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111786 No. 111786
You know what this board needs? A new Mai thread.
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Well, time to break out my waifu folder
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>>111929
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>> No. 111981
>>111979
Okay, that is freaking awesome.
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>> No. 112007
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http://geersart.tumblr.com/post/50090700114/sketchin-colors
>> No. 112008
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>>112007
>> No. 112010
>>112007
omg yes plz
>> No. 112011
>>112007
Bad. Ass.

"If I kill a person, who cares? I CAN MAKE A NEW ONE."
>> No. 112017
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>>112017
>>112018
>>112019
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>>112017
>>112018
>>112019

I remember these. Great to see them again.
>> No. 112141
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112141
anybody else think Mai and Jet would have been a cool pairing?
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>>112141
>> No. 112143
>>112141
It might force Mai to tell her position on the war and colonization. That would be interesting to hear.
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>>112143

I don't think Mai cares enough to have an opinion
>> No. 112147
>>112141
Not really.

This is totally my opinion, and I'm not saying everyone who likes the ship does this, but it always seemed like a way to kill two popular ships with one stone (canon Maiko and crack Jetko) to free Zuko up for someone else. That and the fact that Mai and Jet never met each other in the series, although that's not a requirement for crackships, I guess.
>> No. 112163
I fear she has been banished from canon never to be seen again. ;_;
>> No. 112164
>>112163
Considering she just had an entire (admittedly, short and free) comic released about her. I find myself doubting that very strongly.
>> No. 112165
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112165
There's a cool thread still up on /co/ about potential Avatar spin-offs. Some anons and I had a pretty good discussion last night about a hypothetical series where Mai becomes a wandering ninja learning what it's like to be a single mom while taking care of her brother.

https://boards.4chan.org/co/res/50016549
>> No. 112166
>>112165
That was a good thread. Know if anyone saved the writing from it?
>> No. 112167
>>112165
That was a good thread. Know if anyone saved the writing from it?
>> No. 112168
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>>112167

I have, but I'm waiting until the thread on /co/ 404's before I post it here.
>> No. 112169
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>>112167

http://archive.foolz.us/co/thread/50016549

To summarize:

>Mai gets her own spin-off of her traveling the four nations alone with Tom-Tom, Lone Wolf & Cub style.
>As she roams the planet, trying to stay under the radar, she tangles with bandits attacking villages, political factions taking advantage of the chaos and uncertainty of the post-Ozai era in addition to mercenaries hired by her father to drag her and Tom-Tom back home.
>She does odd jobs for strangers to pay for traveling expenses.
>People she meets often give her food and shelter because they believe Mai's a single mother and Tom-Tom is her son.
>Mai doesn't like this very much, but deals with it.
>June is one of the first people her father hires to track her.
>After their first duel, June and Mai gradually go from foes to friend-enemies. June has a habit of dropping in on Mai unexpectedly.
>Tom-Tom likes his "Auntie June."
>Mai is extremely paranoid and uncomfortable about anyone touching Tom-Tom.
>Although Mai struggles to survive and protect her brother, she refuses to seek Zuko or the Gaang's help, doesn't trust her family and doesn't like taking hand outs, wanting to find and earn her own way.
>Mai begins asking what her purpose and place in life is supposed to be. She visits and leaves offerings at various shrines as she discovers her spirituality through her hardships.
>Mai's close quarters weapon of choice would either be a short katana or sais.
>Characters she'd meet and/or fight would include The Freedom Fighters, Colonel Mongke & The Rough Rhinos, various OC, as well as under explored characters from the show.
>She and Tom-Tom might run into a spirit or demon or two.
>Mai starts to see Tom-Tom more like a son, becoming less offended by people thinking she's a mom.
>The entire story would reference and pay homage to various ninja and samurai animation/movies, being fairly episodic and relying on atmosphere and quiet tension.

Why do I see Ty Lee asking Mai how things have been after all this, only for Mai to just say "Eh, pretty boring."
>> No. 112170
>>112169

>Although Mai struggles to survive and protect her brother, she refuses to seek Zuko or the Gaang's help
>She and Tom-Tom might run into a spirit or demon or two.

