Ah Heck Here We Go Again

​The word "Avatar" originates from the Sanskrit Avatāra, which in Hinduism represents the "incarnation of a deity descending to the human world." It typically refers specifically to the supreme god Vishnu, who, in order to save the world, manifests into various human or animal forms (such as a fish, a man-lion, Rama, Krishna, etc.) to descend into the mortal realm. James Cameron’s sci-fi movie Avatar also draws from this same Sanskrit root.

​The Chinese translation "降世神通" (Jiàng Shì Shén Tōng) was coined by Dr. Siu-Leung Lee, a Hong Kong-American cultural consultant. (I’ll find some time to share my evaluation of him later).

​Breaking Down the Translation:

​"降世" (Jiang Shi): 1. Akin to descending to the mortal realm; 2. To be born. In Buddhism, Jiang Shi refers to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas descending from a higher realm of existence to be born into the human world in order to save all sentient beings.

​"神通" (Shen Tong): (Sanskrit: Abhijñā, Punjabi: Abhiññā), also translated as divine power, supernatural power, or simply Tong. It is a Buddhist term referring to the "Tong" in the "Three Insights and Six Supernatural Powers" (三明六通). It denotes the mysterious, superhuman powers attained through the power of meditative concentration (Dhyana), though it can sometimes just refer to ordinary illusions. This term appears in numerous Buddhist scriptures, such as the Mahasatyatrnirgrantha-sutra and the Shurangama Sutra.

​Originally, it was styled as 「降卋神通」 (卋 is pronounced shì, with the radical "十", originally serving as an archaic variant of "世", meaning thirty years). However, when the series was imported into Taiwan, it was simplified to 「降世神通」 to make it easier to memorize and pronounce.

​The "Korra Fandom" Paradox

​In Mainland China, whenever people mention Jiang Shi Shen Tong, they almost exclusively refer to the first series: Avatar: The Legend of Aang / Avatar: The Last Airbender.

​Consequently, many completely overlook the fact that Avatar: The Legend of Korra (TLOK) belongs to the exact same IP. It has reached a point of absolute absurdity where some "well-meaning" fans have actually tried to dissuade content creators from using the #降世神通 tag when posting about Korra. It truly makes one laugh and cry at the same time.

​Korra’s full name is literally Avatar Korra.

​Whether you love or hate The Legend of Korra, she is an inseparable part of this IP. You cannot bypass this fact—unless you choose to completely deny the existence of any official canon after Aang.

Because AO3 is that site. Because AO3 was that site long before you decided AO3 was better than the sites you bullied us off of before, and I can promise you if someone somehow comes up with a fanfic site you like better specifically for the 'gross stuff' you'll try to bully us off that too so you can benefit from it.

AO3's specific core purpose is to preserve fanfiction, yes, but it was also instigated as a host site for the fanfiction that kept getting yeeted off other platforms like Wattpad. Its designed to preserve all fanfiction, not just the fanfiction you, personally, think is 'allowed' to be written.

AO3 is the site for all the gross stuff the freaks make. We've been there just as long as you. We've been funding it just as long as you have. AO3 has specifically said you have a place here. The timeline was literally:

Wattpad/FF.net/LiveJournal purge fanfics > AO3 is born > The people who's fics got purged moved over to AO3 > AO3 gains popularity as the best functioning site > The people who pushed for the fics to be purged off Wattpad move to AO3 > The same people try to push for AO3 to purge fics.

Slowly completing....

A what-if scenario where both survive？

I came across the reference material for Pic2 while sketching a profile and thought it was very suitable.And I tried using Gradient Map, it's pretty fun😼😼.

Dear secret Santa,

I would like anything with Lin Beifong in it, alternatively it could be the Beifongs, or possibly Lin with Bumi or Tenzin. I have a preference towards the older characters in TLOK and in A:TLA I like the villains as well as earthbenders. Thanks, look forward to seeing the picture.

~ Teaanemone

Message from your Santa, Zellk: 

I've had enough of some Chinese Korra haters.