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ykw.. YEAH

I just feel like Katara and Zuko would have the PETTIEST beef regarding Aang. They are friends, and they don’t harbor any actual problems with each other, but the rivalry and butting heads persists. They both think the other is trying to take Aang away from them. Like:

Katara: Zuko what are you doing here?

Zuko: I just came by to see my BEST FRIEND Aang. We’re having boys night tonight.

Katara: Oh, my BOYFRIEND and I are actually going out on a date tonight!

Zuko: That’s strange. I don’t remember him MENTIONING you!

Katara: Hahaha! That’s probably because—

Aang: Hey, I’m glad you guys could make it! Are you both ready to go?

Katara and Zuko: What.

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MY SHAYLAAAAA

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Thinking about how Sokka sometimes seems like the only one who sees Aang as less than the avatar, as someone less than perfect, someone who needs help and something to watch their back.

Like, Sokka was the one to decide to leave during the Bato episode. He sees Aang as someone to be held accountable, whos capable of messing up, but he's also the one who realizes that Aang needs them.

He's the one who acknowledges that Aang's a kid in the beginning while everyone sees him as the avatar. He's the one who watches Aang face Hei Bai and decides he needs help. He's the one who decides to play air ball with him. He's the one who chooses to climb a fucking volcano just to back up Aang who wanted to get a flower for a girl.

But he also gracefully allows Aang to step into the avatar role and as the series goes on, allows Aang to start taking up the mantle of leadership. He sees Aang grow up and allows it, defering to Aang's judgment multiple times.

But still through it all, his plans for deafeating the fire lord always revolve around being there to back Aang up bc he doesn't see Aang as some inhuman being whos incapable of failure. He plans the invasion, he trains them against the melon lord, and at the end, when asked where he felt he needed to be, Sokka says they need to go after the air fleet and half his reasoning is so if Aang needs them, they'll be there.

Hell, he's the one who's all for Aang pretending to be dead because that keeps him safe until the invasion, because Sokka knows Aang's not infallible and the element of surprise could really help him.

And Aang trusts him so much. He believes in Sokka without question so many times. When Aang has failed to find the fire lord during the invasion, he turns to Sokka, because he knows he can always rely on Sokka to find a way through.

I love them so much. Aang deserves someone who sees him as something needing protection and Sokka deserves someone who trusts in his genius no matter how much stupid shit he does jsndjsndndnd

Not saying other characters don't do this, but they don't do it as much as these two. Sokka's arguably the most protective of Aang and Aang's arguably the most trusting and has the most faith in Sokka

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I was thinking about how much yue’s death must have meant to katara (and I honestly believe her death had the most impact on her after her mom’s, yes even more than jet) in the narrative sense.

imagine katara finally reaching the north in all its grandeur, meeting her northern equivalent and she’s probably thinking how much better off yue had it than her. but then yue goes on to make the ultimate sacrifice, not just for the world but specifically for the water tribe and waterbending. and then how much waterbending has always been such an integral part of katara’s character and how like her mom, yue gave her life so katara (and the entire tribe) could not only survive but live on waterbending.

and then just how much yue’s narrative is a foil to katara’s arc just as much as azula’s is:

these two princesses trying to meet their father’s expectations and both meeting their tragic end (re: defeat for azula) as they do just that.

especially yue, being a girl i don’t believe she was going to be a chief hence her arranged marriage to hahn. her life has always been carved out for her and the only way she breaks free from this is by literally dying, but of course, she dies for her people. she makes her father proud while freeing herself from the life he sets out for her by simultaneously losing the ability to live at all.

i also think it’s fascinating how yue a nonbender growing up in the north where she never would have learnt how to fight anyway becomes the most powerful waterbender ever in death.

and then you have katara, who is if nothing else, a survivor. katara is a female character that gets to choose where she lives, who she loves, when she fights, heals etc. without any pushback from her father or anyone in her tribe. her legacy extends past her home and goes beyond the men in her family but it’s because of women like yue and her mom that she has the chance to do so.

so i think katara would hold yue in high regard and her death would definitely have impacted her (at least symbolically) more than the canon lets on.

i also like to think katara spent some time with yue realizing they have more in common than just daughters of the chief. idk maybe she thought yue would have been too naive and pampered in the beginning but that’s just me projecting atp.

i think they would have bonded due to yue’s spirituality and her storytelling, possibly filling little gaps in katara’s cultural knowledge like the story of the moon and ocean spirits. i think katara would have appreciated it and in return yue probably relished having a female friend that wasn’t trying to compete with her or kiss up to her for brownie points, which i imagine happens in societies with nobility if jane austen adaptations have taught me anything.

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Katarathinker on twitter you're so the realsiest

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Peeta and Gale: being a character

Consider this post a continuation of this.

