Examine a Ship Korra&Asami
Nov. 25th, 2014 06:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wingedbeastExamine a Ship Korra&Asami
Until recently, I've never been all that into shipping. I got it from an intellectual concept. With regards to Avatar: The Last Airbender, I liked both Zuko and Katara. But, I never really interacted with either of their romantic storylines. (Though, I will examine this ship in future.) The Korra/Asami match is the first potential match that calls to me emotionally. And, that's getting me interested in at least looking at the general notion of character romantic relationships.
That leads to this experiment in another series. I'll want to set a few ground rules.
1. Let's keep this within the specific fiction. If you want to ship Captain Kirk with Spock, I'll look at it. But, not Captain Kirk with Captain Janeway.
2. Alternate ships do not enter into the conversation. After considering Captain Kirk and Spock, I'll be glad to then consider Spock and Dr. McCoy or, in a later piece, consider Ohura with either. But, each ship will be considered on only its own merits and flaws.
That said, let's look at Korra and Asami. This pair is Yin and Yang to each other. Korra is given to emotional outbursts at first, then given to powerful expressions of emotion even when in control. Asami tends to be cool and collected, even in the middle of a fight.
They also symbolize opposites. Asami is of the city, of business, and the non-bending member of Korra's Team Avatar. Korra, at least from the start, is at home in the wilderness, of nature of a sort, and is the freaking Avatar. They are both, undeniably, strong characters. The short way to describe them would be balanced, interconnected opposites.
Spiritually, they seem a good match for each other.
They're also good in their interactions with each other. Their love triangle of having both been interested in Mako was quickly swept into the past. I can respect going both ways between them. Asami shows some touching tenderness towards Korra and Korra seems to feel at ease being vulnerable to Asami in ways she doesn't feel comfortable doing so with either Mako or Bolin.
The spark of affection is there.
This also makes sense in terms of Korra's duties as Avatar and how they go beyond doing outright battle with evil. In the original series, Aang's battle had to do with the divisions of the four Nations. The divisions continued to be a problem when it came to the events of the comic book The Promise (which is, itself, a good read). Aang and Katara's relationship and marriage made a symbolic crossing of lines, a word to the rest of the nation that it was acceptable and right to find love outside one's own Nation.
In Korra's case, aside from dealing with multiple villains in her television series, all of the forces of imbalance she face have to deal with the relations of those with bending power and those without. A marriage to Asami would be symbolic of the very embodiment of bending finding high value in someone who has no bending whatsoever.
What's more, being that it seems the natural progression of these two characters, it would also be a good symbol, by Nickelodeon and by Brike, of same sex relationships being natural and not needing to be either fetishized or the entire definition of a character.
That said, none of what I've mentioned obligates a romantic relationship. All of this, down to and including the in-world symbolism of the relationship, could be met with a platonic, though no less close, friendship. A bromance among these two ladies, rather than a romance. I will have to steel myself for this possibility, because I realize that Nickelodeon will fear the complaints if one of their shows for children acknowledges the existence of same-sex relationships or marriage equality.
Please share your thoughts and share suggestions for the next ship up for examination.
Until recently, I've never been all that into shipping. I got it from an intellectual concept. With regards to Avatar: The Last Airbender, I liked both Zuko and Katara. But, I never really interacted with either of their romantic storylines. (Though, I will examine this ship in future.) The Korra/Asami match is the first potential match that calls to me emotionally. And, that's getting me interested in at least looking at the general notion of character romantic relationships.
That leads to this experiment in another series. I'll want to set a few ground rules.
1. Let's keep this within the specific fiction. If you want to ship Captain Kirk with Spock, I'll look at it. But, not Captain Kirk with Captain Janeway.
2. Alternate ships do not enter into the conversation. After considering Captain Kirk and Spock, I'll be glad to then consider Spock and Dr. McCoy or, in a later piece, consider Ohura with either. But, each ship will be considered on only its own merits and flaws.
That said, let's look at Korra and Asami. This pair is Yin and Yang to each other. Korra is given to emotional outbursts at first, then given to powerful expressions of emotion even when in control. Asami tends to be cool and collected, even in the middle of a fight.
They also symbolize opposites. Asami is of the city, of business, and the non-bending member of Korra's Team Avatar. Korra, at least from the start, is at home in the wilderness, of nature of a sort, and is the freaking Avatar. They are both, undeniably, strong characters. The short way to describe them would be balanced, interconnected opposites.
Spiritually, they seem a good match for each other.
They're also good in their interactions with each other. Their love triangle of having both been interested in Mako was quickly swept into the past. I can respect going both ways between them. Asami shows some touching tenderness towards Korra and Korra seems to feel at ease being vulnerable to Asami in ways she doesn't feel comfortable doing so with either Mako or Bolin.
The spark of affection is there.
This also makes sense in terms of Korra's duties as Avatar and how they go beyond doing outright battle with evil. In the original series, Aang's battle had to do with the divisions of the four Nations. The divisions continued to be a problem when it came to the events of the comic book The Promise (which is, itself, a good read). Aang and Katara's relationship and marriage made a symbolic crossing of lines, a word to the rest of the nation that it was acceptable and right to find love outside one's own Nation.
In Korra's case, aside from dealing with multiple villains in her television series, all of the forces of imbalance she face have to deal with the relations of those with bending power and those without. A marriage to Asami would be symbolic of the very embodiment of bending finding high value in someone who has no bending whatsoever.
What's more, being that it seems the natural progression of these two characters, it would also be a good symbol, by Nickelodeon and by Brike, of same sex relationships being natural and not needing to be either fetishized or the entire definition of a character.
That said, none of what I've mentioned obligates a romantic relationship. All of this, down to and including the in-world symbolism of the relationship, could be met with a platonic, though no less close, friendship. A bromance among these two ladies, rather than a romance. I will have to steel myself for this possibility, because I realize that Nickelodeon will fear the complaints if one of their shows for children acknowledges the existence of same-sex relationships or marriage equality.
Please share your thoughts and share suggestions for the next ship up for examination.
