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From the Editor: Happy Oogie Day! |
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Happy Valentines Day to our eccentric community!
It has been an absolute treat to read all the ways you folks have expressed your oogie-rific words as both fans of the series and admirers of fellow Avatar Wikians. We hope that you get as much of a kick/heartthrob out of them as we have - and we did not overlook any love for our team either, so be mindful ;)
Come immerse yourself in all the love and devotion for Avatar Wiki concentrated into one BSST issue. It'll make your Valentines Day extra memorable.
Happy Reading, and Happy Oogie Day!
Of all the sub-skills of bending the four elements, combustionbending is probably the most dangerous and most destructive of them all. Unlike conventional firebending which produces a flame directly from the bender, combustionbending instead creates a powerful beam that explodes either upon contact with a solid surface, or when the bender chooses to. It requires very precise control of one's chi in order to perform it, and comes at quite a risk to the bender doing so. It is a sub-skill of firebending, and is considered rare to the point that only two people are known to have had the ability to perform the art. Welcome to the Amagi, in today's video, we're going over the history of combustionbending. Before we begin, we publish new content every week. So be sure to subscribe to our channel, and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
Combustion Man The first person we know to have possessed the ability to combustionbend never had his true name revealed, though Sokka eventually came to call him Combustion Man. He discovered his rare ability when he was still young, and during early attempts at controlling the skill, ended up badly wounding himself, losing his right arm and his right leg. He had these replaced with metal prosthetics, giving him a rather daunting appearance. Later on, he used his ability in a series of Agni Kai's during which he quickly gained a name for himself. He went on to use it in his chosen profession as an assassin, which is where Zuko joins the picture. After he realizes that Aang is still alive following the fight in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se, he hires Combustion Man to track down and kill the Avatar, which the latter attempts four times. The first time, his trained raven eagle intercepted a messenger hawk from a pair of Fire Nation Soldiers that saw Aang, and in an effort to maintain Zuko's secrecy, read and burned their message. He tracked Team Avatar to a small cove, where it was only Toph's seismic sensing ability that gives them any warning that someone is coming. This is where we get the first real look at the ability, being able to blast through large volumes of earth, and instantly evaporates big waves of water sent his way by Katara. Aang tries to create a distraction on his own, giving the rest of the team a chance to escape, because he does realize that with the kind of destructive power they are facing, they need to be better prepared. Combustion Man chases Aang into a field of rock pillars, effortlessly destroying multiple of them without Aang ever landing a single hit. This just goes to show how powerful this ability is: even with Aang having a decent handle on three of four elements, Combustion Man held the upper hand the entire way through the fight. Their second encounter was in a town called Fire Fountain City, named for the giant bronze statue of Fire Lord Ozai, spewing fire from his mouth and both arms. Combustion Man had made a deal with the local city officials, the exact details of which we can only speculate about, but the result is plain: Katara and Toph were captured in an effort to lure Aang out into the open. Even though he gets off multiple shots, Aang's quick reaction times paired with Katara breaking out of prison manages to keep the assassin busy for just long enough. It's here that Toph inadvertently reveals the one weakness all combustionbenders have: their third eye tattoo. By its very nature, firebending requires an unobstructed flow of chi, and combustionbending is a concentrated form of firebending, making this more apparent. So even though Combustion Man destroys the rock that Toph launches his way, a tiny pebble flies away from the explosion in his direction, hitting him right on his tattoo. This otherwise minor impact was enough to have this giant of a man reeling, and when he tried to fire at them again, it instead blew up in his face, also demonstrating that this was probably how he lost two of his four limbs. This was also where Sokka came up with his definitive nickname. The third encounter was only brief, when Team Avatar split up. [Images from The Lost Adventures - Combustion Man on a Train.] Sokka and Aang