#atla wank
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literally pleased with almost all of the new atla trailer except as per usual, Zuko's scar, idk why studios are so scared to commit to the intensity of the thing, its supposed to be shocking and obvious and textured and the first thing you see... that's the point, Zuko is supposed to struggle with feeling like it defines and brands him before finally coming to the point in his journey where he defines it.
Hollywood/big studios are known to hesitate or straight up avoid properly and honestly and unapologetically showing people with disfigurements/disabilities/facial differences etc. with the realism they deserve. Which is a shame in general for representation and humanization but ESPECIALLY in this case as its minimization actively harms it's narrative purpose as well
I promise making the scar more intense (shrivel up the ear a bit, make it intrude in his hairline, make his eye in a permanent squint due to nerve damage, for god sake REMOVE THE EYEBROW IT WAS BURNED OFF) will not make Zuko "ugly", (the actor is incapable of looking ugly and also the implication that scars make people too unappealing? yikes) but will actually do the character and his journey justice, not to mention really show Ozai's brutality, another essential narrative tool. Especially when he's bald like hello??? It should be even more stark and intense when he doesn't have hair to distract from it and cover his ear!!!
When transitioning from 2D to live action, of course some visuals are up for interpretation but that usually involved ADDING detail because the constraints of having to stay on modeling frame to frame is gone, not minimizing, removing or airbrushing. Doing Zuko's scar right to me is absolutely essential and I'm disappointed they seem just as as scared to go there as I thought they might. It doesn't have to be gory, if you've ever seen burn victims in real life or in pictures or even cosplayers/artists who are skilled in realistic burn makeup you'd know its possible to balance realism with humanity. It's possible especially with their resources to avoid the "scary Halloween makeup" route while not holding back on the brutality of the original injury.
Budget is definitely not an issue, or "scaring the kids" considering this remake is likely aiming to go a lil darker in tone than the cartoon (which was already super dark with its target audience of nickelodeon 7 year olds so no excuses) Audiences SHOULD be unsettled and upset when they see him but not because he's hard/disturbing to look at but because we are human and do not want to imagine someone doing that to a child.
It's a deliberate choice out of the all too common fear/hesitation to allow someone who is destined to eventually become a protagonist and is meant to be sympathized with to be "too ugly" while this hesitation is very rarely applied to straight up villains (again we come back to media's historic villainization of facial deformity). It's a trend that's always ticked me off in fanart too. The boy's face was melted, for gods sake. Zuko was always portrayed as an attractive boy in the cartoon (fire nation girls fawn over him) even with the intensity of his scar which is something I've always admired! People exist with scars similar to Zuko's in real life, and should not only be permitted to be represented as good guys and/or as attractive when their scars are toned down to be "palatable"
Like I said there's more that I loved than didn't love about the trailer, that can be a whole essay on it's own but I needed to get this very specific vent off my chest because it missed the mark so hard and stands out like a sore thumb in comparison to all the other visuals that hit the nail on the head to me
#atla#zuko#avatar the last airbender#atla live action#ozai#dallas liu#my posts#atla wank#rant#atla critical#prince zuko#netflix#netflix atla
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(to your azula post) it’s so real bc the moment u even mention someone’s wrongs (can’t think of another word rn) people will say you’re sexist or ableist bc azula was obviously mentally ill or something😭
Mmn. But it's trickier than that because there ARE incredibly sexist and ableist Azula takes (usually in the Greater Casual Fandom) where she gets called a "psycho bitch" and is not afforded any empathetic readings of her character whatsoever. And she IS obviously mentally and emotionally compromised. And abused by Ozai a la emotional manipulation and implicit physical threat. And it's frustrating to see people act like that's not there.
BUT then you will ALSO see people go "what do you MEAN this textbook example of a scapegoat dynamic is abuse 🙄😂 haha you guys are SO stupid, it's not like Azula was all but explicitly encouraged by their father to emotionally and physically abuse him. What do you MEAN Ozai and Ursa represent the most basic example of Conflicted Co-Parenting ever put to screen, and after she left it was VERY clear that Ozai, and therefore Azula, who clearly mirrors her father's behavior, now had no one dissuading them from continuing abuse... you guys are just making this up cus you hate Azula" I'LL GO INSANE I WILL... I REALLY WILL...
#it makes me so Krazy cus like. to ME the family dynamics here ARE SO SIMPLE. AND OBVIOUS. but maybe thats me being mean. maybe it isnt. but#atla wank#abuse cw#allgremlinasks#im sure you know most of that first bit anon im just overexplaining for the audience.
