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ben-talks-art · 3 months

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Lin Beifong has no wins in Legend Of Korra

Something that always bothered me in regards to the way this series treated the character of Lin was the fact that it never felt like any of Lin's victories actually gave the feeling of being victories.

Maybe it's because it's been years since I watched this show, and I'm being selective in what I choose to remember, and I'm just unintentioanlly choosing to remember the bad over the good... but it feels like this series just felt a lot more comfortable dunking on Lin than actually trying to raise her up... And that kinda annoys me a little.

Lin is part of this character achetype that I like to call "The Antisocials", people who, because of personal events in their past, prefer to avoid or have trouble dealing with others. She's basically meant to be the "Zuko" of the team.

I really like this trope, and I really like to see the earth element getting some love, so I was really excited to see Lin getting her moments to shine and kick some ass in the series... Which... for some reason doesn't feel all that prevalent.

Now, don't get me wrong, when Lin needs to fight, she WILL fight, and she looks cool while doing it... But when it comes to her more memorable moments, her getting defeated sadly feels more frequent than her getting some victories.

Like... Let's take a moment to count her Ls:

She got dumped by Tenzin after another woman seduced him

A terrorist started to attack her city and kept getting away from her

She was unable to stop her men from getting captured and losing their powers

Eventually she herelf got captured and lost her bending

She's constantly getting mocked and looked down upon by other characters

Her own sister left a scar on her face while committing a crime and faced basically no consequences, only to years later have a life filled with success while Lin is all alone

Her own mother acts like she couldn't care less about her struggles

Neither of the two ever gave Lin a proper apology and instead just tried to pull an Mirabel from "Encanto" and tell her to get over it

She basically played no role in all of season 2

And when she tired to face her family about her problems she was simply treated as the one in the wrong

Now let's count her "wins:"

She allowed Tenzin's family to get away from Amon in season 1... At the cost of her getting captured... Only for the family itself to get caught later anyway

She saved Korra from falling, which allowed Amon to get away with her men

In season 3 she gets clobbered by the combustion woman so her sister can land the finishing blow

and In season 4 she tries to rescue her family, only to nearly fail and needing to be saved by her mother, who proceeds to give her the most bare-bones of moments of reconciliation, because God forbid we let our fan-favorite character from the first series show a little humility for her own daughter in her moment of weakness

It just felt like the show was afraid of ever letting Lin be a badass and giving her a real win moment.

It doesn't even need to be a battle win. She could have had a moment with Korra where she teaches her some life lesson, or teach her how to metal bend and listen to the earth, or she could have had some scenes where her actions save the day, like, how come she never gets to save her sister and mother but both of them end up saving her? Or even some character moments like her bonding with Mako, or Tenzin's kids or something... I don't think she even really interacts with anyone in a meaningfull way.

If you were to ask me who her best friend in the series was, I would have no idea what to say.

Her biggest "win" in the series was getting to wake up all happy after "solving" her personal demons, an act she achieved by... fighting her sister and venting out all her anger, I guess.

I don't know if it's just me but Lin's victories on the show all feel so shallow, as if they were telling us she was achieving things instead of actually feeling like she was. At times, she felt like the show's punching bag. Insted of being the Zuko of the story, she came more as the Squidward.

Someone who's there just to lose to the villains and make them look strong and making other characters look cool while they save her with her big lesson being that she needs to learn to be less grumpy.

Lin should be so easy to make cool! Like, you see her design, her powers and abilities, her personality, her verstility for several different types of action scenes and versatility for also different interactions with the rest of the cast...

But instead it felt like they were throwing darts at a wall trying to pick a different way to dunk on her every time, as if they were afraid of makiing her too cool.

I don't know, maybe I'm just being salty and petty because I wish more had been done with her and that's causing me to only focus on the negatives, making them look and sound a lot worse than they actually were, while also ignoring all the big positives about her time on the screen...

But sometimes it felt to me like the show was more interested in hyping up everyone else and giving them a moment to shine over Lin.

Like, again, her own sister got to take down one of the big members of the Red Lotus, and she basically becomes one of the main characters in season 4, while Toph gets to train and help heal Korra.

These two got to look so much cooler in just two seasons than Lin got to look in all 4, and I can't even fully enjoy them being cool because all I keep thinking when I look at them is "You two did Lin dirty."

If they had had an actual honest earned moment of reconciliation, I feel like I would be in heaven watching both of them kicking ass, cause again, I love the earth element, but instead I would just be "God, I wish this was Lin doing all this cool stuff instead."

I'm not exactly sure what the mindset was behind the way they wanted to handle her, not sure if there was studio interference, or mismanagement, or if Nickelodeon's meddling affected things, or what...

I'm just trying to say, I feel like Lin deserved better. I still like her character a lot but I can't help but feel even more could have been done with her.

#avatar #avatar the legend of korra #the legend of korra #lin beifong

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balillee · 3 months

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had to turn back to tumblr after a year of not using it to hate on the new atla adaptation

a few things

speedrunning through half of the story with the fire nation family is not a good idea, actually. lu ten was introduced far too early, and with it you delve into iroh's backstory, motivations and true character before you've even fully developed the whole 'silly old spiritual man who prefers tea and hanging out with his nephew over hunting down an 11-year old air nomad'. the lu ten funeral scene was fine as an addition, but it's not something for book 1. learning about lu ten is something we do in book 2 as it compliments the developing relationship between iroh and zuko with the fire nation as a whole. also, iroh seems a lot less cool. the show commits the grievous literary sin of always telling rather than showing, and by continuously telling us 'he's the famed general iroh, dragon of the west' you're not actually accomplishing anything. let him redirect some lightning you fucking cowards.

azula also seemed to exist for no reason. any of the correspondences to azula from zhao could have bypassed her entirely and could have gone straight to ozai or even the fire sages. she exists in season 1 purely to rush through explaining zuko and iroh far too early. the show exists as a guideline. FOLLOW THE GUIDELINE. THE GUIDELINE IS GOOD. EVERYONE KNOWS THE GUIDELINE IS GOOD. also make her fire blue. cowards

aang does not waterbend for the entire season, which means the window of opportunity for him to learn to bend the other elements before the arrival of sozin's comet is even shorter than in the original show. even the original aang, who the netflix adaptation changed because he was 'too childish and always goofing off instead of getting to the point' understood his responsibilities to learn the elements better than this new live action version - part of the reason for the gang to get to the northern water tribe was to find aang a teacher (not just katara), master pakku, because katara was not capable of teaching him at her novice waterbending level but even so they were still seen practicing together on multiple occasions.

this brings me to my next point. WHERE THE FUCK IS JEONG JEONG. aang in the original series understood the urgency of defeating the firelord before sozin's comet after speaking to roku very early on, not as late as depicted in the adaptation. currently, the gang don't even know that they're on a time crunch, and yet still the show refuses to let them take their time by going on side adventures. this leads into the episode where aang meets jeong jeong and tries to learn to firebend before he's even started earthbending at all, because he's still scared that he only has a year to master the elements. he burns katara while trying, which is the reason she learned she had the power to heal with her waterbending, we see how fucking sick jeong jeong is at firebending for the first time during the fight with zhao, and aang swears off learning firebending at all, which is one of his main points of conflict leading all the way into book 3. if we skip that whole episode, we have skipped meeting one of the members of the order of the white lotus. the show could think it's slick by omitting him to just have iroh as the white lotus' firebender, but that's possibly one of the worst changes they've made. the deserter was not a filler episode.

i know a lot of people were talking about this before the show even came out, but sokka is not sokka. in book 1, sokka is three things - funny, overconfident and sexist. in the live adaptation, he is kind of one of those three things. part of why sokka's arc is one of my personal favourites from the original show is the stark change you see from the start to the end of his story - he believes himself a leader but has no real tactical or combative experience despite telling all the fighters and warriors he meets about how impressive he is. and then at the end of the show he is a definitively strong leader, shown by leading the assault on the fire nation armada - his team being two of the show's most competent female characters, who he trusts and respects with his life. by omitting these traits from sokka's character, you remove a big part of why he's even there in the first place - his arc's beginning allows him to become the fearless leader that lead his team to defeating the fire nation army.

i also hate that aang meets monk gyatso in the spirit world. a big part of aang's conflict about running away is that there exists nobody in the world who can tell him that what happened to the air nomads was not his fault, and that there was nothing aang could do to stop it if he was there. the new adaptation decides against the inclusion of one of aang's primary internal conflicts by changing the 'running away from his responsibilities as the avatar because he's a terrified child' to 'getting some air', and then throws in meeting the spirit of monk gyatso to tell him all of these things that aang needs to learn on his own. once again, telling rather than showing.

and finally, my least favourite change - the agni kai. part of the reason why i personally think the agni kai is so significant to zuko's story is the fact that zuko intentionally refuses to fight. in the adaptation, zuko fights back against his father, and his father scars him simply because zuko hesitates. in the original series, zuko bows to his father and pleads for mercy, and refuses to fight at all, and that is when it cuts away to iroh and azula's very differing reactions to the altercation, zuko screaming in the background. the setting also irritates me, because in the original, the agni kai was a public spectacle for hundreds to see in an ominous chamber, while in the new show it looked like just a regular old family gathering in the sun. zuko's adaptation scar i also hate because it doesn't even look like a scar. it looks like a birthmark, or at best, a black eye. if you hadn't seen the original, you would only know that it's a scar because the show tells you that it's a scar. zuko's scar in the animated series is a definite physical deformation of his face, his face looks red and raw, and his eye is smaller likely due to how the tissue healed, and as the show goes on you learn that the severity of his physical scars reflect the severity of his emotional ones. the original show does a brilliant job at showing how, just through the scar and the banishment alone, that despite zuko's beliefs, his father has betrayed him time and time again.

#atla #netflix atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar live action #atla live action

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thegaybluejay · 2 months

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Just for fun, here are my rapid fire rambling thoughts on the ATLA ships and platonic dynamics hehe (please don’t go full ship wars tho - these are just my opinions as a chill multishipper!)

My Favorite Ships:

• Zukka - My current brainrot and main ship!! I know they aren’t canon but I really love them and their potential okay😭I just feel like their personalities would work so well! Sokka would call Zuko on his shit and Zuko would be good at grounding Sokka when he needs it. Plus I have seen some absolutely breathtaking AUs with this ship! And fire-and-ice vibes except gay! Them <3

• Kataang - Cutiessss!! I love them! They may not be the ship I think about most often, but when I do think about them, they’re adorable! Aang is such a “my wife” guy and Katara absolutely adores him back! Also the last airbender x last southern waterbender dynamic goes HARD! I like that these two are canon!

• Yuetara - Listen I know they barely interacted but THEY’VE ACTUALLY GROWN ON ME SO MUCH LATELY AND I VERY HIGH KEY SHIP THEM! Something about like, Katara thinking about Yue when she bends is so😭Their story would be heartbreaking in the best way!! Sapphic noncanon blorbos <3

• Mailee - These two are SO cute and have so much potential rahhh!! Again, love some noncanon sapphics <3

• Batkoda - Super SUPER cute and silly and fun! The dads fr <3 Bato is either Katara and Sokka’s adopted uncle or their stepdad and I love it for them hehe! This usually pairs well with a “Hakoda adopts Zuko” AU lmao!

Other Canon/Relatively Popular Ships:

• Zutara - A good ship! I see the potential and tbh it’s very very fun to think about sometimes!!! However, some of y’all toxic Zutara stans need to leave my boy Aang alone lmao. Those who are chill tho, I rock with y’all!! Overall, I’m not opposed if it’s done well and I do sometimes seek out Zutara content! I personally do prefer writing them as found siblings tho, especially with the Azula and Katara parallels!!

• Sukka - Canon cuties!! I really like them! Suki my BELOVED <3 She’s so underrated!

• Yukka - Also canon cuties! They make me sad tho ahhhhh😭😭😭

• Maiko - Also ALSO canon cuties!! They have an interesting dynamic that I can really appreciate! And gotta love Mai <3

• Jinko - Jin my beloved! These two had a super cute dynamic during the one episode they had together lmaoooo, tho I don’t think about this ship too too often.

• Tokka - I don’t mind it if it’s them getting together as adults! But tbh I personally don’t prefer shipping them as teens and I think Toph’s crush was just a typical young girl crush on someone slightly older lol. Definitely not horrible and most Tokka shippers are relatively chill! I like to think Sokka sees Toph as a little sister tho.

Now For Some Of The Crackship-y/Less Popular Ships (based on ships I’ve actually seen):

• Zukki (Zuko/Sokka/Suki) - Power throuple fr and I love some polyamory!! While I mostly lean plain Zukka, this is extremely fun to think about and would be a great dynamic!

• Mai/Ty Lee/Suki - Saw this in a Zukka fic once and it was adorableeeeee! I may not have plans to actively write this or anything, but it’s cute! Another power throuple!

• Jetko - I don’t think they would be compatible long term, but by god they are very very fun to think about in a “Jet flirts with Zuko and Zuko is completely oblivious and they share one kiss before everything goes to shit” way lmao!

• Taang - I can respect it!! I will always love them as chaos siblings personally, but it’s a totally valid and chill ship!

• Katoph - Not a bad ship at all! I’ve only come across like one post tho lmao. Also I do think I heavily prefer them as found sisters, but that’s just me personally! Again, totally a valid and chill ship!

• Azutara - I’m very neutral on this lmao. I don’t despise it at all and it could be pretty interesting?? But tbh really not something I plan to seek out.

• Azulaang - I mean?? I’m also pretty neutral on this one. Aang would be kind to her if she was trying to get help but…idk lmao.

• Tyzula - I see the potential, but I personally think Mai and Ty Lee had a healthier and more interesting and more realistic dynamic. Just my preference tho!

(I think I just want Azula to be in therapy before I reallyyyyy ship her lmao, but NOT THE KIND OF “THERAPY” SHE WAS GIVEN IN THE COMICS)

• Zukaang - I don’t love this as a ship honestly. The canon age gap as teens is sketchy for my personal taste, tho I’ve seen people ship them in “Aang was 16 when he got frozen” AUs and that’s…better and I can get behind it a little! It would be interesting! But I think Roku being Zuko’s great-grandpa just still throws me off of this ship. I don’t have any beef with the shippers tho! I’m very “live and let live” and I have seen so much worse lol.

Can’t Forget My Fav Platonic Dynamics!

• Sokka and Aang - Two found brothers who share one idiot braincell when they interact LMAO! Love them always <3

• Sokka and Katara - The siblings ever!!

• Zuko and Aang - Enemies to found brothers!! Canon besties! I love their friendship and their parallels SO MUCH!!

• Toph and Katara - Absolutely ADORABLE as found sisters!!!! Love them!

• Zuko and Katara - I really like their development in a platonic sense and I think they’re very very fun and lovely found siblings by the end!!!! Zuko is 100% the brother that just “yeah my sister can and will whoop your ass” LMAO!

• Zuko and Toph - Also very found siblings in my head!! Only have a handful of solo interactions in canon but I DON’T CARE! I WILL FOUND FAMILY THEM ANYWAY! I’m a “Toph seeks out Zuko for sibling hugs/cuddles when she’s cold because he’s basically a space heater” truther.

• Uncle Iroh and the Gaang - Zuko needs to learn to share because that is ALL OF THEIR Uncle!!!

• Hakoda and Zuko - I thrive in this section of the fandom!! They have exactly one (1) frame together in canon, but I ADORE Dadkoda adopting Zuko! Something about it is just so wholesome and cute!!! My very very fav ATLA fics are this trope!!#LetHakodaBitchSlapOzaiAndAdoptZuko2024

• Uncle Iroh and Zuko - God they make me so ALSNDKSNXNCNSNSNXNX, y’know?

• The Gaang as a whole - Obvious I know, but I really do love them😭They all bonded sm and I adore their little family!! I eat up fanart of the Gaang cuddling like CANDY omg. And yes Suki is included in the Gaang because WHY WOULDN’T SHE BE!

Anyway, thanks for coming to my TedTalk. If you made it to the end, you get a big platonic kiss on the forehead MWAH!

#atla #avatar the last airbender #zukka #yuetara #mailee #kataang #found family #fanfiction #the gaang #multishipper

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mah-o-daryaa · 5 months

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For a show that's progressive, one-of-a-kind, ground-breaking for its time, and relies on "Show, don't Tell" a lot throughout the series, it bugs me how ATLA (or, more specifically, Bryke) preferred to tell the audience that Aang is a master airbender without showing us why. I mean, Toph, Zuko, Azula, and Katara are all shown practicing and improving their mastery in bending (although Katara has become rather overpowered), so why can't Aang have the same treatment?

Yes, Aang may be a child prodigy, and he did get airbending tattoos from inventing the air scooter, but I personally think that inventing an airbending technique (which demonstrates impressive ability and skill) is a way to gain the arrows prematurely, but isn't a requirement. Nothing in the show ever suggests just how far he's mastered his native element, let alone the other three. In the beginning of Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King (3:18), Aang says he thinks he still needs to practice his firebending more (which in hindsight makes sense, as he's just started relearning it from the dragons five episodes ago), and Toph notes that his earthbending could use more work too. Right off the bat, Aang is two elements away from complete mastery of all four, but later on he's seen practicing waterbending with Katara, implying he hasn't mastered it either.

We don't even see Aang practicing his airbending by himself post-iceberg, preferring to show off to random girls (like in Kyoshi Island). He just learns the elements, but doesn't really learn the philosophies behind each element. In this regard, he makes Kuruk and Roku look venerated in contrast. (To be fair to Aang, he had a specific deadline to master the four elements before Sozin's Comet that no other Avatar besides Wan had to deal with, but couldn't he try to make an effort to learn from the other nations?) Additionally, compared to Tenzin and Zaheer, Aang doesn't stand a chance against either of them (even though Tenzin is his son, but since Tenzin wasn't the Avatar, he could focus on upholding the Air Nomad culture and legacy). Even Jinora could go toe-to-toe with him at similar ages. He isn't really that impressive in any of the elements, to be honest; we've seen what a master of any specific element can do in both ATLA and LOK, as well as in the novels.

The main thing people often get wrong is that mastery isn't a final goal; it's a specific mindset. As in Pai Sho, what separates true masters from everyone else is that true masters always look for improvement in their strategy or skills. That's why Aang isn't a real master of the four elements: He always takes the easy way out, never trying to better himself or improve what he can already do.

I think this quote from Zaheer perfectly sums up what I've been saying: When you base your expectations on what you see, you blind yourself to the possibilities of a new reality. Even though it stems from his anarchist beliefs, it is genuinely one of the more insightful pieces of wisdom in the franchise because it promotes progress, a constant theme in life. Toph was able to invent metalbending because she wanted to "see" a reality where she could be recognized for her own talent in spite of her blindness; Zuko could learn firebending from the dragons because he could see a reality where he would regain his honor and fight alongside the Avatar, and so on. By contrast, Aang only takes things from surface-level, not putting any effort into understanding the true meaning of being the Avatar.

Speaking of Pai Sho, guess which Avatar constantly improved his/her abilities? Kuruk. Unlike Aang, Kuruk readily asked his companions, Jianzhu, Hei-Ran, and Kelsang, to continue teaching him, ever after he mastered the four elements that he was required to do, saying they would all benefit from the experience (the "true master" quote I mentioned above was actually said by him). Not only that, it was even inverted; sometimes they taught Kuruk, other times he taught them (which technically makes him the first known Avatar to teach bending to others). He was right, as during their lifetimes, they were the most powerful benders of their respective elements in the world!

Kuruk also had an intuitive connection to each of the four bending philosophies, which to this day remains unrivaled by any other Avatar, and was also one of the first people to suggest the idea that the four elements are connected (homeboy's literally a younger Water Tribe Avatar version of proto-Iroh, I'm honestly not going to be surprised if Iroh actually learned his belief from Kuruk during the former's visits to the Spirit World over tea and Pai Sho matches). If you ask me, Mone, learning the cultures and philosophies of the four nations is way more important than mastering the four elements, because the Avatar isn't just the bridge between the four nations; he/she is also the symbol of a unified world, and the franchise is saying that only one Avatar even bothered to do that? In my opinion, if we go by this rule, that easily cements Kuruk as the greatest Avatar in history!

Aang, on the other hand, never does this. Instead, he puts the Air Nomads on a high pedestal (which in turn causes him to place Katara on a high pedestal), and doesn't respect or learn from other nations' philosophies. He openly disrespects SWT culture and actively makes sure Tenzin doesn't have any exposure to the culture that Tenzin still belongs too, and worse, he pushes his own culture on other people's throats (remember the time he forced a homeless couple to "give up on hope because it's a big waste of time"? Or the time he forced Katara to not murder Yon Rha?) and values his own nation and values above the rest of the world (like the time he refused to kill Firelord Ozai because "all life is sacred", even though he has actually killed before, but if he doesn't kill Ozai, the latter's going to burn the entire Earth Kingdom to the ground!). That doesn't sound like something the Avatar is allowed to do, but Aang gets away with it anyway because ... hero?

There's actually another Avatar who focused on his/her own nation above the rest of the world. Avatar Szeto, Yangchen's predecessor, became a government official in his homeland, the Fire Nation. Under his tenure, the Fire Nation transformed from a fragmented, disaster-stricken state to the centralized, technologically-advanced nation we know of today. Unfortunately, this led him to neglect the other nations and, shortly after his death, the four nations were caught in a political event known as the Platinum Affair, which Yangchen had to deal with, eventually kick-starting the cycle of the current Avatar fixing their past lives' mistakes, while leaving problems for their future selves to fix. This problem might have even led to the growing ambition of Firelords Zoryu and Sozin as dictators, with the latter starting the Hundred Years War.

Aang not only valued his own nation's values above the others, he also forced said values on his non-Air Nomad companions; signed anti-miscegenation laws and tried to forcefully deport Fire Nationals from the colonies to return the land to the Earth Kingdom, even though they had already blended in with Earth Kingdom citizens, didn't wan to be separated from their families, and Zuko perceived the citizens of mixed heritage as his own subjects; refused to let his family practice SWT culture, even though his children could benefit from being members of both cultures, not just one or the other, and set an example for mixed-race families around the world; refused to teach Kya and Bumi Air Nomad culture because he thought they weren't airbenders and therefore "not real Air Nomads", even though they were just as Air Nomad as Tenzin was, if not more; and forced Tenzin to uphold the legacy of an entire nation on his shoulders. The fact that this was all written by complete accident is the cherry on top, representing just how badly Bryke screwed up.

... On a completely unrelated note, The Other Side of Paradise by Glass Animals (which is also one of my favorite songs) is definitely a Kuruk song. The last third of the song in particular sums up his tragic journey as the Avatar so well, and I always think of him while listening to it.

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zukomysweetbabyboy · 1 year

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This may be a controversial opinion but I'm glad that Azula was the prodigy firebender and not Zuko not just because Aang stumbling upon the prodigies of all the elements is unrealistic and feels cheaper but it was so essential to both Zuko and Azula's character arcs.

I mean, it’s no secret that Azula's character arc did not get the attention that she deserved. But from what we did get, we know that she put a lot (and I mean A LOT) of her self worth in her firebending which isn't surprising because she idolized Ozai and he was fucking useless without bending and, specifically, in being better than Zuko. Azula was the best firebender in the world and inheriting an entire kingdom at FOURTEEN years old. From her father, she was taught that she was safe as long as she was better than Zuko ("You can't treat me like this! You can't treat me like Zuko!"). This meant being sneaky (staying behind in the throne room while Azulon talked to Ozai), being emotionless (teasing Zuko about his grandfather literally ordering his father to kill him - what the fuck baby Azula), being tactful (knowing the answer to the question Ozai asked in the throne room & only speaking in turn), being perfect ("Almost isn't good enough!"), and most importantly: being the best firebender (mastering advanced forms as a child, blue firebending, etc.). She was taught from her mother that these things made her a monster ("My own mother thought I was a monster - she was right of course", "What is wrong with that child"). She was smart enough to know that she couldn’t have the acceptance from both parents, but acceptance from Ozai meant being safe and acceptance from Ursa meant being loved, and to Azula being safe was more important.

This is where the difference between Zuko and Azula starts. Where Azula is all head (being safe > being loved), Zuko is all heart. Zuko didn't understand why his father hated him or why Azula was cold. He was genuine in his love and in his hurt and in his anger. He wasn't good at being the perfect prince, so he couldn't gain acceptance from his father (he couldn't be safe) but he clung to his mother (preferring her company even to Mai and Ty Lee and Azula, who were his age). He internalized what she said in the throne room about his struggling making him strong, and we see him repeat that sentiment throughout the show. Zuko's sense of identity comes from his persistence whereas Azula's comes from her perfection and both of these ideals are trauma responses. It's obvious that it's not healthy for Azula to base her identity around being perfect and It's no wonder she cracked by the end of the series although that should have been handled SO MUCH better - WHERE is the buildup she deserved, Bryke. But it is also not healthy for Zuko to base his identity around struggle, even though this flaw doesn't drive him insane like Azula's perfection and in a fucked up sort of way it is productive to him being a great Fire Lord. Zuko's character arc is well done (maybe the most well done character arc ever, actually) but he finishes the show with a lot of growth left to do.

tldr: Both of their characters relied on Azula being a prodigy and Zuko not being. Azula is all head and Zuko is all heart and their parents pitted them against each other.

p.s. I have SO many thoughts about their dynamic and how canon could have been tweaked just a little bit to make it so beautiful and tragic and compelling, but that will have to be a different post. Also all of the quotes are from memory so if they're wrong oops.

#azula #zuko #fire hazard siblings #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla zuko #atla azula #ziggy talks #also obviously azula has a heart and zuko has a head that’s just not their strong suits

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amloveabledeathmo · 1 month

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ATLA Headcanons

Was just thinking about ATLA the other day and have come up with new headcanons. In a world where my health wasn't shit I would love to write about them but instead I will just share the bits.

This is all after the canon events. Most of the Gaang travel with Toph back to her house to make sure she isn't kidnapped or kept against her will. She shows up basically says you all are terrible people I'm here for my stuff and goodbye.

They all get together to talk to Azula and decide what to do about her. Basically Iroh, Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee all tell her they still care about her but don't know what to do to help her and Toph is sympathetic about ridiculous parental expectations. Azula is so happy and incredulous that they all care about her. She says she knows Aang took her dad's bending power and asks if he can do that for her.

Everyone is quite shocked by the request but she wants to not be a danger as she is trying to learn how to be whoever she is. Also she wants to know what she can do without her bending since that is all that she has ever been praised and loved for by her father. Aang warns that he doesn't know if he can give it back but she insists.

Sokka, Zuko, Suki, Mai, and Ty Lee all spend a lot of time together and there are many rumors about who is dating who. They announce a wedding and everyone assumes it's Zuko and Mai. When the wedding actually happens it turns out to be a triple wedding, Aang and Katara, Zuko and Sokka, and Suki, Mai, and Ty Lee. Azula and Toph get to stand up for everyone as witnesses and Iroh is the officiant.

Zuko and Sokka go to the air temple to discuss a new idea that Sokka had with Teo's dad. Azula tags along and Sokka introduces her to Teo. He teaches her to fly and the rest is history.

Azula asks if Aang could try to give her bending back, she thinks it would work great for creating updrafts while flying. He is successful at it and him and Zuko teach her how beautiful fire can be just like they learned.

Pretty soon Zuko and Sokka start collecting children. They end up with 10. Suki and Ty Lee both want to experience pregnancy and the throuple only want 2 kids anyway. No one asks who the dad's are. Katara and Aang have some kids too. Azula and Teo have a small wedding and at first Azula is afraid to have kids but she loves her nieces and nephews so much that she is happy when she ends up pregnant. It's triplets.

Sokka and Katara convince Hakoda that he should court Bato. That it would not mean he loved Kya any less.

Iroh, Hakoda, and Bato all get to be grandpa's to all the kids. Iroh is Grandpa, Hakoda is Gramps, and Bato is Papa. There are as many family gatherings as they can all manage.

Toph is the fun aunt who lives with them all for a few months at a time. She has a dedicated room at everyone's house since she is family. She is not interested in having a long term relationship or her own kids. She much prefers one night stands and spoiling her nieces and nephews and taking them on one on one trips. She also brings earth bending wrestling to the masses and is very famous as the Blind Bandit.

They also start finding a few air benders here and there who's ancestors had married into other nations before the fire nation wiped them out. Of course everyone would hide any air benders in their families until it's safe. Aang starts a school teaching air bending.

#ATLA #avatar the last airbender #headcanons #atla headcanons #atla zukka #zukka #kataang

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bitchiepudding · 3 months

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Not to be a major fucking bitch

But I am getting increasingly worried about the ATLA love action.

Like the CGI? the rumored changes? It makes me think the show runners don't actually understand the story they are adapting.

Like this last clip that came out with Azula, Mai and Ty-Lee. Azula is practicing archery in it.... Which directly opposes some major undertones and eventually themes of the avatar universe.

The Fire Nation doctrine is based in Firebending Supremacy. All of the high-ranking military we see are benders, and even Azula is preferred because she is the better bender. The narrative without saying it outloud is telling us that in the Fire Nation, bending is king and everything else comes second. And then, out of the numerous Firebenders we see, we only ever see one use weapons, Zuko.

The fact that Zuko uses swords when he could just firebend sets him apart and is one of the earlier clues that there is more to him than meets the eye. Zuko is told to us to be not a very talented Firebender, so when he rescues Aang without using bending at all, it's clear that he is talented, just not in Firebending. And given the archers prestige, perhaps even prodigious.

But as we learn in book 3, the modern-day firebenders have forgotten the true core of their element. They only use fire as a tool of destruction when fire is so much more than that. And the past 100 years of war have made the firebenders believe that they are the greatest weapon in the world. So why bother with learning to use a sword or a bow when you yourself are the Ultimate weapon?

The people of the fire nation firebenders especially are prideful.

This is why the most talented firebenders in the series(Azula, Ozai, Iron, Jeong Jeong) don't use weapons because the fire nation has told them they don't need to. But Zuko was not a talented bender. He needed to find other avenues to keep his edge.

And this may seem small, but to me, changing this means doing the story a disservice. It makes me wonder what other themes and undertones the Live Action is going to take out.

#avatar #atla #avatar: the last airbender #netflix avatar

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babbletaels · 3 months

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The avatar netflix show was REALLY good! I literally don't care about any of the things people are critiquing it about. Bad dialogue? These are child actors and the dialogue in the original wasn't as good as you think it was, sorry not sorry. Bad casting? Nope, I just disagree. Mai does not need to have a pointier chin for this to be a good show. Zuko does not need to look like whatever you think he should've looked like (you want him to look "more handsome" and "more white" don't you?). I couldn't care less what these actors look like honestly, and the dispute about Sokka I literally can't speak on because I'm from the other side of the world. Changing the story order, smashing together some plot points? Literally they did it well so I don't care. They did it really well.

The ONLY thing I thought could've been done much better was.. Let us have some down time. Show us aang and katara practicing together. Show us more of Sokka and Suki practicing idk. Show us the kids just hanging out doing stuff. Show us that they are actually friends. Most of all they could've shown us Katara practicing in the northern water tribe. It felt like things were just happening alll the time, like plot point after plot point after plot point. They should've made a little bit of room to show these things!

That's it that's my only complaint.

I really love the actors, they're perfect. Especially katara, for some reason I found her kinda annoying in the cartoon and I found the plot points of her being "motherly" to her older brother really idk weird. I much prefer Sokka trying to be a good leader and older sibling and being too strict about it. I don't care that Sokka "isn't sexist" anymore, I don't really care. The only thing it impaired was his conflict with Suki, cause this way it seemed kinda forced and they could've just had him say that he didn't take them seriously cause they're girls and been shown wrong it wouldn't have been so hard. But those were such short scenes I kinda don't really care that much.

The bending looked pretty good, it could've been faster but I can't be assed to care that much. Tv shows don't need to be perfect.

I literally loved the changes they made regarding Zuko and his family. It worked well the way it was in the original, but it really does work this way too, and they made Ozai seem even more psycho.

#avatar the last airbender #atla #atla netflix #avatar the last airbender netflix

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aboutiroh · 6 months

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I'm not sure if this is something that has been discussed before, but the pacing of book 3 has always bothered me a little (not enough to consider the writing as less than phenomenal, but still). There's actually a few things that I think could have been handled better and I just grouped them under 'pacing issues' as an umbrella term, even though it's not always the most fitting term. Most of these aren't even really issues, but just my personal preference.

For instance, I always thought it's a pity we didn't get more episodes with the Gaang after Zuko joined the team. I love the fieldtrip episodes, but we barely got to see team avatar travelling together (and Toph didn't even get a fieldtrip!). There's a lot of untapped potential there and we're free to explore that ourselves of course, but having more canon storylines would've been nice and I think it wasn't impossible. (This is a segue into issue nr. 1):

Book 3 spends too much time preparing for the invasion.

The Gaang spends half a season to prepare for the invasion (they mostly just travel to the meeting point). This makes no sense to me as we, the viewers, know that Azula knows all about it (as King Kuei so nicely tells her about those plans in 2x19 "The Guru"). (Which btw, he could have mentioned to the Gaang after learning that Azula was not a Kyoshi warrior, but I'll let that slide as Kuei is canonically a useless person).

They build up towards a fight that we know is doomed to fail and that on itself is okay, but that moment could've happened earlier in the season (not so early that Zuko doesn't have the time to finally understand what his destiny truly is). If the invasion failed earlier in the season, Zuko (and Suki) would have joined earlier. Many episodes in early book 3 could easily take place after the invasion (thinking of "The painted lady" or "The puppetmaster", maybe(?) "Sokka's master" and "The runaway", though some elements would have needed altering, e.g. the Sparky Sparky Boom Man subplot (I say we get rid of it entirely)).

Conversely, there's one episode, or rather conflict, that should have occurred before the invasion. (Segue to issue nr. 2!):

2. What even was the invasion plan, really?

After the invasion fails, we learn during a beach party that the Fire Lord is planning to literally burn the entire world when the comet arrives, so the Gaang's new plan of discretely hiding and training until the comet passes turns out to be pretty pointless. Aang suddenly has to face the Fire Lord much earlier and more importantly, when Ozai's at his most powerful, which is less than ideal. So the combat training recommences. It is at this point that Aang suddenly realizes he's not willing to kill Ozai. He's of course right to feel conflicted about it, and it's understandable that his friends don't completely understand just how important this is for him. It's a necessary and significant moment in the show, but it's just strange that they haven't had the discussion before.

Aang knows he has to defeat the Fire Lord pretty early on. Throughout book 1 and book 2 he's preoccupied with learning to bend the elements (when he's not riding animals or escaping imprisonment or facing whatever other problem the plot throws his way). It's too early to think about the technicalities of what that defeat exactly entails because priorities, I totally get it. But by book 3, they have a pretty elaborate plan to invade the Royal Palace. It's just never explained how they will defeat the Fire Lord. Hakoda explains the plan as follows:

The eclipse only lasts eight minutes, not enough time for the whole invasion. And the Royal Palace is heavily guarded by firebenders. So that's where we'll need the eclipse's advantage the most. When this is finished, the Avatar will have defeated the Fire Lord. We will have control of the Fire Nation capital, and this war will be over!

Assuming the plan was not to kill Ozai (because Aang would have felt conflicted about that), how exactly would Aang defeat the Fire Lord in those eight minutes? Was he just supposed to knock him unconscious and then immediately put him in a cooler cell? If that's the case, I didn't see them carry one around. Aang had thought about the possibility of not coming back from the battle (as he tells Katara just before leaving), so it would only make sense for him to consider the possibility that it could be Ozai who would not make it out alive because of him.

#avatar: the last airbender #atla #iroh’s content and comments #i rarely ever make posts like this #but i really wanted the voice these... considerations #maybe this is something everyone already agrees on and i'm just late to the party #but in my experience book 3 is really popular #and deservedly so #but it could have been better #and by better i mean more adapted to my personal taste

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iwritenarrativesandstuff · 3 months

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started watching the new live action avatar

it’s. It’s pretty ok I guess? But there’s a lot of things I’m not altogether happy about. It feels very. Generic. Which is kind of sad.

I’m only two episodes in though, so I won’t be too harsh. But there are a few things that I really don’t like, and number one was Aang going into the Avatar State in front of Sokka and Katara for the first time when seeing Monk Gyatso instead of when escaping Zuko, and that moment being isolated instead of the moment everyone in the world knew the Avatar had returned

in the original series, Aang goes into the Avatar State when confronted by irrefutable proof in the form of the skeleton of his best friend and mentor - the airbenders really were massacred and he can no longer deny it.

every statue of the Avatar around the globe lights up in a single moment. the legendary figure’s destined return is announced to the world by an overwhelming outpouring of grief and rage from a young child who just discovered that everyone he ever knew and loved is gone. it’s poignant. the Avatar’s return in that moment is not a triumph. that terrifying show of strength and power, enough to light up the world in its glow, is pure emotional anguish from a small twelve year old, who just saw the dead body of his mentor and now believes he is all alone

and Katara and Sokka having seen the Avatar State before means that there is less of the shock and “what is happening” in this pivotal scene (which was the main focus in the live action). of course Sokka is still concerned about them potentially getting flung off the mountain. but both of them know this reaction for what it is - mysterious power, sure, but primarily, they see and recognize his grief.

I just. what happened to “we’re your family now” and “neither of us are gonna let anything happen to you”??? :(

on a side note, I do feel like Katara and Sokka themselves have been heavily (heh) watered down. it’s a shame. Sokka’s my favourite, and I just think that I. Don’t trust writers with Katara now. (Why is her waterbending a secret? The whole reason she didn’t learn was because there was no one to teach her and she couldn’t leave… also where is her instant connection with Aang… where is their silliness… where did it go…)

however! I did like a couple things that were done and I want to be a bit positive so here

love Zuko and Suki’s actors. they did a great job

Sokka and Suki’s training together was cute ☺️ (though I wish he had worn the uniform of the Kyoshi Warriors…)

Aang himself is adorable :) (wish he got to be a little more silly but Netflix adaptations always are more serious for some reason)

I actually kind of enjoyed getting to see some of the scenes from the war’s outbreak. I prefer the way the original show portrays it, with a lot of info being learned reverse chronologically, but it was cool to see Sozin, and some of the airbenders, and a little more of Gyatso (who I also really enjoyed :’) )

Katara bending water at Aang and it reducing to them splashing each other without even trying to bend. Rare sillies!

I thought Kyoshi herself coming to defend her island was pretty sweet!!!

Katara getting flashbacks to her mother’s death on seeing firebending. Well I don’t like this, obviously, but it clearly shows how her mother’s death haunts her, and if they have Katara face off against Zuko again at the North Pole, it’ll be all the more triumphant.

Suki’s mom!!! Damn she was so cool!!!!!!

#also whyyy was Katara not the first person Aang saw??? this is really important!!!#and what is Katara’s role here. She didn’t even seem to break the iceberg. That’s. That’s her whole. That’s. She. She kickstarts it. Gah.#Katara my beloved my sweetie I don’t know why your writing got fucked up in the comics and now here #you deserve so much better #also why no Aang and Zuko confrontation? hello? that’s really important???#they had him meet Iroh though. so that was actually pretty interesting #no agni kai between Zhao and Zuko either? maybe it’ll happen next episode?#ugh. I actually don’t like a lot of things. But I’ve only watched two episode so I’ll be chill and wait for more #storyrambles #atla #also this is just me being nitpicky but if we were going to actually see gyatso’s death (which. Idk it was more impactful not seeing it tbh #there’s this implication that gyatso may have broken his vow of pacifism since his skeleton was surrounded by tons of fire nation soldiers #implying he may have killed them #it wouldn’t have fit or made sense at the beginning of the show #but if they were going to show his death scene. Idk. Guess I just expected something more substantial #personally from what little we knew of Gyatso it actually does seem likely he’d break his vow if he really did die protecting the children #also. he was supposed to be the strongest airbender at the time. come on now. he just gets roasted?

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sami-guinea-arts · 18 days

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Lord Death: Mainly the concept that Dynastes is Death's brother. I see a TON of DTK twins, but no Death siblings. Fuck you canon lore, I will give him a brother in my universe. While Death is order of guidance, not forcing his madness on humans, Dynastes is the opposite, he represents order that rules humans to balance Death out. I want to point out that Dynastes does NOT hate humans, but he thinks the shinigami should be telling them what to do.

Daybreaker: While Death has grey morals (he is a god and not human after all), Dynastes is inspired by a swap AU I have, where Death is the main villian. Sorta an idea of switching some things out, as in Dynastes would not take shit from people shittalking the DMWA if it was his school. Like Daybreaker is an AU where Celestia turns bad, seeing herself as superior and the only ruler. Dynastes' relationship with Death is also strained, seeing himself only as the better ruler, calling Death too soft and saying Kid, who acts like a human is unfit to take Death's place.

Akainu: Similar to Daybreaker, Akainu is ruthless and takes no shit. Desertion or failing in the duty of a Marine is worthy of death to Akainu, like to Dynastes, someone betraying the DMWA or shinigami laws should also be punished by death. Like Akainu's hatred for criminals and anyone opposing the government, Dynastes hatred is for rule breakers, mainly kishin eggs/bad souls and witches. Absolute Justice is to sacrifice anything to defeat what is defined as "evil", as for Dynastes it is what defies his rules.

Roy Mustang: I love the way Roy fights, especially when he almost burns Envy to death. Dynastes, when not fighting physical, can also snip to create explosion like fires with enourmous force. Like Roy, his powers do not work the best in water or wet terrain.

Tesoro: I mainly got the idea for a Death brother when watching Film GOLD, Dynastes has a very similar attitude, very confident of himself, but being very scary when actually angered.

Reshiram: Reshiram represents truth (Dynastes believes humans should be under the shinigamis control), while Death is more like wishful behavior (Zekrom) as he believes in humans ruling. It is said Reshiram can change the climate with its tail, Dynastes could...also burn the entire earth with full powers activated.

Also what Reshiram, Daybreaker, Roy and Akainu (somewhat) have in common: Fire related powers. I didn't just want him to be a "white Death", so I figured why he could be brightly white...sooo his true form, like Death's cloak is flames. His temperature can range to warm, touchable fire to all evaporating flames. Usually I prefer water or ice related powers, but I liked the idea, as Asura is able to use black fire as an ability. Fire is what all living beings fear, it can destroy or create, being full of energy. All characters have very destructive powers, Dynastes does too.

Other mentions

Disney Hades: I also would've added, because Dynastes' hair can also become flames when he's angry.

Doflamingo: Dynastes' voice claim, he is very charismatic and ruthless.

Zuko (Avatar): While Dynastes' fighting style with fire is ususally very destructive, he also knows fire can bring warmth and comfort. Like Zuko when he learns bending shouldn't be done with wrath, Dynastes can use his fire in non-destructive ways too, such as removing burn scars from living beings.

#soul eater #my art #soul eater oc #oc #my oc #oc chart #oc inspiration #lord death #shinigami #death city #shinigami sama

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noexoozes · 6 days

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Pretending I was tagged by @juniperhillpatient.

20 Questions For Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? A total of 37, with 28 posted anonymously under a previous account, 6 posted under cinnamonbreeze (one is in a private collection), and 3 that I have orphaned. There's also probably about....100 others I have just simply deleted over the years.

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 132,240 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for? For cinnamonbreeze, just Avatar: the Last Airbender. For the previous account, ATLA, TLOK, Borderlands 2, The Owl House, Fruits Basket, and Xmen: Evolution.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

The Break in the Bend - Jetko, originally a oneshot that explored what would have happened if Jet had joined the Gaang in the third season, and the progression of Jet's relationship with Zuko from meeting him on the ferry to post canon. And then I added a couple more chapters. I feel like I didn't really give this one a satisfying ending, so, like everything else, there's probably going to be more added to it at some point.

The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows - otherwise known as the 'Zuko Figures It Out AU.' This has been a fun wip so far, figuring out how things would go with one change to a canon event. Jetko

The Closest of Calls - the oneshot that ihas been expanded into a multi chaptered fic. It is also a Jetko fic, and just a little fic about how it might've gone if Zuko had saved Jet from Lake Laogai.

All You Wanted - I wrote this (and the first fic in the series, Everything I Never Had) while dealing with some family issues, and I think this fic is very clearly a form of therapy that I'd needed at the time. It is post canon, with Azula home and she and Zuko are in just about as good of standing as could be expected, but with a lot of issues between Azula and Ursa. It's Zuko's POV, as he navigates how he remembers his mother's parenting verses how Azula remembers it, and the complexity of it all. No romance, just the difficult dynamics of the Fire Siblings and their relationship with each other and their mother.

Love of the Loveless - unsurprisingly, Jetko. More surprisingly, it is NSFW. Not explicit, no actual smut in the fic, but explores Jet's unhealthy ideas about sex and coping mechanisms and his residual anger at the wealth of the Fire Nation in comparison to the poverty he experienced in the Earth Kingdom.

