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Iroh says Aang gives Zuko hope and like, 10/10, love that
But I feel like the mirror of this is overlooked alot, or at least I don't see a lot of talk abt it.
Zuko is Aang's hope.
Zuko is the representation of the enemy, but Aang knows he's also just a kid, or teenager, like Aang, and he's someone who reminds Aang of Kuzon, one of his best friends. To Aang, Zuko is everything the fire nation is to him, something familiar and dear to his heart that's been twisted almost beyond recognition.
If Aang can see good in Zuko, if Aang can bring the good out from Zuko, then there is hope for the rest of the firenation. In his day, the fire nation people were friends, and in the modern day, they are enemies. If he can be friends with Zuko, that means there's hope that he can have just a piece of his old world back, even if it looks a little different.
Aang can never go back. He can never get his old family back, he can't truely revive what was lost, only preserve it with hopes it can be revived in the future. He can't undo geological changes, he can't rewrite history, but there's one thing of his old world he hopes he can still have, and that is friendship that trancends borders and cultures.
Nobody represents that more than Zuko, the person who Aang wants to be friends with like the old days, but cannot because of the war. Being friends with Zuko, a blatent act of defiance against the war and all it has changed and damaged, is the biggest connection Aang gets to the world he once knew since he got frozen in the iceberg.
Aang gives Zuko hope, but Zuko is Aang's hope.
#this was supposed to be short#why am I incapable of having short zukaang thoughts#zukaang#but also platonically#atla#zukaang talks#talks#woodlaflababab
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Can I just say I love literally everything you put in the tags of my ramblings. Like, every time I go 'Oh yeah! That's a good point!' or it reminds me of this other thing that's now on my list of mini essays to write and just ksbdjsndnns I love your thoughts and I love the feeling of "hell yeah you get it" I get from them. Is there a way to copy tags without doing it by hand bc like half the time I really wanna reblog them like "Yeah! This!"
Zukaang is way too easy to overthink and I'm glad I'm not the only one overthinking it jsbdjsndn
asdkljgfdfhg I'm so glad you enjoy MY ramblings and don't find them annoying or anything 🥺 Because I have way too many thoughts about zukaang, and I can't seem to write them out unless it's in response to an ask game or someone else's post. (I'm more of a fic writer than a meta writer I guess? And I love a good metaphor or something idk) It's SUCH a good feeling to dig into zukaang alongside someone who's just as obsessed 😊😂 And I absolutely love your metas btw - they are feeding me on a very deep level, please keep going!! 😍❤️
As for copying the tags, it's probably easiest to do it in a web browser on a computer: select the tags you want to copy, then paste them into the reblog caption area. I don't think you can do it this way on the tumblr mobile app.
I see you posted another zukaang meta so that's where I'm going next!! 👀👀👀
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There have been a few asks on whether we are having Zukaang Week this year, and we are here to officially say Yes! We are!
It is being hosted by three new mods this year, @chocomd (@theavatarandthefirelord), @convertedzukaang , and @woodlaflababab and we already have a rough-draft plan and schedule hashed!
Before things fully kick off, we will be reblogging the entries from last year as a refresher to kickstart our celebration. If you made something and it didn't get reblogged, feel free to self reblog and tag us so we can make sure you're getting the recognition you deserve ♡
We're super excited to help host this year! We'll make more update posts soon, so stay tuned!
#zukaang#zaang#zukaang week#zukaangweek2024#zukaang week 2024#atla#avatar the last airbender#aang and zuko#zuko and aang#aang#zuko#info post
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in light of recent events for the zukaang community,,, (anyone who was in the server remember to join the new one @woodlaflababab made ^^)
#as rabiosas said on one channel#Need a tshirt that says I survived the Zukaang discord mass extinction event#very sad 😔#zukaang#atla#AS IM DOING THIS EVERYONE WHO WAS THERE GOT A ROLE THAT SAYS “zukaang discord mass extinction surviver” lmao😭😭
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Aang's forgiveness @ Zuko always hits me so hard and I think it's because it's more than forgiveness. I think Aang truly understands where Zuko is coming from on an almost painful level.
I mean like, if someone told Aang there was a way he could go back home, that there was a way to bring back all the people he lost, how much would Aang be willing to do for that? How much of himself would he lose and sacrifice just for that chance?
Also, when Zuko comes to ask to join them the second time, he says "I've been through a lot in the past few years, and it's been hard. But I'm realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor, and that somehow my father could return it to me."
