Just because you're winnin' , it don't mean you're the lucky one

From ancient to abstract, this one sure got around.

-pointing all my viable fingers a stages light on @ssreeder because THEY just casually slid jetski as a concept in their fic and i have never been the same since! besides... another rare ship as well so now i am dragged in this corner. BY THEM!-

well hello hi! its fine its fine! i just.. i don'T have some grand headcanons about them. i just was introduced to the concept and the thought of them just makes me squeal because i find them just... to cute. i doodled them once, i should do so again maybe for the rarepair event.

(id In ALT text)

#hello again martin and bosco!! sending you boys round for another go :)

He’s the leader. The first time we meet him he isn’t just attacking fire nation soldiers, he’s on a supply raid. He is sixteen and has taken the responsibility of giving children who have lost their parents and homes to the war a home.

And he’s completely at war with himself because he wants his kids to be safe and he wants to make the fire nation pay. When we first meet him he’s convinced he can do both, but the second time around he’s unable to resist his anger and rage.

And, after the dam incident the Freedom Fighters disbanded. Everyone but his oldest and closest friends, Longshot and Smellerbee, left him.

I wonder how many times it crossed his mind that the kids he'd sworn to protect, the families he'd sworn to avenge, are all out there where he can't help them anymore.

Did any of them suffer more? Did they have a better life away from him? He'd never know.

He didn't even live to see the hundred year war end...

I've been a huge fan of this specific Jet fanart by Esmedalma since 2022, as I think it captures the raw, emotional weight of his tragedy.

Still, there are Jet haters who are just... confusing. Because they adore Zuko and especially Uncle Iroh. (as if Iroh didn't gleefully speak of taking over one of the last remaining earth kingdom cities, Ba Sing Se, and aided Zhao in the Northern Watertribe seige but drew the line at koi hunting?)

So it's very confusing to me that not so many people understand Jet's character. I think he's a solid example of the phrases "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain" and "the end justifies the means."

He seemed to be on a redemptive arc in Ba Sing Se but his eagerness to get whom he believed threat (two firebenders) arrested caused so much more tragedy aaaaaa.

Oh, and, my rough guess is that he had about 40 kids and teens under his care. Not sure if he sheltered any adults but either way, his whole mission started when he was about 8, same age he lost everything to the fire nation at.

Meaning he kept who knows how many kids fed, clothed, sheltered, cared for, comforted and alive for at most 8 years. He's a resourceful and devoted leader, with some pretty good manipulation skills he must've adopted to get out of a pickle.

And the fact Aang snapped him out of Long Feng's mind control by reminding him what he fought for, and he got flashbacks of his Freedom Fighters... only for it all to be short lived as he takes a fatal blow...

Timestamp below at 3:55

AAAAHHHHH-

(+ A personal headcanon I have is that he nicknamed all his freedom fighters and they later adopted said nicknames as new names. Idk it seems like a likely scenario, since their names don't sound like birthnames and correspond with their role or skill [Longshot, Sneers] or are ironic [Pipsqueak].)

He’s the leader. The first time we meet him he isn’t just attacking fire nation soldiers, he’s on a supply raid. He is sixteen and has taken the responsibility of giving children who have lost their parents and homes to the war a home.

And he’s completely at war with himself because he wants his kids to be safe and he wants to make the fire nation pay. When we first meet him he’s convinced he can do both, but the second time around he’s unable to resist his anger and rage.

It's hard to say. We only see the word agni used in their name for honor duels (Agni Kai), with agni (अग्नि) meaning "fire" in Sanskrit and kai (会) meaning "social gathering" in Japanese. The fact that "kai" refers to pleasant and non-violent forms of interaction leads me to think that Agni Kais were originally more ceremonial duels meant to express piety to the deity Agni. However, by the Hundred Year War period, it seems that the religious ceremony had evolved/been corrupted to become a form of conflict resolution with legal ramifications.

