#Azula doesn't know how she's related to these people but at least she can be confident she got all the Good Genetics | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kkatastrophic · 11 days

Text

role-swapped: sokka, and either fire sibling

made an account solely for this, but i feel like sokka role swapped with either sibling (either zuko or azula) makes some sort of sense. call me crazy (if anyone is even seeing this to call me crazy at all, then hello) all you want, but i don't know, i feel like it makes sense. though to be fair, i do really um, overanalyze things and might just be making my explanation sound really ooc and weird and too 'he's me i'm giving him my issues'. not sure. just here to be overdramatic i guess. sorta relate to all three of these characters so. take my 'it makes sense!!!11111!!11!!' with a grain of salt. also scared i got the characters all wrong. so. yeah

firstly, the similarities.

sokka and zuko:

sokka and zuko are both insecure fellas who want to prove to someone that they are honorable and worthy people; zuko wants to show his father and his nation that he is a worthy prince that should return to his rightful place for the throne, and sokka wants to show his father and his tribe that he is a strong and manly warrior, that he can protect katara and the tribe. they both have something to prove, something they want to become. they are both overshadowed by their prodigious sister and they both find themselves feeling lesser by it, just in different ways. sokka doesn't feel as useful as he wants to be and zuko feels like a failure compared to azula. they both don't quite like the fact that their skills aren't the best they believe they could be. the two of them both solve an issue between themselves: sokka learns how to overcome obstacles without bending, and zuko learns how to follow his own destiny and stand up for himself. they both have lost their mother, they both have distant fathers (except hakoda isn't distant because he wants to be, nor is he abusive, but that doesn't mean he isn't distant), and these similarities made me write this whole thing. it would be interesting to see how much would change and how much would stay the same, what life would be like for zuko and what life would be like for sokka. would their personalities swap as well? sokka's would change drastically, but i think zuko's would not change extremely.

sokka and azula:

don't get me wrong, sokka is insecure and everything, but he's also much like azula, at least, in my eyes he is. azula and sokka are both crippling perfectionists, excelling at a specific thing: azula's firebending and battle (plus regular) intelligence, and sokka's skillful planning, his own battle (and regular) intelligence, and inventing. they both see their father in a bright light, they both were heavily affected by his actions and again, they both lost their mother. due to their need to succeed and win, they both become irrational and heavily emotional when they do not. sokka blames himself for the loss during the eclipse raid, and azula has a mental breakdown when she loses against katara and zuko during sozin's comet. when they've been defeated, they break down in one way or another. and back to the first sentence, azula is insecure too. she feels unlovable and has major trust issues, and more that if i said, would make this already somewhat long thing even longer.

—

now: onto what i feel like the characters would be with roles swapped. zuko role-swapped with sokka: an insecure sixteen-year-old, angsty boy with a crippling need to be useful for his family. he misses his father dearly and wishes he could have spent more time with his mother, whose face he can't even remember. he looks like a trash bender compared to his younger sister, azula, who has blue fire and a natural, raw talent. he wants to be a warrior like his father, fighting against the monstrous water tribes. he's insecure about his unimpressive bending but learns to improve his skill and find new techniques instead of letting his self-hatred get the best of him. he helps aang, the avatar, defeat the water tribes, and while on adventures with the gaang, he learns to accept himself. he becomes more than just a planning, brooding, awkward guy; instead of making himself feel worse with his less-than-average firebending skills, he focuses more on using double swords, becoming very good at it. he rarely uses his firebending because of it, realizing that he doesn't need to be a good bender to be a good fighter/warrior. sokka role-swapped with zuko: a self-hating fifteen-year-old who misses his tribe and misses his honor. he is worthless, weak, and a failure, horrible at waterbending, unlike his gifted sister, katara. his father gave his left eye frost burn, and he is partially deaf and blind on the left side of his face due to it, but he deserved it; he spoke out of line, disrespected his elder, disrespected Ice (or water) Lord Hakoda, his own dad. ever since he was twelve, he has been looking for the missing avatar to bring back to his tribe to make his father (and tribe) proud and love him again. he travels with his honorary uncle bato, who helps him eventually turn a new leaf. bato helps him learn new skills and new techniques that help him improve his waterbending quickly, being patient with him and supporting him through his darkest moments. he realizes that what he is doing is wrong and he abandons his home and his father to help aang, the avatar whom he had been hunting constantly, learn waterbending. he learns from his mistakes and successfully becomes the Ice / Water Lord, helping aang defeat his father and simultaneously helping azula defeat his maniacal sister, katara. —

sokka role-swapped with azula: either thirteen or fifteen-year-old.(katara as zuko is aged up if sokka is fifteen, sokka as azula is aged down if he is thirteen) he is an extremely impressive waterbender, gifted and prodigious, unlike his poor older sister, katara. if he wants something he gets it, and he will go at any length to win, to defeat, to conquer. he, much like his talented father, never fail, they never fail, and they never will! he doesn't need anyone's trust or love; spirits, he doesn't need anyone. sokka'll use peoples' fear of him to get whatever the hell he wants, no matter what. his mother was right; he is a monster, and he- he takes pride in it! after his so-called 'friends' betrayed him, one for looooove and the other for, well, the one in love. ((can you tell i have no clue who to make his friends? maybe suki and yue?)) he saw her once again, taunting him while he grew furious with his stupid long hair. (stupid wolftails.) he messes his hair up, messes up once again, and throws the scissors in the mirror to try and make his dead, naive, stupid mom go away. but that's not all: even though he's perfect, even though he's supposed to be, he fucks it up. his father was supposed to be the Ocean King, and sokka himself was supposed to be the new Ice/Water Lord, but of course, his stupid sister and her stupid fire-bending friend got in the way of the water tribe's supposed-to-be success and defeated him, humiliated him. and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. he breaks down, crying nonstop and feeling utterly defeated.

azula role-swapped with sokka: she's the genius. she's the one who does the planning, it's azula. not zuko with his amazing firebending, not aang with his... dumb avatar-ness, not toph with her scary earthbending; no, it's sixteen-year old ((aged up to be oldest in the gaang like sokka is, but she can still be fourteen if u want i don't know.)) azula, the bad bender. agni, she's basically a non-bender anyway, with the way her fire can barely light a torch. but her uselessness doesn't stop her from trying to be perfect, of course it doesn't! she's useful, she knows it, she just has to figure out how. she can't strive to be anything less, not when she wants to protect her brother and her friends. not when she wants to be the next chief of the fire nation when this is all over. instead of wallowing in her own self-hatred, she decides to try something new; she decides to try bows and arrows. and agni, she's good. she decides that she doesn't need to be a master bender like zuko, aang, and toph are, because she's a master in her own way and doesn't need her firebending to be useful. she can still protect her friends and brother without relying on her bending. and while azula sometimes wishes that she were as talented as zuko is with firebending, she also understands that she is just as talented as he is without firebending, but with her bow. she accepts herself and her flaws.

—

while i think zuko and sokka's role-swap would make sense and works better, i also think that azula and sokka's role-swap works too, just a little... reachy. i guess. i don't know!!!! i just. sorta been thinking about this for too long. ahaaa i don't think this is gonna be read at ALLLL so hey guys! hey fruity gang! #awesome!

might post art idk? blegh ... SORRY TO WHOEVER READS THIS LIKE THIS IS SERIOUSLY DEF OOC IDK.

#sokka #atla #avatar the last airbender #azula #role swap au #hi...#first post #hello tumblr #whats cracka-lackin'

24 notes · View notes

laoih · 2 months

Text

Some thoughts on Netflix's Avatar The Last Airbender

I love the original animated series, and have loved it for many years. I know that many fans are upset about the adaptation, and that's their prerogative. I know how that feels, that's basically me as a fan of Tolkien's work with Amazon's terrible The Rings of Power series.

However, when it comes to Avatar The Last Airbender, I can say that I genuinely like the live action adaptation. It is flawed for sure, and I have my criticisms, but I still think it's enjoyable and has a lot of heart. I do want to see more of it.

A quick (lie) list of the highs and lows in my opinion (spoiler warning):

Let's start with the shortcomings:

The dialogues: Throughout the whole show they are probably the biggest issue. Too often they are used for exposition, or to tell the viewers what they could deduce by themselves. It's often on-the-nose and missing subtlety. Although I have to admit that it seems for some people who don't know the animated series, it seems to help for understanding the show better, and therefore may be justified at least in parts.

Aang's woe-is-me attitude: It makes sense that Aang is suffering due to his trauma of being the last of his kind, of losing his family, and because being the Avatar is a huge burden. However, towards the end his attitude of "everything is my fault" started to get annoying. He doesn't have to feel responsible for everything. I hope he can quickly move past this in s2. I'd like to see other sides of Aang as well.

Aang's water bending: I think it's weird that Aang never really gave water bending a try. They never even give a reason why he didn't try, and that just makes that change confusing.

