#okay frankly i think the reason sokka told zuko this is because he thought zuko would probably die at the boiling rock so it didn’t matter | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

transboysokka · 9 months

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*whump wheel ask* also id like to say that it won't be awful because your writing is amazing (unless you meant in a subject matter way in which case I think we all enjoy that)

for the pairing maybe sokkla if you write for that, or if not zukka everybody loves zukka

Whumpwheelwhumpwheelwhumpwheel yayyyy! You got it!! The whump wheel is my favorite kind of wheel!!

I tried to do something with sokkla for this at first but really im just not familiar enough with the dynamic to write it well so uh... here's some zukka whump!!

Also I 100% appreciate the compliment but yes I absolutely mean in a subject manner way. I love to write and read awful whump

Send me a 💀 and a character/pairing and I will spin the whump wheel and write you something awful!

The wheel has selected: Blinded!

I'm so sorry in advance

[okay yeah so this is basically Dead Dove Do Not Eat. I'm just gonna tell you now this is a lead-up to a canonical Major Character Death, though I don't write the death here.

TW: Graphic injury, TW: mention of vomiting, CW: Divorced Zukka, TW: Mentions of torture ]

Zuko spat blood, hoping Sokka wouldn't hear, and that he also hadn't heard the wet cough bubbling up in his throat since he'd been returned to their cell from his most recent interrogation.

The Red Lotus was playing games with them, and he was tired of it. And he wasn't as young as he once was- he really didn't know how much more of this he could take.

"Talk to me, Zuko..." Sokka's voice came from across the cell, weaker than it had been even a few hours ago.

The conversations had been their only line of communication, their only line to sanity for the past however many days they'd been locked up down here like animals.

They'd both awoken blindfolded (Zuko's blindfold was just an eyepatch over his right eye, which he knew was meant to humiliate him, but frankly made no practical difference- it was too dark in here to see anything out of his bad eye anyway) and chained to opposite walls, hands behind their backs for maximum discomfort.

Zuko's ankles were also shackled to keep him from bending. He could still breathe fire from his mouth, but he'd already discovered it was no help in escaping, and only served to anger the powerful benders that were holding them.

He thought about how to answer Sokka's question. The good news was that their blindfolds saved them from having to see each other's injuries, and Zuko knew Sokka was lying to downplay the effects of his torture just as much as Zuko was to him.

"It wasn't that bad this time," he tried to keep his breathing steady and voice even to suggest that more than half of his ribs were not in fact broken, and that none of them had pierced a lung, "More of the same... They just kept asking me where the Avatar is... I told them I've been finding creative answers to that question for over fifty years now... and they ought to try something new." He didn't tell Sokka that they had tried something new, and he'd paid the price with his flesh.

It would all be worth it, Zuko knew, now that young Korra was safe and the Red Lotus couldn't get to her. He'd promised Aang before he died that he'd keep her safe- they all had- and his life meant nothing next to that.

And with any luck, Tonraq and Tenzin would be here to rescue them any time now.

Zuko had lived a full life, and he was prepared to sacrifice it- but he wished his torturers would hurry up because he really didn't know how much more pain he could take.

He'd lived a full life, and he wasn't nearly as young as he once had been.

The biggest torture of all was sharing this cell with Sokka. Sure, things hadn't worked out between them, but Sokka would always be the love of Zuko's life, and it ripped him apart that he could only guess as to what had been done to him.

Zuko had suffered here, yes. Neither of them had been fed their entire time here. The only reason he hadn't died from blood loss was the bastards kept cauterizing his wounds. The only chance he had to drink water was in the icy tub he was constantly held down in. The only reason his heart didn't give out completely during any of the torture sessions was because Ming Hua was there to bring him back every time.

But it was nothing compared to what he could only guess Sokka had been through.

Sokka had admitted to a nasty head wound- Zuko could confirm that based on how lost and confused he'd sounded this whole time (Agni, he just wished he could hold him) and how he had repeatedly vomitted when there had still been anything in his stomach to throw up. He'd said they'd broken his legs, both of them, and burned his skin (just a little, he'd said, but Zuko could tell by the severity of his fever that it was more than just a little).

Whatever they'd done to him most recently worried Zuko the most. Sokka wouldn't talk about it, but he'd come back with his spirit broken. The deadness in the man's voice made Zuko's skin crawl, and knowing it had once been full of so much life, and remembering the moments he'd shared with that voice and that spirit... It was almost too much for Zuko to bear.

Sokka swore to Zuko he hadn't told the Red Lotus anything, and Zuko believed him, but that worried him more.

The cell door creaked open. Zuko hated that his first instinct was to make himself as small as he could, almost invisible, like a kid again.

It was too soon.

It would be Sokka's turn now, and Zuko didn't know if he had enough strength left to survive.

Or if Zuko had enough strength left to lose him.

He jumped when he felt a rough hand brush against his face, tearing off the eyepatch. He blinked up to see P'Li standing over him. She reached down and unchained his hands from the wall. Zuko just looked up at her in confusion, not enough strength left to figure out what this meant. This hadn't happened before.

The expression on her face was not kind.

"Say goodbye to your friend," she said, "It's his turn next and Zaheer's decided we only need one of you alive."

It took an embarrassingly long time for Zuko to comprehend her words, but when he did he filled with rage. He tapped into new reserve of strength he didn't know he'd had left and lunged for the combustion bender with a roar.

She didn't even flinch, just reached out and shoved him hard, causing him to fall hard back onto his back, sending him into another agonizing fit of wet coughs.

"You have ten minutes. Pathetic old man..." She was already outside the cell, locking the door behind her without a look back.

Zuko blinked the stars out of his eyes and slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position. It registered to him that he hadn't heard a sound from Sokka this whole time. Did they already-?

He whirled around to find Sokka's familiar form slumped over across the cell. Slowly, painfully, Zuko crawled over to his side.

Tears filled his eyes instantly as he took in the sight of his dear friend. If it weren't for the groan coming from Sokka's lips as Zuko laid a trembling hand on his shoulder, Zuko would be sure the man was already dead.

The first thing he noticed was that Sokka had been more honest about his injuries than he'd expected. But he'd downplayed them tremendously.

His legs were broken, but crushed would be a more apt descriptor. He had been burned, badly. Repeatedly and nonstop, it seemed, with a fire whip, all over his body. He was covered in blood from various injuries, and his head wound-

Zuko choked back a sob.

"Agni, Sokka, your eyes..."

"My eyes...?" Sokka slurred. Zuko moved his hands to cradle the man's face. Sokka flinched but then leaned into the touch, "Zu, that you...? ...Feel like shit, can't see. Help me take this blindfold off?"

Zuko sobbed again.

Sokka wasn't wearing a blindfold.

Those bastards, those... savages... had burned out Sokka's eyes. His beautiful, blue, kind, Sokka eyes... and they'd fucked him up too much for him to even realize it.

"D... don't worry about it, babe. It's... real dark in here anyway..." Zuko tried to keep his voice steady for Sokka, for their last moments together. There was no way out- Zuko knew this was the end. "Can... can I hold you?"