Do you respond to comments? I always love when an author responds when I leave comments on fics I read, so I try to pay the favor along.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Probably The Heart Shaped Glasses, a modern au oneshot centering around Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot. Though, I likely have angstier endings in a bunch of fics I'd deleted

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I am allergic to unquestionably happy endings; I prefer ambiguous endings, ones that are open to interpretation. But....the happiest ending I can think of would maybe be Love of the Loveless or maybe In Your Seventh Heaven, a mostly canon compliant post Ba Sing Se Jet/Yue fic.

8. Do you get hate on fics? I think I have an angry comment on All You Wanted or Everything I Never Had for being critical of Ursa.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I have, but it's not very good, so I don't often. If I had to pick a kind, I guess character study disguised as porn.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I have not, and I don't think I have the creativity needed to do so.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Back under a different name, someone asked if they could, and I said yes. But before I ever found out if they did, I deleted that account and all my fics, and then understably never heard back from them.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Kind of? I've given feedback, and I've taken a lot of feedback while working on things. Had a lot of help on The Break in the Bend in particular.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? I don't have one. If you'd asked four years ago, it would have been Longerbee. Three years ago, it was Tyzula. Two years ago, JetLee. Last year and this year, Jetko. But I also latch onto crack ships real fast, churn out a fic for them, and then move onto the next.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? The Duke to Kanto. It is about how the life of the Duke, from joining the Freedom Fighters to where all the roads take him as a young adult, how he falls in love with Toph, and what happened to their relationship. I really love the first chapter of this fic, and would love to see it finished, but....the steam is gone. And it's hard to be motivated to keep going when there really isn't an audience for this niche fic.

16. What are your writing strengths? I've been told my ambiguous endings are well done, so I'm going to go with that.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Honestly, my confidence in my writing in general.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I'd feel more comfortable doing it if I was fluent in the other language, but I don't see why it would be a bad thing to do.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Xmen: Evolution.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Windows, a oneshot Maiko fic, that takes place in a single night after The Crossroads of Destiny, when Mai and Zuko finally reconnect after his banishment. There's a lot of flashbacks in it, chronicling pivotal moments in their relationship as children, and gets into the tricky situation that is Mai's friendship with Azula. It was my first fic I wrote during the pandemic, and I spent a lot of time really hammering out the details and making sure everything flowed and worked, and that the characterizations were accurate, and I think I largely succeeded.

I'm tagging anyone who wants to do this, and also @krastbannert @orangepanic @ljf613 @erisenyo @myargalargan(but no pressure if you don't want to do it)

#noexoozes thoughts #atla fic writer #jetko #tagging jetko because most of the fics i've linked and talked about are jetko

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elzifelzi · 1 year

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Been in a huge avatar tla mood so here are my few avatar takes.

Avatar is a show that can be done perfectly in live action as long as the people working on it are fans of the show and do their research. Shyamalan was clearly not and thats one of the main reasons the live action movie was bad.

The movie while awful had good cg for it's time and the elements themselves looked good the main issue with that was the fact that they did not pay attention to which martial arts the bending styles were based off of and just did whatever they wanted.

Despite the whole "losing past lives" thing Korra wasn't a bad avatar and she's far from the worst(Roku holds that title)

However she was a very unlikable character for a vast majority of the first and second season so i understand why people have their issues with her she genuinely has alot of writing flaws that make her hard to enjoy.

Usually when i express my feelings about Korra people always respond with "you only hate her because she's a bisexual female avatar" and i then have to point out that my favorite avatar is Kyoshi who aside from being an absolute unit is also a bisexual female avatar.

Kyoshi is the best avatar and deserves her own series.

Was neat seeing Avatar Wan in LOK but i personally would’ve preferred having a mini series with him instead just of the 2 episodes. we got.

Zutara is an awful ship and is only popular because of the tired tropes of opposites attract/fire water/good girl bad guy/enemies to lovers. Despite the voice actors pushing it Zuko and Katara have a total of 2 moments together on screen that mean anything one of them is katara realizing that zuko has also suffered because of the war and the other is katara forgiving him for betrayal neither of which are romantic in any way.(I also simply do not like the enemies to lovers trope in general and the only time i feel it works is when the enemy in question is just on the opposing faction and hasn't actually hurt the other character directly.

Sokka not having kids and having an ambiguous fate has to be one of the weirdest decisions ever made by the writers.

The Live action show will be good.

Iroh deserves his own series

Bumi is the most interesting out of all of Aang and Kataras children.

Korrasami is a dope ass relationship that didn’t get the development needed to be great.

Korra not having her past lives anymore makes the concept of the avatar kinda dumb and only works best with Wan since he is Literally the first.

The biggest flaw of the LOK is how the most exciting moments of the show don't come from Korra but from Aang and his team avatar and their kids.

Kataang isn't an amazing ship at all but The people who shit on shit simply refuse to understand the reason why they work so well

#avatar: the last airbender #avatar the legend of korra #alta aang #tlok korra #zuko #katara #kataang #kyoshi #anti zutara

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prying-pandora666 · 1 year

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My Azula Diagnosis Analysis Part 4: The Golden Child

Find all the parts here.

Sick of bad armchair diagnosis for Azula? Me too! So in this thread let’s discuss Azula’s most commonly “diagnosed” illnesses and disorders, and find out what she actually meets the criteria for, if any.

This time let’s talk about the roles and dynamics set for children raised by a narcissistic parent (Ozai, in this case). Just as Zuko is the Scapegoat, is Azula the Golden Child?

Golden Child Claims

—Azula seems spoiled and like she always got everything she wanted while Zuko got abused

—Azula shows concerning enmeshment with Ozai, who clearly uses her for his own gain with no regard for her own psychosocial development and emotional well being

So Is Azula A Golden Child?

This is an interesting one to tackle because it’s so misunderstood that it’s often used to make two polar opposite cases. On the one hand are the fans that insist being the Golden Child meant Azula was a spoiled princess who never heard the word “no” and had a perfect happy life. Others use it to argue that Golden Children are also victims of narcissistic abuse and that far from living perfect spoiled lives, they are sometimes more deprived of their own emotional needs than even the Scapegoat.

So first we have to clarify what being the Golden Child of a narcissistic parent actually means.

No, it does not mean one is spoiled and pampered and given everything they want. While the Golden Child may be given preference and praise over the Scapegoat, this is simply a tool to control and manipulate both children, and is not actually given as a form of love or support.

Golden Children are the other side of the narcissistic abuse victim coin. While the abuse endured by the Scapegoat might be more overt and therefor more obvious, the abuse heaped on the Golden Child is just as damaging though often far more insidious.

The Golden Child is not given unconditional love which we all require in childhood to properly develop in a healthy way. Instead, they are given conditional favor. This means that whatever praise and grace they may receive comes with the threat of being withdrawn—and may also include punishment—if the narcissist parent is displeased. This constant state of fear and anxiety without any proper support or safety can cause a host of complex emotional and psychological issues, and leave children feeling as if nothing they do is ever good enough and as if any affection they will ever receive will only be tied to their performance. They may even internalize themselves as unloveable except by pleasing the narcissist.

As always, while symptoms vary between individuals, here are a few significant and recognized symptoms of Golden Child Syndrome.

—Deference to those in positions of power: As Golden Children are raised as nothing but an extension of their narcissistic parent, they may develop and unusual deference to those in positions of power. Azula shows this but exclusively towards Ozai, whom she is so loyal to in The Show that she is willing to put herself in the line of fire during the Day of Black Sun to protect him. Even though she knew she’d be without bending and could have been killed.

—Overwhelming anxiety about falling short: Golden children are taught early on that their value isn’t inherent, but instead relative to others. That only by outperforming others or meeting absurd expectations will they have any value. This leads to severe anxiety about failing and the consequences of that failure. Azula fits this to a T. Her biggest fear is failing and becoming the new Scapegoat, therefor losing the only approval she’s ever had in her life which is from her father. This is why when Ozai discards her, Azula desperately cries out “You can’t treat me like this! You can’t treat me like Zuko!”

