#its such an azula song | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

oneatlatime · 5 months

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Atla season two predictions

We're halfway through season 2! I did a post on my thoughts on the show and its characters when I reached the halfway point of season one. My thoughts are mostly the same, and there's only one new character of note (all hail Toph!), so I thought this time I'd mark the halfway point by taking wild stabs at predicting where the rest of the season is going to go. I'm going to try to do at least one prediction per character. This is entirely guesswork. Once the season is done I'll come back to this post and see how prescient/stupid I was. Without further ado...

The season finale will have Azula as the Big Bad and introduce the Fire Lord as the Big Bad for season three. This is exactly what happened in the finale of season one: Zhao was big bad and Azula was introduced. So less prediction, more extrapolating based on existing data. It was a winning formula in season one, so I'm hoping the writers will do it again. I'm also hoping that Azula will follow Zhao's fate because quite frankly I don't like her very much. Tl;dr, Azula and her crew will get swallowed by a giant badger mole spirit.

Toph is getting a subplot. She feels like a character with nothing left to work on, and now that Aang can earthbend, her purpose is accomplished. So she needs another purpose in the story. That, or they're going to leave her behind at some point. I wonder if she's in season three? She'd better be. So either Toph is going to remain a character with no need of an arc, in which case her subplot will revolve around something she already excels at, or the writers are going to throw a curve ball and reveal a heretofore unknown weakness that she's going to have to work around. If it's the former, my money is on one of the idiots from the pro-bending tournament hunting her down to avenge their humiliating defeat at her hands. If it's the latter, my guess would be something intellectual that plays on her high society background. Political intrigue? Spy work? A cult? Maybe she finds out that her parents are colluding with the fire nation? Tl;dr SuperToph, somehow.

Appa comes back. This is not a prediction, this is a DEMAND. He breaks free of his captors (seriously, he went down way too easy), runs away into the wilds of the earth kingdom, and following some innate air bison sense, stumbles upon a lost colony of his fellow bison who escaped Sozin's genocide. (and have somehow remained entirely undiscovered for a century despite being each the size of a house and able to fly to boot well the earth kingdom's got a lot of empty spaces just go with it) They spend a few weeks chilling until Appa gets found. Season three can end with Appa's Air Bison Hunny showing up with a baby sky bison. Tl;dr Papa Appa.

Project Make Zuko Decent gets a new CEO. The current one sucks. Some new character is going to be introduced to provide Zuko with both the motivation and the guidance to become a decent person. Iroh's had a season and a half and made pretty much no progress; Zuko's spent all of season two trying, and has made himself somehow worse. Maybe not worse, but certainly more worn out. Time for new blood. I'd like to think that this show is above cliche, but let's be honest, it's going to be a love interest. They tried it with a kid brother in Zuko Alone and it didn't work. So some nice earth kingdom girl. Like Song, but with more backbone. Maybe she's really good at swords. They can bond over that. I feel like Zuko would be easier to connect with over something he knows he's good at. It would be less fraught than bonding over bending. She also lost her mother to the fire nation; they can bond over that too. The writers laid the groundwork in Zuko Alone, might as well use it. The more Zuko can empathise, the faster he'll get decent. I hate to see a character who exists solely for 'Man Pain' or 'Man Growth,' but let's be honest, Zuko is not self-aware enough to grow without some major hand-holding, and Iroh isn't volunteering. I know that Zuko is on the cover of my season three DVD so his 'get decent' arc has to be complete by the end of season two. Tl;dr Zuko gets schooled.

Sokka has been underutilised this season (as has Katara), so he's going to get something major. The Library set him up to lead the gang to that Earth Kingdom town who's name I forget so they can share the date of the eclipse with the king, but you know Aang isn't budging until they get Appa back. So for the next few episodes, Sokka will be in Master Tracker Mode, using all the skills he learned at the South Pole and more to rescue Appa. There can be flashbacks to him learning the skill from his dad/grandfather/uncles/Bato, then flash forward to see him applying that skill successfully, adapting it to a different climate and incorporating insights he's gained since the show started. We had Zuko Alone, now I want Sokka Alone with the ghosts of his family. Although I don't think Aang would be willing to sit out on Appa retrieval, so Aang's going to have to be urgently needed for Avatar reasons right when Sokka stumbles on the clue that is the key to finding Appa. The group splits and reunites to see the earth kingdom king, Sokka triumphant and Appa in tow. Tl;dr Sokka channels Liam Neeson with probably a lower body count.

Momo is going along with Sokka for aerial reconnaissance.

Katara needs something juicy too. She's mastered waterbending, so her growth has to be personal rather than skills-based. Maybe she gets her world view challenged? Maybe she meets an evil earth kingdom or water tribe person? Evil to the core; she's already met bunches from both nations who are stupid/malicious. Hang on - I forgot about Jet. So she meets an evil water tribe person. In the earth Kindgom. Somehow. Maybe she meets a good fire nation person? How about a fire nation healer/doctor/army medic? Someone who can show her that firebending isn't all bad. Can you heal with any element other than water? I have no idea, but it would be cool if you could. If you really want to challenge her, a fire nation firebending healer who is genuinely compassionate to people of all nations, but who is also proud to be a fire nation citizen and fond of their nation. That would REALLY confuse her. Doubly so if there's some healing technique that she desperately needs to learn from this person. Katara seems like the type to think that one person = one opinion, and that there is only one right opinion, ever, in all things, and that is hers. Show her someone complex, hypocritical, layered, but still a force for overall good. Tl;dr let's torture Katara.

