Leaf
Gran Gran
Posts: 585
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Post by Leaf on Apr 23, 2012 17:09:43 GMT -5
Aang discovered the power to take away someone's bending and so too Amon, but could Korra be the first to discover the opposite which is to give someone bending?
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Post by Musogato on Apr 23, 2012 17:35:03 GMT -5
Oooh, that would be interesting. To unlock someone's potential like that though seems like it would require a vast amount of spiritual understanding, so that would be very down the road for Korra. But if the energy can flow one way (to take it away), it seems plausible that it would be able to flow in the opposite way as well.
It also brings up an interesting dilemma of how that would affect things. Would it increase bending abuse as people with their new power seek retribution on those that had oppressed them? Would there be a training school for new benders so they don't accidentally destroy their homes/loved ones? Would non-benders be even more disadvantaged by choosing not to get it done, or would there be rivalry from the natural-born benders who are seeing more competition for their jobs? Curious, curious.
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Post by ILZ on Apr 23, 2012 18:28:24 GMT -5
That's a really interesting idea, I would never have thought of that. I could definitely see where many different conflict could arise if that were to come into play. It makes sense though that if you could take it away, you could give it. However, like Musogato said I'm sure that would be way down the road for Korra since she isn't very in touch with her spiritual side. i would imagine that she probably wouldn't even be able to take bending away at this point in her training.
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nandireya
Zuko's Path to Redemption Mod
...tickled pink...
Posts: 6,822
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Post by nandireya on Apr 23, 2012 19:02:42 GMT -5
Made me think of this...
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Zidaneski
Yue
I will win in the end.
Posts: 663
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Post by Zidaneski on Apr 23, 2012 23:37:36 GMT -5
Oh snap. I don't think bending could be given unless that person had their bending taken away. Heh, I wonder what would happen if Korra or someone gave Amon bending powers. Would he hide it? Would he even be able to take his own bending away? Would he change his attitude?
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Post by ILZ on Apr 24, 2012 11:12:34 GMT -5
Oh snap. I don't think bending could be given unless that person had their bending taken away. Heh, I wonder what would happen if Korra or someone gave Amon bending powers. Would he hide it? Would he even be able to take his own bending away? Would he change his attitude? I would doubt that Korra would risk giving Amon added powers. It would be interesting to see how Amon's attitude would change if he somehow obtained bending powers though.
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Post by Nashk Tategami on Apr 24, 2012 12:59:15 GMT -5
I don't think you can simply give someone bending, as from the series it appears to be some sort of cross between genetics and spirituality.
And even if you could give someone bending I don't think you would want to. I use this example a lot, but I think that would be the equivalent of giving someone with no training a gun. The instant rush of power might be too much for most to handle.
On the topic of giving Amon bending... I don't think that would change anything. He would simply not use bending and continue on his merry way. He can already fight benders on equal ground without using any powers, and thus he has no need for them.
His only problem would be learning just enough to control his power, and not cause any accidental outbursts.
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Zidaneski
Yue
I will win in the end.
Posts: 663
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Post by Zidaneski on Apr 24, 2012 15:14:57 GMT -5
What I like about bending is that it is not a superpower. In the beginning Katara is a waterbender but her skills are rather pathetic and hard to control. With Aang he is the avatar yet he had the ability to earthbend since the beginning but because he had no real training he was unable to move a simple rock. Same for Korra she is an airbender but try as she might she can't even manange to move a piece of paper. An adult gaining the ability to bend doesn't mean they can all of a sudden make a sharp piece of ice or lift a boulder twice their size. Firbending on the other hand might be a bit different though.
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Post by Nashk Tategami on Apr 24, 2012 15:52:40 GMT -5
I wouldn't use korra as an example here, she is unique enough that her situation with airbending shouldn't be taken as standard.
Bending seems linked to your nature and spirituality, which being the avatar and having the ability to wield all four elements, having trouble with one doesn't mean all airbenders have that much trouble in the beginning.
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Zidaneski
Yue
I will win in the end.
Posts: 663
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Post by Zidaneski on Apr 24, 2012 23:58:27 GMT -5
Okay, but then what about Katara, or waterbenders in general? Katara had the ability since she was very young and her personality matches waterbending perfectly yet the best thing she knew how to do was make water go from here to there. In fact the generic waterbenders of the first series were mostly adults and the younger waterbenders all had teachers.
