#because its not aang or even zuko that knows katara best
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Hello, how would you rank the gaang+fire ladies in a best sense of style to worst of sense of style?
oooh fun! wait, is this modern au or not?? just in case, i’ll do both…
toph is the worst, obviously. she has no sense of style whatsoever. she does have her little pom pom opera headband, which is very cute, and honestly her fire nation fit is the cutest one (sorry katara), but i don’t think she actually gives a shit about any of that, she just happens to slay regardless because she can’t not slay. in modern au she mostly wears large shirts and sweatpants and flip flops, and yet somehow she still looks remarkably good “dressed like a slob” (katara’s words) because she is simply beautiful enough to pull it off.
i don’t think zuko has a bad sense of style, i actually think a lot of his outfits are genuinely cute (i esp love his one tank top in book 1 that’s such a look imo), but like toph, he also isn’t really putting effort in, so it’s not so much a “sense of style” as it is in his nature to serve cunt. in modern au he actively tries to spice up his wardrobe (with katara’s help), but then he never actually wears any of the stuff they bought together because he needs his emotional support favorite cardigan and/or black turtleneck. he can pull it off because he looks cute and cozy, but no is mistaking him for an expert in fashion any time soon.
i always wonder how aang found those monk’s robes in book 3, whether he made them himself, and if so, with which fabrics. so in that sense, he’s actually a diy style icon. but in modern au, he literally dresses like roman roy in the finale, walmart boys’ color block t shirt, so i’m docking points even though, again, he does look adorable and it is a Look in its own right. the light up heelys also add or dock points depending on who you ask.
from book 2 onward, sokka has a nice, simple outfit that is a good cut and a good color without being remotely flashy or complicated, and he accessorizes with weapons, which are both practical and spice up his outfit. “like toph, he also doesn’t give a shit about his looks, it’s just a coincidence that he looks good,” one could argue. but i think he knew what he was doing with that sleeveless top. and besides, he was excited by the fact that his bag matched his belt. in modern au, sokka doesn’t give a shit about style until adulthood, because he and katara just focus on their respective domains and thus katara has the monopoly on fashion, but then he starts figuring out his gender and sexuality and the world of fashion opens up for him. that said, his idea of going crazy is like, wearing a couple rings, so he’s still towards the middle bottom of this list.
azula doesn’t really have a sense of personal style, she just wears what she thinks looks best for her circumstances, and since her goal is to intimidate, she happens to slay. but if she was like, a farmer, she would not be bothering with the winged eyeliner and red lipstick and perfect hair, because that is a product of her environment rather than an internally motivated mode of self-expression. so in modern au, she trades shoulder spikes for shoulder pads, and knee high boots for tastefully high heels, but the effect is the same. respect me, fear me, take me seriously in my navy blue blazer.
suki never really gets to pick her own outfits unless you count the fire nation crop top, which is cute but obviously wouldn’t be her first pick in garb. that said, the kyoshi warrior armor obviously goes so hard and she looks great in it, so she’s a style icon just for that. in modern au, she dresses in a way that is deceptively simple but knows that it makes her look really hot to her target demographic (dykes and sokka). she generally just opts for flannel and cargo shorts, but on days where she’s on a mission, she’ll wear a short sleeved loose button up with half the sleeves undone, some necklaces, and no bra. and she’s a hero for that.
mai’s outfit is actually my favorite in the entire show (like, i would wear it), but there’s something kind of cutesy about her hair style that i feel like was probably imposed on her by her mother. like don’t get me wrong, it still looks good on her, but i can’t see her actually caring to maintain something so elaborate without the presence of external pressures. i can picture modern au mai’s sense of style so perfectly, though. soft flared pants, in a silky fabric; turtleneck tank tops; leather jackets: dark peacoats; dyke boots to stomp around in; mostly in various shades of dark red, dark blue, and black. she keeps it simple and classy, and has the freedom to experiment with hair styles more as well. when she’s alone, everyone is envious of her effortlessly chic steez, and yet, when she is with ty lee, everyone’s like “awww it’s cute that ty lee lets that kind of schlubby girl hang around her.”
ty lee puts effort into her appearance for the purposes of attracting specific results. she knows she’s beautiful, of course, but she also wants to be beautiful in a cute way, harmless and inviting. pink is less threatening than red, showing skin makes her seem vulnerable and desirable, her braid is simultaneously perfect and kind of messy. in modern au, ty lee would similarly be attuned to the cultivation of her aesthetic for a similar purpose. she wouldn’t just wear whatever she felt like, but rather would have an extremely curated wardrobe of outfits that all adhere to the same theme of making her look impossibly beautiful but in a cute and harmless way. idk man. there’s something wrong with her, i think, but also that thing might just be patriarchy.
katara is the only character who canonically takes an interest in fashion for the sake of fashion (iirc), and so that immediately elevates her in my opinion. she clearly cares a not insignificant amount about her appearance, and takes pride in looking good (as she should, because she’s beautiful). i love the idea that she got her book 2 outfit in the northern water tribe and was so excited about getting a new fit that she literally wore it the entire season even though it was springtime and she was sweating buckets. she’s so excited about dressing up in ba sing se, or when they steal clothes in the fire nation, or when she gets to take kyoshi’s clothing in “avatar day,” or when she goes to the spa with toph, or when she’s telling aunt wu about her skincare routine. it matters to her! and i think that as she gets older, and more resources are available, she gets to expand and experiment with her wardrobe more, and that’s really fun for her. and in modern au, she’d also love fashion of course, and would have a lot of opinions on how to participate in fashion ethically. her wardrobe would be kind of all over the place because it’s mostly thrifted, but she’d put so much effort into curating an outfit every day before she leaves the house, and she can go weeks if not months without repeating an outfit, not because she has an unlimited wardrobe, but because she’s really clever and thoughtful when it comes to what she pairs together on any given day. and she sometimes makes her own clothing, or modifies thrifted pieces, and that somehow looks great on her too. my point is, she wins in a landslide.
#yourlocalamoeba#asks#the gaang and#modern au#ish#to no one’s surprise the katara section is twice as long as everyone else’s
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"aang didn't tell katara to forgive just to let her anger out and let go" ?!?!?!?! litcheraclly the WHOLE false dichotomy presented by the narrative of the episode (using AANG as the primary mouthpiece) is forgiveness vs revenge like please watch the episode again and pay actual attention to the words coming out of aang's mouth.... so many tsr takes ignore the words in aang's mouth to interpret him more positively while putting words in zuko's mouth to view him more negatively, all the while pretending katara never said anything at all about HER OWN TRAUMA
#tsr actually manages to achieve some really profound nuance despite the limitations of the simplistic moral narrative its partly pushing#and yet the takes are SO fucking rancid my fucking beloathed forever#holly talks bs#aang critical#katara#zuko#i fully believe that if aang hadn't known or said shit about k and z hunting down yon rha she would've made the exact same choice#to not kill out of mercy but not forgive out of justice#because its not aang or even zuko that knows katara best#but katara that knows herself best#she did not almost lose herself in tsr#she FOUND herself#and to quote zuko#she did it on her own
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ATLA Headcannons - Dating Them ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
These are all MY headcannons, and you dont have to agree on them :3
Aang ༄
-since you two are so young, it tends to be awkward at first
-hes very touchy, but he'll try his best not to show it
-he'd love to hug you by wrapping his arms around you waist and bringing you tight. the feeling of your cheek against his chest makes his stomach flutter
-if you're a non-bender, he'll be very protective towards you. if you were ever taken or lost, he'd behave just like when appa was stolen by the sand benders
-he spends most of his free time daydreaming about you
-'you've got, nice, uh, ears?'
-horrible at compliments
-you hear whenever he asks Sokka for crappy advice
-absolutely adores when your hair is down (fem)
-when it comes to liking guys, he prefers longer hair (masc)
-blushes when you ruffle his grown out hair
-he'll take you on rides on appa when you're feeling down
-'i'd love to try, but there's meat in the stew..'
-if you were a bender, he'd always be begging you to teach him moves and tactics even if you didnt know how to be an instructor
-loves skin to skin contact, and will press his bare chest against your back when sleeping
Sokka 𖦹
-the BIGGEST nagger
-can't ever stop moving while sitting around the fire
-won't keep his lips off yours when you're alone
-will fall head over heels for an angsty teen boy (masc)
-especially mean to you when he likes you, and teases you while dating
-thinks your aggression is hot
-very protective of you, even if you're strong/a warrior
-'shit- i mean uhm.."
-cussing problem
-both of you guys are stupid together, so when you were thirsty and dehydrated in the desert, you both got high on cactus juice
-'heh.. you see that flying shark cat?'
-loves seeing you embrace your feminine side (fem)
-love language is cooking for you, even if he sucks
-crappy pick up lines work but just because you think his attempt is cute
-'did i hurt when you fell from heaven?'
Zuko ☄
-not very open about his emotions in the beginning
-when he gets comfortable with you, he'll sometimes cry in your arms at night
-arm across your shoulders or around your waist CONSTANTLY.
-and when i mean constantly, i mean constantly.
-when hes fire lord, he'll have a designated room for whatever hobby you're passionate about
-'the greenhouse is just outside-' 'A GREENHOUSE?!'
-thinks stretch marks are the most beautiful thing
-can stare at your face for hours on end because hes so lost in your eyes
-loves doodling you in his notebooks
-if hes in an angry mood, he'll always have a soft spot for you
Katara ≈
-jealous jealous jealous girl
-love splashing you with water just to bother you
-runs her fingers through your hair at night to calm both of you down
-embarrassed when you catch her singing
-she hates it when you leave a mess
-super cuddly when tired
-loves stupid nicknames
-'whatever you say, princess.' 'what did you just call me?'
-loves telling stories you've heard 1000 times over and over again
-SUPER big hugger
-will elbow you when she can sense you're annoying someone
Toph ᨒ
-will always find a way to wind in an argument
-constantly using being blind as an excuse
-'i can't clean up the mess if i CAN'T SEE IT.'
-super giggly when you tell jokes, but only when its you
-jumps around with joy when she hears that you're gonna be joining the gaang on a mission
-hates when you hold her in your arms because she can't feel the floor
-women with deep voices make her weak in the knees (fem)
-unsurprisingly, fighting is one of her love languages -- she likes competing with her favorite people
-loves when you tell a story in detail, especially the juicy ones
-holds your hand whenever walking somewhere
Suki ❀
-loves spending time outdoors (picnic dates, walks, exploring)
-she loves putting you in makeup because you look ridiculous (masc)
-very inexperienced when it comes to romance
-'why are you kissing my neck? That's not where my lips are..'
-loses things CONSTANTLY and always makes you help her look for it
-loves dancing with you
-pathological liar, but only when it comes to stories
-'one time, i saw the unaki eat a child.'
-listening to rain and cuddling in front of a window makes her feel so happy
-loves taking care of children with you, and looks forward to having kids
-loves your corny jokes
...
BONUS!!
Sexuality headcannons..
Aang: unlabeled
he just sorta loves who he loves
Sokka: Bisexual with a preference for women
Says hes a ladies man, but will fall for a boy from time to time (*cough cough* zukka)
Zuko: Gay
Im sorry ladies but just LOOK AT HIM.
Katara: Pansexual
I love kataang with my whole heart so i couldn't really see her with anyone else, but if Aang wasn't in the picture she'd date a few girls
Toph: Lesbian
like cmonnnnn
Suki: Straight
im sorry but im a sucker for strong straight females
#aang#avatar the last airbender#fandom#fanfic#fluff#katara#sokka#sokka x reader#katara x reader#katara x aang#toph#toph x reader#atla suki#suki x reader#zuko#prince zuko#zuko x reader#headcanon
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Look you can’t dismiss Zukka as a crackship when they, overall, had more positive interactions with each other than many other fanon Zuko or Sokka ships that are taken more seriously because they’re het.
Like okay, you’ve got
the episode 1 armor parallel
Sokka saying “if there’s one thing I know about Zuko, it’s that he never gives up”
Zuko’s time at Western Air Temple where Sokka’s the only one who’s helping him to his room and even smiling at him.
Then we get TWO WHOLE EPISODES(TWO) of Zuko and Sokka working together extremely well and the narrative itself showing how they complement and support each other positively.
Need I talk about the tent scene, yes its funny but also Sokka felt comfortable enough with Zuko at that point that he talked about his mom with Zuko.
The SWORDBENDING KAI
the fact that Zuko, Sokka and Suki become a little sub-trio during Ember Islands
the Search comic where they’re the only ones awake and they’re talking about family.
every zukka shipper knows this one, *ahem* “The prince and the fool, is that all you were, or were to one another?”
If we’re talking on Zutara terms, Zukka is equally as valid. Like yeah it’s funny as a dynamic but also, it’s not like this is completely out of nowhere. There’s stuff in there that backs up the ship rather well.
I think overall, Sokka saw Zuko as more of a person? The crystal caves thing put Zuko on Katara’s shit list, rightfully so, but it’s because Katara’s an idealist and sees the best in people. Unfortunately it goes the other way, she’s a lot more black and white about people than Sokka. Like if it were Sokka in the crystal caves and Zuko had pulled the mom story, Sokka would empathize but he’s not going to trust Zuko in any capacity or see him too differently unless he showed results.
Like he knows to some extent Zuko’s capable of good and even says that just being capable of good isn’t enough. He needs to show it. Zuko betraying them in the Ba Sing Se definitely would’ve pissed him off but like, to some extent, he’d have seen it coming. Sokka’s always been more nuanced on the morality thing than Katara and Aang. Which is why I think he more quickly was willing to give Zuko a chance at the Western Air Temple. Zuko was acting on his ability for good. Sokka being a skeptic actually helped them a lot(oh, Jet my boy).
Anyways Zukka rights
#zukka#zuko x sokka#fanon ships can be not serious and all but i get miffed when people act like zukka is some utter joke#coming here after weeks#but i'm gonna get killed for this#but uhhhhhhhhh zukka has more backing than jin and zuko#I'M NOT SAYING DON'T SHIP those two but#they got one episode and heterosexuality of the early 2000s demand for a love interest#IF that whole thing wasn't a thing i'm p sure jin and zuko wouldn't be a thing like at all#if sokka were a girl and boiling rock happened he'd be considered a love inerest for zuko#or vice versa if zuko was a girl and boiling rock happened everyone would expect them to end up together#but because they're both GUYS it's like 'hahah crackship'
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I’ve been wondering a lot lately about how I think Zutara would happen without changing the events of the show too much, though there are some here and there. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
We would see signs of Zuko’s feelings first. But he doesn’t say anything, because he feels like he doesn’t have a chance and he doesn’t deserve her even if he did. As for Katara, well she told Aang there was too much going on to even consider romantic feelings. And this is partially true, but also she just doesn’t know what she feels exactly. Then she goes to find her mother’s killer with Zuko. After this she looks at him differently, she feels she can trust him. But no one knows how Zuko fits into the gaang just yet. There isn’t an exact moment for her when she thinks “I’m starting to like him”, but instead they find this rhythm. Then he asks her to join him at the Agni Kai with Azula, which she does. When he takes the lightening for her, she’s so scared that he’s dead. She puts Azula on ice (haha) and rushes over to try and save him, scared out of her mind that he’s dead. He can’t be dead. All these emotions hit her at once as she tries to save him. She does. His hand goes over hers and he thanks her, and in that moment she feels something. She doesn’t acknowledge it, but she feels it nonetheless. She thanks him. And as the next few days pass and all these things are happening so fast around her she keeps going back to that moment, and she realizes her feelings have changed. She likes him, without a doubt in her mind she knows she does, but she has these complicated feelings for Aang so she pushes that away. When Aang comes to talk to her outside of the Jasmine Dragon he tells her he loves her and goes in for a kiss, but she pulls back. In that moment she knows she doesn’t love him in the same way. Her feelings were a jumbled mess of love, loyalty, reverence, fear, being grateful to him for changing her life, and probably a bunch of other things she couldn’t name. But none of them were romantic. So she was honest with him in the best way she knew how. And Aang accepted this, though you could see him shrink a bit. A different kind of sadness and grief filled him, and everyone felt it. Saw it. But Katara doesn’t approach Zuko, she couldn’t do that to Aang. Besides there’s too much work to be done. And Zuko doesn’t approach Katara, because no matter what connection he felt at the Agni Kai, he couldn’t do that to Aang. And how does he know it wasn’t one sided? Him and Mai didn’t get back together, but she was still someone he’d considered a friend. As time passes the gaang gets busier and busier, they’re reorganizing the world after all. But they send letters. And Katara and Zuko both notice that their letters to one another are different than the letters they send everyone else. Then Katara opens her most recent letter from Zuko, her stomach filled with the same butterflies she felt at the Agni Kai when he held her hand, and in it he finally says he loves her. He doesn’t expect anything, but before he resigns himself to a marriage for the sake of the Fire Nation he had to tell her. Just once. And she writes back, telling him how much she loves him too and how she wished she could have said it sooner but she couldn’t for so many reasons. But instead of sending it, she makes her way to the Fire Nation. Zuko is told Master Katara from the Southern Water Tribe is here for him and he tells his advisor to let her in his study. She comes in, and she’s even more beautiful than the last time she saw him. His first thought is she’s here about the letter, she’s angry. She looks very determined after all. He immediately starts apologizing, then she smiles and almost runs into his arms, shifting his world on its axis with a kiss.
Wow that was wayyyy longer than I thought it’d be😅
#zutara#zuko x katara#katara x zuko#prince zuko#katara#enemies to lovers#bare bones zutara fic#someone write this for me#anti anti zutara#zutara fanfiction#zutara fic#zutara fandom#zutara forever
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One of my most reblogged posts says, “ ATLA asks whether you can actually be friends across these lines if society refuses to be equitable. Friendships and romance depend not on conflict to deepen them but an active peacefulness.” I think a lot of people relate to the post’s critique of the kyriarchy (all those damn interwoven -isms!) and the ways it limits the formation of relationships. It describes how violence shortens lifespans, squashes nuance, and forces people together into exploitative rather than mutual dynamics. It’s easy to read my post as condemning the possibility of real connection across lines of oppression. I think that’s what I believed when I wrote it even. I’ve always had a certain gifted grace when I reread my writing, however, to discover that I’ve left a window of opportunity open. In this case, the window is within a few words in those sentences: “ATLA asks whether you can,” and that word, “active.”
The show doesn’t merely ask, but it answers its questions with that concept of active peacefulness. Wtf does that mean, tho??? Our boi Aang is so notably avoidant as to be a stereotype of his culture within universe. If it were up to him alone at the start of the show, peace would be a completely passive state. But if that were the case, he’d still be in the big ol’ ice cube. It’s Katara and Sokka’s dynamic and conflicted communalism that frees the avatar unto the world again. Katara demonstrates how disagreement and rage need have nadda to do with assault or abandonment. They can be the features of closeness and trust within a healthy growing relationship, peaceful even as they exact major shifts in the world. Sokka’s misogyny isn’t anything to imitate, but its the first instance we see in the series of a relationship strong enough to accept critique, discourse, and change. Just in this first episode, Sokka illustrates receptivity, Katara models productive and honest emotion, and, soon enough, Aang is introduced to spur on the expansion of these healthy communal practices beyond imposed borders, with all of them learning and growing in relation to one another.
This has profound implications for what comes in the finale regarding Azula and Ozai. These two powerhouses depended on order to stabilize their relationships rather than the bitchy discursiveness that constitutes real friendships or the meaningful arguments and compromises that make for a healthy romance. Importantly, neither gets the comeuppance they’d prefer: domination. Instead, they’re forced into relational dynamics. Azula is frozen alongside Katara, while Ozai’s energy is melded with Aang’s. If they are bested, it’s not in the arena of power; it’s in mutuality. They’re forced to be closer to the people they’ve oppressed and abused, held together rather than apart, and they come out of that encounter cowed but uninjured, the way a friend’s censure pains a soul so much worse than an enemy’s assault that cripples or kills. And the show’s not idealistic about the consequences of these symbolic gestures. It imprisons the antagonists, who are still not friends or even allies--only horrific equals who have a long way to go before any kind of trust is possible.
One person knows that long road, though. Zuko. His relationship to the gaang, and most of all Aang, reveals best that friendships across the constructed lines of oppression are possible and, in fact, a model for the most transformative relational dynamics. I’ve gotta block quote Ramzi Fawaz’s shit on friendship in Queer Forms, cuz it’s game-changing in concepts of friendship, and subsequently, why we feel so delightfully charged by Zuko’s ‘redemption,’ as its been called.
Friendships of the kind I am describing, then, ones that carry the spirit of inventiveness and experimentation described by [Audre] Lorde and [Michel] Foucault, are exceptionally capable of handling conflict, because a genuine equality between the parties (that is nothing like sameness but has to do with two people equally valuing one another) means that both are actively engaged in the construction of the bond. This is why friendship can never function as the application of a rule (you must care for me in this predetermined way as a condition of our speaking) but rather takes shape in the doing of it, as the mutual creation, and continual renegotiation, of shared criteria for dialogue (we will speak, again and again, in order to figure out what conditions best enable our mutual growth). This model of sociality leaves far less space for victims and perpetrators, accusers and accused, because of a sense of mutual involvement, a complicity of the best kind not unlike Lorde’s conception of ‘the erotic’ as a force that animates a shared creation or ‘invention’ of new social forms between two people. It is also a description of the kind of interaction that incites people to change, to relase destructive or oppressive logics like homophobia, sexism, transphobia, and racism, not under ideological duress, shame, or demand, but in the surprising encounter with others who shift the ground beneath one’s feet.
We can see these kind of steadfast and contentious dynamics with lots of pairings as they develop on the show : Toph and Katara, Suki and Sokka, Aang and Teo, Katara and Aang, Mai and Zuko. These relationships go beyond simple alliance. While the empire’s violence might force these people together or apart, its their own abilities to face their differences, stick it out, and build something mutually beneficial (rather than the easier option of antagonistic) that connotes these relationships, even as it forces them to vacate the ideologies they held at the beginning of each episode in order to create more expansive visions of understanding. Zuko’s arc, of course, is the clearest answer atla offers: he goes from a villanous relationship, to a stance of confusion, toward a final state of loyalty and dedicated friendship.
Relationships are possible within the sphere of violence and across the hierarchical lines the violence has implemented and enforces. Those people in positions of power, upheld by the violence and neglect of others, are actually equals (in the existential sense) to the most marginalized individual, and are therefore capable of all those tenets of humanity--embarrassment, sensitivity, loneliness, evil, empathy, etc. It’s only that the domain of oppressive conflict makes the tensions, betrayals, and metamorphoses that are a necessary part of the best kinds of friendships terrifying because those experiences feel so similar to abuse. In abuse, though, only one person is forced to change. In a reciprocal relationship, everyone is surprised to find they’re not entirely offended that someone else finds them imperfect--and somehow that’s endearing and engenders changes that neither person necessarily even demands. This is active peace: joking, judging, hugging, arguing, confessing, bitching, breaking rules, trusting, dancing, loving within a deeply imperfect world with deeply imperfect people for whom you, nevertheless, still want the best and who seem to want the best for you (which is why you wanted the world to change for the better in the first place).
#Platonic love#atla meta#friendship#zuko#aang#queer platonic love#zukaang#aanglove#katara#sokka#atla
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I want to know, if you don't mind and if you feel comfortable, your honest opinion, from the bottom of your heart, why you choose zutara over kataang. I'm really curious to know an adult's perspective about this ship.
Hi,
Thanks for asking this. Hopefully, it's with genuine curiosity and not a means to find things to argue with or attack me over.... anyway... I've been thinking about this a little bit, and the answer is two-fold.
The short answer is that I pick Zutara over Kataang because I don't like Aang very much, and I do like Zuko; I think the characterization of both just lends itself more to an appreciation of Zuko and his redemption arc over Aang's hero struggle.
The long answer is a summation of the following:
Aang's a child in the series, not yet even a teenager, and I think we can all agree that he often displays his lack of maturity throughout the series in several places. Now, this isn't necessarily a fair argument to bring to the table, given that he would undoubtedly mature as he grew (we assume) and did some growing up, even during the series. That said, his age - his being younger than Katara, is another reason I prefer Zutara, because most of the time - at least when I'm writing them - the gaang are either in their mid-late teens or early twenties, and I think at those ages, most girls don't want to date someone younger than them. Partially, it's social conditioning, but developmentally, boys tend to be two years behind girls in regard to maturity, etc., so it's a big factor.
