#i love asami a whole lot you deserve her tbh

[shysquidd]

ok so i was able to log in thru my laptop so as promised here are my in depth thoughts on korra 

so we all know lok came out like years ago so what im gonna say probably has already been said like thousands of times over and over, i think when the show first came out i saw a few eps of it and then lost interest. but i was like 15 or something at the time so whatever. 

i have noticed that some people who liked lok better have said that people who dont like lok as much just dont like change, and idk maybe thats the case for some, but my main criticisms for it come from the writing inconsistency. to be clear i thought it was a fun watch! did i like it? yes!!!! did i love it?? not so much 

i think what bothered me the most was the pacing of the seasons. now i hate to draw comparisons to atla, but they are part of the same franchise so I Will. one the things that made atla sooo good was the overall mission stretched over 3 seasons, with secondary villains providing obstacles along the way (zhao,zuko,azula). this provided characters with enough time to develop along the way before facing the big bad (and building suspense to ozai), but still keep viewers entertained through out the seasons 

i didnt really feel the same suspense when watching korra. each season had its own conflict and big bad, and none of them really seemed to come back up a lot after they were already defeated (except for korras uncle i forget his name tbh) 

i think any of the conflicts they had would have worked if they chose to stretch it out over the course of the show. the anti-bending movement and the water tribe civil war would have worked best in my opinion. they anti-bending movement drew valid criticisms from non-benders, and its really weird to see all of that vanish after amon was defeated. as for the civil war, unalaq (i googled his name lol) fell flat for me, he was just kinda evil for the sake of being evil. at first his motivations were intriguing and made a good foundation for the conflict aka wanting to combine the tribes again by bringing spirituality to the swt by force, bt when they brought in raava and vaatu it just kinda fell apart. this plotline definitely would have worked over several seasons, but i kinda wished the origins of the first avatar would have remained a mystery. i am a firm believer of not everything has to be answered

because the show was so fast paced, characters really didnt get the spotlight they deserved, esp team avatar. the gaang in the first series really all had their moments to shine, and you could rewatch the og season over and over again and notice something new every time! im not sure how well this would work with lok since the rest of team avatar didnt really get their own fleshed out story lines 

korra: had the most development ofc. i think she was a great protagonist. it makes sense that aang would want his successor to get proper training before getting thrown into avatar duties  considering he was like 12 when he had to fight the firelord. korra, whos been training her whole life, is caught in the middle of conflict in republic city, and its clear to me that her training took a priority on bending the elements, rather than being a mediator, which is the duty of the avatar. she’s like a fish out of water, and as the series progresses and we see her fight the antagonists, this takes a toll on her and she goes into a slump. it was a very fitting arc for her character 

mako: he was just kinda there for me. bit of a jerk at first and i really did not like the whole korra/mako/asami love triangle. it was all very forced imo considering korra and mako only knew each other for like a few days before they were confessing feelings for each other 

bolin: obvs the comedic relief character. the show doesnt do much for him either which is sad bc i did like his character, hes funny and has a cute design. ill draw another comparison to atla and say that while sokka was the comedic relief, his character was deeply complex and multilayered

asami: my angel my daughter my cinnamon apple. im glad asami was able to reconnect with her father before the show murked him. korrasami was cute and they compliment each other: korra, whos more emotionally reserved vs asami who is empathetic and patient but also is true to her beliefs and holds her ground

anyways this post got super long and if u read this i love u. feel free to comment if u wanna start a discussion. much more to say but my fingers are tired bye 

[retvenkos]

hi!! congrats on 2.5k!! i was wondering if i could get a ship for atla, lok and into the spider verse (if that’s okay ofc!!) ?

i’m a 5”3 bisexual girl. i’m pretty sure i’m an enfj and i’m a leo (with an aqua moon and leo rising if that helps in any way!)

i tend to love/crave attention but i tend to be very insecure once in it (and just in general). i love meeting new people, i have a slight tendency of selfishness but i will do absolutely anything for my friends. i’m not a fan of taking a backseat in many things, including life. i like to poke fun at people but am always terrified of hurting their feelings. i also value peoples perception of me a lot.

i like to read, write, hang out with friends, learn new things, sleep, spend time with friends, photography, and going to concerts. i play basketball and work out on my own time.

hopefully that’s not too much/too little. thank you in advance and i hope you have a wonderful day/night!!

