#Hama was such an interesting character!

[dragononaskateboard]

Everything is so connected in Avatar The Last Airbender

Why does The Fire Nation send raids to The Water Tribes? Because The next Avatar, the only one able to stop them from conquering the world, will be reborn in The Water Tribes. The Fire Nation wants to capture and kill that person before they realize they are The Avatar. Before they have any power to stop them. They want to end The Avatar once and for all.

But what they don’t know is that The Avatar ran away and is still alive in an iceberg, deep in the sea close to The Southern Water Tribe where no one can reach him.

So the raids carry on. But The Fire Nation doesn’t find The Avatar. Only water benders fighting back. And even though these people weren’t their original target, they decide to wipe them out too. Because then The Fire Nation will have a higher chance of winning the war. The Avatar might not be present, but the people who will teach The Avatar is.

On one of them they capture Hama. Katara and Sokka’s grandmothers’ best friend, and a powerful waterbender. One of the waterbenders who helped trap The Fire Nation ship in ice. Said ship which soon grew to be seen as haunted because of its reminder of history.

Hama is captured and taken to The Fire Nation, where she’s put in prison. There she and her friends are restricted from any water and kept in cages. And as time passes all of Hama’s friends pass away, these people who she has grown up with her entire life. These people she was promised a future together with. These people she shared the same home with. And then she is the only one left. The Last Waterbender from The Southern Water Tribe.

In a last resort, she (somehow) invents blood bending and frees herself. She invents the ability to control someone’s blood, someone’s body, against their will, just to survive. And she waits for just the right moment, a full moon- when her power is at the height of its power, to escape.

And when she escapes she knows that The Fire Nation is gonna go looking for her. She knows she can’t ever return to The Southern Water Tribe again because they will be there waiting for her. They will search for her until they find her. The Last Waterbender from The Southern Water Tribe. She has put a target on her own back.

So she decides to hide under their noses. She adopts the identity of a Fire Nation citizen. But her fears were still carried out. The Fire Nation came looking for her.

They arrived in The Southern Water Tribe, looking for The Last Waterbender in The Southern Water Tribe. Looking for a grown woman who escaped a Fire Nation prison. Looking for Hama.

But the people in The Southern Water Tribe doesn’t know this. Katara and Sokka’s mother Kya knows that Katara can waterbend. And that Katara is the only waterbender in The Southern Water Tribe. So Kya assumes they are looking for Katara, to get rid of all waterbenders once and for all. Getting rid of anyone who could be or teach The Avatar. After all, that’s why the raids were carried out before.

So Kya tells the soldiers it’s she herself that they’re looking for. She’s The Last Waterbender from The Southern Water Tribe. She does it to protect her daughter, (and in a way to protect hope, in a way to protect the avatar). And the soldiers accepts Kya as The Last Waterbender, because she fits the description. A grown woman from The Southern Water Tribe. This time, they weren’t looking for a kid.

Kya is killed because Hama is alive. GranGran looses her daughter in law because her best friend survived. Hakoda looses his wife. Katara and Sokka looses their mother because a woman on the other side of the world outsmarted the Fire nation.

But it’s Katara who has to carry this guilt. She thought she was The Last Waterbender from The Southern Water Tribe that the soldiers were searching for. But she never was.

The raids stop because the Fire nation thought they found Hama. And because 100 years have passed, everyone believes The Avatar must have ceased to exist by now. It’s useless to continue searching. An impossible quest, (One that Zuko is sent on). The Avatar is gone, and who they thought was The Last Waterbender from The Southern Water Tribe is killed. And therefore the whole reason for the raids are gone. So the raids stop.

Katara and Sokka grow up without their mother. And then one day, they find The Avatar. And he’s just a kid who has spent 100 years in an ice berg. He didn’t even know there was a war, and now he’s the one responsible for it all. Just a day before this, his people were alive. His home was still there. But now it’s all destroyed and long gone. Aang has lost everything. His people, his culture, his home. In one day 100 years have passed, and Aangs standing alone in the rubble. He can never go back. He’s the sole survivor of a genoside. He’s The Last Airbender and The Avatar and everyone expects him to end a whole war. But he’s just a kid.

And that’s what Hama was too. Except instead of being stuck in an ice berg for 100 years, she was stuck in a prison for 30 years. She lost everything too. She could never return to her home again. She has to live the rest of her life in secret. She can’t ever bend in front of people again. She has to adopt a whole new life. She’s the sole survivor of a genoside. And she will never ever get even a glimpse of anything from The Southern Water Tribe ever again.

Except then she does. She meets four kids out in the middle of the forest. The forest she knows all too well after years of dragging Fire Nation citizens to a prison she has created, in the disguise of the moon when her bending is at the peak of its power. Where she has used her blood bending to execute her revenge for years. Her revenge for separating her from her home.

And suddenly, her home is looking right back at her. Two kids, with the same blue eyes as her. Two kids who have left their home, the home she was kidnapped from. Two kids who grew up without their mother, and who doesn’t know that it was Hama’s actions which caused it.

And one of these kids is a bender, just like Hama. Katara is immediately delighted. She has never met a waterbender from The Southern Water Tribe before, she thought she was the only one left. But she never was.

Hama sees this as an opportunity, an opportunity she would never get in her life. She’s old by now, and she doesn’t want her legacy to die with her. She wants the Fire Nation to pay for every bit of pain they caused her, even after she’s gone. She wants her revenge to live on.

Katara is so eager to learn from Hama. To learn the sacred art that’s unique to their culture. Unique to the two of them alone. And Katara is even more eager to learn it from an actual waterbender from The Southern Water Tribe. To learn from the people who never got to teach.

So Hama teaches her. She teaches her to utilize the water around yourself. To use what’s in your surroundings to your advantage. Hama teaches Katara the one thing that she used to save herself from The Fire Nation prison. Hama teaches Katara the one thing that is responsible for the raid that killed Katara and Sokka’s mother.

Hama teaches Katara blood bending. Hama makes Katara a blood bender, and even though it ends with Katara defeating her with these abilities, Hama’s legacy now lives on through her. Katara is a blood bender, whether she wants to be one or not.

Hama isn’t The Last Waterbender from The Southern Water Tribe anymore. And Kya never was. But now Katara is. And Katara still has to carry the guilt of her mother’s death. Because now she’s a blood bender, because now she actually is The Last Waterbender from The Southern Water Tribe.

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

Oh, hello!

It’s time to replace my original pinned post with a more permanent choice, so here’s the quick, updated scoop on what you can expect here:

I love all things Tolkien and looking at, thinking about, and talking about those things. So I will absolutely reblog your fan art of Thranduil draped across his throne in that sultry pose or like your fic about how Tuor came to love Voronwë as a brother on their long journey to Gondolin. But in my heart, I’ve always been a Rohan kind of girl. That’s where you’re going to find my interest most often drawn, and it’s what I write about almost exclusively (with the very occasional tangent into Haldir-related content, which I understand is totally inconsistent, but the heart wants what the heart wants!).

