#Ozai Aang parallels

[comradekatara]

it’s actually really funny that zuko accuses katara of displacing her anger for her mother’s killer onto zuko even though she has so many valid reasons to be genuinely angry at him that he simply refuses to acknowledge, but then later in the same episode he actually displaces his anger for his mother’s killer onto katara’s mother’s killer and insists that she has no choice but to go with him on a revenge quest to achieve his own catharsis. and then it doesn’t even fully work because he still continues to insensitively bully aang over the fact that he, a 12 year old pacifist monk, is hesitating over the decision to kill a man. zuko can perfectly identify and critique all of katara’s flaws while simultaneously remaining completely oblivious to the fact that not only does he share all of her flaws, but that in him they are magnified tenfold.

#where’s that post abt the saionji utena parallels. that’s zuko and katara if saionji and utena ever somehow became besties #zuko #katara #aang #ozai #yon rha #katara&zuko #aang&zuko #ozai&zuko #analysis #ish

[viola-cola]

I know it's been said a million times in a million ways but sometimes I just.... Zuko.

Just imagine it. You're sixteen. And you're just a kid. And you've been running for a long time. And now, somehow, you're looking into the eyes of a kid you used to want to conquer and you're teaching him how to kill your father. Because you have to. Because maybe the kid is just thirteen, but he hasn't been a kid in a long, long time. Like you've never been a kid. Like you can't be a kid when you're running.

But he's just a kid. And the kid is only thirteen, and he says he doesn't have to kill your father, but he has to kill your father. So you teach him. Knowing that you were thirteen once. Knowing that you were thirteen and you knelt beneath your father, and you couldn't move against him either. Knowing that you couldn't comprehend it, even after the flesh stopped dripping from your face. Knowing that you were a coward then, and that you are a coward now, and that you couldn't kill your father. So you have to teach the kid to kill your father.

So you teach the kid to hate your father--knowing what the rage has done to you, and what he hasn't done to him yet. Knowing that you could never hate your father the way that the kid should. Knowing that the kid won't be like you, because he can't be like you. Because you can't let anyone else kneel there and take it like you knelt there and took it. Because you have to. You can't let him be like you, so you teach him to be like you, and you teach him how to kill your father. Like you couldn't.

And then he doesn't. And then he won't. And then your father is kneeling beneath the kid, cowering under his hands, and the kid doesn't even burn him. Because the kid is not your father. And the kid is not cruel. Because the kid is too much like you. Because the kid is thirteen, and you were right when you were thirteen, too. And your father was wrong. And you never needed to kill your father.

Because you're sixteen. And you're just a kid.

#the parallels get to me #especially the final image of ozai kneeling under aangs hands #as he finally stops him nonviolently #atla #zuko #aang #ozai #atla meta

[icegoddessrukia]

And what do you have to say about Aang comparing Katara to Jet?

Oh wow, I don't want to get into TSR meta too much because it always goes around in circles and never ends well.

In his observation she seemed a little like Jet at first in how she was talking. From his perspective, she wanted revenge and there was some pure rage in her. I think he wanted to make her aware of how extreme he thought she was being and "snap her out of it" so that's why he said it, though he does empathize with her. Taking a life for revenge is a major deal for Aang and it is shocking for him. I could understand why Katara might have been offended when she heard that comment but I can also understand why he said the first thing that came to his mind. I'm not going to bash him for it.

Everyone in that conversation was only looking at it from their own perspective and that's why they were arguing so much. They all said some insensitive things in the moment. It's just that fandom only holds Katara and Aang accountable/practically demonizes them for their mistakes in TSR while giving Zuko (and Sokka, though he wasn't as insensitive as Zuko) a free pass.

Obviously, Katara isn't the same as Jet. It's a completely different context but he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. Was it the best thing to say to her? No. He's not perfect. I don't think anyone in the Gaang fully understood how Katara felt or how deeply her emotions run but I will say, Aang tried. Yes, Sokka was her sibling and Aang experienced the genocide but Katara had a different personality type and way of coping with her own grief.

I'm sure Aang didn't literally mean that she's completely the same as Jet and he still allowed her to take Appa. He didn't try to stop her in the end and he understood her need to confront the guy. He just hoped that she wouldn't choose taking a life but he accepted that he had to let her make that choice for herself. I feel like regardless of what he said at first, if Aang genuinely thought she was being another Jet, he wouldn't have put so much of his faith and trust in her.

Aang wanted to protect Katara's morality and at the same time uphold his own values, Sokka was siding more with Aang because he is not as emotionally invested in it as Katara and is not supporting revenge (and also he probably, like Aang, was fearful that his sister was acting in a way that would end up traumatizing her in the end), Zuko has a more grey morality and sees nothing wrong with revenge. He also really just wanted to make Katara trust him at all cost even if it meant getting said revenge with her because of his own guilt/insecurities plaguing him. Zuko, especially at that time period had a need to make people like him and it bothered him that she just didn't.

#ATLA meta #The Southern Raiders #The Southern Raiders Meta #Aang #Katara #Pro-Aang #Pro-Katara #atla #After writing this I just realized there are parallels between this and Aang having to make a choice about killing Ozai #Just like Katara Aang was frustrated that not one person in the Gaang understood his POV #Much like Katara it was Aang's own journey he had to take without his friends #I know Katara went with Zuko but what I mean is ultimately the choice came down to her and no one could decide for her #These were the biggest decisions they each had to make

[the-badger-mole]

What are your thoughts on Tenzin? Do you find him annoying or see him as a victim of Aang (or both, i guess)

Both? I guess? I think he's comparable to Azula in that he was Aang's golden child and felt a lot of pressure to live up to his father's expectations. Also in the way that he disregards his siblings' feelings. He probably didn't contribute to their abuse the way Azula did, but for him to be as old as he is, with as many children as he has to not see how justified is Bumi and Kya's anger towards Aang tells me that he turned a blind eye to a lot of stuff growing up. I think it's interesting that he had the family that Aang wanted- a docile wife who was happy giving birth to as many airbending kids as he wanted. I wish the show had explored that more, and maybe thrown in one or two non-airbending children, just to see if Tenzin would handle that differently than his father.

