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Korra thoughts
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Sep. 4th, 2011 @ 06:10 pm
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So if you've spent any time at all in the Avatar fandom lately, you've probably seen at least a few of these people who're like, "OMG Korra looks like a man! She's too muscular! Gross!" And you've probably seen the people defending her muscles too.
Personally, both sides are beginning to annoy me.
( Read more... )
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Okay, what the hell, shippers
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Jun. 28th, 2011 @ 08:49 pm
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It seems to me that Zutara shippers have this thing for making Katara subordinate to Zuko. They seem to enjoy putting him in a position of power over her and it creeps me right the hell out. Actually, it's not just Katara. I've seen tons of Zuko/OC fics where he is again put in a position of power over his love interest.
But seriously, these tropes comprise at least 70% of all the Zutara fics I see on FFn. Katara is Zuko's prisoner, she's his hostage, she's his servant, she's his slave, she's his concubine. He captures her during the course of the series, someone else captures her and gives her to him as a prize/reward. There are AUs where Katara was raised as a servant in the Fire Nation royal palace. There are AUs where he's an Arabian prince and she is his concubine... again. There are AUs where he buys her as a slave for one reason or another.
....You get the picture. And most if not all of these tropes apply to Zuko/OC fics as well. I know that we're not supposed to judge people's fictional interests and Your Kink Is Not My Kink and all, but you know what? This trend creeps me out. It is creepy to me. I find it gross. It's especially creepy, given Katara's canon personality of being strong and independent: it carries some very Unfortunate Implications when these fans are pushing her into the traditional gender role of female=subordinate to male.
If that means I'm judging someone or not being open-minded enough, then LOLOLOL OH WELL.
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Time for an unpopular opinion!
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Jun. 6th, 2011 @ 01:52 pm
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I HATE GAME OF THRONES. There, I said it. (And I mean the TV series, not the books, because I've had no direct experience with the books.) I watched the pilot episode the weekend that it premiered, and I really wanted to like it. I was all excited to see it after all the cool teaser trailers that HBO had been airing. I wanted to love it. It's an epic fantasy series, after all, and I love shit like that. I was fully expecting to get hooked.
HAHA NOPE. The first episode horrified me so much that it killed my desire to watch the rest of the series. And the parts that didn't fill me with revulsion were just your standard fantasy fare-- reveling kings, bastard sons, icy wastelands, guys in lots of armor on horseback, power struggles, desire for revenge/taking back throne, mysterious monsters in the spooky woods, etc. Basically, I don't see the appeal of this show. It has awesome theme music and a cool intro sequence, but that was pretty much the only thing I really liked.
EDIT: Also, even though I haven't seen any other episodes, I still have to listen to it every week because Dad loves it and he always watches TV with the volume turned way the hell up. So I still hear the dialogue of the new episodes (and the incessant moaning and panting from all the sex scenes). And from what I've heard, honestly, I think I'd still hate the series even if I hadn't stopped at the first episode.
I just needed to get that off my chest, because I seem to be the only goddamn person who dislikes that show. It is frakkin' everywhere on my Tumblr dash these days. Ugh.
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Here, have another
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Mar. 21st, 2011 @ 01:32 pm
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I'm in a bad mood today. Thus, more fanfic ranting.
This rant is about another really annoying fanfic trope, one found again in shippy fics: the "Inner Voice". Y'all know what I mean.
( Read more... )
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Another fanfic rant
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Mar. 21st, 2011 @ 12:46 pm
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Attention all ATLA fanfic writers:
There is nothing unusual about wanting to protect one's friends. Being concerned when your friend is in danger is not necessarily a sign of ~Tru Luv~. Nor is risking your life to save a friend from mortal peril. "I love you and I want your babies" is not the only reason put your life on the line for someone else's safety.
If my best friend was in danger, I would put my life at risk to save her. Not because I'm madly in love with her, but because she is my best friend and I care about her safety. She is important to me. I have known her my entire life. She is like a sister to me. One person can be important to another person without those two people being in love.
