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#tlok critical
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Legend of Korra is so tough when you’re sapphic & a Katara stan. Korrasami…but Katara character assassination…but Korrasami…
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rifari2037 · 9 days
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6. Do you consider the comics/LoK canon?
I prefer to pretend that comics and TLOK aren't canon.
ATLA is enough for me, even though the love story isn't good written. It's weird and rushed except for Sokka and Suki. I'm a Zutara shipper, but I wouldn't expect them to end up together either if the better story is ended with friendship.
Why I don't consider comics as canon?
I probably can't give to much criticism because I don't read the comics yet and I'm not interested to do so because I've read many criticisms about it before, this is one of them that I found recently.
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There are other criticisms about it, most of them about the plot and how is Katara's role reduce, from Katara we all know to not more than Avatar's girlfriend. Those makes me less interested, though.
Plus, I probably can't stand reading Aang and Katara calling each other 'Sweetie' all the time. It wasn't romantic but cheesy to me.
Why I don't consider TLOK as canon?
Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoyed TLOK since Bolin exist, but I don't think it's as well written as ATLA. The conflicts, the arcs, the complexity. I have a lot of thoughts on some aspects that make TLOK no more special than ATLA, but I will only explain the most disappointing for me - and a lot of fans - here, which is how Katara is written.
Bryke always tells fans that Kat/Ang are perfect pairing. Since they became canon in ATLA, Bryke has many chances in TLOK to convince fans (especially Zutara stand) of what Bryke said.
But what we get are – Katara's role simply as the wife and mother of the Avatar's children. Like, having 3 kids doesn't make them perfect couple. And if Katara's role replaced by another character, would the main story change? No, not at all.
Zuko still the one who knew Aang more than anyone else, not Katara.
It doesn't matter if Katara only end up being a healer in her old age even though she wanted to fight when she was young. I mean, Toph also lives in the swamp and Zuko chooses to retire as Fire Lord.
But where was she when she was young? Where was she when Sokka was a leader, Toph was a police chief, Zuko was a Fire Lord, and Aang was the avatar? Where is her statue, while even cabbage man has it?
Not only that, Bryke also thought it's a brilliant idea to make Aang as a bad father. Unbelievable!
Bryke ignores all the opportunities of Zutara. But seeing how Bryke's favourite pairing is written, it's better that Zutara don't end up together. I'm afraid Bryke would destroy Zutara more than Kat/Ang.
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lovegrowsart · 9 days
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what do you think of the take that katara not having a statue is in line with her character because she’s not someone who would boast about her achievements, but instead would be humble about them?
firstly, i think framing the idea of having a statue in recognition of one's achievements as "boasting" a little flawed, considering aang, zuko, sokka, and toph all have one or more statues in tlok - does that mean they were boasting about their achievements? toph, maybe, but zuko? the guy can't take praise if you paid him to.
but more importantly, no, i don't think katara hypothetically refusing a statue because she'd be "humble about her achievements" to be in line with her character presented in atla much at all.
exhibit a) book 1, ep 15: katara when she's recognised with the mark of the brave.
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exhibit b) book 1, ep 19: katara after kicking the ass of every other one of pakku's students and being told she has "advanced more quickly than any student he's ever trained."
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exhibit c) book 2, ep 1: katara when she's called the "mighty katara" by general fong.
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in the avatar wiki transcript, it says:
Katara: (Pleased) Mighty Katara? I like that.
exhibit d) book 3, ep 3: katara when the jang hui village put up a literal statue of the painted lady (who katara is acting as!).
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she is, in fact, the only one of the gaang to show a positive reaction like this to the idea of having an actual statue of herself in recognition of her achievements, which makes her lack of one post-canon even more egregiously baffling.
it's also not a bad thing or a flaw if katara did want a statue of herself to recognise her achievements, especially if it's not treated as a flaw for the rest of the gaang to have them. aang has a literal statue of liberty style statue!
she worked hard to master waterbending when there were incredible odds against her. she doesn't often get a lot of explicit gratitude and recognition for her hard work and how much she helps people. in fact, at the start of the show, sokka is explicitly ungrateful and sexist about how hard she works because the work she was going then was "women's work". she helped end the war by defeating azula, a prodigy firebender superpowered by a comet, and saving zuko, the future fire lord's, life. and that's just all that she does in the show, let alone all she could've achieved afterwards, so fuck yeah she deserved a statue, probably more than one, and she would've been absolutely in character and within in her right to enjoy having one.
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madeby-meru · 16 days
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Every single time I get a tiktok on my tl of that TLOK scene where Bumi and Kya basically tell Tenzin that Aang was not a good father to them theres hundreds of comments of people trying to justify Aang's parenting in every way possible and every argument just seems so absurd and completely unncessary.
He didn't have to be a bad father to be a good airbending master to Tenzin and he didn't have to be a bad father to keep the Air Nomad culture alive. But he was. He was negletful and absent to 2/3 children and very clearly favorited Tenzin over Bumi and Kya. I don't think there's any possible way to justify his behaviour (I'm not gonna talk about Katara at all cause we all know she is completely mistreated as a character post ATLA) and honestly? It's ok. Characters don't have to be perfect, characters can and should have flaws, and Aang being a bad father fits pretty well with his character imo.
There's no need to do all these mental gymnastics to justify him and somehow portray him as a wonderful father, specially when you're being explicitly told by the show that he was not.
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shewhotellsstories · 2 months
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If Suyin really was sorry, then she would've respected that Lin is hurting and angry and gave her distance. Even better, if Lin decided that she doesn't want to be around family that punishes her for having feelings and being angry at having no justice, that's even more valid.
Agreed. There's a difference between being inconvenienced that someone is angry about something terrible they did to you and truly feeling remorseful that you hurt someone. Suyin accusing Lin of keeping their family apart when Suyin scarred her and Toph betrayed her tells me everything I need to know about her character.
