#earth empire korra

[original-sheepsandwich90]

[19panophobia16]

Go on Kyalin writers. Do your thing.

[wilcze-kudly]

While mostly find Kuvira a relatively straightforward character, I do love how the theme of rejection is just so ingrained into her character.

Of course we have Kuvira herself experiencing what many would call the cruellest rejection possible, being literally given away by her own biological parents.

Kuvira: [She angrily turns her head toward Korra as the shot cuts to a wide view.] Don't pretend you know what it felt like! [Wildly, waving her free arm.] The Avatar is adored by millions! I was cast aside by my own parents like I meant nothing to them.

We also see that, while Kuvira is invited with a lot of love by Su, who clearly is open to taking Kuvira into her family, Kuvira clearly didn't feel like part of the family. It isn't exactly concrete why this is the case. We can be certain that Opal, who was most likely working through her own issues surrounding not being a bender and feeling that Suyin is replacing her.

I know it's very easy to theorise that Kuvira was somehow isolated and ostracised from the Beifongs and while I can see this being the case, I haven't seen many people talk about just how avoidant Kuvira herself is.

I mean, Kuvira was horrifically rejected by the people she was meant to unconditionally trust and rely on. As a child who doesn't exactly understand why this is happening to her and that it wouldn't happen again, what better way to defend yourself if you reject them before they can reject you.

I think Bolin hit the nail on the head here. (When will we get a Bolin Kuvira argument i need it in my life)

Kuvira fears rejection. She struggles to form proper relationships, even her one intimate relationship with Baatar Jr had a certain amount of.... padding? If you know what I mean.

I don't doubt that Kuvira had a lot of affection for Baatar. I just think that she still kept a healthy dose of diatance in her relationship with him.

Her relationship with Baatar Jr is actually really fun. It sort of mirrors Kuvira's own childhood disillusionment with relationships.

Baatar also suffers a brutal rejection from someone. Kuvira, the woman he loved, and to some extent, for whom he abandoned all previous relationships tries to kill him. Directly after he pours his heart out to her and and restates his love for her. And now it's him isolating himself, particularly from Kuvira, even when she does try to reach out. (I do giggle at how much Kuvira gets consistently swerved in the comics)

The parasocial relationship Kuvira fosters with her Empire is also worth taking into consideration. Kuvira obviously is projecting her own childhood trauma onto the entire damn country which is my fave part of her character because who does that lol.

I've mentioned this in my comparison of the Earth Empire and Russia in the throes of Stalinism but I wouldn't be surprised if Kuvira cultivating a cult of personality to bolster her leadership is also her attempting to build connections that she deems "safe".

She holds the power in these relationships, she's basically a celebrity and if someone does step out of line, they are betraying not Kuvira, but the Nation. Postulating herself as an untouchable emperess also, once again, allows her a certain level of distance from others.

I'm not sure if Kuvira is aware she's perpetuating her own loneliness. I wanna say yes, because when she is alone, she acknowledges to herself that Suyin indeed was there for her and that she can rely on her. But she's so good at manipulating and gaslighting that she may have tricked herself fully into believing she's the victim, like she had with her warcrimes at the beginning of RotE.

All in all, I think Kuvira is a very interesting character if not one that is simply putting an slightly new spin on tried and true tropes. I will say I find it quite odd how many people take what she says without a second thought when she clearly has a vested interest in lying, but she is very charismatic and fun to analyse lol.

[loklove48]

Just a quick messy Suvira

[happy-yetstrange-collector]

Book 4

[hotpinkrathian]

ok so this has been in my head for days now and i hope it’s not too much of a spoiler for a united front.

i was thinking about when kya was bloodbending to save lin and su (and i might’ve accidentally missed it) but i don’t think it was a full moon? i know it was raining during lin and jia yi’s fight and that waterbenders get a little power boost during the rain but still. kya is literally so powerful and i love it

Spoiler Warning For A United Front

Hi, I have been waiting to hear from you in my inbox : )

In the final fight I purposely didn't draw attention to the moon because, and I explained this briefly in response to a comment on AO3, it wasn't about Kya. It wasn't about her power, but rather the effect her betrayal had on Lin. Earlier in the story Lin's internal monolog explains how she understands firebending forms better than she does air or water, because its fueled by anger and emotion. The struggles she faces throughout the story culminate into her final display of strength, a display that is catalyzed by Kya's betrayal.

