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vickyvicarious · 4 years

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do u have any atla fic recs? all time faves? can be shippy or not

Fun fact, I am incapable of holding back on reclists. In other words: brace yourself, anon. There’s a reason I put most of this behind a cut.

First off, these are almost all Zuko-centric, because I shamelessly play favorites. I’ll sort them by author rec, gen, shippy, and then by other characters because honestly the numbers break down well that way. Within those categories it’ll be more just as I think of it, so no special meaning to the order. I’m not always good about bookmarking even my faves, so some excellent stuff will no doubt be missing, especially since I haven’t read a lot of the more recent stuff yet/forgot some really old stuff, but this will definitely still give you plenty of fic to enjoy.

There’s a good number of FFN links on here so apologies to people who dislike it, but a lot of great stuff is still on there so give it a chance.

Author recs

Everything by @awesomeavocadolove Such hits as Another Brother (Zuko adopted by Hakoda pre-S1), and currently has a Zukka soulmate fic I’ve been meaning to start reading, as well as Unchained Melody, one of my favorite Zukka fics ever. Always quality, you can’t go wrong.

Everything by KimberlyT. I do not kid. She’s written a variety of ATLA fic ranging from Zutara/other romance to gen, seriously emotional to cracky cabbagebending. I think my favorite is probably Mismatched (S1 Zuko adopts a baby) but honestly just go read it all.

Everything by @emletish-fish. She has a very fun writing style and honestly her end-of-chapter notes on why she’s made the choices she has are fun minimetas worthwhile in their own right. Some of her top fics are the Stalking Zuko series (S3 suspicious Katara to Zutara) and The Worst Prisoner (the Gaang kidnaps Zuko in S1 and can’t get rid of him). I think there’s still a good amount of her fic that can only be found on FFN so check there too.

Everything by @botherkupo. Especially her Undying Fire series (healer!Zuko) but also just literally everything she writes, it is all so great. Tends toward Zutara but strong gen fics as well sometimes and a lot of fun. Check it all out!

Everything by @muffinlance. Loves to toy with her readers’ emotions in the best of ways. Tons of fantastic gen Zuko-centric AUs, I have adored every single fic I’ve ever read by her, can’t praise them enough. Very productive as well, her tumblr is a hub for the ATLA renaissance and her fics inspire lots of others. Has also organized a fanmade ATLA coloring book for charity so get that once it’s out. In the meantime read everything she’s written.

Everything by Haicrescendo. My favorite is What We’re Given (the series where Zuko finds more air bisons and raises them), but there’s a lot of good Zukka fic too. I tend to steer away from explicit works in this fandom unless it’s a smaller part of a much longer plot-centric fic, so there are a number I haven’t read, but I really like the Pokemon!AU Zukka.

Everything by @gaycinema. I really love the EK fight club series (Zuko fights in Rumbles/etc.) but all of it is a good read. Some Jetko, mostly a lot of introspective or emotional oneshots. Which isn’t really a great depiction of how good they tend to be, you’ll just have to read them and find out. You won’t regret it, trust me.

Everything by @captainkirkk. So far eight stellar fics, starting with kind Fire Lord Zuko and ranging to Floating Tea Shop!Zuko who doesn’t want to hunt the Avatar. I love her style and have laughed out loud at multiple of these.

Gen Zuko fic

Bringing Out the Blue by maguena1. [unfinished, long] Definitely worth the read. The first ATLA fic I ever got really sucked into. The Blue Spirit never gets knocked out so Aang doesn’t know his true identity; he joins the Gaang on a recurring basis, while Zuko attempts to tell himself this is only for information on how to catch them, they definitely aren’t his friends.

It’s Impossible by Sandra Phillips. [abandoned, long] One of the earliest Avatar!Zuko fics (sort of) and a really interesting take on some spirit stuff.

Embers by Vathara. [complete, long] A landmark fic in the fandom, and for good reason. I didn’t love everything about this fic, but it is very well-written and an absorbing read certainly worth the praise.

the art of description by incandescens. [oneshot, short] Five descriptions of Zuko and Toph’s field trip from various perspectives. Short, sweet, and funny.

Breaking Point by Kryal. [oneshot, short] Zuko isn’t banished but instead sent to serve in the Home Guard. I love Zuko loving his people, and alternate canon explorations, and this is exactly that.

The Alternative by Lunatique. [oneshot, short] The reason Zuko is so determined is because he fears what will happen if he isn’t the next Fire Lord. An idea I support in canon, to a degree, written well.

Hands and Knees by gigerisgod. [oneshot, short] Zuko reflects on the choices he’s made, and experiences he’s had, when joining the Gaang. A nice introspective fic.

Relative Misery by peroxidepest17. [oneshot, short] Toph complains about her family and Zuko takes her on a field trip. Not a fic I take too seriously, but funny in a sad way.

Second Nature by lazyartisan. [possibly abandoned, long] An AU stemming from Zuko’s capture at the North Pole. Well-written and characterized, an old favorite that I actually find needing to reread to give you more detail, but I can promise it’s good.

Year One by peroxidepest17. [oneshot, short] Lessons Zuko learns in his first year being Fire Lord. I really like explorations of Zuko’s journey as Fire Lord and this is a lovely little window into that.

Soft by PenPistola. [oneshot, short] Zuko and Toph bonding after the Ember Island Players. Short and sweet.

The New Phoenix King by JoeMerl. [oneshot, short] Fire Lord Zuko is overthrown, and no one but him is bothered at all. In fact they help. Hilarious crack.

First Name Basis by JoeMerl. [oneshot, short] There’s some popular posts going around Tumblr lately about Zuko not knowing the Gaang’s names, but this fic did it first back in 2008. As amusing as you’d expect.

Male Bonding by glamaphonic. [oneshot, short] The original ‘Zuko and Sokka bond and are also dumb idiot boys’ fic. Katara is permanently rolling her eyes.

it’s not the waking, it’s the rising by isamagicdragon, thegracious [ongoing, series, medium] Azulon tells Ozai to kill Azula instead of Zuko, which leads to heartwrenching fire sibs adventure. I haven’t caught up on the last chapter yet but god is it fantastic and also just a really interesting and new perspective on what could have happened.

Doe-Eyed by Anonymous. [complete, medium] Zuko is a baby, Azula is a loving big sister. More fire sibs and a great exploration on Azula’s POV of turning against Ozai.

kintsugi by discordiansamba. [ongoing, series, long] Zuko doesn’t have Iroh after being banished, and winds up hired as a guard to protect the frail Beifong daughter. Fantastic preseries Zuko+Toph found family fic.

Legacies by WildInkling. [ongoing, medium] Far in the future, a historian studies the journal of Fire Lord Zuko. Also, he was secretly a famous author but no one knows. A funny and poignant outsider POV.

#UndercoverZuko series by naggeluide. [complete, series, short] A completely cracky concept written straight enough to be actually quite touching in parts, but also just really funny. Zuko goes Undercover Boss on his ship pre-series.

Avatar Ficlets by JaggedCliffs. [series, oneshots, short] An ongoing series of disconnected oneshots, mostly post-canon and mostly Zuko-centric. Some a pretty fun, one is a great view on Zuko and lightningbending, all worth the read (and follow for when more come out).

The Blind Leading the Blue by BrusselsSprout. [ongoing, medium] An epic Zuko and Toph field trip set in S2. I love them and this.

half in the shadows, half burned in flames by r_astra. [oneshot, short] Iroh dies, Zuko gets caught on the Day of Black Sun, everything ends up all right but damn does it hurt getting there.

A Tale of Earth and Fire by chiiyo86. [complete, medium] Zuko and Toph are married for Politics in a FN Wins AU, and follows them slowly bonding as friends to beginning a revolution. They’re married but it’s not romantic, just some good friendship.

Eight Principles of Yong by psocoptera. [oneshot, short] An exploration of immediate post-show FN politics (sort of), calligraphy, and Zuko. Also has some lovely non-fighting firebending; I always love when people explore other uses of bending.

Healing Properties of Cinder Sage by Dawen. [oneshot, short] Zuko gets very sick in the Western Air Temple. Some good interaction when he’s new to the Gaang, and Toph+Zuko friendship.

We Ourselves Must Walk The Path by WinterSky101. [complete, medium] The Gaang agrees to make Zuko their prisoner in the WAT. Speaking of new-to-the-Gaang, tension, this fic has plenty of it, and also features some good Toph and Zuko.

Frozen by Aris Merquoni. [oneshot, medium] Zuko is captured in the NWT. Some politics, lots of angst, and eventually, healing. Also actually makes me somewhat like Hahn? Incredibly enough.

Reluctant Hero by PAW_07. [ongoing, long] Avatar!Zuko fic. I got to beta it way back when for a little while before I got too busy, and have always been a huge fan of this fic. Great concept, one of the best executions of it I’ve seen, and also one of the first. Definitely read this.

Morality Chain by Pureauthor. [abandoned, long] Azula and Zuko were always on each other’s side; how this changes canon. I love this concept and would happily read a lot more fics with it (please guys, I need more fire sibs).

A viper-lizard’s tales series by Yumi_Take. [ongoing, long] The world needs more of Zuko adopting pets and small children, and those are just facts. This only has one of the two, but it’s a EK baby! Jet plays a big role in this fic as well, a weird kind of uncle-ish to the baby/friend/murderer Zuko needs to watch closely and hold back kind of thing.

(life happens) wherever you are by howlikeagod. [ongoing, long] Katara doesn’t find Zuko and Iroh in the teashop, and canon takes a sharp left turn. Excellent Gaang fic.

The Best Path series by EudociaCovert. [series, ongoing, long] Zuko meets Jet in ‘Zuko Alone’ and winds up getting claimed as theirs by the remaining Freedom Fighters. Really really well-written, I got quite emotional over some scenes.

Shippy Zuko fic

Balm by Thyme In Her Eyes. [Maiko, oneshot, short] A sweet little fic about Mai’s thoughts on Zuko’s lightning scar.

The Black Games by Mrs. Pettyfer. [Zutara, complete, long] Hunger Games-esque AU. It’s the first in a series, and I lost interest after this one but I remember enjoying the fic and it was more personal preference rather than a drop in quality that had me leaving.

Lie To Me by Inkcharm. [Toko, oneshot, short] I’m not actually a fan of this pairing romatically (at least until years down the line), but this little fic of Toph and Zuko bonding through lying to one another is sweet. I choose to ignore the more shippy parts and enjoyed it.

Zutara? What the heck is that? by Ryxl. [Zutara, oneshot, short] Complete crack, have a good sense of humor and I think you will enjoy. Just the mental image of the Gaang finding a Zutara propaganda flyer had me chuckling.

The Three Chores series (1, 2, 3) by Fandomme. [Zutara, threeshot, short] Zuko and Katara slowly bond as he helps with chores. I will admit it’s been years and I barely remember this, but what I do recall is lovely and I always appreciate people lightening Katara’s load.

read the inscription by suzukiblu. [Zuko/Song, complete, series, medium] When Zuko is banished, he is left alone in the Earth Kingdom to fend for himself. Very touching, and I love Song in this.

Hooked by TGP. [Jetko, complete, long] A classic ‘Jet didn’t see Iroh warming his tea’ fic. They’re almost all this premise but so many well-written and very long ones.

Something To Hold Onto by Wildgoosery. [Jetko, complete, long] The EK fell and Li stayed to fight with the Freedom Fighters to protect the city during its foreign rule. Jet didn’t see the tea fic that goes very AU from canon.

Foxfire by Rahar_Moonfire. [Jetko, ongoing, long] Zuko loses his memories Jetko fic, but with heavy spirit influence and lovable EK OCs, both of which I adore and should be in far more fics.

Once Upon A Teashop by anaer. [Zukka, Jetko, ongoing, long] Cracky Ba Sing Se AU that gets gradually more and more serious. Jet hits on Zuko a lot and Sokka gets a job in the teashop to keep an eye on both of them. Endgame Zukka but heavy Jetko, and both pairings are handled pretty well, not a love triangle that makes me too mad, although as always bear in mind Jet’s messed up.

Names by TGP. [Jetko, complete, long] I feel like I’m forgetting some more excellent Amnesia!Zuko fics, but this is one I do know of. To be honest I don’t remember it super well because it may be mixed up with other Jetko/amnesia fics in my mind, but I think it was really good. I’ll have to reread myself.

