Gay avatar last airbender

Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s successor story, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, featured a few queer characters and romances, including, of course, between its main characters, Korra and Asami.

You can learn all about her love of Zuko’s story on Nerdist’s Laser Focus Podcast. You may remember it’s from the episode with the iconic Secret Tunnel song.

 

 

This story has a small change in the new series.

But we won’t go into that too much here.) In the fourth episode of the Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action, Sokka and Katara encounter a group of nomadic, hippie earthbenders playing some tunes outside the tunnels of Omashu. But instead of striking against them, she declared the war over.

“Secret tunnel!

Let’s do some research, mama.

 

The gay journey actually starts before episode four’s story of Oma and Shu. Fans of the series know Avatar Kyoshi, one of the main character's past lives who sometimes shows up to serve impeccable makeup, undeniable cvnt, and unbeatable strength. Something new and gay has hit the Avatar universe.

Also, while it is a short tale and doesn’t involve any main characters, it’s definitely not a blink-and-you-miss-it moment either. Representation is so important and is a motivator for anyone who sees themselves on screen. “I’ll follow you into battle no matter how crazy things get. While this flash of queerness isn’t necessarily enough for the long term, it is done in a beautiful way that threads queerness into the very bedrock of Avatar‘s world.

Of course, Oma does die tragically in this story, which is a fate we never love for our queer characters and love stories. I hope it makes more fans interested in learning more about her and they’ll read about how gay she is in the books.

 

Let’s Look at Avatar Korra

 

Avatar Korra comes after Avatar Aang, and has her own four-season series.

Oma dies, Shu builds Omashu for both villages, and the story ends.

 

There’s no storyline for gay liberation in the Avatar universe so it’s tough to gauge homophobia and queer acceptance levels across the four nations. But once Oma didn’t come because she'd died in the war, so Shu was heartbroken. Even her ex Mako (who Asami dated too) gave his blessing in a surprisingly not annoying way.

Not that she needs his permission EVER, but to have your double-ex tell you he supports you two together is next-level allyship.

 

I like to think after Korra came out, Pride Parades hit Republic City. And while the author never centered the story around Yangchen's asexuality -- and remained clear that its inclusion was not an intentional throughline in the book itself -- the representation it offers is nevertheless important.

Try to advocate for shows that paint characters in complex ways, recognize when inequity is present in the shows you watch, and create something that matters.

Ultimately, turning the earthbenders’ origin story into a queer myth shows that the Avatar: The Last Airbender series has queerness in mind.

While saying that he "decided not to feature romance in the book because [Yee] didn't think it would necessarily fit the kind of story the book would end up being," he did confirm that "Yangchen being asexual is an extremely valid and fitting interpretation."

RELATED: Avatar: The Last Airbender's Saddest Moment Isn't What You Think

Yee recommended other works of young adult fiction with ace representation of their own, such as Loveless by Alice Oseman and Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire.