#when we could see how hard it was for gaang be there | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

melzula · 1 month

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Okay I have an request

So like we are azula and zuko sister and we adored by both but like in the catacombs we choose gaang over azula and zuko of this and please can y/n x sokka and now zuko now wants to join gaang and yeah I am not good with words I hope u understand what I said😁

Y/n can be a firebender or non bender its ur choice anyway

a/n: okay so there’s a lot to tackle in this request which is why i chose to do it as headcanons so i hope you don’t mind !

summary: being the middle child isn’t easy, especially when your siblings are Zuko and Azula

As the only non-bender and middle child of the royal family, you never felt like you mattered

You were the Black Swan of the palace, a disgrace to your father and his image

You kept to yourself, staying in the shadows and out of his way while your siblings took the spotlight

However, just because your father looked down upon you didn’t mean your siblings shared his sentiment

In fact, they adored you

Zuko was an attentive older brother. He let you follow him everywhere, defended you against anyone who dared speak badly about you, and was your shoulder to cry on whenever your father was feeling particularly cruel

He saw you for who you were, and who you were was an intelligent, kind, talented young woman meant to do great things in her lifetime

Azula, while being particularly mean to Zuko at times, never once treated you the way she saw her brother

Despite you being a nonbender, she surprisingly never speaks down to you or makes you feel less than

It could be because she doesn’t see you as competition as she does Zuko, or maybe she truly does just feel genuine sisterly love for you

Maybe it’s because whenever she felt your mother was unfairly favoring your brother over her, you were always there to assure her that she was a wonderful bender and just as important

Maybe it’s because sometimes she wished you could be her mother instead

Whatever her reasoning, Azula sees you as a comforting presence in her life. She seeks your validation constantly almost as much as your father’s, and she’d do anything to protect you and your honor

Things became worse for you when Ursa left. She could no longer intervene when your father felt like tormenting you, and your siblings knew better than to say anything in your defense. Shortly after her banishment, Ozai deems it best to send you away to the academy since he has no other use for you

Your departure is hard for both siblings. Zuko is gutted that he can no longer be there to protect you or look after you. Though she acts as if she couldn’t care less, Azula is devastated at your leaving. Her source of comfort is being ripped away from her, and she has no one to look out for her

At the academy you learn various forms of physical combat and weaponry wielding. You’re especially fond of using tanto swords in battle and they’ve become your weapon of choice when in a fight

Zuko and Azula send you letters during your stay at school behind your father’s back updating you about your home, their lives, and their annoyance of each other. You keep every single one they send, and it eases the ache of your home sickness

It’s also at the school that you learn of the Agni Kai and Zuko’s banishment. Your heart breaks for your older brother, and you’re devastated at the fact that you never got the chance to say goodbye and you may never see him again. He still sends letter for a time, but as the years pass they become less frequent and almost nonexistent. Azula’s letters follow the same path

Years pass and your father deems it time for you to come home. Now that you’ve made a decent fighter out of yourself he finds your worthy of being his daughter again

However, your stay is short lived. Azula recruits you to be part of her little team to capture the Avatar and your brother, and you don’t really have any other choice but to agree

You downplay how skilled you are in fighting so that she doesn’t expect much from you and force you to do too much of the work. You don’t want to go against her, but you also don’t want to have to fight your brother and your uncle

You also don’t exactly feel good about destroying the world’s last hope for peace

And that’s why, when the time comes, you choose the Avatar over your siblings

You’re tired of being pulled back and forth, of always being stuck between your siblings with no real purpose, of not being able to do anything for yourself

Zuko is astonished by your choice and conflicted. Just when he finally had found his way back into the family you chose to leave it. Why were you doing this? Why were you ruining everything?

Azula is furious. Your betrayal hurts worse than mother’s. You’d always taken her side, always comforted her and supported her, you’d always been there, and now you were leaving. How dare you leave her?

“You fool!” She’d cried, angrily sending a blast of blue flames your way knowing you wouldn’t be able to stop it. If not for Iroh, surely her strike would have ended you. The fact that your own sister was willing to hurt you for the cause was enough proof to know you were making the right decision

You help the Avatar escape and join his group, vowing to help them in any way you can to win the war. Your fighting skills and knowledge of the Fire Nation makes you a big help and they appreciate your assistance

It doesn’t take long for you to win their trust and acclimate into their group. You become fast friends with everyone, growing especially close to Sokka who may or may not have a huge crush on you

He definitely becomes your shoulder to lean on when things get tough, because he knows it can’t be easy for you to just leave all you’ve ever known behind. you struggle constantly over having to choose the Avatar over your siblings, but he constantly assures you that you’ve made the right choice

Least to say your departure makes Zuko’s return home even more conflicting and turmoil filled. How can he enjoy being back home when you’re not there to enjoy it with him? How could he be happy knowing his sister was out there risking her life to help the Avatar?

Your decision definitely inspires his own to leave the Fire Nation and aid Aang and his friends

Your abandonment of your siblings also fuels Azula’s descent into madness, fueling her fire to continue her mission to capture the Avatar

It’s a rough position you’ve found yourself in, but it’s not like your whole life hasn’t been you stuck in a terrible spot

Being the middle child is hard, especially when your siblings are Zuko and Azula

#melzula writes #request #zuko #azula #sibling!reader #zuko x reader #zuko imagine #zuko x sibling!reader #azula x reader #azula x sibling!reader #atla #atla x reader #atla imagine #atla headcanons #avatar the last airbender

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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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unfriedough · 10 months

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hiii! first of all just wanna say how much i love your writing <3

could i please request a zuko x lightningbender!reader scenario/hc where the reader is a part of the gaang and she used to be best friends with zuko when they were little? and then he joins and they finally catch up after everything? thank you!

‘This doesn't change anything,’- Zuko x female!reader

Masterlist <3

An: yeah i wrote this MANY times before i was happy with it, which is why it took ages IM SO SORRY also THANK YOU <333

Summary:

LIghtning bender reader who is Zuko's former BFF now kinda hates him but he's determined to get on her good side.

Warnings: opening up, insulting eachother.

honestly

It was so awkward

You refused to speak to him if it wasn’t strictly professional

The poor boy tried so hard

When he pleased katara but not u he was so sad

He would try to sit next to you by the campfire to eat and you would just dip

He’d have that sad 🙁 look on his face and the gang would be like “it’s okay man.”

ITS NOT OKAY!!! He couldn’t sleep because he missed u so much and seeing u in person was like, taking a toll on him

He was so entranced by you and your little mannerisms. You’d grown so much and gotten cuter since he last saw you (which he didn’t even think was possible). He especially loved when you played with lighting in your fingers

It was like, when someone else did it it was evil and dangerous, but when you did it it was lovely and cozy

You just had that effect on him

The first time you two were able to speak was when you had taken the reigns on Appa to allow the others to rest. He was stargazing when your voice broke him out of a trance.

“You’re a real pain, you know that Zuko?”

He sat up suddenly, looking at you from his spot. You were leaning back, yawning as you stretched on the mammals fur.

“I mean, you come here, barge into this little group, and expect me to be nice to you. Fire nation royals and their audacity.” You said matter-of-factly, your tone so relaxed, completely going against what you were saying.

“I don’t expect that. I just want you to hear me out.”

“I’ve heard you enough,” he recalled moments where he’d rant for hours on hours to you, and you would lend an unwavering open ear, and inviting open arms.

“Yeah,” he replied sadly, sliding down next to you. You scooted over.

“And what if I pushed you?”

“You wouldn’t,”

“Or would I?” You smirked, “but this time instead of a face full of pool water, you’ll pop like a balloon,” the shrubs reminded you of spikes.

“I’m not sure that’s how human bodies work,” he mumbled playfully.

“Oh what? Just because you went to private school?”

“Yn we went to the same school,” you opened your mouth, before shrugging as you couldn’t think of a response.

He rolled his eyes with a smirk, they landed back on you.

You shivered slightly, you were pretty good at your fire bending, but lacked when it came to warmth. Though you can expel a mean red flame, you can’t regulate your body temperature quite right. Smoothly, he put an arm around you, pulling you closer to him.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Keeping you warm,” Zuko replied, an intense look on his eyes, contrasting the sweet smile playing on his lips.

“Smooth,” you grinned, your brain going fuzzy, then immediatly frowned. “This doesn’t change anything between us.”

He slumped a fraction, almost missable, but you caught it. The fire bender nodded.

He rested his head back on the fur, looking distantly into the stars. From your angle, Zuko’s jaw was sharp, and his side profile was alluring. You couldn’t help but rest your head on him. Contradicting your previous statement- there was something so entrancing about him. Feeling your stare, he met your eyes, a certain- almost unreadable- look behind his irises.

“Then what would?” He asked quietly.

You paused, thinking for a second. “I don’t know,”

He sighed defeatedly, throwing his head back again. “Understandable,”

You remained silent as a response. He clicked his tongue.

“Do you remember,” Zuko paused, as if trying to find the words. “Do you remember love amongst dragons?”

You grinned, “As if I could forget. Lady Ursa took us every time,” you giggled.

You enjoyed the play and all it’s weird quirks, Zuko however, did not. He would complain, and complain, and complain until you'd shushed him harshly when the main characters would share their kiss. He found you annoying, in a weird, endearing way.

He scrunched his nose, “it wasn’t even a good play,”

“Just say you hate love,”

‘Well then I’d be lying,’ he thought.

“I don’t hate love,”

“Oh sorry hate is a strong word. Despise?”

He snorted, “Not that either,”

“Huh. That would mean the spoiled prince actually loved love.”

“Maybe not love. Mildly enjoy.”

“Isn’t that literally the same thing?”

“Depends, I love fruit tarts, I mildly enjoy fire flakes.”

“Hmm.” You pondered, “I love Appa,” you grinned down at the beast, then back up to Zuko, “I mildly enjoy your company.”

A pink dust rose to his cheeks, that sweet smile from earlier returning to grip onto your heart strings, “I’ll take it.” He said quietly.

“I wonder if they still show the play,” you hummed.

“Well, we’ll find out soon enough,” you were on course to the esteemed ember island estate, and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t excited.

“Well then I wonder if they changed the casting,”

“I doubt anyone would wanna partake in that, the ember island players literally suck so bad,”

“Oh c’mon, didn’t you cry that one time when the characters reunited?”

The boy looked like a deer caught in headlights, he was secretly hoping you’d forgotten about it, “It was a sad moment,” he pouted.

You leaned forward and pinched his cheeks, “Sure it was, wittle zuko can’t handle a little sap,” you giggled.

He swatted your hand away, “you’re a bully,” he scoffed.

“Guess that makes the two of us,” you sighed out.

basically, that was what finally made you two start talking

No, the gang didn’t know, you refused to treat him like a human when they were awake. But you softened up when they were asleep.