ATLA:

I ship you with Katara!

alright, so i think that katara would be a great match for you because you are both fiercely loyal and independent in life, but you also carry a softness with you that makes you feel vulnerable and insecure.

there is a bit of turbulence in both of you that would be disastrous when paired with someone incredibly turbulent (like zuko) or someone incredibly steadfast (like toph), so you both need someone who recognizes the struggles you face and gives them merit, but is also actively working for stability and peace.

you and katara would be good together because you will both do what it takes to save each other, no matter the cost. it’s good that you both have this attitude because when the other does something terrible in the name of saving everyone, you understand and don’t judge them for it. 

you’re both natural leaders with a fair amount of altruism, so you both strive to do what is best for everyone, taking charge in many situations. you are the parents of the group - making sure everyone is alright and doing what needs to be done.

if you have trouble making decisions, katara is wonderful to lean on because she always has an idea, and she’s acted like a mother for so long she has what it takes to make the decision. oftentimes you can be caught between two decisions, but by taking to katara, you can figure out what path would be best.

both of you are extroverted and love to be in the thick of things, so i imagine the two of you are a bit of thrill seekers - i have no doubt that katara would go to concerts with you and would play basketball with you (although she’s not very good and would much rather cheer you on from the stands).

i have this idea that in a modern! au the two of you met at a party or something similar - maybe you’re a friend of zuko’s and you force him to go to a party he was invited to, and you meet katara and the two of you immediately hit it off and hang out for the rest of the night.

or, both of you are photographers and in a high school! au you’re in a photography club together, and the two of you are tasked with getting pictures of some school event or another, and she drives you there, and afterwards you stop to get fast food and end up talking late into the night.

either way, the two of you are a force to be reckoned with, when you team up. you’re both supportive of each other and determined and reliable.

you are a little more tolerant than katara, so you are definitely one to talk her down, esp. when she’s holding a grudge against someone, and she trusts your judgement. you may not always get her to back down completely, but you do get her to back down just a little.

LOK:

I ship you with Asami Sato!

alright, so here is a power couple if i have ever seen one

you and asami are wicked smart with the outward confidence to change the world (while still being vulnerable to your own insecurities) and hearts big enough to want to save everyone.

both of you love learning and coming up with new ideas, so when you are together, your creativity just flows and you come up with cool, new ideas together.

you guys also have a tough side to you - neither of you will turn down a challenge, and your dedication to your friends is unparalleled. 

i see you guys as being the cool aunts - you are the voice of reason in your friend group, sure, but you also let them run wild with weird plans and interfere after the worst of the damage has been done. and it’s always like,,, you just go along with this ridiculous plan? “yep. because if we don’t, they’ll do it without us and that would be disastrous.”

okay, but i also just love the quiet moments between you two. you play pai sho together, and even though asami wins every time, you insist that at some point, you are going to win and continue to play anyway. 

i also think that asami gets pretty competitive? she loves winning, and even though she always asks you if you’re sure, she’s secretly very glad when you insist on playing (and losing).

and she’s also so supportive? she would love to read your writing or hang up your photography. she’s a proud girlfriend™ and will not hesitate to tell you how great you are. 

you, in turn, are constantly talking about how cool your girlfriend is - because have you met asami? she’s talented. she’s kind. she’s tough. she will kick you in the face, and then you’ll thank her for it.

oh, and 100%, asami will make sure that both of you find the time to sleep. both of you love having lazy weekend mornings where you stay in bed until noon, waking up when the sun filters through the windows but staying in bed, talking tiredly and laughing at each others jokes, intertwining your hands and playing footsie under the covers. you drift back off to sleep in asami’s arms, and when you finally wake up and decide to start the day, the two of you go to get brunch and then go for a drive.

and going for a  d r i v e  with asami is peak sweetness. you drive slowly through the city, hand in hand, and when you make it to the more deserted roads, asami goes fast. and spirits, you swear that she is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen when her hair is blowing in the wind and she has that determined but thrilled smile on her face.

Into The Spider-Verse:

I ship you with Miles Morales!

first of all, both of you have big hearts and believe that you can make a difference. you also carry that same bit of doubt and insecurity, so whenever you hype the other you’re not out of touch - you just truly believe the world of each other, so you are sincere in your belief that the other is capable of anything

you guys are also artistic, and that’s a source of bonding for sure. you both find things visually beautiful and you both have a way with words, so you two often hang out and just create together. you write while he draws, and then, on the weekends, you take photos while he puts sticker around town, or when he’s doing graffiti.

you’re also wicked smart - both of you. i imagine that the two of you love to team up on projects together because you work really well together, while still having fun. miles plays music for you while you’re working on the project, and the two of you debate over what artists are better.

