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the-badger-mole · 9 months

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No Sound But Silence: Gusts (Repost)

Katara spent two nights in the hospital. Once she was cleared to go home, Zuko and Hakoda seemed determined to make sure that her feet never touched the ground. Iroh even dug up a wheelchair from his storage closet. This, Katara found a bit excessive, but in the face of such strong insistence, what could she do? Sokka and Gran-Gran couldn’t make it to be with her in person (Sokka was going to meet Suki’s family and Gran-Gran and Pakku were out of town, too), still Sokka and Gran-Gran managed to call and text often enough to make Katara a bit relieved that they weren’t able to make it.

“I set you up in the living room,” Hakoda said. “Easy access to the kitchen and the downstairs bathroom. Plus, TV.”

“Dad-” Katara sighed.

“I’ll be here all week,” Zuko told her. “So if you need anything, just ask.”

“Guys-” Katara tried again.

“After two days of hospital food, I’m sure you’re starving,” Hakoda said. “I made some stew last night. How about I heat you up a bowl?”

“I can walk to the kitchen,” Katara reminded him, but Zuko was already steering her to the couch.

“The whole point is you’re supposed to rest,” Zuko said. “That’s the deal, remember? You rest and if Aunt Wu gives you the go ahead, you can go to school next week.”

“Yes, I know,” Katara huffed. “But I can do little stuff, like fix my own food. I broke my wrist, not my leg.” Zuko froze partway through putting a blanket over Katara’s legs. Katara shook his hand after a moment.

“Hey,” she said. “What’s wrong.” Zuko let go of the blanket and looked up at Katara. She was startled to see the tears in his eyes.

“I’ve never been that scared before,” he admitted.

“Zuko-” Katara’s hands cupped the sides of her fiance’s face. “Hey… I’m fine. The baby’s fine.”

“Yes, but there was a while when I didn’t know that,” Zuko said. “I just want to be sure you’re okay. Both of you.”

“Oh, Zuko…” Katara tugged on his arms and pulled him into a hug. Zuko held as tightly as he dared.

“Let us take care of you,” he pleaded. “Just for this week at least. Just until we know everything is okay.” All of Katara’s arguments died in her throat. She turned and kissed Zuko’s cheek.

“Alright,” she relented.

For the rest of the week, Katara was as good as her word. During the day, Zuko seemed to take great pleasure in running to fetch anything Katara wanted or needed. He sat through every cheesy romcom and crime thriller Katara was interested in seeing without complaint. Even in the evenings, when Hakoda was home to relieve him of his duty, Zuko stuck around until well after dinner to make sure that Katara was comfortable and safe.

“You can stay, you know,” Hakoda told him one night when Katara was getting ready for bed. “It’s not the most comfortable, but the sofa does pull out into a bed.” Zuko took him up on the offer. Katara didn’t know until the next morning when she found Zuko sleeping on the sofa.

“That pulls out into a bed, you know.”

“I know,” Zuko sat up and made space beside him on the couch. “Trust me, it’s more comfortable this way.” Katara sat beside him and curled into his side.

“We’ll need a nice big mattress when we move,” Katara said. “One of those ones where you can’t feel it when the other person is moving, and you can rest a glass of wine on one side and jump on the other.”

“I’ve slept on one of those,” Zuko said, wrinkling his nose. “They’re not as comfortable as they look. I like the hybrid mattresses. They’re soft, but have good support.” Katara made a face at him.

“We should see about getting a 30 day trial,” she said. “We take two months and try both types out, and then we decide which one to make our marital bed.”

“That’ll be fun,” Zuko groaned. “A two month mattress trial with a newborn,” Then he leaned down and kissed the bridge of Katara’s nose. “But you’re right. We should do it that way.” Katara settled into his side again and sighed contentedly.

“You want to watch Love Amongst the Dragons?” she asked. Zuko let out a heavy sigh.

“If you insist,” he replied with exaggerated exasperation as he stood up. “But after breakfast. Do you know if your dad wants anything to eat?”

“Dad left for work an hour ago,” Katara said, stretching her arms over her head. “He had a consult this morning.” Zuko froze and looked at Katara in horror.

“Did you come down the stairs by yourself?” He demanded. Katara glared up at him crossed her arms.

“Aunt Wu cleared me,” she reminded him. “Besides, I’m going back to school on Monday, so I may as well get used to getting around on my own again.”

“Katara-” Zuko pinched his nose and huffed.

“Zuko.” Katara folded her arms stubbornly. “I know you were scared when I had my fall. I was, too. But I can’t go the rest of this pregnancy in fear, alright?” Zuko tried to look stern, but faltered. Katara tugged him back down to the couch with her. “I’m fine. I’ve been checked and double checked, and we are both fine. You did an amazing job taking care of us this week, but we can’t live in fear because of this. I have another three months until the baby is born. I can’t spend them all avoiding stairs.”

“I know,” Zuko sighed and pressed his forehead to Katara’s. “I just wish I could be there with you.”

“Yeah, me too,” Katara laughed. “But I promise I’ll be very careful. Very, very careful.” Her promise was good enough for Zuko. It had to be.

They spent the day as they had spent most of spring break; on the couch watching old movies and bad reality TV. Despite her assertion that she was fine, Katara allowed Zuko to carry out frequent kitchen runs for snacks (mostly healthy at Zuko’s insistence) and to keep her covered in blankets, although the late winter weather had been surprisingly warm. She was both touched and exasperated by Zuko’s attentive care, but she ultimately submitted to it with little more than a token fuss. The truth was she loved it when Zuko was attentive like this. She just also hated feeling helpless, and she had felt helpless since the pregnancy test had come back positive. It made it difficult to fully enjoy Zuko’s efforts, and it made it difficult to tell him how grateful she truly was.

“Made us some tea,” Zuko said, pouring Katara a cup from the teapot Iroh had gifted her some time ago. “Uncle says this blend is supposed to help with calcium and bone health.” Katara stared at the cup for a moment before accepting it and setting it down on the table. Zuko looked at her in confusion for a moment before she pulled him into a tight hug.

“Thank you,” she said, blinking hard against the sudden sting of tears. “Thank you for taking such good care of me and our baby.” Zuko took a second to recover from his surprise and returned Katara’s embrace.

“It’s my honor,” he told her. “I love you.”

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Katara was napping when Hakoda got home, carrying takeout for that night’s dinner.. Zuko stroked her back absently while he flipped through the channels for something to watch. The grim set of Hakoda’s face made the younger man pause in his search and furrow his brow.

“Got a call from Katara’s principal,” Hakoda said. “Can you wake Katara up?”

A few minutes later, the three of them were sitting around the table with full plates, but no one was eating. Katara tapped the edge of her plate with her hashi distractedly.

“Maybe it’s nothing,” she said hopefully. “Maybe he just wants to check in because of the fall.”

“Maybe,” Hakoda agreed hesitantly. “He sounded pretty grim, though. Even after I told him that you and the baby were fine.”

“Do you think he’s going to kick me out?” Katara’s hand tightened around her hashi to the point where Zuko worried she’d snap the sticks in half.

“Piando isn’t like that,” Zuko assured her. “I’m sure it’s not that. Maybe he’s going to try to talk you into having a buddy when you’re going down the stairs.” Katara rolled her eyes at that.

“Great,” she snorted. “So he wants me to have a babysitter.”

“We don’t know what he wants,” Hakoda reminded her. “And there’s not much use making yourself crazy over it for the whole weekend. We have a meeting with the principal on Monday. We’ll find out what he wants then, and deal with whatever it is. Alright?” Katara reluctantly agreed, and before her father and fiance could say anything, she began to eat her meal.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Zuko insisted on going to the meeting on Monday with Katara and Hakoda. Privately, Hakoda was grateful. If Piando delivered bad news, it would be good to have extra support for his daughter. Katara’s temper could be quick at the best of times, now that she was pregnant and injured, the ice, Hakoda knew, was thin. Piando greeted the trio kindly, however, and if he was surprised to see Zuko, he didn’t mention it. His eyes landed on Katara’s cast and his face grew drawn.

“I’m glad to see you’re doing well, Ms. Imiq,” he said kindly. “You gave us quite a scare.”

“Thanks,” Katara said a bit too brightly. “I rested all last week, and I’m feeling just fine. If you’re worried about me attending classes-”

“Oh, no,” Piando said shaking his head. “That’s not why I asked you here today.” Katara sagged with visible relief. Her biggest worry was gone just like that. She thought she could handle whatever else Piando might say.

“The reason I called you in is because we were going through the schools security cameras last week, and we found something a bit disturbing.” Piando cleared his throat and turned his computer monitor so every one could see. The picture on the screen was grainy, but it was clearly from the stairs where Katara fell. He pressed play and a figure that was recognizable as Katara by her clothes and distended belly appeared on the screen. She took two steps down the flight when suddenly, a figure in a dark hoodie came up and shoved her. The viewers could see where Katara reached up and caught the rail to slow her fall, but then she landed head first on the hard floor at the bottom of the stairs. The figure hurried down after Katara, looked at her for a second and took off towards the gym locker rooms. There were no cameras in there, and if the person reemerged through the doors, it was after that period’s gym class in the rush of students hurrying to their lockers. Katara had already been rushed to the hospital by then. The video ended and Pianod turned to the family with a grim face.

“Someone did this to my daughter on purpose.” Hakoda’s voice was low and dangerous. “Who did it?” Piando shook his head solemnly.

“I’m trying to find out,” he said. “Unfortunately, our security cameras are very old, and there were at least 10 students who were late to class or skipped altogether. Our culprit was probably among them, and I’m sure we’ll figure out who it was sooner or later. Until then, I’m going to recommend not walking alone, Ms. Imiq. I’ll let your teachers know to excuse any tardies for you any whoever escorts you.”

Katara’s eyes were still fixed on the screen, and she hardly heard what was happening around her. Someone had tried to hurt her and her baby, she realized. Who, she wondered, would do that to her?

Part 1…, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29

#atla #zutara #no sound but silence #the plot thinckens #lol! this is becoming a soap opera #stay tuned for the exciting continuation #repost #because for some reason the link isn't working from the original post #and i can't figure out how to fix it #tumblr is a cesspit #garbage barge of a site #original posted on feb-22-2023 #THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!

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fireheartwraith · 2 months

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Someone accused me of being a hater and that pissed me off so here are all of my thoughts on the Netflix Avatar The Last Airbender live action series. What I liked, didn't like, what I'm worried about or hoping going foward, etc, in no particular order because I was just hate typing. I tried to separate my rambling into topics, but I did that after I had already typed everything. Enjoy

Zuko and Zhao:

I liked most of the fire nation characters. Zhao took some getting used to, but it was a fun new take on the character. I loved Zuko's crew and Azula's scenes. I really hate what they did with the agni kai and Zhao's death though, it really feels like they missed what those scene's meant for Zuko's character. Everyone already said all there is to say about why having Zuko fight back is a stupid idea so I won't comment on it, but having Iroh kill Zhao also pissed me off. He's supposed to die because of his own arrogance and greed and Zuko is supposed to try and help him because he's the type of person who would offer a helping hand to an enemy, despite his father's attempts at beating the kindness out of him.

Ozai:

I like what they are doing to Ozai, it could be interesting and add depth to the character, I just think it would be less ooc it those moments of doubt and "weakness" were in private? Like, in public, he is always this perfect façade but in private, the mask starts to slip away. But I think they’re going for that, so that's okay. It also adds dimension to his relationship with Azula since she also dons a mask of perfection, and this shows that she learned that with him.

Azula:

Speaking of Azula, I'm a bit worried because since we already sympathize with her, she could not be as menacing and intimidating a villain, but I hope it will work out.

Iroh:

I'm really 50/50 on Iroh. I like his interactions with Zuko, but why was he out there spewing fire nation propaganda and justifying his war crimes. My dude, what the hell.

