2012-06-13, 05:41 PM
Worthyness Wrote:Regardless, I find that it only really takes one person from any of those instances and then a few more people to put things together to make a believable case. I mean Zuko saw Katara bloodbend the captain guy. Sure neither of them knew exactly what was happening, but I think you can make an educated guess (and Zuko could probably confirm it with katara later). Turns out also that the guard Hama blod bent was just knocked out, so he could have had stories to tell to- like "KK kids- never screw with a water bender! They can do this funny thing where you can't move at all and they can control your movements!"(1) If you don't know that the Waterbenders are bending the water inside you, then it really goes nowhere. Given the fact that, I would say, science isn't exactly the strongest suit of the ATLA universe, it wouldn't shock me at all if they didn't know that humans are mostly. Alternatively, it could be similar to Metalbending where they are aware that there's earth in the metal, but it is believed that it'd be impossible to try anyways. Or, you can just Bloodbend without a full moon, it's just not nearly as strong.
Another thing would be lightning bending for fire benders. Granted it was "common" enough that only "strong" fire benders would know how to do it, as seen in Legend of Korra, it's a common place skillset now as they supply electricity to manufacturing plants and what not. That bending was reserved for only the "strongest" benders, yet it's such a common thing now. Naturally it became common knowledge and as such, so could blood bending.
A little more farfetched, but it could also have been documented in a book somewhere in a library. I mean things back in the day were recorded that way most likely and I'm sure some people went out of their way to document everything. I just find it hard to believe that Hama was the absolute first and only person to think and conceive of bloodbending especially when all it took was knowing the fact that all life needs water :/
(2) Likely it was a royal secret. Once the idea came out that electricity could be used to power stuff, they probably released it.
(3) If it is, it's probably documented exclusively in Wan Shi Tong's library. I highly doubt a Water Tribe, likely the second most peaceful nation, would keep the knowledge of how to perform such a dark art.
As I said, it's a plot hole.