#avatar discourse

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

It is really fucking stupid that everyone will feel sad about fighting Byleth even if Byleth never talked to them during the academy phase

Sorry, but 3h has it's own avatar worship problems.... 😒

i believe it is supposed to be implied that byleth teaches all of the students but its only mentioned in a few bits of monastery dialogue

[the-blindbandit]

I hate defending Bryke, but Korra might be portrayed similarly to Kuruk in the new Avatar series. She’ll likely be hated at first in-universe until the new Avatar realises she was actually trying to save humanity.

[matt0044]

A video was made to generate thoughtful discussions rather than be "Avatar/Korra bad" and TheStoryteller's legit enough in my book. It's called:

Avatar’s Hidden Fear of Real Change

My take?

To me, Korra actually does take things away from her enemies. Amon's was a more personal one in how her resolve and confidence would be challenged in seasons to come. However, Unalaq would lead Korra to think that maybe the spirit portals should remain open and takes his points about the world losing connection with the spirits in its modern forms. Zaheer might've been bad about it buuuuuuut he still killed the Earth Queen (with a very real fallout) and forced Korra to reckon if the world needed, well, her.

Now Kuvira has a point about the potentially stolen land buuuuut it was meant to be a symbol of peace with the Earth Kingdom involved. Furthermore, she still rebuilt the Earth Kingdom into something very... dictatorial as the Earth Empire. Heck, Korra sparing her and talk her down once she was depowered feels like natural extension of Aang vs. Ozai.

Personally, I feel like the comics could stand to be adapted as a new season with us seeing Kuvira go free and reform herself but I digress.

Now in terms of writing and production crew, at the very worst, it's more the blind leading the blind. Blind to their potential biases and not so well aged attitudes. Fact of the matter is that none of us are as woke as we believe to be.

That's the benign truth. But even then, I still stand by my reading.

I think Korra’s stance is more, “Changes to the Status Quo will be ugly but necessary as they expose what needs to be rethought.” Amon’s takeover of Republic City led to them restructuring the council into a presidency, one with a non-bender who could see the perspectives of those Amon enamored.

However, that still led to an imperfect society with a president concerned with reputation and polls. Thus not the blanket solution as it may’ve felt.

Each villain after exposes something off about Korra’s era but they seek to overhaul the world overnight. The truth is that when society is this entrenched in these systems, a sudden revolution is going to cause a lot more problems in the aftermath. Kuvira’s Earth Empire was a knock off effect from Zaheer’s killing of the Earth Queen after all.

Maybe it’s the recent years but I’ve come to realize that there won’t be a neat and tidy society reform that will be all happily ever after. Prejudices linger like a bad stain and while it’s important to get it out, it may not be for many generations until it gets out.

Whole reason why Trump was ever nominated was because he spoke to the people who didn’t like how things were changing like legalized gay marriages and more scrutiny put on cops post-Ferguson. He spoke to those who wanted to say the quiet part outloud.

But is it really portraying the systems and status quos as a full on good thing as some try to claim if corruption is still present?

In Season 1, we have the corrupt Tarrlok and the rather complicit council. Especially with how he had the police be more hard on non-benders out past curfew who weren't causing any harm. While one can make the argument they don't do more with it (time limits on episodes aside for now), there is an acknowledgement that he's using the corruption in Republic City's flawed systems.

At best, the show doesn't portray change as impossible but really hard and how the anger it inspires can be taken advantage of. It shows the systems maybe in too neutral of a light but Avatar Korra has frequently been shown to fly in the face of authority:

-going vigilante on the Triads and getting arrested for it.

-Going against Tarrlok, especially when her friends are arrested because of it.

-Defying the Earth Queen's authority and freeing the airbenders even if her laws permit her to do with them as she wishes.

My read on her character post-Book 1 is that she's "play by the rules unless said rules are bullshit." As Avatar, she learns that she has to be responsible more during social unrest but that doesn't mean that she'll stand by if she's needed.

I don't deny that a story about industrialization in Avatar's world would be worth exploring. But that feels like a conudrum that the Gaang had to contend with well before Korra's time with how the comics show the gears of industry spreading out of the Fire Nation.

See, the mistake people make about Amon is that he's less a civil leader and more a cult leader taking advantage of non-benders' discontent. He believes in his own hype but he sees himself as king of the castle and all others as his loyal subjects. Even so, the Equalists do what they do out of a desire to change things. Hence, why the reveal of Noatak's bending dissolved his cult of personality.

There's also how Zaheer and Kuvira are shown as two sides of the same coin with anarchism and fascism. Varrick represent capitalism and he only ever remotely becomes a "good guy" when he's stripped of his fortune, escaping Republic City to start over in Zaofu.

