#it isn't until zuko even mentions it that she remembers

[pineapple-frenzy]

Book 2 au: sparring sessions and short hair katara

They like to have sparring sessions in order to keep their bending skills sharp. They allow themselves to go all out and not hold back at all cause they know if anyone got hurt, Katara could just heal them

But anyways, wouldn't it be kinda funny if Zuko accidentally burned Katara's hair tho? Aofkqldkkajfjd

The "I think we can save the hairloops" line is from @linnoya-writes thank you for that!! :>>

[starlight-bread-blog]

Ember Island Players and Zutara

Two approaches to analyzing literature are Doylist and Watsonian: Warsonian is about analyzing from an in-universe perspective, Doylist is about analyzing out-of-universe perspective.

For example: Why did the Gaang arrive at the swamp?

Watsonian: Because a hurricane made them crash.

Doylist: Because the writers wanted to explore the world & characters, foreshadow Toph, introduce plant benders, etc.

This analysis will be from a Doylist perspective. Meaning, I don't intend to prove Katara secretly canonically loved Zuko. She is a fictional character, she'll love whoever the writers want her to love. And the writers said she loved 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀. What I do intend to do is to show how the writing alluded to Zuko standing in 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀's way to being with Katara.

With that out of the way, let's dive right in!

At the beginning of the episode, when they sit down to watch the play, Zuko and 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 share this exchange:

If you didn't catch that, look at Katara:

This is a classic romance trope, typically used for female characters, to signify romantic feelings/a crush. But what is it doing here, when Zuko sits next to Katara instead of 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀? What is this interaction doing here in the first place?

When an episode aims to explore an aspact of the characters, it will remind the audience of it in the beginning. In The Waterbending Scroll, Katara steals a waterbending scroll and gets insecure about her waterbending. The episode opens with the Katara teaching 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 waterbending and getting insecure. In this instance, they want you to keep in mind the dynamic where... Zuko is in the way of 𝖪𝖺𝗍𝖺𝖺𝗇𝗀? (That's without mentioning what Katara's doing with her hair). That is strange.

Moving on to the play – See the joke about Katara's characterization in the play:

The point of Ember Island Players is while the play is heavily distorted, it is somewhat based on reality. It's funny and even gets under the character's skin sometimes because it shows them a parody of themselves. (Further evidence).

When we get to the the scene between Zuko and Katara in the Crystal Catacombs, for some reason, it's portrayed as some romantic moment.

Acknowledging a fan pairing in canon from is always out of the blue/baity from the get-go. I cannot recall a time when another show that did this. Here however, it's under the premise of somewhat founded parody. Which begs the question:

(Side note: There's been debate over Katara and Zuko moving away from each other. It's common for eventual romantic leads to deny attraction. It could be contextualized that way later and audiences aren't trained to rule out the pairing. The meaning is dereminted by the outcome).

Despite that, Katara and Zuko aren't in love. Everyone knows this, right?

𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 is jealous. Jealous to the point where he gets up and leaves the theater. The thing that kicks off the conflict of 𝖪𝖺𝗍𝖺𝖺𝗇𝗀 is... Zutara?

Speaking of the conflict, I won't dwell on it too much, but the events were the following: 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 adressed the kiss they shared in the invasion, a kiss that went unaddressed for 5 episodes. Katara is unable to commit to an answer. Her lines, isolated:

"𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀, I don't know" // "This isn't the right time" // "Right now, I'm just a little confused".

Until he kisses her once again.

And realistically, she doesn't take it well. Many girls use this language to reject gently. This is purposely written to suggest that they might not end up together. All of which is kicked off because of Zutara. Remember the beginning: Zuko is in the way of 𝖪𝖺𝗍𝖺𝖺𝗇𝗀.

When 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 is back in the theater, he's concerned about his future with Katara. It is showcased with this shot:

𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 isn't angry at Zutara here, so why is Zuko in the shot? A director storyboarded this, it was planned. They could have easily leave him out of it and it would convey the message better. Leaving him here implies that he is somehow related to the conflict, That Aang is worried about them, while both of those things aren't true.

𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 not being able to sit next to Katara isn't ship baiting. 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 getting angry at actress!Katara not returning his feelings isn't ship baiting. Katara herself being unable to immediately return his feelings isn't ship baiting. What is ship baiting is how all of this is caused by Zuko to a degree.

Zuko stealing 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀's seat and Katara giving him a side glance is ship baiting. Zutara being canonically addressed in a play that's vaguely founded is ship baiting. The former causing 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 feeling jealous, leaving, and starting the conflict over it is ship baiting. Zutara is imbedded in the foundations of the episode. Ember Island Players plays out as if there is something between Zuko and Katara, when there isn't. That's ship baiting.

[starlight-vixen-emiko]

I’m not sure if you’re in the ATLA fandom but l*ve square feels a lot like kat*ang where people can easily criticize female main but don’t you dare not ship canon or criticize our boy!

Childish boy that can do no wrong/ is perfect that needs come before duty or the wants of his partner x woman of color that’s kind and strong which are her best or worst traits depending on when you ask and who must end up with male lead because he earned it

................................................

*SIGH*

Anon...Sit down for a moment.

I am not sure if you read my about me or not but I should I mention I ship Kataang and my blog is a pro Aang blog!

I was going to write up a big response but I think I should keep this relatively short and sweet.

But to start off...How is Lukanette like Zvtara?! Like how?!

Zvtara was more popular than the canon ships before and after Avatar's run. And while Lukanette was popular for a time, it was by no means more popular than that one ship that shall not be named! If anything Zvtara is just as popular as the LS and Zvtara fanfics are similar to Adrien and Marinette's fucked up """"love story"""". I remember reading ZK fanfics where everyone and I mean everyone pushes Zuko and Katara together, Toph, Iroh, they are all reduced to mouthpieces for the Zvtara fanbase. Kind of similar to the creepy ass Adrie//nette cult in the show. I literally found a fanfic where Iroh and Kanna try to get Zuko and Katara together by shoving them in a freezer together, which reminds me a hell of a lot like M*raculous.

And I am not sure why you Z/tara shippers are once again playing victim. Yes, there are Kataang shippers who arrogantly flaunt their canon but I also seen Z/tara shippers who think me and my peers are delusional for not seeing the """"romantic chemistry"""" between Zuko and Katara. I have seen Z/tara shippers act all smug and think they have better reading comprehension than people who ship canon. Not to mention the ZK shippers who think anyone who doesn't like Z/tara hates woman and all Kataang shippers are white men while all PoC are uncomfortable with the idea of Kataang.

