#atla symbolism

[anthurak]

Listening to the ATLA soundtrack and ‘Last Agni Kai’ in particular reminded me of what is by far my favorite bit of symbolism of the show that for some reason I never see discussed:

Specifically, that Zuko and Azula have this big, dramatic, drawn-out firebender-versus-firebender duel that burns down a good chunk of the capital and shows both combatants more or less evenly matched. Yet as soon as Zuko is knocked out of the fight via cheap-shot and it becomes a waterbender-on-firebender fight, KATARA takes down Azula pretty much immediately.

The not-so-subtle symbolism being: “Hey, here’s a crazy thought; how about instead of fighting fire with fire, we fight fire with fucking WATER? Seems like that would be quite a bit EASIER, no?”

Oh and if anyone wants to point out that firebending golden boy Zuko could have beaten Azula with the lightning-redirect he learned from Iroh, let’s consider for a moment where exactly Iroh LEARNED that technique:

From studying WATERBENDERS.

In short, Avatar gave us one of the greatest symbolic takedowns of the bullshit ‘fight fire with fire’ trope/mentality and I will forever love that.

[ur-frndly-neighborhood-memer1]

Zuko & Azula: Eyes

I was checking out the Avatar arts in my gallery, and then I found the old collages that I made:

Zuko indeed looks a ton like Ozai here. And I made this collage to point out how similar they are in appearance.

However, then I realized how their eyes are completely different.

Yeah, Zuko has light golden eyes like Ozai. Yet his eye shape is very different from his father's.

As you can see better in this one:

Again, they're looking pretty similar (No sh*t Sherlock, almost like they're related!)

Yet, their eyes are very different.

Zuko's eyes are larger, rounder, and much softer compared to Ozai's.

And it isn't only his eyes, his eyebrows are different as well. Zuko's eyebrows are comparatively softer and s shaped whereas Ozai's are longer and hard angled.

And apart from that, Zuko's hairline also comes softer on his forehead. Ozai has a very visible widow's peak.

But, do you know who has sharp eyes, hard-angeled eyebrows and a visible widow's peak like Ozai?

Duh! Here's your answer:

(They look nearly identical here tho. Eh, genetics)

-"V" shaped hairline? Checked✅

-Long, hard-angeled eyebrows? Checked✅

-Sharp eyes that could puncture a hull of an empire-class Fire Nation battle ship and leave thousands to drown at sea? Also checked✅

Despite looking pretty similar to Ursa, Azula inherited Ozai's sharper features.

And speaking of Ursa, let's compare her eyes to her children's too!

As you can see, Ursa has a darker shade of gold in her eyes, which she and Azula have in common.

But despite sharing the same dark golden/amber eye color, Ursa and Azula's eye shapes are completely different.

Ursa's eyes are larger, rounder and softer, just like Zuko's. And her eyebrows are s shaped too, also like Zuko's except she thins it.

So, what's the point of this entire eye comparing?

I do believe there's symbolism involved, that is why.

->Sharp eyes are often associated with serious, intimidating personalities. Which suits Ozai and Azula's characters very well.

->And as a contrast, soft eyes are often associated with kindness and innocence. Which also suits Ursa and Zuko's characters.

->So Azula's sharper features symbolizes how she inherited her father's personality. And it makes it clear he was the parent that she was closer to.

->It's the same case for Zuko. He inherited his mother's personality. And it clears the fact that he always felt closer to his mother.

But... What about eye colors?

I'm not sure if there was a symbolism going on with the fair gold or brownish gold eyes since Fire Nation people seem to have both.

Sozin, Ozai and Zuko have light ones. Iroh, Ursa and Azula have dark ones. Zhao is somewhat in the middle, not too light nor dark.

However, I do think there's a symbolism with the shades based on the parent-child relationships:

-> Zuko has Ozai's eye color. So whenever he looked in a mirror, he saw his father's disapproval.

