The Ba Sing Se Times, Issue 31: 17 September

Discussion report

Ongoing discussions and votes:

• Should maps be added to all location articles?
• Should all comics have articles?
• Should some IRC users be given operator status for moderation?
• How should the wiki handle the Avatar Series Pilot?
• Should "Avatar" be omitted from category sorting on the fanon portal?
• How should deceased characters be marked on articles?

Announcements and discussion results:

• The skyscrapers article has not been renamed
• Featured quotes have not been added to the main page
• Lo and Li have been merged
• The Ba Sing Se category has been added to relevant articles

User rights report

• BlueDagger is now a rollback user

Guest editorial: Creating articles Natsu11

In the past three months, many new articles are being created, to bring us closer to being the ultimate resource about Avatar in existence. However, some pages are utterly unneeded. Many of the pages created have individual articles in the no-longer-updated official nick.com site. If we don't have pages for all the characters and information in the official Avatar website, we can surely never call ourselves the best Avatar resource in existence. Sometimes, however, article creation goes way over the line. The Corn Man article is about a very minor character who appeared for barely 6-9 seconds in the episode. Why do we keep a page for such a minor character? Avatar Wiki's deletion policy clearly lists "Articles about minute details, e.g. "Zuko's Firebending" or "Unnamed House in Ba Sing Se" in the "What Not to Create" heading.

Another one of an utterly unneeded page is Iroh's Sandal. While I voted it to be kept in the deletion discussion, I only voted for the information to be kept rather than the page itself. Why did I do it? Because, we don't have articles for Sokka's sarcasm, and so on. I agree, the sandal did play an important role and part in saving Iroh the first time and finding the Order of the White Lotus the second time, but a page for a footwear?

Click "show" to continue reading!

If we have a page for a mere footwear, we'll eventually get pages for Zuko's scar and "That Particular Roof Tile in Team Avatar's Home". Amusingly, these both pages have some importance themselves. Zuko's scar led people to believe that the Fire Nation gave him the scar, and the roof tile shielded Team Avatar from the sun and rain, as stated by Axiovatar. The information in Iroh's Sandal article could be easily added to the Fashion in the World of Avatar article. I've also seen many articles in the wiki that could be merged into other articles. I would definitely recommend asking users around the IRC for their opinion, before creating an article. Or, as an expansion of the previous line, why not make a forum for discussions about creating pages? People don't necessarily need to make threads and get consensus for every page that they want to create, but only for pages that might be very minor or has a bit of oppose in some way or the other. Some pages that might need threads on that forum are Iroh's Sandal, or Corn Man. As always, there has to be a positive consensus for the page to be created, and if there has been a negative consensus, the page will not be created. What do you think?

Avatar: suspense and hand-outs Dcasawang1 and Sirius13 As we all may know, the premiere date of The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra has probably been pushed back to 2013... However, this has not confirmed by Bryke or Nick, and some websites still state it will happen in 2012, rather than 2013. And as we also all know, very few (or none at all) are happy about it. We all also have different ways of coping with the bad news: Some bash their heads against the wall and proclaim, "Why must I wait?!" Others, being sane rational beings, simply think, "Meh, just another year." But, of course, there are also those that believe in mythology and scream, not unlike a screeching dodo, "What?! But the world will end before then!" Symptoms of 'Korra-itis' aside, we can only wonder WHY this delay has happened. Some theories have appeared concerning this. Some think a Book 4 is being created, others think it was delayed because of the comic, and some guess it's because Bryke is making a second season. The fact that Nickelodeon is still home to several, er, "underappreciated" series that seem to be given priority has been considered as well. The ones who are waiting for The Promise - Part 1 are mostly people who are still rather sad that the end of the first series came, and many don't understand how Bryke could "not finish" it, and how they could kill Ursa. (And, no, Zutara didn't happen either after the finale.) The ones who blame the comic start to smear it, noticing all kinds of possible errors and making straange speculations just by looking at the cover. Finally, the ones who wait for the second season already have speculated all the series chapters, they have found out and deduced the conflict's solution, all kinds of shippings, and even Amon's identity. Well, they believe they have anyway, so who needs LoK, since the plot is oh so predictable? What should we do, then? Just wait for more news? Don't get TOO mad yet, because it's something not 100% confirmed. The series is going to be aired eventually; the world is not going to end in 2012 (presumably). Book 4 has not even been mentioned, however, we hope that the comics give us some answers that ATLA didn't, and, of course, tell us how the end of the War was properly controlled and planned by Team Avatar, bearing in mind all the obvious possible conflicts that could emerge.

