#but suki was a minor side character in season 1

[fioleespring]

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[zaddyazula]

i’m a pretty hardcore zuko redemption arc stan, but my time on tumblr and rewatching the show has really shown me a lot of problems with it.

i know this is a pretty big topic on atla tumblr, so i thought why don’t i shove my opinion in everyone else’s face :).

first of all, my belief of a redemption arc is when somebody redeems themself by changing their actions and ideologies. zuko does a lot for the whole actions part of it, but ultimately nothing to challenge the xenophobic, imperialistic ideology that he has been brought up to believe, as well as the belief that the fire nation royals are better than anyone else.

sure, zuko says he lost himself a lot, but he never mentions anything about his previous beliefs, which can be seen regularly through the first two seasons, particularly season 1. constantly calling katara a peasant; calling others filth: the list goes on and on for all the occasions he has displayed some sort of belief of superiority towards others.

yes, he freed appa; yes, he went to rescue hakoda and suki; yes, he went with katara to get revenge on yon rha - it doesn’t mean anything if nothing has changed in his mind.

he can help them all he wants, but if he still has the ideology of a racist, xenophobic and classist prince, what is the difference between banished zuko and fire lord zuko?

[side note: obviously, by the end of the show, zuko doesn’t share the beliefs that his father and sister held, but you can see him demonstrate them very clearly in some of his flashbacks and a majority of season 1.]

take this horrific analogy: if someone you hate (and i mean absolutely fucking despise) goes out of their way to help you and try to reconcile with you, and you do so but still hate them with your entire fucking soul and nothing you thought about them has changed - then what is even the point of reconciling? if your ideologies have not changed, in my book, it doesn’t matter what you do, if you save their life, whatever other bullshit you could do for them, then you can’t redeem yourself.

imagine being in some sick blood feud, but you guys decide not to fight anymore, what fucking progression is there if one of you then goes: “by the way, i really fucking hate you. i also killed your entire family. :)” there’s none. nothing changes except for the fact one person’s entire family is dead.

an example of a good redemption arc (it’s literally in the name of the game) is one of my all time favourite character’s from one of my all time favourite pieces of fiction: (high honour) arthur morgan from red dead redemption 2.

to summarise (minor spoilers): arthur is in a (cowboy!!!) gang in 1899, who are constantly running from the law. arthur ends up contracting tuberculosis from a man he kills, which leads him onto his path of redemption. he (if the player chooses to go high honour) begins to help people and reflects on his actions. not only does arthur change his actions, but he actually changes ideologies. he stops believing that he can throw his life away, and that there is no point in trying to do anything good when he’s already done so many bad things. arthur goes through a complete (!!!) metamorphosis, actually feeling compassion for people and wanting to save them from mr. i have a plan (the leader of the gang).

arthur is an absolutely incredible example of a redemption arc: it’s literally the point of the game (unless you’re a low honour player. i don’t know how you can do that. you’re superhumans). he changes his actions, his relationships and his ideologies with the help of people he meets along the way.

the same can mostly be said for zuko, and i’m not saying zuko hadn’t changed his ideology by the series finale, my issue is more the fact that it’s never addressed. once. not even a single time (i finished watching the show again today, may have bawled my eyes out) is anything about what he was taught to believe mentioned, let alone worked on.

the belief that the fire nation royals are superior is shown through azula pretty much any time we see her, and ozai a majority of his onscreen appearances.

hell, even the belief that the fire nation is superior to the other nations is shown in the s3 episode where aang goes to the fire nation school. throughout the show, we are constantly shown that the fire nation believe they are better than everyone else, but not once is zuko challenged for it, even by little miss zuko hater, katara. not once is anyone challenged for it, except for if you count the whole “the air nomads never had an army” from aang, but for me, that doesn’t really count.

don’t get me wrong, zuko is my favourite character in the show, if not one of my favourite characters ever, but this whole ‘the best ever redemption arc’ bullshit needs to stop. yes, it’s a good redemption arc, but it lacks the awareness that comes with realising that you need to repent for not only your actions, but your beliefs. redemption arcs like arthur morgan’s show the progression of the character; obviously there’s a difference between being the main character of an 100gb game and being one of the main characters in a kid’s show, but they still managed to get a redemption arc in for him. what they didn’t manage, however, was challenging zuko’s past beliefs.