Aang's & Katara's relationship: I understand why they didn't include Aang's crush on Katara, but with them bonding over water bending being removed as well means that two major parts of their relationship don't exist, and the show has failed to really build up their relationship in a meaningful way otherwise.

Katara's character: In general she stays a bit underdeveloped, and the actress is lacking a bit of Katara's edge and energy in my opinion.

Azula: I don't like how they have written her, and I don't think the actress fits the character either. It's very difficult, because Azula in the animation does not act her age at all. Her entire demeanor is difficult to portray for a teenager, but it's also very memorable. Itd be hard for any actress to do her justice.

Mai & Ty Lee: They have nothing to do in that season & now they can't get the great character-defining introductions that they had in the original series. They were included to give Azula someone to talk to, but it's to the detriment of these two characters – they're just bland background now.

The Spirit World: Episode 5 just didn't work for me because there was too much crammed into it. There was no reason to include Wan Shi Tong nor did it make sense to include Hei Bai and then basically completely skip his story. With Koh being the actual culprit, the abduction of the villagers stands in no relation to the burnt forest in that episode. It would have been better to tell

Avatar Roku: I feel there was wasted potential there. Based on interviews I suppose there was simply no time & money left, so I hope they'll do him more justice in later seasons.

Now for the highlights:

The Bending: I think for most of the series it looks very powerful and impressive. It's not perfect throughout, but in general they did a really good job with it.

Zuko: Dallas Liu's portrayal is wonderful and I have zero complaints and only praise.

Aang's & Zuko's relationship: I think they build a solid foundation for these two characters, and I think some of Gordon's best acting is opposite to Dallas Liu.

Suki: Loved the actress' performance and how they have written her.

Ozai: I think Ozai is a case where the live action character is more interesting and impressive than the animated character. I really like what they are doing with him and Daniel Dae Kim is perfect in that role.

Jet & the Mechanist: I think putting these two plots together is a very interesting and fitting idea, and contrasting them in the same episode made me think about them in relation as I hadn't done before. It's fascinating how these two characters, who should actually fight for the same goal, have gone down two very different paths.

Kioshi's avatar state: It basically replaces Rokku's version in the animated version, and it's just cool.

Bumi: Maybe it's an unpopular opinion, but I think within the context of this more serious show this version of Bumi makes much more sense. Animated-Bumi with his challenges for Aang to realise how to take different approaches to find a solution wouldn't have worked with the changed tone of the story.

Sokka: Within the context of the show, Sokka also works well. He still is funny at times, but he is a bit more mature and responsible than animated-Sokka, which is more realistic in this show. Otherwise, one would have wondered why Hakoda didn't live an actual adult man in the village for protection.

The 41st division: I know, one of the points in the original was also that Zuko's defense of the new recruits seem to have been useless, but I love that his crew was given such an impactful background. It does not lessen the tragedy of Zuko's situation.

Hahn: I kind of like that he's not just a complete idiot, but actually a likable guy that I felt sorry for when he died.

The impact of war: I liked the exploration of what war does to people and especially children. It includes a variety of examples and stories, and I like that we get different kind of sides to this.

The locations: the sets are good, and the CGI backgrounds as well.

Appa, Mom and other fantastical animals: I understand that it's difficult to include them for large amounts of time, but I think whenever they are used they are convincingly animated.

The music is as good as expected.

... I'm sure I have forgotten many things I wanted to mention, but this has to do for now.

#natla #natla spoilers #netflix avatar #atla netflix #natla review

5 notes · View notes

theowritesfiction · 7 months

Note

How’s it going? I wanted to inquire about two things with the Azutara Kitchen nightmare au. The firs, is how does Azula approach cooking?

Is it more a meticulous and tedious task that’s she’s be trained to do and to be damned good at, but does not personally enjoy?

Or is Azula’s approach to cooking similar to her approach to fire-bending in canon? Where she is a prodigy that loves cooking so much, that it becomes a part of Azula’s identity. This love for cooking, is raised by Ozai’s praise in a sense. Yet, is not complete dependent on him. (At least that’s how I interpret Azula’s relationship to Fire-bending in canon).

If answering this question hits spoiler territory though, please don’t answer! But also please do. (Paradigm of fiction you love no?)

Second inquiry is about a recipe. I know that you have posted about playing Baldurs Gate III before. In a similar vein, what is your opinion about the Elder Scrolls series of games? And in relation to the Kitchen nightmare fic I found a recipe blogpost by Taste of Tamriel. The “Rumare-Slaughter fish pie” recipe. I saw this and thought of the fic, after all what better way for Azula to get to Katara’s or Yue’s hearts than by their stomachs? Azula has already captivated Katara, Yue, and Suki via aesthetics (and who can blame them?) getting to the water tribe girls by making a delicious fish pie might work. It could also make up for Azula’s… interesting flirtation skills.

Plus there is a certain allure (so to speak) in making a video game lore dish. At least I find it so. Not that I can cook worth a damn myself.

If you are curious, I have provided a link to the recipe below.

-745th voice of the people

Ps: Thanks for writing (another) awesome Azutara story. Your stories, @juniperhillpatient and other Azutara stories helps brighten the day, and lesson the pain from college class and homework. Along with the lessening the pending doom of dealing with real world!

https://www.tumblr.com/tastesoftamriel/176571528529/rumare-slaughterfish-pie-anyone-whos-been

Hey, it's going well, thank you - alternating between work, writing and playing some Baldur's Gate 3 mostly.

I'm obviously always happy to ramble about my writing, so thank you for your questions. :)

Azula's relationship with cooking is an interesting question to think about. Most modern AU's will have Azula being useless in the kitchen because she's very spoiled and privileged, and it makes sense that she has little idea about what goes on in the kitchen. But what if her father was a world famous chef?

The way I imagine this, at first cooking for Azula (and Zuko too) was something they identified as a way to get their father's approval. I don't see cooking as something that Azula just instantly loved and was great at. It's something that she has worked on tenaciously over the years, and in the process, she has learned to love it.

And some might say, wait, cooking just doesn't sound like something Azula would be into. Well, ignoring the obvious parallel with firebending of heat/flame being involved, I think Azula has that kind of personality where once she gets immersed in something, she wants to learn everything there is to learn and become the best ever at it. At the top level, cooking is a very involved skill of great intricacies and many amazing techniques to master. I just think it's a challenge that someone compulsively obsessive like Azula would enjoy.

Anyway, those are my thoughts about Azula's relationship with cooking.

Quick answer about the Elder Scrolls or Bethesda style games in general. I think they're great games, however, I have never been able to really get into the whole genre of open world RPG's. I often feel like narrative gets lost among all this freedom to explore. I prefer more sandbox-y RPG's with tighter narratives, even if exploration tends to get sacrificed in the process.

Anyway, as far as Azula cooking something for the other girls in the Kitchen Nightmares story, that's an excellent suggestion and I'm happy to tell you that I already have some plans for it - if perhaps not exactly Azula making a delicious sounding fish pie for the girls. We are definitely going to see Azula in the kitchen and cooking, perhaps not in the next chapter, but very soon.

I don't think it will occur to Azula to purposefully try to impress Katara, Yue and Suki with her cooking skills, but you should expect that to happen anyway once the other girls see how Azula works and get to enjoy the results of her work.

Anyway, I'm glad that my stories serve as a helpful distraction from the drudgery of everyday life. :) As a reader, I find that stories by our friend @juniperhillpatient really brighten my day and provide a wonderful distraction, so to know that my stories do something similar for my readers is very flattering, thank you!

#answered ask #azutara #azula's kitchen nightmares #thank you for asking

8 notes · View notes

ur-frndly-neighborhood-memer1 · 1 year

Text

Alicent Hightower: Villain or Victim?

(part 1)

While we're all waiting for season 2, I thought an essay about Alicent Hightower would be nice to understand her character and her motives better. Is she really a villain or a victim? Let's analyze!

Before I start analyzing, I wanna start with asking a question: what is character development?

If we go by the definition, it's "In literature, character development is the craft of giving a character a personality, depth, and motivations that propel them through a story. Character development is also defined as how a character evolves throughout the course of a story."

The point of a character development isn't about making the character a better person. It can be though; such as what we've seen with Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and of course with Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire... These are the characters who eventually became better people and actually put an effort to redeem themselves.

Yet, there are also characters who started off bad but only became worse in the process instead of being good. Zuko's sister Azula, or Jaime's sister Cersei are good examples for this. They didn't get any better as the series continued. Just the opposite, they were bad and they only became worse. Which is a good thing, at least for me, because I don't think all villains should be redeemed. They're not any better than their irredeemably megalomaniac and tyrannical fathers after all. And speaking of the fathers, Ozai and Tywin are also good examples for this character archetype.

However, there's another character archetype... Not only the characters who became good from bad, or went from bad to worse, but also characters who were good but eventually ended up being bad... Yes, I'm talking about Alicent Hightower.