Demotivated Theavatardemotivator Editor's note: Watching this episode through while reading this column is recommended. Chapter 1: The Avatar State A commentary and review (and some demotivation) of Book 2: Earth, Chapter 1: The Avatar State. Hi there! Welcome aboard the second season of Demotivated. It’s been a wild ride with all of you, and let’s see if we can’t make this season better than the last. Note: Since this is my first demote in over two months, bear with me please. =] My skills are a little, eh, rusty? Hey, Rusty! Go talk to Bluestar! Nobody likes you! Previously on Avatar: Sokka’s heart broke. =[ Hahn’s . . . whole body broke. =D Yue died for the moon. =[ Zhao died by the ocean! =D Aang and Katara had a miss-kiss. =[ Aang and La had a Koizilla! =D Koh the Face Stealer! =] ]= =D D= =P P= =B B= =3 3= Insert more smilies here! Get it? Because Koh steals faces . . . ? [knee slap] Note: In this demote, watch out for TAD points. The recipient of the most TAD points will receive a super secret, super special, super stupid prize! Unless otherwise stated, you can’t use Google, and it’s the first post to state the reference that gets the points. Modified posts are not allowed. If I see a ‘history’ button on your post, you’re disqualified. Figure 1 I can imagine the creators sitting down together and looking at each other, preferably over a morning hot cup of tea or morning hot foxy lady. Yes, there was a reference in there if you read Kataang fanon and love ruining little kids’ lives. M: “So, you know, in the first season, we totally had Aang have nightmares . . .” B: “Uh-huh.” M: “In 112. So, I was thinking for season tw—” B: “Wait, what about 101? You know, first episode?” Click "show" to continue reading! M: “What, oh . . . oh yeah . . . O_o” B: “Daang, we had a lot of nightmares.” M: “Well, that’s good! So I was thinking that we should put in more this season.” B: [holds up hands] “Woah, so you like ruining little kids’ lives?” M: [glances at aforementioned hot foxy lady] “What gave you the hint?” [eyebrow twitch] B: “Well, we should have one in 201 . . . maybe one in Ba Sing Se . . . and maybe we should throw in a good dream into the mix, too . . . [looks up] [sighs] Mike, it’s way too early in the morning for—good gravy what are you doing with tha—” Bryan immediately went to the drawing board and scribed a very peculiar plot summary, a summary that would later become the horrendous LSD ball that is Nightmare and Daydreams. And he was never. The same. Again. So Aang goes up to the deck and leans over the side. Katara follows him and asks if he has sea sickness and whether or not he would like some peppermint. Aang replies that he doesn’t have sea sickness—he has Three-Oh-Nine-Syndrome. Doctor Katara, being the most brilliant doctor in the history of the world, promptly diagnoses him and provides his cure: A hug. I’ve always wondered what happened after that hug. Does Katara just pat his shoulder awkwardly and amble down the stairs, leaving Aang to possibly commit suicide? Or what happens? Hey, tell you what! Next time I’m on a Water Tribe headed towards the Earth Kingdom with a Waterbender, I’ll make sure to have a nightmare and go up on deck so I can tell all of you about it! Figure 2 Oh crap! Random rap rant! Yes, The Incredibles is a great movie, but what’s the moral of the story? Syndrome, who doesn’t have any superpowers, makes his own technology—actually works for it—and just tries to, oh my gosh, be a superpower! And they don’t let him! And then they kick his butt to kingdom come and destroy everything. . . . there’s a moral in there, if you turn your head to one side and squint real hard. So Aang gets some Waterbending scrolls that . . . we never see. Later, when he’s at Wan Shi Tong’s All-You-Can-Eat Buffet—I-I-I mean Library, yeah, Library—he gives up a wanted poster of himself (they can’t get his nose right) and apparently leaves these babies on the ship. Or something. Uh-huh. Right. I see. Katara gets an amulet with some magic spirit water action—thank you, Aang!—and promptly proceeds to forget about it for most of the book. Where did she keep it, anyway? Is there an extra necklace band around her neck? What gives? And Sokka, being the only male of the group, receives a macho pat on the shoulder. Momo, on the over hand, receives a box of Waterbending scrolls that he later sells on the black market in order to fund his plans for domination of the entire terrain. Figure 3 Scene cut to! oh my goodness . . . Pimprohs being pimps. Emo boys being emo. Random hearts being random and exciting all of the Iroh yaoi fangirls—Yaoiroh?