#I was really disappointed by Bumi

[angee1011]

The thing is , ATLA live action is like…an approximation of what the story is actually supposed to be.

There are elements that good, even really good, but it leaves you feeling hollow because it’s missing the heart of what ATLA is about. It’s a delicate balancing act between tragedy and comedy, underscored with hope.

The live action is sort of reminiscent of Ember Island players because it’s trying to be as -real- as it can be but doesn’t delve into deeper meaning.

To me, it felt like they wrote the story with thinking about the end too much. They were too wrapped up in how these characters end up, how the story ends. They overlooked how raw, how unpolished it was at the beginning.

[justanotherghostwriter]

.

[feathered-serpents]

I really do hate the idea that Aang was having kids JUST to repopulate the air nomads. The idea that Tenzin was a third time’s the charm situation, that Aang kept “trying” for an airbender and was disappointed with Kya and Bumi

I honest to god think Aang was not thinking “I hope this kid’s an airbender!” Each time. I don’t think the thought would even cross his mind until someone else suggested it. He’d be typed up thinking about how he’ll balance his new child in his life, Katara’s health, how to even be a father having no parents himself. All of those take priority in his mind

I honestly think Aang would be super appalled by the suggestion that “repopulating” was his goal with his family. What it says how about he thinks of his wife.

If anyone is going to have the thought “I hope it’s an airbender” I’d bet it was Katara. It’s still not why. But she knows and loves Aang and has seen how hard he’s struggled without the airbenders, how lonely he’s gotten, I could see Katara having the thought “For Aang’s sake I hope you’re an airbender” before Aang ever thinks “I hope you’re an airbender”

I don’t know man. This idea is just so gross to me, and I hate how it’s thrown around by the fans like it must be the case, with no room for questions, why ELSE would Aang be having kids?

Rubs me the wrong way. Really does

[burst-of-iridescent]

thoughts on the atla live action trailer:

looks like we're definitely getting more of the air nomad genocide. i'm hoping this means more flashbacks and development of the air nomads in general, but it definitely sets the tone for the series if this is what they're starting out with

azula shooting an arrow?? she doesn't seem to be wearing eyeliner and lipstick like in the promo shots, so i'm guessing it's a younger azula. i'm interested to see where this is going

aang crashing into the rock like in the opening credits <3 i'm glad they seem to be keeping some of the silliness and humour of the original

the actors for the main four are crushing it so far, but gordon cormier as aang is absolutely the standout for me. the scene where he has tears in his eyes while talking about how he can't save the world... that's my son, that's my boy etc

katara and aang laughing at sokka, aang running to hug the water tribe sibs!! they got the dynamic DOWN

i know there's like 2 seconds of the blue spirit and aang working together but. i'm obsessed

"i'm the avatar and i'm going to save the world... with my friends" tears. full tears

bumi! jun! jet! slightly disappointed we didn't get a cabbage man appearance yet but they're probably saving that for the show. the minor characters all look stellar so far

katara and zuko's fight at the north pole do you hear me screaming

i really like the way aang's tattoos light up when he enters the avatar state

the bending looks surprisingly good so far. i love how fluid the water and firebending in particular seem. could this be the redemption we deserve for [gestures at movie that doesn't exist]?

the settings look amazing. omashu especially is beautiful

i'm more curious than ever what it was about the show that bryke had to walk away from because of "creative differences". everything we've seen so far seems really promising and true to the original.

still keeping my expectations low because trailers can be misleading but i'm cautiously hopeful <3

[shrimz08]

AANG ＆ OZAI PARALLELS: DEBUNKED

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Because apparently the true villain is the sole survivor of a genocide of his entire nation, and not the imperialist colonizer.

Where do I even begin?? Because I’m genuinely holding in laughter writing this, it’s absolutely insane how certain people can make such egregious parallels that aren’t even found in the first place. 

AH, so a little backstory on how this fucking shit stained idea even came to existence, well our dear z^tara fans pissed their pants over Zuko and Katara not tying the knot, so, as a way of retribution for their supposed “honour” They take any chance to jump on the Aang hate train and make him into some irredeemable abusive demon, aaand they got that perfect opportunity because the LoK decided to take a lick out of the great “Main Characters Must Be Bad Parents In The Sequels” Trope. Which personally, does absolutely nothing to the protagonists resolution aside from cheap family drama but I digress. 

Now, I’m not behind the idea of the writers trying to make Aang a “flawed” Parent, I think it really makes no sense by how they went about it, (I might touch on this in another post) 

((And it’s so very clear that they’re trying to give it a soft “retcon” And even taking extra steps saying that Kya and Bumi just “remember wrong” Which I’ll actually take, because season two of LOK was hell on earth anyway so you might as well give it some saving grace.)) 

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There’s three main parallels that they got from Ozai and Aang: (god help me)

Favouring a child

isolating the rest

leaving pressure On the golden child

I’m going to debunk all three of them while trying not to fall into complete lunacy over how ridiculous they are. 

Favouring a child + Leaving pressure: 

OK, so people are clearly blind with context clues and media comprehension, got it. No surprise whatsoever. I can’t be disappointed if I didn’t even have any expectations to begin with. 

Let’s compare the treatment on how Ozai treats Azula, and how Aang treats Tenzin. (Holy Shit)

Beginning with Ozai, well.. It doesn’t take much of a rocket scientist to understand that Ozai essentially could not give two fucks about Azula, as she in essence, serves the role of an attack dog, as long as it does its job, it’s worthy. 

Ozai favoured Azula because she was molded to match his ferocity and hunger for power, she was a prodigy bender, and was cunning and calculated, all traits that Ozai found endearing and someone worthy to be crowned the next “fire lord.” His “favouring” Of her didn’t come out of genuine love or care, she is his tool who serves a purpose. In short, she showed more competency and more ruthlessness and callousness in comparison to Zuko. Which earned her, her place as the “Golden Child.”  

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None of this is even remotely similar to how Aang treated Tenzin and his kids, aside from the fact he supposedly “favoured” Tenzin more, but that is such a baseline statement and has absolutely no relation with Ozai's reasons.

You have to understand that an entire FUCKING NATION IS DEAD. History, Culture, Tradition, is at the BRINK of being wiped out, Tenzin is quite literally the only Airbender that will be left after Aangs passing. Why do people devalue this concept so much? 

