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empressofthesunslittlecorner · 8 days

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A rant about Aang and Byrke

WARNING NOT KATAANG FRIENDLY

CONTINUE WITH PRECAUTION

Hello my loves!

Here I'm with a new blog entry.

This time we will talk about Kataang, Aang and Byrke.

Since I'm writing a FanFic where Aang is paired with an OC, I thought I could tell you why I prefer Aang with OCs instead of Katara.

Just to be clear.

I like Aang.

I love Katara and would for this girl sell my liver.

But them together as a pair...please no!

Kataang is one of my NOTPs.

In my Let's Talk about Zutara post I pretty much said why I can't stand this pairing.

One is the age and maturity gap.

What does a 14-year-old want with a 12-year-old? It's just creepy, no matter the gender and it would have been better if they got together at like 22 and 20.

Even if I think Zutara is superior, I could grimly accept Kataang.

Second Aang and Katara are the worst version of their self together.

I haven't read the comics, but what I saw on Tumblr and on Legend of Korra was enough to make me angry.

Katara was reduce to Aang price, girlfriend, housewife and mother of his children.

The warrior girl we all loved, who never turned her back on people who needed her, became in the name of love (and Byrke) a shadow of herself.

Our real Katara would smack this wishy-washy version of herself to kingdom come!

Then we have Aang. The boy clearly turns into a Nice GuyTM when it's about Katara.

He kissed her TWICE, TWICE, without her consent and never said sorry for this.

He thinks he deserves her love because he is the Avatar (the hero) and that's how it be.

Till Season 2 Aang wasn't that worse about Katara, a lot of plotpoints pointed out that Aang obsession, I'm not calling it love, on Katara was not good.

He replaced the love for his people with Katara.

Erm, that's not healthy at all.

What Aang expierendec was traumatic, he is the sole suriver of a genocide, but he can't shove all his love for his people to Katara.

How can only one person hold this standards?

It's impossible.

Katara is a bandaid on a ripped arm.

A bandaid isn't going to fix Aang trauma.

He needed to really face it and accept it and let Katara go.

Guru Pathik told him he to let Katara go, but I don't think it was meant to say, don't love that girl anymore.

No, it was more like: you clearly are obsessed with her and think if she loves you all your hurt will go away, but this isn't the case!

Aang could still love Katara, he just needed to stop to put her on a pestal!

Then we know what happens, he let's her go, seems to get the Avatar State, but turn it down because Katara is in danger and he must save her.

Alright, we all would run to our loved one if they are in danger, but Aang, you are the Avatar.

The Avatar is the peacekeeper of this world.

Sadly he can't put his own desires forward, he has do to what was for the world right!

In the Crystal Catabombs he realizes this.

So he let's go of Katara to get the Avatar State and then gets shot down by Azula.

Then when the first episode of season 3 rolls around, you get the feeling that Aang learnend his lesson.

Because he was selfish, he lost his greatest eapan.

He needed to be better.

Only...after the first episode season 3 was really...bad.

I can't say it better.

If you compare it to the other two seasons...season 3 has mayor problems.

A lot of plotpoints get forgotten, Aang didn't learn from his mistakes, he acts entitled for Katara love and he gets his Avatar State back thanks to Deus-Ex-Machine Rock and even finds a way to handle Ozai thanks to Deus-Ex-Machine Lion Turtle.

How, HOW, did the creators look at this and want a golly what an awesome final?

It was not!

It was rushend and not earnend!

Because Aang is a selfinsert from Bryek.

They statet once in an interview that Kataang was reflection how they had a crush on their babysitter, who of course didn't wanted them and would go out with the "bad boy".

The bad boy here in question is Zuko, which is hilarious since Zuko is the most awkward dork.

So they wanted to create a story were the young hero gets the hot older girl.

No normal 14-year-old girl would date a 12-year-old and if she did call the police on her ass!

Avatar was only amazing because of writers like Aaron Ehasz, who turned Toph, who was supposed to be a boy and a love rival for Aang, into this badass girl who didn't let her disabilty stop her to become the greatest earthbender and inventer of metalbening in the world.

They truned Iroh into thee loveable and wise uncle and not like Byrke wanted into a spy for Ozai.

Also Azula was supposed to be a boy too, but she became the female villain we all loved and wish we would see in other media's too!

A lot of writer wanted also Zutara to happen and not Kataang.

If I remember right season 3 was so rushed and lacking because the movie-who-shall-not-be-named was in production and Bryke wanted the series to end before it.

A lot of concept were thrown out the window for it.

The writers wanted to make even a season 4, where Aang would even find other airbenders, but noooooooooooooooo we can't give Aang the healing he deserves, we must live out a fantasy trough this boy.

Looking at you Bryke.

Anyways we got, what we got and I'm so not happy about it.

Zutara should be canon and Aang should have found a girl who loved really, who was his equal and who didn't needed to be a broodmare for the air nomads, becasue there where still air nomads around.

Here we get back to my preference to ship Aang with OCs. Since I'm a big fan of the theoretical season four we would have gotten, it's only naturel to imagine own characters, since no canon characters exist for it.

I would have loved to see Aang with a descendant of Air Nomads. She learning from him, he learning from her, cute!

But let's be real if Aang is writing good he could work with a lot of characters.

Even canon ones like On Ji. I found her really cute with him.

The only thing I want for Aang partner is that the girl doesn't get reduced to a broodmare.

So the airbenders have always to come back/stop from hiding.

IT'S NOT THE COMPLICATED!

BUT WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS!

WE LIVE IN THE DARK TIMELINE!

AVATAR COULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST REVOLUTIONARY CARTOON EVER, BUT NOOOOOO TWO MEN HAD TO MAKE THEIR WEIRD FANTASY REALITY AND DIDN'T LISTEN TO THEIR TEAM OF WRITER WHO WERE LIKE, FAM THAT'S NARRAVTIVLY SPEACKING HUGE STEPS BACKWARDS!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

Yeah, I think you all guessed how much I hate Bryke.

Fricking pricks!

Also, people who make fun of their own fans because they ship a pairing themselves not like are the worst!

That shows have much respect they have for their fans.

Zero.

They just wanted to live out their fantasy and be done.

Again, fricking pricks!

So for now, that's from me, I needed to get it out of my chest.

Till next time my loves!

#avatar the last airbender #anti kataang #anti bryke #katara deserved better #aang deserved better #zuko deserved better #the whole gaang deserved better #bryke critical #avatar the last airbender season 3 was a trainwreck #zutara

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zvtara-was-never-canon · 17 days

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I've got a good aang take for you;

https://www.tumblr.com/juju-or-anya/744607288172625920/i-ship-zutara-and-i-dont-believe-aang-is-the?source=share

Eh, this is only good to some extent. There's still quite a significant portion of "Zutara Alternate Reality" nonsense.

For starters: Katara's suffering of having to grow up to fast and take on the role of "mom" before she was ready literally only happened BECAUSE of the Fire Nation. Saying she could ever find freedom from oppression by marrying into said nation - one that has way more evidence of sexism than the air-nomads AND Southern Water Tribe, on top of all the freaking racism and literal genocide - is absurd. Just because marrying the Fire Lord would mean living in a palace and having access to luxury, it does NOT mean Katara would feel empowered, respected, and like she's home.

I also completely reject this idea that Aang tried to force her into being anything other than what she actually was and "doesn't get" that she is a fighter and warrior. That boy literally offered to go to the North Pole so SHE could learn to fight. Aang didn't want her to murder Yon Rah because, unlike Zuko, he knew and understood Katara already. She is not a murderer, she does not believe in an eye for an eye - that's why the episode ends with Katara realizing that. Why she didn't go for the kill despite not choosing forgiveness either.

Just because he thought of the girl he repeatedly flirted with and kissed twice as being "his girl", in the sense of "romantically involved with him", it does NOT mean he thought of her as property. A poorly timed kiss that he clearly regreted the second he realized it upset her proves that. Hell, the fact that he ASKED her to tell him how she felt already proves that. A 12-year-old being confused at the notion of "No, I don't think of you as a little brother and I do have feelings for you, but I don't know if I want to date" is not the same as him feeling like he's OWED a relationship with her, or sees her just as a potential girlfriend instead of a person he cares about regardless of that.

And for real, can we stop pretending sexism was ever that relevant in the story? The only two sexist characters in the show were Sokka and Pakku, and both were very short arcs. Katara lost her childhood because of the war Zuko's family imposed on the world, and that he was supporting for a long time. She regained her freedom and joy when she met Aang, because he helped empower her through their journey all over the world AND gave her the chance to be a kid again.

Katara's hope for, and key to, a better life has ALWAYS been Aang - that's why she reminds us of her unwavering faith in him AT THE START OF EVERY SINGLE EPISODE.

