#it's finally here... my ty lee thesis statement :)

[kyoshi-lesbians]

Ty Lee | all-american bitch

I know my place and this is it

[video description: an amv centered on Ty Lee set to “all-american bitch” by Olivia Rodrigo. The video focuses on Ty Lee's dynamic with Azula throughout the years, and juxtaposes Ty Lee's bubbly flirty persona with her extremely efficient chi-blocking fighting style and shrewd observations. end description.]

cw for flashing. extended video description under the cut

First verse contrasts scenes of Ty Lee, Azula, and Mai as children with scenes of Azula threatening Ty Lee in Return to Omashu, and from then on being a weapon for Azula in her mission. Scenes mainly pull from the trio’s early book 2 action as they chase Aang. 

First chorus: on “Forgive and I forget”: Ty Lee mid-air doing a flip cuts to young Ty Lee landing a flip. young Azula pushes young Ty Lee to the ground and laughs. Ty Lee chi-blocks a kyoshi warrior on "And I act like it. She flirts with Sokka on “Got what you can’t resist” and chi-blocks Katara on “perfect all-american”

Second verse features mainly scenes from the end of book 2 when Ty Lee, Azula, and Mai are in Ba Sing Se disguised as Kyoshi warriors. Many of the scenes show Ty Lee being undignified, contrasting with the lyrics (but fitting the ironic tone of the song). These scenes include Ty Lee jumping into the sludge during The Drill, her covered in mud, and flying through the air with Mai after Appa flaps his tail at them. 

Second chorus: “Forgive and forget”: Ty Lee after her circus performance agreeing to join Azula. Other clips juxtapose Ty Lee during The Beach with Ty Lee fighting during The Boiling Rock. 

“I know my place”: Rapid cuts of Ty Lee and Mai beside Azula, cut to Ty Lee anxiously looking side to side during The Boiling Rock confrontation. On the second “I know my place”: Rapid cuts of Ty Lee hugging Mai, and Mai and Azula preparing to fight. 

“And this is it”: Ty Lee chi-blocks Azula. 

Bridge: Scenes from the fallout of Ty Lee betraying Azula - Mai and Ty Lee being arrested −  cut together with Ty Lee’s emotional outburst during The Beach campfire scenes. During the screaming and fast-paced music, there are rapid cuts of Ty Lee fighting and moments beside Azula, in between cuts shots of Ty Lee crying. 

Outro: Ty Lee bowing to Azula during Return to Omashu. Then Ty Lee crying during The Beach party, and Azula apologizing to her. 

#it's finally here... my ty lee thesis statement :) #apologies again for bringing usamericans anywhere near atla ...... but . you know. empire for an empire #this is literally the first time i've edited a video on any program at all in over a DECADE #and of course the ideas/moments that inspired me to do this whole thing were the most technically complicated to do lmao #i learned so much for this please clap #finally. shoutout to o who I literally could not have done it without! #and to every atla fanvid I studied... mutuals you are all so skilled! <3 #flashing cw #ty lee #amv #r.post

[oneatlatime]

The Crossroads of Destiny

Strap in folks it's finally finale time!

I'm getting a bad feeling from the 'previously on' segment.

*gasp* Song's bird horse!?!?!

Toph gets some serious speed with that earth tongue walking.

Ty Lee's flattery gets less and less subtle. I get the feeling that a lot of Azula's more worrying tendencies could have been curtailed if someone had stuck her on stage as a child.

Is Zuko taller?

The cuts between these scenes are getting ridiculous. Some of these scenes are maybe 15 seconds long.

Zuko knows what's up. He and Iroh have teamed up on that particular fire breathing party trick before.

"It's time I face Azula." Buddy. No.

"You're so dramatic." POT. KETTLE. BLACK.

The last time Iroh and the Aang Gang teamed up, it was also against Azula. She has a way of uniting enemies.

The longer I stare at this the more I giggle.

"Good inside him isn't enough. Why don't you come back when it's outside him too, ok?" Congratulations to Sokka for articulating one of the fundamental human truths. Intentions can go take a hike when all that's visible are actions.

I love that! Iroh says he brought someone along in a tone that very much implies that he asked for help from a friend! Then you go outside and see he kidnapped a dude! And then they just leave him there!

