#for aang that’s kinda a secondary thing

[potatoeofwisdom]

has someone done this already?

#just a thought #idk i couldnt think of anything that would be a good example for their age except for driving #potatoe rambles #danny phantom #dp #atla #aang #the last airbender #dannys head is too damn big but i am not bothered enough to draw it again #art #for aang that’s kinda a secondary thing #but for phantom that’s kinda his whole thing

[comradekatara]

ooh the bolin ask got me thinking and i’m curious as to how you’d rewrite/edit asami’s character and specifically korra and asami’s relationship if you had full creative autonomy. obviously we would have to retread some familiar points here (like, lok’s entire unfortunate politic and the often shoddy secondary character work) but i’m always interested in hearing what you think on the korrasami front!

this is such a good question to ask me specifically (the ghost of tumblr user bloodbenderz pointed out in my bolin post that i was the wrong person to ask abt his character bc he’s been the bolin champion since day one whereas i. do not care for him, but i have been asami’s champion since day one so YES HELLO) i have thought extensively about asami like truly so much, especially post finale wherein i reevaluated my entire weltanschauung because korrasami simply broke my brain. asami’s position within the narrative is almost paradoxical in the sense that she is established as a primary player but her inner life itself is afforded very little room for exploration. atla does such a great job of fleshing out characters and giving them these truly human dimensions, which is probably why it’s had such a chokehold on me for well over a decade, but lok fails abysmally at this with pretty much every character except korra herself (my baby my angel light of my life etc etc).

but asami is interesting, at least conceptually. obviously id give her more narrative space to figure out her shit, but also it’s a matter of understand what kind of narrative space is the right space to afford her. as ive gestured to in other recent posts, the most interesting facets of asami’s character are her relationship to her father (ie patriarchy, the nuclear family structure, systems of interpersonal abuse), her wealth (ie the guilt that stems from possessing capital built on exploitation and violence and how she reconciles with that as a deeply principled & ethical person), and her latent feelings for korra (ie actually going further into the implications of homoeroticism in a way that doesn’t veer straight into the mawkish heavyhandedness of the comics but also doesn’t leave it entirely subtextual until the last minute).

I think korra and asami’s relationship is actually one of the strongest aspects of the show, and i like that it’s largely lowkey instead of employing the shallow trappings of heteronormative romantic troping that turned me off other relationships in avatar (eg aang and katara, korra and mako, mai and zuko). there’s a poignant subtlety to their development that i appreciate, even as i also recognize that it was largely due to network restraints. i think that korra and asami kinda have a utenanthy thing going on but like. obviously not as profound. (also korra is utena and asami is anthy dont be racist.) so a lot of what rgu does with their largely unspoken, hidden feelings that are nonetheless evident to any viewer with a brain is what i would also employ to make korrasami more powerful. obviously lok (and atla, yes i voted rgu in those polls) pale in comparison to the masterpiece that is utena, but you get it.

that said, if i really wanted to improve asami’s character, i would focalize her relationship to her father. at no point in the show does lok ever state that hiroshi was abusive, despite concrete evidence that he tried to kill his own daughter. asami loves him unconditionally despite his role in funding a terrorist movement (let’s not get into that rn ok) and attempting filicide. we’re told that asami and hiroshi fostered a sort of codependent relationship after yasuko’s death. hiroshi retreated into his grief, and asami, an isolated heiress further isolated from her peers by her staggering genius (again, her being a genius is largely only implied but like. heavily), was left to depend on him financially, physically, and emotionally, while also sort of playing his pseudowife/caretaker as he failed to take care of her and himself (and of course it’s no coincidence that she’s the spitting image of yasuko). so in some ways, asami has been very independent from a young age, and in other ways, she is completely dependent on her father in every way. the subtext simultaneously goes unaddressed and is also thoroughly evident to anyone who bothers to tease it out. asami was, in some ambiguous configuration, abused by her father, and it culminates in him trying to kill her once she asserts her independence. her taking him down with the glove is literally a direct parallel to zuko redirecting ozai’s lightning, it’s not even subtle! it’s just. ignored!!!

moreover, asami’s struggle as she inherits the company in book 2 is handled so poorly it’s almost crazy. i have a post where i compare asami to azula and shiv roy (love seeing tags on these posts that are like “who the hell is shiv roy?” shiv my best friend shiv) and talk about each of their relationships to their fathers and how it informs their relationships to power. obviously lok refuses to acknowledge that asami was abused and operates on a psychological platform of paternal abuse in any real way, but it’s honestly one of the more logical readings of her character considering her actions. so again, if i had the power to write her well this time, i’d tease that out more, exacerbate those implications in a similar way to how azula, zuko, or even toph and sokka operate psychologically. and of course, that also would inform her relationship to her wealth and position as ceo, as both a great burden and a responsibility she feels she must adopt (it’s her biological destiny lol). and of course doing a better job to illustrate how that crisis of identity parallels korra’s, because, you know, it’s like the whole point? also (and this is tangential) but asami needed to hire zhu li and then they should’ve both killed varrick with hammers. but in general asami’s character needed to better serve as a critique of capitalism and patriarchy through her unique role in the system. like, it was really so close to achieving that anyway, but they continually dropped the ball so that the implications of her character were always fascinating, but her character itself was simply. there.

in summary, if mako’s character should function as an interrogation of intertwined structures of family and class within the society lok establishes, asami should have a similar function through different means. mako implicates the role of the impoverished orphan in a neoliberal patriarchy (and bolin, ideally, further complicates the dynamic by being more visibly earth kingdom than fire nation), whereas asami implicates the role of the abused yet wealthy girl in the same neoliberal patriarchy. in a good show, each character supplements the broader critiques being made by the narrative. but while mako, bolin, and asami all have the right pieces set in place to do so, they never quite stick the landing. because liberalism, or nickelodeon, or obama, or girlboss feminism, or whatever.

#unreachedgalaxy #asks #lok crit #analysis #asami #asamixkorra #synthesis #i love you asami sato i am free on tuesday if you would like to hang out on tuesday when i am free #she’s literally soooo important to me im not even kidding .

[coldgoldlazarus]

That post thread discussing the various past avatars and their deeds and mistakes got me thinking about what kind of impact Korra could leave leading into the third series. Since the general running theme has been each Avatar making one big critical mistake during their tenure that the next Avatar has to deal with, there's probably going to be something she did wrong that will lay the groundwork for whatever the new earthbender Avatar will be dealing with.

On one hand, with the transition from Last Airbender to Legend of Korra, Aang's big mistake was basically offscreen during the intervening time, a new event created for LoK to address. Which isn't a bad thing, and is also the most likely approach for them to take here, too. At the very least, there's a precedent there. If that is what they do, then it could be just about anything, and gives the writers a lot of freedom. Korra had mostly grown past her key flaw of hotheaded, not-thinking-things-through action by the series ending, it might not relate to that, but no growth is perfectly linear so I could still see that being a big factor in whatever winds up going down.

On the other hand, I am kinda wondering if what they could wind up addressing is something related to the actual events of LoK. Most loose ends were wrapped up by the end of the series, but there are at least a few things that could be delved into more. The reconnection with the spirit world is a pretty big one, which did get sorta partially dealt with in Books 3 and 4, but was still kind of secondary to the main focus on the Red Lotus and Kuvira's dictatorship.

In something kinda less relevant to greater world geopolitics and more to the avatar cycle itself, it could be the whole thing about having lost the connection to the prior Avatars. (Which in all fairness wasn't even her fault really, but is still A Problem.) Finally trying to find some way to fix that could be an interesting direction.

Alternatively, on the very geopolitical side, the invention of Spirit-vine power as basically a nuclear power allegory in the fourth season could lead to a lot of issues if not handled tactfully.

And I guess this is less something shown, and more a negative space in the show's coverage, but we never really got to see too much of the Korra-era Fire Nation, so that could be something to try to put some focus back onto in the new series. Hopefully not just a repeat of the whole "everything changed when the fire nation attacked" bit, but there could be other ways to make the narrative 'neglect' (for lack of a better word) of them to cause problems down the line.

#not a reblog #atla #atlok #avatar the last airbender #avatar the legend of korra #i just hope whatever it winds up being #doesn't create a bunch of terrible discourse #keyword being hope #but it probably will rip

[atla-suki]

it’s time.

why mako and katara are completely different characters and should stop being compared so much:

so, i see way too much comparison between mako and katara. like.. too much. and it always boggles me because aside from a few things, they’re really nothing alike.

keep reading under the cut !

let me point out their similarities:

- lack of parental figure/s

- a ‘comic relief’ brother

- second-hand clothing item from a dead parent

- romantic interest in the avatar

- strong benders, brave.

not many, right? mako and katara are largely different characters - from unique character traits to respective personalities to their purposes/roles in their respective stories. while they’re both main characters, the biggest difference lies in the fact that atla revolves around katara just as much as it does aang. what i mean is, without katara, atla is a COMPLETELY different show. without mako, LoK is still a relatively similar show (not that i’m saying he’s not important. he is. mako is so underrated stop trashing him sm. actually that’s another similarity - mako and katara both get overhated in the fandom. interesting..) ANYWAYS yeah katara is crucial to like 70% of everything that happens in atla. where aang is the protagonist, katara is the deuteragonist. where korra is the protagonist, mako…isn’t.. the deuteragonist. he’s a secondary character, sure, but not the deuteragonist. so straight off the bat they are completely different characters in terms of their place and significance in their respective stories. it seems unfair to compare them, no?

and that’s just the logical storytelling/plot side. when we look at their characterisations and personalities… again, NOTHING alike.

their differences include:

- mako is generally a pessimist; katara is in every way an optimist

- katara is in touch with her emotions and understands the emotions/feelings of others; mako.. not so much

- katara is a complex, well-written character with many layers; mako had many chances to be written better (ik that’s on the writers not on him but i’m including it anyways)

- katara’s motivation is the power to become a strong bender and a good person, to help the avatar bring balance back to the world; mako is a pro-bending athlete? i guess? he was a cop too bc they didn’t know what to do with him? idk

- mako is intelligent, quick on his feet, not one to trust easily, uses head above heart; katara lets her emotions dictate her actions (not always, but yk what i mean), sometimes too quick to trust, uses heart over head

more differences than similarities, you see? while their scenarios are kinda similar, they as characters are not. i’ve also seen the whole ‘they both raised their siblings’ shit… absolutely NOT??? mako was completely alone with bolin - he did it all. katara didn’t RAISE sokka, and even tho she was more maternal towards him it wasn’t something she was forced into the way mako was (lol that makes it sound like mako is bolin’s mother.. haha). similar scenarios, different situations.

quick detour: i just re-read those points above (the differences) and it sounds like i’m painting mako in a bad light. i am absolutely not. i love mako. i love katara. but i am also aware that mako is not as well-written as katara. it’s unfortunate but it’s also true.

ok back to my ramble. katara/aang and mako/korra are ALSO not the same. their dynamics are different, their roles in the story are different, their characterisations are different. their relationships are different. so their roles within said relationships are DIFFERENT. going off canon here, katara was always supportive of aang and clearly loved him. mako kinda liked korra and so they tried it out but it didn’t work. why? because mako and katara are different characters and so they are written as different characters. they’re INDIVIDUALS. they are not parallels. mako is not the next-gen katara. (he’s also not the next-gen zuko but i won’t go over that bc i WILL get tomatoes thrown at me). stop comparing them and their trauma. they are not the same.

katara lost her mother during a war. it was tragic, it was unfair, it was a direct act of hatred and done on purpose. mako happened to lose his parents at random. it was just as tragic, just as unfair, but DIFFERENT. katara had family left to help raise both her and sokka. mako was alone with his little brother. shit, he even joined a GANG to make sure they’d survive. i always felt like mako gave up more than katara (in their respective situations. they both still grew up too soon). but the thing is, i am ABLE make these distinctions between them. why? BECAUSE THEY’RE DIFFERENT AND SHOULD STOP BEING COMPARED SO MUCH.

give them the recognition they deserve as individuals. because they deserve it.

#atla #lok #katara #mako #don’t come at me if i u disagree ok i just. i needed to put this out in the world. #anyways thanks if u read xoxo #analysis

[shysquidd]

ok so i was able to log in thru my laptop so as promised here are my in depth thoughts on korra 

so we all know lok came out like years ago so what im gonna say probably has already been said like thousands of times over and over, i think when the show first came out i saw a few eps of it and then lost interest. but i was like 15 or something at the time so whatever. 

i have noticed that some people who liked lok better have said that people who dont like lok as much just dont like change, and idk maybe thats the case for some, but my main criticisms for it come from the writing inconsistency. to be clear i thought it was a fun watch! did i like it? yes!!!! did i love it?? not so much 

i think what bothered me the most was the pacing of the seasons. now i hate to draw comparisons to atla, but they are part of the same franchise so I Will. one the things that made atla sooo good was the overall mission stretched over 3 seasons, with secondary villains providing obstacles along the way (zhao,zuko,azula). this provided characters with enough time to develop along the way before facing the big bad (and building suspense to ozai), but still keep viewers entertained through out the seasons 

i didnt really feel the same suspense when watching korra. each season had its own conflict and big bad, and none of them really seemed to come back up a lot after they were already defeated (except for korras uncle i forget his name tbh) 

i think any of the conflicts they had would have worked if they chose to stretch it out over the course of the show. the anti-bending movement and the water tribe civil war would have worked best in my opinion. they anti-bending movement drew valid criticisms from non-benders, and its really weird to see all of that vanish after amon was defeated. as for the civil war, unalaq (i googled his name lol) fell flat for me, he was just kinda evil for the sake of being evil. at first his motivations were intriguing and made a good foundation for the conflict aka wanting to combine the tribes again by bringing spirituality to the swt by force, bt when they brought in raava and vaatu it just kinda fell apart. this plotline definitely would have worked over several seasons, but i kinda wished the origins of the first avatar would have remained a mystery. i am a firm believer of not everything has to be answered

because the show was so fast paced, characters really didnt get the spotlight they deserved, esp team avatar. the gaang in the first series really all had their moments to shine, and you could rewatch the og season over and over again and notice something new every time! im not sure how well this would work with lok since the rest of team avatar didnt really get their own fleshed out story lines 

korra: had the most development ofc. i think she was a great protagonist. it makes sense that aang would want his successor to get proper training before getting thrown into avatar duties  considering he was like 12 when he had to fight the firelord. korra, whos been training her whole life, is caught in the middle of conflict in republic city, and its clear to me that her training took a priority on bending the elements, rather than being a mediator, which is the duty of the avatar. she’s like a fish out of water, and as the series progresses and we see her fight the antagonists, this takes a toll on her and she goes into a slump. it was a very fitting arc for her character 

mako: he was just kinda there for me. bit of a jerk at first and i really did not like the whole korra/mako/asami love triangle. it was all very forced imo considering korra and mako only knew each other for like a few days before they were confessing feelings for each other 

bolin: obvs the comedic relief character. the show doesnt do much for him either which is sad bc i did like his character, hes funny and has a cute design. ill draw another comparison to atla and say that while sokka was the comedic relief, his character was deeply complex and multilayered

asami: my angel my daughter my cinnamon apple. im glad asami was able to reconnect with her father before the show murked him. korrasami was cute and they compliment each other: korra, whos more emotionally reserved vs asami who is empathetic and patient but also is true to her beliefs and holds her ground

anyways this post got super long and if u read this i love u. feel free to comment if u wanna start a discussion. much more to say but my fingers are tired bye 

#some honorable mentions in tags #lin was sooo sexy and her family dynamic resonated w me #hate hate hate that toph is cop but thats a whole other thing #didnt like kataras reduced role where even was she during the civil war?? #zhu li suprisingly might be one of my faves despite her limited screentime #insert spongebob meme #i also really loved jinora #didnt like the way multiethnic characters were treated but thats also for another post

[mystic-kitten-writer]

Headcanon: uhm how the gaang treats yue or how they see yue shshhs

OKAY, so I decided to focus on the girls first because I went off (but are we really surprised? This is me we’re talking about). 

I focused on how they met Yue, what made them click, and how they treat/view. Consider this headcanon for Limerence as it is developing, not as an end-all-be-all.

If you want one of the boys (Aang, Sokka, Zuko) let me know cause I’ll post it ASAP rather than dwindling around~

Katara

“Yue?” Katara would perk, before smiling, “She’s more than just a friend; she’s family, a sister.”

Katara, Aang and Sokka are the first ones to met Yue after she saves Aang. Immediate reaction - grateful.

Secondary reaction - worry. Katara’s blue eyes settled over Yue, and saw how frail she looked. Her clothes dirty and torn, hair a birds nest; she was skin and bones. Katara’s ‘must-take-care’ instincts blaring.

The same day they met, they bonded;

Yue was sitting in the river under the starry night as Katara helped wash her hair. She couldn’t help but notice the tiny scratches and bruises that littered Yue’s skin, superficial. But she could imagine how they stung.

“Why don’t you heal yourself, Yue? You’re a Waterbender.” Katara asked with her brows pinched, confused to see all of Yue’s injuries. But Yue let out an awkward giggle, shyly sinking further into the water, “I-I’m a terrible healer.”

“I can teach you if you want.” Katara perked, happy to show off her skills to teach another.

But she quickly noted Yue’s expression in the reflection of the water. Her eyes heavy, lip trembling. It was an expression filled with deep pain and sadness, and without another word, Katara found herself embracing Yue from behind.

From that point on, Katara took on the big sister role despite being the younger one by a few months.

Katara sometimes stares at Yue and has to smile, happy to be by her side and watch Yue grow. She wasn’t the girl crying in the river anymore; she was the impending Queen of a Nation.

She always stands up for Yue and encourages her to put her foot down whenever someone disrespects her. Even Katara’s frustrated at how nice Yue is.

Very protective, and will lowkey judge the people Yue is around. She knows Yue is a bit naive and doesn’t want someone to take advantage #SorrynotsorryZuko. 

A bit disappointed that Yue never Waterbended with her, despite asking her multiple times to train. She finally found another Waterbender, someone who was by her side full-time, and it proved fruitless.

The one time they did battle, Katara was about to go easy. She quickly realized never to doubt Yue’s fighting skills…but her healing could use some work.

Guilty for thinking Yue was a Firebender at first.

Was lowkey jealous at Yue’s and Aang’s relationship and how quickly they hit it off before realizing it is just Yue’s personality

Often bond in the hot springs with a nice face and hair mask, fantasizing about their future and wedding plans.

Katara’s go-to person to vent and shop with.

Will cook meals for Yue because Yue cannot cook to survive. Katara’s still baffled at how Yue managed to burn boiling water. Like seriously, how?

Often heals Yue’s bruises and scratches because she’s way too clumsy. Also stopped asking questions as to how she even gets hurt. A papercut from a teddy bear?

“Yue’s biggest strength is also her weakness, her heart.” Katara would softly speak, twirling her braid in her hands, “But that’s why we’re here. To make sure she’s okay and that she doesn’t live off sweets because that girl has a sugar addiction.”

Toph

“She’s alright, I guess… kinda whiny, always needing attention, we call her Princess for a reason- but…” Toph would start before stepping forward. She would cross her arms before whispering, “She’s an amazing baker and gives the best hugs. BUT YOU DIDN’T HEAR THAT FROM ME.”

Toph and Suki met Yue a few days after the others, and the first thing she noticed was how damn light Yue was on her feet, another Airbender?

Yue was quick to greet Toph, voice chirpy and filled with life, and for a moment, Toph thought Yue was going to be an absolute chatterbox. Talking her ears off until they bled. Imagine her surprise how quiet Yue got after their greeting, standing off to the side as the others spoke.

Toph would study her movements, how she twirled her fingers, pulse racing…

Their moment of connection would come days after, Toph feeling the ground underneath her vibrate, just a touch. It was enough to wake her up from her slumber, feet embedded on the ground and searching for those light footsteps. Toph would begrudgingly follow, thinking it was Aang taking a late-night stroll before they suddenly stopped.

“The stars… they’re beautiful tonight. Want to experience them with me?” Yue would hum, taking Toph off guard.

“I’m blind-”

“You of all people should know there is more than one way to experience the world.”

Toph would snort, kicking the dirt under her feet, “Oh yeah? Explain colour to me.”

Toph could feel Yue walked towards her, bending over, a distinct pulling sound-making light, before standing upright. Yue’s hands gently reached for Toph’s, letting something dewy in nature fall into her palms.

“Green… it’s the grass and leaves, soft and tickles your toes. Filled with life. It’s not my favourite colour; I enjoy red much more. Red is the colour of the blaring sun against your skin. Like a festering burn, pulsing with strong vibrations.”

Yue’s wasn’t that bad after all.

Abnormally tolerate to Yue’s need for physical affection. Timed ‘hugs’ are a norm (don’t want to let Yue know how much Toph loves them, or else she’ll never hear the end of it).

Careful about her tone with Yue. Rarely raising it like how she would with Sokka or Katara because Toph could feel how Yue’s heart would race.

One of the few people Toph would willingly let touch her feet and pamper.

Toph listens to Yue’s rants about fashion or makeup because there was something about hearing her heart skip - she dares say it, it was cute.

Toph went from feeling indifferent to Yue to finding an odd sense of comfort in her presence. An Aang 2.0, but a lot more sensitive and a way better baker.

Views Yue as a best friend and typically calls her Princess because she is one.

Taught her that being feminine in nature doesn’t equal weak. You can be fabulous and kick ass.

Will unconsciously take a big sniff around Yue. She smells good, like baked goods.

“She may be a crybaby…but she has a good heart.”

Suki

“She’s too cute!” Suki would laugh, smiling fondly at all the memories that seemingly flashed through her mind. “Yue is like a kitten. She’s cute and shy, but she has that curious spirit inside. A mischievousness that you’ll never expect to see.”

Suki met Yue at the same time as Toph, but because Sokka introduced Yue to her with much glee, Suki immediately opened up.

Funny enough, unlike the rest who shared a bonding moment via a direct personal experience, Suki realized she loved Yue when seeing how she spent time with Sokka.

Suki was lounging on the sandy beaches in the Earth Nation, enjoying the sun kissing her skin with the waves crashing in the distance. Sokka proclaimed that he was a sandcastle master, and Suki watched with lowered sunglasses how Sokka and Yue spent precisely two hours building a monstrously of a sandcastle.

Seeing Yue and Sokka bickering and having fun like siblings struck a chord with Suki. She was going to love anyone who can make her boyfriend that happy.

Suki dusted herself off from the sand, coming behind Yue and placing her hands on her shoulders, “Want to come shopping tomorrow with me downtown?”

“Me?” Yue would gasp, her eyes wide.

Suki would smile, eagerly shaking her head, and she saw that happiness spread over Yue’s face, “I would love to!”

Girls night is a tradition between them, getting tipsy- drunk on wine and spoiling Yue with dresses.

Guilty of being the ‘devil on her shoulder.’ Suki can’t help it; she loves Yue’s eagerness to try new things and learn, but her shyness always got the better of her, and that’s where Suki comes in.

Half of their conversations go from sweet to sexual in under ten seconds.

Besides Aang and Sokka, Suki’s the closest to Yue, they’re practically sisters.

Like Katara loves hyping Yue and encouraging her to stand up for herself and seek happiness. Suki knows Yue always puts herself second; that’s why she pampers Yue whenever she can.

Love teasing Yue with Toph. It’s just too easy.

“She’s a girl’s best friend, the best shoulder to cry on, and the easiest to tease.” 

#atla #katara #suki #toph #asks #ask me anything #anon answered #headcanon #zuko #ying yue jiang #zuko x oc #limerence #masterlist #request #requests #my OC

[thethiefandtheairbender]

Hi again! I came across a Zukka post a while back where you said in the tags that Zuko is Sokka's primary foil and Sokka serves as Zuko's secondary foil after Aang, and I couldn't agree more! This got me thinking about our female leads in ATLA, particularly Katara. Who would you say is her primary and secondary foil? Moreover, how does this impact her overall character arc?

I would say her primary is Azula and her secondary is Aang (or Zuko). I’ve talked a lot more about why Katara and Azula foil each other so well here but everything about them is obvious. Fourteen year old prodigies, both aligned with blue in Sozin’s Comet, water and fire, the slayer and saviour of the Avatar, sister (surrogate and blood) to the fire prince, absent father, missing/dead mother, the hair, etc. 

I would argue that Aang is Katara’s secondary foil, due to how much they parallel one another as benders, friends, and within their romantic arc. Aang is, after all, not only the first bender that Katara meets, but also turns out to be the first waterbender she meets. Their similar struggles with anger and revenge in “The Desert” and “The Southern Raiders” are obvious (lashing out, sleeplessness, etc.) as well as their differences: Katara’s desire to fight, Aang’s more overt pacifism, her responsibility with his fun loving nature (each of which is greatly appreciated by the other) and their shared friendliness. 

I also think Aang and Katara’s loss are most paralleled to one another’s, even over Zuko’s. While ATLA draws comparisons to the loss of their mothers - “That’s something we have in common,” - Aang lost a parental figure as well as his culture, a twofold loss that Katara also experienced first hand. Zuko will never be able to understand that loss of culture and community from genocide. 

In addition, Katara compares Aang’s loss to her own multiple times, as he does once with her in TSR when he’s concerned for her emotional well being... not to mention the curtain each push aside when seeing their parental figure is the same, and neither get a proper goodbye as each had to leave (Aang because of fear, and Katara to get her father). Comparatively, Ursa is the one who walked away from Zuko, not the other way around.

The way that Zuko and Katara parallel each other most is within their family units - hence my thoughts on their surrogate siblinghood - and in their relationship to Aang... so it should come as no surprise that I ship both Kataang and Zukaang.

Each dance with him, train him in their bending discipline that requires travelling together (whereas Toph just kinda leaves Aang to his own devices for the most part), and believe that the Avatar will always return, regardless of everything.

Honestly one of the main reasons (among many, but narrative wise here) I don’t find Z*tara compelling is because their relationship doesn’t affect the one each has with Aang, but Katara and Aang’s relationship affects Zuko, and Zuko and Aang’s relationship affects Katara.

After all, Aang believes that Zuko is meant to be his firebending teacher because of the accidental burn he gave Katara. Katara is incredibly resistant to this because Zuko hurt Aang, but she decides to, “Go along with whatever you [Aang] think is right.” She tolerates him (the kataang side) because Aang wants him there (the zukaang side). Zuko and Aang’s friendship rubs a wary Katara the wrong way, to the extent she threatens to kill Zuko if he gives her even a reason to think he might hurt Aang, and even once they’ve reconciled, we see she immediately chooses Aang over him: “What's wrong with you? You could’ve hurt Aang!” 

Like seriously, if these two aren’t talking about their trauma/mothers with one another, they’re almost always talking about Aang.

So yeah, Katara has Azula, then Aang, Zuko, Sokka, Toph, and Mai. 

One of my favourite things about ATLA is how everyone foils everyone at least a little bit, tbh. 

#fantasticalnonsense18 #zutaraang #atla meta #zukaang #kataang #the fire nation royal family #otp: penguin sledding #otp: kindred spirits #brotp: the sun the moon and the truth #atla #thanks for asking #analysis series #analysis #parallels

[starchildsteven]

Steven and Connie?

I got 2 asks for Steven so whoever sent the other one here is your answer. Because I’m just gonna do these two together.

Steven

Sexuality Headcanon: Listen at this point it should be clear: Pansexual Steven is a hill I'm willing to die on.

Gender Headcanon: I see Steven as gender non-conforming which I know people will argue is not a gender identity but I disagree with that because it’s what I consider my gender to be. What that means to me is an absence of gender while still I guess “preforming” gender. I don’t think of myself as male, female or agender. Rather all those genders feel like costumes I put on but don’t fully embody. Maybe it’s self-indulgent and projecting but I like to see Steven the same way. Also I see him as AMAB and pronouns are not important to him.

A ship I have with said character: Is this not clear? Have I not made this clear enough already? Do I need to be louder about my love of this ship? Joking aside Connverse is my OTP for Steven Universe (the show and the character). I could go into why but that would be an essay. Just look through my blog you will get the reasons most likely.

A BROTP I have with said character: This is really hard. I like a lot of BROTPs with Steven. Lars, Amethyst, Lapis. But you put a gun to head: Peridot. I’ve said before we spend more time with Peridot then we do with other characters who “redeems” themselves. I know Peridot kinda got the shaft in later seasons but when she was more serious, her relationship with Steven shined through and always felt like a genuine friendship rather than Steven “saving” her. I feel like they are actual friends something I don’t feel with his Non-family gems. Also “Peace and Love (On Planet Earth)” is another Top 10 for me! People sleep on that one. “Interest with meaning, Solutions with problems” is a more powerful line than people give credit. I said in my finale watch if only one secondary character was getting a pep-talk to Steven Peridot deserved it. I stand by that.

A NOTP I have with said character: Spinel. I want go into it but this might be the only Steven Universe ship I hate with a passion. I’m not ruining this cute ask meme by going into it. What I will say is every Stev!ne/ shipper that I have seen draw her as a human has made her white (or maybe a bit tan). I’m not accusing anyone of anything but replacing Steven’s canon dark-skinned love interest with a gem easily interpreted as being white makes me really uncomfortable... 

A random headcanon: Style Change Steven

General Opinion over said character: So I have always loved Steven, I have this things for characters like Steven. These passive, peace-makers with strong optimistic outlooks on live. Another example would be Aang. Part of what kept me out of this fandom was the lack of focus on Steven. There were always fans of Steven, don’t misunderstand me but more often than not I saw people writing him off or saying the show would be better with him in it. I constantly saw people wanting the show to just be the gems. It angered me. It angers me now that some people are only into him because they can make him “dark and edgy.” However most people have just seemed to have grown an appreciation for Steven recently and I think that’s why I’m more involved with the fandom now. Steven is important to me. He doesn’t care about gender expectations, has not shame over his body type, he’s a lover not a fighter. He sees the good in all people. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t hurt though. It doesn’t mean he isn’t dealing with heavy stuff. it just means that rather than go brooding and dark, Steven chooses to stay optimistic. Sometimes at the cost to himself. Characters like that are important to me. Because that’s a lot like how I am. I’m defined by my giving nature and constant smile. I believe the world and people are good but that doesn’t mean going through life is easy. 

Connie

Sexuality Headcanon: Bisexual. No one in this show is straight. I refuse to interpret even the worst characters in this show as straight. An as a bisexual, someone has to represent me. Also how can you look at Connie and not see that she likes girls?

Gender Headcanon: Agender but uses she/her exclusively. I go back and forth on AMAB and AFAB. I like both for different reasons. Either way I like Connie being Agender. I know Connie portraying masculine tendencies doesn’t negate her femininity. I just choose to view her as being agender in part at least due to her defiance of gender roles. Not saying that’s the only way to take it, it’s just the way I do.

A ship I have with said character: Again, check the blog... Funny enough before Steven Universe became my main fandom and was just a fandom I liked the only thing I shipped was Steven/Connie. I eventually grew to like Lapidot. The only ship I have had through the whole series though was Connverse.

A BROTP I have with said character: Pearl! I love Connie and Pearl! I love their whole teacher/student dynamic. I like the parallels of them coming from similar lives in a way. I like how I could see them just hanging out together if they wanted to. I like that Pearl took to Connie right away when she’s been shown not to really like humans. I just think they’re neat. 

A NOTP I have with said character: Pearl... This was really popular for awhile. Again Gem/Connie ships disgust me. I don’t have any particular strong hate for this ship but yeah no eww. 

A random headcanon: Connie did have a friend before Steven when she was very young. But they weren’t close friends and she ditched Connie as soon as they got to middle school.

General Opinion over said character: Connie used to be my favorite character and is still the solid second (I just can’t pretend that Future hasn’t shifted Steven from second to first) Back when she was my favorite though I wrote a whole post on why. As of right now.

#steven universe #steven universe future #connie maheswaran #steven quartz universe #ask game #connverse #anti-stevinal

[firelxdykatara]

*sigh* why do people keep comparing r/eylo to zutara and putting them in the same group? Were they not paying attention to the show? Did they not see Zuko's evolution?

Honestly, I really don’t know.

Like, ok, superficially, I can almost kinda get it. Angry boy with a scar on his face and the girl who could kick his ass offering to heal him? Ok, fine. Even aesthetically, red and blue, tol and smol, fine. I can sorta see it. But the instant you dig even a little bit deeper, they just… aren’t the same at all???? Not even remotely????

And, ok, I’ll admit to some measure of bias, because I don’t ship reylo and I don’t like it as a ship, nor do I want it to happen in any way in canon, but like, part of the reason Zutara works so well is that it’s not a hero/villain ship. It’s enemies-to-lovers, for sure, but the vast majority of us ship it because of Zuko’s redemption arc.

Yeah, you’ll see ‘I’ll save you from the pirates’ UST jokes, and a lot of us started shipping it back in book 1, but it was obvious from the beginning that Zuko was going to get redeemed. He may have been a villain, but he was never the villain–he was narratively placed as the secondary protagonist (deuteragonist) of the show from his very first appearance. He was given his own narrative arc that had little to do with the main plotline of Aang’s journey, because while his own journey ran parallel to the gaang, it was separate and distinct because he was on his way to his own redemption even then.

Zuko Alone, in book 2, drove this home even further. You don’t give someone who isn’t the primary protagonist of the show an episode all to themselves (literally none of the gaang shows up for even a second) unless this is a character who’s meant to have just as much narrative significance as the main cast. Zuko was always going to join the gaang, and so much zutara meta and fanfic rests on how amazing and emotionally fulfilling their relationship development was, as friends, and that it would have made so much sense for their friendship to go even further.

Reylo doesn’t have any of that.

First of all, Kylo Ren is not Zuko–not even close. Kylo has far more agency in being dark than Zuko ever did. Ben Solo had loving parents and grew up in a supportive environment. His uncle ultimately made a mistake, sure, but a) we see three versions of that particular story: the sanitized version (luke), the demonized version (kylo), and the truth, and b) kylo already had the knights of ren all ready to go and slaughter a bunch of kids.

He was already dark. You don’t go and murderdeathkill a bunch of kids and people you’d ostensibly been raised with just because you saw your uncle standing over you with a lightsaber he clearly wasn’t going to actually use unless you were already making plans to do just that. You can blame as much of it as you want on Snoke and his influence, but that would be a little like blaming Palpatine for Anakin–yeah, he gets some of the blame for manipulating the situation, but Anakin’s still the one who made the choice to kill a temple full of children and choke out his own wife. Darth Vader may have, in the end, chosen to return to the light, but that doesn’t absolve him of the evils he chose to commit.

Kylo is, tragically, in the same narrative position as Darth Vader was in the original trilogy–and Vader couldn’t even bring himself to kill his son.  But Kylo chose to kill his father. And that, incidentally, is one of the places where Zuko and Kylo are essentially diametrically opposed. Zuko turned on Uncle Iroh, yes, but he didn’t cross a line from which there was no coming back–he didn’t kill him. He, in fact, kept going to see him, trying to figure out why the choice he’d made felt so wrong when it was supposed to be everything he’d always wanted. Meanwhile, Kylo murdered his own father because he was hoping to destroy that last link to his own humanity.

And he succeeded.

Furthermore, Rey is not Katara. I love them both, so much, but they are very different people, and different characters who fulfill different narrative spaces in their own stories. In Rey’s position, Katara would probably have killed Kylo in the throne room when he turned on her after killing Snoke. Or, placing Kylo in Zuko’s place in atla, if he’d killed Hakoda (remembering that Han was the only father figure rey’d ever known)? She would have destroyed him. No fucking mercy

Katara does not forgive easily. It took Zuko not only proving that he was on the side of good (which he did multiple times, one of which he even saved her father), but specifically proving to her that he cared for her and genuinely wanted to help–by helping her gain closure for her mother’s murder. She emotionally connected with Zuko in the crystal catacombs, sure, but when he turned on her she hated him and had no intention of turning back. (Even though, from Zuko’s perspective, it wasn’t a betrayal at all–he’d made no promises, and it was his sister offering him everything he’d ever wanted. As far as he was concerned, the only person he betrayed there was his uncle, which is why it took him so long to realize just why Katara hated him so much. And even then he needed her brother’s help to figure out how to fix it.)

On the other hand, Rey was ready, willing, even eager to believe that Kylo could be returned to the light side–could become Ben again. This after he’d done something utterly unforgiving right in front of her, and tried to kill her multiple times. (Notably, at no point during Zuko and Katara’s antagonistic relationship was Zuko actually trying to kill her. He was trying to capture Aang. The worst thing he did was burn down Suki’s village, and that was largely an accident, because he was trying to get to Aang to capture him–alive.) She wanted to believe there was good in him. Katara couldn’t have cared less, throughout the first two books–and then, when confronted with the fact that Zuko had suffered something to which she could relate, she connected with him… and he turned on her. (From her perspective, she’d just reached out and offered this boy a chance to prove he’d changed… and he threw it in her face. So yeah, she took it incredibly fucking personally.)

Even now, it’s possible that if Kylo comes at Rey with some ‘I’m really light now’ story, she’ll probably want to believe him. But even if Reylo happens (and I’ll stress that I really don’t think it’s going to, and if it does I’ll probably be bitterly disappointed, but what else is new) it won’t even remotely resemble Zutara because they are, at their core, incredibly different relationships. Katara didn’t start warming up to Zuko, after that book 2 betrayal, until after he’d proven himself again and again, and helped her begin to heal from the trauma she’d suffered as a child. Furthermore, Zuko was never that evil to begin with. He was being primed for a redemption arc from the start, and he never even came close to the sort of moral event horizon Kylo pole-vaulted over when he murdered a whole bunch of students in their beds and then killed his own father.

And here’s the thing a lot of these Zuko-lite redemption arcs don’t seem to understand–it’s not a one-size-fits-all storyline. You can’t just slap Zuko’s redemption arc on any old villain, because for a redemption to work, it needs to be tailored specifically to fit the villain in question. And most villains aren’t Zuko–he was a very special kind of ‘secondary protagonist who starts out bad and gets a little bit worse before he gets better and joins the good guys’, which most villains can’t hope to match. If you want to redeem someone who’s canonically done far more atrocious acts, their redemption has to encompass the fact that not only are they getting better, but they are actively atoning for the horrible things they’ve done.

Killian Jones, from Once Upon a Time, had a redemption arc which looked nothing like Zuko’s, because he wasn’t a villain like Zuko. His redemption involved not only coming to realize that he’d been doing bad things for a very long time in search of a vengeance which was, ultimately, not what he really wanted or needed, but also making amends to the people he’d hurt over his very long life (those he still could help, at least). (Interestingly enough, that same show had a great example of a horribly botched redemption, in which we were supposed to take it on faith that the character was Good Now even though she’d never once expressed either remorse for the evil she’d committed [which was a lot more evil than Killian ever had] or a desire to make amends to those she’d wronged. In fact, come the end of the show, she still had a vault full of stolen hearts she’d never so much as made an effort to return, even though many of their owners were, ostensibly, in the same town she’d created through one of her many acts of villainy. It was… kind of strange, to say the least, to see how they could get one villain’s redemption so right and another’s so horribly wrong.)

Anyway, tl;dr: the upshot of this all is, Kylo Ren is not Zuko–he’s not even close–and Rey is not Katara. Their relationships look nothing alike, and even if Kylo is redeemed, it’s not going to look anything like Zuko’s redemption–partly because Zuko was never that bad to begin with and Kylo would have much more for which to atone, partly because their narrative journeys are so very very different–and I have never understood the comparison beyond a very surface-level reading of their character aesthetics.

#zutara #zuko #katara #anti reylo #(just in case) #Anonymous #asked

[delicatefury]

Grey Dawn Breaking day 3: You do realize this is basically me outlining the plot, right?

It’s not even subtle. As such, things written here may or may not be entirely accurate to the final product.

Anyway... on to the show!

****Spoilers ahead because I don’t know how to read-more on mobile****

I know you’re all anxious to see the Zuko+Iroh talk go down, but I’d just like to take a moment to catch up with the rest of the Gaang and how they’re handling all of this. I just want to make it clear though, that I love every single member of the Gaang. Like if I wasn’t so invested in GDB, I’d probably write at least a one shot of all this happening to Aang instead and him just being like “In this timeline, Avatar’s chase you!” Before kidnapping Zuko onto a life-changing field trip, because it has to work in reverse, right?

That’s not this story, though, and GDB is eating me up inside and I need that attention for the bar exam. So without further ado...

—————

So, right off the bat, Aang’s been given even more responsibility from the get-go. Not only does he have to master all four elements by the end of summer, defeat the firelord, and save the world, he also has to find Avatar Roku’s great (great) grandson so they can help him find a person who made a deal with a dark spirit to do who knows what and that problem might actually take priority!

In usual Aang fashion, he manages to both kinda ignore it, but also worry about it all the time. Which is avoidance and an issue he struggles with and that as never fully resolved (because while I love the Zuko-episodes, the fact that they’re the last ones before the finale means that some really important pre-finale growth for Aang kinda got shuffled to the side. Just a smidge). What this means story-wise is that Aang is internally anxious but keeps his cheerful facade up complete with side-trips and nonesense.

Which also means that he’s fully on board for searching for “curios” on suspicious ships.

Meanwhile, Sokka and Katara are the only witnesses to Avatar Roku singleing Zuko out during their great escape. When they tell Aang about what they saw (but didn’t hear) they joke that maybe Roku was trying to scare the prince away. After all, Zuko looked pretty shaken after Roku smiled at him. What could that be if not a threat?

(That’s a boy with severe self-esteem issues getting approval from someone he never expected to get it from, comics-be-damned.)

Water Bending Scroll happens similar but differently. Katara’s captured a little later, but not by much, but what’s weird is that when Zuko shows up, he’s creeping in the shadows, not being all stomping and yelling like she’s used to. He, well, asks to save her from the pirates. Actually the exchange is more “will you stop wriggling and let me cut you free?!”(whisper-yelled) “What the - Zuko?!” (Very loud shout). Zuko’s forced to recover, offers the bounty for Katara (she hears that he’s willing to buy her. He will later be upset that that’s how she interprets his actions, yet she gives no thought to what pirates would do), accidentally lets slip that there’s a bounty on her companions too, and well, the rest goes as described in last post.

Between this and Crescent Island and Aang’s secondary quest, the Gaang gets a lot to talk about in their bits in between Zuko’s woes. A lot of it focusing on Zuko’s slightly, but not actually, out of character actions. And one accurate but dismissed joke from Sokka that “Hey, maybe Zuko’s Roku’s grandkid!”.

Actually, there’s a lot to going on with Sokka, Katara, and Aang while Zuko’s stressing out on the Wani, and while Zuko’s our traveler, Avatar (and by extension GDB) is sort of an ensemble story with each character getting a pretty well developed arc/personality and I intend to do the same here.

But back to Zuko, because he’s still the main driving force of this plot.

____________

In all honesty, I’ve blocked this scene out on multiple drives to and from work (I haven’t moved yet, so I still get 20+ minutes each way), and I have made myself cry. But The Padawan Discussion from TDPL did too, and people seemed to love that.

But... you won’t be getting the full cry version. This is just the outline. But it’s a very detailed outline.

I’ve gone over this scene a lot.

_______________

Zuko cleans himself up after his training and goes to join his uncle for tea. It takes a while to psych himself up. He’s fully aware that he’s pretty poorly equipped to handle this... everything... on his own. He needs guidance. He needs help. He needs Uncle. But the guilt is eating him up alive and this is probably the most terrifying thing he’s ever done, and that includes facing Ozai in the Agni Kai arena and in the underground throne room.

He remembers Sokka telling him that Uncle would be proud of him. He knows Katara would say that his sincerity would speak for itself. Toph would tell him to toughen up and just go in, while Suki would remind him to stop thinking only about worst-case scenarios.

And Aang would tell him that sometimes, you just need to take a leap of faith.

With that thought, he goes in.

Uncle is waiting with tea in the pot. Zuko carefully keeps the table between them, instead of sitting off to the side. He sees the hurt in Uncle Iroh’s eyes, but he needs the barrier. He feels like he’s taking advantage of his Uncle if he accepts the comfort.