#anti zutara #pro kataang

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atlafan · 1 month

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Jordan, ik you probably don’t want to have a whole conversation about this but I recently watched Drew Gooden’s video on the live action atla series (it just affirmed that I definitely don’t want to watch it lol) but it did inspire me to do a rewatch of the original and ughhhhhh it’s so incredible😭😭 all the little characterization details are SO rewarding and so good. Zuko’s small acts of kindness, even early on in book 1, just show that he’s always been Ursa’s son and help set up his arc for the rest of the show. Going after the captured Iroh instead of tracking the Gaang in Winter Solstice. Saving his crew in The Storm. It just shows you that at his core he believes in doing the right thing, and that’s a huge part of why his overall arc pays off so well. It’s the same with all of them—seeing Sokka put on his war paint and his battle regalia (in ep 2 or 3 I think) to confront Zuko in the village…it shows you that he takes such pride in the responsibility of being a leader and a warrior, especially in his dad’s absence. Yet when he gets to Kyoshi, we see the humbled side of him, and that he’s devoted to learning and respectful of the masters in their craft (whether it’s the Kyoshi warriors or Piandao or even the mechanist) and wants to learn what they have to teach him. Even Jet, who is always a very complicated character for me, is so compelling and so real. He’s suffered horribly and unfortunately has let that radicalize him. Tbh it reminds me of when anti war groups in the 60s would bomb places and things like that…the mission is “peace” but you’ve let your mission turn you into a violent radical who doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong anymore. I KNOW I don’t have to tell you lol but all the little details of this show, from design to writing to performances, are just incredibleeee and I’m so happy it exists.

GISICKAKAAK what a fun message to wake up to!

Yes I am simply pretending the new series doesn’t exist because I know it’ll just piss me off if I watch it. And I know myself well enough to know I am just not mature enough to separate the original from the new, so yeah I won’t be watching and I doubt I ever will. The one thing I am mature about is that I don’t “hate watch” things anymore lmao

I think this is why zuko is like my favorite character. I feel like he was the first character I was ever like “no, that’s actually my son” when I got older. He is so fucking complicated and so not at all what you think he’s going to be. He’s not just the antagonist, he’s Aang’s foil. They parallel each other in so many different ways. There’s a scene in book 3 where Aang literally says, “I need my honor back”, and it cross fades from one side of his face to the other side of zuko’s!!

All of the characters have incredible arcs. They all learn something about themselves, and they actually use that to grow and get better. Remember, these are literally children who were thrusted into adulthood, forced to grow up way too early. Katara is a nagging mother, but she also remembers how to be a kid and have fun and laugh. Sokka is a sexier idiot, but what teenage boy isn’t? He unlearns so much behavior, and even though he still feels like he’s the leader of the group, and in so many ways he is, he learns that it’s okay to let someone else take the lead, that he doesn’t always have to be right or in charge. Toph learns that she’s loveable for who she is, blindness and shoeless and a badass.

Aang and Zuko obviously have the most difficult arcs. Aang has to come to terms with the fact that he ran away, and a mass genocide of his people ensued. But if he hadn’t left, he would have died along with the rest of them. Like it or not, it was fate that he froze himself. And most avatars get told who they are at 16 and are given all the time in the world to learn the other elements. Aang was 12…and then had to learn the other elements in less than a year. I would argue that he didn’t necessarily master all the elements in that year. I think he learned enough about each to get by, and I’d like to think he took some time afterwards to really master them. He still relied on his air bending a lot. Whereas if we look at Korra, she did a lot of fire bending even though water was her natural element.

And my baby zuko…I could go on for days about him. My tortured emo son. He overcame so much. He cried, he learned to laugh again, he learned how to be young again. He hated being in the slums of ba sing se, but he also went on dates and got closer with his uncle like he never had been. He was such a sweet little boy. The storm always makes me cry. Zuko alone always makes me cry.

I could go on! I always wanna talk about avatar so never be afraid to come to my inbox about it!

#atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #zuko #katara #aang #sokka #toph #uncle iroh #the gaang #gaang #prince zuko #zutara

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ghanjrho · 10 months

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How A:tLA should have ended, Pt. 2

Part 1 is here

I promised you Fire Family and Steambabies, have your Fire Family and Steambabies. We'll start with oldest and move down in age, as of roughly AG 115. For timeline purposes, the royal wedding was in AG 105, when Zuko was 21 and Katara 19.

Uncle Iroh: Iroh retires from his role as Regent the day Zuko and Katara have their Fire Nation wedding. Now he moves back to Ba Sing Se and his tea shop, though he still makes it back to Caldera for a couple weeks a year. It's a good system, obviously removing the Dragon of the West from the levers of power, while also putting enough physical separation between him and Zuko that a coup is unlikely to target both at once. The Steambabies call him Grampa Iroh.

Ozai: Is dead. Handed over to the Earth Kingdom a year or so after the war ended, an international tribunal called for his execution. In desperation, he offered up all the information he had on Ursa. All it bought him was being executed like a member of the Fire Lord's family, as opposed to a peasant. Aang refuses to vote for death on principle, but has grown enough to understand that not everyone can live by his personal code of ethics.

Ursa: Was found. The basic arc of The Search is maintained, with the exception that Ursa didn't lose her memories. Why didn't she go back? She was going to. But Ursa was Noriko now, and Noriko was going to have to work hard to convince her son that she was his mother; at the time she didn't know that the Mother of Faces could undo a gift and make her Ursa again. Not to mention that at the time of The Search, the family simply didn't have the money to travel to the Capitol and stay there for the amount of time it would take for her to get access to Zuko without running afoul of her banishment.

Zuko: Is the Fire Lord, and a devoted father. He thinks the second is more important. Had some serious nerves about parenthood, but bowed to the reality of needing an heir and a spare. Winds up having more than that.

Katara: Is the Fire Lady, and a handful of other titles besides. Her travels through the Fire Nation hinterlands give her a surprising wealth of connections to the Fire Nation's peasantry, which she freely uses to keep abreast of what's going on in her adopted land. She and Zuko are that married couple that can't keep there hands off each other.

Azula: Instead of letting Azula be a crutch villain, Azula gets better. Ursa's return and Zuko's persistent attention helped her unwind a lot of the emotional abuse that Ozai inflicted on her. Not all the way better, she has a medicated tea that she takes daily, and her moral compass is still worryingly external. That said, Zuko is her frame of reference instead of Ozai, so everyone is willing to call it good enough. On her 18th birthday, Zuko (and Iroh) named her the Hand of Fire, making her the Fire Lord's go-to problem solver.

Kiyi: is adorable. Yes, Mommy looks different now, but Kiyi has cool older siblings now! Azula had very complicated feelings about "her replacement" for a while. A lot of talks with Ursa helped; finding out Zuzu would fold in the face of Kiyi's pout did too. Early morning Fire Sibling meditation is essential bonding time. For Kiyi's age, I'm putting her 10 years younger than Azula, or 12 years younger than Zuko; in AG 115 she's 19 and a skilled firebender.

Izumi: Steambaby the first. Izumi was born on her parents' first anniversary, almost to the hour. Like her aunt, she's an extremely talented firebender, using blue fire and learning lightning generation. Unlike her aunt, her mother isn't trying to protect a more vulnerable sibling, and her father isn't emotionally abusing her to turn her into a living weapon/vessel for his will.

Kya: Steambaby the second. Followed her older sister by a year and a half, being born in mid-winter. Like her mother, she's a waterbender with the healing gift.

Lu Ten/Noriko: Twins that followed Kya by 3 years and a bit; spring birth. Neither has shown signs of bending yet, but there's still time.

Rei/Kallik: Boys, newborn.

Bonus:

Sokka/Suki: The brother-in-law and co-sister-in-law of the Fire Lord. Have 3 of their own and are working on a fourth. Suki and Azula are in a low-key competition to be the favorite aunt. Their work mainly keeps them in the new United Republic's territory,

#atla #zutara #steambabies #azula redemption #atla azula #ursa atla #zuko #katara #ozai screwed up azula a lot #probably including the my mother called me a monster line #azula takes her medication #what meds? who knows #there's more steambabies to come #i meant it when i said zutara cant their hands off each other #zukos long term plan of revenge against ozai is to have a bunch of kids #and raise them to be mentally stable and love their siblings

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asura22zoro · 1 month

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on Korra having a problem with air bending not fire bending and a bit of extra

and the lion turtles giving bending to humanity doesn't take away the idea that spirituality/mentality is important when ti comes to bending ( and the idea that you shouldn't be able to punch and throw some bending like air is wrong it doesn't take away from the idea that mentality is important to fully expand on the element or that chakra's are closed ( saw some people claiming that the first avatar just punching and using fire when he got it somehow takes away from the spirituality when there was nothing about the first avatar's mentality that would go against fire bending or cause him to not be able to use it . )

plus bending styles were obtained watching nature like how monkey Kung Fu was developed by watching monkey's lion turtles reveal doesnt take anything away from the spirituality of bending

korra bending as a toddler doesn't make her a Mary sue ( kids are shown bending all the time there was never a hard limit to when an avatar would be able to access the other elements I mean aang was 12 during atla while avatar's usually only learn they are the avatar when they are older ) aang could have used the other bending styles earlier if he just tried to

the claim that Korra or mako were Mary/Gary stu's were always idiotic and reliant on thinking either well something that happened with aang had to be the same with Korra or due to outright having an irrational hate for a character being flawed and those flaws appearing in a way they don't like and convinced themselves that mako is somehow a monster for mishandling a love triangle. ( like people who tried to equate him to yue's fiance) his emotional conflict involving love triangle relates to security

"Mako, of course, was so far from safe that most of the fandom misunderstood him as a monster. Basing a male character’s romantic issues on his internal conflict between stability and change isn’t standard; if it was, the fandom would have probably figured out what was actually going on instead of just accusing him of being a cheater."