I see your fake meditation. No one as rotten inside as this guy actually meditates properly.

The Dai Li be like

Katara? Why are you ripping into Zuko? Why is Season one bitchy Katara back? I don't want season 1 bitchy Katara to come back.

"No offence." "None taken." Iroh loves his nephew, but Iroh knows his nephew.

The one time Iroh's advice is explicitly solicited is the one time his advice is corny crap. That sucks.

Ba Sing Se is a tel? That's neat.

Hey Toph? Now would be a great time for that new metal bending trick of yours.

Avatar inadvertently validating my fear of subway grates.

I know this is life or death serious and all, but isn't the Sokka and Ty Lee dynamic cute?

MOMO!

This episode's thesis statement boils down to "what happens when you cancel arts programs and theatre kids don't get a chance to monologue in controlled conditions."

Honest question: Is Azula actually so deluded to believe that Divine Right of Kings crap she just spouted, or is she saying what the Dai Li needs to hear to side with her? Usually I think everything out of Azula's mouth is a calculated statement for manipulating others, but the way the show framed that monologue makes me think she actually believes what she's saying.

This conversation between Katara and Zuko, aside from showing that Katara is as capable as Sokka at sticking her foot in her mouth, is actually showing Zuko's growth well. So many of the things that he waves away with an "it's ok" are things that would have made him explode back in season one. It's about time he redefined that scar of his too.

"Aang! I knew you'd come!" "Uncle! The fuck?" Zuko truly has a way with words.

Hey Iroh maybe save your heart to heart until after you've exited the prison?

Wait so this episode is named after Zuko's arc? It's Zuko's destiny this finale is dealing with? Poor Aang's not even the main character in his eponymous show's season finale? Dang.

What was I saying about waiting to chat until you're outside the prison?

So every word out of Azula's mouth here is definitely a lie. She doesn't need Zuko at all. She's got a whole army and already has possession of the throne. What does she need with someone she considers to be an inferior firebender?

Father's love? That guy who burns off faces? The audacity.

"You are free to choose." Is it really freedom of choice if choosing the answer Azula doesn't want to hear ends with Zuko in a crystal cage?

Gotta say I'm intrigued by how quiet Zuko's being for this whole episode. Compare it to the volume of his confrontation with Azula at the Spa place at the beginning of the season.

This is so awful. This is so skin crawly. This is so going to end badly.

Toph can turn doors into ping pong balls. I like that. And what does she need Sokka scouting for Dai Li agents for? She can sense people for miles.

I love the line read on the "I'm not leaving without Bosco!" But does this guy really think he's in a position to make demands, after all the stuff he's ruined in the last, what, two days?

This is a cool move. Full body air bitchslap.

Katara cut her hair! That's kind of like what she did to Pakku with the ice disks.

How has no one been knocked out yet? Everyone in this fight should have at least 5 concussions by now.

I don't know what to make of it, but when Zuko says "I have changed" he sounds more calm and confident than he has all season.

I love the dynamic between Sokka & Toph and Mai & Ty Lee. Everyone involved knows they're second string and no one's really that invested. So they're all kind of chill.

I don't know what's going on in this fight, but Zuko is far too talented and Katara and Aang are both going down too easily.

And this right here is why this fight is only going to end badly for Aang. As soon as Azula's tired of playing, she'll call in reinforcements. Aang doesn't have those.

I hate Azula so much, which means I'm very annoyed to say that she and Zuko actually make a good fighting team. Did they practice drills together or something back in the day? They way they tag out and back in, and exchange fights, flows so well.

Jesus

Crap ok

She nerfed him in the power up sequence! That's not allowed!

So help me god if the writers hook these two up after pulling this crap I will riot.

Iroh could have been helpful if he'd been there earlier. Guess it takes a while to break out of crystals. Although I do like the detail that he stops fighting as soon as Aang and Katara are out & safe.

I was wondering why the magic water was randomly brought up earlier after disappearing for the entire season. I figured it had been lost in the desert with the rest of the stuff on Appa's saddle.

I'm so sorry, but the way Aang's arrow flashes once to confirm that Katara's saved him makes him look like an external USB device confirming successful connection.

