#and azula's section about fighting/bending with precision

[bluespiritshonour]

Mai has trimmed nails in season 3. I repeat Mai has short, trimmed nails in season 3.

No long nails. No nail paint.

😌

[chilling-in-the-dark]

The Golden Cage Part Four: Final

This is a yandere story; it mentions elements of obsession, possessiveness, death, murder, kidnapping, imprisonment, and mental abuse. If any of this is triggering for you, I understand, and you don’t have to read it.

I know I said the story was going to be five parts, but chapters four and five (mostly chapter four tbh) didn’t have enough meat on their bones to stand alone (this is what I get for never outlining folks, surprises, and not the good kind.) so they ended up mashed together into one chapter. Italics are pre-room, non italic sections are post-room.

After you’d first woken up after being shot with lightning, you were grateful to have Zuko by your side, but soon enough his presence began to feel suffocating, and if he couldn’t be there himself, because you know being ruling a country could keep a man busy, he’d have a healer and a guard by your side twenty-four seven. For the first couple of months it made sense, after all, there was only so much Katara’s healing could do, and you’d needed help to do even the most basic of tasks, but now that you didn’t need so much better all of the people doting on you was stifling.

Not to mention you’d spent most of your life free wandering where you please when you pleased, it wasn’t a stretch of the imagination to say that palace life with its strict routine was unbearable. So, you’d somehow managed to slip off and find a bag; over the past week, you’d been stuffing it full of essential supplies. Then one night, you’d set out, but one of the servants must have tipped Zuko off because he’d meet you in front of the servants’ door you’d planned on using to slip out without being noticed.

“Your leaving,” Zuko said, his voice catching in his throat ever so slightly. You couldn’t leave him; you were his world, didn’t you know that.

“I’m sorry, Zuko, but I can’t stay here anymore I’ve tried, but I just don’t know how to put down roots, it’s not who I am.” You chocked back the tears threatening to spill out from your eyes, you couldn’t let him see you cry, you didn’t want to break his heart more than necessary. You knew you should have said goodbye, but part of you knew that if you did, he might be able to talk you into staying. You were withering here, losing parts of yourself, because you just weren’t made for a stationary life.

“You can’t, or maybe you don’t want to try.” You were surprised by the amount of venom dripping from Zuko’s lips, you thought it was understandable after all you might as well have just ripped his heart out and stomped on it.

Zuko let you leave after that; at least that’s what you thought, but when you drank from your water skin, the water tasted strangely bitter, although you didn’t have much time to contemplate this before you fell to the ground unconscious.

The women around your rushed to help you get dressed for what they thought would be the happiest day of your life, but that really just filled you with dread. There was a point in your life where you’d dreamed of marring Zuko, but that had been back when the two of you were still traveling together on a decommissioned fire nation warship. You’d always imagined standing on its metal deck, Lieutenant Jee as acting captain he would officiate your vows, and you’d be surrounded by the members of the ship’s crew that didn’t hate you, and of course, Iroh would be there to serve tea after the wedding.

You’d always dreamed your wedding would be a happy occasion, but now you’d be forced to stand in front of thousands of strangers promising to spend the rest of your life to a man whom you hadn’t loved in years, a man who’d kept you locked away in a room for years, a man who’d burned you because he was jealous. Maybe you could weasel your way out of this, but then you couldn’t just think of yourself, the world was depending on Zuko to keep the peace, it wouldn’t take much for the Fire Nation army to take back the earth kingdom, it was still weak after fighting a losing war for a hundred years. Not to mention The Earth King was as spineless a jellyseal, the man wouldn’t fight his own battles even if he was the last man in his Kingdom.

The avatar was an option, but even if you told Aang there was no way to guarantee he’d believe you, Zuko was his friend, not yours, and because of that, he’d have no reason to believe you over Zuko. Even if you got Zuko magically removed from the throne that would still leave a nation in chaos, Azula couldn’t rule because she’d gone mad, Iroh had already renounced his claim to the throne, and Ozai was locked up in an Earth Kingdom prison somewhere.

