#katara is a fucking badass

[sad-endings-suck]

Traditionally “Feminine” Female Characters

THAT person: We need more traditionally feminine female characters again!

Me: Oh… okay. What exactly makes a female character “traditionally feminine” in your opinion?

THAT person: Traditionally feminine female characters are kind! They are soft, peaceful, express their emotions all the time no matter what, and maybe they are also smart idk, but they are NOT warriors that are tough and “badass” just for the sake of it.

Me: Well, it sounds like you are voicing frustration about two dimensional female characters that so happen to be tough and “badass”. What I DON’T understand, is why that’s a problem when the character is a woman/femme, but not when said character is a man. Especially when, historically speaking, one dimensional male characters tend to be reduced to “just badass and strong and unemotional” and nothing else way more often than AFAB characters ever have. Whereas women have largely been reduced to “soft and emotional and weak” for the better part of western written history.

That person: Because men are supposed to be strong and tough and women are supposed to be soft and kind and weak—

Me: Oops! There it is.

[hyacinths-in-a-storm]

Thinking about the parallels between Zukki and Katzulee.

[nerdby]

Lisbeth Salander not getting the respect she deserves, I see.

Hey, OP, go check out Steig Larsson's Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy. I recommend going with the audio book if you decide to read the books -- which you must -- because the first half is a bit of a slog, and then all hell breaks loose after that. The above clip was taken from the English remake of the Swedish film trilogy. You can the find the first movie in the trilogy on the free streaming app Plex or watch the trilogy on Amazon Prime.

Don't worry, there are subtitles.

"we need more angry, traumatized female characters" you guys could barely handle katara

[saijspellhart]

Things I liked about the Netflix ATLA and some critiques:

Before you read. Please go watch the series, take off your blinders and keep an open mind. It’s surprisingly good. This review has spoilers.

They reordered some scenes so that emotional moments would have a larger pay off. Like getting to see and experience Aang’s relationship with Monk Gyatsu, and seeing his tribe before it was destroyed. So when he has his breakdown in the air temple with Sokka and Katara later, you really feel and understand his agony.

Azula is introduced earlier, with a story running simultaneously with the Aang’s journey but not involved with his. So she has a chance to be more fleshed out and explored before she becomes a major threat. Only time will tell if this more complicated Azula comes close to the animated one. Big shoes to fill, but not a bad start.

Fire Lord Ozai plays a more sinister and oppressive role. Not a faceless boogeyman anymore. You get to see his machinations and the cruel games he’s playing with his family, and see the emotional abuse that warps them.

Appa is adorable as fuck, and so is Momo. So well animated, such gorgeous care put into them.

Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Roku make more of an appearance. With Kyoshi narrating the prologue. And if you loved the novels you’ll see they incorporated more of Kyoshi and Kuruk’s backstory from the novels than what we saw in the animated cartoon.

The acting was competent, even if a little wonky at times. I found Sokka very endearing, I loved the kid they cast as Aang and you can tell they really tried to find a balance between serious and playful. They didn’t always hit it, but the effort was there.

Zuko was great. I think they nailed him and he had great chemistry with the actor playing Iroh.

King Bumi was great, I love how they made his internal struggles more complex. He wasn’t just a crazy old man anymore. He was a crazy old man who was weary and worn down by the horrors of loss and war. A crazy old man who struggled to reconcile that the best friend he lost is the avatar and wasn’t there for him.

I loved the costume and set design. It was like stepping into the actual world of ATLA. Cities were complex and well constructed. Every setting was incredible and the attention to detail was intense.

Zuko’s boat is full of artifacts he pilfered from the Air Nomads while hunting for the avatar.

They changed how Aang got the bison whistle so it makes more sense and fits more seamlessly into the story. It never made sense why a random peddler would be selling a bison whistle if air nomads and bison have been gone for 100 years. Not impossible for a peddler to do, but not probable. The Netflix series actually gave more meaning for the artifact and changed how Aang received it.

Emotional points in the show are now more intense and brought me to tears.

Commander Zhao is more competent and conniving, and his presence felt more dangerous and less comedic.

Sokka’s outright sexism was changed from putting girls down, to just manly machismo, talking himself up. Not gone, but not degrading. They decided to let the sexism message shine more prominently with the northern water tribe, rather than tackle it twice with Sokka too. (Sokka’s sexism being solved in one episode was never well written to begin with. And the animated series quickly forgot about it and moved on to him tackling more important issues, like his being a non bender inadequacy, his leadership journey, his physical combat journey, and him finding himself as more than just the funny sarcastic guy.) For time constraints, it was better the Netflix series did not to tackle the same problem twice, especially when you might not have the resources to give both sexism issues the gravity it deserves. By focusing the sexism problem to the northern water tribe they were able to give Katara more attention.

We got to see Katara’s water-bending go from being ultra sloppy and weak to badass. It feels like they are spending more time focusing on her developing into a warrior rather than being the mom of the group. I’m honestly not sad about it. She’s still the hope ridden, emotional glue, but now it feels like she explores that warrior side a little deeper. It felt so earned when she got the title of master at the northern water tribe finale.

The actor playing uncle Iroh nailed the role. I couldn’t think of a better live action adaptation of Iroh. I love him so much.

The shirshu looks fucking phemonal.

Koh was scary as fuck and I love it. They really nailed his horror elements. Even if I’m a little sad that they changed some things about his face stealing. (He eats faces now to steal them, rather than stealing when someone shows emotion.)

The three actresses who play Mei, Azula and Tailee actually look appropriate for their age. Since they are introduced earlier, they are clearly younger, and since this show is intended to get more seasons, the casting choice made sense as we are intended to watch these girls grow up over the course of the entire show. These actors will get older, and the characters will get more menacing and sharper. It’s great. It’s thoughtful. I love it.

We get to see Zuko’s dynamics with his crew more. And find out that he did more than just speak out against his father at that meeting. His outburst at that meeting saved an entire squad of soldiers, and they don’t even know it. Zuko feels such disdain and bitterness because of the situation, and his crew doesn’t even know why. It’s so complex, you can see how the abuse Zuko endured causes him to take out his anger on his crew, and in turn they are bitter back. And it’s this cycle, that festers. But the crew also grows with Zuko, they change and evolve as he evolves. And it’s such a delight to watch.

They could have cut the Secret Tunnel minstrels altogether, given the time constraints and that the episode was mostly fluff in season two. A fun romp, but not necessary. But the creators knew people loved the minstrels so they found a way to use them anyway. Because they knew they were special. I am thankful for that, even if they show up waaay earlier than they should.

I was honestly more sold on Sokka and Suki’s relationship in the live action. It’s was so adorkable. Do I wish it had more time to develop? Yeah, of course I love a good slow burn. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t fun as hell watching the two flirt so badly with each other. Sokka being a buffoon, and Suki overstepping and being too rough, before realizing she was being too hard.

Some Critiques:

They reordered some episode storylines to happen at the same time, and while it does bloat some episodes. it’s understandable due the episode and budget limitations. In the cartoon, during the inventor episode Katara didn’t have a lot to do, and during the freedom fighters episode Sokka didn’t have a lot to do. So they ended up combining both stories into one hour long episode in the live action, so that both Katara and Sokka would be involved in something. Is it the best? No. But it makes sense. I get it.

Katara starts off bland in the first episode and it takes a bit for her to grow into the character.

The past avatars can be a bit strong with the doom and gloom, and I wish they’d toned that back.

Koh and Heibei (I dunno how to spell the panda spirit’s name) got combined to the same episode, and Koh stole Heibei’s spotlight. Again, I understand why these got combined, but I think it could have been handled a little better and Heibei should have gotten more closure.

There should have been a ninth episode, placed between the two episode Koh storyline, and the Northern Water Tribe storyline. Why? Because the Koh storyline was really heavy and intense. And it leads right into the season finale. An extra ninth episode should have been added with a more lighthearted tone. Something to ease the tension between the two very intense storylines.

Aang should have been using a glider to flit about the temples in the first episode. But it’s not something that ruins the whole show. It was a dumb that only happens in a single episode in the season.

I really missed Momo and Appa’s presence. They appeared atleast once in every episode, but it was still sad they weren’t more of a presence. Again I understand why. They were so beautifully animated that everytime they were on screen it (without a doubt) cost the production thousands of dollars. They were generous including as many of the unique animals and creatures as they had.

I still don’t think Sokka had enough time to develop a relationship with Yue at the northern water tribe. It was rushed and contrived in the animated version, and it was rushed and contrived in this Netflix version. There also wasn’t any of the chemistry like Sokka had with Suki to make the whirlwind romance work. I never liked the romance from the original, and I wasn’t a fan of it here. But that’s ok, because it’s such a small and insignificant thing.

In conclusion most of the changes I can see made were due to budget, and episode limitations. The creators were clearly trying to bring theater-cinematic quality to what was essentially an eight hour long film. And you cannot deny that this show is stunning. Absolutely breathtaking. Most of the episodes cut were filler, and while hilarious and mostly loved by fans, were stories not as necessary in the grand scope. You could feel the love and appreciation the creators included in this series. It wasn’t soulless, it wasn’t a heartless cash grab, it wasn’t a shot for shot (thank god) but it also didn’t butcher the source material.

I understand that the animated show creators had creative differences with the live action Netflix adaptation creators. But that doesn’t mean that the Netflix series completely failed. As every fanfic writer out there knows, the original authors are not going to love what you create based on their works. Tolkien hated every adaptation of his works, HATED them. But no one is going about saying that the Lord of the Rings trilogy movies were hot garbage. A creator doesn’t have to endorse a project for it to be good.

Netflix ATLA is good, it’s not perfect. And it never was going to be perfect. The cartoon it was based on wasn’t perfect either. But the ATLA cartoon was definitely some huge shoes to fill that set a bar very high. Any adaptation was going to struggle to be just as good.

I think the Netflix adaptation was a treat and a pleasure to watch. I think people should go into it with an open mind and see that it’s not trying to replace the cartoon. It’s a love letter to the cartoon.

PS: According to behind the scenes commentary on the Nickelodeon ATLA cartoon, the reason we didn’t get a season 4 was because the creators wanted a live action film. Nickelodeon offered the original cartoon creators the option to make season 4 or to spend the budget meant for season four on a live action ATLA film. The original creators chose the live action film directed by M. Night Shamalan. They wanted a live action for their show over a 4th season. They had no idea M. night would butcher their baby with his pathetic film all those years ago.

This show was a second chance after the M. night abomination. And you know what? It’s a pretty decent adaptation. And guess what? With a resurgence of interest in the series, we are getting more animated content for the original animated series. There’s definitely something for everyone on the horizon if this succeeds.

[dreamchasernina]

Someone sent this to me and it’s obviously aimed at my post and they have me blocked (which is fine it she hadn’t blocked me I would’ve blocked her), but if you’re going to address me, you might as well let me see it so I can debunk your dumbass statements. Now, I’m not looking for confrontation, that’s why I always tag my posts properly but you and your friends tracked my post to lash out at me for addressing the hate you’ve been spewing for years now. And the notes on that post prove how much this fandom is fed up with your nonsense. There’s a reason everyone says ZK shippers are the worst part of the fandom. You know you can ship your pairing without constantly mischaracterizing other characters, right?

The irony is just unbelievable because you don’t even understand that I made that post as a response to your friends who keep saying Katara deserved better than ending up with Aang. Which is the problem you are addressing in your post! Why is what Katara deserves tied to a boy she ends up with? It doesn’t. You’re the one who’s been saying that for years! And I’m not making this stuff up, it’s literally all over your blog. Saying how Katara was done dirty because she ended up with Aang. Mind you, her ending up with Aang does not take away any of her accomplishments throughout the show.

