#this story was written for the star wars big bang but my artist unfortunately had to drop out so i pulled out as well

[celinamarniss]

Echo, Revenant, Targeter, Phoenix

Daughter, sister, handmaiden, spy. Winter Retrac, after Alderaan.

Chapter one.

I am Winter Retrac, of the House of Organa. I was stationed on Bovis VI when Alderaan was destroyed. If any members of the House of Organa survived, come find me. 

Find me. Find me.

[mdhwrites]

I Will Never Be a Hoyocreator Because I Am a Writer

This somewhat a lamentation more than it is even criticism of Hoyo or even myself. It's not even saying that I couldn't potentially care enough about any of their games to do more stories for them. I'd love for people to submit story ideas for Fuqing, Bronseele, Zhuyabi, Guishang, etc. because I have lots and lots of pairings I like and there are just fun elements of their worlds that I could play with if I got pulled just a little harder.

No, it's more that Hoyo has no interest in its writing community from what I can tell. As an example, the GIANT creator competition that had animations, art, comics, etc... Didn't include writing. They did a 3D modeling focused one for Penacony. Still no writing. Hoyofair has no writing component. As far as I know, writers are simply not a part of the official Hoyocreator tag, to the point where one artist I've followed has reminded his fans that they need to show more respect to the fanfic writers of the community.

Unfortunately, it's not surprising. At all. On a lot of levels. It's pretty much all business but different angles. The first is bang for your buck. Currently, very few, if any, social media platforms really incentivize long form writing. They're almost all much more geared towards more visual, immediate forms of creation, to the point that the one that spooked all the others was the one who has like a cap of two minutes? What the fuck is a writer supposed to do with that besides like two paragraphs narrated? For a company like Hoyo who works with these creators, artists, video creators and even singers are simply a better investment for getting people into your games.

Second is just how good is writing as a marketing tool? How many of you read fanfiction of things you don't already know about? Even with official books, how many people's first introduction to Star Wars were its books? Or Halo or Magic, etc.? Written works within a universe are commonly pretty fucking insular and more for those dedicated to the work. You're not going to really use it effectively as an add, unlike this. (And yes, this is a real ad that plays on Youtube for Zenless. That's not me throwing shade, just that I first found it because of it being an ad.)

And if you're going "It doesn't matter if it's a good story," well... Are you calling all of my works bad stories? Because getting someone into a work for an established property they aren't already into is just like trying to get them into an original story and despite a LOT of people loving my fanfiction, it has never translated to mass migration to my original works. That's because without that immediate connection and incentive of it being a world and characters you already know and love, the barrier to say yes is DRASTICALLY higher.

The third big reason is legal. While fancomics can run into this a bit too, most companies just straight up aren't supposed to acknowledge the existence of fanfiction. This is because if one of your writers acknowledges having read something that then happens to line up similarly to something that you actually have happen in your story, you open yourself up to being sued for having stolen the person's idea. It's why game companies don't want you to send them your ideas on a fighting game character or a new Pokemon because suddenly, they can't make something even similar to that without opening themselves up to liability. Writing is the one where this can most easily happen on accident but also have some of the strongest case for those accidents. As such, most companies just stay far away from it.

But... That doesn't really make it sting any less, does it? To know that within your community, you will always be seen as lesser by the very creators of the work you enjoy. That you will never be given the same respect as the creatives who have mediums that are simply better for those companies to work with. I am not trying to even make a war or the like. I LOVE the artist communities for these games. The bops the songwriters put out are fanfuckingtastic. I ADORE that there are some content creators who are helped to make this more of a proper job for themselves because Hoyo is willing to work with their fans like this. I would like it if more companies did stuff like this and they are doing more stuff like this, like how Wizards of the Coast commissioned a good few Youtube singers to make an album of music for them.

I just wish us writers could expect to be able to join in that outside of the exceptionally rare franchise that does bother with books. Paper books though that are probably gotten through the same literary agents that anyone looking for a book to be made goes through. It's not through their communities. If you know of stories otherwise, I'd love to hear it, but until then, see you next tale.

