#and then zuko's obsession with the air nomads

[likealittleheartbeat]

"Scholars often dismiss physique references to ancient Greece as a mere ruse or rhetorical framework--a "classical alibi" or "discourse of validation"--to avoid censorship. But an examination of the lives of the founders, contributors, and members of the [physique studio and pictorial] Grecian Guild [1955-1968] tells a different story. The Grecian Guild was instrumental in helping a community of men struggling to find a discourse to explain and valorize their sense of themselves, particularly men outside of urban gay enclaves. Benson and Bullock [the founders of the Grecian Guild] took a discourse about ancient Greece that gay men had been using for nearly a hundred years and gave it mass distribution. They used it like gay men used reference to "the Greeks" or Mary Renault novels--as a way to signal their homosexuality. It was a rallying cry that brought in customers and helped them imagine a better world. As historian and biographer Benjamin Wise argues about the way Alexander Percy used the language of Hellenism, it was "a way of speaking out and covering up at the same time."

Invoking classical traditions in order to make an argument for gay rights has been largely forgotten in the twenty-first century, as such a line of argumentation has become politically and historiographically problematic. Indeed, much of modern LGBT historical scholarship and queer theory has asserted that a homosexual identity is a creation of a modern, capitalist world--that homosexual behavior in ancient cultures was understood in very different terms from the way it is today. Invoking classical antiquity also smacks of a Western bias that privileges European ancestry over other cultural and historical influences. Such arguments also raise the specter of pederasty and pedophilia--or at least age-discordant relationships--that play into the hands of gay rights opponents who relentlessly use the argument that gays recruit children to fight gay rights measures...

Despite these changes in cultural understandings and sensibilities, the use of the classical Greek trope to name gay organizations, periodicals, and commercial ventures continued for decades, even when the need for an alibi had eroded if not disappeared. The lambda or lowercase Greek "L" became one of the primary symbols of the 1970s gay liberation movement. During this same period Seattle's largest gay organization was the Dorian Group, and a Jacksonville, Florida-based gay magazine called itself David--a reference to Michelangelo's Renaissance statue--an indirect link to the classical tradition. Like the Grecian Guild, David offered membership in a fraternal organization with features such as a book club, a travel service, conventions, and even legal aid. As an online website, it continues to serve as one of Atlanta's premier LGBT news and entertainment sources.

...

While severely limited by the forces of censorship, the desire to create opportunities for customers to correspond, meet, and get acquainted attests to the palpable wish of gay men to connect with each other during this period. If few members attended a Grecian Guild convention, the possibility of doing so resonated widely. As a teenage Grecian Guild subscriber in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Michael Denneny read the articles so carefully that he underlined the important parts. "That was proto-political organization, the agenda was very clear to me, and I think to everybody else who joined," Denneny remembered..."These magazines were really important to me," Denneny recalled. "They brought this whole possible world into being, which I'm not sure I could have visualized otherwise."

David K. Johnson, Buying Gay: How Physique Entrepreneurs Sparked a Movement

[libraryofbrokenhearts]

i just need this kind of found family in my life 😭

[zukkaart]

Do you guys think Zuko made Aang’s final air-nomad outfit?

Like canonically out of them, only Katara and Zuko can sew. And I’d imagine Katara was pretty wrapped up after that final battle with not only healing Sokka’s leg, but knowing her- probably healing anyone else she could get her hands on. And she also would have no knowledge of what traditional air nomad formals would look like.

And yeah I guess Aang could have made it himself. But he was only 12 the last time he saw the monks. And I highly doubt they taught him much past how to repair is own clothing.

But who spent years studying the monks and air bending? Who became obsessed with their culture and traditions in an attempt to find the last one? Who searched all the air temples not once but twice, from top to bottom? Who canonically makes his own clothes (i.e. the blue spirit outfit)?

Zuko, always Zuko

I also like to think that the relic/amulet Aang wears in that same scene was also given to him by Zuko. Just bc I’m sure Zuko kept a lot of air nomad things on his ship, and I think either he or his uncle would have salvaged it- probably out of convenience. Zuko as a reminder of his “purpose”, and Iroh as a symbol of hope.

[burst-of-iridescent]

thoughts on the atla live action trailer:

looks like we're definitely getting more of the air nomad genocide. i'm hoping this means more flashbacks and development of the air nomads in general, but it definitely sets the tone for the series if this is what they're starting out with

azula shooting an arrow?? she doesn't seem to be wearing eyeliner and lipstick like in the promo shots, so i'm guessing it's a younger azula. i'm interested to see where this is going

aang crashing into the rock like in the opening credits <3 i'm glad they seem to be keeping some of the silliness and humour of the original

the actors for the main four are crushing it so far, but gordon cormier as aang is absolutely the standout for me. the scene where he has tears in his eyes while talking about how he can't save the world... that's my son, that's my boy etc

katara and aang laughing at sokka, aang running to hug the water tribe sibs!! they got the dynamic DOWN

i know there's like 2 seconds of the blue spirit and aang working together but. i'm obsessed

"i'm the avatar and i'm going to save the world... with my friends" tears. full tears

bumi! jun! jet! slightly disappointed we didn't get a cabbage man appearance yet but they're probably saving that for the show. the minor characters all look stellar so far

katara and zuko's fight at the north pole do you hear me screaming

i really like the way aang's tattoos light up when he enters the avatar state

the bending looks surprisingly good so far. i love how fluid the water and firebending in particular seem. could this be the redemption we deserve for [gestures at movie that doesn't exist]?

the settings look amazing. omashu especially is beautiful

i'm more curious than ever what it was about the show that bryke had to walk away from because of "creative differences". everything we've seen so far seems really promising and true to the original.

still keeping my expectations low because trailers can be misleading but i'm cautiously hopeful <3

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

After taking some time to consider the insane reactions some Zutara fans have been having about the Roku book, I've changed my mind. It's not just that zutarians like Zuko (or at least the idea of him) and treat Katara as the exotic trophy-wife he deserves for redeeming himself - they're Fire Nation dickriders that want to use the ship to go "See? The Fire Nation was right all along!"

That's why they act like Aang, the scared 12-year-old, is to blame for the war, instead of Sozin, the guy that chose to start that shit.

That's why they're obsessed with acting like Katara's tribe is as sexist as the North, then pretend the Fire Nation is a feminist utopia. Why they act like it being the more industrialized nation means it isn't "stuck in the past" like her tribe and thus Katara would admire it, meanwhile that insdustrilization is literally being used to kill the whole world, AND even harming the Fire Nation itselt - something Katara felt so strongly about, she went full eco-terrorism mode.

That's why they want to crucify Aang for completely misreading the moment on Ember Island and kissing Katara, but say nothing about Iroh very deliberately taking advantage of the fact that June was paralyzed to cuddle up with her because he KNEW he'd get slapped otherwise. Why they call Katara "a broodmare for airbenders" for having three children with Aang, yet are constantly writing about her being Zuko's Fire Lady (often in AUs in which she starts off as his actual slave), having his children, and potentially obsessing over the quality of Zuko's genes and how their interracial marriage will potentially fix any "bad genes that skipped his generation".

That's why they're "mad" that the new Roku book "romanticizes the air-nomads too much" and "doesn't call them out on their intolerance" (because saying people shouldn't murder each other is the same a genocide somehow) yet treat Legacy of the Fire Nation as a great book even though it made Katara say Iroh, the guy that was helping Zuko torment her and her friends for months and that was a war general helping his father commit GENOCIDE, "was always doing the right thing, no matter which side he was on."

Hell, a ton of them believe that "Good Grandpa Azulon" bullshit. They think the guy that ordered Zuko's death, by the hands of his own father no less, was a loving grandpa that adored his grandson - after all, he favored Iroh over Ozai! Clearly that's a wise, kind man! Please ignore the fact that most of the attrocities of the war, including the raid that killed Kya, happened while he was in power.

They really are just so fucking desperate to go "The villains were secretly right! The Fire Nation IS superior, there were just some bad apples that needed to be dealt with! That's why Katara would fall for Zuko once she stopped seeing them as this 'elusive' threat that is totally not super real and specific!" that at any second now they're probably gonna complain about all the "everything changed with the Fire Nation attacked" memes or start making theories that the air-nomads totally DID have an army, Aang just thinks they were innocent pacifists that were randomly ambushed because HE was fed propaganda.

[dyleeart]

zutaraang phantom of the opera-inspired au but aang is christine

To elaborate:

In the au the four nations exist but no Avatar. Aang wasn't frozen and the political environment would be similar to the start of the 100-year war, except Zuko, Katara, and the others exist in the timeline. The Fire Nation has started killing air nomads beginning with the air temples and has been hunting down the remaining ones that are scattered around the world since.

Aang fled from the temples with Gyatso upon hearing about the fire nation hunting down air nomads. The first place they went was the southern water tribe, where he became close friends with Katara. However, they had to leave when the village was being threatened. After Gyatso's death, Aang disguises himself to live in the earth kingdom (hence the hair). He joins the ensemble in a theatre group and makes a masked friend...who doesn't reveal himself for years until he does one day.

