aria | everyone's a winner, we're making our fame

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everyone's a winner, we're making our fame

Miles and years behind everyone else, I have just mainlined Avatar: the Last Airbender. HI, TINY AWESOME SHOW OF MY HEART.

What I love best about it is basically everything: there is excellent continuity! I adore all the constructed cultures! the politics and morality are pretty great! it looks absolutely gorgeous! and best of all, I'm hugely in love with the entire cast.

I'm not even quite sure what to say about the characters, honestly, because I'm a bit incoherent with love. Let's try anyway: I imprinted on Katara immediately, and I loved her character arc -- whenever she got angry or made bad decisions I took it hilariously personally, and yelled at the screen a lot; it was wonderful to watch her grow up and come into her power and learn how to take care of herself as well as the people around her. Aang, meanwhile, is pretty much everything I could ask for in a Titular Hero; he's young and stupid and sweet and joyful and painfully well-meaning, and oh, I cared. Sokka took a while to grow on me, because I caught on fairly quickly that he was The Xander, and, y'know, whatever -- but I was at least mildly fond of him for a long time, and then, because I find competence unbearably sexy, sometime in third season (or, specifically, at Sokka's Master) I suddenly SAW THE LIGHT, and oh, Sokka. <333 Toph I loved at once (I think the way I explained it at the time was something like "I love Toph so much it makes me want to cry") because I am a huge sucker for compact balls of FIERCE AWESOME with bonus issues -- plus I really love watching earthbending, for whatever reason.

I don't think anyone should be surprised to hear that I am ALL OVER the Fire Nation royal family, though. I mean, I think my very favourite is Uncle Iroh, because running a teashop and having the ability to BREATHE FIRE are two tastes that taste great together, and also Iroh makes me teary a lot. Zuko, much like Sokka, took a while to grow on me -- the firs time I found him interesting at all was, predictably, when he freed Aang while in the guise of the Blue Spirit, because, as I said, competence is sexy. But now when someone mentions Zuko, my reaction is "Zuuuuuko <333" because, dude, he came down with a psychological fever, had a brief flirtation with the right thing, got fabulous emo hair, is terrified of his sister, was ANGRY a lot, made me laugh uncontrollably, and then Did The Right Thing for real, which is a perfect storm of a combination of what I would have found massively appealing at fourteen and what I find massively appealing now. Oh, and did I mention his sister? AZULA <333 I have Issues with Azula's arc that I will address shortly, but in the meantime, goddamn, Azula, be my evil girlfriend. Actually, my desire to have Azula be my evil girlfriend goes a long way towards explaining why, to my mild bewilderment, I kind of identify with Ty Lee. I mean, I do not desire running away to join the circus, nor can I beat you up using only pressure points and awesome acrobatics, but I am pretty sure my aura is pinker than ever, okay. And lastly, I suppose, we have Mai, who I am hugely fond of because she makes me laugh, but who I would love even on the sole basis of her "I don't hate you"/"I don't hate you too" exchange with Zuko.

Which, speaking of: one of the great gifts of being hugely in love with the entire cast is that I want to SHIP EVERYTHING. Here is a probably non-exhaustive list of things I am happy to ship: Azula/Ty Lee(/Mai optionally), Zuko/Mai, Zuko/Sokka, Zuko/Katara, Zuko/Aang, (Zuko/Aang/Katara because I am all for OT3s before ship wars!), Zuko/Jet, (Zuko: A LITTLE BLACK DRESS APPARENTLY), Aang/Katara, Sokka/Suki, Sokka/his angst about the moon princess! Oh, and Roku/Sozin, obviously (because it is Dumbledore/Grindelwald in ~~SPACE~~ the Fire Nation!). I feel a bit weird shipping Aang/anyone, because I am painfully aware that he is twelve; you may also notice that I really have no Toph ships for the same reason. If they're aged up a bit I will probably ship them with everyone, though. Awesome ensemble casts delight my multishippery heart!

Oh, and my character love would be incomplete if I did not also say: APPA AND MOMO. <333 I don't know about you guys, but I would love to have a flying bison.

