#fanon ozai is cool

[hellisanhonourstudent]

🔥atla

Sozin should've been the Big Bad,and the timeskip could've been much shorter or outright be erased. He was treated as a human in a way Ozai wasn't.

Zuko and Azula not only would still work as Sozin's children,but their characters might benefit from having him to interact with. I mean,Zuko's moral struggle about the greatness of Fire Nation and his want to get approval from the same guy who started it all? Azula's whole "perfect child" thing not only as a daughter of Sozin "The One To Spread Fire Nation's Greatness" but also as a symbol of excellence for her entire country? Azula's own beliefs in the Supremacy of The Fire Nation,Might Makes Right and her own superiority? Sign me in!

[ultfreakme]

So much of the things that people think is wrong with NATLA is because the fandom has just made up fanon shit about OG ATLA over 16 years and then get mad that the fanon thing isn't in there.

Like Sokka’s "daddy issues". In canon, on text, he has NONE. Katara is the one with problems with her dad. Hakoda isn't defined too well as a character either, we made up a thousand things based on the handful scenes we saw. Same goes for Azula & Ozai’s relationship, or what Gran-Gran was supposed to be like (she was cool with banishing Katara with Aang, she's not particularly nice or warm y'all). There's a million little fanon things that people just think is canon because people have been repeating it fir close to 20 years.

[blodgmonster]

Thoughts on live action Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Not that anyone actually wants my take.

It's solidly in the middle. Not as horrible as that wrteched movie. Obviously, it's not as amazing as the original series. It was never going to be. It was NEVER going to be as good as the original. You can't top perfection. I don't hate it. I don't love it. Below the cut (for spoiler free...ness) are my likes and dislikes. Probably not all of them. I'm sure I forgot some.

LIKES

Iroh. His characterization was good and I like that it kind of addressed the fact that he's a war criminal. Our beloved war criminal.

Azula. I've always adored her and was worried they'd wreck her. Obviously, I want to see her blue fire, but she was clever and badass, and we saw her insecurities. And went she lightning bent? * chef's kiss * That's my girl. Also, glad they didn't have her grinning like a sociopath when Zuko got burned.

Kyoshi. They leaned HEAVILY into the fanon interpretation of her and she wouldn't have yelled at Aang but she was badass.

Aesthetics. The show looked good.

Jun and Nyla. Perfect

The line "You are the fire in which her iron was forged." Fantastic.

Yue. Less wishy washy, more proactive. Also, a waterbender who sometimes chills in the spirit world. Good for her. And no love triangle.

Big fish fuckin things up!

Sokka. The actor did a good job.

"Kick his ass." Sokka being fully supportive of Katara

Katara bringing all the women to the battle.

Having Zuko's crew be the division he got his scar for was a cool touch.

DISLIKES

Zuko fought back against Ozai in the Agni Kai? I think NOT. That's the whole point. Ozai attacked a CHILD who refused to fight back. That shows the depth of his evil. Why erase that?

Did Aang just...leave my boi Hei Bai raging and in pain?

Aang never learned waterbending!? Didn't even try? Why???

Where was Katara's rage? Yes she's hopeful and motherly and in touch with her feelings but she's also fucking angry and she's right and it's great. But cutting that, they made her one dimensional.

Cutting Sokka's character growth, wherein he learns to respect women. "It was problematic." Yeah, dude, that's the point. He was in the wrong and had to learn that.

Suki. They made her...less than somehow. Less capable. Less strong. Ogling Sokka? Unnecessary. Saying he brought the world to her? Lame.

BUMI. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? Bumi was so BITTER and CRUEL to Aang! It made me so mad. Yes, he's unhinged but he's also a playful genius

Aang was kind of wooden. They cut his joyful, playful nature. But that's at Aang'd core. Why cut that? And he sides with PAKKU when he says Katara can't fight? EXCUSE YOU? No. He calls him Master Poophead and teaches her himself.

Cramming all the spirit world stuff into one episode was weird. Koh, Wong Shi Tong, and Hai Bei all in one go? And having Gyatso there only to have him leave? What was that? And they stripped Koh of his purpose, telling Aang who Tui and La were.

What was Mai's wig? Good Lord. The wigs in general were meh, but hers was particularly heinous.

Kyoshi and Kuruk yelling at Aang. Too much yelling.

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

It’s ok for the lateness, the questions and I aren’t going anywhere lol

1: what type of weapons does Chris uses? I know for Jake he uses the typical “Batman” stuff and I saw a older post of yours saying he uses special “Nightwing sticks” to shoot beams of starbolts; it would be cool to see he can concentrate the starbolts in the sticks to become a lightsaber or maybe a battle axe.

2: is the Superman last son comic canon in your “universe?” Like Chris arrived to earth in that spaceship and then a few days/weeks later he sacrificed himself to close the portal getting aged up etc…

3: I read a post yesterday that Chris has blue heat version, does he had that before or after the Nightwing dragon entity?

4: what’s the most traumatic moment the duo experience?

5: how strong is Chris compared to the rest of his family before and after receiving the Nightwing dragon power? I can see him being the weakest since being born in the phantom zone and maybe third or second strongest after receiving Nightwing.

6: How old was Jake and what was he doing when he received his powers?

