so like when zuko becomes fire lord do u think his portrait is put up everywhere like his dad’s was

like zuko definitely didn’t WANT it to happen, but the fire nation is just so used to being a faccist regime that they just go ahead and start putting their new leader’s face everywhere and zuko is so “ugh” about it but he also has way more important things to focus on so he develops a very choose-your-battles kinda attitude towards it

but do you think the gaang finds it hilarious? do you think they put up tiny portraits of zuko in their own homes for the hilarity of it? do u think Sokka and Suki have a portrait of zuko in every room in their house? do you think they say good morning to it every day? do you think they kiss it goodnight? do you-

this one. right here. this sits right above the fireplace in Sokka and Suki’s living room. tell me im wrong

you’re not wrong at all. you’re 100% right

this is tophs

I can just image Aang and Katara’s kids having a sleepover at Sokka’s place.

Sokka: Goodnight kids

Kids: Goodnight uncle Sokka, goodnight aunt Suki

Suki: Who else do we say goodnight to?

Kids: Goodnight giant tapestry of Zuko in the living room

Nsishwidhdwjdislwndodjwiwk this is an excellent addition, god bless

Oma and Shu were not narrative parallels to Zuko and Katara

Yes yes I know it’s so very easy to make the whole “Opposite sides of a war!” “Forbidden lovers!” comparisons (even though Zuko and Katara objectively never had a Forbidden Love dynamic, if anything they would have been Enemies-To-Friends-To-Lovers), but hear me out.

The basic and essential narrative elements of the Oma-Shu story are:

(For the last two points we actually had a bit of pre-foreshadowing for the Oma-Shu story in the form of Tui and La.  Remember Koizilla?  The Water elemental getting pissed off and raging on the Fire Nation in grief is going to be important later.)

The only actual component Zuko and Katara had that was similar to Oma and Shu’s was the fact that they were on opposite sides of a war.  This similarity might well satisfy some fans who are, let’s just say, a little overzealous to find narrative “proof” for Zuko/Katara in the text but going past that initial shallow archetypal surface reading into any kind of objective scrutiny reveals that the supposed “parallel” falls apart.

I’ll explain.

How does Oma and Shu’s love story start?

“They met on top of the mountain that divided their two villages.”

So.  The two were basically strangers who encountered each other in “neutral territory”, had good first impressions of each other free of the bias of their villages’ enmity, and hit it off.  We presume.

Right away the Zuko/Katara comparison dissolves, because Shu did not invade Oma’s village with a small military force to terrorize her and her people.

Continuing on…

“The villages were enemies so they could not be together.”

As mentioned, this is the only part in which Zuko and Katara are similar to Oma and Shu, and even then it’s a thin comparison because while Oma and Shu were all, “We are in love but we’re supposed to be enemies!” Zuko and Katara were… well… Actually Enemies.  The thing getting in the way of them being together was not merely the war, it was the fact that Katara genuinely loathed him and considered him the face of the enemy and Zuko barely paid attention to her except as a means of getting to Aang or as an obstacle in the way of his getting to Aang.

This is the bit where shippers get a little too excited because, “OMG!  Red and blue!  Color symbolism!”  Ignoring of course that Oma was also wearing yellow just a few seconds earlier and wears gray just a few seconds after and also that if we’re taking the whole red/blue color symbolism legitimately that would make the Oma figure Zuko.  This is too obviously false because Katara never “dies” during the war and Zuko doesn’t put on a rageful display of bending power in grief so most shippers just kind of… ignore that part and rely solely on the inaccurate broad surface read.

Well okay, but surely there must be other parts of the story that Zuko and Katara meet, right?

Nope.  They don’t spend any time or effort trying to reach across the divide between their two sides to meet.  Zuko gets hurt in the series finale and if we’re reeeaally reaching I guess we could claim that as his symbolic “death” but Katara’s reaction is hardly the emotional, grief-stricken lashing out that Oma did.