I could reccommend a video essay I like but honestly, I recommend returning to the show proper. It's there on Netflix if you got it. I think people, be they blind Korra haters or critics that are a bit more honest, haven't truly sat with the show with a rewatch. It's worth really seeing what the show overall is saying for oneself.

I also feel that some underestimate how much East-Asian culture in infused in the show. Though Bryan and Mike are caucasian, they've very much worked to make sure they respect the culture that Avatar's world is inspired by. It's worth delving into the behind the scenes info. The artbook's cool.

[astriddestelle]

Omg I just remembered when the western air temple episode first aired, anyways it was the the end the scene where Katara straight up told Zuko she’d murder him if he hurt Aang again

11 year old me was so distraught like omg why would she say that, can’t she see he’s trying to change, omg what a bitch.

Just rewatched that scene and omfg Katara shoulda threatened him more. Like as an adult holy shit. Zuko got off lucky cause idk how Katara didn’t murk him where he stood.

People like to go oh poor baby, Zuko been through so much, he was abused etc but guys.

To Katara this man is responsible for Aang DYING. Not near death, not almost dying, Aang straight up DIED cause Zuko chose his sister and the fire nation in Ba Sing Se

Katara spent weeks at Aangs side not knowing if he’d live or die, nursing him back to health etc etc. it gets worse when you think about the fact that the whole reason Aang was down there was too rescue her. You know who else died trying to protect her yaaaa her mom (insert regular show reference)

Like holy shit, no wonder it took her forever to forgive him he helped get her best friend/boyfriend killed.

[werewolf-cuddles]

Korra haters when somebody posts something positive about Korra

EDIT: To clarify, this post is not about people who just don't like The Legend of Korra or its titular protagonist.

If you don't like the show/character, but are normal about it, this post is not about you.

This post is about people who feel the need to bitch and moan about it when they see someone else post positive things about the show or the character.

[magicinverse]

Shipping fights in Avatar are so weird and pointless to me

Like yeah shipping is fun and everything but honestly, in my opinion, all the romantic pairings (canon or not) on the avatar universe come second best to the platonic pairings (ex: Iroh and Zuko, Tenzin and Korra)

[fandomsandfeminism]

Sometimes I think about how and why some people had such a *bad* reaction to the end of Steven Universe, specifically in regards to the Diamonds living.

Even though they no longer are causing harm to others and are able to actually undo some of their previous harm by living, some folks reacted as though this ending was somehow morally suspect. Morally bankrupt, even.

And I think it might be because so many of us were raised on a very specific kind of kids media trope:

They all fall to their deaths.

Disney loves chucking their bad guys off cliffs. And it makes sense- in a moral framework where villains *must* be punished (regardless of whether their death will actually prevent further harm or not), but killing of any kind is morally bad for the hero, the narrative must find a way to kill the villain without the protagonists doing a murder.

It's a moral assumption that a person can *deserve* to die, that it is cosmically just for them to die, that them dying is evidence that the story itself is morally good and correct. Scar *deserves* to die, but it would be bad for Simba to kill him. So....cliff. (edit: yes, cliff then hyenas. But cliff first. Lol.)

Steven Universe, whatever else it's faults, took a step back and said "but if killing people is bad, then people dying is bad", and instead of dropping White Diamond off a cliff, asked "what would actual *restorative*, not punitive, justice look like? What would actual reparations mean here? If the goal is to heal, not just to punish, how do we handle those who have done harm?" And then did that.

Which I think is interesting, and that there was pushback against it is interesting.

It also reminds me of the folks who get very weird about Aang not killing Ozai at the end of Avatar. And like, Ozai still gets chucked in prison, so it doesn't even push back on our cultural ideas of punitive justice *that much.* and still, I've seen people get real mad that the child monk who is the last survivor of a genocide that wiped out his entire pacifist culture didn't do a murder.

[farsight-the-char]

Luffy would not become a cop, so him.

Found Family Tournament Round 2 Part 5 Group 23

Propaganda and further images under the cut

Gaang: Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Suki, Appa, Momo Strawhat Pirates: Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Nico Robin, Franky, Brook, Jinbei

Gaang:

They’re kids from all over the world whose parents/guardians aren’t around for whatever reason who are just trying their best in a war torn world and they have far too much responsibility on their shoulders at such young ages and soo much trauma but they love and take care of each other because no one else can/will. They fight and make up, they commit crimes and acts of heroism (often at the same time), they’re terrifyingly powerful, they all have so many brain cells but forget to use them, they have fantastic character arcs, and they canonically stayed friends for life after the series ended.

have you seen them??

