#or tlok which is... you know lol

[jade-of-mourning]

sorry sometimes i think about mako and my heart hurts so much. this kid raised himself and his brother on the streets in homelessness and utter poverty from eight through fifteen, promptly after seeing the violent death of his mother and father. he turned to the triple threats because they couldn't survive as a pair of wretched kids without any adult support, and the environment forced him to turn into the exact character that killed his parents in a terrible twist of irony. and after sheer-fucking-luck hits and they aren't homeless anymore, their livelihood wavers on the outcome of what's a literally game to everyone but them; and after things are finally starting to look up and their team is going places and things just might be okay, his gradually stabilizing world unceremoniously expands and everything goes to shit.

and the city that chewed him up and spat him back out, ruined him as a child and took away his ability to stay afloat in a true sense of normalcy as an adult — when it's on the verge of destruction and falling to pieces before his eyes, he gives himself to save it with the full expectation to die. he went from the kid who didn't and couldn't care about anything outside of himself and his brother, to finding redemption for his younger self in his police work despite its injustice against him, to willingly sacrificing himself to a world that had never loved him.

he's a desperate people pleaser, socially and emotionally stunted for the adult he had to be as a kid, unable to navigate interpersonal relationships easily yet still trying his damned hardest. he's intensely and entirely devoted to the things that matter to him and for so long it was only him, bolin, and ensuring their survival — yet by the end, that devotion has expanded to protecting the rest of the world. he starts out entirely self-reliant and ends in trusting the people he cares about to know their own needs, to be able to take care of themselves, to be okay without him despite having spent so much of his life defined by his role in others' well-being.

just. what the fuck i'm such a big fan of this fictional guy and i'm unashamed about it at this point. also let him cry please (if you won't i'll do it i'll let him cry)

#lychee's brain trash #mako lok #mako tlok #sorry for the shitpost i don't do a lot of those i realize #how tf did this guy not had a massive break down in canon at any point #nd like;; he never shows resentment for the unfairness of it all #he doesn't ever use his past to excuse any of his choices/actions that are influenced by it #which is pretty intrinsically linked to his relationship fumbles #he just quietly holds himself accountable and probably mildly despises himself haha #as much as i don't care for the love triangle it really does make complete sense in accordance to his backstory #anyway this is just a roundabout way of me expressing my salt at people writing him off as a malicious asshole lol #i literally cannot articulate the intense complex things his conjured up existence makes me feel #this does not even scratch the surface there is SO MUCH #i need to actually write the fifty fics that exist to my brain otherwise all these thoughts will never see the sun #trust that one day the avatar!mako au will emerge from my drafts;;; #and. you know. that one shot i've had in wip for the past 2.5 years #and the four other oneshots that will probably never be converted into actual words

[thejackrandahotel]

.

#i gotta say there are SO MAMY wonderful atla fanart from my country that havent been posted on tumblr #which is really a pity to me:( #because atla/tlok don't get enough attention on social platforms from my country i dont know why #also the ridiculous internet access restriction💀i remember years ago you didnt need to use a vpn to get on tumblr lol #i really wish more people could see those art i mean atla is a quite huge fandom on tumblr

[allgremlinart]

i did not know how to use the internet when atla first dropped, what doujins do i keep seeing you and other blogs keep referencing?? what did i miss…

ADsdhs yeah atla is getting up there in age as a fandom so... obviously over the years there have been numerous doujins/fan comics !! The ones I've talked about on here have mostly been ones I remember seeing as a tween in the 2010s, which was mostly jetko and various slash. I think it would be absolutely impossible to find and list all of the atla doujin that's ever existed, only because there are corners of the fandom that I simply do not visit regularly, and so I'm sure there's stuff I don't know of. HOWEVER !! Fuck it. I'll put together a list of the atla doujins/fan comics I DO know of....

2009 Jetko Doujin Anthology The link above is to a yaoi website and is only accessible through the Wayback Machine. The physical anthology was, at some point, available for purchase, but obviously not anymore. There were multiple artists and stories, but it was all centered around modern au jetko. A friend recently helped me finish a translation of one of the stories - by prolific 2000s/2010s jetko artist Avici1881 - in this anthology - you can find links to most of the full translated story here <3

Jetko Doujin by Avici1881, 愛之門 (The Gateway of Love) The artist originally posted this doujin to their Deviantart, but the translation is a little rough, and it's hard to read in the correct order. Tumblr user @/zaqscans created another version of the translation, which is easier to understand, and can be downloaded here. The story is kind of a riff on "The Cave Of Two Lovers," and it's great.

Zukka Doujin by Avici1881 Like the last one, this one is a spoof on "The Cave Of Two Lovers," although this one is much shorter and more goofy. The only place I've been able to find it is Avici's Deviantart. All of the pages are there, it just takes navigating Deviantart's terrible organizational layout to find them.

Astronaut AU Jetko Doujin by kyosa-europa Now I've never actually been able to find any scans or translations for this one, only what's been posted to the artist's Deviantart. It's an astronaut au. That's about all I've got for it.

Mooncake Festival Jetko Comic by kyosa-europa I think I've seen a Chinese version of this comic too, but I can only find this translated version posted to the artist's Deviantart (which works fine for me, obviously). It's very cute. I believe it is unfinished.

2024 Zukaang Doujin by Yishu (@/shange0211) Rejoice! Doujin from the 2020s! The tradition lives on! I have not personally read or purchased this one, but this artist's work is cute. It's the only one of these that I've compiled that you could actually buy, lol. I do not believe there are any translations of it.

Now obviously this doesn't scratch the surface when it comes to the amount of pairings in atla/tlok (I believe I remember a korralok doujin floating around somewhere at some point) but this is the span of what I've probably referenced on this blog.

#allgremlinasks #jetko #zukka #zukaang #doujinshi #any other atla doujin aficionados... chime off if you want. this is mostly jetko. #long post under cut

[kr1osz]

I've recently finished TLOK & there for joined the fandom and... Did we even watch the same show???

(Very long & passionate rant under cut)

Like mf wdym Korra is the worst/weakest Avatar? It's physically not possible for her to be the weakest as the cycle goes on the Avatar spirt gets stronger so technically the weakest Avatar is Wan!! But I still want to point out the many reasons why Korra isn't the weakest or worst Avatar.

Firstly, I want to acknowledge vaid criticisms of Korra. Yes she constantly underestimated her opponents but in her defense she was severely inexperienced. She'd spent most of her life in that training facility in the south Pole and then once she got to republic city was almost immediately thrown into dealing with the equalits so she underestimated Amon due to lack of experience. She was then manipulated by her uncle so can you really blame her for not realizing he was evil till it was too late? THAT WAS HER FAMILY!!

Anyways, Korra has faults like every Avatar but she also has feats that you all seem to forget/over look!

My main example and my favorite to bring up in this argument is; Korra on harmonic convergence after having Raava RIPPED from her (need to emphasize the fact that Korra did not give Raava up willing like some of y'all like to think, she fought to keep Raava with her and was devastated when she lost her and the past lives. She didn't give it up willingly) meaning she didn't have the Avatar state and this fight was just her pure strength against UnaVaatu.

