#i understand that her anger when she was a kid was unreasonable and biased and terrible

[princessdarth-vader]

I think my ultimate thoughts re; Kipperlilly is that I wish we got a scene where a character was allowed to show her... sympathy. I know there's a tone you wanna hit with a victorious season finale, and a somber note of a teenager falling into a deep well of rage doesnt match that tone but it would've been nice to see.

In my dream world, we get an extra epilogue scene where Riz goes to see Jawbone to go and talk to him, and brings up the thing he mentioned about "seeing Kipperlilly in himself" -- relating that to what Jawbone said at the beginning of the year, and wanting to talk about that deeply set in need for control, and the latent anger he has, and all the ways he is like Kipperlilly, and doesn't want to be.

And in response, Jawbone is able to address the ways in which he failed Kipperlilly, and let her down. That she needed more help than he could provide, that she needed someone who wasn't too afraid of their own biases to shut down her anger, someone who could maybe have given her a support system to turn to instead of Porter. Someone external to the school and the social dynamics within it. Just an acknowledgement from, as far as we know, the only adult in Kipperlilly's life who earnestly tried -- and earnestly failed -- to help her find a better path than her rage.

Just a small moment of acknowledgement that Kipperlilly was a child, an angry, scared, biased and deeply insecure child who was looking for help when she first walked into Jawbone's office, and because of all the adults who failed her, she was turned into something unrecognisable by the time she was 17.

[scalamore]

Was Lari's feeling toward Rupert after chapter 49 until chapter 110 were love and hate or something else? I don't understand her feelings, it's not like you can forgive and start to trust someone just because he was being kind toward you for years. Even if you tried to lie to yourself trying to hate someone, usually you will ended up losing rational reasons to hate that person because you love that person. But that's not what happened in Lari's case, she still believed that Rupert will kill her.

(Scroll to the bottom for the actual TL;DR answer)

The nice thing about this story, is that because it's never explicitly stated, you can make your own conclusion on what her feelings are. Lari is in such denial of her feelings, that you can conclude anything you want. BUT, here are my thoughts on dissecting her characterization, because it's the backbone of the entire series: Lari's hatred and fear Timeline 1- Up until Lari's death: Lari didn't know anything about Rupert at all. Just like all the other girls, she had a superficial crush on him for his glorious appearance; she was doki doki when he kissed her hand during her debutante and when they exchanged a few words, but otherwise did not know him at all. All she knew of him was based on various rumors from society's gossip, as well as the negative things House Belois spoke of. As she knew NOTHING because House Belois kept everything a close secret from her, she ended up making her own conclusion, which was a immature, biased one: Rupert is the enemy. He is a tyrant out for blood, he has no redeeming features, he's just a heartless bastard.

She blamed all the world's wrongs on him, essentially using him as the "big bad" scapegoat as a way to cope with her loneliness and fear especially after the rest of House Belois was executed. To her, there was absolutely no way her friends or family could be wrong, so it was all Raspereich I's fault. In the last few months of her life, as she was rotting away in prison, that's literally all on her mind: how much she hated him, how much he ruined her life, it's all his fault, his fault his fault etc. Hatred of him literally permeated throughout her entire being, and the cherry on top was that rigged trial from the incompetent judge. The last thing she thought before she died was literally how much she hated him.

Regression:

As expected, Laris' thought process/hatred of Rupert continues into TL2. She acknowledges she knows nothing about him, is terrified and hates him so much, but she will swallow that fear and stay strong!!! It doesn't take long for Lari to be utterly confused though... the Rupert she sees... is normal. He may be rude and mean, but there's times he's nice to her and Tori. He isn't overly violent. He's just a kid that minds his own business and keeps out of trouble.

That realization that Rupert is a normal kid really messes with Lari. She had raised her guard, concluding he was a beast in human form, he's fundamentally unreasonable and violent... but she hasn't seen any of that.

She then realizes that.... if Rupert is a normal kid, then where will she put her rage and anger? who can she blame for the pain and suffering of TL1 she endured? She can't just blame an innocent child... but where will her hatred go...?

Chapter 40

Lari's trust and belief in her family is just so so strong that she can't wrap her head around at the inconsistency. She's been raised to believe in them without any doubt, that her father is the most righteous, so she can't cope with the realization that her father and family was wrong. So for a while longer, although she knows it's wrong, she continues to insist to hate TL2, even when she KNOWS he's nothing like TL1 Rupert. Because that's the only way she can cope with her current situation: She consciously CHOOSES to continue to hate him, because she can't deny her family, and the "truth" she knows.

In Season 2, the next big step is that Lari finds out Rupert's past: She learns the "truth", that Rupert hated House Belois because her cowardly father, had condemned Eva and Rupert to live essentially as slaves in the palace. He was the only one who could have saved them, but he ran away, hiding to the South and abandoned her cries for help. Of course Rupert would be resentful of that. She learned at this time, that House Belois's crime was not of "treason", but rather for neglect of the Empress and future Emperor, so it makes sense that Rupert would strike back at the House that abandoned him once he obtained power.

