#bat’s still 1-2-3 parallels division represent parallels and what makes still this good

[akkivee]

AHHHHH I'm up for reasons, just realized I went past midnight, and took a listen to the new BAT songs. HNNNGG!! FIRE. BUT it actually hit me just now, I didn't make the connection before, but Kuko's delivery in Terminus straight up sounds like its a Sutra. It makes me think of those videos of monks doing the Heart Sutra with a backing beat, hype shit. The flow is more or less consistent, though it does like to flow back and forth between Sutra and Rap which is REALLY neat, and oh man, symbolism started to hit as well, just like in the progression of the genres of Kuko's solos. 1) Gay Bam: VERY CHAOTIC. Its scat, its 80s dance aerobics, its Peter Pan crowing, its flirty. Its like something you'd see at Eurovision or whatever. 2) YGOTS: Punk Rock!! YG is more cohesive in tone throughout, but since its a rock song there is still that rebellious energy there. And then 3) Terminus: Rap and Preaching have become one. The energy is completely different and it just hits different flat out and it feels like something important has happened within him.

here were my wins from the drama track btw like it’s hilarious how hard i won with this drama track but one teeeeeeeeny tiiiiiiiny little detail fueled that much upset LMAO

like it rounded off so much: the reason why shakku and kuukou butt heads so much, what kuukou is willing to do to protect his family, jyushi and hitoya stating how much they see each other as family and them fighting to keep that bond together when it’s kuukou who pushed them away, jyushi’s truest self and the change being himself brings, hitoya resolving to ‘hate the sin not the sinner’ when choosing to fight for justice, and bat outright saying they want to guide the people LIKE ITS ALL OUT THERE NOW 😭😭😭😭😭

and i think there’s still room to show more with kuukou as well with the holes presented in the track!!!! and yeah, kuukou and jyushi’s pink isn’t necessarily in relation to women in their lives but both of them sharing the power to change minds with the power of words, as we esp saw jyushi do in this track WE ARE JUST GETTING STARTED FR WITH BAT NOW 💜💜💜💜💜

[glassrain]

Want to talk about Zutara?

Do I want to talk about Zutara? Oooh, boy. Thank you so much for this ask - I always want to talk about Zutara.

(Brace yourself - this is about to get very long.)

Zuko and Katara absolutely should have been canon, for so many reasons. I don’t know what was going on in Book Three, because it’s just - ugh! It frustrates the writer in me to no end, how sloppy some aspects of Book Three were, because the rest of this show is so, so good, so intricately and purposefully developed. The themes and symbolism are all so beautiful and bring the storytelling to a whole other level. The character development is brilliant (namely Zuko’s redemption arch, which is truly unparalleled, but all the characters grew so much and were so well-rounded). But then you hit Book Three, and while certain aspects of the show keep going strong, others just fall apart like an unbalanced card house and I can’t help but wonder what happened?

(Maybe it’s not fair of me to speculate, but I honestly believe that there was a strong desire in the writer’s room for A) Zutara to happen, and B) Aang to get the development he deserved - this sweet boy was done so dirty in Book Three and I am still salty about that - but Bryke had the final say, so the writers were essentially handcuffed into writing a story they didn’t agree with, and that’s were the lack of care and quality really shows. Again, this is all mere speculation, and I haven’t looked deep enough into the matter to make claims. Still, the carelessness that certain aspects of the show were handled with, as well as some left-field shifts in the story that genuinely made no sense, convince me that this was the case.)

Zuko and Katara were practically written for each other. While they each make good friends throughout the show, the strongest relationship Katara develops (barring Aang, who she she spends the majority of her time mothering) is with Zuko, and vice versa. The strongest relationship Zuko develops within the Gaang is easily his relationship with Katara. Many poignant parallels are (very intentionally) drawn between the two of them. Obviously they have the sun/moon dichotomy, which is super important because a huge part of this show is about balance. How opposites should not be divided, but are meant to come together and work in harmony, how the weaknesses of both sides are supported by the strengths of the other. (That’s the very nature of the Avatar, after all - how he is the embodiment of all the elements, unified in harmony, and that is what gives him his great strength.)

Furthermore, the show explicitly makes a point to draw a dividing line between the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes - and Katara and Zuko, specifically. Right off the bat, the show makes a point to give us this opening impression: we are shown how the Fire Nation has devastated the Southern Water Tribe. We see Zuko and his men, towering and menacing against the backdrop of the piddling, helpless Water Tribe. And again in the Season One finale, like a book end, we see the Northern Water Tribe go to war with the Fire Nation. We see how the Fire Nation attacks their sacred spirit, we see the black ash of the Fire Nation ships color the sky with dread just like when the tribe siblings lost their mother. We get a blatant division drawn between Fire and Water, and we witness the resulting destruction this division leaves in its wake. As for Zutara, we see Zuko (fire) go toe-to-toe with Katara (water), at odds over the fate of the Avatar (balance). We get our delightful, “You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun.” During these episodes in particular, Zuko and Katara are very much physical embodiments of this concept.

