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[inlocusmads]

South Asian and Hindu Influences in ATLA (Part 1)

disclaimer: i was raised culturally and religiously hindu, and though i've tried to do my research for this post and pair it with my own cultural knowledge, i'm not an expert on hinduism by any means. should i mess up, please let me know.

please also be aware that many of the concepts discussed in this post overlap heavily with religions such as buddhism and jainism, which might have different interpretations and representations. as i'm not from those religions or cultures, i don't want to speak on them, but if anyone with that knowledge wishes to add on, please feel free.

it's well-known that atla draws from indigenous, east and southeast asian influences, but something i rarely see discussed in the fandom is the influences the show takes from hinduism and south asia, and there are actually far more than i think people are aware of.

so here's a (non-exhaustive list) of the main inspirations atla drew from south asian culture and hinduism, starting with...

The Avatar

the title of the show itself is taken from the ancient language of sanskrit, often considered the sacred tongue of the hindu religion. in sanskrit, the word "avatar" means to "descend" or "alight".

the concept of the avatar is a very old one, referring to the physical incarnation of a powerful deity or spirit. the idea of the avatar is most often linked to the god Vishnu, one of three supreme hindu gods collectively called the trimurti, or trinity. the avatar is said to manifest upon earth primarily in times of great need, when balance must be maintained between the forces of good and evil.

atla borrows heavily from this idea in having aang be the incarnation of a divine spirit who returns to the world during a time of immense strife, and is tasked with defeating a great evil to bring balance back to the world. and though i don't know if it was an intentional reference, it's interesting to note that Krishna, the most famous incarnation of Vishnu was also reborn amidst a fierce storm and carried through a raging sea to a new home where he would be protected from the king who sought to kill him. sounds a little familiar, doesn't it?

Agni Kai and the Philosophy of Firebending

the word "agni" derives from the sanskrit name Agni, the god of fire, though it can also generally mean "fire".

the concepts of lightning bending and the sun being the source of firebending are likely also taken from the idea of Agni, since he's said to exist simultaneously in three different forms on three different dimensions: as fire on earth, as lightning in the atmosphere, and as the sun in the sky.

Agni is a significant aspect of many rituals, including marriage rites, death rites, and the festivals of holi and diwali. the concept of Agni is one of duality: life and death, rebirth and destruction. hindu rituals accept and celebrate both aspects, revolving around the idea that destruction is not separate from creation, but rather necessary to facilitate it. the cremation of the dead, for instance, is seen as purification, not destruction: burning away the physical form so the soul is unencumbered, set free to continue the reincarnation cycle.

this influence can be seen in the firebending masters episode, which discusses the idea of fire being vital to life. the sun warriors safeguarding the original fire and demanding that zuko and aang bring fire to the dragons as a sacrifice could also reference the ritual of Agnihotra - the ritual of keeping a fire at the home hearth and making offerings to it. the purpose of this ritual differs depending on which text you refer to, but it is generally believed to purify the person and atmosphere in which it is performed, similar to how zuko and aang must make offerings to ran and shaw and survive their fire before being deemed worthy and pure.

Agnihotra is said to serve as a symbolic reminder of the vitality and importance of fire as the driving force of life, a lesson that zuko and aang also internalize from their encounter with the dragons.

Bumi

bumi's name is taken from the sanskrit word "bhumi", which means "earth". it's also the name of the hindu goddess of the earth, bumi or bhudevi.

one of the things the original animation didn't do and which i really enjoyed about the live action was that they made bumi indian and added desi inspiration to omashu. it makes perfect sense for a king whose name is as hindu-inspired as they come.

NWT Royal Palace

chief arnook's palace in the northern water tribe takes inspiration from the gopurams of hindu temples, massive pyramidal structures that served as entrance towers to the temple.

gopurams were built tall enough to be seen for miles around, beacons to signal tired or weary travellers who wished for a place to rest that a temple was nearby. it's a nice touch that the chief's palace is located in front of the spirit oasis, a similarly symbolic entryway to a sanctuary housing otherworldly deities.

