#avatar meta

[staliaqueen]

I rewatched The Avatar and the Fire Lord a few days ago, and god, what a good episode. Revealing that Zuko is a descendant of both Sozin and Roku was a genius move (and that's not even getting into the Zuko/Aang parallels of it all). But there's something the show doesn't seem to think of, and that I haven't seen anyone in the fandom discuss either — the fact that Zuko isn't the only one descendant from both these men. Azula is, too.

The conclusion of this story that Iroh presents to Zuko at the end of the episode is that he alone — because of his lineage from both men the war was started from — is uniquely capable of cleansing the sins of his family and the fire nation and bringing peace to the world. But, the thing is, there's two sides of this conflict, and therefor two sides to its legacy. The external and the personal. The legacy of the external is the war, but the legacy of the personal is the sibling rivalries that kept repeating through generations of the royal family.

Though Roku and Sozin were not actually related, they were childhood friends as close as siblings and fucking shared a birthday, so the symbolism works. We know very little about Azulon's childhood or if he even had any direct sibling rivalries like this at all, but from what I can find on his wiki page, we know that Sozin favoured him over "other family" (I'm assuming his siblings). What we know very well, however, is what happened in the next generation between Iroh and Ozai. We know Azulon favoured Iroh over Ozai, and that this likely is the initial source of their hatred for each other, which resulted in perhaps the worst sibling rivalry of them all (what with the indirect patricide and throne stealing).

Then we go on to Zuko and Azula, whose upbringing kept going in the same patterns, but the key difference is them being the first ones to both be descendant from the men who started it all. If Zuko having this lineage makes him uniquely capable of ending the cycle of war in his country and restoring balance to the world, shouldn't that mean that both he and Azula having this lineage makes them uniquely capable of ending the cycle of brutal sibling rivalries and restoring balance to their family?

This conclusion I've presented seems to fit perfectly with the lesson Aang draws from the same story as well:

"Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? If anything, their story proves that anyone's capable of great good and great evil. Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation, have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance."

I know this is supposed to be foreshadowing to Aang refusing to kill Ozai later, but I can't help but think it's even more applicable to fourteen year old Azula. It's really so ironic that the show runners thought Azula deserved what she got when their own show seems to be telling them that Zuko mending his relationship with her is what he ultimately should've done.

But, then again... that does sort of make her the perfect tragedy.

#meta #azula #princess azula #zuko #prince zuko #zuko x azula #avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar meta #avatar the last airbender meta #atla meta #uncle iroh #fire lord ozai #fire lord azulon #fire lord sozin #avatar roku #i LOVE tragic siblings have i mentioned this before? #also can't wait for this either to get 0 notes or invite a bunch of brain dead angry replies #it's pretty much either or for me in this fandom

[prickly-paprikash]

Since the discourse has reared its ugly head once more, the simple answer is no.

Aang was not a deadbeat, unsupportive, absentee father.

He loved all three of his children and was supportive of them. When Kya came out in the comics, she mentioned straight up that Aang was nothing but supportive of her and who she was. Aang made mistakes in parenting, but he was also stuck in one of the worst situations possible for him.

For one thing, it's been stated that Airbending culture has different views when it comes to family dynamics. Never once does Aang mention his parents, and it's clear that Air Nomads did not put emphasis on the standard nuclear family organization that other nations did. From context clues alone, and many have inferred in the past that Air Nomads were communal, so it stands to reason that their parenting was communal. Monks, Nuns, Masters—all of them were most likely parents to every single child. The responsibility of raising and educating a child was shared amongst the nomads, and that there was no real difference between biological and adoptive parents. Airbenders shared nearly everything, and that meant family as well.

Imagine you're Aang, spending twelve years of life being raised by every adult in the temple. Sure, he was exposed to nuclear family dynamics when visiting other nations and befriending Bumi and Kuzon, but his exposure to their culture was most likely limited. Now, not only is he a father to three beautiful children, but he must raise them in a way foreign to him. There are no other Monks to raise his children—it's just him and Katara. I've no doubt that Sokka and Toph chipped in whenever they could to ease the burden of parenthood, but they were leaders and figures of great importance as well. Not to mention that Toph had her own daughters to take care of.

Aang is also the Avatar, the central spiritual figure amongst the four nations. His presence would always be demanded in other nations. Peace Summits. Negotiations. Ceremony. Dealing with splintered Fire Nation cells and loyalists. Aang had to lead the people of all four nations back into balance, and he was in the unique and unenviable position to heal the scars of a 100 year war due to the absence of the Avatar.

Finally, the dude is also the Very Last Airbender. Of course he'd show favoritism to Tenzin. Bumi was a non-bender and Kya was a waterbender already taking after her mother. Aang was a war hero, a political figure, a man out of time and history, the Avatar, and the Only Living Airbender. The weight of his culture and people all rested on his shoulders, and so he passed on that responsibility and hope to the only other living Airbender at the time. Aang needed to spend time with Tenzin because only through Tenzin could the practices of the Air Nomads survive.

Aang was basically having to transition from a communal family mindset to a nuclear family's; he had to balance romance, fatherhood, and being the Avatar in a Wartorn World; and he had an obligation to every Airbender in history—millions of souls and their memories, passed on from one very flawed father to his newborn son. Every part of Aang's life as a father was met with trials and tribulations, and his family still came out loving him, albeit with some resentment underneath.

No parent is perfect, and Aang could have done so much better when it came to communicating with his children.

But none of his mistakes ever meant he was an abusive, cold, distant father.

He was overworked, acclimating to a style of family not his own, and desperately reviving a century-long dead culture all by himself. The fact that every single one of his kids still loved him and cherished him only solidified the fact that Aang was a father who did his very best.