Katara:

I really hate what they did to Katara and Suki. Let me punch someone. I won’t say much because everyone else has already exhausted this point, but yeah. Katara is so much more than a bender and a little sister. Her mother's death didn't just affect her bending, it changed everything in her life. She had to become her mother and take care of her brother when she was so young, she’s kind, caring, and a little overbearing at times. But she’s also prideful, jealous, stubborn, and has a bit a temper. She's not a perfect girl who smiles softly at the world around her. She's angry at what happened to her, she’s resourceful, she's funny, she's dedicated. This show's Katara is a bender, and that's it. And she's a prodigy at it, became a master all by herself because she don't need no man, no sir. Because #feminism is when your female protagonist is relegated to side character with no flaws apparently.

Suki:

And Suki, oh Suki... what did they do to you? Ah yes, cartoon Sokka is sexist, so instead of having him go through character growth spurred on by getting his ass beat by a girl, we'll just make that girl instantly fall in love with him and have an ungodly amount of sexual tension just so she and the audience can ogle at this shirtless man for a good thirty seconds. Yes, that's much better and not sexist at all!!

Sokka:

I like how they are focusing on Sokka's intelligence and other ways to be a hero since I've always loved that detail of his character (i seriously love when in modern aus he's studying engineering, bonus if he has a minor in arts and literature), but considering he *does* become a skilled warrior I fear this plot thread may not payoff. Like "you don't need to be a warrior to be a hero!! But here's some swordbending lessons just in case" is weird. Similar to that is what happened in the cave of two lovers: changing the answer to the riddle was stupid. It makes no sense in the lore AND makes Sokka look dumb. Couldn't he at least be the one to figure it out? The sibling moment was cute though.

Katara and Aang:

What bothers me most (after what they did to my poor girls) is that the gaang don't feel like friends, much less a found family. Katara isn't Aang's earthly attachment. If they wanted to start the romance when they look closer in age that's fine, but they could still be friends? I mean, they tell us they're friends and very important to each other, but are they? They went on a trip together and talked a couple of times. Katara should have broken him out of the iceberg on purpose because it not only shows how she disregards her own safety to help those in need, it is the inciting incident of the show and should be more than an accident. Again, she’s supposed to be a protagonist, the story is supposed to be told through HER. She's the one who should do the intro!! Not Kyoshi, Gyatso and Gran Gran.

She should teach Aang waterbending. This is Book 1: Water, why isn't that boy waterbending. That would further both the plot and their relationship. Which is supposed to be a cornerstone of the show, mind you. And I'm not saying "relationship" as in a romantic one. They should be friends, confide in one another, Katara should calm him down when he enters the Avatar state because this shows how important they are to one another. Gyatso's memory being what calms him down is cute, but if it impacts what is, again, a main plot point of the show (Katara is Aang's earthlyattachment), they shouldn’t do it. Also, Aang should have tried to firebend and accidently burned Katara. This way, Katara learns she can heal (which again is super important. Anyone remember the season 2 finale?) it also causes Aang to block out his firebending out of fear of hurting others again. WHICH IS ALSO A MAJOR PLOT POINT. Give me back Kataang, the show literally isn't the same without them.

Also, much time did the three of them spend together as a crew? Not that much, I feel like. Where's my found family?

Jet:

There are some things that I deeply miss, like Sokka's argument with Jet about the old man. The cartoon is very anti violence, it is definitely its thesis. We can discuss wether they are right or not forever, but the show is arguing that even though the fire nation citizens in the earth kingdom are living in a settler colony that serves the imperialist agenda, they are still citizens and killing them is wrong. This confrontation is so important for both Sokka and Jet's characters, and turning Jet into a terrorist feels like a betrayal of his character. And no, armed resistance like what the freedom fighters do isn't terrorism, regardless of whether or not it's morally right.

Missed theme:

The other thing I miss is Teo, his dad, and the other refugees being in an air temple. It adds a lovely grey area to the whole thing. Aang is pissed off that a sacred ancestral home of his people has been invaded and partially destroyed by machines (which also serves as commentary on industrialization and how historical sites are torn down to build skyscrapers and factories irl. We come back to the industrialization theme that the fire nation brings to the table multiple times, but a really obvious exemple is the painted lady episode in the third season), but also the people doing it are refugees running from an imperialist and genocidal army.

I think they saw the obvious parallels between the cartoon themes and real-world shit happening right now and decided to sanitize it lest they piss someone off with politics. Which ended up pissing me off.

The bending:

The visual effects where fine. Sometimes the humans ragdoll a bit too much, but that always happens. The bending looks good, but the firebenders attacking the monks in the beginning look just as powerful as eveyone else when they should be op because of the comet. The comet doesn't look thag much of a threat right now. Also in the cartoon is implied that Gyatso suffocated like twenty firebenders and himself as his final act, which is much more badass than what we got.

The creatures:

The creature design is very good, specially the ones supposed to look scary, because even the ones supposed to look cute look kind of scary here. Can you imagine anh child buying a live action Appa plushie? Because I can't. I also wish we got to see more of Appa and Aang's relationship. I understand it's probably expensive as fuck to animate, but we need them to be buddies. Remember, we have the lost Appa acr next season.

Script:

The acting is... fine. I just laughed when Aang turned to the camera and started to monologue about his personality, but that’s more on the script than on the actor. Speaking of which: oh god, please stop explaining every lore detail three times in expository dialogue. Sometimes, it's okay to tell not show (pacing, establishing worldbuilding, etc. It's why the cartoon intro exists!) but must you do it every time? And then repeat it??

Costume:

The score is obviously great, and the set design is good. Costume, makeup, and hair sometimes are iffy, but that’s because some things will never look good in live action. Yue will always look more like cosplay instead of a real person, I guess (I still think they could have just tried a very light blond wig or gotten an albino actress or something, but whatever). Wish Zuko's scar was looked more like a burn scar and less like a black eye. The clothes looked good, just a bit too "new" looking. Show me some dirt! They always look more conving when they get dirty and bloody.

They have points to improve upon, but overall, it's fun enough to watch on a weekend. But alas, the original is always better (not perfect, just better)

#avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar the legend of aang #atla #netflix avatar #netflix atla #atla zuko #atla zhao #atla ozai #atla azula #atla iroh #atla aang #atla katara #atla sokka #atla suki #atla jet #long post #live action atla

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azulas-lightning-bolt · 2 months

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guys. guys. guys.

100yr war mako. guys.

okay so I know I’m already going insane about the dadamon au but. but hear me out. and this one is completely of my own design and I don’t think I’ve actually seen anything else on this (if you have pls pls pls pls send links) but there’s so much I could do with mako in the atla timeline because he’s a mixed kid.

now, I also need to account for how mako looks in my head (completely oc-ified). he’s way more ek the way I imagine him (he and bolin are closer in features, in short, but this post has me being stupid more comprehensively), darker skin, central heterochromatic green/gold eyes, curved nose, etc. for context the ek look in my head is kind of blasian? it’s not exactly but for the sake of succinct imagery, yk.

okay so moving on to au info (under the cut)!

fire nation soldier:

—this mako is an amputee. I haven’t decided which limb(s) but he is missing at least one is.

—he joined the army for the money, but given his appearance could only join closer to the eclipse and is treated like shit

—hates his firebending and the atrocities he has to commit with it to afford to eat

—mother was a fn deserter who left for ek father, hid in ba sing se for a few years where mako n bolin were born and raised, before oppressive class system and denial of war became too much and they moved out to ek town bordering fn territory (mako-5, bolin-3). they lived alright for a few more years, before naoki was recognized and she n san were killed. orphanism.

—mako joined the army at 13, the enlistment age being 16. passed himself off as a really scrawny 16yo. enlistments knew but disliked ‘half-breeds’ and hoped the front lines would just take care of him for them.

—he has to get a tattoo to signify he is not of pure fn blood,,, ohhh the angst potential,,,

—canon starts when he’s almost 13, as it has to get close enough to eclipse for him to join at 13. he only worked about a year in the army by the time canon ends and zuko becomes firelord. as a concession of losing, fn’s army is reduced greatly. zuko’s first choice is to remove child soldiers, esp the kids pretending to be 16. he has a program, but mako ofc slips through the cracks.

—traumatized 13/14yo amputee war veteran struggles to regain normal human behavior with worried brother: the saga, basically.

—maybe throw in a little found family/adoption, as a treat

Im so madly in love w this au btw.

joins the gaang (good start):

—there are two versions of 100yr war mako joining the gaang I have, and this is the happier one. almost no one dies! besides like. his parents. it’s for character development mako, sorry. so basically the plot is that the gaang is in the fire nation for the eclipse, but instead of mako joining the army then, they find scraggly street orphan and decide to drag him and happy brother along.

—to make this better, they originally think he and bolin are fully ek, hiding in the fire nation, and that mako is a nonbender (he still hates his fire) but then they’re like BAM we’re actually the children of a deserter and her ek boyfriend! they’re both dead.

—womp womp, teach me firebending mako!!

—and to literally no one’s surprise, his answer is an enthusiastic shove that stupid idea right back up your

—eclipse fails, but mako and azula freak each other out by being reallllyy similar.

—zuko joins; mako is also on toph’s side and bolin is content to follow his brother (reminder he is 11 at this point, mako is 13) because mako knows (as most fn citizens do) about the story of his scar and would die from guilt if he were to fight and scar the prince with fire again. (he has lightning scars and stuff too from early on after being orphaned, being without control of his fire)

—also mako still knows how to lightningbend, in all the 100yr war verses. Ik it’s supposed to be a royal family exclusive in atla, but either mako encountered iroh on the road and picked it up quickly or he had another version of zolt to teach him/give him the push to figure it out himself. GASP mako learning lightning from the dragons/sun warriors after going to the ruins for a safe place w bolin,,,

—so zuko joins. remember how I said mako/azula were still mirror images here? yeah zuko kinda gets freaked out by the 13yo who’s realllyy similar to his sister.

—mako is super awkward around him, still kind of treating him like he’s a prince (running away). zuko misinterprets this as mako hating him. after mr prince loses his bending, what does this mean? mako gets to tag along on dragon field trip!!

—in line w mako learning lightning from dragons previously, he’s able to navigate super easily into the city, but leaves aang and zuko behind by accident in the process. they do the little dragon dance and mako is the one to find them (with sun warrior supervision, because they don’t want the baby dragon to die encountering someone he didn’t expect) and they are accepted significantly more easily.

—mako watches them meet the masters with stifled amusement. he’s not worried; he knows they’re pure of heart.

—speedrunning everything up to the comet with fluffy gaang relationships, mako tries to blow the guy up back (it does not work)

—day of the comet, mako stays glued to bolin. he’s offered the chance to sit out the attack, they can pull through in units of two (+aang) and he almost accepts. but he’s thirteen, a year older than the inventor of metalbending and the avatar. bolin is a year younger, and takes importance, but-but he needs to do something. he’s been by their side a quarter of what katara and sokka have been, and he doesn’t want to have been dead weight. he joins aang, able to be present after the battle if medical help or a quick escape are needed, and enhanced as a firebender so he’s good enough to fight a bit.

—aang’s energy is being swallowed and mako doesn’t understand what’s happening but he knows it’s not good. he goes running up to aang, bolin at his side, ready to pull the avatar away and save them both. aang wins in the end, and ozai’s bending is gone.

—the rest of the gaang lands, the weakened ozai is still restrained, but the looks of disgust aimed at him from not only his traitor spawn but two peasant half-breeds gives him enough rage to spit threats at them all, a promise that all of them, starting with the little green-eyed brat (bo) will be picked off and tortured to extermination by his sympathizers.

—mako, standing on business as usual, doesn’t hesitate. he relishes in the split second of terror in ozai’s eyes as he realizes his special, hoarded technique, lightning, is being used against him, and he is powerless to stop it, before he’s struck. toph’s earth bounds shatter at the bolstered impact, but it doesn’t matter as the former phoenix king falls lifelessly to the ground. mako’s eyes are hard and cold. he’s thirteen. he is not a stranger to doing what needs to be done, and bolin comes first. who will sympathize with a dead man?

—the end :3

this one is probably one of my favorite 100yr war versions

joins the gaang (bad start):

—this one is probably marginally more tragic. mako’s start towards the gaang is bolin’s death. he died in a night robbery from older firebenders; mako was powerless to stop them, and they didn’t care enough to stop themselves. mako didn’t bother saving up for another travel pack or enough food and clothes to fill it again. he regrets ever having been so foolish as to think that was something he could keep.

