#i had to make sure raava kept your :3 face

[rokurookajima]

my first little shot at @shadelorde’s raava & vaatu 🙏🏻 i feel like i hit them with a ghibli ray???

[justteamavatar]

Talk to me about Korra dealing her trauma post book four and how Asami fits into her long term recovery bc I cannot get enough

Oh man, you’re basically asking me to spill out mysoul. I could go on forever about Korra’s recovery arc as well as Asami in general(hence why it took me FOREVER to respond to this – !!! I’m so sorry @swatztj​ !!!). Let’s see where this goes… (warning - word vomit below)

** * * *

Korra’srecovery arc was one of my favourite about the entireseries. While it’s amazing to know that Korra and Asami are off living happilytogether (korrasami forever

Korrawas first introduced to us as the freaking Avatar, master of all four elements -we had to deal with it. We saw her as a very strong, physical being who mastered her waterbending, earthbending and firebending at a young age. Her demeanor wasbrash, loud, aggressive and direct, used (in many cases) as a tool to hide insecurities.  She was more of a punch first, think later sort of gal andall she ever wanted to be in her life was the Avatar, there was no questionabout it… that was, until the aftermaths of Amon, Unlaq and Zaheertranspired.

*Thoughsince this about Korra’s trauma in Book 4, we will focus more on thepost-Zaheer conflicts*

Korra was kidnapped, chained, poisoned, forced intothe Avatar State, smashed against mountains and stripped of the air within herlungs. She was at her most vulnerable moment and completely out ofcontrol.

Someof us believed that Korra would get right back up after Suyin removed the poisonfrom her system. After all, it didn’t seem to take too long for Korra to spring back into action after briefly losing her bending in addition to her connections with the past Avatars (though,this isn’t to say that she didn’t endure any pain, grief, self-doubt ornegativity during those periods).

However, at the end of Venom of the Red Lotus, we saw Korra as an empty shell – incapacitated,quiet and unresponsive to the outside world. Internally, a whole other battlewas being fought. 

She was told that the airbenders would return to theirnomadic roots while she recuperated. She was told that they would work togetherto end discord and restore peace and balance. The woman who had always dreamedof being the Avatar, master of all four elements and bridge between worlds, wasno longer needed. Her physical power and self-identity was gone.

* * * * *

“I’m trying to understand why this happened to me. But nothing makes any sense. I’m tired Katara. I’m so tired.” ~ Korra (B4:E2)

Inthe beginning events of Book 4, we see Korra detached from her friends andfamily. She could barely sleep or eat and spent much of her wakeful momentsin silence. When see was faced with times of sleep, she would constantly be plaguedwith the intrusive horrors she endured by herself in Book 3. This trauma caused Korra to fall into a depressive state as well as develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and hope faded away from her at every passing second. With the little sliver of willpower she had left,she finally made the decision to visit Katara – the first step needed to beginher recovery arc.

After months of being incapacitated, the stepsneeded to regain mobility took time and patience for Korra. We slowly but surely saw her become more and more active. A quick toe twitch turned into a few walking stepswith Katara’s guidance. While these were fantastic accomplishments for someone wheelchair-bound,things moved a bit too slow for Korra’s tastes. We saw her lashout in anger/disappointment at Katara as well as Tenzin when he visited the compound to see her spar. Though Korra made progress, it doesn’t spark enough hope for someone who had been eager to getout in the real world her entire life.

While she was healing physically, Korra was still faced with phases of “fight, flight or freeze” throughout herrecovery. Certain triggers continued to appear when she began to walk,spar and bend again, which caused flashbacks to flare up at unexpected moments. Herbody would lock up and her mind became fixated on her traumatic past. She stillfelt as though she was being attacked, reliving the effects of the poison andsuffocation over and over again. This caused Korra to hit a wall – she didn’tquite understand why those flashbacks and freeze ups kept happening, but she trulybelieved that she needed to expose herself to action again. Here is whereanother key element to Korra’s recovery arc comes in – exposure.

* * * * *

“The mind canbe a powerful ally or your great enemy.” ~ Katara (B4:E2)

The opening shot of our Avatar in Korra Alone was very indicative of thecondition of her mental state – shattered, distorted, unstable, but notnecessarily unrepairable. After embarking on a voyage to Republic City, we saw another confrontation between Korra and her past trauma; this time in the formof an eerie apparition. She turned away from her destination (Republic City) to walk an anonymouslife in the Earth Kingdom with the hope of reconnecting with herself and her Avatar spirit.

