesofarichlycolorednight · 4 years

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it’s so funny to see the difference in reactions to bryke leaving the live action atla adaptation

bc some are like

and others are like

and absolutely NO inbetween

#i’m actualky the third option #*actually #where i feel both at the same time #but an addition emotion #where i have very little faith they’re treat the cultures bryke took from with respect #*they’ll #like it’s amazing the amount of detail they went into as far as design went #but there are still glaring issues with how they treat and portray cultures #and unless netflix has a team of the correct asian folk #(as in not the monolith ‘asian’ but asian ppl from the cultures and ethnicities bryke took inspiration from)#i have very little confidence it will be good #as far as racism goes #(good like. not horribly racist)#chirp.txt #chirp.tags

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the-badger-mole · 3 years

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I was looking through your blog and noticed your ship posts and one caught my eye, it was about Urzai and you said there was a connection between Ozai and Aang as fathers, could you expand on that? Like their similarities with their wives and kids. Because i think your on to something.

I'm assuming you're talking about this post? I feel like I mostly said what I wanted to say about the comparisons between Aang and Ozai as fathers. They are both incredibly selfish in what they look for in their children and favor the child that most resembles them (in Aang's case, in looks as well as bending ability), leaving their children who didn't make the cut scrambling for whatever crumbs of paternal acceptance were left. It's interesting that Bumi decided to join the FN army (navy? Whatever, it was some branch of FN armed services), because he seems to have a similar relationship to Aang/Aang's memory as Zuko had- i.e. his decades long desire to be the son Aang wanted, culminating in Bumi "finally belonging to the Air Nomads" because he became what Aang had always wanted- an air bender. Obviously, it's not exactly like the relationship Zuko had with Ozai, after all, Zuko was allowed to find his own path and his arc didn't end with him finally being the son Ozai wanted. But that's why I said there are parallels, and not that they're carbon copies.

As husbands, the parallels are even more disconcerting because of how the meta-narrative handled the women in those relationships. Both Ursa and Katara go through some form of transformation between the series proper and the comics. It's subtler with Katara because what changed wasn't some glaring thing- she didn't suddenly have a completely different' backstory; she just had key aspects of her personality changed, or ripped away completely so she was less likely to push back against Aang, the way she might have had she been kept consistent to who she was in the show. Ursa, on the other hand, had not only her personality changed, but her entire backstory rewritten (in the show material, she was said to have been the daughter of a nobleman who always knew she'd end up married into the royal family; in the comics, she...was a hot mess. A hot mess who wasn't born noble and didn't know she'd end up with Ozai and somehow had even less agency in her marriage than she did in the show). I don't think any of the parallels I'm talking about were intentional, but this one is is just particularly interesting because it shows how much Bryke only sees the women in this series as props. Their stories don't matter outside of the men in their lives.

But I'm talking about the parallels between Aang and Ozai. The short answer is that neither of them cares for their significant other in a selfless way. With Ozai, it's blatant that he's terrible. The man was a monster to everyone close to him. It's harder to pinpoint when his blatant horribleness began, because again, Ursa in the show and Ursa in the comics had completely different back stories, but in either case, it's not a stretch to say that for Ozai, Ursa was not a whole person. She was valuable because of what she could offer him (a pretty, submissive wife; a womb to produce strong benders ahemahem!; someone who'd do a she was told without raising much of a fuss), and when she could no longer serve him, he was fine throwing her away. All of Ozai's treatment of Ursa is presented in a way that we can recognize easily as wrong, even without us having to see him physically hurt her. And yet, presented in a brightly colored, cheerful package, that same behavior flies under the radar because 'he's such a Nice Guy ™©®!'

Aang is consistent in how he treats Katara across all the different media- like a prize to be won rather than as a friend and a person with her own autonomy. He physically violates Katara three times (the two kisses and the lava fissure, and those are just the ones I know about). Ozai doesn't even do that to Ursa- even if we can safely assume that he was physically abusive, we never actually see him cause (or attempt to cause) her bodily harm (as far as I know. I honestly have given up on the comics. If there is a scene where he goes full Ike Turner on Ursa, don't tell me. It doesn't matter).

And that is the thing. As awful as we know Ozai to be, we see Aang treat Katara poorly, and he gets a pass. He doesn't even have to apologize to Katara, and we, the audience are supposed to forgive him, but not Ozai. Why? Because he's so cheerful and bubbly that it can be hard to recognize the similarities in how he treats Katara and how Ozai treats Ursa. Both of these men 'love' these women because of what these women can give them. Their wives' internal lives don't matter much as long as it doesn't affect them directly. It's particularly sad in Katara's case because we see in ALTA that she's got such drive and ambition and compassion, but once she gets together with Aang, she stops having any interests or ideas that contradict with Aang. Ursa goes through the same thing in the comics, but Katara's story will always be sadder to me because it's presented as a happy ending for her.

I don't think any of these parallels are intentional- in fact I know they aren't. Still, it's a great example of how the media Bad Boy and the media Nice Guy are essentially the same person, just packaged differently. The biggest difference between Aang and Ozai is how their behavior is framed, and it's clear that the only criteria Bryke have for if a man is a good husband or not whether his color scheme is dark or bright.