A civil war was always going to be one assassination away, at least until Zuko had kids. That was a thought that sent a chill down your spine when you realized whether you wanted to or not; you were going to have to have children with Zuko. Why had the spirits chosen you to endure this fate, wasn’t there some Fire Nation citizen who would be happy to spend the rest of their life serving the Fire Lord and bending to his every whim?

You woke up in a small Fire Nation prison cell, wearing clothes you definitely hadn’t been when you’d left. You didn’t own any silk, let alone silk this fine. The juxtaposition between the cell and clothes threw you for a loop, why give you beautiful silk robes but leave you in a room that barely had enough space for a grown man to lay down.

It all made some sort of sick sense when you saw Zuko approaching, why hadn’t you seen it before that something was off with him. You’d seen creeps of all kinds on the road, but something about Zuko made you drop your guard, maybe it was because something about him reminded you of a kicked dog. One fact remained Zuko had drugged you and had locked you up in a prison cell, you’d be moved to the room in a few months’ time, and you’d spend years of your life trying to leave it, only to give up and accept your fate.

The women dressing you gently slid the amber necklace that you hadn’t seen in over five years, over your head. You’d given it to Zuko just before the siege at the north pole, it was your way of making him promise to come back, you’d told him he’d have to return it to you one day and that if he died an lost it out there, you’d never forgive him.

Unfortunately, he’d survived and chosen today as the day to fulfill his promise, though not for long, he’d be getting it back at the ceremony, and your family heirloom would become just another artifact of the royal family.

After you were dressed, it didn’t take long for the wedding to start, and it seemed like it went on for hours, mostly because it did, the Fire Sage wouldn’t quit droning on and on about the sanctity of marriage, and the importance of the vows you and Zuko were about to take. You didn’t know if all fire nation wedding ceremonies were this long of if royal weddings were just long-winded. The latter seemed likely, but then again, who could say.

Now after you were to the part of the ceremony where you’d give your vows, two golden ceremonial blades were brought out along with a fan and three bowls, the largest of which was empty but sat atop a small stand that would allow for a fire to be lit underneath it. The other two contained water and dark volcanic soil; with practiced precision, you and Zuko each took a blade.

The weapon in your hand was heavy and sharp, sharp enough to slit a man’s throat, especially if he wasn’t expecting it, with this fact in mind you turned to Zuko, took a deep breath, said your vows, and pricked your finger. You wanted to kill him, you wanted to kill him more than anything, but a Fire Nation civil war would end badly for the whole word. Zuko had always thought you’d make a good Queen. He didn’t know how right he was. You and Zuko turned once again to face the Fire Sage and allowed a few drops of blood to fall into the water, you’d literally just made a blood vow to spend the rest of your life with Zuko.

“Agni,” the Fire Sage called loudly, invoking the sun spirt his people worshiped. “We ask you to bless this marriage with your radiant light so that it may have the stability of earth and can endure all that comes its way.” The fire sage poured the soil into the large empty bowl.

“The fluidity of water, so that the couple may grow and change together.” Again, the water and the blood it contained were added to the bowl.

“The warmth of fire, so they will never have to endure the cold alone.” This time it wasn’t the Fire Sage that added the element but Zuko. He created a whisper of flame and used it to light a fire beneath the bowl, as was traditional when a Firebender was getting married.

“Lastly, we ask that you may always grant this union fresh air so that it may never grow stale.” The Fire Sage picked up the fan and used it to stoke the fire. The end result of all of that was a boiling mixture of mud that the fire sages would use to grow a fire lily; it was said that if the plant died, then the marriage would end in tragedy. Rumor had it the one representing Zuko’s parents had withered within a day.

Now you were at the end of the traditional Fire Nation wedding, but there was still one more thing left that Zuko had insisted upon. The two of you turned to face each other you gently slid your heirloom necklace over your head. “I give you this as is tradition in my family, it is a symbol of love freely given.” Or it used to be at least, now it had become a symbol of Zuko’s obsession. “From a wife to her husband, and one day a father to his daughter.” You forced a smile and slid it over Zuko’s head. If you cried any tears, it would seem the world mistook them for Joy.

