#katarras
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Atla LA live commenting:
Ep 1:
Disclaimer: this is merely my personal view on the first watch of this show. Perhaps you had a better or worse experience.
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It's not the worst I've seen but it feels incredibly rushed. They're spewing out all the info at you without giving time to allow the watcher to take it in.
Though I loved the extra time given to see the first attack of the Fire Nation against the Southern Air Temple.
Some of the actors are better than others and it's unfortunately obvious. Though everything seems incredibly cheesy. Which I can mostly ignore since it's a live action from a cartoon.
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I adore the name of the Southern Water Tribe Village. Wolf Cove :)
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I'm incredibly sad that Sokka didn't put on his war paint and helmet before approaching Zuko :(
They're fight seen is way more dramatic than the cartoon lmao
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I notice that Aang already has some hair growing in as he's being taken to Zuko's ship. Nice touch. I like that detail.
Kinda stinks they didn't take the time to check out the old war ship
Sokka: "let's go save the weird kid"
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GASP, Uncle Iroh and Aang talk in the jail cells!!!! :D.
Aang: "Is that what you believe?"
Iroh: *ah shi- I'm blabbering too much* oh hey, fam, gotta go- I'll send you some tea
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The Force is strong with Aang. That jail key scene is air fire.
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AANG IN ZUKOS ROOM. HEY STOP READING HIS DIARY PUNK
He took the staff in Zuko's room, instead of already having one. I'm okay with this difference actually. I like that, it's funny.
Zuko's hinted at obsession with Airbender artifacts is gonna help the Airbender. Gotta love it.
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Aang escape
Zuko angy o.O
BUT YEAH GO KATARRA!
But are we gonna see some Avatar State?? ...Nope, guess not.
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The way that they show that nature has been taking over the S Air Temple over the course of 100 years is making me very happy. That's a great addition.
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OH NO, ARE WE GONNA SEE THE REMAINS OF GYATSO AND THE KIDS OH NO
Oh geez, there he is oh geez. Ouch ouch ouch
THE FLASHBACK IT HURTS
Oh here we go :/. Avatar State time
"you will always be my friend." Dang. New phrase to torture myself over.
The hug 😭
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Is he gonna keep Gyatso's necklace?
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Ending with some deep truths and Zuko slightly going nuts. Good 1st EP end, ngl.
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OH YEAH THE MUSIC
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Despite some things that I wish could have been done a little better.... I'm truly enjoying it.
#avatar the last airbender#atla#atla live action#atla la#live commentary#ep 1#aang#katarra#zuko#iroh#sokka#gran gran#gyatso#spoilters#atla spoilers#atla la spoilers
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“I’m ruining it aren’t I?”
“No.”
#kat fate#kat ftws#terra harvey#terraharveyedit#katftwsedit#fate the winx saga#fate: the winx saga#fatethewinxsagaedit#gifs#gif#katerra#katarra#what is their ship name#*mine#fave lesbians i adore them#winxsource
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Indigenous cultures in Atla
https://www.tiktok.com/@cocobree/video/7168195840337562922?_r=1&_t=8XWyMpY2MAD&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7168195840337562922
https://www.baronnews.com/2020/07/22/cultures-represented-in-avatar-the-last-airbender/
1. Katara is a cartoon character from a fictional country in a fictional universe.
2. The country, or rather tribe she comes from is based in indigenous cultures. the clothing is mostly based in the Inuit and Yupik peoples. The boomerang [called a kylie, Kali or Garli in other mobs] comes from Aboriginal Australian culture, as does the war paint. Aztec and, once again, Inuit culture was used for architecture.
Regardless of the potential problematic implication that all Indigenous cultures are interchangable , Katara and Sokka are not White. No one in Atla is because it’s a world inspired by east asian and Indigenous culture.
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I literally do not understand how a fandom keeps up a ship feud for near 20 years and never comes to the realization that fighting over ships is pointless at best.
