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  • 08/21/12 - Poll ended; /cod/ split off as a new board from /pco/.

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104442 No. 104442 Locked hide expand quickreply [Reply] [First 100 posts] [Last 50 posts]
After the episode "Out of the Past", there's been a lot of criticism of Korra's writing on /co/. The episode handled certain subplots in a very sudden, awkward fashion, which bothered a lot of viewers. Also, many people realized that the writing issues didn't just suddenly come out of the blue; they've actually been a consistent theme throughout the series so far. Plotpoints get rushed, characters are behaving oddly, or things aren't properly explained on-screen.

Often when people are criticising a creative work, someone gets defensive and will state "well why don't _you_ try to do it better". So let's try to make Korra better.

It's like this: Legend of Korra is right now under production, and Bryke have hired you to assist in writing the script. They've showed you some concept art of characters and Republic City themes, as well as a script/draft that details everything we've seen in the past episodes. What now? Which parts of the script are the weakest and could use some improvements? What kinds of changes and suggestions do you have in your mind?

Also, be sure to remember that you've been hired to write twelve episodes. You have no idea if the series will be successful enough to get a second season, or if these twelve episodes will be all. The series must be able to stand on its own, and it must be streamlined enough to resolve all the major plotlines by the end of the season.

I've got some thoughts but they're very TL;DR, so I'll just post a pastebin.
http://pastebin.com/sHXGpYJq
They're just quick thoughts and not a complete outline of a script, though.
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>> No. 114793
I've been reading a lot of Cockeyed Caravan lately.
That would be screenwriter Matt Bird's blog on writing and there's something that just hit me.
A central problem with Korra, that they tried to fix in the second season but turned into another problem. Korra's agency.

In season one she seemed to be under-motivated. She had no real goal in the story. At first it seems like she really wants to learn airbending, but after episode 2 it seems she couldn't care less.
She going through a daily routine, with no real goal.
She gets dragged into the Amon conflict, but once again it seems completely like something she does because it's expected of her.
If there was any active pressure on her or something I'd eat it or if she felt it was personal after what happened on Aang island. But that never really happened.
She does what the plot demands.
And that makes her just a little flatter.

Now come season 2, the writers might have picked up on her thin motifs and wanted to fix it.
So Korra is super driven to get spiritual and do her job.
There are rogue spirits about harming the innocent. Makes sense.
But then the plot keeps adding motivations on top of that.
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>> No. 114811
>>114793
Mako and Varrick are the only ones right now who feel, to me, like they have actual agency, while every other character (including Korra) kind of has this illusion of agency but they're still being dragged around by the plot and making irrational decisions to further it along. Well, I guess all of them except Tenzin and his siblings, who are just doing whatever they want because they're not involved in the plot at all (yet?). Season 2 is giving the viewers a tour of how Avatar's world has changed in the last 70 years but the characters aren't staying for long, so I think part of the characterisation problems are coming from everyone being shuffled from one place to another. Maybe they were listening to people complaining about Season 1 and thought that we wanted to get back to the old ATLA world-crossing adventure thing.
>> No. 114813
>>114811
Yeah, but that's the problem with too much agency.
The character gets railroaded.
There's never a conceivable moment where she might have had any doubts about keeping on keeping on, so to speak.
The fact that Unalaq seems to be responsible for every bad thing that ever befell her family, on top of manipulating her, on top of invading her home, just means that there's no real choice for her in the matter.
Her actions seize to look heroic because there's no real decision there.
And like no motivation at all it makes the character seem faker.
It's like a donkey being dragged somewhere as opposed to having a bunch of carrots dangled in front of it. We want it to move at its own accord. Otherwise it's just a dumb animal.

You're right in that Mako and Varrick have clear-cut agendas. At least now, before that I was scratching my head why the hell Mako was involved in anything at all.
I'll also make an exception for Asami. We know how firm she is in her moral believes and where her loyalties are.
I think she'd help, maybe not as actively as the later part of the season is probably going to make her, but regardless.

As far as the tours are concerned I doubt that we're going to see any more of the physical world. Next up is the Spiritworld. And then we're either heading back South or to the North.
And while it seems like they're running all over the place with no time to catch breath, that's actually a good thing to me. If they keep throwing new stuff at me, I won't have enough time to poke holes into them.
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116859 No. 116859 hide expand quickreply [Reply]
>Legend Of Korra Book 3 Will Be Better Than Book 2, Affirms Inside Source Before Release Date

>As fans eagerly await "The Legend of Korra" Book 3, an inside source affirms "Change" will be better than Book 2.