Zuko spends time hiding behind the theatre, always watching since plays are one of the few things he enjoys. He talks to a newcomer and recognizes talent, but more than anything he grows attached to him because he was the first to show him kindness after his banishment. (this zuko was separated from Iroh earlier on :( ) But attachment turns to obsession...

Katara quickly became friends with the runaway airbender when she was young, but they soon had to part. Years after, she leaves her tribe with her brother to find allies against the fire nation's threats, and notices a familiar face but with a very different identity. She is doubtful of Aang's 'secret friend' and wants him to join her.

idk if I will make more for this au but if this does well I might 🧐

[wilcze-kudly]

The Gaang being 'bad parents' didn't ruin their characters.

I've seen this argument tossed around a couple times and it's honestly one of my least favourite criticisms of lok.

Katara (and Sokka but we have no confirmed kids for him, which seems unrealistic with how much game he had) lost their mother as children and their father was forced to abandon them when they were barely starting their teens. They were raised by their grandmother with little to no peers of their own age.

Aang did not know his parents and a huge chunk of his childhood was him being groomed into taking up the mantle of the avatar and mastering airbending. He also was isolated from other kids his age. His closest parental figure was Gyatso who was more of a teacher than a father. Also the Air Nomads were literally wiped out so that adds to the trauma pile.

I really don't think i have to talk about Zuko's family life here, but at least he had relatively positive parental figures in the form of Ursa (though i do have a burning personal dislike of ursa) and Iroh. Despite this his struggle around the subject of his family and his trauma relating to his upbringing was a focal point of his character arc.

Toph was raised in isolation by her asshole abelist parents who did not listen to her, sent people to capture and bring her back and then disowned her. (If my cursory understanding of 'the rift' is correct, I need to actually read it because i am unreasonably obsessed with the Beifong family.)

Where, pray tell, were they supposed to learn proper parenting skills? On their brief stint as child soldiers? While fighting a war as literal children?

There is the argument that they must've matured later in their lives, of course. But you can only recover so much from copious amounts of childhood trauma.

Being a bad parent doesn't necessarily make you a bad person. Sure it makes you a failure in an incredibly delicate and important aspect of human life but it doesn't make you a bad person. And saying that it does takes a lot of nuance out of the conversation.

Like, do you know how easy it is to fuck up a child?

Especially that the ways the members of the Gaang 'fucked up' as parents feel mostly in character.

Bumi was going to face some struggles with self worth due to being the firstborn child of the Avatar and arguably one of the most powerful waterbenders in history, while being a nonbender himself. That much was unavoidable, no matter how his parents approached the issue.

And Aang was obviously going to be over the moon when Tenzin was born. Think about it. He's literally the last of his people. He has no one else 'like him'. No one else to pass down the traditions, the teachings that Gyatso and everyone else he cared about and who were horrifically murdered to. Aang is getting older and he feels like his culture and history and his entire life before he got trapped in that damned iceberg will die along with him. And then Tenzin is born and Tenzin can take up the mantle that had been thrust upon Aang.

I'm going to withhold my judgement on Izumi and Zuko, since we barely know anything about them. She seems well adjusted but that's all i can say right now. But Zuko has also been shown to be extremely, painfully aware of how fucked up his family is and has clearly been putting in a lot of work to unscrew what his ancestors have screwed up.

Toph situation feels very tragic to me,because it's obvious that she thought she thought she was doing better than her parents. She gave her daughters the freedom to do what they want, to not feel opressed and trapped like she had. How was she supposed to know that she was making her girls feel like she didn't love them? (Here's another post of mine about the Beifong family and how they just feel like they're cursed or something at this point.)

TLDR; I get annoyed by people saying that the Gaang being 'bad parents' ruined their characters, because to me it felt like it actually enhanced them.

Neither Aang nor Toph acted out of malice or a lack of love. On the contrary, Toph was trying not to repeat her parents mistakes, accidentally committing a bunch of her own. While Aang probably didn't even realise that he was neglecting Kya and Bumi.

But just loving your children doesn't always make you a good parent.

I think these flaws only add to them as characters. It makes them feel more real.

It's unrealistic and, frankly, just plain boring to go 'oh the Gaang were all good people so they would be good parents too.'

The Gaang were a gaggle of traumatised children forced into saving the world, because the adults around them failed them, that then grew into traumatised adults who have no idea how to be good parents.

[solar-plant-princess]

Everything I see and hear about the live action remake of Avatar is just a spit in the face. It’s so disrespectful to the characters. The writing is a mess and unfocused. And they routinely attempt to sanitize and soften all the characters, deflating the value and purpose of their character arcs.

There is nothing they can do to salvage this. The actors deserve far better than to be stuck in this poorly written disaster.

This is the end state of all soulless cash grab remakes. Gut out all the worthwhile character development in order to make room for empty set pieces and gags in a desperate attempt to replace heart with a modicum of entertainment value. They aren’t interested in telling a new or even good story, they just want to cash in on brand recognition and will take out all the worthwhile stuff and add unnecessary fluff the whole way.

Don’t give them anymore money, don’t watch the show, don’t watch the future seasons. Don’t waste your time on a show that will only ever respond to you wanting genuinely good content with a spit to the face.

Also the meta level sexism of removing ALL of Katara’s personality is just disgusting (same with literally every other named woman character, the genuine misogyny from the writers is on full display the entire time), it’s literally on par with the play episode where the actress is constantly whining about “hope” while doing nothing else, that’s legitimately where they are at.

Zuko fights back against his dad, and doesn’t even mention his honor ever, so what’s even the point of his redemption arc if he had that in him from the start?

Aang doesn’t run away from his responsibilities (or the Air Temple for that matter, he just gets caught in a storm by chance) or need to learn how to accept being the Avatar, or even feel guilt about what happened to the Air Nomads so what’s the point of his arc?

Sokka doesn’t need to unlearn his false bravado or learn how to be a real leader, literally being written out of the Jet episode where he was the starring protagonist, so what’s the point of his arc?

I’m willing to put actual money on Toph’s parents actually just letting her leave and in fact will not even condescend to her about her disability. What’s the fucking point of this show if none of the characters are allowed to have any flaws or growth or personality????

(I also simply can’t ever forgive them for the broad daylight murder and butchering of Suki. Taking a strong confident leader who humbled Sokka by force into accepting that women were just as worthy and capable as men and made him not just accept but embrace her culture. To a spoiled brat that spends her entire screen time being boy crazy, and teaches Sokka literally nothing other than some fighting moves while THANKING him for “bringing the world to me”, by which she means being a boy she can oogle at. This isn’t Suki, this isn’t Katara, the writers are beyond sexist pigs for this shit.

They wanted to improve Sokka’s reputation that wasn’t even threatened and in turn reduced every single named woman to flat-caricatures of incapable, quiet, obedient, boy obsessed little girls all of which rely entirely on the men in the show to do anything.

This is beyond the pale in overt but unacknowledged misogyny which is an insult to every member of the audience especially all the women in the audience. They make it very clear they actually just agree with not-that-covert sexism and patriarchy and it’s disgusting. Never watch this show, dear god never show this to kids who might pick up on this dogshit misogyny)

[azulasmommyissues]

Fire Nation Royal Family Analysis: The Archetypes. (Part 1)

Delving into how Sozin and Zeisan are like Azula and Zuko.

Within the Fire Nation Royal Family, two main archetypes can be noticed. The Golden Child and the Hated Child, both of which are victims in the cycle of abuse. Who fits where, and how can we recognise these archetypes?

Azula and Sozin obviously belong in the same archetype—that of the golden child. Meanwhile, Zuko shares many parallels with Zeisan. But in Iroh's and Ozai's generation, things *really* switch up.

To better understand the royal family, let's examine them all from the beginning.

[GEN. 1] SOZIN/ZEISAN

Sozin was the:

-powerful firebending sibling

-had prestige due to his position

-golden child

-not a Very Good Best Friend

-obsessed with said best friend (Roku) due to deeming he was betrayed by him, spent all of his elderly years searching for Roku's reincarnation

-influenced by his father's nationalistic beliefs, yet wanted to outdo him and appear more fearsome than him

-“his relationship with Zeisan was always poor, although this was the result of their parents' influence”

-perfectionist that becomes "sloppy when angry"

“Sozin and Zeisan's teachers and family always pitted them against each other, with the two siblings fighting for as long as they could remember. The competitions were meant to drive Sozin to greater heights and to draw firebending abilities out of Zeisan, though his sister never proved to be a firebender, with their teachers thus focusing their attention entirely upon Sozin.”

“During Sozin's early life, the Fire Nation experienced an era of industrialization and great prosperity, and trade flourished. While Zeisan sensed the corruption growing within their family, Sozin was influenced by his father's beliefs, according to which a nation's worldly power and landmass corresponded to greatness”

At the end of his life, Sozin expressed regret for his actions. That, believe it or not, did not bring back the airbender, or the dragons, and certainly didn't decolonise the earth kingdom.

_____________________________________________

ON THE OTHER HAND, ZEISAN:

-struggled to keep up, not gifted, NOT a firebender or prodigy like her brother

-despite the increased focus on Sozin, Zeisan refused to stop competing, studying, and growing, striving to prove herself worthy of her family legacy. honor!

-she studied and embraced air nomad philosophy and redeemed herself, realising the legacy of the fire nation wasn't one she wanted to take part in

-Instead of running away from her responsibilities, Zeisan wished to dismantle her family's legacy of corruption, eventually joining the air nomads, becoming allies to stop the fire nation nobility.

“Zeisan shared the intensity of her brother Sozin and doubted her own ability to be good, but she was focused on dismantling her family's corruption, demonstrating an indomitable will and desire to better the world. Zeisan was active and driven, constantly pursuing her own goals. She was very ambitious and sought to undermine her brother's rule.”

_____________________________________________

Now, this dynamic, to me, SCREAMS Azula and Zuko. Azula quite obviously being Sozin and Zuko quite obviously being Zeisan.

More specifically, Azula being the prodigy, the holden child, who grows obsessive, eith visions of her mother—(reminiscent of Sozin's own paranoia regarding Roku) While also feeling like she was betrayed by Mai and Ty Lee, her best friends, her “Roku” figures—a betrayal which was absolutely caused by her own behaviour, but caused her to spiral into the worst version of herself. Paranoid and destructive, much like what became of Sozin. She was also a perfectionist who, upon losing her mind, obviously lacked focus—and her relationship with Zuko was strained because they were always pinned against each other.

Zuko, on the other hand, is the disliked—abandoned child. Much like Zeisan, he seeked honor and appreciation within the royal family. He was no natural talent, but he had drive and ambition and he never gave up. Upon realising his family's corruption, he wanted to take no part in it. So he redeemed himself in joining the Avatar. The last of the air nomads. Just like Zeisan joined them, back then. So, parallels.

_____________________________________________

Something to notice is that, out of the two siblings, the one who takes (or is meant to take the throne) always has just ONE child. Sozin only had Azulon. Iroh only had Lu Ten. Zuko only had Izumi.

Each of them probably wanted to avoid the repetition of the cycle. They wanted to avoid their children having a relationship so strained like the one they had with their siblings. With that being said—let's examine Azulon.

_____________________________________________

[atla-confessions]

I think one of my favorite and least favorite things about the zukaang fandom is how they can go wildly between "Zuko would be the best boyfriend, he'd know all about air nomad culture and be so passionate about rebuilding the temples" and "he's an obsessive needy freak and Aang just happens to be uniquely qualified to deal with that", because it's hilarious but also there is a middle ground here guys. /pos

X

[lettingtimepass]

Whelp, I started Netflix Avatar the Last Airbender.....

Ep. 1 - Aang

Me: Oh this casting for Aang is so good!!!! Me two seconds later: …..Is he flying without a glider? 😑😑😑

Oh so we're just fully watching the genocide of the Air Nomads? That's cool….. that's….. cool…… 🥲🥲🥲

But hey we got to see female Airbenders!!

Girlllll what do you mean Katara isn't the first person Aang sees when he wakes up? Are they just not doing the crush yet because of the age difference? Bc my Aang fell in love at first sight 😭 (But wait, does this mean they're gonna be more heavy-handed with Zutara? Hmmmm)

Iroh's voice just isn't doing it for me 😭 I mean his voice is so iconic and hard to recreate.

I really like seeing Zuko obsessing over the Avatar and drawing them and having the little statues. Good character-building.

I hate to say it but I was not impressed with the Water Tribe costumes. They looked... not authentic. The set design was cool though.

Also I was so distracted because the beads on Katara's hair loopies look like a lego piece 😭

Go off, Gran Gran (being the one to say the theme monologue).

I still got teary-eyed during the Gyatso scene tho.

Me before watching: Okay, this isn't going to be a 1:1 remake. It's going to have a different tone. Just take it for what it is and enjoy it.

Me while watching: What do you MEAN there's no "Will you go penguin sledding with me?" 😭😭😭

Overall the tone is still way darker than I expected (burning that dude alive in the first 5 minutes??) but I'll try to withhold full judgment til the end… Stay tuned!!

[gaybd1]

rating changes made in natla: episode 1

I wanna be clear that I overall enjoyed the series. Most things I had problems with were actually pretty minor.

