#nwt: YOU DID WHAT NOW

[ultfreakme]

Actually you know what, thinking on it, Sokka's sexism in the original was really weird and when writing fic, I had a hard time understanding where that even came from. We've been told Gran-gran left NWT because of the sexism and stayed at SWT, Hama was a fighter, Hakoda didn't condemn Katara for fighting or learning bending, there's a trivia thing where we learn Hakoda actually wanted to find a waterbending teacher for Katara. Now sure you can say fighting doesn't mean sexism wasn't present, but Sokka's conveyance of that sexism didn't work if that's the case.

Sokka specifically underestimates girls in fighting. That's how his sexism is largely expressed. Kanna wouldn't have raised Hakoda that way and in turn Hakoda wouldn't have raised Sokka like that.

He would be overprotective of Katara and stifle her as a bender, but not because he's sexist, but because Hakoda said "Hey you're our last warrior"- and this is actually the crux of his character.

One big argument people make is that Sokka's character arc with Suki apparently won't happen. But interviews state that the new focus on Sokka-Suki would be about them finding strength and solidarity as non-benders. In the original we do see Sokka trying to figure out his place and part in the war and among Gaang, he does feel insecure about his strength and ability to protect people. I think taking the new direction would connect well with the Serpent's Pass reunion.

I understand why people are hesitant but I just saw posts saying Sokka's sexism is inherent to his character as Toph's blindness is!?!?!? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU????? There's so much to unpack there I don't even know where to begin. Like this is getting ridiculous and in trying to say Sokka's sexism is good actually, you guys forget that the original was kinda fumbling its way through Sokka's sexism arc. It's not that fast or easy to make someone dismantle sexism, and the Kyoshi Warriors + Suki are playing into the idea that a woman is only equal to a man when she has combat prowess (I still kinda cringe at Suki saying "I'm a warrior....but I'm also a girl" she says that about her romantic interest in Sokka and kissing him, like why is being a girl or romantic interest associated with 'girl'?). They could've stretched out the arc and included Yue in helping Sokka learn that women aren't inferior but all talks of women's equality was restricted to combat.

I ADORE the Katara v Pakku fight and I think that was a far better discussion and showcase of misogyny and commentary on inequality. Because yes it was a fight, but it was, underneath all that, about Kanna and Yue.

It is the first time we see that actually, Kanna and Yue should get to choose because that is a fundamental right they should have. Healing was allocated entirely to women, but Katara learned it and it was never seen as an inferior form of bending. Everyone should get to pick if they wanna fight or they wanna heal or both. Katara'a fighter, a healer.

So I just wanna ask; Do you want Sokka's sexism to be there to comment on the unfairness of gender inequality? Do you want it there to give this one male character a character arc (because Sokka never talks to Katara- the one whom he hurt most with that attitude- or acknowledges his contribution in suppressing her advances in bending after this little lesson he learned from Suki)? Or do you want it there because the og did it so it has to be there? Because if it's the first, KATARA's arc does it a million times better and that's still in the show.

[yeyinde]

Question about Straw House, Straw Dog Johnny! OK so he obviously has some brain trauma due to taking a bullet to the head and all, and we can see him shifting between thoughts and emotions in a way one can describe as volatile, but I've been dying to know... Does Johnny have moments of clarity, moments where who he was before being shot break through? If so, how lucid is he? Is he able to take stock of his surroundings, does he know he's got a captive in his bed? Does he wonder about his team mates, until his mind splinters and he returns to being a shell of a man in the woods?

sorry this took me so long to answer!! it got super long so i had to find ways to cut it down, but since i couldn't write this in Johnny's pov, i rambled. a lot.

but—to answer your question: yes and no lmao

i don't think he's fully gone. definitely delusional, grasping at nothing, and struggling to adjust to this civilian world where no one needs him. not even his teammates.

but he's cognisant, and in many ways, he's still Johnny. still Soap. but he is a victim of circumstances. he has untreated TBI (which outside of physical recovery does need therapy as well, especially to offset the emotional trauma that underlines it all), and he decided to pick one of the loneliest places in Canada to hide out in. maybe not the loneliest, but there's definitely a sense of disconnect when you move outside of the big cluster of cities near the border to the US, and nowhere else captures that primordial, almost cosmic sense of crushing aloneness quite like NWT (for me, at least lmao)

it's the social isolation, the feeling of worthlessness (because i do see him as someone who'd never retire from this, ever), and the loss of agency and familiarity that really send him spiralling. he's grasping at straws and sinking deeper into his terrible mental state. listless, in a way. and very, very angry. everything was ripped away from him in seconds and now he's stuck inside a cabin with nothing but his thoughts for company. and while we don't really know how he came to be squirreled away in NWT (specifically a patch of unorganised land outside of Wrigley), we know that it was not choice.

he still thinks of his teammates, remembers (vividly) everything that happened, but had no choice but to leave. there's a lot of resentment, though. he feels robbed. broken. useless. feels like he should be there with them when they hunt down Makarov, rather than sidelined like he has been. it festers. builds.

but then you come along.

a task, a mission. someone he can save. and even if he were fully cognisant, woke up perfectly fine one day, he'd still find ways to rationalise it. he does not, nor will he ever, see you as a captive. he did you a favour. he saved you. by any means necessary. even if those means are morally reprehensible and outright illegal. Soap is patting himself on the back for doing what needed to be done, and nothing anyone says will change his mind.

and if he was ever caught, he'll pretend to feel some sense of remorse for his actions. let people lead the discussion of how tragic what happened is and how truly sorry he is for the pain caused, but the entire time, he's plotting on how to get his family back. you're his. he found you. he'll never feel guilt over what he sees as a good deed. but i think he can be convinced to feel remorse over sneaking into your bed.

[atla-confessions]

I wish they would because it'd be funny as fuck but it might kill the mod

Lets put this in terms you might understand. Im going to repeat what you said, and then make a Katara 'critcism' of equal value

zk: aang is kind of inattentive and gets distracted easily

"Katara is kind of mean and gets really prideful and self-righteous"

These are two things Aang does, and two things Katara does, but if we made this Katara's entire fucking personality, that would be anti Katara

zk: aang yelling at toph was kinda shitty

"Katara making the blind comment at Toph was kinda shitty."

"Katara saying Sokka didnt love their mom like she did was kinda shitty."

The statement about Aang is true, as are these statments about Katara. If we were to call Katara a bad friend because of these, or toxic, or bring it up as reason that Katara isnt deserving of Aang, that would be anti Katara

zk: aang getting so jealous at the idea of Katara being with someone else that he would go into the Avatar state is kind of problematic

"Katara getting so jealous of Aang she says shes not going to come watch him ride the unagi to make sure hes okay is kind of problematic"

Neither of these statements are true. Both are ignoring the larger context and making their behavior out to be jealousy when its not. Aang was upset about the play as a whole. His comment about the avatar state was clearly not a literal thing, but him trying to express how upset the play as a whole has made him. Katara was upset Aang was being irresposible and letting the praise get to his head and didnt want to come watch him show off.

Aang doesnt even show any jealousy in this scene, zutara shippers just like making it about themselves. Aang doesnt mention Zuko once. Hes not thinking "Katara might have feelings for someone else" hes thinking "I dont know where I personally stand with Katara as she has been sending mixed signals." Which is, frankly, reasonable, even if he went about trying to express this in the wrong way. Thats not jealousy, thats a basic desire of wanting someone to communicate with you.

Painting Katara's frusteration and refusal to care about the potential of Aang getting hurt as just toxic jealousy would be anti Katara.

zk: here's a fic where aang faces consequences for burning Katara

Now, before I go into this one, lets remember the real consequences Aang faced, like getting jumped and slammed into the ground, like feeling so guilty as to swear off something he needs to save the world, like this incedent shown to be one of the things that haunt Aang the most when hes opening his chakras. Like this insident (incident? Im not looking it up rn) literally being the context in which he allows Zuko into their lives as he believes Zuko can help teach him firebending in such a way as to avoid ever hurting someone again.

Heres a list of things Katara did and did not face consequences for: abandoning Aang along with Sokka because Aang withheld a map for a few hours, stealing a waterbending scroll and sneaking to use it despite agreeing not to and putting everyone in danger, (she got saved and still got to keep the scroll, even made it very obvious she felt no remorse for this, I consider that not facing consequences), making Aang think Appa was sick, telling people Aang is the avatar because shes proud of it despite that putting Aang in danger many times, encouraging Aang to throw himself at problems with no help like Hei Bai and the NWT invasion, stealing appa after Aang said he did not want her to.

If someone were to write a fic where Aang's mistakes are ignored, and these mistakes of Katara's were emphasized and used as reasoning shes not good for Aang, to the point where they add consequences that didnt happen but could have happened, like Aang getting captured and/or hurt in order to make her feel guilty, that would be, say it with me, anti Katara.

When someone ephasizes or exaggerates a characters flaws while ignoring their good deeds and qualities, that is being anti, not fair criticism, especially if they do it while ignoring most of the flaws and mistakes another character has made and treating them as near perfect and a victim of the first character.

Most zutara shippers are not interested in analyzing the show for the sake of fair criticism of characters. If they were, they would be pointing out Katara's mistakes just as often as Aang's. They are only interested in justifying their dislike for Aang.

X

[survivalove]

hii what type of tropes do u think katara fits ?? and what type of tropes do u think her character subverts ??

Hi anon! I’m not gonna lie this is a heavy topic which has been weighing on my mind ever since my Katara rant a few days ago. Tbh, I wasn’t going to make a post about this, just cuz I feel like maybe I talk too much 😂 but you just gave me the perfect excuse so here we go:

1. Girls are Healers, not Fighters

I want to start this off with the issue of misogyny in the Northern Water Tribe and how the fandom discusses Katara’s portrayal in LoK. First of all, the NWT not allowing girls to fight is misogyny and Pakku telling Katara to “go in the healing hut with the other women” very much sounds like “go in the kitchen where you belong”. This is something everyone understands.

However, I think we start losing the plot when people only focus on this aspect and ironically parrot the same misogyny when they talk about female healers in the franchise and in media. Let’s look at Yagoda. Yagoda is a recognized master. She doesn’t teach in her house, her kitchen or her bedroom. She teaches in a school alongside other master healers and students. When the Yue was stillborn, who did her family turn to at first? Pakku? No, the healers. During the civil war, did Katara just sit at home twiddling her fingers like so many in the fandom would have you believe? No, she was single-handedly healing dozens of rebels in her White Lotus outpost. The importance of female healers in the franchise and media in general should not be diminished when speaking out against this misogynistic trope. I just had to get that out of the way.

So, how does ATLA subvert this trope with Katara? They show her developing her healing abilities alongside her fighting skills. One does not hinder the other. When Katara discovers her healing ability, she gains respect for possessing a talent so rare and revered, by a man originally from the nation that wiped out the male and female waterbenders of her tribe. When Katara saves Aang’s life, the most important moment in the entire show IMO, in the same episode, she is also shown facing off a major enemy in battle and winning. These two sides of her are constantly shown in balance to the fullest extent of her power, without one skill being diminished to highlight the other.

2. The Hero’s Girl

I think this is another trope that’s prevalent in media, particularly shonen animes which ATLA gets compared to so often. A lot of times these female love interests are never in the main story without the main male character. They seemingly have a one-sided crush, fall apart at his feet, interacts with him only when he needs her (and only him), and can sometimes be a pick-me when it comes to any competing female characters. I think a lot of people see Katara this way solely because she gets with Aang in the end, when this does not even come close to how she is portrayed.

Katara is an extremely developed character. Her arc is largely independent of Aang even though there are so many parallels between the two. Katara initially sees Aang as just a friend and even when she starts seeing him as a potential love interest, she’s not begging him to notice her or accept her affections. She gets jealous but isn’t competing with anyone for his attention for long and she has relationships with other characters that further the story whether Aang is there or not. She doesn’t exist solely to be with him, in fact she even teaches him. Katara and Aang being endgame is not integral to either one of their stories. They don’t agree with each other all the time and when he pushes their romance too far, she isn’t framed in a negative light for rebuffing his affections. No one in the narrative forces her to be with Aang because he’s the Avatar for status, or anything else. Love is not her biggest priority and she chooses to put off her romantic feelings until the war ends.

Now does she get jealous of other girls who seem to like Aang as well? Yes. Does she cry and get emotional when something happens to him? Yes. Does she spend an episode pestering the fortuneteller about her future husband and get excited at the idea of falling in love? Lol yeah. Does she blush and hug and kiss Aang often? Literally every other episode. But that’s not all there is to her or their dynamic. I think some people often overemphasize the fact that Aang and Katara do get together in the end and act like it automatically voids the rest of her development in canon when it really doesn’t. Like I said in another post, I know a lot of Katara stans that don’t ship her with anyone or can discuss her character at great length without mentioning romance. People who choose to focus on her ending up with the hero to ‘defend’ her are more doing her a disservice if you ask me.

3. One-Dimensional Female Characters

This sort of ties into everything I just said and is also something the franchise achieves with all the female characters, but even more-so with Katara. Katara has several behaviors that directly contradict her general personality traits:

In the Chase, Katara lectures Toph about the importance of doing chores and being a team player and in the same episode, insults her, picks fights with her to the point she leaves the group entirely.

Katara loves her brother and always cheers him up when he’s feeling him down, but she still will tease and pick on him, and on a darker note, lashes out at him in the Southern Raiders when he doesn’t tell her what she wants to hear.

Katara turns up her nose at the wrestling tournament they find Toph in and winces as she attacks The Earth King’s soldiers, but still partakes in fighting the war because it’s for the greater good.

Katara from a young age had to take up the societal expectations that her mother would have had in her family and in her tribe, but is still a child and often takes delight in activities children enjoy, as she should.

The point is, Katara isn’t one-dimensional. There are a lot of contradictions within her that are usually juxtaposed one after the other. Yet, most viewers can only focus on one side at a time, usually choosing to focus on the negative aspects of her character. They will complain about her being motherly as if she never has fun. They will focus on the one time she was out of line with Sokka just to attack her character. They will cry she was too hard on Zuko, after 2.5 seasons of him chasing them down.

Most annoying of all, they will compare her to other female characters who are less hypocritical in nature and, in my opinion, simply not as complex as Katara. Don’t even get me started on how community is such an integral part of Katara, Sokka and Aang’s characters and how their character development often get overlooked in favor of characters with more individualistic and straightforward narratives. But this is about Katara.