There were only a couple of things that bothered me about the show, all of them of course in the very last episode. First, the lionturtle-ex-machina: I would have infinitely preferred that Aang had the ability to defeat the Firelord based solely on his own knowledge and reserves of power. Of course he had to incapacitate rather than kill the Firelord, and he had to do it in the Avatar state in order to have the required amount of power, so what they set up and how it went down made perfect sense and was mostly satisfying, but -- I wish Aang could have done it on his own.

Second, and here's the kicker: Azula. Again, I knew what they were trying to do; there was very little chance that Zuko, who was demonstrably a much less capable firebender than his sister, would be able to defeat her. The means of Azula's descent into being defeatable was also perfectly coherent, and actually wonderfully heartbreaking: the only two people in the world Azula has ever trusted or been friends with abandon and betray her; of course she can't cope. The scene with her raggedly cutting her hair and seeing her mother in the mirror was excellent. But, for all that, I don't want Azula to be the sort of person who cracks because she's been abandoned. If she's a sociopath -- and, hi, Azula is a sociopath -- she's going to be frustrated that Ty Lee and Mai left her, confused as to why Mai possibly chose her brother over her, and furious at the loss of her elite team ... but I don't think she's going to become a wreck. What I wanted from Azula and Zuko & Katara's showdown was, in fact, to see that Zuko, having found his new purpose, having been touched by the Firemasters, having grown, was now of equal power with his sister. I wanted Zuko and Katara to team up and, by their powers combined, be honestly more than a match for Azula without the narrative first having to take her down. So ... I bought it, but barely, and I think it was one of the few times the narrative did disservice to the characters.

The funny thing about reaching the end of the series was that I immediately wondered where the next season was. Obviously there's the unresolved question of Zuko's mother, but more than that -- okay, basically Babylon 5 has spoiled me. Babylon 5 spends three and a half seasons on an epic interstellar war, and then spends the last season and a half making its characters face the war's aftermath and rebuild their world. And that's what I want from Avatar now! I don't mean I necessarily want another televised season, but it is what I want from the fic. The Fire Nation was, on the whole, doing pretty damn well under their megalomaniacal dictator: how are most of Zuko's subjects actually going to react to having an idealistic teenager, traitor prince on the throne? Ba Sing Se fell from the inside, thanks to the Dai Li; that aside, the Earth Kingdom and its various kings are pretty damn powerful. Bumi and the White Lotus guys are on the side of the resistance, but I doubt that all the people in power are going to be very forgiving of the Fire Nation, nor indeed happy that General Iroh is contently running a teashop. And how, exactly, can balance be truly restored if the Air Nomads are still, Aang excepted, extinct?

There are also the less world-shaking questions, like, again, Zuko's mother. Or, will Toph ever see her parents again, and what would their relationship be like? Is Katara ever going to deal with the horror of her ability to bloodbend? Will Sokka and Suki actually be in the same place long enough to make it work? And will Zuko and Iroh ever get to hang out at the Jasmine Dragon, considering that Zuko has to rule a country? &c!

...I feel like a lot of these questions can't be easily addressed in a children's show, because the answers are a bit dark, but damn, bring on the fic. No, really, do! Any recs, guys? I am up for pretty much everything. :D

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FFFFFFF AVATAR!!!!!!!!!!

I find it really funny that you appear to initially have had the TOTAL OPPOSITE of my reactions. I IMPRINTED SO HARD ON SOKKA SO FAST. DEADPAN SNARKER BADASS NORMAL COMBO. MEAT AND SARCASM GUY.

AS YOU KNOW I agree with all your issues about the show. IT ALSO OCCURS TO ME that not only was the Earth King an uninformed puppet ruler, he also left to ~*travel the world*~. WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION, now that Fire Nation occupation is over, who fills the power vacuum?? Does the military step up? Do the Dai Li sidle back in? BOTH???

also, the world needs more fic where Azula breaks out of the mental asylum after successfully lulling everyone into a false sense of security about her madness. ~~HAMLET AZULA??~~ THEN, DELICIOUS FIRE NATION CIVIL WAR?