I know many people in fandom, especially Black supporters collectively hate Alicent. And I understand this hatred. After all, she made her son usurp Rhaenyra's throne even though she was the King's true heir... And yes, Alicent is definitely a villain in the book. She comes across as a pretty Cersei-ish bad guy. Vain, cold, self-centered, manipulative, hostile... It's easy to imagine her like Cersei Lannister. Which is why many fans often compare her to Cersei.

However, Alicent in the show is a very different song. The showrunners clearly intended to make her more sympathetic and relatable to the audience. Because Alicent doesn't start off villainous. Just the opposite; we see a courteous, understanding but also overly anxious and shy teenage girl. She literally picks her fingernails and make them bleed whenever she's uneasy or stressed. Do I even need to explain how sad this is? She was tearing apart her fingernails during the tourney, and Rhaenyra had to stop her friend from hurting herself... And that's just sad.

(Couldn't find the exact image, but them holding hands is still cute)

When the series starts, we don't see an ambitious Alicent who is actively scheming to become the Queen. In fact, she didn't have any personal ambitions of her own but was only used by her father Otto as a pawn.

Because even if some people disagrees with me, I never believed Alicent was trying to seduce the King in the first place. We've seen that she was only doing what her father was telling her to do. And at this point, she had no power to object to him, she wasn't Queen at this point. But yes, Alicent was indeed being close and "friendly" towards Viserys. However, I wouldn't say she was trying to manipulate him at all. I think she was being empathetic. Because she also lost her mother at such a young age, and she was alone with no one there to comfort her and allow her too feel the agony. As she said, everyone told her to move on. So, Alicent knows better now. She knows this is not how you should treat people who just lost someone they loved. And she knows Viserys is feeling lonely. And she genuinely wants to make him feel better. Not because she really wants to seduce him though. She is trying to help him, because she is an empathetic person, just like when she comforted and helped Rhaenyra.

So far, Alicent isn't a power-hungry b!tch who is plotting to steal the throne. But just a teenage girl who has no choice but obey her father's commands. Yes, she actually ended up marrying Viserys, much to Rhaenyra's shock and disappointment. And she technically betrayed her best friend. But again, I wouldn't say it's Alicent that we should blame here. It was Viserys who didn't tell his daughter about his marriage plan. He should have informed Rhaenyra about the whole thing, and he should have done it in privacy, not announcing it in front of a public.

Even Tywin Lannister was informing his children about his marriage plans before announcing it. Because things need to go accordingly. That's how you set up political marriages. Yes, Cersei and Tyrion hated it, but they weren't taken by surprise at least.

But Viserys really took Rhaenyra by surprise there in front of the whole council, which wasn't professional at all.

But this is where most of the fandom started to hate Alicent even more. Because they say Alicent was so blind with her ambitions that she didn't hesitate to betray her best friend. But that's not even true. Yes, Alicent shouldn't have been visiting Viserys, and even if she was, she should have told Rhaenyra about this marriage. But as I said, she didn't have much choices due to her father's orders and King's wishes. If you want to blame anyone, then blame Otto for using his daughter like a sex object instead of treating her like a human-being. And let's not forget, it was totally Otto who literally said "Go and sleep with your bff's dad after he lost his wife. Oh, and make sure you wear your dead mom's dress too!" So yeah, we all know who is actually the guilty one here...

But let's not forget, even after marrying Viserys and getting pregnant with Aegon, Alicent still made attempts to keep her friendship with Rhaenyra. She genuinely cared about Rhaenyra and valued their friendship. So, she isn't a heartless b!tch that some people in fandom are trying to make her.

And even after Aegon's birth, Alicent still had no personal intention to make him the King. Let's take a look at her interaction with Otto about this topic:

Instead of directly saying she wants her son to be King, Alicent replies that "What mother wouldn't?" Again, it's not her personal wish. But in that political system, mothers/fathers would want their sons to be Kings. Remember when Catelyn wanted Sansa to be Queen? Or how proud she was when Northerns followed Robb as their leader? Or how eager Cersei was to crown Joffrey? Or Mace Tyrell repeatedly trying to set up marriages for Margaery to make her the Queen? Anyone with political ambitions would want to make their child a King/Queen.

But Alicent had no such interest. Because she really loved Rhaenyra and was supporting her right. Also, she saw the heavy burden of being a King. She is living with Viserys, she sees all its conflicts and struggles, she sees how the pressure of the throne slowly destroys him. She wouldn't want her own child to go through what her husband was. So, the answer of this "What mother wouldn't?" question should be no mother who knows what it's like. But then, why does she want it for Rhaenyra? Mainly because she wants to keep her own son away from bearing this burden. And also because she really thinks Rhaenyra is strong enough to deal with it. As she told Otto, Rhaenyra would be a good Queen.

________________________

I don't want to make this post any longer. So I will continue writing in part 2. If you agree or disagree with me, let me know it!

#alicent hightower #hotd #aegon the second #aegon ii #Aegon Targaryen #Viserys Targaryen #Rhaenyra Targaryen #otto hightower #house of the dragon #character analysis #Alicent #team black #team green

13 notes · View notes

cheemken · 9 months

Note

So Knight, would anyone in any of the Leagues try to leave their position as Gym Leader/Elite Four/Island Kahunas/Trial Captains, after they found out about the Battle of Unova? Either out of fear of potentially being apart of a war, or just not wanting to work for someone who helped (*tried to?) take over Unova

I imagine some of the Champions being angry or even violent if someone actually tried to leave. It would probably be someone from the Kanto, Jhoto, or Galar League as they already had suspicions that Lance and Leon weren’t the greatest of people, and the battle was the last hint that they needed to truly be sure

Not related to my question, but I love the idea of Iris being Diantha’s successor. If we’re going with the bad ending then there is nothing that can stop Diantha from corrupting Iris’ mind. But g o d do I love this concept. Because like you said, Diantha looked at Iris and saw herself in her, and now she thinks she’s doing the world a favour by teaching Iris to be a “hero” just like herself. Diantha thinks she raising Iris just like her mom did for her, but she’s so delusional at this point that she can’t see how she’s passing down her trauma to Iris

You ever watch ATLA? In the scene where Azula was given the title of Fire Lord, and she thought her dad was stepping down as ruler. But then Ozai tells her that he made a new title, one above the title of Fire Lord called the Phoenix King, where he will rule over all nations. I imagine something similar with Iris and Diantha. Where Iris is given the title of Kalos Champion, and she has authority over both lands that belong to the Kalos League/Government. But Diantha created a new title above that of Champion, where she has complete control over every single region and their leagues/government

(*I’m not sure which direction we’re going with the story, do the Unova kids win, does Diantha win? Or a different direction you’d rather?)

Ngl, I think other than the Indigo League and the Galar League not trusting their Champions anymore, the Paldea League would probs also dip the fuck outta there. Like they already don't like Geeta that much, and they know how loyal their Champion is to Diantha so ofc that's gon set em off and make em think that Geeta might use them as pawns as well, they know how she battles, she sacrifices five of her pkmn before letting her strongest Mon in the field, who's to say she won't do that w them too

But damn tho right it's a cool mental image ncmdnd hahaha idk stuff much abt ATLA tbh, but I am familiar w some of the scenes and such, like the popular scenes, so at least I know that hahaha

That's cool tho ncmxnx like Iris having that kinda power, but Diantha is still, and always will be, above her. That no matter what, Diantha really doesn't see her as an equal, despite her claims that she does. And it's the fact that Iris knows she can't do shit anymore, Kalos is her new home, but despite being its Champion, she fucking knows one wrong move and Diantha will have her executed. But it'd also be fun if Drasna and Iris meets and Drasna tells her how Diantha shouldn't even be like that™. Drasna telling Iris of Diantha's past, and Iris finding out why Dia is like that, but then she hears stories of young Diantha who only wanted to be a hero, who has the sky in her eyes shining brightly with such a hope that it was blinding, how she only wanted to help the people in need, to be seen as a hero of Kalos. But, that didn't happen ofc. Iris asked why. Why didn't Diantha become an actual hero? And that broke Drasna, "because I wasn't there when she needed me the most.. I had so much hope, so much faith, in a child who I knew needed guidance. I think we all did.."

And for Iris it's all adding up yknow, that Diantha could've been a much better person if she just had someone there to really guide her in her life, to actually tell her what's right and what's wrong, but no one ever did that, not even Drasna. Diantha never faced any consequences, even until at this point, while yes the people fear her now, but she always did say fear is easier to control than defiance. And she's now in control of everything.