Potential conflict with these two bullet points. Now that the Avatar is around and about again, Aang is bound to be summoned by places that encounter spirit world shenanigans. If Mai runs into some spirits, she's bound to run into Aang (at the very least) from time to time.
>> No. 112171
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>>112170

Aang's only one person, he can't be expected to be at every forest that has a patron spirit or at every outlying village that has a problem with a local phantom I'm sure there's plenty of spiritual phenomenon, haunted houses and vindictive or benevolent spirits doing their thing outside of Aang's purview or without need of the Avatar's intercession out there in the world that Mai can stumble upon.

Have Mai and Tom-Tom be traveling and find an abandoned mansion or shrine to stay the night in, just to find out there's an angry spirit haunting the place. Big enough to give Mai trouble but small time enough to not warrant or set of an alarm for the Avatar. It'd make a nice tribute to the Grudge or that one episode of Samurai Jack where he fought that dragon spirit in the haunted house.

Or maybe she finds a village where everybody's possessed or devil worshipers who want to sacrifice her.
>> No. 112172
>>112171

>Or maybe she finds a village where everybody's possessed or devil worshipers who want to sacrifice her.

I'm not sure there's any sort of devil figure in Avatar. We'll know more about vengeful spirits when Season 2 of Korra lands, but what little we know hasn't pointed to large scale spirit shenanigans or cults.
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>>112172

>I'm not sure there's any sort of devil figure in Avatar.

Koh?

Of course, by "devil" I simply meant a malevolent spirit. I'm sure there's plenty of spirits in the Avatar universe that are vengeful, angry or just straight up dicks. There being an evil spirit with some kind of cult centered around it is certainly within the realm of plausibility when we have the spirits that will show up in Korra and guys like Koh creeping around the shadows. And Hai Bai was a pretty good spirit, but once he felt wronged, he turned into a monster.

Mai coming across some little town where everybody acts super strange, just to find out they venerate some wacked out spirit and want to kill her either because their patron spirit demands it or they are all possessed by it or both would feel right at home and add a little bit to the "goth" vibe Mai herself gives off. Or you could have Mai arrive in some town, feel something is off about the people there, and she finds out everybody in the town is actually dead. Do a big thing based on Japanese horror movies.
>> No. 112174
>>112173
For some reason that made me think immediately of Shadow Hearts, the 'cannibal village' you wander into at the start of the game.
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>>112174

My mind started thinking about the zombie episode of Samurai Champloo.
>> No. 112176
>>112173
>Or you could have Mai arrive in some town, feel something is off about the people there, and she finds out everybody in the town is actually dead. Do a big thing based on Japanese horror movies.

I think there's something like that in a WoD splatbook. Somethign came through town, ate everybody's soul, so the town's spirit just upped and possessed all the corpses and kept 'em moving around as they would have done in life.
>> No. 112177
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>>112176

It's something of a common horror scenario:

>Main character arrives in town/village
>People act weird
>Something supernatural is controlling them and is out to get MC.

You see that in a lot of stuff. I think it would be funny to see Mai get caught up in a classic horror movie style situation, just to see her completely unfazed and unfrightened by it all.
>> No. 112179
>>112178
this post is like literally the definition of "no fun allowed"
>> No. 112180
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>>112178
>> No. 112189
>>112173
Fanfic rec out of the blue (it fits the discussion, kinda-sorta)
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6892379/1/Saving-Face
>> No. 112195
>>112189

>Nevertheless, she was regretting ever having stepped foot into this Agni-cursed forest.

I never understand why fanfics with Fire Nation characters always have to try to put the word Agni everywhere. The word itself means "fire: so while I understand they are trying to refer to the Hindu deity, it just sounds a little silly sometimes.
>> No. 112197
>>112195
It irritates me too. I understand why they use it, it's a replacement for where one would normally write God-whatever, like "godforsaken" or "goddammit". I've also seen a generic "spirits" used in place of "Agni".

The thing is, though, it's just lazy and awkward. And makes you sound a little ignorant of other religions, to a lesser extent. Come up with some different curses or interjections. Yeah, "monkey-feathers" from the show might sound too silly, but not much more than Agni-whatever.
>> No. 112198
>>112197
Yeah, plus in general Chinese "curses" or profanity tends to be less "blasphemous"/religious/spiritual, so inserting a God-analogue into phrasing for an exclamation makes less sense.

