| “ | Eska: It seems cousin Korra is under the impression we're saddened by our father's demise.
Desna: But I will not miss him at all. In the end, he became a deplorable man. |
„ |
| ~ Eska and Desna discussing the death of their father. |
Desna and Eska are supporting characters in the animated series The Legend of Korra.
They are the twin son and daughter of the late Chief Unalaq and the first cousins of Avatar Korra. They were very loyal to their father, heeding his every order up despite him treating them as expendable, until the moment he merged with Vaatu to become the Dark Avatar. After he does this, the two of them abandon his cause and join Team Avatar to work against the dark spirits. After their father's death, they became the new co-chieftains of the Northern Water Tribe. They began helping their uncle and Lord Zuko against Zaheer and the Red Lotus.
Desna is voiced by Aaron Himelstein, and Eska is voiced by Aubrey Plaza.
Personalities[]
Desna and Eska show very little emotion except for boredom, which is attributable to their shared distaste for most people, places, and things. This distaste extends to Korra, whom they look down on due to her Southern Water Tribe heritage, despite her being the Avatar and their paternal first cousin. They speak in a very monotone and matter-of-fact fashion and seem to over-analyze whatever situation they are in. Whenever they do show humor, their laughs are awkward and choppy. Their acerbic wit made for some tense political situations, and they were not considered the most personable leaders as chiefs.
Despite their disinterest and apathy on most occasions, Desna and Eska have a close relationship with one another and share many sentiments, particularly in their dry sense of humor. Eska cares greatly for her brother and his well-being, enough to openly defy Unalaq's orders and desert him to ensure Desna's safety. Some also believe that the eccentric twins support certain policies as chiefs simply to amuse themselves, such as their open support of same-sex relationships, but those close to the chiefs knew that their support was in fact earnest.
As leaders of the Northern Water Tribe, the twins have little tolerance for insincere sycophants. If anyone wants to get on the good side of one, they must get on the good side of both.
Desna[]
Desna has shown himself to be occasionally sarcastic, such as when he mocked Mako during the investigation to find Varrick, as well as stoic and analytical, questioning his father about his lies and activities in the Spirit World, and even annoyed, commenting on the poorly stitched sleeves of his clothing. He also snapped at Korra when she claimed that Unalaq's merger with Vaatu would make him a monster; Desna vowed that he and Eska had complete faith in their father.However, after seeing Unalaq's complete lack of concern for human life after becoming the Dark Avatar, Desna readily accepted his father's ambitions as being monstrous and stated bluntly, after his father had died, that he would not miss him at all.
Eska[]
Eska has demonstrated herself as possessive, dragging Bolin away from Korra while the earthbender was embracing the Avatar. She also told him that he would come with her to the Northern Water Tribe, where they would live out their lives together in "icy bliss", and threatened to freeze him and feed him to dolphin piranhas whenever he tried breaking up with her. She tried to force Bolin to marry her and gave him a restyling so that he matched her more in appearance. After she was stood up, she broke her characteristic emotionless state by crying and tracking down Bolin in a fit of rage, as well as ruthlessly attacking Korra and blaming her for stealing her prospective husband away from her. While she subsequently returned to her general stoic attitude, Bolin remained dear to her, as he was able to beguile her to free both Mako and himself from an icy prison.Following Unalaq's defeat, she shared a heartfelt farewell with him as they parted ways.
Powers & Abilities[]
Waterbending[]
Desna and Eska are powerful waterbenders who favor an unusually aggressive style. They are able to cooperatively accomplish incredible feats of waterbending, such as launching entire icebergs at their opponents, using ice tendrils, and creating fields of water spikes. Individually, they also possess immense prowess, as Eska displayed the ability to create a fast-moving wave that could easily propel her through the water to track down a fast-moving motorboat.Despite their well-oiled teamwork, they are not without weakness, as nimble fighters such as Ming-Hua can bypass their powerful attacks and sneak up on them.
Other skills[]
Desna and Eska display a great deal of agility, as they were able to leap from a snowmobile and slide down a hill unscathed, as well as performing acrobatic flips and twists to avoid incoming objects while bending simultaneously.
The twins have also demonstrated that they are capable of driving jet skis. Desna is a skilled tailor, having designed and manufactured both Bolin's wedding gown and Pabu's accompanying outfit.
Trivia[]
- Despite being male and female, the two of them appear to be identical twins rather than fraternal.
- Eska is the only female waterbender born in the Northern Water Tribe to utilize combative waterbending. Furthermore, she is the only female Water Tribe chief in the series.
External Links[]
- Desna and Eska on the Avatar Wiki