—he ends up at the factory that’s polluting the village’s river in the painted lady ep. he works at the factory but lives in the village, just as desolate as the rest (though, again, decidedly more ek-looking).

—based off their harshness upon finding out their savior was katara, the village people don’t take too well to mako either, considering he’s both mixed and works at the factory. when katara is outed (and mako is packing up, because they just lost him his job), he gets pushed to the front with her and met with the same scornful glares.

—sokka defends his sister (common sokka w) and strange, scrawny child. the village distinctly apologizes more to katara as mako gives them all a stink eye.

—he helps the gaang clean out the river as thanks by burning the muck and disposing of the smoke.

—he goes to leave at the same time as them, aang notices, and offers a ride (to sokka’s slight chagrin-he could kiss his schedule goodbye officially now.) mako agrees, thinking he’ll fall off the bison if he gets lucky (yk, and other regular very normal 12yo thoughts)

—a ride turns into ‘oh just stop here with us! we don’t mind sharing dinner, there’s extra!’ and that turns into ‘it’s way too rainy to go on your own, we can just camp together another night!’ which becomes ‘where are you going? if you don’t know, you can just hit a few more stops with us.’ and eventually they just stop making excuses because, if mako is honest with himself, he’s totally gotten attached. they all know he’s not leaving. he’s smiled, laughed, felt joy for the first time in two years, the two years since bolin was killed.

—gaang shenanigans ensue. mako and toph get along like a house on fire, because they’re both grimy, angry, shithead 12yos absolutely out for blood. mako and aang develop telepathic communication within two weeks because mako can’t communicate normally and aang tries so hard to understand that he actually does. they’re bsfs.

—mako is decidedly reckless with his life and katara gets to practice her healing even more regularly than in canon. she’s not too pleased. sokka thinks mako is the best ever (grumpy mini-me) and wants to wrap him in furs and tuck him away from the dangers of the war (he calls mako cute one time(!) and gets set on fire for it)

—zuko and mako bond over scars (lightning+fire to the face) and zuko sibling-izes mako cuz azula parallels

—sozin’s comet goes about the same, but katara insists mako comes with her and zuko so she can keep an eye on him, which actually saves zuko from the lightning scar bcs zuko taught mako how 2 redirect‼️‼️

—I don’t have too much on this au because my brain is being consumed by the next one and thinking too hard abt this one upsets me greatly. also so much of mako’s personality in canon is centered around bolin (oh look that’s an upcoming post too) that it’s difficult to imagine him as more than a shell of a person without him.

dead:

—okay so this one is technically atla and tlok. will elaborate later.

—mako dies with his mother and father (naoki is still a deserter here) but bolin survives on his own. he mourns his brother, but a nice earth kingdom family adopts him, mistaking him for a full ek earthbender, which he doesn’t correct. bolin eventually moves on with his life, scraping by in the tail end of the war. these events take place ~ten years before atla canon, so bolin is 16 by b1 and 17 when the gaang reaches the earth kingdom. mako is eight and dead. for the record.

—so how does a dead kid become part of canon? well, I’ll be making a post about how I think afterlife and ghostly spirits work in the avatarverse, but for the sake of conciseness, the dead who have ‘unfinished business’ become spirits that can interact with the human world at will, because they never quite “crossed over.” mako, not knowing if bolin will survive on his own, has ‘unfinished business’. however, this causes permanent spirithood, which is part of why it’s so rare. a soul has to be really upset to eternally subject themselves to that.

—so spirit-mako isn’t really mako anymore, he’s a guardian spirit of, let’s say, children fending for themselves. you know a group of children fending for themselves that’s pretty relevant in atla. yeah. so he ends up unable to find bolin, because bolin is being taken care of. he’s instead drawn to the southern water tribe, where dozens of kids’ parents traveled off to war.

—he doesn’t reveal himself at all, just preventing little accidents for the most part. the swt nicknames him veiti, deigning him their guardian spirit. he lost most of himself as mako, all that’s really left is a bit of snark left for other spirits and fondness for his brother.

—he follows katara and sokka as they find aang, drawn to the weight of another lonely boy. aang feels something off, lingering in the air around the water siblings, from the start, but doesn’t mention it. veiti doesn’t stop the flare from firing because he knows someone needs to follow it, needs to come.

—zuko arrives. veiti is confused by him, but the scar on his face bears so much weight. they feel familiar to veiti, so much so that the tundra fills with the weeping of a spirit. this actually scares off zuko’s ship before an escalated confrontation (aang going w zuko) happens, so it works out well in the end.

—when katara and sokka follow aang away from the swt, veiti decides he wants (he hasn’t wanted in a while now) to follow them. but he can’t just abandon the tribe that’s come to rely on his protection, even going as far as to offer the occasional fish, so he decides to temporarily possess a vessel. other spirits have told him he should be able to take a human form, but he hasn’t figured that out yet. he possesses a little otter penguin, and tells a mildly disturbed kanna that he is veiti, and will be joining the siblings and avatar to protect them there. he tries to give a spirit blessing on his way, but he’s not sure if it works.

—the wails of a spirit’s grief fill the echoing halls of the deserted air temple along with aang’s rage, and he hopes the avatar can feel the comforting weight of a fellow mourner draped over him when katara talks him down. veiti feels decidedly uneasy (seen) with the statues of past avatars, and is relieved when momo is found and they all leave.

—he clings to aang as he rides the unagi, bats away too-sharp too-close fans when the kyoshi warriors get too aggressive. he nearly smacks sokka upside the head, physical form or not, when he starts blabbering about the male warriors that don’t exist. that one behavior of his had always ticked veiti off, but he tried to be understanding with sokka’s lack of a… well, mother.

—as the gaang experiences the mundanity of kyoshi island, veiti finds himself regaining some sense of… something he lost. he remembers, seeing the face of a boy on the island, that the brother he longed to see again was named bolin. he remembered that he was eight, in human years. he couldn’t gather any more than that, hard as he tried.

—omashu was hell for veiti, the spirit confused as to if he should be defending despite the lack of aggression from the king, and what he should do if he needs to step in. aang recognizes his friend, however, and veiti allows himself a break from them as they travel to an ek mining town. he hovers over zuko in this time, observing him and his interactions with his uncle (what is an uncle, veiti isn’t quite sure. they didn’t have those in the swt)

—zuko finding katara’s necklace on the brig makes veiti rush back to the gaang, relieved to find them all in tact in a different town. however, this town is dealing with spirit meddling, which veiti approaches with some annoyance. he tries to get sokka back, asking the other spirits, but he’s told hei bai isn’t too hospitable. aang enters the spirit world, and catches a glance of a mangled boy around eight who looks a mix of fn and ek. he’s conversing with the spirits casually, which is aang’s clue he wasn’t taken from the village as well. he wants to call the boy over, but has more pressing matters to deal with. hei bai is pacified, and everyone is returned.

—veiti travels with them to the fn, despite everything in him yelling to run the other way. the sages are dangerous, the evil named zhao is far too powerful there, and the children aren’t safe, tied up, beyond his protection. he finds the fire bows to him, and that is another thing veiti recalls; he is a firebender. no harm comes to zuko or katara or sokka when roku’s fury is released through aang, despite veiti’s primal terror when roku’s gaze locks on him. buried deep inside, aang wonders if he is seeing the same boy from hei bai’s forest.

—the scroll is stolen. veiti is, again, halfway to a heart attack (can spirits have heart attacks?) working himself into a panic when katara is captured by the pirates. zuko becomes something else for him to worry about, katara’s necklace in hand. however, apart from numerous last minute saves from slicing blades, veiti barely has to do anything as the situation works itself out.

—veiti is again torn as the gaang meets jet. there’s distant wailing in the forest all the days they stay with jet (and aang recognizes it, the same as in the temple and the tundra because it was from that mangled little boy he keeps seeing. maybe sokka is right, something is off about jet. don’t you hear that, katara?). jet is a lost child, but jet is malicious as well. veiti can’t understand if jet is to protect or harm or defend and it’s making him crazy.

—veiti feels himself grow absent for a while, he resurfaces when aang is captured, choosing to dance through the arrows of the yuyan as they miraculously miss the blue spirit (zuko was to protect, veiti had a feeling) and his ‘captive’, the avatar. the divide between katara, sokka, and aang is one they must fix themselves. the scars on katara’s hands from the terrible lessons of the deserter (he had known a deserter. a mother, his mother. if only he could recall her name.)

—another temple echoes with a spirit’s tears as they visit the northern temple with its gadgets and gears. teo is a bright boy, veiti knows he will fly far with his strange inventions. the nwt is a destination veiti abhors. he finds pakku agitating, and far too reminiscent of sokka previous kyoshi island. the siege by the evil called zhao (veiti wants him gone. veiti can make him gone.) is terrible. he burns tui, and mako runs to her side in childish worry, asking la if he can in some way help. he warms her with licking flames that don’t burn (because he is a firebender, he knows now) and infuses what little of himself he can give. it hurts, almost, and la’s weeping joins his in the oasis.

—it is by design that zhao does not take zuko’s hand.

—yue will give herself to tui, la tells him. but what if yue? he asks. he knows there cannot be a life handed over and a life kept. his fire has warmed tui, but it will not fix her. they will share the burden, la tells him. yue will lend tui the strength tui lent her, just as veiti did, and tui will recover in time. yue will be weakened, but she too will recover. as aang is returned, mako allows himself to jump up and cling to his frame. he is shocked to feel the ghost of a hug reciprocated. aang’s eyes search around veiti, as though aware of his presence but unsure where his eyes should land. veiti allows himself to beam.

—the earth kingdom general seeks to take advantage of aang in a way that greatly discomforts them both. he doesn’t revere the spirits the way he should. veiti makes sure his head gets stuck very firmly in a ditch once the children are safely away, and leaves them to their devices for a bit to make sure the general does not try such foolish exploitation again. he leaves them unattended for a while, not feeling a tug towards them as he normally would in danger. he drifts back around the time aang is being attacked for being the avatar, and it greatly unnerves him. why should he be scorned for being their savior? kyoshi makes an appearance much like roku did. and just as he did with roku, veiti pretends her all seeing eyes do not, for the briefest moment, settle on him. something of being perceived is far too disquieting for him in his state.

—veiti is greatly pleased when the blind bandit joins them. she has the burden of an unguided child, despite having parents. he doesn’t imagine them to be good ones.

—the girl with eyes like his (that’s another thing he remembers. his eyes—his human form has those—are gold, flecked with green. was deserter-mother gold-green, too?) hurtshurtshurts in her soul and in her fire. veiti cries at the too familiar violence, echoes of something that had terrified him once. he isn’t quite sure what, but his sniffles fill the air all the same. veiti cried sparsely in the south, sparing his tears for death and severe injury, but so many things in the rest of the world make him ache in a way he can through no other method express.

—veiti dislikes the heavy presence of the spirit in the library. he fuels toph’s veins with his own fire when her grip slips and somehow, he is enough to let her split her attention; the foul benders who reek of thieves are held up until aang can return, incensed at the muzzle on his bison.

—ba sing se is hell. veiti needs to find someone. he’s so close, he knows, but he doesn’t understand who he needs to find. his senses are torn between protecting the avatar and searching for someone he isn’t sure of.

—he parts ways with the gaang, and he looks. he searches all of ba sing se and the surrounding towns until he finds a small family of five. two parents, though the mother is scarred by fire, and three children. the oldest is a young adult, a boy named yuyi. the youngest is a girl named meiying. and the other boy has green eyes flecked with gold (gold-green, green-gold) and his name is bolin. veiti knows this is who he has been searching for. the world’s tug suddenly applies to him, and he feels his feet touch the wooden floor as he looks up instead of down at the family’s dinner. the creaks alert them to his sudden presence, and bolin’s (brother!) eyes widen, filling with tears. veiti’s voice is high pitched (he is eight in human years, he remembers) and warbles when he asks for confirmation that bolin is his brother. his body stings like bad fire when he is wrapped in a careful embrace, but a tentative smile curls his lips all the same. he asks bolin his name. apparently, veiti’s name is mako. veiti tells bolin that he is called veiti, and asks which name is better. bolin thinks they’re both nice, so mako decides he will use both.