Planning to attack the Earth Kingdom as a distraction from the Air Nomad genocide: kind of cool I guess but still a weird and random way to open a whole ass show with these randos. Maybe a good way to set up the White Lotus I guess. Cool excuse to see Sozin. Reaction: Neutral

Kyoshi narrating the introduction: Cool. Makes sense. We haven’t met Katara yet. Also cool that they didn’t stick to the original opening monologue bc that wouldn’t have fit as well actually. Reaction: Positive

Showing life in the Air Temple before it was attacked. I mean I get it. It shows Aang’s reaction with Gyatso and kind of leads us to understand where he comes from. It makes his loss hurt that much more. Reaction: Positive

Great Comet Festival: Obviously an excuse to get everyone together for the Genocide but cool I guess. Reaction: Neutral

Aang just going away to clear his head instead of running away from being the Avatar: I get it. It’s to make him seem more likable, not irresponsible. I really don’t care either way. Reaction: Neutral.

Showing the Air Nation genocide: It didn’t last too long and it wasn’t as terribly graphic as I thought it could be. It fit in with the tone and narrative. Did it add anything to the point that it seemed necessary? No. Reaction: Neutral.

Katara using the Fire Nation ship as a place to practice her bending? Badass. Reaction: Positive

Showing more of Sokka’s duties/leadership/burden around the SWT village: love it, delicious, I’m obsessed. Also leaning into Hakoda’s absence. Great. Reaction: Positive

Finding Aang for some random reason that isn’t Katara being pissed at Sokka’s sexism: Honestly I wasn’t bothered by this the first time around but now it’s clear to me this is the first in a long line of choices that make Katara’s character more boring and like. peaceful so. Reaction: Negative

Zuko’s fanatical journal and doodle wall: Love it. Super on brand. Reaction: Positive

Aang already having the bison whistle: whatever. Reaction: Neutral

The SWT having a longhouse: It’s a small change but I love how much more developed the set is… Reaction: Positive

Gran Gran doing the opening monologue from the original show: it fit but I’m sorry it was soooo cringe oh my god….. Reaction: Negative

Let me just mention this here but it’s kind of weird that Katara doesn’t mention her mother’s necklace in the whole show when it was so important to the plot of the original show??? Just another facet of her character ignored I guess. Reaction: Negative

The weird claw thing the Firebenders do: it’s ugly lol. Reaction: Negative

Iroh starting real early trying to convince Zuko his dad sucks: their relationship is so much cooler and better in this show and I can’t really explain it. But I like this and it fits. Reaction: Positive

Sokka’s real ass engineering and defensive skills on full display? Huge love. Reaction: Positive

That one boy close in age to Sokka. Why is he here? Wasn’t Sokka supposed to be the only one left? Glad he gets a boyfriend though. Reaction: Neutral

Iroh’s conversation with Aang on the Fire Nation ship: it’s whatever. An interesting choice to have him tip his hand so early. I have to believe there’s a reason for it and again it works with his overall narrative in the season. Reaction: Neutral

Not spending so much time at the Southern Air Temple… I get it, it was kind of the trade off for showing so much in the beginning. It’s fine, it works. Reaction: Neutral

Aang bringing himself out of the Avatar state by thinking about Gyatso/who he is/whatever, instead of Katara doing it: I get it, they seem to be wanting to cut out any overt Kataang stuff. Still, the relationships between our three main characters are just not nearly as tight in this version of the show and something like this might have saved it? Still, Aang crying in her arms afterward covers that a bit so. Reaction: Neutral

[nalgasde-hao]

Okay so my headcanon on Taang (and a little bit of Zutara on the side)

- So I would much rather prefer if the ending of the show hadn't made any of the ships (except for Sokka and Suki) Canon, but even with the Kataang final kiss I feel like Taang would have been canon

- Because they were both too young and there relationship would've been completely platonic (I've always felt like Katara saw Aang as a little brother that she needed to protect, but even if it wasn't for that, Katara put Aang in a pedestal for being the avatar and created a lot of expectations over him, which I think it can be proved by how later on their marriage on Korra, besides the way Katara did everything for him like a mother), and Katara's desire to go back to help rebuild the south pole while Aang wanted to recreat the air nomads again would made their relationship be very complicated

- And that's how I feel like they would outgrow each other and realize they would work much better as friends

- Without Katara's imagine in his mind Aang would be able to notice other girls - like Toph, who he hadn't seen in a long time due to his traveling