This sounds like the mash up of a few things Aang has said, from when he met baby Hope, "I've been going through a really hard time lately," (a hard time that has led to him doing things he regrets) and when he woke up after Ba Sing Se "I need to redeem myself. I need my honor back." (An idea that led to him making a bad decision) Aang knows that it has been the process of going through these struggles that have made him who he is.
And then to quote some tags from @theavatarandthefirelord from this post "#he's thinking about their relationship esp since their moments in The Storm/The Blue Spirit #also the way aang sees himself reflected in zuko as well #primarily with him burning katara but also moments like in The Desert #and losing control in the Avatar State"
Aang also relates to Zuko's anger issues. He intimately knows the mindset that leads someone to do bad things and, unlike the others (for example Katara) Aang also understand the guilt and regret that comes after it, the same guilt and regret Zuko shows in this scene.
Zuko doesn't just explain himself, he explains Aang as well.
I love the forgiveness trope that's so often featured in this ship, esp in fics, and part of why I love it is because it's not blind forgiveness, it's 'I've been there, and I could've gone down similar paths given different circumstances, to forgive you is to forgive myself'
And I just think that's so beautiful.
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Thinking about Zuko's influence on the audience's perception of Aang, specifically in Book 1. I kinda touched on it in this post but that post is pure unsorted rambling in which I didn't get to delve as deep as I wanted. Anyway, the relevent part was:
"With this whole episode, it's just the fact that Zuko is the reason we first get to see just how fucking cool Aang is. It's so easy to be like the others in the show and see Aang for his childish antics and sweet nature, but Zuko is the one that consistently reminds us, “No, this is the Avatar. He's powerful, he's brave, he's fiercely protective, and he deserves respect and acknowledgment for that.”"
Like, I mean, the point is redundant, everyone knows they are foils, so I'm not saying anything ground breaking when I say Zuko is often the one who brings out the best in Aang and encourages him to embrace being the avatar and that a lot of Aang's strongest charater moments are because of Zuko, yada yada, okay, we know, zukaang meta 101, nobody wants to hear it
But also, Zuko's opinion of Aang is so interestingly different from everyone else's. We get a view of Aang from the pov of himself, in which we see his doubts and struggles, the pov of the gaang, through which we see his antics and improvement and flaws. We also understand the opinion of the Fire Nation abt Aang (pure threat that's weirdly small), and we get plenty on the different opinions of the rest of the world.
If you took out Zuko's reactions to Aang, you'd feel like you know pretty much all there is to know about Aang. But to Zuko, Aang is an ever present mystery. The gaang doesn't really question anything abt Aang except what he can do and the rest of their enemies don't care to know things about Aang
But Zuko does. To Zuko, Aang is a source of constant questions, and this is sometimes played as a joke (i.e. "He must be a master of evasive maneuvering." to "You have no idea where we're going, do you?") and sometimes it hits the very core of Zuko's being and changes the course of the plot, (i.e. The Blue Spirit)
Zuko is unique because, to everyone else, Aang is one of two things. A Hero, or An Threat. He is neither to Zuko.
Zuko has no desire to defeat Aang. Aang is not a Threat to him. Hell, as Iroh says, Aang actively gives Zuko hope. But Aang is also not a Hero or ally.
He is neither a protagonist or an antagonist in Zuko's story. He's a goal. And that's such a unique perspective that allows us to question who Aang is from a neutral standpoint. Who is this person who effortlessly escapes trouble while having no idea what he's doing? Who is this person who saves someone they defeated? Who is this person who looks at an enemy and says 'you remind me of my best friend'?
Who else makes us ask these questions?
Through Zuko we, or at least I, see Aang as more than a person, and more than a hero, but as this unconventional conundrum that defies expectation at every turn, baffling and beautiful. Aang is so much more than your conventional hero and nobody sees or shows us that more than Zuko.
My favorite way to look at Aang is through Zuko's eyes.
#zukaang#atla#you know what other stories have a character whos 'a goal' to the protagonist#romances#im just saying#zukaang talks#talks#just came off a long shift#so Im not entirely sure this makes sense#but I cant sleep with zukaang thoughts#woodlaflababab
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Aang ship HC: Puppy Eyes
Zukaang: Zuko gives Aang anything he wants anyway, the only time the puppy eyes come out is when Aang's done something stupid and Knows It and is trying to avoid a lecture. It usually works.
