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mdhwrites · 7 months

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I think the main reason why people see Amity and Hunter as more Sasha esque than Boscha may also lie in the screentime distribution. Boscha's not that prominent and only had like two episodes where she was relevant after season 1 and wasn't exactly that important in the overarching arcs the same way Amity and Hunter are on TOH or Sasha on Amphibia. Plus Boscha barely even had time for a redemption aside from some slight hidden depths in For the Future, but there still isn't much on Boscha's redemption due to how close it is to the end so it does make it harder to compare her to Sasha.

Oh, I 100% get this. Me going 'Boscha is TOH's Sasha' is not me trying to say people are idiots. I might have problems with how fandoms analyze things (and trust me this isn't just a TOH thing. I lived on the living room couch of a Trekie and Star Wars fan for two years while the sequel trilogy and Discovery come out. Online criticism fucking sucks.) but this isn't one of those cases. I have a unique perspective as a fan of Boscha so I'm far more likely to even think of her at all versus any other fan of the series, let alone in a positive light like in comparing her to Sasha. Then again, it's mostly a comparison through the fact that they do share vices as much as they could share virtues. I am weird like that though because my writing caused me to need to analyze the scraps we had.

I... pause on saying the lack of redemption makes her hard to compare. It makes it so less people will care because if you don't have a capital a Arc fandoms just kind of ignore you (and make sure it's capitalized or be ignored like S1 Anne) but I don't think it makes comparison harder. Not when Sasha's arc is not her personality or character. It affects her character but who she is stays consistent. Even post redemption, she's coming up with strategies and asserting force because Sasha is a forceful person. She is a leader and she cuts through bullshit, hence why Commander Anne has her obviously fighting against herself by trying to act like those aren't still a part of her character. It's actually part of what's great about the therapy angle for her because she is absolutely your therapist, NOT your friend and she will be the first to make that clear.

It's not like Boscha and Sasha have no similarities post Sasha's redemption after all. Sasha still gets pissed when people bring up things she's sensitive about and will absolutely throw down if you challenge her on her beliefs. She actually GAINS a similarity in being willing to listen to Anne versus just about anyone else, just like Boscha listens to Amity while nobody else. That's because it's STILL Sasha. Her redemption wasn't about her erasing who she was.

Her redemption, which is part of what is both good about her redemption and redemptions in general, is from a shift in perspective, not in character. She didn't suddenly become a good person. She always had the capacity for good. Her encouragement of Percy can even show that. She could uplift people even back then into being their best selves but it was purely for selfish reasons. Others didn't factor in beyond how they could serve her. Post True Colors though, that changed. She decided others mattered and so she started helping them as best she could. Zuko's shifting definition of honor is like this as well.

I'm kind of sad that in The Power of Love, my story where I wrote Boscha first, I never really finished her arc. Her shift in perspective was in not needing everyone to approve of her in some way anymore. To not have to fight everyone who insulted her or assert dominance over her surroundings. She found peace in just being herself. You actually had to give her a reason to kick your ass instead of doing it just because people fearing her still meant they respected her... But she'd still kick your ass if you did something that pissed her off. She still would call people names because she's kind of a bitch like that but there's less malice there, stuff that did genuinely start happening the story already as her arc progressed in stages. It also means though that her confidence is far more honest. She doesn't need your approval. She's awesome so you can go fuck yourself and if someone else is seen as awesome too? Good for them but it doesn't matter to her anymore so she doesn't need to do anything about them.

And I bring that up in part to show that you can go a lot of different ways with a redemption besides just making them a generically good person. That is not what redemption or growth should be unless that is genuinely who the person always was and then... Why are we redeeming someone who is apparently kind of boring? Their personality, their details, etc. like that should matter both to their villainy, their arc and who they are afterwards.

And well... I have kind of complained a LOT about TOH's arcs for being about character replacement rather than growth and so long as that stays true, just about no one in that show could ever even compare to Sasha. Not when post redemption, they barely have enough personality, let alone consistency, to reflect the complex teen. You have to look at the abandoned characters like Boscha instead for one that can accidentally even try to step to Amphibia's game.

=======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#the owl house criticism #Boscha #sasha waybright #Amphibia

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hella1975 · 1 year

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hi okay so, this is a piece of shitty poetry i wrote just now after thinking about your protrayal of zuko (again) and wanted to share bc im a dumb bitch who craves validation and needs to know what you think of this. and if i put a little too much of myself into it in the process, and it became more about my weird relationship with being trans than zuko, it's irrelevant, dont ask questions! it was about zuko initially and i still think it can kinda be applied to him so thats all that matters!! pls forgive the lack of capitalisation, its turned off on my phone and im too lazy to change it :,)

(you dont have to read the next part but if u finish the poem and think it sucks it will explain why lmfao)

BUT FIRST, i need to clarify that ive never written poetry in my life, i know nothing about writing, and my punctuation is definitely all over the place. this whole thing for sure sucks but i have an excuse!! a flimsy one, sure, but still an excuse! im 16 and dont remember ever actually learning gow to write, or all about punctuation or any of that jazz. this is more of a stream of consciousness than a poem. and its just a rough draft so, very unfinished too!! so if u really dont like it that will explain why. basically the point of this whole paragraph is just to tell you that im dumb but im also terrified so please be nice to me bc i will cry and that is a threat! (if im starting to sound hysterical and like im spiralling its bc i am okay pls ignore it)

okay so enough excuses, here she is:

this deep, harsh, incessant feeling of shame harbouring in the bottom of my gut is to me, what roots are to a tree,

solid, strong, and stable,

intertwined with my bones and rooted within my very being.

it feeds me and mother me, swaddling me like an infant and rocking me to sleep from within its familiar, welcoming grasp.

I need it for survival, so integral in my very existence that ripping us apart would destroy all thats left within me.

But yet, we are so very unlike that beautiful symbiosis that the root and plant achieve,

that sweet, simple promise, void of all evil, so pure and light that it, He speaks vengefully about it, spitting sour words into my face and whispering harsh lies into my ears.

Our promise is not so gentle. it solely benefits Him, throwing all of me into the dirt and replacing him with a new unidentifiable creature, borne of self hatred and a need to become something, anything else. a dire need to detach myself from everything ive ever been and anything i could possibly become.

He is a parasite, a horrible looming creature, a cruel beast, making me cower in fear within my own, wretched body. He is cruel, intent on toppling the civilisation i spent so long building, the kingdom of my ego, my heart, my emotion; while i sit, and i watch, and i do nothing.

i may need Him to push the breathe from my lungs and carry the blood through my veins, but, He does not need me. He will never need me. im merely another of his children, an effortlessly replaceable thing. a shameful, ugly creature that He does not care for. that He does love. that He does not need. He does not want me. He does not want me. He does not want me. He does not want me. He does not want me.

anonstie i absolutely adored this you cant write something with the theme of shame written with visceral nature imagery and expect me not to go stupid crazy. the way it starts so structured and delicate just to end with that hysterical repetition like it's all falling apart and i LOVE your wording of things, like 'our promise is not so gentle' is such a sick line. im obsessed with this tysm for sending it me!

#as a writer who also never properly got taught anything and had to figure everything out alone i am GRABBING you by the shoulders rn #this is so good and there was no need to be so doubtful of yourself! i hope you keep writing :)#ask

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xaibaugrove · 3 years

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Everyone in the Krew is Problematic

I was inspired to go on this rant by someone who recently brought up a question in a server I’m in, asking why so many people in the fandom seem to hate Mako and Makorra and why. This wouldn’t be the first time I defend Mako and it most likely won’t be the last, but it might be the first time I tear him and everyone else in the Krew down in the process, only to bring them back up. Hear me out though.

I think I’ve totally accepted that a lot of people in this fandom will always hate Mako and that I will have to perpetually defend him, I understand that this is the relationship I’ve chosen with this world. But what I still will never understand are the reasons why people hate/dislike him because compared to how much they love other characters in the Krew who honestly aren’t that much better than him (in some cases, even worse!), it doesn’t make any sense.

Let me also preface this by saying, I love these characters with all my heart and soul, probably more than I should love fictional characters, but this is the life I live and with that being said, I am going to tear them apart just to prove a point. Okay, here we go.

MAKO

Most of his detractors list the usual criticisms, which are valid when isolated. He cheated on Asami, he lied to Korra, he was a terrible boyfriend and essentially he treated the women he claimed to love or care about horribly. Gee, it’s almost like the man was a teenager with no experience in having long-lasting, healthy relationships and was raised in the streets by gangmembers while doing anything to survive and provide for his younger sibling after seeing his parents killed right in front of him and suddenly being orphaned…

I think Mako has been torn down enough, so I won’t get too deep into the tearing down part for him. It really does baffle me how someone can claim to be woke and not comprehend how someone coming from poverty could possibly be a product of their environment. Like, does everyone think that poor people automatically have hearts of gold and turn out like Little Orphan Annie? Why are people surprised that when someone has a shitty life, they might do shitty things?

Also, sooo many people love Zuko, who actively tried to cause harm to Aang, Katara and Sokka numerous times, and sympathize with his troubled past. But like, sure Zuko had an abusive father and his mother peaced out of his life for whatever reasons but at least he had his uncle. Mako had his parents for maybe 8 years before they were murdered in front of him and then had...no one for the next 10 years? Except for Bolin, sure, but no other parental figure in his life. Dude literally had to become him and his brother’s own parent and joined a gang to survive, and after all that, the worst he does is acts as a bad boyfriend toward Korra and Asami and he is instantly thrown to the wolves. Something doesn’t add up. It’s just...I don’t get it.

Yes, the way he treated people was bad, but people can grow? That’s a thing humans can do. And he was a teenager, my god. No, we cannot allow our past to be an excuse for how we treat others, but we have to be aware that there is a growth process to being human. And being human in and of itself, isn’t pretty. You think Mako is problematic? Don’t get me started on your fave.

KORRA

Ok, I love this woman to death but she is ridiculously problematic. She pursued someone in a relationship and essentially forced Mako to cheat on Asami by kissing him against his will, that’s already pretty awful and shows a lack of empathy on her part, also kissing people without their consent is no bueno. But also I just have to say it for the people who might not know this. One of the fundamental reasons why Makorra didn’t work was because KORRA WAS ABUSIVE. Okay? It wasn’t just that Mako was inadequate at relationships and didn’t know how to people, it wasn’t that she was secretly confused and wanting Asami the entire time (biphobia at it’s best) one of the main problems in the pairing was that Korra was crazy abusive towards Mako. Seriously, why don’t I see this more often in those discussions??

