#what the fuck is wrong with the northern tribe

[theshadowrealmitself]

Y’know after Aang’s disappearance, the water tribes were probably anxiously waiting for one of their own to reveal themselves as the next avatar, hopeful that the cycle isn’t gone and that their next avatar is here, and safe, and ready to take on the fire nation as the waterbender avatar (they probably even thought it’d be fitting for a waterbender to take down all those firebenders) and restore balance to the world

And then the northern water tribe had the audacity to ban women from learning waterbending???? Motherfucker what??? Imagine Aang did die and the next avatar was born as a woman in the northern tribe and she can’t bring balance to the world because oh!! some crusty old dudes banned her from even learning her main bending!!!

(Avatar aside, bending is seen as so important and personal to benders, and they were just denying women a fundamental part of themselves??? What the fuck.)

[reareaotaku]

How about some yandere Zuko, Aang and katara (separate) headcanons from Avatar the Last Airbender. Please 🙏

YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have an ATLA blog: @yandere-avatar It's written with a feminine reader

[I walked all the way to the store for peach rings and sour Mike Ike's and they didn't have either :( ] ^ That was a long time ago

Linktree 4 Palestine

Prince/Firelord Zuko

You met him during the climax of the war... Well, if you consider owning a tea shop with your uncle the climax

When he saw you first enter the tea shop, he was floored

You were stunning and he was obsessed

He tried talking to you, but he kept stumbling over his words

It was quite embarrassing

When you left, he kept face palming and hitting his head on the wall

His uncle came to ask him what was wrong and when Zuko said it was some girl, Iroh quickly backed out. The last thing Iroh needed was to get into a teenage angsty romance

Iroh tries to help, but it really just makes it worse for Zuko

Zuko once dropped tea all over you and he had never wanted to die more than in that moment

Thankfully you were understanding and kept coming back

^ In fact, when you came back after that incident, Zuko was shocked but also happy

He tries asking you out, but Jet always 'date' blocks him

It really starts to piss Zuko off

Your stuck with this asshole, whether you like it or not

Avatar Aang

He met you on one of his many side quests during the war

You assumed you'd never see him again, since he was the Avatar and there was no reason for him to come back

But you did. He actually comes back after the war- Which is great, because your brother needs his help, since your brother had his face stolen. You were glad that Aang had come back just in time

As you search for the Mother of Faces, you and Aang becomes close

He becomes attached to you, because he thinks you're so pretty

He wants to keep your attention on him

He shows you all the cool things he can do with his bending

You have to keep remind him about your brother- Because he's always got his mind on other things

Wants you to stay with him

Tries impressing you, but he can't seem to get you to like him- At least not in the way he wants

When he helps get your brother's face back, you're so thankful and he uses that to his advantage

He manipulates into doing what he wants as 'pavement'

Hey, you should be happy! THE Avatar loves you <3

Katara

You're a water bender from the Northern Tribe and she was amazed that there was another female water bender. Not to mention, you ALSO knew techniques outside of Healing [Though you did it in secret]

She invited you to join the gAang, under the guise they could use another bender, especially a water bender.

You were happy to be helping the world

Katara creates a relationship between the both of you causing you both to get super close

She kind of forces you to like her

She has this motherly atmosphere, so she acts like your mother, which annoys you

She doesn't care, because she's doing it out of love

She will force you to date her, if you're not willing

Emotionally gaslights you into staying with her

You're so fucked

[undeadcourier]

@lynettethemadscientist replied to your post “me: narratively, it's much more interesting to...”:

I’m willing to hear a humanized view of Raiders. Though I doubt it will convince me

Sure, I'll expand on this. Point of note, this is pretty West Coast/FNV-centric since that's my primary area of interest.

Let's start with defining terms since this is the piss-on-the-poor website. A raider is a bandit, someone who survives by plunder, often roaming in search of things to steal or people to attack. Many raider gangs in the Wasteland are relatively loose allegiances of a few like-minded individuals, but some are established social groups with distinct cultures. The 80s, the Vipers, and the Khans are examples of raider groups that expanded to fit the definition of a tribe—that is, a social division consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect.

The 80s, first outlined in Joshua Sawyer's rpg, are a gang of bandits that operate along the Northern California 80 Freeway and have long contested territory with the White Legs; The Vipers are organized around their shared religion, which is only vaguely described as ancient, but there are what appear to be ritualistic elements to their organization and raiding practices.

The Khans, inspired by Genghis Khan and the Mongols Motorcycle Club, value strength and martial prowess. Founded around 2141, the Khans raided and traded around Shady Sands and Junktown before they were wiped out by the Vault Dweller. Darion, the lone survivor of the original gang, rebuilt it into the New Khans, who in turn were largely destroyed by the Chosen One. Finally, Papa Khan united the fragmented bands and led them to the Mojave in 2267, where they settled. The massacre at Bitter Springs establishes that at this point, the Khans include non-combatants in their group such as children and elders, and until the NCR occupation, Bitter Springs was their home.

I'm going to proceed on the assumption that we all agree that genocide is wrong and set aside the Khans for now, especially because they are a faction that is not immediately hostile to the player, in contrast to the Vipers, Jackals, and Fiends.

Despite their lore, the Vipers don't get anywhere near the development the Khans have and end up in the category of fodder for the player to indiscriminately kill, an act for which you can even gain karma. And this is what brings me to the point of the original post, which is... hey, what the fuck?

I understand from a game mechanics perspective that it's useful to have an unlimited supply of enemies that the player can slaughter for experience points. But, that necessarily dehumanizes the members of that group, which is extra fucked up when you consider that some of them, like the Vipers, are a distinct tribal group.

