#equalists

[backwards-blackbird]

A well-earned rest. 🚬

[milkydraws8]

continuation of my lok au

[copaganda-clobberfest]

WELCOME

TO THE FIRST ROUND OF THE COPAGANDA CLOBBERFEST!

“You know that trope? That one trope *Everyone* hates? The trope in which a well meaning antagonist to our heroes, one looking out for the good of a certain community, suddenly does something horrible and drastic to make not only them, but the ideology they stand for the most villainous of all?”

NOW IS THE TIME TO BATTLE THEM OUT! Like Ken dolls, fighting for survival! Like your Polly pockets discarded in the closet, we’ll see which of these bitches jumped that slippery slope harder! Whose character did numbers on y’all, and blew up a bunch of grandmas and babies and hospitals with it!

ROUND ONE

HAMA from AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER vs AMON from THE LEGEND OF KORRA

Hama propaganda:

“A waterbender from the southern water tribe who was captured by the fire nation when they invaded her home. After being put through inhuman conditions to prevent her from waterbending, she learned to bend her captors’ blood instead to escape. She then lived undercover in the fire nation, for decades, before meeting the gaang. Then out of nowhere it’s revealed she’s behind the disappearance of a bunch of fire nation villagers and she tries to forcibly teach katara bloodbending so she can carry on her actions. And for what?? That doesn’t even make any sense!! She could’ve been at least targeting soldiers or officials but nope all of a sudden she’s actually the villain torturing innocents because she can and i guess that’s what happens after she goes through all that ???? ??”

“if iroh can get let off the hook for being a former fascist war criminal, hama can get off the hook for imprisoning people. hama was taken from her homeland, interned, and forced to watch all of her fellow waterbenders die in prison. the gaang's solution to her doing the same thing to members of the nation that wiped her people out? RE-INTERN THIS TRAUMATIZED ELDERLY SURVIVOR SO SHE'LL DIE IN PRISON LIKE THE REST OF HER PEOPLE. hama should be allowed to go home and see her few surviving friends and family again.

bloodbending wasn't just a cool evil new ability, it was a metaphor for generational trauma. that's why hama was so insistent that katara learn it: it was the final legacy of all those people who the fire nation purposefully exterminated, because it was the only thing that saved hama from that same fate. it was the only form of southern bending katara could inherit, because it was all that was left of them.”

Amon propaganda:

“his whole thing was that nonbenders are discriminated against in the avatar-verse, which isn’t all that wrong. except instead of fighting for something like more nonbender representation in government or, y’know, a n y t h i n g reasonable, he decides the way to solve this is clearly to take away people’s bending until… what?

honestly, I never was clear on if he had an actual plan

take away the bending of everyone in republic city? the world? stop at korra? who knows!

anyways. he decides it makes pErFeCt SeNsE that to solve the problem of nonbending discrimination (I honestly don’t think it was as oppressive as he claimed) by taking away peoples bending ability

which is akin to someone stealing your entire identity and for many, livelihood

but the real kicker is

the way he does it

IS BY BENDING

AND NOT EVEN REGULAR BENDING BUT A SUPER SECRET RESTRICTED ILLEGAL FORM OF BENDING

which is EXACTLY the kind of thing he fearmongers about when he says venders have too much power

so his whole platform of “I am one of you (nonbenders), chosen by the spirits to correct this inequality” is complete and utter baloney”

Always feel free to rb with more propaganda :)

[yikes-kachowski]

How do we feel about bumi ii being an equalist as a part of his edgy teen years? Am I crazy for liking the idea?

sketches!!!

(dont worry, he just was protesting, nothing violent)

I feel like as a nonbender who feels like an outsider in his own family, a group that preys on his insecurities and validates his fears of being seen as less than could very easily pull him in.

Not to mention, I don't think the equalist movement is completely without merit. I actually have a lot of thoughts on equalists and nonbenders in general in meta and in universe.

Adult bumi design :)

[aykady]

Me back into digital and into fandoms? More likely than you think

[kason-nvidiade-art]

Equalist Work by KasonSama

This has been a WIP for ACTUAL YEARS at this point so I decided to ""finish"" it. It's done.