Now, as for what I would say the moon phase was.... waning gibbous. Because the waning gibbous goes into the full moon, but it itself isn't full. So it could be said that this near-full moon, and the rain contributed to Kya's power but... to be honest, Kya is just that girl. She can bloodbend no matter the state of the sky.

I thought it helped paralell Kya to Amon, and make Lin see her worst enemy in "a new light" if that makes sense. Additionally, I kind of drew from ATLA in this respect: Lin loves Kya more than she fears bloodbending, and for someone who has forgotten how to love, that's a pretty big deal.

So yeah, the moon isn't full, and if they weren't so busy trying to stay alive, someone would have absolutely mentioned it, or marveled at it. Its a detail that made Kya all that more desireable to the United Front. They remember how Amon nearly destroyed the Avatar, and the idea was that these "combined" forces would be enough to take the Earth Empire once and for all.

I appreciate the ask, and the spoiler warning in the ask : ) I'm so happy you have given me an opportunity to talk about my writing it means the world to me!

[knightofthenewrepublic]

[hai-kazumadesu]

Kuvira commission!!

Artist: Wolfbird art (facebook) and wolfbirdie (toyhouse)

[tamras-shieldmaiden]

Kuvira and the re-education camps

First, since I’ll be using these terms, let me first provide the definitions.

A Watsonian perspective tries to interpret the text from the standpoint of the text. This is sometimes called an in-universe perspective.

A Doylist perspective stands outside the text, and is sometimes called a real-world perspective. Things that happen in canon happen because of decisions made by the author or the Powers that Be (TPTB); inconsistencies are probably authorial error. These explanations will sometimes be written right into the canon.

Okay, so my theory goes as follows:

In Ruins of the Empire, Vol 3, Kuvira said the following to the court:

“And though I wasn’t fully aware of everything going on in the re-education camps, I should have been.”

I personally believe the creators realized that they had gone too far in giving Kuvira all the Build Your Own Dictator 101 attributes as if they compiled a list and ticked on all the boxes including the always favorite concentration camps/gulags, etc. So when the moment came to redeem a character that had apparently knowingly greenlit on such atrocities (because I also believe they intended Kuvira to be redeemed eventually by certain choices they made on B4 to always keep her sympathetic), they realized the uphill battle they faced if that thorny issue was overlooked. So they went and fixed the conundrum by writing themselves out of the corner they had trapped themselves into in the comics. So this is my Doylist interpretation. However, there are enough elements in canon to grant a Watsonian interpretation which is the one that follows.

My in-universe interpretation is based on a couple of things. In S3, we saw how the Dai Li rounded up the airbenders on forced conscription in order to build airbending corps. Who’s not to say they hadn’t done the same with waterbenders and firebenders? The Dai Li is well known to work under secrecy so these things weren’t probably known by the majority of the people so, leading me to think that what came to be known as the reeducation camps had their origin in these secret camps. Besides, the Queen was very vocal about what she believed was an illegal land grab of Earth Kingdom territory concocted by King Kuei, Aang, and Firelord Zuko to create the United Republic so it’s likely that both the Dai Li as well as several people in key positions of the government and the military held a similar line of thought. I’ve already posited that although the Ba Sing Se branch of the Dai Li was obliterated by the Red Lotus, some members remained at large and when Kuvira was given the authority to lead the country and manage its resources, she had to deal with the power of the Dai Li and had no other choice but to reach a compromise in order to avoid having them as enemies of her efforts. I’m sure she had heard nasty stories about the camps as well as everyone else (including flaming hypocrite Varrick because a guy who can orchestrate a civil war knows quite well how to obtain intel) but decided to willfully ignore it, believing her influence to be far-reaching enough to allow for reforms in said camps, but as we later found out, our girl was wrong, very wrong. So, what we see in ROTE is the truth. A mixture of naivete and arrogance, along with a corrupt institution that preceded her tenure, ending up with one of the most tragic chapters of the Earth Empire.

[depresseddepot]

finally FINALLY finished watching the legend of korra. it only took me LITERALLY ten years

[earth-empire-updates]

sorry for not posting for so long, i was temporarily banned from the earth empire

[original-sheepsandwich90]

[hadesisqueer]

Korra's relationships with world leaders are so funny like:

-Korra has had falling outs with her father, the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. Not that serious but hey.