Like, are you having a good time? It doesn't look like you're having a good time.
#never been deeply invested in either of the katarra ships#do find it funny that katarra shippers are at war when sokka shippers are like “sokka has TWO hands!”#can we ship katarra with not getting pigeonholed into the nurturing healer role again?#she can be a healer AND terrifying! katarra contains multitudes!#fandom#real life writes the post
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I did not have high expectations to begin with, but I am genuinely blown away by how much I despise NATLA. Every moment reeks of cynical corporate cowardice. "We can't have Sokka be sexist, people will think we're endorsing sexism!" "We can't have Katarra be angry, people will think she's a nag!" "We can't have Aang abandon his responsibilities on purpose, people might think he's bad or flawed instead of the perfect good hero!" Just, decision after decision that demonstrates not only a complete misunderstanding of the source material, but a lack of understanding of, like, stories in general. Of why they work. Of why we even bother to tell them. Every decision made in NATLA feels like it was born in a board room and designed to make the characters and world a more palatable product, something they could more easily sell, something that will go down smooth and not offend anyone. Well, newsflash, assholes; I'm pretty fuckin' offended, and I'm not alone. You're too cowardly to give your characters flaws they need to work to overcome, but you have no problem showing a genocide onscreen, that's fine. Character development is bad! Let's replace it all with pointless action scenes and the dryest, most sleepily delivered exposition in the history of film! Fun? We can't show our characters having fun. Fun is for children. What's that? Our characters are children? Well, too bad, our target audience is people who liked Game of Thrones, so those kids are just gonna have to learn to be miserable.
Alright, I gotta stop talking about this or I'm going to choke someone, possibly myself.
#avatar the last airbender#netflix atla#To be clear: I don't blame the actors for this#The script is awful#And the direction is almost stunning in its blandness
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Kataang shippers: *arguing why it’s perfectly executed and the dynamic is impeccable*
Zutarra shippers: *arguing why it should be canon and the importance of Zuko taking the lightning blast for Katarra*
Zukka shippers: *sitting back eating popcorn and enjoying the show*
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Happy Happy Pride Month Shana!!! Please write more Luten and Zuko!!
a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Zuko and Lu Ten leave most of their stuff on the ship and Hu even promises not to throw it overboard once they’re gone. Hopefully they'll be back, although Zuko has no idea when. How long does it take an avatar to become a master? It can't be that long, right? He's done it before.
Riding the sky bison, is admittedly, extremely cool.
Katara insists on going to talk to her brother and explain their plan. Zuko waves at him from Appa's back, not stepping onto a boat full of waterbenders because he's not an idiot.
It doesn't matter how long he's been in the Earth Kingdom, wearing Earth Kingdom colors while serving with Earth Kingdom people and on an Earth Kingdom ship. No one looks at him and thinks he's anything other than Fire Nation.
Luckily a hundred years of expansion means lots of people look like the don't fit, but he's not willing to risk his neck on that when he doesn't have to.
The siblings have some sort of argument that he doesn't bother listening to, but the end result is he and Katara climbing back onto the bison and the rest of the waterbenders sailing away.
Sokka holds himself like a prince, in a way Zuko has spent years unlearning how to move. That boomerang has a sharpened edge. When they get to land, he wonders if he can convince him to spar.
"We need to go get Toph first," he says. "She's on the way to the Lagoons anyway and it's stupid to leave and go get her later when we get to earthbending."
Plus, he doesn't like that he and Lu Ten are outnumbered. Having Toph here will even the playing field.
Also if she found out that he went off to train the avatar without her, she'd kick his ass.
"We'll have to kidnap her," Lu Ten points out, eyes crinkled at the corner like he knows what he's thinking.
Katarra and Sokka look pissed, so he cuts them off before they can yell at them, "Help her sneak away, more like. She'll want to come, but her parents probably won't let her."