>According to The Legend of Korra Online, an inside source working on the production of Book 3 believes that while some fans may not have enjoyed Book 2 as much, Book 3 will be a different animal.

>"Upon discussing 'Korra,' the source stated that he enjoyed Book 2, but that he also understood why some fans might not have enjoyed it as much. Book 3, on the other hand, will be a completely different story," writes Keval.

>Reportedly, fans should "expect big things" from Book 3, while acknowledging flaws of Book 2. For those who didn't enjoy Book 2, this certainly helps build excitement for the upcoming season of "The Legend of Korra."

>One possible reason to be excited about Book 3 is the potential reappearance of Zuko.

>There are also a number of rumors about the upcoming season after a brief teaser was leaked from the Netherlands, and all of these things should have fans excited.

>Currently, "The Legend of Korra" still does not have an official release date for Book 3. After the 2014 Nickelodeon upfront failed to deliver an air date, fans are now less certain about when they might see "Change."
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>> No. 117169
>>117168
Those dudes aren't actually going to look anything like that in the final product, they may not even be dudes (plural) at all.
I think Bryan said something about the image being a waveform created in the color correction scan process, so it's likely just the same character being scanned multiple times and they (he) won't look like a ghost/hologram when the episode airs.
>> No. 117171
>>117169
aahh, i was misinterpreting what the post said last night, i got it now, tho
>> No. 117172
>>117169
Aww that would be much more ominous


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116470 No. 116470 hide expand quickreply [Reply] [Last 50 posts]
http://faitherinhicks.tumblr.com/post/69819006921/haha-they-announced-it-finally-i-was-incredibly

>Sokka follows Suki as she gives a lesson in manners and encourages a young girl’s strength!

Awww yisssssss
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>> No. 117164
Is 'doing something for love' sexist now?
>> No. 117165
I think the original author was specifically saying that it's overused for a woman to turn her back on evil (or at least being an antagonist) out of love for a man, not that it was inherently sexist.
>> No. 117166
>>117151
It's not bad on its own, it just looks really bad when it's in Avatar considering that show is known for having an art style that's very Eastern/anime and not so... Tumblr-y? I don't know how else to describe that kind of cartoony Western art.


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114865 No. 114865 hide expand quickreply [Reply] [First 100 posts] [Last 50 posts]
Just wanted to let you guys in on this.

http://boards.4chan.org/co/res/54854572#p54888447
https://archive.foolz.us/co/thread/54854572/

Regular /co/ still loves Avatar very much and does shit like this once in a blue moon, when they aren't bitching about LoK.
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>> No. 117159
Another thing to consider with Azulon is that, while Azula was considered a ruthless prodigy by the Fire Nation at large, he might have a more foppish and effeminate reputation with military officers and more common folk at least, considering his refined looks and his surrounding himself with women.
>> No. 117160
>>117159

I feel I should point out that women aren't really 100% secondary in the Fire Nation military. It's canon that the army is trained by women Firebenders, and that women make up a good deal of the Domestic army that stays at home to guard the Fire Nation while the rest of the men are usually the overseas force. Plus, Ozai, the ruler of the country, entrusted hunting down the traitor/failure royal family members and the Avatar to his daughter, the second born.

I'm just not of the opinion that we shouldn't really be pushing a sexism angle with the Fire Nation characters, it wasn't present in the original show, and it feels cliche to try and tack it on.
>> No. 117163
>>117159
>>117160
Yeah, I don't think the Fire Nation would view Azulon as effeminate for keeping exclusively female company. Hell, that's what Zuko did in his time in the Fire Nation and his reputation was far from stellar but I never got the sense he was seen as effeminate. Plus, Ozai never struck me as Mr. Macho Masculine, so I'm not sure Azulon would be regarded as anything particularly odd (for the Fire Nation Royal Family at least).
At the most, I think they'd see a young prince surrounding himself with highborn daughters as an available, desirable, teenage boy who's simply exercising his influence, perhaps a bit of a playboy reputation but even then, it's not like he's having Mai and Ty Lee bellydance and feed him grapes, they are actually getting stuff done.
I think Col. Gaddaffi had an all female personal bodyguard, perhaps that's a good parallel I'm kidding
Either way, I wouldn't want to get rid of Azula's formidable reputation among the military because she's changed into a boy, the fear and intimidation is something that should be true to Azula in any interpretation.


