#I was personally team kill that bitch Ozai | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

voidsentprinces · 4 months

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10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 Tags

Basic rules: choose 10 fandoms that you are part of/support, and choose a favorite character from each of those. Then, tag ten folks!

Tagged by: @eorzeanflowers

Tagging: @under-the-blood-moonlight @placesyoucallhome @meatball-headache-part-2 @ashenbun @eriyu @windup-dragoon @strawbebbynya @disciple-of-frost and uhh...Viewers Like You. Do it. DO IT OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN WITH ATHENA! Or don't...I haven't unlocked Pandaemonium yet...or probably ever.

MELON LORD!

An obscure character who doesn't appear until the Finale of Avatar the Last Airbender. They are the deadliest opponent Team Avatar ever faces including Ozai later in the finale. And like any good villain instead of fracturing the force to make them go off on their own and leaving Aang alone. The Melon Lord forces the Team to work together and utilize their strengths. And makes Aang face his doubts about defeating Ozai and killing him. But also brings out that the rest of Team Avatar have no qualms about Ozai falling even Zuko. Which is why it falls to Aang to find another solution of his own. Truly the Melon Lord is the series most iconic villain even if they are only briefly in the series. But if anime like say DeathNote has taught me anything, a character can show up for 5 seconds and get an entire backing behind it.

2. Kanaya

She's a lesbian alien vampire with a fashion sense and a chainsaw and she uses the blood of her enemies as her lipstick. What the fuck isn't there to like?

3. Kanji Tatsumi

He's just a REALLY GOOD GUY, okay? Dude is just trying to make it out of here alive and live his life. After experiencing gay panic by being attracted to a masculine presenting person.

4. Astarion

The sexiest character all through the alpha pre-release, is the only person not trying to sleep with me. He's there for if I want to murder a son a bitch or if I was to take another path out. Dude has been nothing but a supportive bro from the onset. Respect.

5. Makima

We here on this blog respect women's rights and women's VERY WRONGS

6. Haurchefant Greystone

TAKE ME DOWN TO THE HEAVENSWARD EXPY WHERE THE STONE IS COLD AND THE ELEZEN ARE PRETTY OH WONT YOU PLEASE TAKE ME HOOOOOMMMEE!

7. Arthas Menethil

The walking embodiment of a sunk cost fallacy turning a hero into an iconic villain.

8. Mae Borowski

Man I knew a few people like her, so she is kind of like a nostalgic friend.

9. Ranni the Witch

In every FromSoft game, I find at least one character who I put my entire all behind. But is the first time, there was an ending that felt worth while in pursuing who I was happy to follow til the ends of the earth. It didn't feel like I was fulfilling my destiny but helping someone else fulfill theirs. Even if she is the reason the game started to begin with.

10. Samwise Gamgee

What is there to say? Just Samwise Gamgee.

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juniperhillpatient · 1 year

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"Imprisoned" re-watch takeaways :)

KATARA MY BELOVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 (that's the most important takeaway)

This episode is....dark. It feels very bleak & hopeless for the majority of the episode. That old man turning on Haru after Haru saves his life is pretty damn dark & the majority of the episode seems to be about how hopeless everything is in this war, & how the Fire Nation has already won. This just makes the hopeful ending all that much more powerful. The gaang really are spreading tiny seeds of hope along their journey <3

Haru is one of those characters I can't find anything to latch onto about him per se but I do enjoy him when he's onscreen. Hopefully, that makes sense. Sidenote, I'm always saying the only valid guy to ship Katara with is Jet, & I mostly stand by that but I guess Katru can have some rights. As a treat. Also, I've been informed the ship's name is Harutara, but I like the sound of Katru better.

Also, we got "that lemur, he's earth bending!" this episode, which is notable :)

Aang is a little annoying when they're making the plan to fake Katara's earth bending, it's definitely an odd time to not pay attention. But I forgive him because later he makes that nifty tornado that shoots coal :D

Seriously though, Katara immediately going to GET HERSELF imprisoned when she realizes Haru has been taken is SO badass. Also just - the way she refuses to leave the prisoners behind - this episode is where we're introduced to Katara's best trait - she never gives up on people. She is dangerously idealistic but unlike a lot of idealistic people, she's not afraid to back her arguments up, no matter how dark shit gets. She says at the beginning that Haru should fight back, & that might come across shitty & tone-deaf from someone else. But not Katara. This bitch straight up chooses to get imprisoned & then REFUSES to escape without helping the other prisoners, putting herself in direct danger to help.

I just love Katara so much

The prison break itself is SO good & I loved Haru throwing that first little rock. Earth benders fighting fire benders with COAL is just a great way to fuck shit up. Also, I am gonna be a little annoying about this throughout my entire rewatch but uh, some of those Fire Nation guards definitely died in that battle. There's even the line at the end where the warden goes "I can't swim" & Haru's dad responds "that's okay, I hear cowards float" before dropping him in the ocean. Annnnnd Aang doesn't bat an eye? I'm not actually on team "Aang should've killed Ozai," like, at all, to be clear. BUT I can't help but get nitpicky when shows aren't consistent about no-kill rules. I'm just as annoying about all the humans who die in the crossfire in Buffy the Vampire Slayer when I re-watch knowing how annoying she is about Faith committing one little accidental murder. I just feel like if you're gonna get upset about murder, you should be consistent about it, that's all.

Side rant aside, I think this was a really good episode. Every episode where Katara gets to put her foot down & be slightly insane but also incredibly badass is SO good.

Also, if I were doing a jerk point competition of my own, Zuko would get 800 for picking up Katara's necklace. No, he doesn't know that it was her mother's. Yes, he's just tracking the Avatar like a good antagonist. But because it's personal to Katara & I'm not obligated to be fair, I'm gonna say he needs to get his Fire Nation hands off her necklace >:(

Alright, that's all for that episode :)

TLDR: I'm a Katara stan first & a human second

#imprisoned #atla re watch

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eulaties · 4 years

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how i view each a:tla character

hoo boy this is a long one

sokka:

- highkey smartest guy on team avatar

- but with aang they're like the equivalent of the my two braincells meme

- boomerang, ponytail, and space sword guy

- comes up with the best nicknames and jokes

- best friends with aang

- his sexism literally saved the world

- but dw he drinks gallons of respect women juice a day now

- has the baddest gf suki who could kick his ass at any given moment

- wanted momo for a week (why??)

- sokka walked so eboys could run

- roasts zuko constantly

- officially known as mr wang fire

toph:

- baddest bitch don't mess with her

- small but will not hesitate to kill you

- I AM MELON LORD

- I emit a super sonic wave from my mouth in order to see

- AHHHHHHHHHHHH

- let toph say fuck

- secretly misses her parents

- her way of showing affection is beating you up

- "do you think friendships can transcend lifetimes?"

- literally so badass she invented a new form of bending

- the greatest earthbender alive

zuko:

- zuko, you're gonna get a kick out of this... YOUR HONOR WAS IN MY SLEEVE THIS WHOLE TIME

- undergoes the best character redemption arc of all time change my mind

- his scar is on the wrong side

- WHY AM I SO BAD AT BEING GOOD

- lowkey emo

- "im never happy"

- hes always happy around his goth gf mai tho

- got his life ruined by ozai, fuck him

- uncle iroh is now his dad, ozai who?