Throughout Korra’s journey, she constantly struggled with hallucinations. Sometimes she visualized Raava – with whom she ran towards - but other times (more often than not) she faced with her own ghostly shadow – with whom shebacked away from. These apparitions only seemed to become stronger whenever Korra fought them. Her “punch first” tactics remained ineffective as herhallucinations constantly countered her with bending and chains. Even when she was in combat with other opponents, they morphed into her ghostlyvisions, forcing her to constantly fight with herself and lose each battle inthe process.

This, understandably, got quiet infuriating. A partof Korra knew that her visions were not real, but she couldn’t escapethem as they seemly controlled every aspect of her day-to-day life. She hadenough, making the decision to finally chase after these phantoms as opposed to fighting them. Little did she know that her decision would lead to the familiar face ofToph Beifong.

* * * * *

“…You need toface your fears. You can’t expect to deal with future enemies if you’re stillfighting the old ones.” ~ Toph(B4:E4)

Unsurprisingly, Toph hadn’t changed one bit. Her demeanourremained direct, harsh, taunting and honest and this seemed to take Korra bysurprise. After all, she was used to being met with looks and words of sympathy(understandably so) after her horrible incident. The bluntness used by our oldmetalbender, while unexpected, was another step that helped Korra towards herrecovery.

Toph was able to quickly realize that Korra was verydetached from the world; instead of looking forward she would always looked back in the past:

“If there’sone thing I learned on the beat, it’s that the names change but the streetstays the same.”

Yes Korra did hold Avatar title, but she was still aperson – a human being who could only accomplish and change so much within herown lifetime. Other Avatar’s would come and go and so would other acts of evil.

What was great about this confrontation was that little spark of defensivenessand enthusiasm we were used to seeing in Korra before the Book 3 finale. Korra knewof and believed in the accomplishments she achieved throughout her life as the Avatar.She challenged Toph on this exchange, but in a less angry and hostile way that we were used to seeing in the first few Books. 

This ultimately led to the two characters sparring,where Korra seemed to be having moments of excitement despite losing the battles. Itwas quite a refreshing site to see, in my opinion.

Not only did Toph confront Korra on these issues,but she also detected small amounts of liquid metal circulating throughout theAvatar’s body. She attempted to rid this metal of her system, but Korra resisted,letting her fears and flashbacks take over again. This would be a task that Korra would have to do on her own; and it is one that she would successfully complete.

Korra used Toph’s advice to metalbend the liquid outof body and release some of those fears that sheheld close, tapping into her Avatar state. Toph was able to ground Korra back to the world again and make her feel more in tune with reality.

While this helped her physically, Korra’sbattle was not over as she experienced yet another hallucination while facingKuvira for the first time. Now, Korra needed to revisit her biggest nightmare of all face-to-face– Zaheer.

** * * *

“That poison should have killed you. But you were able to fight it off.You think your power has limits. I say its limitless.” ~ Zaheer (B4:E9)

Korra’s confrontation with Zaheerimmediately began with an act of determination and fury. She finally stoodbefore the man that traumatized her life and boldly claimed how he held nopower over her anymore. That daring and direct demeanor she showed toZaheer was reminiscent of her persona back in the earlier Books. However, justlike in the past, these defiant acts were used as a way to cover herinsecurities.

Zaheer lunged towards Korra withthe intent of triggering her fears once again. Despite his chained position,Korra backed away in panic and this ultimately broke the belief that seeing him boundwould make her unafraid. Korra was terrified of not only him but of beingperceived as useless and of not being the person she used to be again.

Zaheer challenged these fears andclaimed that neither of them were the same since the events that happened yearsago; he was chained despite learning to fly and she was limitless despiteholding herself down. Korra would never be the same person again as she wouldhave to carry the trauma  with her for the rest of her life. 

However, instead ofassociating said trauma with pain and weakness, she could use it for strength.As Zaheer had said, the liquid metal should have killed Korra, but it didn’t.She was the one that survived despite all odds pointed against her. She had won the battle in the end and he had been the one who lost. The fact that she remained alive points to the ideathat she had no limits.

We have to remember that Korra wasalone in her showdown with Zaheer. None of her friends or family could aid her.Her severed connections to the past Avatars left her alone to fight against Zaheer and the poisonin her most vulnerable state. Korra resisted the poison by resisting theAvatar State for as long as humanly possible. When she could no longer hold offthat particular battle, she fought for her life as well as Raava’s, despite howpainful and agonizing every second of it was. She was truly unstoppable and shehad yet to recognize or consider this amazing feat.

