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stitch1830 · 2 years

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For an Anonymous prompt ask. Original ask is here!

......

Azulaang - #75 - “That’s so sweet of you”

He was so exhausted.

Two days of travelling nonstop would do that to a man, especially one whose heart was at home entirely. But it was his job to travel the world, to provide guidance and help when others needed it, and often, he had to leave home.

But he was finally home, and that meant that he could surprise his two favorite girls in the whole wide world. Aang and Seiki could read a hundred bedtime stories to make up for the two weeks of bedtime that he missed, and she could feed Appa heaps of hay and pat his giant nose for being such a good bison. And Aang and Azula could catch up on a number of things, but the very first thing he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her growing belly and kiss her until she spouted empty threats to him.

He was finally home, and he was ready to surprise them for the evening.

When Aang walked through the door, however, he was the one that was left speechless.

Past the hall and in the kitchen, the Avatar found his wife and daughter standing by the stove attempting to make something (by the smell of things, he wasn’t sure whether it was a cake or perhaps a vegetable stew), the smiles on their faces were perhaps the most beautiful things that Aang had seen in weeks.

Seiki turned her head toward the door, and somehow, her face lit up even more. “Baba! You’re home!” She hopped off the counter and immediately ran into Aang’s arms. He picked her up and kissed her cheeks a hundred times. “My girl, you’re so big! I missed you, sweetie! How are you?”

“I’m good, Baba,” Seiki giggled as Aang’s stubbly beard tickled her cheek. “Mama and I are cooking for you. Surprise!”

“You’re cooking for me? That’s so sweet of you!” he marveled. Aang walked over to Azula, who had a funny look on her face. It was a mixture of happiness and a wicked smirk, and when she turned to face him, she complained, “Your child has me craving ridiculous combinations of food, I’ll have you know.”

Aang couldn’t help but grin as he placed his free hand on her growing belly. “I’m detecting stew and a cake.”

“Your sense of smell would be spot on.”

“I missed you,” he whispered, breathing in deeply as he leaned his forehead against hers.

Azula’s smirk turned into a small smile, and she conceded, “I may have missed you, too.”

“May have?” Aang laughed. “Oh, how sweet to hear that my wife sort of missed me.”

“I said may have, and I was far too busy to be focused on silly emotions.”

“You should be resting.”

“So should you,” she argued, placing a hand on his cheek. “You’ve been travelling for far too long.”

He turned his face so that he kissed her palm and replied, “How about we rest after dinner?”

Azula’s smile grew wider, and Aang’s heart fluttered in his chest. “That sounds like a plan, dearest.”

Spirits, Aang missed hearing that. But now that he was home, he was going to soak up every moment, every kiss, every embrace. Because home was where the heart was, and his heart belonged to Azula and the little but growing family they created.

......

Send me asks about ATLA, or anything, really! :D

#azulaang #azula #aang #oc seiki #atla #writing #quote writing prompts #part 4 #my asks #thanks for the ask!#anon #okay these two can be really sassy and fluffy and i kind of love it 0-0 #i vibe i vibe #lol

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blluespirit · 2 months

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Overall NATLA Thoughts

Okay, now that I've watched the series, I can give my thoughts.

Overall, I thought it was good!!! I had fun watching it! I'd rate it a solid 6.5/10. It's nowhere as good as the original, but it was definitely enjoyable and made some nice changes here and there that I liked. There were also some things I was also Not a fan of too.

I said in another post that it's best to treat this like an AU of the original. There will things that are great and things that are bad. That's the nature of adapting something.

Having said that, I need to get my initial thoughts off my chest... here we go.

Things I thought were good:

Sokka's characterisation - I really enjoyed him! I thought Ian did a good job! He played the funny moments well and retained the underlying seriousness/cautiousness. It wasn't perfect, but I enjoyed the changes a lot and think it was overall a solid performance.

Zuko's characterisation - Like Sokka, I do think I was most satisfied with their performances. A lot of Zuko's moments from the cartoon are sometimes... well, cartoonish and definitely wouldn't translate to live action, but I think Dallas did a nice job at balancing Zuko's desperate anger and that occasional sassiness well.

Zuko and Iroh moments were great. Had me on the floor crying. As it should have.

The bending looks a trillion times better than the movie - I understand it would not have been easy for the actors but, overall, I was very happy about it.

The scenery was stunning. It just looked so beautiful. I loved it so much.

Absolutely ADORE that they made Zuko a good calligrapher and artist. I read a fic about a million years ago where Zuko is a fantastic calligrapher and I thought it was perfect and made so much sense, and now I can say it's canon. This is perfect for me.

S U K I

The Freedom Fighters were ✨ perfect

They were so real for making Oma and Shu lesbians

Koh, Wan Shi Tong and Hei Bai looked fantastic, but I have more to say about all of them below, unfortunately.

I actually like the change they made that Katara is Aang's sole waterbending teacher.

Aang is not perfect, and needed more goofy scenes HOWEVER, I did like how they've had Aang's guilt more prominent in the story. The original didn't do a very good job with that, imo.

Zuko entering is breaking and entering era by breaking into an impenetrable Earth Kingdom prison is just perfect.

In Masks, I like how Aang and Zuko got a longer conversation - that was pretty cute.

I liked how they changed Yue a bit and got her out of the arranged marriage... how Yue saw Sokka in the Spirit World before meeting him in the real world.

Things I didn't like:

Far too much info-dumping/exposition. So much spelling things out. It was not as egregious as the movie, and I get there's a lot of information that needs to be conveyed well and quickly... but sometimes it really took me out of the show.

