#But not most of Sozin's lifetime worth

[questioningdragons]

iIcntly reread a fic where the author complained about how unrealistic it for Sozin and Roku to be Zuko's great grandfathers and I've been reflecting on that in comparison to my own family.

One of my great grandmothers was born in 1924, so this year (about 10 years after her death), we're coming up on 100 years. I think my baby brother is her youngest great grandchild, and he'll be 20 this year.

Compare this to Zuko being sixteen (and Azula only 14) when his supposed great grandfathers were old men 112 year ago.

There should be at least one or two more generations in there.

[juniperhillpatient]

The Avatar & the Firelord Re-watch

This is the episode where we finally learn the truth about Roku's past & the Fire Nation Royal Family's history with the Avatar. It's a really interesting episode & further illustrates the ongoing parallels between Aang & Zuko. The story really does come down to being about these two characters & how they are able to do better than their ancestors (or past lives.) I'm such a sucker for narratives about new generations doing better than their past narrative incarnations, so no wonder I love this show.

[ID: Sozin & Roku wearing Fire Nation robes. there is a sunset in the background. end id]

I loved all the flashbacks to Sozin & Roku. Especially when Roku had just been ignored by a girl so he lay in the grass & Sozin just started putting grass on his face. True friendship moment.

Also, this is where the Fire Nation's imperialism & colonialism come into play - "I've been thinking, we should share this prosperity with the rest of the world. [Cut to a shocked Roku with the camera closing in on him.] In our hands is the most successful empire in history. [Back to a close-up of Sozin.] It's time we expanded it." Yep, that's where the Fire Nation's evil started.

The parallel scenes between Aang & Zuko learning about their past work really well. I also like how we got various scenes throughout Sozin & Roku's lifetimes illustrating the gradual decline of their friendship, & the increase in Sozin's hunger for power. Meanwhile, Zuko & Aang's story is the opposite - they are enemies & have been for a long time & they're slowly building to friendship. This show is really, really well-written.

I need someone with more insight than me on Iroh to weigh in on what was going on with him in this episode because I'm not sure what to think of his speech to Zuko. @peony-pearl do you have any thoughts on the scene between Iroh & Zuko where Iroh tells Zuko he has a great capacity for both good & evil? If I'm putting you on the spot, no pressure, just ignore this tag. I just feel like there's a lot to analyze but my mind is empty lol

I loved the scene between the Fire Siblings when Zuko asks Azula about history & she teases him but gives him the answer. It's such a normal sibling moment filled with banter & soft affection. I live for domestic fire siblings scenes.

Then we have one of my favorite Gaang moments in the whole show -

Aang: Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? If anything, their story proves anyone's capable of great good and great evil. [Cut to an aerial shot of the hardened lava wave.] Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation has to be treated like they're worth giving a chance. [Shot cuts to a close-up of Aang's face.] And I also think it was about friendships.

Toph: [Camera pans to Toph, and cuts to a close-up of her face.] Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?

Aang: [Catching Toph's hand.] I don't see why not. Katara catches Toph's other hand.]

Sokka: Well, scientifically speaking, there's no way to prove that ...

Katara: [Annoyed.] Oh, Sokka, just hold hands. Sokka stops talking, and without moving, he thrusts out his hand to hold Katara's. Shot cuts to an aerial shot of Team Avatar, holding hands, and looking out toward the ocean.

I just love this scene. I love Aang's quote, I love the softness between the Gaang. Also, Sokka what the fuck you are best friends with the Avatar who just went on a spirit journey. Why are you like this?

Anyway, this was a great episode & I know there's more to analyze but that's all I have for now! Tune in next time for more rambling :)

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

I find it really intriguing how the ATLA writers could have gone a “brotherly love” route with Zuko and Aang, but they never did. Even in LOK, the only thing that I remember Iroh saying about their relationship was that they canonically became the best of friends and that Zuko knew Aang better than anyone, even more than Katara and their children. I find the direction of their relationship a contrast to how often the bond between the male protagonist and the male antagonist that are spiritually linked in other media is reduced to “they were like brothers” and put aside for the respective heterosexual romances of the leads, even though the relationships between the leads often have homoerotic subtext and can be interpreted through a queer lens. I guess what I’m wondering is: would you classify Zuko and Aang’s relationship as brotherly? Do you support interpretations where their relationship is viewed as brotherly? And finally (I’m sorry for all of the questions): why do you think the ATLA writers - who seem to mostly be composed of cishet men - never took the “brotherly love” route and left the nature of their relationship ambiguous?

This ask has been in my inbox for a Hot Minute 💀 my apologies, my friend. And since I haven’t seen LOK, I won’t try to speak on the front. Before I continue, though, @likealittleheartbeat has an AMAZING analysis here about the interpretation of Aang and Zuko’s relationship through a queer-platonic lens that I found to be an incredible read and arguably could answer this ask on its own, lol!

I guess the general “issue” that must be addressed to answer these questions is simply how we define brotherly. That “we” can be divided into the viewers and the writers, only adding another layer of complexity. Because the reality is that we can’t jump into the creators minds and see exactly how they intended Zuko and Aang’s relationship to be interpreted. We can make deductions, e.g. the existence of Kataang and Maiko suggests Zuko and Aang were not intended to have a romantic relationship within canon (duh, lol). In fact, you could even add another division to the “we” - the writers, the viewers, and the characters themselves (i.e. interpretation through the cultural lenses that inspired the show).

All of this is to say that there is not going to be one agreed-upon definition of “brotherly,” lol! Since you seem to be asking for my personal opinions, I’ll go with my personal definition. If anyone has differing thoughts in response to these questions, please feel free to add them in a comment or rb! I think there’s a lot to explore here and my sole opinion is Not the be-all and end-all, lmao.

So, what is my personal definition of “brotherly”? I’m not going to try to make a formal definition, lol, but the gist of my interpretation is a platonic relationship akin to that of siblings. To me, there is a difference between having a “brotherly relationship” with someone versus a “friendship” (I almost used “friendly relationship” but that didn’t feel right jskdfhakdls). I think these two can overlap and/or be the same, but - for example - I have friends who I would say without hesitation that I am incredibly close with, but I also would not classify that friendship as “sisterly.” (Again, these are strictly my personal thoughts, and I encourage further discussion in comments/rbs!)

I’ll take your questions one at a time:

Would you classify Zuko and Aang’s relationship as brotherly?

Personally? Probably not. To me, there is a sense of superficiality associated with the term “brotherly” that in my eyes can be reductive to platonic relationships between men (can be, not always lol). I think with Zuko and Aang, the relationship just runs much deeper than “brotherly” can connote. For one, they are the primary narrative foils of the show! The only relationship that comes close to theirs in terms of narrative significance is Kataang (which is a very different dichotomy, btw, I’m not trying to compare them lol). We have numerous episodes dedicated to the parallels between Aang and Zuko, including but not limited to “The Storm” and “The Avatar and the Fire Lord.” I mean, this is an actual quote from the latter episode:

Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?

We see variants of this line and the notion of friendship itself associated throughout that episode explicitly with Roku and Sozin, Roku and Gyatso, and of course the Gaang at the end, but implicitly we also know it’s about Aang and Zuko, too. Aang says, “Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation, have to be treated like they’re worth giving a chance.” One common take with this line that I’ve seen is interpreting it as foreshadowing for Aang’s decision to spare Ozai - which obviously is a fair assessment - but we cannot also ignore how much it applies to Zuko joining the Gaang. Specifically, Zuko reconciling with Aang.

We all know Aang was the first person to extend friendship to Zuko back in “The Blue Spirit” and tbh, after he saw Appa licking Zuko, you can tell Aang was nearly willing to extend a second chance to Zuko then and there lol. Aang and Zuko’s friendship, them being drawn together, is a relationship that transcends lifetimes, transcends social norms/expectations, transcends a loss greater than anyone can imagine (for Aang) and offers a new opportunity arguably far more than deserved (for Zuko). I think ascribing a qualifier of “brotherly” to their relationship therefore limits this transcendence because of how much their dynamic encompasses.

Do you support interpretations where their relationship is viewed as brotherly?