Epistles by Lady_of_the_Flowers. [Zukka, ongoing, long] I love epistolary fic and I love Zuko and Sokka bonding earlier in canon. I will be honest I haven’t read this in a long time and been updating all the while, but the premise alone (Zuko and Sokka become messenger-hawk-pals in S1 and then fall in love) is fantastic.

Ozymandias, King of Kings by Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought. [Zukka, ongoing, long] Zuko rebels earlier and actually is sent to the mines, until he is ‘rescued’ by the Water Tribe. Dark but getting lighter over time, and more reluctant-to-rule Zuko which always wrenches my heartstrings. I prefer super loyal and dutiful to his people Zuko but this trope always makes me feel things.

Crossovers

Fallen Drops of Fire by Chasmfiend. [Fullmetal Alchemist, ongoing] Young Azula and Zuko somehow appear in Amestris, and encounter Roy Mustang. I adore the fire sibs, and their relationship in this strange situation is the star of this fic for me, but it’s also fun seeing the FMA perspective of these two.

The Dragon-King’s Temple by Kryal. [Stargate SG-1, long, complete] The best crossover fic out there. Zuko and Toph get stranded on the other side of a Stargate. I don’t know anything about SG-1 but it didn’t matter, the fic was fantastic, they were badasses, it explored language and culture from an outside perspective, and it was just a ton of fun. Must-read.

Other character fic

Loyalty by Julia451. [oneshot, short] The ship captain didn’t misspeak when he called Iroh and Zuko “prisoners” in the start of S2. A lovely look at a nameless character, giving depth to a small moment and humanity to a FN soldier which I always love.

The Only One by HarlowR. [oneshot, short] An excellent exploration of Azula’s mindset regarding Zuko, her desperate need to be loved and jealousy of him matching his own. I think Azula was one of the greatest tragedies of the show, and this fic makes me feel it.

Blood by theAsh0. [oneshot, short] Katara-centric thinkpiece on bloodbending and healing. Dark but really interesting.

Touch and Go by Cadence. [oneshot, short] After Iroh’s struck by lightning, Toph doesn’t let Zuko drive them all away. A momentary alliance and the seeds of friendship. More Toph-focused but still heavy on the whole Gaang.

Shortcomings by Menamebephil. [oneshot, short] Iroh thoughts during his imprisonment, on the theme of mistakes. I love this man and don’t understand why I am so drawn to fic about him that makes me sad.

Watch And Review, Please by Becca Stareyes. [oneshot, short] The Ember Island Players receive some constructive criticism... sort of. Funny and quick.

Azula Redemption Trilogy (1, 2, 3) by Mistress of Sarcasm. [threeshot, short] Second person and deeply introspective, three short little fics delving into Azula’s head and bringing her closer to redemption.

Echoing Refrains by catie_writes_things. [oneshot, short] I really like nuanced explorations of the whole FN royal family. It’s perfectly fine to write Ozai as pure evil bastard, but exploring what might have been or how he got there, or even as in this fic his talent for music being inherited by Zuko is really interesting too. Iroh-centric.

our curse by ohmygodwhy, and the last dragon by thesometimeswarrior. [twoshot, complete, short] Stay away if you don’t like to cry. In the first Zuko learns Ozai is executing Iroh, and isn’t able to stop it; the second is even worse because it’s Iroh’s POV. I put this in the other characters section because honestly I adore the second fic even more than the first, but they are both fantastically written and will hurt you a very great deal.

Finally, I’m not quite bold enough to put my own fic on a reclist, but just shameless enough to mention I’ve written a few Avatar fics I quite like if anyone feels the desire to check them out on my AO3. ;) But seriously give love to all the rest of these, they deserve it. (And as I said, there’s lots more excellent stuff, this fandom is so prolific and well-written!)

#atla #atla fic #fic rec #reclist #replies #anonymous #i'm haunted by the feeling i've forgotten a lot of stuff #but honestly i need to stop this is huge already #enjoy anon #Anonymous

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daisylovesatla · 3 years

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very rough draft of the start of a zutara fan fic

AU where Aang and Katara don't end up together cuz it doesn't make sense that it would be written that way but anyway, I wrote some pages about what would happen if Zuko's lightning bolt actually hurt him a lot more than it did...my ADHD brain can't remember where I saw that AU from but when I do I will tag u I promise...anyway it's Katara by herself at the palace healing Zuko and then the rest of the Gaang arrives from the Earth Kingdom, where Aang and Suki and Toph and Sokka were all fighting against the fire nation's ambush, cuz it would take more than like. a week probably to get to the same place as Zuko and Katara. Anyway I hope it makes sense I'm tentatively posting the first chapter in case everyone hates it but it's only 3,000 words I think.

(eta the ao3 link)

Book 4: Reconstruction...:)

Book 4: Reconstruction

I need some fresh air. She sighs to herself, rubbing her sore wrists and rising up from the cushion she was kneeling on. Keeping her eyes closed, afraid of the emotions that would flood through her if she snuck a glance at him while she wasn’t intensely focused on his injury, pouring all of her energy into that one spot, both emotional and physical.

It has been two weeks since the comet, and she has been doing all that she can to support him, to try to do something that could in some small way, return the favor for his sacrifice. As soon as her back is to Zuko’s bed, she opens her eyes, and is confronted suddenly with the bigness of this place. The tall, melodramatic metal doors that weigh way more than they need to, the beds with far away canopies rustling above them. Just the mattresses here are the size of her entire igloo back home, and even though it isn’t the first time she has been surrounded by superfluous opulence like this, something about this place feels particularly daunting.

She can sense his pulse, slow, but steady, consistent, as his blood flows through his veins and with it, water. Even when it isn’t a full moon, Katara is able to feel the water in everything, including the people she is surrounded by. She has yet to decide if it is an advantage, or only makes it harder to navigate through the world.

Her legs feel like lead, and she struggles to ignore the dryness of the room, the fires lit in their mantles 10 feet above them sucking all of the moisture out of this space, the lack of water, of that familiarity, making her feel like she is choking, as her breaths become more and more shallow and her heart continues to beat faster and faster, only worsening whenever the memories of that fateful, final Agni Kai come rushing back to her, making everything feel so much worse.

No, I can’t think about that right now. Katara closes her eyes again, and takes a deep breath, trying to replicate the breathing technique Aang taught her the first time he saw her meditating. In through my nose, out through my mouth, that’s what Aang taught me. She tries not to think much more about Aang than this. Too much has happened. Aang is expecting an answer, she is sure of it, an answer she can’t give him. Yet there is a hope swimming just below the surface in her, that this now or never attitude leading up to his battle with Ozai would no longer be there in him, that fire gone, the flames put out.

I have no answer right now, she decides, as she finally gets her legs to take the final steps towards the door. Yearning for a sense of coolness against her increasingly warm skin, she presses her hand against the door, and lets it ground her as she pushes it open, nearly jumping as it creaks and struggles to with each inch that she can shove it open. What is it with rich people and big doors? She chuckles to herself as she remembers storming Ba Sing Se, when things were so simple and yet not simple at all.

Running her fingers through her thick, curly hair trailing down her back, she sucks in all the air that she can in this hallway with much better circulation, finding it easier to keep her balance and move forward. The war may be over, but she is anticipating many battles are going to be fought in the coming weeks and months, battles over territory, freedom, the right to the throne. She has to heal Zuko so that he can advocate for himself, she determines, as she envisions Ozai’s loyal courtiers’ unfounded complaints with Zuko taking the role of the fire lord. She worries for him and she worries for herself. A water tribe peasant, Azula called her during the Agni Kai. Despite her strong demeanor, her ability to inspire other people to recognize their own worth, it is still difficult for Katara not to internalize this when she knows she is surrounded by enemies, no matter how much Iroh tries to reassure her and the rest of them that this is not the case. She has spent far too much time being attacked and assaulted by members of the Fire Nation to naively assume that with a change in power, a change in attitude amongst the people will quickly follow.

Many citizens are still loyal to Ozai. They still see her and Sokka and the rest of the Water Tribe as peasants, as savages with too much power. They are still afraid of waterbenders altogether, as gossip and rumors spread around the nation about Hama in the weeks following her imprisonment. She feels a pang of guilt for how it turned out with her. A Southern Waterbender, alive after all these years that she feared she was the last one, the only one, the one expected to carry on this legacy all by herself. Finally, somebody who understood her struggles, intrinsically, who had fought for so many years to be free, suddenly imprisoned again by people from the same nation that had stolen her away from her home, because she could not let go of her anger against them, like Jet.

She does not want to think about the revenge Hama tried to take on that people. How misdirected it was. How she never wants to be as full of rage and anger and resentment that she would start to do something as heinous.

It doesn’t change that that is how many people from the Fire Nation see her people. She can’t blame Hama for that, it would be wrong to expect any one person to be a representative for their tribe, their culture. “This is all so complicated,” Katara mutters under her breath, as she struggles to breathe, to let herself be free of these thoughts. Her anger, always there, ready to burst out from inside her in the form of an uncontrollable explosion.

Katara barely notices how far she has walked from Zuko’s room, until suddenly she hears a familiar voice call out to her. Startled, she looks up from the floor where she was mindlessly staring as she strolled and sees Sokka and Suki waving over to her from the other side of the hallway.

“Sokka! Suki!” She cries out, as she runs over to them, as fast as she can. “You’re here! You made it!” As she gets closer, she notices the crutch Sokka is leaning on, and her stomach feels like it is full of sand. “Are you okay? I can try my best to heal it, but I’m pretty worn out right now…” She glances at his bandages on his leg and starts to think up the best method for healing him after so much time has passed since his injury. “I’m sorry, I wish I had gotten to it sooner…” Katara begins, but she is interrupted by Sokka,

“Hey, it’s okay! For most of my life you haven’t been able to heal me when I get hurt, so it’s not like I’m not used to being in pain,” he teases, and then lets go of Suki who he was leaning on, as he goes to embrace Katara.

She can feel hot, somehow still dry, tears flow down her cheeks as she relaxes into this hug. While news had spread quickly from the Earth Kingdom to the Fire Nation about Toph, Sokka, Suki, and Aang’s victory in Ba Sing Se, her stomach had been twisted with worry the entire time they had been apart. A lot of it could have been hearsay, and until she got to hug her friends and brother in person, she could not let go of her unease. Hell, the talk of Caldera City was Zuko’s honorable triumph, but nobody who knew the truth of the aftermath of this battle had let it slip to the public that Zuko was in critical condition right now. Only Iroh, Katara, and some of the servants who were helping take care of meals and other menial tasks knew. It would throw this world into even more chaos if every day citizens knew there was a chance that Zuko wouldn’t…no. I don’t want to think about that future. I simply can’t. The guilt overwhelms Katara, but she pushes these negative feelings away and struggles to focus on the present. Sokka’s voice brings her back to the present, as she can feel his quickening heartbeat against her chest, and his tears dripping onto her robe. “We were so worried about you and Zuko, Katara. I’m glad you’re okay.”

She stammers, as she realizes it’s time to break the news to a few more people, wishing Sokka hadn’t let go of her as quickly as he did. She desperately missed her brother, and they hadn’t ever been apart for this long before, in all their side journeys in the past year, and hunting trips prior to that.

“Yes, I’m ok,” she lets the words spill out of her before she has a chance to choke on them, “But, well. Zuko...Zuko got really hurt.” Immediately, she can see the blood drain from both of their faces, and she grabs their hands, trying to comfort them despite not having the ability to comfort herself. “I’m healing him, but it’s still going to take a while. We have to just wait for him to recover.” She smiles, weakly, and fears it looks more like a grimace. “I’m glad you guys are back, though. It’s just been me and Iroh watching over him since the fight.”

Suki squeezes her hand, and the sadness and sympathy mix together in the look she gives Katara. “I’m really glad you’re okay. We’re here for you guys,” her smile sweet and boring into the deepest parts of Katara as she finishes speaking. Katara is taken aback, as her skin crawls with the thought that Suki understands, already, what happened at that Agni Kai, even if she doesn’t know the full details.

Sokka furrows his brows, and she can feel his warmth and fear as he nods in agreement with Suki. “Toph and Aang are in the courtyard with the Turtleduck pond, can we go see him with them?”

Of course, a practical response from Sokka. She knows better though. He is close with Zuko in different ways than Katara, but this was crushing for him too. She tries her best to smile reassuringly, as she fights back tears that are full of frustration and fear and anger and a deep, hollow grief that she hasn’t felt since Aang was struck by Azula, what feels like years ago but was only 4 months ago. In these four months, so much has changed, including feeling ready to face Aang. That kiss, just up and leaving, wasn’t ok and Katara wasn’t going to accept any excuses about it, just apologies.

He left everyone to go off on their separate missions, never really knowing whether or not those separation missions would be worth the danger they were putting themselves in, and that blind faith she was able to put in him when they first met was starting to get really old.

“So?” Suki chimes, pulling Katara out of her own thoughts.

“Oh, sorry,” she blushes, “I spaced out for a second. Um…” she tries to come up with an excuse for her sudden zoning out. “I’m worried about leaving Zuko by himself for a long time, and it’s been about twenty minutes so, I better get back, but stop by with everyone, sure.”

Suki gives her a quick squeeze of the arm, as they both walk off a few minutes after listening to Katara’s directions. Her chest feels tight, and she turns in the opposite direction as them, going back to Zuko.

They still don’t know how he got hurt. She doesn’t want to tell them, after so many instances of Toph teasing her about Jet and Haru, and well, she doesn’t want to hear it. Especially when Toph can feel her heartbeat. That damn seismic sense, she chuckles to herself, trying to let herself joke around a little bit.

Suddenly she is back in front of the door. She tries to shake off her anxieties and pulls the door open, the cold handle no longer soothing her but sending chills down her spine. This time, she keeps her eyes open as she walks back in, and all of the feelings she had been able to push down while talking to Sokka and Suki started to bubble up to the surface again, her cheeks feeling hot and dry, too dry. She wished she could bend a cloud of mist around herself, but knew that all of her energy had to be devoted to healing Zuko.

His familiar heartbeat suddenly found itself back on her radar, and she tried to hold back her tears and desire to just collapse and give up. But it was her duty to heal him. Her duty to heal him, the Fire Lord, just like it was hers to heal the Avatar. There was no way that any Northern healer would be willing to come down to heal the Fire Lord, nor would they be able to get there in time. So even if there were people more skilled, more capable, she knew that in order to maintain balance, it was her job to keep his heart beating.

#atla zuko #prince zuko #firelord zuko #zuko and katara deserved better #avatar the last airbender #team avatar #the gaang #zutara #anti kataang #toph beifong #toph #sokka #aang #avatar fanfiction #fanfic #ao3fic #book 4: reconstruction

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raeynbowboi · 4 years

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Things I want from the Netflix Live-Action Avatar

1. Faithful Casting - An obvious, stupid answer, I want all of the actors to look appropriate for the roles they are playing. Dark-skinned waterbenders and pasty pale firebenders. Obviously, getting every single character to look exactly like their cartoon counterpart is unlikely, but at least the main characters should hopefully be cast as close as possible, though hair and make-up can go a long way. After all, none of the blonde women on Game of Thrones were actually blonde, Lena and Emily were both brunettes. Granted that was HBO funding, but still proof of tv quality special effects.

2. Accurate world design - The Avatar cartoon is a juggernaut of Wuxia style fantasy, and I really want the world to look and feel as close to the cartoon as possible. With all the bending, illogical archetecture, and hybrid animals, while I know a more accurate adaptation will be costly, a good set, costume, and cgi team can really bring this world to life.

3. Queer representation - These days, Netflix seems to be really on board with LGBTQ+ representation, far more than Nickelodeon. Hopefully, Bryke will feel more free to include LGBTQ+ characters, as they did with Korrasami. I think Zuko in particular is a great choice among the main cast. He’s already so confused about who he is and what he wants out of life, there’s no reason you couldn’t add questioning his sexuality to that stirred up pot of emotions. While Zukka is seeing a surge in popularity, Jet is definitely another top contender, due to the interesting friction that’s ripe within their character flaws to become a compelling ill-fated romance between two enemies. Or even just creating a new guy to be Zuko’s love interest would also be welcome. I just think Zuko is the best candidate of the original cast of characters to be LGBTQ+ as it already fits nicely into his character arc of finding what’s right for him, deciding his own fate, and seeking his own happiness. Iroh’s lessons about wanting things for himself instead of what other people told him to want, translates so beautifully to Zuko trying way too hard to date women despite a lack of interest in them. It’s such a natural fit to his story that it’s kind of perfect for Zuko.

4. New Plotlines and Scenes - Whether the show will be a half-hour or hour long format hasn’t been announced, but between possibly longer run times or longer seasons with more episodes, or possibly even both, this could allow the creators to include moments they either had to cut out of the original show, or didn’t have as much time to do as they wanted. For example, Azula was going to have an arranged marriage plotline in season 3, and that’s something they could bring back. There’s also the search for Zuko’s mother, which was covered in the comics, but never addressed in any of the shows. Even smaller things like Yue’s fiance. He charges at Admiral Zhao and goes overboard and we never see him again. Turns out, the creators kind of forgot about him.

5. Potential for Tonal Shifts - While this is a live-action adaptation, it’s unclear at the moment who the target audience for this will be. Whether it’ll be aimed more toward fans of the original, or drawing in a new crowd. But with the more realistic cinematography, slapstick and comedy aren’t going to work as well in a live-action setting. There’s definitely still room for comedy, but the squatch-and-stretch rubberiness of cartoons that allow for exaggurated expressions can’t be matched by live actors. This could potentially lead them to make a more “mature” and darker Avatar that totes itself as more of a dramatic war epic and less of a child-friend comedy adventure.

6. Pushing the Envelop - In a similar vein to point 5, without the censors of Nickelodeon hanging over their necks, there is a lot more freedom with this project to address issues more openly that they may have had to imply or skirt-around in the cartoon to keep it more child-friendly. Even something as simple as confirming Jet’s death. Especially if the tone is darker and more mature, there’s a lot more room for them to really push into more explicitly depicting themes and ideas from the original series, even showing us what happened the night Ursa left.

7. Incorporate Diagetic Languages - Even if it’s as simple as characters greeting each other, it’d be nice to hear even just background extras speaking diagetic Asian languages. I’m going more blanket here because while the writing in the show is Traditional Mandarin, the cultures take inspiration from Japanese, Tibetan, and Inuit as well, and I’m open to both angles. Whether everyone speaks some Mandarin, or if each nation has their own language, any amount of using native Asian languages would be nice.

8. Dante Basco as Uncle Iroh - Okay, so maybe he still has the Zuko voice, but Dante is the only original cast member who is ethnically Asian, and would be appropriate to cast in the live-action setting. Even if he’s not Iroh, casting Dante to play anyone would be welcome. Whether he’s the tempermental Zhao, the malicious Fire Lord Ozai, the sagely Avatar Roku, the brave Hakoda, the stern Master Paku, the wise Master Piandao, the conniving Long Feng, or really any of the older adult male characters, Dante Basco would be a great choice, even just as a cameo character like the Cabbage Merchant.

#avatar #Avatar The Last Airbender #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the legend of aang #avatar: the legend of aang #atla #avatar aang #zuko #katara #sokka #give zuko a boyfriend #gay zuko #zukka #jetko #netflix #netflix avatar #netflix atla #netflix avatar the last airbender #bryke

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maiselous · 4 years

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Observations and love notes from my Avatar re-watch:

Katara is the glue. I’m not gonna list off everything she does for people bc that would take forever but she is the reason everyone arrives anywhere (North Pole, Ba Sing Se) in one piece. She’s also the reason why. She got the boy out of the iceberg. She was Aang’s impetus.

That being said, something I love about Kataang is that just because Katara is maternal and Aang is a goofball doesn’t mean she has to actively take care of him. He’s not like “lol I’m so inept what would I do without you”. They’re functional humans is all I mean.

This is not to take anything away from Sokka. He is my favorite person who is not Aang and those memes about how the story would be like 1/10 the length if Sokka had more power are TRU. That being said, he can’t sew.

“You have to master the four elements to defeat Firelord Ozai. And when you do, I hope you think like a mad genius!” -Bumi in s01.05 Me, has seen Aang energybend: UGHHHHHH

The older I get the more I discover the levels of almost Tolkien-esque attention to detail. This applies to the lore to the world-building with very specific real-world inspirations to the music. Y’all heard the Cave of Two Lovers theme sewn into that last tune before Aang and Katara kissed? Taiko drums used in cultural motifs partly inspired by pre-Meiji Japan? Oh yeah.

Fucking Jet. What a charmer. What a troubled child. I love him. I love the Freedom Fighters. I love their little Lord of the Flies society and their ends-justify-the-means ideology. They’re a microcosm of a world ravaged by war and hate and the fact that these are basically child soldiers and gangs??? I mean, thanks Nickelodeon??

Yeah you know what? Disney would never, and that’s why all they’re shows and movies are milquetoast as fuck.

Why the hell do people dislike the Cave of Two Lovers. It’s literally one of the funniest episodes on the season and the story of Oma and Shu is gorgeous???? Even if you’re not into Kataang this episode is lovely dammit.

I also appreciate how earthbending, the roughest toughest element, was started by a romance.

I like Toph a lot more now than I used to... what was wrong with me back then? (I sound like Katara.)

It’s actually really really interesting to me that most people refer to Aang’s people as the Air Nation while Aang, who is one of them, calls them Air Nomads. Yes it speaks to the general perception of Air Nomads, but “nation” and “nomads” are basically contradictory and is an extremely reductive way to look at them.

Iroh was clearly never meant to be Firelord because there’s not “z” in his name lol

Hector Elizondo as Wan Shi Tong. That is all.

Notice how Azula always fights dishonorably. For all of Zuko’s obsession with honor and integrity, Azula has no problem with it. She literally didn’t hesitate to kill the Avatar from behind while in the Avatar State, and purposefully tried to kill a bystander during an agni kai.

Book 2 is the best. Book 3 was great and the final 4 eps elevates the show to literal god-tier but the first half was kinda meandering until Black Sun.

This fandom resurgence is fucking fascinating. I’m looking at returning fans as well as newcomers and it seems like Zuko is the fave. It’s absolutely for good reason, but I can’t help but wonder if part of it is because so many of us see ourselves in him? I dunno. Zuko--at the beginning--is angry, lost, and desperate. I can connect with that on some level. I’m just curious why it’s almost unanimous (right now at least). Let me know, honestly.

If this show is about balance, then it’s explored through all kinds and all levels of friction: - individual vs. community will (i.e. Katara vs. Northern Water Tribe) - subtle friction between Buddhist and Confucian ideals (”you must learn to let her go” vs “power and perfection are overrated”) - Pacifism vs. Justice-by-any-means (This is a tough one to unravel. Like, I’m definitely not qualified to get into these philosophical weeds but you guys have met Jet and seen Book 3 so you know what I mean.) - This all speaks to the overall friction between Aang’s identity as the Avatar and his identity as The Last Airbender. It’s gorgeous. (God I have a lot to say here, more to come.)

I think a big part of what makes this show satisfying is the fact that all the plants have reasonable payoffs. Everything in the finale feels like a culmination of everything we’ve seen leading up to it. Nothing feels out-of-left-field; Azula’s descent, Aang and Katara’s relationship, Zuko’s rise. Even the energybending. (more on that too, later) Other showrunners and writers take notes.

#i know I have a lot more thoughts this is just what came out rn #please comment i wanna hear your thoughts #i'm absolutely on this shit rn #avatar #avatar the last airbender #a:tla #atla #aang #katara #sokka #zuko #azula #ozai #toph #avatar aang #avatar rewatch

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bellatrixobsessed1 · 4 years

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I’m curious. How is your bully like Zuko? BTW this isn’t to dismiss you’re experience - I used to be bullied in Middle School and the bullies reminded my of Azula which made it hard for me to like her (also like the bullies from Carrie). So I’m intrigued to see the POV of someone thats bullied by someone thats like a character that isn’t a bully. BTW I’m not a Zuko fan girl

So little warning here for some mentions of violence and abuse.

