#toph didn't actually threaten aang's life

[the-badger-mole]

Even the reddit mods are like "this guy's full of shit" lol also just imagining Toph's comment from the ominous "comment deleted" lol I bet she used every swear word known to man plus a few known only to dolphins

What she said almost got her account suspended, but in light of what Aang had written, someone cut her some slack...this time.

[eponastory]

Alright let's break this silly argument down a bit shall we?

First off, yes, everyone in the Gaang has trauma. We know this, and we don't disregard that. We know that Sokka and Katara have trauma. We know Aang has guilt over what happens with the Air Nomads when he ran away. We know Toph has baggage because her parents kept her confined because of her disability. That's all been established.

Comparing trauma does not work in anyone's favor because it's different from person to person and the way that it's treated. Hell, there are FOUR types of PTSD and not all of them have to do with existential circumstances. Some of these types have nothing to do with being in a situation that causes panic.

But it's how we deal with our trauma that sets us on the path to healing.

In Katara's case, she had some pretty severe Survivors Guilt. Not necessarily PTSD, but it could be argued that she does have that. It changed her life irrevocably and that is something she had to deal with. She does get to deal with it in TSR but this leads to conflict between her and the group because there is this perception of her that isn't really her.

Sokka has to rise above his issues with being a non-bender and feeling left out. I also feel like he hides a lot behind his humor to deflect how he really feels about things. This is what happens when you have anxiety about meeting expectations. He has expectations he has to fulfill, and it never goes right. He's afraid of disappointing people he cares about and doesn't want to let them down. He isn't a failure, but when he does actually do something amazing, there is Imposter Syndrome. We don't see it much, but we do in NAtLA.

I'm not going to talk about Aang. I refuse.

Toph has been sheltered her whole life because she is blind. She is at home with herself, but she doesn't like anyone to do anything for her. She eventually learns that it's okay to have help when she needs it and that it's okay to have friends. (Not comparing trauma here, but she has the minor character arch out of all of them)

Zuko is... a lot to unpack. At the beginning, we know next to nothing about him except that he is the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, and he's hunting the Avatar to reclaim his 'honor'. He's hot-headed, but we never actually see him hurting anyone. He threatens, but he doesn't want to hurt people. That's the first sign that things aren't all they seem with Sifu Hotman. Throughout book one we get to know him a little better and see that he is Banished from home because of a 'misunderstanding' and he was also brutally abused by his own father. In the Netflix Adaptation it's more nuanced at how Ozai is playing his children against each other for his own benefit. It sucks but it's also good writing (some of the best writing is done with the characters of the Fire Nation) but anyway, we get an understanding of where Zuko's trauma comes from.

He has been emotionally abused by his narcissistic sociopath of a father because Zuko didn't have that 'spark' in his eyes at birth (not the entire reason but I'll get to that in a bit). Azula was the Prodigy, so Ozai put all his focus on to her. Then, his mother literally killed Azulon to save Zuko's life, but he doesn't find out until later. All of that plus the Agni Kai against his father is why he is so invested in finding the Avatar. Ozai seemingly took everything away from Zuko, but Zuko still loves his father and his people.

So why is he chasing the Avatar? Because he wants to go back to everything he knows. It's not just about getting back something that was never really taken away, it was all about getting back everything Ozai took from him.

Zuko never lost his honor, but he had everything else stripped from him and was humiliated for it.

He eventually grows through this and begins to heal himself with confronting Ozai on the Day of Black Sun. That was when he said 'fuck this shit I'm doing this my way' and that royally pisses Ozai off.

So if you don't like that our argument has better standing than yours, I suggest you go take some creative writing classes and learn about character development.

[burst-of-iridescent]

atla live action thoughts: episode 5

SPOILERS AHEAD

tw: opinions

things i liked:

the title of the episode being a nod to ghibli is cute since ghibli was a major influence on the original

jun hitting on iroh is so fucking funny. zuko's reaction is 100% on point it's giving that scene in book 2 where iroh flirts with the ba sing se official to get passports and zuko's all "great agni please kill me now"

guessing this episode is pulling from both the swamp and the winter solstice. not mad about it, they're probably trying to eliminate some of the early filler in s2 to save time in the next season if they get greenlit. this means we're likely not getting aang having his vision of toph though :(

katara actually seeing her mother be burned to death is so much more traumatizing than the original, but i do appreciate the depth it brings to how desperate katara is to learn waterbending because she wasn't able to save her mother when it mattered

