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aangs-surrounding-love · 3 years

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My take on Aang’s trauma:

Alrighty everyone this is going to be a long one. I’ll do my best to only include the more important parts of Aang’s actions that I think reflect his trauma. Also, moments that I think reflect his trauma. Actually, I don’t really know if I can directly categorize this post but let’s just say this is very Aang-centric and somewhat of Aang-defense. Aang-protection? Feh-I’ll start.

In season 1 episode 1: The Boy In The Iceberg we see that Aang is briefly told that no one has seen an airbender in 100 years. We can see a tiny bit of shock but what happens next is that the topic is dissed and they move on. Aang doesn’t yet know what happened. But that small little face of shock and confusion always gets me.

Season 1 Episode 2: When Aang finds out he was stuck for 100 years, a war broke out, and his people were very likely killed, he looks on the bright side and looks to Katara saying, “I did get to meet you.”

When they find out he’s the avatar everyone is like, no wayyyy. He still offers himself up to protect the tribe.

Why didn’t he tell them? “Because I never wanted to be” is 100% a valid answer. He was scared. He thought that they’d push him away as his friends did at the temple. Or maybe send him away like the leaders wanted to do to him. (Although Sokka did banish Aang, it wasn’t because of his title and because he put the tribe at risk so it doesn’t exactly count)

Season 1 episode 3: The Southern Airtemple. “We’re home, buddy. We’re home.” Aang says to Appa. Something about this seems like a nostalgic moment. He left on bad terms and now he’s back seeing it 100 years later, hopeful.

He looks for all the old things that made him happy. Air ball, Gyatso’s statue, searching for people. (The little fruit pie flash-back)

He goes to the statue room and looks for answers. He meets Momo. However, when Aang and Sokka start chasing Momo I see Aang tearing up when he’s jumping down the cliffside. My take on this isn’t because he’s falling down at such a velocity that he starts crying, my take is that it’s because it’s his first chance to reveal that there’s hope that some of the Air Nation survived and that Aang isn’t alone.

Aang discovers Gyatso’s skeleton and goes into the Avatar State. His major hopes have been diminished.

He says to Momo, “You, me, and Appa, we’re that’s left of this place now. We have to stick together.” It’s so sad. They’re the only parts of the Air Nation that are alive. They don’t have anything left of the air nation and that’s why they need each other; they need to stay together.

At the closing of the episode, we see Aang and Momo flying away from the temple on Appa. Aang's face is so somber like he’s watching his happy memories diminish. Like the nostalgia being wiped away directly in front of him.

Season 1 Episode 5: The King of Omashu. This one is more of fine detail, but to me, it’s still very important and needs to be mentioned more. At the end of the episode, when Aang figures out it was Bumi, his old friend, you can see little tears welling in his eyelids. My understanding makes me think that Aang was tearing up because he sees someone who isn’t dead. The tears are of relief because to Aang, maybe not everyone is gone. His childhood isn’t over, Aang can still be a kid. Because the reason Gyatso was protecting Aang was that he wanted Aang to have a childhood. Although it was stripped away, this gave Aang another chance to have fun intentionally. Another sign that his childhood isn’t completely over.

Season 1 episodes 7-8: Winter Solstice Part 1: The Spirit World and Winter Solstice Part 2: Avatar Roku. In the first part, we meet a village. Aang tries to help them by saying, “I have to try” my legendary overthinking and analysis makes me believe that Aang truly wants to help these people already, but also that as the Avatar he wants to make up for the lost time he was stuck. He feels the burden he afflicted on the world.

His ability to relate to Hei Bai. Aang felt terrible about the woods and trees that were burnt down. It’s the empathy the made Hei Bai Aang’s friend. The compassion that Aang brings is truly amazing.

Part 2: Avatar Roku. Okay, so he wants to go alone because he doesn’t want Katara or Sokka to get hurt. My take on this is not only are they friends, but he also doesn’t want another one of his actions affecting the casualties of the war.

Season 1 Episode 12: The Storm. This episode is great. We get his backstory. We see why he ran away. We see what causes him to get stuck. And we get to see him upset. We see his guilt. “My people needed me, and I wasn’t there to help.” Followed by, “the WORLD needed me, and I wasn’t there to help.”

“How could they do that to me? They wanted to take away everything I knew and everyone I’ve ever loved!” This quote digs deep. Not only is Aang angry, but this takes a play on how he reacts to people and how he responds to people. He wanted to be a normal kid. (I’ll bring this back later)

Earlier in this episode, there’s this fisherman who was blaming him, so I’m in the cave Aang says, “the fisherman was right. I DID turn my back on the world.” He knows what he did was wrong and he saw the consequences. He ran away, and now that he faced the consequences, he actively wants to change and become better. He’s learning from his actions.

Season 1 episode 13: The Blue Spirt. Admiral Zhao says to Aang, “tell me, how does it feel to be the only airbender left? Do you miss your people?” Not only is this said in such a vile, evil way, we see Aang’s face which changes from being angry and upset with Adm. Zhao, we see that it changes to ashamed and guilt ridden. Actually, it kinda looks like Aang wanted to talk back to him, but he needed a moment. He needed that moment to take in what Zhao said.

Aang finds out that the Blue Spirit (the person wearing the mask) is Zuko. Aang was going to leave him there, to get caught by Admiral Zhao, but Aang instead takes him to safety. And may I mention that Aang made him a little leaf bed? Anyway, he stays with Zuko until he wakes up. Aang was talking about they could be friends and that one of his best friends was from the Fire Nation. I think not leaving Zuko behind shows both how Aang does his best to no longer leave people behind and to try to bring the best out of Zuko.

Season 1 episode 15: Bato of the Water Tribe. Aang takes the map to guide them to Hakoda for himself out of fear that Sokka and Katara would leave him. Though it was a bad decision, the thing is he didn’t think he could handle being alone. He was alone enough as it is. His people were gone and his friends (excluding Bumi) were gone or dead as well. So having to trek to the NWT alone would be a continuous reflection of his actions and would likely send him down on a more hateful path.

Season 1 Episode 16: The Deserter. Aang wants to learn the elements as fast as possible, even if it means doing it irregularly. He also is unsure whether he’ll ever get the chance to learn firebending again after he learns the other elements. So he starts to learn firebending from Jeong Jeong. He wants to make up for lost time which is another reason for this decision.

He hurts Katara and becomes afraid of handling fire and vows to be more careful with it in the future. (I will bring this up again later)

Season 1 Episode 17: The Northern Air temple. Aang sees that the northern Air temple became inhabited by people and they built pipes and other things that ruined the temple. They destroyed the temple and there wasn’t anything left that remained the same. When he saw the wrecking ball machine, he rightfully knocked it away for “destroying something sacred”. It was the last place that remained unaffected by modernization and industrialization then it was knocked over, right in front of him. So my take on this is a question within itself: if you loved something that was deeply close to you like a relic, something important, something that’s the only thing left of your family, got destroyed right in front of you, how would you feel? The answer would probably be pretty freaking upset.

Season 1 episode 19: The Siege of the North: part 1. Starting with part 1, the fire nation comes to the northern water tribe and the fight begins. Before the fight begins, Aang says, “I wasn’t there when the Fire Nation attacked my people. I’m going to make a difference this time.” He wants what’s best for the world, he’s going to stay. He isn’t going to run this time, he’s going to fight of the sake for the world, for the sake of the future. Still, the look on his face when he says that, it’s guilt plastered all over. The guilt is also shown with a determination to make his difference.

Aang flies out on Appa to try to prevent further damage by taking out a few ships. He returns around sunset, exhausted and somewhat defeated. He says, “I’m just one kid” then buries his face in between his legs. He’s right, he is one kid. The avatar, yes, a kid, yes. I have a feeling he’d be thinking about how massively overwhelmed his people were when the Fire Nation attacked. With the power of 500 suns, it would be disastrous. And with this, there are hundreds of ships in that fleet with hundreds more men, ready to fight.

Season 1 episode 20: The Siege of the North: Part 2. Aang returns to the spirit oasis and enters the avatar state saying, “No... It’s not over” he won’t give up on the tribe. He won’t let the Fire Nation win. Still, he isn’t running away, he chose to return to the Spirit Oasis to try to save the spirits.

Season 2 episode 1: The Avatar State. Aang’s told by General Fung that he could defeat the Fire Nation using the Avatar State. Gen. Fung manipulates Aang using Aang’s own guilt and faults to get him to try to train to turn the Avatar State on. Gen. Fung shows Aang the wounded to get him to join.

Initially, Aang doesn’t join. But he changes his mind upon further debate. During the training (well after a day of training) Katara and Aang have a long conversation about it. First, Katara tries to convince him to stop training to turn the Avatar State on but Aang refuses. Katara says, “I don’t understand.” Aang replied, “No, you don’t. Every day, more and more people die. I’m already 100 years late.” Aang’s own guilt is driving him to pursue helping everyone. Even though it wasn’t the right decision, he realizes that he needs to try everything he can to save the world.

Season 2 Episode 3: Return to Omashu. I already did my take away on Aang’s trauma for “The King of Omashu” but this will make my point stronger. Anyway, to the point. Aang goes to Bumi to learn earthbending. His old friend, the mad genius. When he arrives at Omashu, Katara, Sokka, and Aang see that Omashu was conquered by the Fire Nation. Despite Sokka trying to convince Aang to turn around, saying that there are other teachers, Aang shuts both of them down. He wants to rescue Bumi. Not only because he’s his best friend, but I think it’s the added reasons of impending guilt that he receives from leaving the Air Nation to fight on their own, and always wanting to protect his friends.

Season 2 episode 10: The Library. By goodness. Beginning of the episode. Aang is “making an orchestra”. My little headcanon is that all airbenders play an instrument and Aang chose the flute. Anyway, in this headcanon, the air nomads had a band that Aang loved to participate in. Just a little reminder he can’t be in a band surrounded by his people and wanted to make an orchestra on his own to feel happy like he would if he was around the Air Nomads.

Professor Zei calling Aang a relic. Just... terrible. That’s what he, his people, his culture surmounted to. Only a relic. An episode in time.

“We had no choice. Please. We’re desperate to protect the people we love.” This is what Aang says to Wan Shi Tong after the spirit’s anger about using the library to win a war. Aang is trying to protect the world and whoever he has left in the world. His people died. His friends before the war excluding Bumi are dead. Now all he has are his current friends, Appa, and Momo. That’s all he has left and he’s going to do anything to protect them.

Appa gets taken away. That’s it. They exit the sinking library. “Where’s Appa?” Aang asks Toph in confusion. As Toph shakes her head, humming, “mmm-mmm” Aang’s face looks so scared, so hurt. This is his best friend, his life partner to the death. His closest friend, even before the war. They have an inseparable bond and then Appa’s taken away from Aang. Aang doesn’t know if he’s alright, one of the three surviving members of the Air Nomads.

Season 2 Episode 11: The Desert. Aang is so hurt that he lashes out at Toph. His best friend and life partner were stripped from him. I could feel the pain and anger in his voice.

“I’m going to find Appa.” Aang flies away to search on his glider. Again, one of the last surviving members of the Air Nomads is gone. I will elaborate in others.

“APPA!” He calls out. He begins to tear up but sucks it down. “No... No!!!” He creates the gush of air at the ground, making the sand rise up. The complete anger is apparent.

“I’m sorry, OK? it’s a desert cloud. I did all I could.” Aang is left angry and lashes out at everyone. Aang blames Toph at first but it goes deeper than that. If Aang hadn’t gone inside, Appa could’ve been with him. Everyone could’ve gotten out of the desert.

Momo gets carried by a Buzzard-wasp. “I’m not losing anyone else out here.” If Momo was taken away that makes Aang the only one left. He’d be completely alone. And he would only have himself to blame. If he hadn’t run away... if he hadn’t gone inside the library... if he hadn’t chased and knocked the buzzard wasp down. But luckily, Aang gets Momo back.

Aang finds out that the sand benders he encountered were the ones who stole Appa. He acts appropriately and questions them. He wrecks a sand sailer. He wants his bison back. He needs Appa back.

“You muzzled Appa?!” He enters the avatar state in rage. Appa was much more than a pet. Appa is Aang’s best friend. His life partner. His link to his people. Hearing that Appa was treated like an uncontrollable, rabid animal isn’t alright with him. His people were already killed. So hearing that Appa could be in the same situation or worse hurts.

“I traded him with some merchants.” Trading him. Like property. Appa is living, breathing, he isn’t property. Then Appa was set to be sold. Sold.

Season 2, Episode 12: The Serpents Pass. Aang is trying to remain emotionless after Appa was taken away. He doesn’t want to grieve. He doesn’t want to feel. He wants the war to end and be done. He wants Appa back of course, but I think Aang feels that his emotions are going to prevent progress. So when Suki mentions how Appa wasn’t there, Aang was the first to look away. It hurts him immensely.

“Are you doing okay?” Suki asks Aang. At first, Aang looks to Suki and then to Katara, Sokka, and Toph. The view switches back to Aang where he says harshly, “I’m doing fine. Would everybody stop worrying about me?” Aang doesn’t want to be reminded further that -in his mind- that he failed.

“And now it’s like you don’t care about him at all,” Katara states. Katara continues about how worried she is for Aang and offers him a hug. He steadily rejects, “thanks for your concern, Katara.” He walks away. He is so hurt that he doesn’t want to feel. He doesn’t want to be human.

“But you’ve made me feel hopeful again.” It doesn’t mean he’ll stop himself from blaming himself, but it means Aang will return to being hopeful and optimistic.

Season 2 episode 13: The Drill. It’s towards the end where Aang gives the final blow, it’s not really about the moment but the music. Aang is determined to save the world. Even though he’s going through in an incredibly tough time, he’s not going to give up and he’s going to save Ba Sing Se. The music displays this perfectly also while the French Horns add Aang’s musical theme in the background.

Season two, episode 15. The tales of Ba Sing Se. Aang creates a Zoo after seeing all the caged up animals. I think that Aang did this because it reminded Aang what predicament Appa could be in. All chained up. Of course, above anything else, Aang goes to the Zoo in the first place to look for Appa. But I think Aang wanted to release the animals into a better space because Aang wanted to help them, knowing at least Appa would want a sense of freedom. Also because Aang could see that the animals were unhappy.

Season 2 episode 16: Appa’s Lost Days. Sorry but Aang sleeps with the bison whistle right next to him. Meaning, the first thing he wakes up to is the whistle. So right away, Aang is reminded that he needs to get Appa back no matter what.

Season 2 Episode 17: Lake Logoai. Weakly, Jet says, “I’m sorry, Aang.” Aang replies, “Don’t be.” Aang is already worried. But after it's inferred that Aang was going to die by Toph’s, “He’s lying,” is another reminder to Aang that having relations to other people puts them in danger. And that Aang might think that he is another cause for Jet’s death. It’s a big rolel, accounting for every death and injury at Aang’s stake.

Reuniting was Appa, finally. The tears, the relief. Appa will forever be his best friend. To death. A weight was definitely released from his chest.

Season 2 episode 18: The Earth King. Aang wants to tell the Earth King the truth. With Appa back, it’s hoped that things could turn out well for Aang. And a chance the war could end sooner. For the fatalities to stop.

Season 2 episode 19: The guru. “What do you blame yourself for?” Aang responds, “I ran away. I hurt all those people.” He holds himself accountable that he wasn’t there. That he was the cause of injury. Even though he forgave himself doesn’t mean he thinks about it. That’s the thing about guilt. It reoccurs no matter if you try to bury it. Or even forgive yourself, it still shows up.

“Lay all your grief out in front of you.” Aang pictures the whole Air Nation with Gyatso in the front. He’s trying to save the word to not leave their names, their culture in vain. He lost everyone.

Season 2 episode 20: the Crossroads of Destiny. He had to let her go. There were too many people against him. He had no other choice than to let go and enter the avatar state. He had to give up another part of himself to be what the world needed. He needed to save Katara, not letting any others fall to his fault.

Season 3 Episode 1: The Awakening. “Everyone thinks you’re dead. Isn’t that great?!” To Aang, it isn’t. In fact, that’s probably the worst thing Sokka could’ve said. To Aang, the world thinks he failed... again. At first, he vanished for 100 years, thought dead. Then he returned to become dead again. Now, the Fire Nation has practically won because he wasn’t able to keep Ba Sing Se afloat.

Aang wants to intervene even though he’s barely able to walk. He wants to handle it himself. He’s holding himself accountable. Maybe even thinking, it’s the least I can do if I’ve already failed to the world twice. He keeps trying to help, having Sokka hold him back.

