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#because they're on Appa
muffinlance · 1 year
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Can Sokka’s science tell him which of Katara’s 7 spools of blue thread 🧵 is the right one to darn that hole in his shirt with?
It could if she didn't keep changing her answer
Katara: I AM NOT CHANGING MY ANSWER
Sokka: YES YOU ARE THESE ARE IDENTICAL
Katara: NO THEY'RE NOT
Sokka: I DEMAND A DOUBLE-BLIND STUDY
Katara: I DEMAND YOU GET YOUR OWN SEWING KIT
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ursa-majora · 23 days
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Everyone talks about how Appa is apparently obese for a sky bison and Aang is over feeding him. Undeserved in my opinion (hes just big boned obviously)
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But nobody talks about how Druk (Zuko's dragon) is a complete fatass compared to other dragons.
For example: These are pics of Roku's Dragon, Fang, and Sozin's Dragon
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Do you see how long and noodley they are. They're actual dragons too, not Wyverns like GoT dragons. (Note the 4 legs)
And heres Ran and Shaw:
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See, still very noodley. And these are quite old, large dragons.
And this? This is Druk:
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And Its not just the angle because even when he is sitting down he's fat
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Obviously Druk has lived a life of luxery, he's a pampered little prince
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dreamchasernina · 2 months
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The live action writers hate Aang
I have given myself a lot of time to think about the live action, and reached the conclusion that the writers hate Aang. I dare you to read read this and tell me I'm wrong.
Let me start this by asking you a question? What's the most badass scene Aang has in the first season of the OG show? No matter what you answer is, I know for sure, that scene doesn't exist in the live action. Aang does absolutely nothing to prove the audience he is the right person to be the Avatar, he learns absolutely nothing throughout the show, he doesn't need to look into himself and change his way of thinking. Nothing. Most of the fundamental lessons Aang learns throughout the first season are gone.
The first mistake Aang does in the OG is staying at Kyoshi island too long, letting the attention go to his head, getting too comfortable. He realises he brought destruction to the island and tries to fix his mistakes by jumping onto the Unagi to help the village. That's how he learned the responsibly he holds as the Avatar and finds a unique way to help the village. Well that doesn't exist in the LA. Instead, Kyoshi takes over Aang's body to fight the whole fire nation for him. Aang, himself, does literally nothing.
The spirit world. In the OG show Aang is forced to face his Avatar duty for the first time by trying to save the village that's beeing attacked by Hei Bai. This is his first test as the Avatar and he fails. Not only that, he loses his friend. So Aang has to figure out himself how to get Sokka back from Hei Bai. He figures out who her bai is, himself, understands why Hei Bai is angry and gives him hope, the way Katara gave him hope. So we see that even though Aang failed at first, he kept trying and was smart and compassionate enough to realise what the problem is and solve it. This does not exist in the LA. Aang sees Hei bai in the spirit world, within a second realises who he is and just gives him the Acorn, without having to face him at all!
Another reason I'm convinced the writers hate Aang is the way all the avatars + Bumi treat Aang. Everyone is mad at him for disappearing for 100 years. And look, I get that, you can be mad at him if he ran away from his duties...but he never did! He went to clear his head on Appa and got caught in the storm. And if he hadn't run away he'd be dead, so why are you all so mad at him?! Bumi being mad at Aang could make sense, because in the OG show Aang did spend a significant amount on time of goofing around before he finds out about the comet. But here, it makes no sense! Bumi is mad for no reason. As soon as Aang got out go the ice he took his duty seriously, so please, make it make sense! And the show just glosses over the fact that if Aang hadn't run away he would be dead with the rest of the air benders. Instead of letting Aang feel guilty himself, which he does in the OG show, they just get these characters to hate on him, because they're incapable of making their characters have any emotional depth.
Aang doesn't learn water bending. At all. And there is no logical reason for that. I guess they thought it wasn't that important but please explain to me how you want to make Aang more serious and focused on the Avatar duties but not make him learn water bending? The literal next step Aang has to take to becoming the Avatar?? That is the only clear goal Aang has from the second episode of the show - to find a master and learn waterbending! Make it make sense!
Taking away Aang's talk with Koh. So I assume if most people didn't answer my question above with the Koi fish, they probably said Aang's journey into the spirit world and his meeting with Koh. In the OG show, Aang has to find a way to figure out how to save the water tribe. He does so by going into the spirit world and talking to Koh the face stealer. So Aang had to talk to Koh showing zero emotions so he doesn't have his face stolen. That scene is so creepy and so badass and shows that Aang is really capable, even though he is a kid, he is facing the creepy ass spirit and is doing an excellent job. So when Aang finds out who the moon and the ocean spirits are, it feels deserved, it feels like an accomplishment. In the live action he doesn't have to show zero emotions because Koh is not stealing faces, he's just stealing random people for whatever reason. Koh tells him exactly what to do, bring me a MacGuffin so I can release your friends, Aang just goes to see Roku, no problem, no obstacles to overcome, brings the Macguffin to Koh and he just releases his friends. Wow, really shows us how resourceful Aang is by making him...get an object and give it back to Koh...
And the very last point that I absolutely hated in the show. When Aang goes into the Avatar state and becomes the giant koi fish and wipes everyone out, the live action show goes out of its way to emphasise that that is not Aang in there. Aang is gone. The Koi fish is just rage. and that's that. Taking away ANY agency Aang ever had. Look, I know in the OG show Aang is not in control of the Avatar state either, but we know that's still Aang in there, that's his power he's showcasing. He might not be in control but that's him doing it all, being all powerful. But in the live action, they tell us Aang is gone, that's just his body the spirit is using. Plus Aang does no watebending himself, no gestures like the original where you can see aang in the sphere water bending, controlling the giant Koi fish, showing us how far he's come as a water bender. But in the LA he's just in the sphere...doing nothing because he never learned water bending so of course that's not him doing all this cool shit.
I am so angry over all of this. This is you MAIN PROTAGONIST. and you made him nothing but a vessel to progress the plot. You gave him no character, no growth, no struggles, no power! So no, you cannot convince me, at this point, that the writers of the live action don't hate Aang. Probably as much as they hate Katara.
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Can you give examples of Aang showing Empathy? Oh wait, you can't.
Actually, I can - because unlike you, I base my opinion of the characters on the actual stuff that happened in the story, not the bad faith takes dumb people on the internet come up with.
Zuko literally only survived past book 1 because Aang was the ONLY person amongst the heroes that gave a single fuck about his well-being. Aang offered to be FRIENDS with him as early as episode 13, even though this dude is trying to kidnap him.
In the first damn episode we see him realize and try to remedy Katara's struggle with no longer being able to act like a kid and have fun. He wants to travel with her so SHE gets to learn waterbending. He willingly lets Zuko take him into his ship because he understood that a conflict could lead to the people of the water tribe getting hurt or killed.
In Warriors of Kyoshi he apologizes to Katara for letting all the praise and admiration go to this head. He makes sure to put out the fires Zuko and his crew started in Suki's village.
He tries to help remedy the Hei-Bai situation, even though he is unsure of himself and even scared, because he knows he is the only one that has any chance of helping - and the thing that allows him to connect with Hei-Bai is the fact that he is ALSO upset about the destruction the Fire Nation has caused AND hopeful that the world would eventually heal.
He thinks Jet is awesome because he wants to help people that are being oppressed by the Fire Nation - and then is horrified when he finds out his intension is to "free" them by killing everyone
He wants to help the two rival groups not only safely cross the Great Divide, but also stop hating each other.
