#atla book 3

[allbrows04]

i love how dumb zuko is like. in the episode where he learns about avatar roku and firelord sozin iroh LITERALLY had to spell it out and go "your FATHER'S grandfather was sozin, and your MOTHER'S grandfather was roku" and then zukos face literally goes :0

not to mention iroh began this by going "you have more than one great grandfather you know :/" like this guy really had to lay it out for his idiot nephew

[queen-morgana91]

I freaking love Aang’s subtle hair growth while he was in Fire Nation

The attention to detail in this show is fascinating!

[queen-cobra]

An old sketch of sokka and suki 😊 I just had to draw the hug form the boiling rock eps

[thatssroughbuddy]

Y’all I have two points on a conspiracy theory board and I’m dangerously close to connecting them

This is Katara in Book 1 after they go ice dodging and she gets the “mark of the brave”

This is Katara in Book 3 as The Painted Lady (ecoterrorist queen)

I know the marks are slightly different but. When she got her mark in Book 1 it was painted on her, and in Book 3 she painted it on herself. I think there’s something to be said about how she could have thought the mark in Book 1 was more similar to her application bc she never actually saw it, only felt it being applied. Do we think there’s a connection here??

[starboysbrainrot]

sometimes I feel bad for the sun warriors that had to watch Aang and Zuko bicker over sharing a flame (and stealing a golden egg prior to that) and who were probably thinking :

“okay so the fate of the whole world is in the hands of the avatar and the future fire lord. who happen to be two idealistic audhd. fuelled by big dreams and big feelings. with way too much hope. and absolutely no idea on what they are doing. great.”

[jana2071]

Even tho I don't ship Zutara anymore, but I found it worth noting how Zuko is characterised more fairly in these specific shots of him with Katara than 99% of the scenes of him with Mai (*bruh even Mai was ooc but this is going to be for another discussion)

I already have many issues with book 3 especially in terms of characterisation, but Oh God, Zuko had the most awful ooc moments with Mai (*the beach episode sums it up), like I cringe whenever I see them together on screen💀

He's not even being Zuko with Mai, He's just a different person named "Zuko" (*the same applies to Mai), and it's really insulting not only for Zuko and Mai but for the fans as well

But let's be all honest, Zuko had such a spot-on characterisation in his scenes with Jin! (*not to mention the cute chemistry) He was really being himself in the Tale of Zuko

[billsbae]

"The truth is sometimes Katara does act motherly. But that's not always a bad thing. She's compassionate and kind, and she actually cares about me. You know the real me."

Their relationship is so important to me.

[avrelia]

There was a lot of conversation suddenly about that scene in The Beach episode where Zuko brings stuff to Mai, and whether it means Mai is a bad girlfriend for not being more grateful.

And here is my opinion, which I personally consider the ultimate truth, but YMMV,as they say.

Mai is not a bag girlfriend

Zuko is not a bad boyfriend.

Their relationship is not toxic, abusive, or problematic, but it does have problems, since they are both troubled, traumatized teens who hasn’t seen how healthy relationship work, but they are both trying their best.

Let’s try to imagine ourselves inside Zuko’s head. He wants to do something nice, looks around, sees a shell, remembers that girls are supposed to like pretty things and uncle Iroh thought shells were pretty, picks it up and offers it to Mai.

Let’s move to Mai’s head now. She sees Zuko picking up some random trash from the sand and giving it to her, saying that all girls supposed to like it. She doesn’t like and her response is an eyeroll and a sarcastic remark. Zuko is angry, but is it Mai’s fault? No, it is not.

Zuko had good intentions, but good intention don’t necessarily translate into good action. Imagine, a more common scenario from our world: a girl is given cut roses, because girls are supposed to love flowers, and roses are the best flowers. Must a girl be happy and grateful? Roses are usually really beautiful, after all.

Yet she – might hate flowers

- might hate cut flowers

- might dislike roses

- might be allergic to roses

- might be looking forward to daisies instead

- something else entirely

Mai’s reaction might not have been perfect, but it is realistic and understandable.

now, Zuko realized his mistake, and went to get ice cream – something Mai actually loved and wanted to have.

He almost did it – and then didn’t. Imagine Mai’s disappointment, when a cool delicious icecream drops out of your hand and onto your clothes. What did she do? She thanked Zuko, in mildly sarcastic tone. It is a perfect reaction to the silly mishap, really. Zuko is even more disappointed – but not in Mai and her reaction, remember, all this time he is mad at himself, and everything he does and doesn’t do, feeds that anger.

[cometblaster2070]

katara was unapologetically an ecoterrorist and i will forever love her so much for that

like look at her and her goofy bf i love them sm

[fangurlzrul3]

If I ever met sozin during a solar eclipse, I'd beat the hell out of him for being a bitch and stabbing Roku in the back like he did. I don't care if he's like a whole foot taller than me, he's catching these hands.

[stardust948]

On Day 3 after being resurrected from the dead, Aang gets grounded for saying a slur.

[robstarsupremacy]

i fucking love these two

this scene broke me fr

[doc-notarealone-salas]

Zuko joining the Gaang and realizing they're a mess will always be peak comedy

[juniperhillpatient]

the thing about azula is that she was just a kid. she was 14 years old & she just desperately wanted to please her father - the same exact thing zuko always wanted, & we get to see his desperation & hurt trying to please a man who cares more about politics & power than his family throughout the series - but we’re really only exposed to azula’s desperation at the end.

man she was just a KID. the hurt on her face - the way she lashes out when ozai tells her she’s not coming with him - the way she says “really?” in a small voice when he tells her he has an important job for her. the idea that this broken child is irredeemable or beyond help is literally just so fucking sick & twisted. she was a KID 😭

[azure-firecracker]

I need distraction too. Uhhhh. Favorite episodes of ATLA and why???

Oh it’s been a minute since I’ve talked about ATLA on here but I’m always glad to go back to my roots lol

(And anything to stop myself from breaking down and sobbing in my dorm room at this point tbh)

As an Azula girlie, The Beach was always my favorite episode and continues to be. It was what cemented her as my favorite character, the episode that really revealed her depth and began to hint at her trauma. I’d always loved seeing her on screen, since she was such a fun and charismatic villain, but this was the episode where I really started to understand her and she really won me over. All of the other Fire Nation teens have awesome character development here as well, stuff I wish had been explored more. Azula’s development in the finale was also fascinating, but I always struggle to watch that without feeling horribly sad.

Any episodes that deal with Katara’s duality are favorites of mine, because she’s such an interesting character in that she has equal capacity for immense compassion and immense rage. I loved The Puppetmaster and The Southern Raiders for this reason - they showcase Katara’s less pure and pretty side, and I love that the show’s female main character gets to do that and still be the hero. (Not saying that there’s anything wrong with what Katara did in these eps, but her actions are very much contrary to “good girl” stereotypes which is awesome!)

Any episode in the Ba Sing Se arc is also a favorite of mine. The unraveling conspiracy there and general sense of mystery and dread really played into my personal tastes, and this was definitely the arc I found the most intriguing and unpredictable, ESPECIALLY the ending. The fact that the show had the guts to literally kill Aang (even temporarily) and end the season on that note is highly commendable.

Also shout out to The Ember Island Players - it’s just hilarious lol

Thanks for the ask - we’ll get through this❤️