“I don’t want you or anyone else risking your lives for my mistakes.” This means Aang really blames himself for everyone. Holding everything on his shoulders. Thinking, “it’s all my fault.”

Aang does the thing he knows how to, he flies away on his glider. Hurt and bombarded with a storm. When he’s found by his friends, he finds his glider which we knew was very important to him. Air Nomads weren’t very material, but to a person with a smidge of their culture left, it would’ve meant much more. So, seeing it in shambles and them actively choosing to burn it is heartbreaking.

Season 3 episode 2: The Headband. The fact that the children of the Fire Nation and everyone who was taught after the war started thought the Air Nomads had a military, forcing the Fire Nation to attack them. It’s screwy. It was wrong, but knowing that his culture was thought of as evil and bloodthirsty had to have been off-putting. I mean, the Air Nomads were pacifist!

Aang was stripped of his childhood, so going to a school gave him a new chance without the burden of being the avatar. For example, earlier I mentioned Aang was excluded from playing with the air-scooter, but in the Fire Nation school, Aang as Kuzon was invited to play Hide and Explode. A chance to have fun without his responsibility to defeat the Fire Lord. A chance to be a normal kid.

“You taught them to be free” Aang did his best to help the kids. It wasn’t defeating the Fire Lord but it gave them control. A mind. They were brainwashed by the school and their country! So achieving a sense of freedom by self expression is something more than I can display in words.

Season 3 Episode 9: Nightmares and Daydreams. Although it’s a fun episode, Aang is in his last moments to train before the invasion. He has to be ready. He’s afraid that he’ll let the world down a third time. So, he creates false scenarios and plays them out to prepare. In this process, he gets really sleep deprived because of his stress. He’s rightfully worried. The state of the world continues to burden him.

Season 3 episode 10: The Day Of Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion. Aang comes to Sokka’s side when Sokka begins to worry about his moment of truth. Aang says, “I already failed to world once at Ba Sing Se. I won’t let myself fail again.” Again, it’s all up to him. He needs to save the world, he needs to redeem himself.

Season 3 episode 11: The Day Of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse. Aang finds that it was all a trap. He failed again. On Appa as the youngest of the group loads on Appa, Aang is crying. He told himself that he wouldn’t fail. That he needed to win. He needed this victory to find out that his plan was ruined.

Season 3 Episode 12: The Western Air Temple. Aang accepts Zuko into the group. He does this not only because he needs a teacher but realizes that in his past attempt to learn Firebending, he hurt Katara. And that Jeong Jeong wasn’t the right master, but knowing that Zuko changed made Aang accept Zuko into the group and teach him.

Season 3 Episode 13: The Firebending Masters. Earlier, I mentioned that Aang vowed to be more careful with Fire after burning Katara. Showing why his flame was timid and weak. He was afraid for it to become out of control and hurt someone.

Season 3, episode 16: The Southern Raiders. “You’re feeling unbelievable pain and rage.” He’s empathizing with Katara. We can’t forget that Aang is a survivor of genocide. He’s been through so much and wants to help Katara make the right decision. Not making it for her, but guiding her through the decision that would make her satisfied with herself and Yon Rha’s outcome. One she could live with. He’s using his own experience to help her.

Season 3, Episode 18, Sozin’s Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King. Aang wants to find an alternate solution rather than kill Firelord Ozai. He wants to stick to his principles. The ones that have been with him since forever. It’s not an easy decision. Maybe not only because of honoring the monks and their teaching but because the war had already created enough bloodshed.

Everyone is quick to assume Aang ran away. Although Aang is called to the Lion Turtles back. I think it was mostly unknowingly because he was like half asleep.

Season 3, Episode 19, Sozin’s Comet, Part 2: Old Masters. Aang looks to the past Avatars for their guidance. They’re the ones who might give him an alternate solution. In my opinion, they were all like, make whatever choice is right for you and the world. Don’t forget the world. Ultimately, to Aang, there were no other options, leaving him with the only option but to take Ozai’s life.

He meets the great look turtle. Aang respectfully asks him for an answer or an option. Once again, Aang was given the knowledge that he could take away whatever he received from the wisdom.

Season 3, Episode 20: Sozin’s Comet: Part 3: Into The Inferno. Ozai degrades Aang. Says, “you’re weak. Just like the rest of your people. They did not deserve to exist in this world, in my world! Prepare to join them.” So Aang has been told he’s weak and he is in no way weak. I will elaborate later.

Season 3, Episode 21: Sozin’s Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang. Aang unblocks the avatar state and pins Ozai down. Just as Aang was going to kill him, he stops. He stops himself from going against his principles. Ozai continues to degrade him. “You are still weak.” Aang directs Ozai’s fire blast away using the Lion Turtle’s wisdom, Aang pins Ozai down and energy bends. With this, Aang discovers this non-fatal solution by giving Ozai justice and taking his bending away. Ozai can no longer intimidate and oppress anyone anymore.

“Please the real hero is the avatar.” That’s it. Aang is the hero. Of course, he had his friends to help him, but every single one of Aang’s mistakes and choices led to this. Led to the world being saved. So, for the first time in a while, Aang can come out of hiding, proud to be in this Air Nomad robes without concealing his identity.

I think I’m exaggerating about the tiniest details, but then again, I’m putting myself in Aang’s shoes, and that’s how I’d feel and how I interpret Aang’s actions/reactions. Also, I know I missed a few points, but I tried.

Big takeaways:

When Aang is told his people have been wiped out AND that he’s been gone for 100 years, for him, it has only been a few days for him. He left and a day later he wakes up and it’s been 100 years. That’s incredibly off-putting and scary. One day and his whole world shifted.

Aang was given very VERY little time to grieve as he had to save the world and learn the elements right away. When we do see it, his grief, he tries to let it all out at once rather than have it seep out little by little.

Aang is 12! He is a child and he saved the world. He has real emotions and was confused from time to time. He was a little immature at first but developed immensely.

Aang makes mistakes. But most importantly is that he learns from them and uses them to decide what's best for him and how to help others.

He looked for the light in dark situations.

Aang is the beacon of hope but even he was unhopeful and detached. He went to nightmares and back despite the worst.

Despite Ozai’s bashing and false claims, Aang is not weak and never has been. Aang went through the worst. He lost his family, his friends, and at one point, his best friend. He died. He was given an almost impossible task. Yet, he completed this task. He saved the world. Yes, he made mistakes but those mistakes shaped Aang into who he became. And how he was able to save the world. And Ozai was incredibly wrong. Aang defeated him and found his alternative. It wasn’t weak. It was strength. As Katara said in The Southern Raiders, “I don’t know if I was too weak to do it or if it’s because I’m strong enough not to.” In Aang’s case, he found his alternative that honored his teachings, his principles, his beliefs all while doing what was best for the world. That isn’t weak. It’s strong. Adding on, to come back from death isn’t weak. To return to action after running away isn’t weak. To face danger? To help others? To fight on the losing side for what is right? No, it’s not weak at all.

The music is fantastic and I think it reflects Aang amazingly. This doesn’t really fit into what I was talking about but the music fits the show.

Aang deserves so much love. I'll say it again, he's been through so much. Much more than what I could handle or almost anyone else. He is a traumatized child but even through the rough patches became an inspiration. To me, I think he’s sometimes overlooked and pushed aside so this is just some of my headcanons and takeaways.

Another thing, I’m not blaming Aang for anything. When I mention “it was his fault” I mean by he was blaming himself. The Air Nation’s genocide is not his fault. I mean that he blames himself for not helping or staying, for running away.

Lastly, I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of their characters. They belong to their rightful creators and writers. Also, this is my analysis and a few of my takes on Aang’s trauma. I'm not trying to project my feelings on anyone. I'm just saying what I think.

If you made it this far thanks for reading my post!

#aang #aanglove #avatar aang #avatar verse #avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar: tla #personal note that no one cares for but i’m saying it anyway #personal #my thoughts #aang is a sweetie and i will not stand for anything else #aang defense #aang defense squad #alta aang #aang is best boy #aang stan #aang protection #melon's analysis

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likealittleheartbeat · 4 years

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The Queer Platonic Love of Aang & Zuko

Friend. What a weighty and intimate word in Avatar The Last Airbender. The series’ “found family” is iconic at this point, and is literally established as a “family” by Katara in the third episode. She pulls Aang back from the outrage of the Avatar state, saying “Monk Gyatso and the other monks may be gone, but you still have a family. Sokka and I, we’re your family now.”

As I’ve said before, establishing this central safety net of trusted people is essential to Aang’s healing. Still, it’s interesting to me that they insist on this group as a “family” rather than something that might emphasize “friendship.” Something along the lines of ‘we’re your friends and we’re here with you.’ I can think of several animated shows that have done as much successfully. The show withholds the word “friend” for another purpose. I’ll happily admit that Aang and the others describe each other as “friends” throughout the series, but rarely is the use of the word (through pacing, repetition, or emotional context) given a sense of gravity in those moments.

However, three scenes in the series rely heavily on the word “friend,” and each scene connects Aang more and more profoundly with Zuko, eventually revealing that the show’s entire plot hinges on the friendship between these two boys. In a series so latent with symbolism, what do we make of these star-crossed friends? The relationship between Aang and Zuko, I want to suggest, is meant to explore Platonic Love in all its depth, especially within a masculine culture that not only devalues it, but views its queer implications as inherently dangerous to the dominant power structures of an empire.

Get ready zukaang fans for a long-ass atla meta analysis...

“If we knew each other back then, do you think we could’ve been friends, too?”

The first time the word “friend” is uttered between them, Aang is perched on a branch, waiting for Zuko (who is laid out on a bed of leaves the Avatar made for him) to wake up after his blue spirit rescue. “You know what the worst part about being born over a hundred years ago is?” Aang waxes, “I miss all the friends I used to hang out with. Before the war started I used to always visit my friend Kuzon. The two of us, we'd get in and out of so much trouble together. He was one of the best friends I ever had...and he was from the Fire Nation, just like you. If we knew each other back then do you think we could have been friends too?” The scene stood out for me when I first watched it for the melancholy and stillness. We are not given a flashback like we did when Aang talked about Bumi or Gyatso in earlier episodes. We have to sit with Aang’s loss of a male friend. It echoes a veteran’s loss of a war buddy more than anything a western audience would expect in a children’s show about the power of friendship. Instead of simply mourning, Aang invites Zuko into the past with him. He invites Zuko to imagine a time before the war, a land of innocence, where they could live together. And between them there is a moment of reflection given to this invitation (...until Zuko shoots a fucking fire blast at Aang).

The wistful mood returns when the two boys arrive back to their respective beds. Aang is asked by a loopy fevered Sokka if he made any “friends” on his trip, to which Aang sadly replies, “No, I don’t think I did” before tucking away to sleep. Aang’s mournful moments often stand out against his bubbly personality, but this moment stands out moreso because its the final moment for Aang in the episode. For the first time, he doesn’t receive comfort in his dejection. He doesn’t even confide in his peers. The solemnity and secrecy of this failed “friendship” is remarkable.

It’s in the next symbolic gesture that I think Avatar reveals what’s at stake in the concept of “friendship.” Zuko, in the next scene, lays down to rest after his adventurous night, looks pensively at the fire nation flag in his room, and then turns his back on it. We realize, especially after the previous revelations in “The Storm,” that Aang’s gestures of “friendship” have caused Zuko to doubt the authority of the Fire Nation.

Now all three remaining nations have misogynistic tendencies, but the Fire Nation celebrates a specific brand of toxic masculinity, and Zuko longs to emulate it even after it has rejected and scarred him. In the episode, “The Storm,” which directly precedes “The Blue Spirit,” we see how Zuko failed to replicate masculinity’s demands. In a room of men, he disregards honorifics to speak out in the name of care and concern for people’s well-being over strategy. Though the war room was all men, we later see that The Fire Nation does not exclude women from participating in this form of toxic masculinity. (Shoutout to Azula, one of the best tragic villains of all time!) This gender parity prevents disgraced men, like Zuko, from retaining pride of place above women. So Zuko’s loving act and refusal to fight his father puts him at the lowest of the low in the social hierarchy of the Fire Nation, completely emasculated and unworthy of respect.

Since then, Zuko has been seeking to restore himself by imitating the unfeeling men of the war room and his unfeeling sister, barking orders and demands at his crew. The final redemptive act for this purpose, of course, is to capture the Avatar, who’s very being seems to counteract the violent masculinity at the heart of the Fire Nation. In most contemporary Euro-American understandings, Aang is by no means masculine. He’s openly affectionate, emotional, giggly, and supportive of everyone in his life, regardless of gender. He practices pacifism and vegetarianism, and his hobbies include dancing and jewelry-making. And, foremost, he has no interest in wielding power. (@rickthaniel has an awesome piece about Aang’s relationship to gender norms and feminism).

In addition to the perceived femininity of Aang’s behavior, he’s equally aligned with immaturity. Aang’s childishness is emphasized in the title of the first episode, “The Boy in the Iceberg,” and then in the second episode when Zuko remarks, “you’re just a kid.” Aang, as a flying boy literally preserved against adulthood, also draws a comparison to another eternally boyish imp in the western canon: Peter Pan. This comparison becomes more explicit in “The Ember Island Players.” His theatrical parallel is a self-described “incurable trickster” played by a woman hoisted on wires mimicking theatrical productions of Peter Pan. The comparison draws together the conjunction of femininity and immaturity Aang represents to the Fire Nation.

When Zuko is offered friendship and affection by Aang, then, he faces a paradigm-shifting internal conflict. To choose this person, regardless of his spiritual status, as a “friend,” Zuko must relate himself to what he perceives as Aang’s femininity and immaturity, further demeaning himself in the eyes of his father and Fire Nation culture. The banished prince would need to submit to the softness for which he’s been abused and banished. This narrative of abuse and banishment for perceived effeminate qualities lends itself easily enough to parallels with a specific queer narrative, that of a young person kicked out of their house for their sexuality and/or gender deviance.

I want to point out that Aang’s backstory, too, can be read through a queer lens. Although the genocide of the air nomads more explicitly parallels the experiences of victims to imperial and colonial violence, I can also see how the loss of culture, history, friends, and mentors for a young effiminate boy can evoke the experience of queer men after the AIDs pandemic and the government’s damning indifference. In fact, colonial violence and the enforcement of rigid gender roles have historically travelled hand-in-hand. Power structures at home echo the power structures of a government. Deviance from the dominant norms disrupt the rigid structures of the empire. Aang’s background highlights how cultures based in something besides hierarchy and dominance, whether they be queer cultures or indigenous societies, threaten the logic of imperialism, and thus become targets of reform, neglect, and aggression by the expanding empire and its citizens. Survivors are left, as Aang was, shuffling through the remnants, searching for some ravaged piece of history to cling to.

We begin the series, then, with two queer-coded boys, one a survivor of broad political violence, the other a survivor of more intimate domestic abuse, and both reeling from the ways the Fire Nation has stigmatized sensitivity. But the queer narrative extends beyond the tragic backstories toward possibility and hope. The concept of platonic love proposed here, though it does not manifest until later, is a prospect that will bring peace to the two boys' grief-stricken hearts and to the whole world.

“Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?”

“Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?” Toph asks before the four members of the group hold hands. Since Toph previously mourned her friendless childhood, it’s easy to appreciate this line for its hopefulness regarding the four central members of the Gaang. They long to appreciate that they’re all connected. As touching as this is, the soul-mated ‘friendship’ concept is actually uniquely applicable to Aang and Zuko.

When does Toph ask the question specifically? It’s after hearing the story of Avatar Roku and Firelord Sozin: how their once intimate friendship fell apart; how Fire Lord Sozin began, undaunted, the genocidal attack on Airbenders. After recounting the tale, Aang, the reincarnation of Avatar Roku, excitedly explains to the group the moral that every person is capable of great good and evil. While that moral could easily be ascribed to many people in the series, the connective tissue is stretched directly to Zuko in a parallel storyline. Reading a secret history composed by his grandfather Sozin, Zuko discovers that he is not only the grandson of the empirical firelord but of Avatar Roku, as well. We see how the rift between the Sozin and Roku echoed down across history to separate the airbending culture from the fire nation, and, on a more human level, to separate Aang from Zuko. The two boys find themselves divided by their ancestors’ choices— and connected by Avatar Roku’s legacy.