Aang! It's been a while since his duties as Avatar have conflicted with his personal convictions. Actually, it's been a while since his duties as Avatar have come up at all, apart from training and getting chased for being the Avatar. Aang is going to encounter some problem that can only be fixed by an Avatar, likely something like the giant panda from season one. Maybe pissing off the Owl spirit causes unrest in the spirit world? Maybe Aang's going to have to fight a war on two fronts: fire nation v. other nations and spirit world v. physical world? Or maybe Aang's going to have to mediate in a spirit world civil war? Aang's got enough friends in the spirit world that maybe the giant panda and his friends take offence to the owl mouthing off about the avatar and it snowballs from there? It seems to me that pissing off a spirit is the kind of mistake that should have consequences beyond that spirit's episode. And this need for the Avatar comes up just when there's a solid lead on Appa, so Aang has to learn to delegate the Appa-finding to his friends while he's off saving the world. Tl;dr Aang has to do some Avataring.

Iroh needs to get his act together and come up with a better plan than following Zuko at a safe distance. This is more of a wish than a prediction, because Iroh's still very much a big old question mark to me. It's easier to predict what the child/teenage characters are going to do, because apart from maybe Toph, they have limited and already defined means. But Iroh's lived decades. He could very easily have resources, skills, connections, knowledge etc. that viewers haven't seen yet that he could call on at any time. He could pull anything out of the blue and I'd believe it, because that's how the world works when you're a sociable person who knows how to talk your way into things and has spent decades doing so. There have to be some earth kingdom collaborators around from his invading days who could be blackmailed/flattered into helping Iroh and Zuko get back on their feet. Tl;dr Iroh phones a friend. I can see the plot for the rest of the season ending in three ways:

A)Sokka's news about the eclipse causes the earth king to arrange a direct strike on the fire nation capital, killing Azula in the finale. The fire lord escapes, Azula gets promoted to fire nation martyr, and the war enters a new, worse, heightened, far more scorched earth/bloodthirsty state at the start of season three.

B) The Earth King says "yeah kid, we've had star charts for millennia, we know about the eclipse, they know about the eclipse, it'll be the one time their defences are at their absolute highest, this plan is dumb as hell, go away." This is the one I think is most likely.

C) News of the eclipse never reaches the earth king, because it turns out that unless the local king is your nonagenarian former best friend, getting a royal audience is hard if you're a water tribe nobody, and maybe his friend is the Avatar, but he's also twelve, and even in a kid's cartoon letting twelve year olds have a say in national policy is a bit of a stretch. The eclipse nonsense remains a one-episode occurrence that was just the set up required for Appa's Appa-napping, and the rest of the season is spent de-Appa-napping Appa, until a surprise appearance by Zuko jr. and her girlies in the finale.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #season 2

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sharkslayer06 · 27 days

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Hey what's up I'm making another @anniflamma appreciation post.

While I can't say that "Done For" captivated me as much as "Ruthlessness," I still kept getting dragged back to it. I've watched it at least 20 times now, and there's just something about it.

Immediately, I love how Circe is established instantly as someone not to be fucked with. She senses danger and immediately turns into a giant sea witch. I love the choice of leaving her body detailed but keeping her head and hair as just a black silhouette with bright yellow eyes. It leaves it up to the imagination on how scary she might be behind that silhouette. I also love the touch of her barely visible fins on her face, just to remind you that she's a SEA witch.

And then the balls on Odysseus to just move her wand to the side with his finger. The cockyness on his face is great. Instantly establishes hubris.

I also ADORE how Circe seems to get smaller as Odysseus explains that she can't hurt him. Its a visual way of showing that her power over him is disappearing. And the facial expression that they managed to pull off with just the yellow eyes showing is fantastic. It's such a perfect mixture of disbelief and fear. Also, I love the choice of Odysseus being light grey contrasted by him being completely surrounded by her all black silhouette. It SHOULD feel like she's the one with the advantage, but her face says differently

And then the contrast between these two shots? Brilliant. Completely flipped the dynamic in one verse of the song.

I also love the little detail of Circe checking that her nymphs have left the building before she summons her chimera. It perfectly fits with her motivation of trying to keep them safe, even if it might disadvantage her to hesitate.

And then the monster fight. The absolute HYPE of that beat drop into monster transition was insane.

Love that the Cyclops just absolutely decks a Chimera no hesitation.

And then the final part? Fucking loved it. I honestly don't know how to read this facial expression from Circe while she explains her love for the nymphs. It's so desperate, but at the same time it kind of reminds me of Azula in a weird way. Like she's a second way from losing it.