If we need examples, I have dozens. Honestly, it’s really easy to see how terrible Korra was to Mako, I’d actually argue that she treated him worse than he treated her. I mean, they were both terrible to one another, but in Korra’s case she went through the motions of being completely infatuated with your first teenage crush, getting with said crush, then crashing and burning once you realize that you have no idea how to treat a romantic partner so after the butterflies wear off you subject them to all the wonderful aspects of your anger issues. Not only did she scream at Mako during every argument they had, she also threatened him with bodily harm if she got really angry. Remember how their relationship crashed and burned in Book 2? Here are the things that Korra did during that time. Let me reiterate, this was not okay.

Mako is visibly shaken by this!

This woman burst into her boyfriend’s place of work and violently kicked his desk out from in front of him with all his coworkers present. That is not normal behavior. That is a red flag. And after she came back, had amnesia or whatever and forgot they broke up after that scene, let’s not forget that Mako was legitimately Afraid to break up with her again. Korra made her partner frightened that they might suffer bodily harm if they upset her. Again, and I can’t stress this enough, this is not okay!

The little scene in Book 3 when Korra is lifting Mako like 100 feet off the ground with airbending while he’s screaming in fear just to make Asami laugh is cute, right? I’ll admit, I loved that little moment too, it’s one of the only instances of Korrasami development that we got, but also, there were sooo many things wrong with that scene lol. Not only does Korra terrify Mako for literally no reason, it’s also sort of just her continuing to exercise some degree of power over him for her own amusement. Almost like a subtle reminder to him saying, “I am stronger than you in every way and I can break your femur like a twig if I wanted to… but I won’t, so look how much fun we’re having!”

Now of course, there are reasons why Korra acts like this. She was isolated for almost her entire life and never learned how to treat people and be around people. The Avatar is human because they must live amongst the people they protect and that helps them develop empathy and cherish life. The White Lotus deprived her of that fundamental aspect of her duty as the Avatar and it showed throughout the beginning of the series. Clearly, she was young, didn’t see how her actions could negatively affect others and hurt the feelings of not just her partner but also friends and family (she was really awful towards a lot of people in her life!). But as the series went on, we see her having less outbursts and learning to control her temper more.

One can only assume that she does not have the same behavior with Asami because for one, I don’t think Asami would play that shit, she seems like she would electrocute a bitch in a heartbeat and not hesitate if needed, but also Korra is not the same shitty partner she used to be as a teenager. Again, kids do stupid things. Adults do stupid things. And we learn and we grow. Korra will probably make some more mistakes in her relationship with Asami. I don't think anyone can have one bad relationship and suddenly learn all the lessons they can from it and have a perfect one the next go around. I can totally picture Korra losing her temper and raising her voice at Asami if she gets frustrated and forgets who she’s dealing with. Managing anger issues is hard, I know this from experience, and it doesn’t magically get easier. Of course, if Korra does pop off, Asami would definitely put her in her place because she’s a bad bitch who doesn’t take anyone’s shit, next character.

ASAMI

You know her, you love her, you fantasize about her and you probably have her on your list of fictional characters you would totally bang if you had the chance (I know I do), yes, even your best girl is problematic. It’s interesting to me that a lot of people sympathize with Asami and very few openly criticize her (so few that I’ve never seen anyone say a bad thing about her). What’s there to criticize though? The poor girl was cheated on by Mako, had her feelings disregarded by Korra, who claimed to be her friend but pursued her then-boyfriend behind her back and then made up for it by simping for her for the rest of her life? Also her mom was murdered when she was just 6 years old, her father threatened to kill her once and physically abused her, then died right after they started repairing their relationship, essentially making her an orphan at the ripe age of 22. Suffice it to say, Asami has been through it.

So, how could she be problematic, you ask? Why, of course, through the classic Bryke technique of romance progression in storylines called Kissing People Without Their Consent

To be honest, I did gloss over this with Korra, simply because there were sooo many other issues with that woman and I just couldn’t go through every single one in as much detail but that doesn’t negate how serious this whole sneak attack kissing thing is. Sure, Asami is very emotional and lonely and sort of desperate too, (it's a little sad, really) but Mako is clearly uncomfortable and completely caught off guard by the kiss. This is also the second time this happens to him in the series! There are a couple factors that might contribute to why Asami does this and acts this way, maybe Korra’s general awfulness rubbed off on her (don’t make a dirty joke) but this is still wrong.

AND that’s...pretty much it. Kissing people without their permission is a big no no, though. Not wanting to gloss over that, but Asami really is a good person who just did a not-so-great thing. Getting burned by Mako twice probably made her a little less inclined to be as forward with anyone though, and it looks like she now takes her time and is patient in her relationship with Korra. It even seems like Asami is the only person Korra is afraid to upset, as Korra does seem more gentle and calm when around her. And who knows? Maybe Asami living a life where a majority of the time she got whatever she wanted when she wanted it might have also influenced her to be more assertive or even imposing within her relationships.

If anything, those three fools getting into relationships with each other just showed how not ready they were to be in relationships in the first place and also how not okay they were.

BOLIN

Originally I titled this as “Everyone in the Krew is problematic (except Bolin)” but then I remembered that Bolin totally kissed a woman without her consent so I deleted the shit out of that!

This asshole looks genuinely pleased with himself after essentially assaulting Ginger. Not a good look.

Sure, Bolin is baby. He will always be baby to me. But that does not erase the fact that he also actively supported a fascist dictator. Not only was the kissing without consent thing bad, but there’s also that. No matter how many times people around him warned him about the fact that he was on the wrong side of things, that he was helping someone who was putting people into concentration camps...Bolin wanted to believe the best of Kuvira. He ignored obvious signs that the woman was a dictator committing human rights violations like crazy and you know, there’s gotta be a reason for that too.

Maybe Bolin wanted to feel like he was doing something good for once. When you think about it, with his role as the comic relief in the Krew, and sort of constantly being infantilized by his older brother, I wouldn’t be surprised if the man developed some insecurity in his ability to do anything good or useful for anyone without screwing it up in some way. In Kuvira’s army, it seemed like he was actually taken seriously, he felt like he was doing something that mattered. Korra had being the Avatar, Asami had her business and mindblowing philanthropy (honestly, her ability to be as charitable as she is profitable is insane) and Mako had his police work (ACAB, tho). Bolin had...the role of being a joke. A superficial actor. A former pro-bending meathead.

Bolin lived his entire life following after his brother that once they were adults and Mako finally decided to live his own life for once, it left Bolin completely lost. And lost young men are perfect recruits for fascists.

So, in conclusion, my whole reasoning behind destroying the integrity of my favorite characters is to prove a huge point. All of these characters are problematic. They have flaws, some bigger than others (looking at you, Korra. Just...wow), but ultimately, even if your fave is problematic... that’s okay. A lot of people, mostly younger people it seems, are really obsessed with being right about everything that they do and stan. And that’s a wonderful thing, so much change has come about by the younger generations calling out people who do fucked up shit, don’t want or try to improve, and get away with it. But it’s also caused a lot of people to be unforgiving and completely unwilling to acknowledge when people do improve and try to be better.

Personally, I love my problematic Krew because having issues that you’re constantly working on internally is human. It’s human to make mistakes, it’s human to grow from those mistakes. And it’s inspiring to me, who is wholly imperfect, to see myself reflected in fictional characters who aren’t perpetuating unrealistic ideals of human nature, characters who are messy, crazy and ultimately human.

As one of my favorite manga artists and queen of impeccable character creation Rumiko Takahashi once said:

“I think that perfect people are not very interesting.”

And I will always wholeheartedly agree.

#long post #rant #tlok #the legend of korra #korra #asami sato #mako #bolin #avatar: the legend of korra #back on my random bullshit i guess

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meta-enthusiasm · 3 years

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You know what I am really fucking tired of seeing in popular media?

The "evil, hysterical woman in power" trope. The clichè that potrays women who are in a position of power as overzealous, unhinged, power hungry maniacs who are a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

Female leaders are shown as less resonable and down to earth as their male counterparts, and are often villainized by either the fandom or the narrative of the story itself. They are doomed to fail because of their womanliness and need to be taken down before they enact their evil plans, preferably by a man, or a woman who performs the 'right' kind of femininity.

This trope relies on the sexist misconception that women are more fragile than men, more emotionally unstable and unpredictable.

"Women aren't cut out to be leaders, they should be nurturing and supportive and tend to their families. Having higher aspirations is against their nature and will eventually break them and drive them crazy."

That type of bullshit that was designed to keep women out of leadership positions and keep oppressing us. To keep us quiet and submissive.

Here are a few examples to further explain this stereotype:

Daenerys Targaryen is one of the most well known characters to fall victim to this trope. She is an abuse and rape victim, seeking to change the current social and political systems of the world because she knows how many people suffer under its injustice. ("Crush the wheel.")

For all her compassion and charity she has shown over the series, the writers decided that it would be reasonable for her to go crazy at the end of the show and, despite promising she wouldn't inflict more damage than necessary, kill thousands of innocent people whose government had already surrendered to her.

And guess who had to kill her in the end? Yup, another man. Her love interest, who was "forced" to betray her.

Next, we have:

Morgana Pendragon, from "Merlin". To remind you, she is an abuse victim who had to endure her father's controlling behavior and bigoted attitude towards people with magic abilities which, suprise suprise, she turned out to have. She had to watch as her father murdered and oppressed people just like herself, and when she challenged that behavior, he would come down hard with punishment. (Going so far as to actually throwing her in the dungeons for a couple days.)

Eventually, she rebelled against the corrupt system and had her genocidal father killed. She led a rebellion against Camelot after Uther's son (Arthur) continued to oppress magicians under his reign, and sought to create a better future for herself and her people.

So far so good, right? Well, no. The problem here is that she is the antagonist of the story. She is portrayed as being in the wrong for not quietly taking the injustice and watching it happen.

Halfway through the show, she becomes obsessed with power and status and desperately chases after the throne of Camelot. She is extremly vindictive, manipulative and cruel to others to archieve her goals. She is a "hysterical woman" who is out of control, emotionally unstable, challenges the patriarchy, and therefore needs to be defeated.

Her death was portrayed as tragic, yet absolutely necessary.

(Of course it had to be a man who killed her.)

