#even if katara and aang didn’t work out
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One word prompt: Delicate
aang….won’t take it well.
she already knows this, but somehow, the walk to her best friend’s room still feels like a walk to her own execution.
the western air temple is large, vacant, and terribly difficult to find if you aren’t sure what you’re looking for. so it’s perfect for their annual gaang reunions. normally, katara enjoys the temple’s serene atmosphere and peaceful ambiance, but now? she just wishes it wasn’t so damn quiet.
aang’s door is already cracked open like an ominous invitation. she does him the courtesy of knocking anyways.
“come in.”
he’s sitting at his desk penning some official avatar document or other.
“homework?” she teases lightly to mask her unease.
“oh you know, just a bunch of old guys asking for my advice. same as usual.” he scribbles one last line, then sets the brush down and turns to give her his full attention.
those wide grey eyes always seem to strike a familiar, tender chord in her, and she swallows thickly around her guilt. it’s the same guilt she felt when she’d broken up with him all those years ago. for a moment, she contemplates faking a laugh and chickening out, but remembers how he’d appreciated her honesty before (no matter how painful) and opts to rip the bandaid off as gently as she can.
“i wanted to talk to you about something,” she says. “something serious.”
he blinks, nods, and slides off his chair to sit cross legged on the floor. she sits across from him and takes a deep breath.
“it’s…look,” she struggles to find the right words, despite having thought this through a million times already. she tries again, “first, i want you to know that i love you, very much. the last thing i want to do is hurt you, or make you feel uncomfortable.”
aang just nods again, ever-patient. “i appreciate that.”
katara wrings her hands subconsciously, feeling sick to her stomach, but she forces herself to look him in the eye. “i’ll understand if you’re upset or if you need some space. but this is really important to me, and i don’t want it to come from anyone else.”
“okay.”
“okay…”
his cherubim face has filled out since their childhood days—cheekbones angled and jaw covered in light stubble. she doesn’t think she can do this. she doesn’t think he can handle—
“is this about you and zuko?”
katara nearly chokes, teeth accidentally biting into her cheek hard enough to bleed. “huh?”
aang only scratches the back of his head in a gesture so boyish she could swear she sees a glimpse of his past self. “well, you know. you and zuko. dating.”
she splutters. “how—who told you?”
he gives her a dry look and sighs. “i’m not blind, katara. uh, no offense to toph…”
she can’t stop staring at him. surely, he wouldn’t be so calm about this? surely, this is a surprise? shit, her relationship with zuko was a surprise to her.
eventually, she chooses not to look the gift horse too close in the mouth. “when did you find out?”
aang hums, “i suspected something was going on last winter solstice when you both spent the whole dinner arguing about where sokka and suki should get married. but toph told me she was pretty sure it was nothing.”
“since all the way back then?!”
“yeah, well…” he gives her a sheepish grin, “we dated for three years, katara. you think i don’t know what you look like when you’re flirting?”
katara feels her cheeks heat up, though his loose shoulders and amused tone immediately soothe the worst of her worries.
aang’s a terrible liar. always has been. she would know if he was uncomfortable.
she still asks, though, because she would hate for anything to be broken between them due to her own cowardice.
“i’m alright. really, katara,” is what he answers. then, “is this why you’ve been so jittery since we all got here?”
“well, yeah,” she says defensively. “it’s not exactly an easy thing to bring up with your ex.”
“did you think i would break?”
she studies him carefully, then admits, “i don’t know.”
aang just laughs, and the sound is as free as he’s always been. a part of her finally relaxes, eased by his wide smile and twinkling eyes. “don’t worry so much about me. i love you and zuko both. and even if your happiness doesn’t include me, that’s okay. i just want you to follow what feels right. that’s all i’ve ever wanted.”
her nose stings with emotion and she gives him her best, watery smile. “oh, aang, my happiness will always include you. why do you think i wanted to be the one to tell you about it?”
he just stands and holds his arms out wide. she clambers to her feet and folds into his hug, head now fitting neatly under his chin thanks to the seven extra inches he sprouted after the war.
when he lets her go, his eyes shine with his own tears. “not that you ever actually needed it…but you have my blessing.”
#this got so long lol#idk i just really like the idea that they’d all still be close friends#even if katara and aang didn’t work out#or if zuko and katara actually got together#i like to think their friendships are strong enough to weather something like that#katara#aang#zuko#zutara#my zutara stuff#fanfic
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I can’t believe they made me prefer Shyamalan’s adaptation. I can’t believe they’ve done this to me.
#like he did a bad job but he at least tried something#he failed but he was definitely aiming for something I can appreciate#the new one just took out all agency and everything important about each character#I’m not even talking about sokkas sexism#although that also shows a huge misunderstanding of the original to think that that needed to be taken out to update it#I’m talking about aang not even being allowed the flaw of running away from being the avatar and being a scared kid#he just goes out to fly around a while to like clear his head and gets caught in a storm???#pro tip if your plot is driven by coincidence it is a Bad Plot#him being a kid and being dragged into this world and responsibility is like Important and Good to explore#and also they didn’t they didn’t even get rid of silks being sexist btw they just don’t call it what it is#which is WORSE#he still thinks katara can’t fight or protect the village but all the boys can#they try to frame it like it’s just about leadership?? oh yeah?? why does he think he should be a leader and katara shouldn’t?#whats that called?#and yue works in the kitchen now to be more relatable?#they took the sexism out of his plot line and put it into the show itself#I need to stop adding tags but I could literally go on all day#I’m not precious about adaptations#it’s fine to change things#but if all the changes you make are just removing characters’ agency and growth and the POINT of them#those are Bad Changes#you did it Wrong#also they literally CLUNG to tell don’t show as a guiding principle#they didn’t do the most basic storytelling once#not once did they show something to us instead of just telling us what we’re meant to think over and over#first episode includes about five retellings of the opening monologue#aang TELLING gyatsu that he’s playful instead of once just showing him goofing off#this is fucking storytelling 101#all that to say the movie is terrible but it’s like funny and more like a failed attempt at something decent#this series is more like a successful execution of a bad approach to the story and I think that’s worse
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if aang wrong choose katara,,, why universe show katara in danger to Aang 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 unless ?? universe want aang save katara 🤔🤔🤔 universe want aang die and katara save 🤔🤔🤔 universe say aang right to choose love over power😠😠😠😠🤯🤯👊🏼
#yes this is talking about the crossroads of destiny#I simply think everything worked out the way it was supposed to#okay like imagine aang DID continue to master the chakra and didn’t choose to save katara#-which by the way would mean aang chooses power over happiness (in Irohs words)-#- then aang masters the chakra and by the time aang gets back to ba sing se... who knows what happens to katara maybe she gets killed or#stays a POW under azula#and sokka probs wouldn’t be there#toph would get there much later probs#then bc of Aang’s earlier mastery of the avatar there’d would probably be many casualties in the following fight#Bc even tho aang would control the avatar state he’d still probs have to go to desperate measures to stop the onslaught#which would’ve fucked aang up#and even if none of that happened AANG WAS RIGHT#YALL TELLING ME YALL WOILD SEE YOUR FRIEND JN DANGER AND SIT BACK DOWN LIKE �� it’s okay she’ll be aight#the crossroads of destiny#atla meta#aanglove#kataang#LMAO THIS WAS IN MY DRAFTS APPARENTLY ??#katara#aang
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I don’t know how to say this tactfully, but I’ll do my best.
If other fans online have convinced you to see the gentle, optimistic, empathetic, fun loving, whimsical, forgiving, wise beyond his years genocide survivor, as a sexist, racist, xenophobic, abusive, pro-colonization, sexual assault perpetrator who doesn’t care about anyone else and doesn’t understand trauma…
You have been LIED TO.
Please just think for a moment!
ATLA was banned in China from the beginning for a reason. Because they didn’t want anyone empathizing with a character based on Tibetan monks. Why? Because they are an actual oppressed and persecuted minority IRL. Their religious leader lives in exile. Their second most important spiritual figure is the youngest political prisoner ever taken (and to this day no one knows if he’s alive or dead!). China has actual prison and labor camps. Tibetan people get sent there for “re-education”.
Can you please think about what these “fans” are saying when they stomp all over this allegory in TLA and try to frame Aang as the oppressor?
Do you really think it’s appropriate or these people who call Aang all these horrible (and inaccurate) things are being in anyway fair when they call Aang “white coded”???
Even without the real world context, Aang is explicitly the only survivor of a genocide. The last of his people. He has lost more than anyone else in the entire franchise. There’s a reason he clings so hard to Appa.
Do you think it’s fair to compare a 12 year old misreading signals and trying to kiss a girl who already consensually kissed him before, and immediately backing off and giving her space when she says no, to rape?
Tweens and teens miscommunicating and trying to comfort each other with kisses, only to realize that’s not what their friend needed and immediately backing off is the same as having your body violently violated against your will? The same as having your “no” ignored?
How do you think this makes survivors feel? To see people use their experiences as a shield and cudgel for ship discourse? It certainly upsets me as someone who experienced intimate partner violence, let me tell you! And I know I’m not the only one.
And how is it in anyway feminist or pro-Katara to ignore her own agency and deep love she shows for Aang? Yes, that includes her own crush on him! It IS reciprocated!
Lastly, you don’t need to demonize Aang to ship whatever you want to ship. Please understand that the majority of these takes are bad faith and born out of bitterness and insecurity over a friggin FANON SHIP.
And none of it is necessary! You can ship whatever you want! You don’t need permission or excuses. You can just ship them! You can make your case for why you like another pairing better without misrepresenting what happened in the show and what these characters are like, let alone what they represent.
There’s already plenty to work with in the show as it is! Otherwise why bother?
I’m imploring fans taken in by persuasive and manipulative metas to please just think about it. Get off social media and rewatch the show for yourself thoughtfully.
It doesn’t need to be like this.
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Hihi I was hoping I could request enemies to lovers Zuko x fem!reader?
The reader is a traitor to the fire nation and can bend fire (also a street peformer before she joined the gaang? 👀) 💕💕
Omg getting a request just made my day I love these!!!
