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Avatar:  What order should you learn the Elements?

Each Avatar must learn to master the four elements.  It’s traditional to learn the elements in the same order as the avatar cycle, but this isn’t mandatory.  There are several examples where an Avatar learned the elements “out of order”.   One idea I’d love to see is an Avatar learning in reverse order.   (Such as Korra learning:  Water, then Air, then Fire, and finally Earth) I like this idea because it might help the Avatar connect better to their past lives.  By learning in reverse order, the Avatar could learn about their predecessors along with learning the elements.   e.g.

Korra would learn about Aang while learning Airbending.

Roku as she learned Firebending.

And Kyoshi as she learned Earthbending.

(She would still learn waterbending first since it’s her native element, and I see no reason for her to learn about “Kuruk the idiot”.) The past Avatars might even be able to help the current Avatar learn the bending.  

How big is the ocean on the other side of the Avatar world?

We can find out how big the ocean on the backside of the Avatar world is by using these maps from LoK. According to my calculations, the backside ocean spans from about 140 degrees to 220 degrees, making it 80 degrees wide. This is about a quarter of the globe. To put this in perspective, the backside ocean would proportional be about the same size as our Pacific ocean.

Maps are from LoK S3 ep 2 & 11 respectively.

Combustion bending is one sub-set of bending I’d love to explore more.  I think it’s possible for other firebenders to do a smaller version of it.  

Bending101

Logo for my upcoming series about Bending in the world of Avatar: the Last Airbender.  In this series, I hope to talk about the basics of Bending.

Feel free to ask me questions.

Interview with the voice of Toph by Letts React.

Another interview on The Agami.

Epic Fail.  

I love these visuals from AvatarParallels. 

Special Firebending Techniques.

[airbending] [earthbending] [waterbending]

WHO’S THAT POKEMON?

Android players will very be familiar with this glitch in Pokemon Go.  It’s been happening for at least a month now and there is no sign that it’s going to be fixed.  But it can make the game more interesting.  

The Cycle of the Fire Lords AKA Generational Daddy Issues

You know how in the series finale Ozai declares himself the Phoenix King? I’ve always found that odd, since dragon seems to be the prestige animal of the Fire Nation. However, once I realized what the phoenix in Avatar actually was, it all clicked.

The “phoenix” that Ozai is referring to is the “Vermilion Bird” or Zhūquè (朱雀). The Vermillion Bird is a mythological bird that is portrayed as bright red and perpetually on fire, basically the closest equivalent to a phoenix in Chinese culture. The Vermilion Bird also represents fire and the season of summer, the two most defining attributes of Sozin’s Comet.

So, essentially, Ozai is declaring himself the king of fire and summer and Sozin’s Comet and all things Fire Nation-y. We all could’ve figured that out without the cultural context, but it goes much so much deeper.

The name of Ozai’s father is Azulon, which I mentioned in an earlier post means “Azure Dragon”. The Azure Dragon is associated with spring. When Ozai declares himself “Phoenix”, he is basically calling himself the “natural” successor to the Azure Dragon. Summer comes after spring, after all.

Think about that. Ozai has been Fire Lord for 5 years already and he’s still obsessed with proving that he deserves the throne. That he was “destined” to have it. He knows he isn’t a dragon like Azulon or Iroh, so he decides he’ll be be even better than that: A phoenix! The ruler of summer! He’s the embodiment of fire—Yup, Mr. Fire Lord, the most Fire Lord man to ever Fire Lord, coming through. It’s all so very dramatic and pathetic and reeking of insecurity.

And if Azulon is spring, and Ozai is summer, then Zuko is autumn. Which makes sense, since Zuko’s reign is defined by the dismantling of the Fire Nation empire; the branches of their imperialism withering away. In Chinese culture, the season of autumn is represented by the element of Metal. The-Hot-Zone, @the-hot-zone, put it best:

For Zuko to also be associated with metal is… pretty fitting. Metalbending is an entirely new style of earthbending, and it completely changes how people view earth. This can symbolize the shift Zuko will bring to the Fire Nation: re-associating fire with life, with passion, with light. It’s about the new understanding of an element.

Also, the animal associated with fall is the White Tiger, which is pretty rad. Zuko’s fierceness is very tiger-like.

Random Thought:  Avatar vs Percy Jackson

A while back some people arguing who was better/ stronger; 

Percy Jackson or a water bender.  

Most of them concluded that Percy Jackson was stronger, but I always thought this was an unfair comparison.  

First, demigods in the world of Percy Jackson are primarily warriors who only occasionally/ rarely use elemental powers.  Second, the rules and limits in Avatar are very clear, whereas a Demigod's power doesn't have any clear limits.   The two worlds treat magic so differently that it feels unfair to ask "who is better".  You might as well compare “Dragonball” to “Harry Potter”.