======+++++======

I think the one franchise that I might expect to be surprised about this with would be MtG. I know they'll release books from time to time and it's not impossible those might come from their community. Then again, if it did, The War of the Spark book wouldn't have had so much no homo in it since the writer would have been able to go "People are going to get pissed about this."

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[clarrisani]

Fic Writer Questions

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

67 altogether on Ao3

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

  543,168  on Ao3 alone

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Several. I have written for Beyblade (original series), Yu-Gi-Oh! (original series), Star Wars, Star Trek (both TOS and AOS), Doctor Who, Torchwood, Fullmetal Alchemist, Supernatural, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Most of my Ao3 fics are Supernatural, so here we go

Your Time is Gonna Come  (Dean/Castiel, 43010  words) - This story is based on the song “Hotel California” and was originally meant to be part of a S16 group story project that never happened. Instead of just sitting on the idea I decided to write it. It’s a case!fic, pretend marriage story where Cas and Dean go undercover as a married couple at a hotel where guests are disappearing.

A Sign of Affection    (Dean/Castiel, 2159 words) - This was one of the first Destiel stories I ever wrote and posted to Ao3. It’s just a cute little fluff piece where Sam explains different kiss meanings to Castiel who tries them out on Dean.

Secrets and Chains   (Dean/Sam/Castiel, 42082 words) - I wrote this one for the 2015 Supernatural Kink Big Bang. Never got an artist for it, unfortunately, but I am still proud of this fic. I thought about what the strangest thing the boys could encounter could be, and a hidden sex dungeon and magical flying dildo in the bunker was it.

Unintentional Date    (Dean/Castiel, Sam/Eileen, 4918 words) Written for Valentine’s Day 2021. I needed some more Destiel in my life so I wrote a ‘getting together’ fic where the boys go on an unintentional date after Sam asks Dean to let him and Eileen have the bunker for Valentine’s Day. I really like how it turned out, even if it’s a tad dialogue heavy. It’s pure fluff.

Breathe Trilogy  (Jack/Ianto, various, 85,403 words) - My Torchwood series. The third fic alone has the fifth most kudos of all my Ao3 fics. Each story was written for a challenge on Torchwood Australia back in roughly 2007-2008.  The first story was based on the song “Relax (Take it Easy)” by Mika (I song I still use as my phone ringtone) and the rest went from there.

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Depends on the comment. If they ask a question I generally do respond, yes, but often there is no way to respond. I do wish eternal thanks on everyone who comments on my fics though. I love getting comments and hearing peoples favourite parts of my stories.

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oh man. I did one Beyblade story once where I killed everyone. I mean literally everyone. Because I could. I also have a Doctor Who/Torchwood story where the Doctor writes a letter to Jack after he/she dies for the final time leaving him the TARDIS. That’s more bittersweet than anything.

7) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Most of my fics have happy endings so it’s hard to pick just one. Most of the time the guy gets the guy in the end.

8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I don’t think Doctor Who/Torchwood count as they’re in the same universe, but that’s about the extent of it.

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Oh yes. I’ve had death threats. Let’s just say that the Nick/Greg part of CSI was very hated by a section of the fandom for homophobic reasons. It didn’t help that the Network played into that homophobia.

10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I love writing smut. I may be asexual but I love the reactions I can get out of people. I find the whole concept of smut fascinating. I’ve also dabbled in BDSM in a few of my stories, including my Control (Jensen/Jared/Misha) series. I’ve also written two orgies over the years (one in the aforementioned Control series, and one for Torchwood).

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes and no. Parts of my Torchwood Breathe Trilogy appeared in Doctor Who Series 11 in episodes written by Chris Chibnall, who had formally worked on Torchwood. They were very, very, VERY big coincidences if they didn’t come from my stories. Just some names changed, but the events were extremely similar and happened in three episodes.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes I have. To Russian and Polish. Mostly my Beyblade stories though.

