#tlok comics critical

[justanotherthrowaway1950]

Why I Dislike Amon and Kuvira

Note: While I don’t think The Legend of Korra (TLOK) is as good as Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA), I still think it is a pretty good show, and that 99.9% of its problems can be traced to Nick not giving Bryke a full four seasons with a proper budget from the outset. However, I don’t think any piece of fiction is perfect, hence why I criticize TLOK like I do ATLA.

Amon and Kuvira are two characters who are important to TLOK’s narrative not only on an individual, character level, but also because they represent previously unaddressed social issues in ATLA’s world as well.

This is because in Amon’s case, the Equalist movement he heads deals with an important issue that the original ATLA glosses over at best: the issue of benders being innately superior to non-benders.

Or more specifically, the fact that, unless you are a highly trained and/or highly gifted non-bender like Piandao, Mai, Ty Lee, Suki, or Sokka, your bog standard bender who has the slightest amount of training has a nigh-insurmountable power advantage, and thus has every incentive to lord their unearned power over non-benders.

Meanwhile, Kuvira deals with an issue that up until her becoming the main villain of Season 4 was barely addressed in TLOK’s intro and glossed over in the ATLA comics: how would Earth Kingdomers feel about the United Republic being formed from the Fire Nation’s oldest Earth Kingdom colonies.

Or more specifically, how, after getting pressured by Fire National colonialists and those close to them, King Kuei and Avatar Aang worked with Fire Lord Zuko to give the oldest colonists the option of self-determination, which they exercised to form the United Republic.

This, even though the oldest colonies were dominated politically and economically by the Fire Nationalist colonists and their close allies, with the marginalized Earth Kingdomer masses having little to no say in regards to the above mentioned process.

(If you disagree with my characterization of how Earth Kingdomers would view the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis, please check out The Problem with Yu Dao and A Potential Solution where I go into much more detail about this topic.)

However, it is precisely because Amon and Kuvira represent previously unaddressed social issues in ATLA’s world that I dislike them.

For in Amon’s case, before his identity was revealed, I was interested to see how the Krew would defeat him, let alone defeat the Equalist Movement since it wasn’t a problem that could be punched.

However, after his identity was revealed, I quickly soured on his character since, with him being a psychic, 24/7 bloodbender, it became apparent that the only way to beat him would be having an Avatar State Korra fight him or through a deus ex machina, with the latter being the way how he was defeated.

And I started disliking him once it became clear that the Equalist movement died off just because he was exposed as a fraud and Republic City’s all-bender council got replaced by a democratically elected unitary executive, one who so far has been non-benders due to non-benders numerical dominance.

This is because the underlying issue of benders having an innate advantage over non-benders never really got resolved, and so I hate how Amon’s character was used to avoid a real discussion or give any real solutions to said problem.

Especially since in real life, even if a movement’s leader is exposed as a fraud, the movement, or at least some variation of it, will continue to persist since movements, or more specifically, underlying issues in society, create leaders, not the other way around.

Meanwhile, I dislike Kuvira because, despite growing up in a world where the horrors of the Hundred Year War and the failures of the Hundred Year War era Fire Nation were surely taught to children like her, she decided to repeat them with her concentration camps and illegal and immoral war of conquest.

(Yes, I know canonically Kuvira did not know about the concentration camps, but even if that is the case, I still hold her responsible for them.) 

(This is because commanders/generals in the real world are responsible for the actions of their subordinates when it comes to war crimes, and more generally, leaders are generally responsible for the actions of their subordinates when their subordinates are acting within the scope of their relationship. Thus, I hold her to that standard, even if the war crimes tribunal of the United Republic doesn’t.)

(Also, her attempt to retake the United Republic was an illegal and immoral war of conquest since the United Republic had been a sovereign state for over 70 years, with its sovereignty recognized by all the other nations in the world, including the Earth Empire’s predecessor, the Earth Kingdom. Moreover, even if it hasn’t been said explicitly yet in canon material, I am pretty sure in the 70-odd years between the end of ATLA and the start of TLOK the five nations signed treaties making wars of conquest illegal.)

This, even though her adopted grandma fought in the War and was friends with Fire Nationals who grew up in the Hundred Year War era Fire Nation, and more likely than not told her about her and her Fire National friends experiences.

And why does she do all that? Not because she actually believes that the way the United Republic was formed was immoral and an act of injustice against the Earth Kingdom, but because of unresolved abandonment issues.

And when she “redeems” herself, she does the bare minimum before finally admitting her fault and getting house arrest in Zafou, the closest thing to paradise on Earth.

I thought Kuvira could have been used to tell a story about the evils of revanchism, and how an inability to let go of past territorial injustices and focus on the present leads people to becoming the very monsters they claim to be fighting against.

That and what steps an authoritarian conqueror would have to take to credibly redeem themselves not only in the world’s eyes, but also in the eyes of their people, who they betrayed and misled with their lies about peace and prosperity through violence and subjugation.

Instead, we instead essentially get a sane, adult Azula who doesn’t have the excuse of indoctrination and got a really undeserved and unearned redemption that fanfics often give to a heavily woobified Azula.

This, all while never directly addressing the Earth Kingdom’s lingering resentment towards the United Republic, nor ever giving a concrete resolution to said resentment.

So to conclude, I dislike Amon and Kuvira’s characters because the resolution of their arcs were not only unsatisfying on a personal level, but also ruined the potential to meaningfully address key issues present in TLOK’s world, thus weakening TLOK as a whole.

[sjbattleangel]

Special thanks to @agramuglia for inspiring this awful joke.