Katara is an unapologetically feminine character that is sweet and kind without serving some villainous agenda that gives her a reason to be on par with the male characters when it comes to fighting skill. Her strength gets questioned in ways that Azula, Toph, Mai and Ty Lee’s do not. She subverts a lot of misogynistic tropes that a lot of 2000s female love interests in media suffered from and still do. She’s a very difficult character for most people to wrap their heads around, simply because she doesn’t stick to the script that most fmcs who look and act like her, do.

If we pretend she’s not fictional for two seconds, Katara is a hypocrite and hello? Who isn’t. It’s human nature for people to change their minds or do things that don’t really match up with that they’re say about. People who get mad at Katara for this, are essentially saying they’re mad because she’s not a flat character and they don’t even realize it. Her contradictions aren’t just one-off moments and her grief over her mother’s death isn’t something she only brings up once or twice. These occur over and over again because she is the other main character and with that comes a lot more screentime for her to be hypocritical, grow and show development to a level that the other female characters can’t.

[kawaiichibiart]

Random assortment of ATLA AU ideas I'm probably not gonna do anything with but needed to get out there:

AU where Zuko was never banished from the FN due to the people of the FN revolting when they found out. Word of the Agni Kai and the War Meeting had made it's way across the nation and the majority were in favor of Zuko. So much that they were planning a mutiny. Annoyed, but seeing a way out, Ozai orders a tower be made far away from Caldera. Once it's made, Zuko would live there. If they win the war, he'll forgive his son and welcome him back. The tower is built and Zuko is dumped in there. Only one way in and out and he can't open it. The other option is literally barred. Blah blah blah, we get into book 2, Suki has been caught by Azula. She's on her way to prison, not sure where she'll end up. And she's surprised when she's told she'll be keeping the prince company. Because, what prince? And she's put into Zuko's tower. In short, Zuki prison roommates AU but it's not in the Boiling Rock.

No one understands how it happened. Why it happened. They prayed to the moon. So, why did the sun respond and save their daughter? She prayed to the sun. She prayed and begged for him to answer. The one who answered her was the moon. Sun Spirit Yue and Moon Spirit Zuko AU. Bonus if both can bend the element of the spirit that blessed them (firebender Yue and waterbender Zuko).

Zuku joins the Gaang early and poses as Sokka's wife the entire time (fiancee if we go as early as book 1 and up until they get to Ba Sing Se in book 2. Zuko: I must find my darling husband!! I'm so worried about him... Katara: Seriously, what do you see in that guy? Zuko: He makes me laugh.)

The SWT has collapsed. Men have gone to war, and the remaining women, children and elders have split between finding sanctuary in either Kyoshi Island or the NWT OR living a new life at sea as pirates. Sokka becomes well known as a decent pirate. He won't raid someone just to raid them. They have to have something he wants. And right now, his attention was in the rather pretty boy (he assumed it was a boy anyways) onboard Zhao's ship. He'd usually go for maps and plans and even rations when he raided a ship, but this time he's thinking of getting a person. Huh, kidnapping...well there's a first for everything. (Basic summary, the SWT doesn't exist, Sokka is now a pirate, and yes so are Katara and Kanna. Their biggest enemy personally is Zhao, who's hunting down the Avatar (whom they're hiding in their ship). Sokka eventually notices Zuko, who was given to Zhao rather than banished. Blah blah blah, it's easy to tell Zuko hates Zhao, hopefully he won't mind a small kidnapping if it means getting off Zhao's ship (he does but honestly he'd rather be on Sokka's ship, it's a lot cleaner and the avatar seems nice, the bison is a bonus.))

Despite his attempts, Zuko is unable to join Team Avatar. Not able to turn to either side, he runs off and goes into hiding. While on the run, he reunites with Jin and they end up having a heart to heart. Things are confessed but in the end they get together and go on the run together. They open up a secret camp for people like them, on the run from the war. They heal the injured as best as they can and work together to make food that can last a few days. The first time things turn sour is when Jet enters the camp. He's hostile and picking fights until he's given the choice to cool his attitude or leave and hope someone else takes pity on him. Things settle down and he gets close with Jin and Zuko. More time passes by and they're eventually approached by Team Avatar, Aang and Toph both seem pleasantly surprised to see Zuko, but Sokka, Katara and Suki (whom the two water siblings freed from prison alongside their dad) weren't, Hakoda doesn't say anything. Like with Jet, they were given a choice, cool the attitude or leave.

Growing up, Azula always trailed after her mother and older brother. Despite being their father's favorite, Azula preferred their company. Call her overprotective, but like Uncle Iroh and their cousin Lu Ten have told her over and over, they were dragons. And dragons hoard and protect what's theirs. Ursa and Zuko are Azula's hoard, and she wouldn't let anyone hurt them. So, when Ursa disappears, when Zuko gets burned and banished, she decides enough is enough. The war against the other nations has ended, it was time for Civil War. And once she won, she'd bring her real family back. Ozai touched her hoard, it was about time he learned why you should never touch something belonging to a dragon.

Is this how adoption works now?? He just, finds kids lost at sea, abandoned in random places, having run away? Hakoda's not sure why it happened. It started when he found a young girl adrift on a small boat. Her white hair hidden with scarves and her hood. Yue, Princess of the NWT. Ranaway upon learning she was engaged to someone who wouldn't care for her or her people. Then came ex-Prince Zuko, who had been abandoned on an island they stopped to camp at. He'd been living there for about 3 years, maybe longer, he's unsure. But hey, what's another kid? He joins their crew... Fuck his earlier words, he doesn't need more kids. But Hakoda just sighs as a small girl (Toph) follows Zuko aboard. Seriously, is THIS how adoption works now? How's he gonna explain this to Sokka and Katara and his mother? They'll accept Yue no doubt, Toph might also be easy, but Zuko? Fuck, he needs a drink- BATO STOP LAUGHING!!

She didn't want it to end the way it did. She hated what had happened to him. What Ozai did to him while she was gone. What their mother did when she abandoned them. She remembered when Zuko was happy. When he'd smile at her and tell her he'd love her. She remembered the expectations put on him, the extra lessons and how little he was allowed to sleep. She was...jealous for so long. Both of their fire were unique, hers a brilliant blue and his a kaleidoscope of colors. It wasn't fair he was treated special... He wasn't treated special. And she was blind to that. She was blind and the truth was falling apart right in front of her. She hated this. She hated what this war had done to her family. What it did to her. What it did to Zuko. And she hated that she just stood there as her brother was carted off somewhere, ignoring his gaze as he was taken away. She hates everything... (sorta a roleswap between Azula and Zuko but not really?? Both are strong benders, Zuko just peaked later on but not too much later. As the oldest, a lot of pressure was placed on Zuko and thus Ozai's attention was on him as well. Azula, upset with this, did everything she could to upstage him. The two have a good relationship, but Ozai favoring Zuko didn't help and so Azula left to capture the Avatar, stating she wanted a challenge and to prove herself. She got a ship, and set sail with Iroh at her side. Azula eventually joins to Avatar's side and branded a traitor alongside her uncle. Zuko is tasked at bringing her home and despite how much he'd rather join her, Ozai's grip on him is too strong (not in the sense he's loyal to his father, but in the sense that he's too scared to leave). We eventually get to Agni Kai during Sozin's Comet and Azula comes out victorious, but it feels like an empty win because she knows Zuko had lost long ago. This was just the fight that broke him (also yes, Azula becomes the Firelord).

