#honestly it’s probably what got me to like sokka in the first place

[comradekatara]

nothing too insightful to say just !!! toph is the disabled character of all time and it means so much to me, personally. thinking specifically about what you mentioned on the last post about how she learns to let herself be loved; it is often such a fundamental aspect of growing up with a disability that “love” is the guise that adults stripping you of agency wear.

it’s not just being helped in a way that harms and deemed incompetent. it’s being perceived as incompetent, receiving help for your disability that strips you of autonomy, being vulnerable to the abuse and unable to speak for yourself in response to it because you are too frail, helpless, all under the premise of “love.” when disabled love becomes the equivalent of burdening another and being taken from yourself, toph is kind of incredible because it took me nearly twenty years to even begin to unlearn all of that, but she managed to open herself up to others within a few months (to varying degrees, it’s also interesting she seems to trust sokka the quickest, maybe i will send another ask after breakfast rambling about that).

but toph’s ability to adjust her concept of what love is and open herself to it, is genuinely one of the most powerful disability arcs i have ever seen. she becomes able to accept help and not have that feel like embodying weakness, which feels dangerous when disabled because your perceived social weakness is why you have been stripped of all agency and dehumanized, esp. as a disabled child. toph is incredibly strong in regards to earth bending, but truthfully it is this ability to listen, observe and adapt that is her greatest strength. her character is soooo good and her arc is so fucking beautiful

YES 💗 i don’t talk about toph’s disability enough because i don’t like getting too personal on here but you really do articulate that struggle perfectly and i agree so much with what you said.

toph’s foundational trauma is tied not to her experience being blind, but rather the abuse she received due to her blindness. the struggle of being disabled is always twofold: firstly, and i hate when people sugarcoat or ignore this, having a physical disability does make life more difficult. we see toph struggle when she’s not in a position to use her earthbending as a mobility aid; there are aspects of life that are difficult or genuinely impossible for her to participate in due to her limitations. she can and does often compensate by being a brilliant earthbender, but there are still some things she simply cannot do.

but what’s more important to toph’s experience with disability is the way she is treated by those around her, especially her parents. toph simultaneously struggles with being coddled and smothered due to her unique needs, denied agency due to the assumption that she is somehow less able to dictate her own choices, and treated like a shameful burden due to her disability. so by the time toph joins the gaang, she is very afraid of being seen as a burden, but she also doesn’t want anyone helping her with anything or telling her what to do, because she associates that with her parents’ abuse.

she bristles when katara tries to get her to help out, because she wants to be the kind of person who respects everyone else’s space and lets everyone be capable of “carrying their own weight,” just as she wants to be allowed to be left to her own devices. she doesn’t yet understand that a community or support network is not the same thing as a denial of agency, and so she assumes that katara is overbearing and motherly instead of a kid who comes from a place where everyone does an equal share of labor and expects everyone else to do the same.

that’s why i think a lot of people who have never experienced any kind of major disability firsthand don’t really understand toph, and just assume she’s spoiled and brash due to being rich and entitled. but that’s not the case at all. she’s spent her whole life being treated like a fragile doll instead of a person, and it’s dehumanizing and isolating. she doesn’t understand the value of a community because she’s sick of people trying to help her, and due to her own experiences being “helped,” assumes that help is necessarily negative and a denial of one’s agency.

the last thing she wants in that situation is to be overbearing, to be the one telling other people what to do and how to live their lives (yet another reason why she would never become a cop). of course, she signed on to be aang’s teacher, so pretty quickly she does have to get over herself and actually instruct, and she’s not a gentle pedagogue either. but she also knows that she is supremely qualified to teach earthbending, and so it’s easier for her to tell others what to do when she knows that her wisdom counts for something and she isn’t just imposing her will onto someone else for the hell of it, or because she doesn’t respect them.

she also definitely takes iroh’s advice to heart, because unlike a certain incorrigible nephew, she’s really wise and emotionally mature, able to respond to measured advice and actually internalize what iroh is saying. so it doesn’t take long for her to develop a bond with sokka where she doesn’t feel afraid to rely on him. and it’s funny, because she accuses katara of being overbearing and motherly, but she does actually listen to sokka and follow his every command, despite her supposed disdain for authority. and i think it’s the fact that even though sokka does sometimes forget that she’s blind, he’s never purposely insensitive, and he never bosses her around for the hell of it.

unlike katara, who is genuinely unkind to toph in “the chase,” sokka never disrespects toph, and he certainly never disrespects her disability. he’ll banter with her about it, like when he says “well you’ve never not seen anything like this” in “sokka’s master,” but the joke isn’t at her expense, unlike “the stars sure are beautiful tonight,” which is straight up cruel and lowkey unforgivable (sidenote: as someone who has been bullied for being disabled, i do think that this is hands down the worst thing katara ever says in the show, and i understand why toph would continue to hold a grudge against her for that for a long time). whereas sokka always treats toph like a person, and toph recognizes that, so she thus not only accepts his help, but actively asks for it and enjoys receiving it.

toph does grow and accept her own vulnerability remarkably fast, but to the gaang’s credit, they are great friends, and they all treat her like a person instead of a burden or a doll (including katara). having people who love you and understand you, both in terms of your strengths and your limitations, is really necessary, for anyone, but especially for disabled people. i’m really lucky to have people in my life who love me like that, and toph’s arc is so beautiful specifically because she is given that love and care and never takes it for granted. i definitely think that toph is one of the greatest disabled characters of all time, and it’s because her disability isn’t simply incidental to her character, but rather the central pillar of her arc that informs all her motivations at all times. she learns to ask for help, and accept help when it’s offered. she finds a community.

[aangarchy]

Alright. I've rewatched the trailer like 20 times by now and i've been processing it.

First things first: anyone that's gonna talk shit about Gordon Cormier is gonna have to go through me first. I've only had Gordon!Aang for a day and a half and if anything happens to him i'll kill everyone here and then myself got it?

Just look at him! This is the exact big eared cute little kid i wanted them to cast for Aang. He looks adorable and honestly his outfit is growing on me.

The glowing arrow looked cool as hell. I like that the light spread through his tattoo almost like veins. I'm still curious on how the full avatar state is gonna look, how they're gonna get the glowing eye effect. Please don't let it look goofy.

Y'know what does look goofy?

Is it better than the m night shyamalan appa? I guess. Does that mean it looks good? Well.... at least momo sort of looks cute instead of some folklore nightmare like in shyamalan's version. But also you can tell in this shot in particular that it's very green screen-y

Then we go over to the bending, the limited shots we have of it. Mainly firebending was shown (a little airbending too but kinda hard to get a stillframe for that one)

Idk how to feel about it. In screenshots it looks alright but the shots while they were moving looked a bit off, especially the one where zuko's kicking. We only got very limited shots and that's intentional. I feel like the bigger cgi fails are gonna show up once we get the full show. If the bending looked good all the time i feel like they'd be showing it off by now.

What i don't like, is how apparently they're gonna SHOW Zuko getting burned. Like sure in atla they didn't bc kids show and Nickelodeon wouldn't allow it, and netflix can take darker turns if they so please. But i personally always felt that scene made so much impact because we didn't see it. Iroh is telling it from his memory and he didn't look when it happened, so we don't see it either. It's like a courtesy the show extends to both Zuko and the audience. We just hear the harrowing scream, and that's enough to know how devastating it is. I don't need a dramatic overlook so we can see the whole thing in detail, netflix.

Another thing is the hair in some scenes.

Daniel dae kim looked better in that promo photo, bc here you can just see how the bulky goatie was glued on. And then Sokka's hair..... where's the ponytail? It's laying completely flat against his head... why? Is it bc that's Ian's hair and they didn't know what to do with it? Literally get a comb and tease that bitch. This is like the complete opposite of Jackson Rathbone's hair in the shyamalan version, and somehow that full maybelline ponytail makes more sense than this sad excuse of a tail. Either way at least Suki looked dope.

Another thing i found weird about the trailer is the narration. I think it's either Iroh's voice or maybe Gyatso's? (I haven't heard Iroh's actor talk yet so idk, but it felt like it was being said TO either Aang or Zuko) but the lines they gave him... it felt like some weird mumbo jumbo tbh. Something something about the past and present being the same and it's up to us to know the difference and be the difference? It's saying everything and nothing at the same time and it felt kind of out of place. They're probably saving the iconic opening narration done by Katara for the full trailer (i hope???) but still they could have just gone with music, or maybe just a few iconic existing lines?

The music? Fire. Nothing needs to be added there. Was i kind of hoping for a different soundtrack? Maybe a bit. But am i mad? Not at all. They clearly took the nostalgia route with the more epic version of the avatar theme, and i can only respect them for that.

So far, very mixed reviews for me. I'm morbidly curious and very nosy by nature though, so i'm absolutely watching.

[oneatlatime]

The Siege of the North Part 2

Last episode of the season! I'll post some season round up stuff over the next few days.

The last episode ended super abruptly, so a refresher: -Aang and Zuko are in a snowstorm and Aang is currently hypnotised by a Yin Yang fish -Katara, Sokka and Yue are in the spirit oasis moping about losing Aang to Zuko -There’s a big fuck off Fire Nation Armada parked out front -All current trends point to the Northern Water Tribe being a finely ground and toasted paste by the end of the day

Episode Time!

I don’t know, did Katara really do everything she could? She could have called for backup. Although given Zuko’s track record with taking out scores of guards when the plot requires (hello Blue Spirit episode), I guess it probably wouldn’t have made a difference.

Ignore Momo for a minute and look at this grass texture. I can't decide if I like it or not. It's certainly doing... something?

Is this the spirit world? I'm loving the colour pallette. Since Aang's dreams tend to be sepia-toned, does that mean he dreams in the spirit world?

This monkey guy has so much personality. I love how our first look at this sacred, spiritual, mystical place is an antisocial jerk. Lovely subversion of expectations.

Roku has unparallelled jumpscare abilities.

I have to say the sound design on the ice cracking under Zuko's feet is spot on. That oddly hollow yet muffled thud is exactly the noise ice sheets make when they go.

Poor Aang getting dragged like a kitten. He's got to have frozen skin by now. Should have taken Iroh's advice and covered his ears.

I don't think Aang moves once during Roku's speech about the spirits crossing over. I think he's a freeze frame of animation, something which this show usually avoids.

Judging by the musical sting it's supposed to be a serious line, but the way Roku feels the need to clarify that the Face Stealer will steal your face got a laugh out of me. Was anyone expecting him to do anything else?

"They call him Coe, the Face Stealer. Be careful, or he will validate your parking."

Where did he get fuel to burn? And why does he feel the need to monologue? And if struggling and fighting is what made you into who you are, maybe you should give being lucky a chance, because you're not exactly well-liked or very good at what you're supposed to be doing.

Inclusivity win! These non-benders get to torch the water tribe too!

Ballistic water canon portholes - that's neat.

Those long range grappling hooks are probably the fire nation's most effective weapon.

Please die please die please die please die please die please die

How rotten do you have to be inside, that when you find a giant underground hidden library, you use it to find out ways to wipe out civilisations? And celestial bodies? Zhao is honestly so pathetic. Ruthless, and somewhat effective sure, but you're gifted a giant underground secret library and all you can think to do with it is use it to kill people? Pathetic.

This spirit world stuff is so neat. The scale, the lighting, the animals, everything is slightly off in a way that feels deeply alien. I like.

Get your mind out of the gutter.

The squealing strings in the spirit world are fantastic. The composition of this shot, also fantastic. The colour pallette; fantastic. I would love to live in the spirit world if I wasn't in danger of losing my face.

The face stealer recognising the avatar is chilling. Really adds a sense of the ancient. And whoever is voicing him had the time of their life. Deliciously evil moustache twirling stuff, but still with an underlying very real threat.

I love Sokka's logic here. Co-opt enemy's strength; make it serve you. Zuko being persistent means that there will still be an avatar to save once Sokka catches up to them.

This whole encounter with the face stealer is a cut above. They really pulled the stops out for this finale.

I don't think this is the Blue Spirit, but it's close.

I KNEW those fish were thematically relevant. What a completely unexpected reversal too! Those spirits you're asking for help? Actually, they're asking you.

It pays to be nice! This is why Aang has to stay such a nice boy! See? It pays off!!!

Looks like someone was a little slow with the whole 'conquering the enemy before their main source of power turbo charges them' thing. We've got floor is lava: tank edition, ice machine guns, and Poophead turning a whole row of soldiers into popsicles. Good stuff.

I absolutely hate Poophead but I have to admit it's satisfying watching him go 1 v dozens in tornado mode and kick fire nation butt.

That panda has some powerful breath. And I love that morphing effect between big cuddly guy and horrors beyond description.

"Oh No! Where's my body?" That's pretty funny. I don't think it's supposed to be, but it is.

Forget about the panda, Aang has powerful breath. He just wallpapered Zuko to the cave wall and travelled like 100 feet in the opposite direction.

Keep inching along buddy.

"That won't be enough to escape" "Appa!" "That probably is."

Forget about Aang wallpapering Zuko, Katara just turned him into a floor mat from 40 feet up. How many concussions has Zuko had in the last week?

If that rope is so quality, why did you cut through every loop rather than untie it and save it for later?

Of course Aang has to bring Zuko back. Aang is a nice little boy. That's what nice little boys do, and they get repaid for their kindness down the line with things like rides from giant pandas.

Imagine if Zhao had grabbed the wrong fish? It's a good thing that the moon spirit has a built in indicator light. What would the ocean do if it was in trouble? Get more blue?

Yue exposition. Yue is a moon horcrux. Oh this won't end well.

How long do you think Zhao spent composing his little speech? How many crumpled up parchments did he go through before he had the words just right? Do you think he practiced in the mirror while holding up a sock in place of the moon fish?

Get his ass Momo! I love how the guard in the back is like "nah, I'll let the lemur do his thing. Dude deserves it honestly."

Could we have some more specific examples of consequences beyond "balance" and "Chaos" for killing the moon? I don't think Zhao the asshole is going to pay attention to consequences unless they directly affect himself.

Zhao is way too fond of the word traitor. That's two people he's called traitor who are actually just people he personally dislikes.

You know you done goofed when kindly tea uncle promises to beat your ass. Zhao, meet consequences that directly affect you.

The face of a man realising he has, in fact, done goofed.

That's twice now these fish have yanked Aang around. Powerful fish. Did the fish call upon the Avatar or was Aang so angry that he went glowy and the fish took advantage?

FISHMAN

oh boy these guys are dead. So dead.

Tired of failing at capturing the Avatar, Zuko instead turns to trying to kill Zhao. Brightest idea he's had all season.

"Then at least, you could have lived!" Bold talk for someone who's already lost one duel to this guy and is currently losing the second. Unless you meant to flop backwards off that bridge?

Ooof. But she was always on borrowed time, wasn't she?

He just batted them away like balls on a pool table. So casually cutting through tonnes of steel and people. Fishman is killing thousands. I bet Aang's not too happy about that.

Ouch. More Sokka trauma!

Fish spirit dropping Aang off like he's bumming a ride to school, not killing probably 10 000 + people.