Uncle Iroh does what he’s best at and approaches his problem from an angle. He compliments Zuko’s bending, and the seeming progress. Makes idle chitchat while he pours the tea and waits for Zuko’s first sip. And sighs in relief when it’s spat back out. Zuko’s incensed. Why the hell is his tea so salty?!

And Iroh explains what Zuko has missed. The men have been gossiping that a Spirit has taken Zuko’s place or put a spell on him or possessed him. Since Zuko’s reaction to the salt was entirely human (and not, you know, dropping an illusion, or fleeing to the spirit world, etc.) Iroh can now let the men know that their prince is not possessed by any spirits. But Zuko asks about spirit deals. He’s not stupid, and he has probably researched every possible lead on the Avatar. He thinks he has an idea of what happened.

And Uncle Iroh automatically assumes it was Zuko who made the deal. In denying it, and explaining that he’s pretty sure Azula’s done something like that, details of what happened start to come out. Even the fact that Zuko’s 8 months displaced. And Iroh takes it all in stride. Until he asks Zuko if it has anything to do with why he’s avoiding him. If he had done something to anger his nephew.

Zuko, haltingly, forces himself to explain that it’s all his own fault. That he screwed up and ruined everything and how the guilt ate him up every time he looked at his uncle. And when he takes a breath after going on about how much Iroh will be disappointed in him when he knows just how bad he screwed up, Iroh pulls him into a hug, tea and table be damned. He’s an old man and he knows himself better than anyone, even Zuko, and there’s nothing in the world Zuko could do that would ever make Iroh hate him. And that Zuko’s so remorseful and so obviously pained, how could he do anything but forgive him?

So Zuko tells him a very abridged version of the most eventful 8 months of his life. Chasing the Avatar to the poles, their lives as fugitives in the Earth Kingdom and refugees in Ba Sing Se, the tea shops, and Zuko’s first encounter with a spirit fever. With context, Zuko’s betrayal is both more painful and more understandable and Iroh hugs him again before the apologies can start. Then the return to the Fire Nation, the Day of the Black Sun, and Iroh’s happiest surprise of the day, his nephew joining the Avatar as his teacher.

Then they finally get to what started the whole line of questioning: Zuko’s use of the dancing dragon form.

And when the story’s finished, Iroh asks Zuko to show him the full form. His nephew shouldn’t worry about what the crew may think, he’s already coming up with a half-true cover story.

______

This... this ended up being a lot more detailed than I intended. I’m sure you all don’t mind, but still.

Anyway... I stayed up too late. But once I got started writing this out, I needed to keep going. Here’s hoping I don’t regret it in the morning.

#fury writes #gdb #gdb spoilers #grey dawn breaking #Avatar #the last airbender #Zuko #Uncle Iroh #Katara #Aang #fanfic #If this scene #when fully written #does not make at least one person cry #I shall be very disappointed in myself

[sassyshoulderangel319]

18. Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased? 19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom? 20. What is the purest ship in the fandom? 21. What are your thoughts on crack ships? 22. Popular character you hate? 23. Unpopular character you love? 24. Would you recommend Avatar or Kingdom Hearts to a friend? Why or why not? 25. How would you end Avatar or Kingdom Hearts/Would you change the endings? 26/27. Most and least shippable characters?

18. No? It means you don’t like the character’s relationship dynamic and/or just don’t personally enjoy the idea of them in a relationship.

19. Again: when people start yelling at the creators/actors for doing or not doing something they didn’t like. Fandoms: That’s what fanfiction is for. Don’t like it? Fix it. Don’t yell at the real people with real feelings behind the content because your ship isn’t canon or your ship sank in canon when Character A broke up with Character B.

20. Sanders Sides: Probably... Logicality? Any ship with Patton in it has the purest feeling to me. ATLA: Possibly an unpopular opinion but I actually really love Kataang. They do have a well-built relationship to me and Aang is such a sunshine bean. Kingdom Hearts: definitely Sora X Kairi. Those two are like literally pure.

21. Listen, as long as they’re not shipping adults with minors or incest, ship away. Ship Charlie Weasley with Salazaar Slytherin if you’re that crazy. I don’t care. Just don’t be gross and enjoy the crack ships.

22. ... None really. I like all the Sanders Sides. I like the KH characters (except Xehanort and his stupid time travel and DiZ is just not a Good Guy). I love the ATLA characters.

23. Uh... not “unpopular” so much as just “secondary character who doesn’t get much attention”: Zexion/Ienzo.

24. HECK TO THE FREAKING YEAH! I CAN AND HAVE RECOMMENDED AVATAR TO FRIENDS! AND KINGDOM HEARTS! They’re both awesome. Kingdom Hearts is fun for all its inconsistencies that make me want to jam a Keyblade through a punching bag, and Avatar is just so well-written and well-executed.

25. I wouldn’t change the ATLA ending. I think it was good where it ended. Kingdom Hearts’ ending to the Dark Seeker Saga on the other hand... that’s a rant for another day. Some of it was cheap and unearned and the maze was kinda weird and I’d definitely want to expand on some of the stuff that happened. Like, where did Xion and Vanitas even come from?! I’d change it a “little bit.”

26/27. Uh... Sanders Sides: All of them are the most shippable. ATLA: Uh... most shippable seems to end up on Katara I guess. Least I’d probably say Suki just because she only ever really showed interest in Sokka? Kingdom Hearts: honestly I’m not much of a shipper in Kingdom Hearts so... most is probably Sora and least... I don’t know, Mickey freaking Mouse?

I should mention that I’m not much of a shipper in general so these are just vague ideas from both the fandom and my own opinion.

[aquaburst3]

Because I’m bored and need to straighten out my own headcanons, I’m gonna list off even more characters in my Reverse Voltron fic.    I’m not gonna list off every character and OC, since that’d take forever. I’m only gonna do the most notable secondary characters or other major characters I forgot to mention before, who are based on past Voltron characters. 

Also, if you don’t want to be spoiled for my fic, don’t read this. This will contain massive spoilers. 

Villains 

Merla:  She was once Lotor’s friends and even partner’s in crime with Lotor, being the one that broke him out of the pod when he was 15, being around the same age as him. She sided with him since they were both former Galra royalty, her being distantly related to a broken off section of the Galra royal family, who wanted to fort Emperor Alfor. That changed when Lotor left her behind on a mission, leaving her for dead, around a year before the events of the fic.  Feeling like she was betrayed and angry, she joins Alfor’s side, not only to infiltrate his empire and break it apart from the inside, but also to make Lotor pay. Because of this, she’s a huge thorn in Lotor’s side. In addition that, she also secretly hates Alteans and everything they stand for, wanting the empire to burn to a crisp for killing off the Galra on Daibazaal and after everything they did.  After all, nothing is more deadly than a woman’s scorn. 

Like Lotor, she uses tech, which she also made,  in her plans. She has a mental mind link with her pet vulture, Vicious, who tells her if someone has ill intentions towards her.  She also has her own team of generals, comprised of  the OC Ako (the yandere of the team, being kinda like Himiko from Hero Aca) and Kala (being more quiet and calculating along with the muscle of the group). Ironically, they are merely under her command and she’s prepared to toss them to the sharks, not mourning their loss, if she must. And she’s building a machine that can tap into other realities and send people into a reality to live out their worst nightmares.