KORRA BEAT HIS ASS WITH NO BENDING, NO AVATAR STATE, NO PAST LIVES, NO NOTHING. KORRA FIST FOUGHT THE SPIRIT OF CHAOS AND DARKNESS AND WON!

But I have more examples of how strong she truly is (there is no order to them lol).

Korra broke out of Blood bending without the Avatar state (something Aang couldn't do).

She had control over 3/4 of the elements at like five, and the only reason it took so long to master Air bending (which still only took like a few months) was because she didn't get a teacher until she was 17!

Korra fought one of the strongest air benders WHILE DYING, like ppl forget she was slowly dying during that fight. She was weakened and still won.

Now let's talk about another one of my favorite feats of hers, REDIRECTING THE AVATAR UNIVERSE VERSION OF A FUCKING NUKE. Like it was so powerful it ripped open a whole in space & time, creating a new spirit portal and she redirected it and wasn't even fazed. Like I'm 90% sure she didn't even break a sweat!

She's the first Avatar to metal bend, ik it's likely because she's the first Avatar to exist when metal bending was more common but she was metal bending in like a week! That's not something anyone can do!!

Another reason I have is technically not about her strength but more about the strength of Korra's version of Raava. When Korra re-fused with Raava, the Raava spirit was bigger than it was when it was ripped from her and alot bigger than the version Wan fused with meaning Korra has a stronger version of Raava than previous Avatars making her inherently stronger than them. When Korra re-fused with Raava, she was big enough for Korra to ride on her but when Wan fused with her Raava fit in a tea pot.

Now time to defend Korra's loses!

・Korra lost against Amon because she was inexperienced, she'd spent most of her life away from the world and wasn't prepared to fight a master water bender.

・Korra lost Raava because it was supposed to happen. Ever Harmonic convergence Raava and Vaatu fight so it's likely that ever 10,000 year's the avatar cycle will restart, also did we not watch Korra be absolutely DEVASTATED that she lost her connect with the last Avatars? Like she spends most of the time during the 4th season wishing she could talk to Aang!

・Honestly I don't even know if Korra won or lost against Zaheer but I do know she was slowly dying during the fight. She was no where near her full strength! Also, the red lotus was actively surprised at how well Korra fought against going into the Avatar state just showing her control over it.

・Korra got her ass beat in that ring in the earth kingdom because she was rusty and GOING THROUGH IT! Like she hadn't fought in 3 year's and she was still working through her turama, it's the samething when she lost to old Toph, she was rusty, still being affected by the poison, and traumatized. There was on way she was going to win in that state

・ Korra lost in her 1v1 with Kuvira because she was rusty, she hadn't fought in 3 year's and you expect her to be as good as she was before her hiatus? Bitch please! Korra quite literally goes on to go toe to toe with Kuvira at the end of the season when she'd worked through her rust.

In conclusion, Korra isn't the wort or weakest Avatar your just over looking her feats and dumbing her down because you can't except your fav isn't as strong as you think. She was ment to restart the Avatar cycle, and she also isn't even in her prime! She's 17 in the first season, 18 in season 2 & 3, and 21 in the last season, Korra is still at the beginning of her career as an Avatar. She's only going to get stronger.

Also no, I'm not a Korra glazer. She's not even my favorite Avatar, it's Kiyoshi.

#legend of korra #avatar korra #korra #tlok korra #tlok #defending korra #i think this fandom is just blind tbh #raava #avatar the last airbender #netflix avatar #this is the longest post I've ever made #im very passionate about this #you don't understand #how important this is to me #sorry for any typos #i was being silly #then it got out of hand #sorry for any mistakes

[deadgayturtles]

tag someone you want to get to know better

tagged by @labrador-tea - tyy and sorry i took so long

favourite colour: red (yes like enjolras)

last song: 梦回 from the longest promise is playing rn

last movie: just rewatched swan lake so i could make an edit for oomf’s collab for its anniversary!

currently watching: only murders in the building + rewatching word of honor hehe

other stuff i watched this year: i have almost 70 things on this list do you really want it 😭 but highlights were good omens, spiderverse, schmicago, modern family, grey’s anatomy, atla + tlok, kim’s convenience and gotg vol 3 i guess?

shows i dropped this year/didn’t finish: i very rarely drop shows tbh!! but i forgot i was watching grace & frankie so i guess i technically dropped it… planning to return to it eventually tho

currently reading: nothing T-T still keep trying to get through les mis from start to finish instead of in random sections but i keep forgetting i’m reading it lol

currently listening to: don’t listen to podcasts and only get audiobooks for uni assigned books which i didn’t have to get any for this sem!

currently working on: editober 2023! should be working on my editing main’s theme too but (should really be working on catching up with uni hashshsh)

current obsession: good omens, les mis (always), and word of honor has resparked bc i’m rewatching <3

tagging: @p4nicaker @frhog @les-amis-dcd only if y’all want to!

[creampuffqueen]

tell us about the tlok gen 2 kids

ask and you shall receive!!!! making fankids is such an obsession of mine lol

so i have futures and kids planned out for pretty much everyone, but i'll just go over the main krew ships + kainora for now. and i'll try to keep it kind of brief but i have So Many thoughts about them so we'll see if i'm successful. i have like. an entire labelled timeline. it's wild

under a cut because this got so long holy crap

the easiest to start with is the bopal kids. they get married a couple years after the end of tlok and start having kids pretty soon after. they end up with four kids (somewhat considering adding a fifth but we'll see. there's already so many ocs)

their eldest is jade, who is an earthbender. then they have a pair of identical twin boys, named san and goji. san is named after bolin's father. san is an airbender, goji is an earthbender. their fourth child is a girl named tempa, who is an airbender. she actually ends up becoming blind later in life. not whatever toph had, as she was born seeing, but she had some degenerative disease that slowly took her eyesight. she actually ends up developing a technique similar to seismic sense, but with airbending, to help her get around! she keeps her head fully shaved so she can always feel vibrations in the air

the next up to have kids is, surprisingly, kai and jinora. this was not intentional on their part. but they've been dating since they were like 12-13, so i honestly don't think it's much of a stretch that they would end up becoming parents as teenagers. pema and tenzin are a bit upset that their daughter got pregnant at 17, but at this point they've accepted kai into the family, and they respect the young couple's decision to keep and raise the baby

and then after they have their first baby, they decide that they're going to hold off on getting married until their family is complete, so all their kids can be a part of the wedding. like bolin and opal, they end up having four kids as well. all of them are airbenders. their first born is a boy named sangye, second is another boy named tadashi, third is a girl named zaya, and fourth is a girl named tara. it's the jinora and tenzin parallels for me lol. two boys, two girls, four airbenders. despite their young age they are very good parents