Why are Mai and Ty Lee here.... I was hoping the live action would give them a bit more depth (and they might as it goes forward!), but why put them in season 1 at all if they're just going to stand around???

Some odd changes - putting this as one point, but there are some bizarre changes that didn't make sense to me, as they did not benefit the story or deepen the characters. I have two main examples: a) making it so Aang didn't run away from home, and b) making it so Zuko actually fights Ozai in the Agni Kai.

Characterisation of Katara was Not Great. I don't think I got many hints of the reckless, compassionate, badass Katara until the end when she fights Pakku and rallies all the women together to fight (which happens off-screen). She was sweet and kind, but she just lacked the fire that OG Katara has.

Azula's characterisation - Azula is desperate to impress Ozai and so her character is just…. brewing with anger, frustration, desperation. I was SO excited to see the Azula we are introduced too… perpetually and irritatingly calm, calculating and ruthless. She's perfect, she's terrifying! She's literally the character of all time. But this Azula had more Zuko vibes? I don't think there's anything wrong with giving Azula more concrete motivation by wanting to impress Ozai and establishing that Ozai is abusive to both his kids, but I do think trying to do that right off the bat is a mistake.

WHY is Wan Shi Tong here. I love Wan Shi Tong, but like I said: Why Is He Here? Why could we not have his iconic, ominous as fuck introduction from The Library, and instead he's introduced in a random season 1 episode giving Aang Information(tm) about the Spirit World.

When Aang gave Koh the statue, and then he just takes it and immediately lets all the villages go, and neither of them even say anything, I actually laughed out loud. Like, I am so sorry, but what in the jesus fuck was that.

Speaking of Koh - I think Koh is better the less we know about him. Roku saying ~all Koh wants is a family like the rest of us~ just pissed me off?? I like my Koh the Face Stealer Terrifying and Unknowable, thank you.

NOTHING EVER REALLY HAPPENS WITH HEI BAI!!?? where's my precious spirit bear?? Like Aang never really does anything with him and the replacement Koh story is boring and it sucks.

Bumi.... sorry I just didn't vibe with him at all.

Things I can't decide on:

Fancy spirit knife to kill the moon spirit annoyed me a bit, but I guess they wanted to Kuruk something to work with and a little bit more interaction with Aang which I get but idk. I really flip/flop on this one.

I've been very on the fence about having Azula (and Ozai) being in the show in season 1 in general. I'm not sure if it benefited either of their characters.

Azula & Ozai's dynamic - Okay, so, I think they're trying to give Azula more depth, right? They're trying to establish what it was like for Azula to live with Ozai and that she's also (like Zuko) trying to desperately prove herself to him, but Ozai using Zuko's... achievements to do that just felt so weird. I get he's doing it to manipulate her, but that just felt so wrong when in canon it's very obvious that Ozai just didn't give a single fuck about Zuko. Ozai pits Azula against Zuko by saying he's a failure, he's a bad bender etc. Azula is born lucky, Zuko is lucky to be born - like, Ozai says that to Zuko's face. I don't know if I am communicating this point very well, but it just didn't seem right to me??

Zuko vs Zhao in the Siege of the North... I genuinely do not know how to feel about it! I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. I don't know how to feel about Zhao telling Zuko that his mission is a sham and that Azula is the prized one... It feels like it's saying the quiet part out loud? In the OG we all know that Ozai sending Zuko on that mission was an excuse to get rid of him, but we can work that out, no one actually says it. And then Iroh just fucking killing him/mortally wounding him instead of the Iconic scene where Zuko reaches out to save him despite everything Zhao has done to him, but Zhao's own pride gets in the way from letting him accept help from Zuko.

Zuko’s crew being the 41st is not necessarily a bad thing at all!!! But I do just want to say that in the original, the attack goes ahead, and presumably, those soldiers die. It’s horrible. Zuko’s sacrifice is in vain, and it was always going to be in vain because the Fire Nation as it stands would not allow Zuko's compassion to win. Ozai would not allow it. While not necessarily a bad choice (all the soldiers bowing to Zuko on the boat was so sweet I loved it!) but I think it does take away some of the horror of Zuko’s story (same as it does with making Zuko fight back in my opinion) because the whole point is that Zuko did the right thing - and he was punished for it, and those soldiers died anyway.

anyway...

Okay!! got that off my chest. I know I just had a big whine here, but I still had a lot of fun watching this show. I think some of the backlash is a bit over the top and unwarranted. It was never going to stand up to the original - and that's okay.

Enjoy it for what it is!

#zuko #sokka #katara #aang #yue #iroh #zhao #azula #ozai #jet #koh the face stealer #wan shi tong #hei bai #natla #avatar the last airbender #atla netflix #avatar netflix #jack talks #live action series

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abilouwrites · 2 months

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Hihi I was hoping I could request enemies to lovers Zuko x fem!reader?

The reader is a traitor to the fire nation and can bend fire (also a street peformer before she joined the gaang? 👀) 💕💕

Omg getting a request just made my day I love these!!!

I hope you like it 🫶🫶🫶

YOURE STILL A TRAITOR

Id like to say that my life is good, that I’m happy where I am but I’m not. I’m upset and frustrated; but most of all I’m living on the street, preforming stupid acrobatic tricks just to feed myself. I’ve left everything behind. My family and wealth but most importantly someone I never wanted to live without.

I’m upside down when I see them; soft flames coming from the soles of my bare feet. Resting on my forearms and twisting and contorting my body.

“You.” A teenaged girl approaches me and I turn right side up, “you’re a fire bender aren’t you!” She says, “what’s your name?”

“Uh” I stare at her and smile nervously, “y/n Huǒ” I repeat slowly, and quietly. People of the fire nation know the traitor I’ve become outside the walls of the fire nation. Meeting the avatar, going against my friends for his life. All because I believed in something greater than all of this.