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@zoned-out-till-further-notice

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@phoenixambers​ @svveet-peas​

[aspoonofsugar]

Hello Meta Queen! Do you have any thoughts on how TPD is clearly inspired by ATLA, and how the writers may be further developing similar themes/characters?

Hello friend!

Let’s see...

THEMES

I think that the main theme of ATLA is the idea of bringing back balance to the world.

Atla is a story about finding an equilibrium both on a personal level and on a macro-level:

Being in equilibrium lets people love themselves and others. It also comes with accepting diversity and interpreting it as something enriching.

This is why the Avatar is a person bending all four elements. It is because the four elements represent different aspects of the self and bending all four means finding an equilibrium among them. Similarly, all the four cultures presented have positive sides and negative sides and they need to cohexist and to accept each other.

This is precisely why the theme of equilibrium is linked to the theme of diversity. ATLA is a series which deals and promotes diversity. It shows how people can learn from different cultures:

It is not by chance that in the end the characters who lose are Azula and Ozai, who are both out of balance. Azula can’t find harmony inside herself and this is why she loses despite all her talent. Ozai fails to understand the equilibrium of the world. He tries to destroy said equilibrium and this is why he loses his own bending in the end.

Differently, the main characters all find balance within themselves and with others.

Aang is challenged by other bendings. In particular, earth-bending challenges him to face poblems head on (the whole story starts because he runs away after all), while fire-bending challenges his fear of violence and of his own power (and he manages to go all out at the end of the story).

Zuko reconciles the different sides of his complicated legacy and starts respecting other cultures.

Sokka learns that he does not have to change himself to be who he wants to be. What is more, he develops a strong respect for women.

Katara finds an equilibrium between the positive and negative traits of herself and her bending. She also forgives Zuko, but does not forgive her mother’s killer.

Toph must find an equilibrium between her desire of freedom and her wish to stay close to her loved ones. Not to count an equilibrium between her strength and the necessity of accepting help.

When it comes to Tdp, it is more difficult to discuss themes because the series is not over.

That said, I think that an important theme (probably the main theme) is this:

This is because the characters keep repeating it. The idea is that people must be free from their past. They must know about it and they can learn from it, but they should ultimately not feel bound to it.

This is why Ezran chooses to be a peaceful king, while his father was a warrior. This is why Callum decides he will still be a mage despite being a human. This is also what we see at play in the dynamic between Viren and his children. On one hand Soren has had a positive development because he broke free from his father. On the other hand Claudia is spiralling because she can’t.

This theme is expressed through the arcana of the sky. After all, it is not by chance that this is the arcana the main character connects to and which is embodied by Zym himself.

In short, Atla is about bringing back an equilibrium which went lost, while Tdp is about overcoming the status quo to create a new world.

Despite this difference, this does not mean that the main theme of one series is not present in the other as a secondary theme/personal conflict.

For example, Aang’s final choice is ibetween killing Ozai and finding another solution. He even asks past avatars and they all tell him to kill Ozai. However, Aang in the end chooses not to and stays true to his own philosophy (which shows how learning from other people/cultures does not result in erasing one-self/one’s culture).

Similarly, Zuko too is a character who breaks free from his father’s mentality.

At the same time, Tdp too, like Atla, shows different cultures and the importance to learn about them.

When it comes to this, we can see how the two series make a similar use of another narrative element aka the worldbuilding.

WORLDBUILDING

The two series’ worldbuildings have clear similarities. In both universes there are different kinds of magic linked ot different elements. What is more, these types of magic are connected to different cultures and embody different values.

In Atla we have:

In Tdp we have seven kinds of magic, but I will mostly comment on the four we got to know the most up until now.