—that claim Iroh and Zuko do certain things behind closed doors. And by that I mean Pai Sho. Because what else could they be doing? Unlike Ozai and Zuko . . . [smirks nastily and waves a piece of paper with the words Poison Tree on top] Muahahah! Muahahahahaaaa! AND THEN OUR FLAG WILL FLY AGAINST A BLOOD-RED SKY THAT’S MY LULLABY! [is shot with tranquilizers] [is carted away by the good doctors in white coats] [insert insane cackling laughter here] Figure 4 To Azula, one hair out of the place the equivalent of losing our jobs, being mugged, living in the street for five years, going to war, returning home, and dying of starvation shortly afterwards. But. It’s. Not. Perfect. See, the waves aren’t going to kill Azula, even if she was thrown overboard. She controls the waves and the tide. The tide freaking lets her ship pass, even though it was physically impossible. What gives? Frollo: “Witchcraft!” Me: “Azula!” Imagine Azula at Hama’s age. I bet you she’d have mastered Bloodbending. What’s that? She’s not a Waterbender? [muses] Yes, but she’s the devil. Bring her some Prada, please. She knows Waterbending like I know the back of my hand. [squints] Hey, that’s new! Figure 5 You know, the whole plot of this episode would have been over two acts earlier had just Aang and Gaang said: “You know, we’ve survived thus far without adult supervision. We’ll be okay.” General Fong: “Wahwahwahwahwahwahwah?” Katara: “You’re a good man, Avatar Aang. Let’s go.” And off they went, presumably with Momo flying in a tiny plane above them. “I’m gunning for you, Momo!” And speaking of Fong. When I joined the Wiki, the Welcome to Wiki message had a little picture of Fong and his Earthbenders. What did that mean? That I would be exploited, not for the good of myself, but for that of the Wiki? [sees her 4,000 edits] [blinks] Never mind, quite appropriate, quite appropriate . . . Figure 6 Hm, I see. So Appa is standing there looking all . . . Appa-y. That’s a full time job, kiddies. Sokka, hands on hips, is trying to stretch and look manly, but he’s forgotten about a) there aren’t really a whole lot of girls in the vicinity and b) he’s not having his manly close-up yet. :o Aang is . . . rubbing his rear end, presumably because it’s fallen asleep. You know, I think my rear end did. And so did yours, just now. [gasp] Sociology! Psychology! Some other random, made-up word that starts with s and ends in ology! . . . sexyology? Their conclusions would look like this: “Aang was so hot . . . steam looked cool.”* You get ten TAD points if you caught the reference. Note: TAD points are only redeemable for Aang puns and origami cranes. . . . or Aang puns about origami cranes. :o I think I’m the next [insert name of famous CEO of a technology company here]! Figure 7 Is that a grammatical error in my demotivational poster?! If you catch it, you can have this . . . [checks pocket] Oh, a cookie! It’s kind of smooshed from being in my pocket this long, but I’m sure you won’t mind, right? The chocolate chips are a bit melted, I admit, and I guess that the raisins aren’t exactly fresh, but, then again, grammar isn’t exactly the hardest thing ever right? Anyway, shouldn’t General Fong have . . . shipped out with Aang by now? What was the whole point of the military escort, by the way? Wouldn’t the Gaang have been safer flying in the sky above the clouds by their relatively inconspicuous selves? Appa’s white for a reason; he looks. Like. A. Cloud. What would a military escort of slow-moving Earth Kingdom soldiers do except for obviously attract Fire Nation attention, use us both needed supplies and soldiers, and make the voyage so slow it would take forever. Remember: Appa can fly very fast—and let’s not get into Hyperbending here—so what gives? Oh yeah, I remember! The creators needed to show you that the Earth Kingdom was doing . . . something. I wonder if everyone thought that Aang and the Gaang were dead considering that they left the public eye for a good fourteen episodes, and furthermore: How come there is no war in Ba Sing Se . . . and there are no military strongholds left . . . but there are still armies and soldier and whatnot?! From where are they coming?! Figure 8 “Though, honey, it may impossible . . . that’s the gospel truth!” Why yes, I am indeed allowed to quote Hercules. For all you Korzin shippers out there: . . . why? I mean, really. Go ahead. Tell me why in the world you ship Korzin. Surely it can’t be because . . . 