—something tugs desperately for his help (aang needs help) so veiti tells bolin he needs to go, he needs to help. he promises he’ll always look after bolin and his family, and thanks his brother for reminding him of his name. he’ll miss his brother and his new family lots, he says, but they’ll be okay with his spirit blessing. he’s gotten better at those, he promises. with a smile and a wave, the little boy is in veiti’s form once more.

—aang is-was dead. mako wishes so terribly he has been there. he can do lightning, too, another spirit showed him how while he was searching. he could’ve helped. but katara is healing aang with the special water from the oasis. veiti wonders how she’s doing. he thinks about tui being hurt so badly and yue being weakened and aang being dead and mako misses his brother already and sobs fill the clear night air. the sadness weighs too heavily for his spirit form to handle, so he drops into appa’s saddle in the form of a little boy warped by fire.

—aang’s friends are wary at first, but it’s hard to deny he’s a spirit given his arrival. mako finds he like talking to them rather than just watching over them, and katara and sokka’s faces when he tells them he is actually veiti are really funny. the only thing he doesn’t like is how they seem so careful around him. at first, he thinks it’s because they don’t want to be so close to a real spirit rather than a half-spirit like the avatar, but he realizes it’s about how small he is when katara looks at him sad after he proudly announces he is eight human years old.

—aang wakes up and veiti is one of the first to greet, him, bouncing around in a mix of excitement and nervousness at the chance to meet him for real and have an actual conversation. he thinks aang has probably seen or heard him before, being the avatar, but they’ve never actually talked. aang tries to muster the energy to feel the same, but the feeling of failure drowns it out. mako retreats to his spirit form, upset, but understands he still needs to watch out for aang. he drags him to shore when the storm knocks him out, worriedly hovering until katara makes it on the scene.

—mako, as badly as he wants to, doesn’t go into a physical form with aang at the fire nation school. he thinks it would be a perfect chance for them to talk normally, as he’s been staying in his spiritual form since aang first woke. it’s not until they reach the village of the painted lady that he takes his human body again. the mood of the place is somber, but veiti cheerfully (foolishly) offers to try and talk to the painted lady for them. katara is all on board for this, and aang offers to tag along, but sokka is insistent that their schedule cannot take that dent.

—veiti goes to talk to the painted lady anyway. she’s very friendly, but she calls mako silly! she tells him he is to learn an important lesson from this; human affairs, like this, sort themselves out more often than not, and it is a spirit’s duty to meddle only when absolutely necessary. the gaang is there for a reason, and he should let them deal as necessary.

—the rest of b3 goes without much influence from mako. he tries to heed the painted lady’s advice and step back, even on the day of the black sun. human affairs, as they often do, sorted themselves out. however, he does tag along when zuko (who veiti is so happy to have. he was right!) and aang go to meet the firebending masters, because he is a firebender too! zuko doesn’t technically know about him, because katara is the one who introduced him to everyone else at the western air temple but she doesn’t like zuko, so he doesn’t show himself at all until aang and zuko go. he tells aang in secret that he’s going to stay behind to try and talk to ran and shaw, and not to worry when he doesn’t feel mako in the air. he’ll be back in no time!

—it’s on the boiling rock that mako shows himself to zuko, and it’s totally on accident! sokka was really stressing out, and veiti swears up and down that zuko was asleep, so he lets the world’s tug pull him down as human feet touch the ground. he tries to help sokka feel better, but it doesn’t really work because sokka got scared that he showed up out of nowhere and then zuko freaked out about the ‘little kid in a high security prison’. mako tried not to be offended, but eight human years isn’t a little kid! he’s basically an adult already! he’s as helpful as he can be with their escape plans, keeping zuko warm with his fire (and after he talked to ran and shaw, they taught him how to make it colorful!) in the cooler (what a terrible invention) and helping tug zuko back up into the cart when they get mr sokka and katara’s dad and suki with them and zuko battles gold-eyes sister. mr hakoda is kind of freaked out my veiti too, and he tries not to be upset, but sokka sees his eyes water and makes a whole huge deal out of it. and veiti is absolutely not pouting when he doesn’t talk to them the rest of the way back to the temple! he’s just recovering his strength cause zuko’s heavy.

—aang and katara are happy to see him in his body form again, and toph punches him which he’s pretty sure means she’s happy too. katara goes on a field trip with zuko this time, and he’s convinced to stay at the temple after zuko is told he tagged along with the last two. katara comes back not mad at zuko but neither of them are bloodstained so mako decides not to worry. then they go to ember island and see the terrible performance of their adventures by the theatre troupe there. veiti’s a little upset they know about the cabbage guy but not him, but he doesn’t mind too much.

—sozin’s comet comes, and mako knows that human affairs are to be dealt with by humans now. he’s still eight human years, but the time spent with aang has made him feel a LOT older. he tells them good luck, but he has to protect bolin and his family during the comet and he’ll see them later. and-he hesitates to make promises he might not be able to keep, but he tells them that if they really need it, they can call veiti and he will come. he stresses that it has to be the most important EVER because he has to make sure bolin’s okay.

—the cut off call from toph stirs a worry in his gut, but he is physically unable to part from his brother without a firm tug. but the comet passes, as do the fire nation forces, and mako returns to his friends (can he call them that?) to find them all mostly okay!

—the world continues on. veiti learns that eight human years is not, in fact, almost an adult, but he doesn’t grow farther than that despite how many years he lives, so he decides it’s adult enough. he, annoyingly, doesn’t ‘mature’ the same way the rest of his friends or his brother do, so he’s essentially an 8yo for the next 80 years.

—he spends a lot of that time watching the gaang and their kids growing up. he spends a lot of time w aang and katara’s kids on air temple island, especially kya. after he makes republic city his more regular haunt, he particularly fond of lin (who is an adult, at this point). none of the gaang kids see veiti much, but they all know about him from their parents. lin is the most often privy to his presence, kya second. he calls them ‘ms kya’ and ‘ms lin’ but everyone else is just their first name lmao 😭

—and then guess what happens (can you tell I’m getting tired. I’ve been writing this post for five hours straight and I literally had the atla episodes pulled up on my computer) aang dies aww :( and the new avatar is born!!!! she actually has parents and figures of guidance, so mako leaves her alone. but guess who he does chill with!? his grandnephew, bolin ii! family line goes like this: bolin marries an ek girl, they have kids. one of the kids’ names is san, after bolin’s late father. san finds himself a pretty fn girl named naoki, and wow, what a coincidence, huh? not that san ii is aware of it. they have one son, who is named bolin ii, after his grandfather. bolin ii is orphaned when he is 14, but toza is ushered by a mysterious force (dead mako) to find and take in earthbending child after a month or two at the orphanage cause no one wants older kids. or mixed kids.

—this post is actually so fucking long and it’s like ten o’clock at night rn (I’m gonna schedule this to post sometime tmr) so I’m just gonna summarize by saying mako tags along for tlok and freaks everyone out cause that’s what he is. a little freak. I am not rewriting an outline for four fucking season idc. spirit mako vs amon could be really interesting but I’ll just. make a separate post for that.

can you tell I hyperfixated so fucking hard on this au btw. ts has been in the fucking works in my brain for months now. I hate this stupid fucking orphan I need him to die immediately.

#mako lok #legend of korra #lok #tlok #atla #katara #avatar the last airbender #zuko #toph #aang #bolin lok #korra #sokka #slug’s stuff

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juniperhillpatient · 1 year

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The Crossroads of Destiny Re-Watch

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Definitely one of my favorite episodes of the entire series OOOH I love Crossroads of Destiny so FUCKING! MUCH! It's such a good episode.

Alright, so, shocking to no one probably, I've discussed this episode before. I'm linking a post I wrote about Azula & Zuko's dynamic in this episode because I think that it explains a lot of where I'm coming from. HERE ya go.

This is mostly a Zuko episode, honestly. So, let's talk about him. Zuko is READY to fight Azula. Like, no hesitation, dramatics & violence at the ready he is prepared to be on sight. Lucky for him, Azula doesn't really want to fight him. Otherwise, he'd probably be dead. Sorry Zuzu but it's the truth. Iroh demonstrating how he got the nickname the Dragon of the West is pretty iconic. +500 iconic behavior points. Also, +100 to Ty Lee & Sokka for their flirty banter-filled fight. I'm not gonna lie, I'm sort of starting to ship them. The mid-fight flirting is just fun, okay? Although yes, I'm aware that it's a tactic on Ty Lee's part. That doesn't mean she doesn't think he's cute also.

It's hilarious how some things never change & some things stay the same (....I sang-read that in my head...I listen to too much Frozen...anyway) from my initial reactions to this show like 2 years ago lol. I didn't get spoilers per se before watching ATLA but it's such a popular show in the public's consciousness that I did kinda know Zuko would be redeemed, & I just assumed I'd ship Zutara so I read the scene romantically & liked it for that reason.

[ID: Katara & Zuko in the crystal catacombs. She is crouching far away from him, looking tearful. end id]

I don't read the tension between Zuko & Katara that way anymore, but I see how someone could. Anyway, I wrote THIS post about Katara & why I think she acts the way she does. That said, I'm still annoyed with her for offering to use the spirit water on Zuko though because GIRL I get you but also it is a WAR lmao you don't think you might need the magic healing water? For something more important? Like, Zuko will live, he's not even in physical pain right now!

Watching Azula's devious & brilliant coup unfold is just...SO FUCKING SATISFYING GOD I LOVE AZULA SO FUCKING MUCH SHE'S SO FUCKING COOL!!! AHHH!!!!!! Okay, I'm calm. ish. I just...I just...LOVE HER SO MUCH.

[ID: Azula saying "Don't flatter yourself. You were never even a player." end id]

SHE'S SO ICONIC!!!!!! AHH!!!! Okay, I'm trying to be reasonable. +3000 iconic behavior points. I had to stop myself from giving her like 20k because like!!!!! HAVE YOU SEEN HER??? I LOVE HER.

Okay. *ahem.* Anyway. Iroh in this episode is super interesting. They lean REAL hard into the "wise old man who says proverbs" thing in this episode. And I think that's sort of the narrative pushing the audience to see Iroh as more of a perfect wise old man than an actual character in his own right, & that kinda gets on my nerves. BUT, looking at Iroh as a complex character, I do think I can get behind the idea that Iroh WAS willing to be complacent in the life he was presented with but NOW....he saw a chance to help the Avatar, & realized he had to take it. He realized that Zuko was going to go back to the home that traumatized him, & he panicked. I've seen a lot of fans criticize Iroh for never telling Zuko, "hey, maybe you should consider that the Fire Nation is evil & the Avatar is good." I think I would rather criticize the writers for not showing us more of Iroh's internal struggles though because the inconsistencies ARE interesting on a character level if you think about Iroh as a person. ✨Nuance ✨The main reason they become annoying is if you take the presentation of an "infinitely wise old man with all the answers" & run with it too hard. Not the most interesting way to look at it. So, in that way, Zuko's betrayal hurts.

But in the way that all I care about in life is the Fire Siblings.....Zuko's betrayal is the most iconic thing he's ever done actually! +2000 iconic behavior points. Obviously, I'm being hyperbolic & you guys (hopefully) know I don't actually root for the Fire Nation but I just love the Fire Siblings.

I will say though - something that hasn't changed about my perception of Zuko's betrayal - I 100% get it & I was never mad at him for it. I'm not saying I'm NEVER mad at Zuko ok, don't group me in with people who wash away all of Zuko's flaws please, I'm saying that I sympathize & get why he did what he did & I felt this way the first time that I watched too because I remember arguing (not like angry arguing, just debating) it with my family. Literally, the Fire Nation is all he knows! His SISTER is telling him to please come home. He misses his father & wants his father's approval. It's like....completely sympathetic & understandable. I'm not saying he's RIGHT I'm saying it's sympathetic. There's a huge difference. ✨Nuance✨

Oh & the fight scenes in this episode!!!!! Shocking to 0 people my favorite is Katara versus Azula. They're both incredible benders & it's a spectacular fight & ALSO NARRATIVE FOILS FIGHTING EACH OTHER!!! TWO PRODIGIOUS YOUNG BENDERS FIGHTING SIDE BY SIDE WITH THEIR BROTHERS FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVE IS RIGHT!!! FIRE VERSUS WATER - & LIKE BLUE FIRE (THE HOTTEST KIND) VERSUS ICE!!! YEAHHH!!!!!