Chapter 59

Again, Lari continues to conclude she WILL continue to hate Rupert.... she can't forgive him...because she's just a bad person... she can't forgive so easily....

A few months later, even in Chapter 60, Lari has trouble accepting the truth. She's been ignoring letters from home, and she can't make a decision. She knows about Rupert's situation now, and she can't blame him... but... she still can't forgive him (because of all that massive trauma she experienced).

After being saved again by Rupert from Grand Duke Ventibolt's mansion, Lari finally made a decision: She's finally accepted that House Belois was in the wrong for abandoning Rupert and Eva. He's obviously shown he cares for her and her well-being, he's not violent, and he's not at all like the TL1 Rupert she projected onto him...

Ch 68

Ch 75

Again, after being saved by him, Lari can no longer deny how TL2 Rupert is different than TL1 Rupert. Soon, she no longer thinks about how much she needs to hate him, how she should hate him... she just... stops thinking about it after this point. Instead, a new feeling pops up and replaces that: her chest tightens, and she feels an ache in her chest whenever she sees him (implied to be her growing feelings for him).

The next time her hatred of him comes up, is much later, in Chapter 92. She admits that yes, she once hated him so much, but not anymore: she truly wants him to be happy.

In Chapter 97, we get the mention of Lari's fear again. Although she doesn't hate him anymore, there's still a bit of fear that Rupert could flip a switch and become Rasperiech I again. It's because she has no knowledge of TL1: What caused him to hunt down all the nobles then? Remember, she has no idea of Eva/Tori's plans to use him to destroy the empire from within, all she knows is they want him to grow up cruel and isolated and absolute power. Even though Lari understands and knows this Rupert very well, be can't just let go of her trauma that easily: she MUST stay on guard for the moment Rupert potentially flips a switch and goes on a murderous rampage... it doesn't seem like he would, but just in case.

That's the thing truly holding Lari back from accepting Rupert: is she has no guarantee he won't change. She's been anticipating him "changing" this whole time, but he's still the same kind person to her this whole time.

This fear of him striking back was triggered in Chapter 109. When Lari found out about her actual origins and that House Belois was actually planning treason, her fears completely manifested. It wasn't that Rupert would flip a switch, it's that he had complete justification in getting rid of them. It's no longer an irrational fear, but rather he was in the right. She didn't think she was THAT precious to him to convince him to spare her and Belois - that's her incorrect belief.

Finally, in Chapter 113, Lari finally gets it. She finally sees Rupert for who he is and no longer hates or even fears him. He got it across to her, in Chapters 110-110 that she's the most precious person to him, he loves her, he'll do anything for her.... but that's not what she wants. She wants time to herself to be free, away from all the political drama. Here's a previous post I wrote on Lari's "heart ache" vs guilt:

Here's a post that summarizes why Lari has issues accepting her own feelings for him:

Here's the post that I think you're making a comment of, when lari realizes she cares for him:

So to actually answer your question: Lari stopped hating him around chapter ~70, and it took her a few more months to actually truly stop hating him. She was SUPER scared of him at the start, but eventually, that decreased a lot to where she forgot about it, but the idea of him flipping a switch and becoming a psychotic murderer was still in the back of her mind, as recent as chapter 109. By Ch 115, she completely no longer hates or fears him. For sure, Lari has developed SOME sort romantic feeling for him, even if it's not as clear-cut to call it "love". She definitely cares for his well-being, looks after him, is always by his side, worries the most for him, and feels happy and comfortable around him. The two of them are almost always seen together, and they're naturally in tune with the other too. Outsiders when they seen RupeLali together, assume they're a couple, and from Louis, Tori, Lehan, House Belois's POV, the two are "very close" and couple-like. Lari gets upset when she thinks he doesn't trust her, when in fact he does. When they're apart, she always thinks about him, sometimes for hours, and it doesn't take much time before she misses him and wonders how he's doing. Even if the story doesn't directly and obviously says it's "love". it's definitely something along those lines. The thing is, for Lari, after she learned that Rupert is not some kind of psychotic murderer, that he's actually a nice and considerate guy, and that her family was in the wrong... she allows herself to take a breather and relax. During this time, she realizes that TL1 was essentially a rose-tinted lie: she lost her bonds with her friends and family one by one, with Riche hating her this whole time, Amelia not caring if she was murdered, her family consistently hiding things and lying to her. On the other hand, Rupert is again, consistently nice to her and tries to cherish her, who saves her over and over again during their adventures, who sticks up for her, retalites if she's hurt, and most importantly is honest and doesn't lie to her. He's a straightforward, good guy. In a situation where betrayal and lies are rampant, where Lari is lonely because she has the burden of memories of TL1, it's just so refreshing to be able to relax around Rupert at least and not put up appearances. It takes her a while, but she has multiple steps towards healing and acceptance:

She recognizes and accepts that TL1 Rupert is different from TL2 Rupert

She actively tries to understand why Rupert would act a certain way in both timelines

She sees him as a person

When she realizes that her misconceptions and bias were wrong (around chapter 60), that allows her to slowly get rid of all her hatred, and most of her fears. This starts when she's age 14, up until she's 17 in the manhwa. This is almost 3 years of healing from her trauma.

