#they felt like the show creators were saying that china did nothing wrong and japan in the real culprit of a REAL LIFE TRAGEDY

[saitoakirachan-fangirls]

Remember when that one tibetan blogger tried to say that ATLA was problematic garbage because it was Tibetan genocide denial/revisionism? Lmao yeah, it was incredible

Like I have no problem at all with criticism of misused cultural symbols and cultural appropriation in this show. Y'all are right. But this is next level dude. The absolute rage radiating of their post was so weird tbh and it only made sense if you don't think it's unfathomably stupid to map real world events 1 to 1 unto a kid's fantasyshow

[citrina-posts]

Avatar: Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation?

I love Avatar: the Last Airbender. Obviously I do, because I run a fan blog on it. But make no mistake: it is a show built upon cultural appropriation. And you know what? For the longest time, as an Asian-American kid, I never saw it that way.

There are plenty of reasons why I never realized this as a kid, but I’ve narrowed it down to a few reasons. One is that I was desperate to watch a show with characters that looked like me in it that wasn’t anime (nothing wrong with anime, it’s just not my thing). Another is that I am East Asian (I have Taiwanese and Korean ancestry) and in general, despite being the outward “bad guys”, the East Asian cultural aspects of Avatar are respected far more than South Asian, Middle Eastern, and other influences. A third is that it’s easy to dismiss the negative parts of a show you really like, so I kind of ignored the issue for a while. I’m going to explain my own perspective on these reasons, and why I think we need to have a nuanced discussion about it. This is pretty long, so if you want to keep reading, it’s under the cut.

Obviously, the leadership behind ATLA was mostly white. We all know the co-creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino (colloquially known as Bryke) are white. So were most of the other episodic directors and writers, like Aaron Ehasz, Lauren Montgomery, and Joaquim Dos Santos. This does not mean they were unable to treat Asian cultures with respect, and I honestly do believe that they tried their best! But it does mean they have certain blinders, certain perceptions of what is interesting and enjoyable to watch. Avatar was applauded in its time for being based mostly on Asian and Native American cultures, but one has to wonder: how much of that choice was based on actual respect for these people, and how much was based on what they considered to be “interesting”, “quirky”, or “exotic”?

The aesthetic of the show, with its bending styles based on various martial arts forms, written language all in Chinese text, and characters all decked out in the latest Han dynasty fashions, is obviously directly derivative of Asian cultures. Fine. That’s great! They hired real martial artists to copy the bending styles accurately, had an actual Chinese calligrapher do all the lettering, and clearly did their research on what clothing, hair, and makeup looked like. The animation studios were in South Korea, so Korean animators were the ones who did the work. Overall, this is looking more like appreciation for a beautiful culture, and that’s exactly what we want in a rapidly diversifying world of media.

But there’s always going to be some cherry-picking, because it’s inevitable. What’s easy to animate, what appeals to modern American audiences, and what is practical for the world all come to mind as reasons. It’s just that… they kinda lump cultures together weirdly. Song from Book 2 (that girl whose ostrich-horse Zuko steals) wears a hanbok, a traditionally Korean outfit. It’s immediately recognizable as a hanbok, and these dresses are exclusive to Korea. Are we meant to assume that this little corner of the mostly Chinese Earth Kingdom is Korea? Because otherwise, it’s just treated as another little corner of the Earth Kingdom. Korea isn’t part of China. It’s its own country with its own culture, history, and language. Other aspects of Korean culture are ignored, possibly because there wasn’t time for it, but also probably because the creators thought the hanbok was cute and therefore they could just stick it in somewhere. But this is a pretty minor issue in the grand scheme of things (super minor, compared to some other things which I will discuss later on).

It’s not the lack of research that’s the issue. It’s not even the lack of consideration. But any Asian-American can tell you: it’s all too easy for the Asian kids to get lumped together, to become pan-Asian. To become the equivalent of the Earth Kingdom, a mass of Asians without specific borders or national identities. It’s just sort of uncomfortable for someone with that experience to watch a show that does that and then gets praised for being so sensitive about it. I don’t want you to think I’m from China or Vietnam or Japan; not because there’s anything wrong with them, but because I’m not! How would a French person like to be called British? It would really piss them off. Yet this happens all the time to Asian-Americans and we are expected to go along with it. And… we kind of do, because we’ve been taught to.