—An unhealthy perspective on relationships: As social skills are learned, the transactional nature of how Golden Children are raised greatly impacts their relationships. Azula struggles to express her love towards people in a healthy way, using manipulation and intimidation to control her friends the same as she would an enemy of war. This is due to Ozai grooming her exclusively as a weapon and offering no nurturing or concern for Azula’s needs as an individual. Although Azula also tries to use these skills to help her loved ones (most notably Zuko), when her favor isn’t returned, Azula takes the rejection extremely personally. The heightened emotional pain she experiences triggers a complete psychological disregulation. Azula’s reaction to rejection is prone to become violent, as her ever-anxious system interprets the rejection as a threat. We see this with how she reacts to Mai saying she loved Zuko but only feared Azula (a fact which Mai knew would wound Azula since she speaks about having this same trauma with mom), and how Azula attempts to kill Zuko after he betrays her to join Team Avatar.

—The hopeless pursuit of career advancement: As Golden Children have had it instilled in them that they must be exceptional, regardless of whether or not they want to be, they can find themselves lost if their pursuits do not pan out as expected. They may start to perform poorly, self sabotage, lose interest in their job/responsibilities, or even spiral into a depression and act out. We see Azula go through this when becoming Fire Lord did not earn her dad’s love as expected. Like a classic Golden Child, she did not seem to want the throne for her own reasons, but merely because she perceived it to be what her father would want from a child he’d love.

—A history of self-destructive, dependent behavior: Desperate to receive any sort of validation due to the lack of love and support in childhood, Golden children are prone to be victimized. Conditioned to transactional relationships, Golden Children may find themselves striving to please an enabler who uses the Golden Child’s skills to their advantage, while keeping the Golden Child just starved enough of affection to keep competing for more. As the Golden Child becomes dependent on any scrap of validation, they may endure increasingly absurd demands and mistreatment simply to avoid having that validation taken away. We see this in spades with Azula and Ozai. No matter what horrible thing Ozai asks of her, or how little he seems to care about her wellbeing, Azula loyally does as she’s told. Only when Ozai refuses to reward her with validation does Azula act up. We even see this to a lesser extent with her friends and Zuko, where being betrayed and rejected by all three of them in quick succession leads to Azula’s psychotic break where she questions if she can even be loved or if fear is all she will ever be able to get from others. “What choice do I have? Fear is the only way.”

—An inflated sense of self-confidence contrasted with low self-worth: Does this one even need explanation? Azula is highly confident in her abilities, so much so that she is unafraid even when outnumbered and surrounded by multiple highly skilled benders. However, she has internalized that she is an unloveable monster due to perceiving this to be her mother’s opinion of Azula. It’s tragic to see someone so skilled and confident to a fault have so little sense of self worth. The Golden Child values their skills and what they can do, but not themselves as a person, as that’s what the narcissist values - their usefulness.

—A desire to outperform one’s peers: A survival mechanism to maintain the narcissist’s approval. Azula demonstrates this quite handily in the volleyball scene in The Beach. She cannot even handle a normal, healthy competition for fun and turns a simple beach game into a battle arena. After her ruthless strategy wins her and her friends the game, Azula taunts the losing team as if they were her enemies and not just another group of teens. Azula is sadly unable to understand why others find this off-putting, as her entire life is a constant performance test.

—An unhealthy obsession with perfection: Meeting or surpassing expectations is so central to a Golden Child’s upbringing that many develop an unhealthy fixation. Golden Children are more prone to OCD than most for this reason. Azula is often described as perfect by others, and while she doesn’t call herself perfect, she does hold herself to an unrealistic standard. The first scene we ever see of Azula (not counting her cameo in Book 1), is her practicing lightning bending on a ship. This is an incredible feat of bending that even most firebending masters several times her age cannot pull off. Yet despite how impressive her skill level is, Azula freaks out when a single hair falls out of place. Azula is terrified of both failure and of being perceived as weak, a fact that leads to her hiding her vulnerability at all costs, which makes her come off as less sympathetic or fragile than she really is.

—Struggle to appreciate others’ successes: As Golden Children are expected to be perfect and surpass all others, they may not appreciate others’ successes for a couple of reasons. They may perceive anyone else’s success as a threat (Ty Lee, with boys), or they may see the lower/more realistic standards others are held to for success and resent them (Zuko, her eternal rival who got mom’s affection without having to earn it). Azula demonstrates both.

What Golden Children need most is to be removed from the abusive environment and given care to help them find their own sense of self outside of ther narcissistic abuser or anyone else they may become dependent on.

It’s a long and hard road to recovery, but it is possible to overcome these maladaptive behaviors and thought patterns, and to eventually develop healthier connections with others. Even more importantly, with support, patience, and effort, they must come to develop a healthier relationship with themselves.

Conclusion: Azula does suffer from Golden Child Syndrome.

While it’s easy to write Azula off as a spoiled happy princess compared to Zuko who bears obvious, physical scars of the abuse he’s endured, nothing could be further from the truth. Both kids are victims of Ozai’s narcissistic abuse and him constantly pitting them against each other.

Although Zuko and Azula show signs of loving one another (Azula especially has a strangely resilient devotion to Zuko, twisted as it may be), the toxic dynamic imposed on them by Ozai has led to a tragically adversarial relationship.

As a result, both kids think the other had it better and resent one another rather than recognizing the hardships they face in common.

Zuko envied Azula for having father’s favor.

Azula envied Zuko for having mother’s love.

#avatar #Atla #avatar the last airbender #azula #Azula Diagnosis Masterpost

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burglar-bird · 1 year

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I’ve wondered this for a pretty long time, but I’m not sure if I ever actually asked you. If I already asked this once, I’m really sorry

I have a theory and I was wondering what you thought of it (for no other reason than that I really like your fics)

I think that Iroh deliberately didn’t teach Zuko more advanced katas because he didn’t want Zuko to be a threat or to have to hurt him if Iroh and the white lotus ever chose to go against Ozai (and Zuko sided with Ozai)

I think this because it doesn’t make sense to me how Iroh didn’t seem to ever doubt Zuko’s capabilities particularly regarding Zuko fighting Zhao (and Zhao is probably good because he’s more experienced and has a high rank)

Iroh also taught Zuko lightning redirection and I presume he knows that Zuko would, knowing the technique, rather try it out than dodge (so it would’ve been dangerous to teach him if Iroh thought he couldn’t do it)

Additionally, Zuko had the time, motivation, and determination to practice every day so it doesn’t make sense that he trained his whole life basically and that even after 3 years non-stop training he didn’t have the basics down even though he’s regarded as a good firebender (compared with normal firebenders)

So I’m curious, what do you think about this theory?

Sorry this ask is so long :)

That's a really cool theory! I think it depends how you interpret Iroh. A lot of what he does doesn't make tons of sense, so the audience can read into it as they will.

Personally, I can see a more manipulative Iroh nerfing Zuko, but there's also a lot of sense in sticking to the basics when learning any skill. "Fear not the man that's practiced 1000 techniques once, but the man who's practiced one technique 1000 times."

Or, as my sifu says, "if all you know how to do is to poke someone in the eye, if you get in a fight sooner or later you'll end up poking them in the eye."

Zuko has those basic moves so ingrained in him that he can take out people who prefer more advanced techniques (Zhao). It even helps him keep up with Azula when they fight; he may not know as much as her bending wise, but their fights are always close, which is pretty amazing.

So, whether or not Iroh had ulterior motives, practicing those beginning techniques works well for Zuko in the long run in my opinion. :)

#asks #atla #atla au #atla zuko #zuko

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