then we have the korrasami babies. they have the smallest family, with just two kids. i did some research and as it turns out, sperm donation/artificial insemination procedures were a thing in the 1920s. of course they were WILDLY unethical at the time but hey, they did exist. this is how they end up with their kids. mako is the donor, which i know some people may find that weird but mako is their best friend, i feel like they would rather have a donor that they know and trust than just. some random guy

korra is pregnant with their first baby, who they name katara. she's a waterbender. asami is pregnant with their second baby, a little boy they name hiro, after asami's dad. hiro is a nonbender. they are literally the best moms ever <3

and last but not least, we have wuko's kids. for the longest time they are the cool, childless gay uncles. i think they're both really good with kids, but neither are ready to be parents for a long time. not to mention in my timeline it takes a solid ten years for wu to get the new democratic earth kingdom up and running smoothly enough that he can abdicate. and even after he abdicates and he and mako get married, they're still unsure about kids for a few more years. when they do decide to have kids, they both for sure want to adopt. i have a whole separate post i could make about mako quitting the police force to become a social worker and opening up a youth shelter. but he knows he wants to help out kids, so hopefully none suffer the way he and bolin did. wu does not want to have any bio kids, as he wants the royal bloodline to end with him so there is no possible claim to any kind of throne

but then korra and asami are like 'hey, if you guys want a baby, we're cool with helping out' because i mean mako already helped them have their family, they can do the same for him and wu. and since they're offering, mako and wu decide to take them up on it. korra ends up being a surrogate for them, and they welcome a little baby girl that they name naoki, for mako's mom

then, soon after naoki is born, they end up finding a trio of very young sisters out on the streets. their mother passed away, their father walked out on them, and they have no other family. the eldest girl is only 8 years old. when mako meets her it feels like he's looking into a window at his past self. the girls are very frightened, but mako and wu are able to earn their trust enough to help them out. and in the process of caring for them, they end up totally falling in love with these kids. they ask them if they want to be adopted. all three say yes

the girls are named kasumi, ryoko, and hikari. all three are firebenders. naoki also ends up being a firebender. there's so many firebenders in the wuko house. i'm also spreading my girldad mako agenda. him and wu taking these girls in and giving them a family is actually super emotionally healing for him. he's able to make sure another set of siblings out on the steet has a family

anyway that's a very basic rundown!! i love chatting about my next gen kiddos so so much so thanks for asking! and of course if anyone has any questions about specific kids or families please feel free to ask!!!

#tlok #bopal #kainora #korrasami #wuko

[thatonebirdwrites]

Answering Questions for Fun

20 Questions More

This is a deeper and more detailed version of the 20 questions for AO3 fanfic writers.

I yanked the questions from someone in the supercorp fandom. I forget who. I never get tagged since I'm not really well known writer yet (I'm still a tumblr newbie!), so I'm doing this just for funsies and because I like answering questions.

I will be answering this for the supercorp and korrasami fandoms. My works are here (though I do one-shots on tumblr sometimes).

1) How do you keep getting ideas for your ship / fandom?

By existing, reading, listening, writing, watching things, staring at the sky and watching the clouds drift by. Seriously, my ADHD's superpower is generating ideas. So I have way too many of them, and I have a note in my Scrivener projects with all the ideas. If anyone needs more ideas, I'll spin out so many. lol

2) Which authors inspire you in your fandom, and why are they so freakishly good?

So for the Korrasami fandom, that would be @korrasamibottles for their fantastic oneshots, Progman for one of the best post-series fics I've ever read (seriously, the Asami Sato of RRU is awesome), Shigan for some amazing korrasami oneshots, FuzziFox for an adorable and action-y AU where Asami goes south with Korra, lovedeathcats for the best Indiana Jones AU ever, RainbowRosie for a great AU where bending has vanished, paxbanana's Place in the World is an interesting AU take on Korrasami. @asamiontop's Modern world AU is a must read (she also has some great supercorp one-shots). For supercorp? @jazzfordshire has exquisitely written fics, everything @fazedlight writes is gold, @snowydragonscave's oneshots are adorable, @mycatismyeditor has some great AU's that really dig into the characters, @ekingston has some of the best written AU's I've ever read, @karalovesallthegirls has the most hilarious fics ever (Mime fic), robie's AUs are some of the best slow burn I've read, TheUnforgivingMinute wrote a fantastic spookysupercorp, @coffeeshib floored me with their gorgeous prose, @rustingcat not only does amazing art but the fics are such a great slow burn, @chaotic-super's back to Krypton was absolutely goldmine of fun and digging into the lore of Krypton. I could go on. Let's just say I LOVE Y'all's fics. The above are the people who had the most impact on me personally. Where I learned the art of fanfic writing. Since I'm a science fiction writer, I tend toward creative writing techniques that don't always jive well in the fandom realm, so learning from others helps me refine my writing to use the least amount of words for the biggest impact possible. It's also great practice for my original fiction honestly.

3) Aside from the characters of your main ship, who are the characters you love to write?

I really love writing Sam Arias. Nia is also super fun to write, and writing Brainy and Lena arguing about science is always fun too. Alex is a littler harder for me to write (her snark is hard for me to capture), but she's a blast once I get in the right headspace for it. For Korrasami, I really love writing Jinora and Bolin. Asami considers both of them basically siblings at this point, and Korra does too actually. heh.

4) Are there pairings or tropes you know for sure you'd never write about? Which ones?

I will NEVER EVER writing Makorra - that is a clusterfuck I will never touch. Hell, it's why I didn't rewrite book 1 of TLOK for my Shared Moments series because I really didn't want to touch it at all. lol I just skipped to the six months after and started there. I'll NEVER write Lames or any relationship that features Mon-el. Nope. Not touching it. I prefer to write sapphic pairings for the main protagonists. Sure, side characters can have het pairings (like Brainy and Nia), but I won't write a fic with them as the focus. Other folks can do that.

5) What is your writing process and why is it cursed?

Step 1: Wake up, wash up, and get tea. Step 2. Cuddle the cat to prepare myself. Step 3: Put on my compression gloves and stretch my arms. Step 4: Put on the correct playlist (absolutely essential step otherwise it'll throw off the entire scene and then I have to start over.) Step 5: Try to avoid Tumblr. (Doesn't always work, this place is cursed I swear. lol) Step 6. Open Scrivener project (who am I kidding, these primary projects are always open on m computer). Write while my brain is cooperating. (30 to 40 minutes before I got to rest for 45 minutes then I can start writing again. Chronic illness sucks like that.) Step 7: realize I need to research something and lose two hours to that. Step 8: AO3 emailed me! Who commented this time! Oh noes, now I've fallen down the looking at the Internets.

The other thing I do is carry my journal everywhere to document everything and end up with some weird random poetry, drawings, and dialogue from people I overhear. Oh, and on bad brain days, I'll draw cursed images.

I also use Scrivener and go all haywire on all its features to a ridiculous extent. Like, I try to stuff ALL my outlines, research, scenes, into that Scrivener so it's all in one place, that way I don't forget anything. It makes for large projects. ha.

6) What is your favorite part of your writing process?