Zuko remembers the first time he met Toph, when she'd pointed at him in the crowd of the rumble and demanded he fight her. He wasn't even competing, but something about the way he'd moved or breathed had told her that he was a bender worth her time.
He'd won that time and hadn't gotten that lucky since.
"Her parents?" Sokka asks. "Isn't she a master benders?"
"Master benders still have parents," Zuko says and decides not to tell them that Toph is twelve years old.
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Katarra is the reason I breathe 🫶🏼
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Ive been thinking about crossovers, and a great idea that ive seen litterly NO ONE talk about; a crossover between sky cotl and avatar tlab.
This has such good fic potential! And not only that the art potential???
Here's a couple ideas ive had (mostly about zuko's interaction with the sky kids)
Zuko accidentaly becomes a caretaker for some sky kids (prolly moths or other inexpirienced children)
Zuko assumes they are fire spirits, brings them to the gaang, shenanigans ensue.
Aang and the sky kids become fast friends
They go to try and find a way to the spirit realm to bring them back, they find a more expirienced and seasoned sky kid(a veteran or ikeman idk)
It starts raining and all the sky kids are freaking out
They find out very quicly why the sky kids freaked out (spoilers sky kids can die in the rain)
Katarra does that water dome thing so they dont get hit by the rain any further
Zuko re-lights some sky kids, the veteran sky kid helps him
Zuko gains the veterans respect with his firebending
Thats about it, if you have more ideas please share them in the notes!
#sky cotl crossover#atla netflix#avatar the last airbender#avatar the last airbender crossover#i speek#i spoke#sky cotl
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Aang teaching Katarra the basics of bending is a nice touch actually.
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kat/terra + greenhouse?
this is more than three sentences but idk what yall expected from me
The greenhouse has always been one of Terra’s favourite places to be. Before, it was because she would spend most of her time with her brother and father there - making potions, looking after the various flora and fauna that thrive there.
Even her short lived time of being close friends with Riven and hanging out in the greenhouse, is part of the joy the greenhouse brings her. The knowledge that even for a few months, they had some place where he could be honest with her, and himself.
Now, playing with her girlfriend’s fingers as she explains some military exposition to her, she thinks that maybe there can be other people who make the greenhouse her favourite place.
“Ter?” Kat says and Terra looks down at her, a sheepish grin on her face. “Sorry. Zoned out a bit. Continue your story!” Kat smiles at her before leaning up and kissing the underside of Terra’s jaw. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”
Terra blushes, before focusing on Kat’s story. Yeah. Kat definitely is a new person to add to her list.
#terra harvey#terra fate#kat ftws#kat fate#kat x terra#katarra#i’m on a kat x terra fix today#so uhhh#here’s content#*mine#my writing#ftws fic#fate the winx saga
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Watching the new ATLA variant on netflix, and I have thoughts, and this is my tumblr so I'm sharing them here. Here there be spoilers.
Some good things first, I loved Kyoshi throwing around the firenation troops invading Kyoshi, it was an epic scene and I loved the sense of power you get from Kyoshi's arrival. Sokkas character arc focusing more on his pride as a "protector" and realizing that he's a small fish in a very huge pond when he leaves his home seems to be well written. Katarra having some ptsd while water-bending due to the horror of seeing her mum burned alive makes a lot of sense and is a great choice to explore so early on. Finally Teo being so intense in his defiance of the firenation makes complete sense and adds a good layer of character to a pretty bland side character (personality wise) in the original show.