miles probably introduces you to a lot of music, and the two of you plan to go to concerts together, if you ever save up enough money. 

but if you are a superhero too, you definitely just put on your masks and sneak into venues and listen from the shadows. 100%, someone has caught the two of you, and so now concerts will save a spot for their friendly neighborhood heroes - they mark it off with tape and everything.

i feel like you and miles will spend a lot of time just.... chilling. hanging out, talking about whatever comes to mind. you’re lives are often going so fast - with him being spider-man and everything, so it’s good when the two of you can just hang out, sprawled out on the floor while playing video games. you bring the snacks and miles provides the entertainment, and the two of you can just be kids.

you can both be idealistic and selfless when it comes to the people you love, and while that can sometimes be a dangerous combo to have, you are both constantly saving the other after they do something recklessly noble, so you keep each other in check.

you also lean on each other a great deal. you both trust each other’s judgement more than anything, and so you often have open dialogue about the choices you have to make, and what the best course of action would be.

also, something i think is cute is that both of you like to tease, but you worry about taking it too far. so both of you will say something and be like, “but i didn’t mean it— are you alright? because it was just a joke— a pretty stupid joke, actually, i don’t know why i thought it would be funny—” and the other is like. “i promise it’s alright. yes, you’re fine i swear. i’m all good, i guarantee.” 

[tiny-katara]

cilla my beloved not to bother you in the asks again BUT i realized i’ve never seen your LOK thoughts & i’d love to know them! (i just saw ur tags & u mentioned the animated movie probably wouldn’t be any better than lok - agreed - so i assume you’ve seen it, but if u haven’t then feel free to ignore this!)

have a great day my bestie!!

bestie you literally cannot bother me in the asks i don't think it's possible. i love seeing you pop up in them! it makes me so happy <3

if i'm being perfectly honest, i've only seen 3 or 4 episodes of lok, but i do have a vague understanding of the plot and it's such a mess??? some of these things i say could very well be misinformed, so don't hesitate to correct me lol.

honestly i think korra herself is kinda cool. she reminds me a lot of katara tbh because she wants to fight and she's really good at it. her design is cute and i do like her shorter hair as well. i think her little gang is also pretty fun and they all had some good potential. it's also never going to not be funny that korra and asami both date mako and then decide that dating each other is better. also bolin seems like he's a cute little dorky guy, which i whole-heartedly support. they all deserved better characterizations but the overall concepts weren't bad at all.

something about korra that really bothers me is that energybending isn't exclusive to the avatar. it seems pretty dangerous for the average person to use, so i wish that it had just stayed as something the avatar could do to maintain peace when absolutely necessary. it just feels wrong to take a core part of someone's identity. kind of reminds me vaguely of the way our restraints work at the hospital i work at. we consider chemical restraints to be much more severe and intense than like literally tying someone down to the bed because takes their identity and very being away from them. we have some pretty nasty patients here in america and i have never seen us use chemical restraints and my unit has some batshit people. so yeah, something about that whole thing rubs me the wrong way. i think taking away ozai's bending was valid because he had abused it, but that conclusion was far too easy for aang to come to. it is not something that should be taken lightly.

i also hate they solve the airbender crisis by just "now everyone bends" because it just kind of fuels this idea that if you don't have an exceptional skill, you're not as good as other people. like nonbenders have their strengths too??? getting rid of them does not solve the problem, it will only create new weaknesses. becoming too reliant on something that can be taken away is dangerous. we want a functioning society, not a building on the edge of a cliff that will crumble if one little stone chips off.

one of the worst things about korra is how they treat bloodbending though. do you have any idea how fucking useful that could be??? literally life saving. so many zutara fics under like 100k handle bloodbending better than a 4 season show and that's just ridiculous. katara should have been able to hone the skill and find its weaknesses and strengths. it's honestly very ignorant and just shows that they have a very poor understanding of the importance of blood in the body, which i could excuse if they didn't also demonize the skill and treat it as pure evil. i swear part of the point of the oringial show is that no form of bending is inherently good or evil and then they do that??? they don't even have a proper understanding of their own themes.

i don't think i really need to mention that the show is just full of blatant sexism towards katara doesn't get a statute, autonomy, accomplishments, etc. but that happens to all the women??? like where tf is suki??? you're telling me this girl that hijacked an airship and just vanished off the face of the earth??? yeah, i don't think so.

also yue??? she's badass of her own accord--and this a bit of a tangent but yue is a badass in a feminine way. like katara and suki are both feminine and badass, but they're badass bc they'll beat you up in the street if you're out of line. yue is badass in the sense that she is endlessly serene and patient and can calmly take you down without a single rude word. she will not be a pushover even tho she is kind and she is understanding, yet stern with her judgements. she is so cool snd it literally does not make any kind of sense that she is not mentioned or given a statue or any kind of acknowledgment. its literally so ridiculous and infuriating.

toph is treated slightly better, but is still a bad mom and everything surrounding her is just a mess. the fact that the stupid cabbage guy (sorry i don't really like him that much lol) gets his own statue makes my blood boil. like i know it's supposed to be a joke, but it's just a slap in the face because none of our beloved female protagonists get the same respect. it's disgusting.

i really don't even have the strength to get into kata/ang and their children and the damaged relationships and ignored cultural values and all of that, but just know that it's absolutely horrifying that katara had to give so much of the culture and identity she was proud of up for a man. no one should ever have to give up a piece of their identity for their partner.

anyways thanks for the ask bestie <3 you're welcome to drop in anytime i really do love hearing from youuu!!

[army-of-mai-lovers]

Ok I just finished book 4 and thus the series as a whole, here are my thoughts:

1) first and foremost: Korrasami. It was beautiful. It was gorgeous. I wept. I’m weeping as I write this. It was really gorgeous. I don’t want to criticize it because I know just how big of a moment that was for gay representation in children’s stuff, that it was the blueprint for a lot of the other LGBTQ+ rep in kids’ animation I’ve watched and loved. That said, I do wish that Asami had gotten more character development prior to Korrasami happening. I really don’t feel like I know much more about Asami now than I did at the beginning of the series. I know a lot of stuff with their relationship had to be censored and like, I get it, it was 2014. But the stuff about Asami’s relationship with her father was really interesting and I would have loved for that to have been explored in more depth, and idk, she just had interesting character traits. She’s an ace at pai sho, she’s a female inventor, she’s the only nonbender on Team Avatar. I would have loved to see more of her friendship with Bolin, or what her relationship with Mako looked like post-book 2, or just anything really. It does bother me that Varrick got a whole character arc and Asami was just kind of...there, the whole time. Idk, I think if both Korra and Asami had more and better development it would have been even more amazing and wonderful than it already was. And that’s the perfect segue into: 

2) Korra’s book 4 arc!!!!!! if you missed my 3438098908080 liveblogs about it, I loved Korra from the start, and it was really hard to watch her get beaten down time and again, only for her to say that she *had* to go through all that to be “compassionate” when I knew she was compassionate from the moment I met her. The way she was written throughout the show just reeked of racism and sexism, and I wish the writers had seen this awesome character they created, who was strong and fierce and good and powerful from the very beginning, and, to paraphrase @bluberry-spicehead , let her be. She deserved so much better than what the writers were willing to give her. Maybe when I was younger, the idea of having to go through immense suffering to be good would have been appealing, but having been through a lot in the past year, trauma doesn’t make you a better person. If you become a better person, it is in spite of trauma, not because of it. I really think the way they wrote her sends the wrong message and I wish they had done something else (and there was so much more they could do!!! It really was not necessary for them to make her suffer so much and then try to justify it later!!!) 

3) in terms of the series as a whole, I definitely think in terms of purely technical things, book 4 was the best season by far. However, in terms of comedy, book 1 was the best season. Simply nothing will beat the Amon is Tarrlok’s secret brother reveal. 

4) I meant to have a prediction of who would get a secret sibling reveal this season (since it happened in the other 3) but nobody got one so I guess all my bases were covered. 

5) oh speaking of hcs, I predicted at one point or another that all of the villains were robots, and I FINALLY (sort of) GOT IT RIGHT WITH KUVIRA I FUCKING KNEW IT!!

6) Favorite good line: “Kuvira will rue the day she messed with Meelo!” Favorite bad line: It’s a tough call between “Unalaq hired the barbarians” and “Zhu Li, will you do the thing for the rest of our lives?” so I’m just going to honor them both bc they were both the result of absolutely shit writing. 

7) Favorite gaang cameo: It was SLIM PICKINGS but I have to go with Katara because she was mostly unproblematic and somewhat consistently written (would have gone to Sokka but I can’t give the lok writers for having fucking killed him even though he was a true king in that flashback scene) (although tbh if he had lived they would have made him a secret war criminal who was a dick to his kids and had a brother we didn’t know about so maybe we dodged a bullet there)

8) Favorite characters: Korra, Asami, Mako, Bolin, Shiro Shinobi, Opal, Tenzin, Meelo, Pema, Grandma Yin, and of course, Prince Wu. Least favorite characters: fucking Varrick (as well as Unalaq, Zaheer, Kuvira, and Tarrlok, but tbh, mostly Varrick) (also can we talk about how so many of the antagonists were Water Tribe???? what was up with that????)