I don't hate Tenzin. I don't find him overly annoying. I don't find him particularly inspiring. I nothing him. There was an interesting story to be told with him and his dynamic with Katara and his siblings, but like with pretty much everything Bryke touches, the interesting story is laid aside in order to make Aang the hero who made all the right choices.

#lok #tenzin #the parallels between ozai and azula/aang and tenzin are clearly accidental #bryke isn't clever enough to have done that on purpose and wouldn't have the nerve to follow that thread even if they had #i thought tenzin was going to be more interesting in book 1 #THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!

[ragnarssons]

okay but with zuko fighting back during the agni kai, only to be stopped mid-air in a rush of empathy for his father the live action has the opportunity to make the most grandiose parallel to aang with the lightning during his fight with ozai at the end. 👌

#avatar the last airbender #natla spoilers #natla lb #atla netflix lb #atla netflix spoilers #the more i look at it #the more i feel like zuko's LA agni kai with ozai is also meant to really parallel the (very future) fight between aang and ozai

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

i love the juxtaposition of the hakoda&katara scene and the ozai&zuko scene but i also know it's the parallel that launched a thousand hakoda adopts zuko fics

#when actually this episode parallels hakoda & aang and aang & zuko way more than hakoda & ozai #it's literally just the one scene #atla daily blogging #nina's personal log

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

Aang: Hey guys. Zuko and I are gonna need Appa for a while. If anyone wants to come with us, by all means hop on.

Katara: Why? What’s going on.

Aang: Vaatu has Azula. We’re going to get her back.

Katara: You two are still trying to save her? Still trying to fix her? Even after everything she’s done?

Aang: First of all, I don’t like the term ‘fixing,’ she’s a person, not a wind-up toy. Secondly, what are we supposed to do? Just let her suffer and die?

Katara: (shrugs)

Aang: You don’t have to come along, ya know. We all know how much you don’t like her.

Katara: And why do you think that is? She took over Ba sing se, it was her idea to sentence the entire earth kingdom to suffer the same fate as the air nomads, she shot you and Zuko, she tried to shoot me, she attacked Suki, and held a bunch of kids hostage. She’s dangerous and insane. She had plenty of chances to change and rejected them.

Zuko: I won’t let her commit any more war crimes, but I won’t turn my back on her either. I owe her too much.

Katara: I get that she’s your sister, she helped save your life and overturned your banishment, Zuko, but she tried to kill you and corrupt you afterwards and has become viciously psychotic. (To Aang) Don’t you get it? She almost killed you! Another fire nation monster almost took someone else I care about the most away from me! I swore to myself I wasn’t gonna let that happen! Not again!

Aang: This isn’t like with your mom or with your dad, Katara.

Katara scoffed.

Aang: Your mom dying, Vaatu killing your dad, none of that was your fault. Don’t ever tell me that I don’t understand!

Katara: I’m sorry I dismissed your tragedy before. I just don’t get how you can be so easily forgiving. I once told you that I will never forgive Yon Rha, regardless, if Hama killed him or not. As for Vaatu, he’s proven to be the worst of the worst, I, personally, wanna do a lot more than just kill him. I want him to suffer as badly as possible, for everything that he’s done. And he’s going to. But I thought what I said about the southern raiders would teach you something.

Aang: Teach me what?

Katara: That some people don’t deserve to be forgiven. You don’t owe people who hurt you any forgiveness.

Aang: Look, I’m sorry I was demanding and forceful about forgiveness before. I realize that I wanted you to forgive for my sake rather than for your own. But forgiveness is not about deserve, it doesn’t make you weak, it doesn’t make you a doormat. You can still set up boundaries, you can still be concerned for your own safety. Yes, it is hard, but trust me, it’s worth it. Once the threat level of your enemies is neutralized than that’s the moment where it’s recommended to forgive them, not for them but for yourself, if you don’t then they take power over you. Forgive them for your OWN sake.

Katara: You think rescuing her will reduce her threat level and it’ll persuade her to be on our side? Even when she’s good enough of a liar to fool even Toph? You found out that the air nomad philosophy was flawed and sometimes hypocritical. You’ve broken your no kill rule many times and you’ve never even noticed but learned to be ok with it. I bet that means you understand that some people deserve to die.

Aang: Are you saying I should kill her when I get the chance? I don’t need to kill her. I’ve said before, ever since I reopened all my chakras, Azula and I have become more connected than ever. I can see past her lies better than Toph can. Yes, I’ve broken the oath, as did the other monks in a desperate attempt to survive, even when that meant going against their own lessons. It all still haunts me, but it shows that things aren’t as clear cut as I used to believe, and a certain amount of inner darkness is needed for internal balance. My culture’s a part of me but it doesn’t define me, and as the avatar, I’m required to embrace all ideologies, even some completely opposite of my own, I don’t need to trade one for the other.

Zuko: Can we hurry this along? Azula still needs us.

Aang: Clocks ticking guys, anyone who wants to come needs to head on Appa now.