Of course! One of the reasons I love A:TLA - especially my small corner of the fandom - is how many interpretations that every relationship presents, be it a small “difference” (such as calling Zuko and Aang’s relationship “brotherly”) or a more drastic one (exploring fanon possibilities with rarepairs, let’s go #AangRarepairWeek 😎). So even if this interpretation isn’t one I’m inclined to in the literal sense (i.e. it’s the “brotherly” qualifier I feel I dislike, because I do love platonic Zukaang as much as romantic Zukaang), I absolutely encourage others to make the most of their fandom experience and product/support content that they enjoy!

Why do you think the ATLA writers - who seem to mostly be composed of cishet men - never took the “brotherly love” route and left the nature of their relationship ambiguous?

I will say that we don’t really have any way of knowing the sexualities and gender identities of every single A:TLA writer, lol. I’m not saying they were all queer in some way, of course, but I just want to establish that we don’t and can’t know unless told. If that makes sense 😂

As I mentioned earlier, I have no way of getting inside the writers’ minds to determine their intentions when they were writing Zuko and Aang’s relationship, so all you’re gonna get here are my best guesses lmao! For one, there wasn’t really a need to outright label Zuko and Aang as having a “brotherly” relationship. The existence of Kataang and Maiko again speak for themselves. Most viewers - especially casual watchers - don’t need the show to state “these two only love each other in a brotherly way” to conclude that the relationship was platonic (or rather, was not romantic), especially considering that the show was made in the mid-2000s (i.e. sad but true, most people weren’t watching A:TLA with a queer lens 😔). So I wouldn’t say they left the relationship “ambiguous” so much as there wasn’t need to qualify it further than simply being platonic.

Of course, I do think there is an ambiguity that comes with Aang and Zuko’s relationship, which I love to exploit in my Zukaang fics 😌. Was that ambiguity intentional? Again, I’m inclined to say no. But I can’t speak with certainty and - as I discussed earlier - I truly think Aang and Zuko’s relationship would be limited by being called “brotherly” when their connection runs so deeply and is intertwined so heavily with the spiritual themes of the show. Thus, it’s possible the writers were purposefully emphasizing that spirituality by not labelling them as “brotherly”! But as I said, there’s really no way to be sure.

At the end of the day, I don’t think it matters how someone chooses to label Aang and Zuko’s relationship. I mean, I’m always a little horrified when a person completely overlooks their narrative significance as foils (because I personally can’t imagine dismissing either of their importance to the other), but hey, to each their own. Brotherly, queerplatonic, romantic, and hell, anything in-between - these interpretations are anyone’s for the taking. Have fun with it! 💛

(I hope this at least kind of resembles the answer you were looking for, anon 😂)

[willsimpforazula]

Sokkla Month Day 27/28: Angst/Fluff

A/N: Song is Oath Sign by LiSA, English translation from Amalee's cover.

PS: Fate has some killer OPs.

PPS: I blame my laziness on being too engrossed in Seiba fanfics.

Anywho...bone apple tea or somthing liek dats

------

繰り返す世界 何度手を伸ばしたら

儚い涙は黒い心溶かすの?

芽生え出した思いが胸に響いたなら

君の隣でずっと変わらず護るだろう

Once again I reach my hand into a world, repeating on end

Though it's dark, could my tears carve a path and lead me right into your heart?

Like a rose it blooms and grows inside my chest you're name's all it knows

Is this fate, 'cuz every day I pray that by your side I can stay

The first time they met, it was in an abandoned town in some forgotten corner of the Earth Kingdom. From then on, they sought to find out everything and anything they could on each other.

Every piece of information, every scrap of rumours and sightings was held tightly to their chest, blooming and growing as each of them kept tabs on the other as best they could. When asked, they casually dismissed it as 'research on the enemy', though both of them knew they weren't fooling anyone. After all, research most certainly did not include figuring out each other's likes and dislikes, as if one were to be inviting the other over for some afternoon tea.

-------

堕ちた希望を拾って 明日に繋いでゆけば

絡まった歪な願いだってほどける

I'll gather these fallen flowers, the hope discarded and broken

And join them where they can meet, my wish is to set them free

"Are you sure about this?"

"More than I've ever been."

"What if your sister…"

"If she wanted to, she would have done it a long time ago."

"Regardless, I don't like it one bit. Not after what she did to-to-"

"You were just itching for an excuse to bloodbend me no matter what I said or did, even after helping you track down your mother's killer. But yes, please lecture me on what your brother can and cannot do."

"That was different."

"I fail to see the differences."

"......"

"Everyone deserves a second chance. Killing her doesn't solve anything. Or taking her bending away. Your brother is the only one who can get through to her. Not me, not the therapists. I just want her to be whole again, free from Ozai's influences."

"If she ever so much as hurts a hair on him, she is dead, consequences be damned and you won't stop me. Understand?"

"Be my guest."

-----

光をかざして躊躇いを消した

あげたかったのは未来で

泣いてる夜抱いたまま 嘆きを叫んで

踏み入れた足を 遠くの理想が そっと癒してゆく

確かな絆を強く握り進もう どこまでも

穢れきった奇跡を背に

Holding up the light within and with no hesitation,

To give you a future is all I wanted

Hold me tight through the dark endless nights, as I scream till the morning' s light

All my broken down ideals, I know they will heal

With every step they'll form the future

I'll hold tightly to this special bond we share, I'll follow you anywhere

Carrying onwards bearing this miracle

"Why are you here?"

"I-well, I-"

"Answer me, brother of Katara. Why do you come day after day? Is it because you wish to rub my defeat in my face? Or are you here to make me feel comfortable with my executioner? Answer me."

"It's neither of these."

"Lies."

"I'm not lying, princess."

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"This. Pretending to be my friend, offering empty words. I don't need any of these."

"That's where you're wrong. Your brother-"

"Is weak and an imbecile for letting me live."

"Everyone deserves a second chance. Even you."

"If the roles were reversed you would have been executed on the spot, after a long torture session that would make death seem like a release."

"I doubt that."

"What would you know of my methods?"

"Because I know deep down inside there is still that spark inside of you. You are only the way that you are because frankly your parents were shit."

"You know nothing!"

"Maybe. Maybe not." Pulling out a dossier, he slid it across to her.

"What is this?"

"Know thy enemy, know thyself and you will win a hundred battles. Call it a hunch, call it a brother's intuition. Besides, if you really wanted me dead I would have been killed, I don't know, about twenty times over before we got to this point?"

"Fuck off Sokka, I don't want to see your face for the rest of the month."

"Keep telling yourself that missy." he smirked, even as a fireball whizzed dangerously close to his head.

"My my, someone's rusty."

"Fuck you you no good piece of shit savage!" she snarled, even as he moved out of earshot. Sometimes, she thought, it was better to not meet one's idol after all.

------

創られた想い 触れればなによりも

温かくて現実が霞み始める

狂い出した世界に問いかけ続けても

答えなんて出ないって もう君は知っていたの?

泣いて滲んだ願いは 決して揺るぎはしなくて

ただそっと痛みを終わりなく与える

Once again I hope I can regain the warmth that's ahead, and I pray these fake feelings will blur

As the world starts to fade away

Even if I lose my grip and set this question free from my lips,

I won't be surprised to know no answer will come from the light

This wish that was born from our tears, I know it'll never waver

I won't forget the pain even as we forge on ahead

"Crown Princess Azula, you are hereby relieved of all titles save your status as a princess and are forbidden from entering Caldera without prior permission from the Fire Lord himself. You are to be placed under house arrest on Ma'inka for the rest of your days. All communication will be vetted and censored and any attempt at inciting rebellion will result in your bending being stripped away as your only warning. The next attempt will result in public capital punishment. Do you understand?"

"I hear and obey."

"One question."

"Go ahead."

"Why spare me? Why let me live with my bending, knowing that it will be more trouble than it's worth?"

"It seems you have an advocate high in the system that petitioned on your behalf. Any more questions?"

"None."

"You have twenty four hours to prepare, starting now. I suggest you make full use of this time."

Why did you do it? Sokka you stupid fucking idiot, I'm a fucking liablity here. I really hope you don't regret it, she thought to herself.

---

Dear Suki,

I know what you're thinking. Believe me, sometimes I wonder if it's easier to just let her die or languish in some asylum for the rest of her days. But, well, I don't think I'll ever sleep easy at night knowing that perhaps I could have done something to save her.

I know with every sentence I write, I'm essentially digging my own grave. And frankly, I don't blame you. After all she did throw you into the Fire Nation's Supermax. I won't pretend her hands are clean, that she didn't know what she was doing but still, I think everyone deserves a second chance.