He confesses that he hid the map to Hakoda because Bato, Katara and Sokka are showing how much they appreciate and trust him and he feels unworthy of it after what he did because he knows it'd hurt him if the roles were reversed.
He is so devastated by the fact that he ACCIDENTALLY hurt Katara that he swears to never firebend again. He is also able to recognize the same principle behind his mistake in Zhao's fighting style, allowing him to win the battle against the bastard.
He accepts the fact that the Northern Air Temple is now occupied by people who not only don't belong to his culture but also don't understand it and unknowingly destroyed something sacred to him (and that one of them had been forced to make weapons for the Fire Nation) because these people have nowhere else to go and he doesn't want them to suffer.
He is furious at Pakku for refusing to teach Katara waterbending, because he knows how much it'd mean to her and how unfair it is that she can't learn it just because of her gender.
He is so devastated by the death of the Moon Spirit that the Ocean Spirit latches onto him to avenge it and save the day - and the leve of destruction it causes haunts Aang, even though the violence was against his enemies. And still, he tries to go into the Avatar state again because people are dying and he can't accept that.
After the fall of Omashu, he wants to rescue Bumi, not because he needs a teacher, but because they're friends.
He felt empathy for Toph when she was explaining to her parents how lonely and unappriacted their over-protection made her feel.
He and Katara both feel bad for snapping at Toph during "The Chase" and wanted to apologize for not understanding that being part of a group was a radical change to her, even though she had refused to even try. He also didn't have a problem with fighting alongside Zuko and Iroh against Azula, AND he looked concerned when Iroh was injured.
After Katara comments on the fact he called Toph Sifu but not her, he calls her Sifu while bowing, to show that he respects her both as his master and friend.
The hopelessness and downright depression he was feeling after Appa was stolen only starts healing because he saw a couple being happy with their newborn baby - the same couple he decided to help cross the Serpent's Pass, even though he and his friends had just been allowed to take a much safer route to Ba Sing Se.
His understanding and sympathy towards Jet, even after everything the guy did, was so strong that it freed him from literal brainwashing.
He doesn't want to push his love for Katara aside to gain power because he cares about her too much - and then does it anyway because, even though not making her his main focus 24/7 offers the risk of her being hurt, him neglecting his mission guarantees she'll get hurt.
He is devastated to learn that the world thinks he is dead because he knows he was everyone's last hope - and yet in the end he still accepts the burden of failure because he understood that, at that moment, everyone would be safer if no one else knew he was still alive.
He goes to a Fire Nation school and bonds with the kids, wanting to give them a taste of freedom and joy, as well as trying to understand what the war is like from their perspective. The same episode also has him pull Katara for a dance because he noticed she was feeling left out.
The boy felt empathy for, and understood the mistakes of, both Ruko and Sozin. SOZIN. Aang could see the humanity in the monster that is responsible for him losing his entire culture and everyone he loved.
When Zuko spoke about wanting to control his impulses so he wouldn't accidentally hurt anyone, Aang explicitly connected with that struggle and saw them being teacher and student as fate, and Zuko agreed because that's how deep their connection was.
Aang is not happy about Katara wanting to murder a man, but he still lets her take Appa on her mission and is not disapproving when she ultimately spares the guy but does not forgive him and makes it clear she never will.
He feels empathy for freaking Ozai, to the point that refuses to kill the guy - even as he has the balls to say that Aang's family, his people, deserved to die. He spared that guy - but only after he had a way to do that without it meaning the death of more innocents. Aang, the pacifist, was going to turn his back on everything he believed in just to avoid more human suffering.
So yeah, miss me with your bullshit and don't come back until your brain is developed enough to understand a cartoon aimed at kindergarterners.
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thelargefrye · 6 months
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BABY DADDIES ... one - shot
pairing : wooyoung x f!reader x san
genre : fluff, parent au, established poly relationship
word count : 1.6k
warnings : language, y/n wears glasses, mentions of being pregnancy
suffering tag : @sanjoongie this isn't your official birthday present that might be late so please except this while i try to get it done
you couldn't imagine a life without your two daughters and their wonderful fathers who have been with you through the ups and downs of your life.
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"what's wrong, mimi?" wooyoung's voice is hushed and groggy as you hear him speak to your five year-old daughter. you can hear miyeon reply to him, but you're too far into dreamland to fully understand what she is saying.
you feel the bed move as you assume wooyoung gets up in order to help miyeon with whatever issue was wrong. you can't help the shiver that rolls over your body once he's gone, and you're quick to turn over in order to snuggle closer into san.
san seems to welcome your closeness, as he is quick to wrap his arms around you and hold you close to him. your head resting against his chest as he tucks you into him, his own head resting on yours. his warmth encased you and quickly lulled you back into full dreamland.
you're not sure when wooyoung returns to bed, but you remember hearing him grumble in your ear about how you're a traitor as he wraps his arms around you. you're pretty sure he only called you a traitor because of how you latched onto san to steal his warmth.
"momma!" a high-pitched voice is how you wake up along with the bed shifting and jolting as two small bodies jump on it.
"momma, wake up!" another equally as high voice say. you hear a small chorus of laughter as you open you eyes to see both your daughters, miyeon and jimin looking at you with large smiles.
"papa made breakfast! it's time to get up!" miyeon said as they watched you sit up with a groan. running a hand through your hair as you tried your best to tame your bedhead.
"well, good morning to you both as well," you say with a groggy laugh making them laugh as well.
"appa told us to come wake you up," jimin said as you leaned over to give her and her sister a good morning kiss.
"by jumping into bed?"
"no," a deeper voice says before either girl could answer. you three turn to see san coming into the bedroom, still in his pajamas and glasses perched on his nose. "i told them to come and wake you up nicely," he adds tickling both girls as he comes to his side of the bed.
san is quick to lean over to give you a kiss before he's standing up straight and picking jimin up and swinging her around. the five year-old lets out a high pitched squeal before he's setting her down. miyeon stands on the bed waiting for san to do the same thing and he smiles at her before mimicking what he did to her sister.
"go help papa with setting the table you two," he says and both nod before racing out of the room. once they're gone, san turns to you and gives you a warm smile as he watches you pull your hair away from your face and reaching for your glasses.
"good morning, beautiful," he says once you get out of bed and presses a kiss to your forehead before he's following you out of the bedroom.
"how long have you all been up?" you ask, worried that you might have slept in for too long.
"just an hour, darling," san answers, "woo and i wanted to let you sleep in, but the girls wanted to have pancakes for breakfast."
you let out a small, excited gasp at the sound of pancakes before the smell of them finally filled your nostrils. san laughed as he watched you hurry down the hallway and into the kitchen. your boyfriend couldn't help but smile at how your excitement matched both of your daughters when pancakes are mentioned.
you come into the kitchen to see miyeon and jimin already at the table eating. miyeon doing a small dance in her seat as she eats. wooyoung runs his hand over his daughter's head, laughing before leaning down and kissing her. he places her cup of juice in front of her before doing the same thing to jimin.
"good morning, youngie," you say when he walks back into the kitchen, a smile on your face as you both share a quick kiss.
"morning, love," he says back as he goes back to paying attention to the pancakes. you wrap your arms around wooyoung's waist, cheek against his shoulder blade as you both wait for the food to get done.
"why did mimi get up last night?" you ask after the two of you stood in silence, listening to the twins talking and singing at the table. san had come in after you, sitting with the twins to make sure they didn't make too big of a mess.
