Hi!♥ I won’t post art for a while because I’m busy with homework, but I already have several WIPs to finish, most of those are Rangshi fanart, for now I wanted to share these links so you can read Kyoshi’s novels in case you haven’t already read, since I know that it cannot be bought in all countries
the way atuat could have single-handedlyDESTROYEDthe NWT’s sexist ideals…
[ID: an excerpt from the shadow of kyoshi reading:
“You know how women in Agna Qel’a aren’r allowed to learn the fighting forms of waterbending?”
Kyoshi did not know that about the Northern Water Tribe capital, but no matter; Atuat was going to elaborate anyway. “I say it’s the men who aren’t allowed to learn healing from me.” Any idiot can punch someone with water. I punch dying people’s energy pathways with water such that they live for another handful of decades.” /end ID]
thinking about how the act of bringing someone back from the dead comes from a desire not just to bring back the dead person but to have things return to the way they were before they died. which is, of course, impossible. if a haunting is an open wound, then resurrection is a knife widening the cut.
sopeople have explained the anti-indigenous narratives in the rise of kyoshi and I wanted to write a bit about the obvious ways that I see these harmful narratives show up in the shadow of kyoshi. specifically with how Atuat - the main water tribe character present in this novel - is characterized.
while I find Atuat to be a likeable character for her expressiveness, humor, and intelligence, she is a blatant example of the “alcoholic native” sterotype that is used to dehumanize indigenous people and dismiss the cumulative and ongoing trauma colonizers inflict. in her first scene in the novel, Atuat is introduced like this
“I couldn’t remember if you liked plum wine or sorghum liquor,” a short, plump woman in blue robes said to Hei-Ran in a loud, piercing voice. She wielded a glass in each hand, threatening to spill the different-colored contents. “So I got both.” ….. Atuat held up a finger while draining one of the glasses she’d brought for Hei-Ran. “I am,” she said once she’d finished it.”
the narrative seems to stop short of condemning atuat for her behavior. kyoshi is initially judgemental but moves quickly into liking Atuat for her personality. instead Atuat is posited as the lackadaisical individual within a group of otherwise disciplined people. for me, this is part of what makes her character interesting because she *is* deeply disciplined in her values as a healer. yet, with the surrounding context of the novel, I feel it feeds into the prevalent idea that alcoholics are “that way” from a lack of personal discipline, from choosing to be, rather than chemical dependency and lack of support.
Atuat is also the only character to play a gambling game on north chung ling, a town that is described as, quoting from the avatar wiki for the location
“The city was once known as a place where spiritual experiences were common and anyone could see a vision of the other side, but the village cashed in on its reputation rather than maintaining the supposedly hallowed ground. Visitors paid charlatans for fake spiritual encounters and cheap entertainment, and the city turned into a carnival town and glorified gambling den.”
despite being in the fire nation, this sure sounds like a colonizers depiction of the casinos some nations choose to create in order to escape the crushing poverty colonizers construct. it is significant that this is the place where Atuat is shown to gamble - not at say, a high ranking fire nation party or even a game with a dao fei group. this occurs on “hallowed ground” that “cashed in”. atuat in this demonstrates the sterotype of native people as greedy gamblers lacking impulse control, unlike “civilized” colonizers who know better.
there is a short line in the novel that I found to be somewhat dismissive of Sifu Amak, another water tribe character, and with Atuat’s position as a sister. when Kyoshi tells Atuat that she is sorry about her brother’s death, her response is
Atuat sighed. “That you. Amak was never going to have a peaceful end, to put it mildly. But he died protecting people. That’s far more an honorable end than what he was doing before.”
despite her brother’s profession and whatever their relationship when he was alive, a little bit more sadness feels warranted? why is she not allowed to mourn, why is Master Amak not allowed to be mourned?
this isn’t meant to be a comprehensive post about the anti-indigenous narratives in the kyoshi novels, but to point out what are, to me, some of the most obvious pieces that f.c yee wrote in to the novel.
Summary:AU. Yun doesn’t kill anyone in the mining town. Fate rewards this restraint with a found family of Air Nomads. In this chapter, Yun has a breakdown in front of Truc. Again. This is becoming a bad habit.
@atlaocweek is over, but I’m still using their prompts.
[ID:a green banner that says, “Kyoshi Novels Big Bang Beta Sign-Ups”. Beside the text is a picture of Kyoshi, holding out an open fan with a serious expression. End ID.]
Beta Reader Sign-Ups OPEN!
Summary selection is soon, and we need more beta readers!
To find out more about this event, you can check out our carrd: https://kyoshinovelsbigbang.carrd.co. If you have any questions, feel free to send us an ask!
Hey, all! Come check out of my first of two stories I wrote for the Kyoshi Novels Big Bang 2022. Thanks to the incredible @jhcl56and@ponytailzuko for your suggestions, comments, and creative good vibes✨
[ID: A digital painting made to look similar to a poster. There’s a shining blue portal shown with Kyoshi and Rangi at the very front, looking upwards and nervous. Behind them on the left, Kirima and Wong are holding brooms as if a weapon. Behind Kyoshi and Rangi on the right, Lek also brandishes a broom. They’re all illuminated from above by a blue light. At the very bottom of the painting, Yun is outside the portal holding his head as if pained. A title is written below Rangi and Kyoshi and above Yun, which says, “Faults.” End ID]
the art i made for the @kyoshinovelsbigbang to be a companion for @heartofmara’s lovely fic Faults! the link to the fic’s tumblr post is here as well. thank you and beta reader @jhcl56, this was so fun to work on because of both of you! :D