People should do their research:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_Chinese_profanity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantonese_profanity
>> No. 112199
>>112198
Nice links. Don't speak/can't pronounce any Chinese to save my life, but I am familiar with some of these in passing, just from books I've read.
>> No. 112200
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>>112197

I'd prefer they just use the word "god" or "spirits"

I don't mind fanfic writers using the word Agni. I just wish they would do so more cleverly.

Like in the series I'm trying to write for Mai, it's mentioned that one of the Fire Nation sacred scriptures are called the "Agni Veda." The word Veda means "knowledge" and is of course a reference to the sacred scriptures of Hinduism. Agni Veda translates into "fire knowledge" or "knowledge of fire." A little simple, but Avatar is a simple world.

For me, just replacing every instance of the word God or Christ with "Agni" is just lazy and uncreative and sounds very awkward when spoken aloud.
>> No. 112213
>>112197
Monkey-feathers also sounds like the kind of thing I could imagine a kid using, to avoid getting into trouble for actually swearing.

Replacing "God" with "Agni", though, is just silly. Especially since the Asian cultures that the Avatar world draws from doesn't have monotheistic religions.
>> No. 112214
>Especially since the Asian cultures that the Avatar world draws from doesn't have monotheistic religions.

That's not really relevant since there is still an understanding and worship of deities in those cultures. There's still a belief in gods, so the use of the word god in the form of a generic or proper noun I don't think is inappropriate. Avatar just avoids the designation of god in favor of the more general word "spirit." This is probably because the creators are a little uncomfortable devling into the concept of gods on a children's show, but doesn't want to break the mystical Asian aesthetic. The use of the word "God" though is not particular to monotheistic traditions since even polytheistic traditions are known to refer to "the gods" and "God" respectively.

Plus, there's also a Hindu influence to Avatar that is unmistakable and Hindus have their share of monotheistic traditions or at least understand there to be "the gods" and then "God," albeit within their own language and designations. You may have the belief in various lesser devas but then of course you also have the Supreme Godhead.

Not to mention Islam has been in East Asia for centuries (along with Christianity). The introduction of that monotheistic tradition to China happened within the first two centuries of the religion's founding in Arabia and little over 20 million people in China still practice it today. Plus, the majority of the world's Muslims are not in the Middle East but are actually in India and Indonesia. For many people and ethnic groups throughout Eastern and Southern Asia, Islam is their historical religion or at least one of them.
>> No. 112219
>>112214
I think it would be interesting worldbuilding if the Fire Nation only worshiped a single god/spirit, like the Egyptians did during the brief period they worshiped only Atum. Could help explain some of their national attitude, if they think their god is the best god and they're his chosen people.
>> No. 112223
>>112219
Considering it's technological might, and the Nation's decreasing respect for nature, I always figured it was more likely the case that the Fire Nation had begun to move way from the notion of spirits holding divinity, and started to focus far more strongly on historic figures.
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>>112219
>>112223

wow, it's weird that you say that cause I actually created my own version of the FN's religion for that exact purpose and it was more or less how you described, a mixture of elements of Hinduism, Islam, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. I had them come from a similar school of thought as the Air Nomads but were directly opposed to them in a number of ways that led to religious friction between the two. The Fire Nation sects believed in a powerful immaterial shapeless Cosmic Spirit who was the Supreme Sage or Para-Brahman and also believed the world they lived in was made to be a battleground between the spiritual forces of good and evil, which have shaped the very nature of living and inanimate things in the world, in addition to the world being a prison for human souls. They also believed in a successive order of sensual paradises awaiting man after the final battle against the evil powers of the world during a great day of reckoning. Paradises where people could enjoy the pleasures of the world without the fear of being able to abuse them. The Air Nomads, would have a more generally agnostic view on the great god-spirit, and would only believe in the existence of an Avatar Hades where souls of the dead slept awaiting their turn in the reincarnation cycle. The Fire Nation believed that a great rebirth would come one day in which the human souls would be freed from this cycle and the imperfect world, led by a great savior figure. The Air Nomads believed that freedom from the cycle could only be achieved through annihilation of the self through rigorous ascetic practice. The Fire Nation believed that everyone who, with passion and drive, strove to "do good," and "fight evil" would eventually be rewarded with freedom from the cycle of death and reincarnation, even if they didn't achieve annihilation (a state which FN groups believe lasts only as long as the god-spirit wills it). Struggle is the Fire Nation motto, not complacency. Passion, not apathy.