Sokka grunted in affirmation and Zuko tried very, very carefully to arrange their bodies in the way that brought them both the least amount of pain. Eventually, he'd managed to pull Sokka up into his lap (difficult, with Sokka's hands still chained) and bring his arms around him.

Still, it had left Zuko out of breath, head spinning, and Sokka had screamed and gone limp.

"...Don't worry about it..." came Sokka's voice eventually, already prepared for the apology on Zuko's lips, "...This is nice... Like old times..."

His body burned from fever and Zuko didn't know how much longer he would last even if he wasn't about to be tortured to death.

Zuko felt so, so sick...

"Sokka... Do you... know what's happening?"

Sokka chuckled dryly and nodded, " 'S about time, don't you think? I've been dying for days now..."

Zuko's throat tightened. Normally, he'd shout at Sokka for being so morbid, but he didn't say anything. It was the truth, after all.

"I always loved you, you know? Even though we... it couldn't be perfect..." Sokka's voice was stronger now, like he knew this was their last chance to have this conversation.

They were both sobbing.

"Sokka, I'm... so sorry for everything... But it was so good while it lasted..." Zuko pulled him tighter, as tight as he could without hurting too much, and wished he could just never let go, "And I'm so sorry I've failed you. I'm not... strong enough to fight them off when they come for you..."

"You didn't fail. We saved Korra. That's what matters. Just.... Take care of Katara? And Izumi... Maybe I'll see you soon?"

Zuko couldn't help but to laugh through his tears. He really did wish they were going to their deaths together. That would be the only real way for this to end.

Sokka shifted his head in the darkness, turning toward Zuko, searching. Zuko met Sokka's lips with his own and they shared one long, desperate, overdue final kiss.

It was salty and bloody and full of decades of things left unsaid, of decades of love and pain and the lost opportunity to grow old together.

And when it ended, they knew there was nothing else need be said.

"Just hold me," Sokka said.

And Zuko did until the very last.

#quesTian #drabble #whump wheel #atla #zukka #divorced zukka #there is so much pain in here im so sorry i just... it got away from me

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watchathon · 3 years

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Avatar: The Last Airbender, Series Finale: Sozin’s Comet

In case you’re finding this post just by browsing the tags I’ve used for this post, this is the Watchathon, a blog where I’m hoping to watch an episode of a TV show every weekday, with a short blog post where I write down my thoughts as I watch. Each new thought starts with a hyphen and a bolded first word.

- Like so. Now that the introductions are over with, it’s time to break that one-episode-a-day rule and finish off Avatar: The Last Airbender with the climactic grand finale, Sozin’s Comet:

PART 1: THE PHOENIX KING

- Okay, so, Katara in the intro is still saying “He has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone.” I could’ve sworn they removed that part by this point... Maybe that was just something for the DVD?

- I like that the “Previously on” segment is so long. It really emphasizes how much buildup there was to this. How much the Gaang has been through to get here.

- I gotta say, I was not expecting a beach party in this episode.

- Somehow, for reasons I can’t explain because I don’t understand them myself, this ambush from Zuko made the audio of Nicolas Cage saying “Surprise attack!” in Into the Spider-Verse play in my head.

- Zuko’s really lucky that he earned Katara’s forgiveness before this violent pop quiz, seeing as just a half season ago... “You take one step backwards... one slip up... give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang - and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends right then and there. Permanently.”

- It never occurred to me that we didn’t get details on the war meeting before now.

- I’d bet hearing about this plan is the thing that tipped the scales and fully convinced Zuko to join the Gaang, and prevent the genocide of the Earth Kingdom.

- It’s so nice to see Zuko being welcomed into the group hugs. Especially when it’s Katara who invites him.

- I like that Zuko is teaching Aang to redirect lightning, the same way Iroh taught him.

- Even before it’s made explicit, you can tell that Aang’s uneasy about the idea of killing.

- Toph is just delighting in her role as Melon Lord, isn’t she?

- Someone out there has definitely written an AU fanfic where someone gets killed during this training and it’s Toph’s origin story as the malicious Melon Lord. If not, then I will write it myself, and it shall be the crackiest crack fic that ever cracked.

- Y’know what, I wish Toph could’ve actually gone on a life-changing field trip with Zuko too! Everyone else got one...

- This scene of Sokka climbing into Appa’s mouth is even more uncomfortable once you’ve... well, once you’ve grown up and... Okay, I tried to put it subtly, but I just can’t: Once you’ve been cursed with the knowledge of what vore is.

- Well, there’s a bait-and-switch if I’ve ever seen one: “Azula, you’re the new Fire Lord!” “=)” “But I am now the Phoenix King and still your superior who you will answer to.” “=O”

- Nice to see June and her Shirshu make a comeback.

- Does this mean Aang wasn’t running away on purpose? I honestly thought he was just going to that island to get some alone time, maybe meditate or contact the previous Avatars’ spirits.

PART 2: THE OLD MASTERS

- I’m not sure if this is something I forgot from June’s first appearance, or if it’s actually just never been brought up before, but I didn’t know her Shirshu had a name.

- It’s sweet that Zuko is seeking out Iroh’s help. Even if the method of finding him is, ah, well... unorthodox.

- Even Avatar Roku doesn’t know where Aang is. And here I thought it was some Avatar thing that had never been brought up before.

- It’s nice to see these people make a comeback. Bumi, Piandao, even Jeong Jeong and Master Pakku are here for the finale.

- I am surprised that we didn’t get an interaction between Toph and Bumi, though. The man Aang wanted to teach him Earthbending, the girl who ended up doing it... But I guess there’s only so much time, and I don’t think there’s any scenes that could be deleted to make room for it.

- It seems like Aang is just searching for confirmation of his beliefs, rather than actually seeking wisdom.

- I like that we get to see Bumi taking full advantage of the eclipse to take back Omashu from the Fire Nation, instead of just being told about it.

- It’s nice to see so many past Avatars beyond just Roku and Kyoshi, Avatars that we never heard of before, but now we hear their stories. But all of these past Avatars echo the same sentiment that Aang should kill Ozai, even an Air Nomad Avatar.

- What can I say about this scene of Zuko and Iroh reuniting? Forgive me for echoing a post I made on my main blog, but this is a scene that’s both sweet and sad.

Sad, because Zuko’s abuse at the hands of Fire Lord Ozai left him anxiously expecting furious punishment for crimes much less than what he did to Iroh. He can’t even comprehend the idea that Iroh would forgive him. His expression while apologizing to Iroh clearly shows he’s expecting the worst.

Sweet, because Iroh still loves Zuko like his own son, and doesn’t even need to forgive him because he never felt anger at Zuko’s betrayal: Only sadness and a worry that Zuko had lost his way, truly lost his honor. And Iroh is so clearly happy to see that Zuko has found his destiny, and joined the fight against the Fire Nation.

I could go on and on about this scene... It’s my absolute favorite scene in the whole series and it brings me to tears every single time I see it.

