#zuko & toph are easily my faves out of the show

[felinemotif]

zuko is on his redpemtion arc (for real this time) right now which is wonderful and i adore him, but i also loved him when he was misguided and controlled by his daddy (and to a lesser extent, sister) issues.

[juniperhillpatient]

Tales of Ba Sing Se Re-watch

Alright, I ain't even gonna lie to you guys this is yet another re-watch post made after a couple glasses of wine. I really don't have anything too deep to say about this episode though, it's just fun. This is also one of my most highly re-watched episodes so I don't even know why I re-watched it again for this re-watch. Just the completionist in me, I guess. But I literally do watch this episode all the fucking time lol it's a comfort episode for me & good background noise plus it's one of my sister's faves so she literally always has either this or 'The Beach' on.

(Yes I know my sister has good taste. Please comment about it so I can tell her. She is 12 & would be delighted & validated to know people on the internet think she has good taste.)

Already this post has gotten off track! I swear I used to be a party girl y'all I used to be able to drink anyone under the damn table at any time now literally only 2 glasses of red wine on a weeknight & I'm loopy lmao. Okay, what was I saying? What do I have to say about this episode? Look, basically, it's a slice of life & it's kinda like a fluffy fanfic to me. Like, it's not relevant to the plot but I love it so much. It's so important to me. Every show needs at least 5 episodes a season in this vein, I think that would fix modern TV I'm being completely serious.

Alright, so first of all the beginning is hilarious & precious. I just love all the kiddos getting ready in the mirror, & Toph being a hot mess who's ready to go & doesn't give a fuck about dirt.

Katara & Toph's segment is just so fucking cute.

I always completely forget until watching this episode how hard I used to ship Katara & Toph lol! Now I no longer ship them romantically but they have such an adorable friendship. I really love how Toph is hesitant at first but goes along with Katara's idea, & even sticks around after they touch her feet - the one thing she asked not to happen (don't blame you, baby girl, this is Nickolodean after all.) Toph freaking the attendant out with her silly mud mask face & making Katara laugh gets me grinning like a fool every time. I of course love Katara & Toph showing those mean girls what's what & sharing a soft moment. Best girls. I love them so much. Oh shit, the iconic behavior competition. They get +500 each for sending those mean girls down the river.

Alright & Iroh's adventure!!! Wow, I have like, nothing deep to say about it but I love it so much. I love Iroh helping people selflessly. The interaction with the would-be mugger is great. But the juxtaposition from Iroh singing to the crying kid on the street & singing as he plays tribute to Lu Ten.....I get emotional every time. Iroh's little tale says a lot about the way he interacts with the world around him & I love it <3 Also, +100 iconic behavior points for changing the mugger's life so easily.

Aang's adventure is funny but I have no deep analysis? Sorry guys I'm lacking in the deep analysis area right now. I mean, there's not much to say. It's entertaining. I'm a little confused about how there can be a zoo outside the walls of Ba Sing Se? Isn't it....kinda tricky to get in & out? I don't...ok.....anyway...

Sokka's adventure is hilarious. I love the slam poetry moment. But I don't have much to analyze there other than "haha funny."

Zuko!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know if you guys knew this about me, but I love Zuko. I know, I know, shocking. I love Zuko's little date with Jin. I saw the headcanon that Iroh purposefully made Zuko's hair into a 'do that would cause any girl with any sense to immediately ruffle it & that's just so cute, I totally read it that way from now on. "Zuko can't lie" as a character trait will forever be important to me. Zuko juggling even though he can't juggle will never not be funny & endearing. But I have to tell you guys, I was joking with some of you about how "Zuko has no game" before but like.....if u think about it Zuko did get a girl fully simping over him & trying desperately to get a lil kiss on the lips DESPITE his consistent fumbling so I MEAN. Say what you will but Jin was into him.

Also, I remember the first time I watched this episode I could not focus on anything else after Zuko lit the lanterns 'cause I was STRESSED. I was certain Zuko had given him & Iroh away.

Momo's segment just makes me sad 'cause it reminds me what episode is next & my heart is not ready.....