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

A few times. I’ve had both good and bad experiences with co-writing. If you get a good co-writer what you can do is amazing. I even co-wrote with six other people at one point and that was great fun. I’ve also had an experience where the co-writer was self-projecting onto a character hard to the point the character was wildly OOC which ruined the experience. So yes, I’ve co-written and experienced both the best and worst of it.

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

Jack/Ianto will always hold a special place in my heart. After that it’s Dean/Sam/Castiel, and Spock/Bones. I also like Jensen/Misha in RPF.

15) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

It’s a Yu-Gi-Oh series. I wrote the first two parts of a five part series that I never finished. It has always bothered me. Also a Star Wars series I wrote back in late 90s/early 2000s. I got five stories deep. I was always bothered by the fact I couldn’t complete the love triangle of that series because there was a blanket “no homosexuality permitted” rule on the site I was writing for.

16) What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue. I’ve been trained as a script-writer so dialogue comes naturally to me. I love writing conversations between characters.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions. I don’t know why, but I’ve always struggled with them. While dialogue just flows, I always get stuck with descriptions. I’ve had it pointed out that I need to add more to stories to break up the dialogue as my fics are too dialogue heavy. I’m working on it.

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I used to try and do this when I was younger, but now I avoid it unless it is a common saying in that language. Latin, for example, has some sayings in it that I have used. But for the most part yes, I avoid writing in other languages.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Star Wars. It’s where my username comes from in fact. Clarrisani was an original (mary sue) character I wrote when I was 14. I was very much into the Expanded Universe of Star Wars and heavily into the Kyp Durron/Jaina Solo pairing that I wrote many fics for. I even won a couple of fandom awards for my writing at the time which is pretty good for being that young.

20) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I love all of my fan fictions, but the Breathe Trilogy is probably my favourite. I don’t know what it is about it but it just seems to be holding up well with time. It was fun to write and came so easily to me. I was also surrounded by a very supportive fandom at the time before everything went to shit (I blame you RTD with your American Torchwood spinoff!). Plus I adore Jack/Ianto and still buy the little dribs and drabs they give us via the audiobooks. Seriously - “Serenity” by James Moran is an amazing audiobook and I love John Barrowman and Gareth David-Lloyd doing their characters in it.

[evak-fic-rec-turtleanon]

Evak Fics - Soulmates AU

The Soulmates au list. Plus an extra Jokael fic. WIPs are at the end. Under a read more:

***** SOULMATES *****

We can be soulmates by sleepinggiant (SERIES, 2 fics) - After you meet your soulmate, marks that appear on their skin appear on your skin too.

Life is a beautiful thing by skampanda (524 words) - They didn't just survive through life, they lived it. They had so much passion and excitement in their lives. They had each other.

in every universe by queerness (632 words) - The first time your soulmate touches you, a handprint stays there for the rest of your life

Handsome Mystery Boy by waitineedaname (1.3k words) - You need to know your soulmate's name before it can appear on your arm. Coffee shop au.

New Year's Minute by killercatchy (1.5k words) - Alternate universe where you have a timestamp of when you’ll meet your soulmate. The first minute of every year, you spend in your soulmates body.

Show me your true colors by NikiNixie (1.5k words) - A soulmate AU where you have a black stain where your soulmate is supposed to touch you for the first time and it turns into millions of colors once they do.

du er ikke alene by TheGhostOfMe (1.9k words) - soulmate tattoo

you've been scared of love (and what it did to you) by voidskam (1.9k words) - you're born with a specific eye color, but when you meet your soulmate, both your eyes change into a beautiful color that show you have found your soulmate.

In another life, my dear, by HeartbeatsAreMySymphony (2k words) - countdown to when you meet your soulmate appear on your wrist. a twist on the soulmate trope. warning: it's pretty angsty.

spend more time with you by hippopotamus (2.1k words) - isak accidentally freezes time trying to prove even wrong about his ability to reverse it.

seen it all in paper dreams by hippopotamus (2.2k words) - soulmate au where your world turns colourful when you hear your soulmate's voice

When I Kiss Your Soul by jinglebin (2.5k words) - Even's soulmate wasn't who he had expected or hoped it would be. Your soulmate's name appears on your wrist when you think of them. Enemies to lovers.