Now the issues. Removing Sokkas sexism is lame, the origional show was very obvious about it and I can see how they'd want to avoid writing the same slightly clunky dialouge. But they could've still written Sokka to come to have that same element of sexism and bias and then overcome it and come to the same realizations in a mature and nuanced way and I think it's sad that they missed the oppurtunity to explore that issue( not having him dress in Kyoshi warrior gear in the fight for Kyoshi Island feels a bit cowardly, but could also be being avoided due to studio fears of Sokka coming across as intruding on the culture of Kysohi Island I guess...) Especially as sexism nowadays is still very prevalent. Removing it takes away from the chance to teach a new generation that it's ok to be wrong if you revise your worldview when you realize your beliefs are harmful. Secondly, I'm not a fan of the bending system as it's currently displayed, they seem to be focusing a lot less on the martial arts element and more focus on some nebulous claims about "balance" and the energy of the world with a bit of exploration into the characters feelings and how they affect their bending, which is good in some magic systems but since avatar bending is based on actual martial arts styles it feels like a waste not to explore that and to instead just have a classic throwing magic at each other system.
all in all, lets see where it goes. It's not going to be the original but it's still doing some fun stuff
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So imagine with me if you will, that on the day of Zuko’s banishment, Azula goes with them. She takes one look at the palace that will now only house her and her father (in terms of the royal family), then looks at the tiny warship that Zuko and Iroh are boarding, and then looks at Ozai to say, “Well here’s hoping you can find another woman to give you an heir.” before running off to join her brother and uncle.
Before they even manage to leave Fire Nation waters, Mai and Ty Lee are also joining them. And now Iroh is the wise emotional advisory to not one but four angsty teen former Fire Nation nobles, and honsetly? He is just so proud of the fact that they haven’t killed each other.
Because Azula joined her brother in banishment, Ozai demands that the ship drop them off in the Earth Kingdom and retrurn (futilely hoping that Azula will see the insanity of what she’s doing and come back).
So the five of them start travelling, Zuko still wants to find the Avatar after all, but they have to do it on foot, which means no fancy Fire Nation outfits. They start travelling around the Earth Kingdom first, as an uncle with his nephew and neices whos town got destroyed by the Fire Nation. They all do odd jobs to help make travelling a little more convinent.
Then they manage to get a boat. It’s not grand or luxurious, but it’ll get the job done. Finally when Zuko is sixteen, they get to the Southern Water Tribe, and meet Katarra, Sokka, and Aang (newly released from the glacier). Unfortunately a Fire Nation warship also saw Aang’s little light show and go to investigate.
Now, having actually worked and helped people as they could for the better part of three years, does a lot to a person, and so these four still angsty teens decide that there is no way they are going to allow the Fire Nation to take Katarra or Aang (who Zuko mildly suspects to be the Avatar) prisioner or even to execute them.
So Mai and Ty Lee help Katarra, Sokka, and Aang escape to the little boat with Oppa where Iroh is waiting while Zuko and Azula show the warship why they are two of the greatest fire benders of their generation.
And it all kind of snow balls from there.
#avatar the last airbender#avatar the last airbender AU#AU#Azula is good?#Azula joins Zuko in banishment
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Since we're bringing up potential cartoon crossovers, how about if the Calamity trio ended up in the Avatar The Last Airbender world, maybe Anne with Aang, Sokka, and Katarra, Sasha with Zuko and Iroh, and Marcy with Suki and the Kyoshi warriors (if you have better ideas on where the girls end up with, you can change them up)?
So if I was going to do an crossover AU I, personally, would not go for an isekai angle. Avatar, like the Star Wars AU I was asked about a while back, would be one I would want to have the characters to be born into the setting naturally instead of being dropped into it.
Mostly because I don't know how much their entering into the plot of ATLA itself would change things. Avatar already has a chosen one character in Aang. While Marcy might be all for a big heroic adventure, Anne and Sasha would be less inclined.
If I was going to set them all up I actually would probably set them up in the time period of Legend of Korra. Cause man what a fun setting and a mixed bag of concepts.
For this AU Anne Sasha and Marcy all grew up in republic city together.
Girls, Before Timeskip
Anne: Gonna buck convention here, Anne's family is from the fire nation, specifically the outer archipelago around the Ember Isles. As to why, its cause ATLA's designers took a lot of inspiration from thai culture for the architecture and fashion on the island. The next incarnation of the Avatar, as her family has roots in some of the water benders who had been captured and brought back as prisoners to the fire nation (like Hana). Does not realize she's a bender at all until she is 12, extremely late bloomer. Discovers she's actually the Avatar on her 13th birthday when she peforms airbending on accident.
Sasha: Comes from an old established colonial family that helped establish Republic City back when it was a fire nation colony. Ethnically I think she'd be half Fire Nation half Earth Kingdom, mostly because this comic about Sasha being Wasian lives rent free in my head since I saw it months ago. She'd probably be a brunette since I don't think blonde hair would be a... thing in Avatar world I think I would make her an earth bender of a fire bender. Mostly cause I like how it would play into her role as the defender of the group and also so she can pick up lava bending in later seasons. Sasha as the only bender for most of their life was also the group protector on the rough and tumble streets of Republic City. Idolized Toph as just a top tier ass kicker.
Marcy: Comes from a family who immigrated to Republic City from Ba Sing Se around the time it became republic city. The only truely nonbender of the group, Marcy spent child hood always a little envious of Sasha. This only grew worse when it turned out Anne was also a bender and Marcy started to feel like the odd one out. Marcy is absolutely obsessed with the technological advances being made in the city. Once Anne is recognized as the Avatar, Marcy throws herself more ardently into her studies of engineering
Plot: So at the start we get a similar set up as canon. Sasha see's herself as the protector and boss of the trio who, even after Anne has had a year with her water bending. On Anne's birthday, Sasha convinces Anne and Marcy to break into the construction site. Things are going alright until some cops show up. Sasha calls for them to run, but Marcy being her clumsy self ends up almost falling off a girder. Anne narrowly manages to pull Marcy back, but at the cost of her own balance and falls. Sasha tries to do something, but there isn't much earth to work with and she doesn't know how to metal bend. Anne in full view of these cops and some onlookers shoots out a jet of air from her hand to save herself.
Anne is made an instant celebrity. Republic cities first Avatar! The people of the water tribes are resentful since culturally Anne is fire nation and one of them were expected to have the next avatar. Anne is stressed and would do anything to put this genie back in the bottle. She didn't want to be the avatar. That was a lot of responsibility! She wasn't even a good bender!
Sasha has a bit of an identity crisis and Marcy is excited for Anne but also nervous that her friends are going to leave her behind.
The white lotus + Tenzin approaches Bee and Oum, insisting Anne be taken into hiding until they can train her. They are hesitant as Anne is already overwhelmed by all the changes and expectations placed on her. However, when a red lotus attack almost kills their daughter they accept.
So in an interesting twist for Amphibia Fanfic, it's Anne who is moving away for a while. Sasha and Marcy both beg the White Lotus members to let them come and keep Anne company but are refused. Sasha argues they should at least take her because she's a talented earth bender and could be a sparing partner for Anne. This argument also doesn't work but does deeply hurt Marcy, since if it had worked it would leave her alone in Republic City.
So Anne is taken away, tearful goodbyes and promises of letters.
Girls During Timeskip
Anne: Anne is deeply resentful of her position of the Avatar and the expectations set upon her shoulders by the world and white lotus. She gets passively adequate at all 4 elements but isn't particularly talented in either. However, in theming with her position as the heart in Amphibia, she does seem to have an extremely natural talent for dealing with spirits which will pay dividends over the course of the series. Anne stays in close contact with Sasha for the entire time skip. However, after something terrible happens to Marcy, and Anne fails to sneak out to go see her, Anne sends letter after letter sending her sympathies and apologizing for being unable to come, but never gets any letters backand so loses contact with Marcy. Though she's determined to rebuild that connection upon her return.