Zuko will admit he found it odd, but hey, talking in secret is better than no talking right?

He seemed lighter and more open when he started catching up and reliving childhoods with you

It felt like you were finally letting him into your concrete house, despite him having to force his way in at the beginning.

You were surprised when he opened up to you about things he never has with others, fond memories of his mother, even sometimes with his sister or father.

Despite your hatred for him, you couldn’t help but find yourself entranced by the way he spoke. His voice had a certain lull in it, a rasp accenting his words, the same words he struggled to find.

You yourself found it was easier to speak to him than some others, on nights where you both sat vulnerable, only protection being each other's promises.

You confessed to having a small crush on him as kids, shocked to find it used to be reciprocated.

You reminisced on times where you’d tease Zuko, and the times he’d finally stand up for himself against you

When the moon was highest in the sky, the secrets and such came further to light. He admitted he still felt like a bad guy in the end of the day, in his younger days, Zuko had never been the good guy.

You assured him people change, like the tides, like the weather, like the seasons.

(You refrained from mentioning his hair, it seemed like an inappropriate time to make fun of him)

He expressed to you times where he had travelled with his uncle, all their journeys and detours, and you did the same with your gang trips and adventures.

From the little things like Sokka being covered in Appa’s snot, to larger things like injuries and nightmares

Slowly, you turned from two people who tolerate each-other, to two people who actually really love each other.

Of course, NEVER EVER EVER would you admit that, but it was true.

The unfortunate time for the battle came, you took the road with Sokka, Toph and Suki. Assisting them with your lightning wad no easy task, it was exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time. Usually, you’d limit yourself to 3-4 shots a day, by the 10th minute, you were on 12. Your body was shaking and weak, but you pushed on, even though you knew your life was on the line.

After the long and tedious battle with all those soldiers, the sky turned blue, and you knew it was over, you had won the war.

You stumbled to the group, Sokka’s leg was hurt pretty bad and you didn’t want to take the attention off of him. Each step felt like your body was ablaze, and you held back noises of discomfort.

When you’d finally reached the gang, and exchanged hugs with everyone else, you stopped at Zuko. Mumbled, “I still hate you,” and then engulfed him in a hug so tight - you didn’t even know you were capable of it.

Everyone else was in shock at the sight, they were sure you hated him, but oh well, it’s better than hearing you complain again.

While they conversed, you felt yourself begin to lose consciousness.

You rested your head against him, loosening your grip and your vision went dark.

You were out for about 5 minutes before you regained consciousness. You were still in the same position, except by this time, everyone was looking at you concerned. Katara placed her palm on your forehead.

“I’m ok. Just tired.” You mumbled quietly.

You were suddenly aware of how close you were to the fire bender, immediately moving back and laughing nervously. Almost falling if not for Toph pushing you back to your feet.

You could see him deflate slightly.

“Thanks Zuko,” you punctuated it with a forced laugh.

“Yeah it’s cool,” he nodded, frowning.

As you all walked back to Appa, you found that you and him fell behind the group, walking at nearly the same pace.

“How much lightning did you use?”

“Do you think I was getting burned alive and counting?”

He chuckled, “I guess not, but you seem tired,”

“Doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out,”

He smiled at you, nearing to try to assist you in walking. You quickly put a hand up, smiling at him and his cute little frowny face. He tilted his head to the side.

You slipped your hand into his, immediately feeling his body temperature get knocked up a few notches.

After a few more steps, you looked over to Appa as they climbed. Just as no one was looking, you walked up to him, and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

Then took a few steps towards the beast.

“Zuko,” he looked at you from his spot, still dazed, “this still doesn’t change anything between us.”

All the fire bender could do was laugh.

An: HI if u requested im starting soon hopefully <3

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i-lost-my-heart-in-republic-city · 2 months

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Only villains are allowed to be complex in Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender

I had a major issue with the treatment of the original gaang in natla and I think it has to do with character flaws. As in, they don't have any.

In the case of Aang, other characters keep telling him that he can't ignore his responsibilities but when do we ever see him actually do this? When does he seek out distractions to avoid his duties, like penguin sledding, or riding elephant koi, or hiding in a cave? Hell, the reason he gets trapped in the iceberg is changed. In natla he was only going out on a short flight with Appa and gets caught in a storm. In the original he ran away, and it's understandable because he felt alone and out of control of his life. But it is still a choice he makes, to run away from his responsibilities, and he has to deal with the consequences.

In natla there is no choice to run away, it's fully an accident and it takes away his agency as a character. So when Bumi starts blaming him for the war it really rings hollow because it was all an accident. It has more weight when a random fisherman blames him in atla because at least in that version he did make a choice to runaway. Obviously he had no way of knowing what would happen and he never intended to abandon the world to genocide and war. But that's the thing about life, you never know the full consequences of your decisions, and you just have to deal with them when they happen. The war is not Aang's fault, but he did make a bad decision, and it had far reaching consequences. It made Aang's character more relatable and gave him a starting place from which he could grow as a character. He had to learn how to accept responsibility for his actions without blaming himself for the actions of other (i.e. Sozin starting the war).

I feel like in the case of Katara, they stripped her passion and anger. They explored Katara's PTSD but they take away how angry it made her. Anger is a totally normal response to trauma. While letting yourself be consumed by anger is obviously bad, anger can also be channeled into passion and energy to enact positive change. This was a big part of Katara's character in atla, learning how to control her righteous indignation and use it to fight for the rights of other. She has none of that anger here, so there is no character growth and no emotional connection to the character through that arc.

This especially falls flat in her 'feminist arc.' She fights with Pakku but there is no anger, no fire in her. In atla at the end of the fight, even though she was pinned down and had clearly lost, she was still going. She was almost feral. Even though she was worn out, her passion of fighting for what is right still fueled her. She would not give up. So I guess it's fitting natla's unpassionate Katara just falls down at the end of the fight. And they cut out the whole importance of the necklace, which serves as Pakku's realization on how his sexism has negatively impacted his own life. It's this realization that motivates him to reevaluate his beliefs and agree to train Katara. Which needs to happen because having a master's tutelage is what allows her to become a master herself. Alta makes it clear that she excels because of her hard work and determination along with guidance from a mentor. There's none of this in natla. They just start calling Katara a master because 'girlpower' I guess? They certainly don't show how she became so talented. But natla Katara doesn't need help from other people to grow. She's already a master. She's already perfect.

Sokka is also stripped of his flaws as well. Obviously we know he is not sexist in natla. I don't think this is inherently a bad change, but you have to understand how the sexism impacted his character in atla and adjust accordingly. In atla, Sokka's sexism is really the origin of his all his insecurities. He believes there are roles for men and roles for women. Protecting the tribe is a man's job. So when the men go off to fight in the war, he believes he must carry the burden of protecting the tribe as the oldest male. He sets himself up for failure because he places impossible standards on himself. He cannot protect and lead the tribe all by himself, especially not when he is a young child. This leads to him feeling inadequate because he cannot measure up to his own impossible standards or his idealized version of his father (who was an adult and had the support of his tribesmen).

I could still see a way to still adapt atla without the sexism. (For example Hakoda tells Sokka to look after his younger sister. He takes that to an extreme of being overprotective of the whole tribe. And we are back at him failing to met his own impossible expectations again). But natla doesn't do this. Instead it just throws in a flashback of Hakoda saying that Sokka isn't fit to be a warrior. This kind of defeats the purpose of Sokka's own internal conflict about not measuring up to his own unrealistic expectations. Now it's his father's expectation's he doesn't measure up to. This is not a bad story beat in and of itself. It works well with Zuko. But it's not Sokka's character conflict. In alta Sokka's insecurities, internal expectations, and sexism also cause him to lash out at others sometimes. He's not allowed to act so negatively in atla. So again there is no place for him to grow as a character, as he does not have these flaws.

Honestly it seems like they tired to removal all negative character traits from the main characters, which makes them feel more stiff and allows them no room for growth. I really wanted to like this adaptation. And I do think there are some changes they do really well. But those changes are related to the villains and they just drop the ball so hard with our main characters.

#avatar: the last airbender #atla #natla spoilers #natla #aang #katara #sokka

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ivnxrori · 11 days

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When Sun and Moon meet - S2

Zuko x Fem!WaterBender!Reader Enemies to lovers

As one of the Princesses of the Northern Water tribe, you were blessed with a gift by the moon. However you were permitted to be allowed to use the gift at all costs. From many hidden waterbending usages, the aftermath of the avatar visiting the Northern Tribe had led to your beginning journey, hiding yourself as a water bender as a princess from the Northern water tribe

Warnings: none

Masterlist

҉ * ‧͙ ⋆ ⁺ ༓ ☾ Chapter 9 - Tied with the Gaang

I woke up to wind breezing through my hair and a cloudy sky in front of me. Is this another dream? I lifted myself up only to see Katara with her eyes widened. “Y/N!” She hugged me, I confusingly hugged her back making the three look back at us. I recognize two of the three. Aang and Sokka but there was a short girl who appeared to be blind. She wore a green outfit which makes me think she's part of the earth kingdom. “Where…am I?” I asked Katara, pulling back. “We saw you in Lake Laogai, we thought you must've drowned, '' Katara explained. I attempted to recall the moment from yesterday but my brain was still fuzzy. “We saw the chain cuffs around your wrist. What in the world happened to you?” Sokka asked as I tried to put the pieces back together. I remember now…It was a miserable moment. I felt so embarrassed now, my horrible attempt at making everyone happy was the cause of me here. I feel the wave of Deja Vu, this isn't the first time I passed out just to wake up to a flying bison. “I don't remember” I mumbled, lying. Katara nodded and looked at the earthbender “You might not know her but her name is Toph, and earth bender” she pointed at Toph. “Toph, this is Y/N” Katara introduced us as we both awkwardly waved to one another.

“We’re about to land” Aang announced and the next second, we landed on an island.

҉ ☾

“When did you guys find Appa?” I asked. “How did you know Appa was gone?” Katara questioned as I shrugged. “I saw plenty of missing posters around Ba Sing Se so I assume so”.

“Look we escaped from the Dai Li, we got Appa back, i'm telling you we should go to the Earth king now and tell him our plan! We’re on a roll”.