It is nice doing Legend of Korra art more so Equalists, love these guys.

[i-put-the-ass-into-sass]

quick lil amon sketch at work today

[novaae]

Okay so here are my thoughts on Bumi and the Equalist movement, because that is genuinely such a great plot-point that I don't think was ever explored fully (like many plot points in LoK lol).

Firstly, there's no way that Bumi wasn't an inspiration for these guys. Nonbender at such a high position, that too without the influence of his parents? Known for his strategic mind and genius ideas? There's no way that the Equalists didn't admire him, and probably bastardised Bumi's public opinions.

Add to it his childhood, and also his career, which they would have used as a propaganda piece. Like, I'm sorry Bumi doesn't come into the public picture as much as his siblings (which may have been a personal choice), but there's no way his teenage and joining the UF wasn't highly documented. Baam. Proof that the Avatar stood for discrimination, if he couldn't pay proper attention to his own son, what about the nonbenders of the world.

Add to it, Iroh II (a firebender and everything) getting promoted to General in his 30s (I see some people hc him in early 20s and uhm. Hc what you like but if we go with that line, makes even more sense why he is incredibly unpopular in Equalists.) A younger BENDER getting promoted over a NONBENDER with more experience? Nevermind that it could have been another personal decision.

(That being said, if the issue was bad enough for so many nonbenders to rally behind the Equalists,,,,, Bumi could have definitely been shafted because of being a nonbender.)

I feel like the only reason he avoided getting a discreet invitation was because of his job. He was rarely in RC, mostly port cities, and even in RC he probably spent most of his time in Air Temple Island.

As for Bumi's reaction to the Equalist movement, I think in the beginning, or at least till it was revealed that they were terrorists (total cop out btw), he did privately support them. Like not as in making donations or voicing it out loud, but if it ever came up on in family dinners he'd pull up good points and said that if the UN ever had elections, Bumi would vote for them.

As a result, when he gets news about them actually being a terrorist organisation and taking away people's bending, he would feel awful on the inside. Even more-so when his own beloved niblings were harmed so directly. He would prefer for his family to not bring it up.

He still supports non-bender representation in the Congress of UN though.

-

Tagging @wilcze-kudly, @linnorabeifong and @superliz6 because you guys showed interest.

[glacierfest-unhinged]

Captured for Amon.

[equalistaden]

Hey there. Been awhile since I posted any art here but I drew these awhile ago at this point. So here is some Older!Akira. He's probably in his late teens/early 20s.

[xr-377]

I see where you are coming from here, but I must express I thought the Equalists being non-benders was still worthy because of all they accomplished and yet still were regulated as an underclass.

Republic City was to my read since the shows original explanation not a Republic of the people but of the Four Nations themselves. It's council, while having non-bending members, were representative of the nations that would not end up being able to politically or effectively claim the former colonies. But the power in those nations were driven by benders, which still bred in to Republic City.

Non-benders in the city flourished and prospered from the new tech, but were still subject to the trickle down social effects of the old system. What resulted was, like you said, a disparaging society where legitimately what was once one of the peak and most diciplined fire bending techniques, lightning, was the equivalent of coal shoveling. In Republic City wealth desparity developed and caused the status quo to shift in the city from bending to monetary power. Criminal organizations were violent reactions from both sides to exploit what leverage they could with the tools they had available. And yet, despite what power the non-benders had the government of the city still catered to the bending ruling class. Not even a big company like Cabbage Corp had due process when accused of threatening benders.

This agitation being stoked into action and revolution, only to be taken advantage of by another member of the empowered ruling class hoping to literally use the very power they were supposedly fighting against to make them the sole keeper of those abilities is really on point to how dictators rise to power.

In the scheme of the Avatar series history in poking at the politics of war it is really on point. Especially when looking at the villains of the later Korra seasons. Amon was provoking social change for control, Unalaq was puppeting tradition and trying to utilize the literal old ways for control, Zaheer was trying to harness the winds of Anarchy for control, and Kuvira is trying to use authoritarianism and fascist steel for control. All of those methods utilize the downtrodden; the underclass who literally built the most impressive city in the world after being oppressed from a century long war they could only be victims in is a fair first target to me.