Incorporating my research into the story in subtle ways to fill out the world and immerse the reader more fully. It's fun to put some of this research in the end-notes for my fics on AO3. (The power AO3 gave us writers with those end-notes!!)

7) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to research for a fic?

Maturation of bird species and the DNA overlap with human beings to see if I can craft an alien species that is at least 90% DNA similar to humans but is more birdlike.

I looked up the absorption of chemicals through skin. (This is why I use duckduck go for anonymity for this sort of stuff. LOL)

8) Is there a particular writing rule you struggle with (grammar, spelling, tense, reality in general)?

Reality in general - ha. Seriously though, the chronic illness makes it really hard to concentrate and have energy for writing or really anything. The second thing I struggle with is I have an annoying habit of adapting my tenses to what I'd last read. So if the story I read was past-tense, I'll jump into my writing using past tense (which most of my stories is that tense, but there's two that aren't so that's when it gets annoying).

9) What was your hardest scene to write so far and why?

The hardest scene was the end of Book 3 for Shared Moments for the Korrasami series. Both Asami and Korra (due to the bond they forged by accident at Harmonic Convergence) are captured by Zaheer, so that was a brutally painful set of scenes. Full of pain, fighting, poisoning, and a struggle to survive. I wept through it honestly. Whew. Yikes. For Supercorp, the hardest scene was when Nia assists Lena with her dreams and memories of her birth mother. Those were so sad and I totally teared up writing them. It was also hard to sort out the best way to reveal details without giving too much away either. Since Nia's powers are a little all over the place too.

10) Have your characters ever done something you didn’t expect, changing your plot completely?

All the time! For the TLOK: Shared Moments series, Asami keeps surprising me, so I often have to sit down and remap her timeline, and it always enriches the entire series. For Supercorp, Nia keeps doing things that surprise me. She's like this chaotic good agent that adds in humor and twists that enrich the tale in subtle ways I think. There's many other surprising moments the characters do. That's half the fun! Seeing where the characters end up and if I need to adjust my plans. :D

11) If you could converse with any of the characters, who would it be and why?

That's a tie between Asami Sato and Lena Luthor honestly. But then I sort of think of them as basically the same person (Lena may be more neutral in temperament while Asami is chaotic good. Also, Asami isn't afraid to fly planes and crash them for Korra. Lena would prefer no flying. lol). I just wanna talk science with them. Oh and ask them about how in-love they are with Korra and Kara respectively. (Lena will try to deny it, but Asami will gush and admit it because she's a little more in touch with her feelings). I just love these two so much. :D

12) What are some of the tropes or themes that you find yourself returning to in your writing?

Healing journeys. I really enjoy writing healing from trauma, because I feel like it's so relevant for our times, and the characters never really get that in their series (well, Supergirl characters don't, and they really need it!).

The theme of chosen family is another theme I come to again and again. Partly due to how my life is -- my bio family is not healthy for me (outright abusive), so my chosen family is my real family. So I like to dig into those dynamics a lot.

I also tend to write the survivor narrative a lot. It's a more interesting narrative structure, but it's also less used so that can startle readers. Sometimes in good ways? A good example of a survivor narrative structure is TLOK actually.

Another good example of the survivor narrative is Sam Arias' journey in Season 3 of Supergirl. Maybe I'll write an essay someday on it.

13) What's your most important resource as a writer?

There's isn't any one most important resource. I'd say fellow writers and artists is a great resource, lore books is another, random research books (yes, I have a guide to weapons for writers, guide for poisons for writers, guide to x or y for writers, because I'm a nerd like that), the Internet, and lots of listening to others.

14) Can you share some of your strategies for editing and revising your work?

For editing/revising, I start with SPAG: spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Once I do a few run-throughs of that, then I look at the dialogue -- Is the dialogue true to the character's personality and quirks? Can I make the dialogue more succinct?

After that, I look at descriptions: Is the description immersive? Do I utilize the five senses in a concise way? Can I pare down the description while still keeping the immersive quality? Is there any description that doesn't add to the scene or character's growth and can that be moved to a different scene or saved for later?

Finally, I do a fresh read-through and check how it impacts my emotions. Do I laugh at the funny parts? Do I tear up at the sad/angst parts? Does it feel too dry or not emotive enough? What words could be used instead to better invoke emotions?

15) Which is worse: making the summary, picking the tags, or the anxiety when you post your fic?

Ugh, summaries are the worst. Sometimes it's easier to just pick an excerpt of a scene and slap that as the summary. Tags are even worse. I never know what to use for tags, especially since people seem to be kind of random with AO3 tags. I mean, I feel like some writers just will write a statement as a tag and it's amusing but also confusing.

16) How do you define success for your fanfic - hits? Kudos? Comments? Bookmarks? Or just if you like it?

I don't really measure success.

If I get comments from folks that say they're enjoying it? That's a source of joy for me but it's not about success. Because I'm writing mostly for my enjoyment, but to hear that others enjoy it too? Damn, that's like the best news ever. It really helps me feel better about myself and my writing. Like I'm valued and not forgotten. That I actually have an impact. So yeah, go leave comments if you like stuff, please. Us writers love it.

17) Do you have a playlist for your favorite character / ship?

YES. I Always make a playlist for each project I do. I craft it based on their personality, their character arcs, the mood of the piece, and I focus on a variety of genres. I think about the lyrics of songs and try to match it all together. I might spend way more time on playlists than I need, but since I have them playing as I write, I need them to fit the mood and atmosphere to increase inspiration.

18) If fan art was going to be made from your work, which fic would you pick and which fan artist would you like to create it?

Um. Huh. This is a hard question. I try to draw my own, but I can't do color (y'all that do color, are freaking WIZARDS). I think Confession fic and the scene where Lena resurrects Kara, and if and when I have money again, I'd ask @rustingcat if commissions are open for them.

For Korrasami, I'd choose Book 3 or 3.5 but I'm not sure on the artist.

19) How many WIPs do you currently have?

UM. If I count just fanfics, probably fifteen. I'm actively working on six. (Three in each fandom. Two are usually shorter, and one is the longer fic) If we include original fiction and fanfiction? Uhhhhh. Hahahah, that's like twenty-five or so. I'm only working on one original fiction piece set on my SF world of Elivera.

20) What's your advice to new fanfic writers?

Pace yourself and take some time to edit and revise before posting. Also, take some time to review the transcripts and how the characters talk. That can give some fun insight into the characters and ways to expand on them in interesting ways.

Ask questions a lot! There's so many nice folks in the fandom, and folks are so kind about answering questions. I know because I still ask questions and talk to folks about this, and more seasoned writers have been so lovely.

Write what you want. Don't write for your readers (unless someone requests and pays you for a fic, then I guess write for them. lol) but otherwise, write what you want. This is supposed to be fun. If you're getting stressed out, take a break otherwise you will get burned out. To avoid burn out, take time to rest. Read a bit, do fun hobbies, do some practice writing, and then dive back into your fic.

Yes, it's important to try to finish things, but don't feel pressured. Remember, having fun is crucial! It's okay to take your time. Readers will stick with you if they like your tale.

