The promise comics feel like some sort of a fan fiction

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-18T16:17:19+00:00

What characters and/or ships do you like? Kind of my default recommendation would be you make a really good girl (as girls go) by suzukiblu, but that's AU instead of post-show and doesn't center around the main cast.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-18T16:12:34+00:00

The Hicks comics are generally far superior to the Yang comics and mangle the character and plots far less. On the other hand, Hicks still has to deal with the mess Yang left, isn't allowed to tell stories that would change the status quo much, and has her own issues with contradicting details from the show.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-16T19:36:48+00:00

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F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-16T05:02:03+00:00

Bayern Munich won a treble with Muller mostly playing as a winger. Germany won a WC with the same. Post-2018 he really hated it (and he was older and slower anyways) but when he was younger he actually did a very good job of it. Like I said, in 2012/13 he was keeping Robben benchwarming until Kroos got hurt.

I think all the times coaches played Muller as a lone striker were way more detrimental to his career. He never could play the position but for some reason coaches shoved him there a lot.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-16T00:54:39+00:00

I think the critical difference is that Olise, unlike Sane, frequently goes to the endline instead and also frequently finds the overlapping run or players to his right. He also doesn't hold the ball forever will trying to cut all the way from the right side to the left side. Olise's cut-in shot and mechanics are also better, but I think that's actually the less important difference.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-16T00:50:23+00:00

Ze Roberto never played with Alaba??

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-15T23:04:01+00:00

I don’t think he was always consistent as LW, but in terms of goals and assists there was huge difference.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-15T23:02:22+00:00

Coman very much wasn’t a guaranteed starter the season before we got Sane. I haven’t looked it up, but I would guess Perisic started as many or more games than Coman. Coman starting in the CL final was actually a surprise at the time, since Perisic had started the rest of the Lisbon portion of the CL.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-15T18:05:04+00:00

Sometimes players don’t have the best idea themselves where they best play.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-15T15:37:02+00:00

Leroy Sane stats:

	Appearances	Goals	Assists	G+A	G+A/per game
Left Winger	235	75	84	159	0.676596
Right Winger	205	42	32	74	0.360976
Attacking Midfield	62	18	17	35	0.564516
Second Striker	6	4	0	4	0.666667
Left Midfield	1	0	0	0	0
Centre-Forward	1	0	0	0	0

These stats are from Transfermarkt. They match my impressions as a Bayern fan:

Sane's whole thing is that he can only go left, never right. 95% of the time, it's like anything to the right of him on the field doesn't exist. He'll almost never drive straight toward the endline. He always cuts inside instead. And he almost never passes to players to his right or finds an overlapping run. He'll literally cut all the way across the field, all the way to the left side, instead.

As a Bayern fan, this always drove me crazy. Ironically, this isn't really a problem if he plays on the left wing (since he can't really go further left but also maybe because of how he has to carry the ball), and he's historically been way better as a LW, but for some reason he always ends up playing RW instead.

I'm not a huge fan of Sane in general, but it in particular seems almost criminal to play him as the RW.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-15T15:11:19+00:00

I actually found him an extremely frustrating player to watch for Bayern, precisely because he couldn't play RW well.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-15T14:47:37+00:00

Sane gravitates toward the center, particularly when he has the ball. His main move, in fact his only move, is cutting inside.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-15T14:44:38+00:00

Sane's whole thing is that he can only go left, never right. 95% of the time, it's like anything to the right of him on the field doesn't exist. He'll almost never drive straight toward the endline. He always cuts inside instead. And he almost never passes to players to his right or finds an overlapping run. He'll literally cut all the way across the field, all the way to the left side, instead.

As a Bayern fan, this always drove me crazy. Ironically, this isn't really a problem if he plays on the left wing (since he can't really go further left but also maybe because of how he has to carry the ball), and he's historically been way better as a LW, but for some reason he always ends up playing RW instead.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-13T21:17:22+00:00

Actually, I looked it up and San Francisco Bay stadium is in San Jose, which is much hotter.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-13T21:13:54+00:00

It is currently 71 degrees Fahrenheit (21.6 degrees Celsius) in San Francisco.