Sokka: We’ll likely run into Vaatu again. You’re gonna need all the help you can get.

Sokka, Suki, Toph, Mai, Ty Lee, Aang and Zuko hopped on Appa. Zuko saw Katara standing there.

Zuko: Katara, please.

Katara clutched his fists, sighed and climbed aboard.

Aang: Yip-Yip.

Appa than launched off.

#atla #atla au #atla headcanons #aang #azula #zuko #katara #sokka #toph #ty lee #suki #mai #this is supposed to be a parallel to the southern raiders #ozai #vaatu #atla book 4 air #ozai is vaatu

[annyrhaelizabth]

AANG DESERVES BETTER

There are some incredibly stupid takes about Aang on every single social media platform but this has to take the cake. The A:tla fandom over and over again ignore every aspect of Aang's character, his arc, the culture behind Airbenders and literally the entire moral point of his character. this is another one of those incidents.

I've read this entire post and it fills me with unbridled rage. The Airbenders were not stupid, or cowards or fucking ignorant. When the news that the Fire Nation was preparing for an attack, the Airbenders were fully prepared to fight. Monk Gyatso is proof of that. They were also willing to thrust a 12-year-old into war since that’s what you people are ecstatic about.

Aang wasn't selfish, he was SCARED. This is a 12-year-old who was told that the fate of the world rested on him. He was isolated and he ran away because his one support was being taken away from him. He didn’t run away to abandon his duties.

The whole point of Aang not wanting to kill Ozai was the fact that he was the last Airbender. Airbenders value life, for them killing is the absolute last resort. His people weren't just killed, their culture, his people's knowledge, their contributions were destroyed. It was a fucking genocide.  Saying that Aang's wish to preserve his people's ideals is selfish after the sheer bullshit propaganda the fire nation was telling the entire world. The whole thing that he put the earth kingdom in danger was so entirely false. He was fucking fighting Ozai, when it was appropriate and when he was trained. It was so important for the arc and the viewers to see Aang choose the Airbenders.

It makes me fucking cry because this boy is so good and he saved the world and stupid racist idiots without an ounce of literary comprehension have destroyed his character. It genuinely makes me cry because his character was so important, and there are rarely characters who are genuinely so good.

Also every single protagonist character in A:tla also understood Aang's point. Yangchen didn't see another way, Aang found one. If he found a simple solution to defeating his people's coloniser after so much suffering it isn't a cop-out, it's karma. because only Aang could've done it you motherfuckers. what is a cop-out is the sheer refusal to even remotely put in any effort in understanding Aang because he isn't "relatable". I don't care, you don't have to relate to a character to understand their viewpoints and ideologies. If you want Aang to become relatable maybe talk to someone who's country actually got colonised or who's people faced genocide.

And I won’t even touch the LOK points because it’s blown out of fucking proportion.

Fuck you and every single person who liked this post.

TLDR – SAYING THE NON-VIOLENT APPROACH OF AIRBENDERS IS IGNORANT IS RACIST (WATCH INDIA’S INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT WHICH WAS ALL ABOUT FUKCING NON VIOLENCE) SAYING AANG WAS SELFISH FOR NOT WANTING TO KILL IS RACIST AND/OR A SIGN OF LOW EFFORT LITERACY. AND THE SHEER HUMILATION OZAI FACED FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE FOR LOSING HIS BENDING IS NOT ONLY NARRATIVELY IMMACULATE BUT ALSO FUCKING HILARIOUS BECAUSE LIKE COME ON.

#aang #avatar the last airbender #a:tla #zuko #anti aang bashing #aang protection squad #avatar aang #aang the last airbender #I'm so fucking tired at this point #colonisation nearly ruined my country #if someone told me that the efforts made by my ancestors were selfish #i would've killed them #also zuko stans need to stop this the most #zuko is an immaculate and amazing character #but not because he was a protagonist but because he had to put effort into not only proving he was good but becoming good #Aang's journey of defeating Ozai without killing him directly parallels zuko journey of defeating his teachings and leaving Ozai for Aang #just read some books watch some good tv shows #get some ounce of literary analysis that does not stem from racist roots #queue this or whatever

[blluespirit]

okay first three episodes thoughts

good

bending is cool as fuck

sozin’s actor does an amazing job at full crazy but calculated

scenery is STUNNING

monk gyatso made me cry. idk why i just saw him and wanted him to give me a hug so bad

APPA ACTUALLY LOOKS GOOD AND NOT LIKE A LITERAL MONSTER

i wasn’t sure how id feel about them showing the air nomad massacre but i think the importsnt thing is that they showed it was a massacre - and that although they can defend themselves, they don’t have the ability to fight back like an organised army would bc they’re pacifists! they attacked a peaceful group

the abandoned fire nation ship in the southern water tribe looks so fucking cool

ARTIST ZUKO???!!! LETS GOOO

Dallas does an amazing job at getting across Zuko’s intense desperation

I actually ended up loving all the Sokka and Suki interactions sm it was so cute and wholesome

Katara is perfect i will kill and die for her

Azula’s opening scene being her manipulating those people trying kill ozai ultimately leading them to getting burned alive by him and smiling - literally so fucking good. she is the best villain in history of forever

really good move having the mechanist (Sai!) and Teo be in Omashu imo. having them destroy the northern Air Temple so carelessly always pissed me off

THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS ARE LITERALLY PERFECT I AM SCREAMINGGGG

I was wondering how they were going to introduce the Mechanist and Jet in a limited amount of episodes but I like how they combined the two stories