Betrothal Necklaces

to preface: i doubt this was an intentional reference, and this great post talks about other cultures that could have inspired the water tribe betrothal necklaces. given the desi influence in the nwt architecture however, i figured it was worth mentioning.

the idea of betrothal necklaces being given to women by their male partners is similar to the thaali, a necklace given to hindu wives by their husbands. during hindu weddings, grooms tie the thaali around their brides' necks to symbolize their marriage. once given, wives are expected to wear their thaali till the day they die, as doing so is believed to bring good luck, health and prosperity to their husbands.

Chi-Blocking

though chi-blocking takes primary inspiration from the art of Dim Mak, it is also influenced by the south indian martial arts forms of adimurai and kalaripayattu, both of which include techniques of striking vital points in the body to disable or kill an opponent.

kalaripayattu also shares parallels with firebending, being a very physically demanding, aggressive martial art that emphasises the importance of discipline and mental fortitude. control of the mind is essential to control of the body, a philosophy similar to that espoused by iroh across the show.

Wan Shi Tong's Library

the library draws inspiration partly from the taj mahal, the famous mausoleum constructed by shah jahan during the mughal empire as a monument to his beloved wife, mumtaz mahal.

i'll end this post here since it's getting too long as it is, and the following section will be even longer. for while atla treated the concepts in this post with respect, the same unfortunately cannot be said for its depiction of guru pathik and combustion man - both of which we'll be discussing next.

[inlocusmads]

I've admired @bayleedraws-sometimesx's beautiful work since I joined Tumblr, so when I saw she had opened emergency commissions, I knew I had to get one. Here are Trystan and Emma, probably holding hands in public while somehow still believing they're being discreet.

Thank you, Baylee! I absolutely love this 🥰

[inlocusmads]

Crimes: The Proposal is actually one of Jenna's drag shows that satirically makes fun of the concept of marriage

[inlocusmads]

together again

imtura x elyon (she/her)

timelapse + stuff under the cut

their height is skewed for art purposes but realistically i envision their height difference like this ⬇️ lol

tags | @choicesficwriterscreations

[inlocusmads]

wip weekend (second languages edition):

It was also an inauguration - a swearing-in. Markarov’s generous feeding and simultaneous feasting wasn’t lost on them. They knew he would drop them in five years’ time like a careless windowsill plant falling on a sidewalk - you chew, spit right out and you forget their names. But somehow people liked when they were heard. You would too, perhaps. A chance so slim you aspire to have the kingmakers, the demigods, your chieftains to know your words carried weight and perhaps if you were to confuse them with a sweater-vest of jaded, pretentious vagueness they will spare you and let you eat from their hands.

I ended up doing a little exercise by incorporating these words into a paragraph and I really liked how it turned out:

[inlocusmads]

yesterday i went to a party and i kissed this girl and she kept trying to give me her linkedin and i was like ...LINKEDIN? and she said yes linkedin. so i said i dont use linkedin. do you have instagram though. and she was like yes i do have instagram. you should add me on linkedin. and i said i dont use linkedin. and she said i will add you on linkedin. and i said girl give me your instagram you are NOT flirting with me through linkedin. and she was like. ok. fine. here's my instagram then. and gave me her instagram, which she clearly uses a lot, so it wasnt even that she only uses linkedin but rather that she just wanted to talk to me through linkedin specifically. fascinating woman if i wasnt already attracted to her her unwavering loyalty to linkedin wouldve drawn me in for sure

[inlocusmads]

Add on: In my hc these two do not get engaged, married, betrothed, etc etc but are the token divorced couple in the friend group and at the same time everyone's afraid of splitting them apart because without Trystan's house being the prime hangout spot and Nora the "I know a guy who knows a guy" person, they would be at a serious disadvantage.

Absolutely a fan of detaching from canon because you end up getting stuff like "Crimes: The Proposal" which sounds like a camp film Nora would probably watch or a reason for Trys to ask her to fake a marriage for convenience purposes or maybe to "zhuzh" up the vibes.