-> Azula has Ursa's eye color. So whenever she looked in a mirror, she was her mother's judgement.

At the end, their eyes were a constant reminder to the Fire kids that they were disappointments to their parents.

But their parents' disappointment is not something they could fix. Because Ursa and Ozai were polar opposites as parents.

-> Ursa valued kindness and compassion.

-> Ozai considered kindness and compassion as weaknesses.

-> Ozai appreciated ruthlessness and cruelty.

-> Ursa disliked ruthlessness and cruelty.

-> Ozai praised brutality and despised mercy.

-> Ursa despised brutality and praised mercy.

-> Ursa seemed to favor Zuko, because he had a gentle heart.

-> Ozai hated Zuko because he had a gentle heart.

-> Ozai favored Azula because she was a firebending prodigy.

-> Ursa neglected Azula because she already had her father's approval.

The list goes on but I think I made my point.

Doesn't matter what Zuko and Azula would do, they were doomed to be accepted by one parent and disapproved by the other.

Basically, darned if they do and darned if they don't.

So at the end, Azula and Zuko didn't have much choice other than choosing a certain side.

Zuko chose love and kindness, like his mother. Which is symbolically portrayed with his softer features.

Azula chose fear and violence, like her father. Which is symbolically portrayed with her sharper features.

Yet, whatever they do, they're destined to live with the eyes of their parents who didn't accept them. They will see their parents' judgement 'till the end of their days...

[slyandthefamilybook]

A NON-EXHAUSTIVE BUT NEVERTHELESS EXHAUSTING LIST OF NEO-NAZI AND WHITE SUPREMACIST DOGWHISTLES

since some of y'all apparently need a refresher course. as always, use your judement when deciding if it's a dogwhistle or just innocent usage of a number or symbol

NUMBERS

100% - 100 percent white

109 or 110 - A reference to the 109 countries that have expelled, in whole or in part, their Jewish populations. 110 refers to the hope that more countries will do so, usually specifically the United States. Often posted on its own as a reply, or phrased as a question (e.g. "If you were kicked out of 109 bars it's probably our fault")

1290 - A reference to the Edict of Expulsion of 1290, which expelled the Jewish population of England

13/50 or 13/52 or 13/90 - The supposed statistic that Black Americans make up 13% of the population yet commit 50% or 52% of violent crime, or 90% of interracial violence. Often posted on its own as a reply

14 - The Fourteen Words, a Neo-Nazi slogan

14/23 - A number representing the Southern Brotherhood, an Alabama prison gang

1488 - A combination of the Fourteen Words and Heil Hitler

C18 - Combat 18, a British neo-Nazi group

18 - The letters A (1) and H (8), standing for Adolf Hitler

21-2-12 - The Letters U (21), B (2), and 12 (L), standing for Union, Brotherhood, and Loyalty, the slogan of the Unforgiven, a Florida prison gang

23 - Often thrown up as a hand sign, with two fingers raised on one hand and three fingers raised on the other. Represents the letter W (23), standing for white

271,000 - A reference to the supposed fact that the Red Cross claimed only 271,000 people had been murdered in concentration camps. In reality, that number reported by the Red Cross only came from reports from 13 concentration camps (there were 23 main camps, plus a large number of smaller "satellite" camps)

88 - H (8) H (8), standing for Heil Hitler

9% - A number representing the percentage of the world's population that is white

SYMBOLS

((( ))) - Triple parentheses, or echo. Used by neo-Nazis to call out someone as Jewish

Iron Cross - A German military decoration

Sonnenrad (Sun Wheel)

Reichsadler (Imperial Eagle) - A blocky, art-deco eagle facing to the side. Variants exist, some facing right, some facing left. The Parteiadler (Party Eagle) has a slightly different design. The Reichsadler is usually clutching a wreath with a swastika, although this is sometimes left out to maintain plausible deniability