“B-BUT THE AIR ACOLYTES1!!” Still have limited knowledge, airbending is so heavily tied to its spiritual roots, you LOSE your ability to AIRBEND, if you aren't inclined to your spiritual side. Which is a core part of the air nomad culture. Tenzin is... Literally the only god forsaken part left of that, so yeah. It’s a pretty big fucking deal. Aang values his culture and teachings to such a high degree, he is literally the survivor of a genocide. His favouring of Tenzin was done out of necessity and love, not out of a need for power and a new attack dog to send orders around. 

Tenzin will literally be the future “Director” Or guide for the next avatar to learn airbending, people still forget this, and it’s hilarious. He needs to know all the moves, all the teachings because he will be the next avatar's personal guide. 

Aang constantly reassures him, and apologizes for the pressure that may be put upon him but he always reaffirms that he’ll be there to guide him and they’ll “learn together”

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So yeah not the same thing at all. Fuck you for being so inept at understanding the different reasons and perspectives of those situations, just for some petty ship discourse, genuinely disgusting.

Isolating the children:

OK this part, I have to say that the writers definitely messed up with aangs characterization, but I think the execution came out way differently than the intention, so I will try to look more into the intention of each decision.

Ozai isolated Zuko, mistreated him, belittled him, PHYSICALLY ABUSED HIM, but yeah totally on par with Aang actually. 

I don’t wanna touch on this part much mainly because his treatment was literally explained all throughout the show, and granted, while I understand most of these people haven’t touched the show aside from reading fanfic 300000 Where Aang is revealed to us as satan himself, but perhaps, even a small peak at Ozai's parenting would reveal the laughable contrast between the two.

Zuko was a slow learner, and much more of a softie, and a “mama's boy” To Ozai’s heavy dislike, he was thus treated as such, he was belittled, turned down, and literally burnt alive for showing “weakness” He is meant to serve as a direct contrast to Azula, ”The everything he isn't.” 

Kya and Bumi on the other hand, don’t show any actual signs of trauma aside from some petty jabs they threw at Tenzin, 

Bumis talk with Aang at the statue was *very very* Clearly, meant to highlight his own inferiority complex that he internalized growing up. His need for proving himself to be capable of doing just as much if not more than a “bender” Probably happened because his two parents were both prodigy benders and him being a first born son who was a non-bender must’ve hit pretty hard for him, and I’m so sure that katara and Aang reassured how special he is but that kind of thing doesn’t really go away.

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Kya: [while healing Bumi] I told you those rocks were slippery. You're lucky you didn't kill yourself.

Bumi: You done with the lecture, mom?

Kya: Oh, grow up. You haven't changed one bit since we were kids. You're still trying to prove you can do everything a bender can. Well, you can't. Deal with it.

----------------------

 That talk with Aangs statue was very much meant to unveil an internal struggle rather than a conflict he had with his father. Kya even doubles down on this, telling him “of course he’d be proud of you” Basically spoon feeding to us, the viewers, that this is much more of internal than an external conflict that he has to overcome along the show. 

“Why Didn’t he share his culture with them 1!!1!” 

He most definitely did, or tried to, but it’s clear they didn’t show much interest so he didn’t pester, this is shown many times throughout the show. 

“You know I could never keep all those gurus straight… There were like a million of them!

remember that long boring story about the guy who never ate?”

This is literally Kya’s remark to Tenzin just after he tried teaching the airbender students this story, basically telling us that Aang DID try to tell them about his stories and culture, but much to their disinterest, didn’t try any further. 

And Bumi, literally could not pay attention to the story to save his life, and instead decided to fool around in his literal 60’s!! I mean Imagine what he was like when he was a kid!! 

I could imagine their dynamic was very similar to Jinora with Meelo and Ikki, Tenzin being the only one with actual interest and care, whilst Bumi and Kya goofing off and not putting much focus onto it. WHICH IS FINE BTW!! 

It only goes to reiterate that Tenzin was the only one who was actually giving interest and attention to the air nomad culture, and it was of Kya and Bumi’s own personal choice to not partake in it. To each their own I see. 

“BUT WHAT ABOUT THE VACATIONS” 

This.. I agree, weird for the writers to decide this, but given how they low-key are retconning it in interviews, my best guess is that each of those trips were side-quests during their journey to teach an important lesson that might’ve just drowned out because Tenzin may not have remembered it as well. 

Also keep in mind that Tenzin was put into a lot of pressure, Aang probably saw this, and as a way to still keep it enjoyable, he took him to trips that would help ease the mind for a little kid whilst also learning something valuable. That seems pretty on brand for Aang actually

And given that Kya and Bumi are literally in their fucking 60’s it wouldn’t surprised me if they didn’t have the greatest memory. Hell, they didn’t even fault Aang as a parent until Tenzin started boasting about “trips” That Kya and Bumi gave petty jabs but weren’t actually showing genuine hurt, just annoyance.

Kya even comments how Aang was too busy “Trying to save the world, and doing his duty that he didn't have much time for them” 

Phrasing as if it wasn't anything "important" But it's clear that this was Kya's own personal irritation towards Tenzin rather than an actual evaluation on Aang's duties.

A continuation comic best explains it in a deeper way:

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Literally showing that “neglecting” His kids wasn't up to him, and was out of a sense of necessity, trying to cram as much knowledge onto Tenzin, the only one who was basically putting his lessons into practices. Kya and Bumi were left feeling neglected. But that wasn’t out of his decision; he still loved them dearly.

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This. Literally highlighting how much pressure was forced upon Aang, so yes, as any person would, he struggled with making time for everybody. Holy shit who knew?? 

GASP!! IS THAT… A REALISTIC BUT UNDERSTANDABLE FLAW!!?? HOW DARE YOU! ITS OZAI #2 

The fact that the smiley energetic person forgets to SMILE, is a big deal, man was put through hells amount of stress but he never cracked.

So tell me, how is a genocidal freak, who treats his golden child like a tool and abuses the other both physically and emotionally for showing “weakness’ 

Even remotely comparable to

 the sole survivor of a genocide, trying to withhold his teachings and culture onto literally his only child that showed actual effort in doing so, while also maintaining the balance of an entire fucking world and being literally the biggest “advisor” And “Mentor” For society, OH! And also building and managing a literal city, but along the way struggling to make time for his children. 

Guess what, they’re not. And if you think they are. You are an idiot, with bias and headcanons.

So the conclusion is, Aang is a flawed parent, but he isn't a "bad" Parent - confirmed by the literal writers.