~~Clearly sooooooomeone needs to write an Avatar S4. O:D~~

LONG COMMENT IS LONG

Clearly sooooooomeone needs to write an Avatar S4. O:D

Fuck.

FUCK.

I HATE YOU.

YES PLEASE *bats eyelashes*

ARIA, THE ONLY WAY TO REGAIN YOUR HONOR IS TO CAPTURE THE AVATAR (FOURTH SEASON).

PLEASE DON'T GIVE ME A SEASON PROJECT.

OH GOD I AM ALREADY TRYING TO PLOT IT IN MY HEAD.

OH NO YOU CAN WRITE IT OR NOT AS YOU WILL I TOTALLY RESPECT YOUR DECISION. I WILL JUST ALSO RELEASE ALL THE DANGEROUS ANIMALS AND SET THE NET ON FIRE.

YOU KNOW.

METAPHORICALLY.

O:D

OKAY I BOTH LAUGHED SO HARD I ALMOST CHOKED AND AGREE WITH THIS WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY FUCKING BEING

ARIA YOU MUST BRING BALANCE TO THE HOPE

Edited 2010-07-12 17:51 (UTC)

ARIA YOU MUST TAKE A BITE FROM THE SILVER SANDWICH.

ARIA YOU CANNOT REST UNTIL YOU'VE BROUGHT TEA TO YOUR UNCLE.

I HATE YOU BOTH SO MUCH. <333

ARIA THE BUTTERWASP MUST GENTLY APPROACH THE TIGER LILY

UNCLE, I KNOW ABOUT SEX

Hahahaha.

That would be...so awesome. *smiles innocently*

I JOIN EVERYONE WITH SAYING YES YOU SHOULD WRITE THIS. :D

Oooh. I'll jump on the "OMG WRITE THIS PLEASE" train too. :D

Husband and I also mainlined Avatar:TLA this month! OMG, loved it so much.

Iroh and Zuko are my favorite, although I am also extremely fond of Aang. We kept making Oncoming Storm cracks while we watched. And Aria, he ran away, and he wouldn't purposefully kill, and. *squishes him*

And all of them, although I fully admit I am probably least attached to Katara. She's awesome, but I only sometimes get really attached to always hopeful motherly characters. Although yes, Aang/Katara/Zuko OT3. Mai can...join in she feels in the mood, or something. <.<

I thought it kind of awesome that Mai and Zuko had this established, possibly arranged relationship, and they were all relaxed and comfortable (for the most part) with each other. They'd very clearly grown up together and made some happiness in the middle of the insanity of the Royal Court. It's somehow romantic but not sickening sweet or unrealistic.

Can I *be* Iroh when I grow up?

I'll be keeping my eye our for epic aftermath fic. 'But what about the Air Nation?' is the biggest question for me. I guess Aang and Katara should have lots and lots of babies, um, as soon as they are of age?

Didn't Brian and Mike essentially say "Sorry, some things can't be fixed?" Which is an answer I'm heartbroken by but okay with -- I don't think there is a way to rebuild the Air Nation, but I wonder what might take its place.

I haven't delved into fandom that much, having torn through the show in the last few weeks in what spare time I've had. That *is* sad. And part of me is like well, the Sun Warrior were supposed to be dead too, and they were just hiding. Maybe some of them got away and have been laying low until the Fire Nation burned itself out?

Or, alternatively, there's all the stuff about going back to the source and relearning bending. Except wait, wasn't the source for air bending the air bison, and Appa is also the last of those? Ack.

Yeah, that last thing. Though I would be totally, totally okay with a fic in which there are cryptoairbenders living in the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation who don't remember anything about their culture except for that they meditate in a funny way and they maybe have secret tattoos under their hair. And it isn't enough to bring the whole thing back but on the other hand, you can't keep a good nomadic culture down.

Because in general people aren't very successful at genocides, thank God.

I maybe have some projection feelings about this. :/

Edited 2010-07-12 18:11 (UTC)

While I wasn't raised culturally as Cherokee, but it's part of my heritage, and I could claim tribal membership if I tracked down my grandmother's birth certificate. The other side of my family settled in Boston in 1630 and spread all over the continent from there. So yeah, I am just a *bit* conflicted.

