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sunshinelikesavatar · 3 months

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Hath No Fury

“Afraid I’ll redirect it?”

The final words Katara knew she would hear him say.

The simmering crackle of death followed swiftly. The electric white energy quickly built in the other girl’s fingertips.

Its sheer power sundered the air as it released from her grasp.

Over.

It was over.

No one can outrun lightning.

Her body tensed, bracing for impact.

But she could not move, anchored in fear, or perhaps acceptance.

Then it happened.

He happened.

He who worked harder than any man should to win her trust.

He who started as an enemy.

Then an ally.

Then a friend.

Then something else.

Something more.

He outran the bolt. He dove into its path. Did the impossible.

For her.

She blinked, closing her eyes. She couldn’t watch it. Couldn’t bear it.

Every fight they ever had played out in instantaneous moments lasting minutes, hours, days in her mind. Anything to delay the inevitable.

She was weak. She was strong. He bested her. She bested him.

In the crystal cavern, their paths crossed, pasts reforged. In that cavern, they fought. In that cavern, neither won.

On an airy mountain cliff she derided, he pleaded.

On a distant sea, she trusted, and he supported.

On an island paradise, she forgave.

Somewhere between, he opened her heart.

He became more.

And now, he was giving everything. Everything for her.

Giving her everything before she could return anything.

Crackling light flashed in her still-closed eyes, already filling with glistening tears, wet with fear.

His body fell, energy coursing and crackling through. It lay motionless before her. Her inner turmoil screamed in anguish waiting for the deafening roar of thunder.

The thunder never arrived.

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Her eyes flashed open.

The sundering of air had only just begun.

Her hands formed into fists that were not hers, feet slid into a stance she did not practice, together in a motion she did not know.

He dove before her, but her arms had already risen, solid anchored forms bestowing power yet unseen.

The ground began to quake.

She realized, in that blitz of motion, that her mind was not her own.

She was watching from afar, through a looking glass, as her body moved of its own accord.

It thought too quickly, too fully, too absolute to be her.

A sheet of crystal, perfect in its construction, erupted from the plaza in front of him, blocking the energy from ever reaching his form.

Another column of emerald pushed from the ground beneath her feet, carrying her into the sky.

She shouted then, in a voice that did not belong to her, “You will not take him from me! Not again.”

And with the power of her words, the ground quaked as though the mountain itself was waking from slumber.

Her fists clenched in a rage she did know.

Her heart raced.

She could only observe what would come next.

The other woman, standing in an awkward stance, hunched to one side began wide arcs of movement. But before she had the chance to make more than a quarter turn, Katara flicked her finger, and a shard of rock impacted her opponent’s wrist, ruining the stance.

Still, her fists clenched, fury swirling within, and she felt it. The liquid answered her call. This feeling was familiar, one she was so intimately close with, she couldn’t deny it. It pulled and sloshed and coursed, the feeling brought comfort.

But when it arrived, she felt terror.

A seething fury of unstoppable fiery death erupted forth from the ground across the plaza, launching rock and metal in its wake. She stepped forward from her perch with confidence she did not know she had.

A swirling tempest of molten rock met her fall and carried her back skyward.

Acceptance.

This is who she was. This was who she is.

A voice still unknown to her shouted once more, “For your actions, I can never forgive you!”

Her molten wrath obeyed her command, streaming and pressing outward, warping and churning toward her prey.

A voice, hardly a rasp broke through the raging anger of not her mind. “Katara, don’t…”

The hands that still were not her own paused, and the mountain fell silent. And with it, the lava froze into obsidian as it surrounded her opponent in a prison of shining black stone.

Carried by unfamiliar legs, she strode toward him with an unnatural speed.

The voice belonging to another called softly to him. To he who perished saving her, if only in her mind.

“I will lose you never again.”

She found her arms back under her control as they tightly wrapped themselves around his neck.

Tears rushed again to her eyes, recalling what was almost. What nearly wasn’t, and she found her wavering voice under her own control once more.

“I thought I lost you. Was going to lose you.”

Zuko’s eyes flashed green for but an instant, and a strong, confident voice that was not his answered.

“Never again, my love. Never again.”

