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system-to-the-madness · 4 months ago

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Perfect - Zuko x Reader

Pairing: Zuko x fem!Reader Word Count: 2 715 Warnings: mentions of kidnapping of children, child slavery, war Summary: After the war is over, Zuko shares his worries with you A/N: Can be read as a oneshot; Part Eleven (aka the Last Part) of the series Perfect (10 times Zuko thought you were perfect and the first time he told you)

Zuko's fingertips were grazing the surface of the pond's water, creating gentle ripples in their path. A turtle duck chick came paddling over, nudging his warm fingers with its cool beak. Pushing his hand underneath the hard shell, he fished the chick out of the water, which, used to the motion, relaxed its legs and patiently waited to be settled down in the folds of his dark red robe where his fingers absentmindedly stroked the top of its feathered head.

It had been two months since the war had ended, since Aang had defeated Zuko's father and Zuko been crowned as Fire Lord. And if he had thought he could relax a little after that, he had been completely wrong about it.

There were treaties he had to make with the other kingdoms. Under his command the colonies in the earth kingdom had started to be dissolved. And there was the matter of these re-education facilities for kidnapped earth kingdom children. Together with him you had freed your sister from one, but as Fire Lord he had learned of three more of these schools. A total of almost two thousand kidnapped kids. Some had been separated from their parents at such a young age for such a long time that there was no hope of finding their families. Some children had been already reunited with theirs, others were still searching. And if Zuko was being honest, it was a tragedy.

There were families that had been whipped out, no parents left, children who would forever keep looking for their mothers or fathers and never find them. There were parents, who's infants had been taken years ago, who now looked at the faces of a bunch of school children, trying to figure out if either of them was theirs. And in all cases, this was the most important to Zuko, it was necessary to always consider the child's happiness and wellbeing before anything else.

If there was a chance that the people claiming a child was theirs were in the wrong, there had to be thorough investigations. If people offered to adopt a child, their backgrounds had to be checked, leaving no stone unturned to figure out if there was any indication the child might suffer with their new parents. It was a hard affair. Emotional, and yet brutally rational.

It was hard carrying all this responsibility atop of his already overwhelming duties as Fire Lord, and even though a capable team was helping in the matter of the kidnapped children, he still felt like he was carrying all the weight himself. If it weren't for you, he probably wouldn't be able to catch a single wink of sleep at night.

He knew it was hard for you to be separated from your sister again, but Xiang had decided against moving into the palace with you and instead moved to Ba Sing Se with Uncle Iroh, who she seemed to have taken a liking to. Even knowing your sister was happier in Ba Sing Se than she would have been here, Zuko knew you missed her terribly.

As if the thought of you had summoned you, he heard the familiar pattern of your steps approach the pond along one of the gravel paths. Zuko lazily leant his head back, his hair falling into his neck as he watched you walk over to him, a soft smile on your face as you approached him. Your hair was bound in a style that seemed like a mixture of traditional Fire Nation Fashion and Earth Kingdom techniques. Your long dress played around your legs in the warm breeze of the sunny morning, and Zuko once again was hit by the realization and wonderment that this perfect person approaching him was the girl who let him love her. A smile tucked at his lips, but yours seemed to falter as you closed in.

“Am I interrupting something,” you asked, making him furrow his brows as you crouched down beside him.

“No,” he answered, although it sounded more like a question. “Why would you?”

“You look… stressed,” you observed, as you reached past him, to run your fingertips over the tiny head of the turtle duck in Zuko’s lap.

“I’m not!” He was aware himself how defensive he sounded, even before you raised your eyebrows at him. But you didn’t comment on it.

“Do you want me to leave you alone?” It was a question asked without offence, one that really just asked what he wanted, and Zuko knew that if he told you he wanted to be alone, you would understand without being hurt about it. Still his answer was quicker than his own thoughts.

“No, please stay.”

You smiled at him softly and settled down in the grass beside him. The turtle duck quacked as if welcoming you.

For a while you sat in silence, Zuko occupying his hands with petting the small animal in his lap, while the only sounds around you were the soft gurgling of the brook that fed the pond and the birds singing from the roofs of the palace.

“I’m sorry,” he suddenly apologized. “I know I’m terrible company right now. It’s just- there’s so much going on and-”

“You don’t have to apologize,” you interrupted him. “I know you have a lot of things to take care of, to think through. It would be a lot even if you had been properly prepared for this position.”

“But I’ve been neglecting you and that’s inexcusable,” Zuko frowned, unable to meet your eyes.

He flinched at the soft touch of your fingers on his cheek as you turned his head to face you. His eyes wandered from your lap over your arm, past the scar he had inflicted on you, up the curve of your neck and the bow of your lips to your mesmerizing eyes. They were warm and compassionate as you asked: “How do you think you have been neglecting me?”

Zuko furrowed his brows and bit his lip, but under your gaze it was impossible to not answer honestly. “I haven’t spent much time with you recently, haven’t been talking to you as much as I should. I want to take better care of you, but in the evenings I’m so tired that I can’t even read to you or enjoy making music together. I feel like I’ve cast you aside and you must feel as if I only use you to find comfort.”

“Do I not bring you comfort,” you asked, running your hands from his cheek down his neck and settling it in his nape, playing with the strands there. The sensation sent a shiver down Zuko’s spine, and he closed his eyes while he hummed appreciatively.

“You do,” he confirmed, “But I don’t want you to think that’s the only reason I want to be with you. I love you,” the words slipped over his lips so easily that he didn’t even notice. “And I want to be able to make you feel loved but instead I’m either locked up in councils or behind a desk the whole day and when I’m not, I’m too lost in my mind, worrying over the responsibility I carry, to pay the due attention to you.”

Zuko’s eyes were still closed, so he startled at the sensation of your lips brushing against his, an innocent kiss, much more innocent than the ones you had begun exchanging recently behind locked doors. But it was more than enough to make his heart skip a beat and his breath hitch. His eyes flickered open to finding your face right in front of his. He occasionally had to remind himself that you were a capable fighter and an increasingly skilled fire bender, because the love in your gaze made it all too easy to forget how dangerous you could be.

“I love you, too,” you whispered, pecking his lips again under his observing gaze, before you gently guided him to lay down in your lap. The turtle duck chick in his own lap adjusted to the new position, cuddling into Zuko’s hand. “And I understand that it’s hard for you. There are so many duties all of a sudden. You took over a kingdom that has been at war for the past hundred years, and now you’re trying to bring peace, righting wrongs that were committed generations ago. Nobody would claim this to be an easy task, and I hope you know how proud and impressed I am at the work you are doing alongside everyone.” As you were talking Zuko closely watched your face, the honesty and love that didn’t just shimmer in your voice but also your eyes. “I know you must feel like you are prioritizing your work over us, but please know that I don’t feel neglected at all. I know you make time to have every meal together with me, even if it doesn’t fit your schedule as nicely as your advisors would like to. And maybe you don’t talk to me all the time. But you don’t have to. You are allowed to have your own private thoughts. Which isn’t to say I am not interested in hearing what’s going on in here,” you tapped his forehead gently. “But you don’t have to feel pressured into talking to me. Or listening to me, but I’ve never felt like you didn’t listen when I wanted you to. And you are allowed to just want to sit in silence, too, you know. It’s okay, we don’t have to spend our time together always talking. We can sit in silence, too. That’s okay.”

“But wouldn’t that been boring for you,” Zuko asked, his free hand absentmindedly reaching up to the hand print shaped scar he had unintentionally left on your left arm all those months ago. “I often feel like I don’t want to talk, but I want you around. But can’t ask you to just keep me company without any entertainment.”

“Do you really think I’d only enjoy spending time with you if you entertain or reward me,” you wondered quietly, sounding almost hurt.

Zuko’s fingers brushed over the well healed, slightly raised tissue of the scar, not meeting your gaze and not answering.

“Has it ever occurred to you, that I enjoy spending time with you just because I get to be with you?”

Zuko swallowed thickly as you leant over him, your face covering the blue sky above you.

“You’re an idiot,” you accused, softly knocking your forehead against Zuko’s with a pout.

“Sorry,” he smiled embarrassedly. “It’s just… hard to comprehend, you know.”

You hummed. “I knew I agreed to date a whole bunch of insecurities alongside this pretty face, so I shouldn’t complain.”

Zuko knew you were teasing him, but the compliment didn’t fall on deaf ears and a blush crept into his cheeks.

“You know,” you sat up straight again, your fingers coming to comb through his dark hair, “I enjoy just sitting with you, we don’t have to talk or read or make music. I enjoy sitting just like this. I know you have so many things to do, that you need some time to sort out your thoughts and feelings, I need that too, sometimes. And if you want to be alone for that, you can tell me, and I’ll give you space. But if you want me to just sit with you, I’m happy to do that, too. You don’t have to be afraid to ask.”

Zuko pressed his lips together to hide their quivering. Instead, he focused on tracing your scar again while he felt the turtle duck chick in his other hand nap off.

“Do you remember that one conversation we had once? About having to give feelings space sometimes,” he asked.

You nodded quietly, beginning to braid his hair before undoing it again.

“I think I sometimes just need to do that. I don’t want to be alone for it, because I’m bad with feelings and sometimes they are scary, and having you with me makes me feel safe enough to confront these feelings. But it’s important to do it, to do it this way. And I feel like you understand me.”

You hummed quietly. “I think I do,” you agreed.

For a moment both of you were quiet, you playing with Zuko’s hair and Zuko watching you closely. The light reflecting from the surface of the pond was dancing across your face, lighting up your eyes every other moment, making your hair glow. Zuko suddenly realized that he had probably never felt as peaceful as right now. He felt comfortable, resting in your lap, feeling your warm legs underneath his head, your hands tucking his hair carefully. He felt understood by you, and appreciated. Not something he had a lot of experience with. And he wasn’t quite sure how he deserved someone so perfect at his side. He had never told you, he thought, how perfect he thought you were. So, taking this quiet moment as his chance, he voiced his feelings.

“I sometimes feel scared, because I don’t know how I could ever deserve being with someone as perfect as you, and it makes feel like I might lose you at any moment,” he confessed.

You continued playing with his hair, not meeting his eyes as you answered. “You’re not losing me,” you told him, and the confidence with which you said this was almost enough to convince him of it to be true. “Besides, I’m far from perfect.”

“No, you’re not,” Zuko disagreed determinedly. “You’re perfect. You’re perfect to me.”

Your fingers stilled in his hair and your eyes finally met his. There was a vulnerability in them, that made Zuko’s heart stutter and if your gaze hadn’t frozen him in place, he would have sat up and wrapped you in his arms.

“You really think that,” you asked quietly, and he nodded quickly, hoping his confession wouldn’t scare you off. But instead, you smiled even though he was certain he had seen tears beginning to rise in your eyes. “It makes me very happy to hear that,” you admitted and leant down to kiss his forehead.

You didn’t tell him that you thought he was perfect, too. And Zuko was glad you didn’t. Somehow it would have felt like it would have taken away from the importance of his message to you if you had, and he was happy you accepted his sentiment the way it was without feeling the need to repay the compliment. Instead, you returned to sitting back up, and braiding filigree patterns into his hair while he held the sleeping turtle duck in one hand and had the other wrapped in your dress, while watching your face over him. There were no further words exchanged between the two of you until almost two hours later a bell rung for lunch, and Zuko couldn’t deny that he had never felt more refreshed and relaxed after a break than after sitting with you, even if it was in silence.

It wasn’t until a good while later that you eventually told him you felt like he was perfect to you. It was a compliment Zuko had neither wished nor hoped for, nor expected. But of course, it made him happy to hear, although at that point it had been a knowledge that had settled deep into his soul already. It was the way you treated him every day, the way you treated each other every day, that had woven the subconscious realization into his very being. It was a form of respect you paid each other, not the respect you paid someone of authority but someone you admired. You were teasing each other, laughing with each other. You could sit in silence for hours or talk all through the night without ever growing bored of each other’s company. Of course you had disagreements, but even then, it never felt as if they threatened the bond that connected you now. And when Zuko told you about how he had fallen in love with you while saving you and Aang from Pohuai Stronghold, he admitted you your amusement and his shame, that he still didn’t know why he hadn’t understood from the first moment on how perfect you were.

The End

A/N: This concludes the series! Thank you all for reading! I've had the idea for this first almost a year back, and am now in a very different place than i was then. I finished writing my last exams of my Bachelor's degree today (assuming i don't fail), and can fully focus on writing my thesis from march on. I'm glad i finally got this story out in the world and am happy and greateful for everyone who enjoyed reading it!