This is what takes their “friendship” from simply a matter of the character’s preferences to something fated, something unique from the other friendships. The rest of the found family is positioned as circumstantial in their relationship to Aang and one another. Yeah, it’d be cool if they were all connected in past and future lives, but the audience receives no indicators in the series that it’s necessarily true. Only faith holds them together, which allows room for an appreciation that your “found family” friendships might simply be the trusted people you discovered along the way.

Zuko’s friendship is characterized differently. Both his struggle to befriend Aang and his eventual “friendship” are explicitly destined by the story of Roku and Sozin. After this episode, the series depends upon Zuko’s ability to mend the divide inside himself, which can only be done by mending the divide between him and Aang. Their inheritance symbolizes this dynamic exactly. As the reincarnation of Avatar Roku, Aang can be understood as the beneficiary of Avatar Roku’s wisdom (he should not, as many jokingly suggest, be considered as any kind of biological relation of Roku or Zuko). Zuko, on the other hand, has inherited Roku’s genealogy in the Fire Nation. These two pieces of Roku must be brought together in order to revive Roku’s legacy of firebending founded on something besides aggression.

In addition to making the ideals of Roku whole again, the two boys must tend to the broken “friendship” between the two men. As the Avatar and the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, Aang and Zuko parallel Avatar Roku and Firelord Sozin precisely. The narrative of the latter pair places destiny precisely in the hands of the former. And since both Aang and Roku expressed the desire for “friendship,” it falls in the lap of the corresponding royal to give up their imperial dreams so they can gain something more peaceful and intimate. For Zuko, this now can only be accomplished when he heals the rift within himself.

Importantly, both the previous friendship and the destined friendship between Zuko and Aang are between two men. The coming-of-age genre has proliferated the trope of homosociality (friendship between individuals of the same sex) and its eventual decline brought on by maturity and heterosexual romance. (Check out the beautiful and quick rundown of classic examples, from Anne of Green Gables to Dead Poet’s Society, made by @greetingsprophet ). The story of Avatar Roku and Firelord Sozin replicates this established narrative.

We see them playing, sparring, and joking intimately with one another. The two as young adults were intimately connected, the series explains, “sharing many things including a birthday.” Eventually their intimacy is interrupted by their worldly responsibilities and the spectre of heterosexual romance on Roku’s part.

Now, It’s not a huge leap for one to wonder if Sozin longed for something stronger in their “friendship.” We see no female romantic interests for Sozin. Instead, he continues to demonstrate his platonic allegiance to Roku. When Roku prepares to leave for his Avatar training, Sozin walks into his room and gives him his crown prince headpiece, a gesture of unique devotion that positions his friendship above his politics (which harkens to Plato and EM Forster’s ideas about platonic love that I’ll discuss in Part 3).

One might note, too, how the wedding between Roku and his childhood sweetheart provides the setting for the escalation of Sozin’s violence. “On wedding days,” Sozin writes, “we look to the future with optimism and joy. I had my own vision for a brighter future...” He then pulls Roku away from his bride for a personal conversation, briefly recapturing the earlier homosocial dynamic with his friend. Sozin describes his affection for their intertwined lives. Then he links their shared happiness to the current prosperity of the Fire Nation. He imagines the expansion of the Fire Nation, which would also expand on the relationship between him and Roku. But the Avatar refuses the offer and returns to his wife, insisting on the value of traditional boundaries (both the pact of marriage and the strict division of the four nations). The abandonment of the homosocial relationship by Roku sets the site for the unmitigated empirical ambitions of Sozin. One wonders how history might’ve been altered had the two men’s relationship been sanctified and upheld. How might’ve Roku persuaded Sozin in his empirical ambitions if he had remained in a closer relationship to his friend? In their final encounter, Sozin reacts vengefully to his former platonic love: he lets Roku die protecting the home the Avatar shared with his wife. Sozin’s choice solidifies the divide between them, and makes the grief he’s experienced since Roku left him into actual death.

Instead of Avatar Roku and Firelord Sozin finding a resolution, Aang and Zuko are ordained to reverse their friendship’s disintegration. Yes, they must heal the rift in the world created by the Fire Nation’s aggression, but Aang and Zuko must also reverse the tradition of lost homosociality within a culture of unrelenting machismo. Despite Avatar: the Last Airbender’s ties to the coming-of-age genre, the arc of Aang and Zuko’s “friendship” counters one of its most prominent tropes. “Some friendships are so strong they can transcend lifetimes,” Roku says, and it’s precisely this platonic ideal that draws Zuko and Aang towards one another in ways that are revolutionary both in their world and in the traditions of our’s. To come together, as two matured boys, to form an adult platonic love that can persist into adulthood.

“And now we’re friends.”

Which brings us to the consummation of Aang and Zuko’s “friendship.” Having resolved their previous hostilities and having neutralized the outside forces that would rather them dead than together, Aang and Zuko can finally embrace and define their relationship as “friendship.” Now, if we look closely at Zuko’s expression, we’ll notice a pause, before he smiles and reiterates Aang’s comment. My initial response, with my zukaang shipping goggles on extra tightly, was that Zuko just got friend-zoned and was a little disappointed before accepting Aang’s friendship. When I took a step back, I considered that we are given this moment of reflection to recognize Zuko’s journey, his initial belligerent response to the idea of befriending the Avatar. When he accepts the term of ‘friend,’ he reveals the growth he’s undergone that’s brought peace to the world. With these two possibilities laid out, I want to offer that they might coexist. That the word ‘friend’ might feel to Zuko and the audience so small and limited and yet simultaneously powerful. The pause can hint at the importance of “friendship” and signal something more. This reading emboldens the queer concept of “friendship” that undergirds their relationship. That the hug that follows might be meant to define the depth of the platonic love that is at the very heart of the series.

Saving a hugging declaration of “friendship” for the announcement of peace in the series is quietly revolutionary. In the twentieth century, male characters could connect in battle, on competitive teams, and through crime. “In the war film, a soldier can hold his buddy — as long as his buddy is dying on the battlefield. In the western, Butch Cassidy can wash the Sundance Kid’s naked flesh — as long as it is wounded. In the boxing film, a trainer can rub the well-developed torso and sinewy back of his protege — as long as it is bruised. In the crime film, a mob lieutenant can embrace his boss like a lover — as long as he is riddled with bullets,” writes Kent Brintnall. Aang and Zuko’s hug starkly contrasts this kind of masculine intimacy. The show suggests that environments shaped by dominance, conflict, coercion, or harm, though seemingly productive in drawing people and especially men together, actually desecrate “friendships.” Only in a climate of humility, diplomacy, and peace can one make a true ‘friend.’

In situating the’ “friendship” between two matured males in a time of peace, the writers hearken back to older concepts of homosocial relationships in our fiction. As Hanya Yanagihara has described the Romantic concepts of friendship that pervaded fiction before the 1900s. In her book, A Little Life, Yanagihara renews this concept for the twenty-first century with a special appreciation for the queerness that one must accept in order for platonic love to thrive into adulthood. She writes, “Why wasn’t friendship as good as a relationship? Why wasn’t it even better? It was two people who remained together day after day bound not by sex or physical attraction or money or children or property, but only by the shared agreement to keep going, the mutual dedication to a union that could never be codified.” Aang and Zuko’s relationship, despite a history that would keep them apart, reclaims this kind of friendship. Their hearts, bound together by an empyrean platonic love, are protected from the political and familial loyalties that would otherwise embroil them.

In addition to Yanagihara, another author that coats the word ‘friend’ with similar gravity and longing to Avatar is E.M. Forster, who braids platonic friendship in his writing with homoeroticism and political revolution. In Forster’s novel Maurice (originally written in 1914 but published posthumously in 1971 due to Britain’s criminalization of male homsexuality), the titular character asks a lower class male lover lying in bed with him, “Did you ever dream you had a friend, Alec? Someone to last your whole life and you his? I suppose such a thing can’t happen outside of sleep.” The confession, tinged with grief and providence as it is, could easily reside in Aang’s first monologue to Zuko in “The Blue Spirit.”

Platonic love as a topic is at the heart of Maurice. Plato’s “Symposium,” from which the term platonic love derives, is even directly referenced in the book and connected with “the unspeakable vice of the Greeks”— slang for homosexual acts. For Forster, the sanction of platonic love, both the homosocial aspect and the latent homosexuality, reveals a culture’s liberation. “If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend,” Forster wrote in his essay “What I Believe,”, “I hope I should have the guts to betray my country.” This echoes a sentiment of philial love described by Plato.

Rather than revolutionary ideals, for Forster friendships, and specifically friendships that disregard homophobia, provide the foundation for peace, equality, and democratic proliferation. When Aang and Zuko embrace, they are embodying this ideal. Platonic love and the word “friend” have a history intertwined with queer romantic love, and, while I won’t argue that Avatar attempts to directly evoke this, I will suggest that the series consciously leaves room for this association. Now, the show certainly makes no attempt to imply anything romantic between Zuko and Aang within the timeline we witness (nor any same sex characters, which reflects cultural expectations in the 2000s). And for good reason, the age gap would be notably icky, to use the technical term. (You might note, however, that the show actually allows for crushes to extend upwardly across the same age gap, when Toph accidentally reveals her affection for Sokka to Suki in “The Serpent’s Pass.”) Despite connecting queer friendships to the history of ‘platonic love,’ Avatar provides two critiques to platonic love for audiences to absorb. One is the pederasty with which Plato defined his ultimate form of love in his Symposium. Fans rightfully comment on the age gap between Aang and Zuko as something preventative to shipping them together. And beyond the fact of their ages, Aang’s youthfulness is emphatic, as I remarked earlier. Aang and Zuko are prevented from consummating their platonic love until both are deemed mature in the last moments of the series. And even then, their relationship is directed toward future development rather than conclusion. Instead of cutting away, they are allowed to exit their scene together toward a speech about hope and peace. This stands in stark opposition to the permanence of Aang and Katara’s kiss. The platonic love in Avatar, the kind EM Forster cherishes, is relegated to adulthood as opposed to other kinds of boyish friendships. The conclusion of Avatar, at least for me, actually feels especially satisfying because it settles our characters in the “new era of love and peace.” It is a beginning, and it feels more expansive than the actions the characters choose to take in the episode. Even as our characters conclude three seasons of narrative tension as the sun sets and “The End” appears on the screen, it feels instead as if their stories can finally begin. The characters are allowed to simply exist for the first time. Yes, Aang and Katara or Zuko and Mai are allowed to embrace and kiss, but it’s because the pressures of empiricism have finally been banished. They are now allowed to try things and fail and make mistakes and explore. Things don’t feel rigid or permanent, whether that be one’s identity or one’s relationships.

Ideally, within the morality of the series (at least as it appears to us with no regard for whatever limits or self-censorship occurred due to its era of production and child-friendly requirements), “friends'' are maintained alongside romantic partnerships. Both Zuko and Aang’s separate romantic relationships blossom within the same episode that they declare their “friendship.” In fact, a vital plotline is the development of Zuko’s relationship with Aang’s romantic interest. While anyone in the fandom is well aware of the popular interpretation of romantic affection between Zuko and Katara because of their shared narrative, I have to point out that romantic feelings across the series are made extremely explicit through statements, blushes, and kisses. Zuko’s relationship with Katara can be better understood in the light of the coming-of-age counternarrative. While the love interest often serves as a catalyst for separation for a homosocial relationship, the friendly relationship with Aang’s love interest—seeking her forgiveness, respecting her power, calling on her support, etc—is vital for Zuko to ultimately create an environment of peace in which he and Aang can fulfill their destined “friendship.” In fact, we can look at Katara’s femininity as the most important device for manifesting Aang and Zuko’s eventual union. It’s her rage against misogyny that frees Aang from his iceberg, midwifing him into the world again after his arrested development, the complete opposite of a Wendy figure. It’s her arms that hold Aang in the pieta after his death in the Crossroads of Destiny, positioning her as a divine God-bearer. Afterwards, its her hands that resurrect Aang so that they together can fulfill his destiny. It will be these same hands with this same holy water that resurrect Zuko in the finale. Only through Katara’s decided blessing could Aang and Zuko proceed toward the fated reunion of their souls.

The importance of this critical relationship to femininity becomes relevant to a scene in “Emerald Island Players” that one might note as an outstanding moment of gay panic. Zuko and Aang, watching their counterparts on stage, cringe and shrink when, upon being saved by The Blue Spirit character in the play, Aang’s performer declares “My hero!” Instead of the assumption of homophobia, I wonder whether we might read Aang and Zuko’s responses as discomfort with the misogynistic heterosexual dynamics the declaration represents. Across the board, Avatar subverted the damsel in distress trope. There’s a-whole-nother essay to be written on all the ways it goes about this work, but the events in “The Blue Spirit” certainly speak to this subversion. It’s quite explicit that Zuko, after breaking Aang’s chains, is equally dependent on Aang for their escape. And, by the end of the actual episode, the savior role is reversed as Aang drags an unconscious Zuko away from certain death. To depict these events within the simplistic “damsel in distress” scenario, as The Ember Island Players do, positions Aang as a subordinately feminized colonial subject, denies him his agency, and depicts the relationship as something merely romantic, devoid of the equalizing platonic force that actually empowers them. The moment in the play is uncomfortable for Aang and Zuko because it makes Zuko the hero and Aang the helpless object. Aang is explicit about his embarrassment over his feminized and infantilized depiction in the play. And Zuko, newly reformed, is embarrassed to see, on one hand, his villainy throughout the play and, on the other hand, see how his character is positioned as made out as a savior to the person who has actually saved him.

At the heart of the series is not the idea of a chosen one or savior. Instead, we are saved by the ability for one person to see themselves in another person and to feel that same person equally understands their own soul. This is the ideal of platonic love. Platonic love between two matured boys—two boys with whose memories and bodies bare the scars of their queer sensitivities—is an essential part of the future of peace. Many fans have a sense of this, labeling the relationship as “brotp” and “platonic soulmates.” I simply encourage people to acknowledge that platonic love, especially in this context, is not a limit. There is no “no homo” joke here. When we remark on the platonic love between Zuko and Aang (and across media more generally) we are precisely making room for friendship, romance, and whatever else it could mean, whatever else it might become. While I find Legend of Korra lacking and in some ways detrimental to appreciating the original series, it’s finale interestingly parallels and extends this reading of platonic love in a sapphic vein. And most recently, She ra Princess of Power was able to even more explicitly realize these dynamics in the relationship between Adora and Catra. Let’s simply acknowledge that Aang and Zuko’s relationship blazed the trail: that peace, happiness, hope, and freedom could all hinge on a “friendship,” because a “friend” was never supposed to be set apart from or less than other kinds of relationships. For the ways it disregards gender, disregards individualism, disregards dominion, platonic love is the foundation of any meaningful relationship. And a meaningful relationship is the foundation for a more peaceful world. *Author’s note: I’m just tired of sitting on this and trying to edit it. It’s not perfect. I don’t touch on all the symbolism and nuances in the show and in the character’s relationships. And this is not meant to negate any ships. It’s actually, quite the opposite. This is a show about growth and change and mistakes and complexity. Hopefully you can at least appreciate this angle even if you don’t vibe with every piece of analysis here. I just have no chill and need to put this out there so I can let my obsession cool down a bit. Enjoy <3

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choice-pineapple-tidbits · 4 years

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okay so i love uncle iroh but:

did he ever straight up tell zuko that it was wrong for his father to treat him like he did? i know he wanted zuko to make his own decision when he was ready to face the truth, but zuko would’ve probably never embraced the truth. as far as we saw, he was prepared to spend as long as it took to find the avatar, which could have been the rest of his life.

think of it this way: for three years, he was on a ship with a crew who was (as far as we know) loyal to the firelord, who didn’t even know what had happened to zuko to be able to tell him ‘hey, your father shouldn’t have hurt you’. we saw that they thought they were just stuck with a royal brat. zuko was also stuck with uncle iroh, who may not have given any hints as to where his loyalties lie.

that would have definitely squashed any opinion zuko might have had about his father being wrong. so in the back of his mind, he probably thought ‘if these important people don’t think it was wrong, then who am i to think he was?’ eventually, maybe ‘he wasn’t wrong to burn me’ might have turned into ‘father is right’

cue the hot mess that was the crystal catacombs, where he was forced to choose between his family (who he has been propaganda’ed into thinking were the right option anyway) and uncle iroh and the gaang. there are a million wonderful analyses on why zuko chose what he chose, but i remember in one of them specifially one of the reasons was the clarity in one choice (azula’s side) and the vagueness of the other (the gaang). uncle iroh tells him to “choose good”, but he’s never really clarified why the good side is “good” besides it being the side he’s on.

we saw uncle iroh, after at least three years of possibly doing nothing to change his mind besides trying to calm him down and spouting proverbs (that zuko may not have even understood in the slightest), expect his nephew to immediately change his mind and join the other side of the war without ever proving that the gaang’s side is the good side.

then, when zuko inevitably makes the wrong choice in the crystal catacombs, iroh just... does not speak to zuko, and makes it a point to not speak to zuko until he gives him roku’s hair thingy. do you know how bad it feels to feel like you’ve made the wrong decision and then the one person who gave you advice and stuff is completely ignoring you? i get it, iroh was sad that zuko had ‘lost his way’, but good god, zuko must have been so confused.

all in all, atla is a great show that makes everyone seem like actual human beings that make wrong choices and right choices. iroh made more right choices than wrong ones, but he did still mess up occasionally, and that’s okay. we still stan our favorite uncle and ozai is still the worst ever.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #zuko #iroh #uncle iroh #on this blog we love and appreciate uncle iroh #i probably phrased this all wrong but whatever

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avatarstories · 4 years

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izumi’s birthday part three: sources of wisdom

The next morning, breakfast with the family is awkward. Izumi was a few moments late, having had to stop by the royal seamstress to have the last adjustments fitted for party outfit finished. By the time she arrived at breakfast, everyone was seated, and the only empty chair was between her father and Bumi. Bumi’s stony expression made her want to just be swallowed up by the floor. Maybe she could go find Druk and convince him to eat her. She gives Bumi a sad smile, and he rolls his eyes with a noticeable exhale. Izumi takes her seat quietly trying her hardest to give him as much space as possible.