In fact the two times I can recall Katara unleashing some serious bending power because someone close to her “died” was her whole ninja mission to confront the man who killed her mother and before that–

Oh.

OH.  Lol.

Am I saying that the Oma-Shu story is really foreshadowing for Aang/Katara instead?

Yes.  Yes I am.

Obviously it’s not a note-for-note parallel, wouldn’t dream of claiming it is.  But they hit more of the beats than Zuko/Katara, with the added bonus of also being echoed/foreshadowed in Tui and La–”push” and “pull” soulmates who work in harmony…

…and who experience an incident where their Sky elemental mate dies…

…and the Water elemental goes apeshit and drowns Fire Nation soldiers in large waves…

…before the beloved is reborn.

So really, think about it.  Which ship is really the one where they meet and fall in love but can’t be together because of a war–

–which leads to one of them being killed–

–releasing a “powerful display of bending” from the devastated survivor?

Hint: It’s the one whose romance theme is the same music cue as the one for the story of the two lovers. XD

*annoying nerd voice* i think one of the problems with atla fanfic and also part of what inflames fandom sentiment against aang is people’s refusal to or inability to engage the spiritual dimensions of the avatarverse. people have all these deep insights into various characters and a great handle on relationship dynamics but they ignore the spiritual elements of the universe or downplay them to an unrealistic extreme. it’s why so many people miss the importance of aang’s scenes in “the phoenix king” as he sits apart from his friends who are all urging him to take ozai out. aang points out that he can’t just kill people he disapproves of, inferring that as avatar his duty is to something greater than political triumphs and the will of the different nations, and that none of them can grasp the scope of that responsibility. but so much of the fandom dismisses aang’s arguments because they’re deeply empathetic with the other characters to the point where they see the avatar as existing to help them, rather than them helping the avatar so he can help everyone - which is what aang does by disarming ozai and letting the fire nation (led by zuko) to decide its own fate. within the context of the avatarverse, this is precisely why the avatar exists - to create balance so that people can make their own choices free from tryanny or the threat of obliteration. aang killing ozai would have had terrible political as well as spiritual consequences, because it would’ve dislodged aang as a peacekeeper and made him a weapon that people close to him can deploy. it would’ve resulted in yet another supremely unbalanced outcome. and as a sidenote, people love to cite kyoshi as an avatar who did what they perceive aang being too weak to, but she didn’t actually strike the killing blow against chin. in fact her first move was divestment - using her mighty avatar powers to separate kyoshi island from the mainland so chin couldn’t invade it. in the avatarverse, the avatar has to always see the bigger picture, spiritually speaking. that so many fans remain infuriated by the story decision to have aang end the war by stripping ozai of bending is exactly why it shouldn’t have happened any other way. tldr: a lot of y’all miss the point cuz of petty fandom wars.

Yue🌙

changed my major to painting!  it’s only been three weeks but i’ve already learned so much more about color.  no more dead palettes!  

interested in a piece like this of you, a loved one, a famous character, or your original character?  commission me!

Heartbreaking news for Star Trek Fans.

I am saddened to report René Auberjonois has passed away at 79 from lung cancer. This comes only months after Aron Eisenberg. 

Star Trek was like a safety blanket for me when I was young. I used to tape TNG and DS9 on VHS as they aired and then watch them on a loop when I was depressed from being bullied. 

I put a lot of effort into those tapes. I would hover my finger over the pause button so I could edit out the commercials as it was recording. I drew little space ships on the VHS labels. And, of course, I used a screwdriver to pop out the tab so no one could record over the episodes. 

I mention all of this because these characters and actors are very special to me. And René did such a brilliant job as Odo. He put so much into that role, especially considering the many many hours sitting in the makeup chair it required. He was great in everything he did. A dedicated character actor that elevated everything he was in. He was also a prolific voice actor for a lot of great cartoons. I always loved hearing that gruff, yet classy voice surprise me in shows like Avatar and Justice League. 

