Am I The Only One Who Thinks It’s Kinda Sad And Kinda Weird That SuFin And FrUk Are Raising The Others’

They all have cats. It is impossible to be a nation and to not have a cat. Their cats are NATION cats. They appear alongside their owner and stay by their side all throughout their lives. You can't get rid of the cat either. The cat represents their country too, and is an immortal just like the rest of them.

these in particular are my favorite panels. shows their relationship so good; healthy too. First pic is literally what i imagine their dynamic as a canon couple. he always asks for her opinion in this comic and i love it. so refreshing from the Rift where they were both assholes to each other. Even when he disagreed with taking away Liling's bending, he didnt outright refuse her or say no. He said he'd think about it. Also refreshing from the show, where Aang was so set in his beliefs that he didnt consider solutions that differed from his values.

[blog update] Opening a country is tough, too.

ORIGINAL

[T/N: Sternenhimmel = Starry sky, Kirschblüte = Cherry blossom]

East Asia Family:

-Yung Soo leaves the door open every time he uses the bathroom. His siblings do not appreciate it all. Yao takes this as an opportunity to throw stuff at him every time he walks by the bathroom. -Leon and Mei are twins, but Leon is arguably older by physical age. Yung Soo is younger than both of them, and Kiku is the oldest. -They call Yao "Mama"/"Mother"/"Mom" just to spite him. -They have accepted Emil as part of the family.

-They rock out in their garden to "Kung Fu Fighting" while having a barbeque -It's so chaotic I swear -Kiku is close to going insane from being quarantined with his siblings. Thai, Lien, Najeera and Macau are all quarantined together but they are very peaceful. -They all love bubble tea. they are bubble tea lovers. They will constantly annoy Mei and Kiku into making bubble tea for them. -Yao used to be the one to put the star on the tree during christmas (he said he had to be the one because he was the oldest) but now that Emil was like an honorary member of their family he's the one to put it up there since he's taller. Yao is not pleased. -Yung Soo, Mei and Leon have the hots for certain seven deadly sins characters. Mei likes Merlin, Leon likes Ban and Yung Soo likes Elizabeth. Yao freaked out and cut off their wifi. They had a huge argument about it with Yao calling them indecent. Meanwhile Kiku was in the background simping for King.

Our twenty-six year old feud ends now.

F I G H T  M E.

idk why but i imagine yao and ivan's height difference is like Gyomei and Muichiro

do you see the vision

your rusame art is so peak

slr omg but thank u!! im not rlly an artist so im glad u think so HAHAH

How would you think either of the two (Alfred and Ivan) would think about proposing/marriage in your au? Ik they do eventually but I would love to hear about how it might happen!

I think they're both into it! One more than the other tho lmao

ofc Alfred as an Omega was highly disdainful of the idea and actively rejected it, but only because its something expected of him. Take this excerpt:

                 Alfred wrinkled his nose. Marriage as a duty. What a ridiculous notion.

                 He saw the Omegas here in this village. The married ones. The ones who walked around the village claiming they were fulfilled because they had made a family. A good show, indeed—but through the windows of their cottages, behind drawn curtains, he could see their misery, their helplessness at the hands of their husbands. Fear flashed in their eyes at the prospect of returning home. Controlled. Locked away. No freedom or autonomy or any function other than to satisfy their husbands' carnal urges and pump out their babies.

                 Alfred saw it as a warning. And he didn't need to be told twice.

This is what Alfred thinks about marriage, mostly due to his upbringing of seeing the miserable people of Krasny. But he's not against it entirely. He just doesn't want it to be forced upon him. Like all things, he wants it at his own pace, at his own time. But he's not immune to dreaming—and even he wants his own fairytale romance one day. He just never has time to truly think about it or consider it. For most of the story its the last thing on his mind. Ofc, after getting feelings for Ivan, this mindset changed, and he very much wants to get married to him.

As for Ivan, in the story it's also the last thing on his mind. Of course, he's a royal with a lot on his plate—that is, until he started liking Alfred. Now, he very much wants to do so; there's even a scene where he goes through the lawbook trying to find a loophole so he can marry him. You would think with all his trauma and history that he would fear marriage, as he saw how his parents' turned out. But Ivan isn't like that. Rather than a cautionary tale, he sees it as another way to prove he isn't like his father, like a manual. For Ivan its like: get married, have children, and do it better than he did.

