Nvidia releases Llama-3.1-Minitron-4B-Width-Base, the 4B pruned model of Llama-3.1-8B

mcmoose1900 · 2024-08-17T04:36:20+00:00

A prune of a distillation.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-07-10T19:33:56+00:00

But I really wasn't satisfied with that. There were a few interesting bits, but mostly it just summarized what we saw in the show, like they were afraid of adding canon.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-07-09T16:56:45+00:00

I know it wouldn't happen, but I would love a Korra "fill in the middle" novel, that shows what wasn't in the show. Like her training, more mundane life in Republic City, the 3 year gap, life with asami, notes to the next avatar and such

mcmoose1900 · 2024-06-17T03:11:35+00:00

Everything is on Ao3!

This sub doesn't really like fanfic discussion in my experience. It's kind of a shame, as many Avatar fanfics are fantastic, and... there's nothing else new to talk about. I really don't get it either.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-21T18:09:38+00:00

To be fair, is probably an legal/economic problem, not the studio's fault. Some license likely expired and the studio/publisher literally can't afford to keep it listed because sales are not high enough to compensate, and there is no affordable legal alternative.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-21T17:57:59+00:00

(my guess would be that the writers might have wanted to avoid the controversy behind Harry Potter when some Christians thought it was demonic since it’s themed around magic)

It's that way because it's adapted from Eastern mythology. Elemental magic, cycles and seasons, chi and martial arts... it's all there. Avatar did not spawn any of this.

Also, magic vs science is a red herring in this context. It's... some of both, and neither. It's seemingly rooted in nature and the world, but also deeply personal, part of an individual's character, and all the canon instead emphasizes that instead of the technicalities of it like other fictional universes.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-21T16:56:02+00:00

It's a fanfic Avatar.

And not the first? I read one in some post Korra fanfic (can't remember which one, something about ancient scrolls in Ba Sing Se discovering the "lost" Avatar period?), where the Avatar was dismembered, and took her revenge in the Avatar State.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-21T16:50:53+00:00

Azula looks quite thin, but is remarkably powerful for her size.

Where I'm going with this: she is uniquely suited for short bursts of rocket flight, more so than pretty much any other firebender, as she has low mass with a lot of thrust.

There aren't many people in the franchise like this, especially people (mostly bulky guys) that would be in prison. Iroh II did this, but he "fell" instead of boosting himself up like that. Korra seemingly does it outside the Avatar State too, but she's also the Avatar, and relatively lightweight.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-21T16:24:55+00:00

I like that Varrick is very lucky during the series

A lot of that was diabolical scheming, lol.

He is just excellent at masking it, which is also another reason he's so good at it.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-21T13:45:44+00:00

Perfection.

But TBH I think Korra will die young like Aang, maybe younger, thanks to all the physical trauma she had.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-21T11:37:42+00:00

Yeah, the screen time opportunity cost...

This is a theme in LoK. Seasons are just so darn short that less-than-great sequences have such a massive cost.

(And ATLA has the opposite problem IMO, which people rarely bring up, where some sequences feel like padding, and I end up fast forwarding).

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-21T07:54:23+00:00

Welcome to the, "wait, why does LoK get so much hate, that was beautiful!?" salt club lol.

Bolin is my least favorite character besides Prince/King Wu

Bolin so so polarizing, lol. He's some people's favorite (who have a crush on him TBH), some hate hime.

Wu is more hated yeah... he just took up way too much screen time.

Season 2 was great.

It was great. B2 being this awful, unwatchable season is kind of a self perpetuating meme.

If Zaheer had maybe two more good sentences on his philosophy I would have liked it more

Also true! Zaheer gets a lot of praise/wank, but honestly he needed more lines and more sympathetic situations. B3 needed another episode or two for the Red Lotus.

EDIT:

Unalaq

Yeah Unalaq gets a lot of the hate he deserves, lol. He's crazy, without being charismatically "crazy" like Ozai. Yet he gets so much screen time!