Kataang: Katara is the most resistant but she also loves the puppy eye look and it absolutely makes her melt, she's just still going to stand her ground. She can be in love and still tell him that No he cannot adopt ten more lemurs bc he found a flock of them. It's like 50/50 on whether it'll work or not, however even when it doesn't work, it at least gets her to compromise.
Sokkaang: Sokka is the most suspectable and Aang is vicious about it. Bad idea? Puppy eyes. He did something stupid? Puppy eyes. Prank? Puppy eyes. Works every time. Sokka is so fucking sick of it. (Whenever Sokka complains though Aang just starts listing all of the stupid shit Sokka has pulled)
Taang: Toph can't see them so they don't work, instead Aang takes to pitifully laying on the ground when he wants something. Toph thinks it's dumb af and it's even dumber that it actually works sometimes. He's too soft for her to deny ksbdkdn
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Aang, Psychology, and the Concept of “Running Away” (A Breakdown Of Aang's Trauma Responses)
So, one thing that always kind of threw me off about atla was Aang's ignoration and dismissiveness of the things that have happened to him and continue to happen to him. He never seemed to have any kind of trauma response (besides nightmares).
Recently I've realized that the ignoration is Aang's trauma response, and it runs pretty fucking deep. Aang shows a lot of trauma responses but they are not as noticeable because Aang is also ridiculously good at emotional regulation, to a toxic point imo, and probably due to his upbringing by monks.
Aang, as is pretty well covered by the show, has a problem with trying to 'run away’ from his problems. This steadily stops happening as much throughout Book 2 (though he is learning in Book 1), but what's interesting is, while his tendency to physically run away from problems ends, his tendency to emotionally run away increases.
We go from Book 1 in which Aang confides in Katara about the separation from the monks, to Book 2 in which Aang literally actively rejects attempts at comfort in favor of an emotional shut down, to Book 3 where, after the failed invasion, Aang immediately tries just about anything he can to avoid talking about it.
He's not necessarily 'running away’. He still owns up to his duty and is right on the ball when Zuko shows up to teach firebending. It is not the work he shies from, it is specifically talking about the failure. This is Aang's main trauma response. Before I delve deeper into that though, I want to talk about Aang's other trauma responses that get bypassed thanks to his ability to ignore them.
Quoting ‘What is Child Traumatic Stress’, “Traumatic reactions can include a variety of responses, including intense and ongoing emotional upset, depressive symptoms, anxiety, behavioral changes, difficulties with attention, academic difficulties, nightmares, physical symptoms such as difficulty sleeping and eating, and aches and pains, among others.”
Aang shows almost all of these at one point or another, and typically they show themselves when he finds himself incapable of mentally 'running away.’
Intense and Ongoing Emotional Upset:
I'm mostly eyeing the avatar state episodes. His immediate reaction to traumatic events he is helpless to is explosive anger, but it fails to be ongoing because it is immediately followed by a shut down.
- Aang on Zuko's boat. In this episode, while fighting with Zuko, Aang shows some pretty intense fear and his first (technically second) experience with the Avatar state is for survival and driven by fear (also, notably, a repeat experience of the same thing that caused the actual first experience). Yet, as soon as Aang is off of Zuko's boat, he's melancholy for a hot second and then turns on a dime and starts talking about the adventures they can go on. Avatar State -> Shut Down/dismissing or ignoring the problem.
- Aang at the Southern Air Temple. He starts off in deep obvious denial, like this kid is so obviously blocking. Then he sees Gyatso's body, goes into a rage and grief induced Avatar state, gets pulled out, can no longer use denial as his mental defense, and so once again turns to shut down. He's expressionless as he comes down, and when he's fully out he's just kind of tired and speaks with a soft almost toneless quality. He's admitting to the trauma and yet there's a numb resignation to it. He's not emotionally connecting with it. We see him after with Momo and Appa smiling and just being like “we gotta stick together :)”. That's not the appropriate response to admitting there's only three survivors of your home. Avatar State -> Shut down/dismissal
- Aang and General Fong. Aang experiences an extremely distressing and helpless situation while he watches Katara, one of two whole people in his life, be buried. He goes into a rage induced Avatar state, again, and then literally 'nope's out of the situation with help from Roku. And when he comes back, he shuts down. He doesn't react emotionally, he once again speaks in that soft, even, almost dead tone, apologizes, and dismisses the event. I mean, the way he addresses General Fong, the person who just caused this whole thing, is extremely chill, almost uncharacteristic. Just a simple, “you're out of your mind” with a tone that could make you think he was having a casual conversation with someone who just suggested eating cereal out of a cup. And then he's good! Momo comes back and he smiles and everything is all good again. Avatar State -> Shut down/dismissal.