1. Growing Up Asian-American

I grew up in the early to mid-2000s, the era of High School Musical and Hannah Montana and iCarly, the era of Spongebob and The Amazing World of Gumball and Fairly Odd Parents. So I didn’t really see a ton of Asian characters onscreen in popular shows (not anime) that I could talk about with my white friends at school. One exception I recall was London from Suite Life, who was hardly a role model and was mostly played up for laughs more than actual nuance. Shows for adults weren’t exactly up to par back then either, with characters like the painfully stereotypical Raj from Big Bang Theory being one of the era that comes to mind.

So I was so grateful, so happy, to see characters that looked like me in Avatar when I first watched it. Look! I could dress up as Azula for Halloween and not Mulan for the third time! Nice! I didn’t question it. These were Asian characters who actually looked Asian and did cool stuff like shoot fireballs and throw knives and were allowed to have depth and character development. This was the first reason why I never questioned this cultural appropriation. I was simply happy to get any representation at all. This is not the same for others, though.

2. My Own Biases

Obviously, one can only truly speak for what they experience in their own life. I am East Asian and that is arguably the only culture that is treated with great depth in Avatar.

I don’t speak for South Asians, but I’ve certainly seen many people criticize Guru Pathik, the only character who is explicitly South Asian (and rightly so. He’s a stereotype played up for laughs and the whole thing with chakras is in my opinion one of the biggest plotholes in the show). They’ve also discussed how Avatar: The Last Airbender lifts heavily from Hinduism (with chakras, the word Avatar itself, and the Eye of Shiva used by Combustion Man to blow things up). Others have expressed how they feel the sandbenders, who are portrayed as immoral thieves who deviously kidnap Appa for money, are a direct insult to Middle Eastern and North African cultures. People have noted that it makes no sense that a culture based on Inuit and other Native groups like the Water Tribe would become industrialized as they did in the North & South comics, since these are people that historically (and in modern day!) opposed extreme industrialization. The Air Nomads, based on the Tibetan people, are weirdly homogeneous in their Buddhist-inspired orange robes and hyperspiritual lifestyle. So too have Southeast Asians commented on the Foggy Swamp characters, whose lifestyles are made fun of as being dirty and somehow inferior. The list goes on.

These things, unlike the elaborate and highly researched elements of East Asian culture, were not treated with respect and are therefore cultural appropriation. As a kid, I had the privilege of not noticing these things. Now I do.

White privilege is real, but every person has privileges of some kind, and in this case, I was in the wrong for not realizing that. Yes, I was a kid; but it took a long time for me to see that not everyone’s culture was respected the way mine was. They weren’t considered *aesthetic* enough, and therefore weren’t worth researching and accurately portraying to the creators. It’s easy for a lot of East Asians to argue, “No! I’ve experienced racism! I’m not privileged!” News flash: I’ve experienced racism too. But I’ve also experienced privilege. If white people can take their privilege for granted, so too can other races. Shocking, I know. And I know now how my privilege blinded me to the fact that not everybody felt the same euphoria I did seeing characters that looked like them onscreen. Not if they were a narrow and offensive portrayal of their race. There are enough good-guy Asian characters that Fire Lord Ozai is allowed to be evil; but can you imagine if he was the only one?

3. What It Does Right

This is sounding really down on Avatar, which I don’t want to do. It’s a great show with a lot of fantastic themes that don’t show up a lot in kids’ media. It isn’t superficial or sugarcoating in its portrayal of the impacts of war, imperialism, colonialism, disability, and sexism, just to name a few. There are characters like Katara, a brown girl allowed to get angry but is not defined by it. There are characters like Aang, who is the complete opposite of toxic masculinity. There are characters like Toph, who is widely known as a great example of how to write a disabled character.

But all of these good things sort of masked the issues with the show. It’s easy to sweep an issue under the rug when there’s so many great things to stack on top and keep it down. Alternatively, one little problem in a show seems to make-or-break media for some people. Cancel culture is the most obvious example of this gone too far. Celebrity says one ignorant thing? Boom, cancelled. But… kind of not really, and also, they’re now terrified of saying anything at all because their apologies are mocked and their future decisions are scrutinized. It encourages a closed system of creators writing only what they know for fear of straying too far out of their lane. Avatar does do a lot of great things, and I think it would be silly and immature to say that its cultural appropriation invalidates all of these things. At the same time, this issue is an issue that should be addressed. Criticizing one part of the show doesn’t mean that the other parts of it aren’t good, or that you shouldn’t be a fan.

