raydyboy

[hannahhasafact]

It makes me really sad to hear Anthony had a hard time with this season of Dungeons and Daddies because of the reception from fans and stuff but I will not stand for his Legend of Korra slander how dare you

(Then again maybe I’m like the only person in the world who loves LoK more than Atla but that’s just me)

[coldgoldlazarus]

It's just frustrating to see the discourse around Legend Of Korra is stupid as it was ten years ago, even if now dressed up in leftist language. AtLA was a lot better put-together than AtLoK, but it wasn't perfect or untouchable. Korra was messy and sabotaged and its attempts at political commentary were definitely a product of the obama-era neoliberalism of its time, but it wasn't the crime against the original show so many people are apparently still desperate to paint it as.

I want to engage with good-faith critique of its genuine problems, but far too often the people critiquing it wind up showing their asses and admitting (whether outright or implicitly through comparison) that they just hate Korra for the terrible terrible crime of checks notes not being Aang. (And I love Aang! I also love that Korra is so different!) Grow up.

[astrodances]

Olympics prompt

So I may end up regretting this, taking a long time, or maybe not even following through (fair warning XD), but I like learning about different Olympic sports, so, in an effort to do so, I thought of a prompt idea:

give me a character (or two) [for a fandom I know] + an Olympic sport, and I'll try to draw or write something for it! 😄⚽️🏊🏃🥇

[burst-of-iridescent]

No, Shipping Zutara Is Not Supporting Amatonormativity (Please Use Some Fucking Braincells For Once)

- a treatise by a severely pissed off aroace zutara shipper

since words don’t mean anything anymore (if they ever did on the esteemed piss-on-the-poor website), let’s start with a definition.

amatonormativity: the set of social assumptions that everyone prospers with a romantic relationship, thereby positioning marriage as a universal goal of adult life. amatonormativity forms the basis of several institutional structures that are built to cater to romantic bonds over all others, also manifesting in social pressure on individuals to find a romantic partner by pushing the false narrative that those who do not experience romance are automatically lonely, unhappy and unfulfilled. it is usually characterized by the prioritization of romantic love over other forms of love, particularly platonic.

the anti-zutara argument based on this is as follows: wanting zutara to happen is amatonormative because it a) devalues zuko and katara’s platonic bond b) pushes the idea that men and women can’t be friends and c) doesn’t align with the themes of the show, as romantic love was never the point of atla.

i would like to take the time today to tell you that this is some fucking bullshit, for the following reasons:

one, this may come as a shock to some of you, but zutara shippers did not invent the concept of romantic love in avatar: the last airbender. you are more than welcome to criticize the pairings of suki/sokka, katara/aang, mai/zuko, yue/sokka, jin/zuko, jet/katara, and even kanna/pakku for perpetuating amatonormativity through their unnecessary romantic subplots. and if you don’t have anything to say about any of those pairings, then here’s a word for you: hypocrite.

zk shippers are not introducing the taint of romantic love into some kind of wholesome platonic utopia where it never existed. when we say zutara should have been canon, it is a statement that ends with the implicit instead of kat.aang and mai.ko tacked on at the back because if we were going to get a romantic relationship anyway, it might as well have been one that was well-developed, narratively impactful, and thematically relevant.

two, saying zutara is amatonormative is fucking rich when the main “romance” of atla is a three season long struggle to get out of the friendzone. aang’s desire to be in a romantic relationship with katara is one of his primary motivations throughout the show, and not once does either he or the narrative ever entertain the thought that just being katara’s friend might be enough. to the contrary, aang’s crush and the potential of its reciprocation is a fundamental part of how the story gets its audience to invest in both his character and the kat.aang relationship. they want you to want him to get the girl, and that’s the driving force of the ship’s development from start to finish.

you can see the influence of this in the way people defend why kat.aang had to happen: “aang would be crushed!” “it would break aang’s heart!” “aang deserves to be happy!” and that in and of itself is more amatonormative than any version of romantic zutara, as if this idea that aang is somehow doomed to a life of misery and loneliness just because he can’t be with the girl he likes isn’t inherently based on the assumption that platonic love can’t be as meaningful and satisfying as romantic love.

three, let’s be so fucking fr: a show written by cishet men in the early 2000s was not “subverting amatonormativity” by not making zutara happen, especially not when they went for the fucking olympic gold of romantic cliches — the hero gets the girl trope — instead. otherwise, why did the entire show end with an uncomfortably long liplock? if romance would’ve devalued zuko and katara’s platonic bond, then what the everloving fuck happened to their friendship in the comics and the legend of korra?

it is blatantly false to say that zutara shippers are the ones devaluing their platonic bond when the creators did it first. they evidently don’t view zutara’s platonic bond as equal to kat.aang’s romantic one, judging by their treatment of both relationships in the comics and LOK and the fact that they talked about kat.aang “winning” the ship war in the first place. because if the two relationships were of equivalent standing, why would there be a winner and a loser at all?

amatonormativity is baked into the DNA of atla, and while some people choose to reject this framework entirely (zk friendship >>> ka romance anyday), it is also not wrong for zk shippers to be annoyed at the treatment zutara received within the context of said framework. since the creators clearly thought a romantic relationship was better than a platonic one, they could at least have picked the couple that actually made sense instead of adding insult to injury by making that romance kat.aang. it is not amatonormative to acknowledge that zutara was not afforded the distinction it should have been in the eyes of those who wrote it, because it’s obvious that the decision to keep zuko and katara’s relationship platonic wasn’t to respect their friendship, but to position them as inferior to kat.aang.

