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daily-zuko · 4 years

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Day 30

“If you listen hard enough, you can hear every living thing breathing together.”

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#Daily Zuko #daily atla #it's funny I tag that because this is so not daily #i'm doing my best guys #Zuko #Aang #atla #yes I drew an approximation of their outfits #do i care?#nope not at all #look I made it to day 30!#proud of myself #DAY 30 #can you believe #here's to working towards Day 60

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daily-zuko · 4 years

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#daily zuko #daily atla #zuko #atla #Avatar The Last Airbender #y'all I need a new job #this one's going insane

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“Uncle, father loves me, right? He wants me home, a-and I’m just not doing enough to restore my honor. I’m trying my best, Uncle, I really am, but-”

“Oh, Zuko, come here.”

“I’m so tired, Uncle.”

“Zuko...”

“I just want to go home.”

#daily zuko #daily atla #prince zuko #season 1 zuko #zuko #atla #Avatar The Last Airbender #sometimes I remember that #Zuko searched for Aang for THREE YEARS with no assurance that he'd find him #but he couldn't afford to give up hope because he loved his father #and therefore he could never believe this banishment was anything but his own fault #and that this was a task to prove himself instead of a punishment #he just wasn't worthy #if he could just restore his HONOR #he could go home #away from the strange rocking seas that came with nausea from his altered balance #away from salt water that stung his bad eye and good eye both #away from the crew that despised him #shunned him #planned mutiny #and made him feel so alone #away from Uncle whom he loved but who cared in ways he didn't want to process #his home wasn't perfect but it was his #and then it wasn't

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This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or locals is entirely coincidental.

#daily zuko #daily atla #zuko #zuko atla #zuko au #atla #atla modern au #whoops #here's me projecting #lmao #did I mention how ridiculous it's been?

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Thank you for the 200+ Followers!

Wow! I took a break from everything and came back to 240 followers! Thank you so much! As you’re all aware, life has been pretty hectic lately, but I’m definitely going to be starting this back up now. Look forward to it and thank y’all for sticking with me! In these difficult times, I think it’s best to remember Uncle Iroh’s words:

“Sometimes life is like this dark tunnel. You can’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving you will come to a better place.”

In thanks, I’ll be doing requests! Please send them to me! <3

#daily zuko #daily atla #the gaang #atla #Avatar The Last Airbender #atla modern au #for real tho #I've been working at a hardware store #and legitimately it's been INSANE #like y'all stay home

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Haikyuu!! AU, just because. What position do you think he’d play?

#daily zuko #daily atla #zuko #zuko atla #zuko au #haikyuu au #hq au #atla #avatar the last airbender #just finished rewatching season 1 #now I'm off to season 2 #slowly but steadily I will get to the new content #in the meantime expect more AUs lol

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Have another quick sketch.

#daily zuko #daily atla #zuko #zuko atla #dragon zuko #atla #avatar the last airbender #hopefully I'll be able to actually draw something else tomorrow #no promises

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More dragon au doodles. Overly long sleeves are incredibly cute.

#daily zuko #daily atla #zuko #zuko atla #zuko au #atla #avatar the last airbender #woo #another silly sketch #that I ended up doing really late #off to bed

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just a quick doodle (give zuko a low ponytail 2020)

#daily zuko #daily atla #zuko #zuko atla #atla #avatar the last airbender

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daily-zuko · 4 years

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Hi,I heard there are some Avatar The Last Airbender fans bashed Katara for being hostile towards Zuko when she has a valid reason to do so given what he did in Crossroads of destiny,do you validate Katara’s grudge and animosity towards Zuko?

Hello, Daily-Zuko here!

Though I’m not sure what answer you’re looking for, I suppose I’ll do my best to respond in a nonjudgmental manner. You’ll have to forgive me – as a Zuko blog, my focus in this breakdown skews towards him, though I have tried to give sufficient attention to Katara as well. As this turned rather lengthy, the majority of the content lies under the cut. Thank you for the question.

I think my favorite part about Avatar: The Last Airbender is its nuance in exploring complicated character dynamics. There is no black & white morality; each character’s feelings are treated with as much delicacy and respect as they deserve. Every individual’s story is weaved together seamlessly to create a greater whole, and Katara and Zuko are no exception. Their character arcs run parallel in many ways during the show, finally colliding in the Season 2 finale. They have both struggled with grudges, rage, and resentment holding them back throughout the course of the series, and this culminates in the climactic turning point in The Crossroads of Destiny.