#lok #legend of korra

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atla-fandom-confessions · 1 year

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“Real Aang stans know that he isn’t perfect and he doesn’t have to be. No one in atla are perfect people. The reason I think people are so quick to defend are because he’s constantly demonized (we all know by who) for years. You just see it a lot more now than ever before.”

Nah, bestie. Criticizing =/= Demonizing, though admittedly some fans do go to that extreme and need to seriously chill.

We’re just tired of the Nice Guy with Entitlement Issues who’s the literal Author Avatar of his creators who clearly never got over their unrequited high school crushes not liking them back.

We’re tired of said Nice Guy being placed on a pedestal and treated like he can do no wrong, even though in canon it’s shown that he:

-disrespects his future wife’s culture

-goofs off when his allies including said future wife’s father gives himself up as a war prisoner.

(Sure he’s overwhelmed but them showing he’d rather fly around dicking off instead just leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth. Even though you’d think that if he cared so much about Katara he’d take it more seriously, considering that’s his future father in law.)

- gives up learning the Avatar State aka a necessary part of fulfilling his responsibility to the world and nearly dooms everyone because of what happens in Ba Sing Se and it’s treated as something romantic

- always runs away from his responsibilities even in the finale and it’s never resolved

-forces two unwanted kisses on a girl (and the stans flip their shit when it’s suggested, “hey, not a good luck there buddy”)

-gets pissed off when it’s suggested by ACTORS IN A PROPAGANDA PIECE AKA OBVIOUSLY MEANT TO BE BIASED that she may not reciprocate his romantic feelings without even sitting down to have a conversation.

(Because how dare she not reciprocate his feelings? What a bitch, am I right? /s)

- let’s not forget that he lashes out at the girl who he’s willing to give up the Avatar State for even though she’s the one person who’s keeping them alive and has always been his biggest supporter. Yes, he was upset about Appa being stolen, but he’s never shown to apologize even long after he’s calmed down. A simple “I’m sorry for how I yelled at you, Katara” and “there’s nothing to forgive, Aang” then a hug would have been the bare minimum. But nope, can’t have that.

Then when he FINALLY gets the girl, he goes on to be an absent father to 2/3 of his children because they’re not airbenders (even though they carry the same genetics) to the point that his acolytes - aka his disciples if you will - are completely unaware that he even has any other children.

And notice how NOT ONE of those criticisms has to do with shipping Katara with He Who Shall Not Be Named.

Look, we’re not heartless. We know he’s only 12 and has experienced unimaginable loss and does deserve to be hugged for all the awful shit he’s gone through.

But just because he’s suffered the most does not mean he shouldn’t be held accountable.

Nor does that mean fans who criticize shortcomings in his character development are big meanies who demonize your “precious cinnamon roll uwu.”

He’s not the worst character in the world and hell, up until the latter part of S2 he was actually one of my favorites.

But we’re just tired of being treated like WE’RE monsters because we actually hold him accountable and want him to be better (because he IS better), unlike the narrative.

#atla #atla fandom confessions #anti aang #anti kataang

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northerngoshawk · 8 months

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12, 21, 22 for the choose violence ask game 🔥

thanks for the ask, hotwife!!!

12. the unpopular character you like and why more people should like them

this is one i feel like kataang fandom in particular could use a little more work liking, if i'm being honest. actually, scratch that, i think everyone in fandom could use a little bit more work liking this character.

and that is... zuko.

not fanon zuko, mind you - canon zuko. because let's be honest, canon zuko is far less popular most people would want to admit. they hold up a woobified oc and claim that it's zuko, but fanon zuko is really just aang in zuko's body.

canon zuko, on the other hand, throws temper tantrums like a brat and is a racist, colonist piece of work. he's impulsive and reckless (in all the wrong ways) and berates everyone who's around him. he's crappy even to his friends and family, betraying his uncle for his sister and chasing after his perceived "honor," trampling everyone - even an extinct culture - underfoot.

so why do i like him? because of his friendship with aang.

i know a lot of kataangers dislike zuko because of how his stans scream his praises from the rooftops and demonize aang for things not even a thousandth of what zuko has done in canon. similarly, i know a lot of so-called zuko "fans" absolutely hate it when someone (rightfully) points out zuko's flaws in canon, hitting them with the "but he apologized for it!1!1!"

which... no.

instead, what i find beautiful about zuko is how his relationship with aang changed him, how his redemption arc was fueled in part because aang extended a hand of friendship out towards him. i also really, really enjoy delving deep into zuko's rightful guilt about being part of an imperialist nation, of helping his nation continue their conquest over the world, even if he didn't directly contribute to the air nomad genocide or fought as a soldier against the water tribes or the earth kingdom. and it's always aang, who should have more reason than most to hate zuko, who forgives zuko, and from that zuko learns how to heal and forgive himself and be better.

that's the zuko i like from atla. not the bad-boy, suave, blameless womanizer that fanon likes to uphold, but zuko, who has done wrong and will continue to do wrong, who will still stumble as he grows and learns, who may not ever unlearn some of the things he's been taught, but who will still try because his friends are right by his side and can help him back up when he falls... even if they have to call him out for it.

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

zuko's and azula's agni kai. i think everyone focuses on it because it involves two fire nation siblings duking it out.

even withholding the shipping lens, i've found that a lot of fandom tends to hyperfixate on the fire nation, from only exploring those characters to even explicitly defending them from anyone who points out they're an imperialist nation.

and we all know which ship fandom just loves that scene🙄

why not more love for aang vs ozai?? an epic battle betwee the last of an extinct nation and an imperial who wants to kill him off, a battle that was only won when aang held steadfast to his values as the last air nomad. in a world that told him he couldn't be both the avatar and the air nomad, he looked them in the eye and said, "i can, and i will."

and i think that's a beautiful message for everyone to hear.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

i'mma be honest, despite shipping kataang... i don't really consider myself a shipper. i don't tend to look at media through the lens of my favorite ship, so as a result, i sometimes feel almost... disconnected from the shipping community as a whole.

the most notable example of this being the balcony scene with aang and katara during The Avatar State. a lot of kataang shippers love that scene because it shows how worried katara is for aang, which is great! don't get me wrong, everyone has their own lens and they are valid... most of the time.

but for me, it was less about that and more about the conflict between aang as the avatar and aang as a person and what it means for katara. because if you think about it, when katara grew up, all she has ever heard was legends of the avatar, this godly deity who could singlehandedly stop the 100 year war - only to find that he was just a kid, like her.

so for me, that scene wasn't so much that she was telling aang that she loved him as it was that she was worried about losing aang, her friend, to aang the avatar. she was worried that in the process of trying to stop the war, he would lose his humanity, sacrificing it for the "greater good" - something something similar to how he didn't want to lose his heritage as an air nomad for the sake of victory something something parallels something something. i could go on, but this ask is already getting long, so i'mma stop it here for the sake of your and my sanity.

choose violence ask game

#northern answers #flameohotwife #ask game answer #also it's so nice to see you again hotwife!!#i've missed yoooouuuu <3

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plumbley-bee · 2 months

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Watched the first episode and these are the things I liked

.zuko being a blatent avatar fan boy and furiously drawing a picture of aang the moment they meet to put on his little find the avatar wall.

.sokka actually having a good reason as to why he doesn't like it when Katara waterbends because it's dangerous and their mother literally died to protect that secret rather than him just thinking its weird.

.the memory of his former teacher being the thing that calms aang down from his freak out after finding out his whole tribe is dead rather than katara and sokka.

Really really tried going in with an open mind, I wanted to like this show so bad you guys. But these are the only changes so far that I think we're done well. Maybe the next few episodes will be better, but Aang narrating everything he's feeling very quickly after we meet him and also to nobody but appa? Katara and aang not even introducing themselves before she comforts him? Sokka gets mad at aang for "lying" about being the avatar but like in this adaptation they talk like what, once? Before that gets revealed? How could he lie he was unconscious half the time you've been around him! In the original katara literally asks him if he knows anything about the avatar on their way back to the tribe and he actually lies to her, but the live action doesnt even have them interact until after he learns his people are dead. He isn't given time to lie to them! He barely knows them!! Everything being told to us and aang by grangran, fully pulling us out of any immersion you could even try to have because it came out of NOWHERE and fit so horribly like we barely meet grangran before this happens and suddenly she's breaking this really important impactful news? I literally bust out laughing bc it felt so unserious.