Sasha: After Anne left Sasha fully threw herself into practicing bending, wanting to turn herself into a pillar Anne could rely on once her adventures as an Avatar truly begin. In the process however she kind of turned her back on Marcy. Without Anne as the glue of their relationship, Sasha starts to see Marcy as a social anchor around her ankle as she tries to put together a 'squad' strong enough to support Anne. However she secretly comes to regret this, as without Anne or Marcy be her side, Sasha's only 'friends' are those who are obsessed with their image and reputation, so she no longer has a refuge where she can just act herself. Way too proud to try and make up with Marcy, especially after the incident.
Marcy: A bit lonelier and overworked, Marcy is a prodigious inventor that was scouted by Sato corp right out of school. Once Sasha distanced herself, Marcy threw herself into her studies not making many connections with others. 3 years after Anne leaves Marcy has the incident. Some bending bullies from the girls past who grew into members of the triad. They try to corner Marcy one night when she was alone and without friends. Marcy runs but ends up in an accident and loses her arm as a result. Marcy writes Anne a tear stained letter, begging her to visit cause she feels hurt and alone. We learn that Anne tried to sneak out back then but was caught. Anne wrote back apologizing and promising she did everything she could, but the white lotus intercept the letter and it never gets to Marcy and vice versa. Leaving Marcy to believe she's been abandoned by both of her friends
Story Start
As Anne's 18th birthday rolls around Anne is officially done with life in the compound and enlists the help of dozens of spirits to help her break out this time. They sow chaos and give Anne the time she needs to get to a village and book passage to her home in Republic City. Anne first seeks out Sasha, since they still have an active connection and knows Sasha has a championship match coming up. Sasha is of course super happy to reunite with her and introduce her to her Probending Team. I don’t have a lot of details for these two but they are both pretty insufferable as people. They clearly see Anne as a way for them to boost their reputations.
After a night with them Anne asks Sasha if she knows where Marcy is so that she can visit. Sasha is reticent, clearly ashamed of how she left things with Marcy, and encourages Anne to move on. Maybe even tries the ‘end of discussion’ move. However in this AU Anne has spent the last half decade being told what to do by every adult in her life, so she’s not going to just meekly ascent to Sasha’s command and seeks out Marcy anyways.
She eventually finds Marcy still living in all of their old neighborhood, and just teary eyes sprints to her and pulls her into a big bear hug. Marcy is shocked, both that Anne is there and cares about her. They talk through the misunderstanding pretty quick and reform their connection and spend the night catching up. Marcy proudly shows Anne the steampunk as hell prosthetic arm she developed for herself and talks about her job at Sato Corp. Anne confides in Marcy about her insecurities and resentment about being the Avatar. Marcy becomes the first person in five years to agree with her that it is an unfair burdan she has been saddled with, rather than insist that its one she needs to take up anyways. Which is in retrospect will make a lot of sense when part way through season 1 its revealed that Marcy is an equalist and is the one developing their weapons for Mr. Sato.
So I think that pretty much sets the stage. Giving Anne a friend who both represent flawed ideas of the equalist conflict. Sasha having fully embracing the status quo of ‘Benders are superior and should be treated as such’. And Marcy representing the sympathetic but flawed ‘Some benders abuse their power so all benders must be neutralized for society to progress’.
and maybe I’ll flesh it out more later but the scene that I think is really cool is when Marcy is revealed as an equalist. Cause Marcy isn’t working against Anne in this AU. Or using their bond to betray her. She eventually tells the truth on her own and tries to get Anne to join her. Insisting that Anne is right, it isn’t fair that everyone has these expectations of her. She shouldn’t have to be the avatar if she doesn’t want to be. And wouldn’t she like to go back to the way things were before all this happened when they were on even footing with each other.
Which is a really juicy dilemma for Anne to chew on. Cause she’s not a great bender and she doesn’t want this job.
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How cool would it have been if Katarra and Zuko ended up together? Like the writing was there. Seemed more interesting than what we got, no offense people who like Kataang.
I just think that a Firelord who was a waterbender could be an interesting character or protagonist. The old guard in the fire nation would probably be upset. Say lots of horrible stuff about their mother, which would be a shame.