“One good hour after weeks of trouble isn't much of a roll” Katara retorted, moving her hand to rest on her waist. “We can build on it!” Sokka added “What plan are you guys talking about?” I questioned. “The Earth King has no idea that there is a war going on, is getting manipulated but this scary guy and we need him to assist us in the invasion on the eclipse” Sokka explained. I nodded warily, still confused about the manipulation and invasion. “What makes you think we’ll get his support?” Toph asked. “I don't know if you've noticed but things don't usually go that smoothly for our little gang”. They continued discussing whether or not to leave Ba Sing Se or to make peace with the earth king. I was still lost on what they were talking about, I assume they were connected to the attack I had to experience in lake laogai. “But now that we have Appa back there's nothing stopping us from telling the Earth king the truth” Aang flew down from Appa. “See Aang's with me!” Sokka hugged Aang. “Would they even believe you?” I asked curiously. “We just have to try,” Sokka responded. “Well…I guess if the Earth king knew the truth, things could change” Katara put her hand on her chin, leaning towards their plan. “I don't trust the new Sokka, Long Feng brainwashed you! Didn't he?” The earth bender accusingly pointed at Sokka. Us 5 turn around and see the Dai Lee’s ships. “That's the Dai Lee’s ships” I learned to take a closer look. “They’re probably looking for us! So?” Sokka turned for Katara's confirmation. Katara thought for just a moment before agreeing. “Let's fly.”

҉ ☾

“Can we please buy a new saddle? Riding bareback is terrifying!” Toph exclaimed “What even happened to the saddle?” I grip onto Appas coat, squinting my eyes from the impact of the wind. “Long story” Sokka said, hard to make out from the wind. “There it is, the whole thing is the palace, '' Sokka pointed. I maneuver my head to take a better look of the palace. “The earth king's chamber should be at the center.”

“We have to be careful Long Feng probably has warned the kingdom we’re coming” Katara warned

“Why would you assume that?” Sokka questioned

“Why would we not assume that” I retorted “If you ask me, I think we’re just gonna sail rig-” Sokka’s sentence cut off from his own scream from a rock that barely missed us. “What was that?!” Toph yelled out. “Surface to air rocks! More incoming!” I attempted to take a better look at where the surface rocks were coming from, it seems like this place is heavily guarded. I felt the impact of some of the rocks almost hitting us, my heart racing in the process of almost getting hit many times. Aang jumps down to blow away several guards, by the time he was finished Appa landed which was our que to jump down. The guards were lined up on the side, not a single space in between. I pulled out water from the bottle, pulled their legs and threw them as far as I could. Katara used a more gentler approach yelling out sorry’s many times. Somewhat made me feel like I was the bad cop but oh well. Toph was able to topple many guards over by rock slabs, allowing us to make our way closer to the palace. Katara went first across the bridge, me following behind her. She was able to push all the guards in the water under the bridge which enabled me to ice the water keeping them stuck. I jumped over the river making my way towards the long range of stairs. More guards appeared, charging at us down the stairs. However Toph was able to turn the stairs into slabs making them slide down. A block carved out beneath us was able to escort us up the slabs, letting us have a clear view of all the soldiers falling which was quite funny. “Seriously, we’re actually on your guys side!” Sokka yelled, as if that's going to change their minds. He winced looking down at the soldiers falling “Sorry…” We managed to get in the building with Toph’s and Aang’s major support with earth bending. “Toph! Which way to the earth king?” Sokka asked looking around “How should I know? I'm still voting we leave Ba Sing Se” Toph retorted, pushing away the guards. “Sokka, you look at that side while I look at the other” I pointed to the other side as Sokka nodded, both of us splitting ways. After the defeat of the guards, behind the mess there was a huge door which screams royalty. “The king is definitely in there” I pointed behind the mess. “Now that's an impressive door” Sokka ran towards the door attempting to kick it open but to no avail. Aang helped with his airbending and was able to break down the door, making Sokka fly through. “A little warning next time!”

We ran towards the king, with our weapons drawn out. Even with everything going on, I still don't understand. I also don't understand how I managed to even get in this position. “We need to talk to you!” Aang spoke up. “They’re here to overthrow you” The guy, with the same mustache, hair and deep voice. My eyes widened, that was the same guy who attempted to trap me in the underwater…thing? “No! We’re on your side. We’re here to help.” Sokka attempted to convince the king. “You have to trust us.” Katara added. “You invade my palace, lay waste to all my guards, break down my fancy door, and you expect me to trust you?” The Earth king spat. “He has a good point,” Toph agreed. I shrugged “Your guards didn't even try to hear us out.”

“If you’re on my side, then drop your weapons and stand down”. The king said out loud. I hesitated and looked around seeing the others doing the same thing. Silently agreeing to drop our weapons once Aang did it first. “See, we’re friends, your earthiness” Aang held his hands up in defense, awkwardly chuckling. I internally face palmed at what he said, ‘Earthiness’? Seriously? My thoughts were put in a halt by the earth benders handcuffing our hands by their earth bending. “Hey we dropped our weapons!” I spat. “Detain the assailants” He ordered, the guards slid in and surrounded us, every gap covered. I grumble in irritation. “We’re your allies!” Sokka tried to convince the king.

“Make sure the Avatar and his friends never see daylight again” The king turned his head towards his assistant in shock. “The Avatar? You’re the Avatar?” He pointed towards Sokka in disbelief. Sokka deadpanned “Uh, no, him” He pointed to Aang with his head. “Over here!” Aang joyfully said as if he wasn't getting arrested, the rocks which were supposed to be cuffed around him floated around his hands once he raised his arms, locking back down when he put his arms back around his back.

“What does it matter, your highness? They’re enemies of the state”

“Perhaps you're right…” No longer, a bear came feeling interested in Aang, happily licking him as he giggled. “Though Bosco seems to like him. I’ll hear what he has to say” The King said, making Long Feng glare in irritation. Aang goes on explaining what has been going on for 100 years, which is unbelievable that he even had to explain it. After trying to convince the king that we’re on his side, to the point we had to bring Appa out to prove a point he agreed to looking into the matters. Which made all of our previous disappointment into an awkward contentment.

“Dai Li, arrest Long Feng. I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom” The Earth King announced to his guards, taking Long Feng away. Finally, after much effort we managed to prove our innocence and our rights. Going to a public transport train only to find the underground base destroyed, then riding on Appa anxiously without a saddle to see the drill that the fire nation drilled into the walls of Ba Sing Se. I was even shocked myself not knowing any of this, it must have been Zuko’s doing. I was stupid enough to give him the benefit of the doubt for some reason. “Looks like Long Feng is Long gone Ha!” Sokka joked wiping his invisible tears humoredly “Oh, yeah, I've been waitin’ to use that one”

҉ ☾

After officially getting the Earth Kings support in the invasion, we went to Long Feng’s previous office who had been holding letters from everyone out of Ba Sing Se. I wasn't expecting a letter till I heard my name called “Princess Y/N”. I flinched hearing my name and hesitantly grabbing the scroll. I unrolled it immediately checking who it was from…it was from my father.

Dear Y/N,

This letter is not just from your Father and Sivoy but from the whole Nother Water tribe. We dearly miss you in the water tribe however we love you enough to accept whatever you do. Everything in the northern water tribe is perfectly fine, don't worry about us. We planned to help our sister tribe which I know you’ll be happy to hear. We wish you a peaceful, happy and safe adventure Princess Y/N and everyone in the tribe appreciates you very much, make sure you come back safe and once you do we’ll hold a memorable feast. Whatever you do Y/N, don't give up.

From Father, Sivoy, Northern water tribe.

I smiled softly from the letter, I wouldn't have ever received it if I had drowned. Spirits…how immature I am, leaving the whole tribe in guilt. I couldn't even imagine it, nor do I want to. Luckily I finally retrieved this letter which was very difficult and I was thoroughly satisfied. However the last sentence gave me chills down my spine, I swear I have heard it before… Oh well, I'll focus on it later.

“Y/N who is it from?” Katara asked as I smiled joyfully. “My family”

҉ ☾

“I’ll stay with Katara in Ba Sing Se” I said, planning to join Katara. “Are you sure? Don’t you want to see your family in the Northern water tribe?” Aang asked as I shook my head. “I'm not ready, I’ll for sure see them another day” I smiled. Katara hugged me “I have another girl to join me!” she squealed “No offense Toph” She said sheepishly. “None taken” Toph put his hands up as I chuckled.

“I’m really gonna miss you guys” Toph said sadly.

“Me too” “Yeah”

Katara and Aang embraced Toph in a hug. Sokka and I stood aside awkwardly. I havent met them long enough to consider me as a friend. Until I felt a warm embrace squishing me into a hug. “Great! That's enough! Okayyy we love each other” He patted Katara and Aang’s head. I laughed breathily and embraced them back. “Y/N you're planning to come with us on our journey right?” Katara asked. I felt a silent plea with all of them making it harder to say no. “If you guys want…i'll come along” I said, making them cheer and laugh in glee. Katara, Toph and I waved off Sokka, Aang and Appa on their journey. I silently wished they would come back safely. “Get back safe Toph” Katara and I said out loud waving to Toph who was leaving. “I will!” Toph yelled back, waving. “Let's go back to the Earth Palace, they want us there” Katara said, initiating me to follow which I did. However I felt a wave of uneasiness hit me, is everything going to be alright?

<- Back - Next ->

a/n: WOOO new chapter! Yesterday was my birthday so I was plannig on posting it I just wanted to celebrate my birthday. Hope yall enjoy this chapter, I know there is like no zuko but I promise he will come, I just wanted the character to be part of the adventure instead of just plotting them down Take care of yourself nad have a nice day :)

taglist: @luvkvni @katovano @karmaswitch @someonesmember @velvet-spider @sh3sa1dwhat @nerdisthenewcool @meiraloves2dmen @fqnfics101 @iluvme547 @leaderwon @yukihatesreoyo @heart4hees @4l3x1s @kkissaku @corpsebridenightamare @newjellis @fatkish@pbeckn26@jasminesacademia @kyo-kyo1

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quillthrillswriting · 12 days

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the gaang...as an indie rock band....? kataang, where aang's only way of confessing his feelings is by writing katara a love song....? 😏

💳💥💳💥💳💥💳💥

i present to you, excerpts from my new one-shot: Well, My (Not-Yet) Boyfriend's In A Band

⋆---––——––---⋆ ⋆ ---––——––------––——––--- ⋆ ⋆ ---––——––--- ⋆

Aang winced, shielding himself with his drumsticks as he walked into Sokka and Katara’s garage almost a full half-hour later than their agreed-upon rehearsal time, as if the two thin pieces of wood could protect him from the combined side-eye of his friends. Even Toph, who regularly rolled in ages after rehearsal had started with a tea in her hand from Uncle Iroh’s, was shooting him a glare, which is how Aang knew he’d really messed up. He ducked his head into the entranceway, silently cursing himself for being just a bit too tall for the garage doorway.

