Added The Spiritual Forms Of Bending To My So It’s Pretty Much Done.  (I Hope)

My pamphlet for earth bending.   Air still to come.  

Feel free to ask questions.  

I can easily see this during the next Fire-Nation Avatar.  And since the Fire-Nation is based off Japan I can see this totally working.  

Avatar but its a summer anime in the 90s and they still have powers and stuff but also live like normal highschoolers

Bending 101  

Lesson 2:  Physical Limitations

How would a person actually find out they have the ability to bloodend and if it's possible to know without training to do it.

Of the four bending arts Waterbending is most versatile and adaptable. After all, it is the Element of Change.

Waterbending is also the only element where most people can learn ALL the subtypes. (Provided they spend the time to learn.)

So to answer your first question: Most waterbenders have the ability to bloodbend but also need three things:

A deep understanding of the body and its anatomy, which is usually gained after becoming an expect healer.

Immense bending strength. Bloodbending works by dominating the water and Chi in another person’s body. A bloodbender must be strong enough to overcome their victim's Chi.

The Full Moon. Most waterbenders do not have the strength to overcome another person's Chi, therefore they need the added strength coming from the full moon in order to bloodbend.

All in all, bloodbending is a master level ability which can only be learned by very strong or master waterbenders.

As to your second question: 'Can someone know bloodbend without training?"

Answer: No. Bloodbending requires too much skill to be done by accident. (Just like you can't accidently do Calculus.) It's a skill that has to be learned and developed.

Apologies for taking so long to reply.

Romantic Moments vs Romantic Intent: A Shipping problem

If you are a fan of animation/ anime, then you are probably familiar with the term “Shipping” or “Relation-shipping”.  This is basically when you think two characters should be a couple and you “ship” them.   As an Avatar: the Last Airbender fan, I am well aware of ships such as Zutara or Kataang.  However, it’s very common for shippers to ignore “Romantic Intent”.  Romantic Intent is when the characters are romantically interested in each other; this can be one sided or mutual.  Romantic moments might lead to romantic intent, but the two aren’t mutually exclusive.  

Being in a romantic situation (taking someone to dinner, hanging out with them, or giving them gifts) does not mean their intentions are romantic.  They could just be a really good friend, or they might be a relative.  For example, my sister and I did a lot of things together in High School, so many people assumed that we were dating.  

Why I bring this up is because many shippers ship characters purely because “they look cute together”, or “they have so much in common”, or “I would love to see these two become a couple.”  However, in their zeal shippers often forget that these characters might have their own desire and aspirations.  These aren’t dolls to make do what ever you like.   

Second, there’s often a huge amount of entitlement that comes with shipping, which I think is kinda funny.  Whether Jill ends up with Bobby or Max, isn’t your decision to make.  Stories are fun, and speculation is fun, but we the readers are really only outsiders looking into someone else’s story.  

And even though these are just fictional characters, we can’t force someone to fall in love with someone else.  

A bit of fanart for @ask-whitepearl-and-steven.  We know that White Diamond can shoot white lasers that control other gems, but I wonder how that will manifest in Steven.  Maybe Steven’s laser vision will give personality rather than bleach it away.  

EDIT:  Steven’s White light is being divided into Cyan, Yellow, and Magenta.  Plus it makes his face look like the diamond authority symbol.  ^w^

Updated Element chart with explanations and a new watermark.  

The Cycle of the Fire Lords AKA Generational Daddy Issues

You know how in the series finale Ozai declares himself the Phoenix King? I’ve always found that odd, since dragon seems to be the prestige animal of the Fire Nation. However, once I realized what the phoenix in Avatar actually was, it all clicked.

The “phoenix” that Ozai is referring to is the “Vermilion Bird” or Zhūquè (朱雀). The Vermillion Bird is a mythological bird that is portrayed as bright red and perpetually on fire, basically the closest equivalent to a phoenix in Chinese culture. The Vermilion Bird also represents fire and the season of summer, the two most defining attributes of Sozin’s Comet.

So, essentially, Ozai is declaring himself the king of fire and summer and Sozin’s Comet and all things Fire Nation-y. We all could’ve figured that out without the cultural context, but it goes much so much deeper.

The name of Ozai’s father is Azulon, which I mentioned in an earlier post means “Azure Dragon”. The Azure Dragon is associated with spring. When Ozai declares himself “Phoenix”, he is basically calling himself the “natural” successor to the Azure Dragon. Summer comes after spring, after all.

Think about that. Ozai has been Fire Lord for 5 years already and he’s still obsessed with proving that he deserves the throne. That he was “destined” to have it. He knows he isn’t a dragon like Azulon or Iroh, so he decides he’ll be be even better than that: A phoenix! The ruler of summer! He’s the embodiment of fire—Yup, Mr. Fire Lord, the most Fire Lord man to ever Fire Lord, coming through. It’s all so very dramatic and pathetic and reeking of insecurity.

And if Azulon is spring, and Ozai is summer, then Zuko is autumn. Which makes sense, since Zuko’s reign is defined by the dismantling of the Fire Nation empire; the branches of their imperialism withering away. In Chinese culture, the season of autumn is represented by the element of Metal. The-Hot-Zone, @the-hot-zone, put it best:

For Zuko to also be associated with metal is… pretty fitting. Metalbending is an entirely new style of earthbending, and it completely changes how people view earth. This can symbolize the shift Zuko will bring to the Fire Nation: re-associating fire with life, with passion, with light. It’s about the new understanding of an element.

Also, the animal associated with fall is the White Tiger, which is pretty rad. Zuko’s fierceness is very tiger-like.

Sadly, I’ve actually had a conversation like this.  

I think people forget how important “family friendly” entertainment is.  It’s something everyone can cherish and enjoy, not just people who have a desire for violence.  

Fairies and Conspiracy Theories

For a high school art project I made architecturally sound fairy house.  It was big, it was beautiful, and I was very proud of it.  Eventually, my mom convinced me to make a Fairy House Kit because so many people liked it, and I sold them for a while at fairs and stuff.  

However, I would occasionally have Adults customers come up and ask me, "Do you believe in Fairies."   Now, whether Fairies exist or don't exist is something I really don't care about.  I made the fairy house because I thought is was cool and beautiful, not because I believed in fairies.  Hence, whenever someone asked, "do you believe in Fairies,"  It would get really....  Awkward.   I have a similar reaction to conspiracy theories.  I couldn't care less about them, so talking to people who are really invested is really.....  Awkward.   Now there are plenty of things wrong with conspiracy theories.  They have little to no evidence.  Most of them revolve around speculative reasoning.  And they generally involve some power trying to suppress the "Truth".   But in reality, people really just don't care.  

Flat Earther:  "The Governments don't want you to know the world is flat." Me:  "And why would anyone care about that?"