9) the setting was...weird throughout. I posted a lot about wanting to understand how the fuck the United Republic government worked and I’m going to be perfectly real with you I still don’t know. The over-industrialization, the Westernization, the fact that they could not commit to a governmental system (and I never got to see the constitution!) it was all just deeply deeply wrong. I wish that they’d hired more writers of color, especially writers from the cultures they were trying to represent, because I think there was so, so much potential in the idea of a sequel series to ATLA, and they wasted it.

tl;dr the characters of LoK were great, the writing was not, and bryke owes me and everyone else who watched the show an apology for dropping the ball

[flying-elliska]

What are the important bisexual characters that you said helped you? I am having a hard time finding good bi representation in which they aren’t considered promiscuous or unstable

Hiya anon ! What a quality question, thank you ! Here’s another mini essay about bi rep lmao.  If there are some that I forgot please tell me ! And to everyone, tell me about the bi characters who made an impact on your life, I’d love to know !!!!

Okay so.

-  When I answered the anon and talked about the characters that helped me come to terms with my sexuality, I talked about two in particular. Jack Harkness from Torchwood is depicted as very promiscuous, and somewhat instable. He still meant a lot to me because a) him sleeping around was never that much of a problem, it was because he was from the future, where things were different, which I thought was refreshing and b) his instability was because of the weight of being an immortal hero. Also fanon!Dean Winchester from SPN, as an older, more macho, emotionally witholding, badass dude written as bi meant a lot to me, but he doesn’t really avoid that stereotype either. But at least they were heroes.  However, I can understand wanting bi characters that actually don’t fit that stereotype, because bi people irl aren’t all like that, even if there is nothing wrong per se about sleeping with a lot of different people, or having mental issues to struggle with. And that was a while ago and now we have more and more cool characters ! Such as :

- Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn Nine-Nine. One of the best portrayals of bisexuality on TV imho. She didn’t start out as bi, she was this tough, cool, scary but with a heart of gold cop who had a lot of other plotlines before. But then, since they saw that a lot of wlw got this vibe from her, were really into her, and the actress came out as bi herself, they decided to use this. So it was super organic, and the way they introduced the subject was true to Rosa herself ; she’s a super private person, she doesn’t like anybody knowing about her life (it’s actually a running joke and Rosa Diaz has been implied to not even be her real name). But then she is dating a woman, and struggles with her parents not understanding and her coworkers find out, help her and support her. Her gay captain is there for her in his typical stoic but hilarious way. They organize game night with her when her parents won’t anymore. We see her crushing on women and dating, but it is treated exactly as the other character’s love life, they never make a big deal out of it. She isn’t the token queer character. She says outright she is bisexual and there is a specific point about her mom not understanding it’s not a phase and thinking she’ll end up with a man anyway, which #relatable. The focus is on the team as found family. Also right now she’s dating a butch woman, which is awesome since they are so underrepresented on TV and I hope we see more of her. That show really is my comfort show, it’s still bloodly hilarious and it really transcends the format to say some really deep woke stuff too, but never in a way that feels on the nose. Everyone should watch it tbh. 

- Korrasami ! Oh my god, I was so blown away when they got together. They’re two characters from the animated series Legend of Korra, they start out as rivals in love who have feelings for the same guy, but as they have to fight baddies together, they become bestest of friends, and both fall out of love with the guy. Then in season 3 and 4, their relationship becomes central to the show, as Asami stands by Korra through some really tough shit. Also, they’re both ultra badass and fight really well together. A lot of fans started reading their chemistry as romantic, but we’d never thought they’d actually go there. But the show ends with them walking into the ‘sunset’ (well, the spirit lands) together, holding hands. Now, it was never completely explicit on the show BUT they were dealing with a lot of censure from the networks and you have to be willingly obtuse not to read it as romantic. And after that the creators drew them on dates, and there is a comic series in which they are shown kissing, talking about their feelings, introducing each other to their families, etc. It made me feel so validated when it happened, and I just adore the whole ‘love triangle ditches the middle one and fall in gay love with each other’ trope. (is it a trope yet ? it should be.) It’s still a kids show at its core, but it has amazing depth and deals with some very deep shit. Korra starts off as a bit annoying but she has a really cool development, she’s a girl character we need more of - brave, dynamic but also brash and reckless and action driven in ways that are almost always exclusively shown for boys. And Asami is a more typical girly girl but she’s also a brilliant engineer and has a spine of steel and she’s also very slyly funny. They’re amazing. And the comics are super cute. 

