beboots | Cold Beboots was cold

The final evening at Christmas Reflections at Fort Edmonton! It ended up being like -27C in the river valley... The poor draft horses had frost all over their coats, and were brought into the stables (switched out for tractors AKA "mechanical horses" ;) ) halfway through the evening. I took a shower right before I left for work, and I put my hair in braids while wet. So after I lit the bonfires, and I realized about an hour into my shift that my braids had frozen. SOLID. Like, icicle cores. D:

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PIPI LONGSTOCKING COSPLAYS = NOW RIDICULOUSLY EASY.

And for comparison purposes, here is what it looks like defrosted. SO FLOPPY

Here is a shot of the glorious bonfire I made yesterday, to warm you up wherever you are. :)

Current Mood: cold

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

feral-shrew.livejournal.com

"I totally agree. As you said earlier, Katara never seemed too fussed about Aang. Sure, she's devoted to him, but I read their relationship as more really close friends and allies, plus teacher-student. Aang still comes across as a kid to me, and to a certain extent so does canon!Katara. Pre-pubescent dating = not necessarily the basis for twu wuv, forever amen."

She acts like his MOM. That is never-ever-ever-ever a good basis for a relationship. She fusses over him and lets him have his way, she interferes when Toph tries to toughen him up and make him start facing responsibility head-on... you don't have to find your twoo wuv at twelve. Seriously. You don't. I still think the most convincing love story in the series was Sokka and Yue. They had the time to meet, and go "wow," and they had the "let's just play Whole New World while you're up on Appa" date, the "we can't do this but I still want to"...

Maybe Katara and Zuko were cliche, but they had all of the fire and passion and back-and-forth that Aang and Katara are never going to. It's like... Aang and Ty Lee. Ooh, look, two happy righteous people that never, ever need to work to be just a little bit better. Katara wants to be better and stronger and to pull people along with her, Zuko starts out mediocre at best and works until he's awesome. The two of them would constantly push the other to be better.

I can't find the link. I used to find it from my friend's favorites, but it's a season one fic written in response to the capture cliches. Katara catches Zuko, and Things Happen. For another really, really good Zuko-centric fic-- this one is lots of whumping, but it's a way to take Zuko from season one to absolutely stone-cold badass. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5145003/1/Second_Nature

" AWESOME IDEA. I loved the Sixth Sense, and I think that that could totally work in the case of this fic idea. Would Iroh, as a person who has had extensive experience with the Spirit World, realize what happened to his nephew? Or is he not present until later?"

Iroh knows that Zuko is dead, and that replaces his story in The Storm. The biggest (only?) rule is that you cannot tell the person that they're dead. For Zuko, he's changed his entire worldview. He needs to catch the Avatar to have honor/family/love/worth. Zuko has a very muted temper, here, and it comes out slowly. Aang realizes first that Zuko isn't breathing. He only breathes to talk or firebend, and then it all comes to a head at Ba Sing Se. Azula is freaked, and starts saying "you're dead," and I think the ending is all on Aang. He lets Zuko capture him, because Zuko's more honorable than Azula--and that's all that it takes. Zuko succeeded, Uncle is proud of him, the Avatar thinks he has honor, and I think it's the only story I have where the main character fades to nothing and it's almost happy.

"Perhaps Suki and Sokka could have, ah, shacked up on Appa to avoid giving Toph a non-literal eyeful? Would that have made a difference? But then again, I'm not sure how Appa would have taken it... ;)"

They could have waited for Ember Island (not that they knew it was an option). As it was, I think after a few minutes of "eep" Toph probably curled up on Appa for the night (until Zuko and Katara stole her fuzzy bed).

From:

beboots.livejournal.com

Sokka and Yue's relationship was adorable. :) Again, it felt a bit more real - they can go for walks and talk together and such. :) I totally agree with you about Zuko and Katara: they actually have dramatic tension in canon. Their relationship changes over time as they grow to understand each other. I think that they'll always have fights, but...

"Aang realizes first that Zuko isn't breathing. He only breathes to talk or firebend, and then it all comes to a head at Ba Sing Se. Azula is freaked, and starts saying "you're dead," and I think the ending is all on Aang. He lets Zuko capture him, because Zuko's more honorable than Azula--and that's all that it takes. Zuko succeeded, Uncle is proud of him, the Avatar thinks he has honor, and I think it's the only story I have where the main character fades to nothing and it's almost happy." I... I LOVE this idea. Of course, once Zuko fades, there will, in all likelihood, be a freakout moment from at least Sokka (who never really had a firm grasp on magic/bending anyway) and possibly Katara (who perhaps didn't realize/believe Aang when he tried to tell her Zuko was dead? I mean, she was JUST talking to him down in the caves...). It would be interesting to see Azula riled up at the sight of her dead but still walking brother...