[inlocusmads]

Absolutely a fan of detaching from canon because you end up getting stuff like "Crimes: The Proposal" which sounds like a camp film Nora would probably watch or a reason for Trys to ask her to fake a marriage for convenience purposes or maybe to "zhuzh" up the vibes.

[inlocusmads]

for the tea asks!

Killian: Green: What is your OC’s favorite piece of clothing?

Nora: Pu-erh: What does your OC do when they’re stuck indoors for a day or two?

Both: Peppermint: How does your OC handle the cold?

thank you ^^

thank you sm for the ask!!

Green:

As much as I'd like Killian to just deck out in her usual ranger's clothes, she much prefers an undershirt and trousers or a nightgown. She doesn't get too picky with her outfits since she doesn't own many. It's part of the reason why she considers fancy outfits pristine and elevates them to like borderline demi-god status. Doesn't mean she favours them, cuz she much much prefers something with leather and wool to ward off the winter.

Pu-erh:

Nora's living her best life. She prefers not getting out much. She's catching up on her shows, she's making good food for herself, she's sleeping and healing, she finally has time to deal with her anxiety problems. But most importantly she's clocking in hours of Wordle time. Nora likes a little whimsical puzzle to solve. It's her thing. Doesn't matter if she's good at it or not, she's livid for them "XP points".

And also maybe helping out her Uncle with the bar finances, maybe starting a project to fill up a few walls or fix that malfunctioning jukebox, doing some inventory, etc.

Peppermint:

K - Oh she's prepared as frick. She's got the leather, the boots, she's helping herself to lots of warm meals everyday, she's learning how to sew, she's hunting and foraging and gardening. I hc winters at Riverbend can be a little harsh and even more so at Whitetower. She's getting wood for the fire - the whole package. Killian doesn't do well in cold conditions and is bound to definitely catch a cold. Kade too. So they have an emergency cabinet with spices and herbs and bowls for soup and everything is good.

N: Nora's used to the New York winter, so literally nothing can affect her. She's got good shoes to navigate the puddles, windbreakers and coats, she's got the survivalist skills gunned down. She seldom gets sick due to the weather. Her and Uncle Tommy are the "Bermuda shorts-wearing guys in the middle of a blizzard" people.

Thanks so much for the ask!!

Tea asks

[inlocusmads]

happy lesbian week to aurora and jackie <3

[inlocusmads]

let's make nora cozy as hell: english breakfast, chai, rooibos

Loving the idea of making Nora cozy - she needs that now more than ever:

English Breakfast: What is your OC’s morning routine?

Okay I love this immediately. Nora's up early at the dawn of freaking-o'clock but her go-to time is 6 am. She starts things off with the TV on - background noise helps her get things done. It's usually something on MTV. Brush, shower, get breakfast done, make her little lists in a hurried frenzy because she spent half an hour glued to the TV, get dressed and get to the agency by 8:30 or 9.

Her routines are very very simple because Nora has trouble getting stuff started. She's had the same routine since college (and yes she was also one of those people who took 8am classes). On the weekends, it's a lot slower (<- once again depends cuz if Mafalda calls her in, she needs to be on stand-by) but more or less the same.

Chai: What is your OC’s comfort food/drink?

Comfort foods -> fried rice and egg (Nora doesn't consume a lot of animal meats so she finds alternatives for protein); egg-and-cheese sandwiches, any kind of noodle-and-soup combo.

Comfort drinks -> yuenyeung (coffee + milk tea and yes she does prefer making it at home because the stuff she gets at coffee outlets can be subpar) black coffee specifically from Sam's coffee shop, and any kind of fruit juice.

Nora doesn't splurge on comfort foods or drinks all that much so she tends to make them on her own. Her rule-of-thumb is if she can make something at home for half the price and half the time, she's never getting anything outside, ever. Which can be a bit of a problem if she's sick or nursing a hangover because you best believe she's coughing violently, having the worst time of her life while making food for herself.

Rooibos: What kind of lighting does your OC prefer? Dim, bright, moody, secret fourth thing?

