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The neurodivergence of Legend of Korra: Asami Sato
Perhaps others have noticed this, not sure, but I thought I'd write about it because it's why I love these characters so much. I'd like to go through all four of them, but we'll see.
Asami Sato
Her behaviors and characterization
When we first meet Asami Sato, she has run into Mako literally. We also see how her flirting is basically dialed up to 11. There is no subtlety about it at all. In fact, this will be true the entire series and comic run. She simply cannot do subtle flirting. It's either all or nothing.
We also see how she is essentially acting for her father. When she's alone with the group, especially during the racecar scene, she drops her socialite mask. She's more down-to-earth, more compassionate, more playful, and tends toward what I call her 'observation mode' where she analyzes a situation to try to discern solutions. She's also very justice oriented.
Her strong streak of justice is what pushes her to turn on her father. Although that scene shows her struggling with the decision, everything up to that point had left clues that she would not side with her father on this. She found the accusations Korra made unjust and confusing, and she worried that her father was being targeted due to being a nonbender -- this is all worries rooted in a sense of justice. So when the moment comes when she discovers Korra is correct, her father has betrayed the city and is harming people, her sense of justice flares again. She looks at the people she had befriended, how hurt they are, and how they are being rounded up like cattle. And she chooses justice.
This is a common theme for her. She chooses justice and Korra again and again. She is incredibly loyal. Stubbornly loyal.
She also struggles with social situations. Her interactions with Varrick in Book 2 for instance show how easily confused she is in social situations that are a bit chaotic. She tends to prefer more ordered social interactions. She at this point has been unmasked around Team Avatar for several months, so she also struggles to bring up her socialite mask around Varrick. Her palpable relief when she's done interacting with Varrick shows how draining these situations are (which is also an indicator of her being an introvert).
All of her eye rolls are the typical eyerolls you see for autistic characters and people in real life. There's actually an interesting post about how autistic people actually "roll" their eyes for the eye roll because we're interpreting it literally. While non-autistic people don't do that - they look up then down. I find this pretty accurate for a lot of us, to be honest.
Asami hyperfocuses a lot. She has special topics that she can infodump on for hours. Some of the few times she talks a lot in the series is her discussions relating to her engineering.
She is visibly uncomfortable in large crowds, and you see this especially in Book 4, where she is shown uneasy and frustrated by the crowds (and then Wu) at the train dedication ceremony. She is relieved and relaxes ONLY when someone she trusts appears - Mako, but even then, she's still on guard. You also see this in Book 3, where she hangs at the edges of crowds during Korra's press conference about the vines -- she is there to support Korra but shows hesitancy in getting any closer to the proceedings.
Her quiet watching of the Krew is a common trope for autism in cartoons. The quiet, thoughtful, loyal, smart person who is present and only talks when needed. The way she talks is also highly that of a neurodivergent person, in that it is very direct and uses language that doesn't fit the typical norms that non-autistic characters used.
Like in Book 3, where she tries to parse Bolin's somewhat confusing explanation of why they had lost Kai, so she turns to Mako and asks, "Can you interpret that?" I noticed that she behaves this way if the speaker talks too fast or blurts out a lot of information at once. She has to take time to process it, and so tends to be more of a planner. Her replies are always measured and rarely does she blurt out things. She analyzes the situation carefully, thinks it through, and then comes to a decision. This actually is what makes her the perfect foil for Korra.
She prefers strict/rigid schedules and when those are disrupted she struggles with finding balance. This leaves her on edge and insecure (you see this in Book 1 and 2); however, in Book 4, when her schedule is disrupted to work on the hummingbirds, her reaction is anger and irritation, due to her character development. She's become secure in who she is now, so disruptions no longer bring out insecurity but instead her irritation. (Every time she deals with Varrick that irritation toward him is apparent, because he adds an element of chaos that Asami does not like. Plus I don't think she ever forgives him for the bullshit he pulled on her in Book 2).
Asami hates dishonesty. You see this in Book 1 especially, where she's angry at Mako because of his dishonesty. She is never angry with Korra, because Korra was never dishonest with her. Even when Ikki shares that Korra likes Mako, Korra never disputes it, she's honest and shows that she still wants a friendship with Asami. So Asami respects her for this. Asami is always honest and direct in her interactions. If she is subtle, it's in a playful way or because she's uncertain on how exactly to proceed in the interaction.