#atla #anti aang #anti kataang #the parallels between ozai and aang #they really are 2 sides of the same coin #katara #katara deserved better #ursa #ozai

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comradekatara · 3 years

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your thoughts on bryke using asian culture as an aesthetic and michael dante dimartino basically cosplaying as an asian through aang in lok?

hmmm i think it’s pretty disingenuous to conflate aang’s older design (which is corny and bad and i do not like it) with the far more nebulous question of “should white people be allowed to create fantasy worldbuilding inspired by asian & indigenous cultures?” which is a question that is directly relevant to the avatar franchise at all times, and is an extremely nuanced conversation with no conclusive answer. i am absolutely fascinated the concept of fantasy worldbuilding, and it’s a topic i could write an entire book on if i had the time, but since i decidedly do not have the time, i’m going to limit my response to something far more subjective, and inconclusive.

personally, i am so fucking tired of the notion that high fantasy only includes white people and can only be influenced by european cultures. i like lord of the rings, but we really don’t need an infinity of tolkien derivatives that thoroughly miss the point of what made tolkien’s story and world of middle earth so great in the first place (hint: it’s not the overwhelming whiteness, lack of women characters, or antisemitism). this pattern is why, even as a kid, i was so immediately drawn to atla’s worldbuilding and characters. i highly doubt characters like katara would mean as much to me were she white (in fact, i know she wouldnt). and it’s also just so refreshing to see lore that isn’t based on medieval european religion & mythology (don’t get me wrong, i love medievalism, i mean, my url is literally a beowulf reference, but it’s also extremely alienating to me on a personal level). so in many ways, i am grateful to atla for its distinctly non-western influences, and i would also say that they went far beyond using asian culture as a mere “aesthetic” considering what aang as a character represents, for the most obvious example.

that said, i will never not be wary of white people. i mean... that feels like sort of a given? so it’s not exactly that i think white people can’t use non-western cultural influences in their storytelling, but i definitely think we need to critique the way in which a show that is fundamentally about the evils of colonialism & imperialism can fall flat due to it being made through an inextricably white lens. i don’t say this to present a pessimistic view of whiteness, but a realistic one: even when white people do “do the work” there is still a fundamental empathy gap that comes from not having experienced the traumas of genocide and colonialism first, or even second-hand. that said, i think characters like aang, katara, and sokka are amazingly-written, and their grief is treated with depth, empathy, and nuance, for the most part. but there are also glaring faults in the representation of these non-white cultures that cannot be ignored. legend of korra’s distinctly western approach to well... pretty much everything feels like the biggest elephant in the room, but there are also the politics of the comics, the portrayal of guru pathik, the sandbenders, combustion man, i could go on...

so yeah, on one hand, thank god atla isn’t just another medieval european inspired fantasy world, and thank GOD katara isn’t blonde. i don’t think fantasy, of all genres, necessitates “staying in one’s lane.” i love my #nowhitesallowed planet! on the other hand, atla could’ve been even much better if more brown, south asian, &/or indigenous (specifically inuit) ppl had been part of its storytelling process (to be clear i’m not excluding east asian people, it’s just that afaik, there was a decent number of east asian ppl who worked on the show). and in general, i would just love to see more fantasy worlds that aren’t permeated by whiteness—the solution to which is actually pretty simple: the promotion of works by nonwhite people telling their own stories. bryke has an opportunity to do this with their franchise now more than ever, and i really hope they use this opportunity to promote the voices of people who actually belong to the cultures they were inspired by when creating the franchise. it would be a massive waste of an opportunity if they don’t.

#omg i wrote 4 paragraphs and not once did i use the word orientalism look at me go!!!#also i will say that fc yee fucking killed it w the kyoshi novels imo #they were rly good #so there is a precedent!#that said... gene yang wrote the comics and well.....#we know how those turned out >:(#guess they have no CHOICE but to hire me. how UNFORTUNATE that it should come to this! ALAS!!#asks #onion25

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allnewalldifferentwildspider · 3 years

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Zuko & Katara's Relationship Dynamic

This is like the third or fourth time I've tried to write up this post so please bare with me.

Oh wow. That video. Hopefully everyone has seen it now. Not only did it articulate arguments I've been making for years, but it also brought up ideas I had never thought of or noticed before. Watching that and watching the second half of Book 3 again (because it's my favorite) made me want to redo my zutara dynamic post.

I'm going to be using the tiny bits and pieces the show gave us to see how Zuko and Katara's relationship looks and how it would look if they gave us more because...Bryke really fucking hated zutara. I mean, I guess they did.

Katara is compassionate; Zuko is empathetic

A lot of anti-zutara arguments have said that Zuko and Katara could never be together because they would constantly fight and hate each other and it end sooner than later. Not only does this actually describe maiko, but that argument would need to ignore the characters' actual character.

One of Katara's biggest character traits is how compassionate she is. She has a drive to help others and ease their pain. Whether it's getting Aang out of the iceberg or healing a Fire Nation fishing village, Katara will go out of her way to help someone in need.

Katara: No. I will never ever turn my back on people who need me.