Yeahhh. On the one hand: consequences. On the other hand: FUCK YOU, WE'RE STILL HERE.

Yeah, I just wrote this thing to I was going to about who I know there are people are living with attempted genocide today or dying, or are much MUCH more personally effected. In case that sounded 'woe is me', which I suspect it did.

I mean, I was raised pretty much WASP but also was always told 'this is you too' and we'd go up to the Eastern reservation in the summer with my dad and have Serious Discussions about history. And I remembering being nine in American history and the text books calling us one of the 'Five Civilized Tribes, and me going "what the....? Is that good? Why the Trail of Tears, then?"

It's confusing to know how to remember and preserve, knowing I'm pretty damn assimilated. I don't want to be that mostly white person co-opting either, you know?

Edited 2010-07-12 19:04 (UTC)

Many hours later: No, you didn't come across "woe is me" at all! That was a fistbump of confused solidarity. I don't have parallel experiences to yours but clearly we have parallel emotions?

Have you read

sanguinity's stuff? She talks about being raised more or less white and then coming to terms with her family history and she's so smart about it.

Fist bump of solidarity then! I am probably over touchy because, well, conflicted. And no I haven't read her stuff. Thanks for the pointer.

Ahaha, Oncoming Storm!Aang. That is weirdly adorable.

I totally understand why someone would not be attached to Katara! I loved her instantly, but I can also see her flaws. Also, I love this Aang/Katara/Zuko(/optional Mai) thing. :D

I loved the Mai/Zuko subplot! I'm not invested in them loving each other, but I'm weirdly invested in them keeping each other relatively safe and sane. *draws little emo hearts around them*

Would that we could all be Iroh when we grow up. :D

Oh man, I am so pleased with the sudden Avatar love all over my f/rlist. :DDD Seriously, that is some of the best television I have EVER watched (animated, live-action, children's, whatever). It's one of those things where I can't begin to pick a favorite character, even, because I love them all so much (although Iroh and Zuko are definitely the most quotable). And so many potential pairings!

I never could find much fic that I liked, though. :( Maybe there will be some now! (There's a boatload of great fanart out there, though - including some really nifty comics. I need to get an art recs post together.)

I am loving the explosion of love! I mean, I finally got around to watching because everyone was suddenly talking about it, but I am still enjoying it now. :D

Hilariously I am less interested in seeking out good fic than I am in just writing some. (And ooh, a art recs post would be awesome.)

PS: your icon. THEY CRUSHED THEIR OPPONENTS AT VOLLEYBALL. <3

You say hilarious, I say yes please! \o/

THEY WILL NEVER RISE FROM THE ASHES OF THEIR DEFEAT. :D I must admit, I am not the world's biggest Azula fan? (I may have less-favorite characters. One or two.) But I loved her in that episode, so much.

Hullo, I just ended up here over network (because basically I am jumping on top of every Avatar post I see on my network because it has eaten my brain) and would like to add my encouragement for post-series fic. *cough cough* Heh. Most of the fic I have seen so far seems to be not-post-series, and of those that are post-series, I haven't yet seen any epic long world-building-type ones.

Zuko is SO the little black dress of this fandom. What even, I would ship him with EVERYONE. (Though I guess it's true I would also probably ship anyone with anyone else on this show, heh.)

Also, I appreciated your musings about Azula at the end. That whole bit made me so incredibly sad and I think what you say about it points out why it also didn't really seem to fit.

Hallo! And yay, I am delighted to hear there hasn't been any epic world-building post-series fic, because then I will be Doing Something New!

Zuko is the best little black dress. :D

I'm glad my thoughts on Azula made sense! :)

Haha, well, maybe there is some and I haven't found it yet! I have only scratched the fandom's surface I think. But new fic would be great!! I think I may actually subscribe to you to make sure I catch this fic if you do write it, if that is okay. :3

This whole post just made me beam, because omg I love Avatar. I basically love everyone. Though I sort of disliked Zuko at first, but then he grew on me SO MUCH with his failiness and the adorable things he says like, "WHY AM I SO BAD AT BEING GOOD? ;_;" and "That's rough, buddy."

