#avatar ember island players

[smilindesperado]

#out of context natla spoilers #I SCREAMED #this is truly the ember island players of our time #natla spoilers #netflix avatar #avatar the last airbender #momo

[elevenharbor]

Ember Island 🧡

#zutara #eleven's doodles #fan art #zuko x katara #zutara fanart #zuko fanart #katara fanart #my art #atla #atla fanart #avatar: the last airbender #ember island players #art #art on tumblr #avatar #zuko #katara #zuko and katara #zuko atla #katara atla

[soopsiedaisies]

concept: some years after the end of the 100 year war the ember island players are invited by iroh and sokka to perform a play during like a,,, meeting of nations. and they come in and are instantly face to face with the avatar and their country’s literal leader, the latter of whom squints at them and goes “ah! butcherers of love amongst dragons! you got my scar on the wrong side by the way” like how do you deal with that. your fire lord admits to thinking you’re no good, but also admits to having watched the play you guys did and wrote about him and his besties in which he died horrifically at the hands of his currently imprisoned sister, because you obviously were wrong for predicting the avatar would lose. and the avatar’s like “i also didn’t die. surprise!” like you’re not 100% aware of that.

and sokka of the southern water tribe, war hero and brilliant strategist, is like “LOVE your stuff dudes” and tries not to get murdered by his sister (a master waterbender) (very deadly) (not whiny and lovelorn at all) who obviously does not agree with him. the blind (female) (small) earthbender is small and female and also highly deadly holy Shit you got that wrong. there was also a fucking kyoshi warrior you didn’t even know of. general iroh was quite on point but there’s a look in his eyes that reminds you far too much of the hardiest of soldiers returning shaken and volatile from the earth kingdom, but he serves you tea. you’re unsure whether you should drink it (and do it anyway, because the fire lord tells you to and one does not simply say No to the fire lord)

and you’re supposed to put on another play for team - fucking - avatar!! conquerors of ozai and harbingers of peace!! for their enjoyment!!! but the fire lord is glaring at you like he’s contemplating throwing you in prison for being kinda bad at acting and horrible at interpreting plays of literary significance, and it’s kinda scary, and what do you DO at that point????

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #i’d die #ember island players #aang #sokka #katara #zuko #toph beifong #suki #general iroh

[longing-for-rain]

Aang: How dare they cast me as a woman! 😡

Zuko, internally: *thinks about Azula, Katara, Mai, and all the other women he knows* I wish I was cool enough to be cast as a woman

#atla #shitpost #zuko #aang #zutara #azula #katara #avatar: the last airbender #meme #ember island players

[xan-from-space]

Damn, the Ember Island Players were actually kind of radical, weren't they? The more I think about it, the more it feels like the only way it makes sense in-universe is if being Fire Nation propaganda wasn't the point of their play at all. Aside from a barely tacked on ending where Ozai kills Aang, the play is remarkably sympathetic to the Avatar and a bunch of enemies of the Fire Nation, even framing them as being heroes. Even at points in the story where theyre literally killing Fire Nation soldiers, the narrative still seems to be on their side; they're the underdogs, the relatable ones. Its true that the Fire Nation values strength, but still, you'd expect that in a propaganda play they would be portrayed as at least a little bit more sympathetic... And sure, to some extent the gaang's characters could be seen as defamatory caricutures (the slander on Iroh specifically was probably intentional), but that also might be due to the Players getting a lot of their information from the cabbage man, someone who actively hates the gaang and only ever really sees the worst of them. (And notably, that also means that the Players had worked with an Earth Kingdom merchant to produce the play.)

Mocking the gaang is also just clearly not the point of the play or what people are there for. Sokka's actor says that he's constantly being approached by fans; people genuinely love these characters. The gaang have built entire dedicated fanbases in the Fire Nation because of this play. Honestly, the fact that they're on a remote island is probably the only reason they're able to perform the play the way it is. I imagine it would get shut down pretty quickly on the mainland. Considering all the propaganda in the Fire Nation that we've seen so far, I wouldn't be surprised if the ending was only written that way because it's illegal to write a story where the Fire Lord doesnt win. The play reads less like propaganda and more like 'we're doing the bare minimum to get this story past the censors.'