Katara shifted from her position against the opposing doorframe, where she had been judgmentally leaning as she echoed the look in Toph’s eyes. “Aang…”

He threw up his hands in preemptive defence, words tumbling one after the other from his mouth. “I know! I know, I know I’m late,” he tugged his high-top converse off awkwardly, stashing his skateboard in the usual crevice he leaned it against. “But I swear, it’s for a good reason.”

“It better be,” Toph scoffed. “I blew off homework to come here.”

“Toph, you wouldn't have done the homework either way.”

⋆---––——––---⋆ ⋆ ---––——––------––——––--- ⋆ ⋆ ---––——––--- ⋆

“I can feel you glaring at me, Zuko.” Toph smirked, then turned back to Aang. “You’ve been rustling around in your pockets for a while now, you sure you’re not stalling for a good reason on why you were late?”

“It is a good reason. Look!” Aang finally managed to tug out the crumpled piece of paper from his cargo pocket, unfurling it for Toph to see.

Silence filled the room, and then, in a tone laced so much with sarcasm that it was hard to tell when the tone stopped and the sarcasm began, Toph said flatly. “Well, it sounds like a piece of paper, but I assume you’re referring to what’s on the paper. Way to taunt a blind girl, Aang.”

“I-I didn’t mean, I-” Aang stuttered awkwardly, his cheeks flushing an embarrassed shade of pink.

⋆---––——––---⋆ ⋆ ---––——––------––——––--- ⋆ ⋆ ---––——––--- ⋆

“The only problem,” Aang added, “Is that the songs can’t be covers. We have to write something original. The idea of the music festival is to spotlight new young voices in indie rock.”

The others exchanged sidelong glances. “I’m sure that we can write something.” Sokka said with finality. “How hard can it be?”

Hours later, Sokka was sprawled on the couch, head stuffed between the dove grey cushions as he groaned at their utter lack of progress. Katara was perched on the arm of the couch, biting her lip as she tried to run through lyric ideas in her mind. Toph was (very un-subtly) preparing for a nap, curled up in the room’s vintage armchair, while Zuko paced with a hand on his chin, lost in thought.

Unsurprisingly, the five of them had discovered that writing original music does, in fact, require both skill and inspiration, something none of them felt they had at the moment.

⋆---––——––---⋆ ⋆ ---––——––------––——––--- ⋆ ⋆ ---––——––--- ⋆

“What about a love song?” Zuko suggested.

“Ick, oogies!” Sokka yelped from his position next to the mini fridge as he pulled out a pair of sodas. He moved as though he was going to throw one to Toph, then thought better of it and just gently placed it next to her as he sat.

“You have a girlfriend, Sokka.” Zuko pointed out as Sokka settled next to him.

⋆---––——––---⋆ ⋆ ---––——––------––——––--- ⋆ ⋆ ---––——––--- ⋆

“Aang, this is, this is great!”

“I like it.” Zuko nodded.

“Would someone please put text-to-speech on?”

“Let me read it out loud.” Sokka said, apologetically. “My bad, Toph."

♥ check out the (completed) fic & my ao3 here! ->

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kyshiwarrior · 2 months

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WORD VOMIT RE: Jet's attitude towards his decisions.

another reason i wanna kiss whoever wrote and directed jet's episode is the fact in the cartoon, jet was absolutely hyped about blowing up the dam and knew deep down it was bad because he shielded the gaang from it even if he was upfront with the freedom fighters and confirming with the duke that innocents would die but thats the price --- but still later smiling and saying theyre going to have a great victory over the fire nation after sokka is taken away.

in the liveaction, the cockiness jet has is when he's amused the gaang thinks they're slick for trying to sneak in, when he's helping them sneak in because he thinks its amusing and a helping hand, and the face of a threat: when the fire benders are found waiting for him in the forest to kill him for spying on them and hes ready to fight them back. Then, he's smiling at the camp when he's announcing who they are and what their goal is: freedom and protecting their home because no one else has their back.

Outside of this, Jet is very somber and expresses a lot of stress. For example, when he stops Katara from making herself known too early when Sai is talking to the spy then when Katara confronts him. What really stood out to me was when Katara walked up and Smellerbee was exchanging a look with him. They both looked really stressed and uncomfortable before she even came around the corner, but then especially. The look Smellerbee gave to Jet really said a thousand words, like they've been having a lot of discussions about involving her in their mission and an almost 'I told you so.' (sidenote: they did a wonderful job with nonverbals). Jet immediately puts his foot down about it not being the time then also not denying what he was doing when confronted. When he explains why he’s doing it, even as he smiles a little when saying they know how to take out the trash, its spoken with so much ire because he’s doing what he feels he needs to — and it hurts its your own people that let you down. He smiles because he’s in pain and overall feeling of ‘This is what happens when these people think they could get away with it. They have us to reckon with.’

What was significant to me was the lack of ego. This was someone who had full understanding that what he was doing wasn't something to boast about, but a building frustration tying with "IF NOT US, WHO?" What Katara didn't understand was the difference between herself and Jet, what defines being 'the good guy.' Jet was someone so acutely aware of his lack of privileges and the fear that drives the 'hard decisions' for the sake of collective. Hard decisions that put the very people you're trying to protect at risk because they were in the wrong place and the wrong time, but more would be at risk if they didn't act immediately. It's ugly, messy, imperfect -- and Jet is aware. He is not excited about any of this. Instead, he's pissed he feels he has no other choice because no adult after his parents did anything to help him. So it's all up to him, to him. ((cartoon implied these attitudes but I still spent years trying to get it through jet anti’s heads ))

And assassinating a KING and almost effortlessly succeeding is ... quite something. Impulsive, but pretty impressive. Sad, too, that it would be so easy. Everything Jet had to say about Bumi in this universe was true. Bumi lost his nerve, he was surrounded in privilege, he wasn't doing anything to really stop the corruption, and he fell into despair. Sure, Aang got through to him. Sure, Sai changed his ways and drew away from his treason with risk following. Sure. But we know what's going to inevitably happen, unless they decide to change it: Bumi happily lets Omashu get overtaken by the Fire Nation and orders all his guards to "do nothing" without any explanation. We better see Jet in Season 2 talk about his perspective here because the changes they did have me buzzing with theories. He would be livid and seemingly 100% right about King Bumi. ((Unfortunately, he is also destined to die before finding out about Bumi's plans to take Omashu back the day of the solar eclipse, but it doesn't matter because Jet would not have forgiven him for that terror.))

Anyway, they did a great job humanizing him while making him a foil to her. In the original, Jet was Sokka's foil, but I think it works so well to make him Katara's -- as they both become the most vocal and impulsive social justice activists. So seeing them fight and discuss what it meant to be a 'traitor' and 'unforgivable' was fascinating. They were actually able to have two separate discussions on the matter -- one where Katara confronted Jet to call him a traitor and when Jet confronted Katara to call her one in return.

I love how in the original, Sokka was able to prove he is a good leader in his own way by showing empathy for all and not willing to risk innocent lives ever, which gets Aang and Katara's respect after so much ridicule and comparisons. In contrast, I also love how they decided to go an alternate route because with Jet's impact on Katara that had such a lasting impression, this change did their dynamic justice. It sets up season 2 very well in how they'll engage with each other again.

I also love how Katara is able to reflect on Jet with criticism, but also understanding and a moment of gratitude. It feels a lot better than his simple flattery followed with manipulating her for her powers, and audiences feeling unsure how much of his flirting was genuine. Mind you, helps her story and establishes trust issues around being used (factors into her other plotlines), but it's such a disservice to Jet in return. I'm a big advocate of 'you don't have to completely demonize and ruin a character for the sake of uplifting another, the other should be able to stand on their own.'

#jet natla #jet atla #rant cw #lets see if this makes sense #natla #idk im just obsessed with the changes done to jet #his character is something i can discuss forever #natla spoilers #the anakin vibes too were uncanny #katara #natla katara

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waterfire1848 · 8 months

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Prompt idea based on your soulmate AU where people are tied to the wrist once they meet their soulmate, and they stay tied until both (or more) parties admit their feelings.

In this au idea, Zuko is tied to Sokka. Which makes capturing the Avatar an awkward affair. This helps to (gradually) jumpstart the Zuko redemption arc. But neither Zuko or Sokka admit their feelings and they remain tied together up to book 2 (or longer)

Aang and Katara were also tied together but they admitted their feeling early on. Perhaps after the Jet affair?

Then once we get Azula’s introduction in book 2 in Omashu and later during the chase, Azula Mocks/laughs at Zuko for still being tied to his soulmate. Azula keeps laughing until she gets closer to Aang and Katara. The two parties exchanging bending attacks.

Azula’s laughter is abruptly put to a stop when a cosmic force bring her, Aang, and Katara closer together and ties all three of their wrist together (or reties them to each other and ties to the scary but pretty fire princess in the case of Katara and and Aang).

All three are of course dumbfounded. Simply staring at one another with wide eyes. Azula for her part can’t believe that she not only has two soulmates, but one of them is the Avatar (that she should either be capturing or slaying). While the other is a (admittedly pretty) peasant water bender. Any plans she had to either get her brother back home, win the war for the fire nation, or gain her lord fathers approval has been put to a sudden deafening halt.

For his part? Now it’s Zuko’s to turn to laugh uncontrollably and mock his sister for still being tied to her soulmate(s).

How do you think canon would evolve from here?

Thanks for the ask!

Ohhhhhhhh. I really like this idea!

Hmmmm...

For one, Zuko would never stop laughing. Not only is his sister how tied to her soulmates but she's tied to two of them. Katara is on one side and Aang is one the other. Firebending for Zuko is hard now that he has someone chained to his right hand but it becomes impossible for Azula. The only techniques she'd be able to do are firebreathing and smaller firebending moves.

Azula can't exactly go back to her camp with the Avatar and a waterbender being declared as her soulmates, so she'd forced to go with them. I think she would say that they have to go get Mai and Ty Lee though (Mai would definitely laugh a little when she sees Azula cuffed to Aang and Katara while Ty Lee would think it's sweet).

Aang runs into a bit of an issue because it's hard to earthbend when you only have one hand and your soulmate is tied to your other one and constantly messing you up.

Zuko and Sokka have already had a season and a half to work together and know how to operate. They might not be 100% ready to confess but they can function just fine while handcuffed. I imagine Iroh would be with the Gaang and helped Zukka, but he'd definitely have some words for his niece about how thing is a good thing.

Whenever I have Iroh with the Gaang, I like to think that the library and Appa being taken don't happen because Iroh is going to have a map of the Fire Nation and he'd know about the eclipse (I think), but you could go either way here. It would be a sweet moment to have Aang and Katara protect Azula from Wan Shi Tong, who wouldn't want any more Fire Nationals in his library.