- Now there are a lot of characters who are bi/pan that I love, and are good characters in themselves, but their arcs do intersect in some ways with promiscuity and mental instability. I’m thinking about Even from Skam and all his remake variants, Magnus Bane from Shadowhunters, several characters from Black Sails, Sarah Lance and Constantine from Legends of Tomorrow, Eleanor Shellstrop from the Good Place, Bo from Lost Girl, Ilana from Broad City, Joe McMillan from Halt and Catch Fire, God/Chuck from Supernatural (lmaooooo), several characters on Penny Dreadful, or in a totally different category, Vilanelle from Killing Eve or Hannibal from the series (who are hella bad guys but it’s never linked to their sexuality, and are also incredibly compelling to watch.)

 And even though these characters taken individually, I would argue, are good rep because they’re complex and layered and interesting and never one-dimensional (and watching them feels incredibly empowering at times)....it’s still a trend. I feel like when writing a character that is attracted to multiple genders, there is always this sort of...tangle of tropes that writers default to, unconsciously. Some negative and some positive. It used to be this trope of bis being villainous, instable, jealous, flaky, immature, perverted, manipulative, cheaters, amoral, greey, etc...and then it evolved into something of a reclaiming and subverting this trope. So now you feel like the Bi Character kind of has to be badass, glamorous, seductive, often superpowered or extraordinary in other ways.. And they also for multiple reasons (they’re immortal, they’re sensitive artist souls, they’re from the future, they’re psycho, they’re exccentric comic relief, they’re daring adventurers and pioneers) don’t care about social norms which allows them to sleep and fall in love with whomever. And so they tend to have those super busy romantic/sexual histories and very troubled backstories. In the past it was a bad thing, now it’s often presented as this positive, enlightened or at least fun and badass thing. They’re heroic, with big hearts, a tremendous lust for life and a cool rebellious attitude. They’re complex, dramatic, tortured. Which can be super cool, too. 

But it would be nice to have more ‘normal’ bi characters. I mean, boring bisexuals need to see themselves represented too ! Our sexualities don’t give us super powers. At the same time, it is true that bisexual ppl have higher rates of mental illness, which deserves to be explored, but it would be nice if it was actually articulated and not just part of this trope.  But still. We need rep, I think, that is more grounded and varied. So I think that’s also why I read a lot of fanfic. (I was really into the idea of bi Steve Rogers for a long time, partly also because he’s both very mentally resilient, kinda boring in a good way, and very unexperienced in terms of sex/romance, which is pretty much the opposite of the trope)

- I think books, and YA in general, are a good place to find these ‘normal bis’ characters. I’m thinking in particular of Leah from Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (from the same book series that gave us the ‘Love, Simon’ movie) which is a super sweet coming of age/romance story about a super normal teenager who just happens to be also into girls (esp her best friend) and is loud and funny and very lovable and has zero doubts about being bi. You also have Adam Parrish from the Raven Cycle, another one of my forever faves ; he has an abusive family so PTSD from that but it never feels tropey, and it’s completely detached from his sexuality. He has magic powers, too. But his character feels completely opposite to the trope. He’s hardworking, somewhat withholding, prickly (and sometimes awkward), ambitious, determined, down to earth, and has a beautiful love story with another boy. And also Jane, from Jane Unlimited by Kristin Cashore, also really cool ; she’s a nerdy, smart girl who is actually inspired by Jane Eyre who has cool adventures in a weird house where we can follow her on different paths depending on the choices she makes, several of which are love stories. And finally the main character from The Seven Husbands from Evelyn Hugo, kinda fits the trope yeahhh since she’s a super glam actress who well, has seven husbands but it’s a pretty clever deconstruction since it turns out (slight spoilers) that Evelyn is actually through most of her life faithful in heart to the same person and the rest is mostly out of necessity, and her story feels very real and raw and down to earth. 