We see throughout the series that Katara goes for guys that are... shall we say, more "manly" than Aang? Jet is a sexy schmooze with mixed-up ideals, but he's older than her and well-fit. Haru is buff as hell and kind of adorable (before the mustache makes its debut, anyway). In that regard, Zuko is much more Katara's 'type' than a scrawny, short, skinny bald kid with arrows tattooed all over him. Also, I mean, she seems to prefer men with great hair, and Aang just doesn't fit the bill.
Aang is the Avatar and, by merit of being so, needs to put his connection to the spirits world, his responsibility to the physical world, and his role as an avatar before everything else, including worldly attachments. We see this throughout the series, wherein his unwillingness to let go of his attachment to Katara inhibits his chakra pathways and blocks him from entering the avatar state. We also see him finally choosing his responsibility over his love for Katara, and while that's the right thing to do for the sake of the world, I just think Katara deserves more than that. It's the embodiment of the uptick in a preference for falling for the morally grey villain over the hero because the hero will sacrifice you for the good of the world, while the morally grey villain will let the world burn as long as you're safe.
Now, you could argue that the above isn't fair because Zuko has responsibilities, too, in that he needs to take on the role of Fire Lord, but I think there's more room for love/romance/attachment in that role than there is in Aang's role.
Zuko is so much more interesting than Aang; I don't know how else to put it. He's got the tragic back-story, the anger issues, the redemption arc, that morally-grey-what-can-I-say-grey's-my-favourite-colour vibe about him, and he's just so much cooler and more mature. Like, yes, he has his moments of childishness and temper tantrums - as does Katara - but he's matured far beyond what we witness of Aang and it makes him a more likable character. An example of what I mean is probably best illustrated in the Southern Raiders chapter. Aang tries to impose his own ideals and morality on Katara when she's burning for revenge, which, while he's trying to encourage her to do the right thing, doesn't really suggest that he's supportive of her feelings. I found him quite dismissive in that chapter with his insistence that she just forgave the man who killed her mother without any attempt at growth or chance for closure. Meanwhile, Zuko just grabs his gear and goes with her to make sure she'll be safe and to support her in whatever decision she chooses to make. Yes, it might've meant that he would be an accessory to murder, but at least he was supportive. Also, his reaction to learning Katara can blood-bend - an insanely frightening ability when you really stop and think about it - is alarmed but then accepting, and it's just so much more palatable than the lecture I imagine she'd get from Aang if he learned she'd used the ability for harm and revenge.
There's too much of a brother-sister vibe between Aang and Katara - at least when it's shown from Katara's perspective - and it wigs me out that the writers put them together in the end. Throughout the series, Katara treats Aang much the same way she treats Sokka, often mothering him as opposed to seeming romantically inclined towards him. Whereas with Zuko through the entire series, there's the ongoing thread of parallels between their characters and the underlying unresolved sexual tension between them - put there intentionally BY THE WRITERS, I might add. Like throughout the series, we were SUPPOSED to be shipping Zuko and Katara; the intention was to have them end up together. It's only the last-minute switch of writers and/or change of heart to fulfill the "hero gets the girl" trope that made Kataang canon, and I just think it's a disservice to the characters, the fans, and the series in general, to backflip like that at the last minute for a lame reason.
I could probably go on - and have before, in GCs and sometimes on Tumblr, about the many reasons they're just better suited to one another, but you're probably bored by now, so I'll stop here. Hopefully, the above gives you something to think about and a better understanding of the reasons so many ship the two of them. If nothing else, it's got me thinking about my Zutara fics and maybe even planning an update.
xx-Kitten
#kittenshift17#fanfiction#writing#zutara#prince zuko#katara#why i ship zutara#author opinion#anon request#anon ask#anonymous
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JTL's long but not as long as it could've been review of Netflix's ATLA
So.
I’ve finished watching the Netflix adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender and I have a lot of thoughts. Because despite some of the more questionable changes, I overall enjoyed this as an adaptation.
I wish I could say that I was surprised by the criticisms I'm seen so far, but unfortunately, I’m not. As much as I adore the OG series for being one of the greatest animated shows (or television shows, period), it’s been placed on a pedestal over the years and any adaptation of it will always be held to an impossibly high standard. And for better or for worse, a lot of fans have their nostalgia glasses on when it comes to the show, so any deviation from the source material is going to receive some form of backlash. I say this as someone who clearly still loves the show 19 years later, otherwise I wouldn't be here writing about it, ya know?
Anyways, if I had to give it a grade compared to the OG series, I’d give it a B- or a C+. If I’m grading it as its own thing, I’d bump that up to a B+ or A-. There are some elements (pun not intended) that definitely should have been kept in, and some changes that I thought were done well.
TL;DR – I had fun watching it even during the parts that made me cry, and the parts that made me say “… well that was a decision.” I’d love to see the last two books be adapted as well, if for no other reason than to meet Toph Mothereffing Bei Fong and see all of Team Avatar together.
(Also because I’d LOVE to see The Ember Island Players, especially if they managed to work in a few fun cameos. Can't you picture Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Play!Toph and thee Dante Basco as Play!Zuko, hamming it up for all it’s worth? Shut up and take my money!)
(And of course, the Last Agni Kai for obvious reasons)
So I’d recommend at least checking it out if you’re interested. I’d also like to recommend that if you do, watch it from a pragmatic standpoint that it’s a condensed adaptation, not a shot-for-shot remake.
Some things that I liked, and some that I didn’t are below the cut:
(SPOILERS, obvs)
Aang – I really liked this version of him, and though his actor’s still young, I thought he embodied the upbeat, playful side well. I also liked that they removed his one-sided crush on Katara, and – don’t shoot me for this – if they went with Kat@ang later based on how they did their characters in this first season, I wouldn’t be entirely opposed if it’s built on actual friendship and not an unrequited crush. (Still Team Zutara for life, but I don’t think that I’d *hate* it if the show went in this direction.)
Katara – I thought her actress did great when it came to portraying the nurturing, sensitive side. What I didn’t like was them removing nearly all of her feminine rage. Let her be angry! Let her lose her temper and be hot-headed! This post sums it up nicely. That being said, I do think she did well enough with the direction she was given. Here’s hoping we’ll see our girl eff some stuff up if we get Seasons 2 and 3.
Sokka – Fantastic and sarcastic. I really liked his actor’s interpretation of him, and it definitely felt more in line with the character we all fell in love with during the OG show.
Zuko – out of the main cast, I think his performance was the best. He had to step into a major role, taking over from a beloved performance that is still hailed as one of the greatest redemption arcs in modern media with a lot of expectations riding on his shoulders, and I think that his actor knocked it out of the park. It’s different from Dante Basco’s interpretation, obviously. But as I watched each episode, I kept thinking, “there’s our grumpy fire boy.” The scene where he’s throwing the temper tantrum over losing his journal, while Iroh’s standing back and watching? I thought to myself, “this boy is the worst, he’s perfect.” Plus the flashbacks to his life before scarring were done well, and even though I knew what was coming re: the Agni Kai against his father and subsequent banishment, I still got emotional.
Also, regarding the Agni Kai – on one hand, I feel like his absolute refusal to fight back was such an integral part of that scene and understanding who he is as a character. That being said, I didn’t *hate* that in this version he was pushed into defending himself, albeit by holding back. That one shot where he hesitates to attack Ozai, only for his father to use that same move against him moments later… oof.
My ONLY complaint with this version of Zuko is that he didn't say "honor" once.
Other thoughts I had:
🟣 I really liked that we got to see more of the Air Nomads and life at the Southern Air Temple prior to Sozin’s attack. I also liked the explanation the show gave of having all the Air Nomads gathered together for a festival celebrating the comet, which makes more sense if they’re all (allegedly) under one roof.
Additionally, witnessing the genocide itself… I was crying. Especially during the final showdown between Gyatso and Sozin, and the realization that we were witnessing Roku’s (former) best friend slaughter one of his other closest friends.
But why wouldn't they send the children out on the flying bison to escape instead of having them all cornered?!
🟣 I really enjoyed getting to see interactions between Ozai and Iroh, which was one of the biggest missed opportunities in the OG show.
🟣 MY GIRL JUNE. That is all.
The part where she flirts with Iroh was also a nice flip on what happened in the OG show, with his covert pervert crush and all. Plus Zuko’s face when she calls his “dad” cute? Peak Zuzu. Also, poor Iroh hahaha.
🟣 Suki! I really liked the Kyoshi Island episode, plus her awkward flirting with Sokka by kicking his ass.
🟣 I really wish the whole subplot of Kya’s necklace hadn’t been cut, tbh. The flashbacks involving her were good, and as devastating as it was actually seeing her death, it does hammer home the point what a horrifying experience that was (side-eyeing you, everyone making the jokes about Katara always bringing up her dead mother.)
🟣 THE SCARF SCENE. Nice try, Netflix, but I know better than to get my hopes up again from 5 seconds of slow-mo. Did I still screech when it happened, though? Ofc I did!
🟣 The twist with the 41st Division was bittersweet and I may have (okay, definitely) cried.
🟣 Combining Jet’s subplots with the Mechanist’s and putting them in Omashu wasn’t too bad. I do wish the message of “not everyone in the FN is evil” from Jet’s episode had made it into this version, tbh.
🟣 Overall, I liked Jet + the Freedom Fighters. Also, props to his actor for capturing the pretty boy / f*ckboi attitude well.
🟣 Loved Chong and the hippies, of course (SECRET, SECRET, SECRET TUNNEL, YEAH!) and I don’t mind that they were included this early.
🟣 I loved the change to the Cave of Two Lovers and having Oma and Shu be lesbians.
🟣 I feel like if the show’s renewed for a second season and we come back to Omashu, there’s a chance they could revisit the COTL with Katara and Aang this time around.
🟣 The random lady smacking Zuzu with a broom – “how dare you hit that child?!” – was hilarious, and Dallas Liu’s facial expressions of “wtf” and “fml” were a thing of beauty (starts at 1:40 in the video below)
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🟣 CABBAGE MAN! I just love that they got the original voice actor, hamming it up and screaming at the sky.
🟣 I LOVED the Blue Spirit episode, and all of the flashbacks, plus the voiceover about masks and seeing past!Zuko contrasted to present!Zuko, as presented in this gifset? RIP my heart.
🟣 The flashback to Lu Ten’s funeral and showing Zuko being the only person to join his uncle, sharing a sweet memory of his cousin while Leaves from the Vine plays? Beautiful. Ditto to the flashbacks of Iroh standing up for his nephew prior to the Agni Kai and the scenes of them getting ready to set sail to search for the Avatar. “I don’t need a babysitter.” “How about a friend?” how about excuse you I did not ask for these emotions how dare you.
🟣 I actually liked the inclusion of Ozai and Azula + Mai and Ty Lee. I also loved the opening of Ep. 3, showing how she was able to infiltrate the team of rebels. RIP to Kevin Tran (in advanced placement), though.
🟣 I loved that Katara rallied the women waterbenders and they were able to help during the Siege of the North. I also liked her reaction when she's talking with Yugoda in the healing huts and realizes why she's been sent there. It gave us a glimpse of the fiestier / headstrong Katara we all know and love, and if the show gets renewed I hope we'll get to see more.
🟣 I really enjoyed them giving Aang and Zuko a few minutes to talk / form a connection after he was unmasked as the Blue Spirit. That was nicely done.
and finally...
Nothing else to add, just chef's kiss.
(gif source)
Anyways! I might make a more extensive list of my personal pros and cons, but for now, I’d still recommend giving it a shot.
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I keep seeing people say the live action show is going to be bad only because Bryke is no longer involved. Now, I’m not particularly interested in the show because live action remakes just don’t do anything for me, personally. But I think y’all are giving Bryke way more credit than they deserve. Let’s discuss.
First, I think we should acknowledge the more problematic aspect of them creating the show in the first place. While I love Avatar, Bryke are two white men who took the aesthetics of many different Asian cultures to create their world. And most of the voice cast were also white. If there were Asian voice actors, they were either a background character or a villain (besides Iroh and Zuko, of course). Now, I know that some of you may have read that and thought about how the actor playing Sokka is not only white but lied about his ethnicity. Don’t worry, I’m mad at that as well and I’m beyond frustrated that Sokka has been whitewashed not once, but twice in the name of a live action interpretation.
And speaking of live action interpretations, let us not forget Bryke’s role in the 2010 movie. They announced their decision to leave this new show due to it not matching their vision. But they had no problem with the film that casted almost exclusively white actors to play characters of color. Again, if there were POC in the movie they were either background actors or villains (again, besides Iroh and Zuko). When people bring up the movie, they blame Shamalan for every aspect of it. Yes, he did not direct a good movie. But, at the end of the day, Bryke wanted this movie to happen. Everyone else, including Shamalan, wanted a season four but they were dead set on the live action movie that whitewashed most of the characters. And they were fine with that. That didn’t clash with their vision despite relying very heavily on non-white cultures to make their show.
Outside of the whitewashed movie, their creative choices are… interesting, to say the least. And we didn’t get to see those because the writers pulled their weight and tweaked the original concepts. Toph? Bryke wanted her to be a boy and be in a love triangle with Aang and Katara. It was the writers who made her a girl. Azula? Again, Bryke wanted her to be a boy and, again, the writers made her a girl. Katara fighting sexism in the Northern Water Tribe? They wanted her to be fighting for Aang, not herself. It was the writers decision to add in Katara fighting against a patriarchal system. Many of the episodes that people point to as their favorites (Zuko Alone, The Puppetmaster, The Southern Raiders) were not written by them. Yet, they get the pats on the backs from casual viewers and even some dedicated fans.
Do you know what happens when they do have creative control? At best, it’s mediocre, at worst, it’s bad. Let’s first take a look at their continuation of this universe by looking at Legend of Korra. The writers that made those iconic and beautiful episodes in ATLA? For the most part, they’re no where to be found. And it shows. LoK was a mess from the very beginning and never quite got its footing. Yes, I will acknowledge that Nickelodeon fucked them over. Yes, I do have respect for them for sticking to their guns and making Korrasami an item and giving us not one but two bisexual women of color. But besides that? It’s just a very mediocre show with mediocre writing.
But we see how truly bad things can get with the ATLA comics. Now, I do need to acknowledge that they didn’t work on that comic alone. So, like the movie, there are others to blame for the mess. But Bryke signed off on everything and wrote some of it themselves. And, boy, are they bad. A large number of the ATLA fandom do not like these comics and there’s definitely a reason why. Including out of character moments, prominent sexism with how the women are written, and just downright bizarre discussions, it’s not that much of a surprise that we don’t like to acknowledge it. In my opinion, no one got screwed over more in those comics than Katara. They make her a trophy girlfriend. A shadow to Aang rather than being her own character. That girl we watched in the show, the one who was vibrant, layered, complex, was gone. In her place, a hollow shell. And they would continue to show disrespect for their own character in LoK where she has been upgraded from trophy girlfriend to trophy wife. They didn’t even care enough about her, besides her being the wife of Aang and the mother of his children, to give her a statue! All the feminism we see in the original show? It definitely wasn’t Bryke.
I don’t know how this new live action show is going to pan out. It could be great, it could be bad. It could just be meh. But none of those outcomes have anything to do with whether or not Bryke was involved. Because they may have created ATLA, but they weren’t the ones who truly breathed life into it.
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Private Intermission
It’s not that the play is bad – okay, well, it is. But that’s completely besides the point – or even that it goes out of its way to make Aang and his friends seem like a ridiculous bunch of kids – which they are, but again: besides the point!
It’s the Ba Sing Se bit.
Aang watches his developing friendship with Zuko be reduced to absurd flirting, then watches the blue spirit save Appa, and then he watches as Zuko betrays him and… he can’t watch anymore.
He stands.
“Hey, where are you going?” whispers Katara, but Aang doesn’t just now feel like answering her. She’s always worried like a mother hen, but this is one thing she can’t help him with.
The air outside is cool. It really is the end of summer, and nights are getting colder while daytime still hangs on to the last of the heat. Aang pulls his hat down over his ears a bit more and leans against the railing to look out over the water.
“Pretty night, huh?”
Aang jumps about three feet in the air.
“Don’t do that!” he tells Zuko, who has managed to sneak up behind him as quietly as an airbender. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”
“Sorry,” Zuko says.
He doesn’t look sorry. He looks rather amused, leaning there against the railing in all of his fire nation prince bad boy glory. Not that there’s anything really bad about him. That’s kind of the whole point of him. He’s the sweetest guy ever wrapped in a gloomy disguise.
“Why’d you follow me out here?” Aang asks, turning to look at the water again.
“Well, fake you has just woken up from a coma and is holding an entire speech about how fake me broke his heart and Katara was looking at me all weird, so I figured a break wouldn’t be that bad.”
“Oh.”
“Did you ever tell the others we were friends in Ba Sing Se?”
“No,” Aang says. “It didn’t seem like any of their business at the time, and then you kinda went and helped Azula and it didn’t matter anymore.”
“So you didn’t tell Katara I broke your heart?” Zuko teases.
Normally, Aang would laugh. Probably. Maybe.
He shrugs.
Neither of them speaks for a moment. Then, there’s cheering inside – who knows what’s happening on stage now – and Aang clears his throat.
“Are you really the one who found Appa?”
“Oh. Uh… yeah,” Zuko says.
He looks away from Aang, but Aang doesn’t need to see Zuko’s face to know that he’s blushing.
“I didn’t know that,” Aang says simply.
He thinks back to the weeks before he found Appa – or rather, as he now knows, before Appa was returned to him.
He and Zuko had been getting closer and closer. Zuko was working at the best teahouse in Ba Sing Se, which was being run by his uncle, and Aang had been coming there at least once a week. It’s how they’d come upon each other in the first place.
How many times had Aang told Zuko how much he’d missed Appa? How many times had Zuko listened silently, without a single word of comfort other than the occasional ‘that’s rough’ or ‘that sucks’?
Zuko clears his throat.
“Well,” he says. “We should get back inside, before the others start wondering where we are.”
He begins to turn away.
“Zuko.”
Aang doesn’t think. He doesn’t even stop to breathe after saying Zuko’s name. He just grabs Zuko’s hand, pulls the older boy towards him and smacks their mouths together.
The kiss is uncoordinated and messy, as unexpected to Aang as it is to Zuko. Their teeth clack against each other’s, their lips are sort of smushing together and Zuko’s eyes open wide before they close.
And it’s the most perfect kiss ever.
When they pull apart for air – which Zuko needs a lot more of than Aang because hello? Airbender? Controlled breathing? But okay, Aang is also kind of breathless – Zuko seems to be momentarily speechless.
“What was that for?” he asks.
Aang shakes his head, unsure of what to say, and walks back inside to watch the end of this horrible play.
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A Tale of Spirits updates and sneaks
So, this will be quick. I’m officially moving back to Sunday updates. That Wednesday thing only lasted about a week (and not even) lol. I’m just to used to Sundays being the day!
We have two really short sneaks below and one will be under a cut for a slight reveal, so if you want to avoid it, you can! We'll be shifting gears and ramping up since a lot of the set up is done. I almost wish I had labeled the chapters in terms of arcs. I’ll probably update that on Sunday with my post so no one gets any false alarm notifications. Anyway! A Tale of Spirits has three arcs and we’re done with arc 1! Into Arc 2!
So here are the quick sneaks for the upcoming chapter. Like always, these are unedited and subject to change, but the feeling of the passages will remain.
SNEAK PEEK 1 (Iroh POV)
When Mikey first said Zuko would be the Avatar’s teacher he’d nearly fainted at the revelation. A type of clarity he hadn't experienced in an age washed over him. Of course. Why else would the Avatar awaken after such a dormant period? The Royal Line has searched for decades, yet it was his nephew, who found him. During his age of maturity no less. Iroh watches Zuko fail yet again at producing lightening and turns back to the symbol. He’s not ready to inherit the heavy weight of the crown, but he will be. Zuko has always been stubborn and excitable, but maybe teaching the Avatar will provide him with more patience.
He taps three corners of the symbol sketched before him. The spirits have landed with the best teachers for the Avatar to master his elements. Leonardo with the waterbender, Raphael with the young earthbender, and Michelangelo with his nephew. All chosen to help guide Aang to reestablish the balance of this world. Iroh hovers over the fourth corner of the sketch and frowns.
Donatello and his choice is the only one that does not fit.
SNEAK PEEK 2 (Sokka POV)
The spirit’s head twists to a sickening degree, “and what are you supposed to be?”
Aang follows the owl's black gaze and frowns. “This is Leonardo, my spirit guide.”
Its head continues to twist, “a spirit.” The bird swoops close to Leo, sinking into the ground until its head is level with the turtle. “You don’t look like any spirit I’ve ever encountered,” It blinks, “or felt.”
“Yeah,” Leo says, “that’s what I keep telling people.”
“How Curious.”
“So Owls are supposed to be knowledgeable and-,” Leo rolls his shoulders and holds out his arm, “-since you’re here, can I ask you to look at something?” He pulls down the armband and exposes the familiar mark glowing softly against green skin. “Do you know what this is?”
Wan’s eyes don’t move, but his head twitches. “A JiaMo,” he pulls back. “Of course, you’re from across the void. No wonder you feel foreign to me. It has been an eon since your kind last graced this plane.” His head twists again, “where is your master? I doubt it’s the Avatar.”
“Why not?” Katara asks.
“Because he still has his bending.”
#Rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles#avatar the last airbender#rottmnt#atla#atla fanfic#fanfiction#crossover#crossover fanfiction#crossover fanfic#a tale of spirits#tmnt#ao3#ao3 fanfiction#ao3 fanfic#teenage mutant ninja turtles#rise of the tmnt#sneak peek
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ATLA Original Scripts: Extra Goodies
As I’m sure you may have guessed, the very first script I chose to open at the WGF was The Southern Raiders (I mean, can you blame me? 🤣). But shippy lore and zutara fandom history aside, I did unearth quite a few unrelated tidbits, author’s notes and script changes that I found interesting or funny enough to note down. As promised, here is a compilation of some of these tidbits, with little connecting theme or pattern other than “I thought the fandom might find these snippets interesting” 😁
1. Elizabeth and Aaron Ehasz are genuinely hilarious.
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Credit for finding #1 and #3 goes to my husband, who was with me on Day 2 of Original Script Investigations :3
I don’t mean to say that the other ATLA writers are necessarily boring or unfunny – as I said I didn’t get a chance to read every script and there may have been other genuinely amusing snippets from other writers that I honestly just missed. All I know is, the most entertaining action/non-dialogue lines that I did find were written by these two chuckleheads. I fuckin’ love them, lmao 🤣
2. In Day of Black Sun, Zuko was originally meant to redirect lightning using his dual swords.
I can see why this detail was changed during the storyboarding/animating process (as he just uses his bare hands in the show, the way Iroh taught him), but at the same time the sword-lightning-redirection thing really intrigues me. Dual swords are strongly associated with Zuko’s Blue Spirit vigilante persona, and there’s several episodes where Zuko uses them as part of obscuring his Fire Nation identity, whether that’s to help him keep his cover or even to help him get away with what the Fire Nation could reasonably consider as acts of treason.
So the idea that Zuko would use his swords to redirect Ozai’s lightning comes across as powerfully symbolic to me: Zuko standing in defiance to his abusive father, channeling some Blue Spirit energy to defend but not to kill; Zuko facing down a terrifying display of Fire Nation aggression and wrath, absorbing it into himself and then directing it back to its source, using a non-bending instrument, one he’d previously used in service of vigilantist or even sabotage/treasonous acts… yeah, I think that’s pretty damn cool, ngl.
From a Doylist standpoint, I like it. Very nice.
From a Watsonian standpoint, I can (grudgingly) understand why they likely chose not to portray this scene the way it was scripted.
Ah well.
3. In Lake Laogai, Katara’s healing water was meant to “turn black” as a visual indication that Jet’s injuries were too severe for her to heal.
This scene kind of plays out in the show, but not in the way that the script implies it should:
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You can see that in the show version, the water turns black right as Katara appears to pause her work and look up to say “This isn’t good”. Maybe it’s just me, but the show doesn’t seem to imply that the water “turned black” despite Katara’s best healing efforts; I instead get the impression that the water stopped glowing because Katara (momentarily?) suspended her healing efforts upon registering how bad Jet’s injuries were.
The script seems to suggest that the scene should have played out like – Katara tries to heal Jet, the water turns black while she’s still moving her hands and working, Katara might then visibly react with shock or alarm, before finally looking up to remark, “this isn’t good”.
And honestly, I’m actually really bummed that they didn’t animate this sequence out! It would only have taken maybe a couple more seconds, but can you imagine if the writers had been able to employ the dramatic effect of “[Character] is so heavily injured, the healing water turns black” to its maximum potential?
