#this is clearly a corruption arc

[a-heart-of-kyber]

Nah see, I want to be let at Christian Linke because the more I rewatch shit and the more I know about what's been said in interviews the more obvious it becomes that Viktor’s arc is explicitly that of magic corruption. So, I need the man to stop trying to ignore wtf he wrote when he talks about it 🤣.

[vitalazam]

watching most recent ash vod. having to stop watching bc pentar making fun of zam is grating. being condescending about him saying he won. like he literally did what are you talking about

[queencvbra]

I am. So so scared about that they're doing with Tory this season lol.

[cowboyfarooqlane]

sgshsjdj okay

[saveandreset]

I need to go to sleep cos I have an early morning but Tumblr has me thinking about TMA Fears in connection to Sam an Dean

Like, firstly on whether either of them Would Become an avatar in the first place, seeing as being an Avatar would mean being a "monster" and feeding on people.

Especially Sam would be wary of becoming non-human, considering all of his canon arcs, I think. But he could be a victim of sooooo many of the fears it's delicious! (when thinking of the seasons and events as fears, so much of it fits the spiral)

Also on what is required for an avatar, is it a combo of Fear of & Enjoyment of?

[acebabecd]

I love how much Orym loves the women in his life.

He's a Mama's Boy. Keyleth is his wise leader he respects more than anyone. His big sisters are so amazing and capable. Fearne is his best friend. He believes in Imogen's potential to do great things. He has no idea what forces in the universe let him meet Laudna but he's so glad they did. He loves them all so much.

[night-creeps]

Someone come force feed me the rest of these oranges

[notglue-9]

About My AU

This is about how 8 souls in Minecraft afterlife,try to live in peace and harmony.

Random facts about world/lore:

• You can’t stay at night for long as your own nightmares and fears will begin to haunt you.

• Catnap has had corruption three times. And each time it gets worse and more painful.

• on a full moon in Cartoon world, Catnap will turn into that same creepy version of himself from his past life.

• Bobby: mother/big sister figure

Bubba: Big bro/Father figure

Kickin: best Bro/best friend

Hoppy: best sister/best friend

Crafty: comfort shy bestie

Picky: the same kind aunt who will feed and take care of you/sibling figure

• Catnap lives with Bobby or Bubba.

The guys built houses for each other while they were in the afterlife. And they built a House for Dogday in advance.

• It hurts Catnap to show other emotions with his mouth, so he always smiles. But in the animation "Overnight" he was so upset that he didn't care about the pain and to show his sadness to Dogday he erased his smile

About Medallions

medallions are their souls.

Catnap collects the negative emotions of other critters. This makes his medallion increase. Although he helps others, it’s worse for him if he collects a lot of negativity within himself. He's in pain and reaaally Sick.💀

Each critter has their own cracks in their medallions. They show their emotional state.

Why is Catnap's medallion different?

it’s just that Catnap is punished for what he did in a past life. He pays back by helping and providing therapy to others there will be a rollback from negativity only if someone helps him. But no one will help him yet. The worse the Catnap medallion stage, the more his voice disappears, his beautiful lullaby voice becomes either mute or creepy.

The reason why Catnap is still cursed with this "therapy" ability. He feels guilty for all his mistakes. And it haunts him. His guilt hits harder than other negative emotions of smiling critters.

Sometimes a big red cloud hangs over him in the shape of his past life. And until he forgives himself and does not help others. He will be forever cursed and suffer

Cracked or Cursed Medallions symptoms

When Catnap is too overwhelmed with negativity. He coughs up Red Smoke.

But it doesn’t affect the others in any way. Although other critters are scared by this smoke. Especially Dogday.

Broken medallions.

These are souls that have not found peace, traumatized, broken. They feel bad mentally.

About ARCS.

Arc 0. - Catnap's Therapy. Pilot lmao

Arc 1. - Eclipse, nightmares and dreams,"I'm sorry"

Arc 2.- Corruption,Hey Dogday,,the groundhog Day,comics about other Critters

Arc 3- (Red crescent arc) - Your face,Camping, Theatre, others in future

Arc 4.- After prank, overnight,Moon's everyday Life.