koh is just as creepy as the original, but i wish they hadn't taken out that the way he steals faces is by goading his victims into showing emotion

mai and ty lee sleeping next to each other is very cute <3

idk if i was just imagining things but it looked like azula's fire briefly turned from orange to blue at the end. guessing the season is going to end with her getting her lightning and iconic blue flames

aang getting to have one more moment with gyatso to say goodbye and gyatso assuring him the air nomad genocide wasn't his fault... tearbending

things i disliked/am conflicted about:

why on earth would sokka's traumatic memory be nearly failing at ice dodging and having to be saved by bato??? the fact that sokka DIDN'T get to go ice dodging in the original was a great way of showing us what he'd lost without male influences in his life, and his success at it highlighted his quick-thinking and ingenuity. if we needed a traumatic memory, why not use the moment where sokka watches the men sail off to war without him?? especially since the live action is so focused on how sokka grew up too soon by having to be the protector of his village and this was one of the story beats in the original that told us WHY he felt the need to live up to some impossible ideal of masculinity

sokka and hakoda's relationship in the live action is just weird in general. sokka saying his dad didn't really support him being an engineer in omashu as though hakoda wasn't just as resourceful and inventive in the original? i don't buy that hakoda would've EVER spoken about sokka like that to bato either, which also defeats the entire purpose of foiling the zuko/ozai and sokka/hakoda relationship.

fox spirit yue (?) was downright odd

no clue what they're doing with azula's character or if i like it. on the one hand, i do find it plausible that ozai would use the threat of zuko to keep azula in her place, but she feels way too visibly threatened by zuko here when she didn't seem that way up till her breakdown in the original. why would she when she was ozai's golden child pretty much right from the start?

ty lee's wig is god awful

we're more than halfway through and aang has not waterbent ONCE or made any attempt to learn... bombastic side eye

overall episode rating: 6.5/10, mostly for the odd characterization decisions.

[reticenceofladyeva]

hoax xiv (you know I left a part of me back in pouhai)

Zuko's arms are crossed tightly over his chest, and if Sokka didn't know any better, he'd say he was glaring at the clouds. Aang has been going on for the better part of an hour about how excited he is to see Katara, how much he's missed her the last few years, how she's going to be so impressed at how tall he is, and so on.

Publicly, Sokka finds himself missing the calm before the sedative wore off (Aang only grins and keeps yapping). Privately, the way Zuko is glaring, Sokka thinks Aang might have a rival (although if Katara is out for blood, Sokka isn't going to worry about it too much). Aang happily prattles on, and Sokka happily tunes him out, choosing instead to rifle through Zuko's pack for snacks. He is not disappointed.

"Sure," Zuko says. "Help yourself."

"Thanks buddy," Sokka says, smiling around the fire flakes and jerky he's appropriated. "I owe you one."

This turns Zuko contemplative in a way Sokka does not like.

Aang continues with the incessant yammering, unbothered. The look on Toph's face tells Sokka it won't be tolerated for much longer. He smiles indulgently at Aang. A Toph-punch to the head, he's sure, will put Aang back under for a while. That he has the thought at all does make Sokka feel a little guilty, but then Aang is the one who spent most of captivity snoozing, and the airbender seems to be accustomed to sleeping through years of his life.

No skin off Aang's wings, clearly.

Sokka kicks Zuko in the shin. "So, jerkbender, what's his name?"

Zuko jolts at the contact and scowls. "Aang?"

"No! The kid. What's your kid's name?"

"Oh." Zuko looks away. "Kova. He just turned one."

Sokka nods approvingly. "Good, strong Water Tribe name. That was my grandfather's name, actually--wait a minute." Launching himself at Zuko, Sokka tackles him into the back of the saddle, and Zuko squirms, trying to land a hit without throwing both of them into free-fall.

A few minutes later, bruised and bleeding a little from his lip, Sokka elbows Zuko once more for good measure and scoots away (but only because Toph told him to move his sorry butt). Aang frowns down at both of them as Toph threatens them with very pointy metal objects. "What are you guys doing," the boy demands, clutching his head. "You could have fallen off of Appa."

Sokka snorts. "Trust me buddy, that's the least of your worries."

Zuko slaps the back of Sokka's head. Sokka pointedly steals more jerky from Zuko's pack.

It's as good a truce as any.