Zuko is very emotional and passionate person. As much as he tried to hide it to appease his father, Zuko does want to open up and connect with people. Unfortunately, aside from his uncle, most of the other people he knows are like Zhao and Azula. Not the most understanding of crowds. But because of this he can pick up what people are really thinking and feeling. Think of it as a defense mechanism he developed growing up around people like Azula.

Get these two kinds of people together and you get the crystal catacombs scene. Katara lashes out at Zuko until she breaks down. When she does Zuko opens up with empathy since they have something in common. This creates the beginning of an understanding between the two. Zuko uses that to finally open up to someone who isn't his uncle and Katara listens and reaches out to help. Contrast to the first episode of Book 3 when Zuko tries to voice his thoughts and concerns to Mai and she...doesn't really care.

Something similar happens during The Southern Raiders. Zuko figures out that Katara is taking out her anger of being separated from her father by The Fire Nation onto him and even connecting her mother's death to him.

It's not the first time Zuko has done this either. He easily figured out that Sokka was planning on going to The Boiling Rock. He does it again during Sozin's Comet when he tells Katara that Aang needs to figure out what to do about Ozai by himself.

There's a noticeable pattern of behavior by the time Sozin's Comet arrives. Zuko voices his concerns about meeting his uncle again and Katara is right there to help him through it.

Zuko's empathy combined with Katara's compassion creates almost a cycle of understanding and emotional vulnerability that the two can't really get with anyone else. One notices the other having concerns or problems and goes to give comfort by words or by actions.

Zuko still has a temper but so does Katara

Even after Zuko's fever dream character change thing, even after The Day of Black Sun, he still has it in him to yell at anyone who commits even the slightest transgressions against him:

Aang: That one felt kinda hot. Zuko: Don't patronize me. You know what it's supposed to look like. Aang: Sorry, sifu hotman. Zuko: And stop calling me that!

Sokka: So all we have to do is make Zuko angry. Easy enough. *pokes him with his sword* *annoying laugh* Zuko: All right! Cut it out!

Maybe it's the firebender in him or maybe he really is just like that. Basically if you annoy him, he'll let you know. What people sometimes overlook is that while it takes Katara a bit longer, she also gets worked up when people upset her.

Toph: What's the matter? Can't handle some dirt, Madame Fussy Britches? Katara: Oh, sorry, did I splash you, mud slug?

And remember, it was Katara getting angry at Sokka that even broke the iceberg that revealed Aang.

Katara: Ugh, I'm embarrassed to be related to you! Ever since Mom died I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier! Sokka: Uh... Katara? Katara: I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT! Sokka: Katara! Settle down! Katara: No, that's it. I'm done helping you. From now on, you're on your own!

The point is that it is both Zuko and Katara that are very passionate and emotional people. One of them isn't emotionally dominating the other because they both wear their emotions on their sleeves.

This also comes in to play when they set goals for themselves. When Zuko sets a goal, he puts everything into it. Katara is the same way. The difference is that Zuko's drive sometimes gives him a one-track mind while Katara is more flexible. Like for example Zuko being so focused on finding Aang before Sozin's Comet that he ignores Toph's story about her childhood versus Katara wanting to go to the North Pole but taking time to stop and help whoever they come across.

This passion also fuels their values and how strongly they stand by their beliefs. I already put The Painted Lady quote up above but Zuko's morality is what is making him so angry at himself during The Beach. He knows what he did was wrong, but he couldn't face it yet.

Sometimes their emotions get the better of them, but it's only because they are passionate about what they're doing.

Their natural teamwork is amazing

I can't provide a lot of clues in this bit because it's more of a visual thing. Just consider how flawlessly their plans worked during their attack on The Southern Raiders. Especially when you consider that it was a stealth mission so they barely even said anything to each other during and it still went incredibly well.

You could see it again during their mock battle with The Melon Lord. Sokka must have noticed because he paired them together to deliver some "liquidy-hot offence." And they pulled it off, again, without having to say anything.

They've only been a team for a few weeks(?), days(?) but they act as if they've been doing it for years.

They trust each other's judgment

Piggybacking of the previous point, Zuko and Katara have only been a team for a while but there seems to be a level of understanding in terms of judgement. They both know that whatever the other chooses is going to be a well-thought out decision. Maybe it's because they see each other as the mature members of the group even though Sokka is the same age as Zuko? I don't know.

Aang disappears right before they embark on their fight against the Fire Lord, and out of nowhere, Katara puts Zuko in charge.

Zuko: Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka. We have a real problem here. Aang is nowhere to be found and the comet is only two days away. Katara: What should we do Zuko? Zuko: I don't know. Why are you all looking at me? Katara: Well, you are kind of the expert on tracking Aang.

and that wasn't the first time in that episode that she went along with one of Zuko's decisions

Katara: Aang, don't walk away from this. *She begins to walk towards him as a hand touches her shoulder to stop her from doing so.* Zuko: Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself.

As a lot of people have pointed out during the entirety of The Southern Raiders, Zuko never gives a suggestion on what he thinks Katara should do. Aside from making it a stealth mission, he follows her lead the entire way.

Katara teases Zuko (and he lets her)

The fun one. This one has two parts: pre and post The Southern Raiders.

Before The Southern Raiders, Katara was tolerating Zuko. She was still angry with him about the betrayal at Ba Sing Se. Getting little jabs at him was the only thing that was really helping her from loosing her cool around him.