- I feel like Toph already felt something for him, but couldn't quite understand what it was, but she would take the opportunity to travel with him again

- and then, they would have a slow burn, friends to lovers relationship, with a lot of teasing and mutual pining

- as for Katara, I feel like Zuko would be a better match for her - they always had a great chemistry - but not only that, before Zuko joined the Gaang, Katara was the only one who did the chores and made sure that everyone was okay, which was a lot of responsibility for a 14-year-old, and after Zuko showed up and started to help her out, it gave her time to actually enjoy travelling

- I feel like after a time the other nations would pressure the Fire Nation, for something to make them feel safe - since they replaced the Fire Lord, with his FIRST BORN SON, and Katara would volunteer to be the South Pole ambassador

- There relationship would grow up from that, and I feel like there love language would be acts of service, always making sure the other one has rested and is feeling okay (and I can't stop obsessing about how Zuko choose Katara to help him find his mother)

- I also think that Maiko wouldn't work - although I really like the ship - because Mai hated everything that had to do with the aristocracy, because it bored her, and she didn't want to be what her mother wanted her to be, so becoming the Fire Lady wouldn't be very fulfilling for her - I kinda feel like she would have a thing for Ty Lee, but Idk

- Also, I like to think that Aang would always visit Toph between his travels to the point her parents (who didn't like him for making their baby girl run away) question themselves when was he going to propose for Toph's hand (I feel like her mother would make a comment during dinner or something and they would die out of embarrassment)

- And I'm 100% sure that Suki and Sokka had a bet going on who of the two couple would confess first (I have a feeling it's Zutara) and after that they would just try to hold their laughs at Taang mutual pining

BITCH THIS IS THE EXACTLY WAY I THINK THAT TAANG HAPPENED (if it was canon ngh-) and the way you explain the zutara relationship it makes all the sense to me.

Besides, talking about kataang, I always saw as a problem that katara couldn't show her agry with aang bcs he would cry or something like that, and that is not the way it should be when you are with your partner, on the contrary, it should be a safe place where you can express yourself freely, and I thought that with zuko, she can do it.

Also, bitch, toph and aang are soulmates and nothing can change my mind. THEY WORK SO PERFECT TOGETHER WHEN THEY ARE KID, IMAGINE WHEN THEY GROWN UP. Unstopplebe, on fights and love lmao.

[sasukelandia]

I’d love to see a well done Naruto ATLA au however I don’t think Sasuke fits Zuko but funnily enough I think he and Naruto both fit Aang well. The Uzumaki clan was also persecuted too like the airbenders. I could see Sasuke as Zuko if Zuko’s thing was trying to avenge the murder of his family and trying to capture the avatar to force him to help him or control him or something similar. How would you rework this? I’m very interested in your POV ! :)

my naruto x atla AU is not 1:1 to the actual avatar the last airbender series. atla!sasuke is a composite of zuko, aang, and jet to me. zuko’s obsession with recovering his personal honor is reminiscent of sasuke’s obsession with recovering his family’s honor; aang’s survival of the brutal air nomad genocide is akin to sasuke’s survival of the uchiha clan massacre; and jet’s anticolonial anger is sasuke’s anti-shinobi anger.

[burst-of-iridescent]

alright, i'm done dealing with this bullshit.

i didn’t want to address this any further but since these people seem utterly obsessed with me & and have now gone on to harass my friends, i have had enough.

first things first, and i can't believe i even need to say this, but aang is a fictional character. he is not tibetan, because there is no tibet in the world of avatar: the last airbender. aang - and the air nomads in general - are the products of two white men's (and a predominantly white writing team's) interpretations of buddhism, hinduism and tibetan culture, interpretations that have themselves been criticized by actual tibetan people.

criticizing, mocking, or even making fun of aang does not make me racist towards tibetan people, just like criticizing zuko wouldn't make me racist towards japanese people, or criticizing toph wouldn't make me racist towards chinese people, because none of these characters are actual depictions of real life groups or cultures. they can't be, because those groups and cultures do not exist in the world of atla. (xiran jay zhao discusses this very topic, and the show's "representation" of asian and indigenous cultures, better than i can in their video essays, if anyone is interested in hearing more about atla from an east asian perspective.)

additionally, even if aang were somehow an actual tibetan monk, i cannot recall a single instance in which i said anything derogatory regarding his cultural practices or beliefs (which, again, stem from bryan konietzko and mike dimartino's understanding of tibetan monks). when i criticize aang (and once again i can't believe i need to say this), i am criticizing the writing of his character and the worldbuilding of his culture and people. not, you know, an actual person and their actual heritage.

