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glassesandswords · 3 years

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Hey!!

I also love your writing!

Now, idk if someone already asked you, but how you fell in love with Levi, Hange, and Levihan?

And breath exercises and munching ice cubes might help a bit with anxiety. I hope everything ends up alright!!

Thank you! And omg I'm such a HUGE fan of your metas!

Let's start with Levi.

His reputation definitely preceded him for me, even before I first got into SNK. I saw his name plastered everywhere, in every anime popularity list or the seasonal 'best boys' results- which totally spoiled the Ackerman reveal for me lol. So much that I thought he was the lead of the series for a long time😂 The first time I watched episode 9 of season 1, I thought he was going to be like your typical bad-boy archetype- sort of like those shoujo anime brooding guys. I assumed he would be the unreachable, pessimistic-but-hot-playboy-side-character considering his hype.

Boy, I was so wrong.

I actually started to like Levi the moment he sat next to Eren after the courtroom scene and inquired whether Eren hates him for what he had done. After what looked like a brutal display of power in the courtroom, the aftermath scene showed that he genuinely did not want to hurt Eren and cared about him enough to know if the two of them were still cool- even if Eren did come to know that the entire thing was staged to prevent him from falling into the MP's hands. From then onwards, he just kept on going up, up and up for me. Now, I truly believe that Levi is a character who deserves all the hype he gets. He's a well-crafted, unproblematic, and a kind-hearted fave who is as genuine as a character can be in a series full of betrayals and strife.

As for Hange, I'll be honest, she kind of did annoy me at first🙈

Looking back at it, Season 1 Hange is so different from Hange in the rest of the seasons. Season 1 Hange was the over-excited mad-scientist archetype who ran sort-of ethically questionable experiments and seemed completely unhinged. Personally, I'm not a fan of characters who yell a lot and since I watched the anime first, I had no idea that manga Hange was a lot more subdued. Season 1 Hange reminded me of this character called Kaji from Bungou Stray Dogs (another one of my favourite animes) and I wasn't really into it.

But the moment Season 2 Hange grabbed Pastor Nick by his collar and threatened to throw him off the wall if he did not cough up the answers she needed-

My third eye was opened. I tasted the nectar of immortality. Angels sang from the sky. The world turned brighter and I could see everything in full clarity. Aka, that was the moment I first fell irrecoverably in love with her.

And now, to Levihan. The drug that has ruined my life.

I liked Levi and Hange as separate characters at first, but I never really thought about shipping them for two seasons (lmao that was a time when I was more invested in the 104th cadets). Main reason being- they just did not have a lot of time together in the first two seasons, and whatever interactions they had were overshadowed by reveals after shocking reveals.

But when I watched this scene for the first time:

Yeah. That soft look by the glow of the campfire that can melt hearts. That's when I thought 'Hey wait- these two actually go well together...'

But it wasn't until when I re-watched the whole show a year later that I noticed all the subtle hints and started hardcore shipping them. I saw season 4 as it aired as an anime-only and screamed at the telepathy scene. And then I read the manga and SCREAMED at the sheer amount of fanfic-like LH content yet to be adapted. And a few chapters later, I cried buckets of tears.

Levihan is extremely precious to me and I'm so thankful for these amazingly selfless, mature, and wonderful duo. The fact that the love I have for this ship has brought me into this wholesome community has just reinforced it even more. Once I started shipping them, I never looked back.

No regrets.

#asks #thank you for letting me ramble about #levihan #also im gonna go dig up an ice-cube #levi ackerman #hange zoe

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randomuniverses · 5 years

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RWBY Volume 6 Crew Commentary Notes!

I just got the Volume 6 Blu Ray and I'm going to be watching the crew's commentary! Kerry was talking with a few others as well as Miles after chapter 1. I wrote what I found interesting or important:

Chapter 1:

They took out the blood at the White Fang Headquarters but had to add it back in later

The train station was the first new set of the season

They used Houdini for crowd shots this season

Showing what's in the bag RWBY got for Yang is planned for next season

On each boba cup lid (from the food in the background of the train station scene) has the RWBY chibi characters

Originally they planned Ilia to wear a kimono. Also a hint to seeing her again!

Kerry's mom wants him (Neptune) to be in the show more

The whole train set is a circle track

The Grimm manticore design was from an artist from the RWBY subreddit! Kerry saw it and he loved it and he contacted her to hire her.