Comparing him to Ozai a literal dictator, is absolutely sickening, just for your petty shipping discourse when this show's been over for a decade is insane. Indulge in what you enjoy, but stop projecting delusions like they're canon.

:D

[the-badger-mole]

"Aang is more like Ozai than Zuko is at any point in canon. If it had been intentional, it would've been brilliant!"

https://www.tumblr.com/the-badger-mole/752145513700327424/i-havent-watched-atla-but-i-love-hearing-sum-hot

so this was from your hot take post and it made me think, huh. interesting. (i'm a sucker for protagonist-antagonist parallels.) but i thought about it and couldn't really find anything, so could you explain it a bit more? sorry if this sounds dumb but i'm pretty new to the fandom so i wouldn't have seen this if it was already discussed.

I have discussed this in a post (here), but basically, I'm pointing out that Aang hits a lot of the same beats as Ozai as a father. This isn't me saying that Aang is exactly like Ozai, but they seemed to have read the same parenting book. How To Dad: A Narcissist's Guide to Screwing Your Kids Up

Aang may not have intentionally physically hurt his kids (most of his violence is unintentional and uncontrolled), but he played favorites. Like Ozai, he was hyper focused on his own legacy, and he created a Golden Child/Scapegoat dynamic among his kids. Both fathers favored the child that was most like them (or rather most resembles what they wanted to be. I think Azula had much more potential than her father, and Bumi resembled Aang more in terms of personality than Tenzin). Like Ozai, Aang made impossible standards for his unfavored kids to live up to, and when they inevitably disappointed him, he left them with emotional scars that hadn't healed well into their 50s-60s. Bumi didn't feel like he could be a son Aang could be proud of until he gained airbending abilities, and Kya never gets any sort of resolution to her damage. Zuko at least got to face Ozai and tell him off.

I think most of the parallels between Aang and Ozai are in their approaches to fatherhood, but only because that's the side of Ozai we see the most in depth. That whole anti-miscegenation thing that Aang tried to do, and only backed off of because it would affect him? Yeah, that seems like something Ozai would do, too.

[yikes-kachowski]

I NEED A BACKSTORY ON YOUR AU BUMI !!!

Sure dude! Just remember a few things about this before we start. It's an au, so none of it effects canon. I know this is gonna be a little brutal, but I like every atla character including aang and bumi. This is non kataang. Nothing against kataang, but I feel like this story couldn't work if it was. Keep an open mind, though. This could still be a fun little read.

Character death warning btw

We need to get a few aang details to understand bumi. First of all, air nomads are polyamorous (with women primarily having multiple male partners). Aang is also polyamorous in keeping with his culture. This to say, he gets a lot of partners. He tells them all about his sexuality first so they can completely be informed on having a relationship with him.

Aang works on a lot of things after the war but one of those things is rebuilding villages. That's where he meets kyoke

They fall for each other. Everything's great. He decides at 19ish to have baby with her. It's a little young, but he feels like he doesn't have much time and needs to have kids. At night he gets visions of his ancestors burning and begging for him to give them a chance to come back.

So he has bumi. And he loves him and brings him everywhere and excitedly tells his friends to watch for signs of bumi being an Airbender. They never come.

It's around when bumi is five that aang really starts to give up on bumi being a bender at all. No air nomad has ever had a nonbender before (as far as aang can tell, the records are hard to find now), so he is deeply ashamed. This puts strain on he and bumis relationship.

Now, kyoke loves bumi despite him being a nonbender, and loves aang despite him being around less and less. She knows she shares him with the world, she's okay with that. You know who isn't? Kyokes parents. She's unmarried, so they marry her off to Xohir. He's a nobleman who thought he could gain political clout with the avatar by raising his son.

Xohir is very disappointed that bumi is a nonbender. He thinks having an air bender would be more politically significant. Aang offers to help kyoke get a divorce, but she doesn't want to because she wants to respect her parents wishes.

Bumi sees this as abandonment.

Aang has three other kids. Yelaan, palkyi, and tenzin. They're all benders. Tenzins the air bender. Aang still has this feeling that he doesn't have much time so he's cramming all the knowledge he can into tenzin, which is time consuming. Bumi feels unloved because aang gets to teach the rest bending, but can't think of anything so personal to bond with bumi over.

Bumi bonds with Sokka. As a bitter teen he becomes an equalist. He keeps it secret since the equalist riots are intense, and benders really get offended by this.

Around this time, si Wong wants independence from the earth kingdom. Aang is doing peace talks to try to smooth things over.

The equalists assassinate aang, he is only 37-38ish years old.

Bumi tells tenzin that he was an equalist but he's not anymore. Yet he still feels guilty. Tenzin, who is only 15 years old, tells bumi that he hates him and asks for him to leave before he tells everyone else.

Bumi doesn't return to air temple island.

Things in si Wong boil over without peacetalks and aang. Because of their alliance with the earth kingdom, the United Republic must join.

Aang built a country with very little military presence (on purpose), but they need one for war. There is a draft. And bumi, unable to prove his religious exemption of being an air nomad, is drafted.

He will spend nearly 16 years in that war :)

[stalpra-and-100-fandoms]

Random TLOK Rant

warning: yes, this looks horrible. no, i do know grammar. yes, i can't bother to fix this mess. and yes, i'm probably not making sense. and no, i've never experienced this issue myself and i'm not claiming to an expert. these are just my two cents on the matter.

i think the creators of tlok really missed an opportunity to depict people with mixed races. like, it's weird how tenzin is the only one among aang and katara's kids who wears orange and kya is the only one who wears blue. honestly, i was sorta disappointed when i saw that their clothes matched their bending-colours and stereotypical ethnic colours. kya wears blue cuz she's a waterbender and she looks like her mom. tenzin wears orange cuz he's an airbender and he's not brown?? (don't know how else to put it). then there's bumi. why does he wear red for most of the time until harmonic convergence? why didn't he wear either of his parents' colours. speaking of which, why does he wear orange only after becoming an airbender. is identifying with your parent's culture without being a bender of their element forbidden in this universe? it stings worse after realising that the harmony-restoration-movement thing in the comics was against this sort of segregation. that people born into interracial families don't have just one race that they can identify with. all of this reminds of encanto, honestly. i once read this post (prolly on tumblr, lol) discussing the fact that pepa looks lighter-skinned and 'whiter' then either of her siblings. don't remember the middle but the concluding statement was that pepa is just as indigenous as her siblings, despite her genes making her look otherwise. back to tlok, tenzin is just as much southern water tribe as kya, kya is just as much air nomad and bumi is equally both. if there is gonna be any continuation of the avatar universe, i wanna see mixed characters struggling to balance both their parents' cultures despite inheriting one or neither of their bending.

[weirdlotiel]

Okay. So I watched the Avatar live action show out of curiosity.

To be fair, I don’t feel as much connection to it as to the oroginal animated series. Visually it’s really nice. I really enjoyed watching Iroh and Zuko. Yue and Suki were really good too in my opinion. Heck, I liked Azula, even if she’s a broken “psycho”. But Aang and his friends? Just… I like them, but it’s not enough, if you understand what I mean. It may be because of not enough development as some pointed out. I know the actors did their best (probably 😂), but it’s weird for me to watch a show and be unable to connect with the main characters. Especially when I knew those characters earlier.

I enjoyed watching the flashbacks. That idea was great, especially that there are parts we didn’t saw before like Lu Ten’s funeral. And the fact that Zuko’s crew are the people he saved by standing up to his father.

I also liked the fact that Yue had some more connection to the spirit’s world than just being saved by and then returning the life to Tui.

I wish things were a bit harder for Aang. With getting in touch with his past selves. With understanding the spirit world. Hah, with guessing that Bumi is Bumi. (Though I liked Bumi himself, even if he was a bit different than in the animation.)

If there is second season, I will definitely watch it, if only for more of Iroh aand Zuko, and because I want to see Toph. The series is not that bad, it’s good… but it’s not awesome or whatever. I’m sort of glad I didn’t have high expectations, because I think I would be more disappointed.

[galaxythreads]

The live action ATLA is amazing. 9.5/10. I didn't love everything about it, but there are so so so so many good parts and I'm so glad that Netflix decided to make this. I've seen a lot of weird criticism from long time fans and maybe I just haven't been in the fandom long enough, but. I absolutely think it's worth giving a watch if you go in with a semi blank slate. The Netlfix series is not trying to be an exact scene by scene remake of the show.

The thing about it that you have to remember when you go in is that they said they were going to change the tone of the show, and they did, and it works! It's not the same. It's not a comedy. It's funny, but it's not a comedy. Character motivations were changed to fit the darker theme. It's using Avatar as source material and intends to be an adaption, not a reconstruction of the series.

Katara is much more traumatized about her mom's death, which made sense! She was murdered in front of her. She's afraid to take on a maternal role because of that. She's quieter and softer because she's afraid and she's healing from her mother's murder. Katara in the series made sense, too, but I feel like someone looked at her and went! Wait. Smol child is maybe...not okay??? I have faith they will build her up as the seasons progress if they continue.

Hakoda is disappointed in Sokka barely passing his trial. Makes sense! They're at war! Sokka has to take care of the village, of course Hakoda has high expectations for him. And the thing is--Hakoda still trusted Sokka with the responsibility of the village anyway, so his disappointment in Sokka's trial didn't stop his faith in his son. And honestly, I think it's fine that Hakoda is not a perfect parent who never makes mistakes. Parents rant about their kids to their friends all the time. It's healthy because they're not doing it in front of, or to, their kid. Hakoda didn't know Sokka was listening. So. Idk. Sokka doesn't go through his misogyny is bad actually arc, and while I missed it, I thought he functioned really well in this story without it. And for the record!!!! Sokka STILL makes stupid jokes the entire season. He didn't lose his sense of humor.

Aang feeling so much guilt about leaving? Yep! I can vibe with that. I missed his innocence and playfulness, but I feel like this wasn't a bad take on the character either. He was still playful, but in the world they live in, it would make sense that he feels terrible for leaving. And everyone they encounter takes it upon them to rub it in his face so why wouldn't he feel bad or out of place?? Especially after Bumi. Everyone says he needs to face this alone, and Aang learning that he doesn't have to?? Powerful!! Is it the same arc as s1 of the show? No! It's not supposed to be!

Zuko's actor was perfectly cast. That boy IS Zuko. The scence at the end of e6 made me cry because it was so powerful with the 41st, and that felt so EARNED after episodes of watching Zuko's crew despise him to suddenly realizing the only reason they're alive is because of him and realizing it's an honor to shelter him. Zuko drawing Aang to pin him on his disaster wall was amazing. Him getting hit by some random woman for attacking Aang? Amazing. Him sitting next to Iroh during Lu Ten's funeral? So soft. The Agni Kai really rubbed people the wrong way, but I think it was interesting that they decided to have Zuko showing compassion be the root of Ozai's anger. He showed compassion to the 41st, he shows compassion to his father, and when Ozai has defeated him, he has him on the ground and could walk away, and he chooses to burn his face. It's not exactly the same as the show, but again, it's not intending to be.

Azula being here was interesting. I don't know if I loved Zhao being incapable of doing anything without her, but it works for what it is. Zhao is intended to be annoying and he was! So. 10/10. She cried when Zuko got his scar! Ozai playing the long hand of terrible abusive tactics made me want to bite him. Because Ozai doesn't care about Zuko. He uh. Made that pretty clear when he banished him and then at the end when he's explicitly told Zuko might have died at Agna Qel'a and he's like ????????? Am I supposed to care??? We've gotten rid of weakness. So??? Like he used Zuko to force Azula to become more ruthless. He used Zuko to shape her. I do hope we get more exploration of Ty Lee and Mai so they aren't Faceless Blorb Friends, but I just don't think there was really time in s1.

The parts they chose to remove and add into the story was interesting. You got to explore the story for the first time again. I definitely think both versions have merit and are deeply enjoyable, I just don't think you should go in expecting it to be exactly the same thing? I was happy to see a new take on the story, but that might be because I knew that it was going to be darker and the characters would adapt to that. I do hope we can get more of the vibe of the show's humor in season 2 if we get season 2, and Katara feels little more like her show-counter part because I missed her, but honestly, I do recommend to a friend.

Or at the very least, if you absolutely refuse to watch it, PLEASE go watch the last 1/2 of episode 6 with Zuko and the 41st because I CANNOT.

+THEY ACTUALLY PRONOUCED EVERYONE'S NAMES CORRECTLY #bareMinimumAward

[thatahjumma]

I had to pause the show, I am currently at the fight scene between Bumi and Aang. I have to say the characterisations of most of the characters so far have disappointed me. I can't help but compare to the OG ATLA because its literally based off the show and the characters in the animated series are already so fully fledged and complex, the live active just had to follow suit, instead of adding their own interpretations. I'll comment about main characters after I've watched the whole series but now,

Jet and the Freedom Fighters: They were casted so brilliantly!! And the actor for Jet did the absolute perfect job in being the charismatic leader of the 'lost boys' who lived in the trees. What I didn't like was how Netflix labelled him a "terrorist" and "acting out of hate". They outrightly labelled what he was doing, which made him less of complex character vs the animated series portraying him as a boy dealing with the traumas of loss and war, finding family with others who had to deal with the same loss, and failing to see the complexities of war. I don't know, the characterisation in Netflix's ATLA feels off.

Uncle Iroh: I like that Netflix addressed that he was a war criminal and how that affected the soldier on a personal level as well. But when Iroh said "War pushes us to the edge. I wasn't talking about me", I felt again that it does not feel like the Iroh I know from the animated series. The Iroh, who regretted his past decisions, the Iroh who was compassionate and on the search for enlightenment, the Iroh who was part of the White Lotus as a way of redeeming himself. Even the fight scene in the animated series, he did not use any firebending againts the Earthbender soldiers but in the Netflix one he did. In the animated series, it was significant to me that he did not use firebending (only the chains) -- from his past, he understood that he should not use his power to oppress. Somehow, without explicitly fleshing our Iroh's past, the animated series succeeded in creating a more complex, fully fledged character.

Lastly, BUMI T.T I understand that Netflix wanted to set the show in the context of war and so it kept bringing it up and I understood that the Netflix characterisation of Bumi was trying to act as a foil to Aang: someone who lived through 100 years of war vs someone who "ran" away from the difficulties of it. But this made Bumi wholly unlikeable and very much NOT BUMI. The animated Bumi acted as someone who could potentially be Aang's earthbending teacher and a "mad genius", someone who prepared Aang for the tough journey ahead and taught him to think outside the box. To me, while people do change and become jaded by war, Bumi was one of the characters that retained his 'madness' and joyfulness/zest for life (that's why he was part of the White Lotus). In the OG ATLA, he changed over a 100 years in terms of the wisdoms he gained and imparted to Aang. In the netflix series, he seemed like just an angry old king, who was jaded and took his anger out on his old friend? He even made the remark of airbenders being "flighty" after Aang said that they all died??? What on EARTH really, King Bumi liked to joke but he would never disrespect Aang or a whole peoples like that. Crazy characterisation choice by NetflixT.T

Anyway I'll stop ranting here and finish the episode (ALSO HOW COULD THEY TAKE AWAY THE AANG X KATARA MOMENT IN THE CAVE?? I'm really starting to understand why the original creators pulled themselves out of the Netflix project)

[anxious-tea-cup]

I'm disappointed...in the fandom that is

I finished watching the Netflix adaption on Avatar the last air bender this evening, and you know what? I really liked it.

I was however really disappointed about what I found when I came to read others thoughts on the ADAPTATION of the Original show. The most part because the complaints seem to mostly come from people who haven't watched it!? Or from those who are upset that the shows not a frame by frame retelling.

The only 3 complaints I had, which are just my opinion and not extremely important are:

1. Bumi's face prosthetics/make-up scared me. Though I don't know the thought process behind it, possibly it could be done in a different way.

2. Princess Yue's wig (beautifully constructed) did just look like a wig on her head, and I could not convince myself it was her hair.

3. There were some lines that I think could have been written a little smoother.

Otherwise, I loved the casting, the costumes, the dynamics, the CGI, the way the characters were portrayed and the back stories. I am so looking forward to the next two seasons (please be renewed!!)

To those who are unsure, please just watch it before you decide it's bad, just because it's not the original. I think it's so promising!

[roseeycreates-blog]

Hey, wait a sec! I thought Farmer AU was supposed to be a Linzin endgame? Why is there a wedding announcement for Tenzin and Pema? 😭😭😭

Hi, anon~

OMG, thank you for the ask! So sorry about the wedding announcement—I already covered it in this other ask.

Here's the continuation.

Aang and Katara had just gotten back from the city, where they were bombarded by the press about Tenzin's wedding announcement in the paper. They decided to brush it off and headed home. When they walked into the living room, they found Bumi and Kya sitting there, both looking pretty serious.

Bumi spoke up first, "Mom, Dad, there's something you need to know," he said, laying it all out—from Tenzin not knowing about the wedding announcement to the fact that a small group of acolytes seems to be behind the whole mess. They also filled them in about how Lin had tried to contact Tenzin, but these acolytes and abbots from the air temples kept interfering. Aang shook his head, looking really frustrated. Katara rubbed her temples, clearly upset. "We need to retract that newspaper announcement," she said firmly.

Kya and Bumi exchanged glances before Kya nodded. "We'll handle it," she assured them.

Pema was speechless as she turned toward the voice. It was Sokka, Suyin’s dad.

"It's been a while since we last met," he said, his voice heavy with disappointment. "I can't believe this is how we’re reunited. "

Pema, defensive, replied, "Not to be rude, Master Sokka, but this doesn’t concern you. Tenzin and I love each other. I’m here because he wants me to marry into this family, and—"

He cut her off. "Are you so sure about that?"

Su looked puzzled. "What do you mean, Dad?"

“I saw him leaving in a hurry not long ago,” Sokka said, looking concerned. “I’m curious where he’s headed—or more importantly, who he’s going to.”

Pema immediately dashed out of the room and into the living area, where she ran into Katara and Aang.

“You!” Katara said, her eyes locking onto Pema. “You’re Pema, right?”

Pema’s eyes went wide, and she nodded, gulping.

Aang stepped forward and asked, “So, who are these acolytes involved in all this?” He paused, clearly frustrated. “And where can I find them? I need to have a word with them.”

Tenzin arrived at the farm with Oogi and quickly spotted some familiar faces—Chin and Choi.

“What are you doing here?!” they yelled, clearly upset after seeing the announcement. “Are you here to hurt Lin more?” Chin demanded.

“Leave now!” Choi shouted. “We don’t care if you’re a bender. We can’t let you near her!”

Izumi, who had heard the commotion, came over and saw Tenzin. “Please, Izumi,” Tenzin pleaded. “Let me see Lin. I need to talk to her and make things right.”

Izumi addressed Chin and Choi, who were still reluctant. “I’ll make sure Lin is safe,” she assured them. “If Tenzin does anything out of line, I’ll take care of him myself.”

As they walked in, Izumi smirked and asked, “What took you so long, lover boy?”