“Are we going to talk about how Izumi and Bumi are making the air in the room extremely uncomfortable?” Kya says. “Lover’s quarrel?” she jokes.

“Fuck off, Kya” Bumi mutters, looking down at the table in front of him. Kya is across from him and leans in trying to get his attention.

“Excuse me?” she says with a joking lilt in her voice.

Bumi doesn’t say anything. Instead, he throws his tea at Kya and storms out of the dining room. Everyone is silent but all eyes are on Izumi. Having managed to stop the tea from hitting her, Kya bends it back into a cup.

“Well, Happy Birthday, Izumi! What an exciting way to start the day,” Kya deadpans. Zuko looks at Izumi with a concerned expression. Azula looks ready to go to murder. Toph and Lin have their eyebrows raised and are taking a big sips of their mango juices. Tenzin hangs his head and focuses intently at his rice. Izumi notices Katara giving Aang a look that says go after him and when he doesn’t move she shakes her head.

“This looks like a job for a wise old man like me,” Iroh says, pushing his chair back so that he can stand up.

“General Iroh, it’s really ok, Aang can take care of it,” Katara says.

“Uh, I kinda agree with General Iroh,” Aang replies sheepishly.

If looks could kill, the ice in Katara’s eyes would have Aang pinned to the wall. “You are unbelievable,” she says quietly, though the anger and disappointment in her tone are unmistakable. She follows Bumi out the door

“Looks like Twinkletoes is in the polar bear doghouse,” Toph says. Aang groans and then goes after Katara and Bumi.

“Care to enlighten us, Izumi?” Azula asks.

“Not really,” she mutters. “I’m going to the training yard,” she announces quietly, and she walks out the door.

Azula looks between Zuko and Iroh “I would go after her, but I was planning to go boss some staff around to make sure her party is perfect, which I think now needs to be even more perfect,” she says.

“I will see what is bothering our dear Izumi,” Iroh says pushing out his chair once again. He and Azula leave the room.

“Man,” Lin says “I thought mom and I would be the ones to start drama.” At that, Sokka laughs so hard he snorts, and Suki punches him in the side for it. —————————————————————————————————

Izumi is moving through advanced katas when Iroh finds her.

“I have told you before, forms practiced in anger are like tea steeped in unclean water, dear Izumi.”

She finishes the form sending an arc of a flame towards the stone wall with an audibly annoyed exhale.

“Now, are you going to tell me what is wrong or should I guess? Kya suggested a -”

“IM NOT DATING BUMI! CAN EVERYONE STOP THINKING THAT!”

Iroh chuckles. “Everyone used to think the same of your father and Katara when they were yours and Bumi’s ages. When people share a special bond others cannot help but wonder. But of course I did not come here to talk about your father’s youthful affections. It appears you and Bumi are experiencing a strain. Care to inform your old grandfather so he can help you?”

“We had a misunderstanding.”

“I know that I am old, Izumi, but I am not blind.”

“Bumi was telling me about some issues in their family between him and his dad, and I basically told him that he should be lucky not to have the weight of a legacy on his shoulders.”

“So your problem stems from your fear of your future,” Iroh affirms. “Rightfully so on an occasion as momentous as your 17th birthday, but Izumi, you are a kind, gentle, and fair minded young woman, and your father is a picture of health, what has brought about this anxiety?”

Izumi crosses her arms and says nothing.

“Izumi?”

“I overheard some of the noblewomen talking about a curse on the Fire Ladies.”

“And what is this curse?”

“That Fire Ladies who die in childbirth give rise to evil Fire Lords. The spirits make them pay the ultimate price for what they bring into the world.”

Iroh takes in her words. “And so you have applied this to your own birth?” Izumi nods.

“You’re young yet Izumi, but I think you will find that destiny is what you make of it,” he says. “You and your father are the descendants of Sozin and Azulon, but you’re also the descendants of Avatar Roku on your grandmother’s side. There’s light and dark in you, and you will have to chose what nature you will allow to flourish. But knowing you, I would largely place my bets on the light side. And,” he takes a pause, “you can always seek to redeem yourself for your faults. I tried to break through the walls of Ba Sing Se, and then I took it back from the Fire Nation. Your father chased Aang halfway across the world, and now they are best friends. Azula was one of the most terrifying people in existence -”

“She still is.”

He chuckles. “Yes, she still is. But the original fire bending masters deemed her worthy of regaining her power when she lost it and repented, and they even gifted her a dragon egg as they did to your father,” he explains.

“Your father’s legacy was to end a war. Yours will be the equally important one of maintaining peace,” Iroh says. “Now, maybe you should go practice that and make your amends with Master Bumi. I am off to make some tea.”

“What if he won’t speak to me,” she asks.

“Well then your partner dance in front of the court later on at your party will be terribly uncomfortable!” he says walking back inside. ——————————————————————————————————— Bumi does not really know where he is walking to, and he just follows the direction that instinct takes him. He can hear his parents behind him, but he does not stop.

“Bumi please,” Katara calls.

He groans and walks faster. In this instance, he was incredibly pleased with himself because he still remembers some of the secret passageways in the palace that Izumi had showed him as children when they would play hide and explode with Izumi’s Aunt Kiyi and Aunt Azula, so he ducked into one that he knew was coming and hears his parents run right passed. It was slightly dark inside, which made perfect sense considering that usually only firebenders used these hallways and had no need for any other light.

Bumi went off memory and kept his right hand on the wall. If he had to figure this out like a maze in order to get out, that’s what he would do. After about ten minutes in the dark, he feels a variation in the stone that tells him he’s found a door. If he remembers correctly, this one will let him out by the portrait gallery. However, when he opens the door, he’s stopped by a piece of furniture.

“Huh?” he hears someone ask, and soon the furniture is being shoved out of the way and the door opens and bright light blinds him, and Azula is standing in front of him.

She stares him up and down. “I would offer to help you but I will warn you first that if you ruin Izumi’s birthday, not even the fact that your father is the Avatar will save you from me.”

Bumi remains frozen, unsure what to do.

“Well don’t just sit there,” she says, raising a brow. He stumbles into what he realizes to be Azula’s office.

“If you are avoiding your parents who ran after you when you caused quite the commotion at breakfast, then my office would definitely be the best place to hide. Push that back into place,” she commands gesturing to the small table she had just moved.

Bumi has not spent much time alone with Azula. Whenever he would visit the Fire Nation, he and Izumi were attached at the hip. Every summer when Kya would go to the Southern Water Tribe and his dad and Tenzin would go to an Air Temple, Bumi would get dropped off in the Fire Nation for a few months of sword training with Master Piandao. After Piandao passed away, Zuko offered to continue training him since Sokka was busy trying to get Republic City up and running. In all that time, he’d never really gotten to know Azula. From what Izumi had told him, Azula was Zuko’s right hand. She lead his small council and sat in on meetings when he was away on diplomatic trips, which made her an extremely powerful person.

He looks around her office. It’s clean and tidy. There is a small ink portrait of Izumi on the wall to the right of Azula's desk, and vases of Fire Lilies around the room.

Azula studies him while he looks around the room. “Should I ask what’s bothering you or should we pretend this exchange never happened?”

“Whatever you prefer,” he replies.

“I prefer to be well informed.”

“Izumi and I had a fight.”

“I gleaned that,” she says flatly. There’s a pause. “Izumi hates celebrating her birthday. She tells us every year it makes her feel guilty, but the 17th birthday of the Heir Apparent is a rite of passage in the Fire Nation.”

“Why’s that?”

“Traditionally, it’s when the Crown Prince, or in Izumi’s case, Princess, starts sitting on the small council and has to take up a stronger political role than just kissing babies and doing well in school… it’s seen as the last day of childhood.”

Oh Bumi thinks. “That’s why she’s so stressed.”

“Most likely a factor.”

“She never mentioned it.”

“Well, you know Izumi. Unless it’s Zuko, getting her to tell you what’s wrong is like pulling teeth. She is like you in that regard.” Bumi looks puzzled. “I read people very well,” she says in reply to his reaction. There’s a pause as she regards him. “I do not imagine it is easy to be a non-bender in a family like yours.”

“Man, you really don’t hold back.”

She offers him a half smile. “I understand the fear of being a disappointment too. When I was 12 I was so scared of failure and what would happen if I disappointed my father. It was not even two years by the time I self destructed.”

“I’m not going to self destruct,” he mutters.

“Then you might need some help carrying that weight on your shoulders around.”

He is quiet for a minute. “What if there’s no one to help me?”

She glances down at a small ink drawing of her mother, Zuko, and herself that sits on her desk. “From my experience, you can often find help in very unexpected places, but you have to be open to being helped.”

AN: you cannot convince me Azula didn’t get a redemption arc and a lot of healing and become a strange source of wisdom. you just can’t. azula redemptions are a peak of feminist literature.

I imagine redeemed Azula serves Zuko in a position similar to the hand of the king from GoT.

#avatarstories #izumi #bumi #azula #zuko #aang #katara #toph #lin #kya #iroh

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firelxdykatara · 5 years

Note

If Zutara were to be canon,thanks to Aaron Ehasz,how will this affect Legend Of Korra?

This is a difficult question to answer, mostly because it would of necessity rely on a whole lot of assumptions and biases, and without asking Aaron himself (in private, where he wouldn’t have to worry about kicking off another fandom war), it’s impossible to answer with any degree of certainty.

Now, I can talk about how I, personally, think things would have been different if Zutara had been canon–which, for me, means that the epilogue of book 3 was just the tea shop scene, and we got a book 4 where, as Aaron briefly mentioned on twitter and in various interviews, the consequences of energy-bending were explored, the lost Air Nomads were found, Azula had her redemption arc (which would probably have tied into the search for Ursa, which I would’ve loved to see Aaron’s take on in book 4, especially considering the crap the comics handed to us), and Zuko and Katara grew closer and entered into a relationship by the end of the season.

(Before I start exploring this in more depth, I want to head off ‘delusional Zutarian’ arguments at the pass–I’m not saying it’s 100% confirmed that Aaron was planning to make ZK canon in book 4. I am saying (as I’ve said before) that, given the set up and development in canon, and the way Aaron himself has talked about how he develops characters and relationships, I believe he (and other writers/artists/crew members) was leaning heavily towards that particular relationship and would have explored it further in book 4 had he been allowed to.)

Putting the rest under a read more cause this got long.

We know some of what Aaron had plans for–Azula’s redemption, the consequences of energybending, the lost Air Nomads–but nothing super concrete. Going from that, then, I believe that in Book 4, the Gaang would have split up for a good chunk of it. (Please note that most of the rest of this is pure speculation.) There’s a lot of ground Book 4 would’ve had to cover–the Gaang in the beginning would’ve split off to head to their respective homes (Sokka and Katara to the SWT, Suki to Kyoshi Island, Toph… ok, Toph probably just stuck around Caldera and this would’ve been a great time to have the Toph&Zuko life-changing-field-trip episode we were denied in canon) to touch base with the families and friends they’d left behind to go on their save-the-world tour.

For his part, Aang would’ve returned to Guru Pathik. While he got a last-second Hail Mary (in the form of a conveniently placed rock, which still boggles my mind, but whatever) when fighting Ozai, he still was not a fully realized Avatar, and since I’m bitter that the Guru Pathik/chakras plot was almost entirely dropped after the book 2 finale, I’m saying he’d have gone back to finally finish that training because it makes sense and because I can. Anyway, he returns to the Guru, and by this point he has accepted that Katara doesn’t return his feelings the way he’d like her to (a call back to The Fortuneteller, which should have been foreshadowing for Aang’s emotional growth, barring the last twenty seconds of the episode).

Furthermore, he’s learned that ‘letting her go’ doesn’t mean he can’t care about her or want her in his life to be the Avatar (after all, previous Avatars have had love and even been married–Kuruk isn’t that great of an example, given that his love life got him killed, but Kyoshi lived over two centuries and had multiple loves over her incredibly long life, and Roku was married and had descendants of his own), it just means letting go of his expectations–letting go of the selfish aspects of his love, the parts that lead him to nod in agreement when actors on a play told fake!Katara ‘I thought you were the Avatar’s girl’, and that lead him to expect her to return his feelings and push against her boundaries when she told him she wasn’t sure and was confused. (He said “We kissed at the invasion and I thought we were gonna be together, but we’re not.” even though a) he kissed her without any warning, she did not kiss him, and she looked away and frowned afterwards, and b) she never once brought up the kiss again or hinted that her feelings towards him had changed and become romantic, so he had no reason to believe they’d ‘be together’.)

Ok that was a bit of a tangent, but the upshot is, Guru Pathik helps Aang fully master the Avatar State. While on that particular journey, Aang has to deal with the consequences of energybending–he pulled Ozai’s energy into himself, and he has to deal with the sudden darkness that was absorbed into his spirit. He also receives some sort of hint, possibly from a dream or meeting with a spirit, that with balance returning to the world, the Air Nomads can start to return, too.

Sokka, Suki, and Toph wind up going with Aang on his journey to figure out just what the spirits meant by that. They discover that the Air Nomads weren’t totally eradicated by Sozin (which would’ve been impossible, since we already know that inter-nation relationships happened in the past [Avatar Kyoshi’s mother was an airbender], and they were, well… nomads), but those who survived (because they weren’t at the temples at the time, or some who hadn’t attained mastery managed to escape) assimilated into the Earth Kingdom and even some in the Fire Nation. Because the world was incredibly out of balance following the decimation of the Air Nomad population, and because many of them were suddenly in a situation where showing they were airbenders was a death sentence, their spirit as a population was almost completely broken, and they stopped being able to airbend. In the present, Aang finds descendants of Air Nomad survivors, including Ty Lee (and, in my HC, Jet, who shows up alive bc I want him to get the healing arc he didn’t get in canon) who are beginning to discover they can airbend.

Meanwhile, Zuko asked Katara to accompany him on his journey to find his mother–it’s a callback to TSR, when he helped her gain closure for her mother’s murder, and since he wants to bring Azula too, he asked for Katara’s help sister-wrangling. They eventually find Ursa (who did not willingly forget her children, and who did not send a letter to her former lover to make Ozai question Zuko’s paternity, because in the show she was not a horrible person and she loved her children more than anything tyvm), as well as Kiyi (the only good thing to come out of that comic), and Azula finally gets the sort of closure she could never have before, and there is a heavy focus on her emotional journey. Zuko is there to support her, and Katara is there to support Zuko. In the process, Katara winds up with an odd sort of mildly antagonistic friendship with Azula, who gets to a point where she can good-naturedly tease Katara about her growing feelings for Zuko.

ANYWAY. I realize you were asking primarily how it would affect LoK, and I went on a whole ass book 4 tangent. So here’s how I see it changing the landscape in LoK.