#epic the musical #animatic #anniflamma #art #media analysis

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mugentakeda · 23 days

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i saw your azula song rec so here's one from me. whenever i'm trying to characterize azula for the fic in my head this is the song i remember:

there's also a no trauma azula song in my head too but that's a rec/rant for another day

GRAHHHHH i dont have enough songs that i know of to make a fully fledged azula playlist (FOR NOW). i do have a couple more in me though that i forgot to post

This one is soooo when she starts tweaking and hallucinates during sozins comet. im pretty sure this song is about sleep paralysis specifically??? but idk. it reminds me of her a lot though lol

AND THIS ONEEE and mind you i dont DO NOT think azula is a psycho and i hate when people call azula a psychopath. But this song is actually the narrator asking his mother if she thinks hes a psycho. and that reminds me a lot of ursa and azula lol........ azula always pondering about how ursa thought her to be a monster. and "what is wrong with that child". plus its just such a melancholic sounding song to me??? idk

#thats all i got in me. but if i come up with more ofc i will make an azula playlist......#asks

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zvtara-was-never-canon · 3 months

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Zuko is more likely to help people than Aang who just goofs off

Zuko: Invading villiags in season 1/ Zuko stealing Song Ostrish Horse in season 2/ stealing from earth kingdom citziens in season 2 not just food but stuff they didn't acutally need. litterly stealing from people his country is oppressing. Helps one family in season 2 because the kid got kidnapped pulling the knife out he gave to him so its really the least he can do.

Aang meanwhile: Saves Katara villiage from ZUKO/ Helps Katara save Haru/the Earth kingdom prisoners/ Saves a town from spirit thats attacking them/ saves an air temple from being invaded by the fire nation/ saves the northen water tribe from the fire nation. Brings laughter and joy to fire nation children/ Helps katara destroy a factory polluting a fire nation village.

Yet it doesn't count because he stumbles onto them . I get this person being upset at their hc being Crit sized as itwas just zuko/katara travel thats fine. it really is. . theres nothing wrong with it.. Id wouldn't care if it didnt add and aang is a goofy kid who didnt help people outside of just being put in a situation and its just job. theres no need to pretend Aang isn't a good kid and Zuko was some saint in canon. he didn't have a redemption arc for his crappy actions to never have existed. he took ove the earth kingdom with azula..most of the time he was thinking of himsel first and thats fine really it was a character flaw. .. zuko is allowed flaws.. besdies why is aang being goofy bad but zuko being goofy awkward turtleduck considered the right way to view zuko ? im tired of this fandom acting like aang being a kid=bad character.

PREACH!

#anti zutara #pro aang

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kigozula · 4 months

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Gladiator Chapter 325

"No master keys would help, at least, not the ones I stole from my grandfather ages ago. These shackles are new, so I don't have the right keys to undo them," Azula said, carelessly. All four of her friends stared at her in surprise at her confession, and she simply eyed them with perplexity. "What?"

"Y-you just said… you stole from…?" Rei asked, with an awkward smile: Song snorted, covering her face with a hand as she laughed while Mai and Ty Lee exchanged a knowing stare.

"That's right up her alley, I'd say," Mai said, curtly.

"Typical of baby Azula. I wonder if your little one will be as mischievous as you were," Ty Lee giggled. Azula sighed, smiling slightly too as she caressed her belly once more.

"Doesn't seem like it. So far, the baby's far too calm to resemble… well, either of its parents," Azula reasoned, frowning before staring at her own bump questioningly. "Where did you get that from, honestly? Must be someone from Sokka's family…"

"It's definitely not from yours," Mai smirked.

#azula #sokkla #gladiator moments #mai #ty lee #rei #how cute is it to read about baby Azula #and how cute it is that she talks to her baby *_*#love her

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ilikepjo24 · 7 months

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Fanfic writers, what is your work process? Be brutally honest.

Mine is:

I get an idea from a movie/book/song/video/chat/conversation/other fanfic/real life event/no where in particular.

I sit and think about the idea for long enough to get invested.

If the inspiration is a movie/real life event/conversation, I record it. If it's a song/video, I save the link. If it's a book, I take a picture of the page. If it's a chat/other fanfic, I take a screenshot of it. If it's nothing in particular, I just write it down, along with the situation I was in when the idea sparked (drinking coffee, completing a task, ect) so that I remember what the original vibe of the idea was.

I create a note in my phone where I have the recording/link/picture/screenshot/note that created the idea and then I type out all the extra details I came up with in step 2.

I spend a couple of days brainstorming and deciding what are all the events/dialogue/interactions I want my fic to have.

I create a timeline of all the events and add that to the notes app.

I create the fanfic in my head in the form of a movie, so that my brain can visualize what dialogue choices flow best, how much attention I want to pay in the background during each scene, and what is the body language, tone of voice and facial expressions I want the characters to desplay.

I make a video of myself narrating the movie and its details, while mimicking the body language, so that I won't forget the details and I add it to my notes app.

I look back at the video and wonder what instructions I'd give if it was a movie and I was a director, to get a better grasp of how I want all the movement to be described in text.

I make a voice recording of my director instructions so I can listen to myself say it and see if the instructions are formed in a way that would flow well on paper, and if it's not I redo it and add it to my notes.