you cannot become a better person by ignoring the ideals that shaped you to be that horrible person.

you must challenge them. you must face them.

so, in my opinion, despite how much i love it, despite how much i want to crown it the best redemption arc of all time, i just can’t. until zuko challenges his ideals ON SCREEN (which’ll be never), then i can’t give it the honour (i’m so funny).

don’t even get me started on the redemption arc azula should’ve had, because that’s even more bullshit to deal with.

damn this took ages to write.

[velkynkarma]

I think LOK's issue (or, one of the many) is that it seems to work smoothest when binge watching the seasons (doesn't improve the storytelling, but it IS a binge-watcher season style of storytelling) which is kinda fascinating when it came out just before the major boom in binge-streaming.

also I agree that a longer style would allow us to get and see things like how the water tribes have evolved, the state of fire nation technology and culture, and what everywhere that the gaang visited is like without the war. I remember being most excited to seeing how the world got to grow and heal after the war and then the series never did that.

Yes, and most importantly, bear in mind that the first season of Legend of Korra was supposed to be a stand-alone season. It was intended to be a one-shot series. They did not announce seasons 2-4 were green-lit until season 1 actually had a chance to start pulling in viewers, and for a while it almost didn't happen at all.

But they only had 12 episodes in which to establish an entire new generation, new technology, all of the "what happened after" stuff, establish whole new characters, and tell multiple storylines. Which left us getting Korra's introduction, her entire new friends group, the introductions of Bolin, Mako and Asami, supporting characters like Tenzin and Lin and the airbender family, a whole cultural anti-bending revolution, gang wars, an inner-city war, a whole sport, and a love rectangle shoved into 12 episodes. None of it ever has a chance to really be established, because you ping-pong back and forth between characters and plot points so fast you don't have a chance to. It's a classic case of too much, too fast.

But if the series had 20 episodes, some of this could be expanded on. How about some character development episodes for the brothers or Asami outside of their prescribed roles as "main character's crush," "girl keeping main character's crush from her," and "goofy comedy relief"? How about some episodes of the 4 of them interacting together for a more minor issue, or teaching each other things? How about exploring more of the cross-cultural aspects of the city, with mixed-blood families and all kinds of benders interacting? Build up these character relationships more, and not necessarily in the 'love rectangle' sense of the word. Let them learn things. Let them develop as characters outside the context of the main plot.

And that's not even getting into the stuff people REALLY wanted to see: what happened to their beloved characters from the OLD series!!! Where are Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki, and Zuko??? What about other side characters????

Bearing in mind the rest of the 3 seasons have to sit on this hastily rushed cram-packed foundation means seasons 2-4 are also on pretty shaky footing. They didn't exactly leave themselves a lot to build on. Most notably with character development--which is again, something I think could really have been solved with a few extra character-centric episodes.

It led to some real problems with pacing and character development. ATLA is centered around Aang's journey to learn all 4 elements, when he's only starting with 1. It gave him 3 seasons to work with and 3 seasons to gradually get stronger. When we first meet Korra, on the other hand, she's already mastered most elements and is an absolute powerhouse. Once she learns Air, there's nowhere for her to really go--which might have been an okay premise in the context of a one-season series, but absolutely meant they ran into a wall with the seasons after.

Korra isn't the only one with this problem either. The writing team obviously wanted a firebender on hand as a starting friend, thus the introduction of Mako. But Mako already starts out (we're told, at least, in the promotional material) as a fire-bending prodigy who is already an expert with lightning. Which is cool until you realize he has nowhere to go, either. Mako never has any physical character development for improvements, and he doesn't have much personality development either, because he was only designed to be "team strong guy and hot dude who the main character crushes on."

At least Bolin got to learn Lava bending...many seasons later.

Korra had potential for sure. There were good concepts in that story. It was just so rushed that it felt like a conveyer belt through Major Plot Points, without really getting a chance to develop any of the characters outside of basic archetypes.