And honestly the people who think everyone who hates Z/tara hates women can seriously fuck off! Shipping isn't activism! Some of you really need to get off the computer and touch some grass! And stop talking for all PoC as well! I am PoC! And the way a lot of Zvtara fanfictions fetishize Katara and make her Zuko's exotic girlfriend makes me uncomfortable. Not to mention the ZK shippers who think Aang would force Katara to let go of her culture (Legend of Korra and the comics proved this wrong) while Zvtara fanfics involve Katara completely letting go of the water tribe to become the perfect fire lady.

Not to mention, my friends and I were bullied by Zvtara shippers! I was bullied by a ZK shipper in her 40's who acts all smug and thought she had moral superiority and had better reading comprehension because she ships ZK. She just complains about cartoons all day.......Yeah! Complaining about cartoons all day is what ZK shippers do I guess.

And I am not sure why you Aang antis and ZK deepthroaters go on and on until kingdom come that Aang never faces consequences. He felt guilty for burning Katara, for kissing her at the wrong time, for Katara putting herself in the line of danger during the desert episode. Aang saved Kyoshi Island when it was attacked by the fire nation, and he felt guilty and saved Katara and Sokka after hiding a letter from their father from them.

Unlike Adrien whom the creators literally said does no wrong or doesn't need to apologize for anything. Chat Noir ate up kissing Ladybug in Oblivio...Aang felt guilty for kissing Katara in Ember Island Players and didn't bother her about it again.

And Aang takes his role as Avatar seriously! Even if it was all so scary and sometimes he wished wasn't a 12-year-old boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders...Which is human. The ML bible confirmed AdriChat doesn't give a crap about being a hero he's just in it for the freedom!

And again...Not sure why you guys think ZK is like Lukanette...Is every non-canon ship "Just like Zoootara ZOMG!" now?!

I mean...Luka and Marinette actually liked each other. Zuko and Katara never showed romantic interest in each other. (But I guess that is a hard pill for you people to swallow) And "Katara falling in love with Aang is unrealistic because i would've chosen Zuko!" isn't a valid argument! And yet ya'll claim Zvtara isn't a self insert ship.

Honestly I have seen more similarities between Lukanette and Kataang. Both are best friends to lovers that are brushed off as "just bros!" People dismiss both shippers by the mere virtue that the other choice is "more attractive". I have heard people said that the two year age gap between Marinette and Luka is creepy...Similar to Kataang.

And honestly the fact you people have been watching Avatar the Last Airbender with your eyes closed thinking Aang never faces the consequences or apologizes reminds me of that old drama of how people honestly felt Marinette never apologized and got off scott free with everything!

And Luka and Aang are two sweet boys who get way too much unwarranted hate!

And don't you dare compare Kataang to the LS! Similar to how not all non-canon ships are like Zvtara (Because I hate to break it to you people...But Zvtara wasn't robbed of anything! There are plenty of non-canon ships done far worse than Zvtara!) Not all canon ships are like the LS!

Kataang had gradual development and Aang and Katara were best friends! They were each other's ride or die! They had so much development that I am surprised you people are shocked that Aang and Katara ended up endgame.

Adrien and Marinette didn't have the same development that Aang and Katara did! Don't even compare Kataang to the loathe square around me!

But hey, if you can't see how awesome Aang is and how beautiful and nuanced Kataang is...Sucks for you I guess.

I think I am done now...Sorry if I wasn't here to validate your overhyped erotic wattpad fantasy ship but......I am not a Zvtara apologist blog and you messed with the wrong person.

Edit: I forgot to note!

One of the biggest fandom woes I dealt with in both fandoms is

ZK shippers being like "Katara never liked Aang!!!"

and LS shippers being like "Marinette never loved Luka!!!"

And I am like "Guys I am tired!"

But hey...Lukanette is toooootally not like KaTaang amirite???

I mean you guys only think Lukanette and Zvtara are similar because they are both non-canon right? Even if Lukanette was canon briefly. As short lived as it was...

[anti-spop]

i feel like at this point, catra stans are deliberately misunderstanding our point. they keep saying that we just hate seeing abuse victims getting a happy ending and that we can't fathom the idea of a bad person changing for the better, when most antis i've seen has said multiple times that they just wanted a better redemption arc for catra.

liking or sympathizing with someone doesn't mean that you have to excuse all of their actions and let them get away with anything. you can like catra and still hold her accountable for her actions but it seems like catra simps refuse to understand this, and instead act like we're villains who just want catra to suffer and die.

Yeah, I for one relate to Catra and I was very disappointed with her redemption. It was cheap and was resumed to "forgiveness". First, no one should be forced to forgive someone that hurt them; it's their choice alone. Second, if they choose to forgive, they don't have to be in that person's life. It's a lot more complex than just saying "I'm sowwy :(" "I forgive you :) now we're buddies!". Forgiveness can be really hard.

Catra's apologies are INCREDIBLY vague, like, come on. She only says "I'm sorry for everything" to Adora - and Catra still treats Adora like shit. I don't remember exactly her apology to Entrapta but I know it was brief and didn't detail anything (Entrapta mentioned the events of s3 but she didn't seem hurt about being sent to Beast Island or like. Catra manipulating Entrapta into believing she was abandoned). Scorpia, then? Catra didn't even say the word "sorry". Scorpia just instantly forgave her despite the fact she wasn't even there for Catra's "progress". She was chipped the whole time. Same for Micah and Mermista.

The show refused any accountability, which should be essential to a redemption arc. Not to beat a dead horse, but there's a reason why Zuko's arc is so remarkable. We joke about the "fieldtrips", but Zuko helps each person individually, first Aang, then Sokka, and finally Katara, the person he most personally betrayed. When Zuko first tries to join the Gaang, they reject him. They don't trust him. And they're right for it! So Zuko proves that he's better over and over again, until he gains their trust in a natural way. While Iroh isn't there to see all of it, he can tell by Zuko's mere return to his uncle and his remorse alone that his nephew found his path again. Also note that Zuko doesn't make excuses, he just straight up says, "I'm so sorry and ashamed for what I did", and implies he would do anything to gain Iroh's trust again. Similarly to how he approached Katara in The Southern Raiders.

SPOP, however, only tells us Catra is "working" to be better. When she really doesn't. Too bad most of the fandom eats all that up without giving a second thought. Then they accuse us of hating abuse victims or mentally ill people, when I'm pretty sure a lot of us are both of those things.

[meowmeowriley]

Hi MeowMeow Costume anon here sorry it’s taken a couple days for me to reply life got busy finding one’s honour is harder then I thought!

You want my autistic head canons for Zuko? Strap in for some unhinged rambling because I have ✨thoughts✨ this will be long

(CW: implied child abuse (Fuck Ozai))

Zuko likes music (Iroh mentiones he’s talented with the Tsungi horn) and his swords I also think he would have picked up dancing at some point with how he moved during dance of the dragons.

When he’s around people he trusts he emotes more with his face and masks less in general and I’d say if he felt safe enough he’d do more overt (for him) stimms like humming, minor rocking or tugging on his hair Iroh would be one of his safe people and eventually the gaang would be too

*I don’t think he’d have very obvious stimms in general being raised royal he’d be expected to act a certain way and hand flaps are not it. Also flaming 💩lord Ozai would have seen any aberrations as weakness and stamped that shit out fast

*I honestly think it could be one of the reasons the flaming 💩lord despises Zuko being inherently different would be a weakness in his eyes and reflect badly on him

I think he and May get along well because they’re both autistic and are a safe space for each other. she has trouble processing her emotions he has trouble controlling his they make good emotional counter balances

He cares so much about the people and animals around him even his enemies a strong sense of justice is a common sign of autism and speaking out of turn was the initial reason for his banishment.

He’s so socially awkward he doesn’t know how to talk with people instead of at them his entire pep talk to himself and subsequent introduction to the gaang when he tries to join them is peak “how do you do fellow kids” and his “that’s rough buddy” is as iconic as it is socially inept.

The guy totally hyper fixated on hunting the Avatar and when he could no longer find his purpose in it and realised he was wrong he did not cope

He has no tackt. none. and he takes things at face value and he hates lying his humour is also a little left leaning and he tries to relate to others and their experiences as a way of bonding.

While he’s not a prodigy fire bender like his sister he found ways around his limitations that helped accentuate his natural talents like his sword fighting (dancing would help with sword work) being incorporated into his bending (I don’t remember any other character bending with weapons).

He’d know a lot about tea from Iroh and I think he enjoyed working in the tea shop

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk!

I hope these make sense it’s kinda late now but this was fun to write thanks for reading my insane rambles :D

Also in response to the (non gendered) Prince! line you gave me so much surprise gender euphoria I cried 😭🫠🥹 sincerely thank you. I’m going with he/him pronouns atm but he/they is something I want to look into.

if you don’t mind me asking what are your pronouns?

I’ll probably send another ask in the next couple of days to annoy you with lol but in the meantime have a great day!

Sorry I took so long to get back to this, but damn I needed it today so I guess it's good I kept this in reserve. ❤

Holy shit, I can't unsee Zuko as autistic now. Like it's impossible. He's so perfectly coded to be on the spectrum. He's generally monotone, until he's not, and that's always when he's dealing with big emotions. He'd be a lip biter for sure.

Zuko doing dance as a stim 😍 the first time the Gaang sees him dancing when he thinks he's alone, they'd be so supportive, and have no idea what that would mean to him.

Fire lord Zuko infodumping about tea to some random person who tried to ask if he'd like them to make him some, as he heats the tea himself with his bending, and damn if that isn't the best tea that servant has ever had in their life.

Until next time my non gendered Prince Zuko! (Which will be in like, a few minutes, when I get to your other ask. Again sorry for the wait 😭 I'm bad at this)

[blakebow]

The last anon made me question my shipping taste since I dislike Bumblebee for the same reason I dislike Zutara.

Both ships would have one of the character's date another character that reminds them of there trauma.

Adam = Yang

Fire nation = Zuko

So can someone explain the difference please because I thought Katanng was like Blacksun with the goofy boy with the staff having a crush on a girl with emotional trauma ?

hi anon! it seems you're confused, so let me see if i can help with clearing up that misunderstanding.

Zutara is not at all like Bumbleby.

Because yes, while there was initial trauma with Zuko and Katara and they hated each other until the end of book 2, through book 3, their bond strengthened and they got closer, working past the issues they had with each other's pasts and came to see each other just as they were as themselves. (if that makes sense?) Katara didn't see Zuko as her trauma anymore.

after their talk in the caves where they both addressed why they didn't get along and both revealed that they shared a common trauma, the loss of their mothers and the pain that caused them, they came to an understanding of each other's struggle.

Katara had a profoundly more supportive relationship with Zuko than Aang in the last season as Aang was forceful with his affection, showed jealousy of others (past) interests in Katara, including Zuko. and tried to talk her out of getting closure for her mother's murder, which Zuko all fully understood and went with her to hunt down Yon Rha so Katara could face it head on. Aang continually kept trying to convince her to let it go and forgive him, which upset Katara because he refused to listen to how she was feeling. not to mention the proof of this is shown in how Katara willingly intervenes in Zuko's duel with Azula and fights to bring her down to protect him after Zuko defended her in turn.

Also, in argument against Kataang, their relationship isn't framed in the most positive light in LOK. as Kya and Bumi, two of Aang and Katara's children complain that Aang played favorites with Tenzin who was (at the time) their only airbender child and essentially ignored them. they're so bitter of this fact that they bring it up over 70 years later after Aang's passing. that's not good and makes Katara look out of character because the original Katara from ATLA would never have allowed Aang to so blatantly shirk his duties as a parent and ignore both of his other kids because they weren't as special as Tenzin.

Where in RWBY, Yang shows 0 interest in Blake's problems being a faunus, which is a scrutinized minority in verse, saying and I quote "oh it must be hard to be a faunus", while watching Cardin Yanking on Velvet's ears not even five feet away and not noticing how uncomfortable that makes Blake to watch (before any of her teammates knew she was a faunus.)

It's Yang's blatant disregard of Blake's identity that Blake runs away and finds comradery with Sun Wukong, who's a fellow faunus and fully gets all of what she's going through.

it isnt's until vol 3 that problems actually really arise with bumbleby, until Mercury tricks everyone into thinking that Yang punched him unprovoked during the vytal festival tournament, which triggers Blake and makes her remember Adam, where Blake brings this up to Yang and actually makes her cry by saying she doesn't trust her, this is swept under the rug and NEVER addressed again.

after volume 3, where Yang gets maimed by Adam and Blake runs away in fear, Yang refuses to even understand why Blake ran, when Weiss confronts her in vol 5 she says "what if i needed her here FOR ME?" basically, not acknowledging the fact that Blake was terrified for her life and thought she would be better off being the only one killed if Adam chose to come after her. after they reunite, Yang is even hesitant to forgive Blake, and there's a canon song confirming as much that Yang no longer trusts her not to abandon her again.

Vol 6 is total shit because it's where Bees was forced and started to degrade the quality of both characters, having Yang be the one to face Adam with Blake (rather than having the original plan of Blake and Sun taking him down at Haven) and from vol 7-9 onwards it's a dumpster fire i don't even want to bother getting into except for the shitty, forced one sided confession in vol 9, which was hamfisted in the middle of other far more important plot developments.

i think the diference between the two is that Zutara actually works through their trauma and grows from it to form a stronger bond that makes both characters better people.

where Bumbleby does not, and instead does the opposite. Yang's anger issues and possessiveness of Blake increases the closer they get, making her more of a trigger and more reminiscent of Adam instead of less, making Blake into a worse character by stripping her independence and making her completely co-dependent on Yang.

in conclusion: Ship Zutara, not Kataang and Black Sun, not Bumbleby.