Imagine Katara trying to heal Aang’s lightning wound in The Awakening, but it turns black and then he has that chi-shock attack. Imagine her explaining beforehand that she’d tried healing his wound multiple times over the two weeks he’d been unconscious, and it had always turned black, but she hoped that with him being awake maybe it wouldn’t fail this time - except that it does 😭
Imagine Katara trying to heal Zuko after the lightning scene in Sozin’s Comet, and the water turns black, and Katara grits her teeth “Oh no don’t you dare” and visibly puts all her effort into making that water glow again and finally he wakes -
Argh, it’s one tiny visual clue and yet there’s so much potential for drama and angst (yum!) - I’m so frustrated it wasn’t kept! Huge missed opportunity imo. Ah well, for all you fan-artists and fanfic writers, consider it free real estate. Make it canon, let’s gooo 🤣
4. In The Runaway, after being accused of being “too motherly”, Katara actually slaps Aang when he doesn’t respond fast enough 🤣
I don’t really have much to say about this one other than that I just found the mental image pretty funny. I do find it interesting that as much as the writing did a better job of developing Kataang in the original script, there also isn’t any serious effort to tone down Katara’s motherly tendencies towards Aang either (in fact, I think one could easily argue that slapping Aang’s hand away makes the whole mom thing come off stronger, but idk). Either way, this was pretty entertaining to read. 😂
5. In Tales of Ba Sing Se, Zuko and Jin are both a lot more expressive in the script, and it’s way more fun:
In the script, Zuko looks “totally overwhelmed” when Jin asks him out. In the show, he just looks… blank? Expressionless? Idk. I did get the sense that this was unfamiliar territory for him, but to me the show doesn’t animate him to be nearly as flustered as the script suggests he ought to be. He doesn’t scowl at Iroh immediately either, and even when he does he looks more irritated than “furious”, imo. 🤷♀️
I did figure that Zuko telling Jin she has a large appetite was his attempt at making polite conversation, but the script makes him come off more sympathetic with that too:
In the show, the waiter doesn’t roll his eyes at anyone, he just walks away, the shot does pan out to the other diners staring but they move on very quickly, and notably Jin appears completely unperturbed by the whole thing. She doesn’t look sad or “hurt” as the script suggests, and Zuko’s attempt at a compliment isn’t framed as him regretting his outburst and awkwardly trying to make up for upsetting her (as she doesn’t seem to be upset at all).
I’m honestly a little sad that so much of this was cut; it really softens Zuko’s character a fair bit. I mean we already know that underneath his hot temper Zuko always had a deep sense of compassion and empathy for others, but these little details really help bring that side of him to the surface and I’m just sort of bummed that they shaved them off here :/ not sure why they felt the need to do that.
Anyway, we all love awkward turtleduck Zuko, so here, have some more:
I like that Zuko is explicitly written as being more at ease once he and Jin have found a quiet area to be alone in. Neurodivergent Zuko confirmed? :P
Also, love the little addition that Jin “peeks” through her fingers right before Zuko starts firebending (they didn’t include that part in the show either). Makes you wonder, did she see? Did she see, and accept Zuko anyway? :P
(Too cute.)
6. In Zuko Alone, Zuko stops Lee from hurting himself with the dual swords:
On the one hand, I don’t mind that the show portrays Lee just having fun with the swords and looking to Zuko for approval (and getting it!). It’s sweet. On the other hand, I think there’s a layer of foreshadowing here that the show missed - without Zuko there to help, Lee’s recklessness and impulsivity will get the better of him (as it ultimately did). I’m sort of torn on this one.
Edit: I’ve been thinking about this a little more and I think I definitely prefer the script version, if only for the fact that Zuko’s “imperceptible smile” is at the end of his and Lee’s encounter. In the show, Zuko smiles at Lee encouragingly after he gives him a swordfighting “lesson” and then lets the kid swing the swords around a bit, which is definitely a heartwarming moment but it has a very different connotation to Zuko smiling with Lee after Lee opens up about Sen Su to him. In the show Zuko is smiling for Lee, to give him encouragement and support. In the script, Zuko smiles during a bonding moment for both of them, in a way that seems to suggest he is grateful/touched that Lee is sharing something so personal with him. It’s a really soft moment for Zuko and upon thinking about it more I’m definitely bummed they cut that little smile. :(
7. In The Chase, after Azula attacks Iroh, Zuko is apparently doing his best to comfort and stabilise him – he is not simply overcome with despair over his fallen uncle:
And in Crossroads of Destiny, Katara isn’t just angrily pacing the “prison cell” back and forth before Zuko is thrown in with her; she’s actively searching for a way out:
I kinda wish both of these were kept in too. Zuko and Katara may be hot-headed at times (they are definitely two of the most passionate characters in the show, if not the most passionate) – but not to such an extent that it overwhelms their ability to work through a crisis; I find it more consistent to their characters that they would still try to do something even when they appear to be in a pretty hopeless situation. That seems to be a trait they both share, in the show.
I also like that Zuko’s efforts to help Iroh humanises him a bit more and puts the emphasis on Zuko caring about Iroh’s recovery, rather than Zuko just being upset that things have turned out so horribly. I was sympathetic to him before, but I’m even more sympathetic now, if that makes sense. 😭
8. In The Painted Lady, Katara’s disguise is blown due to a hair-loopie malfunction, rather than Aang literally blowing her disguise (off).
This is more of a subjective thing but I wish they kept this one in too! I think it’s cute :P
9. The Puppetmaster was originally meant to be titled The Dark Side of the Moon, and includes some differences on how Katara regains control of herself in the battle with Hama:
I understand why the script made Katara “pirouette” and dance under Hama’s bloodbending – it’s a reference to the whole “puppetmaster” thing (which, by the way, I have to say “The Dark Side of the Moon” is a much cooler title, but I can see why they changed that too – it’s way too spoiler-y, sadly). Ultimately though I prefer the show’s version where Katara is forced to her knees and then breaks free – it’s more dramatic, I think, and it reminds me of the earlier scene in The Waterbending Master where Pakku has knocked Katara down, and she takes a breath and steels herself and then gets back up to fight again. I’m not sure if the animators meant to mirror that scene or not, but either way I think Katara standing up after being pushed to the ground is a lot more powerful and compelling, both visually and symbolically, than Katara breaking free of a dance that she’s forced to move to under Hama’s hand. Maybe that’s just me.
I will say though, the ending shot is different to how it is in the script, and I wish they’d kept the script version:
10. Finally, the ending of The Fortuneteller has Katara actually hearing and reacting to Meng’s insult.
Which I thought was mildly amusing. Slightly bummed this was cut, but only a little 🤣
I hope you guys enjoyed reading these as much as I did 😊 I actually have about 6 or 7 more tidbits left that I want to share, but I’ll pause this compilation here as 10 is a good number and I think this post has gotten long enough already 😅
Thanks to @korranguyen for her effort in spotting and transcribing the Zuko/Jin snippets 😊
#atla#atla original scripts#writer's guild foundation#elizabeth and aaron ehasz are absolute legends#bit of fluff for the jinko fans too
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Moments I loved from NATLA Episode 4 - Into the Dark ❤️️❤️️
Aang and Iroh interacting more - love that they're not friendly to each other, per se, but it builds a foundation that makes their later respect make sense
The Earth Kingdom being harsh with their 'fallen foes' is nice to seed in here as in the animated version (season 1), most of the 'bad' stuff was relegated solely to the Fire Nation
The Earth Kingdom is no pushover and it's nice to see that early
Sokka defending his dad "My dad would have never done what you did" even after he commiserated with the Mechanist about his dad 'not valuing' what Sokka could bring to the table.
Though Sokka is frustrated that his dad doesn't see "him", he knows his dad is an honorable man doing his best and when Sai tries to use him as an example of 'doing the wrong thing just to survive', love that Sokka calls him on it
SECRET TUNNEEELLLL!!!
Like them introducing this now - all old buildings have secret passages - it's just a law
Teo's "its time to fight!" attitude - love it. He's so ready to stop cowering and wants to hit back
Flopsy statues!!!!!
Rolly ball throne? Nice touch
"Bumi? BUMI!!" :D
"You did 🤨" Love how Aang keeps his "I'm just gonna say the truth and I don't care if that's 'not allowed' I'm gonna do it anyways because your social rules are stupid" attitude
Katara's water pouch!!
Love the shake in Jet's voice as he tells Katara "I am nothing like the firebenders"
Katara's assessment is shallow on her part, but the core has a ring of truth - no, freedom fighters aren't the same as their oppressors, but when you start harming your own people to hurt the enemy, then you really have lost sight of what's right and wrong - why you're fighting.
FREEZE JET'S ASS!
I love Jet, especially this version of him, but yeah, no touchy
And Katara is absolutely right: Jet might have helped her through her block, but her power, that's all hers.
What are you going to do, Zuko?? What choice will you make!!??
Love that we're getting this choice of his here in Omashu
Bumi's puns 😭 kill me now - though very canon accurate
Like the vibe that everyone just has to laugh as to not anger him - there's less of a whimsical madness vibe to Bumi here and a more serious - yeah, this guy is our leader vibe that's quite unsettling
The tonal shift with Bumi did give me pause, but I like how the writers kept the jokes, the games, his eccentricities, but shifted the vibe to make them darker
In the cartoon, whimsy might work, but if you think about it realistically, that leadership style would NOT work during a war - a 100 year war, at that.
HIPPIIEESSSS!!!!
Sokka getting into that maraca - you let your little musical heart fly
"What are you doing here?" "We're doin' what we're doin'" :)
Oma and Shu lesbian supremacy!!!
Always get chills when this story is told
Lol Sokka's "There's no such thing as angry spirits." Right before the episode where they're kidnapped by an angry spirit XD
Love the switch up of the rocks not really being the path out - keeping us animated show fans on our toes as to what the lesson will be this time
Everything about the Earth Kingdom soldier's interaction with Iroh - all of it is just so good.
The cartoon glossed over Iroh's warmongering past - but he did do terrible things that hurt so many people. No, 'it was war, I was a soldier' is not an acceptable excuse (we didn’t accept it with Jet, so why the double standard for a ROYAL MILITARY GENERAL??)
The funeral scene
Leaves from the Vine
Zuko offering a soft and kind memory of Liu Ten instead of just talk about him being a soldier
Zuko sitting next to Iroh so he won't be alone!!!!!!!!!
The conversation between Katara and Sokka in the cave where she talks about how Jet helped her and Sokka how Sai helped him - then Katara reminding Sokka that when he was forced into a leadership position for the Southern Water Tribe, he didn't have anyone to help him through that
The concept of us all needing people to help us through our journeys is so important and really comes around at the end of the episode and just through the entire series
BADGERMOOOLLLEEE!!!!
Is it bad that all I could think about was how cute it was the entire time it was on screen?
Dallas Liu is so. Freaking. Good. At. His. Stunts!!!!
And the first mention of the theme Zuko struggles with of compassion being weakness!
Sokka's little 'thanks!' as Katara saves him from the badgermole XD
Seriously, all the little touches in Ian Ousley's performance are great
Idk why Sokka assumed the badgermole was a man, that's clearly a dignified lady
The power of sibling love guiding the badgermole was a great alteration from the OG - if they can be controlled through music, they can definitely respond to emotions
Bumi's whole speech here - and his willingness to get crushed - is what brought me around on this portrayal of him
He's right: it's a game where you have to make impossible choices - you have to fight even when you don't want to (a much more poignant message for Aang than 'look at things a different way')
The power of friendship saves the day!!!
"You CAN rely on your friends - and that's the only way I'm going to save the world: with my friends"
"You think like a child" (derogatory) "Is that really so bad?" (genuine)
Bumi made Appa's whistle!!! 😭😭😭😭
One last time Zuko chooses protecting his uncle over capturing the Avatar 🥲
"Everything I need is right here on this boat" 😭😭😭
[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]
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Hallmarks of the Season: Part 6
"Zuko!" Katara launched herself into her fiancé's arms before she even realized she'd moved. Zuko was taken by surprise, but he recovered enough to pull her into a tight embrace. Katara buried her face in the crook of Zuko's neck and took in a deep breath. She was shaking and a moment later, Zuko realized she was crying.
