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badgermolebender · 5 months

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I am a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of buddy comedies. And there are some fantastic fan works. And I have my own world of headcanon and thoughts. And one doesn’t even have to squint to see the subtext in Ruins of Empire. But what I love so much about Wuko is how well it works within canon and how well Wu and Mako actually fit together. Their character arcs and motivations blend together so well and they influence and care for each other in a way that I just think is really lovely.

Because Mako’s influence on Wu is fairly obvious and stated in the show. He’s there to help bring Wu down to earth and help him be ready to take over the Earth Kingdom. He’s the first person to treat Wu as a person and not royalty or fame and really makes him question his beliefs and values. And Wu relies so heavily on Mako in Book 4 and is so explicit in his affections.

But Wu is also so good for Mako and really compatible with his characteristics and arcs. Arguably the most important, or at least most obvious, character trait of Mako’s is Mako as protector. He raised Bolin and kept him alive on the streets. He joined a gang to protect Bolin. He did probending to have money to protect Bolin. His main motivation throughout the show is to protect the people he loves, the city he loves, and the rest of the world — in that order. I think his need to protect is one of the big things that led to the downfall of his relationships with Korra and Asami. For him, caring for and loving someone means protecting them — in a way that Korra and Asami did not need. But if you pair him with Wu, who not only needs but also wants this protection, then he’s not going to be in a place where he’s constantly undermining the independence and ability of his partner.

But even beyond that, Wu is a really good partner for Mako. Korra (and Asami to a lesser extent) showed care for Mako the same way Mako did for her, and in consequence they undermined and undervalued each other. But Wu takes care of Mako in a different way than Mako takes care of him. Forcing him to relax with smoothie breaks and encouraging him to talk and (and I can’t emphasize this enough) listening to his advice and opinions. Wu lets Mako give him advice and actually listens to his thoughts, something that Korra just didn’t do when they dated (not Korra slander — Book 2 was a lot). So even while Wu clings and plays damsel in distress, he lets Mako be more than his role as protector, without demanding that he abandon that core part of his identity.

And I just think that’s really neat. There aren’t many other non-canon ships that I think are so compatible within canon. Even with how underdeveloped Wu’s character is in Book 4, I think their characters work unbelievably well together. They just fit and lift each other up.

#king wu #prince wu #avatar #avatar last airbender #lok #mako #wuko #mako x wu #inherent eroticism of buddy comedies #avatar legend of korra #avatar the last airbender

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beifongswh0re · 3 months

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im thinking angsty Kuvira thoughts

some of it is canon, some is not

Since Vira became a big character in my fic, ive been thinking about her a lot and her story is already sad but my brain makes it even worse.

So I feel like all Kuvira wanted from Suyin was to be loved by her, just like she saw her love the rest of her children. She started creating the Earth Empire only to try to prove to her that she could do something meaningfull. She got eaten up by all that power in the end but at the same time, she felt she wouldn't do well enough if she didn't finish "uniting" the Earth Kingdom.

Because nobody ever made Kuvira feel like she was good enough.

Suyin's kids didn't consider her their sister;

Su didn't quite treat her like her daughter;

Toph took some interest with her when she saw her being a talented bender but at some point just dissapeared;

Her parents just left her in Zaofu and she never heard from them again;

Just think about how traumatized she was. She wanted a family, parents, somebody to take care of her when she wad a child but nobody did that. What proves it more is the fact that she got with Baatar Jr. Like, IF THEY CONSIDERED EACH OTHER SIBLINGS THAT WOULD NOT HAPPEN (im still angry at bryke that it happened, tho)

And then, Korra gave her a chance to redeem herself, to prove she only wanted to do good. Even then she was the type to get to the goal no matter what but Suyin kept her from doing stupid shit that would have bad concequences later. She also listened to Su pretty easily, she still trusted her after all that happened. She was so happy when Suyin offered to take her back home, too.

I think that being in Zaofu would still be hard for her. She'd train with Wing and Wei, spend some time with Baatar Sr. but it wouldn't be enough. It still wouldn't feel like home because her relationship with the Beifong family was still fucked up.

The guilt kept eating at her because she almost killed them all yet they still managed to be kind to her. Not to mention that if she hurt Wing or Wei by accident she'd go into full panic mode because she was afraid to hurt any one of them ever again.

Idk, she's a really sad character and I can't keep my mind off of it.

