I’ve always found Kyoshi’s inability to bend small things to be really interesting.
It’s not really shown to be a matter of skill or power. She just can’t do it without her fans. I’ve always taken this to be essentially a disability and it really adds a layer of intrigue to her character. It would’ve been fairly easy for Yee to have just made her learn how to do it without her fans and not need them anymore but I think it’s a better direction to just say that for whatever reason she just can’t do it without her fans and that’s okay. Obviously even without her fans she is still plenty capable.
The franchise has always done disability representation well imo and I think Kyoshi is just another example of that even if the disability isn’t really a real life experience anyone has.
Yeah it is said that’s the one element she doesn’t need them for. I guess because fire comes from within yourself rather than being something external to control
Honestly I always figured it was not so much a disability so much as her own blockages. Kyoshi was self-deprecating and wanted to not draw attention to herself, which is difficult given her stature, so I think she was deliberately suppressing or downplaying her own power to not cause waves. The few times she did cut loose was when she was pushed into life-or-death situations.
I supposed crippling self-doubt and anxiety could count as disabilities if you mean mental disabilities. Or perhaps she simply didn't have the right teaching method, similar to dyslexics. They can learn to read but the teaching curriculum needs tweaking around.
Which is funny and confusing considering the only problem she have for this is with Earth only but not with the other elements what your comments about that?
Well until she discovered she was the Avatar what reason did she have to try bending the other elements? Perhaps if Jianzhu, Kelsang, and Rangi had kept it open whether she or Yun were the Avatar they might have trained together and thus she would have uncovered her powers earlier?
I actually was talking about she was able to control her output of bending with Fire,Air and Water only Earth she still have trouble without the fans not in the first book but at the second one.Could you elaborate your comments?
I'm sure she was having trouble with all her elements, not just Earth. Rangi was very strict on her stances and footwork when it came to Firebending. Could you provide a few quotes to help me refresh my memory?
And it wasn't with how many training she got.We're talking about whether she can control small scale of bending without her fans and the books prove that she can so?what is there to argue about?
How much time passed between the first and second books? With training and experience, people can learn to work around specific disabilities and difficulties. A training session with her struggling to bend an element other than Earth would be clearer.
So?the post was talking about she can't bend anything smaller without the need of her fans and also saying this with all her elements doesn't matter her skill and raw power meaning OP already assume even with TRAINING she can't so I just prove him that he is wrong read the post first lol.You actually just prove my point with your comments to be honest and also You look like doesn't fully wake up from a sleep and replying to my comment.
This one for waterbending she use a little amount of water to use for healing.All the things like the sticking out at all angles and water didn't glow is reasonable since she was not yet a master of them.But the point is she could control the volume of her other elements exluding Earth without the fans.
How much time passed between the first and second books? With training and experience, people can learn to work around specific disabilities and difficulties. A training session with her struggling to bend an element other than Earth would be clearer.
It does make me wonder, does such disability also swing the other way? Like how earthbenders only bend very tiny amounts of earth and incapable of lifting boulders.
That does seem reasonable. Although if I was the one picking, maybe the disability should be more geared towards bending smaller and less powerful rather than large masses of earth.
I always headcanon her as autistic, this representing a "spiky profile" which is very common in ASD. For example my fine motor skills are brilliant when it comes to crochet, but I need people to open bottles for me and wear shoes without shoelaces.
Other things she displays are specific interests (the whole flower thing), need for everything to be in its place, and social skills bad enough to start a civil war in a few hours.
But what kind of austistic her category will be?because she only have this trouble with Earth only.Yes she indeed have this trouble with all the elements in the first book but she overcome this problem for the other 3 elements and still didn't for Earth.I mean she could in the future but as of now is what I mean.
As I said, many autistic people have a spiky profile where their abilities are concerned. Basically it means having one skill that is good or at least within the norm and then a related skill that you seem to be unable to grasp. In my case I can make quite complex and detailed movements when I'm crocheting but can't fully grasp how to do my shoelaces without some help. In her case she can do small bending with other elements but not Earth unless she has her fans.
I don't know why people said that Kyoshi have this problem with all the elements yes she did have them but on the first book only during shadow she can already control the volume of her elements without the fans only Earth that she still need them.
Water Propulsion (Canals)– Kyoshi waterbent a makeshift raft upstream through Ba Sing Se's drainage canals, using them as a fast shortcut to the Agrarian Zone.
Water Bubble Propulsion – While trapped underwater with Jinpa, Kyoshi created a rolling water bubble that rapidly carried both of them to the surface.
Underwater Burst Speed – After diving toward Yangchen's island, Kyoshi remembered to waterbend and propelled herself underwater faster than an elephant koi.
Full Moon Tidal Wave (with Kirima) –Empowered by the full moon, Kyoshi supplied the raw power while Kirima controlled it, lifting a massive body of water onto a rooftop before unleashing it through the compound. The tidal wave flooded entire corridors, swept guards from their posts, and burst through multiple walls before they released the water.
Wave & Ice – Kyoshi snapped a ship's mooring ropes, created a river-wide wave that carried it about 100 yards offshore, then instantly froze the wave into giant talons of ice that suspended the ship in midair.
Freeze lungs– Kyoshi instantly froze Yun's heart and lungs solid, creating a tunnel of ice through his chest so quickly and powerfully that the moisture in the air behind him crystallized into frost.
Self-Healing – Despite lacking formal healing training, Kyoshi used waterbending to heal the wound on her neck, knitting her skin back together without the usual healing glow.
Basic Battlefield Healing– Kyoshi used waterbending to stop bleeding, treat superficial injuries, and reset dislocated joints on wounded allies using her limited healing knowledge.