THE original found family of my life bro

sorry no thoughts head empty but they <3

Strawhat Pirates:

THERE IS LITERALLY A SONG ABOUT THEM BEING FAMILY BRO… AND THEY MAKE ME INSANE JUST GENERALLY THEY'RE MY EVERYTHING… LIKE I CAN'T EVEN PUT INTO WORDS HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO ME https://youtu.be/_N_d4JctUcs (here is the song)

[percki]

the state of things

[sjbattleangel]

Face it, Darth Vader, Zuko, Piccolo, Vegeta, Magneto, Loki and Venom did far worse, unforgivable things yet when they were redeemed to varying degrees, fandom gave them free passes. Yet when Catra ,a child soldier who was physically and mentally abused by her mentor, realizes how much she has hurt the people around her; strives to be a better person; saves her childhood best friend and the entire world with the literal power of love (in spite of the series being cut short), fandom screams for her blood, yelling that she was "the real villain" and "should've died".

I have nothing against either Vader, Zuko, Piccolo, Vegeta, Magneto, Loki or Venom. However, when fandom declares a queer catgirl to be "the face of unforgivable evil", that's when we need to call out the blatant sexist, and kind of queerphobic, double standards.

And no, don't even give me that "BuT BaD WrItInG" thought-terminating rubbish. Funny how everything seems to be "BaD WrItInG" only when it involves some form of media made by and/or starring women, queer people and other minorities. Don't you think?

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

i really want to have MORE avatar units who aren't the main protag and also not related to any other playable cast member.

i know that people hate Kris but i would prefer an avatar as relevant to the story as Kris instead of a Robin, Corrin, Byleth or Alear.

.

[farsight-the-char]

VOTE DINAHOLLIE

Battle Couple Battle Round 2!

Dinahollie (DC Comics) VS Sukka (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

[count-horror-xx]

I actually like zutara as a concept, it's a ship I'll casually read fics about them sometimes.

it's just zutara fans are fucking delusional. Stop treating their Canon partners as abusive when it's the complete opposite. Especially Mai.

Aang isn't a misogynistic monk that forces katara to be his house wife. If he did katara would leave him in a millisecond. He actually cares so much about her. It's actually Canon HE cooks and accommodates his cultural food with kataras.

And Mai was literally ready to die for zuko. Even when they just broke up, she was ready to get electrocuted by azula if it wasn't for ty lee chi blocking azula.

I'm aware it seems like she doesn't care about him the way she's quiet and aloof but I understand where she was coming as someone who somewhat has similar tendencies of being a little awkward when trying to show emotions and it coming off as being uncaring or rude. But at the end of the day she really shows she loves him, so people saying she's abusive is completely inaccurate to her character.

Her bottling up her emotions was taught by her parents as she explains in the beach episode somewhat where she had to worry about her father's reputation all the the time, forcing her to be quiet as a form of behaving.

Personally I think her quiet personality fits with Zukos loud ass, especially giving him a reality check during the beach episode calling him out for being angry all the time and how he needs to keep it in check.

Zutara is a nice ship I agree but you can ship it without mischaracterizing tf out of thier Canon partners.

[astriddestelle]

For all the my mom jokes we make about Katara it’s really easy to forget she def saw her mom’s burnt corpse and has trauma. Like she sees her mom alive, goes to get her had which prob takes five minutes and comes back to a burned body. She can prob still picture it, smell it, everything like no wonder she always brings it up. The guilt and trauma is just festering away. poor girl. Also she doesn’t even say that much in the show it’s blown way out of proportion

[broadwaybalogna]

This is so interesting to me because it’s technically canon that Katara was reduced to being “the avatars wife”. Like, A@ng was always the breadwinner while Katara just watched from the sidelines.

Also, Zutarians will more commonly say that Katara being fire lady gives her the same kind of political power as Zuko, or he would give her such. So it would be a relationship where both are important figures and neither are living in the others shadow.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

“catra is a complex poc” fuck that. here are some ACTUAL poc animated characters who are just as, if not more complex than catra.

grace monroe (infinity train) • black american

connie maheshwaran (steven universe) • indian-american

katara (avatar the last airbender) • inuk

wolf (kipo and the age of wonderbeasts) • black american

suhara/shadowsan (carmen sandiego) • japanese

korra (the legend of korra) • inuk

jesse cosay (infinity train) • indigenous (apache)

lars barriga (steven universe) • filipino

azula (avatar the last airbender) • japanese

ryan akagi (infinity train) • japanese-canadian

luz noceda (the owl house) • afro-dominican american

(there are a lot more, so i'll be making a part 2!)