He ended up with 228 acting credits over a span of 55 years. What an amazing career. 

I didn’t know much about him personally. In interviews he seemed like a quiet private type who only came out of his shell around friends or when the cameras were rolling. His words were thoughtful and his demeanor kind. 

But I think it’s best left to his friends to talk about the man behind the makeup. 

enemies to friends to weird family member

I know you guys wanted Atla fan art from me, and I promise I have some more in the works but… masters on a string..? 

 [ http://Patreon.com/Helixel ]

[Aang] [Zuko] [Sokka]

ppl love comparing zuko to kyle ron when he’s infinitely more like luke skywalker. PROOF: 

I feel like these little Zuko-family moments cause way too many emotions in me. Because no people but his family would probably see him like that. When Firelord Zuko himself turns back into an adorable awkward turtleduck he used to be…when he’s out of his Firelord duties and can be free and careless for a moment:3

also Zuko and ‘Honora’ probably the only people Mai smiles sincerely to<3

and yes, Zuko is the best daddy.:3

commuter kids. 🔥🔥🔥

(I don’t care, my brand is teens on public transit now. Also, I’ll have this at NYCC, artist alley table F15 this weekend. )

Aang and Katara: Two experiences of genocide

Do you ever think about how Aang was the last Airbender while Katara was the only Waterbender left in the South Pole? They were both children when they survived the genocides that claimed the caregivers they had bonded with, and the experience obviously changed them forever.

Aang and Katara show how different experiences of genocide can be. The destruction of Aang’s people was total, while Katara’s was partial targeting an essencial part of her heritage and the people like her who inherited it. Aang never meets another living human Airbender until Tenzin’s birth, while Katara grew up in Water Tribe culture but one impoverished and diminished by the targeted destruction of Waterbending.

The different experiences with Bending affects them as individuals, too. Aang had been well-trained in Airbending, in fact he was pushed too far and too fast, which leads to his desperation to have fun and be a kid whenever he can. In contrast Katara never had the chance to be trained by a Waterbender and was trying hard throughout childhood to train herself, trying to reconnect to this part of her heritage.

Katara’s anger in “The Waterbending Scroll” at Aang’s Waterbending proficiency was not her finest moment, but it’s understandable (though still inexcusable) when you think about what Waterbending means to her. Waterbending is the part of her culture that was nearly wiped out of her community; it was the reason she was targeted for murder as a child, and why her mother lost her life. With all the trauma bound into it I can understand why she snapped. Katara is as driven to be the Waterbender her tribe needs as much as Aang is to be the Avatar the world needs.

This is why it is all the more meaningful and beautiful that Aang and Katara, two survivors of genocide, fall in love and have a family together. Neither of them would have lived to adulthood if Sozin’s imperialist vision had been borne out, and every smile they shared, every joy they experienced together, every child they had was a defiance, another laugh in the face of violence and hatred. They not only survived, they lived fully, happily, imperfectly as people do and that was the greatest victory of all.

This makes me think about how the fandom has always been so focused on Aang needing to procreate so that there will be more Airbenders. Sure, there isn’t the same pressure on Katara; other SWT people could have kids that could be Waterbenders. But the complete lack of fandom attention to Katara passing on her DNA is striking.

Even LoK made a big deal about how Tenzin had a LEGACY to live up to, while Kya was ‘just’ another Waterbender.

KYA LITERALLY BEARS THE NAME OF KATARA’S MOM WHO DIED TO SAVE THE LAST WATERBENDER IN THE SWT HOW’S THAT FOR HERITAGE sorry for shouting but this makes me SO MAD

And fuck Aang tbh for basically validating this view with his favoritism toward Tenzin. I understand why that happened and I am deeply sympathetic, but that doesn’t make it right.

Anyway everyone please read @redrikki’s fic The Thing With Wings to have your heart break for Aang even while you want to shake him.