[botherkupo]

Woo finished all 8 episodes of atla live action show. So here are my final thoughts:

Show had its weaknesses but overall was very enjoyable. Would watch again

I loved everything they did with Zuko, Azula, and Ozai. I’ve rambled about this a few times now so won’t add anything more. Just want to emphasize that all extra scenes/changes etc were very satisfying for me and made me excited for the future seasons

I wasn’t sold on Iroh in that first episode but he grew on me quickly and the use of Leaves From the Vine still makes me heart ache. Perfect emotional touch. (Also Zuko saying Lu Ten would be proud to have Iroh as a father before the NWT battle was so sweet)

Aang was wonderful. Some parts with the Avatars being like” bro get your act together” felt repetitive at times, but I also like we got to see all the last 3 avatars. (Also Kuruk focusing on spirit battles was cool. Thank you for giving him more substance and explaining why Koh may have targeted him through Umi)

One thing I really appreciate about Aang here is that yes he didn’t technically “run away” and get trapped in the iceberg. He left to calm down because he was feeling so overwhelmed, then all that stuff happens, and then 100 years passes and he’s stuck not knowing how to be the Avatar — especially in a world so different from his own. The part where he said he didn’t belong in the world was just 😭😭😭🥺🥺🥺

Anyway I like that Aang is trying even though he’s so uncertain and lost. He has his flaws and he has his strengths and at the end of the day his role will be to fight for peace and try bring back the world he knew — when ppl could have fun and be friends with other nations. Also yeah the whole direction they went with the Ocean Spirit was awesome. Aang knew what was going to happen but he did it anyway because he thought that was all he could do, even if it meant he would be lost. I was very emotional lol

In terms of Sokka and Katara, this show definitely feels like it has placed Zuko and Aang as the leads. So yeah, in some ways Katara has stepped back a bit this season compared to what we saw in the cartoon. I honestly wasn’t happy with all the ways she was handled but overall I am still happy with her in the show. Her fight with Pakku was awesome, I love she rounded up the female waterbenders to fight, and I cried when she was calling out to Aang as he was lost to the Ocean Spirit. I think she will be even better in season 2, since her story in this season was about overcoming her trauma and not holding herself back for anyone

On that note, the 8 episode limit definitely made the show suffer in terms of pacing for those last few episodes. I would have loved to have seen Katara do more to fully accept she IS a master. I also didn’t feel much for Sokka and Yue since I felt he had better chemistry with Suki. They definitely could have done with more episodes to build that relationship up. I did like Yue though and how her sacrifice felt less like a destined thing the Moon Soieit had always intended her to do and more like something she chose to do freely.

Also can I just say the horrified screech I made when Momo got hit. I was going noooo momo the whole time until he got healed. (Show needed more Momo. Also Appa. Budget probably made their appearances few snd far between but still. Momo is my fav and I missed him)

It was interesting how they completely changed Hahn but also quite refreshing. One of things I do like about this live action (and I’m probably in the minority) is that they made complete changes sometimes. We all know the story, but it was cool to see unexpected stuff, especially since I could appreciate the changes. Like Yue actively choosing not to marry Hahn (even more so because natla Hahn is not a dickhead) is more satisfying to me than her feeling all sad about a betrothal she doesn’t want. (Also meant we got to see Katara earn Pakku’s strength all on her own instead of because he used to have the hots for Gran Gran)

I thought the show also did well combining omashu, Jet stuff, and Mechanist together. I’m actually happy we didn’t have to deal with The temple being taken over by the mechanist etc because it never sat well with me anyway. Also the episode limit meant they had to focus on ways to condense season 1 into a satisfying story — I think they did good with what they had. We have to remember the cartoon had heaps of episodes to work with, and animation is a different medium with a lot of strengths when it comes to fantasy etc

Anyway, this is getting super long. I will wrap it up by again saying the live action is not perfect but it is a good show that hits all the right emotional beats. I really hope it will get renewed and we’ll get the full story

[waterfire1848]

How’s it going @waterfire1848 !

I wanted to ask what are your opinions on poly fidelity in fanfiction. Specifically, on the AzuKatAang (Azula/Katara/Aang) pairing?

Do you like it, dislike it, or are indifferent to it?

Also, when reading over one of your stories “Fire and water don’t touch” I came up with an idea, that you may or may not (it’s a okay either way) like from it.

The idea is that when Azula struck down Aang with Lightning during the Crossroads of Destiny, and Katara subsequently, brought Aang back to life with Waterbending and magic water. This use of Azula’s lightning bending, Aangs soul, Katara’s water bending, and the NWT Spirit water all regarding the same area (the lightning wound) , perhaps by Spirit meddling? Or fate? managed to forge a link between Azula, Katara, and Aang’s psyches. A link between their souls of you will.

This linking has two main consequences on Azula, Katara, and Aang. The first is similar to your “Fire and Water don’t touch” one shot, none of the three are able to physically harm each other with bending. The second is that when the Azula, Katara, and Aang are asleep at the same time, the minds of the three travel to a “dream state” or a independent domain in the spirit world. A (voluntarily or not) communion of the psyches. The three would continue to interact until waking the next morning. And the process would repeat the next time, the three are asleep.

I imagine, that the communes of the psyche would begin when Aang wakes up from his coma. And incidentally, after Azula and Zuko had reported Aangs “death” to Ozai. The link between all three of them

Azula to Aang and to Katara

Katara to Azula and to Aang

Aang to Katara and to Azula officially begins, and their dreams start to become more…interesting with company.

Azula, Katara, and Aang would thus be forced to interact with one another. This includes conversation, sparing, hurt/comfort and any # of things. This would eventually lead to Azula repudiating Ozai and joining the Gaang, Azula teaching Aang Fire bending (perhaps alongside Zuko?), and an eventual Azula/Katara/Aang polyafidelious romance.

An example of (one) of the very first interactions between them:

Katara: “You killed Aang, The worlds last hope against your father tyranny!

Azula: I failed to kill him unfortunately, your precious avatar is right there!

Aang: You didn’t, I… I did die. Katara was able to bring me back with spirit water.

Katara: You see!! You murdered him!

Azula: He clearly got better!

Katara: You. killed. The worlds last hope”!

Azula: That “worlds last hope” planned with the Earth king and his generals to invade my home with the Earth kingdom army. My home! Of course I tried to kill him to stop it.

Katara: A Fire National complaining about homes being invaded? Now I’ve heard everything! Are invasions wrong now ash maker?

Azula: They are when it’s one’s own lands being invaded ice brains. Prerogative dictates that I can defend my people as I see fit. You being too weak to do so yourself is irrelevant to this discussion.

Katara: I’ll show you weak! The Water Tribes haven’t yielded yet.

Aang: Girls. Let’s all calm down a little. Monk Gyatso taught me many meditative techniques, here first you need to-

Katara: Shut up Aang!

Azula: Hold you’re tongue Avatar!

Aang: I can see that this is going well…

Let me know if this is an idea you may be interest in? Either as a long fic, or a brief synopsis. And if not? That’s okay too! This idea is more of a thought experiment than anything else.

Thanks for reading my rambling

-745 voice of the people

Ps: Thank you again for indulging my ramblings before about the Blood bender Katara and escaped Azula in the expansion of incorrect quotes. It was a fun discussion!

Thanks for the ask!!