Arc 1- Everyone hates Catnap. They shun him. Beat him,kick him. Bobby was the first to befriend him.

Arc. 2.Catnap helps them cope with their traumas that have begun to appear and interfere with their lives.

Arc 3.They are all more or less well. Some notice Catnap's strange behavior. Dogday has a hard time accepting Catnap. He already wanted to more or less make the relationship better. But the Red Moon appeared.

Their voices ,Their speaking style

Dogday: The deep voice of a veteran who went through a 100-year war. But sometimes it changes to squeaky if it experiences strong emotions. He remained expressive, but his face is always angry as if it would bite you.

Catnap: Actually he was mute. But he was given a voice in the afterlife. He still can't get used to it. His voice is very gentle, cold and pleasant to the ear, like the Cradle. His voice is also designed for singing.

Bobby: Calming tone, tactile when communicating. Sometimes she makes beautiful speeches. And very chatty. Loves to gossip.

Bubba: Monotonous and calculating Voice. He speaks briefly and clearly. And doesn't gesture at all and he is very passive.

Kickin: He deliberately makes his voice tone rougher to seem cool. He comes up with different slangs and often makes funny gestures. But when he's scared, his voice becomes very squeaky and he chirps like a Chicken.

Hoppy: She has a loud and confident voice, like a fitness club trainer. She will never tire of shouting motivational words at you. She often jumps and runs around you. She doesn't sit still while she chats with you.

Crafty: A gentle and sweet voice, like a princess. She is often distracted and has Daydreaming Syndrome.

Loves fairy tales and everything that is not from reality. She can debate her point of view about creativity

Picky: She has a very fun and playful voice. But sometimes you don’t understand whether she’s happy or ready to roast you in a fire.

A truly charming farmer and chef. Loves the Western theme.

About Chronology.

First arc - Catnap enters the afterlife. And everyone will begin to take revenge on him in their own way. Only Bobby will be there for him

Second arc - Catnap helps all of his friends to help recover from their traumas, and slowly wins their trust.

Third arc - Everything will more or less calm down. Only Dogday has the most difficult period of acceptance. There will be a lot of adventure beyond this. And only when Dogday wants to fix everything. The red moon appears on the horizon

(camping, theatre )

fourth arc - is Catnap's self-exile. everyone misses catnap

Arc five- blocked

Arc six- blocked

[magnecalliope]

To the people who only know Clown from trsmp, his other blue haired freak is Kaboodle

To the people who only know Clown from lifesteal, his other blue haired freak is Roscumber

Glad to see that no matter where he goes Clown will always find some blue haired little freak to grab by the scruff and take under his wing as some sort of evil apprentice

[oxenfreeao3]

I need Caitlyn “if I cannot become ungovernable I will become the government” Kiramman to have a full-on Machiavellian anti-hero arc so that The General Public finally takes her seriously.

Analysis:

I've mentioned it before, but Caitlyn's character embodies nearly all the traits of a Machiavellian with high cognitive empathy.

Firstly and most obviously, she manipulates systems and people to accomplish her goals. Vi would still be in Stillwater and much of Act II and III would not have happened if Caitlyn weren't willing to cleverly and unscrupulously lie and forge her way to success.

We can argue she's not a very good liar. I argue that doesn't really matter. One, her lies work. Two, she is clearly ready and willing to deceive so long as she thinks it's for a good reason. The inclination is what matters. I think the important question to ask is, "What is this character willing do to?"

Secondly, she's huge on agency. It's one of the main features of her character. She demonstrates (from the five-factor model): achievement-striving, assertiveness, self-confidence, emotional invulnerability, activity, and competence.

Regarding emotional invulnerability. I want to touch on this because I think it's missed. Caitlyn is an extremely guarded character. She reveals almost no personal information about herself, even to Vi. During high-stress situations, she flinches from her own vulnerability, tries to play it off, or compartmentalizes heavily.

Vi is the bleeding heart, the open book, the one who can't guard worth a damn (it's not even subtext, other characters say this to her face and I believe it has a dual meaning).

