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Structurally speaking, ATLA did something important with Zuko that, in a purely mechanistic sense of narrative development, I think a lot of people don’t notice immediately, and that even fewer people who want to emulate what was done with him get.

Which is Zuko is made a protagonist VERY early, and the show goes out of its way to continually place Zuko into situations where the audience empathizes and roots for him.

This happens in literally the second episode of the series, if we count the two-part premiere as a single episode, which I think we should. The A-plot of that episode, “The Southern Air Temple,” is Aang reckoning with the genocide of his people… but the B-plot?

The B-plot is the introduction of Zhao, and more specifically, his introduction in a way that is calculate to shift the audience, whose introduction to Zuko did NOT engender a ton of sympathy to him, directly and forcefully onto his side. They want Zuko to kick Zhao’s ass.

This continues all through book one and book two. Remember, Zuko is never, ever the main villain of this series. That’s initially Zhao, followed by Azula and Ozai. (Plus various temporary players like Long Feng.) Whenever Zuko isn’t placed into direct conflict with the other protagonists, he’s always written and presented in a way that is careful, VERY VERY careful, not to make him too monstrous, and to make us root for him. He’s placed right next to Iroh, who is designed for people to like, and that reflects back onto Zuko; we want Zuko to be better than he is because we want Iroh to have good things.

Johns Hopkins Computer Science prof Professor Peter Fröhlich grades his students on a curve: the highest score on the final gets an A and everyone else is graded accordingly.

Clever students in Fröhlich’s “Intermediate Programming”, “Computer System Fundamentals,” and “Introduction to Programming for Scientists and Engineers” figured out that this meant that if they all boycotted the exam, they’d all get As.

So they organized a boycott, milling around the hall outside the class where the exams were being sat, sternly reminding each other that if no one sat the exam they’d all get straight As, ignoring Fröhlich’s pleas to come and sit the exam.

Fröhlich praised his students’ solidarity: “The students learned that by coming together, they can achieve something that individually they could never have done. At a school that is known (perhaps unjustly) for competitiveness I didn’t expect that reaching such an agreement was possible.”

PROGRAMING.

Like half of programming is looking at sorting algorithms and asking “what could break this?” They looked at the grading algorithm (curve grading) and noticed “if every grade is the same, everything is at the top of the list” and “the easiest way to get all the grades to be the same is to set them all to zero.”

“they’re burning all the witches” 

“In 2016, I was a 22-year-old with no health insurance and the only place that would take me without extremely high fees for medical care was Planned Parenthood. I was not there for HIV testing, but they offered it to me anyway, for free. I never expected when they called me back a week later that anything was wrong, but my results came back positive for HIV. 

Naturally I was shocked. I was diagnosed in a different state than the state I was living in at the time, so it took a few weeks before I could get into treatment. I didn’t tell anyone about my diagnosis because I was worried about what they might think of me. At the same time, I was living in constant fear of what my life with HIV would look like. When I finally got back home to Florida and met with my doctor for the first time to go over my numbers he said “Your viral load isn’t great but it’s not bad. It’s good that you found out when you did because we can fix this.” And almost immediately, the weight of all my fears had lifted. 

I have a normal life. I am a graduate student. I have a beautiful man who loves me. I can still have children. I can travel. I can do any and everything I had planned for myself before I was diagnosed with HIV. People often think that HIV is life-threatening. But the threat is not in having the disease — it’s in not knowing you have the disease. Thanks to Planned Parenthood, I know, and that is how Planned Parenthood saved my life.“  

— Jordyn, Las Vegas, NV

Getting tested is the only way to know for sure if you have HIV, and it’s one of the best ways to keep yourself and your partners healthy. HIV tests are usually quick and painless — most of the time, all you have to do is rub your cheek with a cotton swab. 

The best part about HIV testing? Getting tested and knowing your status can really put your mind at ease, no matter the results. If you do find out you have HIV, you’ll be able to get the information you need to start treatment. There’s no cure for HIV, but there are medicines you can take to help you stay healthy and lower (or even stop) your chance of passing HIV to others. 

Having HIV does not make you “dirty” or a bad person, and it doesn’t mean your life is over. People living with HIV can be in relationships, have sex, and live full, healthy, happy lives with the right treatment and the support of friends and family. 

Lots of places offer free or low-cost HIV testing, like your local Planned Parenthood health center.