In This Universe and the Next by bettertoflee (2.5k words) - For the longest time, Isak avoided looking at the name that appeared on his underarm

Real Eyes by SuddenTempest (2.9k words) - au where your right eye is your own natural eye colour but your left is the colour of your soulmate's. It is only once that you meet and recognize your own eye staring back at you that your eyes change to match.

keeping me close to you by alotofphandoms (2.9k words) - Isak and Even are soulmates with shared skin. Any mark made on them shows up on the other.

something lonesome, something so wholesome by hippopotamus (3.2k words) - au where there's a tattoo on your skin that can move around, and when you find your soulmate it can move onto them too. They are animal tattoos!

the threads that bind us by everythingislove (straykid) (3.3k words) - The silver thread appears on his third birthday, tied perfectly around his wrist. He doesn’t remember much about the moment apart from his mother’s tears, and the way his father’s eyes screamed ‘disappointment.’

Of Ocean and Sky by RamblingWithFantasy (3.5k words) - An ancient legend says that the islanders will find their soulmates for the first time on the way back home, someday.

the red thread by thekardemomme (3.5k words) - every time you lie to your soulmate it shows up on their skin. 5+1 things

The clock is ticking by writtenpeach (3.6k words) - A story about how Isak fell into the arms of his soulmate. Countdown to meeting your soulmate.

The Worst Soulmate by kaleidxscope (4.1k words) - Tattoo of the first words you hear from your soulmate. Unfortunately for Isak, his soulmate spoils Star Wars for him.

do right by you by puddingandpie (4.6k words) - an au where you swap bodies with your soulmate

Some of it is transcendental, some of it is just really dumb by r0nj4 (4.9k words) - It’s a place he’s been before, except he knows that it’s not. It’s a rush of endorphins and electricity and bright lights. “Do you think it’s happening?” Jonas asks.

(oh damn) never seen that colour blue by colazitron (4.9k words) - Isak has soulmarks. Lots of them. They are like freckles and they glow.

Shall I Find No Other by ultimatelawrence (5.4k words) - Everyone is born with a compass on their body, inked into their skin and commonly on their inner left arm. Instead of pointing to north, the needle on the compass points in the direction of your true soulmate.

The Imaginative Friend Syndrome by wyoheartsmusic (5.6k words) - Five times Isak and Even communicate in their heads and one time they communicate in person

i always knew by GayaIsANerd (5.7k words) - au where you get dreams of what your soulmate is experiencing.

let's not waste it feeling wrong by prettyisak (6.9k words) - Instead of your soulmate's first words to you written on your skin, it's the last words you ever hear them say, so you don't know who your soulmate is until you lose them. Warning: Angsty. Please read the tags.

flickered in my mind for only you by shadeandadidas (8.2k words) - But even the lonely nights hearing his mom cry for his dad couldn’t stop Isak from tracing the words (looped, like maybe his soul mate was an artist or a writer) etched permanently onto his skin. 

Is This Our Time? by Evakkk (9.9k words) - This is a world where everyone is born with an indistinguishable soulmate mark... it only changes into something recognizable, once you have physical contact with your soulmate, and it's always something meaningful to the relationship. Both partners will bear the same mark. Isak is about to turn 18... and he's the only one in his friend group who still hasn't found their soulmate. But what happens when he goes out one night, gets drunk... and wakes up with his soulmate mark? 

undisclosed desires in your heart by owilde (10k words) - It would be just a massive joke if Isak somehow ended up having a soulmate. He doesn't even want one, not really. It's silly. If Isak wants to date someone, he can find a girlfriend on his own, thank you very much.

our souls aren't strangers by everythingislove (straykid) (10k words) - The six times Isak and Even can't get it together, and the one time they already are. Or a childhood friends and soulmates au

Isak and Even: everything at once by imissedyourskin (10k words) - “yes. I used to see in black and white. Your dad used to see in colour. And then we met each other and we saw everything at once. It made me see colour and made your dad see black and white. That is what happens when you meet your soulmate.”