 When she confronts the paladins for the first time, she makes Azora (Ezor) an offer to join her team for a short while and then she’d send her back to Earth to be with her family again. Ultimately, Azora turns down this offer and stays the Blue paladin.   When Lotor’s teammates figure about Lotor’s past betrayal, it does make them question on a small level whether something like that will happen again, especially for Azora  and Nasrin (Narti). 

Later on, she’s the only other villains who side with Go Lion outside of Allura and her squad, only because she deep down wants the empire to stop too, but more so reluctantly. She also helps out Lotor’s generals once in awhile out of similar goals, but will never admit it out of both pride and her scorn for Lotor.

Personality wise, she’s a scheming plotter, much like Lotor. Unlike Lotor in this version, she is more willingly to do ruthless tactics to get what she wants. She makes a lot of snappy remarks, mostly at Lotor’s expense. 

 The best way to describe her is that she’s like Missy from Doctor Who or Demona from Gargolyes.

(As a side note, she wears armour similar to Lotor’s ex generals and the other female Galra in VLD, not the weird armour she wore in DOTU or that dominatrices outfit she wore in the comics)

Avok: He’s a general under Alfor. He’s Allura’s distant cousin (since he’s born closer to the present while she was born 10 000 years ago and recently woke up from cyrosleep), but is still very closely linked to the Altean royal family, who is only siding with them in order to be in their good graces and gain more power, possibly the throne, for himself. 

He was almost engaged to be Allura’s husband, but this was changed when it was decided that Keith would be in a political arranged marriage with Allura to unite the last living Galra on Mamora and the Alteans in a false image of peace.  Because of this, he despises Keith for getting his way and wants him to pay for stopping his plans. 

He also is deadly because he’s Romelle’s brother and she’s the leader of the Guns of Gamora. Romelle has to be extra careful to avoid his gaze otherwise it would be game over for all of the rebels. 

Personality wise, he’s very ambitious and a deadly fighter, but lacks any sort of cunning and any sort of hard core planning to make his goals a reality, which is part of the reason why Romelle has been able to avoid him for all these years. Make no mistake, that ambition and willing to do anything to get ahead does make him a very powerful threat. 

Wade:  He’s the new leader of Galaxy Garrison, replacing Iverson, along with being a powerful player in world politics. There’s a lot more to him than that. He’s in league with Emperor Alfor, who has his sights on Earth as his next target to make it more peaceful and under his empire’s control along with turning the more rebellious humans into non-cogs. By teaming up with Alfor, he wants to be the new leader of Earth, proving his technology is superior and his philosophy of working to the top in the process. He also wants said power to protect his loved ones from Alfor as well. He’s also building another mecha on Earth by taking Go Lion’s blue prints and reverse engineering them in order to have a even more powerful weapon to combat it; this mecha’s called Robotech.

While he lacks psychical strength, he makes up with military cunning and being very cut throat, being even willing to kill teenagers to come out on top.  He is also very disciplined and honourable, believing that you have to earn in order to be at the top, which is another reason why he despises the paladins for inheriting Go Lion instead of creating it.

The best way to describe him is a mixture between Lex Luther and Wrath from FMAB.  He doesn’t show up until the 3rd “season” and is the main villain of that arc.

Heroes

Romelle:   Romelle is the leader and creator of the Guns of Gamora, being around the same age psychically as Allura, along with being Allura’s distant look-like cousin. Even when the paladins first meet her, they are thrown for a loop since she looks like Allura with shorter hair. 

Romelle is very direct in her leadership, being willing to get her hands dirty to get things done in the organisation. She is very compassionate and loving, but not a person to trifled with. She’s also very calm and level-headed when it comes to dealing with politics, being able to see both sides of a situation and set her own emotions aside to do the greater good.  She is willing to give people a chance before passing judgement, being brave, spirited and determined as well. Allura is just learning about what happened to her kingdom while she was in the cyropod and is still very unaware of some of the horrible things going on, Romelle, meanwhile, has a better grasps of politics and what’s really going on under the surface of the empire her uncle has created due to being in this world since she was born. She can be overbearing and over protective as well, being to safe with her plans before she loosens up more, along with not being good at thinking on her toes. The best way to describe her is that she’s like Suki from Avatar.

 Romelle and Lotor don’t get along very well. They set their ill will towards each other aside for the bigger picture, forming an alliance. 

Bandar:  He’s still a child, being around 10. He’s a kid, who wants to be an adult, having a bigger role in the rebel organisation and be a badass fighter. But due to Romelle’s over protective nature, he is kept from the fighting. He often rebels and disobeys orders to fight. He can be playful and carefree, but still tries to come off as more mature.  He’s sorta like Aang only with a more rebellious streak

Hys: The best way describe her is that she’s like Miss Beakly from the Ducktales reboot. She’s a member of the Guns of Gamora, who took on the position of being Bandar’s nanny. She’s a stern and strict woman, but is very loving and caring to those dear to her.   She’s also a deadly fighter when she needs to be. 

Cossack:  He starts off as a low ranking general, who only became one due to being a noble's son, being stationed on the planet that Green teleports Nasrin to after the paladin’s first battle with Alfor. After finding her knocked out in the middle of the woods in broken paladin armour, he takes her to a dissolute base in order to put her into a healing pod before she dies from her wounds. After awakening from the pod, Nasrin fights him at first, but calms down after realising that he was the one to help her and gave her a chance, his people needing of her help.  Over the course of time, she helps the people of Mamora rebel against the Alteans and Nasrin gives him the courage to fight back and join the rebels. She and Cossack get crushes on each other, starting to date as well later on.

He’s around the same age as Lotor.   (Tbh, I’m not sure about his age in the original series since he has wrinkles like Haggar and even seems to have a crush on her, but acts like he’s in his early 20s like Lotor. I’m screwing the rules and just saying he’s a teenager like the rest of them to make my life easier.)

Personality wise, he’s a bit more of a goof ball and tries to lighten up the mood when things get too tense, but can get serious when the situation calls for it, kinda like Lance in the canon. He has insecurity issues and wants to be a powerful warrior like his father, puffing himself up in order to sooth his ego. Over time, he learns that he can be a strong fighter in his own right. He also lies to cover his own ass, which bites him in said ass when dealing with his superiors. Despite this, he does have a brave and noble heart, being abrasive, passionate, can over explain his plans and sceptical as well.  The best way to describe him is being a mixture of canon!Lance and Sokka. 

Dorma: She’s Cossack’s sister.   (As a side note, yes; I know Hazar is Dorma’s brother according to Vehicle Voltron...despite her being Hazar’s slave in Dairugger from what I heard. But due to Hazar and Kolivan being pretty much the same character, it would be super redundant to add him in as well.) 

Due to growing up during the war, she is tries to be mature, nurturing and motherly to her younger brother, much to his dismay, because he’s only a year younger than her. She tends to be more logical about things, but is willing to give situations and people a chance, too. Like her brother, she joins the rebels later on after seeing the bigger picture of things. She’s compassionate and a good fighter as well. 

The best way to describe her is that she’s like Katara from Avatar personality wise, but fights like Korra. 

Commander Shinji Hawkins: He’s the Matt/Shiro parallel in the series. He was one of the members, who were abducted on the Kerboros Mission.  Like Matt, he was broken out of prison and moved up the ranks to be fairly high up in the rebel command. Personality wise, he is level headed, valuing to be more calm and diplomatic about things. Like Shiro, he can explode if you press his buttons enough. He has PTSD from his days of captivity. As you might imagine, he faced a fair amount of Shinji Iraki jokes back at the Garrisons. He doesn’t show up until later on, like Matt, and is unaware what happened to his teammates Graham and Marshall. 

#aqua rambles