#eip quotes

[mesillusionssousecstasy]

Emily in Paris - Season 3: Quotes

- “You’ll be hearing from our lawyers. (Emily) - So you’re suing me for not calling you?” (Alfie) (Episode 2)

- “I didn’t realize what I had until I lost it.” (Emily - Episode 2)

- “Yeah, well, the American dream turned into the French nightmare.” (Episode 2)

- “You know, I’ll give it to Paris. Even when you’re having a bad day, the city is looking great.” (Episode 2)

- “It’s funny how you become the things you hate.” (Episode 3)

- “Well, I guess all those endless selfies are finally paying off.” (Sylvie - Episode 5) 

- “Plus he sent over some champagne. (Emily) - “Finally, someone who understands my needs.” (Mindy - Episode 5)

- “I thought you were gonna be a professional polo player. You know we used to call you Nacho?” (Mindy - Episode 5 - GG reference too)

- “Sexy. Why am I never around when anything good happens?” (Episode 5)

- “What Am I supposed to do? An affair? (Emily) - You saw two girls kissing at a party. You need to get out more. Okay, Emily Jane Cooper, occupe-toi de tes oignons.” (Mindy - Episode 5)

- “Just because I was raised rich doesn’t mean I don’t love a free sample.” (Mindy - Episode 5)

- “Yeah, well, you’re American, she’s Australian, you colluded.” (Sylvie - Episode 5) 

- “Are you serious? I... I am so tired of apologizing for who I am. I can’t change my past. If you’ll always resent me for it, maybe we don’t have a future.” (Mindy - Episode 5)

- “It’s not “either or”, Camille. Are we really here to just love one person?” (The artist - Episode 6) 

- “I don’t understand. You’re married to him and having an affaire with me or you’re in a relationship with me having an affair with your husband.” (Erik - Episode 6)

- “I mean, is this really necessary? (Alfie) - Luxury is a necessity that begins when necessity ends. (Antoine) - Mmm. Coco Chanel.” (Emily - Episode 6)

- “Why don’t guys tell you what they’re thinking? - And save us the mystery?” (Episode 7)

- “What do you think of the quality? (Pierre) - Honestly? - Brutally.” (Pierre - Episode 7)

- “They’ve turned me into a clown trapped in a funhouse mirror.” (Pierre - Episode 7)

- “Wow, this is so surreal. I feel like we’re walking into heaven on acid.” (Emily - Episode 7)

- “Come on, seriously? In this? (Mindy) - You look incredible tonight. Every man there was checking you out. (Nicolas) - Yeah, except for you. (Mindy) - Believe me, I noticed. It took every ounce of willpower not to make a spectacle of myself.” (Nicolas - Episode 7)  

- “The only time I’ve heard Sylvie say “Merveilleux” was about a Chablis.” (Luc or Julien - Episode 7)

- “The men may be gone, but the brands persist.” (Episode 7) - “More times than I care to remember.” (Episode 7)

- “You can feel as guilty as you want, but not everything happens because you make it happen. - Well, except for this. This was definitively you.” (Episode 8) 

- “Well, he did sustain some injuries, Gregory, so we need to treat this with the sensitivity it deserves.” (Episode 8)

- “I love you both. - And I’m going to end up with nothing.” (Episode 8)

- “Who do you want to go to bed with” (Julien - Episode 8)

- “In love? I can’t believe he said that. (Mindy) - He was drunk.” (Emily) - Sure, but alcohol doesn’t make people lie. Kind of the opposite.” (Mindy - Episode 8)

- “True elegance is found in simplicity.” (Episode 8)

- “It died the moment I sold my soul to JVMA.” (Pierre - Episode 8)

- “Pierre is a respected talent any you only bought his company to toss him out like the trash. - If you can do that to him, you can do that to me. You can do that to anyone.” (Episode 8)

- “Do you have any idea what you just lost? (Louis de Leon) - Something I never wanted. A relationship with you.” (Sylvie - Episode 8)

- “I just made an enemy of the most powerful family in fashion.” (Sylvie - Episode 8)

- “Let’s not become one of those couples that spend more time analyzing their relationship than being in one.” (Alfie - Episode 9)

- “Do you know why this works so well? We get to be together and still do everything we want. We should be enjoying ourselves every second we can. Life is short.” (Episode 9)

- “Hell of a “welcome home”, mate.” (Alfie - Episode 9)

- “Yeah, well, every couple hits that point. It’s either time to break it off or commit to each other. You’re either in or you’re out.” (Alfie - Episode 9)

- “Only the two people involved know what they are to each other. You knew everything about every single piece. - No, you just didn’t know anything.” (Episode 9)

- “Can I get the recipe for that? (Emily) - Recipe? There are no recipes. It’s not a list of things. It’s a feeling. You just know when something is right and when something is wrong.” (Gabriel’s grandmother - Episode 10)

- “His ex-girlfriend, Marianne.” (Julien) - Oh, which Marianne? (Sylvie) - I can neither confirm nor deny. (Luc) - Marianne number one. (Julien) - How did you know that?��� (Luc - Episode 10)

- “It was not what she said, it’s what she did.” (Luc - Episode 10)

- “I hope you take as good care of her as I did. She deserves a good man. (Timothée) - I’ll certainly do my best.” (Alfie - Episode 10) 

- “Emily. Our secrets are what will keep us close. (Camille - Episode 10)

[yourhighness6]

EIP missing scene (because we all need a little light-heartedness from that episode)

Zuko: As soon as we defeat the Firelord, I'm sending a very strongly worded cease and desist letter to those idiot writers

Katara: You can't do that, Zuko, that's censorship

Zuko: *mutters something unintelligible*

[myimaginationplain]

do you ever think about how Katara's portrayal in the Ember Island Players' stage play is an in-universe, textual example of an oppressor state adultifying & sexualizing a racialized girl as a form of pro-colonization propaganda

and then do you ever think about how a third of the fandom also participates in that completely unironically

[meawmeawsworld]

I wrote this when someone i love so much hurt me so bad💔

[the-badger-mole]

i've scrolled through your blog quite a bit, and one thing i haven't seen you talk about (though maybe i just didn't scroll far enough) was the scene where sokka is wearing the kyoshi warrior uniform.

i've seen so many people say "wow, the show is really taking a stance against toxic masculinity! sokka wore a dress! it humbled him!" but if you actually watch the show . . .

it wants you to laugh at that, actually. it's one of my least favorite lines from aang. sokka is repeating something suki told him about what different parts of the uniform represent or something like that and he's looking pretty proud, but then aang walks by and says "hey sokka, nice dress" and laughs. and that's never walked back and aang's never punished. so the narrative is clearly pushing that . . . what aang said was okay? but if what aang said was okay, then that means that sokka wearing a dress was meant to be laughed at, right?

anyway, i don't understand how people watch that scene and take away "wow, that scene was so progressive! sokka wore a dress!" yeah . . . we as the audience are supposed to laugh at it. it's supposed to be funny. because boy in dress can't be taken seriously! it has to be a joke!

and i don't understand how people watch that scene and like aang. that was his first major red flag for me. like??? it get that he's twelve and a little shitster, but as you've said so many times, his age isn't an excuse to not hold him accountable. in fact, his immaturity means he should be held extra accountable, so he doesn't end up the same little shitster as an adult. the end of that episode should have had aang apologize to suki (who was also there when aang made that comment iirc). that comment was demeaning and threw away the entire point of that scene (and episode, honestly) in just four words. it demeaned the kyoshi customs and culture, and it completely throws away the point of suki telling sokka "if you want to train with me, you have to follow all our traditions" (paraphrase, not real quote).

anyway aang sucks, and if you've already talked about this, sorry. but if you haven't would love to hear your thoughts.

Of all the things that I think are wrong with Aang, his sexism is pretty low. That's not to say I don't think he's got the potential to be sexist, I just don't think it's occurred to him. He grew up in a gender segregated monastery. I wouldn't be surprised if Katara was the first girl around his own age that he'd spent any time with at all. What were the monks teaching him about girls, and why they were separated? Who knows? Clearly, he knew enough to ridicule Sokka for wearing a dress and to be upset about being played by a woman in EIP. Aang does have some sexist tendencies, but I don't think he's thought through the implications enough to actually be outright sexist. His worst moments have to do with his cultural biases, and an Air Nomad superiority complex. One of his worst moments had to do with him being disrespectful towards Bato about SWT artifacts.

The most obvious potential example of his sexism the way he treats Katara throughout the series, at least on the surface, but while there was absolutely sexism involved in how Katara was treated, I think it was more sexism in the writers room than in Aang himself. With Aang, it was less sexism, and more general entitlement. He wanted Katara. Her feelings didn't matter, not because she was a girl, but because she was an object. I've pointed out before that Nightmares and Daydreams proved that he understood what enthusiastic consent is, but he never even considered her feelings enough to think that she could turn him down. He was very entitled about Katara's affections and even her body, but I don't think the entitlement would've been different if the genders were reversed (look at how entitled Korra felt to Mako), or even if Aang and Katara were both boys.

I'm sure someone else could find more examples of Aang being overtly sexist- in fact, I remember reading a really good meta about Aang's reaction to being played by a woman in EIP, but I can't remember who wrote it. Still, don't think it matters if Aang was sexist or not. He's more toxic than Sokka ever was, even without being overtly sexist. Sokka, at least, was open to learning and growing, and his sexism was never that deep. But Aang? He never gets the opportunity to grow, because his bad traits are never called out like Sokka's are. I'm convinced that Aang benefits from cute privilege within the fandom. If Aang was a year or two older, and looked like Sokka or Zuko, he'd be right up there with Ross Gellar and Ted Mosby in the Nice Guys Who Aren't Actually That Nice pantheon, but because he's got big ears, chubby cheeks, and a big ol' smile, he gets a pass.

[atla-confessions]

.....so anyway! since that one user insists on having a very myopic view of our fandom as a whole, how about some fun zutara facts to banish all the hate being thrown at it's shippers specifically on here during this, our sacred zutara week?

Yoo Jae-Myung, an animation director for atla, drew that infamous slightly older zutara art for a promotional event on the series in South Korea because it's the preferred ship there

Korra's voice actress, Janet Varney, ships zutara

While series director Giancarlo Volpe is an avid kataang shipper, he admitted to thinking that zutara may have been a better couple after having a retrospective talk about the series with his wife; and even stated that he'd love to see a scene in the live action avatar series where zuko and katara get to have a quiet moment alone that showcases their chemistry

the god of the avatar universe, the Cabbage Merchant himself (or rather, his actor James Sie) ships zutara

to quote the shipping wiki directly: "Tim Hedrick added onto this by stating that the allusions to Zuko and Katara's potential romance and Katara's rejection of Aang's romantic advances in The Ember Island Players served as a plot device for the writers to keep their options open"

(also not EIP making the zutara ship a thing in-universe that's so funny lmaooo somebody please write about that)

Jade Fire Gold by CL Tan was written with a zutara dynamic in mind for it's main protagonists, just in case fans needed more book recs

and finally, Kacen Callender (who is black) and Ash Van Otterloo are two queer, trans young adult published authors who both ship zutara whose books you should check out and support. put your money where your mouth is<3

okay that's it for now! peace an love to all!