four, detractors of romantic zutara often argue that their platonic relationship is inherently better & i’ve discussed before why that isn’t the case, but i also hate this argument because it’s perpetuating the very thing that aromantic people are trying to get rid of in the first place: the hierarchization of love. it is not the “gotcha!” you think it is to genuinely state that platonic love is better than romantic love, because it’s still buying into the idea that there’s some kind of order to categorizing human relationships. the solution to amatonormativity isn’t changing what form of love gets to be at the top of the list — it’s doing away with the hierarchy entirely.

i ship zuko and katara because canon already gave me their friendship. i already know what their platonic relationship looks like and that gives me more room for imagination in developing their romantic one because it’s a place canon didn’t go.

at the end of the day, friendship and romance are just different avenues of exploring intimacy. neither is inherently more valuable than the other, and neither is inherently more problematic. and if you truly believe in dismantling amatonormative beliefs, you would recognize that making a distinction between the two is only perpetuating the problem, not challenging it.

[charmedreincarnation]

So, I was watching ATLA and LOK for the millionth time, and there are so many elements in these shows that I have applied to my life, it's not even funny. This isn’t even really meant to be particularly educating but honestly I could have used atla and lok alone at the beginning of my journey and still come to the same conclusions as I had today. They’re both some of my fav shows since I was a child, and looking back and seeing its influence on me is very nostalgic. Also the live action is getting produced soon so I can’t think of a better time to make this post.

Chakras

Anyways In Avatar: The Last Airbender," Aang learns about chakras from Guru Pathik. Chakras are like energy points in our body. Each one is linked to a different part of life, such as love, truth, or survival. When Aang clears blockages in these chakras, he can use his Avatar powers better. I had made a post about I will link here but honestly watching the scene in a kids show is more appealing 😭😭

Meditation

Meditation is used a lot in the Avatar series. It helps characters like Aang to focus, feel calm, and understand themselves better. In real life, meditation does the same thing! It can obviously help reduce stress, improve focus and make us feel happier. In both shows I saw characters use meditation to induce a plethora of things.

Talk to Past Lives: Aang uses meditation to talk to his past lives for advice.

Ask for Help: Aang meditates to ask spirits for help.

Clear Minds: Characters meditate to think clearly and make good decisions.

Astral Projection: Aang and Jinora can travel as spirits, separate from their bodies, and etc

Yin and Yang

Avater uses the Moon (Yin) and Ocean (Yang) spirits to symbolize balance. Yin (Moon spirit) is like the subconscious mind, it's quiet, internal, and creative. Yang (Ocean spirit) can be seen as the conscious mind, it's active, external, and logical.

Just like in Neville Goddard's teachings, both aspects need to work together for balance. In the show, when the Moon spirit is killed, chaos ensues because the balance is disrupted. It's only when the Moon spirit is revived that harmony is restored. This is similar to how our subconscious (inner self) and conscious (outer self) minds need to work together to achieve our desires as we want to experience both of the worlds as they work in unison.

Astral realm and the sprit world

Atla and lok also talks about a spirit world. This is like another dimension filled with spirits and mystical beings. It's similar to what we call the 'astral realm' - so a space beyond the physical world where our consciousness can go. Also Jinora, a character in "The Legend of Korra," has a unique spiritual ability that allows her to astral project. So she can separate her spirit from her physical body and traverse both the physical and spiritual worlds in her spiritual form.

Jinora displays astral projection abilities multiple times. For instance, in Season 2, she uses this skill to guide Korra, who is lost in the spirit world, she also uses it to find and save Kai in seasons 3. Her astral form appears as a glowing butterfly-like spirit, and she used it multiple times to lead her friends to safety.

The Void state

In lok a character named Zaheer learns to fly. He was put in jail for trying to kidnap the Avatar. But he obviously didn't waste time while in jail. Instead, he used it to meditate and try to reach enlightenment. He does this by entering a 'void' state when he meditates. He lets go of all his earthly attachments and desires, and this makes him weightless. His ability to fly is deeply intertwined with his spiritual beliefs and his interpretation of the teachings of Guru Laghima, an ancient Air Nomad.

In the show Guru Laghima, who lived 4,000 years before Zaheer's time, was the first airbender known to have unlocked the ability to fly. According to his teachings, one could achieve flight by "entering the void" - which meant letting go of all earthly attachments and desires to attain true freedom. When his gf dies This emotional event helps him truly let go of his last earthly tether, thus allowing him to "enter the void" and unlock the ability to fly.

Reincarnation and the avatar cycle

I knew the shows were probably based of real life because I’ve seen air nomad clothing, and I know monks are very closely reflected onto the show but really every aspect rings true and is similar to beliefs in Buddhism. This is especially true when looking at the Dalai Lama, who is a spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism.

People believe that the Dalai Lama is a new version of Avalokiteśvara or Chenrezig, who is known as the Bodhisattva of Compassion. When a Dalai Lama dies, it's believed he comes back to life in a new person. Then, high-ranking lamas look for signs to find this person.

This is like the cycle of the Avatar. When an Avatar dies, they come back to life in a new person from the next nation in a set order (Air, Water, Earth, Fire). The new Avatar is found using different tests, which is much like how the new Dalai Lama is found.

But there are some differences. For example, the Avatar can remember their past lives, but the Dalai Lama usually doesn't say they remember theirs. Also, the Avatar is special because they can control all four elements, which is a fantasy idea and doesn't have a real-life counterpart in Buddhism.

I was researching my a specific Lama and his story was a reflection of Korra’s character. It's interesting to note that both the Dalai Lama and Korra knew from a young age that they were special. In the show, Korra knew she was the Avatar when she was very young. Similarly, the Dalai Lama also recognized his identity at a young age.

Honestly, it's just a really good show to watch. I probably even missed some elements from the show bc I’m more concerned about watching it than learning something. But I love both ATLA and LOK and I've even shifted to LOK and will shift to ATLA as well! I really suggest watching its so good y’all. Byeee

[biconickyoshi]

IDK if you’ve even thought ahead to this point but since I know you said you plan on writing from TAATFP era to Legend of Korra’s time, whats gonna be the dynamic between Aang and the Fire Nation royal family gonna be like when Zuko and him are officially together? I know Iroh’s gonna be generally supportive but i want the specifics. And what about Ursa? Even if he’s locked up I’d love to know about Ozai. And I know Kiyi is gonna have so much fun with her brother in law!

All excellent questions, anon! I haven’t gotten around to brainstorming the details of all of that just yet. One thing I’ve pretty much decided on though is that Zuko will be Fire Lord for only a few years before deciding to step down and travel the world with Aang again as his companion/partner/husband. In my mind, he never wanted to be Fire Lord anyway, and there will be other options for the FN leadership even after he steps down (which I won’t discuss now due to spoilers).

I genuinely haven’t thought too much about the royal family reactions to their relationship yet, but I’m excited to figure all of that out once I get closer to finishing up TAatFP and start seriously brainstorming for the sequel fic.

[silvermoon424]

Finally finished Avatar the Last Airbender!

I'd been putting off watching it for over a decade when my partner @joestarluxe convinced me to watch it with her, lol.

I might put all my thoughts in a bigger post later on (when I'm not tired after work lol), but needless to say I really enjoyed the show! I was most impressed with the worldbuilding; ATLA really does have incredible worldbuilding and I'm excited to watch some video essays delving deeper into that aspect.

Oh, and all forms of bending are so cool!! Going off the worldbuilding point, I really love how bending is something that's foundational and deeply enmeshed in the world of Avatar. It's not just an afterthought, you really do get the sense that benders have been around since the dawn of civilization and their unique talents have shaped the way society functions (this is especially evident in the Earth Kingdom, particularly the big cities like Ba Sing Se).

I also really appreciate how subversive a lot of the morals are, especially when you consider that this was a children's show airing on Nickelodeon during the War on Terror. The Fire Nation in particular has a lot of uncomfortable similarities to the United States (they even make their children recite a pledge of allegiance at school!).

Anyway, great show and I'm mad at myself for not giving it a chance sooner. I've heard a lot of mixed things about the Legend of Korra so I'm not really interested in watching it, although I may look into some of those spinoff comics/novels.

[doyouevenshipbr0]

10 strongest earthbenders

i did this with waterbenders a little while ago and while i dont feel AS passionately about earthbending as i do waterbending, i still wanna give my thoughts bc i love atla and i love yapping duhhhh

rules: not including avatars and not including anything from yangchen or kiyoshi (havent read those) and honestlyyyyyy i cant think of a character from the comics in general that would make this list but im not gonna include ppl we meet in the comics either bc to be so honest 1 i havent read the lok comics and 2 i have only read the atla comics once and i read them as they came out so it was years ago. STRICTLY GOING OFF THE SHOWS!

realizing i def shouldve made this list right after my most recent lok rewatch (its been a couple months atp)

ANYWAYS lets go

honorable mentions: tbh the only one i wanna say here is the dai li. they probably could be like number 8/9 but idrk how to rank a whole group of ppl? but the way they use earthbending is super cool. in general, im realizing there are not nearly as many overwhelming earthbending forces as there are in waterbending? so this list starts a little shaky.

10. xin fu/master yu- so like. not sure what to say/how i would even differentiate. they are both masters. duh. we didn’t see much of them but we know they are easily outclassed by the rest of this list soooo… sorry! moving on

9. general fong- alright u might be wondering “who is this” so its the guy in the episode where they try to force aang into the avatar state in the beginning of book 2 to try and make him fight the firelord sooner. literally nothing of interest to note EXCEPT when he does that super baller move where he makes katara sink into the earth?!?!!?!?! logistically i dont think this makes much sense bc how tf did she not get crushed and i think this method would make earthbending kinda super broken lmfao so they literally only ever used it this one time (from what i remember) but it is suchhhh a cool move and it is SCARY! so props to this guy for being the only earthbender we see do this super sick move!

8. wei and wing- HEAR ME OUT!!!!!! they are soooo much more useful than u remember them being. they always are holding their own with their mom and aunt and all the other amazing earthbenders around them. theyre nothing super spectacular and are not given much time to shine since theyre such minor characters, but if u pay attention to the screen time they do have, they are really really good. the fact that they can earthbend so easily alongside their mom and keep up with her is really all u need to know. they WILL pull up!!!!!!!

7. bolin- so like. its tricky right bc he is THEE earth bender in the legend of korra but honestly he really is not THAT great. obviously he is great and that’s why he makes this list but yknow what i mean. he has lavabending!!!!!! which is super sick. he also has tonsssss of raw strength and agility which is probably his biggest strength. but honestly i think what keeps him low is his lack of skill, finesse, and honestly meaningful fight scenes that go in his favor. feels like his character maybe suffers from a littttttle bit of being sidelined bending wise bc he was SUCH the comedic relief. its almost like the writers didnt have time to make him a super fleshed out earthbender because they were too busy trying to make him funny?? idk im rambling but bolin is just a tricky one. still amazing! just not as amazing as the rest of the list.

