We all know that peculiar hairstyle Zuko sports in Book 1. It’s also a hair style we see on the male Sun Warriors. This hairstyle, like other facets of the Fire Nation aesthetic, is inspired by Thai culture. In this case, Zuko and the male Sun Warriors are sporting traditional Thai topknots.
In traditional Thai culture, the crown of the head is the sacred portal of the spirit of life and is not to be treated lightly, especially regarding children. This sacredness extends to the hair on the crown, resulting in top knots grown over children’s fontanels (soft spots). In practical terms, it discourages careless adults from touching the most delicate part of an infant’s developing skull. The cutting of the top knot, known in Thai as kon chuk (โกนจุก), is seen as a rite of passage and an auspicious event for children between the ages of 7 and 13.
Obviously, these implications don’t quite carry over into the Avatar-verse, since we see plenty of adult Sun Warriors sporting the ‘do. Most likely, the hairstyle is meant to add to the Southeast Asian “flavor” of the Fire Nation.
That said, I do think this cultural subtext adds new dimension to one of Zuko’s most memorable moments, whether intentional or not. When Zuko cuts off his topknot, you can essentially view it through three equally valid lenses:
If you view it through a traditional Chinese/Korean lens, Zuko is renouncing his ties to his father; Confucians viewed hair as a precious gift from one’s parents and to cut one’s hair was seen as an act of disloyalty.
If you view it through a traditional Japanese lens, Zuko is renouncing his status in Fire Nation society and abandoning his title for the life of a peasant. In Japanese culture, a samurai seeking to join a monastery or the peasantry would cut off his top knot and undergo a dramatic decline in social status.
In you view it through a traditional Thai lens, Zuko’s hair cutting is a rite of passage. He’s leaving behind childhood and beginning his journey into adulthood. There’s no denying that Zuko matures a lot after he cuts off his top knot.
All of these interpretations fit the Fire Nation as they are a combination of Chinese, Japanese, and Thai culture.
Stuff like this is what draws me back into Avatar as an adult. The series is a mish-mash of so many different cultures, yet they all meld together in a way that still preserves the context of the different cultures they derive from. The show has a masterful way of integrating real-life cultural motifs and historical events into its own story, and it still manages to work both metaphorically and in-universe.
Online 3D experiment by Ikaros Kappler which is described as a “Extrusion/Revolution Generator” ….
Created with three.js, you can alter the bezier curves and angle of the form, and is designed with 3D printing in mind (models can be exported and saved, as well as calculated weight in silicone).
which end do you start with? the answer is yours to decide
shove a vase up your ass
not even jesus could save yall motherfuckers’ souls
i call it the matterhorn
cackling just continues to get louder as I scroll through
i think this is the first time an internet community has discovered something customizable and adamantly refused to make penises
of course this is the post where tumblr is like “Seems sfw to me!”
I call this one the Megahorny
Just cram an entire table lamp up there
Me every time this post crosses my dash:
My laugh at this post is auditory evidence of just how sick I still am.
Plate.
I’d usually post this to my NSFW blog but this is making me laugh so unreasonably hard that I can’t fucking breathe and therefore deserves to be on my main blog
Compiling some of the best ones from the replies-
How you gonna do us like that bruh???
ITS BACK
M U S H R O O M
en garde
i guess this is the long post all the gays are collectively reblogging today huh
Idk how to work it on mobile which makes me sad
This this fucking terrible thing just killed me
I was just scrolling and my friend asked why I was dying and i just had shown them this.
“Today is a good day to tell you “I love you”
because I’d rather die expressing my love
for you than dying someday and knowing I haven’t
kissed you enough with my words. Today is a good day
to tell you “I love you”
because for me, you are all my favorite songs on the radio while the sun is shining from my face
because I am so happy I’ve found you. Today is a good day to tell you “I love you”
because there’s nothing I want more on this earth
than to see you smile because my love finds a road to your heart, and it’s home. Today is a good day
to tell you “I love you”
because I love you and I love you, and I love you
with all my heart, and that’s why what I truly want to say is
every day is a good day to tell you, “I love you.””
