Celebrating No Sea Legs Here
Ahhh! No Sea Legs Here just hit 200 kudos on AO3.
First off this one shot was a throw off from being so moved by the movie Avatar. If you know anything about Native American history you can see many parallels between the destruction of Hometree and the battles of Wounded Knee and the Sandcreek Massacre.Β
Many people have expressed the fact that Jake was another white Jesus, which I donβt quite agree with if you understand the discrimination and outright rudeness that people with disabilities are treated with. So he is but in my opinion, heβs also not.
AO3 link:Β https://archiveofourown.org/works/21965566
Fanfiction Link:Β https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13451534/1/No-Sea-Legs-Here
What was your inspiration for this one-shot?
I think I was developing the plot for Fire and Ice when I began to wonder if there would be a time when Neytiri would see Jake in his human form rather than Avatar and what she would think of seeing someone with their legs not working.
Itβs pretty obvious from the moment that he first enters the Avatar that he feels a sense of power and control he doesnβt have in the waking world because of his paralysis. So I thought I would capitalize on it.
What was your favorite part writing?
I love writing anything but Neytiri and her no nonsense is probably my favorite. Her motto seems to be adapt or die and I donβt mind if you die in the beginning.
Whatβs the most surprising thing about this one shot?
THE REACTIONβ¦like I wrote this as a one off that I didnβt expect to get that much attention and within a month it was competing with the popularity of my Inuyasha fanfictions. I did not expect by any stretch of the imagination for it to get any attention at al but it did.Β
But it just goes to show you once again, people of all abilities like seeing themselves in the stories and so for this, I really feel like once again it brought down some humanity and depth to disabled characters.Β
Most of us with disabilities have to learn to live with them and canβt escape them.
Do you plan to write more for Avatar?
Iβm not sure. I go back and forth with ideas, mainly with dragon lady who I canβt remember her name at the moment and when she first came to the Navi. But I hear that James Cameron has a whole guide and I think to do it justice I would have to read that guide to understand the Avatar world better and Iβve got other things Iβm writing right now.