Katara: I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know... how it would have been nice for us if you lost your firebending a long time ago? Zuko: Well it's not lost. It's just weaker for some reason. Katara: Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are. Toph: Ouch.

He just finished yelling at Aang and Sokka but all he does is glare at Katara. She does it again, but to be fair, he kind of set himself up for it.

Zuko: It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old! Katara: Oh yeah? What's your little form called? Zuko: ...The Dancing Dragon.

Then comes post The Southern Raiders and...yeah, she's still picking on him and he still lets her. Granted it's a lot more playful this time around.

Zuko: They make me totally stiff and humorless. Katara: Actually, I think that actor's pretty spot on. Zuko: How could you say that? Actor Uncle: Let's forget about the Avatar and get massages. Actor Zuko: How could you say that?! (Cut back to Katara wearing a satisfied grin on her face and she looks to an expressionless Zuko as he slouches in his seat.)

I love pointing it out every time. She teases him and he does nothing about it.

Katara: Er, no. I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found this. Look at baby Zuko! Isn't he cute? Oh lighten up, I was just teasing.

And she admits it!

So what can we take away from this? From what little time they were given together (thanks, Bryke) it seems that Zuko and Katara really understand each other on an intimate emotional level. They can sense when the other is distressed and offer comfort. They're both passionate in and out of combat, for better or for worse. They're comfortable with each other as if they've known each other for years even though it's such a short time. Katara also likes to add a little bit of playfulness in there with Zuko letting her have her fun, again, showing how comfortable they are with each other.

I do think their relationship could have gone to romantic sooner than later if you would have given it a bit more time. Like first half of a hypothetical Book 4.

To me, at least.

#zutara #zuko #katara #anti kataang #anti bryke

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avatar-news · 3 years

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The Fire Nation Awaits 🌺 An in-depth look at the ever-elusive islands in the era of Korra and when we will finally pay them a visit

[Artwork by Avatar News; not official.]

Note: This article was published before the official announcement of Avatar Studios at the Paramount+ investor day.

“Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.” We’ve all heard those words a million times. The four elements, and the power to control them bestowed by four subspecies of giant lion-turtles, are at the very heart of the world of Avatar. The balance between them was once upon a time broken by one of the four, the Fire Nation, forming the main conflict of Avatar: The Last Airbender. For much of Aang and the Gaang’s quest at the close of the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation was a forbidden, far-away location, until the curtain was finally drawn back in the aptly-named Book Three: Fire when our heroes entered the inferno, undercover behind enemy lines. A dramatic tropical destination! New outfits! Culture shock! Needless to say, it was a big deal.

→ 🌺 The big reveal of the Fire Nation in Book Three: Fire had its own marketing push, matching public anticipation.

When the Hundred Year War ended, the newly-instated Fire Lord Zuko dedicated his life to righting the wrongs of his forefathers and working with Avatar Aang to bring the Fire Nation back into the fold under peace. By the time Aang’s successor debuted as the next Avatar in the titular The Legend of Korra, Zuko had abdicated the five-pointed crown and his daughter, Fire Lord Izumi, took the stage leading a reformed, rebalanced Fire Nation.

There was no more war, no more enemy lines, yet the Fire Nation became more distant and mysterious than ever before.

Korra’s close encounters with the land of fire

To this day, Korra has never visited the Fire Nation, nor has it been seen at all, nor do we know anything about it in her era. In fact, practically the only thing we do know is that its leader is a noninterventionist, which conveniently gets it out of the way of making an appearance in Korra’s journey as the Avatar so far.

The closest we have come to seeing the Fire Nation in The Legend of Korra was in Book Two: Spirits, Chapter Five: Peacekeepers. In the midst of the Water Tribe Civil War, Korra sets out across the sea to get help from the royal family, however, she is intercepted by a dark spirit and never makes it to her destination. In the next episode, she washes up on a secret island home to the Bhanti sages, which probably technically counts as Fire Nation territory, but as we know from The Shadow of Kyoshi (more on that later), this faction predates the Four Nations themselves so it doesn’t really count.

→ 🌺 Korra washes up on the beach of Bhanti Island in Book Two: Spirits, Chapter Six: The Sting.

No, as cool as that location and the events of the Beginnings two-parter that happened there were, it wasn’t the main draw of seeing the Fire Nation that we’re still waiting for: seeing how the Fire Nation, which was already industrializing in Aang’s time, changed over the decades, compared to places like Republic City and Ba Sing Se; meeting new characters; visiting new and familiar locations; worldbuilding both new and expanding on what we already learned.

After this aborted tease in Book Two, we never come close to the island country again (at least not with this Avatar and in her era; yes I’m leading up to something...). Instead, the focus turns strongly to the Earth Kingdom in the third and fourth Books, and beyond.

Keep in mind that The Legend of Korra aired for about two-and-a-half years total from 2012 to 2014. Since then, the story has continued in comics. The comics era has lasted from 2015 to present-- seven years to the animated series’ two. In that time, there have only been two comic trilogies due to various production troubles, and neither have touched the Fire Nation. Instead, they directly continue the Earth Kingdom-focused threads started in Books Three and Four of Korra, both originally airing in 2014. Or, in perspective: we had a focus on Republic City in 2012, the Water Tribes in 2013, and the Earth Kingdom from 2014-2021.