I felt us seeing the massacre of the Airbenders was unnecessary, I felt learning about it by watching Aang learn about it was much more heartbreaking and left a bigger emotional impact. But that would've been fine had they given the moment he discovers the remains of the air temple any emotional weight, but after it was all already explained to us with a monolog from a minor character, a lot of that has also unfortunately been taken away from that scene.

oh and aang getting his air glider from zukos ship was fine but that thing literally is supposed to mean so much to him?? Like that's one of the few things he has from his people left and it's not even his now ig???

(Also the sokka immediately going to sacrifice aang felt so out of pocket like you're gonna tell me that the 16 year old boy who has been looking after the kids in his tribe most of his life is going to throw a 12 year old to the wolves because he lied to you even though he really didn't because he was never given time to even lie to you in the first place!!)

I'm also sad aang didn't get to play with the kids, or go penguin sledding with katara, they were silly filler stuff but they were important in their own way too.

"Aang brought us something we hadn't had in a long time, fun."

This has always been the heart of the show for me. learning to live rather than just survive, still enjoying things, and finding hope during even the hardest wars. Aang as the avatar brings the potential for the world to finally know peace again, aang as the last Airbender bring the hope that Airbenders aren't all extinct, but aang as the boy in the iceberg? He brings joy and fun and laughter where he goes. He remembers what good came from the world before all the bad. he runs from his responsibilities and problems because he's a young boy and he's scared and that fear and that "cowardice" brings him so much shame that he just tries to fix other people's problems instead to make up for it and THATS THE AANG THAT IS SUCH A GOOD MAIN CHARACTER!

Idk, I'll try to keep watching, but they've already removed so much heart from just the first episode.

#avatar the last airbender

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hello-nichya-here · 1 year

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“Realistically I see Aang to be the type to have many different lovers with his free spirit rather than only be with one person the rest of his life.”

You say realistically, do you even know what that word means? When did Aang and his free spirit ever express the desire to be with multiple people? Hell, to be with anyone other than Katara? Sure he had many admirers, but he expressed no interest to be with them. He was just his regular charming self and everyone swooned. His eyes were set solely on Katara and in more than one occasion he made a commitment to her. Meanwhile, Sokka and Zuko each had multiple love interests or people that they’ve went out on dates with. I don’t see you saying anything about “free love!” with them. I’d blame this on LOK, but I also think this is mainly fandom shoving a narrative onto Aang that doesn’t exist solely because they want him out of the way of their non-canon ship. I just wish they’d be more transparent.

“It’s much more realistic for Aang to sleep his way through the world to help repopulate the air nomads than to spend his life with one person!” Never mind the fact that there were multiple episodes dedicated to how Aang has issues with detachment and values his personal relationships highly. Aang is about as monogamous as they come. Also, you forgot to add another bad Zutara take: Aang is a sleazy fuckboy who would cheat on Katara with anything that moves (assuming that Katara doesn’t cheat on him with Zuko first).

I had actually not seen that trope before, but holy damn, it sounds so fucking bad. Way to assassinate Aang's character to try and fail to make your ship look better, zutarians. These people just never fucking learn, do they?

And let's pretend for a second that Aang had multiple crushes during the show - how is a 12-year-old going through puberty and starting to experience attraction to girls the same as an adult realizing the he wasn't really made to be in a monogamous relationship? Do these idiots think that all it takes to be poly is feeling attracted to more than one person in your WHOLE LIFE? By that logic, Katara will never settle down, since she had a crush on Jet, dated Aang, and had some lowkey flirty moments with Haru.

Like you said, it's just another shitty excuse to go "KATAANG WON'T LAST! EVERYONE PLEASE SWITCH TO MY SHIP NOW!"

That and people not knowing the difference between pacifist monks and free-love hippies that think everyone should just get high and fuck instead of fighting.

#asks #anti zutara #pro kataang

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monstrsball · 1 year

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atla au info (masterpost)

the hq atla au has been on my mind again and i figured i should make a new summary post so people know the lore!!! shout-out to @eurydicees who helped me a LOT and contributed a lot of ideas to the au. you are the best. oikawa's story would not be as interesting without you. thanks bestie.

anyway, i'm gonna try to be concise but this will probably get long. i like to ramble. au info under the cut!

the general gist of the au is the same as the show. long ago, the four nations lived in harmony but everything changed when the fire nation attacked. etc etc... you know the rest.

to make this easier for me, i'm just gonna sum up the major characters in the au and their roles. (and i'm including ages because they're aged down from hq canon a little, somewhat following the ages from atla)

HINATA (13): the avatar. his backstory is pretty much the same as aang's!! he grew up at the southern air temple and found out he was the avatar when he was 13. his friends no longer wanted to play with him because it wouldn't be "fair" and there was talk amongst the monks of sending him away from his guardian (i'm thinking... takeda? or maybe even ukai sr? open to thoughts on this!) so he ran away. he gets trapped in an iceberg for a hundred years and is found by suga! unfortunately, this is kind of it when it comes to hinata which is uh... not great. i should try to brainstorm more about him.

SUGA (16): waterbender. his backstory is very, very similar to katara's. he's the only waterbender in his village and so he's entirely self taught. his father is off fighting the war and his mother was killed during a raid when he was a child. he lives with his little brother and his grandmother. he finds hinata in the iceberg and ends up traveling with him!! he offers to be his waterbending teacher but it doesn't go as well as it could. suga's knowledge is unfortunately limited to what he has been able to figure out on his own. when they go to the north pole, they meet kageyama and suga realizes that kageyama is the teacher that hinata needs. he has a lot of complicated feelings about it but he doesn't say anything because kageyama teaching hinata is for the best. he instead opts to put all of his energy into getting back at healing - something he can do that kageyama can't.

he learns from kageyama alongside hinata but he himself also ends up teaching kageyama a lot. (how to be a good teacher, for one, lmao)

he's a bit of an older brother figure to all of the younger ones (hinata, kageyama, & the miya twins). the one who keeps them all on track and spends a lot of time defusing fights among them. pour one out for him. (he still gets his own mischievous moments though of course <33 he is a menace sometimes)

relevant posts: 01. 02. 03.

KAGEYAMA (12): waterbender, ends up being hinata's waterbending teacher. he grew up in the north pole with his grandfather. he has an older sister too but she left a while ago. he's an extremely talented waterbender and ends up ostracized by his peers because of this. (it doesn't help that he comes off as standoffish and abrasive) the only person who spars with him is his grandfather, who has also taught kageyama a lot of what he knows about waterbending. his grandfather dies and then he's left alone.

he meets hinata and suga when they arrive at the north pole and is surprised when suga approaches him later asking him to be hinata's teacher. it takes a lot of convincing but he eventually agrees and leaves the north pole with him. and he realizes that there's still a lot he has to learn too. (about how to be an effective teacher for one LMAO he is so bad at it at first)

relevant post: 01.

MIYA TWINS, mostly atsumu (14): earthbender!osamu, nonbender!atsumu. they're six when they find out that osamu is an earthbender and eight when they have to accept that atsumu isn't. atsumu learns how to fight as osamu gets better and better at earthbending. and he's pretty good. he learns a lot about how to hold his own against earthbenders from his fights with osamu. (sparring and regular sibling fights lol) he's beaten every earthbender in their village in a fight at least once and he never lets any of them forget it. despite this, he still feels a lot of resentment over not being an earthbender like osamu.

hinata comes to their village and, after seeing osamu spar against someone (i've been thinking of maybe still incorporating the underground fighting ring like in atla but idk), asks osamu to be his earthbending teacher. osamu says no at first which makes atsumu really angry and leads to a fight between the two of them. probably their biggest fight ever. still not sure what leads to osamu changing his mind but he does!! he has a condition though: he'll only go with them and teach hinata if his brother can come too. he's fully prepared to plead atsumu's case (excellent fighter, strategist, etc) but hinata agrees immediately. why would he say no? the more the merrier!

atsumu's story arc is basically becoming comfortable with being a nonbender and no longer lying when he says that it doesn't bother him. being the one to save benders on several occasions certainly helps. as well as his eventual friendship with another certain nonbender (oikawa).

osamu's is still up in the air though... sorry osamu.

relevant post: 01.