[loopy777]

Do you think there was ever a time that Izumi was intimidated by Zuko? Whether that was her seeing him yell at someone, or not know the full story of his scar and her friends made rumors up about it?

Hm, hard to say. My dad is a quiet dude of average height with no scary features, but I was intimidated by him as a little kid because his sneezes were super loud. Izumi might not be as much of a loser as I've always been, but we don't really know a whole lot about her.

So I'll just make a list of the things about Zuko that she might have been intimidated by as a little kid, based on my understanding of how little kids are....

Zuko's Ceremonial Winter Solstice Robes: She thinks the way they're so voluminous, with such wide shoulder-pads, is scary because her father almost disappears into them. No one actually knows why she starts crying every time she sees Zuko in them, and by the time she's old enough to explain, she's completely forgotten.

Dragons: They roar too loud for her. Baby dragons are okay, but not anything bigger than Appa. She doesn't visit the Sun Warriors much with Zuko until she is a tween and can't understand how he can be around the dragons they're raising. This suits Mai just fine, as it gives her an excuse not to go along on the trips to the nearly naked people with all the tattoos, but she tells Izumi that she's scared of their roaring, too.

Palanquin Rides: Izumi does not think they are safe and seriously wonders if Zuko is trying to kill her by insisting they have to ride them in public. As a result, the public rarely sees Izumi before she is seven and gets over it, at which point she memorably is glimpsed attempting to take a running leap off her palanquin (it seemed like fun) and subsequently is rarely seen until she is seven-and-a-half and understands what being grounded for six months feels like.

Lightning Bending: Izumi hates the noise. The crack of the thunder is audible even if Zuko is on the practice grounds and Izumi is hiding under her bed. (It's not that bad, but after she was startled by the noise the first time Zuko was showing it off to her, she's developed an irrational hatred of even the most distant echo of the noise. This does not apply to thunderstorms, for some reason.) Every time she hears it, she goes to Mai and tattles that Zuko is scaring her. This leads to Mai berating Zuko and him getting flustered because is he not supposed to practice his lightning unless Izumi is in another nation?

Zuko's Jokes: She doesn't understand that Zuko is terrible with jokes, and he seems so amused by them that she's quietly sure she's stupid and somehow not getting them. When Mai discovers this, she says, "Oh, honey, Daddy has no idea how to tell a joke. He leaves all the important bits out. Even Aang just smiles to be polite, and Auntie Ty Lee will laugh at anything after she's had enough grown-up grape juice. You like Toph's jokes, right? Then you're fine."

Zuko's Chest-Scar: She's not intimidated by his facial scar, since she's been seeing it since she was born, but she's a bit freaked out by seeing the scar on his chest from where Azula hit him with lightning. She wants to know why his boo-boo isn't getting better. She's surprised when she's told it's like the scar on his face, because that's obviously not true, that's how he looks, but the scar on his chest is a boo-boo and that's different. Izumi informs Zuko that she needs to keep his shirt on so that his boo-boo can get better. This one really confounds Mai, until she eventually hits on the idea of explaining that Katara was supposed to fix that boo-boo and didn't do a very good job, but they shouldn't mention it because Katara feels very bad about it and they don't want to make her sad. When she's older, Izumi is scandalized to remember this, and makes Mai apologize to Katara, who has no idea what they're talking about.

As for Zuko yelling at someone, I think I'm going to say no. I figure Zuko yells so much that she gets used to that, too; his voice isn't particularly booming or resonant, so it's not an intimidating sound by itself, and she's seen Zuko yell at Aang and Sokka and Toph without them getting so much as ruffled. In fact, Sokka teaches Izumi to say, "Daddy, use your sweety voice. Yelling is mean." As an adult, she credits this as one of her first and most important lessons in diplomacy.

[chaoticnerdsstuff]

What about a fucked up au where Ursa takes Azula(who's like 4-5) away from the Fire Nation and abandons her in the earth kingdom/any place that isn't FN. Simply because she saw Azula picking up Habits from Ozai and couldn't risk her "precious boy" getting potentially Hurt by Azula.

Then Azula who doesn't even remember much from her life in the Firenation except her mother leaving her to rot in an village.

The thing is Azula likely wouldn't resent Zuko since she hardly remembers him. She doesn't even remember Ozai. I think she knows she's a princess but like only remembers when someone mentions it.

She's likely had to go town to town to pick up small jobs from farmers and merchants in order to survive. Until she eventually settled down in an island where one of the people she worked with mentioned it was safe. Which is kyoshi Island.

[a-master-procrastinator]

Long ass post about the Eternal family not being a copy-paste from ATLA (aka I like the memes but my god can you please stop)

Because some people truly think that Vaylin is off-brand Azula, Arcann is Zuko and so on.

It's. Called. A. Trope. (I mean how often do we come across abusive manipulative fathers in media? Mothers who couldn't much to change anything? Children, desperately looking for their parent's approval no matter what?)

Of course, you have to consider the fact that the writing of ATLA is simply better than of KotFE/ET, so this might have been one of the reasons why people say that.

Spoilers for Avatar: The Last Airbender, Knights of the Fallen Empire and Knights of the Eternal Throne expansions!

Okay, so here's my unprofessional, maybe biased, not super deep take.

(not going to mention that all of them are members of royal, ruling family, kinda obvious)

What roles do they play in their stories? Well, both Valkorion and Ozai are main antagonists, but their presence throughout the story is very different. Ozai is rarely shown in first two seasons, we don't even see his face until season 3. He doesn't have a direct connection to the protagonist, they only meet at the very end of the show, and Ozai's role is to pose a threat to the world, while Aang's is to save it. Valkorion, on the other hand, is constantly on the screen, interacting with the main character, challenging their viewpoint and influencing them directly. His end goal is similar to Ozai's (destroy everything and be the only ruler of the his nation), but with one major difference - he's trapped in Outlander's mind, so to achieve his goal Valkorion attempts to take control of the main character. Their interactions play important role in the story, and we spend a lot of time with Valkorion.