How am I supposed to take this seriously when Zuko's doing silly little summersaults?

Zhao is such a baby. I sincerely hope he's dead now too.

Bit of an abrupt tonal change. And yes, it's LONG past time you helped out the south. I hope Kanna is informed in exacting detail of her grandaughter's Pakku-bahsing exploits. She'd be so proud.

This scene should have come before the scene with Katara and Poophead. Would have avoided the tone switch. Also is that a tree to the right?

"So proud. And sad." OUCH.

Not-fun fact: there are four humans in this screenshot.

I'm guessing that was the firelord? I suddenly see where Zuko gets his muppet voice.

Mark Hamill?!?!

Final Thoughts

Where is the line between self-sacrifice and suicide? Because I have to say, Yue was very determined to do her duty. I guess that's one way to get out of an arranged marriage.

So glad to not see her fiance again, because then I can pretend he drowned. I bet he and Zhao are having fun out asshole-ing each other at the bottom of the sea.

Sokka!!! Somebody needs to give him a hug and get him into the care of a trusted adult immediately because the last thing he needed was MORE duty-related trauma. I bet he views what happened as him failing in his duty to the northern chief. He pretty much says as much when Yue chooses to save the moon. Obviously, there was rationally no way out of that one, but since when are emotions and trauma rational?

Yue describes her saving the moon as her duty, but it was also her choice, and I bet that's the first free choice she's ever gotten to make. Sokka didn't prevent her; he let her choose to do her duty. He definitely had objections, which he voiced, but he let her go once she brought up duty. It's so awful that Yue's first time having her choice respected (dare I say, having her own agency respected) is when she chooses to die.

She is dead, right? Her body evaporated and she's in the moon now. On the moon? Is she the moon? Did she replace the old moon? Or did the moon let her have a few seconds as a ghost for closure before she went to the afterlife? I don't know the mechanics of this.

Poor Aang just killed thousands of people, even if he was fish-possessed at the time. Katara's about the only person who emerged from this episode ok. She got to one-shot Zuko.

Fish possession-induced mega-fishman is not a solution I could have ever predicted to the problem of a whole fleet that needs getting rid of. It totally fits, despite it being a strange idea to contemplate in isolation. Aang pulls (rather, the fish pulls) a move straight out of Pacific Rim and it works.

The spirit world was really capably done. Creepy yet alluring, seemingly detached and untouchable yet both in tune with the real world and vulnerable to the things that go on there. And how clever was it to have Aang go to the spirits for help, only to find out that the spirits need his help? I love that reversal. It really ups the stakes. In any other fantasy story an appeal to the council of higher beings of whatever would either result in help or a refusal. Imagine calling up your godly bosses with a problem only to have them beg you for help? It's kind of chilling. Both in how close things came to disaster, and in the fact that humans in the real world actually have the power to pose that much of a threat to the spirits. Again you see why it's important to have a bridge between the real and spirit worlds: because traffic either way poses a threat to both sides.

What is up with Zuko? He failed the whole season at capturing the avatar (a task at which he was outclassed by episode 3), and now he doesn't have the resources to even try. So he's no longer a villain (not the he was ever good at it), he's no longer even a threat. He's a concussed vulture's meal on a raft. Is he even going to be in the next season of the show? What role could he possibly fulfill? He'll be just... there.

I had tone problems with this episode. A couple of places where I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to laugh, I did. And there were a couple of pretty corny set up lines. Yue discussing how there was no hope gave me Helm's Deep flashbacks. I think maybe this episode should have been a little longer in order to make the tone switches more gradual. And I get that, as a kids' cartoon show, they have to end the season on a happy note, but was there anyone in the main or background cast that didn't have a reason to end this episode seriously bummed out? Momo maybe. Appa's empathetic enough to be sad that Aang is sad. Yes, the North is saved, but the princess is dead, there are presumably thousands of enemy corpses bobbing around beyond the wall, and who knows how many water tribe people got crushed by fireballs.

The last three episodes have really been one big story. Katara's part was really over by the opening scene of the siege of the north part 1, which is about where Aang's part began. The real through line that ties these three episodes together is Sokka and Yue. These last three episodes have been low key Sokka episodes (and Yue episodes by extension). I think it's a sign of good writing and engaging characters, that the season finale of a show named after its main character can put a huge amount of focus on someone who isn't the main character and still have it feel natural.

Turn Sokka into a girl and beat him down with the expectations women face in a patriarchal society, and you get Yue. They are each others' mirrors, which is partially why they connect (the other reasons being Sokka is a breath of fun fresh air and Yue is gorgeous and desperately lonely). While I would give an arm and a leg for a version of the show where Yue joins the Gaang and travels around the world with them, being exposed to opportunities for growth and adventure and becoming her own person rather than an extension of her tribe's will, I think it also makes sense that Sokka and Yue ultimately can't be together. I'm having trouble putting this into words, so bear with me, but I think because Yue and Sokka are mirrors, and largely mirrors of the more burdensome aspects of their lives (ie duty), then wouldn't them getting together limit them? Halt their growth as characters? Would they not drag each other down? Under the right circumstances (like peace) they could help each other grow, but in war time it's probably not a good idea to have two self-sacrificing members on your team.

I know Aang had some crazy stuff happen to him this episode (and last episode too), but so much of what happened to him literally happened TO him. He had no say in the matter. He got yanked around by spirits, fish, and Zuko. Which is why the Sokka x Yue storyline was more interesting to me. Poor Aang may have a hell of a time processing all that yanking around, but that's not in this episode. Sokka and Yue actively making choices are in this episode, and their storyline has had three episodes to develop, so the payoff feels more earned.

The soundtrack was great this episode, especially in the spirit world. Deliciously creepy stuff.

Visuals were gorgeous. I especially liked the beige palete of the spirit world and grey-blue palette during the mega fishman scenes. The creeping blue veins were a good way to express the scale of mega fishman's power without just colouring the whole frame bright blue.

Zhao honestly got exactly what he deserved. It must have been a fitting end for his character because it left me highly satisfied.

Yue deserved better, but if the chief is to be believed, predestination is both a thing and unavoidable in this world, so she got the only end she could ever have. I love characters with quiet strength, but I love them more when they don't have to die.

Overall a good episode! It had to wrap up so many storylines that it ended up going all over the place, with some necessarily expository dialogue that felt clunky. Poor Aang featured surprisingly little in his own show's finale, if you discount when he's fish-possessed. Sokka got his heart ripped out and stomped on, as did the chief. Pakku has hopefully set himself up for a hearty slap from Kanna. Zuko and Iroh survived, but that's about all that can be said of them at the moment. I feel like maybe Katara will be carrying the Gaang for the next few weeks.

[ninacytosis]

For the time lost

Summary: Zuko wants to erase every reminder of his past mistakes, and Katara will take him on a journey to, quite literally, heal both of their scarrings.

Contains: Angst, Fluff, Katara has burns scars from Aang's first attempts to firebend, Katara tries to get over her resentment towards the FN, Zuko doesn't hate Azula.

Dear reader: I hope you enjoy it! <3 Let me know if you want me to continue posting.

Find chapter two here.

Also if you prefer reading in ao3 here's the link.

┊┊┊┊☆┊*🌙*┊☆┊┊┊┊

Chapter One

“Dear Zuko:

I hope this letter finds you well. Since you didn’t respond to my messages from the previous weeks, I couldn’t help but do a little investigation on my own. Aang told me he last visited the Fire Nation a couple of days ago, and to his surprise, you weren’t there. Honestly, this got me even more curious. What are you up to, Fire Lord? What juicy secret are you keeping from us?

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that my dad made some octo-fish soup this weekend. I bet you have never tried it, well, maybe on your finding-the-avatar days you stopped by and tried. But that doesn’t seem like you. One day Sokka and I will cook you some, but only if you tell me why you’re being so distant lately!

We’re always here for you, Zuko.

Hugs,

Katara”

Zuko read the letter while waiting for the water to boil. He had never heard of octo-fish soup to this day, but he wasn’t opposed to trying new dishes. In fact, most of his favorite dishes weren’t even from the Fire Nation. After trying the Omashu noodles, who could blame him?

 “Dear Katara,

I hope you enjoyed that soup and the company of your family. Knowing that you spend good quality time with your family brings me so much joy and relief because all of you deserve it. I hope that every good memory makes up for every bad one, though unfortunately, healing doesn’t work like an exchange, does it?

As the Fire Lord, certain duties demand my presence in the other nations. So, as much as I wish my lack of responses were due to a secret vacation of mine, they are more like business trips. Might as well call me the Fire Businessman now. (Don’t let anyone read this to Toph because she most certainly will call me that.)

It was nice hearing from you. Send as many letters as you please. Even if I’m not home, I’ll promise I’ll read them. By the way, how are your little waterbenders doing? I’m sure it was harder to handle Aang, you know, back in our teaching-the-Avatar days.

Best,

Zuko”

He sat down and frowned at the piece of paper. It’s not that he wanted to hide things from her, or his friends. But it was almost embarrassing to write and send a letter describing his last weeks. It was a path of emotions he was unready to walk through. She would probably forget it in a couple of weeks anyway, and then he would be able to tell her everything.

“Dear Zuko,

Or should I say, Dear Fire Liar?

Even though I don’t have a lot of time in my hands, I still managed to get some information about your mysterious “business” trips. Sokka’s been of great help, for once, and a little bird told him that people from the Northern Water Tribe have spotted you in very weird places. But being honest, I still don’t know what is it that you’re hiding so hard. You got yourself an Ice Lady?

On another note, it’s very exciting to see both of the Nations exchanging goods and, you know, not trying to slit each other’s throats. I always wanted the war to end of course, but it was very hard to imagine a future so full of prosperity. It’s hard to grasp sometimes.

I hope I’m not getting overly emotional but it makes me think about my mom a lot. She never lived in a world without war in it, isn’t that fucked up? Some days I feel a strange guilt running through my body because I get to move on and she will always stay there. This seems like I’m getting all over the place. I don’t usually say this stuff to anybody, but I know you would get it. And today seems like a good day for letting it all out.

When I’m down, I like to think that she sees the world through the eyes of Sokka, or dad’s, or even mine. It’s silly, I know. But it makes me feel closer to her.

Well, enough about me. Tell me more about your trips, about your uncle’s new place. I’m dying to know. Maybe next time you should try doing business in the Southern Water Tribe and pay us a visit. We all miss you!

Hugs,

Katara”

Zuko took a long breath. No amount of tea would cure the unmeasurable shame that he felt reading Katara’s letter. He knew how empathetic she was, and how much he loved her family, and he could never forgive himself for what his family did to the world. Every day he looked at himself in the mirror and was reminded of a past he could never erase, his face became no longer his once his dad put his palm on it.

His sudden state made him forget about Katara’s little quest. He was not only full of shame but also full of passion to help others. Every reminiscent of the war also reminded him of the resilience of people during difficult times. And every time Katara changed the subject, Zuko needed to excruciatingly tell her how much her strength motivated him to be better. And after writing that letter, he decided it was time to invite her to the palace.

[highfantasy-soul]

NATLA Episode 5 - Spirited Away (2/3)

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

An explanation of what I'm doing here and my history with ATLA.

Of course, full spoilers ahead.

<previous/next>

Combining Zuko chasing Aang in part 2 of the winter solstice with Bato of the Water Tribe and The Blue Spirit was a good move: in only 8 episodes, too many near-misses for him catching Aang could get redundant, so getting June to track him to Roku's temple was a great merging of those lines. While I miss Zuko holding onto Katara's necklace, since Katara didn’t make it to the Avatar temple, it's an ok change for me. It's a convenient way to merge in The Blue Spirit and have Katara and Sokka MIA without them just randomly being sick - they're actually trapped in the spirit world, so their plot is still relevant rather than the 'we're doing nothing but dying of thirst' plot they got in The Blue Spirit episode. Honestly think the way the live-action puts Sokka and Katara on their own journeys during big plot arcs that focus on Aang was really really good. First with the Omashu (animated) episode where they got stuff to do in Into the Dark (live-action) and now here with the Blue Spirit storyline.

I could watch Zuko being horrendously awkward trying to get info in the covert and not screaming orders way for like, 6 episodes. That whole tavern scene was just so freaking hilarious with all the mentions of the side quests from pirates to canyon guides to stopping the volcano! It really felt pulled right from the animated show - paying homage but seeding the themes from those episodes into other part of this live-action story!! Love June's introduction - and I'm so happy they got rid of the weird Iroh and her stuff and just had her compliment him to throw the pair off balance.

So I guess I should address some of the issues people had with June's characterization: I don't think her telling Iroh he was cute (like with Suki and Sokka) was her suddenly simping for an older man and genuinely pursuing him. That is not how people flirt. Take Sokka and Suki - is that how they flirted? Sokka and Yue? Katara and Jet? Aang and Katara in the animated show? Mai and Zuko in the animated show? You know who did flirt like that in the animated show? Tylee with Sokka when they were fighting - only ever when they were fighting. Was that her actually wanting to have a relationship with Sokka - throw out all her own wants to just get with a man? No. It was a way to gain the upper hand in a fight and throw your opponent off balance. With Tylee, she's already a bubbly, cheerful, open person, so we can read that flirtation as flippant and thrown out there because she's confident and not concerned with putting a filter on. With June, she's also confident, but she also is a beautiful young woman bounty hunter who is in a (assumedly) predominantly male field and has to deal with a great deal of strong and dangerous men.

Being incredibly forward with an individual who wouldn't expect to be flirted with is a power move. It's a way for her to assert dominance immediately in the situation - to take the lead and knock them off balance before one of the two men makes an unwanted pass at her. I didn't read her flirtation with Iroh as genuine, or at least, not as her just getting all hot and bothered and rolling over for the pair based purely on the fact that she was attracted to Iroh. She probably is great at reading people and saw that Iroh was marginally decent, so would agree to work with them, but she still wanted the upper hand and control in the situation - she wanted to clearly define her role as someone who was choosing to let them employ her not as a servant to do their bidding. She placed herself firmly above them - there would be no subservience from her. This is also not making June a bad character - it's making her a strong character (strong as in she believes what she believes and is unapologetic about it) it's not 'flipping misogyny into misandry' or whatever, it's showing June has agency. Like with Suki, the live-action gave June an actual character instead of her just being a cardboard cut-out of a Dragon Lady.

Having the lesson being learned in the town be that Zuko needs to stop thinking so rigidly - be prepared to take the unexpected route - was a great story beat to introduce with June. Instead of the plot being straight forward of Zuko sees June = Zuko gets her to track the Avatar and switching it to Zuko being annoyed and insulted that she's a bounty hunter (just as he was insulted that fire nation operatives would fight behind masks and doesn't think his father would approve) and then having to be convinced by Iroh to learn new ways of doing things was a great character building addition.

It's funny to me when people complain 'Zuko didn't say honor ONCE!' when every single action Zuko did - every opinion he voiced - SCREAMED about his honor. What was that again about the live-action telling not showing, not trusting the audience to understand character motivations, and being flat in its characterizations? This very internal integrity - honor - that he has is what's leading him to uphold Fire Nation values and rules so strictly, but it's also the very core honor of his being that will help him turn against his father in the end. It's consistent characterization that's just so wonderful to play with - their core remains the same, but how they interpret it once they have more info changes. And I'm not just saying that because those are my favorite characters to play in DnD! This is a totally objective and unbiased analysis! I swear!