#beifong family #kuvira #lok suyin #suyin beifong #wing beifong #wei beifong #baatar #toph beifong #avatar the legend of korra #legend of korra #the legend of korra #tlok

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thatoneguy56fanfic · 3 months

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So I had an interesting theory that I wanted to share.

What if going into the Spirit World is what made Kuvira snap back to reality? So, bear with me, but I think it’s pretty clear that Kuvira’s mental state was starting to slip towards the end of B4. Especially after she fired on the warehouse where Baatar Jr and Team Avatar were. Though I personally think her decline started even earlier. Think about it, one by one, the people she trusted most turned on her: Varrick, Bolin, Zhu Li. These were people who had been by her side for three years, as they stabilized the Earth Kingdom and even helping her plan out the birth of the Earth Empire.

But then once they announce their shared dream, suddenly she starts loosing their support. You can’t tell me that that didn’t affect her in some way mentally and emotionally. Anyway, I’m sorry for rambling, I’ll get back to my point now.

What if being physically transported into the Spirit World, surrounded by all that spiritual energy, is what made Kuvira come to her senses? What if it “restored her inner balance” so to speak? Because once she was there, she seemed to understand what she was doing was wrong, and eventually surrenders herself to Korra. Of course realizing what she did was wrong and actually accepting it is very challenging, which is why we see her pleading not guilty in Ruins of the Empire.

I personally think it’s possible, we’ve certainly seen spiritually energy do stranger things before. But I’m curious to hear what you all think too.

#legend of korra #kuvira #random thoughts with jay #and before anyone even tries to mention it #no I’m not trying to excuse her actions #I’m merely sharing what I think is an interesting theory #you can like a character without approving of their actions #forgive the rambling I was half asleep writing this lol

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princess-of-the-corner · 2 months

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Bear in mind, the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation are both based off of real life empires, and we've seen on multiple occasions that both nations had histories of war before reaching the point we saw them in the show, with the Earth Kingdom having to deal with Earthbending warlords as recently as Kyoshi's era, and that's IGNORING Kuvira's campaign in Legend of Korra.

So odds are both of those nations have centralized (or well, SLIGHTLY centralized in the Earth Kingdom's case, given how WILDLY the legal system canonically varies between provinces) governments due to war and conquest, with Ba Sing Se serving as the capitol solely because nobody was ever able to conquer it, allowing it to "win" by default.

The first Fire Lord, meanwhile, originally arose when one man decided that enough families had been destroyed by quarreling warlords, and thus set out to unite what we now know as the Fire Nation under one ruler in order to ensure there'd be no more fighting.

The Northern and Southern Water Tribes, meanwhile, take their inspiration from Native American and Inuit cultures, and while some pre-American North American Nations DID have large sprawling cities (like the Northern Water Tribe does), the Southern Water Tribe is based off of nations and cultures where there were multiple communities but no overall leader that commanded all of them.

The Air Nomads, meanwhile, are nomads.

I mean fair enough

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fantastic-nonsense · 5 months

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☔

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

I had to browse through my 30+ WIPs to figure out if there was one I was willing to classify in this category, and...if there was a fic that fits it's a Legend of Korra fic concept I wrote up like 8 or 9 years ago in the immediate aftermath of the series finale. I genuinely don't think I'll ever get to it; not only because I've long since left the LOK fandom and have no real interest in finishing any of my fic ideas that aren't my "Justice for Asami Sato" WIP, but also because it would likely need a whole series of fics to properly explore everything I wanted to cover. I will, however, happily give a detailed outline of what I was planning on doing since I'm never going to get around to it.

Basically, the concept was to completely imagine LOK as the story might have been written if the creative team had known from the beginning that they would have 4 seasons to tell the story of Korra. I was looking at the disjointedness of plot, themes, and character arcs that happened because Bryke originally planned the show as a miniseries and then didn't know how many more seasons they would get...and thinking about how to connect everything together more coherently (within my own preferences and ideas of how things should have been told, of course).

The tl;dr of each fic is as follows:

Book 3′s plot would come first, as it should have in the show: Korra travels to Republic City to learn Airbending from Tenzin, only to find that some spiritual mumbo jumbo has created new Airbenders. Thus, she’ll learn airbending from Tenzin while they’re all on the search for the new airbenders. Meanwhile, the Red Lotus has escaped and is coming after Korra. Ends the same way, with Korra physically incapacitated and suffering from major PTSD

Book 4′s plot would be next: the fall of the Earth Kingdom creates a power vacuum that Kuvira fills. Meanwhile, we watch the season-long restoration of Korra’s physical/mental/spiritual wellbeing. We get the story of Wan and Raava this season, as part of Korra’s recovery arc (so she can discover and restore her bond with the Avatar Spirit).