I'm sorry.

Sorry for leading you on all this while.

Sorry for making you think we had a future together.

Sorry for making you wait so long before I came to save you.

Most of all, sorry for giving what is rightfully yours to someone who probably doesn't deserve it.

I know that you'd most likely hop on the next boat and drag my corpse back to Caldera so you can beat the shit out of me one more time but please, whatever happens, your happiness isn't with me.

PS: Katara was just as livid when I told her about it. Also, I hear Zuko is single and ready to mingle (probably not the latter; spirits know he has the social skills of a turtleduck, which is to say none).

---------

哀しみを知って 喜びを知った 弱さは君を変えて

立ち止まった時 剥がれ すべてを壊した

Only knowing of sadness

Never thought I could feel this

But now I know what is pure happiness

Time stops still, taking your breath away

So rip from weakness and escape

Standing on the bridge, the glowing lights of Caldera grew ever fainter until it was a distant white speck on the horizon, before it finally sank beneath the horizon. Under the light of the stars and moon, the vessel was illuminated by the moonlight and the bioluminescent blue algae crashing against the bow of the ship. It seemed ironic that a vessel that carried her off two years with the promise of greatness and glory would now be carrying her off to obscurity and exile.

"Here, wear this. Wouldn't want you getting a cold now?"

"Why?" she whispered, a stray tear falling from her eyes as she felt a coat placed on her shoulders.

"Why what?"

"Why do all of this? For me? For someone who doesn't deserve this?"

"Because no one stood up for you when they should have."

"You shouldn't have. You deserve your happy ever after with Suki, not a lifetime of pain and regret with me."

"Maybe. Maybe it's all for nothing and I deserve a lifetime of pain and regret for being an idiot. But if I'm being honest, the times I sparred with you were the times I felt most alive. Like as if I finally found what I've been seeking for all this while."

"This is a massive gamble you're taking, betting it all like this."

"What can I say? It almost worked on the Day of the Black Sun. It worked out on the day of Sozin's Comet."

"What makes you think you can save me from myself? More to the point, why do you think I want to be saved to begin with? Until you can give me a satisfactory answer, don't come and look for me." she replied.

Just as she was about to disappear into the ship, she heard him mutter "Because you deserve to be happy too."

------

届くはずのない言葉を託して 見えた瞳は

何を感じて遠ざけるの? 心隠すように

今ここにいる意味 教えてくれたなら

強くいられる 変わらずいつも

I keep screaming out to you though I may never reach you,

But still I can picture the light in your eyes

Tell me what makes you so afraid that you'd hide your heart away

If only you'd turn to to me and say the words that would give my life meaning

Then I would and will forever be strong enough

Ducking into her room, Azula cried into her pillow, as she asked if this was one of fate's twisted ironies dealing her a hand that seemed too good to be true. Monsters don't need saving, they need to be put down. You don't deserve him.

Shut up!

You know it's true.

What's stopping him from betraying you? Or has your adolescent heart fallen for him that you would excuse any of his actions?

Shut up!

I could go on. Do you want me to?

No, stop please!

Azula!

Azula!

Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands embracing her in a tight hug, making her gasp. It was warm, familiar and comforting. At once, the voices in her mind stilled, as the other person called out her name tenderly, like a parent with a lost child. Instinctively she knew it was Sokka, yet she kept her eyes screwed shut lest it all turn out to be a figment of her imagination.

After all, she had once hallucinated her mother talking to her on the day of Sozin's Comet when she was obviously nowhere near her room, much less Caldera or the Palace.

In a small still voice, she asked "Is-is it really you Sokka?", to which she felt a gentle pressure of his lips on her forehead and a response "Can hallucinations do this?"

"I don't know anymore. Please, don't lie to me."

"Open your eyes."

"No, what if it's all just my hallucinations?"

Another kiss.

"Still not convinced?"

"No."

Scooping up her hands in his, he pressed it against his chest and cheeks before asking her "Are you convinced now?"

In response, she buried her face in his shoulder, this time sobbing loudly as emotion overtook her senses. Meanwhile, Sokka just held her wordlessly, stroking her hair and back. When she finally stilled, he placed her on the bed and tucked her in. Before he left, she asked "Do you mean it?"

"?"

"What you said on the bridge, that I deserve to be happy too, even after all I've done?"

"Yes."

---------

光をかざして躊躇いを消した

あげたかったのは未来で

泣いてる夜抱いたまま 嘆きを叫んで

踏み入れた足を 遠くの理想が そっと癒してゆく

確かな絆を強く握り進もう どこまでも

迷いなんて目を開いて

振り払って手を伸ばそう

穢れきった奇跡を背に

Holding up the light within and with no hesitation,

To give you a future is all I wanted

Hold me tight through the dark endless nights, as I scream till the morning' s light

All my broken down ideals, I know they will heal

With every step they'll form the future

I'll hold tightly to this special bond we share, I'll follow you anywhere

No hesitating I'll open my eyes, though my heart's breaking

I'll reach out my hand and carry onwards

Bearing this miracle

15 years later….

"No no no Sokka you can't do this! You promised!" Azula screamed as she held his battered body in her hands.

"I-I'm sorry, firefly. I guess I was in over my head a little, huh?" he coughed, blood and spit staining the floor and her dress.

"I-we-don't have much time. There's someone else you need to protect."

"You're my only anchor to sanity Sokka! You can't."

Grabbing the nearest sheet of paper, Sokka wrote down a short message, before tearing off his necklace and dipping in it his blood, before pressing it into the paper like a seal.

"T-that should be enough, I think."

"Sokka please stop saying things like these! Our kid needs a father! She needs you! I need you!"

"Then I'm a terrible father if I can't protect those whom I love. Please, go now."

"Sokka!"

"Remember what I said on the bridge that night we left Caldera?"

"Yes, but don't you deserve happiness too?"

"Being with you these past fifteen years made me happy enough, so please, for the sake of yours and hers, go now while you still have the time."

"You're just one swordsman and a non-bender, how-"

"I have my ways. Seriously please, grab this and go! Every second we argue here is one second less you have to escape!"

"Alright, fine! But I better see you in Caldera, or else! I'll be damned if I let Risa grow up without a father."

"I'll try."

"No 'try', you will. Promise me Sokka."

"As you wish, firefly."

----

Present day

"Mommy, where are we going?"

"We're going to see daddy, Riri."

"Going to see daddy?"

"Yes, that's right." she replied as she stepped into the small shrine.

Turning her head and looking around, Risa could only see plaques with names and faces, but not a single person. Tugging on her mother's sleeve, she asked "Where's daddy? Why are we here?"

Scooping her up into her arms, she pointed at a plaque that bore his name and face, as well as a jet black sword encased in stone. "That-" she pointed, "is daddy."

At once, things clicked her mind and she asked the obvious "Is-is daddy gone?"

"No, no he isn't. Because he's in you and me. As long as someone remembers him, he will never be gone."

"Really?"

"Really."

Pulling out a handful of joss sticks, she asked Risa "Could you light this for me?" Nodding, she conjured a small green flame on her fingertips and lit the incense. Handing over three of the six sticks in her hands, both mother and daughter bowed twice, before placing it in the urn. Finally, Azula unwrapped a packet of seal jerky and placed it as an offering on the altar, before bowing again and taking her daughter by the hand to leave the place.

As they did, she could feel a burden being lifted from her shoulders as they crossed the threshold and just for a moment, she thought she could smell the ocean breeze and smoke, twin scents that reminded her so much of the boy, no, man who threw it all aside for her.

"I promise Sokka, I'll make sure Risa here grows up happy and healthy." she whispered to herself.

[thevictorianghost]

The ATLA Comics and the Character Assassination of Zuko’s, Aang’s and Katara’s character arcs (in one page!)

Thank you to Emma/jerkbendinq on Twitter for providing me this image!

Look. I knew the ATLA comics were bad. I’d heard, per example, about what they’d done to the Southern Water Tribe. And, especially, the glorification of industrialization in a world where bending exists, which leads to Northern Water Tribe imperalism and colonization. Others have talked about this in depth and have the tools to talk about these topics.

But THIS! THIS I want to talk about!

Let’s start with this. I know nothing about the context of this scene. But I don’t need context. Because there is SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE. 

But we do, John Mulaney.

Oooooh, but we do. 

I have too much time on my hands.

I felt so viscerally pissed when I read this that I decided to write this meta. 