Toph's Characterization, ATLA Comics - A Dissertation

Chapter One - The Rift (Part One)

I'm going to start with the third entry of the 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Comic Series because Toph's characterization isn't too off-putting in 'The Promise' (though it still had many infuriating panels that I'll get to in the future) and she isn't present in 'The Search'. So, we'll start off with 'The Rift' - the first and only Toph-centric comic, despite being a fan favorite character and one of the main characters of the show.

And, the very first panel with our favorite Earthbender is a slap to the face to Toph's character arc as well as her personality:

Toph Beifong is questioning whether or not Earth Kingdom citizens can united alongside Fire Nation citizens.

This is coming from the first member of the Gaang that warmed up to Zuko when he presents himself in the Western Air Temple (and willingly went to speak to him, despite everyone's disapproval).

This is coming from the same person who willingly sat down for a cup of tea with Uncle Iroh. And even after discovering he was a member of the Fire Nation Royal Family, she still thought and spoke highly of his character (Aang does state that Toph mentions that Iroh gives great tea and advice).

This is coming from the same person who travelled across the Fire Nation, observed how their is good in evil; fought beside the Fire Nation Prince to stop the war and even reassured him that HE WAS GOOD when he doubted himself during the Ember Island Play!

Obviously, Toph may have her doubts and concerns given they're discussing the government of a Fire Nation Colony - territory that once pertained to the Earth Kingdom. And yes, hostility and dissatisfaction may be a legitimate concern. However, it's the way she phrases her sentence that irks me. It almost seems as though Toph is doubting the possibility of genuine unanimity forging between the two different Nations. And it's really off-putting because Toph had never ONCE, during her screen time on ATLA, questioned the possibility of blossoming friendships with people of the Fire Nation.

It's also a lesson Aang teaches her in 'The Avatar and The Firelord':

Toph: It's like these people are born bad

Aang: No, that's wrong. I don't think that was the point of what Roku showed me at all (...) Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? If anything, their story proves anyone's capable of great good and great evil.

And now, we commence my substantial hatred for the portrayal of Toph's manners:

Yes, in the original series Toph does have a few scenes (that I can recall, three) where she does something that is generally un-ladylike and bad-mannered. But, I cannot understand what it is with Bryke and their obsession of depicting Toph being rude and gross in almost every other scene.

In 'The Promise' we had a few other scenes and 'The Rift', not fifteen pages in, and we get these two scenes almost back-to-back. And, it no longer correlates to Toph's want to disconnect from her pompous upbringing. This is how Bryke choose to write their "tomboy" coded characters, and it's disrespectful.

We don't see any other female character do these types of actions. Not Katara, not Suki, not Ty Lee, not Mai, not Azula. Toph is exclusively the only character that acts this way. And it really leaves a bad taste in my mouth once you come to terms that Byrke associate "tomboy female characters" with unhygienic, gross and rude behavior. You can write Toph desiring to abandon her rigorous upbringing and be less traditionally feminine without portraying her this way. It's just perpetuating a very nasty stereotype that's already been constructed with this type of media.

And don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with depicting female characters doing things that are considered unladylike (example: burping, picking their teeth, etc.). But, how come no other female character acts this way? We never see none of the other traditionally feminine characters, such as Katara or Mai, act this way. Like I said, it's feeding into a very weird and harmful stereotype.

Oh boy.

So, we enter the central conflict between Aang and Toph.

To contextualize this, whilst Aang is explaining the Air Nomad Traditions to the air acolytes, he ends up saying "That's just how it's done." and it triggers Toph's past childhood trauma growing up secluded and misunderstood by emotionally neglectful parents. I actually really enjoy that we're exploring Toph's past and her own traumatic experiences; it makes her a more compelling, relatable and human character and gives her personality a lot more depth.

However, it's what comes next that infuriates me to my core (and the reason why I wanted to write this monstrosity of an analysis). Toph becomes arrogant, rude, insensitive and disrespectful to Aang and to his culture.

It's just odd we never explore this trauma beyond this. The trauma that Toph has, while interesting and a great set-up for some internal character work, it's utilized solely to progress the conflict (and once it's resolved, Toph's inner struggles are abandoned). And it's odd that this traumatic event in her childhood is the setup for her sudden and spontaneous love for the future and her avoidance of her past.