Totenkopf (Death's Head) - A symbol used by the SS

Wolfsangel (Wolf's Hook) - Used as the insignia of various Wermacht (Nazi Military) divisions

Wolfsangel (horizontal)

Odal Rune - From the Proto-Germanic "Othala" meaning heritage

Algiz Rune - A symbol used by German nationalists

Celtic Cross

"Broken Sun" Cross

Arrow Cross - A Hungarian nationalist party that was active from 1935-1945. The symbol has been re-appropriated by modern neo-Nazis

Valknot

EMOJI

🤑 Greedy Face Emoji - Used to refer to "greedy Jews"

💰 Money Bag Emoji - Used to refer to "greedy Jews"

🥸 Disguised Emoji - Used to refer to Jews because of the enlarged nose

🤥 Lying Emoji - Used to refer to Jews because of the enlarged nose

👃 Nose Emoji - Used to refer to Jews

🙋‍♂️ Raising Hand Emoji - Used for its resemblance to the Sieg Heil salute

✋ Raised Hand Emoji - Used for its resemblance to the Sieg Heil salute

o/ or 0/ - Used for its resemblance to the Sieg Heil salute

🐸 Frog Emoji - A reference to Pepe the Frog, a webcomic charcter co-opted by the alt-right

👌 Okay Symbol Emoji - A hand symbol co-opted by the alt-right. Sometimes said to resemble the letters WP, or White Power

🚪 Door Emoji - Refers to the fact that some of the gas chambers (such as the ones at Auschwitz) had wooden doors, and therefore could not have been airtight enough to contain the Zyklon B gas used to murder prisoners. In reality, many of the wooden doors were either replaced with airtight metal ones, or were made airtight with strips of felt that then deteriorated or were removed

🚿 Showerhead Emoji - Refers to the showerheads used to dispense Zyklon B gas in the gas chambers

⛽ Gas Pump Emoji - Refers to gas chambers

⚡⚡ Double Lightning Emojis - Used for their resemblance to the Siegrune (victory rune) badge worn by members of the SS (Schutzstaffel)

💀 Skull Emoji - Used for its resemblance to the Totenkopf (Death's Head) used by the SS

☠️ Skull and Crossbones Emoji - Used for its resemblance to the Totenkopf (Death's Head) used by the SS

WORDS/PHRASES

6MWE - Six Million Wasn't Enough. A call for further genocide against Jews

AKIA - A Klansman I Am

Annudah Shoah - A mockery of both the Shoah (Holocaust) and the fear of further genocide

Auschwitz had a swimming pool/rec center/maternity ward/etc. - An attempt to diminish the horror of concentration camps by making them seem more like labor camps with amenities

Blood and Honor - A neo-Nazi slogan

Blood and Soil - A neo-Nazi slogan

Blood Libel - Not a phrase used by the far right, but something they often believe in or claim. Blood libel is an antisemitic conspiracy theory stretching back hundreds of years. The original claim was that Jews used the blood of Christian babies to bake matzah (a ritual food eaten on Passover). It has since evolved into images of Jews drinking blood, kidnapping and killing non-Jewish babies, and conspiracy theories about harvesting adrenochrome

Bowlcut - A reference to white supremacist mass-murderer Dylan Roof

Cohencidence - A portmanteau of Cohen (a common Jewish last name) and coincidence. Used to refer to Jewish control (e.g. "All these companies are owned by Jews! What a Cohencidence!")