Happy Writing!

P.S. I'm going to quote Brenda Ueland who wrote one of the best books on writing (If You Want to Write):

“Don't always be appraising yourself, wondering if you are better or worse than other writers. "I will not Reason and Compare," said Blake; "my business is to Create." Besides, since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of Time, you are incomparable. ” - Brenda Ueland

And:

“I want to assure you with all earnestness, that no writing is a waste of time, – no creative work where the feelings, the imagination, the intelligence must work. With every sentence you write, you have learned something. It has done you good. It has stretched your understanding.” - Brenda Ueland

#korrasami #supercorp #20 questions for fic writers #20 questions

[lilrobinbird]

Long Ass Tag Game

Cause I wanna get to know you guys better

Thanks for the tag @edas-boytoy <33 Putting this under cut

I accidently wrote looong answer for one question shdhs

How many tumblr accounts have you had before this one?

It's my first one actually haha, I've made like two/three more after this but now they're abandoned forever

Also for this blog I have two sideblogs, I don't really use them now either

How long have you been in fandom?

Like the current one? By the end of July 2023 I posted my first Kyoshi novels fanart and maybe one month earlier I started rebloging and commenting on posts from others, this was after I read the novels and I jumped into their fandom and then in the procces I've also got into tlok and atla (I enjoyed them way earlier but I just didn't participate in their fandoms)

Your favorite trope in fiction?

HMMMmmm Grumpy serious stoick ish x chaotic more fun (and other antonyms that matches first character idk) (whatever heituat has going on))), expressive women with strong personalities, girlfailures<3, severe stern ruthless etcetc women but caring deep down inside (optional), morally gray characters, and I'm just a little obssesed with mother daughter relationships in fiction if that counts as a trope

Your favorite random fact?

That might be well known idk, but sometimes for a video game character they'll hire one person as only just face model, and then differnt person as voice and acting/motion capture

Must feel weird and funny when you basically see yourself in video game doing stuff you didn't do speaking with a different voice

Your favorite game or kind of game?

Now I don't really play video games myself but since I've watched Until Dawn gameplay yeaaaars ago I still like to watch playthroughts of those choice based horror games (the quarry, devil in me, resident evil etc), and later I watch other playthroughts for different choices outcomes scenes etcetccc, The games can be kinda stupid but fun, alsooo playthroughts of adventure games(???), I usually watch them when I eat something

Also CHECK OUT "STRAY"!! I only watched playthrought too but it looks so cool, you basically play as a cat (they did good job with motion capture, feels like real cat moves and it looks so fun to play) and you're in a world when humans no longer exist and there are cool looking robots, you can stratch walls and make robots pet you but I promise it's not just that lolol it has an actual plot and wordbuilding

Aside video games I like chess but I suck big time, but for my defence I mostly played with my friend who sucks even more aHA, we downlanded one chess app for two players and played during some classes

I think I'm just interested in 3d models and graphics hehhh I like 3d modeling

There's also a game called Hades, and this one I actually started playing myself, not the kind of games I'm usually into (roguelike),but friend got me it and! The character designs are very cool

HA nerd long anwser

A place you'd like to visit? (If carbon emissions, logistics and money weren't in question)

Honestly idk, somewhere warm, Greece? Spain would be nice too mmm mm architecture

Or someplace with cool mountains

An animal you're irrationally afraid of?

Ladybugs. No further explenations. But I do appreciate their beauty on photos and from big distance, I'm serious they are very pretty

What's your favorite season?

HMmmm currenlty maybe spring

A smell that brings you nice memories?

I still remember taking a breath of fresh spring air in a specific room last year and getting hit with memories lol, is that even a smell? felt like a smell

(If you're ok talking about food. If not, delete this part)

What's your favorite food from where you were born? And what's your favorite food from some place else?

Pierogi, krokiety and bigos from our stupid potatoland, from other places hmmm, most kinds of pasta maybe, I love pasta, pasta!! which is a little boring but mmmmm mm mmmm pastaaaaa

What's your favorite drink (if you drink alcohol, alcoholic and non-alcoholic)?

I do drink but not too often and I don't really care what, I like flavoured beer, which is alcohol for babies as my friend would say and she might be right but I like it

Do you give your pets random table scraps?

Not too often but sometimes yeah and depends what is it

no pressure tag @korrasamibottles

#tag game

[transboysokka]

Hi!! Not an atla/tlok question, but do you miss your dog while travelling? Do you feel guilty to leave?

I'm asking 'cause I haven't travelled since getting my dog. I'm making plans to leave for a week (for fun) and I don't know how I feel about it. My parents will take care of him.

Also, if you just wanna talk about your dog, please use this ask to do it lol. Love hearing about dogs

Hey that’s a good question! I knew when I got him that I’d be obligated to be gone several weeks every year or two because of my family situation, but let me say that doesn’t make it easier.

I DO miss him a lot when I leave but it DOES get easier each time. I’m very careful about who I leave him with and know he’s cared for which really helps put my mind at ease, so if you trust your parents with your dog it’ll be great!

I’m pretty busy when I’m traveling so I don’t have a LOT of time to miss him but I usually get sent a picture of him every couple of days.

I’ll say that after the first time or two I left him, he did super well so that I started taking short weekend trips even more often.

So I guess basically it’s something both you AND the dog have to train for and it gets easier. And I think it’s real healthy for both of you :)

I bought mine some stuff today because I miss him so he’ll have lots of gifts when I get back

Here’s some of my more recent pictures I got of him too since ive been gone hehe

#I love my boy!! #quesTian

[i-am-extremely-mad]

I'm still a little shocked that @circlique didn't like how I responded to things that some fans hate about TLOK (the comment they left under the post): 

"How did I know this was someone just looking for an argument lol. Agree to disagree." 

I wasn't looking for an argument, I just feel that these things are pretty underrated in the fandom, especially the love triangle, the fact that it actually was a love triangle, not a love angle, as it really is in most cases, as well as the fact that Korra and Asami weren't hated each other and fought each other over Mako... 

Anyway, I'm sorry if they took this as a personal attack, maybe I should have expressed myself better, I really liked their posts and arts, especially that post where they defended Korra and how much undeserved hate she gets.

https://www.tumblr.com/i-am-extremely-mad/722041973501984768/what-exactly-issues-do-you-have-with-tlok

“What exactly issues do you have with TLOK?

circlique answered:

Many of the same that other people have, just that Korra as a characters is not one of them, like I said.

But some of the things I didn’t like:

-stupid, unnecessary love triangle

-the Equalists were great and compelling antagonists, but the divide between benders and nonbenders never really got addressed after Amon was defeated.

-Water Tribe Civil War plot was great, and I hate that they abandoned it for the kites. The Avatar and spirits were better left mysterious imo. If they HAD to be included, making both Raava and Vaatu part of the Avatar spirit would have been much better imo because it would have fit the themes of balance and harmony present throughout the rest of the series much better. Light can only exist in darkness, some chaos is good and necessary, etc etc.