If Avatar’s cultural appropriation does make you uncomfortable enough to stop watching, go for it. Stop watching. No single show appeals to every single person. At the same time, if you’re a massive fan, take a sec (honestly, if you’ve made it this far, you’ve taken many secs) to check your own privilege, and think about how the blurred line between cultural appreciation (of East Asia) and appropriation (basically everybody else) formed. Is it because we as viewers were also captivated by the aesthetic and overall story, and so forgive the more problematic aspects? Is it because we’ve been conditioned so fully into never expecting rep that when we get it, we cling to it?

I’m no media critic or expert on race, cultural appropriation, or anything of the sort. I’m just an Asian-American teenager who hopes that her own opinion can be put out there into the world, and maybe resonate with someone else. I hope that it’s given you new insight into why Avatar: The Last Airbender is a show with both cultural appropriation and appreciation, and why these things coexist. Thank you for reading!

[exploringfiction]

Yuri On Ice - Groundbreaking representation or cheap fanservice?

DISCLAIMER! This is all my own opinion. If you disagree with what i say, ignore the post, or better, start a debate with what you think, and I’ll be happy to discuss our points of view.

If you’ve had any sort of internet connection in recent months, you’ve heard of Yuri On Ice, the ice-skating anime that’s taken the internet by storm. The hype grew out of nowhere - Yuri On Ice (YOI) has no manga or light novel source material. The show grew so massive for one reason; at face value, YOI is centred around two male ice skaters who fall in love. Yes, I said at face value, because on further inspection into the anime, the two ‘romantic leads’ never actually confirm their relationship. So why all the fuss?

The premise

Yuri on Ice starts out as the story of Yuri Katsuki (YK), a figure skater with anxiety who majorly messes up his skate in the Grand Prix Final (a skating competition), thus coming last place and losing his self-confidence. So far, so basic shounen sports anime. He goes back to Japan, where *plot twist* his childhood idol Viktor Nikiforov (VN) is chilling in the bath, and says he will be YK’s personal skating instructor. This causes some beef between YK and Yuri Plisetsky (YP), who VN had earlier promised to train. The rest of the story is YK overcoming his anxiety and performing in competitions, and the season ends with him placing second after YP in the Grand Prix. With fanservice.

Why does everyone think it’s gay?

Firstly, YOI started out strong with astronomically high levels of homoerotic fanservice. Like, higher than Free! levels of fanservice. In the first episode alone, VN turns up naked in YK’s home, and makes sexually charged statements, such as asking to ‘sleep’ with YK. The turning point however, from Free! knockoff to ‘hey this might actually be LGBT rep’ was the infamous ‘kiss’ in episode 7. Of course, there is a slight issue with this scene.

We don’t actually see the kiss.

This was chalked up by the fandom to gay censorship by Japanese television, however this is not actually true. M/M kisses have been shown on television multiple times, the most notable examples in recent years being NO.6, Mirai Nikki and Shinsekai Yori. This is when the first alarm bells go off, because this is blatant queerbaiting. The promise of a kiss that is never seen and could be easily put down as a hug is Grade A, perfect queerbaiting. This is furthered in episode 10, where YK and VN exchange rings in a romantic style, yet YK insists that they are good luck charms, and VN jokes that he will only marry YK if he wins the Grand Prix. The relationship remains unconfirmed, although there is a pair skate after the credits on the final episode, although this is also not confirmed as a ‘couple skate’.

But what’s the issue, you ask? The relationship is never explicitly stated, yet you can quite easily infer that it is canon, as most of the fandom has. Well, ask yourself - if the couple in question was straight, would this even be a question? The answer is no. Straight couples in romances almost always make the relationship explicit, whether that be through a direct confession or a kiss on the lips. As YOI stands, it is similar to Free! in that the romance can only be inferred, although it certainly has a lot more ‘proof’ (and less actual plot, if we’re being honest here).

Many members of the fandom would disagree, but I firmly believe that YOI is a queerbait anime, and that YK/VN is not canon.

The pros

As much as YOI may be queerbaiting, it did manage to do some good things.

The soundtrack. The opening was an instant hit among fans, and I personally loved the ending theme.

The scenery shots. Although the skating animation left much to be desired, the slower and more scenery-based shots were beautifully drawn.

The diversity. The other skaters were from a range of countries, including Thailand, Kazakstan, China, and Canada, and the USA was represented by a Latino, which was lovely as we do not usually see these nationalities represented.

The side characters. Not going to lie, I thought some of the side characters were better developed than the two mains, especially JJ, Phichit, Otabek, and YP (does he count as a side character?).