Book 1 now becomes Book 3: also in the wake of the Red Lotus’s destruction and the tyranny of Kuvira’s Earth Empire, anti-bender sentiment has sprung up around the world. Amon takes advantage of this sentiment within Republic City. Korra, now residing in Republic City, has to deal with the anti-bender revolution as a fully realized Avatar (but one that is still struggling to fully recover from the Red Lotus and is now terrified of losing her bending because of the events of the first two seasons)

Book 2′s dual plot would end the series: Korra has to deal with the Water Tribe Civil War while Harmonic Convergence approaches, which would have had lore drops throughout the show after the ‘Avatar Orgins’ revelations back in the second fic. The series ends with a bang as Korra defeats the spiritual manifestation of darkness and chaos and pledges to lead the world into a new spiritual age.

A fairly detailed explanation of how I'd planned out this reimagining is below the cut, if you like.

Ask me a question about one of my WIPs!

The first fic ("Air") was going to start out with the re-emergence of the airbenders due to a freak spiritual event; this was going to be the reason Tenzin wouldn't be able to train Korra in airbending at the South Pole compound, as he was focused heavily on recruiting and training new airbenders and wanted to put off training the Avatar for another year or two. Meanwhile, the Red Lotus breaks out of their prisons and starts readying themselves to go kill the Avatar.

Korra would make her way to Republic City to try and reason with Tenzin that he could just train her while looking/training the other airbenders, meet Lin while breaking up a robbery in progress, and escape from the RCPD with the help of Mako and Bolin, two pro-benders who just lost the finals this season (but they’re sure that they’ll come back next year even better). They introduce her to Asami Sato, their sponsor and Mako’s girlfriend. She explains who she is, what she’s doing in Republic City, and what’s going on….and they decide they want to help her. They all end up stowing away on Tenzin's ship along with Lin, who basically designates herself as the Air Family's bodyguard (because god forbid Tenzin go swanning off into the Earth Kingdom without any protection for his small children).

We'd spend most of the fic dealing with the three intersecting plots: 1) Korra struggling to learn Airbending and spiritual direction from Tenzin, 2) Tenzin finding and training the new airbenders+Korra, and 3) the Red Lotus political plot and their attempts to kill Korra (which both fall under the “no more world leaders” heading of their group goals).

Subplots would have been more or less the same subplots as the existing Book 3, with some of the Book 1 issues mixed in: resolving the Lin-Tenzin tension, Tenzin struggling to be a teacher and rebuild the Air Nation, korra struggling to figure out airbending, Mako and Bolin finding their family, and the romance issues (Korra-Mako-Asami with a season-long Masami breakup arc and the Bolin-Opal romance…the Mako-Bolin drama over Korra doesn’t happen because we meet Opal basically right off the bat). Korra still ends up hurt and traumatized at the end of the fic. Despite initiating the Avatar state for the first time while fighting Zaheer, she can no longer connect after the physical and spiritual trauma she suffered, so she stays behind at the South Pole to be healed and further mentored by Katara.

The second fic ("Restoration") would have picked up one year after the first fic ends and covered the basic plot of Book 4 with some of the character arcs that Book 2 dealt with (except better): The fall of the Earth Kingdom created a power vacuum that Kuvira fills. Korra's doing her season-long recovery/spiritual discovery arc while dealing with the threat of Kuvira; we also get the Wan-Raava story here, to properly sow the seeds for the Harmonic Convergence plot later down the road.

Mako and Bolin go back to pro-bending, but both find it unsatisfying after going globetrotting. Mako's single, and Bolin and Opal (who's moved to Air Temple Island to continue her training) are still dating. Asami, who's chafing under the restrictions of being back in Republic City and once again living with her father, joins an underground street racing group as a racer and part-time mechanic; she's super lonely, since Korra is still recovering from what the Red Lotus did to her and (from her father’s POV) she no longer has any ‘socially acceptable’ reason to interact with Bolin and Mako since they’re no longer dating. So all of that happens, culminating with Kuvira's attempted invasion of Republic City. The Krew would reunite to fight her off.