So you don’t like the pairing and you’d like to imagine her with someone else, go at it. But don’t sit here and tell me that Katara was disrespected in her ending because she ended up with someone you didn’t want for her and call it “feminism”. I don’t get how you like Katara as a character and everything she represents for 3 seasons but the last 30 seconds of the show make you so mad you sit here and tell me I’m a misogynist because I believe Katara ended up with someone she actually wanted to be with. The show presents Katara as a strong willed, badass, fights-for-what-she-believes-in character. Throughout the 3 seasons Katara did what she felt was right, what she wanted to do, going against people who tried to steer her away from her goals…and me believing she is in charge of her own destiny is misogynistic? No you’re right, you telling me Katara had zero agency and was forced into a relationship or stayed in a relationship she was miserable in makes a lot of sense for the character that was presented to you in the show.

You’re the feminist here, obviously, because if a woman steers away from YOUR idea of a “good female character”, then she was suddenly “done dirty”. Because a woman who chooses to have 3 children was obviously forced into it. A woman who doesn’t fight at 80 years old is obviously not well written. A woman who, throughout 61 episode did whatever the fuck she felt was right, but chose to be with the guy YOU think was wrong for her, “deserved better”. That’s what you’ve been saying for years and that what I’m addressing in my OG post. Katara’s worth is not tied to a man she ends up with!!!

And I don’t even like Bryke, I have a lot of problems with them. But I hate that you’re disguising your hate for a pairing as “feminism”, because it’s not. It’s the complete opposite of that. Because feminism is supporting a woman’s right to choose whatever she wants to do. But if she’s choosing something YOU don’t agree with you’re crucifying her! You see the irony here?? I beg some of you to look up the definition for feminism because it’s been a while.

[radmista]

Forgot her being aggressively used when this movie came out as proof mainstream media includes masc women

... The buff lady in an impractical dress/skirt and shoes for the work she does, long hair and relatively docile, doesn't stand up for herself, temperament. Very masc and gnc. /s obviously

It's nice a muscular woman with a diff body shape was shown and represented for sure, but people will literally point to Luisa as if she is peak representation despite the fact that Disney made designers feminize her and put her in a dress/skirt to be more appealing and easier to digest for audiences. Or even use some weird mental gymnastics to claim her being put in a skirt is actually a GOOD PROGRESSIVE thing bc oh we just have so many "masculine" women who have internalized misogyny and hate dresses so its actually super good she doesn't dress practically.

collage of female characters that people have used to “prove” that there are too many masc women in media

[yourhighness6]

NATLA Episode 1 Debrief (by yours truly)

Hello my lovlies! There are so many opinions swirling around right now in the fandom and I wanted to give my own opinions a quick (this is not going to be quick but whatever) post of their own. I'm probably going to do this with all of the episodes, just an fyi

First of all, Sozin can fuck all the way off. I don't think I really have to explain that one but goddammit they really made me hate him (and I love to hate the villain)

I LOVE the detail of seeing the flames reflected in his eyes whenever he kills someone, as a symbol of fire's natural brutality consuming him from within. Kudos to whoever added that detail because it is absolutely perfect. I look forward to seeing more of this monster in future flashbacks.

The firebending itself was absolutely brutal. Watching the cartoon, you don't really think about how painful and horrific being burned alive is, and the live action explored that element in a way the previous show could not.

I know this is controversial, but actually really like how they devoted a good ten minutes to establishing some background with the Air Nomads before we dove in. In my opinion, it gave more depth to the Air Nomads besides just what we see through Aang's eyes, which I think helps the viewer connect with him more and sympathize in ways the cartoon didn't. One detail from this part that was absolutely heartbreaking was the Comet Festival.

Something about the way a time of joy was turned into a time of pain and misery was absolutely awful (this was the first time I cried [I cried three times]). The fact that all of the Air Nomads were in one place kind of filled in why there was no evidence of the FN ever having been to the Western Air Temple in s3 of the cartoon. It also adds another layer of awfulness to the whole thing. I can't really put into words why I feel that way, it's just a sort of vibe.

I also liked the way they established Aang's character flaws right off the bat:

The episode was named after him, so it only makes sense to show all aspects of his character almost immediately. This also gives me hope that they might address these flaws later a little more than the cartoon did.

Super glad they included a female Airbender on the counsel (or whatever that was). She was also fighting later and she looked super badass.

Now, onto the Water Tribe.

I can't express how glad I am that they included both boys and girls in Sokka's little warrior pack. People have talked about this before, but the gender roles in the SWT didn't make a lot of sense. Perfect little detail to fill a plot hole.

I am also over the moon that they decided to expand on the differences between the Water Tribe sibling's outlooks on the world. Katara was raised as both a beacon of hope and a liability, whereas Sokka was raised as a warrior and a protector. It gives insight into their characters and also symbolizes the way the war shaped them. The pressure within a society to adapt to the times even as traditional values are abandoned and culture is devastated is something that the original show laid the groundwork for, so I really hope we see the live action build on it further. There's also this:

Gives the perfect insight into the ways their parents leaving affected them both differently and expands on their different mindsets. 10/10 for the sibling dynamic.