[scar-and-boomerang]

My Daemons!Verse series master-post as of April 2020

I’ve noticed that Real Life, thanks to being a part of my Zukka Week submissions, have gained quite a lot of traction and as I’ve been planning on getting back to working on the series it’s a part of soon, I figured I’d update and link all of my fics from this series here if you’re up for some mini-binge-reading during social distancing :)

Bit of background for newcomers

The universe borrows the lore and element of daemons from Philip Pullman’s series His Dark Materials, where a person’s soul manifests outside their body as an animal with a name, capable of independent thought, speech, and intelligence. During youth the animal can shape-shift into different forms but as the child grows up it “settles” into a species representative of a part of the human’s character and personality.

The Main Series

This is strictly canon-compliant, it consists of character studies and backstories in relations to their relationship with their daemon, and rewrites of some specific episodes from the series in a way that is enhanced and expanded in the context of daemons (especially to reveal more nuanced layers about a character’s personality or relationship with others in the story) but does not disrupt the main plot arc, which remains intact and fully canonical.

Birds: Word count 10k, chapter count 5, complete. This both serves as a character study of Zuko from his infancy to the early days of his banishment (with an epilogue taking place in the comic sequel The Search) and as an introductory worldbuilding to the whole universe. Featured are Azula, Ozai, Ursa, and Iroh and the introduction of their daemons and the exploration of their characters through the lens of this AU.

Yesterday: Word count 3.7k, chapter count 1, complete. The companion piece to Birds that explores Sokka and his daemon’s childhood in a similar way through snippets, and featuring Katara, Hakoda, and Kya, Gran-Gran, and Bato as the side explorations. 

Ready, Aim, Fire: Word count 15k, chapter count 5, complete. Rewrite of 5 full episodes in the canon series’s first season, altering details to include and build on the element of daemons but in a way that leaves the main plot arc intact. Introduced are the daemons of Suki, the freedom fighters, Yue, and other minor characters. Borrows the lore of Raava from LOK - the shared daemon form of all avatars reincarnate, including Aang, who doesn’t have an external form.

Rise Up: Word count 7.3k/?, chapter count 3/5, in-progress. Written from Toph’s central point of view and as character focus, starts from her childhood in an exploration of coping with blindness in the context of the universe, and exploring her self-acceptance and independence through her relationship with her daemon, then shifts onto canonical rewrites of key Toph-central points throughout the canon series timeline. On-hold since November 2019, but I'm returning to finish it soon.

Upcoming fics I have planned after Rise Up is complete: Nothing Left to Say: Jet-centric character study in the style of Birds and Yesterday. On Top of the World: Canonical re-write of episodes from mid-season 2 through mid-season 3 in the canon series, in the style of Ready, Aim, Fire. Roots: Zuko-centric sequel to Birds, detailing a canon-compliant extension of Zuko’s return to the Fire nation in the first half of season 3. I do have a lot more fully mapped out but this is all I'm going to reveal without getting too far ahead of myself! But I plan on building a full universe and tackling all of the canon material with this new twist so rest assured a lot more is coming.

The Companion Series

This is more non-canon self-indulgent bullshit because I cannot live without writing about my OTP Zuko/Sokka. I took it out of the main series because I wanted that one to remain completely canon-compliant, but I wrote the companion pieces in a way that doesn’t explicitly contradict any events in that either. As a result, these are a lot less action and a lot more detailed scenery construction of character relationships and interactions.

Look How Far We’ve Come: Word count 2.8k, chapter count 1, complete. Exploiting that sweet timeline post-boiling rock and pre-saving the entire world where Zuko and Sokka definitely spent bonding, introducing Zuko to Sokka’s daemon, more worldbuilding, and an elaboration on idea that touching another human’s daemon consensually is an act of great intimacy, and touching them non-consensually is the worst violation you can commit on another person. 