Also Sokka absolutely nerding out in the Mechanist’s home is so important to me

Zuko getting has ass beat by that lady for fighting Aang is literally so funny and reminiscent of the goofy aang vs zuko fights we see in season 1 (to be clear: i adore zuko. this is NOT hate on him)

Zuko losing shit about his notebook and trashing his room and then outing himself as a fire bender in Omashu is so perfect. god i love him so much. it’s very season 1 zuko. it’s giving I DONT NEED ANY CALMING TEA!!!

things i was not a fan of: (some of these are a little pedantic i’ll admit)

Exposition is a little is a little janky but i’ll forgive it i guess bc at least it isn’t egregious as The Movie That Shall Not Be Named

Aang leaving just to get fresh air/clear his head and intending to come back is a silly change to me. all i keep thinking about is the storm where we got those epic Zuko and Aang parallels which now doesn’t really work and also takes away a lot of Aang’s depth. A good change adds to the story, but personally this seems to take it away

WHY would they not make Katara the one to bring him back from the avatar state? just seems like a strange choice to me? not saying this from a shipping point at all but that moment is a big step to their bond/friendship especially since they have only just met

Still don’t understand why they made the head of the village Suki’s mum. like i don’t think it’s a terrible choice but they still could have let them have a mother/daughter bond but still let Suki be the leader without any implications of nepotism. it mostly seeems silly

tl;dr - really enjoying it so far!

#avatar the last airbender #netflix atla #netflix avatar #zuko #katara #sokka #aang #suki #iroh #ozai #jack talks #live action series

[staliaqueen]

I rewatched The Avatar and the Fire Lord a few days ago, and god, what a good episode. Revealing that Zuko is a descendant of both Sozin and Roku was a genius move (and that's not even getting into the Zuko/Aang parallels of it all). But there's something the show doesn't seem to think of, and that I haven't seen anyone in the fandom discuss either — the fact that Zuko isn't the only one descendant from both these men. Azula is, too.

The conclusion of this story that Iroh presents to Zuko at the end of the episode is that he alone — because of his lineage from both men the war was started from — is uniquely capable of cleansing the sins of his family and the fire nation and bringing peace to the world. But, the thing is, there's two sides of this conflict, and therefor two sides to its legacy. The external and the personal. The legacy of the external is the war, but the legacy of the personal is the sibling rivalries that kept repeating through generations of the royal family.

Though Roku and Sozin were not actually related, they were childhood friends as close as siblings and fucking shared a birthday, so the symbolism works. We know very little about Azulon's childhood or if he even had any direct sibling rivalries like this at all, but from what I can find on his wiki page, we know that Sozin favoured him over "other family" (I'm assuming his siblings). What we know very well, however, is what happened in the next generation between Iroh and Ozai. We know Azulon favoured Iroh over Ozai, and that this likely is the initial source of their hatred for each other, which resulted in perhaps the worst sibling rivalry of them all (what with the indirect patricide and throne stealing).

Then we go on to Zuko and Azula, whose upbringing kept going in the same patterns, but the key difference is them being the first ones to both be descendant from the men who started it all. If Zuko having this lineage makes him uniquely capable of ending the cycle of war in his country and restoring balance to the world, shouldn't that mean that both he and Azula having this lineage makes them uniquely capable of ending the cycle of brutal sibling rivalries and restoring balance to their family?

This conclusion I've presented seems to fit perfectly with the lesson Aang draws from the same story as well:

"Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? If anything, their story proves that anyone's capable of great good and great evil. Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation, have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance."

I know this is supposed to be foreshadowing to Aang refusing to kill Ozai later, but I can't help but think it's even more applicable to fourteen year old Azula. It's really so ironic that the show runners thought Azula deserved what she got when their own show seems to be telling them that Zuko mending his relationship with her is what he ultimately should've done.

But, then again... that does sort of make her the perfect tragedy.

#meta #azula #princess azula #zuko #prince zuko #zuko x azula #avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar meta #avatar the last airbender meta #atla meta #uncle iroh #fire lord ozai #fire lord azulon #fire lord sozin #avatar roku #i LOVE tragic siblings have i mentioned this before? #also can't wait for this either to get 0 notes or invite a bunch of brain dead angry replies #it's pretty much either or for me in this fandom

[lilbagdermole]

It's common knowledge that Zuko and Aang, throughout the duration of ATLA, are a mirror of one another; a reflection of each other - not necessarily opposites but parallels.

So whilst I was analyzing the finale of the show, I noticed a really interesting parallel between our two protagonists:

Zuko was close to dying in his final confrontation with Azula and what pulled him back up, what saved him from dying was water. More necessarily Katara's healing abilities - but nonetheless, his opposing element saved his life.

On the other hand, Aang throughout his harrowing fight against Ozai utilizes Earthbending time and time again to save himself, techniques that we've come to associate with Toph (rock armor and seismic sense). And to access the Avatar State, that had since been blocked, Earth had been the ultimate catalyst to unlocking his Seventh Chakra.

And if we take into consideration what Guru Pathik told Aang - to unlock the Seventh Chakra he would have to let go of Katara. In a sense, this could have been a visual representation of how Aang lets go of his love for Katara, and how Toph (Earth) could take up that role.

Earth, his opposing Element, saves his life.

It's also interesting that our protagonists' conclusions and destinies are integrally tied to the aforementioned girls. Destiny and Fate are two major themes in ATLA, alonside the moral lesson shared to us by Uncle Iroh about the unity of the four elements and how each element can learn and grow from the other.