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wileycap · 1 year ago

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The Stupidest Things In Netflix's Avatar The Last Airbender: A List

a.k.a.

a whiny rant from someone who has dedicated far too many of their already limited number of braincells to atla i know it's just a tv show but come on this is what tumblr is for let me whine

For your consideration, with many spoilers:

5. Katara Being Smug After Kicking Jet's Ass

In the original, Katara is betrayed by Jet. You can feel the raw emotion in the words "I trusted you! You're sick, and I trusted you!" immediately followed by her concern for the innocent people Jet has seemingly murdered. It's not a triumph, it's a wound, and the next time she sees Jet, her first reaction is "kill on sight".

This is great. It's heartwrenching, it's humanizing, and Katara using violence against Jet isn't a victory for her. It's just pain.

In the live action, Katara very mildly chastises Jet for trying to kill innocent people, which is... an interesting characterization for her, to say the least. Jet then tries to grab her, immediately followed by Katara throwing him and freezing him. She then just tells him goodbye. Her tone is placid, almost unaffected.

And then Jet says "Look at the power you have. That's because of me!"

Katara: "That wasn't you. That was me."

And then she strides off with a small smile, and that's the end of that. Sokka and Aang are not present. It's an incredibly hokey moment that's meant to emulate the style of feminine empowerment, but it has none of the substance. It glosses over any human feelings of hurt and betrayal. All that the it ends up doing is removing a story beat for Katara.

4. The Badgermoles

"They're blind! They sense feelings and react to them! Anger, fear... but mostly love."

Katara and Sokka hold hands in a cave and it makes the badgermole stop attacking them.

The blind badgermoles. Navigate by... love.

Yeah.

Do I need to say anything? Can we all see (pun intended) how stupid that is?

3. Bumi Makes Aang Choose Between Killing Him Or Letting Himself Die To Make The Dumbest Point Imaginable

Remember Bumi? Aang's old friend, a fun, kooky king? Well, here he's an actual fucking psychopath.

He collapses part of the roof onto Aang, and Aang holds it up with airbending. Another part of the roof collapses on Bumi, and Bumi just... shrugs his shoulders, fully intending to die. Aang holds that one up as well, and Bumi, instead of helping, makes the dumbest fucking point I've ever heard about "making tough choices", and urges Aang to let the boulder crush him.

Again. Bumi, the fun, wise king, wants Aang to kill him.

The situation is defused by Katara freezing a little strip on the floor so that Sokka can very slowly slide on it and tackle Bumi to safety. I can not emphasize how slow his slide is. Running would have been faster. Bumi has time to look at him and say "Huh?" as Sokka slowly slides across the floor. Oh, yeah, they were led onto the scene by the love-sensing badgermoles.

Then it's Aang's turn to be dumb. He says "you CAN rely on your friends" and hands Bumi a friendship rock. Bumi is pacified for now, but there is no telling when his next Saw trap will activate.

This made me actually feel bad. I just. I kept expecting for it to turn into a secret lesson, like Bumi in the original show, but it never did. Bumi's just a spiteful psychopath who is easily swayed by the gifting of rocks.

2. Koh The Face-Stealer Has A Backstory Now

Why? Mother of Faces? What? No.

No.

Iroh Is Intimidated By Zhao, And Then He Kills Zhao

Ah, Live Action Iroh. The most ineffectual man on the planet.

So, Zhao has the Moon Koi in a bag, and is ready to stab it with his special stabbing implement. Iroh is standing right behind him. RIGHT BEHIND HIM. Iroh has been there the whole time. Iroh does not want Zhao to kill the fish.

Iroh says: "Whatever you do to that spirit, I'll unleash on you tenfold!"

Remember how in the original, where that was like a big, shocking moment that he got angry? And how Zhao immediately let go of the fish, only to then have his anger get the best of him? How Zhao attacked the spirit by surprise?

Well, here it's a little different. For one, like I already said, Iroh doesn't come in suddenly, he sort of gets bullied into looking for the spirit by Zhao. Then he looks for the spirit, and after Zhao finds it, then he decides that he really has a problem with killing the spirit. He did protest before, but then he kind of just caved and helped anyways.

He threatens Zhao, and Zhao just... brushes him off. "Spare me your empty threats." Then the firebenders next to Iroh sort of... glower at him menacingly, and Iroh looks worried.

Zhao offers Iroh a place at his side once he becomes Fire Lord, which, uh? Okay. Fine. I actually don't have a problem with Zhao wanting to be Fire Lord, that seems to be entirely on brand for him, but everything he does to get to that goal is just stupid.

Aang arrives, they talk, Aang says "I don't matter", and then Iroh, who has sidled past the Glowering Firebenders Who Do Nothing Else, shoots the fish out of Zhao's hands. And then, as Zhao is on the ground, reaching for the fish with his special stabbing implement, Iroh forgets that he can shoot fire out of his hands, and lets Zhao stab the fish.

AND THEN Iroh, who literally stood by two different times and let Zhao kill the fish, decides to kick everyone's ass. And the Glowering Firebenders do nothing. One of them just stands in the background. Iroh doesn't even attack that guy.

In the original, Iroh immediately leaps into action after Zhao kills the spirit by means of surprise attack, takes out Zhao's guards in about a second, and Zhao escapes.

Here, he doesn't do anything at first except help Zhao find the spirit he doesn't want to see killed, then back down, then do something, then back down again, then do something again, then forget that he can do anything, and then he does something again.

It's just... so dumb. (So dumb it's brilliant!) No! It's just dumb!

And then, fifteen minutes later, after Zuko has dueled Zhao, Iroh kills him. Iroh just barbecues him by striking him from behind. Gee, Iroh, if you were willing to do that, why not just do it when Zhao was holding the fish?

Dishonorable mentions:

The fact that all of the actors fit their characters so well and have some great moments, but the show just doesn't support their performances at all. I feel so bad for all of them, being robbed of a chance to shine by some truly awful writing, editing and direction

The Ocean Spirit making Godzilla noises

June flirting with Iroh (didn't they say that they wanted to remove iffy stuff from the original? Well, that whole thing was iffy in the original. Why didn't you cut it entirely?)

Zuko doing the jazz hands to charge an attack

All the clunky and unnecessary exposition (for example: after Aang turns into the Ocean Spirit, Yue immediately turns to Sokka and narrates that Aang has turned into the Ocean Spirit, for almost 30 seconds)

The fact that Aang can only communicate with each Avatar at their shrines

The Ice Moon

The Cabbage Man literally turning to shout his line to the heavens while fire rages around him

The Secret Tunnel song being shoehorned in for no reason

Iroh's entire backstory being shoehorned in for no reason

Ozai being a caring dad actually

Zuko being shocked that Ozai prefers Azula

Gran Gran's speech

The fact that they showed Gyatso being killed by Sozin (literally nobody needed a big action scene, because that's what it was, predicated entirely on the genocide of the Air Nomads)

And finally, the fact that Sokka and Yue's reason for going to the Spirit Oasis is that Momo was fatally injured.

#avatar the last airbender #atla netflix #netflix atla #netflix avatar #aang #zuko #iroh #katara #jet #sokka #atla spoilers #atla zhao #fire lord ozai

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zukosdualdao · 1 year ago

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just… the absolute trust between zutara in the finale is unreal. after zuko’s impromptu training attack session, yes, katara is surprised and even somewhat angry as she confronts him, but when she says “you could have hurt aang!” all it reminds me of is the fact that just a few episodes ago, she literally threatened to kill him if he ever gave her a reason to think he might so something to hurt aang. but here, now, even as she’s confronting him, she just… waits for him to explain, and she actually sees and agrees with his point once zuko tells the gaang about ozai’s plan.

there is also the absolutely, 100% synchronized way they fight during the simulated training session, something that calls back to their synchronization and teamwork in the southern raiders, and that inherently shows a lot of trust and understanding between them.

katara is the one who initially asks zuko what they should do after aang disappears. everyone else agrees, but it's katara who trusts him enough to position him, not just to herself but to everyone else, as someone they should listen to because of his history, skill, and experience, especially noteworthy because the reason she gives—“you are sort of the expert at tracking the avatar”—is what used to make him untrustworthy in their eyes. they’ve come such a long way.

then katara notices zuko freeze and sit in front of iroh’s tent, and when she asks if he’s okay, he just… completely trusts her with exactly what he’s feeling, and if he’s even a little worried that what he’s saying might cause her to act derisively, because what he’s referencing here is also what katara was angry and hurt about, he doesn’t show it. he just so completely trusts her with it, and her insistence that iroh will forgive him is born from her own trust of zuko, and she's able to tell him what he needs to hear because she was once in iroh's position and zuko proved his genuine remorse and care to her.

then, of course, we've got zuko not missing a beat as he asks katara to be the one to come with him to confront azula, and her ready acceptance. they make a good team, and they know it.

but when they get there and azula challenges zuko to an agni kai - though she initially has misgivings, katara ultimately trusts zuko when he says he can handle it and understands that he doesn't want her to get hurt if she doesn't have to. (an aspect of zuko's "i can't explain it, but she's slipping" line that i think gets underexamined, btw, is that that's not an inherently good thing for them. yes, maybe that means zuko will be able to take her, particularly because he knows azula and her fighting style well. but someone who is "slipping" is also, in this case, desperate, and more prone to being reckless with people's lives. zuko tries to mitigate that by fighting her alone, but it doesn't work because azula can't follow the terms she sets when she realizes she's losing.)

the lightning scene is a really interesting example of trust as it relates to zuko and katara, because to me, the emphasis there isn't quite so much on zuko and katara trusting each other. there's barely time for katara to think through what will happen to as azula aims for her or wonder what zuko will do, after all, and zuko is probably in too much pain and too out of it to think about katara coming to try to heal him. (though if they did have the time and mental faculties to think it through, i think they would both 120 percent trust the other to help them.)

instead, the emphasis is on the audience trusting the characters. from the moment zuko sees where azula's aiming, he doesn't hesitate, doesn't even think about, just. immediately jumps in front of the lightning before it can reach katara. i've said this before, but as soon as he understood what was happening, there was just no chance of that lightning ever getting to katara and that's the point. we've seen what zuko looks like when he's hesitating or conflicted, and the difference is stark. the show never wants you to question exactly what zuko will do, that he refuses to let katara get heart, that he'll save her.

and for her part, katara immediately runs to try and save zuko despite azula still being around and attacking, and tries again before realizing she needs to defeat azula in order to do so. but the entire scene of katara's defeating her, while obviously heroic and emblematic of katara's power and the culmination of her arc as a girl whose culture and identity was nearly stripped away from her to being a master waterbender, is also framed as katara defeating azula so she can get to zuko. she would have done it anyways, yes, but in this context, right now, she is fighting azula so she can get to zuko to heal him.

here, in the narrative culmination of their arcs together, it shows not just that they trust each other, but asks the audience to not doubt the development of the dynamic that’s been built, to trust that they will take care of each other. and they do.

#will never be over it ! tbh!#atla rewatch ‘24 #zutara #sozin’s comet #zuko #katara

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splosh-crime · 12 days ago

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Unanswered Questions + Worldbuilding Ideas from ATLA/TLOK

The Joo Dee’s from Lake Lao Gai in Ba Sing Se. These are the tour guides assigned to the Gaang and likely other elite/rich refugees entering Ba Sing Se. Questions include: Who are all these near-identical women? Where did they come from? Who knew/reported them missing? Were they able to reverse the brainwashing post-war? How many psychologists are there and what quality is their care? Clearly there are enough that Sokka knows about them despite growing up super isolated.

Zuko’s Metamorphosis. Man had an existential crisis so strong that he went into a high fever coma for like 2 days and no one questioned it?? Uncle Iroh acted like this was a perfectly normal response. Did he go through this after his son died and he went soul-searching? Is this just a common response for firebenders with existential crises? Was there a massive pandemic of this after the war ended and practically everyone in the Fire Nation was forced to reevaluate their worldview?

The Sandbenders of the Si Wong Desert. Do they have any folklore/ghost stories around the Spirit Library? Do they know who’s in it? Do they have designated sages that visit the library for knowledge? How do you think they felt about it mysteriously disappearing one day? Do they think Aang buried it in his anger about Appa’s kidnapping/trafficking?

Combustion-Bending. Where did they come from? How did they learn it? Is there a community of them like with sandbenders or is it more if a natural affinity like with lava-bending? Do they need the tattoo for it or is that decorative/symbolic like it is for Air Nomads? Does this firebending style have any connection to airbending in the way that lightning-bending connects to waterbending?

The Nuns of the Abbey in the episode where Bato and June the Bounty Hunter are introduced. Made a post with more questions here (link) but main questions include: Do they worship the Spirits or someone/something else? Knowledge & traditions? What’s their relationship to the Airbender nuns and monks? The Abbey nuns wear clothes similar to Christian nuns whereas the Airbenders are based on Buddhism. Are they different sects of the same religion? Different religions entirely?

Dai Li Reform or Disbandment. Never happened in canon but definitely needs to. Their crimes include multiple counts of human/child trafficking, mass brainwashing, use of child soldiers (see: TLOK), kidnapping, conspiracy, and treason. If they’re reformed, they’d need tons of oversight/transparency.