Being the child of the Avatar would always mean living in his shadow. That resentment, of Aang being needed by the world while his children sought him out, would always be there. Doubly so for Tenzin, who grew up with the Avatar as his father and continued his life-long work of breathing life back into the Air Nomads. Say what you will, but at least Bumi and Kya had the freedom to choose who they wanted to be. Tenzin, no matter what, would always grow up to be the Airbending Master because no one else could.

Aang loved his children. Aang loved his wife. And they in turn loved him. But just like every family, complications rose up and planted the seeds of bitterness and resentment. The only thing that stopped these from blossoming into actual dislike of their family was that Aang's love and respect for his children was always genuine, and that Katara stood firm in making sure their children knew they were beloved.

Aang and Katara's family would never have been ideal in the first place, but they did their best.

And their best was certainly enough.

#avatar the last airbender #aang #katara #bumi ii #kya ii #bumi #kya #tenzin #avatar meta #paprikash ramblings #sokka #toph beifong

[starlight-bread-blog]

The Good & the Bad: On Aang (Not) Killing the Fire Lord

I recived this asks forever ago, trurly sorry anon, but I'll keep my apologises for the end. I'd love to answer that!

If you're asking me, this is way better than """killing him""". Case closed.

Getting this cleared up: The show didn't say that Aang is morally superior for this. It was solely about staying true to himself. Not a moral high ground.

So when I hear people say it's problematic because it implies that sparing imperialistic dictators has some intrinsic goodness to it, (Ahem-Lily Orchard), I just can't agree. It was never about universal ethics, it was about Aang's culture and values.

Why Is This a Good Thing?

Aang loves his culture, and takes a lot of pride in it and its values. (See: in The Southern Raiders his first go-to to convince Katara to spare Yon Rah is his culture, rather than what such act would do Katara herself). He would have been ashamed if he had broken them. But right now they clash with his Avatar duties, with god-knows how many lives at stake. He needs to let go of his pride & shame, and become humble.

Just like Zuko humbling himself to the GAang before they accept him, or Sokka humbling himself to the Kyoshi warriors and Master Piandao, Aang could only speak to the the lion turtle after he'd given up, after he was humbled.

Even beyond Aang, it enhances the show's themes at large. A theme in A:TLA is paving your own path, and that you can do what you want despite the pressure. Your true destiny will come, you might be surprised by it, but it's yours and you're free to carve it.

You just have to keep going, to continue to do the right thing, and your destiny will find you. Things have a way of working out in the end, eventually.

Sparing Ozai serves the theme, thus the show overall. Everyone told him it's his destiny to kill the Fire Lord and end the war. But he didn't agree, paving his own path, his own destiny, and all was well. The pieces fell in their place.

It is s amplified by the fact that if you read between the lines, he actually did follow all the previous Avatars' wisdom besides Yangchen's.

Aang knew what he wanted from the start. He isn't going to kill the Fire Lord. People (rightfully) tried to pressure him, but in the end, he stuck to his decision.

Justice was served. Aang took his bending away and put him to rot in prison for the rest of his life. There's more than one way to execute justice.

"... and the destiny of the world". That's exactly what Aang did. He followed his own path (staying true to himself) while saving the world (ending Ozai regime).

So that leaves us with Yangchen's advice. The one he didn't follow:

This opens another layer to this. Why doesn't Aang take the advice of a fellow Air Nomad? The one he should relate to the most? Because despite both being Avatars and Airbenders, Aang is the last. They're not the same. Yangchen is speaking from a place of privilege. She can carry the weight of the Avatar and not worry about the Air Nomads. Notice the wording: "spiritual needs". But it's deeper than that. In her time, they were there, they'll preserve their culture and values. Aang doesn't have that.

He's Avatar: The Last Airbender. He has both weights to carry. The decision to spare the Fire Lord, while protecting the rest of the world, is embedded in the show's title.

There's also something so incredibly powerful in Ozai being defeated specifically with Air Nomad values. A 100 years ago, during Sozin's Comet, the Fire Nation started the war by genociding them. When it comes back, the Avatar, the last Air Nomad, ends the war and stops the next genocide while preserving their values. The Fire Nation isn't going to push him to taint (one of) the last living aspacts of the Air Nomads, and Aang is shouting it – in the very same day the disaster occurred.

(Additionally I view this as a land mark of his character development since Siege of the North. He used spirit powers for murder, now he's using them for mercy).

(A:TLA is also a show made with kids in mind. They may not be able to make Aang kill Ozai. He got his bending stolen and sentenced to prison for the rest of his life. That's a more than serviceable punishment for a show aimed at kids).

(Ps: If Ozai had died Zuko would never have found out where his mother is).

The concept is fantastic. Nothing wrong there. But now, it's time for the critisism.

What's the problem then?

Despite looking in internet forums, it's entirely possible that I missed some things. With that being said, the Lion Turtles could have been foreshadowed better. As I stated, I don't mind it. But as far as I recall, it was foreshadowed once in The Library, and that's it. (Edit: It's also foreshadowed in Sokka's Master, but the point still stands).

The Lion Turtle is a twist, it subverted expectations, but that doesn't mean it has to be a deus ex machina. That's what foreshadowing is for. It's the literary device to making a plot twist feel believable. The result is many fans, including me, feeling as though it came out of no where, even though it didn't.

Overall, I love that Aang spared Ozai. It ties into the themes of the show and Aang's role as the last airbender. It makes perfect sense, it's rather beautiful. However, I do wish the foreshadowing was better.

And for Anon, to apologize for the wait, I dedicate you this meme:

#tw genocide #aang #avatar aang #lion turtle #ozai #fire lord ozai #atla meta #avatar meta #aang meta #atla ending #atla finale #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #air nomads #yangchen #kyoshi #roku #kuruk #avatar yangchen #avatar kyoshi #avatar roku #avatar kuruk #tw imperialism #avatar the last airbender meta #atla analysis #aang analysis #atla aang #atla critisism #iroh #uncle iroh

[nyababymao]

If Aonung and Neteyam were together before Neteyam died

can you imagine if they had given the love interest plot line to neteyam with aonung and just hinted at it in the background through small scenes of them talking and doing chores together and then when they bring neteyam’s body back, aonung just uncharacteristically screams and yells in agony as he wrestles neteyam’s body away from jake and the scene blacks out as aonung bends over neteyam’s body yowling and screaming as everyone watches aonung knowingly with painful looks.