Tenzin just sighed, exhausted.

“I’m guessing Bumi and Kya filled you in on everything?” she added.

He nodded, “Yeah, they did.”

“Figures,” she replied, then suddenly slapped him across the face.

Tenzin was shocked but knew he probably had it coming. Izumi didn’t miss a beat. “Lin’s in her room, sleeping. She spent the whole morning crying and blaming herself for letting you go.”

Flashback 

Early in the morning, Kya, Bumi, Izumi, and Suyin headed over to Lin's place right after seeing the wedding announcement. When Lin opened the door, her eyes were red and puffy—she had obviously seen it too.

"Why are you guys here?" she asked, her voice flat.

"To check on you, duh," Suyin said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm okay…" Lin whispered, but the shakiness in her voice gave her away.

"Oh, come on, Lin. We know you better than that," Kya said, not buying it for a second.

"I didn't clear my schedule today just to hear you lie," Izumi added, her tone firm but concerned.

"Hey, come on, ladies. Let's not—" Bumi started, but before he could finish, Lin’s legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor.

Izumi was at her side in an instant, pulling her into a comforting embrace. "This is all my fault," Lin choked out between sobs. "If I hadn’t ended things with him… now he’s…"

Kya and Suyin joined in, wrapping their arms around Lin, offering silent support as she cried. But Suyin, ever the blunt one, asked, "It’s just a wedding announcement, you know." She sighed, "If you love Tenzin that much, then why didn’t you ask him back sooner??"

Lin looked at her, tears streaming down her face. "I tried," she whispered. "I sent letters, I called, I even visited the air temples myself." Her voice broke as more tears fell. "But they said he doesn’t want to see nor speak to me anymore."

Everyone froze, shocked by what they were hearing. None of them knew about this.

"What? Why didn’t you tell us?" Bumi asked, his voice full of concern. "We could’ve helped you."

"I... I was the one who ended things with him," Lin admitted, her voice trembling. "So… I wanted to make things right myself."

Kya shook her head in disbelief. "I can’t believe Tenzin, that jerk."

Lin's voice cracked as she continued, "I thought I’d moved on, that I was fine with it, but the tears… they won’t stop. I love Tenzin... I love him… What do I do?...I still love him.." she sobbed, her shoulders shaking as she let out all the pain she’d been holding in.

[natlacentral]

'Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Showrunner Teases Hints to Katara's Future Romance

It’s not easy tackling adapting something that is beloved by fans. Whether you’re a director stepping into a beloved franchise to reboot the series or a showrunner turning an animated show into a live-action show (after an already abysmal live-action movie), someone is going to end up disappointed. This is the challenge that showrunner Albert Kim was faced with when tasked to bring Avatar: The Last Airbender to life. Set in a world where some people are born with the power to manipulate natural elements like water, earth, fire, and air — called "benders" — the series follows Aang, the titular last airbender, who wakes up after being frozen in ice for 100 years to a world engulfed in war and turmoil. As the Avatar, a unique individual who can bend all four elements, it is his task to bring peace to the world.

We spoke with Kim about the challenges of adapting the series and what he considered to be essential to keep in the series versus what could be changed and expanded on. He discussed larger changes to characters like King Bumi (Utkarsh Ambudkar) and how he combined storylines for the shorter season. Kim also discussed what it was like casting Gordon Cormieras Aang and touched on bringing Azula (Elizabeth Yu) in earlier while giving Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim) some more personality. Finally, he touched on the romance between Katara and Aang(as seen in the animated series) and whether that would stay the same in the show.

Staying Loyal to the Spirit of the Animated 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' 

COLLIDER: When it comes to adapting Avatar: The Last Airbender, there were elements that I could totally see from the original animated series. What did you think needed to be in there? And then what did you feel like you could update when it comes to this live action series?

ALBERT KIM: There wasn't really any set litmus test, like, 'Alright, this is the element that will carry on and this won’t." It was more about trying to understand what the spirit of the original was. And that's kind of what I told everyone, whether it was the writers or the directors, or the crew, you know, what we want to do is be faithful to the spirit of the original, rather than being a note-for-note translation of it, because that was never going to be possible. So, when you took it that way, and then there was sort of the formal challenge of adapting what was 20 half-hour episodes of animated television to an 8-hour serialized drama for Netflix, certain pieces started to fall into place when we did that.

One of the first things I did was lay out all 20 episodes on the whiteboard as to what the plots were, and then just took a look at it as if it was one, long narrative thread rather than individual episodes. And when you do that, certain elements start to pair off thematically, whether it's like Jet and the Mechanist, being both characters who are good at heart, but driven to extreme behavior by war. And the interesting theme that emerged was that they would be adversaries, even though they're both good characters. So that's a conflict that we decided to play.

When you start looking at the entire season, that way, certain threads start to appear. And so, like I said, there wasn't any kind of like, "We have to include this, we have to include that." Although, I will say there are certain things that I personally said, "I'm going to include that." Like, I was always going to have cabbage man in there, you know, there was no way we're losing the cabbage man. So like I said, yeah, we'll work him in.

But that was kind of the process. And then along that way, there are certain things — I think the hardest decisions we have to make is what to leave out. I'm sure we did not get to someone's favorite episode, or character, or scene, or even sequence. And I feel their pain, because I wish we could have gotten to a lot of those. But it was just some of those hard choices you had to make. Because in addition to, as you saw, adapting some of the elements from the original, we added new material, we're going off in new directions narratively, and we needed to give those room to breathe as well.

Was There Ever a Plan To Stretch Out the Season's Plot?

Just picking up off of that, obviously, a lot of showrunners would like longer seasons. But did you ever considering splitting the first book in half and spending a little bit more time, given the shorter seasons that we have in the live-action?

KIM: I don't recall ever having that conversation with Netflix. For one thing, I joined the process when the show had been in development for a little bit of time with the original creators. And so I think that was the parameters that were laid out even when I joined. But even after that, I don't think we ever discussed going longer. I mean, Netflix has their own criteria for the length of the season and the length of episodes and things like that. So, those weren't always my call.

But yeah, I don't think we talked about taking the first season of the animated series and stretching it out any longer. It was my call as to how we told that story. Like I always knew, I wanted, like the original, our heroes to start in the Southern Water Tribe and end in the Northern Water Tribe, which meant pretty much replicating the original series. So that was the process by which that came about.