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Why I Dislike Amon and Kuvira
Note: While I don’t think The Legend of Korra (TLOK) is as good as Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA), I still think it is a pretty good show, and that 99.9% of its problems can be traced to Nick not giving Bryke a full four seasons with a proper budget from the outset. However, I don’t think any piece of fiction is perfect, hence why I criticize TLOK like I do ATLA.
Amon and Kuvira are two characters who are important to TLOK’s narrative not only on an individual, character level, but also because they represent previously unaddressed social issues in ATLA’s world as well.
This is because in Amon’s case, the Equalist movement he heads deals with an important issue that the original ATLA glosses over at best: the issue of benders being innately superior to non-benders.
Or more specifically, the fact that, unless you are a highly trained and/or highly gifted non-bender like Piandao, Mai, Ty Lee, Suki, or Sokka, your bog standard bender who has the slightest amount of training has a nigh-insurmountable power advantage, and thus has every incentive to lord their unearned power over non-benders.
Meanwhile, Kuvira deals with an issue that up until her becoming the main villain of Season 4 was barely addressed in TLOK’s intro and glossed over in the ATLA comics: how would Earth Kingdomers feel about the United Republic being formed from the Fire Nation’s oldest Earth Kingdom colonies.
Or more specifically, how, after getting pressured by Fire National colonialists and those close to them, King Kuei and Avatar Aang worked with Fire Lord Zuko to give the oldest colonists the option of self-determination, which they exercised to form the United Republic.
This, even though the oldest colonies were dominated politically and economically by the Fire Nationalist colonists and their close allies, with the marginalized Earth Kingdomer masses having little to no say in regards to the above mentioned process.
(If you disagree with my characterization of how Earth Kingdomers would view the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis, please check out The Problem with Yu Dao and A Potential Solution where I go into much more detail about this topic.)
However, it is precisely because Amon and Kuvira represent previously unaddressed social issues in ATLA’s world that I dislike them.
For in Amon’s case, before his identity was revealed, I was interested to see how the Krew would defeat him, let alone defeat the Equalist Movement since it wasn’t a problem that could be punched.
However, after his identity was revealed, I quickly soured on his character since, with him being a psychic, 24/7 bloodbender, it became apparent that the only way to beat him would be having an Avatar State Korra fight him or through a deus ex machina, with the latter being the way how he was defeated.
And I started disliking him once it became clear that the Equalist movement died off just because he was exposed as a fraud and Republic City’s all-bender council got replaced by a democratically elected unitary executive, one who so far has been non-benders due to non-benders numerical dominance.
This is because the underlying issue of benders having an innate advantage over non-benders never really got resolved, and so I hate how Amon’s character was used to avoid a real discussion or give any real solutions to said problem.
Especially since in real life, even if a movement’s leader is exposed as a fraud, the movement, or at least some variation of it, will continue to persist since movements, or more specifically, underlying issues in society, create leaders, not the other way around.
Meanwhile, I dislike Kuvira because, despite growing up in a world where the horrors of the Hundred Year War and the failures of the Hundred Year War era Fire Nation were surely taught to children like her, she decided to repeat them with her concentration camps and illegal and immoral war of conquest.
(Yes, I know canonically Kuvira did not know about the concentration camps, but even if that is the case, I still hold her responsible for them.) 
(This is because commanders/generals in the real world are responsible for the actions of their subordinates when it comes to war crimes, and more generally, leaders are generally responsible for the actions of their subordinates when their subordinates are acting within the scope of their relationship. Thus, I hold her to that standard, even if the war crimes tribunal of the United Republic doesn’t.)
(Also, her attempt to retake the United Republic was an illegal and immoral war of conquest since the United Republic had been a sovereign state for over 70 years, with its sovereignty recognized by all the other nations in the world, including the Earth Empire’s predecessor, the Earth Kingdom. Moreover, even if it hasn’t been said explicitly yet in canon material, I am pretty sure in the 70-odd years between the end of ATLA and the start of TLOK the five nations signed treaties making wars of conquest illegal.)
This, even though her adopted grandma fought in the War and was friends with Fire Nationals who grew up in the Hundred Year War era Fire Nation, and more likely than not told her about her and her Fire National friends experiences.
And why does she do all that? Not because she actually believes that the way the United Republic was formed was immoral and an act of injustice against the Earth Kingdom, but because of unresolved abandonment issues.
And when she “redeems” herself, she does the bare minimum before finally admitting her fault and getting house arrest in Zafou, the closest thing to paradise on Earth.
I thought Kuvira could have been used to tell a story about the evils of revanchism, and how an inability to let go of past territorial injustices and focus on the present leads people to becoming the very monsters they claim to be fighting against.
That and what steps an authoritarian conqueror would have to take to credibly redeem themselves not only in the world’s eyes, but also in the eyes of their people, who they betrayed and misled with their lies about peace and prosperity through violence and subjugation.
Instead, we instead essentially get a sane, adult Azula who doesn’t have the excuse of indoctrination and got a really undeserved and unearned redemption that fanfics often give to a heavily woobified Azula.
This, all while never directly addressing the Earth Kingdom’s lingering resentment towards the United Republic, nor ever giving a concrete resolution to said resentment.
So to conclude, I dislike Amon and Kuvira’s characters because the resolution of their arcs were not only unsatisfying on a personal level, but also ruined the potential to meaningfully address key issues present in TLOK’s world, thus weakening TLOK as a whole.
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conclush · 2 years
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Thank you little one
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pairing . ִ ་ ˖ ʿ ִֶָ ׄ Suyin Beifong x Fem!Reader
summary . ִ ་ ˖ ʿ ִֶָ ׄ You were greatful that your when you have given birth to your little one she change everything between your family
warnings . ִ ་ ˖ ʿ ִֶָ ׄ fluff, slight angst?, pregnancy
an: just imagine woman can make other woman pregnant :)
masterlist
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„ su I want to eat that also! And why is my meal different from all of you!?” you ask your wife while looking at her furious. Pregnancy made you mood swings and food cravings weird cravings and morning sickness but you were lucky that you have your wife and your kids there for you to comfort you.
