Interview: The Bos Natsu11

1. Does it feel different being an admin after being a fanon admin for over an year?
It's not majorly different; when I was a fanon admin, I always was very active in canon maintenance and would frequently do the deletions normally left for the main admins. And now, as an admin, I remain active in the fanon side as well, starting publication of The Generals and continuing on Mysteries. It's all in all pretty much the same, given how much I feel I need to do.

2. What are your opinions on the movie and your expectations for Legend of Korra?
I did not like the movie ... I had to sit through the whole thing with a moderate fan beside me trying to tell me who things weren't all that different. They were, and I was quite disappointed. The animation was good enough, but the acting and writing had a lot to be desired. Korra, on the other hand, looks like it will be quite a masterpiece. The style looks fluid and brilliant, and it looks like it will be a full series with as much epic-ness as Sozin's Comet. I'm a little hesitant about the technology, but considering the Mechanist had already invented half of it by the original series, I can let it slide.

3. How are your fanons going? Do you have plans on writing more series?
With college classes, I've been forced to put Wiki work on the back burner ... sad to say, yet true. I've been keeping an eye on things and trying to come up with ideas, but I haven't had too many as of late. I've already finished The Generals, so that will be coming out on a pretty regular basis (for those who care to read), and I'll get working on Mysteries and a special surprise as well (Natsu already has an idea as to what it is). As for my future plans, I've got another idea in the works, that as of now only Dragon of The West knows about and that is so far away from publication that I have no need to be mentioning it. But, I will say that I've written a few things here and there for it, as well as my most brutal scene ever. When it comes out, I think my fan base will be pleased.

4. Considering that you've won the Fanon Trivia Contest, you must have read many fanons. What are your favorites?
Favorite fanons: I've always liked the Wanted-verse, including all of Dragon's wonderful expansions. I honestly feel that his series helped make Wanted into what it became. I'm into Sozin's Blood, Child of Destiny, Alone, and HTF; those are the ones I've read all that's out. I've also liked Avatar: Legend Of Fire and The Runaway', but the author is gone now, so there's little chance they'll be finished. On my to-read list are Energy Saga, catching up on The 600th day and see what I can read of Rassilon's stuff when he publishes it. I'm not incredibly well-read in all the wiki's fanon, given my very specific taste, but these are some of the examples of what I see and enjoy.

5. What, in your opinion, needs to be improved on the wiki?
I see the wiki as constantly evolving based on the new users coming in. This, of course is great because of all of the new perspectives that are brought into play from newer, dynamic users. However, most policies were put into place for good reason, and I urge users to think about the origins of policies before proposing a forum to overturn them. I'm not saying all policies must stay, but that I see forums happening all the time about incredibly (in my opinion) minor issues. The wiki as a whole is amazing, probably in its best state ever, but it's clear the minor issues are still the bulk of our changes. Korra will bring about massive changes to the wiki, and we must be prepared. Large scale policies may need to be changed or amended, so we should keep ready.

6. You, of course, are a very experienced user. What are your "tips" for newer users?
Tips: A system I've seen work is to stick to asking few users questions. Connect with a user who is more experienced than you and direct your questions to them. They can get you the answers, or they can at least tell you where to find out. And, instead of simple memorization, conceptualize. I think that is the single most important thing that a Wikian can do. Find out the origin of policies, traditions, or the system of how Wiki coding works, and then find out why and memorize that. If we have a small group of analytical users, it will be better than a larger group of users who are unsure of what to do. We can then use the experience we gain to spread to newer users by taking them under the Wiki-wing and teaching. Then, they'll be able to teach the next generation of users.

Unemployed with a MegaFonzie Theavatardemotivator

Since I was booted from editing, I put out several job applications, making sure to bolster my résumé by adding my talents:

(1) Has memorized every episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

(2) Has done extensive editing on the Avatar Wiki.

(3) Aang's staff. [snicker]

Unfortunately, no employer apparently wanted to go for someone as talented as me, seeing as they were sure I wanted a lot of payment for my awesomeness. Well, I didn't want much, just a few thousand ... a day. That shouldn't be too difficult, am I right? I mean, look at that one country with the crazy inflation! Those guys must be rich in the trillionaire business!

I might be a trillianaire in the Iar Sea, but I want to be a trillionaire in the real world, too.

Eventually, though, while peddling handcrafted plushies and secretly smuggling computer hardware in Ba Sing Se, I landed a deal serving tea at the Jasmine Dragon. Oh wait, no, just kidding, it was the Jazmine Dragon, some new-age ripoff hoping to catch customers off guard by rationalizing none would be able to spell. Somehow, the long line of vagrants, vagabonds, and one other word starting with a v I can't repeat here for the sake of the kiddies proved their pessimism right. While juggling my two new jobs [literally, I was juggling cups of tea and plushies here, trying to get both to the customer without destroying either], I found myself a nice apartment known as the cupboard in the kitchen, and there I holed up, shivering, wishing I were a Firebender. Sadly, I was stuck being a nothing until I realized that those bozos were writing comments like "I like this alot".

Finding one such customer, who was a darkly-dressed teacher at the local Academy for Land Operations and Tactics, a military institute of some kind or another, I asked him quietly, "What is an alot?"

From over the top of his nonexistent sunglasses - I very much wanted to retrieve that homemade flamethrower and burn him like a truck full of Chihuahua-shark hybrids - he opened his mouth, revealed to me a sickening maw full of broccoli and chocolate at the same time, and said: "What?"

Unfortunately, I could tell from his accent that he was, in fact, saying, "wut?"

I was about to go all flying kick-a-pow on him right then and there, but a little voice in my head whispered, "What would Kung Fu Action Jesus do?"

"Wait to be attacked?" I inquired. The Li'l Voice nodded. I leaned over the customer. "You said you liked our alots, but we don't serve alots here.

"Oh, you must be stupid, jay-kay. I mean like I like this tea alot." He gestured towards the cup now rattling from my Godzilla-level anger.

"What is a tea alot?" I hissed, my hand making the table vibrant.

He laughed out loud. "Alot means I liked it very much, dumb boy."

"He called me a boy. Can I kill him now?" I questioned.

Li'l Voice was sporting a helmet. And a grenade. "Oh ... yes."

With a battle-cry befitting a viking from Valhalla, I ran at him and karate chopped his idiocy. As I would later tell it:

"So there I was, toe to toe with five of the nastiest grammar violations you ever saw! Comma splices oozing from monstrous jaws! Spelling errors sharper than daggers! Slowly, all ten of 'em surround me. But do I surrender? No! I summon my highly trained killer instincts, and pounce! Hya! Kick-a-pow! Pew pew pew! Haa! And when the dust cleared, there were twenty less grammar violations in the world."

As his stupidity fell into pieces around him, he emerged holding a book of Iroh's wisdom and wearing thick hipster glasses. Bowing to me and immediately computing his tip in his head, he used his newly discovered psionic powers to levitate across the room and teleport away.

For a moment, I was concerned, but then I beat up his remaining stupidity and tossed it at the first person who walked through the door, figuring that anyone inattentive enough to end up at the Jazmine Dragon wouldn't notice the extra dumbness.

The first person to walk through the door? Sokka.

As the stupidity hit him, his eyes widened, he zeroed in right at me, and he yelled: "I want you to be my secretary!"

He then picked up Toph, kissed her fervently, set her back down, and turned his shirt inside out.

I stared blankly as he ran over to the owner of the teashop, some clown named Jar Jar Tinks, and hugged him while screaming, "Uncleirohuncleirohcanihavesomefreeteaaaaa?"

The next few days was a cliché whirl of hanging out - or shall I say haanging out? - with Sokka and Toph, who had been apparently looking for a secretary to answer all their fan mail. Since I've never been in a buddy montage, especially not an Avatar buddy montage, I felt it quite disorienting as all of the backgrounds simply began to switch. While Sokka and Toph were able to keep smiling and immediately doing whatever the new background demanded, I was the montage guy who hung around in a corner and pretended to be a confused snail sloth.

Let me tell you, it's very difficult to be a confused snail sloth, especially since they do an excellent job of making themselves seem confused. Besides, I didn't actually know what one looked like, so I was simply sprawled out on the floor, having hoisted two arms over my head to act as feelers.

I don't think Sokka noticed, but I'm pretty sure Toph stared at me. Well, she can't see per se, so possibly I was just imaging things. Or imagining things. Whichever. My backspace is stuck I suppose I'm going where no TAD has gone before by writing a nonstop sentence with no grammar or spelling HAHAHAHAHAHA A LIFE IN PLASTIC IS SO FANTASTIC I'll just have to use strike-throughs whenever I get in a crazy mood, which happens often.

Anyway, I was promptly saddled with answering some fan mail for Sokka. It's kind of like Avatar Answers Wiki, but five time more active and fifteen-point-six-seven-three times less fun. There I was, holed up in the middle of nowhere-land trying to answer stupid mail for Sokka. The cupboard might've been bad, but now I was forced to do it under the dinner table while half the team was busy cracking rude jokes. Well, Toph and Sokka were anyway. Suki, who had spontaneously apparated here just in time for me to write her name down, was just pretending to ignore them.