i have no problem with aang being a pacifist, or a vegetarian, or shaving his head, or wearing robes. what i do have a problem with is his entire dilemma about killing being brought up in the last four episodes of the show, only to be resolved by a magic rock and a lion turtle instead of character growth and agency. what i do have a problem with is his treatment of katara, and his disrespect towards her cultural beliefs in favour of pushing his own on her. aang is entitled to believe in non-violence and the sanctity of all life; he is not entitled to make that choice for katara, as he tried to in the southern raiders. each of them has a right to their own beliefs, and neither should use their individual beliefs to impose upon the other, or dictate what they should do.

the really ironic thing about all of this is that i love aang. i have said over and over that i believe kat.aang could have worked, that i thought they were cute in book 1, that aang is a great protagonist who had potential for an amazing arc, if only it had been followed through on in book 3. my criticisms of aang's character come from my love for him, because he deserved better than the writers who turned him into their own self-insert fantasy.

so whoever you are that's been endlessly hounding my inbox, and now my close friends', calling me racist because of my opinions on a fictional character: for your own sake, just block me and go on with your life. your social justice crusade against a singular stranger on the internet isn't helping anyone, let alone actual tibetan people.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Apparently when Aang was depressed and suggested that maybe they should abandon hope, he was actually ordering/Forcing The pregnant Couple to accept air nomad beliefs.

Also Aang apparently Regularly disrespects and refuses to learn from other cultures and Aang actually isn’t even a good airbender because somehow even though he regularly airbends, we don’t see him practicing at all.

Finally even though Aang allowed Katara to take Appa and acknowledged that she believes that she needs to go on the journey to Yon rha, Aang was forcing Katara to murder Yon Rha.

What show were Aang’s detractors watching?

I love the implication that somethings as simple as "having hope" is considered "Air-nomad exclusive belief", when that's a big theme throught the whole show and we have IROH telling Zuko not to give into despair, and explaining to the crew on "The Storm" that Zuko is so obsessed with capturing the Avatar because that mission allows him to hope he can come home and fix things with his dad.

They REALLY think that "pacifist" (which IS an air-nomad thing) MUST mean "hopeful, optimistic and cheery" like Aang - like we didn't see the air-nomads clearly freaking out so bad that they tell Aang he is the Avatar four years ahead of time, getting pissed whenever he is having any fun, and even want to separate him from his "father" because they knew something bad was gonna happen. Aka, they gave into despair.

As for him "forcing" the couple to give that name to their child

Husband: What should we name her?

Wife: I want our daughter's name to be unique. I want it to mean something.

Aang:  I've been going through a really hard time lately. But you've made me ... hopeful again.

Wife: I know what I want to name our baby now. Hope.

Husband: That's a perfect name. Hope.

That was a suggestion at most. Not an order, not intimidating them into doing what he wanted them to, and surely not forcing them to accept "air-nomad beliefs."

"The guy who spent the whole series traveling around to learn from different people, and was so understanding he was even sympathetic to the nation that killed everyone he knew and loved, did not respect other cultures" Bruh.

Literally the only two "disrespectful" things I remember Aang doing were:

1 - That bitter comment about "dead animals" towards Bato - which he only made because he was feeling left out of the conversation since his friends were so excited about being with someone from their tribe that they were completely ignoring him. Not cool, but totally understanding considering he's 12.

2 - Snapping at Pakku for not wanting to train Katara/trying to teach her what he was taught behind his back (even though the second one is on shaky ground since, even though that was a bit of a "cheat code" to make Pakku train Katara indirectly, he doesn't have the right to demand Aang never share his knowledge with someone he doesn't approve of)

And both of these, on top of being understandable, also have the disclaimer of "You can disagree with someone's beliefs/cultural habits without looking down on them" - hell, Katara full on says Gran-Gran left because she wouldn't let the Northern Water Tribes stupid customs ruin her life. Not to mention, the Fire Nation's culture for at least 100 years has been "fuck everyone else, only our way of living is the correct one" and the whole point of the show is "This belief is not only wrong and hurting the other nation, it is harming the Fire Nation itself"

"It's my culture" is a neutral statement. It does not shield said culture from criticism, and Aang disagreeing with someone's beliefs - be it that hunting/eating meat is okay, or that women can't be fighters, or that not all life is sacred - is not the same as him being disrespectful. He owes people basic human decency, not blind agreement with anything and everything they believe in.

So yeah, these people need to keep. Aang's. Name. OUT. THEIR. FUCKING. MOUTH.