During the funeral aonung is also on a ilu with the rest of the sully family watching as neteyam’s body is sent down to the anemone and then the next movie, in addition to the sully family, follows him dealing with this loss and shows flashbacks of longer moment between them during way of water, moments that we don’t see during that movie. Someone is actually named as neteyam’s killer(it was a random human I think but I like to imagine it was wainfleet cause he’s the only other recon who survived other then quaritch I think), and is eventually killed by Jake and Aonung.

I mean if the sullys will really be permanently living with the metkayinas, the movie is going to have to focus on some of them as main characters and not just supporting and this would’ve been a great way to pull Aonung into the focus. As it is, I can only imagine tsireya playing something of a “side love interest” rather then anything as major as lo’ak, kiri or neytiri.

I mean this is also kind of using neteyam as a plot device to develop aonung but at least this would be a development that also develops neteyam because it gives him his own arc in a way as it reveals a bond between him and aonung that we didn’t get to see before, whereas with the sullys, them reminiscing about neteyam only adds to their own development because we’ve already seen all there is to see about neteyam from their pov. Does that make any sense?

Idk it just feels like neteyam doesn’t really get anything and is always just there to support his family’s character arcs where as if we got this plot with aonung, aonung would be the one supporting his arc by essentially showing us his arc through flashbacks of neteyam that we didn’t get to see and his family gets to learn about neteyam through a new pov as well.

Like imagine Jake or Neytiri having a moment with Aonung.

“We were going to be mates. He was so excited when he learn about our spirit tree. He dreamed of performing his mating bond before eywa like you did and didn’t think it was a possibility anymore when you left your old home.”

Like there’s so much more we could’ve had if neteyam was survived by more then just his family because what can a family member learn about neteyam from another family member that they didn’t already know? Having someone who didn’t have the same view of neteyam included in the aftermath allows for both sides of the party and the audience to learn more about him.

#avatar meta #avatar way of water #avatar #aonung x neteyam #neteyam x aonung #neteyam #aonung

[im--never--happy]

Whatever you do, don't think about mako watching his parents burn, helpless, unable to help, frozen in terror. Don't think about mako curling up around bolin on the streets, terrified, alone, cold, sitting up watching and waiting all night so no one tries to hurt or take them away during the night or steal their belongings.

Don't think about him terrified to bend, to wield the element that killed his parents, but too cold to have the luxury of choice. Don't think about him hating his bending, terrified of it, terrified he will lose control of it and become a monster.

Don't think about mako alone and afraid and cold and hungry. Don't think about mako and bolin shivering, huddled together in the freezing cold -- it's too cold for mako to bend and he hasn't mastered the breath of fire.

Don't think about mako curled on the street, unable to get up but knowing if he doesn't, he and bolin will starve and maybe there won'd be a next day. Don't think about him wrenching bread away from somone else, knowing it might mean that person will go hungry, but knowing at least that he and bolin won't starve that night. they'll have enough to make it through to the next sunrise. Don't think about mako taking blankets and forcing himself not to care who will go cold who will go hungry because he and bolin have that blanket and have that bread.

Don't think about him wishing and hoping that they had family that would come for them and loved for them and find them. but as the weeks turned into months turned into years, he knew that they had no family, or any family that they did have didn't want them. don't think about him convincing himself that they were either dead or he didn't want anything to do with them either.

Don't think about mako forgetting the way his parents looked, all he can remember is the burned charred lumps of their faces, the way they looked as they died.

Don't think about Mako turning to the gangsters and the triads because they are the only ones who don't care about child labor laws enough to hire a child. Don't think about what mako had to do to buy his and bolin's way out of the triads, to buy their freedom. because he knew too much, he was an insider, and there's no way they would let someone with that knowledge walk away unscathed. Don't think about his desperation to stay in the pro-bending tournament, knowing that the prize money from each match the only thing keeping him and bolin from the streets, keeping them from the triads. because how else would they pay off the cost of that freedom?

Seriously, whatever you do don't think about mako because it will fucking HURT

#i have a lot of fucking feelings about mako #FUCK #can someone please just write more mako centric fics #i have read them all and i have too many feelings and i can't even #mako #mako lok #legend of korra #atlok #lok #mako meta #lok meta #avatar #atla #avatar meta

[space-blue]

Na'vi anatomy meta post

For almost as long as I was in it, fandom was under the impression that Avatar and Recombinant characters have their tswin, or neural queue, attached lower than Na'vi, right above the neck, when Na'vi have it from the top of the head.

I drunk that kool-aid and defended it myself. However, further inspection proves it's wrong.

Firstly : Metkayina very clearly have their tswin starting at the back of their skull, on a low point. It's most evident with kids :

But we can also see it in these two, especially the bully, who has his tswin literally sticking out :

Shots of the Ta'unui completely nail the coffin :

The top of his head is braided but there is no sign of a bulge and the tswin sits under the bulk of the hair, and is gripped near the neck.

This of course takes the cake :

So it seems the tswin comes from the back of the head for them. Could the Omatikaya be different? I don't think so.

Neytiri clearly doesn't have the very low placement we see in other, but there is also no indication that her tswin comes from the top of her head. No bulge to accomodate this.

This shot of her after dismouting her ikran is the best view of it poking out and the attachment point is clearly bellow the back of the cranium.

Looking at Omatikaya fashion in general...