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seeing shit a:tla takes again after nearly 4 years and it's mostly people saying "oh my god stop talking about [explicit mention of thing they don't want to talk about]!!!! 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡" making the post pop up whenever ppl search up for said thing
like my guy. don't be an idiot. the block button is there, the filter system is there, the tagging system is there. atp you just don't want ppl to stop talking about it, you're just looking for people who like the thing to see your incessant whining.
honestly fitting though. a show aimed at for kids has a bunch of whiny children wannabes in the fandom.
#this is especially directed at zutara antis like fuck off#and don't mention the ship in the tags or in your post like an uncivilized person wanting a fight#atla#atla wank#jenn talks
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i feel like a lot of Discourse (read: fandom wank) happens in places that have forgotten or never learned the death of the author theory
(which i know is not sacrosanct but it is very useful for handling fandom spaces, particularly fraught ones)
for those who don't know, the death of the author theory goes like this: as far as the work is concerned, the author dropped dead the second that the final word was published, and thus cannot comment, object to, clarify, or expand on anything that is not on the page.
my understanding is that it's most strictly used to mean that that the author's interpretation of the work doesn't matter, but can be expanded to state that nothing which is not on the page matters. imo, the expanded definition is particularly useful for fandoms and needs to be adopted on a larger scale.
because what it means is this:
it doesn't matter what the creator(s) intended. it doesn't matter what they said in an interview. it doesn't matter what the actors think, it doesn't matter what supplemental materials say or imply, even if they're signed off on by the creator(s). it doesn't matter if everyone involved in making it hates your interpretation and says that it's wrong.
they don't get to say that it's wrong. they dropped dead the second the last episode/book ended. their interpretation is simply one more in a vast sea of others.
listen to me, fandom spaces. i am taking your face in both of my hands. embrace the death of the author. you will no longer be bound to the (possibly fickle) words of the creator(s), your interpretation can no longer be the wrong one. if the text can be used to support it in any way, even twisty ways, it's valid. you don't have to jump through hoops to defend it against haters who say you're wrong.
the death of the author. open your heart to it. live it. be free.
#atla#avatar the last airbender#zutara#kataang#tokka#zukka#sukka#yes this is the notoriously toxic fandom i'm mostly speaking to#i've been here since 2010 and the only way i've survived so long is by taking this theory into my heart#but it certainly applies to any work. any fandom. all of them have their toxic purists.#perhaps i am covering myself in honey and walking into a bear cave by making this post with these tags#but i've seen all this discourse before back when we just called it what it is: fandom wank#i participated in it myself when i was young amd full of vim and vigor and believed that my interpretation was The Best One#but there is no best one. no right one. no wrong one. just another one that you may or may not agree with or find compelling.
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do people who keep drawing sokka as spirits know that he doesnt have any respect for the spirits in the show
#except for like. yue. and maybe aang#its lowkey his most obnoxious arrogant cis male atheist trait#altho he gets a lot better about it throughout the show#its just funny that ppl praise how he disrespected wan shi tong and then draw that kinda stuff#which btw idk if he ever really learned from that experience and realized how he was wrong#the invasion day plan was doomed from the start bc of how they got that information#the disrespect he showed in that episode was abysmal. from entering the library till he left. just had no veneration whatsoever. ugh.#characters like sokka are hilarious bro how r u making fun of spirituality when u literally see that shit in front of you#hes still kinda dismissive of that stuff in s3 “well scientifically speaking there's no way to prove that-” in s3ep6#but def less so as it goes on#like in s3ep13 when toph is talking about original benders hes much less of an ahole then i think he wouldve been in earlier seasons#but he still was v disrespectful in the finale wrt aangs ozai dilemma#but to be fair so was the rest of the gaang bc even they didnt understand the spiritual repercussions of what they were asking of him#anyway just a gripe i have w fandom#like how r u gonna be a sokka dickrider and praise his very basic cismale qualities n then do stuff like this#atla#fandom wank
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I don't think people entirely realize why Katara's grief and anger over her mother's death are so much deeper than Sokka's.
Katara is the sole survivor of the genocide of the southern waterbenders. Her mother died in that genocide IN HER PLACE. The Southern Raiders' purpose as an organization was to eradicate the waterbenders. Yon Rha was there to kill her. She was the one who found Kya's body, presumably after she was burned to death, and she knew that he would have done the same to her if he knew the truth. She immediately filled her mom's shoes and took care of her entire family, at age 8, without being able to ever really heal. She also recently encountered another survivor of the genocide who told her exactly how much her fellow southern waterbenders suffered in the internment camps the Southern Raiders put them in before they all died in captivity.