1. Primarily his main weapons of choice are dual wield Ecrima Sticks that contain special pores within their handles that allow his starbolts to travel into and supercharge some taser tips at the end of them at a voltage enough to stun both men and monsters. As complete maximum charge, the sticks can work in a manner akin to lightsabers as they can now deflect major energy attacks.

He can also combine his sticks at their other tips into a collapsible bo staff. Should Skybird finds himself without his sticks, he’s knowledgeable in multiple martial arts both Earth and Tamaran based in combination with his power set so he’s still not completely defenseless.

2. Primarily about the first half of it is more or less canon to these series of events; the events of him crash landing in an experimental pod in the heart of Metropolis west he first meets Clark (for a small artistic change from the original panel, Chris is clad in a black bodysuit like the one he had in his last appearance before the events of Flashpoint but that’s just a small detail), gets taken in by the DEO where they make the discovery of his Kryptonian heritage and just as they were taking him to another facility, Clark secretly interfered to stop them. He then takes in the 6 year old into his household after the intent to the public clear that he can stay with a human family as foster parents (I.e. him and Lois’ household alongside there then 4 year old son Jon) right before Bizarro, under orders from Luthor, attacked but during it, Chris saved Lois from getting crushed by the Daily Planet Globe. From there, things deviate with some parts and pieces adapted from the Kurt Busiek Superman run along with some tiny parts of the 2015 Lois and Clark series, detailing of a growing bond between Chris and Jon as they grow up together as brothers.

It’s not until Chris reaches 11 1/2 to 12 years of age when Zod and his army finally arrive from the Phantom Zone. By then, the bulk of Chris’ memories as Lor Zod have came back to him, in particular of the harsh way Zod raised him which reinforces both his inner insecurities as a Kent yet also his desire to stay with Clark and Lois. Plus advanced tests and scans from the Fortress of Solitude and the DCU’s top scientists help determine his place of origin.

3. At least in my fanon verse, it’s a trait he had basically since birth due to his birth in the Phantom Zone and all the wired effects it can do to even a Kryptonian’s physiology. Once he’s exposed to moonlight (and maybe partial yellow sunlight), that heat vision is accessible to him

4. Chris; easy his earlier childhood when raised by Zod. In this case, think of it along with how both Dabi and Shoto were raised underneath the reign of Enji Todoroki from My Hero Academia combine with a bit of how Zuko’s childhood went when Fire Lord Ozai was raising him from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

As for Jake; there’s three primary bad memories his mind circles back to during his emotional lowest moments. They are the time a Gordanian raid at Bludhaven came about when he was 4, him and Big Sis Mar’i bring outright ripped away from Kory’s arms by the sinister flying lizards which would’ve resulted in them being taken into slavery hadn’t it not been for their Mom and Dad acting fast to get them out of those arms

Then, for a second place of bad memories, when he was 9, getting abducted during a routine by a Talon and sent into a Labyrinth by the Court of Owls . For three days and two nights, he was lost and unable to escape the menacing white walls and never ending zigzagging maze, talons stalking him at every corner and only one fountain of fresh water to drink only said water was contaminated with substances that could make him start losing his mind no matter how thirsty he is. It was only by him taking advantage of an old school camera meant to capture his moments of torment and weak points in the marble foundation during another Talon encounter did he manage to escape the Labyrinth, reuniting with his family and taking the fight to the Owls themselves along with the rest of the Titans

Though of course in first place above all else, even more so than that fateful duel with Zsasz himself, that moment his father and him were investigating what Z list ex criminal Humpty Dumpty was doing going though some trouble for taking some broken toys to fix at an abandoned orphanage. Jake however then discovered it wasn’t just the toys that were broken….it was an entire orphanage of street urchins and orphans, no younger than 8 but no older than 12, that were broken. Humpty was trying to ‘fix’ them too in the best way he though he knew to no avail, and all during the weeks leading up to Christmas as well.

That image of the lifeless kids being carted into vans on stretchers with white blankets draped over them one by one is an image that haunts Jake’s memories to the present day. Ironic considering his own sleeping arrangements often have him covered up in his bed with the blankets draped over him similarly like that. Maybe the difference comes to that at least his family can hear him snoring peacefully under those sheets…not so much the case for those poor orphans that night.

5. His strength prior to the Nightwing entity being fully tapped into could be considerably between Jon and Conner, making about only the second weakest of the bunch. Once the entity was tapped into in full though, his power level increased dramatically being about the same as Kara, second only behind Clark’s himself…as he gets older though, it’s still growing, at a rate only matched by Jon’s growth

6. Jake’s powers first kicked in at the age of 8 when he was trying to fend himself from a school bully (he’s a late bloomer since Mar’i first got her powers basically since birth). At first, he kept them a tight secret even from his family, afraid of them getting out of control since they were mainly linked to his emotions. Naturally the Graysons find out about them during a time he was helping them in patrol, and felt ashamed. Dick and Kory though we’re understanding and after a talk between all of them that night, Kory and Mar’i helped Jake get a good learning with his newfound powers relatively quickly.

