ATLA Unpacked: Ty Lee's Potential
One of the many things we missed out on from ATLA Book 3 was a Ty Lee character arc. Of Azula's trio she's ultimately the least explored and most auxiliary, which is sad. The possibilities were certainly there: a girl who seems too good-natured for the ruthlessness of the Fire Nation, coerced into helping Azula, seemingly naive about what her nation is doing or perhaps too timid to voice her concerns. Gee, all that sure rings a bell doesn't it?
So, here are some things that I think could have been done w/ Ty Lee given what we know about her.
1. Friendship with Zuko and eventual Redemption Arc
Canon screwed this one up during "The Beach," but there's no reason it had to be that way. Ty Lee should have been the person Zuko warmed up to the most given that they're both more caring people than Mai and Azula.
With Ty Lee and Zuko, you have two sheltered and privileged teenagers who don't quite fit the mold of what Fire Nation children are *supposed* to be. As a result, Zuko is banished and Ty Lee leaves her aristocratic home life behind. Zuko's banishment and journey across the world helps him realize that the Fire Nation's war is wrong. Ty Lee, who was part of a traveling Fire Nation circus and eventually traveled the Earth Kingdom with Azula, could have easily come to the same realization. We never even get her perspective on the war in canon!
Just imagine Ty Lee and Zuko bonding over martial arts, theater, and collecting pretty sea shells. They bring out each other's best qualities and motivate each other's redemption.
2. Standing up to Azula
This has been commented on before, but Mai being the one who defies Azula instead of Ty Lee during "The Boiling Rock" is not a satisfying emotional climax. Mai happily left her boring life behind in "Return to Omashu" as soon as Azula gave her an opportunity, and she openly defied Azula's orders with no fear of retribution at least once. What Azula represented for Mai wasn't fear. Azula was the metaphorical "devil" on Mai's shoulder, distracting her from her lack of emotional fulfillment with fun and thrills.
The one who was genuinely afraid of Azula, and abandoned her passion out of that fear, was Ty Lee. Ty Lee standing up to Azula and emerging victorious is far more emotionally and narratively satisfying given their dynamic. It also gives Mai a more character appropriate choice to make in the situation.
Which leads me to my third point
3. Mai and Ty Lee
marsreds made a fantastic commentary I read years ago. I'll link it in the comments, but her point was that throwing Mai into an awkward and uninteresting relationship with Zuko took the focus away from her relationships with Azula and Ty Lee and made her character arc about a boy. It's a pretty damning commentary on the sexism that seeped into the way ATLA's female characters were written, and how that became the norm for the franchise by the time of the comics.
Anyway, a hugely missed opportunity for Ty Lee and Mai was their relationship with each other. Even though I am pro MaiLee, I won't make this ship heavy. Ultimately the writing has to come first, but Mai and Ty Lee do have a fun and touching dynamic. Ty Lee is even more playful and affectionate with Mai than she usually is, and Mai shows genuine care and empathy for Ty Lee. When they reunite in Omashu, Mai asks Ty Lee what happened with her joining the circus. Then, during "The Beach," Mai is the only one who stands up for Ty Lee, telling Zuko to back off and figuring out the root of Ty Lee's desire for attention. We never see Mai this invested in someone else's feelings and well-being with anyone else.
The character appropriate choice for Mai in "The Boiling Rock" wasn't betraying Azula for teen love. It was choosing between the friend who encouraged her better self (Ty Lee) or the friend who kept her from growing as a person (Azula).
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Sacred Realm updated which means im actually so excited to be making this omg
Hi there Sacred Realm fans! :D
It is I, the one who makes the analysis posts on various comics on the internet. (With permission course) Because I love doing them and they bring me joy.
If you are unaware of what Sacred Realm is, it's a Legend of Zelda AU about a new Link who gets a little medallion that makes him a badass, also it can hold the spirits of heroes from across the realms (Including my fave boy ever okay)
Before I begin, I'll get the important stuff done, This is done with permission from @zelda-the-sacred-realm, and all art from the comics belongs to the comic artist. Please do me a favour and go and check it out because it's a wonderful comic and extremely well-drawn and written.