1) Korra is sixteen, while Tenzin is forty-plus. Unless you like pedophilia. 2) Korra is technically Aang’s incarnation . . . so Aang would be shipping with his son. Unless you like father/son child abuse. 3) Aang would constantly interrupt them and whatnot, possibly leading to some zany triples (see: every fanfiction ever). Unless you write fanfiction as opposed to fanon. So, if you have a reason to ship Korzin other than the above, please let me know! I really want to hear it. And go insane. But wait! I already am! Figure 9 What was I saying earlier about the one hair? I’m surprised Azula didn’t just turn around and beat Lo and Li up where they, er . . . sat. Also how can you teach Firebending if you’re not a Firebender? That would be like . . . someone teaching French . . . who doesn’t know it! :o That sounds difficult. “And then you say How are you? in French. Go on.” “But, monsieur, I don’t know how to say that in French.” “Wait, what was that word you said? Monster?” “. . . monsieur foie gras? That means How are you?” “Excellent. Did everyone hear him? Now, I say I’m fine, and to you.” “Er . . . ah shedanza.” “Very good, boy. You may sit down now. Next?” Ten TAD points may be awarded to the lucky devil who up and knows that reference I made in there. Hint: It’s not Ratatouille. Figure 10 The above joke makes zero sense if you have never watched Digimon, but let give you a hint: If you think that name is bad, say hello to WarMetalGrayVegetableBatugamon and I swear on my life that that is, indeed, an actual Digimon—and it’s the first one I could name from the top of my head. So, thanks Digimon, but I think I’ll stay with my Pokémon. Over here. Waaay over here. But thanks for the offer, okay? Back to Avatar. After building the Three Gorges Dam onto Aang’s water chakra, he swiftly tries to concoct various ways to get Aang into the Avatar State. It’s a really good thing that Guru Pathik wasn’t here, or he would have had General Fong perhaps even ‘do away’ with Katara in order to unblock the last cha— Never mind. That happens anyway. Speaking of chakras, with his earth, water, fire, air, and energy chakras blocked, how did Fong expect to get him into the Avatar State? Oh yeah, because you don’t need to unblock the chakras anyway. :o Figure 11 Oh, yes, I can absolutely be this perverse. Don’t go with me, the Gutter Lord of the Gutter Nation, and remember all your Gutterbenders—pay your daang rent. Furthermore: “You’re weak, just like the rest of your demotes! They didn’t deserve to exist in this world—in my world! Prepare to join them! Prepare to . . .die!” Oh, hey, Li’l Voice. It’s only been four months. How we doing? Pretty good. Thanks TAD. What’s going on here? Well, due to my decreasing grasp on the Wiki, I’m going insane. Oh, I see. May I help speed the process along? Go ahead. By the way, can I ask your name? You can call me the Lord of the Flies . . . Beelzebub . . . Stephenie Meyer . . . it all comes out the same. Oh, I see. Thanks! Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Aang is busily sipping tea, and it makes him totally hyperactive. You know like what that sounds? Yours truly. Ever wonder why I drink so much tea? Exactly. That’s what fueling this demote right now. Tea. Oh snap. Figure 12 Yes, I understand that the lovely Zuko is waaay too good for the life of a refugee, daangit. He’s accustomed to the oh so luxurious life of a prince in exile! He’s accustomed to having a daang telescope! Zuko/Telescope. My OTP. So when Azula shows up—and mind, last time Zuko was her had her looking all aroused as he was scarred by his father—anyone else thinking Poison Tree + Tyzukozai triple? Oh God no! Oh God no! Anything but that!