I hope you like it 🫶🫶🫶
YOURE STILL A TRAITOR
Id like to say that my life is good, that I’m happy where I am but I’m not. I’m upset and frustrated; but most of all I’m living on the street, preforming stupid acrobatic tricks just to feed myself. I’ve left everything behind. My family and wealth but most importantly someone I never wanted to live without.
I’m upside down when I see them; soft flames coming from the soles of my bare feet. Resting on my forearms and twisting and contorting my body.
“You.” A teenaged girl approaches me and I turn right side up, “you’re a fire bender aren’t you!” She says, “what’s your name?”
“Uh” I stare at her and smile nervously, “y/n Huǒ” I repeat slowly, and quietly. People of the fire nation know the traitor I’ve become outside the walls of the fire nation. Meeting the avatar, going against my friends for his life. All because I believed in something greater than all of this.
“I know you” a boy says, bandana around his forehead, “your grandpa, Yújìn. I know- or knew him” He says
“Oh.” Realization hits my face, “you’re the avatar!” A short girl slaps me.
“Wow way to tell everyone!” She retorts, god are little kids sassy.
“You could teach Aang firebending” Katara says, it’s hard not to know someone’s name when there’s wanted posters all over town.
“I’m good at fire bending but I’m no master” I say, “I thought Prince Zuko abandoned the throne to teach you” I ask
“Well he’s uh.. learning a new way to firebend” Toph laughs a little and I smile awkwardly.
“I don’t bend very traditionally” I reply, “but if it will get me off the streets I guess why not” I stand up straighter and brush my hair out of my face.
“You brought that back?!” Zuko shouts, we’ve had a long history. One that includes a betrothal, and a knife to the gut. He looks at me with disgust which I’m not surprised at.
“I’m a girl. Not a thing!” I cry out, “the only reason I’m here is because Aang needs a firebending teacher because you suck!” I scoff out at him, there’s fire burning in his hands but I never raise mine.
He groans at me, “you’ve always been like this! Even when”
“Zuko I don’t want to talk about that” I warn, there’s a plea in my voice but he accepts that, “it was a long time ago”
“Yeah like it was that long ago” he sasses and I roll my eyes.
“Zuko!”
It doesn’t take long for things to settle down; I’m essentially useless now that Zuko has gotten his bending back. Even if he did it how I told him to do it all along but whatever.
The bickering still happens, and I want to throw a knife at him but part of me still loves him. I didn’t hate being betrothed to him as much as I thought I did.
“Did you ever miss us?” I ask him, “after you were banished. I refused to Azula to give away your location and then the Avatars when you wrote me” I confess, “so I left”
“I think. At first I did, but I don’t— I don’t think we would’ve worked together. We fight all the time. I hated you at first. And you hated me” He admits, looking down slightly. He sighs heavily
“Yeah. I guess. But I didn’t really hate- hate you” I admit, “I missed you. I liked knowing you”
He nods, “I did like knowing you too, you’ve changed so much. I mean your fire it’s pink” he laughs
“Maybe it’s from my bubbly personality” I tease, he laughs
“You. Have a bubbly personality!” He laughs and it’s so good to hear, “you were so shy, like if I sneezed too hard I would scare you”
I smile softly, “I’ve changed so much sense I was twelve” my hair falls around my face and he tucks the loose strand around my ear
“What now that you’re fourteen?” He teases softly, his hand lingers behind my ear. But he removes himself quickly.
“Zuko. Im fifteen” I remind him, it’s embarrassing when he says he knows how my heart flutters and I feel weak in the knees.
“I remember, once you turned eighteen we would’ve” he looks away with a blush on his cheeks
“Yeah. Gotten married” I laugh, and I keep laughing because the thought of getting married feels so small and childish to the war we’re supposed to be preparing for.
He laughs; rolling laughs that make me keep laughing. My laughs turn short and wheezy before his face straightens, “are you ok? Can you breathe?” His face turns to me and he smiles seeing my smile. It’s a smile that makes my cheeks hurt and heart race.
“As the Prince of the fire nation. I’m supposed to hate you. Because you’ve betrayed our nation. But as Zuko. As your Zuko. In this moment I don’t feel anything but hate. I feel love for you. A fire that I never want to put out” he tells me, scooting closer to me. I let him cradle my face, “I never hated you”
“I never hated you either” a weak laugh escapes me but he kisses me before it truly develops. It’s a kiss that devours me whole, wrapping itself into my heart and soul.
“If we make it through this. Let’s make good on that betrothal”
#fire lord zuko#zuko#prince zuko x you#zuko x reader#zuko x you#atla zuko#prince zuko#zuko fluff#avatar zuko#avatar aang#avatar#netflix avatar#avatar the last airbender#atla sokka#sokka#atla suki#Suki#toph beifong#toph#louiseabilenewrites#lourequests
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I think Aang should have been separated from his friends in "The Desert" episode.
He ran off to find Appa, and flew so far away that he couldn't return to his friends. And Katara led the others out of the desert, unable to look for Aang.
Thus, their branches would split into two: Aang would search for Appa, following in his footsteps, and the rest would head to Ba Sing Se, hoping to meet Aang there.
The fact is that Aang doesn't play a role in the plot in Ba Sing Se. The main characters entered the palace thanks to Toph and her knowledges, they got to Lake Laogai thanks to Katara's healing abilities and Jet, and diplomatic negotiations were entirely carried out by Sokka. Aang only created a zoo here in the filler, he didn’t influence anything else, so I would make a separate arc for him so that he wouldn’t be useless.
Since Appa was seeing Guru Pathik, Aang found him earlier, following his friend's footsteps. And he stayed to study the state of the avatar not for half a series, but for several, thereby showing that opening the chakras requires time and effort.
And when Aang reached the last chakra, he could feel Appa at Lake Laogai because they have a special mental connection. And, without wasting a second, he went to save his friend from shackles and torture.
In the finale, Aang would meet with his friends, but without Katara, because she was caught and imprisoned in the catacombs along with Zuko. And now all roads lead to the caves, where Azula, Zuko, Katara and Aang will meet in the final battle.
In this case, I would also expand the imprisonment of Katara and Zuko, making a mini arc out of it. Katara doesn't wait for Aang to save her and tries to find a way out herself. However, she needs to work together with Zuko, and together they would build a relationship not only through dialogue, but also by working together.
They would have to rely on each other to get out, which requires trust. And in the end, when they had overcome several cave obstacles and had even become friends, Zuko would have betrayed their mutual trust, thereby truly hurting his newfound friend.
This teamwork would also explain why Katara and Zuko later work so well together, since they would have already laid the groundwork for this here...
#atla#avatar the last airbender#zuko#atla zuko#prince zuko#katara#atla katara#aang#atla aang#the desert#atla critical
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Scarred Spirits - Zuko x fem!reader (pt.7)
Summary: reactions from team avatar when they find out your ozais assassin
warning: mentions of scars, not very happy gaang, mean katara!, angst
masterlist: here!
most previous part: here! (all other parts can be found in my masterlist!)
authors note! hello!! idk if anyone will be reading this but if you are welcome!! i haven't posted to this series in YEARS so please forgive me as I'm very rusty at writing but please enjoy!
Unified screams erupted upon Appa. “YOU’RE WHAT!”
“Aang what have you done! You literally let a murderer on Appa! She’s going to kill all of us! Katara was right, and I can’t believe I ignored her.”
“I KNEW IT! Quickly Aang, land Appa and let’s get her off!”
Unable to take it anymore, Toph lost her cool. “Can you knuckle heads shut up! I highly doubt that she will kill us, why the hell would she listen to you guys fighting all the time when she could end her misery by taking you out.”
Reality hitting Sokka and Katara, they finally piped down, allowing Toph to continue.
“Look, what you said is highly questionable. I’m not saying that I trust you, but you’re going to have to give us more information than that or else I’ll throw you off myself. Got it?”
You sighed. At least someone in the group had more sense. “Yeah, of course. What would you like to know?”
“Well for starters a name would be great. Oh and maybe, I don’t know, how and why you’re the Fire Lords Assassin?!”
You almost wanted to pull Katara’s braid for the irritating look of satisfaction on her face. “Right okay… well my name is y/n. uhhh and I was forced to become his assassin when he caught me after I broke into the palace three years ago.”
“That’s it?! Nuh uh lady. I know he’s the Fire Lord and had done some awful things but why would he do that to a child?! You’re either lying or somethings still missing.”
There was a lot to weigh up. To suddenly reveal everything about you would be too much and would get you thrown off Appa anyway. Yet to reveal nothing wouldn’t let you gain enough trust to even last a day. Leaving you to share the one thing you knew so little about yourself that you didn’t care if they knew and hopefully enough of a miserable, pitying tale that they’d let you off the hook for the time being.
“My parents aren’t in my life, they never were. I don’t know who they were or why they did it. All I had was my trainer, Zemin. In his time, he was the most notorious Assassin in the entire Fire Nation and when he retired, he never took on any students to carry on his legacy - if you could even call it that. Every other trainer was ecstatic because this meant that their students would earn the most bounties. Until there was me. I don’t know why he took me in… he just said that he found me as in infant and regretfully took me from an islands rocky shore maybe to sell me off somewhere. I suppose he realised he could make even more money from me if he trained me until I could pay off debt for him raising me. I did the one thing assassins could do, kill. All the money I ever earned from each bounty went straight to him. Luckily enough, I learned quickly, and I got to my final payment when I was 13, then he would have set me free.”
Horrified, Aang couldn’t believe what he was hearing. There was nothing like this in the Air Temples growing up. “Luckily enough?! How in any universe is that lucky!”
“Most assassins in the Fire Nation, and others, are stuck paying off their guardians or trainers well into their adulthood. Because of… certain tactics and advantages, I became quite popular if you could put it that way and most of the people, I had to take care of were…” Halting, you knew that if you verbally said some lives are worth more than others, Aang would probably go into cardiac arrest.
“Well, some had more people wanting them gone so the bounty was higher.”
“How does this have anything to do with you working for the fire lord! I don’t see why Zemin would let you go if you were doing so much for him.”
