#EIP return

[theotterpenguin]

thinking about how katara is the only person zuko tells about his mother, the only member of the gaang who zuko opens up to about his scar, the only person he let touch his scar, the person that zuko gained another scar for in order to protect. thinking about how all the terrible memories wound up in zuko's scars are also now intimately connected to katara's kindness. thinking about how katara is the first person zuko trusted, how she offered to heal his scar out of the goodness of her heart, how much he values that trust she placed in him and so he cares the most about rebuilding that connection with her - more than anyone else - after his betrayal. thinking about katara always being so in tune with zuko's feelings, how she understands the importance of zuko and iroh's relationship and is concerned about zuko during the eip, and how in return zuko chooses to open up to her when he's worried about his uncle forgiving him. thinking about how only katara has truly witnessed the complicated relationship between zuko and azula, how she's seen azula's manipulation of her brother but has also seen how zuko still cares for her and stands by him even when he's grieving the defeat of his sister. and how for all these reasons it only makes sense that zuko would want katara with him for the most difficult fight he's ever had to face, and it only makes sense that azula realizes killing katara will hurt zuko the most.

thinking about how zuko is so in tune with katara's feelings, how even when they were enemies the crystal catacombs he reaches out to her when he realizes she's upset, how he never invalidates her negative feelings towards him, but instead only asks what he can do for her. thinking about how zuko is the only person in the show that katara ever reveals the full story of her mother's death to, and how zuko is empathetic and kind and apologizes to her, despite not being responsible for it. thinking about how zuko is the one who recognizes that katara still has her own story to resolve, separate from aang's, and helps her overcome the most traumatic event of her life. thinking about how zuko understands the strength in katara and trusts her to make her own choices, never questioning katara's personal moral choice not to kill but also not to forgive. thinking about how zuko is the only person in the show that ever looks after katara's wellbeing while she's so busy caring for everyone else, how he asks katara to rest, how he realizes that katara needs to face her past to heal emotionally, how he takes katara to ember island for some alone time to process what has happened, how he is always shown helping out with house chores without being asked. how for once katara gets to be cared for instead of the caretaker. thinking about how zuko never makes his forgiveness a requirement of helping her, and yet, for all of these reasons, it only makes sense that katara chooses to forgive him. and it only makes sense that zuko is the person that katara ends up trusting the most deeply, the person she is willing to run into an agni kai arena for and risk her life because she cares for him and doesn't want him to get hurt.

just thinking about the way that katara and zuko share a relationship that is so unique from any other dynamics in the show, and how they share the most complicated, emotionally intimate connection in the gaang.

and it's no wonder that they always gravitate towards each other the most in the second half of book 3 - because they understand each other the most out of everyone else. they never leave each other's sides in tsr, go out of their way to be near each other in subsequent episodes, and are together in almost every scene in the finale.

#zutara #zuko x katara #katara #zuko #we love mature and healthy relationships #that work through conflict in healthy ways #this is kind of rambly but i just have a lot of feelings about them okay #my post #atla

[firelxdykatara]

I too ship Zutara and think they should have been canon. Although for me it's important to know how such a rewrite would go down. I tried to think, and I'm lost.

After Mai betrayed Azula for him, will he just go "sorry, not interested"? He isn't obligated to date her because of this, but her redemption hinges on Zuko and I don't see it being satisfying if he ends up rejecting her after this.

I thought the solution would be to rewrite her arc in boiling rock to make her have a moral realization, but then the problem with Maiko is practically solved. Their relationship wasn't salvaged by her redemption because last time they talked, Mai still didn't understand what's wrong with the Fire Nation and only changed because she loved Zuko. So how do you make it both satisfying & logical?

With Kataang the problem is the Chakras. The problem with the original (in my opinion) is that after he opened his chakra, letting go of his attachment to Katara, he's still attached (forcing a kiss on eip). Should TCoD get rewritten so that Azula shoots him before he opens it? Then why wouldn't he just open it later? Maybe the chakra would be locked so he feels as though he doesn't need to overcome his attachment just yet. In that situation, how would his chakra even unlock? The stone thing felt like nonsense, so how would I do it?

So yeah I have no idea how to approach this. How would you? (Thanks)

I've been rotating this ask in the back of my head like a rotisserie chicken for a few days--it's interesting because I don't generally stop to think like, how would I write them out of these relationships, I either ignore the relationships completely (which isn't hard, they were barely footnotes in the cartoon) or play a little bit with jealous exes or something. Thinking about like, In A Perfect World where Bryke wasn't in charge of ATLA post-canon (because if zutara had been canon, you can be sure they would've made us regret it) is interesting, and I do have thoughts on how I'd handle their relationships in a rewrite.

(this got long, so the rest is beneath the cut)

Assuming you mostly want to keep canon intact, I think maiko would be the easiest to work around, given how little relevance their relationship has in canon. The problem with maiko as an endgame ship is that it was not set up that way--if it had been, it would not have begun entirely off-screen and their whole relationship would not have been a study in misery and utter inability to connect emotionally. His relationship with Mai was there to showcase just how much he had changed and how little he fit into the life he had been so sure he wanted more than anything since his banishment. It worked very well to highlight Zuko's growth--how that contrasted to Mai's lack of it and why she could not understand him even at his most open and vulnerable--and did not work nearly so well when she was shoved back with him in the epilogue, after he'd quite literally forgotten her existence (he never mentions her again after Boiling Rock, not even to say a word of mourning, considering he'd have every reason to believe she was killed for defying his sister).

I don't think you can fix this by giving Mai some moral realization, because there simply is no room for it. As @araeph says in the essay I linked:

As a character, Mai is very useful to the story during Zuko’s return, because she represents everything that Zuko gains by sticking by his father. A girl who cares about him; the ability to indulge her; the authority he has over others at the palace; we see it all in his interactions with Mai. But this makes Mai a tether to a life he has long outgrown. Her function is not to advance Zuko’s character development, but to obstruct it, which also unfortunately means that Mai gaining a full understanding of Zuko’s trials would be disadvantageous to the story. If she knew everything about him and still wanted him to stay, it would give Zuko more cause than he should have to remain in the Fire Nation, but if she knew and encouraged him to leave and join the Avatar, it would rob Zuko of the triumph of making this decision on his own. In other words, there are good narrative reasons for keeping Mai in the dark; it just doesn’t make their relationship any stronger.

The seeds of a genuine redemption arc (one that includes some sort of moral realization and change to her moral framework) for Mai would have to have been planted far earlier than five episodes from the end of the series, but doing so would have of necessity detracted from Zuko's own character arc and the realizations that he makes despite his attachment to Mai (or more specifically to their relationship, which I feel like he was clinging to more out of a sense of abject loneliness he couldn't shake rather than genuine feelings and emotional connection).

So, in my mind, since we're tackling this with an eye towards getting rid of maiko with the fewest ripples to the overall story anyway, the easiest way to do this would be make one slight change to the end of the Boiling Rock two-parter--have Ty Lee (who had always been the least gung-ho of the trio about bowing to Azula's whims and had to be textually threatened into joining her in the first place) save Zuko's life, and then have Mai (who showed the most genuine affection for Ty Lee anyway) save Ty Lee. I love Zuko more than I fear you always fell flat for me as some epic declaration of love, anyway, since a) Zuko is not around to hear it, and b) unlike Ty Lee, she never showed much fear of Azula to begin with, so it wasn't a very high bar to clear. It was a cool line that was entirely unearned, and I don't think it would be missed, there would be some cute mailee crumbs this way, and a throwaway line of getting them released from the prison after the war ended could wrap up their presence in the story pretty nicely.

Now, kataang is a little trickier, if only because the last leg of Aang's character arc is almost completely derailed by his refusal to let go of his possessive attachment to Katara, to the point where he never naturally reopens his chakras, he has to have the Rock of Destiny hit him in just the right place, and the deus ex lionturtle there to give him a way out of having to make a hard moral choice. (I've maintained for years that if you work the final act of your main character's overall arc in such a way that it could have been solved by one good session with a chiropractor, something got fucked along the way.)

The thing about Aang's chakras is that, narratively, his whole thing with Guru Pathik and leaving his training early to save his friends was basically his version of Luke running away from his training with Yoda on Degobah because of his Force vision, only to find out that his friends were in the process of rescuing themselves and then losing his hand because he hadn't completed the most crucial part of his training. What's missing, therefore, from the last act of Aang's character arc, is the return.

See, in Star Wars, Luke pretty explicitly makes the wrong choice when he chooses to prioritize saving his friends over attaining enlightenment and fully mastering the Force. It was the only choice he could have made, but it was still the wrong one--because, like Aang, his friends did not actually need him to save them, he actually almost makes it harder for them to get away by requiring them to save him because, like Aang, he loses a battle in a very critical way. This was a lesson he desperately needed to learn, and it is clear he has learned it by the time he makes it back to Degobah and witnesses the end of Yoda's life, his own enlightenment having already been reached.

