#chug some respect aang juice

[mayfay]

Gotta wonder how many "inventions" (AKA modified sling #17) Sokkas made trying to get Katara to fit on Appa in wolf form. Probably only got something half decent working with the engineers from the air temple.

Very fun that Zhao did all this to be a legend and'll probably go down in myth as yet another "don't piss off the spirits" tale.

Also you're totally right about the north not seeing wolves as womens work thing. Depending on how suppressing a transformation works (namely how much strength they can pull or what kinda mental changes it might cause) I could even see it going the opposite way and being considered a warriors domain (or maybe its a lot more neutral and just used to enhance jobs that would be helped by better senses or greater strength/stamina).

For characters specifically early Katara's obviously gonna have the biggest feelings about it, especially if only water benders got wolf forms. A bit of shame due to her lack of skill (even if the south isn't as focused on suppressing their transformation they still had a whole culture deeply involved in it that she just didn't get to really experience), some insecurities about about being different, and an unhealthy dose of eldest daughter syndrome thanks to not only being the last southern water bender, but also (potentially) the last southern wolf, especially if thanks to their greater strength (and potentially better coordination) wolves tended to have higher authority in the tribes, which would explain why the last wolf just happened to be related to the chief. On the flip side she gets some extra experience as the tribes main hunter/scout (even without training a 10ft wolf is a 10ft wolf), which while not directly applicable to combat is still intense, especially since she's the only wolf whereas in the wild most packs rely on numbers and coordination to take down large kills. Though maybe Sokka actually gets dragged along instead of teaching kids all day since I bet the old hunting strategy's they're modifying used a mix of humans and wolves for hunting.

Early Sokka also gets some angst though since his sister not only gets the fancy water magic, but also the cool giant wolf form that lets her actually contribute, while he's stuck acting as support despite being the only man in the tribe (though maybe being confronted with the fact he's the weaker of the two so often and being separate from the village on hunts all the time might dull that misogyny a bit. Still believe he'll have to wait for Suki to start chugging his daily respect women juice though). I could also see him trying to take on a more supportive role thanks to having more experience working with Katara, rather than watching her play with water while he fishes all day like in canon.

Early Aang really depends but I don't remember him having any major interactions with the water tribes before the war (though he did at least visit one of them for penguin sledding), especially if the monks only had time to visit one of the tribes and chose the north for their more familiar bending and higher population (though they are nomads and even with major detours it only took the Gaang like a year to travel the globe, so maybe they did manage to squeeze them both in). Overall I see him taking Kataras wolf form much more in stride than any in the series, seeing it as a larger faster fluffier form rather than a way to hunt or fight. Hell, considering how much the two put on their shoulders I would say even Katara and Sokka see her form as more a tool than anything else (though to be fair at this point it's more just another aspect of her than anything super special). Also penguin sledding totally gets switched to some form of tag since I bet that's a big hit in a wolf village and Aang would love it.

Zuko kinda depends on if hes been to the poles before but assuming his understanding of the situation is "sometimes water benders will be wolves" I could see him either not believing the tales or very purposefully (maybe due to Iroh) showing up in the daylight so even in the case of a hidden water bender he wont get absolutely got by a giant wolf, in which case things go roughly as canon. On the other hand if he shows up closer to dark, either assuming there wont be any benders or that their wolf form is a bit more reasonable, it'll definitely be much more of a fight. Does the superior numbers let the fire benders threaten people before Katara can get in, turning it back to the canon hostage situation? Does she just wreck shop while they're coming out and unable to spread out or use fire without hitting each other? Does the fact shes never really fought people before make her hesitate or worse in a fight so she doesn't manage to drive them off? In worlds where she fights I definitely see Iroh pulling everyone back and retreating, both cause of the obvious threat and using the potential of other water benders to get Zuko to go along. Weather they do manage to capture Aang really depends on if Zuko threatens from a distance or full on stalks them from afar to wait for Katara to detransform or just retreats. Honestly this version gives them a bit more reason to go with Aang, since obviously this 12 year old isn't gonna stand a chance against a full fire nation ship (and he's totally gonna reveal he's the avatar after causing this much trouble). Either way Zuko may be chasing them down still but he'll have to play it more cautious this time around, or study methods used specifically to fight wolves (probably hostages, restraints, and area control to limit movement. Honestly he might track down the raiders for info, which would give some extra Kyoshi Island time)

For Suki I definitely see her being apprehensive about it but Kyoshi Islands close proximity to the south means that even with their more isolationist nature they probably have some experience with wolves. Though considering the raids and isolation it might be more "legends about outsiders" than proper fact so who knows. Either way some extra respect for Katara, both genuine and "don't piss off the lady who just turned into a giant wolf". More interesting is how Katara's gonna handle the situation since this'll be her first time in a semi-friendly situation outside of her village where her wolf form is unexpected. Is she gonna be open about it once people ask? Will she take pride in her form or be more hesitant after so many years of it being a bit of a burden? Especially if she did fight Zuko and has to contend with the fact she can so easily accidentally take a life (Sokka knows what he's doing when working with her and they both know limits, that was a full on fight where her opponents were very squishy and very panicked). On the flip side though it's a good chance for her to see people appreciate her wolf side since Kyoshi Island of all places is gonna enjoy a lady that can transform into a 10ft wolf. Also I still see the attack happening, with Kyoshi Island making for good hostages to get the giant wolf to back down and the avatar to come out. Iroh is less than pleased and likely more hesitant with such a large threat though.

As the Gaang travels emotions and experiences happen which are gonna change things.

Personally see Katara sliding up and down the scale of enjoying having a wolf form as it's causing major problems but also is very useful when fights break out (the pirate episode is gonna be a fun one, especially since she's likely even more confident than canon. Though maybe she's actually less confident thanks to being used to the power of a wolf form but most issues happen during the day when she's a squishy human). Jet in particular is gonna come as a blow since she's unlikely to see someone manipulating her after so many problems being solved by biting them hard enough (a habit I'd bet money transfers over to her human form), especially since he's doing so specifically because of her abilities. Also while I'd really love for her to learn how to incorporate water bending into her wolf form I just can't see it when she can steamroll 90% of season 1s combat as a wolf. In fact it's entirely possible she's worse at bending than in canon since shes learned to handle combat at night when possible. Though it's possible she'll actually lean more into water bending than before, feeling much weaker in her human form than she'd like. Also water bending probably deviates significantly from canon to incorporate more wolf like patterns. Probably gonna end up looking more like a mix of air and water bending, moving around far more but also moving with the fight and directing it, while getting in more chip damage than powerful single blows like earth bending. Also I could see her actually taking inspiration from her and Sokka's hunting methods and bastardizing the accepted bending forms to work with less people, or trying to control multiple streams of water to try and match the forms assumption she'll be working in a pack.

Sokka is once again gonna have less angst but still get his fair share since if we assume he hunted with Katara he's likely a bit more in tune with her than canon, so he'll pick up on her feeling down (in fact he might actually hold off on immediately digging into Jet if he picks up on how excited she is about him. Though that also means when Jet trys to pull stuff with Sokka, Katara is more likely to pick up something's wrong). And considering he's the second half of the eldest child syndrome siblings he'll no doubt take it upon himself to fix it, which is gonna lead to some of the powerlessness he tackled in season 3. Honestly he might actually train a bit more and stick closer to Katara than in canon because of it, though considering how much food Katara needs and Aangs pacifism he's probably gonna have to hunt pretty hard (even if most of the hunting is done by Katara at night). Actually the siblings hunting could be a good way to judge moods and relations. Is Katara mopey? Sokkas gotta stick with her. Is Aang seeming pretty defenseless? Gotta stick with him as protection. Did someone get in a fight? Well they're probably being left alone when hunting time rolls around. Anyways I actually see Sokka not finishing up his big character arc during travel time, Katara can handle most combat and Aang's no slouch either, and they don't need big fancy plans when most things can be solved by waiting till night and their goal is simply "go north fast". Poor Sokka has a rough season 1.

Aang is interesting since his development is pretty separate from any wolf related shenanigans beyond dealing with most bending combat while night combat is a Katara curb stomp. Though to be fair I kinda suck at getting into his head so that plays a role too. Honestly kinda see him viewing Katara in a slightly more motherly role than canon now that he's not the groups main powerhouse, though her age and personality definitely makes her more friend than mentor. Also unsure of how his bending will develop since water bending is likely more cooperative than solo compared to canon, will he learn Kataras bastardized version or focus more on the basic form? Either way he’ll likely pick it up even faster than canon thanks to the greater similarity to air bending.

And finally northern water tribe arc is gonna be a big moment

Kataras role and development depends on a bunch of factors. Does she learn healing during their travels or is Aang less pressured to learn fire bending now that combat is more even so he doesn't burn her? Is the north more or less accepting of her wolf form than the EK? And finally my favorite question, is Katara normal?

See, you mentioned the north is less tied to their wolf forms, using them mainly as support for their water bending, while the south kept a larger wolf population due to the war. On top of that if wolf forms are tied to water benders that makes Katara the last known southern wolf. So the last wolf in a region notoriously dangerous, when the whole point of a wolf form is to help them survive, it's kinda natural she'd get some extra oomph right? What if due to the north not participating in the war and not utilizing their wolf form beyond a suppressed transformation for some buffs they had more standard wolf forms, rather than the 10ft stuff Katara has. For the south it's possible they just didn't realize the difference since so few traveled that far, besides granny who likely didn't like dwelling on the past like that considering Sokka and Katara didn't even know she was from there. It's also possible that the larger forms have been a steady increase the last hundred years as the number of water benders has gone down but combat demands have increased, leading to the stronger forms without the risk of overhunting the local ecosystem due to the lower population (this would also help explain the greater reliance on water bending compared to wolf forms considering just how big a threat the giant wolf form is)

So yeah Katara's gonna have lot of fun, but for the most part it's a mix of her earlier insecurities, potential over or under confidence, and canon pushback to gendered teachings. I see most of her physical development in the north focused on her wolf form rather than her water bending, learning to mix the two and some beginning methods for suppressing her wolf form (though I don't see her really taking to that one). Still needs to learn some basic healing of course since so many encounters rely on it, but it might not be as strong as canon since she doesn't have the base techniques she had there (also I'm a sucker for wounds taking time to heal instead of canons quick fixes, but I could see it work). Ironically enough she might have to fight to get access to healing teachings if she has a much larger wolf form since such an obvious and strong form has to be a blessing from the moon and is obviously meant for a warrior, so she might be pushed into the mens group this time around. Really depends on how the tribe manages instances where someone doesn't neatly fit into their hierarchy. Definitely not as impactful as canon but considering her already impressive skill in canon being ignored till she forced them to recognize her it could go either way so meh.

Sokka I see going one of two ways.

1. he tackles some of his personal issues that've been around most of the travel portion (and potentially even pre-Aang depending on how you take it) by interacting more with Yue, learning about how much can be done behind the scenes and how circumventing walls is a fight in of itself, one that can't be bended or bitten through. This would lead to him taking a more supportive role in the final fight, trying to contribute to the planning phase and potentially even getting the eye of the tribes leader since he undoubtedly has learned the value of a good mind (and Sokkas skill in combat is decent enough he has some standing, even before factoring in his ties to the literal avatar and (potentially moon blessed) Katara).

2 he goes the opposite direction and trys to prove his worth as a warrior just like in canon. This will probably go the same as canon, but by being a bit more insecure it's very possible he doesn't interact nearly as much with Yue, which in turn means he doesn't get into a fight with Hahn, so he wouldn't get removed from the invasion force. Now weather he ends up on the ship or stays on the walls is up for how you'd want the story to go. If we assume he stays on the walls it'd be a good way for Sokka to learn that a good plan (don't attack water benders on a full moon in the middle of the night) is able to counter even amazing strength. If he does go on board though things get interesting. Best case scenario he stays disguised elsewhere in the ship while Hahn gets himself thrown so he can report back or cause chaos from within (yet another way of seeing how a sneaky plan can outdo even a major force). Worst case scenario though is he ends up on one of the ships that didn't breach and is stuck out at sea when things go bad. Following this route the sea monster attack from canon is a better fit than Sokka just kinda awkardly standing to the side while the northern tribe turn into wolves and tear apart the invading soldiers. If the ship gets destroyed he either ends up drifting back to the northern tribes shore with some hard lessons learned about diving headfirst into combat and going along with a stupid plan just cause it lets you fight, orrrrr he takes the Zuko-Iroh route and drifts back to the EK where he gets his own little tale of trying to find Katara and Aang (maybe even "teaming up" with Zuko since that dude's surprisingly easy to find and better than Katara at tracking things down). Plenty of potential there for everyone but would be a significant shift away from canon.

Finally Aang I sadly don't have much for again for reasons I listed earlier. I’d hesitantly place him being fairly inactive here, his lack of support in combat and spiritual matters on top of potentially managing to get kidnapped acting as his kick in the rear to start learning bending properly and potentially trying to learn a bit more about what being the avatar actually means. Is he here to dispense justice, keep the peace, protect his people, or something else? Either way this would be his sign that things need to change, leading to him putting in a bit more say into their travel and goals.

Finally Zuko I see going similarly to canon, relying on stealth and a hostage Aang to deal with Katara. When even this fails he gets some extra angst about not being smart or strong enough, but not enough to change his arc too much yet (though season 1 has definitely planted the seeds to future changes)

Might do season 2 tomorrow, having a great time with this. I'd love to hear your ideas (especially for Aang and Zuko since I kinda struggle with them), where I ramble and spiral out to a dozen timelines you're great at finding a fun path down the middle somewhere and adding depth.

[ Azula cornered by wolf!Katara during the DOBS. ] Azula: Oh, what large teeth you have. [ Wolf!Katara tries to attack her. ] Azula: I mean white sparkling teeth! I know you probably hear this all the time from your food but you must bleach for something because that is one dazzling smile you got there. And do I detect a hint of minty freshness? And you know what else? You know what- [ Wolf!Katara returns to human form. ] Azula: You’re a girl! I mean of course you’re a girl! Cause you’re just reeking of beauty.

[lincnok]

Anti-aang people, listen.

Aang is one of the best characters in the show and that is indisputable. If you wanna disagree? Fight me. 

You see, Aang isn’t some kind of abusive monster in Ember Island Players, because he kissed her one time without consent. But do you remember the line after it? ��I’m such an idiot.” Then he stays out there a little longer to distance himself. If that’s what abuse is, then please. Look at your entire life. When has someone given you a hug you didn’t want, or held your hand when you didn’t want them to or crossed some boundaries that you barely outlined in the first place? If that’s ever happened then according to some dark corner of the ATLA fandom you’ve been abused. 

Number two, y’all really need to understand that Aang has experienced a whole bunch of loss. Yeah, Aang didn’t have parents, so he can’t really empathise with Katara on the same level, but remember, Gyatso was his father figure, the closest he was gonna get. Appa wasn’t just some dog, they had a spiritual connection, Appa was like a brother, or a best friend, a soulmate, not some pet. And based on air nomad culture, a temple was like a family, every monk or nun there was an auntie, an uncle, a brother or sister, and every last one was wiped out. Every last one. Imagine. Your entire race, gone. Your entire family. Gone. And the moment you find out, you also find out that they were killed becuse of you, because of some crazy power the universe gifted you with that you didn’t even want. Imagine something that you were told was a gift, caused you to be excluded from a game you made up, taken from a father figure you loved, and your entire nation, race and every animal and artifact to be destroyed. Imagine finding out that because of a past life, a war began, a war began that destroyed everything you loved. Appa and Momo are literally the only living things, other than Aand himself, who lived, and one happened to be stolen and treated like some kind of cheap merchandise, and you had to live without your best friend and soulmate for like a month. You saw what Appa went through. And all that happens before you’re even 14 years old. Oh, and I didn’t even mention the fact that everyone is pressuring you to kill another human being, when you can’t even bear to eat innocent meat.

And then, he’s still one of the most mature of the group, handling his issues in ways you only wish you could. Many Zutara shippers discount his maturity and use his age as a reason why him and Katara couldn’t be together. You need to realise that Katara didn’t fall in love with his age, or his power, or his height, but his personality, wisdom and maturity. Contrary, to what you say, he didn’t force himself upon her, when she was with Jet or Haru, did he kiss her then, or even make a move? No. He supported her, and tried his best not to be jealous. Throughout ATLA, you can see how just a childhood crush developed into real love, a love that can last. Do you want me to give you examples?

1. Aang respects her and her abilities. He called her Sifu Katara, supported her during her fights, and understands when he should and shouldn’t step in.

2. He understands her. He knew what she needed before she did, they were able to have mano y mano conversations, that flowed easily because of their understanding of each other, and maybe it wasn’t developed enough in the series, but you cna see it in the comics. They talk. They don’t fight. Barely argue, and they listen,.

3. He sees her as his friend, not just a love interest. Now here’s the big one, because all relationships that last are built upon friendship. They both knew that they were friends before anything, as shown by the hug in the last scene, there was no blush of romance, just friendship. The romance came second.

You see, Aang is an amazing character, and no matter who or what you ship, you must acknowledge that, to the best of your ablities. I know there are others out there who could do a better job at explaining, but Aang is one of my favorite characters and I’m not going to sit around and let him be slandered like that.

Good day.

[reallyhardydraws]

earth-2182 AU

(the home dimension of x-men character nocturne (talia wagner) daughter of kurt wagner and wanda maximoff) but with particular emphasis on the nightcrawler x scarlet witch ship.

what’s actual canon in the marvel earth-2182 that i’m hanging onto:

kurt wagner & wanda maximoff are married and so besotted in love that their (adult!) daughter says ‘they’re like teenagers’. nightcrawler is an x-man, but the scarlet witch is a member of the avengers.

ok so AU time really just an expansion on that b/c there’s little to nothing else we know abt TJs parents in her universe... wanda meets kurt on a joint-team mission just after joining the avengers… she's 23 and he's 25 (so he's been an x-man for 5 years while she’s still v new to hero-ing) their teams get split up mid-crisis and they end up stranded together and it’s like omg crisis! actually we’re a really good team. actually you’re kinda hot??? etc, etc. i remember i read some random comic panels of them meeting and wanda impressing kurt b/c she speaks a bit of german and they’re really on the same wavelength and idk these little panels too give the hint that they’d just hit it off straight away y’know

afterwards kurt finds any reason to send her gifts or call her or show up at avengers tower - very flamboyant and dramatic. but anyway wanda is in a better place than in avengers movie etc. (and pietro is alive. the maximoff siblings are romani jewish and both alive.) anyway so wanda is doing okay and learning to be a hero, and then when that gets stressful there’s a guy who’s doing the absolute most just to see her smile. its all very charming and they get together. also it’s the 1980s.

more under the cut!

they date for about three years before they get engaged and then married very soon after. why wait! they’re in love (ages 27 and 29). scott summers officiates and cries about it, kitty pryde is kurt’s maid of honour, pietro maximoff is wanda’s best man. it’s the party of the year and the biggest x-men/avengers mixer ever lol.

kurt is your classic I LOVE MY WIFE guy, as we know he always chugs his respecting women juice. he’ll admit he’s a little terrified sometimes of the sheer power wanda has, but they’re so dedicated to each other its like katara getting aang out of the avatar state.

they continue to be on separate teams with separate bases as in earth-2182 canon but they do have their own place to spend time at together, luckily for wanda having a husband that can travel anywhere in the blink of an eye is extremely convenient.

kurt loses his eye 3 years later (ages 30 and 32) in a scuffle that i’m writing a fic abt the aftermath b/c i love angst and hurt/comfort lol and it shakes them up enough that they both decide to take time off from hero business.

during this time TJ is conceived!!! she is born (wanda 31, kurt 33) and wanda moves to xavier's so that they can get help with raising her and allowing her to grow up around other mutants, it’s the 1990s, kurt isn’t an active x-man but he is the school’s drama teacher. wanda really gets stuck into motherhood and realises it’s everything she’s ever wanted, literally Best Mother, sings the most beautiful lullabies, gets really into sewing and sews tons of matching outfits for herself and TJ.

later wanda rejoins the avengers and after about a decade kurt takes over leadership of the x-men and things continue from there. TJ trains to be an x-man and also sings in a riot grrl band. she’s a big time music lover b/c she inherited her father’s flair for the dramatic. she’s got main character curse a lil bit tho lol so during a x-mission she gets universally displaced (as in comics canon somwewhere idk i’m not fixated enough on it)

so TJ disappears in about 2015 at age 20, making wanda 51 and kurt 53.

and then there’s my whole mental disney movie about TJ trying to return home lol, probably it DOES put a bit of a strain on kurt & wanda’s unshakeable marriage because it’s understandably traumatic for your child to go missing no matter what age they are, and ofc TJ is having her interdimensional situation but i’m not imagining it playing out like in the comics too much because in my mind it’s all culminating in [this] because we love a happy ending. she deserves to make it home.

(TBH the most AU thing about this whole thing is just that kurt wagner NEEDS to be sexy and canon old man nightcrawler in in canon earth-2182 is like... not sexy, sorry. but the eyepatch is a vibe!!! so much of a vibe i’ve noticed it in the latest x-men gold(?) run, we love pirate vibes kurt)

[princess-of-the-corner]

Thinking about the Avatar!Ty Lee AU because it has taken over my mind:

Have you figured out how "The Kyoshi Warriors" would go differently?