Indulge yourself a little now and then, they say, just beware of excesses. Enjoy the warmth of the flames of your passions, just don't get so swept up in them that the whole forest burns to the ground. Balancing things out with ascetic/religious ritual helps keep emotions in check and retain focus. This would be the traditional view among religious groups in the FN and the idea I had was that that these kinds of ideas set them at odds with the Air Nomads at times. I thought that maybe guys like Gyatso could've thought the Air Nomads might benefit from keeping a more open mind tho.

How does all this relate to Mai? Well, I was thinking that Mai's story could actually have her wanting to retreat. Maybe Mai wants to just "get away from it all" and is looking to escape from the world she hates with all its drama and stupidity that is just making her life worse. Her attitude could be "Forget my dad, forget Zuko, forget everyone and their problems, leave me out of it." Mai could slowly realize that she has responsibilities as an individual and as a human being and can't just run away from the world and sit and brood all day and night alone someplace far off for the rest of her life. So maybe she could slowly learn to reconnect to and find wisdom in her ancestral religion which she didn't take seriously growing up. She could also maybe argue a little with holy men, trying to justify her running away or her jaded personality by casually mentioning some proverb from the Agni Vedas about the bleak nature of the world, which a sage says she doesn't fully understand because of her cynicism. She could start burning offerings too.
>> No. 112229
Don't forget evolution of belief:
animism - polytheism - henotheism - monotheism
>> No. 112235
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>>112229

The way I see it:

Fire Nation--Monotheistic
Earth Kingdom--Henotheistic
Water Tribes--Animistic (though they're all animists to an extent)
Air Nomads--Don't have an official position on gods
>> No. 112236
>>112235
If they're anything like real-life Buddhists they might be atheists who nevertheless hold certain species in non-worshipping reverence.
>> No. 112237
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>>112236

It's not really fair to say Buddhists are atheists. The debate on the Buddha's views on God or gods is one that's been around for a long time. Generally speaking, Buddhism doesn't have an official position on the existence or nonexistence of gods. Buddhists though have often absorbed the local deities or eschatology of whatever culture they are in, following the folk religion(s) of the region, but applying a Buddhist philosophy and understanding to it. Some Buddhists believe in God, some don't, some believe in many gods, but Buddhism doesn't have an official position on whether God exists or not because it tends to deal more with questions on ethics than theology.

For the Air Nomads, I conceived them as having this position where they uphold animistic beliefs, I mean obviously they believe in the reality of the various spirits that inhabit the world like everyone else does, but didn't have an official position on the existence of a greater godly authority existing among the spirits, which lead to misconceptions of them being a godless people.

The Mai story I want to write would develop the Fire Nation's religious groups and kind of imply that some of Mai's apparent hatred of the world stems a little from traditional FN beliefs on the world's nature. Or at least that Mai has this dark and morose attitude towards the world and casually tries to justify it by appealing to Fire Nation religious beliefs when people give her flak about it, even though that isn't why she thinks that way. The idea I had was that the Fire Nation has never held the natural world in too high a regard because they believe it is "stained" imperfect and deceptive to the point where even certain spirits and celestial bodies are seen as wicked or ignorant powers trying to keep humanity imprisoned and certain animals and plants are seen as inherently impure, and which spirits and creatures are unclean, evil or ignorant would be a debate among the Fire Nation intellectual circles. So Mai's attitude towards the world, within this context, could be partly a result of religious ideals instilled in her as she grew up, along with past and recent experiences that have just made her more cynical. The traditional Fire Nation religion(s) would themselves be rather cynical faiths compared to those of other nations, but would also emphasize the good which can be seen through all the bad and the need to protect and uphold this good. Mai's issue would be that lately, she's having a lot of trouble seeing that good these priests and sages keep talking about.
>> No. 112242
It always struck me as a single-religion setting that was like a mix between Buddhism and Shintoism than any specific Earth religion. Buddhist-like traditions, but Shintoism-like cosmology, where it's full of "gods" (in this setting, just called spirits), but doesn't really seem to have a shared pantheon of extremely powerful gods that Western religions or even Hinduism would--basically just Genius Loci, Power Animals and Ancestor Spirits and things that tend to be known only to the local people.