YK didn’t win! Now there’s a deviation from a popular trope.

Georgi Popovich. That is all.

The cons (don’t hate me i beg)

The characterisation of YK and VN. I felt like YK was a bland character, with only the anxiety as a real character quirk. TBH, he felt like a self-insert character for the watcher to project their own personality onto. VN didn’t have much of a personality and seemed to be put there as a saviour character/love interest for YK.

YK’s character design. Just my opinion, but I felt like his design was bland and standard anime protag-ish.

The skating animation. Kind of beating a dead horse here but yeah, it’s iffy. They also reused a lot of sequences and spent waaaay too much time on the competition skates, which got kind of boring after a while.

The plot. It was very stereotypical - protag meets saviour who teaches them shizz and they go on to do GREAT THINGS.

The fanservice. I’m not judging anyone who likes a bit of fanservice (I’m not impartial myself), but to me the fanservice in YOI was creepy and left a bad taste in my mouth. However that’s just how I felt, so don’t feel bad if you enjoyed it. Better in anime than real life eh?

So why is it so popular?

If you’ve come this far, and have never seen YOI, you may be wondering, ‘but how did this mediocre show come so far?’ YOI has enjoyed insane popularity - it crashed Crunchyroll and Tumblr when the final episode aired, and it took the Crunchyroll awards by storm, taking home first place in every category it was nominated in (it was decided by popular vote). Some people (me) would even call it the biggest anime since Attack on Titan, due to the amount of non-’otaku’ viewers - that is, people who do not usually watch anime.

My theory is this. Despite YOI being a pretty mediocre show, the creators know their target audience incredibly well. The teenage girl. What do teenage girls, especially those who like anime, tend to be into? Gay boys.

Usually shows aimed at this demographic go one of two ways. The way of Free!  where there is plenty of fanservice, and lots of homoerotic tension, but nothing is ever canon, or goes as far as creating a believable but not canon romance. Or the way of Diabolik lovers, where there is a reverse harem situation, with the girl’s personality so bland that the audience can project their own personality onto her and ‘live’ the romance through a proxy. Maybe with some sexual tension between the boys for laughs (and shippers)

So what did YOI do? It combined the two. It took a bland protagonist, and mixed it with a very heavily implied gay romance, and stuffed it into a plot about ice skating. It then added moderate fanservice, but nothing too strong that would force it into a sort of reverse-ecchi genre. Combine this with a couple of moments that will convince the fans that the relationship is real (and to add interest to the show), and you have the perfect anime for teenage girls.

And it paid off. Sales of YOI Blu-rays and merch are extremely high, and the fanbase is massive enough to call it a total success. I admire YOI to be honest for knowing their target demographic so darn well. To be honest, I think the reason they didn’t make YK/VN canon was to avoid any potential homophobic backlash, but if they had made it explicit I think the show would be just as, if not more popular. And despite not being a canon romance, YOI has indeed sparked a larger discussion about LGBT representation in media, and the fandom has certainly shown showrunners that gay couples = big money. Hopefully, more anime, and indeed Western, directors, will notice the success of YOI and use it to create shows with legitimate LGBT leads and romances. And if you are a fan of YOI, don’t worry! Just because I dislike the show does not mean you are wrong or bad for loving it, canon couple or not. That’s the great thing about opinion!

Who knows, maybe after all the positive feedback, VN/YK will become canon in season 2?

TL;DR: Yuri On Ice is certainly a queerbait in my opinion, due to Viktor and Yuri not being a canon couple. However, the show has still opened up a valuable dialogue about LGBT rep in media, and has shown that a show with a leading gay ‘romance’ can be just as successful as one with a straight couple.

Thank you for reading!

- H

[atc74]

THE VALENTINE’S DATE

None of the images I have used are mine. All were located via google search; credit to the creator/artist.

For @thegreatficmaster ~ Hello, it is I, your Valentine. I hope you have enjoyed the journey of your story with Cas as much as I have enjoyed writing it for you. Happy Valentine’s Day, Nini! ~ Angelina

Since the minute he returned home from school, Cas rushed around the house, making sure everything was perfect. Rowena had been a big help, she had even made dinner; a simple homemade pizza. She even set out the fancy China, the table looked beautiful.

All that was left for Cas to do was queue a movie up, shower and change. He settled on a black button down, with his black three piece suit and a red tie. He wanted to look his best for Nini tonight.