First of all, Katara is granted the importance she is due. She has a statue in most major cities, including both Caldera and Republic City. Katara married Zuko and became one of the most beloved Fire Ladies in Fire Nation history, partly because she didn’t assimilate and give up her own home and culture, and she never hesitated to speak her mind during council meetings. It put off much of the nobility, especially in the first few years of their marriage, but Zuko had survived many an assassination attempt by then, and he valued his wife’s input above his closest advisors and never made a secret of it. The nobles could either accept it or risk losing their titles, which several of them did because they figured the Fire Lord was bluffing, only to find out he wasn’t in the slightest.

Katara was also active in the White Lotus, which she wound up leading along with Sokka and Zuko (who’d passed the mantle of Fire Lord onto their eldest daughter, Izumi, once they felt she was ready to lead), and when Aang passed away, they immediately began the search for the next Avatar.

Most of Korra’s early life would’ve been the same, Katara and Sokka saved her from the Red Lotus’ kidnapping attempt, and she wound up raised at the White Lotus compound where she learned waterbending, firebending, and earthbending, and was on the cusp of learning airbending from Tenzin (who was Aang’s kid with someone else–given his design, his mother could’ve been literally anyone, Toph or one of the returned Air Nomads or someone else entirely) when he got called back to Republic City, and she followed.

From here, well… ok, there’s a lot I would change about LoK just in general. Thinking specifically of how Zutara would have affected things, and with the stipulation that Aaron was still the head writer for LoK, I like to think that Katara wouldn’t have been rendered weak and useless (seriously, a bloodbender locked away Korra’s bending, but Katara–allegedly the most powerful waterbender alive, and the one who single-handedly got bloodbending outlawed–couldn’t undo it with bloodbending???), and would have been allowed to, for example, fight to protect her family (while Tenzin and his children wouldn’t have been her direct relations [unless, instead of Pema, he wound up marrying Zuko and Katara’s youngest daughter??? that’s an idea], they would still have been family, as Aang’s only living descendants) and taken a more active part in the water tribe civil war (which would have been given the narrative arc it was due instead of being a half-assed vehicle for ridiculous spirit world shenanigans). And besides, a gaang reunion episode where Zuko, Katara, Suki (because screw LoK for having her just up and disappear lmfao) and Toph fight the Red Lotus together just like old times??? That would’ve been fucking amazing.

(We got to see old ass men in AtLA fight like they were in their prime, including one who was over a century old. What was LoK’s excuse???)

Since we got the return of the Air Nomads in book 4 of LoK there would be no need for the spirit portals or the ‘harmonic convergence’, and instead Korra’s spiritual journey hinges on her trauma from the end of Book 1. The biggest difference, here, is that I have always been incredibly dissatisfied with the fact that Korra just stared sadly over the edge of a cliff and was suddenly able to unlock the Avatar State and get her bending back. Keeping in mind the way Aaron Ehasz excelled at character journeys in the original show, I think she should have ended book 1 with her bending locked completely. Katara was able to reverse whatever it was Amon did to her (and Amon, by the way, didn’t get killed–the Equalists also didn’t just disappear, and the thread of nonbender oppression carries through the rest of the series, to be revisited and finally resolved in book 4), but it didn’t give Korra her bending back, because the trauma she suffered was just as psychological as it was a physical block to her bending.

Book 2, therefore, would’ve included a narrative thread of Korra needing to go on her own spiritual journey to unlock her chakras and regain her bending, finally able to reac the Avatar State when the civil war between the water tribes reached a head, and she is finally able to broker peace, having learned a great deal about herself and her connection to the past avatars.

I realize that I’ve kind of derailed pretty far off the original point, so I’ll stop here with a general note that while Zutara, as a relationship, doesn’t affect a whole lot of this directly (for the most part it would just affect the parentage of the Gaang kids who showed up, the designs of some, and their relationships with each other and possibly with Korra)–however, with the addition of Book 4 and keeping Aaron’s writing talents for LoK, the landscape of the entire sequel would be altered. I’d like to think that he would’ve preferred writing a coherent narrative that did justice to the characters even if it meant ending the show with unresolved plot threads (especially since they could wrap things up with comics which, in this alternate timeline, are actually good and in character because I want to have my cake and eat it too), so rather than being disconnected plots that didn’t make much sense when each individual villain could’ve served as the entire series Big Bad, much of books 2 and 3 would’ve involved smaller scale plots and villains, with Amon returning for book 4 and everything getting wrapped up far more neatly than it did in canon.

TL;DR: while Zutara itself wouldn’t necessarily change a whole lot (it would affect Book 4 and the post-atla comics more) outside of the different Gaang kids and their dynamics, the show as a whole would’ve been vastly different if the writing team for LoK had been the same–including Aaron as head writer–as the writing team for AtLA.

Bryke were great Big Picture guys, great vision and visual guys, I’ve never disputed that. But they sucked at not missing the forest for the trees. They sucked at romance. And they really sucked at coherent plot and character development, especially in the small scale.

#atla #zutara #lok #bryke salt #kinda sorta #just covering my bases really #fantasticanimefan #asked

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carnistcervine · 4 years

Text

Aang and Raava are Separate AU

(AU name WIP)

So a while ago I saw this art. And I was like, d’aww. Then it inspired me to make this AU, and I’ve finally written out all the ideas I have for it.

Lemme just have mah mama Raava ‘kay?

-Quick note for this AU, Raava and Vaatu basically have the same powers. So, she also has an insane spirit laser. And where Vaatu can cause emotional distress to the point of hostility in others, Raava has a pacifying aura. I mean, it's possible that Raava also has these abilities in canon, but if she does, she doesn't use them.

-Raava could already sense a grave danger looming over the horizon when Sozin left Roku to die.

-However she remained idle as Aang was born into the world.

-Unlike Aang, she noticed the subtle changes in the people of the Fire Nation, however, once again she did not interfere.

-Raava has been idle since Wan's eventual death, and the world had managed to get along without her direct interference.

-So when Aang runs away and ends up frozen solid, it's a wake-up call for Raava.

-When Aang and Appa sink below the waves, she becomes desperate, her Avatar is about to die before he can complete his destiny. She cannot allow this. Raava takes over freezing a sphere of air around them, she curls around her Avatar and expends her power sending him and his friend into stasis.

-Raava watches over Aang for a hundred years. She would be with him for all his lifetimes...

-When Katara comes across the globe that rose from the water, she doesn't notice the creepy white spirit also trapped in the ice. But Sokka sees it. He tries to stop her from freeing whatever monster was trapped in there, but Katara doesn't notice the strange flatworm-kite-thing until it's too late and it's forcing it's tendrils through the cracks in the ice.

-Seeing an opportunity, Raava uses the cracks in the ice Katara created to break the icy sphere open completely, and a burst of light is sent into the sky, signalling the Avatar's return.

-Katara remembers Gran Gran's tales of spirits who set traps for wanderers out in the icy wastes and worries that she may have accidentally doomed herself and her brother. However, the spirit that pops out of the ice seems more concerned with a young boy it has cradled in it's tendrils. It lays him down gently in the snow, telling him to rest easy.

-When the spirit turns towards his sister, Sokka steps into action, he points his spear at the thing, telling his sister to stay back. That they don't know what this creature is capable of. The spirit casually knocks Sokka's weapon aside and rests a tendril on his shoulder, telling him to take it easy. Sokka can't help but feel oddly drowsy from the contact, like a soft blanket had been draped over his mind.

-Katara asks the spirit who it is. The spirit introduces herself as Raava, the spirit of light and peace. Raava asks Katara if she's a waterbender, Katara confirms that yes she is. So Raava asks if she'd be willing to teach the Avatar, gesturing to Aang.

-Katara explains that she's untrained and that she's the last waterbender in the south pole.

-A fact that worries Raava.

-Raava vouches to see that both Aang and Katara are trained. She asks Katara to take them back to her village and Katara obliges, much to a still sleepy Sokka's chagrin.

-Raava loads Aang onto the bison and Katara and Sokka get on as Appa wakes up. Raava glides along side the bison as Katara leads them to the village. As they get closer, Raava takes on a human looking form and carries Aang in her arms. It's been her personal experience that humans tend to react better to other humans than to faceless spirits.

-None of the villagers ask who this strange woman is, they simply assume that she's the mother of the child she has in her arms.

-Raava watches over Aang as he sleeps. When he wakes up, he feels a vague familiarity at Raava, but doesn't know who she is. She tells him flat out that she's the one known as the Avatar Spirit.

-When Katara introduces Aang and Raava to the village. Raava can't help but feel concerned about how sparse it is. Also, she doesn't introduce herself as a spirit, she simply introduces herself as Raava. The villagers are not only surprised to see an airbender, but also someone as regal looking as Raava.

-Of course, immediately on Raava's docket is going straight to the North Pole so Katara and Aang can learn waterbending. But Aang wants to go penguin sledding with Katara. Being a spirit, Raava is intimately familiar with the fact that they are actually on a deadline and doom is imminent. But even Raava must relent to Aang's incurable puppy face.

-Raava stays behind in the village, learning more specific details about the 100 years war and the stripping of the South Pole.

-Then the whole thing with Aang booby-ing right into a trap happens.

-Sokka banishes Aang from the village, Katara demands to go with him and Raava feels like it's about damn time for them to get on the road.

-Unlike Aang, Raava has no qualms about splitting up Katara's family.

-Then Zuko attacks Katara's tribe and the trio rush back to help.

-Raava steps up to stop Zuko, and Zuko assumes that she's the Avatar. She corrects him, telling him that she's close to the Avatar, but not him.

-She can see the strings of fate that attach Zuko to Aang, so she lets him off easy, grabbing him and using her pacifying aura to make him take a nap. Only saying that he looked like he needed one.

-Iroh is naturally worried for his nephew, but Raava assures him that Zuko is only sleeping and will be back to normal as soon as he wakes up.

-Skipping ahead a bit~

-For the most part, Raava keeps her true nature hidden. Pretending to be a human woman. As no one alive knows who Raava is, it works like a charm.

-Aang is still captured by Zhao when Sokka and Katara get sick, and Zuko does do his Blue Spirit thing trying to rescue him. But also Raava is goddamn pissed and levels half the damn fortress while the duo escape.

-Quick note about Raava, she calls herself a spirit of peace, but she's technically the spirit of order and goes from 0 to 10,000 pretty much instantly. So yeah, she's less an embodiment of peace, and more an enforcer of it.

-They get to the North Pole much faster than in canon, because Raava doesn't play and is actually able to keep the children on task.

-When Pakku refuses to teach Katara, Raava is fucking PISSED. She cannot believe how selfish he's being. Seriously? He's putting his tribe's stupid culture and traditions above the safety and balance of the world! Katara just stands by, smirking as Raava reveals her true nature and goes off on Pakku. She thoroughly enjoys watching him get dunked on by an ancient spirit.

-Not only does Raava demand that both Katara and Aang are taught combat waterbending, but also healing. She honestly doesn't understand why anyone would be dumb enough to separate the two. 1) The more healers, the better. 2) Having an intimate knowledge of the human body(as would be required by healing) makes you a better fighter.

-Both Zhao and Zuko track the Avatar to the North Pole, but Zhao is forced to hang back until he can gather his fleet to attack the fortress. Zuko just breaks right in and is captured. Raava knows that the North will not have mercy on the Fire Prince and demands that he be released to her custody.

-The northerners correctly deduce that she plans on using the Fire Prince as a teacher for the Avatar.

-Unable to deny the direct order of a greater spirit, Zuko is released into Raava's care. She makes sure to keep him in line and implants suggestions into him that make him question his father and country.

-Obviously he isn't anywhere near ready to turn yet, but the seeds are planted much earlier.

-As for waterbending teaching, the healers welcome Aang with open arms. However, Katara gets it ROUGH from the combat students. Pakku is intentionally harsher than normal on her. He's also super hard on Aang, but Katara gets it double time because she's a girl and because Raava is making him teach her.

-When Zhao eventually comes to the North, not only does Raava decimate his fleet, but she also works with Tui and La to trap him in the spirit world for having the audacity to mess with the spirits.

On a side note, I actually spent some time thinking about this. Now for the story, I kind of picture in my mind that Raava goes full on IMMA FIRIN MAH LAZOR on Zhao's fleet. Now, Raava also attacked the Pohai stronghold, and even though Zhao is a reckless idiot, he's not so reckless that he'd just casually forget something as important as the fact that the spirit hanging around the Avatar has A POWERFUL FUCKING LASER. So I got to thinking, if Zhao knows that Raava has a spirit beam attack, he'd make some kind of counter measure. Now, before Kuvira builds the Avatar world's equivalent of a nuke, there really isn't anything that can counter such an attack. And even then, the spirit canon was never used on either Raava or Vaatu, so even though I'm sure it would hurt them, I have no clue how much.

So, this leaves a dilemma. Because Zhao would not abandon his quest to kill the Moon Spirit. Now, I suppose Zhao could just wait for the Avatar to leave the North Pole, but Zhao is not a patient man. So, do I have Raava just not use her spirit laser at the Pohai fortress? Have it be a surprise muthafucka moment for Zhao? I mean, a giant spirit thrashing about would create just as much damage. Or, ooor- And here's a juicy idea~ Zhao intentionally suppresses information of the full extent of Raava's power(it would be harder to get people to join him if they knew just what they were up against) and simply amasses a larger fleet than in canon. He has no real recourse or counter for Raava's power, but decides that he'll simply use his fleet as a distraction. Keep Raava busy while he fulfills his real goal, slaying the Moon Spirit. Zhao's plan isn't to counter Raava directly, but to simply use his fleet a bait.

After all, what better bait than fresh meat?

-Of course, this does bring up that idea... Perhaps Zhao succeeds?

-Oh and in case you were wondering, Ozai was 100% on board with Zhao's idea.

-Skipping ahead some more~

-In Omashu, when facing against the dangerous ladies, Raava proves to be a formidable adversary. Mai's knives harmlessly phase through or bounce off her body. Ty Lee's chi blocking doesn't affect her, and physical contact with the spirit causes Ty Lee to feel the effects of Raava's pacifying aura. Raava's aura, as Ty Lee notes is a brilliant radiance, like looking at the sun.

-And in Azula's case, Raava isn't at all intimidated or swain by her. The spirit is hardly fazed by her blue fire, taking fireballs to the face without so much as a flinch. For the first time in Azula's life she find herself an unstoppable force, meeting an immovable object.

-It's equally frustrating as it is exhilarating.

-Azula's found a worthy opponent.

-For Raava's part, the group are hardly noteworthy. Easily taken down by her pacifying aura. However, Raava knows better than to underestimate an opponent. Fighting someone for eons(like Vaatu) instills these lessons quite firmly. So, she notes whatever things she can about the group, instinctively knowing that this isn't the last she'll see of them.

-Aaand, the swamp. The swamp wants the Gaang to come down and join it. Raava wants the Gaang to join the swamp. The Gaang do not want to join the swamp.

-When the Gaang try to fly over, Raava warns them that they've angered it. She does nothing as the swamp forcefully sucks the group down.

-I'm still deciding whether or not Zhao succeeds in killing Tui... But if he doesn't, instead of encountering a vision of Yue in the swamp, the moon spirit confronts Sokka. With all it's creepy faceless glory.

-As for Aang, he chases down the vision of Toph and runs into Vaatu, or at least a vision of him(or maybe it really is him, I'm leaving this intentionally vague). The spirit shrinks down and forms into a black humanoid shape and reaches out to Aang, who flees in terror.

-Yeah, I'm thinking that overall the Gaang's spirit visions/encounters are much longer, more harrowing, and much much more involved. More like dream sequences/quests than simple visions.

-The swamp is alive, it is a spirit. And spirits are dicks.

-When the group reconvenes, Sokka accuses Raava of terrorizing him. If I have Zhao succeed in killing the Moon Spirit, this scene becomes much more personal with Sokka accusing Raava of using Yue to terrorize him. He's livid with the light spirit, claiming that she used the image of Yue to torment him.

-Of course, Raava did no such thing. But she let's Sokka have his moment, utterly unmoved by his anger. She calmly states that she did no such thing and asks Sokka what possible motivation she could have for doing that.

-Sokka's pissed at Raava for a bit after that, but ultimately accepts that she had nothing to do with what he saw.

-As for Raava herself, she has a vision of Wan.

-Skipping ahead a bit~

-For Toph, Raava is a nightmare. Raava is a spririt, so not only does she not create any vibrations whatsoever, but she also lacks a smell and her voice emanates with no clear direction. Toph never knows when Raava is around, where Raava is, or when Raava is approaching. The only time she knows Raava's there is when she starts speaking.

