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From the Editor: July 4th and You |
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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. |
Happy 2025, Avatar Wiki!
What a lovely new year for lovely new Avatar goodies! The Ba Sing Se Times staff warmly welcomes you back to our community for some fan-tastic fun, and we're thrilled to share with you a plethora of new releases and new creative talents from your fellow wikians! No one knows for sure what 2025 has in store, but for Avatar it sure looks promising. Whatcha waiting for? Come check it out.
Happy Reading, folks!
Bit of a niche article today, but I thought it worth sharing the recent collab event between Avatar and Overwatch 2!
Overwatch 2 is a first-person shooter with MOBA elements (multiplayer online battle arena), with various game modes and objectives to complete as a team. There are three classes; tanks, damage, and support, each with their own abilities and weapons to help them do their job. Blizzard often do various collab events like with My Hero Academia, LE SSERAFIM, One-Punch Man, where they'll release plenty of cosmetics for their own characters based on these other franchises. And their most recent collab is with Avatar: The Last Airbender. I know most of us probably aren't Overwatch fans like myself, but nonetheless, the level of detail and inclusion of cool easter eggs and iconic voice lines really did impress me. So I figured I'd do a write-up detailing all the awesome things this collab has brought. Whether you're also an Overwatch fan like me or have never heard of it, hopefully you'll enjoy looking at all the throwbacks to Avatar included in this collab! Venture as Toph This one is easily my favourite of the lot. And not just because I play Venture and we've been starved for skins for over a year. But because I really do enjoy this skin and the all the little nods to the series. First off, I think the match was pretty spot on. Both Venture and Toph use earth, as Venture is a burrowing character with a massive drill and Toph an earthbender. And overall I think the skin resembles Toph enough while maintaining Venture's own looks and quirks. There's also some nice touches with the flying boar symbol of the Beifong family on the outfit, and the Earth Kingdom symbol on the drill. At first I remember being disappointed by the drill as I thought it would've been funny having the Fire Nation drill as Venture's weapon. But I later recognised the drill is inspired by a badgermole, which is still interesting. Probably the coolest feature of the skin is Venture's backpack. Momo sitting the pocket is super cute, and the hanging Earth Rumble belt was a really nice touch. Venture has a few other cosmetics like emotes and highlight intros with some cool earthbending. And the classic "let's break some rules!" voice line plus a "Nice try Twinkle Toes," one which is fun to spam at the enemy team while destroying them. All in all, a really awesome effort. Zenyatta as Aang Yes it might be a little weird seeing our Avatar Aang as a robot, but in the world of Overwatch there are a race of sentient robots called Omnics, and so it only makes sense a couple of them are featured. The match does make sense though, as Zenyatta is also a monk living in the mountains. The outfit has some nice touches and looks pretty spot on, combining the classic Avatar look with the more futuristic aesthetic of Overwatch. Zen's orbs of destruction have the arrow motif and airbending symbols which is cool, and the belt around him has coloured beads of all four nations. All in all, quite a nice looking skin. He also has a sweet air scooter highlight intro and some emotes. Voice lines are a little generic and I kinda wish they had gone with some of Aang's funnier voice lines. But nonetheless, not a bad effort. Mei as Katara Mei's Katara skin is pretty simple, but has some cool features. The main jacket captures the Water Tribe aesthetic with the fur and purple stripe down the middle. Even Mei's gun and coolant tank have Water Tribe patterns on them and are made of wood and bone. Mei has some cool lines like "Love is brightest in the dark," but no classic line about having 'hope'. I think it's a pretty decent fit since Mei uses ice in all her abilities and weapons, so is the closest to a waterbender. Genji as Zuko Okay, so seeing the hidden details and cosmetics for this one is in fact what inspired me to write this piece, as the team at Blizzard did a stellar job exciting the inner Avatar nerd in me. First off, the outfit is a nice blend between the cyberninja Genji and Zuko's book 3 outfit. The cyborg eye with the scar is pretty perfect, and the colours are all on point. Genji's weapons are also really cool. His shurikens have Fire Nation insignia on them, but the really awesome feature are his other two weapons. Genji's ultimate sword is modelled after Zuko's dual swords, and – get this – his smaller sword used to deflect attacks is the dagger Zuko received from Iroh! This blew my mind when I saw it. There's even the 'made in Earth Kingdom' and 'Never give up without a fight' inscriptions on it too. Really unexpected but awesome easter egg there. Genji has some epic emotes and voice lines, including the iconic "That's rough buddy," line. Only reason I rank