I'm loving how immediate the regret from Zuko is. Proof that he has learned over the last two seasons.

"The Earth Kingdom... has fallen." AND WHOSE FAULT IS THAT? This King rubs me the wrong way. Consistently.

I'm fascinated by the fact that they managed to securely transport a bear on Appa's back.

Final Thoughts

Poor Aang has been demoted to secondary character in his own show. This finale was all Fire Nation.

Well done Azula. No matter which way you look at it, she won. If Azula was the main character, this episode would be the crowning glory series finale.

Sokka and Toph spent the whole episode running around putting out fires, only for five more to spring up in their place. I honestly don't know how they and Appa reconnected with the rest of the Gaang to fly out at the end. There's this feeling the whole episode of being consistently one too many steps behind, and I think it's most obvious in their incessant side quests.

Poor Katara went through about seventy billion emotions this episode. I take back my anger at her bitchiness. She deserved a vent session, although I don't think Zuko quite deserved to be the recipient of it. But he took it well.

Congratulations to Zuko for falling backwards into the only right choice for all the wrong reasons. This episode was only going to end with Azula victorious. She recruited an army and successfully executed a coup without breaking a sweat - that is not a level of enemy that Aang and friends has ever faced before, and not one they can realistically win against. Like with Long Feng, this is not a threat you can hit. You can't bend at ideologies and loyalties.

Zuko was going to end this episode siding with the Fire Nation as a free man, or in Fire Nation custody. This way, someone with an actual semi-functioning conscience now has access to the upper levels of the Fire Nation. This could be really interesting.

To be clear, I fully believe that Zuko chose to side with Azula because he swallowed her offer hook, line & sinker. For the guy who invented "Azula always lies" he sure does fall for her lies a lot, especially when she's saying exactly what he wants to hear. I believe Zuko believed her about getting his honour back bla bla bla, chose to follow her because of that belief, and has already realised at least some of what she said was lies by the end of the episode. Which is promising! It looks like there's potential for a Zuko mole next season!

I'm worried for Iroh. Firelords who burn their children's faces off with no shame don't strike me as the type to shy away from executing their brothers.

The Aang fakeout death at the end was not remotely believable unfortunately, mostly because kids' cartoons don't ever pull a Psycho and kill the nominal main character half way through. It probably would have freaked me out if I'd seen this episode as a kid though.

Azula hitting Aang during his power up sequence was inspired. A very well done subversion of expectations, which finally validates my frustrations with the concept of power up sequences in general. Few things bug me more than the mooks politely waiting their turn while the good guy does a quick wardrobe change.

So... is the war over? The Earth Kingdom's fallen, the Southern Water Tribe have been functionally out of the game for a while now. There's only the Northern Water Tribe left, which are only still standing because of a Hail Mary that I very much doubt Aang can pull off twice. So is next season's focus going to be defending the Northern Water Tribe from a final Fire Nation push? I think that's the only place that isn't conquered by the Fire Nation in name at least. On the bright side, this means the Gaang won't be returning to Ba Sing Se. Good riddance. I hate that place.

I've never seen a show with a finale that focuses so intensely on the conflict of someone other than the main character. I don't really know what to make of this episode. I think I liked the one before it better. To be clear, everything that happened made sense - characters were in character, events unfolded as expected (if you handwave an elite force of earthbenders preferring a 14 year old over their seasoned leader), but something about this episode is just a bit boring to me. Maybe they telegraphed it too hard in the previous episodes? I don't know. I'll have to chew on this one a bit.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #the crossroads of destiny #a resounding meh

[hyacinths-in-a-storm]

Museum Visits and Past Lives

Tyzula Week: Day 5 Reincarnation/Soulmates

You can read it here on archive of our own as well

A/N: I don't know how to flirt, which I feel is clearly communicated through this fic

For Azula’s senior thesis, she had gone with the topic of love.

Of course if she told her professors that they would laugh in her face. There were so many types of love and so many different ways of interpreting it that it would take an eternity to formulate and write it all. She had so many examples from just from her own life to draw upon.

She could talk about her parents who met under unsavory conditions to say the least, and yet stayed together through the hardest of times, raising a family with the gentlest hand. She could talk about the persistent love between her brother and his boyfriend. They had dated in high school, broke up and found each other again at some obscure bar, now they were planning their wedding.

