masterghandalf

I know it's been a while since you posted this, but I'd like to give my thoughts on it.


Thank you for replying! Part II should be coming eventually, I promise, though it got delayed by other projects and various real-world things.

The funny thing about this is that the Avatar expanded universe would later establish that the Fire Nation used to be ruled by squabbling warlords before the Fire Lord system was established, much like what this fic says. Except that 1. this happened before Kyoshi was even born and 2. the first Fire Lord is treated as a hero for ending the warlords' constant fighting and making the Fire Nation more politically stable.


When we get to the "Relationship with Canon" section I'm going to have some things to say on this topic myself, since canon's Fire Nation backstory (as depicted in the Kyoshi novels and elsewhere) overlaps with Embers's in some very particular ways, but also does very different things with it. And while I don't know if Mike and Bryan, FC Yee, or anyone else involved with the franchise at a creative level has ever read Embers... if someone told me canon!Kyoshi on a personal level was written as a specific refutation of Embers!Kyoshi, let's just say I wouldn't be surprised (most obviously, Embers!Kyoshi is described as having been a hardline arch-conservative obsessed with keeping the Four Nation separate and "pure" and disgusted with interracial relationships; canon!Kyoshi is not only biracial - Earth Kingdom and Air Nomad - herself, but in love with a Fire Nation girl!).

Which is weird because in the cartoon the Dai Li are very obviously more loyal to Feng than to the Earth King, since they hesitate when Kuei tells them to arrest Long Feng. In any case, I'd be perfectly fine with one or two sympathetic Dai Li members, to remind people that few if any groups are completely corrupt, but this goes too far in that direction.


I think it's a result of two running themes in the fic - one is that it consistently depicts the Gaang as naïve kids who are wrong about almost everything (especially Aang and Katara - Sokka is depicted as being initially ignorant but willing to learn, and Toph, who is clearly one of Vathara's faves, is almost always right and usually the designated voice of reason), and another is that Vathara really likes political and military elites and seems to default to depicting them favorably, with a few exceptions (ie, Ozai).

That sounds weird, because I assumed that the fandom's hatred of spirits didn't become widespread until season 2 of Korra.


And my opinion may definitely be colored because of that later development, but I first got into the fandom partway through Book 3 of the original show (shortly after "The Day of Black Sun" and "The Western Air Temple" had first aired) and I certainly don't recall any significant "all spirits must be 'good'" idea then, either (and, I mean, there's Koh...). Maybe I just wasn't interacting with the right parts of fandom - but then, my own first major A:TLA fic project had a spirit as the big bad and I don't recall ever getting any significant pushback on that, either.

Anyway, I hope that part 2 is just as fun to read as part 1!


Thank you!