- bad at making jokes but he tries his best

- once his anger got stripped away he just became a socially awkward person

- awkward legend

- hello, z u k o here

- gets accepted into the gaang™ and gets a new family :)

- his friendship with aang is everything

- pretends to be annoyed by aang but secretly treasures their friendship

aang:

- powerful af and can literally take your bending away

- but honestly hed rather everyone be happy

- epitome of a cinnamon roll

- he deserves the world

- mentally strong af as well, i mean he had to cope with a GENOCIDE in the third episode

- "some friendships are so strong they can transcend lifetimes"

- unashamedly so in LOVE with katara

- gushes about her all the time

- peppy

- in touch with his ~feminine~ side

- his smiles and laughs are contagious

- so freaking friendly its impossible to hate him, i mean how could you

- hes so friendly he seems like hes flirting but hes not, thats just how he is

- has the best eyebrows

- friends with everyone

- showers appa and momo with the affection they deserve

- best friends with sokka

katara:

- the mom friend™

- absolutely WHIPPED for aang god she loves him so much

- everyone looks up to her. literally was the only thing keeping the group together at some points

- has a big af temper tho

- will cut a bitch

- when shes pissed off shes pissed OFF

- dont fucking hurt the people she loves or she will COME for you

- her power crawl is everything

- can literally bloodbend or heal you, your choice

- denies any relation to sokka whenever hes being stupid

- her outfit in the fire nation SLAPPED

- regularly schedules sleepovers with suki and toph (although she has to drag toph to the sleepover)

- what if we kissed? 😳 in the cave of oma and shu 👉👈 haha jk jk... unless

suki:

- sexism is no more

- takes down sokka's sexist ass easily

- strong af dont underestimate her

- sweetest gf tho

- loved the atrocious sand sculpture sokka made of her

- kidnapped a prison warden all by herself

- honestly underrated

- appa likes her

- singlehandedly saved sokkas and tophs lives

- in kyoshi we stan

iroh:

- the wisest character ever

- guides zuko into the right direction

- "i was just worried that you lost your way"

- zuko and irohs reunion made me SOB

- makes the best tea and owns a successful business, the jasmine dragon

- LEAVES FROM THE VINE FALLJNG SO SLOWLY

- IM NOT CRYING YOURE CRYING

- r.i.p mako 💔

ursa:

- went to get some milk 9 years ago and never came back

azula:

- the prodigy kid that all parents compare you to

- got groomed by ozai from an early age

- favorite child

- loves power and intimidating others

- top of the food chain

- can absolutely BREAK you with a snap of her fingers

- badass but not in a good way

- dont play beach volleyball with her she'll absolutely destroy your career

- wow, your outfit is so... sharp. careful, it could puncture the hull of an empire ship and leave hundreds of soldiers to drown at sea! because... its so sharp.

- mental health slipping after she gets betrayed by her two best friends

- got that quarantine bangs haircut

- honestly the last agni kai was really sad

- just wanted to be loved by ursa

- certified insane

ozai:

- ruined zuko's and azula's life

- career literally got ended by aang

- nothing else to say fuck this guy

ty lee:

- an absolute ray of sunshine

- her aura has never been pinker

- got the happy ending she deserved with the kyoshi warriors

mai:

- deadpan snark

- goth

- will cut a bitch from afar with her throwing knives

- you miscalculated

- I LOVE ZUKO MORE THAN I FEAR YOU

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itwouldbeajoytobringyoutea · 4 years

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Zukka RWRB AU

Alright y’all, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. (This means literally only @firebenderlesbian and @beemami.) While watching ATLA for the first time not long after reading Red, White, and Royal Blue — I want to say, oh — six times, I had a galaxy-brain moment and thus, this AU was born.

Basic character breakdown...

Zuko = Henry

Sokka = Alex

Katara = June

Suki = Nora

Toph = Bea

Aang = Pez

Azula = Philip (lol)

Ozai = Queen Mary

Ursa = Arthur

Hakoda = Ellen

The real shit...

Zuko is the crown prince of the Fire Nation, and has grown up around his shitty father, Fire Lord Ozai, his younger sister, Azula, his best friend / fellow royal person, Toph, and his other best friend / random diplomatic tie, Aang. (How does the Avatar becomes friends with Zuko? Why isn’t he killed by the Fire Nation? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) He’s known he’s gay forever, but his father and sister have tacitly kept him in the closet.

Sokka, big-shot-but-not-technically-royal of the Southern Water Tribe has two friends: his sister, and his ex-girlfriend. (Do not ask me Sokka and Suki met!)

Zuko and Sokka meet when they’re, like, 18 at some diplomacy thing. Zuko instantly falls in love, while Sokka instantly fall in hate (because Zuko says something petty and Sokka is a dramatic bitch). Cue three-ish years of one-sided pining and one-sided hatred.

Then there’s a Big Thing hosted by the Fire Nation (Azula’s wedding?? Who would marry Azula, though, let’s be real.) that Sokka, Katara, and Suki all attend. Bullshit ensues, Sokka accidentally causes a scene, and Hakoda is pissed. So, he sends Sokka back to the Fire Nation to patch up appearances with Zuko / the Fire Nation / Ozai (whomst we do not yet know is a Motherfucker™). They spend some time together and actually talk, and Sokka realizes that Zuko isn’t, you know, a stuck-up product of inbreeding who probably jerks off to photos of himself. (Woof.) Zuko suffers the whole time because like Sokka is hot? And funny? And smart? And talking to him??? Of course, Zuko is desperately awkward.

Once Sokka goes back to the Southern Water Tribe, they start writing to each other to keep up the ruse (nothing incriminating in these letters, oh no, not yet).

After months of long-distance flirting, Zuko visits the Southern Water Tribe for an Event and kisses Sokka before fleeing and ghosting him.

Cue Sokka’s bi panic. He always thought he was straight? Like he loved being with Suki? But Zuko? Kissed him? Basically this super bi-acting character has his bi-awakening to the surprise of absolutely no one. Suki is there to tell him he’s fucking bi guide him through it all. “Still waters, deep dicking.” is obviously still a line.

Zuko comes back to the Southern Water Tribe for an Event, Sokka confronts him, they make out, they bang it out, etc.

Zuko and Sokka start sending letters (coded this time) and meeting up to make out, etc. Sokka is desperately trying to not catch feelings without realizing he is desperately trying to not catch feelings.

Somewhere in all this, Zuko tells Sokka about his whole family’s deal — Ozai being an abusive, awful person, Azula trying to meet Ozai’s expectations and becoming shitty in the process, his mom dying, etc. Sokka wants to kill Ozai with his bare hands.

Katara confronts Sokka about fucking the crown prince of the Fire Nation, which means that now Katara, Suki, Aang, and Toph know. (Who are Cash, Amy, and Shaan in this AU, you ask? No fucking clue.)

The Super Six all go out somewhere (maybe in the Earth Nation?) for a night of drinking and debauchery!!! Zuko absolutely does some sexy karaoke.