So yeah, Sokka DOESN'T get it. He doesn't have that image in his head. (He doesn't remember what Kya looks like at all, in fact.) He doesn't have to struggle with survivor's guilt, or the crushing pressure of being the sole remaining bearer of a priceless cultural heirloom that is punishable by death for having. He doesn't seem to fully understand or care about her bending, even though it's the reason Yon Rha killed their mom. He belittled it and her efforts to teach herself self-defense with it a lot in the early episodes, but he also tells her girls can't be warriors, so he doesn't seem to understand that she was living in constant fear for her life her entire childhood.
This is also why I can't stand people who say Aang had it so much worse when Katara went through almost the exact same thing!! And she NEVER tried to judge or dictate his grief or how he should handle it, even when it led to him killing the buzzard wasp, nearly killing the sandbenders, nearly blowing her and Sokka off a mountain, etc. Yet she also knew he wouldn't extend that same unconditional support and understanding to her, which is why she says "I knew you wouldn't understand" after he tells her she sounds like Jet (who tried to kill innocents) and that she should forgive someone who was complicit in the genocide of her people and who killed her mom in an effort to kill her. Katara certainly never told HIM to forgive Sozin, or the soldiers who killed Gyatso and the rest of his people.
And then Sokka AGREES with him!! He AGREES that she's acting like Jet because she wants justice and that she should forgive the genocidal bastard who killed their mom.
No wonder Katara snapped at him. He clearly doesn't share or understand her deep longing, grief, and guilt. His feelings for their mom just aren't the same. That's not his fault, but Katara isn't "invalidating" him for pointing that out, either. If anything, Aang and Sokka invalidate her a lot more often over the course of the show.
#pro katara#katara defense squad#atla meta#fandom wank#I'm not an apologist because she has nothing to apologize for#the southern raiders
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I just saw the last of the Netflix ATLA trailers. Cutting for a spoiler!
It looks pretty cool tbh
I've thought there was something kind of off about Katara's costuming or something, idk, but I'm warming up to her—there's something really charming about her actress's demeanor thus far
Morbidly curious if this will spawn fandom discourse comparable to original ATLA, which I avoided for years because I knew it only by its fandom's terrible reputation (I thought Zutara was an actual character in it for a significant length of time)
KYOSHI!!! Despite my annoyance with the fanon treatment of Kyoshi, I absolutely adore the original, and I'm delighted she's in the show, even if her appearance ends up being brief.
I don't know, I was really wary after Bryke left (esp as someone who loves LOK as well) and such but between my /eyeroll at uncritical fandom meltdowns over jokes and fake articles and just liking the general vibe, I'm willing to approach it in good faith.
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does anyone wanna know my hater fandom opinion? it’s so bitchy & fr the kind of thing I’d silently but harshly judge someone for else for saying lol
I hate the divorce Zukka meme / concept whatever you wanna call it not because “oh no a ship I like divorcing??” (Have y’all seen my fics? A divorce is a reason *to* like a ship for me) but because if you love divorce Jetko is RIGHT there.
I’m sorry Zuko & Sokka would have an amicable breakup & remain besties at WORST. You’re telling me you love divorce & angst & drama & ZUKKA is your ship? Does Jet’s stalking mean nothing to you 😭 Do you not remember a certain duo being gay & doing crime together? 😭 Do you not remember a homoerotic sword fight? Hello?
I’m not saying Zukka is a bad ship it was my go to for a long time before I grew to love divorce & hate happiness it’s just that Zuko & Sokka are the couple that orchestrate a prison break together & pull it off if you want divorce how are you ignoring the fling that happens between narrative foils on opposite sides of a war 🥺
I judge people who post fandom concepts & tropes they hate so fucking harshly because *mean judgy Rose voice* “it’s so easy to avoid stuff you dislike in fandom no need to trash people for having fun, stupid hater” but well….. sometimes I am simply a hypocrite 😇
#fandom wank#not even really like y’all do you but it annoys me on like. you know. a personal level#atla fandom wank#anti Zukka#NOT REALLY#but like. a little. a little..
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Alright official ATLA LA review:
I'm going to try and make this a review with minimal references to the original, bc the original is so hard to live up to and I believe that it's possible to make an adaptation that is significantly different from the original where nonetheless both are good (ex: Howl's Moving Castle). That being said, this adaptation does not fit in that category.