- I don’t go there yet but I really want to check out Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Schitt’s Creek which I have read have very good bi rep. And I want to catch up on Orphan Black (Cosima and Delphine both don’t have exact labels but they’re multi-gender attracted and they’re this cool couple of scientists in a relationship that gets a happy ending). I will never forgive what they did to Lexa so I stopped watching but I do think that Clarke Griffin from The 100 is very good bi rep. Alexia from Skam France, meanwhile, is a bit of a boundary case for me because, even though she’s presented as the ‘weird one’ from the group, very colorful and liberated and exccentric, she’s still a very normal teen who’s happy and comfortable in her own skin, which is awesome. 

- Disclaimer, I included characters in here that are also pan/omnisexual or don’t have a label but are attracted to several genders, for the purpose of this discussion i don’t think the difference is all that relevant at least to me (i mostly identify as bi for the sake of simplicity but tbh i could also fit under pan so i feel represented by all those characters). But I understand the importance of characters that state their identities more clearly and with pride. 

- So in conclusion : there is nothing wrong with having a sexually active life or struggling mentally (even tho that one is not fun). And I do love all my badass casanova time travelling super powered bis. 

But we need more bi characters that don’t fit that trope. We need bi characters in children’s shows, or that don’t have more than one relationship, or that don’t have a relationship at all, to break the tendency to always show bisexual ppl as overly sexual. We need bi characters in committed relationships to break this idea that bi characters are bound to cheat or can’t be satisified with only one person. We need bi characters that are mentally stable and successful and happy, to show that it’s possible. We need bi characters that are boring, bookish, nerdy, ordinary, clumsy, not particularly seductive, socially awkward, rule-sticklers, etc...to show that bi people are not all party animals, or doing it for attention, or to be wild, rebellious and socially progressive. It’s just a sexuality, it doesn’t say anything about your personality. Even though there are some correlations with MI or being bi might bring you in contact with more progressive ideas and to see life a bit differently, there is nothing automatic about it. 

- In conclusion, reading testimonies from real people also helped me a lot. It’s a very dated but I got the book “ Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out “ when I was struggling with my own sexuality and it helped a lot, to read that even back then (1991) you had all sorts of regular ppl claiming to be bi and that it was not a phase or a fad or whatever. 

[seyaryminamoto]

"the show very obviously featured her as a problem that needed to be dealt with." That pretty much how the writers treat every single villain in AtLA and LoK as well, and it's very disappointing.

Tbh… yes and no. It’s definitely how they treat the villains in ATLA, but in LOK they actually tried to make some of them sympathetic (didn’t always work), tried to give them a story, and tried to make people sob over them (worked for sure with Amon, with Kuvira, for some people with Zaheer).

It’s absurd in some cases, though, because for instance… they made sure to show that Unalaq was always in the wrong, but once he’s dead, and after you’ve spent the entire season seeing how dangerous spirits can be, Korra just decides to do what Unalaq wanted her to do anyways. So… that’s plain ridiculous. Book 2′s plot is about as nice as stepping on a Lego, though, and as coherent as a baby’s rambling, so who can expect any better from that season’s villain?

Either way, though, pretty much every main villain in the two shows had to be taken down except for dear ole’ Zuzu. If you think about it, he did enough bad things during his villainous run that other villains get thrown under the bus for. If we were holding all villains to the same standard, it makes little sense that Zuko wouldn’t have been treated the same way (and no, I don’t care that he was always good inside because the Gaang had no reason to know that he’s actually nice, no reason to trust him in many instances of Books 1 and 2, and yet they did it anyways, such as in the Blue Spirit and Crossroads of Destiny).

I think that’s honestly my problem with villains in ATLA, and with their brand of redemption as a whole. It’s like redemption is exclusive to some specific individuals, people who the writers hand-picked to be redeemable and who they forced into the path of redemption even though they don’t really seem to want to redeem themselves at all. Some of them have hella questionable redemptions, such as Jet, but he’s still pretty much considered redeemed by the fandom just because the writers decided he was on a whim. 

If you gave me a show that hands every character the same opportunities to choose what’s right, to learn what’s right and wrong, yet some of them still stay evil (as, for instance, Ozai would), then I’d have no real issues with how redemption is handled here. But the problem is that behaviors as harmful as Zuko’s or Jet’s could be (destroying villages of perfectly nice people because they will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals, or pretty much believing murder is totally cool even after their redemptions) get swept under rugs because it’s those two. The show itself proves they really haven’t gotten over their behaviors and that they haven’t learned and changed as much as they say they did. And yet other people who are just as bad as them are labeled as utterly evil while those two, in particular, are just said to be misguided. Why such a double standard?