Secretly, I think she likes it. I'd insert an eyebrow waggle here, but some of the more suspicious readers might take it the wrong way. Therefore, I'll insert an eyebrow waggle for Sokka instead.

Sokka: [waffles eyebrows]

You're doing it wrong.

Deliciously, deliciously wrong.

Now, my handwriting is so bad, I call it handwronging. I failed a test once because the teacher couldn't read it. Monkeyfeathers, I got my perfect audial memory after realizing I couldn't read my own notes. So good luck to whoever received my letters. Then again, I was also writing in English and had to use Google Goggles to translate the letters themselves. Er ... that probably wasn't the best idea to hire me.

Dear Socka,

I love everything about you, from your massive rippling muscles to [censored censored censored]. Will you marry me? Or at least mail yourself in a box to me? Don't worry, my medical record is clean as my wrist.

Love, the girl next door, Northern Water Tribe

Dear KND with a G,

I'm not sure how clean your wrist is, but I wouldn't poke you with a ten-foot-stick. Anyone who confuses me with laundry - and that specific article of laundry - is a no-no in my book.

Besides, do you know how much money postage is these days? What, you want to bankrupt me? Money don't grow on trees y'know, it dug up from the ground.

Without a speck of love, Sokka.

Allusions to the book of Genesis H-Man Havoc

Being a follower of my faith, I am well-versed in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament. Recently, I've re-watched "Zuko Alone" and done an in-depth analysis of its themes, and I came across the notion that a few key events in the episode may allude to certain situations in the Book of Genesis, the first of the five books in the bible. Whether this was a coincidence on Mike's and Bryan's parts or an actual reference to the religious texts is ambiguous at best, but I will be exploring the latter possibility with this blog.

The first instance I will investigate occurs when Ozai talks to his father, Azulon, about transferring his older brother Iroh's birthright to him due to the former's failure in besieging Ba Sing Se and voluntarily withdrawal after his son Lu Ten's death in the ensuing battle. At the end of the episode, after Azulon's mysterious death, the birthright was switched from Iroh to Ozai, making the latter his father's immediate successor. This event relates to the story of the twins Esau and Jacob, whose origins are explained early in Genesis: Esau was the elder, and Jacob the younger, clinging to his brother's heel when the two were born. Jacob's mother, Rebecca, conspired with her younger son to get him her older son's birthright, because Esau had no intentions of leading or a sense of duty; all he wanted to do was hunt, which he did well, and thus he was admired by his father, Isaac, for that reason among others. Jacob managed to convince Esau to sell his birthright for a meal. Later, Isaac sent Esau off to the fields to catch some game in order to prepare a meal, after which he would confer his blessing to his eldest son. Rebecca overheard this and hatched a plan to get the birthright for Jacob instead of Esau, and this involved tricking Isaac (who was blind by this point) into uttering his blessing to his younger son. She dressed Jacob up in skins and covered his arms with hair (Esau was very hairy while Jacob was smooth-skinned), and she had him prepare a very similar meal. Despite a very close call during the initial execution of the plan, Jacob ultimately received his father's blessing yet subsequently had to flee when Esau returned and Isaac realized his mistake, shaking with rage since the blessing couldn't be repeated.

The second connection involves the first event as well as a second event towards the end of the episode. After Ozai declares his desire to usurp Iroh's birthright, Azulon says that his youngest son would be punished for his defiance, so as that he (Ozai) experiences the pain of losing his son. The connection with Genesis involves a much younger Isaac and his father, Abraham. God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his only legitimate son (he had another son, Ishmael, with his wife's maidservant, Hagar). Reluctantly, he took his son to Mt. Moriah, built an altar, and bound Isaac atop it. Abraham raised his knife and brought it down to Isaac's neck, but God stopped him right before any blood was drawn, saying it was only a test, to see how far Abraham would follow His orders. He then commanded Abraham to kill a ram spotted in a nearby bush instead. Going back to the episode, we know that Ursa, Zuko's mother, vowed to protect her son at all costs. It is later found out in "The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse" that Ozai had every intention of killing his son (directly contradictory to Abraham's reluctant obedience to attempt to kill his own) and that Ursa prevented him doing so by volunteering to hatch a plan that would result in Ozai becoming Fire Lord, which resulted in Azulon's death (perhaps by her hand) and her subsequent disappearance. This ties in with the latter part of the second biblical instance (Abraham sacrificing a ram instead of Isaac) as well as the implied aftermath of the birthright incident (although never mentioned in Genesis, it is implied that she bore the brunt of the blame for Jacob getting the birthright, as the latter was already long gone).

Those are the two events that tie Zuko Alone to the Book of Genesis. Hopefully you enjoyed the blog, and feel free to comment below.

Undiscovered fanon Bahjy1

The Avatar of the Fire Temple is a great fanon by Jall. It follows a mixed story based on a novel. For anyone who likes a different story, I'd recommend this. This romance story is very good; whether the idea is from the novel or not, the drama and romance are still great. Actually, I have never seen a better drama series on the wiki, since there are few of them. Whether Jall is still active or not, this mix of drama and romance makes a really nice short story which is something nice to read. I won't reveal any of the plot's twists or main ideas to keep you wanting to know more about this or read it, so I say it out loud again: Read it people!

6.5/10

Work overload BlackMonkey

As I am a (fairly) friendly and helpful user - a main goal of mine is to make sure that the community is always happy - and I decided to write a column on one way to stay happy on the wiki.

And by happy, I mean sane.

Sometimes work at this site drives you to the level where you're crazy. Believe me, at the end of this summer I had to work on my fanon, edit Omar's fanon, and write fanon reviews twice a week. It was chaos, and by the time school started up again I had to leave the heartbreaking message on Omar067's talk page saying I could not edit his story anymore. As I don't want anyone else to go through that pain, I've realized that the only way to the escape this insanity is to never enter it. Start small. Stay small.

You may be wondering why I am bringing this topic up now. Well, it's come to my attention that recently many users have just been loading too much work on themselves, some working on three or four fanons at once, along with huge projects. Working on that many projects at once will most likely cause some or all of the following things:

• The projects will take a long time to complete.
• Some projects will go through long inactivities.
• Some great ideas will be cancelled due to working on other projects.
• You may have quit groups or stop working with others.

The Promise Natsu11

We've finally got new updates and information about the first and second installments of The Promise, the postwar comics coming out next year, all thanks to Uiop60 and, of course, Gene Yang, who provided us with information. The Promise Part 1, the first graphic novel, is going to be released on January 25, 2012. Now, while we're all really excited for Legend of Korra, I'm more excited for these comics. They are like a bridge between our beloved original series and the new sequel spin-off. First of all, I've seen that there have been concerns about Aang's face, which supposedly looks "younger" and "like a nine-year-old child". The cover art for The Promise Part 2, however, denies such concerns as Aang clearly looks his age. Secondly, from the first few pages, it definitely looks that the comic is going to be worth the wait!

Now, for my opinions. After watching Gene Yang's youtube upload regarding this comic, I must say that I absolutely love Toph's redesign. She looks older and more mature. Katara's redesign is my second-favorite. Plus, after seeing some panels, I'm really impressed by Gurihiru, the team of artists behind the graphic novel! Their illustration is simply awesome and breathtaking! But, the thumbnail for the cover art of The Promise Part 3 was the one that took my complete interest. It looks awesome, and I don't think I'll be able to wait until it is released. Seriously, I'm sure I can't. By the time I saw it, I was already speculating and forming my own, not to mention stupid, theories about what's going to happen. From what we know currently, Kuei is going to reappear (I've my own theories as to what he did during his exile), along with, of course, my second-favorite animal in Avatar, Bosco, too!

Now, now, you might have obviously known that I'm super-duperly excicted. What are your opinions?

Is mengslaughter a crime? Theavatardemotivator

Note: If you haven't read Part I, look at the previous BSST first. Also: Be prepared for references to everything imaginable, including The Lion King [my point exactly, Zuko's Scar]. This contains a bloody lot of references, for example, to the beginning of a certain Harry Potter book where Snape catches Harry asleep on a train. If you'd like any explained, contact me. ;3

There she was. Sitting on the little step with a suitcase full of Aang memorabilia, hair a zoo as always, searching vainly over one of Sokka's expensive atlases possibly to find where her future boyfriend had gone.

Now here's the question: About whom am I talking?

Anyway, as I was sitting on the little step scouring through the atlas, I was surprised to hear a whiny little voice start wailing. "Do you know where Aang is? Do you know where Aang is? Do you know where Aang is?"

Seething with as much rage as a sadistic pacifism who desperately wanted to see certain people burn - I'm looking at you, User-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named - could muster, I lurched up, put the atlas away, grabbed my super special Avatar soft drink cup that only cost me three hundred rice bag labels, shrugged, and went on sitting on the step. I was waiting for the Suki-Sokka-Toph love triaangle to come back from a "night at the theatre", reversed last syllable and all, and I was definitely not going to miss the opportunity to destroy everything in the apartment, then blame it on pirates. Or ninjas. Pirates or ninjas? What about ninja-pirates? I flashed a grin. Oh yes, ninja-pirates would work.

By the time she came into view, the house was ransacked, every article of clothing switched and/or burned and/or washed with the colors and whites together, and the salt and sugar [gasp] switched, and I was back in Aang-fantasy-la-la land. My favorite kind.