The third fic ("Equality") would have picked up about six months later and reinterpreted the Equalist plot. In the wake of the Red Lotus’s destruction of the Earth Kingdom, the chaos that unfolded afterwards, and Kuvira's attempted invasion of Republic City, anti-bender sentiment has sprung up around the world. Amon takes advantage of this sentiment within Republic City. Korra, now residing full-time in Republic City, has to deal with the anti-bender revolution as an Avatar who is now terrified of losing her bending after fully recovering from what the Red Lotus did to her.

Bolin took a long trip back to the Earth Kingdom with Opal to see Suyin+his family and help stabilize the country a bit, but they're both on their way back to Republic City in the first chapter. Mako has, after bonding with Lin in the first season, joined up with the RCPD to work under her and is working his way up the ladder (hoping to reach ‘detective’ status). He’s still having Issues adjusting, especially without Bolin around. He goes and hangs out on Air Temple Island with Korra when he’s off-duty because people actually seem to like having him around and there’s always something that he can do (and he likes feeling Useful). But lately he's been hearing some concerning stuff at his job about the Equalist movement, and he's got a bad feeling about what it means for Korra and for all benders in Republic City.

So Mako has his police corruption investigation arc. Bolin is trying to figure out what he actually wants to do with his life now that he's not a pro-bender anymore. Asami starts getting suspicious that her father is up to something and decides to take matters into her own hands. And Korra is dealing with the Equalists and how to balance the "you're our Avatar too" undercurrents amongst the non-bending population.

The final fic ("Spirits") would start up about six months after Amon's defeat. Book 2′s dual plot would end the series: Korra has to deal with the Water Tribe Civil War while Harmonic Convergence approaches, which would have had lore drops throughout the series after the ‘Avatar Orgins’ two-parter back in the second fic. The series ends with a bang as Korra defeats the spiritual manifestation of darkness and chaos and pledges to lead the world into a new spiritual age.

Unalaq still sets up and starts the Water Tribe Civil War to gain power, but it’s also in service to creating as chaotic of a world situation as he can before Harmonic Convergence (opening a pathway to Vaatu’s domination over Raava; because the world is a) in chaos and b) out of balance, Vaatu will have an easier time winning the fight against Raava). The Raava-Vaatu fight would also be more explicitly framed as order vs. chaos (not light vs. darkness), which would align it more with how ATLA previously handled the concepts of yin and yang.

I was still working on what everyones' character arcs and struggles would look like in that final fic apart from Korra (who was set up to have the same political figure+spiritual leader balancing act Book 2 tried to pull off), but I know that I was planning to give Asami a Tony Stark arc and let her see the direct consequences of Future Industries’ war profiteering, giving her a reason to completely change the company around to focus on energy, transportation, and entertainment instead of selling tanks and biplanes to the Water Tribes. So...yeah. Those are the basics.

....and all of that and more is sitting in a detailed outline in a doc that I will probably never touch again, so I hope this was a fun glimpse 😭

#ask game #asks #my writing #legend of korra #lok #also I do not say this but endgame ships would have been Makorra+Bopal+Asami/OC #(A girl named Yuki who's one of Mako's civilian friends and I was very dedicated to fleshing out in my notes lmao)#also they're all bi and messy teenagers about it but in like...a funny way and not the super cringe way we got in the show

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atlaculture · 10 months

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The definition of a tributary state is "a pre-modern state in a particular type of subordinate relationship to a more powerful state which involved the regular token of submission, or tribute, to the superior power." So, a tributary state by its definition is subordinate. Also, while many of the states seen in the original show have a great deal of autonomy, this is because Ba Sing Se has been under siege by the Fire Nation for years and thus can't effectively govern its provinces (especially since some of them are under Fire Nation control). Also, in Legend of Korra the Queen sends Korra to collect a tax shipment from another province. A tributary empire wouldn't routinely collect taxes from a subordinate state (as tribute is irregular).

It is true that tributary states are subordinate by definition. I suppose what I really mean is that Ba Sing Se's rule over the Earth Kingdom is generally much laxer compared to Caldera's rule over the Fire Nation, so the word subordinate felt a bit intense to me. But yes, the implication of any tributary situation is that the more powerful state could theoretically invade and strictly rule over its neighbors at any time.

I think the Earth Kingdom's states have always had a lot of autonomy though. Going back to Chin the Great, BSS pretty much let that happen and left Kyoshi to clean up that crap-show all by herself. That doesn't strike me as the actions of a capital all that involved in the lower levels of government. And, to me, the fact that the Fire Nation was able to establish a colony on the Earth Kingdom's west coast during Roku's lifetime gives the impression that BSS seems to expect its states to defend themselves with little support from the central government.

As for the Earth Queen in Korra, it's possible the taxation system was set up during her reign. She's characterized as very extravagant and self-serving, so it doesn't seem out of character for her try and expand BSS's control over the nation beyond what is typical for its government.

At the end of the day, this is all just my opinion, though. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#earth kingdom #replies #atlaculture #I'm starting to sound like Hello Future Me with these posts #I still stand by the belief that Ba Sing Se's negligence is inspired by the “heaven is high...” Chinese proverb though #fictional politics is alright but fashion history and anthropology and philosophy are still more my thing

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hayleysayshay · 4 days

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🤍🖤 for TLOK please

🤍: Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?

MAKO. Most of his actions in the love triangle are dumb 18 traumatised boy shit. He absolutely did not intend to hurt anyone, honestly I don't think he didn't intend to do anything, he barely knew what was happening. And intentions do matter. And I do think people were hurt in the process but a moral failing? Mako needs some therapy and to learn to process his feelings, not punishment or a grovelling apology to Korra and Asami whatever people advocate.

Suyin was right for trying to kill kuvira lol. Kuvira was trying to take over a stable state, it was not humanitarian and didn't benefit the citizens of the Earth Kingdom in any way, it was ideology over common sense, and it wasn't even good ideology.

🖤: Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?

Kuvira. No, Kuvira, you can't just decided the earth empire is owed Republic City one day and ignore all the people living there.

Look i don't like most of the villains but they're villains.

Maybeeee Bolin? But only in the context when people use Bolin to bash Mako. I like Bolin as a character, I do think it's important to remind ppl that canonically kissed someone without their consent, forcibly, and though I tend to ignore book 2 Bolin as it is just poorly written and thought through, and that's my main reasoning for ignoring it, if we want to bring up Mako's misdeeds all the time we should bring up Bolin's as well.

#tlok #legend of korra

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bestepisode · 2 months

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The top 8 episodes from each season will move on to the next round.

Vote on the second half of the season here!

Episode descriptions are under the cut.

After All These Years

Three years after the defeat of Zaheer, the vain Prince Wu is about to be crowned Earth King, and Mako is assigned as his bodyguard. In the Earth Kingdom, Opal and Kai try to protect a community from bandits with limited success. Kuvira, who now styles herself the "Great Uniter", appears at the head of an army that includes Bolin, Varrick and his assistant Zhu Li. She offers the governor supplies and protection – if he submits his state to her sovereignty. The governor reluctantly agrees, and their conversation reveals that this has become a pattern as Kuvira consolidates more and more of the Earth Kingdom under her authority, which begins to appear increasingly despotic. Elsewhere, a despondent Korra is fighting and losing cage matches, having apparently renounced her identity as the Avatar.

Korra Alone

Over the past three years, a despondent Korra has been slowly recovering her health with the aid of physical therapy and healing administered by Katara at the South Pole, following her torture and poisoning at the hands of the Red Lotus. However, the effects of the assault and the other suffering and losses that she has faced has left her psychologically traumatized, and haunted by doubts that she will ever be the same again, and she has not been into the Avatar State since the assault. Tricking her family and friends into believing she has returned to Republic City, she is in fact wandering aimlessly throughout the world, isolating herself as much as possible from human contact. She is haunted by a dark vision of herself as she appeared in the fight with Zaheer, which appears to watch her wherever she goes. A spirit leads her into the banyan swamps which previously featured in Avatar: The Last Airbender, where her doppelganger apparition chases her down and attacks her, and she suffers a hallucination of drowning, but regains consciousness in the abode of Toph Beifong.

The Coronation

At Wu's coronation in Republic City, Kuvira refuses to yield power to him, instead announcing that she will consolidate the territories under her control into a new Earth Empire. This creates a rift between her and the other world leaders including Suyin, as well as between Bolin and Mako, who has to protect the unpopular Wu from angry supporters of Kuvira. Meanwhile, in the banyan swamp, Toph agrees to help Korra regain her strength, though her methodology largely consists of browbeating Korra and beating her up with still formidable earthbending. She finds residual metal poison inside Korra but can't remove it – Korra subconsciously resists, scarred by her previous traumas. Meanwhile, Tenzin sends Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo to search for Korra, and Varrick experiments on spirit vines for Kuvira.

