shadowsong26 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shadowsong26) wrote2009-07-01 01:01 pm
shadowsong26) wrote2009-07-01 01:01 pm
ship rambling
iono what sparked me to do this right now, but i feel a strange need to rant about certain avatar ships, canon and otherwise :D
first, maiko: i think they were childhood sweethearts, and they do love one another (hence, mai going to such lengths to save him in the boiling rock, despite the fact that he's screwed her over and left her twice, though the first wasn't by choice). maiko is also one of the easiest ships to write, because there is that history and that affection that none of the other couples have--i mean, except possibly zuko/ty lee, but she's honestly the functional little sister he deserves, so i guess that's my very brief rant about that pairing. the problem with maiko is that, while it has this amazing past and ease of writing, i don't think the couple has a future. yes, they love each other, they fell in love when they were just starting to discover their sexuality, etc., but...then zuko got banished. and they had three years apart, to grow and change and idealize one another. the fact is, they didn't have much time together in the first half of season three to realize what a pitfall that's going to be. but it will be one. particularly zuko has changed so much since they initially fell in love, and even since they first dated...i think they love one another very much, and are going to go their seperate ways in a year or two. their relationship will be very sweet, and very loving, and very brief. because otherwise they'll end up hating each other and i think zuko cares too much about his inevitable kids to subject them to that.
next, kataang: never been able to get behind this. mostly because it squicks me out a little bit. katara's too maternal, and aang's too immature, and that is a recipe for badness, imo.
sokka/suki (sukka?): this is one of the most realistic, functional couples in the show (at least among the teenagers). they're attracted to each other's mutual badass (particularly sokka), and, once he gets through some of his yue-related issues, they can protect each other. as for whether or not they have a future...well, i don't know. fifteen is awful young to find your soulmate. and i don't know if suki would be willing to settle away from her home island or if sokka would be willing to settle away from the south pole. so i guess i'm just kinda eh about it. i like the way it's realistic, i don't know if i could write adult fic about them.
zutara. oh, zutara. you shall always have a special place in my heart. on the other hand, you are such a bitch to write, particularly after the second half of season three has revealed how deep katara's vindictive bitchy side goes. i guess i can't really see it happening the way canon turned out. in an AU, sure, if zuko unmade his ba sing se decision sooner, or in a Road Not Taken story, or...yeah. i just...similar to maiko, in a way, they've both been through too much, i can't see them getting together now. much as i love the couple.
sokka/ty lee. i can't see this going past a fast-paced intensely sexual fling. mostly because i can't see ty lee giving up her independence for someone like sokka. he's too...goofy. yeah, he has his serious moments, but so does she, and they both have them in fairly low numbers. if you look at her three major long-term relationships, she's gravitated to azula (though less so), who is a vicious, sadistic bitch, to mai, who is repressed and serious to a fault, and to zuko who is damaged enough that it's very difficult for him to be silly. i think, if and when ty lee starts looking for a permanent relationship, it won't be someone like sokka, or aang, or teo, whose lighter moments outnumber their serious ones, it'll be someone like haru or jet, whose serious moments outweight the lighter ones. and oh god that would be hot. jet lee. omnomnom.
ursoda. mmmm. i can totally get behind that, assuming she's still alive (yes, she left the firenation alive, but that was several years ago, and a lot can happen in the intervening time, even if she didn't get outed as the firelady in exile). i think they'd be good for each other, if they ever met and spent enough time together to build a relationship.
ursa/ozai. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. i'm sorry, there's something about this couple that just draws me in. i haven't read much fic about them, but...there's this little moment in my head, where he finds her postwar (he broke out of prison somehow). he finds her, they have some sort of screaming match and fall into bed. afterwards:
ursa--this was a mistake.
ozai--i know.
ursa--it can't happen again.
ozai--i know.
ursa--::gets up to retrieve her clothes, wherever they went::
ozai--you're still beautiful.
ursa--you're still an ass.
and then they totally have sex again. :D
pakku/kana. now, here is an example of a couple with a similar setup to maiko that actually works. in part because, from what we learn of their history, it seems to have been largely one-sided the first time, but kana still kept his necklace, and she went out and had other relationships and at least one child (...wow, my brain went a weird place there and tried to tell me bato and kya were brother and sister O.o). and then he went back to her. they've had time to mature and experience other things and i doubt very much that there is pedestaling going on, because kana is not the ideal in the north pole, what with the independence and the running away and whatnot. ^_^ so, while she took him back rather quickly...i don't know. i can see this lasting until they die.
i find it hard to ship iroh with anyone. i don't think he's really interested in anything long-term, frankly. otherwise, he would've probably remarried before now. plus, we don't know what happened to lu ten's mother or what kind of relationship they had (i have Theories, as i'm sure everyone else does), and it's entirely possible that he was very much in love with her and, while he's willing enough to flirt and sleep around (a man has needs, after all, and fire peoples are passionate creatures ^_^), he may not be willing to replace her in a long-term sense. now, this is not my pet theory (my pet theory is that he was never really interested in a long-term relationship, and he married his wife because they were very good friends, had similar interests, were affectionate enough, the sex was good, they were not in love. and then she died before potential complications could arise, and, now that he's done his dynastic duty by marrying and having a son he adores, there's no reason to risk anyone's heart again. short flings are the way to go, baby), but it's definately a valid one, and i can see it for him.
azula is also hard to ship, mostly because writing a long-term relationship with her would either end up making her OOC or leaving the other person in pieces.
long feng i also find very difficult to ship with anyone long-term. in part because there's really no one in canon i can see him committing to. in part because commitment is a vulnerability/point of manipulation, and he doesn't want to invite that risk. plus, his one real personal relationship (he was all but father to kuei for twenty years, after all) hung him out to dry without even really hearing his side of the story, on the word of people he just met. and, yeah, the reverse is true for kuei as to why that became a disaster, but...yeah. y'know, i think if the gaang had left the dai li situation alone, the city would never have fallen. 'course, they can't leave the situation alone, 'cause that's not the way they are, yadda yadda yadda.
kuei needs to grow up before i can see him with anyone. it's kinda sad that i think aang is more mature than he is.
anywho, those're my ramblings. sorry for the boring tldr
first, maiko: i think they were childhood sweethearts, and they do love one another (hence, mai going to such lengths to save him in the boiling rock, despite the fact that he's screwed her over and left her twice, though the first wasn't by choice). maiko is also one of the easiest ships to write, because there is that history and that affection that none of the other couples have--i mean, except possibly zuko/ty lee, but she's honestly the functional little sister he deserves, so i guess that's my very brief rant about that pairing. the problem with maiko is that, while it has this amazing past and ease of writing, i don't think the couple has a future. yes, they love each other, they fell in love when they were just starting to discover their sexuality, etc., but...then zuko got banished. and they had three years apart, to grow and change and idealize one another. the fact is, they didn't have much time together in the first half of season three to realize what a pitfall that's going to be. but it will be one. particularly zuko has changed so much since they initially fell in love, and even since they first dated...i think they love one another very much, and are going to go their seperate ways in a year or two. their relationship will be very sweet, and very loving, and very brief. because otherwise they'll end up hating each other and i think zuko cares too much about his inevitable kids to subject them to that.
next, kataang: never been able to get behind this. mostly because it squicks me out a little bit. katara's too maternal, and aang's too immature, and that is a recipe for badness, imo.
sokka/suki (sukka?): this is one of the most realistic, functional couples in the show (at least among the teenagers). they're attracted to each other's mutual badass (particularly sokka), and, once he gets through some of his yue-related issues, they can protect each other. as for whether or not they have a future...well, i don't know. fifteen is awful young to find your soulmate. and i don't know if suki would be willing to settle away from her home island or if sokka would be willing to settle away from the south pole. so i guess i'm just kinda eh about it. i like the way it's realistic, i don't know if i could write adult fic about them.