So, sniggering about expandable arrows, I almost didn't see her approach, until she screamed: "It's a map!"

"No duh, Admiral Ackbar," I answered absentmindedly, turning the page and seeing a detailed thingymajigger of the Fire Nation, hoping that someone had been smart enough to map the Avatar's location. Then again, knowing Sokka . . . no matter.

A giant hand came out of nowhere and slammed the book out of my grip. Finally enraged, I looked up and tried not to gag.

My archrival.

A wild Meng appeared!

"Who are you?" she snapped.

I raised an eyebrow. "Come to challenge me at a Pokémon battle, Blue?"

"Name's Meng." She giggled, a sound like a thousand kitten heads being wrenched off and the jugular blood spurting all over a freshly waxed floor. Pity for those who waxed it. "It rhymes with Aang. We're engaged to be married, you know."

I blinked. "That's funny. I thought he was Katara's girlfriend. I mean - boyfriend."

She waved her hand slightly. "Bah." If she had a tail, she'd have been wagging it. "Maybe he is, but I'm his fiancé."

I put the atlas down and stood up to my full very impressive 5'2 frame and squinted at her and then did some other actions will total and utter disregard for the serial comma. "What's that, little girl?"

"You jelly?" She snorted with laughter like a crazed cow hippo. I frowned.

"I hope you taste as good as cow hippo," I muttered under my breath.

Meng froze. "Whah?"

"Because I'm going to kill you." I snatched the nearest weapon I could find and threw it as hard as I could at her head. She pitched backwards, just barely able to straighten herself, and I attempted to roundhouse kick her in the chest only to lose my balance and fall onto the road myself. Before an ostrich horse cart could run me over, I scrambled back onto the step and pushed Meng's whiny little face into the ground. "The Zutaracaust is now an anti-Kataangcaust! Kill all the haters!"

"Kill all the haters?" she squeaked.

[Godwin’s Law. It’s a law.]

I paused for a moment, considering, my hand now around her throat. "Maybe that was a bit of a hyperbole and a half, but . . . come on."

"Maybe I could make a proposal," she wheezed. "I know where he is!"

I let her go instantly, then gasped as she tumbled backwards into the street. My arm snapping forward, I grasped her collar and held her up against the wall, growling. "I hate proposals. Where is he?"

"Let - me - go - first!" I dropped her like the sack of moldy potatoes she was, and she rubbed her throat, staring at me with such venom in her eyes she was practically shooting daggers, but the Copyright Ghost magically appeared, screamed, "Copyright! Copyright!" at the top of his lungs a few times, and ordered her to stop copying off of Mai.

I plunked down next to her on the step and nudged her with my elbow. Time to play good TAD-bad TAD. "Hey, listen, I'm really sorry." I sniffed. "I think we got off on the wrong . . . foot."

"Whatever." Meng tugged on her hair, but it only sprang up to its previous bouncy-ness. I think I'd rather see Zuko with a mullet than Meng with - no, no, anything is better than Zuko [shudder] with a mullet. "Here's my proposal: I give you the directions, you give me transportation."

I mentally reviewed all of my transportation-giving options and realized that I had a grand total of absokutely none. Then I turned to my evile but necessary friend and nodded. "Sure, I can get you transportation."

"Great." Meng clapped loudly, startling the oogies out of me, and grabbed the atlas in my hands, lifting it up so proudly I could have sworn I heard African chanting in the background. With a flurry of pages and the sound of my eyebrow being raised so far it might have disappeared from my face altogether, she tapped a map of the Fire Nation and pointed to the Capital. "He's taking an interview and posing for some Gene Yaang guy," she expounded, and I found myself wishing that explanation verb was 'exploded'. "There's going to be a lot of posing, if you catch my drift."

I stared at her incredulously, mouth having fallen to the ground. "The Promise isn't po - !" I yelled, loudly enough to startle a few characters returning just at the wrong moment, as always.

"What was that, TAD?" Sokka inquired as he and Suki apparated next to me, he with the remains of a bag of flaming fire flakes, she with a giant plush badgermole in her arms. "Who's that girl?"

"I'm the biggest Aang fangirl in the world," Meng boasted.

I glared at her. "Maybe, but I'm the biggest faangirl."

Toph showed up shortly thereafter, just in time to see Meng and me duking it out like like a pair of ferocious faangirling felines. She bit my arm; I slugged her face hard enough to knock her unconscious. "Good thing I practiced that maneuver on my sister," I muttered, stretching, then glancing up at the trio of Team Avatarites. "S'up?"

"Cool story bro fight it again," Sokka answered instantly, and I frowned at the usage of the Internet meme, considering that the Internet had yet to appear in the World of Avatar - take that, continuity addicts - and pinched the bridge of my nose in exasperation in a very Zuko-esque move.

Toph tapped a foot on the ground. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"Fun time with you guys, but I'm leaving. I've got bigger birds to fry." I licked my lips. "I'll be seeing you 'round, yes, no, maybe, lobster?"

Sokka burst into loud chortles. "Lobster!" he howled. "Lobster!"

Suki glanced at him, frowning at his immaturity, then turned back to me. "Do we really have to lose you as a secretary?"

I shrugged. "Sorry, but, uh, I don't think that my skills were really vital to your success anyway. Just have Toph answer them. She'll do as good a job as I was, anyway."

At this point Sokka got over his insanity and now started to realize the truth of the situation. He threw himself at my feet. Well, not really. But if it weren't for Toph restraining him . . . "No, please!" he pleaded. "You have to stay!"

Meng blinked. I narrowed my eyes and put my hands on my hips. "Oh really?"

"Yes really!"

I scoffed, which was very difficult to do considering that I've only ever read the word scoff but still have no idea whatsoever as to what the Spirit World it means. "No way. For what?"

"You're the Meat God!" he cried out. "You're the only person in the entire team who will give me as much cooked meat as I want for free!"

"It's about to be sans gratis. Get out of here." I put my hand on his chest and tried to push him across the room, but I suppose it only works at teenage-infested drunk parties on the beach. I hear the surfing's choice, though.

With that, I spun around, hooked my arm into Meng's, hissed at the contact, and left, proud and triumphant, feeling like a movie.

Just kidding. I then had to go back, gather my meager things into a ratty old suitcase, and burn with discomfort as Sokka kept begging me for meat and Meng kept begging people for Aang artifacts. I shook my head and ignored the lot of them. Eventually, I actually left the house and disappeared, but not before giving in and cooking Sokka one last meal. I felt like a prison warden about to execute him, which is hilarious considering that they would probably forget me in about five-point-six minutes. Toph might remember me a bit longer, but Sokka? Just until the meat ran out. And even then, in his tiny brain, he likely couldn't think "TAD" and "meat" at the same time. Either way, I bundled myself up, and then Meng and I were running full-tilt towards the train station. I bought the tickets with counterfeit money and threw myself into a seat. Meng grumbled about transportation. I ignored her and asked for my complimentary bag of peanuts.

After two weeks or so on train and then at sea - on a ship called the Monkey Emu, so I could make as many monkeyfeathers quips as I wanted - we ended up on the shores of the Fire Nation. As I was paying for more train tickets, I eyed Meng and my suitcase, calculating their respective volumes, then bought just one ticket.

"Meng," I whispered urgently, "I just have enough money for one train ticket, so we'll be smart and pull the old Jewish tradition of getting two people on a train for one, okay?"

She hesitated. "Okay."

And that was how after listening to her squirm in a suitcase for a few days, I grinned to myself as I left her there on the train, enjoying my sadistic pacifism in all of its glory. Natural selection. Survival of the fittest.

Hopefully Severus won't mind my little "present". Maybe he'll even forget about the "missed the train, took a flying bison instead" incident.

[Side note: Professor Snape, if you're reading this, the tooth fairies infesting your office are not in fact mine. I blame Halloween. I suggest you call an exterminator. Or at least Hellboy.]

Now, to find my precious Avatar and [removed by the Commission for Removing Avatar Prawn (CRAP)].

Oh for the love of expletive deleted!

Open letter to M. Night Shyamalan AvatarRokusGhost

Dear M. Night Shyamalan:

I’ve been a viewer of some of your movies since I was in middle school when I saw The Sixth Sense, which was one of the better thrillers I had seen in a while. It was not necessarily my favorite, but as a fan of horror movies, I did enjoy the plot and the twists involved. Unfortunately, I could not say the same about The Signs or The Village, which came out in 2002 and 2004, respectively. Finally, there came Lady in the Water – the ultimate disappointment for me. Frankly, over time, your movies have become vaguer, cornier and harder to follow.

But enough of that. Let’s talk about the movie that’s most important – and that the people reading this are most interested in. That would be The Last Airbender, which is a live-action adaptation of one of my favorite shows. Let me just say that this stands out in my mind above everything you’ve ever done, so that none of the previously-mentioned movies matter to me anymore. This movie defines my image of you. And it was... awful.