A Winter Dream by flyingonthewind (11k words) - Set in a world where soulmates are found by the touch of skin, Isak navigates life alone. At least he did until some drunk guy spilled beer all over him on the tram.

Love Is The Drug For Me by mccolfer (12k words) - The soulmate mark system is one that is full of flaws and uncertainty. Sure, most of the time you and your soulmate had each other's names and you'd meet and fall in love and be together forever. But sometimes the marks aren't mutual. Sometimes the name on your wrist is so common that you don't know who your soulmate is. Sometimes you don't fall in love with your soulmate, rather they're just your best friend. It's not always as clear cut as it's supposed to be. 

In this universe, in different times. by Bewa (12.9k words) - When two souls are separated by the Big Bang, they will forever search for the other until they finally are reunited. 

Taraxacum by GayaIsANerd (15k words) - Isak would never say this out loud, but he’s a hopeless romantic. His mother told him stories about the soulbond, how everyone was born with a symbol somewhere on their bodies, linking them to someone else, somewhere in the universe. These symbols were a representation of the soulmates’ souls.

Lost & bound by hjertetssunnegalskap (Crazyheart) (16k words) - Even has been in a bicycle accident and he has lost his memory of the past three years. However, Isak gets a shock when Even tells him that they’re bonded soulmates, and expects them to be a couple.

Trollbundet/Spellbound by Crazyheart (16k words) - A summer fling soulmate AU. Isak has graduated from Nissen and he’s attending Trolsk (Enchanting), an alternative Fair/music festival with his friends. When he meets a guy called Even, they bond. However, Even is reluctant about bonding. Is a summer fling all they will have?

Not the End by nofeartina (16k words) - Sometimes a connection is so powerful that it can bend the fabric of space and time. Or the parallel universe AU where Isak and Even find each other over and over again.

Making shades of purple by rumpelsnorcack (22k words) - The soulmark changes based on the soulmate's emotions. When their left hands touch, the soulmate bond connects.

beautiful people will ruin your life by traumatic (22k words) - au where two people can communicate solely by writing on their skin, Isak and Even are the best of friends until a lie burrows its way between them and nearly rips them apart.

Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking by staylucky (25k words) - The Afterlife is not what Isak Valtersen was expecting. He didn’t think he’d die at 18 years old in the first place. Purgatory’s ‘Apprentice Leader’, Eskild, is a wildcard, Isak's 'Angel Mentor' Noora doesn’t like Isak and he never got to even a kiss boy while he was on Earth. Thank Goodness, while he waits for reincarnation, for Jonas (another’s mentor) who takes Isak under his (literal) wing but most of all for fellow spirit and member of ‘Limbo Land’ Even Bech Naesheim, a beautiful boy with a past of his own. All isn’t what it seems, and Isak has a lot to discover.

Bittersweet Markings by BreeTaylor (26k words) - Isak's soulmate wanted nothing to do with him. Their skin was a shared canvas, but his soulmate seemed to hate every word Isak wrote. Isak's soulmate had a habit of drawing butterflies on his forearms. Isak never really understood what it meant, but when Vilde started showing up to school with them, too, he didn't waste any time in finding out.

You Make My Heart Soar by missmarymakeup93 (32k words) - Soulmates have basically become extinct. But one chance encounter has Isak in a mess of emotions. Especially when magical marks start appearing on his body.

Just your average ordinary everyday Superhero by vorfm95 (34k words) - Isak works for the governament fixing the chaos caused by the Yeti a young superhero who protects the streets of Oslo. The last words he'll hear from his soulmate is engraved on his arm.

we can take the long way home by Treehouse (37k words) - When he gently puts his hand on the right side of his stomach, the skin is burning hot and feels rugged underneath his fingertips, and when he lifts the cover to look he sees a dark patch there, about the size of his palm. He freezes, has to close his eyes for a moment. Surely, it can’t be, not this soon? But when he looks again, he’s sure. He’s gotten a mark. He’s only been eighteen for about a month, haven’t even had the time to start worrying about it yet. 