Azula, Katara and Aang being a couple would be very interesting. Katara notices Azula’s nails dig into Appa’s saddle when they first take off so she offers her a reassuring smile and starts talking to her to calm her down. Azula and Katara talking about their mother. Aang making spicy food for Azula because she misses it from the Fire Nation. And, of course, the nightmare and comfort content for all three of them.

Ba Sing Se would be when Zuko and Sokka confess. It could be during one of their tales or during the final battle, but they confess in Ba Sing Se. Azula is no where near being ready to confess by the time of Ba Sing Se.

The only thing is that I don’t know how in denial Azula would be. She’s literally tied to her soulmates but I don’t know how willing she’d be to give up pleasing her father and it’s not like she can conquer Ba Sing Se with Katara and Aang attached to her.

This all being said, Toph, Ty Lee and Mai are loving this show.

#ask #soulmate’s tied together AU #azula #katara #zuko #sokka #aang #ty Lee #Mai #toph beifong #avatar the last airbender #zukka #Azulaang #azutara

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cncozutarapoto · 2 months

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fun. x ATLA

Idk if anyone else in the fandom listens to fun., but I'm a big fan of pretty much the whole Some Nights album. I was listening to it last week (yes, even the Some Nights - Intro, which I don't vibe with) because it was speaking to me in terms of ATLA characters (certain songs reminded me of certain characters).

"But Turtle, Nate Reuss wasn't focused on ATLA when he was writing this album"

Ok, and? I'm gonna have some fun with this!

So here's each song and the character I think it fits (not all are exact fits & not every song is included, but most are)

1. Some Nights - Sokka

"This is it, boys, this is war/what are we waiting for?" feels very Sokka to me, especially since he considers himself a warrior and is the protector of Wolf Cove after Hakoda and the other men leave to fight the fire nation. Also "I still see your ghost" could reference Kya, but more likely Yue, since Sokka says that he sees Katara's face when he tries to remember his mother. The line about the martyr reminded me of Suki. Ok also the "miss my mom and dad for this" line?? Come on. Ok BUT "my heart is breaking for my sister and the con she called love/and then I look into my nephew's eyes" is just SCREAMING a Zutara or Kataang fic of some sort. Come on, right?? It's just begging to be written. Overall, this is very existential crisis-Sokka to me.

2. We Are Young - Katara

Ok so I wasn't fully sure what song to give Katara and it just didn't feel right to leave her out so I deadass just gave her this one like 5 minutes ago, but it still works. It would also be AU-based, but hear me out. I'm assuming y'all are most likely to know this song out of all of them. So Katara's at a bar after breaking up with her boyfriend (Aang) and the Gaang's all here. "My seat's been taken by some sunglasses askin' bout a scar" would be Zuko asking about the scars on Katara's hands that she couldn't fully heal after Aang's firebending accident. "But between the drinks and subtle things/the holes in my apologies/you know I'm trying hard to take it back" feels very Aang to me, especially since he's immature. Then right after, I feel like it switches to a more Zutara vibe for most of the song. Also "the moon is on my side/I have no reason to run" with Katara is such a sick combo omg.

3. Carry On - Zuko

The lyrics are very angsty. "You swore and said we are not/we are not shining stars/this I know, I never said we are" feels like a very Zuko & Iroh interaction to me. And also "though I've never been through hell like that/I've closed enough windows to know you can never look back" !!!! Like that feels very Season 3 Zuko to me. Also, no matter what, Zuko is forced to carry on, whether it's with Ozai, Azula, the Gaang... Although don't get me wrong, Zuko does take back his destiny, but I'm referring more to how he can't give up. Also Ursa tells Zuko and he later says how he struggles and fights, even though it's hard. "And we talked and talked about how our parents will die/all our neighbors and wives" Zuko is very familiar with the concept of mortality, he nearly died and he loses his mother at a young age. I'm sure he worries about when Iroh will die, as well as his friends. I feel like Zuko has a line about people leaving him, but I can't find it. Ok next point "and it's nice to know when I was left for dead/I was found and now I don't roam these streets/I am not the ghost you are to me" is very reminiscent of Zuko's relationship (or lack thereof) with Ozai. Also "may your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground" feels like a very Iroh line. Last point, "on our darkest day, when we're miles away/so we'll come and we'll find our way home" is very reminiscent of Zuko's redemption arc and how he returns home and retakes his place in the line of succession and becomes Fire Lord.

4. It Gets Better - Katara?

Honestly the "yes, I know it hurts at first/but it gets better" reminds me a lot of Katara. I also liked the line about fire in the sky and snow on the ground. Not too much else to say.

5. All Alone - Mai

I really encourage you guys to listen to this song, it was really interesting. The lyrics reminded me of Maiko, especially how Mai seems to not care about anything. The girl's voice reminded me a lot of Mai throughout the series, especially her interactions with Zuko. "I gave her to you/I don't need a toy/I thought you might appreciate it/I don't like the way it moves" reminds me of their interaction when Zuko tries to give Mai the shell on Ember Island. "How do you cry with inanimate eyes/you're never gonna smile/with the way that you're wired" also reminded me a lot of Mai's character throughout the series.

(I really like All Alright, but wasn't sure who it would fit well with)

6. One Foot - Toph

"I put one foot in front of the other" is very Toph, she is a fighter first and foremost. "I don't need a new love or a new life" also feels very her, Toph doesn't care as much about the more material things compared to the rest of the Gaang. I'm sure there's more that can be said about this connection, but I didn't really vibe with the song so much. Sorry Toph.

7. Out on the Town - Aang

Okay, Aang fans, I'm asking you to stick with me here. "Cause I know I'll never take the time/to unpack my missteps and call all of our friends" feels very much like season 3 Aang, where he doesn't face consequences for his actions and Bryke kinda places him on this pedestal of sorts. Also, this is a kataang breakup song to me. The chorus really feels like Aang to me, putting his feelings before those of other people, causing a scene, there being consequences (that he somehow gets out of, but that's not today's discussion). "But I'm waiting for the day you come back and say/'hey maybe I should change my mind'" reminds me of the first 2 times Aang kisses Katara and how he expects her to change her mind on how she feels about him. Also the repetition of "open up your heart".

Overall, I found the entire album to be very Zuko-coded.

If you read this far, I appreciate you!

#atla #fun.#sokka #katara #zuko #mai #toph #aang #zutara #fun #nate reuss #some nights

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zvtara-was-never-canon · 6 months

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What makes you think Azula was lying about hurting Suki? She took her clothes and somehow knew Sokka was her boyfriend and already traumatized about losing his first love

I mean, the episode itself basically screamed "AZULA IS LYING! SHE'S A LYING LIAR WHO LIES!" during that scene was a pretty good hint. She was fighting the Gaang to prevent them from going to finding her father before firebending came back, "warned" them about a trap waiting for them where Ozai was (which we know was bullshit), and only then does she suddenly go "By the way I have your girlfriend as my prisoner and she thinks you failed her!" to hurt Sokka - aka the one who was telling Aang and Toph to just ignore everything she said.

We literally see a few episodes later, and sure, she's in prison, but she's clearly not hurt. And more importantly, during their escape, when Suki says this is a rematch she had been waiting for, she is focused on TY LEE and on not letting her hit her once - which could suggest Ty Lee was the one to take down all the Kyoshi Warriors, with Chi blocking, like she did with the Terra Team in Ba Sing Se.

If Azula had done anything beyond just capturing and maybe taunting her over the defeat, don't you think Suki would have wanted to at least punch her in the face or something? Hell, she's more mad at Zuko than at Azula, since he burned her village.

Not to mention, Sokka taunted her in Ember Island Players over losing to Azula, and Suki just looks bothered by the mention of the defeat, not like she's reliving some terrible trauma. The writers could be insentitive at times, but I think even they wouldn't do something like "This character was tortured/raped in prison and her boyfriend makes fun of her for it."

As for Azula knowing Sokka and Suki were a thing, he LITERALLY told Ty Lee about it at the end of season 2, when she's trying to flirt with him. Plus I can totally see Suki going "My boyfriend is friends with the Avatar, and they'll kick your ass and save me" after her defeat.

(Seriously guys, "Dude that is friends with the Avatar and openly supports him is dating the leader of a group of warriors that also supports the Avatar openly" is not exactly top secret information that Azula would need to torture people to find out about).

Also I don't think she show is implying she knows about Yue and how much it affected Sokka. There's a literal war going on for longer than Azula has been alive, Sokka's home was one of the areas the Fire Nation attacked the most, and he has been traveling the world for months, meeting a ton of new people - it's practically mathematically garanteed that he lost someone at some point. Plus "I captured someone you care about and they lost all hope" is the kind of shit that would upset ANYONE, even if they never lost someone before that.

As for the whole "Azula stole her clothes" thing: The Northern Water Tribe stole clothes and armor of Fire Nation soldiers and the Gaang did the same thing in book 3, and Zuko was also made to wear inmate uniform like Suki. "This character had to take this off at some point" does not mean "They were abused while changing clothes."

For fucks sake people, we see Hakoda humiliate the warden and only be sent to his sell, we see guards mocking Sokka for wanting to beat up a prisoner (who just happened to be the traitor prince) as they see that as "new guy trying too hard" aka that's not something that usually happens in the boiling rock, and even the cooler is a punishment for picking up a fight not a place to throw prisoners in randomly. The ONE torture session we see in the boiling rock happens because an escape plan was discovered - and AZULA was the one to stop it, before she even knew what the hell was going on.

("But she visited Suki in the comics and it was implied that Suki was being starved!" Retcons don't fucking matter, we literally see in the show that Suki was fine, just sad to be imprisoned and away from everyone she knew. She was not tortured.)

Azula is no saint, but this "theory" that she tortured or raped Suki is nothing but fans being oddly fixated on the idea of this kids show secretly being Game Of Thrones.

#azula meta #azula did not torture suki #azula did not rape suki

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rotationalsymmetry · 17 days

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Gonna write a bit of ATLA meta about Uncle Iroh.

Since I saw a post that rubbed me the wrong way, but in the opposite of the way posts about Iroh usually rub me the wrong way, so I'll need a bit of a lead up to explain why both approaches are wrong. Spoilers ahead.

When people look back on a story, they tend to compress it in their minds, as though everything happened all at once. People have a static image of Camelot that includes both Merlin and Lancelot, even though they were never both at Camelot at the same time.

And I think when people look back at Avatar: The Last Airbender, they look at it knowing that Zuko joins the Gaang in the end, and knowing that, they forget how Zuko looks and what Zuko does at the start of the story. Because Zuko is a pretty unambiguous classic cartoon villain at the start of the story.