But Aang never goes back to the Guru.

And the text refuses to allow us to sit with the fact that he made the wrong choice in prioritizing his attachment to Katara over his ability to master the Avatar State. He is actually narratively vindicated about it, because the plot bends itself into a pretzel so that he doesn't have to spend any time during the last book trying to reopen his chakras and regain access to the Avatar State, handed both in the final battle with no excess effort on his part, and handed the girl into the bargain. (The girl who never even wanted him, so far as we can tell from all the lack of cues she gave him that she actually returned his feelings.)

And I think this could have been solved with a few scattered scenes. Let Katara actually have some agency in her own romantic relationship (or lack thereof), insofar as noticing Aang's advances and clueing the audience in to how she actually feels. Let Aang struggle with the fact that he can't reach the Avatar State, that his mastery of the elements is in limbo because he can't access his full power, rather than ignoring all of this until the end of the show. If we're trying to keep the shape of the last season roughly the same, let Katara confront Aang about the invasion kiss.

This would have been the perfect time to establish that Katara actually does feel some type of way about Aang prior to the epilogue, and it could have saved us from the exceedingly cringey EIP kiss that Aang never apologized for. How it comes across now, of course, is that Katara basically pretends it never even happened, to the point where she doesn't even know what Aang is talking about during EIP until he reminds her--the death knell for any shot their relationship had at looking requited, because I can tell you, as someone who's been a teenage girl, if someone I had conflicted but burgeoning romantic feelings for had kissed me, I would not have completely forgotten about it only a few weeks later--and we never get any indication as to what she actually felt about the kiss (which was not mutual, despite what Aang's dialogue in the EIP scene implies) except for the fact that she looked away and frowned afterwards. (A change mandated by Bryke, who wanted to leave her feelings completely ambiguous; the original storyboards had her smiling to herself.)

So, with an eye towards wrapping up Aang's puppy love crush and establishing Katara's distinct lack of romantic feelings for him, have her talk to him about the kiss. A good frame of reference for this would be Meng's conversation with Aang in "The Fortuneteller", where she finally realizes that he doesn't like her in the same way she likes him. Katara and Aang's conversation about the invasion kiss could be a callback to this, with Aang having some important realizations--that just because Katara doesn't share his feelings doesn't mean she loves him any less, and just because he can't have her the way he wanted doesn't mean he has to love her any less, that she doesn't belong to him but that's ok, because she's still his family and they'll always have each other's backs. Which could have functioned well in helping him take another step towards unblocking his chakras. Going back to the Guru directly may not have worked, since by this point in the story we're hurtling towards the final confrontation and Sozin's Comet, but let Aang reflect on what the Guru told him with new understanding granted him by his experiences throughout the first half of the season.

To keep the stakes high and up the suspense, obviously, he shouldn't have fully unlocked his chakras and the AS before the final fight, but the seeds could be planted--little moments like a talk with Katara about the invasion kiss, maybe a little more empathy and understanding from him about why Katara needs closure in TSR, etc--and then, during the final fight, rather than hand him all the answers on a silver platter, have him almost lose. He still can't go full Avatar, he's out of time, he still doesn't know exactly what to do about Ozai given his own pacifism and desire to preserve that part of his culture--he tries to fight but he's pretty quickly overpowered. Idk how I would've animated this, and maybe it wouldn't have looked as cool for the final fight, but the true climax of the finale was the Zuko and Azula agni kai anyway, so it hardly matters--I'm picturing him doing the rock-shield thing and going into a brief meditative state, where he finally achieves the enlightenment necessary to unlock the AS on his own, no rock of chiropracty necessary. And at this point, I'd give Ozai a Disney Death, since leaving him alive causes more problems than it solves and it's not necessary for Aang to kill him for him to die--they're fighting on a mountain ffs--but if you don't want to change that part then him figuring out energy bending as part of becoming a fully realized Avatar would at least feel more earned than the lionturtle just handing it to him. (And that could've been foreshadowed better by seeding the idea for it earlier in the season.)

After all of that, particularly if you up the emotions during the agni kai and have Zuko and Katara kiss there (or something less explicitly romantic but still tender, like a brief forehead touch), it'd feel pretty natural to have a just friends ending for Aang and Katara. Maybe a brief, slightly awkward but ultimately amiable conversation if Zuko and Katara had a ~thing at their final fight, and then the final shot of the series could be the gaang all together, maybe zutara holding hands or Katara resting her head on his shoulder or something, but since they already kissed there wouldn't feel like a need to end the whole show on romance, something which I've always felt missed the point of the series.

And then, y'know, after that, the world's your oyster! This is how I'd do it if I were trying to keep the bulk of the final season intact. Of course, breaking it all down to its component pieces and rebuilding from the ground up is also an option, but that'd probably be a longer post lol.

#zutara #atla #m.aiko salt #k.ataang salt #atla canon rewrite #hey albert kim if you're taking notes on how to do season 3 of the LA................ #Anonymous #asked

[ghanjrho]

A:TLA; how it should have ended.

Recently, I've been on a deep dive into the A:tLA fandom, specifically the Zutara sphere. And that means I've found a lot of long-form meta on the show, it's ending, LoK, script final drafts, you name it. That's all gone in the brain blender, and here's what came out the other side.

Sozin's Comet honestly doesn't change that much; only two real differences.

The magic rock is gone. Instead, we get a flashback to Guru Pathik, and Aang realizes that he has to let go of his attachment to Katara.

The Maiko/Kataang victory laps in the last 5 minutes are gone. Mai and Zuko get a scene where they wish each other well, but acknowledge that they're over. Katara and Aang have a nice moment where they choose friendship. There's love there, but it's Philia, not Eros.

@burst-of-iridescent has a delightful essay series on Zutara, and the part that sticks in my head is that in the run-up to the finale, Aang and Katara are at their least unified. To wit:

In "The Southern Raiders" Aang is preachy, condescending, and more than a little hypocritical about Katara's plan to take vengeance for her mother. The episode ends with Katara explicitly rejecting Aang's belief that Yon Rha was forgiven.

In "The Ember Island Players" Aang is distraught at the idea that EIP!Katara's statements, namely that Aang is like her brother and she's attracted to Zuko, are true. When he questions Real!Katara about this, he responds to her statement that she's confused about her feelings by kissing her. The kiss is not returned. Again, no resolution is had.

Finally, in "Sozin's Comet Part 1" Katara is part of the chorus condemning Aang for refusing to even consider killing Ozai, no matter how many people are at stake. He runs off from the group, and from there disappears into the Spirit World to get Lion-Turtled. Yet again, no resolution, and the two don't reunite until the tea shop.

Now speaking of the Lion Turtles, I'm actually not opposed to them. Yes, they come out of nowhere to deliver an 11th Hour Superpower that handily spares Aang from having to actually make a choice he disagrees with, but at the end of the day it is a kid's show. Nickelodeon was never going to approve a script where Aang killed Ozai. Throw in a little bit of foreshadowing, and I'm good. It's worth noting here that the story of Avatar Wan was supposed to be covered in A:tLA, which would handily cover that requirement.

Now, for the post-canon. We'll start with Fire.

Zuko is NOT left alone in the Fire Nation. Similarly, Iroh does NOT fuck off back to Ba Sing Se.

Toph and Suki stick around. Suki in her canon role as commander of Zuko's Kyoshi Warrior bodyguard, while Toph and Mai use Toph's lie-detection and Mai's insider knowledge to purge threats to the new peace.

Toph eventually goes back to the Earth Kingdom to start a metalbending academy, but first she needs to make sure that her Sparky lives to be the grumpy old man he was born to be.

While Iroh is correct that for political and diplomatic reasons Zuko needs to be Fire Lord, he also bows to the reality that Zuko is plain and simply not ready to be the Fire Lord.

Zuko went from 4th in line to 1st in line basically overnight, and the 5-ish years he spent as Crown Prince were clearly not spent preparing him to succeed Ozai.

So a teenager with a fairly surface-level understanding of "how to monarch" has to self-Reconstruction the Fire Nation, while paying reparations, without having been militarily conquered.

This is how idealists get assassinated. New Plan!

Zuko is crowned Fire Lord. Iroh is his Prince Regent. It's very clear to all involved that Zuko is the one charting the course forward for the Fire Nation, while Iroh is there to convert intent to action, while teaching Zuko how it's done.

It doesn't hurt that Iroh is one of the Fire Nation's most successful military commanders, so the civil war route is a lot riskier for anyone to attempt.

Next, Sokka

Sokka honestly has a pretty good arc in the post-canon. Nothing I really feel the need to correct.

Eventually, Suki is able to hand off her duties in the Fire Nation to someone else and goes home to Kyoshi Island

It’s still home, but it isn’t the same. Or rather, she isn’t the same.