(ps: a queer black woman wrote all this, jsyk. in case I needed a qualifier. for no reason at all, of course)

X

[eclecticstarlightblogger]

Σε ποιον ανήκει η ρήση “Κράτα τὸν νοῦ σου στὸν Ἃδη καὶ μὴν ἀπελπίζεσαι!” που ειπε η Βίκυ Φλέσσα

“Κράτα τὸν νοῦ σου στὸν Ἃδη καὶ μὴν ἀπελπίζεσαι!” Σε ποιον ανήκει η ρήση “Κράτα τὸν νοῦ σου στὸν Ἃδη καὶ μὴν ἀπελπίζεσαι!” που ειπε η Βίκυ Φλέσσα – olympia source https://www.olympia.gr/1586625/viral/se-poion-anikei-i-risi-quot-krata-t-n-no-soy-st-n-di-ka-m-n-pelpizesai-quot-poy-eipe-i-viky-flessa/

[thoughtfullyblogger]

Σε ποιον ανήκει η ρήση “Κράτα τὸν νοῦ σου στὸν Ἃδη καὶ μὴν ἀπελπίζεσαι!” που ειπε η Βίκυ Φλέσσα

“Κράτα τὸν νοῦ σου στὸν Ἃδη καὶ μὴν ἀπελπίζεσαι!” Σε ποιον ανήκει η ρήση “Κράτα τὸν νοῦ σου στὸν Ἃδη καὶ μὴν ἀπελπίζεσαι!” που ειπε η Βίκυ Φλέσσα – olympia source https://www.olympia.gr/1586625/viral/se-poion-anikei-i-risi-quot-krata-t-n-no-soy-st-n-di-ka-m-n-pelpizesai-quot-poy-eipe-i-viky-flessa/

[greekblogs]

Σε ποιον ανήκει η ρήση “Κράτα τὸν νοῦ σου στὸν Ἃδη καὶ μὴν ἀπελπίζεσαι!” που ειπε η Βίκυ Φλέσσα

“Κράτα τὸν νοῦ σου στὸν Ἃδη καὶ μὴν ἀπελπίζεσαι!” Σε ποιον ανήκει η ρήση “Κράτα τὸν νοῦ σου στὸν Ἃδη καὶ μὴν ἀπελπίζεσαι!” που ειπε η Βίκυ Φλέσσα – olympia source https://www.olympia.gr/1586625/viral/se-poion-anikei-i-risi-quot-krata-t-n-no-soy-st-n-di-ka-m-n-pelpizesai-quot-poy-eipe-i-viky-flessa/

[skandaladiaplokidiafthora]

Σε ποιον ανήκει η ρήση “Κράτα τὸν νοῦ σου στὸν Ἃδη καὶ μὴν ἀπελπίζεσαι!” που ειπε η Βίκυ Φλέσσα

“Κράτα τὸν νοῦ σου στὸν Ἃδη καὶ μὴν ἀπελπίζεσαι!” Σε ποιον ανήκει η ρήση “Κράτα τὸν νοῦ σου στὸν Ἃδη καὶ μὴν ἀπελπίζεσαι!” που ειπε η Βίκυ Φλέσσα – olympia source https://www.olympia.gr/1586625/viral/se-poion-anikei-i-risi-quot-krata-t-n-no-soy-st-n-di-ka-m-n-pelpizesai-quot-poy-eipe-i-viky-flessa/

[hkxytech]

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[femestella]

'Emily in Paris': Lily Collins Proves She Has Way Better Style Than Emily Cooper

[zuko-thee-stallion]

the same guy who was upset that a woman was playing him in EIP?

Avatar Aang, Feminist Icon?

“Who’s your favorite character?” I hear that question come up a lot over Avatar: The Last Airbender, a show particularly near and dear to me. Iroh and Toph get tossed around a lot. Zuko is very popular. Sokka has his fans. But something I’ve noticed? Aang very rarely gets the pick. When he comes up, it’s usually in that “Oh, and also…” kind of way. Which is strange, I think, considering he’s the main character, the titular airbender, of the entire show.

I never really thought much about it until a couple weeks ago when I finished my annual re-watch of the series and found myself, for the first time, specifically focused on Aang’s arc. Somehow, I never really paid that much attention to him before. I mean sure, he’s front and center in most episodes, fighting or practicing or learning big spiritual secrets, and yet, he always feels a little overshadowed. Katara takes care of the group. Sokka makes the plans. Zuko has the big, heroic Joseph Campbell journey. Aang…goofs around. He listens and follows and plays with Momo. And yes, at the end his story gets bigger and louder, but even then I feel like a lot of it dodges the spotlight. And here’s why:

Avatar casts the least traditionally-masculine hero you could possibly write as the star of a fantasy war story. Because of that, we don’t see Aang naturally for everything he is, so we look elsewhere.

To show what I mean, I want to talk about some of the show’s other characters, and I want to start with Zuko. Zuko is the hero we’re looking for. He’s tall and hot and complicated. He perseveres in the face of constant setbacks. He uses two swords and shoots fire out of his hands. He trains with a wise old man on ship decks and mountaintops. Occasionally he yells at the sky. He’s got the whole 180-degree moral turn beat for beat, right down to the scars and the sins-of-the-father confrontation scene. And if you were going into battle, some epic affair with battalions of armor-clad infantry, Zuko is the man you’d want leading the charge, Aragorn style. We love Zuko. Because Zuko does what he’s supposed to do.

Now let’s look at Katara. Katara doesn’t do what she’s supposed to do. She doesn’t care about your traditionally gender dynamics because she’s too busy fighting pirates and firebenders, planning military operations with the highest ranking generals in the Earth Kingdom, and dismantling the entire patriarchal structure of the Northern Water Tribe. Somewhere in her spare time she also manages to become one of the greatest waterbenders in the world, train the Avatar, defeat the princess of the Fire Nation in the middle of Sozin’s Comet and take care of the entire rest of the cast for an entire year living in tents and caves. Katara is a badass, and we love that.

