#Atlas analysis

[littleweowmeow]

In fact, I really like this bunch of dialogues and events. Like...

Zuko:

You're like my sister. Everything always came easy to her. She's a firebending prodigy and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born. I don't need luck, though. I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight, and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am.

Then Azula to Long Feng :

I can see your whole history in your eyes. You were born with nothing. So you've had to struggle and connive and claw your way to power. But true power, the divine right to rule, is something you're born with. The truth is: they don't know which one of us is going to be sitting down on that throne, and which of us is going to be bowing down. But *I* know, and *you* know.

And then we get this:

Actually, I immediately think about it when I watch the arch with the earth king and it makes me giggle, but that's not really the point right now.

In fact, I have reasons to assert that the ideals of the Fire Nation of honor, glory and power are not their real worldview and values (this applies mainly to the ruling elite) and their way of manipulating others. For example, the ideal of a "strong man with honor and blah blah blah" (let's be honest, does anyone from the upper class in the Fire Nation have this honor?) He is only a cog in the huge propaganda machine that they spread to their people. The scene with Azula is quite revealing. Their whole worldview boils down to who you were born to be and your supposed superiority because of it, but it's fake and an illusion because this "superiority" is not their merit at all. But a man who wasn't born with power and somehow made his way there is being belittled because he wasn't born with a golden spoon in his mouth. Then what does a strong and ambitious person and everything like that have to do with it if it all comes down to something given from birth anyway? It's also a typical racist and nationalistic idea of someone being great simply because they were born as someone specific. In the scene at the North Pole, Zuko not only tries to resist his father's toxic image of himself, which he has been trying to hammer into him all his life, but also rejects one of the main ideas of his country. Because "luck" here is the meaning of something given to you from birth, which defines you in the future but Zuko doesn't agree with that.

[thedarkangel74]

In retrospect, one thing I kinda like in ATLA is how Zuko never tells the gaang how he got his scar.

It would have been cool to see their reactions to Zuko's story and see how their perspective on Zuko changed. And I have no doubt that he tells them about it at some point. But this way, it doesn't come off as emotional blackmail, with him trying to paint his actions as 'Yes, I hunted you across the world, but I actually had a really good reason."

If he did, he might have had a better chance of joining the Gaang, but he doesn't. In traditional Zuko fashion, he takes the most challenging route possible.

Zuko takes full accountability for his actions, even though they came from a place where he felt he had no choice. Because at the end of the day, he realized that even though his father put him on his avatar's path, he was the one who zealously attacked them at every opportunity. He isn't letting himself off the hook for anything.

[skipppppy]

I love how despite not being a bender, Sokka is the biggest embodiment of everything the Water Tribe values in the show, both good and bad.

Change. Sokka who humbled himself when the Kyoshi warriors proved him wrong and took their teachings to heart. Sokka who always had a plan, a few hundred backup plans, and could still get out of a sticky situation on the fly. Sokka whose friends became bored and aimless without his quick wit and initiative.

Kindness. Sokka who went to save Aang before Katara even had to ask him to. Sokka who saw the humanity in an old man from the fire nation. Sokka who gave Jet a second chance despite being the first one to be suspicious of him. Sokka who showed Zuko to his room and held no resentment against him. Sokka who shielded Toph from falling debris with his body.

Ingenuity. Sokka who invented airships and submarines. Sokka who took down the drill. Sokka who broke into a Fire Nation prison rig and out of the highest security prison in the country. Sokka who levelled Ozai’s entire sky fleet in one tactical manoeuvre.

Love. Sokka who couldn’t remember his mother’s face but carries the grief of her death so deeply that he protects every woman he meets with the same unhealthy hypervigilance. Sokka who instinctually jumps to defend his sister despite their constant bickering.

Community. Sokka who gave up his childhood to become the sole protector of his village and dedicated his time to training the younger boys in combat. Sokka who learned to let go of his hypervigilance and put his trust in the people he’a afraid of losing so they can protect him like he protects them. Sokka who stood alone guarding the gates of his home as Zuko’s ship towered over them.

[bellwethers]

Oh. Poor child

[aangarchy]

Ok now we're just taking the piss right? Right?

Once again this sort of thinking is removing a fundamental character arc that makes this story what it is. A big part of Aang's journey, especially in season 1, but tbh it does return in later seasons too, is accepting that he is the Avatar, and that he's the only one who can end this war. During the whole first season he is in complete denial about who he is and what he's supposed to do, which is why in most of this season there's no sense of urgency, and then once Aang gets faced with a very real, very close deadline he panics. This makes it even more brutal when in season 3, after accepting this responsibility, he gets faced with the reality of failure. He runs away again, this time not because he doesn't want responsibility, but because he knows how heavy his responsibility is and he doesn't want to burden anyone else with it. Removing the first aspect, aka running away and denying responsibility, it in turn also removes the heavy emotion from his later arc.

It keeps surprising me that people who claim to be such fans of the original seem to completely miss the point of most of this story? Like how could you look at Sokka learning about women's rights, Aang learning to accept responsibility, and Katara's motherly warmth which happened because how young she was when she had to step into a motherly role, and think "well we should remove that." You're taking out all of character development and going purely off of plot (which isn't gonna be nearly as good without the character development!)

Atla is probably one of the most analyzed and picked apart story, has one of the most long running loyal fanbases, people are STILL making thinkpieces about this show, and you manage to still misunderstand so much???

[mushyposts]

I saw a post talking abt how Zuko fought as the blue spirit in silence bc he couldn’t risk his voice being recognised, and how difficult it would’ve been for him to fight without yelling, which is very funny and also I agree, but I do have other thoughts on it!!!

I think this is a VERY VERY interesting theme to explore. Fire bending, as we know canonically, is all in the breath. Zuko, when bending, forces power into his breaths vocally. Azula and Iroh in comparison are very quiet when bending, exhibiting extreme breath control, and when Azula does start to lose control of both herself and her bending she becomes vocal. Screaming, grunting, yelling while bending.

Zuko fighting as the blue spirit both in silence and without his bending IMO is such a good way of highlighting where his strengths lie. He’s a good bender, of course, especially by the end of the show where he’s found a new source of strength, but he’s never been as proficient as other fire benders.

I think the blue spirit was such an easy role for him to slip into because while fighting, for once, he didn’t have to force his strength. He took time training with swords, hand to hand, etc because he knew he lacked in bending ability.

I like to think he found it easy to not yell while fighting as the blue spirit, because he felt confident. In his ability to fight, in the hidden identity aspect removing him from the role of the banished prince and the expectations that came with it. Putting a space between himself and the burn that has been used to identify and humiliate him many times.

I just think Zukos bending and fighting evolution is so neat….

[paragonrobits]

i was reading meta about how Ozai probably burned Zuko's face with the same move he uses to try to land on Aang after Aang enters the Avatar State in the final episode; you know the one. Charging up a fire attack, hand cupped outward, fire erupting out in a powerful blast...

There's a lot of cool character moments in that. The same move he used to mutilate his son, dismissively knocked away and putting Ozai off balance, exploiting his massive ego and temper to keep him off balance as Aang takes the offensive. The same move that he used to mutilate his son, deflected by the hero whom that same son taught.

But I realized something particular about Aang's move. That's not a Firebending kind of move he uses, nor is it a Waterbending move, though its similar.

The move Aang uses to knock Ozai's attack aside is an incredibly quick and graceful manuever. His wrist moves up and pushes against Ozai's wrist, turning the momentum of it against him and knocking it off course, rendering the energy put into it completely useless and Ozai opened, as Aang then lands a destructive Airbending blast that smashes Ozai into rocks just as Ozai had just done to him.

Making the indestructible force go be dangerous somewhere else, moving it about in a circular way.

The move Aang used to open up the fight and humiliate the grandson of Sozin, whose forefather genocided the Air Nomads and began the hundred year war, the move Aang used to defang the same technique Ozai probably used to mutilate his son, that sets the tone for a battle that ends with that war ended and the Fire Lord dethroned so that a new age of love and freedom can arise...

is unmistakably an Airbending move.

[count-horror-xx]

I actually like zutara as a concept, it's a ship I'll casually read fics about them sometimes.

it's just zutara fans are fucking delusional. Stop treating their Canon partners as abusive when it's the complete opposite. Especially Mai.

Aang isn't a misogynistic monk that forces katara to be his house wife. If he did katara would leave him in a millisecond. He actually cares so much about her. It's actually Canon HE cooks and accommodates his cultural food with kataras.

And Mai was literally ready to die for zuko. Even when they just broke up, she was ready to get electrocuted by azula if it wasn't for ty lee chi blocking azula.

I'm aware it seems like she doesn't care about him the way she's quiet and aloof but I understand where she was coming as someone who somewhat has similar tendencies of being a little awkward when trying to show emotions and it coming off as being uncaring or rude. But at the end of the day she really shows she loves him, so people saying she's abusive is completely inaccurate to her character.

Her bottling up her emotions was taught by her parents as she explains in the beach episode somewhat where she had to worry about her father's reputation all the the time, forcing her to be quiet as a form of behaving.

Personally I think her quiet personality fits with Zukos loud ass, especially giving him a reality check during the beach episode calling him out for being angry all the time and how he needs to keep it in check.

Zutara is a nice ship I agree but you can ship it without mischaracterizing tf out of thier Canon partners.

[teratocore]

You know. I kinda feel the need to push back on the common claim that Ozai “pitted Zuko and Azula against each other” because it’s way more true that his intention was to make Azula feel superior through his approval and to make Zuko feel inferior through a lack of it. The whole thing with having a megalomaniacal parental abuser like this is that one child is the scapegoat while the other is the golden child. It’s horrific because it’s inescapable for either sibling. Azula has to be perfect because otherwise she will be treated like Zuko, this is something she basically says aloud in season three. Zuko knows that even when he returns to his father’s side and is in his father’s graces he will never be enough for Ozai, he will always be walking on thin ice until the day he makes a wrong step and it’s over for him. This could be anything from the day it is revealed that Zuko never killed the avatar to once again speaking out of turn. It is very obvious that there is never any authentic competition happening between these two from day one, even as they are both clearly being abused. Ozai’s abuse thrived on the appearance of pitting these two against each other as if they ever had equal chances of winning his preference between them. It was a losing game from the start, but Azula was more useful to him as a subordinate and Zuko was more useful to him removed from the picture.

[charlesoberonn]

This thing has been bothering me for years: The plot of Legend of Korra season 1 is completely backwards to what the worldbuilding is showing.

Republic City is built to accommodate machines, factories, and cars. The jobs we see non-benders having are in business, including Asami's dad who's a millionaire. The jobs we see benders having are factory workers and organized crime. With a few exceptions such as the metal-bending police unit and the ruling council.

It seems to me that benders are the ones who are oppressed in Republic City, at least materially. The presence of benders in police and government don't change it much since despite its name, Republic City in season 1 isn't a democracy. Benders being oppressed would also make sense as a continuation from ATLA, where we saw Earthbenders and Waterbenders being oppressed by the Fire Nation, and the United Republic is comprised of former Fire Nation colonies.

But the plot is saying that non-benders are oppressed. Amon and his Equalists are presented as having a point but going about it in the wrong way (plus Amon himself being a fraud).

It would've made more sense to be the other way around. The Avatar comic series Imbalance (which is otherwise pretty bad) actually does that right, with benders feeling threatened by the rise of technology in the pre-republic Republic City. LoK shows the end point of that process after decades of technological and societal evolution.

Either the Equalists should've been benders rising up against oppression. Or else if they're still non-benders, they should've been presented as a reactionary movement to benders reclaiming their rights, something akin to the real life KKK forming in reaction to black liberation in the US.

[akiizayoi4869]

So the official ATLA YouTube channel posted a video earlier of the mirror scene in the finale, with some added commentary from the Braving The Elements podcast. Something that was said by the director of the upcoming movie, as well as the person who actually worked on that scene back then, Laura Montgomery, was very interesting.