(Maybe there’s some drama with Water Tribe politics? IDK, this AU is pretty light on the political part of RWRB.)

Sokka tells his dad about his relationship with Zuko, and Hakoda is happy for him but does nearly herniate himself.

More sexy times, more sexy coded letters.

Zuko visits the Southern Water Tribe, meets Hakoda, and hangs with Katara and Suki. Sokka realizes he’s in love, but Zuko runs away before he can tell him. :(

After being ghosted, Sokka follows Zuko back to the Fire Nation, where he declares his love. “I fucking love you, okay? You don’t make it fucking easy. But I’m in love with you.” still stands.

Zuko takes Sokka to his favorite place in the Fire Nation (What is this? No idea!), info dumps about his passions, and Sokka falls even more in love with him.

Some level of Zuko and Sokka’s relationship is leaked, leading to Katara to imply that she’s the one dating Zuko. It helps, but it sucks.

Not long later, their whole relationship is revealed, as their decoded letters show. They both freak the fuck out, but Hakoda supports Sokka and his relationship. Suki figures out that Ozai is the one that decoded and leaked the letters, because he wants to publicly shame/discredit Zuko.

Team Water Tribe heads to the Fire Nation in order to get a meeting with Ozai. Ozai’s plan backfires, because it turns out the world shows overwhelming love and support for Zuko and Sokka. Some kind of hand-waving happens where Aang strips Ozai of his power (and/or kills him, I want Ozai dead) and Azula abdicates (perhaps because she realizes she’s real fucked up and wants nothing to do with the Fire Nation for the rest of her life), so Zuko is now the Fire Lord!

While all this was happening, Katara and Aang start dating, and Suki and Toph either become BFFs or start dating, whatever you prefer.

Zuko and Sokka because the power couple of the Four Nations and everything is good and gay in the world!!!

There’s another version of this AU that aligns much more closely with RWRB, but I love the world building on the Avatar universe so I decided to do it this way instead.

***

Edit: Y’all, @llamora is writing this AU and I’m helping! She’s posted the first chapter already here. Please read, kudos, comment, and subscribe!

#there's another version of this au that aligns much more closely with rwrb #but i love the world building in the avatar universe so i decided to do it this way instead #myken i hope this meets your expectations and if not feel free to add on / fix it / roast me #rwrb #atla #zukka #my posts

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enchantedisabella · 4 years

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headcanons about atla that should’ve been canon

azula is not straight

like if you tell me she is straight i will proceed to laugh in your face for ten minutes straight

and never take you seriously again

like, ever

okay moving on

ty lee is bisexual

tyzula was a thing

zuko has major daddy issues but azula has both mommy and daddy issues and she is by far one of the most fucked up characters in the series, and did not deserve her fate, and the series instead showed her ‘getting what she deserved’ when in reality she was a teenager following orders from her father who was supposed to guide, protect and love her

but instead of doing any of those things he manipulated her and twisted her into becoming his lackey and his killing machine and that was wrong and she deserved so much more than being thrown in a mental institution and being forgotten about

actually a lot of these are about azula idk why

wait no ik why it’s because i love her with all my heart but anyway

toph and sokka had the strongest bromance to ever exist in the whole avatar universe and for the directors to portray bamf toph as having a crush on sokka was such a cold take and so,,, not it

like isn’t there like a six year age difference for them? or maybe four? but I’m pretty sure it’s six because toph is ten but sokka is sixteen but correct me if I’m wrong whatever

like,,, just let them live you know??? toph and sokka are the two sassiest most sarcastic characters in the entire series and you cannot tell me that their bromance would not rival,,, literally everyone else’s

katara once put makeup on toph. needless to say she absolutely hated it but katara was in a sucky mood so toph wanted to cheer her up. she stepped out for one (1) second, intending to watch her face, and sokka wouldn’t stop laughing for twenty (20) minutes. he still brings it up at campfires now

zuko sometimes tries to incorporate katara’s waterbending moves into his firebending after uncle iroh showed him the lightningbending move. he tried to teach azula how to do it once too but it took three days before she would deign to try and learn a ‘filthy water peasant move’

azula secretly loves how she can exercise her power in completely different moves though and she works in secret on new bending moves, taking inspiration from the other cultures, but she’d rather die than admit zuko helped her

azula, mai and ty lee absolutely called themselves the terrible trio. it started after mai coined it sarcastically after they suffered a bitter defeat at some battle and after that it just stuck. azula hates it, ty lee loves it

ty lee calls mai and azula ‘her girls’. they hated it at first and azula stuck her chin up saying she was not anyone’s girl, but ty lee was unshakeable about the matter. mai almost threw up after azula responded immediately to it after a few weeks despite her protests. then mai responded to it accidentally and spent the rest of the week contemplating suicide attempts

tyzula shared their first kiss after azula brought down ba sing se’s walls. ‘i’m so happy i could kiss you’ were the exact words azula said, and ty lee responded ‘then do it.’ it was the first time azula had ever admitted she was happy. ty lee smiles every time she remembers it

suki doesn’t like azula, but after the war she has a kind of grudging respect for her. i mean this girl conquered a city at fourteen??? and became fire lord, if only briefly??? like??? what a badass bitch? warrior to warrior, suki respects azula. person to person though is a different story.

after people fall in love, their auras have a little of the colour of their s/os. that was how ty lee could tell zuko and mai were really in love, after zuko’s scarlet red developed kind of a grey tinge and mai’s sludge grey had a kind of reddish air to it. she couldn’t believe it at first when azula’s electric blue had a steady pink hue around the borders. she jumped into azula’s arms and kissed her the moment she saw. it was the most emotional azula had gotten after ty lee explained why, with one (1) tear rolling out of her eyes. she evaporated it on her skin but ty lee still remembers

katara and aang are that kind of couple who are close in a way that people always assume they’re best friends instead of, you know, dating. but katara doesn’t care because she’s never given much thought to everyone else’s opinions and she’s more in love with aang every passing day, so. aang takes it as a compliment that people assume they know each other inside out.

sokka and suki, however, are That Couple. kissing everywhere and anywhere. and surprisingly so are zuko and mai. when katara compared them, mai reached for the nearest bucket and wouldn’t let it go for three hours.

ty lee and mai trained alongside azula just so they could hang out with her after ozai announced he thought azula was too old for playdates. they all got special treatment at the fire nation royal academy for girls and that was where ty lee learnt to do acrobatics and chi block, and where mai learnt to throw her knives. it’s also why they work so well as a team together

katara found a way to use her bloodbending to heal people- to clot blood as it’s bleeding out or to stop internal bleeding, for example. it’s lifted a lot of the guilt of bloodbending off of her shoulders, knowing that she’s helping people while she’s doing it. a form of it was even incorporated into the northern water tribe’s healing lessons. katara tries, everyday, to come up with more ways to use her water to heal and help people. she still prefers fighting over healing, but after the war, she knows the power of healing can work wonders now.

azula only underwent a year in the mental institution before being released. it was the one thing she couldn’t handle- not being able to use her bending in such a controlled, sterile environment. zuko quickly realised that the only thing keeping her sane was her bending, and immediately made arrangements for her to go back to the palace. she wouldn’t talk to him for weeks, so he invited ty lee back from the kyoshi warriors to try and get her to open up.

