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army-of-mai-lovers · 3 years

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in which I get progressively angrier at the various tropes of atla fandom misogyny

tbh I think it would serve all of us to have a larger conversation about the specific ways misogyny manifests in this fandom, because I’ve seen a lot of people who characterize themselves as feminists, many of whom are women themselves, discuss the female characters of atla/lok in misogynistic ways, and people don’t talk about it enough.

disclaimer before I start: I’m not a woman, I’m an afab nonbinary person who is semi-closeted and thus often read as a woman. I’m speaking to things that I’ve seen that have made me uncomfy, but if any women (esp women existing along other axes of oppression, e.g. trans women, women of color, disabled women, etc) want to add onto this post, please do!

“This female character is a total badass but I’m not even a little bit interested in exploring her as a human being.”

I’ve seen a lot of people say of various female characters in atla/lok, “I love her! She’s such a badass!” now, this statement on its own isn’t misogynistic, but it represents a pretty pervasive form of misogyny that I’ve seen leveled in large part toward the canon female love interests of one or both of the members of a popular gay ship (*cough* zukka *cough*) I’m going to use Suki as an example of this because I see it with her most often, but it can honestly be applied to nearly every female character in atla/lok. Basically, people will say that they stan Suki, but when it comes time to engage with her as an actual character, they refuse to do it. I’ve seen meta after meta about Zuko’s redemption arc, but I so rarely see people engage with Suki on any level beyond “look at this cool fight scene!” and yeah, I love a cool Suki fight scene as much as anybody else, but I’m also interested in meta and headcanons and fics about who she is as a person, when she isn’t an accessory to Sokka’s development or doing something cool. of course, the material for this kind of engagement with Suki is scant considering she doesn’t have a canon backstory (yet) (don’t let me down Faith Erin Hicks counting on you girl) but with the way I’ve seen people in this fandom expand upon canon to flesh out male characters, I know y’all have it in you to do more with Suki, and with all the female characters, than you currently do. frankly, the most engagement I’ve seen with Suki in mainstream fandom is justifying either zukki (which again, is characterizing her in relation to male characters, one of whom she barely interacts with in canon) or one of the Suki wlw pairings. which brings me to--

“I conveniently ship this female character whose canon love interest is one of the members of my favorite non-canon ship with another female character! gay rights!”

now, I will admit, two of my favorite atla ships are yueki and mailee, and so I totally understand being interested in these characters’ dynamics, even if, as is the case with yueki, they’ve never interacted canonically. however, it becomes a problem for me when these ships are always in the background of a zukka fic. at some point, it becomes obvious that you like this ship because it gets either Zuko or Sokka’s female love interests out of the way, not because you actually think the characters would mesh well together. It’s bad form to dislike a female character because she gets in the way of your gay ship, so instead, you find another girl to pair her off with and call it a day. to be clear, I’m not saying that everybody who ships either mailee or yueki (or tysuki or maisuki or yumai or whatever other wlw rarepair involving Zuko or Sokka’s canon love interests) is nefariously trying to sideline a female character while acting publicly as if she’s is one of their faves--far from it--but it is noteworthy to me how difficult it is to find content that centers wlw ships, while it’s incredibly easy to find content that centers zukka in which mailee and/or yueki plays a background role.

also, notice how little traction wlw Katara ships gain in this fandom. when’s the last time you saw yuetara on your dash? there’s no reason for wlw Katara ships to gain traction in a fandom that is so focused on Zuko and Sokka getting together, bc she doesn’t present an immediate obstacle to that goal (at least, not an obstacle that can be overcome by pairing her up with a woman). if you are primarily interested in Zuko and Sokka’s relationship, and your queer readings of other female characters are motivated by a desire to get them out of the way for zukka, then Katara’s canon m/f relationship isn’t a threat to you, and thus, there’s no reason to read her as potentially queer. Or even, really, to think about her at all.

“Katara’s here but she’s not actually going to do anything, because deep down, I’m not interested in her as a person.”

the show has an enormous amount of textual evidence to support the claim that Sokka and Katara are integral parts of each other’s lives. so, she typically makes some kind of appearance in zukka content. sometimes, her presence in the story is as an actual character with layers and nuance, someone whom Sokka cares about and who cares about Sokka in return, but also has her own life and goals outside of her brother (or other male characters, for that matter.) sometimes, however, she’s just there because halfway through writing the author remembered that Sokka actually has a sister who’s a huge part of the show they’re writing fanfiction for, and then they proceed to show her having a meetcute with Aang or helping Sokka through an emotional problem, without expressing wants or desires outside of those characters. I’m honestly really surprised that I haven’t seen more people calling out the fact that so much of Katara’s personality in fanon revolves around her connections to men? she’s Aang’s girlfriend, she’s Sokka’s sister, she’s Zuko’s bestie. never mind that in canon she spends an enormous amount of time fighting against (anachronistic, Westernized) sexism to establish herself as a person in her own right, outside of these connections. and that in canon she has such interesting complex relationships with other female characters (e.g. Toph, Kanna, Hama, Korra if you want to write lok content) or that there are a plethora of characters with whom she could have interesting relationships with in fanon (Mai, Suki, Ty Lee, Yue, Smellerbee, and if you want to write lok content, Kya II, Lin, Asami, Senna, etc). to me, the lack of fandom material exploring Katara’s relationships with other women or with herself speak to a profound indifference to Katara as a character. I’m not saying you have to like Katara or include her in everything you write, but I am asking you to consider why you don’t find her interesting outside of her relationships with men.

“I hate Katara because she talks about her mother dying too often.”

this is something I’ve seen addressed by people far more qualified than I to address it, but I want to mention it here in part because when I asked people which fandom tropes they wanted me to talk about, this came up often, but also because I find it really disgusting that this is a thing that needs to be addressed at all. Y’all see a little girl who watched her mother be killed by the forces of an imperialist nation and say that she talks about it too much??? That is a formational, foundational event in a child’s life. Of course she’s going to talk about it. I’ve seen people say that she doesn’t talk about it that often, or that she only talks about it to connect with other victims of fn imperialism e.g. Jet and Haru, but frankly, she could speak about it every episode for no plot-significant reason whatsoever and I would still be angry to see people say she talks about it too much. And before you even bring up the Sokka comparison, people deal with grief in different ways. Sokka repressed a lot of his grief/channeled it into being the “man” of his village because he knew that they would come for Katara next if he gave them the opportunity. he probably would talk about his mother more if a) he didn’t feel massive guilt at not being able to remember what she looked like, and b) he was allowed to be a child processing the loss of his mother instead of having to become a tiny adult when Hakoda had to leave to help fight the fn. And this gets into an intersection with fandom racism, in that white fans (esp white American fans) are incapable of relating to the structural trauma that both Sokka and Katara experience and thus can’t see the ways in which structural trauma colors every single aspect of both of their characters, leading them to flatten nuance and to have some really bad takes. And you know what, speaking of bad fandom takes--

“Shitting on Mai because she gets in the way of my favorite Zuko ship is actually totally okay because she’s ~abusive~”

y’all WHAT.

ok listen, I get not liking maiko. I didn’t like it when I first got into fandom, and later I realized that while bryke cannot write romance to save their lives, fans who like maiko sure can, so I changed my tune. but if you still don’t like it, that’s fine. no skin off my back.

what IS skin off my back is taking instances in which Mai had justified anger toward Zuko, and turning it into “Mai abused Zuko.” do you not realize how ridiculous you sound? this is another thing where I get so angry about it that I don’t know how useful my analysis is actually going to be, but I’ll do my best. numerous people have noted how analysis of Mai and Zuko’s breakup in “The Beach” or Mai being justifiably angry with him at Boiling Rock or her asking for FUCKING FRUIT in “Nightmares and Daydreams” that says that all of these events were her trying to gain control over him is....ahhh...lacking in reading comprehension, but I’d like to go a step further and talk about why y’all are so intent on taking down a girl who doesn’t show emotion in normative ways. obviously, there’s a “Zuko can do no wrong” aspect to Mai criticism (which is super weird considering how his whole arc is about how he can do lots of wrong and he has to atone for the wrong that he’s done--but that’s a separate post.) But I also see slandering Mai for not expressing her emotions normatively and not putting up with Zuko’s shit and slandering Katara for “talking about her mother too often” as two sides of the same coin. In both cases, a female character expresses emotions that make you, the viewer, uncomfortable, and so instead of attempting to understand where those emotions may have come from and why they might be manifesting the way they are, y’all just throw the whole character away. this is another instance of people in the fandom being fundamentally disinterested in engaging with the female characters of atla in a real way, except instead of shallowly “stanning” Mai, y’all hate her. so we get to this point where female characters are flattened into one of two things: perfect queens who can do no wrong, or bitches. and that’s not who they are. that’s not who anyone is. but while we as a fandom are pretty good at understanding b1 Zuko’s actions as layered and multifaceted even though he’s essentially an asshole then, few are willing to lend the same grace to any female character, least of all Mai.

and what’s funny is sometimes this trope will intersect with “I conveniently ship this female character whose canon love interest is one of the members of my favorite non-canon ship with another female character! gay rights!”, so you’ll have someone actively calling Mai toxic/problematic/abusive, and at the same time ship her with Ty Lee? make it make sense! but then again, maybe that’s happening because y’all are fundamentally disinterested in Ty Lee as a character too.

“I love Ty Lee so much that I’m going to treat her like an infantilized hypersexual airhead!”

there are so many things happening in y’alls characterization of Ty Lee that I struggled to synthesize it into one quippy section header. on one hand, you have the hypersexualization, and on the other hand, you have the infantilization, which just makes the hypersexualization that much worse.

(of course, sexualizing or hypersexualizing ANY atla character is really not the move, considering that these are child characters in a children’s show, but then again, that’s a separate post.)

now, I understand how, from a very, very surface reading of the text, you could come to the conclusion that Ty Lee is an uncomplicated bimbo. if you grew up on Western media the way I did, you’ll know that Ty Lee has a lot of the character traits we associate with bimbos: the form-fitting pink crop top, the general conventional attractiveness, the ditzy dialogue. but if you think about it for more than three seconds, you’ll understand that Ty Lee has spent her whole life walking a tightrope, trying to please Azula and the rest of the royal family while also staying true to herself. Ty Lee and Azula’s relationship is a really complex and interesting topic that I don’t really have time to explore at the moment given how long this post is, but I’d argue that Ty Lee’s constant, vocal adulation is at least partially a product of learning to survive at court at an early age. Like Mai, she has been forced to regulate her emotions as a member of fn nobility, but unlike Mai, she also has six sisters who look exactly like her, so she has a motivation to be more peppy and more affectionate to stand out.

fandom does not do the work to understand Ty Lee. as is a theme with this post, fandom is actively disinterested in investigating female characters beyond a very surface level reading of them. Thus, fandom takes Ty Lee’s surface level qualities--her love of the color pink, her revealing standard outfit, and the fact that once she found a boy attractive and also once a lot of boys found her attractive--and they stretch this into “Ty Lee is basically Karen Smith from Mean Girls.” thus, Ty Lee is painted as a bimbo, or more specifically, as not smart, uncritically adoring of Azula (did y’all forget all the non-zukka bits of Boiling Rock?), and attractive to the point of hypersexualization. I saw somebody make a post that was like “I wish mailee was more popular but I’m also glad it isn’t because otherwise people would write it as Mai having to put up with her dumb gf” and honestly I have to agree!! this is one instance in which I’m glad that fandom doesn’t discuss one of my favorite characters that often because I hate the fanon interpretation of Ty Lee, I think it’s rooted in misogyny (particularly misogyny against East Asian women, which often takes the form of fetishizing them and viewing them only through a Western white male gaze)

(side note: here at army-of-mai-lovers, we stan bimbos. bimbos are fucking awesome. I personally don’t read Ty Lee as a bimbo, but if that’s you, that’s fucking awesome. keep doing what you’re doing, queen <3 or king or monarch, it’s 2021, anyone can be a bimbo, bitches <3)

“Toph can and will destroy everyone here with her bare hands because she’s a meathead who likes to murder people and that’s it!”

Toph is, and always has been, one of my favorite ATLA characters. My very first fic in fandom was about her, and she appears prominently in a lot of my other work as well. One thing that I am always struck by with Toph is how big a heart she has. She’s independent, yes, snarky, yes, but she cares about people--even the family that forced her to make herself smaller because they didn’t believe that their blind daughter could be powerful and strong. Her storyline is powerful and emotionally resonant, her bending is cool precisely because it’s based in a “wait and listen” approach instead of just smashing things indiscriminately, she’s great disabled rep, and overall one of the best characters in the show.

And in fandom, she gets flattened into “snarky murder child.”

So where does this come from? Well, as we all know, Toph was originally conceived of as a male character, and retained a lot of androgyny (or as the kids call it, Gender) when she was rewritten as a female character. There are a lot of cultural ideas about androgynous/butch women being violent, and people in fandom seem to connect that larger cultural narrative with some of Toph’s more violent moments in the show to create the meathead murder child trope, erasing her canon emotionality, softness, heart, and femininity in the process.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t write or characterize Toph as being violent or snarky at all ever, because yeah, Toph definitely did do Earth Rumbles a lot before joining the gaang, and yeah, Toph is definitely a sarcastic person who makes fun of her friends a lot. What I am saying is that people take these traits, sans the emotional logic, marry them to their conception of androgynous/butch women as violent/unemotional/uncaring, and thus create a caricature of Toph that is not at all up to snuff. When I see Toph as a side character in a fic (because yeah, Toph never gets to be a main character, because why would a fandom obsessed with one male character in particular ever make Toph a protagonist in her own right?) she’s making fun of people, killing people, pranking people, etc, etc. She’s never talking to people about her emotions, or palling around with her found family, or showing that she cares about her friends. Everything about her relationship with her parents, her disability, her relationship to Gender, and her love of her friends is shoved aside to focus on a version of Toph that is mean and uncaring because people have gotten it into their heads that androgynous/butch women are mean and uncaring.

again, we see a female character who does not emote normatively or in a way that makes you, the viewer, comfortable, and so you warp her character until she’s completely unrecognizable and flat. and for what?

Azula

no, I didn’t come up with a snappy name for this section, mainly because fanon interpretations of Azula and my own feelings toward the character are...complicated. I know there were some people who wanted me to write about Azula and the intersection of misogyny and ableism in fanon interpretations of her character, but I don’t think I can deliver on that because I personally am in a period of transition with how I see Azula. that is to say, while I still like her and believe that she can be redeemed, there is a lot of merit to disliking her. the whole point of this post is that the female characters of ATLA are complex people whom the fandom flattens into stereotypes that don’t hold up to scrutiny, or dislike for reasons that don’t make sense. Azula, however, is a different case. the rise of Azula defenders and Azula stans has led to this sentiment that Azula is a 14 y/o abuse victim who shouldn’t be held accountable for her actions. it seems to me that people are reacting to a long, horrible legacy of male ATLA fans armchair diagnosing Azula with various personality disorders (and suggesting that people with those personality disorders are inherently monstrous and unlovable which ahhhh....yikes) and then saying that those personality disorders make her unlovable, which is quite obviously bad. and hey, I get loving a character that everyone else hates and maybe getting so swept up in that love that you forget that your fave is complicated and has made some unsavory choices. it sucks that fanon takes these well-written, complex villains/antiheroes and turns them into monsters with no critical thought whatsoever. but the attitude among Azula stans that her redemption shouldn’t be hard, that her being a child excuses all of the bad things that she’s done, that she is owed redemption....all of that rubs me the wrong way. I might make another post about this in the future that discusses this in more depth, but as it stands now: while I understand that there is a legacy of misogynistic, ableist, unnuanced takes on Azula, the backlash to that does not take into account the people she hurt or the fact that in ATLA she does not make the choice to pursue redemption. and yes, Zuko had help in making that choice that Azula didn’t, and yes, Azula is a victim of abuse, but in a show about children who have gone through untold horrors and still work to better the lives of the people around them, that is not enough for me to uncritically stan her.

Conclusion

misogyny in this fandom runs rampant. while there are some tropes of fandom misogyny that are well-documented and have been debunked numerous times, there are other, subtler forms of misogyny that as far as I know have gone completely unchecked.

what I find so interesting about misogyny in atla fandom is that it’s clear that it’s perpetrated by people who are aware of fandom misogyny who are actively trying not to be misogynistic. when I first joined atla fandom last summer, memes about how zukka fandom was better than every other fandom because they didn’t hate the female characters who got in the way of their gay ship were extremely prevalent, and there was this sense that *this* fandom was going to model respectful, fun, feminist online fandom. not all of the topes I’ve outlined are exclusive to or even largely utilized in zukka fandom, but a lot of them are. I’ve been in and out of fandom since I was eleven years old, and most of the fandom spaces I’ve been in have been majority-female, and all of them have been incredibly misogynistic. and I always want to know why. why, in these communities created in large part by women, in large part for women, does misogyny run wild? what I realize now is that there’s never going to be a one-size fits all answer to that question. what’s true for 1D fandom on Wattpad in 2012 is absolutely not true for atla fandom on tumblr in 2021. the answers that I’ve cobbled together for previous fandoms don’t work here.

so, why is atla fandom like this? why did the dream of a feminist fandom almost entirely focused on the romantic relationship between two male characters fall apart? honestly, I think the notion that zukka fandom ever was this way was horrifically ignorant to begin with. from my very first moment in the fandom, I was seeing racism, widespread sexualization of minors, and yes, misogyny. these aspects of the fandom weren’t talked about as much as the crocverse or other, much more fun aspects. further, atla (specifically zukka) fandom misogyny often doesn’t look like the fandom misogyny we’ve become familiar with from like, Sherlock fandom or what have you. for the most part, people don’t actively hate Suki, they just “stan” without actually caring about her. they hate Mai because they believe in treating male victims of abuse equally. they’re not characterizing Toph poorly, they’re writing her as a “strong woman.” in short, people are misogynistic, and then invoke a shallow, incomplete interpretation of feminist theory to shield themselves from accusations of misogyny. it’s not unlike the way some people will invoke a shallow, incomplete interpretation of critical race theory to shield themselves from accusations of racism, or how they’ll talk about “freedom of speech” and “the suppression of women’s sexuality” to justify sexualizing minors. the performance of feminism and antiracism is what’s important, not the actual practice.

if you’ve made it this far, first off, hi, thanks so much for reading, I know this was a lot. second, I would seriously encourage you to be aware of these fandom tropes and to call them out when you see them. elevate the voices of fans who do the work of bringing the female characters of atla to life. invest in the wlw ships in this fandom. drop a kudos and a comment on a rangshi fic (please, drop a kudos and a comment on a rangshi fic). read some yuetara. let’s all be honest about where we are now, and try to do better in the future. I believe in us.

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azucanela · 4 years

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OMG I AM OBSESSED WITH YOUR WRITING YOU ARE DEFINITELY ONE OF THE BEST WRITERS ON TUMBLR NO CAP!!! i love ur zuko fics, and i wanted to request some sokka x reader!!! i want u to have complete creative freedom but i love how you write slowburn omg so some enemies to friends to lovers sokka content would be insaneeee! maybe reader is fire nation (zuko’s cousin/iroh’s daughter??) but joins the gaang after crossroads or something?

AFTER | SOKKA X READER

SUMMARY: Sokka didn’t expect the girl who held a knife to his neck to be the same girl he’d fall for. Y/N didn’t really expect to fall either.

WORD COUNT: 10k

WARNINGS: injuries, implications of death, kisses, bloodbending, threats of bodily harm, death threats

A/N: time to give sokka the attention and hype he is OWED, also im SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONGGG but this is quite possibly my favorite Y/N. writing for sokka is hard tho. im not sure how much i like this tbh but its really long omg. also thank you!!!! i feel honored to be considered the best :D you are too kind

When she was younger, Y/N joined Azula’s little troupe of girls. Though she wasn’t some loyal little soldier for her to order around, no, Y/N never feared Azula. Nor did she follow her blindly. No, it had always been a struggle for power between the two. Even when her father was booted from the throne as the rightful heir.

Losing her brother made her wonder if giving up like her father had in Ba Sing Se was the easy way out. Perhaps thats why she promised herself she would never give up. Maybe thats why she challenged Azula to... an unofficial duel when she’d heard her comment. Challenged her and won.

The new Fire Lord’s pride and joy had lost against his niece, a shame.