I'm not sure if I liked the changes to this scene. Katara was characterized pretty well, in my opinion, and it does make sense with the "toning down" of Sokka's sexism that she didn't explode on him, but it's still an iconic moment I would have liked to see translated to the live action. I also found the fact that Appa wasn't included at all just plain weird. He should have been there, and even if he was established differently later, again, I'm not sure I liked the way Aang was introduced to the siblings. (At least they didn't include any romantic Kat@ang moments. Platonic besties for the win)

Zuko's introduction was just kind of... there, in my opinion, but I did love the detail of the icons on the shelf glowing. There were several homages made to Zuko's search for the avatar that I really appreciated, from the early establishment of his antagonism towards Lieutenant Jee to his pages of research, which I really appreciated. There were also several moments that implied that Zuko had a more spiritual journey throughout his banishment to find the avatar, which was partially a little bit of worldbuilding and partially a play into the idea that he will legitimately try everything possible to find the avatar that was another nice detail. Sadly, Dallas didn't really make a huge impression on me. This might be because of lack of screentime or the fact that this is THE Zuko, but I was kind of expecting more. Still, I don't think it was an irredeemable portrayal by any means, and I look forward to seeing more.

This is sort of random, but I just need to say that I'm glad they included more evidence of Katara's PTSD. It was already pretty established in the cartoon that she did have PTSD, but the live action allows exploration of that in a more mature way, which I appreciate. It made the kat@ang conversation hit that much harder, and gives more depth to Katara's character.

The fight at the gates was also just perfect. Zuko acting on impulse out of a need to prove himself:

Katara's speech and Sokka's change of heart:

And this line:

Sokka kind of fell flat to me a bit in this episode, and I feel like Katara was the MVP in all of their interactions, but I loved this line. I just have a feeling he really needed to hear this.

There's also this moment that I thought was really significant where it looked like Zuko was actually going to kill Sokka:

My heart legit stopped at this part. Like, I knew it made no logical sense for it to happen, but I still got scared for a moment. I know it was just another one of those moments to show how Zuko's anger gets the best of him, ect, ect. but this was overkill. I don't think they took it too far by any means, but it was still just so unexpected.

I also noticed they removed the zukka parallel of the two of them getting ready for battle at the same time, which I really disliked. It plays more into the warrior mindset for the both of them, and even though we had that established in other ways, I would have still liked to see it.

Aang's sacrifice is the same, but I appreciated his little conversation with Iroh. When Iroh showed up, I half expected him to just let Aang go, but I guess that wouldn't really be in character for season 1 Iroh. Either way, that was some good stuff.

The framing also sort of reminds me of the season 3 conversation between Zuko and Iroh when Iroh is in prison back in the FN. Both shots give the impression that it is not actually the one behind bars who is in prison. This makes me think that they might give Iroh more of an arc in season 1, which I would kind of like to see, but at the same time, I'm not sure about. I think it was important in the cartoon that Iroh had already completed his journey and was doing his best to guide Zuko through a similar one.

I am disappointed that they removed the fight scene between Zuko and Aang inside the ship, but there was another huge moment this allowed for that I REALLY LOVED:

I LOVE that they let Katara have her hero moment I LOVE that they let her discover her bending a bit more in this episode I LOVE that Aang helped her I LOVE IT ALL. Katara gaining more confidence in her abilities is the season 1 Katara arc I want to see and they legit made me fangirl over this moment so much I squealed. There's also something about her blocking a fire blast from Zuko after being powerless to stop him from killing/seriously hurting her brother in the earlier fight that's just... chefs kiss. (also maybe establishing that ZK yin and yang concept early... I'm reading way too much into this but the way Katara's arms are positioned kind of looks like the yin symbol a little bit...)

And finally, we have the air temple scene. The whole thing was so incredibly sad, and I actually didn't mind that it was part of the first episode. It makes everything go full circle, in my opinion.

I also thought that Gyatso's voice instead of Katara's being the one to calm Aang down was a really good choice. Aang coming to terms with his death should be about his memories with his past mentor, not about Katara comforting him. I loved the hug though. Perfectly devastating:

Also, the last parallel at the end was just SO perfect:

Something about how tradgedies in their lives forced them both to become dedicated and adapt to a new world beyond their control. Aang and Zuko parallels always wonderful.

Overall, I really enjoyed it! I would give this episode an 8.5/10. Not perfect, but definitely not bad. It surpassed my expectations and I'm so excited to see more!

[audsthoughts]

I get it, live actions aren’t for everybody and that’s totally fine. Not everyone’s gonna like it. But to shit on the stupidest things, or draw the dumbest conclusions??? Blocked. Y’all look dense as fuck. Views will be mixed as they always are, quit clogging up the tags with your negativity and find some chill 😂 The originals are still there to watch or read and enjoy…so go do that…it’s literally on the same app 👏🏻 I’m trying to be understanding I am, but some of y’all are so damn hung up you’re letting it completely destroy something you’d otherwise enjoy

Anyways!! Here’s some of the stuff I loved from the atla live action!

•cinematography, soundtrack, costumes - all on point

•getting to see the airbenders flourishing!!! Also the dude who played Gyatso?! Didn’t think I could love him more!! Even though it was painful as FUCKKKK getting to see the first invasion of the fire benders was an epic masterpiece

•speaking of, the first scene?? With the earthbender soldiers in the fire nation?? Iconic

•Omashu: unpop opinion I’m sure (bc y’all hate change but simultaneously hate when it’s carbon copy????????🤦🏼‍♀️) I loved how they incorporated like 3 or 4 episodes into one, and they flowed really well together. Jet is FOINEEE. Mechanist was perfect & his son is a freaking badass, amazing casting! Even though it was change, the secret tunnel scenes were still really freaking cool and the badgermoles were SICK AS FUCK. Also I love that Bumi was still cooky but not just randomly cooky? Like mans was run down from being king basically the entire war…which FAIR. And it made sense that he was peeved with Aang BECAUSE they were such good friends. Like the other avatars being mad at him? Yea that’s whatever. But for Bumi it was kinda personal. Also CABBAGE MAN WE MISSED YOU 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Oh! And the way they mentioned other episodes like they were lore when Zuko was trying to find Aang? That was an amazing way to tie back to the OG series

•I love how they incorporated the blue spirit, Koh, the fog of lost souls & parts of the ep where sokka and Katara got sick & Aang had to get them frogs - just reimagined it. Oh also Hei Bai! Yea, I loved that whole episode. Koh & Hei Bai were SCARY as fuck, it was awesome!!