So, as I've said, I had a really hard time relating or believing in Peeta as a character when reading THG. This post aims to point out some of the points why I believe Peeta is more a concept than an actual character (and how that's incredibly unfair for Gale).

On Peeta:

The first, and most obvious point, is that the purpose of Peeta's character is to represent Katniss's conscience, but also to be the "better" choice. Idk about everyone else, but it was always glaringly obvious to me that Peeta would be the endgame for Katniss, one way or another. He was made with the explicit intention of being the perfect partner for Katniss, and a perfect person in general. Notice how he has no substantial flaws of his own, is distinctly devout to Katniss even without knowing anything about her personally; and every mistake that he does make can easily be chocked up to his care for Katniss or trauma from forces he can't control.

We know virtually next to nothing about Peeta as well. Please be kind and name me 1 instance where either of Peeta's brothers' names were mentioned anywhere. Like in the books, not on a wiki page. None, no names for his dad, for his mom, for his family. Barely know any of his friends, except for Delly.

We also do not know his relation to District 12 or the Seam. Now, many people will argue that this would be pointless, but I believe not. Peeta, for him to truly be able to exist as a character in his own right, needs to be considered within the context of his community. And since we don't get ANY, it makes all his talks of "people are starving," and "kids in 12 are struggling" seems unconvincing. Like was he poor? Absolutely. He also ate bread regularly, never had to take out tessarae, never had to hunt or kill, and he was a merchant's kid. Half of the people from the district, who are so closely or at least somewhat related to Katniss, we never see him interacting with ever.

In combination, all of these elements make it so that Peeta is basically devoid of an actual character other than "good guy with bread." Readers are free to project whatever image they see fit onto him, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect husband, the perfect brother. He didn't even mention his family twice after losing them, and I won't assume the pain wasn't horrible for him, but he quite literally said "No one needs me." Of course they need you Peeta, they're your family? He felt almost disconnected from the context surrounding him, making it hard for me to truly buy into his character.

On Gale:

The first thing we know about Gale is that he is Katniss's best friend, the person who knows the real her, the one who she can let loose with. Immediately this is a lot of information to work with. Considering the fact that Katniss up until this point didn't seem too fond of people in general, Gale is set up to be a good guy with a sense of love and respect for his friend. And since we meet him in the forest, one can assume that he's struggling as well, or at least rebellious. It's also very obvious within the first chapter that Gale is a flawed character (re: him snapping at Madge, which he acknowledges as a tactic of the Capitol).

This fact is elaborated on right after, when we are told that Gale is also a fatherless hunter running around in the woods. His family is poor, and he's the sole provider for the family. He has three younger siblings, one of which is just a baby, and a mom. Like Katniss, he's put his name in for tessarae for a long time, and provides for a 5 persons household mostly on his own. We know the name of Rory, of Posy, of Hazelle, his mother who does laundry for work, who later works as a house-keeper for Haymitch. We know that Hazelle placed a lot of trust in both Katniss and Gale. We know that Rory has to eventually put his name in more times to get tessarae.

We know Gale's relation to the District. He's generally popular with kids his age at school. He banters and interacts with the people at the Hob. He hunts for game and provides for the district. He holds a hatred for the Capitol that was larger than himself and Katniss. He understood their methods of systemic oppression. He was generally class conscious about his condition, and his thirst for righteous revenge stems largely from the suffering that people of the district and he himself go through. He saved his district to the best of his ability when it was razed to the ground, and he joined the rebellion effort because he genuinely believed that would liberate his people.

There's a lot more I can say about the wider context of Gale as a character, but on a whole he feels real. Very flawed, very angry, and very real. SC makes no pretense about Gale being someone who cares deeply for his district, for Katniss, and for his family. That's a sense of solidarity that I can cling onto. He exists within that general context that he was put in, and therefore makes more sense.

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im rereading the hunger games (catching fire rn) and gale is annoying me

sorry there’s very little i hate and i mean HATE other than a male character assuming the main female character has feelings for him based on what they think and want

Unless Katniss is utterly and completely unreliable as a narrator there’s literally nothing she’s done that implies she even sees Gale in a romantic light. She barely accepts that she’s even attracted to Peeta! babygirl still stuck in survival mode and he’s throwing a strop over the two victors joining the escape plan ugh like….moooveee

just because the rest of the district (apparently) assumed they’d end up together and his own feelings for her doesn’t mean that’s what is going to happen!!

and if i was to believe Peeta then trust that Katniss got options beyond those two boys!

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Starfire, princess Koriand'r just arrived at MetGala!

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im rereading hunger games rn and she ssooooo unserious like wym u tried to drown that cat and is upset that it hates u????

I find it so funny when ppl say that Katniss has no personality, she's so cute and funny! Like do you not remember when she...