Your strength was fading. You hated yourself for how much you scretly enjoyed having people around that weren’t as idealistic as those in the Fire Nation. “He didn’t. I got an anonymous mission to take out a high general in the palace. So high, that it was going to be enough for me to finish my debt.” After not being met with screams you felt reassured to continue…. they seem to be taking this well…
You took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “On my way out, I got caught in the middle of an Agni Kai. The fire lord wasn’t too pleased I killed one of his generals or interfered with punishing his son. Yet somehow in his psychopathic mind he saw it as an opportunity to pledge my allegiance to him.”
The silence amongst the group was short lived.
“YOU MEAN ZUKO?”
“YOU KILLED SOMEONE.”
“AND YOU ACCEPTED?”
You scrunched your face. Maybe this was a bad idea to tell them. But it was too late to go back. “Yes, it was Prince Zuko in the Agni Kai, that’s how he got his scar. Yes, Aang I did kill the general, but to be fair I haven’t killed anyone since then… And Katara if you were being tortured every day for 8 months, I’m sure you would wear down too.”
The waterbender was unsatisfied with your answer. “Unbelievable! Of course, you did! Everyone has a choice in this world, and you chose the fire lord. You’re nothing but a coward.”
“My life was on the line! You don’t know anything about me.”
“Oh please, y/n. I do. I know everything! Sure, you were raised to assassinate others, but you can’t expect me to believe you didn’t know what you were doing when you were standing before Ozai. I would have stayed in a life of suffering than go with him.” Shaking her head, she pierces you with a disgusted look, “You’re no better than Ozai. No better than Azula.”
As Appa continued to glide through the ever-ending expanse of the sky, it seemed nothing could break the suffocating tension that encompassed everyone upon his saddle.
Toph was the only one to speak up. “Didn’t you hear her Katara? She hasn’t killed anyone since then! She’s surviving. If you ask me… she’s braver than any of us, you never know what could have happened to her if she got caught not actually killing her targets!”
Irritated Katara only grumbled, turning away while leaving the two boys to think about how they felt about you. Despite giving them answers, they still had so many questions.
It was undeniably clear that Katara has made her mind up about you, and you were sure everyone else was the same despite the earth benders attempts at comforting you. Hence, as you sat there across from the four of them, you were the first to break eye contact, turning your head to the side as you searched for something to focus on out there in the sky. Bird, a cloud, anything. You didn’t have the heart, the courage, to argue against what she said.
Unknown to you, Aang shuffled closer to you scared that his angry friend might hear him going towards you. His words only just loud enough to hear above the wind he whispered to you… “Its okay y/n. I don’t really understand what you’ve done or what you’ve been through but when youre ready.. you can tell us.
That was the first time your heart ignited a comforting warmth.
As Appas soft paws skilfully landing on the hard earth, you felt your heart drop inside you. What do I do now? Mind racing through all the possibilities, Toph seemed to have decided what to do before you could even stand.
“Hey! Come with me.”
Jumping off Appas saddle you landed on your feet with such a skilled silence, Toph had to sense your heartbeat to even realise you were next to her. Setting off towards where she’d set up her sleeping area, it was best you stuck closely behind.
“Don’t think about what Katara said, she doesn’t get it.”
“How so?”
Stalling in her tracks, she turned her unseeing gaze towards you. “She doesn’t know what its like to be born into a life that you don’t want. And she definitely doesn’t know how hard it can be trying to escape it.”
Unsure with how to reply, humming in understanding was the best you could come up with.
“Just stick with me and you’ll be fine. I know you most certainly don’t need me, but I’ve got your back.”
The next day had gone by agonizingly slow. With Toph trying to teach Aang earth bending you were left to your own devices since Katara decided to tag along. Although you found yourself tailing Sokka as he went his own way looking for food unaware of your silent giggles seeing him get stuck in the ground.
“...big things eat smaller things. Nothing personal. But this time, it didn’t work out that way…I admit it, you’re cute…”
You decide to finally reveal yourself, tired of your lack of entertainment. “What are you doing down there Sokka?”
Letting out a girl like squeal, he’s horrified at getting caught in this position. “Nothing!”
“You look like you could use some help.”
“I don’t want help from you!” You dismiss it. Surely he has no other choice but to make himself acquainted with you.
“Yeah, right. It’s funny, you’re probably the third person that has ever said that to me. The second in about the span of 48 hours.” you cant help but divert your attention towards the cute animal annoying him. “Aweee look at this cutie!”
“Get away from it!”
“Why should I do that?”
“Because I don’t want you to hurt it!”
“Please, I actually quite like animals. They’re a lot better than humans anyway.”
“I- well… fine! Just go away?”
You scoff, “Why’s that?”
“I don’t like you!”
“Hmm… is that so.”
“Yes, of course it is!”
You’re done feeling sorry for yourself. “Are you sure you don’t like me, or do you feel that way because of your sister?”
“I- well… argh! Fine! I don’t know.”
“Well… why don’t you talk to me and work it out for yourself? If you still dislike me so much I’ll leave you be and get someone to come help.”
A silence fills the distance between the two of you.
He sighs, caving in, “So.. this Zemin guy. Did he REALLY not give you a choice?”
Looking up, you stare at the clear sky. “I learnt early on in my training that I didn’t have a choice or options in life other than what he wanted. Any exercise I rushed through, half assed, or tried to skip through when he wasn’t looking came with consequences.”
“What kind of consequences?”
“The kind that keeps all of my clothing and bindings on so I don’t constantly get pitiful looks or too many questions.”
He scoffs, “prove it”
Staring at all your layers you sigh, “don’t say I never warned you.”
Peeling off all your layers one by one until your down to just your tank top and pants, you decide to take off your face mask last. Your eyes meeting Sokka’s, you notice him swallow thickly. But its you to break the ice first. “In all fairness, most of them are now from Ozai. The older they look… well I’m sure you can work it out for yourself.”
“b-but-“Fuck why did I have to make him uncomfortable.
Unable to take it any longer, you pull him out from the hole in the ground. “Its fine.”
You turn to walk away after helping him, but he grabs your scarred wrist, the feeling of the textured skin making him internally wince. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made you expose yourself like that. Its horrible that you had to experience that… hell we look the same age!”
“Everyone is on different paths. Look, lets just forget about it..”
Sokka feels like he could bust into tears “No! you don’t understand. I’ve seen the effects of the fire nation… hell they took away my mum. I still remember it, sometimes I have weeks where I keep reliving it in my nightmares, only finding peace when im awake. Its like im being haunted. But- but you?! You have to face it whether you’re awake or asleep”.
Squeezing your eyes shut, you can’t handle the intensity of his words. Theres nothing you can do. Nothing you can say. You hug him. You don’t remember the last time you held someone. It feels weird, almost wrong. But as he squeezes you back, tightening the embrace, you understand one thing. You have an understanding with the water tribe boy, despite how dark it may feel.
Hours pass by as you sit with sokka talking about useless topics until the other three join you once more. Feeling weariness in their gaze, you realise you forgot to put your layers back on. Now everyone can see your face and scars.
Only Aang has the courage to speak with you.
“Hey. Uhhh, y/n?”
“Yeah?”
“I just… I’m sorry for not speaking much with you since yesterday. I didn’t mean to, it was just a lot to process personally! Growing up with the Air Nomads, I was taught that killing is wrong and that under no circumstance should that be the answer. If I’m completely honest with you, I still stand by those teachings and to have someone who has… killed… so close to me and the people I care the most about is… unsettling.”
There it was. You knew despite how much he was trying; you knew he wouldn’t be able to see past what you did. What you are.
“I understand. I don’t blame you, or anyone for reacting the way they are, and I know what it feels like to want to protect those who mean something to you.” You glance at Sokka, remembering how he understood.
“Just… please understand that I’ve realised what I did was wrong and while I can’t change everything that I have done, I’m trying to move away from that way of life. I don’t want to be a killer anymore. I’m trying my best to fix it.”
“I know…. Its just-“
“You don’t trust me.”
“What?! NO! I mean…. I don’t know. You clearly have good inside of you but it’s hard to look past.”
“I get it. I’ll head off then, the world needs you Aang and I won’t be the one to stand it your way.”
“No! stop! Please! I know I said it’s hard for me to do, but I clearly see you trying your best. I know you won’t hurt me. I just… I suppose I need to open my eyes more. See you for who you are now, what you’re doing now.”
But what if you can’t? What if I’m still that person, no matter how much I try to shove it away. This is what I have been made to become?
“Okay.”
Letting out a nervous quiet laugh, he glances back to everyone. “okay well… lets eat!”
Zuko stares at the sky in the heavy downpour. “You always through everything you could at me. Well, I can take it. And now I can give it back!”
Lightning cacks in the sky before his eyes.
“Come on!”
“Strike me! You never held back before!”
Met with only the sound of the world around him, he feels helpless. Lost. Alone.
Screaming out, Zuko falls to his knees as the rain and guilt encompasses all of his senses.
His voice scratchy from screaming, he can hardly croak out… “You never held back from her."
taglist: @mangoberry43 @eridanuswave @slythergirlimagines @whiskeywinter89 @simplyfandomish @khaleesi-of-assassins @calciumcow @ilovespideyyy @callums-keith @nnon-it-up @blackhood5sos @chewymoustachio @tiffy119 @reclusive-chicken-nugget @lozzybowe @scarletemeterio @simpinforsukka @sokkassuki @spearbatty @kaylove12
#zuko x reader#zuko fanfic#zuko#the gaang#zuko angst#atla zuko#prince zuko#avatar aang#aang#toph#sokka#suki#avatar the last airbender#atla#zuko x aang#aang x katara#atla aang
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Fic Snippet!
“Are you out of your mind?” Zuko rushed across the courtyard and bore down on Aang with an intense, almost palpable fury. “Do you know how badly you could’ve hurt her?”
“I was just…I didn’t mean to-“ Aang stammered.
“Fire is not a toy!” Zuko bellowed at him. He turned to Katara, examining her for injuries. “Are you okay?”
“I’m alright,” she assured him, her voice shaking. “I’m fine.” She was trembling visibly, and there were singe marks on her clothes, but she otherwise seemed unharmed. Zuko turned back to Aang, how was looking down at his feet in shame.