Of course there were types of love that had nothing to do with romance. The type of love between her and Zuzu. One second they were fighting like dogs, Azula making some snide comment about the birth-mark that covered a good portion of his face, Zuko responding with kicking her knees in, and the next second Zuko was asking what Azula wanted from McDonalds on his way home from work. Then there was the relationship between her father and his brother. There was a tenseness, courtesy of their father who had kept them at each other's throats for years. Yet when Uncle Iroh called just before dinnertime on a warm summer day, crying that his wife had finally succumbed to stage 4 breast cancer, Father promptly closed his computer, got up, and drove one and half hours to comfort him.

The point Azula is trying to make was that there were a lot of different types of love, and if she had to spend one more hour trying to come up with a thesis statement about it, she was going to explode. Which is why she was here today sitting down on a bench in the Republic National Museum of History, at the Post-War Era exhibit.

She was staring at an ink painting. It was uncharacteristically calm compared to the other paintings which depicted either gory battles or assassinations. This painting showed a calm pond with five people, even the lines in the painting seemed slightly blurred, further adding to the softness of the picture. There was a man with a cup of tea in the background, he seemed to be motioning at the painter to join them, two kids, both girls, chased each other around the duck pond. But what caught Azula’s attention was the last two women, who were leaning against each other. One of them was dipping her head while the other whispered in her ear. According to the plaque they were “General Azula, and her companion Kyoshi Warrior Ty Lee” the purposeful vagueness of the phrasing piqued her interest. She would have to make sure she researched it when she got home.

Azula’s thoughts were interrupted by a clearing throat. She turns to see a girl standing next to her.

“Hi, can I sit here next to you?” she asks,

“Oh of course, go ahead.” she says making space for her, and the girl settles down next to her,

“It’s a rather pretty painting.” she says, motioning to painting,

“It is.” Azula agrees, there’s no one else around in this exhibit, and the silence stretches out between them,

“Did you know that there is significant evidence to show that those two women over there, General Azula and Kyoshi Warrior Ty Lee, were lovers.” the stranger said, pointing at the two women,

“Really? What was the evidence?” Azula was intrigued now,

“Well for starters, General Azula gifted Ty Lee the head piece of royal consort.” she said, her eyes sparkling with amusement,

“What a good friend.” Azula snickered,

“Exactly, supposedly they even shared the same chambers, just like close friends do.” Azula had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing,

“That was my response when I first heard about it too. Well, that and the fact I shared a name with the Kyoshi Warrior.”

“Your name is Ty Lee?” Azula asked,

“Yep, my mom was a Kyoshi warrior so she wanted her daughter to have a name that reflected that.”

“That’s so strange, my name is Azula.”

“Really?” Ty Lee looked at her in surprise,

“Yeah, my mom is a historian, she specializes in Fire Nation history, specifically the 100-Year-War Era, and the Era of Peace. Her senior thesis was on General Azula I think, and she liked the name so much she named me Azula.” Azula told her, “What a coincidence right?”

“It really is.” Ty Lee paused for a second as if weighing two options, “So, do you come here often?” she finally asked,

“I used to, when I was kid, my mom worked as a curator here for ten years so we get free entry whenever we want. I haven’t been able to come here as often because of college.” Azula sighed,

“Oh that’s cool, what major?” Ty lee propped her chin up with her hand, staring intently her,

“Psychology.” Azula’s heart started to beat a little harder, when she noticed the extra attention,

“Really? So do I! I study developmental psychology, what about you?” she asked,

“Mental illnesses mostly, things like anxiety and depression and how they can affect a person physically and emotionally. We’re just full of coincidences today, aren’t we?” Ty lee laughed at that, which brought me a sense of joy four years of psychology couldn’t explain, so I just nodded, biting the inside of my cheek to stop me from smiling like an idiot,

Ty Lee’s phone rang, interrupting the moment. She looked at the screen sighing,

“Well that’s my cue to leave, but it was nice talking to you Azula.” she said with a slight bow,

“It was nice talking to you as well.” Azula responded, hoping that her blush wasn’t as obvious as thought it was,

“Oh, and before I leave, could I have your number?”