So what about Aang? When we meet Aang, he is twelve years old. He is small and his voice hasn’t changed yet. His hobbies include dancing, baking and braiding necklaces with pink flowers. He loves animals. He doesn’t eat meat. He despises violence and spends nine tenths of every fight ducking and dodging. His only “weapon” is a blunt staff, used more for recreation than combat. Through the show, Aang receives most of his training from two young women – Katara and Toph – whom he gives absolute respect, even to the point of reverence. When he questions their instruction, it comes from a place of discomfort or anxiety, never superiority. He defers to women, young women, in matters of strategy and combat. Then he makes a joke at his own expense and goes off to feed his pet lemur.

Now there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this, and it’s the one that shielded Aang from the heroic limelight in my eyes for ten years. The reasoning goes like this: Aang is a child. He has no presumptuous authority complex, no masculinity anxiety, no self-consciousness about his preferred pastimes, because he’s twelve. He’s still the hero, but he’s the prepubescent hero, the hero who can’t lead the charge himself because he’s just not old enough. The problem is, that reasoning just doesn’t hold up when you look at him in the context of the rest of the show.

Let’s look at Azula. Aside from the Avatar himself, Zuko’s sister is arguably the strongest bender in the entire show. We could debate Toph and Ozai all day, but when you look at all Azula does, the evidence is pretty damning. Let’s make a list, shall we?

Azula completely mastered lightning, the highest level firebending technique, in her spare time on a boat, under the instruction of two old women who can’t even bend.

Azula led the drill assault on Ba Sing Sae, one of the most important Fire Nation operations of the entire war, and almost succeeded in conquering the whole Earth Kingdom.

Azula then bested the Kyoshi Warriors, one of the strongest non-bender fighting groups in the entire world, successfully infiltrated the Earth Kingdom in disguise, befriended its monarch, learned of the enemy’s most secret operation, emotionally manipulated her older brother, overthrew the captain of the secret police and did conquer the Earth Kingdom, something three Fire Lords, numerous technological monstrosities, and countless generals, including her uncle, failed to do in a century.

And she did this all when she was fourteen.

That last part is easy to forget. Azula seems so much her brother’s peer, we forget she’s the same age as Katara. And that means that when we first meet Azula, she’s only a year older than Aang is at the end of the series. So to dismiss Aang’s autonomy, maturity or capability because of his age is ridiculous, understanding that he and Azula could have been in the same preschool class.

We must then accept Aang for what he truly is: the hero of the story, the leader of the charge, who repeatedly displays restraint and meekness, not because of his age, not because of his upbringing, not because of some character flaw, but because he chooses too. We clamor for strong female characters, and for excellent reason. But nobody every calls for more weak male characters. Not weak in a negative sense, but weak in a sense that he listens when heroes talk. He negotiates when heroes fight. And when heroes are sharpening their blades, planning their strategies and stringing along their hetero love interests, Aang is making jewelry, feeding Appa, and wearing that flower crown he got from a travelling band of hippies. If all Aang’s hobbies and habits were transposed onto Toph or Katara, we’d see it as a weakening of their characters. But with Aang it’s cute, because he’s a child. Only it isn’t, because he’s not.

Even in his relationship with Katara, a landmark piece of any traditional protagonist’s identity, Aang defies expectations. From the moment he wakes up in episode one, he is infatuated with the young woman who would become his oldest teacher and closest friend. Throughout season one we see many examples of his puppy love expressing itself, usually to no avail. But there’s one episode in particular that I always thought a little odd, and that’s Jet.

In Jet, Katara has an infatuation of her own. The titular vigilante outlaw sweeps her off her feet, literally, with his stunning hair, his masterful swordsmanship and his apparent selflessness. You’d think this would elicit some kind of jealousy from Aang. There’s no way he’s ignorant of what’s happening, as Sokka sarcastically refers to Jet as Katara’s boyfriend directly in Aang’s presence, and she doesn’t even dispute it. But even then, we never see any kind of rivalry manifest in Aang. Rather, he seems in full support of it. He repeatedly praises Jet, impressed by his leadership and carefree attitude. Despite his overwhelming affection for Katara, he evaluates both her and Jet on their own merits as people. There is no sense of ownership or macho competition.

Contrast this with Zuko’s reaction to a similar scenario in season three’s The Beach. Zuko goes to a party with his girlfriend, and at that party he sees her talking to another guy. His reaction? Throwing the challenger into the wall, shattering a vase, yelling at Mai, and storming out. This may seem a little extreme, but it’s also what we’d expect to an extent. Zuko is being challenged. He feels threatened in his station as a man, and he responds physically, asserting his strength and dominance as best he can.

I could go on and on. I could talk about how the first time Aang trains with a dedicated waterbending master, he tries to quit because of sexist double standards, only changing his mind after Katara’s urging. I could talk about how Aang is cast as a woman in the Fire Nation’s propaganda theatre piece bashing him and his friends. Because in a patriarchal society, the worst thing a man can be is feminine. I could talk about the only times Aang causes any kind of real destruction in the Avatar state, it’s not even him, since he doesn’t gain control of the skill until the show’s closing moments. Every time he is powerless in his own power and guilt-ridden right after, until the very end when he finally gains control, and what does he do with all that potential? He raises the rivers, and puts the fires out.

Aang isn’t what he’s supposed to be. He rejects every masculine expectation placed on his role, and in doing so he dodges center stage of his own show. It’s shocking to think about how many times I just forgot about Aang. Even at the end, when his voice has dropped and his abs have filled in, we miss it. Zuko’s coronation comes and we cheer with the crowd, psyched to see our hero crowned. Then the Fire Lord shakes his head, gestures behind him and declares “the real hero is the Avatar.” It’s like he’s talking to us. “Don’t you get it?” he asks. “Did you miss it? This is his story. But you forgot that. Because he was small. And silly. And he hated fighting. And he loved to dance. Look at him,” Zuko seems to say. “He’s your hero. Avatar Aang, defier of gender norms, champion of self-identity, feminist icon.”