“I know you” a boy says, bandana around his forehead, “your grandpa, Yújìn. I know- or knew him” He says

“Oh.” Realization hits my face, “you’re the avatar!” A short girl slaps me.

“Wow way to tell everyone!” She retorts, god are little kids sassy.

“You could teach Aang firebending” Katara says, it’s hard not to know someone’s name when there’s wanted posters all over town.

“I’m good at fire bending but I’m no master” I say, “I thought Prince Zuko abandoned the throne to teach you” I ask

“Well he’s uh.. learning a new way to firebend” Toph laughs a little and I smile awkwardly.

“I don’t bend very traditionally” I reply, “but if it will get me off the streets I guess why not” I stand up straighter and brush my hair out of my face.

“You brought that back?!” Zuko shouts, we’ve had a long history. One that includes a betrothal, and a knife to the gut. He looks at me with disgust which I’m not surprised at.

“I’m a girl. Not a thing!” I cry out, “the only reason I’m here is because Aang needs a firebending teacher because you suck!” I scoff out at him, there’s fire burning in his hands but I never raise mine.

He groans at me, “you’ve always been like this! Even when”

“Zuko I don’t want to talk about that” I warn, there’s a plea in my voice but he accepts that, “it was a long time ago”

“Yeah like it was that long ago” he sasses and I roll my eyes.

“Zuko!”

It doesn’t take long for things to settle down; I’m essentially useless now that Zuko has gotten his bending back. Even if he did it how I told him to do it all along but whatever.

The bickering still happens, and I want to throw a knife at him but part of me still loves him. I didn’t hate being betrothed to him as much as I thought I did.

“Did you ever miss us?” I ask him, “after you were banished. I refused to Azula to give away your location and then the Avatars when you wrote me” I confess, “so I left”

“I think. At first I did, but I don’t— I don’t think we would’ve worked together. We fight all the time. I hated you at first. And you hated me” He admits, looking down slightly. He sighs heavily

“Yeah. I guess. But I didn’t really hate- hate you” I admit, “I missed you. I liked knowing you”

He nods, “I did like knowing you too, you’ve changed so much. I mean your fire it’s pink” he laughs

“Maybe it’s from my bubbly personality” I tease, he laughs

“You. Have a bubbly personality!” He laughs and it’s so good to hear, “you were so shy, like if I sneezed too hard I would scare you”

I smile softly, “I’ve changed so much sense I was twelve” my hair falls around my face and he tucks the loose strand around my ear

“What now that you’re fourteen?” He teases softly, his hand lingers behind my ear. But he removes himself quickly.

“Zuko. Im fifteen” I remind him, it’s embarrassing when he says he knows how my heart flutters and I feel weak in the knees.

“I remember, once you turned eighteen we would’ve” he looks away with a blush on his cheeks

“Yeah. Gotten married” I laugh, and I keep laughing because the thought of getting married feels so small and childish to the war we’re supposed to be preparing for.

He laughs; rolling laughs that make me keep laughing. My laughs turn short and wheezy before his face straightens, “are you ok? Can you breathe?” His face turns to me and he smiles seeing my smile. It’s a smile that makes my cheeks hurt and heart race.

“As the Prince of the fire nation. I’m supposed to hate you. Because you’ve betrayed our nation. But as Zuko. As your Zuko. In this moment I don’t feel anything but hate. I feel love for you. A fire that I never want to put out” he tells me, scooting closer to me. I let him cradle my face, “I never hated you”

“I never hated you either” a weak laugh escapes me but he kisses me before it truly develops. It’s a kiss that devours me whole, wrapping itself into my heart and soul.

“If we make it through this. Let’s make good on that betrothal”

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mantizimus · 1 year

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Sassy S/O

Aang

Giggles softly every time he hears your sassy remark.

However, if he feels that your remark is ill-timed, he will slightly nudge you with his elbow.

Remembers some of your phrases to use them in the future.

If you sass him, he will sass back with a 25% chance.

Azula

Finds your attitude amusing, even though she tries not to show it.

Warns you not to dare say something like her father.

If you sass her, she will be intrigued by the fact that you had the courage to tell her something like that.

In public, she remains calm and collected, but in private she arranges full on sass war.

Won't stop until she emerges victorious.

Zuko

Slightly smiles every time he hears your sassy remark towards others.

If someone's company is unpleasant for him, he allows you to deal with him.

The reaction to sass towards him depends on the mood.

If it's good, he'll laugh. If it’s bad, he will make slightly annoyed look.

He will ask you not sass him in public. He's the Fire Lord, after all.

#avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender x reader #atla #atla x reader #aang #aang x reader #azula #azula x reader #zuko #zuko x reader

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comradekatara · 2 years

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ugh okay i get that toph is a) extremely powerful and b) rejects traditional gender roles but she is NOT a brute. her whole deal is that her earthbending technique isn’t like the mainstream approach of using sheer force to attack. the reason she beats the boulder so easily isn’t because she’s physically stronger than him (she very obviously is not!) but because she waits and she listens. that’s the whole reason aang decides to recruit her as his teacher. because she is uniquely creative, perceptive, thoughtful, patient, and intelligent. she enjoys fighting and she’s really, really good at it, she’s sassy, she’s forthright, and she delights in being kind of disgusting in a way she wasn’t allowed to be growing up, but she’s also empathetic, understanding, and vulnerable. by ignoring that you are doing a huge disservice to what makes her character so incredible in the first place. thank you