Meanwhile, Caitlyn waits until Vi is vulnerable with her and shows her respect before even giving Vi her name. (I have more to say about the "Cupcake" scene but that's for another time).

Other aspects of a Machiavellian character include:

Cynicism, selfishness, callousness, arrogance, deliberation and orderliness.

I argue that Caitlyn's character hints at the first one, gets away with the next three because she's "sweet," and blatantly embodies the last two.

Caitlyn in S1 is a sharp edge sheathed in kindness. We like what she's currently doing and think she's a Good Person because her trajectory aligns with our own sense of right and wrong. But Caitlyn is doing what she wants. What she thinks is right. Again, it's not subtext.

Marcus: "She does whatever she wants, I can't control her!"

And in S2, I think the same behaviors we currently love in her could easily be used to spin her down a corruption arc that leaves us a bit aghast -- but shouldn't leave us surprised.

I argue such an arc would be squarely in character.

Paraphrasing from the AMA:

"Everyone is a little bit opposite of who they are in Season One."

What will that mean for Caitlyn?

I don't know, but the recipe for a very interesting time is written all over her character.

[fierce-little-miana]

Finished Mononoke (2007), and definitely I really liked it.

As for the final arc, the bakeneko one, it might sound strange but I really liked how Setsuko’s death is “sexualized”.

When her boss assaults her he is not trying to SA her. He is trying to impose himself physically to her so she stops threatening him professionally and socially. Yet, in their struggle, her bra (or camisole, but very clearly a piece of underwear) is revealed and he ends up between her legs while holding her above the bridge.

It is a very sexualized position and it works so well for what the story is trying to tell. Her boss is assaulting her/trying to destroy her article not only because he is corrupted. He is doing that to her because she is a woman.

Setsuko is almost right when she accuses him of being jealous of her. He is slightly jealous, but most of all he despises her. Because she is a woman. He dislikes that she is trying her hand at “serious” journalism (he wants to send her back to the lifestyle rubric of the newspaper), he probably dislikes that she dresses in an androgynous fashion (the fashion of the 20-30’s was often criticized for being too masculine and the anime drew our attention to this fact), etc. and is hoping that life is going to bring her back to her natural place without him intervening. When life doesn’t (because there is no such thing as a natural place for women), and she manages to uncover a bigger scandal than he could ever do, he starts sabotaging her not only because he is corrupted, but also to bring her back to her “proper” place himself.

Therefore, framing his physical assault of her the same way as SA makes that facet of their dynamic completely explicit. Setsuko is not only killed as a journalist threatening the statu quo would be, she is also killed as a woman threatening the statu quo (here the patriarchy).

Showing that through the choreography of the fight was such a clever choice.

(Also there is something to be said about her rage fusing with the ones of cats being run over by trains to create the mononoke. Guess who else was considered as acceptable collateral damage to preserve the statu quo (here trains arriving on time)?)

[kunasthiast]

dire consequences

You stared blankly on your laptop screen, open to a half-written presentation on ethics – it was 2AM on a Saturday night (well, techinically Sunday morning), and you were supposed to finish it yesterday.

Your fourth cup of coffee sat cold beside your laptop and your sanity? It’s somewhere between your paper and the Netflix tab you were this close to clicking.

The only thing keeping you from full academic surrender? Your ever-present, ever-annoying boyfriend, Sukuna. Shirtless. On your bed. Sprawled out like a Renaissance painting no one asked for but somehow couldn’t look away from.

Sukuna, to put it simply, had zero interest in anything that didn’t involve him or you. So, why should he care about your ethics presentation when he was busy doomscrolling on his phone, and a glass of wine casually perched on your nightstand like it belonged there?

The cursor blinked in judgment. So did your annoyingly smug (but hot) boyfriend from across the room.

“Well?” Sukuna finally said, still cocooned in your duvet like he owned the damn thing (and honestly, considering how often he stayed over, he might as well). His phone stayed glued to his hand as he scrolled, entirely unaffected by the stress radiating off you.