azula had planned to ignore ty lee too, but ty lee straight-up slapped the princess the moment she saw her (‘that was for putting me in prison!’) and then collapsed, sobbing, in azula’s arms, and wouldn’t let go of her for ten whole minutes (‘and this is because I miss you so much, azula!’) and after that things kind of got better, but slowly.

zuko hates sitting in the fire lord’s throne. like, he hates it. it reminds him too much of his father, and so he tries to be out of the throne room as much as possible. this works in his favour- there are always councils and meetings that he needs to oversee.

zuko is so bad at politics. like, he’s so bad that it’s not even funny. it kind of was in the beginning, but then he made a spectacular mess of things and aang was zero help. in fact, despite being the avatar, zuko thinks he might have actually made it worse. and then aang got caught up in the mess too, thanks to his disastrous involvement, and azula and mai wouldn’t stop laughing at their predicament for a week before they deigned to help them.

so now despite zuko being the actual fire lord, azula and mai, being trained for politics their entire lives, are usually the ones to step in when things get a little too much for him to handle. azula is still not satisfied with her role, of course. but then, azula’s never satisfied.

azula and ty lee are the epitome of disaster gays. one time ty lee tried to hold azula’s hand, and azula shook it. ty lee wouldn’t stop laughing, but azula was so embarrassed she accidentally set her clothes on fire. that just made ty lee laugh even more, but azula’s pride was mortally wounded. the first time ty lee told azula she loved her, azula formally thanked her. as if they were at a business meeting. and then asked ty lee what positive assets or advantages their new relationship would bring azula. it’s rumoured that to this day ty lee is still very confused about what went down.

with the intention of teaching azula a humbling lesson and to find ‘peace within herself’, zuko sent her to work at uncle iroh’s tea shop in ba sing se for a month shortly after she came back to the palace. after azula nearly setting fire to the shop, throwing a teapot of scalding hot tea into a customer’s face after they demanded to ‘speak to the manager’, destroying general property and terrifying the other employees to the point where one regularly wet himself every time she walked in, iroh was begging zuko to take azula back before the end of the first week. when she came back, the only thing azula said she’d found was solid proof of why ozai had good reason to burn down the earth kingdom while he was at it. and a new idea of how short her patience was.

you guys are welcome to add more if you think of them

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comradekatara · 5 years

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Pls tell me random things about the modern au

sure!

please keep in mind this is not chronologically-ordered because i am far too pomo for (scoff) linear narratives

(* = chell’s contributions)

suki drives a truck, and said truck is a legend

azula goes to harvard, despite her objectively terrible character (ohhhh shots fired!!!!)

zuko doesn’t try very hard in school, because he knows that if he were to actually try, he would feel worse about azula being better than him (he’s not living under ozai’s roof––anymore––so it doesn’t matter) but it’s way too easy to trick her into taking naclo, which is where he shines. it drives her crazy that he won’t tell her his score. “you just wont tell me because you know i did better than you” “….maybe :)” “UGH ZUKO JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU GOT!!!!!!!!”

the day before aang’s first day of high school, sokka gently tries to inform him that he is too old to be wearing heelies

toph isn’t allowed on any sports teams due to her blindness, so she fights the administration every single day, and (physically) fights random people just for fun, and they so desperately want to punish her for it but she is a genius wunderkind pride & joy of their institution and they know that unless she gets really out of line, their hands are tied. but they still refuse to let her play sports

“suki’s nervous because today’s the day of the Big Game,” sokka tells zuko. zuko can swear he said the same thing yesterday. and the day before that. and the day before that. it is always the day of the Big Game. when zuko asks katara about it she rolls her eyes and says, “don’t be stupid, the Big Game only happens once a year.” and so, the concept of sports continues to wear on his sanity

azula’s all, “i swear to god, if sokka is valedictorian i will burn EVERYTHING to the GROUND” and zukos like “why do you even care youre not even in his class” (but it’s the PRINCIPLE of it, zuzu!!!!!!!)

aang has a really big dog named appa, and a flying lemur named momo. no one questions this

it is very apparent to everyone except for mai and zuko that mai and zuko are not happy together. mais not “in love” with “ty lee” what an idiotic thing to even suggest

toph’s favorite joke is stumbling into nothing and then yelling “OW! watch where you’re going!” to which zuko sighs and says, “toph theres no one there” and tophs like “no i can swore i bumped into something” and zukos like “no. u didnt. u know u d––” “mustve been your closet, then. EYOOOOO”

sokka refuses to admit to himself that the reason he “doesnt do” relationships is to keep himself from getting hurt (see: yue). katara not so gently reminds him that if he truly “didnt do” relationships, then why does suki practically live in her house.

katara thinks clubs are stupid and school spirit is lame but then she finds out that their school doesn’t have a straight gay alliance so she starts one. no one joins except for toph, who just sits there in the corner and eats peanuts with a wide smile, staring straight ahead.

in his senior year, aang finally gets to be the mascot the night of the Big Game. everyone comes back just to support him. zuko has not set foot in his hometown in at least three years, but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t support aang’s dreams. (plus he’s pretty sure katara would kill him if he didn’t.) once the Big Game starts (the first and only Big Game zuko ever attends), sokka notices zuko staring really intently at the field, and that he has been for about a half hour now. he’s like “whats….goin on??” and zuko mutters, “i’m trying to figure out what sport theyre playing.” sokkas just like “oh my god”

suki and sokka miss their prom because they got too invested in their game of monopoly. toph humbly accepts their crowns in their place. the teachers are just like “wait who even let her in here isnt she a freshman”

katara plays hockey. azula does track and kickboxing. they are both fierce, violent, and terrifying. both katara and azula tried to join suki’s roller derby team, but suki wisely rejected them both because they were, in her estimation, “not a good culture fit.” she told them the team was already full.*

zuko, suki and toph are in a band. their music is very lyrical and also very screamy (only suki and toph get to sing, natch). believe it or not, aang is their biggest fan. aang plays the triangle and the flute and the harp, which you might think would not exactly fit with their style, but they do invite him onstage for gigs sometimes and somehow the combination is excellent.*

katara is a mediocre student. zuko is great in his literature classes and his art classes and kind of tragic at everything else. nevertheless, they try to study together. mostly katara just comes over to zuko’s house and scuffs up his coffee tables and eats a lot of food out of the fridge. zuko considers this direct action against his terrible father, and he loves it*

azula is obsessed with sneakers. yeah that’s it that’s a whole bullet point*

suki’s truck is disgusting and made up of a seemingly boundless mess, but there are three recurring themes that are most apparent when you enter: weed, construction equipment for some weird building project she never tells anyone the details of, and other girls’ underwear*

katara thinks sokka is a narc for having gotten jet suspended. “he called in a BOMB THREAT, KATARA”

sokka is the head of the science club. because he loves science. toph and suki are also in the science club. because they love watching (and listening to) things explode.