Korra had to accept what happened to her andwhile this meant acknowledging the bad, it also meant acknowledging the good. Insteadof fixating on the moments of suffocation and powerlessness, she had to let the scene play outentirely - focusing on the future and not just the past. The past was not something she could change.

For the first time in nearly threeyears, Korra gained control over her fear. She accepted what happened – the pain,the exhaustion as well as the endurance. She had made it and in the process, connectedback with her spiritual energy.

Korra reached an understanding withher trauma. While her past was not something that she could simply shrug off or ignore,it could be used as a tool of recognition in which Korra could connect withothers at a deeper level. As Toph had said in the swamp:

“Sounds like you’re carrying around your former enemies, the same wayyou’re still carrying around that metal poison. You maybe consider you couldlearn something from them?”

Which can be coupled with Tenzin’s ownwords of:

“It’s true, there will always be new conflicts and enemies to face. Butthe important thing is to learn from yourenemies and better yourself over time, which you have.”

Korra learned from her painful struggles and was able to use new-found knowledge to reach outto others – including her own enemies. She greatly opposed the methods used byKuvira to unite the Earth Kingdom, yet she still related to and understood herat a personal level, even going as far as to risk her own life to save the dictator. She understood Kuvira’s emotions of fear, abandonment, vulnerabilityand lack of control and this level of empathy displayed wasn’t something we saw Korrause towards Amon, Unalaq or Zaheer.

Korra truly found inner peaceonce she found her way out of the dark tunnel. She proved to herself and others that shewas more than just a symbol of physical prowess. She had found inner peace with herself and her trauma, drawing meaning from it which will ultimately help to make her become even stronger in the future.

Korra fought, learned and recoveredfrom some of the darkest moments in her life. She will always carry thescars left behind from the incident that happened in Book 3, but she made herself an even better personby pushing forward instead of holding back. Korra became a beacon of hope forso many of us and remains a character that we will always hold near and dear to ourhearts.

* * * * *

“I want you to know that I’m here for you. If you ever want to talk or… anything.” ~ Asami (B3:E13)

Now, I’ll try to make the Asami part quick becausethis response has gone on for far too long :p.

I think Asami took the role of Korra’s anchor andvoice of reason, even if neither of them fully realized it from the get-go.

Asami bore witness to it all – Korra’s gravelyinjured body smashing into rocks as well as her diminishing hope and sense ofself. She saw her best friend falling deeper and deeper, but if there’s one thing we know about Asami Sato, it’s that she will always have your back.

Asami took on the role of Korra’s caretaker; she helped her dressed, pushed her wheelchair around, made conversation and she presumably helped her bathe, eat and sleep. She was truly there for her despite her other responsibilities of being the CEO of one of the most prestigious companies in the world. Korra was her priority. Heck, the woman was even willing to drop everything and accompany Korra while she recuperated in the Southern Water Tribe.

These feelings of sadness and hopelessness were quite familiar to Asami. We know that she’s had a pretty difficult life from the start - her mother was murdered, her father sided with the equalists, she had to take command of a large company at age 18 and overall, she had a lonely life. Due to these unfortunate events, it was likely that Asami understood Korra and her depressive state at a far deeper level than anyone else who was close with Korra. Asami neither pushed nor prodded and instead gave an open invitation for Korra to talk with her whenever she was ready. 

Korra did end up taking Asami’s offer up as we see her communicate to her via a letter in Korra Alone. Korra opened up quite a bit to her, explaining how hard the past few years had been, how she couldn’t tap into the Avatar State, how she kept having hallucinations and how she feared that she would never fully recover again. There was a reason why Korra contacted Asami and not Mako, Bolin or the others. She knew that Asami would understand her at that vulnerable time and felt comfortable enough to expose a very fragile part of her life. Asami was the rock that Korra could hold onto and I’m sure that she felt some relief and comfort after sending her letter off.

This comfort continued in Remembrances. Korra expressed her same worries again, but Asami’s consistent support, admiration and belief in Korra and her abilities shined through during the exchange.

And finally, we know that what goes around, comes around. After Kuvira’s attack on Republic City, Asami lost her father for good. This time, Korra was the one who took the initiative to provide emotional and physical support for her. She apologized for her three year absence and suggested taking a vacation where the two of them could finally relax and take care of each other without any interruptions (…besides the big rock spirit thing…). 

Korra and Asami had seen each other at some of their darkest moments and while they were strong and developed individually through their past traumas, they would and always will be stronger together and persevere through any obstacle thrown at them.

The. Freaking. End :)