"she got up to use the potty and lost her dolly underneath her bed," he says and you let out a small hum.
"you're such an amazing dad," you say and wooyoung can't help but feel his heart skip a beat at your words.
"thank you, love, i wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you," he says back, letting his hand come and rest over your own. he gives your hand a small squeeze. "both you and sannie," he adds turning to look at you with a smile. "your pancakes are ready," he says before handing you your plate of pancakes.
wooyoung laughed as he watched your eyes light up as you did a little dance before walking over to the table to join miyeon, jimin, and san. a few minutes later, wooyoung finally joined you all with his and san's plates.
after breakfast was over, wooyoung sent jimin and miyeon into the living room to play while you three cleaned up.
"here," you begin, stopping wooyoung from standing up, "i'll do the dishes," you add before taking his plate from him. however, before you could get a step in, san took the plates from you. "hey!"
"don't worry about the dishes, babe, i got them," he says before walking over to the sink. you let out a small 'ugh' sound before trailing behind him and standing next to him by the sink.
"no, let me do them," you say, turning the water on and beginning to rinse the syrup off the plates.
"y/n," san says looking at you pointedly, "you've worked hard these past few days. let me do it," he says.
"i'll wash, you dry."
"i'll wash, you dry," he says and you give him a small frown before switching places with him. wooyoung couldn't help but smile at you two continuing to lightly bicker with each other as you wash dishes.
"san, stop! the girls are sleeping," you say, swatting your boyfriend's hands away as he attempts to grab and tickle at your sides. san can't help the hearty laugh that leaves his lips before he's finally grabbing and dragging you closer to him on the couch. he presses a trail of kisses down your neck before blowing a raspberry into your skin. "ugh! san!"
"sorry, couldn't help it," he says before he's trapping you between his legs. you let out a sigh as you relax against him, his hands resting under your shirt on your stomach. his thumb softly rubbing your skin. "i haven't held you like this in a while," he says, voice just as soft as his touch. "i think the last time was when you were pregnant with the girls."
"i think you're right," you say, remembering how san held you like this when you pregnant with miyeon and jimin.
you three were still in your old shared apartment and you were six months pregnant with the girls. you and san had also just gotten into an argument earlier that day, neither one of you speaking to each other for hours. even when the clock hit six o'clock and it was time for what san and wooyoung decided to call their "bonding time" with the girls.
you didn't want to look at san, completely ignoring him despite you resting between his legs and his arms wrapped around you. you ended up not speaking until wooyoung got home an hour later to find you asleep in san's arm.
when you woke up you couldn't even tell wooyoung what you and san got into an argument over.
"you were pretty short-tempered when pregnant," san joked, bring you out of your thoughts.
"yeah..." you say softly, feeling a little guilty for how you would lash out at both of them over the littlest things. you would often feel embarrassed about it afterwards and you were thankful that both your boyfriends were understanding of what you were going through. "i'm sorry about that," you say, fiddling with his fingers.
"hey, don't apologize. i honestly deserved all those times you yelled at me," he said, pressing a kiss to your cheek. "wooyoung definitely did," he added making you laugh as well.
"hey now, don't talk about me while i'm not here to defend myself," wooyoung says as he enters the room. he gives both you and san a kiss before he settling next to you both on the couch. you immediately rest your feet in his lap, smiling when he shoots you a playful glare.
you laugh at his expression before you're opening your arms out for him, and wooyoung immediately moves to squish you between him and san. wooyoung rests his head against your chest, arms going and wrapping around both you and san. the three of you lay in together in a comfortable silence, both their breathing and heartbeats lulling you to sleep.
the last thing you thought before falling asleep was how thankful you were to meet and fall in love with both wooyoung and san. knowing that you would never change this for anything in the world.
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tag list : @frankenstein852 @invuwrld @watamotee33 @kawennote09 @mixling-blog @marahleiwhen @kpopnightingale @harry-the-pottypus @pyeonghongrie @sanniesbum @marvelahsobx @khjcoo @mysticfire0435 @exfolitae @dementedaly @simeonswhore @moonm1st @nvmbheart @spooo00oky @frgogh @sookacc @seongwin @burnsmepls @ad0rechuu @tunaasan @northerngalxy @silverpixiedust23 @cheesekimchi @confusedmoonchild777 @mjyungi @innieontop @iweirdthingsblog @s0obinluvr
networks : @cultofdionysusnet @cromernet
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wilcze-kudly · 21 days
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I think the reason I'm a bit iffy about most zutara shippers who call themesleves "pro Katara" (and lets be honest the tags pro katara/katara deserved better are mainly people building themselves a moral highground of "if you disagree with me, you clearly dilslike Katara and want her to suffer") is just the hypocrisy of it all.
Katara's consent was violated by Aang, yes. But Zuko threatening her and being a fucking creep in the "I'll save you from the pirates" scene was sexy and not at all the nightmare of any sane woman.
Katara's role as a healer is treated as her acting subservient and her loosing her feminist icon status. Unless she's healing/offering to heal Zuko.
Aang is immature and childish. But we will handily ignore Zuko, a whole ass 16 year old who's heir to a country throwing a temper tantrum because his girlfriend dared to speak to another man. [Frankly, in my opinion, Zuko isn't really ready for a serious romantic relationship, but yall arent ready for that conversation]
Aang is supposedly misogynistic, but Zuko's many instances of actual misogyny are swept under the rug. Aang is shown in canon to be incredibly supportive of Katara defying the patriarchy.
Supposedly Aang makes Katara do all the housework. Despite there being evidence to the contrary. Zuko has just recently learnt to brew tea.
Katara being the Avatar's wife is supposedly degrading. But if she were Zuko's wife, I'm sure she wouldn't be just a baby maker. (What a horribke thing to call a woman btw. Tall call your own mothers baby makers too???) Despite the fact that Izumi's mother hasn't even been mentioned by name in tlok. But yeah. She'd be afforded the respect she deserves I'm certain.
Aang is, on most accounts, supportive and respectful of Katara's opinions, even when he disagrees with them. Zuko openly mocks people who oppose him. I am going to make a longer post on the Southern Raiders episodes and how all of you watched that episode blindfolded or smth.
Aang comparing Appa being kidnapped (his last connection to his genocided people, the last vestige of his happy past) to Katara's anger over her mother is bad. But Zuko comparing mommy leaving his ass to Katara's mother getting brutally slaughtered in front of her ? Silence.
Aang supposedly needs Katara to mother him and that's a bad thing. But Azula, Mai and Ty Lee having to gentle parent Zuko almost everytime they interact is never talked about, despite the uncalled for verbal abuse that trio goes through from him.
Aang and Katara's 2 year age gap is creepy. But Zuko and Katara's 2 year age gap is fine. My bigest gripe with Zutara lovers is them completely erasing Katara's childishness and immaturity, in order for her and Zuko to have this mature, sexy relationship. She's 14, guys. 14.
This post really isn't meant to decry Zutara. I just want people who ship Zutara to get off their high horse of feminism and to accept that they're no better than the rest of us ship loving freaks. Wanting the main girl to bump uglies with the broody emo twink doesn't make you a modern day suffragette. Disliking a main canon pairing isn't a measure of your love for a female character.
Grow up.
Enjoy your ship like a normal person.
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punkeropercyjackson · 1 month
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I do NOT think it's fair for Zutara shippers to hate Zukka for a chunk of the fandom popularizing bad tropes and being mean-spirited like sorry not sorry but you're calling EVERY Zukka shipper misogynistic racists and queerphobes as if you're not the ones who came up with 'Fire Lady Katara' and 'Momtara x Dadko' and mocked Aang for trying to emphasize with Katara's mom dying with her by comparing it to him and Appa being the only living beings from what happened to the Air Nomads and call him all sorts of vile appalling shit that should NEVER be said about a fucking 12 year old because he's feminine and silly and not the perfect love interest 24/7 and takes pride in his tibetan heritage AND stripped Katara of all her accomplishments and nonconformity and layers and anarchism because you see her as worthless if she's not Zuko's arm candy while also making degrading comments about her sex life because she had kids with a guy you don't like with added anti-biracial kids propaganda as a bonus AND are so unsympathetic to Mai because she's Zuko but a girl so you're not into her that you unironically think she's a wench plus don't even actually care about Mailee seeing as it has way more evidence than Zutara on every level yet you only see them as a sidedish to prove you don't hate women AND even Zuko dosen't get speared because mans deadass ended the series with everything he'd ever wanted INCLUDING being a better dad than Ozai was to him to AANG but none of it matters apperantly because he choose what was best for himself after 16 years straight of abuse instead of some random ass crush you THINK he had for not even technically a year.You do NOT get to talk shit about Zukka stans,they're just a normal noncanon mlm ship fanbase with a small side of bad eggs,Zutaras are an entire rotten eggs ile from a supermarket that's been abandoned for almost 20 years because it never actually opened but old people who complain about 'kids these days' keep thinking it'll open one day despite it being announced a million times it never would and saying it's elder abuse in response
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ultfreakme · 7 months
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Zuko asking Sokka if he wants to ride Druk, Sokka agrees because flying isn't new to him he's practically lived on Appa. They take flight at night, Sokka’s terrified of the speed, the uncontrolled wildness with which Druk twists and turns, but starts being awestruck at how different flying on a dragon is. Zuko takes him higher and higher through the cloud cover till they break it and see the full moon.
Zuko remembers Yue, and asks if Sokka wants to get closer, and Sokka says yes. The keep going and going till they're freezing. Then Sokka asks to stop.
And it hits Sokka then, the distance between him and the girl he once loved, how big everything they faced was. Druk is fast, powerful, terrifying, but even he can't reach the moon.
So Sokka just says hi to Yue, this time a lot closer to her than he usually is, and holds Zuko tighter when he asks to glide back down home.
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Found Family Tournament Round 2 Part 5 Group 23
Propaganda and further images under the cut
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Gaang: Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Suki, Appa, Momo Strawhat Pirates: Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Nico Robin, Franky, Brook, Jinbei
Gaang:
They’re kids from all over the world whose parents/guardians aren’t around for whatever reason who are just trying their best in a war torn world and they have far too much responsibility on their shoulders at such young ages and soo much trauma but they love and take care of each other because no one else can/will. They fight and make up, they commit crimes and acts of heroism (often at the same time), they’re terrifyingly powerful, they all have so many brain cells but forget to use them, they have fantastic character arcs, and they canonically stayed friends for life after the series ended.
have you seen them??
THE original found family of my life bro
sorry no thoughts head empty but they <3
Strawhat Pirates:
THERE IS LITERALLY A SONG ABOUT THEM BEING FAMILY BRO… AND THEY MAKE ME INSANE JUST GENERALLY THEY'RE MY EVERYTHING… LIKE I CAN'T EVEN PUT INTO WORDS HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO ME https://youtu.be/_N_d4JctUcs (here is the song)
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aangarchy · 6 months
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Alright. I've rewatched the trailer like 20 times by now and i've been processing it.
First things first: anyone that's gonna talk shit about Gordon Cormier is gonna have to go through me first. I've only had Gordon!Aang for a day and a half and if anything happens to him i'll kill everyone here and then myself got it?
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Just look at him! This is the exact big eared cute little kid i wanted them to cast for Aang. He looks adorable and honestly his outfit is growing on me.
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The glowing arrow looked cool as hell. I like that the light spread through his tattoo almost like veins. I'm still curious on how the full avatar state is gonna look, how they're gonna get the glowing eye effect. Please don't let it look goofy.
Y'know what does look goofy?
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Is it better than the m night shyamalan appa? I guess. Does that mean it looks good? Well.... at least momo sort of looks cute instead of some folklore nightmare like in shyamalan's version. But also you can tell in this shot in particular that it's very green screen-y
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Then we go over to the bending, the limited shots we have of it. Mainly firebending was shown (a little airbending too but kinda hard to get a stillframe for that one)
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Idk how to feel about it. In screenshots it looks alright but the shots while they were moving looked a bit off, especially the one where zuko's kicking. We only got very limited shots and that's intentional. I feel like the bigger cgi fails are gonna show up once we get the full show. If the bending looked good all the time i feel like they'd be showing it off by now.
What i don't like, is how apparently they're gonna SHOW Zuko getting burned. Like sure in atla they didn't bc kids show and Nickelodeon wouldn't allow it, and netflix can take darker turns if they so please. But i personally always felt that scene made so much impact because we didn't see it. Iroh is telling it from his memory and he didn't look when it happened, so we don't see it either. It's like a courtesy the show extends to both Zuko and the audience. We just hear the harrowing scream, and that's enough to know how devastating it is. I don't need a dramatic overlook so we can see the whole thing in detail, netflix.
Another thing is the hair in some scenes.
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Daniel dae kim looked better in that promo photo, bc here you can just see how the bulky goatie was glued on. And then Sokka's hair..... where's the ponytail? It's laying completely flat against his head... why? Is it bc that's Ian's hair and they didn't know what to do with it? Literally get a comb and tease that bitch. This is like the complete opposite of Jackson Rathbone's hair in the shyamalan version, and somehow that full maybelline ponytail makes more sense than this sad excuse of a tail. Either way at least Suki looked dope.
Another thing i found weird about the trailer is the narration. I think it's either Iroh's voice or maybe Gyatso's? (I haven't heard Iroh's actor talk yet so idk, but it felt like it was being said TO either Aang or Zuko) but the lines they gave him... it felt like some weird mumbo jumbo tbh. Something something about the past and present being the same and it's up to us to know the difference and be the difference? It's saying everything and nothing at the same time and it felt kind of out of place. They're probably saving the iconic opening narration done by Katara for the full trailer (i hope???) but still they could have just gone with music, or maybe just a few iconic existing lines?
The music? Fire. Nothing needs to be added there. Was i kind of hoping for a different soundtrack? Maybe a bit. But am i mad? Not at all. They clearly took the nostalgia route with the more epic version of the avatar theme, and i can only respect them for that.
So far, very mixed reviews for me. I'm morbidly curious and very nosy by nature though, so i'm absolutely watching.
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weepingchronicles · 1 month
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yan!azula (atla) getting back reader 🙏🏻 (headcanons, or one shot please!)
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yandere azula x airbender reader (part 2) platonic or romantic tw/cw: yandere, choking, death threats, verbal abuse, possessive behavior a/n: erm guys.. it's getting kinda scary  😰 😰 (part 1)
being with aang and the others was unlike anything you've ever experienced.
when you first met everyone you were scared- but they all welcomed you with open arms. katara emphasized with you, having her mother also die at the hands of the fire nation. sokka tried to flirt with you, which you were oblivious to, until aang and katara told him to knock it off. after that, you became like katara to him, like a younger sibling who'd he protect.
you were so naive to the world, never stepping foot outside of the fire nation before.
when aang had told you his story, how he was in a iceberg for 100 years and was the avatar, but more importantly one of the last airbenders- you could hardly believe it.
the more the gang told you their stories, the clear it became that the fire nation had took away your parents, your culture and your freedom. you knew azula was evil, but you still believed you had no other choice but follow her.
you told aang that you had no airbending ability, you thought you'd be discarded away, just for being useless
but aang did no such thing, just offering a smile and saying he's just glad he has someone from home.
and you did feel at home.
You woke up to shaking, and your eyes immediately lit up. For a minute, you were back in the palace. Azula waking you up so she could sleep beside you. It was when we were in our younger years and Azula would wake you up at odd hours of night, slipping with you under your blanket. You assumed it was because she had nightmares, you did too, but you never dared ask her about it, fearing you'd end up with a scar like Zuko's.
You woke up from your flashbacks and took in to the actual scene in front of you. It's Aang.
"What's wrong?" "It's someone. They're following, come on, we need to get onto Appa."
You all pack your sleeping bags and ride on Appa. It's still the middle of the night, and the cooling wind blowing past your hair is not making your exhaustion any better.
Finally you all spot a place to settle down, it's in a middle of a forest which will be hard for anyone to navigate through
You lay out your tents and sleeping bags again to finally rest. You find yourself somewhat missing Azula, when she would be nice for once and fall asleep beside each other until morning. You push back those thoughts, remembering how she treated you. If she really cared she'd let you go and be happy.
With all these thoughts swirling in your head, you don't notice yourself start falling asleep.
You feel a hand on your mouth causing you to snap your eyes open. There she is, Azula. It's only been a week and she's already found you. Your eyes look to where the rest of the gang were sleeping but instead they're gone!
"Aw, don't look so surprised. You really thought I wouldn't go looking for my favorite pet?" The nickname made you cringe and Azula removes her hand from over your mouth, but both her knees restrain your arms to the ground.
"Where's Aang, Katara and Sokka!?" You spit out, but you instantly regret when you see Azula's sly smirk turn to an expression of jealous rage.
"Really? I could kill you right now but you're more worried about your friends!?" Before you could reply, her hand slapped over your neck, squeezing around your throat. Perfect manicured nails dug into your flesh, practically leaching the breath you had left in your lungs out of you. Azula's eyes leaked of fiery rage, pure fuel and the truth is you've never seen her like this. She's dangerous, more dangerous than ever before but she is not as calculated. You knew that Mai and Ty Lee couldn't defeat the Avatar on their own so she must know that, but instead she came for you.
Still, your heart ached for your friends, the only true ones you've made all your life. You yourself felt a fire deep inside you, not as fiery as Azula's, but it was ignited when you first met Aang.
"Please.. don't hurt them." was all you could manage out before you start turning purple. Azula's face turned shocked, like she couldn't believe you care more about your friends than her. She dropped her claw-like grip on your throat, you let out a gasp of air before rolling to your side and coughing.
While you were coughing, Azula let go of your arms and stood. "(Y/N), they don't truly care for you. At least not like I do, look at what I have done for you! You really think a pesky water tribe girl, a non-bender and a 12 year old Avatar really care for you? Tell me, do you really think the Avatar would save you if you weren't from the Air Nation?"
You were on your side, refusing Azula to see your face. Was she right? It's true that Aang came for me because we are both air but Aang is a good person! He would definitely rescue me even if I were someone else.. right?
You felt Azula's hand cup your cheek and turn your gaze towards her. Her eyes now are half-lidded and the fire was just warmth now.
"(Y/N), please, come home now and we can forget about this. This is silly." She tucked a piece of hair away from your face, which would have been loving but all it made you feel was owned. Like you were a pet, something to leash and expect obedience from. You wanted to show her you were nothing like her, and she did not own you.
Without even thinking you smack her hand away, a surge of strength powering you as you stand up. You moved to shove away Azula but as you did so, a gust of wind flew her back more than 8 feet away from you.
What?
You look down at your hands and back at Azula wobblily getting up, pure shock but also confusion on her face.
You turn around, hearing a familiar girls voice calling you.
"Katara!" You yell, running back to her. "Come on, we have to go! This girl somehow took away my bending." The girl Katara was saying about sounded Ty Lee but you knew you had to get out before Azula fully recovers. You finally made it back with the others and flew away safely on Appa. You look down as fly away, Azula's form getting smaller and smaller by distance. Aang speaks, finally pulling you you of your daze.
"(Y/N), are you okay? How did you manage to fight off Azula?"
"I.. I don't know." The group looks at you with confusion but you're more confused than they are.
You were safe from Azula for now but you knew she'd be back for the Avatar, especially now since he wasn't the only Airbender..
And that's a wrap! Sorry it took so long, I got really busy and I couldn't figure out an ending I liked. Comment or request whether you'd like reader to fully escape Azula or not, or something completely different!
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The Fortune in The Fortune Teller
This is an isolated look into this specific episode.
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The Fortune Teller is the 14th episode of book 1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is famous for supposedly developping the show's romantic subplot between Katara and A\ang. The episode does two things: A\ang attempts to flirt with Katara, and Katara is finally willing to consider him as more than just a friend.
However, I believe that this episode could have masterfully foreshadowed the pair not getting together in the end. In this essay I will detail how each step the episode takes towards a Kat@ang endgame is actually foreshadowing the opposite.
1. Katara and the Nature of Destiny
In the beginning, the Gaang meets a person getting attacked by a bear. He is acting incredibly passive, simply dodging the bear's attemps at his life. Then, A\ang and Appa interfere to help the man. When the Gaang questions him on why he was so passive, he says it's because the Fortune Teller told him he'd have a safe journey. They then have the following exchange:
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The man's logic is obviously flawed. If the Gaang didn't interfere, if the man continued to passivaly dodge, the bear would have attacked him. Fortune and destiny come from agency – from actively shaping them.
However, Katara is delaited at the prospect of seeing the future. Her and the Gaang go to meet the Fortune Teller, Aunt Wu. Aunt Wu tells her she'll marry a very powerful bender. Later, she comes back asking more details about her future husband. Remember her excitment, fantacising about her future husband:
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After that, Katara becomes somewhat reliant on Aunt Wu's prophecies. She goes as far as to ask her what she should eat.
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And she obeys her "prophecy", despite not wanting to. She became like the man from the beginning. She knowingly follows the fortune even though it doesn't make sense. She had given up on forging her own destiny.
Although by the end of the episode, she is no longer in this state of reliance, she still believes in the prophecies. Then, Sokka says that A\ang is a very powerful bender. This reminds her of what Aunt Wu said about her future husband. I don't want to cherry pick, so I took 4 different pictures of her face when she realizes A\ang might be the powerful bender she is to marry:
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With the look in her eyes, with her mouth tilted down and with the ominous music, this could easily be read as disappointment. Especially when remembering how she fantacized about the powerful bender earlier in the episode. She doesn't smile, but looks concerned. As if she doesn't want this. Earlier in the episode, she says this:
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A\ang is like the papaya. The fortune says he's right for her, but Katara doesn't want him. Now, she isn't like the man, passively dodging the bear attacking her. She shouldn't sit and wait for the prophecy to come true point blank. She has the agency to shape her own destiny and not to choose A\ang as her future husband.
2. A\ang, Meng, and First Crushes
In this episode we're introduced to a girl named Meng. Aunt Wu told her she'd end up with someone like A\ang, and so she developped a one sided crush on him. Throughout the episode she attempts to talk to him, all to no avail. Because A\ang is not interested in her.
Interestingly, her one sided crush is directly paralleled to A\ang's crush on Katara.
Exhibit A:
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Exhibit B:
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Exhibit C:
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Please note that in exhibits B and C in particular, there is an emphasis on the other party not reciprocating their feelings.
In this parallel the show draws, A\ang is Meng, the younger, shorter one the one who is in love; and Katara is A\ang, the older, taller one who... *checks notes*... doesn't reciprocate.
But in the end, A\ang and Meng have a heart-to-heart.
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Sometimes you'll like someone, and they aren't going to feel the same way, and even though it's hard, it's okay. They're young, just kids having a crush. A\ang responds to this with "I know what you mean". Because he, just like the audience that watched the parallels, knows that Katara likely doesn't return his feelings.
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In conclusion, The Fortuneteller could have been brilliant foreshadowing to Kata\ang not being the endgame couple, and it would have done so through beautiful, mature lessons about first loves and destiny. Thank you for reading.
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katarasmomsnecklace · 6 months
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My thoughts on the ATLA trailer
THEYRE SO BABY seriously I think we tend to forget how young the ATLA kids are. Sure we're reminded of their ages but since the animation can make them look older or the fact some are voiced by adults can makes us blind to them being all under the age of 18
SUKI SUKI SUKI SUKI SUKI SUKI SUKI SUKI her and the warriors look awesome, but I think they're fans are fabric and not metal so I'm not sure if they'd actually work in combat
Zukos scar looks terrible and not in a "omg your face what happened" terrible I mean it looks like he got rug burn or maybe was in a bar fight not brutally fucking disabled. His ear isn't even burnt which is insane. His scar is all one color too, the different colors in the animated show were to convey just how deep the scar is at the point of impact.
Katara and Aang are adorable. I'm a kataang shipper but seeing actual kids this young being in a romantic relationship just kinda weirds me out (I felt the same way with stranger things) I like zutara but I don't want them to push for a ship just because kataang seems too young.
I feel meh about Sokka which is how I felt about season 1 Sokka the first time I watched the show so I guess not all bad
Momo lowkey scares me but in a cute way, and I like how Appa looks. I dont know how much I like the shots of the kids sitting on Appa but otherwise the animals look good
All their clothes look brand new which I know is a weird critique but seriously Katara's fit looks fresh off a PartyCity rack and not the south pole barely has any resources so this is probably a hand me down.
I'm shocked at how good it looks. I'm still scared they'll fuck it up but cautiously optimistic
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oneatlatime · 4 months
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The Guru
Happy 2024 everyone and welcome to the first time I managed to type 2024 without first typing 2023! Oh and also a write up of The Guru. That too.
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Me too Iroh. Me too.
So Zuko is riding high on that post-crisis 'time to get my life together' buzz that, similar to 3 am life plans, should absolutely not be listened to. Wonder how long before he crashes and burns? There's literally 2 episodes left, so I'm guessing one and a half?
Poor Sokka. My boy's got anxiety.
I don't know if it's a monk thing, an airbender thing, an Avatar thing, or an Aang thing, but I envy his complete lack of nerves.
How is Appa ok with them splitting up for a week after JUST getting them back?
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I paused in a funny place. Have bonk-eyed Appa.
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I love them comparing heights. What do you want to bet that that guy on the right was one of the youngest allowed to go fight, and Sokka made a big deal about how they're almost the same age and surely that means he can go too, right?
A lot of these Southern Water Tribe people have dreads or braids. That's neat.
Bato's arm is still messed up. That's some good continuity.
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I've found the source of Katara's cheek bones. I guess Sokka takes after his mum.
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Ok I know this is a really emotional moment (and it is! Sokka's spent two seasons earning this!) but my brain fixated on the furs and briefly thought they were sky bison pelts.
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"It's been a difficult week for me." This guy thinks the Kyoshi Warriors are there to provide him therapy. Someone please just crown the bear instead.
He just gave away literally every relevant plot point AND outlined how to make sure all these plot points don't succeed. Crown. The. Bear.
Maybe if these generals spent less time playing with their giant model Earth Kingdom and more time general-ing, the war wouldn't suck so much?
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Pretty.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the designs, the colour palette, the music, the sound design of this air temple. I love everything about it. If I had the chance to live anywhere in the Avatar universe, it would be here. Even in its ruined state it's such a refreshing contrast to the claustrophobia of Ba Sing Se. I can feel the freshness of the breeze through the screen.
"A spiritual brother of your people" an adult perspective on a near extinct culture! What a resource!
"and a personal friend of Monk Gyatso" an old as balls perspective. He's got to be at least 130.
Anthropology cul de sac time: this guy is so valuable as a resource on the Air Nomads. There's probably parts of Air Nomad culture that Aang can't ever accurately talk about, because he was a kid when he left, and there was almost certainly stuff that the adults kept to themselves, or only shared with the older Air Nomads. This Guru doesn't seem to be an Air Nomad himself, but there's a good chance that there is knowledge that he has, that Aang doesn't. Aang should be nerding out more about this. I'll do the nerding out for him.
Aang just breezes right by that Gyatso name drop like it's nothing. Huh.
Oh hey Toph. I'd forgotten she was in a box. Tweedle dum and Tweedle dumber really are quite the pair. What's their plan for keeping her fed and watered? Actually, these guys apparently don't know that maps exist, so it's probably never occurred to them that humans need sustenance. They'll rock up to the Bei Fong estate with corpse Toph and wonder why they aren't getting the reward money.
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Mai gets called out in-universe for shopping at Hot Topic.
Ty Lee's buttering up of Azula is getting less and less subtle as the season progresses. It's a testament to Azula's lack of awareness that she's hasn't noticed that, and that Ty Lee can get away with it.
Azula's right that it's an extraordinary opportunity. The King gave them quite literally every piece of info required to overthrow his kingdom in a 25 second conversation. I can't blame her for taking advantage of such an easy win.
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That's a very effective unimpressed face. And a very impressive beard.
It's funny to see a spiritual concept from the real world pop up in a show that includes things like bending and giant fish possession. The mention of Chakras kind of sticks out. They couldn't invent a Avatar universe version?
"Once you begin this process, you cannot stop until all seven are open." Well that doesn't feel like foreshadowing at all.
This episode should be called "Aang's self-care Journey." It's about time the kid had a me day that wasn't avoidance-based.
Fear: Losing Katara - makes sense. Losing control of his powers via fish possession - makes sense. The Fire Lord - makes sense. But the Blue Spirit? He helped. Doesn't make sense.
Guilt: Running away - makes sense, although I thought he'd worked through that with Katara in the storm. Nuking that idiot General's base - makes sense, but boy did he quite literally ask for it.
This guru is saying some wonderfully accurate, and realistic, things. I love that he's not taking the Katara route of denying anything is wrong. He's going for the acknowledge, then heal route. And yes, it's unfair of me to compare the emotional maturity of Katara to a century+ old spiritual expert.
I'm going to ruin the immersion here and point out that Sokka's dad's voice actor voiced a bunch of characters in season 1. He's doing an excellent job, but couldn't they get a unique voice for a character that's so important (albeit offscreen) to Sokka?
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That's an incredibly roundabout way of avoiding pointing out that the Southern Water Tribe are active participants in a bloody war. Sure, we can show multiple characters with visible scarring from horrific burns, but heaven forbid we imply that the Southern Water Tribe sinks ships. The parameters for what is and isn't appropriate on this show sometimes make no sense.