I find pictures of all the objects/people I want to describe and follow a similar process with the voice recordings so that I can see if the descriptions flow pleasantly and then I add that recording to my notes too.

In the scenes where the background is important, I draw an layout of the room and add all the objects to see if it feels realistic for a room of the specific dimensions to fit all those objects in a way that isn't awkward and then I add the drawing to my notes.

It's been 18 months since I got the original idea and now all the prep is done, so I open a new Google doc and start making a first draft while constantly checking my notes app from reference.

I always complete the first draft in one sitting and now with that first draft and the note as references, I start writing a second draft, which often takes more than one sittings.

After the second draft is done, I open wordhippo (website) to find other words I could use in parts where I feel like the wording could be better and out of the second draft, I create a third one.

I go over the form of the sentences/paragraphs to make sure the fic is balanced properly.

I check for any spelling and grammar errors and since I don't have a beta reader, this third draft is the final product.

It's been 50 years since I got the idea and I finally post.

I look back in regret because I don't like the way it turned out but I don't take it down cause people leave kudos, so I must have done something right.

What is your 🫵work process?

No pressure tags: @waterfire1848 @bellatrixobsessed1 @timur-pannonicus @akiizayoi4869 @hello-nichya-here @azulas-daddy-kink

#fanfic #fanfiction #writer stuff

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smallsinger5901 · 7 months

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Songs I would give each ATLA character!

Aang: Me gustas Tu (by Manu Chao). Got both the good vibes and love for everything, but also sort of melancholy and unresolved.

Katara: My Sister's Crown (by Vesna). I love Eurovision and do know the meaning behind this song, but it also bangs so hard as a female empowerment ballad. Can imagine Katara rocking someone's shit while this plays in the background.

Suki: W.I.T.C.H (by Devon Cole). Same as Katara's in that I can imagine her absolutely kicking some guy's ass while this plays in the background, plus Sokka at the start- 'Why you scared of a woman in charge?'

Sokka: Puppy Princess (by The Hot Freaks). C'mon, 'you know me as your boyfriend's goofy friend, I seem to have this effect on women'? This is my man.

Toph: Wrecking ball (by Mother Mother). I think the name is pretty self explanatory- she IS a rock on top of the sand in s2X9 :)

Zuko: Ain't no crying (by Derivakat). There is no other song I could possibly have put for Zuko. Every. Single. Lyric. Is perfect for him. I can't even cite just one here because I'd end up putting the whole song.

Iroh: Just A Man (by Jorge Rivera-Herrans). Perfect mix of sad and powerful, with just the right amount of love for the boy who's 'as old as [his son] was when he left for war.'

Ursa: Labour (by Paris Paloma). All of the second verse is brilliant for this, and the whole mood of the song encapsulates that stuck feeling that's crucial to Ursa's character.

Ozai: Digital Silence (by Peter mcPoland). Okay, this one was really different because Ozai can't just have a good song, he doesn't deserve to take one of those! But in the end I did choose this song- which i love- because of its sinister vibes and anti-progressive lyrics.

Azula: Crazy Girls (by TOOPOOR). Personally I listen to it sped up a la tiktok edits, but it's the lyricism that sells this one. Like most of the other songs, it's the second verse that sells it, but the pre-chorus fits her so well too. And, after all, she is a 'crazy' girl at the end.

Jet: Preacher (by Roe Kapara). He's a bit of a random one, but the essence of Jet's character lives in this song I think. The second verse (who'd've guessed) feels like his life and death in Ba Sing Se, and even reaches being slightly meta: 'They'll sell you your forgiveness if you pay them with your life'.

I can't think of many other characters that need songs, but lmk your ideas!

#avatar the last airbender #atla zuko #katara #ozai #ursa #azula #iroh #atla suki #atla #avatar aang #sokka #atla jet #toph beifong

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zuko-always-lies · 10 days

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A Comprehensive List of People/things Zuko Betrayed

The Fire Nation (trying to hide the fact that its number 1 enemy had returned).

His crew (putting them in danger for his own selfish reasons).

The Fire Nation (committing high treason)

Song (stealing from her after she helped him)

Iroh (whole Crossroads of Destiny thing)

Katara (same)

Azula (lying to her about the spirit water)

The Fire Nation(hiding the fact he thinks the Avatar, it's number 1 enemy, is still alive)

Chan (burning down his beach house after Chan invited him, and that's after wrecking Chan's grandmother's vase)

Azula (throwing her under the Ozai bus)

Mai (don't think I need to explain this one)

Ozai(he totally deserved it though)

Ty Lee?(you could argue that betraying both of her best friends involved betraying her)

People he let down but didn't betray, per say

Aang(trying to burn his face off after Aang saved his life)

Lee

Jet

Toph (whole burning her feet thing)

What people don't quite get is that Zuko is a weathervane and fundamentally a very unreliable character. You could do interesting stuff with this trait, but it's generally missing from fanfiction, despite the fact that one of the official comic book trilogies ("The Promise") likewise depicted Zuko as extremely unreliable.

#Zuko #Zuko meta

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thehazeldruid · 1 year

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Katara's Ice Trap

A binding spell to trap someone’s rage and aggression in ice and then melt it away based on Azula and Katara’s fight

What You Need

A taglock to tie the magic to your target.