[tea-and-la]

Aang as Zuko’s “Found-Sibling”

so i kind of alluded to it on my previous post but if zuko sees his relationship with any of the gaang as a foil to his sibling relationship with azula, it’s aang. 

in the season 1 finale, zuko compares the two directly:

zuko:  I finally have you, but I can't get you home because of this blizzard. There's always something. Not that you would understand. You're like my sister. Everything always came easy to her. She's a Firebending prodigy, and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born. I don't need luck, though. I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am.

here zuko makes a lot of assumptions. he is implying that because aang is a prodigy like azula, everything must come easy for him. we as the audience know this isn’t true (he doesn’t know aang’s background at this point), but it does speak to his insecurities in terms of his sister (foreshadowing to his season 2 interactions with azula.) 

contrast that quote with what zuko says to katara in the season 1 finale:

zuko: you rise with the moon, i rise with the sun.

he sees katara as evenly skilled as himself. a match, but with opposite bending elements. and that’s even reflected in the way that katara wins their match at night, but zuko wins their fight when it’s day time.

zuko (especially in season 1) sees azula as superior to him, someone who he’ll never catch up to in skill because she’s a prodigy. in contrast, he’s seen katara when she first started to bend and made mistakes (barely able to form a water whip, and the time she accidentally froze sokka). zuko has seen and acknowledged her growth throughout the show and he sees her as someone who has also had to struggle and work hard to get to her current bending capacity.

and like @sokkastyles​ already said: 

Aang is the younger prodigy who he resents for being better than him in the beginning, the one who is imbued with power and authority by birth that he lacks, the “lucky” one.

continuing on, i wanna talk about crossroads of destiny. the zk scene again emphasizes how similar zuko sees katara to himself (not azula.)

he is calm, open, and vulnerable throughout these scene with katara. he almost allows himself to forget they’re on opposite sides because of how much they have in common. but once aang comes in:

there’s that same anger and resentment he has towards azula. 

i’ve seen some people refer to the crossroads of destiny as zuko some hidden meaning of choosing between “sisters,” but i disagree. it’s framed as a decision between azula and aang, and for zuko, it’s supposed to be an impossible choice. 

so we see him go after aang with an uncontrolled intensity that is so different from the brief peace he was able to achieve with iroh in ba sing se. and it’s easy to imagine that this is because he’s taking his frustration that he can’t express towards azula, out on aang, as a substitute. 

we see lingering bits of zuko’s resentment towards aang, even after he joins the gaang. it’s unintentional, but from the firebending masters, we can see how he initially still holds onto that insecurity a bit.

when he initially realizes he lost his firebending he tries the forms over and over, while aang is just chilling:

aang: that one felt kinda hot

zuko: don’t patronize me!

aang: sorry sifu hotman

zuko: and stop calling me that!

even though aang was being genuine, it’s easy to imagine that zuko is connecting this moment back to times with azula growing up. especially because we know how much his ability to fire bend is tied up into his self worth. 

he’s given the chance to “prove” himself by teaching someone who he considers superior in skill to himself (aang, just off virtue of being the avatar), and when he fails, that rears up the resentment again. 

but then, their dynamic shifts after zuko admits he doesn’t want to rely on hate and anger anymore. zuko has several moments where he encourages aang (who he was previously resentful towards) because he sees that aang needs it. he’s able to realize that aang isn’t a prodigy in the sense that he thinks he’s superior to anyone else. and he’s also able to see that aang has his own insecurities as well, as they get to know each other more on their trip. he has phrases like: 

zuko: you can do it. i know you can. you’re a strong kid.

aang: [Turning to Zuko.] We could turn back now. We've already learned more about fire than we'd hoped. [Aang shows Zuko his flame and gives a weak smile.]

zuko: No, we're seeing this through to the end.

and aang’s face as a result: 

so in a sense, zuko is able to be needed as a big brother. and to offer support because aang is unsure about himself. 

also this scene reeks of sibling energy:

but anyways, i think aang/zuko’s found-sibling relationship foils azula/zuko’s sibling relationship because even though they start off with resentment for similar reasons, his dynamic with aang changes.

i see people say that the reason they think katara is zuko’s “surrogate sibling” is because she provides him with care and kindness, unlike azula. the same could be said about aang.

whereas azula has made it clear that she doesn’t respect zuko’s bending, aang values and respects zuko for his skills (even when he was struggling at the beginning of the firebending masters.) aang is able to reciprocally affirm zuko as well:

aang: i don’t care what everyone else says about you. you’re pretty smart!

i also find the last few lines after they meet with the dragons to be significant:

zuko: That's why my firebending was so weak before. Because for so many years, hunting you [Turns toward Aang as screen zooms out to show Aang.] was my drive ... it was my purpose. [Aang turns toward Zuko as well.] So when I joined you, I lost sight of my inner fire. But now, I have a new drive. [Cut to Zuko's face as screen zooms in.] I have to help you defeat my father and restore balance to the world.

i’d like to think that part of losing/letting go of his anger/resentment in part was because of the new relationship he was able to build with aang. in a sense, he’s able to repair a “pseudo-sibling” relationship with a found-sibling who willingly accepts him. 

i love that they’re address their confidence issues regarding firebending together. 

and how, when they rushed to show the rest of the gaang after they returned:

aang: [Cut to Aang and Zuko demonstrating the Dancing Dragon to the rest of Team Avatar and friends.] With this technique the dragons showed us, Zuko and I will be unstoppable.

zuko has gained a found-sibling relationship that isn’t about comparing their firebending to each other, but working as a team. it’s so so meaningful that aang says “zuko and i.” the idea of zuko having a sibling relationship where he’s able to share his love of firebending and not feel insecure about it ...🥺. him having a “sibling” who wants to hang out with him and do things together and gushes about it with the confidence that aang had when he said they would be unstoppable. 

oh! not to mention that i’ve seen people say that zuko/katara have a sibling relationship because she teases him in EIP. but like .. that’s such flimsy logic. and also? aang and zuko have their mutual teasing moments especially in the firebending masters, and it’s just adorable. 

anyways, my main point from all this is that ik people love to say zuko/katara fit surrogate siblings (which i hate btw), but it’s mostly said because of katara/azula’s similar age. it doesnt matter that aang is 12, though, because honestly, he fits the “found-sibling” dynamic a lot better because of how zuko used to see aang in relation to azula. it just works better thematically. especially, because like i’ve said, and as so many people in fandom point out: zuko and katara are similar (some people... antis.. would say “too” similar). and when has zuko ever seen azula as being similar to himself? exactly. 