In the moment that followed, recognition flashed across their brows. He returned her embrace and she finally accepted that she longed for his touch, and he for hers. Their embrace tightened, unresolved for far too long. Apart for what seemed like forever.

Their hearts grew, remembering an ache, a familiar feeling, a distant memory. Their minds danced with the possibility.

Their lips met.

The possibility that it wasn’t true, sundered in an instant.

Together once more.

At last.

Their love was strong and they found their way.

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sunshinelikesavatar · 3 months

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Did anyone notice in the worldbuilding that all Fire Nation dances were forcefully converted into combat movement? That's the reason dancing is "forbidden" (actually it's only pushed into being practiced for combat instead of actually being outright banned. This is why the cave dance scene kind of doesn't make perfect sense to me in terms of worldbuilding, it's much more likely all of the kids at the school would have had combat lessons, that's where they would have danced).

Everything in their culture had been militarized and converted into fighting, including the ceremonial Agni Kais which have music following them. It's not just random combat music like it would be in some other show or situation. These are the tail ends of what was left from earlier times.

This is why Ran and Shaw encourage the Dragon Dance, dancing is the original way to firebend. The Sun Warriors know what's up. Zuko is good at this, evidenced by his Blue Spirit movement; that's why he was kind of "meh" (heavy quotation marks) when he relied exclusively on brute force, rage-fueled moves in the beginning.

I think this is a clever and impactful way to show the corruption that took ahold of the Fire Nation and how everything kept degrading until the only things left were exclusively focused on conquest and domination. It screwed them up big time.

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sunshinelikesavatar · 3 months

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Izumi (steambaby) sketches.

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sunshinelikesavatar · 3 months

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“I think I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

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sunshinelikesavatar · 3 months

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Zuko: So how did Toph end up joining the group?

Toph: I ran away from home because these idiots could not find a proper earthbending teacher if their lives depended on it.

Zuko: Oh, you ran away?

Sokka: We found her in an underground earthbending competition and it turned out her parents didn’t know. They didn’t take the news that well.

Zuko: Right, that makes sense..

Aang: Actually I first saw her with a flying pig in a swamp! But maybe that doesn’t count, it was a hallucination after all.

Zuko:

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sunshinelikesavatar · 1 year

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Lunch on Ember Island

wanted to draw this cause we’ve already seen how someone from the water tribe reacts to spice (they have low tolerance)

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sunshinelikesavatar · 1 year

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I just watched Avatar for the first time all the way through, and yeah, it’s great, but the one thing that surprised me was how different Katara was compared to the fandom interpretation I’d seen and internalized before watching.

Like, before you watch Avatar, you’ve seen all these memes about Katara and her mom, and based on those memes, you assume it’s one of those lines you have to get used to hearing at least once every episode. But then you watch the show and realize that she only talks about her mom maybe five or six times per season and you also realize she only brings her up when she’s trying to comfort someone or empathize with them because that’s how she processes her grief and that’s one way she connects with people.

Or you hear the infamous line, “then you didn’t love [our mother] the way I did” and you prepare yourself for one of the worst character assassinations ever only to see the scene after nearly three seasons worth of context and realize she was kinda right. She’s been the mother, the nurturer, the comforter. She’s been patient, gentle, and accommodating where everyone else has gotten to be insensible and reckless and childish, and the one moment where she allows herself to feel her grief, suddenly she’s this evil bitch and not, y’know, a 14 year old girl whose been thrusted into adulthood in a way no other character has. A 14 year old girl who should be allowed immaturity and raw emotion and anger instead of the patience and grace she’s been forced to extend to every character without even the smallest amount of gratitude or even consideration in return.

Or you see all of the clips where Katara puts Aang in the “friendzone” and you expect to have this wishy washy back and forth where Aang is putting his feelings out there only to have Katara neither commit nor express any clear reciprocation or rejection. Then you watch and realize that, as cute as the ship is initially, that there’s never a point where Aang returns any comfort or grace to Katara despite her always doing this for him to the point of coddling. That for as much as Aang says he loves her, he never seems to outgrow his perception of her so he can recognize her as someone who feels grief, anger, and pain as much as she expresses love, kindness, and maturity. And instead of having moments where he learns to see her beyond her strength or compassion, you’re instead given moments where Aang forces his feelings onto her, both romantic and non-romantic, and Katara is expected to just…shoulder those feelings the way she shoulders everyone else’s.