It could be very compelling though. Probably see more of the fire nation and see it go through reforms. Possibly also civil war.
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Bending Swap (AKA Why You Never Listen to Sokka’s Idea)
Sokka convinces Aang to swap bending abilities to screw with Zuko. It’s fun until it’s not.
Came up with this idea with @legallyspawned
The Gaang sat around their fire, quietly snickering to themselves as they watched Zuko do more of his fire bending stretches. The past few days, they’d been busy playing pranks on him, Aang was transferring bending abilities between their friends, starting with giving Sokka the ability to fire bend. It had lasted nearly an hour before Zuko finally stomped off and Aang took it away, and upon Zuko’s return they’d convinced him he imagined it. Toph had used Katarra’s water bending, Katarra had used Aang’s air bending, even Momo had briefly used Toph’s earth bending.
And while originally Aang was going to give him a break from the pranks, Sokka was being very convincing.
“Just imagine it with me!” Sokka said enthusiastically, gesturing to where Zuko was too far to hear them, “He’s never even imagined bending something else.”
Toph snorted, “I’ll gladly switch with Sparky for a few hours to see this chaos ensue.”
Sokka snorted in response to her statement, but didn’t comment that she wouldn’t see anything, “Come on, please! Just one time and then we’ll stop.”
Aang looked over at Katarra, wanting her opinion before he voiced an agreement or not, and she looked amused at the idea. The bald boy sighed with a smile, “Fine. But everyone has to be up in the morning when he wakes up, because he’ll notice right away!”
“So no going to sleep tonight, got it.” Sokka nodded seriously.
“That’s not what I-“ but Aang was cut off as Zuko made his way back to the fire, “Hey Zuko! How- uh, how you feelin’?”
Zuko raised an eyebrow at him, “I’m fine? Are you okay?”
Sokka just elbowed Zuko, “Just ignore him, you know how he gets when my sister smiles at him.”
“I do not!” Aang protested, but quickly fell into a love sick look when Katarra laughed at the statement. Suki snorted where she sat nearby.
“So, Sparky,” Toph announced loudly, “Since your imagination has been running wild with the idea of us bending different elements-“
“I’m still saying you guys are screwing with me!” Zuko cut in.
But Toph continued undeterred, “What element would you choose if you couldn’t do fire?”
Zuko shook his head, “I think I’d rather not have any. And I don’t mean that none of them are as good, I just mean…the fire is a part of me. Without it I wouldn’t be the same person.”
Sokka softened a little bit, “You know that’s not true, right?”
“You guys became my friends because I started teaching Aang. If I hadn’t taught him-“
“Whoa whoa, there’s another possibility there. Without your bending, you might not have fought so hard to prove to your dad that you were-“
“My father would have cast me aside a lot earlier in life.” Zuko told him softly, staring into the fire as his hands gripped the log they sat on, “And maybe being gone earlier would’ve made me a better person, but I have the life I’m happy with now because I had it.” Sokka reached out, squeezing Zuko’s shoulder before watching him get to his feet, “I’ll see you all tomorrow. I’m gonna turn in.”
Sokka watched him, waiting til he was gone before turning to the others, “Now we’ve really gotta do it. Show him that fire bending doesn’t define who he is.”
“I never thought I’d say this,” Katarra responded, “But I think Sokka’s got a good idea.”
When the sun breached the horizon the next morning, Zuko moved to the nearby river to begin his stretches, as he did every day. But even he had to admit, his body felt odd. He felt like he was being watched, but couldn’t find the eyes, so he shook it off.
Until he got to the stretches that used his bending.
As he thrust his hand forward, a rock the size of a small dog flew across the river and he jolted, looking around for Toph as he continued. Then it happened again. And again. Until he started to panic. His fire wasn’t coming out, but he was shoving around rocks that he wasn’t even sure he could lift, and then he couldn’t control it.