All of these can be common traits for autistic folks. These behaviors, her speech, her reactions, and how she is shown to stand and exist in scenes were all used when I went through a few diagnostic tests for her.
Diagnostic Tests
There's several types of tests for autism. One that I had for my evaluations (as an adult), is a variation of this one here: Autism Spectrum Quotient When I went through that test and examined each question based on Asami's words, reactions, interactions, and actions in the series (transcripts are useful for this as well as rewatching), Asami scored between 36 and 42, which is above the typical autistic mean of 32.
The reason this was a range is due to the fact some of the questions reference situations that was never shown in the show or comic run, so I had to think through how she reacted in a similar situation to try to discern whether she'd agree or disagree with that question.
Social situation questions The social situation questions were also a struggle to decide on if she'd agree or not. When she is masking in Book 1 for her father, it looks like she enjoys them, but as soon as she turns on her father and unmasks for Korra, Mako, and Bolin (she slowly unmasks through the rest of book 1 and 2), she no longer looks at ease in social situations. In fact, she looks more and more uneasy, and she becomes more and more quiet.
Another important example for social interactions is exemplified in the Book 1 scene where Ikki shares with Asami that Korra likes Mako. Korra is horrified at this because she hadn't wanted to make things awkward between them, but Asami just looks thoughtful and replies, "I wasn't aware of that." She misses these clues partly because she is taking in data about how Korra reacts to her and not to Mako. This scene also reveals how subtle details in social interactions escapes Asami's notice unless she is hyperfocused on observing the situation to gather data. After that scene with Ikki, Asami pays much, much closer attention to Mako. Not Korra. She knows where Korra stands, but she doesn't know where Mako stands. She goes into what I often call her "observation mode" where she observes the proceedings, and then once she has a better handle on it, she starts to interact/react.
She also tends to talk more when she's with people she trusts -- the Krew for instance. Otherwise, she's fairly quiet in discussions with other people -- such as planning meetings with the Krew, Lin, Tonraq, and others in Book 3 -- where she only speaks up out of concern for Korra. Otherwise, she is quietly listening and observing proceedings.
Patterns
There are some other questions in the test that are outdated as noted by the authors of that website (who are autistic clinicians). So any questions related to "dates" I interpreted as noticing numerical and other types of patterns, which Asami does.
Asami is excellent at noticing patterns and odd details in the environment. You first see this in Book 1 when she comments on a detail in the environment that is odd, or her behavior shows her noticing the detail and reacting to it. Before she can fully process what it means, it's often too late (like the electric invisible fence where Asami noticed a detail that she found odd, but it was too late, and they all get knocked out). This happens other times in the series as well.
Hyperfocusing and empathy Her engineering knowledge is definitely her special interest, and when asked about it, she gladly talks far more than any other time. Her hyperfocusing on tasks often to the exclusion of all other tasks and bodily needs is pretty common for her -- one of the reasons why the fandom is convinced she forgets to eat due to this hyperfocusing, so then Korra saves the day by making her eat.
This hyperfocusing also shows up with how she cares for Korra at the end of Book 3/4. She is super, hyperfocused on being there for Korra and is willing to drop everything to be with Korra, even to head South with her. (It's also because she's in Love with Korra, let's be honest there, but it's that tendency to hyperfocus on what/who she loves that also plays a role too I think. I know I can do that myself where I hyperfocus on the person I love, and then have to dial back.)
Some might claim that because Asami is highly sensitive and perceptive of other people's emotions, then that is a sign she isn't autistic. I, however, argue that is actually a good indicator she is autistic. Autistic people are not lacking in compassion at all. In fact, we're the opposite. We feel too much, and that can be overwhelming to the point of deadening emotions or causing us to fall out of sync with our emotions. We also take in too much sensory data, and that can also overwhelm us. So when people make the claim that we lack sympathy or compassion, it's because we are often in an overwhelmed state because we are feeling too much of it. We want to help, but until we stabilize or limit the sensory overload, it's harder for us to articulate and make it clear how much we care.