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108009 No. 108009 Locked hide quickreply [Reply] [First 100 posts] [Last 50 posts]
-Book 2 is called Spirits and takes places 6 months after Amon's defeat
-They’ll travel into the tundra of the Southern Water Tribe lands
-Asami takes over Sato Industries
-Kya and Bumi take center over Tenzin this time around
-Korra has an uncle Unarok who will play an important role
-Mako becomes a cop
-Bolin is the new head of the Fire Ferrets, but Mako's job and Korra's Avatar duties mean they are no longer part of the team
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>> No. 108774
>>108771
Profanity is fun.

In all seriousness though:
Setting up some training gulag for a small child segregated from any kind of normal social life? Kind of a dickmove.
>> No. 108777
>>108505
Thank god the brown people aren't less developed, the bitching would've fueled 10 fandumb threads.
>> No. 116645
>>108774
and people tend to bitch about Korra being really maladjusted even though she's only had real social interaction for about two years at this point.


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117059 No. 117059 hide expand quickreply [Reply]
What will the world be like after Korra's passing and the birth of the next Avatar?

How might he (if we are to assume he's male) be different in contrast to Korra or Aang? How might he be similar to Korra in terms of personality, remember he will be an earthbender? If given the same traits as one were to expect from an earthbender. Could insight from Korra prove beneficial?

What could his major conflict be? What could his shining moment of glory be? Will he even have either of those things and have to deal with being an Avatar who is merely just a figurehead for the people?

Pic is some original characters I discovered when searching for "Earth Kingdom Avatars" on DeviantART. I must say this person did a good job with their names and backstories.
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>> No. 117121
Mainly Kyoshi.
One of Kyoshi's most steadfast qualities was that she would not tolerate anybody undermining her personally.
She was fine with Chin conquering the Earth Kingdom until he set foot on her turf.
She actually agreed with the Earth King on the Ba Sing Se peasant uprising until he demanded that she obeyed him.
Whereas Roku's greatest failure came about as a result of him failing to put Sozin in his place after numerous warnings which the Fire Lord consistently ignored, undermining Roku's authority.
That right there would NOT fly in Kyoshi's day.
>> No. 117123
>>117121
How would Aang and Korra handle Sozin?
>> No. 117125
Energybending and face punching respectively.


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117010 No. 117010 hide expand quickreply [Reply]
Back when this show was a thing, my response to the relationship arcs and will they/won't they stuff was to just go 'who gives a crap'. I stayed out of the shipping wars. However, a few weeks ago I read this back to back, and Jesus Christ. Wow.

I have a personal belief that you can make a good story out of anything, and I guess this is as close to blasphemy as I can imagine as a non-religious individual. I am so goddamn furious at the shlock I just read, that I can't allow this to not be challenged with an attempt to create some sort of written counter to it. I don't mean a dissection, other people have made autopsies of this thing. I mean I need to balance the spirits of fanfiction and try, fucking try to make some sort of story that makes up for this.

In short, I want to write a version of the events of the Avatar series where,
1. Zuko and Katara are a couple by the end.
2. The story gets there in a way that isn't a hackneyed dime-store romance novel copy-pasting image miscarriage filled pile of what-the-fuck-am-I-reading like what I just read.

I'm not doing this for Zutarans, and I'm not doing this to make some sort of 'see? you could have totally done it in the series!' Just a quick glance-through of the show, and I'm pretty sure all of Book 3 would need to be redone. I'm doing this, because I can find no other way to expel my hate for what I just read. I have to do this to set right all the convictions I have as a writer of short stories on /co/.

If you guys can offer any advice, any sort of personal observations on what they do wrong and how to avoid it, I would very much appreciate it. I will do this journey alone if I have to, but I would like some help with this task, if you can offer it.
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>> No. 117049
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117049
I think I've got a basic framework to go with now. Should I post it, or just start writing and then show it to you when I'm done?
>> No. 117106
>>117049
Dunno about the rest of these folks, but I can wait.
>> No. 117111
>>117106
Okay then, I'll write a little and let you see.
Actually the series is really tightly knit in the first two seasons. Getting the themes I want to work require rewriting more than you usually would think. It really makes you appreciate how stuff fit together in the past, just the little things and all.


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117101 No. 117101 hide quickreply [Reply]
Why am I starting to find a new appreciation for Book 1 of The Legend of Korra after several reflections?

