Fire Cannot Kill a dragon

Back before the comics, we were free to think of how all the nations would react to same-sex couples, and explore it how we saw fit. But it was explored more on a personal level, how a character would connect to their loved ones when they were queer coded and the nuances that came with it. 

But now there’s the “word of god” canonizing homophobia in a franchise that really didn’t need it. Now there’s closeted kids fearing a society that hates them, afraid to come out to their families.  Unless you’re an air nomad. Too bad all the air nomads are dead in the first series.

So that leaves us with with having our favorite characters facing the horrors of structural homophobia. In canon.

I’m appalled. 

That’s not how the lgbt community would write these topics. That’s not how we want our stories to be told. Now more than ever it’s made painfully clear that these stories are not written for us, but about us by white cishet people – for progressive brownie points.

How many times do we have to say that we don’t want to see homophobia in our stories? That we are more than just a closeted narrative? Of course there will always be stories of children afraid to be true to who they are as a means to cope. But this isn’t that. This was a moneygrab during a time where the “gays” sell. 

Lgbt kids don’t need to see another franchise where we’re told how oppressed we are. We live that truth every day.

By presenting the closeted narrative as the only “legitimate” queer narrative, the creators introduce plausible deniability for a queer reading of major characters and fan favorites. Zuko can’t like guys because we don’t see him angsting over it. Toph can’t like girls because she’d be out and proud. And so on. It puts up another obstacle to queer fans’ ability to see themselves in the characters they connect to without the rest of fandom getting shitty about it, especially if those characters are fan favorites.

On top of that, it lets creators off the hook for lack of representation. They get to give themselves brownie points for inclusion without committing to making major characters queer. Sure, there can be queer characters in the Avatarverse, but nobody important to the story, not the fan favorites. Kya or Kyoshi are “allowed” to be openly queer because they’re marginal in the main story. But you’ll never see Iroh reminiscing about an ex-boyfriend or Jinora talking about her crush on another girl. 

“But Korrasami!” some may say.

Zutara Week 2020 Day 6: Affirm

In case Tumblr can’t play the video here’s the Vimeo Link

Having second thoughts about this one because it is a bit more niche (I know everyone has their own headcanon for Zuko and Katara’s future together and this is just mine), a bit more indulgent, and SO cheesy; the dragging-a-loved-one-to-a-special-place-while-they-keep-their-eyes-covered-and-then-you- tenderly-tell-them-to-open-their-eyes trope for instance… Leave me alone; I couldn’t help myself. Haha I think we all know that Zuko would not abide Katara not getting an honorary statue if she was his Fire Lady. >.> This animatic gets in and out quickly, since I’m still working full time, and also at the time, I had quite a few prompts left. But now that I’m working on a Reunion Part II, I kind of wish I could have saved this one for later, but oh well, I gotta post for the prompt!

Further explanation below the line

Zutara Week 2020 Day 1: Reunion

In case Tumblr can’t play the video here’s the Vimeo Link

This prompt inspired this whole animatic in my head, and I just HAD to get it out. Dedicated to my best friend from High School and my fellow Zutara comrade, @bekahknotmarley-blog. Also SOUND ON!

    ❝ YEAH! Let’s break some rules!❞

I was recently inundated with a series of asks that mentioned Korrasami and the new LOK comics.  Before I answered it, I thought I needed to do a little preparatory explanation as to my own opinion of how Bryke handled that ship and LGBT issues in this comic in general. Namely, why this panel in “Turf Wars” is terrible writing:

And why its moral complexity is closer to that of Batman and Robin than to Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The easiest, cheapest way to discuss morality in media is to gather all of the “evil” traits on one side of a conflict, all of the “good” traits on the other, and then assign people “good” or “evil” status while not allowing any overlap. We can give a bit of a pass to children’s cartoons (although they, too, have become more complex in recent years) because children are still in the earliest stages of learning right from wrong. But Legend of Korra is intended for an older audience than A:TLA, while being infinitely more childish in its morality.

Below, an excerpt from Batman and Robin, demonstrating this couch potato reasoning in one of the most widely ridiculed movies of all time:

Robin: Why would Poison Ivy and Freeze work together?

Batman: Well, she’s definitely evil.

Also below, an excerpt from a post defending Bryke’s portrayal of LGBT issues:

and there is Sozin banning same sex relationship which again doesn’t contradict the source material, and Sozin being evil isn’t anything new,

Here is the premise both these arguments are working from: that because person A believes in wrong idea B, that that person must also believe in wrong idea C, D, and E, all the way down the alphabet. Because they’re Definitely Evil. But that’s not the way it works at all, and Sozin himself is a prime example.