Anyway!!!! I love this cute little episode!!! That is all <3

[halfpint55]

A Defence of Kataang with regards to how they are portrayed in TLoK (it’s long but there’s headcanons at the end)

Note: This is not about shipping wars. This is a safe zone. This is not about Zutara vs Kataang. This is me defending Kataang and the characters themselves...from the writers. 

I initially wrote this as a response to a post that got me heated. My reblog just made it too long so here it is as its own post. 

Now this post ripped apart Kataang as a couple but more than that said some stuff about Aang himself that hurt my heart. I didn’t really want to pick on this post but its condemning of Kataang was based almost entirely in what we know of them as parents in TLoK and honestly it’s that lil nugget of canon that I take issue with. It has bothered me from the get go because it doesn’t make sense from a writing and story perspective, and it’s been pissing me off since I watched it.

TL;DR nice and early bc this post is gonna be a long one:

This particular condemnation of Kataang rests almost entirely on the SHITTY way they were portrayed as parents by the writers of LoK, and in all honesty, on this particular topic, canon should be ignored.

Overall Kataang parenting is of my biggest gripes with LoK because in terms of writing it’s totally incongruous - it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t align, and it makes zero sense for what we know of those characters, and I don’t know if I can ever forgive the showrunners for allowing it to be written it into canon.

I will also preface this by saying I like LoK - love it. I had a scroll through the comments and reblogs on this post, and a lot of the hate towards this portrayal of Kataang ended up being blamed on the “terrible writing of LoK” which is not where I stand at all. That being said I am so angry at the writers for this one.

The other portion of the concurring comments that were very hateful towards Kataang came from Zutara shippers and honestly for me, although I do ship Kataang, this not a just a Kataang issue. I’m of the belief that Zutara would’ve just as easily been written to have similar issues due to very similar dynamics - Zutara also would have been two powerful benders from very different cultures, and with Zuko/Aang (whoever you ship w her) having a massively important global leadership role that is embedded in who they are, and therefore impossible to ignore as a factor in their relationship.

Now let me be clear, my desire to reject canon on this front is by no means me wanting to believe the best of my faves, and not wanting to hear a word against Aang. It’s not even necessarily a defence of Kataang bc I ship it that hard (I mean I do but I can set that aside for the sake of argument if that’s what you need from me here). 

The first, and main issue people have with Aang/Kataang in Korra, is the first point of the original post:

So why in hell would [Katara] be okay with Aang ignoring TWO of their children’s complete existence once he found out they had an airbending son?

And I agree with the post on this front; Katara would not have allowed her children to each be treated differently by their father. I had the same initial thought when watching LoK, and it’s the reason I hate and want to ignore the canon of LoK so badly. 

As much as it hurts to think of, we have to accept that Aang wouldn’t have been able to stop his preferential treatment for Tenzin from bleeding through into his parenting just out of a desperate desire to save his culture (which is absolutely understandable - doesn’t make it okay, but it’s understandable; Aang suffered an incredible loss, a massive cultural trauma which he alone carries the burden of). So of course he wasn’t able to hide how excited he was, and forgot to be mindful of his attitude and behaviour towards Kya and Bumi. So this aspect of canon Kataang? Yeah, I’m with it. So far so good. EXCEPT the most unrealistic element of canon is now that Katara would let him. I simply do not believe for a second that Katara would’ve allowed Aang to be the kind of parent LoK painted him to be.

However, I do not think it would’ve been a point of contention between the two of them! Katara would pull him aside, Katara would gently (but firmly) point out what Aang mightn’t be able to see for himself - he’s focusing too hard on Tenzin.

And Aang would listen.

All throughout A;tLA the two of them often help the other sort through their stuff. Aang has a great track record of being receptive to Katara’s advice and help (calming him down when discovering Monk Gyatso’s body, The Desert when he Appa is stolen, Serpent’s Pass when he’s bottling his feelings about Appa being missing). He’s also just so receptive to others’ ideas - he just goes with it and trusts in his friends (think of his trust in Katara’s plan to rescue Haru, his trust in staying behind with Sokka in the library to get the eclipse info). Aang’s humility is one of the most incredible things about him and it’s at the core of who he is. He would absolutely be able to hear Katara telling him he’s focusing too hard on one child - he would be open, and he’d listen.

