#avatar: the last airbender meta

[starlight-bread-blog]

In a recent meta on Aang sparing Ozai I mentioned Aang's need to humble himself before he meets the lion turtle. (Funnily enough, I noted a lack of foreshadowing, which I might disprove now). I cited Master Piandao only taught Sokka once he'd humbled himself in Sokka's Master, as an example of this being a recurring theme in the show.

In that very same episode, images of lion turtles can be seen in the background.

Sokka humbles himself, and that pleased the person with lion turtle imagery. And after Aang humbles himself, the lion turtle is pleased too.

#I LOVE THIS SHOW!! #atla meta #avatar the last airbender meta #avatar: the last airbender meta #atla sokka #atla aang #aang meta #sokka meta #lion turtle #avatar aang #atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar: the last airbender #sokka's master #sozin's comet #sozins comet #atla ending #atla finale #Master Piandao #piandao #sokkas master #atla analysis

[krimsonrose]

The mission to confront Azula at Caldera and why it doesn’t work narratively

When Iroh explains that Azula MUST be defeated before the end of Sozin’s Comet it’s only Katara and Zuko with Appa who go to Caldera to confront her. This immediately opens up problems that would have come from this if plot convivence was not involved.

Iroh sent two teenagers by themselves into the heart of the Fire Nation. How could he think this would go well when every firebender was running on steroids including his niece who can go toe to toe with masters.

The White Lotus could NOT have known that Azula (who had always been on the front lines as a General? Field Commander?) would even be in Caldera to begin with since even she expected to be with Ozai and the air balloons and hadn’t been told until just before take-off. Which mean a White Lotus spy could not have gotten that information and brought it back before the battle started. For all anyone could’ve known Ozai might have still been at the palace awaiting victory.

Katara and Zuko’s plan was to try and take on Azula, her imperial firebenders, the Dai Li and the regular royal guard by themselves. No matter how talented you are sometimes quantity is better over quality which is how it would be in this case.

The duo’s original plan was a coup to put Zuko on the throne and not the Angi-Kai that had actually happened in canon. Even if they tried to get the sages and any other fire national to side with them most still wouldn’t seeing as how Zuko was seen as a traitor. They shouldn’t have expected any kind of help leading to it still most likely being only the two of them.

Katara (no bloodbending) & Zuko (with lightning redirection)            vs. Azula (lightning generation) & x number of firebenders & Dai Li 

Above is what would have happened if the plot had played out as Iroh expected it to happen. How was he expecting two teenagers to go against a super charged platoon of firebenders lead by Azula and her squad of Dai Li?

In conclusion: Iroh’s plan to have Zuko (and Katara) go to Caldera would not have worked if the plot didn’t MAKE it work. They would not have known about the palace workers banishments or Azula’s declining mental health which lead to an unofficial Agni-Kai allowing Zuko the victory. Too many other important moving pieces had been taken out of play for the “heroes” to win.

#azula #katara #zuko #iroh #atla #avatar: the last airbender #atla meta #avatar: the last airbender meta #my stuff

[the-poem-in-stories]

Toph & vulnerability - Why she is not just tough

Sometimes I see people describe Toph’s charater arc as basically non-existent, as in she doesn’t change, stable as earth. But I disagree. Her arc may be subtle and in this meta I’ll try to clarify what I think Toph’s struggles and points of growth are. Just like the element she bends, Toph can and does shift during the series.

Toph is independent, confident, and self-assured - or so it seems. Don’t get me wrong, Toph is tough but I think that toughness exists, at least in part, to protect her soft core. Her true feelings often remain hidden below her metal armor. So let’s explore Toph’s relationship to vulnerability.

1. The Struggle at the heart of Toph’s character arc

A dichotomy to Toph’s character is introduced right from the start, in the episode named after her alter ego, “The Blind Bandit”- she is introduced as a cocky master earthbender who is rightfully proud of her abilities, who incorporates the fact that she is blind into her name. But there is a fragility to her pride that appears when Aang airbends her off the fighting stage in an attempt to talk to her. Later, we are introduced to Toph as the daughter of overbearing and wealthy parents who have completely sheltered her from the world. They see her blindness as something that makes her delicate and in great need of protection, to the point of seeing her as pretty much totally incapable. This establishes the central struggle to Toph’s character: she sees any dependence on another person as threatening to her self-determination, and self-confidence. She believes she cannot be respected as a capable person while relying on others. At the beginning of her arc, Toph sees complete independence as the only way to be free and avoid being swallowed up by other people. She can’t show any feelings that are soft, that make her appear vulnerable because that would mean weakness. In a sense, the way her parents treated her led her to believe that being cared for, being protected, being loved is the equivalent of losing her self. Maybe the reason she chose her fight name to be “The Blind Bandit” is because it implies a vision of herself that is strong through and with her blindess, a vision of herself totally opposed to the young, helpless lady her parents see in her and perhaps want her to be.

2. Healing through Relationships

“The vulnerabillity journey is not the kind of journey we can make alone.” Brené Brown, “Daring Greatly”

Throughout the series, Toph is challenged by and grows through her relationships, mainly those with Team Avatar, and her conversation with Iroh. A significant episode is "The Runaway" where Toph really opens up to Sokka about her feelings towards her mother, and the episode ends with Toph asking Katara for help contacting her parents.

3. A Note on Feminity

Since performative feminity was expected of her from her parents and feminity is usually associated with being weak and less powerful, it is no surprise that her relationship to it is complicated. While Iroh’s tale from Ba Sing Se takes the cake in terms of tear-jerking emotional impact, Katara’s and Toph’s tale has a special place in my heart. I checked and it was written by two women, which does not surprise me. I love the bonding time for Toph and Katara, and how their tale explores Toph’s relationship to feminity. Feminity is strongly tied to beauty, and we see Toph hurt after fancy Ba Sing Se ladies make mean comments on her appearance. Toph’s response is to laugh it off and bend a hole into the bridge, so the ladies fall into the water- protecting her vulnerability by pretending she doesn’t care. She hides her crush on Sokka in similar ways.

4. The culmination of Toph’s arc: vulnerable and strong

In my eyes, Toph’s arc is an argument for interdependence. We can be self-reliant and capable, and we can need other people’s support, emotional and otherwise, at the same time. The final fight on the airships shows this character growth in Toph: she fights like the badass she is, and she lets herself be protected and saved by Sokka and Suki. I think she finally realized that there is no contradiction, and that people protecting her when she wants them to feels good and is necessary. Her blindness has made her particularly vulnerable in the beginning, and she became the greatest earthbender in the world because of it.

Addition: this is why I really dislike what the writers did with Toph’s character in LOK. It is a regression to see her resist hugs and live alone in the swamp, apart from her friends and family, and I am not even touching the cop thing.

#toph #toph beifong #avatar: the last airbender meta #avatar: the last airbender #meta #toph meta

[biboomerangboi]

More reasons why Zuko being the Firelord is objectively the funniest thing on earth:

HES SEVENTEEN

He hasn’t been civilised in 4 years, his entire teenage experience consists of living on a boat and sleeping rough. The most stable bed he has was probably in Ba Sing Se he probably will just nap anywhere.

He has customer service experience which means he probably uses his customer service voice on his minsters.

Additionally he probably just wanders into to kitchen to get his own snacks and tea because he forgets what servants do.

He probably has no idea why he can’t just chase after an assassin he used to hunt the avatar for Agnis sake why is the captain of the guard demanding he stay in his room he’ll find the guy first (he’s probably right)

Katara probably has a free pass on Eco terrorism because what’s he going to do challenge her, she’ll beat his ass.

If he saw a minster doing something shady he will either invite lady Beifong to detect their BS or commit B&E and look for evidence himself.

He somehow found a baby dragon and raises it.

He will be far to willing to give Kyoshi island anything they want cause he feels bad and Suki scares him.

He randomly insisted on giving some earth kingdom village 100 ostrich horses.