traveled a distance by train, but Combustion Man tracked them to the station, and here also showed that he did not care much for collateral damage and civilian casualties, as he opened fire in a full train carriage. The train was also picking up speed since the driver had been knocked out by the explosions, leaving it up to Sokka to stop the train. Meanwhile, Aang lured the assassin to the roof of the train, and as it came to a standstill on a bridge, blasted Combustion Man off with a large wave of water. Combustion Man's final attempt to kill Aang, and Team Avatar by extension, was at the Western Air Temple, where they sought refuge after the failed invasion of the Fire Nation Capital. Combustion Man does reveal himself to be a patient man, waiting for Aang to be unobstructed from his current position so that he has a clear shot. It's Zuko who comes in at the very last moment, kicking him aside to make him miss his shot, but it is here that we see the true destructive potential of this bending art. With a single shot, he obliterates the fountain of the temple, and it also demonstrates something else that is unusual: the range. Considering Aang risks putting himself out in the open to bend a tornado towards the assassin, it's probably fair to posit that combustionbending has some significant range to it when compared to normal bending arts. This does make sense, given that it is in effect a concentrated beam, whereas normal flames will fade out much quicker. What's also interesting is that one of his blasts was stopped by the rare defensive move of firebending, namely Zuko's fire shield, which only blasted him back, but left him otherwise unharmed. But it was Sokka who found the true weak spot of Combustion Man. Using his boomerang to blindside the assassin, Sokka managed to angle it perfectly, and with a pretty good helping of luck, hit Combustion Man right on his third eye-tattoo. When he then tried to fire again, his vision was shown to be hazy, and instead of a concentrated beam, it exploded with enough force to bring the entire temple down, killing himself in the process. [Last bit synched up with the prosthetic arm flying away from the explosion?] P'Li The second known person to have possessed the ability to combustion bend was P'Li, a member of the Red Lotus. Like Combustion Man, she discovered her ability early in life, but that's where the similarities end. Rather than using her ability to win Agni Kai's, she was kidnapped by a warlord, who trained her to become his killing machine. It was Zaheer who freed her, after which she joined the Red Lotus. In one way she did fare better than Combustion Man, because she still has all of her limbs. Shortly after Avatar Aang's death, she began plotting with Unalaq and the rest of the Red Lotus to kidnap Korra and brainwash her to use the new Avatar for their own purposes. But the rest is history; Tenzin, Tonraq, Sokka, and Lord Zuko managed to fight off the Red Lotus and imprison them, all in specially designed prisons to negate their bending abilities. For P'Li, this meant she was shipped off to the Northern Water Tribe, into an ice prison where the cold would stifle her firebending. She also got a special iron band chained over her forehead to stop her from combustionbending her way out of there. Of course, after Zaheer acquired airbending following Harmonic Convergence, he broke the other members of his team out one at a time, with P'Li last. And she does not waste any time, as soon as she is free, immediately deflects the fire blast from Zuko's dragon Druk, before combustionbending his way, sending the beast reeling. She almost kills Tonraq who is engaged in a fight with Zaheer, but he manages to throw up an ice wall at the last second to protect himself. P'Li, however, is free, and the Red Lotus is complete once more. They head to Republic City, where Zaheer infiltrates Air Temple Island to find out where Korra is. Their original plan was to also kill President Raiko, but after Zaheer's true motivation was discovered, they were forced to abandon that goal. The police had closed the bridges looking for the Red Lotus, so they coerced a delivery driver to take them across the bridge. However, due to a nervous mistake, the driver misspoke, giving them away. The police briefly gave chase, but P'Li blasted several of their cars out of the way with very little effort, while Ghazan helped her out by creating a pool of lava on the bridge, trapping the last remaining cars. It's in Zaofu - where they track Korra thanks to Aiwei - that we see P'Li use her full power. When the Red Lotus gets caught trying to kidnap Korra again, the alarm sounds and they are caught in the spotlights, causing them to realize they will have to fight their way out. This is also the only time we see a combustionbender create regular fire, which P'Li does against Mako and