The state of my fannish leanings

[gryphonsegg]

So . . . y'all probably noticed some sudden changes in my LJ and DW recently, as well as a complete lack of commentary on the sequel to the series for which I had the most icons and produced the most fic, followed by multiple posts about a game fandom I didn't write much about before.

To be blunt, I was severely disappointed by Avatar: The Legend of Korra-- so painfully disappointed that it tainted the previous series, Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Aang, for me. I cut off Avatar-related fangirling for a while, but I eventually realized there were some things about my cozy little corner of ATLA fandom that I missed. I talked it over with my longest-standing fandom buddy, who really wants to see the multi-chapter Teru fic I started get finished. So here's the plan: I'm going to finish Copper Rose. It won't be as long as I'd initially envisioned (which won't be a probably for anyone who just wants to see it finished) because I need to simplify the political plot and completely cut out a part of it that was going to have a major influence on Haru's character development. This isn't just because I want to get it finished in a few months for the sake of closure nor just because my friend wants to me to get to the happily ever after. Those two things are factors in the choice I'm making, but mostly I want to avoid writing about that issue because it's too close to an issue that was handled very, very badly in ATLOK, and I don't want to write anything remotely resembling it. Besides, the other two parts of the political situation, the search for the missing Earth King and the need to get the colonies out of political limbo, provide a solid enough foundation for adventure and character arcs. After Copper Rose is finished, I'll probably write the occasional short ATLA fic every now and then, but I don't think I'll attempt another multi-chapter fic. I won't be writing any fic of any length for ATLOK.

Comments

[holyschist]

I'm growing more and more disappointed with ALOK the more I think about it. Even if I hadn't had such high expectations...I just feel like it was badly structured and the main conflict was handled super-badly.

It hasn't tainted ATLA for me, though--I am ready for a rewatch to get ALOK out of my brain!

[gryphonsegg]

One of the many, many problems I have with it, in addition to the series being badly structured and the main conflict being handled super-badly, is that the society we see in Korra's time just doesn't make sense from a worldbuilding perspective. One of the things I loved most about ATLA was the way the whole world fit together and seemed lived-in. I might have bought the worldbuilding in ATLOK if it hadn't been a sequel to ATLA, but as it is, what we're shown in ATLOK just doesn't seem like it could plausibly have emerged 70 years after the events of ATLA. From a certain perspective, it feels as if the world itself has taken a hit. Right now, the only way I can deal with it is to declare ATLOK discontinuity and say canon stops at the end ATLA. The fic I want to finish probably won't end up having anything in it that contradicts specific events in ATLOK, but I feel that the entire spirit of ATLOK was really out whack. Come to think of it, a big part of the problem is that there really wasn't a "spirit of ATLOK" in the same sense that there was a spirit of ATLA-- ATLOK managed to be wildly thematically inconsistent in only 12 episodes, whereas ATLA maintain a high level of thematic consistency over three full seasons.

[holyschist]

Yeah, I felt like the world didn't work at all--and wasn't being used by the show, either. The world itself gave rise to so many of the in-episode arcs of ATLA, and pretty much all we got in Korra was pro-bending and mecha.

There was a graphic floating around on Tumblr breaking down director and author credit on both shows that I thought was really interesting--ATLA was a group effort. ALOK was a four-man show. I wonder.

[gryphonsegg]

Yeah, I've seen that. I looked up the writer and director credits for individual episodes, and it turns out that other people besides Bryke wrote and directed most of my favorite episodes, including most of the third season episodes that I thought did a particularly good job of developing Katara's character and/or following up on the worldbuilding implications of earlier episodes.

[holyschist]

Huh, interesting. I will have to watch the credits when I rewatch. :-/