The division between Water and Fire is also key in Book Three. We see it in Hama. We see it in Yon Rha. We see it in Katara’s resentment at her father for being pulled from her side to fight in the war, in her bitterness over the loss of her mother at the hands of the enemy, and of course we see it in her adamant anger toward and refusal to accept Zuko (interestingly enough, for dividing Water and Fire once again, and for nearly destroying Balance).

But Fire and Water do not remain divided, and who symbolizes their reunion and harmony? That’s right - it’s Zuko and Katara. Katara fights against Hama, choosing peace with the Fire Nation over discord and hatred and mindless slaughter. She fights for Fire Nation civilians as the Painted Lady. And when she confronts Yon Rha, she realizes that his darkness stems from being a horrible person, not from being Fire Nation, a realization that allows her forgive and accept Zuko. As for Zuko, when he leaves the Fire Nation his two main goals are to aid the Avatar (balance) and to reunite with Katara (water). Personally, I think he seems more invested in Katara’s forgiveness than in Aang’s. Fire and Water, opposites in harmony. Zutara represents that so perfectly.

And of course, this all isn’t even touching on the Catacombs scene. Where all the beautiful parallels are laid bare for us. Zuko is Fire who has been burned by fire, and Katara represents Water that wants to heal him with water. Even ignoring all the emotional development going on, that’s a beautiful picture. Or how about their backgrounds? Despite their differences, Zuko and Katara have so much more tying them together. Losing their mothers is really the crux of both their main emotional journeys. For Katara, it’s the story of a girl once characterized by what she’s lost, now rising above her abuse and her past and triumphing over her abusers (this is why it’s so important that she not only faced Yon Rha but also that she was the one to ultimately beat Azula). For Zuko, it’s a story of love vs. hatred, and him trying to chose between two ideals, represented respectively in his mother and his father. So we now have Fire and Water, a picture of unity in their shared losses which brought them both to this moment.

Which just leads me right into another very important reason Zutara should have been canon - their emotional journeys complement each other and are delightfully intertwined. For the sake of time (though I could go on and on and on about this) I’m just going to summarize it. Katara’s story is from evolving from a victim to a victor of the Fire Nation. Both physically - (Katara becomes one of the most powerful and untouchable benders in the series) - and emotionally - (particularly in season three, Katara rejects the mindset of a victim, identifying herself by what she’s lost [such as her episodes with Hama and Yon Rha] and instead identifies herself by what she believes and who she loves [her stint as the Painted Lady, to eventually fighting for the salvation of the Fire Nation through Zuko]). Zuko’s story is essentially choosing between his mother’s belief in love and his father’s stance of hatred, but that story is so long I’m not going to get into details here. All I’m going to do is point you attention at the three season finales (arguably the most important parts of the story) to show how Zutara encompasses those stories. Season 1 finale - Katara has spent the season desperately trying to grow stronger, and her climax here is first being defeated by Zuko, and then getting back on her feet and defeating him in return. Through Book One, Zuko is pretty strongly convinced that his father’s ideal (hatred) is what will give him power, but is ultimately defeated by Katara, (who represents love, and is fighting for someone she loves). Season 2 finale - Katara could chose to hate Zuko for what he’s done to her, because of her pain, but instead chooses forgiveness and offers him healing. Zuko is offered a choice between Katara (love) and their shared connection of his mother, or Azula (hatred) and their shared connection of his father. Season 3 finale - Katara fights Azula, and is triumphant over the evils of fire, while protecting the good so he can heal the nation that brought her so much pain, so that it will cause pain no more. Zuko has chosen his mother’s love, surrounded himself with people who love him, and chooses protecting Katara over defeating Azula (love over hatred). And in return, it is love that protects him and triumphs.

And, alright. I think I’ve rambled enough here. Sorry about how long this got! I’ve just got a ton of emotions and thoughts where Zutara is concerned. And honestly this isn’t even scratching the surface - what about how good and wholesome their relationship is on a more basic level? What about how good Zutara would have been for Aang’s development (yes - Zutara would have been so good for Aang)? What about all the details I don’t have the time to get into? Just - okay. I’m shutting up now. But I seriously love this ship.