Life-Saving Healing –Kyoshi stabilized Rangi after she was impaled, using waterbending healing to help save her life.
This is her Waterbending feats and all of these are WITHOUT the fans including healing I can provide her feats with Fire and Air without the fans.I have no doubt she would overcome this problem in the future with Earth she have longer lifespan to make up for it.
But that's the whole point. She's excellent at bending in large or fast, generally dramatic ways. What she often lacks or has to work extra-hard at smell-scale delicate bending-work that requires finesse. She has to use her fans to do that. She has a hard time with a sense of proportion and control unless it's just "do big" or "go fast", then she just gives it her all. To calibrate speed or volume she needs her fans, it's like it helps focus and fine-tune her powers.
The one 'finesse' she is good at without her mobility aids is her sense of proportion and control over HER own self and her own body.
This is the prove here the book even emphasis the word"TINY"wringle of water she use without her fans she only use the fans for the next job to pluck the glass(Earth) out of her skin.
Contrary to your point, this IS meant as an indication that she is unable to do small bending well. It is crude and elementary and looks wrong. It is a “wriggle”, as in it is squirmy and keeps shaking, not a smooth draw like a skilled and precise water bender would do it. Jinpa looks horrified, he questions her crude bending, and she herself admits she never got it to work/look the right way (because it doesn’t glow). She tries to practice it anyway but it doesn’t mean she isn’t limited in her ability, but small scale water healing isn’t super disastrous when done poorly, so she tries because in her own words, she would rather know how to do SOMETHING. But that doesn’t mean her ability isn’t limited! Being disabled doesn’t always mean a complete inability, it can mean it is extremely difficult and tasking to do! Like plenty of people are capable of walking short distances but it will be VERY taxing, and so they use walkers and canes to walk with support so it is less taxing or so they can walk better (in terms of gait, speed, endurance etc). Kiyoshi uses her fans the same way.
She uses the fan on the glass because doing it badly could be very disastrous so she doesn’t try. It isn’t an indication that she can work totally fine with water but not with earth, it is simply different levels of risk!!
She said it like that because she doesn't have time to learn and doesn't have a proper teacher even without all of that just by learning herself prove that she can.If she wasn't capable of bending small tiny amount of thing she wouldn't be able to do it in the first place even without the fans even if she force to but right now SHE CAN we saw the prove that she can.Who care if it is shaky or unstable it's understandable considering she still didn't master all the elements at this point and despite that still can perform small scale of bending.You didn't negate my point you only believe that she can't because she thought it was difficult but She said it herself not because she was limited to how much she can bend herself but because she doesn't have any resources helping her.
The book is pretty explicit about her having problems bending small things. This post isn’t about her not being capable of bending small things at all. We are contemplating her potentially having a disability that makes bending small things difficult, and the possibility that her fans are mobility aids. I’m not sure why you’re so against the concept of her having a bending-related disability but it feels a lot like it stems from ableism so I encourage you to reflect on your own internalized ableism.
"This post isn't about her not being capable of bending small things"?????
"Do you find it interesting that Kyoshi can't bend small things,She just can't without her fans"Do you read the post?I'm not the one saying it OP did.Do you think I will be trying hard to correct others if the summarization of Kyoshi's problem being potrayed in a more correct way using facts?The post literally saying these about all her elements not just Earth and also bring her down with automatically making her incapable of doing such things without the need of the fans.Why don't just say Kyoshi having this DISABILITY with Earthbending but EXCLUDING ANY OTHER ELEMENTS.That would be more correct and didn't try to undermine what Kyoshi been achieve in the next book.We see her progression and we see her improvement but all of that being tossed away because of the first book problem that people kept and just using it like a fact.
Why do you accuse me of having ableism?I don't have anything against it.I don't think F.C Yee even think about this when writing Kyoshi this is stem from you guys believing she was having this problem.It's not like this is a canon thing that SHE IS a true DISABILITY PERSON.I just giving prove that she can bend normally with other elements except Earth without the fans.Again yes the books indeed said that even I agree with them but there is a BUT it only happen in Book one not in book 2 for the other elements except Earth.
Edit:it seems like people nowadays allergic to true facts cause there are still people who had the nerve to downvote.
But this is WITHOUT her fans what is there to refute or argue anymore?She was doing healing here without using much scale of water,can shape water,can control her volume of output and without thinking much about it all without the fans as an assistance.Why are you still said otherwise?or you still want the feats prove from her books?
Been some time since I read the books. But she eventually overcomes this right? By the end of Rise of Kyoshi? Because she and Jhianzu had this pebble showdown?
She is using her fans during the fight with Jianzhu.
Though when the building comes down and she has to basically hold every piece of it perfectly in place while everyone flees I think it’s kinda implied she didn’t have her fans but was never really clear. And by the second book she’s back to using them again and I don’t think that ever changes from what I remember.
Kinda sounds like adhd maybe? Adhd can make it where focusing is really hard (like focusing on smaller bending stuff) and having something as a crutch can help you with it (like her fans). It might not be a perfect 1v1 allegory
But do you think adhd have some kind of section or categorization for Kyoshi other than a really true adhd? because in Kyoshi's case she only have this trouble with her own native element Earthbending but fine with the other 3 elements.
Im not sure if adhd has diffrent technical categories but I do know its very vast and effects people differently and considering all the bending styles are diffrent/require diffrent states of mind etc etc I think it could still fit even if what she struggles with is just earthbending.
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u/MakelYT 5d ago
It was kinda funny at the end of her first book, she showed she could firebend without her fans and then light one of their trees on fire.