Katara, after carrying the pain of losing her mother for so long, seemingly finds a kindred spirit in Zuko, and let’s go of her anger to extend a hand in trust. This is her attempting to move beyond her childhood trauma to start healing. Zuko’s rejection of her is a rejection of his own inner turmoil, but it unfortunately cements Katara’s toxic mindset of revenge. Regrettably, Zuko is not ready to accept a change of heart; this occurs just as he’s evaluating his own moral stance. This finale subjects both of them to their lowest point moving forward.

To answer your question, I believe that the actions they both take in The Crossroads of Destiny – and beyond – are valid.

At the point in the narrative where Zuko attempts to join Team Avatar, Katara’s potential growth has been stunted from their previously aborted connection. Zuko’s mental scars from his mother were not a central theme to his character development, unlike Katara, so he was able to complete his metamorphosis and advance. Though to all appearances they share the same childhood experiences, in terms of character, they do not share the same Ghost.

In the book Creating Character Arcs, by K.M. Weiland, the author outlines four distinct things to establish in order to successfully create a Positive Change Arc: a character’s Want, Need, Lie, and Ghost. Zuko’s want versus his need is rather obvious. The lie he believes is that his worth is tied to his father and his title. By capturing the Avatar, he will return home and become intrinsically complete. The ghost, in this instance, does not refer to any literal ghost; rather, the ghost is the incidental wound within a character’s past that causes the character to believe in the lie in the first place; in other words, the Agni Kai.

In contrast, Katara’s ghost is literal – the death of her mother. It haunts her and prevents her from understanding her truth: that continuing the cycle of war will not remedy her grief. This creates an opposing force for their conflict in The Crossroads of Destiny, as while Katara has yet to confront her own lie, she is presenting Zuko with his truth, and rushing him into the next phase of his archetypal growth.

Zuko’s choice in this scene is necessary. His reaction to Katara’s unexpected offer of reconciliation is instinctive – primal. Though he has come to the point where he can question his way in life, he is not yet ready to have this outlook thrust upon him in this split second decision. He cannot confront his lie. Therefore, he rejects the truth, relapsing based on what all previous experiences tell him is correct. Only once he fulfills his want in succeeding does he realize that it is not what he wanted in the first place.

Additionally, Katara is somewhat of an unfortunate bystander in Zuko’s next step on “The Hero’s Journey.” The Positive Change Arc quite commonly coincides with the much earlier interpretation of character development defined by Joseph Campbell in The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Though this path is generally a commentary on the main character’s quest, this is only because other characters are not usually as fleshed out. Zuko, as the deuteragonist, is an exception. In this stage, referred to as “Challenges and Temptations”, “Road of Trials”, “The Descent to the Abyss,” etc, Zuko needs to fall to the absolute bottom in order to die and be born anew, and he drags Katara with him.

In this vein, Katara’s obsession with rage and revenge simmers within her, and is not addressed in detail until The Southern Raiders. It is something that was magnified by the perceived betrayal of someone she had faith in, but it was an underlying issue that colored several actions she took. This was, of course, exacerbated by the duplicity demonstrated by others throughout the series.

During their stay at the Western Air Temple, Zuko doing all he can to show Katara his changed self even though she continually rebukes him is his only meaningful way to absolve and prove himself to her in spite of his previous violation of her trust. His acceptance into the party does not erase his past mistakes. Katara needed to shun him just as Zuko needed to show her, with his actions, that she is allowed to forgive and finally complete her own journey. It is a fragile balancing act the writers have coined in order to give these two the catharsis they deserve, and it is executed flawlessly.

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tl;dr: Yes, Katara is valid, so is Zuko, this show is more complicated than that and implying that one character (on either side) is in the wrong somehow for their feelings does a disservice to the show’s excellent writing.

Additional youtube content from people who articulate much better than I do:

The Importance of Mistakes, by Make Stuff

A four-part show analysis, from The Weight of Cinema

The Cycle of War, by Hello Future Me

And finally, thank you to my lovely beta @tmariea for constantly helping me put my thoughts in order.

#asks #daily-zuko #not art #meta #atla #fantasticanimefan

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