And even in the case of, say, the Fiends, who we are told are fueled only by bloodlust/dependence on chems and presumably lack any sort of identifiable cultural allegiance, I don't like that it's considered morally good to just kill them all. They're still people.

I would like, especially from a role-playing game, to have more options to talk them down, to get them help for their addictions, and attempt to reintegrate them into society. Maybe that doesn't work on every character, maybe some of them really do just revel in violence and bloodshed and don't want a way out, but I'd like more recognition that raiders aren't a monolith and don't exist in a vacuum, that these are individuals who were driven to where they are by myriad circumstances and an underlying need to survive. It's more realistic and more interesting.

The way the Khans are developed has plenty of problems, certainly, but I appreciate that there was at least some development of who these people are and how they got to be where they are, and I think that's something that's lacking with a lot of the others.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Apparently when Aang was depressed and suggested that maybe they should abandon hope, he was actually ordering/Forcing The pregnant Couple to accept air nomad beliefs.

Also Aang apparently Regularly disrespects and refuses to learn from other cultures and Aang actually isn’t even a good airbender because somehow even though he regularly airbends, we don’t see him practicing at all.

Finally even though Aang allowed Katara to take Appa and acknowledged that she believes that she needs to go on the journey to Yon rha, Aang was forcing Katara to murder Yon Rha.

What show were Aang’s detractors watching?

I love the implication that somethings as simple as "having hope" is considered "Air-nomad exclusive belief", when that's a big theme throught the whole show and we have IROH telling Zuko not to give into despair, and explaining to the crew on "The Storm" that Zuko is so obsessed with capturing the Avatar because that mission allows him to hope he can come home and fix things with his dad.

They REALLY think that "pacifist" (which IS an air-nomad thing) MUST mean "hopeful, optimistic and cheery" like Aang - like we didn't see the air-nomads clearly freaking out so bad that they tell Aang he is the Avatar four years ahead of time, getting pissed whenever he is having any fun, and even want to separate him from his "father" because they knew something bad was gonna happen. Aka, they gave into despair.

As for him "forcing" the couple to give that name to their child

Husband: What should we name her?

Wife: I want our daughter's name to be unique. I want it to mean something.

Aang:  I've been going through a really hard time lately. But you've made me ... hopeful again.

Wife: I know what I want to name our baby now. Hope.

Husband: That's a perfect name. Hope.

That was a suggestion at most. Not an order, not intimidating them into doing what he wanted them to, and surely not forcing them to accept "air-nomad beliefs."

"The guy who spent the whole series traveling around to learn from different people, and was so understanding he was even sympathetic to the nation that killed everyone he knew and loved, did not respect other cultures" Bruh.

Literally the only two "disrespectful" things I remember Aang doing were:

1 - That bitter comment about "dead animals" towards Bato - which he only made because he was feeling left out of the conversation since his friends were so excited about being with someone from their tribe that they were completely ignoring him. Not cool, but totally understanding considering he's 12.

2 - Snapping at Pakku for not wanting to train Katara/trying to teach her what he was taught behind his back (even though the second one is on shaky ground since, even though that was a bit of a "cheat code" to make Pakku train Katara indirectly, he doesn't have the right to demand Aang never share his knowledge with someone he doesn't approve of)

And both of these, on top of being understandable, also have the disclaimer of "You can disagree with someone's beliefs/cultural habits without looking down on them" - hell, Katara full on says Gran-Gran left because she wouldn't let the Northern Water Tribes stupid customs ruin her life. Not to mention, the Fire Nation's culture for at least 100 years has been "fuck everyone else, only our way of living is the correct one" and the whole point of the show is "This belief is not only wrong and hurting the other nation, it is harming the Fire Nation itself"

"It's my culture" is a neutral statement. It does not shield said culture from criticism, and Aang disagreeing with someone's beliefs - be it that hunting/eating meat is okay, or that women can't be fighters, or that not all life is sacred - is not the same as him being disrespectful. He owes people basic human decency, not blind agreement with anything and everything they believe in.

So yeah, these people need to keep. Aang's. Name. OUT. THEIR. FUCKING. MOUTH.

[zutaras-where-its-at]

zutara prompt: au in which zuko doesn’t know how to swim and katara teaches him while she’s still unsure whether they can trust him (at the beginning of his redemption arc)

she hates him. really, she does.

he’s a no-good, lying, son of a bitch, and if he hadn’t betrayed them in ba sing se, aang wouldn’t have a scar cratered in the skin of his back. she hates him.

except—

he just looks so…pathetic right now.

everyone else is carving graceful arcs in the water, whooping as they dive headfirst into the frigid-but-still-functioning pool they found in the western air temple. even toph—who notoriously can’t swim and hates being in water—wades casually in the shallow end next to teo.

but zuko won’t even get in.

the heavy look of dread that muddles his sharp features and curls his proud shoulders inward is enough to elicit a stab of sympathy in her for the scorned prince, and katara wonders at the fact that sympathy and hatred are apparently not mutually exclusive.

it’s pity that leads her to brush past him with hardly a glance as she says, “if you don’t know how to swim, you don’t have to get in.”

“i know how to swim,” he snaps, then flinches when he sees who he’s speaking to. calmer, he repeats, “i know how to swim.”

she just ticks a brow speculatively. “you sure?”

zuko has tried very hard to be extra civil with her the last week, but now, she can see just how difficult it is for him to keep the glare off of his face. “i’m sure.”

there’s something there, then. something hesitant and anxious and dark that twists his mouth and keeps his eyes from really looking at her. and katara—observant as she is—recognizes it for what it is.

“okay. so you’re scared.”

he looks stricken, suddenly, adam’s apple bobbing once up and down in his throat. he still won’t look at her. “i’m not.”

it’s sharper now, sitting just under the surface, so katara sinks her talons into it and tugs—“you don’t like the water. you’re afraid of it.”