This is also why our sense of justice can be so strong. We care so much, and we find arbitrary rules to be frustrating. We want to know why something is the way it is, and if there isn't an answer that makes sense as to why things are that way, there is a tendency for autistic people to disregard that rule. We prefer just and fair options, and prefer direct and honesty because it's easier for us to interpret and process.
Now there is ALWAYS nuance to this as not all autistic people have the same traits nor do our traits manifest in the same way. But there is strong correlations that we all share, and Asami shares as well.
Anyway, I could go into further depth and do some scene analysis, but I'll stop here because my pain has flared up again, and I need some rest. Thanks for reading!
#legend of korra#tlok#asami sato#asami#the legend of korra#actually autistic#autism#neurodivergent#neurodiversity#korrasami#neurodivergent characters#autistic characters
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Autistic Bolin HC / some ADHD HC
Did get diagnosed when he was little, but all that knowledge went out the window when his parents died.
Would have meltdowns and cry for hours when they were taken into custody by a adoption centre. No one really understood why they lasted so long or why it sometimes happened. They just thought it had something to do with the awful circumstances. Mako didn't know what to do either, but all of them saw that Little Bo was the most calm when they were together. And it wasn't like they were ever separated during that time.
Would also have meltdowns on the streets, because noting is constant or stable there. Mako who didn't know how to handle their new life, would get frustrated and yell at him to stop or behave or leave him alone. But after a while, he would comfort him and try to get Bolin to speak or calm down. It was hard for them both.
Could be so exhausted from it all, that he just needed a day to rest at the current home they had. Mako would always hide him well when he went out for food or needed to leave him alone for some time.
Also, on the streets, he could have hours or sometimes a day or two where he was mute. Selectively mute. Those happened more when he and Mako spent the first few years on the streets, before they learned to survive better. They doesn't really happen when he becomes an adult.
Does have texture issues regarding food (especially) and some clothing fabric. Likes soft food the best, which is why dumplings is a big fave and noodles comes on a close second. Rice works if it cooked the way he likes. Is less energetic regarding crunchy food like fresh vegetables and rice crackers. Has learned to push through it tho, because of his hard childhood. They couldn'r really be picky, but there have been times were he has had meltdowns because of food and even gotten sick because he tried to force food down that clashed with his texture issues.
He is able to ignore some of them most of the time. They do eat a lot at the Island or their dad's side of the family. He learned early on that he couldn't afford to be picky with food, so he is able to force food down if he must. Mako sometimes is sneaky and takes the food he knows Bolin can't stomach on his own plate and rolls a dumpling or two back on Bolin's plate.
Stims a lot with his hands. He either plays with his fingers or flaps them. Especially if he's nervous or really excited. Also bonuses his knees a lot or shake his ankle a lot when he is doing mundane things like sitting down and writing etc. Also walks in circle whenever he is really stressed.
When Toza gave them a home at the Arena, he decided that the best way to cope with Bolin's endless amount of babbling and energy, was to just exhaust him with pro-bending practice and daily task reguarding taking care of the Arena when it was closed.
Doesn't really know that he is autistic, is kind of just the way he is. Mako doesn't know either; he just learned to handle Bolin so he wouldn't have meltdown and got used to his reactions to things he liked and didn't like. Or what set him of and what didn't. It was just how Bolin was.
His hyper focus have come in great use through his lifetime. He went through a small phase were he wanted to learn sewing, because it helped him and his brother out, and focused entirely on that for a while. Same with some food recipes he has perfected while he wanted to be better at cooking. Have had his fare share of earth bending exercises where he has just almost spent every waking minute trying to workout.
When he tried to learn lava bending, Mako would usually have to get him out from whatever mountain or forest he was practicing in or drop off some food. He would have spent the whole day there if it wasn't for someone interrupting him and telling him it was time for rest.
Dose get some periods and days were he has a really hard time focusing and stimulating himself, so he struggles a lot with work and just comes off as too over the top for everyone else and too energetic. They tell him to clam down a notch or two- but he can't really help himself. It exhausting for everyone, but worst for Bolin.
A little bit too talkative sometimes and too overbearing without knowing it.
Is pretty great at masking.
Finds people confusing most of the time, since he can't really read a room or people for that matter. Tries to mimic other people, but it doesn't really help him. Likes Varrick for this reason, since he is most of the time straight forward about the tasks and stuff he wants to do or wants other people to do.
