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[secretguiltyfandompleasures]

Don’t come into my tag and tell me the only mainstream woman/woman happy ending I have shouldn’t have happened.

Summary:

I ship Korrasami

I totally agree that it could’ve been handled better than it was

If you want to critically analyze the series I’m right there with you

But don’t come and tell me I shouldn’t have gotten this sliver of representation because it wasn’t done perfectly

I originally had a wall of text here that was getting way too long so I’m just going to bullet point the rest of the post as well.

Shipping Makorra doesn’t make you homophobic

Telling people with extremely low representation in media that you’d have been a lot happier if they hadn’t gotten their representation *is* an awful, hurtful thing to say no matter how polite you think you are being.

As hurtful as the “hetero lenses” remark may have been to some, let’s not pretend heteronormativity hasn’t been a huge, ugly problem in the fandom (and the series, and society as a whole).

Makorra and Korrasami will never be on equal standing socially. There is simply no way to reasonably attack heterosexuality by attacking Makorra given how ubiquitously, even oppressively, heterosexuality is displayed, promoted and at times enforced by mainstream culture. The reverse on the other hand, is very much possible.

And last point:While I don’t see Korrasami as pandering... even if it was, I wouldn’t care?

If that’s what it takes to get me some representation at long last as something more than a footnote in someone else’s story, yeah, I’ll take that over never getting anything at all. Yeah, it could’ve been done better, but really, where do we get off calling a wlw couple “pandering” because its execution was less than perfect, but decades upon decades of heterosexuality exploding off of every screen and billboard, that’s somehow not pandering?

Out of over 100 episodes between AtlA and LoK combined, ONE relationship was confirmed as not straight with something more than subtext and implied statements and it was in the very last episode, are we really going to pretend straight people haven’t been pandered to throughout this entire show?

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More Chasefield/MaximumVictory smut!

I liked writing that first fic, so here’s more smut from the trashpile that is me :D

Linky

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I haven’t been here in months!

And I am making my first post back here a 100% proof that I am trash by posting this shameless smut fic of the worst (read: best) ship of Life is Strange: Maximum Victory.

Linky

Enjoy :D

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As enormously as I ship Korrasami, this is not my personal headcanon. For me, that passing through the spirit portal is them emotionally and consciously finally clicking and realizing that "yes, this is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with".

However they are both massive dorks, so in my headcanon they are adorably awkward muppets for like three days into their vacation before they finally work up the stuff to go ahead and have their first kiss. (Upon which the spirit world explodes in flowers and rainbows all around them)

Korra and Asami shared their first kiss right as they passed through that portal an nothing anyone can say will make me think otherwise.

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But this particular decision wasn’t only done for us. We did it for all our queer friends, family, and colleagues. It is long over due that our media (including children’s media) stops treating non-heterosexual people as nonexistent, or as something merely to be mocked. I’m only sorry it took us so long to have this kind of representation in one of our stories.

things that I am thankful for: 

bryke confirmed it! 

and not just in an off-hand “yeah they’re together way”

they wrote thoughtful essays about the importance of queer representation in children’s media without being boastful

they used the word “non-heterosexual” god bless you

they apologized for not having queer representation earlier 

i feel like they’re reaching out to me, and little baby gay me, and telling me “it’s okay, we see you, and we’re sorry it took us so long to get here” 

korrasami is actually quadruply canon

[secretguiltyfandompleasures]