-Unalaaq/Vaatu were boring, forgettable villains. Also hated the kaiju fight with laser beams. Didn’t feel like it belonged in the world of Avatar at all.

-season 3 is easily the best season but I still wish there was a bit more buildup to the airbenders coming back. Like, maybe after harmonic convergence kids can be born with airbending instead of people just randomly waking up with it one day.

-season 4 was also pretty good and my only real complaint with it was the mech. Just didn’t feel like it fit in the world. I wouldn’t have minded if it was just limited to the canon and possibly moved by railroad or something.”

i-am-extremely-mad:

Hmm, I see (I sent that anon question). I already answered some of these arguments: https://www.tumblr.com/i-am-extremely-mad/705097614657470464/fandomsandfeminism-im-still-not-really-over

...but I will answer some arguments here:

“-stupid, unnecessary love triangle”  

I've never really had much of a problem with a love triangle. TLOK is, among other things, a teenage drama, love triangles are typical tropes here.

What I actually loved here is that unlike typical love triangles where the female characters fight for the affections of the male character, Korra and Asami never really hated each other, especially Asami. Korra was only jealous for a couple of episodes and even then the worst thing she could think of about Asami was how she is supposedly prissy: "He's all into that prissy, beautiful, elegant, rich girl." But even then, Korra didn't hide that she also saw her as beautiful and elegant.

And the part that's often ignored is that Korra actually stopped trying anything with Mako after she became friends with Asami, which didn't stop Mako from being a total jerk, especially after Korra suspected that Asami's father might be an Equalist, him accusing her that she only did it so he would break up with Asami. And despite all that, when she was proven right, Korra asked him to go comfort Asami.

“-the Equalists were great...”

As I already said in another post (see link) the Equalists were actually non-benders supremacists (I still can't believe that some people consider them communists, but then again when I see supposed "leftists" supporting authoritarian non-democratic regimes in the real world, yeah...), Amon was just a grifter and most of their arguments were bullshit and full of holes.

Especially when you see how successful non-benders actually are in society, Hiroshi Sato (why would the alleged “communists” work closely with the bourgeois?) being the most obvious example, while many benders barely made ends meet, even if they were famous athletes that people heard about on the radio, like Mako and Bolin. It seems that the social problems were not of an ethnic but of a class nature.

“-Water Tribe Civil War plot was great,...”

Fans don't realize that the civil war wasn't important at all, it was just a distraction to hide Unalaaq's true intentions, to free Vaatu and start the apocalypse.

And I think it was mentioned somewhere that Vaatu wasn't destroyed but just weak and is now in Raava.    

“-Unalaaq/Vaatu were boring, forgettable villains...”

Not much different from Ozai, really. Also, as I already said in another post, Unalag is basically Ozai in reverse.    

I have no problem with “kaiju” fight. I could even argue that the last two Godzilla movies borrowed a bit from TLOK (LOL).

Also wasn't there also a "kaiju" fight in ATLA at the end of Book 1 when the Ocean Spirit took over Aang's body and attacked the Fire Nation fleet? It's strange how people forget about such things when they criticize TLOK.

“...more buildup to the airbenders coming back...”

I have no problem with the idea that some people got airbender powers. Also if newborn children were born with powers, it would be several years before they would show any signs of airbending powers. Not very practical for the story they wanted to tell.

“my only real complaint with it was the mech...”

Absolutely underestimated or better said, completely ignored parallel in TLOK:

UnaVaatu, misuses mystical and spiritual powers for conquest and destruction.

Kuvira with Mecha-UnaVaatu, misuses science and technology power for conquest and destruction.

Also, a foreshadowing that many have ignored, that Mecha-UnaVaatu will be made:

Book 4, Episode 6: "The Battle of Zaofu"

Varrick: "Funny story, Bolin. I first got the idea for harnessing spirit power when I watched that giant Unalaq-monster attack the city from my jail cell. That giant monster set me free!" [Turns to Bolin with a meaningful look on his face.]

Also, Mechs are actually a typical and common part of the DieselPunk genre, and I actually answered that under another post:  

https://www.tumblr.com/i-am-extremely-mad/706005529101762560/if-anyone-thinks-the-giant-mecha-in-tlok-is-absurd

#personal post #my post #text post #korrasami #Korra #Asami Sato #goddesses #this fandom is sometimes just... ugh #kataang

[haroldtea]

okay HULLO so six characters? gotchu <3

katara

wu (tlok)

adora

you know what? AUNT WU too

zuko

ty lee

(bestie idk i just did the first six i thought of lol)

THANK U BESTIEEEEEEEE. ok

-push off a cliff: i did this one last so. by process of elimination. aunt wu. i’m sorry auntie.

-kiss: ty lee 😏

-marry: ADORAAAAAA BELOVED

-set on fire: I know this is a cop out. i know it is. but. the answer is zuko. because he will just firebend it.

-wrap a blanket around: KATARA

-be roommates with: ok definitely wu because he would 1) go to the gay bars w me 2) always indulge in my own random singing habits, which segues into 3) go to KARAOKE with me 4) watch drag race w me 5) take me out shopping and to the spa, and most importantly, 6) is rich

#GIMME ANOTHER #ask #that-was-anticlimactic

[gothamsgaygirlgang]

☕️ Katara from ATLA xx

When talking about who is the strongest bender in the series, Katara should be like the unanimous choice but people love to be dense so let me explain. Katara with no training managed to develop her bending to fight a master water bender. (I mean she does LOSE but when you consider where she started it's impressive) She masters the element in a matter of weeks, excelling past the fucking AVATAR. She was beating Azula's ass in those crystal caves in Ba Sing Se and this was before she had reached her peak in the first series. And Azula is a firebending prodigy who has been trained since she was a child. It took Zuko AND Azula to take her down which makes her a bigger threat than Aang lol. (Katara slices off a chunk of Azula's hair (we know how significant Azula's hair is) AND has two of her limbs bound and in the AIR. Literally the only time in the series we have seen Azula panicked and losing at that point lol)

And then when Katara meets Hama, an exceptionally powerful water bender who INVENTED blood bending, Katara WHOOPS her ass. She not only masters the technique but is so strong that she can use it on the person who CREATED it.

She is terrifyingly powerful and I love her for that! Also FUCK TLOK for what they did to her lmao but at the same time, with her bending developing even more over time, literally no one would be able to beat her in that series.

send me ☕️ + [topic] and i’ll tell you my opinion on it!

#DONT try to argue with me about this because i will not hear it lmao

[sunshine6914]

✨ Pinned Post ✨

Who are you anyway?? you can call me 🌇 sunshine 🌇

🏳️‍🌈 demisexual panromantic sapphic

👤 she/her - soft masc cisgenderqueer

💍 engaged

What do you post about? Not much, I guess some freestyle writing and maybe a drawing or two.

I'll probably post more once I start publishing my original story/webcomic about sapphics (I'm so excited!!! I'm finishing the timeline so I'll start posting soon)

What do you reblog? Mostly things I like which is: arcane, life is strange, zelda, stardew valley, avatar tlab/tlok, fnaf, steven universe, star vtfoe, and women.