Bolin. After taking out the searchlights, she does show off a new ability though: being able to curve the combustionbeam around obstacles. As soon as the metalbending guards trap them, Ghazan creates a lava moat around them, which he and P'Li can very effectively defend, even when Zaheer gets grabbed out while trying to create cover. [Clips from episode The Terror Within.] Suyin comes up with the plan to drop in from the top of the dome, but Lin points out that P'Li would blow them up as soon as she would spot them, further emphasizing just how dangerous this skill is. Fortunately, Suyin knows the weak spot of combustionbenders, which Bolin ultimately manages to use to his advantage; bending a pebble to hit her right on the forehead, staggering her long enough that the Beifong sisters can grab Korra and take her back to safety. Zaheer crash lands back on their little impromptu island, and finally creates enough cover for them to escape to the tunnels under Zaofu. The next time we see P'Li use her ability properly is during the raid of the Northern Air Temple, where the Red Lotus prepares to take the new airbenders hostage in an attempt to lure Avatar Korra to them. She circles the temple in their stolen airship, constantly managing to stop the airbenders from escaping on the flying bison. It's where we see a combustionbender at their most dangerous: being able to suppress a large area, because none of the airbenders are able to land a hit on her from their position. She has the high ground, and what's more, she is always on the move, so her range is practically infinite as the airbenders are concerned. Kai attempts to distract her by flying around on his glider, but she blasts him out of the air, and only at the very last second does he create an air shield, protecting him from being blown to pieces. It also proves just how quick combustionbending can work, because while P'Li was distracted, the airbenders couldn't even run the relatively short distance to the flying bison before she scared them off anyway. P'Li's final stand is at Laghima's Peak, where she first shackles Korra, but as soon as Mako radios the Avatar that the Red Lotus deceived them, Korra fights back. Zaheer does manage to subdue her, what with Korra already shackled, but the Beifong sisters and the elite guard of the Metal Clan are there as back-up. However, P'Li does not hesitate to take on eight skilled earth and metalbenders, and does manage to hold them off long enough for Zaheer to bring Korra to the airship, were it not for Tonraq interfering on that front. But it's here that the combustionbender demonstrates her vagabond style of fighting that she picked up over the years, showing that she is not all about brute force. As she fights Lin and Suyin who are shooting rock after rock at her, she doesn't just destroy them all like Combustion Man did before her, she also nimbly dodges out of the way of some of them, demonstrating an awareness on her part that even combustionbending is not invincible. However, P'Li does manage to get the upper hand in the fight, despite being badly outnumbered. It's ultimately the ingenuity of the Beifong sisters that winds up becoming her downfall. Lin draws the combustionbender's fire, leaving P'Li wide open for Suyin to do something, which she does. She bends up her armor, wrapping it around P'Li's head right as she is about to fire. This means there is the explosion in a confined space around her head, killing the world's second known combustionbender with her own ability as well. [Clip from Enter the Void, possibly with the smoke cloud rising with that last sentence?] All in all, combustionbending is an extremely dangerous skill, both to the people it's being used against as well as the user themselves. Both known combustionbenders have died to their own abilities being used against them, both after causing significant damage to others and their surroundings. [Clips from both Combustion Man and P'Li.] Perhaps with this ability, it is a good thing that it is as rare as it is. [Slight pause in the narration for effect before moving on to the outro.] Did you enjoy our video? Be sure to check out these other great videos from The Amagi, and make sure to subscribe and ring the bell, to be notified about our latest videos. |
The subject of how the Avatar franchise handles themes of homosexuality has always attracted a variety of opinions, but I’m not here to talk about hetero lenses or handmaidens. Instead, I want to focus specifically on what Turf Wars reveals about the context of homosexuality in the Avatar World and how that worldbuilding is swiftly ignored by later entries, such as the Kyoshi novels. Then again, both titular Avatars are actually bisexual, so perhaps I should instead say “queer themes” because it’s more accurate, shorter to type, and it makes the alliteration in my title work.