Y/N hadn’t thought much of it, but it probably would’ve explained why Fire Lord Ozai was rather pleased when Y/N had came to him and explained her intents to go alongside her father and cousin in banishment. She was, no matter how unlikely, another potential heir to the throne. And unlike Zuko, an actual threat. Sending her on a journey to find someone who’d been missing for a century was the best way to get rid of her.

If Y/N was honest, she viewed the banishment as more of a vacation. All her life, she had to deal with banquets, politics, war tactics, all at such a young age. It was tiring, and dull, spending day and night in the palace doing such things. Now, she had the opportunity to travel the world, though her grumpy cousin was rushing them throughout each spot, it was still nice. Zuko certainly didn’t think so, given that they hadn’t found the Avatar yet, not that Y/N believed they ever would but, it is what it is.

A sigh escaped her as she sat, on leg propped up against the other on the deck of the ship, they had arrived in the Southern Water Tribe after seeing an odd light in the distance. Maybe it was cruel, but Y/N sincerely hoped they didn’t find the Avatar. She didn’t want her vacation to end, she didn’t want to return to the politics, and she didn’t want to deal with one of the most powerful people on the planet. Aside from her own desires, Y/N couldn’t help but disapprove of Zuko’s need to please his father, the man who’d hurt him beyond forgiveness.

She sincerely doubted her father approved either. Though their relationship had been strained for some time now. Y/N didn’t hate her father, she doubted that was possible, he was a kind man and a good father. Things between them simply felt... off. She liked to think she’d gotten over it, the initial jealously she felt when she discovered her father intended to join Zuko on his hunt for the Avatar.

When she’d found out from Fire Lord Ozai.

Sometimes she wondered if her father even intended to say goodbye. But she wasn’t a fool, Y/N knew he had recently lost a son, they were both hurting and Zuko needed someone who wasn’t going to hurt him if he did something wrong. Though, Y/N saw him try to save the lives of the soldiers of the so-called great Fire Nation, not do something wrong. Regardless, Zuko needed a father figure, yes. But Y/N needed a father as she grappled with the death of her brother.

Maybe she was just a little bitter about it.

“Are you coming?” Zuko asked, his words coming out harshly.

Raising a brow, Y/N shook her head, “no. Don’t get too violent, though.” She warned, looking at him pointedly, “they’re a small tribe that’s going extinct.”

Zuko rolled his eyes as he exclaimed, “that’s not my fault!”

Sitting up to face him, Y/N smacked him upside the head as she walked past him, “considering the royal family, which you are a part of need I remind you, ordered the genocide of every single Waterbender they had...” She paused, cracking her knuckles before turning to look back at Zuko, “I would say you that everyone here probably blames you for it by assosiation.” Y/N reasoned. She had never liked the history that her ancestors had, much less approved.

Taken aback, Zuko exclaimed, “you’re a part of the royal family too!” Y/N was well aware of the circumstances surrounding his banishment, he’d tried to save lives, but war was the only thing that mattered to the Fire Nation it appeared.

His attempt at defense simply earned him a shrug, “perhaps.” Y/N didn’t consider herself a member of the royal family, and she doubted her father did either. And no matter what Zuko thought, though he was royal by blood, his banishment severed his ties to the throne permanently.

Unless they happened to find the Avatar, though that wasn’t very likely, Y/N decided she would rethinking her life choices should the Avatar be here of all places, as she rested her forearms on the side of the ship and watched Zuko march down his soldiers.

She wasn’t going to tell him that the Southern Water Tribe didn’t have a military, much less benders. As previously mentioned, the genocide destroyed the benders, and the most of the soldiers in the village had headed off to fight in the war against the Fire Nation. Though her brow did raise as she watched him yank an old lady from the small crowd of people, Y/N straightened her back, preparing to get involved.

Of course, a young warrior ended up running at her cousin, war paint and all as he attempted to attack. Key word being attempted. Watching him fall face first into the snow, Y/N realized he wasn’t a warrior, but a boy. The Avatar also happened to be a boy. A very, very young boy. Not a century year old Airbender.

Y/N supposed it was time to start rethinking her life.

Sokka didn’t know what he was supposed to do as he helped Princess Yue onto the Sky Bison. They needed to find Aang’s physical body, quickly, otherwise he wouldn’t be returning to the real world, and they happened to be fresh out of Avatars up until recently so that wasn’t really an option. Not when they needed the balance of the world to be restored immediately.

Sighing, Sokka moved to get onto the Sky Bison, only to be yanked backwards, stumbling before having a knife pressed to his neck. “What the hell!” He exclaimed in shock, garnering the attention of the others that were already on Appa. Katara’s mouth gaping open at the sight of him as Princess Yue cried out in shock.

The knife against his neck is certainly uncomfortable, and he realizes that he probably should’ve stuck around Kyoshi Island long enough to learn how to get out a situation like this. “I’m coming with you. Someone has to make sure Zuko doesn’t do anything else dumb.” Comes a voice from behind him, and Sokka’s brows furrowed in confusion, who was this? And why were they trying to kill him? More importantly, how did they know Prince Zuko, the guy who had been chasing them since Aang had come out of that iceberg. Questions ran rampant through his mind, and he nearly forgot that his life was being threatened.

That was a luxury he couldn’t afford at the moment.

Though he couldn’t see the person behind him, he could see Katara grimace at her demand, anyone associated with Prince Zuko likely had a similar end goal, to capture the Avatar. This wasn’t something they could allow, and Sokka recognized this as Katara asked, “why should we trust you?” Katara’s eyes soon met Sokka’s and he knew that no matter what he said, she would give into the girl’s demands for his safety. Sokka mentally scolded himself for failing to prevent this situation.

The girl behind him scoffed, “unlike my dear cousin,” Sokka couldn’t help the shock that flooded him, cousin? As in Zuko is this girl’s cousin? Or did she mean someone else? He was kidding himself, there was no one else it could be. “I like banishment, it’s like a fun little vacation. I could care less about the Avatar.” The knife draws in closer to Sokka’s neck, nearly drawing blood, likely expressing the fact that she could care less if Katara believed her. Though Sokka doubted she didn’t care about the Avatar, he was one of the most important people in the world.

But Sokka would likely die if she didn’t agree, or at least end up fatally injured. No matter how far Katara had come with her Waterbending, she hadn’t perfected it yet, and healing was only so effective. Sokka sincerely doubted she could beat the speed of this girl and her weapon considering the fact that she’d gotten the jump on them the first time around. Death wasn’t something he wanted, but anyone who knew Zuko couldn’t be trusted, much less someone who shared his blood. If he turned out... like that, Sokka didn’t want to imagine how this stranger ended up.

“Don’t try anything.” Katara warned, eyeing the girl wearily. Though it was an empty threat for the most part, in the air, there was little Katara could do against a foe. Though three, well two if you exclude the princess, against one seemed like favorable odds, this girl seemed talented in combat, even without bending.

She released Sokka, and he turned to see her beaming up at Katara, “happy to be doing business with ya.” Turning to Sokka, she looked him up and down, sizing him up before speaking, “be a gentleman and help me up?” Yeah, she was crazy. The pretty ones are always crazy. That, and she was Zuko’s cousin, it made sense. Though Sokka was fairly sure that she was joking, you could never be too sure.

“Who even are you?!” He exclaimed, exasperated and preparing to whip out his boomerang as he glared at her. He didn’t recognize her, but she’d likely been traveling with Zuko for quite some time now if they were related.

She just shrugged, “you can call me Y/N.” She got onto Appa with ease, Katara on guard a she eyed her, eyes piercing into her soul, Y/N raised a brow upon noticing this, “calm down. I wouldn’t have killed him.”

Katara inhaled deeply, trying to maintain patience as Sokka got into the saddle, “yip, yip.”

Y/N wasn’t really shocked when it turned out Azula was after them. Of course good old Uncle Ozai sent his most valuable asset to bring them back. Though some good at come of it, Zuko cut his ponytail, something Y/N had taken pleasure in bullying him over. Now they were on the run, in the very city that her father had tried to run to the ground all those years ago.

Irony at its finest.

Tugging at the sleeves of her Earth Kingdom garments, Y/N sighed, walking through the streets of the city. She didn’t know where she was if she was honest, and standing in the beautiful plaza, Y/N wondered if maybe, it would be better if she never returned back to that horrid apartment. Her father was starting over, getting them all jobs at a tea shop, even Zuko had tried to move on, going out on a date with a girl.

The Earth Kingdom was an odd place, but here, no one knew who she was. It wouldn’t be difficult to restart, alone. Without the expectations she’d been raised with. Fists balling up, Y/N exhaled slowly, turning a corner. There wasn’t graffiti in this part of the city, she realized, staring at the walls. Though there was an odd poster, squinting at it, she moved closer. It was a poorly drawn image of-

A Sky Bison. The same one she’d ridden on back during the Siege of the North, not that any others existed, the Sky Bison were a dying breed. Which could only mean one thing, the Avatar was in Ba Sing Se.

"Have you seen him?” She heard from behind her. Y/N recognized the voice, it belonged to the boy she’d held at knife point, “the drawing isn’t my best but-”

Turning around she spoke rapidly, “don’t freak out.” This was a problem.

Y/N liked to think she was the least threatening of the Royal Family, aside from her father that is. Though they could both be lethal in their own ways, neither demonstrated the true extents of their power unless it was truly necessary. Maybe that’s why Y/N hoped that the boy, Sokka, she believed his name was, wouldn’t freak out.

Of course, he did. Dropping the posters in his hand, he opened his mouth, likely to scream, only for Y/N to practically tackle him. She slammed his body against the wall, covering his mouth with her hand as she glared at him. Sokka let out a grunt of surprise, immediately beginning to struggle in her hold, “calm down! I don’t have a knife this time around.” Y/N cried out, her voice a hushed whisper. Of course, what she said was a lie, she always had at least three weapons on her. Upon entering the city, she’d knocked that number down to only two weapons, much to her dismay and Iroh’s relief.

She felt him lick her hand, and she quickly removed her hand in disgust, while keeping the other planted on his shoulder, they both exclaimed, “what the hell!”

Sokka’s eyes narrowed at her, “look. I don’t wanna cause a scene, so I’m just gonna go-” He sighed when her hand remained on his shoulder, firmly holding him against the wall as he tried to move away only to be pushed back into the wall. “Or not.”

“Look, you cannot go back to your little group and tell them that I’m here.” Y/N tried to choose her words carefully, if she didn’t need to, she didn’t want to suggest that her father and Zuko were also in the city. “I’m trying to have a permanent vacation, away from the Fire Nation and my crazy family, in Ba Sing Se.” She explained, slowly removing her hand from his shoulder, “think you can respect that?”

He looked at her wearily, during their last interaction, she’d made no attempts to actually injure them. And when she had the Avatar right in front of her, unlike Zuko, she hadn’t tried to kidnap him. Y/N had been honest last time, and chances were, she was being honest now. That didn’t make him feel any better about trusting her though.

“How do I know you won’t follow me and kill me in my sleep?”

Y/N looked at him incredulously, “is that a joke?” She’d considered that too though, the possibility that he’d follow her back to her shared apartment and alert his friends of their location. Y/N refused to be the reason that they lost their new lives in Ba Sing Se, and had already decided to check into an inn for the night.

Raising a brow at her, Sokka gestured for her to give him an answer, and Y/N stared at him momentarily, “well. How do I know you won’t kill me in my sleep?” Y/N retorted.

Sokka rolled his eyes at her, “I’m a good person.” Came his response.

“Debatable.”

Sokka stared at her in disbelief, “I’m trying to save the world here!” He exclaimed, and Y/N wasn’t shocked by his response, her goal had been to fluster him and she had.

Tilting her head at him, Y/N replied, “sure.” Stretching her arms upwards, she waves to him, “don’t tell your friends I was here, and we’re good.” She began to walk further into the alley, towards the other side, “see you around.” If he was here, his friends were probably around the area as well, meaning she had to leave.

His mouth gaped open and he stared at her figure as she stalked off, pausing momentarily before groaning and running after her, ending up at her side. “What do you mean, sure?” Sokka asked, confusion laced in his tone.

Y/N raised a brow at him. “What are you doing?” She wanted to laugh at his reaction, though he was now following her liked a lovesick puppy, which could prove problematic.

Crossing his arms he responded, “making sure you don’t do anything bad.” Sokka eyed her suspiciously, “because I am a good person.” He asserted.

“And I’m a bad person?”

She already knew he was going to say, ‘yes, yes you are.’ After all, she was from the Fire Nation, and Y/N had no doubt she’d done terrible things in her life, especially when she’d fallen into a dark place and taken on... less than favorable coping mechanisms.

And he’s silent for a moment, leaving Y/N to wonder if he suddenly cares about the feelings of the enemy. Only for him to say, “in my experience... good people can do bad things.”

That wasn’t what she expected. Y/N found herself stunned, speechless as she looked to Sokka, though he simply continued to walk alongside her nonchalantly. Quickly collecting herself, she looks away from him and to the nearby food stand, “that didn’t answer my question.” And as Sokka opened his mouth to likely continue his statement, Y/N realized she didn’t want to know the answer as she spoke, “you want food? I want food. Let’s get food.”

Sighing, Sokka followed her, “as long as you don’t poison me.”

Y/N’s brows furrowed at his comment, looking back at him, “do you-” A small laugh escaped her, “do you think I just carry around poison?”

Sokka didn’t know why he swelled with pride when he made her laugh, “in case you run into your enemies, absolutely.” It was probably because she was the enemy, and it took real talent to make someone who hated you laugh.

“How often do you think I run into my enemies and invite them to get food with me?” She asked, picking up a few things from the stand, before heading over to pay.

Frowning, Sokka watches her pay, “I thought we were bonding over,” he paused to take a meat bun from her and shove it into her face dramatically, “meat! Yet, I’m still your enemy.”

Y/N simply shrugged, “this is a one time thing.”

It was not a one time thing.

Sokka found himself ‘coincidentally’ running into Y/N, more and more often. She’d be walking through the streets of the upper ring about once a week, though she had started walking through the streets of the inner ring of Ba Sing Se far more frequently than normal in recent weeks. He’d been meaning to ask her why, maybe she’d also grown accustomed to their meetings and started to come around more. During their meetups they’d talk, about things other than the war, which was a conversation difficult to come by with the others. Though he cared for his friends, talking to Y/N felt different, a good different. She wasn’t overbearing like Katara, or mean like Toph, but she also wasn’t as passive as Aang.

It was odd. Knowing someone who had once held a knife to your neck in a more friendly way. Though, if Sokka was honest, he didn’t trust her, and she likely didn’t trust him either. They’d both taken precautions due to the mistrust between them, not that be blamed her. At the end of the day, they were still on opposing sides, kind of. Y/N had never seemed to care about finding the Avatar, but she was certainly loyal to her family above all else.

She’d demonstrated that in the Northern Water Tribe.

Sokka was the same, if he had saw an inkling of betrayal as a possibility, he wouldn’t hesitate to tell the others. Their safety was his priority at the end of the day, and Y/N didn’t owe him anything, just like he didn’t owe her anything. Maybe that was the beauty of it all. But for now, everything remained peaceful, calming, and simple.

Of course, all good things must come to an end.

Katara had oddly disappeared after Aang arrived with news of his vision. And then, as though things couldn’t get any weirder, Iroh arrived, Y/N’s apparent Father Iroh. Toph seemed to know him well, which certainly came as a shock to Sokka and Aang. “I need your help, Prince Zuko has been captured.” He explained, opening his mouth to continue only for Sokka to interrupt. He couldn’t help it when his brows furrowed in both confusion and frustration, Y/N had never suggested that the rest of her family was here.

“Are you crazy? You guys were trying to capture Aang not to long ago!” Sokka pointed out, throwing his arms outwards, “why not get Y/N to help?” She was certainly capable of raiding the palace and retrieving her cousin.

At this comment, Iroh’s face darkened, “we were separated in the palace. I’m unsure if they managed to capture her or if she escaped.” Oh. So that’s what he was going to say.

Sokka couldn’t help it when his face dropped, looking to Iroh he exclaimed, “well- why didn’t you lead with that!” Pushing past Aang who had been prepared to start giving a speech on why they should assist Iroh, only for his mouth to gape open as Sokka headed for the door.

“Why are you so eager?” Toph asked as they began to follow him out the door.

He faltered, quickly trying to think up a good excuse as he replied, “no reason.”

Toph’s frowned, “I can tell when you’re lying Sokka.” She reminded him.

“We can discuss this later!” He exclaimed, flustered. “Let’s go.”

Y/N had contemplated killing Zuko before.

It had never really been serious, as far as she would’ve gone was maybe injuring him badly enough that she got her point across. But at the end of the day, she protected Zuko to the best of her ability, and tried to keep his mind from being poisoned by the Fire Nation ideals that she’d once lived by unquestionably.

Now she actually wanted him dead. He stood alongside Azula, who had offered Y/N her spot in her little gang hours ago, though she’d rejected the offer much to Azula’s chagrin. But she seemed sure that Y/N would accept some time soon. Perhaps it was because Zuko had betrayed her father and left him to the Dai Li.

He had betrayed her father, the man who had practically raised both of them.

Y/N had a violent past, she wouldn’t deny, and she liked to think that she was past all that. But looking at the situation ahead of them, watching the Waterbender, Sokka’s sister, Katara, cry over the body of the Avatar, she realized that maybe violence was the answer. Just this once.

So, when she hopped in front of them, she had a plan. A violent one.

“Pull yourself together.” She snapped at Katara, who looked up at her, bloodshot eyes and tears streaming down her confused face, “he’s getting out of here alive. But first, I need you to soak them.” Y/N gestured towards the troops coming towards them, Zuko and Azula accompanying them. Katara opened her mouth, and Y/N didn’t care what she was going to say as she ordered, “now!”

Katara’s brows drew together as she released the Avatar’s head onto her lap, raising her hands to use the waterfall behind them to successfully drench the soldiers, who groaned at the discomfort but pausing temporarily before they continued towards them. “What did you think that would accomplish? What a pitiful-” Azula’s taunts were paused when she watched as Y/N drew her hands together, inhaling deeply, and Azula stopped her movement. “That’s not possible.”

Suddenly, lightning was between Y/N’s fingertips, and she extended her hand into the large puddle of water that Katara had created. Y/N had learnt to bend lightning soon after she’d mastered Firebending, from her father, he’d insisted that she only use it when necessary, so she kept her ability to herself. This was necessary, she decided, hand touching the water and sending a shock throughout everyone with it, successfully putting all of the soldiers out of commission.

Unfortunately, Azula recognized the signs of lightning bending, and withdrew alongside Zuko, and the two were now coming to attack from above at a rapid rate. Y/N whipped her head around to see Katara, mouth gaped open at all the fallen soldiers. “You two need to leave, I’ll hold them off.” She began to move to create another strike of lightning

“No.” Called out another voice, and Y/N whipped her head over to see it was her father, Dai Li agents likely nearby as he moved in front of Y/N. “You all need to leave. Take Y/N with you, she will help the Avatar reach his destiny.” Y/N wanted to laugh at that, how could he be so sure? If the boy did die, then this would all be for nothing

Y/N scoffed, “are you crazy?” She moved closer to her father, “unlike Zuko, I’m not leaving you.” She exclaimed, exasperated.

Iroh simply smiled at her as he said, “I’m proud of you, Y/N.”

Sokka knew he seemed dumb. He knew how others perceived him, as the ‘extra’ member of Team Avatar, the useless one, because he lacked bending. At the end of the day, Sokka was the brains of their operations, he was observant, and this helped him develop plans that most people would never even consider.

Not that anyone else knew, but Sokka was the only one that had actually interacted with Y/N prior to what happened in Ba Sing Se. Sure, they’d all met once or twice in the past, but Sokka had a knife to his throat then, so Y/N probably didn’t seem that appealing to the others. And he doubted they understood how odd it was that she was so... apathetic. Normally she’d tease, and joke alongside him but now?

It was odd, and nobody else could notice the shift in her personality but him, and he was concerned. Y/N had lost her father, and been betrayed by her cousin, and she had yet to talk about it, at all. Sokka liked to think that they were close enough to discuss such things, and he’d tried to get some sort of emotion out of her, the key word being tried.

