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We are sharing some of our favourite gifs each day this month for Antifa International’s fifth anniversary. Today: Nazi monuments being destroyed after the defeat of Nazi Germany.

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Here’s a Μάτι (“Evil Eye”) charm for your dash to help keep the bad energy at bay

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Left-Right Symbolism in “The Beach” and “The Avatar and the Firelord”

Well, it’s time for another one of these. Today, we’ll be covering “The Beach” and the really well-written episode “The Avatar and the Firelord.” Let’s jump right in. 

The Beach

“The Beach” like many Avatar episodes gives us us an A-plot and a B-plot. However, this time around, the Fire Nation kids get the A-plot since they’re taking up the bulk of the episode. 

Seguir leyendo

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Tenzin had the looks and the airbending of an air nomad but he not really the temper when I think about it. Tenzin is so much like Katara. They’re stubborn, easy to irritate, passion for justice and doing the right thing, their shared parallels from “You can’t knock me down!” to “As long as I breathe it’s not over.”

Bumi seems like a perfect mix of Aang and Katara with wonderful influences of Sokka but Kya.

Kya is definitely her father’s daughter. She’s a waterbender with the attitude of an air nomad and I know she and Bumi didn’t care for the stories Aang told them about the air nomad’s and their culture it would be so rad to see Kya in her water tribe outfit but with air nomad colors. I know she didn’t care for Aang’s stories (ok what teen would actually do?) but I bet she was proud of her air nomad ways.

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Facts:

The “romantic” arc we got from Avatar: The Last Airbender, as the show was written, was obviously supposed to be Kataang and there was zero chance that Zuko and Katara would have ever gotten together in a believable way.

(Seriously in the 57 episodes before the finale, Katara and Zuko had enough civil conversations to count on one hand and if you think someone can squeeze a legitimate romantic arc out of that I don’t know what to tell you).

Katara did occasionally act in a way that suggested she harbored some sort of attraction to Aang, but she was prioritizing winning the war over acting on her feelings.

The creators hyped up the Kataang “romantic” arc to be more than what it actually turned out to be. Like call it a deep romantic arc of you want but what we ended up getting was two friends who decided “hey you know what you got some feelings and I got some feelings so why not?”

IF the series was written with Zutara in mind as the endgame ship, it could potentially have been a more compelling romantic arc than what we got out of Kataang.

The writers would have ruined it anyway.

Honestly Zutara is like two steps away from being one of those “Hitler Youth Aryan Boy falls in love with Jewish/Black Girl” stories everyone (rightfully) hates anyway so…

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Vaatu: To hate me is to give me breath. To fight me is to give me strength. 

If the opposite is true for Raava, then loving her will give her life, showing her compassion will give her strength. 

This adds an entirely new layer to this scene.

Aang died in the Avatar State, which means both he and Raava were dead, gone - The Avatar was no more.

It’s been a fairly common fandom conception that Katara used her ~love~ to save Aang, and romantic as it is, I’ve personally always dismissed it. It was just the spirit water and Katara’s healing abilities that did it, I would have said, her emotions and feelings for Aang would not make any substantial difference. 

But I was wrong, because Katara cares so much for Aang and she wouldn’t accept that he was gone, so she poured all her love and heart into her healing, everything she was feeling at that moment.

And Raava lives on this, grows on this, survives on this kind of positive, compassionate emotion.

The positive emotional energy Katara put into it would make a difference, and Katara’s love and hope might have been what made the pivotal difference between life and death for Aang and the Avatar spirit. 

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Die Nacht in Sommer https://www.instagram.com/p/BuFeUm_gQYC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1kf81mffrtrxj

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lol ummm Zuko wasn’t sacrificing his nation’s happiness for peace, his nation was actively hurting itself with its imperialism, too… We see multiple times where imperialism harms (or potentially harms) the Fire Nation itself, the most obvious of which is the Painted Lady episode, in which a Fire Nation factory guarded by the military pollutes and almost destroys a town within their own nation. Not to mention, the entire existence of a “secret history” (of which we see part in the “Avatar and the Firelord” episode) is pretty bad in that the citizens of the fire nation—including the crown prince and princess—don’t know their own history. And aside from the secret history, the history they teach in schools isn’t even correct, ie. they teach that the air nomads had an army; it’s probably safe to assume that that’s not the only piece of world history they got wrong, and on top of that there are entire aspects of history that the general public does not have the privilege of knowing. The Fire Nation is rewriting its history, basically pulling a Big Brother here, and I shouldn’t have to explain why that’s Bad.

