#wtf fandom

actors are good at

ACTING

It’s how I live my life.

Ok idk how the actual fuck we got to the point where we believe that the damn FIRE NATION were the first victims of the war. Maybe it's because of that fic Embers. Maybe it's because of the fact that the writers went out of their way to have us sympathize with the fire nation way too much. Either way I want to make this clear. Any time a nation decides to kill an entire race of people that starts a war does not make said nation the victims. Yes, we see that the common people of the fire nation were suffering from the effects of the war that they started. Still doesn't make them victims. Victims of their own imperialist ideology maybe. But not of the war.

How do you watch that episode and think "Man, the fire nation was the first victims of the 100 year war."?

How do you watch this episode when Aang is trying to master his chakras and we see THAT and still think "The fire nation were the first true victims of the 100 year war."?

Seriously, if you can see all of that and still think that stupidity, I have one question for you:

With every other character, there’s usually a range of portrayals.

Sometimes you get Iroh, The One Good Royal. Other times you get General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, who can be a stomach churning racist abusive monster.

Lu Ten could be The One Good Royal, or just as unsettling a stomach churning racist abuser as his father.

Ursa also can get a spin at being The One Good Royal, or she’ll get to represent the noblewoman’s brand of Fire Nation racism and imperialism.

Azula can range from a demon child to a neglected and abused child trying her best to navigate her situation.

Even Ozai and Azulon, who are usually portrayed as awful brutal men (sometimes much like canon or as flatter caricatures) can get softer appearances. Ozai and Azulon!

(I haven’t seen one that portrays Zuko negatively, but that’s another story.)

But when Katara needs a waterbending teacher and Hama is brought in? She was demonized every. Single. Time.

Time and time again, she’s framed as at best “just as bad as the Fire Nation Royals” or even regarded as worse.

(And it’s not simply a “rooting for the empire” pro-Fire Nation thing because none of these stories ever vilify any other Water Tribe characters, whether canon or OCs.)

And to me, it doesn’t make sense in context. In these stories, there’s some version of the Fire Nation abducted Katara, and Azulon decides Katara will be a test case for a policy of “civilizing” Water Tribe children, especially waterbenders. (And yes, the reference is what it sounds like.)

So, you take Hama, who had the Fire Nation attack her home and start abducting waterbenders. Eventually, all the other waterbenders were taken, then she was abducted herself and kept absolutely horrible conditions for decades. She eventually escapes by figuring out bloodbending. But instead of like canon where she continues her revenge plan until the Gaang meets her and Katara stops it, now the Fire Nation sinks to a new low years before that point.

It’s not enough to capture or kill waterbenders, now they want to take Water Tribe children, empty them of their own culture, fill them full of Fire Nation propaganda and turn them into weapons to further the Fire Nation’s goals. So Hama allows herself to be captured so she can teach this child from her tribe. Hama tries to help Katara hold on to their culture and doing what she can to counteract the propaganda they’re force feeding her.

Some Antis: IF YOU SHIP X YOU DESERVE TO DIE RIGHT NOW IN HORRIBLE WAYS because we have no common sense and can't distinguish fantasy fiction from real world people doing things, so let's pretend to threaten everyone with childish bullshit.

Killing an endless line of people to give yourself immortality is immoral.  

Creating a religion for your own convenience is immoral.  

Selling NapKru to the Primes would be immoral. 

Jamming Kane’s mind into a recently murdered body would be immoral