I'm all for poly stuff in fics. My personal favorite is Suki/Sokka/Zuko. For Azula/Katara/Aang I'd say I'm indifferent to it. I've just never really thought about it as a concept too much because I'm not really a Kataang shipper but I can see how it could work.

Linking the three up so that they can dream together is a really interesting idea. I think it would work a lot better if it isn't voluntary. To steal from another AU of mine, maybe it only becomes voluntary after they admit their feelings. If it's voluntary from the get go them Azula and Katara would never want to meet up. I also think it'd be interesting that, when they do arrive in this "dream state", they can see each other's injuries. Cause I think you could do something cool with Azula seeing Aang's burn and feeling some guilt or Katara and Aang seeing new burns on Azula and realizing Ozai's hurting her.

There's probably a good chance for hurt/comfort with what I said before but also if you add in that one of them one night can't fall asleep and that person realizes that they're actually upset they can't talk to the other two. The conversations would be bound to happen cause people sleep for like 7-8 hours so there's no way they could do all that in silence. Azula ends up joining Aang and Katara during the DOBS then Zuko arrives and finds out about the whole "being tied together" thing.

I love Aang's response in the dialogue. He's not looking die again in the dream world.

I love reading your ramblings!

I also love talking about bloodbender Katara and making it Azutara cause I think it's a concept a lot of people sleep on. Azula would see one second of evil(?) bloodbending Katara and get down on one knee.

[sokkastyles]

ATLA LIVE ACTION EP8 THOUGHTS:

I enjoyed seeing the gaang participate in the battle, but where are the NWT forces?

I'm not sure why the decision was made to change the dialogue in the goodbye scene with Zuko and Iroh. I doubt viewers new to the story even remember who Lu Ten was. There's also no particular reason for Zuko to say this here other than that we should have him say something sentimental. It's also just that Zuko at this point in the show, even though we know he loves Iroh, isn't really ready to be that emotionally open, and should not be. That was part of the point in the original scene when Iroh is emotional and Zuko shies away from it. You can still feel the love between the characters but the tragedy is in how Zuko isn't ready to accept it yet, and that mirrors how he's choosing to chase Aang, and by extension his father's love, doing what is basically a suicide mission.

All the waterbending women standing together during the battle is what was missing from the original. Emphasizing that this is not just about Katara but everyone.

And Yue being a waterbender and fighting emphasizes that too. Nice touch.

"Yes, Master Katara!"

What Zhao says implies that only the Northern waterbenders draw power from the moon?

We could have learned about the healing Oasis without the uneccesary violence to Momo.

I was worried that the glimpses in the trailer of the spirit oasis looked less natural, but my fears are put to rest here.

Loved the zutara spirit oasis fight.

Zhao realizing that the koi fish are the spirits feels very "old man yells at cloud." Obnoxious man yells at fish.

"Even Ozai wouldn't want that." Are you really sure? The Phoenix King would disagree.

WHY IS THIS SCENE SO STATIC? Iroh and Zhao are supposed to be in a dire struggle but they just stand there talking to each other. In the original, Iroh takes a fighting stance as he delivers the great line about unleashing tenfold on Zhao if he tries to harm the spirit. Here he just stands and shouts, despite how much easier it is for live action to actually have their characters MOVE.

Is it just me or does the show keep contradicting itself on what Zhao's plan is? Previously he said he didn't want to kill all the waterbenders and now he's saying he does. Which, let's be real, the FN absolutely does want to do. Sozin was willing to kill airbenders just to stop the Avatar. And the logical extension is that they would then have to decimate every other nation until nothing was left.

"Do you understand what that's like?" "Yes, I do."

I have to admit, the battle is pretty impressive. The waterbenders losing their bending is a nice touch.

Missing the Zuko/Aang moments and have mixed feelings about Aang purposefully choosing to meld with the Ocean Spirit but the themes of sacrifice are good and am kind of interested to see where this takes the story.

Zuko/Zhao fight good

"It was all a game." Yeah. And Azula identifying the blue spirit as Zuko, which I kinda predicted! But I still maintain she should have recognized the mask, not the sword. This show has shown its willingness to acknowledge the Search's existence, so it should have been the mask that represents their mother that Azula identified.

Did Iroh just kill Zhao?!?

Love the iceberg imagery with Aang imprisoned in the ocean spirit with Katara calling out to him to come back. And here's the "we are your family" speech. Aang sacrificing himself because he feels like he doesn't belong and Katara wanting him to be part of her world. This is good stuff. I just don't really feel why Katara needs Aang here. Even though I don't like KA, at least I get a sense in the original that they are important to each other. That's missing here. I feel like if I hadn't watched the original I would not get it at all.

"My daughter always made her own choices." Look. OG Yue sacrifices herself because that is what she has done her whole life, a girl who lives for her duty. This Yue sacrifices herself because she chooses to, as a spiritual leader of her tribe who rejected an offer of marriage and made her own choices. It feels much less like fridging this way.

The taking of Omashu is great. Awkward that Ozai is explaining it in exposition to the Fire Sage like he wouldn't already know.

I still don't buy that Ozai would be like "well, let's see if Zuko survives." He would want to keep tabs on what Zuko is doing. Especially now. In the original, Iroh's outright treason was a big plot point. The same thing happens here but Ozai just has nothing to say about it? Iroh fights against the Fire Nation, Zuko is legally made a traitor, they vanish under mysterious circumstances, and Ozai is just like "lol that's chill let's see what happens." Even his reasoning, that if Zuko is strong he'll survive, doesn't make much sense. A Zuko who is left to survive is likely to come back stronger and less loyal. Ozai says the things he does are to make Zuko stronger but Ozai really does not want him to be strong, because that means there's a risk that he might develop independence.

Also this contradicts what Zhao said about how Ozai never wanted Zuko to succeed. So what is Ozai's game? I hear we've been renewed so maybe we'll find out, but honestly I don't think the writing on this show is consistent enough to get my hopes up.

[theduckeminence]

Let’s talk about The Water Tribe and Sexism.

From what I’ve seen in alot of posts, fans tend to point harsh fingers at how extremely sexist the Water Tribe is in terms of their culture and how their customs are divided into gender roles (at least for the NWT).

On a surface level, this is understandable as from an outside POV, when we see something involving strict and seemingly stereotypical gender roles, we immediately perceive this portrayal as sexist and even taking it as far as misogynistic. Though what we need to understand is that we need to take in the context of the situation/setting and what we are actually dealing with. What we need to do is to look from a different lenses.

For starters, the Water Tribe in general are inspired by indigenous and native groups—such as the Inuit. Though I am not indigenous/native myself, I can say is that, from what I learned, a lot native tribes and even other cultures tend to have customs and traditions that are separated into certain roles and jobs amongst one another. For example, in many Inuit tribes, jobs are often split between the men and women in order to get necessary things done to survive. This is typically normal traditional wise (though someone correct me if I’m wrong).

Now when applying these ideas to the Water Tribes, you can imagine that the Southern Water Tribe and possibly even the Northern Water Tribe following along with this similar system. Though some of you may be wondering—“How can the Northern Water Tribe be like that when they’re so extreme with their gender roles?”.

Well the answer is this: the fear of the colonial/imperial threat of the Fire Nation.