everyone agrees that debate should be renamed “sokka and azula fight for 90 minutes.” azula spends a week drafting up a foolproof argument, manipulating the whole class into picking said topic, and then pretending its unrehearsed, and sokka spends no time in saying “nope. thats wrong.” on days where he chairs the debates, azula always wins because he’s forced to remain impartial, and no one else can out-debate her. it is on those days that he goes home and proceeds to rant about how everything azula said was wrong and why.

katara and azula also fight, of course, but never in a structured setting. sometimes it ends in bloodshed. toph enjoys egging them on way too much.

sokka is constantly misplacing his possessions. that is, when neither zuko nor suki are around to personally keep track of all his belongings. he loses his phone about twice a day. he’s checking the chem lab to see if he left his phone in there, but azula is already there, presumably to work on a lab. she offers to call his phone for him, and he types his number into her phone because she is too embarrassed to admit she already has his number (and a tracking device in place but thats not important). unfortunately, azula is the one to locate his phone, so she sees that her contact name is, “ZUKO’S SISTER??!??!!!!???!???!!??!!!!?” she has never been more offended in her entire life.

katara is always threatening to beat up anyone who so much as looks at aang funny. no one would hurt aang, though. everyone loves aang.

sokka loves art class. he also hates art class. he likes that he has a structured time and space in which to paint, and he loves painting. he hates that his paintings always turn out looking like wet garbage, especially compared to those of the guy who sits near him, who clearly is not even trying. he is the rich to sokka’s jeff. at least in sokka’s mind. sokka will oft complain about “that asshole who thinks he’s too good for art class,” but suki pays him no mind and rolls her eyes. until one day, when sokka and suki are being particularly annoying and making out in the middle of the hallway, which is particularly upsetting for zuko because a) that is Hot Guy From His Art Class and b) he will either have to wait for them to finish or politely ask them to move, as they are right in front of his locker. he says, “do you mind moving?” and he means this as politely as possible, but sokka is like “wow what a haughty bitch” so he just holds his index finger up as if to say “one second” and that is that is such an asshole move that zuko has no choice but to yell “what the fuck?!?” far too loudly. it leads to a kerfuffle that eventually lands them both in detention (suki was an innocent party and sokka is more than willing to take the fall for her.) their detention becomes a breakfast club meets war balloon, and sokka actually sort of tells someone about yue. that’s weird. why’d he do that? neither of them know. zuko has no idea what to say. well, this is awkward. another half hour passes. sokka idly mentions that they could totally find a way out of this room by crawling through the vents and then climbing the beams in the gym and after that it’s only a matter of finding an open window––and not getting caught. this is a joke, a completely hypothetical joke, of course. zuko’s like, “let’s do it.” sokka’s like “oh shit this bitch is crazy,” but, y’know, they pull it off. they run out of the school and keep running and only stop when sokka has the dawning realization that if any of this goes on his permanent record that definitely lessens his chances of getting scholarships. but zuko assures him that mr. bumi doesn’t actually give a fuck, and then offhandedly mentions that he sort of gives him the creeps, and sokka wholeheartedly agrees. this prompts more and more conversation, as they just kind of wander about various streets. once they finally realize that it’s gotten completely dark around them, it occurs to them that they may as well have stayed in detention.

people won’t shut up about the shit that went down at post-prom. “did you see when that one guy…??” “yeah dude that was wild.” suki just smiles knowingly, and so her friends are all “oh did u hook up with ty lee again?” and she’s like “even better. i won monopoly.”

katara hates zuko for incredibly petty reasons. like, “he took the last popsicle out of her fridge” petty. then, she very obtrusively finds out that hes gay and is immediately like Oh We Are Friends Now. zuko’s life has suddenly become so much more convenient now that katara is no longer being mean to him that it actually takes him a while to realize that katara is being actively nice to him.

they talk about waves in physics, and it shakes toph to her core. later that day, she asks sokka to explain what colors are to her. he does not do a good job. starts talking about plato’s allegory of the cave, and the double slit experiment??? what??? zuko explaining that “colors are a feeling” is only marginally more helpful. so toph ultimately enlists suki’s help in explaining to her which colors are lame and which colors are dykey. suki immediately says “flannel.”

so yes aang may have technically stolen momo from the zoo but its not his fault because momo followed him home and refused to leave his side!!!!

once mai grows out of her “everyone is an idiot and i hate the world” phase, sokka realizes that she’s actually really cool. they hang out constantly. they have a weekly board game night, and they take turns hosting, which is hilarious because mai lives in a mansion and has an actual butler. their secret handshake is needlessly complicated. zuko tries to pretend it isn’t weird. but…. it’s weird right?? and like, it’s weird that no one else thinks it’s weird???? ……..why does no one else think it’s weird?????

azula is, of course, valedictorian, and her speech is about as bone-chilling as you’d expect. her jokes are too cruel to land. she namedrops harvard about ten times. she manages to squeeze in an offhanded dig at sokka, which makes katara nearly fight her onstage. at the afterparty, azula overhears a conversation wherein one meathead jock whose name she never learned says to another meathead jock whose name she never learned, “oh, but remember that speech from last year??? it was so funny.” this prompts her to have a little too much to drink, which only sokka notices (he showed up for katara and then he was dragged to the party by his friends), so he ends up driving her home. as a graduation gift to her, he says, he changes her contact name in his phone to “Azula.”

sokka has en english teacher who really has it out for him. katara tells him she had him before and wishes she could punch him in the face, and that it’s not his fault that he’s doing poorly in that class. still, sokka begs zuko to tutor him in english. zuko’s just like “you’re perfectly fine at english pakku just sucks” but he agrees to tutor him anyway. sokka’s grades do not improve in the slightest, but he does not care.

the week in which SAT results are expected to arrive, azula is weirdly vigilant about the mail. she makes sure to check the scores and then put it back in the envelope before anyone sees that it was opened. she very casually asks zuko “so what did you get?” and zuko just kinda shrugs impassively and walks away. azula smiles to herself.

katara comes home one night to find mai and sokka watching a movie on her couch. (the movie is phantom thread and there are tears of laughter streaming down both their faces by the time it’s over.) she’s like “oh hey guys i saw both your girlfriends making out with each other at a party twenty minutes ago,” and sokkas like “for the last time, katara, suki’s not my girlfriend!!” and mai just angrily shushes her because she’s talking over the johnny greenwood score!!!!! smh.

toph never stops yelling at the administration for their ableism. and you’d best believe her valedictory speech blows everyone else’s out of the water.

#woah this got long #this is what happens when u cant move from bed and u also refuse to do real work i guess #modern au #ur welcome for this novel #asks #sinxaschwarz

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butididnottried · 4 years

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Yooo, are we rady for some invasion!? I already know that they're fuckin not, lol!

The Day of Black Sun Part 1 - The Invasion

Sokka made some inventions, huh? Ok, ok, he's pretty smart, he helped with those hot air baloons, he can totally made up something totally by himselasdfghjkl HE INVENTED A FRIKIN SUBMARINES???!!! With periscopes and torpedos!? Daaamn, dude, you're going to be a Tesla of this world or what? I'm so proud of you, my dear boy.

Appa get a full body armor. Like, full full. Even his stomach is covered. Logical, he can fly, it's reveal all the time and vunerable. But, didn't Sokka said in previous episode that he's doing an armor for Appa? By himself? He did all this thing? How? Guessing that Toph help him but still. I also love how Appa overall is big baby but he still crave violence (Momo is not valid, he never was a baby).