So, if you could talk about the Eorlingas for hours on end, if Éomer is the Middle Earth king of your dreams, if you find yourself unreasonably attached to minor characters like Háma and Elfhelm or have tons of opinions about how amazing Théodred is, if you’re personally invested in Karl Urban’s dimples …maybe we should be friends! And if you like those things, then maybe you’d get something out of my fics. Or not. Either way is fine!

Those fics are now collected in one place below, which I’ll try to keep updated. I make no claim that they are fine works of literature, but they make me happy and that’s their primary purpose. While they’re all consistent with each other and exist in my unified headcanon, they tend to be one shots based on some particular thing I was interested in–a specific plot point, an unanswered question, a desire to see a certain character grow/develop a certain way. Anyway, you get the idea. So thanks for being here, click through to the master list (such as it is) and FORTH EORLINGAS!

Rohan: (stories in rough in-universe chronological order)

Éomer-focused:

TFW Siblings Prompt: Éowyn is frustrated by Éomer’s attempt to protect her from Wormtongue.

Turning Points: Éomer is back from the war of the ring with a changed worldview and an intention to get married. Includes the first look at the character who becomes his wife.

A Vigilant Eye: A marital scene between Éomer and his wife, Mereliss, focused on Éomer’s stubborn need to never admit weakness. This is as spicy as any of my fics get, which is to say…only very mildly spicy.

A Need of the Soul: Éomer is teaching Faramir how to speak Rohirric as a surprise for Éowyn. Cute brotherly bonding moments, remembrances of Boromir and Théodred and lots of horse talk.

TFW Parent-Child Prompt: Éomer becomes a father for the first time and has lots of feelings about it.

TFW Extended Family Prompt: Éomer’s father in law, Elfhelm, realizes what he means to Éomer in light of the many losses Éomer has already experienced.

Nowhere Else: A look back at how Éomer met his wife, told from both sides of the meeting. Includes a look at several other sweet moments from over their years together.

Théodred and Éomer art by Valeria Salo

Théodred-focused:

TFW Cut Ties Prompt: Traces the unshakable bond forged by shared grief between Théodred and Éomer, enduring all the way to Théodred’s literal last words.

What Do We Say: Théodred and little Éowyn have a heart to heart when she starts tormenting the women who are potential brides for him.

Into the Breach: My most comprehensive look at Théodred the person and his backstory, told in the few days leading up to his death. It's more or less my answer to the question of what Théodred was doing in/around major canon events from LOTR. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.

Ties That Bind: A look at how Wormtongue’s manipulation of Théoden affected the larger royal family, as seen through Éomer’s experience when Théoden had him jailed. Théodred's fiancee is a key element of this fic, so I'm putting it with the other Théodred stories though he's not directly in it.

A Life Interrupted: Éomer reckoning with the death of Théodred. My original story with details of Théodred's life and my HC for him.

Háma-focused:

Háma art by @ rinthecap

Those Worth Fighting For: Family fluff of Háma being a sweet dad to his little girl while shielding her from the reality of the increasing danger posed by Isengard.

TFW Freeform Prompt: Háma and his wife struggle with how to protect their children from the increasing likelihood of war.

Hewn and Sewn: Háma’s experiences both living and dying as a soldier.

Not This Time: The discovery of Háma’s body after the battle of Helm’s Deep has major consequences.

Other Rohirrim:

TFW Ancestors Prompt: Théoden’s father, Thengel, returns from exile against his will to take up the throne in Rohan.

Unwary: The story of the deaths of Théodwyn and Éomund, the parents of Éomer and Éowyn.

Untitled intro piece about Guthláf: A short musing on what it means to Guthláf to be Théoden’s banner bearer.

Where Now the Horse and the Rider: The love story of Guthláf and Wídfara, trying to hold it together as the world falls apart around them. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8.

Untitled ficlet on Elfhild: A short intro to Théodred’s mother, who had a premonition she wasn’t going to survive his birth.

Lórien:

Three Weeks on the Nimrodel: Haldir meets his perfect match while posted for 3 weeks with a substitute marchwarden who understands and appreciates his natural reserve.

The Guardian: Haldir finds a lost and scared little human girl while on patrol in Lórien. Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Epilogue.

[huldrabitch]

I've really enjoyed Dr Micks educationally gaming videos on YouTube, incredibly dissappointed to find out he's a Zionists

[dawnsiren]

Im interested to know how you came up with the idea to write the Dragon!Azula au

Well, the Dragon!Azula thought in general started from me reading Scaled Over by MuffinLance and going ‘okay sure but What If Azula’

As Empires Fall specifically is a bit more complicated. In that what y’all’ve read from me is not actually the original story I had in mind. The original plan I had was for Azula, Zuko, and Iroh to go to the Southern Water Tribe and from there…. Well quite honestly I didn’t have a plan after that, which is why this version of the story doesn’t exist. Because I lost any motivation and abandoned it. This version of the story, iirc, lacked dragon!Ursa and had Magic Shenanigans resulting in Azula being in an actual egg that Ursa was pregnant with. As you might know, I cut this. This was just kind of a thing I was writing for the heck of it, without much real planning.

And then I read @ultranos’s dragon!Azula fic ‘I don’t want to set the world on fire’ which like…. Rebooted me and resurrected As Empires Fall in the form you’re familiar with. The first part of the prologue is genuinely a near-direct copy/paste from the forgotten draft, with only a few edits to line up with the place they go being the Sun Warriors instead of the South. And then the idea just kind of…. Grew prolifically until I had a full outline, complex plot, and 51 planned chapters.

[did-we-imagine]

Tbh i like zutara but i think it s a writing problem more than a pairing issue.

I honestly don't even care whether she ended up with any of the guys in canon or not. The arc itself was 🤢🤮, and it's not her being wife of X that would have changed anything. It's the writers fucking up a feminine coded character because in their mind "nice maternal responsible girl becomes house waifu and career/achievements/relevance in society is ONLY linked to her marital/parental status now, she's standing on the sidelines supporting her "more important" husband 🤢." (This shit could have happened even with zutara if one does not know what they are writing !!)

Compare and contrast what they did with Toph who is more of a tomboy (she didn't get a great conclusion either but her badassery was still respected 70 years later).

In a similar vein, girls who fit neither role (not particularly caring/maternal nor specifically tomboyish/memorably powerful in a masculine~ish manner were completely left out : Suki, Ty Lee, Azula...) [PS: They are fucking powerful, but aside from maybe Azula and Kyosho, yeah nobody's overhyping them/summarizing them as a basically extremely OP powerhouse].

