#katara's character arc is just depressing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fanfic-lover-girl · 2 months

Text

LOK did Sokka and Katara dirty

Nowadays, I forget LOK even exists but I realized how LOK did the water tribe siblings dirty in opposite ways.

For Sokka, we know he had a great political career. He helped to protect Korra from the Red Lotus and he served as a councilman in Republic City. And he has the statue to prove it. But what about his personal life?? What happened to Suki? Did he have a family?? Was Sokka's life career-driven with no loving home life?

For Katara, her legacy is mainly about her family. Besides the bloodbending law and teaching Korra, there is hardly anything else of note that Katara did. She's a world-class healer but where is the evidence for that? She was not even present at Yakon's blood-bending trial. While Zuko and Toph get to be badasses in their old age, Katara is just a lonely old woman tucked away at the South Pole, not even lifting a finger when her family is in danger.

So Sokka got the better end of the deal!

What little we got of Sokka painted him in a good light. He was an accomplished politician so at least that facet of his life was explored well. Meanwhile, Katara doesn't seem to interact with her own grandkids enough for Meelo to recognize her :(. It's bad enough that she wasn't present for a high-profile bloodbending trial, but Katara couldn't be bothered to attend Jinora's master ceremony. So Katara fails at family too. Poor Katara. Look what Bryke did to you Queen. Bryke couldn't even give you a waterbending grandchild as a token of appreciation :(

#anti lok #atla sokka #atla katara #lok katara is not my katara #water tribe siblings #anti bryke #katara deserved better #katara's character arc is just depressing

57 notes · View notes

geegers22 · 4 months

Text

I’ve seen lots of conversation on here about Zutara shippers opinions on aang and mai and i thought I’d give my point of view.

I want to start by saying that I think there should be more of a distinction between disliking a character because they are a bad person and disliking a character because they are written badly. With that being said, I can confidently say that, with the material of the main ATLA show, I dislike Aang and Mai because they are badly written characters. Meaning, if their arcs were properly finished, I would have no problems with them. This brings me to another topic of how I don’t really ‘hate’ characters who are bad people if they’re well written but that’s a conversation for another post.

I need to point out that I didn’t start disliking Aang and Mai until they had their arcs undermined when Kataang and Maiko became canon. With the arcs they were going on, they had so much potential to be really interesting and I enjoyed their personalities.

When it comes to Aang, I had no problem with him as a character until season 3 part 2 when I started to realize that his world view (which is flawed based solely on the fact that he is young and there is no way he’s going to have a nuanced pov) was not going to be challenged. Aang should have had to give up katara. Aang should not have just had everything handed to him with the lion turtle and the pointy rock.

Then there’s the southern raiders which I would argue, if Aang’s arc had been completed, would not illicit as many conversations and arguments about it as it currently has. Because his actions in that episode make sense (Sokkas don’t really but again-that’s another story) because he’s a kid. This episode should have been a big decider of his change in worldview. The problem is that the creators decided his flaws didn’t exist and that he was perfect. (At 12 years old?!?!?)

Then there’s Mai. She’s a much smaller character but that doesn’t mean she deserves less of an arc. Mai is a character whose personality I love! (I’m all for gloomy depressed women!) There’s two ways Mai’s character could have developed, and I think both options are great, the problem is that Bryke decided to go in neither direction.

On the one hand, Mai could have been a representation of unlearning the propaganda she was taught in the fire nation throughout her whole life. I think this direction would make Maiko more believable, although I still don’t think they are a good couple because their personalities create a toxic dynamic and Mai’s story with Zuko is meant to represent that toxicity.

The second option would be to have her views not change, like we see in the show, and have her not get back together with Zuko. This is the more interesting path in my opinion because it’s more realistic. I don’t think the problem with Mai’s arc lies with her personal views of the fire nation, more so with her relationship with Zuko. As we have it in the show, Mai’s views don’t change. Therefor, it doesn’t make sense for her character or for Zuko’s for them to get back together like nothing ever happened.

When it comes down to it. Both Aang and Mai had their arcs sabotaged because the creators rejected Zutara. Even without Zuko and Katara getting together these were the wrong decisions. Both characters had potential to be well written, but in the end, the creators chose the path didn’t allow that to happen because they just couldn’t kill their darling. (Kataang)

Sorry for rambling, this is kind of just my take on the whole “Zutara shippers hate Aang and Mai” take.

#is this a meta?#atla #avatar the last airbender #anti aang #anti Mai #anti kataang #anti maiko #anti bryke #zutara #ayo fuck bryke all my homies hate bryke #atla critical #aang critical #Mai critical

191 notes · View notes

zvtara-was-never-canon · 2 months

Note

Have you noted that no one from Azula's family was shown to express love and affection towards her?

That is mostly true. Ozai's affection is clearly conditional (and full on manipulation at worse, like we see in the finale), Ursa canonically favors Zuko to the point that we never see her spending any alone time with Azula like she did with Zuko, and while Iroh gave her a toy like he did to Zuko the toy in question was so OBVIOUSLY wrong for a kid like Azula that it's comical AND show's he did not really know his niece at all.

But there is a constant exception.

Zuko's relationship with Azula is complicated. He clearly admires her strength and power, but he hates how she uses it. She lied to him many times, was seen apparently cheering Ozai on during the Agni Kai, tried to have him imprisoned and even said she'd celebrate being an only child - and then allows him to come home as a hero after Ba Sing Se, even though SHE had the control of the Dai Li and was not yet aware Aang could have survived, meaning she had nothing to gain from it.

And when she lets him know that if he's caught talking to Iroh people might think he is a traitor too, and explicitly says "Believe it or not, I'm actually looking out for you" Zuko drops his innitial suspicion that she wanted something and that's why she was helping him.

On The Beach, he just follows her when she say their old family home is depressing and they shouldn't waste their time there. When she's asking him who she is angry at, she mentions herself and Zuko explicitly says that is not the case.

He doesn't trust her and know she has a tendency to mock or full on lie to him... yet when he wants to know about Fire Lord Sozin he asks her about it, and lets it slide when she mocks him by saying he should make sure the royal painter got his good side - for a character as quick to anger as Zuko, that is a big deal. In Nightmares and Daydreams he also goes to her to find out if he'll be allowed at the war meeting.

More importantly:

1 - Iroh's infamous "She's crazy and needs to go down" line was only said because ZUKO, without anyone putting that idea in his head before, suddenly went "I know what you're going to say. She's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her"

2 - Zuko only jumped into the fight in Ba Sing Se when Azula was being cornered by Aang and Katara.

3 - Zuko looked genuinely shocked and even distressed when she was falling off that cliff. He just sounded so shaken saying "She's... not gonna make it..."

4 - In the writer's own words, Zuko felt no hate but only pity when seeing her breakdown. Katara tried to comfort him because, canonically, even though Zuko and Azula are enemies, this was never what he wanted because he still sees her as family. That's why the Last Agni Kai's music is not the epic you'd expect from a battle, but a tragic one.

5 - Aaron Ehasz, the lead writter for the show, probably the person with the most influence after Bryke, has REPEATEDLY said that he always felt Azula should have gotten a redemption arc, Zuko being an Iroh figure to give her advice and be the only one still by her side when all else was seemingly lost to her forever.

Even the comics (most of which I HATE, mainly because Azula's storyline checks nearly every box for "the mentally ill are inherently evil/less human, so it's fine if literally every other person on the planet mistreats them") didn't fully abandon their complex dynamic.

Zuko is not a perfect sibling, and for a long chunk of the story he seemed too focused on his own issues for Azula to ever be a factor in his mind (aside from the moments in which she was a potential/explict threat), but he DOES still feel a sense of obligation towards her, to the point that it made him do something no one else in their family had done before or since - actually look at Azula. Not the prodigious daughter/perfect weapon, or the problem child that is difficult to handle, or the pontentially deadly enemy that was in the way, but Azula.

His 14-year-old sister that got on his nerves a lot, was far from the kindest person alive, and that he had a ton of issues with, but that he could never fully hate or even be indifferent to. Because she's family. Because he remembers a happier time in which the gap between them didn't seem so big. Because if things had been slightly different he could have been her. Because he went from wanting to be her to seeing just how miserable her life ended up being - especially compared to the one he now had - and feeling deeply sorry for her.

Now if you guys excuse me, I'm gonna go cry in the corner. Have some wholesome/bittersweet fanart if you wanna cry too.

#azula meta #zuko meta #fire siblings #fire siblings meta

133 notes · View notes

forevermore05 · 2 months

Text

Okay, so I have seen some discourse about being a Zutara shipper and their feelings about Aang and Mai. And I'm not here to be a moral police officer. However, I want to provide a perspective that maybe other people have but cannot vocalize. I love Aang, when NATLA Aang asked Sokka where Appa was I think I was about to cry because it was cute. I could never hate Aang. You could never make me hate Aang. If you notice in past posts I do not flame(o) Aang. I DO CRITICIZE HIM. However, what the writers did to Aang is not cool. Using the device of an unconsented kiss is disgusting and sad. My argument is that Kataang could have been written so well but I don't ship them so I don't care to think about that aspect. If you do want some nuance in my perspective of that ship. However, it is my idea that we shouldn't write romances for 12-year-olds. They're just simply too young for that. However, I criticize Aang when it comes to time to do so. For example, the unconsented kiss with Katara and that problematic Charkra arc. Though my criticism is never hateful but filled with frustration with the writers.

This is how I view Aang.... I see him as the Avatar being the equivalent of a child prodigy, whether that be in music or sports. However, a child prodigy still needs their parents regardless of how skillful they are. And that's how I see Aang. No matter how wise or good he is at bending or being the avatar in general. He needs adults in his life to be his support system and be able to raise him.

I like Aang but for me, he is not above criticism and he is not a perfect character there are a lot of things that need to be addressed in terms of this specific character because I feel that there is not enough criticism for him and I feel that I'm not upset with the character himself. I'm upset with the writer's thought it was cool to do certain things. And I'm allowed to respectfully criticize some of his ideologies seeing that some of them came at the expense of demeaning a religion.

As for Mai, I think she's a treat to watch by herself, but with Zuko it's just draining and sad. They both harm each other and that's just depressing. But honestly, I have not looked too deeply into her character to speak about her.

My conclusion is you can still ship Zutara while liking Aang and Mai but it is also fair be critical of their characters.

#avatar the last airbender #zutara #zuko #katara #zuko x katara #hinduism #india #anti aang #anti kataang #anti maiko #anti mai #but not really i just want to cover my bases

143 notes · View notes

fictionally-attached · 3 months

Text

It is now becoming more and more clear to me as to why the creators of Avatar the last airbender walked away from the live adaptation.