She never leaves the island behind, but it’s usually a stop on the journey from Wolf Cove to Republic City.

Then, Aang

Aang divides his time between Avatar duties and Last Airbender duties.

Avatar duties involve a lot of sitting in on meetings and reminding people that the ultimate goal is peace.

Last Airbender duties involve a lot of teaching Air Acolytes everything he remembers from his childhood. He gets lucky here, though.

The Airbender Genocide wasn't complete. More than a few Air Nomads escaped the Genocide, and hid themselves away. Some in small villages built in remote mountain valleys, others blended into Earth Kingdom settlements.

Plenty of quarter- or eighth-Air Nomad kids running around with airbending potential they never had the knowledge to develop. Think very early Book 1 Katara here.

The result is that a resurgent Air Nation is being formed, with a culture woven from the threads that survived through relics, the refugees, and Aang himself.

Airbenders are still rare, and it's over a decade before another airbender earns their mastery, but it's not his son and his grandkids when Korra comes around.

Finally, Katara

Katara spends a lot of time traveling. She spends time in the South Pole, helping to rebuild and learning Southern Style Waterbending from the released waterbenders. She also travels the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, doing what she can to solve problems.

There are a lot of problems to solve.

Her travels in the Fire Nation are particularly fruitful; word of the Last Agni Kai has spread, so she is known to be the one that the Fire Lord sacrificed himself for, and who healed his wound.

She and Zuko stay in contact, allowing themselves to have a slow-burn courtship.

After a couple of years she moves to Caldera City and starts getting down to seriously courting Zuko, preparing herself for Fire Ladydom.

The year before Iroh is set to retire as Regent, she and Zuko start thinking about the wedding.

There are a lot of potential traditions to uphold, even just between the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation

This goes double for the daughter of the head chieftain of the Southern Water Tribe, and the Fire Lord himself.

They decide to have fun with it and do everything.

Aang presides over a private ceremony, family/close friends only, that is really just a mutual declaration of love and friendship.

Then come the Southern Water traditions. It's the full gamut, with ice-dodging, sacred hunts and more. In the end, Zuko is an honorary member of the Southern Water Tribe, and he and Katara are wed (again).

There's a diplomatic tour through the Earth Kingdom, stopping at Kyoshi, Gaoling, Omashu, Ba Sing Se, the Foggy Swamp the former Fire Colonies, and ending at the Northern Water Tribe. The language used artfully slides over whether the couple is newly married or about to be married, but overall it works well for the Fire Nation's reputation abroad.

The final act is in the Fire Nation. A full Royal Wedding, a grand affair of state, held at high noon on the day of the summer solstice. When all is said and done, Zuko and Katara now rule alone as Fire Lord and Fire Lady.

Alright, I have more, but I'm tired. Tune in next time for the Fire Nation (extended) Royal Family! featuring Steambabies (Found here)

#atla #zutara #fixit #fire nation politics #all the weddings #zuko definitely has the mark of the too stubborn to die #its not called that #but still #avatar the last airbender

[thethiefandtheairbender]

Hiii, I really love your ATLA analyses. I'm genuinely interested, what can you say about this take? I mean, it sounds pretty logical, and I'm really interested to know what objections there might be to that view of EIP?

https://www.tumblr.com/writer-rider-dirty-thirties/744225630324965376?source=share

There's a few main things that meta like this one, I think, miss out on. That said beyond the two paragraphs I'm not really discussing their meta in particular. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but it does play into why I think EIP gets blown out of proportion while ignoring the more... grounded subtext there? Which is what the rest of the meta response here is about as follows. Please refrain from sending me specific metas in the future - discrediting other people's work is not what I'm about, even I don't necessarily think it's always well argued.

They acknowledge the Doylist perspective... and then completely ignore the actual, textual Doylist perspective they have going on. The writers' intent was to, very evidently, use Ember Island Players to acknowledge their own and fans' reactions to the show (which is why the Great Divide, an episode that the writer of EIP wrote, gets the shaft in the play) by exaggerating and making fun of their own characters and plot points. Grounded in their portrayals yes (Katara does indeed make speeches about hope) but so heavily distorted; just look at how they portray this Katara and Jet, who are completely remorseless about drowning a town ("Oh Jet, you're so bad~").

But the distortion is key. The play pretty glaringly says "Canon Katara would never like Zuko" or vice versa, "because to do so would be a great distortion of her character and characterization." Furthermore, for Katara to only see Aang "like a little brother, and that you don't have feelings for me" is also a distortion, which is why Katara outright states on the balcony, "I didn't say that. An actor said that". It's also worth noting I think that the play itself also erases Aang's romantic feelings for Katara ("I wouldn't want it any other way!"). He doesn't make his feelings plain and be rejected in the play; they just don't exist. So even the play itself isn't saying that there's a love triangle, they're saying that a distorted version of these characters would feature a Katara and Aang that don't have feelings for each other, and a Katara and Zuko that would.

Now, I don't think the play is meant to be that dismissive of fans, either. Like I said - it's meant to poke fun, and the ZK faction had always been quite large and vocal. The crossroads of destiny and its associations with Oma and Shu (which serve the basis for Kataang's love theme) are the bulk of what the ship tends to stand on, 'canon' wise. It makes sense if you're going to do a ship tease with them to do it there, and it's also the last instance you can really make actor Katara 'like' anyone.

It's also a misread to assume Aang would get this angry over jealousy, as well, given that Katara was very obvious with Jet both times, and Aang was very sparingly jealous in Book 1 and only slightly so in Book 2. EIP is one of the rare instances where Aang projects onto other people, a trait more usually seen from his friends.

What makes him upset - and we Know this, because he repeats it outright when they actually Talk about it - is this exchange between actor Katara and Zuko:

EIP!Zuko: I thought you were the Avatar's girl. EIP!Katara: [Laughs] The Avatar? Why he's like a little brother to me. I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way.

That's what makes him potentially upset, which fair enough: it can be upsetting when someone doesn't like you back, especially when Katara previously has given plenty of indications that she does. But he's not mad at her on the balcony. He doesn't take his frustrations over her not seemingly returning his feelings out on her. He's mad because Katara can't, or won't, give him a straight answer.

Aang: You said that I'm just like a brother to you, and that you didn't have feelings for me. Katara: I didn't say that. An actor said that. Aang: But it's true, isn't it? We kissed at the invasion and I thought we were going to be together, but we're not. Katara: Aang, I don't know... Aang: Why don't you know?

AKA "if you don't like me, which I just gave you a perfect out to acknowledge, can you at least confirm it for me?" And she won't even do that.

Katara is usually a very openly emotional person, which is why when it comes to whether she has feelings for him or not (and he has very good reasons to think that she does, given if you remove the Aang's POV we see, Katara is wayy more obvious with her affection than he is), it's accordingly frustrating that she won't just come out and say it. When does someone like Katara hold back? Well... normally when she's concerned about Bigger Things (i.e. not initially pushing with Pakku because Aang learning waterbending is more important to her) or when she's not sure what to do (when Aang rejects her comfort in The Serpent's Pass).

Conversely, his feelings for Katara also makes Aang more likely to stop evading or dodging and to stick his landing. He's the one who tries to confess on two different occasions. He's the one who kisses her first. And he's the one who wants to actually discuss their relationship now. (These are all reasons why I think, if they ever did break up, Aang would actually be the one with the guts to say it out loud, just FYI.)

Alternatively, if we wanna talk about Framing, let's talk about the actual balcony scene, namely Katara's dialogue, and the placement of the moon:

Not only does this balcony scene take place on a balcony like their infamous finale kiss, with parallel framing of Katara walking up behind Aang and seeking him out to talk (if Katara hadn't approached him, it's likely neither would've happened either time) but like

When Yue finds herself in a similar situation with Sokka - a young man she loves, has kissed, but finds herself unable to be with for a variety of reasons - she says almost beat for beat what Katara says here about her feelings and reasonings for wanting more distance. But like both Yue and Katara say, there's more important things going on:

I say this because everyone ignores the aspect of Katara's bond with Aang that is informed by her own trauma and fear of losing people. Aang kisses her because "What if I don't come back?" Katara literally watched him die and brought him back to life. She watched her father mourn her mother and Sokka mourn Yue (The Swamp), which the play likewise gives her an ample reminder of. She watched Jet die too. Katara has faith that Aang will be different ("I knew you'd come" from CoD and "He's gonna come back; he has to" in Sozin's Comet) but that doesn't mean she's not scared. Everyone else going on is complicating her feelings for Aang, and that's perfectly valid -- but like I said, it's a 1 for 1 with Yue.

Which is why she kisses Aang first after the war, on another balcony, because now it is the right time.

This isn't even touching on the in-universe canonical reading of EIP being Fire Nation imperialist propaganda, but that's a meta for another day.