6. lin- dont fight me istg. i can FULLY admit that my biases are coming into play here but im still gonna defend my point. here are the facts: i kind of cant stand lin and i LOVE su yin. i do understand that realistically, the fact that lin is the chief of police and has dedicated pretty much her entire life to it would make her crazy strong, and it does! shes the chief of republic city police for a reason. she has a fuck ton of combat experience which helps her to be as strong as she is. i just cannot, in good faith, have her any higher. from what i have seen from numbers 5-1, they seem better than lin.

5. su yin- ah su yin. i love su yin. and if im being logical, lin would be a stronger earthbender because she has (from what we know) farrrrrrrrrrr more direct combat experience. but if im being honest, when i look at them earthbend, su yin’s earthbending looks better. its more interesting, she looks like she uses more skill, shes more creative, she seems more resourceful, and she seems more adaptable as well. she killed p’li!!! also she was kicking lin’s ass in their 1 v 1 but it feels wrong to count that bc lin was like on her deathbed lmfao. still, although lin seems like she has more experience and probably a greater battle IQ, su yin just seems better. maybe its the bias! (it def is)

4. ghazan- lava bending. he is the best at it. just everyone in the red lotus is scary strong. i rly dont need to tell u why he’s this high. it is so obvious.

3. bumi- mf took back omashu all by himselffffff. i feel like bumi is by far the earthbender we see across both shows that has the most raw strength. hes also wise and shit!!! absolute beast. i know a handful of people think hes number 1, and i know MOST people think hes at least number 2, but he’s just not in my opinion. obviously still one of the best of the best.

2. kuvira- i just. wow. i feel like on my most recent rewatch i realllllyyyyyy saw how EXCELLENT of an earthbender she is. like ok first of all yes she was the villain of this season so she was definitely going to be strong but she is literally just beating the shit out of everyone for the entire season. like no one, not even korra until the last couple eps, can even compete on the same playing field. (i know korra was dealing with a lot of personal beef but STILL). the amount of skill and precision and effectiveness she has is the best we see in earthbending in legend of korra. she genuinely seems like she isnt even giving it her all in most of her fights and she is still just mopping the floor with everyone. she was a dictator for a reason ok like who is beating my girl?!?!?!? (other than thee mother of all of earthbending ofc).

1. toph- i mean. i dont want to even explain. no earthbender has a better connection, understanding, and natural ability with earth like toph. her bending is an extension of herself to the very fullest. invented metalbending. cultivated metalbending into the martial art it is today. was (kind of) a self taught master by 12. and the stuff that she DID learn she learned when she was practically a toddler from the original benders, the badger moles. i feel like some people try to argue her spot bc she isnt always as flashy as other earthbenders (bumi, ghazan, kuvira) but she is by FAR the most effective. and not just in a day to day basis, but in fights too. hence why shes the strongest. i dont think many would argue this position but yeah. GOAT.

[lostboiking30]

Are there any Legend of Korra fanfictions that focuses on the class disparities and inequalities? I really wish that Legend of Korra had been able to expound upon Amon's version of "Equality" more. Like...Idk. I'm watching a really in depth critique of Legend of Korra by MattCMG on youtube and there was one point where he mentioned it would make sense that Asami and Mako should have bonded over both of their parents being murdered by a firebender. That within itself could have created more depth to Asami's character where if she *were* originally to be an equalist and they decided against it, she still could have had some prejudices to unlearn. Which makes sense. Saying"I feel so safe when I'm with you." to Mako would also have been more impactful (y'all who follow me know I am a HUGE Korrasami shipper. I don't ship Masami exclusively--only Makorrasami--but I do view the Masami ship differently than I did 12 years ago).

Okay so given the love triangle complexity that already exists--Imagine how Hiroshi's-and subsequently Asami's- wealth would play into this. Hiroshi already hates Benders, and doubly dislikes and distrusts Mako *because* he's a firebender, and uses his wealth to further push his own agenda of Amon's version of equality. I mean we already see nuggets of what hoarding resources does to working class citizens of Republic City, but it's largely seen as a non-bending issue(2nd class citizenship, not having jobs, etc). It would have been really nice to see Asami have second thoughts about her own privilege while she was hanging out with Korra, Mako and Bolin (the show/comics essentially makes her a kind philantrophic character anyway, but it would have been nice to see that growth the way we see Korra's growth for example).

I'm only using Asami and Hiroshi as examples. Hiroshi is a "self made billionaire" and Asami like Korra was born into a unique position of privilege even if they lived very different lives. Every main and secondary character except for Mako, Bolin and Kuvira (maybe Senna-idk) were born into pretty significant wealth.

Idk. I'm just thinking out loud. Maybe I'll write fanfiction about it later.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

"Character X is Y sexuality" is such a dumb take to invalidate people's shipping.

If canon mattered that much in people's shipping/headcanons, Zutara wouldn't be popular. Everyone would (correctly) be disgusted by the concept of Z*c*st. Shipping wouldn't even be an actual thing, fanfic wouldn't be a thing.

People have always taken supposedly cishet characters and made them queer in their fan works.

("Azula is straight" gives me the same vibe of "Yelena is ar*-ac*". It's not explicitly mentioned in canon.

Oh, but she only showed interest in men.

So did Korra until she didn't and guess who she ends up with.

Kyoshi says she has to convince herself she's not in love with Yun and guess who she ends up with.

They'll kill Azula off, probably, take away her bending and finish ruining her character before there's a chance she's canonically queer.

Canon still doesn't mean much.

Unless clearly stated, anything is a headcanon.

Including "Azula is straight".)

This is a good ass blog, but that kind of take just ruins all of it for me.

"To invalidate people's ships" You're REALLY gonna pretend you didn't see me literally list all the lesbian ships I have for Azula, and that I didn't say I would love for her to be bisexual, huh? Again, I don't give a damn what people ship or what kind of fan content they want to create, I only don't like being told to treat fanon (even fanon I like) as canon because it leads to dishonest analysis of a show.

You: Unless something is clearly stated, it is not canon!

Also you: Azula canonically only ever shows interest men and never in women, and I personally think the writers would rather torture and kill her character than show her as a queer woman. But if you say that means she's canonically straight, I'll yell at you.

Make it make sense.

Also "Korra ended up with in a relationship with someone that the writers, by their own admission, never made her be explicitly or implicitly interested in because they were two cowards that were not at all interested in rocking the boat" is NOT the winning argument you think it is. And that doesn't retroactively make Azula bi or a lesbian, it's just extra proof that the writting for Legend Of Korra was TERRIBLE!

"Kyoshi SAYS a thing that confirms she's bisexual"

Congratulations! You found actual representation! Aka something being considered canon to a particular story BECAUSE IT WAS EXPLICITLY SHOWN TO THE AUDIENCE THROUGH THINGS THAT WE SEE PLAY OUT!

"Oh, but Azula never said she is NOT into women, so even though she is only ever shown to be attracted to men, we can't rule out the possibility of her secretly liking women too until she full on says it!"

Wanna go there? Fine. Then you cannot tell me that the Fire Nation royal family doesn't have a tradition of incest like many real life royals did, and that Zuko and Azula did not at least consider the possibility of marrying each other to avoid an Agni Kai for the crown like we saw in the finale. Sure, that is never explicitly confirmed by canon, but it was never explicitly stated to NOT be the case either, and according to you that TOTALLY means it is not at all impossible for this kids' show to have secretly said "incest is wincest" all along, because apparently the writers need Zuko and Azula, the two characters in a KIDS show, to look at the camera and say "Our family tree is not a circle" for us to understand that this family that has never been stated to practice incest, does not, in fact, practice incest.

"Canon doesn't mean much anyway" Then why are you mad that I said "Even though I would like for Azula to be bisexual, that is simply not canon. There's sadly just no way any character in a kid's show made in 2005 was meant to read as anything other than straight"?

Considering you felt the need to:

1 - Point out that Zutara is a ship with no canon basis AND that you like my blog, literally called "Zutara was never CANON."

2 - Randomly mention the fact that my OTP, Zucest, is also not canon AND that plenty of people, you clearlt included, find it absolutely disgusting (like I somehow didn't get the memo on that).

3 - STILL cherry pick stuff to claim Queer!Azula could totally stealthly be a canon thing.

I'd say you only have a problem with me saying things like "X is canon, Y is not" because YOU very much think of canon as being inherently better than fanon, so when I point out something you dislike is not canon that means my blog is awesome to you because you see it as validating your opinion that something is trash, but the second I go "But this other thing you (and I) like/are neutral on is not canon either" suddenly I'm the devil because I'm "attacking" people for something that is just harmless fun.

The whole "Azula is not canonically bi/gay, so any headcanon of her being queer is bad" is in YOUR head, honey. You're never gonna hear that kind of crap from me, and I'd appreciate it if you stopped putting words in my mouth.

And as a bisexual woman, I'd appreciate some ACTUAL REPRESENTATION of bisexuality being praised, instead of garbage like the incredibly insufferable Korra/Mako/Asami love triangle ending with a nonsensical conclusion that people praise just because it had two women *gasp* holding hands! And even THAT being hidden away since Korra's last season was basically dumped online because the show's ratings were terrible.

[isagrimorie]

I really love House of R's breakdown of the Ahsoka show. Listening to the breakdown I like their point that maybe the reason for the gap in knowledge about Ahsoka and Sabine's relationship is that this is a mystery that both old fans and new watchers would see together.

I do think we will get flashbacks to the moments of Ahsoka first taking on Sabine as an apprentice to the end why she walked away from Sabine.

Another thing I realized about the table setting in the first two episodes is that they're setting up that Ahsoka show might be set more in the unknown regions outside of their current galaxy.

I actually like that we're getting more into different lore for Ahsoka, more alien, more mystic and that by going to the Unknown Regions we might get to avoid the oft criticism about 'always returning to Tatooine'.

But most of all, I love that we might be exploring different kinds of Force Users, and the show might end up touching on an ancient society that predates both the Night Sisters and the Jedi/Sith.

But also speaking of Lore, I love how Baylon Skoll and Shin Hati were named after the two wolves from Norse mythology.

Skoll is the name of the wolf Who follows the shining priest Into the desolate forest, And the other is Hati, Hróðvitnir’s son, Who chases the bright bride of the sky

= the Eddic poem Grímnismál

And that Morgan Elspeth is a confirmed Night Sister. Night Sisters of Dathomir are often called Witches because of how the Night Sisters utilize the Force like magic.

In the Clone Wars, Grevious massacred the Night Sisters.

Ahsoka's had dealings with a Night Sister before -- Asajj Ventress and Darth Maul and Savage Oppres were also from Dathomir.

But also, Shin seems to have some reservations about Morgan after she learns Morgan is a Night Sister.

I also love the sense that Ahsoka is more mystical and science fantasy than the other shows. This show doesn't shy away that it's about space wizards and space knights.