„ dear you know you can't eat this so this meal of yours is very healthy for you and our baby girl.” she gave your belly a gently rub and smiled at your big belly.
„ no! I want that though please love!” you plead she shookly her head and shaking her hand to infront of your own face.
She gave you a deadpan face and saying to everyone at the dining room to continue to eat.
After you ate you didn't actually finish your food and you ate unhappily you carefully sat on the bench and let out a breath. Since you woke up you felt kind of weak in your stomach but you just shrug it off maybe just because of your back.
You look around your direction you were loving the view infront of you but the thing has been on your mind for a while but you and Suyin never really talk it about.
Before you made your next movement you felt a hands onto your shoulders you tilt your head to feel their touch you knew who it was, it's was Suyin you knew because of her perfume she always use you thought back then why she didn't always left one of those perfumes she have.
Why ask though? She's a Beifong their family is rich super rich If I would say.
„ You feeling any better dear?” you nodded then her hands slip away from your shoulders you whine missing her touches.
She sat besides you and you gave her a kiss on the cheek you saw a light blush on to her cheeks you both smile at each other.
„ Suyin I know you've been busy for the last few weeks but we haven't talked about what should we name out daughter.” you worriedly say and she look like she was thinking something or something to say.
„ you are right my love, well what do you want to name her?” you sigh and took her hand onto your belly and you both gently rub it together.
„ I don't know I thought you want to name her or you have already thought of a name.” you pout she quickly brush it away just by giving you a peck on the lip.
„ sorry dear but I haven't don't worry we still have a time left alright?”
„ alright.” after your short conversation with your wife you both go on to your routine where you would plant or water your little garden and Suyin would dance and do her paperworks after that you made your way to the dining room.
You were walking carefully because you were just by your self but the last few months Suyin would always be there at your side she wouldn't do her work because she was super over protective and worried to you because it was your first pregnancy but you made her sure that you're fine.
The doctor says your suppose to be due in two day or one day so all of the family are very careful with you.
You walk past through a open door but you move backwards again you saw it was Kuvira you smile softly before making your path through her.
Kuvira was the first one you had been always close with she was the one who made you comfortable in the Zaofu and teaching you how to dance for a little bit.
„ Hello there vira.” she jump away from shock it made you laugh hard.
She groan in frustration and turn to look at you you wave at her and sent a soft smile in return she gave you a playfully roll eyes.
„ what now?” you huff in her response when your beside her now you playfully nudge her arm.
„ why I can't say hi to my beautiful daughter?” you smirk and wiggle your brows she just scoff and look down to your body and stop at the sight of your big belly.
„ oh please! How about you being pregnant?” you gave her a sad smile and your hand made their way to your belly and you gently rub your own belly.
„ fine I guess I'm suppose to be due in two days or tomorrow, who knows!” you sigh and looking to the view infront of you Kuvira seem to gets it.
„ So uhm..when are you going to visit them? Have you told su?” she worriedly ask you and you put your hands on your hair she knew it will made you stress if she ask you more questions.
„ no I mean— I don't vira what if my parents don't accept that the fact I married a Beifong and I'm now pregnant and they— we.....we didn't have any connections to each other..” Her hands rubs your shoulders she's making you comfortable but it doesn't seem to be working.
„ well how about your brother?” you stare at nothing for a moment then shrugging your shoulders.
This been going for many years before your got pregnant, married and even though dating Suyin, this is why you are now is Zaofu. You're own parents didn't expect for you to like women your own father and mother were disappointed and disgusted over you while your supportive older brother was there protect you and told you to be away for awhile. And you decided to visit a new city The Metal City. Zaofu.
Past;
You sat down beside your mother while your brother sat beside your father, you thought for a while that they should've known your secret so that they would know but you were to scared that they wouldn't accept for who you were. To be honest you weren't really that brave for yourself you can't even protect your own self.
„ so y/n I expect for you to get married soon to Kuyuno their very generous people their generation has been well nicely I rather say.” your father chuckled while your brother didn't have any reaction at all and your mother smiled beside to you.
You deeply sighed as you've been used to this they been wanting for you to get married 'soon' and start a new family since you were the youngest and your the only one who is a girl in your family to your brother they were doing the same also but after your brother got married her wife or your sister in law divorce him and your brother fell into a depression and you were by at his side all the time like you both used to do when you were kids.
Your brother cleared his throat and stare at you blankly but you know behind does is worried for you you sent him a nod and before turning to your parents.
„ Pa..ma...I need to tell you something.. important.. It's about me actually...” you father was about to drink a glass of water before he looks up to you and your mother turn around to see you.
They both ask what is it and you fidgets your hands but a hand stopped them you look up to your mother who is now staring at you worriedly. You're father was thinking many things in his head the first question was 'Are you pregnant?' you quickly shook your head definitely not pregnant.
„ I-...I don't want to get married at a man pa...has it been oblivious to both of you? I mean—I...I like women papa mama..and—” you slowly spoke and before you even finished your sentence a glass of water was thrown of a wall that shock all of you you all look up to see your father furious like his gonna destroy you're home.
„ What did you say?” he ask in a heavy breath this is what you've been scared of always.
He was about to punch the table a hand stopped him from doing it and you could saw your emotionless brother stopping him from doing it and push him down that made your father stumble your mother quickly got beside him.
„ run y/n I'll take care of this!” you hesitantly ran outside you quickly pulled the door open and all you could hear is your mother screaming for you and your brother and father yelling at each other.
After that eventful night you're grandmother let you stay at her house for awhile you told her what had happened and she told you that she didn't need to accept who you are because it's what you want and it's you're only choice if you like women then so be it.
Many days had passed and you're older brother came to you to sometimes bring a gift your your grandma and a food for you both since it's just the two of you staying at you're grandmother's house. You're brother told you that you shouldn't show up for awhile since your parents is still processing this.
You were watering you're grandma's plants since you were a kid you've always like plants good thing you're grandmother always let's you water the plants in her garden you're grandma was buying foods for the dinner and you turn your head to the clock and look at the time.
You expect for your grandma to show up but maybe you thought many people are buying groceries that's way.
Minutes went by you're grandma was back holding a plastic bags and some other bags that had many foods you quickly made your way over to her and took all the bags that is in her hands she gave you a small 'thank you' you gave her a soft smile.
„ now y/n come over here.” you obey your grandma's order and sat down beside her you saw in her hand that she has a paper a newspaper?
„ look over here sweetie..It says Metal City it's called Zaofu and they have a Dance Troupe!..y/n I've known you since you were born and I think you know what I meant y/n.” you stared at the newspaper reading the article and turning your head to her.
„ but grandma how about you though...even though you will be alone in this house.”
She told you she would be fine at these age of hers it's time for her to relax after the dinner and cleaning the dishes and the house you hop in to your bed the newspaper is still on your hand.
You stare at it then huffing, should you be really doing this you don't know you thought 'spirits help me'.
And when you found a place in Zaofu you tried talking to the metal people in there how you would you join to that troupe they nicely gave you instructions and go to the guards to talk to there Matriarch.
After you've joined the troupe Suyin had fallen head over heels for you and you are now dating secretly for now.
You're brother would often visit you secretly without Suyin knowing and the other kids but that's when Kuvira caught him she even thought she was a intruder but you quickly ran to her and apologize and told her that his your older brother and told her to keep it a secret for awhile.
After you're brothers visit Suyin have been suspecting you she even thought you were cheating at her.
She sent a guards running towards your brother who is scared and really too stunned to speak that made you woke up at the middle of the night and yes your brother visits you every night and sometimes that made you have eyebags.
„ S—...Suyin! Oh my spirits! Suyin that's enough Wha-what are you all doing?!” you yelled at them and you saw Kuvira beside Suyin who is scared to speak.
„ I erm..I tried telling to su but uhm..she didn't listen to me.” Kuvira slowly spoke and you told her to stop the guards to attack your brother she immediately understand and obeyed you.
After you introduced your brother to Suyin she immediately apologize to him she almost bow her head you told her to stop doing it and she was embarrassed what had just happened to her and your brother.
You're brother updated you always on his visits telling you how your grandma is doing and how your parents were doing.
After you're brother had left you hop again into the bed with Suyin she cuddle you and kissed your cheek.
Suyin ask why she hasn't met your parents and why was you're brother sneaking out to see you every night you hesitantly told her everything from the start you almost cried in her arms but she comforted you and hugged you the all night even morning.
And after Suyin had propose to you you told her you weren't ready to invite your parents and told her if it's fine that you're brother should be on the wedding she understoods why and she accepted what you wanted you're brother gave you a blessing.
Present;
After you have a dinner with your family you carefully layed down to the bed but ofcourse Suyin your kind wife help you lay down she then layed beside you. You both cuddle each other enjoying your peaceful moment.
„ Suyin I have something to tell you.” she stare at you worriedly she sat up the looking at you like you were a ghost.
„ is there something wrong? Are you hurt? Am I in trouble? Are you hungry?—” you shake your head them giggle at her questions she then ask why.
„ I think it's time su...I don't want our child to grow up not knowing their grandparents and that...we haven't great connection.” you sat down like she does and she stare at you like 'are you sure?' you just smile at her and then she nods in agreement.
„ I suppose that'll be good love, but right you need to sleep and rest you know I don't want to see you stress.” you playfully rolls your eyes before laying back down again.
You both sleep peacefully for hours just having this quiet and relaxing days will be enough for the both of you and you know that'll be all change when you born you're baby girl that is growing inside of you.
The next morning you have woken up seeing you're wife still asleep that's when you felt really weird like something had hurt your stomach you let out a shaky breath and do a exercise breathing it really does feel weird some painful had hurt the both of you and your baby.
You let out a ouch and heavy breaths that's when you realize it you quickly shook your wife beside you you scream her name and she quickly opened her eyes and turn to look at you. She saw you sweating and it seem like you had a hard time breathing she asked if there's something wrong to you you quickly shouted a no that you didn't know mean to shout.
And then she realizes that you're water broke she got up immediately and told you to stay and she will call the doctors you rapidly nodded at her and she made her way out of your shared bedroom after seconds you couldn't take it anymore.
You grip the ships so hard that you almost thought it will be ripped you didn't know that you'll be giving birth to your house you were expecting to be in hospital but that still not the matter right now.
You let out a shakely huff and you heard a loud thud you saw your wife running into you and told you the doctors is coming immediately you couldn't speak from the pain you just told her that it hurt so much that you will almost die.
You didn't expect for giving birth is so very hard that it will ripped you're vagina so bad.
You didn't remember what have happened after that just some short details you let out a scream and the doctors said keep pushing your almost there but Suyin wasn't your side you knew she is outside maybe panicking for the both of you and you're child.
After the final push you heard a baby crying it was beautiful sounds ever now you're a mother before the doctors could give you your baby they clean her and wash her they then gave you the baby carefully you felt so dizzy.
You gave you're newborn baby a lazy smile and you couldn't help but cries but you were so tired to even cry you didn't even notice that you had fallen asleep.
Now that you have woken up you're eyes opened slowly and all you could see around you is the Huan, Opal and Kuvira they didn't notice you to wake up but your body is responding that you can't wake up for now you let you're eyes slowly closed.
