#aang was not jealous of jet
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i'm writing in jealous aang AND a sparring scene in the upcoming ch of "the teenager in the iceberg"- y'all kataang stans are eating GOOOOODDD 🤭
in order to placate you lovelies, enjoy a couple short & sweet excerpts!!!
also, i love the way that tiny aang in the header looks like he's desperately trying to seperate jet and katara 😭🤍
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Sokka rose, crossing his arms as his expression shifted to anger. “The traps are Fire Nation. You can tell from the metalwork- no other tribes can achieve seams this flawless without the aid of a Firebender that can bend blue flame.”
Aang’s nose wrinkled as he gently landed next to Katara. “What do the firebenders want with these forest animals?”
“We won’t be sticking around long enough to find out.” Sokka said decisively as the three began to walk back to where they’d left Appa. “As the leader, I say we get walking AQAP.”
Katara raised an eyebrow. “AQAP?”
“It means As Quickly As Possible.” Sokka recited the acronym as if it was obvious. “It’s a more efficient method of communication. I call them ‘short-word-quick-talkers.’ Trust me, they’re gonna be very popular.”
Katara and Aang side-eyed one another sceptically before falling into step behind Sokka.
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Katara bent a stream of water from the bottle strapped to her hip, then carefully sent a water-whip straight for their fire, silently proud at how much her late-night practice sessions had allowed her to improve. “Who says you’re qualified to be the boss, all of a sudden?”
“I’m not the boss, I’m the leader.”
Katara scoffed incredulously. “You’re the leader?”
“Naturally.” Sokka puffed out his chest like a peacock pigeon. “I’m the oldest.”
Aang raised an eyebrow, grinning teasingly. “Sokka, I’ve been around for over a century. I have training robes that are older than you.”
Sokka deflated slightly, his shoulders slouching before he managed a retort. “Well, I’m wiser, then. And I have instincts.”
“Ooh, instincts.” Katara wiggled her fingers at him, her voice filled with fake awe. “Please, oh wise leader, share with us your wisdom.”
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“Down you go,” Jet grinned, self-satisfied and authoritative in his stance. Katara beamed back, her lips parted in an amazed expression, while Aang and Sokka’s features quickly settled into irritation. Before long, an archer and a few other kids dropped from the trees surrounding them, and both Aang and Katara jumped into the fray in response alongside the mismatched gang of weapon-slinging kids. Sokka joined in, his irritation visibly rising as Jet took down each soldier before Sokka could even get close to being in range.
“You snooze you loose, man,” Jet shrugged, his hooks snagging on a man who had been about to grab Katara. “Apologise to the lady.” He smirked, then kicked the man hard, dropping him to the side.
“I had her,” Aang grumbled under his breath, occupied with bending currents of wind to sweep soldiers out of the clearing. Katara furrowed her brow at Aang’s irritation, but decided to note it as something to ask about later. Finally, the remaining soldiers scampered out of the clearing in retreat, their shouts and yelps echoing through the forest. Katara still couldn’t take her eyes off of Jet. He sauntered over to her, a roguish grin on his face as he spoke.
“Hey.” He tossed his hair as he said it, his grin directed entirely at her now, and Katara felt a soft blush spread across her cheeks as she looked up at him. She broke her gaze only to check that Aang and Sokka were okay, and as she looked across the field to Aang…
Was she imagining it, or was his jaw clenching? Was she imagining it, or was his normally approachable expression shifting into a deadpan stare?
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His gaze flicked from Jet to Katara, to the brush brushing her cheeks, the soft smile of her full lips. He was hit by the thought that he wanted to be there, next to her, in Jet’s place.
What was it about Katara that made Aang feel as though he could only breathe when she was around?
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Katara was too caught up in her Jet-related nerves to notice the way that Aang’s breathing was coming more quickly, that his fists were quickly clenching and unclenching. She walked towards Aang, who was joined by Sokka, only for Aang’s eyes to flit away every time they met hers. She reached out an arm reflexively, her hand lightly brushing Aang’s bicep as her brow furrowed in concern.
“Are you alright?”
His eyes flashed with something she couldn’t quite read, and his jaw clenched before he spoke. “I’m sorry, Katara, I just… I need a minute. My judgement is…impaired, right now."
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He hesitated a moment before continuing. “Would you… would you care to join me for sparring practice, tomorrow morning? Might help you feel a bit safer next time you need to face off against Fire Nation swine.”
Katara smiled back. “I’d like that.” Jet continued to regale her with stories of all he and his fighters had accomplished as of late, but Katara found herself distracted, her gaze wandering over his shoulder every now and then.
It was not lost on her that Aang’s light had stayed on and his curtains drawn until Jet had returned her to her room for the night.
♥ if you want to stick around for this ch to drop, feel free to head over to the work here! ->
#atla#katara#sokka#aang#kataang#<- because thats how it reads when u age aang up hehe...#avatar the last airbender#avatar aang#zuko#iroh#fanart#atla kataang#atla fanfic#atla fandom#ao3#ao3 recs#ao3 works#ao3 link#ao3 writer#eventual romance#kataang fanfic#older aang#quillthrillsatlafic#jealousy#jealous aang!!#jet
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Everyone had a crush on Zuko : boring, old, overused
Everyone had a crush on Jet : Fresh, New, Clean
#just imagine aang seeing jet and katara together and wondering who the heck should i be jealous of#jet atla#everyone loves jet#atla#avatar the last airbender#my post#we still luv you zuzu#jetara#jetaang#jetko#jetokka#.....jetoph?#jetoph
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Let's Talk About How Book 3 Ruined Aang
If you've seen any of my prior ATLA posts, you know that I don't hate Aang. In fact, I quite liked him in Books 1 and 2. He was flawed, as all characters should be, but the show didn't shy away from those flaws or justify them. He was called out for burning Katara and rushing his firebending, Sokka and Katara were rightfully upset when he hid Hakoda's letter, he willingly owns up to the fact that his actions helped drive Toph away, and his entire arc after losing Appa and finding hope again in The Serpent's Path was beautifully done.
(Hell, even in The Great Divide Katara says what Aang did was wrong and he agrees. It's played for comedy, but the show still makes the effort to point out that what he did wasn't the right thing to do. You're just meant to understand that he was fed up and acted off of that)
Those flaws and mistakes were addressed and improved upon and helped Aang to grow as a character.
But for some reason, that aspect of Aang's character was completely flipped in Book 3.
The best examples of this are in both TDBS and EIP. Both the show and the fandom are too quick to brush off that Aang kissed Katara twice without her consent, one of which after she explicitly said she was confused about her feelings.
(And yes, she is angry in response and Aang calls himself an idiot. But after this, it isn't really addressed. They go on like nothing happened for the rest of the episode. Aang's lamentation comes from screwing things up with her romantically, not that he violated boundaries)
The show never really addressed why what he did was wrong. Not only because he wasn't given consent, but also because both times he isn't thinking about what Katara wants. In both instances, Aang is only thinking about himself and his feelings. This is something that persists through a lot of the third book. And by Sozin's Comet it ultimately ruins any character development he had built up in the second book.
One thing I feel was completely disregarded was the concept of having to let go of Katara in order to master the Avatar State.
For me, the implication wasn't that he had to give up love or happiness necessarily. He was emotionally attached to and reliant on Katara, to the point where she was needed to stop him from hurting everyone around him and himself. This is obviously detrimental to his functionality as the Avatar. And the point of him "letting her go" wasn't that he had to stop caring about her, it was that his emotional dependency on her was stopping him from being the Avatar he needed to be and that was what needed to be fixed. I don't even think it's about the Avatar State itself, it's about being able to keep your emotions and duty as the Avatar separate.
(If you look at Roku, he loved and had a wife. It wasn't his love for her that messed everything up, it was his attachment to Sozin. He wasn't able to let Sozin go and not only did he lose his life for it, the world suffered for it. It's the unhealthy attachments that seem to be detrimental, not love itself)
And Aang realizes that in the catacombs, which is how he's able to easily enter the Avatar State and seemingly control it. He let Katara go.
So then why does it seem like his attachment to Katara is not only stronger, but worse in mannerism? He liked Katara in Books 1 and 2- obviously- but he was never overly jealous of Jet or Haru. He only makes one harmless comment in Book 2 when Sokka suggests Katara kiss Jet.
But suddenly he's insanely jealous of Zuko (to the point of getting frustrated with Katara over it), off the basis of the actions of actors in a clearly misrepresentative play. Katara showed a lot more interest in Jet and Aang was completely fine with it.
(Speaking of EIP, Aang's reaction to being played by a woman was interesting. He wore a flower crown in The Cave of Two Lovers. He wove Katara a flower necklace. He wore Kyoshi's clothes and makeup and made a funny girl voice. He willingly responded to Twinkle Toes and had no issue being called that. And for some reason he's genuinely upset about being played by a woman? Aang in Books 1 and 2 would have laughed and enjoyed the show like Toph did. His aversion to feminity felt vastly out of character)
I guess my point is, why did that change? Why was Aang letting go of Katara suddenly irrelevant to the Avatar State? It felt like him letting go was supposed to be a major part of his development. Why did that stop?
Myself and many others have talked about The Southern Raiders. The jist of my thought process about it is his assumption that he knew what was best for Katara. And the episode doesn't really call out why he was wrong. Maybe sparing Yon Rha was better for Katara, maybe it wasn't (the only one who's allowed to make that choice is her). Pushing forgiveness? That was wrong. But the episode has Zuko say that Aang was right when the course of action Katara took wasn't what Aang suggested.
Katara's lesson here was that killing him wouldn't bring back her mother or mend the pain she was going through and that Yon Rha wasn't worth the effort. That's what she realizes. Not that she needed to embrace forgiveness. How could she ever forgive that? The episode saying Aang was right wasn't true. Yes she forgives Zuko, but that wasn't what Aang was talking about. He was specifically talking about Yon Rha.
And that was wrong. Aang can choose the path of forgiveness, that's fine. That's his choice. But dismissing Katara's trauma in favor of his morals and upbringing wasn't okay.
I know it sounds like this is just bashing Kataang. But it's not simply because I don't like Kataang, in my opinion it brings down Aang's character too, not just Katara's. But let's steer away from Kataang and Katara for a minute.