•HAHN MY BELOVED…I ADORE YOU! Favorite character that they added/changed. Katara getting the other women involved in the battle?! Tui & La? The oasis?! 😭😭 stunning!!!! I also LOVEDDDDD Aangs avatar spirit that he turned into, literally perfect! And I loved the change that he gave himself over to the spirits wrath..fucking SICK. Also right before aang turned into the spirit/whatever that’s called, I was praying they’d do the line and thEY DIDDDD!!!

•Fire lord Ozai?? 😳😚 nothing needed to be said - perfection

•Kyoshi?! The Kyoshi warriors?! SUKI?! - speechless

•I like that they’re making more of a point to show how smart Sokka is! Mechanist calling him an engineer…I hope they play more into that! Ik they did a bit in the show with the subs (cartoon), but still

•”~hE rAn~” seriously my favorite line, I was DYINGGGG!!! The scenes with Zuko and Iroh, Zuko before the war meeting, the leaves from the vine being in the background at the funeral….ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME?! Zuko’s crew being the crew he SAVED?! And when they find out they all do the fire nation bows to their prINCE?! 😭😭😭😭

I’m being fair y’all - things I don’t love/hope they change:

•this one I’m 50/50 on - I don’t love that they tried to give Kuruk a reason for disappearing. They tried to pull shit from Korra to make him look meaningful & not useless as an avatar and it didn’t hit for me

•some of the wigs: obviously we won’t see Yue again, but I wanted her hair to be white. I didn’t love the wig but it wouldn’t have been as bad for me if it wasn’t so grey. Also do NOT love Azula, Tylee or Mai’s hair. Ik they look just like the show but whether that’s wigs or their actual hair (I’m clueless) it needs some serious improvement. Azula’s looks great down, I just don’t like how big the side pieces are that frame her face when it’s up.

•Katara, my love, I am PRAYING part of your development is also going to be her becoming more outspoken and badass, bc this season we saw the tiniest of glimpses of it, not a fan (unless it’s a part of her development…she did grow up in a tiny ass tribe so I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt)

• IK they’re going with a much more serious Aang, but pleaseeeee give us some actual moments of him being a kid. We saw that like twice 😭

•Dante is the PERFECT ZUKO, I will hear NO slander. However, I need him to be more of a dick. I’m hoping we’ll get that when he gets super desolate when they’re on the run & then we have Zuko alone & he has his inner battle. I need snarky dickhead Zuko, so you can truly see the big differences between what he’s fighting (himself vs. who his dad wants him to be)

Have fun kids!

In case I haven’t made it clear, idgaf if you disagree. I go so hard for these live actions because it’s fun! It’s just supposed to be fun and different and new. If you get so serious about it you’re ALWAYS going to be disappointed, there’s no way around it bc nothing is ever going to be as good as the original book, the original show, the original tale. OG atla is ALWAYS gonna be the winner, nothing will compare! So sit back ~relax~ and find some joy in the little things

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I never cared about zutara,but I really like taang. They're cute together and I love a good "soft boy x tomboy" dynamic. But the tag is mostly filled with "taang is good because toph would never let aang be such misogynistic little incel", which, senseless aang bashing aside, seems extremely reductive to toph's character? For a community touting themselves as feminists, kataang antis sure love to reduce toph, a badass and empowering female character to aang's... Life coach or something? Not one of these posts bring up what toph would gain from this relationship. Nothing about how aang was the first one to connect with her or to give her an escape from her controlling family. Nah, it's all about how aang doesn't have to be the abusive, misogynistic prick they believe he is because his tomboy gf is there to humble him down. It's just gross.

Combining that with Zutarians acting like Zuko's bad behavior is Mai's fault, and acting like Katara's life purpose is to be Zuko's girlfriend/therapist (and be the Wholesome Brown Girl that will fix racism in his nation), and misreading anything nice she does for Aang as proof that she's no longer her own person due to the relationship, I'd say zutarians really cannot grasp the concepts of:

1 - It's not a woman's job to fix a man (like you said, so much for Zutarians being "feminists")

2 - A positive influence/supportive partner/someone who calls you out on your bullshit is nice and can even be super important, but people don't change their bad behavior unless they make the conscious choice to be better.

3 - Needing support and making mistakes every now and then doesn't make you a bad person that is exploiting the loved ones that are supporting you through it.

4 - Being in a bad situation will fuck you up and make you do things you wouldn't normally do, and that does not mean you're the devil, and it sure as hell doesn't mean your loved ones are to blame for not forcing you to see reason somehow.

And yeah, its a damn shame that they keep poisoning the ship tag with their bullshit, because Taang is a legit cute ship, Toph and Aang grow a lot because of their friendship, and Aang literally uses Toph's move in the finale when Ozai is about to strike from behind. Plus their interactions are funny and that's always nice.

[did-we-imagine]

Tbh i like zutara but i think it s a writing problem more than a pairing issue.

I honestly don't even care whether she ended up with any of the guys in canon or not. The arc itself was 🤢🤮, and it's not her being wife of X that would have changed anything. It's the writers fucking up a feminine coded character because in their mind "nice maternal responsible girl becomes house waifu and career/achievements/relevance in society is ONLY linked to her marital/parental status now, she's standing on the sidelines supporting her "more important" husband 🤢." (This shit could have happened even with zutara if one does not know what they are writing !!)

Compare and contrast what they did with Toph who is more of a tomboy (she didn't get a great conclusion either but her badassery was still respected 70 years later).

In a similar vein, girls who fit neither role (not particularly caring/maternal nor specifically tomboyish/memorably powerful in a masculine~ish manner were completely left out : Suki, Ty Lee, Azula...) [PS: They are fucking powerful, but aside from maybe Azula and Kyosho, yeah nobody's overhyping them/summarizing them as a basically extremely OP powerhouse].

