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From the Editor: It's Fall, Y'all |
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To those who are unfamiliar with the Ba Sing Se Times, this is a free-for-all submission system that truly relies on you to keep publishing. If you're anything like me, you also wouldn't mind being part of a fancy blog feature on Avatar Wiki's home page just for submitting a sophisticated ramble in style! See those huge, obvious buttons above me? One click is all it takes for your journey to glorified publishing to begin... We WILL see you in our article submission office. We will. You know you want to. |
Fall and Halloween are creeping closer, and what better way to spend it than creeping on this page? That's right, you, we see you and are so thrilled you've stopped by here today. The Ba Sing Se Times would like to welcome in fall with all-new content with your favorite coverage of everything Avatar: Past and present and upcoming, oh my!
Want a taste of what the Avatar fanbase has to offer? Come check out the glorious work below, written and illustrated by wonderful users like you. Whatcha waiting for?
Hey everyone! As most of you know The Reckoning of Roku was officially released a few months ago. My thoughts on the novel were originally highly positive, but in retrospect have turned more mixed. Writing StyleFirst off what I'd like to discuss is the writing. The characters I felt were spot on. Randy Ribay built around characters that we knew much of, like Sozin and Roku, but expanding on them playing perfectly to their characters, all I can say is simply incredible. Each character had moments that defined features of their future self played as I would envision that character to do. Following F.C. Yee, a very tough act indeed. However, there was a large negative effect of his writing however. The problem entails clarity. As Ribay wrote very clearly, keeping the timeline easy to understand while juggling 4 POV's at the same time, it lacked the dimension Yee's writing held. Personally Yee's complicated style made it more interesting but for Roku's story the simpler style was not the most out of place so I don't hold the most against Ribay on this contention. The four POVs were handled nicely, throughout the world converging in one spot eventually. StoryThe story was quite good. Though at times slightly underwhelming, it was a very suitable starting story for Roku. 4 POV's, 3 villains, 3 heroes. All was incorporated smoothly through out the story as it bounces back from the side protagonists Gyatso and Malaya, to the main protagonist Roku, to the side antagonist Sozin, while also following Ulo and the Western Kingdom trading company, along with Sozin's crew, Kozaru and Dalisay. It also showed many of the villagers under Ulo like Amihan and Mamamaril. Its a great under-exaggeration to say they weren't short of characters. I thought the plot incorporated all POV's and characters well overall, though some fell short and others surpassed my standards. The story's development was sufficient, starting from Roku bending no elements to 3 at the end, all but water that ties deeper into Yasu's death. The plot is quite calculated tying in with each other nicely at each segment. There were lots of nice plot teases as well such as avatar Zalir, The "Flameo Hotmen" creation, little hints on Szeto's life, and the incredible expansion of flora/fauna. All of these tidbits of lore call back to several points of past plot points, all relative through relationships. Sozin being a murderer silently begins his villain arc as Roku begins to escape the fire national state that he was in before. This is mostly due to Gyatso's influence, and Malaya's influence on Gyatso allowed him to regain his airbending. Every plot point leads into each other and compliments either one. The epilogue left us in question and slight confusion while being a satisfying end that we didn't need a direct continuation. I did appreciate many of the arcs throughout the book, in specific, Malayas's and Roku's. Though, reading the cut chapter in the B&N exclusive, I felt Malaya and Gyatso's relationship could have been accelerated. I did feel that chapter should not have been cut as it expanded on airbending culture and the trio's relationship. Roku turned Fire National to an avatar figure was very satisfying as well as Malaya's ending which tied her arc perfectly. Long for freedom and she comes close to procuring that, she is killed. Satisfying and not at the same time, and a story that will never have a happy ending, and story wise her death and ending of her arc promoted many other arcs, Sozin's in particular. Few parts of the book did feel unnecessary however. As if they were doing too much. Giving lightning redirection a previous past takes lots away from Iroh and it's meaning he passed on to Zuko and eventually many others. Blue fire being stronger than regular bending has always felt weird to me as well, further empowered in this book. I never liked the idea of pushing an aesthetic to an item of power. Both these are hard topics to weave into the lore, with the rediscovery of lightning redirection being highly awkward and not fluid within the plot. Ozai being the official strongest firebender also contradicts with Azula's blue fire, which is supposedly stronger than regular fire, naming Azula more powerful than Ozai. There were a few awkward plot points like this in the novel. My favorite part in this book was generally the lore bits. They all connected to previous material. I generally liked the ones involved Szeto, such as him growing up with a dragon, visiting Wan Shi Tong's Library, and being similar to Yangchen in the way he was found as the avatar. I also found the Jinpa and Kyoshi callbacks very interesting, like the way she died, and it was implied to be from her recognition of her actions and her killings. I think the dynamic that she became more detached as she lived on was amazing, as well as the fact we do know that she has a animal guide. Of course, Avatar Zalir was also thrown in there. Over all lots of nice continuity, and a nice story. In my opinion, it wasn't as thrilling as The Legacy of Yangchen or as exciting as The Rise of Kyoshi, but was not terrible by any means. The FutureFor the continuation of this novel, The Awakening of Roku, I would appreciate have a larger time skip and perhaps a conflict taking place during his waterbending training years. It would also help us understand more on his direct problems waterbending due to Yasu's death. Another possible option would be for this book to entail a political mission of sorts including Ta Min, the queen of Omashu, Guo Xun, Earth King Jialun, and a large time skip, with Roku in his 20's - and 30's. I would love to see Gyatso as well, but I think Ta Min is a necessity for the upcoming book. Wrap upWow, that was a long Review/Summary/My thoughts. Kudos to Ribay for this great novel. Looking forward to The Awakening of Roku! My personal standings of the Chronicles in retrospect would be:
Though I place The Reckoning of Roku last, all of the novels are above one another in small margins. Overall, I loved Yee's complex writing style and dimension and the previous books were definitely a tough act to follow. By no means is this book a "bad" novel however. If you read through all this thank you a lot it took a long time to type. My full initial review is here, though I do warn you my opinions are different then these retrospective ideas.