- Then we have the desert, one of the few times Aang does not shut down immediately, but then it culminates in the Avatar State and he stays like that for a bit but once he comes down, his faces changes again, to what is almost resignation, like he's given up on being mad, which really, he has as we see later. And then the next episode and he's playing in some water, but as soon as Sokka brings up Appa, we see the face and tone that's now kind of familiar: soft, dead, dismissive. He's once again refusing to emotionally connect and is downplaying it. Avatar State -> shut down/dismissal.
Depressive Symptoms/Anxiety:
He shows fits of both, though these aren't as evident because, again, most of the time he's in an emotional block and ignoring the problems. But when he cannot ignore the absence of his lifelong companion, he has a long period of anger followed by a numb depressive state, he literally talks about giving up hope. He is entirely hopeless at this point.
And then when he cannot ignore the Day of Black Sun coming in a few days, his anxiety goes through the fucking roof.
However, these don't last long and that'll connect to me talking about emotional regulation later.
Behavioral Changes:
Aang changes A Lot over the course of the series. Book 1 Aang is very distinct from Book 3 Aang (though we still see the core traits of him throughout). He becomes more hyper focused on doing his duty, tends to fall to the background when he can, generally takes on a much more somber demeanor.
Difficulties With Attention:
This one's not really huge. He has about the same amount of attention focus in Book 3 as he does Book 1, if not improvement.
Nightmares:
I don't think I have to explain this. Aang goes through multiple fits of nightmares.
Difficulties Sleeping or Eating:
Once again, I look to Nightmares and Daydreams, one of the few times Aang is unable to shut down or block. He cannot sleep for the life of him. I have plans to go back and pay attention to eating habits in Book 3 in order to potentially add onto this joke meta, but I would not be surprised if there were signs of a lowered appetite, even if the writers did not intend it.
Aches and Pains:
He doesn't ever complain about this but also like, would he? Even if he was experiencing them? Kid tried to fight people and fly through a storm while newly recovering from a lightning injury. Aang gives no shits.
Then the article also covers childhood PTSD diagnoses which I'd also like to go over real quick. “the child continues to re-experience the event through nightmares, flashbacks, or other symptoms for more than a month after the original experience; the child has what we call avoidance or numbing symptoms—he or she won’t think about the event, has memory lapses, or maybe feels numb in connection with the events—and the child has feelings of arousal, such as increased irritability, difficulty sleeping, or others.”
Most of these I just covered, but I think it's notable that numbness is also mentioned here, the exact symptoms I've been talking about. Avoidant, won't think about it, numb in connection.
And just to be sure that everyone is on board let me go through some other examples of Aang shutting down:
Katara brings up the 100 years and Aang immediately blocks that shit. It's literally too big for him to conceptualize, so he dismisses it as okay because he has a new friend now and moves on and doesn't think about it.
The Northern Air Temple. I think most people agree that the lesson in that episode was wrong. Aang had every right to be angry. There's nothing okay about taking over and destroying 100 year old artifacts of a nearly extinct culture. We see Aang react to this with a numbness. There's even a moment where he's just frozen and uncomprehending. “This place is unbelievable.” “Yeah. It's great isn't it?” “No, just unbelievable.” He reacts with anger later (notably when he feels like he can do something instead of being helpless), and then when he can no longer do anything, he once again just rejects any negative emotional turmoil in favor of that “it's fine” attitude and accepts what the people have done.
Then the desert, one of the few places we don't see him shut down immediately. Except, literally the next episode is all about Aang's hardest shut down yet.
There are other examples but I think you get the point. He does this A Lot.
Okay cool, so we've covered the denial and trauma responses part, but how does emotional regulation play into this?
I'm glad you asked.
So, when I was first considering Aang and this whole thing, I thought Aang exhibited emotional dysregulation, especially in regards to the Avatar State, but then I actually did some learning on emotional dysregulation and realized, actually, no, he doesn't. Emotional dysregulation is mostly characterized by emotional responses being out of proportion with the event, but I think we can all agree, pm every time he goes into the Avatar State, that emotional response is uh, rather warranted. Now, Aang does, in these moments, show the lack of control that can come with emotional dysregulation, but also like, who wouldn't.
