u/2-2Distracted

(also just thought I'd add that last one in case someone wanted them altogether in one.)

I've been waiting a while to see someone else mention it, and maybe they already did and I just missed it, but what hardly ever gets discussed is the evolution and direction of bending in general as time goes by.

I mean let's just go over it:

1. We have Prehistoric bending, which was canonically not even called bending, nor were benders called Benders. It was treated as a tool to be used to help you survive the spirit wilds and surrounding areas not protected by the Lion Turtles. This began to change over time as humans interacted more with nature after they left the Lion Turtles

2. Then we have Classic bending, which is simply just bending that has not only been influenced by "the Original Benders" but has been refined and mastered to be at its most effective.

3. Then we have Ancient bending, as shown by the 5000+ year old airbending Monk named Tagah, who due to circumstances we can only speculate has far better airbending than classic airbenders like Aang. I've seen takes saying that one of the reasons he was so powerful was thanks to Sonam's staff, but I'm pretty sure that even without it Tagah would still be pulling off those techniques, and if Tagah could do all that then imagine what the other nations could do back then. I think Benders back then were just more spiritually aligned and thus more powerful and knowledgeable of their elements.

4. Then we have Modern bending, which is the exact opposite of the previous 2 points (but in a good way). Most obvious examples of this pro-bending and street-bending, which became a thing for multiple reasons. The lack of war going on in the world meant that Benders couldn't be so destructive and violent with their elements anymore to both each other and the environment. They had to use them in a more efficient and entertaining way. This is part of the reason Lin scolded Korra for knocking out those gang members and Bolin corrected her stance so that she can play pro-bending better.

This all gets me curious about Seven Havens and what the apocalypse has done to bending as not only an art form, but ones connection to it this time.

There are also the more headcanon-y evolutions of bending as shown through individual characters and select sub-elements, such as with:

• Tonraq having a more "Brute" style to waterbending that'd make one think he's trying to Earthbend if he actually could.

• Tenzin having a more direct, stand-your-ground approach to his airbending.

• The Metalbenders of Zaofu are a hell of a lot more fluid with metal than most others, since Zaofu's main philosophy is largely about seeing the potential.

Pretty sure Iroh and Zuko fit this bill too since they've both shown examples of having their bending influenced from other places.

#EXPLANATION FOR MY TITLE:

So to be clear, this show is officially called "Avatar: Seven Havens". It's not additionally called "Avatar: The Legend of Pavi" like the previous two shows (and yes that's includes ATLA since it was called "Avatar: The Legend of Aang" in different countries).

This is why I titled my post like this since I genuinely can't tell how much of this show will focus hard on Pavi when she's the main character.

#EXPLANATION FOR THE FLAT CHARACTERS:

So for those not familiar with characters like Goku (from Dragon Ball Z), Luffy (from One Piece) and Asta (from Black Clover), they're typically considered to be flat characters. This basically means that while they grow and develop as characters they still ultimately remain the same since their growth is quite minimal compared to other characters and the world at large.

Sometimes they don't develop at all since they're not supposed to, meaning that it's the world that's supposed to develop/change/grow instead. There's a lot more I can say about this but I'll just leave it at this point.

Check out TV tropes or Overly Sarcastic Productions for more at your own time consuming peril. Also feel free to correct me anything I got wrong here.

#FINAL EXPLANATION:

To explain the pictures (which BTW aren't even all that accurate depending on who you ask):

• Aang was the "traditional" reluctant hero main character who refused the role of the Avatar in a world that desperately needed it. Because he learned of his identity at 12 years old, he saw himself as an Air Nomad first Avatar second.

• Korra wanted nothing more than to be the Avatar in a world that believed it didn't need one anymore and could handle it's own issues. Because she learned of her identity at 4 years old, she saw herself as Avatar first and "Korra" second.

Pavi's story (assuming that this is chiefly about her as the Avatar) seems to be uncovering great mysteries and fixing the Avatar's reputation. That's what she's apparently doing, sure, but what do you think is her personal view on all this?