Everyone: "Steven Universe/She-Ra/Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend Of Korra/Star Wars: The Last Jedi/The Last Of Us/The Last Of Us Part II/The MCU/G. Willow Wilson's Ms. Marvel run/Gail Simone's Birds Of Prey run/The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance/The Persona games/The Sandman/X-Men/The Simpsons/Everything by Dan Slott/Everything by Tom Taylor/Everything by Jason Aaron/Everything by Donny Cates/Everything by Brian Michael Bendis/Everything by Devin Grayson/Everything by Jonathan Hickman/Everything by Scott Snyder/Everything by James Tynion IV/Everything by Joshua Williamson, etc are anti-intellectual, regressive, pro-status quo, far-right Trojan Horses pretending to be "diverse and progressive" just so they can take advantage of naïve leftists."

Me: "No. That's Velma".

[justanotherthrowaway1950]

Yeah, the optimist in me thinks that with essentially unlimited time and money, years to learn from their mistakes with the Yang ATLA comics and TLOK (both the show and comics), and them hiring good writers like Faith Erin Hicks and F.C. Yee, Bryke will deliver good content with Avatar Studios.

But the pessimist in me worries that they haven't learned from their mistakes, namely not hiring writers willing to push back on their worst tendencies (ex. love triangles, plot convenience writing, etc.), and so we'll get more content on the level of S&S and Ruins of Empire.

So I guess we'll have to wait and see. Also, thank you for being civil as well.

Having atla thoughts:

I think requiring Jet to forgive Iroh in order to call him healed, is like requiring Katara to forgive her mum's murderer. Iroh commanded the rough rhinos who burned Jet's village and he's so wise and jolly that it's easy to forget him being responsible for many deaths in the past .

And no one in the right mind would suggest that Katara should befriend Yon Rha, yet all this takes about Jet working at the jasmin dragon tea shop, and so being redeemed, are treated like some mercy to his character.

[wlwmk]

How do you think Makorra would occur in Season 3 and 4, with themes like Korra's PTSD and Mako & Bolin finding their family?

I genuinely think b3 is already good how is it, especially with how much action there's in it so there's not that much place for the rest, but Makorra still here even if it's mostly casual and the post break up context.

There's doubts and tension especially from Mako's side. But Korra is constantly reassuring him through some affectionately actions and words "You're part of team avatar. " and Mako still truly care about Korra and despite being awkward around her (due to still romantic feelings, but that's on my interpretation even if theses two were obviously baited until the very end) he's still her white knight constantly protecting her (fought the red lotus, making up plan for her to be safe despite putting himself in danger, plan to find her back..) like he always did since the beginning, showing how extreme their relationships status could change, they'll always care and deeply need each other.

They're truly a such cool lovers to exes positive representation, I'm glad for it 🙏🏽

but here comes b4...

tbh even with that one book I don't have that much to say outside that ending, cuz once again we got major Makorra moments- he literally accompanied her during a major step in her recovery journey? (facing Zaheer) Telling her how he got dead worried and was actually mad at her for not updating him? His part in the remembrance episode being just him ranting about how Korra is incredible, amazing, spectacular, show stopping, totally unique, never the same- and how she moved his whole world and inspired him, to the point he unhesitatingly sacrificed himself in the b4 finale directly paralleling Korra's sacrifice in b3 finale.

And with that last sentence I want to bring back my problem with that end and also the comics.

Makorra literally share a such specific and traumatic same experience through these sacrifices, which is being disabled and partially losing their skills while being used to be very talented, even prodigies, benders and fighters... but they did NOTHING of it ignoring Mako's trauma, acting like Korra is all 'healed' also ignoring her trauma too cuz let's be real 'korra alone' was FAR from enough, and their relationship in general, especially in the comics, destroying what they build since b1 making Korra and Mako so distant (Korra not caring about Mako's arm while she literally lived the same experience he's going through) They could help and heal together understanding e/o so well.

So my main complain will be mostly that and post b4 in general and how Makorra straight up got wasted and just loose a godly storyline over whatever bs we got instead.

Now on Mako and Bolin's fam path of plot, I don't think Korra was necessary in it since it's really focused on the bros unused back story, which I hope will be digged even more later.

That's it i guess. Hope I actually answered your question 🫶🏽

[lovegrowsart]

i'll be honest every time i see atla fandom defend characters' unacknowledged flaws/mistakes/underdevelopment using some comic panel or another i have to laugh, as if bryke constantly relying on extratextual material to atla and tlok to try and fix the holes they write themselves into isn't a massive indicator they're generally quite bad at writing a good and cohesive story on their own/when they insist on complete creative control 🫠

[emma-o-yt]

Avatar: The Last Airbender's Pro Colonialist Message

[queen-morgana91]

Zuko stepped down as fire lord

Toph moved to the swamp

Katara (an 87 year old woman) is an healer, she’s mourning the losses of her husband and brother and wants to chill out

Guess which character is criticized 24/7 for SHIPPING REASONS while the other two are getting a pass?

Katara got everything she deserved and not just with romance. Finding love just happened to come up too.

She got the chance to grow stronger and braver and kinder. She was able to master waterbending, a part of her culture and herself after growing up for years without a kindred spirit let alone a teacher. She found herself while helping Aang, the Avatar. She saved the world. She's a hero, a world leader, a politician, a master and a healer. She fell in love with a kind, sweet, funny, powerful boy who she hard-core bonded with after traveling with him for months on end. She was happy :)

Tlok and the comics writing is perfect? Nope. But the bad writing is not only a problem with Katara, but the whole gaang

Anyway, i fucking love her ❤

[kataraslove]

how do you feel about people saying Katara post the show was just a “house wife” and a “baby maker”? I personally think it’s super stupid and fucked up…while I do understand the criticisms for the comics ESPECIALLY the promise. TLOK criticisms for her character are pretty damn dumb to me…honestly the only thing I can get is the critical for her not being at Jinoras ceremony.