Considering Aang's behavior outside of the Avatar State Outbursts, he's actually very good at emotional regulation. Scary good, in fact. Number One in the reasons I say this is everything I said above. The ability to shut down is often an active choice. Aang does not like who he is when he is upset and, outside the initial outburst, has a pretty firm grip on his emotions. He shows anger at times, but they are in appropriate places with more or less appropriate responses.
The Desert stands out so much because Aang loses the control he normally has. This is where we see him lose his grip on himself and he spirals.
He rarely shows grief. During his lessons with the Guru he passes all the chakras with amazing ease because he legitimately is that good at controlling and managing emotions which, like I said at the very beginning, I attribute a lot of that to him being raised by monks. I mean, he's a 12 yr old who is skilled in meditation. I don't think it's a stretch to think the monks taught him other such things.
He doesn't react to small things that would normally piss people off. Examples include The Headband when he gives absolutely zero shits about the bully, and The Southern Raiders where he accepts Katara trying to steal Appa and doesn't react to Zuko mocking him and his culture.
Aang also, paradoxically, can be pretty good at expressing emotions when he needs to. He's typically very emotionally intelligent, with the exception being pretty much any trauma. He will react to basic things in the moment and is unafraid to show frustration or anger or uncertainty, as long as it's Not connected to a thing he is distinctly Not thinking about.
And one of the most damning examples of his emotional regulation skill, that is actually the scene that started me thinking about all of this, is the scene with Koh the Face Stealer.
That scene threw me off so much because I felt like it was incredibly out of character for Aang, this incredibly expressive kid, to be able to show no emotional reaction. It didn't make sense and for a long time I dismissed it as just, the writers thought it'd be cool so he did it. But of course, I can't let things lay, so I never really stopped thinking about it until I realized, in context of everything I've talked about before, it actually makes perfect sense.
Aang is emotionally expressive by choice. He has the ability to control his emotions and responses to a ridiculous degree. He knows how to be emotionally intelligent with basic things, where to express emotion and how to do it.
(Of course, he's not perfect. There are plenty of times he acts out, the Bato episode being the first thing to come to mind, but even there, after just a few hours, he has wrestled with his jealousy and responds appropriately to guilt, he owns up to it. He does try to explain himself but when Sokka makes it clear he's not going to listen, Aang does not continue to press the point. He accepts Sokka's decision, does not lash out, and for once doesn't shut down or exhibit happiness soon after. He is sad and expresses it without shoving his emotions onto others. For a 12 yr old, this is fucking impressive.)
Aang was taught well by the monks, but the one thing they couldn't teach him was response to trauma, and that's where he falters, but that emotional regulation means he's not going to respond in a typical way. Instead, he turns to denial as his coping mechanism of choice and uses those skills he learned to achieve a workable state of being but through unhealthy use.
Where am I going with this? Idk. Nowhere really, I just wanted to talk about Aang and psychology tbqh.
Anyway, I will finish this up by a fun delve into Things He's Probably Going To End Up Suffering From:
Denial can lead to memory blocking, where it's more than just not thinking about it, the brain actively suppresses and alters memory to cope. Adult Aang's recollection of the Ozai year is probably not going to be super accurate. Would not be surprised if someone was like “hey remember that time you were almost executed by a town for your past live’s mistakes?” and Aang just went “No???” and legit has no recollection of any such thing.
Selective numbing will eventually turn into collective numbing. You can selectively numb for a temporary period of time (which is how people fall into the trap) but eventually your brain will start to numb everything, not just the bad things. At the very least teenage Aang absolutely goes through a period of dissociative complete numbness.
Speaking of dissociation, if you're not going to react to trauma the normal way, dissociation happens. It starts as a coping mechanism but like with numbing, it cannot remain controlled and will develop into something. Aang will have a dissociative disorder, I'm telling you. Which one? Idk, but I assure you, it'll be there. I'm leaning toward some basic depersonalization/derealization and/or OSDD type four where trauma and meditation accidentally mix for the worse.
So yeah, there you go, a breakdown of Aang, his trauma responses, his emotional intelligence, and the consequences of those two things put together.
I'm gonna be a nerd here and add shitty citations but this is mostly in case you're also a psych geek and want to read things.
“What Are the Dissociative Disorders”. International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation.
“Developmental trauma: Conceptual framework, associated risks and comorbidities, and evaluation and treatment”. National Library of Medicine.
