I'm surprised I've seen no one talk about this, but didn't natla fix the timeline when Katara said something to Zuko like "your father and his father and all the little people up until Sozin." Implying that there were at least a few generations between Azulon and Sozin, instead of Sozin siring his heir at like, 80 years old.
And thank gods for that. I hate Fire Nation Royal Family timeline So Much š
The same can be said about Roku's family timeline.
Zuko to be Roku's and Sozin's great-grandson (instead of like, great-great-great-great-great grandson) either both them and their kids would have to take A Lot younger new wife's in their 60's or menopause isn't a thing in ATLA-verse ššš
It is really offensive to compare Iroh calling Azula crazy because she tried to kill him to women being diagnosed with hysteria because that diagnosis originated with men trying to cover up abuse. It has no place being used to defend Azula from actually facing consequences for her violence.
The person in this scenario that is being portrayed as irrational by posts like these because they spoke out against violence is Iroh.
Azula also frequently engages in this type of manipulation, most often with Zuko, who is repeatedly made to feel like he is crazy for speaking out against abuse. But she did very much fake surrender in order to get that shot in at Iroh.
But on a deeper level, both Zuko and Iroh actually have, as a major part of their narratives, being mistreated and gaslit because they spoke up against violence. Zuko's abuse gets the most attention, but Iroh is absolutely treated like he's irrational because he chose to retreat and stopped fighting the fire nation's war, called "kooky" and lazy and treated like a senile old man and a pariah. And this is also why Azula hates him.
Azula also engages in a more literal version of this in the comics when she takes women who actually have been abused by the mental institution and uses their abuse to convince them to follow her and further mistreat them.
It remind me of Star Wars, when people get mad at Obi-wan and Yoda for telling Luke he needs to be willing to kill Darth Vader. Acting like that's such a terrible thing and forgetting Vader is responsible for *multiple genocide.* It's centring the villain over the victims and it happens a lot in media (and real life) and it bugs the shit out of me.
This is an interesting topic because I recently rewatched Return of the Jedi and I'm certain that Bryke were trying to capture a similar idea with Aang's dilemma about what to do about Ozai, except that Aang does not have the personal connection with Ozai that Luke has with Vader (Zuko does).
And like, Luke's faith in Darth Vader and Vader's sacrifice and death-redemption is so extremely well done.
But Luke also almost dies.
Like he's sitting there being tortured TO DEATH while he's begging for his father to help him.
It's a powerful moment, but it absolutely should not be held up as a requirement for heroes to sacrifice themselves on the hope that they won't be brutally murdered.
Also the person who ends up pumped full of electricity and lying on the ground dying because he did not want to murder a family member who showed no such mercy to him is Zuko.
Also, in RotJ, when Luke makes decision to give himself up and try to reach Vader, as far as he knows, he only risk himself and his own life for a personal goal.
Vader is more akin to Azula than Ozai in this scenario and Luke has no problem killing the Emperor. But also, for Luke, the rebellion has a plan to destroy the Death Star and kill everyone in there. As far as Luke knows, of he fails, Rebellion will still success and kills Vader and Emperor, saving the Galaxy.
Aang doesn't have that safety net, so his insistence to spare Ozai feels more selfish/reckless.
I know what this is supposed to be implying, but those words paired with a picture of two people who look exactly alike is hilarious.
"The air nomads were accepting of differences. That's why they lived in gender segregated temples and were monks who shaved their heads and dressed alike and practiced asceticism."
Alternatively, they practiced situational homosexuality, which is often the case in gender segregated institutions. Which is not the same thing as being accepting.
Honestly the only equality of relationships I can see Air Nomads actually practicing is the "We hate all romance equally" type that's used as a joke sometimes.
I do not want to hear about Bryan talking about how hot he thinks Aang is.
Also, if Aang is not yet the Avatar he needs to be, and he's dead in LoK, when does he actually become the Avatar? This movie was supposed to be his moment?
Maybe that's the point? If we don't see him as Avatar, we can't criticize him and he can be glorified as perfect/amazing in LoK?