"What's wrong?" he asked, horrified. "What happened? Are you hurt?" Katara shook her head and wiped her tears away hurriedly. Zuko fished a handkerchief from the pocket of his leather jacket- because of course he had a handkerchief with his casual clothes- and pressed it into Katara's hand.
"I just had an awful day," she told him. Zuko pulled her into a hug again and rubbed her back.
"I'm sorry," he murmured into her hair. "What happened?"
"You didn't call me back," Katara choked out a wet laugh. "It's always a bad day when I don't hear from you." Zuko drew back and searched her face for a sign that she was joking.
"I'm so sorry," he said. "I got done sooner than I thought I would, so I moved my flight up. I was going to tell you, but Haru thought a surprise would be more romantic, and-and its sounded like a good idea at the time..."
"Remind me to have a few words with Haru," Katara laughed again.
"I'm really sorry." Zuko pressed his forehead against Katara's. She shut her eyes and took in a deep breath.
"It's fine," she said. "This was a wonderful surprise. Just...don't go radio silent me? You didn't have to say you were coming, but I tried to call and you weren't responding to my texts."
"Never again," Zuko swore. He leaned in to kiss Katara, but she flinched away. Zuko's brow drew down, confused and hurt. An apology was already on Katara's tongue when the door of the house swung open to reveal Katara's family watching the couple with wide grins.
"Zuko!" Hakoda's deep voiced boomed out into the night. "Great to see you again."
-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Zuko was swept into the house in a flurry of laughs, loud welcomes, and jarring hugs. Kanna had arrived sometime while Katara was out, and she needed to be introduced in person. Sesi watched everything from between the banister rails. When Zuko smiled and waved at her, she waved back with a loud giggle and rushed upstairs to her room. Sokka shrugged at Zuko.
"She's pretending to be shy now," he joked. "Give her a couple of hours, and she'll decide you're her new best friend
Sokka, of all people, was the one to remember that they had someplace to be. When he announced that it was almost time to leave, and extended the invitation to Zuko, Katara's heart leapt into her throat.
"Zuko just had a really long flight," Katara reminded her brother. "Maybe we should reschedule."
"No way!" Sokka protested. "Su-I mean, everyone had to rearrange their schedules for tonight. I thought you were all anxious to drag Zuko around to everyone we know."
"I will!" Katara said, folding her arms. "But how about we let Zuko get settled first? He must be tired."
"I'm fine, actually," Zuko cut in. "I got some sleep on the plane. Besides, jetlag is telling my body that's it the middle of the morning still." Katara blanched. Her mind raced for a plausible excuse not to have to go to the bar that night. She had nothing.
"Alright," she relented. "Let me go get changed, then we can go." Katara fled the living room, praying that no one noticed her reluctance.
Katara grabbed fresh clothes and then went into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She sank to the floor and dragged her hand through her hair. Maybe they would cancel if she said she was sick. Zuko would, she knew. The prospect of staying home and watching movies with Hakoda, Kanna and Sesi would appeal to him. Then she could get through the rest of this visit without seeing Aang again.
Sokka would ask questions, Katara reminded herself. And Zuko would notice her being evasive. Aang might not even show up. Or if he did, he would certainly not try to speak to her with Zuko there. Katara climbed to her feet and turned on the shower as hot as she could stand it. The steam had settled into a thick fog when she finally stepped into the shower, and she relished the the close feeling it gave her. She couldn't see much clearly aside from her own limbs. The water struck her skin almost painfully, but she welcomed it. She hadn't been able to get warm since she'd gotten home.
Katara got out of the shower before Sokka could start complaining about how long she was taking. When she went downstairs, her face still red from scrubbing so hard, she found Kanna and Sokka entertaining Zuko while Sesi helped Hakoda make snacks in the kitchen. The urge to just cancel the evening and stay home intensified. This had been all she'd wanted since Zuko said he'd join her family for the holidays. Sokka, though, was anxious to get going. In spite of herself, Katara was amused. Sokka had put on the best of his casual clothes. He was wearing a deep blue turtleneck sweater that played up his lighter blue eyes and warm brown skin. He was trying very hard to look good, and Katara was certain he wasn't trying to impress Toph or Zuko.
Not that Katara could claim her choice of clothes was completely coincidental. She was wearing a red blouse. Zuko had told her a few times that red was his favorite color on her. The way his eyes lingered on her as she walked down the stairs made her feel justified in her choice.
"You look pretty," Sesi said when she saw Katara.
"Very," Zuko concurred. Katara blushed and bit her lips to keep from grinning like an idiot. Still, Hakoda, Sokka and Kanna exchanged amused glances.
Zuko's reservation at the inn in town wasn't able to be moved up a day. He would be staying at Hakoda's house on the couch.
"I'll have a bigger bed in the guest room the next time you visit," Hakoda promised him apologetically.
"It's fine," Zuko assured him. "I did a lot of traveling volunteer work when I was in college. I've had a lot rougher sleeping arrangements than a comfortable couch in a nice home." Kanna sidled up to Katara and nudged her in her ribs.
"I like him," she whispered to her granddaughter. Katara grinned at Kanna and nodded.
"Me, too."
Sokka drove them to Toph's barcade. The Bind Bandit was only two years old, but it had become a staple among the young adults of the town. That evening the place was packed, but Toph had reserved a private booth for her friends. She was already waiting with Suki when Katara, Sokka and Zuko arrived.
"Hi!" Suki greeted them with a friendly wave. Then she turned to Toph and informed her of the trio's arrival.
"You don't have to give me a running commentary," she told Suki with a sardonic grin. "I can figure stuff out by context."
"Sorry," Suki apologized sheepishly. Toph's grin widened and turned mischievous.
"Oh, you're going to be fun to mess with," she said. "I can tell already."
"She's blind," Katara whispered to Zuko. "And she loves teasing people about it." Zuko nodded, then stepped forward.
"Hi," he greeted the women. "I'm Zuko." Then he stuck his hand out to Toph and waited a beat.
"Did he just put his hand out for me to shake?" Toph asked drily. Zuko, realizing his mistake, immediately shoved his hand into his pocket as the group erupted into laughter. Zuko even managed an embarrassed chuckle.
"Sorry," he said. "Force of habit." Toph grinned wolfishly and turned in Katara and Sokka's direction.
"Yeah," she said. "Tonight is going to be lots of fun." Then Toph clapped her hands and rubbed them together. "Alright, folks. Here's what's going to happen. You're my guest tonight to food, drinks and games are on me. Go bananas!"
"Alright, Toph!" Sokka cheered. "Suki, you have to try the banh mi sliders."
"That sounds good," Suki said. "I was looking a the fried cheese sticks earlier."
"Go up and tell the bar tender what you want," Toph said. "Tell them is for the boss's table."
Sokka and Suki volunteered to put in the orders for everyone and bring back some starter drinks. They were gone before Zuko could volunteer to help Sokka instead. Katara poked him in his side lightly and shook her head. Zuko's face lit up in understanding, and he winked at Katara. She let out a snort of laughter.
"It's so much fun when people have silent conversations around me," Toph drawled sarcastically.
"Sorry, that was rude," Zuko said, sliding into the booth behind Katara.
"I was just letting Zuko in on the little seeds of romance being planted," Katara told Toph.
"Those two?" Toph cocked her head towards the empty seats. "Yeah...I could see it. Suki's super into him."
"She said so?" Katara asked, her eyes widening in excitement.
"Not in words," Toph said. "But it's pretty obvious. She came in asking for his party and she kept casually bringing him up. I like her. Ex-military and she runs a martial arts studio, so you know she's no wimp."
"Sesi loves her, too," Katara said. She leaned into Zuko. "I really hope this works out. Losing Yue was rough on him. He hasn't been out with anyone since."
"Shh!" Toph nudged Katara. "They're coming back." Zuko turned and saw Suki and Sokka coming back carrying pitchers and a tray of shots. He turned back to Toph with a bewildered look on his face.
"How did you-?"
"I have my ways." Toph grinned, fixing her unnervingly sharp, sightless eyes on him. Zuko looked down at Katara, who just shrugged.
"You'll get used to it," she assured him.
Sokka placed two full pitchers, one beer, one soda on the table and stepped back to let Suki set her tray down.
"They're going to bring the food to the table," he said. "In the meantime, I think it's time to toast and get toasted."
"Hey, big brother," Katara reached over and pulled the tray of shots away from Sokka. "Did you forget you're our designated driver tonight?"Sokka's face fell instantly.
"Rookie mistake," Toph clicked her tongue. "You should've taken a cab."
"What if we leave the car here and take a cab home?" Sokka suggested.
"I'm not running a parking garage."
"Come on!" Sokka pleaded. "I never get to do stuff like this anymore." Toph thought for a moment, then a slow smile spread over her face.
"Alright," she agreed at last. "I'll let you leave your car here. Both out of the goodness of my heart, and because Sesi isn't going to understand that you have a hangover." Sokka blanched at that. He looked from the beer to the shots to the soda.
"Maybe..." he cleared his throat nervously. "Maybe I should get us a round of water. Just to stay hydrated." He hurried back to the bar, chased by the sounds of his friends laughing.
"So, Zuko," Toph turned towards him. "I already got the low down on Suki, here. Tell me about you."
"Well..." Zuko glanced around nervously and shrugged. "I'm not really sure where to start."
"Katara said you two met in Ba Sing Se?" Suki offered. "Were you born there?"
"No, actually," Zuko said. "I'm from Caldera. I moved to Ba Sing Se about ten years ago."
"Wait," Toph cut in. "Caldera? You're Zuko Kaji? As in The Kajis? As in the Sozin Inc. Kajis?" Zuko's face flushed a bright red.
"I haven't been associated with Sozin Inc in a long time," he said. "But yes, that's my father's company." Toph shook her head and let out a low whistle.
"I've met your dad," she told him. Zuko raised his brow expectantly. "He sucks." Suki choked on her soda
"Yeah, he does," Zuko snorted. "How do you know him?"
"My parents run a cyber security firm," Toph said. "They have a contract with Sozin."
"Oh!" Recognition dawned on Zuko. "You're a Bei Fong. Small world."
"Microscopic."
"Toph, I told you ages ago that Zuko was from Caldera," Katara reminded her friend. Toph just shrugged.
"I didn't put two and two together," she said. "I've heard about you. You stood up to your dad when he wanted to lay off a bunch of people to pay for a shinny new headquarters, then left the family business to do your own thing and took a lot of the people who'd been laid off with you. I'm impressed. That took guts."
"You did?" Suki asked. "That's really cool."
"Zuko's the most selfless CEO I've ever met," Katara said, beaming at him proudly.
"It wasn't all that," Zuko grumbled, drawing his shoulders up to his ears.
"And he's modest, too," Katara laughed. Zuko leaned in to kiss her, but Katara turned away at the last moment. Sokka returned with the water, distracting everyone. He set the pitcher down and looked around the table in confusion.
"Aang still hasn't shown up?" He checked his watch and frowned. "What's keeping him? Did he say he was going to be late when you stopped by his shop?" Katara could feel her cheeks heat up with consciousness. She shook her head uncertainly.
"Maybe he changed his mind about coming tonight." Sokka shrugged. "Still, you think he'd call or something." Katara made a noncommittal sound and poured a cup of beer.
"Why don't we grab a game or something?" Katara suggested.
"Not that one with the song lyrics," Toph said. "I cannot listen to Sokka's off-key butchering of whatever song he half remembered from the top 40 chart." Suki slid out to let Katara out. Zuko hurried after her. They passed a row of noisy arcade games to the wall of board games in silence.
"We need to pick something that Toph can play," Katara explained. "There are games with braille on them in that corner."
"Are you okay?" Zuko asked suddenly. Katara froze and turned to him with wide eyes.
"What do you mean?" She busied herself looking for a game. Zuko caught her hands and guided her around to face him, but Katara kept her eyes on their intertwined hands. She ran her thumb over his knuckles absently.
"You've been off all evening," he said. "Are you mad at me?" Now Katara met his eyes with a gasp.
"I'm not mad at you," she told him.
"You keep pulling away from me when I try to kiss you," Zuko pointed out. "You only do that when you're upset with me." Katara blinked hard against tears that suddenly sprang to her eyes.
"It's not you," she assured him. "I'm not mad at you. I just...I don't want to talk about it here."
"Did you want to stay home tonight?" Zuko asked. "I can tell everyone the jetlag caught up with me, and we can get out of here." Katara took a deep breath and hugged Zuko tight.