In this scene here:

When Azula turns away from the mirror, Laura was saying that it could be interpreted in two ways: Azula turning around to confront her mother in real time, or, if you realized that Ursa only existed within the mirror and she wasn't actually there, it can be seen as Azula turning her back on her mother. Definitely an interesting way to look at it!

[nothatsahorriblename]

Iroh's dialogue here is the one that gets me the most, for some reason. The dialogue feels so natural he sounds like such a worried parent here

Iroh is leaving zuko on his own for the first time here, he's taught zuko for three years and can only hope that his teachings are able to keep zuko safe

^ and his face here? I wail loudly. He knows zuko can handle himself but still feels tensed sending him out on his own (there is so much you could pick apart from this frame alone but that's for another day)

I imagine it's because iroh lost his son after appointing him at ba sing se. He feels especially pained because of how much this reminds him of his son's downfall, how much it reminds iroh of his shortcomings. And here he is, engaging in a plan that could risk zuko's life. This scene feels so warm and comforting it makes me throw up

[maxiemumdamage]

To me Azula is a tragic character specifically because while she was failed by everyone around her, it also would’ve been unreasonable to expect any of them to save her. Among those who wanted to help her, practically no one had the understanding or power to change her. They couldn’t get Azula to stop being cruel, in large part because they couldn’t change the circumstances that nurtured her worst traits.

Except Ozai obviously. Fuck him. He’s why Azula is like that to begin with. But the power and sway he has over her also made it borderline impossible for anyone else to make her change.

(MUCH more to say about this here:)

People tend to blame Ursa for Azula’s behavior first and foremost. And…yes, Ursa was pretty clearly closer with Zuko than Azula. But of course she was! Ursa’s son was constantly abused and degraded by his father — as per the comics, Ozai outright told Ursa he would do this for all of Zuko’s life in order to hurt his wife. Zuko needed Ursa’s support to have any sense of self-esteem and frankly, for his own safety.

Zuko needed his mother just to be safe and not be alone, while Azula needed her mother for moral education. Even if you don’t think Ursa’s priorities were the right ones…choosing her daughter over her son might not have been enough to change Azula anyway. It would’ve been devastating for Zuko without necessarily improving Azula in any meaningful way, because Ursa didn’t actually have the authority to meaningfully oppose her husband.

By the time it would’ve been evident that Azula had a super skewed moral compass as a result of being around Ozai so much…she still would’ve been like, eight years old max, for one thing. Little kids say and do a lot of fucked up shit, because they don’t understand morals or the world by and by large. For another, once it was obvious she was parroting horrible stuff from her father, Azula also would’ve had no respect for her mother. So what could Ursa do, by the time she realized she needed to do something?

We see in flashbacks that Ursa tried, even when her child didn’t respect her and she couldn’t enforce meaningful consequences for the bad behavior Ozai rewarded. Ursa scolded Azula for saying cruel things. She made Zuko spend time with his sister, rewarding Azula for any moments of kindness or cooperation (even when Azula was just faking it to get an opportunity to bully Zuko and Mai). She tried.

As for Ursa leaving…uh, if she hadn’t, Zuko would have died. He absolutely, 100% would have died if his mother hadn’t cut a deal with Ozai to put him on the throne in exchange for disappearing. She made Azulon and his ultimatum go away because that was necessary to protect Zuko.

Ursa did fail to morally guide her daughter. But to do otherwise would’ve been to neglect her son, then to sign Zuko’s death warrant. I’m not gonna pretend she didn’t choose one kid over the other — I just also think choosing to support the kid whom she knew her husband was mistreating wasn’t necessarily the wrong call.

And even if it was…choosing differently might not have done anything. Because Ursa could only offer affection, while Ozai wielded both the carrot and a stick. Azula would’ve likely still fawned to the more powerful abuser, still learned harmful behavior, and still internalized that her cruelty was not just necessary but acceptable. Rewarded, even.