But Tui and La were clearly treated in the manner not unlike the way Shinto Gods are--actual animals ascribed wondrous powers and shown reverence because they have spiritual significance to the locals. The fact that in this universe, they actually DO have wondrous powers, is interesting but not vital. It is unlikely that anyone outside the Water Tribe (and Aang, as the Avatar, and therefore a medium for ALL spirits), maybe even just the Northern Water Tribe, has any special reverence for them--but they would likely recognize them as the same sort of being as their own local gods.

Basically, I don't see the Avatarverse as being the sort of thing that has cults of worship for individual gods. The Avatar Spirit itself seems to be the closest thing in the setting to the traditional western concept of a god. But it doesn't seem to have any sort of cults of worship, either, except in the sense of Hero Worship or Cult of Personality--which seems to be directed more at the Avatars themselves than at the Avatar Spirit.
>> No. 112243
>>112242
>It always struck me as a single-religion setting that was like a mix between Buddhism and Shintoism than any specific Earth religion. Buddhist-like traditions, but Shintoism-like cosmology, where it's full of "gods" (in this setting, just called spirits), but doesn't really seem to have a shared pantheon of extremely powerful gods that Western religions or even Hinduism would--basically just Genius Loci, Power Animals and Ancestor Spirits and things that tend to be known only to the local people.

Long Feng mentions that the Earth King is a "god" to his people, using that exact word, so the concept of gods clearly exists in this world. If there are people who would see the Earth King as a god, literally, then for sure, given the daily reality of the spirits and their supernatural feats, some of the otherworldly spirits would be shown the same respect by some people. But it is also possible, in fact more than likely, that where one person might call this historic hero, king or this local spirit their "god," someone would disagree with giving that person/being this title, and they don't necessarily have to deny the existence of said spirit/human to say that they do not deserve to be called a god.

What I'm getting at is the people of this world's use of the word "god" would, reasonably, be more of a honorific they bestow on themselves or on spirits/persons they hold in a certain reverence, a more historical use of the word if you ask me. If they respect this entity enough or if they believe the entity possesses a certain amount of power and authority, then they will call that being a god, even if it is a fellow human. But some people might bestow the title of god more exclusively than others and certain humans or supernatural beings might feel themselves to be part of an exclusive elite in which only its members may have the right to be called "god" And some of them might even go so far as to claim they are the ONLY one that may be addressed as "god," putting them at odds with others who claim the same thing.

Just because everybody in this world accepts the reality of the spirits and the spirit world doesn't mean they all hold the same opinions as to the nature of this realm and its denizens and it's only realistic that the differences between the four nations would be more than superficial, but would also be political and religious and, honestly, only such differences would precipitate the need to maintain the separation.
>> No. 112246
At any rate, I think my new headcanon is that swearing in the Avatarverse takes the form of references to past Avatars, like "By Kiyoshi's giant clown shoes!" and "Aang's shiny dome!"
>> No. 112247
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112247
Getting back more to Mai, which is how this started. I think however you choose to imagine the Fire Nation's religious and spiritual beliefs, using Mai's traveling and going through an existential dilemma is a good excuse to develop the Fire Nation religious atmosphere.

I took some time a few days to start writing the episode synopsis for a "Mai series," just to see how many stories I could outline for Mai & Tom-Tom. I've gotten to episode 15 but I'm at a loss of where to go from there.

You see, I'm trying to come up with episode 16 and in it I wanted Mai to fall down a cliff and wake up in an alternate world. But I can't decide what kind of alternate world would make sense for Mai of all people to wake up in. The only thing I could come up with was the alternate Ty Lee Mai meets is actually the "goth" of the group, but that's it. Anyone have any ideas what kind of dream world Mai's mind would conjure up?
>> No. 112248
>>112237
From my, admittedly limited knowledge of it, what you're suggesting there for the FN sounds an awful lot like a purer form of gnosticism than what exists today.
>> No. 112249
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112249
>>112248