COORS - "Comerades of Our Racial Struggle"

Cultural Marxism - A conspiracy theory that Jews are intentionally weakening "Western values" in order to make countries like the United States more susceptible to communism. This was called Cultural Bolshevism in Nazi Germany

Da Shoah or Muh Shoah or Muh Holocaust - A mockery of the Holocaust

Day of the Rope - A day referenced in neo-Nazi book The Turner Diaries when all race traitors will be hanged

Degenerate - An insult based on the false theory that bad morals will cause human beings to regress along the path of evolution (to de-evolve). Used to describe groups, individuals, or ideologies

Early Life - A reference to the "Early Life" section of Wikipedia biographies, which will reveal that a person is Jewish or has Jewish ancestry

Every Single Time - Every time something bad happens, the perpetrator is Jewish

Featherwood - A term derived from racist prison subculture. A featherwood is a woman associated with a racist gang

FGRN - For God, Race, and Nation. A Ku Klux Klan slogan

The Fourteen Words - A neo-Nazi slogan. "We must secure the existance of our people and a future for white children"

The Frankfurt School - A school of sociology founded at Goethe University Frankfurt in 1923. Usually blamed as the originator of "Cultural Marxism"

Fren - Internet slang. A diminutive of "friend", used to diminish Naziism and make it seems more harmless. Often used in usernames to describe one's self (e.g. sad_fren_88)

Globalist - A person who desires connection between countries in terms of politics, trade, and travel. Used to scaremonger about Jews destroying countries by removing their borders

Gorillion - A mockery of the number 6 million, being the amount of Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust

Goy - Hebrew for "nation", used by Jews to refer to non-Jews/gentiles. Used disparagingly by neo-Nazis to suggest Jews view non-Jews as beneath them

Goyslop - Unhealthy food that Jews force non-Jews to eat to keep them weak

Groid - A shortening of "Negroid", an archaic terms used to describe Black people

Groyper - A follower of avowed neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes. A reference to the "Groyper" meme, a variant of Pepe the Frog

GSHW - Germany Should Have Won (i.e. won World War II)

GTKRWN - Gas the Kikes; Race War Now

HDKH - Hitler Didn't Kill Himself. A neo-Nazi theory that Hitler escaped Germany and fled to Argentina

John 8:44 - "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Part of Jesus' rebuke of his Jewish followers

Joo or Jooz - An intentional misspelling of "Jews" in an attempt to bypass censors or automatic content filters

Kate Hikes - A spoonerism of "hate kikes"

Kek - 4chan variation of "lol"

Kekistan - A fictional country imagined by white nationalists with a flag that resembles the Nazi battle flag

Khazar - A reference to the conversion of a group of Khazars (a Turkic people) to Judaism. Antisemites speculate that the entirity of Ashkenazi Jews are descended from these Khazar converts, and therefore have no historical, cultural, or genetic tie to the Levant. This has been proven false on multiple occasions

Kike - A racial slur against Jews

Lizard People or Reptilians - A conspiracy theory by far-right figure David Icke, claiming that world leaders are really reptilian aliens. Most people who believe this theory believe that the lizard people in question are the Jews

Magic Soil - A protest against the idea that people of one nationality can become people of another nationality simply by living in a country (i.e. "France doesn't have magic soil that turns Africans into Frenchmen")

Nicker - An intentional misspelling of the N word in an attempt to bypass censors or automatic content filters

Ns - Black people (as in the plural of the letter N)

NSDAP - Nationalsozialistiche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei. The Nazi party, but using an acronym that is unfamiliar to most people

NS - National Socialist

Noticer - Someone who "notices" that Jews control the world

The Noticing - A mass movement of people "noticing" that Jews control the world

New World Order - A far-right conspiracy theory about Jews taking control over the world and implementing a single world government. Also used in conjunction with phrases like "world banks"

OFOF - One Front, One Family. Slogan of the neo-Nazi group Volksfront

ORION - Our Race Is Our Nation

Oy Vey - A Yiddish exclamation meaning "oh woe". Used by neo-Nazis to mock Jews

Pattern Recognizer - Someone who has recognized the "pattern" of Jews always being in control

Peckerwood - A term derived from racist prison subculture. A peckerwood is a man associated with a racist gang

Power Level - A memeification of far-right beliefs. The more fascist your beliefs, the higher your "power level"

The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion - A 20th century Russian hoax claiming to be the minutes of meetings between Jewish leaders discussing how they will take control of the world