The Foggy Swamp Tribe of the Earth Kingdom. Did Southern Water Tribe members settle the Foggy Swamp with nearby Earth Kingdom citizens? Do they have any spiritual practices regarding the Swamp? Do many of them share Huu’s views? Is he seen as a spiritual leader? Do the visions people in the Swamp receive of dead loved ones affect their funerary practices? How does Foggy Swamp style bending differ from North/Southern Water Tribe style bending beyond a focus on plant matter?

Princess Yue’s Deification. She sacrificed her life to replace/merge with(?) Tui as the Spirit of the Moon. She is, as far as I know, the only human to have ever become a Spirit apart from maybe the Painted Lady. Did Yue replace or merge with Tui? Is Yue also the Koi Fish in the Spirit Oasis or is that Tui resurrected? Does the Northern Water Tribe know that Yue’s a Spirit now? Is there a day of mourning for her? Do they consider her their patron Spirit?

Reminder that all my posts double as invitations for discussion! I love talking to anyone who loves this media like I do. I love building ideas off each other. I love questions about the content. I appreciate constructive criticism too!

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someone-help-im-obessed · 3 months ago

Note

Can you write about Tenzin being obsessed with Lin ;)

How to make a man obsessed with you? Well let’s see. Oh wait LIN DOESNT HAVE TO TRY. I MEAN WE ARE ALL OBSESSED WITH HER AND SHES NOT EVEN REAL. Maybe we are crazy or Maybe Tenzin is. Or both. We are all obsessed with a depressed mommy issues woman.

But I am going to say this is set when they are 17/18. And I kinda wrote it in like little chapters but you are in for a treat. (I also wrote myself little scenes and gave them names so if you see one sticking in there. NO YOU DIDNT. I swear I removed them all, I hope)

Tenzin didn’t really remember when he started noticing Lin like this. Maybe it had been gradual, creeping up on him in stolen glances and quiet moments. The way she carried herself—strong, confident, yet effortlessly graceful—had always commanded attention, but now, it was different. Now, he couldn’t stop looking. The way her hair curled against her neck and cheeks, dark strands falling loose from her usual tied-back style, made his fingers itch to tuck them behind her ear. The way she started to wear that pretty shade of pink on her lips—subtle, barely there, but just enough to make him wonder if she did it on purpose—drove him to distraction.

And right now, as she moved across the training grounds, her body twisting and striking with effortless power, he was completely lost in her.

“Tenny.”

Tenzin snapped out of his trance as an arm slung lazily around his shoulders, dragging him out of his daydream. He turned his head sharply to see Bumi grinning at him, eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Enjoying the view?” Bumi teased, his voice low so only Tenzin could hear.

Tenzin immediately stiffened, his cheeks heating up. “I was observing her technique,” he muttered, clearing his throat and straightening his posture. “Lin is an exceptional earthbender.”

Bumi snorted. “Sure, sure. That’s why you look like you’re about to start writing poetry about her.”

Tenzin shot him a sharp glare, but his older brother only laughed, ruffling his hair as if he were still a child.

On the sparring grounds, Lin was facing off against Aang, exchanging rapid blows with the ease of someone who had trained alongside the Avatar since childhood. Her movements were sharp, precise—years of disciplined training and raw talent making her a force to be reckoned with. Aang, of course, was faster, but Lin’s sheer power and endurance made her a challenge.

Tenzin was supposed to be paying attention to their techniques, studying their footwork, their strategies. But his mind kept wandering. The way Lin’s muscles flexed beneath her fitted training clothes, the determination burning in her sharp green eyes, the way a bead of sweat traced a path down her temple—it was unfair how effortlessly she captivated him.

Bumi nudged him again, jerking his chin toward Lin as she walked toward them. “You might wanna wipe the lovesick look off your face before she gets here.”

Tenzin scowled but barely had time to compose himself before Lin was standing in front of them, hands on her hips, breathing only slightly heavier from the spar.

“Annoying him again, Bumi?” she asked, arching a brow.

Bumi grinned. “It’s my duty as his older brother.” He gestured toward Tenzin’s head with mock seriousness. “Still surprised he’s not bald yet from all the stress I put him through.”

Tenzin rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. “I’m not spiritually ready for my tattoos yet.”

“I like his hair,” Lin said casually, wiping some sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. “It makes him look… normal.”

Tenzin felt his breath hitch. She liked his hair. The thought settled into his chest like a warm ember, spreading through him until it was all he could think about. He’d always imagined himself following in his father’s footsteps, eventually shaving his head when the time was right. But now… he suddenly never wanted to. Not if Lin liked it this way.

Bumi, of course, couldn’t let the moment slide. “Ditch the clothes, and he’ll look like a normal person too.”

Lin smirked slightly, the rare expression making Tenzin’s pulse quicken. Her smiles weren’t common, but when she did smile, it was like everything else around them faded. It was effortless, understated, but it held something deeper—something Tenzin wished he could hold onto forever.

She turned back toward the sparring grounds, ready to resume training with Aang, but Tenzin’s gaze remained locked on her.

His eyes traced the way her body moved, strong and sure. Lin wasn’t delicate, wasn’t the kind of girl who dressed up in silk robes or giggled behind a fan. She didn’t wear tight, fashionable clothes that accentuated her figure—but to him, she didn’t need to. He could see the strength in her, the quiet elegance beneath the layers of armor she built around herself. She was all sharp angles and soft curves, muscle and grace, fire and steel.

She was beautiful. Not in the way most people defined beauty, but in a way that felt undeniable to him. She could have scars or bruises from her training, stretch marks or callouses from years of hard work, and none of it would matter. He would still think she was the most incredible person he had ever laid eyes on.

And the truth was, it wasn’t just the way she looked that had him so mesmerized. It was her. Her unwavering determination, her quick wit, her fierce loyalty. The way she carried the weight of the world without ever asking for help.

All of it.

He wanted all of her.

Tenzin had never been one to let emotions distract him. He prided himself on discipline, on maintaining control. He was the son of Avatar Aang—expected to be a leader, a spiritual guide, a pillar of wisdom. But when it came to Lin, all that self-restraint crumbled into dust.

He had convinced himself that it was a passing thing, something he could ignore, something that would fade in time. It didn’t.

If anything, it grew worse.

Tenzin found himself at the training grounds more than usual, offering excuses to his father or himself about needing to refine his airbending techniques. In reality, he was there for one reason—Lin.

She trained harder than anyone he knew, often long after the others had left. And he would watch. He told himself it was admiration, that he respected her dedication, but deep down, he knew better.

Lin moved with a controlled kind of violence, her every step grounded and firm. Earthbending was so different from airbending—solid, forceful, direct. She never hesitated. Never second-guessed herself. And that confidence, that raw, undeniable strength, had him completely enthralled.

“Are you going to stand there staring, or are you actually going to spar with me?”

Tenzin blinked, snapping out of his daze. Lin stood a few feet away, arms crossed, an amused yet challenging smirk playing at her lips. He hadn’t even realized she had noticed him.

“I wasn’t staring,” he lied, stepping forward.

Lin snorted, rolling her shoulders. “Sure you weren’t.” She dropped into a fighting stance, eyes locked onto his. “Come on, Airhead, show me what you’ve got.”

Tenzin hesitated. Sparring with Lin meant being close to her—too close. It meant dodging her strikes, feeling the force of her movements, catching glimpses of the fire in her eyes. But he couldn’t exactly back down.

So he took his stance.

The match started fast. Lin lunged first, sending a sharp, deliberate strike toward him. He barely avoided it, twisting the air around him to propel himself backward. She pressed forward, relentless, her movements quick and calculated.

Tenzin dodged and redirected, his style fluid where hers was firm, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep this up forever. She was pushing him, and he was letting her. Maybe because he liked the way she moved. Maybe because he liked the way her eyes flashed with determination when she fought. Maybe because he just wanted an excuse to keep looking at her.

But then, she caught him off guard.

A well-placed foot sweep sent him stumbling, and before he could recover, Lin had him pinned—one knee pressing into his chest, her hands gripping his wrists.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Tenzin could feel her breath on his skin, could see the beads of sweat on her forehead, the loose strands of hair sticking to her cheek. His heart pounded so hard it drowned out every logical thought in his head.

Lin raised a brow. “You’re distracted.”

He swallowed, trying to find his voice. “You’re just… very skilled.”

Her lips twitched in amusement, but she didn’t move right away. And neither did he.

Then, just as quickly as she had taken him down, she pushed herself off him, offering him a hand. “Try harder next time,” she said simply.

Tenzin took her hand, his fingers lingering against hers for just a second longer than necessary.

Try harder? He already was. Trying so, so hard not to want her.

The problem with living at the Air Temple was that there were too many places to run into Lin.

Tenzin often found himself in the courtyard at night, hoping the cool air would clear his mind. It never did. Especially not when Lin was there too.

Tonight was one of those nights.

She sat on the temple steps, leaning back on her palms, eyes turned up toward the stars. The moonlight cast soft shadows across her face, making her look almost serene.

Tenzin hesitated before stepping forward. “Couldn’t sleep?”

Lin glanced at him, then shrugged. “Too much energy.”

He sat beside her, leaving just enough space between them to keep his thoughts in check. “Training too hard again?”

“Something like that.” She tilted her head slightly, studying him. “And you? Why are you awake?”

Tenzin could have given a dozen excuses. Meditation. Studying. Preparing for his responsibilities. But instead, he gave her the truth.

“I’ve been thinking.”

Lin smirked. “That’s dangerous.”

He huffed a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “I suppose it can be.”

A comfortable silence settled between them, the kind that didn’t need to be filled with words. It was something he liked about Lin—she never felt the need for unnecessary chatter.

Then, without looking at him, she spoke again. “Do you ever feel like… you’re supposed to be someone specific? Like everyone expects you to be a certain way, and you don’t know if you can be that person?”

Tenzin turned to her, surprised by the vulnerability in her voice. Lin never talked like this—not often, at least.

“All the time,” he admitted softly.

Lin exhaled, as if relieved he understood. “Yeah.”

Another silence. Then, she leaned back on her elbows, gazing up at the sky again. “I think you’ll figure it out.”

Tenzin looked at her, taking in the way the moonlight highlighted the curve of her jaw, the softness in her usually sharp features.

He wanted to tell her the same thing. That she was already enough, that she didn’t have to prove anything to anyone. That she was incredible, exactly as she was.

But he didn’t. Because if he started saying things like that, he might not be able to stop.

And he couldn’t afford to want her more than he already did.

Tenzin never realized how much he associated Lin with a scent until it started haunting him.

She always smelled like something familiar. Not perfume—Lin wasn’t the type to bother with flowery fragrances—but something raw, something real. The scent of earth after rain, of metal and stone, of sweat and effort.

It clung to her training clothes, to her gloves, to the space where she stood. And, unfortunately, it clung to him too.

One afternoon, he caught himself in the temple halls, breathing in the faintest trace of her scent on his scarf. She must have brushed against him earlier, maybe handed him something, and now the smell was there, lingering like a ghost.

And Tenzin, fully aware of how pathetic he was, didn’t want to let it go.

He groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. He was losing his mind. Completely, utterly losing it over her.

This wasn’t normal. It wasn’t rational.

But when it came to Lin Beifong, nothing ever was.

And yet, despite all his efforts, despite his self-restraint and logic, Tenzin knew one thing with absolute certainty—

He was already too far gone.

Tenzin knew he was in trouble the moment he started dreaming about Lin.

Not just passing dreams, but vivid, all-consuming ones. Dreams where he felt the warmth of her skin against his, where her calloused fingers traced the shape of his jaw. Dreams where she leaned in, close enough that he could count the freckles on her nose, and whispered his name like it meant something.

Then, just before he could kiss her, he always woke up.

And it was agony.

Because no matter how much he tried to push these feelings aside, they always found their way back to him—like the unshakable pull of gravity.

Tenzin had never been a particularly materialistic person. Air Nomad values taught him to let go of attachments to physical things.

But then Lin had to go and leave her shirt at the temple.

It was an old training shirt, slightly worn at the edges, left crumpled on one of the benches after sparring. Tenzin found it before anyone else did, holding it in his hands like it was some forbidden artifact.

It smelled like her.

Earth and metal and something uniquely Lin.

And for an embarrassingly long moment, he just stood there, gripping the fabric and closing his eyes, breathing it in like some kind of desperate fool.

He knew he should return it. He would return it.

But instead of walking to Lin’s room, he ended up taking it back to his own. Just for a moment, he told himself. Just until he saw her again.

It sat folded on his desk for three days.

When Lin finally found out, she smirked at him and said, “So… you stealing my clothes now, Tenzin?”

He nearly choked on his own breath

It had been a long day of training, and Tenzin found himself walking with Lin along the cliffs of the Air Temple. The sun was setting, casting everything in deep gold and violet hues.

For once, they were both quiet.