Picture this:

It’s the early years of the war and word has it that the war is quickly making its way to both the Water tribes. The Air Nomad Termination is still fresh in everyone’s minds and fear begins to arise within the nations—especially the water tribes. If whether by will or force, the cultural traditions and customs of the NWT could be threatened by the Fire Nation if they make their way up North. Not only are the well-beings of the tribal people a major worry, but the possibility of cultural extinction also stands on their minds. To prevent this from happening, the Chieftain and the Elders believe there is only one solution in order to protect their people from outside threat.

The Northern Water Tribe announces their isolation from the rest of the world.

Yet as the Northern Water Tribe closing their gates to any international interaction, the fear of cultural loss continues to reverberate within their icey walls. And if the Fire Nation are to ever knock on their gates unannounced, forcing their surrender, the next generations of the NWT would never remember their stories, their teachings, their traditional way of life—their culture as a whole.

This could not happen. They could not—and would not—let that happen. They need to be sure of it.

So, they had to do something about it. And they did.

Though it’s unspoken, gender roles begin to stiffen. They become more and more rigid over time.

Things from hunting to healing and other chores became more and more divided by gender—and less flexible and bending. Unspoken rules come into place as years go by. Men do the hunting and lead the households—taking most positions of leadership. Women do the healing, care for the children, and do the chores. The barrier of roles and duties between men and women of the Northern Water Tribe become stricter—separating.

So much so that it seems unheard of—almost unnatural—that men and women would go anywhere beyond the roles they knew they must fulfill.

It is of means of survival, after all.

Though, things didn’t have to be this way—and they don’t have to be. While these gender roles seem to be apart of traditional conformities, it is not, by law, forbidden for a water tribes-person to go against their own societal expectations—the status quo. Think Kanna and how she was expected to be betrothed and wedded, as well as how she was expected to remain as a housewife—feeling confined by her own tribes’ strict customs.

But that’s also not to say that it may or may be considered taboo in the eye of the most traditionalist folk within the tribe—maybe even considerably “insulting” and disrespectful to some (cough cough Pakku cough).

TDLR: So, in an attempt to preserve as much of their culture as possible from the posed threat of the Fire Nation’s imperial control (via isolation and sticking to cultural traditions), the Northern Water Tribe fortified their traditional customs to the point that it causes a divide between jobs of men and women—conforming them to these gender-based roles and preventing any more flexibility to go beyond the status quo without being deemed as disrespectful and possibly outcasted.

[soopersara]

You’re so creative- the Koh plot twist?? Zhao getting what he deserves?? One of my favorite changes from canon when it comes to plot points

Thank you! 🥰🥰🥰

I decided pretty early on that I wanted Koh to have a bigger part in the story, and that Zhao was going to get what he deserved one way or another. Putting those two things together just made sense to me or at least it did after I had an epiphany and all the little ideas I had floating around in my head for the NWT arc snapped into place, and I'm really proud of how it turned out!

I'm really glad you liked Book 1, and I hope you'll like the rest of the series when I get that far! Now I just need a few more epiphanies to get my Book 2 ideas put together, and I'll really be in business 😂

[ssreeder]

I’m not sure if this has been asked before but…

Why did Arnook never ask Sokka to watch and protect Yue during the siege of the north?

Because there are so many ways you can interpret that character just from canon. He may have seen Sokka’s fight and leadership and genuinely felt he’d protect Yue, or he saw how much Yue cared for him and tried to keep him as far away from fighting as possible.

I’m totally aware it was probably a split second decision on his part either way, but since there probably won’t be a lot more about the nwt in liab canon, I was wondering if you could give some insight into the character? Totally cool if it was just what needed to happen to catalyst Sokka getting captured.

I’m honestly just fishing for northern water tribe lore cause I think they’re interesting. Plus I tried to send an ask about yue and tumblr fucking died on me and i lost like 10 minutes of thinking that i now can’t recall. These last few chapters have been real tear jerkers. And Yue’s death reveal to Sokka has me thinking about ✨where this all started✨

Ok so honesty hour - it was for the plot, but when giving it more thought here is how I imagined the interaction going.

Sokka & Han have their little scuffle and Sokka is approached by Arnook, (& because in LIAB if someone has gone ice dodging and earn their mark they are considered a man and allowed to go to war) so yeah Sokka is 15 but he is a man in the tribes eyes. Also they don’t know him as the goofy kid like most of the SWT men do. Sokka showed up with the avatar & has seen battle & fought the FN & is ultimately an experienced warrior to them.

Which he did do those thing but he was very sheltered with aang & Appa - (damn it that beautiful sky bison made everything so much easier) so I believe Arnook would have asked Sokka where he felt he was needed most during the battle and Sokka of course would say “with the other warriors” (he had something to prove to himself unfortunately - trauma from his dad leaving as such a pivotal age and such) so Arnook (knowing Sokka is the avatars friend) placed him out on the wall, with other experienced warriors who were told to keep an eye on him (because yeah he is a warrior but also a 15 year old kid) and he was stationed in an area close to the healers and away from where they thought the most of the fighting would be.

Unfortunately we know what happened there & that’s what lead us into well…. *gestures at mess* all this.

Idk if that answers your question but to keep it simple haha I think Arnook would have given him a choice, and whatever Sokka (as a man) choose he would have supported.

[renatogpadilla]

My thoughts on the AtlA Live Action as someone who's fresh off the original Show:

I won't say it was bad, because it wasn't. Hell, up until the fourth episode it was done about as well as the Live Action One Piece! The problem is that they tried to streamline too much and they tried to fit too much unnecessary stuff in.

This is more of an issue with Theming rather than Timing. While they DID have the time to fit in the entire OG Season 1 scene by scene, even if they did, there would be the problem of "episodes have to have a theme".

For example, the third and fourth episodes, "Omashu" and "Into The Dark" had bits and pieces of Jet and his Freedom Fighters, the Artificers and Cave of Two Lovers.

And the streamlining of it was good! Because it made sense to streamline that knowing that in Book 3 we're gonna have to have them all show up again.

Unfortunately, after episode 4, the streamlining gets out of hand. By trying to fit as much as they possibly could in one episode (Heibai, the Spirit World, Sokka and Katara getting sick, June and Roku's Island) they lost track of every individual thread of said plots.

For Example: Heibai never gets healed, instead giving more screentime than he deserves to Koh the Face Stealer, which was AWESOME TO SEE, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't fix the problem.

Having said that, I do gotta give it props for a bunch of things:

- The cast FEEL like the characters, with only few exceptions (Roku isn't that goofy, Azula isn't vicious enough for this time in the story, Zhao feels TOO out of control, even for him, etc) and they genuinely tried their absolute best with what they were given.

- The locations and sets are AMAZING (I don't really care about the look of The Volume)

- The Fight Choreography is CRAZY! The Mixed Martial Arts into the Bending was INCREDIBLE!

I'm just honestly gonna list a bunch of things in the Show now, so you can judge for yourself with the info you're given:

- Momo's barely in it. (Like, seriously, he has 5 scenes in the entire thing.)

- Appa is in it only a bit more.

- Sokka's sexism being gone wasn't even that big of a deal. If anything, it was a lesson on studios needing to shut the fuck up about their shows until they release.

- Iroh doesn't bust himself out. It's done in a way that makes you see more of Iroh's story through the eyes of someone else, so it's okay, but it was still something I missed.

- Katara still dealt with Sexism over at the NWT.

- AANG DOESN'T ACTUALLY DO ANY WATERBENDING IN THE ENTIRE SEASON. (This is my biggest complaint.) In fact, they don't go into the Bending AT ALL. No "Fire comes from your breath." No explanation of how Waterbending feels different than Airbending and no Jeong Jeong to teach Aang Firebending and use it as an excuse to wait to the last season for it, etc...

- Mai and Yue don't look like their characters. Like, the feel is there, perfectly, but not the look. Mai is too chubby to be a flipping and dipping weapon thrower martial and Yue's hair was... Off. Something about it was a little much.

- Yue's betrothed wasn't an asshole.

- Koe the Face Stealer gets some original plot which would be REALLY COOL if it wasn't taking the space that could have gone to Zuko carrying Aang out of the NWT.

- NO HARU. AT ALL. HE DOESN'T EXIST. NEITHER DO THE WEED BENDERS BECAUSE THEY SKIPPED THE SWAMP WITH THE SPIRIT REALM. And they're not doing the Library it seems, because they used the Owl already.

- No big blockade in front of Roku's Island, and Roku doesn't fight. We DO get Kyoshi fighting to counterbalance it, though!

-No romance between Aang and Katara yet, which I get, given how the kids that play them are still a bit young for that, but they should have left Secret Tunnel for Season 2 if they weren't gonna do that now.

Stuff like that. There were a bunch of things that worked (the OG Music being there and a remix of "Leaves from the Vine" for Iroh's theme was GOOD!) and others that were complete misses that I'm willing to overlook if they use the "saved" time to focus more on Toph training Aang along with Katara.

Either way, it's a solid 6 outta 10 for me... Wouldn't watch it again for me, but would like a Season 2!

[cabbageslost]

live react of live action AtLA - ep 2

Again with the "here there be spoilers" warning, so scroll on by if you're needing to keep it unsullied for you.

..

Just like I did with the first episode, my stream-of-consciousness babble about ep 2 will go below. Woop woop!

..

Yes, Zuko channeling his best Kylo Ren impression with this tantrum to start us off here. LOL

Lemur!

Hm, okay so looking like the pirates part will get skipped over. Gran Gran really stepping up in this live-action adaptation... outing Aang as the Avatar, delivering the iconic "everything changed" lines, and now being the way Katara got the waterbending scroll. And.. as a bonus.. Gran Gran tells her (though not in exact wording) to always remember who she is. Shades of Gyatso telling Aang something similar. Awww.. got some feels.

And more feels with the Gyatso burial.. I'm glad they added more air temple. It felt so rushed at the end of last episode.

Kyoshi warriors, let's goooo!

Sokka doing Sokka things.. lol.. trying to impress with his foot in his mouth.

Commander Sideburns has a much calmer voice/presence - and apparently not as much backhistory with Zuko/Iroh here.

Gah, in love with the playing in the creek moment with Aang & Katara.

Hmmm, trying to decide how I feel about Suki. I mean I like her, but it doesn't feel like original Suki either. It feels like she's absolutely not sure how to flirt with Sokka even if she wants to.

Aang saying he had people scared of him, like Katara and Sokka were when he was in the avatar state.. it's one of the sad things I miss about the changes. In the original, it was more like Katara at least was scared FOR him, not OF him, when he was in that state. Maybe this chat will help it get to that point though.

Oh okay. A little training montage to help with the flirting lol. Looks like they're giving Suki the "help him with his form" that Katara had with Aang in the original.

Avatar Kyoshi guide. Okay. Who needs Roku lol

OMG, Suki Mama is a badass too.. so cool.

So. Making Zhao trash Kyoshi village sort of feels like trying to make Zuko not as much the bad guy. Meanwhile, Zuko fighting Katara while she's trying to protect spirit-journeyed Aang seems like a nod to what originally happened at the NWT, so I wonder if that will be altered now too. And I mean, awesome for Kyoshi Island to get to see "Kyoshi" fighting but.. I dunno, I kind of like the original better. Okay.. reminder to self.. remember your promise to imagine this being an "AU fanfic done big".

..

Okay, this one didn't feel as rushed pacing-wise. Mainly it just focused on one episode of the original though, with nods pulled in from other episodes. The costuming was super cool, and there was a lot of pretty lighting with the camerawork, and I appreciate the little lighthearted scenes sprinkled in too. I hope we keep getting those because all-heavy, all the time would be exhausting.. and not true to the spirit of the original, where Aang brought light and joy.

[arealdandy]

Your butterfly effect au but with the other avatars?

OK so,,, I didn't know how much I wanted to say just because I did actually come up with 4 butterfly effects for each of the Avatars (minus Yangchen). but it's just been sitting in the notes app since 2020 so I might as well share some of the fun ones I came up with/liked !

Aang:

-Neutral End: either would be titled "A Different G(a)ang" or "A Fight For Future Generations" with the quote being from Monk Gyatso "I'm not going to let them take you away from me." -- this would be if Monk Gyatso was able to get Aang before he ran away alone and they would run away together, with the implication that Aang would stay in his "time"

Korra: (hers was particularly hard just because I wanted something different from the usual AUs people use for Korra)

-Neutral End: "Princess of the Northern Water Tribe" with the quote from Tonraq "Twenty years ago, I was a general in the Northern Water Tribe, sworn to protect my people." -- this would be if Tonraq was never banished from the NWT

Kuruk:

-Good End: either "Discovery of a Lifetime" or "On Borrowed Time" -- this would be if somehow, someway, Kuruk finds Vaatu in the Spirit World. I don't know if it would genuinely change much in terms of Harmonic Convergence but I thought it would be pretty funny like imagine being Kuruk in that situation? Would That Be Fucked Up Or What LOL. Also this is what I wrote 3 years ago for it:

Roku:

-Neutral End: "A Nation Divided" -- this would be if Roku kills Sozin when he was younger (either by accident or purposefully) and the Fire Nation is just in complete disarray/A 100 year Civil War would be pretty fucked up huh?

I have another "fun" one for Roku but I think I'll keep it to myself for now just in case I do end up drawing the rest. Uh. Sometime this year. But if you do find any inspiration from any of these ideas for drawing/writing, I'd love to see them! Feel free to tag me in them!

[cuteniarose]

tell us abt the stuff on the wheel plz!

Okay tbh there isn’t really much to tell since it’s just a meme about how quickly my brain jumps between ideas but I can give some insight as to what those ideas are!!

Kuviren – Okay this is the one instance where I can’t tell you what these ideas are since Tumblr would nerf me immediately for voicing them. Classified information between Kat and me only, sorry. I am probably gonna keep working on my sapphic week prompts that I had to postpone bc some stuff came up though, most likely on Thursday when I’ll be bored at my grandma’s, but we’ll see

Sweet baby Ehuang – Ironically, less her and more her siblings who we’re in the process of finally creating properly. We still have names, exact ages and backstories to figure out, after which I can start on the designs, but we did finally settle on genders and a few tiny details here and there (including an idea that was immediately scrapped because Nia’s internalised fatphobia is a huge trigger now that won’t let them create fat characters, apparently 🫠 [/j, it's not that bad, I promise, the exact concept just hits way too close to home and I'm nowhere mentally stable enough to handle it])

Under the Oak’s Shade – Nothing much here, really, just a few passing concepts about Suiren growing up in the healing hut helping out her grandma, because I’m very, very soft for that idea and need more of it in my life (also I somehow ended up listening to parts of the Moana soundtrack today and there are VIBES there, okay?)