Sometimes I feel current Star Wars (and some fans) are ashamed that Star Wars is basically a show about sword and sorcery but in space.

I also really like that if The Mandalorian is a Space Western, Ahsoka is very much the Space Wizard Samurai and Din's aesthetic (or the Mandos in the Mandalorian) is more like Space Cowboys and Vikings, Sabine represents the Japanese-flavored aesthetic of her part of Mandalore.

But also I love that the lead character is the grumpy samurai master, usually in anime/manga we see stories more from the point of view of the student seeking the master to teach them once again.

Very much borrowing from the influences of Samurai movies. Also, Kanan has done this (in other Western media-- Zuko and Iroh from Avatar and Korra from Legend of Korra).

For both Kanan and Sabine, this signifies commitment -- Sabine has mentioned before that she kept her hair short because it helps her wear her Mandalorian helmet.

Sabine letting her hair grow long meant she has set aside her Mandalorian heritage, she's been in a holding pattern, possibly since the day Mandalore fell (again). It's possibly another reason why Sabine is so reluctant to celebrate.

Yes, she helped save Lothal but what does that matter if she couldn't even save her own homeworld?

Almost every character in this show lost their families, their home worlds, and their people.

I also like how Ahsoka the show is also about the Good guys winning the war, they've all been busy fighting the war that now there's peace what do Ahsoka, a soldier who has been fighting since she was a child, and Sabine, a child who is from a culture that reveres war and warriors, do now?

Hera is the only one with a clear idea of what she wants to do -- and that's to build a better world and tomorrow for her son.

But for Ahsoka and Sabine?

I feel like Ahsoka and Sabine's theme music is Wait for It:

Life doesn't discriminate Between the sinners and the saints It takes and it takes and it takes And we keep living anyway We rise and we fall and we break And we make our mistakes And if there's a reason I'm still alive When so many have died Then I'm willin' to— Wait for it...

[saint-sebastian-coded]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @mrv3000

1. how many works do you have on Ao3? 195

2. what's your total Ao3 word count? 403 068

3. what fandoms do you write for? percy jackson and the olympians, heroes of olympus, trials of apollo, kane chronicles, magnus chase and the gods of asgard, nevermoor, her royal highness, roots of chaos, x-men (films mostly but some comic bleedover), avatar the last airbender, the legend of korra, the kyoshi novels, marvel cinematic universe, bbc ghosts, a song of ice and fire, doctor who, the locked tomb, star wars (prequels mostly), spiderman comics, rosewood chronicles, derry girls, dc (vaguely, comics)

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

rot with all the burnouts in the cell (dc marvel crossover)

oh my brother, my brother, my brother (who have you become in the wake of all that's happened?) (star wars timetravel)

breezeblocks bricking up my heart (my take on a dadneto reveal)

water into wine (five times percy was the son of dionysus and one time he was the son of poseidon)

5. do you respond to comments? i do my best

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

that's relative and i have so many fics that this probably isn't accurate but by my own measure it's probably don't want to fight the tide (nevermoor fic, being immortal sucks)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

again that's relative but i'd say there's a million roads to rediscover (pjo/hoo five times jason missed his sister, and one time he saw her again)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

occasionally i get like smarmy comments like one on a certain fic that the timeline didn't line up (it did + i had page references + it was tagged canon divergence anyway) but not really

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i have one so ig lesbian threesomes??

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

i write so many crossovers i love putting characters in situations. probably rot with all the burnouts in the cell since it involved a ton of drama

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i'm aware of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i think one of them but i can't remember which one. (technically this is studying) i'm trying to translate a few of my drabbles into scots gaelic

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

in part like it got started and then i got ghosted before anything else happened

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

the couple i've written the most about is a tie between morridence, fierrochase, and jadie, but i'd say i get the most feelings about ruegard

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Great the Roman is coming up to its third year anniversary this month and i only hit the halfway point a few months ago so we'll see

16. What are your writing strengths?

lesbians. probably emotional stuff if i'm being serious

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

plot. its part of the reason i only do oneshots about 1k-3k but i'd like to work on more big fics. part of the reason was i started a bunch back in 2021 and i'm still working on two of them

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

one of my fics has some dialogue in scots gaelic but i cannot remember for the life of me if its supposed to be 'S ann or 'S e form and its haunting me

19. First fandom you wrote for?

fun fact: i originally wrote on wattpad and published a fierrochase fic on the release day of the hammer of thor. it's called fierrochase and it Sucks but it might actually be the first one ever which is fun if not slightly haunting

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

well you don't know me. but i know you it's a asoiaf time travel fic from the pov of people who don't know. i feel like i really pushed myself with characterisation on it

tagging people who i think write fic @tragedykery @lesmiserablol @oh-hush-its-perfect @thebigqueer @aphrodititi @ethannku @speedytherandom

[tawneybel]

Note: Ten favorite monsters, part eight. Previous part. The Point is a seriously underrated movie. Catch it if you’re into stuff like The Phantom Tollbooth or Yellow Submarine.

1. Oblina from Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

Tbh, I didn’t really watch this show. Rugrats was and is my fave Nicktoon, so my first exposure to ARM was crossover episode “Ghost Story.” (That, “The Last Babysitter,” and Rugrats in general has great juvenile horror.) But I have a soft spot for female monsters that have “girly” features while still giving grotesque.   

2-4. Anglerfish-esque monsters

Dark spider spirit from Avatar: The Legend of Korra: Some kind of arachnid, anyway. Don’t let her teethies fool you. This lady will just yeet anyone spirited away into the Fog of Lost Souls, she hates people so much.  