[linnoya-writes]

“The Headband”: How Performance and a Clash of Dynamics Undermines a Ship.

A lot of people talk about the famous dance scene in “The Headband” as a big, romantic, pivotal moment for KA, but let me tell you why I disagree.

(Not sure why this post is getting tagged as anti-Zutara, as I don’t mention Zuko at all...? Anyway, this content might make Kat*angers Kat*angry.  Proceed with caution):

1) The iconic dance scene was, at its very core, a performance.  

What does this mean, exactly?

Well, this wasn’t an unscripted, unrehearsed private moment between the characters we’ve known since the beginning of the show.  This wasn’t Aang nervously asking Katara to get out of her comfort zone with him for some “alone time” and express their feelings to each other.  This dance was an opportunity to let go of their inhibitions out in the open.  This was “Kuzon Fire” whispering something into an older girl’s ear, them promptly bowing and proceeding to perform some dance moves together.

Based on the formality of these moves, they weren’t decided at the drop of a hat.  They looked like parts of a routine Katara and Aang had been working on previously-unseen occasions (perhaps during Aang’s training?), and it was Aang’s idea to get Katara to have fun and perform with him as “Kuzon Fire” in front of Fire Nation kids in a secret cave.  From Katara’s hesitancy, it’s clear that she isn’t one for impromptu dancing, but Aang persistently encourages fun by whispering in her ear to perform bending moves she already knows (moves she probably taught him).  It’s a routine that puts Katara in her comfort zone, and while she begins to have fun just doing that, the routine turns into an official performance as the crowd begins to admire them as a pair.

We as viewers know this more than just a “dance routine” for Aang.  We as viewers know Aang wants to find any excuse to hold Katara’s hand.  And he does this in the guise of “Kuzon Fire,” because for some reason this disguise and all of this attention he’s getting from the kids gives him the confidence to be that vulnerable in front of his crush.  To have Aang just be his sweet, awkward, lovestruck self to Katara just isn’t enough, but in a healthy relationship, it should be.  

True, this dance was a great reason for Aang to remind Katara to still be a kid (remember the penguin sledding he encouraged in Season 1, ep 1? This is a total step up!).  It reminded us that the characters we know and love know how to have fun together and can play off of each other in any given situation.

True, it showed how sweet KA looked to a crowd, and to us as viewers.  To even quote Sokka from earlier in the episode, the dance showed how “they look pretty good together.”

The problem here was that this dance didn’t address Katara and Aang’s actual dynamic... how they truly act towards each other when the “curtain falls”, when all eyes turn away, when their rehearsed routine is over and there’s no adrenaline rush to haze their actual selves.

Because it’s a performance, “The Headband” episode encourages a completely different kind of one-on-one interaction from what we’ve always seen between Katara and Aang whenever they have moments of privacy.  Just compare the dance to the awkward exchange they have in private during the “Cave of Two Lovers” that ultimately leads to nothing in terms of their relationship progress.

...or the sad farewell exchange they have during “The Invasion” (just a few more episodes after “The Headband”) that ends with a desperate, one-sided kiss.

...or when they finally try to talk about their feelings during the “Ember Island Players” which ends in another desperate, very much one-sided kiss.

(Small note on the EIP moment-- Notice how in that scene, Aang is upset about a performance, specifically how it’s not syncing perfectly with what he wants to believe is happening in real life.  Hmm.)

The dance shows that Katara and Aang can naturally be good team together when the situation calls for it - be it for a performance, or a dangerous task/obstacle/sea monster - but when the pressure is off, and no dangers are abound... when it’s just the two of them, standing face to face... things look quite different.

What you have is a young idealistic kid who, up until a year ago, never had to deal with horrors bigger than cleaning his own room, and a traumatized teenaged girl who grew up in a war-torn village, delivering babies by the time she was Aang’s age.  

Their differences in maturity and world views ultimately limit the deep level of understanding they can actually have as people.

...which brings me to my second point:

2) The dynamic between Katara and Aang in “The Headband” was... weird.

Seriously.  It was characteristically a hot mess.

On one hand, you have Katara completely fine dressing up as Aang’s very-pregnant, very-doting mother to get him out of detention.  On the other hand, you have Katara being girlishly shy and upset from the attention Aang is getting from random girls (something that echoed her sentiments from way back in Season 1 ep 4 “Warriors of Kyoshi” but haven’t seemed to amount to anything.)

We see Katara’s inherently-mature self suddenly get eclipsed by her girlish  feelings for the kid she is always nurturing.  A kid who is very much still a kid.

How much of a kid is he, you ask?

Well... when Katara dances with Aang, they dance with the same synchronization and sweet energy of an “it” couple at Prom.  The issue here is... even if Aang was technically thirteen, in this scene, he is “Kuzon Fire”... elementary-school kid who makes FL Ozai portraits out of noodles and happily shows them to his fake-parents as refrigerator-worthy.

So, at least in this episode, Aang is actually twelve going on seven.  

He’s a kid, and kids don’t go to Prom.  They go to highly-chaperoned elementary-school mixers.  

In the crowd’s eyes, sparks are flying between Katara and Aang as they dance, they have this unspoken chemistry, and their final pose inspires romance.  Great!  In my mind, I’m thinking “aw, so this is like the mature eighth-grader showing deep feelings for the fun-loving sixth-grader, age gap be damned... and they’re too shy to kiss.  It’s not Prom or Elementary School mixer.  It’s typical middle-school cuteness.”  Cool.