The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars picks up where the show left off and, among other things, expands the world’s politics by having Kya give us a quick rundown of how each nation views queerness. To recap, the Fire Nation was all for it until Sozin happened, the Water Tribes have a very “don’t ask don’t tell” mentality, the Air Nomads are supportive, and the Earth Kingdom was most famous for not accepting it because it’s “slow to change and militaristically repressive.” Many criticize these stances as not making much sense, but I always thought they were roughly what I predicted. I think it’s less important how the real-world cultures that the different nations are loosely based on view this issue; more important is how fitting it is for the fictional cultures themselves. After all, the Avatar series has always mixed and played with its inspirations, considering that the Fire Nation is a Taiwan-inspired archipelago with the Greeknamed “Ursa” and the Japanese “Kemurikage” spirits. With that in mind, few people really have a problem with the Fire Nation prior to the Hundred Years War. It’s generally accepted this is in keeping with the idea that the Fire Nation used to be much friendlier. The exception is Sozin’s mysterious motive for changing the country’s stance, and certainly “he’s just evil” is the punchline to the comic’s joke, but I think it can be easily explained by him wanting a scapegoat to distract critics of his regime. I think there were very practical reasons for him to do so: As a small community with a practice that clearly differentiates them from the majority, it would be very easy for Sozin to designate them as the Other, responsible for the internal weaknesses of the Fire Nation, to distract from any negative effects of his war. For the same reason, it would be difficult for them to fight back against this propaganda. We do see, at other points, that post-Sozin Fire Nation takes repression virtually to the point of parody, even going as far as to ban dances that aren’t military marches. So, I don’t think this is out of character for him. He may have also had other motivations, to be fair. It’s possible he wanted to pump up birth rates for the war using compulsory heterosexuality. Others have suggested he acted for more subconscious reasons, proposing that he had unrequited feelings for Roku. Personally, I don’t agree with that take, but I think it’s an interesting enough theory to bring up in an overview about the franchise’s queer themes. In any case, while some might find this ambiguity to be a weakness, I’m not so convinced. There are other plot-defining actions whose motives we only have general theories for, such as why Kyoshi didn’t bother to fight Chin even as he was taking over the Earth Kingdom, not until he was almost literally on her doorstep. Either way, we have a more concrete view of the Water Tribes. There are few objections to how they are portrayed per se, although it HAS been suggested that Turf Wars manufactures drama because it wants to have a coming out story without actually risking making anyone look bad. This is particularly leveled at Korra’s fight with her father, Tonraq, who suggests she might want to keep her relationship on the down-low to not attract negative attention. While I agree with the criticism to a point, I also think it makes sense given what we know about these characters and their culture. Why would we expect Tonraq’s argument to be anything other than “just keep it to yourself” when we are soon told that’s how the Water Tribe views it? What Kya says is “nobody will disown you for it, but they’d prefer you keep it to yourself.” It is her explaining the origin of Tonraq’s viewpoint that gives us our glimpse into the other cultures in the first place. For Korra’s part, this must hurt because, whatever his intentions, he’s still telling her that something she thinks she should be proud of is something she should hide because it might offend other people. I don’t think he needs to full-on disown her or tell her he hates gay people in order for her reaction to this to be a valid one. It’s something that affects Korra in a deeply personal way such that it seems unempathetic to say she should just calm down. I think it’s also noteworthy that this leads to development in the form of a heart-to-heart with Asami, whose feelings Korra realizes she wasn’t taking into consideration because she was so focused on her own passion. Kya, on the other hand, is much older and more experienced, so she can take the Water Tribe attitude in stride. She also had Aang’s understanding, which returns us to the subject of the remaining nations and how they’re much more controversial. On the Air Nomads, it’s true that they’re monks, but we’re also frequently told that air is the element of freedom. It doesn’t seem logical to me that they would have strict codes against homosexuality or love in general. While it may be true that this holds the airbenders back from spiritual enlightenment, I think it’s key to the Air Nomad culture that people have to willingly pursue detachment. The nomads can encourage it, but enforcing it, even through social scorn, would be a betrayal of their ideals. Detachment is always framed as being for the individual’s