Nothing about Ka/taang precludes Katara being Chief of the SWT…

which is why it pisses me off even more that Katara didn’t get to have a role of any political importance whatsoever. It wouldn’t change anything about LOK’s storyline, and it would be fully in line with her character.

There’s a common anti-Zutara argument that Katara wouldn’t want to be Fire Lady, because she would want to rebuild and lead her own culture. I am sympathetic to that. Based on her canon characteristics, she might want to be a United Republic Councilwoman, Chief of the SWT, or just generally the Waterbending Master / Matriarch of the her tribe, which would be easier (though not impossible) if she weren’t married to the sovereign of another nation — I get that.

but the thing is…she didn’t get to do any of that, even though “wife of the Avatar” doesn’t contradict those roles. All the things that would be difficult for her to do if she were married to Zuko, she still didn’t get to do as Aang’s wife. She didn’t get to have a career the way her husband, or her brother, or her friends did.

so it’s extra hypocritical when Ka/taang shippers are like “but being Fire Lady would disempower Katara!” when Ka/taang canonically disempowered her! And KA fans are fine with that: they bend over backwards to justify why Katara doesn’t have a statue, or why she wasn’t there to protect Korra from the Red Lotus, or why she wasn’t at Yakone’s bloodbending trial. Yeah she got to live in the SWT — eventually, I assume, because in the comics she just follows Aang around — but what else did she get to do? Fucking nothing, apparently. Because to some people, the greatest honour for a woman is to be the hero’s wife.

[kelluinox]

I just want to understand how westerners who never experienced war, who don't have anyone they know affected by war, have the audacity to sit in their ivory towers and pontificate about war. It's truly mind boggling. These pampered, privileged, spoiled little kids sitting on social media, treating wars in which real people are dying like they're a particularly interesting Netflix show, drawing anime characters with the colors of terrorist regimes.

I have family in Odesa. Practically every summer of my childhood I spent in Odesa. I went to the beaches. I stayed at my aunt's apartment. Walked around the city with my cousin. Odesa is beautiful. And I watched it be bombed by Russians with no ability to stop my terrorist government from doing so. I received text messages from my cousin, saying, "we have fireworks tonight" and nearly lost my mind every time I heard of new bombing. I didn't know if the next day I would be hearing of my relatives being trapped under rubble. I had nightmares over what the Russians did and are doing in Ukraine. Bucha still haunts my thoughts. All of this slaughter is being done by my government and I have no ability to stop it. And Russian society supports it. You know, those screaming about innocent civilians show only one thing - they don't understand the first thing about fascist societies. The innocent civilians of Russia celebrated the annexation of Crimea. They stuck Z symbols to their cars and hung st George ribbons on their clothes to support the invasion. They got their kids to record their anti war teachers to get them fired or even imprisoned. They dress up their kids in military style clothes and they invite terrorists to speak in front of class about 'patriotism'. An innocent civilian art class teacher reported a girl who drew an anti war picture in class to the innocent civilian school principal. The principal called the police. The girl was put into solitary confinement until her mother agreed to take her. Her father was kidnapped and secretly put in prison.

Some other absolutely ignorant claims I've heard are ones about "collective punishment" and "illegal blockades". Funny. I live under collective punishment - sanctions, and countries bordering Russia are closing entry to Russians, slowly forming a blockade. And you know what? Russia deserves it. Russia deserves to learn the hard way that this is what you get for being an imperialist aggressor. I don't blame the Baltics, or Finland for closing their borders with Russia. I blame Russia for being such a shitty neighbor that such measures were needed in the first place.

And for those who will say, oh but how does this relate to the Middle East. Well, first of all, I'm a jew. I care when the biggest attack on jews since the Holocaust happens and the world spends 12 months celebrating it and bemoaning that only 1200 were murdered and not 7 million. I also care because, unlike you, I know Putin's allies, I know who helps bomb my family in Ukraine. I know that Hamas and Hezbollah and numerous other terrorist organizations terrorizing Israel are Iranian proxies. And I know Iran and Russia are buddies and Iran sells weapons to Russia. I was here, in Moscow, when the PA and Hamas were here for a visit. I was in the same city as those bloodthirsty murderers who want all jews dead. And yet people will still have the audacity to tell me that I'm the one who's in the wrong. It's me who doesn't understand anything about geopolitics, you see. I'm the one who can't tell the difference between a war and genocide even though I had entire branches of my family erased by the Holocaust, have parents and grandparents who lived in the Soviet Union and watched my own government attempt a genocide in Ukraine. I'm the one who doesn't understand imperialism even though Russia is an empire. Russians believe that all post Soviet states should still belong to them and make no mistake once they have them they'll go on to grab some more. I'm the one who doesn't understand how dictatorships operate such as using outside conflicts to distract the population from internal problems and hold on to power. I'm the one who doesn't understand anything.

I don't care if anything of what I say isn't politically correct. I don't care if just being honest about reality and refusing to coddle westerners with lies loses me followers. I'm not going to lie about my life just to be accepted on social media. I don't care. I don't care what the UN says, they've shown me their alliance way back when they didn't do shit for Ukraine. They let Russia veto whatever it didn't like. Putin wasn't arrested when he visited Mongolia. What did the UN do, really? Except waste their time with Israel? I'm not surprised to learn of the complicity of UNWRA. I'm not surprised to see videos of Hezbollah tunnels mere meters away from UN outposts. The majority of countries in the UN are undemocratic and interested in pushing their own agendas. The UN has lost its purpose. I don't care about the Red Cross, who told hostage families concerned about their family members being held by a brutal terrorist organization that "they should think about the palestinians". The red cross claimed there were no installations for the extermination of jews at Auschwitz too. I don't care about Greta Thunberg who now claims that Israel is causing damage to the environment and has forgotten all about Russia that continues to bomb Ukraine. Russia blew up a fucking dam, but everyone has already forgotten all about that. It wasn't the jews who brought down the Kakhovka dam, so who cares, right? No jews, no news. I don't care about student activists demanding they be brought humanitarian aid on the steps of elite US universities. I don't care about Biden who spent more time holding Israel back, than actually rescuing his own citizens from Hamas. I don't care about the Spanish with their history of antisemitism (the Inquisition), and colonialism (that they're now trying to blame on us by saying Columbus was a jew when he was not). I don't care about the British who also have their own history of colonialism and tried to stop jews who were fleeing the Holocaust from migrating to the then British Mandate. I don't care about South Africa, who would rather distract their own people with Israel rather than sort out their internal problems. I don't care about the BBC, Reuters, CNN, NYT nazi rags that give awards to terrorists taking pictures of the bodies of dead jewish women and cry bitter tears over a murderous monster like Nasrallah. I'm past the point of caring what any of these people say. I see who they are. I see their hypocrisy. I see their blatant bias and hatred. I see all of it. I'm tired of it.