Gosh... it’s gonna be so awkward going back to the jokes and little mundane thoughts after this, isn’t it?

- Okay, I have officially given up on the idea of finding out what the heck this island is.

- I like the smile on Katara’s face, when she’s asked to team up with Zuko and fight Azula.

- It’s nice to know that Iroh will get the opportunity to run that tea shop, even if Zuko won’t be there to work with him.

- Okay, okay, so the island was actually a lion turtle. Frankly, I’ve still got a lot of questions. Even some new ones.

- It’s nice to see that the Netlix subtitles aren’t ALLCAPS anymore.

PART 3: INTO THE INFERNO

- Gotta hand it to the music, it can make even a scene of Azula making a fuss over a non-pitted cherry rather unnerving.

- Azula’s... Azula-ness has gone straight up to eleven with her newfound role. Hasn’t it? What with all the banishments, even banishing the entire Dai Li.

- Sokka, Suki and Toph are the real dream team.

- And we get a great final blind joke!

- I like that we get to see everyone doing their part in this final battle. All the members of the Gaang, even the White Lotus, get their moments to shine.

- The hallucination of Ursa shows that Azula, on some level, has an idea of what’s wrong with her. You can tell that they were thinking of a redemption arc for Azula come Book 4, though I am glad that didn’t happen.

- It’s chilling to see Ozai razing the forests of the Earth Kingdom like it’s nothing. And then to realize that this is what Aang will have to face.

- At first I wasn’t sure what Sokka’s plan was, but now that I see it in action, it’s really creative.

- I like the idea of a final one-on-one Zuko vs Azula duel(...a). It’s been a rivalry since Book 2, and it’s nice to finally see it get settled, even if I can’t imagine it’ll end up that easy: Otherwise, what would Katara do?

- It’s so cool to see Aang showing his prowess in all bending techniques, using them all in this final showdown.

- The background music during Zuko and Azula’s Agni Kai really sells it. It makes it sound almost tragic, and it is: two siblings pitted against each other, no choice but to fight to determine the future of the world.

- Azula might be slipping, but she’s still Azula, all too willing to cheat in what’s supposed to be a one-on-one duel.

PART 4: AVATAR AANG

- Netflix isn’t showing the intro for the individual parts, but I’ve gotta say... There’s no way that Katara’s still saying Aang’s “got a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone.” Right?

- I like that we get to see one last use of Metalbending from Toph in the finale.

- Dang, I hope this isn’t really the end for Sokka’s sword, or his boomerang. Especially when the sword was so cool, and one could say meaningful.

- I honestly wasn’t sure the Avatar State would ever be a factor again. But if there was ever a time, this is it. (ADDENDUM: This is probably the best time to clarify that I find and add the images at the start after writing the rest of the post.)

- And it’s so epic to see Aang bending all four elements at once.

- I like that Iroh got to burn down the Fire Nation flag.

- Since Zuko’s down for the count, I guess this means a battle between Katara and Azula, the latter powered up by Sozin’s Comet.

- To be honest, I could barely make out what Azula just said. “kjsdbksrbfkjvf family position to look after, kdcbkfh”?

- Katara may not be stronger than Sozin’s Comet-powered Azula, but she’s much more clever than Azula is right now as she loses her marbles.

- This is just the perfect kind of defeat for Azula. There’s no grace to it, no dignity, just writhing around, screaming and spewing fire as Zuko and Katara look on with pity.

- There’s probably a great practical reason someone could find for Spiritbending being a thing, but here’s why I’m glad it exists: Aang gets a happy ending. He gets to take down the Fire Lord, and hold true to his beliefs. If it weren’t for Spiritbending, if Aang killed Ozai, then he would be conflicted to the end.

And I don’t want that. I want Aang to get an unambiguously, undoubtedly happy ending, where the world is saved and that’s all there is to it.

Plus, Spiritbending is quite the spectacle.

- I’m guessing Sokka’s space sword and boomerang really are done for. But hey, there’s always headcanon. Maybe Sokka searched the forest and eventually found them.

- Weird to think that Ty Lee’s gonna be a Kyoshi Warrior.

- Again, I can’t believe Zukaang’s not the most popular Zuko ship in the fandom. Not a ship I’ll go to bat for, but it’s got all the hallmarks of a fan-preferred couple.

- It’s so nice to see Zuko’s coronation, and the official end to the war. It’s a happy ending for the whole world, the start of an era of peace.

- “Love and peace,” huh...? Now that’s funny to hear in the finale to this show, considering the next show I’m covering, come 2021...

- I like that we get to see one last confrontation between Zuko and Ozai. Even if Zuko’s question of where Ursa is doesn’t go anywhere (in the show, I know they touch on that in the comics), it’s nice to see the newly-crowned Fire Lord Zuko having evolved past a need for Ozai’s attention, or a fear of Ozai’s wrath.

- It’s nice to see the whole Gaang having fun at Iroh’s tea shop, in the end. And I stand corrected, this is where we get the final blind joke.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’m lucky in that most of my childhood cartoons hold up as an adult. I watched Kim Possible, Phineas and Ferb, Code Lyoko, Courage the Cowardly Dog...

Still, there’s something special about Avatar: The Last Airbender. It had a unique aesthetic and world that no other show was quite like. It had a story that was like nothing I’d ever seen as a kid.

And it doesn’t just hold up, it’s even better.

When I was a kid, it was as simple as rooting for the good guys to win, and for the Firebenders to lose, except for Zuko once he turned good.

Now, as an adult (but mostly as someone with a DVD player/Netflix account so I’m not just watching whatever reruns I can catch) I can appreciate the character development, the arcs, the entire story.

I can appreciate how Aang grew from a little boy who does indeed have a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone, into a hero who could save the world.

I can appreciate how Zuko was an abuse victim who did what all abused children wish they could do and left his abuser.

I can appreciate... Gosh, Iroh’s entire character and dynamic with Zuko.

Some people say that Avatar “starts off as a kids show, then turns serious”, but I’d disagree. Avatar is a show where our heroes change, where they learn lessons, where they come of age and become the kind of heroes who can end a war that’s been going on for over a century.

As relieved as I am to be (mostly) done with these posts for the rest of the year, I am still oh-so-glad that I’ve rewatched Avatar yet again, and I know that I will be whenever I rewatch it in the future.

Now, with all that said... Farewell! Until the Christmas special, at least...

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seyaryminamoto · 4 years

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I feel like i'm gonna regret asking this but what is hiby

Oh. Ohohoho, oh. I recently answered this to someone else (not on this blog), I suppose there are so many newcomers in this fandom lately that HIBY has become slightly less known than it used to be.

HIBY stands for How I Became Yours, the most polemic and catastrophic fancomic in the history of the Avatar franchise. If you thought any of the official comics were problematic in any sense, woah boy, they’re goddamn flawless masterpieces compared to this thing.