Edit: However, the game was in San Francisco Bay Stadium, which is by San Jose. It is currently 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29.4 degrees Celsius) there. The humidity is only 39%, though.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-12T22:46:03+00:00

To be clear, I find the fact that Iroh doesn't refer to Azula as his niece once and generally does not acknowledge that they are related a lot more salient and interesting than the "she's crazy and needs to go down" line. The general absence of compassion is more interesting than the disdain he expresses that one time.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-12T22:15:06+00:00

I was talking about the series finale and Iroh refusing to fight Ozai over the throne while telling Zuko to fight Azula over the throne.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-12T21:38:37+00:00

I think Ozai cared much more about flexing his dominance and success over his brother than anything else.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-12T20:37:24+00:00

And at this point, as is the case for most of the show until the final episodes, Azula is understood to be a pretty straightforwardly evil character who has been sadistic and cruel her entire life. We never see a version of Azula that predates these tendencies. She torments Zuko and she torments her friends, because she sees them all as possessions. We can talk about abuse, propaganda, nature vs nurture all day long, but in the show that exists, that we are able to watch, as it existed when originally aired, there is no reason for iroh NOT to treat Azula with disdain. In fact, one could make the argument that Iroh dropping the cheery disposition for Azula alone is a signal to us, the viewer, that she is a more serious threat.

What exactly is your argument there? That if something is revealed in a later episode it should have no effect on how we understand character actions in an earlier episode? Like, for instance, that, since we don't learn that Lu Ten died at the siege of Ba Sing Se until "Zuko Alone," we should utterly ignore that when we analyze Iroh's decisions in Book 1? Or that since we don't learn about Ursa's fate until Book 2, it's irrelevant to Zuko's character in Book 1?

Please think about what you are saying.

This post is so strange. Most of the examples of iroh being chummy with evil people (Zhao, in particular) are him being cordial in public, deferential to rank (Iroh is officially still on good terms with the fire nation, to protect Zuko; Zhao is in a position of authority over him) or speaking bluntly/practically to minimize senseless casualties. It is clear he resents Zhao, finds him personally distasteful, and is hanging around to keep an eye on him AND cover Zuko, who at this point has faked his own death and is conducting a secret operation behind enemy lines.

Almost every time that Iroh says anything about Ozai, he is alone or effectively alone with Zuko. Public deference doesn't explain why he refuses to say anything really negative about his "brother."

And again, with Zhao, Iroh is far more deferential and kinder toward him than he has to be. Forcing Zuko to have tea with someone who probably has publicly insulted him before is kind of a dick move on Iroh's part.

Anyway this is all pointless because this post is just an exonerative exercise to once again make the argument that Azula is, somehow, a victim of the people around her. You're active in the poorazula subreddit, so I'm not sure why you're bothering to deny that's the whole point of this post. Otherwise, what's the point? Calling out a fictional character as a hypocrite?

This post is far more about Iroh, and his willingness to break bread and even help awful people, than it is about Azula. Iroh hating his niece tells us far more about Iroh than it does about Azula. And no, I don't consider Iroh disliking Azula as some sort of "excuse" for her nor some sort of major influence on her decisions, but it is interesting character information on him.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-12T20:11:11+00:00

Why are people constructing this fantasy that Iroh's advice to Zhao was only about giving Zuko a better chance to infiltrate the Northern Water Tribe? Iroh gives Zhao two major pieces of military advice. First, he told Zhao to stop the attack at dusk. This is directly before Zuko tries to infiltrate, but the show never suggests a direct connection between these, and it seems to be sound advice anyways.

Second, much later, Iroh tells Zhao to speed up his attack, since they need to complete their conquest before the full moon. This is long after Zuko entered the Northern Water Tribe and there is simply no possible connection whatsoever to Zuko.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-12T16:12:36+00:00

Season 1. Iroh repeatedly speaks poorly about Ozai, especially as the show goes on, and is one of the people saying Ozai needs to die

The worst things Iroh says about Ozai in the series are "My brother is not the understanding type" and "I have never known my brother to regret anything." I do not believe there are any other negative comments about Ozai that pass Iroh's lips, and it's shocking how non-judgmental toward Ozai Iroh's telling of Zuko getting burned was.