Azula is the epitome of this horrid, misogynistic trope. She is a fierce, ambitious leader and highly skilled fire bender, respected and feared among her people. She is highly driven and succeeds at almost everything she sets her mind to.

Ever since she came into this world, she was better at everything than Zuko. She was a better fighter than him, a better bender, better strategist, better child. And that is precisely the reason why she had to lose in the end.

Despite coming from the exact same circumstances as Zuko, the story and the fandom at large see Azula as way less redemable and likable than him. Even though she is an abuse victim whose own mother hated her and is a literal child soldier, she doesn't get any sympathy from the protagonists of the story. The otherwise so understanding and wise Iroh even calls her "crazy", (which is, if you've done some basic research into misogynistic expressions, really fucking problematic.) and tells Zuko that there is no saving her. Why? He doesn't tell, but it's obvious that the writers made him say this because of their own internalized sexist beliefs. She isn't offered a way out of her toxic environment like Zuko was. She didn't get the support from Iroh because he had already given up on her.

To top it off, she has a nervous breakdown near the end and loses her remaining sanity. Because, you know, "She's craaaazy!! And SO unstable!! Typical woman." (Not to mention how this further stigmatizes mental illness and portrays it as something only evil people get.)

She was supposed to become the next fire lord, a position that carries utmost power and influence. Of course, such authority could not be given to a woman. That's why Zuko, a man, gets to be the next fire lord, and we are left assuming Azula will be spending the rest of her days in prison.

The writers assume the audience detests Azula and wants her to suffer. She doesn't deserve a happy ending, or the love and support that Zuko got.

Why? Because she poses a threat to the status quo, the patriarchy. She challenged the belief that men had to be the best and most efficient at everything they do, that women could indeed be better leaders and be happy with having a career and not be nurturing, motherly figures to the men in their lives. And for that transgression, for breaking gender stereotypes, Azula was punished.

(It's also why Katara, someone who performs the "right" kind of femininity by being nurturing, motherly, supportive, healing, doting, and is the care taker of the group, ends up taking Azula, the evil and perverted form of femininity, down. I believe @batboyblog has made a similar post about this.)

This is Carmilla from the popular Netflix show "Castlevania", and if you've payed attention to my previous points, it should be pretty obvious what her character represents and how her story ends.

Note that she is also an abuse and rape survivor who is represented as evil and cruel for being angry at what was done to her.

To top it off, she is also an example of the man hating woman stereotype, whose anger at the misogyny and sexism of the world is portrayed as an "overreaction" and as "too much".

At the end of the story, she had to be taken down by another man (Isaac) so that the status quo could be preserved, and the reign of a crazy bitch like her could be stopped. Horay, the day is saved from yet another unstable, selfish woman who would have brought suffering and pain over her country if allowed to rule. Hysterical women with their demand for equality.

Conclusion:

In all these examples, we can see female abuse victims thriving for power and status, for respect, being represented as something negative and something to avoid. Trying to fundamentally change a system that is rigged against women/female representing people is a fruitless endevour that will eventually fail and drive us crazy, because our minds aren't strong enough to handle this type of responsibility and status.

Holding on to anger and bitterness over what was done to us is the sign of a bad person, and the only morally acceptable path is to forgive/ignore our abusers and let the injustice continue to happen.

Strangely enough though, that same gaslighting, victim blaming mentality gets almost never applied to male characters. Men who seek vengeance are never portrayed as weak or crazy for giving in to the wish of changing a corrupt system/killing bad people. (Batman, the Punisher, Hawkeye, John Wick, Jason Todd, Erin, Scar from FMAB, Iron Man, and so on)

The reason why these stereotypes almost never apply to men but almost always to women is sexism. There is no other explanation for this. These tropes were specifically designed to make society believe that women aren't cut out for leadership positions and are happiest with domestic, easy tasks like watching after our children and taking care of the household.

Women who are angry, women who are dominant are to be feared and distrusted. They are represented as a danger to the general public and need to be taken down before they enact their evil plans.

Feel free to add further examples.

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passable-talent · 4 years

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Is this even necessary? Yes please part 6!!!

and so we return, one whole month later

After Azula’s attack, and the forced flee from the Western Air Temple, you spent a few days being pissed at Zuko. Like, really pissed. You didn’t speak to him at all. This was something that concerned and confused the prince, because it had seemed like the two of you were making real progress only a few nights before.

What had happened?

He didn’t try to fix it before he left with Katara. Partially, he thought, to give you space, and because he assumed that your issue would be easier to fix than Katara’s. So for a day or so you simmered, just like you had back at the Western Air Temple, rage as always masking your hurt.

When he returned, and things with Katara settled down, he found you perched among the jagged stones that lined the pathway up to his family’s old vacation home. You were still hidden here, but felt even excluded from the team, which let you think, and sulk.

“Y/N,” he said, announcing his presence as he climbed up the rock. You had your back to him, and your shoulders tensed up. You didn’t face him.

“What do you want,” you asked, giving him a shoulder so cold he’d lose his firebending.

“I want to know why you’re angry with me,” he said, and you looked up at the sky, frustrated, as though he should clearly know without you needing to tell him.

“That so?” You spat, and as you weren’t wearing shoes, you sensed as he walked closer to you, arms at his sides. It seemed he was attempting to be non-threatening.

“Yes. I realized I’ve done a lot of explaining, and not much listening. Whatever is keeping you so angry at me, I’ll listen.” You fixed your gaze to the stone in front of you, glaring, before you shut your eyes tightly. Your fists tightened up, and you brought your arms to your chest, and it was like your body was contracting to prepare for an explosion.

It was.

“You want to know why I’m angry with you?” You shouted, turning around while throwing your hands down to your sides, “it’s because you’re so stupid!” Your gaze avoided his, but not purposefully, instead because your anger manifested in rapid movements while you spoke. “You get ambushed by your psychopathic sister, who has been known to manipulate you, and you- you go after her anyway?” You held up your hand, four fingers shown to him, just in case he’d forgotten how to count.

“She had four airships. And you had nothing. No backup. You didn’t let Aang or I follow you, and you charge off into battle.” You leaned forward, a snarl on your lips.

“I watched you fall. I thought you died!” With the final exclamation of your anger, you stepped forward and shoved him backwards, but with a twist of your planted front foot you moved out of the way some of the jagged rocks he might’ve stumbled or fallen onto. Anger finally released, your expression turned to one of pain, of fear, of sadness.

“You told me you’d make it up to me. You can’t do that if you’re dead.” You turned to the side, now avoiding his gaze as he collected himself from the ground, and felt tears begin to fall.

“For so long I mourned Lee, right? Thought that the guy I loved was gone, because who you are isn’t who he was. And I finally figure out that that’s not true, that you are almost as good as I thought you were, and then I think you’ve died...” you trailed off, wiping the wetness of your face with a roll of your shoulder.

“I’ve already mourned Lee, I cant mourn Zuko, too, okay? I don’t want you to die, especially not by something stupid, like charging into a battle you couldn’t win.” You turned your eyes back to him, and found him staring at you, an expression you’d never quite seen on his face. It wasn’t a clear expression that you could pin, other than that he looked so... young. Surprised, almost.

“What?” You asked, voice still a bit jumpy from being choked up.

“You said you loved me.” It took a mental backtrack through your words to realize that you had, indeed.

“Zuko...” you breathed, and you turned toward the horizon, where the sun had long ago dunked into the ocean but still it reddened the sky. You brought your hands to the other’s bicep, as though it could help you protect your heart, and you forced some of your own hesitation away as you breathed out.

“Zuko, I loved you,” you admitted, finally, and that rush of it almost made tears re-emerge. “I did. You were sweet and funny and we got on so well.” You heard him step toward you, and you looked away from where he was near to being. “But the reality I thought I was living in... the floor fell out from under me. The Dai Li were secretive, and they weren’t what I thought they were. Iroh wasn’t just a kind old man, but was a fire nation general. The new leader of the Dai Li wasn’t a brilliant young soldier, but was a fire nation princess. A manipulative and snakish warrior who wanted to topple the earth kingdom. There was a war going on I’d never even heard of!” After the volume of your statement drained away, you hung your head, closing your eyes before your gaze could find the ground.

“And I wouldn’t have minded finding out you were the prince of the fire nation. Some part of me says I should’ve figured it out myself. What hurt me was that... you had so much more anger than I thought you did. Sure, you could be moody, but when we found you in those catacombs, the way you looked at Aang...” You let out a breath, and opened your eyes to look out over the ocean.

“I didn’t know you could be so... malicious. It was something I’d never seen from you before.” You turned your gaze to him, and let your mind wander to the moment when you stood between him and Katara, when Aang was dying. You remembered that predatory look in his eye.

“Did you even see me, that day? Or could you only think about getting to Aang?”

He didn’t answer, and you spared him from needing to. You didn’t think you wanted to know his answer.

“I think that I’ve blamed you for everything that went wrong that day. Aang’s death, your betrayal, the Dai Li’s betrayal. And I guess that isn’t fair. But I can’t seem to let it go.” You felt tears well up again, and Zuko slowly slipped his hand into yours.

“I want to forgive you,” you said, squeezing your palm around his fingers, “I want to let go of all this anger, and grief, a-and confusion, but I look at you and I... I see this boy who made the wrong choice. And that’s so frustrating, because you’ve made the right choice, again and again, you’ve defended us and helped us and fought alongside us. It’s not fair of me to focus on your mistakes when you’ve been making up for them.” You took a deep breath, and with its shaky exhale, let go of some of the sadness still clawing at you.

“I just want to let it go, so I can love you again.” There was an instant’s pause, when the prince took in your words, an instant’s pause in which the waves crashed on the shoreline and a bird cawed overhead. An instant’s pause, and then Zuko tugged you by the hand into his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around you. You hugged him back, tightly, almost squishing his torso into yours while a final few trembling breaths fought their way out of your lungs.

“I’m sorry,” he said to your shoulder, and you could hear emotion in his voice. “You deserve so much better than me. I’m so sorry. I- Y/N, I loved you then, too. If it weren’t for you, I might not have had the courage to leave the fire nation. You helped me change, and you didn’t even know it. Please, please don’t be mad at yourself.”

“I’m glad I met you,” you whispered, when a few moments had gone by.

“Me too,” he said back, laying his face down and into the crook of your neck.