-She's also completely unable to tell when or if Raava is ever lying.

-Without meaning to, Raava makes Toph feel helpless.

-But that's not all, Toph also hates how demanding Raava is. And poor Toph has no recourse against her. She can't see Raava, so she can't throw any earth her way, and Raava doesn't respond to argument or teasing. At least when Toph is annoyed with Katara, she can call her Sugar Queen and throw mud on her. But deepest of all, Toph is worried that Raava will treat her like her parents treat her. As someone who's too weak and delicate to care for or defend themselves.

-From Raava's perspective, she doesn't like how chaotic Toph is, but overall feels the same way that she does for the rest of the Gaang. She comes to love her dearly. As much as she dotes on the Gaang, she doesn't at all think of any of them as being weak. Far from it! In her eyes they're all powerful warriors. They're her powerful warriors. Yes they are, yes they are~!

-Raava pretty much dotes on the Gaang and comes think of them as her children. She basically takes over Katara's role as group mom, which allows Katara to settle more into a role of being a kid.

-Even though Raava spoils the Gaang, she's also the fun police. The Gaang are all chaotic gremlins and Raava just wants them to stop and SETTLE DOWN FOR ONCE DAMMIT.

-Just an all powerful spirit vs the chaotic energy of a bunch of kids.

-At Wan Shi Tong's library, Raava joins the Gaang going inside. It's because of her that Wan Shi Tong allows them to peruse his collection.

-While he doesn't trust or like humans, he isn't dumb enough to defy a greater spirit. Especially not Raava.

-Let's just say, Raava has a bit of a reputation.

-The Gaang are able to spend a very long time in the library, building an extensive plan and knowledge base before they leave.

-Raava insists that Toph come into the library with them, offering to read to Toph whatever topic her heart desires. The idea makes Toph a little excited, but she makes it seem like she's only begrudgingly agreeing.

-You know Toph would take full advantage of Raava's offer and learn about everything her parents tried to hide from her.

-It does provide as an opportunity for Raava and Toph to bond. Toph finds that Raava's voice is nice to listen to, very soothing. She also finds that Raava isn't as judgmental as her parents. She judges Toph for her actions and her strength, not some preconceived notion that blindness=weakness.

-I'll probably have other times like this peppered throughout the story where various members of the Gaang get a one-on-one with Raava where she offers her I've-Been-Around-Since-The-Beginning-Of-Time-So-I-Must-Know-Something wisdom.

-Naturally, this means that the sandbenders are able to steal Appa unopposed.

-Since Appa has been stolen, Raava carries them all to Ba Sing Se. She tries to console Aang in his grief, but Aang shuts himself off from the rest of the group, and even blames Raava for Appa's disappearance.

-When they first find out, he blows up at her, screaming that she should have kept watch to make sure nothing happened to him.

-To which Raava rightly points out that not only is Appa a ten ton bison fully capable of handling himself, but also they don't know what happened to him, and leaving someone behind could have meant loosing two team members instead of one.

-Aang is upset enough to trigger the avatar state, but Raava uses her ties to him to pacify him instead.

-By the time Raava reaches the walls of Ba Sing Se, the city's generals have collected along with several soldiers. Being a giant, luminescent flatworm, Raava isn't too hard to spot. Even at a distance.

-Of course, the Gaang are all knocked out from prolonged contact with Raava so they're useless at the moment.

-The generals soon recognize Raava as being the one that brought down Zhao's fleet, and slightly concerned she'll do the same to the city, comply with her demands that the Gaang be given adequate shelter.

-The Gaang all wake up in a very nice house in the upper ring, Raava is quietly reading a play.

-For a while Aang resents Raava, feeling like it's her fault that Appa disappeared. Raava, understanding that he needs to time to process his grief, leaves him be.

-Raava actually likes Ba Sing Se. As a being of order, she sees the peaceful, orderly city as the way the world should be.

-She feels Long Feng's methods to be effective.

-This does drive a bit of a wedge between her and the Gaang, as none of them can properly comprehend spirit morality. Aang kind of understands, but he's kinda pissed at Raava.

-Raava decides to be patient with them, by this point she's realized that sometimes humans need time to understand things.

-Raava and Long Feng come to have an understanding.

-Even still, when Appa goes roaming out into the dark night, it's Raava and not Long Feng that he finds at the end of his journey.

-Aang is very happy to be reunited with Appa and apologizes for being cold/harsh with Raava. Raava just hugs him.

-Thanks to Raava and Long Feng's understanding, they manage to get a meeting with the Earth Kingdom generals to talk about the invasion of the Fire Nation.

-Since they get to Ba Sing Se earlier than in canon(again Raava is pretty good at keeping the children on task and getting/keeping them out of sticky situations) the drill appears much later during their time in Ba Sing Se.

-The Fire Nation didn't know that Raava was in Ba Sing Se, but figured that their reinforced drill would be tough enough to withstand- it's not.

-Raava just wants to blow the stupid thing up and be done with it, but Aang doesn't want Raava to do that because then a whole bunch of people will die. Raava doesn't care, a few human casualties is nothing compared to the havoc on the world's balance that the Fire Nation taking Ba Sing Se would bring.

-But Raava relents and decides to pull the drill apart, a slower and much harder process, but one that would be much less likely to harm anyone inside.

-They notice right away that Raava is attacking the drill, so Azula and her two friends go out to fight Raava and the Gaang.

-Mai and Ty Lee have learned their lessons about physical contact with Raava from the last time they fought.

-Azula uses her lightning on Raava, which while not deadly like it would be on a human, does actually hurt Raava.

-After being hit by multiple bolts of lightning, Raava lets go of mercy and trashes Azula.

-Thoroughly crushed, Azula and her friends have to go home with their tails between their legs.

-In this AU they never visit Kyoshi, and Appa's with Aang, so there's no one for Azula to disguise herself as.

-Azula also starts to crack a little bit earlier due to her complete inability to even pose a threat to Raava. As this forces her to reconsider deep aspects about herself and her own failings. After all, almost isn't good enough.

-Azula does try to tell herself that he usual tactics aren't working on Raava, because she's a spirit and spirits are fools. But deep down, she's always considered herself above the spirits. So it's not easy for her when this is called into question.

-The dangerous ladies do eventually manage to sneak into Ba Sing Se. Azula's plans remain more or less the same as canon.

-Though, I have started thinking that maybe Azula adds another to her posse, perhaps someone with spiritual expertise? No one can counter Raava in terms of power, but perhaps she can be countered in terms of spirituality?

-Either way, Azula fails to sway the Dai Li to her favor. In their eyes, Raava's favor of Long Feng means he's the one that was chosen by the fates to lead.

-So the dangerous ladies are arrested.

-I'm still deciding whether they break out or get brainwashed. I’m leaning towards epic jailbreak. But IDK.

-Iroh invites Raava to his tea shop, flirts and makes pleasant conversation with her. Much to Zuko's dismay, Iroh invites her back to their apartment to discuss a firebending teacher for the Avatar, as well as the Day of Black Sun.

-Oh yeah, Raava knows that Zuko and Iroh are Fire royals. She also knows that they're the only good options to fill Ozai's place when he's removed from power.

-All that said, the eclipse goes soooo much better than in canon. The Fire Nation legit don't know what's coming so no trap can be lain.

-Ozai is stripped of his power by Raava and thrown in jail.

-Zuko is crowned and rules with Raava constantly leering over his shoulder.

-Some notes about Raava's characterization in this AU; a pretty strong case for good is not nice. Raava can be very blunt and abrasive, also she nags and chides literally everyone. She absolutely loves and adores her Avatar, as well as the companions he travels with, but is overall critical of humankind. While the amount of people she likes is vanishingly small, she also doesn't really hate anyone(not even Vaatu). She's more like the tired kindergarten teacher who stares into the void as her students tear the classroom apart around her. Of course she’s also about a planc length from taping all the children to the floor.

-And if you think that's the end and everything just wraps up nicely and it's all happy good times from there...

-I admire your optimism.

#ATLA #Avatar #ATLA AU #Avatar AU #Mama Raava #EternalMomofLight #We've reached the top of the hill. And the only way is down.#Ending wars is never a clean business #And Raava's reaching her limit #There's still Ozai's supporters #And Azula #And Sozin's comet #Lots of fun times ahead! :)

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airbookworm · 11 years

Text

Just a Visit

~with Aang and Jinora~

Aang

Korra had long since been granted access to the avatar state. she was studying the tactics of air bending. His gaze stayed upon her as he sat in front of her she had crossed over into the spirit world speaking to aang about some troubles she was having with air bending he stood and smiled “air is not a easy element because like the rest it is not formed meaning simply this korra air is around you free you can guide it never control it you can push currents with your energy and then follow accordingly many consider air to be the weaker of elements but is it truly? air is freedom peace and harmony for it holds no restrictions no boundaries so try this.” he smiled as he made a air ball and let it dissipate “korra watch the currents of air to do this you must learn the basics so watch closely as i form the airball” he spoke before waving a hand over his head his other in front of him as air pulled and formed in front of him swirling and he then held it out with a smile. korras body still sat there as she spoke to him in spirit state. it was then a small girl ran past and he studied her loosing track of what he was saying watching the child. he gazed at the black hair placed neatly and her air bender robes traditional.

He could not help but smile as he then lost track the airball then ignored as it dispersed as his eyes followed her. he turned to face the direction before he hung his head feelings of pain crossed his features as a tug was felt at his head and he spoke in a low voice. “I didnt get to hold my grandchildren” he turned to face korra

He thought for a second his features lightening up and in a flash he had korra by her shoulders. “do you trust me korra” he asked earning a nod from korra who held a expression of silent thoughts of smacking him for startling her so. “if you allow me to surface in your body i can hold my grandchildren and hear their tales” he smiled excited “listen” he released her and cleared his trough and shook the wrinkles out of his robes “avatar roku showed me this when i was younger” he said being serious and gazing back to where she had ran “I wish to hold my grandchild I wish to hold my son for a second i wish to visit katara as she sleeps and run my finger along her jaw and tell her its ok ” he said fighting a tear that wished to fall “but only if you desire korra thought we are all connected it is your life and body” he hung his head as she placed a hand on his shoulder “avatar aang you can use me” he smiled as he placed a closed fist into the palm of his hand and gave a light bow “thank you korra i shall never forget this” he spoke in a silent tone. she then pulled his essence back into there leaving the spirit world and it was then aang took over and stood there gazing upon his hand. “Thank you” he mumbled heading to go find the grandchildren and tenzin he would visit katara later so not to startle her.

Jinora

Jinora was perched about halfway up a tree, a book in hand when Ikki came racing past. Spirits would only know what had her sister running with such energy. Of course, Ikki always had energy, though perhaps she had made up some new game to entertain herself while Meelo slept and their mother was busy.

She shrugged, settling back into position against the tree trunk. She was quite happy with finding such a good reading spot. Easily reachable with bending, it gave her enough privacy and silence for her reading and personal thoughts, while at the same time leaving her visible enough for her mother to look out the window and see that she was fine.

Comfortable once again, Jinora shook thoughts of her family away before returning to her book. Her recent selections had been of her grandfather’s journals, which he had begun writing not long after the Hundred Year War had ended. His earliest ones all seemed to be of his past and the culture of the Air Nomads. Probably his efforts to capture the long forgotten culture so that the basis would be there for the new Air Nomads. For her and her siblings, she realized. Much of what she was reading sounded very interesting and somewhat familiar, as if she had been doing the same things. Which, technically, she supposed she had. Grandfather Aang had taught her father, and now he was teaching his children, and even the acolytes.

She smiled, looking at the book. She, her siblings, and her father were her grandfather’s legacy in a sense. Of course, Korra was his literal legacy, in regards to being the Avatar, but in a familial and cultural sense? The legacy belonged to her family. They were charged with bringing the Air Nomad culture back to the world, protecting it from all evils.

Looking up, glancing in the direction of Avatar Aang’s statue, she made a silent promise. She would do her best, earn her tattoos as soon as possible, to make her grandfather proud. Idly, she wished she could have met him, learned from him, but that was not a thought to ponder now. Not when she had so much more learning to do.

Aang

He was called twinkletoes by toph for a reason he would not be heard if he did not wish to. with a small blast of air he landed behind her and placed a arm around her and a hand over her mouth pulling her off the perch in the tree. He knew she would freak out so he quickly calmed her by turning her to face him and placing a finger to his lips “suuuush relax grandchild its me aang korra helped me to get here its a avatar thing. just trust me and calm down” he said with a smile to her tilting his head so proud to see her “I never got to hold any of you so i wanted to at least meet you and I want you to know I am so proud of you” he brushed her hair back with a caring smile to her.

Jinora

As soon as she had been released, Jinora distanced herself from the man. Settling in a defensive pose, she stared at him. He looked very similar to her dad, and hearing his words made her rethink. Could it really be her grandfather? She didn’t know much (at the moment) about the spiritual abilities of the Avatar, but a single past Avatar taking control of the current Avatar’s body was something she was sure didn’t happen often. Usually, it was all the past Avatars or just the current Avatar.

She relaxed, just barely, still staring. He wore air nomad clothes, and had his masters tattoo. Maybe it really was him. Still, she was too smart to trust complete strangers. “Can you prove that you are Avatar Aang?”

Aang

He simply laughed at how she held the airbending pose ready to attack him if he posed a threat. he shook his head reaching out to her gripping her left arm pulling her hand so it extended further “now you can get more air when you do need it quicker also it creates a availability for you to move from one stance to another should you have to react quickly as well” he added with a casual smile to her. he then studied her entire form impressed at her age she was doing amazingly well. His eyes softened to the book she was reading and he picked it up with a smile “hummmm they write interesting books about our travels and trials i wonder if they tell all of the truth in here” he asked outloud handing it to her not fazed by her in defense at all “No I can not prove I am avatar aang because I am Grandfather Aang” he smiled placing a hand on her shoulder knowing she would understand that even though he was the avatar he was and always would be a airbender first.

He then placed a finger to his chin and thought for a second before picking up a few pebble and in a instant he held out his hand using airbending to move them around in perfect form in the palm of his hand “is that good enough or do you wish to see something else” he asked before stopping and letting a all but one of the pebbles fall to the ground before he then wrote her name into it using earthbending to carve it in a few seconds and handing it to her sitting down in front of her “so tell me about yourself Jinora” he said still laid back about the entire situation.

Jinora

She stared at him for a moment longer before relaxing her pose. It certainly seemed as if he was who he said he was. That airbending pebble trick was a classic of his, something she had read in his own journals and been told by her own father. She accepted the pebble, staring at her name for a few seconds before slowing sitting down before him. Turning the pebble over in her hands, she thought of what to say.

“Well, I’m ten. I have a younger sister and two younger brothers. I live with them and my parents here on Air Temple Island. I have my own glider staff. and I love reading.” She looked at him, as if to make sure this was the kind of stuff he was asking. Granted, she could probably do better, but she thought she was doing just fine for meeting her dead grandfather for the first time.

Aang

he smiled to her as she spoke and even held a urge to pick her up but didnt really make too many moves “lets go to the fields so that i wont be seen so easily” he said with a smirk as he heard about her reading ”then tell me what you are reading” he said with a smile placing a hand on her back.

He laughed hearing about her glider “That is wonderful I am proud that you and your siblings are airbenders it gives hope to my well our people who were wiped out a long time ago” he said simply as he studied her clothing and it warmed her heart that his son had taken each lesson to heart. “how are you airbending lessons?” he asked casually wondering what she would tell him about them. His grey eyes studying her and the temple that was behind them.

Jinora

She paused for a second before nodding. “Okay. There’s a lot of area and trees behind the airball court we can go,” She said, just before mentally hitting herself in the head. Grandfather would know that, he BUILT the island; he doesn’t need her telling him where stuff is! Doing her best to recover from her brief moment of stupidity, she stood, scooping her book up and closing it before she began to walk towards the court. Her mother wouldn’t be too worried if she didn’t see Jinora. She was smart, and wouldn’t get lost.

“My book?” She flushed slightly at this. She internally debated lying, telling him it was some recent story that had been written, but she didn’t even try. He was her grandfather, and the Avatar, not really someone you should ever lie to. “It’s actually a copy of one of your journals. The one about the history of the Air Nomads, what you learned from your studies.” She refused to look at him, instead choosing to keep looking forward as they made their way to the airball court, giving herself a little mental pep talk. So what if she liked reading about history? It was interesting!