There was an inside joke for the audio team where Dee dies it sounds like the track says "Oh Dee..."

Dee and Dudley barely graduated from their academy

There was originally going to be a closer shot of Salem in the OP but they wanted to keep the mystery about who she was

Chapter 2:

They put in some lines from the house (what Nora says) that were a response to the criticism from Volume 5 about them staying there too long

Nora was originally going to tell Blake everything she needed to know with some whiteboards on the train, but they decided to just show the house where things are explained

The footsteps in the snow were made using nulls in After Effects. They explain the process which is pretty interesting.

Oscar struggling was done in mocap

Lil Miss Malachite is an allusion for Little Miss Muffett (duh) and turns out she is the mother of the Malachite Twins

The Malachite Twins went to live in Vale and be bad guys

Jinn's hair is separated/split more than a normal character's. Same with Summer Rose

Chapter 3:

Salem's story one of the first things ever written for RWBY

They really wanted a character's story to revolve around 'happily ever after' then a few steps after that, so Salem was the perfect character for that

Originally the Lost Fable was chapter 3 and 4, but they combined them into one

The whole episode was mocapped in a single weekend

The crew has a Ruby body pillow prototype that's used during mocap

The Gods are inspired from the Gods of Greek Mythology

They want to show more natural wildlife in RWBY, but due to budget constraints it's hard

The video game Brutal Legend inspired the scene where Salem throws herself into the pool of Grimm

Originally the Gods were closer to human size but were scaled up

The story structure for the episode took inspiration from Harry Potter and Game of Thrones

Originally there was going to be more dialogue from the main cast, but they decided against it

They were originally had Salem look like her current form (well coloring wise), but decided to remove the red veins she has so she looked less spooky

The toy dog one of the children has is a Wizard of Oz reference

Jinn was meant to be an objective outside observer but also a storyteller

The children for one of Oz's reincarnations have silver eyes (confirmed)

Chapter 4:

They were excited to explore Qrow's alcoholism past it just being a joke

Hazel is the most compassionate of the villains

Salem knows how to manipulate people and has different methods for motivations for each of her lieutenants

For example she doesn't have to say that many mean things for Tyrian to take it to heart because he is so loyal

She also knows just how fearful Emerald is of her

Chapter 5:

Neo has begun to evolve her semblance, as shown in the fight

Neo wasn't originally planned to be in this Volume, but was decided when they thought of what they could do better to make Cinder's storyline better and for when Cinder gets to Atlas they thought her having a partner was cool

Brunswick Farm was another idea they had since the very beginning

The Apathy fit so well in this volume because the characters are at a low point

Blake doesn't always get the nuances of relationships and makes a misstep (when Yang and Blake talked and she told Yang she would protect her)

Chapter 6:

The Apathy came from an image of a horrifying scarecrow and they came up with the idea of a grimm that wasn't physically formidable. As well as a planet from the movie Serenity where everyone fell to sleep and died, and a short story about depression and not wanting to do anything

The Apathy work through proximity but if they see you their effect gets even worse. But you can get it jolted out of the apathy for a little while if you are startled

The artist that made the Apathy was the same one that made the Manticore

Maria is colorblind, which was evident in the episode when we learn she couldn't tell Ruby's eye color immediately

Seeing the burning Apathy, Qrow realizes that he almost let everyone get killed and now starts to hate himself (his depression changes)

Chapter 7:

Them having a restriction for how long fights could be (because fights are expensive) led to Miles thinking of a fight that had to last 60 seconds (and Tock)

Maria's weapon and use of dust was inspired from the God of War reboot as well as Marvel's Thor

Maria was originally from Volume 5 but they had to take her out because it was hard to balance out all the storylines

Originally Maria was going to have a cat, and Qrow was supposed to find her in his search for Hunstman

The Arc siblings are all a color of the rainbow, with one set of twins. Saphron is orange.

The toy Adrien is playing with is foreshadowing to the plane and the Leviathan

Chapter 8:

Only Cordovin's guards are so goofy (compared to the rest of Atlas guards), and Cordo is considered a nuisance. This was a job they thought she could do well without bothering anyone

Kerry wanted an old lady fight in the show, so he got one

The Old Lady in the Show was something Monty thought of. The boot is the foot of a giant mech. And the giant mech was originally going to be at the end of V2

Butterflies are normally not out in the winter but this is Remnant ;)

Chapter 9:

Miles likes to think of Tyrian as one of the most insightful villains. He is really good at observing people and knows how to take them apart mentally and physically

This is where they said this is the first time we see Mercury and Emerald being vulnerable to each other (I didn’t include this earlier, sorry!)

