“Huh. Empty inbox… You know what that means, folks,” Bolin grinned then shrugged.

“Hit me with your best shot!”

It was hilarious to watch the Korra tags explode with the anticipation of this area’s unlocking.

Now everyone’s freaking out about what has been revealed.

(By the way, I have a lot of asks sitting in my inbox still. I’ll get to them eventually after I finish something for finals. Don’t worry, I’m not ignoring you all. Bolin is here to please.)

Anything below is based on my opinion backed by the recent release of information from Welcome to Republic City.

Anyway, as for the ages of the Bending Brothers, I was kind of hoping Bo would be 17, Korra’s age, or at least a year older. Then have Mako be 19 or 20. He does refer to them as “kids” in the second episode—but (now) in actuality he’s just a year older than Korra.

By the way, that’s the buffest 16 year old I have ever seen, geeze.

The last paragraph of Bolin’s profile was rather unsettling.

“But for all their differences, the brothers share an intense bond and are fiercely loyal to each other. They always watch each other’s (omitted ‘their’ because it’s grammatically incorrect) backs and if it ever came down to it, neither sibling would hesitate to sacrifice their life to save the other.”

Knowing this show and it’s troll-like ways as evident since the first episode, I’m still unsure whether or not this is foreshadowing something (it most likely is). My guess is that whoever’s death/attempted death it is (… I’d hate to say it, but I’m leaning toward Mako. After all, he’s the one who’s usually jumping in to save Bo from things. But I’m not completely counting Bo out. It’d be a twist to see him finally covering for his brother—even though… yeah.) will be used as Korra’s trigger into the Avatar state.

Well, those are my thoughts on things.

My ultimate thought though:

All of us in the LoK fandom are basically pouring gasoline on ourselves with all these predictions on plots/ships or practically swimming in a vat of it labeled “Property of Nickelodeon” while the LoK staff stands over us all with smiles on their faces, holding a lit match.

Pro-bending | Rules of Play

Pro-bending matches take place in one of Republic City’s architectural jewels - a gilded glass-domed arena which sits at the end of a long pier in the bay. Pro-bending is a popular pastime for benders and non-benders alike. Every year, the sixteen best teams in the league compete for the championship in the elimination-style Pro-bending Tournament.

The Rule Book is split into five chapters. Each chapter is broken down into specific aspects of the game, which are listed below each chapter title. Click the title of each to access the specific chapter.

BASIC RULES
Players
Objectives
Match
Ways to Win
Ways to Win a Round

THE RING
The Ring & Zones
Gaining Territory
Knocking Players Off the Ring

BENDING RULES
Waterbending Rules
Earthbending Rules
Firebending Rules

INJURIES & PENALTIES
Injured Players
Fouls
Yellow Fan/Red Fan

TIEBREAKERS
Tiebreakers

Basic Rules

PLAYERS

• Two teams of three plays each. Each team has a Waterbender, Firebender, and Earthbender.

OBJECTIVES

• To use bending to gain territory in the ring by pushing the opponents backwards over the zone lines, and ultimately knocking them off the back of the ring (if possible).

MATCH

• A match is made up of three rounds. Each round is three minutes long.

WAYS TO WIN A MATCH

• Like boxing, a team wins a match by either winning the most rounds or by a “knockout,” which in this case means knocking all the opponents off the back of the ring within one round.
• Even if a team has won two rounds, they still must play the third round, since a match can end in a knockout at any point.

WAYS TO WIN A ROUND

• Gain territory by the end of the round.
• If no team gained territory, but one team has fewer players left in the ring by the end of the round, that team loses the round.
• If a team has fewer players, but has gained more territory by the end of the round, that team still wins the round.

(Back to Table of Contents)

The Ring

THE RING & ZONES

• The ring is divided into two halves. Each half is divided into three zones; Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3.
• Each team starts each round playing in Zone 1 of their respective halves of the ring.
• Each player must stay within Zone 1, without crossing the line at the front or back of the zone.
• If a player is knocked out of Zone 1 into Zone 2, he/she must now play within Zone 2.
• If a player is knocked out of Zone 1 into Zone 3, or from Zone 2 into Zone 3, he/she must now play within Zone 3.