Army was also easy for him to adapt to, since they did follow a fairly monotone working schedule the first years in regards of change in the weekly plan. Likes also that officers and people up in the higher rank just tells him what to do, without giving him much choice to do otherwise.
I think Lin would actually pick up on it. Maybe even Asami and Opal too. Lin would pick it up when Bolin worked as an officer under her. There would be other neurodivergent workers in the department, and it's important that they know stuff like that because it can interfere with their work in regards on how they need to work to function and the reaction they will have during certain circumstances.
She would just observe him and kind of just pick up the clues here and there and it kind of just clicks the longer she observes him on work and off work. Since he hand't mention it, Lin ask one time and Bolin just gives him a blank stare.
Bolin goes to Mako and asks him about it, and Mako doesn't really have any clue what he is talking about- since he doesn't really know a lot about stuff like that either. Lin talks about what she has observed and Mako kind of understands that is more to Bolin than he though. Bolin just gets more confused.
Mako borrows a few books from the Island and reads up on the matter and a lot of the behaviour and things alike matches his brother behaviour. Also ask Opal about it, and she tells him that she kind of though it was something underlying, but didn't want to be rude to just ask it straight out. And Bolin had never once mentioned, so she just thought she was just looking too deep into something.
Mako feels kind of shitty since he didn't pick up on it sooner. Which was impossible for him since he didn't even know what it was. He just wishes he could make Bolin's life easier.
When Bolin actually get the diagnosis, he is both relieved and has a little crisis because he never understood while he did thing like he did. Mako tells him he will help him figure more of this out.
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Autistic Bolin headcanons!!!
-He never got diagnosed, cause of the whole growing up on the streets thing
-Instead, he got really good at masking around anyone that wasn’t Mako
-First thought he might be autistic when Korra was talking to him about her ADHD, and he was like “oh shit that’s me”
-Initially doubted that he was autistic bc he’s a people person (am I projecting? Yes)
-Hyperverbal, doesn’t understand why Mako thinks he talks too much. (Mako’s also autistic just hasn’t figured it out yet)
-Flaps. Like, a lot. (See the scene in s4 where he meets Toph)
-Has a lot of sensory issues, specifically with temperature
-Has a bit of a hard time with social cues, fortunately someone’s always there to help him out
-Gives Pabu chin scritches to stim. Pabu LOVES this, which is great bc Bolin loves it too
-Bolin + Korra = neurodivergent chaos duo (nickname coined by Asami, who is definitely ND I just haven’t figured out exactly how)
Feel free to add on!!!
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some kya hc :)
- neurodivergent kya neurodivergent kya neurodivergent kya
- she stims when shes really happy/excited
hand flapping/ little hops and twirls
shes very social but gets overstimulated when there are too many lights and loud sounds
when that happens she closes her eyes and covers her ears, not many people understand it but when lin or her brothers notice they find a quiet place for her to calm down
she likes it when they wait with her and will hold them really tightly
- since bolin is basically her son, they will spend the day together when mako and lin are too busy. they love to play music and stim dance (its very fun would highly recommend) together and not have to worry about masking
- tattoos! she has a bunch of little ones all over her body from places shes visited
- lots of piercings too, but shes let some of then heal over
- katara gave her the necklace when she went to travel
katara had her mom's necklace and wanted kya to have smth like that too
- she was very insecure about her body when she was younger but realized theres no point to that and now she walks around her and lin's apartment completely naked 90% of the time
- hates mornings, she wakes up past noon but still cant get out of bed for another hour or two
- will bring the entire bed spread onto the couch, duvet around her shoulders, hugging a pillow, the sheet trailing behind her, the whole thing
- really good at math, like Really good its kind of scary
- the teen angst was Intense
- a "will sit in your lap no matter where you are or who youre with" type of gf
- has no impulse control so lin is Constantly saying "no kya, please dont"
- lin has too much control and kya gets her to loosen up so they have a nice balance
- cannot cook. at all. youd think she could but shes actually the person who tries to microwave pasta because "it should cook it faster and you dont have to stand and watch it. lin. lin no come back im sorry. im sorry! i didnt think it would burn the microwave! or the wall behind it,, lin!"