OIKAWA (16): son of the fire lord, nonbender. all he really wants is to prove himself to his father who has looked down on him ever since it became clear that oikawa wasn't a bender. he learns how to sword fight and how to strategize and how to chi block all so he can defend himself but also... because he wants to find something to show his father that he's worthy of being the crown prince of the fire nation. he's only 13 when he speaks up during a war meeting and is subsequently challenged to an agni kai by his father to "teach him a lesson". he is scarred and then sent away to search for the avatar. (this event plants the initial seeds of doubt in the fire nation)

despite everything that went down with his father, he still wants to find a way to earn his approval. maybe if he finds the avatar, he'll finally get it. (it doesn't matter what he does. it's never going to happen :/) his road to redemption is long but he gets there eventually. and he teaches hinata how to chi block :')

please, please check out the links below for more info. the others are kind of optional but i really think you should read these ones.

relevant posts: 01. 02. 03. 04. 05. (seriously, shout-out to eury for all of these. you are the mvp!!! all of your contributions were so so good. your brain is sooo huge)

IWAIZUMI (16): son of a high-ranking fire national general, oikawa's childhood friend, highly skilled firebender. he sneaks off to go with oikawa when he's exiled. because who else is going to protect him? iwaizumi's been doing it all his whole life. iwaizumi comes around a lot quicker, he saw firsthand what the fire lord did to oikawa and what that did to him, but he doesn't leave oikawa's side and still helps him with his quest. he helps oikawa on his journey to becoming a better person and he's right there with him when oikawa apologizes to hinata and the gang. (with apologies of his own, of course).

and he becomes hinata's firebending teacher!!!

USHIJIMA (16): son of a fire nation general, firebender. grew up near the palace with his mother. he and oikawa used to be friends but they grew apart as they got older and ushijima's firebending grew stronger. after oikawa is sent away, ushijima is taken under the wing of the fire lord who sees him as the prodigy son he never had. this only further solidifies oikawa's belief that ushijima has always looked down on him and always been looking to take his place.

relevant posts: 01. (linking to eury's post bc her tags are excellent) 02. 03. (more oikawa, atsumu, & iwaizumi info here too, i just didn't want to link it before i explained who ushijima was)

----

and... i think that's it for now? i'll update the post whenever there's more to add (mostly links to posts i think) but i tried to summarize each character's roles as best i can. hopefully i didn't forget anything.

i'm still open to brainstorming stuff about it :) i'm always open to hearing people's ideas!!!

#hq atla au #oh god this is so long im sorry #i lied it is NOT concise i'm so sorry #but anyway enjoy :)#i'll probably reblog this again sometime tomorrow

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jello-in-my-bello · 4 years

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It’s time that we had a real conversation about Aang...

For the main character of a television series, Aang somehow almost always finds himself under-rated and dismissed in fans’ posts. You see all these posts and, when they do reference him, it’s usually accompanied by the phrases “immature” and “12-year-old boy.” I mean honestly, in some ATLA fans posts, it seems as if Aang’s name is almost synonymous with the word immaturity--and it’s been that way for years. I’ve always wondered why people discredited him. Was it because they saw his age and immediately ruled him out? Is it an excuse for Katara and Aang to have never happened? Was calling him the most immature character a way to bring up their favorite characters? Or did they simply get conditioned to think Aang was immature because everyone just... said he was? Well, I think Aang’s the most mature character (from start to finish) on the show, and Imma tell you why.

I think that Book 1 Aang is the Aang that everyone has stuck in their head. We get introduced to Aang in a strange way: he’s a boy frozen in an iceberg, and the first thing he asks is to go penguin sledding. Then he boldly explores a fire navy ship after being told it might not be a great idea. This kid’s kinda stupid, we think. Why does he care about penguin sledding? Why does he explore something he is told not to? Then he stops at Kyoshi Island to ride the Unagi, then he stops at Omashu to ride the delivery service, and then he lets the gang stop at other locations—having mini adventures—without worrying about learning waterbending on any sort of timeline. Why does he choose to explore all these different places at first rather than master the four elements? Doesn’t he even care about being the Avatar? Ah... that’s right. He’s only 12.

Except surmising his entire maturity (or lack thereof) to the fact that he stops for these adventures means that you are ignoring one glaring detail of the show: Airbender and nomad culture. Aang asking Katara to go penguin sledding instead of what year it was and taking his friends to all those random stops in B1 so that he can explore can not be chalked up to immaturity. Because then you are ignoring an entire culture. We don’t get to see a lot of airbenders, and I think that plays into the problem, but from what we do know, we learn that a critical part of their culture is that they travel. A lot. And experience different cultures. A lot. Think about all the different places he’s referenced going to 100 years ago in the series. Then think about all the friends he’s talked about having in these obscure places—and it always sounded like he visited them more than once. Traveling, experiencing different cities, and meeting new people was a part of him and a part of his culture. He wasn’t being a 12-year-old when he stopped to ride the Unagi or the delivery shoots in Omashu, he was being an air nomad

On a similar note, one of Aang’s most notable traits is saying, “Hey, check this out,” excitedly while doing some air bending trick that seems juvenile--like spinning marbles around or doing an air scooter. People look at him doing this and his previously mentioned traits and go, “Oh, what a kid.” But here’s the thing: we can’t roll our eyes at his persistent need to show people marbles floating in the air or his air scooter. In the episode “Southern Air Temple,” we see Monk Gyatso—an extremely old, wise air bender—throwing cakes on other monks’ heads, and then we’re told throughout the series that Airbenders were known for their playful nature. Airbenders didn’t use their bending the same way other benders do. For example, Waterbenders might show off their skills by creating a giant wave and being like, “Look how cool!” (See: Katara, like every time she learns a new move.) We know Airbenders have some pretty powerful moves--we’ve seen the tornado Aang created, the air body imprint of Aang that slammed Zuko back--but they don’t show off those moves because they’re so combative and not so fun. They show off the good-natured side of air bending (ex: Gyasto’s staff surfing when he was a child). So those marble/air scooter tricks can’t be watered down to 12-year-old immaturity. Because he’s not being a kid when he does those things, he’s being an Airbender. People also tend to look over the fact that he is a survivor of a genocide. You need to keep in mind that he is a living relic and the only example left of what his race was. So even later in the series when he continues to show people those tricks, he’s showing them not just for fun, but to keep his culture alive. And what do you think he’s going to show them: a tornado with random objects flying around in it or two marbles flying in his hands? Which is a better representation of Airbender culture?

Also, do not forget that Aang earned his arrows. Airbenders are not just regular benders; they are known for being especially enlightened. You don’t just need to be a master at airbending to get your arrows—you also need to be a master at their culture. Aang was an enlightened boi. Look at all the speeches that he gave as the series continued. He didn’t just magically become wise in the course of a few months because he had to fight the Firelord, he just tapped into what was always there and never showed. The maturity was always there, and the receipts are in the arrows.

So, I’ve gone over why he’s not as immature as everyone thinks, but why do I think he’s the most mature on the show? It’s because his emotional maturity is freaking through the roof. He’s part of a genocide, his culture is mocked, the few things—his clothing and glider—that he had left from his home were completely destroyed, and he had to do something that severely went against what he believes in. And he almost never loses his shit. In fact, we only ever see him get actually upset (we’re not counting the Avatar state cause that’s a whole different thing) 3 times in the series: when he was telling Katara about how the monks wanted to take him away from Gyatso, the episode when Appa was stolen, and when he was explaining that no one understands the position he is in (in terms of killing Ozai). Think about how much we saw everyone else freak out over the course of the show? About even smaller things.

Katara and Zuko are generally accepted as the two most mature characters of the series. But why? Zuko is continuously snapping at everyone, and, yes, he matured. But he is not completely there yet. He still somewhat believes in revenge (See: Southern Raiders), and it’s only at the last episode of the series that he understands violence is not the answer. And Katara? She acts very mature towards everyone else, but when it comes to her own emotions? She’s a whole basket full of mess. (See: Southern Raiders, again. Or anytime she uses anger as her way to show she’s “passionate.”) A good way to showcase the difference between Aang and these two is realizing that all of them lost a parent from the war and analyzing at how they handled it. (For Zuko let’s focus on the idea that he never really had a father) Katara lost her mother, Zuko his father, and Aang his father, Gyatso. Throughout the series, losing their parent was a huge topic point for both Katara and Zuko so much so that it was as if they thought no one else had ever suffered. (Katara, we see you telling Sokka that he didn’t love your mom the same). Aang, however, acknowledges his pain, tells stories of Gyatso and uses him as an example of what he wants to live up to— eventually coming full circle at the end wearing Gyatso’s beads and an identical outfit. I can’t imagine a more mature way to handle what happened than that.

Basically, what I’m trying to say is, maturity isn’t based on how you have fun, it’s based on how you react to hard situations. And nobody, nobody reacted better in those situations than Aang. So if you watched Avatar and thought it was a story about a young boy maturing, then you misjudged. It wasn’t a story about an immature boy growing up. It was a story of an Airbender becoming an avatar.