And I'm tired of being lectured by westerners who don't live in reality. Who are so morally confused and who live with such a simplified worldview that they've started supporting terrorism. I actually live these conflicts. Who the fuck are you to lecture me? Who the fuck are you to "educate" me on anything?

[infiniteglitterfall]

my all-time favorite Palestinian activist

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hamza Howidy (@hamzahowidyy)

"I think [reaching Greece in an overcrowded boat no one knew how to drive] was one of the happiest moments in my life, because I survived. And I stayed in Greece -- and I was supposed to stay there to apply for my asylum and get my life there.

"Unfortunately, with the atrocities of October the 7th and my activism, the threats I received when I was in Greece by some radical pro-Palestinian folks, I decided to leave.

"And based on a friend's recommendation, I decided to go to Germany because it's somehow considered safer than the other European countries and there is somehow enough space for a free speech here."

"Voicing dissent [in Gaza] was not an option. Hamas has a no tolerance policy for criticism or objections to any of its policies. Even discussion is forbidden.

"Any journalist who objects or criticizes a policy is suspended and investigated. Demonstrations are strictly prohibited. Freedom of speech in Gaza is a fantasy.

"The dirtiest tool Hamas uses to silence citizens is character assassination through online campaigns accusing dissenters of working for hostile bodies or committing immoral acts.

"Hamas also routinely breaks into the homes of people deemed disloyal and humiliates them in front of their family and neighbors.

"...A huge social gap opened between the wealthy elite who belong to Hamas and the rest of the population who were increasingly living in driving poverty. Public sector jobs were limited to Hamas members, and taxes were increasing on necessities day by day, even as the cost of living skyrocketed.

"Many of us could no longer bear it. I was one of them.

"Though we knew dissenters were subject to imprisonment, torture, and even murder, in 2019, a few of us decided to join forces and form a protest to voice our opposition to Hamas. We called it the 'We Want to Live' demonstration.

"Our demonstration elicited an extreme reaction by Hamas. They violently cracked down on the protests and we were all arrested.

"I will never forget my first day in jail—walking up the steps listening to screams of my colleagues, most of them fellow students, who had been arrested before me. I was held under arrest for 21 days and subjected to various types of torture. I was beaten with batons and sprayed with cold water in the late winter night hours.

"My friends didn't fare much better. A Christian friend was in the next cell and I could hear them screaming at him, 'You are a Christian and you don't like the situation? Then go to another country!'

"After we were released, most of those who participated in the demonstrations emigrated away from Gaza. There was no hope for any change in the current situation. We suffered ongoing harassment by Hamas members.

"Some died trying to leave, like Tamer Al-Sultan, a pharmacist whose crime was asking for a reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. [The political party of the Palestinian president, which Hamas violently kicked out of Gaza in a 2007 coup.]

"People's living conditions got worse. The wealth gap expanded even further. We protested again in 2023 and were crushed in the same manner as in 2019.

"I was arrested again by Hamas last year and held for 14 days, this time in a small cell with no bed, no window, and barely enough space to sit down. I was released on bail on the condition that I not take part in any further demonstrations.

"I still expressed my opinion occasionally on social media, but the arrest warrants after each post and the continuous threats from Hamas members and accusations of treason made me lose hope that I could make any kind of change.

"I left Gaza in August [2023] to seek a better future for myself and my family."

"I know firsthand that when ordinary Gazans like myself protested against Hamas, there was no media attention.

"No human rights organizations demanded the release of prisoners held for months in Hamas prisons, not to mention those who were tortured by Hamas, and even killed by Hamas—like Issam Al-Saaffein, who was killed under torture in Hamas's jails.

"This trend has continued during the present war. Since October 7, hundreds of Gazans have been killed by Hamas' failing rockets. Hamas has confiscated the food, fuel, and medicine sent to Gaza, and they did not stop here.

"13-year-old Ahmad Breka was shot in the head by Hamas in Rafah while attempting to collect humanitarian aid. Others were fortunate because they were merely shot in the legs by Hamas while attempting to grab humanitarian goods that Hamas stole and kept in their facilities.

"These inhumane acts, along with the agony that Gazans have undergone since October, prompted many to demonstrate anew during this war. They demonstrated in Khan-Younis in front of Yahya Sinwar's house; others protested in the north, asking that Hamas free the captives and cease the war.

"They received the same response from Hamas that I did: They were fired upon.

"And once again, the global media largely overlooked these crimes.

"Daring to take some food in the midst of a war or protesting Hamas isn't the only activity Hamas has persecuted us Gazans for; attempting to play any part of delivering this aid to those in need, or even considering playing any role the day after the war, is enough to get anybody the death penalty from Hamas.

"That's what happened to the Abu-Amro tribe leader, along with two members of his tribe who were killed by Hamas militants a few days ago.

"A couple of months ago, they beheaded the head of a clan leader in the north of Gaza and issued a statement on social media: 'We murdered him, and we will do so to anyone who stands against us and cooperates with Israel.'

"Others who publicly criticized Hamas during the war were reported missing."

[glass--beach]

i’ve held off on saying too much about this because i would rather defer to experts & boost campaigns and all that and the band has made official statements through other channels anyway. but to make it abundantly clear what i believe

- israel is a modern settler colony that is necessarily upheld through brutal violence and has no right to exist

- it functions as a tool of the global north to further exploit the middle east and so it will always be within the self interest of the US, UK & rest of the global north to support it regardless of the beliefs of any individuals in the governments or populations of those countries

- the zionist project has been an intentional genocide from the beginning

- the zionist project has been supported by antisemites from the beginning as a more acceptable way to remove jews from their countries

- no race, ethnicity, or religion deserves its own state as that will necessarily require the subjugation of other races, ethnicities, and religions within or outside of its territory

- the entire territory of israel belongs to the palestinian people and it in fact did belong to them within living memory

- the palestinian people have every right to violent retaliation and it has always been an inevitable consequence of the zionist project that should come as no surprise

- hamas was supported by the global north to suppress left-wing palestinian resistance & paint all palestinians as radical islamic terrorists who cannot be negotiated with. this is a common tactic used to exploit the global south

- the character of any individuals on either side is irrelevant as the issue is with the system of exploitation the zionist project has created & maintained

- israel must be dismantled & decolonized immediately

- to say any of this is antisemitic is incorrect & extremely disrespectful to the many jews who do not support this genocide

my heart is with the palestinian people 🇵🇸 i hope i live to see a free palestine

[funkopersonal]

Im quite literally so done with this shit. i keep on going back and forth between hiding all the i/p related tags, but then I realize that its seeped EVERYWHERE. It's in the motherhood tag, and jewish history tag, and everything else. I can't fucking escape it. I opened tiktok yesterday to see one of my favorite characters (iron man) weaponized to support the one group that wants to see me dead, the user saying that iron man would support palestine, and be an antizionist because he "spoke out against the public" and he wasn't like the sheep. It frustrates me to no end this horrible cycle of fucking misinformation that exists.