The casting was poorly-done in relation to the show. The actors did not hold a candle to the personality of the characters I have come to know and love in the animated series. Some make a not of the races involved and while I personally don’t put as much weight on that myself, I do think it makes the movie less true to the cartoon series. The lines that were said that were meant to be witty came off as ridiculously corny. The bending was lame, the special effects were poor and the story was static. By taking all the personality and charm out of the characters, you have literally sucked the energy out of something that I love. Whatever good intentions you had, I’m afraid I cannot let that slide. I have heard that it is uncertain whether or not you will have the opportunity to direct the sequel or not. To be honest, I am rooting for the latter.

But there is still hope. No, I kid you not. Things can still work out between us. After all, The Phantom Menace was the worst of the new Star Wars trilogy, but by the time of Revenge of the Sith I was willing to forgive that disaster. If you do indeed get green-lighted for a sequel and make some serious improvements, all can be forgiven.

First off, forget the idea of a trilogy in this case. That’s the way it was with the Books of the TV series, but you’ve already changed so much and you have to change this to make it right. Make it a quartology, with Book 1: Water, Book 2: Earth and Book 3: Fire split into one movie leading up to the invasion and one with Sozin’s Comet in it.

So, taking your misguided character name pronunciations and lack of understanding of Avatar in general to the third movie, lets try to get right to the good part of the second season. Go to the meeting with Toph and make her as in-character as possible with an actress that actually looks like her. If she’s in-character and you get her to interact right with the other characters, people will almost forget how hopelessly out-of-character everyone else is. Almost. Whatever you do, don’t put Bumi in the movie. You heard me – DON’T put him in. He’s one of the best minor characters there is and I’d just like to keep him sheltered from you for now. I don’t trust you with him, even if things do get better. For the remainder of the second movie, try to incorporate "The Library" if possible, even if it makes the movie 3+ hours long. It would make the movie feel more like the show, which is something you badly need. After that, focus on the conflict between Team Avatar and Team Azula up until Ba Sing Se when the Dai Li come into the picture. Once it gets to the climax, don’t mess it up like you did by turning Koizilla into a giant wave or something like that.

In the third movie, you’re only working with half a season and you should take advantage of that by including more material from the show. As you’re building up to one of the great climaxes of the show, you should take a break and throw in some charming points from episodes such as "The Headband" and "The Painted Lady". Also, "Combustion Man" is an absolute must! I don’t care how you explain it in terms of your bending universe, just do it. You’ve taken too much bending action out of the show and you must make up for it somehow. The latter part of the movie will obviously be the invasion and this is where you need to incorporate some real bending. I’m not talking about “there’s earth beneath your feat” or the ability to “make fire” – I mean fire flying around left and right and fast-paced action the whole way through. Add some variety to the different Fire Nation opponents Team Avatar encounters. Also, it couldn’t hurt to have the Great Gates of Azulon scene from the show, since I could see that working well on a big screen.

As for the fourth and final movie, you need to make the scene with Zuko joining Team Avatar believable. Feel free to borrow some writing from the show, since I don’t fully trust you to pull it off on your own – no offense. When it gets to the final part with Sozin’s Comet, I don’t know what to tell you on that since the four episodes fit together into an awesome movie that’s essentially written for you. I wouldn’t try to invent the wheel on that. If you change some things, try to enhance the effects of the airship scene and the Agni Kai between Zuko and Azula. Also, ditch the idea of the Avatar not marrying somehow so that Katara and Aang end up together. A lot of fans need that to happen!

That’s my two cents for the day. In the unlikely event that you ever read this, I hope it helps you out.

Allusions to the Book of Exodus H-Man Havoc

Recently, as the collective group of Avatar Wiki users know, I published a blog on likely connections between the Book of Genesis and "Zuko Alone", to unexpected success and praise from many readers. I did however have a few detractors, but they only represented a few of those who posted comments in response to the blog. In the same comments section, I mentioned that should I find more links to the Torah (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament), I would post them in a successive blog posting. In this blog I will be analyzing and commenting on allusions to the Book of Exodus (the second of the five books, and perhaps the most well known of the books, ahead of Genesis) from a few episodes in the series, rather than on one specific episode. Granted, these allusions will not be nearly as strong or notable as the ones mentioned in my previous blog, but I will attempt to highlight and interconnect them to the best of my abilities.

Before I conduct my analysis, a disclaimer: What I've written in my previous blog as well as what I'm about to reveal here is not trying to argue that a specific viewpoint is more recognized than any other interpretation. The three monotheistic religions (one God) (Judaism, Islam, Christianity) each portray these events in their respective religious texts with slightly different interpretations from one another. I'm portraying it from Judaism's point of view because that's what I know, and that's the religion in how I was raised growing up.

For the first possible Exodus allusion, we head to the final episode of Book 1, "The Siege of the North, Part 2". Almost immediately after Zhao killed Tui, the Moon Spirit, by slicing the koi fish with a Firebending slash, an angry and disheartened Aang went into the Avatar State and merged with a seemingly wrathful La, the Ocean Spirit and became "Koizilla". Koizilla went on a rampage, killing off as many Fire Nation troops as it could, until it managed to vanquish the Fire Nation's flotilla (shortly after which Tui was revived using Yue as a willing host for its human form, and Zhao was subsequently drowned by a vengeful and defused La). In one of the scenes where Koizilla kills troops, Water Tribe warriors and Fire Nation soldiers were fighting each other on either side of a small canal, when the fused behemoth's mighty figure interrupted them. The Water Tribe warriors immediately bowed down, while the Fire Nation soldiers stood guard, raising their weapons at the giant. The warriors were spared while Koizilla drowned the soldiers with a simple wave generated by its large arm. This alludes to the ten plagues brought down on Egypt, specifically the last one: The Death of the Firstborn (in Hebrew: Makat Nechorot [pronunciation]), where each of the firstborn of the Egyptians was struck down by the Angel of Death (God), including Pharaoh's own child. The Israelites were saved from the same fate by painting their doorways with the blood of a freshly-sacrificed lamb. The Angel "passed over" (this is how "Passover" came to be named) the houses of the Israelites and smote the firstborn of the Egyptians. An interesting and ironic revelation of this plague was that the Pharaoh himself was a firstborn, but God saved him from death, to witness the grave destruction and sorrow caused to his people, as well as to his own family. Heavily distraught and in a state of grief, he demanded Moses and the Israelites leave Egypt, which they did in haste. The Pharaoh changed his mind soon after and ordered his surviving armies to chase down the slaves he only recently released, but they were all drowned once the troops arrived at Red Sea, where the parted waters were reunited. Looking back at the event in the episode, it isn't difficult to surmise that Koizilla represented the Angel of Death carrying out the final plague, "passing over" the Water Tribe warriors and striking down the Fire Nation soldiers.

The second possible allusion takes place at the end of "Avatar Day", when after saving Chin Village from the Rough Rhinos, Mayor Tong rededicated the festival to honour the Avatar rather than the original purpose of villifying the spirit. One of the measures was to make cookies in Aang's image by simply using uncooked dough. This was to signify that Aang was not boiled in oil, as his original punishment stipulated, but rather that he protected the village from capture and destruction by the Rough Rhinos. In the haste to leave Egypt after the Pharaoh's command, the Israelites did not have time to allow their bread to rise, as is normally done when baking it. As a result, they were left with partially-baked and unleavened bread, known as matzah, which is the primary food eaten during Passover. Granted, this is a very weak comparison, as Lady Lostris pointed out in the comments section of my previous blog since it only relies on the coincidence of one small item (the food).

Click "show" to continue reading!

The last allusion takes place in "The Serpent's Pass", when Katara and Aang help their group (incluing Sokka and Hope's parents) cross the watery expanse in between the two sections of the Serpent's Pass, by splitting and forming a water barrier around them using Waterbending. The allusion only focuses on the part where the water is parted, and not the barrier afterwards. The scene alludes to Moses parting the Red Sea to cross the expanse leading towards the other side, representing freedom from Egypt. As the Israelites were crossing, Pharaoh and his armies chased them down, but were temporarily halted when Moses summoned a large pillar of fire to halt the military's progress. Once the Israelites and Moses crossed over, the pillar vanished, enabling the forces to enter the partition, when they were subsequently drowned by the rushing waters reuniting. Accounts of the Pharaoh after the incident are ambiguous as to what really happened. Either he died with his men, or as "The Ten Commandments" (1956) and "The Prince of Egypt" (1998) illustrate, he remained on shore while he was forced to watch his men drown. What supports the latter opinion is that it seems God prevented the Pharaoh from going with his men in order to have him watch his armies' demise at His hands. These are three events that tie the series to the Book of Exodus. Hopefully you were intrigued y the blog's contents and feel free to comment below. Thank you for reading.

Weatherbenders chapter 5 preview PSUAvatar14

“So, this Weatherbending thing,” Katara started. “How many people do you think know about it, and how are we going to find this guy? I mean, do people know him?" Aang looked towards his girlfriend. “All we can do is keep moving, and hopefully it doesn't take a bad situation to find him, like the spirits said." “I can’t believe people could change the weather like this,” Sokka said. “I guess you can believe it,” Zuko replied. “It’s happening in the world right now, and we need to stop it.” The Team continued their trek through the barren forest, walking up the grassy path. Suddenly, a figure moved quickly through the brush. “What was that?” Toph yelled out. “I felt something go right by us!”

The Team looked around, confused. “Toph, I didn’t see anything,” Katara said.