Every possible angle of HIBY is problematic. Spot-on accusations of tracing were the main reason why Deviantart took down Jackie Diaz’s profile and comic from their platform. I heard Nickelodeon also got involved legally, not 100% sure on that front, but if true, they cracked down on her because she attempted to profit off this clunky mess of an inconsistent story by claiming it was somehow an official sequel to ATLA. To clarify, this last thing is something I was told, I can’t find actual sources to confirm it… so maybe I heard an exaggerated account of the tale of HIBY and it never went that far. Nevertheless, this comic didn’t need to escalate into a legal problem to be absolutely abhorrent.

In regards of art, HIBY somehow keeps discarding the asian-inspired setting seen throughout ATLA and instead favors showing the characters in European castles and outfits that don’t fit anywhere within ATLA’s world at all:

Katara is basically wearing a red version of Belle’s dress from Beauty and the Beast, if I’m not mistaken. The architecture of the place they’re at is so European it’s baffling (if I’m not mistaken, this is supposed to be Toph’s family’s house :’D). Also, it’s blatantly obvious that the background is a photograph, so she could’ve just as easily looked for photos of asian locations instead, but she picked european architecture because yes. Yet more blows against the possible artistic merits someone could offer this comic (if there’s any).

Now, though, the BIGGEST problem in HIBY is, of course, the story:

To recap: ATLA ends with Aang and Katara kissing at Ba Sing Se. Whatever problems someone may have with their relationship, or Mai and Zuko’s, or Sokka and Suki’s, it’s unquestionable that those three ships were canon by the end of the show.

Jackie Diaz’s SEQUEL COMIC doesn’t acknowledge this finale: somehow, Aang is in love with Toph but they’re not together despite there’s literally NOTHING in their way, since Aang and Katara weren’t together at all, according to Diaz. And Katara? Oh, she’s pining endlessly over Zuko, who somehow married Mai…

… Despite wanting Katara too.

… Despite he literally knocked up Katara back when the war was ending, which resulted in a miscarriage because of Mai’s wicked schemes~~!!

Can someone please explain to me in what world does it make sense for Zuko, FIRE LORD ZUKO, to be in a relationship with someone he doesn’t want, when the person he does want is RIGHT THERE, AVAILABLE, when there’s no real political consequences to ANYTHING that happens in this comic? You could say “oh no the Fire Nation people wouldn’t accept a Water Tribe woman…” … but then Zuko ends up with Katara anyways and the only problem is that Mai wants to kill them for that :’) so… no excuse works.

Basically there’s no real plot, the whole thing boils down to “I want these ships to happen and I need them to face hardships even if they don’t make sense”. The main hardship is that Mai doesn’t want her HUSBAND to carry out an affair with Katara. Zuko’s response to Mai’s obvious and reasonable complaint about their illicit relationship is to TURN VIOLENT WITH HER. And he’s the good guy :’)

Mai has a non-existent older brother Sho, who looks like a BLEACH character with Ozai’s hairstyle, and together they will try to kill Katara because, welp, someone has to give them trouble, I guess. In all fairness, the only character with a relatively logical flow of thought in this damn trainwreck is Mai. I mean, “my piece of shit husband married me for political clout, got his mistress pregnant, I didn’t want the kid to be a problem for me so I induced a miscarriage in Katara by poisoning her, probs just wanted Katara dead altogether but whatever, I only got the kid. Then Zuko threw me away despite I’m his legal wife and I’m really pissed about it so I want Katara dead” is the smartest writing in this entire comic. And no, that’s not a compliment, it’s still stupid as fuck but that’s how much more stupid everything else is.

So, the happy couples are, like I said, Zuko and Katara, who get together despite Zuko is married to Mai, Aang and Toph, who somehow weren’t together despite there’s nothing in the way, AAAND…

… Sokka and fake!Azula. Because I refuse to acknowledge that thing as the Princess we all love and adore.

Frankly, I consider it a miracle that HIBY didn’t destroy our ship completely when it was posted online, seeing as it was amongst the most talked-about fanmade content in Avatar’s fandom at the time. If people no longer associate Sokkla with HIBY immediately, we’ve definitely done a good job saving our poor ship’s face and showing it’s got a fuckton of potential compared to the shitfest that comic portrayed.

Why is Sokkla so problematic in HIBY? Because of fake!Azula, of course. Why is she fake!Azula? Because she’s got plot-convenient amnesia! Turns out that, for some reason, Azula forgot all the events from ATLA (let’s be real, so did Jackie Diaz so it’s not just her) and she shows up in this comic as a completely different character, so much that, upon hearing about the TERRIBLE THINGS SHE DID AND WAS, her reaction is…:

Fascinating, am I right? :’D She’s nice, sweet, shy and as good as brain-dead. And as she’s so sweet and cute now, somehow that becomes absolutely appealing for Sokka. And he falls for her, she falls for him, they bang dramatically, and so on and so forth…

Eventually Azula sacrifices herself in the final battle when Mai and her brother try to kill everyone and oh no! Sokka’s love interest dies again! Such a shocker, however, that Sokka goes to the Spirit World to save her, and unlike Iroh he succeeds… but what does Azula look like post-Spirit World shenanigans?

… Yeah, okay, fake!Azula calling anyone her “little angels” is just proof of how IC she is, if you had any doubts still.

But isn’t it FUNNY. Isn’t it HILARIOUS. That Azula not only undergoes an atom-deep brainwipe that turns her into a flat non-character, but that after dying she’s revived with WHITE HAIR, dressed in blue clothes and whatnot…?

My interpretation, and honestly, I don’t know if there’s any other possible interpretation… Jackie Diaz wanted Sokka to be with Yue :’) She fucking wrecked Azula’s character to turn her into a fake!Azula, who would eventually turn into fake!Yue after being resurrected because oh that’s just perfect to close off Sokka’s storyline, isn’t it? Only, he’s not with Yue nor with Azula because it’s neither of them. Just as it isn’t really Sokka either, or Katara, or Zuko or Aang or Toph.

Now, revisiting this trainwreck, there is a throwaway line where Ty Lee, in her (I think) only appearance in the story tells Katara that Suki and Sokka broke up. So um, Suki does exist, officially, in this comic, and she did date Sokka but it ended, and she’s back in Kyoshi Island with her team.

Which elicits the question… why the fuck is she Mai’s maid?

I assure you, if you decide to delve deeper into this mess, you’ll absolutely find a lot more things to laugh about, to be outraged about, and to facepalm about while you wonder how on earth would someone, ANYONE, create something like this and not die of cringe looking at the finished product. It’s baffling to me.

At any rate, if you’d like to torture your own eyeballs reading this comic for yourself, there’s a Tumblr blog that gathered HIBY perfectly neatly for all curious eyes eager to torture themselves with this OOC fest. If you want more details than I care to remember about this catastrophic mess of a story, there’s always the TV Tropes page, which I think illustrates everything rather well.