Oh I also may reblog some things about my original story/webcomic

Here, I've made some tags I'll use so you can mute whatever you dislike :)

#sunshinewriting - freestyle creative writing I'm in the mood of posting, almost sure it ain't canon and I just thought about it 2 minutes ago. could also be prose I want to get off my chest

#sunshinepoetry - me trying to not sound cringe with my words

#sunshinerambles - me talking to myself and posting it to the void (feel free to interact if you want to!)

⚠️ Accounts with no pfp, bio and/or posts will be blocked on sight - don't look like a bot bro

Useful links below

My Twitter

My Ao3

My carrd

Reserved space for my original story's link on ao3

Same as above but for the webcomic (I swear I'll start publishing it this year)

FAQ

Can I send you an ask? Sure, it's open for a reason.

What if it's about your story? PLEASE DO. I'D LOVE TO ANSWER.

What if you take too long to answer? Well I have a life you know. Just wait I guess

You followed me, what's your deal? I probably just liked your posts/art, don't think too much about it lol.

Your username? The 14 is because of my birth day, the 69 is because it's kinky lol. On twitter I use SunshineTies because I looooove wearing ties!

I guess this is it, take care and feel yourself at home in my blog!

#did i do it right #new at tumblr #new pinned #new pinned post #newbie #welcome

[lamnwar]

KNB CHARACTERS AS BENDERS // Headcanons

A/N: currently on my annual rewatch of Avatar: The Last Airbender, so my brain had to do some mashups yk

Context: if these KNB characters were in ATLA, what kind of bender would they be?

Includes: GOM + Kuroko + Kagami + Momoi

Warning: none (maybe a bit spoiler-ish if you haven't watched ATLA?)

AKASHI

Without a doubt, he's a firebender

Because in the ATLA lore, fire is symbol of power

Also red really is his colour lmao

I'd even say he's the firelord

Not in a megalomaniac, genocide commiting, Ozai way

But in a royalty, knows how to gouvern a whole nation way

I wanna say he's the most powerful firebender out there too... but is he?

I think he is obviously very skilled, but since firebending requires aggression and Akashi is more the kind to think his actions, I don't think he's the most powerful

He's crazy good though, that's for sure

My dude trains more than anyone else to perfectionnate his bending

100% can lighting bend because he's self-aware enough to control his emotion and achieve the mental state to do so

MIDORIMA

I'm very tempted to say that green boy is an earthbender because of his colour palette

But I'd say he's an earthbender because of who he is

In canon, earthbenders are very traditional, down-to-earth, and conventional

They follow rules, and it's all about being anchored

So that would make sense

I also think he'd be a professor at the Ba Sing Se university because he's smart

He could also be a general

Regardless of his position in the Earth Kingdom, he is a respected earthbender

He trains a lot, knows all the forms perfectly

And he gives a certain elegance to that form of bending too

Might be the only earthbender out there with perfectly manicured hands lol

Kinda going outside of ATLA here and touching into TLOK lore but he'd be such a skilled mental bender

Like Zao Fu citizen level of good at mental bending

KISE

See, this one is hard

Because personality wise he doesn't really align with any of the four nations and their philosophies

His personality is so volatile (gemini king things), lowkey tempted to make him the Avatar lol

Which would make sense, because just like he can assimilate the techniques of other players, he can master all forms of bending

My only issue with this, is that he doesn't come off as selfless and wise enough to be the Avatar

I know he'd help someone if need be, but I feel like he's more willing to put his life on the line for those he loves

Whereas being the Avatar recquires to risk your life for everyone regardless of your relationship to them

Unless he is willing to learn how to become a mediator and servant of the people

But even if he is the Avatar, he needs to come from a specific nation

Given how he's good at getting along with people, he can probably be an airbender

He doesn't have the monk vibe with him but Air Nomads are known for their diplomatic nature

Kinda fits him I guess

He can also be a water bender, but I cannot visualize him doing water bending, if that makes any sense?

AOMINE

Fire? yes, BUT

He has a lot of fluidity in his movements, which makes me think of water (obviously)

I'd say that Daiki is the child of a firebender and a waterbender

So he's inherited the firebending, but he uses waterbending techniques

Leave it to Daiki to have the most unconventional technique in all of the Fire Nation

Fire makes sense for him because he can be quite passionate when it comes to it, you know

I could have gone with waterbending solely, but I can't see him aligning with the spirit of it

Like waterbenders are expected to adapt to change easily, but I don't think Daiki can do that

Love the guy, but the last time he's gone through a major change in his life, he went into depression sooo

Whereas fire relies on power and passion, both of which he has

So yeah, he's gotta be a firebender with waterbender moves

MURASAKIBARA

In canon, airbenders are the tallest people so the easy choice would to make his giant ass an airbender

But personality wise, it doesn't work

He's a grumpy introvert, I can't see him go around being wise and nice lmao

Also he's lazy like, can you see him flying around and shit?

Based on that, I want to make him an earthbender

Solely because that bending style recquires to be grounded, so basically you need to have a solid base and then you bend

This wouldn't ask him to move a lot

I mean, yeah, he'd still have to move a bit lol

But less than the other bending style

And I can 100% see him being one of these naturally gifted benders

My boy can carve a mountain effortlessly

He'd be that good

Also can see him love Earth Kingdom food more than any other nation's cuisine

KUROKO

He'd be such a good waterbender omg

I don't think I need to justify myself too much here because it just makes sense

He's got the fluidity, and the ability to adapt to situations

Also his values align with Water Tribe values

It's all about protecting the community and working together, and Kuroko is all about team work so that make sense

Also I know in canon, there's no male waterbender that can heal

But I know he'd be a healer too

I really don't know what to say more because to me it's an evidence, you know?

KAGAMI

FIREBENDER. PERIOD.

Although with his jumping abilities he could be an airbender

But come on

It's literally in his name

He's so damn passionate and lively

Maybe a bit aggressive too, so it fits perfectly

I said that I don't think Akashi would be the best firebender out there, and that's because Kagami exists

Firebender! Kagami has such fire inside of him that it's like he's invented firebending himself

I think he perfectly represents the spirit of firebending

Also can you see him having his own dragon

(Side note: he'd be so hot in Fire Nation clothes)

MOMOI

She's got major Ty Lee vibes

But Ty Lee is a non-bender sooo

I was thinking waterbender, because she's caring and stuff

But airbender? Makes absolute sense too

Because girl is a pacifist

Also Momo-Momoi

See? She's made to be an airbender

No, in all seriousness it does fit her

She's a people's person who has everyone's best interest at heart

Like airbenders

So it fits in that sense

Although I can't really see her with the airbender tattoos though lmao

Regardless, she'd be good at it too!