Ow, ow, Harus facial hair, the fuck, is this this world equivalent of awkward tennager first moustache?

Aw, that's a really nice moment between Katara and Aaaand he kissed her. That's how you ruin a good scene. Couldn't he just kissed her on her cheek? Like, one fast smoch and he's gone?

This whole Gates of Azulon thing is so excessive. The Fire Nation sure likes to show off, huh?

Yes Sokka, be endlessly grateful that Toph joined your team. Otherwise all of you would be dead long ago.

So, the capital and a whole palace are empty. Azula knew about invasion plans and even after avatar death she still though that their enemis are going to attack nevertheless. So they prepared. But. It looks like Zuko don't know about anything, or else he wouldn't so calmly and slowly preparing for leaving. Or maybe he was like "hmmm, there's going to be some chaos and fights so i can use that as a cover for my escape". Idk but for me it looks like he's still in bad position in his family. Oh wow, my dad wants me at meetings in war room. Oh wow, they didn't tell you about invasion and their plans for it. Hysterical.

Those flintstones style powered tanks are moving like caterpillars. xD

So. Katara can bring people from dead but can heal some "scratches" that her dad got. Sure. Ok. If you say so. ...Unless for Aang she used all of this special spirit water? Would make sense. Eh, i don’t like this whole issue that american media have with blood. I can’t take some characters injuries serious when there’s only a dark stain on their body/clothes. Or better, only jagged clothes. Or sometimes even not that. Even as a kid i was rolling my eyes on that. You don’t need hurt yourself badly to bleed, and kids know that. Stratch a knee a little harder and you can have a whole leg in blood, and people on tv wants to convince me that there’s no blood from a stab wound. What.

The Day of Black Sun Part 2 - The Eclipse

They fucked up that whole invasion real bad, huh?

They even had a special eclipse glasses. Why this shit is so funny? And how he knew that they would need a special glasses for that?

asdfghjkl those are full ass grown air ships ahahaha this is not funny but this IS sooo funny lol

Uncle Iroh was like one man army. Nothing but respect for my favourite elder. Applause for best man.

So, Zuko knew about all this plan and deciced that it's the best occasion to run away. Nice, nice. And he confronted his bitch of a dad and drag him. Nice, nice. And revealed to Ozai his plans to help the avatar and bust uncle Iroh out of from prison. That's dumb, yeah, dumb. I recognize that they wanted to show us how patronizing and not serious Ozai is still treating Zuko, but still - maybe not reveal your plans how to overthrow someone to that person? But honestly, i wouldn't be surprised if Zuko really didn't knew nothing about attack. Aaaand... Sooo... Azula didn't lied and Azulon really ordered Ozai to kill his son and this dumb bitch was like okie dokie sure thing dad.

The Western Air Temple

Well, damn, the western air temple sure is an impressive piece of architecture.

That racoon toad is gross as hell. Worst atla animal. Ugh. Amphibian with fur? Who the heck thought it's a good idea?

Aaaaw, Zuko, my awkward dumb baby boy is back. And he had cringy flashback. First signs of growing up. I also like how hard it is to him just to talk to gaang and convince them that he changed, and you just feel pure awkwardness of this whole situation. But gaang also got a good reasons to be wary of him and heck, they use them to drive him out. They're aware that this situation is suspicious. And from what i saw on the internet it look for me like theres some aggrement in fandom that Katara is too stubborn and is unnecessarily harsh to Zuko, since the rest of group decided to more or less trust him. But i understand her, she's fully allowed to feel like that about him. One could expect that Sokka would behave more like her but he’s rather resigned? Like, ok if you’re here then you’re here i guess.

Also it’s nice how for change Toph is the one that's reasonable and can look at this without clouded judgement. Kinda sucks that Zuko burned her and we couldn't saw their conversation. I'm sure it would be an interesting one.

Good episode, good, such tasty awkwardness, mmm nice.

#atla #the last airbender #atla season 4 #atla first watch #gaang #zuko #atla black sun #atla invasion #atla eclipse #ozai is a bitch #katara #toph #sokka

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taytayabas · 7 years

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Zuko & Mai’s Constant Characterization Change

Warning this has anti tags. Read at your own risk. I don’t want to hurt your feelings with my rantings.

I laugh Zum@i. It’s better than M@iko.

It sounded like siomai…

YUMMM!!!

Unlike the food it rhymed though, Zum@i is not that palatable. It’s edible, but its edibility is debatable. Just look at how it’s made:

The Awakening – written by Aaron Ehasz

Zum@i was served in the story at the very start of Book 3 in The Awakening episode written by Aaron Ehasz, a prominent Zuko writer, so we can be sure this was an in character Zuko. In here Zuko is introspective and solemn. Totally in character after what happened in the Book 2 finale. Mai too was in character with her Book 2 personality. She likes Zuko but she still is sarcastic and cold. She isn’t sappy just by being around a guy she likes.

And witness how they interact. Mai approached Zuko who’s contemplating then. Zuko tried to open-up to her but the small talk got her bored (it’s only been 20 seconds and she already got bored) which miffed Zuko. Mai brushed it off by kissing him. Zuko let her but he remains silent and expressionless after she left. Their interaction didn’t faze him from his thoughts. Mai comes out strongly and assertive while Zuko is detached. Both of their actions and responses in this scene are in-character with the previous episodes in Book 1 and 2.

The Headband – written by John O. Bryan

It’s a not really a good episode following The Awakening. Just look at Zuko. Remember how silent and passive he was around Mai last episode or just how nervous and oblivious he is on his date with Jin on The Tales of Ba Sing Se episode in Book 2. Well look at him now.

Nice Zuko fans explained this as Zuko trying to emulate Ozai. I guess that would be the Watsonian point of view. But I just… can’t agree with that. I’m leaning into Doylist. It’s the writer’s doing. However you want to imitate someone, you just don’t change overnight. And since when did Zuko become that great of an actor anyways?

It’s like Zuko had seen Ozai coming from the imperial harem (Is there even an imperial harem in the Fire Nation palace?) with ladies in his arm and being very suave about it. Better yet Zuko had seen Ozai having a picnic with a lady, on a sunset by the sea, and being very smooth about it and Zuko was like: “That so cool I’m a try it with Mai.” Now I’m imagining this:

(Apologies for the editing, I’m not good at it.)

And what’s more is why the heck was Zuko emulating his father in his dating life. Oh… right he didn’t just copy Ozai when his smooching with Mai, there was also this Combustion Man business. This reminds me:

Here is John O. Bryan’s ‘idea about Firebenders combining their concentrated mental power to create nuclear explosions.’ Furthering by Bryan Konietzko’s ‘a Firebender who blows things up with his mind idea for an assassin that Zuko hires to kill Aang.’ These people think this is a really cool villain...

THE COMBUSTION MAN IS BARELY EVEN A CHARACTER!!! They didn’t even put a lot of thought into him. No name, no speaking line, no explanation of how or where Zuko finds him, no explanation how he’s able to track Aang, no explanation why he wasn’t hired a long time ago by Ozai or Zhao or Azula if his so effective. His just… his just there… because… because they said so… ah… no, because of plot.. Yes... that must be it... Right?

