Roku - Tumblr Posts
I have only one problem with it, and that is: what do you mean, they have a hunger for power and a mad ambition in their blood? Fighting and backstabbing makes sense if your nation is on the brink of collapse and you're trying your best to survive. Are you saying that Fire Nation people are… just born bad? This is an interesting opinion, which makes me wonder about the prejudices about the Fire Nation after the Hundred Years War. We know that firebenders killed Asami's mother, and Mako and Bolin's parents. In the world of The Legend of Korra, are firebenders, especially if they come from the Fire Nation, considered evil until proven innocent? Does the Fire Nation, like today's Germany, carry enormous burdens of guilt, and every citizen in it is forced to deal with their legacy as a descendant or relative of a soldier in the army who killed the waterbenders of the Southern Water Tribe and committed total genocide against the Air Nomads? Is this something that the avatar after Korra, or the avatar of fire after him, will have to deal with? If Avatar Roku and Avatar Szeto are remembered as bad Avatars, how much pressure will the next Fire Nation Avatar have to deal with? How many prejudices? How many people just assume he'll be a bad avatar, because fire nation avatars are always bad? In the world of the Avatar, are firebenders considered evil, suspicious, threatening? How does it feel to live in a nation that is responsible for such a great and terrible war, and even though you, as an individual, have never harmed another person, people expect you to bear the blame of your entire nation? People expect you to be power hungry and violent? What is it like to be a Fire Nation citizen in the modern era of the Avatar world? How will a Fire Nation Avatar deal with the fact that the two Fire Nation Avatars before him are remembered as bad by history, and that people will always assume the worst for everything he does?
This guy.
Let's talk this guy.
This is Szeto, the Avatar immediately predating Yangchen. Szeto was the first person we ever saw lavabend in the show and quite potentially one of the worst Avatars to have ever lived.
Potentially.
If you've read this far, you're interested enough in Avatar lore to know that it's cyclical. These humans are (un)lucky enough to be born with every elemental power available in their world and that elects them to a position they never asked for.
Korra lost her bending because Aang wasn't diligent in staying on top of Yakone. Aang's people were wiped out because Roku let his power-crazy jilted ex run around freely. Kyoshi created the Dai Li who became secret police terrorizing Ba Sing Se. Kuruk neglected his diplomatic Avatar duties leaving the world in political shambles by Kyoshi's time. And Yangchen gave humanity everything it wanted at the cost of the spirits because Szeto spent his whole career increasing the Fire Nation's power.
What would drive the Avatar, master of all four elements and bridge between the physical and spirital worlds, to leave everyone outside his home country to fend for themselves?
I posit, dear reader, that Szeto was worried for the very Avatar Cycle itself.
In my eyes, it becomes clear pretty immediately from what we learn in Kyoshi why he may have - again, potentially - done so. The Fire Nation is actually comprised of a series of differently-sized landmasses called the Fire Islands. For whatever reason, in Szeto's time, these Fire Islands were on the brink of collapse. Kyoshi shows us that being ambitious and power-hungry wasn't something Sozin started, but that Fire Nationals have it in their blood.
Infighting, backstabbing, and so much more would have been commonplace. Szeto would have been born into a Fire Nation on the brink of collapse. And sure, he was the Avatar, everyone's Avatar, but if he gave the other parts of the world equal attention, and the Fire Nation implodes, would another Fire Avatar ever even be born?
In Yangchen's second book we see he had a room at the Air Temple, so while he wasn't in his home country 100% of the time, judging by his reputation it had to have been 90% or more. Szeto had to leave the world in such a mess for Yangchen. Because if he hadn't given the Fire Nation as much attention as he did, the possibility must have existed, or at least been real enough in his mind, that it wouldn't last much longer.
An Avatar world without the Fire Nation is one in a state of permanent imbalance. One where the cycle is broken and the Avatar has nowhere to be born. Szeto had to have felt that it was: give his all to the Fire Nation, or else be the Avatar responsible for the literal end of their world with no chance of a savior being born to fix it.
@theloyalravenclaw asked for an AU in which all of the Avatars introduced onscreen are siblings.
1. In the heart of a working class Republic City neighborhood is a family of seven children. Their father was an earthbender,and their mother was a half Northern Water Tribe half Fire Nation nonbender. Both died a year ago, and ever since, Yangchen, the oldest nonbending daughter has taken over as the parent. She is twenty and very frustrated with her waterbending next oldest brother, Kuruk, who doesn’t understand why she feels the need to be such a tightass.
4. Wan, the oldest of the family and a firebender, moved to Ba Sing Se before their parents died, and he is in the process of raising the money to move home to help his sister out and possibly put Kuruk in a headlock.
3. Kyoshi is a sixteen year old earthbender looking to join the police. She may be a little in love with Chief Lin Beifong. Okay, a lot in love. Roku is fourteen and a dumbass. Everyone ignores him except when he accidentally sets fire to something important.
4. Eight year old Korra is fascinated by the existence of eight year old Avatar Asami in the same city as her, and it is only because he’s such a sweetheart that her twelve year old brother Aang only teases her about this a little. Also when he teases her, she freezes him to things.