#i just had to get this out #avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar aang #avatar gaang #avatar the legend of aang #atla aang #atla #atla meta #aang #gaang #the last airbender #airbender #avatar rant

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nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice · 4 years

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Ok modern zuko would be an expert at breakdancing and sokka would be the guy who just bi-panicks whenever he does

(whoops, my hand slipped and I accidentally wrote a modern au headcanon turned zukka karate au one-shot)

Okay but consider this instead: Zuko doesn’t know how to dance for shit and has horrible rhythm, but he is a GOD at martial arts. He’s been doing some type of style since he was a kid and is a full black belt by the time he hits high school. Martial arts was always something he excelled at, but it was also something that made him feel more secure. It was something he could work on to help him protect himself from his home life, even if it wasn’t enough most times. He specifically excels in weapons forms (I’m thinking twin sais) and you DO NOT want to spar with him. Because he may be skinny and shorter, but he’s quick and can hit hard at just the right spots.

When he was younger he was obsessed mainly because he felt that belt rankings and trophies from competitions were a way to prove himself to his dad, but when he moved in with Iroh (who encouraged him to keep it up and was so proud of how talented and passionate he was about it), he basically used it in place of talking about his feelings. He didn’t talk about his home life or the shit Ozai did, instead, he put all his energy into his black belt levels, learning new weapons forms, and eventually into teaching new students as a junior instructor.

At school, he’s awkward and asocial and just doesn’t have the energy for people. Zuko has little patience for asshole classmates who ask intrusive questions about his scar or spread rumors about where he got it. He eats lunch in his English classroom and would be a complete shut-in if Iroh didn’t get him to work part-time at the Jasmine Dragon. But in the dojo, he’s focused and is able to direct his energy into improving his forms and teaching younger teens.

One of his newer students transferred from a different dojo after moving from a different state. He’s actually a freshman at Zuko’s high school but it’s not as if Zuko really interacted that much with him. This kid, Aang, is as talented and dedicated as he is, but has a long way to go to learn all the new katas. Zuko’s been dubbed the ‘scary’ trainer at the dojo. He’s the serious one who will yell if someone is goofing off and everyone’s seen that he has no problem using full force in a demonstration (little kids love him and he’s super nice to them, but he teaches the 12-15 age range). Plus there’s that scar, which doesn’t make him the most initially welcoming person. But this new kid Aang just latches onto Zuko immediately. He says hi to Zuko in the halls at school and works on his katas outside of regular practice times. At first Zuko thinks this sickeningly positive kid is annoying as crap, but warms up to him. He likes that Aang cares about martial arts and isn’t nice as a show, he’s just genuinely nice.

And maybe he sees Aang hanging around school with a sophomore girl and her brother who just might be in Zuko’s calc class and English class.

And maybe Zuko thinks this guy is insanely attractive and somehow incredibly funny even though most of his humor consists of the worst puns imaginable.

But obviously, Zuko hasn’t attempted to ever actually talk to this guy. The most that he could classify as ‘talking’ to the cute, funny guy on the robotics club is the one day in English class when he had to respond to someone’s dumbass comment about Macbeth with what ended up being a ten minute spoken essay about obvious motifs and symbolism. To which Mr. Puns and Ponytail was very obviously paying great attention to and even gave Zuko a smile and thumbs up for.

Zuko knows it’s pointless to engage. After all, he’s a senior and he doesn’t have any friends anyway. There’s no point in making any this year. Crushing on this guy from the comfortable position of the other side of the room is totally good enough for him. Totally. This is fine. He’s fine.

Besides, he’s got competitions and if he doesn’t secure the regional championships this year he’s never going to get the chance after he goes to college. And he’s got his kids to train. Aang in particular is gearing up for his first debut into this area’s tournament.

The tournament’s in October and usually, Zuko focuses on his own matches and performances, but Aang really wanted him to watch his set. So on this day, he stands on the sides of Aang’s zone instead of obsessively going through his katas in a corner.He’s not going to be able to watch the whole set because it overlaps with his own weapons portion, but he stands on the side and gives Aang a reassuring look that, ‘don’t worry, you’ll do great, you’re a talented kid,’ when his student looks over to him nervously.

And wouldn’t you know it? Aang brought some friends to come watch. And one of them is Mr. Zuko’s Big Gay Crush.

“Oh, hey Zuko,” are the words that come out of this guy's mouth that give Zuko a near-stroke. And damn if this guy’s eyes aren’t blue and pretty and he usually wears his hair in a ponytail at school, but now he’s wearing it down and Zuko wishes he could take screenshots with his brain because holy moly.

“Hey.” Is the best that Zuko can get out of his dumb mouth. “You’re Sokka.”

“Aang invited us to come watch,” Sokka nudges his head to indicate the ‘us’ includes his younger sister, who Zuko doesn’t know the name of. “How do you guys not get heatstroke during these things? It’s like a million degrees in here.”

“Oh the gi’s pretty cold, I mean, it’s got air and stuff.”

Zuko decided right there that he would be completely fine with being struck by lightning. Of course, that’s what his stupid brain would come up with. Of course, that’d be the thing he’d say in front of one of the smartest guys in his class.

They watch Aang perform his set for the judges. Zuko recognizes that Aang took his advice when he said that he wasn’t putting enough force into his hits. He’s never seen Aang be as, well, aggressive isn’t the right word, but he’s definitely putting more power into his form. Zuko wouldn’t admit it, though, but only part of his attention was for Aang at the moment. The other part was for Sokka, who was smiling bright and pumping his fists when Aang completed a row of kicks.

The small part of Zuko’s brain that wasn’t being taken up by watching Aang or trying to act normal around his crush noticed the clock on the wall indicating that the weapons portion would be starting in five minutes.

“I’ve got to go do a thing so I’ll just, um, go do that now.”

“Are you competing too?” Sokka asked.

To this question Zuko just holds up his sais and raises his eyebrow as if to say ‘it’s a tournament, what do you think?’ Because yeah, he knows Sokka’s super smart, he’s seen him churn out calc answers at the speed of light and noticed his name on the robotics club awards update on the school’s website, but he’d also seen Sokka eat 5 packs of fundip at once on a dare and unironically wear a ‘women want me, fish fear me’ t-shirt for most of junior year. Somehow he had managed to fall for the smartest dumbass on earth.

“Oh yeah, right.” Sokka eyes the sais and then looks right at Zuko’s face, “Aang says you’re really good.”

Zuko decides that thinking about Aang talking to Sokka about him was something he didn’t need distracting him during his set. That was something he could anxious about later.

“Hopefully good enough for those five assholes,” Zuko replies, gesturing to the panel of judges in the weapons section of the gymnasium. To his shock, Sokka laughs. It’s a nice laugh, too. And Zuko really hoped he could blame the blush that was one-hundred-percent creeping up his face on the lack of AC.

“You know, you’re pretty funny man,” Sokka tells him. Zuko has no clue how to take that compliment, but he really does need to go.

“Right,” he grins nervously and shifts his left foot around to bounce away, “well I have to go do my thing.”

“Good luck!”

That’s where Zuko thinks the beginning and end of his interaction with Sokka would be.

The weapons portion thankfully goes by age. And since Zuko’s one of the youngest competitions, he gets to go first for his sai katas. This is what literal years of training have prepared him for. At regionals last year, the second advanced kata got him placed high enough to qualify for states. This is what he’s good at. He tells himself that a thousand times before starting his set.

There’s not a thought in his head as Zuko goes through the form. The sais glide through his fingertips with every jab, block, and hook. The imaginary opponent doesn’t stand a chance. He’s cool and competent and graceful. It’s therapeutic in a sense. There’s enough adrenaline to make Zuko feel like he’s worth something, but more importantly, he knows he’s nailing this. Whatever the judges say about it, he knows that he’s perfected this form after practicing it at least a thousand times over three years.

The judges agree with him. He’s the first competitor of the weapons portion but there isn’t really a doubt in their minds about who’s going to place.

Zuko zones back in to the gym after bowing to the panel. He walks off, feeling lighter and letting a satisfactory smile take over his face.

He expects the hug from Uncle and the proud smile from Sensei Piandao, but what he doesn’t expect is to see Sokka, eyes wide as globes, staring at him from the other side of the mat.

Because what Zuko doesn’t know is that the second he turned his wrists in his first form during his hooks, Sokka’s brain went into Full Bi Panic Mode.

And Zuko thinks the one conversation where he couldn’t talk like a human and wanted to die for most of it would be the only time Sokka would decide to willingly talk to him. Zuko is dead wrong. Sokka, in fact, has decided that this, this is the guy his Disaster Bi Brain has decided to latch onto. Sokka’s brain and all his squishy feelings have apparently decided to attach to this aloof kid with the scar who reserved his voice for eloquent, impassioned speeches about dramas and was apparently an actual god with weapons. Sokka decides that Zuko could roundhouse kick him in the side and he’d thank him. And right now Zuko’s looking at him with a dumbfounded expression, prompting Sokka to remember how to function so he can go over to congratulate Zuko and maybe ask if his dojo provides a free trial.

So yeah, that one conversation ends up decisively not being the end of anything.