Grand Fisher from Bleach: The Bleach Wiki describes him as “resembl[ing] a giant hamster.” Which is great. Didn’t even think of that. Rats aren’t the only rodents that can scary. But he’s included here because I love monsters that mimic victims’ loved ones.

Frogfish from The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: SpongeBob has other anglers, like two cute ones from “Rock Bottom,” one of my fave episodes. As with Grand Fisher, I love how the Frogfish uses a biological dummy of sorts as a lure. In this case, its tongue. Bringing to mind the Alaskan Bull Worm. 

5. Old Dark Frog from Days with Frog and Toad

This and Bony-Legs were seasonal delights for teeny Tawney. The illustration where he's looming, nay, towering over a chilled Frog was so hair-raising.

6. Brain Eating Meteor from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy

Pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Has one of the best villain songs ever. Thank you, Voltaire.

7. the Demons of Ignorance from The Phantom Tollbooth

It’s like with the Blue Meanies where I can’t pick just one! There’s the Terrible Trivium, of course. But also the barely-there-but-will-bring-you-fear Threadbare Excuse, draconic Two-Faced Hypocrite, etc. 

8. the Pointed Man from The Point

Trickster who sounds like a shaken clock. Tumblr sexyman candidate right there. 

9. Sadako Yamamura from Ringu

Screenshot’s from Ringu 2. The visage creeping after Mai as she climbs with Yoichi out of the well is based on the forensic reconstruction of Sadako’s corpse.

Localizations are hit or miss for me, but I’ll admit The Ring 2002 was more entertaining. However, I think Sadako’s generally a more interesting villain than Samara.

While Ringu notability took inspiration from Videodrome, it’s its own unique spin combined with Japanese ghost lore.

10. the Tingler from The Tingler

A literal spine-tingler, living on people’s vertebrae. Emits a cardiac, pulsating sound when free roaming and swells after gorging itself on fear. 

Note: Eventually, I will try reading the Ring series. I read more murder mysteries than straight-up horror. Might add other Aaah!!! Real monsters to future lists if I ever watch the show proper. 

[orangepanic]

34, 36 (I am myself a very visual person, and I should say proudly that I have read all your fics during last 2 months, and I visualize Iroh very good, you even told his height, but not for Asami(as far as I can remember) I would love to imagine them beside eachother in your fics, so how tall you imagine her🧐)

39, 41

Please skip any, if you have already answered ❤️

That's such an interesting point! (also you read all my fics???!!!!!🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗) I wonder if I spend less time describing Asami because she has so much more screen time so I assume readers know? Anyway I have Asami as just a hair over 5'9" but as in canon almost always in heels, which puts her at perfect kissing height with Iroh :-)

34. What aspects of your writing are inspired by/taken from your real life?

At the same time everything and nothing. There are no characters who are inspired by real people, but at the same time there are little bits of people I know in so much of my characterizations. Asami has my messy purse and my coffee order. Iroh and I probably have the same number of books, though his are far better organized. His and Izumi's dislike of shoes is the same as my husband's. Some of the settings look like places I've been or seen (like all of Starvation Paradise is inspired by a real place in Russia). It's all cobbled together.

36. Do you visualize what you read/write?

Yes, which is often the hardest part. Writing for me is like watching a movie in my head and trying to translate. But it's also filtered through the characters' perceptions. Another reason I might describe Iroh differently than Asami is that they notice different things about one another. For example, I pulled these first re-meeting descriptions from the same fic.

Taller than average, he had thick black hair that he wore slicked back and the typical pale skin and golden eyes of the Fire Nation. Handsome in an angular sort of way, he had the kind of tense, uncomfortable look that she associated only with military men, nuns, and Lin Beifong.

Her black hair was bound up into a ponytail and she’d exchanged her heeled boots for hiking shoes. Even in the flat shoes she was tall, and though clearly younger than him she walked with a surety of movement that made her seem older than Korra and the others. A pair of olive green goggles perched on the top of her head. Iroh hadn’t wanted a traveling companion, but the thought crossed his mind that, if he must have one, he could do a lot worse than a pretty girl with common sense.

While it's only an example, I think Asami is slightly more literal and objective in her internal descriptions. Enter Mr. Tall, Tense, and Handsome from the Fire Nation. Iroh seems to be more relative, so while also noting features like tall and pretty, he's also describing Asami relative to his own expectations and feelings, so you get comparators like "younger than me but seems older than Korra and mature for her age so maybe okay to date?" and "I really didn't want to go with someone but hmmm okay yes I like this."

I can't claim I'm doing this on purpose but maybe I am? It would track with my characterization of Asami as slightly more analytical and Iroh as a big sack of feelings.

39. Is any aspect of your writing process inspired by other writers or people? If so, who?

Oh, all the time! First, I shamelessly steal headcanons. All the time. I see something I like and I adopt it. Second, I'm always reading things that make me want to write better or differently. If I read something I like I'll try it out. For example I just read a trashy mystery novel that, while I didn't love it, hardly used dialog tags at all and I was fascinated by that, so I've been trying it out. It's just fun to play with. Finally, I love chatting with other writers and people in fandom and bouncing ideas and getting feedback. They've all made me better.

41. Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.”

I love the subtle intimacy of this one and have been trying to write like that ever since.