—Zuko doesn’t know what to say. On one hand . . . money! Food! Telescope! On the other . . . death! Torture! More death! But later, Zuko is quick to beat Iroh’s rear end all over the floor because Zuko. Wants. His. Daang. Telescope. See, the one guy with 24/7 Iroh access is the one guy who doesn’t use it. That’s like if all of the food on the entire planet was owned by a single person . . . and then that person starved. And presumably the masses rose up to grab themselves some fried chicken, started to man local McDonald’s, and began to sing in oddly perfect intonation and dance with synchronized moves, neither of which they had learned. Oh no! It’s the High School Musical apocalypse! Figure 13 In case you guys don’t know what a woobie is, please feel free to take a glance at TvTropes.org. Warning: Be prepared to spend the entire. Night. And possibly some of the next day as well. So, I think—don’t quote me on this—that this is the second time we see this image, the first time being in 112. Slowly, all the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place. I have to say here that I really love how they introduced the present first, then the not-so-distant past, and finally the all-the-way past in 207. Now all they have to do is show us Zuko being born and him dying and we can slap Fire Bringer on the cover and have ourselves a bestselling book. Ten TAD points to the person who can name the main character from a book mentioned in this section. Thirty if you can name both. Yes, you can use Google. Figure 14 So, in the middle of all this chaos and/or more chaos and/or most chaos, General Fong decides to be unbearably cruel and Earthbends a desk into Aang. Quick, call the police! Quick, call the rights’ activists! Quick, call the idea! It’s a scandal! That’s unneeded violence right there! What happened, TAD? Oh, Li’l Voice! General Fong’ s gone crazy! He destroyed my poor desk! . . . I see. Oh, and he’s attacking Aang. As for the poster . . . Turtle Girl is a big fan of Sokka. A big fan. She also specializes in Photoshop. Mm . . . I think I’ve seen more of Sokka than I ever wanted to see—and I didn’t even look at the images she created. But let me say this: They got her banned off of DeviantArt. Well, if she wasn’t a deviant artist, I don’t know who is. Figure 15 I keep making posters like this. Why? Because I said so. No, the reason I make posters like this is because . . . it’s true. Let me show you some evidence: Here. This is a panshot. The words The End are above and a kissing Kataang couple is below. Kataang is The End. There is no Zutara. This is The End. There is no Chapter Fourteen. Reference = ten TAD points, again. ;3 Whoever collects the most points wins a trophy. Figure 16 Much like that “this will be enriching for all of us” guy from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, whom I, perhaps for obvious reason, despise beyond all belief—and let me tell you, was I glad when he finally gave up and died—General Fong is way too stupid to realize what’s going on until afterwards. It’s like Frankenstein’s monster, if the monster had been actually mean and cruel. It’s as if Frankenstein created Dracula. No. Worse. It’s as if Frankenstein created . . . Stephenie Meyer. “It works! Muahahah!” A few years and four Twilight books later . . . “Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!” So, as Aang goes Avatar State and turns into a giant tornado of death and . . . death, General Fong just stands there dumbly, looking all proud of himself—and who wouldn’t be proud of binging about the death of, say, everyone in the camp that he fought to protect, right?—until the wind reaches him. And then he realizes it’s not a controlled Avatar State. Oh no. See, Aang has two berserker buttons, Appa and Katara. How to fix Aang-berserking? Simple. 1) Hurt Katara. 2) Wait ten seconds. 3) Die. I put that on a demote, and it’s still true. Look! We just saw the recipe in action! And now, back to Cooking with the OH MY SPIRITS HE’S GONE AVATAR STATE AND WILL DESTROY US ALDKGALGHAMGHHZNMGRRRP— Hey, the ratings will be absolutely through the roof, especially if they can host it in Japan and get maybe some ninja-chefs and hot Asian girls to run around screaming. Ah, Japan. Mm . . . I love that place. What’d you say Li’l Voice? It’s so crazy I don’t even have to send my demons over there. They do everything themselves. What are you— Hush, girl! Continue the demote blog! Er, yessir! Figure 17 You know, the entire point of this episode is that Aang will have to defeat the Fire Lord on his own and that he can’t use the Avatar State like a Mario mushroom, because unlike Mario, Aang isn’t a drug addict. If Mario wasn’t a drug addict, why would he keep hallucinating all those koopas and