“What were you thinking?” Zuko demanded.
“I don’t know,” Aang mumbled, kicking at the ground. “I was…mad.”
“About what?” Zuko was absolutely bewildered. “What could Katara possibly have done that you thought it was a good idea to do that?”
“Nothing,” Aang admitted sullenly. He didn’t say anything after that. Zuko glowered at him, took a few deep breaths to quell his own anger.
“You’re going to clean this mess up,” he said gesturing to the torn up stones, dirt and cooling lava. “Then you’re going to do 100 fire squats. Then you’re going to work on your forms for an hour. And I don’t want to see so much as a curl of smoke out of you. You’re not responsible enough for fire. Understood?”
“What? That’s not-“ Aang’s protests died on his lips when he saw Zuko’s expression. He huffed, kicked at stone, and finally nodded.
“Get started,” Zuko ordered through clenched teeth. He turned back to Katara, who was watching the exchange. She was still shaking a bit. Zuko draped his arm protectively around her back and guided her away. He glanced back once more at Aang, and almost rolled his eyes when he saw the younger boy still moping at the ground. It was hard sometimes to reconcile the awesome might and eminence of the Avatar with the reality of Aang, the child.
“I’ll be back,” he warned Aang. “Have this mess cleaned up. And don’t even think about asking Toph to help.”
I know canonically, the Lava Fissure Incident takes place while Zuko and Sokka are rescuing Hakoda, but I wanted to have Zuko see and react to it. Personally, I think it was another accidentally accurate depiction of how unready Aang is to be the Avatar. And it is also another incident that the narrative decides not to call Aang out for, so the chances of him growing from it are...well, we all know how things turned out in LoK.
#atla#anti aang#anti kataang#zutara#dadko is dadding#aang is a trash avatar#it would make for an interesting story if bryke would just admit he's a bad avatar and steered into it#aang by the end of atla could either have a growth arc#or a villain origin#i think villain origin is the more interesteing choice#especially with how they wrote aang in the post series canon#but growth would still make a good story
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Many people seem to get genuinely confused, whenever we, zutara shippers, mention how underdeveloped kataang really is. Usually, they’ll brush it off as us being delusional, bitter and you know the drill. Their main response to that, usually is: “How, could they possibly be underdeveloped, they had 3 seasons!?!”
The thing is they forget that the amount of time isn’t as important as what you do do with it. Cuz, yeah, Aang and Katara did have 3 seasons, but their relationship still managed to feel rushed as hell. Heck, even Bryke, out of all people, admitted to it. Which mostly as to do with a bunch of things that I’ll get into right now.
Let’s start with the fact that, Katara never actually shows any interest in Aang.
Now, many of y’all will probably come for me by citing how the cave of the two lovers or even the Headband have moments of her showing interest in him, but all of them end up falling flat at some point.
The cave of the two lovers:
The argument here, usually is“if she didn’t have any interest in him, why would she kiss him?” or “why would she blush at the idea of kissing him?”. The former seems to forget this is a life or death situation and that we don’t really know for sure that if there were another way to get out if this, she wouldn’t take it. For the latter, I’d like to say that blushing can have many significations such as, embarrassment. Which, here makes sense when considering what she says and overall demeanour, after suggesting to kiss.
Like yeah, a fourteen year old girl blushing bcz she’s embarrassed at the idea of having to kiss, her friend, out of all things, cuz you know… awkward. Can you imagine that (pun fully intended)???
The headband:
This one is going to be a ride, but stick with me. The arguments can range from “What about her jealousy while Aang is dancing with other girls.” to “What about the way she looks at him during the dance.”
Here, is said jealousy being shown:
And said look being done:
Now, yeah, I can absolutely see why these two exemples would be used as a way to prove her interest, but let me remind you that this is the same episode where we have this happen.
Yeah, the same episode where Katara is acting all jealous and giving flirty looks to Aang is also the same one where she pretends to be is… mother. While, I could go on about how it wasn’t the best idea on the directors or whoever was in charge of the episode part if it was their way of giving a glimpse of Katara being into Aang. The issue is, them doing so wasn’t completely farfetched either, because up until now it’s been established that Katara can be very motherly and she acts that way with almost everyone in the gaang. More specifically, the one with who she does so the most is, Aang.
I mean, even the show makes a point of poking fun at their mother-son dynamic on several occasions all throughout the show (ie. the don’t-rub-your-eyes-when-you’re-speaking scene in “The runaway” episode). So realistically, the two exemples shown way above could somewhat work, but only if you decide to completely ignore what episode they take place in, one that hasn’t really helped at stopping the mother-son dynamic allegations kataang has been getting, for years, now.
So, back to the development aspect, I think it has always been stunted from the beginning, because, fundamentally, the ship as always been designed to be Aang-centric. If you’d like more insight on that I’d recommend checking @starlight-bread-blog’s amazing post on the issue. But also, that their lackluster resolution is way much more obvious, cuz both are leads in the show. Katara's existence in the show, isn't solely there to serve as some love inerest for Aang. Shocker, but she's actually a MAIN CHARACTER in the show, meaning that we spend three seasons where we get to learn about her battles, fears and aspirations, none of which seems to involve a relationship with Aang.
Like yeah, the reason why The Ending Kiss™ feels so unsatisfactory is, simply, because, Katara doesn't like Aang (at least not like that). Katara, likes Aang, because the show said so. Now, stick with me, cuz I can already feel some of y'all ready to jump at the screen. Within the show, name a single moment where she ever comes to thinking of Aang in a romantic way. One that doesn't involve any external sources, such as someone suggesting about it or because of the given circumstances she has to. The answer is none. The only time we ever get to see her voice her ACTUAL opinion about it, this is what she says:
That's not even counting how her overall demeanor, from the body language to her choice of words seems to suggest that she's actually trying to let him down gently. Also, may I remind you that at that point THERE'S ONLY 3 FREAKING EPISODES LEFT BEFORE THE BIG KISS™ and this is where there at in their relationship. Plus, within the 3 episodes that are left WE NEVER GET TO SEE THEM TALK ABOUT IT, EVER!!!
This obviously was part of Bryke’s horrible attempt at the will-they-won’t-they trope. Which ended up playing right in their face, cuz like I mentioned they themselves had to come to glaring realization that kataang was rushed. Now, it could’ve been it, the creators realizing their obvious mistake and if they could, trying to fix it by giving us what seemed like the natural progression of their relationship, which was for it to end.
Instead, we got comics!Katara and oooh boy…
Basically, they decided that they would throw away Katara’s meticulously built characterization in order to make her existence revolve around, Aang. I kid you not, when I say that she isn’t allowed scenes, lines and actions that do not revolve around her “sweetie”.
Remember how I said that, Katara likes Aang because the show runners said so. This is an example of this cranked up to a hundred.
Essentially, when you start thinking about where these two are in terms of growth, kataang is the antithesis to development itself. On one hand it validates the regression of one (ie. the dropped chakra plot line), while simultaneously, having to strip any previously built characterization of the other (ie. comics!katara).
On that note, I’d like to remind people, how important Katara is to the story. Without her, the entirety of the gaang would be dead. Without her, there would be no story. Without her, there would be no Aang.
She deserved to have a voice within her own relationship and not for it to be stolen by two grown men who were still stuck in their childhood fantasy.
She deserved better.
#atla#avatar#anti bryke#avatar the last airbender#anti kataang#zutara#pro katara#katara deserved better
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I watched the Netflix adaptation of ATLA today and being a hardcore fan of the OG series who knows every nook and cranny of the ATLA world, here’s my unbiased and truly honest review (It contains both the negatives and positives of the series, so dear reader please enter to read at your own risk).
Firstly, let’s talk about the wonderful additions to the already magical world of ATLA.
1. The depth of the genocide
Well, I always wanted to know how the air nomads were suddenly wiped out and how it would have been for them? Why didn’t they resist? I got my answers in the first episode where we explore how the unhinged power of the comet was “actually” used to create a genocide on a massive level. Before that, I had only heard about it in the OG series. Those few scenes were so powerful that they had left me sobbing uncontrollably and Gyatso’s concern regarding Aang had me bawling.
2. Suki’s Characterization
In the OG series, we do find our Suki the fiercest warrior, but here in the live action, she’s an absolute goddess. She is perfect in every sense. She understands the responsibilities she has being a non-bender and is fearless. Her character is what I believe to be was the strongest one of all.
3. Graphics & Music
We never talk about a film by M.Night (that didn’t happen), but this one is really a visual treat for you can readily set yourself up for some mind-blowing bending scenes, plus the fight scenes are quite impressive. It seems that the VFX team had really done their homework this time. Plus, both Momo and Appa are so freaking cute. I loved the fluffy Appa. Good work over there. The revival of the OG theme is also a highlight plus the sun warriors’ chanting in the end is given a new but intriguing twist. The background music especially in scenes where Aang unravels his Avatar powers is mystical in every aspect.
4. Life in motion
I don’t know about others, but I have always been a sucker for animation as well as live-action where characters are operating even in the direst of the circumstances. Life is there and even after they know what happened a hundred years ago, they are still trying to believe and regain their past confidence. This is beautifully portrayed and I was very much impressed by the way people are continuing their day-to-day activities even in the middle of a crisis.
Overall, the series serves the purpose of an adaptation carrying its unique colors (at least better than the previous live-action disaster that didn’t happen).
Now let’s move to the bad side, and when I say it’s honestly what I felt, you need to take my word on it being a hardcore Atla fan.
1. Weak writing & lots of exposition
ATLA remains at a 9.2 IMDB rating even after years because of its writing, strong plot, and very few plot holes. This time, the writers are the real amateur ones. Despite addicting more to the already flourishing universe of ATLA, sadly, they killed the quest of the viewer to find answers. There is too much exposition. It seems that every character just wants to see the end of the war and keeps on revealing things after things. Plus, some of the OG moments that were the soul of the series are not even included. The way Aang finds Momo and then decides to keep it with him as a last remnant of their bygone air nomad civilization is nowhere to be found. In fact, the replacement of Roku with Kyoshi is the biggest disappointment. I love Kyoshi like no one else but that was unnecessary as per the cycle.
