#Long Feng

[comradekatara]

long feng is actually really awesome. scheming qing dynasty imperial eunuch puppeting the king with his army of spies. but no one really gives a shit about him because he was immediately and ruthlessly undermined by a handful of kids and so he doesn’t seem nearly as cool as he should be. but it’s literally not his fault that sokka and aang and azula snatched his queue and came for his whole career. they were operating via different narrative mechanics and rules. but before those meddling kids came along and deposed him he was literally running an entire police state and manipulating everyone in the city with aplomb. evil viziers deserve love too you guys :(

[mugentakeda]

random assortment of dai li lu ten au stuff because its gradually becoming my favorite thing to doodle

[die-auster]

The gilded cage for the king.

I wish the golden pen to look more, well, gold.

If you feel like it you can support me on my Ko-fi.

[jalapenoscumbag]

[zuko-always-lies]

Since the ATLA fandom always needs this reminder...

Characters which Azula captures over the course of the series:

1. Katara

2. Hakoda

3. Suki

4. Other Kyoshi Warriors

5. Ty Lee

6. Zuko

7. Bato

8. Tyro

9. Hui

10. Due

11. Tho

12. Mai

13. Tyro

14. The Mechanist

15. Pipsqueak

16. Iroh

17. King Kuei

18. Long Feng

19. Boso the Bear

20. Toph

Characters which Azula executes after capturing them:

None.

Maybe she’s not actually as ruthless or bloodthirsty as people make her out to be...

[masterhallmark]

Unpopular opinion: Long Feng is more impressive and worthy of respect than Azula.

Azula mocks him for having crawled his way to the top without realizing that she's basically openly admitting she didn't earn her power and had it handed to her on a silver platter.

Long Feng EARNED his spot of power. Through diabolical deeds, yes, but earned it nonetheless.

Having him give up so easily to Azula in response to her "born to rule" speech was a disservice to his character, because HE of all people knows that being born royalty doesn't make someone a good ruler. The whole reason Long Feng was able to gain control was because the Earth King was incompetent and naive.

Also, in a sense, Long Feng conquered the Earth Kingdom from the inside long before Azula came along. It was only by using Long Feng's resources that Azula was able to snatch the capitol. Without Long Feng's work (namely spending years turning the Dai Li against the one person they were supposed to obey without question), Azula wouldn't have conquered squat.

[waterfire1848]

Bloodbender Katara strangling Azula: Do what he says or by all the fires of Koh's lair, I'll squeeze those pretty golden eyes out of your skull. Long Feng: Now, hold on Katara, there's no need to- Katara: Let me do my job! You brought me here now we're gonna play this thing out to the end! Do what he says, Azula! Azula: Go to hell. Katara: Where do you think bloodbenders come from? Look into my eyes. I wanna see you die.

[groundrunner100]

Take into consideration the setting, story, characters, themes, world-building, & character arcs before voting.

2nd, if you’re a simp for Korra x Asami, please just go away, I want this to be a FAIR poll.

Finally, reblog your favorite character & episode!

[bananaordie]

Some Hakozai, Long Pakku, and Momappa drawn for my sisters Wall of Insufferable Ships.

[late-draft]

Some thoughts on S2 from a first-time watcher!

It's good that I saw a bunch of spoilers before watching S2 and S3, because after seeing how the plot arrived to some of these points, I feel like what I imagined would have worked better; useful for understanding one's own likes and writing.

I thought Toph would have been in bigger danger while in the metal box. In canon she's technically just being dragged back to her family, right? But the emotional impact of her success of bending metal (something believed to be impossible) would have been stronger if she was in a much bigger danger, in worse circumstances, for longer.

Long Feng was so quickly "taken down" at the start when the Earth King decided to stop following him! Yeah the Dai Li still answer to Long Feng but it felt like him losing outward power happened too quickly and he was actually scared that he had lost all power instantly. He even allowed the kids to try to show the king the truth. So which is it, do Long Feng and Dai Li have huge power, or little power?

I liked the plot twist with plot twist with plot twist with plot twist with plot twist with Azula and her goons in Kyoshi warriors' disguises, and the Dai Li still answering to Long Feng. This uplifted the plot part a bit that had been sunk in my mind just before.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Jet was actually ok in S2; he succumbed to a weakness of his by getting obsessed with "random" firebenders, but then he truly tried to be of help, he beat the goddamn brainwashing and did everything he could to help Aang and his allies. He was given a "heroic death" offscreen! Perhaps he survived, gravely injured but who knows. The writing portrays him as an ok person at the end.

If he was supposed to be an "evil version" or "irredeemed" version of Zuko, that could have been portrayed only if Jet had demonstrated more, and persistent negative traits that he would refuse to change. Before giving him an on-screen death.

It wasn't very believable to me that Iroh managed to follow Zuko so quietly and so well under lake Laogai; but from spoilers, I was convinced that Zuko had arrived to a moral decision to set Appa free and let go of his need to belong back at the royal family of the Fire Nation, all on his own. That might have been a bigger triumph of character, but... even coming to this decision because Iroh pressured him into thinking about choices (the fact that he had choices), doesn't diminish what he decided by a lot.

Fever was excellent lmao. Iroh gave him some ibuprofen But the subsequent very cheery behaviour feels like big and heavy Copium from Zuko to me!

Damn. Aang literally speedrun all those chakras opening. Guru Pathik seems alright to me and doesn't feel like a huge deus-ex mechanism considering many other elements the show has used. But I feel like the show would have benefitted a LOT more if separate episodes were devoted to unblocking the chakras. Those are supposed to be a big deal, something difficult to overcome for the hero. But also; Aang refusing to let go of Katara right at the moment when he sensed she was in danger, is actually a correct choice (from a narrative standpoint) - we aren't supposed to cheer for him to let her die. Of course we as the audience want him to try to help Katara! However what Guru Pathik had told him about attachment still stands in the writing (maybe it could have been made more clear that this attachment in question means a selfish possessive one). The writing still sets it up so that it seems like Aang WILL have to let go of the attachment in the future to successfully open the last chakra. Just... later, because this is not the right moment! ^^

Oh man. The best the writing could do for Katara was to have her make a dumb joke about Momo knocking over figurines in the war meeting? And the plan was just... "go forth and attack the Fire Nation during a solar eclipse"? This was the best the text could do?? No bits of additional strategy, problem-solving, no Katara being serious about it? And after that she decides to go for tea despite being on a crucial mission? And why would the delicate scroll requiring the Earth King's seal to set the entire army in motion be left to be carried around outside by one girl. Just so that she could run into Zuko and blow his cover, despite having last seen him as broken, crying over his uncle, fighting against his sister the Fire Nation princess. Feels like the plot really got super convoluted here just to get to points it wanted. Sadge.

[comradekatara]

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

while azula’s speech to long feng in this scene is indisputably iconic and powerful, it is also blatantly wrong. azula cites “the divine right to rule” as her prerogative to take the earth kingdom throne over long feng in their vie for power, but the divinity of the monarchy is a hollow justification for the existence of any given monarchy in the first place, not some ontological imperative that demands certain families seize and maintain power. centuries ago, azula’s ancestors claimed power over the fire nation, and her belief system is the product of the rhetoric they created after the fact to justify their power and influence over the state, and some time later, sozin’s imperialist doctrine that it is also the fire nation’s prerogative to colonize other states beyond their accepted borders. what makes this moment so effective is that azula truly believes the imperialist rhetoric she spouts in this intimidating monologue, as it was the creed she was born into – but as we are plainly shown throughout the show, her belief system is wrong, and she possesses no inherent, divine superiority over others. her facade of power, strength, and domination ultimately guards an empty myth, a lie that nearly destroyed the entire world.

BUT.

out of context, her words are not entirely wrong.

you've had to struggle and connive and claw your way to power

but true power

the divine right to rule

is something you're born with

unlike in our world, wherein the existence of divine power(s) cannot ever be truly proven, the spirit world not only demonstrably exists, but is eminently accessible. only because of aang’s century-long stasis in the iceberg was there ever any doubt of the avatar’s return, reducing the spiritual/cultural/political/global significance of the avatar to a myth, and plunging the world into unrest, chaos, and despair. but the world of avatar itself spans a vast history, in which aang’s era is merely a blip. he is but one reincarnation is the vast line of avatars, the bridge between the human and spirit worlds, the bringer of balance, chosen by the spirits. if anyone has an ontological, divinely-necessitated influence over the world, it is not the fire nation royal family: it is, quite plainly, the avatar.

[mugentakeda]

i saw fanart for this age old unfinished fic and was so interested by the premise that i simply HAD to give the concept my own spin.... Ill put my notes under the cut cus it got kinda long lol

-FIRST OF ALL. i headcanon lu ten as a powerful firebender (like, lightning bending powerful. not an expert at it yet, but can generate it at will. only recently picked it up before the siege.) that can Also use a weapon. he picked it up for funsies and ended up taking it seriously and then excelling. he learned under piandao and in turn later introduced him to zuko. His weapon that he made with piandao was a more traditional jogekama yari, which he had on him when he was captured. long feng destroyed it and had a new jogekama yari made for lu ten in a more sleek earth kingdom style, with longer and more savage blades. **ALSO: lu tens jogekama yari is based on saras yari from samurai champloo!!!! i just made the side blades curved in opposite directions (which made it a jogekama instead of saras type of yari) -lu ten does not interact with the other agents. whether brainwashed or amnesic in this, hes not even one of the secret police that go around arresting people. hes a lone agent that works Directly under long feng and is more of an assassin and spy thats permitted in and out of ba sing se for the missions and jobs long feng sends him on, unlike the rest of the agents. as a gift for his (made up) birthday, long feng gave him a hand carved stone earring. Yes, its a tracker. yes, lu ten knows that. No, he doesn't care and wears it anyway. his boss can do what he wants, and he trusts his boss with his life (lol). the other dai li agents know of lu tens existence, less have seen him with their own eyes, none are permitted to speak to him if they do. they dont know hes a "nonbender". -i havent decided on whether or not i want lu ten brainwashed in this or simply amnesic?? it would be neat if he was the brainwash soft launch since the ba sing se conspiracy brainwashing only started After the siege. lu ten is a firebender, has that fn royalty brand iron willpower, so youd think thats hard to brainwash especially if he was the soft launch, but if long feng kept up the sessions regularly over the course of 6-ish years (and as their brainwashing techniques improved), id doubt it would rub off. its a seven layer salad of brainwashing. and even if he was amnesic rather than brainwashed, theyd still need to do some adjustments in lu tens head to TOTALLY wipe out any idea of firebending, on top of regular chi blocking. -as for the amnesic part, i read a theory that introduced the idea that lu ten being killed was an inside job orchestrated by ozai. which i dont think would be canon, but it would be pretty cool?? like especially considering how FAST he jumped on azulon about heirs. very suspicious indeed. and all too convenient: have a group of moles set in irohs army, once lu ten moves out away from iroh then corner him, kill him, make it look like the earth army did it, sneak back to the fire nation, ozai gets the crown. easy as pie. -and to combine one of MY OWN aus with the above, aka the one where zhao and lu ten were both taught together under jeong jeong, the first time that zhao REALLY made a big move into ozais pocket was offering to be the head mole in irohs army. it made perfect sense to ozai, and he gladly sent zhao on his way- him being close rivals with him will catch him off guard and make the job far easier. and if zhao succeeds, and KEEPS succeeding, when ozai undoubtedly snatches the crown, he will grant zhao all the rewards and titles he could ever want until the cows come home. snazzy deal.

so whichever one of those you guys find cooler will be the one i go with because frankly both of them have the same amount of fun angst and drama idk......................

-as for lu tens face and arm, i base that off how i think lu ten died, not even gna lie. in the case where he is dead i think half his skull got crushed open and his arm was blown right off from the bicep. the stitches are just for aesthetic purposes. i was inspired by how scars are drawn in one piece, and because they give a "frankensteins monster" type look, which i found fitting, since this is a 'came back wrong' trope/winter soldier-esque au. the bandages covering his face was a suggestion from an anxious long feng to hide his face in public, while the ba sing se conspiracy was still fresh and the citizens might recognize the spawn of the dragon of the west if they looked long enough.

-as for lu ten and long fengs relationship, i havent thought about it enough, but im definitely imagining smthn along the lines of "you were always working for me, i picked you up and trained you when you had nothing, you owe me your life and loyalty", mixed with some gentle stockholm syndrome. like, a combination of "the king and his most loyal guard dog", a very strange psuedo father-son relationship??? (which was honestly accidental on long fengs part. but he kept it up because he found the irony amusing. yes he will try and rub that in irohs face. yes iroh will beat his skull in for it. its chill)

-this has nothing to do with the au but please see iroh and zukos body language in the third panel of the comic... i love to portray them as protective of each other... zukos blade placed before iroh, irohs arm switching from shoulder to shoulder as zuko turns, always placed between him and whatever is approaching... Heurghhh (GRIPS HEAD

[muffinlance]

Little Zuko v the World, Chapter 42: Dai Li or Dai Don’t

Jet has a new hat and a new job.

Latest Chapter || Read from the beginning

Summary:

Zuko finds Aang a month into his banishment. They’re both 12. Expect not-a-kid-person!Zhao, gratuitous saving from pirates, badass Yue, and some solid Appa/Zuko bromance. It is the hole in your life you didn’t know needed filling.

Book Two updating daily. <3

Other ATLA fics || Original works

[theduckeminence]

Y’all ever think Xin Fu and Master Yu (the two guys who were hired to capture Toph and bring her home) ever explored each other’s bodies?

What about General How and Long Feng? Y’all ever think at one point they explored each other’s bodies too?—

[zuko-always-lies]

ATLA Book 2 Character Stats

One thing I have been wondering for a while is how many lines of dialogue each character has in ATLA. I recently figured out an easy way to calculate it, so here are the stats for Book 2. You can find the stats for Book 1 here.

There are 3186 total lines of dialogue in the season. They are divided up as follows:

Sokka 499 lines, 15.66% Aang 492 lines, 15.44% Katara 412 lines, 12.93% Toph 242 lines, 7.60% Iroh 181 lines, 5.68% Zuko 169 lines, 5.30%(this increases to 194 and 6.08% if you include "Young Zuko") Azula 92 lines, 2.89% (this increases to 103 lines and 3.67% if you include "Young Azula") Jet 60 lines, 1.88% Long Feng 46 lines, 1.44% Kuei 40 lines, 1.26% Pathik 37 lines, 1.16% Chong 33 lines, 1.04% Suki 31 lines, 0.97% Joo Dee 29 lines, 0.91% Ty Lee 29 lines, 0.91%(This increases to 31 lines and 0.97% if you include "Young Ty Lee") Mai 28 lines, 0.88% (This increases to 29 lines and 0.91% if you include "Young Mai") Xin Fu 27 lines, 0.85% Zei 27 lines, 0.85%

With the more obscure characters below

Young Zuko 25 lines, 0.78% Fong 22 lines, 0.69% Young Azula 21 lines, 0.66% Yu 19 lines, 0.60% Ursa 18 lines, 0.56% Wan Shi Tong 18 lines, 0.56% Jin 17 lines, 0.53% Lee 17 lines, 0.53% Smellerbee 17 lines, 0.53% Tong 17 lines, 0.53% King Bumi 16 lines, 0.50% Lao 14 lines, 0.44% Guard 13 lines, 0.41% Tho 13 lines, 0.41% Due 12 lines, 0.38% Ghashiun 12 lines, 0.38% Ticket lady 12 lines, 0.38% Ying 11 lines, 0.35% Huu 10 lines, 0.31% Song 10 lines, 0.31% Yung 10, 0.313873195% Captain 9, 0.282485876% Dai Li agent 9, 0.282485876% General Sung 9, 0.282485876% Gow 9, 0.282485876% Oyaji 9, 0.282485876% Gansu 8, 0.251098556% Hakoda 8, 0.251098556% Kenji 8, 0.251098556% Shuzumu 8, 0.251098556% Fung 7, 0.219711237 General How 7, 0.219711237 Male student 7, 0.219711237 Pao 7, 0.219711237 Than 7, 0.219711237 The Boulder 7, 0.219711237 Trainer 7, 0.219711237 Mongke 6, 0.188323917 Quon 6, 0.188323917 Sela 6, 0.188323917 Tycho 6, 0.188323917 Ukano 6, 0.188323917 Fire Nation Man 5, 0.156936598 Lily 5, 0.156936598 Michi 5, 0.156936598 Moku 5, 0.156936598 Old man 5, 0.156936598 Ozai 5, 0.156936598 Roku 5, 0.156936598 Blue dragon 4, 0.125549278 Broadsword man 4, 0.125549278 Customer 4, 0.125549278 Earth Kingdom soldier 4, 0.125549278 Kyoshi 4, 0.125549278 Macmu-Ling 4, 0.125549278 Merchant 4, 0.125549278 Merchant #1 4, 0.125549278 Merchant #2 4, 0.125549278 Old Sweepy 4, 0.125549278 Pong 4, 0.125549278 Poppy 4, 0.125549278 Qin 4, 0.125549278 Scary prisoner 4, 0.125549278 Soldier 4, 0.125549278 Villager 4, 0.125549278 Azulon 3, 0.094161959 Fire Sage 3, 0.094161959 Florist 3 ,0.094161959 Guard one 3, 0.094161959 Ladies 3, 0.094161959 Male student #2 3, 0.094161959 Man 3, 0.094161959 Sha-Mo 3, 0.094161959 Ticket woman 3, 0.094161959 University student 3, 0.094161959 Unnamed Fire Nation boy 3, 0.094161959 Bato 2, 0.062774639 Brainwasher 2, 0.062774639 Cabbage merchant 2, 0.062774639 Captured agent 2, 0.062774639 Commander 2, 0.062774639 Girl with umbrella 2, 0.062774639 Guest 2, 0.062774639 Head of the Dai Li 2, 0.062774639 Huge round angry face 2, 0.062774639 Joo Dee replacement 2, 0.062774639 Joo Dees 2, 0.062774639 Koko 2, 0.062774639 Kyoshi Warrior #1 2, 0.062774639 Li 2, 0.062774639 Lo 2, 0.062774639 Oracle 2, 0.062774639 Pakku 2, 0.062774639 Pet store owner 2, 0.062774639 Sensitive ruffian 2, 0.062774639 Servant 2, 0.062774639 Song's mother 2, 0.062774639 Store owner 2, 0.062774639 Villager #2, 2 0.062774639 Villager #3, 2 0.062774639 Young Ty Lee 2 ,0.062774639 Adult guest 1, 0.03138732 Agent 1, 0.03138732 Audience 1 ,0.03138732 Boy's mother 1, 0.03138732 Earthbender guard 1, 0.03138732 Engineer 1, 0.03138732 Farmer 1, 0.03138732 Flyer distribution man 1, 0.03138732 Guard #2 1, 0.03138732 Guard two 1, 0.03138732 How 1, 0.03138732 Iio 1, 0.03138732 Katara (flashback) 1, 0.03138732 Kyoshi Warrior #2 1, 0.03138732 Lady on stage 1, 0.03138732 Lo and Li 1, 0.03138732 Longshot 1, 0.03138732 Lu Ten 1, 0.03138732 Man in the bar 1, 0.03138732 Old woman 1, 0.03138732 Older guest 1, 0.03138732 Palace woman 1, 0.03138732 Peasant girl 1, 0.03138732 Princess Yue 1, 0.03138732 Prisoner #2 1, 0.03138732 Red dragon 1, 0.03138732 Resistance fighter 1, 0.03138732 Resistance fighter #1 1, 0.03138732 Resistance fighter #2 1, 0.03138732 Royal messenger 1, 0.03138732 Sandbender #1 1, 0.03138732 Sandbender #2 1, 0.03138732 Second Engineer 1, 0.03138732 Shop owner 1, 0.03138732 Star 1, 0.03138732 Tea seller 1, 0.03138732 Team Avatar 1, 0.03138732 Terra Team leader 1, 0.03138732 Terra Team member 1, 0.03138732 The Hippo 1, 0.03138732 Third girl 1, 0.03138732 Train conductor 1, 0.03138732 Villagers 1, 0.03138732 Waiter 1, 0.03138732 Warrior 1, 0.03138732 Water Tribe warrior 1, 0.03138732 White Lotus member 1, 0.03138732 Young guest 1, 0.03138732 Young Mai 1, 0.03138732 Younger guest 1, 0.03138732