As a Gen Z, I simply do not understand how its reached this point? I can't even write all my feelings and information about how shitty this is in a single sitting because 1) it'd be too long and 2) my joints wont let me write that long. But how did it reach this point?

How did it reach the point where jewish/isreali stores are fucking marked to notify the public. Their windows are being broken and the stores are being robbed. How did it reach the point where jewish students on some campuses are told to stay home? how they're harassed out of specific areas, and campuses have been made unsafe? How did it reach the point that people literally have written "I ♡ Houthis & Hamas" and "no mercy for Jews."? How did it reach the point that there are nazi symbols, and hanging deadmans, and communist symbols being drawn on college campuses? How is it possible that students are calling for the end of jewish student unions and hillel international on campus? that'd be like calling for the end of the fucking muslim student organization, or disbanding an african-american affinity group. Which would never be acceptable, but apparently its fine when its jews.

I'm sick and tired of all the horrible conditions of palestenian cities being blamed on israel. Palestine is its own country. They had their own government until they elected Hamas to lead them. Hamas, who diverted all their funds to the military. Hamas, who uses hospitals and public spaces as their bases. Hamas, who built miitary tunnels under cities so that when they're invaded, the cities will collapse on itself. Hamas, who steals all humanitarian aid from its citizens. Hamas, who controls palestenian media and teaches hatred to its children. Hamas, who wants their citizens to become martyrs for their country, to die for their goal. Hamas, whose number one goal is to eradicate all jews. Hamas, who denies the existence of the holocaust. Hamas, who enlists children as soldiers and suicide bombers. Hamas, who has has never expressed an interest in a 2 state solution.

Is this the organization you consider freedom fighters? because i dont think they should ever, in any context, be called that. Hamas is nothing but terrorists.

Yes, the deaths and treatment of palestenian citizens is horrible. but no, this is not a genocide. Israel is trying to rid them of Hamas, because quite literally, no country should ever be forced to live in "harmony" with a terrorist group. Especially one who denies their existence and actively wants to kill them all. Israel has been letting palestenians get jobs in the country, has let palestine use their resources and water, all for years. They've let hamas continously bomb them, they've gotten used to a life of bomb shelters in every residence. Hamas has done nothing but crippled their country's own economy and society.

None of the surrounding coutnries want to let in palestenians, or live with palestenians. Egypt wants to annex Gaza, and Jordan wants the West Bank. In fact, they did own that land for a part of history! Yet Israel has let palestenians govern themselves for years, even when Hamas originally came into power, they didn't interfere. Not until they were provoked.

Yes, Israel has flaws. But welcome to the fucking real world, princess. Every country has flaws. Even America, you dipshits. This is not a little fandom for you to play sides on. its not some fictional world that has a black and white solution. Yes theres going to be deaths, just like in any other WAR. But you really can't call for the destruction of a country on the basis that they're trying to make sure they're allowed to stay a country? Because guess what honey bunchkins? "from the river to the sea" really doesn't mean what you think it does. It just means that you want to kill all jews, or at best, forcefully remove them and scatter them around the middle east. (to countries that have killed them in swaths in the past. To countries that have emprisoned jews for helping others escape. To countries that avidly hate jews and want them dead). I don't understand how that would mean peace in any way shape or form?

Not only that, but half of "protestors" and "activists" for palestine, haven't even done basic research. They dont know what river or sea theyre talking about. They dont know that "palestine" was not a palestenian state in 1948, but it was instead a BRITISH MANDATE, that was NOT fully occupied by palestenians. In fact, "palestenians" weren't a thing. Palestenians are just muslims and arabs from countries like syria, who lived alongside jews and christians in the same land (which was largely uninhabited for the most part). Yeah, you heard me right.

Honestly my thoughts on this issue are so scattered its so hard to make a solid points when I can just keep on going forever.

Fact is, Israel deserves to be a country. No one should be supporting Hamas. Everyone should be supporting the eradication of Hamas (and I mean Hamas not palestenian citizens). I don't get how these are debated, and seriously don't understand how citizens of america are so quick to support a terrorist group, to resort to antisemitism.

Im so done with this all. I cant believe we have to tell you gentiles that stoning a 13-year old kid for being jewish is horrible. That throwing a brick through an israeli-owned cafe in New York is horrible. That students not being able to be on campuses because of their religion or ethnicity is horrible.

This has to end.

Do your research, or don't speak (and terrorist-controlled propoganda channels don't count).

[rifari2037]

When , did you , Start Paring Aang and Toph and why do you pair them, Together are there similarities between the Two .?

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

Unlike Zutara that I remember well when I started ship them, I don't really remember when I started ship Taang (and Sukka). But, it was long time ago because I found them so cute together.

Taang have potential, but it needs time or another season to develop their feeling. Because, while Zutara had some romantic moments, Taang didn't have moments like that so it would be forced if they ended up together in season 3 (just like canon).

Then, how could they have potential if they didn't have romantic moments?

Their connection

Aang had connection with all his master bending. Katara was there to saved him, Zuko was there to captured him. Their connection with Aang makes these two characters always face each other and had their own development.

Meanwhile, Toph wasn't in the connection between Aang with Zuko and Katara. She had her own connection to Aang. In the swaps episode, Sokka and Katara saw a vision of their past, but Aang saw a vision of Toph before even meeting her in person.

There's an interesting theory that Aang not only saw a vision of his future, but also his past. Because in Nightmares and Daydreams episode, Toph has no face in his dream. It was parallel with Avatar Kuruk's lover that her face stolen by Koh.

Instead of water, Aang was connected to earth, Toph's element. Even though earth was a difficult element for Aang at first, but it was element that Aang often used in battle after mastering it.

In final battle, earth was the element that re-opened his chakra and made him enter the avatar state.

They compliment each other

Just like fire and water, air is the opposite of earth. They are different, but compliment each other.

Air is the element of freedom. Aang is free person. He is Toph's first friend and also the one who offered her freedom, something she really wants and needs.

Earth is the element of substance. Toph is persistent person. She is the one who taught Aang to be tougher and stand his ground, something he really needs to get out of his comfort zone.

They have same vibes

Toph and Aang are still kids and they act like kids. They like to have fun. That isn't something wrong. In fact, they have the same vibe so that neither one is having fun, while the other is taking care of him.

Yes, Aang is the one who makes Katara child again, but still they don't have the same vibe. Katara has a motherly nature, so Aang's childish nature makes their relationship like mother and son.

It's different when Katara with Zuko. Zuko is more mature, so when Katara is with him, she doesn't have to act motherly. Instead, it's Zuko who look after her, brings her things, and reminds her to rest.