Obviously, the other nations were hurt much more in the war, but to imply that the war was in the Fire Nation’s best interest (and that ending it was not) is just way off base. And while, yeah, it took Zuko seeing how imperialism hurts the other nations to realize the war is bad, we, the audience, after seeing the aforementioned episodes, should be able to distinguish that the war hurt all involved. Anyone truly loyal to the Fire Nation should have no problem ending it. Zuko ended the war not because peace was what was best only for the other nations but because he knew it was what was best for the world. And what’s best for the world is what’s best for the Fire Nation.

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This is why we need Communism, to destroy this individually libertarian bullshit. Also fascist, they suck too, and zionist. They deserve the same (maybe not to be killed, but I hope they never come back)

Serious matter time!!!

There’s a new label pedophiles are using to defind themselves, SOMAP. This means Semi-Offending Minor Attracted Person. And guess what!! It’s fucked up!!

This disgusting blog made the term and is also into beastiality.

This is fucked up, and you know how much Tumblr LOVES it’s users? They aren’t going to do anything about these literal illegal actions. So, if you see someone calling themself a somap, this means they’ve probably done some fucked up shit!! Watch out guys, and please stay safe.

BY THE WAY:

if you think pedophilia is a sexual orientation,

if you identify as a MAP/SOMAP whatever,

if you support the age of consent being lowered,

YOU ARE NOT WELCOME ON MY BLOG. LEAVE!!

Edit: The blog, which I recommend blocking, is pinkpetal-pedo! Again, watch out and keep safe.

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Does Zuko actually take lightning for Katara? I always thought he tried to redirect it but failed. I don’t understand why people think he would sacrifice his life if he is the only hope for the Fire Nation and to restore it. I hope you can help me out thanks

By the looks of it. Yeah it does LOOK like he takes lightning for her but its not the intent. What he tries to do is to REDIRECT lightning.

In seconds you almost miss it but Zuko’s fingers are in lightning position. You’ll see Azula and Aang use that technique but its not easy to see it with Zuko because it happens so fast.

Zuko only has seconds or less to get ready to save Katara from a certain death. That’s why he can’t redirect it properly and you’ll notice it. He tries to save himself when he realizes ”fuck FUCK, shit went wrong.”

That’s why he covers his chest.

His fingers still in position to redirect it but it all happens so fast.

What I love about this scene is not that he takes lightning and sacrifices himself. He never meant to do that. He saves Katara because he knows how to do it even if he fucks up. You can’t blame him. He does it in a matter of seconds and it means he needs to think fast and do it right.

His redemption arc comes in full circle.

Katara was the girl he had hurt in so many ways. He attacked her family members, terrorized her village, kidnapped and blackmailed her. Took Azula’s side in Crossroads of Destiny which led to Katara having to hold Aang’s dead or broken body. All traumatizing events which would give Katara every right to despise him. And you have to earn Katara’s trust. Fool me once shame on me etc etc so it meant a lot for Zuko to gain Katara’s acceptance and trust. He really wants to prove himself for Katara that he is good and he has changed.

Katara’s face says it all.

He doesn’t really sacrifice himself for her but saves her. I love this friendship so much because what its built on and how some friendships are earned. Zuko had to earn it and he did and he did once again.

But also, Zuko would have done this for anyone of his friends. To interpret this scene as romantic is a clear misunderstanding of the arc but you ship what you ship. I understand why one would and that is okay. Their friendship is amazing anyway. But Zuko truly would. That’s why he is who he is. Honorable and someone who always seeks to do good

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#kataang4ever

What Aang Gives to Katara

I both love and hate that I write so many “refuting idiotic fandom arguments” metas. I hate it because I hate that it’s necessary, and it just seems so… bitter, I guess? But I love it because I’m so damn good at it (and also it’s cathartic as hell).

This is another one of those kinds of metas. This time, I’m writing on the subject of:

“I ship Zutara because Aang never supported or empathized with Katara and Zuko understood her so much better.”