#toph #hot takes #ugh sorry one bad take in my notes too many I just needed to get this off my chest #toph is tricky bc a lot of ppl claim to love her but then reduce her character so it’s like okay how much do u love her really #same goes for a lot of katara ‘fans’#who don’t actually understand what makes her great in the first place #and ppl who claim to love sokka but only like that he’s funny #or ppl who claim to love iroh but think he did nothing wrong ever in his life #like. it’s just such shallow and reductive ‘appreciation’ for these characters #and I know that I’m obviously more In This than most ppl #so I don’t blame them #but I did need to like. say it #lol

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quillthrillswriting · 13 days

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sooo.... anyone else ever wondered how different ATLA would have been if aang had been frozen at age 16 instead of age 12?

yeah... me too 😌 my new fanfic "the teenager in the iceberg" follows the events of the show, but with only aang aged up, while everyone else remains their canon age.

also...cmon....how funny is it to switch zuko and aang's iconic dialogue to "you're just a teenager!" "...so are you?"

this idea was originally inspired by the talented @allgremlinart's aged up aang drawings, so please go show them some love!!:)<3

enjoy the excerpts from chapters one and two!

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

Aang chuckled, pushing himself up with his hands on his knees. He was… taller than Katara had realised, taller than Sokka. He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, turning to look over his shoulder at the remains of the boulder-sized chunk of ice he had just been blasted out of. “Aang. My name’s Aang.” He hesitated, momentarily seeming to puzzle something over. “And honestly? No clue. Don’t remember how me and…Appa!” He yelped, suddenly scrambling back over the hill of ice and snow. Katara followed him without thinking, and Sokka, grumbling under his breath, followed moments later.

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

“So, you’ve brought a monster to invade the village, then? You’re some incognito Fire Nation soldier sent in as an undercover scout? Well, I’ll have you know that I’m the village’s strongest warrior, a-”

“The only warrior,” Katara chimed in, lightly elbowing Sokka’s side, earning herself a responding glare.

“The strongest warrior.” Sokka reiterated. “And I don’t much like firebenders.” He added the words pointedly.

“Ah.” Aang titled his head. “That’s a shame. Some of my closest friends are Fire Nation.”

“Of course they are,” Sokka glared, hunching over into a defensive position and adjusting his fishing spear until it pointed directly at Aang.

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

Katara still wasn’t quite sure what to make of Aang. The Water Tribe boys had always been all flashy muscles, seal-jerky breath, and overconfidence, so Katara had never seen someone move, carry themself, the way Aang did.

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

Katara had admittedly forgotten how much fun penguin sledding was. “Spirits, I haven’t done this since I was a kid!” she called to Aang as he raced past her, surprisingly skilled considering that he’d never even seen a penguin until half an hour before.

“You still are a kid!” He called back over his shoulder. “A kid who’s losing this race, badly !”

Katara’s competitive streak reared its head, her eyes narrowing as Aang stuck out his tongue. She sat up slightly, no longer gripping the penguin’s fur as tightly. “You wish!” She shouted back the words as she raised her hands, breathing deeply. Her hands moved through the positions she had practised from the few bending scrolls the tribe still held on to, and before Aang knew it, the snow in front of Katara turned to ice, and she shot past him as his own ice trail suddenly became dry snow with too much friction to slide on.

She made it to the bottom of the hill, beaming, breathing heavily. The wind had whipped her hair out of her bun, and she knew without checking that her hair must have looked like a lion-turtle’s mane. She watched as Aang made a show of drying himself off with a gust of wind that he then redirected at her, messing up her curls even more.

“You’re a cheater !” Aang gasped, mockingly clutching imaginary pearls at his throat. “I demand a rematch.”

Katara strode past him, only turning her head to cast him a smug smirk. “Maybe you’re just not as good of a penguin sledder as you thought .”

“Oh, not so fast!” Aang grabbed her wrist, tugging her back towards him, and she internally questioned why the momentary brush of their skin made her heart flip. He tried to trip her, she tried to flip him, and they both ended up on their backs in the snow, giggling, cheeks and noses bright pink from the cold.

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

“Trouble sleeping too, huh?” Aang cocked a grin, tilting his head to Katara. She kept her eyes fixed upwards, trained on the moon and the stars, worried that if she looked away, she’d end up staring into his eyes like a weirdo.

“I always feel so awake with the moon’s light on me. Sleeping under the stars has never really been a thing that works. It’s too energising, too… too much. It’s hard to explain.”

“No, no… I get it. I feel the same way in a windstorm, all those breezes and gusts of wind, it feels… exhilarating.” She watched through her peripheral vision as he looked up at the moon. “In times of war, I think we all tend to forget how spiritual bending is at its core. I’d say it’s a good thing that you’re in touch enough with the origins of your abilities to feel the moon’s pull tug at you just as much as it does on the ocean.”

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

Aang smiled back. “Now is our time to try to make up for that. I can’t bring back everyone who was hurt in this war, and you can’t bring back your mother, but together, the two-, three of us can make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

“I’d like that,” Katara exhaled, her breath calming down and tears dissipating. The two spent hours talking back and forth, exchanging the stories of their respective childhoods. Katara learned that Aang had invented several new bending moves and had been a big fan of fruit pies, while Aang learned that Katara had always been the bossier one between her and Sokka and that she had almost chipped a tooth on seal jerky when she was six. They continued talking back and forth in increasingly hushed tones until the world faded away under the cover of clouds and sleep.

Katara awoke to the loud shout of her brother.

“Wakey wakey, lovebirds!” he yelped, chucking a rock-hard stick of seal jerky at both of them.

“Ouch, Sokka !” Katara snapped at him, rubbing her head at the spot where she had been hit, before realising that she was leaning against Aang and immediately jumping away, blushing furiously.