"Aren't you listening? I said the rest of you men get ready for battle." He hasn't seen his boy in two years, but fifteen minutes in his company and he knows exactly what needs to be said and how. That's some top tier parenting. Dad of the year. Dad of the century. Only decent Dad in this show that isn't technically an uncle.
"Follow your passion Zuko, and life will reward you." Great advice for your eight year old audience. Also a great way to end up unemployed.
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Positive Sokka creeped me out a few episodes ago. Now positive Zuko is freaking me out too.
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Pretty.
Back to Chakras! Shame: Burning Katara - makes sense. But that's it? To have the inner peace of mind of a twelve year old who's somehow only ever done one thing that he's ashamed of.
Is there anyone in the earth kingdom who isn't stupid? Once again wondering at the network's standards. Visible burn injuries are fine, but Mai can't say 'Shut up." It's got to be Shush up. Although I do seem to recall of brief time in the early 2000s when Shut Up was treated as a curse on par with Shit or Fuck. Maybe that was just at my school.
Chakras again! Even for a show that often has an A, B, and C plot, this narrative is ping ponging around a bit much.
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Grief: nothing major, just a whole nation. Makes a horrific amount of sense. but I don't buy that he can get over grieving the whole world as he knew it by thinking about his crush. That's way too high a pedestal for Katara to be placed on.
Lies: Not accepting he's the Avatar. Interesting that not accepting that he's the Avatar and not accepting that he's a firebender are two different problems.
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I see you reusing the opening credits footage. Your blue filters can't fool me.
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PRETTY
Illusion: So we're relearning what we learned in The Swamp. Aang's probably the person currently alive least likely to believe in the rigid separation of the nations anyway. This doesn't feel like an illusion he's subject to?
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The way this episode dances between its narrative threads is so great. It's all woven in so beautifully. And this makes perfect sense! Toph's spent her life secretly doing things excellently that everyone says are completely beyond her capabilities. Life has taught her that the statement "you are not able to" doesn't apply. Of course immutable laws of bending physics are treated with the same respect as an adult telling the champion of the Earth Rumble that she's can't earthbend beyond breathing exercises. If you told her that humans can't fly, she'd figure out how within the week.
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Plot collision incoming.
Interesting that Katara initially recognises Zuko by his voice rather than his scar.
I'm pretty sure that Zuko and Iroh don't know about the whole brainwashing thing, but wouldn't it be hilarious if Zuko introduced himself to Katara as Joo Dee, and his uncle Joo Dee, welcome to the Jasmine Dragon, can I take your order? That would throw Katara into one hell of a moral quandary.
Katara being framed as the solution for Chakra number four comes back to bite Aang, as she's the problem in Chakra number seven. I knew that pedestal was too high.
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I've changed my mind. This episode should actually be called "Half a dozen reasons why everyone should just learn to keep their goddamn mouths shut already."
So is anyone going to let Zuko and Iroh know that they're now in immediate danger and need to leave, like, yesterday?
I think the Guru is going for the whole 'if you love them, let them go, and they'll come back to you' thing. Don't cling, in other words. But for the sake of the plot he's suddenly lost his ability to explain Chakras in a way that makes them seem like the logical thing to do. The only clunky bit of this episode so far.
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May I introduce you to our Lord and Saviour Toph?
"I am the greatest earthbender in the world." Yes. Yep. Yeah. That's now a quantifiable fact, and it's correct. Look on ye mighty and despair. She's even got Bumi beat.
Earth Tongue Running is a bit wonky looking but it covers a crazy amount of distance.
What's the range on Toph's earth sense? Can she sense what direction Ba Sing Se is?
I hope those two idiots' horse bird is ok.
"You don't know how much this means to me dad." He does. Very much so.
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Every word out of this guy's mouth is precision engineered to make Sokka feel like a million bucks and I for one think it's about time someone built him up. Also, seeing this makes me realise how few good parents there are in this show. It's a trope of kids' adventure shows that the parents fundamentally can't be there, but I also think it's a commentary on yet another thing that this war has messed up.
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Hey look! Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most, and right now that's in Ba Sing Se, protecting your sister! I love narratives that tie their themes up with a pretty bow on top.
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This is Azula laying a trap, right? Which means that Katara squealed to someone about the exact location of Iroh and Zuko's tea shop. Don't like the implications of that.
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Photos taken seconds before disaster.
Final Thoughts
This episode was a lot! I mean that in a good way! But I felt a bit like the Maxell Blown Away Guy, the way I kept getting assaulted by yet another plot thread. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a criticism. I think the switching between plot threads and the amount of info in this episode worked 99% of the time. But I'm kind of in awe at the balancing act the writers pulled off and I'm sort of sitting here blinking a bit trying to fit all this stuff in my head. I'm probably going to forget half the stuff I wanted to talk about in this write up, so here goes nothing.
Given the Azula reveal in at the end of last episode, I thought that this would be the episode where the shit hits the fan. I was wrong. I'm glad I was wrong. An episode of set up is required and is nice breathing room, even an episode as busy as this. And I got to leave Ba Sing Se! But this does mean that next episode is going to be calamity after calamity.
Aang and his Chakras: I'm fascinated by this guru. I hope he comes back. That brings the total number of people who were alive before the war started up to three: Aang, Bumi, Guru Patik.
I'm impressed that the run through of the Chakras rarely felt like an info dump. The onion and banana juice thing didn't work for me, but I'm sure it worked for people in the target age bracket. Kids love burp jokes.
So many shows sprinkle in tragic backstories for flavour and then never have them influence the character in the present. It was a nice contrast to see a show take a whole episode to tell Aang "yeah all that sucked. It's ok to feel down about it. Here's how you move forward."
Sokka and his dad: Love it. Love it so much. I love seeing Sokka built up, and he definitely deserves it, but I wonder if this is the reward for a character arc well done, or the set up for a character arc that's about to start? Is his dad's praise his prize for crossing the finish line, or is it so he's built up with farther to fall?
I loved seeing more of the Southern Water Tribe. I loved the fashion. There's a lot of variety in accessories and variations on a few basic elements like those knee guard things. I loved their hairstyles. I loved how cozy and communal that command tent felt. I loved their ships. I wonder how often these guys work out, that they can make loading ramps that are presumably deployed and stashed out of the way frequently, out of whole logs rather than planks. I have a bone to pick with the child-friendly sea mine. But it provides a good set up for a dad joke, so I'll let it slide.
Zuko and Iroh: Of course the one time Zuko is allowed to be in a good place, it's so that he and Iroh both have farther to fall when the inevitable happens. Poor guy just can't catch a break. I'd be mad at Azula for the party crashing that I'm assuming she'll do next episode, but it's been established that Zuko has all nice things taken away from him as soon as he gets them, and I can't blame Azula for being a tool of the universe.
Azula & Long Feng: Azula's acting in Long Feng's prison cell was miles ahead of what Long Feng was doing in front of the Earth King, so I'm wondering if Long Feng has bitten off more than he can chew. Also: conspiring with the enemy to bring down your own city just so you can reinstall yourself as the power behind the throne that will presumably cease to exist as soon as the Fire Nation takes control? That is both treasonous beyond description and an incredible case of shooting yourself in the foot. What's Long Feng's plan here?