Will we finally see the Fire Nation in the next graphic novel trilogy?

This question comes to mind every time new Korra content is supposed to roll around, and the powers that be know it-- it’s a pretty obvious gap in the world of Avatar right now. This franchise is iconically built around four elements and the Four Nations based on them, so one of them being MIA is quite glaring, and for that reason everyone is understandably always asking about it.

The most concrete confirmation we’ve gotten was this AMA answer from franchise co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino in 2016, two years after the show ended and a year before the first graphic novels did come out:

“Yes, hopefully in the [Korra] comics, we’ll have a chance to go to the Fire Nation and see how it has changed since A:TLA.”

Since then, as previously discussed, two comic trilogies have come and gone, obviously not getting closer to the Fire Nation-- and I would actually argue entrenching themselves further away from it.

I want to make it clear that I’m against fan entitlement. Creatives telling the tales they want to in service of the story and the artform is how the industry should run. I’m just hoping to offer some perspective on how we got to where we are almost a decade into the era of Korra and the metatextual pacing of the franchise itself.

Either way, the next Korra comic trilogy has been official confirmed by the editor for Avatar at Dark Horse Comics in this informal statement on Twitter:

We’re not ready to announce any details yet, but we are working on the next trilogy. I really appreciate your patience and hope it’s worth the wait! ✨

There’s currently some kind of holdup for which we really have zero context or information, and we of course have no idea what this next trilogy will be about. (I do speculate a bit on what it could be a few paragraphs down.)

But, like what turned out to be Ruins of the Empire before it, I faithfully made a mockup graphic for my post announcing the confirmation of the next The Legend of Korra graphic novel trilogy. And like before, I chose to completely speculatively and blindly make it Fire Nation-y, as if the next comic could/would(/should?) feature it. This is mainly because I feel like that’s what most people’s eyes would be caught by and thus result in the most successful post (hey, at least I’m honest), but also because it’s just fun.

Here are both images, from 2018 and 2020 respectively:

→ 🌺 Speculative edits I made for my posts on the announcement of previous and upcoming Korra comics before we knew anything about them.

In both cases, the response was huge, and people were super excited about the prospect of Fire Nation content just from my quick speculative mockups. I am of course hoping that the new artwork I made of the Krew for this post will have a similar effect (it’s the first time I just straight-up drew it instead of editing existing images) but again it’s really mostly just for fun.

Anyway, until the next trilogy is properly revealed, we’ll just have to wait and see.

However, that’s not the only place this could happen.

Are they saving the Fire Nation for an animated movie?

With Avatar’s HUGE success on Netflix last year, interest in the franchise rocketed to an all-time high. The streaming wars have begun, and Avatar’s owner and its parent company, Nickelodeon and ViacomCBS, have finally started to notice.

ViacomCBS is launching Paramount+ on March 4th, a relaunch of its existing streaming service CBS All Access. Paramount+ is meant to be a big expansion and refocus to compete with the big hitters: Disney+, HBO Max, and, yes, Netflix. (There’s quite an entanglement there, with Netflix being the home of Avatar’s big year and the upcoming live-action series.)

One of the keys to a successful streamer today is high-profile originals to drive new subscribers. ViacomCBS knows this and they know Avatar has just become among the highest profiles a property can have, breaking records and going toe-to-toe with other big-hitting sci-fi/fantasy/genre franchises. This knowledge goes right to the top of the food chain: the CEO of ViacomCBS mentioned Avatar by name when discussing potential originals for Paramount+.

I have previously discussed how The Search relates to this. The Search was the second ATLA comic trilogy, focused on the search for Zuko’s mother in the thick of the Fire Nation, and if you didn’t know, it was originally pitched by Bryke as an animated movie after the original series ended.

I just want to be clear that what I’m discussing here is purely speculative, but this is the only other piece of the Avatar franchise that we know was optioned for animation besides the shows themselves. It’s possible they would be interested in going back to this idea as a Paramount+ original (and it would certainly be popular among audiences), but it is of course set during the era of Aang and thus covers both a time period we’ve already seen, and also by nature of already being released as comics, events we’ve already seen too.

However, the whole point of this article is that there is one major, huge thing we haven’t seen yet, with massive anticipation building for a decade behind it: the Fire Nation in the era of Korra. So, again, this is just speculation, but it’s also possible that they could return to the very smallest seed of the original idea for a The Search movie, and do a Fire Nation-focused Korra movie now.

→ 🌺 ATLA’s Fire Nation-focused The Search was originally pitched as an animated movie.

You can skip this next part if you don’t want to see me embarrassingly promote my fan idea 😆 but this is where the artwork I made for this article comes into play. The general idea for it, and the reason I tried to replicate the show’s style as much as possible, is that it’s what a Fire Nation-focused movie could maybe look like. Something as standalone and unrelated to Earth Kingdom drama as possible, with fresh new looks for the Krew to get people excited for something fresh and new! I really feel like the Avatar franchise has so much potential for expanded content like this, that’s why I have high hopes that Paramount+ will make the most out of it! You can see the individual characters’ artwork in larger size here. Ok I’m done back to business.