And I'm not just talking about Zutarans this time; although, from what I've seen, Zutara shippers tend to be the greatest perpetrators of this nonsense in our fandom. Zuko must have been in love with Katara, because why else would he risk his life for her? And if Katara wasn't in love with Zuko, then why was she crying after she healed him? And why was she so upset after he got hit? (Oh, gee, IDK. Maybe because she was afraid of losing her newfound friend? Just sayin', I'd be crying pretty hard if my BFF got hit by lightning. Especially if she did it to protect me. Or maybe because his brave sacrifice moved her to tears?)
No, this goes for Kataangers as well. As a specific example of this trend: I just stumbled across a Kataang fic that starts with Zuko and Katara waiting for Aang to come back from fighting Ozai. Zuko comments that Aang is definitely coming back alive, because he has Katara to protect. Katara gets all flustered and is like, "Aang wants to protect me??? Gee, I knew he had a crush, but I never knew he cared that deeply!" As though Aang wanting to protect a person he cares about is something out of the ordinary.
Yes, Aang was in love with Katara. But that's not the only reason why he should want to protect her. And Katara would damn well know that, so she wouldn't be surprised by him wanting to protect her. Aang has gone out of his way and put his life at risk to protect complete strangers, as well as Katara and his friends.
Or was he secretly in love with Aunt Wu and every single one of those villagers when he placed himself between them and an erupting volcano in "The Fortuneteller"?
I've seen this with other pairings, too, but specific examples don't come to mind at the moment.
Fandom, it seems, has decided long ago that "Character A expresses concern for Character B" is a sign of undying love, regardless of whether there has been any sign of attraction between those characters. And even with characters who are clearly attracted to each other, that attraction becomes the only reason for A to be worried about B. It makes me annoyed to see fandom devaluing friendship/familial love like this.
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~*~Pretty pretty princess~*~
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Mar. 1st, 2011 @ 11:03 pm
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Okay, where did fandom get this idea that Katara is a princess? I guess it's sort of true, what with Hakoda being the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and all, but... really, fandom, take a look at the SWT as we see it during the series. Does this look like a place that gives a shit about fancy titles like "Princess"? No. It might have been that way back in Gran-Gran's day, but almost certainly not during Katara's childhood. If Katara really is a Princess of the SWT, it's by technicality only. What, Katara's not cool enough as a self-taught Waterbender, and the only one left in her entire tribe? She's not cool enough as a martial arts master who can kick just about anyone's ass by the end of the series? She's not cool enough as a strong, capable girl who's good at making the best of a bad situation? She has to be a ~*~Princess~*~ too?
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Oh, badfic.
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Aug. 27th, 2010 @ 10:08 pm
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So, here's something I've noticed about Mary Sue fics written from the Sue's perspective, whether first- or third-person:
The writer wants to tell the story from their OC's perspective, for whatever reason. But they also want to make sure that the reader understands just how utterly gorgeous and wonderful their OC is. So you end up with OCs that sound totally conceited and narcissistic, because they end up describing their own hair as "long, flowing, ebony waves", or their skin as "pale as porcelain" or their lips as "full and luscious" or whatever. They end up waxing poetic about their own assets.
IDK, guys.
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Ranting time
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Jul. 12th, 2010 @ 04:03 pm
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Dear fandom:
Kindly shut up about the age gap between Katara and Aang. Yeah, she's two whole years older than Aang! Oh no! (And yet, a two-year gap doesn't seem to be a problem when Zuko's the elder of the pair. Nice double standards you got there.)
Yes, I've heard the "girls mature faster than boys" thing. Yes, if it's true (show me some science, plz) then that probably would stop your average 14-year old girl from being interested in your average 12-year-old boy. But these aren't your average kids, are they?
No, Aang isn't a perfect picture of maturity and responsibility. But guess what? Neither is Katara! She has her fair share of petty, childish moments. But they both do a damn good job of handling the massive responsibilities that have fallen onto their young shoulders, despite their youth. They both grow up in a hurry. And hey, Katara even mentions this in the Day of Black Sun part 1! She tells Aang that he's no longer the goofy little kid she found in the ice. In other words, he's growing up. So that scene you all smugly write into your nonsensical post-canon fics, where Katara bemoans Aang's childishness, and vents about how he's always shirking his Avatarly responsibilities and how he hasn't matured at all since she met him? Yeah, take it and shove it.