People with discriminatory beliefs always have a system for them, a rationale that they use to justify their worldviews and fit them into a larger belief structure. There is a method to the madness; if there weren’t, hatred would be much easier to conquer because dismantling it wouldn’t require undermining other deeply held beliefs, with which it’s often intertwined. Sozin’s madness was an extension and expansion of his idea that the Fire Nation is superior to all other nations, and that he alone is the guardian of that superiority. Every evil action he takes stems from those premises:

Colonizing the Earth Kingdom. In Sozin’s mind, the Fire Nation experiencing an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity equaled a mandate to restructure all other nations so that they would be as “great” as the Fire Nation.

Challenging Avatar Roku in the palace. In “The Avatar and the Firelord,” Sozin flatly states that Roku’s allegiance should be to Sozin first, and everyone else second. After all, if the Fire Nation is the greatest country in the world, anything that might challenge that belief—such as the equality and balance between four nations—is a threat and must be eradicated. In a similar vein:

Leaving Avatar Roku to die after helping him fight the volcano. The volcano was a threat to Sozin’s homeland, and so when Sozin and Roku battled it together, they were working as two Fire Nation citizens. However, as soon as Roku’s premature demise left an opening to begin Sozin’s conquest, the Firelord couldn’t see past his own vision of a perfect world, in which he and his country dominated everything.

Hunting the dragons. Sozin’s aggressive world conquest required that the general philosophy behind firebending be changed and all traces of the old ways be extinguished. Humans could be bought or frightened into suppressing the “fire is life” belief, but that wouldn’t work on the dragons. Thus, in his mind it became necessary to wipe out all traces of the dragons, and therefore, the true meaning of fire.

This is how a visionary who wanted the best for his people rationalized his way into genocide. It is, in fact, a perfect example of how oppressive regimes are born. But remember, Aang, unlike Korra, doesn’t give us a superficial interpretation of Sozin being “the worst”:

Toph: It’s like these people are born bad.  Aang: No, that’s wrong. I don’t think that was the point of what Roku showed me at all.  Sokka:  Then what was the point?  Aang: Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? If anything, their story proves anyone’s capable of great good and great evil.

 Denying Sozin’s humanity means denying the potential for inhumanity in us all.

So, to any LOK comic fans out there: can you please show me how Bryke adapts LGBT discrimination to fit Sozin’s idea of world conquest?

To our knowledge there is no sacred text, no centuries-old tradition, in A:TLA that criticizes or bans bisexual relationships. To our knowledge there is no connection in the public consciousness between being straight and fire being the superior element. Therefore Sozin’s homophobia in the LOK comics has no foundation in his belief system. There is no rationale. It’s just this:

 Mike: “Why would Sozin ban same-sex relations?”

Bryan: “Well, he’s definitely evil.”

 Bryke also take a swipe at the Earth Kingdom in these comics:

While making sure that their ever-favored Air Nomads come out smelling like roses:

To be fair, Aang didn’t seem to have a whiff of toxic masculinity anywhere around him. But the Earth Kingdom, while it did have a repressive military, is based on dynastic China, which was a much more inclusive society than Bryke give it credit for. So although it’s possible that the Earth Kingdom had a problem with homophobia, its repressive military equaling LGBT discrimination is a huge leap unsupported by historical or A:TLA canon context.

But you know where homophobia would most likely gain traction? In the Water Tribes. Sexism and homophobia often go hand in hand, and in a culture where men reign supreme and gender roles are fixed, it would make sense for Korra and Asami’s romance to be a threat to the perceived natural order. But you see, the Water Tribe are the “good guys”, so they can’t be discriminatory, right?

Toph: What are you doing here, twinkle toes? Aang: How did you know it was me? Sokka:  Don’t answer to twinkle toes. It’s not manly!

Toph: Who’s Zuko?

Sokka: Oh, just some angry freak with a ponytail who’s tracked us all over the world.

Katara: (jokingly) What’s wrong with ponytails, ponytail?

Sokka: This is a warrior’s wolf tail.

 Note Sokka’s insistence on being perceived, not only as a man, but as a man who isn’t girly. He is baffled that Aang thinks it’s acceptable to answer to a name like Twinkletoes. And Sokka isn’t a naturally stodgy or close-minded person; this is a product of his upbringing. Does it really make sense that this is Tonraq and Senna’s reaction?:

But that this man decided to introduce homophobia to the Fire Nation?:

Faith Erin Hicks and Peter Wartman new creative team for Avatar: The Last Airbender Comics 

Avatar: The Last Airbender ended in 2008, but the story has been kept alive in the years since by a series of comics written by Gene Luen Yang, the award-winning author of American Born Chinese. Now, the torch is being passed once again. EW can exclusively announce that writer Faith Erin Hicks (The Nameless City) and artist Peter Wartman (Over the Wall) will be taking over Avatar: The Last Airbender comics starting next year.

Katara: