I couldn't agree more with this take.
The Agni Kai between Ozai and Zuko was one of the smartest, best additions to the show. I see people complaining about Zuko "fighting back", as though that's a bad thing or takes away the victimhood of his situation.
Zuko is prepared to fight someone else. Then his dad steps in. There's already a ton of pressure, and now confusion overwhelms, because wth why would he fight his dad and HOW. He doesn't want to fight him. But this Agni Kai's point is for honor, to prove himself to him, and a) he is firstly DEFENDING himself from his dad who is the one who starts fighting him hard. (throwing fire at him?? Hello??? Is he just supposed to take it??) b) don't you think Ozai would think worse of him if he didn't do anything at all? And don't you think Zuko takes that in consideration pretty quickly as his dad attacks him?
It's clear Ozai will fight. Now Zuko looks confused and scared during the fight, rightfully so, and he tries to figure out how far this will go. My wife keeps saying that he is sparring (and that y'all don't know about sparring, lol), and that doesn't mean you have to hurt your opponent, not the way Ozai intends. Zuko engages defensively, and then fights his father, hoping that's enough to show him that's he's good at this, that he's skilled. It doesn't have to go as far as Ozai takes it, it COULD just be sparring. Zuko COULD jusy try to show him what he's learned and hope his dad is pleased enough. Isn't that what he keeps trying to do anyway? Get his approval? Both he and Azula. Unfortunately, we know that's impossible.
The unfolding of this Agni Kai drives home the cruelty of Ozai in an even more intense way to me. Because no matter how well Zuko fights, it's not about skills, it's about how far he's willing to go, that's what Ozai is judging. The mentality behind it. Zuko isn't willing to hurt his father when he could, he holds back! That is his "weakness". And the way Ozai punishes this by doing what Zuko refused to do - burning Zuko where Zuko could've burned Ozai - that is a horrible reminder of this "failure" to go far enough, and the consequences it entails.
Zuko's scar now isn't just random placement, it has meaning behind it beyond the basic cruelty of Ozai hurting his child. It directly references Zuko's "weakness". Ozai showing him how it's done directly on his face, serving as a constant reminder that he couldn't be the strong one, so he got hurt by the one who was willing to be.
The sequence of Zuko holding back and Ozai NOT holding back but purposefully pausing and choosing to punish him this way was mind-blowing. Such a powerful, terrifying moment that makes Ozai feel even crueler than in the OG.
I don't think Zuko not engaging in the OG is bad at all, it virtually gets the same result; but I also don't think it's bad for him to decide to engage. It doesn't take away anything from the point, for me, the way it plays out in the live action takes it further. It examplifies Zuko and Ozai's relationship and Zuko's efforts - never enough - perfectly.
First artwork of the year is dedicated toΒ Sebastian Stan and his SUPER well-deserved win from yesterday. If you know me, you knew I had to do something in commemoration of my favorite actor finally getting some recognition. π©΅
I know Sebastian doesn't really get into social media anymore (and for good reason honestly), but I sincerely hope someone lets him know how proud us his fans are of him. π₯Ή
UPDATE JAN 09: Okay, I admittedly rushed this one and wasn't very happy with the eyes and some other minor things after I had posted them, so I made adjustments. I can't modify the file on other sites unfortunately, but I can here, so I did xD
And just because I liked it too, I'll share the sketch below the cut :>
πΈπ Rainbow Blitz
This Blitz was for my commission sheet examples, but I'm posting him solo because I think I have a little artblock again, but I don't want the algorithm to think I'm dead. π I wanted to give him his own post eventually anyway, I really like how he turned out :D
This design is by an artist friend of mine who I think most of the fandom knows, Orin331 (he asked me not to directly link his page π ). Only the outfit is my design.
If you like my art, please consider getting a commission! All prices and info are in my profile's pinned post. Hope you all have a wonderful day. π
To celebrate my favorite fictional character, here are some of my favorite pictures of him I've drawn for my ongoing BuckyxOC fanfiction, "A Second Chance", which I'm also illustrating.