GAINING TERRITORY

• Players from opposite teams can never occupy the same zone at the same time.
• A team can only move forward over a line into a new zone, or “gain territory,” when all three members of the opposing team have been knocked backwards out of a zone.
• When a team “gains” a new zone, they must now play from within that new zone, not crossing back into their original zone.

KNOCKING PLAYERS OFF THE RING

• Players can only be knocked off the back of the ring, not the sides.
• If a player is knocked off the back of the ring, he/she may not return to the right until the next round.
• If all three members of a team oar knocked off the back of the ring within one round, that team loses and the match is over.

(Back to Table of Contents)

Bending Rules

WATERBENDING RULES

• Each water blast must not exceed one second in duration. For instance, a Waterbender is not allowed to use a constant, hose-like stream of water against an opponent for longer than one second.
• Water must be used in a liquid state, not as a gas or solid. So no steam, fog, or ice is permitted.
• Water is the only element permitted for head strikes.
• Water can only be pulled up from the zone lines, which are metal grates over a water source. Players are not permitted to pull water from outside sources, such as the water pit below the ring.
• Water can only be pulled from the grates at the front or back line of the zone the player occupies. For instance, a player cannot draw water out of a grate from behind their opponents.

EARTHBENDING RULES

• No direct earth strikes toward an opponent’s head are permitted.
• No metalbending (a specialized form of earthbending) is permitted, since the ring is made largely of canvas-covered metal.
• Earthbenders are only allowed to bend regulation rock disks, which are supplied through the floor of the ring.
• Earthbenders are only allowed to pull rock disks from the disk dispensers located in the same zone in which they are playing. For instance, if a player is in Zone 2, he/she cannot pull a disk out of Zone 1.
• Earthbenders are allowed to bend multiple disks at one time.
• The rock disks cannot be intentionally broken into smaller pieces and launched at opponents, since this creates sharp edges.
• The rock disks must remain in a solid form. They cannot be used in a sand form, or as dust.
• Earthbenders are allowed to bounce or ricochet the rock disks off of the ropes, like air hockey.

FIREBENDING RULES

• Each fire blast must not exceed one second in duration. For instance, a Firebender is not allowed to use a constant, flamethrower-like stream of fire against an opponent for longer than one second.
• No direct fire strikes toward an opponent’s head are permitted.
• Firebenders generate their own fire, so they don’t have any rules about fire source.

(Back to Table of Contents)

Injuries & Penalties

INJURED PLAYERS

• If a player suffers an injury during a match, play is halted and the player is removed from the ring. Or if the player is injured while being knocked off the ring, he/she is rescued from the water pit below the ring.
• In both cases, the team must continue the match without a replacement.

FOULS

• Stepping over the line, or a “foot fault.”
• Intentionally hitting the referee stand, or a referee with an element.
• Intentionally hitting the audience stands with an element.
• Illegal head strike (with earth or fire).
• Knocking a player over the ropes/side of the ring.
• Although unlikely, players are not permitted to hit the roof structure of the arena (especially glass panes) with bending.

YELLOW FAN/RED FAN

• A player who intentionally breaks a rule might be shown a yellow fan as a warning.
• A player who intentionally breaks a rule after receiving a yellow fan might be shown a red fan, ejecting him/her from the match.
• The team with the ejected player must continue without a replacement.

(Back to Table of Contents)

Tiebreakers

TIEBREAKERS

• If a round ends in a deadlock, with neither team having gained territory and an equal number of players in the ring, the winner of the round must be decided in a tiebreaker  ”face off”.
• The referee tosses a coin, and the team that wins the coin toss gets to choose which player/which element will go into the face off. (Players always face their same element in the face off, such as Earthbender versus Earthbender.)
• The face off takes place in a raised circle in the center of the ring. The players can use their respective elements, as well as grappling (but no “empty hand” striking, i.e. a punch to the face, or a kick in the stomach), to try knock or throw each other off the circle.
• If a player falls off the circle, he or she loses the tiebreaker. The opposing team wins that round.
• If both players fall off the circle simultaneously, the player who lands first (hitting either the ring, ropes, or water below the ring) loses the tiebreaker. The player who lands second wins the tiebreaker, and his or hear team wins that round.
• In the above scenario, if the referees cannot determine which player landed first, there will be a second tiebreaker between two other opposing team members, using a different element.
• If each team has won a round, and the third round ends in a tie, a tiebreaker is used to determine who wins the third round and the match.

(Back to Table of Contents)