He was nervous. He knew why. Tonight was a big night. And this was Nini. He hadn’t felt like this about anyone before. And who knew what would happen in the next year. Graduation was only a few months away and then Cas was leaving for the summer before starting University.

The doorbell rang. Cas glanced at his watch; 6:58 P.M. Nini was right on time. Cas strode to the front door, collected himself for a moment before answering. He gripped the knob tightly and opened the door; the sight before him took his breath away.

Nini was dressed similarly to Cas. His suit was navy and fit him perfectly, hugging his body in all the right places. His tie was a brilliant cerulean and accented the suit impeccably, set against a white shirt.

“Nini.” Cas breathed out. “You look absolutely fetching.” Cas held out his hand, tugging Nini into the house.

“Thank you, Kind Sir. You look rather breathtaking yourself, Castiel.” Nini wrapped his arms around Cas’s waist, popping up on his tiptoes, bringing their lips together in a sweet kiss. Cas pulled Nini, closer, running his fingers through the dark hairs at the nape of his neck.

Cas pulled back to stare at this man before him. Taking in the whole picture, perfect form his point of view. “Are you hungry, Nini? Ro made a delicious pizza for us.” Cas intertwined their fingers together and lead him to the theater room where Rowena had set up their dining space.

“This is perfectly beautiful. That little red-headed minx has outdone herself, hasn’t she?” Nini looked over the area in awe, squeezing Cas’s hand a little.

“I wanted everything to be perfect for you Nini. Rowena knows what I like and you like me, so she figured it all out.” Castiel disclosed to his date.

Dinner was amazing, the pizza just perfect. Rowena had even included a bowl of fruit, strawberries and mango, along with a chocolate cake. “I told Ro about your fondness for Lindt chocolates, so she made this cake just for you.”

“Oh. My.God. Castiel, this cake is sinfully delicious.” Nini exclaimed after the first bite. “Just like you. Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?” Nini leaned in for the perfect kiss, chocolatey and sweet.

“You did. But you can tell me again.” Cas murmured against Nini’s lips, not wanted to lose the feel of them against his.

“I have a gift for you, Nini.” Cas rose from the table and went behind the bar. He returned to Nini, holding a package wrapped in red paper with silver ribbon and handed it to Nini.

Nini could not stop himself from ripping through the paper like a small child on Christmas morning. Having Castiel was a gift in itself, but this was icing on the cake. Nini squeaked a little as he pulled off the last piece of paper.

He held in his hands a famed photo of Mount Fuji in Japan.

“Castiel, this is gorgeous. Thank you so much. I know just where I will hang this in my room. I love it.” Nini marveled, running his fingers lovingly over the frame.

“I am glad you like it, but I am not done. Nini, the last couple of months with you have been the best of my life. I will no longer begrudge my mother for making me attend that dance. It changed my life. And in a few months, our lives will change again; graduation, then University. Nini, will you officially be my boyfriend? I want us to be together.” Cas took a deep breath after the words left his mouth, his blue eyes searching Nini’s.

“Oh Castiel. Nothing would please me more than for you to claim me as your own.” Nini closed the distance, his lips colliding with Cas’s, sliding over each other as Nini parted for him, allowing Cas to explore him.

Cas broke the kiss, resting his forehead against that of his boyfriend. What a relief it was to finally think the words, not just wish for them.

“Mr. Dickens wrote: ‘The most important thing in life is to stop saying I wish and start saying I will.’ So, as I have wished for many things in my young life, I will stop wishing from this day forward and tell you this.

“This summer, my father is sending me back to Japan as a graduation present. And I want you to accompany me. Will you come with me, my love?” Cas waited expectantly for Nini’s reply, holding his breath as tightly as he held Nini’s hands.

“Are you kidding me, Castiel? My dream holiday! And with the man of my dreams. I love you, Castiel and you cannot possibly imagine how ecstatic I am. Of course I will join you. We will take this adventure together.”  Nini released Cas’s hands, rose from his seat and knelt between Cas’s legs.

He slowly pulled on the waistband of Cas’s trousers, releasing them, but not removing them. Nini slipped one hand inside, gripping Castiel’s member, stroking slowly, gently. He kept his eyes on Cas’s while he pulled Cas’s cock from the restraining fabric. A quick flick of the tongue across the head and Cas was moaning Nini’s name.

“Let’s embark on this journey now, Castiel. Make me yours. Take me to bed and let me show you how much I love you.” Nini stood, holding out his hand for Castiel to take.

