#lok fanwank

[anghraine]

I know most of you aren't here for my Legend of Korra villain feelings in 2024, but ... lol oh well. I took a break from my dissertation yesterday to write six pages of meta about LOK's main villains and why I think LOK is better for them despite its flaws and frequently uneven execution.

This had always been a show that, for all the centrist trappings, was willing to transform its own setting. It might tapdance around this in awkward ways, like with the offscreen transition to an elected non-bender president, there might be unpleasant side effects like the spirit vines in Republic City, the more drastic changes might be unpredictable or frightening for the characters, and people don’t always know what the political changes they advocate will lead to, as with Zaheer inadvertently setting up the conditions for Kuvira's rise. But I think the overall arc of the show is one of broad and sometimes drastic social change towards a better world.

[hotgirlkorra]

Sometimes I get sad/annoyed that most people, and the fandom at large only praise/"love" Legend of Korra because of Korrasami, or only like Korra because she's one half of a ship.

Like imagine you only like Katara and/or Aang because they are one half of a ship.

Like I didn't scour avatarspirit.net for LOK news since SDCC 2010 just for Korrasami (or for shipping in general) lmao.

For me the most important part of LOK and Korra's story was the fact that she saved the entire world from 10,000 years of darkness/from a literal apocalypse, much like her predecessor Wan. And the fact that she has to navigate her avatarhood on her own, making her own decisions without having to compare herself to her predecessors' legacies.

This is not me downplaying Korra's bisexuality, or sexuality in general. It's literally not about that. But watching the show centering the titular character just because she ends up with another girl in the last two seconds. Or only caring about that. And not because she's a gender non-conforming, dark skin Indigenous woman. Rubs me the wrong way. And this is coming from a queer woman of color.

[matt0044]

Posts in the Salt Tags are a special breed of obnoxious.

I get it. We need space to vent, to let off steam in the heat of the moment. But there often comes a point where you have to ask yourself if it's reeeeeeeeally worth it to go into something that gives you unwarranted stress.

[zukorama]

It makes me so happy to look back on my lok fanwank posts and see how far I've come. The lok fandom, especially in 2014/2015, was an unhealthy place for me. I'm thankful now that I can see weaponized social justice and toxic fandom culture for what it is and move on

[megashadowdragon]

fantastic-nonsense Straight from the horses mouth…sometimes the shippers make your point for you, and sometimes even better than you can. The lack of self-awareness is amazing

tags :   #makorra fan: I don’t like that Korra’s whole personality had to change for her and Asami to get together #korrasami fan: fuck you you’re just homophobic #*two years later* #korrasami fan: lol korra changes her whole personality and becomes a doormat around asami isn’t it cute????? #makorra fan: ……

fantastic-nonsense . tumblr . com/post/148510580660

[fantastic-nonsense]

When you identified HARD with both Katara and Korra as a teenager and were thus irrationally upset & angry about how both women were disrespected treated in Legend of Korra and then you look Bryan and Mike dead in the eye on a con floor

[randomgirlyoudontknow]

tired: letting the word of god dictate how you view a show

wired: ignoring the creators completely and enjoying it however you want

[lokwatchdog]

Seeing 30 year olds on here who bullied children for enjoying the legend of korra now participating in fandoms of shows aimed at 7 year olds

[theorangestar]

I like to think that book 2 never existed, except for Bolin vs the water benders at the arena. Because that was awesome and he literally ripped his sleves off. And i also love the bro-hug at the end of the season, because i live for bro-aments. Except for that, i really do not like how books 2 was handled, the plot was fine, i just didn't like how the main characters were handled (and the whole bolin being in a abusing relationship.)

Book 2 and Book 4 suffer from some of (not all) the same problems. A lot of interesting ideas, but not very good execution, and unfortunately those points go on to affect the rest of the story (I’m looking at you, spirits). 