Zuko's destiny to bring honor to Fire Nation whilst also challenging his conflicting natures (Sozin vs. Roku; Ozai/Azula vs. Iroh) would have never come into fruition had it not been for Katara. Katara was the first person (other than his Uncle) to show him genuine compassion and humanity, she was the first person to glimpse into his true, kind and gentle nature. Additionally, had she not fought alongside Zuko to defeat Azula and save his life, he would have never been able to step up to the Throne and fulfill his destiny. Thus Katara is linked and bound to Zuko's destiny.

Aang's destiny was to restore peace to the world and end The One Hundred Year War. The Aang we meet during Book One - is timid and soft, a strong bender and with limitless potential, but he lacked the confidence, the back-bone, the grounding to step-up to his duties as the Avatar and defeat Ozai. Katara coddled him and never challenged him to look beyond himself. It's only after meeting Toph does Aang begin to confront his opponents with a different viewpoint, he gains a certain matureness in himself and suddenly we see him step up into his role and responsibilities. Toph's Earthbending not only saves him from death but it also gave him the strength to face his destiny. Thus, Toph is linked and bound to Aang's destiny.

It would have tied a lot of unexplored themes as well as provide a more satisfying conclusion (Aang entering the Avatar State because he followed through with Guru Pathik's lessons instead of pointy rock triggers it) and it would have been cohesive with the narrative thematic of ATLA.

I'm still astonished at how badly Bryke fumbled the bag with their romantic sub-plots. 🗿

#toph beifong #taang #aang x toph #anti bryke #anti kataang #atla aang #toph x aang #katara #zuko #zutara #atla critical

[comradekatara]

I can see your whole history in your eyes. You were born with nothing. So you've had to struggle and connive and claw your way to power. But true power, the divine right to rule, is something you're born with. The fact is, they don't know which one of us is going to be sitting on that throne and which of us is going to be bowing down. But I know, and you know.

while azula’s speech to long feng in this scene is indisputably iconic and powerful, it is also blatantly wrong. azula cites “the divine right to rule” as her prerogative to take the earth kingdom throne over long feng in their vie for power, but the divinity of the monarchy is a hollow justification for the existence of any given monarchy in the first place, not some ontological imperative that demands certain families seize and maintain power. centuries ago, azula’s ancestors claimed power over the fire nation, and her belief system is the product of the rhetoric they created after the fact to justify their power and influence over the state, and some time later, sozin’s imperialist doctrine that it is also the fire nation’s prerogative to colonize other states beyond their accepted borders. what makes this moment so effective is that azula truly believes the imperialist rhetoric she spouts in this intimidating monologue, as it was the creed she was born into – but as we are plainly shown throughout the show, her belief system is wrong, and she possesses no inherent, divine superiority over others. her facade of power, strength, and domination ultimately guards an empty myth, a lie that nearly destroyed the entire world.

BUT.

out of context, her words are not entirely wrong.

you've had to struggle and connive and claw your way to power

but true power

the divine right to rule

is something you're born with

unlike in our world, wherein the existence of divine power(s) cannot ever be truly proven, the spirit world not only demonstrably exists, but is eminently accessible. only because of aang’s century-long stasis in the iceberg was there ever any doubt of the avatar’s return, reducing the spiritual/cultural/political/global significance of the avatar to a myth, and plunging the world into unrest, chaos, and despair. but the world of avatar itself spans a vast history, in which aang’s era is merely a blip. he is but one reincarnation is the vast line of avatars, the bridge between the human and spirit worlds, the bringer of balance, chosen by the spirits. if anyone has an ontological, divinely-necessitated influence over the world, it is not the fire nation royal family: it is, quite plainly, the avatar.

#id in alt text #analysis #azula #aang #long feng #ozai #lore #ive had this post in my drafts for like two years #and just went through and made a couple tweaks now #idk why i didnt post it sooner but #i think this post is only part of a larger discussion #bc the role of the avatar in their world is actually more controversial than im presenting it here #i also wanna make more posts abt the aang & zuko imagery #of how they are the phoenixes that ozai fails to be #and the important thematic parallels between them #but this is also a second part to the 'azula tides analysis' post #deconstructing her speeches is so fun #the dramatic irony of her rhetoric #maybe ill compile those moments too #idk #theres just so much to say abt atla #i guess. thats why. i have this bloggue #hm!

[shrimzical]

AANG ＆ OZAI PARALLELS: DEBUNKED

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Because apparently the true villain is the sole survivor of a genocide of his entire nation, and not the imperialist colonizer.

Where do I even begin?? Because I’m genuinely holding in laughter writing this, it’s absolutely insane how certain people can make such egregious parallels that aren’t even found in the first place. 

AH, so a little backstory on how this fucking shit stained idea even came to existence, well our dear z^tara fans pissed their pants over Zuko and Katara not tying the knot, so, as a way of retribution for their supposed “honour” They take any chance to jump on the Aang hate train and make him into some irredeemable abusive demon, aaand they got that perfect opportunity because the LoK decided to take a lick out of the great “Main Characters Must Be Bad Parents In The Sequels” Trope. Which personally, does absolutely nothing to the protagonists resolution aside from cheap family drama but I digress. 

Now, I’m not behind the idea of the writers trying to make Aang a “flawed” Parent, I think it really makes no sense by how they went about it, (I might touch on this in another post) 

((And it’s so very clear that they’re trying to give it a soft “retcon” And even taking extra steps saying that Kya and Bumi just “remember wrong” Which I’ll actually take, because season two of LOK was hell on earth anyway so you might as well give it some saving grace.)) 