something that the original show does really well is present the dichotomy of katara; she's hot-headed, stubborn, determined, argumentative, protective, a fighter and a warrior. at the same time, however, she's presented as compassionate, kind, caring, nurturing, a healer. atla does an incredible job to avoid caging katara into one facet, unlike other media that tend to restrict their female characters who present feminine personalities into the group's resident healer/mother teresa figure. fighting and healing are core tenets of her identity. she uses both of these aspects of her identity to win the war, to save the lives of her friends and family, and most importantly, connect to and honour her decimated culture.

i don't think tlok makes an attempt to capture the fighter aspect of her identify, hence where the argument that "she was reduced to a healer" comes from. yes, she's incredibly old. yes, she deserves to rest after a lifetime of fighting. however, you could make the argument that toph and zuko are still in active combat mode during their old years. it's an all or nothing scenario; either everyone in the remaining gaang deserves a fight scene or no one gets one. so i can see where that criticism stems from. however, much of the criticism also stems from the fandom's refusal to correlate power with healing; to see how being a healer is an honour in it's own right, especially in the atla world where it's the equivalent to being a doctor (and katara would be the most renowned doctor there is).

katara does not deserve a shoe-horned fight scene where she's going to be tossed down in the snow five seconds later (like zuko) or where she's going to complain about her back problems (like toph). i can go on and on about how toph’s depiction in tlok is another form of sexist writing, but i think this post highlights it perfectly well and captures everything that i wanted to say.

if it were up to me to write tlok katara, i would:

have spent more time exploring her role in the white lotus. how much input did she have on korra’s training during the south, because i doubt caging her up until she’s 17 and delaying her spiritual journey is something that katara necessarily would have agreed with. i imagine that she would have (should have, at least) a lot of sway in the decisions surrounding korra as a world leader and legendary hero [per avatar legends]. if not that, even as korra’s waterbending master, the companion and spouse of the previous avatar, and the mother of the only airbending master in the world, would be enough to earn her decision-making title.

actually have her take part in the council of elders, especially during the civil war in book 2. no bryan konientzko, a tumblr post explaining that you can see her on the council of elders while your show is airing isn’t enough. we should have gotten katara’s perspective on the independence war currently happening with her tribe. particularly, it would have been an excellent opportunity showcasing her leadership abilities that we saw in imprisoned and the painted lady, encouraging her tribe to fight for their justice and independence.

expand upon her relationships with her children and grandchildren. yes, the legend of korra isn’t about katara or any of the former gaang members. but jinora, tenzin, kya, and bumi are all important characters that should be defined by their respective relationships with katara, much like how they’re defined by their relationships with aang. bryan and mike shy away from featuring former members of the gaang to avoid nostalgia bait, but there comes a point when deliberately avoiding the presence that your original characters play on their successors ends up hindering the success of your show. i think katara should be a critical character in the subplot between her and aang’s children, providing her perspectives on her husband’s parenting and relationships with their children.

have her actually leave the southern water tribe. if toph can leave the swamp to stop kuvira, and zuko can leave the fire nation to stop the red lotus, then why was katara constantly portrayed in the southern water tribe? there was an excellent opportunity to have her attend her granddaughter’s air mastering ceremony. i actually disagree with claims that the writers were avoiding having katara and zuko in the same scene specifically because of zutara; i think they didn’t want any of the former gaang in the same place. hence why we don’t ever have zuko and toph meet, or katara and toph (i know toph mentions katara by name, but i truly believe that that was a throwaway line serving as a substitute to appease the audience’s thirst for old gaang interaction. kind of like a, “here you go!! toph mentions her. now shut the fuck up.”)

give her a statue representing her bravery, courage, and determination. this one’s self-explanatory.

she didn’t need to be present at the bloodbending trial if the focus was for the avatar to take away yakone’s bending (and her being a bloodbender, i mean.. there’s NO WAY for anyone else to suspend yakone if she’s there). but i do believe the show should have mentioned something about katara not being able to there last-minute, due to tensions in the south or whatever, and how they cannot delay yakone’s trial even by one week.

i disagree with criticisms that katara became a “baby-making machine” for the air nomads. there’s no substantial support that katara and aang had children solely to repopulate the air nomads. there’s contrary evidence, in fact:

tenzin was the only airbender. if katara’s purpose was to serve simply as a baby maker, aang would have tried to have more children. from a writing standpoint, i think the narrative would have gone out of its way to portray kataang’s family as only having airbenders, or having more airbenders than non-benders or waterbenders.

we would have seen a lot more children in a relatively short time period. bumi, kya, and tenzin have sporadic age gaps, indicating that their conception wasn’t really at an urgent pace, but something that katara and aang took their time with, due to life events and circumstances.

as for whether the show turned katara into a “baby-maker,” by highlighting her family relations over her career prospects, i disagree. i don’t think we’re shown anything about katara in the legend of korra; i think we’re presented with limited information about her on all aspects. from a family perspective, all we know is that she had three children with aang. the narrative goes one step further to even separate her from the family conflict, such that the cloudbabies do not pull her into their grievances with their father and childhoods. kya and bumi’s overall arcs are about embracing their father’s legacy, while tenzin’s arc is about moving away from his shadow. from a career perspective, we know that katara at some point banned bloodbending, became one of the best waterbenders and the greatest healer in the world, then trained korra. in fact, katara’s relationship that is given the most narrative weight is her relationship with korra. i can understand if people’s criticisms are her being reduced to korra’s mentor and a healer, but i will not be able to understand the baby-maker or housewife claims simply because there is no proof.

if we’re examining tlok katara, i think there are many criticisms to be held, many missed opportunities and abandoned threads, but i do not agree with fandom extremes that she was ever presented as a “baby-making housewife turned healer.” i disagree with claims that tlok emphasized katara’s legacy as only having children (particularly her one airbender child). especially because tlok goes out of its way to separate her role in her children’s life, instead emphasizing her role in korra’s life. narratively, we get more exploration of toph’s storyline with her children than we get with katara.

as for the shitty gene yang comics that mischaracterizes just about every member, even momo and appa, i’ve got much to say on that. i think the only comic worth exploring is north and south, and katara’s portrayal in that. rather, there’s a particular criticism of katara’s portrayal in north and south that i want to rebut.