Seems like the only two things that annoy me are A. Dante Basco not distinguishing the voices of Prince Zuko and General Iroh and B. the ending being rushed when it felt like they could have handled it better within two episodes. They managed to tell a good story which now serves as the origins of the Avatar within two episodes so they could have done it here.

I assume this effect might occur for Book 2 in good time.


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117080 No. 117080 hide quickreply [Reply]
This song is surprisingly fitting for their relationship during Book 1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bauSLpTEnXY

Though I unfortunately cannot ever hear this song without thinking of a certain high functioning autistic.


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117076 No. 117076 hide quickreply [Reply]
old thread >>108868
>> No. 117077
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117077
Been a while since I needed this thread...

http://x-trung.tumblr.com/post/59728069107/tophwei-i-like-this-photos-you-can-see-new-3

>Jenn reblogging. Seriously??? This is disgusting. When people dress up as dark skinned people/charectars and darken their skin as part of the costume, it’s never okay but somehow making yourself look disabled is totally fine??? Blind face is insulting to blind people and the entire disabled community. Cosplayers need to JUST STOP IT ALREADY.

Die.


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86547 No. 86547 hide expand quickreply [Reply] [First 100 posts] [Last 50 posts]
Thought some of these were fun.
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>> No. 117053
>>117051
Somebody shoop an Asami cosplayer into the background.
>> No. 117055
>>117051
Can someone replace Mako with the words 'character development?'
>> No. 117061
>>117052
Maybe they just went as their favorite characters.


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117060 No. 117060 hide quickreply [Reply]
Raava implied that Harmonic Convergence occurred long before Wan's time and even implied that there was more than one occurrence. So why does it feel like their world is very old border lining on ancient?

Of course, this is probably normal when you take into consideration the age of our world being 4.54 billion years (thanks Google for ending my search right at the top of the page) then if my math isn't a completely and utter failure then 4,000,000,000 / 10,000 would result in Harmonic Convergence occurring a number of 400,000 times prior to Wan.

This is assuming that this was their world's age during the time of Wan. If during the time of Korra their world was this old then Harmonic Convergence would have occurred a total number of 399,999 times which I assume includes Wan's time.

Of course, my math skills is utter shit so I probably failed hard big time.


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117058 No. 117058 hide quickreply [Reply]
Is it a safe assumption that out of all of the Avatars who ever lived that Aang, Korra, and Wan are the three most important figures?

Despite only having two episodes dedicated to him within a series dedicated to another. Why does it feel like those two episodes earned Wan a rightful place to be mentioned within the same breath as Aang and Korra?

Wan, became the first Avatar and prevented 10,000 years of darkness after a mistake he acknowledged.
Aang, ended 100 years of war that could have resulted in the complete genocide of an entire continent.
Korra, prevented another 10,000 years of darkness from a mistake she probably acknowledged after learning about Wan and possibly became the first Avatar of a new cycle.

While others such as Roku had big successes in their time like saving their village from an active volcano, he still failed to prevent something that relied on his successor to do.

Kyoshi was probably more of a success than Roku, but her successes only came from issues of her time. Kuruk was lazy due to no major conflicts. Not much is known about Avatar #2 all the way up to Yangchen.

Should Wan be mentioned as one of the most important Avatar figures of all time alongside Aang and Korra?


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115984 No. 115984 hide expand quickreply [Reply] [First 100 posts] [Last 50 posts]
Night of a Thousand Stars followed by Harmonic Convergence!

Shit's about to get real!
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>> No. 116283
>>116281

Book 3 will open with Team Avatar on the road and either Ginger will be in tow and leave at their first stop or she'll be absent completely with the explanation being either from Boilin "she was just caught up in the celebrity of it all." or similar if she's absent. If she's present she'll be dumping him with a "we're just too different kinds of people." or similar before catching a ride back to Republic City or one of the earth Metropolise
>> No. 117046
>>116281

I think it's quite obvious Ginger's only dating him for his fame and doesn't actually like him and you'd be deluded to think otherwise.
>> No. 117047
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117047
>>117046
Maybe she'll leave him for Mako. I hear he's available.


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116898 No. 116898 hide expand quickreply [Reply]
Giving it a bit of a ponder, and I have come to the conclusion that the intended theme of Spirits wasn’t so much about “spirits” as it was about legacy.