Not to mention: EIP also teases Zukaang through Aang and the Blue Spirit, has them similarly react in distaste, you can equally read Zuko wanting to sit in between them as wanting to sit next to Aang, and Zuko and Aang's dialogue is a lot more ship teased in canon, Anyway.

June: What happened? Your girlfriend run off on you? Zuko: It's not the girl I'm after. It's the bald monk she's travelling with.

Zuko doesn't even correct June for implying a romantic connection, only who he's looking for (love you Avatar "Zuko I want you to dance with me" Aang).

I also personally think that basically any episode that has 'strong' Zuko-Katara subtext actually has far stronger Zuko-Aang subtext, but that's a meta for another day.

I do always think the ZK fandom is a fascinating example of what can happen to a fandom when they only have maybe 5 episodes to work with, nor does ship teasing make something implied canon, otherwise The Dragon Prince (also created by Aaron Ehasz) would have a very different endgame ship (to the point that every Soren/Rayla shipper I've seen also ships ZK, funnily enough, because neither of those are remotely canon).

People have gotta stop taking the bone they're thrown and acting like it's a feast.

#antizutara #atla meta #thanks for asking #pro kataang #atla #analysis series #kataang #otp: penguin sledding

[sokkastyles]

Hi,

Hope you are doing well.

Thank you for the last response on Zuko.

I was reading the post you rebloged regarding Aang and Zuko as parallels, and that got me thinking about the conflicts between Zuko and Katara, and Aang and Katara.

The fact that in the conflicts between Aang and Katara, it doesn't seem like Aang gets to face consequences of his actions in the conflicts, it seems like he gets off scot-free, which makes it look like the argument was given no resolution and forgotten.

I would like your thoughts on this.

It really does seem like Aang's internal conflict with accepting his duty as Avatar vs his want to be with Katara was meant to be a parallel to Zuko's internal conflict, but the writers dropped the ball because of the common phenomenon of being too invested in their hero and not letting them be flawed.

The funny thing is that it doesn't just hurt the KA relationship, it also hurts the narrative as a whole. I've noticed that people who are anti zutara often accuse zutara shippers (because zutara fandom is so often about the parallels) of ignoring the parallels between Zuko and Aang as the driving force of the series. And the thing is, I'm all about zukaang and the redeemed rival narrative. The problem is that the writers seemed to want to make these parallels but never really let them come to fruition. Aang's conflict at the end of book two seems like a clear set up for him to have a parallel narrative with Zuko, including a betrayal of Katara. Imagine if Aang had continued to lie to Katara about not unlocking the Avatar state. Imagine if that conflict had been allowed to continue instead of it being replaced by Azula's lightning blocking it. Imagine that when Aang wakes up and says he needs to redeem his honor (a clear intended parallel to Zuko) he faced the new problem of having kept hidden from the group that he never learned to unlock his chakras.

Imagine that, during EIP, Aang lets slip to Katara that he is so angry that he would be in the Avatar state "if I hadn't blocked my chakra." Imagine that being the moment when Katara learns that Aang lied, and this being part of their conflict in that episode. This shifts the focus of the conflict from "Oh no, flighty Katara won't return Aang's affections and Azula blocked his chakra" to an internal conflict where Aang would have to figure out how HE can solve both his relationship problems and his Avatar problem. Thus bringing the parallel with him and Zuko full circle and tying in with the themes of redemption and personal accountability.

And just like with Zuko's arc with Katara, if Aang were truly forced to reckon with how he hurt Katara and made up for it, it would have made their relationship stronger. The purpose of paralleling Aang with Zuko would be to make Aang's eventual heroic victory more glorious, more earned. Because the writers were afraid to take the same risks with Aang that they did with Zuko, his ending feels less earned, both on a personal level and a heroic one.

#zuko #zukaang parallels #atla criticism #antikataang #zutara

[juana-the-iguana]

The Kat-aang kissing scene at the end of A:tLA was my least favorite scene, but Aang flying away from the GAang in the Sozen's Comet is the most disappointing one. That was supposed to be Part 1 of Aang's character's finale (the fight with Ozai would have been Part 2) and the writers flubbed it.

The scenario parallels him leaving the Southern Air Temple before the show starts.

He was at the air temple (an idyllic, innocent home), the time came for him to leave home and face other aspects of the world but that necessitated leaving behind Gyatsu, the man he loved the most and a parental figure. He's being asked to sacrifice too much for something he never wanted in the first place. He can't handle the pressure so he runs away, leaving behind Gyatsu. Maybe he wanted to run away for good, or maybe he needed to clear his head to come back, but he was never allowed to choose because there is a massive storm and he only survives because of spiritual intervention. When he wakes up after 100 years, his destiny is clear but his survival has come at a clear cost: Gyatsu is gone, and so are the Air Nomads.

And here's what happens before Aang runs away in the last few episodes:

He's at his home on an Eden-like island, the time came for him to confront the Fire Lord and that means killing Ozai. This is against his beliefs and would mean a departure from the culture and people he cherished. It's too much, he didn't even want to fight that battle, he wanted to lay low and keep training in this paradise. He can't handle the pressure so he runs away, leaving behind the people he loves the most, including Katara who is also a maternal figure in his life (they literally recreated La Pieta in Ba Sing Se). He is now in the middle of another sea, but unlike 100 years ago the water is warm and there is no physical storm forcing him there. This is a spiritual location and he talks to past Avatars. When he leaves his destiny is clear.

There's just one thing missing from the story this time around and it's the sacrifice.

They set one up in the form of letting go of his attachment to Katara. He did that in Ba Sing Se and still died, so when he returns he doubles down on his attachment to her to the detriment of her and their relationship.

Katara was an idea to him, she represented all of his worldly attachments. He had to let her go for his own good, but things didn't work out the way he wanted and he was free floating. He could hold on to his attachment to her and leave behind his Avatar duties (which he tried to do) or let her go for good.

When Aang leaves, Katara is the last person to try to get him to stay. This should be a significant moment, but the show just brushes by it. The audience should note how she is angry at him and showing that anger to him, which is not what she has done in the past when he runs away. Something is different between them. Their relationship is not the way it was before and it will never be that way again. He already lost her, he just needs to accept it.

This could have been very powerful moment. This should have been a powerful moment and the show should have built off of that emotionally.

Leaving behind Katara (again) should have been on the forefront of his mind. There should have been clear parallels to Ba Sing Se. And then it should have become obvious that his (romantic) relationship with her was already dead. She rejected him in EIP, he pushed her too far and now they're fighting again.

He should look at that and realize that and thought of what other ideas he is holding to an impossible, unrealistic standard. And, just like he is still able to be friends with Katara even though the idealized version of her no longer exists in his eyes (or rather, it shouldn't have after EIP), he should have realized that some of his beliefs about the Air Nomads are the same way. He had unrealistic ideas of what it meant to be an Air Nomad that he learned during a time of peace. He can still be an Air Nomad, even if he doesn't follow those beliefs to the law (and have Yangchen tell him that!).

Make him have to leave behind Katara like he had to leave behind Gyatsu and that same idea. It's hard, it's painful, but it is necessary to fulfill his destiny.

He literally does not need to kill Ozai. Personally, I like the idea of taking his aversion to violence that we see at the start of the series and turning it up to 10 after he wakes up at the start of the season. He's not scared to fight Ozai during the Day of Black Sun because he might not be prepared, he's scared to fight. Bring back his fear of confrontation from the start of the show! Killing is just the icing on top of this terrifying cake. His big "prove himself" moment should be showing up to fight in the first place! (It also makes him being totally ok with his friends killing other people seem a lot less hypocritical).

Idk that's just my idea, but there are so many other options that can carry the narrative full circle.

But the writers went the lion turtle route instead.

#anti aang #atla critical #anti kataang

[stardust948]

In any of your fandoms what character(s) do you think deserved better? What should have happened instead?

Oh boy this is gonna be a long one.

Aang and Katara from Avatar the Last Airbender.

Aang should have gotten a growth arc. He should have been given the opportunity to mourn the genocide of the Air Nomads and learn how to let go of his attachment to Katara. Book 2 hinted at that but Book 3 completely reconned it.

My rewrite for Aang is that Sozin's Comet mirrors The Crossroads of Density. Ozai doesn't blast him with lighting right away. Aang still covers himself with rocks as Ozai attacks. There, Aang lets go of Katara and goes into the Avatar State. This is when Ozai shoots lighting at him. But unlike COD, Aang redirects the lighting. He still spares Ozai and the rest of the fight plays out like in cannon. The finale balcony Kata*ng kiss is replaced with Aang apologizing to Katara for his mistreatment of her. Katara forgives him and says she meant it when she said they would be Aang's family. They embrace and the rest of the Gaang come onto the balcony and join the hug. This would mirror the group hug at the end of the first episode of Book 3, thus coming full cycle.