castles and Peaches? Peach, who apparently had Bowser’s child without knowing it, courtesy of Nintendo, who not only disregards the laws of physics but apparently those of biology as well. [throws up hands] Back to Avatar. Let’s face it. If Aang hadn’t magically gone Avatar State, he would have died. He was just too exhausted to go on. I think that most of us can agree that victory was not very likely, especially since Aang was just totally on the defensive and refused to strike even a single blow. So . . . what’s the point of this episode? You shouldn’t use the Avatar State to defeat the Fire Lord, but go ahead and do it anyway. We’ll take control of your body and beat him up for you. Great moral. Just . . . great moral there, Bryke. Of all the episodes in the show, this is, unfortunately, one of the most irrelevant, except for the “if you die in the Avatar State, the Avatar Cycle is broken” thing, which, let’s face it, could have easily been stuck in some other place. [Grammar Ozai tenses tingling . . .] Am I bashing the episode? Oh, no. Am I demotivating it? Oh, yes. Figure 18 Meanwhile, Zuko runs off to go with his sister to the Fire Nation, but Iroh knows that something is up. Zuko starts to fight with Azula—in a sleeping robe, apparently, because clearly he couldn’t change into something more proper for his first official appearance to the Fire Nation in three years, but whatever—and he gets scratched across the head. However, Zuko is clearly Wolverine, because in the next shot—bam! The scars are gone!—and he can continue his fighting and creation of firecest community all over the web. And now, a short poem. Oh, Internet, how I hate you. Yes, I absolutely do. Please stop your Rule Thirty-Four. Because I’ll start killing if I see one more! Sadistic pacifism aside, I’ll go Avatar State. I’m actually deactivating my dA account because I can’t deal with it anymore, on my account or otherwise. Again, back to Avatar. Wow, where is my mind today? Slowly being invaded by yours truly. Oh, there you are, Li’l Voice. Keep demoting. Your stupidity pleases me. Oh, a Jewish Li’l Voice. Cut the sarcasm. No please attached. So Zuko knocks Azula into the water—and she doesn’t die. It was stated rather explicitly—and not in that way, you Gutterbenders—that the wave would kill anyway who fell over the ship. But Azula doesn’t die. Because. She’s. Azula. I mean come on! Her name means demon—Asura—in Sanskrit, which is the chakra language. If that’s not the most appropriate name meaning, I don’t know what is. Except maybe my name, which means victory. . . . I am victorious! Hahaha! Figure 19 After the Emo Wonder and El Gordo chop off their topknots and cause Zuko fangirls all over the nation to simultaneously die—he can’t be bald like Aang!—we cut to an Aang looking at all the destructing he caused. Then Sokka clobbers Fong over the head, and everyone is suddenly smiling. And then they just leave. I wonder what Fong will say when he walks up with no Avatar. And how in the world will the Earth King—well, Long Feng—respond? No, not even that. What about the freaking Council of freaking Five? Won’t they be a bit scared that the Avatar has apparently disappeared? I mean siriusly? And then he just shows up later in Ba Sing Se. Mm, I see. I wonder how many poor people lost their hope only to find it again—and how many, at this point, just stopped caring. The Avatar’s only the greatest icon of hope ever to 75% of the world. No, no, no, let’s just let him disappear! Hooray! [facepalm] See, this is what makes Avatar and Eragon awful. Eragon actually sticks with the people in power. Aang and Gaang ignore that and go by themselves. Imagine if Aang had died in the swamp. Yep. Twenty TAD points: Which vision was my favorite swamp vision? :o I adore this episode and originally gave it a 5, but honestly . . . I am now giving it a 2. Why? Because as I was demotivating it, I realized that it wasn’t exactly the super episode I’ve originally envisioned. It was hilarious, yes, and I give it two points for the epic Kataang scene, but . . . meh. [shrugs] I found an episode far more deserving of a 5 to which I’d given a 2 previously. :o I think I’m going to redo my entire list of episodes. I made that list before I joined the Wiki. My views have changed much—very much. TAD is so cool, she makes ice look hot. See you next time! The Avatar Demotivator