[rifari2037]

What’s . , your Opinion On Katara. And Aang relationship, with each other.?

Short answer :

In my opinion, Katara and Aang's relationship would more beautiful and healthy as very good friends, because they support each other way better in friendship-relationship.

Long answer :

Kat/ang as couple wasn't build up with a good storyline even from the start. Their relationship felt and looked like siblings, Katara even acted motherly to him - many proof for that and the writers said so.

So, there's no reason for me to see them as lovers in the future but just supportive good friends with a crush. But a crush - even in real life - isn't a deep feeling and it's very easy to fade away. A strong feeling needs bond, chemistry, sometimes needs twist and turns to understand each other better and strengthen the foundation of their relationship.

Katara and Aang didn't have much chemistry, just physical contact (kisses on the cheek and hugs) and blushing. But for me, chemistry is not just about physical contact, chemistry and bond is about relationship development - it's Maiko problem as well.

Actually, the writers had so many opportunities to make Katara and Aang's relationship well-written - especially since the writers worship this ship - but instead they built up the conflicts between Aang and Katara in the last few episodes.

Well, at least, Aang and Katara's conflicts was resolved in season 1, but I can say that they were forced to end up together, even though their conflict wasn't resolved in season 3.

Conflict 1 : Aang kissed Katara without consent, then Katara acted like nothing happened in the next episode.

Conflict 2 : Aang yelled at Katara, even though she wasn't mocking him like the others, and she just wanted to help him, then they separated and there wasn't even a single conversation at all until they kissed in the end of the story.

Yes, the kiss was canon, but only because the writers forced it, not because Aang and Katara - both of them - deserved it.

The writers tried hard to keep Kat/ang as the winners in post ATLA. But, the more the writers fix Kat/ang the more the writers failed to make them better in their relationship, in fact the writers even ruined some of the characters - especially my lovely Katara, whose role was increasingly decreasing.

That would happen if two characters are forced to become lovers without being built with a good storyline and the writers don't care about female characters.

I don't read the comic and I don't want to read it. But I read quite a lot of criticism about it, especially how Katara's role was nothing more than just the Avatar's girlfriend.

Also, writing them calling each other 'sweetie' all the time is so cringe. I mean, look at Suki and Sokka, most people said they were the best canon pairing, I said the same. They never called each other 'sweetie', they called each other by name and they were still romantic.

Do you know what I felt when I saw this?

Katara sat alone in the corner, looked sad watching her boyfriend having fun with his fans. I could almost feel what Katara was feeling. Katara was angry, of course, but Aang couldn't understand her feelings. In the end, Katara was the one who understood Aang and let it go. Why is it always Katara who understands Aang? She deserved an apology!

Once again, the writers tried hard to keep Kat/ang as the winners in TLOK by writing them as a married couple with three children. Avatar's girlfriend changed to avatar's wife, but the writers still failed to convince people that Kat/ang was a healthy and happy couple.

Instead, Aang was written as a bad father who only favours his air bending child, while Katara had no role, no statue to honour her, and even her grandchildren didn't recognise her.

Actually, even though I am Zutara shipper, but sometimes I'm glad that they weren't canon. I mean, the writers worship Kat/ang but they failed to convince a lot of fans how good this pair - except the shipper only.

I can't imagine Zutara was canon while the writers hated it, the would ruin Zutara badly!

And since the writers are on board in The Avatar: The Last Airbender Movie next year, I'm guessing they'll try to win Kat/ang over (again) and I wouldn't be surprised if it fails (again).

That's why I'm not waiting for the movie.

Katara and Aang don't need to be lovers to be great characters, they can have a sweet relationship as friends and family. All the crush scenes between them could be removed and it wouldn't change the storyline one bit - maybe just annoy the shippers.

NATLA proved that. Aang and Katara had a family-relationship and it was very very sweet. NATLA removed all the scenes of Aang having a crush on Katara, even the Cave of the Two Lovers scene was replaced with Sokka and Katara. Did the main storyline changed? Not at all.

I once read an opinion from a Zutara shipper. The point is, when Aang and Katara are together, Katara has to stay away from Zuko (because their chemistry is stronger). It happened in TLOK, when Katara didn't show up to her granddaughter's coronation because Zuko was there.

Meanwhile, if Zuko and Katara are together, while Aang mature enough to accept his destiny, they will be forever great friends. He also will be a very very very sweet uncle and steam babies' favourite person. It happened in Zutara fanfics and fanart.

I agree 1000000%!!

[darklinaforever]

The horrible writing of Katara's character has nothing to do with Zutara. And even when we Zutara shippers talk about Katara's horrible treatment in the comics and TLOK, it's never when talking about the ship. But simply how the canonical character was managed and by extension his relationship with Aang which are real disasters whether you like it or not. There are literally tons of comparisons between Katara and the other members of the gaang that prove how she has been neglected as a character. I've already made several posts explaining my point of view on Katara's treatment, so I won't repeat myself here. But it's still an argument that comes up often, I have the impression among pro Kataang people accusing pro Zutara of being misogynistic for not accepting the life that Katara has led, when it's only a question of criticism. objective on how the character was managed! In any case, these people tend to only see the surface, refusing in-depth analysis to only see what suits them... Not to mention all this attempt to negate the fact that Maiko is a toxic couple and that Mai herself is a character with overall writing problems.

Anyway, can we really expect much from someone who is clearly a ghost blog ?

And then when we see what some pro Kataang say :

We wonder who is really saying misogynistic remarks... Especially sorry, it's mainly the pro Kataang who keep repeating that Katara is the avatar's girl, his forever girl over and over again, as if she were Aang's property. But apparently no, the problem is the Zutara who point out the misogynistic writing of a female character.