The one thing that solidifies Aang's character being ruined in Book 3 for me is the fact that he- at the end of the story- does the same thing he did in the beginning.
He runs away when things get hard.
Aang couldn't make the choice between his duty and his morals. So he ran. Maybe it wasn't intentional, but subconsciously he wanted an out. And this is really disappointing when one of the things he was firm about in Book 2 was not running anymore. His character went backwards here and that's not even getting into the real issue in Sozin's Comet.
There's been contention about the Lion Turtle intervention. For many- including myself- it's very deus ex machina to save Aang from having to make a hard decision. And that in turn doesn't reflect kindly on his character.
Everyone- Sokka, Zuko, Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen (who was another Airbender and was raised with the same beliefs he was and would understand which was the whole point of him talking to her)- told him he had to kill Ozai. They all told him it was the only way. And he refused to listen to any of them, rotating through his past lives until he was given the answer he wanted.
And before anyone says that I'm bashing Aang for following his culture, I'm not. Ending the war peacefully, in my opinion, wasn't the problem. In a way, I think it allowed the world to heal properly. However, that doesn't make up for the fact that Aang refused to make a choice and face the consequences of that choice. Instead, he's given an out at the very last second.
Even if he couldn't kill Ozai and someone else had to deliver the final blow, that would have been better than the Lion Turtle showing up and giving him a power no one's ever had before. It would have been a good compromise, he doesn't have to have blood directly on his hands but what needs to be done needs to still get done. It would also show that being the Avatar isn't a burden he has to bear alone. That when things get hard, he can't run away but he can rely on the people closest to him to help him through hard decisions.
All these issues aren't necessarily a problem with Aang. Aang prior to Book 3 didn't have most of these problems. This is a problem with the way he was handled
#aang critical#anti aang#tagging just in case#i don't want aang stans accusing me of cross tagging#it's really not anti aang tho#long post#anti bryke#this is their fault#look how they massacred my boy#anti kataang#katara deserved better#she's not the focus here#but i thought I'd add that there#character analysis#atla critical#anti book 3#which is kind of an exaggeration#because a lot of book 3 is great#it's just most of the latter half
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Trans girl Zuko moments
Her liking pretty things(such as that seashell)because 'girls like that stuff'
Growing out her hair after a buzzcut as visual character development
'The son my father wanted.But i wasn't me'
Being heartbreakingly jealous of her ideallic sister and wishing she could be perfect like her while hating her for it at the same time
And Ozai perfering Azula for living up to standards while Ursa loved and nurtured both of them equally but payed extra attention to Zuko because of all the degradation she faced
Comparing herself to Ty Lee by saying she's not as optimistic or pretty
Misandrist queen(Her instant reaction to a guy getting near Mai was rage at him potentially being a sleaze,her insults to Iroh,her arc culmenating in coming for her abusive dad's entire life including jumping his ass,etc)
Dragon-coded
All her friends pre-Gaang were girls
Her and Aang=Tween dorky boyprotagonist and late teens mean goth older sister who learn to love eachother trope
She's really maternal to him but also in general
Sokka is the Team Dad to her Team Mom and their dynamic is 'Mean hotheaded girl and chill goofy guy start off thinking the other is annoying asf and picking on eachother until they go on an adventure together and now they're sickeingly lovey dovey best friends totally not lovers'
Chose the Kyoshi Warriors as her bodyguards
This panel in general
But also these that make her look like the second girl mc in a Nickelodeon girl power sitcom
Jet talks to and treats her the same way he does Katara and he's got Smellerbee on his team so He Knows What She Is(and is being an annoying cocky bisexual about it)
Had TWO secret identities-First one was pretending to be an ordinary boy to hide her royalty status and her first instinct on picking a name was after her childhood best friend who's a girlypop and the second one was a hero persona that included baggy ass clothes that hid her entire figure
Baby butch(Toph)immediately adopted her as her older sister
Got 1 taste of living as a daddy's boy prince praised by everybody for manliness after months of living on the run and interacting with the Gaang and went 'I need to get my ass outta here,i can't fucking live like this,I WAS WRONG BEING A REAL MAN FUCKING SUCKS,AANG WHERE ARE YOU!!!!!!!!'
#zuko#transfem zuko#trans girl zuko#momko#autistic zuko#bi zuko#azula#ursa atla#ty lee#mai atla#aang#aanglove#sokka#zukka#kyoshi warriors#maiko atla#suki atla#platonic zukki#katara#jet atla#jetko#toph beifong#atla geekery#ty luko#aang and zuko#zuko and toph#💌#tgirl swag#summerposting
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A wolf's love
You've known Sokka since you were little. Your father was the chief of another southern tribe and also a close friend of Chief Hakoda. Also, your grandmothers were friends in their youth.
You were a waterbender but you discovered this shortly after Kya's death so you decided to hide this ability. After the men left for war, your father left you in Kanna's care.
You became very close to Sokka, and Katara often laughed at your childish love for her brother. Sokka, on the other hand, adores you and has dreamed of you two getting married since childhood.
When Sokka and Katara brought Aang to the village you were skeptical but then you agreed with Katara hoping that you would be able to find a waterbending master.
You convinced Sokka to come with you telling him that you need someone strong to protect you.
When you arrived on Kyoshi Island, you and Sokka argued for the first time since you met. It was the first time you noticed how misogynistic Sokka really was. Sokka begged Suki to teach him to fight and even agreed to wear traditional Kyoshi clothes. You, Katara and Aang laughed but at least you weren't mad at him anymore.
Then came the meeting with Jet. Sokka will never admit to you how good he felt when he noticed that you also thought there was something wrong with that boy.You helped Sokka save the village.
The visit to the North Pole was a nightmare for you. The brothers found out you were a waterbender and were upset that you didn't tell them sooner. Katara soon gave up her upset being happy that she is not the last waterbender from the South. Sokka was extremely upset, first you lied to him and then you gave up on him to spend time with his sister. He won't admit it, but the fact that he wasn't a bender hurt him a lot. He decided to try to make you jealous by approaching Yue. But things did not go in his favor. After his kiss with Yue from Spirit Oasis, you decided to give up on the idea of a relationship with him.
Katara could no longer bear the horrible condition her brother was in, so she told you about his plan from the North Pole. To give Sokka a taste of his own medicine, you started flirting with Zuko. Katara thought you were a perfect match for her brother due to your extremely great talent for making plans (notice the sarcasm, please). You and Toph found Sokka's silly jealousy hilarious.
Sokka was absolutely crazy, what did that fiery head have that he didn't?!
During the Siege of Ba Sing Se you and Sokka finally confessed your feelings for each other. Sokka was happier than ever but that didn't last because you were seriously injured and lost a lot of blood. You've been unconscious almost as long as Aang. In that time Sokka was completely destroyed. He felt like his life was over and he swore that when you woke up, he couldn't imagine you wouldn't, he would do anything to protect you.
When you woke up Sokka exploded like fireworks. Even though you felt horrible, you struggled to give him a big smile. After that, things started to go downhill. Sokka had become inhumanly possessive and protective. You tried to talk to Katara and Hakoda but they told you that Sokka acts like this because he doesn't want to lose you like he lost his mother which made you feel like a terrible person.
When you arrived in the Fire Nation, Sokka followed you like a shadow. At Hama's inn he slept in the same room as you. When you found out that Hama was from the Southern Water Tribe something clicked in your mind. You asked if she had known your paternal grandmother. Her eyes widened when she heard your father's name. It seems that Hama was your grandmother, Sokka's grandmother's friend. That didn't make Sokka calm down and he almost attacked Hama with his sword when she tried to hug you. After Hama was arrested Sokka consoled you saying that you don't need anyone else when you have him.
After Zuko's coronation you and Sokka returned to the South while Katara and Aang had to stay in the Fire Nation. Although Sokka's protectiveness still bothers you, you were extremely happy when Sokka asked you to marry him.
But as heroes never have a simple life, your story has only just begun.
Although I do not own the characters from avatar the last airbender, this work belongs to me! I sincerely hope you liked it. Please rate it and leave a comment! follow me to see my next posts! 💖💖💨
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#Avatar The Last Airbender#atla#yandere avatar the last airbender#sokka#soft yandere#yandere sokka#sokka x reader#katara#aang#toph#Zuko#toph beifong#reader#yandere x reader#avatar#yandere avatar#yandere atla#hakoda#kya#kanna#hama#yue#ba sing se#waterbender reader
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I hate to do this but someone reblogged one of my posts and I scrolled down their tl, hoping to mutual, and saw this mess:
Do people actually somehow watch the show and not see every single moment where Katara blushes or plays with her hair around Aang, gets shy at the thought of kissing Aang, is clearly attracted to him in Book 3, gets jealous of any girl that’s also attracted to him.
Or Aang comforting Katara several times: hugging her in the Serpent’s Pass and validating her feelings to the point she cried, comforting her when Jet died and getting the whole group to hug her, telling her how she inspires people and gives them hope, literally tells her she’s a hero??
Aang and Katara literally having several disagreements, Aang’s perception of Katara changing over the three seasons, him agreeing with every single idea she had to flat out rejecting her advice, then wrongly blowing up at her after zuko and the rest were flat out racist to him?? Aang telling her to confront the man that killed her mother after she rejected his advice??
Mind you Katara can barely tell Aang likes her back until season 3 and clearly shows feelings for him way before he starts initiating romantic acts with her after TWO seasons of her touching, kissing him on the cheek and hugging him unprompted 💀 not to mention “forces non-romantic feelings on her” when she is the one that said he was her family after a week of knowing him?? what does that even meannnnn
And I’m supposed to believe that these people actually watched the show, paying attention to… KATARA?
On top of that, to say (not pictured) the only person to ever comfort her was the guy that attacked her several times 💀 and he didn’t even do anything??? used Sokka’s trauma to come up with a plan he didn’t even agree with (nor did he ask him, like you can ask him to retell the most horrible moment of his life, but you can’t ask him if taking his sister to confront the man is a good idea? you can’t even ask him if he wants to go??? that is literally the most horrible writing i’ve ever seen but i digress). on top of that doing it for the most obvious ulterior motive of getting her to forgive him. standing there while she bloodbended and almost killed a man, not knowing she just swore off doing the former weeks ago because all he knows her to be is hostile until that moment. He doesn’t know Katara to be someone that expresses love and kindness until she forgives him but apparently this is how you comfort someone over every single moment of Aang comforting her that I listed above. okayyyyy
Just to contrast for contrast’s sake, Aang:
1. offers to take Katara to the North Pole with zero ulterior motive,
2. gets her mother’s necklace back with zero ulterior move,
3. helps her destroy a factory with zero ulterior motive…
4. helps her get Haru back, stands up for her to Pakku, calls her Sifu when she complains, comes back to save her home and gives himself up, comes back to save her in ba sing se and I’m sure a million things I’m missing, all with literally zero ulterior motives at all.