The Calling

While the young airbenders look far and wide for Korra, Ikki is briefly captured by two Earth Empire soldiers. Based on what they say, Ikki leads the trio to the Foggy Swamp. There, Korra is still haunted by visions of being hurt by her past enemies, but manages to connect to the siblings through the great banyan-grove tree's roots. After they beg her to resume her Avatar duties to face Kuvira, Toph's advice helps Korra to let go of her fears, bend the rest of the poison out of herself and re-enter the Avatar State.

Enemy at the Gates

As Kuvira's army marches on Zaofu, Suyin refuses to let her city join the new empire, and Korra tries in vain to negotiate a peaceful outcome. Varrick and Bolin come to realize the totalitarian nature of Kuvira's rule, but their escape is foiled by Kuvira's fiancé, Suyin's son Baatar Jr.. While Zhu Li pledges her allegiance to Kuvira, Varrick is forced to weaponize the spirit vines for her, and Bolin is to be sent to a "reeducation" camp. In Republic City, Asami reconnects with her imprisoned father, Hiroshi.

The Battle of Zaofu

After Suyin and her twin sons are captured while infiltrating Kuvira's camp to take her out, Kuvira agrees to a duel with Korra to decide control of Zaofu. Although now free of the effects of the Red Lotus poison, Korra remains off-balance and Kuvira goads her to gain further advantage, consistently outmaneuvering Korra. Unable to otherwise gain the advantage, Korra enters the Avatar State and prepares to deliver a devastating blow, until she hallucinates a vision of her dark spectre in Kuvira's place and collapses to the ground. Opal, Jinora, Ikki and Meelo save Korra and flee with her on the back of an air bison. Meanwhile, Varrick and Bolin escape after Varrick improvises a spirit vine bomb. Kuvira forces Zaofu's citizens to submit, and has Baatar Jr. and Zhu Li continue work on the vine superweapon.

#the legend of korra #tlok #tlok best episode

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loklove48 · 2 years

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Well, just had to draw Kuvira too.

#kuvira #kuvirafanart #tlok fanart #suvira #great uniter #avatar the legend of korra #legend of Korra #tlok #tlokfanart #my tlok queen #gay for kuvira #earth empire #metal clan #metal bender #earth kingdom #Zaofu #suyin beifong #I pledge my loyalty to you great uniter

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warsofasoiaf · 1 year

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In regards to my previous question, I was wondering if I could ask a political question about Avatar? At the end of Avatar's sequel series (Legend of Korra) the current Earth King decides he wants to abolish the Earth Kingdom's monarchy. He says he thinks it would be better if the country's states were "independent with elected leaders." It's unclear what he means when he says "independent," but let's say the country remains intact. I was wondering if I could ask you what type of national government the Earth Kingdom should have when this democratization process is finished?

The main political unit the Earth Kingdom is centered around seems to be the city-state. The capital of the Earth Kingdom is Ba Sing Se, but an Avatar novel that came out a few years ago reveals that no Earth King ever held absolute power over the country due to its enormous size. In fact, in the original series Aang's friend Bumi is the ruler of Omashu, the nation's second largest city. The city is semi-autonomous, and Bumi is even referred to as a king. Also, in the novel I mentioned there is a reference to other lesser Earth Kings below the king in Ba Sing Se, who presumably rule their own cities/trade centers.

At the time of Legend of Korra, a map shows there are 56 Earth Kingdom states. These states seem to be controlled by the city-states they are named after. It reveals that Ba Sing Se is also the capital of its own state as well as the nation, Omashu is the capital of its state ("The Kingdom of Omashu"), and Toph's hometown of Gaoling controls its own state ("The State of Gaoling"). What would be the best form of government for a nation composed of semi-autonomous city-states?

I would imagine that something close to the Achaemenid Persian model would be the best for such a vast land empire with wildly different governing models between states. That was one of the Persian core strengths is that great autonomy was given to local traditions and customs provided taxes were paid and levies were provided when needed. So that would mean that the individual Earth kingdom states could have their own component kings (that was why the Persian Emperor was called the king of kings), or practice other forms of governance to even include vassal democracies. The Earth King would likely appoint regional bureaucrats to assess taxes and make sure things ran smoothly in the provinces but otherwise keep a relatively loose hand by virtue of administrative necessity. So in that sense, the Earth King would probably have a title like "King of Kings," "Great King," or "High King."

However, this would require the Earth King to make regular journeys amongst the various city-states. One major thing about Achaemenid Persia is that the Persian Emperor would involve themselves in the local traditions of their component regions to help secure local legitimacy - Achaemenid Persian Emperors would travel to Egypt and perform religious rites as a Pharaoh would have done. So in Avatar, the idea of the Earth King that never leaves the palace, let alone Ba Sing Se, would not happen under that model.