Venture's higher is because I can't play Genji for the life of me, but I still bought the skin (What? I'm an adult I can make poor life decisions right? *cough*). Kiriko as Suki While it is awesome to see Suki get some love (since even her own franchise seems to forget about her at times), this skin is probably my least favourite. And not just because Kiriko gets like a thousand skins per season and we're all tired of it. The face paint and headdress look really cool, and I did love how the golden fans were featured on Kiriko's healing ofuda. But other than that, there are some... odd choices with this crossover. The use of the brown colour palette looks weird. The leather armour for the Kyoshi warriors is more of a dark greyish green, so the brown stands out too much for me. Plus, Kiriko's highlight intro and victory pose have her wielding a red and gold paper fan which is strange. Perhaps these fans mean more for Kiriko's character, but I think it was a real shame that they didn't include the golden fans Suki uses. I actually think Mai would've been a way better choice for Kiriko, since both use throwing knives, and Mai's hair style on Kiri would've looked really cool. But I guess with collabs they're usually going to pick the main characters over others. Nonetheless, I appreciate the effort. Orisa as Appa And yes, Aang's flying companion does get a feature too. Orisa is an omnic and the only character in Overwatch with six appendages, so it made sense that she be portrayed as Appa. While it may look a bit jarring seeing Appa in a robotic form, I do think the collab works well. The colours are spot on, and with the tongue poking out it's kinda cute of a design. Orisa's energy javelin has been replaced with Aang's glider which is awesome, and she also get's a "Yip-yip," voice line and emote which is icing on the cake. Sokka?! Unfortunately, Sokka wasn't featured in this collab. Which seems to be a sad pattern since Fortnite also didn't feature him. So I thought I'd finish this article with an honourable mention, and also who I think could've filled this spot. In terms of looks, Hanzo or Lifeweaver are probably a good match. Neither really align with Sokka however, as Hanzo uses a bow and Lifeweaver creates living biolight technology. Maybe I'd go with weaver and have his emote making a biolight cactus, or a voice line "It's the quenchiest!" but either of them have their pros and cons. But sadly, this is all just wishful thinking. Maybe one day Sokka will get some love too. All in all, this collab was incredibly awesome, and I have to commend the Blizzard team for their efforts. I hope you enjoyed reading through this piece, even if this is the first time hearing about Overwatch, and let me know in the comments which is your favourite skin! |
Few characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender spark as much heated debate as Azula. Discussions about her accountability, her victimhood, and whether she deserves redemption are practically radioactive in the fandom. Why is it so hard to reach common ground on Azula? It boils down to how she’s perceived, both in-universe and by the audience. Reason 1: Her Character Design Creates a False Sense of Age Azula is only 14 years old, but her design makes her look significantly older. Her sharp features, lipstick, regal posture, and commanding presence create an illusion of maturity. Compare her to Ty Lee and Mai, her same-age peers, they look like teenagers, while Azula looks like she could be in her late teens or even early 20s. This visual disparity makes it harder for viewers to extend her the same level of grace and sympathy they might offer Zuko, who looks closer to his age and visibly struggles with his inner turmoil. Reason 2: Grey DeLisle’s Voice Performance Grey DeLisle's masterful voice acting gave Azula an icy, calculated presence. But DeLisle was in her 30s at the time, and her performance carries an adult gravitas that makes Azula’s cold, manipulative lines hit even harder. When Azula speaks, she doesn’t sound like a teenager navigating impossible pressures, she sounds like a seasoned political operative. This auditory maturity makes her actions feel more deliberate and, therefore, less forgivable to some viewers. Reason 3: Her Humanization Comes Late in the Series We get glimpses of Azula’s humanity, but they come late in the story. Episodes like "The Beach" and her breakdown in "Sozin’s Comet" offer insight into her insecurities, her desperate need for control, and her fear of being unloved. However, these moments arrive after two seasons of her being portrayed as a nearly unstoppable villain. By the time we see her vulnerability, the audience has already spent much more time fearing and hating her than empathizing with her. This imbalance makes it harder for some viewers to fully embrace her as a tragic figure. The Core Truth About Azula No matter where you stand on Azula, whether you view her as irredeemable or as a victim of her circumstances, it’s undeniable that she was born into a deeply toxic family dynamic. Ozai’s ruthless parenting style, the pressure to be perfect, and the emotional isolation she experienced all shaped her into someone who equated power with love. Azula wasn’t dealt a good hand, and the consequences of that upbringing ripple through her every action.
