a shocking number of old-school american outlaws were intensely community-minded, and their reputations at the time were often very positive among the people. a big part of the reason their legacies are so negative is because the government was able to control the narrative after they died, focusing on the fact that the things they did were illegal, rather than on what they actually did.
The thing about knitting is it’s much harder to fear the existential futility of all your actions while you’re doing it.
Like ok, sure, sometimes it’s hard to believe you’ve made any positive impact on the world. But it’s pretty easy to believe you’ve made a sock. Look at it. There it is. Put it on, now your foot’s warm.
you know, a thing i think isn’t talked about nearly enough in this fandom is the fact that katara actually saved zuko’s life twice during the comet:
once when she actually, physically healed him and,
again when she took down azula without killing her
because, zuko was prepared to do it, he was willing to do it, he was going to do it because it had to be done but if he had killed, actually killed his own sister, who despite everything, zuko actually, truly loves (bc zuko loves, loves, loves his whole family, even though it’s broken, even though it’s bad, even though it’s truly, actually
painful, they’re his and he loves them*), it would have destroyed him.
and like, idek anymore, but i can pretty much guess that zuko spent the whole trip to the capital psyching himself up and preparing himself for a lifetime as a kin-slayer and already starting down the spiral of self-loathing and then katara just… katatra just takes that burden from him. outright takes her down without putting a scratch on her.
and like, now that i think abt it, i’m like 95.15678354% sure that a not-unsubstantial part of the reason zuko chose katara to go with him was because he was hoping that she would figure something out, how to take azula down with minimal damage (bc zuko knows that katara is strong and powerful and prbbly the greatest waterbender in the world at that point, but also incredibly, astonishingly merciful).
i am actually 100% sure that if azula hadn’t cheated, if the agni kai proceeded as it seemed to have been going and zuko won, the very first thing he would have done is to turn to katara and say: “help her“.
idk, i guess that the point is that these kids cause me actual, physical pain and i just felt the need to spread it around
*and if anyone wants, i’m 100000% willing to give you canon evidence of this, starting from “the fatherlord“ to “i remember when my family was actually happy“
you know it’s really upsetting and sad when people constantly compare atla and lok together and like we all know atla is better but Korra itself is an amazing show too it’s just doesnt get the praise it deserves like it showcases a woman of colour with flaws and has the most beautiful character development who is in fact canon that was disable and has ptsd and is learning to cope and is also a bisexual woman in a happy loving relationship with another bisexual woman of colour ??? And depicts how mental health really is amazingly like the feeling of the lack of control and how desperate to be who you once were and other serious issues and everything else it talks about. Like it’s such an amazing show but because it’s compared to atla it seems like it’s lacking severely when really and truly if you view it as a stand alone or if you don’t compare it’s really amazing (ofc it has it flaws hence it not being just about up to par to atla but regardless it’s amazing show as a whole and deserve recognition)
Azula was a great example of kids who developed faster at a younger age and were labeled as gifted until they got older and their development slowed down to match their peers and were then labeled as disappointments and dissolved under the pressure of still trying to be better than everyone else.
You know, I feel like A:tLA really found a way to resonate with the struggles that a lot of kids face.
Aang is the struggle of the “gifted child”. He’s told from a young age that he’s going to do incredible things that puts him under a lot of pressure until he finally pulls off the ultimate procrastination trying to avoid the stress. He shows a lot of talent in what he’s good at, but when he tries learning something he’s not immediately good at he is easily discouraged. He’s also almost paralyzed by the fear of failing. (To be fair, the stakes are very high in his case).
Katara is the child with all of the talent she could ever need, but none of the opportunity. She has a real natural talent for waterbending, but no place at home where she can get training to develop the talent. It reminds me of kids from my school who were extremely talented in theatre, but couldn’t afford to participate after they instated the $200 “pay to participate” rules on extracurriculars.
Toph is the child with plenty of talent, but physical limitations that she has to go beyond. She has to prove that she is twice as good to get the same respect (and boy does she ever)! And she has to balance making sure that no one treats her disability as her defining characteristic, while still making sure it’s accounted for. Her parents would have let her blindness rule her life and she had to fight just to get the chance to show her talents.
Sokka is like the kid with lots of talent, but in an area that’s not very valued. At least not when compared to the benders. Like the kid who draws incredible comics in their notebooks, but is looked down on because they just can’t get an A on their report cards. Or the kid who is a talented pianist that everyone asks about getting prepared for a “real career” while the kids on the football team are being told to watch for recruiters.
That’s just the Gaang, but you could keep doing this with so many characters (I mean, everything about Zuko!), but I’m just really grateful that even in this fantastic setting there were a lot of things people could identify with.
firstborn children are the dumbest currency ever lmao what if i never planned on having a child huh? ye hi Old Witch From Forest i want abs and four billion dollars you can have all my children in return tbh
Behold the tomb of Aeolis, the cheerful little dog, whose loss to fleeting fate pained me beyond measure.
Raeda[r]um custos numquam latravit inepte. nunc silet et cineres vindicat um- bra suos.
This guard of the coaches never barked unsuitably. Now he is silent and his shade protects his ashes.
Quam dulcis fuit ista quam benigna quae cum viveret in sinu iacebat somni conscia semper et cubilis o factum male Myia quod peristi latrares modo si quis adcubaret rivalis dominae licentiosa o factum male Myia quod peristi altum iam tenet insciam sepulcrum nec sevire potes nec insilire nec blandis mihi morsib(us) renides.
How sweet and friendly she was! While she was alive she used to lie in the lap, always sharing sleep and bed. What a shame, Midge, that you have died! You would only bark if some rival took the liberty of lying up against your mistress. What a shame, Midge, that you have died! The depths of the grave now hold you and you know nothing about it. You cannot go wild nor jump on me, and you do not bare your teeth at me with bites that do not hurt.
Portavi lacrimis madidus te nostra catella, quod feci lustris laetior ante tribus. ergo mihi, Patrice, iam non dabis osculla mille nec poteris collo grata cubare meo. tristis marmorea posui te sede merentem et iunxi semper manib(us) ipse meis, morib(us) argutis hominem simulare paratam; perdidimus quales, hei mihi, delicias. tu dulcis, Patrice, nostras attingere mensas consueras, gremio poscere blanda cibos, lambere tu calicem lingua rapiente solebas quem tibi saepe meae sustinuere manus, accipere et lassum cauda gaudente frequenter
Bedewed with tears I have carried you, our little dog, as in happier circumstances I did fifteen years ago. So now, Patrice, you will no longer give me a thousand kisses, nor will you be able to lie affectionately round my neck. You were a good dog, and in sorrow I have placed you in a marble tomb, and I have united you forever to myself when I die. You readily matched a human with your clever ways; alas, what a pet we have lost! You, sweet Patrice, were in the habit of joining us at table and fawningly asking for food in our lap, you were accustomed to lick with your greedy tongue the cup which my hands often held for you and regularly to welcome your tired master with wagging tail.
Source: Electronic Archive of Greek and Latin Epigraphy