Soon after you woke up you could see Suyin you're wife is rubbing your hand and kissed it you couldn't help but smile at her she closed her eyes then staring up to see you awake her eyes began to widened.
She quickly pulled you into embrace which you tiredly accepted.
„ I love you so much suyin.”
„ I love you too so much to the moon and back my y/n.” you just chuckle at her response and looking around to see your surroundings.
„ wh-where's Raya?” Suyin raised an eyebrow at you and then it hit her she gave you a deadpan look.
„ you seriously gave her already a name without me.” you nodded proudly.
„ but seriously su where is she?” your insecurities began to rise up she cupped your cheeks and look at her.
„ Don't worry love she's with your parents probably playing with her right now.” you really can't believe what she had said you we too stunned to speak you gasped your eyes swelled up with tears your wife quickly brush it with her hands.
When you both heard the doors creek and opened you saw three figures and for many years you seen them again.
You saw you're own father holding his now grandchild rocking her gently your mother and your father stare at you proudly and your older brother gave you a tearful eyes and gave you a thumbs up.
You were greatful to have your little one because she changed you and between your family.
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an: this is just another lazy writing and so uhm I think it's bad.
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zuko-always-lies · 1 year
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The apparent “point” of Bolin’s arc in Legend of Korra season four is “you can serve a clearly fascist regime and even hang around its corridors of power without being aware of it.” Bolin spent years aiding Kuvira in very close contact with her and apparently noticed nothing.
All I can I can say about this “theme” is that I think Albert Speer would approve of it.
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starlight-bread-blog · 7 months
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I don't hate TLoK, but I do wish Republic City would stick to being aisan inspired. Or at least, spend more time on establishing its good qualities. Not just because of the consistency, but because of it would turn the city into a character. Like the Titanic:
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They do soo much to establish the boat as this great, beautiful, majestic thing. They even give it a voice towards the end, in Thomas Andrews: "I'm sorry I didn't build you a stronger ship, young Rose".
So it hits harder, and could have hit harder, when this happened:
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they-call-me-haiku · 7 months
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ranking TLOK relationships bc i'm bored.
mako x asami (masami?? idk what the ship name is): bad but not horrible. they were a very generic vanilla couple who immediately broke up because of korra. they had no chemistry whatsoever and mako cheating on asami got rid of any potential that was there.
makorra: ugh. i don't like this ship. despite all of mako's flaws, i think korra was the toxic one in this relationship. she constantly kept blowing up at mako when he was just trying to help and support her. she takes out all her frustrations on him, barges into his office and destroys it bc he was doing his job. smh mako deserved better. (i know he was kind of an asshole too but at least he got called out for it; also I'm not a korra hater, i just don't like her in s2)
bopal: i hate bolin okay. he's not interesting, he's not funny and his sexual harrasment towards ginger is played for laughs. i can't ship this character with anyone because he keeps making mistakes and never gets called out for it. besides, even if he wasn't such an ass, bopal was a boring ship anyway. it had no substance to it, it's just "boy meets girl and they fall in love". opal isn't a very interesting character by herself either.
zhurrick: i regret to admit that i found this ship cute at first. but looking back, varrick treated zhu li like shit and never gets a proper redemption. he just delivers a half-assed apology and proposes to her, and she says yes. yay, problem solved! zhu li deserves better.
eska x bolin: walking red flag. this was another case of the show using a serious issue as a joke. eska is actively abusive and possessive towards bolin and it's just treated as "haha crazy girlfriend". bolin gets reprimanded for not breaking up with her sooner? as much as i dislike bolin, this isn't right either. men being abused is a very real thing, and should be taken seriously. it's not funny and it's not pathetic.
jinora x kai: it's alright. not bad, though we don't get to see enough of them. but from what we see, they seem to care about each other and work well as a couple.
korrasami: lots of potential but it was underwhelming. i get that it was restricted, so i can't blame the writers here. they did do a good job of writing a believable friendship between korra and asami, so it's not much of a stretch to imagine them dating.
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orangepanic · 2 years
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This, too, is my assessment of LOK season 3.
(If anyone has a source for this I'd love to update to credit the artist! Pic came from an old facebook and I can't read the name.)
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Thoughts on legend of korra?
honestly, the easiest way i could explain my thoughts are that it seems to be that nickeloden took a lot of influence over the show, rather than the writers. which is unfortunate, as i feel like if they had a lot more breathing room, the praise of LOK would've been that much higher.
i don't think LOK overall is terrible. and the comics of LOK were a lot better written than the show, i'm sure, as it's common for that form of media to have a lot more space, in terms of all types of writing and genres.
essentially, i do wish better for the ATLA/LOK group, and i hope their future projects are what they hope for. but LOK has a lot of problems, that i'd rather want to believe were the faults of the company the group was working for.
i am interested in doing my own take of LOK, more for fun and worldbuilding/character building practice than anything else, so, when i finish ATLA and LOK, i might do that.
overall, i think LOK and the writers of it deserved better.
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thefamilyjewels13 · 2 years
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music always holds so much history and the fact that jazz exists in tlok during the 20s would imply they're in America (becuase it was created there after all), and that black and white people co existed long enough for their rithms and styles to mix.
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shewhotellsstories · 2 months
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Say you don't like the writing choice, say you like Aang despite his flaws, but don't pretend that favoring the only child of yours who shares your bending abilities isn't bad parenting and a recipe for pain and resentment. Favoritism poisons sibling relationships and Kya and Bumi deserved better.
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The Problem with Yu Dao and A Potential Solution
On the surface, the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis was nothing but a success, both in the short and long-term. For allowing Yu Dao and the oldest Fire Nation colonies self-determination not only prevented ethnic cleansing and the Hundred Year from restarting, but also led to the creation of the United Republic as well.
A place that not only serves as the dominant economic and cultural hub in the world, but also eventually became a laboratory of democracy as well, being the first place in ATLA’s modern history to elect its leader by way of popular vote.