Toning down Sokka's sexism

Sokka being sexist is as important as Katara fighting against sexism. They are BOTH products of their culture. The makers of the Netflix adaptation forget Sokka was the only boy left to protect his village. He believed it was his duty to protect the weak. When he came across warriors that were women, he felt they knew nothing. Only to be humbled, he’d apologize, and accept he was wrong. He even fell in love with one of them (Suki). Sokka’s sexism came not just from his own trauma and trying to fill his father’s shoes, but also the fact that Water Tribe culture is very strict re: gender roles. This showed that although the Fire Nation were the bad guys each nation still had its own flaws and issues. Plus, by showing a likeable main character overcoming their prejudices, it does a better job teaching people to not be prejudiced than by just having the villains be prejudiced. This plot point is a HUGE focus on Sokka's initial development. He is not just some goofy side kick non bender. He learned that his views were flawed and GREW from it. This issue is still relevant to today and not just back in the early 2000s.

2. “We had to make it a serialized Netflix drama, which meant it couldn’t just be for kids. It had to also appeal to the people who are big fans of Game of Thrones.”

I'm fed up with the common misconception that making something appealing to adults necessitates it being dark and gritty. It's an oversimplified assumption that overlooks the nuanced maturity already present in the story. This series masterfully incorporated mature themes that resonated with audiences of all ages. From the genocide of the Air Nation to instances of child abuse endured by characters like Zuko, and the exploration of sexism within the Northern Water Tribe, ATLA didn't shy away from addressing complex issues. It also delved into cultural erasure, the horrors of war, the pitfalls of autocratic governance, and the struggles of characters dealing with PTSD, depression, and mental illness. These elements added depth and resonance to the narrative. Pushing for further grimness to cater to a different fanbase would undermine the series' existing richness and maturity.

3. “We decided to make Aang’s narrative drive a little clearer. In the first season of the animated series, he’s kind of going from place to place looking for adventures. He even says, ‘First, we’ve got to go and ride the elephant koi.’ It’s a little looser as befits a cartoon. We needed to make sure that he had that drive from the start. […] We essentially give him this vision of what’s going to happen and he says, ‘I have to get to the Northern Water Tribe to stop this from happening.’ That gives him much more narrative compulsion going forward.”

Giving Aang this drive right from the start completely changeshis character. A significant aspect of his development in the first season involves transitioning from someone who simply longed for a carefree childhood to one destined to fulfill the role of the Avatar. Remember, he's just 12 years old. Aang's sense of being overwhelmed by the weight of his Avatar duties is precisely why he fled and ultimately became trapped in ice. He wasn't eager to embrace his Avatar status, and that reluctance doesn't vanish overnight. He's a child burdened with the unimaginable responsibility of saving the world and stopping an entire nation. That essence of childhood doesn't evaporate with acceptance of his fate; it remained a fundamental aspect of his character arc across all three seasons. Maintaining his childlike innocence while navigating such weighty responsibilities is central to Aang's appeal and adds depth to his character. Moreover, the numerous detours the "gaang" takes contribute significantly to world-building, a vital element that imbued the original series with its charm. Will the remake ignore all of this???

In today's media landscape, there's a growing tendency to portray main characters as almost too flawless. While it's important to have protagonists that viewers can connect with and support, that doesn't mean they should be devoid of any imperfections. Flaws are what lend characters their humanity and depth, providing them with the opportunity to evolve and improve as the narrative unfolds. When a character begins the story with flawless beliefs and actions, it leaves little room for growth, resulting in a stagnant character arc.

I'm really concerned about how Zuko's and Azula's character development will be handled in the remake. They're both quite flawed characters, especially Azula. She was portrayed as being evil, yet also struggling with mental health issues. It's important to recognize that both aspects can coexist, and one doesn't excuse the other. This complexity was depicted well in the show's final season. I hope they won't simplify or remove these traits in the remake.

And what's next? Will they remove the beloved cabbage man too?

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #the gaang #aang #atla sokka #atla aang #atla rant #atla zuko #zuko #katara #atla katara #toph beifong #ATLA

61 notes · View notes

yall-hate-kids-tourney · 4 months

Text

Loser Round 1: Damian Wayne (DC) vs. Aang (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Propaganda below the cut

Damian Wayne:

Damian is a kid who was raised as an assassin and because of that when he first appears he has some really messed up ideas of how to prove himself to his father by being aggressive with the criminals they capture and attacking his brother. Because of this people act like he is the most evil character ever and refuse to give him any grace. They make him out to be this awful irredeemable monster who just wants to kill his brother and hurt people. If the fandom isn’t making his out to be The Worst(tm) then they are ignoring his existence all-together. He is a really interesting character who has done some not so great things but he’s grown and learned a lot through various character arcs (as much of an arc as a comic book character can have) and he deserves to be acknowledged for himself and not just as a villain so that people can woobify his brother.

——

HES JUST A LITTLE BABY GUY!!!!! Little baby man raised as an assassin and learning how to be a real person <3. But because he was kind of a dick and also a little stabby early-on, especially to the fandom's main "so sad uwu depressed baby" blorbo (and also he's not white), people treat him like he's satan incarnate

Aang:

Aang is a kid who was thrown into responsibility against his will and when he ran away he woke up to a world where everything and everyone he loved was gone. A lot of the decisions he makes that people attack him for are either a result of his grief and attempts to keep his people beliefs alive or his immaturity because his is literally a child. Also he is constantly getting slandered in ship wars because of the way he interacts with Katara in canon because he is often selfish with her and obviously that makes him such a horrible guy! (No he is just a kid who is stumbling through his relationships like all of us do.) Everything he does makes perfect sense considering his age and circumstances and I’m tired of people saying he should have done things differently. God forbid a traumatized child not act like a perfect reasonable angel with the mental capacity and communication skills of an adult.

——

People are really over there saying the 12 year-old boy is a horrible and selfish person for refusing to murder a man !! He's 12 !! He's the last of his culture, which valued life and pacifism, and wants to keep that alive !! HE'S 12 !!!!!!!