That's fucking terrifying tho cause at any given moment, Diantha could legit just end the fucking world hahah like that's scary man if you think abt it having to bow down to someone who you know isn't in the right mind anymore and anyone could be pulling the final trigger and they wouldn't know shit until it's too late, like that'd fuck up anyone

Anyways w the ending bits, I always imagine the Unova kids winning w the power of friendship, bc when I wrote those concepts of Diantha coming back to Kalos, she lost that battle w the Unova kids, and it really took a toll on her mentally and physically, as she also got hit by Kyurem's attacks, ofc she was almost bleeding to death when she got back home. But it's also cool to think that one of the E4 or the Leaders actually got through Geeta, and made her see just what Diantha has become, made her see how she's going to die if she doesn't stop. And that's probs a wake up call for Geeta really, that her bestfriend is gonna die if she continues, and she doesn't want that.

And just bcmxnx ough idk fucking imagine tho like Diantha so heavily wounded and so are the Unova kids, but they look at least a bit better than her, bc they had each other to protect, Diantha had no one. And just cnxmnx Geeta getting in between them as Diantha was trying to get Yveltal or even GiraCynthia to attack, only for Geeta to block her view of the Unova kids.

"what do you think you're doing? Step aside."

And for once in their lives, Geeta didn't listen to her. "That's enough, Diantha."

God that fucked Diantha up, Geeta almost never calls her by her full name, always her lil nicknames, their endearments, Geeta never used that voice w her and it made her feel a lot of things she didn't want to feel atm. "Geeta, step aside. Please.." and god she sounded so desperate, she doesn't wanna hurt her. And just chmdndn Geeta sounded to stern and disappointed and it messed her up even more.

"Diantha, please, that's enough. Look at you, you're hurt." Then she walks towards Dia, and Dia was on edge, her grip on a pokeball was tight, almost as if she could break it. And Geeta just takes her hands gently, and wipes off the blood on her face, "that's enough, Dia.. you lost.. and.. a hero keeps their words, don't they?"

And man Dia was conflicted af now too, cause for one she refuses to lose, how could she even lose to a bunch of trainers that are below her?? How did they even beat her??? And then.. then she looks at Geeta, ever so loyal, but.. but now she's looking at Geeta's dark blue eyes, like the sea, it was so easy to get lost in them, and then smth in her kinda snapped, she screamed, frustrated, and she shoved Geeta off her, "Gardevoir!" She called out, and they all thought she'd attack Geeta, only for her Gardevoir to teleport her and her team away from all of them. But Geeta knows where she is.

Geeta turns slightly to the Unova kids, "I'll make sure nothing like this happens again. Worry not, I'll be there with her." Then she calls back all her pkmn, leaving the league to search for Diantha.

But also did word really go out tho idk, but I always imagined it as smth only the Unova League and the Champions know abt, bc ofc, despite Iris and Hilbert winning, they know what the others, Diantha especially, are capable of, and if Drayden was anything to go by, then they know they aren't lying when they say they could just kill them and make it look like a natural death or an accident. I do wanna say that maybe,, like really just maybe, some of the Unovan people know, the bw2 kids probs, Ingo and Emmet too, and probs even the professors, but the rest of Unova doesn't

Idk that's how I always imagined it to be, bc as much as the Unova League wants others to know, they also know how risky it fucking was considering that for one, Diantha has the Pokémon version of Death and the Devil on her side, even tho they won this round who's to say Diantha would just give up, and if Geeta can get through her too and actually pacify her enough to give up Yveltal and start anew

#im like.. thinking now how the other champions would react to that hahaha #but anyways what ending do you prefer and such hahah #its always fun to play around w all the concepts abt the different endings hahah #since theres a lot you can work w too its dope to see all the possibilities and such hahah #plus yknow iris being dia's successor is a dope as fuck mental imagine cnmdndmd #but i also really want some stuff abt geeta and dia so yeah hahah #villain champions au #jerseyk112 #an ask and an answer

3 notes · View notes

comradekatara · 2 years

Note

Biggest post-ATLA fights/drama between Gaang members ?

okay i'm not gonna include any azula-related drama bc that could be its whole own post (and i've definitely talked about it a lot before too) but i am gonna include mai and ty lee bc they are honorary members of the gaang (esp postwar)

okay so there is a conflict regarding the fire nation colonies in the earth kingdom and what should be done about the fire nation settlers there but not in the way the comics handles it. if anything i think katara and zuko would firmly be on one side, that the fire nation shouldn't be exerting their power over native earth kingdom citizens on occupied land and that the colonizers should all gtfo; but then sokka is like that's unrealistic because where are they supposed to go, they've been there for multiple generations, they have mixed children, making people "return" to a country some of them have never even been to isn't the answer, and would only disrupt all their lives further; and aang thinks that even though the reason that fn settlers are on ek land in the first place is bad, it can ultimately be a good thing because it's one of the only places in the world where people from different nations are coming together and having mixed families, which is how he remembers the world being before the war divided everyone into these firm national divisions. so it gets really messy because it's such a complicated issue that can't be solved neatly, and sokka is the only one of them who recognizes that there is no idealistic resolution that will actually work perfectly, because people are garbage. and that's an issue that continues to surface throughout their entire lives, because there is simply no easy fix to colonialism. but yeah that's a big point of contention for sokka and katara especially, and one of the many things they continue to fight over for the rest of their lives.

katara also lashes out at sokka whenever she feels that he isn't in the swt enough (bc she misses him desperately), and sokka just feels horrible about it because he has responsibilities that demand that he be in multiple places at once, and no matter how much he tries to schedule his time evenly distributed among all the places he needs to be in a given year, the fact that he can't just be with his family all the time makes him miserable, and it makes katara miserable, and then she gets mad at him, and he feels guilty over what is basically out of his control because it's not like he doesn't try his hardest to prioritize his home/family anyway, and it's just a mess. but hey, that's life.

for the first few years after the war, at least one member of the gaang is in the fire nation palace with zuko at all times (usually toph, mai, and/or aang) because they all have an agreement that at least one of them is there to keep zuko company and give him advice and make sure he takes care of himself and doesn't have a breakdown. but then, it happens. aang gets waylaid by a village that needs his help with a spirit, mai is on kyoshi island with ty lee and suki, toph is in ba sing se with sokka and iroh, katara is in the south pole working, and zuko is alone. at first it's fine, because he's grown since he first became firelord, and he's not totally useless. but by the end of the week, when aang finally does arrive at the palace, he notices that zuko looks pale and exhausted and his bangs are uneven, and when aang tells zuko that he should probably get some sleep, he accidentally takes a nap that lasts 48 hours. after that sokka devises schedules for them with a contingency plan in place for when one of them gets in an emergency and can't babysit the firelord, so that at least two of them are in the fire nation at once no matter what. zuko is simultaneously offended that they don't trust him to be by himself and very grateful that they know not to trust him to be by himself.

katara never truly gets along with mai and ty lee. even after they apologize to every member of the gaang, make tangible amends for their past actions, and work with them to repair the world, she still just doesn't really like them as people? and vice versa (well, ty lee likes katara fine, but mai finds her annoying). katara thinks that ty lee is the most terrifying and inscrutable person she has ever met, and that mai's extreme privilege and disaffectedness and deadpan way of talking and confusing relationship to zuko just makes her a person she simply does not enjoy being around. she knows that aang gets along really well with ty lee (which katara accepts because aang gets along with everyone), and that mai is like bffs with sokka and toph (which katara chalks up to the fact that they're kind of insane), but she never really makes an effort to befriend them, and would absolutely never hang out with them outside of a group setting.

katara and toph will never stop fighting each other as long as they live. every time they see each other it's on sight. sometimes an idiot will be like "should we try to intervene?" and sokka is like "a) it's cute that you think that you can stop them and b) no, this is how they express affection." they even host formal tournaments (since they are the only opponents worthy of each other), which is sort of the origin of probending. but they fight each other informally all the time as well (which is to say, sometimes toph just throws a handful of sand from her pocket into katara's face and then runs away cackling, and then katara retaliates by using waterbending to pour a bunch of beer on toph's head, etc etc).

that time sokka said "flameo hotman" ironically in front of aang and zuko and aang was offended by sokka's cynicism and zuko was offended that sokka said "flameo hotman" at all and it led to all three of them getting in a huge fight and then suki tried to mediate but because she clearly just agreed with sokka she only fanned the flames (no pun intended) and aang and zuko became so impassioned that they held a public forum on the matter and it became an entire cause for national debate in the fire nation and sokka, who honestly didn't really give a shit in the first place, was just like "what have i done....??"

mai and ty lee do not particularly like iroh, and they make the mistake of letting toph know this, who is like "why would you say this about my beloved uncle 😭😭😭" and they're like "he's a war criminal and a misogynist....." and toph's like "well so am i are you saying you hate me too????" and they're just like "what."

aang gets genuinely offended after zuko says that he would never in a million years date aang. and then he's like "katara you'll never guess what zuko said" and katara gets offended on aang's behalf and says to zuko "well aang's out of your league ANYWAY!!!!" and then neither of them speak to him for like two weeks. all zuko meant by that was that in his mind aang is perpetually twelve years old and he sees him as his baby brother, but every time he tries to justify himself aang's just like "nope! i don't wanna hear it!" and when aang finally does hear him out katara's like "then why did you say aang was ugly and a bad kisser????" and zuko's like "wtf i never said that??????" and katara's like "interesting. so now you're calling aang a liar too???" it gets so bad that eventually sokka goes to aang and says "zuko wanted me to tell you that he thinks you're very sexy and knows that he would be lucky to date you" and then he goes to zuko and says "aang wanted me to let you know that he recognizes that he overreacted and just wants to move past this" at which point they apologize to each other and never speak about it again...........until zuko makes the mistake of saying he'd never date KATARA –

#this started serious and then descended into goofiness lmao #indistinctiveusername #asks #postwargaang #not tagging everyone #but i'll tag #katara&sokka #aang&zuko #and #katara&toph #pocket sand!