The general’s name is Iroh. He looks like Zuko without a scar. He sounds like Zuko (but still with a scar). He is leading a fleet of battleships with benders of all three elements: firebenders shooting through flame cannons, earthbenders on the side hurling discs like cannonballs in the age of sail and waterbenders doing something that I’m sure is cool. “This is going to be awesome!” my teen brain screams at the introduction of the United Forces.
Then it happens. Nothing. Well nothing cool at least. The fleet gets bodied by planes, which I suppose is cool and we get some good naval action but it was all too fleeting. Nevermind, I tell myself, there’s always next time.
And next time came quite soon. The Northern Water Tribe invades the South! And they have cool ships with water cannons. Even better, the United Forces are going to find an excuse to fight them. Time for some good ship-on-ship action that would top anything ATLA ever gave us! Fun fact, no. Then they tease us a second time in Book 2 but it’s just shooting flames at a giant stompy boy. Fast forward to Book 4. Kuvira’s army is even cooler than the United Forces. It has foot soldiers that look like stormtroopers from the Great War, has mecha suits, and even Great War era tanks! Not to mention they’re metalbenders. The two armies are drawn up against each other. Finally, this is what it all culminates in, they’ve been holding out on us but it’s going to be worth it. Just kidding, a giant stompy explody robot gets in the way. This for me is the biggest disappointment with the Legend of Korra (which is otherwise a very good show). ATLA, despite being for a younger age group, showed us some pretty spectacular battles and short skirmishes. LOK had the potential to show incredible battles between modern-like armies with bending. We could have seen how the 3 elements that could afford to fight all fight alongside each other against industrialised metalbenders in the open field. We could have seen them in guerilla campaigns against the Equalists in the streets of Republic City. Alas, it was not meant to be but spare a thought for the finale that could have been. Desperate fighting in Republic City as Kuvira’s metalbenders clear out apartment block after apartment block; a climactic battle on a major bridge; Mako and Iroh being wounded in a heroic last stand, barely making it out alive but giving the Avatar the time she needs to bring reinforcements from the Fire Nation! |
I want to talk about Zhao and his leadership style as seen throughout book 1. We are first introduced to Zhao in episode 3, where we learn he is “Commander Zhao”. Zhao seems courteous enough towards Iroh and Zuko at first. In his tent, he expresses some Fire Nation nationalism regarding the conquest of the whole world nearly being done. Zhao also learns about Aang slipping through Zuko's fingers and decides to capture the Avatar himself to get all the credit and glory: a ruthless mentality passed down in successive Fire Nation military and societal cultures. But then, he decides to get into a harsh verbal exchange with Zuko, his prince, and a teenager no less, which leads the banished prince to declare an Agni Kai with Zhao which he eagerly accepts. It is in this Agni Kai we get more of Zhao as a person once Zuko defeats him and Zhao sneers at him for not finishing him off. By law, the duel is over… not so for Zhao who then attempts a sneak attack with his firebending foot… but Iroh steps in and throws Zhao to the ground. The retired general then says the famous line that even in exile, Zuko has more honor than Zhao who conducted himself in a disgraceful manner instead of humbly accepting defeat. So, Zhao is prideful and has a bit of an ego which will factor in later. The next major action we see Zhao participate in is tailing Zuko to Crescent Island, knowing it will lead him to the Avatar, so he can get the credit and deny Zuko the chance to go back home. The whole matter goes as it does, but what is striking is what Zhao does after this. Zhao holds all the Fire Sages guilty: even though only one of their number actively aided the Avatar by trying to stick to the old ways. The Fire Sage Leader protests Zhao's judgment, to which Zhao venomously replies, “Save your excuses for the Firelord”. Having recently rewatched book 1, I have a feeling this factored greatly into the next time we see Zhao where the Firelord promotes him to admiral. So, Firelord Ozai was probably impressed when Zhao handed him all the “traitorous” Fire Sages and thought this merited a reward. A reward that allowed Zhao to commandeer the Yu Yan archers led to the successful capture of the Avatar. Zhao was gleeful and probably hungered for more power, as he was having a very nice speech dictated that he would send to Ozai, boasting of his triumph. Of course, the Blue Spirit ruined those plans, and we see Zhao get upset again, showing again how his fragile pride has been wounded and he won’t accept another defeat on his roster. Zhao shows he can be smart though, when he has one of the archers knock out the Blue Spirit from afar. Of course, Aang slips away with Zuko as we know, but it is a moment showing us the audience Zhao is not all bluster. Zhao being quick to anger is put on full display for us the audience when after his brief reunion with his former master, Jeong Jeong, he viciously attacks