“i’m not afraid of the fucking water, okay?” he inhales and bites his lip and balls up his fists, “it’s just cold, is all.”

“cold?” she drawls disbelievingly. in the background, aang hollers loudly as he cannonballs into the deep end. “aren’t you a firebender?”

at that, his gold gold gold eyes finally find her face, and she’s startled by the raw panic she sees in them. after a long moment, he seems to make up his mind about something. she watches as he gathers his words properly in his mouth and confesses quietly, “i almost drowned. in the north pole.”

she puts two and two together in record time—because she’d always wondered how he’d snuck into the heart of the northern water tribe under such intense war-time surveillance, had always been confused and resentful of the fact that he’d stolen aang out from right under her nose when she’d least expected it—and frowns.

she thinks about her childhood, how hakoda taught them to check for thin ice, carefully pick their fishing spots, and above all, what to do should they fall in. it’s been drilled in them since they were young, that the ocean is no joke, but the poles are a nightmare should you step wrong. hypothermia, hidden icebergs, the disorienting dark beneath the surface—

katara hates him.

but it’s just so pathetic and sad the way he watches them all with lonely eyes and a fear anyone could see from a mile away.

because all too soon, she’s convinced aang that there’s absolutely no way he and zuko are strong enough firebenders to heat up the swimming pool, and surely zuko hasn’t taught him well enough that they could actually do it in under five minutes, and really, she doubts zuko even knows how to control the temperature so it doesn’t boil them.

she hates him, but maybe—maybe she doesn’t.

[judaismandsuch]

On...This Nonsense

So, I saw this graph in a group I am a part of, and it is so increadibly wrong that I need to rant about it:

K, this is dumb for .... a lot of reasons. I am sure Muslims and Christians can see a load of issues that I can't, but that aint my focus.

I'm just going to talk about the Jewish religions, the flow, and use Christian and Muslim religions as comparisons.

First of all, the term of the parent religion: "Judaism". The term comes from "Judean" or basically members of the tribe of Judah.

The first definite use of it as a general term for Hebrews is in the Scroll of Esther where it calls Mordechai "a member of the tribe of Benyamin, a Jew" (paraphrased for clarity). That takes place around 480-350 BCE (scholars argue about which Emperor is the one mentioned).

(the term is used elsewhere/earlier, but usually a refrence to a member of the tribe of Judah, or else in a way that could go either way).

Now the reason I mention that, is because:

"Northern Tribal" would never have used the term, as they are from the ten lost tribes, and had a separate kingdom (Israel) VS Binyamin and Judah who had the southern kingdom (Judea).

Samaritans consider themselves to be descendants of the tribe of Manasheh and Ephraim, so wouldn't use the term either.

So the top religion should really be Bnei Ysrael, or Hebrew, or Isrealite.

Next: what the fuck is "Northern Tribal"? The split b/w the ten tribes and the 2 was political, not religious. They remained the same religion until they stopped existing/were lost/ the Samaritan split happened.

I even googled "Northern Tribal Judaism" (and variations) and couldn't find jack shit. It really shouldn't be on there.

Now, when/how Samaritanism and Judaism split is both a theological and historical debate. (to the point that talmudically there were issues with drawing lines between the 2). Hell, I have hear people use the term "Samaritan Jew" before. But tbh, it is innacurate, and insulting to both religions imo.

But either way the first split should be: Judaism-Samaritanism

On the same level in the chart it has Saducee, Pharisee, Eseen, and Christianity.

Which is bonkers. There were difference between the three groups, but they were not on the level of being schisms or seperate religions like christianity.

If you wanted to argue that they are, then Christianity would be descended from one of them (or all three). Because there wasn't a monolith religion for all 4 of them to come from. The split was there when Jesus was born.

So After Judaism you either have "Christianity" Or you have "Pharisee" "Saducee" "Essene" and then a line below you get christianity.

Next Line: "Karaite" "Orthodox" "Sephardic"

That is the most bat shit thing I have seen in my life.

First of all: "Sephardic" isn't a religious movement or theology. It is a culture and set of traditions. Putting it in a flowchart as its own heading, the same way Christianity and Islam do is insane.

Secondly, even if you do so, the others in the split should be: "Ashkenazi" "Temani" "Mizrachi" and a couple of others. not "Karraite" and "Orthdox" Next, while Karraite does deserve it's own spot (I can do a dive into the theology of it later) It Should be as a descendent of Pharisee with the other branch being Rabbinic.

Next: "Orthodox" with descendents of "reform" "conservative" etc.?

No! The term "Orthodox" exists as a counter to those! And only (until very recently) in Ashkenazi Judaism!

Now maybe the reason that they divided Sphardic it's own heading was to indicate that they don't have sects like the Ashkenazi do, but still, wtf?

And Splitting Hasidic that way? like it is equivalant to any of the splits in Christianity or Islam is batshit.

So really after "Rabbinic Judaism" you should get: "Ashkenazi Sectarianism" and "Not that"

And put all that shit under Ashkenazi Sectarianism.

Anyway, this graph sucks, Maybe I'll improve it later.

[broadwaybalogna]

Zutara Last Five Years AU (pt. 3/12)

Read part two here

-

Katara looked over her shoulder to the figure that was slowly approaching her.

“Zuko,” she breathed, slightly surprised that he had actually come to see her.

He took a few more steps before sitting down beside her, overlooking the ocean that was in front of the pier they both sat on. He looked back over to her, a wide smile stretching across her face.

“What’s that for?”

“I’m just happy you’re here,” she took his hand in hers and held it tightly, “I miss you.”

Zuko nodded. His duties of fire lord had taken over a large portion of his life. He looked down, eyes settling on the new dress she wore. Blue fabrics gently wrapping around her figure.

“Where’s that from?”