[burst-of-iridescent]

I feel like the upcoming kataang!movie they are gonna do a hell of a job compensating for everything that peeved people about tlok like have them mention how they are like so super happily married for every five seconds and that they have no marital problems, like, ever and that they are each other’s one and only 5ever and that Katara is happily a housewife if it means Aang can do his avatarly duty and that Zuko officiated their marriage to get back at those Zutara shippers or whatever

considering literally everything that has come out about kataang in the last half a decade has been nothing more than damage control for the show and early comics... yeah, i see it.

they literally shoved in a "look! aang does domestic work after all HAH!" even in the fucking cookbook that maybe like 2% of the fandom bought so the movie is definitely going to be chock full of entirely unsubtle moments put in solely as a fuck-you to anyone who dared criticize bryke's perfect self-insert ship. poor zuko's probably going to become the bryke soapbox on kat.aang just so they can rub it in our faces because "look! even zuko loves kat.aang what do you MEAN he would never say that shut up about his sizzling chemistry with katara - "

either ways, it makes no difference to me. they could have every single character turn directly to the camera and say aang and katara have the most perfect romance of all time, and that would still do absolutely nothing to fix how their relationship started in atla, and how it inevitably ended in lok. nothing they do in the gaang movie will retcon how utterly irrelevant katara became in the legend of korra, or the complete lack of respect aang (and the narrative) had for her agency and boundaries in atla.

short of inventing time travel and rewriting the show, the problems with kat.aang cannot be handwaved away no matter how much bryke tries to word-of-god it. it's a pity most of the general atla fandom is definitely going to eat it up, but i'll just be over here shipping my beloved zutara in peace and ignoring the fuck out of "canon" like i always have :)

[justanotherthrowaway1950]

The Problem with Yu Dao and A Potential Solution

On the surface, the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis was nothing but a success, both in the short and long-term. For allowing Yu Dao and the oldest Fire Nation colonies self-determination not only prevented ethnic cleansing and the Hundred Year from restarting, but also led to the creation of the United Republic as well.

A place that not only serves as the dominant economic and cultural hub in the world, but also eventually became a laboratory of democracy as well, being the first place in ATLA’s modern history to elect its leader by way of popular vote.

However, on closer inspection, the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis was not the complete success that the ATLA franchise frames it as, but in fact one of its biggest mistakes due to three, discrete, but interrelated, reasons.

First, the fact that the people pushing for self-determination in Yu Dao were more likely than not representative of the greater population, and that push for self-determination in-universe is seeped in racist, pro-colonist rhetoric. 

Second, the fact that the Yu Dao crisis was solved by “self-determination” sent several wrong messages that also led to severe consequences during Korra’s era.  

Third, the fact that there is no way that the Fire Nation could have paid the Earth Kingdom anywhere near the true value of the oldest colonies, thus retarding the Earth Kingdom’s ability to rebuild after the war, and is partially why the Earth Kingdom is in such a sorry state during Korra’s era.

In regards to the first point, Kori and her family and close friends are not representative of the entire Yu Dao population, being instead a minority of the population in which their proximity to political and/or economic power shielded them from the burnt of the Fire Nation’s tyranny.

And while they have a good point about how the Harmony Restoration Movement would lead to ethnic cleansing by forcing mixing families to choose between leaving their long-time homes and having their families broken apart, they are not the only people whose opinions matter when it comes to the oldest colonies.

This is because, even if The Search and related material gloss over it, Yu Dao, like the rest of the oldest colonies, have a massive Earth Kingdomer population, one that more or less serves an underclass exploited by Fire Nationals.

Yet, despite having ample chances to do so, none of the Gaang or Kori and her allies ever ask such people for what should be done in regards to Yu Dao’s future.

This, even though they would likely have different opinions than Zuko, Kori, and like minded people about how Yu Dao’s future should go after learning about the problems with the Harmony Restoration Movement in its current form.

Likewise, while there are non-Yu Dao Earth Kingdomers who do get to express their opinion on what should happen with the oldest colonies, they never get a chance to express what should happen after being presented with the reality that the Harmony Restoration Movement in its current form would result in ethnic cleansing, not even Kuei, at least not before Aang all but forces Kuei to accept Yu Dao has the “right” to self-determination.

(No, not every group that claims to be a distinct “nation” has a right to self-determination. For if that was the case, groups like white nationalists or Christian nationalists in the United States would have the right to self-determination, and I don’t think anyone but a fringe minority believes that to be true.)

But the fact that self-determination in Yu Dao was mostly decided by a small, unrepresentative portion of the population is made worse by the fact that it is steeped in racist, pro-colonialism rhetoric.

This is because Zuko, after Katara pointed out that there is massive socioeconomic inequality between the Fire Nationals and Earth Kingdomers, argues in part to keep the oldest colonies since they were better off before the Fire Nation colonized them, which is appalling for in- and out-of-universe reasons.

For in-universe, why would the (supposedly) former imperialist who got un-indoctrinated by spending months as a refugee witnessing first hand the Fire Nation’s “greatness,” and got painfully rejected by an Earth Kingdom village he saved because he was part of the family responsible for their suffering, express such sentiments?

Like what happened to the pensive, self-reflective person, one who is aware of his place in history and is hell bent on undoing all the suffering he and his people have wrought upon the world, that Zuko became post-Day of Black Sun?

Meanwhile, out-of-universe, if you were to switch out Zuko's words with some modern places, it would sound like something out of /pol.

For modern racists and/or imperialist apologists justify Western settler colonialism in part by saying that without their “intervention”, the places they colonized would have remained underdeveloped.