Aang. Aang, having recalled what Jeong Jeong had said about his former student, taunted Zhao to attack him and get progressively angrier. Even that jab of "I thought you were better than Zuko" set Zhao off. The result of this episode was Zhao burning his whole mini flotilla of boats. Makes me wonder how long it took him to get back to base after that. But for an admiral, this can't be a good look or an adequate skill of leadership. Went on a “fishing expedition”, lost the deserter, the Avatar, AND your boats? Sheesh. Perhaps due to the above fiasco, we see Zhao get a whole fleet together to conquer the Northern Water Tribe. He displays his ruthlessness once again by having the pirates try to kill Zuko, so he won't get in his way again (and cos of the Blue Spirit revelation which he deduces when visiting Zuko’s quarters). Zhao does his siege as we know, but he shows his cunning when he reveals to Iroh how he has found a way to get rid of the "moon problem". Of course, there is a certain tactical sense as to why he would do this, but Iroh warns him that the spirits are not to be meddled with. Of course, Zhao wants all the glory and credit once more as the "Moon Slayer". His pride makes him incapable of admitting to those around him, enemy and ally alike, that they are right, so he kills the moon spirit’s mortal incarnation. Result? Imbalance in the world and the Avatar merges with the water spirit and smashes his whole fleet to smithereens.
Zhao then has his second and final duel with Zuko who defeats him again. And then, karma strikes when the water spirit nabs Zhao, and Zhao refuses Zuko’s hand, leaving the scene as a fascinating morally ambiguous moment. So, Admiral Zhao in my view was not that great a leader, and while Fire Nation society would hail his ruthlessness, it got him into more trouble and in the end, became his downfall. Makes one wonder if this kind of power politicking, common among the Sith Lords in Star Wars, is the reason why the Fire Nation took so long to conquer the world. So, my verdict on Zhao is he is self-sabotaging, and his actions prove to me he should not have been allowed to climb as high in the military ranks as he did.
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 or discussion wiki to conduct surveys. Missed your chance but want to catch us next time? See you in the chatroom ;)
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Kia ora Avatar Wiki! Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Austro, writer and letterer of the fan comics 'The Flames of Kaiya' and 'Ty Lee Joins the Circus'. Austro's has shared stunning artwork from the comic in the Discord server and on the Avatar Wiki and BSST, but today, we'll be diving deeper into the creative process behind the work, and exploring the stories further. Sound exciting? Let's dive in!
Today I wanted to do a special fanon highlight section and honour a fan work not on the fanon portal, but incredible enough to share. Sam Lee Wins is the creator and artist behind the Rise of Kyoshi fan project, aimed at adapting the Kyoshi novels into an animated format. You've probably seen some of Sam's incredible artwork featured here in the BSST, and we truly appreciate the work Sam has done for our newsletter! The project also includes voice actors and musicians, who together with Sam, have brought the Rise of Kyoshi to life in a new medium. Episode 1 The Test premiered a few weeks ago, so if you haven't seen it then definitely check it out! And if you're interested about the behind the scenes work and insight into the project, then check out an interview I had with Sam in issue 81! |
Hello, I'm Yukari, the lead writer for the Ember project! I'm a professional GM for Avatar Legends. I've been watching Avatar since I was a little girl; it's taught me so many life lessons over the years, including discovering I'm queer right alongside Korra and Asami. Needless to say, this series is very near and dear to my heart.
Project Ember/Ember Rising is a multimedia fan project focusing on content post-Legend of Korra. Taking place in two separate eras. The first is about the fallen Earth Avatar, Tao, a once politically savy upstart wanting to bring Republic City into a new era but was unknowingly indoctrinated by the malevolent spirit Father Glow Worm and plunged the nation's into a war that brought the world to its knees. The second Era is about the current fire Avatar, Halia, a young Sun Warrior from a small cloister in the Eastern Si Wong Desert. She went undiscovered until she was sixteen, when a cataclysm struck the village. Her journey is about navigating a world that is actively hostile to the Avatar, seeing her as a threat and a tyrant, and repairing the fractured connection to Ra'ava and the Avatar cycle. Check out the Fanon and Fanart channel on the Discussion wiki to see more of Project Ember!
Check out some of the latest fanart from our Wiki and Discord community!
Original Artwork by Sam Lee Wins (Discord) [1] Original Artwork by niki_30578 (Discord) Original Artwork by BokerBigBanana (Discord)
Here you'll find the latest fanon news and requests from the community. If you'd like any requests or offers listed then contact one of the BSST staff. You can also visit the FRRS for an interview or technical review, or the Fanonbenders for help.
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