(Phew) it’s a lot @gothicghost2000 but I t’s worth it XD

[mohluskiepedard]

Rating ATLA Characters literally only from what I’ve seen in fandom

or: posts that probably shouldn’t be on my writeblr except I don’t have a sideblog

the context here is it’s half midnight and I have never seen ATLA except I have opinions now apparently so here we go whoop de do- 

I’m also not actually rating them like numerically that’s too much work i’m just stating opinions I know I’m a fraud

AANG

- A child?  - A son?  - he is Baby. but also. he has had It Rough  - would make the updog joke - has unspeakable power or smth and everyone says he’s better than the Korra girl who comes after him but honestly tastes like sexism to me - doesn’t kill people because he’s like twelve, right? he’s like twelve so he refuses to kill people - I stan honestly - less twelve year olds should kill people - Some people say his name WRONG and they are BAD but i don’t actually know what the right way or the wrong way is so. have fun w that yall - lived in peace unTIL THE FIRE NATION ATTACKED 

KATARA

- She is also like twelve???  - Is everyone here twelve - Cortana?? Katana?? Catbug??  - She has good hair, - Her mother is dead??? her mother is dead n she has a brother but she cares about her mother being dead WAY more than him (or apparently the entire fandom??) - Badass - She seems soft. good. sweet - she’s a water breather or whatever??? her brother is NOT but he is a meme - I love her 

SOKKA

- NGL looks like a fuckboy  - The meme brother! does not do the water things, but he has an aXe???  - dates BAMF lady - ngl until I talked to my ATLA watching friend I thought he canonically dated Zuko  - kinda mad he doesn’t - I haven’t actually seen anything about him except like. in zuko ship posts and also Suki appreciation posts - joined the white lotus not-a-cult by accident???  - dark ATLA tumblr show me more Sokka posts - is his name prounounced the same way as Soccer or isn’t it I need to know - HIS FIRST GIRLFRIEND TURNED INTO THE MOON - (AND THAT’S ROUGH, BUDDY) - He and Suki are a good ship, but also, Sokka Has Two Hands

SUKI

- the BAMF herself - she says STOP in that photo but also to sexism - Rlly all I see of her in fanon is abt her teaching Sokka to drink his respect women juice and I appreciate her doing that but also it’s sad she never gets talked about outside of what she did for a man - I hope she has other badass moments w/o him it would suck if she didn’t - she is NOT the girlfriend who turned into the moon, she is the one who didn’t - I don’t know much else about her ATLA Fandom y’all should appreciate her more

ZUKO

- Look at him... my son... - He has a good redemption arc - he and his sister are evil lesbian and redeemed gay guy??? - has a straight canon ship but should’ve been with Sokka this boy is gay - I Want To Protect Him - That’s literally it - he has a cool uncle and his dad sucks  - people ship him with Katara and I Do Not Get It that’s his sister in law except not really - “We don’t trust Zuko’s change of heart” [the next day] “so Zuko is my closest friend now,”  - His dad was like “fuck up the avatar to prove your worth to me” and Aang was like “counter argument you already have worth and we should fuck up your dad” and I think that’s beautiful - he becomes the fire man and he’s very good at it - Zuko for President 2020 - in the words of myself, half an hour ago: “ I was like "that kid with the burn on his face seems like a sad but then happy mlm who needs found family" and I was RIGHT” - took too long to find a happy picture of him :( Zuko rights NOW please - His mother’s story got compared to an OC of mine and all I can say is oh no and they deserve better based on that alone - I have had Zuko for five minutes but if anything else happens to him I will kill everyone in this throne room and then myself

TOPH

- She is badass but like also will murder you while laughing maniacally? - for some reason reminds me of Nott from Critical Role, another show I Have Not Seen - Is blind but gets more out of making jokes abt being blind than she would from being able to see - “Sight is just a cheap tactic to make weak benders stronger!!!” - Literally the opposite of Aang and has killed many people?? - She Can Tell When You’re Lying. But I do not know how and Am simply mildly threatened by this - Therapist: Toph’s ability to know if you’re lying isn’t real and can’t hurt you. Toph’s ability to know if I’m lying:  - She and Zuko.... buddies???  - if not they should be - tiny sad boy needs friends like toph

AZULA

- Evil Lesbian Culture - [BDG Voice] You committed a war crime! Oopsie! - took be gay do crime too literally - her and Zuko have accurate sibling writin except instead of “you ever want to murder your sibling for breathing in the same space as you,” being a Joke Azula took it seriously - okay but with a name like azula she should be the blue bender this ANNOYS me she should NOT be red bender - AZULa  - AZUL - IT MEANS BLUE - She was half of y’alls gay awakenings and it SHOWS - Should have maybe been redeemed too??? Jury is out no one knows - Was she gay for Ty Lee or wasn’t she I can’t tell how much of that Audio is a joke - IS SHE ALSO TWELVE??? IS EVERYONE HERE TWELVE?? IS THIS TWELVE YEAR OLD COMITTING ATROCITIES? 