Meanwhile antagonist does one nice thing for female mc with shady undertones that might as well be overtones and now he’s allegedly better than her friend who helps her several times for no reason other than the fact that its something she wants.
Like am I supposed to believe that these people actually like Katara or are media literate at all? I feel like I’m going insane 😭
#pro kataang#anti zutara#antizutara#anti anti kataang#anti anti aang#anti zuko#anti zukka#katara#aang#atla fandom problems#i think i need to put a dni in my bio#because these freaks are winding up on here reblogging my posts#the jokes write themselves#stay away from me
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From the beginning it was clear that katara heroized aang.
She literally defended him from the fisherman and called him the bravest person she knew.
And even when she had a crush on jet she sideways said aang is great because he is the avatar
I love that she got to know Aang as himself before she knew he was the Avatar. Aang proved himself as brave and caring before it was revealed he was supposed to save the world. He proves to Katara he's the right person to carry that responsibility in the very first episode, Katara doesn't have hope in the Avatar, she has hope in Aang. It's not "I believe the Avatar can save the world" no, it's "I believe AANG can save the world" and that sums up Katara's feelings fo Aang. No one believed in Aang more than Katara and no one had more of an impact on Aang than Katara.
I see some Kataang criticisers say Aang idolises Katara and loves the version of her he built in his head, and not the real her. And I'm baffled. Yes, Aang does idolise Katara but Katara idolises Aang too. Because they know each other so well. These two have seen each other at their worst and still loved each other because they knew exactly who they were on the inside. They have enormous faith and belief in one another, they're each other's biggest supporter and I don't get how you can watch the whole show and not see that.
How can you watch the show and think Aang doesn't like the raw and true Katara? Aang saw Katara jealous (The water bending scroll), vindictive (Lake Laogai), petty (The chase), angry (The waterbending master), childish (The great divide), vengeful (The Sothern raiders), spiteful (The runaway) and still loved her with all of his heart because he knows Katara. He loves her for who she is.
And its the same with Katara. She saw Aang angry (The desert) hopeless (The serpent's pass), dismissive (The northern air temple), insecure (Bato of the water tribe), ashamed (The Awakening), vengeful (The Desert), careless (the deserter) and stood by his side and supported him.
I'm sorry, but how can you watch these two throughout the show and think they don't accept each other as they both are. These two are the perfect example of a healthy relationship where one is not afraid to be themselves or show their dark side because they know the other will not judge them or love them any less.
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Book 1 of ATLA is interesting. Katara feels jealous of Aang giving attention to girls in the Kyoshi Island episode, but Aang doesn't feel jealous of Katara with Jet at all.
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Thinking about Zutara and how they would get together in a canon divergence. Despite the popular belief, I actually don't think they'd struggle with their feelings for each other once their post TSR. Before, yeah, absolutely. Katara hated Zuko and Zuko was still mid-redemption arc and dealing with his character backslide. But I also can believe that they both had lingering feelings for each other that started in the Crystal Catacombs.
We saw how both of them acted when in their own romantic pursuits, Jet and Mai respectively. Zuko was pretty much all in in their relationship before it fell apart, and Katara didn't mask her feelings for him like that. Sure it wasn't an all out relationship, but it was pretty obvious where'd it potentially go had things not turn so bad for Jet.
So, by Ember Island Players, they're both pretty comfortable with one another. Katara comfortably teasing Zuko, also showing concern when the Iroh part of the play happens. Heck, Katara was pretty involved towards the end of his arc, between encouraging him to talk to Iroh and Zuko asking her to come with him for his final confrontation with Azula. (and also hello???? the lightning scene??? HELLOOOOO???)
(shoujo romance shit seriously)
Anywhizzle, we have two characters with feelings for each other and in a place where they have that comfort and honesty with each other. Despite how easy it would be for them to get together, I think both of them would hold off from getting together because of their own individual relationships to Aang.
Saying it now, Katara does not owe Aang a relationship just because he's had a crush on her longer.
And Zuko shouldn't back away from his feelings for Katara just because of Aang's crush.
Despite that, they would hesistate heavily about purusing their feelings for each other because of Aang.
Throughout the show, Katara has gone above and beyond to constantly accomdate Aang's feelings. She's repeatedly pulled him out of the Avatar state, she's constantly been there to comfort him throughout the show. The Desert episode alone proved that Katara is the stable rock of the Gaang who had to hold everything together. Other people have written stronger metas on her, but I'm gonna summarize it with: Katara puts others before her, a'lot. It's a part of her character. She cares, and often that means having to be the strong one in tough situations, even to her own detriment or safety.
Zuko is fully in the realm of yearning for a real friendship with Aang and the gang by this point. He offered up being a prisoner to them, that's a pretty bold move on his part. Zuko held a'lot of guilt over his past actions and went above and beyond to make it up to them. In the case of Aang and Zuko, it's very obvious Zuko cares about their relationship. The Zuko-Aang friendship really is underrated, but it really tells the narrative of second chances, seeing the good in people, and just strength of bonds between people.
Which leads to the major problem and the biggest obstacle in Zutara: their friendship with Aang.
I like Aang, but the writers definitely created a precedent with his character in regards to romance. That precedent being, he's...not that good with the idea of Katara having feelings for other people. The Ember Island players gave us this gem of a conversation between him and Kataraz:
And that was just two actors in a horribly done (yet hilarious) propaganda play. He knows the play is completely nonsense, but still got jealous enough that he'd go into the Avatar State if he could. Like, that's a pretty wild line to just drop, and then to that eventually be followed up with the attempted kiss when she just said she was confused. It's not a good look for Aang. The writers really began to drop the ball here with Aang's character. But that meta debate aside, this sets the stage that Zutara would have problems getting together because of Aang's feelings. Katara knows he has a crush on her, whether Zuko knows or not is up to headcanon. But, more importantly, she knows and because she knows, it would cause her hesitation in getting with Zuko because of how Aang would react.
Katara doesn't belong to anyone, Aang, Zuko or otherwise, but a 112-year old's first crush isn't an easy thing to get over. Maybe, Katara would feel some level of responsibility for his feelings for her, that urge to protect Aang even from himself. Even from her own desired relationship. There's the complicated question Katara would have to grapple with: that urge to protect Aang vs Katara being "take what I want, do what I want" person and just choosing to be selfish of her own feelings. She doesn't want to hurt Aang, but she doesn't want to keep herself away from happiness just for his sake, it's a complicated problem. For Zuko, even with how determined he can be to do what he wants, he's not callous (now.) If he knew about Aang's crush on Katara, I'd think he'd hesitate on the basis of knowing that a first crush is hard to deal with especially if it's unrequited. Worst, if said crush ends up falling for the other friend.
As I type this, I'd think the Aang obstacle would be harder on Katara then it would be on Zuko, but both would feel that pressure of how Aang would react if he knew about their relationship. Zuko hadn't been friends with Aang long (an understatement), but Katara has. She'd feel the weight of his emotions and has more or less taken on the role of being his emotional balancer.
Now I think there's alot of avenues you can take with all this analysis, but I personally like the idea of a secret relationship blooming from this and the angst that comes with it. It'd be fine for awhile, but both of them have too much pride in themselves to want to keep it secret for long. How'd Aang react, I think might put a massive strain on the Gaang. It just feels thematically appropriate and sadly in charcater when you consider in the lore of ATLA never let go of his attachment to Katara and that whole scene from the Ember Island Players. Where'd it go from there, I think depends on the writer and how'd they interpret Aang's character personally.
Me personally? Idk. Either he'd get over it or he doesn't idk. I'll take either/or depending on the fic.
Either way, once Zutara passes that obstacle, I'd like to think they'd be a pretty strong and secure relationship.
#im avoiding work can you tell?#zutara#sheep writes a meta#atla#Zuko#katara#THIS IS ALL MY OPINION AND TAKES FROM THE SHOW#WROTE THIS IN A MILD FRENZY SO IGNORE ANY TYPOS
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So, you have Twitter Zutarians claiming that Aang isn't a "real friend" to Katara because he had a crush on her and was only intent on having a romantic relationship with her. They proceed to claim that if Aang was rejected by Katara, he would likely abandon their friendship because "guys just can't be friends with girls, especially ones whose affections have been rejected".
"Aang would not want to be friends anymore if Katara rejected him" Cut to him still wanting to be friends when he believes Katara will never love him back in both The Fortuneteller and after the Ember Island fiasco. Cut to him being VERY chill with Katara bonding with Haru, and having an obvious crush on Jet.
It's almost like friendship and romantic feelings can, and should, coexist in a healthy relationship. It's almost like Aang loves Katara BOTH as his best friend in the whole world and the person he's interested in dating.
Once again: zutarians are watching a completely different show.
Also about that super reductive "guys just can't be friends with girls, especially ones whose affections have been rejected" line - they do realize that by making it about ALL guys, instead of just the creepy, entitled ones, they are basically saying that they think Zuko would be exactly the same, right? Especially since he also demonstrated a tendency to lash out when jealous (or when literally anything happens because surprise surprise, being abused and taught that violence is normal fucks you up)?
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Polar Opposites - Book 1: Water - Chapter 12: Jet
It’s been four days since you, your siblings and Aang ran into the pirates and Zuko. Currently you, Aang, Sokka and Katara are in a forest, taking a break from traveling. “Where’s Momo?” Aang asks as he looks around for the little lemur that was laying beside me, just moments ago. You shrug my shoulders at him in response before you get up from your spot on the ground, ready to go look for Momo. That’s when you all hear what sounds like Momo yowling echoing through the forest. Katara and Sokka get up from the ground and you all head in the direction that the sound is coming from.
