#I love aang I want him to get the arc he deserved | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

yourhighness6 · 3 months

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I've seen a lot of people say that Zutara would just work in the live action if they eliminated Aang's crush on Katara in the first couple seasons and NO. no no no no NO. I want Zutara to happen as much as the next person, but I think Aang's crush should stay intact. If they include the want vs need plot line introduced in "The Guru" in book 2, it could be an easy way to launch some much needed character development for Aang. Having him struggle with letting go of an unreciprocated crush at the beginning of book 3 might actually be a jumping off point for what Bryke tried to do with his arc in the final book, making him seem wiser, more mature, and assertive without coming off as a complete jerk like he did in the animated series.

#like I get what they were trying to do #but it was just such bad writing #like it's just unnecessary drama #which they hopefully won't have time for in the live action if they stick to the eight episode per season cap #I love aang I want him to get the arc he deserved #not whatever crap Bryke thought they were acing or whatever #atla #avatar the last airbender #zutara #katara #aang #anti bryke #everything i post is anti bryke #I will never forgive them for making me care about characters and then not giving them satisfying endings #its like divergent but worse

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geegers22 · 3 months

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I’ve seen lots of conversation on here about Zutara shippers opinions on aang and mai and i thought I’d give my point of view.

I want to start by saying that I think there should be more of a distinction between disliking a character because they are a bad person and disliking a character because they are written badly. With that being said, I can confidently say that, with the material of the main ATLA show, I dislike Aang and Mai because they are badly written characters. Meaning, if their arcs were properly finished, I would have no problems with them. This brings me to another topic of how I don’t really ‘hate’ characters who are bad people if they’re well written but that’s a conversation for another post.

I need to point out that I didn’t start disliking Aang and Mai until they had their arcs undermined when Kataang and Maiko became canon. With the arcs they were going on, they had so much potential to be really interesting and I enjoyed their personalities.

When it comes to Aang, I had no problem with him as a character until season 3 part 2 when I started to realize that his world view (which is flawed based solely on the fact that he is young and there is no way he’s going to have a nuanced pov) was not going to be challenged. Aang should have had to give up katara. Aang should not have just had everything handed to him with the lion turtle and the pointy rock.

Then there’s the southern raiders which I would argue, if Aang’s arc had been completed, would not illicit as many conversations and arguments about it as it currently has. Because his actions in that episode make sense (Sokkas don’t really but again-that’s another story) because he’s a kid. This episode should have been a big decider of his change in worldview. The problem is that the creators decided his flaws didn’t exist and that he was perfect. (At 12 years old?!?!?)

Then there’s Mai. She’s a much smaller character but that doesn’t mean she deserves less of an arc. Mai is a character whose personality I love! (I’m all for gloomy depressed women!) There’s two ways Mai’s character could have developed, and I think both options are great, the problem is that Bryke decided to go in neither direction.

On the one hand, Mai could have been a representation of unlearning the propaganda she was taught in the fire nation throughout her whole life. I think this direction would make Maiko more believable, although I still don’t think they are a good couple because their personalities create a toxic dynamic and Mai’s story with Zuko is meant to represent that toxicity.

The second option would be to have her views not change, like we see in the show, and have her not get back together with Zuko. This is the more interesting path in my opinion because it’s more realistic. I don’t think the problem with Mai’s arc lies with her personal views of the fire nation, more so with her relationship with Zuko. As we have it in the show, Mai’s views don’t change. Therefor, it doesn’t make sense for her character or for Zuko’s for them to get back together like nothing ever happened.

When it comes down to it. Both Aang and Mai had their arcs sabotaged because the creators rejected Zutara. Even without Zuko and Katara getting together these were the wrong decisions. Both characters had potential to be well written, but in the end, the creators chose the path didn’t allow that to happen because they just couldn’t kill their darling. (Kataang)

Sorry for rambling, this is kind of just my take on the whole “Zutara shippers hate Aang and Mai” take.

#is this a meta?#atla #avatar the last airbender #anti aang #anti Mai #anti kataang #anti maiko #anti bryke #zutara #ayo fuck bryke all my homies hate bryke #atla critical #aang critical #Mai critical

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punkeropercyjackson · 3 months

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Y'know what?Yes,actually,i DO think nobody should be allowed to ship Zutara.Not because 'You can only ship canon' purity bullshit but because it sanitizes the show in general but especially Katara.Katara is not just a teenage girl,she's a brownskin native one who's strongest and most prevelant trait's are hating oppressors with all her heart and taking action in it throught all of canon.This 100% includes Zuko pre-redemption and she is under no obligation to have a crush on him even post it because their friendship is good enough of a status for both of them-This is their canon feelings on the matter.Zuko in canon is too focused on Mai to pursue anyone else and the only other girl he showed potential interest in is Ty Lee and Sokka is an infinitely more in-character Gaang love interest option for him than she is and Katara fullstop never even considered Zuko a romantic option.And why should she have?He spent almost a year trying to kill her first ever friend and wasn't afraid to hurt her too to accomplish it,the first time she saw good in him and opened up to him about her trauma that HIS DIRECT ANCESTORS caused he betrayed her and his initial attempts to make it up to her directly were half assed as hell so he resorted to trying to get her to murder someone at 14.Zuko is a good person but that dosen't mean he's good enough for Katara and she's well-aware of that since she's full of self-worth and vocalizes it as she should

This wasn't just a relathionship dynamic choice-It was representation to show minorities how they should treat their oppressors and that is to not coddle them because they were raised to hate and hurt them for existing and to say none of them are entitled to forgiveness due to being raised into it since kids of color don't have the privilige of getting away with things for having the 'right' heritage.Zuko is a victim because his dad was abusive,not because his dad was an imperialist.Katara is a proud girl of color-not woc,she's a GIRL,a FEMALE CHILD-who's canonically an activist and instigator starting at the age of 14 while still behaving like an ordinary (feminine) teenage girl instead of an adult in a kid's body and her friends talk onscreen multiple times about how she deserves to act her age.By choosing Zuko over Aang,Katara would've given up her beliefs and wish to destroy gender roles and turned into what the racist patriarchy both in-universe and irl wants her to be