Yes, this is a real argument that I have seen people make in ship debates. And yes, I am only addressing that middle bit, as I have no problem with the first bit in and of itself, and the last part is so clearly false that it doesn’t even justify a response. I’m just focusing on Aang and whether or not he supported/empathized with/understood Katara, okay?

Alright, let’s break it down piece by piece.

“Aang never understood Katara.”

This is probably the most subjective of the three aspects in question here (and even then, it’s not really that subjective).  As I understand it, there are sort of two components to this argument.

The first goes exactly like the argument says: Aang didn’t understand Katara.  He only loved an idealized image of her and couldn’t accept her as a human being with flaws.

I find that to be thoroughly ludicrous.

Wasn’t Aang there when Katara engaged in petty theft? Wasn’t Aang there basically every single time Katara got pissed off at somebody and let them have it, justified or not? Didn’t Aang witness how she can hold a grudge to legendary lengths (with both Jet and Zuko)? Didn’t Aang witness her, on multiple occasions, freaking out on Toph with little or no provocation? Didn’t Aang witness Katara’s breakdown after she learned bloodbending?

Or- oh, I know! How about that time that Katara basically screamed at Aang and just about made him cry?

Trust me, Aang has seen plenty of Katara’s weaknesses and her faults. Almost all of what we, the audience, has seen of Katara, Aang has also witnessed. The two of them were pretty much joined at the hip for 90% of the series.  The fact that he loves her, then, should be taken to imply that he didn’t fall for an idealized illusion, but rather that he loves her despite (and knowing Aang, possibly even because of) her flaws.

Aang is the first person to admit that he’s not perfect, and he has never expected anyone else to be.

The second component of this argument seems to be comprised primarily of “Aang never thought about Katara’s feelings, he only cared about his own feelings blah blah hero gets the girl blah blah selfish blah blah blah.”  Actually, this part is more often directed at Kataangers than at Aang himself, although the accusation is leveled at him pretty regularly, too.

With regards to the accusation that Kataangers only care about Aang’s happiness and the “hero gets the girl” ending… well, there may be some Kataangers like that out there. I don’t know them, but they might exist (probably do, because there’s stupid shippers for every ship). But for my part, I can say with absolute certainty that, while I liked Kataang initially because Aang’s early crush on her was so adorable, what elevated it from cute ship to OTP status was watching Katara fall so hard and fast for her best friend. I would never, ever want to rip her away from the boy she so clearly adores.

And with regards to Aang… well, I already wrote a meta that deals with that extensively, so if you’d care to read it, my refutation is to be found here.

“Aang never empathized with Katara.”

Let’s start with a working common definition of the term empathy:

The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Clearly, as one of the two characters who were the most mentally and emotionally in tune with each other throughout the series, Aang had no ability to understand or share in Katara’s feelings.

This is generally tied back to TSR and the whole Kya thing.  It’s that old Zutarian favorite: “But Zuko and Katara bonded over their mommies!“  Clearly, because Aang didn’t know his mother, he can’t possibly understand the kind of pain Katara feels over losing her own mother. 

Regardless of the fact that Aang has lost literally everything. Regardless of the fact that Aang lost the man who was, in all the ways that matter, his father. Regardless of the fact that these losses were demonstrably incredibly painful to him. Nope. Despite these things, there is absolutely no possible way that Aang can understand the kind of pain that Katara feels over losing her mother.

Can you feel the sarcasm radiating from my typing?

Clearly, this argument insists, because Aang recognized in TSR that Katara was very angry and not in control of herself and tried to warn her away from taking a step that he knew she would regret afterwards, he couldn’t possibly empathize with the amount of pain she was in!

FALSE.

I’m going to deal with TSR extensively into another meta, but I’ll use it on a more basic level to address this argument.  Let’s look at a few quotes from the episode itself, shall we?

First, from Aang:

I do understand. You’re feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?

Aang has experienced exactly what Katara is feeling. He knows how easy it is for someone in that frame of mind to lose control and do things they ordinarily wouldn’t. Things they regret when they’ve calmed down. He loves her and he doesn’t want her to hurt herself by doing something drastic he knows she’ll regret. As a result, he firmly encourages her not to go off and murder people. You know, like a good friend would.

Additionally:

This is a journey you need to take. You need to face this man.