“But…I could feel it. I could hear it,” the blind Earthbender turned back towards all of them.

“I didn’t see anything either,” Sokka responded. “If you felt something, it was probably just some animal of some sort, Toph.” Soon thereafter though, they all felt a temperature increase.

“It’s getting warm,” Aang noted. “Pretty quickly.”

“No kidding, Avatar, why don’t you state the obvious some more!?” A man’s voice called out, looking down from the trees at them all.

“Who’s there?” Zuko yelled. “Show yourself!”

As soon as the Fire Lord said this, the man from above used his fire jets and jumped down from the trees, positioning himself in front of the gang. He wore a Fire Nation General’s uniform, indicating he was, at least at some point, a general within the Army. He was followed by a woman, wearing a blue Water Tribe dress, riding a small wave to reach the team. She appeared on their right. To their left, another apparent Fire Nation general, alongside an older gentleman in Water Tribe clothing, appeared from beyond the trees.

“Good day, Team Avatar,” the man in front of them said. “Fire Lord Zuko, it is a shame my first time meeting you will be short.”

“Who are you?” Zuko demanded.

“No patience to allow for explanations, huh?” The general smiled, shaking his head. “I would think the Fire Lord would show some patience, especially a spoiled brat like yourself. In any event, I am General Zorro, brigadier general in the Fire Nation Army. I served under your father for several years, and your grandfather as well. I also served with your Uncle in his first siege of Ba Sing Se, but of course he failed. I was a proud man serving under Azulon and Ozai, but you came in and ruined the quest for world domination. It’s time you paid for that. However, how rude would I be if I didn’t let the rest of my crew introduce themselves?”

The second general turned to them. “Pleased to meet you…since you are all my targets today. I am General Ezan. I served in the War alongside Zorro, and I too was a proud man under your predecessors, Zuko. I would love to get that back.”

“My name is Kianna,” the woman spoke up. “I am from the Northern Water Tribe, where I thought I couldn’t learn combative Waterbending. What makes you so special, that you think you can just become better than me?” Kianna looked straight at Katara. “You, from the South? You could barely hold your tribe together, and suddenly you think you can run the show, little girl? By the way,” she signaled towards the other Water Tribesman. “This is Baktan, my husband’s brother.”

“Look who we have today…it shall be a day to remember,” Baktan said evilly.

“Okay, who are all of you?” Aang said, preparing to attack.

“Why, you haven’t heard?” Zorro asked mischievously. “It is us… the only other Weatherbenders in the world. We are… the Meteorologists!”

Some members of them collectively gasped, as they all prepared for attacking positions.

“So it’s you. You’re the ones who have been changing the weather!” Zuko yelled out.

“Specifically, I took care of this nation,” Zorro said. “You all looked warm, so I cooled you off a little. Only the most comforting temperatures for my nation!”

“Your nation?” Zuko yelled again. “Not today!”

“Are you sure?” Ezan began. “I don’t think you will be in charge after we’re through here.”

BlackMonkey's BlackMonkey

Hello, this is BlackMonkey, signing in to review Darksome Knights by Lightningthief9.

Darksome Knights is a creative fanon which takes place in seven connected worlds, including the worlds of Avatar, Kingdom Hearts, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pokemon, and Percy Jackson, and the mysterious Five Pillars who are destined defeat the Darksome Knights, who has returned to the worlds, making them enter a reign of chaos.
After reading Book 1, I really don't know what to say. This was so confusing - but so good. I loved each part and I've got to say this is probably the most creative fanon I've ever read. Each chapter is unrelated in the beginning, filled with mystery and suspense, you want to know what happens next and are left with questions or ideas, only to read the next chapter which is different, leaving you in a unique and confused need to read more. Good job, Lightning.

Scores:

• Story - 8.7: Some chapters were a bit short or went to fast, but if you read it over a few times and know what to expect, it flows pretty well.
• Action - 9.0: Action itself - not so much. Leaving you hanging and wanting to read more or figure out the mysteries of the seven worlds - all the way.
• Writing - 8.3: Pretty much average.
• Creativity - 9.7: It's right on the line between being very creative and not having to do with Avatar at all - but I think it balances on the line pretty well - I've never, ever seen anything like this in my life.
• Believability - 8.9: - Some parts were a bit so so, but it didn't affect the general gist of the story at all.
• Character Development - 7.9: I know in Book 2 this will probably get better, but in Book 1 each chapter is in a different world so there isn't much time to expand on their personalities.

Average Score: 8.8
Note: All scores are out of ten

Advice for Lightningthief9: This was a wild fanon, man. I loved it, but make sure that you keep it to a certain level of creativity and thoughtfulness, because I think others may not. One thing I think you can improve on is making chapters longer, think about how much story can be fit into an ATLA episode, or imagine if you started watching ATLA and a whole episode was just a conversation or a celebration. Make sure there is a bit of action in every chapter too, other than that I really think your on a roll.

What kind of users should read Darksome Knights? Anyone who wishes to read a confusing, suspenseful, wild ride of a fanon should look at this. At times it may be a bit too confusing, but I think you'll get the idea of it. Darksome Knights isn't any ordinary "after-the-war" fanon, I'll tell you that much.

Next Review: Spirit War

Undiscovered fanon Bahjy1

This issue's featured new undiscovered fanon is The Avatar's Story by brand new fanon author PreservationsWings.

This series takes place after The Legend of Korra, 16 years after Korra's death. An Earth Kingdom boy named Leon is the new Avatar, and he hates it. Leon runs away. On his way to nowhere, he meets the still-living Guru Pathik, who tells him how important the Avatar is.

Looking at the main page of the story, we can also see that there was a past Fire Naton Avatar named Zien, he dicovered the history of the Avatar spirit. We can assume that the author will try to reveal how and why the Avatar was created.

A greatly-writed story, and a brand new one, is obviously lacking readers. It is creative as well. May I also say that this author has a great potential, as an author and a contributor. So you gotta read the fanon, it is cool.

8/10

Interview: PSUAvatar14 The Ultimate Waterbender

1. How does it feel being a fanon admin? What are some things you hope to achieve now that you are one?
It feels pretty good, though at the end of the day, I'm still just another user with pretty much the same level as the bulk of the userbase. I just hope to help keep our fanon space at the high quality it has been praised for – ensuring all are up to our standards and that they're all in the right place (categories).

2. What are you really hoping to see in Legend of Korra?
I want to see the roots of the Equalist Movement, the same character depth we got with most characters in ATLA, just how far we have come in 70 years, and of course some flashbacks to the past.

3. Did you see the movie, The Last Airbender? What disappointed you the most about it? Would you see parts 2 and 3, if they come out?
I have never seen it in full, but I have seen enough to see that it is a poor movie. I was truly disappointed by the bending – the moves were really weak and complicated. Further, the characters had no depth and emotion was sorely lacking. I don't think I would be up for anything further.

4. You've written/been writing several fanons. Was it difficult to make time to write them? Are you happy with the way they did/are turning out?
I have had a good amount of free time on my hands, though it has been dwindling as of late. I was not happy with how the first half of "Engagements" turned out, those needing some serious pre-release revisions, but I loved the second half. I like where "Weatherbenders" is headed currently, I'm just hoping I can keep it on the right track.

5. Where do you think the Wiki can be improved?
Our fanon space still has quite a number of articles that could use fixing up. Also, some canon space articles lack information that can be used, as was brought to my attention a few days ago. We are a solid wiki, but, users should not think everything is perfect – there is always room for improvement.

6. How has your time here been for you?
Oh, wow...get ready for rambling. :p My time here has been incredible. I have met many awesome people, just too many to name specifically – though I'm sure they know who they are. ^^" This wiki, thanks to its fanon space, has felt like I can free my mind up more...it helps me get some creative ideas out of my head and into words, such as "Weatherbenders". But, mostly I've loved my time here because of the community. If I didn't join... well, I wouldn't have made some close friends. :)

Ice dodging: Avoiding huge ships Theavatardemotivator

News: Demotes are officially making a comeback next BSST. Hooray for a clear schedule!

This is not going to be funny but rather a reflection on the shipping insanities of a truly crazed fandom - or should I say fandumb?

Even though 70.483% of all statistics are made up on the spot - and nine out of five people suffer from math illiteracy - let me give you a few fictional statistics. TvTropes is a popular website that deals with things seen constantly in media; examples of "tropes" include "Mind-Control Eyes", referring to the swirly/googly/pupil-less/iris-less/etc. eyes that the brainwashed usually have, such as Jet and Joo Dee, and parodied "for the lulz" in The Ember Island Players; "Sealed Good in a Can", which refers to any sort of benevolent force trapped somewhere, such as Aang in his iceberg; and "Kangaroo Court", describing a sham legal proceeding a lá Avatar Day. Now, TvTropes is a really great, really entertaining little site that makes sense and knows about what it is talking; most of its users are of the "Internet age" that loves sci-fi, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and video games. In fact, Avatar itself isn't a common staple on most trope pages.

Then one sees the pages on shipping.

Avatar features prominently on Die For Our Ship, Fan Preferred Couple, and Launcher Of A Thousand Ships - and that's only through clicking just three shipping trope links.

Furthermore, the Avatar shipping crises are highlighted on almost every single shipping trope. For a site that deals with mostly sci-fi, what's going on here?!