♥ check out the two chapters of this (ongoing) fic & my ao3 here! ->

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lilith-91 · 2 months

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Sassy Aang is everything

#aang #avatar the last airbender #atla #netflix destroyed this character bruh

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aangspocket · 15 days

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1st thought: NATLA vs ATLA's pacing, plot-line, characterization...

Hello everyone, For my first post, I’d like to start with NATLA & ATLA storytelling format differences which plays a huge part for each counterpart’s story direction. Also, I’m not a native english speaker so apologies in advance for grammatical errors!

I grew up watching the show since I was young and every year I do a re-watch, I’m now working in the entertainment industry and had experiences in script writing for comics. My first impression of the live action show was just okay because I binged it till 4 a.m(never again), after another rewatch I fell in love with the show and came to appreciate it much more. It’s true that the only way to truly enjoy it is to judge the show on its own merit but I also agree it's impossible not to compare with the OG show, being an amazing animated show ever made. The LA show isn’t perfect, but it was very fun and just everything I could ever asked for. I’m so happy I got to watch ATLA again with a fresh mind! I can accept most of the changes they made and even prefer the live action’s version, unfortunately the script and directions for many scenes could be a LOT better. I'm glad that the casts were outstanding and very likeable (in and outside the show), especially for my top 2 favourite characters from the OG show, Aang and Katara.

Gordon Cormier was able to embody such a complex character as Aang, having to act as the main character (in a huge high budget show), a fun-loving demigod with incredible responsibilities, while being the only survivor of a genocide, is not an easy feat especially for a child actor, little dude did his own stunts! He even acted the mocap(motion capture) expressions for his digital double, mind you.. He was 12 years old!

Kiawentiio is an excellent indigenous actress, Katara characterization in NATLA is different from the OG show, instead of starting off as the sassy-strong willed Katara that we were familiar of, NATLA Katara started kinda timid+wooden, sulky, shy but hopeful, and later on as the story progresses, we can see her becoming more brave, and confident, and even more better.. Her bending ability progression is shown gradually alongside her confidence! To put it simply, NATLA Katara is given an arc to grow. And I found myself rooting for her even more (because I know what she will be in upcoming seasons).

Unfortunately, NATLA Aang & Katara didn’t get enough praise & love that they deserved, this is due to the changes on their characterization that felt unfamiliar to majority of audiences which are the OG show watchers.

Let’s talk about the main reason why the main GAang (and a lot of other characters, actually) character development plotline ( in season 1) changed in this adaptation; the changing of narrative format, adapting cartoon show to a live action drama.

Many would argue that NATLA has similar total running time with ATLA(the OG animated show) “then why can’t they do the pacing like the OG show?” I think it’s impossible to compare the two (plotline wise) as both have different episodes format and mediums. NATLA has 8 episodes with 1 hour~45 minutes long running time for each episode, whereas ATLA book 1 has 2 episodes with 20 minutes running time for each episode. In ATLA the audiences are given time to breathe for each episode due to short running time, and even shown Katara’s monologue in the beginning of all episodes for a fresh start, therefore episodic format works well for ATLA. In NATLA the show is 45mins~1 hour long with no breaks and no intro monologue (except for episode 1) so the episode runs full stop. And because it's an 1 hour show, the storyline should have a clear purpose & tension to make the audiences emotionally invest with the story. The episode narrative format follows a Three-arc structure(inciting incident->midpoint->climax followed by aftermath) each episode is always high tension, has a main theme + lesson that ties multiple plotlines all together cohesively and continuity with the next episodes, which is why it's hard to show the GAang taking a lot of detours in every episodes as it doesn't help much with the tone and narrative direction of the story. With these two formats in mind, many things could fall flat if they had adapted ATLA’s plotlines 1:1 to NATLA. The biggest aspect is : characterization. Let’s be real, it's live action show.. we're seeing actual children, actual humans emoting, actual 12 years old getting attacked by fire blasts.. It would feel jarring to see Aang riding Elephant koi minutes after he found out his whole family was brutally killed, It would make sense to see him feeling guilty and not letting Katara (and sokka) to fight alongside him in ep 7 after he accidentally brought them to spirit world and almost got them killed in ep 5(but I’m glad Aang comes to terms with it!), also if sokka’s (blatant) sexism is solved within 1 episode (in kiyoshi island which is only the 2nd episode) it wouldn’t feel as rewarding because it's solved too early (also the sexisms wouldn’t land well in live action..could feel too forced or.. cringe).

When people complained that the characters personalities changed, I think many people mistaken it for the tone of the show. NATLA did very well on capturing the horror of a genocide and 100 years of war, the situation feels more dangerous, fire can actually burn you to crisp and not only knocking you back like the OG show portrayed (I understand it’s a show for kids). If the tone of the story changed, of course the many aspects would change as well. It’s kinda sad because the heart of ATLA is these three kids doing side quests with jokes, goofing around while being the hero in the midst of 100 years of war... which unfortunately for the most parts, those moments are taken out in NATLA(glad it's mentioned in the background!). But again, like what i wrote in previous paragraph, due to running time and episode format, this plotline has to change.