I think what they showed sets that up well enough, but do think the series suffered from moving too fast. Perhaps they could have shown things better with easier pacing but when you are expecting every season to be your last...

This thing has been bothering me for years: The plot of Legend of Korra season 1 is completely backwards to what the worldbuilding is showing.

Republic City is built to accommodate machines, factories, and cars. The jobs we see non-benders having are in business, including Asami's dad who's a millionaire. The jobs we see benders having are factory workers and organized crime. With a few exceptions such as the metal-bending police unit and the ruling council.

It seems to me that benders are the ones who are oppressed in Republic City, at least materially. The presence of benders in police and government don't change it much since despite its name, Republic City in season 1 isn't a democracy. Benders being oppressed would also make sense as a continuation from ATLA, where we saw Earthbenders and Waterbenders being oppressed by the Fire Nation, and the United Republic is comprised of former Fire Nation colonies.

But the plot is saying that non-benders are oppressed. Amon and his Equalists are presented as having a point but going about it in the wrong way (plus Amon himself being a fraud).

It would've made more sense to be the other way around. The Avatar comic series Imbalance (which is otherwise pretty bad) actually does that right, with benders feeling threatened by the rise of technology in the pre-republic Republic City. LoK shows the end point of that process after decades of technological and societal evolution.

Either the Equalists should've been benders rising up against oppression. Or else if they're still non-benders, they should've been presented as a reactionary movement to benders reclaiming their rights, something akin to the real life KKK forming in reaction to black liberation in the US.

[rwbyuser24]

How far would the Equalist revolution have gone? (Legend of Korra)

Alright, let's suppose that Amon was able to defeat Korra and her friends. What now?

Look, only with Hiroshi Sato money (And the contribution from all its members, I guess) they were able built a lot of weaponry, basically defeat the police, and beat General Iroh's fleet.

Once they seize control over Republic city they could be able to be the ones to collect taxes. With that, they could fund their revolution and expand beyond. Then, it can be like a snowball, while the Equalists expand more and more, they can collect more taxes.

Hiroshi Sato caused a technological revolution. In the air with his biplanes. In the ground with his Mecha-tanks. In the sea with his naval mines. And infantry with his electric gloves and electric sticks.

After conquering Republic city, they left the whole country beheaded. Maybe ir general Iroh managed to escape, he could still lead his military.

But anyway, there is no higher authority to command the army but the soldiers themselves.

What's more, while they expand themselves they can recruit more and more soldiers. Amon was able to recruit people from Republic city, it wouldn't be weird if he could recruit from the rest of the country. As long as he maintain the war crimes low, he can continue maintaining a good public image between the non-benders.

He can also capture technology and weaponry from the conquered territories.

I'm not sure how would act the rest of the nations.

Izumi would probably maintain her country out of the conflict. Not wanting to be involved in unnecessary conflicts. But at the same time, she might be interested in receive the refugees of the United Republic of Nations.

Once Amon put a foot on Earth kingdom, Hou Ting would use that as an excuse to conquer the United Republic of Nations.

No idea if Unalaq and Tonraq would try to liberate the United Republic of Nations. Amon seem intelligent, while he have global conquest ambition I doubt he would enter so quickly in a war against all the nations at the same time. He might even try to infiltrate agents inside the other nations to promote dissidence from inside. Think how many non-benders would like to overthrow the Earth Queen.

Just remember, the Equalists were able to outmaneuver the government in many occasions.

At the same time, there are genius in the other nations. I mean, once they capture technology of the Equalists, Varrick and Baatar Jr. would work to reverse engineer that and make more of that technology.

But, those are my thoughts. I think that while Amon would be able to conquer the whole country and even beyond, he would be eventually defeated by the Earth kingdom and the water tribes.