Actually that's a fair question. There was this kid in my class who was prone to angry outbursts. My most vivid memory of him was when I was in a home ec class (for those who don't know its a cooking and sewing class that everyone was required to take). I sat at across from him. One day we were working with irons and ironing boards and this kid looked at myself, the girl next to me and the person next to him and told us that if any of us accidentally burned his finger that he'd smash the hot iron into our faces. I had to sit across from him the whole year.

I did feel bad for him because it was known that he did have problems at home and that he was a victim. But he was still terrifying to be around because 1. he raised his voice a lot (something I already had a problem with but that's a different story) 2. anything could set him off at any time and 3. he was prone to getting into physical altercations with classmates.

Zuko prior to redemption was very easy to set off, constantly yelled and snapped, and would physically lash out. Like if pre-redemption Zuko was a real person he'd scare the hell out of me. I absolutely can't stand raised voices because my dad (though he never got physical) would get really loud with me. Raised voice don't send me into panic attacks or anything but they make me very uncomfortable and tense.

Also going to note that my dad got the help he needed and we've been in good standing for years now. Tbh now that I think about it, I think that Zuko reminds me more of my dad than said bully. And this is why I can't call Zuko evil or irredeemable. Because my dad was't evil and irredeemable. Like how I can't call Azula irredeemable because my sister wasn't. Basically I come from a family that struggles with mental illness and so I have trouble saying that Azula (and even pre-redemption Zuko) were evil. They were both just messed up kids from a messed up situation. Just like my dad was and just like my sister was. Frankly I very well could have been in my sister's place.

That's the other thing about bullies; they come in all forms. I've seen people with personalities like Toph's (badass, sarcastic, tough girl) act as bullies. I've seen people like Katara (motherly, political, and fierce) act like bullies--think of those people who think that their opinions are the only right one. One of my other bullies was sort of like Sokka. This kid was the class clown and everyone though he was hilarious (even I did at times) but then he would make jokes at my expense. Sokka and Jet can also represent those guys who did the 'hur hur, my friend thinks you're pretty/wants to date you' crap. I firmly believe that anyone can be a bully. Any personality type can be used for good and evil so to speak. You can be like Sokka and use humor to be funny or you can use it to hurt someone. You can be like Katara, strong-willed and opinionated and direct that to positive change or you can use it to perpetrate bigotry. You can have a personality like Azula's (sharp, clever, and charismatic) and you can use that to be cleverness to hurt people or you can use it to problem solve and make changes.

And one more note. I can see how my last two posts can be dismissive of people who were bullied by people like Azula. I know that you didn't say that, but I feel like this should be noted anyhow. That's not my intent because stories like yours are should be considered just as much as stories like mind. I can definitely understand why you and others would be off put by a character like Azula. What I was trying to get at with my other two posts was that there are other perspectives out there and that it is very possible that someone associates the character you (well not you specifically, just in general) stan with someone who bullied them. I just don't think that it's fair to assume that someone hasn't experienced bullying or abuse because their experience isn't like one's own. It's less fair to assume that someone is an abuse apologist because they favor antagonists. The way a lot of antis talk makes it sound like Azula fans condone bullying and abuse when the truth is that most of us understand that she has done messed up shit that we don’t condone, we just believe that she can still be helped. I have heard several stories now about people who used to be like Azula but changed for the better. These people feel demoralized or awful because many antis talk as though there is no room for growth not just for Azula but for real people who relate to her and have made mistakes like hers in the past. That was a bit longer than intended.

I hope all of that answers your question and makes sense. Thank you for the ask and for being respectful about it!

Also wasn’t sure if I should tag Zuko in this or not because I don’t feel like it’s hate. If you want me to remove Zuko from the tags let me know because I don’t want to be a hypocrite lol.

#Avatar The Last Airbender #Azula #Zuko #fandom discussion

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to-a-merrier-world · 4 years

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TEDDY HI okay I think I'm late but I would love to hear about DC Spiderman, love and other ways to die (the jay one at the end), aaaaaand Zuko accidental baby acquisition!!

LYSS! hi! lol

ok, so, DC Spider-man is, essentially, what it says on the tin--an AU where the powers of the multiverse that be decide to stick a Peter Parker into a DC universe, and things go a little differently for him. He still gets bit when he’s 15 and his uncle still gets shot, but Ben doesn’t die--instead, he goes into a coma for a few months. During that time, Peter takes on his Spider-man persona to deal with his guilt (and the fact he doesn’t know if his uncle will die or not). Eventually, Ben recovers, but Peter continues to be Spider-man. Ben and May find out a year later, and while things are tense for a while, they eventually accept it and help him out (such as with his webshooters).

Anyways, the beginning of the fic partially follows some points of the “Justice League: War” movie. Peter ends up meeting Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern when they go crashing through New York fighting each other. At the time, Peter is 18 and a senior in high school. I also get a huge kick out of Bruce being younger than people expect, so he’s only 22. Here’s a lil excerpt I wrote:

“Spider-Man, don’t fight him,” the man in black growled.

He glanced back at him and saw he’d climbed back to his feet. He was holding a weird, glowing box that basically screamed ‘Danger, Will Robinson!’ But the man himself didn’t set Peter’s sense’s off.

He was in a get up similar to Superman’s, but in all black and with a mask that covered half his face. The mask had little points on top and he had an emblem on the front that looked like a…

Oh, Peter thought, eyes widening behind his mask.

The Batman.

Well, that saves me a trip to Jersey, he thought. And then—holy shit, the Batman knows about Spider-Man!!

and another, cause i think these are funny lol:

“Well?” Superman asked. His question was clearly addressed to Batman, but he was glaring daggers at Lantern.

Yeesh, Peter thought. If looks could kill… Wait. Superman has heat vision. His looks could actually kill! How does that even work, anyway? Does he just stare really hard, or is it like flipping a swi—Wait, stop, I need to pay attention, Batman’s talking.

“—antern and I chased it into the sewers. It exploded before we could find out anything, leaving this box behind. We deduced that both the creature and the box were likely of extraterrestrial origin. We agreed to reach out to you,” Batman gestured towards Superman, “to find out anything you knew, and tracked you here.”

“Because he’s an alien?” Peter asked, cocking his head.

“Uh, obviously?” Lantern replied. “Who else is going to know anything about aliens?”

Peter ignored him, carrying on with his line of thought.

“Is that, like, speciesism? Or racism towards aliens? Cause, I mean, I don’t know a lot about non-humans, but I feel like they probably don’t all know each other.”

Superman snorted, and when Peter looked, he was definitely suppressing a smile. Probably.

anyways, the fic is an elaborate excuse to force a friendship between Spider-Man and Batman (and Superman) and would basically follow them through the years (and possibly lead to romance between them? i hadn’t decided lol). Oh, and last 2 tidbits before i move on: Peter is trans, cause why the fuck not, and i was also seriously considering titling this “Spidey and the Bats” to only be read like the Elton John song “Bennie and the Jets”.

ok, on to the Ajin!Jason Todd AU

so, idk what you know abt ajin, so i’ll explain a bit. Ajin: Demi-Human is a manga/anime about Ajin, people who possess extreme regenerative abilities that trigger upon death or mortal injury, allowing them to completely recover from their wounds in a matter of seconds to such an exceptional extent that not only can missing limbs be restored, but Ajin can fully regenerate after being turned into literal meat patties. Additionally, Ajin can create "black ghosts", which are highly dangerous combat-oriented entities that are invisible to normal humans and only visible to other Ajin.

I tweak the idea, somewhat, because in this AU, the amount of time it takes you to come back can vary--especially the first time you regenerate. It gets faster the more times you do it, but it starts off slower. Jason is an Ajin, so when he dies by the Joker’s hand, he later regenerates--only, he does so much slower and more incomplete than other Ajin. His body is restored to how it was prior to dying, but somehow his mind got locked inside his black ghost. He ends up wandering around Crime Alley with his black ghost trailing him until another Ajin stumbles across him.

This new Ajin, Kay, realizes something’s wrong with Jason and tries to help by... “resetting” him aka killing him again. It ends up working, but it doesn’t exactly engender feelings of friendship between him and Jason. Kay is pretty weird, though, and doesn’t seem to mind Jason not trusting or liking him, and despite killing him like it was nothing, is actually a kind person. He’s also determined to explain Ajin to him and ensure the kid understands the potential danger he’s in (he’s very vague about it, though, cause Kay has Secrets lol).

Anyways, it turns into this whole superheroes (mostly the Bats) vs the government vs rogue Ajin, and Jason ends up thrown into the middle of it all. The beginning of the fic deals more with Jason and his family’s grief/guilt/trauma and Kay sorta just hangs out until shit starts hitting the fan and he’s forced to reveal some things about himself :3c

OKAY on to the last one, Zuko Accidental Baby Acquisition AU!

this one starts off write after Zuko Alone when Zuko is leaving that town where he met the little boy. He ends up coming across another town, but this one has been destroyed by the Fire Nation--it’s a literal battle ground. There are the bodies of Earth Kingdom soldiers and civilians left to rot in the sun with only the broken weapons and armor of Fire Nation soldiers to explain what happened here. Zuko is horrified and wants to leave, but he’s starving, so he has to go into the town to try to find something to eat.

The fires from the battle are still burning low when he starts searching the town, and eventually he hears the cry of a baby. he runs to investigate without thinking and comes across a woman with her eyes closed and so severely burned Zuko automatically assumes she’s dead. In her arms is a crying baby, red-faced and distressed, but otherwise looking unharmed. Zuko approaches and as he reaches for the baby, unsure what the hell he’s even doing, the woman opens her eyes. She can barely speak, but she asks Zuko to take her son--Kyo--and to bring him somewhere safe. Zuko agrees without thinking, wanting the woman to pass on with some amount of peace.

The woman dies and Zuko is now left with a baby. The story goes on with Zuko seriously struggling to care for a baby, not to mention his inner turmoil and the trauma of seeing that town and watching the woman die from burn wounds. Zuko, like in canon, follows Azula’s tracks, but because of Kyo he’s slower and ends up arriving just as Azula shoots Iroh. This time, while Zuko wants to say no to Katara’s offer of help, he’s stuck b/c he can’t care for Iroh AND Kyo, so he ends up accepting her help.

Which is also when the Gaang find out that Zuko, somehow, now has a baby. Katara also helps look the baby over, and it’s basically a really weird time for all parties. Eventually, the Gaang help Zuko, Iroh, and Kyo get settled in an abandoned house to recover, Aang insisting on leaving blankets and food behind (mostly for Kyo and Iroh’s benefit).

Anyways, the story goes on and Zuko, who had planned to just leave the baby at an orphanage in Ba Sing Se, ends up wanting to keep Kyo (he gets attached and feels responsible for him, and can’t just let him go). Things, obviously, go differently with a baby involved, and Zuko doesn’t end up betraying the Gaang/Iroh like he does in canon because of Kyo.

but yeah, that’s it lol, sorry this is so long, i got carried away

#i'm sorry this is way more than you likely expected alsdknf #wip #mine #ask #jason todd #ajin #peter parker #batman #spider-man #zuko #atla #lookforaspookynewangle

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amixiifish · 4 years

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Heat- Chapter 58: Training

Zuko blasts at Aang with firebending.

Aang jumps over the sand replica of Ba Sing Se and Zuko destroys the carefully built sand city.

Aang hides behind his Appa sand sculpture.

Aang peeks out from behind the sculpture. “What are you doing?”

Zuko rolls his eyes. “Teaching you a lesson! We didn’t finish training, genius.”

Zuko destroys Aang's Appa sculpture with a fire blast.

Aang jumps back up to the house.

Zuko goes after him, continually firing blasts at him. “Aang, I’m not gonna kill you!”

“No! I’m not training!” Aang calls back petulantly.

Katara comes up from under the water once she stopped laughing and assesses the damage.

“What happened?” Katara question.

Sokka attempts to rebuild his structure. “Zuko's trying to make Aang train. I made a sand sculpture of Zuko and he destroyed it!”

Katara, Toph, Jet, and Suki run after them, the latter dragging Sokka.

Zuko chases Aang onto a tree and sends another fire blast at him, forcing him to jump onto the roof of the beach house.

Zuko subsequently climbs onto the roof with him.

Aang pouts. “Get a grip before I blast you off this roof!”

Zuko facepalms. “Aang, it's just training and I’d like to see you try.”

Zuko blasts fire at him when Aang sticks his tongue out.