spiritual enlightenment, and I don’t even think it would be particularly helpful if it was mandated anyway. Tenzin is completely unable to open up to the spirits despite doing all of the practice and research for it. At best, it’s not something everyone can do, and at worst, trying to live up to strict rules and expectations is what actively keeps him out of the Spirit World in the first place. So, it seems much more in keeping with the Air Nomad philosophy to accept love but encourage people to pursue it in a way that doesn’t detract from their spiritual enlightenment. The Earth Kingdom, in fairness, is where things get a little strange. The phrase “militaristically repressive” is ambiguous. Does that mean the military is used to violently repress queer people, or is it more of a general idea that the attitude toward queerness is linked to how strict and traditional their society is? Why does it have that tradition anyway? Is it about conformity? If we were expecting answers from the Kyoshi novels, we sure didn’t get them. Rise of Kyoshi reminds us at several points that the Earth Kingdom is supposed to be homophobic, but despite its dark insinuations of how there would be trouble if most people found out about Kyoshi’s relationship with Rangi, nothing ever comes of it. The few comrades they reveal it to are all very accepting of them. Shadow of Kyoshi can just drop the whole pretense entirely because it takes place in the Fire Nation, where this isn’t supposed to be an issue in the first place. The story seems determined to steer clear of the issue of homophobia and focus on positive representation, something it does very well, to its ample credit. Rangi and Kyoshi have a developed, supportive relationship, but they also experience their share of drama and fights. They’re also not treated as destined by fate, or anything like that: The early chapters indicate that Kyoshi had a similar crush on her male friend Yun, and things could have easily gone very differently had circumstances not driven them apart. Yee took great pains to show that Kyoshi’s feelings for Yun were equally valid and that she and Rangi were, above all, a normal couple. Still, it never truly grapples with the persecution that it often hints at. Perhaps this approach isn’t all that surprising, due to all of the feedback that Mike and Bryan received. Aside from the reception of Korra’s coming out to her dad being lukewarm at best, Irene Koh didn’t even want there to be homophobia in the Avatar World in the first place, but the co-creators were adamant about it. Many have sided with Koh and argued that the franchise should be about normalizing healthy relationships, as opposed to bigotry. Personally, I see merits to both views. I don’t think homophobia is a thing that “needs” to exist in the Avatar World, but I also appreciate the variety and story possibilities that Mike and Bryan created by trying to give their history a more complex approach to the subject. Overall, while maybe not strictly “necessary,” I think Turf Wars gives a fine platform of context upon which to build. Which is why it’s a shame that the co-creators see no apparent intent to ever use it. It wasn’t an issue in Ruins of the Empire. Perhaps this invites us to ask if things have changed in the Earth Kingdom, but it’s not clear why and we don’t see what things were like to begin with. It does make a certain amount of sense that Kyoshi wouldn’t really run into problems with this. One of the main themes of her first book is that daofei or bandit culture has very different and, surprisingly, oftentimes more tolerant views than the law-abiding Earth Kingdom. “Abiders” are consistently portrayed as selfish and the type of people who would let children die in horrible conditions simply because they don’t care. Law enforcement themselves are corrupt, gaining power through bribes and political games while their people are left to starve or be victims of bandits. The daofei, by contrast, swear strict bonds of loyalty and often accept people of other nations as if they were their own. Above all, they are motivated by being on the bottom rung of society, so it makes sense that they’re more likely to understand someone else’s struggles and mistreatment, particularly because of the influence from the other nations. This isn’t to say that every daofei would act like that, but it would be more likely. But while Kyoshi’s lack of contact with “abiders” might explain the lack of reaction she gets for her relationship with Rangi, I don’t think it justifies it. I ask you to try imagining how strange that subplot is without knowing the context of Turf Wars: The book keeps referencing the Earth Kingdom’s discrimination against homosexuality as if we’re supposed to make note of its importance, but there’s never a scene where they have to confront this problem head-on. It exists to acknowledge the worldbuilding without doing anything with it. This has been a consistent pattern throughout the franchise. Yet another comic, this one a oneshot called Origami, gives us the curious case of a village beset by the Fire Nation where there are a pair of apparently married men live with no issue. Not that we’d necessarily expect Aang, Sokka, or Katara to comment on it for previously-established reasons, but