Castiel led Nini through the upper floors of his home to his bedroom, closing the door behind them. The room was dimly lit by a few paper lanterns hung from the high ceiling.

Nini didn’t wait for Castiel to make a move. He slowly removed his jacket, placing it over the chair, before doing the same to Cas. Nini’s nimble fingers released the knot in Cas’s tie, removing it from his neck, before releasing the buttons on his shirt. Nini slid his hands up his boyfriend’s chest, feeling the muscles constrict under his touch, slowly pushing the shirt off his shoulders.

Nini turned them and sat down on the bed, pulling Cas to stand between his legs. He quickly rid Cas of his pants and boxers, thankfully they had never been properly fastened in the theater room before moving upstairs. Cas toed off his dress shoes and stepped out of his pants, kicking them to the side.

Nini placed his hands steady on Castiel’s hips and leaned in, running just the tip of his tongue over his hip bones and the solid muscled ‘v’ leading to his next gift of the night. Wrapping one hand around Cas, Nini started stroking him, gently, but firm enough, his tongue darting out to lick the bead of moisture gathering at the tip. Nini groaned aloud at the taste of his boyfriends arousal on his tongue. It wasn’t enough and Nini lowered his mouth over Cas, taking him in as far as he could.

Cas carded his fingers through the hair atop Nini’s head, tangling them the soft strands as Nini bobbed up and down on Cas’s length. A moan escaped Cas’s lips. “Nini, you feel so good...feels amazing...please don’t...okay, whoa...stop.” Cas blurted out.

“What’s wrong? Was that not good, Castiel?” Cas could hear the uncertainty in Nini’s voice.

“No, no, Nini. That was beyond good, but I want to last and if you keep doing that, I won’t. Come up here.” Castiel pulled Nini to his feet, taking care as he removed his clothing as well. Within minutes, they were laying on their sides on the bed; arms and legs tangled together, chest to chest.

The men moved with each other like they had done this before, but Nini was still nervous, because this was his first time with Castiel and he wanted it to be perfect. Cas’s hand explored Nini’s backside, large hands cupping the firm globes of his ass, kneading the flesh. Hips rocking in sync, their cocks, slotted together, creating the delicious friction they both craved.

“Lube? Condom?” Nini moaned into Cas’s mouth

Cas rolled away to reach in his bedside table for the small bottle and a foil packet. Turning back to Nini, he squeezed a small amount on two fingers, before reaching back around to caress Nini’s hole. Slowly working him open, Cas slipped one finger past the tight ring of muscle, then another. Nini was rocking his hips down on Cas’s fingers as Cas thrusted into Nini’s fist wrapped around his cock.

“Castiel, I’m ready and I am gonna ride your cock so good.” Nini informed Cas, before rolling them over and straddling Cas’s hips and rolling the rubber down over Cas.. He situated himself over his boyfriend, before sliding down around him, encompassing him with his tight heat. He gazed down as Cas, his blue eyes now bordering on navy they were so dark and glazed over with lust. Nini couldn't believe how lucky he had gotten with this beautiful man, now underneath him. Bracing his legs on the bed, he started a slow rhythm.

Nini was now bouncing up and down on Cas’s cock, deep, filthy moans filled the air. Cas sat up abruptly, pulling Nini with him and flipped him to his back, never losing contact. Nini wrapped his legs around Cas’s waist, urging Cas to move.

“Nini, I love you.” Four simple words fell from Cas’s mouth as he picked up the pace, pounding into Nini. Cas felt his world tumbling around him as he chased his release.

“Cum for me Castiel.” Nini murmured the words and that was all Cas needed to hear. He loved the way Nini said his name and with a few more faltered thrusts, Cas was coming undone.

Nini watched Cas as his climax consumed him and it only took one stroke of his fist over his cock before he was cumming all over himself.  Cas eased his softening cock from Nini’s ass, lowering himself to the bed, but not before licking a broad stripe up Nini’s stomach, tasting what had been left for him.

After a few moments to compose himself, Cas retrieved a warm, wet cloth to clean themselves up and within minutes, both men were curled up together in the blankets, drifting off peacefully.

“Best Valentine’s ever, Castiel. I love you.” Nini yawned.

“I love you, Valentine, always and forever.” Cas echoed before closing his eyes.

[citrina-posts]

Avatar: Cultural Appreciation or Appropriation?

I love Avatar: the Last Airbender. Obviously I do, because I run a fan blog on it. But make no mistake: it is a show built upon cultural appropriation. And you know what? For the longest time, as an Asian-American kid, I never saw it that way.