Aang is not trying to impede her. He understands, perhaps better than anyone, how badly she needs closure on what happened all those years ago. He knows it’s still something that haunts her, and he strongly supports her need to find that closure.

He has no desire to stop her going to find Yon Rha. She needs this, and he knows that.

And finally, wisdom of Zuko:

You were right about what Katara needed. Violence wasn’t the answer. 

Even Zuko, who started out the episode mocking Aang’s beliefs and calling him childish and naive, came to realize that Aang had understood what Katara truly needed better than he ever could.

Are we good? Okay, great. On to the last…

“Aang never supported Katara.”

This goes back to the whole “Kataang is an unequal relationship” thing that opponents of the ship love to tout about. One half of the argument is “Katara didn’t love Aang the way he loved her” (patently ridiculous), and the other half of the argument is “Aang didn’t give Katara as much support/affection as she gave him,” which, if you’re paying attention, does seem to be a direct contradiction to the first half, doesn’t it?

Okay now, allow me to make a “brief” list of some of the first examples of Aang supporting Katara that come to mind.

First, allow me to direct your attention to this little bit of dialogue from the first episode:

Katara: We haven’t had contact with our sister tribe in a long time. It’s not exactly ‘turn right at the second glacier.’ It’s on the other side of the world. Aang: But you forget: I have a flying bison. Appa and I can personally fly you to the North Pole. Katara, we’re gonna find you a master!

Within hours of their meeting, Aang is willing to drop everything to take a virtual stranger to the literal opposite side of the world, just to help her achieve her dreams.

Relatedly…

Remember that time that Katara was all “I’m gonna learn waterbending!” and Pakku was all “Get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich!” and Aang was all “Oh no you di’int!”?

Yeah. He’s pretty much as pissed about it as she is.

Now, we can argue until the cows come up about whether Aang refusing his training with Pakku because Pakku wouldn’t train Katara was a smart choice or not, given how much was riding on him mastering the elements, but that’s not what’s at hand here. What is relevant to this discussion, however, is the fact that Aang threw his support completely and unhesitatingly entirely behind Katara. He valued her goals and her happiness over his own needs.

And then, when Katara talked him into going back to train with Pakku, he did his best to teach her what he was learning, instead.

Or how about in The Puppetmaster, after Hama’s been taken into custody (cackling evilly all the way), and Katara collapses to the ground in tears?

Aang is right there to throw his arms around her and reassure her. Sokka is there, too, but he stands back somewhat, merely laying a hand on her back to let her know he’s there. It’s Aang who puts a protective arm around her shoulders, who draws close and lends her all the strength he has to offer.

On a similar note, how about at the end of Lake Laogai? Jet has just died, and Katara is  crying for him, because despite how angry she was at him and how much she distrusted and vilified him… she had cared about him once. And he had just died.

Aang notices, and he reaches out and lays a gentle hand on her shoulder. Once again, he offers his silent support and reassurance. He lets her know without words that he’s there, that he has her back, that if she needs anything at all, he’ll be there.

And it brings a smile to her face.

With a simple touch, he’s able to pull her out of her misery and brighten up her day.

Moving on, how about in The Painted Lady, when Aang basically called her a superhero and she looked at him like he’d just given her the moon? And then he dove right in and helped her commit an act of terrorism because he thought it was so amazing that she was so passionate about helping that village.

How about that time that Katara made an off-hand comment about how Aang addressed Toph as ‘sifu’ but never her, and later that episode after she shared some wisdom with him, he called her Sifu Katara and she gave him the Big Shiny Anime Eyes of Love?

Or we could go back to The Waterbending Scroll. In that episode, Katara is having severe insecurities about her worth as a waterbender, due in large part to how quickly Aang picks up skills it took her years to learn (not to mention doing it better than she does). She’s basically spent the whole episode fucking up royally in quite a few ways, and her self-confidence is shattered.

And then, as they’re trying to escape from the pirates and Zuko, this little piece of dialogue goes down:

Sokka: We’d need a team of rhinos to budge this ship. Aang: A team of rhinos… or two waterbenders.

And Katara gives him such a look.

In seven words, he’s given her his respect as a fellow bender, and restored her self-confidence and faith in her self-taught skills.  Her eyes say it all: that was exactly what she needed to hear at that moment, and Aang knew that. He had witnessed firsthand how upset she was that he was excelling as a waterbender while she was still struggling (especially since he bore the brunt of her frustration when she lashed out at him), and he gave her just exactly the boost she needed to make her feel good about herself again.