146 notes · View notes

krastbannert · 2 years

Note

"If she’s to be redeemed, Azula needs to atone for things she’s done, yes, but she can’t do that by just suffering even more. No one does. You atone by actively working to make up for things you did and by growing as a person..." So what about the people who think she doesn't deserve a chance to be redeemed and should either be executed or de-bended and then thrown into a Zaheer-style prison for life? Especially after the comics where she has become the biggest threat to peace in Aang's era?

I've had this ask for a little more than a week, and I've been debating how exactly to answer it this whole time. Just...it's a doozy.

Alright. Deep breath. Here we go.

To get it out of the way: I hate the comics, especially their depiction of Azula. All of the characters got done dirty by the writers, but Azula is probably one of (if not the) hardest hit by that. The plot ideas were generally good, the writers just ruined their work with horrible characterizations. So, fuck the comics, basically - as far as I'm concerned, they don't exist. (Except for Kiyi, cause she's cute.)

To answer the big question: if you honestly think Azula should be executed or have her bending forcibly removed before throwing her into a forgotten cell, you really need to do some soul searching and ask yourself why the hell you believe that. And while you're at it, ask yourself in what world that would ever be okay.

I'm not going to be talking about anything relating to legality or war crimes or what have you - that point has been discussed to death already by people smarter than me over the past year. Even not taking that into account, the idea is despicable.

Think about that idea for a second. The idea you gave me is saying that Azula, a fourteen year old girl who's been manipulated, emotionally/mentally abused, and controlled her entire life, should be put to death. I say again: she's fourteen. Azula is literally a child. Executing anyone is...horrific. That anyone would want a child - even a fictional one - who possibly hasn't even hit puberty yet to be executed is, frankly, inhuman.

And to rip out her bending? That's like ripping out her soul.

Either way - to explicitly want to deprive Azula of life, of even the chance to change and become a better version of herself, is something that to me is really fucking disturbing. I can't understand it.

Now, let me be clear: I'm not saying you have to want Azula to be redeemed. If you'd rather see Azula stay as a villain, that's perfectly fine! I think she'd make an awesome post-war villain, if it were done right. I'd love to see a well written villain/corruption arc for Azula.

But not wanting to give her even the chance? That, to me, is insane. At the end of the day, the simple fact is that people change. Even after just a few years, I don't think anyone can say they were the same as they were at fourteen. I know for a fact I can't.

I'm not saying she hasn't done anything wrong, because she did. All I'm saying is that she deserves at least a semblance of a chance to right those wrongs. I'd rather send the message that anyone can become a better version of themselves. I'd rather live in that world, one that's kind and loving instead of vengeful.

Wouldn't you?

#krast answers asks #anonymous #azula #got a little salty but eh it's whatever #i find the whole idea to be fucking horrific #atla

91 notes · View notes

ly0nstea · 2 years

Text

More Tabletop Questions

Hello, thank for answering my earlier questions but unfortunately I have some more that I would like answered if that is ok with you? Thanks!

"The game does mention the fire warriors, it says they are “at [Azula’s] disposal” implying they’re nothing more than pawns and she doesnt care for them, other than that it just says they have reduced numbers, azula isnt necessarily standing with them anymore, and theyre reckless."

So if I am following what you said, basically the Fire Warriors that where downed during the climax of Smoke and Shadow where arrested and presumably sent back to the asylum (or jailed). Meanwhile, the Fire Warrior remnants escaped with Azula, however, they are not on good terms with Azula because of their "recklessness" and so Azula is keeping them at an arms length distance. Not that she ever let come any closer since they were always disposable pawns to her because they were already thrown away by society while she only ended up in the asylum because she was a political prisoner (in her mind). This despite the Fire Warriors following Azula's plans to a tee despite at least one of them voicing concerns (Zirin), Azula being the one to spill the beans that they are humans, not sprits, by kicking Aang during their kidnapping of Kiyi, and the Fire Warriors risking their lives, bending, and/or worse imprisonment conditions if recaptured just by associating with her.

Well, assuming the assumptions in the above paragraph are correct it doesn't make that much sense or make the Gaang look that good. Because for starters, out of the six non-Azula Fire Warriors, five of them where knocked out (I counted the panels in S&S) and yet there was at least two of them by Azula's side during Zuko's ending speech in S&S. So that means either (1) she broke at least a couple of them out or (2) got more people to join her cause. But in regards to (1), the corebook, as far as I can tell, did not explain why she didn't break them all out considering she needs all the help she can get considering her fugitive status/lack of funds. And in regards to (2), the corebook, as far as I know, does not say how Azula recruited more people to her terrorist cell. Like did she go back to the asylum, or a different one, and got other desperate inmates to join her?

In fact (2), ties into my next question: did the Gaang ever find out about the abusive conditions of the asylum and how it enabled Azula to woo the Fire Warriors to her side? And on a related note, does the corebook explain how she was able to break them out without anyone finding out? Because as of right now, there is a credible argument that Fire Nation asylums, or at least Azula's asylum, are terrorist breeding grounds. And even if they think that Azula deserved to be abused in there (which would OOC and against Zuko's previously stated reason for putting her in there), at least Zuko would have reason to make sure the asylum(s) changed their practices so at least more terrorists won't be created.

"Meanwhile irohs 600 day long siege is just an offhand mention, and he's shown as wise and with a keen mind. Wtf."

So despite having having an opportunity to flesh out what General/Crown Prince Iroh, and by proxy what Prince Lu Ten, was like, they just gloss over Iroh's past just like they did in Legacy of the Fire Nation?

You know, one of my biggest issues with post-TV show Avatar is Bryke's unwillingness to go into detail in regards to Iroh's past or have us see him deal with the fallout. Because while I understand that if they don't write pre-Lu Ten's death Iroh well, they will face massive backlash (especially considering how fandom worships him), I think continuing to avoid directly portraying Iroh's past, or the fallout from it will only lead to bad writing.

For example, in LoFTN, Iroh, despite having full-owned his past, just makes off-handed references in passive voice to the fact that he was a leading general in a genocidal, imperialist army (ex. "I was a general who took life.") despite his past characterization all but saying he would fully acknowledge his past and give a full throated condemnation of it whenever he had the opportunity to do so.

And in Matcha Makers, despite having an opportunity to have one of the EK refugees and/or veterans recognize Iroh in his tea shop and start a dialogue about the limits of redemption and, among other things, why Iroh decided to live the rest of his life in the city he violently besieged for 600 days, the comic instead just has the sprits (Iroh is so spiritually inclined that he has little sprits, that he can only see, live with him) in shop set him up on a date with an older woman who has a crush on him, but one Iroh's doesn't (initially) reciprocate.

Also, on a related note, is it possible if you could provide scans and/or links showing where they talk about the Fire Warriors and pre-Lu Ten's death Iroh? Or if it is not possible to do both, at least you could provide scans and/or links showing where they talk about the Fire Warriors?

Anyway, I think have rambled on long enough and so I want to say thank you, again, for answering my questions as well taking the time to read this and posting those helpful scans.

It doesnt mention anything about her recruiting anyone new, so i would just chock that up to a continuity error on behalf of the comics, it certainly wouldnt be their worst error.

Secondly, i honestly dont think the gaang would give a shit about how they treated at this point, not because of how the gaang feels, but because the authors refuse to have anyone feel sympathetic for azula, so id say they never will find out, and if they do theyll brush it off or even say she deserved it for everything she has done.

Iroh's past is entirely glossed over, most that mentioned is that he found the dragons and sieged ba sing se for 600 days, and it isnt even shown in an overtly negative light, as said, its an offhand mention, they much prefer to say how wise he is instead.

and yea, irohs giving no weight to his past actions only confirms to me he only really tackled the fire nation on a surface level and never once actually thought over the impact of his actions, or realised them, or even atoned for them. His son dying wasnt punishment or retribution, neither was zukos betrayal.

- Fire Warriors bio

- pre war iroh (notice it never even explicitly states he led the siege, just his son died, it does mention it in the bio for the siege, but i do think its odd they omitted it here, seen as its so, so important to his whole character.