I mean, it doesn't *work* bc Bryke is really good at not understanding the subtext of their own writing (or text, honestly) but that's what it looks like to me.
the main issue with this perspective is these people refuse to acknowledge characters as narrative devices Like im still waiting on someone to explain how raditz redemption arc would have compellingly added to the story in a way that vegetas character arc did not already cover
He's Goku's biological brother. That's it. That's the difference. And you can argue/interprete Vegeta&Goku relationship as brotherly, which would made the Raditz contribution lesser. (I'm not saying it's the best interpretation but if you really care so much about Raditz, then it should be satisfying for you)
DB doesn't have as stron themes of found family as other shounens (one piece enter the chat XD) but they are still present, which makes Raditz a perfect representation of Goku rejecting his heritage and choosing his home (in that moment) while Vegeta, who later become Goku's friend/family/whatever, being Goku's link to Sayan heritage despite the fact that they would probably never even meet much less grew close if Planet Vegeta survived, show balance between two sides.
Yes Raditz could be more develop as a character is he survived but, let's be honest, he would either replace Vegeta (unlikely, but it would either waste Vegeta or feel repetitive) or end up as another Tenzin/Yamcha/side character that gets killed in the beginning and lack cool scenes or were accidentally forgotten. There was, like, at least half a dozen of those from early DB and I can't even name all of the ones who were some kind of fighters...
i canāt believe iām dipping my toes into fandom drama but i still struggle to understand why zutarians have to be the jesus christ of the atla fandom and take on all the past and future sins. iām sorry but idgaf if zutara shippers in 2008 were weird or if you read a problematic zutara fic that traumatized you once or if a terrible person once reblogged a single zutara fanart so now weāre all guilty by association. letās practice healing and forgiveness letās have a summit idk
Ok, no I'm sorry but what is the point of making PJO/BatFam crossover where one of demigod kids are members of Wayne family if none of the Bats know about the demigods at all?!?!?!
One of B's Best Friend and Dick's self proclaimed twin are both Amazons and one of them is daughter of fucking Zeus. The fact that Bats have close connections to demigod world even without having one in family is one of the most interesting parts of the dynamic??? And apparently everyone just ignore this for the most typical drama that could be done with literally any other character on either side??? Why?????
i started āThe Blockā and i really like it but im a little bothered by the part where zuko tells katara she hurt him in the catacombs too but she didnāt do anything?
Oh! I'm so glad you asked, because I have many Thoughts and Feelingsā¢ about this. Coincidentally, @justzutara made a post of similar nature to what I'm about to talk about. You can check it here for a visual, if you'd like.
I'd like to thank @soopersara for helping me find the right pictures! You're the best š
This got a bit long, so you can read the whole thing under the cut.
Zuko tells Katara she hurt him in the Catacombs, but she didn't do anything?
See, that's kind of the point: she didn't do anything.
The Crossroads of Destiny episode is a barrage of emotions, plotpoints, and gutpunches, one right after the other. It's logical, given that right here is where all the crossroads (pun intended) for the characters involved take place. But I digress.
Literal thousands of words have been written about Zuko and Katara's interaction in the Crystal Catacombs, as well as Zuko's subsequent betrayal (which wasn't as straightforward as most people thinkāmore on this later). However, I've seen very little discussion regarding one of the things I find most intriguing about CoD: the non-collision of glances.
One of the things I find most fascinating about CoD is this interaction, because it's easy to focus on Katara's longing/regretful glanceāthe fact that she looks back in the first placeāand miss that, because he's looking away, Zuko doesn't know she was reluctant to leave.
And it seems like something unimportant, small in the scope of everything that's happening; but when you think of Zuko's state of mind during this scene, that missed glance gains so much weight.
During the rest of the series, we witness a lot of Katara's feelings regarding CoD, but don't see much from Zuko beyond his guilt and regret. So let's try to revisit that experience through his eyes.
What did the Catacombs mean for Zuko, personally?
Openly sharing his grief about his mother for the first time in the entire series. Reaching out for the sake of another person, and having them reach back. Not only that, but he was also offered what amounts to a miracle, something Zuko only ever dared wish for in a literal fever dream: getting rid of his scar.
It's in the Catacombs that he allows someone to touch his scar, something we don't ever see happening before or again until S3. This is undeniable evidence of Zuko's chosen emotional vulnerability during CoD.
And what does the waterbender do with this connectionāwith her promise to heal him?
Ignores it.
When Aang and Iroh burst in, the very first thing Katara does is rush to the Avatar. Zuko's reaction? To stare in confusion and dismay. He laid his emotions bare, was thoughtful and contemplativeānot even snarling at the Avatar before or after Aang snaps at him. He just seems...lost.
Weren't you hoping I'd turn against my family and nation out of gratitude? Didn't you think that if you made me feel like I was special, I'd refuse my only chance to go home to run away with you?