In addition to that, their relationship with children are also not exactly the same. It seems like Azula is Ozai's favorite and Zuko is a failure in his eyes until he meets his expectations, and the same goes with Vaylin, Arcann and Valkorion, right? Well, partially. Indeed, Valkorion and Ozai's treat their sons in similar ways (are disappointed in them until they meet their expectation by doing something that goes against their morals), but when it comes to Vaylin and Azula, it's not that easy. See, Valkorion claims that Vaylin was always his favorite creation (even though we know it's actually his empire), and he certainly seems to take pride in her potential in the Force. But her power is the very reason he's afraid of his own daughter, and in this fear Valkorion literally locks Vaylin away and allows to put her through physical and mental torture just to make sure she won't become a threat, won't overpower him. Maybe he thought of her better than of Arcann, but she wasn't his favored child for sure. I don't want to say that Azula hasn't experienced abuse from Ozai, but for the most part he clearly favored her over Zuko. He has never shown fear of Azula's power and abilities (or at least I haven't noticed), quite the opposite - allowed her to do a lot, as long as she brings results.

I could also mention their slightly different characterization (mostly that we get more characterization of Valkorion, get to learn his motivations, views, philosophy and all that, also he's portrayed as more nuanced, even if he not really is) and role in their respective governments (ozai is one of many Fire Lords and arguably not the greatest, while Valkorion is a god to citizens of Zakuul, their only Immortal Emperor), but those are details, and I think you get the point.

What's similar: role of the main antagonist, manipulative and abusive father, goal of destruction of everything that isn't their nation/empire, relationship with disgraced son.

What's different: presence in the overall narrative, relationship with the main character, relationship with daughter, role in their societies.

Senya and Ursa are even less similar. Yes, they both are mothers who love their children, but have to leave them, but these are probably the only things they have in common. Just as with Ozai and Valkorion's presence throughout the story, Ursa is only shown in flashbacks (for obvious reasons), and Senya is one of major characters in KotFE and (a bit less major) in KotET. Ursa leaves because she has to kill Azulon in order to save Zuko, and later isn't present in the story (I'm aware that her fate is told in comics, but we aren't talking about it). Senya leaves because when she tries to take children with her, they refuse, and she understands that she can't force them to, nor she can help them to break free from Valkorion's manipulations. For a long time she's absent from Arcann ad Vaylin's lives, but at the time of game events she attempts to save her children and stop the madness and destruction they've caused, and it isn't a small part of the story.

I also want to add that their relationship with Ozai and Valkorion are also different, but can't say much about Ursa. I heard that she didn't choose this marriage and suffered emotional (and maybe physical???) abuse from Ozai. I can say with confidence, though, that Senya genuinely loved Valkorion, and strangely enough, he seems to at very least respect her. But, of course, this wasn't the best marriage either.

Plus, we see more of Senya's relationship with Vaylin than Arcann or Thexan, but with Ursa we see her more with Zuko than Azula. Just a detail to remember.

(also Senya is simply a better character but that besides the point, moving on. in this house we stand Senya)

What's similar: role of loving and caring mother, abandoning their family at some point.

What's different: presence in the overall narrative, relationship with husband, characterization in general.

Boy, where do I even begin. Vaylin and Azula are similar in that they are both extremely powerful (one is firebending prodigy, the other is potentially stronger than Valkorion), both are cruel "craaaaazy" (i hate that cliché), both are younger sisters, have serious mother issues (seemingly more so than father issues), both go through betrayal of people they could always rely on, which eventually leads to their downfall. But when I took a look at their personal arcs, it became clear that they aren't the same (unfortunately, Vaylin's arc is very rushed and underdeveloped, but we'll have to go with what we have and my personal view, sorry).

There's a really good video about writing corruption and madness, and I'm going to base my thoughts on it. To summarise it: a good corruption arc should have 4 components:

- the character has a specific goal (or a goal and subgoals);

- in pursuit of said goal they become the cause of a significant event that brings serious consequences;

- as the result of these consequences, character abandons their morals, ideals or a code in pursuit of goal;

- character either will not achieve their goal or will succeed, but it won't be enough to satisfy them.

And then the author brings Azula's arc as one of the best examples of compelling story of corruption (so basically, she represents it perfectly). In short, Azula's main goals are perfection and control, and subgoals help achieve the main ones. In pursuit of these goals, Azula causes Mai and Ty Lee to betray her (by pushing them too far to do something they wouldn't do), which then causes her to become paranoid, which makes her to attempt controlling everything and everyone around her, *breathes* which makes her lose control over herself and ....

Now, I thought if Vaylin's arc could fit into a corruption one, and next part will be based a lot on my assumptions and personal view of her character (plus rushed writing doesn't help), but I think yes (or at least mostly). The difference is in goals, ideals and details.

While the story strongly makes us think that Vaylin's goal is freedom (or control over her life and everything around her) or power and destruction, I think it's actually self-determination (which was said by Tenebrae in 6.2) and feeling safe. Let me explain (and here I thought this would be a short comparison). Sure, when Valkorion caged Vaylin on Nathema, he took choices and control over her life from his daughter. But let's not forget whom Vaylin blames for this (even more than Valkorion): her own mother, and I think this details tell us that the most important thing that Vaylin lost on Nathema is feeling safe. Then, after Arcann brought her home, I assume Vaylin still didn't feel safe enough under Valkorion's rule, still too afraid that he'd simply send her back to that hellish place.

It's when Valkorion is struck down Vaylin finally has a feeling of personal safety, even if she isn't the one on the throne. Why? Because back on Nathema there were two people who haven't turned on her - Arcann and Thexan (yes, this is also a huge assumption, bc the game states that only Thexan visited her, but it doesn't make much sense).

I've always noticed (and I'm not alone in this) that her behavior in Fallen Empire is different from the way she acted in Eternal Throne. Most likely bc of rushed writing, but I see a character driven reason here. In first of these expansions, Vaylin is the second person in power on Zakuul, and with Arcann being in charge, person she can trust more than any other living being, she feels safe - she can test her power, and now Valkorion won't prevent it, she can do pretty much everything she wishes, and the most Arcann will do about this is mildly complain (without blaming her). Really would be nice if we got to see any normal hobbies of Vaylin (like wasn't there something about books or art?), but I digress. She might have some questions about Arcann's tactics, but they get along just fine. The important thing to note is Vaylin not seeking to hunt the Outlander personally, to rule or conquer the rest of the galaxy, or trying to achieve absolute freedom or power. She's kinda there.

This, however, changes when Arcann doesn't allow Vaylin to kill Senya. Their relationship was getting somewhat worse towards the end of KotFE, but this is a turning event Vaylin caused by attempting to strike her mother. By saving the person Vaylin blames for all the trauma from sending her to Nathema, Arcann threatened her feeling of safety. And now Vaylin starts to believing that to achieve safety she now needs to kill people who hurt her (that's why she's so determined to find Senya and Arcann), take the throne and hunt down Outlander (she was manipulated by SCORPIO to these subgoals).