Fanfic writer asks

[wait-still-rendering]

when I was little, I wanted gray eyes. Not because I hated my brown eyes, but because of Aang. I would stand really close to the mirror and convince myself I had a hint of gray in my eyes which obviously meant I was an air nomad. When I wasn't stealing pretty rocks off the playground (my umma yelled at me for that lmao) or pretending to be a mermaid, late at night, me and my umma would go outside and I would swing my arms around wildly and pretend I was airbending. Then I would go on YouTube and look up, "real people bending" and go on yahoo answers to ask if bending was real and scoff at the people saying it wasn't real.

I loved ty Lee and Toph beifong sm. I loved ty lees personality and how she struggled with having a bunch of siblings bc I have 7. I related to Toph bc she was blind and people thought she was fragile bc of her appearance but she was actually such a badass. I don't know if I'm necessarily blind or anything, but my eyesight is so bad bc of all the oxygen I was exposed to in the NICU to the point where I'm basically not allowed to drive

But I had a huge fascination with the earth kingdom bc of song and her hanbok bc no one in the early 2000s knew what Korea was. my classmates would ask me if I was from China or they would make the South Korea and North Korea joke. But I remember wearing hanboks throughout my childhood and loving how I felt in them

Anyway I just love avatar: the last airbender, but also legend of korra but maybe the legend of korra post is for another day hehe :)

[likeabxrdinflight]

episodes five and six need to be talked about together, I think, because they're very much a two-parter.

so this contains...a lot. we've got "winter solstice", zuko's half of "the storm", "the blue spirit", and a very bizarre mish-mash of koh's part of "the siege of the north" with, of all things, the fog of lost souls from the legend of korra.

it's...we're getting major deviations from the animated version here. first and foremost, it's not the worst change in the world, but splitting the backstories from "the storm" and presenting them in entirely different contexts completely removes the parallels from aang and zuko in a way that...it doesn't butcher their arcs but I do still miss the original version. that episode was top tier and here it's just...average.

meanwhile roku has been completely butchered. there's no way around it. I want to say something positive but I really don't think I can. this is the "HARRY DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIYAH" of avatar. bad choices all around here.

anyways, the plot is kind of...running away from itself, I think. the spirit world stuff was all recognizable, but they've made some changes that don't make a ton of sense. seeing wan shi tong was kinda cool, but also why? then koh shows up but he doesn't steal your face for making an expression anymore, he find them in the fog of lost souls and puts them in little cocoons to eat...whenever he feels like it? it's just a weird change, I guess. the entire purpose of this was to fridge katara and sokka to set up for "the blue spirit" which...sure, I guess they needed to raise the stakes a little higher than "my friends need frozen frogs" in this version.

of course katara and sokka both have visions in the spirit world while they're trapped in the fog of lost souls before koh captures them. katara's I know is her real memory because they show her mother's death and it's very close to the original version. sokka's...god I hope it's not a memory, but it probably is since katara's was. massive L for hakoda if so. not thrilled about that. at what point was hakoda ever disappointed in sokka? sokka always feared letting him down, but that wasn't because hakoda ever said anything so blatantly unkind- it's because the war left the weight of expectation on sokka's shoulders. his father left and he was the only "man" remaining. it had nothing to do with hakoda himself, just the impact of his absence.

it lacks subtlety. (also was the fox sokka saw yue? I feel like it was yue)

anyways this is ultimatley just the set up for aang needing to run to find roku at his temple, learn some shit that roku did to piss koh off and nothing at all about the comet (we knew that already tho), and then go try to correct it only to get captured by june who was hired by zuko and iroh but then actually no wait zhao comes takes him instead. this then lets "the blue spirit" play out as an almost one-to-one remake. which is fascinating because so little else has been preserved identically.

...arden cho was perfect as june btw. 10/10 casting.

interspersed with all this was zuko's backstory. and.......I knew they were gonna do this, I knew they were gonna have zuko fight back. there was too much indication in the trailers. and it just misses the damn point. the point is that he doesn't fight back, he refuses to fight his father out of loyalty and love, and ozai burns him for it. at the very least, ozai does still burn him intentionally, it is very clear that it was not an accident, and he still does it because zuko held back. but the impact is neutered a bit, the cruelty feels a little less. and there's no matching the mood of this shot:

(though azula doesn't smile evil-y in this version because she's just so EVIL so thank god for that)

focusing in on ozai does let daniel do some interesting things with his face in that scene, though. I know a lot of people are going to be upset that ozai isn't quite the same menacing, saturday-morning-cartoon villain he was in the original. but oh this guy is still a monster. "I burned and banished you because I love you" seems to be the vibe we're going for. I'm not against this at all, ozai's still a piece of shit, just a piece of shit who acts like a human being. the worst abusers justify their behavior as acts of love.

ummm what else. azula had a side plot in episode five and there is some fascinating stuff here. this adaptation is blowing up the golden child/scapegoat thing that the original had going on and honestly? kinda here for it. this azula is not secure in her position as ozai's favorite and she is gonna work her ass off to get that position if it fucking kills her.

...and we know how this ends for her. they're setting her up for her eventual fall. I think it's going to be much harder to watch this azula break. she looks so young, and they're showing her vulnerabilities so much sooner. the shots of her firebending late into the night while mai and ty lee sleep is so. sad??? and gyatso has a voiceover here that's just. someone please hug this child.

(also yeah aang gets to meet with gyatso in the spirit world and it is so so sad my heart T_T)

lots happened in these two episodes, some good, some bad, some just kinda strange. I also knew season one needed the most work when it came to adapting it into a serialized format but wow. they have really frankensteined this even more than I expected. it's...different. I still think it's worth watching though, but these two episodes didn't quite hit the highs of three and four.