"I'm okay," she said firmly. "I want you to get to know my friends." Zuko hesitated, rubbing circles between Katara's shoulders.
"Alright," he said at last. "But let me know if you change your mind about leaving." Katara smiled into his chest.
"I'm sorry I made you think I'm mad at you," she murmured. "You haven't done anything wrong. You're wonderful."
"That's good to hear." Zuko pulled away and gave Katara one last concerned look over. Then he took her hand and brought it to his lips. Katara allowed him to press a quick kiss to her knuckles. Zuko started to lead the way back to the table, but Katara stopped him.
"We're supposed to be picking games," she said with feigned exasperation. They grabbed a trivia game, a comparison card game, and a block stacking game. This last one Zuko looked at with uncertainty.
"Toph is scary good at this game," Katara told him. "You'll see."
Katara was recounting one particularly epic game night when she and her friends were in high school, where Toph managed to pull the last brick from a row without toppling the precarious stack of blocks above it.
"To this day, no one can figure out how she did it," Katara said as the rounded the corner to the table.
"Hey, look to finally decided to join us," Sokka said, gesturing at the other end of the table. Katara's heart stopped, knowing exactly what was about to happen. Aang popped his head from around the booth and smiled at Katara.
"...hi," Katara said awkwardly. She cleared her throat and glanced around awkwardly and set the games she had been carrying on the table. "Um...Aang, this is Zuko, my fiancé. Zuko, this is Aang..."
"Hi," Zuko greeted him. "Great to meet another friend of Katara's."
"Yeah," Aang laughed. "I mean we were a little more than friends at one point." That statement landed with a thud. Zuko's smile faded a bit and Katara was sure her friends could see that she wanted the ground to swallow her. Thankfully, Toph saved the moment.
"Oh, please," she snorted loudly. "You dated her for two months in high school. That's a very little more than friends." Sokka and Suki laughed a bit too hard at that. Two angry splotches of red colored Aang's cheeks, but he slid out to let Katara into the booth. He started to sit beside her, but Katara grabbed Zuko's hand yanked him in behind her, nearly knocking Aang over in the process.
"Sorry about that," Zuko said in a way that seemed...less than apologetic. An awkward silence settled over the table. This time Suki stepped in to break the tension.
"So, what games did we get?" she asked. "And can we turn them into drinking games?"
"We got the tower game," Katara said, grinning at Sokka and Toph. "How about whoever knocks the tower down takes a shot." Sokka inhaled sharply.
"Slow down!" he said. "My liver can only take so much abuse."
"If we're going to do this, we'll need more than a round of shots," Toph said. She stood up and headed towards the bar. She came back a moment later with a full bottle of soju.
"You're trying to kill me," Sokka groaned.
"I thought you wanted to get toasted," Toph said innocently.
"Toasted," Sokka repeated as he took the blocks out of the box. "Not black out drunk. That's okay, though. I've been playing this game with Sesi for years now. I've gotten a lot better."
"Make sure you eat plenty," Katara said, pushing the plate of banh mi sliders and barbeque wings towards her brother.
"Did you guys order anything without meat?" Aang asked crossly, looking at the greasy meat sandwiches on the table.
"We have fried cheese sticks and onion rings coming," Sokka told him.
"Great..." Aang folded his arms and scowled. "That'll fill me right up."
"Simmer down, Aang," Toph said. "I have a whole vegetarian menu. Go order whatever you want. It's on the house tonight."
"It would have been nice if someone had thought to order something for me," he grumbled, climbing reluctantly to his feet.
"Well, maybe if you had shown up on time, you could have asked," Toph retorted, unsympathetically. "Stop whining and go get your food." Aang snorted irritably and went up to the bar to put in his order.
"What's his deal?" Sokka asked, scrunching up his nose.
"No idea," Toph said. "But if he doesn't snap out of it, I'm going to make him go stand in the corner." That got a laugh from the table.
Aang managed to find a better attitude by the time he returned to the table. He poured himself a shot from the soju bottle when he sat down. Once the game started, he took another shot, and he seemed to even be back to his normal cheerful self. He chattered on about memories from high school, and cracked his friends up with anecdotes from his misadventures over the years before he returned to his hometown. He even made an effort to get to know Suki, and not so subtly talk up Sokka in their conversation. To Katara he said little directly. To Zuko even less. As the evening went on, the slight was becoming more noticeable. Katara did her best to keep Zuko from realizing by keeping him involved in discussions with everyone else and encouraging her friends to ask him questions. Aang would huff and sigh and then turn the conversation in a different direction. At one point, Sokka stood up and announced it was time for another round of drinks.
"Aang, come help me," he said after he'd gotten everyone's orders. Aang agreed after a moments hesitation and slid out of the booth. With them gone, the conversation migrated around to Katara and Zuko's engagement and wedding plans.
"We haven't settled on a date yet," Katara was telling Suki and Toph when Sokka and Aang returned. "I think I'd like a spring wedding, though."
"I don't have a preference," Zuko said with a shrug. "But, I don't really want a long engagement."
"Gran-Gran said the same thing," Katara told him with a wide smile.
"What's the matter Zuko?" Aang asked, addressing Zuko directly for the first time. He reached across the table to grab his drink from the tray. "Afraid she'll change her mind?" Aang gave him an exaggerated wink and nudged him just slightly too hard in the ribs.
"Not at all," Zuko replied gamely. "I just don't want to wait too long to be able to call her my wife." Suki, and to everyone's surprise, Toph cooed at that.
"That's really sweet," Suki said. "I'd love to find someone who feels that way about me, someday." Sokka choked a bit on his drink at that.
"Are you alright?" Katara asked. Sokka was flustered, but he nodded yes and ran a hand through his hair.
"Whiskey just went down the wrong pipe," he said. Katara caught his eye and wriggled her brows at him. Sokka shot her a dirty glare and then pointedly looked away from her, but Katara was not to be deterred.
"You know, Sokka here is great at that dance game," she said.
"Really?" Suki asked, turning to Sokka. "I love that game."
"Oh...?" was Sokka's intelligent reply. "That's cool. A-are you any good at it?" Suki's mouth turned up into a smirk.
"Well, I was three time champ at my barracks," she told him. "I'd say I'm pretty good."
"Impressive..." Sokka cleared his throat and took another swallow of his drink. "Would you be up to a friendly match?" Katara could have cheered for her brother, but she settled for bumping her shoulder against Zuko's in excitement. Suki accepted the challenge and they ran off to the game. They didn't ask for an audience and no one offered to go with them. Katara and Toph joked and laughed a bit over the situation, and made predictions about how long it would be before Sokka and Suki were dating. Katara was going to suggest going over to peek at how the contest was going, when a server rushed up to the table, looking nervous.
"Um...Ms. Bei Fong," the jumpy young man gave a slight bow.
"I'm not working tonight," Toph told him.
"I-I know," the server stammered. "But...there's a situation in the kitchen."
"Whatever it is, you guys can handle it." Toph folded her arms stubbornly. The server shifted nervously on his feet, unsure of what to do.
"Okay," he said at last. "We'll try, but...the fire extinguisher is missing." Toph froze for a beat and then growled in irritation as she dragged herself from her seat at the middle of the circular booth.
"Honestly, what do I even pay a kitchen manager for?" she muttered. The server gave Toph his elbow and guided her back towards the kitchen. Zuko watched her go in alarm.
"Should we start making our way out of here?" he asked.
"Nah," Katara said waving off his concern. "It's probably just a little grease fire. But I do need to go to the bathroom." Zuko started to ask Aang to get up so he could let Katara out, but Katara told them to stay where they were and slid the long way out of the booth. Katara glanced back at the table, uncertain of whether to leave Zuko alone with Aang, but her bladder reminded her that she had a more pressing issue to attend to. She wouldn't be gone long anyway.
Aang was standing outside the bathroom when Katara emerged a few minutes later. She paused when she saw him, but moved aside to let him into the bathroom.
"I...um...came to speak to you, actually," he said. He swayed on his feet, and it was clear that the three shots and his drink had caught up with him. Katara glanced around nervously.
"We can talk at the table," she said.
"Please!" Aang begged. "I need to speak to you alone. It'll just take a moment. I just wanted to talk about...well earlier."
"Aang, honestly, it's fine," Katara fidgeted on her feet. "Just forget it, okay?" She started to walk away when Aang moved to block her.
"I don't want to forget it," he said. "Katara, that kiss was...amazing. I know you felt it, too." Katara's eyes widened in shock.
"I did not," she told him bluntly.
"Of course you did!" Aang insisted. "You kissed me back!"
"No, Aang, I didn't," Katara huffed in irritation. "Let's not discuss this now. You're drunk."
"You did, too!" Aang reached for her shoulders again, but Katara backed away. "I know you're confused now with him here, but you can't deny there was something in that kiss." Katara gaped up at Aang.
"Do you think that because I didn't pull away, I was kissing you back?" she hissed. "I was surprised! You started an argument with me! I had just told you that I love Zuko! How did that seem like the right time to kiss me?" Aang seemed genuinely poleaxed, which only served to further confuse Katara.
"But...earlier at the shop," he said. "You told me that you were upset because he hadn't texted you because he was too busy at work."
"Yes!" Katara shook her head. "Because I missed him! I was worried he wouldn't make it in time. What on earth would make you think I was angry enough to dump him over that?"
"He takes you for granted, Katara!" Aang stepped forward unsteadily, and Katara took a step back. "He's not good for you! Why don't you see that?" Katara glanced around again, but no one was coming down the corridor for the bathroom.
"I think I'm old enough to decide what's good for me," Katara scowled at Aang. "It's real presumptuous of you to think you can come back into my life after a decade and tell me how to live my life. I'm with Zuko. I'm going to marry him. If you're my friend, then act like it. Be happy for me!" Aang balked, and searched Katara's face for...she wasn't sure what. Uncertainty? A sign she was lying? Then after a moment, his face fell.
"So...yesterday in my office?" he asked. "Today, when you said you wanted an excuse to see me? That was nothing? You were just leading me on?"
"No," Katara scoffed and folded her arms. "Yesterday and today was me doing you a favor as a friend. I was just trying to help you with your business because I'm your friend. Me coming to see you was an an excuse to get out of the house. If you read more into it than that, then I'm sorry. That wasn't my intention." Aang shook his head in disbelief. Katara was going to attempt to push past him again, but he was quicker this time. Aang grabbed her arms at the elbows and pulled her forward.
"It wasn't nothing," he insisted, and leaned in to kiss her.
"Aang, stop!" Katara pushed against his chest and turned her head away from him. Then, suddenly, he was off her. Zuko had him pressed against the wall with his forearm braced against his collar bone like a barricade.
"She told you to stop!" he said darkly. Katara scrambled behind Zuko and clutched the hem of his sweater. Aang was startled. He blinked at Zuko owlishly and made a feeble attempt to push the less drunk and much stronger man away. For a moment, Katara thought Zuko was going to hit Aang, and she wasn't sure she would stop him. But the moment passed. Zuko took a deep breath and grabbed shoulder of Aang's shirt, dragging him out of the narrow corridor and back into the bar room. Katara was close on their heels. Sokka and Suki noticed what was happening and rushed over.
"What's going on?" Sokka demanded. He looked from Aang to Zuko to Katara and back, trying to make sense of the situation.
"He's had too much to drink," Zuko said, shaking Aang. "We need to get him a cab and send him home." Sokka turned to Katara, with a questioning look. She turned her gaze the floor and rubbed her elbow.
"He-he tried to kiss me," Katara told him. Several emotions flashed over Sokka's face before he landed on anger. He yanked Aang from Zuko's grip and shook him, which Katara was certain wasn't helping his inebriation one bit.
"Are you serious, dude?" Sokka demanded.
"I was just-" Aang tried to say. "You don't understand, Katara is supposed to be with me." Sokka let go of Aang shirt and pushed him away roughly. Aang staggered back and bumped into Zuko.
"I know where he lives," Sokka said. "I'll get him a cab." Aang resisted as best he could, but Sokka dragged him out of the bar with little trouble. Suki wrapped an arm around Katara's shoulders and guided her back towards the table.
"Are you alright?" she asked. Katara nodded her head and swallowed hard against a lump in her throat.
"No, I'm fine," she said. "He didn't hurt me or anything. He just-" Katara sank into the booth and sighed. Zuko sat beside her and took her hand. Suki looked up at the door with her lips pursed.