NWT Shenanigans – This is just pure unabashed escapism fantasy because Alasie might as well be my self insert lmao. One must imagine being gently taken care of by a beautiful older woman with no expectation of anything romantic or sexual, it’s good for the soul and definitely has nothing to do with my very prominent mommy issues

Zaheer’s fucked up family – Actually, Zaheer plays no part in this at all since he bailed on said fucked up family at age 12. Go away Zaheer no one likes you /hj. I’m currently going absolutely balls off the wall insane about one of his sisters finally hitting her lowest point and thus, as the quote goes, being open to the greatest change, and I am very much not exaggerating here, I am this close to actually physically screaming about it. Working on an art piece about her right now and it’s hitting right in the feels :(

Various other AUs – Now this just depends on my mood, really. Feeling very soft – Ultimate AU, angsty – Sacrifice AU, childhood obsession resurfaces – Mermaid AU, want giant spirit kite shenanigans – Avatar Suiren AU, etc etc. it’s called the multiverse of madness for a reason, you know?

[mybookplacenet]

Featured Author Interview: Yurie Kiri

Tell us about yourself.: Yurie Kiri is a shy, secretive person who used to live on a boat, sailing between various ports in the Pacific Ocean. Yurie lived on the boat until some crazy mega-yacht got loose and went on a full throttle rampage through the marina squashing everything it hit. Alas, sailing was one of Yurie's passions, now writing and photography are the main passions in Yurie Kiri’s life along with cats of course like the enhanced, intelligent cats featured in New York Stories... Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?: Yurie Kiri, born in a trailer in rural America, studied Mathematics and languages and speaks Japanese, English, French and has also studied Chinese, Arabic and Spanish as well as a smattering of other languages such as Korean and Russian along with binary, octal and hexadecimal machine language because if you really want to get to know someone you need to speak their language no matter if they’re machine or human. Yurie lived and worked in Asia for decades before coming back to America where Yurie went on an extensive backroad journey across the US and Canada from the rough Mexican border towns to the icy cold town of Yellowknife in Canada’s NWT where you need to cross a frozen lake to get into town in the winter. Yurie also sailed (single-handed) from Mexico to the Canadian border, retracing a well-traveled road journey by sea in a small, live aboard sailboat. Yurie has been traveling and gathering story ideas from Asia for the Game Series which covers Japan and other Asian countries and North America for the Murder and Mystery Series which covers the American Southwest. Do you have any unusual writing habits? I'm always writing and I write everywhere: in bed or on planes, on boats, on trains, in bars and restaurants and even on park benches. Sometimes I'm just writing, working on a story and sometimes I'm editing again and again, trying to shave off excessive words, sentences or paragraphs... and sometimes I'm watching and listening, picking up bits and pieces of people and their conversations then making notes on scraps of paper or on my phone... All that could be construed as creepy lurking but a smile keeps me out of trouble. I usually describe these story gathering processes in the "Dear Reader (author’s note)" in all of my books. What authors have influenced you? Yurie Kiri, born in a trailer in rural America, studied Mathematics and languages and speaks Japanese, English, French and has also studied Chinese, Arabic and Spanish as well as a smattering of other languages such as Korean and Russian along with binary, octal and hexadecimal machine language because if you really want to get to know someone you need to speak their language no matter if they’re machine or human. Yurie lived and worked in Asia for decades before coming back to America where Yurie went on an extensive backroad journey across the US and Canada from the rough Mexican border towns to the icy cold town of Yellowknife in Canada’s NWT where you need to cross a frozen lake to get into town in the winter. Yurie also sailed (single-handed) from Mexico to the Canadian border, retracing a well-traveled road journey by sea in a small, live aboard sailboat. Yurie has been traveling and gathering story ideas from Asia for the Game Series which covers Japan and other Asian countries and North America for the Murder and Mystery Series which covers the American Southwest. Do you have any advice for new authors? Write like your life depends upon it. What is the best advice you have ever been given? Run! What are you reading now? Science: "This is your Mind on Plants" by Michael Pollan, who I love and have read his other books. Travel: "On the Plain of Snakes" by Paul Theroux, who I also love and have read his other books. Fiction: the "Slough House" series by Mick Herron who I don't particularly like because of how he kills off good characters. I've killed off a few characters in my books too but I can always bring them back as ghosts or spirit guides however Mick didn't give himself those options. I do like the Apple TV version of his books and the cast they picked... What's your biggest weakness? I skip meals and don't exercise enough. What is your favorite book of all time? The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien When you're not writing, how do you like to spend your time? Reading and traveling. Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you? Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I read it when I was a child and it made me want to travel and write stories. What has inspired you and your writing style? Please don’t think that this strange story about a series of murders, organ donors, witchcraft and sex sprang from my feverish brain all on its own. I have a good imagination, but it’s not that good. The truth is, one night a few years back, I was sitting in Bolero’s, a Rancho California, patio-style Mexican Restaurant, nursing a margarita and waiting for an expensive Carne Asada taco plate when two women came in and sat down at a nearby outdoor table. I don’t usually eavesdrop on other people’s conversations, but it was a slow night at Bolero’s and something about these women grabbed my attention and made me turn my head slightly so that I could hear them better. I think that the part of the women’s conversation that really made me sit up went something like this, “You were a close friend of hers, weren’t you? Tell me how she really died. No one deserved to be killed like what I heard...” As you can imagine, I took my time with my food and margarita, all the while straining to hear and remember exactly what they said. Like I often do, I took a few notes on napkins and scraps of paper as discretely as possible. However, the women decided to move on, before the story was finished, since one of them had promised to meet another friend at Jake’s by the beach. I sadly watched them go but finished up and paid my bill as quickly as possible then I arranged my notes and filled in some of the blanks with what I could best remember. After that I went to Jake’s looking for them but sadly I never found them again. The story that they told was not finished, however they had given me enough facts that I was able to fill in some of the remaining holes after some research. Although the following story was based upon the overheard conversation plus my research, it also contains assumptions that I’ve been forced to make. In some areas, the truth has been well covered up. As one of the women said that night, “You can’t believe how much money was paid to keep the details out of the local news...” What are you working on now? Sequels to the Moonlight series. Moonlight Skull which just won the "unpublished" category at the 2024 Beach Book festival. Also just finished sequel to Games series - Kijo Games which won second place in 2024 LA Book festival - "science fiction" category. What is your favorite method for promoting your work? I like both the "fussy librarian" and "bargain booksy" promos. What's next for you as a writer? Continuing to write sequels but planning to eventually have some of the Moonlight characters meet up with the Games characters in Japan. How well do you work under pressure? You can't even imagine what I've been through yet I'm still able to write. How do you decide what tone to use with a particular piece of writing? I've read and re-read my own stories over and over, probably close to a hundred times before publishing and think about them (my characters) all the time like they're real people... (which they are) when I get inspired to make a change it's a meaningful change but then I'm weird... because I believe in my characters. If you could share one thing with your fans, what would that be? Be skeptical. If the insurance company (like in NY Stories) says, "Get in the boat, we'll keep you safe." Don't believe them. If the politicians say, "Vote for me I'll set you free..." You may want to think about that since it could mean the opposite and if anyone says, "Don't worry, it's just the weather..." run for high ground. Yurie Kiri's Author Websites and Profiles Website Amazon Profile Goodreads Profile BookBub Profile Yurie Kiri's Social Media Links Facebook Page Twitter Read the full article