Tenzin wanted to say something. He wanted to tell her that he couldn’t stop thinking about her, that she had completely consumed him in ways he didn’t understand.

But when he finally turned to face her, Lin was looking at him with something unreadable in her expression.

“What?” he asked, his voice softer than usual.

She hesitated. Then, almost too quietly, she said, “Nothing.”

But it wasn’t nothing.

He could feel it between them, thick as the air before a storm.

Tenzin opened his mouth, ready to say something—anything—to break the unbearable tension. But then, Lin smirked and nudged his shoulder with hers.

“You’re thinking too hard again.”

Just like that, the moment was gone.

And Tenzin knew, deep down, that if he didn’t do something soon, he was going to lose his mind over her.

Tenzin had spent his whole life striving for balance. Balance in his bending, balance in his emotions, balance in the expectations placed upon him.

But Lin Beifong was not balanced. She was chaos wrapped in a smirk, sharp edges softened only by those rare moments of quiet vulnerability. And Tenzin—who had always prided himself on being in control—was completely, utterly unraveling.

Tenzin had always thought himself above petty emotions like jealousy. But then Lin started spending more time around one of the younger earthbenders at the temple—a visiting student named Ren.

And Tenzin? He hated him.

It was irrational, immature, and completely beneath him. But none of that mattered when he saw Ren laughing a little too freely around Lin, standing a little too close when they trained, placing a hand on her shoulder like he had the right to touch her.

Tenzin told himself it wasn’t his business. Lin wasn’t his.

But that didn’t stop the simmering frustration every time he saw them together.

One afternoon, he found himself watching them from a distance, pretending to be invested in a scroll about airbending forms while actually grinding his teeth as Ren demonstrated some new earthbending technique for Lin.

“She’s going to break his ribs,” Bumi said casually, dropping onto the bench beside him.

Tenzin tore his gaze away. “What?”

Bumi smirked. “She’s only letting him get comfortable so she can humiliate him when he gets cocky. It’s what she does.”

Tenzin looked back just in time to see Ren attempt a fancy move—only for Lin to sweep his legs out from under him with effortless ease. He landed flat on his back, groaning, while Lin smirked down at him.

Tenzin should have been mature about it. He should have let it go.

Instead, he smirked.

Bumi elbowed him. “Wow. That’s a little evil for you, monk.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tenzin said, his voice completely neutral.

But when Lin caught his gaze across the training yard and raised an amused eyebrow, he quickly looked away.

Tenzin had touched Lin before, of course. Brief, fleeting moments—passing her a cup of tea, steadying her after a sparring match, a casual brush of shoulders when they walked side by side.

But this was different.

It was late. The training grounds were empty except for the two of them, sitting side by side on the cool stone steps after an exhausting day. Lin was rolling her wrist absentmindedly, wincing slightly.

“You should wrap that,” Tenzin said.

Lin scoffed. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not,” he said firmly, already reaching for the cloth wrap in his pocket. “Let me see.”

She gave him a look, part amused, part exasperated, but she held out her hand.

Tenzin swallowed hard. Her fingers were rough, calloused from years of bending, strong enough to crack stone—and yet, when he touched her, they were warm. Steady.

He wrapped her wrist carefully, trying to focus on the task and not the way her skin felt against his.

“You’re weirdly gentle,” Lin muttered, watching him.

Tenzin’s hands faltered for half a second.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

Lin blinked, something unreadable flickering across her face. Then, just as quickly, she smirked. “I’ve been punched through walls before, Tenzin. You’re not going to hurt me.”

He tied off the bandage and exhaled. “Still.”

Lin flexed her fingers experimentally. “Not bad, Airhead.”

For a moment, they just sat there, his hand still lightly resting over hers.

And then, without thinking, she flipped her hand, palm pressing against his, fingers curling slightly as if testing something.

Tenzin felt his heart stop.

He should have pulled away. He should have made a joke. He should have done anything except stare at her like she was the most important thing in the world.

Lin’s fingers twitched—then she pulled back, standing up abruptly. “I should go.”

Tenzin barely had time to respond before she was already walking away.

He sat there for a long time, staring at his empty palm, still feeling the ghost of her touch.

It was raining the night it almost happened.

Tenzin and Lin had taken shelter under one of the covered walkways of the temple, watching as the storm rolled over the mountains.

Lin hated the rain.

“It makes the ground too soft,” she grumbled, crossing her arms. “Like it’s melting under me.”

Tenzin chuckled. “Airbenders like it. The wind moves differently in the rain.”

Lin turned to look at him. “Of course you would say that.”

He smiled, but it faded quickly when he realized how close they were. Close enough that he could see every raindrop clinging to her eyelashes, close enough that her body heat cut through the chill in the air.

He shouldn’t have stared at her lips.

But he did.

And Lin—Lin—didn’t move away.

She was watching him, waiting.

Tenzin’s heart pounded. He leaned in—just slightly, just enough to see if she would stop him.

She didn’t.

Then, just as their breaths mingled, a voice called out from across the courtyard.

“Lin! Tenzin!”

They jolted apart like guilty teenagers, and Lin let out a frustrated sigh before stepping away.

Tenzin exhaled sharply, running a hand over his face.

So close.

Too close.

Tenzin wasn’t sure when it became unbearable. Maybe it was that night in the rain. Maybe it was every time she smirked at him, or every time she casually touched his arm, or every time she looked at him like she was daring him to do something about it.

But it reached a breaking point.

And when it did, he could no longer pretend.

It happened in the dead of night, after another long day of training, another night of pretending that his entire body didn’t ache for her.

Tenzin found her alone in the courtyard, arms crossed, gazing out over the cliffs. She looked tired.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked.

Lin shook her head. “You?”

Tenzin hesitated—then made a choice.

“No.” He stepped closer. “Because of you.”

Lin stilled. Slowly, she turned to face him, her sharp green eyes searching his. “What?”

Tenzin’s pulse roared in his ears. He had spent months—years—biting his tongue, forcing himself to be patient, to be logical, to be careful.

But he wasn’t careful now.

“I think about you,” he admitted, voice rougher than he intended. “More than I should. More than I want to.”

Lin didn’t look away. She didn’t smirk, didn’t deflect, didn’t tease.

For once, she was completely still.

Tenzin stepped closer, so close that all he had to do was reach out.

“Tell me you don’t feel it too,” he whispered.

The wind howled through the courtyard. Lin’s fingers curled at her sides, like she was waging a war with herself.

Then, just as she opened her mouth—

A loud crash echoed from the temple halls, followed by Bumi’s voice shouting, “Tenzin! I may have set something on fire!”

Lin exhaled sharply, turning away.

And Tenzin?

Tenzin clenched his fists, watching as the moment slipped through his fingers again.

This time, he wasn’t sure if he’d get another chance.

Sooo I might continue this and make him beg for her… stay tuned

#lin beifong #tlok #linzin #im obsessed #the legend of korra #linmybeloved #tenzin #legend of korra #lin x tenzin #linzin fanfic #fanfic #im just a girl #give me a begging man please

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camcat1320 · 5 months ago

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More hints we were supposed to get a Book 4: Air

The introduction at the beginning of every ATLA chapter starts with, "Water. Earth. Fire. Air." This aligns with the book titles for every season of ATLA. We also get Iroh singing a song that goes, "Winter, spring, summer and fall. 4 seasons for love." This also aligns with the seasons each book is affiliated with.

Now, have you ever heard of the ancient Chinese storytelling technique called Kishōtenketsu? I didn't until now. It is an old style of storytelling that features a 4-act story structure. Here is a video that explains it through its use in Studio Ghibli films.

youtube

It's no secret that the writers of ATLA drew inspiration from many different Asian cultures. Why wouldn't they also take inspiration in storytelling structure from these cultures as well? Each part of Kishōtenketsu can be broken up into their own respective parts.

Ki is the introduction of the characters, awakening them. In ATLA, Aang literally is awakened by Katara and Sokka. Zuko is also introduced quickly in the first chapter.

Shō is about listening and being informed. In Book 2, Aang is told he must find an earthbending teacher that is a master at neutrajing where they wait and listen. Toph takes in information with her seismic sense and waits for the best opportunity to make her move.

Ten means "twist" or "change". This is when the story takes an unexpected turn. Each character has their own focused episodes to highlight their changes. For instance, Sokka becoming a swordsman and Katara becoming a bloodbender. Toph asked for help in writing a letter to her mother, and she didn't like asking for help when we first met her. Aang had to deal with his anxiety about confronting the Firelord. The unexpected twist can also be seen when our heroes fail the invasion mission and Zuko joins Team Avatar.

Ketsu is the conclusion, or it could also mean "something coming to fruition." In this last part, all the elements of part 1 and 2 are brought back along with the agent of chaos in part 3. In Hollywood, the story would end with a "happily ever after" or a triumph over evil. However, Ketsu doesn't do this. The story ends with a resolution that can be bittersweet or ambiguous, a balance between light and dark.

In Star Wars and other Hollywood films, the story ends with the defeat of a bad guy then peace is restored. ATLA ending on Book 3 lines up with this western style of storytelling. It never sat right with me how the show ended on Book 3. The last line of Book 3 should've been "Where is my mother" which leaves a cliffhanger for Book 4.

The tea shop scene was shoehorned in and I don't accept it as the true ending. The war is won. Why is Zuko in Ba Sing Se and not back in the Fire Nation doing his Firelord duties? Where are the peace agreement meetings between Firelord Zuko and the other nations? In reality, there's a whole journey of restoration that happens after time of war. Zuko along with the others should've gone on this journey together as a team.

In Book 4, we would've learned that the previous antagonists of the show were not entirely evil and given redemption arcs. We would've seen Azula undergo a redemption arc of her own. On the flip side, we would've also seen previously seemingly nice characters to have a darker side to them. We would've also seen the return of any named side character in the show. Why give a side character a name if they are only going to be featured in one chapter for 1 to 3 minutes of screen time? And what about the airbenders? The fact that they are masters at evasion and hiding? What about the unseasonable tornado in the swamp?

I'm getting off topic. Back on track.

In Spirited Away, Yubaba is definitely an antagonist and she does questionable things like manipulating and stealing people's names. However, she isn't evil. There are rules and laws in the spirit realm and she is the enforcer. The real struggle is subverting from the norm and making meaningful change. This would've been the overarching theme of Book 4 if only it hadn't been cancelled.

Now I'm correcting this wrong by writing my own fanfiction called Book 4: Air, the Missing Element. I'm picking up every crumb and puzzle piece I can find to write the season that should've been.

#Youtube #storytelling #atla fanfic #book 4 air the missing element #writing #atla #avatar the last airbender #studio ghibli #ghibli films #anti bryke #aaron ehasz notice me senpai

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imagines--galore · 8 months ago

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||The Thread of Fate|| Part Thirty-Six

Summary: Soulmate AU. They say the Thread of Fate connects you to your one true love. It may tangle. It may stretch. But it will never break. Wrapped around your little finger it tightens when it feels your soulmate is close and loosens when they are far. And becomes visible with the colors of your soulmate’s Nation when you finally fall in love with them.

Pairing: Zuko x OroraOC (ATLA)

Rating || Genres || Warnings: T+ Romance. Adventure.

Previous Chapters - Masterlist

A/N: I had WAY too much fun writing this chapter :3

Their walk down to the local market area was uneventful.

To anyone watching, it would be a rather normal sight to see several teenagers laughing and talking as they went about enjoying themselves.

No one would ever suspect that the small group of children were actually rather lethal when it came to a specific set of skills. Not to mention the raw power and talent each of them carried within them.

There was Aang, the Avatar who was well on his way to mastering all four elements, an unassuming young boy of thirteen who was smiling from ear to ear as he walked behind the hooded figure of Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, a skillful firebender, not to mention a prodigy when it came to sword fighting. He was leading the group because he knew the way to the Market.

Though he would've much preferred to walked beside his soulmate even if it meant being teased mercilessly by the rest of the group.

Then again, Aang wasn't exactly letting up either. He nudged Zuko, a playful smile on his lips. "You sure firebenders don't burst into flames Zuko?" He asked, to which the Prince frowned in confusion. "No, they do not. Why would you ask that?" He said, to which Aang simply grinned wider, if that were even possible.

"I was afraid I'd have to find a new firebender teacher there, you looked like you were about to go up in flames when you saw Orora." Zuko's nostrils flared, and Aang was almost sure he saw steam coming out of the older boy's ears. His entire face turned red, and he opened his mouth to tell the grinning boy off.

As if on cue, the two laughing figures of Katara and Orora raced past the two boys, with the former having teasingly flicked the latter with some ice cold water. The two boys followed their soulmate's playful and giggling figures, watching as Orora tackled Katara and began to mess up her hair in retaliation.