Zuko...you can't possibly believe...
What am I supposed to think, then?! That you suddenly forgave the man who hunted you across the world? That you'd heal my scar for no reason other than empathy? That for a delirious moment you cared about me?!
(...)
You promised, Katara. You took out that stupid spirit water and said you'd been saving it for something important and then offered to heal me, and I thought...it made me... For a second, you made me feel like I was that something important. And I'd never... But then the Avatar showed up, you jumped into his arms, turned your back on me, and left without a second glance.
This scene in The Block explores (rather clearly, I believe) what I think would've been Zuko's thought process during this scene. Mainly, coming up with a reasoning behind Katara's behavior that made sense to him.
The idea of the betrayal in CoD flowing both ways is enthralling to me, because it depends their conflict even more than we see in canon. It also brings Zuko's upbringing into the game, and shows us the subtle consequences it has in his psyche.
But beyond all that (and regarding Zuko's betrayal of Katara in the Catacombs) there's a little truth in this headcanon.
Because Zuko didn't promise that he'd choose to join the Avatar and fight by her sideābut Katara did offer to try to heal him, and then left without further word.
To Zuko, who has been lied to and manipulated so many times in his life, that sort of promise/refusal back and forth must've felt familiar. He rationalizes that Katara wanted him to join the Avatar and used the promise of healing as a reward, a bait.
Which she didn't, of course; the reluctance to leave Zuko is evident in her body language when Aang rushes out of the Caves.
But Zuko has no way of knowing that, because he himself was looking away, having already decided that Katara would break her half-made promise. Because, really, why would she follow through? He's a failure, her enemy, and he doesn't deserve healing.
Ironically (or perhaps naturally) accusing her of this is what allows Katara to start forgiving him in The Block. It proves to her that he was hurt by what happened, too, and confirms that he hadn't lied to her or tried to trick her into lowering her guard in the Catacombs. He had been vulnerable, genuinely vulnerable, and it makes all the difference.
This misunderstanding opens the way for honest, healthy communication regarding what happened under Ba Sing Se, which is something I would've loved to see in canon.
.
I'm not shutting Katara down with this take. She did look back for Zuko and she did feel betrayed and she had all the right reasons for it. But Zuko had no way of knowing all that, and making their conflict run even deeper than it already does was an opportunity I just couldn't deny myself.
some people will be like āI wonder why fanfic writers donāt share their works anymorešā and then this is them when a writer is kind enough to share something they write ā as a hobby, for their own enjoyment ā with them for free.
some people really donāt realize how privileged they are that they get fanfics for free. imagine having access to something for free because someone is kind enough to share it with youā¦ and then being rude, entitled and an ungrateful pos to that person who was kind enough to share their creation with you for free
āalmost 1 year is a lil too much for meā fuck off. fanfic writers donāt owe you anything. one of my favorite fics was updated after 13 years, and what I did is that I thanked the author for choosing to continue the work, I didnāt act like a spoiled toddler by asking why they didnāt update sooner. and even if a writer chooses to abandon their fic permanently with no explanation, that is their choice, their hobby, their decision. they donāt owe your entitled ass anything.
you people let tiktok rot your brains to the point you see everything as content farm and engagement. not a piece of art created by the artistās love and passion. itās dystopian.
"I'm not Penelope and you're not Odysseus" I'm sorry what. Are you telling me this is the only FF you were allowed to read in the past year? That you keep rereading it every day untill you were sick of it bc you can't just read other works whole waiting???
Comparing reading FF to monogamous romantic relationship is so fucked up.
It's more like we're all in a polyclue together and this one FF that gets a chapter after 10 years is our long-lost partner whos homecoming starts an orgy.
actually out of genuine curiosity do you have a tangible life goal/overall aspiration that isn't survival-based i.e. one that you would meaningfully aim for even if you had nothing to worry about and NOT out of boredom
When Katara says "I'm just glad we finally have another girl in the group because you two [Aa.ng and Sokka] are disgusting," and then Toph immediately joins them in being disgusting, I wish there had been a parallel moment where after Zuko joins he's like "You three [Aa.ng, Sokka, Toph] are disgusting. How is Katara the only one here who knows what hygiene means? The rest of you act like you were raised in the jungle." And Katara is still mad at him but begrudgingly appreciates that finally there's someone in the group who washes his fucking hands and who she doesn't need to clean up after.