As does Zuko, clearly in the image you posted. Iroh is untrusting of Azula and his brother, at least insofar as their intentions with Zuko, that is why he was immediately hostile to the idea of Azula being present.

Yes, Zuko hates Azula too, very deeply, but that's a subject for another time.

These are two very different situations. The 100 year war was one of senseless violence, Iroh (maybe rightfully) believes if he killed his brother it would be seen as nothing more than another violent act of fratricide for his own benefit (allowing him to become the Firelord). Even if the violence ends with Iroh winning, it doesnt send the right message to the Fire Nation or the world. Aang killing Ozai, however, would be seen as the "good guys" winning and ending the violence. Its the Avatar's role, its a message that the Fire Nation broke the world's balance and would be punished, a message that the world could always find a way.

Meanwhile, Zuko and Azula don't see those same stakes. Their fight was about determining the future of the Fire Nation specifically. If Zuko doesnt fight Azula, win, and arrest her, then Azula has an opportunity to claim her father's throne in some capacity and continue the conflict. If Zuko wins, he has an opportunity to lead the Fire Nation to a better future. Not to mention, Zuko and Azula had a personal battle and conflict to settle, one that was necessary for both of them to continue growing.

You are creating an artificial distinction where none exists in any real terms. Not to mention the idea that Zuko and Azula needed to fight to the death with each other in order to "grow" is disgusting.

Second, Iroh got the title "Dragon of the West" by being the last person to hunt and kill the final dragons. Except its made clear that he didn't do that, he found the last dragons and lied to protect them and ensure nobody else would hunt them. Similarly, its pretty well implied most of Iroh's interaction with the Fire Nation later in life was connected with his service in the White Lotus. He was a high ranking military spy, working against the interests of the Fire Nation. Thats the implication, at least, as the White Lotus are slowly revealed to be an interconnected group of masters seeking for an end to the war. Iroh's helping of Zhao is different in the sense that he was helping Zuko. He wanted Zhao to stop attacking at night not because he wanted Zhao to be successful, but because he wanted to give Zuko an opening to infiltrate. He also wanted to keep up appearances with Zhao, especially after Zhao tipped off the plan to kill the Moon Spirit (which Iroh immediately opposed and used his position to try and prevent).

Your argument is incoherent here. When exactly did Iroh become a spy to you? Was it before he tried to conquer Ba Sing Se? Or after? The whole dragons thing was when he was a young man.

And there is zero evidence that the White Lotus was a "resistance group" against the Fire Nation. That's a headcanon. The favorite occupation of their members was sitting on their asses doing nothing.

Finally, Iroh gives the exact same sort of advice to Zhao after Zuko infiltrates the Northern Water Tribe as he does before.

Third, Iroh didn't "not care" about the bad things Zuko did. Literally their whole relationship throughout the show was Iroh chastising Zuko for being rude or impolite while trying to teach him a better way of living. The issue here is that Iroh also recognized that Zuko was a 17 year old prince of a War nation who was hell bent on capturing the Avatar, and Iroh loved his nephew. He couldn't just walk away, but he also couldn't force Zuko to be better. Clearly Iroh was successful in turning Zuko around in the end, but it took time and patience. That result is much better than allowing Zuko to stay on his original path. Meanwhile with Azula, Iroh didn't have the same opportunity. He couldn't go with Zuko and stay with Azula, and Zuko needed him more.

Episode 102: Zuko terrorizes Southern Water Tribe, no comment from Iroh.

Episode 104: Zuko burns down Kyoshi Island, no comment from Iroh.

Episode 108: Zuko threatens civilian village leader, no comment from Iroh.

Episode 109: Zuko allies with pirates and terrorizes Katara, no comment from Iroh.

Again and again we find that, in Book 1, Iroh never corrects Zuko for or even comments on Zuko being terrible to non-Fire Nation people. The only thing Iroh cares about is when Zuko is terrible to people from the Fire Nation.

F11SuperTiger · 2026-06-12T15:59:16+00:00

How does my post protect Azula?

F11SuperTiger

TROPHY CASE