Korrasami is canon. You can celebrate it, embrace it, accept it, get over it, or whatever you feel the need to do, but there is no denying it. That is the official story. We received some wonderful press in the wake of the series finale at the end of last week, and just about every piece I read got it right: Korra and Asami fell in love. Were they friends? Yes, and they still are, but they also grew to have romantic feelings for each other. Was Korrasami “endgame,” meaning, did we plan it from the start of the series? No, but nothing other than Korra’s spiritual arc was. Asami was a duplicitous spy when Mike and I first conceived her character. Then we liked her too much so we reworked the story to keep her in the dark regarding her father’s villainous activities. Varrick and Zhu Li weren’t originally planned to end up as a couple either, but that’s where we took the story/where the story took us. That’s how writing works the vast majority of the time. You give these characters life and then they tell you what they want to do. I have bragging rights as the first Korrasami shipper (I win!). As we wrote Book 1, before the audience had ever laid eyes on Korra and Asami, it was an idea I would kick around the writers’ room. At first we didn’t give it much weight, not because we think same-sex relationships are a joke, but because we never assumed it was something we would ever get away with depicting on an animated show for a kids network in this day and age, or at least in 2010. Makorra was only “endgame” as far as the end of Book 1. Once we got into Book 2 we knew we were going to have them break up, and we never planned on getting them back together. Sorry, friends. I like Mako too, and I am sure he will be just fine in the romance department. He grew up and learned about himself through his relationships with Asami and Korra, and he’s a better person for it, and he’ll be a better partner for whomever he ends up with. Once Mako and Korra were through, we focused on developing Korra and Asami’s relationship. Originally, it was primarily intended to be a strong friendship. Frankly, we wanted to set most of the romance business aside for the last two seasons. Personally, at that point I didn’t want Korra to have to end up with someone at the end of series. We obviously did it in Avatar, but even that felt a bit forced to me. I’m usually rolling my eyes when that happens in virtually every action film, “Here we go again…” It was probably around that time that I came across this quote from Hayao Miyazaki: “I’ve become skeptical of the unwritten rule that just because a boy and girl appear in the same feature, a romance must ensue. Rather, I want to portray a slightly different relationship, one where the two mutually inspire each other to live - if I’m able to, then perhaps I’ll be closer to portraying a true expression of love.” I agree with him wholeheartedly, especially since the majority of the examples in media portray a female character that is little more than a trophy to be won by the male lead for his derring-do. So Mako and Korra break the typical pattern and end up respecting, admiring, and inspiring each other. That is a resolution I am proud of. However, I think there needs to be a counterpart to Miyazaki’s sentiment: Just because two characters of the same sex appear in the same story, it should not preclude the possibility of a romance between them. No, not everyone is queer, but the other side of that coin is that not everyone is straight. The more Korra and Asami’s relationship progressed, the more the idea of a romance between them organically blossomed for us. However, we still operated under this notion, another “unwritten rule,” that we would not be allowed to depict that in our show. So we alluded to it throughout the second half of the series, working in the idea that their trajectory could be heading towards a romance. But as we got close to finishing the finale, the thought struck me: How do I know we can’t openly depict that? No one ever explicitly said so. It was just another assumption based on a paradigm that marginalizes non-heterosexual people. If we want to see that paradigm evolve, we need to take a stand against it. And I didn’t want to look back in 20 years and think, “Man, we could have fought harder for that.” Mike and I talked it over and decided it was important to be unambiguous about the intended relationship. We approached the network and while they were supportive there was a limit to how far we could go with it, as just about every article I read accurately deduced. It was originally written in the script over a year ago that Korra and Asami held hands as they walked into the spirit portal. We went back and forth on it in the storyboards, but later in the retake process I staged a revision where they turned towards each other, clasping both hands in a reverential manner, in a direct reference to Varrick and Zhu Li’s nuptial pose from a few minutes prior. We asked Jeremy Zuckerman to make the music tender and romantic, and he fulfilled the assignment with a sublime score. I think the entire last two-minute sequence with Korra and Asami turned out beautiful, and again, it is a resolution of which I am very proud. I love how their relationship arc took its time, through kindness and caring. If it seems out of the blue to you, I think a second viewing of the last two seasons would show that perhaps you were looking at it only through a hetero lens. Was it a slam-dunk victory for queer representation? I think it falls short of that, but hopefully it is a somewhat significant inching forward. It has been encouraging how well the media and the bulk of the fans have embraced it. Sadly and unsurprisingly, there are also plenty of people who have lashed out with homophobic vitriol and nonsense. It has been my experience that by and large this kind of mindset is a result of a lack of exposure to people whose lives and struggles are different from one’s own, and due to a deficiency in empathy––the latter being a key theme in Book 4. (Despite what you might have heard, bisexual people are real!) I have held plenty of stupid notions throughout my life that were planted there in any number of ways, or even grown out of my own ignorance and flawed personality. Yet through getting to know people from all walks of life, listening to the stories of their experiences, and employing some empathy to try to imagine what it might be like to walk in their shoes, I have been able to shed many hurtful mindsets. I still have a long way to go, and I still have a lot to learn. It is a humbling process and hard work, but nothing on the scale of what anyone who has been marginalized has experienced. It is a worthwhile, lifelong endeavor to try to understand where people are coming from. There is the inevitable reaction, “Mike and Bryan just caved in to the fans.” Well, which fans? There were plenty of Makorra shippers out there, so if we had gone back on our decision and gotten those characters back together, would that have meant we caved in to those fans instead? Either direction we went, there would inevitably be a faction that was elated and another that was devastated. Trust me, I remember Kataang vs. Zutara. But one of those directions is going to be the one that feels right to us, and Mike and I have always made both Avatar and Korra for us, first and foremost. We are lucky that so many other people around the world connect with these series as well. Tahno playing trombone––now that was us caving in to the fans! But this particular decision wasn’t only done for us. We did it for all our queer friends, family, and colleagues. It is long over due that our media (including children’s media) stops treating non-heterosexual people as nonexistent, or as something merely to be mocked. I’m only sorry it took us so long to have this kind of representation in one of our stories. I’ll wrap this up with some incredible words that Mike and I received in a message from a former Korra crew member. He is a deeply religious person who devotes much of his time and energy not only to his faith, but also to helping young people. He and I may have starkly different belief systems, but it is heartwarming and encouraging that on this issue we are aligned in a positive, progressive direction: “I’ve read enough reviews to get a sense of how it affected people. One very well-written article in Vanity Fair called it subversive (in a good way, of course)… I would say a better word might be “healing.” I think your finale was healing for a lot of people who feel outside or on the fringes, or that their love and their journey is somehow less real or valuable than someone else’s… That it’s somehow less valid. I know quite a few people in that position, who have a lifetime of that on their shoulders, and in one episode of television you both relieved and validated them. That’s healing in my book.” Love, Bryan