So here we go.

Let’s analyze this. Line by line.

Zuko: If you ever see me turning into my father, I want you to... I want you to end me.

Aang: What?!

Up ‘till now, not that bad. Aang’s character’s integrity is kept intact for the moment. Remember the pacifistic monk who didn’t want to kill Ozai? I think he’s here in this reaction. 

Aang: No, I'm not gonna end it like this.

All right. 

But the emphasis on the words end me make me really uncomfortable. This doesn’t feel like Zuko talking. Somehow, these words feel like they could fit more coming out of Azula’s mouth than anyone else’s. 

Azula: You mean it’s not obvious yet? I’m about to celebrate becoming an only child!

But we’ve barely started.

Let’s continue to the next panel.

Zuko: Even now, after everything that’s happened, my family’s legacy is still a part of me.

I’M SORRY??!? 

Is this somehow a bastardized version of this scene from The Avatar and the Firelord??!?

Iroh: Because understanding the struggle between your two great-grandfathers can help you better understand the battle within yourself. Evil and good are always at war inside you, Zuko. It is your nature, your legacy. But, there is a bright side. What happened generations ago can be resolved now, by you. Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family and the Fire Nation. Born in you, along with all the strife, is the power to restore balance to the world.

(I don’t particularly like this dichotomy either. Good and evil aren’t battling within Zuko. It’s his struggle between doing the righ thing and doing the wrong thing that is. But whatever. I’ll let THAT slide.)

What happened to the “bright side” in the comics?? What happened to the power Zuko has within himself to restore balance to the world?? His entire character growth somehow doesn’t matter anymore because of his father’s and his forefathers’ legacies? The “good” in him doesn’t matter anymore?? 

What happened to THIS scene?!

Katara: You mean, after all Roku and Sozin went through together, even after Roku showed him mercy, Sozin betrayed him like that‌?

Toph: It's like these people are born bad.

Aang: No, that's wrong. I don't think that was the point of what Roku showed me at all.

Sokka: Then what was the point?

Aang: Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? If anything, their story proves anyone's capable of great good and great evil. Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance. 

Or this?!

Zuko: For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me. I thought it was my honor I wanted, but really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn. How could you possibly justify a duel with a child?

Ozai: It was to teach you respect!

Zuko: It was cruel! And it was wrong.

Ozai: Then you have learned nothing.

Zuko: No, I've learned everything! And I've had to learn it on my own! Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the War was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it!  We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness.

What happened to Zuko’s stand against Ozai during the Day of Black Sun?? What happened to Zuko’s entire character arc from Book 2 onwards?? Suddenly, because he has his father’s blood in his veins, he’s doomed to carry his legacy? What happened to Zuko creating his OWN destiny, to change the world??

Sigh.

This wasn’t the most insulting line in that entire paragraph, though. 

THIS WAS.

Zuko: That’s why it’s my duty to heal the scars that the Fire Nation has left on the world.

I BEG YOUR PARDON?!?

NOTICE THE EMPHASIS I PUT ON THE WORD SCARS?!?

They keep comparing Ozai with Zuko THIS ENTIRE TIME. He’s terrified of failing the Fire Nation. He’s terrified of failing the world. He’s terrified of failing Aang and the Four Nations.

Zuko is terrified of becoming his genocidal abusive father.

AND SUDDENLY THEY BRING UP SCARS??!?

SCARS??

FUCKING SCARS???!?

(But we’ll come back to Katara.)

Let’s keep going or I’ll combust on the spot.

Zuko: But the Fire Lord’s throne comes with a lot of pressures.

Two things about this line.

First of all. It... bothers me that Zuko uses the term “the Fire Lord’s throne” instead of “my throne”. It’s like he still hasn’t accepted he’s the Fire Lord. Zuko’s throne doesn’t feel like it belongs to an individual who is allowed choices in this scene. It’s like he believes he’s all the Fire Lords who were his predecessors. And knowing that he thinks he carries his family’s legacy like a weight on his shoulders... that doesn’t bode well.

And second of all. Where is Iroh in all of this? What happened to Iroh’s mentorship? His kind words to remind Zuko that he can rake control of his own destiny? Is he still in Ba Sing Se? Taking care of the Jasmine Dragon? Has he completely left Zuko alone, enough so that the only person he can ever confide in is Aang, who has Avatar duties to fill?

What happened to this?

Iroh: You know Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind, and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday.

Or this??

Iroh: I was never angry with you. I was sad because I was afraid you lost your way. And you did it by yourself.  And I am so happy you found your way here.

(Can anyone give Zuko a hug?? Please??)

Or even THIS??

Iroh: No. Someone new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart  and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko.

Zuko: Unquestionable honor? But I've made so many mistakes.

Iroh: Yes, you have. You've struggled; you've suffered, but you have always followed your own path. You restored your own honor, and only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation.

Oof. Okay. Let’s keep going.

Zuko: And if I’m being honest with myself... I need a safety net. The world needs a safety net. That’s what I need you to be, Aang. The safety net.

Again. Two things about this line.

What does Zuko mean when he says “the world needs a safety net”? What does he think ending him will accomplish for the world? Zuko’s DEATH could leave an opening for Ozai to take the throne! Because again, Aang has refused to kill Ozai in cold blood! As Iroh has said MULTIPLE TIMES by now and as Zuko has said himself, HE CAN RESTORE BALANCE TO THE WORLD TOO. It doesn’t all revolve around Aang. 

Speaking of Aang, here’s the second thing. Of course, Aang is the Avatar. But he himself alone couldn’t end the war during Sozin’s Comet. Zuko and Katara, Suki and Sokka and Toph, and the Order of the White Lotus all participated. Why should Aang be the only one to take this godawful decision? Why??

What happened to cooperation?? What happened to the Four Nations working together to end the Hundred Year War?? 

On to the next line.

Aang: Zuko, you're not your dad! And you're my friend! How can you expect me--"

One more time. Two things about this scene.

First of all, I’m going to be sarcastic, here. Forgive me, but I have to. 

Thank you, Aang, for pointing out that Zuko is NOT his father and that YES, you ARE his friend. 

Let’s go back to Aang’s speech at the end of the Avatar and the Fire Lord.

Aang: And I also think it was about friendships.

Toph: Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?

Aang: I don't see why not.

Sokka: Well, scientifically speaking, there's no way to prove that...

Katara: Oh, Sokka, just hold hands.

If friendships can last more than one lifetime... why do you have to remind Zuko that you’re his friend, Aang? At least you’re not considering downright killing him and you don’t want to do this, you know!

Does that mean that if he wasn’t your friend and that if he was like Ozai, you’d kill him, though? Is that what you’re trying to say? Because the LAST time you were confronted with the idea of killing someone who WAS LIKE Ozai, oh no wait, who WAS Ozai, you said this!

Aang: This isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understand the position I'm in.

Katara: Aang, we do understand. It's just ...

Aang: Just what, Katara? What?

Katara: We're trying to help!

Aang: Then, when you figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it!

What happened to that? 

Hm?

Next line. Once again.

Zuko: As your friend, I'm asking you -- if you ever see me go bad, end me. Promise me, Aang.

Again with these characters having to remind each other that they’re friends! Do you stop being friends while travelling the world and have to remind each other that you’re friends once you meet again? Is that it? (/s)

But that’s not what’s bothering me about this line.

What has Katara said since the beginning of this page?

Absolutely. Nothing.

And this line simply states that Aang is Zuko’s friend. But what about Katara? Are they still friends? They don’t interact much. She barely looks at him this entire page. They don’t talk. This whole scene is about Zuko and Aang. What is Katara doing here? Why is she here?

Oh. Wait.

The ONLY THING Katara does in this entire page...

When Aang looks at her, wondering what to do...

SHE NODS.

SHE. NODS.

She gives Aang the push in the right direction to... wait for it...

MURDER ZUKO WITH HIS BARE HANDS!

Is this supposed to be a callback to THIS scene??

Katara: You might have everyone else here buying your ... transformation, but you and I both know you've struggled with doing the right thing in the past. So let me tell you something, right now. You make one step backward, one slip-up, give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang, and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends... right then and there. Permanently.

Then what happened to this??

Or this???

Katara: I didn't forgive him. I'll never forgive him. But I am ready to forgive you.

Not only is it that KATARA AGREES TO MURDER ZUKO, she does it while being ENTIRELY SILENT. She never talks. She only nods. Katara has been reduced to become Aang’s silent advisor. 