Also, Katara from Avatar the Last Airbender deserved to have her trauma treated seriously and not shoved aside to become a trophy girlfriend/wife.

I would mainly have Katara and Sokka talk things out after the events of The Southern Raiders. They would realize that grief is different for each person and that's okay. Also, I would have someone stand up for Katara during The Ember Island Players. She was clearly disturbed by her portrayal and instead of her friends understanding or sympathizing with her, they agreed with the play. In fact, I would change the whole tone of the EIP episode by having it focus on propaganda and stereotypes. I would also have Zutara crumbs, but they won't confirm anything at the end of the series. I think the ending works better with a group hug.

2. Azula from Avatar the Last Airbender comics

They did her so dirty in the comics. They turned her into a literal psychopath who hallucinates and has to be restrained. To make matters worse, they replace her with a random half-sister who is perfect in every way.

I'm not sure how to fix this without rewriting the entire ATLA comics story, but the gist of it would be Azula working through her trauma and coming to terms with it.

3. Starscream and Knockout from Transformers Prime.

For most of the series, Starscream had been straight up abused by Megatron, Leader of the Decepticons. So when Starscream decided he'd had enough and left, I was rooting for him. He went rouge for a couple of episodes and was a threat to both the Autobots and Decepticons. But then he returned to Megatron??? And pledged his loyalty??? Then mourned his death??????

That made no sense! When Starscream returned to Megatron, I honestly thought he was going to try to dethrone him again but he just submitted. Last time he did that, Megatron tried to kill him in cold blood.

Hated it. Hated it. Hated it. Toxic relationship all day long.

Starscream should have stayed rouge for the entire series. That was when he was at his peak.

Knockout was the Decepticon's medic who joined the Autobots at the end of the show. I love Knockout. I loved that he switched sides. But I hate how they did it. It was so shoehorned. The Autobots had the upper hand and Knockout joined them to avoid going to prison. And they let him no questions asked despite all the trauma he caused them.

I would have had KO questioning his loyalties throughout the show. KO is treated like trash by Megatron (though not half as bad as Starscream) and is constantly looked over. The death of his lab assistant and friend, Breakdown, would have impacted him more especially since Megatron merely brushed it off. Starscream leaving also would have affected him. The final straw for Knockout would be when Dreadwing is murdered.

In the show, Dreadwing questions the honor of the Decepticons and they hint at him joining the Autobots. But he seeks out Starscream for revenge of the death of his twin brother and Megatron kills him. In this rewrite, Dreadwing shares his thoughts of honor with Knockout. He too is upset by the treatment of Breakdown's death because he was with him when he was murdered. Knockout is hesitant but Dreadwing has made up his mind about switching sides. When he goes to talk to Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, this is when Megatron kills him. Left alone with Megatron's abuse, Knockout is essentially locked in the ship. Later when Ratchet, the Autobot's medic, is kidnapped and forced to work for the Decepticons, he helps him escape. Ratchet notices KO's change and invites him to come along. KO finally takes the chance and switch sides for good. He proves his sincerity by exposing Megatron's Earth terraforming plans to the Bots.

4. Lotor and Allura from Voltron: Legendary Defenders

Lotor was basically Space Zuko. He hunted down team Voltron in the beginning but later joined them to stop his dictator father. It was also revealed that the father (I forgot his name) abused Lotor and forced him into villainy.

But then, the writers decided to recon all of that by saying Lotor was secretly using Team Voltron and draining the life form from a race of people thought to be wiped out by his father (that his is half of mind you). Team Voltron readily believes this despite fighting beside him for seemingly months and banish him to a different dimension where he MELTED. They actually showed his melted corpse!!! To make matters worse, they gave Haggar, his mother, a redemption! She abandoned Lotor as a child, sat by and watched his father abuse him, tried to destroy the multiverse, and only got a slap on the wrist!!!!

Honestly, I would have ended the show after Lotor and Team Voltron team up to stop the dictator. Maybe have them fight Haggar too? But Lotor definitely would have been part of the team and help rebuild the universe and marry Princess Allura.

Princess Allura pretty much brought the team together and was the heart of Voltron. She was killed off at the end to restore the universes Haggar destroyed. I'm not sure how it went down because I stopped watching the show after Season 7 but from what I read, it didn't make sense. They also forced Allura together with Lance who she has had no interest in beforehand.

I would have the Voltron lions sacrifice themselves to restore the universe. It would symbolize that their work is done and are no longer needed. Allura lives and continues to explore and help rebuild with her friends and marries Lotor.

5. Mikasa from Attack on Titan

I love Mikasa. And I love Eren x Mikasa. But I do not like how it was handled. Without getting into spoilers, Mikasa evolved her entire life around Eren despite the warnings of living solely for others that are placed throughout the manga/show.

I would have had Mikasa discover that she can love Eren but also live for herself. That it's okay to be a little selfish. She learns how to enjoy life and live to the fullest despite all the heartache and pain. In a sense, she fulfills Eren's dream of being free.

6. Chole from Miraculous Ladybug

Chole was the typical mean girl bullying the protagonist Marinette. It was later revealed that her actions stem from the emotional abuse she receives from her mother. The show flirted with the idea of giving Chole a redemption arc but then reconned it so hard and replaced her with her random half-sister. (What is it with half-sister clones?)

I would rewrite it by Chole not revealing her superhero identity to the public for fame. She does try to milk the position but gradually learns how to become a better person with the help of Ladybug and Team Miraculous.

7. Glitter from Hooves of Death

This is a webtoon about a ragtag team of unicorns and other mythical creatures trying to stop the zombie apocalypse. It's pretty good except for the weird love triangle between Sprinkles, Glitter, and Blaze. Sprinkles acts more like a father figure to Glitter, and Blaze is a freaking incel.

Glitter has made it clear, time and time again, that she's not interested in romance because they're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Sprinkles had the decency to respect that, but Blaze kept pushing. He sulked and acted petty literally half of the series because Glitter wasn't responding the way he wanted. In one of the recent updates, Sprinkles is comforting Glitter because she has some heavy decisions to make and Blazes yells at them then storms off. So then Glitter goes after him and he yells about caring for her so much, but she never notices him. Typical Nice Guy TM stuff. Then Glitter apologizes to him and agrees to date after the apocalypse.

Um what?

I was so close to dropping the webtoon. Honestly. That was disgusting.

I would rewrite Hooves of Death by having Sprinkles, Glitter, and Blaze act as a found family with Sprinkles as the dad and the others as siblings. This is because at the beginning of the apocalypse, Glitter lost her entire family to the zombies. In this rewrite, she's hesitant to get close to anyone again in fear of losing them but warms up to them over time. I know it's cliche, but it's loads better than this gross love triangle.

Thanks for the ask ❤

#long post #anon #anon asks #fandoms #atla #atla critical #aang critical #aang deserved better #katara deserved better #anti atla comics #azula deserved better #transformers prime #starscream #tfp starscream #tfp knockout #voltron #voltron legendary defender #lotor #vld lotor #vld salt #lotor deserved better #attack on titan #mikasa #eremika #eremika critical #miraculous ladybug #chole #chole deserved better #hooves of death #webtoon

[the-badger-mole]

I realized today that in k@t@@ng Katara isn't an actual person, just a receptacle for Aang's feelings, and more importantly a distributor of what he wants. I realize this isn't a mind-blowing take by any stretch of the imagination, i guess i'm just excited to put it into words for myself. I've never felt too sorry for Aang not having his feelings returned, and i think this is why. k/a isn't about genuine love, just warm fuzzies for Aang.

Oh, yeah, for sure. Even in the main series, what little "development" takes place from Aang's POV. We know he's attracted to her because the script and the way those interactions are framed tells us in no uncertain terms that Aang is interested, even when it's not really plot relevant (and don't even get me started on how messed up the framing of his 'feelings' for Katara was). Katara's framing, on the other hand, makes it pretty clear that she's not thinking of him romantically...until the plot needs her to be, regardless of if it makes sense in the moment or for her character. Katara is an afterthought in Kataang's "development". Her feelings do not matter. At all.

Even in the story, her feelings are never considered. Aang thought that by kissing her during the invasion he made some sort of claim on her that she would just comply with, and he was surprised when she got angry at him for kissing her again. I made a post a while ago that Aang clearly knows what enthusiastic consent looks like because he imagined it when he dreamed about Katara in Nightmares and Daydreams. But he still thought he had the right to go ahead and force himself on her for a second time after she'd told him no (and before anyone makes some smart comment about "sHe sAy-ED sHe WuZZZ c0nFUSeD!", I would like to remind you that if it wasn't a YES! it was a NO! That's how consent works). And that really illustrates why I truly, truly hate Aang as a character. He is dangerously selfish in a way that never gets called out or addressed. We're supposed to feel bad for him in EIP. I'm certain of this because of the way the shot lingers on him being sad and because of the way it's never addressed again. Katara's feelings are never addressed again until that last kiss, and she gets no lines. She doesn't get a resolution for the way he violated her trust and consent. She doesn't even get to tell him why she realized she does love him. No one in the writers' room gave a crap about Katara's feelings.