[shopcat]

zuko really has all the big ones (azula too obv). and i know people try and be like Um actually they're just traumatised/mentally ill/were sheltered/don't know how to talk to normal people and it's like ... okay... and these things are nonexclusive also who cares. like zuko's just like [takes things too literally] [has a one track mind (I Must Find The Avatar)] [hyperfocuses on things] [has to train fine motor skills typical in peers his age harder and for longer (struggles to perform his forms in front of azulon, still going over the firebending basics years later at 16)] [black and white thinking (everything is Good vs Evil, finding the avatar = restoring his honour and doesn't consider any other option or ulterior motive or outcome)] [struggles with rigid morality (41st division)] [struggles emotionally regulating] [can't control his tone or volume level] [doesn't fundamentally understand his peers] [gets along with those typically younger and older than him, not his direct peers (toph, aang, iroh, katara)] [lashes out physically due to emotional dysregulation] [mirrors others (impressions, "look how azula feeds the turtleducks") (also doesn't understand why that was wrong until he's told)] [doesn't understand social situations, rituals or rules and sometimes just barely attempts to follow them at all] [poor sense of self] [scripting (that damn frog)] [high emotionality] [rigid or awkward body language] [doesn't like social touch] [lack of care for his own well-being and mortality] [high pain tolerance] [doesn't like speaking/low speaking episodes] [doesn't consider people might be lying -> "father wants me back?" -> "didn't you hear azula?!"] [enjoys structure and routine] [doesn't like things deviating from those routines] [feels unable to emotionally connect with others] [is prone to overdramatisation and catastrophising ("why are you flirting with my girlfriend!!!!") (lightning breakdown)] [doesn't understand why iroh won't SHOOT LIGHTNING at him] [goes into a literal coma because he makes a decision that's at odds with who he considers himself to be and can't conceptualise the change of it or see himself as one whole] [is fine talking about his own life/feelings/hardships but doesn't know how to respond to others] ["that's rough buddy"] ["hey. zuko here"] [before katara literally threatens his life at the temple he thinks she's just there to say HI 😭] [can be overfamiliar in situations he shouldn't be] [doesnt understand metaphors at all] ["bite into the silver sandwich"] [is blunt/speaks honestly even when he shouldn't]

[theowritesfiction]

‘The Western Air Temple’

Okay wow, yes, the upside-down Air Temple is one of the coolest places in the world of ATLA. Interesting little Zuko flashback, too, I had forgotten that this was not his first visit to the temple.

Ok, so Aang is back to his flighty "I guess you don't have a firebending teacher lined up for me, so I’ll just goof around" ways. Enter Zuko. Zuko hatching his plans on how to convince the Gaang to accept him and delivering his monologue to a frog will never stop being funny. The Frog remains unconvinced. But I think Zuko's impersonation of Azula was actually pretty good. :)

Ooof, Zuko's first attempt to ingratiate himself to the group is so damn rough. Can't believe he used the practiced routine that didn't even work on the frog. Still... he was doing almost okay until he mentioned the Combustion Man. Seriously Zuko? Diplomacy is clearly this boy's dump stat. (Great for a future Fire Lord...) Gotta say, I love seeing Katara being absolutely ruthless to Zuko here.

okay, but for Zuko thinking that he should have said Azula sent the assassin... sorry, Zuko, that's 30 Jerk Points right there. I think it also clearly shows how biased Zuko is when it comes to his sister, and that HE is actually just as or even more ready to lie to make her look worse.

I loved all the back and forth between the Gaang when discussing Zuko, and I thought it was especially interesting how Toph mentioned that Zuko could have turned out a lot worse considering his crazy and messed up family, and like... yeah, sure, but... how much does Toph actually know about that? She has nowhere near the full story. And I get why Toph is arguing on Zuko's behalf - unlike the others, she has no negative experiences when encountering Zuko.

Do I give Zuko Jerk Points for burning Toph's feet? No. That was a complete accident. Also, I love Zuko's dramatic 'Why am I so bad at being Good?' cry.

Well... I guess the key to joining a group of heroes is to first hire an assassin to kill them and then make a public but ineffective spectacle about trying to stop said assassin. Problem solved!

Also, Sokka's boomerang throw was legendary. <3

I absolutely love Zuko sweating pinballs as Aang asks Katara if it's okay for Zuko to join. I cracked up laughing. And I love how angry Katara still is when she agrees to it. Also, the ending is just so perfect. I know Katara got a ton of hatred especially from Zuko fans for this episode, but screw that. The way she leans in menacingly against Zuko's doorframe and then proceeds to give Zuko likely the most threatening speech of his life? That's... amazing. Running away from Azula, only to run into Katara, that's too funny to me.