zutara. oh, zutara. you shall always have a special place in my heart. on the other hand, you are such a bitch to write, particularly after the second half of season three has revealed how deep katara's vindictive bitchy side goes. i guess i can't really see it happening the way canon turned out. in an AU, sure, if zuko unmade his ba sing se decision sooner, or in a Road Not Taken story, or...yeah. i just...similar to maiko, in a way, they've both been through too much, i can't see them getting together now. much as i love the couple.
sokka/ty lee. i can't see this going past a fast-paced intensely sexual fling. mostly because i can't see ty lee giving up her independence for someone like sokka. he's too...goofy. yeah, he has his serious moments, but so does she, and they both have them in fairly low numbers. if you look at her three major long-term relationships, she's gravitated to azula (though less so), who is a vicious, sadistic bitch, to mai, who is repressed and serious to a fault, and to zuko who is damaged enough that it's very difficult for him to be silly. i think, if and when ty lee starts looking for a permanent relationship, it won't be someone like sokka, or aang, or teo, whose lighter moments outnumber their serious ones, it'll be someone like haru or jet, whose serious moments outweight the lighter ones. and oh god that would be hot. jet lee. omnomnom.
ursoda. mmmm. i can totally get behind that, assuming she's still alive (yes, she left the firenation alive, but that was several years ago, and a lot can happen in the intervening time, even if she didn't get outed as the firelady in exile). i think they'd be good for each other, if they ever met and spent enough time together to build a relationship.
ursa/ozai. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. i'm sorry, there's something about this couple that just draws me in. i haven't read much fic about them, but...there's this little moment in my head, where he finds her postwar (he broke out of prison somehow). he finds her, they have some sort of screaming match and fall into bed. afterwards:
ursa--this was a mistake.
ozai--i know.
ursa--it can't happen again.
ozai--i know.
ursa--::gets up to retrieve her clothes, wherever they went::
ozai--you're still beautiful.
ursa--you're still an ass.
and then they totally have sex again. :D
pakku/kana. now, here is an example of a couple with a similar setup to maiko that actually works. in part because, from what we learn of their history, it seems to have been largely one-sided the first time, but kana still kept his necklace, and she went out and had other relationships and at least one child (...wow, my brain went a weird place there and tried to tell me bato and kya were brother and sister O.o). and then he went back to her. they've had time to mature and experience other things and i doubt very much that there is pedestaling going on, because kana is not the ideal in the north pole, what with the independence and the running away and whatnot. ^_^ so, while she took him back rather quickly...i don't know. i can see this lasting until they die.
i find it hard to ship iroh with anyone. i don't think he's really interested in anything long-term, frankly. otherwise, he would've probably remarried before now. plus, we don't know what happened to lu ten's mother or what kind of relationship they had (i have Theories, as i'm sure everyone else does), and it's entirely possible that he was very much in love with her and, while he's willing enough to flirt and sleep around (a man has needs, after all, and fire peoples are passionate creatures ^_^), he may not be willing to replace her in a long-term sense. now, this is not my pet theory (my pet theory is that he was never really interested in a long-term relationship, and he married his wife because they were very good friends, had similar interests, were affectionate enough, the sex was good, they were not in love. and then she died before potential complications could arise, and, now that he's done his dynastic duty by marrying and having a son he adores, there's no reason to risk anyone's heart again. short flings are the way to go, baby), but it's definately a valid one, and i can see it for him.
azula is also hard to ship, mostly because writing a long-term relationship with her would either end up making her OOC or leaving the other person in pieces.
long feng i also find very difficult to ship with anyone long-term. in part because there's really no one in canon i can see him committing to. in part because commitment is a vulnerability/point of manipulation, and he doesn't want to invite that risk. plus, his one real personal relationship (he was all but father to kuei for twenty years, after all) hung him out to dry without even really hearing his side of the story, on the word of people he just met. and, yeah, the reverse is true for kuei as to why that became a disaster, but...yeah. y'know, i think if the gaang had left the dai li situation alone, the city would never have fallen. 'course, they can't leave the situation alone, 'cause that's not the way they are, yadda yadda yadda.
kuei needs to grow up before i can see him with anyone. it's kinda sad that i think aang is more mature than he is.
anywho, those're my ramblings. sorry for the boring tldr