You could’ve stood there and hugged him forever. You could’ve stayed in his arms, where you knew it was safe to be conflicted. He understood, and didn’t ask you to change, or make a decision. Maybe Zuko was better than Lee after all- he was flawed, but he chose to overcome those flaws and be a better person in spite of them.

It made him stronger. And, you thought, it would make you stronger.

Your heart had been broken. You’d been lied to, and cast aside. But you found it in yourself to forgive him, and to be honest with him, and to keep him close to you.

“Zuko?”

“Hmm?” You pulled from his chest, your eyes dry of their tears but heart still raw and open. You were ready to forgive him, and to move forward.

But there was one more thing.

“I need you to tell me what happened to Iroh.”

request for pt 7

edit: pt 7 requested!!

edit: | part 7 | part 8 |

-🦌 Roe

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rolandtowen · 3 years

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Dumbass Romantics, the first part of a series exploring the ways in which Sokka and Zuko falling in love after the War.

Sokka and Zuko seem to keep “accidentally” flirting with each other with romantic gestures from their respective cultures. It takes a while for everyone else (and them!!) to catch on. Set a few months after the end of the war, featuring chronic pain and cultural flirting.

Read it under the cut!

The Fire Lord hated the cold. He supposed he should have commissioned a fur cloak before visiting Katara and Sokka, but where could his tailors find fur on such short notice? He couldn’t bring himself to slaughter dozens of squirrel-toads just for one coat. He had settled on a cloak woven with extra koala-sheep wool, but stepping out of his ship’s warmth now and into the crisp air of the Southern Water Tribe, Zuko knew he should have heeded Sokka’s advice to him to dress warm.

The cold was a bitch. But thankfully, he didn’t have to dwell on it long.

“Zuko!” Came Katara’s voice from somewhere below him. Zuko hurried down the rampart and came to meet his old friend. He went to bow formally, but she laughed and pulled him in for a hug. “Maybe save the bowing for when we have dinner with the old folks tonight.”

Zuko raised his eyebrow.

“Oh! It’s nothing big – just my Dad, Bato, Kanna, and Pakku. I do hope you’ve worked up an appetite for stewed sea prunes, that’s all my Dad can make without blowing the kitchen up – unless you’re allergic to sea prunes, of course, but I guess you wouldn’t know yet seeing as you’ve never tried them—”

“Katara,” Sokka’s voice startled Zuko a little bit, coming from his left side. Zuko shifted his head so he could hear him better. “You’re rambling again. Let the man breathe!” Zuko let out a low chuckle and turned to fully face Sokka.

“It’s good to see you too, Sokka.”

“And you, jerkbender! Spirits, aren’t you cold? I told you bring layers!”

The trio started to walk towards Katara and Sokka’s village. Zuko pondered what he should say: admit weakness and say he was, in fact, cold; or be miserable for the rest of his visit in silence?

“I’m okay, it’s just that the Fire Nation hasn’t ever had a need to make warm clothing. My tailors wouldn’t even know where to start on finding fur for a cloak.”

“Well then,” Sokka said, “it’s lucky for you that we have polar leopards!” And with that, Sokka unclipped the fur-lined cloak he was wearing and draped it over Zuko’s shoulders, fastening the metal clips with practiced ease. Zuko was shocked.

“Sokka, I can’t take your cloak!” He protested, stopping in his tracks.

“Relax, jerkbender, there’s more where that came from. When are you going to learn to dress up for your visits, dork?”

Katara chimed in. “The last time Zuko was here, his body temperature was elevated by his righteous search for the Avatar. I’m sure peace and love have probably cooled your hot head off quite a bit, huh?”

Zuko only hummed, looking down at the cloak that had been thrust upon him. It really was, quite warm. And quite intricate as well! He ran his fingers over the moon phases embroidered at the seams, a striking white against the deep blue of the cloak.

“Enjoying my handiwork?” Katara asked.

“Yeah, I am.” Zuko answered in a daze.

He wasn’t sure if he should tell them what it meant in Fire Nation culture, to place your own cloak on another’s shoulders, to literally and figuratively place another under your protection. Really, Zuko couldn’t remember the last time he had been given anything as a gift. Charity was not a concept Ozai was familiar with. Sokka couldn’t have possible known that what he just did was like the Fire Nation equivalent of a betrothal necklace. Still, it did leave Zuko touched that Sokka would so willingly give over such a valuable garment. He decided to leave the matter alone and revel in the warmth of the cloak.

“Sooooooooo, do you wanna go fishing together?”

Zuko sighed. He was a little bored. When they got back to the village, Katara had immediately ditched them to go help Kanna and Hakoda prep for the night’s family dinner. Leaving him and Sokka to do…. whatever until dinner time rolled around.

“Uh, I don’t really know how to fish—”

“That’s alright! I can teach you. Just grab your cloak!” Sokka leapt up and swept out the door. “You are coming, right?” Sokka called from afar.

“Yeah, I’m coming!” Zuko hollered back. He fiddled with the clasp on Sokka’s – er, his cloak—and stepped back into the cold.

Sokka was at the edge of the village, spears in hand. “You ever been on a kayak before?”

Zuko chuckled. “No, the ships I’ve been tend to carry more than one person, I don’t suppose you’ve got one of those?”

Sokka punched him in the shoulder. “We can’t use one of the warrior’s boats, we’ll scare the fish!” Oh. That made sense. “Now I get it, you really don’t know anything about fishing, do you? What have you got to say for yourself?”

“Two things: one, prince; two, fire nation. We much prefer Komodo sausage to seal jerky.”

“Well, your hotness, let me show you how it’s done.” Sokka hopped into one kayak, patting the one next him. “I assume you at least know how to use a paddle?”

Zuko laughed. “I may have been an adrift refugee once or twice. I think I can handle a paddle.”

“Good,” Sokka smiled at him as he climbed into the one-seater kayak. Zuko took a few moments to adjust to the shift in his center of gravity, then nodded at Sokka.

“Let’s catch some fish.”

It turns out, Zuko is not a natural at spear-fishing. He watched closely the first few times Sokka threw his spear, bringing up fish each time. “Go on, try it,” Sokka encouraged him. Zuko looked into the depths and tried to aim for the blurry shadows he took to be fish. His spear came up empty. “That’s okay! It took me a few fishing trips before I really go the hang of it.” Sokka analyzed his form. “Make sure you extend your arm a bit before your release the spear, then you can change your angle more easily.”

Zuko nodded, mirroring the way Sokka was holding his spear. They waited in silence, kayaks knocking gently into each other on the waves. A fresh school of fish appeared underneath them, and they released their spears at the same time. This time, even Zuko had caught a fish! Only one, compared to Sokka’s two, but it was his first fish! Sokka smiled widely at him. “I knew you could do it.”

“I guess I should call you Sifu Sokka now, my fishbending master.” Zuko quipped.

Sokka blushed and he hoped the gathering snow hid it from Zuko. “I think we should probably get back; you don’t want to miss Dad’s stewed sea prunes.

“Definitely not.” Zuko replied. “What, what does one do with a fish once they’ve caught it?”

“It depends – I think it being your first fish, we should celebrate it! What do you say to making some boiled fish dumplings?”

“I think that if you’re teaching me, it’ll be wonderful.”

If it was even humanly possible, Sokka blushed harder.

When they docked their kayaks, Zuko noticed that Sokka was favoring one of his arms over the other. Normally, it wouldn’t be strange to see a person favoring a side, but Zuko knew Sokka was ambidextrous. He didn’t say anything, so Zuko kept his observations to himself. Kanna met them outside her home, and positively beamed when Sokka told her that Zuko had caught his first fish.

“Well, better a late bloomer than never, eh?” Zuko laughed but still bowed his head in deference.

“It is very nice to finally meet you, Lady Kanna. Sokka has told me much about you in your letters.”

“Oh, he has, has he?” Kanna gave a mean side-eye to Sokka, who was suddenly very interested in the icy ground. “He’s told me about you as well. You have my gratitude – I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if you hadn’t gone to the Boiling Rock.”

“It was my pleasure, Lady Kanna.”

“Just Kanna, just Kanna, my dear. Well, come in! I see Sokka has leant you a cloak, but you still must be freezing! In, in!” Kanna shooed them inside. “I will take special care of your first fish, Zuko. Anything you had in mind?”

“Uh, dumplings?”

“Excellent choice, dear. Fish dumplings coming right up!” She disappeared into the kitchen of the home.

Sokka sat down on floor, covered by blue fabrics and pelts. Zuko noticed how gingerly he set himself down, now obviously favoring his right side. Sokka’s lips were drawn tightly as he rubbed circles into his left shin. Zuko could have almost swore he heard Sokka whimper. Almost.

“Sokka,” Zuko knelt down next to his friend. “Talk to me.”

“Mmph,” Sokka scowled.

“Words, Sokka.”

“It’s mostly my leg—you know how I broke it on the day of the Comet?”

Zuko grimaced. He did remember. Even in his lightening-induced fever, Zuko remembered. He heard his physicians set Sokka’s leg and pop his shoulder back in place. He wanted to forget those sounds of Sokka in pain, but he couldn’t.

“Well,” Sokka continued. “Ever since then, it still… it still hurts. Katara’s tried everything, but I’m probably stuck with it forever. My leg hurts the worst, but my shoulder’s the most inconvenient. I’m old enough to start putting braids in my wolf tail, but I just—can’t. I can’t lift my arm above shoulder-level. And I know I’m wallowing to the guy who literally got half his face burned off but—”

“But nothing, Sokka. You’re allowed to be in pain. Here, you know what, pull up your pant leg—”

“Geez, buy a guy dinner first will you?”

Zuko blushed but Sokka did as he was told, exposing his left shin and ankle. Zuko focused a little bit of heat into the palms of his hands. He placed one on Sokka’s ankle, scanning his face for any pain. When Sokka relaxed into the touch, Zuko placed his other hand on Sokka’s shin, applying the slightest bit of pressure.

“You know, with those hands you could almost be a healer like Katara.”

Zuko snorted. “And you need to learn to let people help you.” After a few minutes, he pulled his hands away, fearing that if he kept them there too long he’d burn his friend. “If you want, I can help you braid your hair. I won’t even tell Katara.”

Sokka smiled shyly at him. He guessed Zuko didn’t know the importance of braiding another’s hair in water tribe culture—reserved for family members and, well, lovers. But Zuko was kneeling in front of him, in a water tribe cloak, offering to help him with a warrior tradition. After everything they’d been through, Zuko was family—and maybe, he could be open to being something more?