They say they’ll never confirm who the Red Haired Woman is, but they said use your brains lol

Looking up at Pyrrha and seeing the airship fly by made Jaune think of the idea to steal one

Chapter 10:

Adrian's crying is not a semblance, that's just comedy

They pitched Jaune's voice down when he says "Roger" so he can sound more serious

Originally there was going to be another episode (episode 14t) where we would see Atlas and Mantle. But they didn't want to end on that because it would require a ton of new assets because of the buildings and the people wearing different clothes

The next season will start with a bang

The Iron Giant was a reference for the mech

Chapter 11:

The mech fight was the most effects-heavy of the fights this season

Blake has always had the scar on her body since the new outfit, but it has been hard to see until her jacket comes off

Yang hitting Adam with her bike was thought of early on in the scripting process

Chapter 12:

A lot of talk about how the animations were made and such

This season had a core fight team that animated all the fights

The way Adam dies is apparently similar to how something in Nier: Automata plays out. Kerry has only played an hour of the game so he did not know that was a thing

But Nier: Automata was actually referenced for the mech fight (the mechanics of how the fight would work) since a robot was involved in the first boss fight.

Shots from the Adam and Yang fight were similar to those from Naurto, but that was also a coincidence

They called the Leviathan Levi in the script because it was easier to type

Chapter 13:

They considered Adrian being a very young baby, but later changed him to be a toddler

Gurren Laggan was another reference used for this part (haven't seen that anime but it was referenced when the mech drills the Leviathan)

They really wanted to make sure we could hear liquid in Qrow's flask

Salem is no longer willing to confine herself to a room, and is going to start being more active by creating her army of minions

#rwby #rwby v6 #directors commentary #crew commentary #ruby rose #yang #blake #weiss #oscar #qrow #maria

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duhragonball · 6 years

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Dragon Ball Z 024

Master Roshi comforts Bulma by reminding her that Yamcha can be wished back to life, and then he cops a feel. Master Roshi belongs in jail.

Also, we’re a long way from wishing anybody back to life at the rate things are going. The gang just used the Dragon Balls yesterday to wish back Goku, so it’ll be another year before Yamcha can come back. And if Piccolo gets killed, well...

Krillin angrily demands to fight next, and he threatens to kill all the Saibamen at once, because that’s what Yamcha wanted to do before he died. The difference is that Krillin has a technique to make that happen. He fires a slow-moving ki blast at the enemy party...

Then he swings it up into the air and makes it separate into multiple blasts that target all four Saibamen and the Saiyans.

It’s a great attack, but it’s only half-effective. Three Saibamen are killed instantly, while the four escapes by hiding in a hole. After the smoke clears, it jumps out and tries to attack Gohan, but Piccolo catches it and destroys it with a blast of his own.

So yeah, that does it for the Saibamen. Chiaotzu’s the only one who never got to log any time with ‘em, but if Krillin could destroy three of them in one hit, I think he would have done okay. The takeaway from this is that all of the Z-Fighters have greatly surpassed Raditz in strength. The only way Raditz could beat Yamcha would be to self-destruct, and he doesn’t have the guts for that.

But Vegeta and Nappa are in a whole other league. Krillin’s attach didn’t affect them at all. With no more Saibamen to play with, they intend to attack on their own.

So yeah, I always thought Krillin’s attack here was kind of a bad call. None of the Z-Fighters were happy with the idea of fighting the Saibamen one at a time. Krillin himself suggested that it would be a good way to buy time for Goku’s arrival, but instead he lost his cool and creamed all of them.

What they really should have done was to drag out those one-on-one battles for as long as possible. The Saiyans had already underestimated them, so if they saw Tien hot-dogging it for twenty minutes, they probably wouldn’t question it. Every second would bring Goku that much closer to the battlefield.

Of course, the Saiyans might have lost patience with the one-on-one fights and put a stop to it, but then the Z-Fighters would be no worse off than they are now. The difference would be that they’d still have Yamcha on deck when it came time to fight Nappa.

Nappa asks for permission to take them all out by himself, and Vegeta grants it, but he orders him to keep Piccolo alive, so they can question him about the Dragon Balls. That’s pretty much the only ground rule to this fight.