Gordon Cormier Was the Perfect Aang in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'

I just want to talk about the casting process a little bit and, specifically, working with these young actors. I really loved Gordon [Cormier] in this series. I feel like it can be really difficult casting Aang because so much rests on his shoulders, and it has to be a young actor. Can you talk about working with him and what you saw in him that would be perfect for this role?

KIM: With Gordon, what you see is what you get. I mean, he is Aang. It seems a little cliché to say that, but he really is like when the camera’s shut off, he acts the same way. You yell cut, and he jumps off, and he runs around, and he hops, and he used to sit on my chair all the time. II would go back to my chair, and he'd be sitting there like, "You don’t mind, right?" And then, he would hop off. If he's telling a story, he's acting it out. I mean, he was Aang.

In the process of auditioning, it was one of those things, where, because we were casting a very young actor, and because we were looking at specific ethnic communities, and also because of the auditioning process was conducted in top secret, so they couldn't know what show they were auditioning for. I had to write fake scenes for all of them. I wasn't really listening to specific lines during the audition, it was more about looking into those personalities and seeing who was it that captured the essence of Aang, and every time we just kept coming back to Gordon.

He didn't know he was auditioning for Aang, so, he wasn't playing to that character at all. He didn't know it was Avatar. So, like I said, it was more about looking past the specifics of the scenes that he was playing and more about the essence of who he was. I gotta say, I think that's where we ended up with all of our characters. I think Ian [Ousley] has that natural sardonic sense of humor in person that his character does. And same with all of them. So like, that's how the casting process went about.

Kim Explains Major Changes to Characters Like King Bumi

And speaking a little bit about the series and things that did change, I noticed when I was watching through the series, that there are some characters who have different personalities compared to their animated counterparts. King Bumi really stands out to me as becoming more antagonistic. Can you talk about some of these decisions to change the direction of some of the characters? And can you tell me how that fits into your narrative?

KIM: Well, in the original series, King Bumi, is a really fun, eccentric character, and he puts Aang through a series of tests ostensibly to teach him the lesson that the Avatar has to be prepared for anything. And they're fun. Everyone enjoys that episode, and that's the reason why we wanted to do it. But for me, when I sat down to look at who Bumi was as a character, what was interesting to me was that this was a man who's lived for over a century, and endured a century of war, and has grown disillusioned, and what's really pained him throughout this is the idea that he was abandoned by his friend. He's still hurt at the fact that Aang the Avatar wasn't there for him.

On the flip side, Aang feels the burden of not having been there for his friend, like he wasn't there and what happened to Bumi is a microcosm of what happened to the world in general. That's his responsibility as Avatar. So, those emotional stories were the most interesting thing to me about that episode. So, in order to draw those things, it resulted in the story retelling and the changes we made. So, for instance, in the original series, Aang doesn’t find out that he’s Bumi until the very end of the episode. To us, it was more interesting if they knew who each other was at the start, so you could play that hurt. How you betrayed me and how a character like Bumi would go about getting that — he is not going to just come outright and say that, he's going to prove it to him. Here's what happened to me. Here's what you missed. Here's the pain that has happened while you were asleep, or frozen.

It’s when we approach the stories from that character perspective that some of those changes start to click in. So yeah, and at the same time, we had those elements from the original we wanted to work in. And so, even though we don't show Flopsy, we put big statues of Flopsy in his throne room, right, and like paintings on the walls. So it's a little bit of an Easter egg, I guess. But it's also an homage to the original episode. So all of those changes were done in the interests of making the characters' journeys be a little more grounded, I guess.

Bringing Azula and Ozai in Early Establishes Important Storylines

Yeah, definitely. I liked your decision to bring Azula in earlier. I think that's a great move, because now the audience can understand who she is. She doesn't just appear in the second season and become this fully formed character. But I also noticed that Fire Lord Ozai… It feels like he's playing a larger part in this story as well. Will we see his story have any changes? Because, I don't know, maybe it’s Daniel’s [Dae Kim] performance, but there’s a little bit of sympathy that I have for him and I don't know if I'm supposed to have sympathy for him.

KIM: I think that's great. I mean, I think that’s the idea of dimensionalizing all these characters is always great. Whether or not he's the villain, you know, you want to be able to feel that he's relatable in a way in that you understand how he got there. And to me, again, we had the benefit of hindsight of knowing what the characters will become and where Ozai goes. And like how important the family dynamic is, or the Fire Nation storyline.

And like Zuko’s entire character arc is tied up in the dynamics of his family. So being able to see the roots of that, by bringing in Azula earlier and showing what Ozai is doing in terms of being a manipulative parent, which — just speaking for myself, is very familiar to an Asian person — the parental expectations that come with that felt like a really good way to establish the storylines not just for this season, but possibly from going forward.

Kim Expresses Relief For Not Having To Exploring Katara's Romance

I have to ask this question, because I have wondered this myself, and also because I saw some of your interviews. But talking about the direction of Katara, who I think a lot of fans have interpreted in the original series as a little bit motherly — it’s probably too motherly of a role for the character. And I'm glad that I'm getting the sense that she's not leaning so much in that direction for the live-action show. But speaking on that, her romance with Aang is something that is reflective of that mothering dynamic. Are there any plans to change that up? I know some fans enjoy Katara and Zuko, I'm just going to put that out there...

KIM: [Laughs]

…but I'm curious if you have any insight on that.

KIM: I will say, hopefully, I'm smart enough not to get involved in that debate, because I know how passionate both sets of fans are. And I was fortunate in that it wasn't a big issue in the first season for us. Because, you know, practically speaking, there are certain things you can do with animated characters that you can't with live action ones when it comes to something like that.

It's not something that we hit very much head on in the first season there. If you look carefully, there are little hints, especially in the final episode of what Katara is saying about Aang. So, we are obviously aware of where it goes in the original series, but it's more of a future issue and a future storyline to be dealt with. So I was, even for myself, I was very relieved to put a pin in it, so I wouldn't have to deal with it in the first season. But yeah, it'll be interesting to tackle that one.

Adjusting Characters for Live-Action Does Not Take Anything Away From the Story 

Yeah, I understand. And I saw some of the fan backlash that came out from your comments about Sokka. And I'm just wondering if this fan backlash scared you a little bit, when it comes to interacting with the fans?