So… that’s HIBY. While I don’t think it should be sentenced to oblivion (we had best never forget the lowest lows the fandom has reached, else someone might be tempted to outdo them), this particular fanwork is quite the trainwreck in just about every regard. I really don’t think there’s anything worth salvaging in it. So, if you wanna read the whole thing (I’d be surprised if you would xD), knock yourself out in the blog link I posted up there. Otherwise, have a nice day if you still can after reading my answer to your ask :’D

#anon #hiby #granted by the time I arrived here #this shitshow had already been done and gone for a while #so I had to ask too #but I saw more signs of it than I suspect most people do these days #which is honestly... a wonder #I'm happy for it #let the fandom be cleansed of the dark stain that is this garbage comic

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grendelsmilf · 5 years

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how would you rewrite korra if you had this power?

okay so THIS i would have to go into. in 2016 i showed my friend all of avatar for the first time, and seeing as i literally could not move at the time, i had nothing but time to talk about nerd shit (now i only mostly have time to talk about nerd shit follow lesbians4sokka.tumblr.com 👀) and we actually did write a full, very comprehensive outline on how we would improve the show. the most work would have to be done to book 2, of course, but there are a lot of major plot elements we changed. i don’t actually agree with all of the plot elements we added on a story-level, though, seeing as this was for fun and we got pretty self-indulgent, not to mention she insisted on zutara because apparently my “idk...... i dont like her with either of them..........” argument wasn’t convincing enough. L

but i think one of the best things we did with book 2 was simply something the writers couldn’t have had the foresight at the time to have done, which was have zaheer be the one pulling the strings. of course, lack of foresight hindered a lot of korra because not knowing how many episodes you have to tell your story severely limits how much you can set up in advance. whereas atla was perfectly paced from the start and totally works as a self-contained quest narrative told in three distinct parts but with an overarching thread established from the pilot, korra feels meandering as a whole. the only overarching thread is that of korra’s character arc, which is by far my favorite thing about the show, but on a plot-level, the show as a whole isn’t remotely cohesive. the amon thread isn’t even followed up at all, which is super annoying, but they handled the politics of all of that super poorly. it seems as if the imbalance comics are sort of dedicated to fleshing out “bender vs non-bender tensions,” and i’m really glad that conflict is being addressed mainly from sokka’s pov for many reasons. lol

so. if i were to write korra, it would be with 4 seasons in mind from the start, but keep in mind they originally had intended it to be a miniseries, and nickelodeon constantly fucked them over as it was airing, and i don’t know exactly what was and wasn’t written due to airing constraints, so don’t think i’m trying to point fingers at anyone other than nick. nick dunne, specifically. i think he did it i think he killed his wife––

i like republic city as a concept a lot. i actually like all the primary locations in which the show is set. i really like the concept of setting book 2 in the south pole, and i liked that we revisited the earth kingdom in book 3 and saw that nothing had really progressed. i loved having toph be in the swamp. and i thought it fitting that book 4 ended in republic city, right where it began. though man, asami just rebuilt all that infrastructure. frankly, i’d be more pissed off at kuvira for that than for killing my henry ford lookin dad, but maybe that’s just me. but the whole spirit portal thing? very thematically poignant, very good, love that.

i would want to see more of izumi, but i think it was wise to not really have any mention of the fire nation. just enough fanservice (what with zuko having a fucking dragon!!!!) that we feel satisfied, but not too much that we’re puzzled by lack of any seeming conflict (which is a good thing, because any conflict in the fire nation would break my heart to see). but izumi is truly the only gaang baby whose existence doesn’t feel at least somewhat out of place to me (as much as i adore all of them, with the exception of bumi, whos.........um.............fine). izumi was found in a dumpster. duh. meanwhile the idea of toph having kids or having been a cop is so fucking absurd that i’m actually kind of mad that they justified it so well by making lin be one of the most very excellent characters in the series. also aang and katara having kids together is weird as fuck, but again, tenzin and kya are great, so it’s hard to say!!!!! and su is also wonderful, in the sense that she’s absolutely heinous and gives off the weirdest combination of “would hold me at gunpoint in an alley” and “would try to sell me her crystals by insisting they have healing properties” and “soccer mom” and “business bitch” vibes i’ve ever seen and i adore her. so i’d keep all these characters in the show, but maybe their origins wouldn’t be as necessary in establishing them?

as for the principal players, i think the show is somewhat bloated by side-characters, especially those who feel like they take up more space than they do simply because they chew the scenery in a way that mako and asami do not. mako is downright boring, and i mean that in the best possible way, because it’s adorable. i would try to keep his arc a little more consistent, and try to set up makorra in a way that was less fucking intolerable, though i have no problem with it happening and them breaking up partway through book 2. though i don’t think it would be through tears, because though they are both dramatic, i doubt they wouldn’t both be relieved. them dating and then realizing they don’t work together is actually fine and pretty realistic though, the execution was simply, how u say.... terrible. and i actually don’t have many complaints with how korrasami was executed, other than i would’ve just liked to see more of it (but i will say i’m enjoying their relationship in the comics), and more, specifically, of asami in general. it’s no secret i adore asami, and think she was underserved. it always felt like the writers never knew exactly what to do with her. in atla, aang may have been the avatar, but sokka was clearly the leader. asami was lok’s sokka, that is, she was their idea guy. only, she was only their idea guy. (bolin’s their jokes guy. which is not effective, because what made sokka’s dumbassery work was that he’s also a genius. genius dumbasses are inherently funny, but clowns are only intended to be funny, meanwhile in actuality they make children cry. bolin and mako played off of each other really well though, and book 3 excelled when they recognized this and paired them together as the B-duo to korra and asami’s A-duo. but a bolin without his mako is just a happy clown without a sad clown to spray water in the face of. anyway.) what’s so unique about asami is that she only contributes when she knows she has something to contribute. otherwise, she keeps her thoughts to herself. unlike a lot of lok characters, who are inexorable extroverts who love to take up space, asami is certainly charming and charismatic, but she prefers to keep to herself. jinora is also like this, but she’s also a child which means that she’s still prone to blowing drama out of proportion, as opposed to under. asami will literally nearly get murdered by her father and then just be like “its fine guys. what important is that korra is ok” and no one ever bothered to ask her how she was doing ever, even though she suffers so! much! so like.... justice 4 asami tbh.

okay, so now that we got those details out of the way, let’s talk about what really matters: avatar korra. as i have already said countless times, i adore korra, i love her arc, and on that front, there’s very little i would change. i would definitely use the knowledge of a 4 season structure to streamline it, because it tended to get a bit choppy, i love her recovery arc, and i even love her book 2 arc... i just hate everything surrounding it. i actually think the strongest season overall is weakest in terms of korra’s growth. book 3 ends with korra about to undergo a massive change in perspective, but for most of the book, she’s kind of just her best self, with very little inner conflict. korra has two main arcs: one of spiritual growth, and one of accepting her own vulnerability and humanity. this culminates in the finale when she opens a new spirit portal, but each season does a good job of setting this up and addressing this... in a vacuum.