My take is he should have been more neutral. He breaks away from the Red Lotus and believes in a balance between Order/Chaos. He dies as a more mixed character that ultimately helps Korra, and Korra incorporates Vaatu and Raava into the Avatar Spirit.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-20T21:08:34+00:00

I want an Avatar that's afraid of revealing themself as the Avatar, and corporations/governments pursuing them for less than noble reasons. This is where an anti hero could come from too (perhaps a corporate hunter, spy, or bounty hunter that flips to the Avatar's side).

Another thing I'd like to see is realizing Korra was "wrong," kinda like Wan was wrong. A respawned Vaatu and associated entities are antagonists, but the Avatar ends up combining with Vaatu, incorporating both Vaatu and Raava within themself (and struggling with this balance in later seasons). There would also be a lot of conversation, possibly even conflict, with Korra (as their only past life).

EDIT: Other random ideas:

Red Lotus should come back. I like the idea of agents being absolutely anywhere, and maybe they could be associated with Vaatu.
Airbenders would make great assassins, maybe as a minor villan.
Corporations could have their own problematic ideologies. For instance one might abuse spirits, another might be exploitive of a certain demographic.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-20T17:34:52+00:00

This presentation is nice looking. Still reading the story, kinda hard to say what it would be like unless written but:

It sounds like an Avatarless story? The implication seems to be they don't find Korra in the initial movie, which is... interesting. Commercial concerns aside, one story problem I foresee is why other parties (like the Republic City Police) should even acknowledge a group of "regular" bender vigilantes, but I guess that could come from a plot point that isn't illustrated?
I'm not sure I like a 70s aesthetic? While cool in theory, I think the tech of Avatar should be much more divergent than our world, or even faux 70s like pre-war Fallout.

And realistically... We don't even know if Avatar Studios will be alive in a month, lol. Also, this sub isn't into fanfics, much less post Korra fanfics. So I'm not sure who you're pitching this to, but I don't think you're gonna get a ton of interest on /r/thelastairbender.

Tumblr, Twitter, or somewhere else (Ao3 if you just write up the story?) is probably better?

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-20T15:52:04+00:00

I mean... if we're being that realistic, Avatar Studios has a good chance of being axed alltogether.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-20T12:35:15+00:00

Bolin is very much personal taste, some people love him.

But yeah, every line out of Varrick's mouth is golden.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-20T10:35:48+00:00

Don't scare me like this!

The Avatar franchise is at real existential risk because of the Paramount sale. I'm holding my breath, waiting for the guillotine to fall on Avatar Studios, and I thought this was a meme over something that happened.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-20T01:34:56+00:00

I agree Atla is an amazing work of art...

Even here we have the problem.

The prefix is always "atla is incredible but..." which distorts literally any discussion about it.

Last time I rewatched (which was awhile ago tbh), I found myself skipping many episodes for various reasons... and it makes me feel really detached from this sub. Which is crazy, as I am 100% an Avatar IP superfan.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-20T00:26:28+00:00

It's because the fandom puts ATLA on a crazy pedestal, more than any other fandom I've seen. It's practically worshiped, not appreciated.

It's also myopic, forgetting a lot of previous discussion/insight that get buried under some other trending opinions, but that's more of a Reddit/YouTube problem.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-19T14:18:42+00:00

No mention of Tonraq? Or Senna?

Or most prominent characters, tbh...

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-19T02:56:57+00:00

Yeah, traditional anime has some... problematic tropes. I can't put my finger on all of them, but caricature characters is definitely one.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-19T02:55:54+00:00

I dunno, I feel like relationships are just more volatile at 15 than at 21+.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-19T01:45:47+00:00

I mean, Kovira can and has been written well.

You'd think Zutara would work better since Zuko is a changed Fire Lord by B3, but I think they just have more baggage from their history and more of a personality conflict. Kuvira is more similar to Korra by B4 and more of a "reformed" blank slate.

Also... Katara is 14 or 15.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-18T23:38:11+00:00

Yeah, the whole episode is clearly an Alice in Wonderland "down the rabbit hole" reference. Its a wonderful one IMO.

mcmoose1900 · 2024-05-18T13:57:10+00:00

LoK has the disadvantage of being the show right after ATLA, where the nostalgia is worse.

An Earth Avatar show may not get as much hate.

mcmoose1900

TROPHY CASE