If the idea of a movie seems too impossible to you, we can also take a deeper look at Bryke’s involvement with upcoming comics instead.

After Korra ended, they officially each went their separate ways. They vaguely consulted on Avatar stuff, and Mike of course wrote the Korra comics, but Bryan was planning on writing and drawing his own original non-Avatar comic series and Mike was releasing his own non-Avatar novels. This all appears to have come to a stop when they signed on to showrun the live-action retelling of ATLA at Netflix, officially reuniting the partnership and committing to Avatar again in a big way. Of course, they ended up leaving that project over creative differences, but it did result in a big, lasting change: this time they remained official creative partners and have indicated they’re still working on Avatar now, together. This is a far cry from the official breakup after Korra, so it begs the question what exactly they’re working on. I of course have my fanciful predictions of a sprawling expansion of the Avatar franchise at Paramount+, but what if it’s actually a combination of the ingredients from before the live-action series...

More speculation, but what if the reason for all the mystery behind the next Korra comics is because they will be made by Bryke, with the two of them co-writing and Bryan doing the art for the first time? If that’s the case, they could want to make them a bigger deal than the other Avatar comics have been so far, and maybe that’s why it’s taking so long to iron everything out, have a more significant story, have more of a marketing push, etc. If they’ve been saving the Fire Nation for something big, this could be it.

I personally think this is less likely than a show or movies or something, but it is possible. Anything is possible right now since we know so little about the large-scale direction of the franchise moving forward, just that it’s gonna get big.

⛰️🌋 The Fire Nation in the era of Avatar Kyoshi

We’re not done! Despite everything I’ve written here, believe it or not, the Fire Nation was actually the star of the show in the last year.

With the debut of the Avatar franchise’s first original novels, Kyoshi made a huge splash (in a way only she can). If you haven’t read them yet, you NEED to-- they’re some of the best Avatar content EVER. The Rise of Kyoshi hit shelves in 2019 and The Shadow of Kyoshi followed in 2020. The latter is of particular interest here, because it was almost entirely set in the Fire Nation and featured practically everything and anything you could want from a visit to elusive islands. Though obviously set in a historical period some four hundred years before Aang’s time, Kyoshi’s sojourn in the Fire Nation gave us a huge amount of new information, a depth and breadth of worldbuilding, culture, and character we’ve never really seen in Avatar before. It truly makes the most of the literary medium, so hats off to author F. C. Yee for the passion and effort he put in.

In The Shadow of Kyoshi, we learn about the era of the previous fire Avatar before Roku, Avatar Szeto. Through Kyoshi and her own Team Avatar, we learn about the different clans and islands of the Fire Nation, as they experience the fraught early reign of Fire Lord Zoryu and the conflict between the Keohso and Saowon clans, culminating in the Camellia-Peony War. We get a multitude of fleshed-out perspectives from the upper crust to the flea-bitten underworld, matching the heights of the worldbuilding quality of Republic City. It’s such cool, intricate stuff, and really shows Avatar’s potential (and that’s all just the worldbuilding-- the character work is also top-notch).

That’s not the only place the Fire Nation has shone recently. One of Insight Editions’ awesome scrapbooks, Legacy of the Fire Nation, gave us a tour through the royal family’s history, including never-before-seen looks at young Iroh and Ozai and much, much more.

All this just goes to show that the Fire Nation has been a hot ticket throughout the ages and there’s one conspicuous gap in that history: the era of Avatar Korra. With so much recent expansion and development of the Fire Nation in our world, it would be perfect to see the culmination of it all in the current time period in the world of Avatar too.

If this made you excited for the potential of what the Avatar franchise could look like in the coming years, same boat!

The next concrete date where something could be announced is February 24th, when ViacomCBS will host their investor day and present their streaming strategy, including Paramount+ originals. There’s no guarantee Avatar is mentioned, but I’m keeping a hopeful eye out.

As for comics, Dark Horse’s schedule marches to its own beat, so there’s no way to know when the next drop of information is coming our way.

Could this finally be the comics that take us to the Fire Nation, or could the much-anticipated visit be in another medium like animation? Stay tuned-- as always I’ll post as soon as we learn anything new!

#korra comics #paramount plus #the fire nation awaits

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asocial-inkblot · 2 years

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Be Cautious, Jaded ATLA Fans

As with any and every fandom, there will always be something for someone to take issue with and voice their displeasure for. However, being that this is the social media age, many fans can be in closer proximity to creators than they may realize.

ATLA Fans/viewers have a lot to be upset about. No matter who your fave is, what your fave pairing is, what drew you into the show in the first place or what your wish for the future may be, we’re basically all just getting stale crumbs at this point. But for those who don’t know it yet: At least one half of Bryke are users on Tumblr, and I believe active too. This means that when you tag a post with something like “Anti-Bryke”, one or both of them is very likely to catch wind of it. I thought I’d point this out because I imagine that going into a tag to read posts from your own fanbase and finding a lot of anti-you posts, can put a bad taste in anyone’s mouth, creators included. It would for sure be petty and childish, but I theorize that a huge amount of contempt and apathy that Bryke has for, well, a huge amount of the franchise and its characters, comes from them having seen posts calling them out and them not taking it well (since it’s Bryke we’re talking about).