Pure Blood - Someone who is a pure member of the white race

Rabbi Smolett - A claim that Jews fabricate antisemitic hate crimes (a reference to actor Jussie Smolett who was accused of doing the same)

ROA - Race Over All

The Goyim Know - A phrase used by white supremacists acting like Jews who have discovered white supremacist activity, and are afraid that they've been found out. Often "The Goyim Know, Shut It Down", which adds the idea that Jews will prohibit any conversation that gets too close to the truth

The Red Cross - A reference to the supposed fact that the Red Cross claimed only 271,000 people had been murdered in concentration camps. In reality, that number reported by the Red Cross only came from reports from 13 concentration camps (there were 23 main camps, plus a large number of smaller "satellite" camps)

Tiny Hats or Tiny Hatted People - A reference to the Kippah or Yarmulke often worn by Jewish men

Reject Modernity, Embrace Tradition - A fascist slogan warning against social progress and calling for a return to a prelapsarian (usually ethnocentric) paradise

Rubbing Hands - A reference to an antisemitic charicature called "The Happy Merchant"

"To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you're not allowed to criticize" - A quote often misattributed to Voltaire, which neo-Nazis use to decry claims of antisemitism as efforts to silence them. In fact, it's a quote from a neo-Nazi pedophile

Shabbos Goy - A non-Jewish neighbor of a Jew who can be asked to perform acts Jews are forbidden from doing on the Sabbath (e.g. turning of a light or turning on the heat). Used by neo-Nazis to claim someone is a slave to Jews

Sheeeiiit - An over-the-top representation of how "shit" is said with a Blaccent. Often used in memes declaring Black people to be less intelligent

Shekels - Jewish currency (from the Hebrew word for weight, similar to how British currency is called the pound. In reality, the plural of shekel is shkalim). The name has been adopted by the State of Israel for the NIS (New Israeli Shekel). "Shekels" is used by neo-Nazis to mock Jews as being greedy

Synagogue of Satan - An antisemitic term for Jews, stemming from the Chrsitian Bible

They or Them - When used to describe a nebulous group of undefined adversaries, these words almost always refer to Jews

They Cry Out in Pain As They Strike You - An antisemitic proverb claiming that Jews will make false cries of antisemitism while at the same time perpetrating atrocities

Troon - A slur against trans people, particularly trans women

Volk - German for "folk", or "kind". Used by neo-Nazis to refer to white people

We Wuz Kangz - A racist phrase ment to mock Black nationalists

White Genocide - The myth that a group of people (usually Jews) are conspiring to eliminate the white race through various means including immigration, intermarriage, and homosexuality

WP - White Power

WN - White Nationalist or White Nationalism

Wooden Doors - Refers to the fact that some of the gas chambers (such as the ones at Auschwitz) had wooden doors, and therefore could not have been airtight enough to contain the Zyklon B gas used to murder prisoners. In reality, many of the wooden doors were either replaced with airtight metal ones, or were made airtight with strips of felt that then deteriorated or were removed

Zio - An abbreviation of "Zionist". Used derogatorialy by neo-Nazis

WPRWS - 'Weimar Problems Require Weimar Solutions" (sometimes shortened to just "Weimar Problems" or "Weimar Solutions"). Prior to the rise of the Nazi Party, the democratic Weimar Republic was in financial crisis (the eponymous "Weimar Problem"). This was often blamed on the Jews. The "Weimar Solution" is Naziism

ZOG - Zionist Occupied Government, reflecting the belief that the United States government is controlled by Jews

[wilcze-kudly]

I firmly believe that the Desert is one of Katara's strongest episodes as a character. But not because it portrays the rest of the Gaang as "worse" than her, eg how people will talk about her having to babysit "a blind girl, her high brother and Aang who is throwing a tantrum" and drag them out of a desert.

No, the Desert is wonderful because it shows us the Katara's unbreakable spirit and her resilient hope.