“Okay,” Sokka nodded. He pulled two beads from his pocket, both striking shades of blue, one carved by Kanna and one by Katara. “You know how my Dad wears his beads? It’s the same idea.”

“I caught my first fish today, I’m pretty sure there’s nothing I can’t do now.” Zuko settled himself closer to Sokka’s face. “I’m going to let your hair down now, is that okay?” Sokka nodded again.

Zuko took out the hair tie and separated two sections of hair thick enough to support the beads. For lack of another set of hands, he resorted to holding the sections in his mouth while he carded the rest of Sokka’s back into place and tied it into the wolf’s tail again. Sokka was suddenly very aware of how close Zuko was to him—more specifically how he never wanted him to leave. He loved the warmth that radiated from him, but furthermore, he couldn’t remember the last time someone helped him with his hair. He hadn’t asked anyone since he got back from the war, and while they were on the run… he was focused on more important things than his hair. Sokka risked a look at Zuko’s face: he was rewarded with Zuko’s adorable concentration face. Wait, adorable? Where had that come from?

“How do you know how to braid, anyway? I didn’t see a whole lot of braids in the Fire Nation.”

“My mother used to let me braid her hair when I was feeling anxious or overwhelmed. You know, it’s calming, repetitive, doesn’t involve fire—perfect for mess of emotional issues like me.”

“Hey, you’re not a mess.”

Zuko laughed darkly.

“Well, not anymore than the rest of us. We all already had our own issues and then a war happened on top of that. You were just lecturing me on letting people help me. You don’t have to be alone in this.”

Zuko’s fingers trembled as he finished the second braid. “I know. I’m still getting used to having people I can actually trust.”

Kanna suddenly called from the kitchen. “Are you two done lounging around or are you going to help an old woman with this fish?”

They looked at each other and laughed. They did kind of forget about everyone except each other.

“Hey, Zuko,” Sokka started as Zuko stood up and held out a hand for him.

“Yeah?”

“You can braid my hair anytime you want.”

Zuko resisted simultaneous urges to bow and to hug Sokka. He smiled instead.

“I’d like that.”

Bonus:

Kanna had heard everything of course. But she couldn’t bear to interrupt them sooner. Tui and La, if those two didn’t end up together she’d have a riot. In the few months since Sokka had been home with her, he hadn’t opened up to anyone about his pain. And he certainly hadn’t asked anyone for help with his braids.

Spirits, those two were good for each other. Dumbasses in love.

#my fic #mine #rolandtowen #zukka #fic #zuko #sokka #chronic pain #the dragon and the wolf #cloak sharing #avatar #atla #avatar: the last airbender #firelord zuko #ambassador sokka

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corruptchuuya · 4 years

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i have compiled a list dedicated to the best lines in all avatar. zuko frowns upon me because he thinks that he is not funny. however, i have come to the conclusion that, in fact, he is.

aang (he speaks with the enlightenment only a twelve year old can have):

“it’s easy to do nothing, it’s hard to forgive.”

“when we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change”

“anyone is capable of great good and great evil.”

katara (character growth tings):

“i wanted to do it. i wanted to take out all my anger at him. but… i couldn’t. i don’t know if it’s because i’m too weak to do it, or if it’s because i’m strong enough not to.”

“love is brightest in the dark”

sokka (and his epic love story with boomerang):

“boomerang! you do always come back!”

“i don’t think boomerang is coming back, toph. it looks like this is the end.”

“drink cactus juice. it’ll quench ya! nothing's quenchier. it’s the quenchiest!”

toph (she is THAT bitch):

“i am the greatest earthbender in the world! don’t you two dunderheads ever forget it!”

“i am not toph! i am melon lord!”

“there's no different angle, no clever solution, no trickety trick that's gonna move that rock. you gotta face it head on.”

zuko (he created dry humor):

“that’s rough buddy.”

“get out of the bison’s mouth, sokka.”

“hello. zuko here.”

“why am i so bad at being good!?”

zuko (angsty king):

“you’ve always thrown everything you could at me! well, i can take it, and now i can give it back! come on, strike me! you’ve never held back before!”

“azula always lies. azula always lies.”

“my father says she was born lucky. he says i was lucky to be born.”

iroh (who am i kidding, all his lines should be on here):

“it’s time for you to look inward and start asking yourself the big question: who are you and what do you want?”

“and now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. it’s time for you to choose. it’s time for you to choose good.”

“pride is not the opposite of shame, but it’s source. true humility is the only antidote to shame.”

azula (i simp for her):

“don’t flatter yourself! you were never even a player.”

“you mean it’s not obvious yet? i am about to celebrate becoming an only child!”

“well, then. maybe you should worry less about the tides, who’ve already made up their mind about killing you... and worry more about me, who’s still mulling it over.”

mai (goth queen):

“you miscalculated. i love zuko more than i fear you.”

feel free to add more! especially funny zuko quotes to prove him wrong because we can!

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #zuko #prince zuko #kataang #zutara #zukka is superior #mai #katara #azula #iroh #the dragon of the west #aang #sokka #toph #melon lord #quotes #atla quotes

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comradekatara · 5 years

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let’s talk about ty lee

there’s this one, very overlooked line from “the beach” that I just find fascinating. ty lee is trying to pacify zuko, at which he yells

to which ty lee sighs and responds quietly, wistfully

the reading of this line betrays a sadness on ty lee’s part that brings out an otherwise unforeseen maturity.

anyone paying enough attention can tell that ty lee is smarter than she lets on. she and mai are both protecting themselves against azula’s manipulation in different ways. it’s a two-sided dance: azula brazenly manipulating mai and ty lee, and mai and ty lee subtly manipulating azula. azula knows that they fear her and are only there by coercion, and she openly uses this to her advantage. but she does not anticipate either of their betrayals, and this speaks volumes to how ty lee wears a mask of naiveté that [almost] never cracks.

make it impossible for her to disagree with you by complimenting her.

mention auras whenever you want the conversation to change tracks.

feign innocence.

make her jealous by flirting with boys. (that one’s just for fun.)

this whole scene, and every scene, she is looking for levity wherever she may find it. she is the peacekeeper; she knows how fragile their group is, all the underlying tensions bubbling beneath, constantly on the verge of overflowing. she’ll make vapid remarks whenever she feels like anyone is about to lose control of their emotions and say too much and/or hurt someone.

but here, ty lee’s tone does a 180. she lets her perky cheerleader persona fall, because she’s overwhelmed with sympathy for zuko. frankly, if she had slapped zuko across the face this episode, i would not have complained, because zuko in this episode is peak Little Bitch. but his insufferableness in this episode only further speaks to ty lee’s sadness at seeing him in this state.

ty lee did not know him during his banishment. she saw him as a child, and she saw him after ba sing se fell, where he was basically just introduced as the latest player in azula’s posse. azula used the same coercion tactics on him to make sure he never strayed too far, and it’s clear to anyone (because zuko is...not subtle) that he is unhappy here, with them. she never saw zuko in his Ponytail Phase. she never saw him yell “I DON’T NEED ANY CALMING TEA” and stomp around burning things.

so when she sees him again, to us as the audience, he’s actually calmed down quite a bit. but to ty lee, the change is drastic. for one thing, half his face has been burned off since she last saw him. again, to us, this is how he is introduced, and it just feels like a natural part of his face. but to anyone who only knew him before the age of 13, they’d be quite horrified to encounter his scar. it is not clear whether she knows the specifics of his banishment, or what exactly happened. well, that is, before zuko yells at her, “my father decided to teach me a permanent lesson on my face!” which... yeah, elucidates the situation pretty nicely.

but even more so than the scar is his seeming personality transplant. before his banishment, zuko was terrible at performing the way azula is. some of that is simply the fact that azula is also far better at lying to herself, and convincing herself that ozai’s feelings are her own. zuko is painfully transparent. especially in contrast to someone like ty lee, he wears his heart on his sleeve (and you can bet daws peck at it). ty lee knows zuko as he was before he was warped by that severe trauma, so she knows him as he truly is. whenever i watch this episode, i can only scream “this zuko is not my boy!!!!” and i’m willing to bet ty lee feels the same. instead of being earnest, idealistic, kindhearted, and sensitive, zuko is just yelling all over the place and treating her best friend like shit. it’s horrible to watch.

and yet, ty lee can’t find it in herself to be frustrated by his behavior, only saddened. so when he yells “you don’t know me,” what he’s saying is “you don’t know what i’ve been through,” and while that may be true, ty lee did see his life before that. his childhood paints a relative picture of what his life would have been like in a vacuum. sure, he’s still suffering under ozai’s abuse, his mother’s disappearance, lu ten’s death and iroh’s consequent grief, but before the agni kai, he’s still an idealist who cares about people and isn’t afraid to speak his mind in favor of what he believes is right.

zuko was routinely punished for showing kindness, because kindness = weakness, but even though he was punished for it, he still trusted his instincts and remained kind. that is, until he got banished for “speaking out of turn.” how could he have been in the right in that situation when clearly his father who loves him would never have done such a thing unless he had committed an egregious crime? so he tries to behave the way he thinks ozai would want him to behave, and bases his decisions off of what he thinks his father wants, convincing himself that these must be the right decisions, and that his instincts are wrong. thus, he feels tremendous guilt when doing the right thing, and he feels tremendous guilt when doing the wrong thing––and it is only once he confronts his father, and acknowledges that ozai had been the one in the wrong the whole time, does he learn to trust his instincts again.

it’s obviously a tragic situation, and therefore ty lee’s cognitive dissonance between this zuko and the one she knew is enough to break her facade, for even a moment. she wants to reach out to him, she wants to help him, but with azula there, she knows she cannot.

look at how this shot in “the boiling rock (part 2)” is positioned. azula is in the background, with ty lee in the foreground. here she is realizing that azula would just let them all die, let her brother die, without a care. but we know that ty lee does care. ty lee’s fighting style is specifically one of fully incapacitating people without truly hurting them. and even when they took ba sing se, azula made sure not to kill anyone. but now, here she is, not only letting strangers die, but letting zuko die.