- post war iroh

#submission

25 notes · View notes

hello-nichya-here · 2 years

Note

If fire benders get their power from the sun wouldn’t they be the strongest fighting naked?

Short answer: Avatar might look like an anime, but it ain't an anime and it aired on Nickelodeon. Can't show a guy's "fire sword" or female presenting nipples.

Long, serious answer: Bending isn't that simple. While the sun, as in the giant ball of fire in space, is a key element (hehehehe) on how and when firebending is possible, it isn't the ONLY thing that allows is to happen - there is quite clearly a spiritual side to it, and even cultural, biological, and emotional aspects involved. (This answer basically turned into a huge ass meta about how bending affects the culture of Avatar and how it leads to everything)

Let's assume the sunlight itself is a factor in this equasion too, which is basically confirmed since firebenders ARE stronger during the day: people can still get sunburns and even skin cancer due to solar expousure without having to be fully nude during sun baths. The sunlight is so intense that warm or hot nights are common during summer. On the day of black sun, it was still visibly day time because there was still a lot of light, and Azula and Ozai both managed to bend while being hidden underground, no sunlight on either of them. The moonlight is literally reflected sunlight still being visible at night.

Since I brought up the moon, let's think about somethings here: What would have happened if Zhao killed the ocean spirit instead of the moon? Would the oceans disappear or at the very least become uncontrolable? Would something else happen? Either way, it would not be good for the world in general, and it would REALLY suck for the waterbenders.

But wait a minute - killing the moon OR the ocean would screw up waterbending, regardless of which one survives? Why does water have two major things influencing it why fire has just the sun?

Simple: fire doesn't depend solely on the sun either. The big thing everyone was worried about the entire show was Sozin's COMET, and even lightning (which we know IS dependent on the sun not being "blocked" since no one could use it during the eclipse) is generated by creating and separating ENERGY (which also connects it to spirit/energybending) and Iroh found out how to redirect it by watching waterbenders.

In "The Swamp" we are told that humans are essentially no different from anything else in nature (again, tying in with the spirit being something that can be bent like any other element, and explaining why animals are able to bend and why spirits can look like animals, humans, and whatever the fuck Ko had going on) and in "The Guru" we are told that not is the division between the elements an illusion, the same applies to the division between the four nations - but if that is true, how come we don't see things like, say, random airbenders who are not related to Aang or any of the airbenders who died in the genocide being born during the entire century the war lasted? Why is the Avatar the ONLY ONE, both in the human world AND in the spirit world who can bend more than one element? And how the fuck does that connect to why the Fire Nation became the most stylish nation instead of having everyone running around naked so they'd be more powerfull? (I swear I'm going somewhere with this rant)

"How can all the elements technically be one, yet only the Avatar can bend all of them?" The same way the Avatar can technically be one person, but still be a bunch of different people. I would compare a solar or lunar eclipse to Aang letting Kyoshi take over and not remembering what "he" did while she was in charge, like admiting to a "murder." The firebenders didn't lose their bending on the day of black sun because the moon, as in the natural satelite, blocked the sun and didn't let them get enough light, but because the moon spirit was the one in charge for a little while. Again, it ties back to death of the moon - the natural satelite was still there, but without the spirit, there was no bending - and with Sozin's comet only being useful when it's close enough to the earth. Another good parallel would be The Painted Lady, who was temporarely unable to use her powers, despite being in her own domain, because external factors severely damaged her river, the thing she used to let those powers affect the human world.

"Okay, but what about the four nations supposedly being just one?"

In the easiest way I can explain my interpretation: Long before the Avatar, and maybe humanity as a whole, was a thing, the spirits used to bend solely energy (confirmed by the lionturtle). However, as time passed, some spirits figured out that the four elements could also be bent. The animals, due to necessity, learned it from them, either by copying them or actually being taught directly, and the humans then learned it from the animals (confirmed in The Cave Of Two Lovers and in The Firebending Masters) which was probably how animal guides like Appa became a thing. However, for some reason, all creatures, be it humans, animals or spirits, were able to bend only ONE element, if that. Since everyone was cohexisting peacefully, that wasn't a problem... but at some point everyone just decided to stick with the ones that were "like them" and built their cultures based on isolating themselves sticking with "their own kind", so no one could randomly be born bending the "wrong" element, because they didn't have the genes that would allow them to bend any element besides the one the culture they were born into had been based around. That also lead to the mentality of "Our way is the correct way" that made Sozin's plan to "share the Fire Nation's glory with the rest of the world" morf into killing the other nations (which Zhao later took to the extreme of killing even the spirits that led to these nations existing).

However, since nothing is that simple, even the "four" nations aren't that clearly devided. We have two water tribes + the guys at the swamp; we have the earth "kingdom" that was basically a bunch of city-states in a huge trench coat pretending to be a unified thing, we have The Sun Warriors living outside the Fire Nation; and we have the air NOMADS, aka people who were constantly travelling around the world, having temples in the north, south, east and west.

But most important of all, we had the Avatar. The bridge between the two worlds, the only one who could bend all elements, the one who travelled around the world, AND who rediscovered energybending. I don't think the Avatar was some kind of glitch in the matrix or a chosen one who was meant to defeat Sozin/Ozai in a fight that was always meant to happen. I think he was a different kind of spirit created by nature/the universe as a way to fix an abnormal situation that was NEVER meant to happen - the forced "separation" of the elements, that was leading to one (fire) eventually destroying the others.

Either way, no, tits out are not required for firebending, it's just a thing Ozai does to intimidate the 12-year-olds he throws hands at.

#asks #long post #fire nation #avatar #atla #avatar meta #the four nations #earth kingdom #water tribe #air nomads #the avatar #firebending

32 notes · View notes

allnewalldifferentwildspider · 3 years

Text

Zuko & Katara's Relationship Dynamic

This is like the third or fourth time I've tried to write up this post so please bare with me.

Oh wow. That video. Hopefully everyone has seen it now. Not only did it articulate arguments I've been making for years, but it also brought up ideas I had never thought of or noticed before. Watching that and watching the second half of Book 3 again (because it's my favorite) made me want to redo my zutara dynamic post.

I'm going to be using the tiny bits and pieces the show gave us to see how Zuko and Katara's relationship looks and how it would look if they gave us more because...Bryke really fucking hated zutara. I mean, I guess they did.

Katara is compassionate; Zuko is empathetic

A lot of anti-zutara arguments have said that Zuko and Katara could never be together because they would constantly fight and hate each other and it end sooner than later. Not only does this actually describe maiko, but that argument would need to ignore the characters' actual character.

One of Katara's biggest character traits is how compassionate she is. She has a drive to help others and ease their pain. Whether it's getting Aang out of the iceberg or healing a Fire Nation fishing village, Katara will go out of her way to help someone in need.

Katara: No. I will never ever turn my back on people who need me.

Zuko is very emotional and passionate person. As much as he tried to hide it to appease his father, Zuko does want to open up and connect with people. Unfortunately, aside from his uncle, most of the other people he knows are like Zhao and Azula. Not the most understanding of crowds. But because of this he can pick up what people are really thinking and feeling. Think of it as a defense mechanism he developed growing up around people like Azula.

Get these two kinds of people together and you get the crystal catacombs scene. Katara lashes out at Zuko until she breaks down. When she does Zuko opens up with empathy since they have something in common. This creates the beginning of an understanding between the two. Zuko uses that to finally open up to someone who isn't his uncle and Katara listens and reaches out to help. Contrast to the first episode of Book 3 when Zuko tries to voice his thoughts and concerns to Mai and she...doesn't really care.

Something similar happens during The Southern Raiders. Zuko figures out that Katara is taking out her anger of being separated from her father by The Fire Nation onto him and even connecting her mother's death to him.

It's not the first time Zuko has done this either. He easily figured out that Sokka was planning on going to The Boiling Rock. He does it again during Sozin's Comet when he tells Katara that Aang needs to figure out what to do about Ozai by himself.

There's a noticeable pattern of behavior by the time Sozin's Comet arrives. Zuko voices his concerns about meeting his uncle again and Katara is right there to help him through it.

Zuko's empathy combined with Katara's compassion creates almost a cycle of understanding and emotional vulnerability that the two can't really get with anyone else. One notices the other having concerns or problems and goes to give comfort by words or by actions.

Zuko still has a temper but so does Katara

Even after Zuko's fever dream character change thing, even after The Day of Black Sun, he still has it in him to yell at anyone who commits even the slightest transgressions against him:

Aang: That one felt kinda hot. Zuko: Don't patronize me. You know what it's supposed to look like. Aang: Sorry, sifu hotman. Zuko: And stop calling me that!

Sokka: So all we have to do is make Zuko angry. Easy enough. *pokes him with his sword* *annoying laugh* Zuko: All right! Cut it out!