Nappa goes after Krillin first, then Piccolo tries to jump in between them, and he eats a kick for his trouble.

Then Nappa starts powering up.

The ground shakes and little rocks fly up into the air, and everyone has trouble keeping their footing. I’m not sure what Chiaotzu’s problem is exactly, but he’s having one.

Yellow lightning starts crackling around Nappa. “Is he turning Super Saiyan?” asks some dumbass fan-theorist on YouTube.

Then more lightning comes down from the sky and strikes the other lightning on his body and makes more lightning. “No, but what if he unwittingly figured out how to go Super Saiyan 2, and he got killed before anyone knew what he had tapped into?” asks some dork on GameFaqs.

I still don’t understand what Chiaotzu’s trying to do here. Is he just trying to float in midair without getting shoved away?

Nappa zaps him with a mouth blast real quick, as if Chiaotzu’s efforts were a distraction for him. He’s still got a lot of powering up to do. “Heyyyyyy what’s up, YouTube? This is xxGiotrishku9874xx, and today I want to talk about, well it’s more of a ‘what if’ kind of thing, but you know I was watching DBZ the other day and I was thinking... You know it took Nappa a really long time to power up here, almost like he was going Super Saiyan 3, and before you send me a bunch of messages. Like ‘What’s wrong with you, xxGiotrishku9874xx? Nappa can’t turn Super Saiyan 3.’ Listen, I know, but hear me out. I was thinking, okay, so we know that there’s twelve universes, right? And Zamasu had the time rings, okay? Now they’re not meant to be used to go back in time, but it’s possible that he might have made a wish on the Super Dragon Balls, and hypnotized Nappa with knowledge of how to use the Super Saiyan 3 technique. And so when Nappa powers up here, he may have been unconsciously tapping into that hidden knowledge, and that’s why it took so long for him to get powered up for this fight. And that’s why Vegeta kills him later, because he could sense Nappa almost surpassing him. Now I know Vegeta couldn’t sense ki yet, but hear me out. I can see the comments now. ‘xxGiotrishku9874xx, WTF? Vegeta couldn’t sense ki back then lol.’ Well, that’s my other theory...”

Then Nappa gets a yellow aura, but his eyebrows and mustache are still black. Could he be a Super Saiyan 4 in this scene? Being bald, you really can’t tell.

At last he charges into action. Tien tries to block his attack with his left arm. This turns out to be a huge mistake.

Tien’s arm glows red hot and now it’s got lightning on it. Oh, and it has a red aura. “Did Tien’s arm become a Super Saiyan God?,” asks Tien’s arm. “I know I’m not a Saiyan, and that arms aren’t supposed to be able to think or ask questions, but in this brief instant I am in so much pain that I have somehow become self-aware. Why does the universe hate me so? Please, someone make it stop.”

Then Nappa just punches Tien’s arm and it breaks clean off. For my money, this is the most brutal attack in all of Dragon Ball. It makes absolutely no sense. This isn’t a broken bone, Tien’s forearm just snaps off like he’s made out of hard candy. It’s practically indescribable. No one has any idea what this would feel like, because it makes no friggin’ sense.

Tien doesn’t even know what this feels like because he’s in so much pain that he has no idea what’s happening. His hand just floats away like a dream. There’s blood coming out of it, but only for a moment.

Why is it glowing yellow? Tien’s in shock right now, so he has no idea what’s going on.

Vegeta just mocks him for being fragile. Keep that in mind for a second.

Astonishingly, Tien still tries to put up a fight, because let’s face it, what else can he do? He can’t pass out from the pain, because he’s in too much pain for that, and it’s not like Nappa’s going to stand there and wait for him.

Nappa does some sort of ballet-kick-thing to Tien’s head. Now, somehow Tien’s head doesn’t snap off like his neck is made of glass, so I don’t know if Nappa was holding back, or if Tien spent the whole year training his neck.

And here’s the punchline: Tien’s still alive. Nappa remarks on how tough Tien must be to survive all of that. This is our first peek into just how much stronger Vegeta is than Nappa. Nappa’s demolishing Tien before our very eyes, but he admits that Tien’s “one tough bastard” for taking this much punishment. But Vegeta’s not impressed at all. As far as he’s concerned, anyone who gets hurt fighting Nappa is “fragile.”

Krillin tries to run to Tien’s aide, but Nappa gouges out a piece of the ground with a ki blast just to make a point.