UNCLE IROH

- A Good Man - Finally, Some Good Fucking [Adult Figures]  - he has the tea. literally and figuratively - Ozai is like “and I will permanently disfigure my son and throw him out” and Iroh is like “What The Fuck, Ozai,” thus voicing the entire audience’s thoughts - Literally the only adult in this that I trust - I? I love him. this is all I have to say. my love for him is unending. Some1 protect this man from all harm   - he’s Zuko’s uncle (and also Azula ig) but he does not seem related to Ozai. is it just a theme in this family that one sibling is chill and one sibling commits horrendous atrocities against your fellow human beings or  - something happened to his son???? :((((( I Don’t Want Him To Have Suffered Like This

OZAI

- A BAD MAN - Uh Oh (stinky)  - THE WORST OF THE MEN  - I do not like him - Bastard man. nasty. committed war crimes and then went “but what if - get this - i also abused my son,”  - I would like him to Not Be Like This - by Like This I mean present and alive  - :/ 

TY LEE

- She’s NOT the There Is No War In Ba Sing Se lady and I don’t know why i thought she WAS but until I looked up her photo I thought that was her  - She looks like a sweetheart tho - I hope nothing bad happens to her????  - talks about auras??? or smth??? let her vibe - She would talk animatedly to me about warrior cats if she was in my year seven class and I was sat alone and I would understand none of it but appreciate her anyway - if azula bullies her I’ll be :( at Azula and Azula will not care because she has Mommy Issues and therefore is slightly unhinged - She seems like that one kid with no trauma vibing at the edge of [every other kid having trauma] and not really getting it but trying her best - Is she also twelve?????? She maybe looks twelve

CABBAGE MAN 

- HIS CABBAGES - fulfills my favourite trope: ordinary person repeatedly has life disrupted by the inconveniences of relying on actual children to save the world - probably has a campaign post canon for letting trained adults fix the worlds’ problems in the future - or sets up the Very First Cabbage Insurance Company - look at him. he loves his cabbages so much. you go you funky lil cabbage man

ALSO THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES MOMO

- LOOK AT HIM HE’S SO GOOD - small. fluffy. big ears - Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty: his Momoness - a Good Boy...

APPA

- he looks so soft... - he can fly but he just does it by??? vibing through the air?? motionless??? iconic - I saw that one post about mishearing it as Abba and thinking he was Aang’s dad and he looks like he would be a good stand in dad ngl - he’s so LORGE - a chonky boy - love him

that is everyone I have heard of it and if I left someone out it’s a sign that y’all should talk about em more bc I have no clue they exist put more ATLA On my Dash ig I’ll do Legend of Korra ig maybe apparently that one has canon wlw and i love me some canon wlw

[wingsfreedom]

Why Aang is being shit on for not killing Ozai whereas fanon Kyoshi being worshipped for being a down-to-murder Avatar. What is wrong with this fandom?

Same ppl who think it's cool Toph has high body count shit on Azula for having allegedly high body count too.

[carnistcervine]

BEHOLD. MY COLLECTION.

...

They’re all T-posed because they’re unrigged. But anyway, from left to right these are season one Zuko, The Blue Spirit, Ba Sing Se Zuko, Beach Zuko, Gaang Zuko, Fire Lord Zuko, and XD00Zuko. And the big fella in the back is Gigantimax Zuko. I recorded myself modeling and texturing all of these and plan on posting them as speedmodeling videos, and today I plan on modeling all of my planned Azula variants.

This is the project I’ve been working on. :DD It’s a project that I’ve wanted to work on for a while tbh. I’m gonna make a bunch of low poly models of the ATLA cast. :D When I'm done, I plan on releasing them for download. I plan on making them available in packs though, because if I wait until every single model is done, none of them will be released. lol For each model I plan on doing multiple texture/material variations including different expressions. I also plan on doing "shiny" pallet variants, shadow, dynamax and for some specific characters gigantimax and XD001 inspired design variations. Because Pokemon.

Full variant list~ Material/Texture Mod -Avatar State -Dark Avatar State -Cosmic -Spirit -Shiny - I would like to say though, that I need help figuring out the shiny pallets, so any suggestions would be golden. ;w; (I’m thinking water tribe colors for Zuko?? But again, any feedback or suggestions would be grand) -Dynamax -Shadow

Character Design Variant(only for the Gaang, Suki, and Azula- Unless ya’ll have suggestions...?) -Gigantimax -XD001 inspired

I have a whole list of characters I plan on doing. And if anyone wants to see any particular characters or outfits done, let me know. ;D

Here’s a list of the characters I plan on doing so far: Zuko- All are modeled and textured -Season One Zuko -The Blue Spirit -Ba Sing Se Zuko -Zuko when he joins the Gaang -Gigantimax Zuko -XD00Zuko ~Unplanned, but I did them anyway because they seemed like fun -Fire Lord Zuko -Zuko during "The Beach"

Azula- Not started, but next to be done -Azula in her armor -Ba Sing Se Azula -Beach Azula -Mental breakdown Azula -Gigantimax Azula -XD00Azula

Aang- Not started -Season One Aang -Koizilla Aang -Fire Nation disguise Aang -Finale/Avatar Aang -Gigantimax Aang -XD00Aang

Katara- Not started -Season One Katara -Fire Nation disguise Katara -The Painted Lady -Finale Katara -Gigantimax Katara -XD00Katara

Toph- Not started -Fancy Toph(from her introduction) -The Blind Bandit -Fire Nation disguise Toph -Police Cheif Toph(from LOK, but IDGAF) -Gigantimax Toph -XD00Toph

Sokka- Not started -Season One Sokka -Fire Nation disguise Sokka -Sokka during the invasion -Gigantimax Sokka -XD00Sokka

Suki- Not started -Kyoshi Warrior Suki -Suki working for the Harbor lady -Prison Suki -Fire Nation disguise Suki -Gigantimax Suki -XD00Suki

Other Characters- -Dangerous Ladies Mai -Dangerous Ladies Ty Lee -Season One Iroh -Long Feng -Fire Lord Ozai -Princess Yue