#sorry #not sorry #zukka #zuko #sokka #atla #avatar the last airbender #fanfic #I'm gonna edit and add to this #and probably updated something on my ao3 in the first time in a literal month #thanks babe for the inspiration #the babes are asking #hot leaf content

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zelzenik · 3 years

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my take on the infamous kataang kisses

so i just saw this post that spoke highly of Kataang and on how ATLA deals w consent and what's allowed between partners, and i'm... i'm mad, lol.

this has been spoken on before, but since these bad takes are still floating around on the internet, i feel the need to at least vent/give some sort of rebuttal.

i'm not linking or screenshotting this post, but this is word-for-word what was said regarding Kataang (questionable grammar has been transposed as well):

"One of the many things I adore about atla is how the girls are allowed to and do tell their partners off when they cross a line.... Katara gets upset with Aang for kisses her without her consent, and it's never made out to be overly dramatic or unreasonable, it's framed so that the girls are in the right."

HOW does Kataang properly convey this message??

there's a lot to unpack here. like, a lot

just to start off, yes, i'm aware that not all Kataangers believe that the kisses were consensual and can recognize how problematic (and WRONG) they were. but there are some (many) who do not

for the sake of this rebuttal, we're all going to establish and agree on what happened with the Kataang kisses. personally, in the Cave of Two Lovers episode, i don't believe they kissed - if they had kissed, the creators would've made that known in the show; in the Day of the Black Sun episode, it was clear that Katara was NOT pleased w what went down, same with the Ember Island Players episode; the finale kiss was consensual, however, in my opinion, it made absolutely no sense and came out of nowhere.

this is an address to the following various shippers within the ATLA fandom.

to those who DEFEND Aang's actions toward Katara and JUSTIFY these non-consensual kisses:

don't DO this. these portrayals of murky non-con kisses on television are so harmful!! they perpetuate this whole "nice guy" complex where a guy (or anyone) thinks that he (or they) deserve(s) or can take physical affection from others without their consent/mutual feeling. we have such an awful problem in media concerning these sorts of "nice guys" who wind up taking advantage of women simply due to the fact that they know they're nice and feel that they deserve it.

yes, Aang was a child. yes, he was in an iceberg for like 100 years. i work with plenty of preteens from the ages 10-12, and they've all been taught to respect other people's boundaries, especially when it involves romantic (and depending on how old they are, sexual) encounters; it's worth noting that, at least from my experience, guys are significantly less interested in relationships around this age than girls are!

portraying Aang in a light where he simply takes what he wants from Katara multiple times does a disservice both to him as a character and to all who watched the show without having a clear outside understanding of physical boundaries.

to those who claim that the non-con Kataang kisses are good lessons to others on consent

i might have been able to agree with you had the situations been ADDRESSED within the show! but they were NOT.

the non-con Kataang kisses are not a good example of when a girl has been made uncomfortable by a guy or has been touched nonconsensually by one and stands up for herself because we never have a scene where Katara actually stands up for herself!

between the two non-con Kataang kisses that occurred during the show, not even FRACTION of the show was dedicated toward addressing them!

okay, yes, if you rewatch the show as an older teen or an adult with accurate views on consent, then, yes, those non-con kisses can be an example of how pervasive lack of consent is within our past/current culture

but, for the most part, this show is watched by kids. it's a kids' show. ofc it's grown to be much more beyond a kids' show, and there are so many teens/adults who LOVE the ATLA fandom, and that's totally cool! i'm always anti-harassment and anti-bullying-people-for-enjoying-shows-they-love.

for a show that's primarily marketed to children, though, regardless of the time that it was made in (since the 2000's were far less up to date on consent than we are now in the 2020's), if non-con kisses are included, then they should be addressed.

they can only be good lessons if they're addressed, instead of left hanging and teaching children that such non-con kisses are rewarded.

canonizing Kataang, in a way, validated Aang's blatant ignorance of Katara's boundaries which annoys me to no end.

to those who who say that this behavior was FINE because Kataang canonically dated/married

it's not! it's really freakin not!

do you know how many women experience some form of sexual harassment or assault or rape within their lifetime?? 1 in 6!

and do you know how often these women are unable to do anything about it because the person who attacked them is someone that they love or are involved with?

just because one may be in a relationship with another person doesn't simply excuse this type of behavior.

"no" or "i don't think this is a good idea" or "i'm not feeling this" or "maybe later?" or "i don't feel so good" or "we're in the middle of a war right now" or SILENCE -> NOT CONSENT!!

regardless of your relationship with another person, if they do not respect these boundaries, then they have not respected your damn boundaries.

i don't care if they're your boyfriend or your girlfriend or your husband or your wife or your partner. whatever. if they ignore your boundaries, then they are not respecting you, point blank.

closing

it's no secret that i'm a huge anti Kataanger. i first watched the show as a teenager, and while i initially started the show off loving Kataang, as soon as i hit the non-con kisses, i was immediately turned off from the ship and became a huge Zutara shipper (not even knowing which ship was ultimately endgame but especially loving the dynamic between ZK post-Crystal Catacombs scene).

as someone who's survived a relationship with non-con elements present, i cannot in good conscience ship Kataang because of those non-con kisses.

i love both Aang and Katara too much as characters to see them portrayed in such a way. what hurts the most is that all of these issues COULD have been fixed in the show, if there'd been some sort of reconciliation between Aang and Katara, some sort of encounter where Aang recognized that what he did was wrong and Katara learned that it's okay to say no. but this did not happen. so here i am writing a meta/rant/vent about it.

i understand that this post may not be well received, but this is something i really needed to get off my chest (again) because i hate seeing people praising ATLA for its poor examples of consent within relationships. (it literally drives me crazy.)

#nice guy #this isn't proofread #but #anti kataang #pro katara #anti anti aang #i love both aang and katara #and they were both done so dirty in b3 #i genuinely love both #i would've given kataang a chance had those non-con kisses not happened #despite shipping zutara #i would've j multishipped or smth #but w the way b3 turned out?#hell no #get that away from me #aang needed to grow the hell up and learn #katara needed to stand up for herself and recognize she needs a partner who's an equal #and they could've been that for each other #or #they could've found other people better suited for each other #cough zutara cough taang #but yeah stop praising bryke for giving good lessons on consent cuz all they did is perpetuate the mentality #by validating and rewarding non-con gestures thru kataang's canonity #long post #sorry #i could write abt why i'm anti kataang all day #despite loving them both so much #zel meta

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invnciblesummer · 3 years

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I don’t know if you’re a fan of Gravity Falls or not, but the way that GF handled Dipper’s crush on Wendy was how ATLA should have handled Aang’s crush on Katara.

I have not watched Gravity Falls yet (it definitely does seem like a good show though!), but I have heard other ATLA fans use this comparison to Dipper and Wendy to explain how ATLA should have handled Aang’s crush on Katara.

I really wish that we could have seen Aang learn and properly acknowledge that what he did in EIP was wrong, and apologize for it/ask what he could do to make it up to Katara for kissing her without permission in EIP, and make it up to her :/ Instead, the show brushed over the fact that Aang kissed Katara without her consent because of his crush on her, and made them have a grand kiss with a sunset in the background in the final episode, as if grand kisses can patch over problems underlying a relationship (and the problems underlying Kαtααng go beyond just what happened in EIP). Katara was Aang’s first crush, and it was a crush of attachment and puppy-love-at-first-sight that a 12 year old had on the first older girl he saw after opening his eyes. With that premise, and Kαtααng’s lack of well paced, mature, and mutual relationship development, the ship did not have the makings of a mature and developed ship, in my opinion. I know that I and many others talk a lot about how this ship hurts Katara’s character, but I do also believe that it hurts Aang’s character as well.

Appeasing Aang’s crush on Katara led to Aang ending up in a relationship for life starting from when he was just a young 12— at most 13— year old. If it’s the latter, that’s the age most boys begin puberty. When you’re just starting puberty is a strange and rather premature age to pick your romantic partner for life, wouldn’t you think so? However, I think that it can be the age to start figuring out the positive traits you should look for in a romantic partner and a romantic relationship, and to start learning how you should treat others respectfully when it comes to romance. Kαtααng stunted Aang’s growth in such aspects of romance when the show made Katara go up to him with a convenient sudden urge to to kiss him and be in a relationship with him— despite Aang and Katara’s last one-on-one interaction shown being Aang making an unwanted romantic advance on Katara that led to her running away and Aang never apologizing or making it up to her for it, despite their last words to each other in the show before the grand kiss (and their last words to each other in the show overall) being words of anger that ended in Katara getting upset and Aang storming off in high dudgeon, despite Katara always being the one to carry both her emotional burden and Aang’s emotional burden when it comes to their relationship, despite there having been a whole plot line in season 2 about Aang being attached to Katara, and needing to let go of his attachment to her (and don’t try to argue that attachment is a good thing, because there is a difference between attachment and love), and despite many other problems with Kαtααng that many metas and analyses have already stated before me.