The impression I get of the post-Sozin Fire Nation is that traditional religiosity seems to be heavily discouraged. The Fire Sages seem to exist only to maintain ancient temples and conduct ceremonies; we don't see them present in any important meetings, so they presumably don't hold much real power in Fire Nation society. We see the children of the elites are taught to pledge their allegiance to the Fire Lord at the beginning of each day (or maybe even at the start of each class period), which implies that the position has developed a cult of personality that supersedes any religion in the country. The one village in the Fire Nation that seems to follow any sort of deity religion, Jang Hui (The Painted Lady village), is literally marginalized and mistreated by the Fire Nation authorities.

As for the Fire Nation of the past, it's possible they once worshipped Agni. It's worth noting that Agni is also worshipped in Buddhism as a minor deity, as well as in early Hinduism. Of course, Buddhism descends from Hinduism, so it still ultimately comes back to the Vedas. Especially with many aspects of the Fire Nation possessing a really strong Southeast Asian influence, it's reasonable to assume the Fire Nation's religious history might have went:

Early Hinduism-equivalent > State-Sponsored Buddhism-equivalent > Imperial Cult

Here me out. You mention the South/South East Asian influences in Fire Nation culture. Well within the Hindu tradition, Kalaripyuttu (the oldest martial art) and Bharatnattyam (a form of classical dance) are often refered to as brother-sister disciplines. They are said to have evolved from each other and the practise of one improves the other, and both (but especially Bharatnatyam) can be considered an act of worship.

(Also dance and martial arts often have complimentary evolutions, which is very cool to me)

Ancient Fire Nation society, where dance and martial arts are seen as complimentary and intertwined, where the Agni Kai is something akin to a Capoeira dance circle, and as the society grows mire warlike the dance aspect fall away and the martial aspect remains. Over time it becomes a rite-of-passage ceremonial duel. Except the society keeps hardening, and soon it stops being a cereminial rite of passage and instead becomes a show of skill and strength, a way to prove that you are worthy of your position.

This a great theory. Really good insight into how a religious ceremony could be twisted to suit the needs of an oppressive society. It's also worth noting that the martial art that inspired firebending, Northern Shaolin, is the most influenced by Buddhist philosophy of all the martial arts featured in the show--- The other martial arts being Tai Chi, Hung Gar, Chu Gar, and Baguazhang.

Firebending descending from dance would also explain why Zuko loves to incorporate breakdancing into his fighting style:

I'd like to think the original Agni Kai ceremonies were once an all-day event that would feature both dances and ceremonial battles as a display devotion and respect for Agni and other spirits.

For example, there's a Thai dance known as Fawn Tian (กวางเทียน) or "The Candle Dance". According to Wikipedia, the female dancers pay homage to the divinities that protect the eight cardinal points of the Earth, asking them to pass through the candlelight. This dance could also represent a firebender's self-control and discipline over fire, as it takes a great deal of concentration and restraint to dance while maintaining a consistently sized flame in each hand. Think about how much Aang struggled to maintain just one flame with two hands.

The ceremonial battles could also be known as war dances (wai khru ram/ไหว้ครูรำ). Imagine witnessing the sword battle above, but the blades are on fire. Being able to pull off a performance would be a display of both appreciation for fire and skill [by not accidentally burning your partner].

And yes to the ceremonial war dances too! Many older martial arts can now only showcase duels ceremonially since the objective or a true duel is death. The aforementioned Kalaripayuttu, for example, doesnt really have fights anymore since one of the "rules" of a fight is that your opponent shoudnt be capable of walking away (the wording used is often "crippled or dead")

Dance as a way of showcasing firebending skill and discipline is very cool, since we see a lot of emphasis in-show towards firebending being a very emotion-based art, and how control over the self reflects in control over the flame. This is especially emphasized in Zuko and Azula's last duel. So something like Fawn Tian coukd easily be like....an graduation/initiation ritual, to showcase mastery and offer respects

Also in dances that involve flame, may I suggest the Bengali prayer dance done for the Goddess Durga:

It could be a ritual in certain areas of the Fire Nation for firebenders to offer up their own flames to the immortal fires, as a way honoring those greater forces. Perhaps, like the water from the Spirit Oasis, fire from these immortal flames might have special properties that can be utilized in times of hardship.