bluespiritshonour

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Generational spin-off media is like “okay, what would be the most in-character way for the previous show’s protagonist to comprehensively fail as a parent?”

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I urge the masses to consider the angst, but more importantly, the comedic potential of one-sided maizula

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accusing kataang to be "hero gets the girl" (reducing katara to "the girl" ok) when actually "hero gets the girl" fits more....Zuko and Mai

accusing aang, the genocide survivor, to be rewarded by the narrative when the character who got totally forgiveness (way too fast from the gaang), the throne, iroh back, his mother back and a "new better sister" is....zuko, not aang

mind you, i love zuko and maiko, but certain people here should stop projecting their nonsense onto aang

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Fucked up the lighting on Zuko's face because I was too nervous to go in with that saturated orange with a hard edged brush. (It looks so washed out, like I used the airbrush even when I didn't.)

Used the hard edged brush on the second one and see how much better it is 😩

@drowning-in-cacophony never misses with the exact tropes i like. she's my favourite!

go read fascinations. it has vampire mai.

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@drowning-in-cacophony never misses with the exact tropes i like. she's my favourite!

go read fascinations. it has vampire mai.

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If I create a maiko discord server would y'all join?

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*Shakes you aggressively*

Where did you learn to draw so fucking well?!

Aw thank you!

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Dear supporters of Palestine 🫶🏻🇵🇸,

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Vetted by @bilal-salah0

@heba-20 , @charmcoindied , @allthecryingdragons

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ashes of the academy maiko redraw 'cause i really love the poses

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rules: in a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you feel like).

thank youuuu @dickpuncher420 for the tag!! have a peek into two of the wips i’m flipping through rn

first one is for kinktober while the second is for mercy of magpies 🫣

tagging uhh @escyn @erisenyo @marriedzukka @petricorah @mispatchedgreens @blu3berrydraws and whoever feels like it 👀

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Four men in uniform To carry home my little soldier

-Kate Bush

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@kataang-week prompt: altered state

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@kataang-week Hallowe'en! I think this fills in for old spirits, moonlight and grotto.

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Source: Twitter Artist: @PawdrianArt "au where jet comes to crash the new firelord's coronation to finish the job"

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manifesting long haired boy

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I read your post about Zuko's sexism and thank you for saying it! Just because he's sexism isn't as on the nose as Sokka's that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Besides, all that you wrote about the possible reasons behind Sokka's sexism was absolutely beautiful.

That and the fact that he's open minded enough to change as quickly as he did.

Zuko certainly doesn't treat Katara with respect until the end of TSR—but in Boiling Rock he tells the guard that of course Mai doesn't need any protection. It's the first time he's not disparaging of a girl's fighting skills. I mean, he's never exactly disparaging of Azula's skills either but he's jealous of her.

And it's certainly not that he's nice only to Mai (he's plenty nasty to her throughout the course of season 3)

I'd really like to know your thoughts about that one moment where he seems to genuinely compliment her ability to look after herself.

P.S. I love your analyses.

thank you! for the record, i'm 99% sure the post in question is this one, which i not only somehow managed to compose while delirious with covid, but also predated the announcement that white devil natla sokka's sexism would be elided from the show and the ensuing controversy (and unbearable discourse) surrounding that by a matter of days (if that). like, that essay wasn't actually in response to the topical discourse of whether sokka's sexism is the defining aspect of his character arc (hint: it's not), but was in fact prescient, almost miserably prophetic. thankfully, everyone has already long forgotten about the profound failure that was natla, so we never have to discuss it again. but i do still feel the need to impress that zuko's sexism as it is informed by the overt patriarchy of the fire nation is a deeply misunderstood topic in many ways, and i will always see value in delineating, in particular, his egregious mistreatment of mai, as a character who is underserved by the narrative itself as well as fans.