He's substantially more powerful than the protagonists (look at how easily he bats Sokka out of the way.) His goals are in direct opposition to the protagonists' goals, and if he is successful it will be disastrous to both them and the world. And like most cartoon villains, he's personally a dick: he's constantly angry/impatient, he lashes out, his introduction isn't quite like Azula's where she tells the ship's captain that she expects him to be more afraid of her than the tides, but he does treat the lives of his crew as disposable in an early episode, when there's a storm. (He gets better at the end of the episode, call that foreshadowing.) He's even got a scar on his face, in the long tradition of physically disfigured villains.

And once you've watched the whole show once, sure, it's hard to see him that way. And you can point to some signs that he was going to come around -- he didn't kill anyone (that we know of), when Aang let himself be captured in exchange for Zuko leaving the village alone, he did leave it alone, rather than backing out on his promise once he could. But so what? Plenty of unrepentant villains have a sense of honor and will keep their word, makes for interesting stories.

The point I'm trying to make is: there is only so much one show can do, only so much story they can get in to one story. And in that finite amount of story, they spent a TON of time showing the audience that no matter how much of a villain someone looks to be at first, that villain is still a person.

And they also spend a lot of time showing other people are people. Random Earth Kingdom civilians like Haru. Random Earth Kingdom guerilla fighters like Jet. When we get to the Northern Water Tribe, we find a bunch of people who are just people: old men who are set in their misogynistic ways but maybe can be coaxed into changing, young men who are kind of jerks (but who still don't deserve to die at the hands of an invasive force), young women torn between their own desires and their sense of duty, people people people. And when we get flashbacks to the Air Nomads, they're people: some more serious, some more fun and flighty, just people. And when we get to the Fire Nation, they're just people.

So let's look at the rest of the Fire Nation royal family. Azula's a sympathetic villain: she's scary, she's dangerous, she does appalling things, we see her suffering and the show gives us enough information about her and her family's dynamics, the way their father played them off against each other, to see why she did what she did. Azula ends the story in a situation similar to the one where Zuko is at the start: Zuko starts having lost everything and nearly everyone who ever mattered to him; Azula ends having lost everything and everyone. And we don't see that with Ozai, all we get of a potentially softer side of Ozai is a picture of him as a small child, but it's a short story and there's only so much time and it's not really about Ozai, and surely we can infer that there is something like Azula's story in his, something going on where to him his actions made sense.

Something going on where if you had Ozai's life, his background, his circumstances, his worldview, maybe you would act the same.

What I mean is, Zuko did not become a person because he stopped being a villain. His personhood was there when he was a villain, and was still there when he joined the heroes. And Azula's personhood and her villainhood can coexist. And Ozai's villainhood and personhood, with a little extrapolation, can coexist.

And Iroh. The Dragon of the West, the general of the great siege of Ba Sing Se. He's one person. He doesn't need to be split, either you ignore the harm he did or you decide that the harm he did means he must suffer for it, must be punished for it. He can be a person, and a person who did harm, and a person who did harm for reasons that made sense to him at the time, this is all one thing, it is all there in the story, not all of it is there for Iroh because it is not Iroh's story, but if you look at Zuko's story and Azula's and Chit Sang (guy at the boiling rock they tried to escape with) and Jet and Jeong Jeong and Hama and Yon Rha and Hei Bai, and how things went down with Aang in the Avatar Day episode (ie the town that wanted to punish him for a very old murder that the Avatar did, and they were in the wrong for that even though the Avatar did kill the person they said the Avatar killed) and what happened in The Great Divide (ie that ultimately it didn't matter who was at fault) it's all there in other parts of the story, you can extrapolate.

Iroh doesn't need to be punished, not by anyone else and not by himself in the form of feeling agonized over the harm he caused (much as I love angst in fiction.) Nobody needs to be punished; suffering is bad, causing more suffering does not make other people's suffering less. And he doesn't need to be innocent and pure to not deserve punishment. He's not innocent. He did a lot of harm. We can infer that he caused that harm for reasons that made sense to him at the time, whether they make sense to him in retrospect or not and whether he actually did have better options under the circumstances, which he may well not have. We're all people. We're all people. We're all people.

Like it or not, agree with it or not, ATLA is about forgiveness, about not seeking revenge, about not increasing the amount of suffering in the world by taking an eye for an eye. The story did not punish Zuko for having started on the wrong side, even though he started out as a stereotypical cartoon villain and he would have caused unspeakable devastation to the world if he'd succeeded at his initial goal. And it would not punish Iroh for what he did. And anyone looking for either a way to completely exonerate Iroh -- pretend he has never done anything harmful in his life -- or to criticize the show for not having him punished for his wrongdoing, has completely missed the central theme of the show.

Which is not separate from any imperialism/colonialism is bad messaging you want to draw from it. The show is not claiming colonialism is bad because it sides specifically with the Water Tribe or with everyone-but-the-Fire-Nation. It's against colonialism because...colonialism is bad...for people. Who have inherent value, whose lives have inherent value, whose lives do not stop having inherent value when they harm other people. It's one message.

#atla meta #zuko #uncle iroh #atla spoilers #here I am being a pacifist on main again #aang's refusal to take Ozai's life was not tacked on at the end #it's consistent theming throughout

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zutaras-where-its-at · 7 months

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One word prompt: Delicate

aang….won’t take it well.

she already knows this, but somehow, the walk to her best friend’s room still feels like a walk to her own execution.

the western air temple is large, vacant, and terribly difficult to find if you aren’t sure what you’re looking for. so it’s perfect for their annual gaang reunions. normally, katara enjoys the temple’s serene atmosphere and peaceful ambiance, but now? she just wishes it wasn’t so damn quiet.

aang’s door is already cracked open like an ominous invitation. she does him the courtesy of knocking anyways.

“come in.”

he’s sitting at his desk penning some official avatar document or other.

“homework?” she teases lightly to mask her unease.

“oh you know, just a bunch of old guys asking for my advice. same as usual.” he scribbles one last line, then sets the brush down and turns to give her his full attention.

those wide grey eyes always seem to strike a familiar, tender chord in her, and she swallows thickly around her guilt. it’s the same guilt she felt when she’d broken up with him all those years ago. for a moment, she contemplates faking a laugh and chickening out, but remembers how he’d appreciated her honesty before (no matter how painful) and opts to rip the bandaid off as gently as she can.

“i wanted to talk to you about something,” she says. “something serious.”

he blinks, nods, and slides off his chair to sit cross legged on the floor. she sits across from him and takes a deep breath.

“it’s…look,” she struggles to find the right words, despite having thought this through a million times already. she tries again, “first, i want you to know that i love you, very much. the last thing i want to do is hurt you, or make you feel uncomfortable.”

aang just nods again, ever-patient. “i appreciate that.”

katara wrings her hands subconsciously, feeling sick to her stomach, but she forces herself to look him in the eye. “i’ll understand if you’re upset or if you need some space. but this is really important to me, and i don’t want it to come from anyone else.”

“okay.”

“okay…”

his cherubim face has filled out since their childhood days—cheekbones angled and jaw covered in light stubble. she doesn’t think she can do this. she doesn’t think he can handle—

“is this about you and zuko?”

katara nearly chokes, teeth accidentally biting into her cheek hard enough to bleed. “huh?”

aang only scratches the back of his head in a gesture so boyish she could swear she sees a glimpse of his past self. “well, you know. you and zuko. dating.”

she splutters. “how—who told you?”

he gives her a dry look and sighs. “i’m not blind, katara. uh, no offense to toph…”

she can’t stop staring at him. surely, he wouldn’t be so calm about this? surely, this is a surprise? shit, her relationship with zuko was a surprise to her.

eventually, she chooses not to look the gift horse too close in the mouth. “when did you find out?”

aang hums, “i suspected something was going on last winter solstice when you both spent the whole dinner arguing about where sokka and suki should get married. but toph told me she was pretty sure it was nothing.”

“since all the way back then?!”

“yeah, well…” he gives her a sheepish grin, “we dated for three years, katara. you think i don’t know what you look like when you’re flirting?”

katara feels her cheeks heat up, though his loose shoulders and amused tone immediately soothe the worst of her worries.

aang’s a terrible liar. always has been. she would know if he was uncomfortable.

she still asks, though, because she would hate for anything to be broken between them due to her own cowardice.

“i’m alright. really, katara,” is what he answers. then, “is this why you’ve been so jittery since we all got here?”

“well, yeah,” she says defensively. “it’s not exactly an easy thing to bring up with your ex.”

“did you think i would break?”

she studies him carefully, then admits, “i don’t know.”

aang just laughs, and the sound is as free as he’s always been. a part of her finally relaxes, eased by his wide smile and twinkling eyes. “don’t worry so much about me. i love you and zuko both. and even if your happiness doesn’t include me, that’s okay. i just want you to follow what feels right. that’s all i’ve ever wanted.”

her nose stings with emotion and she gives him her best, watery smile. “oh, aang, my happiness will always include you. why do you think i wanted to be the one to tell you about it?”

he just stands and holds his arms out wide. she clambers to her feet and folds into his hug, head now fitting neatly under his chin thanks to the seven extra inches he sprouted after the war.

when he lets her go, his eyes shine with his own tears. “not that you ever actually needed it…but you have my blessing.”

#this got so long lol #idk i just really like the idea that they’d all still be close friends #even if katara and aang didn’t work out #or if zuko and katara actually got together #i like to think their friendships are strong enough to weather something like that #katara #aang #zuko #zutara #my zutara stuff #fanfic

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maikingsenseofit · 1 year

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The Problem with Zvtara: Part 2

Continuing off of the last meta, let’s jump into the next analysis. Zuko through the lens of Katara.

The common Zvtara argument here (and I’m paraphrasing, I don’t remember the exact words but they all sound like this) is as follows:

Katara understood and cared about Zuko in a way that nobody else other than Iroh did. The empathy and understanding they display for each other simply cannot be replicated between them and any other character in the series, especially within the Gaang. They can only be themselves with each other and around everyone else they put up a mask or a facade.

Let’s go back to the pivotal Crossroads of Destiny moment. Once again I will emphasize that im not trying to diminish the power of this scene, the moment when two sworn enemies bond over their shared trauma. But just how well did Katara understand Zuko?

Upon seeing his scar, her immediate thought is to use spirit water to heal it. While this is an outstanding demonstration of kindness for someone she is not obliged to show it to, let’s remember that right before this Zuko says:

“It's okay. I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately... I've realized that I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark.”

This. Right here. It is so important to understand. Zuko’s scar is so much more than a scar. It represents his trauma from his father, the trials and tribulations he faced to earn Ozai’s approval, and is a further reminder that he is the black sheep of the family both figuratively (a son who could never live up to his title, who could never bend like he was supposed to) and literally (the only member of a pristine royal family with an ugly brand on his face).

