[opaige]

a movie?????

[opaige]

has anyone written the 'zuko's scar also requires multiple intimate healing sessions from katara' fic yet because i'm having Thoughts and Ideas

[firelxdykatara]

Having seen the atla movie, it's almost impressively bad, but the thing that gets me most is that I could actually see the bones of a good movie struggling beneath the weight of shit like 'Aang is the only character who matters' and 'we don't have the balls to fuck with LoK canon and apparently can't come up with another idea for a plotline so this entire film is a narrative dead end that quite literally can't achieve anything meaningful for the characters or the world'.

There's a story here that could be meaningful to tell--if they hadn't already made the mistake of having Korra bring back the airbenders, instead of narratively handwaving it and letting that be a story to explore with Aang instead. This movie really watches like something that would've been far more impactful and impressive if it'd come out back in 2010, before Korra, expanding on the characters lives back when everyone was really jonesing for more story and Bryke hadn't long since driven their IP into the ground.

Putting the rest below a cut for spoiler-filled ranting.

And this isn't even about my dislike of kataang, except insofar as Katara's personality revolved around him and no one else (especially Zuko) was allowed anything approaching a character arc. With Zuko I do genuinely wonder if they simply couldn't afford Steven Yeun and so had to relegate him to broody background status--but why was Toph crowing 'I'm the best Earthbender in the WORLDDDDD' multiple times as like her only defining character trait when that was something she didn't feel the need to do at age twelve? Why was Sokka's role limited almost exclusively to comic relief? Why did Katara go 'there's no more water!' like she wasn't in the middle of a city with its own harbor and multiple nearby water sources? Shit, leaving bloodbending aside, Hama also taught her how to draw water out of the air and out of plants, there's no way she'd have been caught helpless like that. (And this is some time after we see her part an entire ocean like Moses with the Red Sea. You can't just give her one of the most impressive feats in the movie [something we also saw her do when she was fourteen years old] and then have her go 'there's no more water!' like it's a sudden crisis.)

And I think part of the problem is that so much screentime was wasted on the 'Denied', who were this movie's secondary antagonists and a clear proto-version of the Equalists--except, almost impressively, they have even worse writing than the Equalists did in Book 1 of LoK. Which was a very low bar already, the had to bust out the shovels to dig under it! But it also kind of starkly reveals just how badly the 'nonbender oppression' plotline was devised in the first place, but it's especially nonsensical here when you have a Yuyan archer leading a group of nonbenders and talking to her ostensibly Earth Kingdom minion about 'what they took from you' like it wasn't the Fire Nation waging war on every other nation--including their benders--that resulted in all those deaths? Just utterly nonsensical. They keep trying to artificially create this inherent division between benders and nonbenders where benders have power over and oppress nonbenders, except that flies in the face of everything we learned about the world in the original show and how the nonbenders of the gaang were every bit as important and crucial to ending the war as the benders!

Also, on that note, the omission of Suki from the movie is fucking egregious when both Sokka and Toph would've been dead without her during the final battle of the original show. Like it's not even just that her relationship with Sokka was the only well-written romance in the entire series, it's that she was a key player in the final arc and gets barely two seconds of screentime at the very end of the film, just to drive home the point that no they didn't forget she existed (they just didn't think she was important enough to put in the movie).

(On the other hand, they did completely erase Mai, she's not even in a single one of the ending slide stills, which is funny to me as a Mai hater. And also if we're supposed to believe she actually is Izumi's mom, like she's not even in the group feast shot???? Lololol ok. But unlike Suki, you could remove Mai from ATLA entirely and virtually nothing would change. The only time she's crucially relevant is Boiling Rock, and considering the girls only know to be there because the Warden is Mai's uncle and told her that Zuko was there, without her there wouldn't have been an issue in their escape to begin with.)

But even if we lay aside the problems with the Denied, and with the lore additions that totally fly in the face of the show's themes and philosophy (and I'm sorry, but having both the major antagonist and the ancient avatar who uplifted him talking about the ancient Air Nomads the exact same way Sozin talked about the Fire Nation but not having the other shoe drop, thereby leaving the Air Nomads are Perfectly Spiritual and Pure and the Best Element because every other nation is violent and imperialistic was... certainly A Choice), this is a movie that is rendered utterly meaningless by the sequel series and it's just disappointing as hell that they couldn't find LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE to do with these characters. Certainly not anything that might actually honor their legacy, their personalities, or their involvement in everything that had come before.