2. Bland acting
Even the worst writing shots can be digested only if the acting appears real good. Sadly, this is another issue that I found with the NETFLIXED version. No doubt the characters must have done a lot of hard work for this, yet, they lack the expressive power. Gordon as Aang is super cute but the goofiness is not even there. Katara seems a nerd who doesn’t like to talk much even when it’s necessary and Sokka’s jokes are forced. Meanwhile, Dallas seems to save the day at one point, but again his over-the-top angry young man attitude ruins it for me. Maybe the actors will learn from the criticism in the upcoming season (if Netflix plans to go with it).
3. Major changes
Yes, it’s okay to change the narrative while you are working on an adaptation, but targeting the loyal viewers who are OG fans of ATLA means that you have to be very careful when you are trying to implement your changes in scenes that are the real soul of the OG. You can’t change the Omashu myth as if it’s nothing when we actually see even the cute animated version of the folklore. You cannot portray Roku more as a perpetrator of the genocide and Bumi as the evil king when in truth he’s the mad king who’s known for his genius ways of teaching. I hated that. Plus, reducing Zhao’s authority and taking Uncle Iroh’s sarcastic attitude is just meh. Mai again doesn’t even seem perfect as a cast. Jet is good as far as the aesthetics are concerned but Jet being in Omashu doesn’t even sit right with me. The amalgamation of multiple storylines creates so much confusion and this persists till the end.
4. Bending at convenience
We all know how Katara’s bending progressed throughout the first season and it’s little effort each day. However, in series, one day she’s unable to bend even a droplet of water and the next day she is capable of producing ice crystals. This was unacceptable for me because I was anticipating her learning strategies. Besides, Aang doesn’t learn much water bending throughout this season and in the end, it’s him being the savior in Avatar state. Thoughtless bending sucks despite the great VFX and that’s one thing at which you can’t convince me otherwise.
5. Forced friendships
We all know how it took some time for Sokka to embrace Aang as a chum. However, here Sokka keeps on calling him “the kid” and remains mostly alienated from Aang. Talking to Katara, then she also seems more interested in helping Avatar fulfill his goal than being with a friend. I hated the scene where Aang comes into the Avatar state and instead of hugging him just like in the OG series, Katara runs along Sokka and keeps on calling his name. How is that going to build any organic friendship? I think the first mistake began right from the very moment when Aang was taken back to Wolf Cove on a boat in his unconscious state. Upon opening his eyes, the first person he finds near him is neither Katara nor Sokka but a tribesman who’s playing guessing games. Writers were really high when they wrote that.
6. Lack of the four nations’ biodiversity
Maybe in live action, it’s difficult to create all the marvels of the four nations when we talk about their natural biodiversity. In the OG series, it is indicated by Aang that even after 112 years, he has still not forgotten the animals that define different regions in the four kingdoms and that’s exactly why he wants to finish those “important tasks” alongside saving the world. His important tasks included keeping a check on the natural biodiversity of the lands and exploring whether the Hundred Years’ War had not damaged the majestic animals. Actually, his first dialogue right after regaining consciousness is to go for an otter penguin’s ride with Katara. When I thought about that I felt that somewhere in Aang’s mind he was always connected to nature and that’s why he wanted to regain that connection by being an avatar. Sadly we never see much of the biodiversity but I hoped that maybe they will.
Also, how come Aang had that silent whistle for one hundred years when in the series he only discovers that accidentally? I missed the OG Yip Yip for our Appa. There are lots and lots of problems with the Netflix version, and no I am not being a nitpicker. I appreciate how the current creators credited the original ones, but now I know why Bryan and Michael bade farewell to this project. On a scale of 10, it’s a 4 for me or 4.5 if I am being too generous.
If I am asked to review the live action in a single line, I would only say this:
“The Netflixed ATLA makes you go back to the OG series and you end up watching the animation to give your mind a much-needed respite from a carefully crafted artistic disaster aimed at the sensationalized generation.”
#atla#avatar the last airbender#atla live action#atla netflix#avatar aang#atla katara#avatar zuko#avatar roku#avatar the legend of aang#iroh & zuko#zutara atla#kataang#avatar canon#avatar review
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zukka ficlet - knee pain 1.6k
“Bleeding hog monkeys,” Sokka cursed through gritted teeth as the leather strap on his knee brace finally snapped off. It had been weakened in their last fight with Fire Nation stragglers. A few groups were less than excited about the new fire lord’s orders—aka, to stop the attempt at world domination—and had finally decided to fight back. The gaang had been traveling the past few months to subdue them. Sokka insisted he was going to help, even though his knee, still wounded from falling during their fight with the airships, wasn’t as agreeable than his mind. Putting aside his slight lack of speed and faulty reactions in battle, it was causing him insurmountable pain. He had engineered a knee brace to help, and it had reduced the stress on his joints and allowed him to fight closer to his previous abilities, but the brace was now nothing more than a tattered mess of singed leather and half melted buckles.
Sokka balled up the frayed array of straps and chuckled it into the river he was sitting next to—an action that sent pain clambering up his leg, and making him yelp with a certain high pitched sound that certainly wasn’t manly.
“Sokka?”
Sokka immediately flinched into upright position. “Z-Zuko,” he chirped, attempting to casually lean against the rock he was standing near as Zuko emerged from the woods. “Fire Lord Zuko. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Zuko rolled his eyes and walked up. “I told you to stop calling me that." He came to a stop in front of him, and Sokka couldn't help but admire him. His hair was getting even longer now, and it suited him.
It had been quite some time since the coronation. Lots of time together, working to undo the damage his father had done. Both by his side in the fire nation as his ambassador, and now, traveling again. So much had changed, and while he certainly looked more regal now, with his long hair and patterned robes, he still made Sokka's heart race like he had at boiling rock all that time ago. Perhaps even more so, as they'd continued to get closer as they worked—
"Dinner’s almost gone, and you weren’t back yet.” A teasing smile played at Zuko's lips, despite his attempts to appear stoic and wise. “I thought you were stuck in a hole.”
“Hey!” Sokka said, with an accusing wave of his finger. “You weren’t there for that.”
“Toph told me,” Zuko said. “Several times.”
Sokka clicked his tongue in embarrassment, feeling his cheeks warm. Damn Toph. In an attempt to make up for her and Zuko’s lack of a life-changing bonding trip, she’d taken to telling any story that made Zuko laugh—and most of those tended to be at Sokka’s expense.
“But I see you’re above ground,” Zuko said, his golden eyes passing over Sokka, seeming to glow in the dim light. “And in one piece. So what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Sokka said with a fake lofty air.
“You’re missing dinner,” Zuko said. “And it’s pig hen, your favorite.”
He never could get anything past him.
Sokka sighed in defeat and blew air to move a strand of hair from his face. “My knee hurts. I was trying to fix the brace, and I couldn’t, so it’s going to hurt more until I can get materials to make a new one.”
“You told Katara it didn’t hurt.” The words came in Zuko’s standoffish deadpan. Sometimes it was hard to tell when Zuko was just stating a fact in his rough voice or when he was being belligerent.
“Yeah, well. She’s having fun with Aang tonight. They’re all gross and obnoxiously lovey-dovey.” His looked away, at anything other than Zuko’s intense expression. Maybe if he studied the ants on the ground enough it would teleport him out of this conversation. “I’m not going to ruin that by making her bend water over my knee for an hour and then be all worried after.” He shook his head, and then met Zuko’s eyes again with what he hoped was a convincing smile. “It’s fine.”
Zuko’s stare was unnervingly sharp. Deadly. It was similar to the look he used to give them when they were about to fight, or the look he gave conniving fire lord generals who were faithful to his father’s old ways. Like he was really fucking angry and the only thing stopping him from setting things ablaze was Iroh’s voice in his head telling him to breathe.
But in an instant, it was gone.
“I’ll do it,” Zuko said curtly.
Sokka snorted. “You’ll do what?”
“I’ll work on your knee.”
“Yeah, thanks, but I don’t need my skin melted. When I do, I’ll give you a call.”
“Pain relief,” Zuko corrected, glaring at him like it should have been obvious that Zuko wasn't suggesting amputation by agonizing flame. “I’ve been…working on it. Uncle said the elements can learn from each other, so I figured there must be a way. I know your knee has been hurting so…I’ve been practicing.” He nervously rubbed the back of his hair. “It will help. Make it feel better, if only for a bit.”
Sokka blinked, staring at him with wide eyes. Zuko did all that for him? For him?
But Zuko’s pointed gaze snapped back to him, making Sokka’s heart flinch.
“It isn’t a choice. Either you do it with me or you ask Katara.” He stalked forward, almost threateningly, making Sokka take a half step back. “It would have been in a better place by now if you had rested at first. You can’t keep hurting yourself and pretending like it doesn’t matter—”
“Okay,” Sokka said, putting his hands up with a gentle laugh. Only Zuko would show he cared by trying to intimidate Sokka into taking care of himself. “Okay, we’ll do it.” He snorted, trying to offset the real emotions he was feeling with a joke. “What am I gonna do, run away from you?”
Zuko’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not funny.”
Sokka blinked. Maybe it would have been funnier if he hadn’t landed on his bad knee after saving Zuko from an arrow, but that was neither here nor there.
So he gave in and sat down, awkwardly, not knowing exactly how to react at what was about to happen.
Zuko knelt in front of him, which was already an image that made Sokka’s head spin, and then he rolled up Sokka’s pant leg, making Sokka’s entire body tense in embarrassment. But he didn’t stop him. He was just relieved that Zuko was so concentrated on his knee that he wasn’t noticing how much Sokka was blushing.
Zuko did a small motion with his hand, and flames erupted from his palm. But he concentrated, his eyes narrowed, and the bright orange fire subsided into a snaking ring that began to spin, controlled and glowing. It almost…moved like water.
Zuko placed it above Sokka’s knee, enough so the warmth radiated across his skin but didn’t burn.
Sometimes Sokka couldn’t fathom it. That someone he used to hate, sometimes even fear, was now someone he trusted so completely he’d allow him to not only bend next to him, but use it to help him, now, when he was vulnerable.