Their Culture

Believe me or not, I found this from Aang/Kataang stand and it made me wonder. If Katara and Aang's cultures are different, then what makes them suitable to be together?

Cultural differences actually don't matter if they can respect each other, but this is Aang's expression of water tribe culture.

Katara : Bato, it looks like home! Sokka : Everything's here, even the pelts! Aang : [Sarcastically.] Yeah, nothing's cozier than dead animal skins.

And this is Aang's expression of water tribe food

Hama : I wanted to surprise you! I bought all this food today so I could fix you a big Water Tribe dinner. Of course, I can't get all the ingredients I need here, but ocean kumquats are a lot like sea prunes if you stew them long enough. Aang : [Sticking his tongue out in disgust.] Great!

According to the post I got, Aang can wear Earth Kingdom clothing because it doesn't use animal materials. He can also wear fire nation clothing, but I don't think all types of fire nation clothing, because there are fire nation clothing made of leather.

The people of Earth Kingdom aren't vegetarian, but not all of their food from animal based. Aang doesn't seem to have a problem with their food.

Btw, Aang has problem with Fire Nation food too.

Aang : [Looking at a meat display. Disappointedly.] Oh, we're going to a meat place? Sokka : Come on, Aang, everyone here eats meat. Even the meat! [Points at a hippo cow eating a piece of meat swarming with flies.]

So, yeah, for me Aang and Toph not only have potential in the story, but also have chemistry with each other.

[apas-95]

Hamas isn't even left wing it's just correct anti imperialist practice to support them. Can you find something else to get mad at

what the fuck is 'left wing', what does that actually mean? does it mean 'historically progressive'? - if so, they certainly are. does it mean 'communist'? - if so, then no 'left wing' existed at all for the vast majority of human history. there exist leftist and rightist elements of specific classes within society, there is no such thing as an abstracted or objective 'left wing' or 'right wing'.

ultimately, hamas are part of the national-democratic movement, themselves essentially a bourgeois organ. why does this matter? the reason we care about political-economic class is because it is the driver of history and the predictor of future behaviour. what does the bourgeois character of hamas mean in the actually-existing context of palestine? given its status as an occupied and exploited country, it means they are a progressive force who have a confluence of interests with the proletariat in carrying out the national-democratic movement (though will come into conflict with the proletariat after the conclusion of the national-democratic movement and the beginnings of land and labour reform). it is not 'just correct anti-imperialist practice to support them' in some way that is divorced or in contradiction with their character as a bourgeois organ - the fact they are a bourgeois organ is exactly what produces their 'anti-imperialist' stance.

there is no supra-historical correctness to strive towards, no objective analysis of the Leftism of a given organisation - something being the correct view and the correct method of work in a given social, historical context is the absolute best that can be aspired to. also to remind you the Context of this was me saying that hamas engaging in militant resistance is better political practice than Living Anarchically or doing Radical Art Circles For Palestine

[cienie-isengardu]

Sokka's sexism

Sokka’s sexism from the earliest episodes is an interesting case, because the Southern Water Tribe, at least from what was presented to us on screen, doesn’t seem to operate that much on gender roles? Especially when compared to the Northern Water Tribe?

I mean, yeah, warriors (men) went to war, while women, children and the elders stayed at home. But as Hama’s story shows, when Fire Nation attacked Southern Water Tribe, both female and male benders were fighting against invaders arm to arm and it seems like they were the actual first line of defense there, not the non-bender warriors.

In contrast, during siege of North Pole, in the final of Book 1: Water, we don’t see any female bender helping defend their home except Katara, who was involved in protecting Aang when he was in Spirit World.

Since all the waterbenders were captured from the Southern Tribe, it makes sense that non-bender warriors stepped in and got involved with war, while the kids and elders were left under women’s care.

Another example comes from “a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery and trust”, known as ice dodging. As Bato explained, it is a rite of passage for young Water Tribe members and in their village “done by weaving a boat through a field of icebergs.” When a child turns 14, their father was supposed to take them to ice dodging, so they could earn their mark. Though the episode itself was focused on Sokka’s ceremony, Bato never specified it as something that boys alone should do and not only Katara (girl) but also Aang (outsider) is allowed to take part in the ritual. Once Sokka proved himself, everyone of their group got a mark, as a sign they passed the test. Interesting thing to note, since Bato did not specify it is a rite of passage for boys alone, it suggests girls were expected to know how to sail in boats of the Southern Water Tribe. Of course, again, war didn’t allow to continue this tradition as men (Hakoda, in case of Sokka & Katara) left to fight against Fire Nation.

Later, when Sokka and Katara reunited with their father, Hakoda did not try to send away Katara nor relegate her to just a medic job during the invasion. In Northern Water Tribe episodes, we learned that teaching for waterbenders there was defined by gender - women were allowed to learn only how to heal, while men how to use their bending in fight. Hakoda, nor Bato nor other of their warriors even for a moment questioned Katara’s presence on the battlefield nor the presence of women in the ranks of their allies like a blind, 12 years old Toph or the female water benders from Swamps or female(?) soldier from Earth Kingdom

And during battle, Katara did not fight in rank with other soldiers, she first alone secured Appa during submarine attack, then alongside her brother and father took down guardhouses - Hakoda himself told her and Sokka to attack one when he took down the other one

showing how much he trusted his 15 years old son and 14 years old daughter while ordering them attack on Fire Nation adult soldiers hidden in well guarder place.

Later, when Hakoda got seriously injured and Sokka temporary took the command of their forces, we could see that Hakoda relied on Katara to follow his troops and not ever once tried to send her back “to safety” or argued she should leave him behind, as often it happens with heroic (male) figures. Quite the opposite. When Katara offered him to “wait here if you want”, Hakoda firmly said “I want to press forward with the others”, which meant his daughter needed to come with him directly into an already ongoing fight (even if they stayed more at the rear of their army, they were still on battlefield).

She and her brother, alongside with the youngest members of Invasion, were forced to flee on Appa once the battle was lost, but no other adult woman was included. During Zuko’s coronation, when all war prisoners were released, in the background we could again see the female character(s) from Swamps.

And let's not forget how impressive Hakoda was by Suki when she single-handedly captured the warden at Boiling Rock prison and did not try to stop her from fighting against Ty Lee alongside Zuko and Sokka against Azula.

Understandably, we have no idea how the Southern Water Tribe and its culture looked like before the war, even arguably, the characters themselves may not have a clear idea due to growing up in dire times. But my point is, Hakoda and Bato, the two main adult Southern Water Tribe’s warriors that Avatar: The Last Airbender allowed us to know more about, have never shown any direct sexism toward Katara or other female characters. And though Sokka was the oldest boy at their village, there is no reason to think women did not hunt in absence of men, because one person would not be able to provide for a whole community 24/7. Also, as Hama proved, the Southern Water Tribe’s waterbenders were capable of fighting and their gender did not play any vital role the way it happened in their sister tribe at North Pole. 