We take it as a given that Zuko’s “redemption arc” is one of the best in animated history, perhaps even TV history. But I am here, in the most dangerous place imaginable for this, to speak my heresy - Zuko didn’t have the best redemption arc. In fact, he didn’t even have one! I know these are fighting words but hear me out. Zuko was always a good guy. Zuko’s quest began with him doing the unspeakable. He was being good. He spoke up against a plan to use new recruits as fresh bait (which got a heartwarming twist in the Netflix adaptation). His fall wasn’t due to greed or lust for power but from compassion. His actions following this paint a picture of a good man committed to a cause. When we first see him, he arrives in the Southern Water Tribe and makes short work of its lone defender. What does he do after he bests Sokka, even after being humiliated with the boomerang? Nothing, he just moves on. He had the opportunity to finish him off for good but didn’t. A similar story when mere moments later, Aang offered to submit to him in exchange for leaving the village alone. Zuko had no reason to stick to his end of the bargain. He could have imprisoned Aang and then enslaved the village, adding conquest to his list of achievements to write to his father. But honestly, I don’t think he had it in him. A similar story occurs when he arrives in Kyoshi Island to seek the Avatar. Another golden opportunity to conquer a town that previously evaded conquest. Azula did it, she took down Ba Sing Se all as part of her mission to capture the Avatar. Instead he fought a battle (and unfortunately, wood burns and firebenders bend fire) and as soon as the Avatar fled, he followed, leaving the village behind. This pattern is repeated throughout the rest of Book 1 and takes different forms in the later books. Instead of outlining these occurrences, however, I will address the potential counter to my stance: Zuko served the wrong side until the last few episodes. In Zuko’s defence, I point out that throughout both real world history and the rest of the show, there are “good” characters who serve a “bad” cause and “bad” characters who serve a “good” cause. The two most illustrative examples that come to mind for me are Bolin in LoK’s Book 4 and Jet respectively. Zuko strove to capture the Avatar for his own personal honour and for the good of his country. A country that he never had a reason to doubt was in the right until he learned about their genocidal plans. Throughout his time both acting openly on the orders of the Fire Lord and acting under cover, he pursued his task with dedication but he was never ruthless. His story is not the one of a bad man redeeming himself and turning good. It’s the story of a good man joining the good side. (It’s still very well done!)
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 and discussion wiki to conduct surveys. Missed your chance but want to catch us next time? See you in the chatroom ;)
"What was your favourite Avatar release of 2024??"'
--KendixPL
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The Great Divide: one of the greatest sites in the entire world. But who are its guardians, keepers, and tourists? They are the Bronsons. Hundreds of years ago, Norin Bronson, an Earth Kingdom courier tasked with delivering messages from Ba Sing Se to Omashu and back, came across the Grand Divide on one of his trips where he was running later than usual from Ba Sing Se to Omashu. Norin decided to use the canyon as a shortcut, figuring that with his earthbending it would not be a problem. So, he used his gift to descend into the Canyon as it looked like quite the trek! Unfortunately, he quickly discovered that he was not alone in the Canyon. One night, while setting up camp, he came across the first of the Canyon Crawlers who tried to eat him while he was sleeping. Thankfully, Norin’s hearing was sharp and he woke up before that happened and defended himself. Norin is a man who loves nature and would never willingly provoke any sentient beings. After fending off the Crawlers, he continued on his way. For the next three nights, they assailed him again and again and he became weaker in mind and spirit. One day though, Norin ran out of his meager food rations…and the Crawlers did not come near him. And then it hit him! The Crawlers were drawn by the smell of food more than the presence of a human. Norin filed this information away for future use. Norin got to the end of the Canyon and used his earthbending to ascend the cliff. He then completed his mission successfully. Later, on his day off work, he went back to the Canyon as he had enjoyed his adventure there…despite the nasty Crawlers. This time, he took his time to explore the whole Great Divide…every nook and crevice. And then, he realized something! He could show the whole world the wonders of this Canyon. Indeed, when he had mentioned it in passing to an Earth Kingdom soldier, he was not believed. So…he could make it a tourist attraction! Just a small coin fee and that’s it! Norin resigned as courier for the two major Earth Kingdom powers and settled on the Canyon. He built wooden signs on the approaches to the Canyon to lure travelers there. Slowly but surely, people came in and he introduced himself to them as their guide through the wonders of the Great Divide. Explained the terms…and STRESSED no food allowed in the trek through the Canyon to avoid