neither the Earth Kingdom people nor Fire Nation soldiers take any issue besides that the latter want their money. It’s as if the lore established by Turf Wars just never existed. It’s paradoxical that we see the Earth Kingdom confront this issue the most by far, yet exactly ZERO of the stance they’re famous for. While we could say that maybe this village is an exception because the Earth Kingdom is a very large, diverse place, at a certain point you start to wonder why everywhere in the Earth Kingdom seems to be “an exception” and if that’s just rationalizing away a plot hole. It might seem strange of me to expect a darker take on this, but I just don’t understand the purpose of hinting that some pretty serious homophobia exists in the Avatar universe but never having it affect the story in any situation where it actually comes up. I don’t think it should be the defining theme of the series--this series never has just one defining theme--but if it’s so deeply woven into the world’s cultures that not even Avatar Kyoshi herself could fix it, it should at least be ONE theme. This is where I think the promise of Turf Wars falls short. It delivers a premise we might expect to be used going forward, at least now and again, considering that our lead characters for two series are bisexual and in relationships with other women. But it seems as though the writers have gotten cold feet, that something either scared them away from exploring these ideas in more detail or they never planned to in the first place. In that case, I think they shouldn’t have bothered. Not that they shouldn’t have these relationships, which as I said are handled very well, but they should have stuck with Koh’s suggestion of a world without homophobia if that’s what they’re effectively going to write anyway. Now that we’re stuck with that lore, though, I have to ask if they’ll ever actually do anything with it besides the brief aside of Tonraq, or just continue to ignore it?
Here's our latest question for you lovely folks! A big thank-you from the BSST staff to those who participated. We typically reach out on the Avatar Wiki Discord channel to conduct surveys. Missed your chance but want to catch us next time? See you in the chatroom ;)
"What is your favorite pairing in the Avatar franchise?"
Inspired by our lovely community and written by Yours Truly:
Cupid's Canon
Ship Conversion
Fictional Love Poser
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Thank you to everyone who submitted an Avatar Haiku! Here are the entries you guys submitted!
The finale of The Legend of Korra was no doubt a great step in representing diversity in romance. But would Korra and Asami's relationship be written and executed differently today?
A number of people have felt that their relationship would have been more obvious in the lead up to the finale, or at least had Korra and Asami actually kiss in the final shot, and many of these points I agree with. But on the other hand, I think the way that their relationship comes out-of-the-blue fits well with Korra's overall journey, as it gives insight into how we find hope in the midst of trial. Korra's journey in Book 4 shows us a realistic approach to how people overcome trauma. In fact, Korra Alone has been hailed as one of the best episodes in the entire series partly for this reason. When we see Korra make progress only for a new hurdle to trip her up we feel her frustration, and this non-linear recovery is something many can resonate with. But Korra also doesn't make a full recovery; in Book 2 she lost her connection to the previous Avatars, and this is never restored (and it's implied that it won't be at least in Korra's lifetime). And this is often the somber reality many people face after hardship, as some injuries never fully heal. Sorrow and grief can stay with us for life. And although people can make incredible strides recovering and healing from trauma, often complete restoration never comes. This is why I think Korra and Asami's relationship being a more surprising ending resonates so well with the story; because it teaches us that our hope in the midst of suffering does not always come from getting back what we've lost, but rather looking forward to the endless and unexpected possibilities that may await us. In the midst of trauma often it's hard to focus on the future. Instead, our minds can dwell on our present state, or the past and everything that we've lost. But the future is a blank slate, and while that can be terrifying, it also can offer new opportunities and healing. The most unlikely joys may be just around the corner. And that's exactly what Asami was in this case; she was probably one of the least likely characters to end up dating Korra, seeing as they both fought over Mako for two books and they had very little build-up or signals indicating they would get together. But as we see Korra and Asami make their way to the Spirit Portal hand in hand, us viewers can't help but feel like this is the real light at the end of the tunnel for Korra - not the light we (or Korra) thought she would find, but the unexpected love that brought restoration in it's own way. Obviously, there is far more to why Korra and Asami's relationship wasn't as overtly portrayed in the series nor had much