Nothing about Ka/taang precludes Katara being Chief of the SWT…

which is why it pisses me off even more that Katara didn’t get to have a role of any political importance whatsoever. It wouldn’t change anything about LOK’s storyline, and it would be fully in line with her character.

There’s a common anti-Zutara argument that Katara wouldn’t want to be Fire Lady, because she would want to rebuild and lead her own culture. I am sympathetic to that. Based on her canon characteristics, she might want to be a United Republic Councilwoman, Chief of the SWT, or just generally the Waterbending Master / Matriarch of the her tribe, which would be easier (though not impossible) if she weren’t married to the sovereign of another nation — I get that.

but the thing is…she didn’t get to do any of that, even though “wife of the Avatar” doesn’t contradict those roles. All the things that would be difficult for her to do if she were married to Zuko, she still didn’t get to do as Aang’s wife. She didn’t get to have a career the way her husband, or her brother, or her friends did.

so it’s extra hypocritical when Ka/taang shippers are like “but being Fire Lady would disempower Katara!” when Ka/taang canonically disempowered her! And KA fans are fine with that: they bend over backwards to justify why Katara doesn’t have a statue, or why she wasn’t there to protect Korra from the Red Lotus, or why she wasn’t at Yakone’s bloodbending trial. Yeah she got to live in the SWT — eventually, I assume, because in the comics she just follows Aang around — but what else did she get to do? Fucking nothing, apparently. Because to some people, the greatest honour for a woman is to be the hero’s wife.

[fortunatelyyoungbarbarian]

Can we talk about Yue?

Let's just say there is a world where she doesn't have to sacrifice herself for Tui - because my girl deserves so much better like look at her.

But also, imagine the interactions she could have with all the other characters!!

Also, for that point, I'll be ignoring the fact that she'd most likely wouldn't leave the northern watertribe because responsibilities and her parents and jade jade. Let's just say it's her time for teenage rebellion and she sneaks off with the gaang or something. Idk.

Like she'd be there for the character development for Aang, Katara and Sokka (even Zuko).

But imagine she meets Toph!

Toph 'fuck you and what society/ my parents expect from me, I won't be put into a damn box because I'm not delicate porcelain to be put up on a shelf, I'll go kick ass and show people who I am, who I really am' Beifong?

That sounds so interesting! Like their parallels? Both being kept 'protected' and being put into positions they don't want and don't like (Toph being keept in a cage so to say and Yue being married off to someone neither she nor he loves).

But also, Yue is what Tophs parents see as a perfect daughter. She is soft spoken, elegant, meek and such. She is what Toph isn't.

But Toph gets free. She runs away and becomes happy and free.

I feel like they'd be such good friends once they get over the struggles. Toph would go commit some chaos and Yue would just smile and come along.

Imagine she meets Azula.

She's basically the opposite of Yue but they both have the same royal devotion. Also, Azula is a girl and it doesn't matter, she's respected and she's badass. That must be a culture shock for Yue.

Also, I think Azula and Yue have quite the interesting parallels as well. Both of them are the 'perfect princess' in the eyes of their people and culture but they are soooo different. Both put their duty above themselves in a way, both are 'blessed' (Yue literally by the moon and Azula is a prodigy), both have fathers who decide things for them (The whole marriage thing with Yue and do I even have to go into detail with Ozai?), both are kept in this cage of responsibilities and duty and both suffer in the end because of it, not having experienced the freedom a child of their status could have had their whole life only to be doomed in the end.

(Also, if we just mess more with canon and redeem Azula, I think they could be besties as well. Like they could learn so much from one another. Azula is sorta like an unhinged and abused Katara so I think it could work.)

Her meeting Mai and Ty Lee would also be something.

Nonbenders who are fucking badass? Respected for who they are? I imagine they could teach Yue how to defend herself. Just imagine Yue throwing knifes and chi-blocking people.

Same with Suki.

Another nonbender who's badass and a leader of a respected group. I think they'd get along just fine.

(Also, about that whole ship drama that would probably happen: I don't really care about ships so idk, make them poly? Who cares, just let them be happy man)

But what I would be most hyped about would be her meeting with Kanna.

You know, Kanna, who said fuck you to the sexist rules and just fucking moved across the world while a war was going on? Kanna, who basically told Pakku to fuck off and she won't marry a sexist man like him? Kanna, who's the grandmother of Katara? Who send Katara across the world to kick Pakkus ass (because she must have know)? The og? The legend? It would be amazing. I imagine they would both roast Pakku to his face. And Kanna would immediately adopt Yue as one of hers. It would be so wholesome come on.

Of course there are a lot of other characters that she'd meet, but I think the ones I mentioned are the most interesting once because of parallels and stuff.

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 2

Propaganda Under Cut

Elizabeth Midford

She started as just a cutie fiancée trying her best, turns out she's also a swordfighting genius, very under pressure to perform feminity in the Victorian Rose type of way. Fandom crucifies her bc she's Ciel's fiancée and they want him to be with his butler, Sebastian, the demon he sold his soul to for revenge

anime was a shitty canon divergent adaptation that butchered her character down to her "cutesy silly girly" persona, which obviously made the 2008 anime fans hate her with a passion (nothing wrong w being girly I'm just saying the adaptation made her super one dimensional) anyways fujoshis used to treat her as a villain because she's the fiance of Ciel,, who as u might know already was HEAVILY shipped with his butler, Sebastian back then (now it's kinda looked badly upon, nice tbh that ship sucks ass xD) She's a bit similar to Misa Amane from death note in the way she was treated. (Like an obstacle the yaoi ship must overcome rather than a person)

she's my silly little rabbit! i could gush about her character but i'll keep it short and just say that she's really well written and one of the best characters in the series. anyways she's ciel's fiance and she's like, rightfully annoying as any other 13 yr old girl would be but the fanbase fucking crucified her for even existing. she gets demonized for being 'annoying', but then ciel gets yaoishipped with an even more annoying guy. there is 100% an argument that lizzie/ciel is weird bc they're cousins (i personally don't ship it) but that falls flat when her detractors then ship the 13 yr old ciel with an eons old demon who Canonically looks like his father. the anime also never reached her main character development until years after its peak and that was only in a movie, so she really got the bad end of the stick here. not me though i had a giant crush on her when i was 12

Katara

Katara is constantly mistreated by the fans in favor of the Zukka ship (Zuko × Sokka.) They make her out to be mean, homophobic, and completely out of character just to add drama to the Zukka ship. In reality, Katara is very compassionate, and would never act that way toward anyone. 