I really loved all the additions with Azula in this season. It really rounds out her character and we see WHY she's as driven as she is in season 2. Seeing her need for perfection, her needing to go above and beyond to do better, and the hint of her blue flame was great. Just like the animated series explores at the end of season 3, no one starts out a 'monster' - they're taught to be that way. I never liked the reduction a lot of the fandom did with Azula and Zuko where Zuko was the one 'born good' and 'like his good mother' while Azula was just 'born bad' because she was the one 'like her father'. People aren't so simple as just being 'born bad'. In the animated series, Azula gets 'humanized' at the very end of the series, but I think showing her striving for the approval of her father - that vulnerability - makes seeing where it takes her in her brutality that much more horrific. We see that she doesn't HAVE to be this way (same with Zuko), but she was pushed to it due to her upbringing - the same as with Ozai and Iroh before Iroh had his loss and change of heart.

I saw some complaints that the spirit world was too bright and cheery here - and uh, I don’t see it? It's super grayed out, misty, creepy af, and ominous. The ONLY time it's colorful and cheery is in Gyatzo's little hut which… yeah, he created that little bubble of happiness - the rest is very in line with its depiction in the animated series.  Obviously sans the giant wolf, but basically it's the same vibe - creepy, ominous, and a perturbed spirit warning them away.

In the animated series, Sokka wants to go out and physically fight Hei Bai and Katara has 100% faith that Aang will figure it out. When Aang is thrown back by the spirit, Sokka runs out to help him fight - something that he mirrors in the live-action as it goes after Katara and he draws its attention over to him. Due to them weaving several of Aang's plotlines together in this episode(s), Hei Bai doesn't get as much time to be the main antagonist which I think is a shame, but with them giving more development to Katara and Sokka during this episode, I think it's ok. If I had to choose between more angry spirit destroying a village and seeing the root of Katara and Sokka's character trauma, I'll choose the character trauma every time. I always did think it was a shame that Sokka spent a bunch of time in the spirit realm and we never got to see/hear anything at all about it - there's a lot to delve into there that the animated show just skipped over.

Love love love Yue in the spirit world as a three-tailed fox! And how she explains Hei Bai's pain - foreshadowing the pain of the ocean spirit after it loses the moon spirit - her small bit of dialogue really sets up a lot with Sokka's growth, the state of the world, and the pain of the spirits (and humans reacting when they go through painful things). So cool that the showrunners used this foray into the spirit world and the fog to do a rendition of The Swamp from season 2 - even down to Sokka seeing Yue! Yeah, it happens differently, but the swamp showed each of our protagonists things in their past - and Aang one of his future (though in this episode it GAVE Aang his future). Very well done, in my opinion.

[botherkupo]

Woo finished all 8 episodes of atla live action show. So here are my final thoughts:

Show had its weaknesses but overall was very enjoyable. Would watch again

I loved everything they did with Zuko, Azula, and Ozai. I’ve rambled about this a few times now so won’t add anything more. Just want to emphasize that all extra scenes/changes etc were very satisfying for me and made me excited for the future seasons

I wasn’t sold on Iroh in that first episode but he grew on me quickly and the use of Leaves From the Vine still makes me heart ache. Perfect emotional touch. (Also Zuko saying Lu Ten would be proud to have Iroh as a father before the NWT battle was so sweet)

Aang was wonderful. Some parts with the Avatars being like” bro get your act together” felt repetitive at times, but I also like we got to see all the last 3 avatars. (Also Kuruk focusing on spirit battles was cool. Thank you for giving him more substance and explaining why Koh may have targeted him through Umi)

One thing I really appreciate about Aang here is that yes he didn’t technically “run away” and get trapped in the iceberg. He left to calm down because he was feeling so overwhelmed, then all that stuff happens, and then 100 years passes and he’s stuck not knowing how to be the Avatar — especially in a world so different from his own. The part where he said he didn’t belong in the world was just 😭😭😭🥺🥺🥺

Anyway I like that Aang is trying even though he’s so uncertain and lost. He has his flaws and he has his strengths and at the end of the day his role will be to fight for peace and try bring back the world he knew — when ppl could have fun and be friends with other nations. Also yeah the whole direction they went with the Ocean Spirit was awesome. Aang knew what was going to happen but he did it anyway because he thought that was all he could do, even if it meant he would be lost. I was very emotional lol

In terms of Sokka and Katara, this show definitely feels like it has placed Zuko and Aang as the leads. So yeah, in some ways Katara has stepped back a bit this season compared to what we saw in the cartoon. I honestly wasn’t happy with all the ways she was handled but overall I am still happy with her in the show. Her fight with Pakku was awesome, I love she rounded up the female waterbenders to fight, and I cried when she was calling out to Aang as he was lost to the Ocean Spirit. I think she will be even better in season 2, since her story in this season was about overcoming her trauma and not holding herself back for anyone

On that note, the 8 episode limit definitely made the show suffer in terms of pacing for those last few episodes. I would have loved to have seen Katara do more to fully accept she IS a master. I also didn’t feel much for Sokka and Yue since I felt he had better chemistry with Suki. They definitely could have done with more episodes to build that relationship up. I did like Yue though and how her sacrifice felt less like a destined thing the Moon Soieit had always intended her to do and more like something she chose to do freely.

Also can I just say the horrified screech I made when Momo got hit. I was going noooo momo the whole time until he got healed. (Show needed more Momo. Also Appa. Budget probably made their appearances few snd far between but still. Momo is my fav and I missed him)

It was interesting how they completely changed Hahn but also quite refreshing. One of things I do like about this live action (and I’m probably in the minority) is that they made complete changes sometimes. We all know the story, but it was cool to see unexpected stuff, especially since I could appreciate the changes. Like Yue actively choosing not to marry Hahn (even more so because natla Hahn is not a dickhead) is more satisfying to me than her feeling all sad about a betrothal she doesn’t want. (Also meant we got to see Katara earn Pakku’s strength all on her own instead of because he used to have the hots for Gran Gran)

I thought the show also did well combining omashu, Jet stuff, and Mechanist together. I’m actually happy we didn’t have to deal with The temple being taken over by the mechanist etc because it never sat well with me anyway. Also the episode limit meant they had to focus on ways to condense season 1 into a satisfying story — I think they did good with what they had. We have to remember the cartoon had heaps of episodes to work with, and animation is a different medium with a lot of strengths when it comes to fantasy etc

Anyway, this is getting super long. I will wrap it up by again saying the live action is not perfect but it is a good show that hits all the right emotional beats. I really hope it will get renewed and we’ll get the full story

[tuiyla]

NATLA Ep. 4 "Into the Dark" initial thoughts

Okay wow, I think this is my fav so far in terms of changes they've made. The best ep so far is probs Warriors but this was quite bold in the changes it's made and you know what, the first episode made me fear they'd be too timid to actually lean into their changes but no. Just like Danny Pudi put his whole Pudissy into his role, this episode committed to its direction and I can respect that even in places where I don't agree with the changes. The only exception is Bumi's tests, a lot of the dialogue and other aspects lifted straight from ATLA didn't work because it felt more forced in this context than anything. And overall I think Bumi is my least favourite part of the episode and its adaptation.

I was glad to see Jet in this episode, too, even if it was brief. I'm still lacking stronger emotions and a stronger presence from Katara but I'm glad for this goodbye with Jet and how it sets up exactly what it needs to. We did lose Jet being a foil to Sokka and there was a major missed opportunity in having Jet actually interact with Sai but ah well, can't have everything.

Instead of Sokka foiling it out with Jet there's the surprise inclusion of basically Book 2 Chapter 2 which I did not expect but am pleasantly surprised by. This ep went hard on the music taken straight from ATLA between the nomads' songs and Leaves From the Vine playing over the Iroh flashback. And! And!! Oma and Shu are lesbians!!! This is not a drill, Oma and Shu are lesbians in love. If there was one thing I hoped for in terms of the live action show it was casual queer representation and I got it in the most unexpected but pleasant place. Love it.

And!! On top of the surprising but not unwelcome inclusion of The Cave of Two Lovers, the story is recentered entirely on Sokka and Katara. I'll share more thoughts on this later but suffice to say I always love me some Water Sibs appreciation and this was much needed in this version. I still take issue with essentially erasing Katara's mothering of Sokka but it's clear the impact Hakoda leaving had on them is the same and, most probably in lieu of Bato of the Water Tribe, we get this storyline with them. The fact that love being the answer was reframed as the love between these two siblings is honestly a galaxy brain change and decision and I respect the hell out of it. There's still much lacking in terms of really fleshing out our cast but I will never, ever say no to more Water Sibs content. If we were gonna spend so much time in Omashu and put so many familiar faces in there, makes sense to also do the Omashu backstory AND utilize it to shine some light on the sibling dynamic that otherwise doesn't have much room to breathe in the live action. This is the kind of bold new direction that they have to take and own to make this show work.

I also enjoyed the Zuko and Iroh stuff and that's some interesting inclusion of more Book 2 things as well. The way even their plot from the Winter Solstice part one ep was integrated here is quite clever and I enjoyed both the past and present Iroh scenes. We'll see how they handle the actual Zuko backstory and I do think this version of Iroh needs a bit more, how should I put it, softness, but there's much to like here. Especially giving Zuko the option to pursue Aang instead and having him choose to rescue Iroh. Similar to a choice he made in the above mentioned Spirit World ep but honestly, lowkey more poignant here.

That's it for me for today but I'll watch the second half of the season tomorrow. I have to say, so far it has at least provided some interesting new takes worth taking a deeper critical look at, and I don't agree with those who dismiss the show entirely. It has merit even if, halfway through the first season, it's yet to convince me it can justify its own existence.

[thegirlwiththeskybison]

My general consensus on the live action Avatar: the Last Airbender series is that I liked it, I liked it a lot the more I think about it. There are things I didn’t like, but there are things I loved, and a couple things I think were improvements on the animated series.

That being said, spoilers ahead, so tread carefully friends.

My first concern was how they were going to cram twenty episodes into eight. And I am happy to report that they managed this BEAUTIFULLY. The storytelling was my favorite part of the live action. While things were rushed in some places and compressed, they told a cohesive story that took things that shouldn’t necessarily go together and made them work. Where the animated series used chapters, these are episodes. It's strange, but it works.

Episode 1 Aang covers: The Boy in the Iceberg, The Avatar Returns, The Southern Air Temple, and half of the Storm

Episode 2 Warriors covers: A bit of the Southern Air Temple and The Warriors of Kyoshi

Episode 3 Omashu covers: The King of Omashu, Jet, The Northern Air Temple

Episode 4 Into the Dark covers: The King of Omashu, Jet, The Northern Air Temple, and weirdly the Book 2 Episode The Cave of Two Lovers

Episode 5 Spirited Away covers: The Spirit World, Avatar Roku, and has elements borrowed from Siege of the North

Episode 6 Masks covers: Bato of the Water Tribe and The Blue Spirit

Episode 7 The North covers: The Waterbending Master and Siege of the North

Episode 8 Legends covers: Siege of the North, and includes elements from the Book 2 episodes The Avatar State and The Cave of Two Lovers.

Look, if you’d told me they were sticking Jet, the Mechanist, and Teo in Omashu, I would have been horrified. It was probably my favorite episode.

We also got some original content. Azula has a storyline set in the Fire Nation and we see a whole lot of Ozai. While I’m not fond of adding content when other canon things had to be cut for time, I was a big fan of this. It makes Azula much more interesting, and Ozai was probably the best casting in the whole show. There are also references to elements from The Search comics and the Kyoshi novels.

Zuko has what is arguably one of the best character arcs I’ve ever seen. I wrote an essay on his journey for an AP English class my senior year of high school. The live action show made it better. I wouldn’t have thought that was possible. But the emotion this kid had was phenomenal, and they added pieces to his story and rounded things out. We get to see Ozai banish him instead of hearing Iroh tell the crew about it. (Show, don’t tell, first rule of storytelling!) We get to see more why this matters to him. We get to see how he spent the time searching for the Avatar, three whole years instead of two like in the cartoon. Aang swipes a notebook of Zuko’s where he’s been studying the history of the Avatar, so Aang gets a look into Zuko, and he understands him a little better. Zuko is probably the world’s leading expert on the Avatar, and he can draw! The poor kid probably needed a hobby, let’s be real. His crew even gets some backstory.

They chose to take out Sokka’s sexism, which I feel was a mistake because that character growth was so important. He went from “There’s no way a bunch of girls took us down!” to “My girlfriend is a better warrior than I am!” And that’s so cool because hey, if you were raised with some incorrect beliefs, you can learn and you can grow and change! And that is an important message! But Sokka was still the best written of our three good guys and stole pretty much every scene he was in. He’s not the sarcasm and meat guy anymore. In fact, there’s almost no sarcasm and honestly I don’t remember much in the way of meat.

The costume design was fantastic, oddly with the exception of Aang, Katara, and Sokka. Frankly, I’ve seen better cosplays. But I love how much of everything else they got right design wise. Suki’s makeup was perfection, the Firebender helmets were accurate, and Jet’s armor was an exact replica.

Katara’s fight with Pakku was almost a shot for shot recreation. Some of the positioning was reversed, but we even got the ice disc almost taking his head off.

Somehow they made Yue’s fiance likable? I wasn’t prepared for that. 

Cabbage Merchant. Amazing. 10/10. No notes.

Avatar Roku’s temple has a shrine to all past Avatars, with collected relics. I really need someone to get some high quality screenshots on that so I can pour over it. The temple also somehow replaces the Spirit Library from Book 2, and Wan Shi Tong showed up in the Spirit World.

This show managed to tell a fantastic story. It’s easy to focus on the bad and the things that made me angry, but honestly I liked so much more than I didn’t. 

Now it wasn’t perfect, and I’ll admit to that. I spent a lot of my day yelling like Harrison Ford in The Force Awakens, “THAT’S NOT HOW BENDING WORKS!” Aang can fly without his glider, except when he can’t for plot reasons. Ozai can set someone on fire just by touching them. People aren’t wet after Katara hits them. Aang puts out fires by throwing air at them rather than draining the air from the fire.

The CGI is rough in some places and flawless in others. Appa and Momo were not… loveable. Nyla? The Shirshu? Looked like she was a real creature. The bending effects were pretty solid all the way through.

Aang, Katara, and Iroh all felt super flat to me. If you take a drink every time Aang says “save the world” or “I’m the Avatar”, you will have an Appa sized hangover. There’s nothing fun loving about Aang. Katara is just sort of… there. She’s not passionate. She’s not driven. She’s not even particularly powerful. We only got like two hope speeches. Sokka got more funny lines than that and he barely got any funny lines. Iroh isn’t cunning. His silly old man act is just that, an act, at least most of the time in the cartoon. He’s not silly in this, but he’s also not the Dragon of the West of legend.