The first series’s ending that anyone can find at least one glaring flaw in? Basically the entirety of the comics? All the missing or screwed-over ATLA characters in LOK? The plot lines in LOK that no one asked for and many actually wanted removed? Think about it. They know what they’re doing. The responses they give to up front criticism prove it. Immaturity is a personality trait, it seems.

For those who have already lost faith in the franchise and don’t give a rat about who finds their opinions, this is no problem. To those who in fact do care if Bryke find your posts and use them as fuel for their anti-character and anti-complexity onslaughts, I just wanted to give you a heads up.

#ATLA #Creator salt #Petty Creators #Fan warning #Aang #Katara #Sokka #Toph #Suki #Azula #Ursa #Ozai #Mai #Ty Lee #Zuko #Iroh #Most wasted and misused Fire Nation characters to least.

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deliciousmeta · 4 years

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Azula, redemption and fandom’s puritanical streak

I just watched this video that explains how Angry Jack, the hypothetical Gamergater, can think of himself as the good guy despite how he behaves online. If you’ve got 10 minutes, you should take a look because it’s interesting stuff.

What I found fascinating was the part explaining the puritanical mindset. It’s not about religion per se, but about a way of approaching morality. In a nutshell:

People do good things because they are good.

People do bad things because they are bad.

If you don’t know it’s wrong, you’re not bad for doing it.

If you examine it closely, you’ll notice a glaring omission: there’s no gray area. There’s no space for a “good” person who does bad things, no space for a “bad” person who does good things, no space for a person who’s both “good” and “bad” who does good and bad things.

It’s really noticeable in fandom, especially when the conversation swings over to redemption arcs and whether a character deserves one or not. To a degree, even the notion of redemption arcs requires viewing characters through a puritanical lens. The vast majority of the time, whether a character warrants redemption depends on if a character is good and therefore salvageable, or bad and therefore condemned forever.

In ATLA fandom terms, Zuko deserves a redemption arc because ultimately he’s good but does bad things because doesn’t know any better. Azula, on the other hand, does not deserve a redemption arc because ultimately she’s bad and therefore does bad things. Some take this further and say that Azula is incapable of changing for the better.

There’s just one problem with this, though.

The show outright rejects this puritanical worldview.

The series itself is a coming-of-age story, and part of growing up is realizing that the world and people are more complex than they seem. In “The Beach,” we see that Zuko isn’t the only conflicted Fire Nation kid. Azula, Mai and Ty Lee also have more going on beneath the surface than they let on. Azula, especially, as she unravels during “Sozin’s Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno.”

There are whole episodes (”The Storm,” “The Earth King,” “The Avatar and the Fire Lord”) devoted to the message that everyone is capable of doing both good and bad things, that everybody, even Fire Lord Ozai, deserves a second chance. We see the difference that makes in Zuko’s life, but other characters get second chances too. Aang gets another shot at being the Avatar after a 100-year absence. Iroh gets his chance to turn away from a life as a warmonger to embrace peace. Master Pakku gets another shot at a relationship with Gran Gran. Sokka initially struggles with respecting women as warriors, but Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors still give him a chance.

If we reject puritanical judgments of these characters, why would Azula be any different?

(I know, I know, Bryke is part of the problem, but this is not about them.)

#azula #azula meta #fandom meta #redemption arcs #atla meta

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captain-azoren · 3 years

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Legend of Korra books 3 & 4

Finished rewatching books 3 and 4 of Korra. Here on my thoughts on them and the series as a whole after seeing it again after so many years.

I think books 3 and 4 are pretty solid. Aside from a few flaws, I think 3 is the overall best with the best pacing. I think a big issue with book 2 was that it was trying and failing to juggle a very big cast and multiple subplots that made it feel like a mess. That’s not an issue with 3 or 4, where every character has a relevant purpose and plot threads come together more naturally.

4 does this a little bit worse as I think the plot kind of starts and stops a couple of times, but it’s not terrible. Kuvira’s build up as a villain is very shaky when compared to Amon and Zaheer, but still better than Unalaq’s arc going down the drain. It really does seem like the worst parts of her villainy are told and not shown (those being the reeducation camps and slave labor). I think they could have shown at least one of these camps instead of just seeing the escapees that Varrick and Bolin meet.

I still think the Red Lotus are the best antagonists in LoK just for having the best arc overall. They had Amon’s intrigue, stayed consistent in their motivations like Kuvira, and they have the most dimensions overall just from the little bits of interaction we see of them. What’s more, they didn’t disappoint me in the end.

The Colossus I didn’t mind or find out of place. It just doesn’t bother me when the show has had Koizilla and giant drills in AtLA. I can understand how the mechanics of it work as well. I didn’t feel like my suspension of disbelief was broken considering everything else. I think fans who dislike it are more bothered by it breaking the setting further away from fantasy and into sci-fi.One question though, why does a spirit energy canon need a rifled barrel?

Mako is a much better character in 3 and 4 because he’s finally allowed to be someone other than a love interest. His interactions with Bolin can be really fun and it’s kind of a shame how often they’re separated. I also noticed on a rewatch that he does make a good detective, having good perception and coming up with ideas. It’s better than the pro-bender he started out as and probably his best strength.