Zutara was a popular ship but when zukka got popular over covid during the atla renaissance there were a million posts about how zutara was problematic while zukka was perfect usually for racist reasons. Meanwhile katara and sokka are siblings so it didn't even make sense. They did not have to be so illogically rude to her to ship zukka and it was weird

Katara is FANTASTIC I fucking love her to pieces she is so cool and yet the entirety of the ATLA fandom treats her like garbage because she “talks about her mom dying too much” (even though she BARELY does & also was parentified from a young age due to her mother’s death) and, of course, because she’s a more feminine women when compared to her counterparts. Even in the show itself she’s mistreated: she’s ALWAYS shown cooking for the rest of the gaang, doing their laundry, any ‘womanly’ task. She ends up with the guy who kissed her twice without her consent & who she never showed any real attraction to and apparently (despite being a badass warrior-doctor!!!) after the show ended she just… settled down in the South Pole and had a bunch of kids and never did anything else. She didn’t even get a statue :( Anyways during the ATLA renaissance, despite Zutara actually not being canon, people felt that Katara threatened the sanctity of the new almost entirely baseless yaoi ship, Zukka. Unfortunately for them, due to the fact that Katara and Sokka are siblings, the usual anti-Zutara arguments didn’t work as well. So they resorted to just… slaughtering her character. If she was lucky, they’d just make Katara a background character, wingwoman, &or throw her together with her canon love interest. If she was unlucky they’d do anything from make her homophobic (??) to killing her off! Fuck’s sake, she never even got a token spare-the-pairs wlw ship! Sorry for getting so heated, that whole debacle made me FUMING MAD.

[aangarchy]

My younger cousin (16!!!!!!! Wtf???) watched season 2 of the legend of Korra, here's her opinion of the characters

Korra: "i have a love hate relationship with her bc what do you mean you couldn't tell your uncle was evil???"

Mako: "i don't like him."

Bolin: "so is he gonna do anything of actual importance ever or?" Me: "he stopped an assassination attempt on the president." Her: "ok sure but like did we really want the president alive?"

Asami: "she's a fucking badass where's HER happy end??"

Tenzin: "his siblings make him look more fun like i don't like him on his own"

Jinora: "literally the best fucking character here Aang would be so proud that's his granddaughter"

Ikki: "i just think she's a bit annoying"

Meelo: "a misogynist in the making jesus christ" Me: "yeah it doesn't really get better." Her: "his own grandmother would smack the shit out of him."

Lin Beifong: "gun to my head i don't remember what she did this season" Me: "she helped bolin stop the assassination attempt" Her: "hm."

Kya: "she's cool"

Bumi: "he's katara and aang's son? Not sokka's son? But then why is he like a new sokka?" Me: "beats me"

Varrick: "he reminds me of kuzco from emperor's new groove"

Zhu Li: "i hope she gets a bigger role than just being the assistant to avatar universe's elon musk"

Tonraq: "i can tell why Korra is the way she is"

Unalaq: "he's so obviously evil i don't understand why no one in the show realized until it was too late"

Eska and Desna: "the twins from the shining but creepier"

Avatar Wan: "why is he the hottest character and why was he in only two episodes"

[eponastory]

"Go back to writing your slave fanfics"

Well, aren't you precious.

I'm sorry for pissing in your cheerios this morning.

Oh wait... no, I'm not.

I also put a little vinegar in there.

I hope it tasted nasty.

Wow, I'm hostile today. For good reason.

My phone broke, everyone who is claiming to be a multishipper is whining about how it's 2024, and there is still a ship war, and I'm still sleep deprived. I've got a little extra salt today.

But I'm going to keep it as classy as I can.

OP... do you have mind reading powers? Because if you do, you should be rich enough to put a stop to Netflix. Then no one will win. But if you dont... well what the fuck are you doing here?

I'm a generally nice person, but when you start calling people who are minding their own business liking something you don't agree with,'freaks', then you've put the bat signal up for me to call you out.

Here's the thing, I get you're upset about us supposedly liking the LA and not respecting Katara... but sweetheart...

You can't have Zutara without Katara. If we didn't respect her, we wouldn't be giving her these badass stories where she is given more power and more choices. So what if the LA is a little flat, I still enjoy it for what it is as an adaptation. But I mean, it's an adaptation.

It's not going to be 100%

In all honesty, this Person who called us fucking freaks is probably a Kat*anger and that's fine, but keep your opinions to yourself or file a complaint.

Complaints are usually handled in...

Never.