However...

After the whole cave dance scene is over, and they escape from the Fire Nation school principal, Katara tells Sokka that they’re safe and he can take off the mustache now.

...and that’s when it hit me.

Sokka was dressed as a chaperone, and acted like a chaperone for this dance.

Never was it implied that Katara wouldn’t be a chaperone for this dance, and it made the whole scene be as if Aang really was the only “kid”.   Sure, her pregnant belly is gone.  But in one scene, she’s water-bending Fire Nation punch for the dance.  I’m not saying she’s supposed to be that adult we always see in school dances that’s on “punch duty,” but neither she nor Toph nor Sokka joined in with the dance party on their own.  

It made me believe they were all supposed to watch the party like formal adult chaperones, keeping watch to make sure no FN authorities showed up.

But...

Aang extends a hand out to Katara, and the adult/kid dynamic they have (both in that cave scene and in real life) is supposed to magically change gracefully into two middle-schoolers with a crush.

For me, it was like looking at a typical “middle-school dance” scene, and witnessing the charming, golden-boy new kid walk across the gymnasium floor to extend a hand to the pretty but very-much-adult teacher who’s chaperoning the dance.  And she takes it.  No gasps, no gossip.  Everyone just goes with it, like it’s not a big deal.

If you look at it like that, it’s really hard to not see it as weird.

And then... an “ATLA writer’s room” thought occurred to me:

Sokka keeps his beard after that one gag with the FN principal, sure, but perhaps Katara’s pregnant belly disappeared was to make it less “weird” of a dynamic when KA would actually dance.  It would make a cute moment between them more valid, pretending that Katara’s motherly nature wasn’t inherently part of her character, that Aang could be seen more grown-up in their relationship.  It would add to the potential of a KA ending.  Right?

Except... 

Their whole mother/son dynamic returns the moment the cave scene ends!

Katara returns to her motherly ways, tells Sokka to quit pretending with a fake mustache, and Toph even encourages maturity in Aang by complimenting him about the deep foresight in teaching FN kids about freedom.  And how does Aang respond?  Not “yeah! that was my plan all along” but rather... “haha, I dunno I just wanted to dance.”

And so Aang remains the oblivious, innocent fun kid... and Katara continues to be his doting mom, affectionately kissing him on the cheek as usual, as if to thank her son for reminding her adult self to have fun once in a while.

For me, it made the romantic subtext of that entire dance scene completely fall through.

If one of the goals in "The Headband” was to show a progressive romantic development between KA, wouldn’t the writers want Katara to see Aang as more age-appropriate for her?

Knowing that Katara is light-years more mature than the average teenager, much less kid, she wouldn’t want to see Aang as a kid she constantly needs to take care of, either in real life or in pretend scenarios.

If Katara did have a crush on Aang by the point of “The Headband,” the idea of playing his mom (especially a pregnant mom) would come off as awkward and strange.  

It would’ve been more credible to have Toph jump in and play Kuzon’s mom in that principal’s office, to have Toph play the tough-love disciplinarian to Aang along with Sokka, and have Toph enjoy pretending to be married to her crush.

Look.  All I’m saying is... imagine what the FN Principal must’ve thought if he had walked in on Kuzon Fire dipping someone who looks a lot like his mom Sapphire minus-pregnant-belly down on the dance floor like that.

Ew.

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

(pt 1) i really enjoy all your atla analyses & you've done a great job breaking down the usual arguments re how eip shows that kataang shouldn't have happened. i'm curious about your take on one specific argument that i just saw today, in an analysis of the show by a zker that was otherwise quite good and respectful (i know you've already talked about eip a lot, so no problem if you don't feel like rehashing). the premise: aang didn't just pressure katara in eip, he threatened her.

(pt 2) they point to when katara joins aang & asks if he’s alright: “aang: no, i’m not! i hate this play! katara: i know it’s upsetting, but it sounds like you’re overreacting. aang: overreacting? if i hadn’t blocked my chakra, i’d probably be in the avatar state right now!” the suggestion is he’s threatening her when he says ‘i’d probably be in the avatar state right now’ to describe his anger. i think this take exaggerates and oversimplifies it, but interested in your thoughts on it.

Hello my friend!! It is true I am Old inside and don’t like rehashing dhdlksjslks BUT your comments on my posts are always incredibly kind and insightful so I am more than willing to do a bit of rehashing for you 🥰 Besides! I’ve seen this general take before a few times and it’s always irked me for the exact reason you point out - it simultaneously exaggerates and oversimplifies the situation (and honestly that’s an impressive duality since it’s seemingly contradictory, so hats off to them lmaooo) - and now is as good a time as any to address it. So, for starters, let’s go ahead and get the excerpt they love to focus on so much:

Cut to Aang standing alone on a balcony. Katara enters and walks up to him.

Katara: Are you all right?

Aang: [Angered.] No, I’m not! I hate this play! [Yanks his hat off and throws it on the ground.]

Katara: I know it’s upsetting, but it sounds like you’re overreacting.

Aang: Overreacting? If I hadn’t blocked my chakra, I’d probably be in the Avatar State right now!

Here’s the thing about so-called analyses of this excerpt: in a manner extremely convenient to the poster, they never seek to contextualize this moment. (I mean, to do so would deplatform their entire “argument” - perhaps that’s why they avoid performing a full analysis?) So let’s avoid that pitfall from the start.

Firstly, below are some links to related posts; I’m going to do my best to summarize the most relevant parts, but for anyone who desires greater detail, I gotchu 😤

This post explains why EIP (the play, lol) is imperialist propaganda and is intended to belittle the entire Gaang.

This post explains how Aang never acted “entitled” to Katara’s affections, particularly in regard to EIP.

This post breaks down the infamous EIP kiss like Snopes Fact Checker, covering common misconceptions, important perspectives to consider, etc.