#atla #anti kataang #anti aang #katara deserved better #i may not NEED to hate aang to hate kataang #but it sure does feel good!

[aero-sense]

Honestly a fair response really. Especially with Aang not exactly reacting to Zuko’s racist barbs (which is… odd. I do sometimes think Atla has had strange moments like that, like no one glaring at Sokka’s glib remark on Jet’s death scene in EIP) But: Like the comics didn’t do anything interesting with Zuko’s bigotry at all from what I gather, but even if they had: arguably it wouldn’t have been great to keep it in. Most viewers will never read the comics at all. At minimum Aang should have really raised an eyebrow and made a sarcastic remark about it being such a charming response given what his ancestors did. SRs is such a mixed bag of an episode. It has some fantastic moments but there’s even just other issues like it being implied Katara only has misplaced anger for Zuko which is… uh no.

The show had some pacing problems, esp in B3 because they wanted to crammed so many ideas in there, so a lot of the season is jumping from one plot point to the next, instead of sitting down and dealing with the gravity of what just happened (ie. Jet, Hama). That's how you get Aang hearing FN propaganda demonizing his people in a class and correct it as a comical beat, only to spend the rest of the episode concerned about the FN kids having fun.

And the comics really fell flat on traversing any new dynamics between the FN and the other nations, in fact it straight up regresses them. The FN colonization is defended (once again, doesn't matter if they portray it as "bad" if the person advocating for it gets the spotlight and the victims can't even talk up for themselves), they treat people wanting to return the land as bad as the fire nation fighting to keep their colony, straight up act like there was never an interracial couple before?? the FN mayor hooked up with an EK lady (in a society where ek citizens are second-class...), its a mess.

And it's a shame, because addressing racial dynamics, that kids do face, would only enrich the show, not drag it down. What if Zuko made his comment to Aang, and everyone goes silent for a moment. Maybe Aang ignores it, but it's Sokka and Katara that look away at what he just said before moving on with the discussion. Wouldn't that be enough to show their solidarity with Aang? That they all shared the experience of having their culture disparaged and the dread they'll have to live with it even after making peace with the FN?

its the same thing with Katara, a lot of fans wondered why she would be anger at him, or rather "take her issues out on him". Well if you understand the degree of devastation that happened to her tribe and how that would effect her, then yes, you would understand why sitting by the campfire, hearing everyone praise a guy that just joked about chasing your friends down again, you'll feel a bit on edge.

These aspects deepen our understanding of the characters and their world, because it reflects our own. It's why I could care less about Zuko apologizing to everyone, but how victims of racial violence would feel in the moment, and how they would react. Even if nothing comes out of it, even if there's no time to address every racist remark that comes their way, it's more powerful to watch the characters struggle against it whenever they can, to show it's not something they can let slide anymore.

#bottled messages #the comics are so messy i dont even know what to say #people bring up the newer ones #but there's still this dissonance with the fn #as republic city is being built over a previous colony... #guess its cool to fight against a bad nation but not grapple with the effects it had after the war? #atla #retracing atla #no fn character is exempt

[cryptokimee]

Which cryptocurrency will be the best to investment in in 2023?

Cryptocurrencies have come a long way since the inception of Bitcoin in 2009. The market has seen its ups and downs, with some cryptocurrencies seeing unprecedented growth and others facing a significant decline. As we move into 2023, there are several cryptocurrencies that look promising and have the potential to deliver high returns on investment. In this blog, we will take a look at some of the cryptocurrencies that may be the best to invest in 2023.

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin remains the most popular cryptocurrency in the market and has dominated the crypto space since its launch in 2009. Bitcoin is known for its decentralization, security, and anonymity, and it remains a favorite of investors due to its high liquidity and potential for long-term growth. While there have been several controversies surrounding Bitcoin, it remains the most popular cryptocurrency with the largest market capitalization. The growing acceptance of Bitcoin as a means of payment by major companies, banks, and governments across the world indicates its increasing adoption and long-term value. In addition, with Bitcoin halving scheduled in 2024, many experts predict that the price of Bitcoin may see a significant surge.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency in the market and has been growing in popularity since its launch in 2015. Ethereum is a blockchain-based platform that enables developers to create decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. The platform has gained traction due to its ability to support other cryptocurrencies and its vast ecosystem. Ethereum has seen several upgrades, with the most recent being the London Hard Fork that introduced the EIP-1559 protocol, which aims to improve transaction speed and reduce fees. With the growing demand for dApps and smart contracts, Ethereum is likely to see significant growth in the future.

NavC Token(NavC)

NavC is an ERC-20 utility token designed to serve as the native cryptocurrency of the NavExM trading ecosystem. NavExM is a positive cashback centralized cryptocurrency exchange that provides trading and investing in crypto, NFT, and stablecoins.

The primary aim of the project is to reduce the transaction fee and offer positive cash back for every trade at the NavExM exchange. The project will launch in March 2023 as the world’s first revenue-giving exchange for crypto enthusiasts. The current price of NavC Token is $1 its price increased after the launch of NavExM.

Binance Coin (BNB)

Solana (SOL)

Solana is a relatively new cryptocurrency that was launched in 2020. The platform aims to provide a more scalable and faster blockchain infrastructure that can process up to 65,000 transactions per second. Solana has gained traction due to its high-speed and low-cost transactions and has seen significant growth in the past year, with its market capitalization increasing by over 4,000%. The platform has also launched several partnerships, including with Serum, a decentralized exchange, and Chainlink, an oracle service. With the growing demand for fast and scalable blockchain infrastructure, Solana is likely to see significant growth in the future.

Conclusion

The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile and investing in cryptocurrencies can be risky. It’s essential to conduct thorough research and understand the market before investing in any cryptocurrency. However, the five cryptocurrencies mentioned above have shown promising growth and have the potential to deliver high returns on investment in 2023.

Bitcoin remains the most popular and dominant cryptocurrency in the market and is likely to see significant growth with its upcoming halving. Ethereum and Cardano have gained traction due to their ability to support dApps and smart contracts, and their growing ecosystems make them attractive investment options.

Investing in cryptocurrencies can be a profitable venture, but it’s important to remember that it can also be risky. It’s essential to conduct thorough research, understand the market, and invest only what you can afford to lose. As with any investment, it’s always best to consult with a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

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If you have any questions related to NavC or NavExM, join us on Telegram and ask away! Our team of experts is ready to answer any and all questions you may have.

#cryptocurrency exchange #cryptocurrency #cryptocurrencies #crypto latest news #crypto

[flameohotwife]

Unspoken, Undeniable Chapter 7

Story summary: Slight AU where Aang and Katara never kiss on the submarine or at EIP, and don't get together on Iroh's balcony after the war. They remain close--best--friends, though, and when Aang reaches adulthood and leaders and nobles try to pressure him into a relationship, he seeks out Katara's help in avoiding them.

Rating: T | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Mistake

They made it to the Fire Nation in record time. Aang and Katara had returned from their trip to the market to several more threatening letters left on their doorstep, and even endured a couple angry fangirls while they shopped. Mostly it was just glares or bumps when Aang wasn’t looking, but one older woman actually tried to berate them for being “so irresponsible with the fate of the world.” Katara wasn’t afraid, though, especially after talking with Aang. She was confident in the knowledge that they could both take care of themselves, and when they were together? No pairing on earth was more formidable.

Aang, however, seemed to be even more on edge. Once everyone had returned he had personally helped Katara go through her medical pack, making sure she had not only her bandages, ginger root for upset stomachs, dong quai for menstrual and menopause symptoms in older patients, and other herbal remedies, but also her trusted Fu Zi root in case of something more drastic. She had to get this through trusted herbalists and be sure to administer the proper dosage because too much at the wrong time could be fatal, but it had strong healing properties when used correctly on anything from the common cold to rheumatism to heart disease to the effects of certain poisonings. Some healers even claimed it could bring people back from the dead.

When her bag was fully stocked and they were all ready to go, Aang mounted Appa’s head as usual, but leaned over to speak to him quietly enough that the others wouldn’t hear. Katara noticed from the saddle, while Suki watched Sokka rummaging through the bag of snacks and Toph settled into her spot. He didn’t come back and join them at all during the trip to Cranefish Town, nor after Toph bid them all goodbye with a punch to the arm. 

“Well, see ya! Be safe, you guys,” Toph gritted gruffly as she jumped down, eager to be on solid earth again. “And Sugarqueen, don’t let these dunderheads get to you. They’re just jealous and you could take all of ‘em at once. I’m not worried for you.”