It gives us a wonderful look into Katara's psyche while she is under incredible duress. This episode is almost purely shown to us from Katara's perspective, and that was an excellent choice. Katara drives this episode.

We often associate hope with a more delicate, etheral feeling. But here, Katara exhibits a determined, powerful version of hope. A hope that spites a world that seems against her. A hope that Katara creates for herself, and for her companions.

Katara : [Grabs her head in annoyance.] Ugh ... We're getting out of this desert, and we're going to do it together! Aang, get up. Everybody, hold hands. We can do this. We have to.

We see Katara's focus on community, as she prioritises keeping the group together. Katara's more collectivist mindset keeps her focused on what matters to her: the group. Especially when the rest of the Gaang lose hope due to how dire their situation is.

Aang: What's anyone else doing?! [Pointing his staff at Katara.] What are you doing‌?! Katara : Trying to keep everyone together. Let's just get moving. We need to head this direction.

This episode doesn't exactly seek to frame Katara as more competent as the rest of the Gaang. It does something much more important. It shows us how deep her hope goes, how powerful her determination is, how strong her drive is. And that's why I adore it

Katara's character is strong enough to shine without putting down other characters, guys. It only draws our attention away from her strengths to the percieved flaws of the other characters.

[hinamie]

hhmmmmm uh im dusting the cobwebs off my brain trying 2 come up w something interestinf uhh.......anything non spoiler-y you can discuss w regards to geto in the atla au perchance?

hi rin !!!!! tysm fr sending i hope u r doing well <3

atla geto lore fr u courtesy of sam:

he's a waterbender from the northern water tribe. he can bloodbend but finds it distasteful

he gave gojo the betrothal necklace/proposed to him when they were 20 (all of the adult characters are aged up in the fic vs jjk canon ages)

all of his decisions are driven by a desire to lighten the burden placed on gojo's shoulders

aaaaand atla geto draws fr u courtesy of Me :3

jjk atla!au with @philosophiums

[divine-draws]

Take me to the docks, there is a ship without a name there And it is sailing to the middle of the sea The water there is deeper than anything you've ever seen Jump right in and swim until you're free

[willowcrowned]

one of the things I really like about the point iroh makes during the finale when he refuses to try to kill ozai is that there’s this in-text recognition of the “well, aren’t other people strong enough to kill the firelord” complaint that it’s really easy to make. iroh’s argument isn’t that he couldn’t physically kill ozai (though he does say it wouldn’t be a certain thing)—it’s that the political ramifications of it would be disastrous.

the avatar is the only one who can kill the firelord NOT because he can bend all four elements, but because him being able to bend all four means he’s not a part of any nation. if he kills the firelord, it’s not a political play, it’s not a power grab, it’s not even an assassination—because it can’t be.

if iroh kills ozai, it starts a civil war. if bumi, or pakku, or any other fighter from any nation kills ozai, it’s just another casualty of war. but if the avatar kills ozai, no one can call it a power grab, no one can call it an act of war. the war is over

[pineapple-frenzy]

Hello! If you are still taking prompts, literally anything from your flower soulmate au for Zutara 👀💜🌸

Aahhh this took quite a while but I had too many thoughts and ideas for what to draw

I went ahead and made another comic and I'm just gonna ramble for a bit qlfjlqkwqk

I think I mentioned this before, but Katara didn't like her soulmark flowers for a quite some time because they remind her too much of painful memories and her inability to protect those dear to her. So for the longest time she would pick them off her face and pretend they weren't there. It wasn't til she worked things out with Zuko that she started to accept the flowers as a part of her and she didn't feel the need to pick them anymore

[miroana]

wayward son

[atlas-of-galaxies]

thaw

[somewhereincairparavel]

Can I just say that the atla animators were absolutely genius when it came to family resemblances?? At first, I thought Azula looked like Ursa, but then I saw pictures of her without makeup, and she's basically ozai's twin??