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SO SUCK ON THAT ONE YOU ERASING "I WON'T BELIEVE IT 'TILL EXPLICIT WORD OF GOD" NAYSAYERS!

Korrasami Confirmed

Now that Korra and Asami’s final moment is out in the world, it seems like an appropriate time to express how I feel about it. I didn’t want to say anything right away so the audience could experience the finale for themselves.

The main themes of the Avatar universe have always revolved around equality, justice, acceptance, tolerance, and balancing differing worldviews. In subtle and maybe not so subtle ways, Avatar and Legend of Korra have dealt with difficult subjects such as genocide, child abuse, deaths of loved ones, and post traumatic stress. I took it as a complement when Joanna Robinson of Vanity Fair called the show subversive. There were times even I was surprised we were able to delve into the really tough stuff on a children’s TV network. While the episodes were never designed to “make a statement”, Bryan and I always strove to treat the more difficult subject matter with the respect and gravity it deserved.

And over the years we’ve heard from numerous fans, in person and online, how Avatar and Korra have influenced their lives for the better or helped them overcome a life struggle or setback. I am always humbled when people share their personal stories with us and I am grateful that my love for telling stories has been able to help people in some small way. So while Avatar and Korra were always meant to be entertaining and engaging tales, this universe and its characters also speak to the deeper humanity in all of us, regardless of age, gender, race, religion, culture, nationality, or sexual orientation.

Our intention with the last scene was to make it as clear as possible that yes, Korra and Asami have romantic feelings for each other. The moment where they enter the spirit portal symbolizes their evolution from being friends to being a couple. Many news outlets, bloggers, and fans picked up on this and didn’t find it ambiguous. For the most part, it seems like the point of the scene was understood and additional commentary wasn’t really needed from Bryan or me. But in case people were still questioning what happened in the last scene, I wanted to make a clear verbal statement to complement the show’s visual one. I get that not everyone will be happy with the way that the show ended. Rarely does a series finale of any show satisfy that show’s fans, so I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the positive articles and posts I’ve seen about Korra’s finale.

I’ve already read some heartwarming and incredible posts about how this moment means so much for the LGBT community. Once again, the incredible outpouring of support for the show humbles me. As Tenzin says, “Life is one big bumpy ride.” And if, by Korra and Asami being a couple, we are able to help smooth out that ride even a tiny bit for some people, I’m proud to do my part, however small it might be. Thanks for reading.

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Fine I'll bite.

First off I'm gonna say that I'm not gonna give you a step by step playbook because ultimately if you don't want to see it, you're never gonna.

Instead let me offer you possible places to look and possible ways to look.

First off, you're going to have to shift your brain into a different gear. You need to look at this series again and remember that all the little cues that spell "romance!" in most media don't apply here. Because

a) Queer romances generally don't get featured and don't really have the same cues and b) the creators probably weren't allowed to be too explicit about it even if they wanted to be.

