This is so sad, but so amazing! :(
POOOOOORRR KOOOORRAAA!

there are tears streaming down my face right now. the way you write mental instability is enthralling; captivating. it really gets you inside their heads, so thank you for your stories. i love just how real you make the characters.

kat xx

wow. this is just absolutely gorgeous. from the first line (which i LOVE), it starts out so beautifully and flows with this perfectly heart-breaking feeling. which it is. heartbreaking.
there are so many little things that stuck out and made it even harder (emotionally) to read. like the way Jinora is always watching, and the scene with Asami trying to convince Korra to eat breakfast particularly got to me. the very end too. just...wow.
i also adored the use of the quotes from the two books (i'm assuming books?). they added a certain sense of profound psychology or something along those lines.
but really, this is stunning work. it reminds me someone of the film Requiem for a Dream; not so much in the sense of subject matter, but the deep-rooted emotions and gut-wrenching feelings you get from how much you /sympathize/ with them.
and i'm rambling at this point, but god, this is so lovely. thank you.

Very interesting. It briefly crossed my mind when I first saw her character model - wow, she's so solid, muscled, she looks stronger than any female protagonist I've ever seen. It's a shame we never see women like Korra.

I enjoyed it a lot, and will be drifting past your other stories too!

yours,
Lena

D: Poor Korra

nicely written :3

Oh man...brilliant piece. Very nicely done.

Wow. That's heavy stuff (no pun intended). Well done on a difficult subject! I enjoyed reading this. :)

You guys know she made a sequel right?

Oh my God, wow. That was...hard to read because it was so intense and stark and it was terrifying and beautiful . I can definitely see this happening- Korra, for all her displays of confidence, still doesn't think she's good enough and you portray the complex relationship between those sides of her, and how they overlap, so well. She doesn't want to accept anything but perfection from herself but still sees herself as a complete failure. And the repetition of the "be the leaf.." was pretty haunting.
" Look. Look at what I've done. Look what a Good Girl I am, I'm good at/for something, don't you see?"
"Look how strong the Avatar is, look at her will and dedication! The Avatar, our Spiritual Leader who wants for nothing and needs for nothing! She is all mind, she is cerebral, and like the plants she can feed on air alone."
oh wow. blew me away.

Oh my god! This was perfect! It was so sad and believable. And as someone who has gone through eating disorders it was very spot on.

This is a really well-constructed story. It flows well and handles the material with respect. Everyone seems in-character with their reactions.

A few punctuation and grammar slip-ups are the only real flaws.

I'm honestly at a loss of words. This story kept my attention the whole time and I usually get bored with lengthy one-shots and skip to the end or the good parts (bad habit, I know). Ironically, I got hungry while reading this and had to grab a snack. I struggle with insecurities myself and while I don't have to guts to self-harm or starve myself, I think you portrayed the mind of someone with an eating disorder to a T. Being proud of themselves for not eating and getting skinny.

While it's fine the way it is, I would like to see Korra's attempt at trying to recover and more insight on how her friends and family deal with it, specifically Jinora since she's coming of her age.

The quotes were a nice touch as well.

...There is a reason you are on my favorite authors list. I sympathize so much with your portrayal of anorexia/bulimia (I'm EDNOS, myself). Korra as an anorexic is an unusual idea, but you pulled it off wonderfully. Beautifully written, and I'd love to see more.

(This is a review meant for Author's Question. Mistakenly, I reviewed the story on the 2nd chapter).

Honestly, I wouldn't like for the story to continue. You've written an exemplary piece of work that explores the theme of eating disorders and the pressures of Korra and her accompanying state as the Avatar. You've built up the characters with great finesse, admirable skill. The story has run its course, and we the reader are left to imagine what's next. It's a cool endpoint.

I suppose my greatest fear is that when you continue the story, the subsequent chapters will not reach the impossibly lofty standards of the first chapter. I'm not doubting your skill or anything, but I... I just want to stay assured that this piece will always remain gold.

That's just opinion after all.

This. Was. Incredible. Finding this story is like... like finding a sparkling ruby in a basket of polished stones. Do you catch my drift? You come here expecting great to good work, but what I've stumbled upon is something of publishable quality. It's a masterful craft that has been molded and molded to consummation. It's just so... *eyes sparkle*

The flow of the prose is almost peerless. Doubtless you've put in serious work into it. Repetitions and 'sentence fillers' make the sentences so smooth, so awesome to read.

Secondly, the characterization of the characters is real apt. We also get to explore the sides of Korra's friends; how they deal with such grave problems. I have truckloads of comments concerns each and everyone of the actions, as they all deserve great thought and examination. But I don't want to turn this into a thesis.

The story flow is perfect as well.

I really can't find anything wrong with it.

Now, we can't just ignore the important references to eating disorders. This is story beautifully (or horrifically) portrays just how this develops. I lik - no, LOVED, the mental cadence of Korra thoughts. You really get to see how such eating disorders develop, and how they spiral terribly out of control. From a trigger, to pride, to frightening, illogical determination, to self-destruction. It's elegant dance of horror. I've also read about some eating disorders and I've seen that they never really seem to go away. In many cases the come back, full strength. It's like a mental cancer. You just have to live long enough so that it just doesn't return. Scary. Real scary. Also, your portrayal of the eating disorder was so perfect. Have you yourself, a relative or a friend gone through such troubles? Or is it knowledge acquired from voracious reading? Sorry if I am intruding.

Please, continue writing stories, okay?

The English language will thank you for it.