--------------------------------------------------------------

There’s three main parallels that they got from Ozai and Aang: (god help me)

Favouring a child

isolating the rest

leaving pressure On the golden child

I’m going to debunk all three of them while trying not to fall into complete lunacy over how ridiculous they are. 

Favouring a child + Leaving pressure: 

OK, so people are clearly blind with context clues and media comprehension, got it. No surprise whatsoever. I can’t be disappointed if I didn’t even have any expectations to begin with. 

Let’s compare the treatment on how Ozai treats Azula, and how Aang treats Tenzin. (Holy Shit)

Beginning with Ozai, well.. It doesn’t take much of a rocket scientist to understand that Ozai essentially could not give two fucks about Azula, as she in essence, serves the role of an attack dog, as long as it does its job, it’s worthy. 

Ozai favoured Azula because she was molded to match his ferocity and hunger for power, she was a prodigy bender, and was cunning and calculated, all traits that Ozai found endearing and someone worthy to be crowned the next “fire lord.” His “favouring” Of her didn’t come out of genuine love or care, she is his tool who serves a purpose. In short, she showed more competency and more ruthlessness and callousness in comparison to Zuko. Which earned her, her place as the “Golden Child.”  

-------

None of this is even remotely similar to how Aang treated Tenzin and his kids, aside from the fact he supposedly “favoured” Tenzin more, but that is such a baseline statement and has absolutely no relation with Ozai's reasons.

You have to understand that an entire FUCKING NATION IS DEAD. History, Culture, Tradition, is at the BRINK of being wiped out, Tenzin is quite literally the only Airbender that will be left after Aangs passing. Why do people devalue this concept so much? 

“B-BUT THE AIR ACOLYTES1!!” Still have limited knowledge, airbending is so heavily tied to its spiritual roots, you LOSE your ability to AIRBEND, if you aren't inclined to your spiritual side. Which is a core part of the air nomad culture. Tenzin is... Literally the only god forsaken part left of that, so yeah. It’s a pretty big fucking deal. Aang values his culture and teachings to such a high degree, he is literally the survivor of a genocide. His favouring of Tenzin was done out of necessity and love, not out of a need for power and a new attack dog to send orders around. 

Tenzin will literally be the future “Director” Or guide for the next avatar to learn airbending, people still forget this, and it’s hilarious. He needs to know all the moves, all the teachings because he will be the next avatar's personal guide. 

Aang constantly reassures him, and apologizes for the pressure that may be put upon him but he always reaffirms that he’ll be there to guide him and they’ll “learn together”

---------

So yeah not the same thing at all. Fuck you for being so inept at understanding the different reasons and perspectives of those situations, just for some petty ship discourse, genuinely disgusting.

Isolating the children:

OK this part, I have to say that the writers definitely messed up with aangs characterization, but I think the execution came out way differently than the intention, so I will try to look more into the intention of each decision.

Ozai isolated Zuko, mistreated him, belittled him, PHYSICALLY ABUSED HIM, but yeah totally on par with Aang actually. 

I don’t wanna touch on this part much mainly because his treatment was literally explained all throughout the show, and granted, while I understand most of these people haven’t touched the show aside from reading fanfic 300000 Where Aang is revealed to us as satan himself, but perhaps, even a small peak at Ozai's parenting would reveal the laughable contrast between the two.

Zuko was a slow learner, and much more of a softie, and a “mama's boy” To Ozai’s heavy dislike, he was thus treated as such, he was belittled, turned down, and literally burnt alive for showing “weakness” He is meant to serve as a direct contrast to Azula, ”The everything he isn't.” 

Kya and Bumi on the other hand, don’t show any actual signs of trauma aside from some petty jabs they threw at Tenzin, 

Bumis talk with Aang at the statue was *very very* Clearly, meant to highlight his own inferiority complex that he internalized growing up. His need for proving himself to be capable of doing just as much if not more than a “bender” Probably happened because his two parents were both prodigy benders and him being a first born son who was a non-bender must’ve hit pretty hard for him, and I’m so sure that katara and Aang reassured how special he is but that kind of thing doesn’t really go away.

------

------

Kya: [while healing Bumi] I told you those rocks were slippery. You're lucky you didn't kill yourself.

Bumi: You done with the lecture, mom?

Kya: Oh, grow up. You haven't changed one bit since we were kids. You're still trying to prove you can do everything a bender can. Well, you can't. Deal with it.

----------------------

 That talk with Aangs statue was very much meant to unveil an internal struggle rather than a conflict he had with his father. Kya even doubles down on this, telling him “of course he’d be proud of you” Basically spoon feeding to us, the viewers, that this is much more of internal than an external conflict that he has to overcome along the show. 

“Why Didn’t he share his culture with them 1!!1!” 

He most definitely did, or tried to, but it’s clear they didn’t show much interest so he didn’t pester, this is shown many times throughout the show. 

“You know I could never keep all those gurus straight… There were like a million of them!

remember that long boring story about the guy who never ate?”

This is literally Kya’s remark to Tenzin just after he tried teaching the airbender students this story, basically telling us that Aang DID try to tell them about his stories and culture, but much to their disinterest, didn’t try any further. 

And Bumi, literally could not pay attention to the story to save his life, and instead decided to fool around in his literal 60’s!! I mean Imagine what he was like when he was a kid!! 

I could imagine their dynamic was very similar to Jinora with Meelo and Ikki, Tenzin being the only one with actual interest and care, whilst Bumi and Kya goofing off and not putting much focus onto it. WHICH IS FINE BTW!! 