The heat was intense. Not unpleasant, but intense. Almost like it was blocking out the pain as it radiated up his leg, settling in his chest.
He let out a sigh, slowly settling into the position as the tension seeped from his shoulders. He hadn’t felt this painless in…a long time.
“I…I never did say thank you,” Zuko murmured. Zuko’s lashes were long, eyes downcast as he worked the flames under his hands. “For earlier.”
“You better not be doing this because you feel guilty,” he said. “Because I’ve saved your life about a hundred times by now. With that logic, you’ll be doing me favors until we’re both old men.”
Zuko chuckled. It was a low, good sound. A sound that made Sokka feel like he won a prize every time he earned it. A sound that made Sokka want to drop everything else and just focus on making Zuko smile.
“Gladly,” Zuko said with a low smile. “I’d do pretty much anything for you, Sokka.”
Sokka stilled, everything else fading from his view as he met Zuko’s golden eyes.
“But I’m not doing this out of guilt,” he continued. The heat pressed on, and the pain was gone from his mind. “I’m doing this so you don’t stubbornly give yourself chronic pain. Because I care about your knee,” he said. The flames dimmed, but his hand still glowed, and he slowly placed his palm against his knee. Sokka could feel the heat, and his heart was squeezing in his chest—
“And I care about you.”
His hand was still there. It was a marvel that Sokka’s brain was still functioning enough to form the thought that Zuko’s hand was on his knee as he stared up at him, saying that he cared about him.
Now. He should tell him he loves him now, right now, before he lost his nerve, again—
“Zuko, I…”
“We should get back,” Zuko said with a breeziness that Aang would have been proud of, and Sokka felt a rush of cold air as Zuko’s hand left him. Zuko stood, brushing himself off.
Sokka’s stomach dropped with a mixture of alarm and disappointment as the moment went up in smoke before his eyes. “Thanks,” he managed to blurt out.
“No problem,” he said. “Just one of the hundred of favors I owe you, right?”
“Right,” Sokka said in a faint voice. He let out a nervous, bubbling laugh. “We’ll have to grow old together just so you have time to make it all even.”
“Wouldn’t want it any other way.” Zuko smiled warmly. Of course it was warm. Everything about Zuko was warm.
Spirits. This would be the death of him, wouldn’t it? Loving this man who was so dense he would never catch onto any of Sokka’s flirting, and being so helplessly and terrifyingly in love he’d rather take an arrow to the heart than risk ruining their friendship? Was this just his fate now?
He stood, and subsequently staggered, his legs wobbly from a reason completely different than the pain from earlier, but Zuko steadied him. His warm hands holding his arm, the other on the small of his back, and he was so close that Sokka could smell the scent of smoke that followed him.
“You good?” Zuko’s voice was tinged with concern, sparking in his ear. “Is it still in pain?”
“No,” Sokka said quickly. “Just getting…used to it. It feels better. It feels great. I-I can’t wait for you to do it again.” Please.
Zuko blinked, some unreadable shock in his eyes at the words that had just tumbled from Sokka’s mouth, but his smile twitched onto his face. “I’m glad it worked,” he said. “And I can carry you. If it helps.”
Sokka’s face lit up in a blush and he smacked Zuko’s chest. “I do not need you to carry me.” I certainly couldn’t handle you carrying me. “Just…this. This is enough.”
Zuko readjusted, allowing Sokka to hold onto his forearm, the two slowly making their way back to camp. The pain from his knee was distant as he talked to Zuko about the earlier battles, relishing in ever laugh that he got.
Yeah.
This would be enough.
#zukka fic#zukka fanfic#zukka#myfic#me: let me just write this exact same scenario but a little to the left#kdjsdfk#chronic pain cw
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Zuko x reader - the right side
Hi! I just recently discovered your blog and I’ve been loving your writing so much! I would like to request a part two to your Zuko x Reader - The Right Side. It’s so well done and I’m curious to see what happens after Zuko and the reader reconnect :) - Anon💜
Part two:
He slowly stood up and stepped out from the group, he looked at you, and you stared at him intently. It made him shiver the way you looked at him.
Your gaze was so full of fury, hatred, sadness, betrayal.
So many things Zuko thought he would never see in your eyes again, he never thought it would ever be directed at him.
“Why are you here?” You spat.
“I’m here to help, I swear. I want to teach Aang Fire bending.” He said
You scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest as you carried on gazing at him.
Zuko gulped a little as he dared to take a small step forward, and then another.
He kept going until you kicked your leg out, sending a line of fire directly in his path which he barely managed to dodge.
“(Y/N) don’t!” Aang rushed out.
You turned to Aang, frowning heavily but you lowered your hands and took a few steps towards the avatar.
You were furious with Zuko, and they all knew it.
“Go calm down.” Katara whispered.
“Come on, I’ll come with you.” Toph said.
She led you a way from everyone and Zuko watched in sadness as you left.
“She hates me…” he mumbled.
“She doesn’t hate you, she just needs time, that’s all.” Katara smiled.
“Yeah, (Y/N) can’t hate anyone, trust me!” Aang beamed.
Zuko looked over at them then turned to Sokka who gave a small shrug.
“I’ll be honest, she could hate you. You nearly killed her, betrayed her and just left her. She’s pretty mad man.”
“Sokka!” Katara hissed.
“No, no. I need to hear the truth.” Zuko said softly.
Zuko left, and for the rest of the night no one saw him, or you or Toph.
The earth bender came back before you, saying that you decided to head back to your room last night and she decided to go to bed, but she hadn’t heard from you since then.
Everything went to hell pretty quickly, from the killer Zuko hired showing up, and Azula appearing out of nowhere you guys had to fight for your lives to get out.
And you decided to sit up with Aang away from the fire Prince.
“Just talk to him.” Aang spoke softly.
“Not a chance.”
“(Y/N) he’s really trying. He feels bad for what he did and he wants to apologise, the first step to moving forward is to forgive.”
“I love you Aang, but you’re to oblivious to how to world works. It’s all good and well to pretend everything can be fixed with a simply apology but it can’t.”
Aang sighed, turning to look at you.
“You’re right, it can’t. But it’s a start, right? It will be great to be able to take some of that weight from your shoulders and throw it away. No one says you have to talk to him after that, you just have to hear him out.”
“I’m sorry Aang, but no.”
Even as you guys landed, he tried to keep convincing you to talk to Zuko, but you weren’t having it.
Sokka and Toph had asked asked you to just listen to what Zuko had to say, though Toph’s only reason was so she didn’t have to hear him complaining about it anymore.
Katara came over and sat next to you on the rock you had perched yourself on.
“If you’re here to tell me to forgive Zuko don’t bother.”
“I’m not.”
You turned to her slightly shocked.
“I understand why you’re angry, why you don’t want to talk to him or forgive him. You don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”
“Thanks Katara.” You smiled.
She nodded and left, and you carried on looking out over the horizon.
Someone else sat next to you and immediately you stood up and started to walk away.
“Please! I’ll do anything! Just let me explain!” He begged.
“You want me to listen to you? Fine. I challenge you to an Agni kai.” You snapped.
“No!” Aang yelled.
The trio rushed over, trying to stop what was about to happen.
“If that’s what you want then okay. I accept.” Zuko nodded.
No one could stop this, they knew the rules, they couldn’t stop it, they couldn’t help either of you, they just had to watch it play out.
And they knew there was only so many outcomes.
Either you hurt Zuko bad enough for him to feel your pain, or you would be so blinded but your anger for him you would try your best to kill him.
You and Zuko stood opposite each other, and you stripped yourself of Iroh’s cloak before handing it to Katara to look after.
“Please go easy.” She whispered.
Saying nothing, you stepped back in front of Zuko, and he just stared at you.
You threw the first attack, pushing your hands forward to create a massive surge of flames straight at the Prince.
He easily deflected your attack, and carried on standing there, so you attacked again.
Kicking your leg in the air you sent attack after attack after attack.
All of which he deflected.
“Fight me you coward!” You yelled.
“No.”
You yelled and ran over to him, attempting to punch him but he dodged it, and so you tried to knock his legs from under him, but he dodged that as well.
“Fight me!”
“No! I won’t hurt you!” He yelled.
Zuko breathed heavily as he dodged your attacks.
Usually you were so well coordinated, you thought your attacks out carefully that you were able to knock him down easily.
But this time you were so blinded by your emotions that you were just attacking blindly, you were messy and desperate.
“Why won’t you fight me!?”
“Because I refuse to hurt you!”
Zuko grabbed your arm as you lunged at him, spinning you around so you were behind him and let go.
You stumbled a few steps and turned around.
You were heaving for air, hands on your knees as your eyes locked with his.
“Why not? You already have, May as well finish the job right?” You sneered.
“N..no.. no that’s not what I want…”
You scoffed, rolling your eyes as you turned around and started to walk away.
“Fine.”
Zuko sighed with relief, as did everyone else.
The battle was over, Zuko never once threw an attack, and you had finally called it off as you started to walk away.
In a split second, you spun around, kicking your leg up in the air, you sent a rope of fire at Zuko.
He barely managed to dodge it thanks to everyone calling his name, and he fell to the floor.
Running over, you took a deep breath and stared down at him as you stood above him.
Slowly you raised your hand towards the sky, crackling sounding at the tips of your fingers, and blue lightening started to build up.
“(Y/N) NO!” Sokka yelled.
“DONT!” Aang and Katara begged.
Toph tried to put up a wall between you and the Prince but she couldn’t, you were stood right over him, and she couldn’t put the earth between you both.
Zuko looked between you and the lightening in pure horror.
For you to do this it meant that you were sound of mind, you knew what you were doing, and you knew exactly what it was you were about to do as well.
As you stared at Zuko, you could register the fear in his eyes, the fear and regret.
The same thing you felt on that night he had attacked you, the pure fear running through your veins.
You had promised yourself you would never hurt anyone, you swore to yourself that you would protect people and keep them safe.
“If you want to do this… then that’s okay…” Zuko whispered.
You pointed your other hand at him, the charge was nearly finished.
Zuko gave you a sad and broken smile.
“Tell uncle I’m sorry…”
He closed his eyes and something in your snapped.