“Hmm? Oh of course-” she rattled of the numbers in a slight haze, Ty Lee nodded and waved, as she watched her leave she heard her phone ring,

“Hello Azula? You left your books-” her mother said, the second she picked up the phone,

“Mom this is going sound weird, but I need to thank you for naming me Azula.” she interrupted first,

“Oh- ok, that's great sweetheart?” her mother asked, perplexed, Azula cast one last glance at the painting, before walking away.

A/N: No, I'm in fact not immune to the trope of meeting your reincarnated lover in a museum exhibit dedicated to your past life

#tyzula week 2023 #tyzula #azula #ty lee #ty lee x azula #azula x ty lee #Day 5: Reincarnation/Soulmates

[davidmann95]

Did you enjoy Detective Comics #1027?

Anonymous said: Detective Comics 1027?

adudewholikescomicsandotherstuff said: Tec 1027?

Anonymous said: Thoughts on Detective Comics 1027 ?

My own cover of choice since the main one while also very good was a wrap-around, which doesn’t work quite as well for a 144-page beast like this (plus in place of that there’s a cool spooky Batman silhouette on the back). And I did enjoy it! Unfortunately it isn’t as much of a tier unto itself relative to its anniversary brethren of the last couple years (Batman’s 5th next to Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern’s one apiece, and the entirety of Marvels’ two) the way the creative lineup had me hoping, but it’s still got some great work and is a steal at $9.99 for what’s basically a modest trade.

Blowback by Peter Tomasi, Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy, Nathan Fairbairn, and Rob Leigh: That being said it does not start out on a great foot. I was actually willing to cut this a little slack - Walker’s artwork is gorgeous, and I’m willing to believe Batman would go into an internal poetic monologue on the nature of crimefighting in the midst of an escape - but Tomasi’s tendency for devolving into nonsensical stream-of-thought rambling grates here like never before, and the ending is a total non-sequitur. I just don’t understand how Tomasi has seemingly reached that sort of Miller/Adams rarefied air where he can turn in literally whatever he wants and get it printed.

The Master Class by Brian Bendis, David Marquez, Alejandro Sanchez, and Joshua Reed: Thankfully, immediately followed up by one of the better ones. I feel like this story is exactly what this site specifically wants out of its Batman comics - the Batfamily bickers and solves a mystery involving one of the rogues gallery doing something slightly silly, Bruce himself mostly just hangs back to let the kids do their thing and praise them at the end. Much as I’ve found his Superman work revelatory, I can’t deny that it’s Batman who’s produced Bendis’s best hit-miss ratio since coming to DC, even if it’s a very different kind of Batman than we would’ve expected from him. And naturally Marquez brings it, definitely one of DC’s best acquisitions of the last several years.

Many Happy Returns by Matt Fraction, Chip Zdarsky, and Aditya Bidikar: Okay this was not the version of Batman vs. Joker coming from the Sex Criminals team and the writer of the great Bat-Olsen Prank War of 2019 I imagined. It’s a straightforward story ending on a familiar thesis, but it’s the best execution of it we’ve ever seen, and while I was expecting it to look very good I was not expecting Zdarsky to walk away as the artistic MVP of an anthology with Mora and Burnham in it. And while I’m usually a philistine who doesn’t notice these sorts of things, Bidikar’s lettering here is also conspicuously great. They all have better things to do, but for real give this team a Batman ongoing, best story of the issue.

Rookie by Greg Rucka, Eduardo Risso, and Tom Napolitano: Followed by the worst! Not in terms of pure storytelling - it’s Rucka and Risso, of course it reads fine - but as a “yes, most cops suck, but if you try REALLY hard you can totally be a good cop, even in Gotham!” story in 2020. In 2015, 2016, and 2019 I was excited about Rucka’s returns to DC, but between this and Lois Lane #12 this is the year I never want to see him write a superhero comic again.

Ghost Story by James Tynion IV, Riley Rossmo, Ivan Plascencia, and Andworld Design: Finally Tynion gets to write in the era he’s I think really wanted all along, and Rossmo’s a surprisingly good fit for it. A tight, nifty little high-concept romp that touches on the big concerns you expect with an anniversary issue without getting too self-serious about it.