Many people feel dissatisfied about the characterization for the GAang, and felt the Fire Nation squad’s development are better written, while I agree that the show felt more favourable towards the FN characters but this is due to the fact that The Fire Nation squad characterization and development are more or less the same as the OG show, they feel more familiar to us and even Azula & Ozai are more fleshed out in NATLA, Whereas our main 3 characters personalities changed quite a lot, cartoon gags won't work well in live action adaptations, the trio mostly shown doing side quests that felt like main quests (less goofing around) and are given their own arcs that’s slightly different than their OG show counterparts. So naturally as an OG show audience(mind you, many of us have watched the show 20x+ probably) watching NATLA’s GAang would feel a bit jarring, like they don’t look familiar, they felt…wrong. But I disagree. Do note that our main 3 character developments are more subtle than the Fire Nation squad, which is why I think they're easily overlooked by the majority of audiences(hence the endless wrong takes people have online). I’d say, the Fire Nation squad(especially Zuko) development is more ‘telling’ than the main GAang in both ATLA and NATLA, it’s more easy to ‘see’ an antagonist turning into a hero whereas the main GAang roles are the same throughout 3 seasons, their developments happened ‘internally’ (psychologically). I wholeheartedly agree that book 1 episodic format is more favourable towards OG GAang dynamics, therefore I can see why the NATLA writing team changed their character development direction. Tl;dr despite its changes, I love the main 3 character arcs in NATLA as we can see their character development clearly;

Aang actually seems very.. very.. guilty and more responsible for being the Avatar although he lacks confidence due to his grief. I love how his ‘running away’ from his duties is basically him asking past avatars to take over his bodies to fight on his behalf, like he keeps saying ‘I’m the avatar, I have to do this’ but when he actually has to face the reality he just stutters and asks for backup from past avatars and even giving away his body to the ocean spirit. And I really like that he feels very guilty of the death of his family to the point that he cannot defend himself and he just accepts everyone's blame for running away (although it’s not true). I also don't see the problem with Aang not running away but instead taking a short walk(or fly) with Appa.. the weight of guilt is still the same, if anything.. it's more depressing because he didn't intend to run away.. he was just trying to mentally prepare himself to take on the role, also Aang grew up in a loving peaceful and supportive environment.. with a mentor like Gyatso, I don't think Aang would take such a daring decision to run away. There are so many details that I really like about his 'new approach' of characterization throughout the season. I'll elaborate more separately in another post (same goes for Katara and Sokka).

Katara is tenacious and hopeful but she’s carrying a huge guilt of her mother’s death which blocks her bending skill from developing and later on able to overcome it. Honestly, seeing her new character arc feels more rewarding! also her bending ability development feels more natural than the OG show, and it’s very nice to see that she’s also very creative at it! imitating other bender movements, that’s a sign of a master. And although many people dislike the idea of her becoming a master despite not having a proper education, I love the fact that she’s able to achieve it by her own effort, and I think the writers intended to do this so Aang can solely practise water bending with Katara, Katara probably will play a huge part in shaping Aang as the Avatar (I’m internally screaming, I will elaborate more in future posts)

Sokka is no longer ‘sexist’, but his ‘sexism’ translates in different form, just not verbally as the OG show. He's a little cocky(and judgemental) in the beginning because he’s carrying this huge responsibilities (that he wasn’t ready to take) he’s trying to look strong (no time to grief unlike Katara, he has to step up as the big brother) and finally learns that sometimes just being present with someone who needs him, physically (not just fighting like how SWT tribe leaders defines leadership value, at least the way he sees it in past memory scene during ep 5) is also as valuable (I’m happy that his main character development isn’t from him being sexist).

Going forward, from the trio last scene in ep 8, I believe we will see the trio that we know of, joyful but wise Avatar Aang, brave and strong but very caring Katara, supportive-charismatic leader Sokka.

Kataang has always been my favourite pair from the OG series. I'm a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope, I find this relationship to be very honest and grounding. There's no better lover than your own best friend, your own person. the pacing that the OG series had, helped a lot in building Kataang’s relationship growth(also the whole team), It flows naturally and gradually, the friends-to-lovers trope is explored really well in book 1, which is possible because book 1 episodic format. In NATLA, I am glad to see that Aang didn't fall in love with Katara right after he wakes up, Katara didn't even pull Aang down during avatar state in Southern Air Temple(I’m glad it was Gyatso, makes soo much sense honestly), and many many scenes from the OG show that got removed (Aang showing off his skill and making Katara jealous in Kiyoshi island for instance) nonetheless I was really really happy to see hints here and there and it finally pays off when Katara pull him out from his avatar state in NWT (I will elaborate more in another post) I’m so EXCITED to see slow burn KatAang, I have predictions of what their relationships development could look like in upcoming seasons, i’m hopeful that the writers can elevate their relationship dynamics better than the OG show, and since we’re getting teenager Aang & Katara, I’m very very excited to see more mature approach of their relationship growth.

Closing thoughts, ATLA was amazing but you see.. nothing is perfect in this world, there's always room for improvements, book 1 felt like the creators weren’t sure whether the audiences would like to see more and they were trying to play it safe because they knew how heavy the show would be later on but at the same time it was a NickToons show, fortunately this is NATLA’s advantage over ATLA, since the show runners are aware of the whole storyline, able to raise the rating to PG-13(iirc) + with the episode count and running time, they were able to push back and pull in components from different seasons, for instance they pull in Ozai & Azula (because there might be not enough time to flesh out both of them in later seasons & to enhance the tension because they pull out the comet plotline due to irl actors aging) and push back the trio's characterization by giving them starting arcs to grow as our heroes.

There are so many things that I appreciated about NATLA, it’s so sad to see the a lot of people refusing to accept the changes and rejects the potential. Sure the scripts could be a LOT better, but if you see the nuances and details that they added to strengthen the plot-line you’d be surprised how well thought out the show is.

End of thread, thanks for reading this long ass thread! I’m open to any discussions, suggestions and opinions! See you all in my next post!