The Avatar will just show up call him Hotman and demand the go on adventures and the Firelord will just dip because he’s been confined to long and has the Zoomies.

He takes far to much advice from Sokka and will genuinely believe if someone doesn’t get Sokkas plans they must be an idiot because Sokka is 16.

Sokka and Zuko also get into a lot of teenage rebellion phases by accident.

Toph just walks in breaks a wall of his palace and demands a field trip that always involves the Firelord having to explain himself to the cops.

He somehow knows every dangerous teen in the world and they all come for tea uninvited.

He has broken into both the NWT and Ba Sing Se.

He has a really well documented facial scar and official portraits but still disappears to be Lee the tea guy like no one knows.

HES SEVENTEEN.

#zuko is the funniest the circumstances just happen character ever #firelord zuko #zuko #atla #avatar the legend of aang #avatar the last airbender #zee rambles #zukka #zuko meta

[longing-for-rain]

Sometimes I think about exactly how powerful Zuko’s story as an abuse victim is and I just have to stop and tear up for a minute.

Just let it sink in that at 13 years old, Zuko’s father mutilated him in front of an audience and told him he was worthless and unwelcome until he completed an impossible mission. Nobody stepped in to help him. Most onlookers thought he deserved it, and even Iroh was too afraid of Ozai to challenge him in Zuko’s defense.

Zuko went on for years believing Ozai was right, and didn’t recognize what happened to him as abuse. He thought his banishment and suffering were his own fault because something was wrong with him, and that it was his duty to change to become worthy again.

Then this scene? Absolutely incredible.

Zuko’s whole journey leads up to this confrontation, where he not only recognizes that he holds no responsibility for the abuse inflicted on him; he confronts his abuser and tells him he was wrong to treat him that way, that he doesn’t owe his abuser anything.

And not only that, Zuko also tells Ozai that he sees how he’s hurting the rest of the world the same way he hurt him, and vows to stop him. That’s literally so powerful, especially watching this as someone who once felt as broken and alone as Zuko once did. His story is everything to me.

#atla #zuko #ozai #avatar the last airbender #meta #zutara #zuko appreciation post

[firenaition]

god i love fallible characters, but specifically zuko in the catacombs. choosing his sister over his uncle just to get to sleep in his childhood bed again. earning katara's kindness and empathy and stripping it all away in minutes because he ached for the familiar. fighting on the wrong side of history just to see his father smile with pride. knowing he could have done the right thing, but what is being good when you could be terrible but loved.

#zuko #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #atla #atla meta #prince zuko #ozai #azula #iroh

[yourhighness6]

Ugh I will always love the concept of Katara using blood bending to revive Zuko after the last agni kai, mostly because it makes no sense to me that Zuko was able to bounce back so easily after being struck by lightning, but also because the way the show treats bloodbending is just odd to me. It was a defense mechanism created by a traumatized victim of some of the most devastating parts of colonization, and although I understand that Hama was supposed to symbolize the "bad parts" of waterbending and was important for Katara's growth in realizing that the world isn't entirely black and white, its still disappointing to me that the show never explored the gray areas of blood bending, especially since that episode was, as I stated above, about understanding the gray areas of the war. Katara using blood bending to revive Zuko would add so much to the last agni kai in demonstrating that she has truly realized that "good" and "evil" are relative concepts, and Zuko being saved by both a defense mechanism of a survivor of colonialism and a type of bending used to terrorize his people would have even added to his arc, as the narrative required him to save and subsequently be saved by the physical embodiment of everything his family sought to annihilate.

#also just the angst potential #there are so many fics and better metas written about this but I had to throw my two cents in #Bryke's refusal to acknowledge bloodbending as anything but evil incarnate is so fucking annoying #anti bryke #bloodbending #zutara #zuko #katara #final agni kai #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla meta #zutara meta #technically

[kilucore]

So I've started rewatching ATLA to cleanse my palette, and I only now noticed this foreshadowing from the very first episode, the second scene with Zuko in the entire series.