Though she was unaware of it, Orora had reached the same level of Mastery over waterbending as Katara. They were both talented and powerful benders in their own right. Though their fighting styles were distinctly different. Katara was always more on the defensive side, seeking to cause minimum damage while she protected herself as well as those around her who needed aid. Orora, meanwhile, was the opposite. She wasn't afraid to attack first and neutralize the threat if she had the opportunity. The two girls complimented one another, with Katara and her more nurturing side, and Orora with her more protective side.

"Get off Orora!"

"Make me!"

Though their childish tendencies did tend to come out every now and then, since well, they were still children.

Zuko and Aang were standing there transfixed, for lack of a better word. It was rare to see the two girls just laugh and be themselves without the worries of the world weighing down on them. The adoration in Zuko's molten gaze, and the longing in Aang's stormy eyes was evident as the two girls linked arms and began to lead the way instead, chattering non-stop as they went.

"Are you two gonna keep staring at them all day?" Came the gloating voice of the World's Greatest Earthbender. "Cuz if your heartbeats go any faster then they already are, I'm gonna assume we ran into the Fire Lord on his shopping spree or something." Toph's voice seemed to snap them out of whatever reverie they were experiencing. Zuko reached up to pull the hood even tighter around his face, while Aang pushed his hat down further, nearly covering his eyes. The blind girl let out a cackle as she lightly punched both boys in the arm as she passed by. "Keep walking Lover Boys." She teased,

Though she missed The Duke fiercely, a realization that had surprised her more then anything, Toph was happy that her friends were finally starting to relax and enjoy the companies of their soulmates. Honestly, in her opinion, they were all making issues out of nothing. Except Sokka and Suki.

Still, she was willing to nudge Twinkletoes and Sugar Queen in the right direction if the need arose. And Toph was sure the need would rise. As for Ice Princess and Firebug? Well Toph was happy with simply teasing them both whenever she felt like it.

And that was all the time.

Who knew a girl like her, who had been treated as an invalid and had been kept in isolation her entire life would be part of a group of people who were just as extraordinary as she was.

Well maybe not exactly as she was, because lets face it, she was still the best out of them all, the girl figured smugly.

Though she was glad for every single one of them.

Bringing up the rear of their small group, Suki and Sokka walked hand in hand, with the former simply enjoying the scenery around her. She'd been locked up for way too long, and had missed the landscape she had gotten so used to seeing. Now though, after all those months at the Boiling Rock, Suki wasn't about to take the beautiful scenery around her for granted.

From the well worn dirt path they walked on, to the plants and foliage on either side, to the beach that ran along the right side, the waves crashing against the shore. The wind carried the smell of the sea, yet she had never felt something so free. A ridiculous notion, air having the scent of freedom, and yet for Suki it fit.

The leader of the Kiyoshi Warriors was an intimidating and formidable warrior, Anyone would testify to that. She could take down opponents bigger then her, and do so without breaking a sweat. Extracting information from those unwilling to speak was a skill that had come quite easily to her.

And yet, in that moment, she was just a girl, holding hands with her soulmate, as they followed after their friends. "You're not gonna go and join Toph?" She asked, knowing just how much Sokka adored any and all opportunities he could get to annoy Zuko. The Water Tribe Warrior shrugged. "I'll get to him later. Let Toph have her fun first." He chuckled, glancing at Suki with a smile. "Besides, I like walking with you more." He admitted, squeezing her hand lightly as he did.

If any of the others heard him, Sokka was sure he would never hear the end of it. And yet, he didn't really care. Ever since Azula had told him of Suki's capture, he had been beating himself over and over for not going to her rescue. But then where would he have even begun?

Not like he could go to every single prison in the Fire Nation to try and see if she was there.

And though he could've used his string for guidance, other more pressing matters had stopped him from doing his heart's bidding. So he had waited and fate smiled on him that day at the Boiling Rock. The Sokka from just a few months ago would hit him over the head for wasting time and not continuing his training as a Warrior. But then during his travels Sokka had seen just how badly some soulmate destinies could turn out. Look at what had happened to all his friends, even his sisters.

Toph, who was separated from The Duke until the foreseeable future.

Aang and Katara, who were refusing to even speak of their bond, just because they were too scared of being a distraction to the other.

Zuko and Orora, who had been on the opposite sides of the war, were only just beginning to find themselves with one another.

As he glanced at Suki's smiling face, Sokka couldn't help but thank Yue for sending her to him.

Turning a corner, the small group came to a halt at the sight of the market that sprawled in front of them. They were mostly stalls and tents, set up by the merchants who were passing by. Ember Island was a good source of income for merchants who brought goods from all over the world. The food stalls were run by the locals though, dabbling in local cuisine mostly.

And since Zuko had been there before, all eyes turned to him, looking to him for guidance. A rather uncomfortable notion for the Prince since all his life he'd been sidelined and told to keep his opinions to himself. By everyone other then Iroh and Orora of course.

A brief brush of a familiar warmth against his fingers, had the boy glancing briefly at Orora, who was smiling at him in an encouraging manner.

He cleared his throat. "We can split up and get what we need, or we can travel in a group." He shrugged. "I vote we stick together, so we can keep an eye out for one another." Aang said, to which the others quickly agreed. Nodding Zuko continued. "Alright then."

Reaching underneath his cloak, the young Prince pulled out a large coin purse that was filled to the brim with Fire Nation currency. "I took the liberty of taking some money out of the safe back at the house." He explained, as he showed everyone the money.

Toph cackled. "We get to spend the Fire Lord's money." Sokka smiled gleefully as he clapped his hands like an excited child. "I can't wait to visit the weapons shop."

————————–

Suki wasn't exactly picky with what she wanted to buy for herself. It was just that she was a little sad about not wearing the colors she was familiar with. The others could at least wear the clothes of their Nation whenever they felt like it because they had that option.

While she was stuck wearing red.

Seriously the Fire Nation had so many varying shades of red it was ridiculous.

Holding up two blouses she glanced at one, then at the other. "Er....what exactly is the different between these two?" She asked, glancing at the shopkeeper from the seemingly similar items of clothing. The shopkeeper looked at her as if she had frown two heads. Or perhaps three, depending on his imagination.

"How can you not see the difference?" He chided her, prompting Katara to lift an eyebrow at his sudden change in tone. As if he were speaking to someone beneath him. "This is carmine, while this is ruby red." He clarified, pointing to each blouse as he named the colors. The two girls glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes. Clearly they shared the sentiment that neither of them could see any difference.

Still, best not to aggravate someone they would be haggling with soon.

Picking up the items of clothing she would need, in varying shades of red, Suki disappeared into the changing room that had been set up. Katara was still browsing through the different clothing materials on display, Orora at her side.

Running her fingers through the fabric of one of the clothing material Suki had rejected, Orora couldn't help but marvel at the silkiness of it. A figure came up to stand next to her, enveloping the hand that rested atop the silk.

"The last time we were at a dress shop, I distinctly remember you complaining about there being not enough red around." She said, turning her head so she could smile at Zuko. "Is this red enough for you?" The girl gestured to the various stalls and racks around them, all stacked high with rolls and bundles of red with her free hand.

Zuko looked around, though his gaze was half-hearted before he was looking back at her again. "I kind of miss the greens and brown." He admitted, the fingers of the hand covering hers locking with her fingers. "And I do prefer the reds, but," He paused, bringing their joined hands up.

All so he could whisper against her skin.

"More so when you're wearing it."

She may have rendered him speechless with her new appearance. However, Zuko returned the favor with just his words. Her cheeks darkened and she could feel her blush travel down along her neck as she swallowed, lips parted slightly, unable to break away from the intensity of his eyes.

"Didn't know your skin could change colors Orora."

The two teenagers snapped out of their intimate moment, only to see Aang standing just beside Orora, checking out the different robes on display as nonchalant as any other buyer. The barest hint of a smile was the only indication that he had heard the entire exchange between them both.

Their hands unglued, with Zuko turning slightly away, a little embarrassed that they'd been overheard. Orora pushed Aang's hat down over his eyes in retaliation. "Just like yours did when you first saw Katara in her Fire Nation clothes Lover Boy." She teased, though her words had the opposite effect.

Where she had been expecting Aang to smile in embarrassment or even blush, he did neither of those things. Instead, his shoulders dropped and his eyes darted to where Katara was standing, waiting for Suki to come out. Orora frowned slightly.

"You alright there Little Brother?" She asked, the concern in her voice prompting Zuko to pay full attention to the conversation. Aang sighed before nodding. "Yeah, I'll be alright. Its just soulmate stuff." He admitted, to which the Prince raised an eyebrow. "What you still haven't told her? Even after you told me you kissed her?"

The new information had Orora gasping sharply, her ice blue eyes holding Aang in place. "You kissed Katara, and you told Zuko before me?" She hissed, looking just a little angry at having being kept out of the loop.

"No offense." She quickly added.

"None taken." He responded with a shrug.

"Whats this I hear?" Toph spoke up from where she had been passing by. "Twinkletoes kissed Sugar Queen?"

"Shhhh!!!!!!!!" Aang hissed, slapping a hand over Toph's mouth as he looked around his gaze frantic. Spying Katara a good ways away from their little group, he relaxed before removing his hand from Toph's mouth before she licked him.

It had happened to Sokka before.

"Could we not talk about this?" He pleaded, looking every bit as forlorn as Momo did whenever someone refused to share their food when he asked for it. If Aang had big floppy ears, Orora was sure they would be drooping now. "Wait so, when did you kiss her?" Toph asked, a little too invested in the new piece of information. Then again, Orora looked just as expectantly at the younger boy who pursed his lip, glancing at Zuko, blaming him for the situation he had put him in.

"Before the Invasion." The boy muttered. The revelation had the waterbender wincing. "That long and you still haven't spoken to her about it?" She asked. Toph shook her head. "I'm new at the whole soulmate thing, but even I know that that's way past the point of talking it over."

Aang shrugged. "We've had so many things happen that I haven't had the time to do anything about it! I mean first, we lost the Invasion, then Orora sacrificed herself, then Zuko came back, and so did Orora." He was gesticulating wildly as he recounted all that had occurred the past few weeks or so. "Then Katara was unsure about Zuko being around, and then I had to learn firebending from dragons. Then Orora and Katara had their fights, and then Katara's dad came back, and then Azula attacked and she went off to find the man who killed her Mother, and now we're here."

During his tirade Orora glanced at Zuko out of the corner of her eyes, meeting his gaze as he did the same. He shrugged, and she nodded. Best not to stop Aang and allow him to let it all out. Once he was finished, the young Avatar breathed deeply, trying to catch his breath as he panted.

Though as soon as he was done, Zuko stepped forward. "Look Aang, I told you before while we were trapped at the Sun Warriors Temple, its never a good thing to leave things unresolved." His golden gaze flitted briefly to Orora. "You can still talk to her about it." He urged, softness in his eyes as he regarded the younger boy.

Had he grown a soft spot for the annoying yet bright student he was training?

Yes he had.

Would he admit it out loud?

He would rather eat bland food for the rest of his life.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Zuko is right." Toph said. "Who knew you could give some good advice Firebug?" She quipped, before turning her attention back to Aang. "And really Twinkletoes, every single thing you just said, has been one excuse after the other. I mean look at Sokka and Suki." She waved an arm in the general direction of the duo in question. Suki had appeared wearing her new clothes, and was being admired by her soulmate, with Katara standing by, pretending she wasn't related to her brother. "They found each other despite Suki being in jail." Pressing a hand against her chest, Toph continued. "I'm blind, and I had no hopes of ever finding my soulmate, but I still did."

Her hand shot out to gesture at Zuko and Orora as they stood side by side. "And then take these two. I mean they were enemies at one point, but now they're together, and stronger then ever." The compliment had a proud smile rising to Orora's lips as she gently nudged Zuko with her shoulder who responded with a gentle nudge of his own.

"So don't give me the 'there was never a right moment' excuse." Toph said, pausing as Zuko took over. "There is never a right moment Aang. Trust me, if I waited for that, I would never be where I am now."

Finally, Orora spoke up. "Aang? You've waited a hundred years for your soulmate. Even though they were spent in a catatonic state, that doesn't mean your soul wasn't waiting for her. Yearning for your other half." She reached out to rest a comforting hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "You deserve to be happy with your soulmate." She urged as he looked up at her.

Aang glanced over his sister's shoulder, seeing Katara standing beside Suki as the latter paid for her clothing items.

He nodded.

"I'll try and talk to her." He said as a way of promise, as he looked around at his three friends who smiled back in response.

Toph nodded. "That's the spirit!" She urged, wrapping an arm around Aang's shoulders. "You guys come on! We're going to the armor stalls next!" Sokka called out where he was waiting with Suki and Katara. Toph began to drag Aang with her as Orora and Zuko followed, with the former turning to the latter and stating with a laugh.

"Who'd have thought you would be giving love advice to the Avatar?"

————————–

If Sokka had to choose one aspect of shopping he loved more then anything, he'd have to pick weapons shopping.