Avatars- Not started -Roku -Kyoshi -Kuruk -That avatar that kinda looks like Jafar

Misc Characters- Not started -Jin -The Dai Li -Those creepy firebending soldiers with the skull plate masks -Foamy Mouth Guy -Jet -Haru -Cabbage Man

The Ember Island Actors- Not started -EIP Aang -EIP Zuko -EIP Katara -EIP Sokka -EIP Toph -EIP Azula

"Old Friends"- Not started -Adult Aang -Adult Katara -Adult Sokka -Adult Toph -Adult Zuko

Animals- Not started -Appa -Momo -Hawky -Turtle Duckling

Spirits- Not started -Hei Bei or Heibei? IDK -Tui and La

Once again, I am open to suggestions or requests for canon characters and fanon designs/variants of canon characters.

And any ideas or suggestions for shiny pallets, pls.

I love 3D modeling and this is my gift to this fandom, because I absolutely adore ATLA and ya’ll are cool.

Also let me know if ya’ll are interested in these being released in installments of sorts, like once the whole pack is modeled and textured I release v1, and one all texture and material variants are done I release v2, when the models are rigged I release v3.

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

Whaaaaat is your definition of regret?? According to google, regret is “to feel sad, repentant, or disappointed over (something that has happened or been done, especially a loss or missed opportunity)”. So I don’t see how Aang berating himself over his error (“I’m so stupid!”) is not considered regret? He regrets making Katara uncomfortable and he regrets kissing her when she said she was confused, which is made clear from how he beats himself up about his poor decision. He makes no future romantic attempts towards her afterwards because he respects her boundaries and acknowledges how he violated them. It’s also worth noting that considerable time passes between Ozai’s defeat and the Kataang kiss (Sokka’s leg is healed), so they could have talked off-screen, but more importantly it’s clear Aang was willing to wait for Katara’s decision and he didn’t rush her to make it. So, I’m sorry he didn’t begin to spout a soliloquy about his regret? Did you want him to bust into a monologue or something??

That said, by your logic, Zuko also never expresses regret for any of his actions in the series! Let’s look at ONE example of the negative consequences of Zuko’s actions from pre-Gaang. Just one! In TSR, Katara directly explains to him why she’s angry and she doesn’t trust him, and he’s then like, “Ugh! I don’t understand why she’s mad at me!” His attention remains on himself and his belief that he DOES deserve forgiveness (and he acts like he doesn’t understand why Katara hasn’t forgiven him yet,, like she didn’t JUST explain it to him lmao), and thus he does not pay attention to Katara’s feelings. He also proceeds to go to Sokka for more details rather than Katara herself. So… you must agree that Zuko, too, never once expresses any regret at all for the harm he caused to the Gaang before he joined them! Right?

Heavy sarcasm, obviously, because Zuko does express regret. Aang does express regret. Canon makes it clear they both know what they did wrong and are thus eventually forgiven for their mistakes. No double standards here, thank you.

Why would you say there’s no understanding behind why Katara’s making the choice to be with Aang?? You can’t look at that episode as one singular event; you have to look at the show as a whole. Why Katara is making the choice to kiss Aang is extremely obvious when you look at the entire series - she’s in love with him. I don’t care whether you ship it or not, because I firmly believe (or at least hope) that most people can differentiate between canon and fanon (I ship Zutaraang and Mailee like there’s no tomorrow but I also acknowledge that Zuko was in love with Mai and she was in love with him during the series!) and thus the canon material demonstrates that Katara is deeply in love with Aang. Refer to these metas and analyses if you don’t understand the canon depth of Katara’s feelings for Aang (but do not harass the writers. i don’t think you will bc you seem pretty chill and i really vibe with that but do not do it. no one do it. that’s not cool, people).

Anyways, it is therefore crystal clear from the series as a whole that Katara loves Aang, so it makes perfect sense why she’s making the choice to kiss him - the war is over, she no longer has to worry about him dying in the fight against Ozai, and she feels free to acknowledge that she loves him. That’s simply canon material. Again, who cares if you ship it? The whole point of fanon is to break away from or expand or do whatever you want with canon. But it’s important to be able to say “hey this is what canon consists of, and what i don’t like i won’t use!” Post-canon MaixAang is another ship I have a fondness for - but even though I ship it, I can also acknowledge that it doesn’t have any real basis in canon. So you can’t say there’s no understanding behind why Katara makes the choice to kiss and be with Aang, because there is. Canon is full of it.

Look, I 100% agree that there could have been more addressing Aang kissing her without permission. I wish that moment was something included in canon (obviously lol. I have a massive soft spot for Kataang why would I refuse more content lmfao) but as you pointed out, there are several times throughout the series that the writers did not include word-for-word, verbal “I am sorry for this, this, and this” apologies. Examples -

Aang does not apologize for the EIP kiss (but he expresses regret and Katara forgives him, as I’ve already discussed)

Aang does not apologize for taking the map (but he expresses regret and is willing to go off without them because he knows how important it is for them to see their dad; Katara and Sokka forgive him because they know the world needs the Avatar more than they need to see their dad, which is incredibly mature of them and also incredibly tragic, again demonstrating the constant theme that kids should be allowed to be kids and war robs them of that. they also understand that hey, Aang felt kind of left out, and hey, Aang has already irreversibly lost everything and everyone in his life no wonder it was so painful for him to sit in the background and watch us talk about the importance of our family and our culture. Sokka and Katara have empathy, and they don’t forever hold Aang’s decision to take the map [which he gives back in what? less than a day? I’m just saying he didn’t keep it long] against him because they know Aang is sorry for his actions and that’s how friendship works)