"I'm going to go wait with Sokka," she said. "In case something escalates." Katara wanted to tell Suki that Aang wasn't a physical threat, but she found she didn't have the energy. Then she was alone with Zuko.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Katara was going to say she was fine again, but the words wouldn't come. She took a sharp shaky breath before falling into Zuko's arms. In a scene reminiscent of his arrival earlier that evening, she cried into his shirt. Zuko murmured comfortingly and rubbed her back while Katara gathered herself.
"I'm sorry," she said when she could speak again.
"For what?" Zuko asked. "You didn't do anything wrong." Katara shook her head. She knew he was right in her head, but the guilt and shame lingered. She told Zuko what had happened earlier that day. About the first time Aang kissed her. How she hadn't pulled away because she was too surprised. Understanding dawned on Zuko's face.
"And that's why you didn't want to kiss me?" he asked.
"I just felt wrong," she confessed. "It doesn't make any sense, but I felt like kissing you after that would've been...I don't know. A betrayal or something. I know it doesn't make sense-"
"That's...normal," Zuko said. "When someone you trust does something that hurts you, it's normal to want to try to blame yourself. But, Katara, it wasn't your fault. You did something nice for Aang, and he chose to read more into it."
"You're not mad at me?" Katara asked. She curled into his side and rested her head on his shoulder.
"No," Zuko assured her. "Although, I think you shouldn't be alone with Aang anymore. I don't trust him with you." Katara let out a snort of laughter.
"Not a problem."
"Crisis averted," Toph announced as she walked up to the table. "I had to go over how to handle a grease fire to my crack team of kitchen experts." Toph felt her way to her seat. "So! What did I miss?"
-:-:-:-:-:-:-
The evening ended shortly after Sokka and Suki came back from putting Aang in a cab. Sokka was still fuming. After she had been filled in on what happened, Toph was equally as angry. She had the rest of the food they hadn't eaten packed up in to-go boxes and pressed them on Katara.
"You're always feeding people when they're in crisis," she said when Katara tried to refuse. "Let me return the favor."
Hakoda and Sesi were already asleep when Sokka, Katara and Zuko returned home. The couch had already been made up for Zuko, to everyone's relief. Sokka went up to check on Sesi, and then went to bed himself. Katara and Zuko lingered in the living room.
"I'm sorry this evening was such a mess," she said.
"I was having a great time, before that Aang guy went and ruined it." Zuko reached out and ran his fingers through the ends of Katara's hair. "I like most of your friends. I'm glad I got a chance to meet Toph and Suki." Zuko paused thoughtfully and rocked on his heels. "I was thinking... this town is pretty cool- well, what I've seen of it. Maybe we could have the wedding here?" Katara was stunned for a moment. Then she smiled.
"I think that's the best idea I've heard." She said good night and headed for the stairs. Then the paused and turned back.
"Forget something?" Zuko asked.
"Yeah," Katara nodded. She stood on her toes and kissed Zuko. "I love you."
-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Thanks to a combination of the night's early end and Sokka's diligence in keeping everyone hydrated, no one woke up with an insurmountable hangover. That was fortunate because, as Toph predicted, Sesi had no concept of hangovers and was up bright and early, and ready for her day with her Auntie Tara. Katara shrugged at Zuko helplessly as Sesi prattled on excitedly about all the fun things she and her aunt were going to do that day.
"I didn't know you'd be here," Katara told him. "And I did promise Sesi."
"You can come with us, Uncle Zuko!" Sesi suggested. Zuko preened at his official title, and he seemed to be ready to take her up on her offer, but Hakoda clasped his shoulder.
"Actually," he cut in, "I think this is the perfect chance for you and I to get to know each other better. It's a father-son tradition to crack open a couple of beers and watch the game. What do you say, Zuko? Want to join Sokka and I?"
"I-I'd love to," Zuko seemed genuinely moved.
The doorbell rang as the family was making final arrangements. Sokka got to it first and was greeted by a large platter of baked goods. He looked up from the tray to the owner, and his face lit up.
"Suki!"
"Hi," Suki smiled uncertainly. "I wasn't sure if anyone would be up for company, but I wanted to see if Katara was okay. I brought some sweets."
"That's never unwelcomed," Sokka said. "It's cold, though. Why don't you come in?' Suki shook her head.
"I have a class in an hour," she explained. "I have to go set up. I just wanted to check in."
"Oh," Sokka tried to keep the disappointment from bleeding into his voice. "Well, thank you!" Suki nodded and started to turn away, but then she paused, and turned back to Sokka.
"We never decided a winner last night," she said. "How about a rematch?" Sokka straightened up and puffed his chest with a cocky grin.
"Name the day," he said.
"How about Thursday?" Suki suggested.
"You're on!"
"And maybe after I win," Suki continued. "We can have dinner?" Sokka almost fell over in surprise.
"Yeah!" he agreed quickly. "Winner treats?" Suki raised brow at that.
"Isn't it usually the loser who treats?" she asked.
"Yeah," Sokka shrugged, "but I don't plan to lose." Suki laughed and waved goodbye to him.
"I'll call you."
Sokka went inside and found his family watching him with interest in the foyer. Hakoda was grinning, Zuko gave him a thumbs up, and Katara just looked smug.
"Daddy?" Sesi tugged on Sokka's shirt. "Were you flirting with Sifu Suki?"
the end
One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six
#atla#zutara#sukka#hallmarks of the season#anti aang#anti kataang#tw assalt#tw sa#nothing graphic but it might be enough to make some people uncomfortable
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started watching the new live action avatar
it’s. It’s pretty ok I guess? But there’s a lot of things I’m not altogether happy about. It feels very. Generic. Which is kind of sad.
I’m only two episodes in though, so I won’t be too harsh. But there are a few things that I really don’t like, and number one was Aang going into the Avatar State in front of Sokka and Katara for the first time when seeing Monk Gyatso instead of when escaping Zuko, and that moment being isolated instead of the moment everyone in the world knew the Avatar had returned
in the original series, Aang goes into the Avatar State when confronted by irrefutable proof in the form of the skeleton of his best friend and mentor - the airbenders really were massacred and he can no longer deny it.
every statue of the Avatar around the globe lights up in a single moment. the legendary figure’s destined return is announced to the world by an overwhelming outpouring of grief and rage from a young child who just discovered that everyone he ever knew and loved is gone. it’s poignant. the Avatar’s return in that moment is not a triumph. that terrifying show of strength and power, enough to light up the world in its glow, is pure emotional anguish from a small twelve year old, who just saw the dead body of his mentor and now believes he is all alone
and Katara and Sokka having seen the Avatar State before means that there is less of the shock and “what is happening” in this pivotal scene (which was the main focus in the live action). of course Sokka is still concerned about them potentially getting flung off the mountain. but both of them know this reaction for what it is - mysterious power, sure, but primarily, they see and recognize his grief.
I just. what happened to “we’re your family now” and “neither of us are gonna let anything happen to you”??? :(
on a side note, I do feel like Katara and Sokka themselves have been heavily (heh) watered down. it’s a shame. Sokka’s my favourite, and I just think that I. Don’t trust writers with Katara now. (Why is her waterbending a secret? The whole reason she didn’t learn was because there was no one to teach her and she couldn’t leave… also where is her instant connection with Aang… where is their silliness… where did it go…)
however! I did like a couple things that were done and I want to be a bit positive so here
love Zuko and Suki’s actors. they did a great job
Sokka and Suki’s training together was cute ☺️ (though I wish he had worn the uniform of the Kyoshi Warriors…)
Aang himself is adorable :) (wish he got to be a little more silly but Netflix adaptations always are more serious for some reason)
I actually kind of enjoyed getting to see some of the scenes from the war’s outbreak. I prefer the way the original show portrays it, with a lot of info being learned reverse chronologically, but it was cool to see Sozin, and some of the airbenders, and a little more of Gyatso (who I also really enjoyed :’) )
Katara bending water at Aang and it reducing to them splashing each other without even trying to bend. Rare sillies!
I thought Kyoshi herself coming to defend her island was pretty sweet!!!
Katara getting flashbacks to her mother’s death on seeing firebending. Well I don’t like this, obviously, but it clearly shows how her mother’s death haunts her, and if they have Katara face off against Zuko again at the North Pole, it’ll be all the more triumphant.
Suki’s mom!!! Damn she was so cool!!!!!!
#also whyyy was Katara not the first person Aang saw??? this is really important!!!#and what is Katara’s role here. She didn’t even seem to break the iceberg. That’s. That’s her whole. That’s. She. She kickstarts it. Gah.#Katara my beloved my sweetie I don’t know why your writing got fucked up in the comics and now here#you deserve so much better#also why no Aang and Zuko confrontation? hello? that’s really important???#they had him meet Iroh though. so that was actually pretty interesting#no agni kai between Zhao and Zuko either? maybe it’ll happen next episode?#ugh. I actually don’t like a lot of things. But I’ve only watched two episode so I’ll be chill and wait for more#storyrambles#atla#also this is just me being nitpicky but if we were going to actually see gyatso’s death (which. Idk it was more impactful not seeing it tbh#there’s this implication that gyatso may have broken his vow of pacifism since his skeleton was surrounded by tons of fire nation soldiers#implying he may have killed them#it wouldn’t have fit or made sense at the beginning of the show#but if they were going to show his death scene. Idk. Guess I just expected something more substantial#personally from what little we knew of Gyatso it actually does seem likely he’d break his vow if he really did die protecting the children#also. he was supposed to be the strongest airbender at the time. come on now. he just gets roasted?
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Hello, I' ve been reading your blog for quite some time and its existence makes me feel better both in general and especially when I get really annoyed and frustrated by crazy zutara shippers (not the sane ones, of course).
I would like to add some observations I made and haven't seen here. I've read many pro-zutara metas, both mentioned here and the ones I accidentaly found myself, and I notice one thing. The shippers often (always?) claim that Katara and Zuko MUST be together, but almost never say that they actually WANT to be together. It's the shippers who want zutara to happen, but not the characters themselves. And these people complain that in kataang Katara has no voice!
Literally:
Zutara shippers: In our ship Katara can finally voice her wants and needs and be heard, both by Zuko and us, since we all respect her so very much!
Katara, voicing it: I am not Zuko's girlfriend! *seriously, that was the scene used as proof for this pro-zutara statement in one of the metas mentioned in the ask recently*
Zutara shippers: Ignore that, she's in denial.
It became even better in the so-called "official dissertation" (gosh, there are so many lies and misinterpretations, I could talk about every single one of them, if you want) where the author wrote just that: "Sure, Zuko and Katara expressed no explicit romantic interest in one another in canon" just admitting: "I typed a six-part post explaining how this pairing, both participants of which don't want to be a romantic couple at all, should be canon".
Oh, yeah, that is a BIG thing with zutarians. It's exactly because they know that Zuko and Katara don't actually have feelings for each other, that they have to find other (often super convoluted) reasons for this "romance" to happen.
The Fire Nation HAS to be the "feminist" nation while everywhere else is a hellhole where women are nothing but property and baby-makers. The Fire Nation HAS to suddenly only be able to peacefully co-exist with the rest of the world if it suddenly stops being racist over night, being not only okay with the Fire Lord marrying the daughter of lider of a tribe they consider inferior and barbaric, but actually seeing her as the ONLY option for bride.
The Gaang, Katara's family and tribe, and basically every male ever, all NEED to see her as basically their maid and not actually care about who she is, so Zuko will be the only decent option for husband. Zuko NEEDS to be a billion times more traumatized by everything he went through while Katara is the only one that, by some miracle, can "fix" him just by existing so she'll be forced into the role of wife/caretaker/therapist, otherwise she'll psychologically destroy him.
Aang and Mai (as well as other characters like, say, Jet) NEED to be completely selfish, uncaring, abusive, evil tyrants that will inevitably become such unbelievable threats that they just HAVE to be killed so the possibility of Katara and Zuko so much as having ANY positive feelings towards them, let alone choose to be with them, is just no longer on the table.
Zutarians know they HAVE to make Zuko and Katara basically be forced into a relationship with each other, because it's very clear that they'd never pursue it willingly.
And somehow, that's "true love" instead of, at best (and this is me being VERY generous here) a mutually benefitial arranged marriage with no real feelings involved, or at worst just two people giving into despair and never, ever finding real happiness in this relationship they feel trapped in because said relationship was a big mistake.
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