#atla fandom criticism

[cloudyaang]

the double standard in the way aang and zuko are treated by the fandom really is astounding. aang is villainised for even the slighest flaws he has despite most of his flaws stemming from the fact that he is a 12 y/o genocide survivor while zuko’s flaws are overlooked because of his father’s abuse or because of his redemption arc. if youre gonna vilifiy aang for not giving the map to katara and sokka in bato of the water tribe then keep that same energy for your precious zuko who spent basically the whole series traumatising the gaang.

[akiizayoi4869]

Something that bothers me about this fandom is when people say that we shouldn't ship Sokka and Katara with Zuko and Azula because colonizers and the Fire Nation tried to colonize the water tribes and wipe them out. Here's the thing. It wasn't just the water tribes. The Fire Nation attacked the Earth Kingdom too. They completely wiped out the air nomads as well. And yet I don't see anyone having any issue with Zukaang, Jinko or Jetko. So why is it only a problem when it's Zutara, Zukka, Azutara, and Sokkla?

Also? You do realize that by saying this, you're pretty much saying that white people and black people shouldn't be together. That pretty much anyone who is white should not be together with a person of color, because of the history of colonialism. You're saying that people of color should not look for love outside of our own race because of the history that is there. Do you know what we call that way of thinking? Racism. And I will tell you why. Because you are saying that interracial relationships are a problem and should not exist. And for someone like me, who is from the United States of America, where interracial marriage is still looked down upon in some states, and the Republicans have tried to get rid of it before? As someone who is black and indeginous, as someone who had a grandmother who was half white? I take offense to that. Because you are being racist.

I'm also going to say this, and I'm sorry if it sounds racist but it's the truth and it needs to get called out: this kind of thinking is usually by white people who see it as some kind of gotcha moment and think that they are combating racism by saying stuff like this. Man, do I have some news for you. You aren't helping anything. You are still actively a part of the problem because you are still being racist. Not to say that it's only white people, because I've seen people who aren't white say the exact same thing. And it's nonsense. Why are we condemning people who have nothing to do with what their ancestors did? By that logic, I shouldn't be best friends with a boy I met in my freshmen year of high school, who is white and from Greece. Because people who look just like him enslaved my people centuries ago, treated them like garbage, hunted us down like we were animals, etc. But guess what? That has nothing to do with him.

Lastly, people who are from different cultural backgrounds getting together should be seen as a sign of hope, a sign that we can learn to co exist with one another and live in peace with each other. It should be seen as a step forward to a better future. It should not be seen as a bad thing. If two people from different backgrounds want to be together? That's on them. It has absolutely nothing to do with you. And if it bothers you that much, that's a problem that YOU have and that you need to look at and sort out. Don't make it everyone else's problem.

[chaotic-tired-bastard]

"There's a japanese legend that says you have the face of who you loved most in a pa-" Okay, which myth is that? Is it just common folklore, or is it connected to some religious thing? Where's you hear this from? Can you even tell me the name of the legend???

[rotationalsymmetry]

Like...I don’t watch ATLA and think “wow, Katara is the best most well-written character ever, I wish every character was this well written, this sure raised the bar” but...like I’ve run into approximately 50 million posts talking about how wonderful Zuko is and nearly as many praising Iroh and none of them have been framed as a refutation of people who hate him. It’s...weird. And I also don’t watch ATLA and think “wow, Katara is a uniquely badly written character” either, I think the quality of her character (character as in, she is a fictional character, not character as in moral fortitude) is pretty consistent with other characters on the show. She’s complex, and flawed, and an awesome bender, and relateable, and all that. She’s sometimes righteous and sometimes petty. That’s exactly where she should be. I haven’t done a rigorous analysis, but I’m guessing her strength:flaws ratio is pretty comparable to Aang’s or Toph’s or Sokka’s. Or Zuko’s or Iroh’s. Maybe she doesn’t have as much character growth as some of the other characters? But she does have some; for instance, her turning back from vengeance in the Southern Raiders episode is growth; her being willing to pull a con with Toph in that one episode is a sort of character growth (don’t ask me in which direction), that thing where she’s upset at her dad for leaving them but also doesn’t want to admit she’s upset is brilliantly nuanced writing. She’s a good character. Is she emotional? Yes -- real life people often are. Does she sometimes go a little off the deep end with her idealism? Sure, and that’s both realistic and endearing. Is she bossy? Yep, but hey someone has to make sure camp is set up every night and no one else is stepping into that role. That’s extremely realistic for a girl who lost her mom at a young age AND had her dad go off to war, so she had to step into a parent-like role while still a child. And usually when she’s being one of those things, she’s right. She uses her feelings to connect to people -- she can bring Aang out of the Avatar state when no one else can, and presumably helps keep him emotionally stable the rest of the time too. The way she sometimes lets her idealism shine through at inopportune moments is exactly like when Zuko spoke out at that first war meeting, even though it wasn’t his place and it wasn’t sensible. She’s right when she gets mad at Toph for not doing her share of the work, right when she gets mad at Toph for pulling scams on Fire Nation citizens, and she’s also right to be mad at Sokka and Aang for standing off to the side and rather than either backing her up or backing Toph up. She does engage in small lies a lot and I’m not sure that’s always right, but again, good characters are a mix of good qualities and personal flaws.

[akiizayoi4869]

I will never understand the (unfortunately) popular fandom opinion that Zuko should never forgive Azula and show her no mercy. That he should just keep the resentment and jealousy that he has towards her. Like. Do y'all just hate character development? This kid needs to learn at some point that Azula wasn't the one who ruined his life. He needs to learn how to move on and let go. He needs to learn to forgive her and realize that unlike him, she didn't have anyone in her corner. Keeping all of the negative feelings that he has for her isn't healthy at all, and it won't help him grow. It'll just stunt his growth and keep him forever stuck in that one time of his life that he just can't seem to let go of. And that's depressing.

[akiizayoi4869]

Stealing Food: Suki, Alone vs. Smoke and Shadow

You know, I love how the same thing happens in both of these stories, and yet fandom perception of it is wildly different.

[akiizayoi4869]

[akiizayoi4869]

I love how Zuko fans(not all of them but it certainly is enough of them) look at Azula having violent outbursts because of her hallucinations, look at Zuko's responses to them, and go "he has every right to act like that towards her! She was attacking him and his friends!" Good lord, do you people just not understand what hallucinations does to a person? You literally cannot tell what's real and what isn't. And as we can clearly see throughout that comic, Azula's hallucinations are telling her that quite literally everyone around her is out to get her, including her mother. So it's no real wonder why she was lashing out like that. Zuko and the others responses towards her did not help in this regard, nor where they right for that.

Now, I want to paint a different scenario here. What if, instead of Azula being the one with a mental health issue, it was Zuko? Zuko's having hallucinations about people trying to kill him, seeing things that aren't really there...and then imagine the Gaang and Azula responding to it like the way how they responded to her in The Search. I wonder what tune y'all would be singing then? Interesting to think about.