That was one of the main draws of the original series in that just being able to bend didn't mean you could play hero to a town and beat up bad guys like in comic books because only through training with a teacher would you be able to amount to anything.
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asian malaysian
Avatar Kyoshi
Let me hear you say this ship is bananas! B-A-NA-N-A-S!
Posts: 1,308
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Post by asian malaysian on Apr 25, 2012 2:22:27 GMT -5
I love the idea. I think towards the end of the first series, there was the germ of an idea that maybe all people have to some degree a latent ability to bend. You know the saying that people only use 10% of their brain? Maybe its like that. You get a sense that bending was a lot more common in the era before the Avatar. Maybe when the natural need for the ability faded, so did the ability in most people.
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dirtyyasuki
Iroh
Take it to the limit... then break it.
Posts: 199
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Post by dirtyyasuki on Apr 25, 2012 6:26:47 GMT -5
I don't think a regular bender can give bending to a non-bender because as someone pointed out there seems to be a link with genetics and spirituality tied to the ability to bend. The only agencies I have seen able to grant the ability of bending to anyone seems to be the spirits themselves who are supernatural in nature so they're a given.
However it would be interesting to see if you could restore a bender's abilities to them after it's been taken away. After all if it's all a matter of bending one's energy/chi in such a way as to prevent them from bending ever again then could you manipulate those same energies to restore them to their original working order?
As far as I know is no one here concerned of the possibility of what if Amon was telling the truth, that his knowledge of how to energy/chi-bend someone's bending away from them was taught to him by an actual spirit? I know he could have been lying (what cult-leader doesn't from time to time?) but until we know for sure there is still the possibility he was telling the truth. And if so I wonder what spirit was that dark and bonker's enough to actually give those secrets away to someone like Amon?
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Post by Nashk Tategami on Apr 25, 2012 9:11:34 GMT -5
Okay, but then what about Katara, or waterbenders in general? Katara had the ability since she was very young and her personality matches waterbending perfectly yet the best thing she knew how to do was make water go from here to there. In fact the generic waterbenders of the first series were mostly adults and the younger waterbenders all had teachers. Indeed inexperienced benders like katara are not completely dangerous (even though she was able to freeze a few people just fine if memory serves, which in itself is dangerous.) However Katara, in a fit of anger, also destroyed an iceberg without realizing it, and causing complete fear in her brother. It's played for laugh's of course, but we have been shown throughout the series that without proper control bending is dangerous. Firebenders are probably the most dangerous of all in this regard, but what happens when an angry earthbender loses control and causes property damage? Korra, in a fit of panic/anger bended tenzins girls into the sky! (again played for laughs, but it does point out to me the danger of bending and emotions.) Well yeah, because most of the benders in the series were either children and thus mostly ineffectual, or they were fighting other benders who were either experts in their field, or an army firebenders. The original series was set in a time of war. Most of the veteran benders in the earth kingdom were either dead or captured, all the veteran benders in the south tribe were killed or captured, the aribenders were completely destroyed. All this was done, mostly, by firebenders. There are a few non-benders capable of fighting benders (the godly yuyan archers who spend their entire lives training, and the chi blockers, who consisted entirely of one girl it seemed.) In any case I digress, the point is bending is dangerous to non-benders. It is a society that is naturally uneven from the getgo.
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Zidaneski
Yue
I will win in the end.
Posts: 663
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Post by Zidaneski on Apr 25, 2012 10:43:12 GMT -5
Yes Bending is dangerous but I can't see an adult who is given bending powers all of a sudden to be much of a threat until they practice their bending or are taught how to use it. The only examples we have of people who actually start to use their bending powers is the Avatar and since we can't take them as a standard we may never know for sure.
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dirtyyasuki
Iroh
Take it to the limit... then break it.
Posts: 199
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Post by dirtyyasuki on Apr 26, 2012 9:05:57 GMT -5
As far as benders with no training are considered a threat. I would think that until they get actual training they aren't very effective as benders but they are probably more a danger to themselves and to others.
We can't take the examples seen on the shows of how lethal bending/benders are since those scenes are usually played for laughs on-screen as someone said but their lethality is more than implied off-screen. So with that as a given I would say an untrained bender is dangerous but a trained bender is deadly. Subtle difference but an important one methinks.
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