The second thing you need to rid your brain of is the notion that Korra and Asami as friends and Korra and Asami as romantic partners need to be radically different concepts.

This is a myth perpetuated by our heteronormative society. "There's a special kind of relationship for procreation that's somehow completely different from any other kind of intimate relationship!"

To quote OITNB "I'm going to go ahead and assume that one of the issues here is your need to say a person is exactly anything."

So instead of getting hung up on these words like "friendship" and "romance", look instead at the actual facts of the series. You can look these up in great detail on many ship blogs, I'm just going to go through the big lines.

Basically from the start of book 3 onwards we see Korra and Asami build an increasingly close relationship. We see them always ending up together, instinctively seeking out the other's company. We see them growing closer emotionally, supporting one another, trusting one another more and more.

Note the book 3 finale where Asami is the one supporting Korra and the one right by her side the whole way after the battle. If the desire to say "but that's just as friends" is rising up in your brain right now, then shhh, relax, we turned off those concepts two paragraphs back.

In book 4 we see the result and further development of this. It's subtle, but it's present in pretty much every interaction between Korra and Asami. They have become intimately close. On an emotional level, they trust each other more than they do pretty much anyone else, on a physical level they are obviously comfortable with each other, they also display a way of being very in tune with each other.

Note the Reunion episode. Korra and Mako argue, Asami and Korra click and work together seamlessly, almost entirely without even needing words. The blush in reunion I'm sure you're aware of as well. So they obviously incite emotional response from one another too.

So yeah, in the end, you can come to the conclusion that "They're friends". But if you've been paying attention you also know that they're friends who trust each other more than any person they know, who share secrets with each other they share with no one else, who like one another's company and like being alone with just the two of them, who are physically comfortable around each other, who find each other beautiful, who understand each other to the point that they often don't need words to know what the other is thinking, who are gentle and sweet to each other and who have a deep emotional investment in one another.

Most people would probably say that description falls under "romance".

And that's how we got here.

I need to ask a favor from korrasami shippers

I think I finally figured out what my problem with the ending to korra book 4 was. (Besides the fact that it was just ambiguous enough for argument) The development of Korra and Asami’s relationship always felt very much like a friendship to me, and then the ending felt like it was intended to be romantic, but that felt really sprung on all of a sudden. Would someone be willing to point out places throughout korra (book 4 really) that develop Korra and Asami in a romantic way? It would be much appreciated. Thanks =3

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Gotta love how TV shows are censored to the point that only the slightest implications of same-sex attraction are allowed to be included less they get their budgets’ slashed and yanked from broadcast, and then people have the audacity to criticize the show for not making same-sex attractions more...

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My fellow Korrasami shippers...

As you post your analyses and theories and counterarguments to the naysayers, my heart goes out to you, you are fighting the good fight.

But at the same time remember: We are not obligated to justify anything.

It happened, Korrasami is canon. It was plainly obvious for anyone with two braincells to put together, and if some people want to deny to themselves the build up or the evidence that's right in front of their noses and thereby ruin the show for themselves, that's on them.

By all means, continue to call people out on their bullshit. It's a good thing to do so, but also remember that the fight for equality and justice won't be won by convincing idiots on the internet, it'll be won by slowly winning over systems that govern us and the stories that shape our world view.

And on that front, we got ourselves a victory.

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ITS CANON HERE’S A COMIC TO CELEBRATE

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Nothing like to share the emotional ups and downs with fellow fans. This post is mainly for the people who are over the moon with the Korrasami ending. I scoured youtube for them because nothing makes me happier than seeing people reacting to their queer otp becoming canon. Hell to any queer...

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The best thing about Korrasami

It wasn't how at the end of everything, after I'd resigned myself to another letdown in a long series of letdowns, Asami walked into view and hope against hope dared to spark again one last time.

It wasn't the sheer joy that rose with every moment, then soared as finally the pay-off we so desperately thirsted for was delivered and my babies walked together into the sunset.

After that, there was a feeling even more magical. A feeling of validation and acknowledgement, that knowledge of "yes, people like me get stories too". And the knot in my chest that I'm so used to I sometimes forget it's there, came a little more undone again, letting me walk a little straighter, smile a little brighter.

But that still wasn't the best thing.

The best thing came after, as I logged back in here. It was seeing post after post of jubilant celebration and laughing defiance, seeing posts and gifs filled with joy bursting onto my dash as fast as I could read them like a fireworks of emotion. Seeing literal tears of joy being shed at mere minutes of an animated kids show.