I'm really curious about what it's like behind the scenes for the Ember Island Players. Are their shows just simple, shlocky entertainment, or could they also be deliberate political commentary? With no recording technology, a play is easier to slip under the radar than something like a book: it's impermanent, stays in one theatre, and performances can be easily tweaked if, say, Fire Nation royalty happens to come by. It's interesting to me that Ursa seemed to like them, while young Zuko had a disdain for them, saying they 'butchered' the story of Love Amongst the Dragons; in all likelihood the version of the story Zuko grew up with in the palace was heavily propaganda-filtered itself. Although, to be fair, they're arguably just not very good playwrights. When it comes to the characterization, I do think some of it only seems bad because we know what the actual characters are like, but a lot of it is just bad writing clearly meant for cheap entertainment. For example, they sexualize Katara quite a bit (and there's other, better analysis out there I've seen that examines how they fetishize her as a Water Tribe girl). And, of course, all of the characters are reduced to shallow and stereotypical comedy.

Still, I think they're worth commending for doing their research and telling a story about enemies of the state that's both sympathetic and surprisingly accurate to actual events, if not the characters' personalities, amidst the Fire Nation's rampant propaganda and misinformation. From the little amount of information about them we can extract from the show, they seem like honestly very interesting people. They're walking this tightrope line between being very close to the heart of the Fire Nation but also separate from it; between being cheap, inconsequential entertainment and being a source of actual news for Ember Island citizens; between telling the underdog story about a ragtag group of children and still trying to make it look like Fire Nation propaganda. I'm not trying to make any big argument on whether they were 'actually good people' or whatever, I just want to know more about them. I kind of wish we could see their production of Love Amongst the Dragons now...maybe I'll write something about them someday

#I wrote this in a haze after randomly catching the episode while my sister was watching it #I'm so fascinated by the inner lives of these people. What does it look like to write and produce these plays? #What does their day-to-day look like? How do the actors feel about their characters? #Actually if anyone has any fanfic recommendations in this vein please tell me #atla #avatar the last airbender #ember island players #the ember island players #atla analysis #zuko #uncle iroh #katara #ursa atla #cabbage man #cabbage merchant #fire nation

[staliaqueen]

Mal's Avatar: The Last Airbender rewatch: The Fortuneteller 1.14

#atlarewatch #avatar the last airbender #atla #sokka #gifs #avatarthelastairbenderedit #atlaedit #sokkaedit #useramys12 #tusersimone #userthing #THIS EPISODE IS SO FUCKING UNDERRATED #PEOPLE DISMISS IT AS ONE OF SEASON ONE'S WEAK ONES BUT IT'S SO GOOD I DON'T CARE IF IT DOESN'T MOVE THE MAIN PLOT FORWARD #THE RELIGIOUS COMMENTARY GUYS!!! #NOT TO MENTION HOW FUNNY IT IS #I LEGIT THINK IT'S THE SECOND FUNNIEST EPISODE AFTER THE EMBER ISLAND PLAYERS #Y'ALL HAVE BEEN SLEEPING ON THE FORETUNETELLER FOR TOO LONG 😤😤 #this is gonna be the one episode i make two gifsets for #this one is for jo (the second one is gonna be for me) #sokka is my fav ship for jo okay #i just think they'd be great together 🥰

[miss-nerd-alert]

No More Live Action Avatar:

Instead of trying and failing to recapture the magic of the greatest animated series of all time, they should make an Ember Island Players movie.

Nonsensical, badly paced writing? Obviously to be expected, since they keep butchering Love Amongst the Dragons. Shallow characterization? Duh, all their information is secondhand at best. Shitty costuming and bending choreography? You have seen Boy in the Iceberg, right?

Lean into the poor quality, make it so bad it’s good, and Avatar fans would eat it up.

If that doesn’t convince you, maybe this will: casting The Rock as Toph

#avatar: the last airbender #avatar #avatar the last airbender #atla #the last airbender #live action last airbender #the ember island players

[bestepisode]

Vote on the first half of the season here!

Propaganda is encouraged!

Voting has closed on this round. Vote on the next poll here!

#atla #avatar the last airbender #aang #sokka #katara #zuko #azula #fire lord ozai #fire lord zuko #princess azula #atla mai #ty lee #polls #poll tournament #atla best episode #the boiling rock #ember island players #sozin's comet #toph beifong

[myinterestsvary-writes]

The Ember Island Players stage play is just so bad. It’s not a good play but the accurate theatrics just gets me so hype and reminds me of high school drama club. They made Aang effeminate and weird because he’s a little boy, following the tradition of women portraying little boys in media and also because it’s to demean him as presented with the people laughing and Aang justifiably getting upset. They made Katara an over emotional, shallow person because they don’t want to admit that a young girl can be taken as serious as she should be and that extends to Toph when they portray her as a buff, large man because they don’t want to admit they were bested by a little girl. Zuko is shown as an emotional loser who will inevitably die a traitor which cements that it’s Fire Nation propaganda and instilled fear in the group. Sokka is portrayed near perfectly according to Sokka himself for the most part, because he’s never been taken seriously as a non-bender. It’s so meta and so good but simultaneously so bad and hilarious. Imagine being in their shoes.