As the spell’s inspiration is Katara and Azula, I used a bit of the person’s hair (since you know, Azula snipped her hair wrong in her descent into madness) But any taglock will do. A picture, hair, something belonging to them. Etc.

A Blue candle to promote peace and calm within yourself and in the target.

A binding incense. I used Sandalwood, but anything associated with binding will work.

A small container for the taglock to be frozen in. A glass of water, to pour over the taglock, to freeze it in

A black string, ribbon, or cord to tie around the taglock before freezing it, to further bind it.

What To Do

Prepare yourself and your workspace however you see fit. Ground, center, call the powers you’ll be working with, meditate, cast a circle etc.

Before you begin, sit in your workspace and relax. Keep yourself calm and centered during this spell. Find happiness, and peace, and focus before you start. When you are ready light the candle and then the incense.

Pick up your taglock, visualizing the target and the anger and aggression they are full of. Hold it in the incense smoke for a moment, watching the smoke swirl around the object, visualizing the same smoke enveloping the target.

Hold it (SAFELY) over the candle and say “Fire’s rage burns hot and strong, let it be soothe by water’s song”

Take your cord or string and tie it around the taglock, visualizing the rage and aggression within your target being held at bay. Say “By cord entwined your rage be bound, kept in check, wrapped around”

Place the cord-bound taglock in the container it will be frozen in. Say “Bright embers cooled by water’s kiss, know no more anger, only peaceful bliss”- Pour the water over the object and prepare it to be frozen. Visualize the person calming, their anger subsiding bit by bit.

Take the container to the freezer. Say “In cold ice now encased, let your anger be erased”

Return to your candle and incense, relax your mind and body. Find again the calm you felt before. Visualizing that cool, calmness spreading across the target as well. Repeat as necessary, encasing in more water and freezing again.

To Melt Away the remnants of their rage/ aggression

Remove the frozen object either in or out of its container.

Place it in a large enough bowl to melt safely and without making a mess.

Allow it to melt naturally, and when you dispose of the taglock (properly, no matter what the item is) visualize that the target is indeed calmer and less aggressive.

Good luck and happy casting witches!

M.G.

/|\

The Hazell Druid

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linnoya-writes · 2 years

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With Zutara, Katara and Aang can still be friends. But with Kataang... ?

What I can’t get over is how in Zutara fanfiction, writers are willing to still acknowledge the bond between Katara and Aang; they remain close friends.

Being with Zuko doesn’t keep Katara from having a friendship with Aang. She gets to have her own friends and inside jokes, because wouldn’t you know... a relationship isn’t meant to be socially exclusive. In fanfiction, Zuko and Katara don’t just spend all their time establishing or defending their relationship to others. What they do, instead, is have a relationship. It’s mature, and playful, and sweet, but it comes with its share of arguments, and it’s also awkward, and completely open and honest. They get to be themselves while together, but also have their own individual goals and friendships with others.

Meanwhile, in the canon-verse, Bryke did all but break into song to indicate that Kataang was a firmly-established relationship in the 2012-2014 comics. Look how much PDA they have! Look how often they call each other “sweetie.” Look how Katara doesn’t talk to anyone other than Aang! Look how Katara admires Aang from the sidelines and waits her turn to talk to him while he makes tons of new friends. Look how they’re already thinking about marriage/babies at the ripe old age of 13/15. Look how Katara explains why she loves Aang, just in case readers had doubts, as if true love were a pancake recipe or something.

And... after 2014, with the implications that Aang was a poor father-figure and a lousy husband in Season 2′s Legend of Korra... Bryke doubled-down in the comics to show how, contrary to popular belief, Kataang was very Healthy: Look how Aang asks Katara if it’s okay to kiss her. Look how Hakoda talks to Katara about love, real selfless love, as if she’s already found it in Aang. Look how Katara can still enjoy her meat on a stick. Look how Aang gobbles down that WaterTribe food. Look how Katara sweetly spoon-feeds Aang his steamed tofu. Look how Katara can chat with her never-before-mentioned SWT friends as long as Aang doesn’t need her comfort. Look how Aang finally shows consideration for Katara and asks if she’s okay (after, what, three canon-years together?). Look how Katara defends her relationship with Aang to Azula, saying how happy she and Aang are. Look how Katara says “this town needs you” and how considerate Aang is as he firmly takes her hand and says “this town needs US.”

I mean-- yeah. The effort was definitely there, but none of those moments indicated that the relationship between Aang and Katara was a real relationship, with occasional arguments and deep conversation and mutual understanding and selfless compromise.

And Bryke did absolutely everything they could to keep Katara and Zuko from exchanging two words to each other, both in the comics and in Legend of Korra. It really paints a picture as to how uncomfortable Bryke felt about building a friendship between Katara and Zuko in the post-ATLA canon, despite the fact that these two practically laid down their lives for each other in the Agni Kai finale.

It’s funny, how Zutara fanfic writers have no problem keeping a friendship between Katara and Aang valid, but in the canon-verse, despite Aang and Katara being Very Much An Item... Bryke couldn’t give us even the slightest hint of a Zutara friendship.