Thanks for the question, Ryu.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#avatar: the last airbender #worldbuilding

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kingwuko · 1 month

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Hello, in response to your request for questions:

How do their respective jobs affect Mako and Wu's relationship? What role does Mako take in Earth Kingdom politics? How is it valued by people? To what extent does Wu have influence in the police station? What relationship does he have with Mako's companions and Lin Beifong? What are the security arrangements like? Etc.

Thank you for an ask 😊😊😊 that's so many things to think about ahhhhh!!!!

Thinking about their jobs affecting each other is SUCH an interesting thing to explore. It really depends on what you see them doing long term!

I mean, on one end of the spectrum: Wu fully abdicating. I see him moving to Republic City, taking his ex-king money and doing some kind of charity work with it, or maybe playing a role in the Republic City government—maybe not so much any kind of executive role, but more along the lines of managing and overseeing Health and Human Services or something to improve access to government aid. And then Mako continuing his work as a detective but I like the idea that there are reforms that happen within the department in direct response to a better safety net in the United Nations (I'm a big fan of more social workers, fewer police officers). Mako probably spearheads some of these reforms, in particular regards to child welfare.

BUT WHAT IF on the other side of the spectrum.... Wu NEVER abdicates! Mako marries him and becomes King-Consort!? This one is absolutely so interesting to explore. Mako's a police officer for RC, and he's a citizen of the United Nations, and we often think of him in terms of being a fire bender and having fire nation heritage, but he is from a multi-cultural family and has earth kingdom heritage from Ba Sing Se. It's not crazy to think he could embrace this side of his heritage and decide to take on that responsibility and rule side-by-side with Wu!!! Admittedly, I personally don't see myself going this route in my own fics but it sure is a cool idea to explore!

And then there's so many options in between... But I really like the idea of no matter what, the two of them work in tandem to make life better for others in both the Earth Kingdom and in the United Nations. I think the citizens of both nations will be better off by the time these two accomplish those goals, regardless of what individual people might think of a same sex couple on the throne reforming the earth kingdom together, or an ex-king starting the avatar equivalent of Job and Family Services while his husband defunds the police...

I love Wu getting close to the Krew and everyone in Mako's life. He's already in Grandma Yin's good graces. He and Korra are clearly close in Ruins of the Empire. All the animal friends love him. I think he has no problem getting close to and having a great relationship with all of Mako's companions... Except Lin. I really love Lin Beifong and her weird mentor/vaguely maternal relationship to Mako, and I think Lin's got a lot of feelings about Wu given how Mako was miserable working with him. She definitely started warming up to Wu during the evacuation, but I don't think she's sold on Wu being a good partner to Mako. Lin is a woman of action, and it will take Wu 'proving' himself to her for her to begrudgingly be like 'fine. I guess you're my surrogate son-in-law now'. (but she's always got her eye on him...)

Security arrangements for Wu I think will eventually be private security, hired and vetted by Mako personally maybe with some assistance from Lin. I don't think Mako himself needs a full security detail but depending on the scenario (King-Consort??) a high-profile Mako really should have some security detail too. He's not going to be weird about it, Mako doesn't necessarily like relying on other people for protection but he's not stupid. He's not going to arrogantly think he doesn't need any extra protection in that kind of scenario...

Thank you for your ask, anon!!! I hope I answered your questions the way you meant them. If I missed something, feel free to send me another ask!!!

#wuko #mako #prince wu #king wu #answered ask #anonymous #king-consort mako #???

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badgermolebender · 6 months

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So I have a lot of thoughts about Wu and team Avatar. The show kind of sets him up to have poor relationships with each of them, but they have to work together (Ruins of Empire), and he and Mako are so clearly in love. And I just think about the development of Wu’s relationships with team avatar like all the time. I think Opal would warm up to him first, then Korra, then Asami, and then Bolin.

But I was thinking about how Asami and Wu would bond, because that seemed the least obvious to me, and I now have this headcanon that it’s over a game of Pai Sho.

So in S3 E9 “The Stakeout,” Asami and Bolin play Pai Sho, and they have different philosophies behind the game. For Bolin, it’s a fast-paced, game of chance. For Asami, it’s the slow, methodical game that Iroh played in ATLA. And this seems to be showing the differences between Mako/Bolin and Asami. Because of their differences in class, they grew up in very different Republic Cities and have very different cultural backgrounds and experiences. And Bolin and Asami play a lot of games, and Bolin only “wins” once (Pabu knocks over the board).