[ID: Azula with her bans swooshing in front of her. end id]

Katara gets +3000 iconic behavior points for CUTTING OFF PART OF AZULA'S BANGS with ice. Oh & I never noticed it until now but it sort of parallels the moment when Zuko cuts off the end of the wheat Jet has in his mind in THEIR homoerotic boss fight. I KNOW these are two of my favorite ships for good reason, if your ships can't have epic death battles nearly killing each other what is even the POINT MAN!!!

Um, anyway. And Aang dies. What is it with the final Chosen One Tm heroes dying? Buffy, Aang, Harry Potter...Sorry for bringing the Terf series into it but like....C'mon, y'all get why I did right this is a pattern in iconic coming-of-age Chosen One stories. I don't know what it means, but it means something, I'm sure of it.

Luckily, Katara still has the spirit water & she saves Aang's life, so he's fine. Yay! That is about all I have for this episode for now. I'll tally the iconic behavior points in a separate post :)

#the crossroads of destiny #crossroads of destiny #atla book 2 #atla re watch

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firelord-zuzu-the-jerkbender · 4 years

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One of the things I love about Iroh teaching Zuko how to redirect lightning is that Iroh accepted Zuko's limitations instead of trying to push him too far.

It's clear Zuko isn't a firebending prodigy, and instead of expecting him to become one, and expecting him to keep trying even though it was harming him and making him frustrated with himself, Iroh accepts that Zuko can't do it, and pushing him to do it and telling him that he can do it would only pressure him further to live up to expectations he knew he couldn't reach, which would lead to Zuko constantly pressuring and belittling himself. Iroh accepts that Zuko can't create lightening, but seems to understand that giving up on Zuko or asking Zuko to give up trying would make him feel more like he'd failed, useless.

So Iroh tries a different approach, and takes the time to teach him something else instead to do with lightening that is easier for Zuko to practice and use- because Zuko doesn't have to make lightning himself. As someone who was always pushed beyond my capabilities, and constantly told to try harder when I struggled instead of people accepting it was too much for me (I reached burnout point and had to drop out of uni), seeing Iroh accept that Zuko wasn't able to create lightening and instead spending time with him to work on a different technique to do with lightening really felt good to see.

Instead of pushing Zuko beyond what he could handle, he tried a different approach, and found something that Zuko was capable of. Instead of Zuko pushing himself beyond his limits, mentally chastising himself for not being good enough and physically harming himself in the process of learning to create lightening, Zuko is encouraged to improve within his capabilities, and not only that, but Iroh teaches him something defensive, a way to defend himself and deflect an attack back to those trying to hurt him.

Iroh pushes Zuko to be better without pushing him beyond his capabilities. Pushing him beyond his capabilities would be setting him up to fail, and it would take its toll, but helping him to grow by accepting his limitations and working with those limitations instead of against them is what sets Zuko on the right path to improving his firebending.

When you push somebody beyond their limitations, they either don't manage to reach the standards expected of them, or they hurt themselves in the process. Either way, it pulls somebody into a toxic mindset of feeling like they're not good enough and not trying enough when they are giving more than they have to the point of destruction. When you know you can't do something, and everybody insists that you can and you just need to try harder, when you are already giving everything you have, it pushes you to burnout and failure. You either succeed and get hurt in the process, or you fail and it was all for nothing. Even if you succeed, it feels like a failure, because if all you needed was to try harder and others can do it, why wasn't your best good enough?

And that's not growth and that isn't encouraging growth.

And we know that Zuko has always been belittled and compared to others, and we see how frustrated he gets when he isn't good enough. He hunts the avatar to the point he loses himself, doesn't take care of himself, and puts himself into dangerous situations because his honour is pinned on his success or failure.

But by accepting someone's limitations and capabilities, you can help them grow and expand within those capabilities, which nurtures growth and simultaneously protects the person's health and wellbeing in the process, and Iroh takes the time to do this with patience and understanding and helps Zuko to grow as a person and encourages him to take a more healthy mindset where Zuko is more aware that he controls his own destiny and honour.

TL;DR: In order to help somebody grow, you have to work within their capabilities and expand them from the inside out, instead of pushing somebody outside of them and expecting them to win, and that is why Iroh is such a good mentor to Zuko, because he accepts Zuko's limitations and tries a different approach to learning. Iroh doesn't push him too far.

#iroh is what i wish my teachers and peers were #atla zuko #atla #atla iroh #uncle iroh #prince zuko #atla meta #avatar the last airbender #avatar: the last airbender #iroh and zuko #look i just love how iroh takes good care of zuko okay #and accepts that zuko has limitations #instead of getting angry and upset and frustrated with zuko he helps him learn a different way

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helpistolethesecharacters · 3 years

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Love Conquers All

Zuko x Male Reader

Word Count: 1856

-------------

Y/n could understand where Zuko was coming from, but he knew he wouldn't be surprised if it didn't go as well as he had perhaps envisioned.

It was all very well and good that he had finally found his way, but he had hurt the Avatars group a fair bit before finding his way. Y/n also knew that as someone who had been a part of Zuko's attempts to hurt them, he had no leg to stand on in helping smooth the situation over. He hadn't been as single-minded in his focus on capturing the Avatar, but he had only cared because Zuko cared.

He didn't think that would matter to them, but then, Y/n didn't particularly care one way or the other how they felt about him. The only person who mattered to him was Zuko. Well, and Iroh, but that was a given of anyone who had met the calm old man.

When they made it to the kids campsite Y/n hung back, staying by the exit. It wasn't that he didn't trust them not to ambush him and Zuko, oh wait, it was that. Never mind.

Y/n watched the exchange carefully. He could feel it in the air mere seconds before she struck.

Faster than their eyes could follow, Y/n moved. By the time that everyone had caught up with the events, Y/n was standing in front of Zuko, sheathing his sword after having deflected Katara's water whip.

Silence reigned for a single heartbeat. Then Katara shrieked in outrage.

"How dare you!"

Y/n was sure she was still speaking, but he had a habit of being selectively deaf when it most benefited him.

And then, with almost no warning she was throwing water at him with increasingly wild movements.

It was no match for Y/n's technique.

It wasn't common knowledge, in fact, he had hidden it for most of his life, but Y/n was an airbender.

Yeah, literally the biggest lie in their world was that there were no more airbenders. The Air Nomads had had the practice of removing non-benders from their society and giving them to the other kingdoms.

What they didn't know was that all it took was for the right circumstances to happen and suddenly you had airbenders in the descendants of those non-benders.

It didn't change much ultimately, they were so few that they wouldn't ever be considered a threat to anyone, not that the Air Nomads had been when the Fire Nation had attacked them a hundred years ago.

What it all came down to, was a confused child suddenly developing powers that no one was able to control anymore.

Luckily for Y/n, the only person who had been around the first time he had bended was Zuko. As secrets tend to do, it had bound the two closer together than anyone would have thought ever since that day.

It was a loyalty that had seen Y/n stowing away on the ship Zuko had been banished on, and one that had been returned by Zuko had never once considered that the apparently Fire Nation child could be the reborn Avatar.

What it came down to, was that Katara was having no luck besting Y/n. Much as he wanted to put her in her place properly, Y/n knew that what they were trying to accomplish here would be hurt by that. From the looks of things though, they might have lost that chance.

Y/n stayed on the defensive, letting her tire herself out instead of outright attacking. He was worried about the look the Avatar was giving him though. That wide eyed expression couldn't mean anything good for his secret. He had always known that it would come out eventually, but he had hoped it would last longer than this dammit!

"Katara stop!"

The kid was trying to get in between then now, but the water tribe girl was apparently past the point of caring. She was just not backing down.

"Wait, I wanna talk to him!"

"No! They need to get out of here and never come back!"

Y/n was sure that her words might have been more intimidating if she weren't so clearly out of her league. He decided to ignore the voice in the back of his head that whispered that if he had used even half of his abilities properly before this they might have caught the Avatar long ago.

The element of surprise couldn't be taken for granted after all, and judging from the kid's reaction just now, all they would have had to do was show him Y/n's powers and he probably would have stayed on the ship that first day.

Y/n pulled himself out of his thoughts with a shrug. It was a bit late for that right now.

The Avatar had managed to get between Y/n and Katara, and seemed to be trying to talk her down from her rage. Y/n watched, only mildly interested. This wasn't how he had thought today would go.

He turned to Zuko, who was still standing behind him.

"Are you okay?"

He just looked Y/n over, head to toe looking for injuries.

"I'm fine, but are you sure it was a good idea to show them that? I could have taken a few hits. I've had worse before, you know that."

Y/n clenched his jaw at the reminder.

"I know. I'm sorry. You know how I feel about you willingly putting yourself in danger though. You didn't even try to defend yourself. Don't think I didn't spot that."

Y/n leveled a flat stare at Zuko.

He at least had the good grace to blush in shame and hide behind his fringe.

Y/n turned back to the group of kids gathered in front of them.

He gave them his best blank stare. He had nothing more to say to them, this was about Zuko teaching the Avatar firebending after all.

Besides, he was sure that anything he said would be twisted around and spat back at him by the water tribe girl.

"You're an airbender!"

Y/n refused to give up his secret that easily.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The little blind girl perked up.

"You're lying. You are an airbender? I thought they were all wiped out."

Y/n stubbornly refused to respond. He could see the water tribe girl's eye narrow at his silence. She was just about to explode on him again when Y/n felt a shift in the air. Less than a second later he felt Zuko's hand on his shoulder.

He slumped slightly. Damn Zuko's soft heart.

"Yes. I can bend air."

The shout of pure joy that the Avatar let out was enough to make Y/n feel slightly guilty about keeping it from him the whole time he had been after him.

"I'm not alone! There must be more, right? Some of the monks survived and hid right? Please tell me!"

Man, this kid was excitable, and as happy as he was, Y/n didn't want to be the one to tell him that he was wrong. He couldn't take the soft option of letting Zuko tell him though, they would probably turn on the both of them and Zuko wouldn't be able to fulfill his destiny.

"No."

"No you're not going to tell him?"

That girl was really starting to get on Y/n's nerves.

"No, they didn't survive."

That shut her up.

It also made the kid tear up, but there was no point building a lie just to make him feel better in this moment. That would be more cruel than the truth.

"The only reason that I exist right now is because of your ancestors though. Your people had a practice of testing their babies for airbending potential."

The Avatar was nodding along. Good, this wouldn't be a surprise to him.

"Well, when they showed to be non-benders your people gave them away. They were sent off to the other kingdoms, not welcome in, nor considered to be, a part of the Air Nomads."

"Air Nomads are airbenders, so if they aren't airbenders they aren't Air Nomads. That's just the way things are."

Y/n grit his teeth. It was an old hurt, but it still stung. He pulled in a deep breath and the only thing that stopped him from screaming about the injustice of it all was Zuko's hand that was still on his shoulder lending him the strength to continue.

"Your people were wrong. Occasionally their methods would be wrong, and they would let a bender slip away into another kingdom. But more than that, its in our blood, in the thing that makes us who we are. When enough of your ancestors were born from the Air Nomads, no matter whether they could bend themselves or not, you have the possibility to end up as a bender."

The Avatar's jaw was hanging open as he stared in horror at Y/n.

"But, they couldn't possibly have known that! If they had, maybe they wouldn't have done what they did."

Y/n's eyes shone with a dark light. This was something he would ultimately have to give up, but it was worth planting the seed if he could.

"So your saying that the only possible use non-benders have is the possibility of benders being born from them?"

The Avatar stopped cold and stared at Y/n in horror.

"What? No! Of course not!"

"Then what? You had no problem with the idea that they would be thrown away like yesterday's garbage up until now. The only thing that's changed is this piece of information."

Y/n pulled back as he saw the tears form in the Avatar's eyes.

"Think on that for a while. You have a non-bender in your group. Do you consider him to be useless?"

The kids all looked like they had been hit over the head.

Y/n was sure that this would be the end of their interaction for the day.