Maybe it's the firebender in him or maybe he really is just like that. Basically if you annoy him, he'll let you know. What people sometimes overlook is that while it takes Katara a bit longer, she also gets worked up when people upset her.

Toph: What's the matter? Can't handle some dirt, Madame Fussy Britches? Katara: Oh, sorry, did I splash you, mud slug?

And remember, it was Katara getting angry at Sokka that even broke the iceberg that revealed Aang.

Katara: Ugh, I'm embarrassed to be related to you! Ever since Mom died I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier! Sokka: Uh... Katara? Katara: I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT! Sokka: Katara! Settle down! Katara: No, that's it. I'm done helping you. From now on, you're on your own!

The point is that it is both Zuko and Katara that are very passionate and emotional people. One of them isn't emotionally dominating the other because they both wear their emotions on their sleeves.

This also comes in to play when they set goals for themselves. When Zuko sets a goal, he puts everything into it. Katara is the same way. The difference is that Zuko's drive sometimes gives him a one-track mind while Katara is more flexible. Like for example Zuko being so focused on finding Aang before Sozin's Comet that he ignores Toph's story about her childhood versus Katara wanting to go to the North Pole but taking time to stop and help whoever they come across.

This passion also fuels their values and how strongly they stand by their beliefs. I already put The Painted Lady quote up above but Zuko's morality is what is making him so angry at himself during The Beach. He knows what he did was wrong, but he couldn't face it yet.

Sometimes their emotions get the better of them, but it's only because they are passionate about what they're doing.

Their natural teamwork is amazing

I can't provide a lot of clues in this bit because it's more of a visual thing. Just consider how flawlessly their plans worked during their attack on The Southern Raiders. Especially when you consider that it was a stealth mission so they barely even said anything to each other during and it still went incredibly well.

You could see it again during their mock battle with The Melon Lord. Sokka must have noticed because he paired them together to deliver some "liquidy-hot offence." And they pulled it off, again, without having to say anything.

They've only been a team for a few weeks(?), days(?) but they act as if they've been doing it for years.

They trust each other's judgment

Piggybacking of the previous point, Zuko and Katara have only been a team for a while but there seems to be a level of understanding in terms of judgement. They both know that whatever the other chooses is going to be a well-thought out decision. Maybe it's because they see each other as the mature members of the group even though Sokka is the same age as Zuko? I don't know.

Aang disappears right before they embark on their fight against the Fire Lord, and out of nowhere, Katara puts Zuko in charge.

Zuko: Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka. We have a real problem here. Aang is nowhere to be found and the comet is only two days away. Katara: What should we do Zuko? Zuko: I don't know. Why are you all looking at me? Katara: Well, you are kind of the expert on tracking Aang.

and that wasn't the first time in that episode that she went along with one of Zuko's decisions

Katara: Aang, don't walk away from this. *She begins to walk towards him as a hand touches her shoulder to stop her from doing so.* Zuko: Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself.

As a lot of people have pointed out during the entirety of The Southern Raiders, Zuko never gives a suggestion on what he thinks Katara should do. Aside from making it a stealth mission, he follows her lead the entire way.

Katara teases Zuko (and he lets her)

The fun one. This one has two parts: pre and post The Southern Raiders.

Before The Southern Raiders, Katara was tolerating Zuko. She was still angry with him about the betrayal at Ba Sing Se. Getting little jabs at him was the only thing that was really helping her from loosing her cool around him.

Katara: I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know... how it would have been nice for us if you lost your firebending a long time ago? Zuko: Well it's not lost. It's just weaker for some reason. Katara: Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are. Toph: Ouch.

He just finished yelling at Aang and Sokka but all he does is glare at Katara. She does it again, but to be fair, he kind of set himself up for it.

Zuko: It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old! Katara: Oh yeah? What's your little form called? Zuko: ...The Dancing Dragon.

Then comes post The Southern Raiders and...yeah, she's still picking on him and he still lets her. Granted it's a lot more playful this time around.

Zuko: They make me totally stiff and humorless. Katara: Actually, I think that actor's pretty spot on. Zuko: How could you say that? Actor Uncle: Let's forget about the Avatar and get massages. Actor Zuko: How could you say that?! (Cut back to Katara wearing a satisfied grin on her face and she looks to an expressionless Zuko as he slouches in his seat.)

I love pointing it out every time. She teases him and he does nothing about it.

Katara: Er, no. I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found this. Look at baby Zuko! Isn't he cute? Oh lighten up, I was just teasing.

And she admits it!

So what can we take away from this? From what little time they were given together (thanks, Bryke) it seems that Zuko and Katara really understand each other on an intimate emotional level. They can sense when the other is distressed and offer comfort. They're both passionate in and out of combat, for better or for worse. They're comfortable with each other as if they've known each other for years even though it's such a short time. Katara also likes to add a little bit of playfulness in there with Zuko letting her have her fun, again, showing how comfortable they are with each other.

I do think their relationship could have gone to romantic sooner than later if you would have given it a bit more time. Like first half of a hypothetical Book 4.

To me, at least.

#zutara #zuko #katara #anti kataang #anti bryke

186 notes · View notes

thetimelordbatgirl · 2 years

Note

Lily: Zuko wasn't redeemed and didn't need one because he is an abused child of a tyrannical father figure so Zuko was just escaping abuse and wasn't redeemed and didn't need one If that is what Lily thinks, how is Hunter any different? Hunter is an abused child of a tyrannical father figure escaping abuse. So why does Zuko get a pass and Hunter doesn't? Oh right because Hunter committed the terrible sin of being a white male and being a character archetype Lily isn't fond of. Atrocious. Hell honestly Hunter has more reason than Zuko to be complacent and aiding the evil thing their father figure is doing because Hunter was literally lied to about everything his entire life, he didn't know the sigils were dangerous, he was led to believe wild magic was the cause of the death of his family. As much as Zuko is influenced by his father and the fire nation he could still see the harm being done to others and knew it was harmful, he still made wrong choices that actively hurt others like getting Kyoshi island burned down even to the point of betraying his uncle who had been there for him. Yes Zuko deserves a second chance but he did need to earn it, not just "he was abused so he deserves another chance". Both Zuko and Hunter deserve a second chance but Zuko isn't just the poor abused child Lily says he is and Hunter isn't just a jerk that should've known better, they both have their faults and virtues. Lily: "Victims of abuse do not need to change ever" So why is Hunter apparently a good for nothing jerk then? And I'm pretty sure Zuko kind of needed to work on his anger issues a bit Also I really like Luz but Lily: Omg Hunter's archetype is so shitty and boring Luz is just the typical optimistic protagonist made to be relatable and people find that boring Amity is the snobby high society girl that learns to be nicer and people find that boring A character being an archetype isn't bad it just depends that they do their own thing with that archetype which Owl House does with its characters. But god forbid you commit the sin of: using an archetype that doesn't match Lily's tastes.

To be fair, she does seem to have gone off Zuko nowadays. She now thinks Avatar is sexist cause Zuko got a chance but Azula didn't when.....from what I've seen off show, you do feel bad for Azula, but you can also see how evil she is at the same time. But sounds about right with the Hunter thing. Like, she keeps going on about him being another angst white boy and even admitted him being black would make him interesting to her, so like, race definitely plays a-part in why she doesn't like Hunter.

Honestly, I think both Zuko and Hunter are good examples at least of characters realizing the situation they in and choosing to leave. Like, Hunter obviously denies it at first but we do eventually sadly see him have a panic attack upon learning the truth and seeing how his uncle truly is, while Zuko was almost there, but he slipped into wanting his fathers approval like he and Azula always wanted, but he eventually saw how wrong this all was and left for good to help the Avatar. But your not wrong on Zuko's anger issues. I haven't read the comics, but I'm gonna assume they at least continued the character arcs, so hopefully Zuko got to work on those in the comics at least, as by Korra, he's definitely mellowed out and unlike his father, clearly cares about his daughter when she's among the leaders who could be harmed in book 3.

I mean, we both know why Hunter's an exception: he's white. Like, we know she's gone off Zuko, but the only reason she won't put him with Hunter is cause Zuko obviously isn't white. But when it comes to Hunter, she actually somehow compares him to the likes of Kylo Ren and its just....lord help us if she ever decides to make a OC X Willow or OC X Skara fic just so she can trash Hunter. Pretty much. Like, every show starts off with the characters acting as archetypes, but it's how the show develops them that should be matter. In Owl House's case, they do development pretty well, but I don't think Lily's watching that cause uh, she for some reason thinks Lilith and Amity didn't develop and instead, had prior character stuff thrown out in favor of new personalities. Yes. Yes she actually believes that. If you ever commit that sin, your show is trash to her or she acts like you just need to scrap that character cause Lily can now read minds suddenly to see if your just obsessed with a character or if they apart of the show's plot.