(The following is the weakest, I'll admit, but I hope I can at least express what I see). So, in trying to achieve goals she didn't want before Vaylin loses in self-determination, being either driven by overwhelming anger or manipulated by others (SCORPIO or Commander on Odessen), desperately trying to accomplish anything, or even goes against her morals (like by erasing GEMINI's free will protocols, when earlier she agreed that freedom to choose is important; or breaking the deal on Odessen). All of these result in her downfall.

But even this isn't the end. The key difference between arcs of Azula Vaylin lies in it's resolution, or that Vaylin have a chance to overcome corruption in the main narrative (and Azula doesn't. again, not including comics here, sorry). After death, Vaylin is again controlled by Valkorion in Outlander's mind. First time physically (she can't resist it), second time mentally. This is where Vaylin has to choose - kill brother who betrayed her and Commander who killed her, or go against Valkorion, person responsible for almost all of her pain and trauma. She has t choose by herself, and I think it's a good start.

Now, before 6.2 we all thought Vaylin was dead for good, but that story update hinted at possibility of her coming back to life. What I like to think is that now that she dealt with people responsible for her trauma (helped defeat Valkorion and actually for once listened to Senya), Vaylin can now have a different life, finding herself with support of someone she doesn't hold a grudge against and who treats her well (Satele, I mean).

I'm so sorry for going into details, but I needed this long explanation to present the point (and I suck at explanations). As said before, this is my version of her arc, and most likely wrong interpretation, but even with personal freedom of choice, Vaylin character differs from Azula a lot.

Need I mention that Vaylin relationship with Arcann and Valkorion are drastically different from those between Azula, Zuko and Ozai?

(Also a little detail - with royal family of Fire Nation, Azula is the golden child, while with Tiralls it's actually Thexan, not Vaylin).

What's similar: role of extremely powerful, emotionally damaged daughter with little to no regard towards others, close people betraying them, resulting in their downfall.

What's different: characterization, role in the narrative, relationship with father and brother.

Arcann and Zuko is the most difficult part, but I still believe that calling Arcann just a cheap copy of Zuko is incorrect.

So, they fall into role of less successful son, always getting disapproval from father, being in shadow of more talented sibling, both obsessed with capturing the main character but ending up helping them end the war after going through a redemption arc with help of caring family member. Even both have scars on left side of face. Yeah, seems similar. I still think they are different characters.

Let's start with their relationships with family. In Valkorion section I said that his attitude towards Arcann is similar to that of Ozai towards Zuko, so not going to spend too much time here. However, there's slight difference - Zuko didn't kill his father even he had a perfect opportunity (bc it wasn't his goal), Arcann did (bc it was one of his goals), which says something about their characterizations.

Zuko and Ursa were shown to have a good mother-son relationship, and it played a role in Zuko's character. With Arcann and Senya, we don't really know (not much was shown in expansions). We know Arcann didn't hate his mother, but possibly didn't have warm memories of her either. The reason is most likely, like Senya said, her children wanted nothing to do with her (which is a bit untrue about Vaylin, but okay) and leaned more towards Valkorion. We need to remember that on Zakuul Valkorion isn't just one of many great leaders, he's the greatest, and seen as a god by most citizens, so safe to assume the same would apply to his children as well.

Zuko and Azula's siblingship (i'm out of words) is a bit similar to Arcann and Vaylin's in way of brother knowing that his sister isn't good, but still caring about them (even if not showing). At least it's what I saw. What's different is how Azula treats Zuko, compared to how Vaylin treats Arcann. I think Azula showed compassion or concern for Zuko maybe twice, but I'm not entirely convinced that it was 100% sincere. Vaylin, on the other hand, seems to trust and care about Arcann (with bits of sass and questioning his life choices), and switching to complete opposite after him saving Senya. Also, I don't she ever called Arcann a failure in their father's eyes.

Now I want to say that their roles in stories aren't the same either. Sure, both are introduced to us as antagonists, but in reality, Zuko was never a true antagonist (we get to learn this somewhere mid-season 1), when Arcann remains the main antagonist for whole of KotFE. Zuko didn't start a war and didn't participate in conquest of other nations too much, his main goal was to capture the Avatar so to restore his honor (and deserve his father's forgiveness). Honestly, I think it's safe to say the Zuko is one of two main protagonists of ATLA. Why does Arcann want to capture the Outlander? Solely because his father's spirit still lives inside this person's mind, and the best solution to keep Valkorion away from the galaxy is not letting the Outlander free (hence the carbonite freezing). And Arcann doesn't want or need Valkorion's forgiveness when he attempts to kill him (or kills him, depending on your choice. anyway, his action directly leads to Valkorion's "death"). And right after that he becomes a ruler of Zakuul and begins the conquest of Republic, Sith Empire and everything he can reach (the reasoning behind this is still unclear to me though; maybe because he was raised with ruling Zakuul in mind and he didn't anything else, idk). Point is, he's responsible for war and main's character imprisonment, which makes him the main antagonist of KotFE. They have it the opposite ways - Zuko starts as disgraced prince, supported by a little group of people, and in the end he's recognized and appreciated by his nation, and Arcann starts as respected by his empire, later becoming less and less loved, until some groups start rebelling his rule, and in the end he doesn't get to rule Zakuul again.

This leads me to their morals. See, Zuko didn't have the worst morals in Fire Nation, even more, he expressed care for loyals soldiers of his nation before getting punished by Ozai. During first season (and about a half of second one) his views on other nations are what he was taught before. However, these views are challenged by travelling in Earth Kingdom, witnessing people suffering from war Fire Nation started and hating its people (you already know all of this), and with this he comes through final stage of redemption when he's back home. Unfortunately, Arcann doesn't go through this, and he's shown to be more ruthless.

Alright, when it comes to their redemption arcs, well let's say they are different (both in quality and the way they go through it), I'm just a bit tired of long explanations at this point. Zuko's arc is one of the best ever put on television, and Arcann's... well, it definitely has potential, but is criminally underdeveloped (there are other people who will explain it better than I ever could).

What's similar: role of disgraced son, living in shadow of their sibling, serious injuries on the left side of face (though with different meanings), obsession with capturing the main character, having a redemption arc.

What's different: role in the narrative, role in their society, characterization, relationship with sister and mother, different end goals (before redemption), paths to redemption.

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Well I got at least two people interested (@esmeralda-anistasia and @deathsmallcaps) so why not.

Quick disclaimer: I understand that some fans can be very sensitive to this topic and take general criticisms as personal attacks and jump to the defensive. Please don't justify your ships to me if you have that reaction to anything said in this post. It's not my business and if I'm honest I really don't care. Your experiences are not mine and will not change mine and nothing I'm about to say is meant to be read as an insult.