There was a loud crash, and everyone slowly opened their eyes to see what horror waited before them.
The trees in front of you had been blow down, a small fire in the centre where the blast was aimed.
You had fallen to your knees over Zuko.
He was still pinned below you, your knees rested on the dirt and you had your head cast down.
Zuko flinched when he felt something fall on his face, and he opened his eyes when he felt it again.
His eyes gazed up at yours, watching as the tears slowly slipped free as you stared at him in pure horror.
His heart pounded in his chest, his breathing was ragged and he was shaking.
Your tears fell on his face as you slowly fell to the side, resting your hands in your knees as you bowed your head down to hide your face.
“I’m.. I’m a monster…” you chocked out.
You swore you’d never hurt anyone, you’d protect people and keep them safe.
And out of pure, unresolved emotion you nearly killed Zuko.
You nearly killed a person.
A person you once trusted with your very life, a person who you had grown up with and whom you loved with your whole heart.
And he nearly died by your very hand.
Slowly Zuko sat up, turned to look behind him at what was left of the trees before he turned to you.
He reached out and hesitated, then finally reached out fully, placing his hand on your head before he quickly pulled you into him.
You wrapped your arms around Zuko, all the hatred and anger you felt was gone, you were scared, upset, ashamed.
Your fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt as you cried into his shoulder.
He held you tightly against his chest, burying his face into your neck as he let a few tears slip free.
Aang and Katara ushered Sokka and Toph away, leaving the pair of you alone.
The worst of it was over now, whatever happened now was up to whatever you and Zuko decided to do about what had happened on that night
#avatar the last airbender x reader#avatar the last airbender#avatar x reader#avatar#avatar the last airbender imagine#avatar imagine#avatar the last airbender x you#Zuko#prince zuko x reader#zuko x reader#zuko x y/n#zuko x you#zuko imagine#prince Zuko
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Okay y’all… I was very critical of eps 3 & 4 (especially 4) of NAtLA. Then all of a sudden eps 5 & 6 kinda slapped me in the face with how much better the show suddenly got.
Spoiler-free thoughts first:
Zuko, Iroh, and Aang have cemented themselves as the best parts about this adaptation - which is really funny considering I’m currently writing a longfic AU where Zuko and Iroh discover Aang in the iceberg right after Zuko is banished at age 13 and end up becoming the first members of the Gaang (albeit reluctantly at first lol). Episode 6: “Masks” (the Blue Spirit adaptation) was so good, I’d venture to say that it actually improved and fleshed out some things from the original series.
Episode 5: “Spirited Away”, while not as good as E6, was not as bad as I heard people say it was going to be. I think that the changes they did make didn’t bother me nearly as much as the changes they made in the last episode, and it was actually entertaining.
There were several scenes that made me cry in both of these episodes (moreso in episode 6, which I’ll get into further down in the spoiler section). These are the scenes that I feel like really tapped into the heart of the original show rather than feeling like a soulless remake.
Now for my in-depth thoughts (INCLUDES SPOILERS):
EP 5: “Spirited Away”
- Staring out, I was bummed because I had just rewatched the first two eps of the original animated series lol.
- It was an interesting choice to have all three members of the Gaang get stuck in the Spirit World, but I think it worked.
- Wan Shi Tong just showing up randomly was a bit unnecessary, but I suppose it will be kinda interesting to see him again in S2 since he’s already met the Gaang
- Hei Bai plays a much smaller role in these eps, but I strangely didn’t mind that either?
- Seeing Katara’s last memory with her mom was devastating, especially the fact that she had to witness her death and hide in the igloo with Kya’s charred body :(( she definitely has severe PTSD.
- Even Sokka’s memory made me tear up a bit
- Koh being the villain and a soul-eater or whatever was a bit of an odd choice, but I guess I can see why they did it. I do prefer him just being an asshole who steals ppl’s faces lol
- Appreciated the Fog of Lost Souls reference from the LoK lore
- Aang reuniting with Gyatso made me cry. I know some people didn’t like him being in the Spirit World, but I really liked it. Also, the fact that Gyatso was the first person to tell Aang that it wasn’t his fault the Air Nomads died, and that if he had been there he would have died too? THANK YOU! My poor boy has been berated enough for “abandoning” the world.
- We got some interesting lore about the afterlife for humans from Gyatso and Aang’s convo, which we’ve never gotten in AtLA media before. Idk if it’s just for Air Nomads, but Aang mentions that Gyatso stayed behind instead of “seeking enlightenment”. I know that the end goal in Buddhism is to reincarnate until you eventually achieve nirvana, so I wonder if that’s what they were alluding to (I’m not an expert on religions so pls correct me if I’m wrong)
- Oh yeah, I forgot June is here lmao. As a queer person I loved her (bc beautiful goth woman) but I didn’t like the weird choice to make her hit on Iroh - I guess to contrast the Iroh being creepy towards her thing in the OG series. I wish they would have just had them interact normally tbh, no weird “flirting”
EP 6: “Masks”
- Here we go y’all. The best episode in the show so far and probably the best the show is gonna get this season. I’m still pretty shocked at how good this one was.
- I think the decision to include flashbacks to Zuko’s Agni Kai was a good decision here. It felt like an appropriate episode for them and the flashbacks were very well done.
- In general, Dallas is doing a phenomenal job at portraying a Zuko who is angry and aggressive, yes, but also so very sweet and compassionate at his core. I love when little inklings of his true self shine through.
- Roku was… not what I expected. He was very much more of a lighthearted and jokey person… I didn’t hate it, it was just unexpected lol. I wonder if they did that to contrast him with Kyoshi. Which, speaking of, I’m glad Roku clarified that Aang doesn’t just need to be a merciless warrior (and that he didn’t berate Aang for “abandoning” the world like she did). But I still am annoyed about the mischaracterization of Kyoshi in general.
- RIP Shyu :/
- Thought it was kind of strange how June captures Aang at Roku’s temple lol. Like how did she get on and off the island??
- Zhao continues to feel like a completely different character to me lmao. I think this version is pretty funny, but it’s so weird to see Zhao being portrayed as so goofy and incompetent when he was such an intimidating force and the main villain of Book 1 in the OG series. Just a weird direction they went with his character.
- The Yuyan archers look cool as fuck. 10/10 no notes
- Still not sure how I feel about Azula already being this insecure and jealous of Zuko. I think it makes her feel a bit more realistically like a child, but the whole point of Azula’s character is that she is really good at maintaining this cool and calm persona on the surface, which she uses to scare and manipulate people. I can see her maybe getting to a point later on to where she hardens herself into that though. We’ll see.
- Baby Zuko asking Iroh how he looks and his little smile 😭😭😭😭 I had a physical “aww” reaction to that. THAT’S MY SON (me and Iroh shouting in unison)
- War Room scene was handled very well. No complaints. I like how Ozai tried to test Zuko with battle strategies.
- Blue Spirit break out scene was extremely close to the original, and it was really good. They adapted it almost shot for shot with all the important parts.
- Here’s probably my favorite part of the episode: Zuko and Aang’s talk inside the abandoned house after they escape from Pohuai!!!!!! Gahhhh I could gush about this scene all day. I love how they expanded it to be an actual friendly conversation between Aang and Zuko. Like we get to see Zuko’s true self coming through - the sweet, kind boy we know he is. Zuko and Aang just have such great chemistry as well, wayyy more than Aang has with either Sokka or Katara. Like I adored them bonding over painting and caligraphy!!! I think this is the best acting we’ve seen from Gordon so far, and Dallas did a phenomenal job switching back to that hurt, angry version of himself (of course a trauma response). And the fact that Aang said “sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you” when he blocked Zuko’s firebending attack??? My sweet boy 😭
- The final flashback to the Agni Kai was really well done too. I’d already heard Zuko fights back, which I wasn’t sure I’d like, but I actually didn’t mind it. I really liked that they showed Zuko’s hesitation whenever he did actually have an opening, and that was what angered Ozai the most - Zuko showing compassion, “weakness”. Daniel Dae Kim is of course doing a phenomenal job (no surprises there), and I really liked that Iroh actually attempted to stop Ozai at one point. It also looked like young Azula had tears in her eyes, which I again actually liked because it humanizes her.
- I loved that Aang was still there when Zuko woke up on the boat 😭 he wanted to make sure he was okay!! I full on started crying when we got the “do you think we could have been friends too?” lines from him. Again, Gordon killed it. I love how you can tell that Aang knows Zuko has been hurt and that’s why he acts the way he does. He doesn’t blame him for any of it. 10/10
- the last flashback to Zuko in his bed recovering from the burn… god the tears just kept flowing. I really liked the choice to have Ozai almost give Zuko a chance to like… idk understand why he did what he did, and how compassion is “weak”?? And then Zuko’s response to give people a chance 😭😭😭 as if I couldn’t love him any more!!! And then of course Ozai gets pissed. But seeing baby Zuko just cry in his bed UGH I’m dehydrated at this point
- Of course I can’t finish this review without mentioning the 41st division. What an incredible way to expand upon the source material by making them Zuko’s crew!!! It shows just how much Zuko truly cares about others and it moved me so much (once again to tears).
I don’t have high hopes for the last two episodes, but honestly, if this is what the live action can be, it gives me a bit of hope (at least for future seasons). I really think that Dallas, Gordon, Paul, and Daniel were the stars of this ep and are a big part of what made it so good.