I feel like it's pretty clear that they favour heavy braiding with shaved sides. The men in those shots have very thick braids at the base, from gathering hair all the way from the top of their heads. I think this provides extra protection for the weak base of the tswin that we know has brainy bits...

But my conclusion is that this is a fashion style!

Na'vi, recoms and avatars all have tswin origination from the back/lower back of their head and the differences aren't great, and obfuscated by hairstyles.

The more you know.

#avatar #na'vi #omatikaya #metkayina #atwow #avatar 2 #jc avatar #avatar meta #na'vi anatomy #recombinant #recoms #anatomy #tswin

[pandorem]

Probably an extremely unpopular opinion but I think it’s fine and good that Azula didn’t have a redemption arc in the original Avatar cartoon and it’s not because she didn’t “deserve” one. The way Azula’s narrative unfolds in the original cartoon is perfect and exactly what it sets out to be, which is in part a TRAGEDY. and not only that but a tragedy that took a lot of us by surprise at the time. What Azula’s arc does is show us a cruel, sadistic antagonist character that many people loved to hate, and at the end brutally and devastatingly reminded us that this was a fourteen year old child twisted and warped by her household and militaristic imperialist society and her father’s influence in particular until it all came to a head and pushed her into a total mental breakdown.

None of these things “excuse” her actions (and I hate hate HATE that any attempt to see character’s actions as psychologically grounded and consistent with a character having an actual interior life and not being a cackling 80s cartoon villain, or being an indication of larger societal problems and not an evil born in a vacuum is often seen as making excuses and apologism), but they remind us that 1) we don’t punish child soldiers for being child soldiers and Azula IS A CHILD, and 2) humans who are born into and fall into extreme and damaging ideologies and even perpetuate those ideologies don’t just spring out of nowhere and when they are children it is a goddamned tragedy when they can’t be saved from it.

and I side-eye the concept of “deserving” redemption a lot but also in recent years I’ve questioned a lot what we even mean by redemption arcs and whether I think it’s a useful framework given how broad it is, BUT. for me at least, chopping away the Christian trappings of redemption arcs needing punishment to reach deliverance etc the bare minimum core of what redemption currently means to me is an understanding of the moral wrongs you have done in the past and a conviction to go forward not continuing to perpetuate those wrongs, and to strive for reparative Justice when possible. None of those things are things I think Azula would be capable of during the arc of season three. And that’s ok, because her arc was also an important one to show.

That doesn’t mean I don’t think she could be capable of redemption in her future (I haven’t read the comics and am a bit wary of doing so, I’ve heard a lot of mixed opinions), but ultimately I think rather than redemption, what Azula “deserves” is rehabilitation. Redemption is an interior process, though of course people outside can help, but it’s something you strive for yourself and thus I don’t think can be “deserved” (redemption is not forgiveness!!!!). Rehabilitation is something that you can work with more as a group, and in the case of child soldiers, you can extend to others more easily. Child soldiers do not need redemption, they need rehabilitation.

#azula #avatar the last airbender #atla #atla azula #meta #avatar meta #Azula’s arc was a tragedy and that’s fine

[dragonflyable]

While Toph still hasn’t gone on a “Life-Changing Field Trip” with Zuko, the rest of the Gaang went on a Second One! You can’t tell me that when they wrote “The Search” this wasn’t intentional!

#atla #avatar the last airbender #atla animated series #atla original #the gaang #team avatar #atla zuko #atla azula #atla sokka #atla aang #atla katara #atla toph #the search #graphic novel #meta #my own meta #atla meta #avatar meta

[ceruleanwhore]

Aang As a Father, in Response to LoK

⚠️CAUTION⚠️

This post is full of Aang and kataang hate. If you like Aang and/or ship kataang in any capacity, scroll on for the sake of your mental and emotional wellbeing. Thank you!

When Avatar: Legend of Korra came out, I remember there being tons of discussion around how much Aang sucked as a father and how surprised everyone was, even some of us who never really liked him as a character. However, I’ve been thinking about it today, and the conclusion I’ve reached is that not only is it not surprising that Aang was not a very good parent, but it was inevitable. The one thing I disagree on that I’ll get to at some point in here is how he sucked at parenting in canon as opposed to how I think he was set up to fail at it given the direction he was headed with his canon characterization.

I’d like to start by getting into that characterization and discussing some of the elements of Aang’s canon personality that I think are relevant. In the series, yes, as we all know and as Aang stans love to point out ad nauseum, he’s just a mere bitty child, but we can also see some of his flaws that, even in his 12-year-old self, have some serious consequences at times. Canon Aang is a messy cocktail of toxic positivity, selfishness, avoidant tendencies, impulsivity, and a dangerous lack of emotional control. He does things like casually throw away the fate of the whole world over his god-given right to have a crush on a girl and then, in the next season, compare that same girl’s experience of losing her mother to his radically different experience of losing his pet for a couple weeks as he tells her to get over it. He also has a tendency to go into the freaking avatar state when he’s upset about something and cause serious damage to everything around him until Mommy calms him down. Even when he doesn’t go into the avatar state, he does things like verbally abuse his friends and abandon them in the desert when Appa goes missing.

All of this is completely relevant to who a hypothetical adult Aang would be and what he’d be like because, all throughout the series, there is never any accountability from Aang. He literally never takes responsibility for the things he does and makes amends or even just apologizes in a meaningful way because he never has to — the narrative makes sure of that. That’s the key part of Aang’s flaws, that Bryke genuinely thought they made a perfect good guy and had nary a crumb of self awareness that they accidentally made him a raging asshole who is constantly being rewarded for his shitty behavior. Even when he’s clearly in the wrong, like with the Bato situation in s1, they somehow turn it around so yeah, I guess he fesses up and apologizes but, at the end of the episode, Sokka and Katara are apologizing to him and there’s no lasting consequences for the shitty thing he did. Because of this crucial element of the story and Aang’s character, it is very likely that he’d go his whole life being a dickhead while continuing to never have consequences for that and somehow managing to maintain his friendships and relationship with Katara.