People also like to pretend he can't understand another character whose mom was murdered because he believes it's important to Not let yourself be consumed by revenge, and is being self-righteous for asking her to Not go on a revenge quest (often in the name of shipping wars) when

1) His Whole People Were Killed, and

2) homegirl is 14, asking her to not kill someone when she doesn't have to, for her own good is literally the right thing to do

#yall hate kids tourney #loser round 1 #dc #dc comics #batman #batfamily #dc robin #batman comics #batman and robin #damian wayne #avatar the last airbender #atla #atla aang

36 notes · View notes

canonmisogynyvictimstournament · 8 months

Note

Hello, Katara truther here. While her portrayal in ATLA may have its flaws, her journey is very satisfying (she goes from a waterbender who struggles with the basics because there's no one in her village who could teach her waterbending to the greatest waterbender of her generation) and she's a complex and fleshed out character in ATLA. But there's Legend of Korra (aka LOK; the sequel show that is set ~70 years after ATLA) in which she's basically just Aang's (the titular character of ATLA) lonely widow. When her youngest son visits her with his family her grandson doesn't even recognize her; and when she sees them off later, she's shown crying secretly. Mind that the trauma of losing a family member and being abandoned by another one family members are big themes of her arc in ATLA. She's not even presented at the ceremony of her eldest granddaughter becoming an airbender master with no in-universe explanation at all?? It goes against her previous portrayal as fierce, loving and even overbearing sometimes. You would think that Katara would never miss such a big event in her granddaughter's life without a serious reason and yet (but LOK is weird about parenthood of the ATLA!MCs)

Her in-universe influence in LOK is also reduced dramatically compared to that in ATLA: she's said to have banned bloodbending (a different style of waterbending) but she's absent on that court trial shown in the flashback while both her husband and brother are there. It's also her husband who gets to fight the accused. Katara was passionate about fighting with waterbending in ATLA and actively defended her right to be a female waterbender warrior and yet she's never shown flashbacks.

Neither does she fight in the present in LOK. But she's old now you may say. Yes but the show doesn't have a problem with Toph, another female MC from ATLA, fighting alongside her family at her age. And ATLA didn't have a problem with elderly people being excellent fighters either.

It seems that she doesn't have a statue praising her as a hero who stopped A Hundred Year Old War while al the other MCs from ATLA, including Aang himself, do. Hell, even The Cabbage Man, a literal running gag in ATLA, gets his statue but not Katara.

Maybe her case is not so egregious as the other entries' but damn it's so depressing to watch a bold, fierce, kind, passionate, protecting, loving, strong girl ending up Like This

Katara deserved better. Justice for Katara!

#asks #not polls #propaganda

67 notes · View notes

wetcatspellcaster · 2 months

Note

7 and 8 for the Tav asks. :D and congrats on the thesis!

Thank you for the questions! Sorry for the long answer!

7. Describe their arc. How would a player help resolve it? What choices can be made? Can your Tav be turned down a dark path, or pulled to a lighter one?

So I thought about this a lot, the Good Ending for Rosalie is she's Just A Person, the Bad Ending is that she volunteers to become the mindflayer at the Orpheus decision for ENTIRELY THE WRONG REASONS (feeling like a liability, believing it's the only way to cure her mental illness, seeing herself as the weak link in the group, being depressed, etc. - this ending bought to you by me staring at that decision screen for an hour KNOWING she'd turn herself into a mindflayer in a heartbeat but feeling physically ill over her logic behind that decision). This is the 'exalted mind' ending.

So there is a bad path for her, but it's one bought about by being self-sacrificing to the point of absolute idiocy and self destruction. I think that Tav literally swerves her away from it by teaching her to be a little selfish and to value herself lmao. Literally the opposite of most of the other companions, and kind of what I wish you could teach Wyll in his storyline tbh!

Her arc would be her just generally being over-emotional and reckless, with lots of camp chats about morality in Act 1 (I would probably double down on the tropes that fandoms hate in female characters a la Katara in Avatar the Last Airbender just for the lols). I want her ending Act 1 feeling like a trite 'heart of the group', ridiculous Mary Sue, she talks to you a lot about how you're feeling, are you ok? Borderline annoying tbh, but with the EA Halsin Effect of "oh, you're the companion who's nicest to me!!". Then in Act 1/2 depending on approval she does something utterly stupid, like run into a fight alone unprompted (death to a wizard), or possibly have Ethel specific dialogue that pisses Ethel off if she's in your party, and the player starts thinking "god this girl is a bit weird and reckless and stupid at times actually", and calling her out on it gets the illithid tadpole as anxiety med drop.

Act 3, you start meeting people from her past (bonus comedy route for if you just enabled all her behaviour at this point to be nice to her and get her approval bc then the illithid tadpole drop happens here). Larroakan is like "aren't you that mousy little scribe who completed those commissions for me?", you can find Threnn, possibly did an infernal translation for Gortash (not canon just for story tie-in)???? and they're all like "who the fuck are you? why are you so different now". There would be a confrontation about lying about who she is, a camp conversation about the pressure they face as the 'heroes of Baldur's Gate" and how she feels inadequate. And then in the conversation with Threnn, and the final Orpheus conversation, Tav can encourage Rose to have an actually healthy relationship with her emotions and not see her every choice as a failing actually. Then you unlock real Rose personality and a final decision where she doesn't try and throw herself on her sword.