But while he’s doing that, Chiaotzu gets close and grabs onto his back. Nappa’s so big and Chiaotzu is so little that he can’t reach the guy, so he has to start smashing himself back-first into rocks to try to shake him loose.

This is some brtual stuff right here. Chiaotzu’s taking a beating like this, and he’s not even fighting Nappa head on, he’s just trying to give Tien a breather, really.

Gohan can’t stand to watch, but Piccolo tells him to turn and look, because “This is what fighting is.” That’s harsh, but it’s true.

As it turns out, Chiaotzu’s plan is to blow himself up. He telepathically says his goodbyes to Tien, who begs him to stop, but he’s made his choices.

Nappa seems to know something is up, although he doesn’t seem to fullly realize it. He’s still trying to get the little guy off his back by slamming himself into rock formations. Did Nappa briefly turn Super Saiyan Blue in this scene?

And then Chiaotzu blows up. Tien can do nothing but watch.

I have to say, Hirotaka Suzuoki really captures Tien’s anguish at watching his best friend die. He just sounds awful here. This hurts Tien in a way his wounded arm never could. Right now, he’s not even feeling it.

Also, this is one of the rare moments when Tien’s third eye is closed. I never know if this is a continuity error or if there really is supposed to be some rule for when Tien’s third eye would be shut.

Piccolo, for one, is impressed. Chiaotzu has earned his respect today.

But impressing Piccolo is about all Chiaotzu accomplished, because Nappa isn’t hurt at all. Whoops.

So, did Nappa briefly learn Ultra Instinct when he avoided that explosion? In this essay I will

#dragon ball #2019dbliveblog #nappa #chiaotzu #piccolo #gohan #krillin #saibamen #vegeta #master roshi #bulma #dragon ball z #saiyans saga

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lokgifsandmusings · 7 years

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Definitive Ranking of Book 4 Episodes, #1/13

1. 4x02 Korra Alone

Non-linear all around perfect episode that explores Korra’s struggles with PTSD and I can’t even be funny about this. Oh and Toph.

This is a post that’s taken me some time to write, because addressing the perfection of this particular episode is a daunting task. I mean it. It’s not just the best episode of Book 4, it’s the best episode of the franchise. The most daring as well.

For a little bit of context, there’s an incredibly popular episode from Avatar: the Last Airbender called “Zuko Alone.” It picks up after he leaves Iroh in “Avatar Day,” because his uncle kind of pointed out that the hunt for the Avatar might be a tad on the futile side. His brain can’t reconcile this, so the episode instead shows him trying to blindly stick to this task, while feeling as though he has no place in the world, and being rejected by anyone who finds out who he really is. He struggles with inner darkness, inner pain, and the whole time his story is punctuated by flashbacks of his relationship to his sister, his mother’s disappearance, and his father’s ascension to Fire Lord.

I’m not sure I’d call it the high point of ATLA (“Crossroads of Destiny” gets that honor), but it is kind of everything with regards to Zuko, easily one of the strongest characters Bryke have ever written. Also it did a great job of not endorsing his self-destructive tendencies or making excuses for him.

“Korra Alone” was announced (and screened) at the 2014 New York Comic Con, and when Bryke first said the episode title, the audience screamed. Smugly, from the comfort of my couch, I shook my head at the livestream and declared that there was no way this could measure up.

Well, color me dead wrong. I forgot that it was starring Korra, and she not only measures up, she creates a new goddamned reality the world didn’t know it needed.

Just thinking about the episode for first-time viewers, it does exactly what it needs to do. It’s impactful coming off the [mostly] Korra-less “After All These Years” to not just see her, but feel what she’s going through and feel that isolation, even when she’s surrounded by her parents and other loved ones. Though it somewhat takes on the travel+flashbacks format of “Zuko Alone,” even Korra’s present-day plot isn’t strictly sequential—most notably with us learning the real reason she entered the earthbending cage-match, with the flashes moving faster to get her to the swamp. It gives the entire episode a very ungrounded feel, which for the viewer does two things:

You desperately begin to want Korra to connect and be stabilized, because there is an inherent discomfort from the loose form for your brain (not a bad thing...an effective discomfort)

It REALLY gives the impression that time is passing in this episode

The second point is especially striking when you consider the scope. We’ve got in one “plotline” (for lack of a better term): Korra underground fighting, following a ‘dog’, and getting sucked into the swamp where she meets Toph. This alone covers significant ground. Then we have her flashbacks of leaving Republic City, not improving in her home and Senna begging her to go to Katara, Katara’s first healing session, the letters from friends that paint time as passing, Katara’s ‘wiggle your toe’ session, Tenzin visiting, Korra’s narrated letter to Asami while she meditates and trains, her leaving the SWT, her failing to apprehend the thieves, turning from Yue Bay, cutting her hair and donning new clothes, the tree of time scene, then traversing every possible landscape.