Aang slides down the roof and into the house.

He hides behind a dresser.

Zuko breaks the roof with firebending and drops into the room.

He takes a fighting stance and looks around for Aang.

Aang kicks the dresser at him, but Zuko destroys it with ease.

Aang runs into the hall.

Zuko augments fire into the hallway.

Aang clears his part of the hallway from the fire using airbending.

“Enough!” Aang declares.

Aang airbends Zuko out of the house.

Everyone approaches Zuko.

Katara worriedly picks up Zuko, while chiding Aang. “What's wrong with you? You could have hurt Zuko, Aang!”

Aang balks. “What's wrong with me? Nothing!”

Zuko huffs. “Seriously? How can you sit around having beach parties when Sozin's Comet is only three days away? Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?”

Aang shifts uncomfortably. “About Sozin's Comet….I was actually gonna wait to fight the Fire Lord until after it came.”

Zuko turns around to look at everyone.

No one would meet his gaze.

“After?” Zuko questions.

Aang nods. “I'm not ready. I need more time to master firebending.”

“And frankly, your earthbending could still use some work too,” Toph agrees.

Aang grimaces.

Zuko folds his arms over his chest. “So, you all knew Aang was going to wait?”

Jet puts a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the Fire Lord now, he's going to lose. No offense.”

Katara sighs. “The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before the Comet was to stop the Fire Nation from winning the war, but they pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se. Things can't get any worse.”

Zuko shakes his head. “You're wrong. It's about to get worse than you can even imagine.”

Night Zuko got burned Ozai sits in front of Zuko. “Zuko, what do you know about Fire Lord Sozin?”

Zuko didn’t respond, his eye hurting far too much to form coherent thoughts.

Ozai continued. “When the comet last came, my grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin, used it to wipe out the Air Nomads. In a few years, I will use its power to end the Earth Kingdom permanently. We will build a device from which we will rain fire over their lands, a fire that will destroy everything; and out of the ashes, a new world will be born, a world in which all the lands are Fire Nation and I am the supreme ruler of everything!”

Current day Zuko hung his head. “I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan, but I'm ashamed to say I passed out. Guess the pain became too much.”

Katara sinks to her knees. “I can't believe this.”

Sokka rubbed his temples. “I always knew the Fire Lord was a dick, but his plan is just pure evil.”

Aang looks at Zuko despairingly. “What am I gonna do?”

Jet rubs comforting circles into Aang’s back.

Zuko sighs. “I know you're scared, and I know you're not ready to save the world, but if you don't defeat the Fire Lord before the comet comes, there won't be a world to save anymore.”

“Why didn't you tell me about your dad's crazy plan sooner?” Aang snaps.

Zuko glares at him. “To be honest, I had forgotten about it till now. Besides, I didn't think I had to. I assumed you were still going to fight him before the comet. No one told me you decided to wait.”

Everyone winces at the blatant accusation.

Aang sinks to his knees, his head in his hand. “This is bad. This is really, really bad.”

Katara kneels next to him. “Aang, you don't have to do this alone.”

Toph, Zuko, Sokka, Jet and Suki stand next to Katara.

Toph nods. “Yeah, if we all fight the Fire Lord together, we got a shot at taking him down.” Sokka pumps his fists in the air. “All right! Team Avatar is back! Air. Water. Earth. Fire. Fan. Hooks and sword!”

Aang looks up and assesses everyone. “Fighting the Fire Lord is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done together, but I wouldn't want to do it any other way.”

Everyone hugs each other till they’re in a really big group hug.

“Let’s do this,” Suki cheers.

***

The Beach House Courtyard was hosting another lesson between Aang and Zuko.

Under the pavilion, Katara watches with Momo at her side.

Zuko looks Aang dead in the eye. “There's one technique you need to know before facing my father - how to redirect lightning. If you let the energy in your body flow, the lightning will follow it. You turn your opponents' energy against them.”

Zuko demonstrates the movement.

Aang watches before joining. “That's like waterbending.”

Zuko nods, clearly satisfied with Aang’s response. “Exactly. My uncle invented this technique himself by studying waterbenders.”

Aang watches Zuko’s movement and follows, albeit clumsily. “Is this what you did to your dad?”

Zuko gives him a look. “Yeah.”

Aang watches, awestruck. “What did it feel like?”

Zuko stops practicing and thinks. “Exhilarating….but terrifying. You feel so powerful holding that much energy in your body, but you know if you make the wrong move, it's over.”

Aang chuckles nervously. “Well, not over over. I mean there's always Katara and a little Spirit Water action, am I right?”

Katara clears her throat awkwardly. “Actually, I used it all up after Azula shot you.”

Aang lets out a disappointed, “Oh.”

Zuko winces, feeling and for the young Avatar. “You'll have to take the Fire Lord's life before he takes yours.”

“Yeah, I'll just do that,” Aang mutters.

#atla #jetokko #jetko #zukka #zuko #sokka #jet #katara #aang #toph #suki #omegaverse #heat (amixiifish)

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sokkathebluewolf · 4 years

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Elements

Hi. I read your ask about character birthdays and decided to look whats their sign element is accoring to dates you have provided. I don’t include the dates since you can easily find it in this post. I will try to keep this short and only talk about sign element and not about the sign itself or else this has a problem of becoming like one of your fics :D.

Thank you for that analysis! I thought to make it too but it was going to take too much work xD I’ll leave it under the cut!

Our beloved “future” firelord Azula comes first and it can’t be any other way! All hail Azula! :D

You stacked so much fire modifier on her that its ridiculous :D Her season element is fire (obviously), but her sign element is air! That nice complement because there can be no fire without air.

On the other hand our meat and sarcasm guy Sokka has contrasting element. His seasonal element is water, but his sign element is fire! No wonder he thought the fire was manly and fell in love with fire princess. As the saying goes you need to fight fire with fire!

Next up Toph, our crazy melon lord! She her season sign is earth, but her sign element is water. That is not surprising since melon over which she rules has a lots of water in it. :D

Katara, our mother figure and eco terrorist in original show, is born in water season, but her sign element is earth. That could make her and Toph a nice mudbenders as was shown in original show when they trained Aang.

Speaking of Aang, our residential avatar, he is born in air season, but has contrasting sign element of earth.

Next up the one without honor since he needs to capture the avatar. That’s right its Zuko the disgraced fire nation prince and failure. He not only failed to get born in fire season like his perfect sister, but he also don’t have fire sign. Zuko is born in air season and his sign element is earth. No wonder he was destined to wander whatever the wind blows and never recover his missing honor!

If we speak about dishonor we need to look up at the royal asshole that started it all. If you thought that’s Ozai, you are right. Ozai has fire as his season element, but has contrasting sing element of water and that maybe the reason why he has such perfect hair, because he washes it a lot in it.

His brothe Iroh, the famed dragon of the west, is born in air season and has earth as his sign element. That not surprising since he draws power from other elements.

Lets talk and do honorable mention (Zuko’s distant scream HONOR!!!) to the people that have both of their season and sign elements same!

Zhao! He not only has fire as his both season and sing elements but also is expectional firebender. So its not surprise his temper is also on fire! No wonder he looked down upon that failed prince.

Both Haru and Kori has season and sign elements same as their bending. Earth. They both are good at their bending too.

Sokka’s maid Song has water as both her season and sign element. She maybe even be a secret waterbender considering that she is very good at healing.

Same goes for Suki who has air as both her season and sign element. So its not surprise her favorite weapon is a fan!

This post is already starting to grow in size and if i continued in my current pace it would start to turn onto fic, so lets avoid it and instead from now i will only provide names and elements with first being name, second season element and third sign element.

Han: water- earth

Shuren: air-earth

Qiang: fire-fire

Fei Li: air-fire

Renkai: fire-air

Rui Shi: fire-earth

Haoren: earth-fire

Tai Wei: fire-earth

Wuhan: earth-water

Jianghuo: air-air

Taro: fire-water

Jeong Jeong:fire-water

Hakoda: air-fire

Kya: earth-earth

Ursa: water-air

Piandao: fire-water

Tiang: earth-water

Lu Ten: fire-air

Hahn: air-water

Jet: air-water

Yue: water-fire

Jin: water-air

Rhone: water-air

Mai: earth-air

Ty Lee: fire-fire

Kino: water-air

Teo: air-water

Shoji: air-water

Rei: air-air

Tom-Tom: water-earth

Yuudai: earth-air

Mari: water-air

Focusas

#focusas #submission #helpful analysis resource #offers interesting ways to read the characters too #I don't tend to put much weight in horoscope when analyzing characters #but the elements associated with them??#that works #thanks!

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little-bi-kingtrashmouth · 4 years

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atla boiiiiii

HEY THIS TOOK ME FOREVER IM SORRY THANK YOU

Favorite character: ZUKO if you couldn’t tell that by the Everything about me

Least Favorite character: LONG FENG FUCK THAT GUY

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): thinking of five is hard, im not nearly as invested this as i was when i was like,,11. Sokka and Zuko, Aang and Katara, Zuko and Jet (they were like the First ship i really ever got into and read fanfiction of on livejournal lmao), Zuko and Katara, & Mai and Ty lee. There’s a theme here can you tell.

Character I find most attractive: i feel weird saying this now as an Adult but Zuko like ive been in love with him for years yall. oh also Hakoda like. im a simple man ok

Character I would marry: zuko. please know a lot of these are gonna be Zuko.

Character I would be best friends with: probably Sokka

a random thought: this show means the world to me and i can’t accurately put into words how it makes me feel

An unpopular opinion: idk if i have one??

My Canon OTP: zuko and his honor lmao uhh no actually i guess aang and katara

My Non-canon OTP: Sokka and Zuko, bi and gay disasters whom i love. Getting to see them bond in the boiling rock episodes was really fun and they’re good leaders and I think Sokka could get Zuko to loosen up and act like a dumb boy every now and then you know??

Most Badass Character: It’s a competition between Toph, Iroh, and Katara. Katara’s growth from struggling to keep a fish in a small bubble to all the amazing things she could do by the end of the series, the strength she showed in trying to keep them all together and how much she did to protect and love those around them. Toph because like. Look At Her. She’s so fucking powerful and strong and stubborn and i love her. AND IROH I MEAN CMON

Most Epic Villain: at first i was gonna say Azula because she was 100% the smartest villain but she feels more tragic to me because she was a kid just as hurt by her dad’s actions but just adapted differently than zuko and what happened to her was really really sad. I think Hama was pretty epic, the way the episode set her up and just the absolute horror that is blood blending. She was terrifying.

Pairing I am not a fan of: uhhh there aren’t really any that I care too strongly about

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): Mai, I think they could have done More for her, to give her a little bit more depth than the emotionless one, like yeah the beach episode where they explain that she’s numb and cold because she was ignored and taught to never speak like I both felt for her but I still think they could have done MORE for her and especially her relationship for zuko like please let me see them bond and develop rather than just having them as a couple.

Favourite Friendship: all of them. for real though I love Zuko and Aang’s friendship. They’re adorable in the sun warriors episode and also like, they kind of embody that idea of friendships transcending lifetimes you know?? they’re buddies and it’s great

Character I most identify with: i mean again. do i need to say. Zuko for sure

Character I wish I could be: i think both aang and zuko. zuko purely because like i wanted to be him for years like the firebending is just *chefs kiss* love that also great hair, and aang in that,,,resilience he has emotionally like this kid goes through So Much and he’s still so hopeful and compassionate and he’s strong in who he is and I want to get to that place and keep holding onto the joy like he does.

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zoeology31 · 6 years

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A:TLA Book 1 Reactions

I started watching Avatar: The Last Airbender at the beginning of the summer and I’ve just finished Book 1! It’s really, really good, and I love all the characters but mostly Zuko. For those of you who went through this experience 10+ years ago, maybe you’ll enjoy my first-time reactions with only fuzzy memories of the movie, a little Wikipedia knowledge, and a handful of Tumblr analysis posts for spoilers.

The Boy in the Iceberg: Oh, so that’s how you pronounce Sokka’s name. They really hit the ground running with “Yeah, there’s a war and people are dying.” That’s impressive for a kid’s show.

The Avatar Returns: I can see with this opening scene why people compare Zuko to Kylo Ren, but the main difference is Zuko doesn’t, y’know, kill anyone. This show has some quality fight scenes, wow. And Zuko is really persistent, I mean, Aang knocks him down like five times and he just keeps coming back.