Katara is not 'every teenage girl ever'.Katara is Katara.Katara is a punk who grew up in her homeland that was being colonized.Katara is a role model.Katara is MY role model and she has been since i was realized the true messages of the series and the same goes for Aang and Zuko and Sokka and Toph and Mai and Ty Lee and yes,even Jet and the only reason Azula isn't included in this list is that i want to take care of her and give her the mother figure which leads to a redemption arc she deserved like Zuko because she was a victim and a kid too instead.I refuse to be nice to dudebros who falsely believe they're like Zuko and womanchildren that hate a 12 year old boy for being a type of asian they can't fetishize and use his best friend turned girlfriend and older brother figure who's also like a parent to him as mouthpieces.Zutara antis may be mean but Zutara shippers are racist and that's worse

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zvtara-was-never-canon · 12 days

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I found it. The worst Katara take.

https://www.tumblr.com/illycanary/748146862907867136/kataras-entire-arc-was-about-her-becoming-someone?source=share

Her entire arc was about becoming someone who could lead the Fire Nation!? The nation that GENOCIDED her people!?

Please… please I need to hear your take on this. It hurts my soul. Give me peace.

Zutarians: It's so disgusting how Kataang completely reduces Katara to just "The Avatar's girl."

Also zutarians: Katara's entire arc, trauma and struggles are not actually about herself, but about her Totally Real romance with Zuko and how she'll be great for his nation.

And she used to hate said nation because it was an elusive concept to project her insecurities onto. It was totally not because said nation had in place a socio-political AND military system that was hostile to her, her loved ones, and her culture by design.

It wasn't Zuko and the Fire Nation that had to understand that everyone else in the world was as human as they were, oh no. It was actually Katara and the rest of the world that had to understand that the Fire Nation ain't as bad as they thought - even though they WERE doing all the horrible things they thought they were doing, and ruining their lives by taking away everything and everyone they loved.

#UnhingedZutariansShutTheFuckUpChallenge

Also, can the fandom as a whole stop it with the bullshit "Characters like Jet and Hama existed to teach Katara and Sokka not to be racist against the Fire Nation"?

They were NEVER okay with killing, or even mistreating, someone just because they happened to be born in the Fire Nation or were under their control. Everyone they hated had done something to earn said hate: killed someone they loved, attacked their tribe, chased them around the world, held people prisoner and forced them into slave labor, etc.

You might think it was wrong of Katara and Sokka to do something like try to convince Aang to leave Zuko to die in the North Pole (and the show was very clearly saying that was the case) but you cannot act like that was based on some unearned hostility to anyone vaguely associated with a nation they "didn't understand" and not on, like Sokka said, not giving the guy that was trying to kill them a chance to try again and maybe succeed - hell, Katara gave Zuko a chance in Ba Sing Se, and look what fucking happened. Her best friend died right in front of her because Zuko jsut had to go help Azula take control of the city, and then he sent an assassin after them.

No one is fully good or evil - but people CHOOSE to do bad things, even if they have sympathetic reasons, and a political system CAN be inherently cruel, unfair and EVIL. And the Fire Nation under Sozin, Azulon and Ozai's rule very much was. And since Zuko went out of his way to keep that political system in place, he was doing something evil, and thus the people that were being victimized by him had every right to hate his guts for it.

Once again, let's hear it from Zuko himself:

"Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it! We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness."

The Fire Nation screwed up. Zuko screwed up. They need to get their shit together (and Zuko did), and the responsibility to do so is on THEM, not on the people that are quite literally fighting for their lives because the Fire Nation gave them no choice.

It's not Katara's job to make Zuko, and an entire country, see reason. And her arc was about HER journey, HER struggles, HER accomplishments, HER life, HER culture, and HER loved ones - just because Zuko would eventually be part of the last category, that doesn't mean that it secretly all about him the whole time.

And Zuko knows all this. That's why his arc, and his friendship with Katara, works. The show already gave you the perfect scenario to turn that friendship into a romance in fanfics and headcanons, you don't need to pretend the Fire Nation wasn't the obvious bad guy in the war THEY chose to start.

You can respect the beautiful arcs both Katara and Zuko went through, or you can make excuses for the Fire Nation's choice to commit genocide by saying "Well, EVERYONE had something to learn from it." You cannot possibly do both, because their arcs are all about showing this "both sides" thing is NOT TRUE.

#anti zutara #pro katara #pro zuko

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fuckyouozai · 10 months

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now the LAST thing i want to say. is the idea that jet or hama are portrayed as like, “as bad as” or more deserving of punishment or more irredeemably evil than iroh, who as we know is a war criminal, because they fought back against the fire nation. i am not sure that’s the case!

a lot of ppl misremember the jet episode as jet planning to wipe out a fire nation town. twas not a fire nation town! it was an earth kingdom village full of earth kingdom people that was occupied by fire nation soldiers. there ain’t nothing wrong with killing fire nation soldiers LOL but katara & the gang were protecting the earth kingdom people when they prevented jet from blowing up that dam. so jet being “evil” is not based upon him wanting to kill fire nation folks first of all

second of all, even before he gets brainwashed by the dai li it is repeatedly made explicit that jet is a kid who is Unwell. he is obsessed and losing connections with his friends and wants to be a freedom fighter but keeps getting tunnel vision. much like how azula is shown to be a tragedy at the end of the series just by the way the narrative treats her, we see jet as a lost, angry boy who has trouble controlling himself and retaining connections. jet gets depth! he is not an irredeemable villain! he’s the antagonist in one episode but then the rest of his arc is about him being a victim

hama is a little more difficult to deal with for a couple reasons. the first and foremost being that her appearance is the obligatory nickelodeon halloween episode, so it’s all about portraying something spooky. the second is because the violence and trauma she endured is like. fucking unlike ANYTHING we see in the rest of the series, barring perhaps gyatso’s skeleton surrounded by fire nation soldiers in the southern air temple. it’s barbaric! it’s horrifying! she was captured and chained up like a DOG!

