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She's very cozy there

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This will never not be funny to me. Like… yes Aang, tell us more about how you forgave the people who murdered the Air Nomads and the people who stole Appa.

I’m tagging this anti-Aang, even though I don’t think of it as really being anti-Aang as a character as being against some of the writing choices made on the show. It makes sense for Aang to hold this view about forgiveness, and it fits with his characterization. However, it was poor writing because the creators wanted to give examples that showed Aang experiencing trauma, and then forgiving the perpetrator of the trauma - and these examples don’t do that.

If Aang came face to face with the perpetrators of the Air Nomad genocide (impossible because they’re all long dead, but hypothetically), or the sandbenders who stole Appa, Aang would not be able to greet them completely neutrally. Aang might not choose to take revenge on them, but that’s not the same as forgiveness. The parallel also falls apart because Aang is in a different place from Katara; in Aang’s situation revenge would be impossible or unnecessary. As mentioned, those responsible for the Air Nomad genocide are long dead, so Aang can’t do anything to them. Aang may not forgive the sandbenders, but there is no purpose in seeking revenge because the main source of hurt (losing Appa) has been resolved. In Katara’s case the hurt can’t be fixed (her mother is dead), and her mother’s murderer is still alive. 

This scene also spectacularly fails to recognize the very real harm that Aang did cause with his anger. From demolishing part of a building, and nearly blowing his two friends off a mountain, to killing a buzzard-wasp, destroying a sandbender boat, and creating an environment so dangerous that his friend (Sokka) feels like he needs to evacuate himself, Toph, and everyone else from the area for their safety.

If the examples Aang gave Katara were later questioned and a longer discussion about what forgiveness means were had (or perhaps the creators gave Aang the motive that he feels guilty for the harm he caused when he was angry and that he wants Katara to avoid that same guilt), then these examples maybe could have worked. However, without such a moment the creators imply that Aang and Katara’s situations are parallels (they’re not), and conflate forgiveness (what Aang is suggesting) with making the choice to move forward from trauma not for the perpetrator but for yourself (what Katara ultimately chooses). This leaves a big inconsistency between the interpretation that the creators wanted for “The Southern Raiders” and what actually happens in it. Unfortunately this dissonance is never resolved, leaving Aang seemingly unable to understand or support Katara at her darkest.

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Imagine how the show would have changed if Gyatso ended up in the ice with Aang. Like they have a whole ass adult and he and Iroh enjoy playing Pai Sho while the kids fight.

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Monthly reminder that Azula only lost to Katara because of plot armor

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just read a fic where zuko describes jumping in front of the lighting for katara was “the easiest decision [he’s] ever made in [his] life.”

And like, fuck, canonically, zuko has absolutely struggled with making the right decision, and doing the right thing in the past—katara even says that when she threatens him in the western air temple. He struggled so badly with the decision to free appa it literally made him sick. zuko suffered two whole seasons of moral dilemma battling loyalty to his country and doing the right thing and joining the avatar. But in the finale when azula aims her lightning at katara, zuko just fucking leaps in front of it without a second thought or breath of hesitation like it absolutely was the easiest decision he’s ever made.

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got asked to upload the firelord zuko art separately! here he is️‍🔥

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Zutara Week Day 2: Disguised

Some paintedblue for today! Really I just wanted to draw them looking cool but they kinda look like they're judging you lol pov: you're at the mercy of the blue spirit and the painted lady and they're deciding your fate skfudjkdjfjf

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so, she’s just … punching the air, huh?

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You ever just feel kinda bad for K/As when the only thing they can say in defense of their ship is "iTs CaNoN"

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I love battle couples ok.

Fighting side by side. Trusting each other completely. Trying to protect each other. Casual banter in the middle of a fight. Their teamwork. Sparring each other to keep their skills sharp. Getting uncontrollably angry if the other gets hurt. Kissing each other when they’re victorious.

I seriously have a thing for battle couples.