P.S i appreciate the follows, reblogs and love! also i cant seem to post a reply, hopefully this issue will be solved soon

#aangspocket yapping #natla positivity #natla appreciation #gordon cormier #aang #avatar aang #kiawentiio #katara #ian ousley #sokka #atla #netflix avatar #avatar netflix #avatar the last airbender #kataang #pro kataang #pro natla

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crown-eats-rocks · 27 days

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live action avatar pros/cons

my opinion. mostly for me just to gather my own thoughts on this

pros:

zuko was so sassy i'm obsessed. so teenage girl core and i loved it

sets were awesome when there wasn't a green screen situation

the 41st division being zuko's crew. i went feral

zuko sitting next to iroh at lu ten's funeral and just the depiction of their relationship in general

roku being a silly little guy- there was more on his personality

the costumes were pretty cool in general and true to the original

the cabbage guy

sokka being more of a big brother (+ that scene with hakoda saying he was disappointed in sokka. angsty but i thought it added to his characterization)

oma and shu being lesbians!!!!! that was so cute

yue's characterization- i feel like they added more to her it was nice

sokka and hahn being friends instead of rivals

the actors. idk i felt like the casting was good and all the actors did a good job of representing their characters with the questionable writing

cons:

aang didn't even learn waterbending???? i'll let it slide but still

katara's development as a waterbender was kinda choppy- at the beginning she was awful and then she was a master??? girlboss but there was no middle ground

also i feel like her character was a little 2D compared to the original

they left out a lot of aang's character (running away to escape avatar duties, lying about being the avatar, being chaotic??? live action aang was too calm for me. that bitch is crazy let him be crazy)

yue's goddamn wig

when i tell you this is SO petty but i thought mai's hair was too fluffy. this is so minor but i always thought her hair would be all sharp and sleek and i love fluffy hair but idk

they left out pakku being engaged to gran gran????? what the hell guys. this takes away from my theory that gran gran specifically sent katara to the north pole to kick his ass and the hilarity of gran gran being so opposed to marrying a guy she literally went across the world

badgermoles seeing with feelings rather than vibrations. that was corny

i mentioned this before with aang and katara but the characters felt a little oversimplified to me idk

#atla #avatar the last airbender #natla #netflix #live action #avatar #sokka #zuko #iroh #katara #aang #toph #my baby :(#speaking of i missed her #ik it's not till s2 #but STILL

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writermai05 · 10 days

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Arsonist's Lullabye

Chapter 5: Life’s distractions

Summary: The gang gets together to watch Toph's power disc game!

Pairing: Zuko x fem! reader (Live Action or Animated)

A/N: Not gonna lie, I only skimmed over this to review. We die like men. Anyways, I wonder what will happen next! (Not actually though, as I already have it planned out LOL) As always feel free to leave comments or constructive feedback, as it helps me grow.

Word Count: 1,692

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender, I am merely a nerd who hyperfixates a lot. Lots of divergence from the canon story lol.

Warnings !: None I think.

The excitement in the atmosphere sent a buzz down your spine.

The bus to the power disc arena was pretty short, 10 minutes at the most. Katara had insisted on doing your makeup for the festivities. Aang and Sokka had gotten custom varsity jackets with Toph’s jersey number, 1. You remembered the day at lunch, a mere matter of days ago, in which Sokka had tried guessing Toph’s number, without any success.

“It’s 1! Man, you suck at guessing.” Toph exclaimed.

“What!? That’s not reserved for like, the captain of the team, or whatever?”

“No, Sokka. Jersey numbers are so that the announcers can know who’s playing. They’re not based on who’s the best. I chose my own number.”

“So why did you pick one?” Aang asked.

Toph shrugged, lifting her chin. “Because I’m the best, obviously.”

You and Katara had packed bags full, just in case anything happened. You didn’t really need half of the things, (in what world would you need sunscreen in fall?), but you never were the type to come unprepared, even for fun school events like this one. You chose a spot under the shaded area of the bleachers, saving seats for the others who would join shortly. Sokka said that Suki and a couple of her friends would be joining them after the band and color guard performed, and Aang had mentioned something in passing about another one of his friends sitting with the group as well.

You sat on the end, bag saving a little extra space, Aang and Katara on your left. Sokka sat in the row below, legs on the metal seats as well. You basked in the warmth while you could, as the cool autumn air was sure to take over eventually. The band was warming up on the other side of the arena, and if you looked closely enough, you could see Suki in the Kyoshi warrior garb.

“When is your friend coming, Aang?” you had asked inquisitively.

The look on Aang’s face was almost unreadable. He looked apprehensive, maybe a little bashful?

“He’s almost here…” Weird, vague, answer. But hey, who were you to judge?

“Alright…Well, I wanted to get some snacks. Anyone want to come?”

Katara shot up, placing her bag down. “I’ll go! We need to get the good stuff, because Sokka always insists on getting cotton candy, and I would much rather get some seaweed cookies.”

“Cotton candy is good!” You grimaced at the thought. Wind and some overpriced sugar on a stick was not a great pairing.

“I’m gonna have to agree with Katara on this one.”

“Y/n, You always agree with Katara-”

“As she should!” Katara responded, taking your arm in hers, and dragging you down the stairs of the bleachers to the food stalls.

The pair of you giggled as you waited for your food. There was something about Katara that had such a magnetic pull. Like as if she herself was a force of nature, and not in a water bending master kind of way. Katara’s kindness was like the gentle spray of salt water, refreshing, and uplifting to the one’s around her. With the dichotomy of this passionate, sassy, woman, combined with the kind and motherly girl, you had become quite fond of her in the short amount of time.

Grabbing your seaweed cookies, you made your way back to your spot, but not before Katara halted in her tracks.