I want to kind of go through these one at a time, starting with the lack of accountability. Since Aang is the avatar, literally no one in the whole world of atla actually has authority over him, at least once he’s an adult. His peers are his equals but, even though Katara, Toph, and Zuko taught him his bending, they don’t really have any tangible authority over him as his teachers. Combine that with the fact that none of Aang’s friends really ever criticize him or hold him accountable for his actions and it becomes very clear that, as a father, he will never actually be held accountable for being a bad parent. What goes with this is that he also won’t be open to advice because he assumes he always knows best and the narrative also supports and rewards that. Between the two, he’s set up so that when he inevitably turns out to be a lousy father, there will be nothing anyone can say (assuming they would even say anything at all) to help him improve.

With this in mind, let’s start into the actual character flaws that, as concluded above, won’t be corrected at any point, starting with the toxic positivity. One of Aang’s most recognizable characteristics is his bright, cheery disposition which can be a good thing but also leads to him being very dismissive of anyone else’s problems or negative emotions. As a parent, he would never take his children’s problems seriously and would simply brush them off and tell his kids to practice detachment and just let go of whatever is bothering them, regardless of how serious the issue is or how much it matters to the kid. This will teach the kids both not to even try to bring their problems to at least one of their parents and also that any problem they have is actually inconsequential, so even when they do have really big, serious issues in life, they won’t be able to recognize it as such and get whatever help they might need. It also will convey to them that their own father just doesn’t really care about them, at least not enough to engage with them in any capacity about anything serious.

Next up is Aang’s selfishness. Throughout atla, we see time and time again that Aang struggles greatly with prioritizing literally anyone else over his own comfort and desires. He was more than willing to sacrifice the whole world for his ability to avoid having to engage in conflict and then, in season 2, he showed that he was 100% willing to sacrifice the whole world for his crush on Katara. It’s not just that he tends to thoughtlessly give into his impulses and desires without giving thought to how it affects others, it’s also that, because of who he is, that has the potential to cause immense damage and he still doesn’t care. As a father, he would always put himself before his wife and his children. He would treat Katara at least as badly and unfairly as he did in canon and his children would have the lovely experience of watching that and also growing up in a household where their wants and needs don’t really matter to their own father.

Another key factor when it comes to Aang’s personality is his avoidant tendencies. We see multiple times throughout the series just how far he’ll go to avoid doing things he doesn’t want to do, like preventing the world from complete destruction. In his household, I imagine he’d want no part of any of the real, ‘messy’ aspects of parenthood and would just have Katara do all those things. Anything to do with the mess of child care (changing diapers, cleaning up spit up, any sort of wound care for scraped knees, etc.), conflict resolution between quarreling siblings, or correction of misbehavior would fall to her. He, like plenty of real men, would only want to do the cute, fun parts of parenthood, like taking the kids to Disney, while making Mom the ‘bad guy’ who has to do all the real work. 

Then there’s also the impulsivity. Aang tends to get these ideas of things he wants to do and then, without any further thought, just goes and does them. This can be pretty harmless when it’s something like wanting to go penguin sledding and then going off and doing it but, as we’ve seen, there’s plenty of times where it isn’t, like when he hides Hakoda’s correspondence from Katara and Sokka in s1 because he’s feeling pissy. In parenthood, I think this is where we ended up with the unfair treatment showed in LoK because it’s his impulsivity driving it, but I don’t actually think he’d be out here treating his kids differently based on bending abilities, I think they’d all be pretty equally getting the short end of the stick from him. 

The way I see his impulsivity coming out with his family is either with grabbing the kids to go do something on a whim (like riding the elephant koi) or going off on his own or with Katara on some spur of the moment trip that leaves their kids alone or drags them away from home for weeks at a time with no notice. If they’d leave the kids alone while going off without them, that could lead to trauma around neglect and abandonment while, if they take the kids with them, the kids get stuck being dragged along and then ignored while Aang goes off to do all the stuff he’s there for that the kids weren’t really ever supposed to actually be part of. I think that, with stuff like this, the avoidance, and the toxic positivity, he’d think that he’s setting himself up to be the cool, fun dad with Katara being made out to be the ‘bad guy’ when, in truth, he’s out here fucking up his children and they’re going to know and hate him for it in the end.

The last part is the matter of his inability to regulate his emotions. It’s bad enough for anyone to have to sit there and watch as the same toxic positivity dickhead then struggles with anger issues he never even so much as apologizes for, but for his kids, I’m sure it’s unbearable. My dad has struggled with anger issues my whole life, as have I, but we take responsibility and we’ve both spent over two decades working on ourselves, trying to get better. Aang would never do that in any capacity. For his children, they’d get this environment where they can never be upset at all because it bothers Dad but then Dad can fly off into the fucking avatar state as soon as he’s even mildly inconvenienced. This model of ‘you being upset is just a little inconvenience you need to get over but when Dad’s upset it’s a huge deal and he’s actually allowed to be upset’ would be downright infuriating to live with and would definitely contribute to their children’s childhood trauma. It’s not just that you’re not allowed to be upset, it’s also that you always have to be walking on eggshells trying not to set this guy off.

Another thing I would add to this last point is something I learned from my family that I think is relevant here. My dad genuinely thought he was totally normal and didn’t have any anger issues until my brother and I were born, and he also was always really great with other people’s kids and never had problems there until he was working on the railroad with two babies at home. Yes, we’ve already seen Aang’s anger issues in canon, but I would also speculate that his mood and stuff would get worse once Tenzin’s born. This could either lead to him being absent for most of the kids’ early childhoods as he’d just avoid being around them if they’re triggering him or his anger issues could get worse and more prevalent once there’s kids in the mix. Either would be detrimental to his children’s mental health.