The show introduces the idea that Zuko's firebending isn't sustainable and is fueled by rage right at the beginning, which of course comes back in The Firebending Masters, where he can't firebend anymore because he doesn't have that rage. Basically that Zuko is cutting corners in his firebending through brute force and anger (a la "you will teach me the advanced set!"), and Iroh knows, or hopes, there will come a time that Zuko can't firebend like this.

Just, so cool that I can always notice new things and nuances in this show no matter how many times I watch it.

#atla #atla meta #zuko #iroh #avatar the last airbender

[zutarawasrobbed]

Oma & Shu parallel: Scarf

There’s been a long-standing theory in the Zutara fandom that Zuko and Katara are the reincarnation of Oma and Shu. I wanted to add evidence from the live action that confirms it.

I would like to point out the slow motion of when Katara passes him, and he reaches out for the scarf. He looks mesmerized, as if he’s getting lost in a memory. He then proceeds to follow her.

In episode 4, we hear the story of Oma and Shu, and I noticed something very familiar in one of the designs. Oma wears a prominent scarf that flows behind her, just like Katara’s did when she walked by.

This scene is filmed and directed to draw our attention to Zuko’s fixation on the scarf and Katara herself. The slow-motion sequence of Katara walking by, her scarf flowing behind her, and Zuko reaching out to touch the scarf, is highly charged.

My theory for his reaction is that he sees a scarf similar to one he wore in his past life on his reincarnated lover, flowing the same way it used to on him, only this time it’s in her color instead of his. Something in his subconscious tells him to reach out and follow her, and I highly doubt it was simply because of his motivations to capture the Avatar.

*Edit:

I will make a longer more detailed post in the coming days, but I would like to point this out before then. Think of this as a synopsis.

#we ride for scarf #scarfgate #also #let’s go lesbians!! #zutara #already starting my metas #back on my bs #avatar the last airbender #spoilers #atla live action

[spidey-loving-starkid]

Do you ever think about how 1 of the 1st waterbending moves that Katara learns, that she doesn’t come up with herself, is the water whip that she learns from that waterbending scroll, which also happens to be 1 of the final moves that she uses against Azula, using that move to manoeuvre Azula into a place more favourable for Katara??

Do you ever think about how in that same episode that Katara learns that, Sokka tries to steer a boat, and laments how he doesn’t know how, because that boat wasn’t made by The Southern Water Tribe, and then, later, steers an entire Fire Nation war balloon with precision and intent, and knows how to destroy them effectively and efficiently, while also being a co-inventor of the inspiration invention of those Fire Nation war balloons??

Do you ever think about how, when face-to-face with The Avatar in the Avatar State, after repeatedly threatening to imminently kill that Avatar like the other Air Nomads, Ozai’s 1st move is to firebend directly towards Aang’s left side of his face, the exact same spot that Zuko has his scar on??

Do you ever think about how Zuko was challenged to his 1st Angi Kai due to his desire to protect people being unnecessarily put in harms way, and his final Angi Kai was ended due to the same reason??

#Avatar #Avatar: The Last Airbender #ATLA #Katara #Sokka #Zuko #Aang #Azula #Ozai #A:TLA #ATLA meta #Tess Speaks #Buffy Speaks

[ranilla-bean]

culture tips for writing asian settings: naming taboo

naming taboo is a big thing in the chinese cultural sphere. essentially, there's an importance attached to personal names that to certain extent makes it taboo to say the name of/name others after important persons—and by "taboo" i mean if you violated this, you would be seriously audacious

a MAJOR example of this is the name of the emperor. historically, people whose names shared the same characters as the emperor's had to change their names when he came to power. (certain benevolent emperors might change their names to obscure characters to avoid a statewide headache.)

within the family, these taboos discourage naming children after their ancestors (i was always weirded out that bella swan could name her KID after her PARENTS). there are also elaborate naming patterns for relatives, so you don't have to call older relatives by name (like "aunt lin" or "uncle mingchi")—there are terms in chinese that mean "dad's older sister's husband" etc. this is perhaps an extreme example but i only learned my grandma's name a month ago, because no one i know will say it, and it would've been rude for me to ask.