Colours Speak Louder Than Words by BreeTaylor (39k words) - (9/10 chapters posted) "Colour changes the way we see the world, Isak." Everybody sees the world in greyscale until they meet their soulmate.

For His Love to Flee by wyoheartsmusic (48k words) - in a world where vampires hide, two lost souls find each other. enemies to lovers

(2017/18) tender (is the night) by towonderland72 (kittpurrson) (49k words) - Reuploaded in 2020. His whole body aches, like he’s regrown his limbs overnight, stretched out muscles he never knew he had. Isak knows, in that moment, that his life has just been turned upside down. “You bonded,” Even’s girlfriend confirms, and the pity in her eyes doesn’t go unnoticed. “Try not to move.” The one where Isak and Even accidentally soulbond.

Lost to the Sea by Flatfootmonster (73k words) - Isak doesn't yet know who he is, or who he even want's to be. Even is indebted to the land and living in human form, despite his very nature demanding he return to the sea. Both beings crave belonging and a need to be seen, if only by one other set of eyes.

Burning For Your Touch by cuteandtwisted (221k words) - (16/17 chapters posted) Isak's skin burns anyone that comes into contact with it and therefore cannot be touched. Closed off and extremely manipulative, Isak transfers to Bakka and scares everyone away with his condition. Everyone but Even.

*** BONUS JOKAEL *** because it's cute

Seeing Color by waitineedaname (3.3k words) - He didn't ever expect he'd meet his soulmate in the middle of a fist-fight.

******** WIPs ********

Everything has changed but your eyes by onlydeadsoulscantdance (posted in Feb 2019)

twin reflections of kindred spirits by devonthemenace (last update May 2017)

Hold On (If Love Is The Answer) by silkeborgriver (posted in April 2019)

It Was Always Supposed to Happen Like This by Darwig3 (last update Jan 2017)

Living With the Uncertainty by kitsunechikyu (last update on June 2017) 

The saddest people smile the brightest by vorfm95 (last update in Feb 2019)

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing by i_once_wrote_a_dream (last update in May 2019)

Princes and Stars by CrochetingWords (last update in Oct 2018)

cut off my fingers to touch your smile by bbyfruit (last update in Sept 2018)

These Mountains To Move by verlore_poplap (orphan_account) (last update in Oct 2017)

this world was built for two by twentyonedani (last update in May 2019)

Crystal Dust by Liolny (last update in Feb 2019)

[airspeedprime]

R U going to do a written review on goodreads, if so could you link your profile, would like to read it.

I just did a brief written review through edelweiss, I don’t know if they make them visible, in that I think it was submitting them to the publisher I got the review copy from.

I don’t really enjoy writing written reviews since they are so time consuming and I feel I can get more across through a video/podcast.

Here are the copy and pastes of them in case anyone does want my brief written review thoughts. Keep in mine I purposely did not write as much as I used to for the site when I did written reviews, since most of the early reviews I have seen elsewhere were usually VERY short, I wanted to be detailed, but not write a ton.

Imbalance Part 2 - 8/10

Imbalance Part 2 is definitely an improvement over Part 1, it adds depth to the main bender vs non-bender conflict while also featuring many fun character moments as well as some strong set up moments for the finale in Part 3.

Like Imbalance part 1 it again is a book where there is really nothing to point out as a clear negative, it is a very, very solid book on all counts. It does unfortunately also lack in notable moments, there are only a few truly discussion worthy scenes from this book and the series in general is now 2/3rds of the way through.

We get the return of Suki to the comics after she was oddly not featured in North and South. This makes for a nice moment since she is a fan favourite character and everyone has been waiting for her to team up with Team Avatar again since she is a member. They don’t focus on her a lot once she arrives, but it is always nice to have her around again especially to get some nice relationship moments between her and Sokka.