They erased Zhao’s backstory in that he already knew Zuko and Iroh. He was there the day Zuko got his scar in the cartoon, and yet in this he’s a “nobody in the Southern Seas”. It makes him both less interesting and less of a threat, so his whole “Moonslayer” speech is really weak. Also, this man can’t project to save his life when addressing his troops.

I would really like to know who picked these fonts and send them back to design school.

My biggest complaint is that there is no build up and no pay off. Everything is revealed from the very beginning. We see Sozin’s Comet in the very first episode in a flashback, and Gran Gran talks about it as soon as Aang wakes up as she reveals he’s the Avatar. We don’t get to learn that Appa is a flying bison and then see him fly, he just zooms on up. (Yet we don’t get a “Yip yip! Until like episode four.) Aang recognizes Bumi almost immediately, and he’s not a clever old man or a mad genius. He’s just a bitter old asshole. Katara sees her mom die in a flashback, and she knows her mom said she was the last Waterbender so there goes that big season three storyline. We meet Kyoshi in the second episode, and even Kuruk by the last. There’s no foreshadowing, no promise of things to come, because it’s all just handed to us from the start. 

The season does end really well, I will give them that. It sets it up perfectly so we can dive right in on the next season, skipping the first two filler episodes because we’ve already covered them. I’m really looking forward to Book Two. I like the pieces we’ve got in play and the story blocks where they are. Whenever we get it.

I hope it's sooner than 2026.

[nono-bunny]

Thoghts from watching the ATLA live action!

Episode 4:

Holy shit Iroh and Aang are cellmates this is such a fun scenario!! Gives some strong Crossroads of Destiny vibes, ngl. Also, the crytals look cool!!!

Oh I'm genuinely so glad they didn't just... Move on from Sai working for the Fire Nation, I was genuinely doubtful they were gonna adress it tbh! Now I just need a Sokka and Jet confrontation and I'll be happy, though, that isn't likely to happen unfortunately.

I really do like what they did with Sai and Sokka though- this kinda feels like him starting a pattern of trying to look for replacement father figures tbh, which really fits with how much more visibly he's fixated on being like Hakoda here. It's sad and sweet at the same time, and I'm really interested to see how they'll write Hakoda!

Fuck yes, spy Zuko!!!

Smh kid Bumi isn't crazy enough, is it really THAT hard to find just. A completely unhinged looking kid?? Nah obviously I'm joking, he's cute haha it obviously wouldn't have been possible to have the visual similarities we see in the og so just having his unique laugh to identify him by works!

Idk what was up with Iroh's writing in the first episodes, he felt really foreign to me but over time he genuinely finally starts feeling like Iroh so I'm glad they got into the groove with his writing! He's still a bit too open which feels weird, but he uses more veiled language now while doing it so it works better. Also? I heard they used Leaves From The Vine, but damn it still got me!!

Haha YES, this was genuinely a change I always wanted: Sokka and Katara in the tunnels instead of Aang and Katara!! Not for shipping reasons, because that's gross, but because I always felt it would've been real funny haha

Wait are they fr sending Iroh to face punishment? I was sure he was next to Aang as part of a White Lotus thing or just until Bumi heard he was there!! I'm guessing he... Still doesn't know? I'm guessing this whole thing is a spin on when Iroh gets taken from the hot springs, but Bumi being directly in charge only works if it's all a ploy or if he hasn't been informed that they have the Dragon of the West in captivity- which would be wild!! Unless he's busy constructing puzzles for Aang lmao idk

So like. Given that the siblings are going to the tunnels, Aang is meeting Bumi, and Zuko is rescuing Iroh... I guess we just drop the Jet plot until next season??? Man, what a bummer. That was too short and didn't even hit all the high point of meeting him in the original. Like, they honestly could've had him try to appear and try to atone by trying to help and getting rejected and yelled at, but instead he just confirms his evil plans and is never seen again? Like, literally, what did he even do here? Despite being on screen for longer, his betrayal somehow doesn't seem as impactful because there's no time for Katara to process it last episode, like. Again, I hope to god this is a thing she has to kinda wrestle with a lot next season- I also kinda hope Sokka somehow independently meets him with Aang again and doesn't realize that the guy from the cart is the same guy Katara talked about, and that these two get to have their own Jet disappointment because again!! So far taking Sokka out of the Jet plot is genuinely the biggest issue I have with this show. Katara's arc seems to be headed to the same place albeit in a very different pace, but this is something that would be INCREDIBLY hard to fix. Like? I get it, I understand that what Sokka learns in that episode doesn't have to happen there, but. It's genuinely one of my favorite episodes because of how both of the water tribe siblings get to learn something from interacting with this charming duplicitous guy, and taking out Sokka's growth kinda just? Leaves us with Katara getting betrayed while bottling it up (likely until either they meet again or until Zuko's actions remind her of it- it'll probably also be important with Hama), it kinda just becomes "Katara gets a crush on a bad boy and gets hurt" which? Idk it feels weird, it was presented differently here and she feels much less silly and willfully blind because for the longest time no one tells her to be wary of Jet but. I still don't like how ultimately Jet was just there to disappoint Katara and interact with literally no one else. I mean!! I love Jet, of course I too had a crush on him, he's iconic and important and of course he had to be a part of this, but. Truly, they minimized the hurt he causes so much that I just kinda feel like he might as well not have appeared with how little he ultimately impacted things, at least for right now. I'm really hoping he gets an expanded role next season that helps to make up for how much his appearance was minimized, or that we see this have a tangible impact on Katara, because as it stands... It was just kind of a disappointing cameo appearance rather than something that felt like it needed to be there. Anyway this is all more about last episode but I still held out a bit of hope for it to be resolved better so. To see that Sai and Teo get to face a bit of emotional fallout set up last episode because they get to further the plot, while Jet just vanishes... It sucks, and it hurts, and I hate it. Anyway, onwards, I guess!

Teo has genuinely been changed so much he straight up isn't the same character anymore, and it's... Strange. I don't really like it too much, tbh. He's like, EXTREMELY cynical and eager to fight, and it's such a strange change from a character whose entire purpose originally was to kind of mirror Aang and help nudge him along on his journey. I genuinely can't tell if they just thought that living in a city under constant threat rather than literally amongst the clouds would mean he would kind of have to be different, or if it was an attempt to make him cooler or whatever. Regardless, I don't like it, tbh he kinda pisses me off a bit? He's SO serious and angry all the time and it just. Feels weird when he only resembles his original counterpart through his name and use of a wheelchair. Everything else about him is nowhere to be seen! If you compare his situation to Katara, it might seem similar on the surface- except, Katara is a main character who clearly still has a character arc ahead of her (and also all of her defining traits are still there), while Teo shows up like twice. It's kinda vital that he isn't too complex and keeps his original personality because he doesn't have the same leeway to grow that a main character does, otherwise he risks just becoming someone else entirely... And that's what happened. The thoughtful and cheerful boy with an interest in Air Nomad culture is all but gone, replaced with yet another angry warrior, and? While I get how it's probably more likely for him to become the latter, I also very much miss and lament the loss of the former. Sai is very much the stronger adaptational character of the two, and he's the only one of the two to get to have a real impact on one of the Gaang. It... Sucks.

Lmao Flopsy my beloved what have they done to you?? Guess they ran out of CG budget haha

Oh, this Bumi has a very strange and uncomfortable vibe, so like... Perfect! He was always gonna be hard to translate to live action, and I saw a lot of people dislike how they portray him here, and I kind of get it? He's not very likeable, he feels like kind of a bad ruler and a bit cruel... And that actually tracks? I read the showrunner said he wanted to focus a bit more on how upset Bumi is about Aang disappearing and reappearing in his life, and that underlying anger absolutely comes through. Bumi is... Kind of scary, and as someone that has a rep for being The Crazy King or whatever, I feel like that perfectly fits!

Jet!!!! He's here!! Kinda feels like it might be a dream ngl, it just has that vibe? Or maybe that's just how happy I am to see they didn't abandon him haha. He's... Still only gonna interact with Katara though, isn't he? :(

Uh? So, I'm gonna have to be filled in on when Katara learned physical self defense. It was very cool, but it felt like nothing I've ever seen her to do before. Anyway real cool moment for Katara there overall, it was great! It in particular really stands out against the cartoon in the way she manifests her anger. She's like. Definitely angry here, and it's very clear she's also just once again tempering it and moving on- no time for this, no time for Jet, no time for fighting... And at some point all of those repressed feelings are gonna have to overflow. It was a very cool scene, but it was, once again, sorely lacking Sokka's presence. More than anything, I just. Wish for these two to meet independent of Katara and get to have their own clash. Honestly? I feel like they could potentially catch two birds with one stone by having the Gaang split up earlier next season, specifically, have Suki help them get to Ba Sing Se earlier so get to meet Jet or something. Idk, the idea isn't fully formed, but it definitely feels like the most likely point for them to get to meet and it would make me really happy for everyone to have a bit more interaction with Suki before she formally joins them in the last season. Like? Maybe Jet and Sokka meeting could be Sokka's story in a Tales of Ba Sing Se sort of episode? As much as I love the haiku club... It's almost certainly getting the chop- also, I heard that the biggest and most important plotpoint of that episode already gets revealed in this first season so? It's likely just not gonna happen, or if it does it might just be like, a bonus one for fun idk. Regardless that season has a lot of "filler" that can easily be dropped, and Jet and Sokka meeting feels to important to just. Never happen, and!! I want it so badly, fuck!!

Yo ngl Zuko's helmet do be making him look like Melonlord

Lol prompting a conflicted Zuko with "well? Are you just gonna stand there? What are you gonna do?" Is fucking hysterical

Bumi is fr so pathetic, fucking no one likes his jokes but his the king and having people have to laugh this time is genuinely hilarious. It also makes everything so much more menacing!! I get why people didn't like what they did with him, but I think it's an interesting direction to go with his character and I think they handle it really well. If anything? Having to stick to some of the original characteristics and reusing the jokes really hurt his momentum imo

The Omashu story looks beautiful!! Ngl I don't really understand why they changed it to a lesbian couple? It literally changes nothing, their genders doesn't matter to the story, so I genuinely don't care one way or the other, it's just... A strange choice to make haha

The singing nomads are always fun, though in my ideal Secret Tunnel scenario they go in with Sokka and Katara and annoy the shit out of Sokka. Miss them already. Also, I do miss Dee Bradley Baker- just. In general, but also, can't help but think of him when I see these guys- it's his song after all!

Forgot to comment on Iroh taking the Lotus tile last episode, so I'm happy to see it back in action here! Do kinda wonder how June will track him in the last season without his smelly sandal though haha

Really cool scene with the rock candy!! Obviously the original way it's presented is off the table, and they instead made it into a really beautiful little action scene!

Ngl something about seeing Zuko pick up a White Lotus got me choked up a bit. The hesitation with Zuko between Aang and Iroh didn't really feel like that big a deal here given the different circumstances behind Iroh's capture, I mean? Obviously Zuko was never gonna abandon Iroh after he sacrificed himself, so not going after Aang here wasn't really that much of a sacrifice on his part in comparison, just... Basic decency to return the favor, which kinda lessened the impact and you might as well miss there was even a conflict with how little of the episode he spends thinking of Aang, but. I like it, it's sweet to see their connection here anyway. Definitely does feel like Zuko is a bit too close to redemption at all times during this season though, Iroh is being WAY too obvious about his true allegiances imo, but tbf... I doubt anyone could go into ATLA blind nowadays, and maybe making Iroh more transparent and Zuko more sympathetic is a way to later drop the shoe ever harder during Crossroads of Destiny- like, THAT'S how much of a wrong choice he makes there, it goes against his entire characterization thus far... But the bait Azula used was too alluring. Or something like that, idk, maybe it's just. Tough to write such a beloved character back into his worst version? Idk, I kinda get why people wish he was less obviously on a path to redemption but frankly? I think it's just an Iroh issue again, they really seem to struggle with writing him to appear silly or without depth as the first season kinda necessitates, and his unwavering support and pushing for sure make Zuko a lot less lost here. I wish he got to be a bit more, but again: this show was the first time in a long time, maybe ever, that ATLA managed to make me be afraid of Zuko, so. Idk. Mixed feelings- he's not all sugar here AT ALL, but he definitely still is a bit too much for this point. I genuinely do think that Iroh's ability to reach him and be straight to the point needed to be heavily nerfed tbh, I think that's the main issue with Zuko's appearing too sympathetic here

Okay, so. Genuinely not exaggerating here when I say: Sokka saying he has a hunch stole my breath away, made me choke up, and tears welled up in my eyes. Like! THAT'S how taken off guard I was with them bringing back my favorite underrated Sokka trait: his instincts. The time it took me to write this was enough for me to genuinely just start crying while thinking about it, like. Genuinely I'm so happy and relieved this managed to find its way into the show, I'm. A bit overwhelmed rn and I don't know that I can put my feelings about it into words rn so I'll be back when I have something else to say, for now: I am RIDICULOUSLY happy with this development, it means a lot to me personally.

Wait I'm immediately back: this is strange, right? The initial utter joy blinded me but this is like... The exact opposite of what Sokka initially does in this episode, this is kinda funny lmao

I think I can pretty confidently say by now that Sokka and Katara's relationship is my favorite part of this adaptation. They always bring out both the best and the worst in each other, their scenes are always bot fun and also just... Cathartic to me in a personal way because they always manage to hit everything that feels missing until they go at each other. It's genuinely perfect, I love them so much. Like? Yeah Ian Ousley is possibly a stinky liar, but he and Kiawentiio have a great rapport and work really well as the unique twists of their characters that this LA is going for. I really, really enjoy them.

Istg Sokka in the cave is just spitting out one pop culture reference after another and it's genuinely bizarre

So, Iroh was provoking that guy to let him take out his anger, right? That's genuinely the only way I can read that scene for it to make sense. Sympathizing with the guy wouldn't have helped, he wouldn't care that Iroh knows he was wrong and that he only realized it when he lost someone too, so he just let him vent by playing the bad guy ig? Idk what I think of that scene tbh- Iroh being a hated general is something that needed a bit more fleshing out for Zuko taking the throne to make sense, so I don't hate it, but. It was weird to see Iroh be so obstinate in the face of someone who was clearly hurting because of his actions. The expected Iroh move would have been some wise words any sympathy that leads to bonding and healing, and it felt SO weird that it just. Didn't happen, and yet... At the same time, I kinda got it, and I do really appreciate this scene, even if the characterization feels off in a way- which, tbh, most Iroh scenes do. It wasn't a bad one, it just felt really strange to keep expecting him to do something and for him to just... Not. Iroh is definitely both the same and yet feels really different and I just. I can't get used to him tbh.