However, on closer inspection, the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis was not the complete success that the ATLA franchise frames it as, but in fact one of its biggest mistakes due to three, discrete, but interrelated, reasons.
First, the fact that the people pushing for self-determination in Yu Dao were more likely than not representative of the greater population, and that push for self-determination in-universe is seeped in racist, pro-colonist rhetoric. 
Second, the fact that the Yu Dao crisis was solved by ��self-determination” sent several wrong messages that also led to severe consequences during Korra’s era.  
Third, the fact that there is no way that the Fire Nation could have paid the Earth Kingdom anywhere near the true value of the oldest colonies, thus retarding the Earth Kingdom’s ability to rebuild after the war, and is partially why the Earth Kingdom is in such a sorry state during Korra’s era.
In regards to the first point, Kori and her family and close friends are not representative of the entire Yu Dao population, being instead a minority of the population in which their proximity to political and/or economic power shielded them from the burnt of the Fire Nation’s tyranny.
And while they have a good point about how the Harmony Restoration Movement would lead to ethnic cleansing by forcing mixing families to choose between leaving their long-time homes and having their families broken apart, they are not the only people whose opinions matter when it comes to the oldest colonies.
This is because, even if The Search and related material gloss over it, Yu Dao, like the rest of the oldest colonies, have a massive Earth Kingdomer population, one that more or less serves an underclass exploited by Fire Nationals.
Yet, despite having ample chances to do so, none of the Gaang or Kori and her allies ever ask such people for what should be done in regards to Yu Dao’s future.
This, even though they would likely have different opinions than Zuko, Kori, and like minded people about how Yu Dao’s future should go after learning about the problems with the Harmony Restoration Movement in its current form.
Likewise, while there are non-Yu Dao Earth Kingdomers who do get to express their opinion on what should happen with the oldest colonies, they never get a chance to express what should happen after being presented with the reality that the Harmony Restoration Movement in its current form would result in ethnic cleansing, not even Kuei, at least not before Aang all but forces Kuei to accept Yu Dao has the “right” to self-determination.
(No, not every group that claims to be a distinct “nation” has a right to self-determination. For if that was the case, groups like white nationalists or Christian nationalists in the United States would have the right to self-determination, and I don’t think anyone but a fringe minority believes that to be true.)
But the fact that self-determination in Yu Dao was mostly decided by a small, unrepresentative portion of the population is made worse by the fact that it is steeped in racist, pro-colonialism rhetoric.
This is because Zuko, after Katara pointed out that there is massive socioeconomic inequality between the Fire Nationals and Earth Kingdomers, argues in part to keep the oldest colonies since they were better off before the Fire Nation colonized them, which is appalling for in- and out-of-universe reasons.
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For in-universe, why would the (supposedly) former imperialist who got un-indoctrinated by spending months as a refugee witnessing first hand the Fire Nation’s “greatness,” and got painfully rejected by an Earth Kingdom village he saved because he was part of the family responsible for their suffering, express such sentiments?
Like what happened to the pensive, self-reflective person, one who is aware of his place in history and is hell bent on undoing all the suffering he and his people have wrought upon the world, that Zuko became post-Day of Black Sun?
Meanwhile, out-of-universe, if you were to switch out Zuko's words with some modern places, it would sound like something out of /pol.
For modern racists and/or imperialist apologists justify Western settler colonialism in part by saying that without their “intervention”, the places they colonized would have remained underdeveloped.
Like, is it that hard to see the parallel between your average /pol shitposter saying something like, “Before the West colonized them, the shitskins only had huts and sticks.” and Zuko saying, “Many of the Fire Nation families here immigrated over a hundred years ago, when Yu Dao was just a tiny village at the bottom of a valley.”?
In regards to the second point, the fact that the Yu Dao crisis was solved by “self-determination” sent several wrong messages, both in-universe and out of it, that also led to severe consequences during Korra’s era.
For by having self-determination in the oldest Fire Nation colonies be driven by Fire Nationals and those related to or allied with them without taking into consideration the vast Earth Kingdom underclass, as well the opinion of the rest of the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation suffered little to no consequences for starting the Hundred Year War, and in fact essentially won the War.
This is because the Fire Nation is modeled after Imperial Japan, and just like Imperial Japan had reasons for engaging in colonialism and/or imperialism beyond paternalistic notions of spreading their “greatness,” the Fire Nation likely had other, less “benevolent” reasons for waging the Hundred Year War as well.
For imagine you are a part of Fire Lord Sozin’s governing council in the lead up to the Hundred Year War and you are discussing the benefits of waging the Hundred Year War.
Would you tell him that the Fire Nation would be doing the world a great service by spreading its greatness? 
Or would you tell him that the Fire Nation would be able to achieve several economic and military goals vital to the Fire Nation’s continued existence, at least in its current form?
Or more specifically, by engaging in settler colonialism and imperialism, Sozin would be able to: (1) keep the Fire Nation industrializing at a smooth pace by obtaining cheap and/or slave labor, cheap goods, free land, and easier access to fossil fuels; (2) quell growing class tensions that are endemic to industrial capitalism; (3) divert attention from growing calls from the growing middle class to democratize the Fire Nation, as well limit or eliminate the privileges of the nobility; (4) and make sure their economic and military rivals in the Earth Kingdom would never be able to pose a threat to the Fire Nation again.
Now, imagine you are an advisor as part of Fire Lord Izumi’s governing council and you are preparing a report detailing the Fire Nation’s economic and military power at the moment.
What would it say? That the Fire Nation is a defeated nation-state unable or unwilling to flex its muscles and forced by its leadership to continue paying reparations for the foreseeable future?