"We'll come back tomorrow. Maybe then we can talk without resorting to violence."

He turned back to Katara who looked like she was getting ready to unleash whatever thoughts had been happening in that head of hers.

"Before you put your foot in it, consider this. We have two things you want. One you desperately need, the other, something you desperately want. Have a good night."

Zuko turned and walked back the way they had come, with Y/n bringing up the rear. He didn't trust them not to attack them from behind.

Y/n hoped that with the reminder that they needed Zuko to teach the Avatar firebending, they would be more open to meeting the next day. If that weren't enough, then there was the added bonus of Y/n being the only other airbender that they knew. He was sure that the Avatar wouldn't be able to resist the pull to be around someone who was like him for long.

Either way, they still had a long way to go to convince them that they didn't want to hurt them and that this wasn't a trap.

'Oh well,' Y/n thought as he lay sleepily beside their fire, 'things always look better in the morning.'

#Zuko x Male Reader #Atla #avatar the last airbender #male reader

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muffinlance · 3 years

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Hey I don’t mean to be rude or anything I just have a genuine question. What is your stance on Iroh like I know that you don’t like his treatment of Azula I don’t think anyone does. But in some fics like little zuko versus the world you write him like an uncle trying his best and in salvage he’s still kind of trying his best but the faults in his methods are more pronounced. But in fics like towards the sun he seems like a complete asshole. I don’t mean this to be rude in anyway shape or form and I’m sorry if it gives you that impression, I’m just really curious on your take on him, because there’s just been a lot of Iroh hate in recent times (like some of the call outs are definetly justified while others are not in my opinion) and I was just wondering your opinion on everything. Because while I like him as a character, I can recognize where he failed but the whole situation bugs me for whatever reason.

So sorry for this long as post and I’m sorry if this reads like a call out I really am just interested in your thoughts on the subject and mean no disrespect whatsoever. Please feel free to ignore this if you find it uncomfortable.

Thanks 😊

Okay, so I LOVE Iroh, but the man is demonstrably not perfect. Which is fine! No one is, and character growth is good! But I like writing nuanced characters, not putting people up on pedestals. He can be a caring Uncle and the best, most supportive family member Zuko has and still fill a whole bucket with issues that have a solid canon basis. Issues like:

Spending two and a half years treasoning out of Zuko's ship, because you don't get or maintain a high-ranking position in most societies by doing nothing. And you KNOW Ozai would have taken the excuse to execute both Iroh and Zuko if he'd had even an inkling that was happening.

Spending the first five decades (six? age unclear) of his life being down for world domination and an active participant in the war effort. That is a lot of land conquered and a lot of people dead because of him. Laughing at the thought of destroying one of the world's most populous cities, anyone?

Changing his mind on the war only when his own son dies. Relatable, but still not a good look.

Being raised from birth as Azulon's preferred heir, which is a whole ton of baggage to unpack.

Not telling Zuko when his nephew is doing things that can get himself killed. The entirety of the North Pole arc is a disaster from a parenting perspective. Letting your nephew sneak aboard the ship of the man who tried to kill him, go into an enemy stronghold with no plan or exit strategy, and for what? To catch the Avatar, and return to his abusive dad who would likely look for the next reason to get rid of him? Iroh, what--and I mean this most lovingly--the fuck.

Not being honest with Zuko. Okay, don't tell him about the White Lotus while he's still daddy's boy, that's fair. But after the hair-cutting in season two? Bring the boy up to speed, Iroh! You know he needs a mission!

And don't even get me started on Iroh never clearly stating "I'm on the side of the Avatar and world peace, why don't you join me". Iroh. Iroh why did we go into the Crossroads of Destiny with Zuko not knowing you would whole-heartedly support him if he wanted to change sides. IROH.

And more!

Honestly a lot of these probably just came from the writers not yet knowing the full arc of a plot element (White Lotus probably didn't exist in a fleshed out form until season two, based on the writing) or it being a kid's show and them not thinking too hard (North Pole and Crossroads: they wanted to maintain Zuko's character agency, but they did it at the expense of his parental figure being extremely hands off, which is a common trope in children and teen media that drives me BATTY, you can still run those character arcs with the adults having their own agency, give me five minutes alone with your storyboards guys--)

But anyway. That's the canon Iroh I have to work with, and I don't gloss over things just to make him look better no matter how much I love the man. It's more interesting to explore the implications, and have him and Zuko heal their relationship.

In conclusion: I always write Iroh as loving Zuko; it's the same relationship across all my fics. But the different fic premises can result in very different ways of expressing that.

#VERY different ways of expressing that #Iroh my man #your family SUCKS at communication #and you are no exception

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suzukiblu · 2 years

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Headcanons for @twird96, who wanted Azula A/B/O with fam/friend interactions. This is really more general Azula meta with some A/B/O flavoring, but I do love me some Azula so I got more carried away with getting into her head than anything else, haha.

Azula is an alpha, because I will die on the hill of female alphas and also she is ABSOLUTELY the pack leader out of the Fire kids. Zuko is an omega, Mai's another alpha, and Ty Lee is a beta. These genders all suit them all both perfectly and terribly, and this is definitely reflected in how they all interact with each other. And Azula takes it SUPER well when the other three all leave her pack, of course. Of couuuuurse. She goes from being a pack leader to being a lone wolf basically overnight and it does NOT go well for her hindbrain. Zuko, okay, she can deal with Zuko ducking out on her--that gives her more status in the royal family and the Fire Nation, after all--but Zuko accidentally taking Mai WITH him, and then Ty Lee turning on her immediately after . . .

Ty Lee wasn't even specifically betraying Azula; she just knew Azula and Mai were about to DESTROY each other and Azula was the closer one. Azula will never, ever realize or believe this fact. To her, her most trusted pack member betrayed her out of nowhere, and she absolutely cannot and WILL not understand the why or the how. Not understanding what Ty Lee was thinking actually fucks her up worse than just Mai going full treason, in certain ways.

Ursa was an omega; Ozai is an alpha. They both embodied those genders as perfectly as they could, for different reasons, and of course Azula and Zuko looked to both of them for what to expect from other alphas and omegas, and also how to behave themselves. This did not work out suuuuuper great for anyone involved, because "betray people and run away with zero notice" and "run all your relationships based on fear" are both included in those behaviors. Technically it worked out worst for Ozai and Azula, but Zuko really did avoid said "worst" by the skin of his teeth.

Iroh is also an alpha. Azula thought he was a horrible example of one because Ozai did, of course, and was basically challenging him for dominance in every interaction since she was practically an infant, which Iroh thought was cute when she was five and concerning when she was eleven and was, unfortunately, way too late to do anything about by the time she was fourteen.

Azula was a pretty good pack leader, for being a horrible one, which is another reason that losing that status fucked with her head so much. She was well-suited for the job and naturally inclined to it, and losing it took out a huge chunk of her identity. There was nobody to replace any of those pack members with except Ozai, who obviously was HER alpha and a lot worse at it than she was, actually. Azula knew how to manipulate people; Ozai literally did not care about bothering to and addressed every problem/relationship like it was a nail. And Azula, for the record, was absolutely never a nail.

#azula #atla #avatar: the last airbender #twird96 #meta ecetera #a/b/o

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azure-firecracker · 3 months

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ATLA Live Action Stream of Consciousness (Episode 3, Part 2).

Teo looks so young but his acting is great!

Everyone continues to need to enunciate more.

Aaand Zuko continues to be a reckless idiot. We love him. And Iroh’s got some bite too! Interesting!

MECHANIST PLOT TWIST I mean I knew.

Okay who tf is Katara’s new boyfriend?

OH it’s Jet there’s the costume!

I do like that Aang isn’t very careful and sometimes can be childish.

Aaand another fight scene where Katara mostly stands there while her male counterpart does things.

Sebastian Amoruso is amazing as Jet! So much charisma!

“The world is filled with warriors but there are far too few great engineers” great line (as a physics girlie).

Teo’s such a sweetie.

Are there more freedom fighters now? That’s cool! But their camp looks like my summer camp’s ropes course.

Katara stop being surprised that other characters do things you should also be able to do things. I continue to be SUPER pissed off about her characterization. I hope if they get a season 2 they listen to fans’ feedback and they give her more spirit. Why do men have to tell her how to do everything?

Zuko and Iroh continue to get the show’s only good writers.

Lizzy Yu is doing some of the similar vocal inflections as the ones Grey Griffin did in the original which I think is clever since it makes her lines more interesting. Her working with Zhao is new…wonder how it’ll play out.

Finally they let Katara get angry…of course it was over a guy.

Sokka and Katara’s fight…interesting choices because that’s a very different conflict than we got in the original. If they’re going to not have Katara be the motherly one I like that she wants to break out and be taken seriously…it’s more reminiscent of her original spirit than anything I’ve seen so far. Sokka being overbearing isn’t new but the serious tone of the whole thing does make it feel more stifling rather than a joke. I’m glad we got this little argument, it fleshed out both their characters more (which they very much needed especially Katara).

Love the running gag of him not saying “my cabbages”

I have seen the Zutara nation talking about the scarf scene.

THERE’S KATARA THIS IS JUST PROOF THAT THEY NEED TO LET KIAWENTIIO ACT!! YELL AT PEOPLE!

“This guy? Again?” love!

And “this is my fight” okay Aang.

LOVE the random woman kicking Zuko’s ass we love to see it.

That fight with the scarves could be foreshadowing the dragon dance from book 3.

That mail cart chase is a lot more dangerous if you’re not an Airbender lol.

Zuko’s fire being triggered because Aang stole his diary is deeply in character.

MY CABBAGES!

Yay Katara does things but why does she have to look terrified whenever she does anything.

Someone take slo-mo away from Netflix.

Iroh self sacrifice? This is interesting! But Zuko you need to LEAVE.

Since when can air put out fire?

Ooh cliffhanger what’s gonna happen to Aang?

#atla #atla live action #natla #netflix atla #avatar the last airbender #jet #katara #sokka #teo #aang #iroh #azula #zuko #atla stream of consciousness

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nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice · 4 years

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I think my favorite thing abt Zuko is how hard it is to actually hate him once you get to know him. Like idk but he's just trying to hard and he's so soft and you look at him and think "baby 🥺" and that's that. Even when he was the enemy i never really hated him bc like, he never really did anything too bad like?? He didn't burn down the SWT village, and yeah he hit Sokka but not hard bc he got up right after. So idk but he's soft bby and hard to hate and i love that.

Okay I love Zuko as much as anyone but like .... he did some true asshole stuff in this series. Like homeboy burned Kyoshi village

kidnapped Katara and held her hostage to kidnap Aang

paralyzed Katara and Sokka with the shirshu

kidnapped Aang in the North Pole when he was in the spirit world, leaving the oasis temporarily defenseless (indirectly allowing Zhao a window to get in and kill the moon spirit)

while he was usually ethical with his Blue Spirit crimes, I’m gonna say stealing from these two was a dick move

ya know....Ba Sing Se

and then the whole Sent An Assassin After Them thing.....explicitly hiring someone to murder a 12-year-old

Zuko is a lot of things, but “baby” he is not.

Deep down, yeah he is soft, but for the majority of the show he wasn’t. We saw that he cared, that he was hurting, and we understood that all his actions stemmed from just wanting to please the father that hurt him, but he wasn’t a soft baby by any means. His anger stemmed from an understandable place, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t take it out on everyone around him (especially Iroh in season 1). He was selfish. That doesn’t mean he was a bad person, but recognizing that he did awful things and understanding that he hurt people honestly makes his character better because it makes his redemption arc all the more powerful.

The reason why we appreciate Zuko as a character so much is because how much he changes. It’s because he does break from the mentality he was stuck in thinking his value rested in Ozai’s approval, his recognition of the suffering of others not just under his nation’s actions, but because of his actions, and the lengths he went to earn forgiveness.

That’s why his redemption arc works, though. He did do awful things. He did hurt people without caring. He was selfish. He was rude. Just because he was acting that way because of his trauma doesn’t negate the severity of the things he did.

But he did make up for it. He came to regret all of his actions and did the work to make amends. Not only by internally recognizing that he was wrong and saying he was sorry, but actively making efforts to repair some of the damage at every step.