Alright. With that out the way, it’s time for some context.

Aang and Katara have this conversation on the balcony after watching 95% of “The Boy in the Iceberg,” a play chock-full of Fire Nation propaganda that demeans the entire Gaang in order to prop up the Fire Nation as superior (hence why the play ends with Ozai’s victory). Here is my general breakdown of Aang and Katara’s treatment in particular from a previous post:

- katara, an indigenous woman, is highly sexualized and portrayed as overly dramatic and tearful, because the fire nation objectifies women not of their own people and views them as less intelligent and less emotionally stable

- aang, the avatar, the sole survivor of the fire nation’s genocide of the air nomads who is incredibly in-touch with his spirituality and femininity, is portrayed as an overly-airy and immature woman. the fire nation portrays him with a female actor to demean him (like, that’s classic imperialistic propagandist tactics) and furthermore writing his character as a childish airhead reinforces the fire nation sentiment that the air nomads were weak, foolish people who did not deserve to exist in their world

In other words, these kids have just watched almost an entire play that preys upon their insecurities and depicts them using racist and sexist stereotypes about their respective nations. It is completely understandable that tensions might run a little high and that their interactions would not be as balanced as usual (Katara and Aang have a great track record of communicating well with each other, as it happens!).

So we have to keep that in mind when examining the aforementioned excerpt. But there are other factors to consider, too! Namely: they are kids. Children. Teens. Aang is 12, Katara is 14.

If we want to be scientific, a person’s brain doesn’t finish developing until they are 25, lmao, and the preteen/teen years are when the prefrontal cortex that controls “rationality,” “judgement,” “forethought,” etc. is still developing. This doesn’t mean Aang and Katara are irrational and make poor decisions 24/7 (obviously not), but it does mean that in an intense, highly emotional situation, like after watching a play that intentionally demeans them and depicts them as inferior, they are more likely to overreact, more likely to be emotional, and more likely to make mistakes. Like, I’m serious, lol. “Teens process information with the amygdala.” That’s part of the brain that helps control emotions! It’s why teens sometimes struggle to articulate what we’re thinking, especially in situations that require instinct/impulse and quick decisions, because we’re really feeling whenever we make those choices. Acting more on emotion. Our brains simply haven’t finished developing the decision-making parts, lmao.

In sum: Aang and Katara are both kids, not adults, and should be interpreted as such. This doesn’t negate their intelligence, because they are both incredibly smart and Aang is arguably the wisest of the Gaang, but they are human. Young humans. They have emotions, and we should not be so cruel as to assume they’d never act on them.

So taking that all together, we can now acknowledge the high stress Aang and Katara are under, understand why they might be upset (*cough* imperialist propaganda is hurtful *cough*), and examine how their youth might play into their emotional reactions. And funny thing - all analyses that come to the conclusion of Aang “threatening” Katara here do not usually bother with this context. I can’t imagine why!

And you know what, let’s add one more piece of context: Sokka states that Aang left the theater “like, ten minutes ago,” which is what cues Katara to go look for him on the balcony. The reason I mention this line is because to me, it suggests Aang knew he was more worked up than usual! He chose to separate himself from his friends so he could process his frustration! He did not take his anger at the play out on them; instead, he purposefully took time and space to be alone.

With that in mind, I don’t understand at all how Aang’s Avatar state quote could be interpreted as a threat? Canonly, Aang is someone who was aware enough of his frustration to separate himself from the others - yet the logical next step is him threatening Katara as a result? He knew his intense emotions were because of the play (which he says himself), so the logical conclusion is that he then pinned the fault on Katara? What?? Sorry, that interpretation has no textual basis, lmao. But I digress!

Aang tells Katara, “If I hadn’t blocked my chakra, I’d probably be in the Avatar State right now!” As you said, this is the line people point to in an attempt to justify their (baseless) conclusion that Aang is “threatening” Katara. So let’s bring in the two key pieces of context: imperialist propaganda and age. Given that Aang is 12, and given that Aang has just watched almost a full play that demeans him and everything his people stood for (and let’s not forget it also mocks his and Katara’s love for each other)…

His reaction is understandable. An exaggeration and needlessly dramatic, but understandable. He feels vulnerable and insecure and Aang is human. He is human and flawed and he overreacts here and I love that A:TLA shows how even our heroes, even people who are truly good at heart and in soul, can get overly upset (especially given the aforementioned circumstances!). Would Aang actually be in the Avatar state at that moment, had it been possible? Of course not! He’s young and he’s hurt and as such he says something dramatic to convey his anxieties and frustrations. The line is not meant to be taken literally, and seeing people do so despite all the factors that should be taken into consideration when analyzing it… Cue a long, tired sigh from me and so many other A:TLA fans.

And to be honest? I cannot fathom how people watch this episode and come to the conclusion that Aang is “threatening” Katara. To me, this episode - besides being a recap episode - is one that humanizes our cast even further. Aang snaps at Katara, kisses her when he shouldn’t (which the story appropriately treats as wrong). Katara pushes down her true feelings and retreats into herself, afraid to start a relationship with the boy she loves because she’s already lost him once before and can’t bear to do so again. Zuko further confronts the hurt he’s enacted upon others, especially upon Iroh. Toph practices being vulnerable and accepting vulnerability from others by conversing with Zuko. Sokka witnesses how others have erased his contributions and labelled him as nothing more than the token nonbender in the group. Even Suki learns that she is not the only person who holds a place in Sokka’s heart and that she can never replace what he has lost.

To watch this episode where our heroes must come to terms with how the Fire Nation deems them inherently inferior, with how they have more fights to overcome in the future with the Fire Nation than a single war, and to come to the conclusion that… that what, Aang is abusive? A monster? Irredeemable? That he would threaten his best friend, someone he loves in every way?

Wow. That says more than enough about the viewer, doesn’t it?