LAST EDITED ON Aug-14-13 AT 09:28 PM (EDT) by pjmoyer (moderator)
 
>To be honest, Merc? It's all your fault.

Oh man, Phil, you know better than to actually VALIDATE me. :) It's like feeding a mogwai after midnight, only with my ego instead of a mogwai.

>I'd had the thought off and on about how bending and the Avatar
>world could incorporate into UF, and mostly wrote it off as not
>plausible (especially given its metaphysics and event timing), but it
>was your comment about Katara or Korra at the CTF Snowball fight that
>caused me to re-think the possibility and re-ignited the creative
>juices for the integration (especially since it'll tie into several
>other things later on involving [INFORMATION REDACTED].)

To be honest, I figured if it happened at all, it would happen (I think Ben spoke to this) like the Eva pilots happened; names, personalities, and universe-appropriate explanations for the powersets, rather than a wholesale setting integration.

I'm pleased the latter happened, tho.

>Is it September yet? *whine*

September 7th! Just three weeks.

>Which, well, "bodhisattva-level accomplishment of spiritual
>development" doesn't come along everyday. Do you know many
>current bodhisattva running around these days? Also, I'd like a
>citation on that Word of God, since I don't recall it being listed as
>a possibility for attaining bending on the Avatar Wiki (which remains
>our go-to source on matters Avatar for the time being).

Grr. I can only provide half a cite.

Mike and Bryan spoke to the subject in a pair of interviews; the first was rather sketchy and just laid out hypotheticals and broad strokes, the other one they nailed it down a bit more solid.

The first one is archived here at ASN.net, but I'm having trouble finding the latter one, as I can't remember who was interviewing them or, indeed, if it was an interview rather than a panel transcript.

>>... it's the drill, isn't it? They kept the drill in situ and turned
>>it into a museum.
>
>The Wall Museum of Ba Sing Se contains many historical artifacts from
>the 600-day Seige of Ba Sing Se and the Fall of Ba Sing Se and the
>following Comet Day. It's quite the tourist attraction.

I now choose to believe that the Jasmine Dragon remains operated as a historical trust by a cadet branch of the Fire Nation royal family both as an example of period tea-making and for its historical significance as the preferred residence of the Gaang while visiting Ba Sing Ce. :)

>>Amon... wasn't really a figurehead. He was actually in charge. Or does
>>the historical record take the stance that Amon was, in fact, just a
>>figurehead and the real mastermind was Hiroshi Sato?
>
>Even the testimony of the Avatar only takes one so far. And believe
>me, Korra's still annoyed about it.

"Dammit, I had to fight a bloodbender with practically no help at all! HE was the mastermind! It was really hard, you guys!"

>Well, they also wanted to put up a giant statue of Korra to go with
>the one of Aang out in the harbor, but she said they could only do
>that if the statue would be going "I'M VERY VERY VERY SORRY!" to
>Aang's statue, which kinda put the kibosh on the idea.

If it's been restored, they presumably have a stature of Korra in that big spiral room in the Southern Air Temple, although that's much more modest.

>Also, Korra, in hindsight, readily acknowledges that her first day
>crime fighting really didn't go so well. She trashed a street, a
>clock shop, AND left an iceberg over a canal bridge. All over three
>petty Triad members. These days, she'd just lock them in stone and
>ice and call it a day.

Korra seemed really personally offended by their behavior at the time, like they were an affront to her sense of order in the universe. Probably contributed to the overeaction.

Still, it was probably salutary in some ways. It's like the possibly apocryphal story about Bill Russel, a Celtics player. He didn't want to throw an elbow on the court, it wasn't his style. So one day Red Auerbach tells him "Listen. Get out there and throw an elbow. Just once, and you'll never have to do it again."

Korra's rampant destruction is a bit more large-scale than a basketball game, but I bet the Triads got the message.

(Sean Connery's "That's the Chicago way!" speech from the Untouchables may also be relevant here.)

>>While I acknowledge they've fucked up a number of times, I'm pretty
>>sympathetic to the White Lotus. Being the support network for an
>>Avatar as headstrong as Korra can't be easy, and Utena is a giant
>>metaphysical wild card. Wanting them not to hurl headlong into each
>>other is a natural precautionary measure.
>
>Again, the issue is complex, as Korra herself would acknowledge. It'd
>just help if they talked about it with her, you know?

On the one hand, this is a legitimate point, as Korra is the Avatar and she's kind of large and in charge. Presumably the Avatar Spirit picker her for a REASON.

On the other hand, I'm willing to bet there are multiple instances where the Lotus brought something to Korra's attention advising caution, restraint, and limited engagement, and the mere fact OF them bringing it to her attention caused her to dive in with both feet and raise a ruckus. :)

-Merc
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