Despite her apathetic personality, the others had warmed up to her for the most part. Apparently Toph had met Y/N in the past, during the time she’d run off and encountered Iroh. So, the two got acquainted fairly fast, Aang was happy to have a Firebender, and insisted that once he was back to full strength, and they’d found a better place for practice, he’d learn Firebending from her. Y/N had agreed but it was clear Aang wasn’t as excited as he was acting, Sokka figured he still associated the time he hurt Katara with Firebending.

Katara had been far less weary of Y/N than Sokka had expected, but given what Katara had told him when she’d first joined, that made sense. Y/N was a powerful Firebender who had betrayed her entire nation to help save Aang’s life, and though Katara didn’t approve of everything she’d done in the past, she tolerated her. Which was better than nothing in Sokka’s book.

They were currently camped out in the woods beside a Fire Nation town, everyone had scattered to prepare for the few nights they’d likely stay in the area. Katara had gone to the town with Toph and Aang, in search of supplies and food, while Sokka and Y/N set up the camp and collected wood to help start a fire. Y/N had insisted that she could maintain the fire without any wood, but Sokka viewed this as an excuse to get her alone and force her to discuss her feelings.

“So...” Sokka mumbled, looking to her as she leaned down to pick up another piece of wood, “lovely weather we’re having.”

Y/N turned to him, raising a brow before nodding, “yeah.” It was clear she wasn’t entirely paying attention the nonsense that was coming out of his mouth as he tried to get her to listen to him.

Sokka grabbed another piece of wood, “how have you been?”

Tilting her head at him in confusion, Y/N brought another piece of wood into her arms, “fine.” Looking up at the dimming sky she frowned, “we should start heading back to that spot we’d found earlier.” Y/N turned to begin walking, and Sokka struggled to match her pace.

His brows furrowed in frustration as he stared at her, the light of the falling sun filtering in between the trees and onto them. Y/N seemed to glow as she maneuvered between the trees, “how have you been sleeping?” Even Sokka sounded confused at the question he asked, but he didn’t know how to broach the topic with Y/N.

She simply paused her movement, turning to him, he stumbled slightly due to the abrupt stop, and met her eyes. “Just ask what you wanna ask, Sokka. Stop dancing around whatever it is.” Y/N sounded tired, looking to him expectantly as she awaited his question. Sokka scolded himself for being so obvious that she’d noticed something was up.

He sighed, “are you okay?” And she opened her mouth to respond but he continued, “actually? You can say that you are okay, and not mean it. Y/N you lost your dad and were betrayed by your cousin, and you-” Sokka grimaced as he met her eyes, “you haven’t been the same since you joined us.”

Y/N is silent for a moment, then her eyes were piercing into his, “how would you know that I haven’t been the same?” She asked, turning away to continue walking back to the chosen campsite, “it’s not like you know me.” His statement had set her off it appeared, but her response had easily done the same for him.

“Are you serious? Not like I know you?” He scoffed, jogging to catch up with her, “I know that you do whatever it takes to protect the people you care about. I know that you really like Earth Kingdom food because most of the food within the Fire Nation is on the spicier side.” Y/N didn’t seem to be listening, and the camp was in sight, but Sokka continued, “I know that you get really cold easily unless you regulate your body temperature with your Firebending. And I know that you can’t pick a favorite color because you are very indecisive.”

Aggressively, Y/N dropped the sticks into the center of the campsite as they arrived, turning to him, “you can stop now.” Her voice was almost taunting as she spoke, sarcastic in a way.

Sokka simply followed suit, placing the firewood in the center and facing her head on, “and most importantly, I know what it’s like to lose someone.” He takes her hand, and Y/N practically growls at the contact, attempting to yank her hand out of his grasp, she ends up pulling him closer towards her. Sokka clumsily topples onto her, knocking the both of them down into the dirt with a grunt. His forearms preventing him from crushing Y/N under his body weight as he held himself up, his eyes meet hers.

Y/N finds herself glaring daggers at him, while Sokka finishes his little speech with, “you don’t have to deal with this alone.”

And in that moment, he looks at her, really looks at her. And she’s really pretty.

Y/N opens her mouth to say something to him, only for someone else to begin speaking, “are we interrupting something?” Toph. Looking up, Sokka sees the others as well, Aang looks rather smug as he wiggles his eyebrows at Sokka, and Katara gives him a pointed look, likely disappointed that he’d fraternizing with the former enemy. He can’t help it when he feels his cheeks warm, and before he can move to get off Y/N, she’s launched him off of her, and he’s flat on his back on the ground. Toph laughs at the actions, bending a seat of earth for herself and the others before falling backwards into it, the girl seems to wish she had popcorn as she watched the moment unfold.

“No.” Y/N mumbles, bringing herself to her feet and dusting herself off. “I’ll be in my tent if you need me.” She retreats into one of the tents they’d set up earlier, and Sokka groans as he lets his head fall backwards into the ground and runs his hands over his face.

When he removes them, Aang is standing over him, along with Toph, while Katara organizes the firewood. “So... did we interrupt something?” Toph asked.

Sokka just sighs, his plan failed. This time at least. Next time, his goal would be to make her laugh, to make her smile. At least she had expressed some emotion, anger was better than nothing.

Anger seemed to turn to annoyance, since Y/N doesn’t leave her tent until nightfall and Sokka can’t help but wonder what was entertaining enough to keep her in there for all that time. When she does exit, she uses her Firebending to light a fire, and uses the firewood they’d collected earlier to ensure it stays alight. The rest of the group was seated around the center of the campsite, and Sokka wonders if she’s going to go back to her tent when she realizes the only open seat is next to him.

She doesn’t return to her tent though and he’s grateful. Though she sits as far as possible from him on the bench that Toph had created, half-heartedly listening to the things that the others are saying. Y/N can feel herself getting cold and can’t help the resent that bubbles up in her chest as she recalls what Sokka send earlier. Exhaling deeply, a puff of blue fire escapes her mouth and Y/N feels nauseous at the small reminder of Azula.

This catches Sokka’s attention, though the others are too enraptured in the story Aang was telling, Sokka turned to her, “cold?” He asked, leaning to the side to grab a blanket from his small pack, he offers it to her.

Y/N knew she wouldn’t be able to regulate her temperature when she fell asleep, but accepting the blanket from Sokka felt like... it felt like accepting him and everything he had said about her. So, when she doesn’t take the blanket from his hands, Sokka sighs, moving to put it back, only for Y/N to snatch the blanket from his hand and wrap it around herself begrudgingly.

This was her way of apologizing, moving closer to Sokka on the small bench she huffed as she pulled the blanket tighter around herself and turned her attention to Aang. She’d been mean, she wouldn’t deny, but what was she supposed to say? Exhaling deeply, Y/N closes her eyes temporarily, allowing drowsiness to consume her for a moment, before looking back to Aang.

It isn’t until Sokka feels a weight fall onto his shoulder midway through his own story that he realizes Y/N has fallen asleep, his mouth gaping open in shock as he pauses his words. He quickly shakes off the shock, cheeks warming as he turns back to the rest of the group, who all regard him curiously. Aang once again wiggles his eyebrows and Sokka ignores the action, continuing his story. Though he’s more weary of his vivid hand movements in fear of awakening Y/N, and noticeably quiets his voice. Sokka finds himself wishing he was Y/N as he listens to Katara’s Water Tribe horror story intently, after all, this is the most peaceful he’s ever seen her.

It doesn’t last long, because she’s soon startled awake, hand going to her side where she keeps her dagger as she and Toph speak simultaneously, “someone’s coming.”

As an old woman emerges from the shadows, Sokka practically holds Y/N down to keep her from lunging at her and attacking as the woman speaks. And of course, Y/N’s distaste for the woman doesn’t stop there, even when she invites them into her home, though Sokka doesn’t blame her. She’s a suspicious woman.

It’s not until he and Aang are attacking each other that Sokka regrets preventing Y/N from attacking the old woman when she had the chance. Katara is struggling to move, and Sokka can only hope that Toph and Y/N return from the cave soon as he yelps upon nearly making contact with Aang, the old woman laughing cynically. Sokka watches as she shifts, hand outstretching behind her, “don’t think I forgot you little Firebender.”

His eyes widen in both shock and fear as Y/N’s body is suddenly thrown onto the ground in front of him. Her body rising almost mechanically, back to a stand, Sokka realizes there’s lightning at her fingertips, the woman manipulating her body to aim for Sokka. “A shame you’ll be the woman to end your friend’s life isn’t it,” She’s making eye contact with Katara who is crying out and begging for her to stop.

Sokka can see the panic in Y/N’s eyes as the her hands aim towards him, “Y/N. It’s okay.” He calls out her, in an attempt at assurance that he doubts does much to soothe her. “It’s okay.” He repeats, squeezing his eyes shut as he prepares for the lightning to hit him. Except it never does, instead, it goes upwards into the sky as Y/N cries out in pain, having moved her body despite the woman blending her blood.

She had overpowered Hama’s bloodbending, something that clearly came as a shock to the old woman as Y/N turned around sluggishly, staring at the shocked old woman as blue fire left her mouth once more, chest heaving. Sokka could feel the weight on his bones slowly disappear, leaving behind an ache, the woman likely intended to focus her abilities onto Y/N, who was struggling to walk towards her.

“Scared?” Y/N asked, looking up at the woman, “you should be.”

The next time that Team Avatar feared Y/N. She was face to face with Zuko.

He’d approached them as they sat in the Air Temple. And Y/N had practically jumped out of her seat, preparing for a fight as lightning seemed to dance at her fingertips. Though Sokka knew better than to allow her to attack her cousin, and grabbed her arm. “Can you guys handle this?” He asks the others, maintaining eye contact with Y/N. The others looked to them understanding what would likely occur if Y/N was allowed to be involved.

Zuko wouldn’t walk away from that fight.

“We got this Sokka.” Katara assured, pure hate in her eyes as she stared Zuko down, and Sokka couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he should remove both of them from the situation.

Sokka’s hand found Y/N’s, and it was almost burning hot, a sparks seeming to fly between them, he pulls at her hand. Y/N hesitantly allows him to drag her away, though she turns back momentarily to meet Zuko’s eyes. “I’ll kill you later, cousin.” She promises, and her voice is scarily calm. “For my father.” The condescending tone in her voice and the wince Zuko has in response is enough for Sokka to know that her intent was to hurt him emotionally if she couldn’t do it physically, and it was clear she had been successful.

Inhaling deeply, Y/N closes her eyes temporarily as Sokka brings her into one of many abandoned rooms in the temple, sitting her down onto a bed before kneeling down in front of her. “Are you good?” He asks.

“That’s a stupid question.” Comes her response.

Sokka tilts his head at her, giving her a smile, “well I’m a stupid guy.”

He’s rubbing gentle circles in her hand as she shakes her head, a small laugh escaping her, “no you’re not.” Her voice cracks and she cringes at the sound so she clears her throat, staring at the wall beside her. Sokka can’t help the way his heart swells at this comment, because for once he doesn’t feel like the comic relief, he doesn’t feel like the side character. Though he appreciates the rest of Team Avatar and loves them all dearly, at times, they didn’t take him seriously.

Y/N makes him feel important. Though he doesn’t say this as he looks at her, clearly shaken by Zuko’s sudden appearance, she speaks once more, “are you sure I can’t kill him?”

This time Sokka laughs, shaking his head, “I’m sure Katara would love to help you with that, but I doubt Aang would approve.”

Y/N nods slowly, letting out a shaky breath as a tear escaped her, though she quickly wiped it away and looks to the ground. “You wanna sit with me?” She asks, patting the spot on the bed beside her.

“Sure.” He replies softly, moving to sit on the bed with her. One he’s situated, Y/N leans her head onto his shoulder, and Sokka finds his hand wrapping around her waist. And they sit like this for several moments.

Taking a deep breath, Y/N removes her head from his shoulder and looks to him, “thank you.”

Sokka raises a brow, “for what?”

“Being here.” She replies, bringing her hand to move a hair from his face, Sokka watches her actions intently and in awe. “With me.” Her hand remains on his face for longer than necessary, and when she moves to let it fall back into her lap, Sokka’s hand cups hers.

They’re both silent when Sokka’s hand releases hers, and his other hand leaves her waist, both coming to her face. The look in his eyes tells her enough, and she nods to him.

The kiss felt like the first breath of fresh air in a while. Maybe it’s because it had been long overdue, but as Y/N brought her hands to his arms to pull him closer, she felt her head empty of all thoughts.

He pulls away momentarily, their foreheads resting against each others, he can see her eyes are shut, lashes pressed against her cheeks. “I hope,” Sokka pauses, and her eyes flutter open to look at him, he can feel his cheek warm as he continues, “I hope I can always be here, with you.” It’s a confession in its own way, and Sokka understands the weight of his words as he watches her reaction.

She opens her mouth, likely to reply, be closes it quickly, and Sokka can’t help the panic that floods him. Though this is quickly replaced by the feeling of her lips on his as her hand collides with his chest and pushes him down on the bed, earning a grunt from him.

“Guys, Zuko is gone-” Y/N throws herself onto the floor as she rolls off Sokka, and he sits up immediately. “Am I interrupting something now?” Aang asked, giving Sokka a look.

Y/N clears her throat, “no.” Sokka couldn’t help it when his brows drew together at this comment, bringing a hand to his temple as he sighed, and Y/N stood, dusting off her thighs as she mumbled, “see you guys later.”

She started avoiding him after that.

When Zuko joined the group, she’s also made a point to avoid him no matter how hard he tried to apologize to her. And of course, when Sokka first showed him to his room they had a... chat. To put it simply, Sokka had threatened him.

Just a little.

“So yeah, here it is, your room.” Gesturing to the room, Sokka gave Zuko a tight lipped smile, watching him wearily.

Zuko’s back was to him as he placed his stuff down, “thank you.” He said, expecting that to be the end of it, upon hearing the door close he assumed Sokka had left.

When he turned around, Sokka was still very much there. “Let’s have a chat, Prince Zuko.” It didn’t go unnoticed by Sokka how the boy grimaced at the use of his title, though that didn’t stop him from moving forward and placing a hand on Zuko’s shoulder a little too tightly. “Y/N does not want to speak with you.”

“I know,” Came his reply. “Thank you for keeping her from... killing me. The other day. I intend to apologize-”

A small laugh escaped Sokka, “next time. I won’t stop her.” This was for multiple reasons, one of which being that Y/N was avoiding him, and the other being that he wished to respect her and her feeling about Zuko. “And you need to respect her wishes. One of those wishes being, avoiding you. Until she approaches you, leave her be.”

Zuko’s brows furrowed at this comment, “she’s my cousin. You can’t expect-”

“Leave. Her. Be.”

Zuko became silent, nodding slowly as he looked to Sokka curiously.

And now, to avoid some of his problems and solve some of them, Sokka ended up running away in a hot air balloon with the person he related to the most at the moment, and the person he threatened rather recently. Zuko. Both of them were being avoided by someone important in their lives, and they both had slightly crazy younger sisters. Though their conversations were certainly... odd.

“My first girlfriend turned into the moon.”

Zuko looked at him for a moment before saying, “that’s rough, buddy.” There was silence after this, a temporary lapse in conversation that Zuko seemed determined to fill. “So...” Zuko mumbled. “You and my cousin huh.”

It wasn’t a question, Sokka realized this, but he disregarded it as he responded, “what about us?” Playing dumb would hopefully get him to drop the subject.

Zuko raised his brows at Sokka, “us?”

Scolding himself, Sokka realized he’d unintentionally dug a deeper hole for himself when he said this as he tried to avoid Zuko’s gaze. “Not really.” Sokka replied, “she’s avoiding me too.”

Nodding, Zuko gave him a tight lipped smile, “what did you do?”

“I wish I knew.” Sokka could only make assumptions about why Y/N had begun to avoid him, but at the end of the day was confused over it.

He really needed to talk to her.

As the day of Sozin’s Comet drew closer, Sokka had started trying to talk to Y/N more and more, she’d keep basic conversation but whenever he tried to address... the kiss, Y/N would shut down the conversation. And now, it was the day of Sozin’s Comet, and they established that Zuko and Katara would take on Azula, Aang would take on Ozai, and the rest of them would go after the army that was heading for the Earth Kingdom.

It seemed that Sokka intended to try to speak with her once more as he approached her while she strapped a dagger to her thigh. “We need to talk.” He said, plopping down onto a rock beside her.

“About battle strategy?” She asked, looking to him, “I had some ideas.”

Play dumb, play dumb, play dumb.

Sokka’s brows furrowed as he shook his head, “about the kiss, Y/N.” Y/N tried to hide her shock at his forwardness, he’d never been this blunt before, during his previous attempts to discuss this with her. Turning to him, she prepared to speak but he silenced her, “you’re going to listen this time.” Grimacing, he looked away, towards the horizon. “I don’t know what’s going to happen today. And if something goes wrong, I need you to know-”

“Nothing is going wrong.” Y/N stated firmly. “Nothing. So, we can have this conversation after.”

Sokka sat up from his place on the rock, moving in front of her, “there’s no way to guarantee that Y/N.”

Squeezing her eyes shot, Y/N took a deep breath, “I’ll make sure nothing happens to you guys.” She promised, “and I swear we can talk about this after.” She grabs onto his hands, holding them in hers as she looks away. Y/N knew why she was avoiding it. He was right, it was totally possible for one of them to die, and a relationship in the midst of a war was the worst possible idea. After would be better, or at least that’s what she’d told herself.

The pleading look in his eyes almost burns through her resolve as he asks, “will we?” It almost hurts that he doesn’t believe her, but Y/N can’t blame him.

“We need to go.” Her voice was almost a whisper as she releases his hands. Even if she wanted to continue discussing the subject, they needed to begin the battle soon.

Sokka frowned though, “if you don’t want this, just tell me and I’ll-” He sighed, bringing a hand to his temple. “I’ll stop bothering you.”

Y/n began to shake her head, “you are never a bother to me I just-” Sighing, she looked into his eyes, “I want this. I do, I’m just scared, and we’re in the middle of a war Sokka!” She exclaimed, the words spilling out of her mouth before she can stop them.

“You think I don’t know that?” Sokka cried out, exasperated. “Y/N I’m so scared that something is going to go wrong, and I’ll never get to tell you that I-”

“Don’t say it.” She interrupts, fear in her veins as she watches him.

So, he didn’t.

If she didn’t feel like she had something to come back to, maybe that would make it easier. Sacrifices would have to be made to reach victory, and Y/N wouldn’t hesitate to be the one to make them if it meant the others survived. They deserved to see the new world, the world of peace, prosperity, and freedom, the one that came after all this.

Y/N could feel the power flooding her as the comet drew closer, pure and raw power. Though this accompanied by her skill would likely help her in the upcoming battle, dozens of Firebenders with half her skill and the power of the comet was something she was definitely worried about. Overpowering them all was unlikely, and in the best case scenario, Y/N could slow them down. But she wasn’t a fool. In war, there were always casualties, and she was prepared to become one of many.

Then there were the thoughts in the back of her mind. Though nobody had discussed it, the throne could potentially go to her after all this, and that wasn’t really something Y/n was looking forward to debating. Perhaps it was selfish, but Y/N didn’t really care. Was it wrong of her to dream of escaping the shackles that bound her to the Fire Nation since birth, to leave behind the politics and the lies and the pain of it all?

Maybe.

Sokka knew Y/N had a lot going on in her mind right now. And he knew she was scared of what was to come, and no matter how much it hurt him, he respected her wishes to wait until this battle was over to discuss whatever it was between them. He knew where he stood. But now that Suki had left them, he found himself beginning to regret it. On the top of the Air Balloon, Toph was practically blind, and Sokka could do little in terms of long distance, aside from his boomerang. Which left Y/N to do her best to defend them from the Firebenders that had begun to swarm them.

“Go!” She cried out, knocking one of the Firebenders off the balloon. “Take out the rest of the fleet.” Y/N dodged the oncoming flames, intercepting them with her own to prevent the others from getting burned.

But Sokka wasn’t going to let anyone die today. “You still owe me a conversation,” came his response, looking down at the bridges on the Air Balloon. “Jump!” Sokka cried out as another ball of fire rushed towards them, he took Toph by the hand and hoped that Y/N followed.

Thankfully, she did, he took notice of her as he fell towards the bridges extending from the giant hot air balloon. They were all screaming as they fell, and Y/N grunted in pain as she hit Sokka, tumbling over him and off the edge, yelping as her hands grasped the bridge, with little leverage. Toph similarly went over the side, her screams filling Sokka ears as Y/N released one of her hands from the bridge and caught Toph’s wrist.

Panic flooded Sokka as he scrambled to the edge of the bridge, Y/N’s hand slipping, “Sokka! Hurry up-” Another scream rips out of her as she loses her grip on the edge.

Nearly falling as he grabbed her hand, his chest heaved. “It’s gonna be okay.” He promised, looking into Y/N’s panicked eyes. “It’s gonna be fine Toph!” He cried out to her.

“Yeah, right!” She called out into the wind, the fear evident in her voice despite the sarcastic nature of the comment. “Y/N I don’t wanna die.”

Y/N almost can’t hear her, too focused on maintaining her grip on both Sokka and Toph’s hands. She exhales slowly, eyes falling on the soldiers that are beginning to make their way down to them as she replied, “you’re gonna be fine, I promise. I’m gonna get you to Sokka, okay?”

Sokka was internally panicking, he wouldn’t be able to fight back against the incoming soldiers if both his hands were occupied, but his grip was faltering and he couldn’t pull them both up. Grimacing as he looked down at the two, he nodded in agreement to Y/N signaling that he was ready. It made sense in his mind, she would be able to use her free hand to Firebend, which was far more useful than anything he could provide at the moment.

Inhaling deeply, Y/N looks to Toph, “Toph, I need you to climb up my body, and grab Sokka’s free hand, okay?”

Toph’s death grip on her hand seems to grow stronger, tears brimming her eyes, “I- I don’t think I can.”

Y/N shakes her head at these words, “yes, yes you can. Bring your legs up to grab my lower body, and then make your way up, okay? Like a tree.”

Toph shook her head rapidly, “I’ve never climbed a tree!”

Sokka couldn’t help but grow impatient as he exclaimed, “there are soldiers coming, Toph please!” His hand was growing sweaty as he used his free hand to throw his sword at one of the oncoming soldiers, effectively knocking him down.

Y/N felt her arm swing slightly, and watched as Toph blindly extended her legs, finally managing to wrap them around her legs. She released Y/N’s hand and wrapped both arms around her lower body, slowly inching upwards until her legs were around Y/N’s waist and her arms were on her shoulders. “Good job, now reach up, as far as you can, and Sokka’s gonna grab your hand.” Y/n instructed using her free hand to pat the hand that Toph had wrapped around her.

Y/N could feel the young girl’s tears fall onto her shirt as she extended her hand upwards, Sokka’s freehand moving as far down as possible. The strain on Y/N’s body slowly becoming too much as tears leaked out of her eyes.

Maybe it would be better to just... let go.

She quickly shook off those thoughts, Toph, Toph, Toph, she couldn’t do anything brash until Toph was safe. Y/N watched as Sokka’s hand narrowly missed Toph’s. “Sokka, please.” Y/N whispered, looking to him with pleading eyes.

Maybe it was the desperation he heard in her voice that moment, or maybe it was pure luck, put his fingers grazed Toph’s and he latched on, extending his arm as far as possible and gripping her hand. “Now let go of me, and Sokka’s gonna pull you up, okay?” Y/N explained, looking to Sokka, his eyes meeting hers. Y/N quickly realized he couldn’t lift either of them up. Just like her, this was straining his muscles, and Sokka was struggling to keep both of them up.

“Sokka.” She said, demanding his attention, his eyes met hers, filled with fear as Toph relieved Y/N’s body of her weight and evened out the distribution on Sokka’s body. “You can’t fight back with both your hands taken.” More tears were streaming down her face as she spoke, “a-and... you can’t pull us both up.” Sokka was crying too now, shaking his head rapidly as Y/N simply pointed out the facts.

Toph’s grip on his hand tightened, “we’re all going to die.” There was resignation in her voice, and it hurt Y/N to hear it.

“We’ll figure it out. We are all going to be okay.” He stated firmly, a shaky breath leaving him as he made an attempt to pull them both upwards, a failed attempt.

Squeezing her eyes shut momentarily, Y/N allowed herself to imagine it, a life with Sokka and the rest of her friends. A life where they were all happy. Where everyone made it out of this war alive, and they helped bring balance to the world.

To give them that world, they had to end this war. And what was war without death?

Opening her eyes, she looked to Sokka, and he was panicked, noticing that far more soldiers had surrounded them and were preparing to mercilessly throw them off the balloon. “Sokka.” She repeated, and he looked to her with a tear streaked face.

“I love you.”

Everything seemed to slow as she spoke this words, and Y/N didn’t see the horror on his face for long as the grip of his hand faltered when she released it, he was screaming, crying, begging for her to stop. Toph clearly didn’t understand what was going on as she began to call out Y/N’s name in a panic.

And then she was falling.

It appeared there would be no after.

It felt peaceful, she decided. Falling. The stress on her body had dissipated and she caught one final glimpse of Sokka’s mortified face before going through the clouds. The comet was visible from where she was, the horizon, it was a beautiful way to die. But staring at the comet she realized she wanted to know what would come after, she realized that Toph was practically helpless and all Sokka had was a boomerang against dozens of Firebenders.

They would die. So, what was the point of her sacrifice? What was the point of her dying?

No, she wouldn’t be dying today.

Inhaling deeply, Y/N felt the power course through her veins, and she reminded herself that she was Y/N L/N, a force to be reckoned with. Nobody would forget that as fire tore through the soles of her shoes, and extended from her hands, propelling her upwards.

She was the daughter of the famed Dragon of the West. And she would take on his mantle, she decided, as she flew upwards and through the clouds.

She could see Sokka had managed to bring Toph upwards and onto the platform alongside him, and they were surrounded by Firebenders. It was clear that they’d seen her when their mouthes gaped open, and a few of the soldiers began to retreat, much to the chagrin of their commanding officer. Y/N found herself ceasing her Firebending and falling towards the platform, she landed in a roll and rose on one knee before opening her mouth and allowing fire to pour outwards.

The Firebenders fell off the bridges beside them one by one, and those who didn’t retreated back inside along with the others at the sight of the Air Balloon that Suki had evidently comandeered.

Closing her mouth, Y/N’s chest heaved, and she felt Toph tackle her from behind, “you’re alive!” She exclaimed, punching Y/N’s arm roughly, “idiot.” She dug her head into Y/N’s shirt.

“Yeah, I am an idiot.” Y/N replied breathlessly, holding the girl tightly.

When Toph finally released her, she gave her a smug look, “I’ll give you and him a minute.” Though this was partially an excuse to head back inside and into the safety of the balloon, maybe even attack some of the remaining Firebenders, it was also because Toph could read the room.

And there stood Sokka, mouth gaping open, tears streaming down his smiling face as he looked at her, before lunging towards her similar to how Toph had. Except his hands came to her cheeks as he brought their lips together, effectively knocking the two onto the ground of the platform, be pulled apart from her with a smile on his face, “I love you too.”

Yeah, after was looking pretty good right about now.

A/N: i hope you guys liked this SUPER LONG THING WOW, that was an accident. i was super close to like breaking everyones hearts and killing Y/N but then i felt bad so be grateful i was nice ksaljdlahfkj

anyways take care of yourselves!

taglists:

atla: @bubblebars @jada-cleo @art-flirt @the-deli-meat

#sokka x reader #sokka x you #sokka x y/n #sokka atla #atla sokka #atla sokka x reader #sokka atla x reader #atla sokka x you #atla #avatar the last airbender #lok #legend of korra #sokka is a bottom change my mind #im sorry ignore this #i hope no one reads tags #anyways have a nice day #drink water

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feiquacker · 3 years

Note

Hey! So after a few months on tumblr I have recognized you to be an intelligent and free-thinking individual willing to speak your mind, and I’d like to open up a little discourse on the widely popular Zukki ship, if that’s alright.

The reason I’m asking you in particular is because you’re a Zuko realist—something this fandom could use a lot more of—who sees the character as he actually is in canon, flaws included, instead of the soft, selfless, over-idealized paragon-of-virtue who has practically hijacked the character we got in the show. And I’m interested to know why you ship Zukki in spite of this, especially considering his possessiveness with Mai (like in The Beach) and how that would work with the dynamic of a throuple. Hope that doesn’t come off as a loaded question! I just want to get your thoughts/reasons behind shipping it. (And you’re welcome to just PM me instead rather than answer this as an ask, idc either way). Thanks!

Oh god you absolute sweetheart noone has ever called me an intelligent and free thinking individual willing to speak my mind. That's like the best complement I have ever received. And nah don't worry I love long asks.

So I am not the biggest Zukki shipper but I absolutely ship them. The main reason is because I want Suki to have two boyfriends and because Sokka is to way awesome to get replaced by Zuko or even compared to him. Plus polynamory is awesome too and I figured instead of disliking zukka I can just like zukki which to you may seem weird now but to me is like a very big deal and has a whole other philosophy behind it that I do not have time to explain right now. Aaah

I liked zuki's dynamic in the comics and although I don't really ship them I like it. If you mix that with some romance you get some really cool stuff.

I am getting off track

One of the main reasons I started shipping zukki is because zukka just seemed off. They didn't have any chemistry and their interractions in chanon were just not fruity like everyone claims so I started searching for reasons to ship them but there was litherally nothing they had incommon then suki.

They just can not be in a relationship. There's no chemistry, no balance or equality.

One of the reasons I ship zukki is because in zukka there is litherally no balance.

So I figured that Suki is the perfect balance.

Don't belive everything I say because I am not good invested into Zuko's and Sokka's sides aka philosophy and character. What I can ruffly say is that while Zuko is impulsive Sokka can be impulsive which isn't a good combination. Zuko runs into battle head on while Sokka plans it out to litheral perfection forgetting to plan the enemies plan and what could go wrong. He sees half of the picture not the whole while Zuko doesn't see at all. Zuko has anger issues and Sokka is the protector of the gaang which means that Zuko is a potential treat because of his "anger issues". Zuko is reckless while Sokka is partially prepared. (this is all before and during the boiling rock by the way)

So here suki comes in. Sukka is litherally the best ship. Suki is the one that sees the full picture, the one that is calm and flexible af but still has enough chaos in mind to take over a warship and crash it against another. Suki see's Sokka's plan and goes with it until it starts failing, where she takes action. If suki was there for the invasion the plan would have worked since she too is a great leader.

Now suki and zuko. A direct comparison is the way she and zuko faught (because they are so similar you could forget the differences in no time): While Suki and Zuko run into action. Suki stepping on the prisoners heads to get to the warden and Zuko jumping off the ledge before getting caught by Sokka on the gondala. While for Zuko it was completely predictable. He runs headfirst into stuff for suki it was a wow moment because it was so unpredictable. Her taking the upper hand in the fight against Ty Lee? Also inpredictable and the whole time it just followes trough flawlessly. Everything she does is flawless unlike Sokka's invasion plan and a lot of Zuko's attempts to catch Aang. As if every move of her is calculated. The reason she got captured by Azula? Surprise attack. She didn't have enough time to plan everything and Appa was there too making it even worse for them. But she shoos of Appa. She knew this was a loosing fight.

That's why she is such a good addition to Sokka and Zuko too. They balance eachother out.

I mean Sukka and Zuki balance eachother out.

So the reason I ship zukki is because I ship sukka and zuki and figured that the three of them in a relationship would be cool plus there's some content for them out there so yea. I still preferrer sukka and sukitara though. Zukki is like a neutral ship. You know? A ship you aren't invested in but also have nothing against?

Yea... Suki would be good for Zuko because she could beat the toxic behaviours out of Zuko. I hate jealous people that actually act out their jealous. And I can imagine Suki doing that to. Because its Suki cmon. She wanted to kill sokka the second he spoke. She would kick that misogynistic behaviour up his ass and out (and yes Zuko is misagonistic sometimes I don't have to explain it and I won't but he is. There is enough proof)

I personally started hc it because I liked the idea of Zuki in the comics and dukka is awesome. Zuko and sokka are just best friends that kiss sometimes and cuddle with suki because she is a sweetheart and the best cuddler ever lmao.

I don't know if answered the question because I got off track a lot and this is the third day and I am still writing it so yeaaa...

Sukka is amazing zukki is cool and yea. But I love the idea of sukitara and sokkaang. Just because I can't stand the bitches that say Katara is straight. Like... No? She's bi. You either have two queer siblings or two straight siblings.

(also I ship them because it gives me a reason not to hate zuko which I am struggling with. I don't want to hate him so I ship him with my favourite character. That way I can lie to myself and stay realistic with jis character)

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a-dumb-sarcastic-bisexual · 3 years

Text

My thoughts about Raya and the Last Dragon because I want to talk about it so bad.

I did like the movie

It was a gorgeous movie like possibly the best Disney film when it comes to animation

With pretty compelling characters

God I adore Kelly Marie Tran’s voice acting

I did have some problems with the humor

Mostly Sisu it was very jarring to be in dystopian southeast Asia then hear about group projects

But for the most part, I think they did a pretty good job of balancing the humor with the most serious aspects

I brought my mama to see this movie and it was really sweet to see her eyes light up when she saw something familiar

She would just point at the foods and go “Look Satay, look Duran, look rambutan, look shrimp paste” as if she didn’t raise me on this food

Raya asking Namaari if she’s eaten is possibly the most Southeast Asian question I’ve ever heard

If you didn’t know this Southeast Asians really show their affection through food

At any and all gatherings we bring food

Food is a major part of our culture so its something I’m glad they got right

I really love Raya she’s such a thought-provoking character

And I love how she’s not the typical princess

Also, I don’t know about anyone else but her mindset is incredibly accurate to my family

The second I was out of the womb my family forced trust issues onto me

My mindset ever since I was little was “never trust anyone or anything new”

God I wish it were a tv show

Almost every single bad thing I have to say about it could have been fixed if it were a tv show

Obviously, I have other gripes with it like how it’s not even available to most of southeast Asia

And you cant really take multiple cultures and mash them together and go “boom representation!”

And I am sad that most of the voice actors weren’t even southeast Asian

The lack of southeast Asian voice actors paired with the smushed together cultures really made the representation feel very fake

Like “here’s you’re princess now you can stop complaining”

As someone of Southeast Asian descent, it kind of felt like a slap to the face

But back to my less heavy gripes with the movie

Making it a tv show really could have fleshed out the characters

I know we would have had to give up that gorgeous animation but I would have loved to see a more rough animation style if it meant more lively characters

Something a friend and I were talking about is all of their character development felt very rushed

Because here’s the thing Raya is an incredibly selfish character

During the entire movie, her main goal was to bring her father back

She really didn’t care about her people which was a really interesting thing to see because that almost never happens with royal characters

But anyway around the end of the movie when she was helping the people of Fang escape during the entire scene the only thing I could think was “but why tho?”

She was never given a scene before this where she could go “ah-ha! Maybe just maybe my father isn't the only person in the world that deserves to be saved!”

So when she was being the typical Disney heroine it felt very rushed and fake

Like she was only doing it because everyone else was

If these characters were given more screen time where they could spend time in the different lands and learn their stories then Raya’s journey could have had more dept

Like we could have seen it slowly go from “I want to bring my ba back” to “I want to bring this person back” and “I want this person to have their parent back” and “this family deserves to have these people back”

And so on and so on until she has a ten-page list of promises to people

I also think it would be interesting for her to lose some people she met and bonded with along the way

Obviously not from the main cast but maybe an ally she made through joint trauma

This would have made the end scene all the more heartwarming because all those people would be there for a reason

I don't think the found family lived up to their full potential

Because as cute as their dynamic was it felt very shallow at some parts

She had no reason to trust them and they never gave her a reason to and vise versa

So when they were all huddled together before turning to stone it kind of felt very shallow

Like don't get me wrong it was a sweet scene that made me tear up a bit

But could you imagine seeing them bond over the course of a season or two

We could have seen them fight side by side and help each other and make sacrifices for one another

And see them really grow into their roles of the older sister or the father or the little brother

Like I said it was a cute scene but it could have been so much more heartfelt

Another thing I want to point out is Raya and Namaari’s conflict

This was another thing that felt very rushed for me and something that could have been easily fixed if this was a show

Because here’s something that kind of bugged me Raya brought Namaari to see the dragon gem hours after meeting her

And yeah I know that she was 12 and she was trying to trust people because she wanted to help her father in his journey to make Kumandra a reality

But could you imagine how much more Namaari’s betrayal would hurt if she and Raya had bonded over the course of years

Like can you imagine watching Raya and Namaari grow up together to a point where they were inseparable

And then Namaari backstabs her and pulls the “in another world we could have been friends” line

I feel like that scene would have hurt so much more if they really knew each other

Another thing I would have liked to see is Raya through that six-year period

Just seeing her grow increasingly frustrated at not being able to find Sisu while also having an Aang and Zuko like bond with Namaari

Like year sure they fight and stuff but they also save each other from life or death situations

Because no matter what the other did they still care for each other

So if they decided to write them as lovers their relationship as a whole would have much more depth

Which honestly would have made the scene where she gives Namaari her gem piece more powerful

Because it kind of reaffirms what we all knew throughout the entire series that no matter what they say or do to each other they still to some extent trust one another

But in the movie again it felt really shallow I think my friend explained it best when she said it kind of felt like Raya was only trusting Namaari because Sisu told her to

There was no emotional backing there was no real reason to trust one another it just felt very rushed

Next, I wanna talk about Namaari

She’s one of my favorite things about this movie

Which is why it sucks that we don't get to see more of her

I think this movie did something really interesting by making the typical Disney princess Raya’s enemy for the majority of the movie

And what I mean by typical Disney Princess is she cares about her people to a fault

She did everything for her people she stole the gem because she thought it would help her people

She tried to stop Raya from collecting the gems because she didn't know her reasoning and she thought she might be a threat to her people

And she has such an interesting perspective of this story which I again really would have loved to see over the course of a season

I would have loved to see her watch Fang slowly fall apart and see her grow more desperate to save it

To a point where she would have to hurt Raya in the process even if she didn't want to

Because as she briefly mentioned Fang looks pretty but it has a lot of holes and I would have loved to see what she meant by that

Like how bad Fang truly was

Like I said most of my gripes about the movie were its pacing and how it would be so much better in a tv show format

But these are just my opinions y’all can love the movie or hate the movie

You can agree with me or not I’m just putting my opinions fully on display for all to see and judge

#raya and the last dragon #raya #namaari #I love these girls #I wish we saw more of their dynamic #wow this is long #like maybe the longest thing I’ve ever posted #which is saying a lot

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beyond-far-horizons · 4 years

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Analysing the Zutara Cave Scene from a Writing and Psychological perspective

Forgive me, I’m an enthusiastic newbie to the ATLA fandom and Zutara (mainly because I knew the ship was perfect for me but was not canon and so I held off watching it for years.) So I know you’ve heard it all before but I wanted to break down this famous scene in more depth from my background as both a writer and a student of psychology. It’s also important since the age old ship wars are being resurrected (which I want no part of) and Zutara and this scene has been looked down on and belittled from some quarters.

Warning - Wall of Text TM incoming!

The main thing that gets most people is these mortal enemies going from hating each other to being open and vulnerable in about five minutes of screen time. I get the impression more time and therefore more conversation has gone on off screen, but it’s amazing that Katara goes from tirade at the literal face of the Fire Nation (a country whose plagued her people and killed her mother, and Zuko himself who has hunted her and her friends, captured her at least twice and has had several intense fights with her)

to tenderly touching Zuko’s face and “let me use our one of its kind Holy Water TM to maybe heal your face.”

Also as others have pointed out Zuko lets this ‘peasant’ (who defeated him, wounded his pride and foiled his lifelong goal several times) touch his scar when he doesn’t let anyone else do that at this point, even girls he’s been close to.

I doubt many Zutara shippers think this happened because the two suddenly decided the other was hot, even though there might be an unconscious physical attraction under all the animosity. But no-one can deny the writers were trying to show a shared connection that makes them open up to each other. That to me makes the relationship much deeper whether it’s platonic or romantic.

Katara, despite her understandable rage at Zuko, is surprisingly open to forgiving and helping him as soon as he -

a) mentions they have something in common - the Fire Nation being responsible in some way for the loss of their mothers.

b) his resolution to make his own destiny and overcome his difficult past associated with the scar.

I just love this about her character. She’s passionate, feisty and full of integrity but she can’t stop herself wanting to help make things better, even to one of her worst enemies. Her compassion is such a strength and it comes out even more when she realises she’s accidentally hurt his feelings re his face.

Zuko in turn is softer with her than I’ve ever seen him with others, even Iroh most of the time. He doesn’t get angry or even really defensive and he opens up about his mother for the first time. Extraordinary considering he’s talking to an enemy.

But this isn’t the first time he’s tried to win Katara over against his normal combative persona. When he captured her in Ep 9 you’d expect him to threaten her, especially surrounded by his men and bloodthirsty pirates. Instead he asks for her understanding and tells her (the little peasant and enemy of the Fire Nation) about his lost honour.

He then goes momentarily into full skeevy villain mode (which I loved) and offers her necklace back by placing it round her neck. (As an aside, yes this was totally the wrong tactic considering it was her mother’s who the Fire Nation killed, but I do love that he unknowingly offered her a Water Tribe betrothal necklace.)

Analysing it more deeply from a writing and psychology perspective, I’d say Katara represents the integrity and vulnerability that is at the core of Zuko’s character - the thing that got him that scar and banishment from his warlike family.

The same side he struggles with and that Iroh tries to heal and encourage within him. It’s masterly from a writing POV that they brought this mirror up and allowed Zuko to connect and own this aspect of himself again briefly before Azula (the opposite representation and Zuko’s ‘shadow’) literally crashes the party. This is truly his ‘crossroads of destiny’, raising the stakes and therefore making us - the audience - ache all the more when Zuko makes the wrong but understandable decision to choose Azula and his family’s version of him and betray not just Katara but Iroh too (dat angst.)

(As an aside look at the framing of the above shot. They do this alot showing him literally caught between two sides. In the previous scene with Azula and Iroh, they show both the unscarred and then scarred profile of Zuko to show the ‘two sides of him’ symbolically represented by Azula and Iroh.)

Two sides, Fire and Water, the battle of opposites and the bringing of balance is of course the core of ATLA, and Zuko and Katara’s fraught relationship sums this theme up perfectly. Another reason so many still ship them and feel aggrieved by the non-canon ending.

I think Zuko is so wounded by Katara’s refusal to forgive him and so determined to earn that forgiveness is because she represents his true ‘honour’ - the right way to be - to fight for balance and justice with integrity no matter what. Thus he must make amends to her, not just as someone he has wronged, but as the mirror of that aspect in himself.

Thematically this is tied up beautifully in him asking her to join him to defeat Azula in the final season and them working together to do so.

(As another aside, the theme of balance and Yin and Yang is also mirrored in Zuko and Katara’s relationship and character development. At the start Katara is the caring, altruistic almost motherly sort and Zuko is the angry, aggressive pursuer. However like Yin and Yang that contain an aspect of the other within them, whenever Katara meets Zuko she becomes more aggressive and is allowed to process her grief and anger, unlike with her friends. Zuko, in turn is often softened by her, reawakening his compassion and deeper feelings. Yes these aspects are also fostered by others, but Season 3 highlights this dynamic to Zutara allowing Katara to address her anger and Zuko to practice caregiving and support.)

Coming back to the Cave Scene - the most poignant part for me isn’t actually the face touch (even though I love it). It’s the final glance between them as Katara and Aang leave. Katara looks back worried, it’s as if she can sense the threshold Zuko is on and feels torn between staying and supporting him and her duty to Aang. I feel if they had had more time together Azula would have had less chance to turn Zuko.

He looks back at her softly and there’s a beautiful musical cue, hinting at things unsaid and unfinished, she gives him a final lingering glance, still anxious, then goes.

We all know what happens next.

Conclusion

Looking at this from a purely plot point of view it -

raises the emotional stakes and therefore make Zuko’s betrayal hurt worse.

Sets up Zuko knowing about Katara’s healing abilities and Spirit Water so he knows there is a possibility the Avatar could be saved. This all plays into the shenanigans of Book 3, letting Zuko go back to the Fire Nation, Azula giving him the credit and then letting down her father etc.

Giving Zuko more character development work to earn everyone’s trust esp Katara’s when he finally makes the right choice.

However I’m surprised that Bryke didn’t realise how this episode would look to the eyes of most fans esp Zutarians. Yes you could say it’s hetero-normative and why can’t they be just platonic etc but it was the Noughties, it’s a kids show and they are blatantly playing into those well known tropes - Zuko’s previous verging-on flirtatious treatment of Katara, his uncharacteristic softness and openness with her, her touching his scar, the music, their lingering glances, Aang’s jealous look (you could argue it was animosity towards his enemy but while we get this from Zuko, it is definitely played as suspicion about a potential rival so close to ‘his girl’ from Aang’s side.)

Ultimately the writers didn’t choose the romantic route, which I feel is a real shame and missed opportunity because of the depth of feeling and potential there. But what I really resent is when people act like Zutarians were stupid and/or biased for seeing and loving that potential. I hope this analysis has shown that the romantic subtext was strong (and much more believable for me than with Katara and Aang) and in line with the core themes of ATLA itself. This also refutes the suggestion that Zutara was somehow dark, toxic or shallow cos ‘he’s a bad boy’ or something.

Zuko was owning his own struggles, emotions and destiny in this scene, it’s why Katara finally opens up to him. She doesn’t have to ‘do the work for him’, but she supports him in it as he supports her later on when he earns her forgiveness. And that’s why I love it!

Thank you for coming to my TED talk...

#zutara #zuko #katara #atla #avatar the last airbender #meta #my meta #my writing #long post is long #wall of text tm #anti-kataang #better put that in there even though I don't really go into the rival ship #antis please don't interact I respect your right to ship let's be civil

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reinerispretty · 4 years

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beneath the moon. (sokka x f!reader) pt4

good evening!!! it’s storming here so it’s perfect writing weather :D

pt1

pt3

pt5

“What have you been up to today?” She had questioned. (Y/N) smiled.

“I hung out with Katara and Aang again.”

“Seems like you’ve been doing that a lot lately.” (Y/N) shrugged.

“They’re nice people. I enjoy their company.” She slid past Yue and entered her bedroom, shutting the door in her older sister’s face. Yue blinked at the hard wood.

“You don’t enjoy anyone’s company!”

(Y/N) and Katara had devised a plan. After (Y/N’s) healing lessons and after Katara’s waterbending lessons, they would meet in the mountains in the outskirts of the city. There, Katara would teach (Y/N) the waterbending moves that she had been so desperately trying to learn. It was a risky ordeal for both girls, but Master Pakku had told Katara himself that she was fit to be a waterbending master. It wasn’t like they were going to take her bending away.

(Y/N) knew one basic waterbending move: lifting water. It was necessary for transporting water to people who needed to be healed. Katara assured her that with that move, she had already learned the base of all other waterbending moves.

They utilized the snow as the source of their water. It took her a bit to learn the moves that Katara was teaching her, but after practicing each day, Katara assured her that she was becoming an intermediate waterbender. Even Aang stopped by their lessons occasionally to give (Y/N) pointers.

When she was waterbending, really waterbending, (Y/N) felt like she was doing what she was meant to do. The water moved with her, not because of her. When she was waterbending, it felt like everything inside of her was harmonious.

(Y/N) usually spent hours with Katara and Aang on the mountain. When she returned to the palace for dinner, her parents paid her no mind, but she knew Yue realized something was afoot. She cornered (Y/N) outside of her bedroom, one immaculate eyebrow raised.

“What have you been up to today?” She had questioned. (Y/N) smiled.

“I hung out with Katara and Aang again.”

“Seems like you’ve been doing that a lot lately.” (Y/N) shrugged.

“They’re nice people. I enjoy their company.” She slid past Yue and entered her bedroom, shutting the door in her older sister’s face. Yue blinked at the hard wood.

“You don’t enjoy anyone’s company!” (Y/N) laughed to herself. She desperately wanted to tell Yue just how happy waterbending made her, but she was scared. Yue was the kind of person who dedicated her life to their tribe and held their customs close to her heart. (Y/N) didn’t want to think about Yue potentially rejecting her happiness, or worse, sharing the information with her parents. So, as much as it pained her, she kept Yue in the dark about this certain aspect of her life. When the time was right, she would tell her.

The next time she trained with Katara and Aang, the sun was high in the sky, shining brightly on the snow-capped mountain tops. (Y/N) spun around on her feet, gathering all the water she could and forming a wave. She propelled it toward Aang, who froze and broke the wave, sending shards of ice back at her. (Y/N) was able to return to water back to its liquid form, the shards turning into droplets as they fell from the sky.

She turned to Katara, who smiled brightly at her. “You did it!”

“Only took about a week of practice,” (Y/N) laughed.

“You’re becoming a great waterbender,” Aang assured her. “You’ll be a master in no time as long as you keep practicing.” (Y/N) smiled sadly at her friend. She knew that once they left, she would be lucky to get a moment to herself to practice. The servants had been suspicious of her whereabouts for a long time, and would undoubtably be attached to her hip once everything returned to normal.

“Can we go again?” (Y/N) asked. “I think I can make it even bigger this time.” Her friends obliged and (Y/N) spun her arms around, creating a wave that towered over all three of them. She laughed excitedly as it swayed with her movements.

When she looked to her friends, she saw Sokka standing behind them. She immediately dropped her wave and stared at him. Would he tell on her?

“I, uh, wanted to know if you’d hang out with Yue and I for a bit?” He asked. (Y/N) furrowed her brows in confusion. “We’re supposed to hang out today and she hasn’t been comfortable with it since she’s engaged. I figured if you’re there...”

(Y/N) looked to her friends and nodded. “Okay.” She bid Katara and Aang goodbye before starting her walk down the mountain with Sokka.

They were both silent for a bit before Sokka started speaking. “You’re a pretty good waterbender,” He told her. She could feel his eyes on her face but refused to look at him.

“Don’t mention it to Yue,” She said, but it came across like an order. Sometimes, she couldn’t control the bluntness of her voice. “I’d rather she didn’t know I was waterbending.”

“Do you think she wouldn’t like it?” (Y/N) shrugged.

“I think Yue’s loyalty will always be to our tribe first, so I don’t really know how she’ll react.”

“I agree with you there,” Sokka sighed. “I’ve heard that she’s only engaged because it’s what she’s supposed to do.”

“Trust me, she and I have talked a lot about this. I don’t think she should’ve accepted Hahn’s proposal at all. She didn’t even ask me about it. Probably because she knew I’d be mad.”

“You don’t like him?” (Y/N) shook her head.

“I hate Hahn. He’s been nothing but mean to me since we were children. When he told me that Yue had accepted his proposal, he asked if he would be chief one day, like that’s all that mattered.”

“Honestly, that makes me feel a little better.”

“Why?”

“Knowing that you don’t like him, I mean.” (Y/N) crossed her arms over her chest and frowned.

“Yeah, well, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about you, either. So don’t get your hopes up.” They were approaching Yue before Sokka could respond. Her smile widened as she saw the two of them.

“What are you doing here?” Yue asked. She hugged her sister tightly and went to hug Sokka, but stopped herself. (Y/N) rolled her eyes as they both blushed.

“I’m your chaperone for the day.”

“I figured it would make you more comfortable if (Y/N) was here with us.”

“That’s so sweet of you, Sokka,” Yue cooed.

They walked along the bridges and canals, (Y/N) lingering behind as she let Yue and Sokka talk amongst themselves. It made her happy knowing that Yue had found someone that could make her laugh nearly as hard as she could, even if she herself didn’t know him that well. (Y/N) had learned to choose her friends carefully and only did so after she felt that she truly knew who they were. She had spent much more time talking to Aang and Katara than she had with Sokka. And while she loved Yue, considering that she was marrying Hahn, (Y/N) worried that perhaps she wasn’t the best judge of character.

(Y/N) hopped onto the railings of the bridge they walked along, holding her arms out for balance. Looking to her side, she could see their palace glittering from the side of the mountain.

Sokka must have noticed her doing this, because he and Yue stopped to watch her walk. “I can’t believe you guys live in a place like that.”

“Do you not have palaces back home?” Yue asked. Sokka shook his head.

“Where I’m from it’s all huts and igloos on a big chunk of ice. Nothing special there.” Yue laughed, placing her hand on Sokka’s arm. (Y/N) diverted her eyes away and quickly walked down to the other side of the railing so they could talk somewhat privately.

She could see the solemn expression on both of their faces. This was something that she wouldn’t accept for herself. She loved and admired her sister’s dedication to their tribe, but (Y/N) couldn’t imagine putting her own happiness on hold for others.

“I know what you need,” Sokka said. “You both need to meet my good friend Appa!” He took Yue’s hand and walked past (Y/N). “Come on, grumpy pants,” He called to her, a playful smile on his face as he led the way to the stables.

(Y/N) couldn’t help but let a smile crack at her lips. She jogged to catch up with them, putting Sokka in between the two sisters. Yue had taken her hand back from Sokka and placed it within her sleeves.

They approached the stables and for the first time, (Y/N) saw the air bison they had flown in on up-close and personal. It was huge, towering over her as it lazily ate hay. Its white fur looked as fluffy as a cloud. Its big brown eyes stared curiously at the group as they approached.

(Y/N) couldn’t keep her mouth closed even if she tried. She had never seen anything so amazing in all of her fifteen years of life. She turned back to Yue, the smile on her face the biggest Sokka had ever seen from the normally-serious princess.

“Appa and I go way back, don’t we boy?” He turned back to give the girls a smile and was immediately knocked over by Appa’s large tongue. The bison licked Sokka affectionately as the boy wriggled around on the ground. The sisters laughed as he broke free.

“Looks like you haven’t been giving him much attention,” Yue called to Sokka. He huffed as he stood, wiping the slobber off of himself.

“Would you ladies like to go for a ride?”

(Y/N) nodded excitedly, but Yue seemed less keen on the idea. (Y/N) grabbed her sister by the hand and slowly approached Appa, holding out her palm so that he could sniff it. He pressed his large nose into her hand and (Y/N) squealed at the feeling.

“Nice to meet you, Appa,” She said. She couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face. “I’m (Y/N) and this is my sister, Yue.” Yue sheepishly pet Appa. He huffed in their faces, blowing their hair back.

Sokka helped both of them onto Appa’s saddle. Yue sat at his side, her arms wrapped around his as they soared into the air. (Y/N) sat toward the back of the saddle, watching as the only place she had ever known receded into nothingness.

“This is amazing!” She called to them, her voice carried away by the wind. Sokka and Yue both looked back at her. A soft smile painted Yue’s lips.

“I think this is the happiest I’ve seen her since I’ve been here,” Sokka whispered in Yue’s ear. The elder sister sighed.

“I think so too.”

The large smile on (Y/N’s) face slowly fell as she watched the snow fall around them. Only it wasn’t the soft, fluffy white particles she had grown to love. They were dark gray and black, landing in her hair and dissipating into ash if she touched it.

“Oh, no,” Sokka breathed, his expression turning into one of grave sadness.

“What?” (Y/N) demanded. He didn’t answer as he turned Appa toward the snowy mountains on the outskirts of the city. They landed and hopped down from his saddle. “Sokka, tell us what’s going on!”

“It’s soot,” He said as he picked up the black, mushy mixture with his glove. “I’ve seen it before my tribe was attacked.”

“But what does it mean?” Yue asked. Sokka looked down at the ground.

“Who attacked your tribe?” (Y/N) asked, but inside she already knew the answer.

“The Fire Nation,” he replied. “And from the looks of this stuff, there’s a lot of them.”

---

The inside of the palace was loud as the warriors and waterbenders discussed the impending battle. (Y/N) sat at Yue’s side, their hands interlocked as she stared straight ahead. It had seemed like in an instant, all of her worst fears had become a reality. Her tribe had done a great job at keeping the Fire Nation away during the war, but it seemed like their era of peace was coming to an end.

The beat of drums signaled her father’s arrival. He took his place at the front of the crowd and immediately it was silenced. “The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe, but they will never vanish from our hearts.” (Y/N) looked out at the crowd, at the faces she had known her entire life. “Now,” her father continued, “As we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us! I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission.”

“Count me in!” Sokka exclaimed, rising from his seat. (Y/N) looked to Yue, who was fighting back tears. Just moments before they had entered the palace, she had called off whatever relationship she had with Sokka. (Y/N) could see that it had broken her heart, and her heart was breaking even more at the prospect of Sokka never returning from this battle.

As her father finished Marking the men that were willing to give their lives for battle, Yue retreated further into the palace. (Y/N) didn’t follow her. She understood that Yue needed a moment alone. Instead, (Y/N) followed her father and Aang outside, where they watched as the Fire Nation ships approached.

“It’s so quiet,” (Y/N) said, her own voice sounding much smaller. It was like all of the happiness of their tribe had been sucked out of the air.

“The stillness of battle is always unsettling,” Her father agreed. She looked up at him. Her father was a brave man, who gave his heart and soul to his tribe. Yue had obviously taken after him. While (Y/N) didn’t always agree with him, she could acknowledge that he was a man worth admiring.

“I wasn’t there when the Fire Nation attacked my people,” Aang said. Katara had joined them, taking her place at Aang’s side. “I’m going to make a difference this time.”

The Chief turned to his daughter and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You should go to the healing tent with the other women.” (Y/N) frowned and shook her head.

“No, I’m going to stay here and fight.”

“You can’t possibly-”

“I know how to waterbend.” Her father looked back at Katara with a disappointed expression in his eyes. “It’s not her fault,” (Y/N) said, redirecting his attention. “I ordered her to,” She lied. She would rather take the fall for Katara than risk fraying the group’s relationship with the Northern Water Tribe.

“It’s too dangerous for you to fight, (Y/N), you’re just a child.”

“If you taught the women how to fight like you taught the men, we’d have hundreds more soldiers and would stand a much better chance against the Fire Nation.” She stared directly into her father’s eyes to let him know that she was not backing down. “If we lose this battle, what will happen to the women and children? You and the elders have set us up for capture. I refuse to go down without a fight.”

As if punctuating her words, the first fireball collided with the city walls. Its force sent (Y/N) and everyone else flying back into mounds of snow. She groaned as she lay on the ground, watching as Aang took flight on Appa to attack the ships.

Yue ran down from the city and to (Y/N), grasping her sister’s hand to pull her up. “Are you alright?” Yue asked, her eyes searching her for any injuries. (Y/N) nodded, her eyes widening as another fireball approached them.

“Look out!” She called out, wrapping her arms around Yue and throwing them both to the ground. It shook with the impact. They both lifted their heads to see a hole in the tower of the citadel.

“Our home...” Yue said quietly. (Y/N) helped her to her feet and rushed over to Katara. The warriors had disappeared from the city, the elderly, women, and children had gone to seek shelter in the palace. The three girls watched silently as Aang destroyed fireballs and ships in the horizon.

“When the Fire Nation raided your village, was it like this?” (Y/N) asked Katara. The girl shook her head.

“This is worse.”

---

Tag List!!

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#atla #avatar #the last airbender #sokka x reader #zuko x reader #aang x reader #aang #katara #sokka #zuko #iroh #azula #toph #momo #appa #writing #fanfiction

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loopy777 · 3 years

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Atla has potential to be Harry Potter/Star wars level franchise if they have proper planning.If they made proper season four with Azula redemption in line with the themes of the show the franchise would become even more popular and unique because Azula is one of the most unique characters in any media. Don't know why creators are unable to see her potential! There is so much exploration of atla culture and history that can be done but is being completely wasted.*Le sigh*

Well, I agree and I disagree. I think the franchises you’re comparing Avatar to are good examples of the heights it could achieve, but their more modern entries are also good examples of what not to do. I mean, Harry Potter is pretty much on life-support at this point, with its latest movies being duds as far as blockbusters are considered. Star Wars movies were seeing steadily lowering return on investment, combined with everyone pretty much hating Solo and RoS, killing its own movie potential in favor of safer and blander TV entries. And how was that accomplished?

Well, yes, bad writing is the primary culprit.

(Some people might even say that lack of proper planning also played a part, but that’s never been necessary, IMO; George Lucas made up classic Star Wars as he went along, to the point where the first few drafts of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ didn’t even have Darth Vader as Luke’s father. Planning is over-rated. The key, though, is if you’re not going to create a detailed plan, you have to have storytellers who are good at improvising.)