Toph and the Dunderheads: it says something about the consistency of Toph's characterisation from her introduction onwards that she breaks the universe this episode and my reaction was "that's neat." It's obviously a huge moment, but of course Toph can do that. Toph can do anything. More importantly, Toph knows that Toph can do anything, so Toph routinely does do anything, especially things she shouldn't be able to do. If you had asked me a few episodes back which character would be most likely to fundamentally redefine bending, I would have said Toph, since she's already fundamentally redefined bending with her earth sense sonar vision.
Also Toph just breaks stuff. Things that come into contact with her cease to function as intended and instead function as Toph requires. Look at the two idiots: both successful business owners, one also a successful hoodwinker of the richest family around. But they come into contact with Toph and their brains take an extended vacation.
Katara & the Generals: this plot was more like an extension of Azula's plot than its own standalone thing. You can't blame her for spilling the news about Zuko and Iroh to someone she honestly thought was Suki. Not much else to say about it, although it's cute that she asks for a table for two at the tea shop. Momo gets a chair!
I like that there's a theme this episode of things going wrong despite the best intentions. No one's acting maliciously here apart from the Antagonists. The Earth King is having an honest chat with people he thought were friends. Sokka vouched for people he honestly thought were the Kyoshi Warriors. Katara shares information about a presumed threat with people she honestly thought were her allies. You can quibble with the wisdom of some of these decisions, but there were all done with good intentions. The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry and all that. It brings to mind that Star Trek quote about how you can do everything right and still lose. And this set up is going to hit harder when whatever goes wrong next episode happens. And something will go wrong. A few months ago I figured that the Season 2 finale would be a triumph, but all signs are pointing towards a tragedy instead.
This episode was visually stunning, the soundtrack in the Air Temple sections especially was very evocative, and I applaud the minds that could juggle that many plot threads at once without dropping any. This one is definitely going on my rewatch list.
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comradekatara · 3 days
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i read somewhere that, after the war, zuko at least hands hama over to the swt instead of keeping her in fire nation prisons 'till the end of her life. Which is nice, I think. But I'm also curious as to how that would work out.
Most notably: how do you think it'd go down if she were to meet Pakku? given they both have some sort of connection to kanna's life, the idea of them being forced to interact even once entertains me very much. like, old waterbending master pakku—white lotus member—who has grown up in a patriarchal society and actively forbidden women from training to fight, under the precedent they are somehow ontologically weaker, fragile, and belonging in the healing huts... THAT guy, meeting his former fiancé's old friend: (or current wife's if you go by canon, which, eugh) A woman who not only fought in the front lines but ended up becoming one of the most skilled, creative, and deadly waterbenders in history. How would he react when finding out that a woman came up with blood bending? How badly would Hama mind-fuck him?? Because I'm confident they'd hate each other's guts-- no way she'd tolerate him,,,
And on a similar note—how would Kanna feel upon reuniting wirh Hama and discovering what she put Katata through, in your opinion? Idk, I'm just full of puppetmaster thoughts today. Hama is incredibly interesting and I wish she wasn't handled so much like a Halloween Specisl creepy witch, (even though katara herself is handled and written pretty well in this episode, i think. but i digress.)
i mean obviously i think about this all the time. i personally think that zuko hands hama over to the swt upon katara's request, and she and aang personally deliver her on appa (sokka is not there, for the very deliberate reason that if he knew what they were doing he would very vocally disapprove). and so katara is sort of retraumatizing herself by doing this, but she also feels like it's necessary specifically because she needs to be able to look hama in the eye and tell her why they're not actually the same (especially now that she actually did bloodbend someone in cold blood). katara has the love and support and safety to step back from her anger and her pain and her grief and hang onto her own humanity and allow herself to be the bigger person even in moments of abject rage and acute trauma, and hama doesn't. hama is a victim of her circumstance, and that's part of what makes her so uniquely terrifying to katara, because katara has that same capacity to make people hurt, she has the same tools at her disposal, and she has the same justifications to exercise that power. but unlike hama, she hasn't actually been pushed past her limits. sometimes she can see the cliff's edge, and sometime she even teeters on the line, but hama was fully just shoved off without a parachute, and that's really what separates them above all. i think katara should be allowed to acknowledge that and forgive herself for that, even if hama doesn't directly apologize to her (although in my mind she does, and it's not enough, but it's also so much more than katara ever expected to hear). even if it is too late for hama, katara deserves to heal.
frankly, i don't really give a shit about pakku or his reaction to hama. i also don't actually think that he thinks woman are ontologically incapable of being talented waterbenders of whatever; he's a pretty worldly guy, the reason he clings to these traditions isn't born of the belief that they're grounded in logical evidence like sokka's is, it's because he believes in the preservation of a system that benefits and valorizes him. pakku thinks katara belongs in the healing huts because he comes from a culture that dictates that women belong in the healing huts. like, he might also subscribe to the bioessentialist logic that women are better healers and men are being fighters, but that honestly doesn't really matter, because (unlike sokka) his epiphany lies not in the fact that woman can fight, but in the fact that his role in upholding these systems has actively driven his loved ones away due to his cruelty. he decides to be kinder, to women and in general, because he realizes that being an asshole has negative consequences. but frankly, who cares what he thinks of hama. realizing that your sister tribe in the south deserves aid and protection after being subjected to a century of genocide is kind of too little too late imo. unlike katara, sokka, aang, or kanna, who can approach this situation from the perspective of being a genocide survivor who even remotely understands hama's trauma, pakku really has no place in this conversation to me.
as for kanna...... god. hama/kanna reunion is genuinely one of the most heart-wrenching concepts to me in all of atla. as a sidenote, hama/kanna fanfic goes so hard every time. there's a total of like 15 fanfics for them on ao3 (last i checked) but they're all sooooooo. fucking delicious. tide locked........... ugh. anyway. i cannot fathom kanna's reaction upon learning that her closest friend once upon a time is not only alive, but also a convicted felon, for crimes including but not limited to manipulating her granddaughter, violating her (and sokka's) bodily autonomy in cruel and perverse ways, and forcing her to participate in that mode of violence in a way that traumatized her forever. even if you don't read them as former lovers (although it is indubitably better that way) it's so gut-churning. kanna lost so many people over the course of her life, and to learn that one of them has returned but in the worst way possible must be mind-boggling and distinctly unreal. like how do you even process that. first, how do you process how much pain she must have went through to become the kind of person who is capable of doing this, and then, how do you process the knowledge that the person you once loved most in the world irreparably hurt the person you now love most in the world? obviously she would always prioritize katara's safety over anyone else's no matter what, but god. kanna has led such a fascinating and impossibly difficult life, and it's not over yet.
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wileycap · 2 months
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Something else about the Netflix ATLA adaption that bothers me is the fact that Aang doesn't run away from the air temple. He just... climbs on Appa "to think" and then gets caught in the storm. It removes all of the narrative weight of Aang's guilt, because now it's "I wasn't there" instead of "I left them all behind" and it's incredibly frustrating!!!
Right?! Aang coming to terms with his guilt is one of the most powerful moments in S1. That's something the live action could have really expanded on.
I also wonder how this reflects on their plans for a S3, where one of Aang's central conflicts is that he feels like he failed again. It doesn't hit nearly as hard when his original failure was just taking some me time at the wrong time.
And it just removes such a human, relatable element of Aang. He is a wise monk, and he is just a kid who suddenly gets this great destiny pushed on him. The monks are right to be concerned about the impending war, and they're probably doing the best they can, and Aang is justified in feeling abandoned and lonely, and takes the only option that he sees, and he carries that guilt. It's complex, it's human, and they just got rid of it, because...? We had to make room for Secret Tunnel, I guess!
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