“What is Child Traumatic Stress”. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
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Idk who needs to hear this (Zuko) but erecting giant statues of your "best friend" is not normal best friend behavior.
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Thinking about how Aang chose to save Zuko in the book 1 finale, and it's potential connection to Zuko's attempt to save Zhao.
Like, the last time Aang saved Zuko when he didn't have to and arguably should not have on account of, you know, being hunted by him, it led to the first sign of Zuko questioning his path (when hes obvs deep in thought and then turns away from the fire nation symbol). Aang's kindness started Zuko's entire arc. Aang actively inspires Zuko even if neither of them realize it.
Zuko had to know it was Aang who chose to save him at the NWT. With Aang already having done it once before and Zuko knowing Aang to be the most forgiving while the others never show any sign of seeing Zuko as more than the enemy, there's no way Zuko didn't put two and two together.
And later, in that same finale, Zuko chooses to reach out to the man who tried to have him killed. The man who put him in the position Zuko's constantly putting Aang in.
I can't help but wonder if it's not Aang's action that spurred Zuko on in that moment, at least somewhat.
#zukaang#but can also apply platonically#zukaang talks#atla talks#talks#aang#zuko#atla#woodlaflababab
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Thinking about Aang and Iroh and their parallels when it comes to Zuko.
I mean, they are such similar characters and one of my biggest regrets with the show is that we only get one scene with the two of them interacting. That's a damn shame. Even just beyond the fact that they're both wise, humorous, and centered on peace (though they have different ways to go about it), they both have two distinct and very different parts of their lives.
Iroh has the beginning of his life, which was centered around training to be Firelord and fighting a war, and then after Lu Ten died, where he gave up all of that and pursued something very different.
Aang has the beginning of his life which was about peace and childhood (and mastering his element) and then after he woke from the iceberg in which he was thrown into the world and his role as the avatar.
And it is these events that bring them to Zuko. Without them, neither of them would have had the relationship with Zuko that they do, Aang wouldn't even know him.
For both of them, Zuko reminds them of a loved one they lost (one in which they feel even a little bit responsible for that loss) Lu Ten and Kuzon, and to both of them, Zuko is one of the things that lessen the tragedy they went through. Iroh learns to love Zuko as one of his own and Zuko becomes one of Aang's best friends (each having Zuko fill the place of the person they lost.) (Aang even explicitly says one of the bright sides of the iceberg was the new people he gets to meet. "I did get to meet you." - Aang @ Katara)
They also both relate to and understand Zuko even if Zuko doesn't recognize that. Iroh understands being caught up in the fire nation propaganda and chasing an idea. (Honor for Zuko, Glory for Iroh.) Aang understands the pain of being ripped from your home and understands the way pain can drive you to do things you would never dream of doing otherwise.
They both are endlessly forgiving of Zuko. No matter how many insults Zuko throws at Iroh, no matter how much fire Zuko throws at Aang, they refuse to stop caring for him. Iroh in the form of standing by his side and Aang in the form of saving his ass again and again and offering him friendship.
Honestly, I think part of Zuko's frusteration with Katara's very reasonable unwillingness to forgive him as soon as he does something right is because he's a little bit spoiled on the forgiveness he has always gotten from Iroh and Aang. (And I also think Katara's resistance makes Zuko appreciate her forgiveness and thus their forgiveness so much more, especially when Iroh immediately forgives him once again at the end.)
It is Iroh's and Aang's patience and virtue that allow Zuko to grow and become the person he becomes. They are the two biggest influences on his change and both their influences are so similar in many ways. Iroh stands on the inside never leaving Zuko's side and Aang stands on the outside constantly offering a place by his own side.
I don't think it is a coincidence that Zuko had to lose Iroh's help and forgiveness to realize he needs to seek Aang's help and forgiveness.
Both of them have made mistakes with Zuko. Both had a phase where they realized they needed to turn their back on Zuko because of the pattern of behavior he's shown (dispite him trying to show different levels of repentance) and both welcome Zuko in once he has made it clear that behavior has ended and his change is true. Both love him, not because of what he's done, but because he has inherent value as a person and because they know deep down there is something good inside him.
Both of their relationships with Zuko are beautiful.