Meanwhile, LOK… it never gave any of the main villains a chance to redeem themselves (the only one who was remotely close to that was Zaheer), but it does redeem secondary villains. Hiroshi got redeemed, I wasn’t too happy about it, but at least the show did a decent job at showing that Asami’s reluctance to accept him was 100% justified. The one who got redeemed, and honest to gods didn’t deserve it, was Bataar Jr. Downplaying everything he did to “I was just in it for Kuvira’s love! I thought we were going to rule the world together!” was the biggest disservice to his character… I mean, did he really have no convictions? All the season it looks like he genuinely believed in what they were doing until suddenly he doesn’t. I’m not really complaining about his reaction to Kuvira’s cannon blast… more about how that cannon blast turned into such a reality blast that he suddenly snapped out of his beliefs and joined the good guys. They pretty much made it so Suyin was right about him being manipulated all along, when the show had NEVER played it that way until then. Utterly disappointing.

But whatever, still true that villains in this franchise are hardly ever given a chance to grow and change, which is what makes them fascinating for me, when it happens. It’s a lot more interesting to witness how a character loses himself to evil than just… being constantly told and shown they’re evil and that they need to be stopped. We’ve had plenty of those stories already, I think.

[ceslatoil]

Legend of Korra

AW YES, TIME TO SHINEBefore I was deeply buried into the GF fandom, the Avatar franchise was one of my main fandoms. I got lots to say.The first character I first fell in love with: 
Bolin-- my precious, sweet Bolin, he was soft and sweet and kind of a cutie when we first met him, and I was thoroughly ticked about how his character was treated in season 2. (I was mad about a lot of things in season 2. We all were. It was a dark time.) And he just got some outstanding character development over the course of the series? I am so proud of him I hope he gets to make lots of movies and stays with Opal forever and has all the good things happening to him in the comics.The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: You know, you don't expect to like, let alone love, the fake out love interest voiced by the same actress who played Yue in the god awful live action adaptation, and yet, Asami Sato just might be my favorite character and I would die for her.
The character everyone else loves that I don’t: Granted, they're a pretty big base breaker to begin with, but man did I not care for Ma/ko at all. We'll get back to this.
The character I love that everyone else hates: Poor Su-Yin got a ton of hate, and yet I loved her a ton? I loved all of the Metal Clan TBH I hope we see more of them.
The character I used to love but don’t any longer: Not that I dislike them, but I'm not as wild about Bumi as I once was. 
The character I would totally smooch: Tenzin, Asami, Lin, Korra-- there's a lot of pretty people on this show and I love them all.
The character I’d want to be like: Asami Sato is everything I aspire to be and more. Also, if I reach my fifties and become a badass lady who's still kicking ass and getting shit done like Lin Bei Fong, I will be super happy.
The character I’d slap: MA/KO. Sorry, that's a reflex. But Tarlock, Unaloq, and Bataar Jr. are, in the grand scheme of things, much more worthy of being slapped. 
A pairing that I love: Korrasami, of course! I love how these two went from being rivals over a dumb guy to best friends to starting a romantic relationship with one another, it's so sweet! I'm glad they're getting more content together in the comics. Additionally, I like Bopal (both of them are total cuties and I'm glad they fixed things up in book four, I hope they're still going strong in the comics) and Kai/Jinora as well (they're such sweet kids!) Friends to lovers is always the best tbh. The fact that all of these relationships started up in season 3, arguably the best season of Korra to date, is wonderful.
A pairing that I despise: It has come to this.Y'all. I cannot STAND Ma//ko//rra. Additionally, I hate Masa//mi just as much. Just, everything about their relationship was bad-- the fact Mako and Korra were hella rude to each other most of the time before they got together, the fact that Mako CHEATED ON ASAMI and then lied about it, the fact that he got together with Asami and lead her on for weeks despite being attracted to Korra, the fact that Mako emotionally neglected Asami most of the time they were together, the fact that when he finally got with Korra, they were STILL ACTING LIKE A BUCKET OF ASSHOLES TO EACH OTHER; when they break up the first time he immediately treats Asami like a rebound girl, and when Korra comes back, he tells her he never broke up with her in the first place right in front of my girl Asami, who deserves better, so much better you guys.Just-- a lot of this nonsense (which ate upore time in seasons one and two than it really should have) soured me towards Mako's character for a long time, and could have been avoided all together if Korrasami had been endgame the whole time instead of this poor man's subsitute for Zu//tara (another ship I don't like.) It doesn't help that a lot of the fans for Mak///orra dumped a lot of unneeded hate onto poor Asami for no reason. I'm glad the bottles went unpopped.