The flashback mourning scene immediately after was also nice, although it was a bit funny how Dallas just looked exactly the same age when it should've been more than three years in the past. Once again Zuko is slightly too sympathetic too early, but at this point I kinda think that's just what they're going for- they're doubling down on showing him as misguided and wilfully blind rather than cruel, which is a realization you do come to during the first season of the original to be fair... It's just a lot less subtle about it here, with much less time where you just view Zuko as The Enemy. It's very clearly from very early on that this is also his journey, and as that gives me more Zuko... I don't even necessarily hate it lmao, it's just different. I think that so long as they keep being consistent about why Zuko is still refusing to "turn good" it can work really well, and ig with Azula coming early... They increased the pressure on him from both sides, which is actually kinda interesting and something i didn't realize until literally just now. Honestly I think half of the point of me writing these is just... To help me get my thoughts in order, to help me see the show for itself rather than just as a cut down version of the story, and honestly? So far it's actually working really well in terms of helping me come to terms and appreciating some of the weirder/bigger changes they make. Still the one unforgivable change is no Jet and Sokka confrontation- I'm glad they didn't entirely drop what Sokka learns there, but. I just love that episode so much that it being changed so severely really hurts in a way I can't reasonably reconcile. Everything they did and all the reasons for it makes sense, and it all works really well in the end but. It's still just a terrible personal loss haha

I do think that ultimately Katara was right and said something Sokka needed to hear (he's not his dad) and I don't like how it was brushed under the rug a bit but I guess he's not really ready to confront that quite yet- that'll probably come when he reunites with Hakoda, huh?

Oh my god it's happening again!!! Istg it feels like some characters just. Straight up accidentally exist in the wrong universe- Bumi and Kyoshi both chide Aang for traits he doesn't have here, and he never gets called out for the in the original. Genuinely it feels so bizarre, like these characters come from another world where what they're saying is true. More than ever this show feels like it was made by fans who loved the show so much they wanted to see it be better, and when given the opportunity they just kinda... Went ham on both fixing the flaws while also directly acknowledging and trying to fix them, except it doesn't make sense because they don't exist here. It's so disorienting and, frankly, super funny and personally validating to realize the writers also probably had screaming meltdowns over Aang being a bad main character, and feeling so strong about it that they just had to include it still. It feels like the biggest callout post possible, it's genuinely so funny, and as nonsensical as it is... I love it, and for me it makes the show feel like it was written by like mined people- I get it, y'all, I too would both fix and yell at Aang if given the opportunity! It's genuinely such a mood and so relatable of them, so even if it's kind of a mess... I love it, because I get it.

I think it's a really cute and fun twist to have the crystals not be the way, but rather, the badgermoles. It gives both aspects of the cave a chance to show up, and even though I do kinda wish we got to see a disgruntled Sokka strumming his way out of the cave... This was a really sweet resolution. Also, spending most of the time they're in the cave be in the dark and thus under the light of the crystal made for a much more visually interesting episode than it would be otherwise, while also being a nod to them originally being trapped in crystal in Aang's Bumi Adventure. Tbh THESE are two episodes that work great when separating the cast- Sokka and Katara literally did nothing in Bumi's episode, while Aang being there in Cave of Two Lovers did more harm than good in my humble opinion. As I thought I would, I like Sokka and Katara going through the cave together MUCH more- it allowed for a more organic conflict, had more potential for funny moments (that wasn't really utilized because for the most part this adaptation doesn't really do or seem to get comedy- I mean, the funny Bumi moments absolutely bombed here!), and just... Wasn't Kataang focused, which is always a plus!!

Ngl it's kinda embarrassing how much I cared about Sokka's instincts to the point that it made me THAT emotional- btw I don't like that it wasn't followed up on like originally, here it was just brought up and he turned out to be wrong which sucked a bit- unless the crystals were meant to lead them to the badgermole? Idk, wish this was a stronger through line because now he just looks like a fool- which the original episode made sure he wasn't, that was like, the whole point there!!

Genuinely WHERE was this Bumi in the original show,,,,, Anyway this Bumi fight kinda feels like the first cool earthbending we see, which. Ngl, checks out with the original lmao.

My god do I wish Katara and Sokka were able to actually do anything in the original episode with Bumi after seeing this, this was fantastic!!! I'm tearing up, genuinely, this was fantastic!! It really feels like what Aang could've become originally if he was challenged more. I really do appreciate and feel for Bumi here, and for once in a very long time.... I'm also rooting for Aang. That's genuinely not a small thing to accomplish for me! As much as I think what Bumi is saying here has merit, I also believe that this is an Aang that can learn to mediate and make the hard choices when he must- so long as he considers other perspectives, allows his friends to help him, and does the same for them in return. And for how distant Aang feels from Sokka and Katara right now? I believe they genuinely can and will grow closer to a degree they can be this for each other. This was an awesome moment and. Idk. Having genuine faith in Aang feels so foreign to me at this point, almost novel, and I hope to god they don't squander this later on. Watching this episode was actually so healing? Idk if it was just that it took me like, literal hours because I kept pausing to write a lot here so it felt like a long journey to get here, but. I'm really happy with where things ended up, generally!

Uhhh so. Zuko's lot in life is being on water, is it, Iroh? Lmao I know that's absolutely not what he meant but of course my brain IMMEDIATELY started barking "Zutara! Zutara? ZUTARA!" like a rabid dog- that is MY lot in life. Anyway I do think the two Iroh and Zuko scenes at the end here were probably the best ones of the two of them so far! And closing with Zuko having another "Aang vs Iroh" moment just to cement the message here was probably a wise choice especially given how brief the first one was. This one worked a lot better, and it was also really pretty visually!! Actually, for whatever reason I think this show generally looks the best when it's working with blue tones for whatever reason, and as this episode had a lot of them it was one I was constantly really impressed by visually! The green here was a bit hit or miss, but the blue scenes kinda always look really good!! Actually, Wolf Cove looked cool too, and it was pretty blue as well! Hmm. Something to try and pay attention to from now on and if I do a rewatch ig?

This episode honestly did a much better job at adapting two storylines simultaneously, and it was just... Overall better for the most part than the previous one. Bumi was a bit questionable in that he initally leaned too heavily on his original personality and gags rather than embrace this new version (ironically, the opposite of what they should've done with Teo), but for the most part I like the changes they made here! Iroh remains the shakiest and most immersion breaking part of this show- due to no fault of the actor, by the way, he does a good job, the writing is just really inconsistent with him- but if I ignore how uncanny and ooc at times he feels to me, I did generally like his scenes here and what they were meant to do. Genuinely don't know if Iroh is an issue for other people or if for some reason I'm just fixated on him feeling off tbh? Anyway Katara and Sokka were in top form this episode, as I came to expect from scenes that focus on their bond! It was definitely brought down a bit by having to resolve the weaker previous episode and its weird adapations of Jet, Sai and Teo right at the start but it managed to pick itself back up really well- and the Sokka and Katara fight put a nice little bow on it for now, so I'm relatively satisfied with how they wrapped it up. Still hope for a big Sokka and Jet fight though, and still don't really appreciate what they did with Teo. But the bulk of this episode was great- if not in execution, at least in the ideas it portrayed, so I'm happy enough with it tbh.

This post was, once again, a mess as it's just me writing down my thoughts as they occur to me with very minimal editing, if I bother with it at all, but. Yeah it's pretty funny that I'm constantly just lamenting how they remove something and then they still include it later haha, it's becoming kind of a pattern!

[shopcat]

hehe re: your tags, what about yue/katara?

omg hi i'm sleepies so i probably won't get too much into it character-wise probably. i will simply say before anything else☝️i know ppl mostly hold the belief that katara is straight and that there some uncomfortable pitfalls people can find themselves in when (esp white) lgbt people paint indigenous characters lgbt in order to be able to "relate to them" and dismiss the character's worth and indigeneity through what is i suppose fandom pinkwashing + dismissing the sexuality of indigenous/native/first nations women, which i do try to be aware of and avoid entirely, bc i think by and large this happens when ppl apply these headcanons without any sort of actual nuance or thought and treat every hc as the same sort of formula to follow (like, character is x so i like them "now", etc). katara has as much worth and depth as a character let alone as an indigenous woman when she's straight as she would if she wasn't which is something people tend to struggle with and handle badly or ignorantly. (and yes, on the other hand, lgbt indigenous representation is just as important to uplift, but i mean when it's done with ignorant intention!).

with katara in particular i DO think she is probably straight and (FOX FACT) she was one of my first crushes when i was little as in like 8-9 and was Also a girl and did NOT know how to handle that and she was also just my favourite character in general so her being some flavour of lgbt+ is very fun for me in particular, but regardless of that i do think her being bi or something would be relatively sweet if handled normally. (also funnily bc of this i also hated sokka when i was little bc i thought he was mean to her LOL .. 😭)

secondly stealing your brother's girl before he even got to date her is HILARIOUS ❗️❗️but in all seriousness 🤓☝️ i think the situation of yue being, you know, sokka's first love who tragically died deserves to sort of like, keep that... gravitas? and as a significant part of sokka's narrative at the time is to do with handling her death in particular, specifically because, Obviously, he loved her, i think respecting that is first and foremost for me as much as i joked about how they barely dated so it's not as comparable as katara dating suki for example, lol (though i do think it's different just bc of like, how it's actually different, e.g. yue is dead, suki was his long term girlfriend).

BUT none of this means it's entirely impossible either bc obviously like i said i've thought about it and i do find it cute ^_^ and i think their dynamic would honestly be really fun, more so on YUE'S side for reasons i shall elaborate on in a second. obviously in this world in order for ANY of them to still have a relationship of any kind, yue would either somehow still be alive, have never have died in the first place, or it's a different world entirely and their initial meeting was different from the beginning. (this of course changes the inherent tragedy of her and sokka's relationship, and makes it less of a potentially weird or at least incredibly dramatic scenario, as well). each of these have their own merits and to be honest i am obsessed with canon divergent different first meetings that change the outcome of the later story i eat that up every time and am honestly constantly thinking about ways things could change from something small like say... katara sitting by yue instead of sokka. heh...

to me yue and katara are i wouldn't necessarily say foils of one another, but i do think putting them side by side draws a lot of significance to the surface. i will NOTTT ever be someone to be like the NWT/water tribes in general are HORRIFICALLY SEXIST because i think that is well, fundamentally stupid, and racist, but for the purposes of what i'm talking about i do think the different aspects of misogyny relevant to both of their characters and story at the time of their meeting is important and interesting to compare. i think yue being able to sort of catch glimpses of what it is to be a normal teenage girl with sokka and slip the responsibility on her shoulders for a short while clearly meant a lot with her and helped her forge her bond with him in the first place, someone who i think like with suki not only say, BALANCED their different personalities out, but was able to bring a more joyful authenticity out of her if not just some basic fun and shenanigans. i think it's important that they meet in book 1 even if it's on the tail end of it, relatively early in the gaang's journey and respective narrative arcs and therefore sokka's as well, bc it shows he ISN'T quite the same person he is in say, book 3, when the gang are missing the lightness and fun he brings to their interactions and he's still learning this himself and they're in a way drawing it out of each other.

anyway. i think it's fair to say yue is maybe not a buttoned-up person, but fairly serious at times or at least keeps her cards close to her chest. i think katara being someone who speaks her mind freely and proves herself to be tenacious and stubborn and LOUD and like, kind of annoying, above all generally awesome, and FULLY a Teenage Girl, would be a really fun mesh with her at this time for the same reasons sokka was, if not even more so tbh. honestly yue is again one of my favourite characters, behind sokka and zuko she is a solid and unchanging number 3 for me. i think yue is someone who values duty (a common theme in these characters, lol) and responsibility, and while katara is someone who DOES, technically, admire/share in this (obviously, as someone who has been responsible in part for her tribe and family for years, and particularly now while they've only got each other), she is also someone who sees someone doing what they Think they should be doing and she personally sees as unfair or wrong and blows her fucking lid. i would honestly just love in general to see a yue/katara friendship let alone a relationship of some kind, but like w/anything friends -> in love isn't a leap for me lol so it can be both truly... i think they'd bring out a lot of good in each other!!

i also do occasionally ponder how yue is a nonbender, yet a princess, as well as being not only spirit touched but by the spirit who... is the very source of waterbending. while i think this is actually very cool thematically i do often think about how strange it is logistically, and also think about how bending is in part to do with a willingness to do so, and the concept that yue COULD be a bender and just not realise. katara kidnapping a princess and teaching her to bend would be SO GOOD. to me. i also once had an au i scrounged up where yue was a bender and obviously just learned healing, but due to being again blessed by the spirit of WATERBENDING and having that connection w/the spirit world at all, her healing is quite literally insane and she essentially becomes an atlaverse necromancer. because i think that's awesome. other than that, yue learning to fight in general would be very cool and i think katara would fall over backwards trying to help even if she also knows basically nothing about nonbending fighting lol. they would fall on their asses Together <3.

i do also suppose the conflict and tension point of sokka clearly having feelings for yue could be something to be rattled around if u were into that. personally i do enjoy conflict but not soul crushing drama and ultimately in My world which is a beautiful world sokka has either already come to terms with it/moved on long ago bc it's been a while or i suppose just one of those au's where he never did feel that way in the first place. but tbf it's not like katara (or yue) would necessarily know that so it could still be a something or other.

ultimately yeah i just think yue being this dutiful princess figure who loves her people but does clearly yearn for more and is a person willing to make huge sacrifices for people and katara coming in and being someone who openly and authentically goes for what she wants even if she's being held back by certain factors that yue would be intimate with is well mwah. i enjoy it. a big draw for most atla pairings of any kind to me is them having the ability to just Be Young together and i think these two definitely deserve this, katara in particular! she is a very silly sweet character and i love whenever she tries to joke around, and i think her particular brand of being sarcastic or catty would make yue go >:0 and she would love it. ohhhhh they would eviscerate people together...

yue being a relatively sheltered figure who yearns in some way for a sense of freedom from it and therefore struggles with respecting and committing to the connection to her tribe and the responsibility she has for her people as their princess, and katara coming in as someone from their far-away, lost contact sister tribe, a relative important political figure in her own right to boot, representing not only this chance to grab at freedom and what you feel is right but the added layer of them both being women could have been a really cool angle for the narrative to contort to! also sokka AND katara pulling a prince and a princess of two different nations would be well funny as fuck.

[firelord-suki]

Heyyyy, Bianca!!! Happy Valentines!!! 💚💜💚💜

I was wondering here: which ships are your Top OTP? (And the reason you put them so high if you want to share!)

Heyyy! Happy late Valentines Day 💝 💘

Thank you for the question. At first, I struggled to come up with more than two ships, but then, once I started thinking back to old hypefixations, I couldn't stop lol to keep it short, I selected only four.

Here they are:

1. Levi and Hange

I mean, they gotta be on top, right? This is the ship that brought me back to fandom life and made me want to start writing and sharing my fanfics online. What first caught my interest was their interactions, their bickering, their bright & energetic/calm & annoyed dynamic. But now I think what I like the most about their relationship is their friendship, how much they trust and can count on one another. Considering how fucked up their world is, it's nice to know they have each other's back. AND the tragic element keeps me chained to them 😢 (I'll stop here otherwise I'd keep going on and on forever...)