About ten minutes later, the four of you finally locate Momo, who’s in a trap high in a tree, as well as two, what look like Hog Monkeys. “Hang on Momo!” Aang yells as he airbends to leap into the air, climbing to Momo’s height. Aang gets to where the rope holding up the trap is, sitting on the branch before leaning back to release the latch that holds the trap in place, lowering the trap holding Momo. Once the trap is low enough, Sokka and Katara ease the trap down to the ground between them before they pull the squeaky slats apart enough for Momo to get out.
Momo immediately hops out and runs over to my side to finish a handful of litchi nuts that were in the trap as bait, his peril clearly forgotten. Sokka and Katara release the snare, and Sokka groans, slapping his forehead at the lack of gratitude from the lemur. Aang jumps down from above before looking up again. You look up as well to see the two Hog Monkeys in a trap each, moaning down at the four of you pleadingly, clearly wanting to be rescued too. “All right—you too.” Aang says as he crouches, then springs up in a spiraling column of wind that carries him up to the branch that the traps are attached to.
In the corner of your eye, you see Sokka reach behind him, pulling out his boomerang. “This is gonna take forever.” he huffs as he throws his boomerang in one fluid move; with a whizzing sound it zips up to where the ropes are, cutting through them with ease, just before Aang gets to them. “That works…” you hear him say as the Hog Monkeys jump out of their cages which got destroyed when they hit the ground. Sokka then approaches one of the busted snares and kneels down next to it to examine it, as Aang skids down the trunk and root of a tree. “These are fire nation traps—you can tell from the metalwork.” he says. He turns his head toward you, Aang and Katara. “We'd better pack up camp, and get moving.”
You’re about to get onto Appa’s back to start flying again when Sokka stops you by putting his hand on your shoulder. “Ah-ah… no flying this time.” he says. “What?” You and Katara ask him in confusion at the same time as Aang hands Katara’s sleeping bag to Sokka, who puts it on the ground. “Why wouldn’t we fly?” Aang asks him. “Think about it.” Sokka says to us. “Somehow Prince Zuko and the fire nation keep finding us. It’s because they spot Appa—he's just too noticeable.” “What?! Appa’s not too noticeable!” Katara argues. “He’s a gigantic fluffy monster with an arrow on his head—it's kinda hard to miss him!” Sokka says, which makes Appa turn his head, letting out a loud groan. “Sokka’s just jealous ‘cause he doesn’t have an arrow.” Aang reassures him from his spot on Appa’s head. “I know you all want to fly, but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk.” Sokka says. “Who made you the boss?” Katara asks him. Sokka turns to her. “I’m not the boss—I'm the leader.” he replies. “You’re the leader?” You ask him incredulously, making him turn to face you with a very irritated look on his face. “But your voice still cracks!” “I'm the oldest male in the group and I'm a warrior.” he says. “So… I’m the leader!” he continues as he makes his voice deeper, causing you to roll your eyes at him. “If anyone’s the leader, it’s Aang.” Katara states. “I mean, he is the Avatar.” “Are you kidding—he's just a goofy kid!” Sokka says to which makes me look over at Aang, to see him dangling from Appa’s horn: upside-down by his hands with his legs sticking out into space. “He’s right.” Aang agrees.
“Why do boy always think that someone has to be the leader?” you ask while crossing your arms over your chest. “I bet you wouldn’t be so bossy if you kissed a girl.” “I-I've kissed a girl—” Sokka replies defensively. “You… just haven't met her.” He continues, turning his gaze away. “Who? Gran-Gran?” you ask him with a smirk on your face as you lean towards him. “We've met Gran-Gran.” Katara continues, clearly wanting to annoy Sokka more than you already have. “No—besides Gran-Gran.” Sokka says defensively again. “Look, my instincts tell me we have a better chance of slipping through on foot and a leader has to trust his instincts.” “Okay, we'll try it your way— Oh Wise Leader.” Katara says sarcastically. “Who knows—walking might be fun.” Aang says, as optimistic as ever.
“Walking stinks!” Aang exclaims after the four of have been walking for a couple of hours. “How do people go anywhere without a flying bison?” “I don’t know Aang. Why don’t you ask Sokka’s instincts—they seem to know everything.” Katara replies. “Ha ha. Very funny.” Sokka says sarcastically. “I'm tired of carrying this pack.” Aang groans which causes you to smirk mischievously at this opportunity to annoy Sokka even more. “You know who you should ask to carry it for a while?” you ask Aang incredulously. “Sokka's Instincts!” “That's a great idea!” Aang exclaims back with a smile. “Hey, Sokka's Instincts, would you mind—” he starts asking, but Sokka cuts him off. “Okay, okay—I get it.” he groans. “Look guys, I'm tired too.” he says while looking back at us as he pushes away the branches of two bushes. “But the important thing is that-- we're safe from… the—” he continues as he finally turns around to see what’s beyond the bushes. “Fire… Nation…” he drifts off as he sees that the four of you have literally just walked into a fire nation encampment, all of the fire nation soldiers occupying it, staring at you in disbelief and surprise. “RUN!” Sokka exclaims and the four of us drop our packs, not willing for them to slow us down.
The soldiers leap up from their spots on the logs around their fire, their swords drawn. One soldier with an eyepatch takes a bender's stance and launches a fist-full of fire at the four of you. The fire misses you, but sets the bushes that we had come through alight. “We’re cut off!” Sokka says, clearly not noticing that the left sleeve of his tunic is on fire. “Sokka, your shirt!” Aang says, pointing at Sokka’s arm. Sokka looks down at his arm and yells out in panic. You quickly uncork the waterskin on your hip that you’ve been using to hold your bending water, bending the water inside, splashing it against Sokka’s tunic, putting out the fire. Once the fire’s out, you redirect the stream of water back into the waterskin, placing the cork back in. Sokka then turns to the soldiers, trying to look as confident as possible, but his shaking isn’t helping. “If you let us pass, we promise not to hurt you.” Sokka says to them. “What are you doing?” you ask him quietly as you stand between him and Katara, standing in a waterbending stance. “Bluffing?” he replies back quizzically, making you give him a inquizzical look. The soldier with the eyepatch smiles at Sokka’s bluff. “You? Promise not to hurt us?”
Then there’s a quiet zip and a thud. The soldier with the eye patch looks surprised for a moment, then groans and collapses face-first on the ground. The men around him lower their weapons a little in shock. “Nice work, Sokka! How'd ya do that?” Aang asks. “Uh… instinct?” Sokka questions, clearly unsure as to what just happened. “Look!” Katara yells as she points up into the trees on the other side of the clearing. You look up to see a figure on a massive branch of one of the trees surrounding the encampment. The figure drops something and draws two blades from the middle of his back before he steps off the back of the branch, his weapons held high.
Instead of falling straight down, the weapons seem to catch onto the branch, allowing him to swing himself in the direction of the camp. The stranger kicks over two of the soldiers farthest from us; he lands with a foot on each of their backs. From what you can tell by looking at him, he’s about your and Sokka’s age. Except for a red vest, he's dressed from neck to toe in dark green clothing. What little armor he has (shoulder caps and hip/upper thigh covers) - are mismatched. He also has a shaggy mane of brown hair, and a twig held in his teeth. He rushes forward, his shuang gou (twin hook swords) in each hand. He hooks a leg each on another pair of soldiers and sends them head over heels. With a polished body flip, he launches them through the air. They end up in a heap on top of the soldier with the eyepatch. The boy lands on his feet, ready for more. “Down you go.” He smirks smugly.
You can’t help but be mildly impressed by what he just did and said. That was a new one, you’ll have to remember that one. The boy looks up, his eyes meeting yours for a split second. His smirk widens before another soldier rushes up behind him, sword raised. The boy hooks the soldier’s sword hand as he spins around - ready to face a new opponent - while his opponent is sent flying, landing at the feet of four other soldiers. “They're in the trees!” one of the four soldiers yell before a small boy drops from above, landing on his shoulders, spinning his helmet around, blinding him, making him stagger off, his small attacker still on his shoulders and laughing all the while. Chaos swiftly breaks loose as everyone begins to fight. One soldier with a long spear comes charging at me. You smirk as you push the spearhead away from your body with your forearm, wrapping your hand around the pole to pull it towards you. The momentum of the fast action causes the soldier to come flying forward past me as you side-step out of the way, the soldier’s spear still in hand.
After that soldier is taken down, you only have a moment of stillness to watch the fight going on around me. More and more people are dropping down from the trees to attack the fire nation soldiers. Your attention is taken away from the fight when you see another soldier coming at me from the corner of my eye. You quickly duck down, under his spear before using your waterbending to push him back and away from you. You stand up straight again a moment later, only to see the boy from earlier disarm another soldier before he stumbles over to you, stopping a couple of feet in front of you. “Very impressive.” he says with a smirk. You smirk back at him as you put your water back into the waterskin on my hip. “Not so bad yourself, pretty boy.”
You and the boy in front of you turn your heads to see an empty encampment, all of its previous inhabitants defeated. “You just took out a whole army almost single-handed!” Aang declares with pure joy and amazement in his eyes. “Army?” Sokka asks disdainfully. “Pfft. There were only, like, twenty guys!” “My name is Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters.” Jet introduces as he turns around to face you, Sokka, Aang and Katara.
“Sneers,” he gestures to a boy who’s eating from one of the soldier’s abandoned bowls.
“Longshot,” a boy with a paddy-hat on his head and a bow and arrow.
“Smellerbee,” A girl who looks like a boy, with some facepaint on her face and a knife in her mouth, a fire nation sword slung across her back and 2 other swords in each hand, brandishing them as Jet says her name.
“The Duke and Pipsqueak.” he finishes, gesturing to the small boy that rode the soldier’s shoulders and a giant who puts the log in his hands behind his back as Jet says his name.
Aang walks up to the Duke and Pipsqueak. “Pipsqueak—that's a funny name.” he chuckles, looking down at the Duke. “You think my name is funny?” Pipsqueak asks, sounding and looking very menacing, not at all like his name. “It’s hilarious!” Aang declares with an upbeat tone, a giant smile on his face. The frown on Pipsqueak’s face abruptly turns into one of laughter, Aang and The Duke following suit before Pipsqueak slaps Aang on the back, which unintentionally knocks him flat on the ground. The Duke stops laughing but smiles again when Aang lifts his head, letting out a weak chuckle.