Katara is the most misunderstood character in the show. As much as people recognize the complexities of Zuko, Sokka, and Azula, they struggle to do the same for Katara because they see her struggles as somehow lesser, and therefore, less deserving of sympathy. They can handle her so long as she’s being endlessly patient and loving and kind, but the moment her endless love, patience, and kindness runs out, she’s suddenly this annoying bitch who can’t shut up about her mother or reciprocate Aang’s feelings. But Katara’s trauma does matter as much as anyone else’s. No, she wasn’t banished from her kingdom. No, she didn’t lose her entire community, and no, she isn’t the only one who lost her mother. But the difference between her and everyone else whose experienced loss because of the Fire Nation is that she’s never given time to process her trauma. Aang gets to lean on Katara constantly. Toph gets to express her feelings to Katara, and yeah, Sokka also lost their mother, but unlike Katara, he isn’t put in the position of being a substitute for everyone’s parent. He even admits that he sees his sister as a mother. The only characters who ever comfort Katara or allow her to vent is Zuko and her father and that’s, like, three scenes in a show where the other characters are consistently given opportunities to seek out Katara for unconditional support.

The fandom interpretation of Katara has been so bastardized that even those who haven’t watched the show know her for this fanon version and not for who she is. She’s such an interesting character beyond her fandom limitations, though. She’s brave, hot-headed, and hopeful as well as gentle and caring. She wishes to learn waterbending, not only because she wants to fight in the war, but because she wants to continue her culture’s practices because, and people often forget this, she also lost an entire subculture within her already fractured tribe. And she wants to defeat the Fire Nation both because of her deep love and empathy for other people, but also because she wants to avenge her mother. But because some of the fans have reduced Katara to a bitch who constantly whines about her mother and friendzones Aang, you wouldn’t know any of this, and it sucks because she’s the only character whose been dumbed down to such an extent.

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sunshinelikesavatar · 1 year

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I'm absolutely in love with @thepainterspalette stuff. So here's some doodles with 'em.

Fire Lady Katara outfit #1 and Zuko's Unnecessary SWT Parka/Poncho

Both wips that I made using Skethchbook on the phone.

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sunshinelikesavatar · 1 year

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book 3 zutara>>>>>

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sunshinelikesavatar · 1 year

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Katara!!! :D

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sunshinelikesavatar · 1 year

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The Dragon and the Fenghuang

I’m so excited to finally share the colored version of the piece I did for the @zutaracoloringbook! Definitely go check out all the amazing art that was contributed to the project, and see if anything inspires you to get coloring!

♥ Please do not repost. If you like it and want to show people, share a link to this page instead. Thank you!

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sunshinelikesavatar · 1 year

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I suggest you think about what it is that you want from your life, and w h y .

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sunshinelikesavatar · 1 year

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The Night Before

When Zuko woke up, he groaned as a massive hangover hit him. Flashes from last night came to him – it had been Sokka’s birthday celebration. Other than a few memories of drinking at the bar, Zuko couldn’t remember what had happened. He wasn’t even sure how he’d gotten home.

It took several minutes for him to realize that it was a few hours passed when he normally was awake. He noticed that he was still wearing his clothes from last night. Gross. He hated going to bed in whatever he’d been wearing during the day to bed.

He forced himself to move, glancing to Katara’s side of the bed. He noticed that her side didn’t really look disturbed. In fact, it was cold. Zuko silently cursed, wondering if Katara was mad because he’d come home possibly very late, and clearly very drunk.

Zuko quickly washed his face and changed his outfit to a t-shirt and sweatpants and then made his way downstairs. As his head cleared, he could smell something cooking.

Katara was in the kitchen, humming a happy tune. That was a good sign, he thought. If Katara was upset or angry, she wouldn’t be humming.

Zuko entered the kitchen to see Katara wearing her fuzzy blue robe.

“Uh, hi. Zuko here.”

Instead of turning around and scowling, Katara was smiling at him.

“Good morning,” she said in a perfectly calm and even chipper voice. She nodded towards the table. “There’s some rice for you there, along with water and some Tylenol. I even made some plain scrambled eggs if you think you can eat a little.”