the amon plot is a mess, the unalaq plot is a mess, the kuvira stuff is better-paced i guess, but i really just don’t find it compelling (sorry chell). on the other hand, i love the red lotus. i love that there’s a society dedicated to saying “hey fuck you” to the society dedicated to preserving balance, beauty, philosophy, and truth, and somehow manages to justify that. zaheer is so charismatic, and his squad are fucking awesome, and what’s more, genuinely terrifying. you can feel their power. plus, ming hua is super hot and i love her.

i think amon is a conceptually sound villain. he’s like if brad pitt fight club had a scary mask. cool. unalaq sucks on every level and the fact that he’s korra’s uncle is just wack. i appreciate that she’s a spoiled only child with a nice suburban family, and the idea that she’s related to some real psychos is just like..... really??? the whole civil war stuff made no sense either, because it was only counterproductive to unalaq’s entire plan. it really just felt like they were writing it as they went along. i liked all the stuff with avatar wan, because i’m a sucker for well-developed lore, and i also liked that we saw that firebenders have healing abilities, but all the stuff it took to get there felt super contrived. other than mako narcing on his girlfriend because iroh ii asked him to. that 100% checks out mako is lawful good to a fault, and also, kind of a little bitch.

so like i said earlier, if the red lotus was behind all of these people, and then zaheer finally does show his face at the very end of book 2, we’d be like oh shit. and kuvira as her own self-contained-ish villain who reacts as a response to bringing order to the anarchy while korra is gone works bc at this point in korra’s arc kuvira is a good foil to her and it lays the groundwork for a very personal conflict. unfortunately, kuvira and korra didn’t actually interact enough in book 4 for their few interactions to feel earned, but i like that ruins of the empire seems to be at least trying to correct this, albeit retroactively.

basically, korra needed to be streamlined, better-planned, and who knows, maybe sokka is there, and asami’s mentor??? thank you and goodnight

#tbh this is only a fraction of what i could say but like.......... i'm not even getting my seven dollars rn so why should i bother #ask #anon #the lok discourse #o.tv

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comradekatara · 5 years

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Could you tell me more mai headcanons?

okay my turn! all modern au bc i feel like it

she wears the glasses of a white grandpa in a children’s movie

she loves telling people about her dad (without mentioning they’re related, of course) just so she can convince them not to vote for him

people keep asking her why and zuko are still together and she’s like “well i can’t not keep him around. he’s really good at sewing discreet knife-holders into all my leather jackets”

she applied to grad school just bc she knew her parents would support her financially if she did. she got accepted into multiple programs, was happy for a minute, and then remembered that she cannot teach people because people are idiots and she hates those

someone says “has anyone ever told you you’ve got kind of a wednesday addams vibe?” and she says “only my victims.”

she has a vendetta against the gregorian calendar for seemingly no reason, and whenever people ask her for the date, she will respond with the jewish calendar. “what’s today’s date?” “oh, it’s the seventh of tishrei.” her friends know not to ask. no, she’s not jewish. she’s just always hated that her birthday is january 1

she and sokka have weekly board game nights to which no one else is invited, wherein they get very drunk, very competitive, and have brutally, painfully honest conversations they promptly forget about come morning.

her favorite movies are the shining and howl’s moving castle

she’s fluent in german, but she refuses to speak it bc she thinks it sounds silly

when people ask her “so where are you from?” she’s never fully processed the racist implications behind this phrase because she’s too busy being humiliated as she admits, “new jersey.” her cousins are guidos.

her dad is a somewhat-prominent politician, whose main platform is being “tough on crime.” it’s only a coincidence that his brother is a warden.

she grew up in a mcmansion with japanese art all over the walls; the art doesn’t look particularly authentic. expensive, yes, but original, no. she knows that’s on purpose.

someone says “has anyone ever told you you’re like daria, from daria,” to which she says, “no, i’ve never heard that before, please give me a detailed explanation as to why you think this, as it is the first time in my life i have ever been presented with this notion.” they’re just like “omg juuuuust like daria”

mai, one day, very carefully, but very casually, says to her boyfriend, “i think i might be a lesbian.” zuko just gives her a double thumbs up, shrugs, and walks away.

she hates flowers. she thinks they’re gross. when asked about this, she refuses to elaborate.

she always wears tank tops that are also turtlenecks. designed specifically for people with cold necks and warm arms.

she loves poems about liminal creatures stealing children in the woods at night. she loves the poem “the highwayman.” and she loves every single second of over the garden wall.

she has a degree in compsci, but that doesn’t even matter when her great aunt tells her that she’s so good with computers! she just turned it off and then on again. she tells this to mai’s mother, who is very disappointed in mai, generally, for not wanting to take on a political dynasty. oh well. she can always try again with tom tom. (and he’s a boy!)

she’s known ty lee for long enough that it’s, frankly, shocking to her that she hasn’t left with no explanation yet. it takes her a really long time to voice this concern. ty lee is just really confused because “she would never leave mai?????? duh???????????” and it’s true.

jane eyre was her favorite book when she was 6. everyone took away totally the wrong signs from this. they thought it meant she was precocious. what it really meant was that she’s a lesbian.

she went through a really obnoxious phase in high school where she only read on semiotics and critical theory, and used the word “ontologically” in every single argument she got into. when she got to college, she realized that a lot of people were either still in this phase, or beginning to develop it for the first time. she’s glad to have dodged that bullet.

someone says “hey have you seen bojack horseman?” she sighs and says “i’m already depressed, aren’t i?” and they’re like “because you’re totally like diane. i mean, one character even calls her the asian daria, and, like, that’s totally you!” she’s just like “keep em coming, these are all so original”

she always forgets to get rid of all her knives before going through tsa security checks. it gets pretty awkward.

#mai #these enough for ya???????????????#asks #sinxaschwarz

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seyaryminamoto · 6 years

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What do you think are the alignments of each important ATLA character, and why? (I'm eager to know your thoughts on this one :)

Uh… again, I’m not particularly good at this. But okay… I’ll be using this site as a reference.

Aang: Neutral Good. While we’d think he’s a Lawful Good because he would never hurt a fly intentionally… he did lie when necessary. He did mess around and did ridiculous, seemingly unnecessary things, for the fun of it. He defied authority even when he was in the Air Temples. According to the site I’m looking at: “Someone who is neutral with respect to law and chaos has a normal respect for authority and feels neither a compulsion to obey nor a compulsion to rebel. He is honest but can be tempted into lying or deceiving others.” While Aang is a very nice kid, and he really has good morals in general… he’s also guilty of a few deceptions. So I don’t think he’d be lawful. He’s not that uptight.Therefore, he gets Neutral Good. He’s a good person, but he’s not obsessed with following laws nor does he disregard them entirely.

Sokka: Neutral Good. :’D is everyone going to be neutral good? Maybe! Okay, no, they won’t xD but Sokka is definitely neutral good as far as I can tell. He has a mild rebellious streak, but at the same time respects authority figures (just look at how he behaves with Piandao). Also, and anyone can fight me on this, he’s up there with Aang in the contest for best moral compass in this show. “A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them.Neutral good is the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order.” So, he’s definitely Neutral Good.