“I stole it,” she smirked.

Zuko’s face contorted into that of surprise and disbelief.

“I’m joking,” she laughed, “someone from the Northern Water Tribe sent it. It makes me look like Yue.”

Zuko laughed again. His hand covered his mouth.

Katara sighed and her eyes found Zuko’s.

“What is it?”

She took a deep breath, “I think we’re going to be okay.”

Zuko’s face contorted into some kind of confusion before settling down. He nodded again and let out a slight ‘mhm’.

“I mean- we’ll have to try harder. Maybe be a little more flexible?” She nudged Zuko, “what we have is special, just as it was five years ago. I mean- look at you, you’re here, and so am I. I love that.”

Zuko took a long moment to think. Silence overwhelmed the two of them. Katara spoke again.

“I think the water tribes will really like what I’ve come up with.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, im pretty sure it doesn’t suck like the other laws I tried to pass.” She rolled her eyes, then focused back on Zuko. He let out a small chuckle and he smiled.

Yeah, they were fine.

Katara and Zuko both knew they still had a ways to go. Their relationship was bumpy.

“I-“ Katara finally started, “I think we both know that things have been rocky. We can both see where things could’ve been better,” she mumbled the last part to herself, but she still expected Zuko could hear it. “I’ll- you know I’ll own when I’m wrong or make a mistake, right? I mean, with everything we’ve gone through, we can only get stronger.” Zuko didn’t change his expression much. “So let’s try again and just keep going. One step at a time, hmm?”

Zuko nodded and looked back out at the ocean for a few moments. Katara followed in suit. Then, he stood up.

“I’ve got to go. They’re having another party and I have to- well, you know…”

“I-“ Katara cut herself off. “I didn’t know you had to leave so soon. I thought we’d have more time.”

“I’m sorry. You can come if you want-“

“No, whatever. If you have to do it then you have to do it. And you have to. It’s fine. We can talk more tonight.”

Zuko’s lips pinched together in a tight smile as he began walking back.

Katara looked back at the ocean. She could feel tears begin to well up in her eyes.

She turned back to Zuko who was no more than a few meters away from her.

“You know what drives me nuts, Zuko?”

“What?”

“We could be here, together, spending time, and you’re going to choose someone else to be with.”

“Katara, you know I’m not-“

“Yes you are!”

“Don’t talk like this-“

“It’s exactly what you’re doing! You can be here with me, or there with them. And as usual, you pick them.”

“Katara you know I-“

“No Zuko, you do NOT have to go to another party.”

“If I could just-“

“You could be with ME instead, your WIFE, on her fucking birthday. Or you could, god forbid, even help me fix fire nation ties with the Water Tribes.”

“I…” Zuko stopped himself this time.

“And I know, it must drive you crazy that you can’t hang around with your other little girlfriends-“

“They are not-! It’s strictly political, I don’t ‘hang around’ anyone! God, Katara, you’re being dramatic-”

“I’m not!”

“-and overbearing.”

“No, I’m not! This is exactly my point! You can’t spend a single day that’s not about you!”

“Katara you and I both know that’s not true.”

“Nothing but you! ‘Oh look how amazing Fire Lord Zuko is’ and ‘He’s so cute’ and ‘Do you have a girlfriend?’ It’s all about you!”

A long pause. She took a deep breath.

“And I-” Katara was breathing so heavily. Her chest felt like it was pulsing out of her body. She could barely control herself as tears spilled from her eyes and back onto the pier. Zuko stood there, no less than a meter away now, looking at her. Just…

Standing there.

“I swear to Tui and La and I will never understand how you can just stand there.. watching me cry-

-and not do anything.”

[tachiha3]

Yoohoo natla ep 7~~~~~

• Jeeko jeeko jeeko jeeko jeeko

• I wanna eat the northern water tribe. So much ice....

• AAAAA WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT WIG?? 😭 The penis looking hair from the movie was better...

• Not loving what they did to Azula. At all.

• Hehe "just a girl". 🎀

• Yue can bend.............

• Yue's so pretty aaaaaa!!! If it weren't for that goddamned wig.

• YUE WAS THE FUCKING FOX ARE YOU KIDDING ME I WAS WONDERING WHAT THE FUCK THAT THING ON HER TAIL IS

• They took away Hahn's bitchiness 🙄 god forbid a guy is a bitch

• Why is this so gay? Everything is gay in this show.

• Kuruk seccy...

• Wtf is wrong with you, kuruk...... Wtf is this. Do you people.... don't like male characters being anything other than reSpOnSiBLe?

• Oh so that was a memory. Plothole again.

• Dude your mom literally died and that's your most painful memory?

• Five sentences and they're already locking lips 😑

• ...........i hate this. (at the aang and katara scene)

• ..i hate this a lot (at the azula scene)

• .....i hate this with every ounce of my being (aang trying to butt in)

• Wow this is stupid.

• episode 3 got competition for being at the bottom

[fuckyouozai]

the fact that lu ten died fully believing the fire nation was right and correct. i think iroh thought i don’t care what zuko thinks or believes i don’t care if he continues this war i just need him to live. i think that was him in b1 and most of b2 but slowly he starts to understand, THROUGH ZUKO, through zuko’s pain and hatred and the way he struggles with the earth kingdom and how badly he wants to go home, that maybe it DOES matter. maybe it’s hollow to live as a conqueror! maybe there are things that matter more than simply surviving! maybe iroh’s failure as a father went deeper than failing to physically protect his son! maybe when iroh puts his foot down and says NO, ZUKO! is this your DESTINY, or is it a destiny someone has FORCED UPON YOU? that’s also a central moment in IROH’S character development. it’s the moment he takes a side! the moment he decides the fate of the world does matter more than his son (lu ten, or zuko? or both?)