There are four major issues that I have when I try to examine this show on its own merits:
The CGI. It's bad. I'm admittedly not a CGI fan and am a champion of the power of practical effects, but nothing about the imagery or the movement of anything sucked me in. The monsters weren't scary, the bending was mediocre, and the animals (Momo especially) fell just on the wrong side of too goofy.
Telling instead of showing. There was no subtlety at all, and I feel like characters were constantly being introduced just to explain the world building to me. Please shut up and let the environment, props, and interactions do some of the work. That's what they're there for.
The characterization. I didn't get a good sense of anyone's personality. They were La Croix characters. Here's our main character with just a hint of childlike goofiness. Here's his sidekick with a small amount of sarcasm. Etc. In a fantasy show with loud, bold colors, the characters should match, not feel like machines to move the plot forward.
Speaking of the plot: what is the plot? I get that the plot is stop the Fire Nation, but it didn't feel like there were any concrete steps to accomplish that or foreshadowing about what the next conflict would be. I'm honestly unclear about why they went to the North Pole. So Katara could learn waterbending? Is that really it?? I have to bring up the original at this point, bc the Sozin's Comet reveal not even midway through season one gave the show such a sense of urgency and did so much to move the plot forward and keep you invested, and without it my investment in the plot really suffered.
In summary, it looks bad, you get constantly slapped in the face with clunky explanations, I'm not attached to the characters, and I'm not invested in the plot. Overall: not worth watching.
I could make a whole other post specifically comparing the live action and original and saying all the things the original did better, but there are simply not enough hours in the day for that. Just watch the original.
#atla#atla la#netflix atla#avatar the last airbender#howlin#fandom wank#there's a reason it took me like 3 weeks to limp my way through all 8 episodes
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every Bryke take I've ever seen has either been "they're the only reason why atla was a good show they made zero mistakes everrrr and they never will and they're the only ppl who really matter in terms of creative direction" OR "anything I personally dislike small or large is specifically because of them all mistakes they make are on purpose because they hate everything and everyone and are singlehandedly ruining the Avatar franchise" like quite frankly. you guys I just dont think those white weebs have that kinda reach. in either direction.
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Avatar Studios: We made new content!
Me: Ruined a perfectly good show is what you did. Look at it. It's got misogyny.
#avatar the last airbender#atla#avatar studios#shit post#i dont want more ooc zuko and fire nation wanking
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you ever just read atla fanfic so divorced from canon and anything resembling canon characterization or even a reasonable extrapolation of it? change these characters' names and their context, their circumstances, the forces shaping their stories are so utterly devoid of any link to canon that you may as well be writing about original characters at this point.
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to the anon with the ask about shipping: i totally see where you're coming from! i don't fully agree, but i see it. but you are 100% right that we don't want to wade into those waters, so i will not be responding to your ask in detail.
#i have a ship i prefer but that doesn't mean i want to get into fights over which is better yknow#i did far too much of that in my atla days… it's just not worth the pain you inflict on others or put yourself through#asked and answered#(sort of)#*shipping wank
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Debating about whether or not to be petty and re-engage in ATLA fandom drama after a highly controversial BNF with a lot of followers responded to a hot take i left on their post nearly 3 years ago that they're pissed is gaining traction. On one hand, this blog is now 80% star wars, but on the other hand, I love fandom wank and arguing.
Like if I should give in to my worst impulses lol
#I've literally gotten rape and death threats for my atla opinions in the past so nothing really phases me anymore from these ppl#that was back before the 'renaissance' so i doubt any of those ppl are still active tho#maybe i should go for round 2#fandom wank#i should not be this petty i have real life obligations but I'm also so so tempted
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Someone said there was a bunch of wank over the live action ATLA and I was not disappointed. <3 I can't wait for this bomb to drop. >:D
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Light bringer x scheming
an appreciation and condemnation of the schemes, moves and manouvers in light bringer. who served them the coldest, and who was bamboozled? This is only about stunts, not about morals or likability.
Lysander:
Lysander's scheming took a whole new level and I was really surprised at the little coup he staged with atalantia in the collosseum. In the first half of the book he really had the monopoly on well placed and daring maneuvering.
I think his best stunt was the compromise on the dockyard of venus, managing to keep apollonius, and win the carthii and julias block while simultaneously showing up atalantia, reinforcing the alliance with the rim and starting the attack on mars.