The Southern Air Temple: This is one of the scenes I remember from the movie. Katara is going to be Aang’s emotional support this whole time, isn’t she? And Zuko is now honor dueling a guy, that escalated quickly. I didn’t realize they would be showing so much of Zuko so early.

The Warriors of Kyoshi: Why... is Aang like this. It’s pretty cool that Sokka apologized and asked Suki to train him, that shows a lot of respect. And wait, Suki likes him? What?

The King of Omashu: This episode gives off an indescribable aura of preteen boy insanity.

Imprisoned: Yeah, you go Katara! She’s so sincere and she tries so hard, I love her. This felt like the most realistic/serious episode so far; the village is stuck under Fire Nation occupation and the earthbenders have given up hope of escaping. This is the episode that made me decide to watch the show all the way through.

Winter Solstice, Part 1: So the spirit is called “Black White”, real creative there. It’s interesting seeing the Earth Kingdom soldiers acting as antagonists in Zuko’s subplot. Also, Roku’s dragon is awesome.

Winter Solstice, Part 2: A Zuko vs. Zhao rivalry, this’ll certainly make things interesting! I loved Aang’s conversation with Roku and the explanation of why the sages switched sides. So the entire rest of the show takes place in eight months?

The Waterbending Scroll: I am consistently finding Katara more relatable than Aang. This one has a lot more humor than the last few, and I feel like the entire fight sequence is just Zuko regretting his decisions.

Jet: This feels like an episode that split the fandom, but I like the discussion of extremism and how being justified doesn’t make you right. Sokka is really good in this one, I wish we could’ve seen the part where he convinces the village to evacuate.

The Great Divide: I know this show doesn't really have filler, but this feels like filler. I like the different art styles for each version of the story.

The Storm: ZUKO BACKSTORY ZUKO BACKSTORY ZUKO BACKSTORY and Aang backstory too I guess. I knew “Zuko’s dad the Fire Lord burned him in an Agni Kai for speaking out of turn,” but it’s even worse? He was trying to save the soldiers from being killed? And when he had to face Ozai, he was on his knees begging for mercy? No wonder he’s like this? And then in the storm he saves the helmsman and chooses the safety of the crew over capturing Aang, I love this ep.

The Blue Spirit: I already knew Zuko was the Blue Spirit, but no way would I have guessed it, because he moves and acts so differently. He’s a really skilled fighter even without his firebending. Even if it was an Enemy Mine situation, it’s really cool to see Aang and Zuko working together, and the ending scene when Aang tells Zuko about his old Fire Nation friend is really good. This episode and the last one cemented Zuko as my absolute favorite character on the show.

The Fortuneteller: Another filler-ish episode, and I’m not a huge fan of the ship teasing, but the bending they do to protect the village from the lava is pretty cool.

Bato of the Water Tribe: It’s cool to see Katara and Sokka reconnect with someone familiar with their culture and their dad. The ice dodging sequence is really good, it shows how competent Sokka really is. The bounty hunter lady’s okay, but the herbalist’s cat is the real scene stealer.

The Deserter: So the Earth Kingdom is mostly China, but the Fire Nation seems like a mix of China and Japan. This is a good episode philosophy-wise, and I loved Aang’s fight against Zhao.

The Northern Air Temple: I like the moral complexity in this one: using abandoned resources to help your people vs. destroying places of cultural significance. Also this is the show’s first large-scale battle, and it’s really cool to watch.

The Waterbending Master: That master dude’s a jerk, I’m surprised he changes his mind at all, but good for Katara for standing up for herself. I can’t believe they let 2005 audiences think Zuko might be dead for a full six minutes. Also, why do they pronounce Yue’s name like that?

Siege of the North, Part 1: Katara has so many good fight scenes in this, I’m so proud of her! I know Zuko’s still the bad guy, but I’m totally rooting for him as he’s sneaking into the city. Also, “I think of you as my own,” are the writers trying to kill me? And poor Sokka, he’s in a forbidden romance and the other guy’s an idiot.

Siege of the North, Part 2: Zuko tries so hard, but he’s really bad at capturing the Avatar. Iroh’s very insistent on not harming the moon spirit, I wonder what’s up with that? The sequence where Aang wrecks the entire Fire Nation force with the ocean spirit is really well done, I loved how it passed over the Water Tribe fighters when they bowed down to it. And Yue sacrificing herself to restore the moon is the other part I remember from the movie, but with good acting this time. Again, poor Sokka. It’s interesting that Zuko’s willing to save Zhao from the ocean spirit, even though he just attacked Zhao for trying to have him killed. And the ending... Azula’s coming!

#avatar the last airbender #aang #katara #sokka #zuko #analysis #my stuff

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aang13atla · 4 years

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Kataang💦💨and Zutara💦🔥

Let's start from the beginning...Katara finds a unknown kid in the middle of nowhere and immediately she trusts him...Aang offers to take them back to their village...the next day Katara says to her Gran Gran that he is special and he is full of wisdom which is true but at that point he was flexing more of he's games/joyful self and so that reminded Katara what it is to spend quality time with friends and laugh after so many years•after they left from the ship Aang took the blame about the flare•then Sokka forced him to leave making Katara wanna leave with him and dump her family•However Aang choose to leave alone bc he didn't want to get between her and her family...after some time Aang returns to protect her family and surrenders in order to save ppl that he had just met and while Aang was going into the ship Katara started crying bc she was afraid that he'll lose him (the only person who trusted her•offered to take her to the other side of the world and made her enjoy life so much) and after all of that Katara is ready to do the same thing for him and after some time they escape from the ship on appa...all of these things happened in only 2 days from their first moment they share an unbreakable bond...

During the show

Katara is always looking after Aang not only to protect him but to check if he's okay if he's happy if something bothers him

Aang does the same thing for her he puts her above anything else and don't get me wrong we all know Katara is doing it as well

Katara taught Aang how to waterbend and in the same episode Aang is trying to help her with some moves even tho at the beginning she was a little bit jealous bc the bending came really easy on him but despite all of that they see themselves as equal

Aang in the northern water tribe refuses to learn from Pakku bc he didn't want to teach Katara and despite all of that Aang tries to teach Katara by himself showing that he cares about her•wants to spend more time with her and wants to see Katara getting better and better as a bender

Both of them defend each other when the others offend them (s1 ep 12 Katara defends Aang when an old man told him that he turned he's back on the world•s2 ep 5 Aang defends Katara when a whole village was about to attack her for extinguishing the fire) etc

They always try to be close to each other and if you notice in almost every scene they touch each other somewhere somehow

The only thing that's left from their losses is a necklace

Katara hugs him and kisses him a lot of times during the show

They always try to help ppl even if they are the enemies

They both respect each other and always listen and trust their beliefs

When one of them is in danger they may unleash an incredible amount of power which may destroy everyone and everything (this can be seeing also in the comics)

Aang prefers to love Katara instead of mastering the avatar state (and some of you say that he just has a crush on her) choosing love over power•during a war is something unique and so this is what connects them and makes their relationship special

They grew to love each other.. throughout the show they've seen everything...fun-love-pain-death etc but instead of giving up their love makes them even stronger as characters and as humans

Have you noticed that when they where at the library Katara was searching things about Aang? I mean you are in the best library that you'll ever see you can search for anything and you prefer to find stuff about Aang? Yeahh I don't think she is in love with him...

Katara suggests to kiss in the cave of two lovers•Katara is the one that always hugs and kisses Aang during the show but some of you seem to forget that or say that she does that bc he sees him as a brother...let's see then...how many times she kissed Sokka? How many times she cried about Sokka? I don't say that she doesn't love Sokka or something but Aang seems to be something even beyond love for her•something even stronger

Try to convince me that when they danced we didn't saw the flames in their eyes and in their hearts•Aang in this episode has won an entire school clearly all the girls have a crush on him and especially On Ji but he doesn't care about the others he had eyes only for her

Actually during 2 episodes in the show Aang seems to have two large girl group's who seem to like him (In the kyoshi island and in the fire nation school) in these two episode we get to see how much Katara gets jealous when other girls are giving Aang attention...especially when Aang dances with On Ji we clearly see Katara being so jealous and so sad at the same time

Ofc during the show we get to see Aang being jealous as well especially when Sokka suggests Katara to kiss Jet

They have amazing chemistry..A lot of ppl seem to forget that but wtf?Aang and Katara were literally running in a circle into the water and took down the giant serpent•remember when they took down a factory in like 5 minutes?Or when Katara grabbed like 10 earthbending soldiers and Aang just froze them in 1 second?Or when Katara was the painting lady...Katara was playing her role while Aang was pulling air out of nowhere and the soldiers started running then this fire nation guy tried to attack Katara she didn't even move to protect her self she had so much faith on Aang and Aang saved her in an awesome scene and then he just blasted this guy into the water(I won't even speak about the dance scene)

The story of the 2 lovers in the cave actually describes the story of Aang and Katara I will make a future post about this and explain everything

And what about the times when Katara is like "How do I look?" I mean the first time she was talking to Aang and Sokka but Sokka was fighting with a fish that moment so...she just wanted to hear Aang's opinion...or when she and Toph dressed to go to that party (Katara didn't say anything there but she was standing still until Aang notices her) or even the time when they got the fire nation clothes she asked the same thing..I don't think she cares about Sokka's opinion and Toph can't even see so again she is doing all of that for Aang

When Katara told Aang that she was confused•She literally said that bc she was afraid you don't have to be Einstein to understand that•Aang was about to fight Ozai she didn't want to express her feelings for him she was afraid that she might never see him again...it's so simle.

You also like the idea of blue and red and all of that (zutara shippers) but you forget that Aang is a firebender as well so I'm sorry😂

Last thing...when everyone is saying that Aang got out of the fz...he was never actually in it...I mean she was in love with him from the beginning but she didn't knew bc she hadn't felt the same before so she thought that this is like to have a good friend but nahh when Sokka said "sometimes I forget what a powerful bender that kid is" Only then she realized that she was in love with Aang this whole time

On to the other "ship" now

I can explain all of their moments together

Their first "moment" was when he captured her and put her necklace around her...I mean he clearly does that to make her talk since she said it was her mother's

The second on is in the cave when they were captured by Azula•After Katara stopped shouting at him she told him that the fire nation killed her mother Zuko since he didn't know that he's mother was alive told her that they had something in common•Then Zuko starts talking about he's bad life which we all know and so that made Katara realise why he is like that and thought that if she could heal he's scar he would have changed completely and help them win..end of the story that was it• you all saw how she run to hug Aang when he came to rescue her

Move on when Zuko final joined the team...after a while Katara walks into his room and threatened him that she'll kill him if he makes a step back again...I mean how the zutara fans found that as a love scene Katara said all of that bc the last time that he trusted him Aang died and she shows how far can she go to protect the man he loves

Next we have the southern raiders where all in all Katara yells to Zuko about he's betrayal and her mother's death etc Zuko in order to be accepted by her as well in the group offers to find her mother's murderer only bc he needed to forgive him nothing more...this is so clear when Aang says that she needs to forgive him and not choose revenge•Zuko there makes fan of Aang's beliefs and later he recognises that violence wasn't the answer this shows how much Aang knows Katara

Later we see Zuko choosing Katara to help him with Azula...I mean who would you pick Katara Sokka Toph or Suki? He is between Toph and Katara but he knows Katara is a waterbender and a bloodbender so he correctly picks her

And to the final moment Zuko jumps into the lightning in order to save Katara (I've talked about that as well) but all in all Zuko did that bc it's he's fault that Katara was in danger and also bc they are a family now all of them...anyone would do the same for everyone so...

You just like the idea of two hot ppl but this is so wrong bc you are missing the point the guy that has everything (strength,wisdom,fun,handsome) and much more is Aang don't get me wrong Zuko is awesome but Aang has so much more things that Zuko can't give to Katara

And where is actually the chemistry?You thought so when you saw them dressed like ninja?come on guys learn to separate things...

And when Katara hugs Zuko that was 100% friendly...she wanted to show that she finally accepted him in their family

How many times Katara hugged,kissed and blushed for Zuko?...I'm waiting...