I think I actually like Mako now whereas before he was the most forgettable, and I think he deserves some looking into. A lot of the hate comes from him being put into really tough spots where he just can’t win. Mako goes from being extremely aloof to being a loyal but beleaguered straight man to the group.

Raiko I feel similarly to Mako. I think he’s another guy who keeps getting put into tough spots with no easy solution. He doesn’t really deserve hate either, and honestly probably made the best decisions he could as a president (I know from experience how bad they can be...) Him being hated and voted out in the comics seem like Bryke was over correcting, something they seem to do a lot.

Suyin I have mixed feelings on. She really does seem like someone Bryke really wanted fans to like and agree with, but they shilled her a bit too much and at the expense of Lin. Su’s apology to Lin at the end of their dispute felt kind of half-hearted, and despite being justified, the whole thing is framed as Lin being the one in the wrong, stuck in the past, unable to move on after Su had changed. We don’t see Su change though, and Su keeps acting like what she did wasn’t that big a deal, so it falls flat.

What’s more, Su continues being a big presence into book 4, and I think I have to agree with Kuvira that Su should have at least done something to help the EK out. It really does make Su come off as kind of a cowardly hypocrite who’s so afraid of looking like a dictator that she doesn’t even try to help. She doesn’t want to be treated like royalty or an authoritarian, but if you look at Zaofu the place is already set up like a small kingdom, with the Beifongs being the divine bloodline descended from Toph, the strongest bender to ever live. Su is a queen in all but name, and if she was so afraid of looking like a dictator she could have just given up the power like Kuvira was supposed to have done. Su just rubs me the wrong way from start to finish, and it’s partly because the show doesn’t challenge her or make her change. It just expects us to see her as being right, and she just isn’t.

Bolin being a lava bender I remember being really excited for, because it was something I predicted when I first saw it years ago. I don’t have a problem with how he discovered it. It’s not the best way I’d like see someone discover a new power, but I think it’s better than when Korra finally got airbending (though that didn’t bother me too much either). It just kind of made sense to me and finally gave something else to stand out besides comic relief.

The air kids got better in 3 and 4 too. Meelo got less annoying, Jinora was more fleshed out, and I actually really like Ikki in book 4.

Now Korra and Asami. I think Korra is maybe at her most static in book 3, but her arc in book 4 is the most interesting as she had to build herself back up. I don’t agree with some of the things that are just told to the viewer, like how she needed to learn from her enemies. At the finale Korra says she had to suffer to learn compassion, but it’s not like Korra wasn’t a compassionate person already. Korra’s arc seemed more centered on dealing with trauma and finding her purpose in a world that seemed hellbent on telling her she wasn’t needed. I don’t know if that was some kind of meta commentary, but it does work.

I do like Korra’s overall development from where she was in book 1. If I had to put it into words, I think her story is about trying to fulfill a role that she’s been groomed for her whole life, trying to live up to expectations, pushed into doing what others want her to do, failing those things, then finding the strength and resolve to achieve success on her own terms, even if it’s not what everyone wants. Korra gradually learns to stop being a tool for world leaders to use to keep order or power. It’s not always done well, but it’s there.

It’s nice to see her and Asami be friends after the love triangle stuff. It’s kind of surprising, but they didn’t really interact all that much in the first two books all things considered. Asami doesn’t change a whole lot throughout the series, but her reconnecting with her dad at the end felt satisfying.

I’ll be honest, I never really saw Korrasami happening and didn’t view much of their interactions as being romantic in nature. I think only the letter writing and their reunion seems a little shippy, but not very obvious. That said, I can buy the two of them finally realizing they might be attracted to each other at the finale, as a beginning to their relationship. The real problem is that shippers and even Bryke overhyped this moment up as it being ENDGAME rather than treating it as what is was, a spark of attraction. Korra and Asami aren’t in love yet, they’re just going on their first official date.

I do like them being together though. It seems a lot healthier than other potential relationships, and let’s be real here; Asami NEEDED something to make her happy because holy shit has she be through a lot by the end of the series. Dumped by Mako twice, almost lost her company and lost her dad after she forgave him. Give the poor rich girl a break.

So, final thoughts on the series as a whole; it’s not as good as AtLA, but that’s mostly on the execution. LoK was messy and had issues, but it did eventually smooth things out after a lot of course correcting. There are things I don’t like, but not enough for me to write it off, and it has plenty of strengths that make it deserving of a watch if you keep an open mind.

I remember ThunderCats 2011 getting a lot of flak too, and that’s one of my favorite shows ever despite its glaring flaws, so I really can’t work up the energy to trash LoK. I know plenty of people can connect to it even if I don’t, at least not fully, and I honestly do believe that overall LoK’s strengths outweigh its flaws, even if it can be inconsistent and unpolished.

LoK may take place in the same world as AtLA, but it is a very fundamentally different series, and beyond a few very core basics of storytelling I think it’s a little unfair to compare the two. It’s not the masterpiece it could have been, but at the end I still enjoyed it. I might have more thoughts later, but these are what I have for now.

#Legend of Korra #The Legend of Korra #lok #tlok #korra #mako #bolin #asami #asami sato #korrasami

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