So it really was a waste of my time. But at least the art was pretty! (Even if they stole all the volume from Katara's hair, which should be a CRIME. But I digress.)

[opaige]

resurrecting my blog temporarily to say that, although i did thoroughly enjoy the beautiful animation and the (at times gratuitous) nostalgia bait in the new atla movie, and I did indeed squeal at how hot they all are, my overall impression after watching it is that, between retreading one of Aang's main arcs from the original show by basing the film's emotional core on his guilt over running away, and having the film's plot center around the legacy of air nomads + non-bender/bender tension when so much of LoK dealt with those same issues but more in-depth and nuanced, I'm more convinced than ever that the creators of ATLA do not have any new ideas or stories to tell with Aang and thus did not have a good reason to return to this world at this time with these characters.

Other things that pissed me off under the cut:

1. The rest of the gaang very rarely had anything meaningful to do or contribute other than additional muscle in background fights, instead of having their individual characters important to the plot in ways specific to their backgrounds, positions, personalities, and abilities.

2. Sokka being reduced to comic relief and diminishing his part in the gaang (because tell me why Sokka is panicking that he "only has experience with bringing down fire nation airships" when he worked closely alongside the very man who invented them? In what world does he not immediately know how to work smth like that, don't piss me off),

3. the nerfing of the gaang's powers to the point where the combined efforts of Zuko, Toph, Katara and Sokka can't take down one airbender who has never fought more than one bending style at a time

4. Katara reviving herself and everyone else using spirit water is told to us as an afterthought rather than getting to experience that kick-ass moment with her -- Katara in general still really only existing as Aang's worldly anchor/love interest/support person, rather than a character in her own right with her own story/arc

5. the complete absence of the carefully crafted, intentional fight choreography that the show is heralded for in favour of flashy anime bullshit that requires slow-mo shots in order for the viewer understand what the hell is happening in any given frame

6. The fact that the spirit world staff gifted a bunch of the denied the power of air bending and they immediately became proficient enough at it to hold their own against two bending prodigies in their prime and the fucking fire lord?? Am I supposed to believe they all reached spiritual enlightenment in the airship ride to republic city and seamlessly incorporated bending into their fighting styles?

7. there were zero (0) dialogue interactions between Toph and Katara, and Zuko and Katara, despite the relationships between the rest of the gaang being major and integral parts of the original show.

8. Aang's lightning scar being visible and still affecting his chi/ability to remain in the avatar state was a cool detail that I'm glad they kept, but they completely erased Zuko's lighting scar, despite it being a powerful symbol of his growth in the show, marking the completion of his character arc (from someone who would see a waterbender as below him to instinctively putting her life above his own), as well as a stunning visual metaphor for Zuko being Aang's foil. I don't know if it bothers me more that they forgot about it or deliberately removed it for petty ship war reasons, but either way it shows again the lack of care for any character other than Aang.

Tldr I was left severely underwhelmed by the end of the movie, at least in regards to what this movie adds to the ATLA universe (very little, and what it does add is either lore breaking or has no lasting implications because it had to be reversed before the movie finished to not ruin LoK canon), and what it's trying to say about the characters (nothing that hasn't already been said before in some cases, character regression/assassination in other cases).

[opaige]

genuine question but do you have any recs for books with waifish poets / fat lumberjacks?

Hey anon, unsure about lumberjacks because I read fantasy mostly, but in terms of love interests in this genre that don't fall into the shadow daddy trope or are poets/intellectuals/not necessarily physically strong, especially compared to the FMC, then I can recommend:

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow - mythic lady knight and the cowardly historian who is tasked with ensuring she fulfills her duty.