So to me now canon just does not make sense at all. it does not align with their established character traits. And yes, people change as they get older and grow into adulthood but honestly, the elements of their respective personalities that we’re talking about here are pretty core elements of who these two people are.

Katara has always been fiercely protective of those she loves, strongwilled, stubborn, and ready to (vocally or physically) fight for what she believes is right and that wouldn’t disappear as she gets older. She wouldn’t let Aang’s preferrential treatment slide.

Aang has always been, and chose to be despite his loss, an optimistic, kind, believe in the best of humanity kind of person. He’s open to all points of view, he’s a good listener, he always tries his absolute best to find solutions that are good for everyone. And again his humility, his willingness to love, is who he is.  He believes all humans (including fkn OZAI) and all life are sacred, he believes in the absolute right to life. The kid is a vegetarian for crying out loud.

Now the parts of the take in the post that hurt my heart to read about what OP thinks of Aang:

“Aang never made an attempt to establish anything resembling a real familial unit with Katara, basically just stayed around until she popped out an Airbender [...] she was treated like some trophy wife to give birth to airbenders and that’s it!”

I wasn’t going to address this in this post until I read the comments in the notes, because people seem to agree. They share the sentiment that Katara was reduced to “just a love interest” by the two ending up together.

However I do very much take issue w the notion that Aang “basically just stayed around until she popped out an Airbender” (and honestly that entire paragraph - we don’t actually know that Aang didn’t make an effort to establish a family unit). As much as the LoK writers fucked up in their portrayal of Kataang as parents, this is a much harsher judgement of Aang’s character as a husband and father than anything implied by Aang and Katara’s children. I just don’t buy that Aang would view Katara (or anyone he married, even if you don’t ship Kataang) as a trophy wife, whose only role is to have airbender children. He never has viewed her that way - he has always looked at her like she’s the sun, and the most important person to him after she pulled him out of the iceburg. He loves her the most of anyone on the planet. It does not align with his character, his values or beliefs that he’d think of her (or any partner) that way. He is so besotted with Katara for who she is it HURT me to read that part of your take. Aang simply would never. Look at how he looks at her! 

What’s more is the unwavering respect and deference he shows Katara as his waterbending master - he recognises and loves her as the whole, complete, three dimensional, TALENTED POWERFUL INCREDIBLE WOMAN that she is. She is NEVER “just” a love interest for Aang. (But ALSO, do we respect Suki any less for being Sokka’s obvious love interest??? No. suki is written to be so badass that Sokka is HER love interest and I think Katara has equally badass energy but I digress).

Moving on!

OP made an excellent point that there would’ve been culturally different values between the two but I don’t think it would’ve been family that was the clashing point. Yes the airbenders value spirituality and enlightenment. But they lived together in massive communities! They supported and raised one another. Their community and culture was strong, and they were bonded in their spirituality! They value love, as well as enlightenment, peace, and the lives of all.

Now, again the points they made about the cultural divides within the Kataang family unit are valid, but also again I dislike how they chose to portray this in LoK. It would definitely be a struggle they faced as a couple. However I think they really missed an opportunity here with where they took it. Because they do at one point in the comics have Katara bring up the fact that their family will be a blend of two cultures, and she brings it up because Aang is trying so hard to bring balance back to the world by means of seperation.

They’ve known from the get go of being a couple that they’re going to have to navigate being a culturally blended family unit.

So I find it so shitty that they wrote it so that Kya got to learn the waterbending culture, Tenzin got Air and bumi got…nothing? It’s dangerously close to the way Disney does the “the girls are carbon copies of mum, and the boys are carbon copies of dad” thing (think Lady and the Tramp). It’s lazy. Especially when we had that “separation is an illusion” episode, AND things like Zuko learning different nation’s styles and applying them to his firebending, and Sokka learning an element of strategy or fighting from every nation. 

So give us Kya using Airbending moves with her waterbending (maybe she invents the water scooter)! Give us Tenzin doing more grounded moves that Aunty Toph (or Lin, while they were together) taught him from earthbending.