Real Life: Word count 4.9k, chapter count 1, complete (for now). This is more explicitly Zukka, and mirrors the previous pic in a lot of interactions. This is directly post-canon and the main Gaang from the series feature briefly, as well as Mai and Ty Lee, and the resolution of Zuko and Mai’s canon relationship to make way for some unambiguous Zukka goodness. I said “for now” because I technically have another chapter planned as I do a lot of my Zukka Week entries but on my prioritised list of stuff to write it’s pretty low down at the moment.

Well here it is guys, the whole universe as of now and possibly my proudest creation so far! I do have lots of ideas on where to take it next and I know I've taken a break but I'm coming back to it very soon. I hope this has cleared up the order for some of you who’s read a couple of these fics, and intrigued those of you who haven’t already. If you decide to check it out, I guess my main requests would be to start with Birds, and leave some comments either here or on Ao3 to let me know how you find them!

[queenofthearos]

Avatar Question Game by @vulpyx thank you!

1. Favorite character?

I’m sorry to be a basic bitch but Zuko

2. Favorite bending style?

Airbending, I think. I feel like that’s an underrated opinion. 

3. Favorite bad guy?

holy FUCK do I love Zaheer and the entire Order of the Red Lotus. I was such a slut for the White Lotus subplot in the original series and I thought it was amazing how they subverted it in LoK. 

4. Favorite animal?

PABUUUUU

5. Favorite episode?

I know this is an unpopular opinion but I actually LOVE “The Headband”? 

6. OTP?

already answered! 

7. Avatar The Last Airbender or Legend of Korra?

Okay. I can objectively recognize that ATLA is better, but I PERSONALLY enjoyed LoK more. 

8. Favorite battle?

Raava vs. Vaatu in LoK: Beginnings. 

9. Favorite minor character?

Uh, so many. So Many. I think I’d actually have to go with Master Piandao though? 

10. Favorite spirit?

I actually don’t think I have an answer to that one. 

11. Best quote?

See answer to #16 in previous post aaaaaaa

12. Cutest character?

Is it weird to say Kai? 

13. Favorite Katara moment?

When she bloodbends Hama. Precious. 

14. Favorite Aang moment?

His hallucination in “Nightmares and Daydreams” is probably up there. 

15. Favorite Zuko moment?

That entire scene where he’s prepping what to say to the gaang in “The Western Air Temple”. The badger frog? The imitations of his sister and uncle (with the accompanying musical cues? Gold. 

16. Favorite Toph moment?

already answered! 

17. Favorite Sokka moment?

His priority being saving Toph in the final invasion. 

18. Who do you prefer? (Yue or Suki?)

This is more of a ‘who do you dislike less’ because quite honestly I don’t really like either of them. But the answer is Suki. 

19. Katara or Toph?

Katara. 

20. Zuko or Aang?

already answered! 

21. Jet or Iroh?

okay real talk but who the FUCK is choosing JET over the most precious character on the entire show??? just? no. 

22. Mako or Bolin?

FUCK I LOVE BOLIN

23. Favorite Korra moment?

Pai sho at the Misty Springs Oasis. It’s so simple, but I love that scene. 

24. Favorite Mako moment?

I don’t like Mako. So I’m not answering that. 

25. Asami or Korra?

Asami is The Absolute Bae tyvm

26. Favorite Bolin moment?

??all of them??? god i love him SO MUCH

27. Who would get along better? (Sokka & Bolin or Mako & Zuko?)

OMG IVE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT SOKKA AND BOLIN BUT UR FUCKIN RIGHT

28. Name the first character you thought of when you read this.

...I don’t understand the question. Sorry. 

29. Favorite piece of Iroh advice?

Already answered! 

30. Favorite Avatar state moment?

A sad one, but the end of “Crossroads of Destiny”. 

31. Do you prefer Ikki, Jinora or Meelo? Why?

Jinora. I couldn’t stand Meelo in the first season, and Ikki is...a Lot. 

32. Best pair of siblings?

Just because their scenes together are so awful I want to say Eska and Desna :P

33. Did you care when Tahno lost his bending?

I don’t think so. 

34. Least favorite episode?

“The Desert”. I hated seeing that side of Aang. 

35. Which character do you relate to most?

Thinking back to the very first time I watched the show, I think it was actually Katara. 

I’m still having an anxiety attack but this felt good to do!