They were close to the court now, Jinora could just see it in the distance. Hearing that he was proud, and his questions on her lessons made her smile. Glad to know that her dad wasn’t letting his dad down. “I like my lessons. They’re interesting, and it’s fun learning new ways to apply my bending. It makes me feel alive, in a way. Ikki and Meelo like them a lot too. Well, when we’re actually learning or trying something. They don’t like meditation very much. Ikki hates being quite, and Meelo doesn’t like being still for so long. It makes him fall asleep. I like it though- gives me time to sort my thoughts and really think, you know?” She said, finally looking at him as they arrived at the courts. Behind the court ther was a bunch of trees, good cover for hide and seek, though part of it did lead to the edge of the island. Still, a great area to hide.

Aang

Aang listened to her and beamed with pride as he head her tell him of her lessons “meditating can be quite hard it came easy for me but for some who are as active as Ikki and Meelo it would be difficult I am sure.”My journals hummm, interesting, O suppose it is good you desire to study and learn it gives me hope for my people you have no idea how your words bring joy to me even after my demise” he said with a soft smile sitting down in the area she had led him to. “lets start with relaxing ourselves this was quite a stirring event my being here that is so if we relax ourselves we can calm our minds and open them to the things that have and are going to happen” he said softly feeling as if he was teaching his son all over again “you remind me of your father, he was very humbled to the lessons and teachings of a airbender as well”

Jinora

Her smile widened upon hearing how he was proud and happy he was with the lessons she and her siblings had with their father. She paused when he sat though. Did he intend to to meditate with her, to instruct her as he had with her father? Her chest swelled with emotions she couldn’t identify, but felt a bit like honor and privilege a bit. Avatar Aang, her grandfather, the last airbender until her father had been born, was silently offering to teach her. She would be mental to not accept.

Quickly, she sat before him, studying him for a moment. She smiled at the comment of her dad, feeling proud once more. Of all the people she knew, she admired her dad the most. To be told that she was similar to her dad by someone who knew him when he was her age, by his dad, her grandfather, was amazing. Her father didn’t talk much about his youth, and her mother was too young to know Tenzin when he was the age of any of his children, and she never saw her aunt, uncle, or GranGran enough to make a similar impression. Hearing it from Avatar Aang though (she mentally supposed she could call him Grandfather or grandpa now) was a huge compliment, one she’d hold in her heart forever.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes before setting to the task of calming and opening her mind. she let herself listen, though, to the world and Aang. Quietly, never opening her eyes, she spoke. “You might be dead, but you’re not gone. Many of the acolytes, especially the older ones, remember you fondly and tell stories about you, spreading the wisdom and teachings you passed to them. They all loved you, and work hard to keep the culture alive and thriving.”

#repost from archive #twinkletoesaang #just a visit #threads #thread: complete

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its-naruto-universe · 7 years

Text

My top Anime of the season

Spring 2017

Ok since the first time I did this It was quite appreciated, I’m doing it again. Those are the anime I enjoyed the most this fall. You should definitly check it out :)

*The anime aren’t in order since I’m doing first the original anime of the fall followed by the sequels

-Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine

I’ll be honest, I was expecting nothing from the anime. I thought it woud be the same fujoshi bait with some bishounens and the chibi moe sensei. Oh I was so wrong.

This became easily my favorite anime of the season. The characters are so loveble, the animation and character design is great and so is the story.

It goes from adorable and silly

To serious and somehow sad and touching arguments, such as selfconfidence, society and family.

Synopsis

Equally charming and stern, Heine Wittgenstein is a brilliant man who commands respect, despite his short, childlike stature. Thus, the king of Grannzreich has called upon Heine to undertake a daunting task that has driven away many before him—become the new royal tutor to four princes who are in line for the throne.

The four heirs each have very distinct and troublesome personalities: Licht, the flirtatious youngest prince; his immature older brother Leonhard; Bruno the studious third prince; and Kai, the oldest of the four and the most reserved. Hilarity ensues as Heine attempts to connect with each of the princes in order to groom them for the throne. However, Heine's mysterious past and dark undercurrents in the present may threaten the harmony within the kingdom.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

-Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho

From what I’ve seen this anime was quite underwatched considering how good it was for its genre. This was quite enjoyible and the bond between the two protagonists zero and yohei, It’s one of the best I’ve seen in anime. The anime is the adaption of the first light novel, and I think they did a great job afterall.

Synopsis

In a world of constant war between humans and witches, there exist the "beastfallen"—cursed humans born with the appearance and strength of an animal. Their physical prowess and bestial nature cause them to be feared and shunned by both humans and witches. As a result, many beastfallen become sellswords, making their living through hunting witches.

Despite the enmity between the races, a lighthearted witch named Zero enlists a beastfallen whom she refers to as "Mercenary" to act as her protector. He travels with Zero and Albus, a young magician, on their search for the Grimoire of Zero: a powerful spell book that could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. During their journey, his inner kindness is revealed as he starts to show compassion and sympathy towards humans and witches alike, and the unlikely companions grow together.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shingeki no kyojin season 2

I’ll be honest, I did like the first season of Snk but I pretty much couldn’t stand most of the characters. With the second season I understood how silly I was and how much of an fucking masterpice snk is. I finished the rest of the manga the day later and damn I can say for sure now that snk is one of my most favorite manga/ anime ever.

You don’t even need to compare them, because witt studio did a magificent job. Be it the animation, the soundtrack, the extra scenes and the most important fact. They were able to do the impossible .

Pardon my fangirlism lol

Synopsis

For centuries, humanity has been hunted by giant, mysterious predators known as the Titans. Three mighty walls—Wall Maria, Rose, and Sheena—provided peace and protection for humanity for over a hundred years. That peace, however, was shattered when the Colossus Titan and Armored Titan appeared and destroyed the outermost wall, Wall Maria. Forced to retreat behind Wall Rose, humanity waited with bated breath for the Titans to reappear and destroy their safe haven once more.

Shingeki no Kyojin Season 2

, Eren Yeager and others of the 104th Training Corps have just begun to become full members of the Survey Corps. As they ready themselves to face the Titans once again, their preparations are interrupted by the invasion of Wall Rose—but all is not as it seems as more mysteries are unraveled. As the Survey Corps races to save the wall, they uncover more about the invading Titans and the dark secrets of their own members.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Boku no hero Season 2

Ok this precious gem is slowly taking over my heart. The characters are so loveble I just can’t. There are ofc quite some tropes of the usual shonen story but the way It’s executed makes you overlook them.

Studio bones just confirm once again why they are my favorite studio by omitting the sensless possible fillers, animating properly and respecting the mangaka work.

Also a huge plus for using kenshi yonezu and amzarashi songs as openings for the anime

Synopsis

One day, a four-year-old boy came to a sudden realization: the world is not fair. Eighty percent of the world's population wield special abilities, known as "quirks," which have given many the power to make their childhood dreams of becoming a superhero a reality. Unfortunately, Izuku Midoriya was one of the few born without a quirk, suffering from discrimination because of it. Yet, he refuses to give up on his dream of becoming a hero; determined to do the impossible, Izuku sets his sights on the elite hero training academy, UA High.

However, everything changes after a chance meeting with the number one hero and Izuku's idol, All Might. Discovering that his dream is not a dead end, the powerless boy undergoes special training, working harder than ever before. Eventually, this leads to him inheriting All Might's power, and with his newfound abilities, gets into his school of choice, beginning his grueling journey to become the successor of the best hero on the planet.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Natsume yuujinchou roku

Whenever I see natsume yuujinchou I get this fuzzy and warm feeling I used to have when as a child alone, anime were my only happiness. It just makes me feel inside why the japanese animation has always held such a big significance on my life.

Natsume is special, it’s one of those masterpieces that is always able to move you. I’ll never stop reccomending it to people. Be it the beatiful anime delievered to us by brain base studio, or the manga accurately drawn by Midorikawa Yuki.

I also want to mention the opening of this season which in my humble opinion It’s one of the most beatiful anime opening I’ve ever seen. The visuals, the music the deep meaning behind every character aparence and the flower language just makes this so precious. It shows once again how much this anime is treasured by the studio, which is always beatiful to see in my opinion.

The link for those who want to check it out immediatly :Floria

Synopsis

While most fifteen-year-old boys, in one way or another, harbor secrets that are related to girls, Takashi Natsume has a peculiar and terrifying secret involving youkai: for as long as he can remember, he has been constantly chased by these spirits. Natsume soon discovers that his deceased grandmother Reiko had passed on to him the Yuujinchou, or "Book of Friends," which contains the names of the spirits whom she brought under her control. Now in Natsume's possession, the book gives Reiko's grandson this power as well, which is why these enraged beings now haunt him in hopes of somehow attaining their freedom.

Without parents and a loving home, and constantly being hunted by hostile, merciless youkai, Natsume is looking for solace—a place where he belongs. However, his only companion is a self-proclaimed bodyguard named Madara. Fondly referred to as Nyanko-sensei, Madara is a mysterious, pint-sized feline spirit who has his own reasons for sticking with the boy.

Based on the critically acclaimed manga by Yuki Midorikawa,

Natsume Yuujinchou

is an unconventional and supernatural slice-of-life series that follows Natsume as he, with his infamous protector Madara, endeavors to free the spirits bound by his grandmother's contract.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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diannaphantomfiction · 7 years

Text

The Mission of War: Book One: Water

Chapter 1 of ?

Fandom(s): Young Justice and Avatar: the Last Airbender

Rating: K+

Summery: The team is assigned their most difficult mission yet, help a hero known as the Avatar stop the war on a far off planet. But things never go as planned. When Kaldur loses his memory in an accident and is rescued by Zuko's ship, things get complicanted for the team.

Date Uploaded: April 1st, 2017

On Ao3: Here

On FanFiction: Here

Previous (This is Chapter 1)

Next (Coming Soon)

Zatanna shivered in the polar air as she trudged behind Kaldur. She honestly had no idea how anyone could live at a planetary pole. Zatanna herself was a Great Lakes girl, it could and did get cold up there, but nothing anywhere near this. Kaldur on the other hand didn't seem bothered in the least. In fact, he almost looked uncomfortable in his parka. Zatanna couldn't help but wonder how cold it was in Alantious. The two didn't talk much as they walked, Zatanna was focusing on a continuous warming spell on herself and Kaldur was focusing on keeping them from getting lost. This part of the tundra looked mostly the same to Zatanna, but Kaldur seemed to be able to tell his way around, so she trusted her teammate.

"We've got about a day and a half left until we reach the village," Kaldur announced as he slipped his map back into his leather satchel. Everything they owned had to be things that the Water Tribe people could make, and important things (such as Kaldur's water bearers) had to be disguised with long lasting glamor charms.

Zatanna just nodded in response. She was exhausted. Why that crazy spirit Roku had dropped them off so far from the village, she didn't understand. Every member of their team had their own missions, but she assumed that the others members hadn't spent their days walking and munching on dried strips of fish. Plus, it was midnight sun at the South Pole right now, so her sleep patterns were all thrown off. To top it all off, she had to make seven glamour charms before they left. Seven! It would be days before she got her mana back up to normal levels. Dr. Fate should have been able to make some of them, but he gave some crap explanation about his magic not being able to work between dimensions unless he was in said dimension. So instead he had instructed her on how to make the glamor charms also be some sort of memory balancer. Once again he'd spouted off some jargon about the dimensions and how crossing them was dangerous to the soul and mind without the proper protection.

"Kaldur? Could we sit down for a little bit?"

Kaldur nodded and froze the two a fairly solid chunk of ice to sit on. He reached in the bag and pulled out their bundle of dried fish, offering her a piece. Zatanna thanked him before taking a piece. Kaldur looked up at the sky with a worried look on his face, Zatanna followed his gaze and saw what had him concerned. The clouds were dark grey.

"A storm?"

Kaldur nodded, "A big one. We might not be able to stop for the night."

"That's alright. Should we keep a look out for shelter?"

"Probably, but I don't think there will be anything until we get to the village. If worst comes to worst, I'll improvise something." Kaldur took a bite of the dried fish and stared out over the ongoing expanse of white. The ocean was to their left; they'd been following the coast, presumably not to get lost. Like Zatanna said, polar navigation was not her strong suit. After a couple more minutes Kaldur packed up the fish, melted the ice block, and they started walking again.

Unfortunately, the storm came on a lot sooner than Kaldur had predicted. Kaldur had tried to protect them from the on slot of hail and rain, but between the lack of shelter and the increasingly strong winds, even Kaldur's hydrokinesis couldn't do much good. In the end, they had tied a piece of rope around their wrists and held hands. That wasn't working very well either.

Zatanna couldn't see very much, but she did feel the rope snap and their hands separate. The young magician yelled and reached out for Kaldur, but found herself unable to find him. Usually she would have used a spell the sense Kaldur's magic core, but she was so tired. She didn't know if she could even muster up a drying spell. Maybe it would better to stop now and try to wait out the storm.

Iroh watched as Ensigns Adair and Desta were pulled back up onto the boat. Unsurprisingly, there were no fish in their two-man boat. (Honestly, Zuko needed to leave the food stores to someone who understood the living patterns of fish better.) What was a surprise was that there was a third person in the boat. A young man, about Zuko's age, wearing Water Tribe blues, he was unconscious, but he didn't appear to be frost bitten and his chi was flowing strongly. How odd. He should be dead or at least frostbitten.

"We're sorry, General Iroh. We didn't know what to do. Leaving him there to freeze to death seemed wrong, even if he is a savage. Desta and I will take full responsibility with Prince Zuko."

"That won't be necessary, Adair. Take him down to the infirmary and make sure someone looks him over. I'll deal with my nephew."

Zuko was convinced his Uncle had gone completely senile. Taking a hurt Water Tribesman as a ward?! Seriously? The only solace came in the fact that the boy probably wouldn't last much longer. He had been found unconscious at sea after all.

"Prince Zuko…"

Zuko let out a frustrated puff of smoke, "Uncle, if you want to take this… savage in, I can't stop you. If he gets in the way of my quest though, if he causes problems… I will take action against him."

Zuko couldn't help but feel a spark of happiness as his Uncle beamed. He had suffered a lot after losing Lu Ten and might make him at least a little happier. Zuko had always felt a little guilty for his Uncle feeling the need to tag along with him. Sure, he could get annoying with all his cryptic advice and worrying, but he was still Zuko's uncle. Zuko still wanted him to be happy.

"Thank you nephew! I shall speak to him once he awakens, perhaps we can return him to his tribe."

Iroh left with quickened steps and Zuko returned to his scrolls, though he couldn't get rid of the feeling of dread in his stomach. Even if this made Uncle happy, Zuko couldn't think of any way this could play out that wasn't a disaster.

Iroh sat next to the cot holding the young Water Tribe boy, sipping on a cup of tea. The boy had been stripped down to his under wraps and wrapped in a pile of blankets, even though the chill to his body appeared to be in no danger of causing him frostbite. The ship's healer (though he only really knew emergency medicine) had been in shock. Stating that even the Water Tribe could fall ill to frostbite within a couple minutes and that the boy had been at sea for at least a couple days, the healer had set the boy next to a fire and wrapped him in blankets. His only explanation was that the boy had to be a powerful water bender and Iroh had to say he agreed. The young man's chi was strong, flowing like a river despite his possible days at sea without food or water.

The young man certainty looked Water Tribe, with dark skin, short black hair with a single braid hanging beside his face, a well-built physique from years of physical labor, and while he hadn't woken up, Iroh was fairly sure his eyes would be blue. One thing that had stuck itself in Iroh's mind was the bone charm pendent the young man was wearing. Iroh had found himself unwilling to remove it for some reason, even though it was obviously broken, split down the middle into two pieces.Suddenly, the boy groaned and started to sit up. Iroh sat up straighter and set aside his tea. He didn't say anything, but rather let the boy come around at his own turns. The first thing the boy did once he was fully conscious was throw the blankets off, panting for breath. Only then did Iroh see that he was sweating, badly. Iroh grabbed a chilled towel out of the medical icebox. As soon as Iroh handed the boy the towel he pressed it to his face and neck. Iroh gave him another towel once he had calmed down a little and found his bearings.

"Thank you," the boy said softly, turning to look at Iroh. Sure enough his eyes were blue.

"Are you okay?" Iroh asked watching the young man with concern.

"Yes, I think so, a little dizzy."

Iroh handed him a sugar water, they were a little gross, but they help those in need regain both energy and hydration. The boy opened the canteen and took a big swing of the drink.