So I guess my point here is that LoK having it so Aang’s whole issue with fatherhood is that he treated his kids unequally doesn’t really cover the ways in which he’s set up to be a terrible father. I really don’t think favortism would even be an issue (I think all 3 kids would get dragged around to air nomad stuff, not just Tenzin) but Lord knows there’s other issues to be considered here. As a father, Aang would be selfish, impulsive, dismissive, thoughtless, and hypocritical as well as probably struggling with completely unchecked anger issues. His children would have trauma because of him and they would hate him, but not because he would leave two behind while dragging the eldest around on vacations. The cherry on top of the shit sundae of Aang’s fatherhood is that he would have no self awareness whatsoever as all of this would go unchecked by his wife and friends, so he would genuinely believe that he’s a good, fun, loving father all the way up to the moment of his death.

#anti aang #aang critical #aang slander #aang salt #atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar: the last airbender #a:tla #avatar meta #atla meta

[local-redhead-bookworm]

So I just rewatched the first Avatar movie, which I really should have done before I went to see the new one, but anyway, a few thoughts:

Jake’s hair is literally straight as a board, there’s no reason to loc his hair from a haircare standpoint, unless his hair completely changed textures over those fifteen years. I’m gonna blame James Cameron for that one.

I noticed that Jake says that he barely remembers his old life. And that’s consistent with the story, but that’s zero justification for him not having compassion on another human and, given the fact that Spider needs an oxygen mask to survive and can’t really leave Pandora, Spider is disabled. Jake was also disabled. I understand his reasoning and I don’t think it’s out of character, but it’s endlessly frustrating.

I didn’t see much of the human Recom squad, but I saw a lot of Wainfleet and that man has always been a bit of a dumbass. I think I saw the rest of the gang in one of Quaritch’s briefings, but I wasn’t sure.

Quaritch is like an entirely different person. Even when human Quaritch was dying, he was fueled by rage and never showed fear. His final moments were nothing more than vicious rage. And while Recom Quaritch has violent tendencies, he’s nowhere near as aggressive as his human self. Human Quaritch never showed anything other than anger or pride, and Recom Quaritch is softer, plain and simple.

Having a strong heart is a running theme. It’s one of the first things human Quaritch says to Jake, and Neytiri also says that Jake has a strong heart. It’s one of the first comments Recom Quaritch makes to Spider, saying “kid, you’ve got heart.” And Jake tells Neytiri, “I need you to be strong. Strong heart.” Even Kiri saying that Eywa’s heartbeat is mighty. Heart—loyalty, connection, love—is the core of this story.

#avatar #avatar way of water #jake sully #miles quaritch #spider socorro #avatar meta #sort of? it gets kind of meta at the end

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

You’ve mentioned how boring the Avatar movies are despite how visually stunning they can be (I can’t help but agree.) How would you rewrite it to be a more interesting?

Can't be done and not for the reasons you're probably thinking.

The Thing about James Cameron

To get into this, we have to talk about James Cameron as a director.

Now, I say this being a large fan of The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day, as well as generally liking Aliens and Abyss.

But generally, the focus of James Cameron's films is not the story or the writing: it's a new cutting-edge technology he wants to develop and try out and or a particular setting. The story is presented as an excuse to do these things and is paper thin at best.

The focus of Titanic was the ship itself, the exact timing of its sinking, seeing all of the ship (both upstairs and downstairs) both before and after the sinking, and to aid that along we get this story of Jack and Rose where they run around the ship like lunatics so we can see everything.

Abyss, similarly, is exploring the concept of a setting at depth and the technology needed to produce such a film.

Now, what also ties into this, is that Cameron has a few tropes he really really really likes in films that aren't that... deep I guess I'd call them. Generally, in any Cameron film, you can count at least one (usually more) of the following:

US Marines (Good or Bad or Both)

Evil Corporations/Evil Rich People

A Surprisingly (!) Good Scientist/Science/Robot People

An Uncomplicated Action Hero/Heroine

An Uncomplicated Love Story

In the case of the Avatar series, Cameron had thought up this fictitious world Pandora, the native people there the Nav'i, and wanted to push both CGI as well as 3D to the limit (notable is that Cameron did 3D for these films in a way films generally don't, in that he did actual 3D where most '3D' films just have two cameras for stereo. This is why Cameron's 3D looks so fucking good and is actually worth seeing in theaters versus other 3D films which are eeeeeeh watch it at home). And, as usual, what we see is a story written in such a way to show off the setting, the made-up culture of the Nav'i, and the technology used to produce the film rather than the story in and of itself.

So, in the first film, we get a story that hits all the usual marks for Cameron. Through Jake's adventure, we get to explore Pandora and see all the things Cameron really wants to show off to us, we also get all the tropes Cameron usually loves: an uncomplicated love story, evil corporations, US Marines, surprisingly good scientists who seem bad at first but then are misguided, and a dumb uncomplicated hero.

In this case, it's just the plot of Dances with Wolves (almost to a tee) but uh... more blue.

(The second film is even worse in this respect, as well as just as a film, as Cameron now wants to show a new part of Pandora, the ocean but uh... has no reason for the characters to be there so has to make something up that doesn't make much sense or give the characters much to do.)

The trouble is where this works for Cameron in other films (Terminator and Terminator 2 were great in that they didn't need to be complicated, the setting and special effects provided what we needed for great films), in Avatar we're hampered by a plotline that has both aged and that we've seen before, and by a script that's... just not good.

But the point I was trying to make is that Avatar would not exist without Cameron. This isn't a case where you hire a new director, new screenwriter, new anything, this is Cameron's vision and there's really not much wiggle room in that without dumping out everything Cameron wanted.

The best someone could do is rewrite the script to make the lines more catchy/memorable/quotable without changing the plot.