That knowledge that something so seemingly small brought such positivity to thousands. That was the very best thing about Korrasami.

Don't tell me it's just about cartoon characters.

Don't ever tell me it doesn't matter.

I love you all.

So much.

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Me during the finale:

*Finale starts*

Let's get this show on the road!

OMG such awesome fights!

My sexuality is Korra, Avatar-state bending...

*Varrick and Zhu Li do the thing*

YES! FINALLY!

*The hummingbird*

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*The spirit vine core*

HOLY SHIT NO!!!!

*Epic stuff continues*

All this and still barely any Korrasami interaction. Ah well, guess we just enjoy the action.

*Korra does the thing*

FUCK YEA! WHO'S MY BAE?!

*After everything went boom*

Hmmm, quite a lot of time left in the episode. Apotheosis time I guess?

Awwww romance-y times, not the one I wanted most though.

*Mako and Korra and Wu talk*

Mmm yea alright.

*Mako and Korra talk*

Guys. GUYS. Bryke I stg if you fucking DARE...

...

Alright good.

Ahhh well, that was nice I just-

*Enter Asami...*

O_o

Oh god.

Oh god please.

OH SWEET MOTHER OF MERCY PLEASE.

YES! FUCKING YEAAAASSSSSS!

THERE'S MORE?!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

So beautiful... I can die happy now.

(But I'm still gonna write angry rants about representation in about a week or so. For now though, flower petals for all!)

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Much as I agree with the basic sentiment of this, I disagree that Makorra itself is harmful. It's only harmful because it has the potential of erasing the queer relationship of Korra and Asami.

So it's not really Makorra that's a problem, it's the lack of queer representation in the avatar verse. It's the fact that in a decade's worth of runtime Korra and Asami are the only characters that have ever even been hinted at being queer, and we might not even get that much.

If we'd have gotten some halfway decent, or even ANY representation in this show's past, this wouldn't have to be such a huge queer issue and we could all focus on how we ship Korra and Asami purely on how well they go together.

While the way Makorra has been treated compared to Korrasami might be an example of heteronormativity in action and while some fans have definitely contributed to that, that doesn't make wanting two characters of different gender (probably) to get together inherently problematic.

I'll be the first to say that a lot of the Makorra fandom has issues with how they react to posts talking about discrimination, but they are not the enemy, the system that promotes and maintains this injustice is.

Korrasami shippers: Well it's important to me that Korrasami becomes canon because that would mean that we finally get some queer representation in children's media, not to mention some queer WoC representation. All the build up Korra and Asami have had wouldn't amount to worthless queer baiting, which only harms queer people. And yes, no matter what way you look at it, Makorra contributes to heteronormativity, which is why I esentially don't like it. Makorra shippers are not homophobic for shipping it, but as for the ship itself... well, whether or not Korra or Mako work well together and get along, Makorra is still harmful to the LGBTQIA+ community, especially after the possible queer baiting between Korra and Asami. We're not asking you to stop shipping Makorra (which may I remind you is still possible outside of canon! Which queer ships often have to deal with,) but we're asking you to see the importance of queer representation and acknowledge that heternormativity is a problem in children's media and that the continuous representation of heterosexual couples while teasing queer couples on the side is extremely harmful.

Makorra shippers: ...stop hating on my ship.. .. . like this isn't aLL about u im not homophobic,, hoW DARE you bash my ship like wtf I can't even ship without being called a homophobe anymore wtf is wrong with this fandom iT'S J US t fucking shipping calm the hell down,,, one ship is not more important than the other1!!! why can;t we get along

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Preview Clip from the Book 4 Finale [x].

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What I need from the finale

Never gonna happen obvs, but anyways...

Asami being stuck in a place that's gonna take a hit from the spirit cannon, radioing Korra to tell her it's okay, she's prepared and they should make the winning move, not pointlessly try to rescue her, then Korra diving in to rescue her anyway, going avatar and blocking the spirit weapon directly, because it's spirit energy and fuck you, Korra owns the shit out of spiritual stuff now.

She'd reconnect with her previous incarnations because she deserves it alright, and the whole thing would be a parallel of the Bataar/Kuvira scene, proving Korra loves Asami the way Kuvira proved not to really love Bataar.

That's what I want for christmas.

Oh and actual explicit confirmation of queer leading ladies plz.