Ahahahahahaha

Okay here's what I have in my notes which is a LOT:

They still stop at Kyoshi Island because Aang wants to ride the big fish. They also learn that you can convince Azula to do dumb shit by saying some variation of ‘bet you can’t!’ or ‘Are you scared?’. Because as soon as she’s challenged she’s like ‘Fuck you I’m going to ride the giant fish!’. Much to everyone else’s exasperation. 

THey end up ambushed and brought to the main village and get the whole 'Oh hey we have the Avatar.... Avatars? It's complicated.' thing. Like, they've figured out the Split thing but they don't know entirely how it works yet but they're just saying 'yeah we have two Avatars it's fine'.

Both Aang and Ty Lee get mobbed by the fangirls. But they have different reactions. Aang gets his more Canon 'it goes to his head a bit' thing.

Ty Lee just... doesn't like it. She ends up hunkering down in their guest house with Mai. Eventually Mai questions her because Ty Lee usually loves attention on her. But..... Ty Lee confesses that it's not so much them loving 'her'. They don't know her, she hasn't done anything to get that attention. She's just being compared to someone else entirely. 'Ty Lee' doesn't matter to them. Mai is like 'Understandable reaction. Feel free to hide as long as you like."

I mentioned in a different ask about how Katara is allowed to relax in the first two Books. Because they have Iroh here as the responsible adult. So while she voices her worry of them staying here too long, it's not her main focus as Iroh assures her it's fine to take the break. In reality, he's more like 'I'm going to let you kids enjoy this because you won't have a lot of time for joy along the road and it's best to have that break when you can get it."

And now for Suki my beloved!

Sokka still gets to meet Suki and she makes him chug Respect Women Juice. Though we do get Zuko and Azula watching them for different reasons. Zuko’s is ‘for some reason I am very interested in watching these two spar against each other’, while Azula is just here to watch Sokka get his ass kicked after the sexist comments earlier. If Suki didn’t kick his ass she would’ve and it's a miracle none of the girls have decked him yet.

But we get parallel conversations. First the Sokka and Suki one:

Suki: "Your friend seems to have a crush."

Sokka: "Which friend and who?"

Suki: "The guy watching us spar? I've seen that look from many of the new recruits watching the older girls practice. I'm not sure if he's crushing on you or me though."

Sokka: *realizes he's not sure whether to be jealous over Zuko having a crush on /Suki/ or /Zuko/ having a crush on Suki.*

Sokka: *Bi panic as he realizes that he has a crush on both of them*!!!

Meanwhile the Zuko and Azula conversation.

Azula: "So… You're watching rather intently…. And as your bratty little sister it's my obligation to tease you about your obvious crush!"

Zuko: "Idk what you're talking about I don't have a crush I just like watching them spar! You're watching too!"

Azula: "I'm here to watch Sokka get his ass kicked. But you seem much more… appreciative of Suki's tactics."

Zuko: "I'm appreciating both their skills? I'm not 'watching' Suki any differently than I watch Sokka!"

Azula: "......"

Azula: "So don't panic but do you have a crush on both of them?"

Zuko: *immediately panics while Azula nearly dies laughing*

Eventually we'd get to the end of the episode with the Fire Nation showing up to burn shit down. Ofc since Zuko is a protagonist now he's not part of that, but it's just a matter of time before rumor spreads of 'the Avatar is on Kyoshi Island' and someone else shows up. We miiiiiiight get a first glimpse of Zhao in this scene but it doesn't matter because none of them really interact until later so whatever.

[discordiansamba]

okay, so I think I’m hammering out a more solid idea of what Team Avatar in the Avatar Yue AU looks like, and when exactly they each join the team!

first off, we of course have Yue. She’s still the princess of the Northern Water Tribe, only she was born a waterbender in this verse. She’s been well trained in the healing arts, but has been kept from learning any combat waterbending as is tradition. She chafes at her bonds- and chafes at them even more when she learns she’s the Avatar, a fact which her father and Pakku intended to keep from her. she makes the choice to flee the North Pole and head to the South Pole in hopes of learning waterbending there, unaware of the devastation the Fire Nation has wrought there...

Aang is Yue’s childhood friend... and also kind of her only friend. They get along like a house on fire, and he brings some amusement to her otherwise dull life. He’s still a very talented airbender, but I haven’t decided if he would have gotten his mastery tattoos or not yet in this verse. I do like to think that if he doesn’t have them, he ends up getting them in story!!

Zuko joins them first, after coming across them in a remote Earth Kingdom town doing everything but blending in. He keeps a lot of his past to himself, and seems to have some kind of connection to that Blue Spirit fellow running around... by the way, what is a firebender doing running around with an Earth Kingdom theater troupe?

Toph comes next! She stayed with the badgermoles after running away from home when she was younger. Extra feral Toph is something the world probably isn’t ready for, but you know what? Too bad. Extra feral Toph is what you’re getting.

after this, Yue rescues Sokka, a young water tribe warrior who was separated from the others during a battle. She makes him chug some respect women juice, and he agrees to accompany them back to the South Pole, which is kind of where he was heading anyways. he just... doesn’t know how to break it to Yue that the only waterbender left in the South Pole is his baby sister. but he’ll get to it! he will!!

Katara’s not in the South Pole though. She left to find Sokka after hearing he was lost at sea and we won’t see her until book two.

[hella1975]

So I know we like trans Zuko...but what about trans Sokka (and Katara!) And an extremely supportive tribe? Like

I have a lot of feelings about trans Sokka and Katara, so I hope you're okay with an essay.

First of all, I'd like to tackle Sokka's attitude towards women in the first season (particularly in the first few episodes, before Kyoshi Island). A lot of times this is framed as "boy from village with traditionally strict gender roles gets respect women juice shoved down his throat and proceeds to chug it for the rest of his life." But, honestly? I dont think that's true at all.

The Northern Water Tribe definitely does, but that doesnt seem to fit the Southern Tribe. The men might have left for war, but the women only stayed behind to care for children. I'm pretty sure that's just an issue of practicality--there were very young children shown to be living in the village at the time Aang was defrosted. Some of the women had to have been pregnant at the time, others were breastfeeding.

Younger women theoretically could have gone to war too, but then who would hunt? It wasnt just Sokka providing for his tribe, and he wasn't the only one protecting it. So then why did he seem to think he had to? Well, his father and every other single man in his tribe left him. With the women. Ouch. Of course, he was 13/14, so there was good reason, but to his young mind it probably wasnt great.

This brings us back to transgender Sokka. At the beginning he has very rigid beliefs of what manhood should be. Hes adamant that girls cant fight as well as boys, that there are girly tasks and there are things that men can do and he refuses to do anything he deems "for girls". Hm. It seems like he really does not like being associated with anything girly. Hm.

What Suki does is show him that girls can fight, girls can be strong and most importantly, girl does not equal weak. After that he continues to learn and grow as a person and consistantly shows women in his life complete respect.

And now for Katara. While I think Sokka probably came out around age six or seven, Katara has just always known and told her mother that she was a girl as soon as she had the words to say it. I think her experience with her gender mirrors Sokka's in a way--Sokka rejects everything that he thinks doesnt fit the world's interpretation of a boy. Katara rejects the notion that girls have to be one way. She firmly believes that girls are strong and can fight just as well as boys can, and it's really interesting to think about.

Of course the water tribe is supportive, though. Like:

Hakoda going out of his way to mention his children in every sentence like, "Katara--thats my daughter, by the way--was just showing me this new trick she learned, catching fish with her waterbending! I'm so proud." And, "You know, my son Sokka would really love that book. Hes so smart." And he only ever talks to members of his village and they're like. Yes? We know your kids? We've been here? But they just let him keep doing it because everyone loves to see Hakoda and the kids smile.

Once Sokka comes out Tom Nook go out of their way to spend more time with him. Like, they still loved him and included him before but now they're just overjoyed to have someone close to their age to hunt with. Sokka loves it.

Katara happily learns how to sew and cook, all of the women of the tribe adore her. However, she's adamant that that's not all a girl can do, and the men are happy to teach her to hunt alongside Sokka and Tomkin.

Speaking of, Tomkin and Katara are besties. They just are. They're both adorable and pure and they sit together and do mundane tasks. Tomkin and Sokka are chaotic duo x10. We don't talk about Tomkin and Sokka. Nanook and Katara team up to stop the shenanigans.

Okay I just wanna say when Hakoda says," the rest of you men" and Sokka just lights up it's so cute.

Moving on. Whenever the crew meets up with the Gaang, they're just completely confused because Sokkas changed so much. It's only been a couple of years, but now Hakoda's son is a military strategist. He's the unofficial protector of his sister, the Avatar, a blind earth bender girl, and a flying bison (?). Hes a great warrior, his voice is deeper (they have magic turtle islands and people move rocks with their mind, people can medically transition) and Sokka actually has some muscle now? They are SHOOK. But then hes there and he laughs at his dads dumb joke and they're like, "Oh thank La."

And then they see Katara and she can freeze huge sheets of ice and throw waves at people and they're shook again.

This went from an analysis of the show to sloppily written TAOB headcanons but whatever.

this is great i love it i am always a sucker for accidental essays, and sokka and katara + tom nook was perfect

[thethiefandtheairbender]

Oh my god. Oh. My god. You have no idea how happy it makes me that you have perfectly described the argument of why Aang not killing Ozai is a good decision. I cannot thank you enough for explaining his character, his loss, his maturity and grief and influence on the other characters so incredibly well. There are a lot of A:TLA reactions on YouTube right now, and I feel so hurt when the people reacting call Aang a “wimp/baby” for not wanting to kill someone. Just. Thank you. So much.

thank you!! aang has been my favourite character in atla for 11+ years now and his decision to spare ozai and uphold his people’s beliefs is one of the main reasons why, so i’m glad i could remotely do it justice. if you want some really wholesome atla reactors i’d recommend aege&chill and shredderftw (both also find kataang cute, if that’s reassuring as an aang fan too). 

however if you want more amazing meta as well i’d check out my entire “i’m not gonna end it like this” tag, which is a collection of posts & meta either defending or celebrating aang’s choices and compassion that i spent an afternoon going through my entire aang tag to organize and have continually added to since. 

he is a beautiful emotionally mature boy who changes the world and the people around him for the better while also finding balance within himself, and we love him for it

i chug my respect aang juice daily

[army-of-mai-lovers]

~another Zuko redemption arc meta~

I’m reading this book for class called Women and Evil by Nel Noddings and the author’s already brought up some really interesting ideas. Basically, her thesis is that the tradition of white male philosophy has never looked at evil from the perspective of women, and when you look at evil from the perspective of women, lots of things that male philosophers take for granted become suspect. 

I know what you’re thinking: “Arthur, this is all well and good, but this is your ATLA blog, and you promised me a Zuko meta, why are you talking about some random feminist philosopher?” 

This line: 

“When we look at evil from the standpoint of women’s experience, we will question the whole tradition of honor that has grown up around war and violence.” 

Y’all know when I saw that quote I immediately thought of Zuko. Smarter people than me have talked about how Aang and Zuko’s arcs are reflections of one another, as well as how Aang is a feminist hero, and I think we can use Noddings’s work to connect these two ideas. 

First, we have to talk about the arguments that have already been made: 1) that Zuko and Aang’s arcs are reflections of one another, and 2) that Aang is a feminist hero. I think the first one makes itself pretty clear in some artistic decisions, namely that we get both Aang and Zuko’s backstories in “The Storm” (which, if you have ever talked to me about ATLA, you’ll know that’s one of my absolute favorite episodes). We get both of their backstories, sure, but more than that, both of their characters are complicated so much by the information divulged in this episode. We learn that Aang left his people because he was afraid of being the Avatar, and we learn about a major moment of Ozai’s abuse towards Zuko. Notice how we learn these things too: Aang tells Katara about what’s going on with him, whilst Iroh tells the ship’s crew about Zuko. Aang is open about his feelings, and after a bit of prodding from his friend, can talk about what he’s experienced and what he believes to be a major flaw of his. Conversely, Zuko does not volunteer this information about his backstory himself (and Iroh raises some serious questions about consent by telling people without Zuko giving his permission) Consider also how this episode resolves: Aang and Katara have a real conversation about their emotions regarding Aang’s backstory before going to save Sokka and the fisherman, while Zuko...lets his crew not risk their lives to try and capture the Avatar? The emotional payoff is not there for Zuko the way it is for Aang, and it is precisely because he closes himself off from feeling his emotions,. I really think this episode does a great job establishing them as each other’s character foils, and I also think that Aang’s ability to talk about his emotions is a big part of what makes him a feminist hero. Unlike Zuko (and most male heroes) Aang wears his heart on his sleeve. He resolves conflict as much as he can by being, as he puts it to Avatar Yangchen later, “quick or clever”, not angry or violent (by and large.) He is, ultimately, a peaceful, respectful kid with good communication skills, and this extends to the respect he pays to his female bending teachers and friends and all the women in the show who aren’t actively trying to kill him. (and before anyone comes for me, obviously Aang is not a perfectly feminist hero because he exists within a work that has sexist and racist flaws. However, in comparison to Zuko and much of Western canon, he can be viewed as a feminist hero.)