(Caveat, again, I think Cameron is great when he's great. What he does well he does very well, and he has made some fantastic as well as very entertaining movies. However, sometimes, it just doesn't work out.)

Back to the Question

So, to 'fix' Avatar you have to have a script Cameron would like, one that shows of Pandora in the way he wants, and with the uncomplicated characters he generally likes.

Trouble is, that is Avatar. I can think of no way to produce what Cameron would have wanted beyond what Cameron himself did. He was involved in every step of that movie and it shows.

And again, to make it better or different is to make something that never would have happened as, well, it's not Cameron.

Long story short, you can't have Avatar without Blue Pocahontas in Space.

#avatar #avatar meta #james cameron #anti james cameron #meta #opinion

[maikowasalwaysbad]

I think what bothered me about Maiko was how half assed it actually was, and how it had wayyy too little scenes to be considered good or well written AT ALL. User @sokkastyles made a lot of good points concerning how badly written Maiko was, and how it did Mai’s character dirty. But what makes it so funny to me is how much lack of scenes there are for it to be good- let me explain:

We never get Mai’s reaction to Zuko’s banishment. None at all. It’s almost like the writers didn’t even plan this and only mashed them together due to them being single. We see her smirk at the thought of seeing him yes, but there’s no concern over Zuko literally being thrown in prison or possibly killed. I’m not saying Mai’s a bad person but…wouldn’t you worry about your partner? Or couldn’t the writers show her reaction to Zuko literally being burned and humiliated?

Where was the build up besides ONE literal flashback that the majority of people I know forgot about??? Literally, that kiss in episode 1 of Book 3 was out of NOWHERE- it felt like the writers needed to give him a love interest so they had Mai kiss him out of desperation. 😭 But even then with that flashback it was nowhere near convincing that Zuko loved her since childhood or something. And even for Mai it was honestly….eh. It’s a cute childhood crush thing where she may find hm attractive, yes. However how is this supposed to convince me it’s long term like they want me to believe? Plus, we literally see Zuko dislike it when Azula and Ty Lee tease them about being together. There’s no implications of him deep down liking Mai or anything in that flashback. Just him getting angry at it in fact.

Where tf were the scenes of Zuko worrying for Mai after the Boiling Rock? This one I can maybe understand due to maybe not enough runtime but…Wouldn’t you worry for someone you love if they’re going to be imprisoned and possibly punished heavily by your crazy sister??? He knows what Azula is capable of along with the Boiling Rock prison in general. So why didn’t we get any scenes of him worrying for her? If the writers wanted to really convince me on their relationship they could’ve at least give me a scene of him either freeing her or worrying for her afterwards LMAO. “Erm maybe offscreen” yeah, keyword: MAYBE.

Mai never confronted the Fire Nation was wrong. Literally, when did she confront the Fire Nation was wrong? Y’all expect me to believe she’s right for him when she didn’t even see that the Fire Nation was wrong? That’s like if a feminist were to date a man who didn’t support women’s rights- it’s just….blegh. And you wouldn’t support that relationship. Literally, where did she confront Ozai was wrong? She only saved Zuko because she “loved” him. But how are they supposed to be compatible due to those opposing ideals? Seems boring and really lazy ass writing that doesn’t confront those points lmao. “She probably realized it in the room when Zuko told her” he only said “that’s not how I see it” when she told him he was betraying his country. We don’t see a scene where Mai suddenly realizes the Fire Nation is bad. “Maybe offscreen” yeah, MAYBE. And that sort of proves my point Maiko is badly written and doesn’t have enough scenes to support it or make it good.

I can go more into depth on how multiple parts of the writing were flawed whether it be the characters or just the ship in general. However I won’t make this too long and will stop here. Overall, I feel Maiko could’ve had WAY more scenes to sell it to me or be better written. It’s not just the toxic moments that annoy me, but also the lack of scenes and writing. While I do agree it had potential, elements such as bad writing, too little time, etc made it badly written and half assed to me. And I hope Maiko shippers can respect my opinions and thoughts.

#avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar the legend of korra #atla #my meta #meta #atla meta #i will die on this fucking hill #i hope they don’t make maiko canon in the live action at least #avatar meta #anti maiko #atla critisism #avatar the last airbender critical #maiko anti #anti zuko x mai

[starlight-bread-blog]

Zuko had a hard time living up to his sister. She was a firebending prodigy. No matter how good he was, she was always better. And their father favored her because of this.

Ozai's abuse made it seem like he is not a good bender, just because he couldn't match his sister, the wonder child.

But Zuko is a Proficient Bender

At 16, he beat Zhao, a firebending master, at an Agni Kai.

He exercises the original firebending learnt from the dragons.

His firebending is influenced by other bending forms.

He's one of 3 people that at that time coulf redirect lightning.

After he'd recognized Ozai's cruelty towards him, he also casually recognizes that he is skilled, that he is good at firebending.

He casually recognizes that he is so good that he can teach the Avatar.

#zuko #zuko meta #atla zuko #azula #atla azula #atla #atla meta #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #avatar aang #firebending #fire lord zuko #firelord zuko #prince zuko #ozai #fire lord ozai #firelord ozai #princess azula #avatar meta #avatar the last airbender meta #pro zuko #a:tla

[nyababymao]

How I would write Neteyam ig

I also feel like having lo’ak being the secondary protagonist(the protagonist being jake) and the movie mainly following him is kinda cliche, for lack of a better word. The movie is still great dont get me wrong but the “underdog, rebellious son” storyline is just overdone so much lately that it feels boring and predictable. I feel like they could’ve explored and write a much more compelling plot and arc if they had followed Neteyam instead. These are some ways I would’ve rewritten the movie. I’m gonna bullet point this because it’s really just ideas and some headcanon that are bouncing around in my head rather then one cohesive storyline.