So after all these two have been through I believe that in the end they developed a great friendship bc basically Katara became Zuko's new sister•a sister that he always needed and never had

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firenationandrecreation · 7 years

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Atla and 1 2 and 4

Hello! @aprilneverdies requested all of the Avatar questions, so I’m going to drop them off here.

1. Favorite female character:

Azula. What a villain. What a woman.She is so human, with motivations beyond just “evil,” impressive talents, an intimidating presence, and relatable insecurities. I love her, I hate her, I fear her, I feel sorry for her ALL AT ONCE, because her character design is a freaking work of art.

2. Favorite male character:Do I really have to choose? It’s a tie between Sokka, Iroh, and Zuko. They are all well-crafted characters for completely different reasons. Sokka’s growth is beautiful. The contrast of Iroh’s jovial, gentle, and lazy side with his questionable, violent past and the sheer amount of firebending power he possesses is just wow. And Zuko is my annoying brat making terrible decisions that I want to slap in the face until he sees sense or at least quits whining, but that slap comes from a place of love because I want great things for him.

3. Least favorite female character:Suki, actually for the same reason I dislike Ginny Weasley - she’s generic. She’s underdeveloped, lacks a backstory, and I never connected much with her. To be fair, I liked her as a side character, but once someone joins Team Avatar I expect more depth. It’s not her fault. Any character with less than a quarter of the screen time of most mains can’t be expected to hold her own next to the characters we’ve gotten to watch grow. I hope the comics do more with her, because I really do want to like her!

4. Least favorite male character:Zhao. He’s a stereotypical asshole, like Ozai, but way more embarrassing, less intelligent, and out of control.Wait. I just remembered that Jet exists. He’s a way more interesting character, but more irritating than Zhao. At least he’s attractive? Tough choice.

5. Ships:Hardcore Zutara while new episodes were still airing, but I’m more neutral about it now. Yukka is pure and precious. Sokkla is HOT. Zuki intrigues me (could actually add more to Suki’s character and open up convos about her past and feelings towards the Fire Nation.) I’m starting to warm up to Tyzula.

6. Pairings that I just can’t:I was never a fan of Maiko - nothing against Mai, I just didn’t see the chemistry. Their personalities seemed too similar to compliment each other. I just want them both to be happy and I haven’t seen a lot of evidence that their relationship helps with that.I don’t like Jetara because it involves Jet.

7. Top 3 favorite episodes:How on earth can I choose?All three season finales. If I can pick one more, “Zuko Alone.”

8. Least favorite episode:I think I speak for most everyone when I say “The Great Divide.” I usually tell people to skip it.

9. Favorite line/speech/moment!The Zuko vs. Azula Agni Kai. Chills. Both stunning and heartbreaking.

#meme #ask #avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar #cartoons #my opinions

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bellatrixobsessed1 · 4 years

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Kissing Dead Pearls (Final Part)

There are places where lives unfold and places where lives come to an end, more often than not these places are one and the same. Sometimes these places are quaint harbor towns where buildings are centuries older than any of the citizens currently hustling in and out of them. Sometimes these places are have cliffsides that are older than even the buildings, worked at and eroded by waves significantly more timeless than them. Often these cliffsides see thunderous clouds and tempestuous waves, lit by forks of lightning and filled by curtains of rain. And more often than folks like to admit, these towns have their ghosts; sails on the horizon during a storm, ladies in billowing white dresses that stand at the edge of cliffs, and speters that travel through arches of limestone. It might be that the towns folk get bored and invent legends, or perhaps it is a tourist thrill, still it could be that some of the inhabitants need a good ghost to keep them secure in the realm of the living.

In such a town, the rain could be pouring and lightning could be bursting in the sky. People might be rushing to pack in their picnic food and snatch up their umbrellas. Some of them are too late, like a boy named Jet and a girl named Jin. Their umbrella has lifted out of the sand and is riding the gales out towards the sea. It wasn’t his idea of what a date should look like, but at least it was a thrilling one.

Others have more luck on their side; more or less. A married couple could be safely tucked into their restaurant had they decided to take down their patio umbrellas and move their chairs inside sooner.

Inside of a restaurant called La-bsters there is a rather interesting cluster of people. Mostly there are tourists and people who have hustled into the building for shelter from the rain. But there are also two teens interviewing for their first jobs. A girl will venture out of the town for the first time to study marine biology and her friend, Toph will take her place waitressing for the restaurant. There is also a bald boy and his dog, the three are an inseparable duo and Aang swears that he will teach the dog to be a good employee too.

The restaurant is cozy. It is home. In a quaint harbor town that seems caught within a bygone era, anywhere is home really. It is no wonder that some people are hesitant to leave. When home is so warm and inviting, so safe and unchanging, why would a person ask to leave?

For some it is a need for change, a yearning for something new. A desire to see the world with a knowing that they can come back to their harbor town and see it nearly as it was when they had left. Nearly, but not quite. For everything evolves. Everything changes. And if you know a place well, then the most subtle of changes are extraordinarily profound.

The rain pummels the roof of La-bsters as Toph high fives Aang, “Congrats on your first summer job, Twinkle Toes!”

“Yeah, you too.” He smiles meekly.

“When do we start?” She asks.

“How about on the first day that we have some sunny weather?” Hakoda offers.

A table away sits a group of four, they split a platter of fries, onion rings, and hot wings. Azula douses the wings in an extremely generous amount of spicy dipping sauce. “Seriously, I can’t eat this!” Sokka exclaims, eyes watering. “My mouth is burning!”

Azula smirks. “Yes, that’s the point. Either you’re going to build up your spice tolerance or I am going to have all of the wings to myself.”

“Not if I can help it.” Zuko plucks one of the wings. He takes his first bite. After swallowing he clears his throat. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something, Katara.”

“Go ahead.”

“We’re still having a hard time building the lighthouse back up after how far behind we’ve fallen. I was planning on opening up a restaurant of my own. It’s going to be more like a bakery and I’ll run it from the lighthouse.”

“My idea.” Azula cuts in.

“I thought that it would be smart to…” He backtracks. “Azula thought that it would be smart to partner up with La-bsters. It’s going to be folklore and ghost story themed and stuff. Do you think that your parents would want that.”

“Ask them, Zuko.” Katara laughs. “They’ve never said no before!”

“Speaking of parents, how has your dad been?” Sokka asks, nostrils still flared from his second attempt to eat one of the wings. He fans his face.

“He’s a year sober now.” Azula replies.

“He and uncle are planning some kind of road trip to relive the glory days.”

“Why are you cringing?” Katara laughs.

“Do you know what their glory days looked like?” Zuko asks.

“Father just wants to make up for wasting so much of his time on drinks and grief.” Azula shrugs. Silently, she thinks that he just wants to enjoy one more summer before life moves on. Or maybe she is just projecting; for as much as she had fought Sokka on it, it would be nice to have one last summer where everything is as it was, simple and thrilling. Now that she has eliminated his hesitancy, she will indulge him in one more summer of old habits and nostalgia.

She will begin it with one final surf competition and end it with the annual beachview music festival. That will be nice, considering that they’d missed last year’s. She peers at her surfboard, which she has propped up against the corner. She is going to miss it, how could she not when she had spent so much time riding waves on it? But it is time to put it aside, the sea calls her in a different direction and she has already made the necessary arrangements to answer it. And besides, she thinks it would be kind to allow Chan and Ruon their time to shine. They have more passion for the sport than she. They have worked their whole lives for that competition.

They will be performing Port TuiLa’s first partner routine. ‘Brave and risky! Daring and fun!’ So the townspeople declare. She will do her own routine, but it will be more lax and mundane. Her father and uncle will be there with bouquets of hibiscus, lais, and smoothies, weather she wins it or not. There will be a party in their backyard, a BBQ that doubles as her birthday party and her victory celebration. She will slip an invite to Jet; if he makes an appearance it will be just like old times. If he steers clear...she supposes that, that is just the nature of things. People get hurt and people grow apart.

“Go and ask them, Zuzu.” She nudges as Hakoda enters the building completely drenched.

Zuko takes a deep breath, stands, and rolls his shoulders. Azula rolls her eyes. “So dramatic. How long have we known them?”

Katara laughs and gently pushes him forward.

“Have you decided what you are going to do yet?” Azula asks.

Sokka bites down gently on his cheek. “Khozen has been teaching me to sail again. I know that you wanted me to leave Port TuiLa but I don’t think I’m ready for a change that big and I don’t really like the idea of college anyways.” He rubs the back of his head. “I was thinking of learning to fish, that way I can help bring in some seafood for La-bsters and be around for mom and dad after Katara leaves.”

Azula blinks. “That actually sounds like a good plan.”

He chuckles, albeit, a little nervously. “Yeah. I figured that, that way I could start something new but also stick to the place that makes me happy.” He pauses. “It’s just gonna be weird not having you guys around.” He gestures to she and Katara.

“You’ll have Zuko.” Katara points out.

“We’re trying to make him feel better, Katara.”

“I can still hear you guys!” Zuko calls.

Sokka gives a snorting laugh. The kind that works its way around the table and reaches the door. From its frame a sopping wet Mai remarks, “well that’s my one laugh for today.”

“What are we talking about?” TyLee asks.

“Plans for the future.” Azula pulls up a chair. “Suki and I are going to beauty school! She wants to learn to do special effects makeup. I’m going to make everyone in Port TuiLa beautiful!”

“Good luck with Long Feng.” Mai mumbles and helps herself to a french fry. “I’m going to study mortuary science. It’ll give me something to talk about at dinner.”

“What about you, Azula?” TyLee asks. “You still going to pro-surf?”

It hadn’t really taken much thought to decide, not when the path had made itself so clear. She shakes her head, “no, I have something different in mind.”

“Does father know?” Zuko asks, taking his seat.

“He will.” Azula replies. That is her only hang up, the prospect of disappointing him. But she thinks that her desired career is admirable enough. Surely it is indisputably well suited to her. “I’m going to be a coast guard. I already have experience, more than I should.”

The sea has taken a lot from her but she has taken a lot back. And she will take more back, more and more until it doesn’t hurt. More and more until she knows that she can see her mother again with the ability to inform her that her death didn’t amount to nothing. The waves may have stolen her life but they haven’t stolen the energy she put forth.

The sea will take more lives, likely it will take them right out of Azula’s hands. But it will take less than it would have if she gets her way.

“Thanks to you,” she looks at Sokka, “and all the attention that your story got, I think that my chances are very good.”

“Hey, can we stop talking about the future now and start living in the moment!?” Toph calls. “I’ve got five dollars for the jukebox and twenty for the arcade.”

“How about we spend twenty on the jukebox and five on the arcade?” Sokka asks.

Azula elbows him. “Do you even know twenty dollars worth of good songs?”

“I know plenty of amazing tracks!”

She slings her arm around him. “Your music taste is still stuck on hits from ten years ago.”

And so they listen to twenty dollars worth of songs that she hasn’t heard since they were kids. Their summer starts with the past and plays out as it always has, right until when the leaves would start to change. And just as they always have, they close the summer with an all night music festival on the beach. Sparklers, smoke bombs, and melting ice cream cones. Fireworks and kisses and the same gaggle of friends. The same group plus one, not that Jin hadn’t been an amusing addition.

.oOo.

It only makes sense that she departs on a stormy night. Her car is loaded and the remaining tents and banners of her goodbye party flap in the wind. Sokka presses his head to her forehead and gives her a rather lengthy kiss. Long enough to have her father retreating back into the house to fetch her a parting gift. She won’t open it until she reaches boot camp. It is a simple photo album that her mother had made.

She pulls out of the kiss and Ozai hands her the giftbox. “Your mother would be proud.”

“And you?”

Ozai sighs. “I think that you already know the answer to that.” He ruffles her hair. He hasn’t done that in ages. “I best see you in a uniform when you visit for the holidays.”

“You will, father.” She smiles.

“Take care of father?” Azula requests quietly to Zuko. “Keep him on track, okay?”

“I’ll keep him busy.” Zuko promise with a gesture to the lighthouse and his brand new business. “Trust me, I will.”

She doesn’t doubt it in the slightest. “Alright, well I’m getting soaked so…”

“I’ll see you later, Azula.”

She nods and gives a little wave.