[hauntingofhouses]

mizutaigen is literally like. the first "toxic" m/f ship i've ever cared for. cuz like usually my taste in m/f ships is basically "unhinged baddie" x "badass wifeguy" *

* (see:yen/geralt. trevor/sypha. adolin/shallan. kataang but katara is sane and they're literally so wholesome like theyre traumatised kids in love who are each other's emblem of hope in a war-torn world! so basically they don't count. anyway. i'm rambling.)

and to that end my friend called mizutaigen yaoi-adjacent and im like. yeah you're right actually cuz like hell yeah non-binary mizu and bisexual taigen rights and all the gender fuckery in the show in general

but also like.

theres just SOMETHING else about mizutaigen that just GETS me. like there's a special secret sauce like the pheromones in that one sephora lotion attracting spiders and i am the silly spider!!! there's just something about it!!! it's not even the enemies to lovers trope cuz i personally am not even usually into that (obv it's fine if you are. but yk.)

so as i keep rotating these thoughts around i thiiink it's the fact that, yknow, theyre so similar. like i honestly truly think they could be besties in another universe: a kinder universe where taigen was not taught to hate. a universe where mizu was not born a girl in a deeply misogynistic society or half-white in a xenophobic homogeneous society.

yeah now that i think about it that really just might be THE secret sauce!!! like the fact that they COULD be perfect and happy together, if only things were different, if only they werent themselves.

smth v bittersweet about that's just driving me insane and makes me want to root for them to overcome all those obstacles, to say "fuck all that" (re:the world and all its fucked up shit) and find each other in the end. to eventually become each other's fav person and confidant. who obv still bicker and tease and insult each other all the time but they dont really mean any of it and over time it just becomes a running gag between them and no one else has to get it because it's just between the two of them.

[echoing-gravity]

Blind Earthshaker Au

I wanna see a series rewrite where everything is the same except Percy is blind but can see better than everyone around him and has Katara's ice bending and toph beifong's Seismic Vibration Senses.

Like his dad is called the earth SHAKER so I don't think he can bend the earth too well but Percy is like feeling and making tiny vibrations/Earthquakes with his feet to see. He's super weak to air based projectiles think arrows. Or like literally anything a wind spirit picks up and throws in his general direction.

(He will tap his foot like an angry rabbit when hes stressed or caught off guard. I'm thinking wind spirits since they don't touch the ground OR have any water inside their bodies)

He can also "see" like where all the water is around him in a certain distance. Like mentally he has a 3d map of where things are. He doesn't like going places where theirs not a lot of water/or gorund. he can like tell when people are nervous by the speed of their blood flow/ the rhythm of their hearts. And is super precise with his ice bending be cuz of it.

Maybe Sally dies early or something and like we've got like 7 year old blind Percy wandering the streets but like since he can see where all the monsters are with his vibration earthy senses he can avoid them really well. Like "oh huh that guy has Hoooves? Nope. Percy outta here. Noo thanks." Since the mist is mostly sight based, and stuff, I feel like Percy would have a HUGE advantage.

In cannon it's shown that Percy is like really clairvoyant, what with all his dreams and stuff. So in my au he knows about the big three pact, and is just bullshiting people into thinking he's related to Khione goddess of snow and ice. And desperately trying not to let into the fact that he's blind.

(Luke/or/annabeth/or/Leo/or/Rachel/or Whoever he ends up being best friends with figures it out eventually be cuz theyve been friends for so long.)

At some point he runs into an 11yr old Luke pre- Luke meeting Thalia&Annabeth. And then we have them having the dynamic of Percy being a manic feral little shit and Luke trying to be responsible and protect him but ends up being the one protected all the time. I think it'd be funny.

Or maybe he runs into 7 year old annabeth and they become badass -cant be beat- besties. Percy snipe murdering every spider in a quarter mile radius, after he finds out annabeth is afraid of them.

I'm more partial to the meets Luke one cuz then when Percy and annabeth go on their first quest we'd get this fucking glorious scene:

Annabeth: no don't look Percy! You'll die!

Unhinged feral blind Percy: hahaha bitch u thought!!! *He says as he uncaps riptide witch was hidden in his hand.*

Medusa: *gurgling noise be cuz there is now a sword in her neck.*

Or in book two:

Circe standing with Percy Infront of enchanted mirror: isn't there Something u wish u could change about ur appearance? Drink this magic smoothie!

Unhinged feral blind Percy: haha bitch YOU THOUGHT.

Circe is now being held at knife point. (Or.. smootie- icicle point?)

Or if a pissed off god flashes their true form.

Hera: how... how are you alive?!

*Percy with his head tilted/angled so it looks like he's looking at them.*

Percy: *sing-songy voice* I know something yoooouuu doooonnntt! :)

Or if he gets hit by cupids arrow.

Cupid: the next person u look at with direct eye contact you will fall helplessly in love with them.

unhinged feral blind Percy: HAHAHA BITCH GUESS WHAT!

I'm sure there's more areas in the books or just Greek mythos in general where being blind is actually an advantage, but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Or oooor -this is the one that I see being most likely to happen- hear me out: he runs into LEO. Since Hera was using the mist like crazy to hide him, but Percy is unaffected/immune to the most because He. Can't. See. It.

They steal/hijack an RV to live in. That could be cool. Leo has trama based on like burning people, right? Percy in canon Swam in LAVA, boy is fire-fucking-PROOF!! Fire and ice friends!

('oh my gods, they were roommates' perleo shipping intensifies)

Leo probably: you're nickname shall be Snowflake. Becuz ice powers.

Leo mentally: "wow! this person is really pretty, and funny and is like me, AND THEIR FUCKING FIREPROOF?"

Leo mentally: lets get fucking married.

Or maybe Sally doesn't die and Percy's blindness is known. He goes to school and guess who volunteered to help read his paperwork to him. That's right our favorite eco-rights activist: Rachel Elizabeth Dare!

Since Percy is blind he doesn't? Have dyslexia? I'm not entirely sure about how to explain this one. But like he's blind. People read things for him. (so he isnt effected by having dyslexia, becuase someone else is reading things for him.) He'd have good grades. Percy is sooo fucking smart. But like no one remembers cuz annabeth is always putting him down with all that doubt in canon. "Seaweed Brain!" I hate that nickname. Fuck canon annabeth. U don't have to put others down to have confidence in yourself omfg.

someone who isnt me write it. this is a writing prompt go! fanfic writers gooo!