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Hand-holding

The purest form of human connection.

tiny hands in big hands

calloused hands in soft hands

cold hands in warm hands

hands with the perfect ratio to each other for hand-holding

platonic hand-holding

running their thumb over the other’s hand

dancing with their hands holding onto each other

squeezing hand for comfort and encouragement

holding hands across the table

happily doing everything with just one hand, if it means they don’t have to let go

not wanting to lose each other in a big crowd

possessive hand-holding

linking hands together during sex

grabbing hand to show them something

loosely holding onto each other’s hands, laying in one’s lap

only linking the pinkies together, not ready to let go completely

holding hands while skating

excitedly grabbing each other’s hands during a concert, jumping up and down together

playing with each other’s fingers

pressing the other’s hand against their cheek

holding hands while one is balancing on a small wall

grabbing the other’s hand to pull them back from something

holding hands under the table

only realizing it when they have to let go

standing in front of each other, holding both their hands

holding their hands above their head, fingers linked together

passionate hand-holding

grabbing the other’s hand so they don’t fall

holding hands while running through the rain

brushing against each other, linking fingers together for a second

grabbing their hand to grab their attention

not really paying attention, both doing something else, but still holding hands

bandaging the other’s hand and not quite letting go

holding hands while driving

grabbing the other’s hand to pull them back to them

unconsciously searching out each other’s hand while sleeping

not realizing they’re holding hands till someone points it out

swinging hands back and forth, skipping like children

holding hands in a museum to pull them to the next exhibition

letting go when there is an obstacle in their way and immediately grabbing each other’s hand again when they pass it

loosely holding onto each other’s hand

dragging the other with them, holding their hand

raising the other’s hand to their lips to kiss it softly

holding hands while jumping down from somewhere together

comparing hand sizes, then linking fingers together

Hugs|Kisses|Touching

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my dad–also a writer–came to visit, and i mentioned that the best thing to come out of the layoff is that i’m writing again. he asked what i was writing about, and i said what i always do: “oh, just fanfic,” which is code for “let’s not look at this too deeply because i’m basically just making action figures kiss in text form” and “this awkward follow-up question is exactly why i don’t call myself a writer in public.”

he said, “you have to stop doing that.”

“i know, i know,” because it’s even more embarrassing to be embarrassed about writing fanfic, considering how many posts i’ve reblogged in its defense.

but i misunderstood his original question: “fanfic is just the genre. i asked what you’re writing about.” 

i did the conversational equivalent of a spinning wheel cursor for at least a minute. i started peeling back the setting and the characters, the fic challenge and the specific episode the story jumps off from, and it was one of those slow-dawning light bulb moments. “i’m writing about loneliness, and who we are in the absence of purpose.”

as, i imagine, are a lot of people right now, who probably also don’t realize they’re writing an existential diary in the guise of getting television characters to fuck. 

“that’s what you’re writing. the rest is just how you get there, and how you get it out into the world. was richard iii really about richard the third? would shakespeare have gotten as many people to see it if it wasn’t a story they knew?”

so, my friends: what are you writing about?

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Okay, guys. I ship Zutara as much as the next person, but Zuko and Katara are not yin and yang. Zuko and Aang are yin and yang.

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‪Friendly reminder that Katara’s “hair loopies” are not a made up creation or a joke they are an actual traditional Inuit hairstyle that should be respected. ‬

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Zutara Week 2021 Day 3: Glowing

Happy Zutara Week Everyone!

I have this whole scene expanded in my head with a conversation with Suki and everything, but it turned out to be bigger than I’m able to make at the moment and would sort of move away from today’s theme. So I’m saving it for another day when I have the wherewithal to give it the attention it needs to be good. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy this comic! <3

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“She hates me and a I don’t know why, but I do care of what she thinks of me”

People are acting as if zuko doesn’t know why katara hates him when in fact he is saying that he doesn’t know why he cares so much about her opinion about him, zuko is totally aware of why katara is angry at him, seriously stop distorting his lines to make him look like a jerk