Read more on ao3 or ffn

#kataang #kataangtag #kataang fanfic #fake dating AU #best friends to lovers #this chapter contains mild spice #things are getting *complicated*

[theowritesfiction]

quick recap of the first results in from Round 2:

Only one of the contests was very one sided, Boiling Rock P1 had no trouble dispatching Serpent's Pass. Well deserved.

DOBS P2 for some reason struggled to dispatch Ember Island Players and won with a small margin. I have to assume you were trolling this poll hard. Like there's no way this should have been even close. EIP is a pretty average episode.

City of Walls and Secrets narrowly prevailed against Jet. Mm, I was hoping for a different result, but the fandom has spoken ;)

finally, Return to Omashu vs The Painted Lady literally came down to a single vote. I love both episodes and I'm sad to see Painted Lady eliminated, but Return to Omashu is very iconic.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #atla episodes #polls #atla episode tournament

[jacob-cs]

web3 wallet handle (login logout lock)

https://docs.metamask.io/guide/ethereum-provider.html#using-the-provider

This snippet explains how to accomplish the three most common requirements for web3 sites:

Detect the Ethereum provider (window.ethereum)

Detect which Ethereum network the user is connected to

Get the user's Ethereum account(s)

/*****************************************/ /* Detect the MetaMask Ethereum provider */ /*****************************************/ import detectEthereumProvider from '@metamask/detect-provider'; // this returns the provider, or null if it wasn't detected const provider = await detectEthereumProvider(); if (provider) {  startApp(provider); // Initialize your app } else {  console.log('Please install MetaMask!'); } function startApp(provider) {  // If the provider returned by detectEthereumProvider is not the same as  // window.ethereum, something is overwriting it, perhaps another wallet.  if (provider !== window.ethereum) {    console.error('Do you have multiple wallets installed?');  }  // Access the decentralized web! } /**********************************************************/ /* Handle chain (network) and chainChanged (per EIP-1193) */ /**********************************************************/ const chainId = await ethereum.request({ method: 'eth_chainId' }); handleChainChanged(chainId); ethereum.on('chainChanged', handleChainChanged); function handleChainChanged(_chainId) {  // We recommend reloading the page, unless you must do otherwise  window.location.reload(); } /***********************************************************/ /* Handle user accounts and accountsChanged (per EIP-1193) */ /***********************************************************/ let currentAccount = null; ethereum  .request({ method: 'eth_accounts' })  .then(handleAccountsChanged)  .catch((err) => {    // Some unexpected error.    // For backwards compatibility reasons, if no accounts are available,    // eth_accounts will return an empty array.    console.error(err);  }); // Note that this event is emitted on page load. // If the array of accounts is non-empty, you're already // connected. ethereum.on('accountsChanged', handleAccountsChanged); // For now, 'eth_accounts' will continue to always return an array function handleAccountsChanged(accounts) {  if (accounts.length === 0) {    // MetaMask is locked or the user has not connected any accounts    console.log('Please connect to MetaMask.');  } else if (accounts[0] !== currentAccount) {    currentAccount = accounts[0];    // Do any other work!  } } /*********************************************/ /* Access the user's accounts (per EIP-1102) */ /*********************************************/ // You should only attempt to request the user's accounts in response to user // interaction, such as a button click. // Otherwise, you popup-spam the user like it's 1999. // If you fail to retrieve the user's account(s), you should encourage the user // to initiate the attempt. document.getElementById('connectButton', connect); // While you are awaiting the call to eth_requestAccounts, you should disable // any buttons the user can click to initiate the request. // MetaMask will reject any additional requests while the first is still // pending. function connect() {  ethereum    .request({ method: 'eth_requestAccounts' })    .then(handleAccountsChanged)    .catch((err) => {      if (err.code === 4001) {        // EIP-1193 userRejectedRequest error        // If this happens, the user rejected the connection request.        console.log('Please connect to MetaMask.');      } else {        console.error(err);      }    }); }

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참고자료)

ethereum.request() 를 통해 호출할수 있는 rpc api 

https://docs.metamask.io/guide/rpc-api.html#rpc-api

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window.ethereum.selectedAddress 값이 null이면 사용자가 metamask wallet을 잠군 상태이거나 permission을 허락하지 않은 상태이다.

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window.ethereum.chainId는 사용자가 wallet을 잠구던 아니던 상관없이 값이 있다.

사용자가 metamask wallet에서 네트워크를 polygon으로 하면 chainId 값은 137이되고 ethereum으로 설정하면 1 값을 가진다. 또 mumbai로 설정하면 80001 값을 가진다. 

사용자가 wallet을 잠군 상태에서는 최근 마지막 사용한 network chain id 값을 가지고 있게 된다.

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https://medium.com/@mwhc00/create-the-connect-wallet-button-in-5-minutes-tutorial-with-source-code-5dae4cd68348

이것을 참조해서 사용자가 metamask wallet을 설치하고 있는지 확인하고 로그인하게 하는 과정을 처리했는데 약간 오래된 코드가 포함되어있다.

window.web3 = new Web3(window.ethereum);    

const account = web3.eth.accounts;

이부분의 web3는 deprecated될 부분이고 ethereum을 이용해야한다. 

공식문서 해결방법 https://docs.metamask.io/guide/provider-migration.html#replacing-window-web3

#web3 #metamask #wallet #handle #login #logout #lock

[ailtrahq]

Polygon has announced that POL contracts are now live on Goerli Testnet. POL is the upgraded token for the Polygon ecosystem. It is alternatively identified as the next-generation token for MATIC. POL was introduced three weeks ago with a Polygon Improvement Proposal (PIP). Now, Goerli Testnet is hosting the said contract. Also, two more proposals have been laid on the table to better shape the future of Polygon. The initial task of the POL is to handle token migration and emission. This has been specified under PIP-17. Moreover, its objective has been designed to enable community ownership, staking, and governance to accommodate zk-based Layer-2 chains. Polygon has called this a major step forward in achieving the vision of Polygon 2.0. POL has been deployed only after the community could reach a consensus. It is important to note that MATIC is exchanging hands at $0.520255, an increase of 3.03% in the last 24 hours. However, the last month has been dreadful for the token; the fall at the moment comes to 13.28% in just 30 days at the time of articulating this piece. Moving forward, Polygon is looking to gain community endorsement and begin implementing the update this quarter. PIP-19 has come under the lens as well. It highlights the adoption of the upgraded token. POL will primarily find a breakthrough as a native gas token and staking token. They will further impact the burning of MATIC, a mechanism for which has been specified in EIP-1559, with EIP being an acronym for Ethereum Improvement Proposal. The proposal has reportedly taken out 20 million MATIC tokens since January 2022. That was the time when the upgrade went live on Polygon PoS. PIP-24 seeks to bring changes to the addresses of recipients on the Polygon PoS Network. PIP-25 seeks to make adjustments in the total supply of POL. It will make sure that the allotment is pegged at 1:1 between MATIC and POL. This is to retain consistency in the mechanism. Users don’t have to do anything during the upgrade. Users of Polygon zkEVM or MATIC will experience a seamless transition. However, they can participate in the governance process by heading over to the official forum of the Polygon Community. Instructions are the same for node operators and stakers, except they can provide feedback to the team to enhance compatibility and improve the environment once they approve feedback. The update comes hours after Polygon introduced Polylang, a TypeScript for Miden VM. It has been defined as an easy-to-use language with enhanced privacy and parallel execution. Returning to Polygon 2.0 update information. On the Goerli Testnet, SOL Contracts are active to increase the visibility of the upgraded MATIC token. It will support the architecture that Polygon 2.0 is introducing, with an emphasis on the token combustion mechanism.

[zhupacheco97]

How To Mine Ethereum: Nicehash, Mining Swimming Pools, Finest Settings

Nvidia Titan V is an costly card that suits professional Ether mining. If so, you’ll turn out to be a cheerful owner of maybe the most effective ETH mining hardware gadget. Titan V consumes around 250 W of energy, which is even less than the cheaper fashions talked about above. Your machine's success at mining cash will be determined by the hashrate afforded by its processor and GPU(s). If you’re uncertain whether or not your machine is powerful enough to mine cryptocurrency in any respect, click on on ‘Benchmark’ in the prime bar, then on ‘Start Benchmark’.