ty lee is not faced with the decision between saving zuko and betraying azula (and it seems like she cares more about not incurring azula’s wrath than she is about finding a way to help them) because mai makes that decision for her, and ty lee only acts when it’s clear azula is about to strike mai. if mai “loves zuko more than [she] fears [azula],” then ty lee loves mai more than she fears azula. this is significant, because up until this point, we––as well as azula––are pretty much convinced that ty lee worships her. and say, for argument’s sake, that she does. then we can look to this moment on the gondola as a turning point. ty lee realizing that azula would not hesitate to kill zuko would cause ty lee to want to turn against her, and azula forces her hand when it looks like she is about to kill mai.

but i don’t even think it’s as simple as that. because ty lee’s not dumb. she knows what azula is capable of. this is why she behaves just so sycophantically towards her. azula trusts mai because she deems her too apathetic to act on a moral code, and would instead act only in her own self-interest, and in a sense, she’s right. but mai won’t let zuko die, which azula did not anticipate because she assumed that because she was the one who engineered their relationship, that meant that their relationship would work on her terms. she thought the same of mai and ty lee, that because they were only friends through her, they would choose her over each other. but obviously, they wouldn’t.

meanwhile, ty lee knows that azula likes her not just as an asset, but as a person. and she knows that the more she flatters azula’s ego, and the more she pledges her loyalty, the more azula will like her. azula clearly cares about mai and ty lee. their betrayal hurts her on a personal level that she isn’t willing to admit, but incites a breakdown nonetheless. you can see that even in the beginning of “the southern raiders,” azula is starting to come loose at the seams. and by the time that ozai demonstrates to her that he does not truly love her, all the bonds in her life have been broken. she falls apart because to her, she has just been handed empirical proof that she is incapable of being loved. and so she loses it completely.

ty lee let azula feel loved, even if said love was only expressed in dramatic compliments, the illusion of obsequiousness, and paper-thin loyalty. this scene, at the beach, shows us ty lee’s internality in a way we very rarely see throughout the show.

it’s clear that she cares. to be able to manipulate people as well as ty lee manipulates azula, one must be able to read people incredibly well. it’s obvious that ty lee possesses uniquely adept social skills, and it’s obvious that zuko, well.........does not. ty lee is an incredibly quick-thinking performer. very rarely does she not know how to talk her way out of a situation. we only see two instances wherein she does not:

when she is confronted by multiple boys at once asking her to pick one, (sidenote: dykon???????????) and when she must save mai.

even though it’s clear that she easily could, punching her way out of a situation is ty lee’s last resort. though azula’s priorities lie elsewhere in assessing ty lee’s usefulness, it is evident that personally, ty lee values her people skills over her fighting skills.

she wants to resolve this conflict not through violence, but through communication. zuko is making it particularly difficult because he keeps lashing out, but she can tell exactly what he is thinking and feeling because his behavior is so readily apparent. when the audience is introduced to zuko, we are led to assume that he is an inherently angry person. and yes, even as a child, he has always had a bit of a temper. but zuko behaves particularly egregiously in this episode, and ty lee is acutely aware that this is not his neutral state. this behavior is a response to an inner turmoil that becomes painfully obvious when he burns a portrait of his family.

ty lee confronts him about it and he says, “whatever. i don’t care,” to which ty lee sadly responds, “i think you do care.” thus the exchange that leads to ty lee’s most revealing moment. the line, the wistfulness behind its delivery, lets us infer so much about ty lee. she is more perceptive than she lets on, and more caring, too. if azula had only been paying attention, she would have known that her betrayal hadn’t come out of nowhere, not remotely. but to paraphrase mai, azula doesn’t know people as well as she thinks she does. because ty lee played her like a fiddle.

#ty lee #analysis #zuko #azula #mai #azulaxtylee #maixtylee #tylee&zuko #this analysis is kind of all over the place but you guuuuyyyyssssssssss #i love ty lee #sidenote #mai and ty lee are .....what the kids call........an otp????????#ok im done now

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klm-zoflorr · 3 years

Text

Issues with the Tyzula ship that Tyzula shippers/fics typically avoid

Stereotypical Tyzula Ty Lee: “Azula-san, I completely forgive you for everything you ever did to me or my best friend and have always loved you unconditionally. I will help you become better if it means risking the quality of my life, my other relationships, my sanity, and even my life. I will magically be able to help you deal with your myriad of mental issues as if you always only needed love/affection instead of real medical help. I will always love you even if you don’t really change your behavior or worse, remain the same power hungry bitch you grew up to be. I love you ‘Zula.”

Look, I am not opposed to Tyzula for I actually think that they had a real friendship, even if there was a massive power imbalance, that got fucked up by Ozai’s abusive teachings and Azula trying to act as her sovereign and friend at the same time. But there is a tendency among Tyzula shippers/fics to make Ty Lee forgive Azula way too easily, make Azula not deal with her flaws or make (proper) amends to Ty Lee and Mai, retcon Azula into a soft baby who didn’t do anything wrong other than get abused, and/or gloss over the issues between the two.

For example, If Tyzula occurred pre-Boiling Rock like some fics imply, do you think it would have been consensual? Especially considering that there has been a massive power imbalance (Azula is Ty Lee’s Sovereign) since their childhood that Azula took advantage of even then; Azula forced Ty Lee to join her squad at firepoint; and Ty Lee is deathly scared of Azula? And if it happened post-Boiling Rock there is a massive power imbalance in favor of Ty Lee since the moment Azula “acts up” (it doesn’t have to be a big thing since Ty Lee is scarred shitless of Azula) Ty Lee can either call Zuko to jail her and/or have Aang de-bend her. There are some Tyzula fics that properly deal with, imo, the pre- and post-Boiling Rock power imbalances but most of them just gloss over them. Not helping is the fact that comics imply that the two never had a real relationship at all and that Ty Lee is still deathly afraid of Azula, willing to chi-block Azula the moment she is anything other than docile.

Also, how come most Tyzula shippers/fics don’t touch about LOK’s Turf Wars said about Sozin outlawing homosexuality and the implications it has for a lesbian/bisexual Azula? If Azula, who tries to be the model princess in a post-Sozin Fire Nation, can’t even realize that using fear is not a good way to maintain relationships, how would she deal with the fact that she has feelings for girls? Most of the Tyzula fics or headcanons I have read don’t seriously deal with the fact that either Azula is deep in the closet and/or suffering from serious internalized homophobia and would not likely express her sexual preferences in public unless she was in an extraordinary situation or got serious therapy plus years of self-reflection/character growth. Not to mention the fact she would be one of the leading perpetrators of homophobia by virtue of being Ozai’s right hand general/advisor.

So, do I have a valid point about how Tyzula shippers and fics often engage in abuse and/or toxic friendship/relationship apologism? Or I am just being too harsh on a group of shippers that have been vocally condemned by the greater ATLA community and most likely will never see their ship be canonized? And yes, some of my own fanfic works do contain Tyzula so feel free to call me out if I am being a hypocrite and holding people to standards that I can’t uphold.

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This was a very interesting submission, Anon, and I don't think you're "in the wrong" here, even if I don't necessarily agree with you. At least you're polite, so I won't swear at you xD I'll sum up your points for clarity's sake

"Tyzula shippers make Ty Lee dumber and ready to do anything for Azula. They write stories without depth and without adressing the imbalances in their relationship"

Here's my personnal opinion on that: this kind of drama/angst is hard to write, and I don't want to waste my time for 10 chapters while they're angstying over whether or not to love each other. Mental health issues are hard to write too, and I want azula to be happy, so I can just make them dissapear. I completely acknowledge it isn't the most realistic kind of writing, but I don't care, I just want to have fun. I wouldn't pretend it's canon either.

Now, some Azula fans are just biased towards her, and like to pretend her canon character did nothing wrong and is purely a victim and is owed Ty Lee's love. I'm not gonna shit on them, in the grand scheme of things it's quite inconsequencial, but I don't think that's accurate.

"Tyzula shippers make it happen even if Azula is still a "villain" and hasn't redeemed herself for her sins"

I can link this to my first point a little, and erase all moral complexity for the funzies while acknowledging it isn't canon. But there's also the fact in ATLA, Ty Lee has little to no redemption arc herself. She just betrays azula, and then the good guys accept her and mai with no problem? We could interpret that as "she was always supporting Aang's cause and hated azula secretly since forever" but I don't think that's very correct, because Ty Lee never shows any sign of it, never talks treason, never helps the good guys while azula isn't looking (unlike mai!). The only thing that could possibly make her betray Azula, in my point of view, is seeing her other best friend almost die to her hands. And even then, it isn't a moral choice. I firmly believe Ty Lee was just as indoctrinated in the Fire Nation's ways as everyone else there. And that she actually supported her nation and obeyed Azula as her commander not only because they were friends, not only because she had to, but because she was loyal to her nation. And the only reason I can see her go to the good guys' side at the end of atla was simply because of self preservation with a side of unbrainwashing from FN propaganda

So, in conclusion, I don't think Ty Lee is a completely good character, and I don't think she has a problem with Azula's crimes.

"There is a power imbalance"

I'm not going to deny that. But who told you all relationships with a power imbalance are inherently bad? They're more likely to be toxic, but they won't always be. If the person with the upper hand is respectuous and nice, everything works out perfectly. It's more of an advice towards people who don't have the upper hand in their unbalanced relationship, and who could get taken advantage of. But Ty Lee is smarter than she looks, and I believe she would know to stay away from that.

Pre-boilling rock, there is indeed problems with them getting together, but they're not due to one of them being toxic. Azula is Ty Lee's princess, and it isn't her fault. She was literally raised to lead. And Ty Lee was raised to follow. We see that despite that, Azula still considers Ty Lee as her friend and gets her in her team in a nice way. But it isn't her fault she was raised in the middle of a war and sees the will of the fire nation as more important than anything.

Additionally, I don't think Ty Lee hated Azula, for the reasons I mentionned before.

Post-boilling rock, I just don't think Ty Lee would be scared, or cruel enough, to jail or unbend Azula for no reason. Because, again, I don't think she hates her.

"The fire nation is homophobic"

As is usual with me, I loathe the comics and don't consider this as canon. It doesn't even make sense, apart from saying "fire nation's evil, they're homophobic now too" to be honest, if anyone's gonna be homophobic it's gonna be everyone, cause there was no gay representation in atla.

Oh, and f*ck this, I hate homophobia, I don't want my fictionnal worlds to have it too. It's dumb as shit and everyone is gay in the Fire Nation. There.

"So, do I have a valid point about how Tyzula shippers and fics often engage in abuse and/or toxic friendship/relationship apologism? Or I am just being too harsh on a group of shippers that have been vocally condemned by the greater ATLA community and most likely will never see their ship be canonized?"

