#arnook

Art for the Avatar fanfiction, Reign of the Fire Lady Dowager, by Snakestaff. (Bottom image was my first version where everything was backlit, but top one is what I consider the final version)

Ozai and Ursa: decided not to have more kids after Zuko and Azula. They easily had the time to do it and the resources to raise as many kids as they wanted, but no.

Kya and Hakoda: likely decided not to have more kids due to resource restraints.

Chief Arnook and his wife: we really don't know, it's possible she died when Yue was young and Arnook didn't remarry.

Iroh: either he really hated having kids, he had fertility problems, or there are a bunch of unacknowledged bastards running around.

Ty Lee's parents: I assume seven kids was enough for them.

Ukano and Michi: almost certainly had fertility problems. It took them so long after Mai to have Tom-Tom.

Fic-to-Art #57: Kino and Yue kiss in front of Arnook and Pakku

I have the slight suspicion that my Patrons have a favorite side couple. Hmm. It's just an inkling I guess (?)

It was very funny to draw this one, due to my current IRL constraints and many responsibilities I had to turn this into a chibi artwork so I could get it done on time. But that also allows a lot of silliness, and we got plenty of it here with Kino's dorky reaction upon being kissed by his princess. I suspect this may be what his return to the Northern Water Tribe looked like, and yes, Yue is the one who initiates things. As usual xD Hope you guys like it!

he is looking respectfully,,,

Original meme below:

INSANELY underrated piece of dialogue. i feel like we talk a lot about dialogue in other big scenes (i.e. “i am going to speak my mind and you are going to listen” + “i was sad because you had lost your way” + “hope is something you give yourself” and so many more) but this simple, small line and the little pause between ‘proud’ and ‘sad’ ….. oh my god. 😖

not to say that the dialogue in those scenes isn’t amazing also, but “so proud… and sad” really gets me in a way none of the others do. it’s the perfect thing to say after such a heavy sequence of battle and sacrifice scenes. it’s such a beautiful way of showing arnook’s love for his daughter - he knew she would have to sacrifice herself to give back to the moon spirit, and was in full support of her bravery (cause damn, she was SO brave) but he was also just.. sad. and that’s so valid.

As much as I appreciated what NATLA was trying to do and think it is worth a rewatch, can I just say as an unapolagetic Yue stan that they completely ruined her, and Yukka by extension.

And say whatever you want about her scenes leading up to the sacrifice (which did make me cry, I'll admit, her speech about living was actually a nice addition), but it was actually this line that left me absolutely seething and in my opinion proves that the writers completely misunderstood what made the sacrifice so powerful:

I actually had to pause the television and collect myself after this one because holy fuck is this the stupidest thing I've ever heard. The entire point in the animated show was that she didn't get to make her own choices before this point. She didn't get to choose who to marry, she didn't get to choose her role in society, she didn't get to choose basically anything about her life besides maybe how to style her hair or something. Yue was a character who was extremely dutiful, but also extremely boxed in by her duty. It was both her greatest strength and her greatest weakness, a parody of itself, just as her mere existence was a parody: while she was saved by the moon spirit as a child and allowed to live on, it was that very reason that she eventually gave up her life. And the very fact that she was given these choices in the first place in the LA seriously undermined the idea of her sacrifice. Yue was told her entire life what to do, and although she did manage to find a bit of freedom through her brief romance with Sokka, ultimately, she still didn't get to publicly be with him or reject Hahn or anything similar. Her sacrifice was what she saw as her duty, yes, but her sacrifice for her people was also a way of standing up for herself and finally resolving to make her own choices. In that moment, she not only saved her people, but she finally made a decision for herself instead of doing something someone else told her to, even going against Sokka's wishes to do what she thought was necessary. So in the LA, with her having a place of influence in her community, with her being able to call off her engagement, with her being told that she could one day be chief, to that stupid fucking line implying that she was in no way ever repressed and free to make her own decisions the entire time, removing all of her character growth and any character significance to her actions, it was all basically pointless. It made Yue into a plot device for Sokka to bond with and to move the Aang-and-Kuruk plotline forward. In the animated series, Yue was not a plot device, and she was extremely well written, whereas in NATLA, her character fell completely flat. She talks about responsibility and pressure in her first scene with Sokka, but other than that, she has no depth. In other words, she has no depth besides her relationship to him.

Arnook: In a show of peace and a start of our friendship, we humbly offer my daughter Yue's hand in marriage. She is of marriageable age and has no fiance.

Yue: (trying to look like she wants to be here and failing)

Lu Ten: Right. Well, two issues here. Princess Yue, how old are you?

Yue: Sixteen.

Lu Ten: Yeah, no. She's still a child in the Fire Nation and I'm not marrying a kid. And secondly- pardon my language here, Princess- but unless she has a dick hiding under those robes, I'm not waiting four years. Because I like dick.

Arnook: ........

Yue: (snorts)