There are much more creative ways to illustrate the bumps and troubles Kataang might have run into in trying to navigate incorporating equal parts of their cultures in their children and family unit. Even just smaller scale issues like food and meals - how do they figure out how to do mealstimes with Aang’s vegetarianism with Katara’s culturally significant Water Tribe meat dishes? And then even taking into account how picky little kids can be!

Give me a scene where they literally just ate moon pies for a week because toddler Kya would scream if you put anything else down in front of her.

Maybe Bumi demanded sea prunes over and over but Katara and Bumi are the only ones who like them, and Bumi bonds with his mother this way - they go on little one-on-one outings to water tribe restaurants in Republic City, searching for the most authentic sea prunes!

Kya maybe likes the water tribe fashions the most because it helps her connect with her namesake BUT Kya also has a playful sense of humour - not unlike Monk Gyatso - Aang sees how much she loved moon pies and teaches her to throw them with waterbending.

We know Tenzin was a calm, quiet, and possibly shy child. Maybe he loved to hole himself away learning crafts. Give me Tenzin learning to tattoo, Tenzin learning to carve (and carving his first glider - it crashes of course), but also Tenzin learning to carve water tribe adornments and necklaces. Katara tries at first but when she gets busy Sokka comes in and teaches Tenzin to break all the carving rules Katara has laid down (”it doesn’t need to be perfect my little pupil - let the creativity flow!”)

Tenzin may not be able to waterbend but that doesn’t mean he can’t learn other means of healing. As the littlest he spent a lot of time watching Katara work - she teaches him to tie splints, dress wounds, and yes deliver babies.

If you made it here I love you so much for reading. I love sharing my thoughts so HIGH FIVE YOU MADE IT, ur now my friend - the friendship is non-refundable sorry 😌😌

[saedii-gilwraeth-simp]

TDC Characters as A:TLA + LOK characters

Hot Take: Legend of Korra was actually pretty good (except for that whole thing about Aang being a bad dad. Fuck that)

Bc I have binge-watched this for the first time ever, I’m procrastinating assignments and I can’t leave my room until I get my COVID test results back *shrugs*

Also I might do on of these where I just cover the TDC Characters and what bending they would have if ppl want it

Mirabella = Katara (ATLA)

Both are extremely powerful mum friends who are trying to be sweet but at the same time they’re friends make it so difficult. Also, has only ever killed one person (I think)

Kat = Azula and Ty Lee (ATLA)

This one is dependent on what mood she’s in. Possessed Kat is Azula (bc she’s about to celebrate becoming an only child lol) and will fuck you up. Non-possessed Kat is Ty Lee bc her aura is never any pinker and also lots of sisters

Joseph = Mako (LOK)

We all know his motivations for his actions but it still doesn’t excuse the fact that he needs to pull his head out and stop playing with the feelings of two women who can fuck him up

Billy = Asami (LOK)

Non-bender but still a badass. Billy is intelligent, apathetic, ride or die, doesn’t make enemies as easily as everyone else and has daddy issues™. Will fuck you up if you mess with the people he cares about.

Emilia = Suki and Mai (ATLA)

Both of them will fuck you up. I chose Suki bc badass warrior who has no time whatsoever for misogynistic bullshit and Mai bc she can be insanely hard to read at times and thus is usually misunderstood.

Pietyr = Zuko (ATLA)

Angst™. Is strong and just wants to get power and honour. Has the most noticeable redemption arc in the series (Zuko more than Pietyr but still)

Luke = Bolin (LOK)

Just wants his friends to be protected and happy. Also, the most underrated character in their series.

Also you may have thought I missed a couple of our fave TDC characters but here they are:

My hot take is that Jules = Avatar Korra and Arsinoe = Avatar Aang

Both have elements that they didn’t think originally have and are more powerful bc of it but the key difference can be seen in the ending episode of each show. While Aang chooses a more pacifist solution, Korra fistfights a fucking spirit gun bc why the fuck not?

Which of course means Camden = Naga and Braddock = Appa

Also Arsinoe = Toph

Fave. Feral. Powerful. Salty.