The answer is simple. After scouring the Internet, I came up with proof of the worst kind: Avatar has one of the most rabid ship followings - and one of the rudest, deadliest, most idiotic-beyond-a-scrap-of-doubt in any way, shape, or form, shipping wars. Cha, wait, there's another prominent Avatar feature! [facepalm]

So who's to blame for all of this? The fact that less than half of the fans of Avatar are female? The constant ship teases on the part of the creators? The woe-is-us-the-fanatics cry of "they're just shipping it because they're never seen the show"?!

It might just be a combination of all three. But first, let's take a look at the history of shipping. Warning: The following may be extremely disturbing; just remember that I had to experience . . . firsthand . . . as I was doing research for this article. [puts on aviator goggles] These goggles do nothing, but they sure make me feel much better!

And why am I qualified to write this kind of stuff? I've been everywhere. Zutara, Kataang, Zukaang, Sukka, Yukka, Tokka, Ty Lokka, Jetara, Hatara, Taang, Azulaang, Hakursa, Zhaozai, Tyzula, My Cabbages - you name it, I've seen it or read about it, not because I ship them necessarily, but because I like to keep myself informed on all things Avatar, and unfortunately Avatar is, as we have seen, one of the most, if not the most, shipping-and-flame-war-inclined fandoms. I have seen it all, and I'm got the mental scars to prove it. All I did was take the most mainstream of the shippings and bring it straight to you, no awkward fanfics or terrifying fanart required. You're welcome.

I've had some particular experience with Zutara, Zukaang, Sokkla, and other "crack" pairings, mostly thanks to my sister and my friends, few of whom ship Kataang. Therefore, one might say I'm more or less qualified. No, this column will not be about debunking these other pairings. The canon shippings - Kataang, Maiko, and Sukka - have been confirmed to occur in the end, and there is no way around the fact. This is only a history of the bloodiest war since the Amercan Civil War.

That's bloody.

There will also be, towards the end of the article, a few spoilers of The Promise. The spoilers in question are very minor plot points and cover perhaps three panels in total, but it is understandable that some do not wish even these small ones. There will be another warning at that point in time. Just letting you know that I'm watching out for you.

In order to do research for this article, I am very literally going to go back in time. Arming myself with nothing more than the useless goggles mentioned above and my own wicked humor, I raced about six years back in time: In other words, I went back to the blogs and comments, etc., on websites since Avatar's creation. Let's see what the Avatards have to say.

Please note that the views expressed in this article do not reflect Avatar Wiki's or even the author's. Because the article deals with "proof" of non-canon shipping paraphrased or quoted from various blogs around the interwebz, please keep in mind that the author does not necessarily ship these ships. The author's preferred shippings may be found at the bottom of the article.

Lettuce souprise ewe - great restaurant name, by the way - by starting out at the very beginning. During the first few episodes, Zuko had this fangirls, sure, but no one really paid attention to him until the Agni Kai of 103; that was when the first wave of Zuko fanart rolled out, and some, looking for a shipping partner to admire Zuko's great qualities of aanger and aangst, turned to Katara, who was then the only recurring female character on the show. Aang acted particularly childishly in those first two episodes, and even his great explosion of sorrow-turned-to-Avatar-State in 103 was considered nothing more than a temper tantrum by some. Younger fans tended to identify with Aang and say it was Kataang at first sight; older fans tended to go Beauty and the Beast and/or misinterpreted Lion King II and assume that Zutara would result either in Zuko's defection or from the fact that he was a villain.

And by fans, naturally, I mean females.

The male fans, most of whom didn't care either way, either assumed a) Aang was the protagonist and therefore Kataang would happen or b) Avatar was an animé and therefore . . . Zutara would happen. Either way, very few realized Avatar was in fact Americanimé, not Japanimation - and trust me, viewers confuse those all the time.

Personal story time: I was chatting over the web with one of my sister's friends, who mentioned she thought Zuko was "hot". Disgusted, I asked her how she could think that - after all, Zuko had an ugly scar. Cha, I was, what, eight at the time? The friend typed, "*shrug* idk he is". And that was the beginning of Zutara for many. Very many. Extremely many.

When 104 aired, almost everyone thought Suki would be a one-off character, and the Sokka fangirls - of which there were few at this point - squealed with delight at the prospect of their "holy shrine" finally "getting a girl". They jabbered and flamed those who didn't agree that Suki would return. Incidentally, this is a case of Fandom Gone Right.

The Kataangists - of which, again, there were somewhat less at this time - were excited about the Kataangst present in 104, and, let's face it, there were a few questionable shots, all of which were swiftly Photoshopped. However, the Zutara push was stronger - though very weak compared to what it would become - as Aang hadn't yet quite proved himself, and Katara still seemed more like an older sister to him than anything else.

Royal Family primogeniture H-Man Havoc

Although it never was addressed in the series, it would be interesting to determine if primogeniture had a direct influence in Fire Lord succession protocols. Before I go any further, primogeniture refers to the right of inheritance granted to the firstborn. It's obvious that this form of system was in effect in the Fire Nation, but which type exactly? There are two major types of this: male-preference (a.k.a. Agnatic), and absolute (a.k.a. Absolute Cognatic). The former is traditionally how primogeniture is viewed; the oldest male child gets the inheritance, regardless if he has older sisters. The British Royal Family traditionally used this form of succession, with the notable exceptions being few (including Queen Elizabeth II). The latter refers to succession by the oldest child, regardless of gender. This form was very rarely used until around 30 years ago (especially with regards to the monarchies), when Sweden passed an amendment to change from male-preference to absolute. This is why the current King of Sweden (Carl XVI Gustaf)'s eldest daughter (Victoria) is now the heir apparent (her younger brother, Carl, had it for a few months, until the amendment). The British monarchy also recently passed an amendment to change from male-preference to absolute primogeniture, which would benefit Prince William and Princess Catherine should their eldest child be a girl.

In terms of Avatar, I would assume that the Fire Nation (and the Avatar world in general) uses male-preference primogeniture when deciding their lines of succession. Here however, some assumptions and liberties must be distinguished due to lack of information from the series. Firstly, with the notable exception of Ozai, none of the Fire Lords (or purported successors) had more than one child (Ozai obviously had Zuko and Azula). Secondly, every child borne by the known rulers were male (except Azula). Thirdly, it can be assumed that both Sozin and his son, Azulon, had no siblings (at least none mentioned in the series or the continuity' yes, this is contradictory to what I mentioned as the first assumption, but it's still relevant nonetheless).

The only reason why Ozai got the throne and not Iroh was that the former asked his father to extricate the latter from the line of succession (making this occurrence the only time that an heir apparent was disavowed and removed of his title and replaced by a younger sibling; it nearly happened again when Azula was almost crowned Fire Lord).

In conclusion, I believe that male-preference primogeniture was used in the Fire Nation, as well as the rest of the Avatar world. Now that I've parlayed my reasons for this, what are your opinions on the matter?

Message Wall Natsu11

Many of you might know about the upcoming "forced" replacement by Staff of MediaWiki default talk pages by "Message Walls", which are similar to article and blog comments and are under development. I posted a blog about this to inform users about the change, and all of the users, except two users *cough* wjxhuang and Rass *cough*, have several negative opinions about it. First of all, I really want a preview function, which a huge amount of users has been demanding. I'd also like if some of the extra white space were removed. That one's really annoying me. Users are also criticizing the use of the "aka" name in bold and the actual user name in a smaller font size. I was originally not happy with it, too, but I'm now pretty indifferent to it.

After the repeated demands by users for a header where you can add text like you add now, like talk page picture or other messages, a sub-page was created, where you can add such text and images, which is transcluded on the Wall. One of the other improvements applied to the Wall is the improved time-stamp. Another thing I like about this new feature is that newer users don't have to be pestered to add signatures, as the time stamp is added automatically. But one draw back is that the work of people who have spent some time making good signatures will be mostly wasted. Now, the messages are replied on the user's own message wall, which is easier, allows easier checking up of discussions as logs, and is more efficient. I'm still not sure about the automatic pagination, as I've not seen it work.

Now, many users claim that it's a copy of Facebook just because it's related to commenting and has "wall" in its title. I'd like to repeat what wjxhuang said: Commenting didn't originate in Facebook. Also, the idea of "it has 'wall' in its title, so it's definitely a copy of Facebook" is really crazy. The title "wall" or discussions through "comments" aren't copyrights of Facebook. I can't really say I love the wall, although I can say I'm getting used to it, and I'll be able to bear with it, eventually. And with its automatic pagination, which will archive it every 20 posts, wjxhuang has a load off his shoulder: The weight of archiving talk pages with his bot.

Now, while the message wall has negative points that can cause people to hate it and positive points that can cause people to love it, what are your opinions?