Aang does not apologize for yelling at Toph when Appa was stolen (it’s important to consider this in context, though; Aang’s only living connection to his people was taken - it is very, very understandable that he’d be devastated and would thus react very drastically upon learning this; furthermore, once he works past his initial anguish it’s clear he does not actually blame Toph for Appa being kidnapped, and Toph, while initially upset and hurt by his accusation, is not angry about him lashing out at her because hello. it was an emotionally-fueled moment and Toph is not stupid. she recognizes he didn’t mean what he said and it was just his fear, anger, and grief getting the best of him. Toph did not need an apology from Aang to know that he didn’t actually believe it was her fault Appa was taken, even if his words stung at first)

Katara never apologizes to Sokka for telling him he didn’t love their mother like she did

Zuko never apologizes for using Katara’s (her mother’s) necklace to manipulate her

Iroh never apologizes for his siege of Ba Sing Se

Zuko never apologizes for betraying Katara in Ba Sing Se and letting Azula kill Aang

Zuko never apologizes for sending ‘combustion man’ after them

Toph never apologizes for the scams she pulled in TR

These things never have word-for-word “I am sorry” apologies (the closest I think is Zuko’s “Hello, Zuko here” speech). But in different ways, the characters express regret and work to earn forgiveness because they are sorry for their actions. Iroh liberates Ba Sing Se. Zuko goes on those ‘life-changing field trips’ to help get the Gaang to trust him. Toph stops the incessant scamming and admits to Katara that the root of her troubles was parental issues. None of these instances ever include “I’m sorry because [insert reason here]”, but we know from canon that all of these characters do regret their actions. So don’t cherry-pick instances with Aang when characters not apologizing on-screen is a common occurrence throughout the show, okay? Again, no double standards here.

Here’s a couple other metas that talk about the EIP kiss and why it was resolved in canon, maybe not in the greatest way possible, but resolved nonetheless.

This one talks about narrative framing/parallels depicting resolution.

This one talks about how the EIP kiss is so often blown out of proportion.

Regarding your comment about this being some kids first example of consent - for one, I really think you underestimate the intelligence of kids. When Aang berates himself for kissing Katara, when Katara reacts negatively and gets angry about his action, that paints a very clear picture that “hey kids! you can’t just kiss someone and expect them to be okay with it!” Don’t assume kids always need things spelled out for them (they sometimes do, duh, but kids are often way smarter than adults give them credit for). Treating kids like toddlers will make you their enemy. And two, it is not the job of a cartoon to give a lesson on consent. Yes, the show 100% makes it very clear that Aang’s actions are wrong, but even if it didn’t, it technically doesn’t have to.

But I’ll say this again: the show makes it clear in canon that Aang shouldn’t have kissed Katara there. Full stop. If you aren’t seeing that, then what - did you shut your eyes when the EIP episode came on?

Like I said earlier: I would love for there to have been another moment where Aang and Katara talked about that kiss and why it was inappropriate. There is no reason for me to be opposed to more Kataang content lmao. But there isn’t, and the show resolves the issue anyways, even if it’s not as specific as it arguably could be.

As for Aang being “rewarded by the narrative”. That’s an age-old anti-Aang argument and I’m tempted to just tell you to use google because my friend, it has been debunked a million times. And literally, what does it even mean? He’s being rewarded for what? It makes no sense lmao. You’re telling me Aang is being “rewarded” with Katara? Okay, firstly, I detect some heavy racism and sexism there that completely ignores Katara’s own arc, her independence and agency as a character, and the fact that she chooses to be with Aang by the end of the story (not from you specifically; that’s a fandom issue in general). How could she be a “reward”, anyway, if their feelings are mutual? Katara expressed interest towards Aang in every book - you don’t have to like it, don’t have to ship it, whatever, who cares, but that’s the canon material (again, use fanon to explore other opportunities! just don’t get mad when fanon isn’t reflected in canon!). So… Aang is being “rewarded” because the girl he’s in love with loves him back, after their relationship has been built up through 61 episodes? What? That argument literally makes no sense to me. And far, far more importantly, that argument diminishes Katara’s significance and her agency as the primary female lead (throughout all three books as a whole) and I will not freaking stand for that bullshit. The narrative did not “reward” Aang with anything because Katara is not a reward.