sokka, toph, and aang rescuing the “innocent villagers” and putting a stop to her imprisoning fire nation randos is what they have to do because they’re the protags. they’re the good guys in a kid’s show. but the show does not place those fire nation people at the center of what makes hama villainous; instead the focus is entirely on katara, and how hama is passing on the fear and trauma of her own experience to her, and she has to stand up and master it (possibly the only remaining waterbending technique that belongs solely to the southern water tribe!) because that has always been her role. she’s the last waterbender of the southern water tribe! she has inherited this trauma! like, on the page yes aang and sokka and toph have to rescue the villagers. BUT WATCH THE EP! THE VILLAGERS ARE QUICKLY FORGOTTEN! THE LAST LINGERING SHOT IS ON KATARA CRYING WHILE THE BOYS COMFORT HER! the NARRATIVE does not villainize hama primarily for what she did to the fire nation people; it villainizes her primarily for traumatizing katara. ITS A 22 MINUTE KIDS SHOW! there was no way they could turn to the audience and say “oh and by the way fuck those fire nation ppl they don’t matter,” but what they could do was make sure that what lingers about how wrong hama was, is the damage she did to katara, not to the fire nation villagers

all that to say; YEAH, the show could’ve gone a little fucking harder on iroh! i would’ve loved at least someone in ba sing se to talk about how horrible or traumatic the siege was so we could get some perspective on that. but the show does repeatedly emphasize that iroh NEEDS zuko; that iroh is REDEEMED by zuko, not the other way around. the inclusion of him as part of the fire nation family ( “the sins of our family”) rather than a straight up good guy is deliberate. and personally! i don’t think jet or hama run contrary to that handling

#hama #jet #atla #thoughts with lucy #iroh

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innocentimouto · 5 months

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Honestly if Jet joined the Gaang, the shipping wars would be between Jetara and Zutara.

I think Jet would shut down some of Aang's "antics" regarding his behavior and his relationship with Katara. He'd probably would have Aang keep a distance from Katara in order to feel focus ( such as when he had to choose to let Katara go or not in the Guru episode). He'd probably be in favor of Aang letting go if it meant the Fire Nation's war would be over.

I'm not sure Kataang would even be able to develop as it could with Jet being right there.

I'm not even sure Kataang would happen if Jet and Katara developed further romantically. Although I don't ship it - I prefer my crackship of Jet and Haru lol- I'd probably be in favor of them over K/A and even Z/K.

Also, if Jet joined earlier, it might've made Zuko's redemption more shallow as Jet would've already fulfilled that role.

Outside of Aang kissing Katara in the play episode, nothing about his behavior seemed wrong to me. He always supported Katara. When she stole the waterbending scroll, Sokka was lecturing her over it while Aang laughed at how she contextualized it. For the fandom claiming he's incapable of seeing her anything other than perfect, he didn't have a problem with her stealing.

That episode is a prime example of how kind Aang is to Katara. And it even shows how the narrative makes Katara apologize so many times for

stealing a waterbending scroll that's actually useful for her and Aang.

It helped her get better, which is possibly the only reason she even lasted against Pakku, meaning Aang probably would have had to stay at the North for longer if Katara hadn't got a chance to learn.

She was able to help Aang in fights after that.

reclaiming a part of her culture that was stolen from her

Zuko being at the island because Iroh wanted a game tile, yet Iroh blames her

Sokka has many lines of blaming her, her being obsessed with waterbending, endangering all of them, and yet when on Kiyoshi Island, when Katara told Aang they needed to leave soon because it wasn't safe and then was proven right, Aang admits he was wrong, Katara doesn't blame him, and they leave. End of story. Sokka isn't even in the equation here.

The writing is very different, but ironically the only one who actually judges Katara is Sokka. Aang has always been supportive, except when she was planning on killing someone in a clearly upset state.

The whole thing about Aang having to let go of Katara to activate the Avatar state doesn't make sense to me because this was never true for any of the previous avatars. And he activates it again later anyway.

I lean more toward Jetara than Kataang, but it's not impossible for Kataang to happen with Jet in the group.

Sorry when it comes to shipping culture and the like, I'm the worst because I'm that one person who will read a major shipping fic just to see good writing of my favorite character, and good friendships, and skip every romantic scene. I have a few ships I like yeah, but romance as a genre doesn't work for me, despite me trying to enjoy it. So if there would be a love triangle if Jet was there, or jealousy or drama, any of that doesn't appeal to me. The drama and messiness of romantic tropes can make for really entertaining stories but I am not the intended audience.

I don't think Jet having a redemption arc would make Zuko's shallow because Zuko was on the side of the oppressing nation and was desiring his "rightful place on the throne" for a long time. Jet was entirely different. Besides even if say Zuko actually had a redemption arc, it's not like they're all written the same way.

Not all of them have to end with befriending the main cast, or with complete forgiveness. I enjoy when characters rightfully dislike someone for some injustice, but have to work together for a common goal and still don't become friends. Just because someone has apologized, or has helped, doesn't mean the character deserves forgiveness. It's also a more interesting dynamic than all is forgiven, to me at least. Especially because then it truly emphasizes the person wants to change not for someone's forgiveness or good graces, but because they recognize they did wrong and want to change.

Besides Zuko joined right after a failed invasion. That is EXTREMELY suspicious. The kids just got separated from their people and fathers, and now the prince of the Fire Nation shows up. Zuko joined at the worst possible time. My first question, if I didn't attack immediately, would have been why didn't Zuko help during the invasion?

#atla #anti zutara #Jet #atla jet #Jetara #Zuko critical

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fishgirl514 · 6 months

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I REREAD UR INTRO POST. MP100. need to tell u this. consider aslfua mpo au. on one hand. esper cheol. his repression and social anxiety swag. listen 2 me… him playing w his powers in the countryside …. but then he doesnt use them at all anymore ….