[espeonkin]

[lovelooksgudonu]

asami warm up sketch

anon ask for Asami with a gun, so I'm back with my bullsht. Equalist Asami, but she has a gun and a motorcycle

[yikes-kachowski]

"Not to mention, I don't think the equalist movement is completely without merit. I actually have a lot of thoughts on equalists and nonbenders in general in meta and in universe."

I 100% agree, would you mind elaborating on this?

I swear had my thoughts on this written down some where but it looks like I do not. So @shalheretical is usually the one who handles these types of questions for me, but I'm doing this one. Sorry if it's not as good as it could be.

I want to start with the meta because I like to use the meta to inform the way nonbenders are seen in their society. In the meta, nonbenders have three ways they can be: evil, useless, or good at everything warriors. All nonbenders who are good and useful have to be smart and perfect at fighting and usually can't fight benders alone. Other nonbenders in any position of power are either evil and conniving or stupid and naive.

Nonbenders are also less spiritual than benders. They don't consider the environment. That's constant. In the show, in the comics, a nonbender looking for ways to become equal to benders or provide for their community is usually careless toward the spirits. They are almost insulting nature by thinking they can have power.

Bumi's plotline of being disconnected from his cultures because he can't bend was "solved" by him getting bending. After he gets his bending he tells Tenzin, "I never felt like an air nomad." Tenzin tells him, "Well you are now." Why only now? Why not you've been a part of your culture all along? Why couldn't the writers find a different way aside from giving him bending?

In TLOK they show nonbenders literally havinng to watch what they say around benders because it's so easy for them to be bullied into silence. The bender that harmed them for speaking their mind being Korra, by the way. Not to mention later when we hear them pleading "youre our avatar too."

Fanon has this issue too. The issue i lovingly call "the bumi problem." When trying to solve the way aang and katara made bumi feel excluded they say "he trained with sokka and suki, and became a great warrior." That's not the issue though. He doesn't need to be sent off to other people, he needs quality time with his own parents in his own culture. His siblings get a sacred practice that they spend hours paracticing with their parents each week. Obviously, bumi wants that too. But no one says "he learns how to cook air nomad food with aang" because that makes his skills less important. It's not about the fighting ability, it's about the culture and love.

Now, in universe stuff.

Bending is tied with power, inherently. The avatar, most powerful person, can bend four elements. That's how they show they are favored by the spirits and they are in charge. The fire nation sought to wipe out everyone who wasn't a firebender. They used their own nonbenders as canon fodder. (This colonial fire bending supremacy could have taken some hold in the places they harmed)

The racketeering from the triads also unfairly targets nonbenders as does all violence in the atla universe. They are the most helpless in any given situation. Hiroshi Sato brought his daughter up training in self-defense. That shouldn't be a requirement for nonbenders to feel safe.

The police in their universe, have a specialized team of metal benders to violently restrain people with whips.

In their universe, it just takes one bad night from a bender for your whole home and livelihood to be destroyed. This goes back to the racketeering, but also just one drunk earthbender getting angry. And the law does not seem to protect them.

Beyond that, imagine being raised your WHOLE LIFE knowing that the spirits didn't bless you, but they did bless the fire nation soldiers that murdered your grandparents. And they did bless the triad member who steals half your paycheck.

The nonbenders also seem to be shoved into on neighborhood according to TLOK season one which is just uncomfortable. Is there nonbender red-lining? Are they all so low income they can only afford to live there?

Lastly, in TLOK, after the equalist movement is brought down (firstly, i find it sort of disappointing in a meta way that nonbenders could only be granted power from a bender) no one even entertains the idea of looking at ways to make things more equal. No one even considers it.

Anyway, those are just some thoughts. This isn't 100% solid, but it's angles to consider. I find it interesting anyway. If you have a different perspective feel free to share :)

[kason-nvidiade-art]

Equalist Chat by KasonSama

Important medical update for some injured Equalists, they got hurt doing something REALLY dumb.

Also, LMAO remember when I used to draw Legend of Korra stuff all the time???? I don't! but I felt the need, and wanted to do something a little more clean line wise, might go back and properly shade it, but for now It'd DONE.