Case in point: why did I take the time to respond to this? Because my Zutaraang prompts have me stuck (#writersblock) so I’m using this to exercise another part of my writing-brain: analysis. Have a good day, and any future inquiries can be directed to my PayPal. DM me for details.

thank you for agreeing with me, it's honestly so rare to find people who love aang, idk why but i get seriously ticked off whenever people hate on aang for unjustified reasons, distorting what is seen or even amplifying a mistake to make it seem so bad when actually it isnt/he actually shows regret? like man all zuko had to say was "i'm sorry for everything i'd done" and everyone forgave him, meanwhile aang wrongly kissed katara, showed regret for it and everyone's calling aang a rapist :(

oh my god people are saying WHAT. jesus christ whaaaat the hell?? like,, no one has ever said aang was in the right for kissing katara without her consent. NO ONE. the show depicts his decision as wrong and demonstrates aang as showing appropriate regret afterwards because he shouldn't have done so and he knows it. ik some people complain that it wasn't addressed in the show but like,, it WAS addressed in that katara was the one to initiate their kiss in the finale. she CHOOSES to be with aang. she has forgiven him for his mistake and bears no ill will against him for it and the show makes that pretty freaking clear when they get together. (i mean, she forgave zuko for almost killing everyone in the gaang including herself multiple times, for being complicit in aang's death by azula's hand, for betraying her in ba sing se, for using her mother's necklace to manipulate her, and for the million other bad things zuko has done to all of them, so it's not a surprise she forgave aang for one poorly-timed kiss, too, especially because the show makes it very clear that she and aang have an incredibly powerful connection and one of the strongest, healthiest relationships, whether you prefer to view it as romantic or platonic.)

again: literally every aang/kataang fan i know agrees that aang shouldn't have kissed her then. it was inappropriate and aang realizes that, too, immediately afterwards! comparing that to r.ape is immensely disrespectful to victims of sexual assault. like what the hell i can't believe people actually say that how crass and cruel do you have to be?? that's so gross and incosiderate and jfc. no. i refuse to deal with that idiocy

that said i don't think zuko got off quite that easy lol. certainly not from katara. but i don't want to compare zuko and aang because their arcs are very very different (zuko has to unlearn and break out of the imperialist narrative he was raised in while aang's story is about coming to terms with his roles as the avatar and the last airbender). but yeah there is no such thing as valid aang criticism (regarding atla at least i haven't seen lok yet) because it always completely mischaracterizes him and is 99% of the time rooted in ship wars which is stupid af. aang is an amazing and incredibly unique protagonist and if people can't see that?? their loss!

[araeph]

How do you see relationships between the Gaang progressing throughout adulthood? Bryke obviously did a bad job portraying them in general, and seeing how the other avatar writers felt the same, I imagined so much more for our favorite characters than what Bryke lazily did. Any thoughts on other characters like June?

First of all, therewould be NO leaving Zuko completely on his own to govern the Fire Nation. Thatis just a stupid move politically, militarily,

Jack: Spiritually, ecumenically, dramatically …

You name it. Thismeans that Iroh stays in the Fire Nation with Zuko, so that rather thanbacksliding by chatting with Ozai, Zuko would gain ground in his mission toredeem himself and the Fire Nation. The first few years would be extremelyvolatile, and there would be a lot of challenges ahead. He would have to searchfor his mother and reconcile, somehow, with Azula. But you know who would havebeen there to help him?

Aang. No, not theAang who decided “A promise is a promise!” and went into the Avatar State twice to attack Zuko. No, this Aang hascomplete control of the Avatar State, as he shouldhave by the end of the show, since that was one of the main goals of hischaracter. Aang would have gone to the Fire Nation first, since he spent theleast amount of time there out in the open and would have major trustrebuilding to do after what happened with Ozai.

During his time inthe Fire Nation, he would have discovered Ty Lee as an untrained airbender.This would give him the impetus to start looking for other airbenders, whomight not even know about their gifts. He would have difficulty with awork-life balance, but he would eventually find a way with the help of:

Toph. Toph’smetalbending academy is something I wholeheartedly approve of. I think sheshould eventually become a businesswoman and use her family’s vast wealth tomake Gaoling (and their new ally, Omashu) alternate power centers, so Ba SingSe wouldn’t have such a stranglehold on the rest of the Earth Kingdom, with metalbenders initially acting as private security, and later, a police force in the city. But while I understand that Toph has the attitude of a beat cop, she hates the city,walls, and rules, and there would be a bunch of all three if she became Chiefof Police. (P.S. She would have many more tea times with Uncle, and get that life-changing field trip with Zuko we allwanted to see.)

Toph would alsohave issues to sort through with her parents, and she would probably never seeeye to eye with her family. But one person would help coach her through it:

Katara. At first,Katara would bury herself in her work at the South Pole, helping her father,brother, and Pakku rebuild the Southern Water Tribe. She would be at the heartof social justice issues, especially for Water Tribe women, and would challengemore than one antiquated idea that the Northerners would bring with them. Shewould get many marriage offers once she turned sixteen, and to take a breakfrom it, she would answer Zuko’s request help find his mother. This leads toher realizing how stifled she feels at home, where everyone expects her tocater to them, in addition to helping lead their tribe. She would apply for adiplomatic post to the Fire Nation and eventually create her own cross-bendingschool, adapting her school from Toph’s metalbending academy. At first, shewould worry about not being at home enough to help the women’s rights movementin the Water Tribe, but someone else has the situation under control:

Suki. Suki would bean asset as the head of the Kyoshi Warriors, and also as a partner for Sokka.Her island’s location and the fact that the villagers wear blue all point toWater Tribe influence on Kyoshi anyway, and once the war is over and tradebegins booming again, she would work to make Kyoshi less of a spectator in theworld and more of a participant. She would be an excellent role model forSouthern Water Tribe girls who don’t want to be pigeonholed into the homemakerideal, and could also play a part in Republic City eventually. As the leader ofan island that was neutral during the war, Suki would be an ideal person tohave on the Republic City Council. (P.S. Why it’s a Council of Five when thereare no nonbending representatives in LOK is a mystery to me. This would fixthat oversight.) But who would lead the Kyoshi Warriors if she took up such aposition?

