Let's Talk

And I just... They're so close to getting it. They're on the very edge of realizing how underdeveloped Aang as a character actually is and how incomplete his arc was. But the fandom babies and favors him so much that actually making that observation in the main parts of the fandom will never actually be conceptualized, and if it is it will never be accepted.

That's why the fault is being put onto Zuko in this particular instance. They can't admit to Aang's failings as a character so they're looking for a scapegoat to blame instead.

Maddie's dad died and she's watched her mom struggle with addiction her whole childhood. Her worst fucking fear is losing Simon, the only consistent person in her life who she cares about more than anything. Every time he's in danger, she's watching her worst nightmare play out doubly so when it's because he's doing it for her.

Simon was adopted. We don't know much about his relationship with his parents, but we know Maddie is the one person he wants in his life more than anyone else. He could never see her pain as a burden because her happiness and wellbeing has always been his priority. Her assumption that he would run away from her if she shares too much couldn't be further from the truth.

Also, Iroh is a tragic character but do you think he would've been as bad as Ozai if he hadn't lost his son? He would've cared for Zuko, but he still would've been a conqueror.

I will say, I disagree that Ursa neglected Azula.

If we examine the flashback in Zuko Alone, there's very little evidence to suggest that Ursa even treated them unfairly. When Zuko throws bread at the baby turtle ducks, Ursa scolds him similarly to how we see her scold Azula later. When Azula asks Ursa to make Zuko play with her, Mai, and Ty Lee, Ursa agrees even though Zuko clearly doesn't want to.

It's also important to remember that we're seeing this from Zuko's POV. So while we can say that he and Ursa spent more one on one time together (which would be a valid criticism of Ursa), we can't say that for sure because that wouldn't be something Zuko would be completely aware of.

And if we're looking at Azula's breakdown, it's her own subconscious version of her mother telling her that Ursa loves her. Some have taken this to mean that Ursa never actually told her. I've always taken it to mean that Azula does know that Ursa loves her but has been blinded by Ozai's manipulation to convince herself otherwise.

Of course, I won't pretend that Ursa is infallible. It's absolutely possible that Azula's behavior was reminiscent of Ozai's so she kept her distance. It's also possible that she wasn't as nurturing to Azula and got frustrated with her behavior.

But I do think that she was trying to find a way to parent Azula while working around Ozai's manipulation. I think that she seems harsh in some scenes because she's trying to overcompensate for the damage Ozai has already done to her.

So overall I do think it's less Ursa being neglectful and more her trying her best to navigate an awful situation.

Iroh is... Tricky.

I think he would have still been a conqueror. Had he not lost Lu Ten, he would have conquered Ba Sing Se and the rest of the Earth Kingdom would have probably followed. Then he would have become Fire Lord after Azulong died.

Newsflash, I GET IT. That doesn’t mean it’s well written or good. Healthy or being queer isn’t a safeguard from being badly written or boring.

I’ve seen people compare Vaggie to Pearl and I’ve never been so offended as someone whose not a big SU fan. Pearl had so many episodes about her, her relationships to the other crystal gems, her relationship with Pearl. Vaggie gets none of that outside of Charlie.

I really do think chaggie’s only saving grace is that it’s a sapphic ship in a sea of mlm and het ships. That’s it. If you made either Charlie or Vaggie a guy way more people would have issues with it.

The AUDACITY to compare our Pearl to Vaggi is crazy😤

Honestly my issue with Chaggie isn't even that it's toxic. It's that they're bland. . I don't mind Catradora and they're arguably more toxic than Chaggie. Catra and Adora have chemistry and history. You can see why they're together even if you don't think they should be.

(People are eventually gonna ask why I don't like Stolitz if that's the case. That's simply because I don't like Stolas and I tolerate Blitzø at best)

The way Bryke and antis describe it, it's some toxic barrage of arguments where both parties treat each other horribly. And that's just... Not true? If anything, that's closer to canon Maiko. Or even Kataang considering that Aang's technically lashed out at Katara more than Zuko has post-redemption.

Zuko and Katara admittedly did have a rough start, but they worked out their differences and she forgave him. After that, I would argue they're actually fairly close. Katara felt comfortable teasing him multiple times. She confided in him during TSR before even forgiving him. They were close enough to the point where she was the one he trusted to take down Azula.

I like to think that Pomni was a pretty prickly person prior to putting on the headset which is why she didn't have many friends. I think she, like Jax, had a fear of being rejected (obviously for different reasons) so she tended to keep her distance by being pretty harsh with people.

Why does Apple do what she do? Apple is a teen who has been taught all her life if she didn’t follow her destiny her world was going to fall apart and disappear, and her destiny is basically her whole existence she’s been prepped for. So when her worldview starts to crumble, of course she still stubbornly clings onto what she’s been taught all her life until she’s proven wrong.

Glinda is a privileged rich girl who was raised in comfort and security, so when her world view cracks, she chooses the security and comfort of Oz than going with Elphaba.

It also helps to note both Apple and Glinda aren’t meant to be in the right, and are the purposeful opposing viewpoints to Elphaba and Raven.

Charlie is what happens if you make Glinda or Apple the protagonist but don’t have anyone to actually challenge their worldviews as characters, and they were right all along.

To be fair to Charlie, she does genuinely think she's doing the right thing. Glinda knew she wasn't and stuck her head in the sand. Apple... Well, she's a little more complicated.

The show plays fast and loose with Apple a lot. It implies selfishness from the beginning only to later flip the script and say she just wants her friends to be safe. But then she gets jealous when things turned out okay and Raven was becoming more well-liked.

The book is a lot more consistent. Apple in the book is very clearly manipulative, she just does it under the guise of being good and nice. The books do a much better job of showing that Apple's idea of good is more performative than genuine, very similar to Glinda.

But unlike the TADC cast, Charlie's friends would kick his ass, or at least put a stop to his antics

Eh, I feel like they wouldn't. Either Charlie wouldn't let them or they wouldn't care all that much. I think they'd all just ignore Jax because they don't have time to give her the reaction she wants to get out of them.