Do you think she's all for it or reluctant? Maybe both? Maybe neither? Maybe something altogether?

"if I had stayed in his body any longer I could have killed him" - Aye-Aye Spirit.

This was an issue that Wan & Raava were struggling with up until their battle with Vaatu had reached its climax. They couldn't stop Wan's friend Jaya from fighting pissed off spirits because of this issue, and they almost couldn't defeat Raava's counterpart.

So now I'm just wondering what would happen if you merged with spirits like Wan Shi Tong (like do you become as "smart" as him and become the owner of his library?), Koh the Facestealer (do you automatically become the son of the Mother of Faces?), Tui and La (let's say you put them in a fishbowl and took them to the spirit portals on HC), or the Fog of Lost Souls (literally how the hell would this even work lol).

-

Obviously this isn't the full picture and things are very much out of context, but I doubt everyone was fully on board with the idea of leaving the Lion Turtles just because the land was only slightly less dangerous than before. I also doubt that all the Avatars directly Wan were on board with with the defacto peacekeeper of the world

All I'm saying is that Wan is lucky all those who hated the Avatar of his era are dead and gone.

"Korra, you've transformed the world more in a few years than most Avatars did during their lifetimes"

I think a big direction they're going with this new series is the fact that Korra is the new Wan & first Avatar of the new era, and I think they're doing this with the whole apocalypse thing because they did't feel like people truly got the message of how big of a deal being the starter of a new era truly means.

If this is true & they are going in that direction with her presence and her actions, then I have some hopes & worries, well more specifically its a hope & a worry;

The main hope is that they're consistent with this when or if they make more stories about previous Avatars, specifically about Avatars directly after Wan.

I'd like to see more stories about Avatars and or regular people who directly blame Wan for the stuff HE inadvertently caused when basically changed so much of the world that people literally had to leave their lion turtle homes because of him and start again.

I mean seriously think about what must have been like for everyone who wasn't like Wan's friend Jaya, who seemed to be willing to step up for the sake his and other people's survival.

Imagine everyone else who was more than content to keep living on those lion turtles regardless of the highs and lows that came with them. Now imagine basically being kicked off, offered the elements for your survival, and being told that you are basically on your own. You don't have a house or home anymore, you have to build one or find one yourself, and on the off chance you're successful you basically have to deal with those who don't have and will try to take yours.

It's already a problem that you now have to deal with people who look & act like you, but now you have to deal with people who Don't & instead work and think completely differently from you and yours. Conflicts would be constantly happening and whenever they get big enough all of a sudden some schmuck with glowy eyes shows up and shuts that shit down, the "same" schmuck who basically forced you and yours to live like this.

At the risk of hyperbolic, if you were in this situation and were probably old enough to remember living on the Lion Turtles, wouldn't you see this as a kind of apocalypse?

As you stew on that question I'm also going to explain my worry as a fan and amateur critic of this franchise.

Like many others I'm excited to see how Seven Havens handles Korra but I honestly wish this whole "Avatar causes the apocalypse to happen" took place After her reign, like maybe it's Pavi who causes it and its the Fire Avatar who has to address it, so now the story is going to focus on a different pair of Avatars.

I'm not just saying this because Korra is best girl who deserves a goddamn break, even though she does, I'm saying this in order to be consistent as a fan and critic of this franchise;

TLOK went out of its way to not only make Aang not have such an overwhelming presence in the show in terms of cameos, it also made sure most of the past lives didn't take up too much screentime.

This was a good thing since it avoided the issue of other less relevant characters taking up the screentime of more relevant characters, and it cemented the fact that this is Korra's story.

But now we have Korra being so involved in this new show that I feel like she and the characters of TLOK will do what TLOK succeeded in avoiding. Maybe that wont happen, maybe it will be but will be done well. Heck, maybe those theories that Seven Havens takes place centuries in the future will be true. I can't say yet. All I can say is that I'm worried.

Anyways that's all I came to say regarding this. Hope it wasn't too long since I'm not going to make a TL;DR for this.