There are plenty of reasons why I never realized this as a kid, but I’ve narrowed it down to a few reasons. One is that I was desperate to watch a show with characters that looked like me in it that wasn’t anime (nothing wrong with anime, it’s just not my thing). Another is that I am East Asian (I have Taiwanese and Korean ancestry) and in general, despite being the outward “bad guys”, the East Asian cultural aspects of Avatar are respected far more than South Asian, Middle Eastern, and other influences. A third is that it’s easy to dismiss the negative parts of a show you really like, so I kind of ignored the issue for a while. I’m going to explain my own perspective on these reasons, and why I think we need to have a nuanced discussion about it. 

Obviously, the leadership behind ATLA was mostly white. We all know the co-creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino (colloquially known as Bryke) are white. So were most of the other episodic directors and writers, like Aaron Ehasz, Lauren Montgomery, and Joaquim Dos Santos. This does not mean they were unable to treat Asian cultures with respect, and I honestly do believe that they tried their best! But it does mean they have certain blinders, certain perceptions of what is interesting and enjoyable to watch. Avatar was applauded in its time for being based mostly on Asian and Native American cultures, but one has to wonder: how much of that choice was based on actual respect for these people, and how much was based on what they considered to be “interesting”, “quirky”, or “exotic”?

The aesthetic of the show, with its bending styles based on various martial arts forms, written language all in Chinese text, and characters all decked out in the latest Han dynasty fashions, is obviously directly derivative of Asian cultures. Fine. That’s great! They hired real martial artists to copy the bending styles accurately, had an actual Chinese calligrapher do all the lettering, and clearly did their research on what clothing, hair, and makeup looked like. The animation studios were in South Korea, so Korean animators were the ones who did the work. Overall, this is looking more like appreciation for a beautiful culture, and that’s exactly what we want in a rapidly diversifying world of media.

But there’s always going to be some cherry-picking, because it’s inevitable. What’s easy to animate, what appeals to modern American audiences, and what is practical for the world all come to mind as reasons. It’s just that… they kinda lump cultures together weirdly. Song from Book 2 (that girl whose ostrich-horse Zuko steals) wears a hanbok, a traditionally Korean outfit. It’s immediately recognizable as a hanbok, and these dresses are exclusive to Korea. Are we meant to assume that this little corner of the mostly Chinese Earth Kingdom is Korea? Because otherwise, it’s just treated as another little corner of the Earth Kingdom. Korea isn’t part of China. It’s its own country with its own culture, history, and language. Other aspects of Korean culture are ignored, possibly because there wasn’t time for it, but also probably because the creators thought the hanbok was cute and therefore they could just stick it in somewhere. But this is a pretty minor issue in the grand scheme of things (super minor, compared to some other things which I will discuss later on).

It’s not the lack of research that’s the issue. It’s not even the lack of consideration. But any Asian-American can tell you: it’s all too easy for the Asian kids to get lumped together, to become pan-Asian. To become the equivalent of the Earth Kingdom, a mass of Asians without specific borders or national identities. It’s just sort of uncomfortable for someone with that experience to watch a show that does that and then gets praised for being so sensitive about it. I don’t want you to think I’m from China or Vietnam or Japan; not because there’s anything wrong with them, but because I’m not! How would a French person like to be called British? It would really piss them off. Yet this happens all the time to Asian-Americans and we are expected to go along with it. And… we kind of do, because we’ve been taught to.

1. Growing Up Asian-American

I grew up in the early to mid-2000s, the era of High School Musical and Hannah Montana and iCarly, the era of Spongebob and The Amazing World of Gumball and Fairly Odd Parents. So I didn’t really see a ton of Asian characters onscreen in popular shows (not anime) that I could talk about with my white friends at school. One exception I recall was London from Suite Life, who was hardly a role model and was mostly played up for laughs more than actual nuance. Shows for adults weren’t exactly up to par back then either, with characters like the painfully stereotypical Raj from Big Bang Theory being one of the era that comes to mind.

So I was so grateful, so happy, to see characters that looked like me in Avatar when I first watched it. Look! I could dress up as Azula for Halloween and not Mulan for the third time! Nice! I didn’t question it. These were Asian characters who actually looked Asian and did cool stuff like shoot fireballs and throw knives and were allowed to have depth and character development. This was the first reason why I never questioned this cultural appropriation. I was simply happy to get any representation at all. This is not the same for others, though.