Ty Lee. Ty Lee didn’tget a real explanation for why she joined the Kyoshi Warriors, especiallyconsidering her misgivings about spending the rest of her life as a matchedset. She could turn the tables on the idea, lending individuality to theWarriors and teaching them chi blocking techniques while learning some of theirfighting styles as well. These nonbenders could eventually form the Equalistmovement, but a different one than in LOK—a morally ambiguous movement, insteadof a villainous cadre led by a demagogue.

In the end, though,Ty Lee is a wanderer, and I’m inclined to believe that she is, in fact, anuntrained Air Nomad. Eventually she would discover this, and that not only isshe not part of a matched set; she is possibly one of the rarest human beingsin the world. This would interfere with her “aura” for sure, because she’s notnecessarily cut out for the ascetic Air Nomad lifestyle. So while she would behappy for Aang to train her, she might also butt heads with him about how tobest secure the Air Nomad legacy for the future. Of course, since the AirAcolytes in Korra treated Kya andBumi so abysmally, in my opinion this could only be a good thing. Through itall, she would still keep in touch with:

Mai. I have adifferent character path planned for Mai than what other fans might suggest. Maibecoming a bounty hunter is a popular fanon idea, which makes sense, since shedid seem to enjoy tracking down Zuko and Iroh so that Azula could imprisonthem for life, as anyone would enjoy doing to a person they supposedly had acrush on. To me, Mai’s poker face and cool-under-fire attitude screams“White Lotus”, of which there are no female members that we know at the endof A:TLA. The main obstacle to inducting her into the Order would be that theWhite Lotus is based on principles of interconnection and understanding othercultures, which Mai categorically does not have. But this is one of the placesshe could thus grow the most, without having such character development tied toa specific person. The fact that she fooled the Fire Princess means she canplay both sides skillfully, which she’ll need to, considering a rival to theidea of a balanced world is going to be:

Azula. With Ozaiimprisoned and without his bending, Azula is the most creditable foe thefranchise still has. Patchy though her sanity might be, she is still extremelydangerous (as we saw during the Agni Kai). In an ideal world, she would use heralmost preternatural instincts for personal weakness and manipulation to be aruler, but the very confidence she exudes is based on her rigid mindset and afalse sense of Fire Nation superiority. As natural as leadership might be forher, she burned all her bridges when she banished or imprisoned every followershe had. I like the idea of her relearning the meaning of firebending from thedragons and bringing the Sun Warriors into the modern era, but it would be avery painful character path for her when just being mentally stable is a hugehurdle. I think she would need to stay in the Fire Nation for several years,slowly healing with Zuko’s help, before even attempting it.

There is one otherpath that I would consider for Azula, and that is: the Spirit World. Azula isnot a terribly spiritual person, but a spiritual journey such as Iroh underwentmight actually help her. It could train her mind to separate illusion and self-deceptionfrom reality, and give her a better sense of where she belongs in the world.Not to mention, the Spirit World is dangerous and full of tricksters such asKoh; I think she would enjoy the challenge.

And what about Sokka?

Well, Sokka’s character got shoved to the side in the comics, but honestly, him being on the Republic City council, helping the White Lotus, and likely being chief one day is just fine! Legend of Korra didn’t really do him the disservice that it did the other characters. However, there is one thing that he will never, EVER be, and that is the possible deadbeat dad of Suyin. For my reasons why, please look at this post.

I don’t have ideasfor anyone else, really, but we can’t leave out our most important character:

The GAang. In thecomics and LOK, the GAang all seem to have gone their separate ways, especiallywith Zuko being so isolated from everyone except Aang. Katara, too, seemsvery cut off from current events, which is unacceptable. The GAang remainedlifelong friends, regardless of any romantic relationships or lack thereof.Busy and hazardous as their lives might have been, they would always make thetime to write, visit, plan projects, and attend reunions together.

(P.S. I don’t knowthat June needs to develop as a character; she’s one of those tertiarypersonalities that’s just fine with the amount of screentime she has.)

[botherkupo]

Pretty much. I’m cool with platonic. I even enjoy fanon versions of the canon couples, so it’s not like I’m out here all “how dare!” because Zutara isn’t canon.

But the post show stuff (LoK and at least the few comics I have read) did things that just made me go

It’s kind of sad if you can’t trust your preferred romantic pairing to stand up on its own without butchering friendships and other characters. Heck, romance aside, the whole gaang friendship was messed up in The Promise for shitty drama (seriously, in what universe would Zuko take advice from OZAI after everything. In what universe would the gaang be like “yeah we ain’t gonna visit our young, inexperienced Fire Lord bestie despite we have a FLYING BISON” and it’s obviously going to be difficult for him, never mind agreeing to kill him. Just huge wtf.)

If people can enjoy that, great, cool. I just really can’t. Considering friendship is the most important thing to me and they dared to ruin that, that’s when I pull out the how dare!

“why can’t you just enjoy zutara as a platonic friendship” okay maybe there is something to this argument for example here are some great moments of zutara friendship from the atla comics:

and of course who can forget those awesome scenes they shared in lok:

and even bryke have had nice things to say in interviews about zuko and katara’s relationship as seen here:

we really should appreciate all that more