There’s Iroh to mention as well. He admittedly had a lot more influence and ability to stand up to Ozai than Ursa did, but in fairness…that wasn’t his kid. He had his own son to worry about, and then he was grieving, and then…he chose Zuko too.

For the same reason as Ursa, I don’t quite blame him for it — Zuko needed help much more immediately. When Zuko was banished, Iroh did the right thing by going with. But I do think those in-between years in the palace were a time Iroh (still mourning, but still) had the chance to influence Azula a little. But…

…I’ve seen a post theorizing that Iroh dislikes his niece because she reminds him of who he used to be, and…I think that’s very likely. They’re the golden children of their fathers, the firebending prodigies, the conquerors of Ba Sing Se.

I also think it’s because he and Azula are so alike that he has no idea how to help her.

Iroh didn’t have a moral revelation about the Fire Nation’s conquest, not until it cost him his son’s life. His realization about war being wrong, subsequently becoming more worldly and gaining respect for other cultures, it happened only when the Fire Nation’s system stopped working for him personally. So he wouldn’t know how to make Azula see that system as wrong, to make her change for the better as he did. He can’t recreate his own reasons for changing.

Also, quite frankly — Iroh barely to not at all managed to turn Zuko off the Fire Nation’s propaganda. Zuko always had morals, sure, but he did not have any semblance of the idea that “war (of conquest) is wrong” or even “wow my father is abusive and terrible to me personally” after three years of travel with Iroh. Being an Earth Kingdom refugee and meeting the Gaang was when Zuko really changed. And I think Zuko (who got his face burned off at 13) would probably be a much easier egg to crack on the redemption front than Azula (for whom the cruel and abusive system has always worked, she’s fine with it as long as she’s the one on top).

I also am briefly going off topic here to say…I like the idea of Azula redemption. I agree that she is sometimes condemned too strongly, to harshly, given that she is just a teenage girl. But her youth doesn’t take away from her cruelty. She is someone who knowingly does wrong, because she sees it as a way to protect herself. A meaningful redemption arc for her has to acknowledge that, not just sweep it under the rug by claiming she always loved her victims.

Because yes, Azula’s loved ones who are of a similar age to her but have less power are in fact her victims. They love her, she loves them, but she does hurt them all the same. That also has to be acknowledged in the quest to redeem her.

Zuko and Mai and Ty Lee all flatly have no power over Azula — she has power over them, in fact, thanks to her status as Ozai’s favored child and just as a princess, respectively. Ursa and Iroh were adults who at least wouldn’t be hurt by trying to help Azula, but for her brother and friends? Changing her could be dangerous.

Zuko is nominally safer as the Crown Prince, but…he’s awful at politics and their infinitely more powerful Dad blatantly favors Azula. He can’t stand up to her. And the one time were shown that Ursa, trying to correct Azula’s cruelty, made her son play nice, feels cruel to Zuko. He gets hurt and humiliated for no reason but for his sister’s sake entertainment and (failed) moral education. It’s not his job to redeem his sister.

And then there’s Mai and Ty Lee, who may be nobles, but still can’t do anything to Princess Azula. In fact, even before Mai or Ty Lee have done anything, Azula is threatening their family and bodily safety, respectively, as a loyalty test. They cannot challenge Azula in any meaningful way without endangering their lives and safety. It’s not fair to expect them to fix her.

Who does that leave that Azula is even close to? The Gaang literally know nothing of her but “Zuko’s sister who keeps trying to kill us.” None of the Fire Nation Generals or Nobles will want her to change. Azulon rewarded her bad behavior almost as hard as Ozai. Lo and Li, maybe, but for all they’re the wise old ladies Azula takes advice from, Azula doesn’t actually interact with them very often.

Azula is a tragic character because, while she was a child who should have been redeemed and had better, it makes perfect sense she didn’t. No one could change her. No one could offer a sweeter carrot or bigger stick than Ozai. And by the time he was out of the picture, the story was over.