Of course, Fire Nation’s repeated attacks affected residents of South Pole and their living conditions but from the little bits the show gave us, I think it is correct to assume if Sokka grew up with Hakoda around to guide him as he should, his behavior would be different from the sexism and dismissive attitude toward Katara or Kyoshi Warriors. For one, logically thinking Southern Water Tribe’s warriors need to do all the cooking, sewing and keeping their camp clean all on their own during war so it is not a “girly job” but a vital part of a warriors skills to survive and ensure their equipment is in the best condition. But Sokka doesn’t know it, because there is no one to teach him the importance of those skills. All Sokka had was father’s farewell words to cling to - and I’m not sure if Hakoda truly expected his son to be able to protect Katara and the village in his absence, or he just tried to make Sokka feel a bit less depressed about being left behind. You know, by giving him purpose and a Big Important Job to focus on and to feel needed and trusted. 

Which leads me to think that Sokka’s sexism is not rooted in Southern Water Tribe’s culture itself, but in his own insecurity and pressure of being the oldest boy in the village. If girls could be warriors - and be better than him - it would put into question all his self-worth, purpose and the trust given by father. Once Sokka met Kyoshi Warriors and later all the skilled girls, it challenged him on a very personal level, but he accepted the truth and moved on and alongside, finally became a true warrior and a man. 

And I find it indeed an interesting case, as Sokka’s sexism and dismissal of girls is not necessarily stemming from the culture he is part of, but rather is the effect of not knowing said culture & pre-war history of his Tribe. And of course, from his own insecurity. 

[ultfreakme]

Actually you know what, thinking on it, Sokka's sexism in the original was really weird and when writing fic, I had a hard time understanding where that even came from. We've been told Gran-gran left NWT because of the sexism and stayed at SWT, Hama was a fighter, Hakoda didn't condemn Katara for fighting or learning bending, there's a trivia thing where we learn Hakoda actually wanted to find a waterbending teacher for Katara. Now sure you can say fighting doesn't mean sexism wasn't present, but Sokka's conveyance of that sexism didn't work if that's the case.

Sokka specifically underestimates girls in fighting. That's how his sexism is largely expressed. Kanna wouldn't have raised Hakoda that way and in turn Hakoda wouldn't have raised Sokka like that.

He would be overprotective of Katara and stifle her as a bender, but not because he's sexist, but because Hakoda said "Hey you're our last warrior"- and this is actually the crux of his character.

One big argument people make is that Sokka's character arc with Suki apparently won't happen. But interviews state that the new focus on Sokka-Suki would be about them finding strength and solidarity as non-benders. In the original we do see Sokka trying to figure out his place and part in the war and among Gaang, he does feel insecure about his strength and ability to protect people. I think taking the new direction would connect well with the Serpent's Pass reunion.

I understand why people are hesitant but I just saw posts saying Sokka's sexism is inherent to his character as Toph's blindness is!?!?!? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU????? There's so much to unpack there I don't even know where to begin. Like this is getting ridiculous and in trying to say Sokka's sexism is good actually, you guys forget that the original was kinda fumbling its way through Sokka's sexism arc. It's not that fast or easy to make someone dismantle sexism, and the Kyoshi Warriors + Suki are playing into the idea that a woman is only equal to a man when she has combat prowess (I still kinda cringe at Suki saying "I'm a warrior....but I'm also a girl" she says that about her romantic interest in Sokka and kissing him, like why is being a girl or romantic interest associated with 'girl'?). They could've stretched out the arc and included Yue in helping Sokka learn that women aren't inferior but all talks of women's equality was restricted to combat.

I ADORE the Katara v Pakku fight and I think that was a far better discussion and showcase of misogyny and commentary on inequality. Because yes it was a fight, but it was, underneath all that, about Kanna and Yue.

It is the first time we see that actually, Kanna and Yue should get to choose because that is a fundamental right they should have. Healing was allocated entirely to women, but Katara learned it and it was never seen as an inferior form of bending. Everyone should get to pick if they wanna fight or they wanna heal or both. Katara'a fighter, a healer.

So I just wanna ask; Do you want Sokka's sexism to be there to comment on the unfairness of gender inequality? Do you want it there to give this one male character a character arc (because Sokka never talks to Katara- the one whom he hurt most with that attitude- or acknowledges his contribution in suppressing her advances in bending after this little lesson he learned from Suki)? Or do you want it there because the og did it so it has to be there? Because if it's the first, KATARA's arc does it a million times better and that's still in the show.

[survivalove]

ATLA fandom and removing Katara’s agency and POV

Recently, I came across the following thread where OP proceeded to uplift the following ships to diminish Kataang, on the supposed basis of Katara’s agency and pov (or lack thereof).

I decided to keep all their points and pictures to show a holistic analysis of the show, which they themselves fail to do.

Firstly, on the topic of loss, Kataang has multiple moments where they connect over their losses.

At first, Katara tries to tell Aang that his people may be lost by opening up about her mother, but he is obviously in denial. It is only when he sees Gyatso’s body (like Katara did when her mom passed) that he accepts the loss of his people and her comfort.

I also want to note that this is a recurring pattern of Aang struggling to accept Katara’s comfort at first, despite these shippers’ claims that he easily accepts her “coddling/mothering”.

Kataang as seen in Katara’s pov:

This is easily the most inaccurate part of the thread and shows how shippers fail to acknowledge Katara as a character unless she is with their preferred love interest.

Kataang’s relationship is framed in Katara’s point of view multiple times, especially in these episodes.

Next, Katara’s boundaries:

Once again, they exclude the frames where Katara exercises her agency — pushing him away and telling him off, removing her pov from the scene all on their own. Furthermore on the issue of being violated, what is her point of view when she’s tied to a tree, or when her grandmother is being roughed up and tossed around?

This is part of a greater issue where shippers genuinely believe the misogyny in the writing room is exclusive to a single ship and would somehow be resolved if the female character ended up with… another man.

On Katara’s grief,

Honestly, this has to be the second most dishonest and laughable part of the thread (don’t worry we’ll strike gold soon), so I’m not even going to validate it with more than these pics:

Lastly, the ship in question:

I just find the lightning pic so funny in this context like what?? Like I said earlier, Kataang is shown from Katara’s pov multiple times, but here’s more pics because when your ship has the material!

Aang has seen Katara at her worst multiple times, either stepping in, comforting her or giving her advice (just like Katara has done for him many times, unprompted I might add) because he knows her and has seen her very hostile reactions towards Jet and Hama when they tried to use her as a tool for their revenge. Mind you, this same advice her literal brother and eventually Zuko himself agree with.