5. When Harmonic Convergence comes down in a few years, Aang and Yanghen are going to gt airbending, making every single person in this family a bender, and meaning they’ve got at least one bender of each element.
Ta Min is fully aware that Roku and Sozin had something going on before Roku met her, but it's okay with her because she had a HUGE crush on Zeisan before she met Roku. Roku, for his part, is completely unaware of this fact.
They give off the same vibes
Sly Fox, Dumb Bunny
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Kyoshi was an amazing (/ly terrifying) teacher and you can't change my mind 😤💕
I’m giving a little kiss to the Jaeger that’s fighting a Kaiju on the Roku idle screensaver <3
Cutting well meaning toxic people out of your life like aang is a powermove.
we all know aang's refusal to give up his attachments to the people he loves in order to fulfill his duties as the avatar is a huge part of his character, but the parallel between him choosing katara over mastering the avatar state...
and him choosing zuko over avatar roku...
like?? he was so upset that roku would even suggest what he did that he cut that bitch off?? and aang believed in zuko that much that he'd put the safety of the world at risk for him? aang trusting zuko when zuko doesn't even trust himself?? aang choosing love over duty?????
When Roku said " Some friendships are so strong they can even transcend lifetimes." I just cried, it was so touching.
It's such a beautiful and powerful quote and that whole episode was just a masterpiece.
Aang, surrounded by baffled councilmen, interrupted mid meeting: "ZUKO I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’D DO SOMETHING SO RECKLESS!”
Zuko, half burnt after fistfighting his latest assasin: “It’s not that bad. Besides, you’re like twelve, you don't have to worry about this”
Aang: “only tw—I was the one who—! No, you know what? I’m calling your grandpa!”
The councilmen, thinking of Azulon: “?!”
Zuko: “WAIT NO AANG I’M SORRY!”
Aang, meditating aggressively: “TOO LATE.”
Roku, taking Aang’s place: “ZUKO I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’D DO SOMETHING SO RECKLESS!”
The councilmen, losing their fucking minds: “?!?!?!????!??!???!”
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aang's face is so enchanting to me, his eyes are pretty, his eyelashes are curly and amazing, he looks so much like Ta Min i can't stop noticing it at random times
at what point do you think the atla writers were like “ohoHO so yeah roku wears that hairpiece bc that’s just what we doodled when we were coming up with character designs but WHAT IF it was ACTUALLY given to him by his tragic sworn-brother turned enemy?? What if we make it a symbol of roku’s deep connection to sozin, his greatest friend and his greatest failure?? what if only the crown prince is supposed to wear it, but at one point in time roku and sozin were so close that tradition didn’t matter half as much as what they had with each other?? What if even decades after their friendship ended roku still wore that hairpiece every single day of his life? What if he died wearing the symbol of his best friend’s love for him as that friend stood above his body and watched it happen and did nothing to stop it? What if it remained a part of his immortal spirit form even after death, a constant reminder that for all the pain and suffering and resentment that existed between them, love was there first, even if it lost in the end? Would that be fucked up or what?” i can only imagine that after they were all done crying they gave the guy who came up with that a raise and a kiss on the lips
Hands of Avatars with little headcanons to keep my sanity today
After watching Netflix Avatar I knew it was my parental duty to make sure my kids saw the REAL Avatar all the way through, or as my son calls it now, the "Real REAL Avatar." And I realized once again how much I adore the fire temple episode. For one express reason.
Everyone's all chained up, Zuko included, and they're all about to get their faces burnt off (One of these four knows exactly what that feels like and isn't thrilled about going through that again.)
But this terrifying being is coming straight at them.
Dude look at that thing! No one's walking out of this!
These guys sure as heck are gonna feel it.
But....
...team Avatar is fine. Not a scratch on them. The fire is hot enough to disintegrate their chains yet none of them get so much as an ember in their face.
And you know who else doesn't get hurt at all?
Zuko.
Zuko doesn't get hurt in the least. His chains disintegrate and he takes his less than graceful leave.
We know Aang doesn't like to hurt people, and Zhao doesn't get killed or anything. But the dude still gets fire in his face and as far as Aang is concerned, Zuko is no different than Zhao and should have received the same treatment. Except Aang isn't the one in charge and Roku knows exactly who Zuko is and who he's meant to be.
Great additions/changes in Live Action ATLA:
-June hitting on Uncle Iroh while Zuko makes disgusted faces in the background
-Zuko’s crew being the 41st division
-every additional Zuko and Iroh moment
-every additional Aang and Iroh moment
-Aang taking Zuko’s lil diary and it being an extended plot somehow
-Sokka’s whole “we’re dealing with this trauma by getting with everyone I can on this trip”
-Ice dodging trauma sequence!!! When Sokka is captured by Koh!!!
-Roku messing with Aang
-Every additional Sokka and Katara moment
-Hahn being just the coolest dude ever
-Katara getting all of the women to fight instead of just her
-Sokka's military badassness during the Siege of the North
the royal family of the fire nation from avatar: the last airbender: legacy of the firenation. They did azula so dirty with that pic
Also how did ursa come out so light?