From:

feral-shrew.livejournal.com

Sokka and Yue had a real connection. Sure, Sokka had some "wow she's pretty" at first sight, but that wasn't the entire reason behind their relationship. (If Aang moved beyond "guh she's purty" I didn't see it in his crush-like interactions.) Zuko and Katara have the always-moving relationship, and she'd be a perfect fit in Fire Nation for all of the arguing and constant passion. They're actually between their elements-- Zuko has to learn to change and to not fight everything that comes his way, Katara learns how to use her emotions.

"I... I LOVE this idea. Of course, once Zuko fades, there will, in all likelihood, be a freakout moment from at least Sokka (who never really had a firm grasp on magic/bending anyway) and possibly Katara (who perhaps didn't realize/believe Aang when he tried to tell her Zuko was dead? I mean, she was JUST talking to him down in the caves...). It would be interesting to see Azula riled up at the sight of her dead but still walking brother..."

Katara didn't realize that Zuko wasn't alive. She thought he was just cursed or something, and he could get better. Azula is absolutely freaked-- he's not supposed to be alive. Dad killed him, he needs to go away so she can forget. Aang and Iroh are the calmest people in that cave, and Aang's probably the one that cries. Iroh's been waiting three years for whatever it was that would finally be able to let his nephew rest, and there were probably quite a few sweet moments through the second season. Zuko honestly doesn't need to eat, not that he thinks about it, so Iroh does alright food-wise.

(I think Katara also has the chance of making him move on. She can heal minds after the mindbenders squiggled around in there, she has the spirit-oasis water... it might even be better, if I can delay the healing. She has the best chance at healing him in the literal sense.)

From:

beboots.livejournal.com

You put that so well. :)

"Azula is absolutely freaked-- he's not supposed to be alive. Dad killed him, he needs to go away so she can forget." I wonder if this incident actually shook up her confidence in her father at all... Probably. I mean, if Ozai can just literally get rid of the useless one... if she stops being useful...

I can also see MYSELF crying along with Aang when I read this. ;_;

From:

feral-shrew.livejournal.com

"I wonder if this incident actually shook up her confidence in her father at all... Probably. I mean, if Ozai can just literally get rid of the useless one... if she stops being useful..."

I think she's always had that fear. Zuko is afraid that no one will like him, I think, and that's the heart of a lot of what he does. (Sokka is afraid he won't be able to protect people, I think Aang is afraid that he only knows how to run.) Azula is afraid of being weak, and she knows that she can't defeat her father, so she has to compensate by being the best damn princess he could even dream of having around. She's useful and a prodigy and smart and BETTER THAN ZUKO, and Ozai's all she has. (In canon-- "You can't treat me like this. You can't treat me like Zuko.") If he's so ready to murder his son (at eight and then at thirteen), then what if she isn't enough? She doesn't have her mother or her uncle. They both think she's a monster. She only understands how to control people through fear, but beneath that she's too smart to not see that fear won't last forever.

I am far from an expert, but I had a few really, really good psych professors. (And one penis length-obsessed evolutionary psychologist that taught the Psychology and Biology of Human Sexuality course, but hey. I know things and eventually they'll be useful. Probably.) The real point-- I have a few great lists of CHILD psychology/development, and Ursa and Iroh gave up on Azula when she was six. I could go on for entire essays about Azula's seeming lack of empathy and what it really meant if a little kid was throwing rocks at turtle-ducks, but... maybe I'll save it for a post when somebody yet again makes a big deal of Zuko's horrible childhood environment and then turns around and makes Azula irredeemable from her very birth.

I've made the assumption from the very start that Azula is a fantastic mimic, hence her very early understanding of bending. She has a nice grasp of the theory and fire, but she also can watch people move and then repeat them-- attention to detail that would let her replicate Kyoshi makeup perfectly, move the right ways, and do drill-based fighting very effortlessly. Long story short, those skills should make her a natural at empathy... but she's not. Something weird happened, and I thought less of Ursa for the few scenes that I've seen. Little kids like Azula can be turned around in two weeks, if you give them the chance and forgive all past misdeeds from the start.

"I can also see MYSELF crying along with Aang when I read this. ;_;"

I'll be there with you. Plotting this out makes me tear up sometimes, and... yeah. One of the worst parts for me is how relieved Iroh is that his nephew can finally move on to be at peace. Aang's more serene than most of the others, because he understands, but it still hurts to know that he could have figured it out months ago, and that even the best outcome is Zuko "dying."