Katara: Chaotic Good. “Chaotic characters follow their consciences, resent being told what to do, favor new ideas over tradition, and do what they promise if they feel like it.” Just… Pakku, anyone? Katara follows her impulses, her conscience, acts on her feelings, doesn’t hold back. Just how many times did we have episodes where Katara did what she thought was right, regardless of whether it was or wasn’t? In one episode she’s fighting injustice and cruelty, helping people out as best as she can, in the next one she’s freezing a pair of disrespectful kids against walls and smiling enigmatically when asked what she was doing. She’s out to kill Yon Rha and doesn’t care about the morality of the matter, she just wanted to kill him and took off to do it recklessly. “A chaotic good character acts as her conscience directs her with little regard for what others expect of her.” She… acts. She has a decent moral compass more often than not but has slip ups anyways. Still, she does try to be good, and always wants to help others. So… Chaotic Good it is.

Toph: hahahahaha Toph is one of the easiest. “A neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. She doesn’t feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil-after all, she would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, she’s not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way.” The ultimate True Neutral over here. Toph didn’t join the war because she wanted to do right by everyone, she did it to get out of her house and be free. She’s never really been invested in the war other than because her friends are fighting in it (the good neighbors :’D). “Neutral people are committed to others by personal relationships”, need I say more?

Zuko: Zuko is actually one of the reasons why this alignment chart is tricky. Not only because of how he changes throughout the show but… this guy is kind of trying to be Lawful but ends up being Chaotic? He’s… a mess. I’ve always said he’s one, but really, he is. He starts out Evil, no one’s going to change my mind about that. “"Evil" implies hurting, oppressing, and killing others.” Zuko, the firebending supremacist from the start of Book, 1 never gave a damn about who he was hurting or oppressing, yet resented everyone who hurt or oppressed him, remember? In the unaired pilot he actually did kill the Serpent from Serpent’s Pass, so the original concept of Zuko wasn’t that of a guy who wouldn’t kill.So, Zuko starts Good and shifts into Neutral by the end of the show (frankly… people can tell me he’s Good all they want, but: “"Good" implies altruism, respect for life, and a concern for the dignity of sentient beings.”? Is Mr. “KILL MY DAD, DON’T EVEN TRY TO FIND ANOTHER WAY TO END THE WAR!” good when you use that concept as a frame of reference? Sorry, but no. He went from Evil to Neutral, and I’m not changing my mind about that). When it comes to Chaos and Lawfulness… he really has a messy relationship with it all. He WANTS to be lawful, and heck, you’d think maybe when he “regains his honor” by the end of the show he really becomes lawful (though I think the comics killed that concept entirely). Zuko really… is Chaotic. As far as I can tell, he’s Chaotic. For further explanation: “A chaotic neutral character follows his whims. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn’t strive to protect others’ freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions.” I find it an undeniable truth that Zuko was not only whimsical, but mostly selfish and out for himself, and that’s true to him at every point in the show. Just look at his run as the Blue Spirit: every single time he picked up that mask he was doing something FOR HIMSELF, and anyone who thinks he was playing the vigilante needs to brush up on what vigilantes are supposed to stand for. Zuko was getting what he wanted, and he discards the mask when he sets Appa free because the mask was an enabler that allowed him to do whatever he wanted without facing direct consequences. Getting rid of that mask meant his time as a renegade out to do whatever he pleased was OVER. He never took up that mask for anyone’s sake but his own.So, he’s goal oriented. He doesn’t bat an eyelash about how much it bothers Aang to have to kill someone, because why does the spiritual purity of this kid matter at all? What matters is for Ozai to be gone so someone else (Zuko or Iroh) can rule in his stead. That’s it. That’s the way Zuko’s brain works at the end of the show.Now, for the tricky part: “A chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. To do so, he would have to be motivated either by good (and a desire to liberate others) or evil (and a desire to make those different from himself suffer).” A lot of people would say Zuko was absolutely motivated by good to liberate his people, or the rest of the world, from Ozai… but that’s not what I saw. What I saw, in Book 3, was a guy who decided to fight against his father, to join Aang, because yes, he saw the wrong in his father’s ways… but first off? He wanted to make good by Iroh again. Not in vain does he mention Iroh first of all when he’s telling Ozai what he’s going to do. Zuko’s true motivation, as far as I could see? It was Iroh. It wasn’t an innate desire to fix the Fire Nation, or else he would have been seen fighting to help his own people during Book 3 (ironic how the Gaang minus Zuko helped the Fire Nation more than he did during the start of this season, when it was the perfect opportunity for Zuko to see how his father’s rule was damaging his people just as much as it was damaging the rest of the world, and for him to decide to do something about it, for the Fire Nation’s sake as well as everyone else’s…). Zuko’s true motivation was the belief that Iroh had been right all along and that Zuko himself had been wrong. And to regain his Uncle’s love, he had to do what Iroh the Good would want him to do.Feel free to disagree, but I don’t think I’ll be changing my mind about this anytime soon. Book 1 Zuko is Neutral Evil, and Book 3 Zuko is Chaotic Neutral.

Suki: curiously… Lawful Good. “A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished.” I really don’t see any definitions that suit Suki better. She’s honorable, she’s loyal, she’s practically the epitome of a good person. I can’t remember her doing anything… bad. Or even remotely questionable. She’s pretty much Lawful Good, as far as I can see.