Okay onto the rarepairs in question!

I was ten years old when the episode Zuko Alone first aired and Ursa fascinated me. She was so elegant and sweet, and yet the implication was that she was also capable of assassination. Her disappearence and the fact everyone involved kept pretty hush-hush about her gave her character an air of mystery and Zuko's memories involving her made him a great deal more interesting and sympathetic (i still rolled my eyes every time he showed up and thought he didn't deserve all the cute moments with Mai until The Day of Black Sun, and even then still thought Jet was cooler in every way, but you can't please them all). She had quickly become a favorite character and I've held onto that adoration for about 15 years now.

I also really wanted her to kiss Hakoda.

They had compatible personalities and deserved some luck in love after all the heartbreak and trials, and they both loved their children despite having to leave. Ursa was never treated as dead, just gone. She could have been anywhere and there was nothing to say she couldn't have crossed paths with Hakoda and his men.

There was also something about it I didn't quite have the words or media exposure to explain. Often, in fandom or canon, if a relationship is biracial, the partner who is fairer-skinned and/or of the dominant or invading culture, who the audience sees themselves in, is the man and the one who is darker-skinned and/or marginalized or colonized is the woman (heteronormativity got a head start on this one). There's a lot of ugly "taming the savage" rhetoric in this, usually paired with blatant misogyny that's supposed to be in the woman's favor (like suggesting that a woman could only be complicit in this culture because it was what she was told and didn't know any better). The woman's family and friends who oppose this are depicted as unfairly prejudiced against this strange man as if their distaste for people who can be or have been responsible for things like genocide or subjugation is the same as the other side seeing these people as deserving of genocide or subjugation for the crime of not being like them. Sometimes it's the other way around, where the partner seen as "more civilized" is the woman and the one seen as "less civilized" is the man, in which case the woman is often abducted or otherwise the man's defining feature is his brutishness. This supposed brutishness is both intimidating and attractive to the oh so delicate if a bit repressed captive/wife (as well as the audience) and can manifest as being fiercely protective of her, which is how he shows his affection if there is a language barrier between them. And if you grow up Native, this is easy to pick up on and often in the back of your mind, because at least 90% of your media representation likely has some aspect mentioned above.

(Man that was a lot of academic style analysis)

But the dynamic between Hakoda and Ursa wouldn't leave room for any of that. Hakoda, as an absent parent backstory, is defined by having to leave despite how much he loved and would miss his children. Ursa, as an absent parent backstory, is defined by the crime she was willing to commit for her children (for Zuko specifically, but how long would it actually take for Azula to shoot her mouth off at the wrong place and time and also be targeted by Azulon?). Ursa was the one whose willingness to kill sent her fleeing into the night. The culture of her nation betrayed her and made her choose between her own safety and that of at least one of her children. Hakoda is charismatic and a good leader, but he is also soft spoken and understanding, and above all else, gentle. He isn't here to hurt innocents. He's here to see to it that the next generation of his people will not fear invaders or raids or even know that snow can be black from soot. And he's someone Ursa can finally feel safe around and confide in, and she could be the same for him. Someone he doesn't have to be the leader for, to whom he can admit that he just wants to be home and let the tears fall.

I'm honest enough to admit that one of the reasons I liked The Search was that Ikem wore his hair a lot like Hakoda did and that was close enough to it being canon for me.

Another one is Jin/Smellerbee. Something about their personalities strikes me as being so wonderfully harmonious and I like to imagine Jin, smooth-talking and streetwise but still the most genuine person, being the one to sit Smellerbee, who never really got a chance to think about these things, down and explain that anything she might be is okay. That it's okay to not be in love with a guy friend who gave her a purpose and loyal companionship. That it's okay to like girls. That she can have more than one partner. That it's okay to be different from what's considered normal and proper and not have an easy word to describe it. And eventually she'd realize it's true. And eventually she'd realize that she wasn't teasing when she called her beautiful in a wild sort of way.

I also like to think that Smellerbee clearly has more specialized fighting skills and is very good at what she does but Jin is strong enough to bench press her no problem. And Smellerbee acts all tough (because she is) but blushes whenever Jin calls her cute or pretty because she's not used to it.

Sometimes Longshot is involved too. Not as a third wheel or the exact same kind of partner, more like a ghibli style relationship with Smellerbee. Like is it a gentle romance? Is it an intimate friendship? It's love and they know that and don't have to define it by others' perception. And Jin gives Longshot kisses so he doesn't feel left out, which gets him a bit bashful because she really could have anyone, she already has Smellerbee of all people, and she still finds him deserving of a peck on the cheek. They probably all bunk together.

This actually started from a fic I wrote but don't intend on posting more than snippets of. Basically, i was tired of a lot of fanfic tropes, especially those having to do with friends to lovers and soulmates (this world is not kind to aromantics and the last thing I wanted in my escapism was romance being established as a level up for relationships), so I wrote something to actively subvert all of them. Jet and Smellerbee were each convinced they owed the other a romantic relationship after all they'd been through together, even though neither actually wanted it, because that's how all the stories go. So after he dies, she remembers all those times that would have been romantic if either was actually interested, but were instead just uncomfortable because it was entirely social convention and no feeling. But then she comes across Jin, who she's never met before, but who takes her in her arms and reassures her and sympathizes with her, and in this tiny apartment in this seedy side of town, she feels safe. She seeks permission for every touch and kiss and tells her this encounter doesn't have to be anything she isn't comfortable with. And when Smellerbee has to leave, Jin insists she take a candle to light her way, and winks when she says she can return it the day after. She gives her an excuse to visit again. And Smellerbee blushes and accepts it.

And then there's Teo/Haru and Teo/Ty Lee. No special reason I just think both would make a cute couple and want Teo to be happy. He's a good boy, more people should love him. Let him impress people with wheelchair tricks and get smooched.

[fakeikemen]

How I started shipping Zutara

It was long before I ever started watching the show, (a year and a half before I ever watched the show) I saw a clip on Instagram and it made me ship them.

But before that clip I saw:

This:

Zuko: Here for a rematch?

Katara: Trust me Zuko, it's not going to be much of a match.

And this:

Sokka: I can take you back to your cell if you've learned your lesson.

Zuko: Yes, I have ... completely.

So what I had figured out was that Zuko and Katara were enemies and that Zuko had somehow ended up in a prison.

So when I saw this:

Zuko: This isn't fair! Everyone else seems to trust me now! What is it with you?

Katara: Oh, everyone trusts you now! I was the first person to trust you! Remember, back in Ba Sing Se. And you turned around and betrayed me, betrayed all of us!

Zuko: What can I do to make it up to you?