Overall they emphasized her sharp features so much to the point I literally only see ozai when I look at azula.

The expressions, the frown lines, the lips, the hairline?

(look at their eyebrows here, they're basically copies)

Like it's actually crazy how accurately they got the characters to look different but similar at the same time? They both have the same sharp edge to their eyes aswell

(credits of the triple collage image below)

Even with makeup, over here, they have the same frown lines on their forehead and scowl like in the exact same way?

I'm never shutting up about how well the designs look

[pechuyu]

had an idea of katara putting on air nomad clothes and also wanted to experiment with water tribe tattoo designs

[nyaskitten]

DAWG GET OUT OF HERE SHUT UP TOT NO WAY...

(Edit: The gif only plays if you click it for some reason... at least on my end)

[wakkass]

Katara's Lightning: waterbending technique

Part 2

By a happy coincidence, one firebender who just knows how to redirect lightning joined the Gaang. You have no idea how excited I was when I realized the potential for Zuko and Katara's interaction in this concept.

Two benders of opposing elements turn to each other's elements to master one phenomenon: lightning. She's a waterbender who creates this lightning, and he's a firebender who repels it. One draws these skills from the other's martial art: lightning redirection is based on the concept of waterbending, while lightning is a firebending technique.

This is not just a combination of elements, it's their unification into something whole. Mix water and fire! It would seem impossible, but Katara and Zuko are people who have always gone beyond human capabilities to achieve their goals. If they can't do it, no one can.

Thus, by blurring the boundaries between fire and water, they destroy the illusion of difference between peoples (if you remember, this topic was raised by Guru Pathik in book 2). People of water and fire can work together, help and even complement each other.

After all, in fact, each of them makes up for the lack of the other. Katara can't control the lightning, and Zuko can't create it to further deflect it. They need each other for the balance of power. Like Yin and Yang, like day and night, like the sun and moon. How beautiful it is, I can’t.

I think the whole idea of Katara personifying anger would have continued with Zuko joining the team. When he appeared, she found nothing better than to center her rage on him. He betrayed her, this is justified anger. He's the prince of the nation that started the war, he is responsible for these horrors. He's the son of the one who ordered her mother killed.

However, Zuko did something that no one expected, especially Katara: he allowed her to let go of the anger of her life. He achieved this by redirecting the power of her rage to the real culprit of all Katara's worries - the murderer of her mother. And the reprisal against him gave her inner peace and a solution to a problem that seemed unsolvable.

Her anger was just like lightning, which was eager to strike at least someone, just to throw out the accumulated energy. Righteous, but throwing itself at everyone. Zuko didn't hide it, didn't calm it down, but redirected it to where it was needed, finding the necessary target.

This is another metaphorical aspect of their joint technique. He learned to channel her lightning not just through training, but through interaction and strengthening their personal connection. And the result was that understanding at a glance, which formed the basis of their fighting style. I don't know about you, but I thought this summed up their relationship perfectly.

Thus, from now on, she can rely on Zuko and trust him not only with the emotional burden, but also with their lives in the midst of a storm, both metaphorical and literal. After all, she knows that he will always deflect lightning from innocent...

Remember this moment? Zuko and Katara fight back to back, showing their shared trust in each other and cooperation as warriors. But imagine if, on top of everything else, they trained a joint technique for generating lightning and then directing it. It looks so cool in my head, it’s a pity I’m not an animator and/or storyboard artist, I don’t know how to stage scenes (((

And then, when lightning seemingly brought Zuko and Katara together, it ended up nearly tearing them apart, taking his life.

Because Zuko will always deflect lightning from Katara…

< Part 1

[wilcze-kudly]

"Katara outlawing bloodbending made sense" and "bloodbending may have healing properties and be useful outside of the horrific meatpupet thing" are sentences that can and should coexist actually.

[freakurodani]

katara ✨💕