If Bryke truly believed that Katara and Aang’s relationship in canon was healthy and credible enough to stand the test of time...then building a friendship between Katara and Zuko would’ve not been a problem.

But I guess that Zutara chemistry was practically oozing off the pages, eh?

#zutara #Avatar The Last Airbender #kataang critical #zuko #katara

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balanceoflightanddark · 2 years

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With my hands I fight for Lord Zuko and our forefathers before him

One of the most popular routes for an Azula redemption arc is for her to be an ally of Zuko. Whether to be an advisor or some kind of high-ranking official that handles the dirty business of running the Fire Nation while Zuko handles the more public stuff like handling reformations and rebuilding the Earth Kingdom that was devastated during the war. I can certainly understand how this can work since Azula is given a say in the future of the Fire Nation and is allowed to serve its best interests in a post-war setting.

There's just one problem: often Azula is made to be subservient to Zuko. That now that she's serving him, she's a good guy now that Zuko acts as a sort of morality leash that keeps her from going too far.

This...doesn't actually solve her problems.

Part of her issues in canon stems from her blind loyalty and faith to the only person who ever showed her some form of kindness: Ozai. Something that meant she didn't dare question any of his actions and poisoned her relationship with Zuko. And inevitably (and tragically), that something that led to her downfall since her loyalty meant she couldn't be swayed by series end.

Having her swear fealty to Zuko, the new Fire Lord, is not solving the problem. She's just exchanging one master for another. None of the issues which caused her breakdown are not addressed. It's that blind loyalty aspect except for another leader. Considering that part of the reason for the Fire Nation's indoctrination is swearing absolute loyalty to the Fire Lord as seen in their anthem:

"My life I give to my country. With my hands I fight for Lord Ozai and our forefathers before him. With my mind I seek ways to better my country. And with my feet may our March of Civilization continue."

...could you imagine how it would look when one of the Fire Nation's old guard falls into this mindset with Zuko? That's not reformation. That's just placing a new and better ruler in charge without fixing anything.

Not to mention how...pretty damn sexist this whole thing is that Azula being good equals submitting to the authority of her brother on the basis that she should've known better than to defy him being the eldest song. Forgive for asking, but doesn't that seem problematic to the umpteenth degree. Especially since in canon Zuko was a pretty crappy brother? I'm sorry, but Azula redeeming herself by putting her brother's needs before hers is incredibly offensive for those that actually do sympathize and see her plight.

Can Azula being an ally of Zuko work? Absolutely. But these potholes are something that a lot of writers (including Bryke and Yang) keep falling into without realizing the implications behind them. If Azula is to be properly redeemed and for this storyline to work, she needs to come to this position of her own volition. No strings attached. No conditions. It needs to be her decision and her decision alone.

Azula's ultimate tragedy is that she never had much free will. Taking that away from her to serve someone else's will is not the way. Give her choice though, the choice to forge her own path, and now she's in a position to truly heal herself.

#azula #princess azula #azula meta #atla critical #atla meta #fire nation meta #azula deserved better

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agnisleftpec · 1 year

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ok @akiizayoi4869 opened a can of worms by expressing mild, passing interest on my thoughts on the second half of book 3, so here's my Ramble

disclaimer, this is mostly just initial thoughts. i haven't gone through the Essay Analysis process for this, so there's bound to be holes in my interpretation here.

so 2 topics for this breakdown. 1st, zuko's narrative symbols and how i interpret them. 2nd, how those symbols play out in season 3 and a few gripes with season 3 in general.

this one's fuckin long, so buckle up

part 1, zuko's identity and its symbols

okay so the main symbols i tend to see are as follows: fire, swords, and the blue spirit mask. each represents a part of zuko's identity that is somehow at odds with each other at some point. fire is basically Prince of the Fire Nation. swords are who zuko is detatched from his nation. the blue spirit mask is selfishness and the Ozai mentality, as ive been calling it.

first, fire. pretty big for a symbol, i know. specifically for zuko, i think that fire represents zuko as the crown prince. and that comes with all the turmoil of prince zuko. it starts with being what he's been taught a prince is, following orders and being the loyal son, and ends with what he discovers a prince should be, a protector of his people, even if its from themselves. that mirrors the development of fire throughout the show as initially spooky scary big bad burning rage to actually it's life and love and rage and everything in between, and you have to know how to use it. zuko learning how to firebend without anger parallels him learning that being prince is more than what he was taught.

second, swords. and yes, this is distinct from the blue spirit mask. this is basically "just zuko." it's what zuko relies on when he's not a prince. when the prince can't do anything, "just zuko" can. its what he is when traveling the earth kingdom, basically nationless and without a higher identity to cling to. it's instinctual, something he's good at, and something he hides away because it's not becoming of a Prince to be "just zuko."

