Upload Notes: Korra vs the Chi Titan Part I (Patreon)

Calling these "upload notes" might seem a bit wrong at this point, considering this particular story was uploaded... three months ago. But better late than never! I know some folks like to gleam through these notes and see what the author was thinking, so I'm going to buckle down and try to get caught up on these as fast as I can~ I'm just going to ramble about whatever I can think about, so unfortunately, there might be a few thoughts I forget to mention. I should definitely revisit some of these stories and give even more detailed thoughts, but for now, please enjoy these thoughts of mine~

Korra vs the Chi Titan, I love the sequences we have planned for this. There's a very good direction to get right into the interesting parts: the action, mostly! But the action isn't just nonsense rampaging around, given enough plot and stakes that it should, ideally, feel like something out of the show -- even if it's just a filler or noncanon special or something lol. That's how I try to approach fanfictions usually, if the concept can lean into it at least, the immersion that what you're reading is convincing enough like that.

So in particular, I wanted to make sure we got good vibes from our characters, Korra and Asami. Even though Korra is the Big Thing in this story, Asami's role is really just as important. Beyond just being a tiny pov to swap to, she has a very different reaction/perspective to the world she's in, and thus gets to explore elements that Korra by herself would be to awkward/big to really make the most of. Gah, so much of what I want to say really stands out in the upcoming part, but I'll say that Asami makes an excellent conduit of communication! She's very convenient to have as someone who's smart and sciencey.

Of course, the main fun to have with Asami are the intimate moments with Korra. God this dynamic is so good~ A factor to be appreciated is that Korra and Asami have such good chemistry, and it's already established; I don't have to do any of the setup, those stupid writers on the actual show did it all for me!! So I get to have a lot of fun just taking this couple and expanding upon their relationship in this extremely fun setting. Imagine if I was trying to tell this story with an original cast -- even ignoring all the worldbuilding I'd have to adjust for, it'd be a lot of work to make that relationship convincing. Here, the little moments can be sold so easily, like Korra protecting Asami from a thrown tank, or Asami running up to an electric-fried Korra. Hah, ideally I'm capturing their relationship correctly~

The action is also just awesome on its own, I think! The fights of Avatar are obviously huge standouts of the series, so I didn't want to go light on this aspect of the story. I tried to think out the fights nicely, so that the action moved around a bit and offered fun interactions for the little people to respond to. Establishing a fun setting was crucial, I needed environments that giants could have a good romp in, and something that wasn't just a city (because that's going to happen later). Valleys, I've found, are VERY convenient in this regard! Lots of verticality that keeps the challengers contained, but also a lot of horizontal distance for throwing and dashing. Since this is a world that expects giant monsters, I also tried to consider humanity's defenses and how they can only really slow down a target. The various bridges and walls offered little points for either giant to engage with, and I especially thought that the wind turbines made for cute improvised weapons -- something I haven't really seen in size stories! I guess because logically the turbine would break apart a lot sooner, or it wouldnt be as wieldy, BUT I think it's used well here~ Gives the fight a more "Avatar" feel where characters are fighting on their toes.

I suppose I can talk about the Chi Titan herself, since this was my opportunity of planting in an OC. Hah well, I must admit, I didnt spend too much time trying to develop her, as much as I was thinking of what traits I wanted as an opponent for Korra. So this isn't my most invested character lol, but I think the ideas do come together nicely to make for an enjoyable monster~ I love giant reptile women, so I decided to go with an alligator, they were on my mind at the time... The electric idea, I sorta copped that from another character in another story -- the deer-kaiju from Kaiju Summer Fun. I dunno! I like the idea of electric kaiju, I think electric attacks make a lot of sense for them, and its an effective attack. It also gives some thematic flair to the Chi Titan, as this eater of energy.

I mentioned this on the discord, but the name "Chi Titan" might actually change! And if so, I'd just have to go back and edit all uses of the term. Just something to keep in mind~ "Chi Titan" is a pretty basic name, and I'd love to upgrade it to something more authentic. Unfortunately, I don't speak Chinese and I don't trust myself to just try and mangle up some term through a translator -- I'd appreciate some real advice from an actual speaker! But alas, I don't know anyone that speaks Chinese, at least no well enough to really help me here. I tried looking up some Chinse mythology for inspiration, but not really any luck there either, not anything that I could, again, trust myself putting into a fetish story lol. And that's kinda the funny thing about this tangent, that I really care this must about the name of something that exists solely in the realms of my fetish fanfic lmao. Dedication or am I just dumb?

There's so much more I want to talk about, but I'll save it for part II when even more starts to happen~ I'm really looking forward to having this one continued, it's def one of my favorite ongoing projects that I just feel quite confident in. Hope someone enjoyed these notes, and thanks to everyone for all your support~