It only goes to reiterate that Tenzin was the only one who was actually giving interest and attention to the air nomad culture, and it was of Kya and Bumi’s own personal choice to not partake in it. To each their own I see. 

“BUT WHAT ABOUT THE VACATIONS” 

This.. I agree, weird for the writers to decide this, but given how they low-key are retconning it in interviews, my best guess is that each of those trips were side-quests during their journey to teach an important lesson that might’ve just drowned out because Tenzin may not have remembered it as well. 

Also keep in mind that Tenzin was put into a lot of pressure, Aang probably saw this, and as a way to still keep it enjoyable, he took him to trips that would help ease the mind for a little kid whilst also learning something valuable. That seems pretty on brand for Aang actually

And given that Kya and Bumi are literally in their fucking 60’s it wouldn’t surprised me if they didn’t have the greatest memory. Hell, they didn’t even fault Aang as a parent until Tenzin started boasting about “trips” That Kya and Bumi gave petty jabs but weren’t actually showing genuine hurt, just annoyance.

Kya even comments how Aang was too busy “Trying to save the world, and doing his duty that he didn't have much time for them” 

Phrasing as if it wasn't anything "important" But it's clear that this was Kya's own personal irritation towards Tenzin rather than an actual evaluation on Aang's duties.

A continuation comic best explains it in a deeper way:

----------

Literally showing that “neglecting” His kids wasn't up to him, and was out of a sense of necessity, trying to cram as much knowledge onto Tenzin, the only one who was basically putting his lessons into practices. Kya and Bumi were left feeling neglected. But that wasn’t out of his decision; he still loved them dearly.

-------

This. Literally highlighting how much pressure was forced upon Aang, so yes, as any person would, he struggled with making time for everybody. Holy shit who knew?? 

GASP!! IS THAT… A REALISTIC BUT UNDERSTANDABLE FLAW!!?? HOW DARE YOU! ITS OZAI #2 

The fact that the smiley energetic person forgets to SMILE, is a big deal, man was put through hells amount of stress but he never cracked.

So tell me, how is a genocidal freak, who treats his golden child like a tool and abuses the other both physically and emotionally for showing “weakness’ 

Even remotely comparable to

 the sole survivor of a genocide, trying to withhold his teachings and culture onto literally his only child that showed actual effort in doing so, while also maintaining the balance of an entire fucking world and being literally the biggest “advisor” And “Mentor” For society, OH! And also building and managing a literal city, but along the way struggling to make time for his children. 

Guess what, they’re not. And if you think they are. You are an idiot, with bias and headcanons.

So the conclusion is, Aang is a flawed parent, but he isn't a "bad" Parent - confirmed by the literal writers.

Comparing him to Ozai a literal dictator, is absolutely sickening, just for your petty shipping discourse when this show's been over for a decade is insane. Indulge in what you enjoy, but stop projecting delusions like they're canon.

:D

#atla #avatar the last airbender #aang #pro aang #aang defense squad #the legend of korra #tenzin #kya ii #bumi ii #how could you hate this cutie #anti anti aang #anti zutara #pro kataang #kataang #you all suck #anti zutara fandom #katara x aang #aang meta

[the-badger-mole]

Hi,

Wishing you a happy new year answering the question on Aang and Katara. This query will dip slightly into Legend Of Korra.

I saw a few post on the parenting similarities on Ozai and Aang, I think you might have explained this earlier. But, it wasn't until I came across a meta on Zuko and Azula's dynamic as the Golden Child/Scapegoat, did it make me realize in a sad way that Bumi and Kya share a possible similar dynamic with Tenzin. Except the difference was that Zuko's anger at his father and sister was acknowledged, while Bumi and Kya's anger was shown as wrong and they just reconciled with Tenzin over a photo of their past, I am pretty sure that is not how reconciliation works.

I would like your thoughts on this.

I have discussed Aang as a father here , where I compare him to Ozai as a father, and here where I compare him to my dad.

I will add- and I think I've said it before- that I have never seen a show go so far out of it's way to gaslight it's own characters before. That resolution wasn't a resolution. It was an end to that particular conversation, but there's no real reckoning for Kya and Bumi about their relationship with Aang or the way he clearly put the full weight of keeping the Air Nomads alive on Tenzin. Bumi sort of gets closure, but he only gets it by becoming what Aang always wanted him to be. In his 60s. After building a life and successful career on his own terms. And it's supposed to be a good thing. Kya doesn't even get that much. Her issues are never even touched on again.

Bryke's biggest issue as creators- as Aang's creators- is that they never go far enough humanizing him. They'll introduce some of his worst qualities (lying to get his way, putting his friends' father at risk because he doesn't want them to leave, his carelessness about the people who put their lives on the line to protect him, his blatant favoritism with his kids, etc.) but then either pull back and make them not a big deal, or just outright ignore that they introduced those flaws to begin with. They need Aang to be perfect, and in making him perfect, they lowkey made him one of the worst villains in the ATLA universe. I have no doubt that they introduced the idea of Aang not being a good father to "humanize" him, but they couldn't have him actually be a bad father and tell the story of how his kids were able to reconcile their imperfect father and the hero Avatar. That might actually have been an interesting story to tell, and we can't have that can we?

#atla #anti aang #anti kataang #aang was a terrible father #he was also a terrible leader #let's be real #aang and ozai are parallels #THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!

[42starsintheuniverse]

Sokka & Zuko- The Invisible Winner of the Kataang/Zutara Debate.

Please don't take this as "Shipping War Bait", I'm doing a character analysis of ATLA about my opinion on which close Zuko relationship makes the most sense!