Yours never,
Ayala
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Rant of the Day
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Jun. 9th, 2010 @ 01:12 pm
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I should be revising my final paper, but I'm going to rant for a while instead.
( Cut for pictures )
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Obnoxious fandom tropes in badfic
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May. 29th, 2010 @ 06:25 pm
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Today's pet peeve: "Katara has little or no romantic feelings for Aang, but she stays trapped in a loveless relationship with him because she's so motherly and selfless that she can't bring herself to hurt Aang. So she forces herself to stay and pretend like she's happy even though she's ~*~dying inside~*~"
Or, alternatively: "Katara stays because the world expects her to be The Avatar's Girlfriend."
BULL. SHIT. Katara had no problem turning Aang down in "The Ember Island Players". She had no problem telling him that she wasn't ready for a relationship, and she sure as hell didn't have a problem with rebuking him and walking away when he ignored her wishes and pressed a kiss on her.
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Icon used for relevance
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May. 23rd, 2010 @ 03:38 pm
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Dear badfic authors:
SOKKA IS NOT A MORON.
Maybe if you stopped obsessing over the love lives of fictional tweens for half a minute and actually paid attention to what was happening in the actual series, you'd have noticed that Sokka is nothing like the brainless twit you've written him as. If you could shut up about Kataang and Zutara for one frakkin' second, you might have noticed that Sokka was the one that the rest of the team turned to for strategy and for clever ideas.
Yes, he's the Team Butt-Monkey in Book 1. Yes, he makes terrible jokes and occasionally says silly things. But he is not an idiot. He is, in fact, exceptionally quick-witted in most cases-- even if The Universe does seem to enjoy using him as its own personal chewtoy.
And also? It's NOT A BAD THING for a teenage boy to have a huge appetite. In fact, it's entirely normal. Hell, I'm female and I was a bottomless pit of ravening hunger at Sokka's age. So were many other teenagers of both genders that I knew. So STFU about how OMG GROSS and embarrassing it is that he eats so much and is always hungry. There is no shame in satiating one's hunger.
GTFO my fandom plz,
Ayala A.
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Schoolwork and fandom
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May. 12th, 2010 @ 01:14 pm
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Whew! I just finished the rough draft of my Big Research Paper for one of my classes. It's due at 5, so now I have some time to relax before class, as it's only 1:15.
( Read more... )
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Spin-Off from the Disney Princess Cosplay post on F_W
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May. 9th, 2010 @ 05:39 pm
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Dear whiners clutching your collective pearls over some Disney Princess cosplayers showing cleavage and thereby corrupting pure and innocent childhood icons:
 
 
You were saying...?
No love ever,
Ayala
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Um, ew???
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May. 5th, 2010 @ 10:46 am
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I'm on FFN, on my daily quest for lulz and good!fic. Well, I found some lulz in a Zuko/OC+Aang/OC fanfic.
The context: one of the OCs is traveling with Zuko and Iroh. The three of them are at an inn for the night and their room only has two beds, so Iroh gets one and the OC and Zuko (who aren't into each other yet) have to share one.
"Why should I have to sleep with her?! She's the one who's the peasant. She sleeps on the ground all the time anyway, she should be used to it."
"Hey, look here, Mr. High-and-Mighty, you've sunk down to my level now! If anything, you're even lower because you're the one who needed my help after you escaped Azula. I've been doing a lot of the work as far as money goes, and doing so honestly I might add."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I can't imagine how our money has been regenerating itself without anyone getting a job. Truly, it's amazing!" she said sarcastically. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
"You both really should relax and just go to bed If you keep arguing like this, I might never get to sleep. Besides, you might find that sleeping with each other isn't really as bad as you think." He gave them a knowing smile, causing them to look at each other and shudder.
EEEEEEWWW. That's taking the "Iroh as Zuko's matchmaker" trope to a disturbing new level. It was cute and funny when he set Zuko up on that date with Jin. It's not so cute or funny when he's trying to set his nephew up for some hot lovin'.
Ew ew ew ew ewwwww.
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Following up on the previous post
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Apr. 24th, 2010 @ 03:16 pm
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So, my thoughts on the Kuei/Toph fanfics:
( Read more... )
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LOLWHAT?! WHAAAAAAAT???
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Apr. 23rd, 2010 @ 03:28 pm
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Guys! Guys... I can't even... I just...
I just found a Kuei/Toph fanfic. No, I'm not even kidding. My brain... my brain has gone splodey. I can't decide if this is horrifying or awesome, and I can't stop laughing. Like, I seriously cannot stop laughing over this.
...PfffffffbththAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHHA KUEI/TOPH WHAT THE FUCK!
Like, what the hell is going on here?! I just... gnh, WTF! Gyyyuh. *flaps hands*
Okay, okay. *takes a few deep breaths* Heeheehee, Kuei/Toph! Oh my God. Okay, I'm good. Let me explain how I found this:
( Read more... )
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Appropriate icon is appropriate
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Apr. 22nd, 2010 @ 08:25 pm
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I was over on avatarspirit.net, reading the official episode discussion post for "Tales of Ba Sing Se", and someone posted a link to a TV.com forum post whining about Jin. In this thread, one person interrupted a string of "ZOMG MARY SUE!!!" accusations to bust out the hilarious conspiracy theory that Jin was... wait for it... a Dai Li informant!
what if zuko's date, jin, was really an informant for the dai li, who are investigating the accusations of their latest brainwashed victim, jet.
And it got this response:
You know...now that you mention it...
The way she appeared from around a corner when Zuko was waiting outside the tea shop, the way she asked about what he and Iroh were doing before they came to the city and even tested his claim to be a circus performer by asking that he juggle…and “Oh no! The lanterns are not lit up with some fire! What a disappointment! If only there were some way to fix this.” Too convenient, perhaps?
Sounds plausible, at least...might be nothing.
I don't know if this second guy is trolling or not. What I do know, however, is that Jin would look smokin' hot in those Dai Li robes. I may have to draw that eventually.
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WHY WOULD YOU WRITE THAT D:
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Apr. 18th, 2010 @ 09:39 pm
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This is one of the most confusing badfics I've ever read. You know how Twilight comes across as creepy and fucked up, even though it was intended to be a sweeping, enchanting romance? That's what this fic is like. How weird is it? Let me count the ways:
1) Zuko has these atrocious mood swings. He vacillates between uncharacteristic levels of concern and interest for a girl he hardly knows, standard teenage-boy awkwardness, and these fits of horrifying cruelty. He was a jerk in the series, but he's flat-out sadistic in this fic. He intentionally burns his Mary-Sue love interest on multiple occasions, and then pins her down and applies pressure to the burns to make her cooperate in later scenes.
2) The reader is meant to be rooting for Zuko and the Mary-Sue to get together, but they're absolutely horrid to each other. Like, really nasty and spiteful and vicious. And just from the way it's written, I'm pretty sure that the author wants us to think that their antics are cute and "feisty", not twisted and disturbing.
3) Iroh is thrust into the role of Jolly, Mischievous Matchmaker for this fucked up relationship. There is no way Uncle Awesome would approve of this shit for his beloved nephew.
4) Jet is a cliched misogynist villain. You know, the type that gratuitously abuses the heroine and obsessed over her to the point of "If I can't have her, no one can"? Yeah, he's one of those.
5) The Mary-Sue heroine escapes her abusive relationship with Jet, only to wind up in another one with Zuko. But the one with Zuko is okay for some reason???? Like, the Mary Sue isn't afraid of Zuko like she's afraid of Jet, even though Zuko has intentionally harmed her several times??? WHAAAAAAT THEEEE FUUUUUUCK.
There are plenty of fics that are purposely written to be dark and disturbing, but I really don't think that this one was supposed to be. It reads like it's trying to be one of those stories where one or both of the lovers-to-be tease and taunt one another, pushing each other's buttons because they like each other but neither one has the guts to take that next step. So they're each trying to goad the other into taking that step first. It's the pigtail-pulling school of ship writing. I've read stories like that and generally find them entertaining. There's a good one in the webcomic Gunnerkrigg Court as a sub-sub-plot (except that the teasing there is one-sided).
This fic is not one of them. Hell no. I just... who writes this??? And it has 68 reviews, most of which are positive! The negative ones only mention the author's appalling grammar and spelling, or the fact that the love interest is a blatant Mary Sue. None of them mention the sheer bizarreness of the fic. It's like... am I seeing things??? :O
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Random thoughts on The Last Failbender
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Mar. 27th, 2010 @ 03:44 pm
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I'm still seeing people claim that maybe white actors have been cast in the roles of the dark-skinned characters because TLA's casting people simply couldn't find any actors who more resembled the characters who were also talented enough to play the parts, or because those white actors' auditions were simply so perfect for the roles that no further auditioning was needed. And at first glance, this argument might contain a teensy sliver of logic if you squint and drink some booze.
But then I recall that Jesse McCartney was originally cast as Zuko. He wasn't being considered for the role, he had the role. It was his. Jesse McCartney, generic pop idol and costar of such film classics as "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" and "Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure". I think filming had already started, even! The only reason he's gone and the much more talented Dev Patel is in his place is that Jesse had to drop the project. Scheduling conflict, I believe.
The mere fact that the casting folks of TLA saw Jesse McCartney and thought, "Yes, this boy is Zuko" tells me that they just weren't trying hard enough. I find it hard to believe that McCartney was the most talented actor of any ethnicity to audition for Zuko. They wanted a squeaky-clean (read: white) heartthrob as Zuko to fill the theater seats with teen girl butts, so they picked MCartney. I'm pretty sure Shyamalan wants to turn Zuko into even more of a woobie than he is in the series. I read the original casting call somewhere, and while I don't have a link to it on hand, I do remember that the part for Zuko said something about him being "the kind of boy every girl falls in love with". No, fail. Especially not in Book 1, where he's a total assface. Not even in Book 3, where he's still kind of a humorless dweeb. The fans love him for it, but that's because we're fans and we're all a little crazy by definition. The TLA folks seem to want him to be a James Dean bad-boy type. Which, yeah, NO THANK YOU.
They probably picked Dev Patel after Jesse dropped out because a) Dev's popularity surged sky-high after "Slumdog Millionaire" (and deservedly so) and they want to cash in on it, and b) they hoped his brown ass would get those ~stoopid PC whiners~ off of their backs about the rest of the pasty-pale cast.
...Where was I? Oh yes. If Jesse McCartney was their first pick for Zuko, then I can't help but LOL endlessly in the faces of anyone who claims that the casting was done because they couldn't find anyone better. But hey, what do I know? Maybe hardly anyone auditioned, and McCartney and the others really were the best... by virtue of having zero competition.
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Whaaaaat the fuck
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Mar. 16th, 2010 @ 11:03 am
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Taking a lightning-fast study break to bring you... a fanfic where Aang is PHYSICALLY ABUSIVE TO KATARA. And no, it's not an AU where the author has intentionally written everyone OOC. The author claims that her decision to turn Aang into an abuser is a logical extension of canon. Why? Because he overreacted a few times in season 2. Horror of horrors, a 12 year old with the weight of the world on his shoulders overreacted! And if there's one thing we've learned over on the STFU, it's that nobody changes between their teen/preteen years and adulthood. So therefore, Aang is destined to abuse Katara. What the flying fuck. Yeah, the kid who values human life so highly that he went out of his way to spare the life of the evil maniac who was trying to conquer the world? The kid who constantly risked his life for the freedom of the entire world? The kid who swore off learning Firebending for two and a half seasons after accidentally hurting Katara? The kid who forgave and befriended the angry jerk who had repeatedly tried to capture and/or kill him and his friends, including sending an assassin after them? Yeah, that's totally someone who's likely to beat up his wife. I can totally see that happening. *derisive snort*
There also appears to be Teo-bashing, which is SO NO OKAY. >:( From my skimming of Chapter 5: "The world wouldn't miss one annoying little cripple kid, right?" There is NO REASON to ever bash Teo. NONE. *clutches Teo protectively and hisses at the badfic author*
I just... they think this is a logical extension of canon? REALLY???!?!
EDIT: Oh, and the icing on the fail cake? This piece of garbage has 81 reviews for 7 chapters. And only one or two of them are negative. And many of the reviewers agree that Aang becoming abusive is plausible or even inevitable. One of them even calls series!Aang a "prepubescent stalker".
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