You do have a valid point that some tyzula shippers have the same problem as some azula stans, as in that they put her on a pedestral and say she did nothing wrong. But some also just don't want to bother with that and just want to write fluff, and that's fine. There are way worse things they could be doing.

It is true that Tyzula is kind of a controversial ship, and for this reason I don't think you should care too much about it. Bullying people never help anyone, and criticising tyzula shippers will only push them back in their fandom spaces and make them unable to tell apart genuine, objective criticism and mean bullying.

I don't want Tyzula to be canon, btw. Well. For me canon kinda stopped at the end of atla, so everything is possible after this point lol. Not that I even care much about canon.

You are not an hypocrite for liking tyzula and criticizing it. You can call out the behavior of people in your own community, it's perfectly fine and should be encouraged. I'd pay more attention to your opinion too, because I know you don't just dislike the ship and want to find any reason for it to be "problematic"

I'm gonna put that submission in the Tyzula tag, if anyone in there feels offended by that do let me know. I don't intend to shit on this ship at all. Also, if anyone wants to add points or give me perspectives I didn't think about go ahead!

#atla #azula #ty lee #tyzula #tyzula crit #tyzula criticism #anti tyzula shippers #klm-zoflorr #submission

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averitatsuyabnha · 3 years

Text

BNHA Y/N incorrect quotes cause im bored

Kirishima: Have you been yelled at by Y/N yet?

Bakugou: I’m not scared of Y/N.

Kirishima: So, no?

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Y/N: In the name of the Father, son, and Holy ghost

Kaminari: Head, shoulders, knees, and toes

Y/N: Turn up your nose, strike that pose!

Y/N and Kaminari: Hey Macarena!

1-A: GO TO SLEEP

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Bakugou: I’ve sent good vibes your way. They’re coming and there’s no way you can stop them.

Y/N:.....This is the most violent way I’ve been cheered up.

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Y/N: What’s the fear of being murdered called?

Bakugou: ........ common sense.

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Y/N: I wanna give you the world, but I only have, like, 200 yen.

Sero: Come here.

Y/N: *comes closer*

Sero: *hugs you*

Sero: I don’t have any cash on me yet I have the whole world in my arms right now.

Y/N: B R U H

Sero: Bruh.

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Todoroki: How do you want your coffee?

Tokoyami: As dark and bitter as my soul.

Y/N: One glass of milk coming right up!

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Y/N: *t-posing in the dorms* Good morning, parental figure.

Aizawa: Good morning, problem child.

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Y/N: *does something stupid*

Bakugou: Great. I needed another reason to be attracted to you.

Y/N: ...what?

Bakugou: ANNOYED! I SAID ANNOYED!

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Y/N: Okay. I have this box. We are going to put what makes us happy into this box.

Ochaco: Can I put Izuku in the box?

Y/N: No.

Ilda: Can we put Midoriya in the box?

Y/N: ...No.

Todoroki: Can I-

Y/N: WE’RE NOT PUTTING DEKU IN THE BOX!

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Kaminari: It’s really muggy today.

Y/N: If I go outside and see all our mugs on the lawn, I will kill you.

Kaminari: *Sips coffee from bowl*

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Bakugou: Standing next to sunflowers always makes me feel weak, like "look at this fucking flower, this flower is taller than I am, this flower is winning and I'm losing"

Y/N: Wow. You are not ready to hear about trees.

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(i HAVE to add this one)

Canon Izuku: Alright, villain me. Time for you to be defeated once and for all-

Villain Deku: wait wait wait

Villain Deku: I’m baby

Canon Izuku: what does that even mean

Fandom: you can’t do that

Canon Izuku: WHAT

Fandom: he’s baby, you can’t just do that

Canon Izuku: but he’s a villain-

Fandom: well he’s baby so

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Y/N: So Denki just texted me

Y/N: and he says, “so, don’t be worried but I did this stupid thing”

Y/N: And I’m worried cause I already know that he’s a dumbass and has no self control

Y/N: and he tells me, “so i got high and did this thing”

Y/N: and I’m panicking even more

Y/N: and he finally tells me,

Y/N: “I bought a 900 dollar wheel of cheese from France. It should be arriving next week.”

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Y/N: *on the phone* hey, babe. Can you come over?

Bakugou: No, I’m grounded.

Y/N: What the hell are you grounded?

Bakugou: My mom said “son of a bitch” and I yelled HELL YEAH I AM

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Y/N: *wearing Ilda’s glasses* How do I look?

Ilda: I have no idea.

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Y/N: Aizawa just took the wheels from our heelyz. I feel like Lucifer dtripped of his wings.

Sero: I have to walk down the halls like a common wench and I am livid.

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Bakugou: Whatever you're thinking right now, stop

Y/N: What?

Bakugou: You always make that face when you're about to say something stupid to piss me off so cut it out-

Y/N: I love you

Bakugou:

Y/N:

Y/N: Also cereal qualifies as a soup

Bakugou: I fucking knew it

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Tokoyami: I can't believe all these people dressed in black. All-black was my thing, and now everyone's doing it to be 'cool'. They're all posers

Y/N: Tokoyami, I cannot stress this enough. We are at Nighteye’s funeral

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Y/N: I know this is random, but Dom or Sub?

Midoriya Izuku: I guess Domino's. I don't go to Subway that much. Don't see why you'd put them in the same category.

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Kaminari: Because people are often buried in their best clothes, the zombie apocalypse would be a very formal affair.

Bakugou: If I die, I’m gonna be buried in battle armour. Good luck, bitch.

Y/N: If.

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Y/N: Oh look, we’re under the mistletoe. You know what that means.

Todoroki: Y/N, that isn’t mistletoe.

Todoroki, waking up in the middle of the night: Oh my god, they were flirting with me.

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(*WHEEZE* XD)

Shouto: *singing* I’m just like you

Zuko: *echoing* I’m just like you

Shouto: you’re just like me

Zuko: *echoing* you’re just like me

Shouto & Zuko: *holding hands* it’s something anyone can see

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*Kirishima playing with Y/N’s hair*

Y/N: Stop it Kirishima, you're ruining my reputation.

Kirishima: Then get off my lap.

Y/N: no

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Bakugou: Your existence is confusing.

Y/N: How so?

Bakugou: Your presence is annoying, but the thought of anything bad happening to you upsets me.

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Y/N: I will now torture you.

Dabi: [raises an eyebrow, smirking] Kinky.

Y/N: [smiles] I think you are sweet and beautiful.

Dabi: [tensing up] Wait…

Y/N: [moving toward him] You deserve to be cared for.

Dabi: [backing away] No.

Y/n: [leaning forward, trapping him against a wall] Your feelings and needs are valid and deserve to be heard.

Dabi: [holding up his hands] I need a safeword!

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Y/N: Bakugou has no survival skills, his need to win has replaced them.

Kirishima: That can’t be true!

Y/N: Watch this.

Y/N: Hey Bakubabe, race you to the bottom of the stairs!

Bakugou: [yeets self out the window]

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Ashido: *Sighs*

Y/N: You bored?

Ashido: Yeah.

Y/N: Wanna start drama for no reason?

Ashido: Thought you'd never ask

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Midoriya: I... I think I have a crush on Todoroki.

Y/N: Congratulations, you’re officially the last to know.

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Bakugou: I HATE YOU, DEKU!!

Midoriya: Yeah? WELL I HATE YOU TOO!!

[An hour later]

Bakugou, crying to Y/N: H-He wasn’t supposed to say it back!!

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(XD REEEEE)

Shigaraki: Goodnight.

Spinner: Goodnight.

Mr Compress: Sleep tight.

Toga: Don’t let the bed bugs bite.

Magne: Tonight.

Twice: Imma fight.

Toga: Til we see the sunlight.

Magne: Tik tok.

Twice: On the clock.

Toga: But the party don’t stop-

Dabi: SHUT THE FUCK UP

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Bakugou: I only feel one emotion and it is anger.

Y/N: Last night you drunk texted everyone of us a thousand heart emojis.

Bakugou: Out of anger.

#BNHA #MHA #incorrectquoes

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thethiefandtheairbender · 4 years

Note

loved ur zukaang post. Was wondering tho a lotta people cite Katara’s trauma w the fire nation as a reason zutara wouldn’t work and I don’t know if that’d apply to aang seeing as he’s the most powerful person in that world and the dynamics are different but also I’d love to watch ur version of the show would you

Katara’s trauma has nothing to do with her own skill level, necessarily — although wanting power to compensate with trauma does feed into it, hence “I’m not the helpless little girl I was when they came,” and her voluntarily choosing to bloodbend.

And while Aang is traumatized by the Fire Nation, that’s more from the events we see happening in s1-s3, not by events that happened previously. Aang and Katara are both survivors of genocide at the Fire Nation’s hands and that binds them in a very particular way, but they also experienced those genocides in very different ways.

For Aang, the world seemed entirely peaceful before he went under, and he was completely unafraid of anything Fire Nation for a good chunk of season one (although that starts to change by “Winter Solstice Part 2: Avatar Roku” arguably, because he wants to go to the Fire Nation alone, knowing that it’s dangerous). Aang only knows the aftermath, which is ancient history to everyone else — including the skeletons that are all that remains of his people.

Katara experienced the happening, and so did her entire tribe, over a period of 60ish years if we go by Hama’s apparent age. It was a slow decline, taking the tribe from being larger and able to defend themselves to what we see in the pilot episodes.

She grew up with the fear that raiders would come—fear likely that people would kill / “take away” her father, until her father left on his own. She and Sokka remember the black snow that signalled invasions. Katara grew up knowing she would never have another bender to teach her — or be able to meet another bender ever, until Aang. Katara knows the face of the man who killed her mother, and yet still pictured Zuko as “the face of the enemy.”

Aang didn’t grow up with that. Season one is the season where Aang takes being the Avatar the least serious and is also the only season Zuko’s the primary antagonist. He always sees Zuko as a person and even potential friend in that season (hence saving him in the s1 finale and “Do you think we could’ve been friends too?”).

Katara is as good a waterbender as Aang, without being the Avatar, but it’s not about that. Katara and Sokka both experienced things differently than Aang, which is one of the reasons why I don’t love either of them for Zuko and why I prefer Zukaang. But — mostly — I don’t think Katara’s personality (motherly, quick to anger, passive aggressive) meshes well with Zuko’s (finds persistent “coddling” annoying, quick to anger, takes things personally) just as a few examples. That’s 90% of why I don’t ship them and that’s a subjective opinion.