“Have you decided to betray your moral compass yet and write that stupid ethics paper?” He added, voice coated in lazy amusement.

You sighed dramatically, tossing your pen aside.

“Ugh, nope. But I’m also not writing another ‘capitalism bad’ essay unless you help me.”

He didn’t even look up. Just kept scrolling and yawned. Yawned. “Boring. Can’t you write about something fun, like stealing organs for love or something?” He raised an eyebrow lazily, like he didn’t just say something totally unhinged.

You turned slowly. “I… what?”

He met your eyes, smirking the devil that he is. “C���mon babe. Picture it. Some morally gray hottie falls for a girl, needs to save her, steals a kidney from a corrupt CEO – see? Ethics paper. Sexy and topical.”

“That’s not ethics. That’s your Wattpad villain arc” you said, moving to sit beside him on the bed. 

“Details,” he said with a wink.

You nudged his shoulder, “Seriously, ‘Kuna. Help. Gimme something good or I’m quoting Kant and crying about moral duty again.”

He stretched, clearly enjoying your suffering. “Kant, huh? Big fan of rules. You sure he didn’t ghost you or something?”

You deadpanned. “If he did, I’d haunt you just to get closure.”

“You already haunt me, baby. Rent-free. Right here.” He tapped his temple with mock seriousness.

You snorted, smacking him lightly with a pillow. “Okay, philosophy daddy, what would you write about?”

Sukuna looked at you, smug as ever. “Well I dunno, princess, you’ve been on your high horse so much lately, maybe I’ll write about that. Ethics and all. You’re basically the poster child for moral superiority.” 

You shoved him, groaning. “Wow, you really know how to make a girl feel special.”

He didn’t even flinch, just grinned wider. “Mm. I know you love me, baby.”

“I know, I know. But for real,” you said, reaching out to poke his cheek. “Can you at least use that oversized, ancient brain of yours and tell me what would you write about?”

That got his attention. He lowered his phone and gave you a slow once-over. “Ancient, huh? I’m not even that old.”

You rolled your eyes, “You talk like you watched Rome burn.”

He propped himself up on his elbows, voice dropping an octave, amused, a little flirty, “And you, babe, would’ve looked really good in a toga. Just sayin’.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“And you’re totally in love with me.”

You smacked him with a pillow. He caught it mid-air, completely unfazed, and leaned back into your side with a lazy grin.

“Seriously though,” he said, eyes glinting with amusement, “I’d write Jurassic Park.”

You blinked, clearly not expecting that. “You’re joking.”

“Absolutely not. It’s got everything: cloning, capitalism, science going too far. It’s basically the holy grail of ethical dilemmas, sweetheart.”

You gave him a look. “That’s out comfort movie. I don’t wanna dissect it for school.”

He raised an eyebrow, too pleased with himself. “But it’s perfect. Chaos theory. Life finds a way. What more do you need?”

“Ugh, I can’t believe you. I’m not quoting Jeff Goldblum,” you said flatly, crossing your arms. “I will not lower myself to that level.” 

“You want to quote him, brat.” He said smugly. “That man is a walking ethical dilemma. I’d tattoo ‘life finds a way’ on my ass.” 

“Oh my god, please don’t. My professor doesn’t need to mentally see your butt during my presentation.”

“Correction: everyone benefits from seeing my ass. Including academia.”

You hurled another pillow. He dodged.

But… you had to admit it. Jurassic Park really did tick all the boxes. Cloning? Check. Genetic engineering? Check. Corporate irresponsibility? Check. Hell, you could probably write a thesis on it.

Sukuna, of course, wasn’t done. He grinned, smug as ever, clearly savoring the moment, and resumed doomscrolling. 

“Suit yourself, brat. You’re missing out. I’d kill to see you drop some chaotic Goldblum wisdom in front of your professor. And I know you love it.”

“I don’t,” you groaned, picking at your nails to avoid the inevitable. “I do not love Jeff Goldblum's chaos theory.”

And just as you were about to dive back into your misery of actually attempting to brainstorm, it happened.