But another big thing both books do that make them inferior to Books 1 and 3, in my opinion, are the lack of Krew moments. A lot of people didn’t like the probending stuff in Book 1, but I enjoyed it because Korra and her friends were working together towards a common goal, you could watch their friendships progress. And when the Krew went patrolling the city against Equalists, that was great! And Book 3 has a lot of great team moments. My favorite parts are when all four members of Team Avatar are together, working as a team and being friends. In Book 2, no one is on the same page. Everyone is fighting, abandoning each other, and by the time they’re back together, it’s time to defeat the Big Bad (Which Asami isn’t even present for, but in her defense there’s nothing she could really do against evil spirits.) Book 4 is similar, with a little less in-fighting a little more of, “Friends? What’s that?” For over half the season no one is anywhere near each other, no one has talked in three years! Then Mako and Asami get a full episode reunion with Korra and a mini adventure while Bolin gets a half-assed hug? Asami and Bolin DON’T EVEN SPEAK TO EACH OTHER in the entirety of book 4! What bullshit is that?! Then the only scenes the team is together as a unit are telling Tenzin and Raiko information, and checking out the Colossus on Oogie. It’s very hard for me to believe that these people are friends by the end of the series. Yeah, Korra and Asami are a thing now, and Korra and Mako have a friendship (is it still there in the comics? I was under the impression that Mako was just treated as a joke in the comics, which is one of the reasons I’m not reading them.) And Bolin and Mako are brothers, so they’re tied together automatically, but anyone else? There’s nothing there anymore. I don’t believe in the team anymore. 

My favorite parts of any show that involves as “team” of some sort, is the friendships evolving within that team, and how they all interact together to solve problems, highlighting everyone’s strengths and making up for each other’s weaknesses. Books 1 and 3 at least try that (sometimes they’re successful, sometimes not, but they at least tried.) Books 2 and 4 fall flat for me in that department, and it certainly left a sour taste in my mouth when the series was over. 

[sherbies]

Okay, so word of warning - I’m gonna avoid posting WIPs of my work based on the Korra comics so far (leaks are still leaks and all, whoops my mistake), but come July 26 when it’s released in comic book shops, there will be posts and stuff about it and I’m not gonna contain myself ‘til the later Amazon release date. so there ya go.

[ourimpavidheroine]

Hi, I just read your analyzes of kuvira,(show and comic), and I liked it, now I understand Kuvira better as a character and her dynamics with Suyin, Su's family. Could you use the tag of kuvira, anti-kuvira or Lok so people can see it? your analysis deserves more attention, they are well written

Hi! I’m glad you enjoyed what I had to say, and thanks so much for taking the time to let me know! I always appreciate it.

That being said, I’m a little reluctant to use tags with my thoughts on Kuvira because of the fanwank. I know she’s a hugely popular character (and rightly so, she’s an awesome character) but the Kuvira-stans are not, shall we say, appreciative when they see anything less than full support for her, and that especially includes her motivations, her redemption and who is to blame for her actions. I speak from experience.

I don’t publish nasty/mean/fanwank Asks that I get because I don’t choose to give that kind of stuff an audience but that doesn’t mean I don’t get them. And honestly, it’s just exhausting. Tagging anything Kuvira related - even using the anti-kuvira tag - brings her stans down in droves.

You are very welcome, if you have a Tumblr account, to reblog them and tag them as you like, however! (Not that I can stop you, but if you were looking for my blessing, feel free.)

[anghraine]

No spoilers, but I watched the Netflix ATLA pilot!

It is neither terrific nor dire IMO. I have various gripes but also enjoyed it well enough, so ... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[hotgirlkorra]

Korra is a top!

End of discussion

[grendelsmilf]