-Korra has argued (several times) with Tenzin, leader of the Air Nation and one of the former councilmen of Republic City. Again not that serious but hey.

-Korra literally argued with and fought and was bloodbent Tarrlok, another councilman of Republic City.

-Korra fought (and kind of killed) her uncle Unalaq, the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe. She also fought her cousins Eska and Desna, the current Chiefs.

-Korra's relationship with Raiko —president of the United Republic— was so good (sarcastic) that they both argued and yelled at each other in public and he banished her from Republic City for the entirety of Book 3. At least she gets along with Zhu Li now.

-Korra got along so well with the Earth Queen (also sarcastic) that she yelled at her, organized a prison break and ended up being a fugitive in the Earth Kingdom. At least she's chill with Wu.

-Korra fought Kuvira —who was also leader of the Earth Kingdom/Empire/whatever—. Twice.

Basically, the only nation that hasn't had a leader with whom Korra hasn't had any beef with (serious or unserious)... is the Fire Nation. She's yelled at, argued with or physically fought any kind of leader from all nations except the Fire Lord. Which is a big contrast with Aang lmao.

[wilcze-kudly]

Sure we can rag on Bolin for not realising he joined the Earth Kingdom equivalent of the Nazi party and call him an idiot for it (deserved) but honestly I can't really fault him for it?

Like the ostrich effect is a thing and we are watching it in full effect here. We've seen that Bolin is a character that deals very poorly with conflict. Like it's super obvious he'd avoid standing up to Kuvira as much as he could.

One of Bolin's biggest hurdles as a character is that he is looking for a purpose, the rest of team Avatar having 'found themselves'. So it's not out of character for him to join Kuvira.

I feel like he's also compensating for the loss of Korra, who was in recovery at the time by following Kuvira.

It's very obvious that Korra had a huge impact on Bolin's life, as she did with all of Team Avatar. But Bolin had definetly attached himself very strongly to her. He's been following Mako around his entire life, been a follower for most of his life. And then his first real friendship outside of family follows a similar pattern.

Korra is like the perfect character for Bolin to project his weird codependency thing onto. She's an effortless leader, very forceful, decisive and straightforward. Someone who he can easily listen to and carve out a path he can follow. And following the Avatar around allows him to do something worthwile and good. To actually help. With the added benefit that it gets him people's approval, something he so clearly desperately needs and craves.

Then Korra becomes so injured that she has to be placed in physical therapy for an indeterminate ampunt of time.

So Bolin projects that need and codependency on someone else. Kuvira. In his argument with Mako he states it clear as day: 'I mean, Kuvira is basically just like Korra. She might seem hard to deal with, but just because she's so passionate and believes in what she's doing.'

He gets to continue doing good and making people like him while under very clear orders he can follow.

I mean, this boy is traumatised. Clearly, Mako took the brunt of the horrors of their childhood, but it would be incredibly stupid to say that Bolin isn't fucked up as well. Clearly in a different way but fucked up nonetheless. I think this codependency thing is something both brothers benefitted from as kids but that's a conversation for another day.

And the events of the first three books are also traumatic?

Like he's just been part of a civil war/end of the world so excuse him for hoping to catch a break. I will once again refer you to the ostrich effect. Another war breaking out is probably like worst case scenario in his mind.

I feel like for him, if he opens his eyes to what Kuvira is doing is accepting that there is once again a 'big conflict' in his life. And that his loved ones are once again in danger. And worse, that he's contributed to it.

I can also see it all being a case of 'well ive waded neck deep into this swamp, now i gotta see this through'. Like he's sunk so much time and energy into this cause, it can't be all wrong, right?

Sure, ego is probably a big part of his behaviour. Everyone is telling him that Kuvira is bad and that automatically puts up the defences. Bit I can see how these warnings feel like a direct personal attack at Bolin himself. He was also incredibly isolated from most of his friends when serving Kuvira. Other than Zhu Li and Varrick, who aren't exactly peers.

So he's lonely on a train most of his time and when he does reuinte with his loved ones they start criticising his life choices . I can see him getting defensive and automatically resistant to critisism.

And Kuvira is also shown to be very good at emotuonal manipulation and threats and stuff. And Bolin, a chronic people pleaser whith a lot of trauma is, like, the perfect victim for those shenanigans. Bolin is canonically bad at reading situations that are detrimental to him (look at the entirety of his relationship with Eska)

You know, sure, he's an idiot for staying with her as long as he did. But it's not as black and white as a lot of people make it out to be?