Yeah, airbender! Momoi <3

#fun fact: i've done a atla x knb series of drawing once #drew aomine as a water tribe guy and he was hot hihi #anyways #i like doing fun hcs like that #knb #kuroko no basuke #akashi seijūrō #midorima shintarou #kise ryōta #aomine daiki #murasakibara atsushi #kuroko tetsuya #kagami taiga #momoi satsuki #knb headcanons #knb hcs #generation of miracles

[musicrunsthroughmysoul]

(ATLA comics rambling - if you haven’t read them yet, somehow, and intend to read them, there are spoilers in this post, so you’ve been warned!)

I gotta admit one of my favorite aspects of the Smoke and Shadow comics was all the blatant MaiLee stuff. I was screaming “BITCH THAT’S SO GAY” (affectionately) like every time they were in the same panel together. LOL Okay, not every time, because there were some scenes where that would’ve counted as homophobic in that regard, but y’all should know well enough by now how much I exaggerate for effect. 😂 But seriously, that collection was SO GOOD, and the writing was SO MUCH BETTER than any of the other previous ATLA comics I’d read, which was really surprising. (Not that the writing got better in Smoke and Shadow, but how bad the writing was in the collections prior to Smoke and Shadow. Sheesh.)

For the record, I do not particularly ship MaiLee but I do see the appeal, and of course, the potential. 💞

And I’m almost halfway through the North and South trilogy (reading the whole collection at once that is blessedly on the Hoopla app...that’s how I’ve been reading the ATLA comics, LOL) and am loving the creative nods to TLOK (I won’t mention the parallels between storylines because that would just be rude of me, lmao but it is weird to be reading the ATLA comics way after I watched both ATLA and TLOK, so I can see pretty plainly how they kind of recycled ideas they’d already done in the ATLA comics for TLOK...at least some of the ideas introduced in ATLA were actually expanded upon story-wise in TLOK which made TLOK more interesting, though, I guess). The writing is pretty good, as well, too, so I think so far I can indeed say that writing-wise the comics did improve over time...but it’s kinda sad to know how many they had to do/how much time had to pass before much improvement was made. x_x But maybe I’m being harsh! Or maybe I just loved Smoke and Shadow that much, idk. LOL

#crystal visions of lilies in the valley #me reading the ATLA comics: so the writers are trying to tell us these characters are NOT gay? well they're doing a terrible job of it. #(and yet...to my benefit/enjoyment. so don't think I'm disappointed totally. LOL)

[firelxdykatara]

I would actually be really genuinely interested to read your defence of Makorra. I’ve never really been partial to any of the TLOK ships but I know that one gets a lot of hate (even though I don’t see anything wrong with people shipping it) and I’m just curious to see your take.

I've been sitting on this a bit, because it's been a while since I actually sat down and thought about what it is I love so much about Makorra--the fire/water and slap-slap-kiss/BST energy aside--and it reminded me that I actually rewatched the first three episodes of LoK not that long ago (which is when I had my revelation about Equalist Asami, and how I think that the Equalist Mako and Korra fight in episode three was originally meant to be Asami's true introduction to the show, to be revealed when it became clear she and her father were Equalists), because of this meta by @devildogdemon on episode three that reminded me just how much those early episodes made me love Makorra well before the love triangle crashed onto the scene and everything went tits up.

I've spoken before about how what I really loved about Makorra was the potential:

I personally loved Makorra, but I loved it for what it could have been, not what it wound it 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 still holds true, and I think the foundations were all very well laid out in the meta that I linked above.

When Mako and Korra had time alone together, and were in a stressful situation, they worked incredibly well together, despite the way their personalities--Mako a bit staid and stoic, used to shoving down his emotions so that he could be the parent his little brother needed and, as a result, never learning how to process how he felt in a healthy manner, while Korra spent her whole life among adults and as a result never really learned how to just be a kid, or how to relate to others her own age, so she is brash and reckless and does what she thinks is necessary because she's never been around people who had to ask permission before they just Did Things and hey, she's the avatar, shouldn't she be the one everyone is looking to for leadership???--tended to clash, especially early on.

They slid almost effortlessly into the Battle Couple trope when it came time to fight--to try and get Bolin back, and to protect one another--and those scenes in Book 1 feel a lot like Zuko and Katara training together at the end of book 3, covering each other's blind spots and accomodating for each other's weaknesses. This is also, incidentally, the episode where Korra winds up wearing Mako's scarf--the one memento he has from his parents, who were killed when he was a child. Sound familiar?

-insert image of katara's necklace around zuko's wrist here-

And before anyone gets on me about the parallels, I'm not saying that Makorra is the same as Zutara (although if you told me that Bryke intended it to be, I'd believe it--either because they thought they were finally giving the shippers what they wanted or, more likely, they wanted to show why they believed zk would never work), but the parallels do exist, and it's largely because Mako occupies the same position within the krew that Katara does within the gaang. They also have the BST and the banter more than any other relationship in the krew, so of course they're going to wind up paralleled to the relationship in the gaang that had the most narrative tension. They are still, at the end of the day, very different relationships, because Mako and Korra are very different people than Zuko and Katara.

But I'm just saying, the symbolism of one half of the pair wearing the other's only physical link to their dead parents........it's there. I didn't make this up.

They also, again like zutara, have this moment of emotional closeness and vulnerability early in the book--in episode 3, where Mako reveals to Korra what happened to his parents and why he had history with the triads, which casts some light on why he acted the way he did in the very first episode (I've seen people getting on Mako's ass about how 'mean' he was to Korra, but like, a) he was very calm about it, and b) how else would you expect someone who lived hand to mouth on the street for an entire decade to react to someone claiming they had 'nothing' in the same breath as admitting that they'd never had to want for anything in their entire life?), and allows them to become closer emotionally--as friends and potentially more, given the explicitly romantic framing of the interaction and several others throughout the episode.

Ultimately, what initially drew me in to Makorra was that slap-slap-kiss/Belligerent Sexual Tension they had in the beginning of book 1, but what really makes me think of what they could have been is the way their relationship developed in episode 3 and the groundwork that was laid for a slow-burn there, rather than Korra deciding she was in love with him just in time for Asami to crash into the scene and nab him first.

(Incidentally, had Asami been an Equalist like she was originally supposed to, this could all have been part of a larger plot and Korra could have slowly come to realize what Mako meant to her while examining the things she felt when she saw him with Asami--meanwhile, all of their relationships could have been given room to breathe and grow, especially if Bolin's puppy crush on Korra were dropped, and Mako and Korra clashing over Korra's suspicions of Asami wouldn't have been quite so ugly if both of them were proven just a little bit right. And then allow for that betrayal to shake the foundations of the krew before Asami works her way back into their good graces, and Mako and Korra don't get together until they've navigated the fallout from that and discovered how much they really mean to each other.)

Uh... yeah, I rambled for days, hopefully I answered your question adequately! I just. I really love Mako, and I really love what he and Korra could have been to each other, and I really love who Korra could have become if the show let her actually grow organically instead of giving her Character Development Through Brutal Torture, and all of that has I guess kind of sunk into a ball of how the show would look if Makorra were done better to me lol.

#mako #makorra #atla #lok #equalist asami #makorra meta #mudbend #asked