HOW WAS THIS ALL IN A 22 MINUTE EPISODE?

Yeah. This is three years, no question about it. It’s visually stunning, but there’s also this extreme sense of loss that the viewer is clued into, and the aimlessness that is heavily felt. Korra’s physical appearance changing was the external manifestation of this, and the symbolism surrounding it was as clear as when Iroh and Zuko did the same nearly 8 years prior. Toph popping out at the end is the one bit of relief, and it *really* shines, especially given her voice actor being perfect and sounding instantly familiar to us (did Philece Sampler just watch hours and hours of Jessie Flower footage or something??).

I can’t see this not landing for someone the first time through, to be perfectly honest. It sets up Korra’s journey for the season, and with her still out of touch from Raava and still away from friends and family, there’s a lot that needs resolving, and that the audience should definitely want to see resolved.

Placing “Korra Alone” in the context of the entire season, and the series at that (or even the franchise) is a different ballgame. Not a worse one, but it certainly means that you can consider this in Korra’s healing arc as a whole.

I’ll fully admit I was not 100% on-board with Dark!Korra being the representation for PTSD at first, even though this is, at the end of the day, a Y7 show that needs to break down these concepts to children. However, it worked within this episode, and given how the whole thing was resolved through mindful meditation (plus how the little bit of metal Korra extracted didn’t end up being a cure-all), I think it justified itself in a general sense.

In the case of “Korra Alone” alone (lol), it worked in a sort of 3rd person omniscient way, to quickly convey Korra reliving this moment and having a ton of anxiety each time it occurred. What had the potential for being a bit of a cheap visual metaphor instead mostly landed, giving us a kind of visceral understanding of that anxiety (and as someone who’s had to explain what that feels like to people who’ve never experienced it, that’s really no easy task).

When it comes to Korra’s healing arc as a whole, I’m going to have to be an asshole and tell you that Gretchen ( @theonewithpurplehair ) and I are planning on writing something about it when she gets back from South Africa. It will be lengthy and emotional and talk about THEMES and how important this is. We do that.

But even in advance of it, I think there’s a point to be made about Bryke choosing to have a healing arc in the first place. They didn’t have to, you know. And for some, especially in light of the indelicately worded “I needed to suffer” quote from the final episode, having two white men use a bisexual indigenous woman to explore a story about recovering from extensive trauma is uncomfortable, which is absolutely a valid tension.

However, something I think @glamourweaver highlighted best back when fandom dialogue was more...heightened, was that like it or not, Korra’s gone through major traumas throughout the show. In Book 1, she lost most of her bending and was so affected there was not-subtle-at-all suicide imagery included. Then Aang’s magic touch fixed her depression! Yay!

In Book 2, she had Raava ripped out of her and lost her (admittedly newfound) connection to her past lives, calling into question her very identity as the Avatar. The whole astral-projection thing she did? That was just Korra’s strength of soul, separate from anything to do with reincarnated powers. So yeah, reconnecting with Raava and becoming the first Avatar of a new spiritual age would totally be healing, but the idea that there’s no trauma she’d need to explore? Book 3 is near and dear to me, but in many ways it almost feels like a new show, complete with not bothering to tap into implications of the first 2 seasons. Whoops!

It’s yeah, not great how much she was put through the wringer when you get down to it. But Bryke are conscientious and tend to fix their mistakes. In a lot of ways, Korra being given PTSD—like...realistic PTSD—and an ensuing healing arc in Book 4 was the direct answer to everything previously glossed over.

The result? To that, I’ll just go ahead and quote @beccatoria’s essay (seriously, read it), because it lays out the meaning so well:

“This brings us to the final part of my argument: forming new meanings. The therapies I have mentioned so far focus on the physiological issues. The brain blows a fuse and can't process what it has experienced, so if you fix the fuse, you fix the processing problem. This still leaves a person who has been through an extremely traumatic event. PTSD almost always presents alongside issues such as depression and can lead to feelings of isolation and guilt. Individuals may either feel emotionally disconnected or emotionally out of control and have often internalised damaging messages as a result of their trauma. There is often a focus on creating new meanings as these memories are re-examined. We see this in Korra's evolving attitude to her own experiences.