8. After Act 3, what does their life look like? What are they talking about at the reunion party?

Good ending Rosalie has rebuilt her relationships with her family, she's back at the Watchful Order but getting all their backlog of heroic deeds retroactively converted into a wizard qualification, and unromanced she'll mention that she's either considering going on secondment to Avernus or helping Halsin in the Shadowlands/feywild as her practical project for the final part of her grade. She will have visited every single companion in the six months (Wyll/Karlach as a projection). She will mention going to tea weekly with Gale given that she's fast-tracking wizardry/he needs a friend group and practice at being a normie and they live in the same city. She will name drop being friends with Tara very smugly.

Bad ending Rosalie is a mindflayer and will talk about the magic she's capable of and the power she's unlocking, now she's no longer letting emotion cloud her judgement. You can ask her about her parents and if she's gotten back in touch and she says, "oh, right. I used to have those."

tav ask game! :)

#asks #ask game #tav ask game #honestly Rosalie is me getting frustrated at Lawful Good being seen as the 'boring' option and doubling down...#...so I imagine she'd annoy a bunch of people A LOT :')#(it was a very specific Early Access feeling... ifykyk)

17 notes · View notes

theduckeminence · 11 months

Text

I’ve been curious lately about the idea of a rewrite for Pakku��s little character arc.

Yes, he is a traditionalist master waterbender and a massive smug jerk when refusing to teach Katara. He was a sexist up until he decided that upon learning Katara was Kanna granddaughter, he saw her as a student. Now from the way the show framed that moment, it seemed more or less nepotistic. There was also the fact that by the end of the series, it’s become canon that Pakku and Kanna ended up getting back together to which everyone called BS on for how quick that is. Now honestly I can’t ignore or deny any of this as the way the series framed Pakku’s development is dubious at best. We go from sexist nepotistic jerk to “meet your new grandpappy!” and that’s about it. Sure there was a bit of Pakku and Kanna in the North and South comic but due the the extremely questionable writing of the comics, I resolve from really including it very much

(I could mention how we never really saw Pakku’s development during the time of Gaang’s adventures and the time we had for the show but I’ll probably mention it another time).

I would also like to add some moments to give into him being more sympathetic such as a more softer or relatable side to him, while also giving more nuance to his character’s arc.

As such, I propose a couple ideas/headcanons of my own that may add to this sour old crusty bastard:

Wouldn’t it be interesting if he had gotten married to another girl following Kanna’s disappearence?And/or maybe that his family arranged him to marry another girl? Though if he were to take another hand, arranged or not, it wouldn’t be a very happy marriage. Therefore, he might have decided upon staying single for the rest of his life. The insight of how he must’ve dealt regarding this decision can depend how you would want to frame it. Whether he was content with the idea or, if you want to go for a more angstier route, depressed about it, that’s all up to you.

If we had gone with the more depressing option of him staying single, imagine how it must’ve been for him to be alone for most of his life—with no one to go home to and spending nights by himself eating meals alone. This may as well hit harder when realizing that since tribes are usually more communal and closely-knitted, Pakku living by himself puts him out of place. And though he could spend the evening having dinner with a friend’s family, or find content in the silence of his home, he cannot ignore the utter pitiful loneliness of not hearing any laughter nor the sound of children/grandchildren roaming the halls.

Speaking of children, Pakku has always wanted to have a child or more of his own. When he was still a young man, he dreamt of coming home to a caring wife and excited children where he can pick them up and toss them up, all while telling them stories about his day. But ever since Kanna left, that sort of dream had drained away into, well, just a dream.

Though, as he grows older, sometimes he would see the young boys and girls play in the snow, away from doing any of their chores or classes. While he would scold, there were some occasions where he slips from his hardened expression to entertain the children with a shower of snowflakes to little snow puppet-figure shows.

When he moves down South and spends more time down there, he becomes known as the local Grandpa-kku (much to his dismay to the pun).

#atla #avatar the last airbender #master pakku #pakku #order of the white lotus #the white lotus #water tribe #can yall tell this post was just an excuse for me to ramble about this old man? because UH 👀—#i also probably have more thoughts but ill probably add more when i remember em BCKXJXX #long post

58 notes · View notes

burst-of-iridescent · 1 year

Note

Can I get your thoughts on this post claiming Mai and Toph are very similar (and that Zuko clicked with Toph immediately because she reminded him of Mai)? https://at.tumblr.com/i-was-talking-to-momo/everyone-else-took-a-really-long-time-to/nyh2nz26iuay

whoooo boy, there are a lot of (sometimes just blatantly untrue) assumptions being flung around in that post.

much of what op says about mai reads more like headcanon than anything actually shown to us in the show (when was mai stifled to "the point of being incredibly depressed and borderline self-destructive"? when do we learn in the show that mai taught herself to throw knives out of boredom? how did mai "never learn to interact with people her age" when she's been friends with ty lee for years and seems to have no problem socializing at a fire nation party?) or is barely substantiated within the show (mai's alleged "repression" at the hands of her parents is told to us - not shown - in a single scene in the third season).

on the other hand, there is actual proof for toph being sheltered and repressed by her parents: we see the difference between who she is on her own/with the gaang vs with her parents. the toph who fights in earth rumble tournaments and picks her toes and speaks her mind without hesitation is not the same toph who wears dainty clothes and allows herself to be led around and meekly obeys her parents' wishes despite her own desire for freedom. there is a clear distinction between who toph feels she has to be, and who she really wants to be, and this is made clear from her very first episode.