Also I always found it pretty weird how Zuko (ahem the writers) set this up so that she can forgive him right after he failed to understand why she was the last one to do so in the beginning of the episode, but anyway…

Lastly, both Aang and Katara have opened to each other in incredibly significant ways. Aang opens up to Katara about the monks and why he disappeared. She is the only person to know this side of him. Meanwhile, Katara tells him about her mother and opens up her family to him, and even in the most platonic interpretations, how is that not the most significant way to open up to someone?

[theweeklydiscourse]

Interesting how Hama is sent back to a Fire Nation prison at the end of “The Puppetmaster” when imprisonment was exactly the thing that caused the conflict of the episode. Imprisonment was the cause of the problem, yet was somehow also seen as the most acceptable solution to it. At the end, an inhabitant of the town tells Hama: “You’re going to be locked away forever.” Which cements the idea that the best response to Hama’s transgressions is to lock her up…again.

This is what I mean when I say that Hama’s episode is an example of ATLA’s anti-resistance propaganda. Ultimately, Hama’s senseless violence against random Fire Nation citizens is viewed as more depraved and horrifying than the genocide that was wrought upon the Southern water benders. And before anyone tries to twist my words, I’m talking about what this means NARRATIVELY and the kind of message that it sends as well as the biases it reflects.

In a show where even Fire Nation soldiers and guards get to have moments of humanity, Hama (a victim of genocide and oppression) is treated as a frightening monster whose depravity knows no bounds. Characters who participated in the Fire Nation’s conquering efforts are ultimately seen as worthier of humanity than the characters who were victims of it.

It’s not just that Hama does bad things, it’s that the show portrays her as crazy and villainous for her reaction to the violence she suffered. Hama’s actions still could have been morally wrong, but they could’ve approached the issue in a way that didn’t treat her like a monster and allowed her to be sympathetic.

[ecoterrorist-katara]

I have been thinking a lot about blood bending lately and why the writers decided to go with the storyline of it being banned. I personally do not think it should have been. Like any bending form it can be used for awful things or it could be used for great things (my first thought is always in a medical sense but I’m sure there are other uses). And then I started to wonder if part of why they did that is bc that storyline was connected to Katara more than anyone else, and maybe this was a way to sideline her/focus more on Korra and the new gang instead of exploring with the older characters along with the new ones. But I was wondering if you had any thoughts on it!

hi anon! Sorry for getting to your ask a little late. I was at music camp (okay it’s a professional development program for musicians but I think of it as music camp in an effort to remind myself to have fun) and it was a big challenge since I’m chronically ill and needed a whole apothecary of meds to get through it. (I’m fine now! But needed to pace very carefully before & after and therefore stayed away from Tumblr)

It’s absolutely weird to me that bloodbending is singled out in a world where people can literally steal breath from one’s lungs, but it’s even weirder to me that they had a whole “ban bloodbending” storyline and sidelined Katara, because like…in what world would Katara feel strongly enough about bloodbending to ban it, yet do nothing to enforce the ban? The only explanation that makes sense is that she banned it because she was so ashamed, and stayed away from all the stuff around Yakone et al because she couldn’t bear to be reminded of what she’d done. And like all interpretations of canon Katara in LOK, that is just horribly heartbreaking.

I don’t begrudge the creators for wanting LOK to be about the new generation and I don’t mind seeing the Gaang play second fiddle. But I do object to the creators putting Katara in these situations where she could something in her wheelhouse, that’s in-character with her skills and ambitions, that is in line with her cultural impact as a role model for girls…and then sidelining her. Yakone is a big example, obviously, but so is Katara’s lack of involvement in the Civil War, the Red Lotus kidnapping, etc.

Like you said, bloodbending is useful in terms of the medical implications, but I also think it’s a humane tool in battle as long as it’s only used to incapacitate and not control. I can’t think of many better ways of incapacitating an enemy without causing serious damage (it’s even more efficient than chi-blocking!). If a bloodbender can stop encroaching enemies in their tracks with a flick of their wrist — well, that actually seems more humane than freezing them into ice cubes, which is the go-to waterbender move. I mean, Katara stops Hama with bloodbending in The Puppetmaster; she doesn’t actually control Hama with it. It’s terrible to override people’s bodily autonomy and make them do things they don’t want to do, but that is a very specific use of bloodbending.

I do think, though, that Katara is not the type of person to recognize all the other potential uses of bloodbending unless someone prompts her, and unfortunately that person is not going to be Aang. It doesn’t help that Katara’s first experience with bloodbending is being stripped of her own agency; similarly, it becomes her go-to weapon when she encounters (she thinks) the person who made her feel the most powerless in her life. To Katara, bloodbending is about taking power from someone else…and on her own, she’s not likely to see other applications. Katara is an excellent fighter with a lot of raw power, finesse, and creativity, but she’s not actually all that in-tune with her element, and I think that’s another reason she was never very interested in healing in canon (Katara and waterbending could be a whole other meta). Katara would’ve been an equally excellent bender no matter which element she wields, unlike Toph and Aang, who are uniquely suited to their elements. Katara borrows a lot from the more aggressive forms of bending (fire and earth): grabs people with water tentacles, hits them with ice disks, overwhelms them with big waves. For all that waterbending is about going with the flow and using the opponent’s strengths against them, Katara doesn’t exactly exemplify that philosophy (unlike Aang, btw, who is more intuitive as a waterbender than she is; that is why he picked it up more quickly at the beginning). She addresses all her problems head-on and is more likely to meet them with raw power than anything else. If I were to guess her astrological placements, she’d be an Aries Mars, minimum, if not an Aries Sun as well (she’d be a Cancer Moon though…I have Thoughts on ATLA astrology lmao).

Anyway, all this to say: I don’t think Katara would’ve thought of the healing implications of bloodbending on her own, when she’s already been traumatized by it, and that’s pretty tragic tbh. I like the Zutara interpretation of Zuko inspiring Katara to think there are other uses for bloodbending (as a wielder of a potentially destructive element), but I think Toph could’ve had a conversation with her about other uses for bloodbending as well, since Toph is really creative with earth. Actually, I think Zuko or Toph or Sokka could’ve all had a conversation with Katara about coming to terms about doing things that one is not proud of & moving past them, but I guess Katara can only follow the rigid moral code of her Do No Wrong boyfriend. Anyway, LOK’s despicable treatment of ATLA’s female characters is nothing new, but Katara’s is the most obvious and egregious because she’s actually there. We have no idea what happened to Suki or Azula or Mai or Ty Lee, and what we do see from Toph is not great either (in what world would she retire to be lonely in a swamp when having her friends meant the world to her…). All the boys got to have cool fulfilling lives and all the girls who aren’t lost to history are sad sacks, thanks Bryke! On a non-sarcastic note, thank you anon for such an interesting question!