But his journey with Uncle Iroh in Ba Sing Se allows him to come to terms this trauma, or moreover this scar. It’s a reminder that we cannot escape our past or try to stifle it. We must embrace it and learn to accept it. It is only then that we are fully liberated from the shackles of our trauma and can fully determine our paths forward.

Katara’s offer to get rid of Zuko’s scar represents a regression of Zuko’s hard earned realization. He had just come to terms with his troubled past and accepts the ephemeral mark on his face. He even wears it with pride. He doesn’t try to hide his past or stifle his trauma, not anymore. It is an integral part of who he is. It is what makes Zuko, Zuko.He vocalizes this to Katara immediately before this. Katara however, fails to understand the significance and the journey behind this mark, largely in part because she wasn’t there to witness it. Her attempt to heal his scar falls flat in several ways, but one main reason is because just because something is healed physically, doesn’t mean it’s healed emotionally. But it’s important to consider something else here: Zuko never explicitly asks Katara or verbalizes a desire to get rid of his scar. Based on the earlier conversation, he’s finally gotten around to embracing it and welcoming the significance behind it. What Katara offers is in stark contrast to what he said. He allows her to touch his scar, but it is evident that she would never heal it. Why?

From Belen Edwards, despite the traumatic memories associated with his scar, Zuko never seems particularly ashamed of it. Throughout season 1, his hairstyle ensures that it's completely exposed, showing his identity to the world. In the second season, Zuko tells Katara that he's beginning to accept that he won't be rid of the scar.

And yet despite hearing the last part, Katara still offers a solution to Zuko to get rid of it.

This is where we see that the so called deep understanding and caring that Zuko and Katara held for each other is beginning to crack. Where is Katara’s deep and profound, soul-ular (get it, like cellular?) understanding of Zuko that no one else, other than Iroh, had of him? It begs us to ask if Iroh was in that room, given the journey he embarked on with his nephew both physically and emotionally, would he have encouraged Katara to get rid of this mark? The answer is obviously no. If there is a deep vulnerability and intimacy that they share with each other, and no one else, it does seem pointless given on both ends neither understands the full depth of the other’s situation. This is exemplified by Zuko immediately forgetting his entire interaction with Katara (but not His interaction with Aang interestingly) afterwards and still failing to understand why Katara was mad at him, even AFTER she explicitly tells him. And this is exemplified by Katara not fully acknowledging and understanding Zuko’s acceptance of his scar and offering a surface level solution that will never address the emotional significance and tribulations that come with it. Nothing against either of the characters by the way, and I need to emphasize that in bold font. I am simply observing their interactions and dispelling these “Word of God”-like claims.

Consider Zuko’s interactions with Mai. When he first sees her after years of banishment she gently his scar and touches in it not in an attempt to get rid of it, but because it is a part of Zuko. And when it comes to kissing Zuko, it means touching his scar, touching him in his entirety- including his physical and emotional marks. There’s a deliberate reason why the storyboard artists included Zuko’s scar in the scene. Because she’s known Zuko her whole life and was there when he first received it. Zuko and his scar are not two separate entities for her. They are one and the same.

She is able to reconcile that he not only the prince of the fire nation, tasked with the impossible, but also a broken kid who had a tumultuous background and never received enough love. Which is why after he divulges the root of her pain to her and their friends, she breaks free from her emotional, careless facade , makes herself vulnerable in front of Azula, to emphasize that she cares about him, despite his imperfections.

In a good faith interpretation, I must acquiesce that Mai has known Zuko for her entire life and Katara for far less than that. But to reiterate, this is to dispel the misconception that Katara knew and understood Zuko better than anybody in his life, ever, maybe except for Iroh, and that this was exemplified from their very first interaction as potential allies. And that is why they’re soulmates - because they had that instant connection and innate understanding. That is simply not true.

Now let’s dispel this other claim: that Katara was the only one that Zuko could ever open up to in the Gaang, and unlike his canonical love interest who shut him down. I’ve already went over this argument several times, but in case you need the reminder: Mai did not shut Zuko down when he was divulging the root of his pain and confusion at the Beach. She was genuinely curious and helped Zuko through his tumultuous time with Azula and Ty Lee, and reaffirmed her care for him at the end. She also did not shut Zuko down when he explains to her how the meeting with his father went. She was genuinely curious and provided to be a safe and effective sound board for him. She listens to him fully when he talks about he wasn’t himself, but rather the caricature of the perfect fire nation prince in the meeting. She did not shut him down out of boredom or because she was uncomfortable acknowledging his feelings. This represents character development after her first interaction(s) with Zuko, Azula, and Ty Lee. She gives Zuko the opportunity to open up about his decision to leave her in the boiling rock. She allows him to explain himself - Even if she didn’t completely understand how he wasn’t betraying his country, largely due to the years of indoctrination that the fire nation instills in every citizen. From @thethiefandtheairbender “Although Mai, understandably, disagrees, she still hears him out. She came here, ultimately, for a better explanation because she knows there must be one. She still debates and engages.” It is canonically and undeniably sourced that she allows Zuko to open up to her on multiple occasions, and he does. Yet all I see is Zvtara shippers, not all, use their first interaction to characterize Mai and her relationship with Zuko. Like we see in this very argument.

But outside of Mai, let’s address the claim that Katara was the only one that Zuko could ever open up to in the Gaang and that she had this deep understanding of him that no one else had. They bring up Katara asking Zuko what’s wrong when he’s about to meet Iroh again. What we see here is Katara asking a very simple and sweet question. She offers Zuko a word of encouragement. Both of these are very indicative of normal friendships and shows that on some level, she cares about him as a friend and a human. But there is no deeper or more intimate understanding or vibe to this. What’s she’s showing here is a common courtesy to ask what’s wrong and a standard note of encouragement. She knows, like the rest of the Gaang, that Zuko has tried very hard to redeem himself, that he doesn’t have any evil intentions, and that his uncle, more than anyone, will forgive him when he apologizes.

But isn’t this the exact same thing we see occur with Zuko and Toph? Zuko also opens up to Toph about his turmoil and guilt over betraying his uncle. She, like Katara,understands the depth of Zuko’s angst. And like a good friend and someone who is deeply insightful, she tells Zuko exactly what he needs to hear and makes him feel better. That his uncle is indeed proud of Zuko and he doesn’t have to do much else to earn his forgiveness.

Does this mean that Toph had a more intimate and deeper understanding of Zuko, when in reality in both instances, this is how you show affection and empathy for a friend? Does this make Toph the best romantic match for Zuko?

The last claim: but Katara was the first person to see Zuko’s capacity to change and she saw the good in him!

Actually, that was Aang. Aang was the first person to see the inherent good in Zuko, to understand that maybe his intentions weren’t all that evil and that he was confused, not an innately evil person.

From the Reddit:

And unlike with his interaction with Katara, Zuko actually remembers this one with Aang and even references it later.

And Zuko opens up to Aang completely and quite in depth in the Siege of the North. He talks to him at great length about how everything always came so easily to Azula and how he resents Aang because of this. It is here where Zuko first verbalized how confused, frustrated, and unloved he is. And although we don’t know if Aang heard him, one can assume he knows all this about Zuko by now, because he makes the deliberate decision to save Zuko and bring him along instead of letting him freeze to death (even though Aang wouldn’t let anyone go like that).

There’s this one other claim that Katara and Zuko are the only two characters to have parallel arcs that are marked by the same foundational events (the loss of their mothers) that enable them to have this deep intimate understanding of each other that no one else does. While Zuko’s loss of his mother (although she never dies, he just doesn’t know where she is) is an important part of Zuko’s life it does not define his entire arc. Nor does it for Katara.

Here’s what parallel arcs marked by the same foundational events actually looks like. From the Avatar wiki, this is a long one and complete credits to the author who wrote this!

Despite Aang being the clear protagonist and Zuko initially being the main antagonist, their stories were often paralleled in the narrative structure of the show. Flashbacks of the incidents that changed their respective lives forever, Aang being told that he was the Avatar and subsequently running away, and Zuko's Agni Kai against his father and subsequent scarring and loss of his honor, were shown side-by-side.[5] Their attempts to progress in their bending while impeded by psychological blocks were also shown side-by-side.[30] They were both marked men, with Aang having his arrow tattoos all over his body, while Zuko had a large scar on his left eye given to him by his father.[5] Scenes of Aang struggling to cope with an unexpected betrayal from an Earth Kingdom general morphed smoothly into Zuko facing a similar betrayal from his sister.[7] Aang was shown displaying the same frustration about the loss of his honor as Zuko, echoing the same frustration Zuko had been uttering for the first two seasons, "I need to redeem myself. I need my honor back."[11] Both Zuko and Aang found out about their interconnected fates, with Aang being the reincarnation of Avatar Roku and Zuko being Roku's direct descendant as Roku's granddaughter was Zuko's mother.[32] Both characters, at some point, stated that they were ready to face the Fire Lord. Aang intended to do battle with Ozai, while Zuko was ready to confront his father about his feelings and choices. During that confrontation, he announced his intention to join the Avatar and helped him defeat Fire Lord Ozai. Zuko's confrontation with his father was mirrored by Aang’s battle with Azula.

So there’s the deconstruction of the argument that Katara and Zuko understood each other in a way that nobody else ever did or could, that they could fully be themselves around each other and no one else, and that they had similar arcs defined by the same foundational event that no one else shared with them. In the earlier meta, we saw just how much Zuko really connected with Katara in the catacombs, by immediately forgetting her act of profound trust and never mentioning it again, only to be completely stupefied when she brought it up. He connects the anger she has with him with the loss of her mother, even though they aren’t that related. If it wasn’t for her voicing her displeasure in front of the entire group, he would have never sought to make amends with her personally. He redeemed himself in her eyes out of conditional necessity, not out of a deep care or love for her that people will staunchly claim they saw.

The only thing I can give to Zvtarians is the timeline. With Zuko and Katara, we had a very linear progression from when they were enemies, to allies, to friends - which coincides with the end of the Avatar show. But love, outside of fiction, is not linear. It is marred by disagreements and makeups, kisses and fights, that co-occur, not one after the other. Often times, we make up before all of our issues are resolved in it’s entirety. That’s why I stand behind Bryke’s decisions on the canon ships.

Until next time!