The Knight and the Moth, by Rachel Gillig - kinda cheating because Rory is definitely strong but I'm putting it here because Sybil's biceps are so buff that he can't fit his hand all the way around her arm 🫶 and she throws him to the ground on several occasions and he loves it 💖

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner - MMC of colour who is traumatized from war and just wants to bake, paired with the FMC equivalent of Geralt of Rivia

Warrior, Princess, Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer - this is an excellent poly romantasy where one of the MMCs is a slinky underfed feral alley cat of a man

Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino - we're also kinda cheating with this one, Kier is a mage and the FMC Grey is his knight, they're both strong but he's the softer, more nurturing one in the dynamic and needs saving a lot 😌

I can also recommend some fantastic queer romantasy books that don't have that shadow daddy dynamic that came out this year/in recent years, like The Isle in the Silver Sea, the Maiden and her Monster, Lady's Knight, and Paladin's Hope.

These recs don't fit exactly into the MMC being waifish, I'll give you that, though mind you, these are literally just the ones I can physically see on my shelf right now, because im sure you can find your own recs too, so plenty more out there to find! And all of these you can find at most mainstream bookstores and are recommended by bookstagram accounts - they are by no means obscure.

What I really wanted to point out is that the criticism that romantasy is just full of shadow daddies is an incredibly boring, incorrect take on what the genre has to offer. Buff lady knights in particular have been a big thing this year in romantasy, for example, which has been so fun. Not to mention that romantasy isn't just dark high stakes war stories, and there's a lot of subgenres that have no need for that kind of dynamic at all.

What I would recommend is finding an author or book you like and going to their publisher or what books they've done testimonials for. Often you'll be able to find a lot of similar vibes that way, so once you find something you enjoy it becomes a lot easier to find more you might like. I've personally had a lot of success with Tor and Orbit this year in particular, as they tend to publish more unique romantasy novels that play with different dynamics.

But I also just more broadly detest the implication that the romantasy genre in particular is in need of "saving". Any genre that gains popularity falls victim to cycles of overused tropes as publishers try to capitalize on what is popular to make money.

But these are by no means a representative of the genre as a whole, and it's so painfully obvious when people criticize romantasy who have never bothered to see what's out there beyond the 3-5 most popular series trending online, which is ironic considering these are the same people who'll tell you that media literacy, critical thinking and independent research is dead and that romantasy has ruined women's brains. Like when someone says the romantasy genre needs xyz, when it already has that. And I'm sorry but you don't hear those criticisms anywhere near as loudly or as frequently about other genres.

There are plenty of things to criticize in the romantasy genre and discussions we could be having about those. But I don't want to have those discussions with people who don't actually read in this genre.

Because there are really exciting, interesting and fun things happening with romantasy right now too! Maybe because I work in a bookstore I see more across my desk than the normal person, but it really isn't hard to find these books, or other ones like it, if you're actually looking, and not just trying to feel intellectually superior by joining in on the hate.

[opaige]

what are you even talking about. these books already exist!! You can find them in regular bookstores!! holy fuck im so tired of seeing the same critiques of romantasy from people who don't even read the genre

[mushyooms]

modern au doodlings

extra pen 💞

[opaige]

L is building me a wall of bookshelves and going to adorn said bookshelf with a literal sword. no love has ever known me better

[opaige]

where you'll find me for the foreseeable future

[opaige]

rising from the grave to share this incredibly odypen coded post with you all

[jouissants]

Pro tip is you can literally just read more books and get curious about books instead of generalizing about Publishing Today. There are thousands upon thousands of books out there being published by all kinds of presses from the big 5 to tiny indie presses. Go to your local library or independent bookstore or Bookshop.org and browse. Writing off the entirety of contemporary publishing for being too whatever is just as much anti-intellectualism as complaining that books are too hard for the average reader.

[nighttrashheadache]

violet: he’s probably thinking about other girls

xaden: I need to figure out a way to attach the tiny dragon to the big dragon

[opaige]

got my heart ripped out by house of the beast by michelle wong so i need to soothe myself with t. kingfisher's swordheart.

[cursedepub]

"Just be my friend again, Alma. I'll help you become the most fearsome thing in House Avera."

House of the Beast (pub. 2025) by Michelle Wong / Egoist (2020) by Jenna Holiday. Illustrations by Michelle Wong.

[ghostsofarcadia-deactivated2026]

Hand closeups, because Adam knows what we want.

Photos by Adamrosssi

[opaige]

my apologies, ali hazelwood, i was unfamiliar with your game

[opaige]

love it when i read something that reminds me why i love a character or pairing,,, anyway y'all are not ready for @garden-of-rambles knight AU

[sleepiestoken]

📸 adam ross