Now, grab some popcorn, and a drink and please enjoy me rambling about a comic that I enjoy so much. :D
Lets begin!
First, some sass
Damn, possessed Link got a mouth on him. Low key I love him, he looks like he could go for round two like right now. Wouldn't be surprised if he went for the hero of time next.
My eyebrows shot up at this.
Time KNOW's
let me repeat that
TIME KNOWS. HE KNOWS WHATEVER IS IN THE MEDALLION CAUSING THIS.
(More on this later)
He knows he knows he knows he knows he knows
I can hear the mocking voice of Link while he is saying this. Time has experience with this particular entity before.
Okay, so here is when it gets interesting.
Possessed Link or this entity I suppose, referring to Time and in turn Hylians as 'Your Race' Tells me a couple of things.
This thing in the medallion isn't a Hylian spirit. So as much and as fun as a dark link theory is, I dont think it could be.
Time arguing that we're not perfect, again referring to Hylians sounds very much like an "I'm speaking with a god speech"
I present my theory on what is in the medallion.
An extra spirit, a god of some description, from the spirit realm. Out to get revenge on Hylians.
Time has been to the spirit realm, in his games. (I am under the assumption that those still occur in this canon please do correct me if I'm wrong here.)
I'm convinced that this thing in the medallion is a deity of some kind because of the eye colour. I can't get over it.
This style of blue, with no pupils.
We've seen it before.
On Hylia.
From Chapter 2 fate PT2
And here is the first time we see it on Link for comparison, With Sky's alongside him for comparison for what Hylian eyes look like.
From Chapter 2 Fate PT3
The colour isn't exact so it can't be Hylia herself I dont think, but, i believe that there is a spirit trying to escape the sacred realm and is using Link to do it.
Okay, enough of my conspiracy theories moving on!
Link you gotta wake up!
Sky thinks so, I love the coloured speech bubble, what a good idea.
OH BOY I LOVE THESE PANELS
You know those scenes in video games when you're fighting off something that's trying to possess you and you have that ominous-sounding echo that seems to reverberate through your head. But is also muffled at the same time?
(If I find a game example I'll link it)
This. Put that noise you think off over this.
KICK ITS BUTT LINK GET IT, GET BACK IN HERE.
These five panels tell so much when it comes to how much effort Link has to go through to fight off the medallion possession. I wonder if its going to be easier or harder for him to fight it off as he gains spirits in the medallion.
You can really feel his struggle and I just love it. The visual storytelling is incredible in this comic and I will fan girl about it all day because I just love it so much
I'm thinking he says this to gauge just how bad this possession is. time seems like the guy who would, especially as he already seems to know what this is.
I wonder if he really is the hero of realms?
Yes, Time. Yes, he is.
The face he dosent remember any time he's possessed by the medallion is a little worrying.
Makes me think that could be used later.
Like, Link dosent remember fighting this ice comet now. What if he fights an enemy while possessed, breaks the possession then has to relearn how to defeat it because as possessed link he's not gained any information.
Man Link is a cinnamon roll sometimes and I love him dearly okay.
Alrighty, thats me finished with my rambling. Thank you so much for sticking with me through this! And thanks again to @zelda-the-sacred-realm for the permission to do these i really appreciate it.
Please please go and check out the rest of the comic if you haven't it's amazing :D
Thats me finished for this chapter, so I'll be headed out!
Hope you have a wonderful day! :D
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i love seeing foolish's process of learning spanish. it's like he's trying to rebuild the language itself from the ground up as he goes. like, he doesn't want to know that X means Y and be done with it, he needs the history of the latin alphabet, a phonetics lesson on all possible pronunciations of X, and an explanation for why people decided that it comes after W. his approach to spanish seems to carry an underlying hope that he'll be able to logic a thousand-year old romance language into becoming, like, a balto-slavic toki pona. this guy is trying to min-max the tower of babel, i want to study him in a lab.
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