Sukuna suddenly gasped – loudly. Dramatically. Like he’d just seen something tragic or a traumatic spoiler. 

“HOLY FUCK, babe! This is it!”

You jumped, “What?! What now? Is this another one of Reddit rabbit holes?!”

Sukuna sat up, eyes sparkling with mischief, “Winter is coming.”

You blinked, processing the sudden shift in the conversation. “What the hell are you talking about?”

He shoved his phone in your face, “LOOK, baby. They brought back dire wolves. Real ones.”

“Huh?”

“De-extinction!” he said, eyes wide with excitement, “They’re using ancient DNA. Real Ice Age shit. Game of Thrones, but science-y crap shit.” 

You stared at him. Then the article. Then back at him. 

“This is either revolutionary or literally Jurassic Park 2.0.”

“Exactly,” he nodded, looking way too pleased with himself. “It’s happening in real life. Ethics paper and nerdy hot boyfriend material? You’re welcome.”

Your blinked, still processing. “This is... that’s insane! Where’d you find this article?”

“Reddit,” he replied, so serious it almost made you laugh. “And it’s real as my huge cock, baby.”

You groaned. “Oh my god. Stop.”

“This is science, baby. The future’s coming, and it’s bringing dire wolves with it.”

You stared at him, blinking, before letting out a laugh. “You’re such a nerd.”

“And you love me.”

You ignored him, eyes scanning the article now. “Wait, this could actually work. The ethics of de-extinction. Playing god, animal rights, ecological balance…”

He leaned in, smirking, voice low and smug. “Told ya. I’m full of good ideas and bad intentions.”

You raised a brow. “You’re also full of bullshit.”

“Hot, charming bullshit.” 

You sighed, flopping dramatically onto the bed, pillow over your face. “But, if this is so real… it’s so… what’s the word? Ridiculous. Unethical. Insane.”

He raised a brow. “You say insane. I say bold. Imagine it, a species that’s been extinct for 10,000 years, running free again. Moral questions, consequences, potential for mischief –”

He practically purred the last word, his cocky smile creeping into his voice. 

You peeked out from under the pillow, scowling, “You seriously think that’s okay? Just bringing back an extinct species like it’s no big deal?”

“Why not?” He shrugged. “Humans have always played god. It’s kinda our thing.” 

You narrowed your eyes. “But who gets to decide that? What if it screws up the environment? We don’t know how they’ll interact with modern ecosystems.”

He raised a finger, like he was making a grand philosophical point. “Exactly. That’s the debate. We don’t know. That uncertainty? That’s what makes it ethics gold. Do we follow nature’s rules... or rewrite them?”

You let out a long breath. 

“You’re the worst. You’re literally the devil’s advocate.”

“Well, someone has to be,” he said, winking at you. “And you love it.”

You groaned. “You’re lucky you're hot.”

He kissed your forehead, obnoxiously proud. “And you're lucky I’m brilliant.”

“Debatable,” you mumbled, walking back to your desk and opening your laptop.

“I heard that,” he called, already back in your bed fort of pillows and stolen blankets.

“And I still expect a ‘thank you’ in the acknowledgments.”

“Only if I win a Nobel Prize for not killing you first.”

“Hot.”

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

a/n: i'm finally back, gosh, my thesis is holding me back from writing sukuna fics again – and the time i was back, the dire wolves de-extinction articles are the first to welcome me haskdfdjafaud

[ninicaise]

what's so refreshing about will as a character is that he doesn't throw a denial tantrum about it at any point like most characters with Darkness Within Them do. he's not a moral paragon, his angst and secretkeeping don't get annoying at any point. and i think it's because there's no contrast between who will Really Is, which is Good and True, and the dark king as his shadow or his dark self.

will is the dark king. he behaves like the dark king. he lies and he manipulates and he's a "sneak" and he's scaringly charming and he's possessive over james and a ton of other messed up shit and he tells himself it's for a good reason, and maybe it is!! and will is clearly you know. a Good Person. while his methods are sneaky, he does not actually do anything wrong. but those are his methods still, and they are cool moments and badass and also kind of eerie.

with the way he's written, i would argue will doesn't have or even need a corruption arc, he's just like that from the get-go and he's not gonna change. and i don't mean he was born evil or whatever other bullshit i mean that he was born a full person, including the dark king and will both, and there's complexity, but no clear line separates them.