Anyway, I do not have much in the way of recs, sadly, other than this Zuko/Mai knifeplay fic, which is really quite tender and a great exploration of their relationship.

I disliked Zuko at first too! I thought he was boring. How silly of me.

HELLO. ZUKO HERE.

And oooh, thanks for the rec.

I watched the "Hello. Zuko here." scene about 1 million times, which is more impressive when you realise I was watching this on my TV so I had to catch that specific episode several times. (Nick here re-runs Avatar constantly, so it's all good.) <3

It makes me happy to see so many people discovering this series, because after the complete and total FAIL of the live action film, I was afraid people might be leery of the original source. Happily, so far the reverse seems to be happening, at least in the corners of fandom I frequent.

Also, yes to Zuko love, and Katara, and Azula, and Aang, and Ty Lee, and Iroh (omg Iroh), and just everything you say here, up to and including not being able to ship Aang with anyone because of his being 12. Not that he's your typical kid, far from it, but still.

Anithervreasonbwe need thisbhyothetical Season 4: where is Duko's mother?!

I think it is making people instead retreat defensively to the original source, which is awesome. Although now that I actually know the source material, I have BARELY CONTAINED RAGE for the film instead of just mild disgust on principle.

I want to age Aang and Toph up! Then they will be more shippable.

Ack, sorry for incomprehensible typing! That's what I get for trying to comment on my phone... what I was *trying* to say there is that, for me, the ultimate question to be answered by a hypothetical season 4 is the mystery of Zuko's mother. Way to open up a giant can of worms in the last five minutes, show.

Although now that I actually know the source material, I have BARELY CONTAINED RAGE for the film instead of just mild disgust on principle.

OMG YES. And it's not just the casting, although the casting was a HUGE problem -- we also have what appears to be the complete sucking out of all the humor, and the near-total personality transplants of the characters.It is clear that the producers understood *nothing* of what made the show awesome. Grr.

Aged-up Aang and Toph would make for some most excellent shipping potential! (With other people; maybe not so much with each other. Aang/Toph does not sit right in my head *at all*, no matter how old they are.)

Remember that time in the high school parking lot when I had my computer and wanted to show you an episode, but you were all "No, that doesn't interest me."

REVENGE.

(~Callie)

I do not remember, but I do completely believe you.

CALLIE IT IS SO GOOD.

My other ~issue~ with the series finale was the thing where the triumphant last scene (awesome moment of crowning!) was all about Aang and Zuko and I was like, way to suddenly make your show all male-driven, guise. But yeah.

Second, and here's the kicker: Azula. Again, I knew what they were trying to do; there was very little chance that Zuko, who was demonstrably a much less capable firebender than his sister, would be able to defeat her.

But he didn't even need to be able to! Because Katara is amazing and totally badass and should have been able to do it by herself! And I mean she did do it in the end, but IMO Katara didn't need Azula to be crazy to do it. She maybe would have needed to bloodbend which I was convinced she was going to do and would have found amazing. So.

But yeah, I agree with your thoughts!

Yeeeeah. It is at least somewhat mitigated by how many awesome women were on that show, but ... still.

I did want Zuko to have at least a hand in bringing down Azula, though, because it would've been really damn satisfying narratively. I just wanted Katara and Zuko to defeat Azula together, without compromising Azula first. Sigh.

Welcome to the A:TLA party! It is extremely super awesome. :) Iroh's totally my favorite character. I may be biased by my love of tea, but really, I think Iroh has one of the most interesting histories of anyone on the show.
I thoroughly approve of the idea of Season 4.

IT IS A GREAT PARTY, and I am sad that I did not have it when you were in easy talking-excitedly-about-TV-shows distance.

Also, you (and your delicate sensibilities) should be pleased to know that if/when I do a season four, I will remember that my main characters are all twelve to sixteen, and if I ship them it will be pretty tame shipping. :D

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everyone's a winner, we're making our fame

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