from the fanon portal

From the deputy editor: Rassilon of Old I'm back! My rather, well, active-inactive period has ended, with exam week finishing on a high, hopefully! In my time gone, I've been trying to cram some writing in all the free spaces I have between school and studying. So removing eating, sleeping, and breathing, I made space to work on my new fan-fiction project, White Lotus. Since I don't have an updates page for it, and I probably won't until the series begins, I'll be having small updates in my Ba Sing Se Times collumn. White Lotus updates THE WATERS OF EARTH Serial in overview notes. Chapter 101 in writing process. Chapters 102 - 103 are in outline. Chapters 104 - 110 dot-pointed. In last issue's poll, we asked what you thought of the new fanon advertising system, with two-thirds of you responding positively to the system, but with one-third of you replying negatively. To those who replied negatively, I would love to get some feedback from you that I can use to build on the system, as a bunch of numbers regarding preference is useless. So please, give me some feedback on what you don't like, why you don't like it, and what can be done to improve it. Now, in previous issues, I have proposed and mentioned a 'Categorizing Guide' for the Fanon Portal, so newer users, and even some older users, know exactly what to do when they create or add categories for their fanon. I've been working on this idea since then, and I've established a basic draft of the policy, as well as my first heading, "When to create categories". See below for the draft. When to create categories All users are entitles to create as many categories for their fanon as they wish, as long as it is done so in moderation. Every category you create must have a proper purpose, otherwise it will subsequently be deleted by a Fanon Administrator. You may create categories such as; a category for your fanon series a category for your series' chapters a category for locations in your fanon a category for characters in your fanon a category for templates used in your fanon a category for images used in your fanon a category for events in your fanon If you are unsure as to what other categories may or may not be created, contact a Fanon Administrator for more information. So, from that draft, what do you think? I know it is a very basic outline so far, but is there anything else YOU would have added to it? I'll be working on that throughout the week, and hopefully have the policy ready for consideration in the War Room by next week. Also in the works is the restructuring of the Fanonbenders, and you'll see me doing quite a bit of work on that in the coming weeks. That's all from me for now, my Undiscovered Fanon series will continue next issue along with an interview, have a great week!

Fanon review & Alone updates Millennia2 This review is brought to you by the Fanon Review Squad Today's Ba Sing Se Times review is The First Avatar, by H-Man Havoc. Overview: The Avatar is the most powerful bender in existence and has regulated world order for millennia under countless reincarnations. What if one could discover what life was like when the very first Avatar came into existence? This fanon attempts to recreate that scenario, going back in time to 20,000 BSC; the year that the Avatar initially came into existence from the depths of the Spirit World. The story centers around a young, somewhat inexperienced Airbender named Tenzu, who has a shady past and was recently exiled from his home at the Northern Air Temple for something he unintentionally did. Accompanied by his best friend and mentor, Monk Shinjin, Tenzu's goal is to rehabilitate his image and realize an unknown destiny that may never arrive. Script: From the perspective of the Air Nomads we never had in the series, H-Man does a good job of writing their philosophy and bending training. 8.9/10 Story: Quite creative. His first prologue was like a story within the story. 9.2/10 Keeps You Reading: Honestly, it could use a little creative edge that makes you want to continue. 8.7/10 Creativity: The first chapter about the creation of the world and the start of bending was brilliantly done. 9.4/10 Action: Move for move is described down to the finest detail. 9.5/10 Character Development: I can tell that this is only the beginning of Tenzu’s experience in the story. Can you say Aang? 9.1/10 General Writing: 9.3/10 Overall: 9.1/10 Next Review: And Everything in Between Book 3? Really? Trust me, I don’t believe it either. First off, I’ve been working on a guest chapter for A:TLAR for a while now, and it will be done by the end of the week! So be sure to check that out, I hope you like it! Now off to Alone… After a LOT of planning, some pre-writing, and a good bit of rearranging, I am excited to say that Book 3: Storm will premiere on October 1st, 2011! I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this. Just a few things included in the book: Three new villains, including a new version of a silent killer from the original series A reappearance from the prisoners at Uluru Tons of flashbacks and character backstories A Teenage romance (It won’t be THAT cheesy, I promise!) My favorite character in her prime :D Plenty of action A shocking new secret Torture Death. Lots of it :P A wedding An explosive finale in New Orleans Excited yet? I hope so! Just as a little treat, I’ll include a little preview of a chapter from the Book. So Alone fans, however many or few of you there are, get ready for October 1st! The door burst open, sending ripples through the blood soaked linoleum floor. Barefoot, the woman walked slowly towards the bed in the corner. The woman was not what Talise had imagined. Her feet and ankles were covered in blood, but other than that she was spotless. She wore a deep red robe, trimmed with gold on the edges. Her jet black hair was straight past her shoulders, not one hair out of place. Talise cowered against the wall next to the bed, holding her sleeping infant in her arms. As the woman walked closer to the bed, Talise began to cry softly to herself. “Shh.” the woman whispered. “Don’t want to wake the baby, do we?” The woman was next to the bed now. She grasped the metal bars of the bed with bare white hands. Her knuckles were knobby and seemed as if ready to burst out of her skin. “Did you really think you could betray him like this?” she said, her eyes darting to the baby. Talise began to sob, her arms shaking. The baby stayed asleep, as if nothing were going on. “How could you? How could you betray Joel?” the woman whispered dangerously. Talise’s eyes darted to the door, to the bloody handprint left there from the doctor whose blood now covered the floor of the room. Talise cried out, and the baby moved slightly at the disturbance. “What was I supposed to do? He’s been gone for years! I had to move on!” “Gone? Oh dear, he was never gone. Not to me.” The woman jerked her arms towards the floor. The blood, every drop of it, floated towards her waiting hand. "Give me the child." the woman demanded. Talise was lost for words. All she could do was cry and tighten her grip on her daughter. "You betrayed your husband. You don't deserve to care for her. Give her to me." the woman quietly demanded. Talise shook her head, tears pouring down her face. The woman didn't show any sign that she acknowledged the small mark of defiance. She only raised her hand and jerked, freezing the blood into a large spear. Talise closed her eyes. The child slept on, an innocent lamb to the slaughter.