Azula: maaaaaan this is going to be a mess…First off, basic definitions: “"Evil" implies hurting, oppressing, and killing others. Some evil creatures simply have no compassion for others and kill without qualms if doing so is convenient. Others actively pursue evil, killing for sport or out of duty to some evil deity or master.” Of all this, the ONLY parts that I think MIGHT suit Azula is the one I bolded. As we’ve debated endlessly, Azula never killed for sport, she doesn’t relish in murder. She only did what was necessary, and curiously didn’t try to murder anyone unless there was no other apparent choice, as was the case in the Crossroads of Destiny (and even then, she failed to kill the person she was targeting). Now, is Azula devoid of compassion? Yeah… I think the Beach proves otherwise. The expression on her face when Ty Lee is lashing out, she seems pretty worried that her laughter caused her friend’s outburst. The apology earlier, when she hurt Ty Lee’s feelings? Her attempt to help unravel why Mai’s represses her feelings so much… it wasn’t even an attempt to make fun of her, just to understand her better. And finally, how concerned she was, how willing she was to help Zuko discover what he was mad at? Ah, and this paired with her warning Zuko not to visit Iroh because he might end up in trouble for it (and he never stops, never faces consequences for this, ergo, Azula didn’t tell anyone, she merely wanted her brother to not risk falling out of their father’s good graces all over again). No doubt Azula isn’t the most compassionate human being ever, but I don’t think she’s entirely devoid of compassion. She’s just muffled it, suffocated it, and tries her best to be as ruthless as her father.Sure, she hurts people with comments, that’s something she’ll do. She has a sharp tongue and doesn’t hold back from teasing people however she pleases. But is that really enough to make her entirely evil? The real reason I consider Book 1 Zuko Evil is because he harmed both enemies and friends alike, knowingly and carelessly, including his own uncle, and because, unlike Azula, he was characterized, BY NICK’S OFFICIAL SITE, as a firebending supremacist during Book 1. Azula wasn’t portrayed that way, not by the show, not by that site. She was pleased to work with Dai Li agents, after all. She discarded a procession of firebending guards and chose to work with two non-benders instead. If she believes firebenders are the greatest thing ever, there’s quite a strong disconnect between her words and actions. She believes in the system she was born into, but I don’t think she believes only firebenders are worthwhile or else she wouldn’t have worked with the Dai Li, or Mai and Ty Lee, or learned from non-benders, Lo and Li. Sure, she did hurt/scare her friends, and she also hurt her brother and uncle (particularly when they were her enemies). But again… I think hurting others through sass isn’t really an act of evil. Else Toph would be evil too, wouldn’t she?But of course, haha, Azula doesn’t suit the Good alignment AT ALL. Like… I’m not even going to break that one down. No thanks. So, she’s Neutral for me, leaning more towards Evil than Good, but still more Neutral than Evil.As for Law vs. Chaos? Again… she’s just so damn tricky at this? Azula is Lawful when it comes to following the Fire Nation’s laws, I think. She’s loyal to her faction, she fights for her father, she shows no defiance of authority EXCEPT… when she lied to her dad. Turns out she has a mix of chaotic and lawful traits! :’D So… does that make her Neutral again? “Someone who is neutral with respect to law and chaos has a normal respect for authority and feels neither a compulsion to obey nor a compulsion to rebel. She is honest but can be tempted into lying or deceiving others.” … oh. So, um… I guess she’s either a True Neutral like Toph… or she’s too complicated for this chart! :’D But I guess she really fluctuates throughout the Neutral axis. Because… “A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her. Order and organization are paramount to her. She may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or she may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government.” It doesn’t sound all that wrong, does it? But Azula is also not unlikely to lie and deceive people… So she’s probably fluctuating between True Neutral and Lawful Neutral? Guh. I’m really a mess at this.

Iroh: going by our definitions… Iroh would be good. Yes, I don’t love the man and I certainly don’t think he’s pure good, but…: “"Good" implies altruism, respect for life, and a concern for the dignity of sentient beings. Good characters make personal sacrifices to help others.” While there are so many questionable things about Iroh and while I’m DEAD SURE he wasn’t always good, even the earliest Iroh is shown as a man who’s traveling with Zuko even if he probably could be doing something that makes him happier elsewhere. He’s following his nephew around, helping him, teaching him lessons, all because it’s the right thing to do, I guess. Which really just suits the line I bolded there. Iroh also sacrifices himself, allows the Dai Li and Azula to capture him, so Aang and Katara can escape. So yes, I think he’s a mess… but he’s good anyways.In regards of Law vs. Chaos… “"Chaos" implies freedom, adaptability, and flexibility. On the downside, chaos can include recklessness, resentment toward legitimate authority, arbitrary actions, and irresponsibility.” Iroh IS adaptable. He changes his way of life so many times through the show and he’s seldom shown suffering about it. Recklessness? Yes. Remember Book 1? Getting caught by Earth Kingdom soldiers because of those hot springs? Recklessness indeed. Resentment toward legitimate authority? He both defies Ozai’s rule throughout the show, and defies Zuko’s command of their mission in Book 1 as many times as he pleases. He seems to actually think himself above all authority. Arbitrary actions? “I lost my White Lotus tile, let’s derail our entire journey so I can buy a new one!”, anyone? How about “I’m going to make tea out of this flower even if it might just kill me!”? Yep. He’s definitely guilty of this. And irresponsibility? Not only did he not discipline Zuko on COUNTLESS occasions where he should have, which I find irresponsible, but: his behavior with June? His theft of the nuns? His heating the tea because it was cold even if it meant risking getting discovered?Iroh can join Katara’s camp, as far as I’m concerned: Chaotic Good, right here. “A chaotic good character acts as his conscience directs him with little regard for what others expect of him. He makes his own way, but he’s kind and benevolent. He believes in goodness and right but has little use for laws and regulations. He hates it when people try to intimidate others and tell them what to do. He follows his own moral compass, which, although good, may not agree with that of society.”

Mai: well, she certainly seems to be a True Neutral on sight, and I guess we’ll just prove that: “People who are neutral with respect to good and evil have compunctions against killing the innocent but lack the commitment to make sacrifices to protect or help others. Neutral people are committed to others by personal relationships.” Mai’s entire character arc ended up revolving around her relationship with Zuko. So, yes. Committed by personal relationships indeed. “Someone who is neutral with respect to law and chaos has a normal respect for authority and feels neither a compulsion to obey nor a compulsion to rebel.” I think this works for Book 2 Mai… Book 3 Mai absolutely rebelled against authority, needless to say. But again, as it was because of a personal relationship, I don’t think that’s particularly non-Neutral anyways.Finally, “Some neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run.” I think Mai is this kind of True Neutral, as opposed to Toph, who’s neutral just because she doesn’t really care either way. Mai isn’t consciously, constantly preaching this kind of philosophy like a Herbalife salesman, but she keeps being bored both by both victory and defeat. Both by good people and bad. Everything’s boring, everything leaves her unaffected… well, on the most part. Again, personal relationships are the only thing that really matter to her. So, True Neutral Mai indeed.

Ty Lee: when it comes to Ty Lee… dang. I really am a little unsure initially. She’s definitely good, I don’t doubt that, but chaos and lawfulness… she did obey Azula for a long time and to this day there’s no evidence she wanted to put an end to the Fire Nation’s rule, but I guess she did defy Azula eventually. Not mention, “"Chaos" implies freedom, adaptability, and flexibility”, and does something scream Ty Lee more than that definition?I’d say Chaotic Good, yeah. “Chaotic good is the best alignment you can be because it combines a good heart with a free spirit.” Again, sounds so very Ty Lee…

I guess that’s all the main characters? At least, the ones who were around for long enough. I could try to think of Ozai’s alignment too… I’d say he’s a cross of Neutral and Chaotic Evil. It’s just kinda funny because he disregarded authority just so HE could become the real authority. Kind of a complicated fellow too, but who’s surprised? His position in the story is that of a Lawful Evil villain (big figure of authority that needs to be deposed), his attitude seems to be that of a Neutral Evil (”does whatever he can get away with. He is out for herself, pure and simple.”), but his actions are 100% Chaotic Evil (“A chaotic evil character does whatever his greed, hatred, and lust for destruction drive him to do. He is hot-tempered, vicious, arbitrarily violent, and unpredictable. If he is simply out for whatever he can get, he is ruthless and brutal. If he is committed to the spread of evil and chaos, he is even worse.”).

… He’s evil. Let’s just leave it as that.

I know you may disagree here and there, but this took long enough as it is xD

#wingsfreedom #god that was long

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