ALSO TERU!JINSEOP

SORRY I AM RESPONDING TO THIS LATW i had to let it marinate sufficiently in my head it was just so good…..

jinseop and teru both had to experience humbling but jinseop could definitely maybe use a little more LMAO free my girl song-i rest she deserves better T_T

also thank you so much for cheol psychic powers bc he has always been so autism to me (avoiding eye contact, extremely awkward, not very good with adults and being formal, struggles to process and express his feelings, shuts down and stops speaking when he’s freaked out, intimidating by accident, prone to outbursts when overwhelmed, quiet, uncomfortable around people, antagonized by the school system and the people around him despite being the victim because of a perceived “threat”, mi-ae is his adhd counterpart) and we all know that mp100 is about autistic people have psychic powers

mi-ae is kind of like tome? the energy and the goof factor for sure. she would be a non psychic who thinks psychics r so cool and her whole arc w cheol would be him thinking she only likes him for his abilities and he’s kind of like god fuck off!!! bc he feels like all anyone cares about is his powers whether they’re scared of him or they want to use him or they’re gawking at him and treating him like a zoo exhibit. everyone being scared of him bc they’ve heard he has insane powers and had an outburst in the past, but she genuinely just wants to be his friend bc she remembers being friends as kids and stuff and he starts using his powers in little ways to protect her !!!!!!! UUUAAAAHHHH

LIKE LIKE the first time it happens it s like he hasn’t used his powers at ALL in like years but one time mi-ae gets into trouble and someone kind of starts to threaten her and suddenly he uses just a little bit of psychic power to freeze the guy and be like hey dude. stop. AAAAAAHHH !!!!! literally thinking abt this in real time oh this post is going to be an essay. and then he starts using his powers to like. catch her when she trips or send a note across their windows or silly little things as he gets more comfortable using it again. ugh. i love them. and her genuine lack of fear of him and appreciation for who he actually is makes him fall in love like in the regular series OTL

and obv we don’t know shit about whatever the hell happened between them back in the country side STILL UGHHH but i would think it would b something like. they are like playing together and he’s using his powers comfortably and freely in front of her and it’s such a bonding moment god i love them <33333333!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and like in the future he likes to float her around to tease her (she also loves it and requests it because she gets to be taller than him and fly like an airplane LOL)

he will put her in air jail when she needs to settle down

i also feel like they might have a fight scene with some sort of “jason this isn’t you :( just look at me jason ok? it’s just you and me right now” kind of moment LMAO but it would actually be good and not corny, more like the scene from avatar with aang and katara in the desert

anyway THANK you for this i am going to think about it forever i hope i was able to contribute and expand upon it

#literally in love this is so cute and fun #aslfua #mp100 #mop cycle #cheol and miae #after school lessons for unripe apples

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victimsofyaoipoll · 9 months

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please please Lizzie NEEDS to win this. I understand she's up against katara and the atla fandom was INSANELY against aang x katara back in the olden days (and now she's doubly pushed aside for zukka) but. hear me out.

i admittedly can't really think of any yaoi ships with aang in them and idk if that just wasn't the side of the fandom i was in, but like. i feel like most people just disliked katara x aang on Principle rather than like, because she was Getting In The Way of a Yaoi(tm). so more of just like, a general fandom misogyny thing.

LIZZIE on the other hand. Oh my fucking god. I don't necessarily ship her romantically with ciel because they're both like, what, 14? and cousins? but holy SHIT their relationship is so deep and meaningful.

I'll try to keep this brief so that there's a chance people will actually read this. for some context ciel has a canonical engagement with lizzie— she's his fiance. ciel is also extremely traumatized, and kind of cold to her, and at the beginning of the series you kind of her the impression that he finds her slightly annoying or pestering, but especially as the series progresses you can see that he Cares a Lot about her. a while into the series it's revealed that Lizzie actively Noticed that ciel was suffering and traumatized and she took up swordfighting lessons. to protect him. she is KICKASS and she.... she tries to be cute and pretty most of the time so she doesn't scare him, but when she noticed he was in so much pain and that bad things happened to him she trained herself so that she could protect him. and she DOES protect him and it's fucking awesome. she loves him unconditionally and is completely prepared to give her all to defend him and make him feel safe in a world that has persistently hurt him so many times over. not necessarily romantic love but oh my god that devotion. (and he clearly cares for her and wants to give her the best in return and tries to keep all his dark secrets away from her to protect her from himself and. i just. ausvfhdghddbbdbcm.)

.... except, you know what everyone was talking about instead, in the early 2010s fandom? how ciel should have a romantic relationship with his butler, who is a very powerful demon he has explicitly sold his soul to and who is simply using him and keeping ciel in a miserable and hateful state for his own benefit. barely any positive word about Lizzie who is so fucking cool. admittedly maybe the book of the atlantic arc (where most of those reveals about lizzie were) hadn't come out yet at the time? but like the yaoi crimes against this girl are absurd. no one fucking talks about her!!! even though she is the BEST!!! please vote for my girl who is constantly portrayed as just a stupid ditzy annoying character in the fanon to be forgotten about at best, pushed aside or actively slandered at worst. please please she's so fucking cool

Black Butler season 4 is coming she deserves the win

#not poll #propaganda

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duckiedaledeservedbetter · 2 months

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finished a:tla netflix

here are some thoughts (idk, they might be controversial)

Things I liked:

Avatar itself is so good that even a bad adaptation is enjoyable, and i really enjoyed seeing the avatar world in live-action style, especially Omashu !!!

Ian Ousley was born to play Sokka idc what anybody else says, idc about the butchered character arc, or the personality changes or any of that, Ian Ousley is the live-action Sokka we deserve and he ate every scene (except one, which i WILL be mentioning later)

Like seriously Sokka has never given such big bro energy before and i'm living for it, Ian looks like Sokka, sounds like Sokka, and imo carried the show a bit.

I love a good long episode, none of this percy jackson 30 minute nonsense.

Fire Nation costumes HIT - like some of the other costumes were lacking but the fire nation uniforms and armor ? amazing.

They kept so much of the original music !!!

Honestly the bending was pretty good. i fully expected it to suck and be super cringey but there were really only a few moments of cringe for me.

Lieutenant Jee!!! best character!!! best casting!!! amazing, 10/10.

Like seriously though Omashu looked amazing, Agna Q'ela looked amazing, the southern air temple looked AMAZING.

Hahn was cute, i liked Hahn.

Blue Spirit accuracy omg i am so glad they stuck so closely to the original blue spirit storyline.

Gran gran was giving, ngl.

Again, Ian Ousley as Sokka. Show stopping.

Things I didn't like (sorry, the list is long):

sorry, gordon cormier did not do Aang justice. maybe it was the writing? idk, either way, Aang was not Aang-ing and he was honestly boring ? also i'm pretty sure Gordon is age-accurate (?) but if i had to guess his age with no prior knowledge i would guess 9. maybe 10. idk. i get that Aang is a kid but idkkkkkk I was just disappointed ig.