Sokka thought it would be funny. He really did. But as he watched from his perch in a tree, he would admit he miscalculated. He could see the unease turn to actual fear on Zuko’s face, as no matter what move he made a rock bigger than him went sailing through the air. He turned to where Katarra ducked for cover a distance away, “This might’ve been a bad idea!”
“This was YOUR idea, Sokka!” She called back without missing a beat, trying to get a clear shot to the water so she could whirl a rope of it around Zuko’s body until he calmed down.
“You guys never listen to me! Why would you start now!?” Sokka felt heat on his skin and turned to see Toph engulfing the boulders in flame with a maniacal grin.
“I FULLY SUPPORTED THIS IDEA AND I FEEL LIKE I’M RIGHT!”
“What the HELL is happening to me!?” Zuko screamed, trying to lower his arms, but every twitch through his anxiety ridden body sent another piece of earth soaring.
Suki snuck up from behind, smacking her fan into the base of Zuko’s skull, effectively knocking him out. She blew a strang of hair from her face as she caught, “Brainiac! Come help me carry your boyfriend!”
Sokka squawked as Aang glided to the ground, and the avatar just looked sad, “I need to stop being talked into things.”
Before anyone could reply, they witnessed a glow overtake the young air bender’s eyes and he spoke again, with a different but familiar voice, “I have told him time and time again. You must be one with your bending. Do not panic.” There was a sigh before they saw him smile, “I am glad he has found you all though.”
Then Aang was back, and Sokka was admittedly teary eyed, “I miss that old man. But no one mention that to Zuko. He misses Iroh enough without knowing that he popped in for a second.” The others nodded as Sokka hoisted his ‘not-my-boyfriend-thank-you-very-much’ onto his back.
When they got back to camp, Aang immediately changed out the bending, hoping that they didn’t emotionally scar Zuko any more than he already was.
When the young fire bender finally awoke later, Sokka had to duck to avoid a plume of flame when the first thing he did was try to access his fire. But then he admitted what they’ve been doing.
“Why?” Zuko asked.
Sokka gestured uselessly, as the others had scurried away, “It was just a joke at first. But then I wanted to show you that you were more than your power. I got carried away.”
“Why does it matter to you?”
Sokka cocked his head at that, confused expression almost making Zuko snort a laugh, “What do you mean? If I had to describe you, fire bender wouldn’t exactly be the first thing on the list.”
“Well, no,” Zuko gestured to his scarred face, “It usually is the second.”
“No,” Sokka was being uncharacteristically soft with the way he spoke, taking Zuko’s hand away from his scar, “I’d say you were brave. Smart. Reliable. Funny when you don’t try, but unfunny when you do.” Zuko glared at that but Sokka gave him a smile and continued, “You’re confident, but not cocky. Independent. Hot.”
Sokka felt his face heat up at the last one, but Zuko didn’t seem to notice, “Well, yeah. I run hot. All fire benders do.”
“That’s…” Sokka could leave it alone. He should leave it alone. But he’s never been known to leave it alone. “That’s not what I meant. I meant that you’re hot, like attractive. Handsome. Beautiful. Sexy.”
Zuko’s eyes got wider with every word, the sun reflecting in the golden irises, “You…you think I’m attractive?”
“Unfortunately, I have since the moment I met ya.” He tried to joke, “Do you know how frustrating it was to think the guy trying to kill me was hot? That in itself was a turn off but-“
“I thought you were too.” Sokka froze as Zuko blurted it out. But the fire bender wasn’t done, “It was annoying. You were wearing that face paint but I could tell. Seeing you without it didn’t help. I tried to focus on Mai, but she knew.”
“I- Zuko- Are you gay?” When he got a jerky nod in response, Sokka smiled, “I’m bi. Just so you know.”
“That’s…that’s good to know.”
Sokka snorted, knocking his shoulder into Zuko’s, “When you can forgive me for freaking you out the last couple days, how ‘bout ya let me take you out.”
“Yes. I’d like that.”
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