Like, is it that hard to see the parallel between your average /pol shitposter saying something like, “Before the West colonized them, the shitskins only had huts and sticks.” and Zuko saying, “Many of the Fire Nation families here immigrated over a hundred years ago, when Yu Dao was just a tiny village at the bottom of a valley.”?

In regards to the second point, the fact that the Yu Dao crisis was solved by “self-determination” sent several wrong messages, both in-universe and out of it, that also led to severe consequences during Korra’s era.

For by having self-determination in the oldest Fire Nation colonies be driven by Fire Nationals and those related to or allied with them without taking into consideration the vast Earth Kingdom underclass, as well the opinion of the rest of the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation suffered little to no consequences for starting the Hundred Year War, and in fact essentially won the War.

This is because the Fire Nation is modeled after Imperial Japan, and just like Imperial Japan had reasons for engaging in colonialism and/or imperialism beyond paternalistic notions of spreading their “greatness,” the Fire Nation likely had other, less “benevolent” reasons for waging the Hundred Year War as well.

For imagine you are a part of Fire Lord Sozin’s governing council in the lead up to the Hundred Year War and you are discussing the benefits of waging the Hundred Year War.

Would you tell him that the Fire Nation would be doing the world a great service by spreading its greatness? 

Or would you tell him that the Fire Nation would be able to achieve several economic and military goals vital to the Fire Nation’s continued existence, at least in its current form?

Or more specifically, by engaging in settler colonialism and imperialism, Sozin would be able to: (1) keep the Fire Nation industrializing at a smooth pace by obtaining cheap and/or slave labor, cheap goods, free land, and easier access to fossil fuels; (2) quell growing class tensions that are endemic to industrial capitalism; (3) divert attention from growing calls from the growing middle class to democratize the Fire Nation, as well limit or eliminate the privileges of the nobility; (4) and make sure their economic and military rivals in the Earth Kingdom would never be able to pose a threat to the Fire Nation again.

Now, imagine you are an advisor as part of Fire Lord Izumi’s governing council and you are preparing a report detailing the Fire Nation’s economic and military power at the moment.

What would it say? That the Fire Nation is a defeated nation-state unable or unwilling to flex its muscles and forced by its leadership to continue paying reparations for the foreseeable future?

Or that the Fire Nation is in amazing shape because: (1) the dominant economic, military, and cultural power in the world is a client state of the Fire Nation; (2) thanks in large part to the ill-gotten gains it got from the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation is now a, or close to becoming, an advanced industrial state; (3) the Earth Federation is highly unlikely to rival the Fire Nation’s economic or military power for the foreseeable future; (4) and as a result of all this, the Royal Family’s, and by proxy the nobility’s, hold on power is secure for the foreseeable future?

So can anyone with a straight face say that the Fire Nation did not win the Hundred Year War?

No, and that is bad because it sends the message that all nation-states have to do to redeem themselves for engaging in settler colonialism and genocide is pay reparations and punish just a handful of leaders, and all is forgiven.

Moreover, it is bad because it sends the message that if you want more land, labor, and resources, just send your citizens to the area you desire and have some of them reproduce with the local population before then demanding self-determination after sufficient time has passed.

Hence, why I think the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis is responsible for the rise of the Earth Empire.

This is because while Kuvira might have been motivated by parental abandonment issues, it doesn’t explain why Earth Empire’s rank and file support her, or why the Earth Empire and those who support its ideology remain an ongoing problem, even after Kurivira publicly repudiates her previous actions and ideology.

But growing up learning about how the United Republic was created does. 

Or more specifically, learning how the Fire Nation managed to avoid any real consequences for waging the Hundred Year War while essentially managing to keep its colonies thanks your ruler, who was put back on the throne in part thanks to the infamous General Iroh, kowtowing to the supposedly now good Fire Lord Zuko and the Avatar, who is supposed to be a neutral arbiter, but seems be especially biased towards the Fire Nation.

Especially once you consider his steadyfast friendship with not only Fire Lord Zuko, but also General Iroh, (Fire) Lady Mai, and Lady Ty Lee as well.

(No, I don’t think the average Earth Kingdomer would care that Mai and Ty Lee were essentially forced to join Azula’s small, elite team.)

(Especially since their “partnership” with Azula ended with Ba Sing Se failing, and especially since they eventually found the strength to stand up to her when their loved ones were in danger, suggesting that they could have stood up to Azula at any point, but didn’t because Earth Kingdomer lives weren’t important enough to them.)

Finally, in regards to the third point, if you look at the where the United Republic is located, combined with the fact that the oldest Fire Nation colonies were home to hundreds, if not millions, of people, the value of the oldest colonies probably would be worth hundreds of billions, if not trillions of dollars, in in real life money today.

Especially once one took into account all the untapped resources such as iron mines and the fact that the area served as the Earth Kingdom’s southeastern waterport.

And even though canon such as the TTRPG says that the Fire Nation paid the Earth Kingdom for the loss of the oldest colonies, unless the Fire Nation was impossibly wealthy, there was no way they could pay the equivalent of several hundred billion, if not trillions of dollars, to the Earth Kingdom.

At least not without inciting a massive rebellion considering how many people and groups tried killing Zuko in the early years after the war.

This, even though the Fire Nation essentially got unpunished for the War, save for having to pay reparations, having its colonists in the newer colonies move back to homeland, and having to give up direct political control of the oldest colonies.

Hence, why it is likely that regardless of whatever the Fire Nation paid the Earth Kingdom, it was nowhere near the true value of the oldest colonies, and why the Earth Kingdom is in terrible shape during Korra’s era, at least partially that is.

For imagine how much easier it would have been for the Earth Kingdom to rebuild and modernize if they didn’t lose billions, if not trillions of dollars, worth of land, resources, and taxpayers and failed to get fair market value back?