Fanon crossword BlackMonkey Hello everyone! It's my second column for the Ba Sing Se Times - and I have put together a little game here, that culminates fanon knowledge with the old puzzle known as the word search. Here's how you play. Hidden in the mass of letters below, the abbreviations for five fanons can be found. Below the word-search, you can find the quote or slogan for each of those stories, to help. For example, if "The only way to pay for her mistakes is to become what she tried to destroy", the slogan of Daughter of Ashes and Air, is listed below the puzzle, you would try and find "DAA" in the word-search. Figure it out, mix and match, hunt for the answers, and see how you do. A I C A D P J C H W M D Q T B Y E G G T R L T E A C F N S M A T L A R O L G V J R W E I X Q Q A H Z M N P Z O C A Z F P H Y B H F G D E V D X N R C T X B K H A W A O L A F L M K U I V A S J H L T O M A bird could love a fish, but where would they live? Be careful when ye fight the monsters, lest ye become one. Thou Shalt. Different Origins. Same Adventure. A young boy just trying to find his place in the world. The Ba Sing Se Times needs YOU. Have a great Avatar or Avatar Wiki joke? An interesting opinion about the wiki? A fanfic that desperately needs readers? A review of a fanfic you'd like to publish? Just write a column, and send it in to the editor.

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Technical updates The 888th Avatar

This report outlines any notable technical changes made by Wikia and by Avatar Wiki admins in the last two weeks.

• Community Messages was created by yours truly in order to improve community messaging by doxing the question "Where on the page are the messages when we click the link in the bubble?" once and for all. Community Messages is now in effect the community portal (see this), with the page titled "Community Portal" redirecting here.
• The floating toolbar we see at the bottom of the page can now be seen while in the editing window as well, a long-overdue update from Wikia.
• Wiki Features was introduced by Wikia to replace Wikia Labs by giving admins the ability to enable/disable some features that were on by default in addition to the ability to enable/disable features under testing. We do not anticipate making any changes to the Avatar Wiki feature set in the near future through this channel, however.
• From Wikia: "Unfortunately, the oft-appearing bug of images not refreshing after a re-upload has returned. Our technicians have identified the underlying issue but a fix is not yet in place." I think a collective sigh is in order.

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