2. Artemis and Wally (Young Justice)

These two... Honestly, Young Justice is probably what got me into the DC Universe and it was also my first contact with fandom spaces (I still remember the fics I used to read about this couple on ff.net back in 2012 lol). I think their relationship was so well constructed throughout the first season that it's impossible not to fall in love. The "I hate you but we're forced to work together" trope is one of my favorite and it excels with them! The annoyance and mistrust at the beginning slowly fading as they work together and finally learn to care about it each other as more than just teammates, but friends too? Peak romance 😭 Artemis' individual storyline was also very well done, and I love the angst coming from her past trauma, how it caused her wariness of the team and doubt their true intentions towards her. She's been mistreated her entire life but finally learned how to trust and love again, and Wally was a part of that <3

3. Vincenzo and Cha Young (Vincenzo)

This is a relatively new one. Granted, I'm not as obsessed with them as the other ones, but I still think they deserve their place here. Again, these two start off not really liking each other but end up on the same side, so they set their differences aside to work together (this seems to be a theme with my ships Lol). I just think they built a beautiful friendship and partnership. Cha Young was probably the only person Vincenzo could fully trust in that scenario (being in a new country, away from his subordinates and all). I liked how they learned how to rely on and trust the other. Yeah, Vincenzo was a Mafia consigliere but that didn't really made their relationship unbalanced? That was my main concern going through the series, considering that Cha Young is not as physically strong as him. But she's still just as smart, witty, brave and stubborn as him.

4. Kat and Patrick (10 things I hate about you)

Ahhhh, there's always a place in your heart for your first love ship. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love how Kat was always so abrasive and Patrick just wasn't put out by it. Of course, he was paid to take her out, but I know he secretly liked having her fight him all the time and always speak her mind. And I love that it didn't change towards the end, her character growth didn't involve her getting calmer or sweeter, just learning how to be vulnerable. Do I think that these two would've stayed together in the long run? Definitely no, but I still like the enemies-to-lovers situation going on here.

Honorable mentions that didn't make the cut: Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle (in basically every universe, lol), Shikamaru and Temari, Suki and Sokka, Kaz and Inej, Mulder and Scully, Koyanagi and Kabakura, Ash and Eiji, Ava and Beatrice, Anne and Gilbert, Jaime and Brienne, Monica and Chandler, Jiwon and Sungming + Yina Yeeun (both from Age of Youth), Keith and Lance (happily, I outgrew my Voltron fase), Howl and Sophie, and last but not least, Ymir and Historia.

Thank you again!

[seyaryminamoto]

Leap of Faith: Sokkla Saturdays 2022

Day 4: Sokka dresses Azula

On FF.net//On AO3

And here's the first sequel I've written this year... the sequel to my Dragon Age AU from last year :'D about half as long, so still ridiculously long, but yet again... you can't expect better when adapting such a long game, not even when you're only centering it around secondary characters.

Anyway, it was a wild ride and I was very happy to finally fulfill my main headcanons in that franchise regarding a potential way to save a certain someone from being trapped in the Fade forevermore...

Hope you enjoy it! Read in either link above, since, yet again, Tumblr won't allow me to post the full story here.

Now, as for thoughts you may read after you finish that story...

Regarding the controversial ending... I can't be the only person who finds Aang and Solas can be disturbingly similar x'D There's obvious differences between the two, but even the fact that Bryke described Aang as a "trickster", and the Solas is notoriously known for being the Trickster God? Stuck in an iceberg for 100 years, and dormant for over 1000 years? Both are struck by tragedy when their civilizations were completely wiped out -- and both struggle with guilt over it, though I hold Solas far more responsible for it, in his case. In short... this was a no-brainer. The reason why Aang was never around in the first part of this story, the Prince Sokka and Peasant Azula prompt from last year, was because the minute I wanted to write a Dragon Age AU, I knew Aang would be the ideal Solas if I ever got around writing the Inquisition sequel. I know it was probably weird back then, but I hope it makes some sense this time, especially for people who have played these games.

Regarding Ursa... Flemeth is another big question mark in the future of Dragon Age's franchise as a whole. I recently watched a video with a lot of crazy theories about her being the source of all that's wrong with Thedas, but going by DAI's ending, with that epilogue in which Flemeth/Mythal kind of dies (?) in Solas's arms and Solas takes in her essence? It doesn't feel like Flemeth will be returning as herself in the future, at the very least, hence why Azula is sure she won't see Ursa again. Ursa is such a strange, gray character here because that's what Flemeth is like, but until the universe proves otherwise, I elect to believe that Flemeth's cruel treatment of Morrigan was actually a very twisted way of breaking her own cycle and setting her daughter free from the burden of inheriting Mythal directly... even if, by drinking from the Well of Sorrows, Morrigan is connected to Mythal all over again anyhow. Anyway. Well. I don't know what else is there to be said about this, but the point is Ursa's characterization wasn't so sketchy and strange for no reason, it's all because of the source material.

Regarding Dragon Age 2... I honestly wish I knew who to cast in the place of DA2's cast. I have a soft spot in my heart for most of the DA2 party characters, but unfortunately, I've already used soooo many ATLA and LOK characters, and finding some that correspond really well with the DA2 cast was so difficult it became virtually impossible. I actually thought June would be a perfect Isabela at first. I switched her to Hawke when I realized that I had no Hawke, and I NEEDED a Hawke for this story X'D my personal preference for Hawke is female Hawke too, which helped in that decision, but I couldn't possibly figure out who to turn into Merrill, Fenris, Aveline, let alone Anders (hence why he's not mentioned by name, I really have no idea who he'd be), and so, I chose to just reference a potential physical relationship between Hawke and Zevran (in this case, the old fandom-favorite obscure ship of Jet and June) rather than confirming a more traditional DA2 romance for this Hawke, since I just couldn't sort out who the rest of the DA2 cast would be. I didn't leave them so far out of the story because I wanted to, it's because I kiiind of had no choice, the shortage on characters rendered me helpless.

Regarding the Inquisitor... writing Inquisitor Korra Adaar made me happier than I imagined possible from writing that character. I thought about making her just a warrior, but I suppose she's a kind of physical mage, a warrior-mage hybrid of the sorts I don't think exist in this franchise. In her case, I didn't go all-out to confirm any DAI romances because I honestly didn't want to push a pairing for her, since it was also not exactly important for the story? Therefore, I left it up in the air. If you want to believe Korrasami happened, well, Josephine/Asami is certainly willing to be romanced by any Inquisitor, so that's a valid conclusion to reach X'D I suppose a case of the sort could be made for Mako/Cullen, but I realize Cullen isn't supposed to romance Qunari Inquisitors. Still, eh... it's up to whatever readers would like to imagine in the end, fic writers have been notorious for disregarding all of the canon preferences for characters anyway. Weirder things have been written in fandoms.

Anyway. I think that's basically all the notes I had to give for this particular chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed it!

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine the Ember Island Players creating a romance between you and Zuko which hits a little too close to home

You sat beside Katara and noticed how Zuko sat on the other side of her. Aang faltered, obviously wanting to sit there and you smirked as Zuko obliviously missed Aang’s look. Zuko had been with the group a few weeks now but his social skills still weren’t very good and you found it made for some very interesting interactions. His attempt at telling jokes alone made you smile every time you saw him for a full week afterwards and you found Zuko did a lot of things that amused you but apparently not so much the others. “I was going to sit there” Aang whined and Zuko shrugged “so? Just sit next to me”. Aang pouted and you laughed to yourself “here” you said standing up “take my seat Aang” and you moved so he could sit beside Katara. Katara was oblivious and you sat on the other side of Zuko chuckling at Aang’s blush. “What was that all about?” Zuko asked and you smiled “ow nothing you just almost ruined Aang’s evening”. Zuko frowned and went to ask what you meant when the lights dimmed so you knocked his arm shaking your head “i’ll tell you later now shhh”. Zuko folded his arm huffily but stopped talking. The play was wonderfully awful. As you hadn’t joined the gang straight away you knew you had time to just enjoy the first few acts and make fun of the way they portrayed all your friends. Plus what could they do to your character? You didn’t have any old flames like Katara or Sokka and you didn’t have an emotional backstory like Zuko or Aang. So you relaxed arms spread over the back of the bench and waited for *yourself* to make an appearance.

The second your actress walked on stage you knew it wouldn’t be good. They had your character all wrong! Your actress flirted with everyone and acted like a lovesick idiot. You didn’t think it could get much worse and then your character met Zuko’s.

“I’ll save you from the pirates” Zuko’s character purred to yours and you spluttered. “That...that wasn’t even me! That was Katara!” you whispered angrily. You looked to Zuko for confirmation who nodded “yeah I didn’t say that to you...and I certainly didn’t tie you up while staring at you like that”. “And I did not flirt with you like that either”. You both glared as your characters bonded and they actually invented Zuko letting you go voluntarily. As Zuko’s character stared off into the distance and said your name you heard Sokka and Suki wheezing from laughter while you simmered with anger and embarrassment. “I didn’t do that!” Zuko cried and you saw he was blushing vividly. That made you blush too and crossed your arms tightly “they better not stick with this theme”.

Of course they did. By the time act 3 had ended you and Zuko were living a star crossed lovers lifestyle in Ba Sing Sei. They again got you mixed up with Katara and said Azula kidnapped you to lure Zuko to the Earth King’s palace. The act ended with Zuko charging in to save you, offering his own life in exchange for yours, but Azula outmanoeuvred him and arrested him too. As the lights went up for intermission you and Zuko paused before exploding.

“That never even happened!”.

“I knew he was in Ba Sing Sei but we never went on a date”.

“Yeah that was a different girl”.

“And you did not fight with Jet over me”.

“I didn’t even know you knew Jet!” Zuko agreed and you both paused for air.

The gang all looked at each other before bursting into laughter. “What is so funny?” you cried and Sokka smiled. “We all know none of that stuff happened, we were there too remember?”. “Yeah so...can’t we rant?” you asked. “Well yeah but why get so mad about it? Are you trying to convince us or yourselves that the idea the two you flirted is so impossible?”. You and Zuko exploded again at the thought and Sokka and the others burst into laughter again. “All i’m saying is this is a lot of emotion to come from nowhere” Sokka smiled “now i’m going backstage so yell at each other or something” and he disappeared with Suki. Katara and Toph left for snacks and Aang went to the toilet leaving the two of you alone. “But i mean it is ridiculous” you muttered and Zuko nodded “utterly ridiculous”. “Sure we ended up together a few times” you shrugged “but that was completely by chance, it wasn’t like you were hyper-aware of me or vice versa”. “Yeah not at all” Zuko agreed but he wasn’t looking you in the eye for some reason. You stared at him confused and noticed his neck looked slightly red as if he was blushing. “Wait did you?” you asked suddenly “notice me more?”. Zuko looked up and he was indeed blushing deeply “what I....of course not! I never...I mean I did learn your name before anyone else’s but that’s because we spent that time together when I helped the pirates kidnap you and you wouldn’t shut up the whole night”. “Then why are you blushing so much?” you asked and Zuko shrugged “I don’t know I...it’s just them insinuating I like you. I’ve had it a lot”. “You have?” you asked amazed and Zuko nodded “when my uncle heard you’d seen me in Ba Sing Sei and that we’d reached a deal not to tell on one another he had this annoying smirk like i’d done it for any other reason besides the fact it was mutually beneficial. Then when I went back home Azula made it seem like me and you had a thing and Mai got jealous and started asking about you and I had to explain all our interactions and it was very awkward...she wanted me to reassure her by putting you down and making the idea seem impossible but I must have failed because she didn’t believe me. So I guess that’s why it makes me feel weird, everyone keeps telling me I act differently with you and I suppose I do but I have no idea if that’s because everyone keeps saying it or if I always have”. You nodded your head but were unsure what to say. “Well which one do you think it is?” you asked eventually and Zuko paused “what?”. “If you had to guess, would you say you act differently around me because of what people say about us or have you just always acted that way”. Zuko thought, staring at the ground and basically anywhere but at you, “i’m not sure but I guess maybe the second? They must have got it from somewhere I suppose”. “The second?” you asked surprised and Zuko’s blush returned vividly “I’m only guessing, I honestly don’t know”. You nodded your head and went to speak when the others returned which stopped you right in your tracks.  

The second half of the play began of course with you and Zuko reuniting in the prison under Ba Sing Sei. You and Zuko did end up there together but you definitely did less staring at one another. You rolled your eyes as your characters began to passionately speak to one another stepping closer and closer. They finally reached one another and you laughed when your character began yelling at Zuko’s. “Ha maybe they got some things right!” you whispered to Zuko who nodded “you did yell at me a lot”. You smirked and went to apologise when Zuko’s character kissed yours. You and Zuko abruptly shot away from each other. “That is not even close to what happened!” you cried at the others who were all laughing. Zuko nodded “this is just slander! They didn’t even bother to try to get our characters right and anyone with half a brain would realise that!”. Someone shushed Zuko and he glared “shush yourself” he cried before storming from the room. He didn’t return for the rest of the play and honestly you thought that was probably wise. It got worse and worse. They still kept in Zuko’s betrayal of Iroh but changed it making you at the centre of Zuko’s struggle. He chose the crown and they made you react dramatically (even getting a love ballad moment). They then skipped forwards to Zuko at the palace, who got his own song when he realised he’d made the wrong choice. Your characters reunited not long after and promptly confessed their love for one another. Then you were both murdered by Ozai very much in line with the tragic forbidden lovers style.

“I mean I’m just glad she’s dead” you shrugged on your way out “anything to end that romance”. The others smirked when Aang paused “do you think Zuko went back home to the villa?” looking around for the angry fire prince. “No he knows we don’t know this place well, he’s probably just sat outside somewhere” you replied looking around but you couldn’t see him brooding anywhere either. When you walked out the front door and still didn’t spot him Aang frowned “okay everyone split up and look for him, meet back here in five minutes”.