[crystaltoa]

Ey so what was your thesis about Bionicle as a meta-narrative/story-about-stories? I´m a huge fan of meta-ficiton/meta-narratives and never thought of the series that way so your take regarding it got me really interested.

So, there’s a bunch of facets to this.

Basically, Bionicle characters know they are in a story. This doesn’t mean that they know they’re fictional characters or that there’s an audience of humans watching, but their universe designates people as heroes, villains, and bystanders/victims. The universe runs on story logic, almost to the same extent as Discworld, though with superhero comics and hero mythologies rather than high fantasy and fairy tales. The “genre savvy” characters are of a more subtle type as well. The heroes go into a situation with an expectation of how it will end, because they have some idea what their destiny is, and heroes are always expected to win, right? But they are still often surprised by the outcome, because the story they were told is only a fraction of a more complex reality.

Let’s start with the first obvious storyteller: Vakama

The backstory, as first told to us by Vakama invokes mythic tropes such as creation stories, Cain and Abel style brotherly betrayals, and heroes who arrive from a distant land. Despite the fact that the characters are clearly some sort of robots or cyborgs, we’re immediately told that their setting runs on the logic of magic and myth. So Vakama and the other Turaga, as the storytellers, give the heroes and the audience an idea of how this world works and how things will turn out. This mythic story also represents the power of stories to persist and carry meaning through time, shaping thought and belief, even after the original facts have been long forgotten.

But then Vakama pulls out the rug from under us with the reveal of Metru Nui. Suddenly the story shifts from fantasy to scifi, from humble villages in harmony with their environment to a futuristic dystopia. This time the heroes are not beloved figures of myth, but vigilantes pitted against a corrupt police state. Again, Vakama is telling the story though, and he holds control over how his audience perceives the events and characters. And yet again, he is leaving something out- the Visorak and Hordika. Initially, he intended to keep that secret. It didn’t fit the story he was trying to tell. He had a perfect character arc laid out for himself in Legends of Metru Nui in his journey from a shy, anxious mask maker into a confident hero and leader. That was all anyone needed to know, right?

The Hordika represent yet another genre shift, this time into noir/horror. The heroes do not act heroically. They do not look heroic. Their character development is often negative. They are implied to be an aberration at even the cosmic level, since the Great Temple, and implicitly Mata Nui himself, rejects them. They find out that their selection as Toa came about thanks to Makuta himself. The story has gone horribly wrong, and the heroes know it. But nevertheless, the Toa resolve their differences, teamwork saves the day yet again, the prophecy is fulfilled For That Is The Way Of The Bionicle.

Vakama has very little to do in the legends arc. Because he’s been established by now as a less than reliable expositor, it is the always truthful Nokama who drops the reveal instead: Mata Nui is dying.

Vakama’s stepping down from his storytelling role allows for the gradual reveal of another storyteller: Makuta Teridax.

Chronologically, Makuta’s first real foray into weaving the narrative around others happened in Time Trap. He constructs his own elaborate narrative around Vakama in order to manipulate his mind and behaviour. But Vakama fails to play his part as the protagonist correctly, causing Teridax’s constructed narrative to fall apart.

By the time we become aware of his role in the ignition arc, Teridax has improved his technique as a puppet master/ storyteller considerably. Almost every conflict the heroes face has been orchestrated by him, pitting minor villain groups against the heroes to give them the victories that their story requires. Teridax seems aware that heroes have to ‘win’ because Destiny demands it, so he lets them, but it’s all in service of his own ultimate victory. Instead of the ‘cross-wired’ and unpredictable Vakama, Teridax targets the dutiful but socially isolated and secretive Matoro, who he basically grooms to be the perfect little sacrifice. Matoro performs his role perfectly, and gives the heroes an apparent bittersweet victory while allowing Teridax to put the final stages of his plan in motion.