“What is he doing here?” She had asked, but not before storming off, straight where you guys sat. It took you a second to see what she had seen. Squinting in the direction of your spots, you saw Aang, Sokka, and a familiar boy with jet black hair, in a black bomber jacket, red sweater, and black jeans. Zuko.

Zuko called it. This was indeed a bad idea.

“What are you doing here?” Sokka had asked, standing up straight.

“Sokka it’s okay-”

“No Aang! It’s not okay. Why are you here?”

“Sokka, I invited him here!”

“You what?” Sokka cried out.

Zuko turned to face Aang. “You didn’t tell anyone I’d be coming?” He asked, exasperated.

Zuko felt a hand grab his shoulder, turning his body away from the other boys.

“Why are you talking to us?” asked Katara.

“I Invited him!”

“Why??” She seethed.

In the distance, he watched as Y/n ran, seemingly carrying a bag of what he assumed were snacks.

“Maybe I should just go-”

“Yes!” “No!” Aang and Katara exclaimed at the same time.

Y/n finally made it back to the bleachers. Out of breath, and still holding the snacks.

“Hey guys! Maybe we should work this out a little quieter, preferably before the band plays.” She huffed out. Zuko almost smiled at the sight of her, all red in the face.

Katara puffed out a breath of annoyance, taking her seat beside Aang once again. Sokka followed suit, sitting down and turning his body to face them. Y/n handed the cookies off to Aang, sitting down. Like she had done before in class, Y/n moved her bag away from next to her, instead placing it on the ground in front of her, patting the now empty spot and signaling for him to take a seat next to her. Zuko breathed in, in an attempt to calm himself down.

“I know I was a dick in the past. And I know saying sorry won’t fix it all. But, I wanted to let you all know how sorry I am…start somewhere small.” He looked down, rubbing his rough hands together anxiously.

The silence was palpable.

“He already apologized to me. I invited him so that we could hopefully move past everything.” Aang said.

Sokka sighed. “Look, if Aang is cool with you, then I guess it’s fine. That doesn’t mean I’m going to just, like you right away.”

“I understand.”

Katara stayed silent, staring at Zuko with a cold gaze. She turned away, facing the field.

“The band is about to perform.” She muttered.

Immediately, all attention was off of Zuko and onto the field. The music of the band blasting through the air. The way that the color guard spun and threw their fans was hypnotizing. Zuko’s mind was elsewhere, drifting away. The far away look in his eyes coming back as he dissociated. Before he knew it the band was done, and the crowd was cheering, roaring in approval of their show.

Suddenly Zuko felt the warmth of someone’s touch in his left hand. He looked down as you squeezed his hand, a silent questioning of “Are you okay?” Your eyes were locked on the retreating members of the university band. He squeezed back twice. “I’m okay.” He had meant in reply. While he kept his gaze downcast, you looked out of the corner of your eye to check on him. The scars on his hand that you had felt before were like sunshine warming your palms with its embrace. You let go shortly after, not in any rush.

As the band and color guard members came into the stands you spotted Suki, still in uniform, but all makeup wiped off. Behind her stood a shorter girl with long hair put up in a braided ponytail, and a girl who was not in uniform with jet black hair in space buns, and a normal black sweater and jeans

“Suki! That was amazing!” You called out to her. Sokka immediately jumped up from his seat, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend in a giddy, almost childlike way. He littered her face with many pecks, making Suki smile. She gently grabbed his face, kissing his cheek.

“Thank you, Y/n. These are my friends, Ty Lee and Mai. Ty Lee and I are both in the colorguard but Mai plays clarinet in the marching band.”

Zuko’s reverie came to an end at the familiar names. He looked up to face the two girls in which he once knew.

“Zuko? Is that you?” Ty Lee asked, eyes widening in excitement. Mai simply raised her eyebrows.

The gang turned to look at the three of them.

This was going to be a long game.

It was kind of funny how you all know nothing about sports. Especially power disc, as nobody was aware of the fact that only two people at a time would be playing. As you all waited for Toph’s turn to play, the gang took turns asking questions and genuinely getting

“So how do you guys know each other?” Suki asked curiously.

“We all grew up in Imperial City. Mai’s father and Zuko’s father worked together, and I went to school with Mai and Zuko’s sister.” Ty Lee responded.

Zuko perked up when he heard the name of his little sister.

“How is Azula?” He asked.

Azula? As in Azula from your sociology lectures Azula? Maybe it was just a coincidence.

“Yeah..She’s-”

“We haven’t spoken to her since senior year.” Mai interrupted.

“Oh. Why?’ Zuko asked. He was confused, considering the three of them were attached at the hip when he was still living in the fire nation.

“Well, you know, she can be a little abrasive-”

“She was being a bad friend. Constantly berating Ty Lee, and I had enough of her stuck-up bullshit.”

Okay, so perhaps it was indeed the Azula from your class. But why would Zuko not know details about his own sister? Why wouldn’t he know that they literally go to the same university?

“Next up on the field we have player number 1, Toph Beifong from the University of Ba Sing Se!”

“Wait, everyone Shut up! It’s Toph’s turn to play now!” Katara exclaimed. Everyone quickly hushed up, waiting excitedly for Toph to come out.

Although they were excited to watch Toph play, questions filled you and Zuko’s heads. Where is Azula? Is she okay now? If Zuko Mai, and Ty Lee grew up together then do they know what happened to him? Why did he move away? How did he get that damn scar?

As Toph absolutely dominated her opponent in the round of power disc, You and Zuko were left with more questions unanswered.

#arsonist's lullabye #writermai05 #atla x reader #avatar the last airbender #prince zuko x reader #zuko x reader #aang #atla #atla live action #atla netflix #college au #modern au #katara #sokka #atla suki #toph #atla azula

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