“Ok, you make some good points about the resolution of the Yu Dao Crisis wasn’t as cracked up as it seemed to be. But how could Aang, Zuko, and Kuei have come up with a different solution to the Yu Dao crisis, and more generally, the issue of the oldest colonies, without committing ethnic cleansing, or allowing the oldest colonies to remain a part of the Fire Nation?”

By giving Yu Dao back to the Earth Kingdom while at the same time granting the Fire Nationals local control.

Or in other words, in a system akin to China’s old tributary system in which the oldest colonies recognized Kuei as their ruler, paid taxes to Ba Sing Se, and provided troops for the Earth Kingdom Army in exchange for political autonomy.

That way you don't get the issues associated with forcing people to leave their homes, even if they are descendants of colonizers, and you don't have the Fire Nation essentially win the Hundred Year War by having the Fire National-dominated oldest colonies declare independence and become a client state of the Fire Nation.

Moreover, the above solution still results in what would have become the United Republic becoming an economic and cultural powerhouse.

For if the territory was back in Earth Kingdom hands, considering their inability to project real force outside of Ba Sing Se, Kuei and Hou Ting would not have cared that much what happened in the former oldest colonies. Thus, the locals in charge of the oldest colonies would have more or less the same autonomy that the United Republic has in canon. 

And this, in combination with the fact that the oldest colonies would still be located in a highly desirable location with untapped resources and is a place where people from the Four Nations are able to work and live together in harmony, means that the oldest colonies would still become a hub of industry.

In addition, the fact that the Earth Kingdom would be able to get tax revenue from the equivalent of the United Republic, along with having a successful model of governance that isn’t a monarchy in its midst, might not only help the Earth Kingdom develop more than it did in canon, but also prevent the downfall of Hou Ting/rise of Kurvira as well. 

Especially since there won't be decades worth of resentment towards the Avatar and/or the Fire Nation due to Kuei "agreeing" to grant Yu Dao and the other oldest colonies independence.

Furthermore, you avoid having Zuko forget about his experiences and spout racist and pro-imperialist sentiments akin to those said by in real life racists and imperialism apologists to justify letting Fire Nationals and their close friends and family determine the future of the oldest colonies while ignoring the plight of the Earth Kingdomer underclass.

“Ok, maybe what you said makes sense, but if the Earth Kingdom is as pissed about the Fire Nation’s colonialism as you make them out to be, why wouldn't they treat the former Fire National colonialists terribly, even if they are citizens of the Earth Kingdom in your scenario?”

“Like, what is keeping the Earth Kingdom from engaging in state sanctioned murder of the Fire Nation colonists and their families, or expropriating all of their property and wealth, even if they sign agreements promising not to do so?”

Good point, but thankfully, unlike the real world, there exists a figure with the power to ensure that the rights of new Earth Kingdom citizens are protected: the Avatar.

Moreover, beyond the fact that Aang can protect the new Earth Kingdom citizens by himself, Zuko can ensure that the former Fire Nationals are protected by taking measures such as conditioning reparations on making sure the rights of the former Fire Nationals aren’t trampled on.

“Ok, but what about the Fire Nationals pissed about losing absolutely everything they thought they had gained after a hundred years of war? The Fire Nation is not a defeated nation; it only lost due to a coup d’etat led by Zuko. So it seems like letting the Earth Kingdom absorb the oldest colonies, even if the rights of the former Fire Nationals are protected, might be enough to lead to an open rebellion, or at least more resistance to Zuko’s rule.”

The only reason why Zuko didn’t face an outright rebellion in canon, even after Azula escaped with her bending intact, was because everyone knows that the moment Zuko is in trouble, Aang and/or the White Lotus will bail him out.

(In my opinion, if destroying Zuko’s regime and slaughtering his Fire Nation allies and supporters wouldn’t result in Aang and/or the White Lotus hunting her down like a wild animal, Azula would have done so.)

(For if not, why would the TTRPG say that she is trying to unlock the power of dangerous spirits to support her goal of retaking the throne when she could have killed Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee, for example, several times over?)

So, even if they might complain about it, and more people might try assassinating him, it is not going to lead to any more resistance beyond more assassination attempts.

Especially since there is no other viable candidate for the throne that isn’t insane, de-bended and in jail, or doesn’t share Zuko’s views.

“Ok, but isn't your proposed tributary system just as radical, if not more than, as Aang, Zuko, and Kuei coming up with self-determination in order to resolve the Yu Dao crisis in canon? Like, why would Kuei, an absolute monarch, be ok with any of his subjects not being under his direct command?”

No, because the existence of Omashu, with Bumi being recognized as its king and having wide latitude in regards to governing the city, shows that not only is it viable for the Earth Kingdom to adopt an tributary system in regards to the oldest colonies, but also that it has already does so in practice as well.

Moreover, considering there hasn’t been any material released yet that states Kuei decided to exercise more control over Omashu and/or dethrone Bumi, Kuei would be more than fine with having his subjects having wide political and economic freedom so long as they ultimately pledge their loyalty to him.

“The Earth Kingdom adopting a tributary system in regards to the oldest colonies would make sense, if the Earth Kingdom was an actual functioning state. Because the early post-Hundred Year War Earth Kingdom wasn't close to a single cohesive state with a strong central authority, one that could consolidate the wealth present in the oldest colonies.”

“In fact, if the oldest colonies were returned to the Earth Kingdom, it is likely the quality of life present in those regions would have never reached the levels present in the United Republic considering how corrupt the Earth Kingdom was.” 

“So, even if is a little fucked, it was ultimately for the better that the Earth Kingdom did not get the oldest colonies back.”

You do realize this is exactly the same logic that in real life racists and imperialism apologists use to justify western imperialism and settler colonialism? 

Or the logic used by Western nation-states in the past to deny their colonies the right to control their own affairs within their own lands?

Moreover, one of the main points behind the tributary system is that the oldest colonies continue to have the political and economic freedom that led to the wealth present in the United Republic in Korra’s time without it potentially being jeopardized by the corrupt and bumbling Earth Kingdom state meddling in their affairs.