The main big moment that I am sure will get people talking is a spoiler, and it happens right at the end. I won’t say much, beyond that I think it is a very effective cliffhanger ending that is sure to be a huge plot point in Part 3.

Of the other characters Toph is the one who gets the most spotlight as she seems to start her transition into Chief of Police Toph. She is invested in the plot since her father’s factory was targeted and she is out to find who did it and is of course the perfect one to make it happen with her seismic sense able to sense if people are lying. You can tell that writer Faith Erin Hicks had a lot of fun writing Toph here as there are so many moments that feel like they would fit perfectly in an episode of the animated series.

Surprisingly most of the other main characters don’t get much focus in terms of set up for any sort of character arc, they are all present and helping out with the investigation, but only Toph feels like there is an arc in place that will lead to something going forward, minus the big reveal at the end I mentioned earlier on where Part 3 is sure to bring more characters into focus.

The new characters for this series, our villains Liling, Ru and Yaling do get to shine a bit more here than in part 1 and remain interesting villains even if I still feel we are waiting for their true motivations to be revealed. Again this places a lot of importance on part 3 to finish off this trilogy well, I just hope they have not put too much on the shoulders of part 3 when some reveals could have happened here in part 2, especially when it is not the most eventful book.

So in conclusion while Imbalance suffers a bit due to its plot mainly being there to set up stuff in Korra way down the road, meaning the stakes can only be so high here knowing that bender/non-bender tensions remain a thing all the way up to Korra’s time. Despite this the book still manages to be very high quality in terms of character writing and art, it is definitely an enjoyable read, just let down a bit by not feeling as important as previous books have been and knowing that there is the potential within these comics to tell some very important stories. Myself and many other fans are eagerly awaiting the focus to shift back to Azula who has been a standout character in previous comics.

Despite some misgivings, I still highly recommend any avatar fan to check out this comic since I am sure the steady set up from part and and part 2 here will allow Part 3 to finish Imbalance with a bang.

Ruins of the Empire Part 1 - 9/10

In short this is the Korra comic fans have been waiting for. After “Turf Wars” which was fine, but lacking in many notable moments, “Ruins of the Empire” part 1 was an incredibly enjoyable read. The main thing that stood out to me is that the simple focus of this story on Kuvira instantly adds double the interest and intrigue, she is the star of the show here in a similar way to the Ursa focus from “The Search”, that book has gone down as the most popular Avatar comic and from part 1 “Ruins of the Empire” looks set to immediately jump to the top of the list of Korra comics.

With Kuvira every time she is on a page she draws your attention, what is she thinking? what are her goals? and so many other questions. Part 1 sets up some ideas and gets the reader thinking about how she has changed and the details of her past, in that sense it accomplishes everything the first of 3 books has to do. I am so excited for part 2 and 3 because of the potential for amazing character development.

Commander Guan and Dr Sheng are set up as our villains with Guan taking over what remains of the Earth Empire that Kuvira had ordered to surrender back in Book 4 Balance. The reaction to Guan taking over is what brings Kuvira into the story in a big way beyond just her trial. He seems like a solid antagonist who is clever and won’t be able to be defeated with just some powerful bending. It is early days with it only being part 1, but I think we have a solid villain in play here, he is far more interesting that Tokuga from Turf Wars.

Another improvement over Turf Wars is how many of the other characters are used. Korra and Asami got the spotlight there with very little time for the likes of Mako and Bolin. Ruins of the Empire brings Team Avatar back together, meaning we get a lot of interaction between our main cast in addition to Wu and Zhu Li playing important roles with the Earth Kingdom elections quickly approaching.

Michelle Wong comes in as the new artist replacing Irene Koh who did Turf Wars. Like many have already said, her art is incredible, it feels like the show while still having an identity of its own. Consistent and nice looking, everything you want from comics art.

In conclusion this book is an excellent start to this comic trilogy. It has a great combination of elements that is going to excite many Korra fans, the focus on Kuvira, the earth kingdom elections, incredible art and strong character writing. This is the best Avatar/Korra comic since the end of Smoke and Shadow.