What happened to THIS girl??!

Katara: I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me!

Or THIS girl?

Zuko: Katara! How would you like to help me put Azula in her place?

Katara: It would be my pleasure.

Or THIS girl?

Katara: ZUKO!

THIS GIRL?

THIS GIRL??!?

(*Bangs head against keyboard*)

And on to the final line. The nail in the coffin.

Aang: ... Fine. I promise.

There we are. He’s accepted it. He’s going to do it if he has to. He’s promised, right? Aang just... gives in. At least Aang doesn’t look thrilled at the idea of doing this. Which isn’t what I can say about Katara. Who looks damn ready to end Zuko right now if that’s necessary. Not that she says anything. 

But the simple fact that they are, THE THREE OF THEM, considering this SUICIDE PACT... 

...is infuriating.

Then we end with a view of the starry night sky as fireworks come to life.

Yeah, right. Sure. Talk about reading the room here, folks.

So let me recap ALL OF THIS.

Zuko is a character who has been abused for years by his father, burned at the age of thirteen and sent on a quest to find the Avatar. During the show, he learns that he doesn’t have to obey his father, that he can make his own choices and create his own destiny and legacy. He’ll be the new Fire Lord who will usher the Fire Nation in an era of peace, helped by Iroh and his friends.

Aang is a pacifist who refuses to kill Ozai, Zuko’s aforementioned abusive and genocidal father. Killing is not the answer for him; he desperately wants to find a way out, enough so that he gets into a fight with his friends about the mere idea of killing Ozai. He values his friends dearly and learns that the world doesn’t only rely on himself, that he has friends he can count upon. 

Katara is a warrior girl who doesn’t back down from a fight. After many trials and trebulations, after being betrayed by Zuko and forgiving him in the end, she has become one of Zuko’s closest friends and allies, especially in their fight against Azula. She’s not afraid to voice her opinions and will never turn her back on people who need her.

But according to the comics... none of that seems to be true!

Or didn’t we watch the same show?

What happened to all of that? What happened to these characters?

I dunno.

You tell me.

[cobra-diamond]

The Unfinished 2nd Half of Zuko’s Journey

Zuko’s journey consists of two parts. The first part we saw in the show; it was Zuko receiving his Uncle’s forgiveness and becoming Fire Lord. The second part we did not see; it is his struggle to restore the honor of the Fire Nation.

The True Ending of Avatar

The ending for Avatar was not Aang and Katara kissing in Ba Sing Se in front of a beautiful sunset followed by the word “The End”.

No, the true ending of Avatar was Zuko’s coronation. That was the moment when you knew the Gaang had accomplished their goals, that their journey was complete and that the Avatar world had changed for good; the Fire Nation’s war was over and Zuko was the Fire Lord who was going to restore the honor of the Fire Nation...

... Going to. He had not done it yet by the show’s end.

Zuko: “I promised my Uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation, and I will.”

“And I will”... Will. It was a new goal that hadn’t been achieved and you can bet your butt it wasn’t over three months later. Now read the next lines:

Zuko: “The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided. But with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right path, and begin a new era of love and peace.”

The road ahead is “challenging”. “Get it back” on the right path. “Begin” a new era of love and peace.

Restore the honor of the Fire Nation... A Goal.

Begin a new era of love and peace... A Motivation.

The road ahead is challenging... A Conflict.

These are the beginnings of an entirely new story for the franchise; a logical continuation of the original cast that does not erase the significance of what came before. It is the continuation of Zuko’s stated Goals and Motivations at the end of the show where he must change and grow in order to become the Fire Lord that redeems the Fire Nation.

It is the beginning of the second half of Zuko’s journey.

Where Aang’s Journey Ends, Zuko’s Endures

Aang’s journey in the show consists of a single, clear goal with a definite endgame: master all four elements and defeat the Fire Lord. Once Aang masters all four elements, he is ready to face the Fire Lord. Once he defeats the Fire Lord, his journey is over. How he masters all four elements and defeats the Fire Lord, along with the people he meets along the way, is what makes the story deep and compelling. This is where Zuko comes in.

The purpose of Zuko’s journey wasn’t clear for over half of the show. Until Iroh spelled it out for him in Avatar and the Fire Lord, it appeared he was a morally ambiguous wild card who could end up on either side. Why Zuko’s inner turmoil was so important to Aang’s journey was not clear.

Indeed, we did not know the full importance of Zuko’s journey until he stood up to his father in Day of Black Sun. That’s when learned why Zuko was important: he was the crown prince abandoning the evil ways of his country to help the Avatar save the world.

So you’d think that when Zuko helped Aang master firebending, defeated his sister in the Agni Kai and was crowned Fire Lord that his journey was over, right? That being crowned Fire Lord was Zuko’s reward for being a sensitive, gentle soul unlike the ruthless, warmongering norm in his family?

That he’d spend the rest of his days slowly coping with his trauma while enjoying endless, relaxing days of romantic bliss with Mai? That he wouldn’t face internal opposition from the diehards and stalwarts of the old regime? That from the start of his reign he would be leading a Fire Nation that was fully accepting of him and everything he stood for… Right?

Wrong.

The Tragedy of the Fire Nation

In addition to the central conflict of ending the Hundred Year War and Aang’s need to defeat the Fire Lord, there were numerous subtle threads running through the show that gave Avatar its heart and soul: the tragic, lasting effects of war on a people and their culture, the effects of foisting too much responsibility on children, the importance of friendship and having people to lean on, among many others. One of these threads concerned the topic of how decent, normal people can turn bad.

In Season 1, it is revealed that Avatar Roku—a firebender—was a respectable, honorable Avatar despite being a member of the Fire Nation.

In the same season, a Fire Sage helps Aang in his effort to connect with Roku despite being loyal to the Fire Nation and Fire Lord and Avatar.

Aang: “If this is the Avatar's temple, why did the Sages attack me?” Shyu: “Things have changed. In the past, the Sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the Sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return. But he never came.”

In The Blue Spirit, Aang laments to Zuko how one of his best friends was Fire Nation and says to his enemy, “Do you think we could have been friends, too?”

A Fire Nation admiral and firebending master—Jeong Jeong—deserts out of disillusionment with the war.

And Iroh fights Zhao to stop him from destroying the Moon Spirit, to which Zhao does agree, for a moment, until his temper gets the better of him, showing that concern for harmony and balance isn’t a lost concept in the Fire Nation; it’s just buried deep.

In Season 2, Aang rescues the child of Omashu’s occupying governor, ignoring the practical advantages of keeping it as a hostage, and we are explicitly shown how happy this makes the invaders.

In Zuko Alone, Zuko becomes a truly sympathetic character. We are shown how he has always struggled to live up to the expectations of his warmongering family, and leading up to Season 2’s finale, Zuko and Irohs’ disillusionment with their country reaches new heights, showing that the militaristic expectations of the Fire Nation isn’t even embraced by all members of its ruling family.

In Season 3, the Gaang lives in the Fire Nation. We see Fire Nation people, their kids, their towns, their daily lives. Aang is actually excited to be in the Fire Nation because it reminds him how much fun it was before the war.

In Avatar and the Fire Lord, Roku is shown to have been the best friend of the Fire Lord that started the war, but Sozin’s desire and willpower to achieve his goals corrupted him, and in that same episode, Aang comments that friendships can transcend lifetimes, suggesting that the Avatar and the Fire Lord can be friends again. Ultimately, this is proven true when Zuko joins the Gaang, helps them stop the war and becomes friends with Aang.

Toph: “It's like these people are born bad.” Aang: “No, that's wrong. I don't think that was the point of what Roku showed me at all. Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? If anything, their story proves anyone's capable of great good and great evil. Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance. And I also think it was about friendships.”

Everyone, even the Fire Lord and Fire Nation, have to be treated like they’re worth giving a chance. Even if they don’t ask for it.

But most importantly, at the start of every episode, Katara says the Four Nations used to live together in harmony.

What the show was saying in so many small ways was that the Fire Nation’s war and what its leaders had become were neither normal for the Avatar world nor for the Fire Nation itself. Not even Chin the Conqueror’s conquests of the Earth Kingdom holds a candle to the Fire Nation’s multiple layers of evil, self-interest and disregard for world balance. It was a world first, even for the Fire Nation.