I thought, oh so they were like in the same prison or something and they got close and then he betrayed her when they were escaping or something?

And now he has switched sides for good and everyone else is okay with him but she isn’t because he broke her trust and it is now a personal grudge against him.

The dialogue was clear enough to get the fact across that she wasn’t okay at all with the others being okay with him. She was so obviously mad about it. And somehow she had singled herself out, apart from the others, to seethe alone and no one seemed to make the effort to talk to her about it.

And instead the person who does come to talk to her is the very person she has issues with.

He could’ve ignored her dissent just like her friends did because everybody else was okay with him. It shouldn’t have mattered what one single person thought in the face of acceptance from others. But he cared. He cared enough to be the only one who came to talk to her when she was obviously mad at him. He cared enough to ask and to try to understand why she was mad at him.

I loved how she pulled no punches with telling him how he had done her wrong and that even the narrative seemed to frame her anger towards him because of his betrayal as completely valid.

And the way he just accepts the blame for the mistake he made without any excuses and then genuinely asks what could he do to correct it—

This angst dynamic was enough to make me ship them.

Not to mention, this scene is ridiculously romantically framed. So, I thought they were endgame. But I learned just before watching the show that they weren’t.

But rewatching this scene in canon was more impactful (in a way). Because then I knew that it was a canon fact that no one knew how to deal with Katara's negative emotions. So they used to let her be until she came around to being the sweet and kind person that she mostly appeared to be. And this scene is also canon proof of how Zuko is the only person in the Gaang who makes an active attempt to understand Katara, address her mental issues and to improve her mental health.

Being the team mom™, Katara puts others in front of herself and Zuko, the newest addition to the team, gives Katara the priority that she fails to give herself.

And honestly I think that’s really beautiful and exactly what my best girl Katara deserves.

[ly0nstea]

Tabletop Game Questions

"Page 64 of the core rulebook it is literally the first thing they say about her in her bio, and yes, unfortunately it seems that the studio is heading in that direction" Does the RPG take place during canon, or after it? Because didn't it take until her Sozin's Comet breakdown for Azula to become humanized in the eyes of Zuko (he could have thrown her in jail but instead got her medical treatment as far as he knew) and the audience?

Also, I don't have the link on me but I remember reading on reddit that the tabletop creators did not want anyone to play as the villains, especially 100 year war era FN, since they did not people to act like IRL imperialists, colonizers, and genociders. Even though certain groups, like the Red Lotus, don't neatly fit into those categories. So maybe they described Azula in such a fashion to prevent anyone from playing a campaign from her POV/side? 

In addition, what is up with them outright calling Azula a monster and then saying there is no truly evil people in the world (if possible could you also post a link and/or photo showing them saying that)? Cause not only does it go against the ethos established in the franchise as a whole, doesn't that make the Gaang look stupid for not only failing to remove Azula's bending after Sozin's Comet but also allowing her to escape their custody, form a terrorist cell made up her asylum inmates (that she broke out without anyone finding out), and then failing to capture said cell?

Finally, does the game talk about the comics and if so do they talk about the Fire Warriors (and their possible final fate)?

Also, on a sidenote, isn't weird that this game contradicts what the cookbook implies about Azula's character/her final fate despite both works being approved by Bryke?

Anyway, I think I have asked enough questions for now and so I want to say thank you for reading my questions and taking the time to answer them!

The RPG can take place during either, Roku, Kyoshi, 100 year war (i.e. just before aang wakes up), aangs era (after the end of the comics) or korras era (after the end of her comics) That specific part was her character bio during the 100 year war, before she had even been assigned to bring zuko back so azula hadnt even yet faced combat, but it is set after ursa disapeared, so azula is probably 10-13 during that era.

The game does outright say you arent supposed to play as villains or as canon characters (though it does say if you really wanna you can) Either way, it doesnt make sense to paint her so badly because of that, because in her (and every other) description in the kickstarter page it says her npc can teach the players new techniques so clearly there is room to ally with her in the game?

-Page 67

-Page 104

The game does mention the fire warriors, it says they are "at [Azula's] disposal" implying they're nothing more than pawns and she doesnt care for them, other than that it just says they have reduced numbers, azula isnt necessarily standing with them anymore, and theyre reckless.

[pearlescent-princess]

Hmm.. I remember it now, a sweet thing. I was with Lio, or at least dreaming of him. It was so brief of a part, but it still made me smile. We were talking on Thursday and I mentioned it to him that he doesn't have to be a stranger in my dreams. He did an airy puff of a laugh, but acknowledged it.

In the dream part, I know I was at some kind of cabin or woodsy home. He had been chopping wood. I remember watching him and then offering to try. After all, I wanted to show him how his training had been going for me. Even if he had seen it just earlier this week outside of the dream. I know within the context of the dream I messed up.

It wasn't a bad thing, even if he did scowl as the wood was mangled. I instead handed him the pieces I chopped and jokingly said, "Here's your wood". He rose a single brow and took it into the bundle. His quiet expression did not indicate more until it lit up to get back at me. Lio spoke and teased me about the pieces I gave him. I ended up getting a splinter (though easily removed), and chasing him into the home to tease him back. Something about how I dramatically told him "look at what you've done to me!".

I know the mood at the moment was very flirty, which was funny in a way. I'm not always that comfortable but I know I need to be truer to myself so a bit of a course correction lately. It felt nice. I teased him about his colossal stature. He feigned fake hurt before coming closer. Lio spoke quietly, full of warmth, but I do not know what he said. Memory is fickle, that's okay. I do know there was a part where I desperately wanted to cuddle, but did not get to.

I know I ended up elsewhere, an aquarium, and then a game park (like as in video/arcade games in an actual park). The aquarium was cool. I saw a lot of sharks, manta rays, and other schools of fish. It was serene. The VG park was different, I didn't play anything. Although I spoke to someone, a woman dressed in some kind of costume, she was there to be herself too. Just lost. I somehow ended up floating into the sky with her, as we skated around the air. I told her important things about direction, (which hello I just watched the Zuko redemption episode last night so it isn't surprising to see it leech in here).

The message itself, as I saw someone with a candle sit underneath an Autumn apple tree, was for more than just the person in the sky with me. I think the message ended up being blunt, but I spoke it anyways: When we are feeling lost, met with the same problem as before, we must step back to look at it all. In the throes of the storm, we may act in haste, and people and ourselves get hurt. Our worries, [as I squeezed the woman's shoulder] can mess with our judgment and impair our ability to go forth. No one is born wise, that is done through learning. It will be okay, have faith (something I don't recall was said after).

It didn't feel like my message, and even in dream I was told that was something the woman's great aunt/ grandma would say. I nodded, acknowledging it, and said "you can do it" before I awoke.