#atla #Gaang #analysis #ember island players #Aang #Katara #Toph #Toph beifong #avatar Aang #Zuko #Firelord zuko #Sokka #Suki

[hitemwiththeoop]

i kinda just want someone to write a fanfic about the gaang reacting to the live action, if you want to make it canonesque like, doing it like it was another play like the one at ember island,,,imagine

aang getting angry because he didn't get to kiss katara at the cave and instead they make her more interested in jet and he begins saying things like I BET IF YOU HAD BEEN WITH HIM IN THE CAVE YOU WOULD'VE KISSED HIM. katara angry at her characterization like WHY DON'T I SPEAK UP??? I WOULD'VE THROWN HANDS and to sokka WHY DID THEY MAKE YOU ACT LIKE THE MORE MATURE ONE BETWEEN US, I HAD TO WASH YOUR SOCKS BACK AT THE VILLAGE. everyone absolutely confused at the fact yue was a spirit fox. Zuko criticizing himself ozai and azula like wth and why do i have drawings of the avatars and a journal about them, they make me look so obsessed, and sokka like, actually, i think that was spot on. suki and sokka cringing at the scene where she stared at him shirtless and him getting angry because they didn't make him dress up like a girl

#azula would simply not watch it #bumi would laugh his ass off at his own jokes #but when he begins blaming aang he'd groan like oh my god stop whining old man #the avatars would be like wtf i never did that nor said that #kuruk what knife are they talking about #ROKU WHY DID YOU STEAL THAT FROM KOH #I DIDN'T???? #avatar the last airbender #atla #natla #avatar live action #sokka #avatar aang #aang #katara #zuko #suki #kyoshi warriors #ember island players

[chocobijou]

The Netflix Avatar The Last Airbender is a HORRIFIC adaptation but a semi-decent show. The acting and script are seriously subpar, but the CGI is honestly amazing and it's a quick watch. For fans of the original animation, it's trash lol but if you don't remember/havent watched the show, or don't care, I'd recommend

#atla #avatar the last airbender #the last airbender #the last airbender netflix #its honestly giving ember island players lol #its like not funny at all tho im sad #and the chemistry is not there between the cast lmaooo

[jenna-rayofsunshine]

Don’t get me wrong, Dior Goodjohn is going to be amazing as Clarisse!

But in my head I always pictured Clarisse as a bit more

you know….

WWE Champion 🏆

as a 12 year old🤷🏻‍♀️

Just me??

#percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #dior goodjohn #clarisse pjo #Percy Jackson clarisse #clarrise la rue #gravity falls #bridge to terabithia #thats so raven #avatar the last airbender #gravity falls grenda #josh hutcherson #raven symone #toph beifong #toph #ember island #Atla ember island players

[weaponizedducks]

why did the gaang think the ember island katara was accurate. ember island katara preaching about hope and forgiveness bsfr she literally attempted murder last episode and every episode before that. she is literally rage personified the only reason she preaches hope is because she hopes to kill more people in a badass way

#it's so funny that the southern raiders ep was right before the ember island #they go from katara hunting down her mother's killer and bloodbending and literally attempting cold blooded murder #how do they look at the ember island katara preaching hope and think 'yeah seems legit' #also the Natla katara is basically ember island katara #I love katara she's my girl no slander accepted #katara defense squad #avatar the last airbender #atla #the ember island players #the southern raiders #katara

[asmrrpaddict]

Headcanon!

Avatar: The Last Airbender exists in the Dahlia universe and the DAMN crew dress up as the Gaang for Halloween!

Freelancer was Aang and they carried an Appa plushie around all night.

And yes, that means our own gentle giant Huxley was tough and tiny Toph. See evidence below! 😆😆😆

Also, personally I think Gavin dressed up as half Sokka and half Suki. Also see example below.

Part of me wants to think Gavin and Freelancer would have found a way to have Caelum come with them as Momo even if he wouldn’t be seen by the others. They wanted him to be included.

At one point in time Gavin was pushed down and Freelancer was on the ground laughing because they showed Caelum a picture of Momo riding on Sokka’s head and Caelum wanted to try it so… he jumped on Gavin and tried to climb onto his head.