Fore by Kelly Sue DeConnick, John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson, Arif Prianto, and Troy Peteri: A standout! One of those ‘addressing a bunch of modern Batman criticisms head-on’ stories while keeping terse enough to let Romita Jr. on one of his better days do his thing; surprisingly this is the only “Batman as a scary badass of few words fighting street crime” story in here, and this team’s really good at that.

Odyssey by Marv Wolfman, Emanuela Luppachino, Bill Sienkiewicz, Jordie Bellaire, and Carlos Mangual: ...huh? I guess this qualifies as a history-of-Gotham/detective story, but even for a veteran like Wolfman with nothing to prove I can’t grasp why you’d get offered a big anniversary story and turn in...this. And Luppachino and Sienkiewicz are two great tastes who don’t taste great together.

Detective #26 by Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham, Nathan Fairbairn, and Steve Wands: I’ll admit the point of this one sailed over me beyond the clear message of “there were pulp heroes and then Batman happened” on first reading even if I enjoyed it, but thanks to @khancrackers​ I got it - much as Batman was the amalgamation of many influences the guy here had all the ingredients, but he could only think to become the latest iteration on an already rapidly-curdling idea. There were plenty like that, 26 issues worth in that book alone, but it was #27 where the spark lit and something unique was born. In Morrison’s own words elsewhere, “You’ve GOT something. You SHINE.” Which itself makes this an interesting companion to his Batman epic, which has fistfulls of ‘lesser’ iterations of the basic idea, but they become heroes because they’re inspired by Batman himself. It would be the best story of any Batman anniversary issue that didn’t include Many Happy Returns, and is still an interesting final word on the character as a spiritual prologue to Morrison’s 7 years with him. Oh, and Burnham fucking rules, obviously.

Legacy by Tom King, Walter Simonson, Laura Martin, and John Workman: It sure is a Tom King Batman comic. Which isn’t a criticism! But it sure is what it is and not much more. I guess he felt he needed it to be a sequel to something Simonson had done before (while also tying into his own run a bit), and worked with what he had. And speaking of whom, while I haven’t seen much else of his contemporary material I think this is where I’ve realized Walter Simonson’s work is turning into a caricature of itself in much the same way as Frank Miller, but in a much more generally palatable way.

As Always by Scott Snyder, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Marcelo Maiolo, and Tom Napolitano: I was surprised by how much I loved it and I kind of want this to be Snyder’s final Batman story? It’s a perfect full circle in multiple ways, as it’s not only a Batman/Gordon story mirroring Detective Comics #27 itself, but Snyder’s own first Batman work, even as it shows how much his vision of Batman has changed since Black Mirror. A perfect ‘last’ story for the collection, the next two glorified advertisements notwithstanding.

Generations: Fractured by Dan Jurgens, Kevin Nowlan, Hi-Fi, and Andworld Design: A nothingburger, but a hilarious one because a couple days after Jim Lee’s statement this is basically hollering “hey kids, have you heard of 5G?!” Still gorgeous with Nowlan onboard.

A Gift by Mariko Tamaki, Dan Mora, Tamra Bonvillain, and Tom Tapolitano: Of course pretty as hell with Mora and those Bonvillain colors, but as an actual story it feels perfunctory, some standard Batman ‘once my very important dad said...’ lecturing across a throwaway action sequence with a tease. I dunno if this is setting up Tamaki on Detective, or a future Tomasi story without him just writing it himself, but while it’s basically competent and therefore doesn’t end the book on a wet fart or anything, you can’t help but wish it could’ve been just a little better.

So 7 out of 12 good ones. That’s definitely not as positive a ratio as I’d gone in expecting or even walked away with the impression of, but that’s still 81 pages of good comics, and even the lesser stories mostly still have quality art. In summation, Rookie <  Odyssey < Blowback < Generations: Fractured < A Gift < Ghost Story < Legacy < Fore < The Master Class < As Always < Detective #26 < Many Happy Returns, and the pinups by Garcia-Lopez, Campbell, Cheung, Bermejo, and Coipel are all as good as you’d expect.

#Batman #Detective Comics 1027 #Opinion