And the reason we do sympathize and root for him is mostly because of his motivations in comparison to other characters, namely Zhao, Azula, and Ozai. (And because he loses, a lot.) There’s a post that explains it better, but Zuko’s motivations were completely rooted in his own self-interests, ultimately rooted in just wanting to appease Ozai. And that we can understand. We can’t really sympathize with Zhao, Long Feng, or Ozai because their motivations are political-- they want to exploit people and systems for their own glory and power. They aren’t seeking acceptance or validation like Zuko, they’re seeking control and domination over those who don’t have power.

But it’s easier to root for Zuko, not because we want him to succeed, but because we want him to change sides. We don’t want him to capture Aang because doing so would validate Ozai, who is objectively awful. We don’t want him to win against the gaang because that’s who we’re rooting for. What we want for him is to change because unlike other villains on the show, he isn’t swept up by an ideology and hasn’t let power go to his head.

And part of that is us wanting for him to change how he acts towards others. In season 1 he’s explicitly rude to Iroh multiple times. He was an asshole to everyone because he was taking out his hurt feelings on the people around him.

The reason we’re rooting for him to change isn’t that he was a sweet person or because he was “soft.” It was because he was the underdog.

Those feelings of crushing failure, inadequacy...that’s relatable. It’s certainly more relatable than other villains doing selfish things and hurting people without caring to gain power or to perpetuate imperialism. Those are feelings people can relate to and that makes us want him to overcome those feelings. We want him to realize that his father was wrong and terrible to him and that capturing Aang isn’t the answer.

We could relate to Zuko even in season 1 because his arc was about the realization of his own self-worth. It was about a kid learning that no one deserves cruelty, even him. That’s something he always knew, but didn’t internalize and apply to the world and himself until he witnessed how the Fire Nation affected the people of the Earth Kingdom.

From season 1, we know that it was cruel and wrong and hope that maybe Zuko will realize it too. Because no one-- no one earns cruelty.

And his actions stemming from his hurt doesn’t mean they didn’t hurt others. He did a lot of awful things in this show. His betrayal of Iroh, him putting his own goals in front of people who needed the Avatar to win the war for them, and putting others in danger for his own goals. Zuko hurt a lot of people but he arguably did the work to fix his mistakes. He helped restore the world his family destroyed and made personal amends with the specific people he hurt, Iroh most importantly. He put his life on the line several times, stood up to his father, and protected the gaang from the people he once stood alongside to hurt them (Combustion Man, Azula). We saw his remorse and it wasn’t rooted in being mad at his father, it was upon gaining perspective on the world and realizing how that also applied to him, both in the recognition of the harm he did and the steps he had to take to make amends and the fac that he didn’t deserve the abuse his father delt him.

We wanted Zuko to break out of his mentality from season 1 not only because we wanted the gaang to succeed, but because we knew that his selfish actions stemmed from hurt and a lack of perspective on the world, both things he comes to understand throughout the series. He’s not Zhao, wanting glory or military ranking for capturing Aang. He’s not Long Feng, wanting control over others to keep his position of power. He’s not Azula, who was successful in a way he never was. And he’s not Ozai, perpetuating suffering because he believes himself to be that important. He’s a kid who was told he wasn’t good enough and was willing to do anything to appease the people who told him that, even if that meant hurting other people.

We root for him because he really just a kid who wants to not feel like a failure and honestly? That’s one of the most relatable motivations I can think of.

#tldr #zuko was kind of a dick #but his motivations were inherently different from other villains and stemmed from a relatable place #which is why we root for him not to suceed but to change #he did send an assassin after a 12 year old so I will not be calling him a soft baby by any means #zuko #atla #avatar the last airbender #hot leaf meta #iroh #his unroyal majesty bitchlord ozai #zhao #long feng #aang #katara #sokka

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the-badger-mole · 1 year

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No Sound But Silence: Gusts

Katara spent two nights in the hospital. Once she was cleared to go home, Zuko and Hakoda seemed determined to make sure that her feet never touched the ground. Iroh even dug up a wheelchair from his storage closet. This, Katara found a bit excessive, but in the face of such strong insistence, what could she do? Sokka and Gran-Gran couldn't make it to be with her in person (Sokka was going to meet Suki's family and Gran-Gran and Pakku were out of town, too), still Sokka and Gran-Gran managed to call and text often enough to make Katara a bit relieved that they weren't able to make it.

"I set you up in the living room," Hakoda said. "Easy access to the kitchen and the downstairs bathroom. Plus, TV."

"Dad-" Katara sighed.

"I'll be here all week," Zuko told her. "So if you need anything, just ask."

"Guys-" Katara tried again.

"After two days of hospital food, I'm sure you're starving," Hakoda said. "I made some stew last night. How about I heat you up a bowl?"

"I can walk to the kitchen," Katara reminded him, but Zuko was already steering her to the couch.

"The whole point is you're supposed to rest," Zuko said. "That's the deal, remember? You rest and if Aunt Wu gives you the go ahead, you can go to school next week."

"Yes, I know," Katara huffed. "But I can do little stuff, like fix my own food. I broke my wrist, not my leg." Zuko froze partway through putting a blanket over Katara's legs. Katara shook his hand after a moment.

"Hey," she said. "What's wrong." Zuko let go of the blanket and looked up at Katara. She was startled to see the tears in his eyes.

"I've never been that scared before," he admitted.

"Zuko-" Katara's hands cupped the sides of her fiance's face. "Hey... I'm fine. The baby's fine."

"Yes, but there was a while when I didn't know that," Zuko said. "I just want to be sure you're okay. Both of you."

"Oh, Zuko..." Katara tugged on his arms and pulled him into a hug. Zuko held as tightly as he dared.

"Let us take care of you," he pleaded. "Just for this week at least. Just until we know everything is okay." All of Katara's arguments died in her throat. She turned and kissed Zuko's cheek.

"Alright," she relented.

"You can stay, you know," Hakoda told him one night when Katara was getting ready for bed. "It's not the most comfortable, but the sofa does pull out into a bed." Zuko took him up on the offer. Katara didn't know until the next morning when she found Zuko sleeping on the sofa.

"That pulls out into a bed, you know."

"I know," Zuko sat up and made space beside him on the couch. "Trust me, it's more comfortable this way." Katara sat beside him and curled into his side.

"We'll need a nice big mattress when we move," Katara said. "One of those ones where you can't feel it when the other person is moving, and you can rest a glass of wine on one side and jump on the other."

"I've slept on one of those," Zuko said, wrinkling his nose. "They're not as comfortable as they look. I like the hybrid mattresses. They're soft, but have good support." Katara made a face at him.

"We should see about getting a 30 day trial," she said. "We take two months and try both types out, and then we decide which one to make our marital bed."

"That'll be fun," Zuko groaned. "A two month mattress trial with a newborn," Then he leaned down and kissed the bridge of Katara's nose. "But you're right. We should do it that way." Katara settled into his side again and sighed contentedly.

"You want to watch Love Amongst the Dragons?" she asked. Zuko let out a heavy sigh.

"If you insist," he replied with exaggerated exasperation as he stood up. "But after breakfast. Do you know if your dad wants anything to eat?"

"Dad left for work an hour ago," Katara said, stretching her arms over her head. "He had a consult this morning." Zuko froze and looked at Katara in horror.

"Did you come down the stairs by yourself?" He demanded. Katara glared up at him crossed her arms.

"Aunt Wu cleared me," she reminded him. "Besides, I'm going back to school on Monday, so I may as well get used to getting around on my own again."

"Katara-" Zuko pinched his nose and huffed.

"Zuko." Katara folded her arms stubbornly. "I know you were scared when I had my fall. I was, too. But I can't go the rest of this pregnancy in fear, alright?" Zuko tried to look stern, but faltered. Katara tugged him back down to the couch with her. "I'm fine. I've been checked and double checked, and we are both fine. You did an amazing job taking care of us this week, but we can't live in fear because of this. I have another three months until the baby is born. I can't spend them all avoiding stairs."

"I know," Zuko sighed and pressed his forehead to Katara's. "I just wish I could be there with you."

"Yeah, me too," Katara laughed. "But I promise I'll be very careful. Very, very careful." Her promise was good enough for Zuko. It had to be.

They spent the day as they had spent most of spring break; on the couch watching old movies and bad reality TV. Despite her assertion that she was fine, Katara allowed Zuko to carry out frequent kitchen runs for snacks (mostly healthy at Zuko's insistence) and to keep her covered in blankets, although the late winter weather had been surprisingly warm. She was both touched and exasperated by Zuko's attentive care, but she ultimately submitted to it with little more than a token fuss. The truth was she loved it when Zuko was attentive like this. She just also hated feeling helpless, and she had felt helpless since the pregnancy test had come back positive. It made it difficult to fully enjoy Zuko's efforts, and it made it difficult to tell him how grateful she truly was.

"Made us some tea," Zuko said, pouring Katara a cup from the teapot Iroh had gifted her some time ago. "Uncle says this blend is supposed to help with calcium and bone health." Katara stared at the cup for a moment before accepting it and setting it down on the table. Zuko looked at her in confusion for a moment before she pulled him into a tight hug.

"Thank you," she said, blinking hard against the sudden sting of tears. "Thank you for taking such good care of me and our baby." Zuko took a second to recover from his surprise and returned Katara's embrace.

"It's my honor," he told her. "I love you."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Katara was napping when Hakoda got home, carrying takeout for that night's dinner.. Zuko stroked her back absently while he flipped through the channels for something to watch. The grim set of Hakoda's face made the younger man pause in his search and furrow his brow.

"Got a call from Katara's principal," Hakoda said. "Can you wake Katara up?"

A few minutes later, the three of them were sitting around the table with full plates, but no one was eating. Katara tapped the edge of her plate with her hashi distractedly.

"Maybe it's nothing," she said hopefully. "Maybe he just wants to check in because of the fall."

"Maybe," Hakoda agreed hesitantly. "He sounded pretty grim, though. Even after I told him that you and the baby were fine."

"Do you think he's going to kick me out?" Katara's hand tightened around her hashi to the point where Zuko worried she'd snap the sticks in half.

"Piando isn't like that," Zuko assured her. "I'm sure it's not that. Maybe he's going to try to talk you into having a buddy when you're going down the stairs." Katara rolled her eyes at that.

"Great," she snorted. "So he wants me to have a babysitter."

"We don't know what he wants," Hakoda reminded her. "And there's not much use making yourself crazy over it for the whole weekend. We have a meeting with the principal on Monday. We'll find out what he wants then, and deal with whatever it is. Alright?" Katara reluctantly agreed, and before her father and fiance could say anything, she began to eat her meal.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Zuko insisted on going to the meeting on Monday with Katara and Hakoda. Privately, Hakoda was grateful. If Piando delivered bad news, it would be good to have extra support for his daughter. Katara's temper could be quick at the best of times, now that she was pregnant and injured, the ice, Hakoda knew, was thin. Piando greeted the trio kindly, however, and if he was surprised to see Zuko, he didn't mention it. His eyes landed on Katara's cast and his face grew drawn.

"I'm glad to see you're doing well, Ms. Imiq," he said kindly. "You gave us quite a scare."

"Thanks," Katara said a bit too brightly. "I rested all last week, and I'm feeling just fine. If you're worried about me attending classes-"

"Oh, no," Piando said shaking his head. "That's not why I asked you here today." Katara sagged with visible relief. Her biggest worry was gone just like that. She thought she could handle whatever else Piando might say.

"The reason I called you in is because we were going through the schools security cameras last week, and we found something a bit disturbing." Piando cleared his throat and turned his computer monitor so every one could see. The picture on the screen was grainy, but it was clearly from the stairs where Katara fell. He pressed play and a figure that was recognizable as Katara by her clothes and distended belly appeared on the screen. She took two steps down the flight when suddenly, a figure in a dark hoodie came up and shoved her. The viewers could see where Katara reached up and caught the rail to slow her fall, but then she landed head first on the hard floor at the bottom of the stairs. The figure hurried down after Katara, looked at her for a second and took off towards the gym locker rooms. There were no cameras in there, and if the person reemerged through the doors, it was after that period's gym class in the rush of students hurrying to their lockers. Katara had already been rushed to the hospital by then. The video ended and Pianod turned to the family with a grim face.