the most important aspects of this symbol come when they are used without the mask. in zuko alone, he uses the swords to defend innocent people from cruel soldiers. (he decidedly does not use the mask.) the one time zuko firebends while using his swords, combining "prince" and "just zuko," he is punished for combining them and run out of town. (wouldn't it be great if there was a chance for positive reinforcement of combining these symbols later on?) he uses the swords against jet to defend his right to be "just zuko" in ba sing se. he uses them against ozai when he finally sees through the ozai mentality (more on that in a sec) and leaves to teach aang firebending. he presents himself as "just zuko," who was never enough for ozai, and tells ozai to go fuck himself.

third, the blue spirit mask is a combo of selfishness and the ozai mentality.

the ozai mentality is the idea that some things are awful and essential. they are excusable because of the end result. the war, zuko's banishment, his disfigurement. the ozai mentality isnt necessarily tied to the blue spirit, but the blue spirit doesn't exist without it. he steals the avatar from zhao because it's essential (not princely, he doesn't firebend. its horrible for a prince to do, but essential). he steals song's ostrich horse because its essential. he sides with azula in ba sing se because its essential. awful, but essential. these last two happen without the mask because the ozai mentality sticks to zuko far beyond the reaches of the mask as a symbol. (so maybe the mask doesn't actually represent the ozai mentality, and that just doesn't have a symbol, idk lol, im just moving past that, rigidly defined symbols are hard.)

the selfishness is over-indulgence, taking more than he should, stealing in excess because he deserves it. it's only believing in the ozai mentality when it serves him.

letting go of the blue spirit mask is getting rid of the idea that what he wants is more important than the world, as much as it is the first step in accepting that some things that happen are not essential. ("it was cruel and it was wrong" doesn't come out until he starts to reject the ozai mentality.)

the mask and the swords make the blue spirit. the blue spirit is what zuko doesn't think is princely, doesn't think is honorable, but he'll do because fuck the world, he deserves this. sounds nice in theory, but not great self care in practice. selfishness, the ozai mentality, and "just zuko" collide in a mix of someone who doesn't have the responsibilities of being prince on their head, but still feels they're owed by the world. who feels like some things just have to happen, and it sucks, but they had it coming. the blue spirit is the worst part of "just zuko", and is abandoned in lake laogai because it only hurts him.

(the mask and fire are incompatible because the blue spirit and the prince are incomaptible. the blue spirit does horrible things that cant be honorable, and the prince can't be selfish in the face of his people's needs.)

if you want more on the blue spirit and vigilantism, here's my breakdown of that in a reblog. it has been changed since OPs reblog, mostly cuz i was acting like there was zero justification for the avenging vigilante take even though the first time zuko does blue spirit shit in season 2, it's literally that. had to think for a bit and clarify. lmao when you wrong, you wrong.

part 2, book 3 second half dumb

so imo, i think the second half of book three feels like a checklist. like, zuko joins gang, zuko reconciles with our list of characters that need reconciliation, token recap comedy, finale. you know exactly whats coming, which i guess isn't bad, but i always struggle to rewatch these episodes cuz it really feels like a list of narrative tasks instead of a story.

so, down the list, episode by episode:

the firebending masters was a great episode, but how was it one fucking episode? a character just fucking losing their bending?? no one is concerned?? this hasn't come up before, why is no one terrified by the fact that this can just happen? also also, why is it resolved in a grand total of one episode? same with Aang's reluctance to firebend. i get what the writers were going for, but a couple of missable lines about "fire is life actually" doesn't do much convincing after an entire show's worth of effort showing us the dangers of fire. give us some time to learn to love it, like come on. take us through that journey with aang. let it culminate in the firebending masters, where aang finally feels like fire is a part of him, and zuko finally knows how to exist without rage driving him.

zuko and aang's relationship also needs more attention. for a whole episode meant to convince us that all feelings are resolved, i was left feeling more awkward than when we started. frankly, i feel that way about everyone. zuko literally has direct character parallels to every gaang member that would be so fun to explore, and yet these episodes felt so hamfisted to me. (aang & zuko: homesickness, did something stupid and cant go home because of it, trying to preserve their culture being swallowed by the war. katara & zuko: anger, emotions, mothers died/vanished protecting them from the fire nation. sokka & zuko: "less talented" sibling to a prodigy, and all the fucked up emotions that that comes with, swords. toph & zuko: aristocratic upbringing, and literally everything iroh said when toph ran into him for tea during The Chase.)

specific annoyances with the symbols, a lot of people think that zuko should've been able to use firebending with his swords more often, and i wholeheartedly agree. i mentioned it earlier, but this combo only happens once, in Zuko Alone. zuko bends with his swords and immediately introduces himself as prince, heir to the throne, and also still fighting off these shitty soldiers and still holding his swords. its proof that the prince and "just zuko" can coexist, and can do it well.

he's forced to leave town for that, and we never see him firebend while holding swords again. fuckin wack is what that is. bad wack.

what we needed was a reconnection of those symbols after that loss of faith. we needed to reconfirm that zuko can be fire lord, because "just zuko" and the prince work together beautifully.

there's a huge amount to tell through these symbols as well, with zuko losing his firebending after betraying his father and technically giving up his place on the throne. it's so obvious that im frustrated it was never brought up. zuko gave up on being prince, in ozais image at least, and now needs to relearn to be prince in his own image or else not be prince at all. he needs to learn to bend without anger, or else not bend at all.