#anti zutara #heavy emphasis on anti cause i’m not about to go through this again #zuko #avatar the last airbender #mai #maiko #atla maiko #katara #aang #kataang

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zukosdualdao · 1 day

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honestly my pettiest hot take is that i think it’s Weird how many fics/popular headcanons depict zuko as being bad at making tea forever and i… Do Not like it. i mean, i will still read it if it’s otherwise a good fic, but trust that it has me considering clicking out.

we see zuko make bad tea one (1) time, when he makes it for iroh in bitter work after he wakes up from his unconscious state. and honestly, i think it’s the first time he’s ever tried making it on his own, since with servants at the palace, he wouldn’t have needed to. even on their ship, they had a cook who could’ve made tea, though realistically it was probably iroh more often than not. being bad at something the first time (and honestly, the first couple of times) you try it is par for the course. (and hey, the fact that he wanted to make tea, which he knows how greatly iroh values, for iroh to comfort him upon waking is still really sweet, even if it doesn’t go so great the first time.)

while we don’t see the day-to-day of their work in the tea shop in the lower ring in ba sing se, we know zuko is working there as a tea server every day, learning, and, hey, he keeps his job. (and yes, i know the argument could be made that the owner liked iroh so much that it wouldn’t have mattered, but i counter with this: there is absolutely a point at which your lack of skill outweighs any connections you have because it gets in the way, and if zuko is that terrible at it and shows no signs of growth or improvement, that would, in fact, be the point.)

later, we see zuko serve tea to the gaang and co, and while zuko says it won’t be as good as iroh’s (because he loves and misses him 😭), no one else has anything to say about it! the gaang is already lightly poking fun at him for his poor retelling of iroh’s joke, it wouldn’t have been hard to include. and if the show wanted to keep ‘zuko being bad at making tea’ as a gag, all they had to do was show a character or two making the same kind of face iroh makes in bitter work or trying to hand it off to someone else. but they didn’t! we even actually see teo take a sip with a mildly pleasant expression. and like, this isn’t even me saying i think he makes the best tea in the world, or even that it’s as good a iroh’s. i just don’t think he’s bad at it!

and we see him serving tea to his loved ones again in the earth kingdom in the finale and it’s the culmination of the part of his arc that’s about learning humility and to build healthier relationships and not self-isolate, to find peace and joy in little things. we see throughout the series that though iroh i’m sure loves tea for tea’s sake, he also uses it as a point of connection with people, and zuko is clearly trying to mimic that when he’s making an effort to bond with the gaang and later just to show love to his friends like! this is his way of trying to show love and affection in what comes to be maybe the clearest form of it he understands due to iroh’s influence. and the idea that he is bad at that makes me sad, but also, canon disagrees, so jot that down.

(also, if nothing else: iroh is there in that last scene. do we honestly think he’d let zuko make and serve the tea if it was bad?)

#of all the things in fanon to be upset about this is what’s getting to me rn 😭😭😭#honestly. and this is the part that is probably me reading into things a little too much #but there is. something of a fandom rhetoric of zuko being Bad At Everything #and i think a lot of it is obviously supposed to be teasing and not ill-meant #but like. being told that (and that he was a failure) was part of his abuse #disclaimer that zuko is ofc a fictional character and i’m Not saying people are horrible for saying it #but regardless i don’t Love how common that is #atla #zuko #long post //#this is absolutely the pettiest thing to write a multi paragraph post about. lmao #iroh & zuko #zuko & the gaang #tea in atla

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bard-llama · 1 month

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WiP Friday: Scene from To Weave a Tangled Web

So, the premise of this story is essentially that Zukaang are together post-canon and they're working with Kuei to try to repair the world and Aang has the brilliant idea of uniting the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom by having Zuko and Kuei get married. Problem is, he's currently dating Zuko and failed to actually talk to him about what that could mean. So now we get Aang talking to the Gaang after getting kicked out by Zuko, who is rather understandably upset.

Aang was panicking. He knew he was panicking, but he didn’t know how to stop.

“What happened?” Katara asked immediately, coming to his side the moment he stepped into their room.

Aang sniffled, not quite able to manage speech.

Toph frowned, forehead creasing. “You weren’t able to talk?”

He shook his head, trying to hold back tears. He didn’t know how to fix this. He didn’t know how to get Zuko back.

But he had to! He didn’t want to lose Zuko!

But he had and he needed to figure out how to repair things, or – or – what would he do if Zuko never forgave him? What would he do without Zuko at his side?

Nose running, he sniffed hard and managed to say, “he kicked me out.”

“What? Why?” Suki asked, face scrunching in confusion. “What happened?”

Aang’s eyes welled up with tears again and he rubbed his face, unable to answer.

Toph sighed heavily, but though she sounded put upon, her expression was concerned. “Zuko’s upset because Aang told him to marry Kuei without explaining what that meant for them.”

“Oh.” Sokka blinked. “Wait, you didn’t talk to him about it!?”

“I didn’t think to!” Aang defended. “I forgot monogamy was a thing!” His friends stared at him and he ducked his head, face red. Hugging himself he added, “I know I messed up. But how do I fix it!? He won’t talk to me!”

“Well, what did he say?” Katara asked softly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“He thinks – he thinks I want him to be a ‘side piece’,” he quoted. “What does that even mean!?” It certainly didn’t sound like a good thing.

“Seriously?” Sokka asked, sounding surprised.

“It’s – you know,” Suki tried to answer, “um, it’s like when someone – has someone on the side.”

“The side of what?”

“Of their main squeeze,” Toph filled in.

Aang frowned. “What do you mean ‘main’? Relationships don’t fall into a hierarchy.”

“...maybe not for Air Nomads,” Toph acknowledged, “but for the other nations? Yeah, they totally do.”

“Really?” Aang blinked. “But – but what does that mean?”

Toph’s mouth twisted as she searched for words. “In the Earth Kingdom, it’s pretty common for powerful men to have wives – their ‘main squeeze’ – and also to have a mistress on the side. I’d imagine something similar happens in the Fire Nation, though they hide it better. But we’re both – both nations have hereditary inheritance.”

“What?” Aang was not alone in asking.

“Like – like when my parents die, as their child, I would inherit everything. Likewise, Zuko’s family is royal, and so because he is part of that bloodline, he was able to inherit the throne. So for us, it matters who your ‘main’ person is, because that’s who gets inheritance rights. But you guys aren’t like that.”

Aang shook his head, as did Katara and Sokka.

“I mean, it’s not that we don’t have inheritance,” Katara clarified. “But we define things by family, not by blood.”

“How’s that different?” Suki asked.

“You can have family that’s not related to you by blood,” Sokka pointed out. “Like all of us.”

“Hmm,” Suki nodded in consideration. “Kyoshi Island is more like the Earth Kingdom, but um. Kind of reversed? It’s – it’s more common for women to have others on the side, because there’s more of us.”

“Huh,” Sokka said. “How did none of us ever talk about this sooner?”

“Because you’re all idiots,” Toph said.

“Hey, you never brought it up either!”

“I’m exempt from idiot status,” Toph sniffed haughtily and Aang couldn’t help but giggle, though it petered out quickly.

“What do I do?” he asked. “How – how do I make him see?”

“Well,” Katara chewed on her lip. “Maybe start by trying to express what you want and how it’s different from what he thinks.”

“I just want to be with him,” Aang said, rubbing his eyes. “I – I thought marrying Kuei was a good idea, but not if it means losing him!”

“It doesn’t have to be all or nothing,” Sokka said. “I mean, multiple people can be together at the same time.”

“I know!” Aang huffed in frustration. “Air Nomads – we don’t believe in possessions. We don’t have inheritance. We’re – we’re all about freedom. About – about what you choose. That’s what family is – the people you choose to have in your life.”

“Huh,” Toph clicked her tongue. “You guys are more family than my parents ever were.”

“Exactly!” Aang said. “What does blood matter? Your values and what you choose are more important. That’s what ties people together.”

“So what does that mean for romance?” Katara asked. “In – in the Southern Water Tribes… it’s not uncommon for someone to have more than one partner. But they’re all equals. Like – like Mom and Dad and Bato. They were always together but no one comes ‘first’, you know?”

Toph’s brow furrowed. “But if you call one ‘Dad’ and one ‘Bato’... doesn’t that kind of imply that Dad comes first?”

“Why?” Katara asked, surprised.

“Well, like… who would you inherit from? Your Dad or Bato?”

Katara shared a look with her brother. “Both of them? We’re a family. A unit. Everything we own is shared.”

“Okay, but a family has a lot of different relationships in it. But like… there’s still one that comes first romantically, right?”

“...no?”

“Why is there a hierarchy?” Aang asked. “All relationships serve a purpose in your life. All love is different, but none of it is lesser.”

“I mean… you put some people first, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but that comes back to family. You guys are my family, of course I put you first. But it’s not like Zuko’s well-being is more important than any of yours. You’re all my family.”

“Hmm,” Toph hummed. “So in your mind, what does a relationship between you and Zuko and Zuko and Kuei look like?”

“Like… normal?” Aang shrugged, slightly helpless. “It’s like – it’s like having friends! No one would say that because Katara is my friend, then obviously Sokka can’t be! So why would you do that with romance!? Everyone loves multiple people! It would be super unhealthy otherwise!”

“...what?”

Aang bit his lip, trying to figure out how to explain. “Sokka, you love Suki, yeah? But you also love Katara and me and Toph and everyone. So why is that different?”

“Yeah, but I’m only romantic with Suki,” Sokka pointed out. “Also, Katara’s my sister.”

“Every relationship is different,” Aang agreed. “Not just the difference between romantic and platonic, but like – like, all our friendships are different! You have a different dynamic with Zuko than I have, just like me and Katara have a different relationship than you and Katara.”

Sokka’s mouth twisted as he thought on that. “I mean… it’s still kinda different? Like – like romance is… you know… romance!”

“But who decides if something is romantic or platonic?” Aang asked. “Why is it that when I hold hands with you, it’s platonic, but when I hold hands with Zuko, it’s romantic?”

“Uh…”

“It’s ‘cause we decide! Every relationship has a different dynamic and only the people involved can define it. There’s no behavior that’s inherently romantic or inherently platonic.”

“What about kissing?” Toph asked.

“Didn’t your parents ever kiss you?”

“Oh. Huh. Yeah, I guess.”

“But what about sex?” Sokka asked. “I mean…”

“People have sex without being romantically involved,” Aang pointed out. “And sexual attraction and romantic attraction don’t always align. Like, who you want to have sex with is not necessarily who you want to build a family with, right?”

“Hmm,” Suki hummed. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But so what does that mean?”

“Well, I guess it raises the question,” Katara said, “what do you want your relationship with Zuko to be? What does he want? It sounds like you two need to talk about that.”

“Yeah, but he won’t talk to me!” Aang said, biting his lip in distress.

“Breathe, Twinkletoes,” Toph said, poking him. “We’ll help you talk to Zuko. But you gotta figure out what you wanna say, because you’re gonna need to be as clear as possible.”

“I just – I just wanna be with him,” Aang whispered. “I thought the marriage was a good idea, but not if it means losing him!”

#atla #polyamory #zukaang #zuko x aang #zuko x kuei #wip wednesday

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