"My name is Iroh."

"I'm Kaldur," the boy said, taking another sip of the sugar water.

Iroh nodded, watching the young man. He seemed far more concerned by the canteen of sugar water than where he actually was. Iroh was sure that would end quickly, so he let the young man sip on the water, waiting patiently until Kaldur was ready to speak. Once he finished off the canteen, it wasn't fear or hatred that filled Kaldur's face, but curiosity.

"Where am I?" Kaldur asked looking around.

"The medical bay aboard a Fire Nation ship, the Wani."

Kaldur nodded, playing with his pendent unconsciously.

Iroh cleared his throat and pulled a map out of his sleeve, "Kaldur perhaps you could show me where your tribe is so we can drop you off there?"

Kaldur looked at the map, a confused look on his face. After a couple minutes he looked up Iroh, absolutely terrified, "I don't remember. I can't remember anything about my tribe. I don't even know if I belong to a tribe."

#Mission of War #ATLA #Young Justice #Crossover #extremely not cannon

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omgnsfwisnsfw-blog · 5 years

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10: One and One

To some, a delay would invite the possibilities of losing focus. To some, maybe anticipation turns to an overeagerness to just get to it. That overeagerness is like a sugar high and the subsequent crash. He couldn’t speak for his partner, but for John the concept of time was just a little blurred. The goal for him remained the same as always: to succeed. That means procuring the Television championship. That means kicking off NSFW the right way. So here he was. Trying to figure out just how to do that. The small text on the glowing screens strained his eyes so he adjusted the pair of narrow framed reading glasses on the bridge of his nose to minimize that impact. He used his index finger and thumb to scroll through a video gallery on the ‘streaming’ network, stopping every once in a while at one of the descriptions. He was seated at the scuffed up wooden round table in her dining room. The other three chairs of various makes were at this point vacant. An open notebook was laid before him and he used his left hand to tap the eraser end of a pencil on the page. All lights were off in the house except for the two bulbs in a glass fixture overhead. John went to press play on the next clip when he heard the front door open. Her steps and movements in the living room were loud and boisterous. She may have announced herself but he was concentrating on the last bullet point on the page. Finally, she stepped into the room he was in and and flicked on the lights via a switch just to the right of the door way. John looked up at her wryly, taking the reading glasses off and carefully folding the arms shut. “I’m hoooooome,” she called out, flopping unceremoniously into the opposite chair. She looked quite happy, and perhaps slightly tipsy. John tucked the glasses into the front pocket of his t-shirt, “how was it?” “Christ, that was great. I got a good feeling about this one, Church. I mean, she’s funny, she’s smart, she’s, okay, a stone cold fox… yeah. She’s shaping up to be a keeper.” “That’s good.” “Yes. Yes it is. You have no idea how fuckin' hard it’s been to find a good woman in this town,” she waved a hand, “Anyway. What’ve you been up to all evening? I mean, obviously you didn’t throw a wild party or nothin’ while I was gone.” John liked that she did her own thing. He was starting to see the enjoyment in what would be a healthy isolated where someone somewhere would eventually just say hello. He closed the notebook, “Homework.” “That so?” she leaned over a bit, giving a cursory glance to the notebook on the table, “Figure it ain’t Trig 1.” “It’s about our job.” “Thought it might be,” she gave her chin a tap, a tic of hers when she was recalling something, “Is that what all the other notebooks are for? Notes? I mean I didn’t read any or nothin’, I just, y’know. Noticed.” “Yes. Most of them are just that. You forgot something,” his tone was without judgment as he placed a small box with a flip open lid on the table in front of him. “Aw, geez, my fuckin’ cigs,” she picked the box up and pocketed it, “Shouldn’t leave those things laying around. Didn’t need ‘em tonight anyway. I really have been trying to cut down.” “We aren’t each other’s keepers - however we are partners,” he flipped the notebook open to the first page. Each line was filled with tiny, precise, neat writing, “when I came back, I was under the impression that muscle memory would be a enough to get by. However, that was not the case. My first weekend back in this business, I failed. It wasn’t just about losing, it was that I embarrassed myself. I gave the impression of being a wash out. I could barely breathe. I was not ready. And of course, there was the issue of time. You can’t defeat time,” he paused, “but that is actually the easiest thing to resolve. It’s like sharpening a knife. It’s been,” he turned two pages, “eight years since you’ve competed full time. Your last appearance was here in your current city of residence at a local outlaw show. Three years ago. You can’t wipe that away but you can treat your body better.” “I know, I know. Seriously, I rarely touch these things anymore. Carry ‘em around mostly out of habit, but nowadays I only light up if something’s really fuckin’ wigging me out. Which I think’s progress, considering I used to be a fuckin’ chainsmoker. But… you’re right. I’ll try harder,” she took the pack out of her pocket and tossed it instead into a nearby drawer. “I get your point. But what do all the notes have t’ do with anything?” “Body and mind. That first night, nobody saw me on my hands and knees wheezing and coughing. Nobody saw me laid out on the concrete for nearly an hour. Here’s what they did see: a tremendously unprepared wrestler outmatched by the vigor of youth. When I started, I could count on my strength and ability to burst through any mistakes that I would make. Twenty years later, I’m a little slower and with none of the experience to show for it,” he turned to the next page, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. That’s from Art of War. So I went back to the drawing board. The red head from last month, she had been on a slide but that doesn’t seem to matter to her, nothing to be honest seemed to matter to her. Her movements were devastating but they were also sloppy. She took one too risks,” two more pages, “and the sadomasochist was powerful and deliberate and despite having an advantage in numbers, he relished too much in the aftermath of his every blow. He gave me time to recover and deliver receipts.” “And he was probably angling to go after your feet.” “Correct. Hobbling one’s leg in this case would have been a very sound strategy.” “Anywho, this is… kinda fucking amazing. You notice this kind of stuff about everyone?” “Not without due diligence. Think about it, Mike. The baseball stuff we watched last night. So what you see on the TV, it’s the end result of deliberate planning. What happens is somethings at the mercy of circumstance and the ability of the player but there is always a plan. The pitcher and the batter. It’s a man trying to hit a ball out of thin air. Look at their eyes. Look at their body language. That is the real game. The opponents have prepared for each other. The batter knows by habit what that pitcher’s worst throw is. The pitcher knows by habit how to make that batter swing just too late. Now who can execute? It’s the same with our sport.” “Holy shit. I didn’t think you were even paying attention, you didn’t seem that into it.” John shrugged, “I couldn’t tell you what the score was. So in the traditional sense, yes, I wasn’t paying attention. But I saw what I wanted to see. After my first defeat, I learned that I was not in shape and I did not know my opposition. After my first few wins, I could see that this was going to be an uphill battle. The idea of training isn’t exclusive to us. All of us should be reviewing tape. All of us should know what each of us is capable off and how to counter it,” finally he turned to the page that he had been writing on earlier, “that is what I am doing now.” “Eh, you didn’t miss much, game was a fuckin’ blowout. Mets gotta figure out how t’ beat the goddamn Braves, that series was a fuckin’ embarrassment,” reaching over to the counter, she grabbed her hat and jammed it on her head. She’d forgone it for her date, “Anyway, on one hand, yeah, you’re absolutely right. BUT. Do we really need t’ put this much work into Team Fuckface? Not t’ tell you what to do, but I’d think this level’a study’d be better placed on Ruthann. Especially after a bye week.” He pushed back in his seat and stood, “That was earlier this afternoon. In a different book. Our debut is what matters at this moment. And on the cover of their book,” he pressed his index finger on the page, “they are vulgar human beings with no redeemable qualities. And as true as they may be, they are not be taken lightly. Like me, the boy is a former collegiate wrestler and under all of those corner cutting measures is the pure base of a professional wrestler. He talks and talks and talks and more often than not, he backs up those works. Angel of Death isn’t just some local big man. He’s a mercenary who accepts payment for blood. He extracts that blood through untapped skill. They are a team in name only. They are one and one and their only chainlink is cash and all of the evils it summons.” He stopped and he could almost predict her response. John sometimes left awkward moments in the air and just as she opened her mouth, he continued, “Graveyards are littered with the bones of the people who are just happy to be at the dance. They loved this sport and many of them were vanquished by the ones who leech onto it like a parasite. We can’t just be good people. We can’t just be on the right side of history. Our love for this business won’t matter. What will matter is knowing who they are, what they do, why they do it, and making sure they don’t take advantage of our perceived weaknesses.” “So we kick their teeth in. But… first we study on how best to fuckin’ kick their teeth in,” she grinned, the one she tended to get when she had designs on ring-related violence. “Y’know, I got the network on the Roku. So we don’t gotta hunch over our phones. Want me to bring up anything in particular, or do we start from the beginning?” “From the beginning,” he started towards the living room and stopped short at the door way, “The boy’s official debut. I eliminated him. He chose to run his mouth before that and made many enemies. I picked the bones. If I knew what I knew now, he would have left much earlier. Watch his eyes. Not what he does. Everything he does is crisp and nearly perfect. His eyes in the most perilous moments betray his actions and if we play it right, they’ll betray him next Friday, too.” “Gotcha.” “And big man. So happy to do something on his own when he uses his unbelievable strength to toss out that strange little man who thought no-one was watching when he snuck out of the show last Friday with other people’s belongings. Look at him when the boy takes all of the credit and never bothers to come to his aid just before he was dumped out." John turned back around to face her. He held one finger up from each hand. "That is the essence of Collateral Damage. One and one.” “Not like us,” Mike said it with absolute certainty.

#archive

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easilymakermoney · 5 years

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Our first have a look at Disney’s spectacular new $7 streamer, Disney Plus

Disney’s new streaming service, Disney Plus, is on its manner this fall, and the corporate that owns Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and (seemingly) all your different favourite franchises dropped a ton of details about this system throughout an investor’s name on April 11. In brief: Disney Plus prices $7 a month, it launches November 2019, and it’s filled with stuff that you just’re going to wish to see. Disney additionally talked about the chance to bundle Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, although the corporate didn’t verify the transfer or discuss pricing.

Right here’s all the things else that we discovered in our first have a look at Disney’s sterling new Netflix competitor, Disney Plus.

Design and options

Like different streaming providers, Disney Plus shall be obtainable on good TVs, set-top multimedia packing containers, tablets, smartphones, and internet browsers, and should you’ve used providers like Netflix or Hulu, the Disney Plus app ought to look very acquainted. The corporate claims its service shall be obtainable throughout an enormous variety of providers, however solely touted a number of companions to this point (extra on that under).

On the high of the Disney Plus dwelling display screen, Disney Plus will spotlight new releases and particular content material it desires you to observe — a nod to your Netflix display screen that actually gained’t be the final. Beneath that, brand-specific tiles will allow you to discover Disney Plus’ lineup by franchise, permitting you to leap rapidly between Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Nationwide Geographic, and conventional Disney content material. You’ll additionally be capable of create distinctive Disney Plus profiles for every member of your loved ones, which is able to permit the app to advocate titles primarily based in your preferences in addition to implement parental controls for youthful viewers. The profiles will embrace the power for parental blocking, although the audio system weren’t particular about what number of profiles you possibly can creat.

For probably the most half, Disney Plus will look the identical throughout all units, though there are minor variations throughout the 4 totally different iterations editions. On tv units, for instance, the branded tiles have distinctive animations (the Star Wars ones look notably cool), whereas they’ll be static, blue buttons on cell units. We noticed variations of the TV dwelling display screen, the pill dwelling display screen, and cell units. Take into account that the app we noticed at present is only a prototype, nonetheless. Issues would possibly look totally different as soon as Disney Plus launches.

Disney Plus pill prototype

One large function that Disney highlighted throughout its presentation is the power to obtain and watch all Disney Plus content material onto your cell units and watch it offline for so long as you’re a Disney Plus subscriber. As well as, Disney confirmed that Disney Plus will stream 4K and HDR video.

Content material

Disney claims that by the tip of Disney Plus’ first yr, the service will host a powerful catalog, together with 7,500 tv reveals, 500 motion pictures — together with 100 “latest” motion pictures and 400 “library” titles — and 25 unique collection throughout its a number of properties. By yr 5, Disney Plus is predicted to have as many as 50 unique collection, 10,000 previous TV episodes, and 120 latest movies.

In what was in all probability the most important announcement of the afternoon, Disney Plus will host all 30 seasons of The Simpsons, which Disney not too long ago acquired as a part of its 21st Century Fox buy, which needs to be one other main incentive for brand spanking new subscribers. Different, family-friendly Fox applications may also be a part of the Disney Plus line-up, whereas much less family-friendly fare is predicted to move to Hulu (60 % of which is owned by Disney).

A big portion of Disney’s animated function movies may also be obtainable on Disney Plus, with many exhibiting up at launch, together with beforehand vaulted titles like 101 Dalmatians, The Little Mermaid, and Snow White. The studio’s whole 2019 movie slate, which incorporates Captain Marvel, The Avengers: Endgame, Frozen 2, and Toy Story four, shall be unique to the service and can seem on Disney Plus as quickly as their unique pay-TV home windows finish.

All the Star Wars flicks may also be on the service by the tip of the primary yr, too, though Solo and Episodes 7 via 9 gained’t be there on opening day.

Equally, eighteen Pixar motion pictures shall be on Disney Plus at launch as will all the studio’s animated shorts, whereas the remaining three movies will hit the service a little bit bit later. Disney Plus may also be dwelling to Pixar spin-offs, together with some Toy Story four shorts and an ongoing Monsters Inc. collection.

Disney didn’t announce any new Star Wars or Marvel initiatives throughout its Disney Plus presentation, though it did give buyers a sneak peek at John Favreau’s Star Wars collection, The Mandalorian, in addition to speaking in regards to the Diego Luna-starring Cassian Andor spinoff, in addition to the beforehand rumored collection starring Alan Tudyk as Okay-2SO.

On the superhero aspect of issues, the Scarlet Witch and Imaginative and prescient collection obtained a reputation — WandaVision — as did Falcon and Winter Soldier. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige additionally mentioned that the upcoming Loki collection will function Tom Hiddleston on-screen (taking pictures down rumors that his function could be voice-over solely). The rumored Hawkeye spin-off wasn’t talked about.

Feige additionally promised that, not like Marvel’s earlier tv initiatives like Brokers of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Netflix’s Defenders collection, Marvel’s Disney Plus reveals shall be core elements of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and may have direct results on the function movies. There may also be some behind-the-scenes documentaries, just like the beforehand reported Marvel 616 and Marvel Heroes Undertaking reveals.

Disney Plus may also have over 250 hours of Nationwide Geographic content material obtainable on day one, and is engaged on two new reveals: Magic of the Animal Kingdom and The World Based on Jeff Goldblum, through which the actor will discover varied matters in a lighthearted documentary format. Rounding out the Disney Plus choice shall be an archive of Disney Channel unique programming, together with previous favorites like Hannah Montana, and live-action children movies and reveals like Excessive Faculty Musical: The Musical: The Collection.

Units

Disney has already secured offers to get the Disney Plus app on the PlayStation four and on Roku units, however the firm hopes to have the app operating in all the normal locations at launch or shortly thereafter, from good TVs to cell units.

Throughout its large Disney Plus presentation, Disney confirmed a slide that includes all the present era online game consoles (together with the Nintendo Change), in addition to streaming units just like the Apple TV, the Google Chromecast, the Amazon Hearth TV line, and so forth. That doesn’t imply that Disney Plus shall be obtainable on all of these units instantly (though Disney appears assured that the majority of them shall be lined), nevertheless it does present that Disney is casting its web as vast as it could.

Availability

Disney Plus will launch in North America on November 12, 2019, whereas western Europe and the Asia-Pacific market will get it in Disney’s second 2020 monetary quarter. Disney expects the service to reach in all main markets someday within the subsequent two years. The service will price $7 a month (or $70 for an annual package deal). The corporate is contemplating a particular bundle that may mix all of three of Disney’s streaming providers — Hulu, ESPN Plus, and Disney Plus — right into a single package deal.

Thanks to numerous worldwide offers, not all the Disney Plus content material shall be obtainable in all areas instantly, though Disney claims that the line-up needs to be full worldwide inside the subsequent 4 years. The corporate can be ready to launch Disney Plus in sure markets till it could strike offers with its varied companions world wide, and can group up with varied rights holders because the scenario dictates.

from Easily Maker Money https://easilymakermoney.com/2019/04/12/our-first-have-a-look-at-disneys-spectacular-new-7-streamer-disney-plus/

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