KIM: I understand the reaction. I think it's because people, in that particular instance, are acting in a vacuum. Like, they haven't seen the episodes yet, and they're so hungry for information. So they look through the trailers, the footage, and our comments in our interviews, and they can seize upon all these things to get an idea of what might be happening. But what I've been telling people is watch the episodes, and then we can have that discussion. Because, for now, it's all kind of vapor, you know? It's not like something that's concrete that we can talk about, because I think they'll come to see — whatever the comment was — that it was either blown out of proportion or slightly out of context.

And like you, having seen the series, I think you understand what I'm saying. We didn’t sap Sokka’s character arc in any way or make them less flawed. If anything, things were played maybe slightly more subtly in a more grounded way than it would be in an animated series. So, that's about it. And I saw all sorts of crazy things like, so Pakku is not going to be sexist? Again, having seen it now, I think, you know, we play exactly that same conflict.

But there are things that we drew upon from the original series. Even in the original series, the Southern Water Tribe is slightly more progressive than the Northern Water Tribe is, right? Because the Northern Water Tribe is a little more conservative and enclosed, that's reflected in our series as well. And I think you can see, even from the first two episodes, Sokka’s attitudes, maybe not so overtly stated, are rooted in old viewpoints and culturally passed down conceptions of all that stuff. So, that's all there. Again, let's watch the episodes and then we can have that discussion.

[chiefbeifongcanrailme]

Thanks for tagging me, @wishingforatypewriter!

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Before I begin, there may be spoilers below!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 142! But a lot of them are one-shots.

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? It's 355,968, surprisingly. I'm pretty sure I've seen individual fics longer than this. But also, I think that's a pretty big number for me considering..

3. What fandoms do you write for? Only and only, exclusively Avatar, The Legend of Korra.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Chaos: Chaos was my first ever multi-chapter fic. It stars Lin Beifong, no surprise there, thrust with this eclectic group consisting of her "found family". Primarily focused on Linumi (Lin x Bumi), the fic actually serves as a post canon fix it.

Soul: Soul quite literally is written from the soul. It mostly focuses on the relationship between Lin and Tenzin (ofc, it's LinxTenzin) and explores their connection beyond the physical realm. It's not just about two people who fell in and out of love over the course of time, but about two souls that ache and burn for the other.

The Pledge: This was supposed to be a Lin x Tenzin one-shot of Tenzin falling victim to some kind of out of body, false-memory-confabulation situation where he just quite literally forgets that he wasn't married to Lin. I really wanted to leave this fic as is, but a lot of people asked for a part 2 and the people pleaser in me didn't wanna disappoint. I didn't love how the fic turned out, but oh well. I love the first chapter though.

Abscond: Another multi-chapter! This one is Lin x Mako. It's a series of events that led to Lin and Mako finding commonality and having this flirtatious banter that neither could control. It's a little dramatic, but fun nonetheless.

Laws of Physics: This one's different. It's my Lin x Bumi modern AU, they're both college professors in their late 30s, early 40s respectively. Like chaos, it features almost every character (not all in great detail ofc), and it's been so fun to re-imagine everyone in this modern setting.

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes, always! I may be a little behind sometimes, but I always make it a point to respond. I love, love, love, love comments!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? There might be a tie here: So Many Signs: It's a post-breakup Linzin fic where they see each other for the first time at a gala. A hundred percent based on Exxile by Taylor Swift. Chimera: I'm not sure it fully comes across, but Bumi has this recurring dream about drinking with Lin where they play games and kiss- turns out, this dream is what's flashing before his eyes as he's drowning in deep waters to his death. Yeah, whoa. Why did I write this?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Okay, I think they're all happy!

Okay, but jokes aside, I think It's Time To Make Time kinda gives everyone a very happy ending. Oh, and Ghost of Weddings!

8. Do you get hate on fics? I have gotten hate maybe once or twice on AO3. It's not typical. But it's there- and it's funny. Everyone on Tumblr hates me though lmao.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I have attempted smut a few times! I'll be honest, it isn't great. I've read some fantastic smut so I just know I don't fall in the "smut writer" category. I mostly write a lil bangity-bang-bang for Lin. That's about it.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Do crossovers between my real life and Lin Beifong fanfiction count? If not, then no I haven't written crossovers. But if yes, then it's Exhaustion. Way to expose myself lmao.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? No, but I wouldn't be opposed to it.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, but I would love to! There's some really wonderful authors out there and I would LOVE to write with them.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? It's a three way tie between Linzin-Linumi-Linzolt. I can't pick. I do love other ships from other fandoms, but let's stick to what we know lol.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I'm going to be greeted with pitchforks for this one, but it may wind up being Waging Wars. I kinda forgot what my initial premise for the fic was (should've written it down, I know), so I'm gonna focus on stuff I have mapped out instead. I'm sorry. I will try my best coming back to it though, I promise.

16. What are your writing strengths? I think my ideas are pretty good. The way I can visualize or imagine up these situations often take me aback too.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? The writing part of it. The more I get out of practice, the more I struggle- which leads to taking insane amounts of time between chapters.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I guess if it fits the characters/story/universe, it's fair game. I've never done it though.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Ha! Avatar The Legend of Korra.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Ummmm that's a hard question. Here, you tell me yours.

I'm tagging @orangepanic, @risingsoleil, @superliz6 and anyone who wants to participate!

[the-badger-mole]

I think it’s you that said this but I think you’ve mentioned how there are parallels between Aang and Ozai? I wanted to know what led you to these conclusions considering.. y’know.. the plot of ATLA. Like, genuinely! What parallels are there? /gen

I was speaking mostly about Aang and Ozai as fathers. I've discussed it here, but the short of it is the way Aang played Golden Child/Scape Goat with his kids is very reminiscent of how Ozai was with Zuko and Azula. Right down to the fact that Bumi didn't feel like an acceptable son to Aang until he changed something fundamental about himself. I'm not saying that Aang is Ozai...necessarily. But there are parallels...and such😏.

In the tradition of the fandom having more interesting stories to tell than Bryke, there's a headcanon floating around that I adore about Zuko connecting with Aang's kids because he can relate to having a father that's disappointed in him for not being enough like him. I love the idea of Zuko bonding with Bumi over sword fighting, or teaching Kya how to incorporate other styles of bending into her own. I really, really love the idea that Zuko is the first person to really understand what Tenzin is going through because Zuko witnessed how horribly damaging being the Golden Child is through Azula.

Anyway, I'm off topic. Yeah, there are parallels between Ozai and Aang. Mainly as fathers, but, come on. Could you not see Ozai opening a lava fissure in Ursa's face if she wasn't giving him what he wanted from her?