- loses everything, no one understands how she made it alone because very few days someone will find her keys under the bahroom sink or her hair brush in the fridge
- also the "comes up behind u and picks you up when you arent paying attention to her" gf
- if she were in our world, she'd be the person who randomly says things in a british accent
- if you put your hand over her mouth she will lick it
- i cant explain why but she would've done the tide pod challenge
- calls everyone hon or darling
- do not say swag around her bc everytime that happens she will use it in Every Single Sentence
"hey lin I think you're pretty swag ;)"
*someone walks into her* "that wasnt very swag of you"
kya: meditation is so swag
tenzin: kya please, it's been 3 weeks
(be scared for the day someone says poggers near her)
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currently making a long post on why bolin is neurodivergent <3
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Also I know I’m only halfway through season 1, but does anyone else get some neurodivergent vibes from Bolin? Asking because it’s entirely possible I’m just projecting lol
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Lost in Your Laughter
lost in your laughter by SnorkleShit
Korra is thrown back in time, to when she first saw Mako laugh like that. When Asami first laughed like that. It feels like deja vu, really. She would recognize it anywhere.
Wu is in love with Mako.
Words: 665, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar: Legend of Korra
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: F/F, Gen, M/M, Multi
Characters: Prince Wu, Korra, Mako, Asami Sato, Bolin
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato, Mako & Prince Wu, Mako/Prince Wu, Korra & Mako, The Krew - Relationship, Korra & Prince Wu
Additional Tags: Fluff, a drop of angst, Inspired by Fanart, Wuko, ITS KING WU NOT PRINCE WU, Past Makorra - Freeform, Neurodivergent Mako, I see Mako as having adhd and/or being an autist, neurodivergent author, the only good thing about mako being a cop is the red string metaphors i get to make, im sorry bolin doesnt even have a line in this i didnt mean to make him a prop sjkfnjdag, Avatar Renaissance, Oneshot, Pre-Slash, Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn
Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25767616
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I love that bolin says he’s terrible at reading people and yet IMMEDIATELY clicked the difference in body language between asami and mako after they kissed again. How very neurodivergent to keep track of how everyone acts around each other and notice the differences based on different things happening and different behavior so few people can do that
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Hi, I'm just wondering what characters you headcanon as neurodivergent? I know Huan's autistic, and I'm fairly positive you mentioned Mako and Ikki were neurodivergent (please correct me if I am wrong on that!), but are there any others?
Yes!
Huan’s very clearly autistic. I also headcanon that Mako, Baatar Sr, Baatar Jr, and Zhu Li all lie somewhere on the spectrum as well. Varrick and Ikki are lying in the ADHD camp for me. Bolin’s got something going on as well…learning disabilities, I think, maybe an odd flavor of the spectrum.
When it comes to my OCs, Nuo is most certainly on the spectrum, as are Iris and Rose. Ikki’s future kids will all be on the spectrum, and Sayuri has the inattentive type of ADHD for damn sure.
Mako for me is easy - his issues with socialization, his humor that is either forced - those terrible jokes/puns that he actually tries to work out ahead of time in order to fit in - or doesn’t exist because he’s not in on the joke. THE LOGBOOKS. How rigid and unbending he can be, especially when he is in a new situation he isn’t sure of. The fact that he loves Bolin is very very clear; that being said, while he protects Bolin physically he doesn’t really do much for him emotionally. That’s because he doesn’t really get what Bolin needs, emotion-wise, not because he doesn’t care. The way he had no fucking clue what to do emotionally in either of his relationships with Korra or Asami. Played for laughs, sure, but that horribly awkward moment where he salutes them and calls them “Ladies” is just… oh god, Mako. He sleeps under his desk rather than try and figure out how to deal with the crash and burn of both of those things not because he’s a jerk but because he has zero fucking clue as to what he is supposed to do and everyone’s pissed at him and he has no idea why.
One of my favorite Autistic Mako scenes is the one where he and Wu have been moved into the Junior Suite at the Four Elements Hotel and he’s…repacking his suitcase. Why would he do that? The Hotel moved them without their permission or knowledge, so they would have moved their personal belongings for them, of course. Mako isn’t packing his suits to move to a smaller room; they are already in the smaller room. Which means that one of the hotel employees had also already packed up his suits and moved them there, right? Hooooooooooooo boy. Someone else touched and moved his things for him? Nope. Nopity nope nope. So what does he do? He repacks them himself into the suitcase, presumably to be unpacked by him later. Oh my god, Mako. I’m feeling you, that’s all I have to say.