KATARA. ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. DON'T EVEN ASK, WE ALL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. Like, i never even liked Katara that much in the og show but dang, they ruined her.

besides katara, Iroh seemed the least character accurate to me. like, in the very first scene in the og show when Zuko is practicing his firebending iroh gets on his case for doing it wrong or whatever and he def has some attitude about it. like, Iroh isn't all chill all the time, let him have some attitude. also where was the wisdom? I felt a bit like i was watching endgame Thor - like iroh was kind of a joke? idk, i couldn't take his character seriously. the actor fell flat for me. bland. didn't sound like iroh, didn't really look like him. writing was weird.

THE PART WHERE THEY HEAL MOMO IN THE POND AND AND AND SOKKA - HUGS HIM ???? LIKE THAT ???? WHAT DID I JUST WITNESS ???? IM CRYING IT WAS SO CRINGE LIKE WHY DID I HAVE TO WATCH THAT WHAT WAS THE POINT

Maybe it was just me but Zhao's actor delivered all his lines like jokes with no punchlines. and he also was not remotely intimidating.

SORRY DANIEL DAE KIM I LOVE YOU BUT no. he didn't do Ozai justice (but really, who could possibly stand up to the performance of mark hamil?)

it wasn't funny. straight up. the whole show. just. not funny.

idk maybe i'm just a nitpicky bitch but none of the performances really hit except Ian's. that's my biggest complaint. they can change what they want (it is an "adaptation" after all) but none of the actors felt right. ig dallas liu wasn't bad ? ian ousley was great, but that's about it.

butchered bumi storyline. no thank you. i will be pretending that didn't happen.

i really just wanted to see live action sokka in kyoshi warrior makeup tbh.

ALSO STRAIGHT UP WHY DID EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER HAVE TO TALK ABOUT HOW SOKKA WASN'T A WARRIOR ??? LIKE YEAH VALIDATE HIS ENGINEERING PASSION AND WHATNOT BUT HE IS A WARRIOR? THAT IS PART OF HIS CHARACTER ? AN IMPORTANT PART ? THAT CARRIES HIS ARC TO THE VERY END OF THE SHOW ? LIKE HE IS A WARRIOR? A NON-BENDING WARRIOR ? idk man don't @ me i stan warrior sokka, it's literally a big part of the show, his growth from child to warrior, his training with piandao, his training with the kyoshi warriors, etc etc. like, it's important.

i feel like they took the wisdom and hard-hitting lines right out of the show. "youre just a child." "well, youre just a teenager." etc etc.

idk. it was fine overall. i watched it. i enjoyed it. i wish it could've been better-acted and more faithful to the original but you win some you lose some.

#avatar the last airbender #prince zuko #netflix #zuko #avatar #avatar the last airbender netflix

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byrdiboo · 2 months

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There is no sexism in Ba Sing Se

By now I think everyone has their opinions formed about the live action ATLA remake but as a non-fan I figured I'd offer my two cents to anyone still on the fence or who might be interested in a slightly less biased opinion. To clarify, I don't hate the show, I actually like hearing my friends talk about the fan theories and how they thought the various heavy subjects are handled, I just never got into it myself. Because my partner is one of those people who did get into it, I've at least seen up to the point of Kyoshi Village in both shows (ep2 Netflix, ep4 original). One of the things I've seen most people excited about is the special effects, especially the bending. I will say, it looks...fine. I'm not up on my fighting styles but the choreography seems decent. The effects are nothing groundbreaking - we've had these water and fire sims for at least 10 years - but it's definitely not awful to look at...when you can see it. Way too much of the show (ie more than 0%) utilizes the inexplicably popular "someone forgot to turn the lights on when filming" lighting technique and "shakeycam meets too-many-cuts" editing with motionblur out the ass for good measure (some of the opening scenes are on youtube, judge for yourself). At least all two of the creatures we get to actually look at look awesome. Perhaps the biggest thing I've seen talked about is the changes to the characters themselves. I will start by saying the actors deserve no ill will, they're clearly doing their best with a subject they love and a script written by people who thought ATLA should read like GoT. Aang and the others have a few goofy moments thrown in to keep people happy but for the most part he plays the part of Main Character Boy while the others are The Support Characters, rather than three children in extraordinary times doing what they think makes sense. This is where my knowledge of Aang and Katara is lacking, but I do want to talk about Sokka cuz his changes (rightly) had a lot of people worried (and a lot of his character arc is pretty obvious from ep 1, rather than revealed past the point I've seen). They didn't just tone down his sexism, they removed it entirely, taking him from an obnoxious but teachable idiot to a generic annoying dudebro. Maybe this is just me, but I was endlessly annoyed that they took away his sexism without addressing the things that made him sexist in the first place. After being told by the leaderly elderly matriarch character about the fire nation attacks wiping out most of the village, we are told Sokka is how he is because he was appointed the village leader at 13 for...reasons. So the village is still sexist enough to declare a 13 year old boy leader over the woman everyone already looks up to, but this didn't affect his character in any meaningful way, I guess? And for those looking forward to the Kyoshi warriors, you can go ahead and put those hopes down. The warriors themselves get minimal action time before Deus Ex Kyoshi-ghost-possession (yes, really) deals with the fire nation attackers for them. As for the love interest, they took what was a solid moment of "sexist gets ass beat by woman, begs woman for training, learns woman can do stuff too, ends up liking and respecting woman so hard she reciprocates" into the most bland "popular girl falls for cute boy at school" complete with eyelash fluttering, shy-can't-look-at-yous, and the most vomit-inducing "training" scene I've seen in a long time. No lessons learned, no character growth achieved, but hey they got rid of sexism or whatever. All this to say, I'm willing to give live action some passes, but personally I don't think this one's even worth a hate watch. I won't tell you to hate it, it does have a few moments of brilliance, but they're the glitter on a turd imo and Netflix doesn't deserve to be rewarded with your watch time. Despite my misgivings, the show is (supposedly) still getting at least mixed reviews from fans and non fans alike, so if you've bothered to see it I'm curious what you thought the remake (or my impression) got right or wrong.

#atla #atla live action #avatar the last airbender

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lesbian-in-leather · 3 months

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I'll send more for the ships ask! How I met your mother, and Atla 🙃

aaah thank you dearest!!