the taboo also applies to the names of famous and important people, like historical figures. this is quite different from, for instance, the catholic practice of naming children after saints.

if i had to explain the impetus behind the taboo, i would say names can be super personal in chinese culture. up until the early 20th century, chinese people could use several names in their lifetime, with different groups of people using different ones. naming someone after an important/respected person feels audacious, like you're prematurely trying to claim some of that importance

disclaimer | more tips

#atla #atla culture #atla meta #avatar the last airbender #asian culture tips #i love this tidbit bc it's just so.... NORMAL to me. and for years i thought it was normal for everyone else too but NO #i mean im sure bella swan is a major weirdo but imagine my shock when my catholic/ orthodox friends said they had like 4 nicks in the fam

[late-draft]

I am fully convinced that Azulon really did order Ozai to kill Zuko.

Azulon's characterization was concise but very precise in the short time that he had on screen - he seems slow to move but very very sharp and cruel in anger, trapped in his own mind. He adored Iroh, additionally because Iroh embodied all of Azulon's desires for what his heir should be - powerful, clever, cunning, gifted in his understanding of rhythm in war and combat. Never showing all of his cards. "Slayer of the last dragon." (Unfortunately for Azulon, he didn't predict that Iroh would later aid in the dismantling of their imperialistic construct!)

Azulon was old. Clearly very old. I can easily see how he would not be viewing reality as clearly as someone younger would. He was already floating mentally among stories of legends and legacies, and in his mind it was Iroh who was going to be fully successful after him. When Lu Ten died, all that mattered was Iroh's pain. Azulon would absolutely order the death of his younger son's first born son, to punish him for what Ozai was attempting to take from Iroh. Azulon didn't much care for the little show Ozai was having his children perform for their grandad, regardless of how talented little Azula was anyway. If push comes to shove, Azulon probably believed Iroh would either have more descendants, or Ozai would have more descendants. One of those would inherit the throne later on - or at least Azula, in case of the opposite.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #atla meta #azulon #iroh #ozai #my art #fire nation

[krimsonrose]

Deep thoughts about how Ursa is the root cause of the fire hazard siblings suffering. Her trying to one up Ozai by lying about Zuko being his son in a letter leads to Zuko’s suffering at his father’s hands. And then the fact that the guilt of such actions she took makes her favor one child (her son) over the other. Said alienated child sees that behavior leading her to act out for attention that makes Ursa treat Azula even worse.

URSA’S ACTIONS AT TRYING TO GET BACK AT OZAI FOR READING HER MAIL BEGAN THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL FOR HER FAMILY. It’s no wonder why she ran away and erased her memories since she couldn’t deal with what she helped do to her family as well as assassinating a reigning monarch.

#blame the comics for the added non sense to her character #seeing the pages from the search about how ozai said it's ursa's fault for what she did really makes you think #like no wonder she favored zuko so much since it was her actions that lead to his father treating him terribly #though it's purely on her for just outright ignoring azula #ursa #atla #avatar: the last airbender #ursa meta #atla meta #avatar: the last airbender meta #my stuff

[adriancatrin]

just a reminder that azulas hair arc is just as important to her character as zukos is to his

her first real intro draws attention to the perfection of her hair (“only one hair out of place”)

after ty lee and mai betray her, while she’s attacking the western air temple & zuko, her hair frays and she eventually pulls out her hairpin to catch herself on the cliff side, a hint at the self destruction she’s willing to endure to achieve her goal

and ofc when she becomes firelord and has her psychotic episode, she cuts her hair into a ragged mess

zukos arc is about rejecting the original idea of what honor is and coming to and achieving your own sense of honor, and azulas is about failing to achieve perfection and losing control of yourself in the process. the evolution of their hair shows this so well—zukos is just more obvious

#azula #thoughts #idfk #atla #is this meta? tbh idk what meta actually means on this site lol #i’m too old and i was away too long #what ppl call meta to me is just analysis? why’s it meta #lolol #avatar the last airbender #zuko

[biboomerangboi]