There was just something about browsing through the weapons display that had him feeling excited. And since he had someone who shared his love for weapons, Zuko, he could make comments that someone actually understood.

"Woah! Look at these!" He called to Zuko as he leaned forward to examine a display of several razor sharp looking Uchigatanas. Zuko whistled under his breath as he moved closer. "These look so light to handle." He observed, his eyes roving over every single detail of the gorgeous piece of weapon. "Bet they can cut through steel." Sokka gushed, stars in his eyes as he admired the sword.

That is before his eyes fell on the price and he winced. "Katara and Orora will kill me for spending that much money." He muttered under his breath, glancing to where the two girls were riffling through an entire stall of leather arm gauntlets. "Maybe once we defeat my Father we can have access to the treasure volt of the Fire Nation and buy whatever we want?" Zuko suggested, to which Sokka grinned. "I'll take you up on that offer!" He exclaimed.

Just a few steps away, Katara glanced up at her brother's voice, before returning her attention to the black leather gauntlet she had picked up and was weighing in her hands. "I don't know, they feel a bit too heavy Orora." She mused while her older sister browsed with interest.

"I dunno, I kinda like the feel of them." The waterbender admitted, as she pulled out a pair of them that were hidden well under the pile. "Oooooo these are gorgeous!" The girl muttered to herself. Immediately she pulled off the arm bands she had been wearing and pulled on the gauntlets.

"Mind tying them up?" She requested Katara, who quickly did up the laces along the length of the gauntlets as they ran up Orora's forearms. The insides were soft against her skin, but the leather outside was sturdy. They leather split into two colors, with the more dominant color being a deep crimson, with an added hint of gold along the edges as well as the laces that kept the gloves firm around her arms.

Orora flexed her fingers, trying out the stretch of the leather. "How do they look?" She asked, turning to show them off to Katara who smiled and nodded. "They look amazing! You should get them!" She urged, grabbing Orora by the shoulder, turning her around and marching her towards the owner of the shop.

The two girls passed Suki and Aang as they stood observing a contraption they had never seen before. They both had their heads tilted to one side, and had identical expressions of curiosity on their faces. "What do you suppose it does?" Suki asked, her fingers itching to reach out and touch the contraption, just to see how it worked. But she held her hand, a trait Aang had not yet mastered as his hand darted out to run his fingers along the smooth metal.

"It looks too....innocent to be a weapon." He said, leaning down so he could look underneath the weapon. "And yet here it is, in a weapon's shop." Suki murmured as Toph came up behind them. "What're you two looking at?" She asked, feeling the strange shape of metal in front of her.

Aang shrugged. "We don't know. Some sort of weapon." He admitted, his exploring fingers finding a small indent in the metal overlay. An indent that pressed down. "Hey, what does this do?" He asked, even as he pressed down against it.

The reaction was instantaneous.

Whatever weapon it was, it was one that shot some sort strange iron darts out of it. They flew through the air with deadly precision, before coming in contact with the skins of several other patrons as they milled about.

The three of them watched, dumbfounded, as the people who were hit dropped to the ground after a bit of swooning.

Reaching out, Toph quickly swatted Aang's hand away from the weapon. Aang and Suki glanced nervously at one another, before they quietly, and as sneakily as they could, stepped away from the contraption.

Toph stayed where she was.

Until Suki's arm darted out and grabbed Toph's hand before she yanked the earthbender away from the scene of the crime.

————————–

"Are they still following us?" Orora asked Suki out of the corner of her mouth as the two girls pretending to be entranced by a truly horrendous piece of art that depicted the Fire Lord. The Kiyoshi Warrior nodded, her eyes never wavering from their pretend distraction. "And from what I heard, they're rather persistent when it comes to their conquests. And yes, that was the exact word I heard them use." She added with a look that had Orora rolling her eyes.

No sooner had she stopped speaking, when the two girls found themselves flanked on either side by very two people concerning their conversation.

"Don't think we've seen you two around before." The boy at Suki's side said, grinning a little too smugly for someone who looked like he had never seen a good fight before. He had too much muscle for either of the girl's tastes. "You probably haven't." Suki replied in a tone of complete indifference as she lifted a stage mask and examined it with more interest then she was giving Muscles.

His friend, whom Orora dubbed Earring, on account of the several earrings he wore in one ear, sought to add to the conversation by saying. "May we ask where you lovely ladies are from?" He asked, grinning down at Orora, who's fingers itched to embed an ice dagger somewhere on his person.

Preferably where the sun don't shine.

"You just did." Orora responded, her tone mirroring Suki's. "And where we are from is none of your business because I doubt you will see us again." With that Suki looped her arm through Orora's and the two girls began to walk away.

But the boys were persistent.

Something the two girls had noticed, when they had been harassing some other girls just half an hour earlier, before their attention was diverted towards them.

Muscles quickly stepped in their path, blocking them. "Woah! Woah! Come one girls. We're just being friendly." He said with a chuckle and a wink in Suki's direction. The Warrior only glared back. "Leave us alone." She said as a way of warning them to back off. But of course, in the eyes of the two idiots, they didn't appear to be a threat.

Earring chuckled. "Awww, don't be rude. We just wanna show you girls a good time." He drawled as he moved to wrap an arm around Orora's shoulder.

Only to find himself on the floor, with the same arm twisted behind his back in a painful hold that had him whimpering. His friend blanched, taking a step forward to try and help him, but stopped at the look of sheer disgust and anger that was directed towards him by the two girls.

Suki, standing to the side, arms crossed over her chest.

And Orora , holding Earring down in a painful hold.

"We'll be staying here for a few weeks." Suki said, adopting the very drawling tone Earring had used moments ago. "So it would do the both of you some good if you were to disappear for those time period." She added as a friendly suggestion.

Orora smiled maliciously, her ice blue eyes glittering, promising pain. "Because if either of us see you again, our little vacation will be ruined." Her hold on Earring didn't let up. "And trust me, you don't want to annoy us."

She stepped away, allowing the boy to scramble to his feet and scurry to his friend. "Plus if we see either of you harassing any other girl." Suki continued with a sweet smile on her lips. Her eyes, however, were another story.

Just as Orora, they promised pain.

And perhaps death.

"We'll be sure your kind doesn't.........spawn."

The idiots ran.

Leaving Orora a little surprised. "I didn't think they would understand that last threat." She commented, the look of pure ice and anger melting away. Suki shrugged. "I don't think they did. They were just cowards."

So saying, the two girls moved to where Katara was busy haggling over the price of a new waterskin, completely missing their other halves as they stood just a little ways away, having just seen what had happened.

"That was......scary."

"Was it?"

"No not really. That was....."

"Hot."

"So hot."

Oblivious to their inner turmoil, Aang grinned at the mask he had found. "Hey Zuko! Look what I found!" He called out to the Prince, who snapped out of his reverie to glance at the Avatar.

As he stood there, proudly wearing the mask of the Blue Spirit.

"Look familiar!" He said, his voice muffled behind the mask. Zuko rolled his eyes, moving to ignore Aang so he would drop the subject. However, Sokka was quick to pick on Zuko's annoyance. "Whats that?" He asked Aang to which the boy grinned as he removed the mask. "Its the mask Zuko used to wear as the Blue Spirit." He explained to which Sokka raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"You know, Orora wasn't exaggerating when she said that you lived for the drama." He said, feeling that maybe his sister had been right in judging the Prince for what he was. Zuko shot the water tribe boy and annoyed look. He wasn't even fazed as Aang handed over a few coins and bought the mask.

Zuko blinked. "Did you actually buy it?" He asked, to which Aang responded with a shrug. "What? I didn't say it wasn't a cool mask." Placing it within the shoulder bag Sokka had purchased, Aang glanced at a figure approaching them.

"Er.... Zuko? How much money did you give Toph?" He asked, prompting both him and Sokka to turn and look at what he had spied.

And sure enough there was Toph. Barely able to walk under a staggering pile of......well......things.

"Where did you get all of this?" Sokka asked, the amazement coloring his tone as Toph dropped everything at the boys' feet. The girl grinned. "This blockhead bumped in to me, and I played the blind card. Next thing I know, everyone was offering me free stuff." She shrugged, looking much too proud and smug. "And who was I to ignore their kindness and charity?"

Zuko looked over the knick-knacks Toph had been donated. "I don't think Orora is gonna be happy about this." He muttered, glancing in the direction of his girlfriend who was still busy with Suki and Katara. Sokka nodded. "Yeah, and neither will Katara."

Toph raised an eyebrow. "Why? Are you two scared of them?"

A beat of silence.

And then:

"Yeah that was a stupid question. Of course you're scared of them both." She answered her own question, to which Aang added with a shrug. "Aren't we all?"

The four of them made small noises of agreement. "What're you gonna do about all this junk?" Zuko asked, to which Toph shrugged. Taking a look around the inventory Toph had accumulated, Sokka hummed. "Well most of it could be used at the beach." Suddenly his eyes brightened and he grinned wide. "Why don't we have a beach party?" He suggested.

His words were meant with quite the enthusiasm on Aang's and Toph's part. Zuko however, was remembering the last party he had been invited to, and how disastrous it went.

"A beach party?" Katara said, once Sokka had raced over to his sisters and soulmate and told them the plan. Suki shrugged, smiling. "That sounds fun. And with all the extra stuff Toph was donated we can have a really good party."

Orora narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Yeah." She said, not believing the story for a second even as Toph gave her an innocent smile.

"Donated."

————————–

"Now! For the final and most important items on our list. The food!" Katara declared as the group finally made it to the food section of the market. The air was heavy with the spices and scents of the various items being cooked. There were many stalls set up that sold produce, but the majority of them offered cooked meals.

"And since we're having a party, I think its best if we get double. That means we'll need to buy twice as much meat, thrice as much as vegetables and fruits since that is what Aang and Momo eat." The boy smiled in relief, prompting Katara to smile back at him. Sokka, already excited about the prospect of a party, was barely able to contain his emotions over the fact that they would be buying and eating meat that night.

And so their final task began.

Katara was in charge of haggling, making sure they only paid enough and didn't overpay just because they were children. She was ruthless in her tactics too. Orora and Suki were in charge of picking up and putting away the best of the produce. Aang joined them once they reached a vegetable and fruit vendor. Sokka and Toph were taste-testing. Or rather they were eating whatever they could until they had the chance to reach the stalls where they were selling food that sold cooked food. Zuko was simply standing to the side and holding whatever Orora, Suki or Aang would pile into his arms.

The young Prince also made sure that an extra few moon-peaches were packed. Because he knew they were Orora's favorite.

Maybe they could share some later.

Having slapped Sokka's hand from taking yet another fruit to devour, a strange smell wafted through the air, that had Katara crinkling her nose. "What is that smell?" She asked Zuko, who was standing right next to her, Sokka have sulked away to nurse his red hand. The scarred Prince looked up from where he had been putting everything in one of the many shopping baskets Toph had been gifted.

"Burned Jasmine." He admitted, his eyes finding the source. A tea vendor nearby had apparently boiled the brew for far too long and was now being scolded by the customers. "He should've stepped it for only four minutes over a steady flame. That's when you can get the proper scent and taste of the tea leaves." He added, as if the knowledge of making tea was common and everyone should know it.

The girl grinned. Yanking at his arm, she began to pull him towards the flustered looking tea vendor who looked up at them in confusion. "Tell him what you just told me." She urged him. Zuko looked uncomfortable for only a minute before he glanced at the desperate looking tea vendor and sighed.

A few minutes later, the entire group was standing a little ways away from the small tea stall and sipping on a freshly made brew of perfect jasmine tea. They had to move away from the stall because it suddenly got too crowded.

Mostly because the scent of the jasmine tea, after the tea vendor brewed it under Zuko's instructions, had attracted more then a fair share of the customers. The tea vendor had been in tears when he offered the entire group a cup of jasmine each for free to thank Zuko for his help.

"I always knew you were paying attention to Master when he would give he tea brewing lessons." Orora teased as she stood beside Zuko, enjoying her own cup of tea. The boy shrugged in response. "I just wish I had paid more attention." He admitted in a low voice, his gaze trained to his own reflection within the cup he now held.

Reaching out to pat his shoulder, Katara smiled. "I'm sure your Uncle would be really happy to know that even when you weren't paying attention you still actually listened to him." She reassured him as Aang nodded. "Katara's right. This is really the best tea I've had, and I'm a hundred and twelve years old." He added with a grin, no one mentioning how he had been trapped in ice for a hundred of those years.

"I don't normally like tea." Sokka said, looking down at his cup of tea with a critical eye. Suki rolled her eyes at him. "What he means to say is he liked it." Sipping from her cup, Toph made sure to add her opinion in as well. "Out of all of us, I'm the only one who's had tea made by Zuko's Uncle, other then Orora."

She pointed towards the girl. "And since Ice Princess is a compromised, what with her being head over heels for Firebug here." Both teenagers blushed at the words, unable to meet the other's eyes as they sipped their tea. "I can tell you that this is a close interpretation of his tea making skills."

