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People really underestimate this relationship and favor Katara’s grief over Aang so much that we never really get to see fan art of her and her brother. Ultimately, I feel like Sokka’s death had the potential to hurt her the most - especially if we consider that Aang could have died before him, and he was all she really had left. But that’s all speculative.

Toph Beifong

"I am a warrior, but I'm a girl, too." 

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From what is shown with the Kyoshi Warriors (which, admittedly, isn't a lot), there seems to be a unity through sameness with them; that they dress the same, that they fight the same, that they all use the same weapons. There doesn't seem to be a place for self expression or for one to stand out from the rest.

What Ty Lee was running from when she joined the circus was that her identity was only that of a matched set- that she couldn't be seen for just herself. She desperately craves attention, which is why performing in a circus was perfect for her. And that desire for attention doesn't disappear when Azula recruits her; she still does whatever she can to stand out, like sucking up to Azula in contrast to Mai's projected apathy or flirting with every guy she comes across.

But when she joins the Kyoshi Warriors, there isn't a chance to stand out. She has to wear the same makeup as everyone else, the same armor as everyone else. And if the Kyoshi Warriors actually allowed for different fighting styles, that could potentially work for her. But they don't. They all fight the same way.

When Sokka was learning the ropes of what it means to be a Kyoshi Warrior, Suki demonstrated that they have their own distinct fighting style, of using their opponent's momentum against them. Sure, they later adopted chi blocking into their fighting style, but that just makes it no longer unique to Ty Lee, which makes Ty Lee even less able to stand out, which is such a core part of who she is. She wants to be seen for her talents, not for blending in.

So I was working on my “What’s in a Name” series for the Earth Kingdom, specifically researching Joo Dee’s name origin. I initially thought Joo Dee’s name was meant to be a joke, since it sounds like such a mundane English name (Judy). However, the more I looked into her name, the more depth of meaning I discovered. Allow me to share these discoveries with you:

The name Joo Dee literally means “Local” (局地) in Mandarin Chinese. It’s a very fitting, if somewhat uninteresting name for a tour guide. However, when you break down the hanzi (Chinese characters) of her name, she becomes both an ominous and tragic figure of Ba Sing Se.

The characters used for her name mean Bureau (局) and Earth (地), respectively. So when writing her name, you literally read it as “Bureau of Earth”, which sounds like a label you’d slap on a piece of government property. Keep in mind, Joo Dee is not the name of one person, it’s an identity forced upon droves of brainwashed women. They’re not just figurative tools of the government, they are literal tools of the government and are never allowed to forget that through the name given to them.

The American Equivalent to this would be:

“Hello, my name is Cia and I’ll be your DC tour guide! ^_^”

“Oh, Sia, that’s a pretty name…”

“It’s spelled C-I-A, short for Central Intelligence Agency! ^_^”

“Wait, you work for the CIA?”

“No, I AM THE CIA. ^_^”

And then you find out she’s a victim of Project MKUltra.

“…Azula only lost to Katara because of plot armor”

You know what? I’m gonna let Piandao have the stage from here:

“…your weapon is an extension of yourself. You must think of it as another part of your own body.”

“…You must learn to use your sword to stamp your identity on a battlefield. Remember, you cannot take back a stroke of the brush, or a stroke of the sword.”

Oh, and look at Katara, all sparing Azula’s life without spending 5 episodes of preachiness about it! She could have let her drown. She could have stabbed her with an ice dagger. But she didn’t. Do people talk about this? No. It’s all about Aang and his lack of character development.

“Landscape painting teaches a warrior to hold the lay of the land in his mind. In battle, you only have an instant to take everything in.”

“Rock gardening teaches the warrior to manipulate his surroundings and use them to his advantage”

Katara uses her element like an extension of her own body, she is able to quickly survey her surroundings and take advantage of them, all the while considering the implications of her actions and choosing whether to take a life or not.

@trapcard, everything is a plot forwarding device. This isn’t real life. Not a single stroke of color in the show is there by accident. Every element, every word, every decision anyone makes through 61 episodes is intentional and there to further the plot. Azula has a mental breakdown. That is her character, that is her arc. Katara has canonically bested her twice, both when she was stable and when she wasn’t. In this fight, we see Katara being the epitome of a warrior the way Piandao has framed it - fluid, creative, fast thinking. And more importantly than anything else - she makes her own decisions, taking into account her surroundings and options. She doesn’t let them make the decisions for her.

You know what a plot armor actually looks like?

this:

“I will never, ever, turn my back on people who need me”.

I just finished avatar: the last airbender🥺💛 here’s a drawing of our queen katara 🌊

I made a painting of the Gaang™️ on an adventure on Appa (the star of the painting) because I think there should be more art of them just having fun tbh