Fanonical Analysis 2 BlackMonkey

Anyone who was here back in summer may remember that I posted a blog in early July, Fanonical Analaysis, telling the percentages of the total amount of fanons which were complete, inactive, and discontinued. The blog got rave reviews and over the five months since it was posted many users asked me if I could update the blog with new info.
Well guess what? Fanonical Analysis #2 is here for you in the Ba Sing Se Times. Pretty snazzy, huh? Check out these stats: Fanon Analysis of July 3rd:

• 5% of stories are complete
• 60% of stories are incomplete but active
• 22% of stories are incomplete but inactive
• 14% of stories are discontinued

Fanon Analysis of December 3rd:

• 6% of stories are complete
• 47% of stories are incomplete but active
• 27% of stories are incomplete but inactive
• 19% of stories are discontinued

The total amount of completed stories has increased (yay!), but basically everything else is worse.

Fanon review Millennia2

This Review is brought to you by the Fanon Review Squad

Today's Ba Sing Se Times review is Emblem of the Outlaw, by Bassoon Ninja.

Overview: Three years after the death of Avatar Korra, three years after the Avatar was reborn into the Earth Kingdom, a powerful bender opened a portal into the spirit realm. An imbalance between the worlds came, causing several more portals to tear open: One in the Earth Kingdom, one in the Fire Nation, one in the Northern Air Temple, one in the Southern Water Tribe, and one in the middle of Republic City. Spirits poured into the human world through these portals. Most of the spirits who passed through were lesser spirits, but some malignant spirits came through and wreaked havoc on the humans. Likewise, some humans would stumble into the spirit realm and disturb the more powerful spirits; most humans never came back from the spirit realm because of this. Overall, the result of these portals ultimately became that humans suffered more than spirits. The humans cast all the blame for these incident upon the spirits, and being blamed for an incident that was obviously the humans' fault irritated the spirits, thus tensions began to rise.

When a powerful evil spirit crossed into the human world and completely destroyed a village, humans became terrified of the spirits. They foolishly began to believe that the benders were "spies" for the spirits: Any known benders were taken away, and none would return. Bending was deemed illegal, as a method of communing with the spirits. Police worldwide were given the task of tracking down and arresting all known benders, but bending was as natural to the people as breathing. The bending world quickly went underground; over time the underground bending world became a world of crime, violence, and villainy. Bending matches became brawls, bringing the deaths of many talented benders. And with crime on the rise, the police began to take anyone, from any small child to any old man, who showed any sign of being a bender and locked them away.

Relationship Natsu11

The recent interview of Gene Yang has done nothing, nothing but totally hyping me up! Initially, I was very excited for the graphic novel series, but now, after being revealed some information about it, I'm even more excited!

Now about the relationship, or as it's commonly called, "Shipping". The thing I've been wondering the most about the series are the developments of the relationships of the character, and also whether Toph will get a love interest. We know Aang and Katara's relationship will definitely develop, as they have a child in the sequel or the spin-off series, but we don't have any confirmation about Zuko and Mai's relationship. They latter's relationship hasn't been expanded upon much, and I am curious about it, very curious in fact.

Now about Toph's possible love interest. Users support different "pairings" for Toph, the most populer being "Tokka" (Sokka and her), "The Doph" (The Duke and her), and some more I fail to remember at this instant. The former is "50-50" to happen, considering Suki and Sokka's relationship. The latter can happen, but you have to keep in mind that The Duke is eight years old, and I doubt a child of that young age needs a girlfriend. What are your opinions about this? And please, don't be uncivil if you do not support the relationships I mentioned above.

After Gene Yang revealed that the entire of the three installments occur within a one week time, I even more excited as to how it will be managed!

Demotivated Theavatardemotivator

Previously on Avatar: No demotes have magically appeared in the past two weeks. How tragic. Aang and Katara kissed. Zuko and Song shipped. Iroh hit on Song. The fandumb went insane.

And yes, demotes are back. No, you’re not seeing things. Yes, I am a bit rusty. No, it won’t be depressing. Yes, I’m eating cold spinach puffs. How’d you know?

And why yes, Monkeyfeathers is back with a vengeance. Good for some. For others? Not so much. Best part? He’s agreed to stop cursing. Awesome.

Figure 1

We begin our adventure here, in the sewers of ItalyOmashu, aka Oh no according to Sokka, where the interesting . . . er . . . adventure will begin. Naturally, Aang and co. decide to head up a sewer instead of going inside like normal people, which is understandable, considering they’d be skewered on a stick. Unfortunately for them, how did they would that they would arrive at a comfortable location?

Aang: “All right, I think that’s the end.” [opens manhole] “Hellooooo, world.” [stares at the multitude of Fire Nation soldiers marching in the street now staring back at him] [slowly replaces cover] “You didn’t see anything . . .”

Otter penguins from certain islands off of the coasts of certain continents that look like certain dolphins aside, the Gaang could’ve gone The Thief and the Cobbler route: Sokka would have been quite pleased; Aang and Katara not so much.

Review: LWFAW BlackMonkey

Hello, this is BlackMonkey, signing in to review Love Will Find A Way by AlaskaBender.

When Earth King Maroph reigned over his glorious nation. He had two sons, his heir, Prince Long, and Prince Moku. During an annual feast celebrating the strong alliance with the Water Tribes, Moku becomes infatuated with Chief Rakara's daughter, Kyla. After discovering the Kyla feels the same way about him, Moku quickly follows Water Tribe custom and carves a betrothal necklace, a symbol of their love. Moku and Kyla are ecstatic about their newly found bond, while King Maroph and Chief Rakara celebrate a possible new tie between their nations. Everything was perfect...until the unthinkable happened. This is the tale of how one man will give up all of his glory, his whole life, to find the woman he is destined to be with. This is the tale of Moku and Kyla.
Wowzers. A very good fanon, especially for a new author like AlaskaBender, combining all the elements of romannce, adventure, and action, all at their highest form in the Avatar universe. There are the old secret conspiracies and quests that help every story and the new plot twists and characters that will blow your mind. And it's all entwined into good writing - a legend in the making.

• Story - 9.3: Very good. A creative, well thought out story of love.
• Action - 8.9: Sometimes quick but very well written.
• Writing - 9.4: I did not expect this quality from AlaskaBender.
• Creativity - 9.4: There's not a romance story like this out there - not one that's got enough adventure and action to be legendary. This story is unique
• Believability - 9.1: - Some answers are gotten too easily, but for the most part it was very believable. Nothing really felt unrealistic.
• Character Development - 9.5: Moku is set on getting back Kyla, fighting for answers, developing on the way. Kyla is growing up and learning in prison, along with Peo. Those are only the major ones.

A Christmas Message Millennia2

Well, here we are. After four months and almost 30 reviews by our members, the Fanon Review Squad has reached the end of our 2011 season. 2011 has been a turbulent and exciting year, bringing with it numerous Korra tidbits, the unveiling of the Promise Trilogy, and an enormous growth in our great community.

Though I'm definately excited for a break from reviewing, there are still two duties left for me. First, my "Final Four" review will be posted on the fanon portal on Sunday, December 18. These four stories are my last reviews for the year. Second, I have one special review for this issue, the last before Christmas. It involves a story called Child of Destiny.

Child of Destiny is a fanfiction story depicting the future of the world ten years after the end of Sozin's War. The story revolves around Aang's search for Diyi, the first Airbending child to be born in over one hundred years, who has been kidnapped by an unknown party. It also chronicles Zuko's struggles against the Cult of Sozin, a group of Fire Nation rebels who still eagerly pursue the goal of Fire Nation supremacy and are led by Admiral Zhao, who was believed to be dead.

Now, normally I would give a review of the story; I've considered it several times. However, in light of recent events and also the time of year, I would only suggest for you to read it. Child of Destiny is a truly amazing story. Child of Destiny has always been my personal favorite on the wiki. The author, a person known as MightyBrit, was one of my favorite users. As some of you may or may not know, Brit was involved in a car crash some time ago, and his injuries led to his current state of lying in a coma.

As the holidays approach and we face the new year, I ask you to keep MightyBrit in your thoughts and prayers this season. I, along with the community, hope for his recovery and return. He is truly amazing. And with that, I wish you all Happy Holidays and a good start to an amazing new year.

Fanon review Moon Beam

I will be reviewing Avatar: The Legend of the Phoenix, by Saphira1001.

This story is about The World of Avatar, with a different twist. A Water Avatar, named Amalric, went mad with power. The Fire Sages wanted to create a temorary Avatar to stop Amalric. They wanted to gather all of the Sages from each nation to make this happen, but they either refused or could not. The Fire Sages then got a young Fire Nation girl, and performed the same ritual in which created the first Avatar, to give her the power to bend Fire and Air. This turned her hair white and her eyes a sky blue color. She mastered Fire and Air, and when she was ready, she faced Amalric and ended him. She eventually died, and the world was fine as the new Avatar was sane.

What a year it was! Natsu11

What a great year it was! Many great users joined, starting from me :P, many great new changes happened on the wiki. We two new admins, fanon admins, and almost double as many rollback users as last year. We had the User Awards, the many contests, etc., so many things I can't list'em. From the time I started editing seriously, in April, I've really enjoyed here. I just can't afford to not be here, even for a day! I remember May when so many people were activen both in the wiki and IRC. Even if the activity has died out, the enjoyment hasn't died out.