Despite her teasing, Zuko couldn't help but glance around at the smiling, open and encouraging faces of his friends. "Thanks." He muttered, unable to say anything more as he felt Orora reach out to take his free hand in her own and gave it a squeeze.

This.

This was what she had always wanted. People who supported and encouraged one another. Who helped lift each other up and help however they could. People who loved one another unconditionally because they genuinely cared, not because it was a necessity. Who teased and made fun of you, but would not hesitate to lay down their life if the situation called for it. People who had your back no matter what.

A family.

"You alright there Orora?"

She blinked, not realizing she had started to follow Zuko when he began to lead her away, once the group started to move. Blinking away the suspicious moisture that had gathered at the corner of her eyes, the girl smiled up at her boyfriend. "I'm alright." She said with a nod.

Zuko glanced around him, seeing their group disperse slightly as they began to go over the different food stalls to try and find something to eat before the beach party.

Now was his chance.

He had been meaning to ask Orora before, while they had been shopping for Suki's outfit. Then Aang had gone and interrupted them, he was still a little miffed about that because it had been the perfect moment. With his soulmate flustered and him with the upper hand feeling confident and sure of himself.

Now though, his heart began to pick up speed, and he could actually feel his hands start to feel clammy. Which was ridiculous because what he was about to ask had been a long time coming.

So why in Agni was he so nervous?!

He opened his mouth. "Orora?"

Just then a loud scream cut him off, followed by a loud cackle.

The two teenagers looked to the source. Only to be greeted by the sight of Toph rolling around on the floor, laughing her head off, while Sokka screamed and yelled, clutching at his throat, his tongue hanging out, tears streaming down his face.

Spying the stall they were standing in front of Zuko groaned. "He ate the fire flakes." He muttered to a confused looking Orora, who winced in sympathy. Katara quickly handed Sokka the waterskin to try and quench the heat.

"Why'd you go and eat the whole bag?" Suki scolded her boyfriend as she watched him gulp down the water, though most of it spilled from the sides. "Becauth Thopth tholdh mthe ith wath thweeth." Sokka responded, or at least tried to.

His attempt to speak around the spice had the rest of the group laughing as well. Toph, who had only just begun to sober up, began anew. "Come on Sokka! They can't be that hot." Aang said, reaching out for a couple of fire flakes which he put in his mouth. The boy chewed, and instantly his face turned red and steam came out of his ears.

"On second thought." The Avatar said, wiping the heat sweat from his forehead. "Maybe Sokka's reaction isn't an exaggeration." Both Suki and Katara tried a few fire flakes as well, only to agree with Aang and sympathize with Sokka.

Orora rolled her eyes. "Oh come on! They're not that bad." So saying she reached out and grabbed a handful. Despite the loud protests, the girl threw the flakes into her mouth and chewed.

No reaction.

The entire group, minus Zuko, stared dumbfounded.

If Orora were honest, he looked a little proud even.

"How are you not crying from the spice?!" Aang demanded to know, to which Orora shrugged. "Firebenders love spicy food, and I traveled and stayed with two of them for months." She gestured to Zuko who was standing beside her. "Guess I built up a spice tolerance." She grinned, and reached for another handful.

"And a Zuko tolerance." Sokka muttered darkly under his breath, glaring at the flakes as if they had done him some personal offense.

Where she would've been insulted at the comment, Orora tilted her head. Contemplating.

"Huh! I guess I did."

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mmmkaybye · 1 year ago

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Why Zutara Shippers are Wrong (JK, You can ship who you want lol)

(Although, I don't care if you do actually ship Zutara, that's your prerogative, I'm just waiting for better arguments for the relationship and for people to stop negatively viewing Kataang)

First of all, I'm premising this with the fact that I don't think that ATLA should have ended with Katara and Aang kissing. I think it would have been fine to just end with a slightly more intimate-than-friends hug/cuddle. I would have personally preferred that two children who survived being literal child soldiers get the chance to be kids before they delve into a more mature relationship with one another, but they didn't exactly have adults of the modern culture there to guide them a different way, now did they?

BUT! I am a firm believer that Zuko and Katara would never have worked out romantically and that Katara and Aang's relationship 1. makes more sense and 2. is actually healthier in the scope of trauma and trauma responses.

First of all, I don't understand how the creators of ATLA managed to craft literally the MOST traumatic childhood backstory ever with incredible detail and nuance and everyone just fricking glosses over it like WTF??? Not to mention, the creators did an amazing job diversifying trauma responses to similar trauma experiences.

Let's discuss Katara's childhood trauma, which was not healed magically after a little side quest with Zuko. Katara carries immense survivor's guilt over her mother's murder. Katara understands very well how and why her mother was brutally murdered in their family home. She has been deeply aware of this since the day of her mother's murder - and she fully blames herself. Katara understands that a fire nation soldier killed her mother, but he killed her because of Katara - she said so herself. Then, Katara, who was the last person to interact with her mother, discovers her mother's body, and it is insinuated that Katara might have even witnessed her mother's brutal execution-style murder. This forever alters Katara down to her core personality traits. Katara is 'bossy' because of her trauma. I work with kids from pre-k through graduating american high school. It's pretty normal for girls to do what I call 'mothering' to their peers and to kids younger than them. It often is described as being 'bossy' and some girls are in fact bossy, but for the most part, they are roleplaying a caretaker mentality as they are most familiar with. In Katara's deep guilt of being the reason her mother was murdered, her trauma response was burden herself with the role of mother. This is further antagonized when her father leaves with the rest of the adult men to fight against the Fire Nation. He might've well as died too due to lack of communication for many years. Sokka does not allow Katara to mother him for very long, so she doesn't get to have a chance to work through her personal trauma response to her grief because she has no one to safely and consistently direct these mothering tendencies towards. The other children in the village are not orphans, their mothers are most likely very alive and very involved with them, so they would be temporary fillers at best. Sokka has stepped into the role of village man and definitely would reject Katara's mothering, which often led to tension between the siblings. Toph had the very reaction to Katara's mothering tendencies as I expect a young Sokka had to them. He lost his mother, too, he didn't want a replacement, nor did he want to lose his sister to the role of mother.

Zuko, in the same fashion as Sokka, had a mother who he loved, and lost, and was not looking to replace. Zuko's mother was also a topic that is deeply rooted in a lot of Zuko's personal trauma as well. Zuko did not get to spend much time with Katara for her mothering tendencies to be extended over him, but he definitely would have aggressively rejected them as Katara's trauma response would have negatively triggered his own. Their trauma would have deeply and negatively impacted any romantic relationship they could have developed because of how they would react to each other. Their relationship would have crashed and burned very quickly.

On top of that. Katara would have never left the South Pole indefinitely - that is her home, and she consistently returned to it throughout her life. That is an effect of her cultural upbringing. Zuko couldn't leave the Fire Nation, and as we saw in the graphic novels that followed, Zuko's personal welfare suffered greatly because his whole world was upended and now he was responsible for the one nation that didn't get peace at the end of the war. It's incredibly naive and slightly delusional for people to desperately push romantic wishes upon a sixteen-year-old boy who was burdened with the responsibility of healing an entire nation, one that fought him every step of the way in many aspects. He did not have the emotional energy to expend upon a frivolous relationship. That's why Mai and he broke up, not because they didn't love each other, but because Zuko simply could not have personal relationships until his reign and nation had stabilized - that alone would take upwards of 10 years. Plus, Zuko may have helped others work through parts of their trauma, but he had to address his trauma too, which we saw the beginnings of during the graphic novels. Simply put, by the end of ATLA and all of the graphic novels, Zuko was in no place emotionally, mentally, and even physically and politically to seek out a relationship that was meaningful and healthy. And I know that Zuko would have changed the tradition of political marriage, at the very least he deserves to have married for love at the end of everything he suffered through. Zuko is a great opportunity to normalize waiting until you're in your mid-twenties -thirties before seeking out romantic relationships. Logistically speaking, I don't think there would have been much opportunity for romantic feelings to develop between the two of them. I especially don't think Katara would have easily been able to live in the Fire Nation because the Fire Nation was directly responsible for her trauma, and that is also why I don't think she would have every pursued a relationship with a Fire Nation man, Zuko or not.

Now onto Aang. Everyone always jumps onto this idea that Katara and Aang had a very mother-son relationship - which is wrong. Aang comes from a culture that literally does not have mother and fatherhood. There are NO mothers and fathers in the Air Nomad Nation. Sure, kids had birth parents, but parenthood was not part of their culture, nor did Aang ever seek out that kind of relationship. Aang may have been kid-like, but he was the most adultified kid in the group. He was incredibly independent and confident in his ability to travel internationally by himself at 12. Katara had never thought to leave the South Pole to seek out a waterbending master in the North Pole because she didn't have that confidence or training. The Air Nomads thrived on a mentorship-based village raising of children. So, Aang never thought of Katara as his mother. He literally couldn't, because he had no scope of reference for such a relationship, same with fatherhood. He never had a parental relationship with Monk Gyasto. It was more like a fun uncle mentorship. I think that's why everyone thinks Aang was a bad father, but he was an outlier in the Air Nomad nation because there was no Air Nomad nation when he had children. The village that raised the children in his culture was gone. He was actually a fairly decent father and the two older children probably felt bitter because Tenzin was the only other air bender in existence so it obviously Aang is going to spend a lot of one on one time with Tenzin in the scope of mentoring Tenzin in the way of Air Nomad culture. Aang was not an absentee father like how many people assumed from the very one-sided and brief explanation given by the two older, jaded siblings. Was he perfect? No, he literally had no clue how to be a father. Did he and Tenzin leave to get milk and never come back? Also no. That being said, Aang was the only individual who was comfortable with Katara mothering him, he never felt threatened or overburdened by her trauma response, which allowed for Katara to genuinely work through her grief and mature out of the extreme bossy mothering we first saw in book one. If you pay attention, yes Katara does retain that 'bossy' kind of personality, but that was permanent fixture due to her childhood trauma and a little bit of cultural influence as well. I think, if Katara had never been traumatized, she would have always leaned towards a very soothing and nuturing type of personality, which we began to see in the middle of book three. Her bossiness/mothering trauma response gradually lessened the longer she 'mothered' Aang. Once again, neither of the two saw each other as Mother-son. They were simple too close in age and Aang also had the added sense of duty-boundness due to being the Avatar. Katara was always going to be a caretaker archetype personality, trauma or no, and that simply wasn't the type of person that Zuko would lean towards for a romantic relationship due to his own personal upbringing and culture. Aang is a much more gentle and playfully empathetic personality that works with Katara's firm care and sassy disposition.

In the graphic novels, I personally saw a great deal of healing and maturation in Katara in relation to her trauma. She was less mothering towards Aang, too, and I think that had a lot to do with the fact that Aang matured a lot as well and the change in their once platonic relationship to a more romantic-leaning one. Was their relationship perfect? No, they are kids who survived a horrific war and many many trauma-inducing situations. However, once Katara fully leaned away from the mothering habit, we get to see that Aang allows Katara to relax and be more playful. She genuinely was just happy with Aang. He pushed her to be a little more child-like and to have child-like fun even as they grew up into adulthood. Katara helped Aang mature and face a lot of adult burdens that were placed child.

In the end, Katara and Aang always brought out the best in each other. Katara and Zuko didn't have enough time together in ATLA to develop an individual relationship outside of the group. There simply isn't enough time outside of their little side-quest in which Katara and Zuko interact solo- which was definitely NOT Katara's best, and in fact was Katara lashing out aggressively towards people who loved and cared for her and she them. Zuko was also not his 'best' in that time either as he was also being triggered emotionally. In fact, during ATLA, there's way too much negative tension between the two of them that leads to really intense disagreements and emotional outbursts more often than not until Katara begrudgingly accepts Zuko into the group, they don't even positively interact until Ember Island which is what, two weeks? She's not exactly nice when she pretty much demands him to help her hunt down the man that murdered her mother. Zuko is all gung-ho about vengeance too. Of course, they both have a lesson learning moment, but that episode cemented in my brain that Aang is the better partner for Katara than Zuko. Aang, once again the most mature in the Gaang, fight me on this, has a deep, empathetic understanding of the world, he doesn't do a great job trying to explain to Katara, but I think that's because no one in the Gaang understands how Appa is not just an air bison, and Aang never views Appa as an air bison like how everyone else in ATLA do. To everyone else, Appa's an animal, but to Aang and Aang's culture that is deeply offensive, Appa is an individual with emotions and value outside of what he can offer the group in terms of transportation and that's never really explicitly clarified to the audience either (because despite being a kid's cartoon, the creators knew their audience well and did not treat the audience like we are stupid and can in fact infer and read between the lines). If Katara had killed that pathetic worm of a man, it would have absolutely destroyed her as a person. She would not have been able to heal from her trauma and would probably suffer even more trauma and guilt. This side-quest was a plot point to lead up to the big debate of killing Ozai, and not many, in fact I don't know if anyone has talked about that fact. I have no doubt that Zuko has probably killed people, at the very least, he's deeply desensitized to people dying as I think he probably at some point did experience or witness some form of warfare battle before he began chasing Aang down.