Or that the Fire Nation is in amazing shape because: (1) the dominant economic, military, and cultural power in the world is a client state of the Fire Nation; (2) thanks in large part to the ill-gotten gains it got from the Hundred Year War, the Fire Nation is now a, or close to becoming, an advanced industrial state; (3) the Earth Federation is highly unlikely to rival the Fire Nation’s economic or military power for the foreseeable future; (4) and as a result of all this, the Royal Family’s, and by proxy the nobility’s, hold on power is secure for the foreseeable future?
So can anyone with a straight face say that the Fire Nation did not win the Hundred Year War?
No, and that is bad because it sends the message that all nation-states have to do to redeem themselves for engaging in settler colonialism and genocide is pay reparations and punish just a handful of leaders, and all is forgiven.
Moreover, it is bad because it sends the message that if you want more land, labor, and resources, just send your citizens to the area you desire and have some of them reproduce with the local population before then demanding self-determination after sufficient time has passed.
Hence, why I think the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis is responsible for the rise of the Earth Empire.
This is because while Kuvira might have been motivated by parental abandonment issues, it doesn’t explain why Earth Empire’s rank and file support her, or why the Earth Empire and those who support its ideology remain an ongoing problem, even after Kurivira publicly repudiates her previous actions and ideology.
But growing up learning about how the United Republic was created does. 
Or more specifically, learning how the Fire Nation managed to avoid any real consequences for waging the Hundred Year War while essentially managing to keep its colonies thanks your ruler, who was put back on the throne in part thanks to the infamous General Iroh, kowtowing to the supposedly now good Fire Lord Zuko and the Avatar, who is supposed to be a neutral arbiter, but seems be especially biased towards the Fire Nation.
Especially once you consider his steadyfast friendship with not only Fire Lord Zuko, but also General Iroh, (Fire) Lady Mai, and Lady Ty Lee as well.
(No, I don’t think the average Earth Kingdomer would care that Mai and Ty Lee were essentially forced to join Azula’s small, elite team.)
(Especially since their “partnership” with Azula ended with Ba Sing Se failing, and especially since they eventually found the strength to stand up to her when their loved ones were in danger, suggesting that they could have stood up to Azula at any point, but didn’t because Earth Kingdomer lives weren’t important enough to them.)
Finally, in regards to the third point, if you look at the where the United Republic is located, combined with the fact that the oldest Fire Nation colonies were home to hundreds, if not millions, of people, the value of the oldest colonies probably would be worth hundreds of billions, if not trillions of dollars, in in real life money today.
Especially once one took into account all the untapped resources such as iron mines and the fact that the area served as the Earth Kingdom’s southeastern waterport.
And even though canon such as the TTRPG says that the Fire Nation paid the Earth Kingdom for the loss of the oldest colonies, unless the Fire Nation was impossibly wealthy, there was no way they could pay the equivalent of several hundred billion, if not trillions of dollars, to the Earth Kingdom.
At least not without inciting a massive rebellion considering how many people and groups tried killing Zuko in the early years after the war.
This, even though the Fire Nation essentially got unpunished for the War, save for having to pay reparations, having its colonists in the newer colonies move back to homeland, and having to give up direct political control of the oldest colonies.
Hence, why it is likely that regardless of whatever the Fire Nation paid the Earth Kingdom, it was nowhere near the true value of the oldest colonies, and why the Earth Kingdom is in terrible shape during Korra’s era, at least partially that is.
For imagine how much easier it would have been for the Earth Kingdom to rebuild and modernize if they didn’t lose billions, if not trillions of dollars, worth of land, resources, and taxpayers and failed to get fair market value back?
“Ok, you make some good points about the resolution of the Yu Dao Crisis wasn’t as cracked up as it seemed to be. But how could Aang, Zuko, and Kuei have come up with a different solution to the Yu Dao crisis, and more generally, the issue of the oldest colonies, without committing ethnic cleansing, or allowing the oldest colonies to remain a part of the Fire Nation?”
By giving Yu Dao back to the Earth Kingdom while at the same time granting the Fire Nationals local control.
Or in other words, in a system akin to China’s old tributary system in which the oldest colonies recognized Kuei as their ruler, paid taxes to Ba Sing Se, and provided troops for the Earth Kingdom Army in exchange for political autonomy.
That way you don't get the issues associated with forcing people to leave their homes, even if they are descendants of colonizers, and you don't have the Fire Nation essentially win the Hundred Year War by having the Fire National-dominated oldest colonies declare independence and become a client state of the Fire Nation.
Moreover, the above solution still results in what would have become the United Republic becoming an economic and cultural powerhouse.
For if the territory was back in Earth Kingdom hands, considering their inability to project real force outside of Ba Sing Se, Kuei and Hou Ting would not have cared that much what happened in the former oldest colonies. Thus, the locals in charge of the oldest colonies would have more or less the same autonomy that the United Republic has in canon. 
And this, in combination with the fact that the oldest colonies would still be located in a highly desirable location with untapped resources and is a place where people from the Four Nations are able to work and live together in harmony, means that the oldest colonies would still become a hub of industry.
In addition, the fact that the Earth Kingdom would be able to get tax revenue from the equivalent of the United Republic, along with having a successful model of governance that isn’t a monarchy in its midst, might not only help the Earth Kingdom develop more than it did in canon, but also prevent the downfall of Hou Ting/rise of Kurvira as well. 
Especially since there won't be decades worth of resentment towards the Avatar and/or the Fire Nation due to Kuei "agreeing" to grant Yu Dao and the other oldest colonies independence.
Furthermore, you avoid having Zuko forget about his experiences and spout racist and pro-imperialist sentiments akin to those said by in real life racists and imperialism apologists to justify letting Fire Nationals and their close friends and family determine the future of the oldest colonies while ignoring the plight of the Earth Kingdomer underclass.
“Ok, maybe what you said makes sense, but if the Earth Kingdom is as pissed about the Fire Nation’s colonialism as you make them out to be, why wouldn't they treat the former Fire National colonialists terribly, even if they are citizens of the Earth Kingdom in your scenario?”