But I think what hastened the dreaded onset of Bad Writing for both Harry Potter and Star Wars is the same thing you’re talking about doing with Avatar- making the focus into one set of characters/bloodlines. Star Wars and Harry Potter wowed audiences, in their beginnings, by implying the existence of massive, fascinating settings. It felt like we could step into those worlds and live there, find new corners to explore where we could both bring our own lives into the fantasy but also experience something new.

Yet Star Wars keeps making movies about the same people, explaining where characters with full and satisfying arcs came from and where they go after the arcs are done. I’ve only even seen the first Harry Potter movie and didn’t read any of the books, so I can’t speak from experience, but from what I’ve heard, the new movies have been slammed for throwing away their more unique aspects to become Wiki entries masquerading as prequels to the original storyline.

So would an Azula-centered sequel be cool if it was well-written? Sure.

But would it do much to expand the popularity of the franchise? Eh, probably not.

Anyone who would be impressed with a good story about Azula is probably already impressed by the first three seasons of Avatar, so this would just be more of the same. And there’s no guarantee that a continuation of Azula’s story would be good. I can’t help but notice that Aaron Ehasz has only spoken in the most general terms about his ideas for such a plotline, and he hasn’t connected it to any content for the main cast of AtLA. So a fourth season sounds more like a cash-in than something likely to be good.

What would expand Avatar into a powerhouse franchise, IMO? Exactly what they did with the Kyoshi novels- really expand the setting by taking advantage of its massive world and timeline. It’s made the notion of each Avatar having to deal with the fallout of the previous Avatar’s mistakes into a recurring theme that can drive all kinds of stories. And those books were told by a new storyteller to the franchise who brings a new -- but fitting -- style and perspective. But, of course, no one reads books, so they should do this with television and/or movies with great production values.

I mean, I can’t help but notice that Gene Yang, whose original graphic novels I love, can’t produce anything even halfway decent when he has to come up with ways to keep telling stories about Aang and Zuko. Maybe he’s just really bad at operating in settings he didn’t create, but I think he’s also crumbling under the pressure of trying to write authorized fanfic about characters whose story has already been told in full, expanded detail.

So yes, I think Avatar can be big. But I’d rather save the Azula Sequel for a smaller project, without the weight of the franchise riding on it, where a suitable author can scale things to what’s appropriate to the story and character. And there’s no need to rush it, either. I can wait for a few blockbuster animated movies to make Avatar into a prestige franchise that will have a better chance of attracting the right talent.

#Anonymous

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the-hot-zone · 4 years

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@agentcalliope THE REVIEW GOT TOO LONG FOR AO3′S REVIEW BOX AND WOULDN’T LET ME POST IT SO HERE IT IS. I’M SORRY IT’S SO LONG BUT I REALLY LIKE YOUR FIC SDKSDK

I mean firstly, the only thing I can say after reading this is, wow. Wow. Holy shit, wow. They way everything builds--the capitalization, the punctuation, the epithets, the prose--to demonstrate on both a subconscious and conscious level how Azula develops. The reader is comprehending these words, but also they’re registering the way you use spacing, punctuation, and capitalization, forcing the reader to slow down/stop/keep reading at certain parts, which creates a flow that a) sounds like Azula b) portrays her mental state and c) shows her development. It’s like a crescendo of writing conventions that never stops moving, and god I just. I’m fangirling a lil bit over your writing. There’s not a wasted line, space, italicization, quotation mark, period, comma, or word in this fic. Everything serves a purpose, and the way it builds--just. Wow. I can see the work you put into editing and revising this, and I want you to know that you’ve communicated your point extremely well. I’m moved. As a reader, I’m in tears. As a writer, I’m floored (and I’m taking notes.) God, okay, time to get specific.

The stylization. This is one of my fav writing styles--the blend of poetry and narration--that I don’t get to see a whole lot, and it’s hard to pull off. I really feel like you’ve used that style to its full potential; in your hands, it feels like that style was made to tell Azula’s story. I really, really like this, so I hope you don’t mind if I talk about why? Which means analyzing; analyzing is my love language, and I love your fic, truly.

In the beginning of the fic, she is “the girl;” she is “a princess,” not “Azula.” This shows how, with her defeat, Azula has lost herself completely (”someone is screaming who is screaming”). Ozai built her for a role she no longer has, so she has lost her identity, her sense of self. So, when she accepts the identity of monster, that is something she must unlearn through Iroh and for herself.

The first time the reader reads Azula’s name (as “azula), it’s isolated by a line break and positioned right after a long, run-on thought from Azula (”he doesn’t look quite...”) and before “the boy says.” This shows how Azula’s name, her identity, is separate from a) her inner monologue and thus her sense of self and b) how she perceives the world around her (outside of dialogue). And this further illustrates the importance of dialogue in this fic; dialogue is the connection from her inner monologue to how she perceives the world. Thus, later in the fic, when Iroh speaks the first line of quotation-mark-surrounded dialogue, it shows how he gets through to her. AH THE WAY YOU BUILD EVERYTHING UP. Also, her description of Ozai in this scene as “the person she knows to love” has so much meaning. It’s like a lesson she’s learned, a fact she’s been taught: to love Ozai. The way you inject so much meaning into line breaks, and the layers of depth you add to single lines. Immaculate. I can really describe it as masterful.

Azula finally refers to herself as “azula” once Zuko says “I will never give up on you” Not only that, however, but the first time she refers to him as “zuko” instead of “the boy” is also when he says “I will never give up on you.” Also, that same piece of dialogue contains “uncle never gave up on me,” which shows how Uncle’s patience connects both Azula and Zuko in their respective healing journeys. Which, oh my god, I love Uncle’s role in Azula’s healing in this fic. His remorse for leaving her with Ozai is so tangible and painful to read. I love how you portray his characters; he comes off the page as Uncle Iroh; his characterization is so strong.

But the scene after Azula finally refers to herself as “azula,” Suki comes in. For one, “zuko and katara beat you or did you forget?” is written with a question mark, showing the significant of that line and how it affects Azula, shown in “azula screams.” Azula connects the person who is screaming with herself; she is still fracturing due to her loss. (Because her loss of the Agni Kai is symbolic of like, her failing everything Ozai built her up to be: the opposite of Zuko.)

The scene where Aang comes is where punctuation in Azula’s inner monologue first appears: “the avatar’s gray eyes are soft and full of sympathy and it makes her angry.” I feel like this is her echoing Ozai’s sentiments, especially with “a princess is not pathetic.” Patheticness was something Azula had always associated with Zuko, so these lines sound a lot like Ozai to me. But “not made to be pitied” is next, without any punctuation. This is because pity is a new emotion for her to face, and she does not associate it with “a princess,” seen in the later lines “now the girl sees not pity but weakness” What’s important here is that Azula is “a girl” again. Aang’s pity is the antithesis to Ozai; peace where he sees bloodshed and war, and it blindsides her. Bro I just, the way you communicate Ozai’s presence so subtly yet so strongly... the talent.

Also: “it makes me feel sad for you the avatar answers“ Stop making me cry!!! THAT LINE WAS HEARTBREAKING. The snippets of Aang in this fic were lovely to read.

iirc, the first full line we get, capitalized, with punctuation, is when Toph is talking to Azula: “I just wanted to tell you that I know what it's like to have Expectations to have parents that expect certain things of you. It sucks. but you suck too. no wonder everyone hates you.”

THE LAYERS OF MEANING:

a) Expectations is capitalized, showing the significance of expectations to Azula; her mind latches onto it. (I love the significance of expectations throughout this fic and how the play into Azula’s sense of identity and healing jdkfkfAHH like with the TEA.)

b) This is where Azula’s “new” sense of self as “monster” begins to develop. “but you suck too. no wonder everyone hates you.” Both are short and with periods, showing the weight of Toph’s words.

When Katara sees Azula, iirc, we get the longest string of sentences with periods so far. Periods are becoming more common, showing how Azula’s identity is beginning to come together, but it’s an identity as monster: “your own brother. you’re disgusting. you’re a monster.” The repetitiveness and switch between your and you’re is almost like a rhythm, pounding “you’re a monster” into Azula’s head. After Katara leaves, we get the first full sentence Azula says: “I’ve never pretended to be anything else.”

Azula sees herself as a monster; she’s seeing the weight of her past actions.

When Iroh arrives, we get the longest string of sentences WITH capitalization in this point of the fic (I think): “It’s sweet. You have always loved sweet tea, my niece. A fascinating contrast.” And a new identity is introduced: my niece.

When Azula asks for Uncle after the nightmare, we get the first time a name is capitalized in the fic: Uncle. Not even Ozai has “father” capitalized. This shows Iroh’s significance in her healing journey. Not only that, but Uncle is the one that comes to her, not Ozai. This contrast between Ozai’s absence and Uncle’s presence is what begins to allow Azula to heal--and what ultimately helps her truly stay on the path of healing. I love how you build up the notion of Ozai not being there for Azula, not coming to get her. The way it culminates in the end feels like such strong, real development because of your build-up.

Once Uncle begins to visit regularly, your writing becomes more abundant with “proper” sentences. This is one of my fav examples of this:

“Uncle continues to bring her sweet tea. He talks to her. He sits next to her as she leans against the wall and speaks many tales of spirits and beautiful women. azula almost looks forward to his visits. Almost.”

Every sentence except the one that begins with “azula’ is capitalized. She’s not there yet, with her identity, but Uncle is there. And when Azula says “but I am a monster,” the fic gets its first line of quotation-enclosed dialogue:

“Oh, my dear. My beautiful niece. I don’t believe that.”

And then, right after that, we get “Princess Azula.” This is the first time Azula is capitalized, and Uncle says it. But Azula is the one perceiving the dialogue; she is accepting “Princess Azula.” Sure enough, right after that, we get this:

“Azula narrows her eyes suspiciously.”

The first time Azula refers to herself in her inner monologue as Azula. FINALLY. FUCK. This is one of the most satisfying developments in this fic, when Azula finally sees herself as “Azula,” even if she’s not all the way there yet. Your build-up makes this moment feel amazing.

Another thing I loved was how Azula is obsessed with getting the tea perfect; the tea is a reflection of herself; “She will make his jasmine tea, and she will make it precisely the way it is expected to be.”

HIS jasmine tea. Not HER jasmine tea. This shows that she’s trying to fit a mold she thinks Iroh has for her; she will make the tea as it is expected to be; SHE will be exactly as she is expected to be.

But when she fails, Iroh simply says “Let’s try it again.” When Azula fails to be “perfect,” pain and fear isn’t waiting for her. Iroh is. So when Iroh says,

“I am just an old man looking forward to trying his niece’s cup of tea, which she has worked hard on.”

This is so important. It is HIS NIECE’S (Azula’s) cup of tea, which SHE has worked hard on. In other words, it is Azula’s healed identity that she has worked hard on, and it is “one of the best teas I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing in my life.” Just. The symbolism. Fuck. So good.

Then, in the next scene, she tells Zuko to tell Aang she’s sorry. This brings back Sokka’s earlier words, “you won't ever apologize for what you’ve done or bear responsibility for your actions and we both know it.” BUT AZULA IS UNLEARNING, and that is tangible development, babey. In a way, Sokka was right, because the “you” he was talking to wasn’t the Azula that’s now wanting to apologize to Aang. Azula as “Azula” didn’t exist then; now she does. I can’t this fucking fic I am STUNNED. The way you introduce and maintain concepts to develop Azula’s journey... It’s amazing AH

“Azula cradles her own cup in her hands and breathes in the steam, letting it cling to her face.“ Bro I just wanted to say that this line gave me brilliant imagery. You perfectly described how it feels to hold a mug of something warm and breathe it in, like ahhh the sensory imagery was so VIVID.

“Zuko tears off a piece of bread, and places it on her palm. She looks down at it, her hand without crackling cackling blue fire. The only blue is the water, beautiful and clear.” Thinking bout the contrast, and how the color blue used to separate her from the world; now it joins her to it (turtleducks.) YOUR LAYERS. Another contrast I love was the one between “red drapes that used to block out the sun when it rises every morning” and “basking in Agni’s light.” This reminds me of the Sun Warriors and Zuko learning the true meaning of fire, as something full of life and light, not something that only burns. That was my favorite contrast throughout the fic, and the most meaningful to me.

Azula saying “Why not?” to Sokka was everything I need in life.

“Azula brings herself out of the palace, and back into the prison.“ Ozai is her prison. The wording. THE WORDING SAYS SO MUCH. The way she comes to Ozai--but. He never came for her. Uncle did. She has new experiences and a new sense of self; she’s not the Azula she was, and she’s not the Azula Ozai is expecting. So when you write

“Because he has made Azula into Azula, and he has done it well.”

and she walks away, it’s a defiance of everything she’s been, everything she was forced to be. Azula made Azula into Azula, and she understands this.

“This is not what she was made for.” is a recognition that Ozai forced her into a role that was never for kindness, for love, for acceptance, for change. As she learns and unlearns, unmakes her identity as a monster, she’s understanding that Ozai never intended for Azula to be her own Azula. And this means she sees the world through her own eyes, not Ozai’s:

“his eyes not wounded and sad but fierce and soft and she knows what he’s saying isn’t a lie.”

JUST. The way you built this fic. You saw more than words as your tools, and I am honestly in awe of the way you used writing conventions. This fic is so strong because you literally made everything about Azula; Azula is this fic. THE ARTISTRY. I really, really hope you’re proud of the story you’ve built. Thank you for writing.

(ALSO TOPH WAS EVERYTHING I NEEDED AND MORE.)

#avatar the last airbender #atla #agentcalliope #and it's my whole heart (weighed and measured)#fic reivew #analysis is my love language #y'all ever spend three hours on a fic review #and then get so hungry you gobble five chicken wings immediately after #me #SORRY IT'S SO LONG #sometimes you gotta review a fanfic instead of revising your essay about fanfic #thank you for writing

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zuzuslastbraincell · 3 years

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For the salty ask game: 6, 10 and 16? <3

6: Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?

I never used to like kataang or maiko much, but I’m good with the former and really like the latter now.

while I’m still not a big fan of the kataang (without wanting to write an essay: ember island players ruins it for me), I’ve softened on it a lot largely just from seeing the content for it on here. they’re just honestly very sweet? I don’t know if it’ll last for practical reasons, but the idea of aang & katara offering each other hope from the beginning and until the end is just lovely.

as for maiko, I absolutely love the strength of mai & zuko’s dynamic (platonic or romantic) just from their boiling rock interactions alone. I feel like a lot of early s3 maiko very much demonstrates that they have some communication difficulties to work through together (thinking about the beach in particular here, but also the ‘are you cold?’ scene, as well as the break-up via letter interaction, that’s the big one) and in a sense mai represents part of zuko’s ‘ideal’ life as a perfect prince that he realises that he has to break from in the first half of s3, but I’ve come around to the idea that if they spent some time working through their communication issues they could really have something lovely? I do also think mai deserves a short break from the stifling culture of nobility/time to explore herself first, but after that? totally could work. like, i’m personally really attached to the gay zuko headcanon and always have been but a lot recent mutuals are maiko shippers and i’ve become very attached to maiko as well because of them (in parallel universes of course).

16: If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

so many things....

1. less racist, more sensitive worldbuilding. crucially better south asian rep, clear south asian rep. this also means including removing the caricature of guru pathik and changing the design of combustion man (and p’li) not to include a reference to shiva. the show’s philosophies and vocabulary owes so much to south asian culture and the lack of representation in that aspect alone is shocking.

2. references to the fact that there are some air nomad survivors / descendents in hiding in various and that being a late s2 / s3 subplot. (maybe aang is still the last airbender tho? but certainly his culture won’t die with him). the culture isn’t perfectly preserved / has changed with time and enduring hardships, some things have been lost, but there are still survivors clinging on, proud. maybe it’s this community that helps with him the avatar state, not a random guru? or they could help him with his s3e1 dilemma about ‘blending in’, as many of them have discarded certain aspects of appearance in order to hide? i feel like this could add so much to aang’s arc in the latter half of the show.

3. better writing of the white lotus, with the white lotus as a international resistance org that operates in all nations, that uses old man’s pai sho club as a front. they’re introduced as opposing the dai li in ba sing se, as trying to organise resistance in secret, have ties to some local revolutionary/radical factions as they have a long standing rivalry with the dai li (& part of the reason the dai li side with azula is to crush the white lotus and resistance to their reign). iroh is not grand lotus but merely gets recruited in s2, as part of a redemption arc.

4. a subtle iroh redemption arc where iroh realises he cannot simply be passive and perhaps let the treasonous thought ”hm, maybe it would have been better if the avatar fought sozin” cross his mind - he needs to take a more active role in opposing the fire nation, and he joins the white lotus. i think he also needs to reckon quite specifically with the cost of the siege of ba sing se, he needs to make amends to those hurt from it on both sides - be confronted by fire nation defectors who left after the siege because why were their deaths less important that his son’s? as well as encounter how the siege left scars on the lower ring, in a less visible way (untrained lower ring residents formed resistance militia and generally died in huge numbers; plague and starvation greatly affected the lower ring, etc.). no iroh as a moral authority here - he’s morally grey trying to become good. also he doesn’t stick around in ba sing se, he realises the jasmine dragon, as lovely as it is, isn’t true redemption either, and at the end of the series he stays in the fire nation.

5. leading into point 3 (and 4): in s3 the gaang encounters and works with grassroots underground resistance in the fire nation. i think this is a better message than ‘oh the fire nation is a soceity ridden by class division that exploits its poorer / less privileged people and its own environment as long as it doesn’t affect the elite, and turns even its most privileged children into traumatised child soldiers and is indirectly hurt by its own colonialism and imperialistic culture, and that’s deeply sad’ - i think a better message is ‘the fire nation is a society with all those problems and you can do something about it. you can stand up. even though that’s scary.’ this resistance group is around for day of black sun (in fact they’re vital to it) and then you see a key member in boiling rock too.

6. no combustion man. honestly? weak writing. would much prefer zuko attempting to ‘stealthily’ track the gaang on the false premise of a ‘welcome home tour’ where he slips out under night to try and chase them down - this would mostly be alluded to in a few scenes. i also think this would get zuko to realise how much the fire nation itself has been hurt from war. i think the main early s3 plot points e.g. the beach episode still happens, as does the war meeting. i feel like zuko would need extra firepower to be a decent s3 threat - maybe he takes mai and ty lee with him? zuko ultimate lesbian ally takes bored lesbians from the palace for a knife throwing chi blocking field trip kjfshdj i’m joking. but seriously we could also have a combustion bender on board as well as a potential new character (i’m imagining someone like a younger p’li if i’m honest, same age range as zuko), as long as they have a character beyond being a scary assassin. maybe they defect early to the resistance group before the day of black sun, tell zuko they should too (but zuko doesn’t listen)? that’d be rad.

7. the existence of grassroots resistance would basically allow for the series to end with zuko being offerred the crown, but deciding to give it up / end the royal line. rather than a power vacuum, or iroh, the existance of resistance means there are clearly people (i.e. adults) who can fill that space. maybe this is a bit optimistic of me but i would just love to set up a scenario where zuko doesn’t become a boy-king of an imperialist nation and where absolute monarchy doesn’t continue, where there’s a clear shift in system. i understand the narrative power of zuko acknowledges he has inherited wealth and power that has been gained through exploitation and imperialism, and dedicating his whole life to undoing the damage his family has done, but i think he can do this without being the fire lord? in fact not being the fire lord is a good first step. zuko finds another way of doing exactly this.

8. talked about this a lot recently but better toph s3 representation & greater ties to the earth kingdom. also, i’d just appreciate a lot more flavour from the earth kingdom as a whole, and more prominent characters from there?

