masterghandalf

I'm not sure anything that adopts a small human as easily as those badgermoles did is 'just' an animal, but then Appa understands human language so what do I know.


I'm pretty sure in canon, badgermoles, sky bison and dragons are all quite a bit more than "just" animals, but Vathara really doesn't like the idea of dragons being lumped in with the other two because apparently that's not special enough, so...

(I also think Vathara is assuming that since all the petty lords are fighting each other all the time, anyone who does try for more then their 'fair share' will find their land getting snaffled from behind them. Total nonsense since delegation is a thing that happens, but I can see the premises that lead there.)


Yeah, that's probably it, but it still doesn't make sense, IMO. For another, it doesn't take into account the idea of multiple lords working together or, since this is Embers Fire Nation, of one lord being so charismatic they could start binding the loyalty of other lords automatically (which, if I understand loyalty right, should totally be a thing that can happen).

I think that if Aang fleeing Zuko's ship was such a massive breach of propriety, Zuko would have spent the entire first book complaining about it.


Indeed! It's part of the problem this fic has with taking so much of the original show as canon - characters can suddenly start caring about things they literally spent months not caring about, because someone else is writing them now and that person has an axe to grind.