korrssami

[korrssami]

So I first so this on Instagram and I rolled my eyes so hard because why. Just why. Then I saw it again on this hellsite, and the op was saying how this is so stupid because it downplays the complexities of Aang's character and what he means to people by just saying "he's nice". And you know what? They were right. You can have a wall of text as to why you like both of these characters. Wanna know why I love Aang so much? Because of his kindness. Because his kind of character wasn't one we got often back then. His love. His never ending compassion for people. His willingness to always see the good in someone no matter what, even if that person doesn't deserve it.

Most of all though, I love him because of what he represents. What he means to victims of genocides, to the descendants of genocides. Here we have a character who had his entire world stripped away from him in the blink of an eye. He was told his entire race and culture were gone, and that this had all been done in the last 100 years. There were times where Aang felt like he wouldn't be able to regain what he lost. But even so, he persevered. He always smiled and he never gave up. He never abandoned his beliefs that he was taught, ensuring that his culture and the air nomads would never be forgotten. He used the beliefs of said culture to end 100 years worth of war and suffering, the very same culture that his opponents mocked, all the while showing why his culture wasn't wrong, why his people weren't wrong.

That is why I love Aang.

[korrssami]

ATLA fandumb stop comparing a fictional 14 year old abused child to a real life dictator challenge (impossible)

[korrssami]

What was Azula's actual truth/lie ratio with Zuko?

Of the meaningful things she said to him, how many were lies?:

The Avatar State:

Tells Zuko that Ozai has forgiven him and wants him home-lie

Tells Zuko that Ozai thinks he's worthless-truth but Zuko refuses to believe it.

Crossroads of Destiny:

Tells Zuko that she thinks he can redeem himself and earn back his honor and Ozai's love-truth

Tells Zuko that he's redeemed himself in her eyes-truth

The Awakening:

Tells Zuko that he has nothing to worry about if the Avatar is actually dead like he claims-truth

The bedroom scene is interesting and open to interpretation, but it's difficult to classify anything she says there as a lie-truth

The Headband:

Tells Zuko it would be dangerous if he gets caught visiting Iroh-Truth

The Beach:

As far as I can tell, just about everything she says to Zuko in this episode is entirely truthful.

"The Avatar and the Firelord":

Tells Zuko the truth about Sozin and his life, so far as she knows.

"Nightmeres and Daydreams":

Tells Zuko the truth, that he'll be welcome at the big warmeeting.

Overall, we're at nine truthful statements and one lie. Azula seems to generally tell Zuko the truth.

[korrssami]

ATLA fandom: azula is the devil she abuses animals

*inserts scene of azula throwing bread at turtleducks*

Literally almost all children do that because they don't understand it can hurt the animal but ok

#azula meta #azula #anti atla fandom

[korrssami]

the crucial fact of zuko and azula's relationship that makes it so insanely compelling is not the tried and true facets of siblings on opposite sides of a war, sibling rivalry turned murderous, or siblings who are divided by their parents' favoritism; it's the fact that despite being the older sibling, zuko is the one who doesn't care about azula while azula cares about him even when it goes against her best interest to do so. i think this makes a lot of people who want to see zuko through the fanon lens of this awkward turtle duck who's just doing his best and isn't super angry and volatile deeply uncomfortable because it so directly contradicts that reading of him unless they completely strip azula of her sympathetic and human traits. but that reading is not only unsupported by canon, it's boring.

the truth is that azula cares about zuko (in a very distorted way given how her upbringing and trauma restrict her ability to express it in a way anywhere in the area code of healthy) to the extent that because she chooses him over herself in bringing him home (because it is an insane retcon that implies she is near omnipotent to say she knew for certain the avatar was not really dead and was just going to scapegoat zuko, not to mention it makes very little sense and is, again, boring), she loses everything. and zuko cares so little for azula that he only feels anything remotely close to grief about it all when he sees just how badly she's hurting.

as much as i think his redemption arc leaves to be desired in terms of the political implications of it, zuko does have a good heart. he does want to do the right thing. it's just that azula has always been his blind spot, and that makes their relationship so much more interesting.

[korrssami]

Azula was a better sister to Zuko than he was a brother to her

I just have to point this out but as much as I love Zuko, I just can’t help but dislike how he was with Azula. Never once, NEVER did he act like a brother to Azula in the show (not comics). At the crystal catacombs he only joined Azula so he’d regain back his life and honor, but not because he wanted to help her.

Azula on the other hand, although she did try to imprison Zuko and Iroh (Ozai’s orders), she still gave Zuko a chance and helped him gain their father’s acknowledgement even when she could’ve achieved more by imprisoning them both.

She gave him a choice, to return as the Fire Nation Prince who conquered Ba Sing Se with her. She gave back his honor, and Zuko accepted it.

She approached Zuko when she noticed that he didn’t seem happy about regaining back his life and honor when she didn’t have to. In her own way, she cared about him.

She warned him about his meetings with Iroh, albeit rather in a playful manner. That still meant she cared about him.

It’s been years since she’s probably visited their vacation house but she still knew that she’d find Zuko there. Honestly in The Beach episode she was just pretty great.

We rarely saw these 2 siblings together. Zuko only came or talked to Azula when he wanted something from her. If not, he’d rather avoid her altogether.

I’m just saying but Zuko just kept betraying people. Iroh, Katara, and then Azula. Azula acted like a little sister would when they were children but she DID try to be a good sister to him. Zuko never was a brother to her. It was always just him and himself. If Zuko really wanted to rebuild his relationship with her, then he could’ve told Azula about her connection with Avatar Roku. He could’ve tried to change her mind.

If anything, he shouldn’t have at least sabotaged Azula in the end. If Ozai was merciless to his son then imagine what he actually did to Azula. When Azula told Ozai that Zuko had killed the Avatar, she was actually leaving it up to chance. She gave Zuko time to do something about it. And Azula only did that when she realized that Zuko was lying to her about the Avatar being alive lmao Zuko just threw her under the bus with no protection whatsoever.

[korrssami]

It still amazes me how many people justify Ursa's negligence towards Azula while at the same time talking about how a child soldier should get the "consequences of her actions" (funny too because Mai and Ty Lee got redemption even though they also brought down the Earth Kingdom) the fandom has to learn that those responsible for the war are adults like Iroh or Ozai and not children like Azula.

[korrssami]

Azula discourse on twitter is so annoying like ? These people have no braincells

APPARENTLY pointing out that a 14 year old was an abuse victim made writers change her storyline in some ridiculous live action version and the live action tried to make her abuse more apparent so people would understand that she's a child being abused EQUALS to getting rid of her entire personality or her evil-ness or whatever they think

Get rid of this ridiculous show so the discourse can end

#azula meta

[korrssami]

Not planning on watching the ATLA live action but it's sad and annoying how they had to make Azula's abuse too on the nose for people to understand that she was also a victim of her father, and people are STILL ignoring it and calling her crazy. There is no winning for poor azula

#azula meta #atla live action is ass #anti atla fandom #azula is a victim #azula

[korrssami]

"You gots to stand up to him. You gots to try."

The Color Purple (2023) dir. Blitz Bazawule

[korrssami]

Feel terrible for the fans of hotd who can't just enjoy rhaenicent for what it is I hope you see the light

[korrssami]

house of the dragon & religious imagery 🤝

[korrssami]

My Brief thoughts on the Azula in the Spirit Temple comic

It's very short and essentially a character piece with no plot. I didn't like it; it felt like it missed a lot of opportunities (spoilers below):

So I just read it today. It's pretty short, and definitely the most sympathetic presentation Azula since the show. Of course, that's a very low bar to clear. I can also praise the fact that it did not depict Azula as "crazy" or "a nutso," which another low bar this franchise has repeatedly failed to clear.

That being said, it's mostly weird and uninteresting. Despite the comic acknowledging Azula's weird Smoke and Shadow plot to make Zuko a better Firelord and stating that her current actions are part of that, it depicts Azula as entirely obsessed with becoming Firelord and has her declare that she's the rightful Firelord essentially every page. This contradiction isn't dealt with, and of course in the show Azula did not obsess over the position of Firelord.

A lot of emphasis is placed on Azula's relationship with Mai and Ty Lee in this comic, but, given that they almost exclusively appear as "spirits" here, little is said aside than Azula knows she treated them badly but struggles to admit it. There's really nothing about what her past relationship with them meant to her or about how these relationships developed her time, no imagination what their interactions outside the battlefield might have been like or their relationships as little kids. No flashbacks to their time in school together, only standard lines about manipulation and fear. The comic can't be bothered to imagine what various relationships might mean or have meant to Azula. And it's like it's incapable of depicting or imagining any event not already depicted in the show.

Much the same way, the comic has nothing to say on the meaning of Azula's relationship to her brother to her. Iroh is also a nonfactor.

Azula's loyalty to her father is left mostly unexplored, as are Azula's motivations in general. Imperialism was a massive part of Azula's life, but, as always in the comics, it's ignored.

Hicks apparently felt it necessary to canonize or at least reaffirm the fanon idea that Azula was really into burning turtleducks. The idea that Ursa could have just always disliked Azula never occurred to her, apparently.

If the story is pushing an idea, it's mainly that Azula was responsible for almost every problem she had with her relationships with others, aside from with Ozai. She needs to beg for forgiveness. The issues she has with other people are generally depicted as unreasonable on her end.

And of course the comic goes nowhere. It has an open ending that will put zero constraints on future writers; no clear step toward redemption is made. The only thing accomplished is to depict Azula a little more sympathetically for people who paid little attention to her in the show. I suppose, given the general composition of the ATLA fandom, that's something, and of course we have to acknowledge how short 80 pages is to tell a story.

But the reality of the situation is that it took 15 years for this comic to come out, only for it to advance her character not at all and to say nothing that wasn't evident from the show itself. Maybe in another 15 years we'll get something actually interesting about her, if we're still alive.

As for making Azula more sympathetic, hundreds of fanfics have already done a better job than this comic manages.

[korrssami]

I think the strongest evidence that Suki will not hate Azula is because she would have done the same to her if she was in her place, if not worse lol

The Warriors of Kyoshi:

Oyaji: [Voice-over.] "You three have some explaining to do."

The camera moves even further to the left, revealing the back of one of the woman dressed in green that ambushed the group earlier.

Suki: [Voice-over.] "And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the Unagi."

[...]

Oyaji: [Cut to frontal view of Suki and Oyaji who angrily points at Aang while looking at Suki.] "Throw the impostor to the Unagi!"

Suki and the rest of her warriors immediately retract their metal fans from out of their belts and slid them open. Ready to counter any sudden attack, they threateningly start to move forward and surround the bound friends. Cut to a close shot of Katara as she leans forward in the ropes, glancing to her right where Aang is bound to the pole.

The purpose of Unagi are extinguishing fires and execution. (according to Avatar wiki)

In Kyoshi Island, children are being recruited for security, children even can be executed like we seen with Aang when they suspect the Gaang were Fire Nation spies. The Kyoshi Warriors alongside Suki take action with no hesitation.

So yes, it's true that Suki is unbothered by Azula's treatment or strategy, other than anger over defeat, but there's no grudge or resentment towards her at all which is consistent with the feelings she gives off in the show portrayal.

P.S and if you would accept that part of The Search as canon, Suki was shocked when Zuko decided to bring tea to his family. She told him "they're your prisoners, not your guests."

The same is true for the Fire Nation, too.

"If [Kuzon (a.k.a Aang)] acts up one more time, I'll have him sent to reform school—by which I mean the coal mines." -Headmaster, The Headband episode

Coal mines reform school, we are not talking about criminals but "disruptive" students. They're all minors.

[korrssami]

this is the rant i posted about john doe on twitter the other night

john doe as a character is so tragic because he has never known anything except from lunacy. he has only ever existed inside a literal madhouse, surrounded by the criminally insane, being told that his very nature is evil and wrong and something he needs to overcome all the while being harshly exposed to the realities of living with people who reflect your mental state so unapologetically. he had to watch people demonstrate behaviours he was told were forbidden, behaviours that HE yearned to act out and he didn’t even know why. he was never taught how to act around normal people. he was only taught to suppress his nature and be something he isn’t, and that’s why when he was let out, he couldn’t get a grip on the realities of a crime ridden city and had to turn to harley for security. he HAD to rely on other criminals because they did the things he was taught to be AFRAID of doing, without any consequences. and when he met bruce, who wanted to be like him, who wanted to help him, who had been in that SAME institution and yet was so successful and perfect, he fell into a bittersweet friendship. on the one hand, bruce cared about him and helped him with his problems and listened to him, things that no one had ever done before. on the other hand, bruce had ideas of justice and crime which contradicted john’s mental state and went against what his nature desired, with the added pressure of bruce’s secrets: being batman and being undercover as a ‘criminal’, getting close to the gang and john while actually working against them to bring them to his idea of justice. when john found out, not only did he instantly forgive bruce for keeping this secret, but he HELPED him to try to imprison those very criminals that helped him when he was released from arkham. and i think the reason he did this so easily was because arkham truly DID manage to break through to him, in some ways. they succeeded in internalising the idea that john had to be GOOD. he just didnt know what that ‘good’ meant, until bruce came along, a symbol of someone who had a black-and-white vision of right and wrong, good and bad, and who did the ‘right thing’ for others both in and out of costume, and he felt compelled to follow him in what he did: being his friend obviously influenced this decision too, because having a positive mindset about someone causes you to trust them as knowing better than you. and when he eventually goes on his murder spree under extreme stress and duress, he melts down because he thinks that not only has he let down bruce, he’s let down THE WORLD. he is reminded that he is NOT a functioning member of society, he is not NORMAL. he’s just like those other criminally insane people he was locked away with in arkham, he is no better than a crazed bloodthirsty lunatic, and nothing batman or bruce can say can change that. in that moment, john truly believes that he is doomed. if he can’t control his own actions, his own thoughts, his desires, his impulses, how the hell can he control himself while being batman’s accomplice? how can he keep a hold of himself when talking to his best friend, who makes him so excited and enthusiastic it’s hard to discern whether he’ll be able to control his violent tendencies whenever he feels strong emotion? john doe is uncontrollable. arkham can’t control him, harley can’t control him, the agency can’t control him, batman can’t control him, and he sure as hell can’t control himself. that’s what makes him so tragic. that’s what makes his story so sad, and so doomed. he was at a disadvantage from the start. he can’t function within the society that’s already built up around him and so he can’t function at all. so he chooses to let loose and do whatever the hell he wants, and where does it leave him? back where he started, in arkham, being taught the same lessons as last time, except now everyone treats him as though he’s stupider than he is and more dangerous than he ever wants to be.

[korrssami]

the desperation bruce because he had hope the joker was someone he wasn’t. the way he refused to give up on him and ultimatey it pulled both of them down. the way they were perfectly the worst person the other could meet in the end but still values the relationship they had even if it turned into something twisted and ugly.

sigh, batjokes.

[korrssami]

shetty really loving and caring about cate made everything so much worse she played and manipulated the girl she claims to love thats so motherly of her