2. My Own Biases

Obviously, one can only truly speak for what they experience in their own life. I am East Asian and that is arguably the only culture that is treated with great depth in Avatar.

I don’t speak for South Asians, but I’ve certainly seen many people criticize Guru Pathik, the only character who is explicitly South Asian (and rightly so. He’s a stereotype played up for laughs and the whole thing with chakras is in my opinion one of the biggest plotholes in the show). They’ve also discussed how Avatar: The Last Airbender lifts heavily from Hinduism (with chakras, the word Avatar itself, and the Eye of Shiva used by Combustion Man to blow things up). Others have expressed how they feel the sandbenders, who are portrayed as immoral thieves who deviously kidnap Appa for money, are a direct insult to Middle Eastern and North African cultures. People have noted that it makes no sense that a culture based on Inuit and other Native groups like the Water Tribe would become industrialized as they did in the North & South comics, since these are people that historically (and in modern day!) opposed extreme industrialization. The Air Nomads, based on the Tibetan people, are weirdly homogeneous in their Buddhist-inspired orange robes and hyperspiritual lifestyle. So too have Southeast Asians commented on the Foggy Swamp characters, whose lifestyles are made fun of as being dirty and somehow inferior. The list goes on.

These things, unlike the elaborate and highly researched elements of East Asian culture, were not treated with respect and are therefore cultural appropriation. As a kid, I had the privilege of not noticing these things. Now I do.

White privilege is real, but every person has privileges of some kind, and in this case, I was in the wrong for not realizing that. Yes, I was a kid; but it took a long time for me to see that not everyone’s culture was respected the way mine was. They weren’t considered *aesthetic* enough, and therefore weren’t worth researching and accurately portraying to the creators. It’s easy for a lot of East Asians to argue, “No! I’ve experienced racism! I’m not privileged!” News flash: I’ve experienced racism too. But I’ve also experienced privilege. If white people can take their privilege for granted, so too can other races. Shocking, I know. And I know now how my privilege blinded me to the fact that not everybody felt the same euphoria I did seeing characters that looked like them onscreen. Not if they were a narrow and offensive portrayal of their race. There are enough good-guy Asian characters that Fire Lord Ozai is allowed to be evil; but can you imagine if he was the only one?

3. What It Does Right

This is sounding really down on Avatar, which I don’t want to do. It’s a great show with a lot of fantastic themes that don’t show up a lot in kids’ media. It isn’t superficial or sugarcoating in its portrayal of the impacts of war, imperialism, colonialism, disability, and sexism, just to name a few. There are characters like Katara, a brown girl allowed to get angry but is not defined by it. There are characters like Aang, who is the complete opposite of toxic masculinity. There are characters like Toph, who is widely known as a great example of how to write a disabled character.

But all of these good things sort of masked the issues with the show. It’s easy to sweep an issue under the rug when there’s so many great things to stack on top and keep it down. Alternatively, one little problem in a show seems to make-or-break media for some people. Cancel culture is the most obvious example of this gone too far. Celebrity says one ignorant thing? Boom, cancelled. But… kind of not really, and also, they’re now terrified of saying anything at all because their apologies are mocked and their future decisions are scrutinized. It encourages a closed system of creators writing only what they know for fear of straying too far out of their lane. Avatar does do a lot of great things, and I think it would be silly and immature to say that its cultural appropriation invalidates all of these things. At the same time, this issue is an issue that should be addressed. Criticizing one part of the show doesn’t mean that the other parts of it aren’t good, or that you shouldn’t be a fan.

If Avatar’s cultural appropriation does make you uncomfortable enough to stop watching, go for it. Stop watching. No single show appeals to every single person. At the same time, if you’re a massive fan, take a sec (honestly, if you’ve made it this far, you’ve taken many secs) to check your own privilege, and think about how the blurred line between cultural appreciation (of East Asia) and appropriation (basically everybody else) formed. Is it because we as viewers were also captivated by the aesthetic and overall story, and so forgive the more problematic aspects? Is it because we’ve been conditioned so fully into never expecting rep that when we get it, we cling to it?

I’m no media critic or expert on race, cultural appropriation, or anything of the sort. I’m just an Asian-American teenager who hopes that her own opinion can be put out there into the world, and maybe resonate with someone else. I hope that it’s given you new insight into why Avatar: The Last Airbender is a show with both cultural appropriation and appreciation, and why these things coexist. Thank you for reading!