While the existence of the all-powerful Avatar, in theory, helps keep the peace between the four nations, the Fire Nation did not used to be hostile to the other nations. Sozin changed the old Fire Nation, the one that was peaceful and enlightened, that achieved an unprecedented era of prosperity, that convinced Sozin that the Fire Nation was first among equals. The fun, friendly Fire Nation that Aang remembered was lost and it stayed lost for a hundred years…

… And the solution wasn’t to destroy the Fire Nation.

The True Purpose of Zuko’s Journey

Until the series finale, Zuko’s journey appeared to be about him achieving moral redemption for his time spent as a halfhearted, incompetent, semi-accomplice in his nation’s evils. But Zuko did not turn against his father and help the Avatar in order to redeem himself of his sins. No, he turned against his country because he was alienated from it, couldn’t meet its expectations and became disillusioned with its goals. In other words, because it was what Uncle Iroh had taught him.

Zuko’s heart told him that betraying Iroh in Ba Sing Se was wrong and that he needed to right that wrong. To Zuko, doing the right thing meant following Uncle Iroh’s guidance and accepting him as his true father, and to do that required switching sides. Zuko’s redemption was not achieved when he stood up to his father. It was not achieved when he stood victorious over Azula. It wasn’t even achieved when he became Fire Lord at the end of the show. Zuko’s redemption was when Iroh hugged and forgave him. That was the moment of catharsis for Zuko. That was his “redemptive” moment.

Zuko wasn’t redeemed when he showed people he was “good” or “righteous” or “honorable”. Zuko was redeemed when he felt accepted as a son... By his uncle.

Unfortunately, Zuko’s troubles were deeper than his banishment and Agni Kai with his father. In short, he simply didn’t belong in the Fire Nation he was born into.

Zuko was a normal boy born into an abnormal situation that he didn’t have the personality for. He didn’t have the ruthlessness, intelligence, competence, precociousness and raw talent for militarism and totalitarian rule that his sister had, so he failed to live up to his father’s self-serving, power hungry expectations which, in turn, represented the peak of malice, moral corruption and ruling-through-fear that the war had instilled in the country’s leadership.

In fact, Zuko also didn’t live up to the expectations of his country, as revealed by his monologue in Siege of the North Part 2.

Zuko: “She's a firebending prodigy – and everyone adores her.”

Hmm. I wonder who “everybody” is...?

If you think the Fire Nation’s militarism is simply the result of genetic predispositions, I encourage you to read The East Asian Origins of the Fire Nation and Its Villains. It helps shed light on the potential reasons why a “soft” boy like Zuko might struggle in a militaristic culture such as the Fire Nation’s.

So when Zuko finally realized the righteous path and followed it, his story was over, right? He stood up to his father and Iroh forgave him. He showed us that he had a pure heart and was a good person and good, moral people are supposed to be rewarded for their innate qualities, right? What only mattered to Zuko’s journey was that he help the Avatar, vanquish his sister and end the war by royal decree so that a new era of love and peace could begin… Right?

Wrong again. Iroh even says so when he tells Zuko that his journey is not over when they are together in the White Lotus camp in The Phoenix King:

Iroh: “… Someone new must take the throne. An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko… And only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation.”

Until that moment, Zuko had no visions of himself as the ruler of his country, never mind changing anything about it.

Let me repeat that.

Until THAT MOMENT Zuko had no visions of himself as the ruler of his country.

Zuko: “And then... then would you come and take your rightful place on the throne?... I'll try, Uncle.”

Very reassuring words from somebody who believes they’re destiny is to rule a country full of walking flamethrowers. Not. Once more, I encourage you to read The East Asian Origins of the Fire Nation and Its Villains for insight as to why this could go wrong.

To Zuko, the Fire Nation he grew up in is the Fire Nation. As he understood it, his father had to be eliminated, the airships destroyed and the rest of the world defended from what remained of the Fire Nation’s power. Him taking the throne was an afterthought at that point, never mind what to do about his sister.

Perhaps he thought that stopping his father and helping Aang become a fully-realized Avatar would be enough to intimidate Azula and the rest of his country into submission since there did not appear to be a plan to militarily dominate the Fire Nation. However, that’s a topic for another day.

Whatever Zuko thought his endgame was, he didn’t know it, but Iroh knew it. Avatar Roku knew it. The White Lotus knew it and Aang came to know it. Zuko’s journey was not to prove that he is a good person on the inside. It was not to turn against the Fire Nation. It was not to teach Aang firebending. It wasn’t even to defeat his sister and assume the crown. Those were all just means to his journey’s end. Zuko’s journey was, and always has been, to be the Fire Lord that redeems the Fire Nation.

And it wasn’t over when the final credits rolled.

The Two Halves of Zuko’s Journey

Zuko’s journey could be thought of as having two parts. Part one is in the show. It is where Zuko learns why the Fire Nation needs to change and what he needs to do to change it: help Aang, subjugate Azula and become Fire Lord. Part two would be the trials and tribulations that result in the Fire Nation’s redemption, or at least the key events that set it firmly on that path.

Redeeming the Fire Nation, however, is not a process solved by merely wearing the Fire Lord’s crown. It is not enough for him to have a pure heart and have unquestionable honor. He has to make the right choices and answer the hard questions when it comes to weening his country off of war, conquest, colonies and a massive military industry, to say nothing of the culture that supports it.

If “everyone adores” Azula, is everyone going to adore him?

He has to reform the members of the old regime: the generals, admirals, soldiers, nobles and true believers. He has to get the people who are resentful of him on his side. This is not a simple, good versus evil, 3 months later having tea in Ba Sing Se kind of problem. Do you really think Zuko is going to hold mass executions, imprison families and burn books like certain Chinese emperors of old? Or will his “pure heart” and “unquestionable honor” collide with the realities of the post-war Fire Nation?

Will the broken, anemic state of the Royal Family be important? Without old-man Iroh, the ruling family is just him, himself and himself. Will Azula’s ability to create heirs be left to shrivel to dust in the asylum? Ew! Gross!! But that’s a question Zuko has to ask; that’s how power is transferred in his government, and at the end of the show, it’s only him.

Will he even try to get Azula on his side? Does he need Azula on his side? If so, for what purpose? What role will his mother play in the government? Can he simply allow Iroh to be a “multinational agent” via the White Lotus? Will he have to force Iroh to put the Fire Nation first? Will the nobility and military see the state of the Royal Family as a weakness that must be fixed... Or be replaced?

Who will oppose Zuko? Who will follow him? What mistakes will he make? What will he get right?

How will Zuko struggle, how will he change and grow in order to become the Fire Lord that redeems the Fire Nation?

If you thought the reward for finishing hard work is not having more hard work to do, then you’re probably not an adult.

That is the unfinished second half of Zuko’s journey, that we didn’t get to see.

But don’t worry; the hard work ahead for Zuko is the basis for Season 4.

[phoukanamedpookie]

“The Headband” and the sickness in the Fire Nation

“The worst thing to call somebody is crazy. It's dismissive. ‘I don't understand this person, so they're crazy.' That's bullshit. These people are not crazy. They strong people. Maybe their environment is a little sick.” —Dave Chappelle, Into the Actors Studio

If you’re an Azula fan, it’s par for the course to encounter people constantly talking about how crazy she is. I’ve frequently made my increasing discomfort with this known, especially in light of how mainstream Western societies demonize and pathologize women and girls, people of color, LGBT people and neurodivergent people. 

Nevertheless, Azula is a fascinating character, and it’s worth untangling some of the things that contribute to the person she is. Most people focus entirely on her family to explain her behavior. While I agree that Azula’s parents play the most significant role in her development, I also think that we need to look beyond the nuclear family model and look at Fire Nation society as a whole.

Enter “The Headband.”

Along with “The Beach,” “The Headband” is one of the few episodes that gives us an inside look at what the Fire Nation is like outside of the war. Whereas “The Beach” is very much about the characters, “The Headband” is about Fire Nation society.

Although "The Headband” takes a lighthearted stance toward Fire Nation education, the things it reveals have some deeply unsettling undercurrents. Let’s review a few events of this episode.

The music teacher says that “dancing  not conducive to a proper learning environment. Young people must have rigid discipline and order.”