For those with trauma, there's a technique called "cognitive behavioral therapy" where those with traumatic experiences learn to take control of their own life by positive reinforcement: In this case, Lari spent 5 years with Rupert, and in those 5 years, consistently saw how nice and considerate he was to her, and with such daily exposure to someone who wouldn't hurt her - this helps tremendously with her healing process, because she feels safe and reassured around him. That's the key: she feels safe around him in TL2.

[neva-borne]

Aang was infatuated with Katara, not in love with her

Look, he may have believed it was love. He was 12, after all, and how many 12-year-olds are actually astute in terms of their own emotions? Not many, for sure.

Katara may very well have been the first girl he’d ever really seen. In the show, in canon, all we see are male airbenders at Aang’s temple. I can’t say definitively that he never saw other girls, especially since he apparently traveled around the Earth Kingdom and even Fire Nation as a kid (since he was friends with Bumi and Kuzon). But the chances of Katara being the first girl he ever really got to interact with are quite high, based off the canon content we were given.

(This got way longer than expected so more under the cut)

So, back to the point. Let’s start with some definitions.

Merriam-Webster defines infatuation as:

a feeling of foolish or obsessively strong love for, admiration for, or interest in someone or something : strong and unreasoning attachment

It defines love as:

(1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties

(2): attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers

(3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests 

Going off that, we can examine the evidence from the show. First, Aang’s reaction to seeing Katara for the first time:

He’s just woken up from a 100-year Avatar State-induced coma, basically. Katara is the first person he sees. Katara is a pretty girl. On top of that, she’s nice. She rescued him. It’s natural for him to feel some connection to her.

Then, a few episodes later, we get this scene:

This is the most obvious mention of his crush thus far, combined with the blushing that Aang does whenever Katara touches him to improve his waterbending form.

This image itself is probably enough reason to argue that Aang was infatuated with her and not in love with her. This is effectively showing that Aang does not see Katara AS SHE IS, but as something perfect and untouchable, in a way. Sure, we all have our biases towards the people we like, but true love, the kind that lasts, goes beyond that - it recognizes flaws and accepts them instead of ignoring them.

This continues throughout the show, and this scene is ultimately repeated when the camera slow-pans up Katara to show off her Fire Nation outfit in Season 3 (just without the sparkles).

But Neva, there’s no sparkles, so surely that means he DOES see her as she is, and not as some perfect girl with no flaws?

To that I say, Aang has matured somewhat by this point. He’s realized he has to defeat the Fire Lord or have the world end. He’s finally facing reality. 

However, the way he treats Katara still shows how little he understands the true Katara. 

“It's okay, because I forgive you. [Pauses.] That give you any ideas?”

I know that The Southern Raiders episode is used all the time by Zutarians to show how much the Zuko/Katara dynamic works. In this post, I’m not going to compare Aang to Zuko. I’m just going to describe how Aang treats Katara.

Aang clearly is struggling to understand Katara’s anger at the man who killed her mother. He’s been through enormous loss himself, losing the airbenders and almost losing Appa, one of his last ties to his culture and his animal guide. And both of those situations triggered intense emotional responses from him. He went into the Avatar State upon discovering Monk Gyatso’s body and the destruction of his childhood home, and he flew off in a rage in the dessert and verbally attacked Toph for letting the sandbenders capture Appa (despite Toph having done literally everything within her power to save both Appa and prevent the library from sinking and burying her friends forever). And when Aang found the sandbenders responsible, he once again went into the Avatar State and destroyed two of their sand boats. 

Yet, after all that, he acts all high and mighty and says Katara should forgive the man who murdered her mother in cold blood. 

Based on this massive misunderstanding of Katara’s motivations, it is clear that Aang does not love her - certainly not in the way that would last romantically. His feelings are foolish and obsessive, based on the ideal image of her that exists in his mind. They are much more in line with the definition of infatuation than the definition of love.

Does he admire her? Maybe. But he admires a version of her that doesn’t actually exist. He admires the perfect, flawless Katara.

His strong and unreasoning attraction to Katara does not stem from a deep personal connection. The only common tie they have is that they both want to save the world. Katara always stands her ground to help people while Aang often runs away even when he should stay (see The Storm, The Awakening, etc). 

His obsession with Katara also led him to risk the entire survival of the world because he chose her over mastering the Avatar State (which was the only possible way he was going to defeat Ozai). He was not sacrificing himself in this instance, he was not being selfless, he was being selfish, choosing to hold onto his obsession instead of let it go and grow as a person and an Avatar.

This, ultimately, completely ruined his character arc of growing up and maturing and learning to let go of things. Thanks Bryke.

Anyway, all that to say that Aang did not actually love Katara, he just thought he did.