In the second season, more so than in the first, nearly every character was dealing with a legacy of some kind, with some responding in a constructive manner and others not so much.

With Korra, her character arc included her coming to understand what her role as the Avatar actually MEANS, and her undergoing character growth as a result. Being the Avatar isn’t JUST about being the physically strongest person around, there is an actual mission and responsibilities that go with it. Responsiblities that make her, for lack of a better term, grow up and act more like a conventional hero rather than the rather thuggish manner she was growing into up to the middle of the season. See her attack on the judge for example.

The fact that she’s both the latest part in a legacy and the start of a new one, heavily influences Korra’s character development in this season for the better.

Conversely, the legacy of Korra’s predecessor Aang has had something of an adverse affect on his kids Bumi, Kya and Tenzin. Due to Aang accomplishing so much in his lifetime (in addition to being the sole survivor of a genocide) puts a lot of pressure on his kids, whether intentionally or not.

This pressure manifested in the nonpowered Bumi seemingly overcompensating for the fact that he didn’t have superpowers like his parents or siblings. Kya, although inheriting her mother’s waterbending, reacted to her parents’ legacy by deliberately avoiding responsibility… until she had to move to the South Pole to look after her mum when their dad died. She didn’t have the need to overcompensate like Bumi, and she didn’t have the responsibilties that were lumped onto Tenzin due to his status as the one airbender amongst Aang and Katara’s kids.

As the only one to inherit their dad’s powers, Tenzin ended up having to bear the weight of continuing Aang’s culture after he died. This put him under enormous pressure, particularly since the looming legacy of Aang’s accomplishments (don’t forget, he en
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>> No. 117036
>>117003

>Probably because that's really something Korra has to figure out on her own when it comes to the finer details. Like, she was probably told shit like, "you're the Avatar, you use your bending and status to keep the peace", but not told how to handle more grey situations like the Civil War, because when it boils down to it it's really up to her.

Again that logic only works if the White Lotus is inept. There's a ton of moral theories regarding how to determine what's right and wrong, so the White Lotus could easily have given Korra advice regarding how to resolve grey areas. They also should have taught Korra when to not get involved with conflicts.

>That she can mistakes, not always know what to and not always be prepared for things and that's fine, she's a human being first and the Avatar second.

Again Korra already knew that she can make mistakes and can't prepare for everything because she's already made mistakes and learned from them, such as when she challenged Amon to a fight in season 1 and lost. Korra already knew that Avatars aren't perfect so she wouldn't have learned this lesson from watching Wan's life.

>Keep in mind, for the 13 years Korra stayed in that compound she couldn't tap into her spiritual side at all. Then she leaves the compound, she gets out and sees a PART of the world and it only takes, what, three or four months and bam, she tapped into her spiritual side.

Korra started getting visions from Aang because he was trying to tell her that Amon was related to Yakon. Korra then discovered this connection by meditating, not by exploring more of Republic City or by researching what happened in the past. So exploring the world has little influence of Korra's spiritual training.

Had Amon come to the South Pole instead of Republic City then Korra would have had the same spiritual awakening w
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>> No. 117038
>>117036
>Again that logic only works if the White Lotus is inept.
Yes, that's what a lot of the signs are pointing to. Maybe we'll get a better explanation as to what went wrong with them and how they chose to train Korra in book 3.

>Again Korra already knew that she can make mistakes
She knew but she couldn't ACCEPT that it was okay for her to not be perfect.

>Korra then discovered this connection by meditating, not by exploring more of Republic City
And WHY do you think the meditation worked then? Why wasn't it working back when she first tried it at the beginning of the season? Because between then and Korra being kidnapped, she got out, met new people, experienced new things and grew a little as a person.

>In any case Korra wasn't isolated from humanity
She was isolated from like, 99.9% of it and basically interacted with the same people on a daily basis for 13 years. That is not a good situation for spiritual training.

>Given Aang's and his friends connection to the White Lotus it's unlikely that he would have asked them to treated Korra badly
Well duh, but that doesn't mean they were going to listen to him. He probably didn't say anything specific like, "DON'T lock up my next life in a compound for 13 years" because he probably thought they wouldn't do something so messed up.
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>> No. 117042
>>117038

Makes sense. I do feel that something that a lot of people seem to forget that to the characters in a story what's happening isn't a story to THEM. As you said, a lot of people complained about her uncle being obviously evil, even though Korra was shown to have known him and her cousins for years and was at least cordial with them for the most part.


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