Soon after the fight ended, the Freedom fighters started to raid the empty camp, while Katara was clearly fawning over Jet. I mean he’s good looking, and he’s a good fighter and leader from the looks of it, but you and the others, literally just met him not even an hour ago. So, it’s not a really good idea for her to fall for a complete stranger, especially this quickly. “Um… thanks for saving us Jet.” Katara says as she walks over to where Jet currently is, leaning up against a trunk of a tree, watching the rest of the freedom fighters raid the camp. “We were lucky you were there.” “I should be thanking you.” Jet replies. “We were waiting to ambush those soldiers all morning—we just needed the right distraction. And then you guys stumbled in.”
“We were relying on instincts.” Katara says, looking at Sokka with a blameful look, making him glare at her. “You’ll get yourself killed doing that.” Jet replies which makes Sokka walk away, a scowl on his face. “Hey, Jet,” The Duke calls, making Jet look over at him. “These barrels are filled with blasting jelly.” “That’s a great score.” Jet says to him. “And these boxes are filled with jelly candy!” Pipsqueak informs him with just as much excitement as The Duke. “Also good. Let’s not get those mixed up.” Jet replies.
“We’ll take this stuff back to the hideout.” The Duke says. “You guys have a hideout?” Aang asks excitedly. “You wanna see it?” Jet asks. “Yes, we wanna see it!” Katara exclaims, which makes Jet smile at her excitement. You give Katara an odd look. One halfway skilled guy and she’s making a fool of herself. Then again, you really can’t say much at all. While you were on Zuko’s ship, you had watched Zuko practice his firebending multiple times and maybe you enjoyed it a little more than you should have, you even knew it then.
After finally convincing Sokka to go and check the hideout out, you and the others tag along with Jet and the rest of the freedom fighters that are leading you all to their hideout. It wasn’t a very long walk from where the fire nation encampment was. “We’re here!” Jet says as he stops walking. “Where?” Sokka asks him. “There’s nothing here.” Sokka continues, sounding skeptical at Jet’s claim. “Hold this.” Jet says, handing him a rope that was against the tree trunk of the tree next to us. “Why… What's this do?” Sokka asks him skeptically as he takes the rope from him, giving it a little tug.
In the blink of an eye, he goes flying up towards the trees’ canopy. Once he reaches the canopy, he gets stuck in between some of the branches for a couple of seconds before disappearing from sight. “Aang?” Jet asks as he offers another rope to the airbender. “I’ll get up on my own.” Aang replies as Momo launches himself from Aang’s shoulder and Aang follows him, leaping up into the trees with a boost from his bending. “(Y/N)?” Jet calls while holding out his hand for you to take. “Thanks, but I think I can handle myself.” you state, holding out your hand for the rope. “I can tell.” Jet says with a smirk as he gives you the rope. Once the rope is in hand, you slip your hand through the hole and grab a hold of the rope. With a light tug, you feel it begin to pull you up towards the trees’ canopy.
A few seconds later, you break through the canopy and see a wooden platform that you can land on. You release the rope, landing on the platform with ease. Once you’re steady on your feet, your eyes widen at the magnificent sight in front of you. You can see about 20 little huts that you assume the freedom fighters use as their individual bedrooms, and wires going every which way to connect them. “Nice place you got!” you hear Aang yell and you see him zipping down one of the wires.
That’s when you notice that Jet and Katara had reached the platform and are now looking out at the several tent-like huts in front of the three of you. Jet must have helped Katara up here. It’s not that you care if he did, since he was going to do the same thing with you anyway. “It’s beautiful up here!” Katara complements with a smile. “It's beautiful…” Jet agrees. “and more importantly the fire nation can't find us.” “They would love to find you,” Smellerbee’s voice sounds off as she lands behind them. “wouldn’t they, Jet?” “It's not gonna happen, Smellerbee.” Jet replies back to her.
“Why does the fire nation want to find you?” you question as you all start walking over to a rope bridge connecting two different platforms. “I guess you could say I've been causing them a little trouble.” Jet admits with a shrug and a smug smirk on his face. “See, they took over a nearby Earth Kingdom town a few years back.”
“We've been ambushin' their troops, cutting off their supply lines, and doing anything we can to mess with ‘em.” Pipsqueak continues to explain from behind you, Jet, and Katara, pride gushing in his deep voice. “One day, we'll drive the fire nation out of here for good and free that town.” Jet declares. “That's so brave.” Katara gushes. “Yeah,” Sokka scoffs sarcastically as he leans over Jet’s shoulder. “nothing’s braver than a guy in a treehouse.” “Don't pay any attention to our brother.” you say while rolling your eyes at him. “No problem.” Jet replies, not even turning to look at you or your twin brother. “He probably had a rough day.” he continues and you smirk, since you know Sokka’s just upset that Jet kept on taking down the fire nation soldiers that were trying to attack him.
“So, you all live here?” Katara asks Jet as Sokka sinks back behind us again. “That’s right.” Jet answers. “Long shot over there, his town got burned down by the fire nation. And we found the Duke trying to steal our food. I don’t think he ever really had a home.” he continues as the three of you look over at Longshot and The Duke who are walking next to you silently. “What about you?” Katara asks him, curiosity in her voice.
At her question, Jet stops and you and Katara do too while the rest of the group moves on down the bridge. “fire nation killed my parents. I was only eight years old. That day changed me forever.” Jet replies softly, looking down at the ground sadly at the memory. Katara looks down at the ground too. “Sokka, (Y/N), and I lost our mother to the fire nation.” she says softly and your heart squeezes at the memory of that day, the day that you and your siblings’ lives had changed forever. “I'm so sorry…” you hear Jet say from beside me as you and Katara look down at your feet in sadness.
It’s now night time and you Sokka, Aang, and Katara are eating dinner with Jet and the other freedom fighters. You, Aang, Katara and Sokka sit at the banquet table made out of wooden planks, stuffing your faces, at least until Jet gets up from his seat, probably to give a speech. “Today, we struck another blow against the fire nation swine.” Jet begins as he steps up to stand on the table. The freedom fighters at the table and the ones sitting up in the trees and platforms above cheer at that, while you, Aang and Katara smile. Sokka on the other hand, is still grumpy about what had happened earlier during the fight against the fire nation soldiers. “I got a special joy from the look on one soldier's face, when the Duke dropped down on his helmet and rode him like a wild hog monkey.” Jet continues, while looking down at the helmet-less Duke who is sitting across the table from you, Aand and your siblings between Longshot and Smellerbee.
Without hesitation, the Duke climbs up onto the table as well, marching around with his arms in the air, making many of the others cheer, including yourself, Aang and Katara. “Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in the trees.” Jet continues before pausing, prepared to take a sip to take a sip from his wooden cup. “Maybe they're right.” he says, which makes his followers boo at that. “Or maybe… they are dead wrong.” Jet growls, his face bathed in an angry red from the lanterns above the platform.
His followers cheer wildly at that and Jet leaves the table walking over to you, Katara, Aang and Sokka. “Hey Jet, nice speech.” Katara says as he takes a seat between the 2 of us. “Thanks.” Jet replies. “By the way, I was really impressed with you, (Y/N) and Aang. That was some great bending I saw out there today.” “Well, he's great. He's the Avatar.” Katara answers, looking over at Aang. “(Y/N) and I could use some more training.” she continues, a blush appearing on her cheeks. “Avatar huh?” Jet asks while looking at Aang. “Very nice.” “Thanks, Jet.” Aang says with a smile. “So, I might know a way that you, (Y/N), and Aang can help in our struggle.” Jet says to the three of you. “Unfortunately,” Sokka says as he stands from his spot next to me. “we have to leave tonight.” he continues as he starts walking away. “Sokka, you're kidding me!” Jet exclaims, sounding disappointed. “I needed you on an important mission tomorrow.” This makes Sokka stop and turn around to look at Jet. “What mission?”
Sokka had left with Jet and his posse early in the morning for whatever mission Jet had planned. You actually had a very strong urge to tag along, but you could tell that Sokka wanted to do it on his own, so you let them go. It’s been about two or three hours since they left, and you’ve been watching out for them for about an hour now. Katara had disappeared a while ago, she said something about making a hat for Jet. We’ve only known Jet for a little more than twenty-four hours and she’s already head-over-heels for him. You’re glad that your sister wants to be happy and everything, but to be head-over-heels for a guy that we’d just met? You just really don’t think that’s a very good idea…
Your thoughts about Katara liking Jet are broken when you see Jet and his posse walking towards the hideout, Sokka, following not too far behind them. Your eyebrows furrow at the sight of your brother. He looks upset for some reason… It’s really strange to see Sokka that way, since he’s always happy and optimistic about everything. You get to my feet and grab one of the ropes that’ll take you down to the ground, ready to meet up with Sokka and the others to see how the mission went. You jump off the platform, landing on the ground just as Jet, his posse and Sokka reach the tree that you came down from. “Hey, (Y/N).” Jet greets as he and the rest of his posse walk past the tree I had just come down from. “Hey.” you greet back, while giving him and the others a small wave as they pass.
Once Jet and the others are out of earshot, I turn to Sokka. “How’d the mission go?” you ask him. “Fine.” he says as he continues walking away, clearly not wanting to talk about what had happened during the mission. You put my hand on his shoulder, stopping him from walking away. “Come on Sokka,” you plead. “I can tell something’s wrong. What happened?” He sighs softly before nodding, signaling that he’ll tell you what had happened during the mission.
After hearing what had happened during the mission from Sokka, you can’t help but not trust Jet. I mean, from what Sokka told you, Jet attacked a harmless old man just because he was Fire Nation. It seems to you that Jet has let his anger about the Fire Nation killing his parents when he was little get out of hand over the years. Now, you know first hand, that anger can consume you, because that’s what happened to you when your mother was killed by the Fire Nation, when they raided your tribe, looking for the last waterbender. Now, unlike Jet, you didn’t let the anger consume you to the point where you’d attack innocent people
You and Sokka are currently sitting next to each other, leaning back against the trunk of a tree when Aang and Momo come zipping down the zipline closest to you. “Sokka! (Y/N)! Look what the Duke gave me!” Aang says to the two of you, as he lands onto the platform. He’s wearing some sort of satchel around his shoulder, from which he pulls some sort of small pellet from inside of it. With a sly grin, he tosses it at the platform next to Momo, where it explodes with a pop. Momo puffs up like a startled cat. He then growls, then lunges for the satchel. Momo then sits on Aang's shoulder and tosses pellets at his feet. Aang dances about wildly avoiding the small pellets as they pop. “Ow! Quit it!” he exclaims as he hops away.