by contrast, mai has the same apathetic, indifferent demeanor almost all the time, no matter whether she is with her parents, her friends, or her boyfriend. even in the rare cases that she does show emotion, usually smiling or smirking around zuko, it is undercut by the lack of true understanding and connection in their relationship, which makes her show of emotion feel meaningless and shallow (the only time that mai does seem to show genuine emotion and vulnerability is around ty lee, but unfortunately these moments are too far and few between for me to consider it real depth and growth for mai, much as i ship mailee). unlike toph, there are no real cracks in the facade with mai, which seem to imply that the way mai acts is who she really is, not who she feels she has to be.

i also have to laugh at this part: "Out of the entire gaang, Toph is the one that Zuko understands and empathizes with the most."

toph is the one zuko understands and empathizes with most, huh? that must be why toph was the first person in the gaang zuko felt a kinship with and reached out to - nope, that was katara. well, that's why he opened up about his deepest conflict and trauma to her and she did the same in return - whoops sorry, katara again. never mind, at least zuko and toph took an intimate field trip together related to their moment of connection over their shared trauma - oh wait.

i don't disagree that toph and zuko would have a strong friendship, or that they wouldn't be able to bond over similarities in their upbringing, but unfortunately the show just didn't expound on their relationship as much as it did with zuko's relationships with aang, sokka, and (especially) katara. it's blatantly false to imply that zuko bonded or clicked with toph the most out of anyone in the gaang, and even more so to say that it was because she reminded him of mai - both because toph is vastly different from mai, and because zuko himself didn't truly understand or click with mai in the first place.

ultimately, much of the problem with mai's character comes down to the fact that she's extremely underdeveloped (and the season that tries to expand on her character is also the one where her arc revolves almost entirely around her boyfriend) so comparing her to toph - a main character who received far more depth and development in a single episode than mai did throughout her whole arc - is a task doomed to fail from the start.

#anti mai #anti maiko #toph #zuko #toph meta #don't get me wrong i LOVE me some toph and zuko friendship #but it's just blatantly wrong to say that they were the closest/clicked the most out of anyone in the gaang lmao #we deserved more for sure but the show didn't give it to us #imo toph was also a victim of the inconsistent shoddy writing in book 3 and her character did kind of get shafted #but she did get DEVELOPMENT which is more than mai can say #asks

132 notes · View notes

sunlightnmoonshine · 3 months

Text

As a writing choice it just seems stupid that they added in things from season 2 without focusing on the important parts of season 1.

I guess the gang won't end up chased by a knowledge loving creepy owl that detested his knowledge being used for war, again a core part of the story. Getting to see the scary owl (Wang shi tong) in the live action felt so unnecessary that if they actually have him show up in the library (if they even visit a library - I have a feeling they won't) I won't feel even mildly the same kind of terror I felt when I saw him in the cartoon. The live action doesn't even emphasise his love for knowledge which was a core part of his character in the original instead they make a joke about how only aang can understand him :)

I'm assuming we will still be returning to Omashu but I guess no cave of the lovers then, no special moment between aang and katara, no sokka losing his mind over the lack of common sense, no extensive probably on drugs singing, no foreshadowing to the role of the badgermoles (that basically set up toph) and how the music was what calmed them down because they listen first (the essence of book two) instead hey katara and sokka sibling moment, the badgermoles can sense your love yay the audience needed to know you guys loved each other woohoo, wow ya'll got to aang just in time to save him from crushing bumi, wow, standing ovation, incredible writing.

I was going to write a long paragraph about how they are revealing too much about zuko too soon which significantly takes away from his season 2 story line but just no. Zuko was supposed to be the villain of season 1, it's what made his redemption arc so poignant. The audience through season 2 with just one episode on his past were in tears, the live action does not need to shove how sad and depressing his story is down anyone's throat. His story was appreciated because it made you think.

The more I think about this live action, the more angry I get because pls don't call it a good adaptation, it's not. It's a fine and enjoyable (arguable) story if you can't remember the nuance of the cartoon but that's it.

#avatar the last airbender #atla #natla #i hate that a story #that has been my benchmarck for good writing #was translated into this.

9 notes · View notes

hxhhasmysoul · 3 months

Note

ships: chosoyuki, zuko and mai

ChosoYuki

Ship it, though not a prime ship of mine.

What made you ship it?

Canon and fanart and fanfic.

What are your favourite things about the ship?

It's potential. It gave an extra aspect to both of their personalities, much more to Yuki's than Chousou's. Which is a shame, Chousou desperately needs other personality traits than "brother". And if it went on, he could probably develop more. I'd love to see Yuki also take scientific interest in what he is. I mean, imagine those conversations with mother-in-law, unforgettable family dinners, no question.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I don't think about it enough to have unpopular opinions, I guess. I think the fandom mostly gets it right with this one.

MaiKo

Ship it!

What made you ship it?

Canon! It's amazing. I like them both as characters but together they are so good!

What are your favourite things about the ship?

This is theme with all the ships that I like, they can make each other better. Zuko is very socially awkward, can let his emotions take over and doesn't know how to process them, and seems to have a problem with reading the emotions of others but he's also caring and hurting someone weighs on him. Some, including me, read him as on the autism spectrum. Mai is very subdued and tries to distance herself from everything as a defense mechanism and probably a function of depression but she also deeply cares, though unlike Zuko just for a select few, her spoons are very few. And it's just so fun to see them get closer while they are dating despite all that. It's not an easy relationship and I doubt they'd've made up so quickly if ATLA actually got the 4th season it was robbed of. But it's fun to see them work for it, it's very inspiring and endearing.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Probably that it's the best Zuko ship and the best ship in ATLA in general, canon or not.