#lily orchard #do not make me apollos prophecy with that TOH fic thing #i will actually die if she does

17 notes · View notes

seyaryminamoto · 3 years

Note

A lot of people like fics in which Zuko and Azula switch roles. What would you think if that happened in canon? What if Zuko lost some of his memories and became a jerk again and Iroh somehow got separated from him? Zuko doesn't know why he's firelord, but corrupt advisors convince him to restart the war. Zuko doesn't remember his friendship with Aang. And Azula's redemption begins when she joins team Avatar as a last resort to stop Zuko.

I’ve written a fic where Zuko and Azula fundamentally switch roles, it’s my seventh entry for the Matching Heartbeats oneshot collection. The source of alteration I came up with was to feature a much darker Ursa taking control after killing both Ozai and Azulon, protecting Zuko from anyone who might do him harm while trying to get rid of anyone who could be a threat to her power (especially Azula and Iroh, which more or less forces them to work together). It was a somewhat dark story compared to my usual standards, but I really like the way it turned out, so if that’s what you want to see, feel free to check it out :)

What you’re suggesting there, of course, is a wholly different idea from that: I have to be honest, I’m not exactly the most agreeable person when it comes to amnesia-related storylines? I’ve only written that resource into an original story one time and it was done artificially (induced with a chemical substance and the effect only lasted for a few hours) because I just... lose my mind a lot, and not in a good way, with plot-convenient amnesia xD I’m not trying to knock this prompt at all, merely that I wouldn’t be likely to resort to this particular plot resource myself, ordinarily.

Alright, biting into the thick of the ask now: the plotline of Zuko losing his memories and reverting to Book 1 Zuko is mainly interesting to me because... no one, NO ONE, should want Book 1 Zuko in power x’D it sounds terrifying. He would be very influentiable... and I guess that’s the thing? If there’s corrupt advisors around, I’d personally choose a route for the amnesia to be induced somehow, via some sort of poisoning maybe, or through some weird spirit (though I’d rather not bring spirits into it because that can be tricky to handle correctly, a spirit wouldn’t do something like this just because a random human demands it). Then it would be very interesting to feature a storyline that both goes into not only stopping Zuko from immolating his whole nation in a wild, horrible set of decisions, but also into figuring out how this happened to him, and how to reverse it if possible.

It would be rather interesting to pick up where canon left off, despite I objectively dislike the comics, with this sort of situation. Azula’s intentions to make Zuko a strong Fire Lord would backfire pretty badly if he ends up being the sort of Fire Lord who can be a puppet to just... anyone, really. He’d likely push Iroh away too if he ever came knocking on his door, so I think everyone would be at a loss over what to do. Azula might find herself in a tight corner if Zuko becomes someone else’s tool, and if she can’t get through to him, she might need to go the extra mile... which indeed could result in her joining forces with Team Avatar. Book 1 Zuko was shown to be spiteful towards Azula, therefore I can imagine him being utterly terrified that she wants to steal his throne and taking advantage of her status as public enemy #1 to keep her at bay, chased by his armies, while he clings to power as best he can.

In any case, I think this setting can work, I’d merely choose to make the amnesia a little less vague and a much more controlled plot element, namely because that means there may be a chance to sort of... bring Zuko back? Come to think of it, we know hypnosis is a thing in this universe, so maybe some super powerful Dai Li brainwasher could be how he loses his memories instead. So there’s at least three ways to do this, some better than others, but still three ways that could result in Zuko not being permanently lost despite whatever horrible choices he may make will certainly sit ill with him once he comes back to his senses.

At any rate, it would be a good resource to start Azula’s redemption for sure, so if you want to go for it, I say go for it :D

#anon #it does sound interesting though #I can't write it #simply the truth #no time whatsoever #but if you wanna do it I say go for it!

5 notes · View notes

seyaryminamoto · 7 years

Note

IMO I know I'm first one ever who ask this question: Do you think Uncle Iroh is "sexist"? Iroh is so loved by the fandom that they turn blind eye on his negative trails. No one may be considers this part of him. Though I find far too believable he would call Kuvira crazy woman, cos she doesn't suit the appeal of women in his mind, without considering much her reasons.

Well… surprise surprise, you aren’t the first one :D As time goes by, more people are willing to criticize Iroh’s behavior over many things and indeed, the topic of underlying sexism in Iroh has been brought up.

I don’t know if we can label him as a sexist altogether, he doesn’t seem to inherently mistreat women just on the basis that they’re women… but he does have certain behaviors that border on sexism towards certain women, which is bothersome.

In Zuko Alone he gives the meaningful, epic gift to Zuko while Azula gets a generic doll that is “the latest fashion in Ba Sing Se”. Because you know, girls should play with dolls and boys should play with knives. He probably hasn’t met Azula in forever, sure, but it says something serious that he’d expect her to be satisfied just with a doll while he gives Zuko something that not only is cool and useful, but is also very meaningful. Couldn’t he try to find something a little bit more meaningful for his niece too? Just a little something? Nah, generic doll that’s wearing fashionable clothes. Okay then.

His treatment of Azula never improves, we can’t really say that it’s about sexism entirely but the “She’s crazy and needs to go down” part certainly has always rubbed me the wrong way. Not sure how things are wherever you live, but over here in my country there’s a widespread tendency to reduce a woman to irrelevance by saying she’s crazy, or, if he’s over 40, a “crazy crone”. So while it may not be a deliberate attempt to make Iroh sexist (since indeed, Azula had attacked him the previous episode and his already existent hostilities towards her have obviously increased), it can be read that way. I certainly can make that link fairly easily.

On with more questionable stuff… June. God, June. Even Zuko is judging Iroh’s ogling of her.

Can we appreciate the fact that June is… at LEAST thirty years younger than Iroh? If not more? But I guess that’s fine by a royal prince’s standards, of course…

There’s a lot of unnecessary touching between Iroh and June. Her only approach to him is to say she wants them to pay her Iroh’s weight in gold. Him, though? He tends to ride second on Nyla, so he’s always behind June, it’s never Zuko, always him. When June blacks out for a moment Iroh cups her cheek, I guess to wake her, but she makes a pretty bad grimace when she comes to her senses (suggesting she may not like being touched that way?), and the topping on the cake is this infamous scene:

Iroh jumps to “catch” June. He doesn’t really do it to help her, though! He just drops on the ground dramatically, and when Zuko points out that Iroh wasn’t paralyzed, what does Iroh do? Smile guiltily and make no efforts to move away either way. June’s face says she’s pissed, but she can’t do anything about this situation while she’s paralyzed!

So indeed… Iroh is taking advantage of June’s momentary loss of physical control, regardless of June’s disapproval/disagreement with what he’s up to. She doesn’t care for him in that way, she doesn’t like what he’s doing, but alas, Iroh is just being “funny” so the public is supposed to laugh it off and think he’s hilarious.

Iroh has two other women show interest in him through the story, Aunt Wu and the one in Ba Sing Se, and he’s fairly polite to them both: but he shows no similar interest in them. His flirting with the Ba Sing Se one is very much to get himself out of a tight spot, not because he really is into her. The only woman he finds attractive, canonically, is June, and this is how he treats her. Instead of going about it in a polite way, gentlemanly, I don’t know, to actually appeal to her, he just… waits for her to be powerless so he can get away with holding her just because he felt like it. God, how it annoys me. (And this is why I will keep my story’s June as far away from Iroh as possible)

As for his theoretical behavior towards Kuvira… well, it is theoretical but he’d likely disapprove of her too, unsurprisingly. Tbh, either he thinks she’s crazy and needs to go down, like Azula, or he gets the hots for her the way he did for June and basically ignores her wishes and waits to take advantage of her whenever he can.

Or possibly a mix of both.

Honestly, I don’t know what is worse.

In any case, I do think Iroh wouldn’t treat Kuvira very well. Not only because he’d be against her methods by principle (he’s supposed to be pretty anti-armies and violence ever since he got redeemed, and he’d likely think Kuvira is going about it all wrong), but because of the evidence above. Kuvira resembles Azula in a handful of ways, not in all of them if you ask me, but indeed in those that Iroh clearly dislikes about his niece. So he won’t be fond of Kuvira at all, and indeed he won’t care to listen to anything she has to say about why she did what she did (I mean, he never cared about why Azula was who she was, so why would that change with someone he’s not even related to?).

Bottomline is, yes, Iroh has had some sexist attitudes and indeed, the fandom won’t pay them much, if any, attention. I’ve only seen one prominent fandom blogger pointing out this awful behavior of Iroh’s, seldom anyone else. Generally, he’s revered and adored to the point where Bryke basically sanctified him in LOK by making him a “spirit” that reached enlightenment. Crowd-pleasing, truly, there’s no other name for what that was. And yet he’s full of flaws that only a few of us will be willing to pay real attention to.

#anon #this is anti-iroh as fuck #but what can you do #someone's gotta tear down his pedestal

232 notes · View notes