Sokka is oblivious of Aang, sitting next to you with a deep frown on his face. You know that what Jet did to that old man had really bothered him. “Hey Sokka.” Katara says as she walks up to you and Sokka, her hands behind her back. “Is Jet back?” she asks. “Yeah—he's back.” Sokka replies. “But we're leaving.” “What?” Aang asks, clearly confused. “But I made him this hat.” Katara says as she pulls a cap made out of stitched leaves and a flower on top, from behind her. You love that she made that for Jet but, you have to admit, the workmanship is unimpressive. “Your boyfriend Jet's a thug.” Sokka growls at her. “What? No, he's not.” Katara argues. “He's messed up Katara.” Sokka says to her.
You’re about to agree with him, but Aang interrupts me from doing so. “He's not messed up,” he states. “he's just got a different way of life—a really fun way of life.” he continues, optimistic as ever. “He beat and robbed a harmless old man!” Sokka says.
At Sokka’s words, Katara looks at you and you nod in confirmation, letting her know that you believe him. You know Sokka wouldn’t exaggerate or lie about what had happened. You’re his twin, after all, and as his twin, you know when he lies and exaggerates! “I wanna hear Jet's side of the story.” Katara says with her arms crossed over her chest as she glares at you and Sokka, not believing what Sokka’s saying about Jet.
“Sokka—you told them what happened but you didn't mention that the guy was Fire Nation?” Jet asks as he sits on his hammock-bed while you and the others stand. You and Sokka are standing near each other by the door of the treehouse, Sokka looking away from Jet, Aang, and Katara grumpily, while you keep Jet in peripheral vision. “No, he conveniently left that part out.” Katara says, turning to look at Sokka accusingly. “Fine!” Sokka exclaims as he turns his head to her. “But even if he was Fire Nation, he was a harmless civilian.” he continues as he walks closer to her while you stay near the door. “He was an assassin, Sokka.” Jet says as he pulls out a knife, thrusting it into a nearby block of wood.
Your eyes widen in surprise at the sight of the sinister looking knife with its curved blade. The handle has four spikes evenly spaced along it, with enough space for fingers to go between them. On the butt of the knife, there’s a gold ring, for putting rope or string through to attach the knife to a belt or something. “See?” Jet asks as he twists the ring on the butt of the knife. “There’s a compartment for poison in the knife.” he continues as he pulls the ring up, revealing a small glass tube filled with red liquid. “He was sent to eliminate me—you helped save my life, Sokka.” Jet says looking up at Sokka for the last part of the sentence. “I knew there was an explanation.” Katara sighs out in relief. “I didn't see any knife!” Sokka says, giving Jet an accusatory look. “That's because he was concealing it.” Jet states as if it was obvious. “See Sokka?” Katara asks, gesturing to Jet and the knife. “I’m sure you just didn’t notice the knife.” “There was no knife!” Sokka says to her, frustrated that she still believes Jet. “I'm going back to the hut and packing my things.” he continues as he leaves the hut.
You’re about to follow him, but Jet’s voice coming from behind you stops you in your tracks. “Tell me you guys aren’t leaving yet. I really need your help.” “What can we do?” Aang asks him, causing you to look at the three of them from the corner of your eye. “The Fire Nation is planning on burning down our forest.” Jet says, making you turn to face him fully. “If the three of you use waterbending to fill the reservoir, we could fight the fires.” he says looking at all three of you, his eyes meeting yours the longest out of all three of you. “But if you leave now, they'll destroy the whole valley.” he continues, staring at you.
You really don’t want to help Jet with whatever he’s planning, but you also want to keep a close eye on him, since you know that he’s up to something, something big and very bad. Not to mention, you want to protect your siblings and Aang from him because you know that he’s just using them for whatever he’s planning. “We’ll do it.” Katara says, determination in her voice. Jet smiles at her before his eyes meet yours again. You hesitate for a moment before giving him a slight nod, making his smile widen. “Great,” he says. “we’ll go in the morning.” he continues, which makes Aang and Katara nod before leaving the hut, leaving you and Jet alone.
I would’ve followed them out, but I want to make sure Jet knows something. Something very important. “It’s a beautiful knife.” I state, looking down at the dagger that’s still lodged into the stump in front of Jet. Jet leans forward, unlodging it from the stump, twisting the ring back onto the dagger, handing it over to you. “It’s yours, you look like you’d find a good use for it.” You take it from him, examining the craftsmanship of it. “I would.” you agree, still looking at the knife. It’s definitely Fire Nation, but it’s not a standard military issue knife. It wasn’t to say a hired assassin wouldn’t have a knife like this one, but how had an old man planned to get close enough to Jet to poison him in such a way? The Fire Nation is full of clever people; and you know that they can think of much better tactics than that.
Your eyes flicker back up to Jet as you twirl the knife around your index finger. There’s a spark in his eyes and you think that he finally realizes that something’s wrong. You don’t give it a chance to settle though as you push him back, grabbing his collar before his head can hit the wall behind him; the knife’s blade planted at the curve between his jaw and neck. “Listen to me right now, because I will not be repeating myself to you.” you growl, glaring at him, your eyes not leaving his. “Understood?” His brown eyes widen, and you can tell he’s frightened by the threat you had just made. He quickly nods and you know that he’ll listen to every word you’re going to say to him. “If I ever find out that you are using my brother, my sister, or Aang, in any way, I will use this knife on you without any hesitation whatsoever!” you growl.
You expect him to be shocked or feign innocence to your threat. Instead, though, a crooked smile appears on his mouth. “You know (Y/N),” he starts. “I think you’d really make a perfect Freedom Fighter.” A growl rises from the back of your throat at his statement and you feel the heat in my blood turn up a notch and you’re certain that if you were a firebender instead of a waterbender, you definitely would’ve set him on fire by now. You let go of him roughly before turning on your heel, leaving the hut, not wanting your siblings, anyone from Jet’s posse or Aang to walk in to see me holding the dagger against Jet’s throat.
The next morning, you, Aang and Katara meet Jet by the river. What was strange to you was that Sokka was nowhere to be seen whenever you woke up earlier in the morning. It’s not like Sokka to disappear without telling anyone where he’s going, he usually would tell you or Katara where he’d be and when he would be back. “Jet—I'm sorry about how Sokka's been acting.” Katara says, breaking you out of your thoughts about your worry about Sokka. “No worries—he already apologized.” Jet assures her which makes all three of you look up at him in surprise. “Really?” Aang asks as the three of you stop and look at each other. “Sokka apologized?”
“Yeah—I was surprised too.” Jet says, making the three of you turn back to him. “I got the sense that maybe you talked to him or something.” Jet continues, referring to Katara. “Yeah, I did.” Katara replies. “I guess something you said got through to him.” Jet says. “Anyhow, he went out on a scouting mission with Pipsqueak and Smellerbee.” he continues as we start walking again. “I'm glad he cooled off. He's so stubborn sometimes.” Katara says. “Yeah,” you agree, eyeing Jet, suspicious of what he had just said about your brother apologizing to him. Sokka never apologizes about anything to anyone unless it's something he's truly sorry about or if it’s something very serious. “I’m really shocked Sokka would apologize, not to mention actually listen to what we’d say to him.” Jet shrugs. “Well, maybe your sister just has a better touch about that stuff.” you look over to Katara who is now openly grinning at him, a gentle blush on her cheeks. “Thanks, Jet.”
Your conversation is abruptly ended by Aang flying up into the air by a blast of air coming out from a vent in the ground. “All right, we're here.” Jet says as he walks over to you and Katara as you watch Aang float back down to the ground. “Underground water's trying to escape through these vents. I need you guys to help it along.” he explains to us. “...I've never used bending on water I can't see. I don't know…” Katara sighs. Jet walks up behind her, placing his hands on his shoulders. “Katara. You can do this.” he assures, making my sister blush shyly while you roll your eyes in annoyance. “What about me?” Aang asks. “I know the Avatar can do this.” Jet replies, not even acknowledging that you can probably do the same thing as both Aang and Katara.
You, Aang and Katara stand around one of the many geysers in the gully, while Jet watches us as we try to bend the water up and out of the ground. After a few minutes, a stream of water emerges from the vent. The three of you pull it to our height before sending it toward the river where it continues to flow like a spring, the water thickening the strand in the river. “Yes! Good job!” Jet says. “This river empties into the reservoir- a few more geysers and it'll be full.”
“Look, there's another steam vent.” Aang says pointing over to another vent, causing you and Katara to follow him as he starts walking over to the next vent. “Okay. You 3 keep it up—I'll go check on things at the reservoir.” Jet says as he turns and starts to walk away. “How about when we're done we'll meet you over there?” you ask him, waiting for his answer. “Actually…” he answers hesitantly. “probably better if you meet me back at the hideout when you're done.” he continues as he resumes walking away. As he walks away, you continue to watch him, getting a very bad feeling as he disappears into the forest.
“...I bet that's enough—and I'm not just saying that to be lazy.” Aang says as well over a dozen geysers now flowing into the river quickly filling it. “Why don’t we catch up with Jet at the reservoir?” you suggest, wanting to go and see what Jet is up too at the reservoir. “I thought we agreed to meet Jet back at the hideout?” Aang questions. “Well, we finished early- I think it’s a good idea,” Katara agrees with your suggestion. “I'm sure he'll be happy to see us.” she continues with a small smile on her face as she looks off into the direction where Jet disappeared not too long ago.
You, Aang and Katara walk down towards the reservoir, but all three of you stop short at a cliff’s edge when you see four members of Jet’s posse unloading barrels from a cart at the base of the dam. “...What are they doing?” Katara asks, squinting her eyes to get a clearer look. “Hey, those are the red barrels he got from the Fire Nation.” Aang notes. “What?!” you exclaim in shock as you run closer to the edge of the cliff to make sure he was right.