Nora's lighting preferences is just Gotham City in a nutshell. At home she draws in curtains and likes staying in complete and utter darkness, with a couple of lights here and there. At work, she lets in tons of natural light. Something about multiple bright artificial lights in every room makes her want to die. And she loves it that way because everybody thinks she's not at home (or) that nobody lives in her apartment.

Thank you for the ask <33

tea asks

[inlocusmads]

Cozy Tea-Themed OC Asks

English Breakfast: What is your OC’s morning routine?

Earl Grey: Does your OC like to read? What is their taste in books?

Darjeeling: Where does your OC feel most at home?

Oolong: How does your OC decorate their space?

Lapsang Souchong: If your OC was a scented candle, what would they smell like?

Chai: What is your OC’s comfort food/drink?

Pu-erh: What does your OC do when they’re stuck indoors for a day or two?

Green: What is your OC’s favorite piece of clothing?

Jasmine: Does your OC like flowers? Which type of flower is their favorite?

Matcha: What is your OC’s preferred little treat?

Lemon Balm: Does your OC have any bedtime habits or rituals?

Peppermint: How does your OC handle the cold?

Rooibos: What kind of lighting does your OC prefer? Dim, bright, moody, secret fourth thing?

Chamomile: What does your OC do to relax?

Ginger: What always brightens your OC’s day?

[inlocusmads]

MAY 2024 PROMPTS

Have fun! Take liberties! Be weird!

Playlist Inspo

SPOTIFY || YOUTUBE

Deity Inspo

Zeus

Power, Oak tree, unfaithful

"Statistically, you've got better chances being struck by lightning"

Hera

Marriage, revenge, peacock

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"

Poseidon

Ocean, earthquakes, horses

"stormy eyes"

Demeter

Wheat fields, middle child, poppy

"...moods that changed like the weather"

Apollo

Harp, medicine, prophesy

"...like they were the sun"

Artemis

Wilderness, moon, archery

"lets go lesbians, lets go!"

Ares

War, strength, hated

"Don't be a boar"

Athena

Wisdom, strategy, owl

"You're giving me a headache"

Hephaestus

Inventive, disability, overlooked

"...Like a volcano about to erupt"

Aphrodite

Pearls, swan, passion

"You know ___ is an aphrodisiac"

Hermes

Guide, messages, travel

"That's just an eloquent way of saying, 'fuck you.'"

Hestia

Home comforts, Eldest Daughter problems, gentle

"Sometimes a family is (insert found family here)"

Dionysus

Wine, celebration, mania

"I heard it though the grapevine..."

Nyx

Mysterious, rest, starlight

"Goodnight, My Love"

Hades

Rich, death, responsibility

"who's a good puppy?"

Quotes

"You wish to be considered righteous, but not to act with justice." (Eumenides)

"Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish." (The Bacchae)

"Isn’t it delightful to forget how old we are?" (The Bacchae)

"I was born to join in love, not hate - that is my nature" (Antigone)

“I have no love for a friend who loves in words alone.” (Antigone)

“Have you ever been struck by a sudden desire for - soup?” (The Frogs)

Dionysus [doing everything wrong], "Like that?" (The Frogs)

“If you try to cure evil with evil, you will add more pain to your fate.” (Ajax)

“Which would you choose if you could: pleasure for yourself despite your friends, or a share in their grief?” (Ajax)

“I ask this one thing: let me go mad in my own way.” (Electra)

"Oh, it is easy for the one who stands outside the prison-wall of pain to exhort and teach the one who suffers” (Prometheus Bound)

“In childbirth grief begins.” (Medea)

"I'll take care of you."

"it's rotten work."

"Not to me. Not if it's you." (Euripides)

“Love, stealing with grace into the heart you wish to destroy, love, turning us blind with the bitter poison of desire, love come not my way. And when you whirl through the streets, wild steps to unchained rhythms, love, I pray you, brush not against me, love, I beg you, pass me by.” (The Love of the Nightingale)

“There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.” (The Odyssey)

“Be strong, saith my heart; I am a soldier; I have seen worse sights than this.” (The Odyssey)

FASHION INSPO

From Dolce & Gabbana

STORY INSPO

Many of these stories have different tellings and variations, embrace whichever version you most enjoy.

Echo and Narcissus (painting) (story)

Pandora's Box (painting) (story)

Arachne (painting) (story)

Hades and Persephone (painting) (story)

The Gorgon Medusa (painting) (story)

Cygnus (painting) (story)

Theseus, Ariadne, and the Minotaur (painting) (story)

Daedalus and Icarus (painting) (story)

Eros and Psyche (sculpture) (story)

Orpheus and Euydice (painting) (story)

Myth of Sisyphus (painting) (story)

Cassandra (painting) (story)

The Fates (painting) (story)

Atlas (sculpture) (story)

[inlocusmads]

i love the self-reflection going on in regards to checking yourselves for your own internal biases and in the spirit of that- i want to address one last thing.

the FIRST step in taking accountability is admitting what you've done is wrong. fully and transparently. apologies are a commitment made to those who have been wronged that you'll do better. they need to explicitly showcase what was wrong and who needs to own up to their wrongdoings (if you know anyone who needs to, ofc). otherwise it's only an apology made to save face so you can feel better and move on. not for the people affected.

so as someone done wrong, hear me when i say this:

whitewashing any canonically poc character is racist. supporting content that whitewashes poc characters is racist. and if you genuinely want to take accountability, you'll need to admit this out loud. fully and transparently for everyone to see:

bryce lahela from open heart was whitewashed. bryce lahela is an indigenous hawaiian person. [insert your name here] endorsed/supported fanart that whitewashed bryce lahela by [insert what you did here].

and before y'all start with the "i want to protect people's privacy" or "allow people the opportunity to acknowledge it themselves"--

being vague in your apology does no one any favors. it gives people an out. a reason to believe that whatever it is you're saying sorry for doesn't involve them. if they genuinely are unaware, you saying it out loud point blank period will go a long way.

thank you for listening 🖤

[inlocusmads]

>> Second Languages | Trystan Thorne (crimes of passion) series masterlist

<< read on ao3

Summary: How Trystan forgets his mother tongue - the trials and tribulations, the consequences and the guilt that follows and how he struggles to learn it back again.

Chapters (ongoing)

"what's that song you sing for the dead?"

"I will not ask you where you came from"

"explosions on TV, and all the girls with heads inside a dream"

[inlocusmads]

What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and time again? An instant of pain perhaps. Something dead which still seems to be alive. An emotion suspended in time like a blurred photograph, like an insect trapped in amber. — Guillermo Del Toro, from The Devil's Backbone

DETECTIVE MILENA TEODORA ROSA | CRIMES OF PASSION

[inlocusmads]

was playing w some mock up design options for jensens book yesterday <3

despite being about medicine, the heart is non-anatomical bc its meant to represent more of the societal and human aspects of healthcare. it's more than just science. the syringe is meant to represent the "traditions" and information often fed to new doctors when going through their medical education which is often outdated and more or less bs atp (which is why its an old syringe model)

jensen explains how the evolution of the healthcare system includes a lot of systemic issues and hatred against certain groups, which makes healthcare relatively unhelpful to them as their issues are usually brushed off. he speaks on his experiences both as someone who grew up unable to access healthcare due to the cost and as someone who now works in the system. he acknowledges the pretentiousness around medicine while keeping the book relatively simple in language bc people without a college degree get health care, so they should be able to understand information about it

he addresses issues around language barriers, bias in doctors, and bigoted criticism he's faced as a queer autistic poc in medicine

also the title is based on that one chappell roan song. idk if that would actually be the title but it fits in this version. theres a section of the book where jensen explains that he and others in his position (queer, nd, poc, etc) really are not prepared for how the healthcare system treats them, both as patients and doctors, so in a sense it's referencing that they're on their own and all they get is a wish good luck before being thrown in, rather than any helpful guidance. esp in his position he was never really prepared for how the world was going to treat him (thanks mom) so it applies here, too

anyway this project has helped me a lot to get out of the bs part of fandom and just appreciate my characters so no im not good at graphic design but trust n believe i had a lot of fun w this project