9. okay i’m not sure there is quite honestly space in the narrative for an azula redemption clearly on screen in as much depth as zuko’s but 1. i’d like iroh not to treat her horribly, thanks, and maybe even try to reach out to her at appropriate moments, maybe we see him (comically) say a lovely warm hello during her s2 appearances, maybe we see her play pai sho with him in s3 while he’s in prison in return for some secret info he’s not actually giving her while he’s not-so-subtly suggesting she should defy her father (but it’s too little too late, he already *chose* zuko in her eyes, and perhaps he did and is only just beginning to realise that) 2. i would like some hope and optimism at the end for azula. her breakdown is truly tragic but it feels like pain for pain’s sake in a sense - i would have loved for the finale scene with zuko & ozai replaced with a scene where someone visits azula and tells them they’ll be there for her and/or they love her. perhaps iroh, perhaps zuko (though i think that one would be more complicated obviously). i would love a post-finale scene where iroh sets up a tea shop somewhere in the fire nation where we see azula out the back, finishing up wiping down/mopping the patio, and before aang goes inside to say hi to his friends, we see them bump into each other - azula bows deeply, a clear apology, and aang accepts it. then we see azula runs off to go hang out with some friends before we follow aang inside as he encounters his own friends.

basically i’d rewrite a lot of s3. i’m dearly, dearly attached to s3, especially the second half, which has some of my favourite episodes of the entire season, but i think it’s flawed.

#drowning-in-cacophony #long post #sorry this ended up being REALLY long

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littlemisssquiggles · 3 years

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I love rose garden 😍

I think oscar hasn't dated much at best maybe a girl or to in school or a girl is age is ant set him up with ,so he maybe knows how to date,

I don't think ruby dose,I don't think her date let her date,am after becane fail ,I don't think dating on her mind but I think at some point after,salem gone

Ruby and Oscar will start dating as the show ends I could maybe see them having an on screen kiss in the last volume

Do you think ,rose garden will kiss or date

Sorry if u been ask this be for

You and I share the same sentiments about this wholesome ship between these two budding smaller, more honest souls, anon-chan. Personally I agree with you on thinking that Oscar has probably never dated or been in a romantic relationship before. My assumption is that Oscar has lived a pretty sheltered life with his only source of human contact and companionship being his family back on the Pine Family farm.

Since Oscar stated that he never met huntsmen and huntresses before back in V5, my assumption was that he and his aunt probably lived in the middle of nowhere in Anima where the closest neighbours were probably towns away. Either that or many of their local neighbours moved to the kingdom for the protection of the huntsmen. That being said, my hunch was that Oscar didn’t interact much with kids, especially ones around his age growing up which would explain his social awkwardness when meting RNJR for the first time. At least he’s courteous to adults highlighting a good boi (best boi) who was raised right by his family.

I also liked the thought of Ruby being the first girl Oscar ever truly had a genuine crush leading to those feelings ultimately evolving into love. Looking at Oscar, I more saw him as being one of those types who didn’t really bother much about romance; so much so that I imagined Oscar would be so inexperienced to love that he wouldn’t even realize his own feelings until someone else had to help him make the realization for himself.

I saw Oscar as the type who only allows love to blossom if it’s with someone he trusts wholeheartedly since to him, trust is everything and he’s not one to open his heart to any and every one. But once he does and he’s found the one who has tamed his heart, he will be ever devoted to said person; loving and supporting them unconditionally with every bit of his being.

I pictured Ruby being the same as Oscar. For me, I think outside of admiring them in her favourite childhood fairy-tales and supporting the relationships between her friends in real life, Ruby is quite the little red novice to romance herself. I perceived her as not really being all that interested in romance too since the feeling has never really hit her before. Unlike other characters she might know, the little light of love has never sparked in Ruby before so much like Oscar, she strikes me as being another who probably wouldn’t realize she was in love with someone even if Cupid damn right thwacked her over the head.

That being said, this is what makes the potential of a Rosegarden romance so fascinating to me and why I like it so much. At the end of the day, Ruby and Oscar are just two kids fitted with roles of responsibility beyond their years. They are both often looked to as figures of guidance and wisdom or at least are expected to. All the more reason why I love how the show has highlighted the two showing support for one another since, within our main group of young heroes, they share the most in common (at least in my humble opinion) and can understand each other in ways unique to them; thus making their bond more meaningful than any others they might share.

At this point, I can’t really say whether or not romance is in the cards for the rosebuds. Don’t get me wrong. As I’ve voiced multiple times in the past, this squiggly Rosegardening Pinehead is all for Ruby and Oscar falling in love with each other (particularly if it parallels the Fairy-tale romance that happened between Ozma and Salem a long time ago only with a much happier ending and happily ever after). I’m down for a Rosegarden romance but whether that will be is up to the showrunners. I’m not sure if Ruby and Oscar will “date” but I do like the idea of them sharing an onscreen kiss.

As a matter of fact, once upon a time, long before it was revealed that Oscar will be kidnapped by Salem, I was one of the theorists who kept advocating for it. Therefore I had concocted this scene in my head where Salem gives Atlas an ultimatum to surrender Oscar over to her in exchange for sparing the kingdom from annihilation. And while his comrades were strongly against this, Oscar, on the other hand, had made up his mind that he was willing to trade his own life if it meant the protection of everyone.

I had this scene of Ruby and Oscar professing their true feelings for one another after Ruby desperately tried to convince Oscar not to give himself up to Salem. I had this idea of the Rosegarden first kiss mimicking the first on-screen kiss between Katara and Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

In that series, Aang kissed Katara after expressing his concerns of never returning from confronting Fire Lord Ozai. And as Katara goes in to object, Aang kisses her on the spot as his way of letting Katara know his true feelings for her just in case he never got the chance.

For me, I pictured something like this being done for Oscar with Ruby. With him kissing her as a means of letting her know right then and there how much he loved her; just in case he didn’t return to her in the event that Salem killed him.

I even had this idea of “I love you” being the very last thing Oscar says tearfully to Ruby before he is taken prisoner by Salem and she and the others are left to die in the destruction of Atlas Kingdom. Even if we never get a Rosegarden onscreen kiss, I personally would still like the show to confirm Oscar having feelings for Ruby.

The longstanding Pinehead headcanon is that Oscar has a crush on Ruby and has been in love with her since the moment he looked into his silver eyes; paralleling the young man who met the lone Silver Eyed Warrior in the Warrior in the Woods tale from Fairy Tales of Remnant.

That being said, I’m waiting (ever so patiently) to see if the show would…y’know…do something more to make the notion of Oscar being in love with Ruby more official since I feel like they’ve been more or less teasing that since V5. It’s obvious that Oscar cares a lot for Ruby. It’s clear that he admires her and looks to her as a symbol of hope. However at the same time, it is also clear that Oscar acknowledges Ruby’s vulnerability (the side that she rarely likes to show but is evident to certain characters like Oscar and even Maria Calavera and of course, us as the audience) and the huge burden of responsibility placed on her shoulders and does his best to support her when he can in his own way.

But does this mean that Oscar is in love with Ruby? I’d like to think he is but I’m waiting on the canon to confirm since I feel like they’ve building up to it since the very moment Oscar met Ruby. I don’t know whether or not romance is in the cards for the rosebuds but what I can say for sure is that something important has been building between these two kids since V5 and I’d like to think thatV8 is the time to actually prove this or not since Oscar is expected to be taken by Salem at some point.

Not to mention that he’s also supposed to be dead a la Ironwood and I’m still waiting to see if that will be mentioned at any point by Ironwood when RWBN_P go to confront him up in Amity.

But we’ll have to wait to see what happens anon-chan. But whether or not, Rosegarden is carded to be together or not, let me say this, fam. I’ve voiced this point possibly several times in the past but given the nature of this fandom and how certain-certain shippers are behaving these days, this squiggle meister is going to make this firm statement.

Just like you anon-chan, I love Rosegarden too (if it isn’t obvious already XD). As a RWBY ship, they are my OTP and I adore this ship very much for the potential it has. Despite my own personal gripes with the writing of the show, if there is one thing I will give to the CRWBY Writers is that thus far, I’ve enjoyed the progress they have made with the growing bond between Ruby and Oscar. It is thanks to them and the things they have done with these two why I like them so much and humbly look forward to whatever else they have in store for their growing bond.

That being said, while I might love Rosegarden and why I may even wish for the series to pursue a romance with them---at the end of the day, that is NOT my ONLY motive for supporting this pair. It’s not even my main motive.

I don’t love Rosegarden solely because I want the showrunners to make them endgame and should the showrunners not do so, I will hate them forever. That’s NOT it. That’s not how I am as a person. I have always, ALWAYS said that whatever the showrunners do with this pair---whether it becomes a romance or stays purely platonic, I will respect it.

And even now, as we’re entering a new season, I stand by that. Regardless of what the showrunners choose to do with Rosegarden, as a supporter of the pair, I will respect it and it will NOT deter me from giving the pair as much love and support as I’ve always done.

Basically---in a nutshell, if Rosegarden becomes canon, this squiggle meister will support it. But if Rosegarden doesn’t become canon, guess what? This squiggle meister will still love and support it. How about that, huh?

I feel the need to express this now because there honestly seems to be this weird vibe in the FNDM in respect to Rosegarden and its community. It always annoyed me how certain-certain shippers and their respective community would go around the place acting as if their favoured ship was better than others even going so far as to bully other shipping communities because of it. In my opinion, there is no need for that. Just like what you like. Enjoy it however you wish and be respectful enough to allow others to do the same. That’s how I’ve always looked at it and that’s how I move.

And that’s one thing that made me appreciate the RG community. For the most part, all of us share that same sentiment. We love our ship but we respect other ships and their respective shippers. Probably because some RG shippers are multi-shippers. While I’m not a multi-shipper--- since I more tend to latch onto one favoured ship and stick with it till the end---this is one thing that I liked and respected a lot about the RG community.

…Which is why it honestly disgusts me when I see the things that certain-certain shippers say about us.

What’s even worse is that even when we attempt to defend ourselves, somehow that proves to make things worse than better because then other certain-certain shippers start implying that we’re fighting a war with certain-certain ships when in reality, we’re not fighting anything. We’re just shielding ourselves against the nonsense the other people are sparking.

We didn’t start the fire yet…we’re being held responsible for it by association and even when we try to out the fire, somehow we still get chastised both by the folks who hate us and the ones we hoped would understand. It is honestly a mess and if you’re unware of it then stay oblivious, fam.

For the longest while I have heard stories about the toxicity within the RWBY shipping communities. But back in those earlier times, the toxicity was mainly contained to a few certain-certain ships and their shippers. Now it may seem that the toxicity is starting to spread into the RG community. Not in the form of us becoming toxic ourselves in our own behaviour towards other ships but more in the sense of certain-certain shippers kicking up dirt and trying to start fights with the RG community by making arguments against us whether it be here on Tumblr or Twitter or the dreaded cesspool that is the RWBY Reddit community.

And…sadly to say, I’m seeing some of my fellow Rosegardeners taking the bait and…that honestly needs to stop.

That type of attitude is one of the reasons why I’ve started to slowly back out of the RWBY community. That doesn’t mean that I’m jumping ship. I’m still following the RWBY train---just picture it more as me following it alone from the comfort and sanctity of my own little squiggle mobile gently chugger-chugging down the tracks. This way I can enjoy the show the way how I want to only engaging when I feel like it and more importantly, staying very, very, VERY FAR away from all the chaos that I’ve seen stirring up for seasons.

I still like the show and I’m still very much invested in seeing where it goes, particular with Rosegarden but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t becoming increasingly difficult for me to just enjoy the things that I genuinely like about RWBY.

Rosegarden and the development of these two smaller, more honest souls (individually and as a pair) are two of the things I still really like about RWBY. However I’m honestly tired of going on the tags and seeing my fellow RG shippers sharing and responding to the discourse surrounding the ship sparked by certain-certain shippers.

I’m tired of seeing all the weak strawman arguments made by said certain-certain shippers against RG and why they believe their ship is superior and more likely to become canon and whatever. Like seriously? WHO CARES!

I’m tired of it all and I genuinely wish my fellow RG shippers would stop answering these types of people. When will you learn that you are fighting a losing battle? It doesn’t matter how many posts you make. How much good evidence you provide from the show or the showrunners. Even if you are in the right, it all doesn’t matter. These types of people don’t care. All that matters for them is stirring up nonsense and throwing hissy fits when they don’t get their way. It is childish behaviour at display and nothing anyone says will stop it. So why even bother to entertain it at all?

This is not me trying to knock down my fellow Rosegardeners in the RG community or even me throwing shade at others to “start shit”---I’m just…tired! Tired of seeing that shit, y’know what I mean?

Shipping is supposed to be fun. Happy fun times where you get to gush and nerd out about your favourite pairings, not really because them becoming canon was all that important but just because you like it. What happened to just liking something and having a perfect platform to like it and enjoy it with others who feel the same way about it with you…IN PEACE? No malice. No disrespect. No fighting over which ship is going to be canon endgame (as if the canon means jack-shit in the long-run because look at Zutara, Sheith and Klance for Pete’s sake). I dunno. Overall, I’m just tired of the RWBY shipping community as a whole and it’s becoming tough just to have fun being a Rosegarden shipper anymore. So I think stepping back is a good way to go.

Sorry if this response went off course anon-chan. It’s just that your question motivated me to express things that’s been on my chest for some time. I hope you don’t mind and hopefully I was able to give you a decent answer in all of this. Feel free to let me know or not.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)

#squiggles answers: rwby #oscar pine #ruby rose #oscar and ruby #rwby rosegarden #rwby theories #rwby volume 8 theories #Anon-ninja #squiggles answers

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crossedwithblue · 3 years

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tbh i had forgot the katara as jane i just remembered the zuko being stupid haha the post being ss well makes it great (i suppose they mean the narrative function of being the support and a contrast with lizzy. but yeah comparing her to katara who has such strong independence and standing up values sounds '???')

I read a lot zutara mainly because katara and aang getting together was always super uncomfortable to me

i am always here for Dumbass Zuko headcanons lmao. however I did unfollow that blog just the other day because while I love their art (give me allllllllll the accurately drawn PoC. if you draw PoC (or white people for that matter) as button-nosed instagram girls with dark skin and make no effort to learn how to actually draw different types of facial features i will come to your house and make you eat your wacom tablet and draw my giant nose and square jaw with pen and paper until you get it Right, there are enough resources about this and i am tired) I didn’t love their hot takes which I obviously did not want to say in the tags on their post but idk,,, I was getting this really bitter vibe from their meta, idk how else to explain it. I can understand being bitter about aspects of media you like and of course people are perfectly entitled to their opinions and headcanons, but I just don’t want that bitterness on my dash lol, I come to tumblr to shitpost and look at pretty pictures. and their opinions on zuko were definitely part of it bc they felt really unfair to me and the Pride and Prejudice post is def an example of something where I was just like ??? this makes perfect sense until I actually think about it at all?? why are you being mean to zuko for no apparent reason????? is it.... because he’s the only major character from the nation that is most similar to white colonising cultures, even though he’s doing the work to a) be aware of the colonising mentality he’s internalised and work on it and b) as the ruler of said nation, flag up and eradicate this mentality from his own country, which is evidenced by the FN’s policy of non-intervention in Korra (I think the almost-going-to-war plot in the comics was absolute bullshit by the way, like not its existence but just it not really being examined in that sense)? I am 100% here to examine those aspects of ATLA and again, I totally understand being bitter about them, but it just tires me out in a website I consider a leisure space

I do need to find more atla blogs to follow now, recs would be fab if you have any :)

oh yeah i basically dont ship any of the endgame ships (in ATLA, as you may guess from my header being Korrasami lol) because as i have said before, nobody needs to find their One True Love at the age of 13 lmao (i do kinda ship Suki/Sokka because they are a little older (still kids by our standards but most probably near adulthood by their own, if not actually adults in the full sense, and yes I do think cultural context matters when ascribing adulthood to people outside the modern West no matter what ‘you’re a baby until you turn 18 and then why don’t you instatnly have a job and a mortgage’ internet culture says) and their relationship is just so cute and feels really healthy to me idk we were Robbed of enough Suki screentime, we should have got more Suki and also she should have had her character explored a Lot more than Cool Ninja Feminist Gal) (also, witness the nested brackets, they are here)

I think a lot of people have issues with Zutara (and presumably by extension Zukka? though I haven’t seen this discussed as much or like. at all) because of the issues associated with essentially the heir to a colonizing empire which has decimated the culture of the indigenous-coded woman he’s being shipped with (im sure you’ve also seen those discussions if you’ve spent like. any time at all in ATLA fandom lol) which I... kinda have mixed feelings about, I’ve seen fics where it is definintely completely ignored and done really really badly but I have also seen fics where that conflict is a really essential theme and that’s been quite interesting (would recommend Southern Lights on AO3 if ou haven’t come across it before as a good example of that though it is very long and currently being updated (pretty regularly)). I feel like I’m too removed from that part of intercultural conflict that I have the right to comment on it, though I’ve definitely faced shades of those issues in the past, but I also feel like it’s potentially an example fo knee-jerk Tumblr purity culture to just say its Bad And Wrong so idk I’m conflicted.

In the politics of the world, I just don’t see how Katara being Fire Lady (ugh that’s a phrase that always makes me laugh, and not in a kind way), which is probs the most comon Zutara fic plot, would have Worked in any sense at all, and I definitely think she would have wanted to stay at he South Pole and rebuild her culture and bring bending back to them (as we see in the comics and obvs with her being Korra’s waterbending master iirc) and I can see Zuko wanting to help with that in whatever way possible because he rightly sees that as a really important part of the reparations owed by the Fire Nation. and obviously by the end of the series they were very good friends and definitely had better chemistry than fricking Kataang but yeah those reasons are basically why I don’t love Zutara but don’t necessarily hate it either

this was another ramble, not apologising for it this time because this is just what talking to me is like. I am very here for bringing back letter-writing because it lets me ramble to my heart’s content but also it would take up All My Time

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jyndor · 4 years

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more word vomit on avatar and how it frames marginalized peoples’ desire for revenge from an american, just what the world needed right now

so I have a lot of thoughts about how avatar frames vengeance and forgiveness, in particular for people who are the victims of imperial destruction. I do understand why people think that wanting revenge can make people bitter and disallow healing, and there is some validity to this. and resentment definitely can be an obstacle to healing emotional pain.

hama is a woman traumatized by the genocide of her people, by the unending cruelty of fire nation imperialism. when she develops her bloodbending skills, she feels like she is taking back some control from those who wronged not just her but her culture and civilization. but by becoming the titular puppetmaster, she is victimizing fire nation civilians who have done nothing to her.

she serves as an important foil to katara. in her conversation with zuko in crossroads of destiny, she tells him that he represents the fire nation in her mind, and she even says she is wrong to do that (which is kind of funny given that he did fuck with the gaang a LOT. she would have good reason to think of zuko’s face as being the face of an empire she hates when during a big chunk of the journey, he was the one coming after them) since her pain stems from her mother’s murder. and zuko is not the man who murdered kya.

when the gaang travels through the fire nation, katara is the first to really recognize the impact that imperialism has had on the fire nation’s own citizens. she risks sokka’s timeline and lies to the group about appa being sick just to become the painted lady and save some fire nation citizens. when these people realize that a waterbender has appropriated their sacred spirit, they are furious until sokka tells them that they can fuck off with their shit, and that they are alive to be pissed at her because katara saved them. still katara feels guilty about potentially desecrating such a culturally and spiritually important figure for these people.

when she and zuko go on their glorious ninjas of love and revenge journey to fuck up the southern raiders, katara decides to spare the life of her mother’s killer because she realizes that avenging kya is not going to bring her back or make katara feel better. she would just be killing a shitty old man who doesn’t even care about what he did.