Now compare this to Zuko. Zuko does not chug his respect women juice. He sips at it sometimes when it’s convenient for him, but he very much does not chug. He also has emotional problems, and views emotion as a weakness for most of the story. His entire character, especially in season 1, is predicated on seeking honor within a violent context. I’ve seen a lot of people argue that Zuko “restores the Fire Nation’s honor” through his redemption arc, and while I agree with that, I don’t think we’re really dissecting the concept of honor as it’s presented in the show as fully as we could be. To apply Noddings’ work, the honor in the Fire Nation is dependent on the existence of war and violence. This is most succinctly illustrated in what Ozai says to Zuko as he’s about to burn his eye: “You will fight for your honor.” To Ozai, honor is fighting in an Agni Kai that you shouldn’t have been challenged to because you’re a literal child, and not living up to that definition of honor is deserving of violence. This is personal violence towards Zuko, but I do think that there’s evidence that, at least since the beginning of the war, this has been the way the Fire Nation views honor and violence at a structural level. We can draw a parallel between Zuko not fighting Ozai and Ozai responding by burning his eye, and the Air Nomads not fighting Sozin and Sozin committing genocide against them. And this violent definition of honor very much corresponds to the way he treats women, because expressions of imperialism and toxic masculinity are deeply, intrinsically connected. He’s disrespectful to June and the Kyoshi Warriors. He doesn’t really see Azula, his own sister, as a human being. But in my opinion, the incident that damns him the most in this regard is how he treats Mai in “The Beach.” I know part of the reason he is the way he is in this episode is because he’s really conflicted about his path and all that jazz, but he honestly treats Mai like a jewel that the boys talking to her are trying to steal, not a person. As a self-avowed Zuko stan, it makes me a little sick. I feel terrible for her. While he doesn’t treat every single woman he encounters poorly (Jin comes to mind), generally, as a rule, he’s pretty all about toxic masculinity as a response to abuse. For him, honor largely means enacting violence towards others (capturing the Avatar, the way he treated Iroh for a lot of b1 and 2, yelling at the crew in “The Storm”) as well as not really respecting women. 

But his attitude changes the closer he gets to redemption. For years, I’ve wondered why it was Katara who was down in the crystal cave with Zuko, given that he was more Aang’s foil than hers at that point. Now, I think it has a lot to do with Katara being quite a strong and empowered female character from a nation that the Fire Nation has historically oppressed. We have hope for Zuko turning good and joining Team Avatar in this moment because he has (it seems) overcome some of his toxic masculinity and imperialist thinking (remember, these are connected) and now sees Katara as a human being that he can connect with (one could argue that Jin is an early example of Zuko learning to connect with marginalized women). Later, redeeming himself means supporting Katara unabashedly as she seeks to right the wrongs that his nation has done to her (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “Southern Raiders”? powerful. simply powerful.) 

Thus, when we say that Zuko “restored the Fire Nation’s honor”, what we really mean is that he changed their entire definition of honor. Through his interactions with Aang, Katara, and the rest of the gaang, as well as his own self-reflection, Zuko established a definition of honor built outside of the framework of imperialism, colonialism, and toxic masculinity. Rather than being based in violence and war, Zuko’s honor is based in love and understanding. Honestly, I wish we’d gotten a Steven Universe: Future kind of thing with ATLA, because I think seeing Firelord Zuko as he struggled with understanding what a love-based honor looks like when you’re leading a nation that has done absolutely horrible things to the world would have just been the cherry on top to his redemption arc. But we see that he understands at least part of it by the end of the show: respecting women. His relationships with Suki, Toph (y’all saw how gentle he was with her in the finale right? B1 Zuko would never. Early B3 Zuko would never.) and most importantly, Katara show that he’s learned how to communicate his fears, deal with his emotions in a healthy way, and support women.   

[thoughtsofanexcitedspacechild]

Why Avatar: the last Airbender is probably one of the best shows ever written (Part two)

Ok ok WOW! I didn’t expect the last post to get so much hype! (I know it was only 19 notes at the time of posting this but for someone who has two followers this is a BIG deal, so thank you!) So if you haven’t seen the last part...umm..I guess go read that first? I mean, you could read this one first and then that one. I guess it doesn’t matter what order you read these in. Anyways, lets get to the point already. In the last post I mentioned just some of the reasons why this show is amazing, like the characters, the amazing representation, and the connections to everyday society and villains. Today I wanna focus in on the crazy good female representation, (yea this is a whole separate paragraph and gif set), the amazing bonds shown between characters, and in general, the visual and audio appeal of the show. 

Right of the bat, season one episode one, you got the RAGING feminist we call Katara. Sokka makes one comment about her being a girl (don’t remember what exactly it was) and Katara immediately calls him out for it. And by “calls him out” I mean destroys and waterbends and iceberg to then free Aang and initiates the entire plot of the show. 

You get the point, right? 

“Oh it was just one time, right?” 

Nope! Again, three episodes later, and still not shaken by the literal wave of rage that Katara unleashed upon him, Sokka is still a sexist asshole. When they arrive on Kiyoshi island, the Gaang is promptly captured and taken prisoner by the Kiyoshi Warriors, who by the way, are entirely comprised of girls. 

For a show that came out in the early 2000′s, this is revolutionary. Imagine you’re a little girl watching this. How amazing and crazy would it be to see a group of fighters that are all girls? After being released, Sokka being the absolute flirt that he is goes to flirt with them. (Or mostly Suki) He’s then shown up and completely gets his ass kicked. Later, embarrassed and finally having learned his lesson, he comes back and asks to learn from them. Suki agrees and eventually, (after being dressed in FULL attire) trains him. So far that’s two women who have forcefully made Sokka chug his respect women juice. By the time Toph shows up in season two, he doesn’t even try to pick a fight with her. One of the other brilliant things that this show does is incorporate a female villain. Yes Firelord Ozai was always a threat, but Azula is truly the real threat in this show. she’s shown multiple times being more powerful than Zuko and ten times more threatening to Aang and his mission. Let’s just say that if it were up to Azula and the fire nation girl squad (that by the way consists of two incredibly powerful non bender females) to capture the Avatar, it would have been done much faster. Finally to seal the deal, we get this line from Suki: “I am a warrior, but I am a girl too.” Need I say more? 

Second thing on todays list is the absolutely precious friendships, adorable romantic relationships, and crushes. Let’s just say that if you want to feel something after feeling numb for a long time, this show will do it for you. I know for certain it helped me. I was actually in the middle of feeling the mid quarantine slump when I started watching this show around June. I was bored, anxious, and feeling a bit numb after talking with my family and one other co worker for the past few months. This show and the friendships within it really helped me mentally. It gave me things to hope for, and made me dream about the future with my own friends. The bonds shared between team avatar are enviable to say the least. I mean come on! besides the fact that Katara and Aang are water bending in the background, the gif below is a normal pool day w/ the homies for Sokka. 

Not only are the platonic relationships in this show realistic and adorable, but the romance in this show is top notch. We see multiple healthy and normal relationships develop during the show, and it’s quite satisfying when things work out, the best example being Aang and Katara. Although there are some people who would disagree with me on this, Kataang is an ideal relationship. Throughout the show, both characters develop and grow because of each other. Aang is able to grow not only in his bending abilities, but he’s able to mature and realize his full potential because of Katara, all in a healthy and non rushed way. What starts out as a crush develops into a blossoming and equal party relationship, with both people contributing and receiving equal amounts of love. They balance each other out, and keep each other in check. They're able to bounce ideas (and water) off of each other and primarily are best friends before they’re love interests.

Another relationship that has similar good energy is the one shared by Sokka and Suki. They both genuinely care about each other. Not only that, but as mentioned in the previous paragraph, Suki completely changes him for the better and Sokka throughout the whole series is loyal af to her. We even see him tell Ty Lee to back off when she flirts with him. Suki is his, and he’s hers while still allowing them to be their own individual and authentic selves. 