"the boiling rock" is pretty much the first episode that attempts to convince the audience that zuko's feelings for mai are genuine. every prior episode wherein their relationship is in any way depicted feels almost comically performative on his part. he treats mai as a symbol and a projection of his masculinity as it extends to his newly regained status as crown prince. it should not be controversial to say that zuko does not actually treat mai like a person with her own agency, ideas, and inner world. "the boiling rock" attempts to rehabilitate zuko's personality, and in doing so, presents his feelings for mai as sincere. he didn't leave her in a letter because she was little more than an afterthought as he shed all the stifling trappings of his imperialist nation, but because he couldn't bear to leave her any other way. instead of thinking of her as "a big blah" whose mask of apathy irritates him, he actually finds it endearing when sokka refers to her as "that gloomy girl who sighs a lot." and when mai says she doesn't need protecting, zuko fondly comes to her defense.

this presented affection is of course almost entirely negated by the fact that zuko still dismisses her in the end. he is shocked upon seeing mai essentially commit treason to save him, but he still doesn't seem to give her a second thought until she appears for his coronation. he is happy to see her, then, of course, but he is also distinctly surprised, asking "they let you out of prison?" as if he was not even the one to issue her release. mai takes it in stride, is happy to reunite with him and once more assume the role his complaisant girlfriend. why she would agree to such a thing is beyond me, but as i already said, mai is the victim of a narrative that demands that zuko be rewarded for his suffering, even when he has done nothing to truly earn such a "prize."

the least charitable reading of zuko in "the boiling rock" is that the writers were trying to establish zuko's genuine feeling for mai so as to position her as a worthy reward for when they inevitably reunite. the most charitable reading of zuko in "the boiling rock" suggests that he is finally able to appreciate mai because he is no longer with her. in no longer being forced to inhabit such a constricting patriarchal role, zuko can finally see mai as a person rather than a symbol. he finally has the space to reflect on their relationship as it existed beyond the shallow trappings of court politics, and he can value mai's genuine virtues as a human being in a way he has been unable to while mired in his miserable performance of princehood.

the way i see it, it is evident to me that what mai values most in zuko is his honesty. even when his behavior is uncouth to the point of revulsion, there is no denying that he wears his heart on his sleeve. after years of being the ostensible third wheel to azula and ty lee's convoluted mind games, there is no doubt something extremely refreshing to her about having someone in her corner (even if only superficially) who is functionally incapable of lying. in "the boiling rock," zuko is not only painfully honest in his misery, but has also reached a place where he can be honest with himself about his ideals. if we are to assume that he communicates those ideals to mai, clearly and passionately, then is no wonder that she decides to protect him, as he has just demonstrated his one presiding virtue to her that she has always valued most. zuko demonstrates that he is willing to put his very life at risk to fight for his truth, and so mai, inspired by his newfound existential clarity, decides to follow him. on mai's part, her devotion to zuko, which is more so a devotion to the symbolic value of bravely subverting the politics that have repressed her and engendered her misery, functions as a reclamation of her agency, even as she is simultaneously denied it by virtue of making sacrifices for someone who would not return the favor (unlike ty lee, of course, but that's for another post).

ultimately, i don't think zuko giving mai a single genuine compliment (that he then almost immediately undermines as he locks her in a prison cell, lol) negates his egregious treatment of her across their relationship as depicted in book 3, as i'm certain you agree. zuko acknowledging that a girl is capable in a traditionally masculine area does not negate his far more insidious misogyny. he knows that girls can be good at fighting because he has spent his entire life in azula's shadow (even if he does nonetheless dismiss the kyoshi warriors and katara when they fight in distinctly sexist ways). but a lot of nuance and texture is lost when people assume that sexism = thinking girls can't fight like men, and feminism = when girls can fight like men (and i know those equations feel especially reductive, but far too much of the discourse i've witnessed over the years surrounding atla and gender has essentially boiled down to this notion). zuko knows that mai is capable, that mai is competent, that mai is strong. but that hardly matters when he nonetheless refuses to treat her with dignity, care, or respect.