I’ve already talked a bit about why I feel like aang’s forgiveness shit in that episode is fucking stupid and out of character, so I am not going there right now. katara explicitly didn’t forgive yon rha, but she was able to forgive zuko, and this is where I’m gonna bring hama back into this. katara forgiving zuko for the wrongs he did (specifically betraying her in the catacombs of love) makes sense because zuko worked to redeem himself and to make up for his actions.

we don’t know a lot about what hama’s experience was like in the village or while running her inn. aang’s assumption upon hearing that people are going missing in the woods is that the villagers are doing something to make a spirit angry. and that’s interesting, because in the end we are to assume that they didn’t do anything except live as fire nation citizens in a fire nation village unlucky enough to be near hama’s inn.

her desire for justice warping into bitterness and insanity is kind of the crux of the episode. hama ends up imprisoned by the fire nation once again, and this time it’s not because she’s a waterbender standing up to fire nation imperial might, it’s because she hurt innocent people with her waterbending.

and here is where I get conflicted. those fire nation people never did anything to hama in the same way that I personally never did anything to peoples who have been harmed by american imperialism, but because I am an american citizen, and in particular a white american citizen, I have benefited from the violence done to those peoples and their cultures. and I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that those villagers probably are not against fire nation imperialism.

it doesn’t even matter since the point the writers are trying to make is that when your need for justice turns into a need for indiscriminate vengeance, you end up re-victimizing yourself above all else. I think that is an interesting message.

but that brings me to jet.

so jet is way more sympathetic than hama, and it’s not just because he’s a cutie. he is literally the leader of a guerilla group called the freedom fighters, which lol I see you and your social commentary, atla. being "freedom fighters” is how western powers have historically framed the “good” rebels in any given conflict. jet isn’t deliberately targeting innocent civilians, but he isn’t going to stop his attacks just because they might become collateral damage.

jet blurring the lines between fighting for liberation and being a terrorist is a nuanced take on the issue, especially considering when the show aired. jet is characterized by his justifiable anger at the fire nation. he has legitimate grievances, personal grievances.. the irony is that he is willing to put his own people at risk just to get back at the fire nation.

in the second season, despite genuinely wanting to change his ways, jet’s hatred of anyone who is fire nation is what gets him imprisoned and later killed... by his own people, no less. he isn’t smart about how he fights against fire nation imperialism. he loses the moral high ground when he loses sympathy for two refugees just because he thinks he sees iroh heat up his tea with firebending. forget for a moment that zuko and iroh are in fact firebenders and that iroh in particular is quite responsible for damage done to the earth kingdom. when jet decides to go after them, he still thinks of them as refugees. and despite knowing this, jet can’t accept that the fire nation has also hurt its own people in its fight for supremacy.

the story about jet isn’t necessarily dealing with forgiveness, in the same way that hama is never asked to forgive the fire nation for its crimes against her and her people. the narrative suggests that both jet and hama would have been better served if they hadn’t associated fire nation randos with the fire nation military and government. if they had just aimed their anger at the fire nation government.

which... okay, come on. like, I appreciate that I personally have not dropped bombs on weddings in iraq (which of course is itself an invention of the west), but my government is still my government, my tax dollars are my tax dollars. I’m not gonna be offended by some guy in iraq hating americans indiscriminately even though I personally object to my government’s foreign policy. my personal objections didn’t save that guy’s family. murdering american civilians to avenge murdered innocent civilians would be a bad thing, and legitimate grievances wouldn’t stop the us from probably nuking everyone at this point so like I really don’t recommend it.

but the feelings? well, I can’t argue against them because I’ll never, ever understand what it’s like to be on the receiving end of american empire.

context is ALWAYS important. avatar ran in the mid 2000s, during the height of the wars in afghanistan and iraq. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that a story about how imperialism harms children took off during a time when these illegal wars of aggression were becoming less and less popular in the states. it is also an american show, written by americans for an american audience. it appropriates several cultures to which the creators do not belong, and it does so lovingly and respectfully... sometimes.

centering conversations about imperialism on the forgiveness of the marginalized peoples is... kinda weird. given that a lot of the peoples that inspired different aspects of the show have been oppressed by western imperialism - the inuit people obviously inspired the southern water tribe, the sun warriors are an amalgamation of different mesoamerican civilizations, the swamp water tribe is influenced by cajun people, not to mention the massive influence drawn from chinese cultures - I think we should have seen some post-war stories in the show (fuck the comics, if you care about things enough to write extra materials, put them in the main medium of your fucking story since otherwise most people will not see them).

stories about reparations from the fire nation. stories about the ethics of removing the descendants of fire nation colonists from the earth kingdom. stories about zuko and katara searching for ursa lol I’m sorry. I think an american audience could have really benefited from those stories.

idk guys, what do you think?

#atla #katara #imperialism #war #meta #i have adhd which is obvious

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mxrcayong · 4 years

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the avatar series: 01.11

masterlist.

previous | next

chapter eleven:

In everyday life, Tari normally walked on eggshells. She avoided talking about bending and where she goes once a month for a day. She especially avoided talking about her past. There wasn’t much to tell that wouldn’t reveal her identity.

Although the egg hell feeling is replaced as she now can speak freely - although she’s still reserved out of guilt, everyone else started feeling like they were walking on broken glass. Everyone creeped around the edges, avoiding getting slashed by the jagged glass. Sonan, Kilari, and Doyoung treaded especially carefully – watching every word that left their lips, especially when it related to Johnny or to Tari’s newfound identity.

Bak Mei Island was gorgeous. There was no doubt behind it. From the bright sun unveiling the clear blue sky to the vibrant sunsets, the mesmerizing ocean, the busting winds – it felt like a vacation. The setting definitely helped make the jagged glass feel lighter. However, they felt everything but relaxed as an invisible dark and thick thunder cloud seemed to be following their every move.

The world as they know it is changing, and for the worse. They have no clue what could happen, but they suspect it won’t be good. A sense of impending doom fell upon them, but they couldn’t do anything – at least, not yet. So not only could they sense the impending doom – the loss of culture and life as they know it, but they felt hopeless and useless. They felt it in the pits of their stomachs, in their heart feeling heavy, in their minds constantly racing. They constantly worried about what was happening back home. How were their friends and family? Their co-workers? Their acquaintances? How was Johnny?

To try and distract themselves while Sukiara insisteded on being the one to create a strategy due to “her seniority”, the group often found refuge in the training courtyard. Sonan would prop herself up on the rocks overlooking the ocean, often reading one of the books from the library or practicing fighting with fans. Today, she was not in the mood to practice her fighting and was flipping through the velvet feeling pages of an old diary. On the other hand, Kilari was learning fire bending techniques from Yuta while Doyoung and Jisung played games using their bending together. In particular, Doyoung levitated on the visible floating air ball and chased Jisung around as he tried to create obstacles to obstruct Doyoung’s path.

In the beginning of the three days, Tari was initially practicing with Kilari and Yuta – especially as out of all the elements, she couldn’t master earth and especially fire. Fire bending has always been the most difficult for her. It wasn’t uncommon for the opposite element as the one the Avatar was born in to be the most difficult for them to pick up, but in her head – Tari had a feeling she was doing worse at picking it up than all the other Avatars combined. But, everytime she practiced with them – she swore she could feel Kilari glaring holes into the back of her head. Out of everyone left on the island, Kilari seemed the most upset with her – barely speaking a word with her and avoiding eye contact with her as if Tari was Medusa herself. Trying to get out of the awkward atmosphere, Tari tend to sit next to Sonan.

Alternatively, she could practice with Jisung. But he was too adorable – with his wide smile, lanky frame, and eyes that smile just as wide as his lips. He was only 18 years old – a soon to be high school graduate – and he was roped in with her. His life could be in danger because of her. She wanted him to be happy. He deserved it.

“Whatcha reading?” Tari hummed, plopping down next to the rock Sonan was propped on. As soon as she found a comfortable spot on the blunt rock, she went to pat Ani – who curled herself in a ball at the base of the rock formation. Normally, Ani joined Jisung and Doyoung – Tari swears that Ani loved Jisung the quickest out of anyone else she had met. But she spent all day chasing them around, joining in with the games, and took a seat with Sonan.

Sonan held up an old leather diary that Tari remembered from her past life. “You know all about this, huh?” Sonan teased, making Tari nod and awkwardly chuckle. “Well, technically, you lived it.” Tari awkwardly scratched the back of her neck, still feeling guilty for not telling them sooner. And Sonan saw it; from Tari glancing away and fumbling in her pocket for her phone. “Babe, you know we love and care about you – Avatar or not. Yeah, we felt lied to… but we care about your comfort overall. I would hate to force you into something you didn’t want to do.”

“Why is Kilari not happy with me then?” Tari sighed, looking down at the floor. “And why did Johnny leave?” She knew that Sonan and Doyoung started treating her like normal again, making her heart feel full and her worries subside. Funnily enough, Doyoung has even been happier to be friends with her – saying ‘I finally have another air bender friend’ and begging her to do meditations with him as a daily ritual in their home.

The eldest friend in their friend group let out a small smile, her hand immediately going to Tari’s back to rub it in an attempt to comfort her. “You know Kilari…she’s hardheaded and hot tempered. And Johnny? He just need time.” Sonan let out a small smile, “We love you Tari. You are the Avatar, but that doesn’t change your personality. And them finding out…doesn’t change the fact both are quite quick-tempered”

Tari was never the best at receiving comforting or kind words. So, she swapped the topics. “He said he’s going back for journalism, right?” She pulled out her phone and started swiping, refreshing the Sooman Chronicles online newspaper for what felt like the thousandth time this day alone. “He hasn’t posted anything.” Johnny has yet to respond to any of their messages or calls. Their only update about him was the day he left, where Hendery messaged Tari if she was safe and then quickly transitioning to why she didn’t accompany her ‘boyfriend’ to the café. Sonan sighed, “At least we know for sure that he’s safe. If anything happens, it’d be posted.” But she noticed Tari’s face; from the way her leg is twitching, and her teeth nibbled on her bottom lip.

“But you’re not worried about only that, are you?”

“What if he tells people…you-know?”

“Tari!” Sonan lightly slapped Tari’s shoulder, making even Ani whine in response. “You know Johnny more than that. He loves you, babe. Potentially more ways than one,” Tari rolled her eyes. If he did, he definitely doesn’t anymore, she thought. Sonan and Kilari would always tease her about Johnny. It only started a year into their friendship; when Johnny first slept over at her and Doyoung’s place. As this was before they had their routine set up, Johnny fell asleep in Tari’s bed with her – his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Doyoung had snapped thousands of pictures and used it as blackmail for the longest time. “He would never do this to you.”

“But he’s a journal-“

“Tari, you know Johnny’s character arguably one of the best out of this group.” Sonan chastised, “And I even know he would never do that. He cares about you too much.”

The Avatar sighed, finally admitting Sonan was right. All whilst, she just kept judging herself for being dumb. I know him, right? She thought, I shouldn’t have thought of him like this. “I just wish he responded.” This, besides the time Tari disappeared in the Spirit World for a week, was the longest time she went without a word from Johnny and it’s driving her insane.

“Tari, bend with us!” Yuta called after laughing at Jisung’s reaction to another trick Doyoung pulled out. Jisung was quite literally the shocked emoji; his eyes the widest Tari has seen them, his jaw on the floor, and frozen in his spot. As air benders focused on peace, most bending techniques can be altered into smaller tricks; like making a mini tornado in their finger tips or flying. Of course, air benders can fight – it’s just they prefer not to. She hesitated; scanning Kilari’s face which automatically dropped from its smile to an annoyed look at the mention of her name. Despite Kilari’s obvious annoyance, Sonan kept patting Tari’s shoulder to encourage her to go there.

“I need to focus on this!” Sonan laughed, “I’ll write down questions to ask you later anyway.” She leaned in slightly. “Kilari will lighten up, maybe spending time with her with help.” She whispered harshly, continuing to push her.

Not worth the risk. Fire bending always scared Tari. One wrong move and someone can be scarred forever. In fact, Tari is still wondering about the burn mark around Johnny’s wrist. Is it still there? I hope it goes away. If Kilari is mad at her – and Tari knows she can be impulsive and hot headed, could she do anything against Tari? Maybe I deserve it though. She kept fighting herself in her own mind. She must’ve looked like a buffering game character, stuck between standing up from the rock or staying.

Time to get out of here. “I think I’ll go meditate.” She let out an awkward smile. Doyoung immediately volunteered to join her. He must be really missing Sooman City air temple.

Aang was the last air bender of his time, but when he had children – he did produce an air bender, Tenzin. Luckily enough, air bending is different from all the other bending types. Air bending is more spiritual – hence why there are air nomads. Air nomads, with time, could eventually become air benders. It’s unlikely, but it’s more likely that their children will be inclined to air bending due to their parents’ deep spiritual connection. Doyoung was an example of this. This is the reason to why he made sure to visit the Air Temple every day to do at least an hour of meditation with his friends like Mark and Renjun.

Sonan rolled her eyes at Tari avoiding conflict, making Tari roll her eyes back in a mocking manner. With a small wave, Tari jumped off the rock formation. Ani was quick to follow her, her four paws pattering on the ground as they walked towards Doyoung. Together, the three made their way into the main temple. However, on their way, a hand wrapped around Tari’s wrist.

“You okay?” Yuta asked, his eyes full of concern. Tari nodded and smiled – one that didn’t convince Yuta at all. “I’m here to talk.” Her gaze dropped to the ground. She was unaware of Yuta’s broad and expansive knowledge; one that includes reading people and body language.

“It’s fine.” She said behind gritted teeth, staring at how Yuta is barefoot and avoiding his eyes. “I just need to meditate.”

Sitting on the top floor of the main temple, Doyoung and Tari were greeted by the normal meditation room. It was a glorious one – something Doyoung could only imagine having if he was rich and famous. There were small stools for them to sit on, the wooden paneled walls contained black and red religious and historical paintings of how the Spirit World has been described. This would be the third day in a row Doyoung came up here, but he’s still enchanted by it.

Despite his enchantment, his priority was Tari.

“You’re not okay.” He said bluntly, as he took a seat on the stool – Ani finding a comfortable spot between the two stools the two benders decided to occupy. “I can read you like the back of my hand, what’s up?”

Tari sighed. Sonan, yes, was like her mother. But Doyoung? Doyoung was her best friend she could spill anything and everything to. She didn’t have to worry about concerning Doyoung like she would with Sonan. If she concerned Sonan, Sonan would treat her like a fragile glass doll. Yes, Doyoung does similar actions to take care of her – but he’s also brutally honest. His words were ones that come without safety bags. Doyoung and her were roommates – they told each other literally everything that happened throughout the day, even if it was finding a pebble on the ground. Funnily enough, they started a ‘strange pebble collection’ as a result of a conversation on that topic. Doyoung’s favorite? One that looks like a middle finger.

“Johnny.” Tari’s hand found its way nuzzled into Ani’s fur, patting her comfortably. Every Avatar has an animal guide – Aang’s was Appa, Roku’s was his dragon. Ani happened to be her’s. Unlike the other Avatar guides, Ani couldn’t really travel across seas. However, Ani was the best guidance Tari had. Just the feeling of her soft fur between her fingers could comfort her. She found a part of her felt missing when she didn’t take Ani with her to the city. The only reason Bak Mei even resembled home was because Ani was here. “I’m just worried he’s not okay and that I lost him forever.”

Doyoung shook his head. “Dude, Johnny is whipped for you. You wouldn’t lose him like that.” Tari rolled her eyes, ignoring the shock that rippled through her. Doyoung even thought that? “And he’s literally one of the most capable people we know, if not the most. He’s not a bender, but that makes him safer right now. And he’s strong as shit.”

“Yeah, I guess I’m being silly.”

“I guess.” Doyoung mocked. “Tari, you know I always got your back, okay?” He sighed. “It hurt me initially you couldn’t trust me with this, but you told us why and I understood…with time. It’s definitely too much power to get your head wrapped around as a four-year-old. Not to mention, you didn’t stay in a true home for more than a few years.” His hand went to Ani as well, both of them patting her in synchronization. “I understand, Sonan understands. But people like Kilari and Johnny, who both can be a bit stubborn, may take a bit to wrap around it.”

“Not going to lie,” Tari changed topics slightly, her laughing to cover up her sadness, “I feel bad for Jisung and Yuta meeting us now.”

Doyoung let out a laugh, “It definitely will be a story for them to tell.” He teased, rolling his eyes. “But I do have to say, I’m surprised Kilari isn’t flirting with him. She would talk such a big game about him in NCT.” A sadness filled the room when they thought of the theater that now is in ruins; a place they’d always go to now destroyed. All the future memories they were hoping to have there are ruined.

“Maybe she’s playing the long-haul game.” Tari teased back. “She has been crushing on him for a while, rather than her usual hook ups.”

Doyoung shrugged, “But I do have to say, you guys seem close.”

Tari let out a sound that symbolized her lack of opinion on this subject. “He’s just very sweet. I’m really grateful he’s here.”

“I bet you are.” Doyoung winked and wiggled his eyebrows, now turning to sit in his proper position to prepare to meditate. Tari’s jaw dropped as she laughed, playfully slapping him – making him recoil. “I swear, I’m always the one getting attacked in this group.”

“Now you sound like Johnny!”

“You both bully me!” Doyoung defended.

Tari’s eyes widened, laughing. “We both bully him!” Doyoung was about to argue back, but Tari stopped him. “Okay, we all bully each other. But it’s the beauty of friendship.”

Doyoung playfully rolled his eyes, however hummed in agreement. He couldn’t wait for life to get back to normal; to where he, Johnny, and Tari could just relax in their homes with no thoughts other than about what they could do next.

Dinners at Bak Mei Island often was more traditional food. Each cook has specialized in a certain nation’s menu and would alternate in being head chefs. The menu, however, would consist of mains from that nation and side dishes from other nations’ traditional cuisine.

As a result, today was focused on fire nation traditional food and glasses of milk were ready for Jisung, Doyoung, and Sonan. The main dishes were dry noodles, roast duck, and peanut noodle soup. All spicy. The side dishes included rice, cabbage, dumplings, seaweed, bean curd puffs, and sweet buns. The dessert options centered on Wagashi deserts and tart pies.

It worked like a regular canteen; the group of them would each grab a tray, wait in line, and choose one main with three sides. They also had the option for one dessert and as many drinks as they would like.

“By spicy, how spicy you mean?” Jisung was obviously frightened by the glass of milk practically forced upon him by the head chef of tonight. His eyes were widened, his mouth was slightly open, and his breathing was labored.

Yuta cackled, having been raised on this food. Kilari pulled her lips back, leaving an awkward look on her face. Tari, however, had no clue what to tell him. “Ji, it’s spicy. But I’ve seen you eat spicy food before.”

“So, I’d be fine?”

Yuta gave Tari a warning look, as if secretly telling her that Jisung cannot handle this. “Uhm, maybe keep the milk…” She tried to encourage Jisung without worrying him more while the head chef scooped a large portion of noodles into a bowl. “For safety.” Jisung practically went as white as a sheet.

The dining hall was humongous, designed for the cases where they would be visited by the government or by other important members of the bending communities. However, the number of people who live on this ginormous island was approximately fifteen. There were at least two hundred seats in this dining hall. Everyone would sit together or in small groups. Often, they sat with Tari – they were the family Tari knew. They’ve seen her grow up from this small child to a mature young lady. But since her friends were here, they avoided them like the plague and sat way back in the canteen.

As soon as they plopped down in the seats, Jisung wasn’t the only one as white as the milk he’d later need. Tari’s ringtone echoed throughout the hall and she quickly responded.

“Hey Roddie, what’s up?” Once those words left her lips – a perfect coincidence happened. Johnny popped through the door, however, went unnoticed as he lined up for his food.

“I saw your name on a list. Be wary please.” Roddie warned.

“What do you mean? What list?” Tari asked, her eyebrows furrowing. The slurping of noodles from everyone around her slowed down, everyone wondering what is causing the distressed look on Tari’s face.

As Roddie explained her news, Johnny had approached the table. Everyone jumped up – except for Tari who’s still trying to understand the news Roddie is telling her. She gave him a forced smile in greeting as everyone (other than Yuta and Jisung) tackled him in a hug – a smile that was responded to with a straight face, despite the concern radiating from his eyes.

Once the greetings were traded, Johnny let out an exasperated sigh and sat down. “I have some bad news, but Tari would need to hear this.”

“Alright, thank you Roddie. I’ll…I’ll talk to you later.” Tari put down the phone and stared at the wooden table they were eating on, still dumbfounded by what she heard. “I think I heard it.”

Johnny sighed but his tone was harsh, “Then you should already know that you are all in danger. Every Bender is. Tari is especially.”

Tari finally glanced up to Johnny, whose eyes were blood shot and exhausted – but worried and caring. Despite the slight coldness that came from it, they still felt like home. “How did you find out?”

“Roddie gave me a lead.” He shrugged. “I just investigated it. But we also need to tell Sukiara.”

Kilari groaned, “You just got here and we all just got food. Can we go after food?”

Tari sighed. As soon as the breath left her lips, Kilari sent daggers her way. “Sukiara should be coming down here soon.” She looked up at Johnny once more – his eyes showed betrayal, her heart felt penetrated by the daggers Kilari sent and killed by the betrayal in his eyes. “Johnny, you need to eat… An hour or two won’t hurt.”

Her priority was them. It’ll always be them.

request anything for future parts / penny for your thoughts here

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