How I Met Your Mother (which I still haven't finished but never mind)

OTP: Barney/Robin, my beloveds <3 They have excellent chemistry, actually get along, respect each other, and they way the writers tried to claim they didn't work the first time was bullshit. I know they won't end up together but they deserve to be happy

Favourite canon pairing: Barney! And! Robin!

Worst pairing ever: Robin/Ted. They don't work!! I respect them for trying, but they found out really quickly that their life goals don't align and they simply Do Not Work as a couple, which is fine!! But also. Stop pushing them together. Please. I'm begging

Guilty pleasure pairing: Honestly I think Robin/Lily would be a VERY fun dynamic to explore (and Lily clearly agrees with me)

A pairing you want to see more: I'm sure I'll have an answer for this when I've finished the show, but I've been judging this one based on the fandom which,,, I am not yet a part of

That pairing everyone likes but you’re like “lol no”: Haven't spent any time in fandom yet (because I haven't finished the show) but from the writing I have to assume Marshall/Lily is popular and. I do not like it. I love Lily, and I think she deserves so much better than him (could go on a whole rant about that but we'll save that for another post)

Favourite non-romantic pair: Barney and Lily! When they were living together?? Absolute bestfriend vibes, I love it and I wish the writers gave us that dynamic more instead the other Barney and Lily dynamic where she hates him (serious) instead of she hates him (friendship bullying)

Avatar: The Last Airbender

(I am just focusing on AtLA, not including LoK because then I would have SUCH a hard time deciding)

OTP: oh absolutely Katara/Zuko. I think they had SUCH a fascinating dynamic and I would have loved to see the slow burn as they eventually begin to rebuild trust and friendship slowly turns into love. They had better chemistry and Katara and Aang worked better as friends I said what I said

Favourite canon pairing: Hmmmm probably Sokka/Suki, they're so cute and he's such a wifeguy even when they have literally only just started dating. Them <3

Worst pairing ever: Okay, so it's not the worst pairing ever but........ Katara/Aang. Personally, I just never felt like Katara actually reciprocated his feelings, and it really just came across like the writers just decided on them being endgame early on, and then backed themselves into the corner of We Have To Commit To It, No Matter What. I never really got a romantic vibe from her end, and just really would have much preferred it to not go in that direction

Guilty pleasure pairing: Ty-Lee/Azula. I am a sucker for sunshine/grumpy, especially if it involves the absolute betrayal of Ty-Lee siding with Mai??? I eat that shit UP

A pairing you want to see more: Okay this is absolutely just me being a lesbian but Katara/Azula could have made a BOMBASS power couple. Like,, imagine??? If Azula had gotten the redemption arc she deserved in the show, just imagine how unstoppable they would have been

That pairing everyone likes but you’re like “lol no”: Okay okay don't come for me, I'm not like, violently opposed or anything but I just,,, personally don't see the romantic aspect to Zuko/Sokka. I love their dynamic and ship what you wanna ship!! But I like them better as friends

Favourite non-romantic pair: oooh gotta be Toph & Katara. They're my GIRLS and I love how they slowly develop a friendship despite being two very different people

Send me a fandom and I'll answer these questions!

#thanks for the ask!!!#vaguely-functional-directions #fandom asks #atla #himym #the lesbian herself

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pandawarrior · 6 months

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Avatar Character Ranking: part one

Let’s start from the bottom up!!!

Who tier

47. Random water tribe man

Literally who is that??? Someone please tell me. I do not know him.

46. Old guy who could be from fire nation

Never seen him before. Who is he?

45. Sword guy from fire nation

Wow he can use a sword. So cool. He is from the fire nation but not really. So cool. He is an old man and besties with iroh. So cool. Made minimal impact. Sokka did not need him but whatever.

44. Idk even know this guy imma be so real

I have nothing to say WHO IS THAT??

43. Old air nomad

He was alive and then he was dead and Aang was sad. Okay????

F tier

42. Fire Lord Flopzai

Abusive loser. World’s worst father. Genocidal maniac; what were his redeeming qualities??? Notice the silence??? That's because there was none. He literally burnt his son's face off for not wanting to kill people. Deserves nothing but the worst. He’s so cringe “I aM nOw ThE pHoeNIx KiNg” SHUT UPPPP ARE YOU TWELVE HOW IS THAT COOL OR THREATENING THE PHOENIX KING SOUNDS LIKE SOME SHITTY BOOK ABOUT A DYSTOPIAN WORLD FILLED WITH REALLY TONE DEAF, BADLY EXECUTED METAPHORS THAT ANNOYING PEOPLE PRETEND TO LIKE ACT AS IF IT'S THE MOST GROUNDBREAKING PIECE OF LITERATURE EVER!!! But I digress. Ozai is one of THE worst people ever and one of THE best villains. The fact we don’t see his face until season three?? Amazing choice. Like they couldn’t make a better villain if they tried he is just SUCH AN EVIL PERSON AND THEY LET HIM STAY THAT AWAY!! THERE'S NO SYMPATHY AND NO JUSTIFICATION!! HE IS JUST EVIL!!! IF THE SHOW WAS MADE TODAY THEY WOULD GIVE HIM A SHITTY REDEMPTION ARC AND MAKE HIM BESTIES WITH EVERYONE AND GIVE SOME DUMB SPEECH ABOUT BEING A BETTER PERSON NOW AND THE WAR WOULD BE FORGIVEN AND THAT WOULD BE IT. I NEED TO DO A WHOLE DECONSTRUCTION OF HIS CHARACTER I HATE THIS MAN SO MUCH AND I LOVE THAT!!!

41. Sparky Sparky Boom Man

Tried to kill the Gaang. Not cool. The laser forehead stuff however is kinda cool. What was his problem fr though Zuko told him to stop and he wouldn't listen. It’s not that deep dude chill out. He actually made me mad when he turned up at the air temple. Does he not have a job???

40. Admiral Zhao

I HATE THIS GUY!!!!!! He killed the moon, he was committing genocide, he was a wasteman to Zuko, he was in everyones business. Like get a life, what a useless bum. Just sucks.

39. Sandbenders

Stole Appa. Absolutely disgraceful behaviour. That's all.