bryke book 1: wow we really like asamis character. she's directly involved in this nonbending revolution as both the daughter of a criminal funding this terrorist organization and a non-bender herself.... let's make her drive the conflict between mako and korra, and force her into being part of a silly love triangle that she's already too mature for and clearly would want no part in! then we'll have her father almost murder her and then never bring that up again. yeah we love asami she's great bryke book 2: now that the equalist movement is over (with no loose ends to tie up or anything of the sort) we don't really have use for asami. especially considering she's a nonbender...... bryke book 3: we're going to reintroduce airbending to our narrative! now we can make all these nonbenders airbenders and it will be so interesting watching their reaction to having bending! like bumi, who now must struggle with his inferiority complex as the only nonbender in his family, and learn to control his airbending without trying to overstep on tenzins boundaries as an airbending master while also finally being able to participate in that culture! asami, as an industrialist who relies on technology to make up for her lack of bending, has nothing interesting to grapple with this season! we'll just let her hang out in the background, occasionally do some backflips and save the day with her engineering savvy. her company??? where?? don't worry about all that! she's just the hot nonbender bff to the avatar! bryke book 4: yeah we love asami. she's the love of korras life obviously. here's this new character WU, he's annoying so it's funny

[megashadowdragon]

Mako fucking adored Korra. He supported her and tried to be there for her every step of the way in Book 2 while they were dating. Most of the shit that happened in regards to their relationship was Korra’s fault. Now, was it understandable? Yes, because Korra was dealing with a hell of a lot of pressure, both personal and job-wise. Her home was in danger, her family was in danger, and no one seemed to be trying to really help her. Everyone loaded these impossible expectations on her, and she wasn’t able to rise to them. But any and all of the crap that went down happened after Mako broke up with Korra initially. Then ASAMI KISSED HIM (important: star this) during their whole drama fest. They never got back together (and Remembrances brought this up).

Honestly, if there’s one thing I absolutely hated about Remembrances, it was the absolute disregard for the MUTUAL screw-ups in the relationships and how BOTH TIMES Mako ‘cheated,’ the girl kissed him. He simply didn’t ‘fess up about the kiss (which is still a dick move, don’t get me wrong, and he should have to deal with it). Most of the crap that went down in the handling of the Makorra relationship was not Mako’s fault and was either instigated by Korra or outside forces. Not to say Mako is blameless (because he’s not, and there were a thousand ways he could have handled things better too), but jesus christ: Korra is not blameless in this whole mess. She is not some perfect paragon of virtue and wronged innocence. Neither is Asami, though I will freely admit Asami was basically innocent and largely a victim of the whole drama fest. Mako is not the only one to blame, and Mako is not his relationship issues. There is so much more to Mako than his romance, just as there is more to Korra than her romance. Especially considering Mako had the most character development of any character in the show save Korra and perhaps Lin. More on that here  (fantastic-nonsense . tumblr . com/post/103339454055/morgenstars-when-people-shit-on-mako-and-blame) and here fantastic-nonsense . tumblr . com/post/95766287285/ayasugi-san-fantastic-nonsense  .

Mako and Korra dated for six months before Book 2 started, and from everything we know they had a healthy, relatively stable relationship with each other. Like, did you people not watch “Rebel Spirit?” It was almost sickening how in love with each other they were; Bolin certainly thought so. That’s six months in. Any ‘honeymoon period’ had worn off. Mako and Korra’s romantic relationship in Book 2 disintegrated and failed to work because of conflicting responsibilities, their mutual immaturity, and their mutual hotheadedness. All of which were resolved by the end of Book 4 due to their independent character development that took place over the course of the last two books.

Anyway, onto the actual bulk of the ask, since I’ve gotten that off my chest.

You know what? Just because I freaking can, let’s count up all the Mako-Korra/Makorra interactions in Book 4, shall we?

Mako’s letters to Korra, which are honestly just as awkward as the boy himself is. No wonder Korra didn’t reply back to him, honestly; his letters sound like me when I’m valiantly attempting to be formal in an email.

“Reunions”: Five interactions, three directly related to Korra’s leave of absence (the initial reunion hug/conversation—interrupted by Wu, Mako getting upset over Korra replying to Asami but not him or Bolin—interrupted by Asami changing the subject to her father, and the “this is like old times for me and Korra” bit, followed by the look) and then two related to the Wu drama: their argument and subsequent apology (which actually shows how their independent character growth and time apart matured them to the point where any relationship they had, romantic or otherwise, would be healthy and functional; during Books 1 and 2, they would often get into arguments then stomp off and would not apologize to each other until much later, if ever)

“Remembrances”: while it didn’t include any direct Mako-Korra interaction, the episode spent ten minutes recapping the romance angle. Multiple times, it was implied or implicitly stated that Mako hadn’t gotten over Korra and was still in love with her, including the “I haven’t dated anyone since Korra and I broke up” line, the “she continues to inspire me” line, and quite frankly just the general awe with which he talks about her. Korra’s recap did not focus on the romance angle at all and instead was focused on the actual stuff that she’s done over the seasons, and so we did not get her thoughts one way or the other on the matter.