"Someone did this to my daughter on purpose." Hakoda's voice was low and dangerous. "Who did it?" Piando shook his head solemnly.

"I'm trying to find out," he said. "Unfortunately, our security cameras are very old, and there were at least 10 students who were late to class or skipped altogether. Our culprit was probably among them, and I'm sure we'll figure out who it was sooner or later. Until then, I'm going to recommend not walking alone, Ms. Imiq. I'll let your teachers know to excuse any tardies for you any whoever escorts you."

Katara's eyes were still fixed on the screen, and she hardly heard what was happening around her. Someone had tried to hurt her and her baby, she realized. Who, she wondered, would do that to her?

Part 1…, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29

#atla #zutara #no sound but silence #the plot thickens #lol this is becoming a soap opera #stay tuned for the exciting continuation!#THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!

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hello-nichya-here · 2 years

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Hey, Nichya. So that video 'The Psychology of Azula' is... not so good, and so I was wondering if you've watched this another thorough Azula analysis called 'Azula: The Case of Redemption'. I think it was pretty good or al least is better than the psychology Azula. If you don't mind, share your thoughts about it

***

Okay, I just watched it, as well as her video on "Conditional Love", and while they were pretty damn good, I have a few big, small, huge, tiny, little gigantic issues to point out.

1 - While she did bring up the fact that Iroh doesn't seem to care about Azula, I really don't like how she called him not helping her out PERCEIVED abandonment, and the fact that IROH of all people was refered to as the person who can help her look at things OBJECTIVELY AND CLEARLY when Iroh suffers from some serious tunnel vision and is essentially a morally grey character that just happens to be on the right side made me laugh histerically.

2 - I don't like how she downplayed Zuko's ambition. He stopped letting it cloud his mind (or at least he is supposed to have done that) but he still wants power over his nation. Ambition isn't automatically a bad thing, and honestly he is more ambitious than Azula sometimes.

3 - While I DO believe Zuko loves Azula, and I like how she pointed out "He didn't like her much, didn't trust her, and didn't think she was a good person, but he DID love her", I really hate how she used events OF THE COMICS OF ALL THINGS to prove his love for her. Yes, he visited her in "prison". The said prison was an abusive asylum he abandoned her at for at least a year, and he only visited when he needed her help. If we take the comics as canon (which we shouldn't and I refuse to do) that would be Zuko's WORST moment.

4 - I don't like how Azula's active attempts at reaching out to Zuko were full on ignored and her side of the rivalry was put on the spotlight without her love for him to balance it out. I especially dislike this since she didn't touch on the fact that Zuko was deeply jealous of Azula AND shifted the blame for his misery from Ozai to her, AND acted like Zuko was the one constantly making an effort, when all he did was show vulnerability when Azula always took the first step. Zuko CAN be a key factor in her redemption (and I'm constantly saying how that is what I'd like to see the most), but it can only happen if he accepts the fact that their bad relationship wasn't entirely Azula's fault AND that he utterly failed to put in the effort while she was doing her part.

That being said, I still enjoyed those videos. ESPECIALLY the parts regarding her friendship with Mai and Ty Lee, how URSA screwed up, how Ozai psychologically abused and manipulated her, and how she made it very clear that Azula is a VICTIM who was trying to survive and is absolutely terrified.

#submission #azula meta #azula deserved better #actual human child azula

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xsugarysweetsx · 3 years

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Request; from @tsundere-cherry-girl

Hello there! I love your writings btw, especially the Levi ones. I’ve seen you write scenarios like this before so I was gonna ask if you could do Zuko x pregnant reader. If you’ve read the comics, she becomes pregnant around the time of the Promise and goes into labor after the final battle in Smoke and Shadow. The child being Izumi. If you haven’t read the comics you don’t need to do that. I just want to see some Zuko and reader with baby Izumi fluff UwU

A/N: I changed it up just a tiny bit to fit the comic but also be it’s own story as well, ALSO! I’m sorry this took so long!

Warning; Long, had to be cut for length

Please enjoy~🍰

*******************************************************

The night was calm, quiet, and warm. You laid in your husbands arms as you both slept. After so much chaos, hatred and war you were finally able to rest. Well, almost, Zuko has been very jumpy since being crowned fire lord. Although some of his hunches did turn out to be true, he was very set on someone trying to kill him

“Guards!“ he had woken you from your sleep calling for the guards again, “Someone is here, secure Y/N and search the area!“ he ordered them as he jumped from bed. You following him to bring him back to bed

“Fire Lord Zuko, there is no one here, you’re safe“ one explained rushing to the door where he was ready to fight. Sometimes you thought he had too much trauma as a child that it will forever effect him

“Zuko sweet, please come back to bed. The guards have been here the whole night“ you said laying a hand on his chest attempting to keep him in a calmer state

“You highness I can assure you no one is here-“

“There have been 5 attempts already on my life! Next thing you know they’ll come for my wife“ he grabbed the guard by the front of his uniform to make the message clear as to how serious he was

“Sir we’ve-“ just as the guard spoke his head had been hit by an object knocking him out to the floor. Zuko pushes you behind him and gets into his fighting stance ready to defend you

“Who’s there?! Show yourself“ just as commanded the intruder shows themselves whirling around what seemed to be a metal ball with spikes. Right before your eyes they go at it. Taking swings at each other, sooner than expected Zuko has his opponent at his mercy being taken away by his guards. He comes back to check on you

“Hey are you alright? Are you hurt?” he checks your face, you hands anything that could have gotten a scratch. You were physically okay but mentally you didn’t feel so well. You haven’t been feeling 100% for some time now and you were getting suspicious

“I’m not hurt but, I don’t feel well Zuko“ you said leaning your head on his shoulder “Can you help me to bed please?“ You ask him, he wraps an arm around you and helps you walk to the bed and lay down. Walking back to the door his guards wait for his order

“I want double the guards here tonight and tomorrow I need the royal healer here for Y/N“

“Yes Sir!“ he closes the door and walks back to your side of the bed. Kissing your head he watches over you through the night. For one, you might not feel well, and the other being of what just happened. It was going to be a very long night....

~~~

The next morning the healer came as asked and took some time to check up on you while Zuko got ready for the day. He had given you some medical tea blends and told you to get rest. Turns out you were pregnant. Now you needed a way to tell Zuko, and with all the stress he’s under you wouldn’t know how to react. You had just finished getting dressed when he had walked in

“Y/N, I’m heading out into town to settle last nights incident. What did the healer say?“ he asked coming over to where you sat

“Well, it’s nothing to be worried about but, something that will change everything“ you said fiddling with the tips of your hair

“Well?“ he urges you “Come on Y/N, if I hear you’re okay it’ll make my day better“ he offered a soft smile which he knew, you melted for. You said and take his hands into yours and look into his eyes

“I’m pregnant...“ his jaw went slack almost as if he were frozen in time. It scared you “Zuko...?“ anything, he could just make a sound but you needed to hear him say something.

“I....I have to go. I’ll see you later.“ he said kissing your forehead and leaving without saying another word. You were, hurt. You didn’t blame him completely because expressing his emotions wasn’t exactly his forte. Instead while he was out you went to the other person you trusted the most.

Knocking softly on the entrance to the garden Iroh was sat drinking some tea.

“Ah Y/N, good morning come have some tea. I heard Zuko went to town to settle some things“ he said as he poured you a cup “I’ve also heard you’ve got something on your hands“

You simply nod and take the tea he held out to you

“So, why don’t you tell me about it“ he said with a kind smile. Iroh was probably the wisest, kindest soul you knew.

~~~

Later that afternoon Zuko came back and if anything looked more tired than before. You had a hunch as to where he was but you were hoping it wasn't true. Walking to him you cup his chin with both your hands and make him look at you in the eye

“You need to relax more...“ you said running your thumb over the bags under his eyes “You’re going to be tired before the baby gets here..and stop visiting your father, it’s not good for you“

His larger hands come up to hold yours “I’ll try, and I’m sorry about before...I’m happy” he offered a soft smile

“Are you really?“ you pout slightly making him peck your lips

“Yes I am, I know I’m not the best person for a father or husband..”

“Zuko“ you bring his forehead to rest on yours “You are the best person to be my husband and the father of my children. I couldn’t want anyone else“

As time went on things only weighed in his shoulders more. You were probably the only thing that kept him sane. You were also starting to show, your baby was growing nicely and very restless as well. On days when Zuko would have trouble sleeping the baby would get restless leaving both of you tired. But he had figured it out, if he lays in bed with you and talks to your bump, the baby calms down.

“What do you think it’ll be Zuko?“ you asked

“Hmm, I think it’s a girl. They refuse to listen, and gets upset when I don’t talk to it, I’d say it’s you any day“ you gently wack his shoulder causing you both to laugh “I don’t mind what they are, if they’re healthy and we can make them happy is all I care about“

“You’re going to be a great father Zuko“ you said kissing his forehead

“But...what if-“

“I’m going to stop you ahead of time. You are NOTHING like that man and you will never be. You are the kindest, strongest, best man I have ever met and our baby is lucky enough to have you as a father”

Yes, he was terrified to make the same mistake this father make the same mistake his father made. You knew him better than anyone and if he were half as back as his father, you wouldn’t be there at that moment.

~~~

By the time you were almost due it seemed as if war had never left. From Azula attacking once again, to disagreements and even almost a Fight with Aang. Things were heavy on his shoulders, he’s tightened security because of your baby. The last thing he wanted was for anything to happen to you both.

Finally a day where everything was being settled, calmly he felt some kind of relief. That was until a guard barged into the meeting room to announce you had gone into labor. The funny thing about Zuko is that he’s fast and for some reason no one sees him. As soon as people looked away from the door and back to Zuko, only his chair was in their sight.

“Do you think he left that fast when he heard you were alive?” Sokka asked as the room became quiet

Rushing to the healers room at the door he was told he wasn’t allowed inside.

“What do you mean?! My wife is giving birth to our baby and I need to be with her!” This was going to be an old rule he was going to get rid of...

“I-I apologize sir but it’s been a tradition for generations-“

“ZUKO!!” Next thing you knew one of the midwives came to the door and saw Zuko and said

“The lady wishes for you to be with her Fire Lord Zuko” she said timidly. It took him less than a second to trip of his cape and run to your side. This was it, the end of your pregnancy, labor, the day your baby would finally be in your arms. It was a very difficult day for you, she took all day to be born and finally when the moon was high in the sky she made her appearance. She was just perfect, and for a moment the world seemed so at peace.

“She looks like you“ you whisper to Zuko as you both gaze down and admire her

“Yeah but, she’s beautiful like you“ he whispered back, he truly felt something he’s never felt. It was happiness, excitement, protectiveness, and everything in between. He doesn’t remember the last time he was this happy, this was the best day right next to your wedding day.

Just as you expected he really was a wonderful father. During the first few weeks he wanted you only on bed rest. At night he would help care for Izumi and calm her when she needed it. He was actually the one who taught her to walk. When Aang and the rest of your friends met her, he was secretly super proud and cocky about it. They couldn’t get over how much she looked like him and just how cute she was.

He also liked to have her sleep in the same bed as you guys while she was still young. When he couldn’t sleep he would just gaze at her and talk to her, even though she couldn’t answer back.

“..and you could be anything you want to be, and you could rule the kingdom your way. If you’re like your mother I know you’ll be a kind and smart ruler. You probably can’t understand me right now but, I love you and your mother so much“ you felt your hear swell while you pretended to be asleep.

Although your favorite memory was him showing her how to bend when she first made a flame. She was around 6 when she first bended and he felt the flame of pride light in his chest. He showed her how to meditate and control it instead of training. He was always patient and gentle with her. It was very safe to say he was never the same as his father was with him.

Izumi and Zuko were nothing more than the center of your universe, the apples of your eye. And you knew it was the same for Zuko when he looked at you.

*******************************************************

I hope this was okay!❤️

#zuko x reader #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender x reader #atla x reader #atla zuko #prince zuko #zuko #anime #anime x reader #fanfiction #atla fanfic #atla pregnant

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