“Like, what is keeping the Earth Kingdom from engaging in state sanctioned murder of the Fire Nation colonists and their families, or expropriating all of their property and wealth, even if they sign agreements promising not to do so?”
Good point, but thankfully, unlike the real world, there exists a figure with the power to ensure that the rights of new Earth Kingdom citizens are protected: the Avatar.
Moreover, beyond the fact that Aang can protect the new Earth Kingdom citizens by himself, Zuko can ensure that the former Fire Nationals are protected by taking measures such as conditioning reparations on making sure the rights of the former Fire Nationals aren’t trampled on.
“Ok, but what about the Fire Nationals pissed about losing absolutely everything they thought they had gained after a hundred years of war? The Fire Nation is not a defeated nation; it only lost due to a coup d’etat led by Zuko. So it seems like letting the Earth Kingdom absorb the oldest colonies, even if the rights of the former Fire Nationals are protected, might be enough to lead to an open rebellion, or at least more resistance to Zuko’s rule.”
The only reason why Zuko didn’t face an outright rebellion in canon, even after Azula escaped with her bending intact, was because everyone knows that the moment Zuko is in trouble, Aang and/or the White Lotus will bail him out.
(In my opinion, if destroying Zuko’s regime and slaughtering his Fire Nation allies and supporters wouldn’t result in Aang and/or the White Lotus hunting her down like a wild animal, Azula would have done so.)
(For if not, why would the TTRPG say that she is trying to unlock the power of dangerous spirits to support her goal of retaking the throne when she could have killed Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee, for example, several times over?)
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So, even if they might complain about it, and more people might try assassinating him, it is not going to lead to any more resistance beyond more assassination attempts.
Especially since there is no other viable candidate for the throne that isn’t insane, de-bended and in jail, or doesn’t share Zuko’s views.
“Ok, but isn't your proposed tributary system just as radical, if not more than, as Aang, Zuko, and Kuei coming up with self-determination in order to resolve the Yu Dao crisis in canon? Like, why would Kuei, an absolute monarch, be ok with any of his subjects not being under his direct command?”
No, because the existence of Omashu, with Bumi being recognized as its king and having wide latitude in regards to governing the city, shows that not only is it viable for the Earth Kingdom to adopt an tributary system in regards to the oldest colonies, but also that it has already does so in practice as well.
Moreover, considering there hasn’t been any material released yet that states Kuei decided to exercise more control over Omashu and/or dethrone Bumi, Kuei would be more than fine with having his subjects having wide political and economic freedom so long as they ultimately pledge their loyalty to him.
“The Earth Kingdom adopting a tributary system in regards to the oldest colonies would make sense, if the Earth Kingdom was an actual functioning state. Because the early post-Hundred Year War Earth Kingdom wasn't close to a single cohesive state with a strong central authority, one that could consolidate the wealth present in the oldest colonies.”
“In fact, if the oldest colonies were returned to the Earth Kingdom, it is likely the quality of life present in those regions would have never reached the levels present in the United Republic considering how corrupt the Earth Kingdom was.” 
“So, even if is a little fucked, it was ultimately for the better that the Earth Kingdom did not get the oldest colonies back.”
You do realize this is exactly the same logic that in real life racists and imperialism apologists use to justify western imperialism and settler colonialism? 
Or the logic used by Western nation-states in the past to deny their colonies the right to control their own affairs within their own lands?
Moreover, one of the main points behind the tributary system is that the oldest colonies continue to have the political and economic freedom that led to the wealth present in the United Republic in Korra’s time without it potentially being jeopardized by the corrupt and bumbling Earth Kingdom state meddling in their affairs.
And besides, whose not to say that the oldest colonies staying with the Earth Kingdom, with its steady middle class, would not have led to Earth Kingdom becoming a single cohesive state with a strong central authority, one in which the problem of corruption was slowly but surely getting eliminated?
So to conclude, the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis did turn out well in the long run, but sent a bad message both in-universe and out of it.
For not only was Sozin proven right that forcibly spreading the Fire Nation’s “greatness” was a good thing, but the canon resolution of the Yu Dao crisis also essentially let the Fire Nation and those allied with them off the hook for waging a century-long war of conquest and genocide.
Moreover, the resolution of the Yu Dao crisis is not only likely one of the main factors behind the sorry state of the Earth Kingdom/Federation in Korra’ era, but also behind Kuivria’s rise as well.
However, the Harmony Restoration’s Movement’s solution to the problem of the oldest colonies is equally bad considering it would have led to ethnic cleansing at best, and the Hundred Year War restarting at worst.
Hence, why I think the Yu Dao crisis should have been resolved by having the Earth Kingdom adopt a tributary system of governance towards the oldest colonies.
A system that keeps the benefits gained from giving the oldest colonies self-determination in canon, avoids the problem of the Fire Nation essentially winning the Hundred Year War, avoids mass violence, and gives the Earth Kingdom a real chance at developing.
Or in other words, a fair and equitable solution that allows for true justice in light of the Fire Nation’s crimes.
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“catra is a complex poc” fuck that. here are some ACTUAL poc animated characters who are just as, if not more complex than catra.
grace monroe (infinity train) • black american
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connie maheshwaran (steven universe) • indian-american
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katara (avatar the last airbender) • inuk
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wolf (kipo and the age of wonderbeasts) • black american
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suhara/shadowsan (carmen sandiego) • japanese
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korra (the legend of korra) • inuk
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jesse cosay (infinity train) • indigenous (apache)
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lars barriga (steven universe) • filipino
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azula (avatar the last airbender) • japanese
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ryan akagi (infinity train) • japanese-canadian
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luz noceda (the owl house) • afro-dominican american
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(there are a lot more, so i'll be making a part 2!)
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