38. Hama

Evil old hag. Yeah she was damaged but why is she beefing Katara because she doesn’t feel like imprisoning innocent people. Also attempted to kill Sokka and Aang. -10000000/10. Congrats on inventing bloodbending though. She ate that one thing.

37. Guy who betrayed Earth Kingdom

Flop. Boring. Dead trim. That’s all.

36. Scary Bird Spirit

Actually terrifying. I had nightmares about him when I was younger. This was the start of my hatred and fear for birds. He was doing too much and also he sank the library when the Gaang was still in it. Rude.

#avatar #avatar: the last airbender #fire lord ozai #atla #ranking #tierlist #i am so right #had to start with the flops #fire nation #scary bird spirit is terrifying

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kidnappedbycartoons · 2 years

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Azula deserved better.

You expect me to believe that Iroh, who is a literal war criminal and didn't realize the error of the Fire Nation until the war killed his son, can change, but fourteen-year-old Azula can't? She was failed by the adults around her. She didn't have an Iroh or Usra to guide her. No, she had Ozai. And look at Ozai!

I mean, look at her relationship with Usra. I didn't read the comics yet, but in the show, it's clear that there is some tension between the two. Anytime we saw Usra and Azula interact in the show, it was always Usra telling Azula not to do something or wondering what's wrong with her. And in the beach episode, Azula says that she can talk about how her mother loved Zuko more than her and thought she was a monster. You expect me to believe that Azula wasn't jealous of the attention and love Zuko got from Usra?

Also, I don't think Usra told Azula that she was a monster, but you know who I think put that in Azula's head? Ozai. She wasn't getting that much love and attention from Usra, so she sought it out in her other parent. She wanted his attention and the best way to get that was to show off the traits that Ozai favors. He's someone who leads with fear, he lacks empathy, he is ruthless, and so Azula became like that to stay in his good graces. Ozai probably told her that her mother thought she was a monster.

Also, Azula is clearly capable of care and is also lonely. We see this during the beach episode. Yeah, she is manipulative and toxic towards Ty Lee and Mai, but does no one notice that when Ty Lee is upset, Azula feels bad for her. We see this when Azula almost makes Ty Lee cry at the party and she quickly apologizes. And we see it again when they're at the beach and Ty Lee is talking about her home life and why she joined the circus. When she's not looking, Azula is looking at her with a face of concern but when Ty Lee looks back at her, Azula fixes her face so that there's no hint of emotion on her face. She does care for her friends, but she doesn't know how to because the only example she has to go off of is Ozai.

And during the beach episode, we see that she feels jealous because while Ty Lee can get all the boys to come to her yard, Azula cannot and finds it hard to talk to them. After taking Ty Lee's advice and managing to kiss a boy, she is talking about world domination and being the most powerful couple in the world, which scares him off. She doesn't know how to interact with someone if it doesn't have to do with the war and winning. And who is also obsessed with all of this? Ozai.

She also cares for Zuko. Now, is there a clear power imbalance between the two and has Azula been toxic towards him? Yes. But she does care a bit. When she lied and told Ozai that Zuko killed the avatar, she didn't even know that there was a possibility that Aang lived. She didn't find out UNTIL Zuko gave her that obvious lie. Up till that point, she was just helping him out with his standing in the Fire Nation. But when she found out that there was a possibility, it worked in her favor. And during the beach episode, she seeks Zuko out herself. She doesn't tease him that much, no. She comes to get him and bring him back to the group. And if she wanted to be the Fire Lord so bad, why would she bring him back? She didn't bring him back as a traitor like she was going to in the start of book two. No, she brought him back and helped to restore his honor. How would that help her? It doesn't.

All I'm saying is, if Iroh can change, why can't Azula change? If Zuko can change, why can't she? She didn't have an Iroh or Usra like Zuko did. She had Ozai. And look at how Ozai is. Iroh calling her crazy and saying she needs to be put down leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Azula deserved better. She could've had a redemption arc.

#atla #atla azula #azula deserved better #avatar: the last airbender

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zvtara-was-never-canon · 6 months

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On the whole “Katara is Aang’s trophy for saving the world” thing, almost every single kids show I watched growing up did something similar. (Danny Phantom, Tangled, The Earlier Barbie Movies, Sonic X, Phineas and Ferb, Kim Possible, Winx.)

It’s normal for Shows/movies aimed at Children to not make the couple’s official until the last few episodes/moments. I suspect that they do this because it’s a common belief that kids go “Ew! Gross!” When they see kissing.

There's also the stupid rule plenty of series have of "Main couple can only get together in the end because writers think happy couples are boring."

But the zutara "argument" is even more hollow. The entire "logic" behind it is that Katara supposedly didn't have feelings for him, so them getting together in the end can ONLY be a result of the writers wanting the main character to get the girl he wants even though she supposedly doesn't him.

But we know that's not true. We saw Katara and Aang falling in love, we saw HER take the initiative on their first kiss - and most importantly, we saw her say that the Ember Island claim that she only saw Aang as a little brother was NOT true, and being visibly uncomfortable with the thought of her and Zuko being a thing.

Yet zutarians still say Zuko "deserved her more" because of his redemption arc. Who is REALLY ignoring Katara's choices for the sake of making her a guy's trophy here? An unwanted trophy of that, since Zuko clearly didn't have feelings for her either.

#anti zutara #pro kataang

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juniperhillpatient · 2 years

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jet and azula both are manipulators and leaders, one uses fear the other love(?)

jet is all about liberation, azula about control

azula is a colonizer, jet is an anti-colonizer

okay... (for blog organization, in reference to this)

Jet & Azula are both manipulators & leaders. Notice how you used the term 'manipulator' there?

Merriam Webster under 'manipulate' okay - 'to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means, especially to one's own advantage.'

Look, I love Jet because he's a bit of a flawed asshole - most of my faves are. Jet & Azula both 100% included. I often get bored with characters that are too perfect, fiction is about conflict. Jet is a manipulator & can be cold & calculating, just like Azula, but for different reasons.

It's not a condemnation, it's part of his character. Jet uses his charisma & good looks to trick Katara into being part of a plan she would never have agreed to. Sure, when confronted with someone who doesn't like Jet I'll jump on the "Jet's never done anything wrong in his life actually" train because I love him & want to defend him & I DO think his behavior in the context of the war is sympathetic. But also, in terms of honestly analyzing his character, he's morally gray & far from a saint. Jet has a lot of anger & a tendency to try & solve his problems with violence. This is part of what makes him a compelling character, denying it is boring.