The Sky Arcana symbolizes freedom:

It is the ability to act without any constrictions from your surroundings. It does not mean that you should ignore them, though, but rather that you should use them to go where you want to go. This is why people should not just follow air-currents, but they should be the sails and use the winds to go where they want. This is just anoter way to express the main theme of the story, as I have stated above.

It is possible that among the negative traits of the sky culture there is the tendency to become selfish/act in a whimsical way. I think that this is well conveyed by Nyx and by the Sky Elves being among the members of the Dragon Guard, who ran away.

The Sun Arcana symbolizes honor and purity to the point that it can purify Dark Magic. However, this obsession with purity leads to see the world in black and white and to become self-righteous.

This is why the queen of the Sun Elves dies after all. And it is Sol Regem’s discrimination and rigidity, which led to him losing his sight. What is more, the loss of the sight for a Sun creature is a pretty karmic punishment. Finally, it is interesting that he used to be the previous Dragon King. The fact that he is not anymore shows how such a narrow mentality can’t help in the construction of a new world.

The Moon Arcana is the opposite of the Sun one. So, while the Sun is about revealing the truth behind appearances, the Moon is about illusions. The moon culture celebrates illusions and appearances both in a positive and in a negative way.

Moonshadow Elves can make use of appearances both in how they trick their enemies’ senses and in how they trick themselves:

Because of illusions they can dominate their fear. However, this has also a negative aspect:

Moonshadow elves are asked to repress their fears and to feel shame for it. Similarly, they give the way things seem too much importance. This is at the root of what happened to Rayla’s parents and to Rayla’s herself. Because of a simple suspect of betrayal, they were erased. Again the cancelling magic is particularly powerful because the Moonshadow cultures gives so much importance to appearances. Think about what an enemy could accomplish if they were given access to a village where nobody could see them.

Finally, there is Dark Magic, which symbolizes many things.

First of all, it symbolizes the difficult relationship humans have with nature. On one hand they need to use natural resources to survive and to fight natural forces. On the other hand this kind of exploitation knows no bundaries. What is more, it gives people the feeling everything can be obtained easily and that there are no boundaries. As it was shown in Claudia and Viren’s arcs, this creates a lot of negative consequences for both the dark mage and the others.

As one can see, the different approaches have both positive and negative aspects and they need to balance each other out. Finally, Tdp, like Atla seems to have a character, who will master more than one element:

Personally, I am not a fan of this hypothesis and I think this is an instance where Tdp should try to be different from Atla.

In Atla, the concept of a person mastering all four elements was in the premise of the series itself and was used intelligently. Aang is a protagonist who does not want to be an avatar and his arc is to accept this part of himself. It is about finding an equilibrium between who he is as a person and his role. Moreover, the fact that he is the avatar ends up creating conflict, instead of solving it. Because the avatar exists and is an air nomad, the Fire Nation destroys the Nomads without second thoughts. In short, being the avatar creates problems to Aang as a person.

When it comes to tdp, I would prefer for different characters to show the potential to connect to different primal sources. It would be interesting if the main characters ended up connected each one to one or two elements. For example, let’s think how interesting would be to see Rayla connect to the Arcana of the Ocean since she is scared of water. Or Claudia become connected to the Sun Arcana, so that she can purify herself from Dark Magic. Or Ezran to the Earth Arcana, since he has affinity with animals. Soren has trouble with illusions, so it would be very interesting to see him struggling with the Moon Arcana.

In short, there would be a lot of potential to such a scenario, instead than having one single character being the one connecting to many elements. It would make Tdp more of a coral story and I think that would be more unique and interesting.

That said, I am open to see how the whole matter will be trated by the story itself.

These thoughts lead us to the last section of this answer.

CHARACTERS

As said above, Callum might end up having a similar role to Aang. There is also the fact that both start the story by running away and that both are connected with the air element in their respective franchise. Ezran too has similarities with Aang, given how both are non-violent and are kids who have a great responsibility despite their young age.

Other than this, though, the characters I would mostly like to talk about are my two favourites:

Who I see as basically a mixture between Sokka/Katara and Azula/Zuko.