See, here’s the thing:

Katara is so strong and so self-sufficient. She pours all her energy into taking care of other people, and she’s at her most comfortable when she’s giving support rather than receiving it.  As extensively outlined in The Runaway, from a very young age she went out of her way to be the primary caretaker for her family.  That’s the role she’s comfortable in.  As a general rule, she doesn’t even accept help or comfort from other people, let alone invite it. On occasion, she’ll tolerate a bit of familial support from Sokka or possibly Hakoda and Kanna (although we see so little of her interactions with them that it’s hard to say for certain). But she only takes it up to a certain point.

Now, this is just a personal interpretation of her character as presented, based on having known many people of similar disposition - and, in fact, being such a woman myself - but it seems to me that Katara isn’t particularly comfortable with accepting support from outside sources. She prefers to rely on herself and be the one who takes care of everybody rather than depending on anyone else. It’s one of her ways of being strong. Take that or leave it, your choice, but that’s how I have always interpreted this aspect of her character.

Point is, she’s a hard girl to take care of because she makes a point of doing a damn good job of that herself.

But she lets Aang fill that role in her life.

I think a big part of the reason she can handle it better from him is all tied up in the fact that it’s so subtle and natural for him- which, incidentally, is also a big part of the reason why it’s easier to miss just how much he really is supporting Katara. It’s not something he thinks about. He’s not doing these things because he wants her to appreciate him. There’s no ulterior motive, and there’s no desire to point out just how good he’s being to her. He’s not going out of his way, because this is his way. It’s just a part of who he is to take care of Katara, as natural as breathing and just as quiet and steady.

Because of this, Katara never feels like his quiet protectiveness and earnest support is overbearing or too blatant. He never makes her feel weak. It’s so easy for her to accept this from him for that very reason.

And so they go about their lives, and she’s his fierce protectress, and he’s her most enthusiastic cheerleader. She holds him tight when he’s coming apart at the seams. He lets her know in his own quiet way that if she needs anything, anything at all, she can come to him and he’ll be there for her. She reminds him that he’s strong enough to save the world. He makes her feel strong and powerful and beautiful and adored.

Conclusion?

Aang knows Katara better than anyone. He’s seen her in her darkest moments, and he understands the way she thinks and he can empathize with her greatest pain. He gives her exactly the kind of quiet, gentle support that she needs to feel protected while still being comfortable in her own skin.

OTP, baby.

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Can someone made a TikTok of this?

things said in majority of movies:

“I TRUSTED YOU!!”

“she’s not just some girl!”

“I should have told you this a long time ago.”

“I’m not a little girl anymore!!”

“but I love him!!”

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Kataang was one of the greatest love stories ever told

a meta is coming up next year but just look at them

They weren’t perfect. They weren’t straight out of a romance novel. It started out slow, it grew, they came from different worlds, different ideas and they clashed time to time but what was so wonderful about them is that they were each other’s best friends.

The things they went through together and kept going through just showed how strong the foundation was. Kataang forever.

Katara could kill for him and Aang could give up everything for her.

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Al fin!!! #metro2033universe #slav https://www.instagram.com/p/BrSrYy6ghTa/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=kdjoor9dx0h9

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Reblog if you ship Kataang.

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More Imbalance Part One preview pages!

These ones come from the beginning of the book and include the pages previewed at NYCC that we couldn’t read before. Nice!

Here we see Team Avatar’s arrival at Cranefish Town (which will one day be Republic City) and we actually learn quite a bit:

Cranefish Town did indeed grow from the Earthen Fire factory settlement that was the setting of The Rift, so we’ve actually been here before!

Cranefish Town has no government as of yet but a group of business owners including Toph’s father, Lao Beifong, have set up a business council.

Sokka is still the king of naming and not impressed with the “Cranefish Town” moniker so it’s likely that he’s responsible for not just Yue Bay’s name but also Republic City’s.

The preview cuts off just as it’s starting but it looks like there’s about to be a scuffle between some Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom nationals.

This time the preview pages come from iBooks. Don’t forget that we already have a bunch of pages from earlier this month as well!

Imbalance Part One is coming December 18th!