Sadly, he’s not lying. It’s the blasting jelly that they took from the Fire Nation camp that they raided the other day.
“Why would they need blasting jelly?” Katara asks. “Because Jet's gonna blow up the dam.” you gasp, the realization of Jet's plan is hitting you like a ton of bricks. “What?!” Aang and Katara exclaim out in unison. “No- that would destroy the town. Jet wouldn't do that.” Katara argues. Aang snaps his glider open. “I’ve got to go stop him.” he says as he starts running to the edge of the cliff. “Jet wouldn’t do that…” Katara mumbles softly, sounding less convinced.
Just before Aang reaches the edge of the cliff, a blur impedes him. Your eyes widen as you see Jet snatching Aang’s glider with the hook of his swords. Aang is left to wobble on the edge and you jump forward to grab his hand. He uses his airbending to push himself forward as you help pull him back onto the stable ground. “Yes, I would.” Jet declares as he gets to his feet. “Jet—why?” Katara asks him. “Katara, you would too if you just stopped to think.” Jet says. “Think about what the Fire Nation did to your mother—we can't let them do that to anyone else, ever again.” “This isn't the answer!” Katara exclaims. “I want you to understand me Katara.” Jet says, turning to face Aang, Katara, and I. “I thought your brother would understand, but—”
Like an instant match, your whole body sets alight with rage. “Where’s Sokka?” you growl at him.
He doesn’t answer.
“Where is he?” Katara urges desperately, tears falling down her cheeks. Jet reaches out and touches her face. “Katara.” Katara lowers her head, the tears falling freely from her eyes, then with a shout, she sends Jet flying with the water from her waterskin. She draws it back into the skin when she's done. “I need to get to the dam.” Aang says as he runs over to his glider.
As he reaches for it, the crescent end of one of Jet's Shuang gou pins it down to the ground, like an ax. He has the two weapons hook to hook; with a yank, he pulls the sword and Aang's glider to him. “You're not going anywhere without your glider.” Jet hisses at him as he swings his swords at Aang which causes him to somersault backward to avoid the extra reach, landing in a nearby tree. “I'm not gonna fight you, Jet.” Aang says. “You'll have to if you want your glider back.” Jet growls as he follows Aang into the forest.
You quickly turn to Katara. “Stay here!” you command before you chase after the boys. She doesn’t listen of course, but you don’t say anything about it since you know that she won’t listen to you. Both Jet and Aang fly through the trees as if both of them belong up there. Jet attacks Aang head-on, but Aang blocks with his arms and sends Jet flying into a tree trunk with an air kick. Jet combines his swords again and advances. Aang avoids the flail-like move and sends another air blast. Jet stoops down and lets the air flow over and past him, then lunges.
They continue the chase through the many levels of the forest. Jet catches up to Aang and sends them both freefalling, attacking as they go. They both end up on a branch. Jet continues his attack but, luckily, Aang avoids it all. Jet charges again, but Aang hits him with a jetstream of air. Jet falls, but he quickly recovers, by digging his swords into a tree branch, which in result, makes him lose Aang’s glider in the process.
You see Aang start to make his way down to the ground, but before Aang can get to the ground Jet kicks him into a trunk, causing him to fall to the ground. “Aang!” you exclaim worriedly as he slowly gets up, looking very unstable on his feet as Jet lands behind him. Before Jet can take another step toward Aang though, you pull the water from the small creek beside you using the water, striking him down. You repeat the action over and over like you’re throwing punches at him, pushing him back until his back is against the trunk of a tree right behind him. Finally, you take a deep breath before letting it out, freezing the water around him from the neck down, causing him to be completely immobile. “Why, Jet?” Katara asks from behind you. “I can't believe I trusted you. You lied to me—you're sick and I trusted you!”
“I knew something was up, but this?” you ask Jet, glaring at him intensely. “You’re sick and twisted Jet.” you growl angrily. A bird call suddenly sounds, startling you, Aang and Katara. You look down to the valley where the call is coming from. Jet then gives an answer to the call. “What are you doing?” you demand. “You’re too late.” Jet replies. “No!” Katara says, horrified as we all turn to face the dam.
Aang opens his glider before running to the edge of the cliff, to try and get to the village before the dam breaks. His glider’s wing is so shredded, however, that he has no lift and slams into the ground near the edge. Katara runs over to him to help him. “Sokka's still out there—he's our only chance.” Aang says to her. “Come on, Sokka. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Please.” you hear Katara plead softly. “Come on Sokka.” you whisper, hoping that Sokka can convince the villagers to leave in time.
Suddenly, a small orange and red light soars through the sky, arcing down to the base of the dam. “No…” you and Katara whisper at the same time, just as the dam explodes in a cloud of smoke and fire causing the water from the river to turn into a massive wave, heading straight towards the town, swallowing it whole in mere seconds. “Sokka didn't make it in time...” Aang says softly. “All those people…” Katara says softly. She then turns back to Jet in rage. “Jet—you monster!”
“NO!” you scream out in fury as you pull out the dagger that had the poison in it from your boot, running over to Jet who is still encased in the ice against the tree trunk. You hover the blade over his cheek, using all of your inner strength to keep it from‘slipping’. His eyes grow wide as he realizes that you really weren't kidding about using the knife on him if he used your siblings and/or Aang in any way shape or form. “(Y/N) no!” Aang calls out in alarm. “(Y/N), please don’t do this!” Katara urges desperately. “If you kill him, you’ll be just as bad as him.”
Her words strike you, hard. You slowly take the knife away from Jet’s cheek, not wanting to become a monster like him. “This was a victory, (Y/N). Remember that.” Jet says to me, his brown eyes staring into my bright blue ones. “The Fire Nation is gone and this valley will be safe.” you grit your teeth again about to retort back at him-. “It will be safe—without you.” the familiar voice of your twin brother says, making all of you turn to see Sokka on Appa, rising from below, Momo sitting on the edge of the saddle behind him. “Sokka!” you and Katara exclaim, glad to see that he’s alright.
“I warned the villagers of your plan, just in time.” Sokka informs Jet. “What?!” Jet yells at him in surprise. “At first they didn't believe me. The Fire Nation soldiers assumed I was a spy. But one man vouched for me—the old man you attacked. He urged them to trust me, and we got everyone out in time.” he explains, making a bout of pride surge through your body. “Sokka, you fool! We could've freed this valley!” Jet exclaims angrily. “Who would be free—everyone would be dead.” Sokka replies. “You traitor!” Jet accuses, glaring intensely at Sokka. “No, Jet,” you reply, your voice eerily calm, a major difference from just moments ago when you were literally seconds away from using the knife he had given me last night, making him look at you with a stone cold glare. “you became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people.” you continue as you take the knife that you had almost used on him, dropping it to the ground, before you climb up onto Appa with Aang.
“Katara.” you hear Jet call out to Katara, making you turn your head to glare at him. “Please—help me.”
Katara’s eyes fill with hurt for a moment, and for a second, you consider giving Jet a proper piece of your mind by using the dagger on him for real, but you decide that wouldn’t be the decision for you to make. “Goodbye Jet.” Katara replies, not sparing Jet a single look as she gets onto Appa with your and Aang’s help. Once Katara is seated, Sokka gives Appa’s reins a flick. “Yip yip.” And without a second glance at Jet, who is still frozen to the tree, we take off into the sky.
Once we’re level, you, Aang and Katara lean up against the front of the saddle, looking down at Sokka as he drives Appa. “We thought you were going to the dam. How come you went to the town instead?” Aang asks him. “Lemme guess—your instincts told you.” Katara says. “Hey—sometimes they're right.” Sokka replies which makes you roll your eyes. “Um… Sokka?” Aang asks as he looks over at you and Katara with a raised eyebrow. “You know we're going the wrong way, right?” “...And sometimes they’re wrong.” Sokka says as he pulls Appa’s reins, making him turn around so that we’re going in the right direction.
#x reader#fanfiction#fanfic#prince zuko#prince zuko x reader#zuko#zuko x reader#atla#atla x reader#a:tla#a:tla x reader#avatar: the last airbender x reader#avatar: the last airbender
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The narrative foils between kataang and azulaang
It's clear that Katara and Azula uncannily contrast each other, almost more so than either do with Zuko or Sokka.
Another thing that can foil each other is their dynamic with Aang.
Kataang is solely based on a kid having his first cute little crush. The romantic coding is primarily from Aang's perspective and we're supposed to root for him. That all changed when the chakra session came. The heart chakra deals with love and it shows Katara's face upon opening it, but later, it's revealed that his romantic love is what blocks his last chakra.
Why must this be? Well, there is more about love than just the romantic variation. He's not asked to trade happiness and love for perfection and power, having both is optional.
By the end of season 3, Aang and Katara conveniently become more distant. Aang unintentionally acts almost self-righteous to Katara, causing her to reject the philosophy of forgiveness and second chances. Aang acts more desperate and entitled to Katara's love. He acts unreasonably jealous over exaggerated dialogue from the ember island play, which is strange because he didn't act this way with Jet. The last conversation they have for the rest of the series is about them fighting.
When they addressed their differences by the time they make out is never revealed. By the end of Aang's saga, his light chakra and cosmic chakra stayed closed.
...
Now, Aang and Azula never had a chance to have any romantic moments but if they were to, it'd be very different from Kataang.
They were the most hostile enemies to the point Azula had no problem killing him but it wasn't personal by any means.
For a while, I came up with a thing where, by the time Aang had completely opened all chakras, Azula and Aang became spiritually linked/connected/bonded due to Azula being a descendant of Aang's past life, Roku, and/or because Ozai's true identity is Vaatu himself in the case of my dark avatar Ozai AU.
Why this bond didn't happen when he opened his last chakra the first time could be because his fire and light chakras weren't fully opened by then.
In any case, this bond allows each other to intuitively know each other's experiences, draw each other closer, and even have only a piece of each other's personality. Aang will know when Azula lies better than Toph can and vice versa.
You know the close dynamic the show tries to frame Aang and Zuko into having? It's the same with Aang and Azula but even more intimate. Any romantic feelings Aang can potentially develop for Azula and vice versa are much more mature, nuanced, and spicier.
They show each other truths that were denied before: Azula helps Aang figure that he and the monks have taken FN lives. Aang eventually talks Azula into opening and mastering her chakras and she bestows herself the title; The nomadic Phoenix Queen.