I wouldn't have expected him to be able to hold the alliance with applelonius for even a few weeks, now its been a whole book, I'm exited to see if Darrow can use the minotaur against lysander in red god.
yes in the attack on phobos he wasted ships and men and money and copied darrows helldiver strategy.. but he also surprised virginia with his strategies and finally took enough of phobos to have the upper hand in negotiations, something I wouldn't have expected him to be able to do. esp. after atlas called phobos impregnable.
Darrow:
in the first half darrow honestly took the scheming L. when I read the excerpt 2 weeks before buying the book I was CONVINCED that they didnt just land in apollonius obviouss trap, like pls let this be a trick. Darrow is such an experienced schemer, he must have expected a trap? but no he was like, tattoos look right, must be my bestie in this easily accessible prison. Its especially naive because he broke apollonius out of deep grave and so knows that apollonius knows how he would plan a prison break. and that backup plan was also flimsy, I expected better from him haha
on Europa Darrow had a nice scheming comeback, like recreating the Dead Horse strategy and beating Fa? Iconicc. bringing both obsidians (with a vote) and rim (with diomedes' oath) closer to democratic values? inspiring. Brokering collaboration between Rim, Daughters and Obsidians? A strong feat. that speech with the daughters was nice too.
but.. (and I'm not saying it didn't cost him a lot and will probably keep costing him dearly in red god) lysander still kept his scheming level established in the first half of the book. so much trickery, let's see how long he can keep it up before he drowns in it. He was backed into a corner by atlas but managed to trick both Atlas and Cassius, defeat the rim and gain a horrible weapon with one move.
It cost him the Rim Alliance and his humanity, but we already know his morals and ideology are a feeble construct held up by delusion and wanking off on silenius. and the rim armadas were destroyed by atlas so to lysander it probably only seems like a temporary loss until they come crawling back to society when hunger defeats them.
Sevro's stunts were refreshingly constant and awesome. Like.. escaping apollonius and fighting him in his own house?? rescuing his bumbling saviours? and the most bestest move: convincing the Daughters of Ares to work together with them by holding such an iconic speech like.. wish we would have gotten to see that in first person. just like Volgas ascension as obsidian queen. They both had such iconic and smart moments off screen. pierce doesnt want them to steel the stunt limelight me feels.
Aurae was able to follow her goals throughout the book, while managing the boys, the daughters of ares and diomedes. she had an emotional and moral bond to each one of them, but managed to stay true to her own values even as the parties were conflicting.
honorary mentions:
Lyria smuggling herself unto the archie, she knows how to take advantage of her size, even more impressive because darrow had the same experience with rhonna and still didn't realise (or didnt care?)
Apollonius snatching up Darrow and Cassius
Virginia having an informant in the Society (her clone bro?) and her making a pact with and freeing the obsidians. I would have loved to see more of her, she always delivers top tier schemes (except for when she is outschemed by society rats).
they were outschemed, honorary mentions:
Volga following Fa: even if he wasn't Atlas puppet,,, he's still such an obvious upholder of Gold values and tyranny, but volga didnt want to see any of it. this makes her following him so horrible, I hope it doesn't all get blamed on Atlas, I mean Volga was fine with everything except for atlas' involvment. I don't know if she was naive or blind or ignorant or greedy but that was some top tier delusion.
Lysander bedazzling himself: this is the most hilarious and complete trickery. That guy just believes every fucking excuse he can give himself, he just gobbles them up. He might have freed himself from his AA Puppetduo, but the real puppeteer in his life is his delusional ideology and hybris.
Atalantia: she had such a good and safe plan, she just didn't realize that lysander doesn't care for his friends enough. now she is some ships and influence poorer, lost her watchdog, her nephew/lover (ew) and the grip on Lune's heir
Diomedes: Lysander had him wrapped around his lying finger and he did nott see that dishonorrr coming. Cassius didn't see it either, but I think he would have tried to save lysander anyway. The himbo bamboozlement lost them the garter and Cassius was murdered, at least he could kill Fear on the way.
#this is not a measurement of merit#just of trickery#lysander obviously won the scheming contest#he tricked everyone and then himself#but darrows comeback was iconic#he entered with nothing but his name and his bros and left with a fleet and two new alliances#but my favorite stunter was sevro#I didnt expect it after his lack of screentime and they tied so well to his character development#in red god I wanna see some more tricks from the shes and the gays#light bringer spoilers#light bringer#red rising#darrow of lykos
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