I was kinda thinking that their religion could be "gnostic" in some ways. I just hypothesized that the FN has always been a little antagonistic to the spirit world and the natural world around them, as well as the other nations, because of certain spiritual beliefs they have about these things. If they always believed the world was some sort of prison and that the spirit world we saw was a lower realm full of spirits whose mission was to keep them imprisoned, with the exception of their own patron spirits, and believed in attaining a certain state of perfection in defiance of spirits they consider oppressive, it would explain a lot in my opinion. Basically, the Fire Nation is the chosen nation by divine right and anyone who stands against it or the God or gods who support it is standing in the way of the enlightenment of mankind. As a result, the FN people kinda see things as Fire Nation vs "the world," and various spirits end up being ranked on a scale based on to what extent they stand in the way of the FN's vision of a perfect paradise. And by the time you get to Sozin, a radical trend has developed to where the FN thinks they need to wage all out war on these spirits and the humans who side with them, either converting them or destroying them, for the sake of religious enlightenment and societal progression. The Avatar could have been seen as imperfect, but a suitable mediator to the spirits in the past that war against unenlightened or oppressive spirits and the human beings who were loyal to them was not necessary.

Again, if this were how the FN views the world around them, a character like Mai developing this "hatred of the world," would have a religious justification or origin because in her culture, people are actually taught the world is something to struggle against and is not man's real "home." But Mai, like many in the Fire Nation, has probably taken some things to an extreme. You could use a story about Mai traveling the FN as a way of exploring the spiritual rut that most people in the FN during the Post-Ozai era are in.
>> No. 112370
File 137132580491.jpg - (1.34MB , 1881x3596 , MaiandCub.jpg )
112370
Fun little thread on 4chan, roleplaying about a spinoff starring Mai and Tom-Tom in the style of >>112007

I'm pondering writing a oneshot or two from the episode guide.
>> No. 112372
>>112370
Lone Mai and Cub is the best thing 4chan has come up with in recent memory.
>> No. 112373
>>112372

>Lone Mai and Cub

I think you mean Lone Mai and Cub Assassin Scroll Champuru
>> No. 112375
File 137143206623.png - (148.80KB , 925x585 , 1371429447123.png )
112375
>>112370

from the same thread
>> No. 112376
it's a pretty cool idea but the whole roleplaying aspect is a little too embarrassing.
>> No. 112377
>>112376

Who gives a shit? That thread's fucking hilarious. And if you don't think so, you have no fucking soul.
>> No. 112378
>>112376
Fuck you a million times.
>> No. 112388
>>112377
>>112378
well, okay. it's not like i took a huge dump on it, like i said it was a good idea. anyway, i'll leave you guys to it.
>> No. 112389
>>112388

Well, to be honest, that wasn't the first thread we've had before on a Mai spin-off, but the only reason such a story got so much collective development was exactly because people started roleplaying like it was real. Otherwise, I doubt that thread would still be up after five days unlike most character-centric threads on /co/ that just 404 after less than a day.

So you can knock everybody in that thread for roleplaying if you think that shit is for faggots, but at least people got shit done because the whole role-play encouraged them.
>> No. 112406
A fun thread, tapered at the end, but still good to the last post. Too bad the thread after it got trolled by a sagefag.


http://archive.foolz.us/co/thread/50616128

http://pastebin.com/4ner2LeS
>> No. 112407
>>112406
Man it makes me sad to comes across such dedicated assholes on the internet.

I mean what the hell was wrong with that guy? I think it would actually be more disturbing if he was sincere in his bizarre ranting rather than just a troll who liked to roleplay really hard.
>> No. 112410
>>112407

>I mean what the hell was wrong with that guy?

which guy?
>> No. 112411
>>112410
The guy in the second thread Mai thread on /co/ bitching at everyone for having fun writing fanfiction and telling them they would all be blacklisted by the comicbook industry for their sins, with sage on each post because the thread was "worthless shit"
>> No. 112412
>>112411

Oh, that guy. For a sec, I thought you were talking about me (season guide guy.)
>> No. 112414
>>112411
In any field of human endeavour you're always going to get 5edgy7u assmunchers who HATE EVERYTHING. I'm just grateful we had at least one complete thread of awesome stuff with everyone more or less on the ball.
>> No. 112415
>>112414

As a longtime participant and OP in Mai threads, I'm pretty sure that same guy's posted in nearly every Mai thread I've been in. I think every Mai thread he sees fills him with rage, but for some reason he subjects himself to the torture of them anyway, saging them up as he monitors them.
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