Once again, I don't really care if you do ship Katara and Zuko. In fact, I think that's a-okay. But, with the Netflix live action adaptation's take on the Secret Tunnel scene, I've seen a lot of people speculating and even hoping for it to become canon and there have even been some opinions of Kataang that have resurfaced that really rub me the wrong way because it feels like many individuals are just looking at the surface level of ATLA. There's so much nuance to each individual character in terms of culture, societal norms, age and gender, and most importantly, trauma and trauma responses. The creators did an amazing job world building and story telling that a lot of what I put up in my opinion in preference for Kataang over Zutara is information that I inferred from the show and graphic novels due to my personal experience and education in familial relationships and childhood trauma. My thoughts are not the end all be all to this debate, nor do I think they should be, I've seen some really solid opinions in favor of Zutara that I can understand and somewhat agree with. I think a lot of those details and moments that people look to as indicators of romance between Katara and Zuko were remnants of the creators' previous intention, but I think that the change to Aang and Katara as end game was logistically and realistically more accurate. I never thought that Katara and Zuko were meant to be, and I always struggled to put to words as to why until I had pursued my psych studies in college that focused on child development, childhood trauma, and marriage and family counselling. I think that the creators instinctually were seeing the red flags that would have occurred naturally within Zutara and changed course accordingly. There were just a lot of details and nuances that I noticed personally that I wished more people would discuss.

Anyways, thank you for coming to my TedTalk, I'd love to hear some of your opinions about this.

#ATLA #avatar the last airbender #atla netflix #katara #zuko #aang #trauma #childhood trauma #kataang #zutara #katara x zuko #katara x aang #long post #debate

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mysticwolfshadows · 5 months ago

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Taken - Zutara - Part 94

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Zuko did end up sending a letter to his Uncle, who arrived a few days later. They also managed to get word to Aang, who met them on the way to the island to get On Ji's class.

"This is so exciting," Aang laughed. "I didn't think we'd be going back!"

The Headmaster and the travel group was waiting in the courtyard. Zuko and Katara came off the boat, walking through town and getting more than a few stares. Zuko was dressed in his usual regalia, the flame crown still in his hair, while Katara was in a thin layer of water tribe blues with a red sash. Anyone that recognized them was clearly shocked.

When they got to the academy, and were standing before everyone, is when they got the real reaction. A few people screamed, the headmaster looked like he was about to faint, and Zuko swore he heard 'Kuzon's friend Shoji whisper 'I knew it'. Zuko knew that Katara was finding this all hilarious.

"F-Fire Lord Zuko," the Headmaster said, one arm twitching. "It's... An honor... For you to have chosen our academy. For this... this honor."

"Of course," Zuko said, gesturing to Katara. "This is Princess Katara of the Southern Water Tribe and Ambassador to the Fire Nation. She'll be running this... field trip, with the help of Kuzon." He paused. "Sorry, I meant Avatar Aang."

The Headmaster twitched again, looking very pained.

Katara grinned.

They were on the boat in a little over an hour. Katara gave a speech before they boarded, giving a short itinerary for the parents. They'd be studying some of the local fauna, visiting the local bending school, and observing a Southern Water Tribe celebration. She didn't elaborate that 'studying fauna' included penguin sledding or that the 'observing a celebration' meant joining a Water Tribe party.

When they got to the colder waters, Katara and Aang passed out fur lined coats. Zuko pretended not to notice that Aang spent a little extra time helping On Ji get her coat on.

When they got to Wolf Cove, Zuko was surprised. The village wasn't a village anymore. The little igloos were replaced with more regular buildings, and there were more of them. With the warriors home, there were more people around. The large training building Katara had told him about stood proudly next to the longhouse. There was even a proper dock now.

"There's Fire Nation people here," one student gasped, as they were unloading from the cruiser.

Katara beamed, and Zuko pretended his heart didn't flutter.

"The Southern Water Tribe has welcomed all who come to join the tribe," she explained, walking backwards as she led the group down the main road - the tribe had a main road. "There are lots of blended families here. From my understanding, the first child is due in July."

Aang bounced excitedly on his toes. "The colony, Yu Doa, is also a blended community! Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom. The mayor's daughter is even an earthbender."

Zuko had heard about that. All three of colonies they'd be keeping - Yu Doa, Linsho, and Hu Xin - had noticeable blended populations, but Yu Doa had the largest. It was good to see. That blended families could work. It was one factor in his and Katara's favor, if the council tried to argue against them.

When Hakoda came out to greet them, Zuko split off from the group, and went to the longhouse. Katara and Aang were going to take the students penguin sledding.

"Zuko!" Sokka called, grinning as they came in. He was sitting on a stool, Kya carefully styling his hair. "You made it!"

"Thank Katara," Zuko snorted. "She's got most of my council either scared of her or desperate for her approval."

"Bullying a whole government," Sokka said, with far too much approval. "Sounds like my little sister."

He stays with the chiefs family most of the afternoon. They spend most of it talking about how things were going.

The Fire Nation had been doing shockingly well since Zuko became Fire Lord. Other than his slow (nonexistent) progress with Azula, Zuko hasn't had any problems. There had been no assassination attempts, at least none that Suki and his guard had thought to bring to his attention, and the people had been shockingly approving. In fact, things had been going so well with the citizens, that they were being flooded with volunteer workers for each project, who Zuko still paid despite Minister Chang's protests.

The South had also been doing well. Since the end of the war, they had been expanding daily. With the Fire Nation people that had decided to stay, and the Northern refugees, the Southern Tribe's numbers were promising. They might even have enough people to start bringing back the outer villages that had vanished after the raids.

"They're starting to slow down," Hakoda said, though he didn't look very sure. "In the beginning, it was entire boats of people. Almost every day. Now, it's just one family, or even just one person, in a week."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Zuko asked. "Your population will be stabilizing."

Hakoda shook his head. "The first people that came, they were like my mother. Escaping arranged marriages, running from forced gendered roles. These last few..." He shakes his head. "They don't want to talk about why they left."

"You think something's happened? In the North?"

Hakoda shook his head. "I can't say for sure. Just... Be careful, Zuko." Standing, he cleared his throat. "But enough politics. My son becomes a leader today."

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#fanfic idea #atla #avatar the last airbender #fanfic #zutara #katara #zuko #wip

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doyouevenshipbr0 · 4 months ago

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could aang beat korra’s villains and could korra beat aang’s?

so this discourse is kinda all over right now with all the arguments over who’s the better avatar: aang or korra.

and while i do really believe some people are just hating to hate and being nonsensical for the sake of supporting their fav, i do think there is actual interesting conversations to be had about their strengths and weaknesses as avatars.

so im going to give my opinion on this.

HOWEVER right off the bat i wanna say: i really dont think there are actual answers to any of these. because you cannot predict how aang/korra would have ACTUALLY acted in these situations because aang and korra probably wouldnt have ended up in each other’s exact positions anyway when you think about what they did to lead up to that point.

also, honestly, i think it’s pretty hard to compare since imo tlok is decently more action packed than atla. the fighting animation is simply better and more detailed, and fight scenes are longer. im not saying fighting as a whole is better than tlok (even though i personally think it is) bc a big complaint with tlok fights are that they’re very MMA styled and a lot of kicking and punching. which is true TO AN EXTENT. but whatever. not gonna get into that. lets get into their villains.

this is gonna be long winded AS FUCK. im not gonna literally go through every single villain. but the big ones.

and i’m going with how these two are as avatars at the end of their respective series. so not when theyre “fully realized” avatars, but still at their peaks by the end of their shows.

zhao: korra easily clears when it comes to a 1 v 1.

zuko: again, easily clears, and honestly, if korra were there we would nottttt have seen a zuko redemption arc bc she simply would have killed him in their first encounter. now i KNOW aang 1 was a way less developed bender in season one and 2 definitely had no intention of ever killing zuko, but im js korra wouldve put a stop to these fire nation hijinks real quick.

invasion of the north pole: eek. i honestly find it kind of hard to believe korra wouldve been able to go full ocean spirit monster mode. just because we’ve really never seen her bond with spirits in the same way aang did. i know i know, raava, but i just dont know if i can see this specific scenario for korra. really hard to say.

ty lee: i dont fully think its fair to include her bc ty lee was more involved with group effort stuff, but i just wanna say i think she would have FUCKED on korra lmfao. she does not have the evasion skills for this. and as we can see in tlok, she has a hard time dealing with chi blockers. i think she would ULTIMATELY beat ty lee bc yknow avatar state or whatever, but i wanna note i think in a 1v1 aang would have 0 problems taking care of ty lee and korra would struggle kinda big time.

azula: again, i think ultimately she could beat azula, but she would really really struggle. i know aang struggles with azula as well, but i think aang has an easier time dealing with her than korra would. azula is not only very strong, but she’s very smart and resourceful and crafty. i think this would, again, be a real avatar cheat code moment where she just goes into the avatar state and wipes the floor with her. but let’s assume theres no avatar state…… korra would struggle for sure. i do think even without the avatar state she would win, but it would be ugly.

ozai: she would fuck ozai upppppp idc. interestingly, i do believe ozai is a better firebender than azula, but ozai’s style of bending is one korra can easily adapt to and overcome. they are both very blow for blow brute strength type of benders. i think korra deals with these types of fighters waaaaaaay better than the fighters that are more finesse, skill, and strategy based. and by the end of the series, we can see that she has developed a good bit in these categories, so she’s got that working for her too. i dont think it would be a walk in the park by any means, but honestly, i think she handles ozai no avatar state needed. yeah i said it. dont care.

now for tlok villains

chi blockers: they would have never been able to touch aang tbh. he wouldve been able to do whatever he wanted w them. he is genuinely a master of evasion, so i really think he would have had 0 trouble with them.

tarrlok: aang would have dealt with him easily bc at the end of atla, hes able to go into the avatar state on command. in korra’s defense, she is also able to do that by the end of s1. so i think they both couldve easily dealt with him with having the avatar state. without the avatar state, then i dont think aang wins tbh.

amon: i think aang would have dealt with amon very very similarly to tarrlok. however, again, without the avatar state, hes a goner. we saw he was not able to ever overcome blood bending without the avatar state. korra WAS eventually able to do that. so idk i think in general, korra would fair better against any bloodbender than aang would.

unalaq: tbh its hard for me to even remember korra’s fight w unalaq bc i just hate that season and this fight is all over the place. i kinda feel like aang would win against unalaq easier than korra would, but when they become those big energy things, i cant imagine aang would be able to do much bc aang doesnt throw hands like that. he doesnt have the brute strength korra does. so like i do think he would lose there, but im not sure if he’d ever even let it get to that point yknow? the big plot point of this season is korra’s connection with the spirit world, and i think aang has a much stronger connection to the spirits, so i feel like thats gotta have something to do with it? idk man i hate this season lol.

zaheer: in a 1v1 aang would CLEEEEEAAAAAAARRRR its not even funny. red lotus WHO?!?!? gtfo w ur 2 weeks of airbending. goofy.

rest of red lotus: honestly, again, i think aang would have a better handle on them than korra did. i think aang is much better at adapting to opponents and their bending style. i do think he would struggle, but would overcome his struggles quicker than korra did

red lotus poisoning scene: aang would have flat out died lmfao sorry. there is nooooo wayyyyy he would have been able to break those chains and fight like that with that poison going through his body. im sorry u literally cannot convince me otherwise. i feel like this one is the most obvious, and it may be controversial, but i do not care. i stand by this so hard.

kuvira: so right off the bat. im sorry. i have to say this. aang cant metalbend. and i really really really think that would be a huge detriment. bc most of her bending is metalbending, and aang not being able to redirect/counter that is a BIG issue. however, i think he can go into the avatar state and whoop on her. but thats kind of the same for both korra and aang for every villain? if aang DID have metalbending i think he would have a much easier time with her than korra does. but aang cant metalbend. and i think thats a big issue with her.

ok thats it.

i do want to let it be known that i realize it may look like i favored korra a lot here, but i also wanna say that i think if aang were in korra’s position in general, a lot of these problems would not have even gotten this far. im mainly talking about the unalaq of it all. i think aang has better intuition than korra, which i understand may sound like a lot of bs, but i rly do believe that. i also believe he would have been smarter in the zaheer situation honestly. i did say that aang would notttttt have been able to survive the poison which i honestly fully believe, but i feel like aang wouldn’t have gotten to that point anyway. yknow what i mean?

ok bye!!!!

#personal #atla #avatar #lok #tlok #avatar the last airbender #legend of korra #korra #aang

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