Aang gets in trouble with the Headmaster his second day at school for “arguing” with his history teacher, “disrupting” music class and “roughing up” the star pupil. What did he really do that was so beyond the pale? In history class, he politely raised his hand, waited to be called on, and explained that the Air Nomads had no army and were ambushed by Sozin. In music class, he tapped his feet a too vigorously while playing the tsungi horn. In the schoolyard, he embarrassed a bully by evading his strikes and making him trip over himself.

The Headmaster threatens to send Aang to reform school if he steps out of line again. Reform school is the coal mines.

When "Wang Fire” (Sokka) yells at "Kuzon” (Aang) and threatens him with “the punishment of a lifetime,” the Headmaster says, “That’s what I like to hear.”

Hard labor for minor infractions? Verbal abuse and implied corporal punishment as norms for child-rearing? Brutal repression of creative self-expression? Remember: this is being done to children. This is some 1984-level indoctrination, complete with Ozai as Big Brother.

Consider the very disturbing ramifications of this. In the eyes of Fire Nation society, Ozai may actually be the ideal.

[dalygrace]

@stlapin said: 🔆 + lear crew + atla (maybe with a sibling agni kai :D)! featuring @catherinedaly and @evcravens

The day of Sozin's comet dawns clear and crisp, a clean slate to usher in a new era of Fire Nation dominance. She follows the armies to the ports, kneels before her father as he prepares to battle. She can feel the energy of victory all around, crackling from the soldiers, and her heart feels as if it has lodged itself in her throat. She burns, all fierce pride, as her father names her successor in the early morning light. Fire Lord. The title is sweet on her tongue, but there is too the taste of ash - her rise tempered by her father's further ascension. Some small part of her stings with this once and final insult, but she shoves it down, revels in the glory of her day, the day of her coronation.

By noon she has dismissed all her personal servants, banished both the Dai Lee and her lifelong advisors, and thoroughly frustrated herself with the ritual hairstyles she needs for the ceremony. In other words, she was doing fabulously. The black rot of her heart was on full display, and she found she quite enjoyed the rush of giving orders as much as she thought she would. She grins at herself in her bedroom mirror, smoothing down the edges of her newly shorn bangs. "What a shame," a voice says from behind her, and Grace's blood runs cold.

Her mother stands just behind her, a sad frown on her face as she takes in Grace's crisp uniform and unruly hair. "You always had such beautiful hair." Grace does not dignify this with a response, only pulls her hair roughly back into a bun, murderous feeling in her chest growing. "How could I miss my own daughter's coronation?" Her mother continues, as if Grace had played into her little dialogue, as if she'd entertained the idea that she was worth her time. "Don't patronize me," she snaps back, eyes blazing. "I know you'd rather it be Catherine, some little soft thing for you to puppet. I am not yours to control."

"You have always been about control," her mother replies, neatly dodging the splinters of Grace's anger that underly her words. "You cling to it, draw it to you with other people's fear. Why?"

Grace's anger boils under her skin. "Being feared is easy," she replies cooly. "I am seen as I should be seen - superior." She clutches her hairbrush like a vice, focusing on the feeling of the wood in her grasp as her mother's eyes turn sad. "Fear may be easy for others, but it is not for you. You use it to push people out, even your friends and sisters." Her mother tilts her head, gaze appraising, driving deep holes into Grace's already crumbling facade. "You are only hurting yourself. Why not try trust?"

"Trust is for fools," Grace retorts. "Fools like Catia and the Avatar." Her lip curls in disgust as her mother shakes her head sadly, and she turns sharply away. "Fear is the only way to bring power," she continues on, bullheaded to the last. "Even you fear me."

"No," the reflection says simply. "I love you, Grace. I do."

Something in her crumples. Her rage expands to fill the space, bright and hot, and Grace hurls the hairbrush at her mother's face. She is out the door before the last shards of mirror hit the ground.

She seethes all the way to the empty palace courtyard, until she kneels before the fire sages and prepares to receive her crown and title. They begin to speak and a sense of calm washes over Grace. Finally, she will be what she has been born for - Fire Lord, ruler, all-powerful. She is moments away from stepping into her birthright.

Which is, of course, why fate sees fit to send her sister back home.

Daly! Catherine shouts, their shared name sharp and echoing around the grand palace architecture. Grace's rage overpowers her and she stands, sneering down at her sister as she slides off the giant flying thing that brought her here, the waterbending boy just behind. "Kitty Cat," she spits, "so good of you to join us."

"You won't be Fire Lord today," Catia continues, and Grace laughs, a cruel sound. "Oh?" She questions, all mock solemnity. "Then who is? Certainly not you," she jeers, and revels in the angry twist of Catherine's mouth, the way Everett straightens up beside her. "If you're so keen for the title, sister," she continues, voice sharp, the plan of attack suddenly clear in her mind. "Then we fight for it. Agni kai."

"You're on," Catherine agrees, ever the go-getter, ever the optimist. Beside her, Everett looks concerned - Good, Grace thinks. He should be. They both should be.

When they fight, it is a battle of light and heat, blue flame tangling with orange. The stands are barren, devoid of the usual jeering and energetic crowd that would come to witness such an event. Their flames lick the edges of the seats, catch the rooftops ablaze. It does not matter to Grace - all she cares about is her sister before her, the scar on her face a reminder of how far she'd fallen, how worthless she'd turned out to be. Grace deflects a blast of orange flame and bares her teeth at Catherine, a sickly sharp grin. This was no agni kai for precious little Kitty Cat's honor, a lesson for her to learn - no. Only one of them was leaving here alive, and Grace knows it will be her.

Catherine's next blow takes her by surprise, a whip of flame that knocks her off her feet. She's gotten stronger since she's been away, become a force with fire that almost matches Grace. "No lightning today?" Her sister taunts as Grace drags herself up from the ground, and something cracks within her. The static charge builds as she rises, sparks playing along the length of her arms. This is where Grace stands supreme, leagues above her sister in ways she could not even imagine. The force of the lightning rips through her, sending her already manic pulse skyrocketing, as she takes in Catia's form, her stance as she readies herself against Grace's renewed onslaught. "Afraid I'll redirect it?" Catherine taunts again, unwavering, and Grace can see she no longer fears her, no longer sees the dominion she holds over her. She thinks she knows what Grace will do, knows her tricks and her vices after a lifetime of battling them - but she has underestimated her once again, here, when it counts the most.

The world stills as Grace breathes. Her vision, dominated by her sister, widens just a fraction, taking in Everett's nervous form behind Catia. He stands like a sentinel, the only witness to this battle of titans, the last puzzle piece in this ramshackle life her sister has cobbled together from the scraps given to her by their father. She sees the fear on his face and knows, in an instant, that it is not of her but rather for Catia's safety. Another smile stretches over her face, angry and cruel.

Grace has seen how Everett cares for people - for the Avatar, for the rest of his traveling band of misfits - but especially for her sister. It strikes something within her, his blind faith that Catia has been redeemed, wiped clean of her sins against him. He is weak for believing it, for believing in goodness even when there is none, just as her sister is. They have not known the path of righteousness that she treads, the unwavering faith in her actions that she holds. They act as though it is Grace who has transgressed, but have they not both acted against their nature, blinded by their so-called morality? It is Grace who has never wavered from her path, who has come, at last, to the apex of her destiny.

Grace channels all the rage she has left and sends it hurtling forward, pure deadly energy, aimed right at Everett's heart.

She sees the instant he realizes, sees the fear in his eyes change, and satisfaction pools low in her gut. They may have underestimated her, but she has read them perfectly - Catia leaps, taking the bolt straight to her chest, and the satisfaction grows, washing over Grace in a sickly wave. "Oh Catia," she sighs, voice laden with sarcasm, "You always were so predictable." She sends a bolt of lightning in Everett's direction as he tries to rush to Catherine's side, blocking his approach. The energy crackles around her as she looks down at her sister, manic smile carved across her face, all teeth and sharp edges.

"Kitty Cat, you don't look so good," she mocks, taking in the crumpled heap of Catherine's body, the small shocks that send her muscles twitching against her will. Before her, Everett looks murderous, and it is all too easy to dodge the wall of water he sends her way. She comes down behind him, lashing out with flames that chase him as he skates away from her. He does not have far to run, boxed in by the faintly burning stadium, pillars to hide behind no deterrent to Grace's determined flames. She stalks him like a cat toying with a mouse, dizzy with power, with the knowledge that she has just killed her sister, with victory sharp like iron on her tongue.