And besides, whose not to say that the oldest colonies staying with the Earth Kingdom, with its steady middle class, would not have led to Earth Kingdom becoming a single cohesive state with a strong central authority, one in which the problem of corruption was slowly but surely getting eliminated?

So to conclude, the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis did turn out well in the long run, but sent a bad message both in-universe and out of it.

For not only was Sozin proven right that forcibly spreading the Fire Nation’s “greatness” was a good thing, but the canon resolution of the Yu Dao crisis also essentially let the Fire Nation and those allied with them off the hook for waging a century-long war of conquest and genocide.

Moreover, the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis is not only likely one of the main factors behind the sorry state of the Earth Kingdom/Federation in Korra’ era, but also behind Kuivria’s rise as well.

However, the Harmony Restoration’s Movement’s solution to the problem of the oldest colonies is equally bad considering it would have led to ethnic cleansing at best, and the Hundred Year War restarting at worst.

Hence, why I think the Yu Dao crisis should have been resolved by having the Earth Kingdom adopt a tributary system of governance towards the oldest colonies.

A system that keeps the benefits gained from giving the oldest colonies self-determination in canon, avoids the problem of the Fire Nation essentially winning the Hundred Year War, avoids mass violence, and gives the Earth Kingdom a real chance at developing.

Or in other words, a fair and equitable solution that allows for true justice in light of the Fire Nation’s crimes.

[shockapple]

【Distance】Part 3-5

I'm sorry, I've been feeling unwell lately, that's why the update is so late.

General Irohll X OC Lieutenant General Zoe

(At this time, Zoe is a 24-year-old major general, while Iroh is a 35-year-old general.

The story takes place before Book 1, when professional bending competitions have just become popular.)

By the way, there‘s an eleven-year age gap between them, so both Zoe and Iroh are worried about criticism.

🕑Updated every Sunday

#avatar #theavatar #avatarthelegendofkorra #thelegendofkorra #legendofkorra #korra #avatarkorra #lok #tlok #iroh #irohii #generaliroh #generalirohii #republiccity #zoe #oc #originalcharcter #fancomic #comic

[nerdylizj]

no girl you are making total sense. i didnt notice the nuance of him accepting her marriage vs him accepting that she believed in her marriage as kya. i still think thats dumb of him, cuz like you said she needed to believe she had a choice and he went and kissed her against her wishes giving her none. very tragic.

when i started reading the fic i thought you were a aang hater because of the way he was being written. people usually write him as goodie goodie or evil mustache twirling villain and it was one of the first times i noticed how much depth and nuance your writing holds. i usually relate to aang a lot, so i dislike the latter portrayal of him on fics, but something i cant relate is how he acts without thinking because im such an overthinker 😭😭

like kissing her after barely understanding how things are between them, even if hes scared of dying, is so INSANE to me, i cant bruhhh if i were in his place and the girl i was in love disappeared and later came back married and with two kids, even if she were brainwashed into it, without even taking in consideration how much she wanted to believe in her marriage as either kya or katara, out of worry for the kids involved i would wait until hearing a “so, we are getting a divorce” before kissing her and trying to be the daddy whos stepped up 😭😭😭 idk man what does he THINKS is going to happen??

I understand! I don’t simply hate Aang. I really wish there was a better character arc for him, I really do. I want for his character and it is frustrating to never see him challenged by interpersonal conflict as much as he was with internal conflict. there are many valid criticisms of him and his choices!!! I’m certainly not arguing against them. In fact, I agree with the majority of them. then you have to consider the canon of TLOK and the comics and … well, there’s only so much wanting i can do before i started typing

this isn’t a fix-it fic but I will be making some repairs 😭 but first I have to point out the parts that need fixing (and the breaks just happen to be bigger by the nature of this au!)

[moestaerrabunda]

RP INTRO

Currently looking for new rp partners, feel free to interact or message me, i'll try to reply quickly!

Some infos about me ;

minors do not interact please, I'm 25yo and only one wish to interact with adults (21+),

usually write multi-para, but mostly I try to match my partners, rapid-fire is also fine if we want something more dynamic (i tend to do both),

nsfw friendly, as long as the plot comes first!

please, no OC, I only do CCxCC,

communication is important, i work during the week but i'll try to provide an answer at least twice a week (sometimes more, sometimes less, depends on my schedule, right)

I mostly write over discord and I use tupperbox.

As for what I'm looking to write (list non-exhaustive, you can still ask for something else) ;

(bold are the ones I mostly want to write rn)

STAR WARS - muses : obi-wan kenobi, poe dameron, tech, crosshair. will write against anyone.

MARVEL (MCU and/or COMICS) - muses : natasha romanoff, druig, baron helmut zemo. will write against anyone, also have a huge crave for some winterbaron at the moment.

ATLA / TLOK - muses : zuko. will write against any ATLA character.

VOX MACHINA / CRITICAL ROLE : muses - vax'hildan. will write against any vox character.

other fandom that may interest me : Six of Crows/Shadow and Bone, Hannibal, The Witcher.

Once again, the list is non-exhaustive feel free to ask if you're interested!

Like this post or send me a message so we can start plotting!

[sorryitisandy]

I've generally enjoyed the dragon prince. However my biggest criticism is that it is afraid of dramatic tension in a big way. It can't even be called comic relief in a lot of situations, because nothing was built to relieve.

There are exceptions, particularly when Aaravos is on screen. Which means they had the sense not to undercut the gravitas of it's looming big bad. ATLA/TLOK by comparison had a much more precise sense of when to use comic relief and when to let tension ride by comparison.

I will concede that this has improved over seasons. Finnegrin is a good example of this. He cracked some jokes and had some humanizing elements, and he had some impeccable charisma. But they refrained from undermining him as a threat. So Good job on that front.