additionally, aang and zuko's relationship ties in with these symbols. aang has personally dealt with each one of them, and surprisingly, its the mask and the swords that he gets along with in terms of zuko. (not entirely sure thematically how to resolve the blue spirit mask and aang connection, but also im just yelling at a wall here, not rewriting the season lmao.) they were amazing fighting companions in the blue spirit episode, where fire and the prince were nowhere in sight. when it comes to fire, that has a loaded history.

i would have loved to see an extended version of events that showcased aang and zuko meshing unreasonably well for recent enemies, all until they see the dragons and firebending pops up. after all, its the prince part of zuko that causes the most trouble, so aang thinks. aang learning firebending isn't just about learning that fire is a part of him as the avatar, but also about learning that zuko being prince is okay and doesn't mean they can't be friends. that tension resolves when we finally get some scene that prompts zuko to start bending with his swords, and both he and aang realize that these two parts of zuko are stronger together.

the boiling rock episodes are a joy to watch, but the outcome of the episodes feels so pointless when in the next episode, we immediately separate from hakoda again. like?? there's got to have been a better way to deal with this. the most important things in those episodes were sokka reaffirming his own skills to himself in the wake of the invasion, and azula being betrayed by her friends. the fact that hakoda, suki, and a random ass guy??? were treated as an afterthought to be disregarded next episode is obnoxious. (ok, suki wasnt disregarded, but she also got gaang position with hardly any narrative work, which is annoying cuz she doesn't deserve to be snubbed like that.)

the southern raiders gave katara some closure, dragged zuko along cuz the checklist!!, and then promptly disregarded everything except for "now katara wont kill zuko." like, it even got rid of the shit katara learned. this episode seems like it has a lot it wants to say, but fails to meaningfully say anything, and therefor leaves viewers in a spot where they have to come up with a moral lesson on their own. which is fine, i guess, but it's also a kids show. if there's any place to be direct about your morals, this is it. the episode thematically is in line with things that zuko would do with the blue spirit mask. its all about how that selfish mentality taunts everyone, and that like katara, zuko is also tmepted by it. the selfish need to get what you think you deserve, regardless of what the world needs. regardless of what you actually need. showing this same thread in katara is amazing, and so key to her character development. especially when she, despite being fully enabled by zuko, refuses to submit to it.

we jump forward to aang being anxious over killing ozai, and katara doesn't side with him. after all that?? like i understand there are differences, but i thought the point of the episode was that sometimes bad people go unpunished because enacting "appropriate" punishment will hurt the punisher, and that's not worth it. killing her mom's murderer would've hurt katara in ways that she didn't need. sparing him was not a mercy to him, but to herself. if that guy tripped and fell off a cliff the next day, it wouldn't matter. the point was that katara didn't put herself through that suffering. and now she's totally fine with aang needing to go through that? i don't believe it.

zuko would. zuko will. he'd fucking kill ozai in heartbeat. he might have gotten better at spotting it, but he has not gotten rid of the ozai mentality. it sucks, but it's essential. his dad must die.

and he expects aang to believe the same, and that's another bit of conflict that isn't touched on enough. zuko is ready and willing to kill his own father, regardless of the harm it would do to himself, and i feel like that should be more concerning to the gaang than it is. at the very least, to aang and katara, who have both been in situations where they could kill someone who made their life awful and refused to. and despite the fact that it's good for the world, leaning into the ozai mentality in order to justify killing ozai is fucked up. the show makes a point of telling us this, the whole finale tries to drive it home. the entire show is about refuting this mentality, and now zuko, ozai's son, the guy who's trying so hard to be good, has slipped into it so seemlessly he didn't even flinch, and no one is concerned? cmon.

also the energybending stuff? we coulda worked that in sooner. we've been talking about energy connecting people since the swamp episode. we've been talking about bending being a restriction of the mind since lightningbending, since metalbending. im not opposed to the creepy lion turtle vacation, but there were ways to foreshadow energybending as a solution before the finale, and they just didnt.

also also toph and zuko deserved better. where the fuck was their field trip? they didn't get one because the point of those episodes was not friendship, it was reaching a baseline of okay.

which is another thing. fandom is awesome, but watching season 3, i still don't believe that zuko is anywhere near close to these kids. they're hardly friends by the end of this, and based on what the show shows me, i fully believe that the coronation was the first time aang even called zuko his friend. and that's not something someone like aang would hold off on, so they're very much just battle bonded companions until the epilogue.

and i mean, if it works, it works. there's only so much time, but still. i think there should've been 4 seasons, enough to actually establish friendships between zuko (and suki, fuck she's so ignored its stupid) and the gaang and really drive home the fact that joining the gaang wasn't just good for the world, but was good for zuko too.

anyway, thats my uh. rant. about season 3. clearly overshadowed by my love of zuko's character with a heavy lean into Aang's space because he's blorbo no. 2 and i love aang and zuko's relationship because of the parallels.

i have no conclusion. hope you enjoyed adhfjdh

#thank you for coming to my tedtalk #atla #zuko #aang #katara #sokka #book three #characterization #my takes #narrative themes #critical takes

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