But if you are a GPU miner then ETH is the best coin you could mine in 2021. To answer this tricky query, let’s have a look at Ethereum rewards given to miners for profitable block fixing. You can use the Ethash mining calculator and find out is it profitable to mine Ethereum with your equipment. There are nonetheless mining swimming pools that operate on a 'solo' mining strategy. This is far simpler to use than pure solo mining, however without a respectable quantity of hashing energy it'll take fairly some time to succeed in the point where you get the rewards from mining a block. Also, you continue to find yourself paying a small pool payment, usually 1%, at which level you must in all probability simply return to a mining pool with regular payouts. Once launched, the primary time it runs, NiceHash Miner will benchmark your hardware using various frequent mining (hashing) algorithms. Which algorithms and software get examined varies a bit by your GPU, and you can customise issues fairly a bit. To additional discover mining profitability, use a mining calculator, such as the one Etherscan(opens in a brand new tab)↗ offers. There’s a model new model of this page however it’s only in English proper now. The unconfirmed steadiness represents the amount of mined Ether which is waiting for confirmation from MinerGate's servers. When choosing the perfect Ethereum miners, we wished to cover each larger and decrease budgets. However, conventional finance typically adds a layer of threat to holding Gold as the user is putting trust within the broker in addition to the issuer and custodian. T+2 rules additionally turn into a factor as settlement of the transaction takes two days before possession has actually been transferred. StormGain is an Ethereum mining software that lets you mine digital currencies with none hassle. It offers a user-friendly dashboard for viewing assets rising and falling. Let's be clear, in case you have a pure blockchain and you have information of who the buyers and sellers are, we do not want custodians anymore. The complete strategy of finance, a number of the intermediaries are damaged down. The upcoming Ethereum Improvement Protocol (EIP) 1559, scheduled for July 2021 during the London exhausting fork, has led to a divide between the miners and the Ethereum basis. Lowering of increasing blockchain transaction charges, which could be as high as $60 USD per transaction, known as ‘contract execution’ is currently a matter of concern for the Ethereum Foundation. All of that to say, the only means for most folk to soundly commerce this fork proper nows to play the trade listings. For the vast majority of Ethereum holders and users, there’s not much to do besides long or quick these assets, seize some popcorn, and watch the fireworks when the ETHPoW fork and the merge come to pass. All you want to do is look at the buying and selling historical past of Ethereum Classic or Bitcoin Cash to see that this fork most likely has very little runway, if any at all. None of the opposite viable coins provide a lot in the best way of comparable revenue, either. The mixed year-over-year mining revenues of Ethereum Classic, Dogecoin, and Monero, for example, barely crest $1.1 bln. However, it could pose more troubles to Bitcoin miners than the previous ones. Ethereum network has a inbuilt mechanic to lower the effectiveness of mining over time known as the “Ethereum Difficulty Bomb“. https://mclain-edmondson.mdwrite.net/bitcoin-miners-revenue-per-day-1690748263 is designed as a tough mechanic to ensure that Ethereum ultimately moves to proof of stake, an eco-friendly consensus mechanism that doesn’t require mining. Proof of stake shall be a half of Ethereum 2.zero which is stated to launch in 2020, at which level mining on Ethereum will slowly be phased out. However, the Ethereum group is thought to delay the deployment of proof of stake and consequently the issue bomb. On the 6th of January 2020, the difficulty bomb was delayed as soon as again through the “Muir Glacier” replace, which successfully delayed the issue bomb for an additional ~600 days. Miners use MEV information to order transactions in particular ways in order to capitalize on buying and selling opportunities through arbitrage, front-running, and other strategies. What issues is that the number of shares being submitted to the pool. More the shares submitted to the pool, the higher the reward you’ll get which implies more money. So you have to find the mining software that submits extra shares to the mining pools in comparison with its competitors. Even with a lot of high-end GPUs, you probably won't mine any Ethereum before proof of work mining ends. The theoretical benefit to solo mining is that you simply get the entire block reward plus fees, with no percentage going to the pool. The draw back is that with no massive farm, you may very probably find yourself getting nothing. Binance is essentially the most trusted cloud mining supplier in the business. At the decisive second, you have to ask your self in case you are prepared to pay cheaper for pre-owned graphics playing cards. This will build a rig which may begin making earnings sooner however it would additionally put you in danger. But earlier than continuing to eth miner software program set up be positive to have a safe place for storing your ETH. In different words, download a crypto pockets corresponding to MyEtherWallet, or buy your self a hardware pockets if planning to hodl vast amounts of crypto. If the quantity of hardware that is made available turns into accessible to a hostile pool of miners, there's the potential for a 51% assault of the Ethereum community. Ethereum may not satisfy everyone from a philosophical standpoint. But purely from an funding standpoint, I'm not betting towards ETH. The greatest headwind dealing with Ethereum at the moment is a hostile US Securities and Exchange Commission. There is a very real possibility that Ethereum might be labeled an unregistered safety by the SEC. Other main smart contract networks have already suffered this destiny including Solana (SOL-USD) and Cardano (ADA-USD). That said, Ethereum is a world network and other jurisdictions with a lot friendlier positions on crypto may be more welcoming to the technical innovation offered by public blockchain.

#bitmain #bitmain antminer l7 #bitmain antminer #bitmain s19 #bitmain antminer s19 pro #bitmain antminer e9 #bitmain antminer k7 #bitmain antminer ka3 #bitmain antminer s19pro #bitmain ka3 #bitmain antminer s9 #bitmain firmware #bitmain kda miner #bitmain l7 #bitmain miner #bitmain s9 #bitmain antminer s19 #bitmain antminer s19 xp #bitmain antminer s7 #bitmain antminer z9 #bitmain e9 #goldshell #goldshell kd6 #goldshell miner #goldshell kd5 #goldshell miners #goldshell kd max #goldshell mining #goldshell sc box #ibelink

[coinnewz]

Ethereum Price Set to Surpass $2,000: Staking on The Rise

Contrary to expectations, the Shanghai upgrade has not triggered an exodus of users, but rather a surge in staking deposits on Ethereum. In fact, it looks like ETH may be ready to take on the $2,000 mark, at least in the short term. Staking Activity On The Rise According to recent data from blockchain firm Glassnode, Ethereum staking has been soaring in recent months. Following the Shanghai upgrade, daily staking deposits skyrocketed from 460 to an impressive 8,108. This surge in activity was especially noticeable on June 2, when a staggering 13,595 deposits were recorded. These figures indicate a growing trend of investors opting to stake their Ethereum, showing increased confidence in the network’s long-term prospects. One notable player in the Ethereum staking landscape is Lido Finance. Lido Finance offers liquid staking services, where users deposit Ethereum into a protocol that pools it with other users’ deposits and stakes it on their behalf. In return, users receive stETH, a token representing their staked position. Lido has garnered attention due to its significant footprint in the network’s staking pools. However, concerns about centralization have been raised as Lido’s pools expand. Lido is Hot Despite calls for action, Lido’s dominance remains intact. Its supply of Staked Ethereum (stETH) recently reached a new all-time high of 7.49 million stETH, surpassing other pools. Glassnode highlights that Lido’s supply is approximately 16 times larger than RocketPool (461,000 stETH); however, it has not observed a significant increase in new users. Additionally, there have been interesting shifts in stETH’s presence within decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. stETH’s collateral usage in lending protocols has seen an uptick, suggesting that investors are strategically maximizing their staking yields. On the other hand, stETH’s liquidity in certain DEX pools has decreased, with a 39% drop in the largest stETH-ETH Curve Pool. Spike in Whale Activity As the price of ETH increased over the last week, there has been a noticeable rise in whale transactions. Data from IntoTheBlock shows that ETH whales experienced a significant increase in transaction counts. In a matter of a few days, their total number of transactions doubled, rising from 2,120 to 3,230. This surge occurred within a span of just 48 hours. ETH whales have moved approximately $20 billion within 7 days. Notably, Ethereum’s whale wallets account for 42% of its total wallets, whereas Bitcoin’s whale holders make up only 11% of its total holder base. While the high number of whale transactions can potentially affect the price of Ethereum, the recent data shows the opposite. The price of ETH has remained relatively stable and maintained its support at around $1,900. It suggests these whales may be moving their coins without immediate selling intentions. Despite the increased whale activity, Ethereum’s trading activities have decreased significantly. Trading volume was down 27% on Monday. Dencun Upgrade: Ethereum’s Next Milestone Ethereum has its sights on the upcoming Dencun upgrade, which it plans to implement within the year. This upgrade combines the consensus upgrade (Deneb) and the execution upgrade (Cancun) with a primary focus on EIP-4844, also known as Proto-Danksharding. EIP-4844 aims to minimize gas fees in the Ethereum ecosystem by breaking down transaction data into smaller parts called “blobs.” This reduction in gas fees is particularly beneficial when using Rollup solutions. Optimistic Rollup solutions estimate a cost that is 3-8 times less than Layer-1 transactions, while ZK-Rollup solutions achieve even greater efficiency, with gas levels 40-100 times lower than Ethereum's Layer-1. The adoption of the blob model not only reduces gas fees but also helps optimize the Data Availability problem faced by rollups. Successfully implementing this approach is a significant step towards Ethereum’s future Sharding ambitions. The Dencun rollout has the potential to fuel further growth within the Ethereum ecosystem. Experts anticipate that the upgrade will bring improvements and optimizations capable of enhancing the network's efficiency and effectiveness. Source link Read the full article