i think that’s partly why the tales of ba sing se is so masterfully done. it comes right as iroh is realizing that placing himself and his loved ones above the world, indifferent to his country’s war, is fundamentally wrong. and what he says is “if only i could have helped you, my son.” if only he could have nurtured lu ten’s life and understanding of the world the way he’s watching zuko open up! if only he, iroh, had realized that the war was not justified, that there was no glory in it, that the fire nation is evil and it is his responsibility to stand up against it.

i just think! iroh supported zuko through everything in book 1. he had no qualms with killing the avatar or invading the northern water tribe or anything else they did. it wasn’t until ba sing se that he starts to realizing hey. maybe these people are, you know, actual fucking people

this is reiterated again when iroh tells zuko about roku. he says you ALONE can cleanse the sins of our family. you ALONE! it is too late for iroh. his sins are the ones he’s talking about, not just limited to sozin and ozai. he hands it to this boy, because zuko got there on his own. he figured it out on his own. and iroh couldn’t even see after his own son was sacrified to the fire nation war machine

WHEN HE SAYS. TO ZUKO. AT THE VERY END OF THE SERIES. “i was never angry at you. i was sad, because i thought you had lost your way.” “i did lose my way.” “but you found it again. and you did it by yourself.” he did it BY HIMSELF! IROH COULD NOT LEAD HIM THERE! ZUKO WAS THE ONE WHO LED HIM THERE! if not for zuko’s banishment, if not for the failure at the north pole, if not for everything, iroh would have lived his life content with being a conqueror, and never thought anything of it. was it lu ten’s death that changed him? was it really? or was it witnessing zuko’s struggle? 

[shivasdarknight]

so yeah, i havent watched either dawntrail trailer 🤷

idk im finding it kinda hard to get excited about it at the constant reminders that they fridged one of their best and relevant characters back in azys lla, the clumsy handling of the void, the rancidly misogynistic shit in pandae, the solely white examples for the new lighting engine, the telling lack of info regarding femhroths that just screams disinterest because women, how absolutely terrible this could go because No i Do Not want road to el dorado references because idc if you guys are endeared to it that shit was racist

like on a more serious note, how am i supposed to get excited about an expansion where our summer vacation is getting mixed in with a different nation's political affairs when we're mostly fantasy europeans (excluding the variable of the wol but even then most are white eorzeans) and tural is fantasy mesoamerica. how am i supposed to be excited about this touristy angle when tourism is a major facet of colonization, especially when it regards the cultures that this region is based in. so framing you getting mixed up in yet another rite of succession from a culture you - in all likelihood - are not affiliated with as a summer vacation is just. it's deeply uncomfortable and it's hard to feel excited about this - especially with their history, continued bullshit, and refusal to remove egregious stuff like the "new world" set or the far northern attire.

idk. i wanna be wrong, but it's hard to be excited when the continuation of stuff they're Saying they'll address is right in front of us. the au ra showcased were pasty with blond hair and im p sure blue eyes and it was raen, not xaela - are they really that allergic to anything darker than a light tan? locations gorgeous, but I still see gifs everywhere of meteor fighting that mamool'ja leader - what happened to portraying them as people and not as monsters to take down? i only know that mamool ja's station because i know who the mamool ja are and the significance of large, two-headed ones. to most, that looks like a run of the mill dungeon boss since there Is a mamool ja boss, and the framing is similar to any number of inhuman adversaries shown in previous trailers. but if they're doing better about cultural sensitivity, then why did they make a member of their indigenous stand-in group be the big enemy for meteor to showcase Viper combat against? i really hope that - contextually - it's not something bad, but out of context it really just looks like taking down a big reptile monster which isnt great when that's your indigenous stand-in that's been portrayed like SHIT since ARR and hasn't had the same redeeming grace as the majority tribes - because where the amalj'aa are characterized by military strength and the noble savage trope, the mamool ja are portrayed as spineless mercenaries and sexual creeps. if we're in the mamool ja reframing expac, why does the trailer showcase that.

god dammit. i want to be wrong!!! i want to be overreacting because this would suck if true but their history doesnt give much confidence that they'll do better, and their current actions - the tourism angle, the lack of info with femhroths, the lighting engine - arent much to be confident about either!!

i wanna be wrong so fucking badly but i dont trust this team as far as i can throw them.

[releasemefromthevoid]

MY ATLA LIVE ACTION S1E5 THOUGHTS

EP4 - EP6

I think I’m progressively getting more confused with how they’re structuring this plot. At what point does an adaptation stop being a necessary rearrangement and starts being changed for the sake of change. I don’t actually have the answer to that, but I’m going to keep that in mind moving forward. 

So there’s a lot going on in this episode, with an arc that again spans episodes 5 and 6 (as a guess). It seems the writers are bringing in elements from book 2, which they were doing before, but this time I’m not entirely sure as to why? I’m a little perplexed about it, I guess. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was a fairly enjoyable watch, but I do think I would sooner rather rewatch the cartoon again before this episode. 

There was a character officially introduced this episode that said some things that I feel directly conflicts with their character in the cartoon, and I’m finding it difficult to reconcile why the writers made this change. 

Lastly, this was the first time in this series where I immediately noticed a parallel between Zuko and Aang, which was always something that Made the original series for me, so I appreciated its inclusion here.

As always, spoilers and live reactions under the cut.

judging by the description, we’re in the winter solstice proper now.

katara is advancing in a much more believable way now

are they gonna do the misogyny in the northern water tribe thing? 

yeah this is def the opening to the winter solstice episode. does that mean we’ll go to the fire temple and meet roku after?

woah that shot with Aang on his knees in the burnt forest was the exact same one in the cartoon

“my name is sokka, rhymes with okka”

PIPPINPADDLEOPSICOPOLIS THE THIRD THAT’S CRAZY!! where was this in omashu

zuko’s being rude to his subordinates <3 love that guy

oh okay so the yuyan archers are being given to zhao. will this tie into pohuai somehow? should i expect to see the blue spirit next episode?

ozai is. talking up zuko?? to deliberately put down azula?? i mean. yeah okay i can accept that. if they’re making ozai turn on azula a little, then that means they might be setting up for an azula redemption arc down the line. i might miss the ultimate tragedy of her character, but tbh she deserves something good. it’ll be interesting to see how this affects zuko’s redemption arc as well

ooh the bear statues are nice. hei bai time

oh they’re. all in the spirit world? from just aang meditating??? that feels like that’s not how that should work, but okay

pirates, canyon guide? the callbacks, huh? we haven’t seen the adaptations for the waterbending scroll or the great divide, so are they implying that some abridged version of these events have happened in this version of canon offscreen? hm

june <33

HELP SHE’S FLIRTING WITH IROH

WAN SHI TONG???? love love love, he looks incredible!! that sure is a big fucking owl. why is he here though

has azula not figured out blue flames completely yet? they were orange, and flickered blue

i am enjoying this early azula arc, if not just because i love azula

they’re gonna adapt the bato episode, right? bc june is here. that might be coming soon, right?

hei bai <33 he looks great too

no bending in the spirit world

wait is this. an adaptation of the hallucinations in the swamp from book 2?? it’s kind of giving swamp. how much do we wanna bet that the three tailed fox was a representation for yue? i’ll bet it was the same actress doing the voice work

well. goodbye kya

face. stealer? koh is that you? 

well fuck. no bato episode, sokka’s already been ice-dodging. bato is in this flashback, but at what cost. i guess this does eliminate that aang miscommunication plot point, which i did hate.

sokka. bullied? 

this better not be real. hakoda would never say that. he Wouldn’t!! what the fuck. this better be a swamp-esque hallucination. i’m gonna be so mad. hakoda is a supportive figure in sokka’s life, sokka’s insecurities aren’t supposed to stem from the things he says, even if hakoda doesn't think sokka can hear. i would buy it if the village boys were the ones causing sokka issues, but in my opinion, hakoda should be part of the solution, not the problem.

koh the face stealer confirmed. this goes kinda hard

did anyone tell aang about the whole expressionless thing. what’s stopping koh right now

GYATSO????! this is peak gyatso he’s real

maybe. worry about your friends a little more though aang

“imprisons people in their darkest memories” huh. that means. hakoda was really saying that about sokka? hm

you uh. just gonna leave them there? 

it’s good that they’re still paralleling aang and zuko. that was very nice, and also a staple of WHY i liked the cartoon in the first place.

liked: wan shi tong's design (he looked cool as hell), koh's design (appropriately scary), the general look of the spirit world, possible (unconfirmed) foreshadowing of yue in a swamp-esque style

worried about: if they keep adapting things from season two and cutting things from season one, what's going to happen in later seasons?

disliked: hakoda's characterization (i know it didn't seem mean-spirited and i know he didn't think sokka was around to hear, but in my heart of hearts he would never say that. why does bato seem to believe in sokka more than hakoda)

[immortal-elements]

A few things that bug me about the live action avatar, in no particular order:

1. The lack of expressiveness. Don't get me wrong, this is a show about children, and it's difficult to have child actors be that expressive. You know what is a really good way to get children in your show that are expressive with no training? Fucking animating it.

2. It all looks so fake? Omashu looks really cool, no lie, but almost everything else looks so fake. Everytime they are riding on Appa it just looks cheesy and fake. So many of the scenes are so obviously green screened in. You know what is a fantastic way to integrate your characters into their fantastical surroundings seamlessly? Fucking animating it.

3. The utter disregard for the timeline of events makes no goddamn sense. This iteration tries too hard to have the many threads of the plot moving simultaneously. I'm all for a more abridged versions of avatar, but this is taking the timeline and tying it all together. Like Wan Shi Tong showing up before the northern water tribe? Instead of Hei Bei being the spirit they encounter in the burned forest, it's Wan Shi Tong??? Doing my bird an utter disservice. The library is such an epic part of the story, and I assume they are cutting it out because they are removing Sozin's comet, but that's just worse? They mishmashed basically every single spirit world encounter together and it just doesn't hit as hard. Sokka and Katara are going through the "secret tunnel" while Aang is captured by Bumi (who they didn't even wait 15 seconds for the reveal that it was Bumi). The inventor and the "fake" airbenders weren't living in an air temple, they were living in Omashu??? The absolute disregard for the pacing and chronological order of the show takes away from the tone of the show. So much of this shit is significant, and its either brushed off as a side note, or shoved into a clippable, disjointed, 5 minute segment. You know what would be a better way of doing this? Approaching it episodically and FUCKING ANIMATING IT!

4. The tik-tok-ification of this show is absurd. Other people have pointed this out, but it is filmed in such a way that the center of attention of every shot, all the action or anything of importance, takes place directly in the middle of the shit, in such a way that it can be cropped to be viewed vertically and that sucks. It makes for very boring camera angles, and very boring viewing. I'd say "you could fix this by animating it", but not necessarily. This is just depressing.

5. Aang's glider fucking sucks, I know he flies it by air magic, but it's tiny and shitty.

6. The utter character assassination of a lot of the supporting cast. Suki didn't make Sokka drink his respect women juice, she saw him shirtless once and said "maybe the world outside the village isn't too bad". Bumi didn't try and use games to teach the Aang about the stakes of the world, instead he trolley problem-ed the poor kid out of malice? Idk if I'm reading that right, but he was pissed at Aang for leaving for 100 years, and wanted to show him that the rest of the world was having to deal with harsh consequences.