[badgermolebender]

I am a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of buddy comedies. And there are some fantastic fan works. And I have my own world of headcanon and thoughts. And one doesn’t even have to squint to see the subtext in Ruins of Empire. But what I love so much about Wuko is how well it works within canon and how well Wu and Mako actually fit together. Their character arcs and motivations blend together so well and they influence and care for each other in a way that I just think is really lovely.

Because Mako’s influence on Wu is fairly obvious and stated in the show. He’s there to help bring Wu down to earth and help him be ready to take over the Earth Kingdom. He’s the first person to treat Wu as a person and not royalty or fame and really makes him question his beliefs and values. And Wu relies so heavily on Mako in Book 4 and is so explicit in his affections.

But Wu is also so good for Mako and really compatible with his characteristics and arcs. Arguably the most important, or at least most obvious, character trait of Mako’s is Mako as protector. He raised Bolin and kept him alive on the streets. He joined a gang to protect Bolin. He did probending to have money to protect Bolin. His main motivation throughout the show is to protect the people he loves, the city he loves, and the rest of the world — in that order. I think his need to protect is one of the big things that led to the downfall of his relationships with Korra and Asami. For him, caring for and loving someone means protecting them — in a way that Korra and Asami did not need. But if you pair him with Wu, who not only needs but also wants this protection, then he’s not going to be in a place where he’s constantly undermining the independence and ability of his partner.

But even beyond that, Wu is a really good partner for Mako. Korra (and Asami to a lesser extent) showed care for Mako the same way Mako did for her, and in consequence they undermined and undervalued each other. But Wu takes care of Mako in a different way than Mako takes care of him. Forcing him to relax with smoothie breaks and encouraging him to talk and (and I can’t emphasize this enough) listening to his advice and opinions. Wu lets Mako give him advice and actually listens to his thoughts, something that Korra just didn’t do when they dated (not Korra slander — Book 2 was a lot). So even while Wu clings and plays damsel in distress, he lets Mako be more than his role as protector, without demanding that he abandon that core part of his identity.

And I just think that’s really neat. There aren’t many other non-canon ships that I think are so compatible within canon. Even with how underdeveloped Wu’s character is in Book 4, I think their characters work unbelievably well together. They just fit and lift each other up.

[beifongswh0re]

im thinking angsty Kuvira thoughts

some of it is canon, some is not

Since Vira became a big character in my fic, ive been thinking about her a lot and her story is already sad but my brain makes it even worse.

So I feel like all Kuvira wanted from Suyin was to be loved by her, just like she saw her love the rest of her children. She started creating the Earth Empire only to try to prove to her that she could do something meaningfull. She got eaten up by all that power in the end but at the same time, she felt she wouldn't do well enough if she didn't finish "uniting" the Earth Kingdom.

Because nobody ever made Kuvira feel like she was good enough.

Suyin's kids didn't consider her their sister;

Su didn't quite treat her like her daughter;

Toph took some interest with her when she saw her being a talented bender but at some point just dissapeared;

Her parents just left her in Zaofu and she never heard from them again;

Just think about how traumatized she was. She wanted a family, parents, somebody to take care of her when she wad a child but nobody did that. What proves it more is the fact that she got with Baatar Jr. Like, IF THEY CONSIDERED EACH OTHER SIBLINGS THAT WOULD NOT HAPPEN (im still angry at bryke that it happened, tho)

And then, Korra gave her a chance to redeem herself, to prove she only wanted to do good. Even then she was the type to get to the goal no matter what but Suyin kept her from doing stupid shit that would have bad concequences later. She also listened to Su pretty easily, she still trusted her after all that happened. She was so happy when Suyin offered to take her back home, too.

I think that being in Zaofu would still be hard for her. She'd train with Wing and Wei, spend some time with Baatar Sr. but it wouldn't be enough. It still wouldn't feel like home because her relationship with the Beifong family was still fucked up.

The guilt kept eating at her because she almost killed them all yet they still managed to be kind to her. Not to mention that if she hurt Wing or Wei by accident she'd go into full panic mode because she was afraid to hurt any one of them ever again.

Idk, she's a really sad character and I can't keep my mind off of it.