“Beyond the Wilds”: So I like to talk a lot of crap, but here’s where I put my money where my mouth is. This entire episode was dedicated to two things: the culmination of Korra’s recovery arc and the relationship between Mako and Korra. They were together nearly the entire episode. They fought together in the Spirit Wilds while looking for Jinora, Mako had his “I’m here for you. What do you need?” line, Mako was the one that went with Korra to visit Zaheer, Mako had “the concerned look” (I’m pretty sure he’s patented that look) on his face when Korra went in to face Zaheer alone, etc etc. Nearly the entire episode was direct Mako-Korra interaction except for the brief “Fire Ferrets” moment with Bolin, the brief moment with Tenzin being an overprotective father, and the culmination of Korra’s recovery arc, facilitated by Zaheer. And who was there during this culmination to support Korra? Not Asami. She had a grand total of two lines the entire episode, both of which were spoken to Varrick.

“Operation Beifong”: Honestly, this applies throughout the season, because it’s brought up multiple times: Mako being protective of Korra and being disgusted by the idea of Wu attempting to date her/verbally refusing to set Wu and Korra up. I will freely admit this could be and probably is non-romantic in nature; Mako is probably just feeling protective of someone he cares about deeply and is disgusted by the idea of someone like Wu trying to date her. But still, it bears talking about, especially considering it’s brought up multiple times.

Also applies to the season as a whole: Mako’s general verbal and emotional support for Korra, often directly.

“The Last Stand”: there is one direct interaction and one indirect interaction. The indirect interaction occurs while they are searching for Korra after she creates the Spirit Portal. The “camera” does a close-up on Mako’s disapointed and upset face when Jinora says she can’t find her. The “camera” chooses not to show Asami’s reaction. And then their final interaction at the wedding, the one where he says “I’ll follow you into battle no matter how crazy things get. I have your back, and always will.” Pan to Korra’s happy face with wide eyes.

The screenshots/gifs to back me up:

Who supported Korra verbally and physically? Mako, not Asami. The only times we see Asami support Korra are the “I’m here to talk if you need me scene” and the tea scene in “Remembrances.” Who was there to support her during the culmination of her recovery arc and spiritual journey? Mako, not Asami. Which relationship did Remembrances focus on? The Asami-Mako-Korra relationship, not the Korra-Asami friendship/relationship. Who got an entire episode of essentially one-on-one time with Korra? Mako, not Asami. Who did the “camera” choose to focus on when they were searching for Korra? Mako, not Asami. Where was Asami? We don’t know. Not with Korra, by her side and supporting her like we would assume a FRIEND would do, not to mention a person who is going to be Korra’s future romantic interest. Who’s by her side? Mako.

source: fantastic-nonsense . tumblr . com/post/105943382720/um-are-you-watching-the-same-show-makorra/embed

[fantastic-nonsense]

doctorwhomorelikedoctorwhat replied to your post “Cleaning out my inbox and I’m down to 73 asks!”

I’m going to send you a bunch of inflammatory LOK anons even though I never finished the series just so people send you anon hate for the next 10 years ����

Watch me do a post that’s like ‘my lok hot takes: Amon was the best villain, Book 4 sucked, Kuvira was a sucky villain who didn’t make any sense, Korra didn’t need to be broken, KORRA WAS ALREADY COMPASSIONATE, Book 2 was actually really good and fuck you all, Asami deserved way better as a character than what she got, Korrasami was a terribly written relationship that had no development, and Makorra was clearly endgame until Bryke thought they could get diversity points and make Korrasami canon at the last second’ and have people crawl out of the woodwork and tell me I’m a terrible human being