That said, the costume design is pretty okay, (even if it falls apart at points. There were scenes where Aang's bald cap was peeling, some of the background characters very clearly had facial hair glued on, etc), and the bending CGI was better than the first live action attempt.

Take it out back and shoot it with Chekov's gun.

[nono-bunny]

Sokka 100% has a character arc, it's way more subtle but it's absolutely there. Along with his sexism, he starts the show being really insistent on being the leader and... Not being very good at it. By the time it wraps up, he fully IS the Gaang's leader, acknowledged by all of them, and he does a fantastic job at it. He gains a lot of self confidence, especially in season 3, and like... once you see him with it, it becomes very clear that he was lacking any real faith in himself up to that point. Season 3 is actually where it's at if you're a Sokka fan! Which, many people, including me, are... Because he's great! Him always being smart doesn't mean he was always as aware and comfortable with it as he ends up being, like, he fr changes a lot from the person he started out as! He kinda feels like out of the Gaang, he actually matured the most, even if he's still silly and full of humor

Katara doesn't necessarily like... Change so much as we get to see her grow up and into her own person (before it all gets thrown to shit in all of the sequels). Her brief stint in the Northern Water Tribe is a huge deal, because like, they really weren't there for very long but she still becomes a master who also keeps honing her craft after leaving! Aside from her caring nature and the way she takes up the mother role in the Gaang, she also establishes herself to be extremely stubborn and badass, and learns how to integrate that with the more naive version of "hope" she starts out with without ever letting go of it completely. She becomes even more bold in standing up for what she believes to the point of stubbornness, but she isn't wholly bullheaded and learns to also admit when she's wrong. Her arc isn't so much about like... Dramatic changes so much as it is about establishing the kind of person she'll be after everything is over (in theory, because again, all the post show material SUCKS), and it's definitely not the same girl who first left home- she went through so much, learned so many things... She's not the same, even if she isn't entirely different either. Season 1 Katara and season 3 Katara feel almost like different beasts entirely at times, and a lot of that is actually owed to season 3!

Toph though.... She really was abandoned on all fronts in terms of longterm arcs, literally even her one big thing that got established from the get go never got resolved!! She does 100% become much more loving and comfortable with the group, which is something we keep seeing glimpses of throughout the course of it even afted she initially joins, and like. Considering where she started out? That's pretty important for her! Also important to note that Toph doesn't "learn metalbending"... She fucking INVENTS it at a time when she's extremely vulnerable, both physically and emotionally. And like the badass she is, she literally just doesn't give up or lament on it not being possible, she just fucking.... Breaks all known laws of bending up to that point and bends herself out of, once again, a prison made of her parents' love... Which, while she very much wants them to work things out, she's also done with hiding who she is from them and refuses to settle for a relationship with them where they see her as anything less than the best earthbender alive. That whole thing never really got resolved, but. She's yet another member of the Gaang who grows comfortable in her own skin after leaving home!

Zero excuses for Aang, he doesn't change AT ALL, I'd even argue he still doesn't care about being the Avatar tbh.

There ARE a lot of missed opportunities still, though. The biggest ones imo are Aang and Toph for sure, just because both started down paths they never got to reach the end of... But Toph still manages to change in meaningful enough ways for me to see a real difference between her debut and the finale, whereas Aang... Doesn't.

It's also really ironic that you say it's not a "character focused story" because it's literally what the creators belive it is, can you fucking imagine? Wild. You're definitely not wrong though, if it was meant to be character focused there was a lot more work to be done before the finale which they instead spent on throwaway Aang arcs, oof.

Im trying to think about all the main characters in atla, and idk if besides Zuko, any of them have a real arc. Sokka starts off being sexist, but he stops treating women like theyre secondary after the kiyoshi warriors, and he was always rather smart, it was just him needing to learn things. Katara was always a kind and caring sort of person, she never really changes beyond learning bending and forgiving Zuko. Toph learns metalbending, and being a team player, but the whole working together thing happens literally right after she joins. Aang? Any time aang approaches a fundamental character change it gets waved off or pushed away. He takes being the avatar more seriously than the start, but other than that he doesnt really change much.

When i say it like that, it really feels like theres a lot of missed opportunities in the writing. And its a shame, because i do see potential in all of them to really grow and change, and i do like all the characters! I think maybe this means atla is not really about character and its more about story, zuko’s redemption was just in service to the story, so it needed to happen. But none of the other characters need to change, so they dont, the story is the same regardless. Thats not necessarily bad? But it does feel like a missed opportunity.

[dirt-grub]

WOW so i just learned i might be more native than i thought

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://www.tumblr.com/caramel-ribbons/720001793861533696/i-just-watched-avatar-for-the-first-time-all-the?source=share

what do you think of this post? i found it kind of.. weird, in the way it talked about her relationship with team avatar compared to her relationship with zuko

It started out okay, turned into a train-wreck REAL fast.

I can understand being annoyed at how people will make fun of something like Katara bringing up her mom a lot, especially if these people don't do that for any other character when they ALL bring up their traumas a lot, but the way it quickly escalated into "Actually, Katara was right in telling her brother he didn't love their mom like she did" was honestly one of the most disgusting things I've read by anyone in this fandom - which is saying a lot.

Also, once again the complete bullshit claims of "The Gaang and Aang in particular never try to be there for Katara, emotionally, like she was for them."

Considering this person mentioned disliking videos that frame the entire show as just Katara being a bitch towards poor, friendzoned nice guy Aang, I would not be surprised if they let this dumb edits drastically affect how they see completely innocent Kataang moments as being something they weren't OR that they had already read Zutara "metas" (aka wildly out of character fanfic) and formed their opinion on these dynamics looooong before they actually watched the show.