Let me also just state here for the record that I think a lot of the issues that fans had with Mako and his behavior are things that Autistic people are very very familiar with in our own lives. As in, they are all the reasons that people give for not liking us. I’ve read plenty of meta about Mako that boils down to I don’t like this guy and he’s a jerk while pointing out all of his especially Autistic qualities. Yeah, that’s right. I’M LOOKING AT YOU, TLOK FANDOM.
Baatar Jr’s also rigid and humorless with a good heaping of sarcasm thrown in there to boot. Of course in his case it’s played off by Bryke that he’s just an asshole, but the fact that he doesn’t get the wolfbat nest joke that Varrick throws at him and takes it literally? Yep. His Book 4 default mood is anger, and while some of that could just be his Beifong heritage (ahem) I think a lot of it is stress, anxiety and fear - he is not in control of anything at all, and this is a man that clearly needs to be in control of his environment, we see this again and again. (I also think he’s afraid of Kuvira - not just because he doesn’t want to disappoint his fiance but because he knows damn well what happens to people who do, but that’s another discussion for another time.) Note the difference between when he’s speaking to his mother and when he’s speaking to anyone else. His mother is a safe person for him - he’s pissy with her, yes, but he’s clearly not afraid of her. He’s not uncomfortable with her, nor with Opal, not at all. These are people he knows and loves, trusts. Other people, though? Back comes the sarcasm and the nastiness. The man loses his shit all over anyone he thinks is going to put him in Kuvira’s line of fire because of their incompetence. He is clearly uncomfortable with most people. Also, the dude is not at all social in Book 3, not even close. He never speaks! He makes it to one meal where he’s sitting next to Huan and he’s there to see Opal off but where the fuck is he the rest of the time?
His brilliance goes without saying; Varrick mocks him and his parents don’t take him seriously but he was able to harness that spirit vine energy despite all of Varrick’s (failed) research getting destroyed and build that Colossus, which was clearly miles and miles ahead of any technology in that time and place. Sarcasm and nastiness being his default mode in order to mask confusion due to autism is another one of those Autistic things you don’t see portrayed in the media since they think we’re all Rainman but it’s a thing. As I was explaining to someone not that long ago, Autistics run the gamut of intelligence just like anyone else; our brains are neurodivergent, yes, but we don’t have a set IQ. Some Autistics are smarter than others, for sure. The same goes with EQ - emotional quotient (or emotional intelligence). The media - and a truly horrifying amount of mental health professionals who deal with Autistics and who should really know fucking better - assume that because most Autistics have a very low emotional quotient that they therefore are devoid of emotion. That is so fucking untrue, and I think Baatar Junior is a fine example of that. He has lots of emotion. He just doesn’t know how to deal with it, so it all gets funneled into that dangerous rage.
Anyhow, Anon, you didn’t ask for me to really go on with why I think all of these characters are on the spectrum! And I could go on, but my kid is having a school bakesale this morning and I have two dozen cupcakes to package up (because even Autistics sometimes bake for their kid’s bake sale) and I need to get on that. If you - or anyone else - wants to know about a character in particular, send me an ask!
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bolin neurodivergent . no i do not make the rules ❤️
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if you don't mind me asking, how canon is your fic?
I do not mind you asking! :)
With a very few exceptions, my fanfic is set after the series finale. (Most of the exceptions can be found in The Prince and the Bodyguard collection.) So right there I am already expanding on canon, of course. In my current timeline I’m writing about 11-12 years after the end of the show; everyone’s grown up, some of them have families, etc.
My focus is on Prince Wu, Mako and Bolin, Ikki and the Beifongs. I don’t write about Korra or Asami beyond interactions with the main characters in my stories. So if you are specifically looking for the two of them my fic will disappoint! (To be clear: they are a couple in my fanfic. I’m just not focusing on them.)