Lastly, this show has the most incredible visuals and score. As far as TV shows go, the soundtrack is pretty amazing. So many people write this off as anime and it honestly pisses me off because it’s really not and theres so much more to it. (Not that there’s anything wrong with anime lol) The creators, (say it with me) aren’t dumb, and you can tell that plenty of thought went into background music to create the perfect mood for each scene. (My favorite thing about it is honestly the fact that Azula is represented by one ominous sounding chord and you immediately know that she’s about to fuck shit up.) The visuals and character design are also incredible, and even if the episode is dull, (by that I mean the great divide. Hey if your new to this do me a huge favor and skip right over that episode) the colors and scenery in this show, not to mention the bending scenes make it such a worthwhile watch.

I mean tell me that that’s not incredible?

So that’s all I got for now! I may make a part three, but I need to see if I can pull together three more topics that I can go into in depth. Again, thank you so much for the support on the last one! :)

[dragoneyesstuff]

My ideas of a modern avatar au.

( I've seen others headcanons of the gaang in more modern times so I wanted to share mine!)

(Some small notes on the gaang)

Aang:

Lived in an orphanage for a long time until meeting katara and sokka

Likes aesthetics ranging from cottagecore to frog core.

Loves puppets (in the style of the muppets of course) and made one that resembles Momo.

Absolutely LOVES Nintendo games, with pokemon and animal crossing being his favorites.

Vegan, but doesn't force it on others, he just reminds his friends that he is a vegan when going out to eat or when they have the occasional sleepover.

Goofball. Katara constantly has to watch him and sokka so they dont get into trouble, since together they share one braincell and katara has it.

Katara

Because of her caring nature, I could see her wanting to be some kind of doctor.

Makes sure that no one gets into trouble.

If she didnt wasnt apart of an argument, either her or aang will stop arguments.

Acts like a mom, despite her age. (And has probably done the classic "mom arm" at some point.

Sokka

The best way to describe his intelligence: Has been a straight A student throughout his entire life, but has also has done things like microwaving raw eggs because he thought it would hard boil them. (He found out it didn't)

Laughs at stupid memes and probably has either the best or worst sense of humor.

Plays soccer and is a part time coach.

Eats a lot and will eat random things at random times (zuko once caught him eating a bowl of cereal at 3 am and was like "wtf, dude?")

Like aang, he likes to play video games, but plays games like doom or super smash brothers.

Used to be sexist and kinda tight minded, but now he regularly chugs his "respect women and men juice"every day.

Will pull either really good or childish pranks on everyone. Ranging from that time attacked katara with a nerf gun, to that time he wrapped everything in zuko's room with Christmas wrapping paper (beware of him on April fools day)

Toph

Doesnt really spend money on herself, rather, she spends it on her friends. Most of the time its things that her friends cant really afford but they want, things like a Nintendo switch for aang, or tickets to a baseball game so sokka could take himself, suki, and zuko. But shes also used her wealth to personally help her friends, like helping them pay off tuition and student loans while in college, to personal things like buying an absolutely beautiful headstone for katara's mother, or personally paying for zuko's therapy sessions after he ran away from his abusive home life.

Even in the modern world, toph can still kick your ass with very little effort.

Wears baggy clothes often.

Wants to be a professional wrestler.

Appa was originally her seeing eye dog, but he wasnt really good at it, and she could already used her seismic sense to see, so she ended up giving him to aang

Zuko

Came from a really abusive and toxic home and still has trauma about his scar, but he never told anyone how he got it, except for his therapist.

Has major depression and anxiety. Sometimes he has an endless amount of energy, and sometimes feels like doing nothing all day and lies in bed. Iroh has tried his best to help his nephew, and is proud that zuko eventually realized he needs help.

Did some pretty bad things as a teenager. Ended up serving a stint in juvenile hall.

Had some really unhealthy coping mechanisms. Ranging from shoplifting to setting things on fire.

He started opening up more after befriending the gaang and even discovered more things about himself that he never really focused on.

He is a huge dork/nerd. Dont let that glare fool you.

Loves theater and will talk to suki for hours about their favorite musicals.

Is actually a really good cook. Aang, katara and sokka opened him up to showing this talent that nobody thought he would have.

Lived with his uncle iroh for a while until he had enough money to live in an apartment.

Goth boy. Absolutely loves going to concerts (especially grunge or metal)

Secretly craves the sweet release of death.

Has a thing for idiots.

Suki

Football player

Once absolutely destroyed sokka in a wrestling match and katara couldn't stop being smug about it for weeks

Was the catalyst for sokka realizing that sexism is worthless.

Yue

Sokka's ex.

Died from a terminal illness in her teens

Sokka occasionally visits her grave and leaves flowers on it.

Azula

Power hungry and really insecure.

Capable of really terrible things

Eventually gets admitted to a psych ward.

Ty lee

Bubbly cheerleader

Loves drama and people-watching

Kind of an airhead at times.

Loves to show off.

Mai

Goth girl.

Loves cryptids and witchcraft. Has a lot of merchandise relating to both

Deadpan in just about every kind of social interaction.

Very blunt. Is not afraid to call people out.

Will detect bullshit.

Works with zuko.

Ran away from her family in her teens, but is still financially supported by her parents.

(Now for the adults)

Hakoda

Hard working single dad.

Loves and supports his kids equally.

Basically a father figure to both aang and zuko.

Loves taking everyone on trips.

Will tell sokka to stop messing with his sister.

Police chief.

A good dad.

Ozai:

Owns a very valuable business company worth billions of dollars.

Secretly a cult leader.

Wins the worst father/husband of the year award.

Iroh

One of the few people who ran away from ozais cult and lived to tell the tale.

Hopes his nephew will get his life on track.

War veteran.

Has a great inheritance that he got from his father, but he uses it for three things. 1. To expand or pay off debts for the jasmine dragon. 2. Donating it to non for profit charities. 3. Helping his nephew get through life.

Some general stuff about places and events)

The jasmine dragon isnt just a teashop, its also a bistro/bakery. It's just more famous for its tea.

Ozai's cult is the reason why katara and sokka's mother is dead. Her murder has remained unsolved for years and hakoda has dedicated a good portion of his life to solving his wife's murder.

[demigodseameg16]

I mean, you are right in some sort of way? Aang was the only air bender left at that time because the Fire Nation 100 years ago committed air nomad genocide.....so a 12 year old who is supposed to be 112 and is like the only one who can bend air at this point is a shocker and a secret weapon since as his people were, ya know, dead, modern warriors and benders didn’t know how to fight an air bender and he’s the freaking Avatar- but like wow. Here’s a small crash course. For the record, this is Momo, he’s a flying lemur.

That thing flying in a circle? That’s Momo. He’s a riot. He’s Aang’s second animal best friend and Sokka’s animal bro. He also may be the reincarnation of Aang’s mentor who died when the Fire Nation decided to be a bitch and attacked the world because it could?

Appa is a flying bison, the true MVP, the animal companion to the recent Avatar, which is Aang. They are bonded spiritually and he’s a big pure cinnamon roll.

That right there? Baby Appa. 10/10 would recommend.