Did this whole writing team ever talk to one another? Are they ever aware about the other writers’ characterization and development of Zuko? Because you know it is unbelievable for Zuko to hire an assassin. Looking back at Book 1, even when he was trying to please his father and earn his love, it never felt like Zuko was trying to emulate him. This and this post would better explain that.

Don’t even get me started with the whole confused thing and going to Uncle Iroh and demanding. I just chalked it up as since Zuko was depressed he must be on medication. He must be taking TCAs causing cognitive impairment.

But you know which Zuko John O. Bryan had written in this episode?

Yes, it was the I’ll-save-you-from-the-pirates Zuko. The wrist-grabbing, tree-rounding, suavely-talking I’ll-save-you-from-the-pirates Zuko devoid of any development and further characterization the other writers had put into him.

And what do you know The Waterbending Scroll episode was the first episode where John O. Bryan had written Zuko. And weren’t this writer and the show runners always defined Zuko as a Bad Boy. Well he was certainly written in The Headband episode as one.

It makes sense to write Zuko like this in The Waterbending Scroll back in Book 1, but this kind of characterization doesn’t fit well after what he had undergone passed that The Waterbending Scroll episode. This interpretation creates quite a discrepancy from The Awakening episode Zuko.

Then there’s Mai.

This Mai had a semblance of The Awakening Mai. She just wanted to kiss. But she still feels different from the previous one. I don’t know why but this Mai just feel so sappy compared to Aaron Ehasz’s I‘m-getting-bored-let’s-just-smooched Mai. So I’m calling this John O. Bryan’s Mai as Happily-clingy-sappy Mai.

The Beach – written by Katie Mattila

Ah… what can I say? It’s just weird. This is a really weird episode. It felt like it didn’t belong to the series.

Here are Zuko and Mai going out just like in the previous episode we’ve seen them together. Unlike that episode though, they didn’t seem so happy with each other.

And what’s this, Zuko making mistake. All of a sudden he’s not charmingly flirting with Mai like You’re-so-beautiful-when-you-hate-the-world John O. Bryan’s Zuko. Gasp!!!

But this Zuko seems familiar.

That’s right! This was The Tales of Ba Sing Se Zuko written by of course, Katie Mattila too. The one on his date with Jin. I’m actually fond of this Zuko. This is the Clumsy-clueless-considerate-date Zuko.

And what about Mai, all of a sudden she seems to cool to care.

This Mai was written like the Book 2 Mai, but with an apathy that transcends to her dating life. Quite a big contrast with John O. Bryan’s Happily-clingy-sappy Mai, this Mai is just too hard to please. I mean Happily-clingy-sappy Mai was having a picnic in the sunset overlooking the sea. Albeit she was saying the sunset looks awful back in that episode just like Katie Mattila’s To-cool-to-care Mai is saying about the shell in this episode, John O. Bryan’s Mai wasn’t dismissive of Zuko compared to Katie Mattila’s Mai. Aaron Ehasz’s I‘m-getting-bored-let’s-just-smooched Mai too in The Awakening episode wasn’t dismissive of Zuko... Alright maybe she was dismissive of his feelings, but that version of Mai was crystal clear in what she likes. She likes Zuko. But this episode’s version of Mai... she likes… did she even like Zuko… she must have forgotten… or Zuko just grates on her nerves… She however grates on the nerves in this episode. What’s her problem? PMS?

That’s why The Beach episode created quite a disconnect from the previous episodes that features Zum@i. I mean just imagine John O. Bryan’s I’ll-save-you-from-the-pirates-you’re-so-beautiful-when-you-hate-the-world Zuko and Happily-clingy-sappy Mai in these scenes:

Zuko: [Picks up shell and turns to Mai.] Here. This is for you. [Offers it to her.] Mai: That shell had such an awful shape. Zuko: [Snickers.] You're so beautiful when you hate the shape. Mai: You don’t have an awful shape. [Then they kiss.]

Zuko: I thought, since it's so hot... here. [Offers an ice cream which didn’t fell out into Mai's lap.] Mai: [Licks the ice cream which didn’t fell out into her lap.] Thanks. This is really refreshing. [Then they kiss.]

See the difference. I laugh Zum@i. (On another note, do you know how difficult it is to edit Mai’s face to neutral in these scenes? This episode’s version of Mai was just frowning the whole time. As I said she just grates on the nerves in this episode. The Bitch?)

Nightmares and Daydreams – written by John O. Bryan

Hey, it’s John O. Bryan again. You know what this means. This means saccharine Zum@i scenes.

Oh, what’s this? It seems like John O. Bryan caught up with the notion that Zuko had a character development passed The Waterbending Scroll episode.

Oh well. But hey, there’s still Happily-clingy-sappy Mai. She’s not so happy though. Zuko had apparently got a development she’s not even aware of. Oh… and they didn’t even kiss. Still the characterization of Mai is consistent with The Headband episode.

The Boiling Rock, Part 2 – written by Joshua Hamilton

Well what can I say? Joshua Hamilton had written Zuko objectively. It’s the same Zuko he had written from The Cave of Two Lovers and The Chase episodes. It’s the same Zuko from the Ehasz couple written episodes. It’s the Zuko with empathy and conviction.

Mai too, he had written with resembling the Mai from The Awakening episode. She didn’t want to hear Zuko’s side on their confrontation scene. She didn’t want to understand.

‘I have no ears to spare, save it Zuko to whoever cares.’ She made a heroic save though at the end.

Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang – written by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

And here I thought I’m finished. What’s more is that, after The Boiling Rock, Part 2 episode I thought Zum@i was finished. Apparently, it’s not. I’m not going to comment about how these two show runners write Zum@i.

It’s nice… not really… no.

Just look at this Zuko and Mai. Never seen those two interact like that with each other. It’s either smirking or frowning… Openly smiling with each other… Mai blushing… that’s just… scary. Okay this version is freaking me out. I just can’t… Can it be that they’ve been lobotomized?

Ah… missed chances. Zum@i missed its chances. I mean it was introduced in Book 3 which theme is Fire which equivalent to the summer season. If they had broken-up in The Boiling Rock, Part 2 episode… or fine… in this last episode, Zum@i could be…

THE ULTIMATE SUMMER FLING!!!…

Keeping up with the theme. Just imagine:

Mai: You need some help with that? Zuko: Mai! You're okay! They let you out of prison? Mai: My uncle pulled some strings. And it doesn't hurt when the new Fire Lord is… not your boyfriend. Zuko: [Gulps.] Mai it’s you, not me. Come back again when you have a personality? Mai: [Deadpans.]

Ah… no Zuko would be killed. RIP new Firelord!

Mai: You need some help with that? Zuko: Mai! You're okay! They let you out of prison? Mai: My uncle pulled some strings. And it doesn't hurt when the new Fire Lord is… not your boyfriend. Zuko: [Gulps.] Mai it’s me, not you. Mai: [Mai's tone and expression changes to a serious and stern one. Finger-points at Zuko’s.] It’s certainly is.