the horrible Crawlers. The initial expeditions were successful though of course there was always that ONE GUY who had to bring food. Thankfully, Norin was able to fend off the Crawlers and protect his charges. Norin eventually met his future wife at one of his touring rounds in the form of one of his charges: a beautiful girl named Alina. The two found they had a lot in common, such as having the heart of an adventurer. They fell in love over time, married, and had a son whom they named Belron. Since that day, the Bronsons kept the tradition of being the Grand Divide touring guides and passed the duties and responsibilities of such on to their descendants. When Firelord Sozin began his horrible war, only refugees would pass by the Great Divide. The Bronsons therefore ceased asking for any monetary compensation and simply decided to help these people as it was the right thing to do. Though as the decades passed, the Bronsons despaired that the world had gone darker. But after hearing rumors that the new Avatar may return, the Bronsons have held hope for the day that their usual touring can return and bring joy to them and to people visiting the wondrous Great Divide. Author's Note This fic was born from my genuine curiosity regarding the Great Divide Canyon Guide. This I feel is one of the reasons ATLA is my favorite show of all time: they crafted such a rich world that even the side characters or one-time characters can make you feel intrigued and want to know more about them. And so we come to this fic. Perhaps the surname is not the most creative, but one day I had this funny idea that the first Great Divide guide crossed it on an errand of vital importance and had an encounter with the Canyon Crawlers. But despite all that, he decided to make the Canyon a tourist attraction, though he would also use his earthbending to keep his guides safe. And thus, a line was passed down. But when the Fire Nation attacked, yeah, business went bust, but their hope for a better future and the Avatar’s return helped them to keep going even helping war refugees, which is what we see in the show itself!
Check out some of the latest fanart from our Wiki and Discord community!
Original Artwork by Lazybuns [1]Commissioned by Austro for the series Avatar: The Flames of Kaiya Original Artwork by Yukari rinOriginal Artwork by BokerBigBanana (Discord) |
Hey everyone! Austro here, the writer and letterer for Avatar: The Flames of Kaiya and Ty Lee Joins the Circus. I wanted to give you all an end-of-the-year update for both comics! Since the last update, we've released three new pages of Avatar: The Flames of Kaiya. Toph is finally launching a counterattack and putting Kaiya into some real trouble! Unfortunately for Kaiya fans, I've decided to focus our developmental efforts on the Ty Lee comic and complete that first. This means there won’t be any new pages of Flames of Kaiya until the end of spring or the beginning of summer. However, it is absolutely my intention to finish it—there are only about 12–13 pages left! Ty Lee Joins the Circus! has made significant progress since the last update. We've released six new pages, with three more slated to drop in just a couple of weeks (as of writing this on Dec 16). In the latest updates, Ty Lee embarks on a side quest to obtain a gift for her mother and shows off her unique abilities that set her apart from her sisters. However, her family dynamic still leaves her feeling like part of a "matched set," setting her on a path that will have major implications for her future! I'm aiming to release 4–5 pages per month starting at the end of January. If all goes well, Ty Lee Joins the Circus! will be completed around springtime, with approximately 30 comic pages in total. My plans afterward are to finish Flames of Kaiya and then, for the latter half of 2025, release a series of short comics—each around 6–10 pages—in the style of The Lost Adventures, I hope to create my very own Lost Adventures anthologies! I hope you all enjoyed this update. Stay tuned, and thank you for your continued support!
The story began as a fanon, and then eventually was rewritten into a fancomic designed and illustrated by AirMasterParker. It tells the story of Hikar Firestone, and earthbending prodigy, who happens to discover that he is the next Avatar. But the world that Hikar is growing up in is very different to that of the previous Avatar. Technology has progressed, and the Earth Kingdom has dissolved into a collection of states known as the Earth Confederacy. Nonetheless, the world still needs an Avatar. And the Avatar still needs their friends. The Order of the White Lotus have been searching for Korra's successor, and after finding the young Hikar Firestone, his life changes forever. Have a read of the plot synopsis below!
Hikar's Spiritual Chronicles
Plot Synopsis Seventy years after the fall of the Earth Empire, Hikar Firestone was a 15-year-old earthbending teen prodigy who, after a brief emotional breakdown and a short state of anger, he blasted a fire shot, turning out to be the New Avatar. Now, after three years, he has mastered all four elements, and with the help of his friends, he will prove himself to be one worthy Avatar for everyone...or just for himself?
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.
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.  |
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