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Sometimes the constant tumbler in my head with Aang and Zuko in it puts out thoughts and analysis. Other times-
Tonight I'm just thinking about how, even when Zuko wasn't looking for Aang, they kept coincidentally ending up in the same places. Cause soulmates and just, what if this continued throughout their lives? Like, if they don't visit eachother, they either end up coincidentally in the same place, or something goes horribly wrong to bring them together. (Looking @ the Promise)
Just, the universe giving them required visitation on eachother.
I love this in both a romantic and platonic context. Romantic as like 'the universe itself ships you' and platonic like 'okay, so we have to make sure we see eachother at least once ever three months or something goes Horribly Wrong.' kwndjsndn
No deep meta tonight, just haha Zuko and Aang literally Can't Be Apart.
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"You can do it. I know you can. You're a talented kid." - Zuko, The Firebending Masters
Anyone else obsessed over this line? Like, correct me if I'm wrong, but when has Zuko ever given encouragment like this prior to this point? Because I can't think of anything.
Except maybe that time after his fever dream in Ba Sing Se but I have Opinions about that and what was going on with Zuko at the time that I will not get into rn and do not count it.
Also with the kid Lee but he just teaches him some things and then gives an approving smile. He also tries to shy away from showing too much attachment or connection. It's nothing nearly so overt as what he says to Aang.
I'm just saying, this is almost a foriegn language to Zuko.
This whole episode he's come to face with who Aang is as a person and not the avatar. Aang shows unsurety and fear multiple times, and Zuko encourages him through it multiple times in little ways. And then he says this? And continues to build Aang up in the episode.
Zuko, the person known for his abrasiveness, someone who's never had a real friend before, puts that aside for Aang. Like? Wow? Zuko has embraced something so unfamiliar just so he can be Aang's counterbalance the way Aang is to him?
And he does it so naturally? He doesn't struggle or have to think abt it like with Sokka? Supporting Aang comes as almost a second nature.
I think about this line often. (And Aang's lil grin)
The person Aang brings out of Zuko is beautiful.
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Watching "The Warriors of Kyoshi" and thinking, you know who'd probably be interested in seeing your lil airbending trick Aang? Zuko. I'm just saying, I feel like Zuko, who's spent so long studying airbenders and trying to catch the avatar, would be at least a little intrigued by this weird random use of airbending, esp compared to firebending which is mostly used for fighting. I just feel like, to Zuko, this airbending master using that mastery to make a bunch of marbles spin would be either very interesting, or extremely infuriating ksndjdnfn. Either "oh, what a strange use of an extinct almost legendary form of bending" or "seriously? A master at twelve and this is how you choose to show that off?"
Anyway, I feel like aang showing zuko the marble trick is a zukaang trope in another universe.
#zukaang#atla#zukaang ideas#woodlaflababab#for clarification#this is NOT a diss on kataang#not trying to compare the two bc katara didnt react#i just love the idea of aang showing it to zuko
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Not me reading too much into things again.
"But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love." - Aang, The Western Air Temple.
I think when Aang said this, he wasn't just refering to Zuko burning Toph. Zuko throughout the series never intended to kill Aang, the idea was always capture. There were many times Zuko easily could've killed Aang or caused unnecessary harm, but he doesn't.
Aang never held Zuko's chase against him, and was willing to forgive again and again. He knew Zuko never intended harm for harm's sake, but that didn't matter. Zuko still irrevocably hurt Aang in Ba Sing Se. No matter what his intentions were, it was all too easy to contribute to Aang's death.
Aang needed to know that Zuko understood that. It doesn't matter what his intentions are. He cannot come here claiming to be 'Good'. As Zuko pointed out, Aang already knew he was good, but Zuko was, and still is, capable of harming him.
"There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done." Not because Aang doesn't think Zuko can change, but because Zuko has proven himself capable of far more harm than he ever intends.
"But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love." -> "But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt me."
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Thinking about Zuko's betrayal in Ba Sing Se in regards to Aang
Like don't get me wrong, I'll totally give that moment to the zutara shippers, Zuko's betrayal was mostly @ Katara
But there's also the fact that, prior to this, Aang saved Zuko's life multiple times. He disregarded the bounderies of enemies and showed Zuko the kind of kindness that someone might never be able to return. Zuko is still alive in that moment because of Aang. He is still alive because, despite everything, Aang wanted the best for Zuko. He is still alive because Aang believed Zuko's life was valuable and worth preserving.
And it is Zuko's actions that lead to Aang's almost literal death. What a fucking betrayal.
And why yes this thought was brought on by this ficlet by @my-cabbages-gorl
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