It is clear that the structure of their arcs is similar to Azula and Zuko’s. They are the children of a main antagonist and they are both going through different journeys. Soren has managed to distance himself from Viren, while Claudia is still loyal to him.

That said, The starting point of Claudia and Soren is different from the one of Azula and Zuko. In Atla both Azula and Zuko start as clear-cut antagonists, while in Tdp Claudia and Soren are immediately given likable traits and presented as manipulated by their father. What is more, it is immediately clear that Zuko will have a redemption arc and that Azula is a more negative character than him. However, Tdp muddles the water more by having a whole season showing Claudia’s positive traits and Soren’s negative ones. That said, the series then uses the next season to make the siblings exchange roles. So Soren learns from his mistakes, while Claudia keeps spiralling.

In short, I think that Claudia and Soren are in a sense grayer characters than Zuko and Azula, at least in how they are presented to the public. This means that both couple of siblings have a similar degree of complexity, but that Tdp plays with the viewers’ expectations more than Atla. Or at least, I have this impression.

That said, both Claudia/Soren and Azula/Zuko explore similar themes and show the struggle of kids who must emancipate themselves from their father. It also shows the damage bad parenting can do (even if Viren is definately a more complex character than Ozai).

However, I would argue that Soren and Claudia also share common traits with Sokka and Katara.

I think that the similarities between Soren and Sokka are striking and clear. Both want to make their father proud, but they lack qualities which are celebrated by their respective parent/society. Sokka at the beginning lacks the physical strength and experience to be recognized as a fine warrior. Soren instead lacks the ability with magic and book-smart, which is appreciated by Viren.

Interestingly, they are opposite plays of toxic masculinity. Sokka tries to live up to an idea of masculinity he lacks only to discover that his strengths are his most “feminine” (culturally speaking) traits. Soren is a character who embodies a toxic idea of masculinity, but still feels unsure and unhappy despite it. It is not by chance that he deep down wants to indulge in activities, which let him show his sensitivity like poetry, for example.

In short, Sokka and Soren might superficially appear as opposite, but they are nothing more than the same concept expressed through two characters having opposite superficial traits.

Finally, both Soren and Sokka are often used as comic relief and this helps the public to like them and to connect with them.

Let’s talk about Claudia and Katara. I would say that, ironically, Claudia is a deconstruction of Katara. By this, I mean that Claudia and Katara share many traits. Both are children who are traumatized by the loss of their mother, for example. What is more, they have reacted to that loss by trying to keep the rest of their family together.

We see multiple times how Claudia is desperate to keep her father and her brother close and she tries to mediate between them.

Similarly, Katara, after Kya’s death, took upon herself the role of “heart” of the family and took care of her brother. She also shows anger towards her father for living, when they meet again in book 3.

Katara is a character who loves deeply and is highly empathetic and Claudia is the same. She is very sensitive and is genuinely sad when she has to tell Callum about his father’s death.

That said, the traits that are shown positively in Katara are deconstructed in Claudia. Katara and waterbenders in general, for example, are said to be able to think outside the box and they turn their weaknesses in strength (their whole fighting style is to turn defense into attack). This is the same principle behind Dark Magic and it is how Claudia justifies her use of it to Callum.

Even more importantly, it is Claudia’s love for her family and to an extent for her community, which leads her astray. It is telling that the Dark Magic starts to corrupt Claudia not when she uses it to attack her childhood friends, but when she heals her brother. Similarly, her hair becomes whiter not when she helps Viren in his plan, but when she resurrects him. In short, she spirals more and more when she uses healing magic. This is interesting if we think about how much Katara’s healing abilities are seen as a positive thing and as a symbol of her nurturing personality. Katara even resurrects Aang when Azula kills him at the end of season 2, after all. That occurrance is definately not framed as a negative thing.

What I am trying to show is that Claudia is an example of a character where those positive traits Katara has are shown as negative because of various reasons. This does not really mean anything by itself because the two characters are in different series, but it is still an interesting idea.

These are my main thoughts on the two series! Thank you for the ask!