Zaheer asserts that her power is limitless. She should never have been able to survive the poison. He offers her an opportunity to recontextualise her survival as evidence of her enormous resilience and strength rather than as a failure because she did not survive unscathed. While she is recovering, Katara tells her about Aang and how he chose to find meaning in his suffering. “What will I find?” Korra wonders. “Won't it be interesting to find out?” Katara asks. The answer comes in her final conversation with Tenzin. Korra chooses to form new meanings for her experiences, and chooses to find a message of compassion and empathy.”

Yes, the landing was not 100% perfect, but the recontextualization of her suffering and subsequent empowerment through that was clear. Korra ended the series hopeful about the future, and more at peace than we had seen her—certainly more at peace than that flailing teenager who was more willing to demand a duel with Amon than admit fear. She had grown and found ways to reconcile what happened into how she wanted to lead her life.

Do you mind if I get personal for three seconds? I have general anxiety, as well as a very specific (and admittedly mild) trauma associated with driving, and though I’ll never equate my experience to Korra’s brutalization (seriously, mine just involves a hangover, a large cup of coffee, pizza, and a bridge), there is something about that terror of being out-of-control I identify with, and it features so strongly in Korra’s arc. I also know what it’s like to want to will something away and fight against everything that’s happening. Why can’t my stupid brain just STOP?

But the thing is, like beccatoria said, it’s about contextualizing it. Anxiety never goes away, and it certainly can’t be willed out of the forefront. But you can choose to look at things with a new point of view. To be able to sit with a feeling and recognize what it is, even if it’s massively uncomfortable or puts your body in flight-or-fright mode. Personally, I’ve come to look at my anxiety/intrusive thoughts as a very badly behaved cat. The cat is weirdly trying to protect me, and truly thinks this is what will help keep me safe, but well...it’s an idiot:

Still, it’s *my* idiot, damnit, and now when I drive, I can just picture her in the passenger seat chewing on the emergency brake. She’s also the survival mechanism my brain came up with to shield me from more chaotic forces in my life, and that’s kind of neato, when you get down to it.

*Kind of*, okay? (I still need to replace this chair, though Trystane Nymeros has done more damage to it with his many toes).

The point is, Korra’s story is powerful and salubrious because she just...goes through hell and back, she really does. But she not only finds meaning in it, she finds positivity and hope. She is at her MOST secure when she flings herself in front of that spirit gun, and then talks down the season antagonist with a few words. It’s uplifting, without pulling *any* punches on how ugly and terrifying and isolating PTSD can be.

There were punches thrown outside of “Korra Alone” too, but that was the episode that waded in most deeply, and somehow did it in an appropriate fashion for a Y7 show. I can’t sing its praises enough, truly.

Having laid this all out, it seems almost trite to mention the Korrasami aspects of the episode. It didn’t escape the fandom that Korra telling Tonraq and Senna she wanted to go back home read like a coming out conversation, and the “Dear Asami” sequence is without question the most stunning of the episode. Though @queertoonqueertoons lays out why there’s other reasons for that as well. But like, what can be said? Korra lets herself be vulnerable around Asami in a way she won’t with others, and Asami asks for very little in return. It was a nice, continuing thread, but it never became a focal point of the episode, or the series, so shame on me if I buck the trend.

I can give overall thoughts on Book 4 when I pull together the final post for this ranking, but like Korra, I think I’m ending on a pensive and positive note. “Korra Alone” will do that for you, even though it may be the darkest episode of the franchise. What a masterpiece.

#13: 4x08 “Remembrances”

#12: 4x11 “Kuvira’s Gambit”

#11: 4x09 “Beyond the Wilds”

#10: 4x07 “Reunion”

#9: 4x06 The “Battle of Zaofu”

#8. 4x12 “Day of Colossus”

#7 4x01 “After All These Years”

#6 4x03 “The Coronation”

#5 4x04 “The Calling”

#4 4x05 “Enemy at the Gates”

#3 4x10 “Operation Beifong”

#2 4x13 “The Last Stand”

Book 2 ranking/essays found here

#korra #lok #lok meta #korra alone #book 4 ranking #meta #korra 4x02

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