As for me, I don't have a memorable day to share, for everyday is a memorable day with a teeny bit of exceptions, of course. :P But, I really enjoyed co-hosting the User Awards, with the now-inactive Rass. Oh, and I also enjoyed hosting the What if contests – the second was a flop, but never mind. But one thing I'll never forget is my prank blog; I so loved seeing the comments after I revealed it was a prank! XD

I have more than thousand goals for the next year I aim to complete. I couldn't possibly list'em all, but one of my main aims is to host a grand "what if" contest, probably in April or May. The first two I hosted were not very nice, and the second was full, total, flop. I also look forward to hosting the second User Awards, along with Rassidy©, again. Oh, yeah, being the overlord of this wiki is my top aim. To add just a line, I also hope to edit along with MightyBrit, and hope he becomes well.

That's it, I guess, folks. Hope you have a great New Year. :) *waves*

Suspect ALL the dates! Axiovatar

In the rare case that you’ve been hibernating for the past week, just happen to read this particular article while overlooking the Hot Spots, here’s the summary: WE HAZ KORRA RELEASE DATE!

Confetti blew! Shyamalan boos! But wait, is this for realz? Are we actually being bestowed with a release date for the most anticipated cartoon series in the history of epic cartoons? Probably. I'd say 50-50. Before continuing on, I'm well aware that not everyone is buying this date either.

“Y U NO believe Belgium MTV network?”

I adore English more than Dutch, thus I lack the confidence to place my zealous anticipation on anything other than English... Just kidding. :D But seriously, being a US-based series and having the Belgium MTV site announce the date baffles me. Despite being part of Viacom, the company we despise with a passion in recent months for the lack of everything imaginable (a date), the manner of which it is presented is highly suspicious.

There, jumbled along with Life with Boys (irrelevant), TMNT (irrelevant) and Korra (spotlight!) in one paragraph are programs scheduled for a release in 2012, with LoK set in fall described in less than 15 words. I believe more should be elaborated on this Legend of Korra, the successor for the most successful Nickelodeon series, considering the fact that many would scream/squeal in delight if there was a paragraph on Korra. New series? Meh. New spin-off? Interesting. New spin-off of A:TLA? Mother of God! Thus capturing the attention of more fans in its wake. A series with a solid fanbase/audience should not be included with those of fresh material, as uniqueness will draw in more attention/interest and more viewers. Speakeasy managed to dedicate an entire article for Korra, twice. I believe Viacom/Nick could, and should, do the same. There’s no point in letting the current fanbase suffer just to promote fresh series with relatively little to no chance of outranking others.

Of all the dates we’ve excited/cringe/ponder over this year, why should this announcement be any different? Is it because of their affiliation with Viacom? The same could be said to Dark Horse and Nickelodeon. Perhaps we’re in acceptance because of an earlier, less controversial release date is given instead of one that will make fans spit fire. Then there's the probability of them giving the wrong date! No. I’m not saying it’s completely fake, just that we should perhaps suspend our excitement here; learn the truth before we bury it under a load of fangasms.

Did you know they spelled Legends of Korra with an "s"? (Nitpicking ftw!)

Avatar jokes Bahjy1

Happy New Year everybody! Bahjy1 here, and I have a truck loaded with Avatar jokes in the yard. Want to unload the jokes on you ? OK.

I collected the best Avatar jokes out there and put them together here. Some may seem weird, but some are extremely funny. And there is a joke for you Kataangers. All of these jokes are question/answer jokes.

Let's start :

1. What is Zuko's favorite candy?
Fireballs. 2. What kind of diet is Sokka on?
A seafood diet. He sees food, he eats it!

3. Why couldn't Aang learn Earthbending at the start?
It was too Toph.

2011 Review of the Year! BlackMonkey

Hello, this is BlackMonkey, ready to celebrate the holidays with the rest of the wiki. If there's one vibe that's been flowing through our network lately, I'd say it's "Wow, what a year on this wiki". I completely agree. This time last year I didn't even know about this awesome place, and now I'm signed up, have rollback rights, and a successful fanon.

But you guys don't want to hear the day-by-day story of my life on the wiki so far, because that'd be pointless and actually quite boring. Let's narrow it down a little farther.

If there's one moment - one thing that I've accomplished this year that I'm truly proud of, it's founding The Fanon Review Squad. For those who don't know about what the FRS is, it's an organization which will review and critique your fanons upon request. For those who do, please skip the sentence before this. After starting in the end of August we've created 49 total reviews, and will resume work next week. I want to thank all the users who supported the group when it was first made, especially to Millennia2 and Bahjy1, my fellow reviewing partners.

Lets get down to the fun stuff, then. As a fun New Year's gift to the community - the FRS will be hosting a special ceremony and analysis that will be held and posted in a blog next week - the "2011 Review of the Year". Sounds cool, ain't it? You can barely even imagine. We'll tell our thoughts on how we think the fanon portal is going and what we can improve on - and we're going to be giving out special awards, the best fanon our group has seen in each of the categories we review stories in (ex. story, creativity, action) since founding the group four months ago. I hope your excited - I sure am.

Well, that's it, folks. Thanks for supporting the user group, and get ready for an fanonical analysis like none other.

Review: Avatar: Legend of Rokan Mageddon725

Hey there, Mageddon725 here, reviewing Avatar: The Legend of Rokan by Firebender896 on behalf of the Fanon Review Squad as a test review.

Avatar: The Legend of Rokan takes place during the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is full of adventure, love, and struggles, as the main character must discover her identity and recover from the pain of her past.

The fanon focuses on a Fire Nation girl named Rokan. Having recently lost her parents and brother in a terrible fire, Rokan has taken on a cover name and personality; a cold, mysterious character who takes the name of Zoai. The Legend of Rokan begins in the outer villages of the Earth Kingdom. Rokan (under the guise of Zoai) is slowly making her way through the Kingdom, for lack of anything better to do. However, she is making enemies quickly. Little can be foreseen of her future; Rokan is hard pressed to make it through a single day without her life being threatened...

I have enjoyed every chapter of this fanon, and with more to come, I shall continue to enjoy it. The story is new and exciting, and the characters feel like living, breathing human beings. Firebender896 is talented writer, and that fact shows.

Scores:

* Story – 9.3: Incredibly creative, The Legend of Rokan brings something so amazingly different to the table than the standard ‘After the War’ fanons. And best of all, it’s done well.

* Action – 9.1: Well described and frequent, though not overbearing. And hearing a fight scene told from the point of view of a child? Simply amazing.

* Writing – 9.6: Spelling and grammar-wise, this fanon is a gem. But at the same time, it’s so much more. Firebender has the unique talent of making her world appear real. Her descriptions are so spot-on, and I had no problems imagining clothing or scenery.

* Creativity – 9.5: I’m sure no one has brought about a story like this one, set within the Team’s Adventures, but at the same time, LoR stands on its own.

* Believability – 8.7: This is where I felt that it fell a little short, as some conversations felt contrived and a bit too fast.

* Character Development – 9.4: From Zoai to Rokan, you can feel the identity crisis; it is palpable. Her inner struggle and catharsis are treated with an amazing amount of skill.

Average Score: 9.3

Note: All scores are out of ten

Advice for Firebender896: Keep up the good work! Your conversations could be made a tad more believable and fluid, but other than that your fanon is excellent.

Who should read Avatar: The Legend of Rokan? Anyone who is looking for a genius, character-driven story should jump right in. It’s creativity and the simply amazing writing make it a must-read for those who read fanon!

Undiscovered fanon Bahjy1

Merry Christmas everybody!

Here I am again, back to work and at Christmas! I think a good christmas present will be presented today to Taekwond1, the author of the featured fanon The Fall of the Airbenders.

This amazing story talks about Chuan, the Northern Air Temple Airbender. The story centers in about 1 BSC to 0 ASC when Chuan discoveres an alliance between a member of the Northern Air Temple Council of Elders and the Fire Nation.

The story uses much description to give a full clear idea of what happens and who does it, not something like : "Chuan is airbender. He discovered an alliance.", but uses more than one chapter if neded without geting out of the edges of suspense. To be honest, Taekwond1 is an amazing author.

No wonder that this isn't the first time this certain author's story gets featured, he uses an amazing style : Give a full clear idea, avoid boredom in that, mix suspense with action and character development. I like that.

Anyway, I am on a cliffhanger 'till Taekwond1 releases the next chapter, it has so much suspense. Really does keeps me reading. Merry Christmas to you Taekwond1, and to you all my readers!

8/10

New fanon! PreservationsWings

Hello, Avatar Wiki! So, for my first contribution to the BSST, I'm advertising a new fanon idea based on the Hunger Games. I'm one of the co-creators along with Agent Slash. We have titled it The Blood Bath of Fanons! The idea is that 23 users will sign up and add their favorite character form their fanon as a tribute. Once their are 23 tributes, we will begin writing. It will be sort of like OR's OSP, but with a different plot. We will start out with a prologue (I'm writing it right now). The next chapter will be a filler for each tribute. The next chapter will be a fight. At the end, one of the tributes will be dead. Then a filler chapter. Then a fight. You get it, right? (Hey, I just rhymed!) Before we end each chapter, we will have everyone vote at a blog for who dies. Once the tournament has ended, we will mass that into one big book, which we will call the "First Blood Bath". Then we will begin on the next one. For the new one, though, there will be different rules. It's always changing. If you are a fan of The Hunger Games, I suggest this for you. And that concludes my advertisement. Thanks for reading!