It is easy to corner him, to drive him back against the far edge of the field. "Everett," she coos, sending another blast of fire his way. "Tired already?" The torches flickering around cast ghastly shadows across her face, highlight the wild tangle of her hair as it cascades down her back. It had slipped from its loose bun at some point during the fight and Grace pushes it roughly over her shoulder as she strides forward. Everett says nothing, mouth set in a hard line, and Grace smiles further, feels the muscles in her cheeks pull tight as it splits her face. He whips several strands of water at her, a last ditch effort as he's cornered that Grace ducks into an easy roll to avoid. She comes up, power surging, drawing the crackling energy once more from her heart. She lunges, arm outstretched, fingers pointed at his head - and freezes.

The weight and chill of the ice hit her at once and she panics, unable to move. The lightning fizzles on her fingertips, a shockwave of energy radiating back down her arm to her core. The suddenness of it makes her gasp, an aborted motion as it is then that she realizes she cannot breathe. Everett's slow exhale before her, the way he moves fluidly through the ice turned liquid, only heightens the rapid thumping of her heart, the desperate realization that he has manufactured a space where she is utterly and completely powerless.

No, she tries to scream, as Everett takes hold of her arms, as she feels chains bite into her wrists. She tries to struggle, to pull away, but the ice has her pinned. Panic rises in her like bile as her lungs scream for air, burning as Everett forces her to her knees and pulls the chains tight. She feels as though she is about to burst, flames tearing through her as the ice falls away and Everett lands hard on his knees beside her, breath coming heavy. She breathes flame in a ragged arc, pulling hard against her restraints, undignified tears leaking from her eyes. She pulls hard as Everett rushes to Catia's side, feels her shoulder pop from its socket. The plain blinds her more than her tears and she screams - in pain, in grief, in anger at the mercy she has been shown that she does not deserve.

She screams until her throat is raw, burning from her bright blue flame. She screams until they are forced to subdue her like a rabid animal, muzzled and bound. She screams even then, as her vision blacks out - screams for all that she should have been and never will be. She screams for herself, lost now, irrevocably.

[thethiefandtheairbender]

Do you feel like 'deus ex machina' moments improve a story, or take away from it?

Quick definition of a deus ex machina, for anyone who doesn’t know: literary term that refers to a character or event that seems to exist just to effortlessly solve a problem that seems unsolvable. So because this is a general example, I’m going to delve into something specific.

I know a lot of people in the Avatar fandom—particularly, from what I’ve seen, people who ship Zuko/Katara and tend to be hard on Aang in general as a character—hate the ‘deus ex machina’ of the final part of Sozin’s Comet. Spoilers ahead in case you’re an anon who hasn’t seen Avatar!

But personally, I love it. I really, really do. Because the finale carefully layers things. We have Aang consulting his past lives (and damn do I want to know what Yangchen did her lifetime, bc holy shit girl) and we see that he has, with no other possible avenues, more or less accepted that he will have to do what Yangchen says: to sacrifice his own spiritual needs, and do whatever it takes to protect the world.

But here’s the thing. Aang, by just facing the Firelord in many ways, already has. This snippet of their conversation says it all.

Aang: But the monks taught me that I had to detach myself from the world so my spirit could be free.Yangchen: Many great and wise Air Nomads have detached themselves and achieved spiritual enlightenment, but the Avatar can never do it. Because your sole duty is to the world.

Aang harkens back to enlightenment and detachment—something he had to sacrifice his attachments to achieve in “The Crossroads of Destiny” in season two by going into the Avatar state. He had to let go of his attachments, and he did, despite the difficulty of it. And it was the physical trauma of getting shot with lightning, not the emotional, that was what closed off his chakra. There was nothing but emotional/physical distress that could have activated it. 

So the idea that Aang somehow had to unlock his chakra, emotionally, again, and that him getting into the Avatar state from being blasted into the rock was a dues ex machina? False. 

But the one people mainly talk about is the Lion Turtle, energy-bending spiel. And, again, I love that too, even more than the above, because it fits so well. Let me explain.

Aang goes into his conversation with Yangchen struggling with a huge moral conundrum, and it’s worth noting again that all of his friends—specifically Sokka, Katara, and Zuko—grew up in this war. It shaped everything about them. For Aang, he had the equivalent of running away from home for a day or two and getting in an accident. Then he wakes up, thinking it’s been only a couple of days, and finds out that he is the last of his kind, that everyone and everything he ever loved is dead, and most notably, that he blames himself because he ran away, even if he had no idea that this would happen. Because we see that when Aang is in the vicinity and feels responsible for something, he goes back and helps: returning to the village when he realizes the Fire Nation is heading there, turning back to help put out the fires on Kyoshi Island, and that’s just within the first four episodes of the first season.

So Aang, while often terrified and unsure, still will face responsibility and hold himself accountable and do the right thing. And we see, from Air Nomad philosophy—which, largely, is all that Aang has left of his people; he didn’t have Katara and Sokka’s life, with the slow decimination of their culture, some of which remains in people and other places, over sixty years; it happened to him overnight—that detachment is a pure form of spirituality.

And that Aang is stuck between achieving enlightenment to be able to control the Avatar State (again, a part of himself he was growing more and more scared of, because of how he had hurt other people in it) and recognizing that he’s bound to the world, as his duty. Enlightenment for being grounded; detachment for earthly duty.

So Aang finds out A) his last hope at not killing Ozai has just been extinguished, B) he can never achieve the truest form of his people’s spirituality, even though he is all that remains of his people, and C) he will have to betray his people’s moral code, as the last of them, by killing Ozai. Because there are no other Air Nomads. Aang doesn’t just have to uphold his people’s values in the world—in a world that wiped them 100 years ago to the day, in a world that’s descended into violence—he has to uphold his people for the world, because if he doesn’t, the Air Nomads truly will be gone.

And he accepts B), but refuses to give up on A) because otherwise he’d have to give up on C), and his dead people—who he loves, who he so loves and loved and who has loved him in turn—deserve better than more violence on the anniversary of their deaths. And Aang has sacrificed so much, as well. He accepts that the way the world interacts with his people and their temples has to change, he loses Appa and sacrifices his attachments to his people and to his friends in order to gain access to the Avatar state, he lets his staff—all he has left of his people’s relics—burn, he covers up his arrow and lets the world think he failed them, again.

So when the Lion Turtle, an ancient creature, appears the key factor is Aang asks for a different answer. Because choosing your own destiny, when Aang has been forced into the Avatar’s destiny, is huge. Because unlike in 1x02, “The Avatar Returns,” Sozin’s Comet part 4 is “Avatar Aang.” He is the Avatar, on his own terms, in his own way, with the peace needed to heal a violent and damaged world, with the same peace, mercy, and forgiveness that gave Zuko a second chance. 

When Aang takes the lightning and could possibly kill Ozai, we see him contemplate, consider, and then he redirects it, he already knows he has a second option from the Lion Turtle. He doesn’t know quite how or if it will work, but he does know the risk, with his life and the world on the line, the same way it would have been with the lightning. And Aang had heard from the Lion Turtle, that his own spirit could be corrupted and destroyed. And it’s because he never wavered from his moral code that it isn’t, that he plants himself like a tree and says no, you move. And I firmly believe that if Aang hadn’t had the second option of the Lion Turtle, if he had had to kill Ozai to end the war, he would have.

Energybending also brings things back in full circle, with a blue beam in the light announcing the Avatar—found, then lost, and then found again—and his personal and global redemption to the world. His elemental sphere falls away until it’s only air, and he does what he knows is right, draws into the steadiness of an earthbender too, to trap Ozai and help him perform energybending. And once Ozai has been defeated, Aang enters the Avatar State willfully for the second time ever in the show, this time at peace and in control, and the first and last element he ever bends in the Avatar state is water, one to seal him away in ice, another to defend himself in the pilot, and a last time cleanse the sins of the land and of the world. Because he saw the violence and hatred around him and said no, he saw people around him saying mercy and power couldn’t be mutually exclusive said no.

Deus ex machina, the Lion Turtle and energybending may technically be, but it fits perfectly with Avatar’s themes and the point of the story, and of Aang’s character and of the entire narrative as well, so in those cases, yes, as long as a deus ex machina is well executed in some manner and fits, I don’t mind it.

Cheap plot-twists that remove character’s agency and or is flat out convenient with no regard to thematic grace or narrative themes, on the other hand? No thank you.

Hope this answers your question, nonny.