Not amicable…

Mai: You need some help with that? Zuko: Mai! You're okay! They let you out of prison? Mai: My uncle pulled some strings. And it doesn't hurt when the new Fire Lord is… not your boyfriend. Zuko: [Gulps.] Mai: [Sighs.] It’s fun while it last. I guess this is goodbye. Let’s do this again some other time.

Perfect… I guess?

See my problem with Zum@i. The writers couldn’t even made a consensus on how to interpret these characters. Every episode in Book 3 equals different writers equals different interpretations. One could argue that it is development and not inconsistency and not one can claim it’s inconsistent just because its new. But notice that in A:TLA Book 3 we could see a characterization consistency on the episodes that was written by the same writer. This was not a problem on Book 1 and 2. I wonder what happened.

Anyways, if they wanted to sell Zum@i, the writers should have taken inspiration from the dim sum up above that usually served as an appetizer. Had they served Zum@i at the start they wouldn’t have a problem with Mai’s inconsistent characterization because you know Mai suffer more from this than Zuko. As I said Book 1 and 2 doesn’t have a problem with inconsistent writing.

Its fine if they served Zum@i at book 3, but they should have shown how it was prepared back in book 2 when Zuko’s backstory and Mai has first appeared. They should have shown the Zum@i childhood crushes they were telling in the comics. I wasn’t even aware of that comic’s existence until this year. Back when I first watch The Awakening, I was just surprised. Then I thought Mai just forced herself to Zuko. Then the next episode, what the heck happened to Zuko. It’s weird. The story is just disjointed.

Mai definitely had a crush on Zuko on the Zuko Alone episode, but there is nothing in that episode or in the whole of Zuko’s backstory to support that Zuko had a crush too. And furthermore, Zuko doesn’t really have any enthusiasm for her since he conveniently forgets about her whenever she isn’t around or isn’t alluded. She’s not even worth a passing thought. He didn’t even have a care what the heck happened to her at the end of The Boiling Rock, Part 2 episode. That’s just… I felt sad for Mai. I felt even sadder for Zuko. Zum@i did both the characters a disservice.

TL, DR: Siomai is made of 30% pork fat to make it soft and 70% other ingredients that made it delicious. You may want to reduce your intake of this food, especially if you already have hypertension. Likewise Zum@i is made of 30% fluff and 70% inconsistent characterization that actually contributed to the fluff. You may want to reduce your exposure to this, especially if you already have hypertension. Just look at how it’s made.

#anti-maiko #anti-zumai #anti-bryke #avatar: the last airbender #a:tla #atla book 3 #zuko #m@i #writers fault

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mrmallard · 4 years

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I'm getting a lot of Katara discourse in my "In Your Orbit" posts, and it's making me think about other characters who are written off for the same reasons Katara is. Like I've talked about Kagome and Kairi in the past, but another character who's received a really disgusting level of backlash in my life is Lightning Farron from Final Fantasy 13.

My recollection of the Katara discourse, as well as what I've heard from the current resurgence of this discourse, is that Katara is bossy, rude and stubborn, and she tries to emotionally manipulate people by telling them about her dead mother. One of the posts I've seen about her recently actually counted up how many times she talks about her mother compared to how much Sokka and Zuko talk about their fathers. She mentions her mom 31 times, compared to Sokka's 30 mentions of his dad and Zuko's 37 mentions of Ozai. And what the post boils down to is that Katara does talk about her mother in emotionally charged moments, like with Jet and Haru, whereas Sokka tends to talk about his dad a lot more in casual conversation and Zuko mentions Ozai in relation to his goal of capturing the Avatar.

Katara's character is boiled down to "my mom's dead, now let me yell at you" - which is fucking stupid and gross. And the way that her character is distilled into this caricature reminds me of times I've seen people talk about Lightning from Final Fantasy 13.

She starts the game as a hardass, slapping her sister's boyfriend around and instilling a hardline "us vs them" mentality in a 13 year old boy as well as giving him a knife. She encourages him to seek revenge, unknowingly encouraging him to try and kill her sister's boyfriend. And in the mind of her detractors, that's all she does for the entire game and the narrative rewards her and glorifies her for those traits.

But something like a quarter or a third through the game, she realises that she's been wrong the whole time, and she actively tries to dissuade the 13 year old from pursuing extremism and revenge. When she meets back up with her sister's boyfriend, she actually apologizes for how she's been treating him. And from that point on, the party does become more close-knit and she becomes more of a stoic snarker who defends her friends.

And yet I've spoken with people who claim to have played the whole game, who have made statements like "the game would be better if Lightning died halfway through the game, and no-one would care because of how she treated them".

Final Fantasy 13 wasn't a masterpiece, but at a baseline, the character of Lightning deserves better than that.

I think this is similar to Katara in that people will extrapolate her most extreme, negative aspects - she's stubborn, she gets frustrated and angry with her friends, she's a bit overbearing in an authorative, mom sort of way - and they strip out everything else about her character. It doesn't matter that she's a caretaker, a teacher, a grounding force of the team. It doesn't matter that she gives everything to the effort, like in the desert arc of the second season where she calms Aang down after hours of wandering through the desert. It doesn't matter that she saves Aang's life.

Contrast with Lightning, who is actually hardheaded and abusive towards her party at first. Who does drive a child to pursue revenge for the death of his mother, without knowing that she died to keep her son alive and would have given her life gladly regardless of whoever was asking her to fight.

But she goes back on all of this not even halfway through the game - she realises she fucked up, and becomes a better role model for the child she's escorting. She apologizes for being violent towards someone she smacks around at the start of the game and admits that she was wrong to do it. By the end of the game, she's fighting to defend the lives of her friends. She has character development. And yet she's still held to the standards of her worst self, who she grows out if and disowns before the end of the game.

Katara is different because she faces a lot of challenges over the course of the show, whereas Lightning's arc begins at the start of the game and wraps up before it ends. Katara experiences a lot of fucked up shit over the course of the show - she's kidnapped, she's betrayed, she sees people die and she barely saves the life of one of her closest friends who would have died in her arms otherwise. She faces a lot of challenges and hardship over the course of the show, and it takes her a while to get over the trauma of what she's been through - much like Aang's struggle with the Avatar State. And that's all boiled down to "wow she was an unreasonable bitch and yelled at her friends for stupid reasons, and she keeps talking about her dead mother".

The character arcs in FF13 are a bit more simple than that, but Lightning does see the error of her ways and become a kinder, more empathetic person over the course of the game. But there are people who will say, without a lick of irony, that "the game would have been better if she had died halfway through, and nobody cared or commented on it because she was a bitch to them".

And again - Kagome is hated for being a damsel and harrassing InuYasha, and is often demonized and killed off in fan media to make way for other ships. Kairi from Kingdom Hearts was hated by Kingdom Hearts shippers who seemed to prefer yaoi ships, to the point of demonization and character death in fan media. This shit keeps happening, especially when a character is considered a part of a central ship.

And it's such a widespread problem that even after a piece of media has been out for over a decade, and after all of these fan arguments have been and gone, there are still people trying to boil characters down to two-dimensional caricatures to bash and hate on them.

These characters deserve better than that.

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