And Sokka, he’s the older brother to Katarra, she’s like, a badass water bender who is beautiful kind and sweet and yet can and probably will kill a man. Sokka, however, has no bending, but he’s a master strategist and can use a sword, club and boomerang expertly. In the beginning he was a migynostic sexist but after one (1) encounter with a strong warrrior lady named Suki and a bloodthirsty, bad ass, fan fighting, warrior group of all girls that was founded by a previous Avatar named Kyoshi, hence their tribe Name, Kyoshi Warriors and the island that they live on (Avatar Kyoshi straight up killed a dude. She’s great I love her.) he chugged respect women juice for the rest of his life and went from almost toxic masculinity to a true feminist icon who was in touch with sensitivity and his emotions, masculinity and feminist. Suki was his second girlfriend, his first turned into the moon. It was rough buddy. Anyway Sokka is scarcatsic and funny and sharp and goofy and his boomerang is no exception. They too, are spiritually bonded.

That’s my fucker right there.

Of course I could tell you about the whole abusive ruling family of the Fire Nation all except for Uncle Iroh who is a literal gift to humanity and is like the best role model, Zuko’s redemption arc and its beauty, Aang, Toph and herself because she’s just. Toph. Enough said. We could talk about the spirit that steals peoples faces or the fact that Zuko’s dad literally burned his 14 year old son, and the plot with Zuko’s mom which since I haven’t read the comics I have no idea, or Yue, or Bumi, all that, or you could watch it yourself.

But that’s not the point. The point is, for all the time I followed you, you gave me the hugest impression that when you talked about ATLA you actually knew about the show and watched it. I don’t know whether to be shocked, disappointed, or freaking impressed that you carried that illusion on for years. Well done Chatalyst. Well done.

y’all wanna know a secret

[glowyjellyfish]

I keep finding myself writing up fun fandom things and then waiting too long to post them, and then I have moved on or am too depressed by the News to bother. So I’m making a deliberate choice right now to post a slightly older thingI have still been thinking about! Later I might post some Sims 2 Megahood Stories, but for now it’s My Reactions Upon Rewatching Legend of Korra! I’m not even done with it yet, there’s no reason to delay posting.

I finished season 1 Saturday night. 

And I still love it! LOK doesn’t inspire quite as many Feelings as ATLA, but it has its moments, and I love the characters, the setting, and the themes. Themes like “how to honor and navigate older traditions in a modern changing society”, “everybody is fucked up by their parents and predecessors”, and “first there was an epic fantasy story and then reality ensued afterwards.” Oh, and also “let’s battle a series of political movements from the early 20th century!” I know it has problems with the seasons being too self-contained, for understandable reasons, and we’ll see how I feel about that going forward.

Characters: Favorite is Bolin, who is a delight, followed by Lin, who is amazing and inspired many Feelings, then in a rough tie based on how I am feeling at the moment Tenzin, Korra, and Asami. Mako needs to get his act together and stop being dumb to his girlfriends, which I know isn’t gonna be until at least season 3, but I have devoted a lot of brain power to trying to dissect him. They made him too nice to be a Hot Jerk and too often a mild jerk to be a Nice Boy. I don’t know what to make of him. Talented at bending in a precise, level-headed kind of way, overprotective in a slightly understated way, very bad at talking about or understanding feelings, and similarly not great at expressing himself on the fly, pragmatic, real good at teamwork with his brother. I feel like maybe all we needed was one scene showing him struggling to figure out what he wanted, rather than passively swapping from one girl to the other. Maybe express that he found it hard to walk away from Asami showering him with gifts, one would think he could be overwhelmed by the feeling of being taken care of for once and not know how to sort that out from romance, and I for one think it would have made him come off a little more interesting to show that kind of selfishness/pragmatism… just a thought. I honestly think they tried too hard to make him a Cool Romantic Hero, but I like to understand characters based on the whole of canon. Eventually I reached the conclusion that maybe the core of his character is that he’s so used to putting others’ needs before his own (usually Bolin) that he has a very poor grasp on what it is he actually needs or wants for himself, and doesn’t know how to balance that with the needs of others. We’ll see how that works going forward.

Anyway, Bolin is a delight, and I cannot remember what specifics prompted this but I am more convinced he’s the reincarnation of Ty Lee than ever. -charismatic in a ditzy kind of way, -getting involved in a war against chi blockers could be… maybe not exactly karma so much as it being important to experience from both sides, -friendly and prone to hugging, -definitely a follower, -a little flirty… I could go on like this. He’s a good boy and a Good Dude, and everybody’s friend.

(I am not sure at all about anybody else’s reincarnation, Bumi aside, although I learned that Sokka outlived Aang by at least a few years, so Tenzin’s kids are most likely for him. My gut says one of the girls, if only because he chugged so much respect women juice over the course of ATLA, but I can’t decide if either of them actually fits. With Mako it’s not quite that Jet fits him so much as that nobody else fits him any better. And Jet does make a weird amount of sense, just… not enough for me to necessarily declare it headcanon.)

Also, when anticipating this show I forgot all about General Iroh II, and think it’s a shame he wasn’t around more. Somebody should have dated him, he’s so fancy!

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Since I wrote this up, I’ve watched season 2, and it’s… a mess. 

-Varrick is great, Bumi is fantastic, Bolin’s charisma paid off, and apparently Mako is the kind of cop who writes out one-liners in advance to whip out on arrests, which is a mild upgrade.

-There are plenty of good parts--the road trip with Aang’s kids was pretty great, too--but as a whole season 2 just does not land, and I’m not sure why. The pacing is bonkers, I feel like I’ve barely started the season, but at the same time so many things have happened! And I feel like there’s been like zero character development, except maybe in the Tenzin plot, the whole season has felt like nothing but non-stop nonsense political plot hurled at the viewer with no downtime for the characters at all! Korra makes so many awful, brash decisions without thinking things through, and that’s clearly a character choice but the show doesn’t really seem to care, it has too much to do and it’s just moving right along!

-The Wan episodes are fantastic, though!

I may have cracked Mako, though, with my conclusion that he’s so used to putting others’ needs above his own that he doesn’t know how to even know what he wants. I believe that in season 2 he transferred most of his overprotectiveness to Korra, believing that to be How To Be A Good Supportive Boyfriend, and… I’m not totally sure whether he figured out that he wanted to be a cop, or if it just seemed like such a good fit for his personality that he jumped at it, or what. In any case, he believes this to be progress or improvement, and whether inadvertently or not, he kind of left Bolin in the lurch; and let’s also point out that Korra does not need or want overprotectiveness. She wants unwavering support, which Mako carefully attempts to give her, and she needs a level head and constructive criticism with tempered support, which Mako does not know how to give, tactfully, at all. He’s used to being the one in charge of the person he’s protective over, and that last thing Korra wants or needs is more people telling her what to do. That’s why they clash and don’t work. 

And Bolin is smart enough to know that his problem pales in comparison to what Korra and by extension Mako are dealing with, at that stage of the season; that doesn’t make his problem (of an abusive girlfriend he can’t leave) something he knows how to handle. That’s why he eats up the attention he gets from being a mover star, and tries to get similar attention from Mako and make him impressed or jealous--he’s used to being the center of Mako’s world, and Mako quite blatantly abandoned him to his own devices and considered him useless for the bigger problems. I’m not saying it’s necessarily bad that Mako did that, although he was very rude about it. It’s probably healthier for both of them in the long run, I just easily see how Bolin was hurt and upset by it.

So I guess there was character development, it’s just hard to see when the plot keeps hurling things at you at breakneck speed and doesn’t give the characters a chance to breathe.