- neteyam’s arc would probably follow him trying to be as good a soldier, eldest brother, and son he could be and while he doesn’t hate it, it does end up making him feel like he has to carry the family on his shoulders and that he’s responsible for his younger siblings

- so then when lo’ak goes missing, he goes ballistic and lashes out against aonung, conveying that even though he has the levelheadedness and quick thinking of his father, he still has his mother’s fierce protectiveness and ferocious anger

- after lo’ak is safely back, Neteyam goes off deep into the forest further into the land so as to find solace in a setting he’s more familiar with to calm down. He climbs further up into the trees the way he’s used to doing and the familiarity brings a comfort to him.

- aonung may somewhat know the area because he lives near it but to traverse the lands and more specifically, the tall trees means to utilize his biology in ways it’s not used too. His slightly bulkier build makes it hard to balance on and move through the trees, his thicker tail is not prehensile like the omatikayan’s and can’t grip the trunks, and his more slippery skin that used to help him glide through water now hinders him and makes him slip on the branch’s. This mirrors how the sully family, and neteyam specifically, had to learn to maneuver through the seas and water with their omatikayan biology.

- but it is his determination to get to neteyam even through terrain he’s not used to and even though he fails multiple times that displays and proves his growth and genuine guilt towards neteyam for putting lo’ak in harm’s way. Eventually neteyam sees this and helps guide him in climbing to a high enough branch for them to look over the lands. This is when aonung properly apologizes to neteyam and they make up. Neteyam also makes a comment on how they share a similarity in being the eldest and future leader of their clans.

- after this, neteyam and aonung has little moments such as doing chores together or mindless chitchats in the background. Maybe neteyam tells aonung about his old home and it’s traditions and culture.

- neteyam’s personal character conflict is really more of an internal self-esteem issue relating to how he needs to stay strong for the family and how he can’t faulter rather then an an open conflict with jake like lo’ak’s is.

- i think if we really need a death in this situation, I think I would choose Jake for it. Maybe Jake dies saving neteyam and he internalizes that as his fault because he was supposed to be the one protecting everyone and now his father is dead because of him(idk this part is kinda weak still working it out). This is more so we still have the scene of when neteyam was young and catching a fish with Jake near the end of the movie but instead of Jake reminiscing his dead son, it’s Neteyam reminiscing his dead father; same scene from a different angle.

- this would probably happen in a third move rather then this one but i like to think about how if neytiri resents and lashes out/hisses at spider because he’s the son of/same species as her mate’s killer, neteyam then in response lashes out/hisses back because he’s lost one of his family, he’s not gonna lose another, even if that means fighting his own mother.

and that’s all I got so far, I might make more posts about this, I just really think neteyam had so much potential that we just never got to see.

#avatar way of water #avatar #aonung x neteyam #neteyam x aonung #neteyam #aonung #avatar meta

[kenobihater]

okay so we all know about the surface level yue and zuko parallels (the sun/moon imagery, they're both 16 yr old children of rulers, they're both lucky to be born in one way or another), but there's another, much more juicier parallel between the two that makes me want to study them like bugs - zuko and yue are both driven by different yet similar virtues: honor and duty respectively.

honor is defined as adherence to a set of morals or beliefs, it's synonymous with integrity. honor is chiefly personal in nature in atla - ozai claims zuko has dishonored himself by speaking up for the innocent yet that's proven untrue. ironically, he actually loses his honor in his chase of aang, though by the end of the show zuko regains his honor by himself. honor is most easily defined here by one's own actions in relation to their internal sense of morality. duty in atla on the other hand is mainly based on external social expectations. it's a responsibilty, but not just a normal one, a responsibility that one is morally obligated to fulfill. yue repeatedly claims to have a duty to her people, a duty she upholds by putting her own wants and needs aside.

the other interesting thing about these two characters and the virtues that drive them is the fact that they're both dedicated to following virtues that are instilled in them by their fathers. ozai may not be honorable himself in our eyes, but surely he is in his own eyes and expects the same of his children. because he is the one to declare zuko as dishonorable, he's the one who is directly responsible for zuko's fixation on his supposedly tarnished honor. in a similar but less obvious example, yue's sense of duty derives from her father's position as chief. i doubt she'd be so duty-bound and driven if she weren't the daughter of a chief, but she is, and because of that she feels she has an obligation to both her people and to her father, to help him uphold his place in office by marrying hahn in a move that is undoubtedly going to strengthen and consolidate arnook's power considering the marriage was arranged (gonna clarify here that arnook is not as bad as ozai or anything, but that i just find the parallels between them inch resting).

anyways, zuko and yue would have made good friends because i think they'd understand each other on a deep level and this is a hill i will HAPPILY die on :^)

#len speaks #len's meta #zuko #zuko meta #yue #yue meta #prince zuko #princess yue #atla #a:tla #atla meta #a:tla meta #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender meta #avatar meta #i wrote 10k about yue and zuko becoming friends in a single day a while back and i've NEVER in my LIFE written so much so quickly #so yeah. i'm currently spinning their friendship in my mind. they're SO important to me

[space-blue]

Tonowari's expressions as Jakes progresses...

On a side note :

Lo'ak has no pride as he learns to ride an ilu. He does as he's told, and one of the boys (Ao'nung?) comments behind him "Look at his legs!" Because Lo'ak isn't seated properly, and immediately loses control. He's not told how to position his legs though.

Meanwhile, Tonowari is explicit about good position being critical, but Jake is being prideful.

Ao'nung and co make fun of Lo'ak, and so do their (possible?) fathers, while Tonowari cringes for his friend.

Can't imagine Tonowari ever being a little shit like Ao'nung but I'm looking forward to the kid's progress, especially as he grows close to Lo'ak.

#avatar #avatar meta #jake sully #tonowari #lo'ak #ao'nung #tsurak #skimwing #avatar 2 #awow #gifs #avatar gifs #my gifs