People really gotta stop focusing on what the FANDOM does when they are talking about how CHARACTERS behave towards each other. Yes, some fans are sexist and hate Katara for the "crime" of being a female character - that does not mean the Gaang forced her into the role of being their mom/caretaker/therapist.

Sokka is CONSTANTLY trying to be useful the group. Toph learned to open up and clearly enjoyed spending time with Katara, even if it was to do things she did not want to do at first (you TRY dragging Toph to a spa and have people touch her feet after she explicitly said that was the one thing they were not allowed to do. See how fast you get crushed by a rock).

And Aang - oh my God, AANG. That boy was all about trying to make Katara happy from day one. They played together, he offered to go with her to the Northern Water Tribe so she could become a pro-waterbender, would always apologize to her whenever he did something wrong, explicitly told her she gave him hope (mirroring how she had hope the Avatar would save the world), was in complete awe after she literally brought him back to life, fucking blew up a factory with her, and tried to stop her from making a big mistake and sacrificing what was left of her innocence by killing a (admitedly AWFUL) man - yes, Zutarians, NOT letting your friend do something they'll regret IS being a good friend and thinking of what's best for them, sorry not sorry.

THE WHOLE REASON Katara is so emotionally attached to Aang and wants to be there for him whenever he needs anything is because HE ALLOWED HER TO BE A KID AND HAVE FUN AGAIN.

You'd think so called "Katara fans" would be able to understand such a simple concept that she verbally explains to us IN THE FIRST DAMN EPISODE!

Anyone that claims Aang didn't love and support Katara just as much as she did him is either misremembering the show, in deep denial, or just flat out lying to you.

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes.

ATLA

hey, isn't this easy by WitchofEndor

Zuko doesn’t have time to deal with pressure for an arranged marriage, especially since he isn’t even sure he likes women that way. (A realisation that has absolutely nothing to do with Ambassador Sokka - shut up, Suki.) Katara and Aang have broken up again, and the Northern Water Tribe are pushing for a match between the North and South.

Which leads Zuko and Katara to develop a genius, foolproof, only slightly drunken plan: they can pretend to date for the length of Katara’s stay in the palace, giving them both a brief reprieve from political pressures on their love lives. What could go wrong?

Stranger Things

this is your home. these are your people. by oaseas

“Your heart’s racing,” Steve noted, quietly.

Eddie laughed. It was more of a shaky exhale, lashes fluttering as he struggled to keep his composure. “Stevie,” he whispered, fingers cradling Steve’s side like he was precious. “Yeah, no fucking shit.”

OR: Ma Henderson & Wayne Munson get cosy, Dustin makes an off-hand remark, and Steve spirals. It works out in the end.

Tell me you love me, it's all I need. by ThisB_tchEmpty

Steve isn’t sure what wakes him, his clock reads 8:43 which is twenty minutes before he’s supposed to be up to go and take the kids to the arcade for what must be the fourth time this week but it’s the middle of summer and everyone is back in Hawkins for the first time since the Byers left for Cali so he supposes they’re just excited to spend time together again.

He stays laying for a moment, to see if it was anything particular. The house is as silent as it always is, his parents are rarely back anymore and the silence has become almost as comforting as it is daunting. Just as he’s about to decide that it wasn’t anything, there’s a crash from the kitchen that has Steve up and out of bed, grabbing his nail-covered bat and sneaking as quietly and quickly as he can towards the noise. He doesn’t know what it could be, there’s a long list of Upside Down related stuff he hopes it isn’t, it’s too early for that. He’s getting too old for that.

He’s just shy of being seen from whoevers there in the kitchen but close enough that he can still see in, it says enough that he’s shocked to see his own mother in her own house. Or: Steve's dad dies and he deals with all that.

Star Wars/The Mandalorian

How the Blooms Yearn by ShyOwl

Din has been king of Mandalore for many years but knows war is on the horizon for his people if he is not careful. In a desperate move, he agrees to an attempt at a shaky truce and was to marry an Imp chosen by the Emperor himself. Sensing an opportunity, he and a mysterious group plot to kill the Emperor so Mandalore can take the power that's alluded it for so long.

They were expecting most anything as an obstacle to their plan…except for Luke.

Luke who has constant memories of agony and loneliness; of Master with his yellowed-eyes and crooked teeth and his smile that cuts skin as he purred out toxic words of “monster” into every waking moment of Luke’s life. Luke with his heart on his sleeve and a past shrouded in mystery that may give more opportunity, and trouble, to Din's plan than he originally bargained for.

Oh, In Only A Moment's Time by snapdragonpop007

With the New Republic Senate demanding nothing less than Luke Skywalker’s only student’s head on a spike, he has finally had enough of their hypocrisy and backhandendness. He leaves Coruscant in the dead of night with Rey and heads to the only place the Republic wouldn’t dare go.

Mandalore.

only as strong as the warrior next to you by EmilianaDarling

With an indolent air, Luke rests his elbows on the railing, then leans forward to better take in the action.

Below, the Mandalorian is already in motion, beskar a glinting contrast to the mostly-black floors and walls. Luke’s eyes trail him as he moves, both bitter and gluttonous in the act of taking him in. Taking stock of concrete half-walls, helmet tilting upward to survey the turrets looming above. Exploring the terrain before the simulation is initiated; expected, but still noteworthy. His movements are precise and deliberate, the lingering tension beneath his armor in no way affecting his outer professionalism.

Compartmentalization is a skill Luke learned involuntarily; a way to cope with the horror that was once his daily existence. Din, though – he embodies the very practice of it. That rigid separation between self and other.

The Mandalorian’s inner world is so vast, Luke could get lost in it. - Imperial High Prince Skywalker has taken himself a bodyguard. The Mandalorian, and the rest of the galaxy, don’t know what’s coming for them.