Most of the time when I watch ATLA, I relate to Katara the most. But when rewatching it this summer, I found myself relating really strongly to Zuko in the episodes where he loses his anger and, as a result, loses his firebending. [thread]

Zuko has become a powerful firebender through the most toxic and unhealthy of means — his anger and shame are the fuel for his bending. When he takes the healthy step of moving away from this mindset, he loses his power. This is a BIG MOOD for me.

I'm a person who is motivated almost entirely by shame, fear, and anxiety. I set completely unattainable goals for myself, and then beat myself up for not achieving them. I run off of adrenaline and stress. Every time I succeed as a result, it cements that unhealthy mindset.

Zuko is able to regain his bending — in fact, he becomes stronger when he finds a healthier source for his power. I try to see that as the future trajectory of my own path, but I admit, the fear of losing my "bending" looms large over any attempts to work in a healthier way.

I try to have faith that I'll eventually find whatever my equivalent of "master firebender dragons" is. That missing-stair feeling of willingly losing my power is... nightmarish to me.

But maybe if I find it, I too can have the greatest redemption arc in television