And I just love the idea of Asami and Wu being in a situation where they can play Pai Sho. Because Wu would know how to play the slow, methodical, and aristocratic way. And he’s smart and analytical and able to look at situations big picture (in Ruins of Empire he’s really the only one considering the broader political implications besides Zhu Li). So I just love the idea of Asami being forced to reconsider her judgements about Wu, the silly, irresponsible, spoiled prince, during a five (or some other unreasonable number of) hour game of Pai Sho in which she ultimately falls into his trap and loses. And they aren’t besties by the end, but Asami finally has true respect for Wu beyond “well he’s the least evil leader for the Earth Kingdom.”

And then once that initial ice is broken and mutual respect is forged, Asami comes to appreciate having someone in her life who understands the world that she comes from. Someone who comes from a similar cultural background and experiences. And then she and Wu ultimately forge a true friendship over their shared experiences of wealth and growing up in that environment and being overlooked by others.

#avatar the last airbender #avatar legend of korra #avatar last airbender #avatar #prince wu #king wu #asami sato #mako x wu #pai sho #mako #korra #headcanon #my headcanons

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attackfish · 1 year

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5HC AU: Aang stays in the iceberg and the Fire Nation wins, with him only dying at his canon age, so Korra is born to two water tribe refugees/slaves rather than into a happy family in a prosperous SWT. How would the rest of Team Avatar function, with Asami and her father the part of the new bourgeois elite of the colonies (I thought they were FN descended), but still non-benders and new money to the entrenched Fire Nation nobility? How would Bo Lin and Mako function as mixed children under FN rule?

Okay so there are big picture and smaller picture parts to this AU, how the world looks, and how the individual lives of characters look within that world. A lot of the big picture stuff depends on how the Fire Nation conducts the war, and also what happens at Ozai's death. In the short term, we can use much of what I posit in my Aang awakens ten years later AU. In that AU, without Aang to serve as a catalyst, Zuko never duels and defeats Zhao, Zhao never goes north to find and kill the moon spirit, and Azula is never sent by her father to hunt down her brother, and therefore never conquers Ba Sing Se. Ozai instead uses Sozin's Comet to conquer the Earth Kingdom capitol instead.

Azula comes of age in a world in which the grand sweeping conquests of the past are over, and all that's left are the thankless jobs of mopping up insurrection, resistence, and criminality in the newly pacified Earth Kingdom. And she comes of age at a time when the older generation, having won their glory, see no reason to extend the Fire Nation rule to the poles. That time will come. Sozin's comet will come again, and they will use it to melt the Northern Water Tribe off the face of the world. But Azula, and so many of her contemporaries long for a conquest of their own.

And Ozai, who sees the world spinning on after his death as anathema, has thought little about the succession, or about Azula's marriage or heirs, leaving all planning on that front to Azula. And she has decided she wants nothing to do with marriage and childbearing. Far better to outsource that onto her brother. Her banished brother. Which means that when Ozai dies, she recinds her brother's banishment and brings him home, fully confident that she can control him.

Now, the thing about the Fire Nation's conquest of the Earth Kingdom is, just because you can conquer a place, doesn't mean you can hold it. There is a reason why there has never been a worldwide empire that has conquered and subjugated the entire globe. A government can only project its power so far. And the more unwilling the peripheral territories are to be ruled, the less reach that government has. It takes resources, lives, money, to hold the Earth Kingdom continent, and the Fire Nation is an island nation trying to hold an entire continent. There will come a time when the Fire Nation loses so much more in its attempt to hold the Earth Kingdom, than it could ever gain from exploiting it, where the whole project becomes unstustainable. The Fire Nation has bitten off much much more than it can chew, and if Ozai is not the kind of man who could ever acknowledge this reality, his daughter perhaps is.

So Korra, Asami, Mako, and Bolin would be less likely to be born in a world almost entirely ruled by the Fire Nation than they would be in the chaos of a Fire Nation withdrawel from all but its most secure territories on the Earth Kingdom continent, in a shifting quagmire of rising and falling states.

#avatar the last airbender #legend of korra #azula #zuko #ozai #posts i created #do you want to ask a question it doesn't have to be a question #azula needs her own warning #zuko is a dweeby little turtleduck #noodle lord ozai

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