I've mentioned this fanfic a few times here before, but if you're interested in reading a wholesome but engaging slowburn romance between Bucky and an original character (who has a proper story and personality outside of being a love interest), including hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, and the main character escaping a toxic relationship, feel free to check it out:
Archive Of Our Own
Wattpad
Instagram (for artwork only, but there's also memes in the story highlights and cute pics of the main pair c:)
Twitter/X (also art/memes only)
π Katara and Zuko π₯
For Zutara Week 2023 (Prompts: "Union" and "Flow")
I had originally sketched/planned this for my 4 Ship Challenge, but ultimately swapped these two for, funnily enough, another Water/Fire ship, Wade and Ember xD But I decided to save it for a special occassion, and what occassion more special than the 15th Zutara Week! (Not to mention the trailer for the live-action remake made me had these two in mind again, so, great timing all around x3)
This is my second ever contribution to a Zutara Week, but hopefully it won't be the last, because I really love these two.
I'm really proud of how this turned out, especially the water ^_^
NEW SHIP ALERT!!! AND IT'S ONE OF MY OWN CREATION (β ββ α΄β ββ βΏβ )
Revamping the designs of my OCs Peloo and Zann~~ Someday I hope to make a webtoon about them! β¨
When I tell you I'm glad I got off the train before it crashed and burned into the ground (more so than it already had by the end of Season 3)...
Let's go over everything that ML did wrong.
They refused to acknowledge any flaws Adrien had and called him perfect.
They refused to allow him a final confrontation with his father, and instead locked him in a room during a final battle with Monarch that should have included both Ladybug and Chat Noir.
They refused to redeem Chloe as part of a so called damnation arc instead of giving her the redemption they previously hinted at.
They sent Chloe off to live with her abusive mother, saying she deserved to be abused.
Nino never got his Scarabella treatment with the Black Cat, and was shafted in favor of Zoe for that.
They teased Lukanette and Adrigami at the end of S3, and immediately broke them up in the first episode of S4 because any other ships beside Adrinette aren't allowed.
After four and a half seasons, they brought up Marinette's stalking habits but blamed it all on Chloe instead of her owning up to her behavior and learning from it. There's also the inconsistency of her only having that behavior with Adrien and not Luka or Chat.
They introduced Zoe, Chloe's half-sister, without any foreshadowing in season four and immediately gave her Chloe's Bee Miraculous. Everything was basically handed to her where other characters actually worked to earn stuff.
They tried to portray Lila and Felix as these master manipulators, but the way they did it instead made everyone else look too dumb through plot armor and bad writing.
Nothing ever came up about Lila lying about being Ladybug's BFF after Alya learned Marinette was Ladybug, and should have not believed her anymore.
Felix didn't even get a redemption, and yet he's part of the team at the end while Chloe is not.
They shoved the last four hero debuts into one episode when they all should have had individual spotlight episodes because they were too busy salting Chloe and shilling Zoe to remember them.
They had multiple opportunities for the heroes to win back the Miraculouses Hawk Moth stole, but didn't because of plot armor and bad writing.
The retcons! The wish originally being equivalent exchange then retconned to world rewriting, Luka and Juleka being two years apart then retconned to twins, Socqueline and Zoe, to name a few.
The freaking sentikids plot! I hate that so much. They didn't start foreshadowing that until late S3 at best. They claim to be planning that since the beginning, but I call baloney!
There's probably more.
SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE MY BOY
Happy New Year, everybody! π₯³π«Άβ¨
I like to imagine that during the beginning stages of Osha and Qimir's master-apprentice relationship, they also have a bit of a "will they won't they" dynamic going on as Osha slowly begins to open up her heart. I think it'd be fun to see! πβ€οΈ
Inspired by Scarlet Heart Ryeo! The yearning dialogue suits Qimir very well~
As Roxanne heads to rescue her brother and Bucky stays behind to protect the GarcΓas, both of them will have intense battles to face, both internal and external.
See the illustrations for the fanfic's newest chapter, and read here:
Archive Of Our Own
Wattpad
If you're new here, feel free to check it out from the start! Updates are slow, but there's plenty to get started. π
"A Second Chance" is a Bucky Barnes x OC, MCU fanfiction written by myself (@ro994art) and Julienne Dy (@juliennepearldy), with illustrations done by me.
If my art makes you smile, my job here is done. πSideblog: @oc-robrooks
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