of a build-up, like the restrictions around what could be broadcast on TV at the time. And none of this is to say that if Korra and Asami's relationship could have been portrayed more obviously that this would be a bad story. My only point is that while more screen time and a more obvious portrayal of Korra and Asami's relationship could be done if the show were released today, I do think the way it was executed has a profoundness to it as well. What I think this shows us writers is that representation and diversity should complement good story telling. And so often we see when this doesn't happen. Often actors of different racial minorities seem to just appear in a show without their character having any kind of direction or contribution to the plot. There are plenty of female characters who are simply 'strong' without any other defining characteristic. There are times when authors retrospectively make their characters LGBTQ without really any indication in the story itself that they were. And movies can be heralded as 'inclusive' when they feature a same-sex couple kissing for a total of 2 seconds somewhere in the background. And to play Vaatu's advocate, I do think that even minor instances of representation can be powerful. And perhaps I am a little cynical. But I do wonder if sometimes the fight for equality can actually be hindered when the focus is on representation for representation's sake rather than good writing. But the ending of Book 4 with Korra and Asami doesn't feel like this in my opinion. Because although they are two bisexual women being represented in cartoon, their relationship is also a lens by which we learn something about the broader themes of the show, and this makes it feel more intentional. Through the ending of Book 4, we learn something profound about how we find hope in the midst of suffering. And even though the series ended six years ago, this message is just as relevant today as it was back then.
What's a newsletter without random time-killing puzzles and games? This here is an interactive puzzle that allows you to move the pieces of the image around until they all click together. Find out which iconic image we've pulled from the series, and see who gets the best time!
Click here to complete the interactive jigsaw.  |
Before you read this, please note that this article has spoilers for The Winter Moon, a fanon by Earthnike13, so if you have wanted to read this but haven’t got round to it yet, beware that there are some serious spoilers in this article :)
The Winter moon is a fanon story by Earthnike13. It is about a group of teenage waterbenders who live in Agna Quel’a and witness the kidnapping of the moon and ocean spirits, Tui and La. The thieves in question are the well renowned and feared Agna Octo triad, a group of three waterbenders who took what they wanted, when they wanted. The teens went after them, but were soon beaten by an avalanche, and saved by some spirits. Once the spirits realised what the teens were about to do, they offered to train them in the original forms and stances of waterbending. Attacked by dark spirits, benders and history itself, will they be able to save Tui and La before it is too late? This story is a mix of ATLA, LOK, spirits, love and the Water Tribes. Once the first book is initially finished, a second book is planned, but more news about that will come as we get to it. There are many characters in the fanon, but my favourite is the main character, Kawa. She comes from being a student learning basic waterbending to a master, better than her teachers. She leads the group through tough situations, always putting others before herself, which is a quality I admire. She is a strong character, not afraid of getting hurt, but more so of her friends getting hurt. She will defend them no matter what, and that is shown especially when she uses a technique of waterbending that could be fatal in order to protect her friends. She is a character truly worthy of the challenges thrown in her way. So, if this has convinced you to read The Winter Moon, then you can go to the fanon portal and do so, it is an active story. Have a great day!
Here you'll find the latest fanon news and requests from the community. You can also visit the FRRS for an interview or technical review, or the Fanonbenders for help.
Check out some recent artwork from our very own community!
Original artwork by Toph Beifong (User)
Original artwork by 21cabbage: 
Greetings fellow authors!
Avatar:The Republic Saga is a story written by Dscasawang1 and Gligo13, and tells the story of the next Earth Kingdom Avatar after Korra. The original characters take the centre-stage in this story with Min and Renshu, two of the only children living in a small forgotten town of Min Hua in the Southern Earth Kingdom. But there are also canon characters set to appear in the fanon as well. First released on March 20th 2020, the story is already nine chapters in and with more on the way. The next Avatar after Korra is certainly a popular fanon theme, but this story has many intriguing elements including the worldbuilding and tension surrounding the Republic City expansion that it will keep anyone interested.
Avatar: The Republic Saga
Plot Overview
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