#atla#natla#netflix atla spoilers#natla spoilers#atla live action#avatar the last airbender netflix#avatar the last airbender#atla netflix#atla meta#natla meta#zuko#aang#iroh#ozai#zukaang
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I’ve been wondering a lot lately about how I think Zutara would happen without changing the events of the show too much, though there are some here and there. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
We would see signs of Zuko’s feelings first. But he doesn’t say anything, because he feels like he doesn’t have a chance and he doesn’t deserve her even if he did. As for Katara, well she told Aang there was too much going on to even consider romantic feelings. And this is partially true, but also she just doesn’t know what she feels exactly. Then she goes to find her mother’s killer with Zuko. After this she looks at him differently, she feels she can trust him. But no one knows how Zuko fits into the gaang just yet. There isn’t an exact moment for her when she thinks “I’m starting to like him”, but instead they find this rhythm. Then he asks her to join him at the Agni Kai with Azula, which she does. When he takes the lightening for her, she’s so scared that he’s dead. She puts Azula on ice (haha) and rushes over to try and save him, scared out of her mind that he’s dead. He can’t be dead. All these emotions hit her at once as she tries to save him. She does. His hand goes over hers and he thanks her, and in that moment she feels something. She doesn’t acknowledge it, but she feels it nonetheless. She thanks him. And as the next few days pass and all these things are happening so fast around her she keeps going back to that moment, and she realizes her feelings have changed. She likes him, without a doubt in her mind she knows she does, but she has these complicated feelings for Aang so she pushes that away. When Aang comes to talk to her outside of the Jasmine Dragon he tells her he loves her and goes in for a kiss, but she pulls back. In that moment she knows she doesn’t love him in the same way. Her feelings were a jumbled mess of love, loyalty, reverence, fear, being grateful to him for changing her life, and probably a bunch of other things she couldn’t name. But none of them were romantic. So she was honest with him in the best way she knew how. And Aang accepted this, though you could see him shrink a bit. A different kind of sadness and grief filled him, and everyone felt it. Saw it. But Katara doesn’t approach Zuko, she couldn’t do that to Aang. Besides there’s too much work to be done. And Zuko doesn’t approach Katara, because no matter what connection he felt at the Agni Kai, he couldn’t do that to Aang. And how does he know it wasn’t one sided? Him and Mai didn’t get back together, but she was still someone he’d considered a friend. As time passes the gaang gets busier and busier, they’re reorganizing the world after all. But they send letters. And Katara and Zuko both notice that their letters to one another are different than the letters they send everyone else. Then Katara opens her most recent letter from Zuko, her stomach filled with the same butterflies she felt at the Agni Kai when he held her hand, and in it he finally says he loves her. He doesn’t expect anything, but before he resigns himself to a marriage for the sake of the Fire Nation he had to tell her. Just once. And she writes back, telling him how much she loves him too and how she wished she could have said it sooner but she couldn’t for so many reasons. But instead of sending it, she makes her way to the Fire Nation. Zuko is told Master Katara from the Southern Water Tribe is here for him and he tells his advisor to let her in his study. She comes in, and she’s even more beautiful than the last time she saw him. His first thought is she’s here about the letter, she’s angry. She looks very determined after all. He immediately starts apologizing, then she smiles and almost runs into his arms, shifting his world on its axis with a kiss.
Wow that was wayyyy longer than I thought it’d be😅
#zutara#zuko x katara#katara x zuko#prince zuko#katara#enemies to lovers#bare bones zutara fic#someone write this for me#anti anti zutara#zutara fanfiction#zutara fic#zutara fandom#zutara forever
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did anybody else ever really want to know what happened those few weeks when aang was in his coma? we have it briefly summarized for us, but we never really get to see healer katara and how difficult it must have been for her to keep trying week after week only for aang to remain unconconsious?? plus the amount she would have had to work on her healing abilities and push her knowledge to her limits??? i don't typically write very much kataangst (see what i did there??), but i made an exception for this in-progress fic concept. i present to you some bits and pieces of "i'm no longer a kid, and everything has changed":
---
Katara felt the same flood of emotion that had washed over her as her mother fell as she watched Aang crumple and crash to the ground, Azula’s lighting still blazing through his body. For a second, she was back in her tent from years ago in the Southern Water Tribe, trying to waterbend to save her mother, only to realize that she had doomed her. Katara hadn't been able to believe it was real, even when the cloth-covered body’s arm was still wrapped in the bracelet Katara had made her in school only days before. Even when she saw the familiar necklace around her mother's neck.
Even when she had clasped the same necklace around her own neck.
Seeing Aang now, she felt powerless, again, despite all that she had worked through, despite the skills she had gained. Fury rushed through her, and suddenly, she didn’t care who she hurt, who she got in the way of. It didn’t matter. They didn’t matter. He did. She had to get to him.
---
He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t moving. That was all she could think about, even as Sokka and Toph joined them, twin looks of horror on their faces as she quickly briefed them on the situation.
---
I know I can’t exactly… see it, but…” Toph said, solemnly. “Twinkle-toes looks… seems ... a bit…worse for wear.”
“Can you monitor his heartbeat?” Katara nervously ran her hands through the air above Aang's body. “I’m probably going to need to attempt something a bit experimental. I need to know if I need to stop, if it hurts him.”
“Is this the best idea?” Toph raised an eyebrow sceptically. Katara rested a hand on her lap, hanging her head slightly. “It’s the only idea I have.” Toph nodded sharply, as if she had just received orders, and rested her hand lightly on Aang’s upper arm.
“Heartbeat steady.” She confirmed. “But something’s wrong with his breathing pattern. His lungs aren’t receiving enough blood, I think.” Katara exhaled, shakily, wracking her mind for something that could work. Her thoughts were cut off by the squeak of boots against metal, echoing from the doorway.
Her and Toph turned sharply, nervous that they were harbouring a Fire Nation stowaway, only to visibly relax when they realized it was only Sokka, joining them after setting the ship on its course. “If his blood is a liquid,” Sokka mused, crouching beside Aang,
“Couldn’t you… bend it, Katara?”
♥ check out the completed fic on my ao3:) ->
youtube
#kataangst#how is that not a tag#atla kataang#kataang#atla fanfic#atla fandom#ao3#avatar the last airbender#writing#ao3 recs#angst with a happy ending#ao3 works#ao3 link#ao3 writer#confessions#oneshot#fluff#eventual romance#atla sokka#katara#aang#toph beifong#kataang fanfic#Youtube#friends to lovers#kids by current joys#quillthrillsatlafic
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atla live action thoughts: episodes 3 & 4
SPOILERS AHEAD
tw: opinions
things i liked:
jet, you beautiful, beautiful man. had me twirling my hair and kicking my feet fr i NEED this show to get a season 2 just so i can see more of him in the ba sing se arc please netflix
but looks aside, sebastian amoruso DELIVERED on the performance. the softness, the vulnerability, the charm, the intelligence, yet also the ruthlessness beneath it all? KILLED IT.
the moment between him and katara where he tells her to remember her mother as she was alive and not just her death was absolutely lovely. “remember the sunrise” made me very emotional
on that note, can’t believe jetara fake marriage is canon now lmao
i am SO here for desi omashu. i love the vibe and aesthetic of the city and again the visuals are STUNNING. live action repping the south asians better than the original ever did i’ll be honest
shameless fan service but “MY CABBAGES” being so fucking dramatic had me dying
of all the things i expected from the atla live action, secret tunnel and omashu being lesbians wasn’t even on the list but i’m not mad. hilarious that they turned the cave of two lovers into the cave of two platonic siblings though
jet, omashu and northern air temple arcs actually meshed together better than i thought. the NAT episode never sat well with me in the original so i’m glad they moved them to omashu instead.
the freedom fighters were RIGHT OUT OF THE ANIMATION. casting directors absolutely killed
love that they showed resistance movements within the fire nation and azula being part of rooting them out. it’s a nice nod to the deserter, since i’m guessing they’re not including that episode
really glad to see that the atla live action is following the tradition of having weirdly unnecessary zutara crumbs in every iteration of the story because what in the om shanti om was that zutara scarf moment. 10/10 no notes
having one of the earthbenders transporting iroh be angry over losing a loved one because of iroh’s siege of ba sing se was a really great change. i’ve always thought the original glossed over the true extent of the damage iroh did, so having him come face to face with what he’d done in the past was a great way to add some complexity
“how dare you beat up that child!” everyone go home seeing zuko being beat up by a random old lady is the highlight of this series. really love that they were just running around throwing things at each other that was major book 1 zuko/aang fight energy lmao
SECRET TUNNELLLLLLLL
leaves from the vine instrumental was 100% to inflict emotional damage and it fucking worked. the scene between zuko and iroh at lu ten’s funeral was so beautiful & then to have it flipped around at the end when iroh says “everything i need is on this boat”… fuck you for this netflix i didn’t need these tears today
things i disliked/am conflicted about:
not a fan of what they’re doing with katara’s character. they’re toning down a lot of her rage and fierceness, and boiling her down to “trauma over mother’s death.” in the original katara didn’t freeze jet and splash water at him because he tried to fight her, she did it because she was hurt and pissed off! there’s no way animated katara would’ve just run away from jet without sending a water whip at his face first. i’m concerned for how the pakku fight is gonna go tbh
bumi my guy, what did they do to you 💀 this series seems hellbent on having everyone remind aang that he ran away which doesn’t work when a) you already changed aang actively running away to him just going off for a break and b) you’ve made that point! the original omashu episode was about bumi teaching aang to look at the world differently, here it just weirdly feels as though he’s punishing aang by venting all his anger and despair on him?? that’s NOT what animated bumi was like & they didn’t even have the two of them go sliding down the delivery system in the flashbacks so adding it in at the end felt very out of nowhere. they didn’t even genuinely seem to be FRIENDS
having aang immediately figure out it was bumi was… sigh. can we please not do the thing where characters already know everything it’s giving me trauma flashbacks to the percy jackson show
jet’s plan feels more reasonable here than it did in the original. i get they’re trying to show that he didn’t care about the collateral damage to innocent people and that’s bad, but idk him wiping out an entire town unilaterally felt more extreme than a few bombings.
heavily dislike what they’ve done with zhao. i know they’re trying to show him clawing his way to power but that’s more of a long feng move than a ZHAO move. it’s important that zhao always holds more power than zuko and that he has an overinflated sense of ego from the start for him to fulfil his narrative purpose of serving as a warning to zuko of what he might become.
i like seeing mailee but why are they in this show? it feels as though they’re cardboard cutouts there for fan service instead of being actual characters
overall i liked these episodes better than the previous two & i do enjoy how action-packed and visually pleasing the show has been so far.
overall rating: 8/10 for episode 3, 7/10 for episode 4
#atla live action#zutara#i put these two episodes together since they felt like a two parter#also yes i gave into the urge to binge
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