Jerk Points for Book 3:

Zuko - 640 Aang – 280  Ozai - 250 Roku - 100 Hide, Sokka - 80 King Kuei - 60 Toph - 50 Haru - 30 

[the-badger-mole]

Walk Around In Circles

Katara couldn't explain it. the sense of deja vu she got around Zuko. The moment he stepped off the boat and his eyes clashed with her furious glare, it felt familiar. Like she'd been waiting her entire life for this confrontation. But if Zuko felt it, he didn't let on. His focus arrow sharp on Aang.

The next time she felt it, she'd been tied to a tree. That part was new. What felt familiar was his pleas for understanding, and her ire at his audacity. The nerve of him! Still putting his pride and his country's valor over what was right.

Still?

Katara's anger was forgotten in that instant. What did still mean? The question was promptly chased away from her mind when he dangled her dearest treasure, her mother's necklace before her face. She had never been here before. She didn't recognize the uncertainty behind Zuko's bravado. She did not want to take his hand and lead him away from his foolish pursuit. She just wanted her mother's necklace back, and if she had to pry it from his cold dead fingers, she would.

Two times, a cave sent her reeling. The first time, was when she heard about them. Oma and Shu. Two lovers divided by the animosity of their people. What had they been fighting about, Katara had wondered. What was so important that Shu had to die before it could be resolved? Was was so unimportant that Oma and Shu thought their love could thrive in spite of it. The second time, Zuko had landed at her feet. Had anyone asked her about it later, she wouldn't have been able to explain her sense of betrayal. She'd let Zuko in. She had actually thought the part of her that recognized something in him had been telling her that she was seeing the good in him. But he'd made her look and feel more foolish than she'd ever felt in her life. From then on she was determined to squelch any sense of familiarity she felt towards him.

When he arrived, begging to even be their prisoner, Katara felt a type of rage she didn't have a name for. That was new. There were so many things in her life that enraged her, and she knew the feeling well, but this particular flavor of rage was new. It made her want to throw Zuko off of the cliff. It made her want to pummel his chest until it caved under her bare fists. It made her want to claw at him demanding to know why he betrayed her. How he could do it after everything.

After everything.

That gave Katara pause again. There was no everything. There was only a stupid girl who thought she saw something in a dark cave that wasn't really there. So when she went to Zuko that night, when she threatened his life, she was shutting a door. Building a stone wall. He would never get that close to her again.

He held her. They had left her mother's murderer alive, and she felt too many things to call it any one emotion, but it came out in tears, and Zuko didn't complain once as she sobbed into his shoulder. He held her and murmured soothing words that only made her cry harder. Promises that she did what was right for her. That her mother would be proud. That he was proud. That there was nothing wrong with what she chose. That Yon Rah was the most pathetic creature on the planet, and if she changed her mind, he would gladly take her back to put him out of everyone's misery. That made Katara laugh, even through the tears. It was just the sort of half joke he would make.

She didn't know that. She didn't know him well enough to know that. But...she did know that. As certainly as she knew the desert was hot and water was wet.

After that. She knew more. She knew his sense of humor (which no one else but Toph understood), and how to read when the tension in his shoulders was just annoyance and when it was actually something he needed to talk about. She knew when he needed space from everyone (though he never seemed to mind her presence). She knew his crooked smile (he only ever seemed to let her see it). She knew his scent (because she did his laundry with everyone else's, of course...). She knew that he liked having his scalp scratched, even though she had never actually done it himself.

She knew that he would die for her.

The despair she felt seeing him fall to Azula's lightning hurt the more for the familiarity. She would not let him die. Not this time.

There was no time for her to question that. This time. This was the first time he'd risked his life for her. They hadn't been friends that long. Still, when she beat Azula, there was nothing on Katara's mind except getting to Zuko's side. She could help him (this time she could help him). And when his flesh came together under her hands, and he took a deep breath, and Katara felt like she could breath again, too, it felt like she had been able to right a deep wrong.

It had been a long time since she'd stopped being bothered by the sense of deja vu. She didn't know how to explain it, but she felt as if she'd known Zuko forever. When they kissed for the first time, though...oh, it felt like coming home. Katara sank into his embrace and she fit in his arms so well. When she leaned in to kiss him again, and she didn't question the rightness of it. There was no thought in her mind at all except one.

Oh! How I've missed you, my love.