Sometimes I think about Zuko being the Firelord and I just giggle like yeah it is an angsty situation, yes it’s got great fanfic material but guys your just going to give a 17 year old a whole country. Like not even a normal trained from birth Prince you’ve got a guy that was officially the Crown Prince for like 3 years and then he was out at sea causing problems. His special skills include hunting the avatar, B&E, being buddies with mythical beasts, prison breaks and customer service and you gave him the ultimate power to do whatever he wants. Not to mention he’s got friends who are just as insane and feral and he’s got all the money. Toph and Sokka are going to talk him into the most insane purchases in seconds. Guys c’mon.

#atla #zuko #like yes Angst evil ministers removing your country’s genocidal rage with your guilt complex that’s all there too but guys he’s 17 #he’s going to make the biggest shinest statue to just aangs bald head to piss him off and say it’s in the name of peace #melon lord is going to become an offical title with duke status #zuko somehow not setting the palace on fire by accident is an achivement #firelord zuko #avatar the last airbender #zuko meta

[vidduality]

SPOILERS for Episode 6 of the Avatar Live Action series

AKA why this episode makes me SO grateful for this adaptation (re: the Zuko flashbacks and the Agni Kai).

----

Wow.

I admit, I was really worried at the idea that Zuko might potentially fight back in the Agni Kai against his father in the live action. I expected to HATE it, and it's certainly a bold change, but it fits in SO WELL with why Zuko is the way that he is (and why he works so hard to push down his empathy whenever Aang tries to reason with him).

The Agni Kai - Zuko obviously did NOT want to fight his father. He still tried to apologize and beg for mercy, but in the end he was just too terrified of his father to disobey a direct order.

But when Ozai left him an opening to see what he'd do with it, Zuko couldn't bring himself to actually land a blow that might burn him. Making his lack of ruthlessness the weakness that Ozai ends up mutilating him for - even straight up telling Zuko that compassion is weakness and then demonstrating by holding his own child down and lighting him on fire - adds a layer of depth that only enhances the original scene (and in another stroke of genius, we see Ozai nearly in tears himself. He's convincing himself of this lesson as well as Zuko, which was likely passed down to him by his own father). Honestly, this to me is even more heartbreaking than Ozai burning him for refusing to stand and fight. Zuko did everything his father asked and he still failed, because his family has distorted what it means to be honorable and believes Zuko's capacity for mercy to be a shameful weakness unbecoming of an heir to the throne.

The 41st Division - And here come the waterworks. Assigning the very people Zuko was hurt so severely for trying to save to his ship as it's being cast out of the fire nation (presumably forever, with the Avatar not having been seen in 100 years) is SUCH a brilliant addition. His crew resents Zuko for being stuck on this impossible mission with this bratty, angry child. And Zuko is too ashamed of his "weakness" to explain why they were assigned to him.

I can totally see Zuko's hurt at their lack of respect making him even more angry (especially after everything he went through to save them from being sacrificed), and his seemingly irrational anger at them just continuing to make them resent him more in a neverending feedback loop of anger and disrespect that's been growing and festering for 3 years.

Which makes the scene at the end when Zuko's crew finally learns about how he saved their lives (as well as why he's obsessed with the avatar, why he's banished, what his scar means and why he's trying so very hard to rid himself of empathy, even if he can never quite manage it when it counts) so much more impactful. I SOBBED when the 41st Division stood at attention and showed him their utmost respect and loyalty, possibly for the first time since they've been on that ship. Zuko's soft "what's going on?" at finally being honored by his crew is just imprinted on my brain.

The seed of the idea that his compassion may NOT actually be what was shameful about his banishment afterall can finally begin to take root.

I just, damn, I love this episode so much.

#zuko #avatar the last airbender #atla live action #atla spoilers #atla netflix #fire lord ozai #avatar live action #avatar netflix #avatar spoilers #41st division #agni kai #avatar #i hope they survived #i need them to be there to see what zuko becomes #and they can spread the word to the fire nation #about who deserves their loyalty #meta #natla #atla