Despite being a smart, talented, and powerful kid who has his moments of great wisdom and maturity, Aang is still a 12 year old kid. A kid who has shown in the show that he is not quite ready yet for a romantic relationship, especially with someone as mature as Katara. Aang should have gotten the chance to mature in his knowledge of what it means to be in a romantic relationship, how to know someone is the right romantic partner for you, and respecting people in your romantic life and people you want to bring into your romantic life, before getting into a romantic relationship— that too a lifelong one.

#ana’s asks #anti kataang #antikataang #aang critical #gravity falls #atla #nora

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visit-ba-sing-se · 3 years

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My contribution to the “what happened to Kuzon?” question, I guess. No canon, just me making myself cry. Kuzon was old. He knew that, and with every move he made his body reminded him. Still, he was crouching over to clean the dust from a statue. The monk that it resembled had his eyes closed and seemed to be mediating, blissfully unaware off the world around him. Kuzon sighed. What would he give to just trade spots with him. Once more, he was not sure if he was supposed to find it rather funny or tragic that this small shed, in a small village between somewhere and nowhere, was where his life had led him. His parents had been a merchants. But not the kind of merchant you would meet on the city market and who'd sell you cabbage or fish. The kind of merchant that travelled to Ba Sing Se or Omashu and returned with ancient relicts that they'd sell some fire nation nobleman. Or the other way around, trade spices that would be used to for the spicy pickled kelp severed to earth kingdom royals. And Kuzon had been accompanying them for as long as he could remember, and a lot of it, he had loved. Counting heavy coins while sitting on his father lap, helping his mother chose between different colored pieces of cloth to buy and sell again for more, crossing items from a list before he even could read the words. And of course, he had met two of his best friends on their journeys. Bumi and Aang. And he had believed that that would be how things would stay, and that one day, he would grow up to be a merchant as well. Of course, in his mind he then imagines being the greatest merchant there ever was, who would have dinner with the king of Omashu and make his parents proud. And of course, that dream shattered as childrens dreams do. One conversation it had taken to tear his world apart. One conversation that he had listend to from the closet in their living room. Kuzon had used to hide when his parents welcomed wealthy clients, as they had never wanted him around then. Today, he still remembered that one trade as if it had been yesterday, not a century ago.

“You know, the prices for those artifacts are going to increase rapidly soon,” his mother had said, her you find my price to high but there is nothing you can do about that voice as he called it. “It is not like new once will enter the market. And I even heard that the government is striating to seize and destroy those that are currently one it.” Kuzon was angry at himself for not taking a peak at what she was selling earlier. Now they were standing with their backs to him and the view was blocked. “Even if you are right, which is not unlikely”, that buyer, a fire nation noble, had responded, “don't feel any bad at all profiting from that?” His mother had snapped back directly “Oh, don't strike that chord with me. You want to invest. I have an investment to offer. Nothing more, nothing less. This little intermission won't fool any of us, and you know it.” “Fine.” The nobleman than had sighed, as Kuzon had moved his head slightly, desperatly trying to get a glimpse of what had being sold. “A pity they had to kill all of them.” “They just made the best fruit pies. And they were so fun at parties.” None of this had made sense to Kuzon. Not until he finally had seen what the noble man had just bought. An air glider. Like the one Aang had had. And with that, it had hit him. Fruit pie. Air glider. Aang. Killed. Kuzon had not left that closet until finally, after he had missed lunch and dinner in there his father had discovered him and ordered to go to bed. Of course, looking back, it was childish. But In that moment, he truly had thought that as long as he stayed in the closet, the reality would stay out. The reality in which Aang, his best friend Aang, the funny, caring and genius Aang, Aang who he had spent some go the happiest days of his life with, was dead. And his parents were selling air gliders for profit. But of course, the reality was there, and it did not care if Kuzo accepted it or not. He was just 12, and one might say that a kid that age would not understand so much anyway. But Kuzon felt like in fact, he was the only one who did. The only one who saw all the places in which the air nomads were missing. The only one who saw how fearful the merchants from the earth kingdom that used to be good friends of their family now looked. The only one who did no pretend that their firelord was nothing else but a liar and murderer. All of that had made him wanting to yell. Or cry, Or both. But his parents had taught him not to do so very soon very well and so he did neither. But he wrote it down. He started with everything Aang had told him about his people, and what he could remember from the times he had visited. He continued with everything that happened then. When his father got drafted for the war. When they started having to say this weird pledge in school. When the man with the serious face brought the letter that made his mother cry. When they had to leave their big house in the capital and move back to his grandparents into a smaller house in a small village. And how despite all of this, the first thing his mom did in her new, small room was to hang up picture of Sozin so that he could stare down from there as well. He wrote down how after that picture changed from Sozin to Azulon, he applied to university to avoid getting drafted himself. The thought of that made him chuckle now. How smart he had found himself to be. Only too find out that at university they may did not teach him how to kill someone with a sword. But to kill his mind with some words. Of course, he had written that down as well. Just as he wrote down the rumors of the deserted admiral, and the drinking songs the other students were singing about bravery and burned towns. Finally, he got into one last fight with his anthropology professor that got him kicked out of university and close to being arrested. After more or less fleeing town, he cut his hair, hid in a few more closets and stole the passport of a poor lad named Lee. Like that, he escaped his military service scrubbing floors, serving tea and unloading ships on docks. He spent some nights in prisons as well, after fights he had picked at night and after assaulting governmental officials. For jokes about Azulon that he alone had found funny. As the result of trying to convince people that attacking Ba Sing Se would not be right. But no one wanted to be convinced, so once more, all he could do was write down what he observed. The cheering masses and tea sipping towns people just as the polluted rivers and starving fisherman. The children playing war in the streets, already so eager to kill and die for honor and glory just as the factory workers with dark circles under their eyes. He hated to admit it now, but during that time, he had been giving close to giving up more than once. He woke up in the morning not knowing which town he was in, nor how he would pay for dinner there in the evening. He had given up his home, his studies, his name. All because he had not been wanting give up on Aang. He could not betray his friend. When he was not able to fight all of them and stop the war, the least he could do was not to become one of them and instead bear witness for future generations to come. But is just got harder and harder each day, and more and more times he scolded himself for being just stubborn and stupid. His friend was dead. The Dragon of the West was at the walls of Ba Sing Se. And everyone just loved Azulon. What difference would it make if he joined them in? Or if he just stopped trying completely? What saved him was a small clay figure of a sky bison. A woman sold it on the market in a town which's name he did not even know. What he knew, however, was that these kinds of toys were only made by air nomads. And that that woman clearly had no idea how much the piece she was offering here was worth. He bought it without thinking twice. And that was how he finally became a merchant. Trading goods became his explanation for traveling up and down the country, searching for traces and hints, gathering artifacts that one way or another that found their way into the hands of people who had no idea what they were holding. Of course, he had to start small. Very small. But he had learned from the best there were. And he had a goal. “Maybe I am naive to think that one day, the war will be over and the firelord defeated. That one day we can speak freely again and that people will come and learn about the airnomads.”, he wrote down during this time, but when that day comes, they need to have something to learn from. After many years, when Ozai already replaced Azulon, Kuzon settled in a small village, where he lived in a small hut with an even smaller shed in which he kept the artifacts hidden. People quickly started avoiding him as the weird old man who in any other place would have already been arrested but here just served as village idiot. He continued writing, but news travelled slow and when they arrived were usually not reliable at all. Because of that, he nearly did not dare to write the first hopeful line after what seemed to be an eternity. Word has it that the Avatar has returned.

And then after another year, despite all odds and just like that, the war suddenly was over. At least so he heard. And noted that the war was over. And then finally, he put the pen down. Everything suddenly had changed. Yet still, it remained the same.

Kuzon was still alone in his hut and with his books, and still no one seemed to care. He had a testamony to make, but no one wanted to listen. They all just wanted to forget so fast. And he was a disturbance, since they knew that he remembered. There were rumors that the new firelord, Zuko, 16 and like that himself half a child, wanted to change things and own up the crimes that were committed. Some people pretended to support that. Others openly complained. Kuzon just would like to believe it was true. But he just had stopped trusting in firelords a long time ago.

Still, he tried his best to maintain the artifacts in good shape, but he was old. He had no family. No friends. And the thought that they would remain hidden here after his death, abdomend and forgotten, broke what was still left of his heart. But here he was, and here they were. Alone. Suddenly, when Kuzon could already feel his eyes filling with tears, he was interrupted by a voice. A very familiar voice.

“Somebody here?”, it asked. Kuzon was sure that it was only in his mind, brought back by all the memories. Still, while scolding himself for being a stupid old man, he slowly turned around, expecting to see nothing except for the wall of his shed. But his mind had not tricked him. There he stood, smiling that familiar smile that Kuzon never would have thought he would see again. Aang. And Kuzon cried.

#avatar #Avatar The Last Airbender #aang #kuzon #My writing #atla fanfic #atlla #avatar aang #why did I do this? idk #the good thing is that I cannot sleep anayway #the bad thing is that is is 1:48 am and I really need to get stuff done tomorrow #also I am sad now

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