From:

beboots.livejournal.com

"You can't treat me like this. You can't treat me like Zuko." I absolutely loved that line for all that it said about Azula, and, well, interactions within the Fire Nation royal family. ;_;

You are very right about Azula's childhood. I mean, it takes two to raise a child, and Ursa WAS there...

"I've made the assumption from the very start that Azula is a fantastic mimic, hence her very early understanding of bending. She has a nice grasp of the theory and fire, but she also can watch people move and then repeat them-- attention to detail that would let her replicate Kyoshi makeup perfectly, move the right ways, and do drill-based fighting very effortlessly. Long story short, those skills should make her a natural at empathy... but she's not." Oh man, I've never thought about it that way before! It makes excellent sense, I think. Perfectionists, by their very nature, have a close eye to details...

From:

feral-shrew.livejournal.com

My friend's aunt adopted a little girl that really makes me think of Azula. The little girl was too small to hurt the horses, exactly, but she yelled and screamed and scared the daylights out of the skittish little Thoroughbred (rescued ex-race horse). It took years of being patient and explaining things that seem perfectly obvious, but it worked. There are studies that children with worldviews that look just like anti-social personality disorder/sociopathy just don't understand things that the rest of the world takes for granted. The example the article used was "when you return a car you borrowed, you should fill the tank with gas"-- social contract things that are implied, never stated, so then they come off even worse.

"Oh man, I've never thought about it that way before! It makes excellent sense, I think. Perfectionists, by their very nature, have a close eye to details..."

The best part is that the exact part of her brain/skill set that lets her manipulate people so well and copy things perfectly SHOULD let her understand exactly what people are feeling, but she doesn't. She would need a very new therapy where they coach children through appropriate emotions and responses and seeing from someone else's perspective. It sounds way too basic to some people, but that's how far away some kids are. Azula needed someone to stay with her, and no child throws rocks at turtle-ducks without some reason. I went to school with someone that used to play hacky-sack with frogs, and it took me two years to figure him out a little. He was really, really smart, but people ignored him unless he was being horrible. Something as small as talking to him every day in Criminal Justice class actually made him friendlier. I hated the thing he'd done with the frogs, but when I didn't react to it, we actually talked about the reading and then the news from the last week and... Ursa gave up on Azula, and then there was a line right around the Chase.

Paraphrased: Zuko says "I guess you're going to tell me that I shouldn't think that, because she's my sister." Iroh: "No. She's crazy and she needs to go down." Iroh's part is almost exact. Azula is crazy, okay fine that's debatable, but does she need to go down? She lost her mom when she was six, and you ignored her entirely. Her grandfather is dead, her cousin is dead, you ignore her... that leaves Ozai. Congratulations, Iroh. You let your brother create a "monster." (And Azula's smart enough to know exactly how the world sees her.)

From:

beboots.livejournal.com

I'm mostly just nodding to myself as I read what you've written here. ;)

When I was younger, I saw kids my age squish worms on the sidewalk just for fun, but I always felt uncomfortable about it because even worm blood looks red like ours.

I think that Iroh's line in The Chase is too often played up just for laughs (he DID just nearly get killed by his fourteen year old niece) but if you actually stop to think about what he was saying... D:

From:

feral-shrew.livejournal.com

At church, a lady with a stroller ran over an earthworm that was at least eight inches long. I immediately ran over to pick the poor thing up and put it over on the grass where it wouldn't happen again. I liked worms, and I still feel bad if I cut off a piece of a worm for going fishing. (I always do it from the back so that if I don't end up using a whole worm, the head end has a chance at still living.)

I do think Iroh's line was meant to be funny, yes, but... eesh. I honestly think Azula made the best choice about who she was going to hit, because how would they have reacted if she had shot the other likely candidates? Aang, Zuko, and Iroh had the most defenses against her attacks. Katara can shield, maybe, Sokka has no real defense (yet) against fire, and Toph might have gotten really hurt if she didn't realize in time.

Sure, she could have not blasted somebody with fire, but they had her cornered and she's not a nice person. She might have seen it as a morally superior choice, because that's how her world works.

From:

beboots.livejournal.com

Oh yeah... I suppose that Iroh was a logical choice. Also, I don't get the feeling that she respects him, at all. ;)

From:

feral-shrew.livejournal.com

He's old, he's overweight, he talks about tea and nonsense, and he used to be the best general in centuries (and somebody she could respect). He also sent her a doll when she was young.

He's her only uncle, but that doesn't mean that she wants him. It's not like he spent time with her when she was little. He took over for Zuko, because Ozai wouldn't, but the series implies that she and Iroh never had much use for each other.