[brynnsasha191]

Avatar the last air bender fans when they have to watch a well written story of a 14yo girl has genuine and understandable grief for her mother who was unexpectedly and terribly killed when she was a child, and struggles with trauma after seeing her mothers dead body lying in the middle of their home and taking her mothers necklace right off that dead body to wear it and take on all the motherly duties around the house for her father and brother as A CHILD.

(Stop the Katara hate/jokes about how much she mentions her mother. It genuinely makes no sense, and you look like an unsympathetic asshole.)

[risestarkiss]

Rise Ramblings #933

So, this pose:

Plus this face:

Equals this:

...tell me I'm wrong. Go ahead! Tell me I'm wrong!!! 😂🧡

○○○○ 💜 RiseStarKiss Studios on Youtube | My Kofi Tip Jar 💜

[camcat1320]

The Fortune-Teller does not deserve the hate it has received. It's actually a great episode that people misunderstand. Let me explain.

Kataangers love the episode for it says Katara is destined to be with Aang. Zutarians hate the episode for this reason along with forcing Katara into a pigeon hole. I stand between these warring tribes and say that they are both wrong.

To be clear, I am a Zutarian. If we would've had a Book 4 like the head writer had intended, this episode would've been integral for that book.

"But the 3-act story structure!" some may argue. A 3-act story structure is just a 4-act story structure in disguise.

Anyways, let's continue.

The destiny that Aunt Wu foretells does not give names and is vague in nature. She tells Katara that she is to be married to a powerful bender. She didn't say the most powerful nor did she say bender of all four elements. One doesn't have to be the Avatar to be a powerful bender.

Come Aang's fortune, she foretold of a great battle between good and evil that will determine the fate of the world. We immediately think of Aang battling Firelord Ozai to end the 100 year war. However, this fortune is vague and could foretell another battle after Ozai has fallen.

When Aunt Wu learns that Aang wants to learn about his future about love, she cheers him up by giving him a vague, seemingly harmless white lie to satisfy him. "Follow your heart and you will be with the one you love." Since Aang is 12, he can easily misconstrue infatuation for love.

I believe The Fortune-Teller is a giant red herring that many people in both Zutara and Kataang sectors have fallen for. But wait, what is a red herring?

In literature, a red herring is a device to throw the characters and the audience off the scent of future events. It's meant to distract and deceive.

At the end of The Fortune-Teller, Katara believes she is destined to be with Aang and Aang believes it as well. Throughout the remainder of the series, Katara's emotional bond with Aang is challenged. Then by The Ember Island Players, Katara is confused, unsure about her feelings, unsure about her destiny.

What other character struggled with his perception of his destiny?

For the majority of the series, Zuko falsely believed that his destiny was to hunt down the Avatar and regain his honor. We know that this destiny was forced upon him by his father, Ozai.

But as Iroh has said, "Destiny is a funny thing." Iroh had believed he would have been in Ba Sing Se as a conqueror but instead, he had liberated Ba Sing Se from Fire Nation occupation.

Zuko had turned against his father and his supposed destiny and set out to aid the Avatar instead. After this, Zuko's new belief is that it is his destiny to help Aang in defeating Ozai instead. Truly, destiny is funny that way.

But why is this only applied to Zuko? Why isn't this the same message given to Katara's arc? Is she truly destined to be with Aang and she cannot fight against this fate? Is this strong female character destined to be reduced to servitude?

The same girl that inspired imprisoned earthbenders to fight back? The same girl that fought against gender roles in her own culture? The same girl that didn't give into despair and led her crew out of the desert? The same girl that aided in healing a Fire Nation village? The same girl that rose above her mentor and used bloodbending to save her loved ones? The same girl that went toe to toe with Azula and won?

I SAY NAY!

Imagine, if you will, what Katara's continued arc could've been like in Book 4. Katara would've defied the destiny that was forced upon her and determined her destiny for herself. But in the end, destiny is a funny thing for this action only plays into fate. Zuko is a powerful bender after all. 👀

Now, I must depart before I give too many spoilers for my writing. Fare thee well, until we meet again!