I wrote my first fic, Please Excuse My Penmanship, back in February of 2015. (The published date got changed when I made some changes to the first page, which is why it looks like it was published in 2017. I had no idea it was going to do that; if I had used my brain and realized it was going to change the date I wouldn’t have done it.) At that time the DVD commentary by Bryke where they stated that Prince Wu had been living in Republic City as either a boarding school or university student when Hou-Ting was killed by the Red Lotus wasn’t out yet. I’ll be honest, though - even if it had been out I would have written the story as is. I think it is far more interesting to have Wu, as a character, run parallel to Puyi, the last emperor of China. I’ve written him that way and I have no regrets. It makes for a far more interesting narrative for the character, who, let’s be honest, was never really fleshed out in the show.
Since a huge portion of my work was written before the comic(s) came out I obviously didn’t incorporate them! That being said, I am not very happy with the content of the comics. (I do love the artwork, however. Barring Mako reverting to his scruffy teenage hair, that is.) To make it clear, I will not be going back and making any changes to my work to be canon-compliant with the comics. As far as my fanfic is concerned, the comics don’t exist!
The basic spoiler-free premise of my fanfic is that Wu and Mako are a couple in Republic City after Wu dismantled the monarchy in the Earth Kingdom. I also focus on the Zaofu Beifong family and the aftermath of Baatar Jr’s betrayal. (I do not at all focus on Kuvira - in my fanfic she is imprisoned for life and I have zero plans to change that, so again, if you are looking for her you won’t find her in my fic.)
I do have quite a few original characters. I try to write them to the very best of my ability; they are not throwaway characters for me. They are diverse: one of my OCs, Qi, is genderqueer, and another, Nuo, is fat. Another OC, LoLo, is a firebender, but kind of a crappy one. I do try to make them real and engaging in their diversity; none of them are perfect. (Well, maybe Sitiak is.) I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback for them, which is great. However, if you are morally opposed to OCs then you won’t enjoy my work.
Despite what was written in the comics, I do not headcanon the Avatar universe as homophobic. Wu and Mako are a couple and they do not experience homophobia over this. As a queer woman myself I have zero interest in writing angst-filled coming out stories; I am also real damn tired of straight people writing them for me. As my long-term readers know, I was with my late wife for 17 years before she died unexpectedly. We had two children and a life together, and that is what I am interested in writing about. I cover a range of sexuality in my work, which includes queer couples, straight couples, poly relationships, people outside of relationships, etc.
I do not write yaoi. If that’s what you are looking for then you won’t find it here.
I am an autistic woman who is the mother to two autistic children. I have headcanoned several canon characters as autistic; most notably I have chosen to write Huan Beifong as autistic. (I also headcanon several other characters as neurodivergent; however, they pass as neurotypical far more than Huan does.) Huan does not pass as neurotypical; he is disabled and he does have issues relating to that disability. He is also a human character with a life that pleases him. Autistic representation - and there is precious little of it - is almost exclusively written by neurotypical people and most of them aren’t very good at it. I aim to be good at it.
I’m 48 (very soon to be 49!) years old and my writing reflects that. I write about people of all ages, including children, middle-aged and older people, etc. I am not writing for children, which is why the vast majority of my work is marked as mature. (That’s not to say teens can’t enjoy my work! Plenty of them do. It just means that my work tends to be more complex and I expect anyone reading my work to recognize that the rating is there for a reason.)
The Avatar universe was based on Asian culture. I am not Asian. I do a lot of research and I have several Asian readers whom I’ve been able to ask to spot check me. (One of them was good enough to educate me on where I was getting some things wrong, for which I was and am still incredibly grateful.) But I do want to be upfront about that.
I do fanfic as a hobby. I’m an autistic working widowed mother of two teenagers; because of all of these things my publishing can sometimes be sporadic. (Real life has to come first!) I do have a Betareader who is awesome (she really is) but she’s also a mother with two younger kids and sometimes her real life gets chaotic as well and she’s not able to give me feedback. Sometimes my stories are not as polished as I would like them to be! I do my best. But if you are looking for someone who can publish on a very regular basis then sorry! That’s not me.
So…yeah. I think that’s about the most of it! Anyhow, if it appeals - and I hope it appeals! - then you can head over to my handy dandy timeline page and read them in order (I��d really suggest that). Enjoy!
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