You returned five minutes later to see Katara, Suki, Sokka and Toph all hadn’t found him either. “I wonder where he is” Katara frowned and you shrugged “he’ll be fine, that boy has nine lives”. “He didn’t in that play” Toph commented and you nodded. “True but that play was a mess and there’s one thing I still can’t get over. Zuko said his family and friends thought he liked me that’s where his side of this rumour started but in the play they acted like I encouraged him! Where on earth did they get that idea?”. The group all went quiet and you paused “what?”. “Well...I mean you kinda do encourage him” Sokka frowned and your jaw dropped “I DO NOT! When have I ever...”. “When we got kidnapped by the pirates you teased Zuko constantly and refused to be quiet until he spoke to you” Katara pointed out. “Yes but that was to annoy him not flirt with him!”. “Okay how about when June asked if you were his girlfriend and you replied he wishes instead of no?”. “I was joking” you shrugged and Toph smirked “or how about when I was sneaking out to see Zuko at the Western Air Temple and found you already on your way to see him? What were you popping in to see Zuko for huh y/n? Nice date by the campfire?”. “I was doing the same thing as you! I was going to see if he would tell the truth and given that I knew him best I thought I....”. The gang all erupted and you paused “what?”. “You know him best?” Sokka asked smirking and you nodded “that doesn’t mean anything it’s a fact”. “Ow is it?” Sokka asked and you nodded “It is! Fine if I don’t know him best what was his fake name in Ba Sing Sei?”. Everyone went quiet and you nodded “or how about how long ago he was banished from the fire nation? Better yet just tell me his parent’s names!” you cried. When nobody replied you smirked folding your arms victoriously “told you I know him best”. “Yeah you’ve definitely proved how much you know about Zuko” Suki smirked looking past you. You frowned before you heard someone behind you. You turned to see Aang had found Zuko and by the look on his face he’d heard everything. You blushed and looked down “Zuko we were...”. “Having a competition to see who knows me best?” Zuko asked mildly amused and you paused “well sort of...Sokka started it”. “No I didn’t” Sokka retorted “you declared you knew Zuko the best and when I asked if you were sure you started spouting your favourite facts about him”. “They’re not my favourite facts about him” you snapped and Sokka’s smirk just grew “whatever y/n” and he turned leading the way home. The others all followed and purposefully made it so you and Zuko were at the back. “Why were you talking about me anyway?” Zuko asked and you paused “ow nothing I was just er...trying to work out why the Ember Island Players thought I had a thing for you but the gang was not helpful”. “They couldn’t think of a reason?” Zuko asked innocently and you frowned “no they could actually think of lots of reasons, it appears similar to your family they were also under the impression I held a flame for you as it were”. “Ow really?” Zuko asked. He kept his voice flat but you could swear he was smirking slightly. “Stop enjoying this” you whined pushing him “it’s not funny, it’s embarrassing”. “Liking me is embarrassing?” Zuko asked and you paused “no I didn’t mean that, I just meant having all your friends claim you like someone when you can’t see it”. “You really can’t see where they’re coming from?” Zuko asked and you shook your head “nope not at all”. Zuko looked away and you frowned “I saw that, what did that look mean?”. “Nothing...” Zuko trailed off but you sighed grabbing him by the arm to make him look at you “I’m sick of everyone saying things about me for once just say it to my face!”. Zuko sighed “fine, I just think i’ve been honest with you but you’re not being honest with yourself”. “Not being honest?”. Zuko nodded “Yes, I admitted I could see where my family were coming from and how the rumours started but you’re acting as if they plucked them out of thin air!”. “Well maybe they did! I don’t see how any of our interactions could be interpreted as romantic”. Zuko didn’t look convinced. “You don’t think there’s some truth to what the Ember Island Players said? That maybe there is something here?” Zuko asked gesturing to the small gap between you. “No of course not! Do you?”. “No” Zuko yelled back and you nodded “fine! You are the most infuriating...” you started when Zuko grabbed you kissing you. You initially tensed at the sensation but soon melted into it. Zuko seemed to be trying to prove a point by kissing you passionately and not wanting him to win you kissed him back matching his intensity. Finally Zuko pulled away for air and stared at you “still not want to admit there’s something here?”. You stared at Zuko torn between admitting he was right and your pride. You were annoyed, frustrated, excited and exhilarated all at once. You were breathing rapidly, your cheeks bright red as were Zuko’s and neither of you made to move away. “I...” you started eventually “that was a good kiss”. Zuko nodded, his frustration melting away “it was, I enjoyed it...I’ve been wondering what it would feel like to kiss you for a while now”. “You have?” you asked and Zuko nodded “as annoying as it is to admit my family and friends were right, I like you and I have for a while”. You smiled despite yourself at how adorable Zuko looked all bashful and embarrassed. “I tried ignoring it for a while but then when I joined the group your friends all saw it straight away. Then tonight...the play was bad but I was frustrated that everyone seemed to see it apart from you the person I actually wanted to see it...you”. You looked down wondering how to reply “I’m sorry I bet that was really frustrating”. Zuko nodded “It was and I figured this was just one-sided but that...did you feel it too?”. Zuko looked so unsure and unlike himself it was endearing and gave you confidence. “Yes” you said shakily “after that kiss I can tell you it is definitely not one-sided. I like you too Zuko and probably have since the start”. “Probably?” Zuko asked and you sighed “I’m not good with my emotions, I can be oblivious to them so I can’t with certainty tell you it’s been going on as long as the play made it out to be but I know I like you. Right now in this moment...I hope that’s enough, I know it’s a shit confession and you probably wanted something more solid but I...”. Zuko began laughing and you paused “what’s so funny?”. “Something more solid? Y/n I’m on the run from the Firelord who is my father, my sister is hunting me to kill me and I could very likely be imprisoned for the rest of my life if Aang fails and that’s if i’m lucky...I’m not even sure if I have a future so trust me all I need is the present. To know in this moment right here you like me back” Zuko blushed but he stepped closer and took your hands “that’s more than enough for me”. “It is?” you asked and Zuko nodded “yes and if by some chance it becomes more long-term I’ll be very happy but for now I just want to enjoy this time with you”. You smiled and leant in to kiss Zuko again when someone coughed. “Hey what are you two doing?” Sokka called. Apparently the others had finally realised the two of you were no longer with the group and walked back to find the two of you as you currently were. Luckily it was dark so you moved away from Zuko but still held his hand. “Yeah we thought you’d gotten lost are you okay?” Katara called. Zuko sighed and you smirked at his expression. “We’re fine” you smiled “we were just talking and Zuko’s going to show me this beach he went to a lot as a kid”. Zuko’s eyes shot up to yours and he smiled. “You are?” Aang asked and Zuko nodded “yep, it’s not far from here so we won’t be long. You guys head back to the villa and we’ll meet you there” and with that Zuko tugged you away from the others. You smiled at Zuko and he smiled back at you “quick thinking, I didn’t think we’d get out of there so easily”. “You can thank me later” you replied when you heard Sokka gasp “wait are they holding hands? Y/n are you holding hands?”. “Run!” Zuko cried and you laughed but did as he said. You kept running even after Sokka’s voice trailed off and only stopped when you reached a sandy beach. You both collapsed on the ground and you turned to look at Zuko “did you know this was here or did you get lucky?”. “Totally the former” he smiled and you shook your head “you’re lucky I like you”. “I really am” Zuko agreed and he stared at your face tenderly. His fingers brushed your cheek and you smiled “what are you waiting for?”. “I have no idea” Zuko admitted and he leant in to reclaim the lost kiss from earlier. This time you weren’t interrupted.

[aerequets]

Know it's a weird question, but I'm genuinely curious! What shows do you watch? From, I watch every day, to I watch when I'm remembering a sad scene from it, if you don't mind?

OOOH an interesting ask! admittedly i don't watch a lot of shows, but there are a few that i really like!

(these are in no particular order, just as i remember them)

1) Shadow and Bone

this is a fantasy series; the first season doesn't have much romance but features a great cast and follows 2 storylines: one for Alina and one for the crows. this is mostly for people who have read either the Shadow and Bone or Six of Crows series (or both), and since I read all those books before watching this show I can't tell you what it would be like to watch it as someone who doesn't already know the universe. BUT the books are my absolute favorite and i love LOVE LOVE the characters sm. it's on netflix and it recently came out (like late April i think?) and it's already been renewed for season 2 since it was so crazy popular!

2) Camp Camp

WARNING: this looks like a kid's show. IT IS NOT A KID'S SHOW. yes, the main characters are 10 year olds at a summer camp, but still. do not be fooled by the cutesy animation either. you'll see like, a minute into episode 1 that it's definitely for older audiences. it's so funny though and the character development rocks! and found family. who doesn't love found family? there are 4 seasons so far and the first 3, as far as i know, are for free on youtube. i watched all 4 seasons for free on the roosterteeth website (with adblock. apparently there's a ton of ads)

3) The Good Place

man this show is so good. if i was ranking the shows this would probably be #1... I think? i'm indecisive but hhhhhh i love it sm ok? amazing cast, i LOVE the world, the storyline doesn't drag out, it's seriously philosophical too. so many good lines from this show. just whole good episodes. i love tahani so much and AAGHHH i should rewatch this. basically our 4 main characters have died and they're in heaven... or are they?

4) The Dragon Prince

fun fact, i watched this before i watched ATLA! it's usually the other way around for most people because this show is lead by some of the same people who made ATLA, so some of the fandom transferred. it's another fantasy cartoon series (this time kids can watch LOL) and there are 3 seasons so far. i love the art and the soundtracks, and the messages throughout about prejudice and war. lots of people had issues with clunky animation in the 1st season (which, now that i rewatch, i can't believe i didn't notice it before) but it gets better and honestly, the art is pretty enough that it wasn't a dealbreaker for me. it features ATLA references and the main dude is voiced by sokka's VA, so if that matters to you...

5) Fairy Tail

ok, hear me out. i know this is kind of a train wreck but this was my THING in middle school before i got into mlb. it's rife with fanservice, plot holes and a bunch of deus-ex-machinas but it holds a special place in my heart. (probably solely because i was into it as a young kid.) BUT i still really like parts of the worldbuilding here, and when it gets emotional Oh Boy is it emotional. i also found the art pretty and tried to replicate it for an embarrassingly long time. oh well. realizing i have not yet given a summary, fairy tail is another fantasy and it's about a magic wizard's guild called - drum roll please - Fairy Tail. who would have guessed?

6) Nailed It!

does this count? LMAOOOOOOO it's so different but i just love watching people fail at making baked goods. (if you don't know, they bring inept bakers to try and replicate super difficult baked goods in very limited time. great chaotic energy)

this got kinda long! like i said i don't watch a lot, so there's only 6 recs and they're all pretty different from each other. i would probably have more anime on this list if i hadn't stopped watching after middle school, but some titles i can think of off the top of my head that i enjoyed are Soul Eater, Noragami, OHSHC, Akagami no Shirayukihime.

now if you asked me about WEBTOONS i would give you a butt-ton of recs. but this isn't about that <3

[xaibaugrove]

Everyone in the Krew is Problematic

I was inspired to go on this rant by someone who recently brought up a question in a server I’m in, asking why so many people in the fandom seem to hate Mako and Makorra and why. This wouldn’t be the first time I defend Mako and it most likely won’t be the last, but it might be the first time I tear him and everyone else in the Krew down in the process, only to bring them back up. Hear me out though.

I think I’ve totally accepted that a lot of people in this fandom will always hate Mako and that I will have to perpetually defend him, I understand that this is the relationship I’ve chosen with this world. But what I still will never understand are the reasons why people hate/dislike him because compared to how much they love other characters in the Krew who honestly aren’t that much better than him (in some cases, even worse!), it doesn’t make any sense.

Let me also preface this by saying, I love these characters with all my heart and soul, probably more than I should love fictional characters, but this is the life I live and with that being said, I am going to tear them apart just to prove a point. Okay, here we go.

MAKO

Most of his detractors list the usual criticisms, which are valid when isolated. He cheated on Asami, he lied to Korra, he was a terrible boyfriend and essentially he treated the women he claimed to love or care about horribly. Gee, it’s almost like the man was a teenager with no experience in having long-lasting, healthy relationships and was raised in the streets by gangmembers while doing anything to survive and provide for his younger sibling after seeing his parents killed right in front of him and suddenly being orphaned…

I think Mako has been torn down enough, so I won’t get too deep into the tearing down part for him. It really does baffle me how someone can claim to be woke and not comprehend how someone coming from poverty could possibly be a product of their environment. Like, does everyone think that poor people automatically have hearts of gold and turn out like Little Orphan Annie? Why are people surprised that when someone has a shitty life, they might do shitty things?

Also, sooo many people love Zuko, who actively tried to cause harm to Aang, Katara and Sokka numerous times, and sympathize with his troubled past. But like, sure Zuko had an abusive father and his mother peaced out of his life for whatever reasons but at least he had his uncle. Mako had his parents for maybe 8 years before they were murdered in front of him and then had...no one for the next 10 years? Except for Bolin, sure, but no other parental figure in his life. Dude literally had to become him and his brother’s own parent and joined a gang to survive, and after all that, the worst he does is acts as a bad boyfriend toward Korra and Asami and he is instantly thrown to the wolves. Something doesn’t add up. It’s just...I don’t get it.

Yes, the way he treated people was bad, but people can grow? That’s a thing humans can do. And he was a teenager, my god. No, we cannot allow our past to be an excuse for how we treat others, but we have to be aware that there is a growth process to being human. And being human in and of itself, isn’t pretty. You think Mako is problematic? Don’t get me started on your fave.

KORRA

Ok, I love this woman to death but she is ridiculously problematic. She pursued someone in a relationship and essentially forced Mako to cheat on Asami by kissing him against his will, that’s already pretty awful and shows a lack of empathy on her part, also kissing people without their consent is no bueno. But also I just have to say it for the people who might not know this. One of the fundamental reasons why Makorra didn’t work was because KORRA WAS ABUSIVE. Okay? It wasn’t just that Mako was inadequate at relationships and didn’t know how to people, it wasn’t that she was secretly confused and wanting Asami the entire time (biphobia at it’s best) one of the main problems in the pairing was that Korra was crazy abusive towards Mako. Seriously, why don’t I see this more often in those discussions??

If we need examples, I have dozens. Honestly, it’s really easy to see how terrible Korra was to Mako, I’d actually argue that she treated him worse than he treated her. I mean, they were both terrible to one another, but in Korra’s case she went through the motions of being completely infatuated with your first teenage crush, getting with said crush, then crashing and burning once you realize that you have no idea how to treat a romantic partner so after the butterflies wear off you subject them to all the wonderful aspects of your anger issues. Not only did she scream at Mako during every argument they had, she also threatened him with bodily harm if she got really angry. Remember how their relationship crashed and burned in Book 2? Here are the things that Korra did during that time. Let me reiterate, this was not okay.

Mako is visibly shaken by this!

This woman burst into her boyfriend’s place of work and violently kicked his desk out from in front of him with all his coworkers present. That is not normal behavior. That is a red flag. And after she came back, had amnesia or whatever and forgot they broke up after that scene, let’s not forget that Mako was legitimately Afraid to break up with her again. Korra made her partner frightened that they might suffer bodily harm if they upset her. Again, and I can’t stress this enough, this is not okay!

The little scene in Book 3 when Korra is lifting Mako like 100 feet off the ground with airbending while he’s screaming in fear just to make Asami laugh is cute, right? I’ll admit, I loved that little moment too, it’s one of the only instances of Korrasami development that we got, but also, there were sooo many things wrong with that scene lol. Not only does Korra terrify Mako for literally no reason, it’s also sort of just her continuing to exercise some degree of power over him for her own amusement. Almost like a subtle reminder to him saying, “I am stronger than you in every way and I can break your femur like a twig if I wanted to… but I won’t, so look how much fun we’re having!”

Now of course, there are reasons why Korra acts like this. She was isolated for almost her entire life and never learned how to treat people and be around people. The Avatar is human because they must live amongst the people they protect and that helps them develop empathy and cherish life. The White Lotus deprived her of that fundamental aspect of her duty as the Avatar and it showed throughout the beginning of the series. Clearly, she was young, didn’t see how her actions could negatively affect others and hurt the feelings of not just her partner but also friends and family (she was really awful towards a lot of people in her life!). But as the series went on, we see her having less outbursts and learning to control her temper more.