The other canon ships also have some drama and growth but they are more cliche. I'm all for Sokka losing his misogyny and 20 years ago his arc felt fresh and revolutionary but alas it's become a sad standard. Man gets schooled by a "strong woman" man learns to respect women. Aang pining after Katara is boring in itself, it was nice that it was undercut by him being pushy, I feel it would've been even better if there was a 4th season because they'd need to work through it properly. But Mai and Zuko's dynamic is much rarer than those two.

As for the fan ships, Mai and TyLee feels too sweet and a bit too cliche, Mai and Azula has no chemistry, and Zuko and Katara is just a cautionary tale of "that's why you shouldn't indulge in the straight lifestyle, kids".

#answering asks #thank you for the ask #especially for maiko i wasn't expecting my fav atla ship #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #atla #avatar the last airbender #chousou #yuki tsukumo #zuko #mai atla #maiko #chosoyuki

16 notes · View notes

zvtara-was-never-canon · 7 months

Note

one thing i hate about zooties is how they turn azula's breakdown in the finale into proof for their own ship.

azula's breakdown is meant to be not only a tragic conclusion to her character arc, but also a tragic conclusion to zuko's relationship with his younger sister (in the show). zuko looks at his chained, sobbing sister with pity and sadness in his eyes, and katara empathizes with him, so she comforts him AS A FRIEND.

NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOUR SHIP.

the tone of that scene is not and never will be fucking romantic. it's sad. it's tragic. it's depressing. katara and zuko aren't even the main focus of that scene, azula is.

i just find it kind of disgusting how they turn a mentally ill teenage girl's breakdown into evidence for their non-existent shitty ship. very interesting behavior from the self-proclaimed "feminists" of the atla fandom.

"We completely disregard all the female characters and only care about Katara, but only if she's with Zuko, but we are TOTALLY feminists, we promise!" is the whole deal of every Zutarian that claims Zutara is the feminist ship/female gaze.

#anti zutara

33 notes · View notes

fortunatelychaoticphantom · 4 months

Text

Highlighted Posts - Fandom Topics

For some explanation, see serious topics post.

Avatar the Last Airbender / Legend of Korra:

Aang, forgiveness and violence in The Southern Raiders (meta).

Aang’s (lack of a) character arc (meta) + same response, posted independently from the original chain post with a bit of revisions (meta).

Avatar, violence and last second anti-killing rhetoric (meta).

The actual advice the past Avatars gave Aang (meta).

Aang vs. Ozai final battle and Star Wars influences (meta).

The Great Divide is good actually (meta).

Aang being rewarded by the universe? (meta).

Third season Scorched Earth plan out of left field (meta).

Bloodbending and Energybending (meta).

Katara didn't have a “plot armor” in the final battle with Azula, she's the epitome of a warrior (meta).

Katara and non-lethal battle winning (meta/joke).

Katara didn’t beat Pakku (meta).

Katara didn’t choose Aang “over” Zuko (meta).

Anastasia!Zutara AU (headcanon).

Mai and Zuko, what should have been (meta).

Mai happily joined Azula to hunt Zuko (meta).

Kanna and Pakku... why??? (meta/joke).

Gender equality in the Fire Nation and WW2 equivalents (meta).

Legend of Korra, the status quo and the institution of the Avatar (meta).

Making Korra’s dad chief is just… awful (meta).

Harry Potter:

The Malfoys didn’t have a redemption in canon (meta).

Michael Gambon is great, you guys are just mean (meta).

Snape, Dumbledore and the Defence against the Dark Arts (meta/joke).

No thanks, I don’t need a young Snape movie (joke).

What Harry’s reaction to his name being pulled from the Goblet should have been (joke).

The Tri-Wizard tournament has no rules (meta).

Star Wars:

Star wars and Pirates of the Caribbean are the same story (meta).

Kylo Ren and redemption in the Star Wars universe and Hollywood [tlj post] (meta).

DC:

so... does Superman have an appendix? (joke).

Why Selina Kyle never goes to Arkham (joke).

The Scorpion King/Wonder Woman comparison (joke).

Marvel:

Infinity War and the horror of the snap (meta).

Who’s the avengers’ designer? (joke).

Black Panther and The Lion King similarities regarding women (meta).

Shipping in the MCU (joke).

Antman and family (joke).

Pirates of the Caribbeans:

Elizabeth and Will’s relationship is the heart of the movies (meta).

The best things about PotC (meta).

Disney:

I sort of wrote a one-shot about the bimbettes from Beauty and the Beast (fanfiction).

Belle in the Hunchback of Notre Dame (meta).

Del Toro, monstrosity and Beauty and the Beast (meta).

Inner Workings is amazing (meta).

Frozen’s Anna and Hans (joke).

Quasimodo is awesome (meta).

Around the world with Captain Phoebus (joke).

Pocahontas’ ending is subversive as fuck (joke/meta).

Hercules didn’t know who Hades was (joke).

Other:

Bullshit “feminist” retelling and Mad Max Fury Road (joke/meta).

“Feminist” retellings explanation (analysis).

She-Ra and the inherently good protagonist (meta).

I hate the ending of She-Ra (meta).

Once upon a Time, Regina and redemption (two diverging threads of the same post) (meta): First and Second.

Ross Geller isn’t that bad, you guys are just mean. Or: The unbelievable cruelty of what Carol did to Ross (meta).

Bella Swan and Hermione Granger comparisons are bullshit (meta).

Twilight and depression (meta).

New Moon reread comments (meta).

The Good Place is the greatest show in history. But also I have thoughts (meta).

The single most beautiful Geralt and Jeskier art ever made [The Witcher] (fanart).

Dimitri wanted to find the real Anastasia all along in hopes that she survived the revolution [Anastasia 1997] (meta).