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i have an idea for my current multichapter fic, but i want to run it by everyone here to check opinions!! i'm honestly not sure about it.
the next chapter of my kataang fic "the teenager in the iceberg" takes place in the jet episode in s1, and i'm writing in a lot of jealous aang moments after a lovely ao3 commenter mentioned that it was something they'd love to see:)
my fic is intended to be a fairly slow-burn fic, and its mainly from katara's perspective. i'm still writing the jet episode fully from katara's POV, and just making it kinda clear that aang is jealous through things katara notices. i feel that it'll give away the slow burn too quickly if i switch to aangs POV at all.
i had the idea to write a little one chapter offshoot where i give a bit of aang's pov in those jealous moments katara notices. it wouldn't be in the "the teenager in the iceberg" ao3 fic, it would be its own fic and i'd just make it a series and add it there. would people want that, or would it subtract from the slow burn?
let me know:) i'm open to any suggestions!!
#the teenager in the iceberg#kataang#ao3#writing#ao3 writer#avatar the last airbender#aang#atla#atla fanfic#ao3 recs#atla kataang#katara x aang#writing advice#writing help#requesting writing help#thank you lovelies!!!#quillthrillsatlatalk
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Given the minority if put simply with the Internet, how would Aang and Zuko react to the fact that Zuko is most often than not shipped with the water tribe siblings?? Man, not a lot of ppl rooting for them in general, dw I’m the minority
Hmm well are we talking about canon Zuko and Aang, or Zuko and Aang from The Avatar and the Fire Prince?
For the versions of Zuko and Aang from my fic, obviously Zuko would be like… “bruh those are my friends. Also I’m gay” (in regards to one of those ships lol). He’d probably acknowledge that Sokka is handsome (like he does with Jet), but TAatFP!Zuko’s heart has always belonged to Aang, so the concept of people wanting him to be with anyone else would probably be confusing and irritating to him lol.
As for Aang… hmm. I think the concept of other people wanting Zuko to be with either of the Water Tribe siblings would make him a bit jealous, and he’d maybe be a little bit more possessive of Zuko as a result and try to insert himself into the conversation anytime Zuko is alone with either of the Water Tribe siblings lol.
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Hiii, I really love your ATLA analyses. I'm genuinely interested, what can you say about this take? I mean, it sounds pretty logical, and I'm really interested to know what objections there might be to that view of EIP?
https://www.tumblr.com/writer-rider-dirty-thirties/744225630324965376?source=share
There's a few main things that meta like this one, I think, miss out on. That said beyond the two paragraphs I'm not really discussing their meta in particular. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but it does play into why I think EIP gets blown out of proportion while ignoring the more... grounded subtext there? Which is what the rest of the meta response here is about as follows. Please refrain from sending me specific metas in the future - discrediting other people's work is not what I'm about, even I don't necessarily think it's always well argued.
They acknowledge the Doylist perspective... and then completely ignore the actual, textual Doylist perspective they have going on. The writers' intent was to, very evidently, use Ember Island Players to acknowledge their own and fans' reactions to the show (which is why the Great Divide, an episode that the writer of EIP wrote, gets the shaft in the play) by exaggerating and making fun of their own characters and plot points. Grounded in their portrayals yes (Katara does indeed make speeches about hope) but so heavily distorted; just look at how they portray this Katara and Jet, who are completely remorseless about drowning a town ("Oh Jet, you're so bad~").
But the distortion is key. The play pretty glaringly says "Canon Katara would never like Zuko" or vice versa, "because to do so would be a great distortion of her character and characterization." Furthermore, for Katara to only see Aang "like a little brother, and that you don't have feelings for me" is also a distortion, which is why Katara outright states on the balcony, "I didn't say that. An actor said that". It's also worth noting I think that the play itself also erases Aang's romantic feelings for Katara ("I wouldn't want it any other way!"). He doesn't make his feelings plain and be rejected in the play; they just don't exist. So even the play itself isn't saying that there's a love triangle, they're saying that a distorted version of these characters would feature a Katara and Aang that don't have feelings for each other, and a Katara and Zuko that would.
Now, I don't think the play is meant to be that dismissive of fans, either. Like I said - it's meant to poke fun, and the ZK faction had always been quite large and vocal. The crossroads of destiny and its associations with Oma and Shu (which serve the basis for Kataang's love theme) are the bulk of what the ship tends to stand on, 'canon' wise. It makes sense if you're going to do a ship tease with them to do it there, and it's also the last instance you can really make actor Katara 'like' anyone.
It's also a misread to assume Aang would get this angry over jealousy, as well, given that Katara was very obvious with Jet both times, and Aang was very sparingly jealous in Book 1 and only slightly so in Book 2. EIP is one of the rare instances where Aang projects onto other people, a trait more usually seen from his friends.
What makes him upset - and we Know this, because he repeats it outright when they actually Talk about it - is this exchange between actor Katara and Zuko:
EIP!Zuko: I thought you were the Avatar's girl.
EIP!Katara: [Laughs] The Avatar? Why he's like a little brother to me. I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way.
That's what makes him potentially upset, which fair enough: it can be upsetting when someone doesn't like you back, especially when Katara previously has given plenty of indications that she does. But he's not mad at her on the balcony. He doesn't take his frustrations over her not seemingly returning his feelings out on her. He's mad because Katara can't, or won't, give him a straight answer.
Aang: You said that I'm just like a brother to you, and that you didn't have feelings for me.
Katara: I didn't say that. An actor said that.
Aang: But it's true, isn't it? We kissed at the invasion and I thought we were going to be together, but we're not.
Katara: Aang, I don't know...
Aang: Why don't you know?
AKA "if you don't like me, which I just gave you a perfect out to acknowledge, can you at least confirm it for me?" And she won't even do that.
Katara is usually a very openly emotional person, which is why when it comes to whether she has feelings for him or not (and he has very good reasons to think that she does, given if you remove the Aang's POV we see, Katara is wayy more obvious with her affection than he is), it's accordingly frustrating that she won't just come out and say it. When does someone like Katara hold back? Well... normally when she's concerned about Bigger Things (i.e. not initially pushing with Pakku because Aang learning waterbending is more important to her) or when she's not sure what to do (when Aang rejects her comfort in The Serpent's Pass).
Conversely, his feelings for Katara also makes Aang more likely to stop evading or dodging and to stick his landing. He's the one who tries to confess on two different occasions. He's the one who kisses her first. And he's the one who wants to actually discuss their relationship now. (These are all reasons why I think, if they ever did break up, Aang would actually be the one with the guts to say it out loud, just FYI.)
Alternatively, if we wanna talk about Framing, let's talk about the actual balcony scene, namely Katara's dialogue, and the placement of the moon:
Not only does this balcony scene take place on a balcony like their infamous finale kiss, with parallel framing of Katara walking up behind Aang and seeking him out to talk (if Katara hadn't approached him, it's likely neither would've happened either time) but like
When Yue finds herself in a similar situation with Sokka - a young man she loves, has kissed, but finds herself unable to be with for a variety of reasons - she says almost beat for beat what Katara says here about her feelings and reasonings for wanting more distance. But like both Yue and Katara say, there's more important things going on:
I say this because everyone ignores the aspect of Katara's bond with Aang that is informed by her own trauma and fear of losing people. Aang kisses her because "What if I don't come back?" Katara literally watched him die and brought him back to life. She watched her father mourn her mother and Sokka mourn Yue (The Swamp), which the play likewise gives her an ample reminder of. She watched Jet die too. Katara has faith that Aang will be different ("I knew you'd come" from CoD and "He's gonna come back; he has to" in Sozin's Comet) but that doesn't mean she's not scared. Everyone else going on is complicating her feelings for Aang, and that's perfectly valid -- but like I said, it's a 1 for 1 with Yue.
Which is why she kisses Aang first after the war, on another balcony, because now it is the right time.
This isn't even touching on the in-universe canonical reading of EIP being Fire Nation imperialist propaganda, but that's a meta for another day.
Not to mention: EIP also teases Zukaang through Aang and the Blue Spirit, has them similarly react in distaste, you can equally read Zuko wanting to sit in between them as wanting to sit next to Aang, and Zuko and Aang's dialogue is a lot more ship teased in canon, Anyway.
June: What happened? Your girlfriend run off on you?
Zuko: It's not the girl I'm after. It's the bald monk she's travelling with.
Zuko doesn't even correct June for implying a romantic connection, only who he's looking for (love you Avatar "Zuko I want you to dance with me" Aang).
I also personally think that basically any episode that has 'strong' Zuko-Katara subtext actually has far stronger Zuko-Aang subtext, but that's a meta for another day.
I do always think the ZK fandom is a fascinating example of what can happen to a fandom when they only have maybe 5 episodes to work with, nor does ship teasing make something implied canon, otherwise The Dragon Prince (also created by Aaron Ehasz) would have a very different endgame ship (to the point that every Soren/Rayla shipper I've seen also ships ZK, funnily enough, because neither of those are remotely canon).
People have gotta stop taking the bone they're thrown and acting like it's a feast.
#antizutara#atla meta#thanks for asking#pro kataang#atla#analysis series#kataang#otp: penguin sledding
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Just realized how similar leo valdez and sokka are
1. Good with technical stuff
2. No mom and a difficult relationship with dad
3. Surrounded by people deemed more powerful or important than him (the 7 and the benders)
4. Left by someone they were starting to care deeply about because of something more important (echo and the moon)
5. Comedic relief no one really takes seriously
6. Overlooked (7th wheel and that one time they stopped to retrieve everyone's stuff but sokkas)
7. Anxious and jealous when there's someone more respected around him (jet and jason/percy)
EXACTLYYYYYYYYY I'VE BEEN SAYING!!!!!Also for Zuko cause i did Katara and Aang(Percy and Nico/Hazel).It's Beckendorf-Big bro son of the fire lord who can't flirt da girls but is so slay.........And for Beckendorf he was an eldest brother(lesbian).Charlena can be Ty Luko for reasons that don't need explaining!!!
#parkerpresentz#zuko#charles beckendorf#the gaang#camp half-blood#beckendorf is a lesbian#trans zuko#dadko#autistic beckendorf#atla geekery#leo valdez#sokka#pjo#💌#askies
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