Sokka puts his arm around her and leads her to her car. She buckles herself in and turns her head for one final kiss. “Call me when you get there.” It isn’t a question. “Of course I will, Sokka.” She answers anyhow. He waves again and she rolls up her window. Windshield wipers throw drops off of the window as she steers her way down the winding lighthouse driveway.

The Sea Candle rests on the cliff shining her way as it always has. And it will be there to guide her home when the day comes. She casts one final look at the town in her rearview mirror. She can swear that, in the beam of the lighthouse she can see faint sails, bobbing haphazardly in the waves.

#Avatar The Last Airbender #Azula #Sokka #Sokkla #Zuko #Katara #Zutara #Toph #Aang #Suki #Mai #TyLee #Ozai #Iroh #Jet #Fanfiction

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bellatrixobsessed1 · 4 years

Text

Mutilated Mannequin (Part 7)

Azula doesn’t enjoy being back in the cosmetic surgery facility, even if it is just a follow up and even if it is only to have the bandages and splits removed once and for all. It is a weekend, at the very least, she is thankful for this.

She isn’t quite thrilled that her father has simply dropped her off with a simple, “I’ll be back within an hour, I have some errands to run.”

The only thing that helps is TyLee’s hand clutching hers.

“Oh, I’d love to wear a dress like that.” TyLee points at a magazine depicting a model in a glitzy pink and silver dress. It is long and form fitting and throws glimmering reflections on the backdrop.

“It’s alright.” Azula says. “Pink isn’t my taste.” But she flips through the magazine and looks for a price tag. She waits for TyLee to get up to use the restroom before tearing the page out. Perhaps if the girl is supportive enough she’ll buy it for her one day. She pockets the page and crosses one leg back over the other. She sits rigidly with her hands clasped over her knee.

TyLee has her rear hovering just over the chair when Azula is called back. She stands back up again and follows along.

“Good morning, Ms. Kasai.” Dr. Guhira greets.

“Yes, you too.” She tries to sound warm but her words lack the enthusiasm needed to do so.

“This should be a very quick appointment.” The doctor notes as he carefully cuts away the bandages and removes the splints. He takes a few minutes to inspect her nose before declaring, “everything looks as pictured, you’re all set.” He types something into his computer before turning back to her. “Would you like to see?”

“I’ll wait until I get home.” She finds that she would much rather breakdown in privacy.

“I think that it looks nice.” TyLee smiles. She holds her pointer up to boop Azula’s nose.

She flinches out of the way of TyLee’s finger. At the fall of her friend’s face she explains, “I don’t want it to get ruined so soon.”

“You won’t have to worry about that.” Guhira promises. “I wouldn’t have taken out the splints if that was going to be an issue. Just don’t do anything that would have broken your nose before the surgery and you’ll be fine.”

Azula nods.

The man glances at the clipboard. “I’ll see you in a week.”

Azula nearly lets her mouth fall agape. She hadn’t realized that her father has already scheduled the next one. She has hardly recovered from this one. She swallows and nods again, knowing that she is in for a discussion with Ozai. “Thank you, Dr. Guhira.” She holds out her hand.

He smiles as he shakes it and leads her back into the waiting room.

“Mom?” TyLee asks.

A woman with wide eyes and a round chin springs up. She looks so much like her daughter, she can almost pass as a high schooler herself. After leaving TyLee’s embrace she says, “Ozai asked me if I would pick you girls up.” She turns to Azula, “I made grilled chicken and cookies if you would like to join us for dinner.”

“Sure, I wouldn’t mind coming along.” Azula replies. Any excuse to delay having to talk to her father. Anything to distract her from her nose.

.oOo.

Her father still isn’t home. She can’t find any sign of Zuzu either. She is almost certain that her brother is helping Sokka with his campaign speeches, in which case she doesn’t want his presence around the house anyhow. Not that she had expected him to support her anyhow.

Azula supposes that it is a good thing that she is alone. She wanders her way to her bedroom and paces around for a bit before moving to her vanity dresser. She rests her palms on the edge of it but can’t bring herself to look up just yet. It is such a minor change, only one aspect of herself and yet she fears seeing it.

She fears it because it is a change and she finds that she isn’t a fan of change at all. Even so, she lifts her head and her gaze.

The whiplash she expects doesn’t come. The change isn’t so profound that she feels a disconnect from herself. In fact, it is such a slight altercation. But, God, it makes her look so different. Just as Ozai had hoped, there is a subtle point to her nose that makes her look, somehow, older. More mature. She decides that this might work in her favor in terms of the debate. If she can appear older, she can look more professional, more suitable.

She brings tentative and cautious fingers to her nose. To her surprise, and relief, it feels rather genuine.

It is going to take at least some getting used to but she has to admit that her new nose is already doing favors to her overall aesthetic.

She hears the door open and makes her way to the entry room. “Hello, father.” She can see a new watch glimmering on his wrist and something in her stirs. Had he really blown her off to get a custom-made watch?

He looks her over. “Definitely an improvement.” He notes.

Azula isn’t sure if she should feel elated at his newfound approval or disheartened at the implication that he hadn’t accepted her before. The unpleasant flutters in her tummy speak for her. “I think it looks better as well.” She admits.

Ozai’s lip curves up and he puts a gentle hand on her shoulder. “That is great to hear. I had a feeling that you would like the final result.” She watches him rifle through a small bag. He pulls out an even smaller box and places it into her hand. “Go on.”

Azula unwraps and opens it. Encased in velvet is a small pendant on a gold chain. It is a blend of ruby and citrine fused together to form a lily. She holds it up and watches the pendant twirl and catch in the light.

“Congratulations on your first operation.” He squeezes her shoulder and her former resentment and unease melt away.

.oOo.

Katara bends over with her hands on her knees huffs.

“Keep moving, Katara!” Kyoshi barks.

Katara groans and starts back into a sprint. She doesn’t see any sense in having gym class the hour before lunch. No less she makes her way around the track for the sixth time. Ten more laps to go, but she doesn’t think that she has it in her.

“Aren’t swimmers supposed to be good with endurance?” Jet calls from the other side of the track.

Katara rolls her eyes and ignores the comment. She can’t help but find it annoyingly true; she doesn’t know why it is so much harder to keep pace on land. In the water she could have had these laps done minutes ago. On land she is getting passed left and right. Azula has at least two laps on her already and is about to overtake her a third time.

The girl doesn’t even spare a glance as she breezes past.

“What a show off, am I right?” Sokka asks as he too whizzes by, backwards at that. Clumsy too, but somehow he is still up right and keeping up with everyone.

“Yeah, apparently she’s not the only one.” Katara raises a brow.

Sokka laughs but only for a moment before colliding with Jet.

“Watch where you’re going, dipshit.” Jet scowls after picking himself off of the ground.

Sokka lifts his hands. “It was an accident, I’m sure that you’re still in one piece.”

“You won’t be when…”

“Save it for your wrestling tournament, Akunin.” Kyoshi grumbles.

Jet shoots him a final glare before resuming his laps.

“Geeze, men are so intense.” Sokka notes.

“You would know.” Katara replies. She tries to sound less grumpy, running laps is more tolerable with Sokka making light of things. The last thing that she wants to do is chase him away.

“Hey. Question.”

“Yeah.”

“Women tend to notice little details…”

“Just ask the question, Sokka.”

“Is it just me or does Azula look different to you?”

“I don’t usually go out of my way to stare at Azula.”

“Well, next time you get a chance can you look over? I wanna know if it’s just me.”

Katara nods, not planning on actually deliberately doing so. She finishes her final lap. Right now, her main focus is getting to the drinking fountain and catching her breath. Kyoshi announces her time but Katara isn’t paying any mind to that either.

She steps towards the drinking fountain only to find a body blocking at. “Back of the line, darkie.” Jet points.

“Excuse me!?”

“Her voice is so shrill.” Chan holds a finger to his ear.

Katara balls her fists. She feels a pair of hands on her shoulders and gets ready to send her fists in that direction instead. “They’re not worth it, Katara. Come on.” Suki mumbles.

“I was here first and did you hear…”

Suki nods. “It’s just a drinking fountain and those were just words. Don’t let them get you all angry, that only makes them laugh harder.” She pauses, “besides, there’s another fountain over there.”

Katara sighs and heads towards the other fountain as Suki makes her way back into the gym. She decides that she should probably pick her battles anyhow, but she is sick to death of the name calling and dickwaving.

She leans against the wall and waits for her turn. Azula comes to stand behind her. Curiosity gets the better of her, “what was your time?”

“Four minutes and forty-five seconds.” Azula inspects her nails. A thick and somewhat awkward silence lets Katara know that the conversation is over.

She stares at Azula for a moment longer. Sokka is right, there is something different about her. That something explains the bandages. She wonders if the other girl had, had some sort of accident. Katara steps up to the drinking fountain. She closes her eyes, pleased to have some liquid soothing her burning lungs.

.oOo.

Azula hopes that she isn’t pushing herself. Her nose is tingling uncomfortably. She can’t remember how long Dr. Guhira had told her to wait before getting back into athletics. She knows that swimming is off limits, but running? She thinks that she should probably take it a little easier, but she has to keep herself in shape for track. She has goals to meet and she won’t be cutting more seconds from her end time if she gets lazy now.

She rolls her shoulders back and readies herself to run another mile around the track.

“Resume.” Kyoshi calls.

She and her classmates surge forward. She almost feels bad for Yue who looks as though she is going to collapse at any minute. “God, this is so much easier in the water.” she hears Yue complain.

Azula is three laps in when her nose begins to drip. She groans and slows herself.

“Ms. Kasai, I know that you can do better than…”

Azula points at her nose.

Kyoshi gives a head nod, “nevermind, you go to the bathroom or the nurse’s office and get that taken care of.”

Azula wanders to the locker room and finds her nasal drip pads. Guhira had warned her that her nose can still gush if she puts too much strain on herself. She sighs and makes her way to the bathroom. She spends the rest of the hour leaning against the wall, envious of the people still running the track. It only makes Yue’s incessant complaining that much worse.

“I can’t do it anymore Kyoshi, I just can’t.” The girl pleads.

“Then walk the rest of the laps.” Kyoshi concedes.

“Seven minutes and twenty-six seconds, Chan.”

Chan gives the gym teacher a thumbs up and props himself up against the wall.

“I think that this is your fastest time.” Azula remarks.

“Had to get it over with so I could talk to you.”

“Flattering.”

“Hey, look.” He pants.

“Do you need a minute?”

“No.” He shakes his head and takes another deep breath. “No, I’m good.”

Azula waits for him to continue.

“So, about homecoming. TyLee pretty much has her pick of, like, everyone in this school…”

“And.”

“So I was wondering if I could take you instead?”

For a flicker her eyes go wide. “You want to take me?”

He nods, “yeah, I was hoping to.”

She lets a faint smile tug at her lips. She feels giddy and euphoric. This time the fluttering in her belly is of a more pleasant and elated variety. She has never been asked to a dance before. “Let me talk to TyLee.” Not that she can see TyLee objections, the girl has only been pestering her to find a date for ages. Any desire to talk her father out of the second operation fades. It would seem that she has made the right call in deciding to get the surgery after all.

“Let me know at lunch?”

“Yes, I’ll let you know at lunch.”

By lunch, the doubts settle in. She wishes that she would have just said yes before they did. Before it had dawned upon her that TyLee might get offended. She tries to tell herself that such is her only dread and that it will be alleviated after a talk with TyLee.Yet, faintly in the back of her mind she feels guilty. Like she is lying to him.

She can’t imagine that he’d care much for her if he knew that the surgery had been her idea and not her father’s. She can’t imagine that he will appreciate kissing fake lips. She also can’t imagine that he’d like kissing her real lips either.

She can’t imagine that he’ll stick around long enough to make it to the homecoming dance. Not with a school full of prettier faces.

“What did you want to talk about?”

Azula sighs in relief, “I was asked to homecoming.”

TyLee is beaming, “by who!? Oh, Mai is going to be so excited!”

“I don’t know about that, Ty.” She sighs, “Chan asked me.”

“You two are going to be so cute together.” She squeals.

“TyLee. You were going to take him.”

“Oh yeah…” TyLee taps her pointer against her lips. “I forgot that he asked me.”

#Azula #Sokka #Katara #Zuko #TyLee #Mai #Suki #Avatar #Fanfiction

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