1. Thought Finnick was making out with Peetas corpse and was like "damn didn't know he was fruity like that"

2. When Gale confessed his love for her and she was STRIAGHT up like "yeah I know" 💀

3. Saw Peeta had been crying after the first reaping and immediately thinks "damn he's good, playing the weak sympathy card". Like girl he thinks he's gonna die! He's gonna die!

4. Katniss and Finnick wearing the green face cream in CF and scaring the fuck outta Peeta on the beach

5. Just her and Haymitch, especially the first book

6. "I decided to go ahead and like Boggs" - thanks for letting us know queen 👑

7. In MJ when they're trying to film the propos, and she's just horrible at it

8. In the first book when she's trying to drain the pus out of Peetas leg and she just so goddmaned grossed out

9. Saw the cupcakes at the Capitol party and immediately thought that Peeta would love the frosting details

10. In MJ when Gale and Peeta are talking about Katniss choosing one of them, she's just like "gonna leave you two bums here, don't need this shit"

11. Everytime she was unaware of people flirting with her or just being nice. She always think there's some hidden motive... like girl they're your family and friends, they just like you as a person

12. "Nobody needs me" "I do, I need you". Katniss finally admitting her love for Peeta and realises that she can't live without him!! It's such an important part of her growth towards Peeta and no one talks about it!! The girl how has survived everything finally needs not just something, but SOMEONE. And it's HIM (I'm so normal about this I swear)

13. Sassying buttercup at every turn

14. She has the same vibe as goop from Meet The Robinsons (especially with Madge). "Hey Katniss, wanna eat lunch together?" "Hey Katniss, wanna go for a walk into town later"

She's there like:

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..

I can’t believe it’s 2025 and there are still people saying Peeta was useless to Katniss in their first games.

Oh, I’m sorry, do you mean the same games when he took on a trained career and SAVED HER LIFE?! Which almost killed him, and later cost him his leg? Seriously, Katniss wasn’t the only one saving his life in these books, he also saved hers time and time again.

I honestly think the people who dislike Peeta as a character just can’t stand seeing compassionate and soft male characters, because even when they do those “traditionally masculine” things, like physically protecting the women in their lives, it still isn’t enough.

Apparently not being a brooding asshole, like so many other YA love interests, is a character flaw. SMH.

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all the people sympathising with snow and saying they can't hate him anymore after watching tbosas... y'all let awful white men get away with ANYTHING as long as you find them attractive and it SHOWS

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i am going to shout this from the rooftops:

Katniss, Haymitch, and the Seam inhabitants are all described as olive-skinned, brown-eyed (edit: and gray-eyed), and dark-haired.

Peeta, Maysilee, Katniss’ mother and the Merchants are largely described as blond haired, blue eyed, light-skinned.

The Hunger Games adaptations have a huge weakness to their casting because they allowed their white audience to overlook this very important fact, that the Mockingjay is a brown girl, that her mother was disowned for having a mixed-race and mixed-class marriage, that Katniss and Haymitch were long shots not just because they’re Seam but because they are brown… because the only brown characters in the movies (i.e. Rue, Thresh, 11 in general) were there to be tragic, not to be saviors.

Katniss Everdeen is brown, and I won’t forgive or forget the movies for erasing that part of her character.

this has been another tea time with hawk ☕️🦅

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His first real birthday

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For those of you that wanna brush up in the met gala theme here you go

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no one’s touching him

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okay wait i take it back. i know I usually talk shit about the met gala, but what can you really say about this year’s theme that isn't just unabashed fawning and praise. the biggest problem with the met gala in years past is the lack of artistry, boldness, and risk that happens when fashion refuses to deviate from white straight hegemony. so, of course this year's met gala is fuckin chewing: it's Black. if it's one thing we can all count on, it's that coleman domingo is gonna have that shit on. of course zendaya came in a zoot suit that hugs every immaculate curve and stretch of her body. of course doechii is a queer fantasy come to life in her cunty little louis vuitton and dandy little cigar. of course meg modeled her hair off josephine baker. leave it to black creatives to create the assignment, earn the highest marks in the class, and serve up an eight-course meal on top of that. this year, the men (of color) clocked in. this year, we have teyana taylor in crimson lapels and diana ross trailing in angelic white like the goddess she is. it's the kind of show that reminds you: what a gift it is to live in a world with black artistry!! what an honor it is to watch how color bounces off deep radiant skin!! what heights art achieves when we give Black artists reign over the canvas, the materials, the gallery!! excellence, excellence, excellence all around!! and white people are also there. wearing clothes.

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i'm sorry but i'll never understand how the majority of the fandom was ride or die for selbree only after reading the first book. i understand being interested in their dynamic/finding their dyanmic compelling (and not liking breenick) but already being so invested in them? yeah i don't get that sorry