While I DO understand your argument about Azula being a colonizer & part of the nation responsible for Jet's trauma, by that logic Zuko, Mai & Ty Lee also should've never become friends with the gaang. Maybe you feel they shouldn't have, I don't know your full opinion, but if that's the case we're losing a common thread of where to connect because Zuko's redemption arc & eventual befriending of the gaang is pretty core to the narrative of the entire show. Not saying it was 100% perfectly written, but it is a core aspect of the story.

Avatar as a story is big on forgiveness & healing & capacity to change. To an extent, I understand why some fans are frustrated by the sympathy given to characters like the fire siblings. I actually strongly agree that Jet should have been portrayed more sympathetically by the narrative & that he deserves healing & forgiveness too. I just think (& this part is almost definitely about to get me cancelled by some people) that sometimes when the Fire Nation characters are so harshly condemned by a portion of the fandom that even the idea of someone traumatized by the war reconciling with any of them is abhorrent, we're losing the thread of the fantasy world & the narrative of the story. Zuko & Aang learning to work together is a huge part of the story & Aang is the last survivor of a genocide committed by the Fire Nation. Zuko rejects Fire Nation ideology & his father's ways (there are no comics in Ba Sing Se ok) & learns to be a kinder person working toward a new age of peace.

Why shouldn't Azula be given that same chance?

Anyway, Azula & Jet's complicated dynamic is, can't emphasize this enough, part of why I love them. You're exactly correct. Azula is a colonizer & imperialist & Jet is an anti colonizer & a rebel fighter. He has a pessimistic view of the war effort overall & a violent hatred for the Fire Nation. Azula has an unfavorable view of people she considers below her & considers the Fire Nation perfect. In canon, could they ever reconcile? Post-war, I think perhaps if Azula learned to change her ways like her brother did. I tend to write alternate universes but these two would still have vastly differing opinions & it would lead to conflict. In every fic with a focus on their dynamic that I've ever written, they have a rather contentious friendship with a lot of arguments. Because that kind of dynamic is interesting & fun to me.

TLDR: Sure, & this would create conflict but also pretending Jet is morally pure isn't true to his character either & also I just think Azula & Jet have a lot of similarities that would make it interesting to see them interact

#jet #azula #jetzula #my atla post #asks #anon #answered #discussion

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innocentimouto · 1 year

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Was Jet a racist?

I immediately thought of someone hating the monarchy. The Fire Nation isn't a minority, and Jet is not a huge danger to them. People try to give Jet more power than he has, so he can seem worse and more dangerous to others.

Which is eerily similar to how minorities actually face harm in the real world.

This is how I see it.

Jet antis: Jet is a terrorist, and racist, he didn't care about his own people, he'll never change. But Zuko is such a perfect boi

Me: Zuko did more though.

Jet antis: Zuko changed and apologized. If he hadn't, I'd hate him too.

Me: I know that's a lie. People go 'poor zuko, he just wants to be loved' in the earliest episodes.

Jet antis: Zuko always had a good heart!

Me: And Jet didn't when he offered protection and a home to other orphans who had nowhere to go?

Jet antis: Jet did horrible things!

Me: Arguably only 1. Zuko did way more.

Jet antis: Zuko made a mistake and changed.

Me: Are you including the terrorizing women and children, burning down a village, trying to give the avatar to the firelord to never be killed, Ba Sing Se? A mistake?

Jet antis: Zuko had a redemption arc. He literally changed.

Me: You say that, but you're so appalled by 1 thing Jet did and are so confident that he can't change over that 1 thing.

Jet antis: Jet was racist. He hated ALL Fire Nation people.

Me: Zuko was racist to the three other nations? That's what all the Fire Nation people are taught... Zuko saw all air temples, corpses most likely, and still wanted to capture Aang? None of that made him think the fn was wrong...

Jet antis: You clearly don't understand how redemption arcs work.

Me: It's not even about Zuko's redemption arc. It's about your inability to think outside of the narrative. You have Zuko and he wants to be loved and he's abused and his uncle just wants to help him. And because you got nothing for Jet, he doesn't get an ounce of compassion from you.

Me: I don't think you're trying to be colorist or an imperialist apologist. But you are. You're refusing to use any sense of imagination or even freaking common sense, about what an orphan would have to go through to survive in a war, simply because the show didn't give it to you. But you throw every trauma reaction you know and then some for Zuko and somehow do not recognize the hypocrisy.

I'm saying all this because I know when people say Jet is racist, they are not thinking about how in wars, both sides ALWAYS hate each other. Especially before easy access to the rest of the world, which atla didn't have.

Also the racist card is only ever applied to Jet and never to Zuko or any other Fire Nation character, despite that being canon. There's great discussions and fanon over how horrible Jet is because of his prejudices and how he can never let it go, and people really dive into real world things with it.

But with Zuko, they just switch to anything is possible and not that it would reasonably take anyone a long time to unlearn that. It's habit, an unconscious thought. I'm not saying Zuko would go around thinking how can I hurt this person in the worst way over their ethnicity. I'm saying Zuko would literally not know what he would be doing wrong.

Everyone around him did it. And that enables people. Especially if it's your father or uncle or adults you're trained to trust. If you were never taught, how would you know?

But people don't associate Zuko and racism. That's Jet's thing. Zuko had a GREAT redemption arc but we're not interested in any discussion of what else he could improve on.

Honestly the way the fandom treats Jet always makes me think of cops/government justifying any harm or lack of basic human rights given to minorities while other groups of people get everything and more. One group faces injustice and people rush to defend why they deserved it/it was unavoidable, and the other group faces injustice and there's public outcry.

Basically fandom tries to do anything to justify the lack of exploration or empathy for Jet in the show because then they have to reconcile with the fact that the Fire Nation should be held accountable and they weren't by the show and that Jet would have a lot of reasons to hate Zuko and Iroh and that maybe Zuko didn't have a redemption arc since everything he did got swept away in a few episodes.

#Jet #atla jet #zuko critical #zuko had a 'great' redemption arc #but we're not interested in discussing anything he could improve on

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