#asmr roleplay #redacted asmr #redacted listener #redacted audio #redactedverse #headcanon #freelancer #redacted caelum #redacted gavin #redacted damien #redacted lasko #redacted huxley #avatar the last airbender #avatar aang #the gaang #adult gaang #atla suki #toph beifong #aang #katara #momo #appa atla #ember island players

[longing-for-rain]

regarding aang becoming offended bc of his portrayal as a woman in ember island players, i think his anger was justified on that specific occassion? I mean, the fire nation was mocking his gentle nature and pacifism by portraying him as a blithering naive idiot who never took things seriously and the belittling of his culture and beliefs. This is one of the worst episodes for him, dont get me wrong, but in this case, femininity was utilized as a source of derision and weakness imo. I dont say this with bad intentions, just thought i would write this bc i also condemned aang for the same thing before

If that was what Aang was upset about I might be inclined to agree, but everything he says and does throughout that episode points to the contrary. Aang doesn’t say anything about the incorrect portrayal of his culture and personal values. Here is what he does say:

[Note: the above expression is before the actress hardly says anything so he’s clearly just mad about the fact that she’s female]

Aang: [angrily] Is that a woman playing me?

Aang: I don't do that! That's not what I'm like! And I'm not a woman!

[Note: the official script includes the emphasis; again, it’s very obvious that he’s most bothered by being played by a woman]

Then this exchange:

Toph: I don't know, you are more in touch with your feminine side than most guys.

Aang: [Standing up, angrily] Argh!

Katara: Relax, Aang. They're not accurate portrayals. It's not like I'm a preachy crybaby who can't resist giving overemotional speeches about hope all the time. [Everyone looks at her] What?

Aang: [Turns around and sits down. Sarcastically.] Yeah, that's not you at all.

You know what I love about this conversation is that is proves two things at once. Firstly, yet again, it’s clear that being portrayed by a woman is what is most upsetting to Aang. Secondly, his reaction (and, honestly, insult) to Katara’s values here shows that he’s not thinking that deeply about this. It has nothing to do with values. Aang is offended at the idea that he is being portrayed by a woman and with more “feminine” qualities, which honestly plays well with his creepy, possessive behavior with Katara later this same episode.

And I actually do like the fact that you brought up femininity being used as “a source of derision and weakness” because guess what! That’s the definition of femininity itself. Femininity doesn’t mean simply being a woman; femininity is the social behaviors and roles that women are expected to fulfill. Which is why I don’t have any sympathy for a man who is offended by being called feminine or compared to a woman because it’s reflective of a deeply misogynistic attitude on his part. If Aang thinks femininity is so degrading and weak, what does that say about the fact he expects his crush to behave that way? I mean, this is what he thinks of Katara, through his own perspective:

So yeah, that’s my question. If being compared to a woman is so insulting and humiliating to Aang, what does that say about how he intuitively views actual women? Why does he think he’s above that treatment but women aren’t? People act like I’m crazy for saying that he exhibits toxic masculinity this episode but this only furthers that point.

Oh and before someone jumps in here and acts like this goes both ways, let me point you to this:

Toph’s reaction to finding out she’s being played by a big, buff, stereotypically-masculine man. She’s thrilled! Why? Because we are products of a misogynistic society and therefore intuitively view being compared to a man as a compliment and a woman as an insult. The respective roles assigned to each are not equal. Masculinity and femininity were never equal and the system was deliberately created that way. You can see this idea ingrained in the writing of this episode because it’s a bias we all hold to some degree, including the writing and creative team here.

So I’m sorry, but considering the bias clearly present within the writing team and the way the characters behave this episode, it’s clear to me that Aang’s reaction has nothing to do with his culture and everything to do with his misogyny.

#besides if we’re talking culture #supposedly he’s also meant to avoid earthly attachment and possession #which is not in line at all with his treatment of katara #anti kataang #canon critical #aang critical #atla #avatar the last airbender #ember island players #meta #zutara #katara #toph #fandom salt

[myimaginationplain]

do you ever think about how Katara's portrayal in the Ember Island Players' stage play is an in-universe, textual example of an oppressor state adultifying & sexualizing a racialized girl as a form of pro-colonization propaganda

and then do you ever think about how a third of the fandom also participates in that completely unironically

#this is in response to someone on twt saying that the EIP's portrayal of the DOBS cave scene was a 'win' for them as a zk shipper #& I know that tweet was a silly jokey joke.....but man #thankfully a lot of people are eloquently calling them out in the quotes of the tweet so I don't really feel the need to take it over here #but still. I try so hard to be neutral about zk & zk shippers because I really don't dislike the ship at its core. #but so many of you just can't help but make that impossible by consistently showing that you don't care about atla's themes at all ugggh #atla #avatar the last airbender #katara #the ember island players