It's even odder when you remember that in the original series, Toph never wanted to flee her past. She loved her parents and felt remorse for leaving them. She just wanted them to understand that she was a capable fighter and see her beyond her blindness.

For you to understand my disappointment in this particular characterization, we first have to analyze Toph during ATLA. Throughout the two seasons where she is present, Toph had never once disrespected Aang's culture or his spirituality. On the contrary, she seemed amazed with the Western Air Temple the moment she sensed it's architecture beneath the cliffs: "Wow ... it's amazing!"

Aang reassured her that friendships carry on throughout lifetimes (and it comforts her);

When he's meditating, she's the only one remaining quiet:

Season 3, Episode 6: The Avatar and The Fire Lord

Katara: Do they have bathrooms in the Spirit World?

Sokka: As a matter of fact, they do not.

She's always showed nothing but respect for Aang, his culture and his duties as the Avatar and last airbender, yet, now, for some reason she is characterized in such an unflattering and antagonistic light. And it's crazy to me that Toph is suddenly someone who resents the past and is all about the future... since when has this been one of her defining character traits?

It just... keeps going... And it's so sad to see. This just makes Toph so unlikeable and this just isn't the same Toph we got to see in the animated series. And it what world would Toph Beifong choose a random dude she just met over her friends, especially her FIRST FRIEND (Aang)?

AND NOW SHE IS LYING TO PROTECT THIS RANDO BECAUSE HE ADMIRES HER?

In what world would Toph do this? And don't tell me this is because Toph is enamored with Satoru. Toph, canonically had a crush on Sokka, yet she never did anything stupid nor disrespectful for Sokka; she never compromised her morals or beliefs to protect Sokka.

And I cannot fathom Toph being this unbothered by the pollution. True, she was never a big environmentalist in the main series; however, I would like to believe that Toph would advocate for the protection of her element, especially given she is so in tune with nature: Badgermoles taught her how to bend, she sees through earth, her element is centered around nature... I just can't rationalize Toph being this indifferent to the lack of care for the environment.

Sigh... Here's a little montage of Aang's ability to maintain inner peace:

Season Two, Episode Eight 'The Chase': Aang lashing out on Toph despite Toph being the only one to justify how Azula, Ty Lee and Mai kept finding them.

Season Two, Episode Eleven 'The Desert': Yelling at Toph and blaming her for Appa's kidnapping, despite Toph being unable to see nor protect Appa, because she was protecting her friends.

Season Three, Episode One 'The Awakening': Aang being so frustrated that the world thinks he's dead that he flies away at sea, during a storm.

Season Three, Episode Seventeen 'The Ember Island Players': Literally get's so infuriated with an unreal depiction of his relationship with Katara that he forcibly kisses her, because immaturely possessive and quote: 'Overreacting? If I hadn't blocked my chakra, I'd probably be in the Avatar State right now!?

'The Promise' - Part One: After Katara is held by Zuko and he enters the Avatar State.

Yes, Aang sure is in tune with his inner peace.

It's also hilarious that they really think Toph is the one provoking the earthquakes when she's the best earthbender alive and is more in tune with her bending then any other bender there. I mean, I get it we have to shove the "everyone loves and defends Aang" but not even Sokka came to Toph's defense? Katara?

Another thing that really rubs me the wrong way is that Toph was literally pushed into Aang's life because she "waits and listens" - yet, here, Toph is anything but patient. She's explosive and reactive. During ATLA, whenever she fights, she always has a moment afterwards where she listens to the other person. The best examples are with Katara in 'The Runaway'. She's actually considerably patient if you actually analyze her character throughout the series and isn't as hotheaded as she's portrayed here.

Not everything in this first part is horrendous. I do enjoy that we get confirmation (that unlike a certain canon couple) Aang and Toph are able to have their squabbles and then talk things out to understand one another's perspective.

We also get to see them work together despite being at odds. And, just like in the animated series, they work in really great harmony and comprehend the other without saying many words. I really enjoy that we get to see them put their differences and disagreements aside and work like a unite when it's called for. That is something that I really enjoy about Taang and their dynamic.

We also get a lot of cute panels with Toph and Aang - and man they are a really good looking couple. In a later analysis, I'll get more into depth on their relationship in this comic (and her relationship with her friends), but for this initial part it wasn't too badly butchered.

And's that's it for the first part of this analysis.