One can only assume that she does not have the same behavior with Asami because for one, I don’t think Asami would play that shit, she seems like she would electrocute a bitch in a heartbeat and not hesitate if needed, but also Korra is not the same shitty partner she used to be as a teenager. Again, kids do stupid things. Adults do stupid things. And we learn and we grow. Korra will probably make some more mistakes in her relationship with Asami. I don't think anyone can have one bad relationship and suddenly learn all the lessons they can from it and have a perfect one the next go around. I can totally picture Korra losing her temper and raising her voice at Asami if she gets frustrated and forgets who she’s dealing with. Managing anger issues is hard, I know this from experience, and it doesn’t magically get easier. Of course, if Korra does pop off, Asami would definitely put her in her place because she’s a bad bitch who doesn’t take anyone’s shit, next character.

ASAMI

You know her, you love her, you fantasize about her and you probably have her on your list of fictional characters you would totally bang if you had the chance (I know I do), yes, even your best girl is problematic. It’s interesting to me that a lot of people sympathize with Asami and very few openly criticize her (so few that I’ve never seen anyone say a bad thing about her). What’s there to criticize though? The poor girl was cheated on by Mako, had her feelings disregarded by Korra, who claimed to be her friend but pursued her then-boyfriend behind her back and then made up for it by simping for her for the rest of her life? Also her mom was murdered when she was just 6 years old, her father threatened to kill her once and physically abused her, then died right after they started repairing their relationship, essentially making her an orphan at the ripe age of 22. Suffice it to say, Asami has been through it.

So, how could she be problematic, you ask? Why, of course, through the classic Bryke technique of romance progression in storylines called Kissing People Without Their Consent

To be honest, I did gloss over this with Korra, simply because there were sooo many other issues with that woman and I just couldn’t go through every single one in as much detail but that doesn’t negate how serious this whole sneak attack kissing thing is. Sure, Asami is very emotional and lonely and sort of desperate too, (it's a little sad, really) but Mako is clearly uncomfortable and completely caught off guard by the kiss. This is also the second time this happens to him in the series! There are a couple factors that might contribute to why Asami does this and acts this way, maybe Korra’s general awfulness rubbed off on her (don’t make a dirty joke) but this is still wrong.

AND that’s...pretty much it. Kissing people without their permission is a big no no, though. Not wanting to gloss over that, but Asami really is a good person who just did a not-so-great thing. Getting burned by Mako twice probably made her a little less inclined to be as forward with anyone though, and it looks like she now takes her time and is patient in her relationship with Korra. It even seems like Asami is the only person Korra is afraid to upset, as Korra does seem more gentle and calm when around her. And who knows? Maybe Asami living a life where a majority of the time she got whatever she wanted when she wanted it might have also influenced her to be more assertive or even imposing within her relationships.

If anything, those three fools getting into relationships with each other just showed how not ready they were to be in relationships in the first place and also how not okay they were.

BOLIN

Originally I titled this as “Everyone in the Krew is problematic (except Bolin)” but then I remembered that Bolin totally kissed a woman without her consent so I deleted the shit out of that!

This asshole looks genuinely pleased with himself after essentially assaulting Ginger. Not a good look.

Sure, Bolin is baby. He will always be baby to me. But that does not erase the fact that he also actively supported a fascist dictator. Not only was the kissing without consent thing bad, but there’s also that. No matter how many times people around him warned him about the fact that he was on the wrong side of things, that he was helping someone who was putting people into concentration camps...Bolin wanted to believe the best of Kuvira. He ignored obvious signs that the woman was a dictator committing human rights violations like crazy and you know, there’s gotta be a reason for that too.

Maybe Bolin wanted to feel like he was doing something good for once. When you think about it, with his role as the comic relief in the Krew, and sort of constantly being infantilized by his older brother, I wouldn’t be surprised if the man developed some insecurity in his ability to do anything good or useful for anyone without screwing it up in some way. In Kuvira’s army, it seemed like he was actually taken seriously, he felt like he was doing something that mattered. Korra had being the Avatar, Asami had her business and mindblowing philanthropy (honestly, her ability to be as charitable as she is profitable is insane) and Mako had his police work (ACAB, tho). Bolin had...the role of being a joke. A superficial actor. A former pro-bending meathead.

Bolin lived his entire life following after his brother that once they were adults and Mako finally decided to live his own life for once, it left Bolin completely lost. And lost young men are perfect recruits for fascists.

So, in conclusion, my whole reasoning behind destroying the integrity of my favorite characters is to prove a huge point. All of these characters are problematic. They have flaws, some bigger than others (looking at you, Korra. Just...wow), but ultimately, even if your fave is problematic... that’s okay. A lot of people, mostly younger people it seems, are really obsessed with being right about everything that they do and stan. And that’s a wonderful thing, so much change has come about by the younger generations calling out people who do fucked up shit, don’t want or try to improve, and get away with it. But it’s also caused a lot of people to be unforgiving and completely unwilling to acknowledge when people do improve and try to be better.

Personally, I love my problematic Krew because having issues that you’re constantly working on internally is human. It’s human to make mistakes, it’s human to grow from those mistakes. And it’s inspiring to me, who is wholly imperfect, to see myself reflected in fictional characters who aren’t perpetuating unrealistic ideals of human nature, characters who are messy, crazy and ultimately human.

As one of my favorite manga artists and queen of impeccable character creation Rumiko Takahashi once said:

“I think that perfect people are not very interesting.”

And I will always wholeheartedly agree.

[the-badger-mole]

Can you write a short story with a jealous Zuko?

PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE

Zuko was used to being overshadowed. By Azula; by Lu Ten; by Avatar Aang. It still often annoyed him to know that the most he could aim for was second best to someone else, no matter where he was. But he never minded when it came to Katara. Give her enough time, Zuko often told himself, and she could bring the entire world to its knees. She'd saved his life in more ways than he could count. She had saved them all, and there would never be enough people singing her praises as far as Zuko was concerned. She stood out no matter where she was. Even in spaces where the Fire Lord should have been the center of attention, Zuko knew he didn't stand a chance when Master Katara entered the room.

It should have annoyed him, Zuko thought, but it didn't. She was sunshine, for all she was a child of Water, and she drew everyone towards her like plants reaching up for Agni's rays. When she laughed, it filled the room- a bit too loud to be polite, but too infectious to really be upset over. She talked with high-ranking nobles with passion, leaving them stunned at her knowledge and convictions- this woman who was barely not a child anymore. She had earned the grudging respect of Zuko's council, which even he hadn't succeeded in doing. He should be jealous, but he watched Katara make her way around the room with pride. Maybe he wasn't as eloquent or magnetic as Katara, but he was her friend. He knew her in a way few- if any- in that room would ever know her.

Someone- Iroh, Zuko guessed- had signaled for the band to start playing. Business was done for the day. Soon the crowd had reshuffled itself, and couples began making their way to the dance floor while everyone else made their way to the buffet tables lining one end of the hall. Katara met Zuko's eyes across the room, and with a warm smile, made her way over to him. She seemed to glow supernaturally. Zuko cast a surreptitious glance to see if some prankster had aimed a spotlight on her. Was it just Zuko? How was no one else being blinded by the way the light reflected off her smile? Her hair? Her skin? Zuko swallowed hard, trying to unstick his tongue from the roof of his suddenly dry mouth.

Katara's smile widened and she opened her mouth to greet him.

"Excuse...um...p-pardon me." Katara turned in surprise to the young man who had approached her. Zuko recognized him vaguely, and he scrambled to place a name. Katara spared him the ordeal of guessing.

"Lord Jee-Soo," she smiled politely at King Kuei's cousin, though Zuko could see an odd tightness in the corners of Katara's eyes. Jee Soo, however, did not notice. His face was tinged pink and he leaned forward in a stiff, formal bow.

"I-I hope I'm not disturbing you," he said. "I was hoping that...that maybe you...er, that is...would you grant me the honor of a dance."

Zuko froze. A shock went down his spine as if someone had walked across a carpet and touched his skin. Katara gaped at him in surprise. Her cheeks flushed a pretty dusky red. Jee Soo smiled at her, nervous and hopeful. She cast a glance at Zuko, trying to communicate... something.

"Oh!" Katara gasped. "Well... I was just going to..." She cast another look at Zuko before she shrugged and smiled at Jee Soo. "Um... sure, I'd love to."

Zuko watched silently as Jee Soo wrapped a clammy-looking hand around Katara's and led her out to the dance floor. His hand squeezed his punch cup dangerously tight as Jee Soo slid his arm around Katara's waist and pulled her as close as propriety would allow. His breath caught in his throat as the young Earth Kingdom noble said something that caused Katara's nose to crinkle in amusement.

"Take care, Fire Lord Zuko," Iroh sidled up to his nephew, with an affable smile and a knowing gleam in his eye. "Someone might think there's trouble between the Fire Nation and Ba Sing Se the way you're glaring at young Lord Jee Soo."

"I'm not glaring!" Zuko insisted hotly. Still, he turned his scowl on his uncle instead.

"She would have danced with you if you'd asked," Iroh told him. "I'm sure she still would."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zuko grumbled.

"Oh no?" Iroh tried unsuccessfully to hide his amusement. "My mistake. It's been a long time since I was young and in love. Perhaps I don't remember the signs as well as I thought."

"Perhaps not!" Zuko knew he was being peevish, but his uncle was overstepping. Zuko had admitted to having a small crush on Katara years ago, and Iroh had never forgotten, even though Zuko had gotten over her a long time ago. She was dating one of his best friends at the time.

But not anymore.

The traitorous, smug voice in his head sounded annoyingly like his uncle. It was true that Katara had broken up with Aang, but it made no difference. Even if he wasn't over Katara- and he was over her- she and Aang hadn't split on the best of terms. It wouldn't be fair to either of his friends for Zuko to insert himself in the middle of that.

On the dance floor, Jee Soo seemed to have gained some confidence. He twirled and spun Katara with expert ease. If Katara had been hesitant to dance with him before, she seemed happy enough now. Her eyes were bright and her face pink with the exertion of the dance. She was having a good time, and Jee Soo gazed at her as if half in love already.

Zuko could dance. He could dance at least as well as Jee Soo. Others may outshine him in literally every other part of his life, but Zuko's mastery of dance was part of what made the Blue Spirit so deadly. Maybe he could challenge Jee Soo to a friendly competition. Katara could be the judge. Maybe the first prize could be a kiss...

Zuko shook his head. Dangerous territory. She was just coming out of a serious relationship. With one of his best friends. True they had broken up almost a year ago. Also true that Aang hadn't been in close contact with any of them since the breakup. And there was speculation that things had ended because Aang had cheated. But Zuko didn't know that for sure. No one knew for sure except Katara and Aang. Suki probably had more of the story, which Toph probably bullied out of her. And Sokka at least suspected if his coldness towards Aang at the last summit was any indication.

Dangerous territory. Friends don't go after a friend's exes. Even if you happened to have had a thing for said ex before your friend started dating them. Even if that ex was also your best friend.

Jee Soo dipped Katara, causing her to let out a nervous, but giddy laugh. Her hands clutched at Jee Soo tightly, to keep herself steady, but as a result, they were much closer than they started at the beginning of the dance. Jee Soo's face lit up with a grin as he did it again. And again. And again.

Didn't this guy know any other moves? Katara was going to catch on to him, and she would be annoyed. Wouldn't she? Zuko knew she'd been out with a couple of other guys since the breakup. Nothing serious, though, Suki had informed him. No one who lasted more than a month. Still, Zuko wasn't sure what her type was anymore. Jee Soo reminded Zuko a bit of Aang, but just because Katara had dated Aang for three years doesn't mean he was her type. Maybe she was into quieter guys who got way too deep in their own heads and overthought hypothetical situations until they lost entire nights of sleep worrying about problems that didn't actually exist. Yeah...for sure that's what Katara would find attractive.

How long was this song, Zuko wondered. Jee Soo was dipping Katara again, though she seemed to be getting tired of it. Her smile was that polite, tight smile that she'd given him earlier when she wasn't sure she wanted him to interrupt her. Zuko saw her say something to him, probably asking him to keep her upright for a while. Jee Soo laughed and shook his head and said something teasing as he pulled her closer. Katara's smile fell away completely, and Zuko saw she was getting mad. He was halfway across the dance floor before he'd even realized he was going to go over. He was ready to yank Jee Soo away, and if necessary, deck the creep for not respecting Katara's reasonable wish. But before he got to them, Jee Soo had stepped away with a deep, embarrassed blush on his face.

"I'm so sorry," Jee Soo was saying as Zuko got closer. "Honestly, I was just trying to...well, I didn't mean to upset you or offend you."

"It's alright, Jee Soo," Katara said patiently. Her smile was back in place. The song ended, finally, and another one started up.

"Would you...like to dance again?" Jee Soo asked.

"I'm a bit tired," Katara begged off. "But I'll bet Kimiko would love you to ask her. Don't say I told you, but she's been checking you out." That didn't seem to soothe Jee Soo's disappointment, but he accepted the rejection graciously enough.

"Seems like you had fun," Zuko said. Katara sighed tiredly and slipped her arm through his.

"I thought the song would never end!" she groaned. "It was like dancing with Aang. Fun for the first minute, but he was doing way too much. All the dipping gave me vertigo." Zuko heard that with interest.

"I didn't realize you weren't having fun," he tried to keep his voice even as he led them away from the dance floor over to the punch table. "I would have come rescue you if I'd realized. We should come up with some sort of sign when you want me to cut in."

"You never dance at these things," Katara pointed out.

"I'd make an exception for you." Zuko blushed and scrambled to cover. "I mean, I'd do it if it saved you from some over-eager guy who can't take a hint."

"My hero." Katara scrunched her nose up at Zuko and leaned against him. It was adorable! Zuko had to bite the inside of his lip to keep from grinning.

"Actually..." Katara said slowly. "I was coming over to ask you to dance before Jee Soo interrupted."

"Really?" Zuko's voice hit an octave it hadn't hit since he was fourteen and his voice was still dropping. He cleared his throat, trying to ignore the fact that Katara was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Yeah," she nodded her head. "I know you don't really like dancing, but maybe you can preemptively cut in for me? Someone told me that Lord Hino's son wanted to ask me for a dance." Zuko grimaced. Lord Hino was one of his most trusted advisors, but his son was a famous klutz with two left feet. No woman left the dance floor without bruised feet when she danced with him.

"You told Jee Soo you were tired," Zuko reminded her. Why, he yelled internally, would he say that? Fortunately, Katara just shrugged and looked up at him coyly from the corner of her eye.

"I'd make an exception for you," she said quietly. Zuko froze midstep. Katara looked up at him in alarm. There was a spectacular blush rising from her neck towards her hairline, and a panicked retraction already on her lips. Zuko turned to her and took her hand. Then in a move that would have pleased every last one of his etiquette tutors and his uncle, if he was watching, Zuko bowed elegantly and brushed a feathery light kiss on Katara's fingertips. He lifted his gaze with an impish grin.

"I would be honored," he said, "to have this dance." Katara nodded speechlessly and allowed Zuko to lead her out to the dance floor again.

Zuko was used to being overshadowed. He wasn't the most powerful bender, or the most charismatic leader. He wasn't the most handsome man or the most eloquent. But there on the dancefloor, with the most beautiful woman in at the ball in his arms, he knew that no one could match him for dancing. Katara seemed to agree because she accepted his request for another dance. And another. And another...