Shipping is inherently about dynamic, with context and narrative falling second, and while all three inform what people ship — or at least, should, to a degree — it’s different for everyone.

And while I don’t like z*kka that much, I like it way more than z*tara, and it’s interesting to see the differences between the ships in how they’re treated in fandom. Z*kka has less romanticization of enemies (no “I’ll save you from the pirates” or quotes taken wildly out of the terrifying context they’re in, like “You rise with the moon I rise with the sun” taking place when Zuko hits Katara hard enough with a blow and it knocks her out). Z*kka also tends to at least acknowledge and like Sukka and Suki, from what I’ve seen, leading to a rise in Zuko/Sokka/Suki as an OT3. The worst seems to be having Suki die young but they’re not saying she’s an abusive bitch or anything, from what I’ve seen. Meanwhile Z*taras have spent most of the last 15 years demonizing Aang and shitting on Katara/Aang for anything they can get their hands on remotely. And last but not least, Z*kka tends to operate on having Sokka being Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and Zuko being Firelord, with each of them sharing those responsibilities. So there’s more political independence and agency given to Sokka rather than him just being “Fire Consort” than is given to Katara, who often just gets labelled “Fire Lady” and nothing else (often not even keeping her traditional garments, clothes, and colours).

Sokka has a good blend of Aang’s goofiness, Mai’s dry humour, and his own dedication and shared interests with Zuko. I can understand personality wise why he’d be a good fit, and why Zuko would be a good fit for him as well, even if it’s not my preference.

But yeah there’s a lot of reasons why Z*tara is my one atla notp and why it’s the bottom of the barrel for me, lmao.

#anti zutara #thanks for asking #anonymous #atla meta #analysis series #zukaang #sort of #shipping #zukka #if anyone takes offense to anything i've said? great i don't care block me and move on #Anonymous

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captainkirkk · 4 years

Text

(Submission by @firsttothedoor)

🌻(my god this got long) I read kyuuley’s comments on the fem Zuko post and NOW I can’t stop thinking about fem Zuko in the context of her family. I share the headcanon that the Fire Nation couldn’t give half a fuck about gender or sexuality, but does emphasize blood and class, so Zuko being a girl doesn’t change her status but does subtly change her relationships.

She’s even more intensely the apple of Ursa’s eye, this daughter who is so much like her. Ursa, the oldest royal family member who isn’t directly involved in the government or military, would likely be in charge of the household, and would teach that responsibility to Zuko, who struggles to balance it and the sudden weight of being Crown Princess after Ursa leaves.

Azula is her father’s perfect daughter, that never changes, but Zuko is so much like Ursa that Azula has the same unwanted yearning for her affection, which Zuko probably gives her more freely, actually. In canon, Zuko resembles his father, but here she’s a more even mix of her parents, and might wear her hair like her mother’s. Sometimes Azula feels sickly grateful for her sister’s scar, because it lets her make sure that’s not Ursa in front of her. On the other hand, to everyone except their father, Azula is the talented sister, but Zuko is the good sister, the one candid about her intentions and honest with her affections. She gets things Azula doesn’t know how to get without fear and manipulation - friends, loyalty, favors.

And here’s some unrelated fluff:

Zuko taking Yue on a dragon ride;

(How is Yue alive? Maybe something similar to lessons in tea making, where when Zhao tries to kidnap the moon spirit she manages to get her hands on the bag before he can try any shit and goes Full On Goddess on these bitches);

Zhao trying to be creepy to Zuko and then he sees Uncle and the crew in the background glaring at him with death in their eyes and, taking the hint for once in his life, he backs off;

June and Zuko circling each other like cats, Zuko is snarking, June is flirting, Iroh has no idea how this to handle this;

Song, watching a pretty girl brood on her porch after she physically carried her much larger uncle into the clinic herself: My Time Has Come;

Jin very carefully, with a lot of plausible deniability bc Ba Sing Se, asks Zuko out and has a grand old time watching this very beautiful girl be an absolute social disaster;

Ty Lee going to Zuko about trying to woo Azula, because half the world’s in love with Zuko, so she must know something Ty Lee can use;

Aang finally realizes Zuko is a girl their first training session after their Sun Warrior trip (like, he KNEW, obviously, but it didn’t click in his head before);

Zuko training Aang without a shirt on, so like just a sports-bra type thing and pants, and sitting to the side, in order: Sokka sharpening his swords and carefully Not Looking, Suki gazing appreciatively and moving on with her day, Toph Just Sitting Here Not Doing Anything What Do You Mean, and Katara scowling in Abject Victimized Fury (NO IM NOT LOOKING AT HER ABS I DONT EVEN CARE THAT SHE HAS ABS WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO ME ABOUT THIS GO AWAY);

Katara, when able to ignore Zuko’s Everything, is really excited to have a friend who is actually really into being feminine and who isn’t her brother’s girlfriend;

Katara and Zuko, Mom Friend Team (their Disappointed voices can get the Gaang to do anything)

Suki, at the Boiling Rock, watching Zuko fight her sister, fierce and deadly and determined and beautiful: …nice;

Toph makes Zuko carry her around after the feet burning, and she just laughs quietly and does it, and she’s so warm and strong and smells like smoke and fire lilies and - Toph, An Lesbian: This Was A Mistake;

Toph and Katara and Yue with Zuko, Crown Princess and Heir to the Dragon Throne, a deeply powerful woman even independent of her bending, who was never taught to be less than what she is just because she’s a woman, and who still refuses to make herself small to make other people comfortable the way they’ve been told they have to;

word going around the Lower Ring about this great tea shop with an absolutely Gorgeous server, but be careful, if you creep her out you will get punched and tossed out the door

Longshot staring at Smellerbee and Jet’s hearteyes over this (admittedly pretty badass) scarred, grumpy tea server and giving up on understanding his friends;

Zuko going through the worst stages of puberty BANISHED on a SHIP in the MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN with an uncle who had NO DAUGHTERS.

I love all of this?? Some thoughts:

In this AU, being born female almost seems like a positive change for Zuko, which I love. Rather than adding more hardships onto an already hard life, it allows the people around her to draw more parallels between Ursa and Zuko. The palace staff, the royal court - they see Ursa in Zuko’s kindness and clumsy grace. And Ursa may be a girl born to a humble coastal family, but you can’t tell me she didn’t secretly win the loyalty of many people in Caldera. After all, this is a woman cunning enough to intercept Ozai’s plan to kill Zuko and propose a new one so ruthless that even he couldn’t disagree. She would know how to make allies and keep herself busy.

When Zuko is banished, echoes linger in the palace. Ozai has always compared Zuko to Azula, but now, Azula hears the whispers of the royal court about how cold and cruel she is, how unlike her elder sister she is, and it makes her feel small and hard like a knife. She doesn’t need to be like Zuko, who was so kind that she got herself scarred and banished. Azula doesn’t need to be liked, after all: she just needs to be feared.

June/Zuko is glorious. June is having the time of her life flirting with this rough-around-the-edges princess, while Zuko easily falls into a sarcastic, antagonist rhythm with her. The UST is palpable. The crew rolls their eyes and just gets out of their way, while Iroh is so confused.

(And, god. I love Iroh but he didn’t have any daughters and he really wasn’t prepared to take a 13yo girl under his wing. Oof)

I love that Katara being attracted to a shirtless, sweaty Zuko and being EXTREMELY angry about is universal across the AUs. Very good.

Toph is so valid!! She is a baby lesbian thoroughly enjoying the gaang suddenly acquiring a strong, firebender-warm, scratchy-voiced princess. She is not subtle and she Does Not Care.

And a scene I have stuck in my head: Zuko addressing Yue without any hesitation, as a leader speaking to another nation’s heir, full of respect and strength and confidence, because this is the way it should be. Yue would be so enthralled by a royal who only doubts herself because she wants to do right by her people, not because of her gender. A woman who never questions her place among the world leaders. They would get along so well - and that’s not even including all the accidental flirting.

#submissions #reply #atla headcanons #long post ?#fem zuko #submission

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azuwulastan · 4 years

Text

dont reblog bc its kinda dark and i dont really want this circulating . discussion of s*xual abuse and azula. obviously triggering for that topic.

do you think the writers intentionally wrote azula as having a million red flags of being a s*xual abuse victim or is it just that our cultural markers of evil crazy bitches correspond very closely to trauma responses. i might go a bit psychobabble here but bear w me.

like.. azula’s got some empathy issues, issues w being manipulative and is quite callous . psychopathy is quite uncommon in women generally, and young girls even more rarely. but what research does exist suggests manipulative and callous traits are usually seen in female victims of sexual abuse. there is a large nature vs nurture debate in this area, but, at least for young girls with these traits, the environment and events experiences in early life seem to play a larger role than genetics.

then, the way that ozai seems to have specifically isolated azula is another red flag for me. its incredibly common for sexual abusers to cause division and strife between family members so that the victim will not have anyone to turn to. and its a particular pattern that victims will be isolated from their mothers or other primary caregivers bc they’re the ones who can put a stop to the abuse. so, yes, he might have isolated her just bc he wanted to turn her into a weapon that was loyal only to him, but it is reminiscent of behaviour that to me screams perpetrator.

as far as i remember, zuko hasnt seemed to internalised the idea that “trust is for fools” or that fear is a replacement for love, only azula. so that just makes me wonder, whats made her think that people close to her can’t be trusted? you could tie that back to ursa killing azulon, the fact that she’s a royal where there is a lot of backstabbing and maneuvering, or that ursa left her when she was a child. but then, if this were the case, why didn’t zuko internalise this particular message. but it just makes me think that there was a significant breach of trust that taught her that you can’t trust the ppl who are meant to love you and youre a fool if you do.

and then there is bedroom scene with zuko which is just the most uncomfortable scene to watch in the whole show? like the way it was directed, animated, and voice acted, intentionally to make it seem like a seduction. she’s sexualised in a scene with her brother . so inappropriate and just makes me think, whether it was intended or not, she’s got some weird ideas about boundaries and appropriateness between family members. so - red flagggg

all these things could be explained or interpreted differently but if i were working in child protection and i met someone like azula i would do some serious risk assessment there bc someone raised in a normal home does not act that way. often, where there is one kind of abuse there will be many more.

#csa tw

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