Godzilla, Pacific Rim and Hollywood: between grim-dark and camp (meta).

Wednesday Addams and the usurpation of the summer camp for rich white kids (meta).

Debbie Jellinsky is the best [The Addams Family Values] (joke).

Achilles and Patroclus sitting in an urn. K.I.S.S.I.N.G. (joke).

Of course the Jewish women are the witches in Oz the Great and Powerful… (joke/meta).

Bird Box and mental illness (meta).

My problems with Carmen San Diego (meta).

Ice Princess and teenage movie tropes. Or: They're lesbians Harold (meta/joke).

Lord of the Rings life goals (joke).

The School of Good and Evil and that little bit of antisemitism… (joke).

Game of Thrones / House of the Dragon genetics are weird (joke).

Why wouldn’t I keep talking about old fandoms? (joke/analysis).

I hate Barbie. Sorry. (meta).

10 notes · View notes

juniperhillpatient · 2 months

Note

For the ask meme: 4, 7, 11, 30, 47 :)

4. what is the plot bunny you’ve been carrying for the longest? optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven’t written it yet and experience deep existential dread?

Honestly? Before I started Scream AU, it was an ATLA Scream AU! I held onto that idea for YEARS because I wanted to make sure I could do it right - everyone is a suspect, everyone is in danger, & there's a lot of foreshadowing but also a lot of twists. I waited until I felt prepared to do the idea justice, so I've held onto it for a long time. Like, that idea festered in my brain for at least 3 or 4 years. I guess it doesn't count anymore though, since I'm doing it.

Hm... I have a million ideas at all times but one I've had for a pretty long time is Heathers ATLA AU with Katara as Veronica, Azula as Heather Chandler, & Zuko or Jet as JD. Unfortunately, I'll likely never do this one because it wouldn't have Azula/Katara endgame & Azula would die so I doubt anyone who reads my writing wants it.

7. tell us about the plot of the first fanfic you ever wrote

The first fic I EVER wrote? You guys don't need to know about 13 year old Rose's weird Family Guy fanfics, your minds aren't ready. (Also I don't remember & the parts I do remember are embarrassing as fuck lmao.)

Instead, I'll say the first ATLA fanfic I wrote. It's a mediocre high school AU that has Katara/Toph LOL. I was getting my bearings in the ATLA fandom, okay? Also, it is the fic that made the Katara/Azula dynamic take root in my brain even though it's not a focus & I didn't write my first Azutara fic until a bit later lol

11. what’s something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?

I learned a lot about fashion through the ages when I was writing the TVD Au & giving Vampire!Azula a fun wardrobe filled with fashion from the last century or so. Do I remember anything I learned? Eh. But I did a lot of research!

I don't typically do a lot of research though for writing. My laziest trait as a writer is that sometimes I just wanna say "go with it." I entirely based the football stuff in my college AU on the TV show Blue Mountain State. That's not to say research isn't important, that's to say I'm lazy.

30. most inspirational quote you’ve ever read or heard that’s still important to you.

Okay, I really live by the quote "if nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do" from Angel the Series which is funny because I'm barely a fan of that show. I've watched it all through once. I'm much more of a Buffy girl. But that particular quote has always stuck with me. I'm a nihilist but I'm also a compassionate person & I think this quote really sums up how I look at the world. I used to be an idealist but my belief that the world can be changed for the better has faded over time. Instead, I just believe in being kind & doing what you can & that's how I take the quote - doing what you can, even when it seems hopeless. That seems depressing but like, it's not to me. You know?

47. what story are you most proud of?

I honestly go back & forth all the time. I feel like it might actually be Happenstance (a modern university ATLA au with a sit com vibe. It takes place over the course of a school year.) I'm honestly just so proud of the character arcs, the balance of comedy & drama, & these versions of the characters & this version of the universe. I put my heart & soul into that project.

Thank you so much for asking! I love playing these games & having an excuse to ramble :)

#asks #answered #ask games #writing

4 notes · View notes

fuckyouozai · 10 months

Text

I also do wonder if the fact that I’m approaching 30 has really changed some of the ways that I view this series and these kids because that’s also paired with the fact that I was 12-13 when I first watched the show as it was coming out, and so what has been imprinted in my psyche really is a deep identification with the kids because I was their age. I think of this in particular with Katara, who is my fav character and who articulated very specific things that I was actively feeling and dealing with at that age (not to mention the catharsis of tiny little confused depressed 13yo lucy watching zuko scream that he’s angry at HIMSELF and being like :0 I wonder if this will fundamentally change me as a person)

As a an adult now you’d think that my relationship with the kids had changed as I grew but it really…hasn’t! Except for the fact that I’m able to articulate better the ideas that like, zuko didn’t NEED redemption he was just a kid struggling to figure it out on his own and I’m so proud of doing it all by himself, I relate to the kids the same way I did when I was 13. I think that’s why it feels natural to me to write more of then as grownups (pre-lok era) because like. I can see so clearly the arc of them growing up and having to deal with things that couldn’t be shown on a Nickelodeon cartoon.

I was uhhh 17 or so when LoK came out and tho I didn’t have the language to articulate why it was so whack I still vividly remember the insane freak out when korra and asami became canon - and “canon” back then meant holding each others hand lol. It’s crazy that other cartoons since then have had kisses and weddings. LoK may not have been good but it fundamentally turned the tide on gay characters in children’s cartoons and them’s just the facts

#thoughts with lucy #and to this day the fact that aang my best friend aang has a gay daughter is just insane to me #it makes me insane. his daughter is gay and he loves her!#he knows about gay people and he loves us!

2 notes · View notes