I feel like fandom treated Zuko/ Sokka as a crack ship but like?? That's never made sense to me.

Firstly I personally think that Aang will always remember how the fire nation destroyed his people. No matter how much he consciously says he forgives Zuko (& the fire nation) I would BET that unconsciously there's still something deeply hurt in Aang that can never truly be healed about that. As a result, Aang would not be able to LOVE Zuko as close as his other relationships. It's one of those hard to swallow pills but it's just how I interpret the characters. Aang's body has that bias, the deepest parts of his mind won't ever forget the horrific fact that his people are dead because of Ozai, and Zuko is Ozai's firstborn.

I know Aang's whole thing is that he preaches forgiveness, but here's the thing... We aren't always aware of how deeply our trauma affects us. Sometimes you don't hold a conscious bias against people... You hold an Unconscious bias. And to me, Aang holding an unconscious bias against Zuko, and not being as close to him, makes sense.

Toph could honestly work with Zuko, I think she's also a good contender for closest relationship. Though I see it in either a platonic or romantic sense (depends on the vibe). I think there could be a bit of 'fandom implicit bias' there in having Zuko and Toph constantly presented as platonic only. Like, Toph is disabled, she's blind... Do we ever question that maybe we don't like putting her with people romantically because she's disabled? Is Katara the one people ship Zuko with romantically- because Katara is more traditionally attractive? Toph is short, stocky, has short hair, is brash, and blind... Like, there's a chance she doesn't get the same treatment as Katara because she's not traditionally attractive in the way Katara is.... Something to think about.

-All that being said, I like Toph and Zuko as having a close bond either romantically or platonically. I think it's funny that they're both born rich kids, I think it's funny that they only have one fully functioning eye between them (and the comedy and hijinks that leads to). And they do work really well together throughout the show, Toph forgives Zuko when he accidentally burns her feet. And Zuko clearly appreciates how chill Toph is- she doesn't have PERSONAL bias towards Zuko as the son of the Fire Lord, in the way that the other three do.

Moving on to Katara, I have a similar sort of feeling there. It's made obvious that Katara SAW her mother die at the hands of the fire nation. It was traumatic, it was horrific, and because she was a child watching it- that is likely a DEEP core memory. In the context of the show, Zuko helps Katara find the man who killed her mother, because it's sort of a levelling of the scales. It doesn't even make Katara LIKE Zuko, it makes her neutral towards him. He helped her to basically right a wrong (that's her perspective). So yeah- for the same reasons, I've just never been convinced that Zuko and Katara could have a strong and intimate relationship because of the deepness of Katara's trauma. It takes a significant amount of time in terms of the show for her to even start talking and trusting Zuko at all. Doesn't FEEL like good romantic potential to me.

But Sokka, Sokka is the best fit of them so far. The thing is, Zuko and Sokka have a lot of different experiences- but shared values. Consider the things they've had to deal with, Sokka had to handle a huge level of grief & pressure as he quickly became responsible for his family and community at a noticeably young age. Then consider how that parallels (it is not THE SAME, but there is a PARALLEL) to Zuko's abuse & exile. They're both young men, they're both conditioned to think they should be a certain way (Sokka a warrior, Zuko a tyrant). Sokka is creative & inventive, which mirrors how Zuko has to create a new emotional source for his fire bending- once again, these are parallel elements of their characters, and demonstrate how they could relate to each other.

Sokka as a character is also slightly more separated from the association between the fire nation and the death of his mother- compared to Katara. Once again, she saw it happen right in front of her as a small child, Sokka was slightly older when the event happened, and didn't see it first hand.

There are some more generic elements of their characters that might suggest gay subtext; such as Sokka's hypermasculinity being a masking behaviour so no-one would think he's attracted to men. (Most people understand why that is; but if you don't know- leaning into very masculine things as a man, can make it feel like people won't question your assumed "straightness").

But I think what I've touched on is more relevant because it's very much tied to THESE specific characters, and how they interact, and how they could relate to each other.

TLDR; Zuko and Sokka work as a ship cos they have less things stopping them (barriers to intimacy & trauma to heal from). And they have probably the highest relatability to each other's lives, allowing them to trust each other and open up, compared to the other characters.

#ATLA #zukka #atla zukka #sokka x zuko #writing analysis #character analysis #character study #shipping #ship discussion #Please don't start huge fights about this #It's not supposed to be an attack #It's supposed to be a deconstruction of the relationships #I just hope people understand that

[eponastory]

Huh?

Okay, okay... so let's talk about this random person on the internet who no one asked for your opinion.

First oft, there really isn't any Aang and Ozai parallels. They are both bad fathers, but Ozai has a lot more than just 'bad' father qualities. As I've explained before, Ozai is a narcissistic sociopath. Complete opposite of Aang.

Aang just plays favorites with his children... it's still not a good thing, but it's not as bad as pitting your children against each other for your personal goals. Aang was more focused on Tenzin (have I ever said how much I adore Tenzin? He's like Best Dad next to Zuko) because he is an airbender. Thus, Aang put all the attention on the child that had the most in common with him. Lots of fathers do this.

Ozai literally burned his own son to teach him a lesson. Then, he manipulated his daughter by using Zuko as a point of contention for her. I really don't see the parallels that this person is referring to. If anything, it's Zuko and Aang that have SOME parallels. Their journeys intersect quite a bit.

But I really don't know what this person is going on about...

I think this person is just reaching or only saw one post about said topic that was far off the actual premise. But I don't think anyone here agrees with the post.

#parallels? what parallels... #unless im dumb and dont see it #zutara #anti anti zutara