[blairwld]

we could have had it all

Dark Emma should have been like Anakin Skywalker actually

[hello-nichya-here]

Think I finally managed to understand why Azula not getting a redemption arc works in the show, but not in the comics (beyond the absurd ableism in the Yang stories that is).

Azula has become the classic case of a villain that keeps being brought back due to popularity despite clearly not belonging in the story anymore.

Her arc as a villain was completed in the show. She's been the backstabber, the relentless pursuer, and the cunning villain that wins through mindgames. She's been in charge, been under someone else's rule, joined forces with another villain, and had her enemies join forces against her.

She's been the villain that wins people through manipulation and/or charisma, or that full on threatens them into submission. She had henchmen that she used and threw away, and henchmen she cared about and was abandoned by. She was arrogant and power hungry, but also desperate for validation. She was the main villain's adored, loyal pet that was eventually kicked aside in the end.

She's been the lesser of two evils when compared to Ozai, and the worse of multiple evils when compared to Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee. She's been the villain that gets back up after a defeat post The Drill, the villain that wins (by corrupting one of the potential heroes, capturing a friend of the protagonist and KILLING said protagonist) in the Ba Sing Se arc, the villain that has both a satisfying AND tragic downfall in Boiling Rock and the finale, and the villain with hints of humanity that she refuses to embrace in The Headband, The Beach and the finale.

She had conflicts with people she had zero personal history with (Aang, Long Feng) leading to both physical and mental battles, and people she had a messy history with (her friends and Zuko) leading to super emotional scenes.

And finally, she's been the cold, calculating villain AND the villain that is a complete wreck mentally/emotionally - that last one only lasting for the finale because Azula's breakdown was not the CAUSE of her evil actions, it was the consequence of it. And said consequence made her be both the villain that is defeated by the heroes and the one that causes her own downfall.

Every single fucking thing that could have been done with her as villain has been done in the show already. Even Spirit Temple, the only comic that understood her character, couldn't do much beyond just repeat stuff we're already seen.

Azula refusing to accept anything she considers weakness or imperfection? We've see that in nearly every scene she was in.

Azula leading an evil squad? Literally what she did for 90% of her screentime on the show.

Azula losing said squad and refusing to take responsibility for it? Literally the Mai and Ty Lee arc, hence the two haunting her mind in that same comic. Only this time it happened MUCH faster because Azula no longer has all the political power she once had, so there's less consequences for crossing, so she's not as threatening to ANYONE.

Azula being pathetic and making a fool out of herself? The Beach exists.

Azula being obsessive to the point that it's almost laughable? Again, 90% of her screentime.

Azula having issues with her mom, desperately wanting love from her family, friends and a potential boyfriend? Again, The Beach exists and so does the finale.

The scene of her being confronted with a hallucination of an angry Zuko and shooting lightning at him? Literally a direct reference to the Last Agni Kai, which was the culmination of both of their arcs.

The ONLY thing that was new in that comic was the short moment in which Azula shows resentment towards her father for turning her into a copy of him, and that wasn't explored further not just because it's a stand-alone comic, but also because doing so would open the can of worms that is "Wait, if she's self-aware and processing trauma, that means she could learn her lesson and change" and since the writers clearly don't wanna go there, the scene is useless.

If the writers insist on keeping Azula an active threat in the story, they're setting themselves up for failure. Either they're gonna keep repeating storylines we've already seen with far less tension and with a villain that got a severe downgrade, essentially making Azula the Tom to their Jerry, or they're gonna pull a Yang and go "Make her crazier to make her scary again!" while ignoring that her days as a villain were cut BECAUSE she went insane, and now that here vil plans make no fucking sense anymore, the heroes just look stupid for not being able to defeat her.

Azula has nothing more to give to the story in the role of a villain, so she should either only appear in flashbacks or quick mentions of "she's being cared for, but it seems it's too little too late", or she should be redeemed to get a new role in the story, with new paths to explore. She just can't keep being put into the role of active threat, when we've all seen said threat was clearly neutralized already.

It. Does. Not. Work.