“…Thanks?” Zuko replied hesitantly as he sat down.

After drinking some water and taking the offered Tylenol, he slowly began to eat the rice. So…Katara wasn’t mad at him?

“I’m sorry about coming home so drunk,” Zuko said, figuring he should apologize just in case.

“Oh, I’m not mad.” Katara replied as she took her seat across from Zuko at the table.

She was smiling, which was a good sign. She looked pleased. There was also something in her voice, that made her sound exceptionally happy.

“What do you remember about last night?” She bit her lip, as if holding back a laugh.

“Uh, drinking with Sokka and a few other guys, and then…it’s all blank from there. I don’t even remember coming home…” Zuko cringed and apologized again.

Katara let out a short laugh and muffled it. “Oh, I’m not mad.”

“You aren’t? Your side of the bed was…”

Zuko trailed off when Katara started laughing. She breathed in a few times and then said, “You came home and pretty much stumbled upstairs. That was impressive.”

Katara’s smile widened. “I tried to help you get undressed, but you slapped my hands away shouting,” Katara imitated him, “’I’m a married man!’ I gave up after three more tries and just let you lie down.”

Zuko stared at Katara for several seconds, noticing how her eyes lit up in pure amusement.

“And so then when I tried to get in bed, you kept shoving me out and yelling stuff about how you were married and how much you love your wife, and so I gave up and slept on the couch.”

Zuko groaned loudly as he buried his face in his hands.

Katara came over and pulled his hands away. She was grinning.

“I love you, too,” she kissed his cheek and the top of his head before leaving to presumably get dressed for her own day. “Oh, and try not to get so hammered next time. I prefer to sleep in my own bed.”

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sunshinelikesavatar · 1 year

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thinking about

a no hundred year old war au where zuko goes the southern water tribe with his family, and he’s grumpy about the cold.

but he’s not grumpy about spending time with katara again. (he’s ten, she’s eight and they met two years ago.)

when they see each other, they get excited and bow traditionally, then give each other a big hug.

and of course, sokka and azula tease them about it.

they tell their siblings to shut up and walk off together.

zuko tells katara about the plays he sees on ember island. “i can take you to go see a play sometime, princess katara—but only if you want to, of course,” he looks at her, cheeks pink, fiddling with his fingers. “you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

“i would love to go see a play with you, prince zuko,” katara tells him, her cheeks pink too.

they make eye contact, and look away from each other quickly, their pink cheeks turning a bright red.

zuko and his family spend a few days at the southern water tribe, and zuko spends a lot of time with katara there, of course. he loves penguin sledding and watching katara waterbend.

(spoiler: he thinks she’s so cool.)

when zuko has to leave, she quickly kisses his cheek and tells him she can’t wait to see a play with him. zuko blushes hard and says he’ll take her soon.

he leaves.

they write letters to each other for months (and they send each other gifts on their birthdays like they always do), then zuko comes with his family again to take katara to see a play. kya and gran gran go along with katara, and they talk with ursa on the ship (hakoda is on a hunting trip with sokka during this time, but he knows it was gonna happen and is okay with it). zuko and katara spend time together on the ship, and he tells her he can’t wait to see the play with her.

a few days later, they’re on ember island.

zuko tells her that he should hold hands with her so he can show her around better (yes, uncle iroh gave him this tip) and katara agrees (she wanted to hold hands with him anyways). he takes her to their house on ember island and shows her around. he shows her where she’ll be staying, and she tells him how excited she is to be spending time with him on ember island.

(she’s only been to the palace before, not ember island.)

she asks about azula, and zuko says that azula is spending time with her friends and doesn’t really like watching plays anyways. but he assures her the play is really good and that if she doesn’t like it, that’s okay. (she jokes that it would be a bummer if she came all this way just to not like the play, and zuko laughs and agrees with her.)

they play together and talk together until they have to go to the theater. they don’t hold hands this time, but katara loops her arm with his. ursa, kya and gran gran sit by them, but not too close—they don’t want to disturb katara and zuko’s little date (even though they both insist it’s not a date).

zuko glances at katara throughout the play just to make sure she likes it, and he thinks she does. he asks at the end of the play (just to make sure) how she felt about it and katara beams. “i loved it! thank you for taking me, prince zuko,” she hugs him.

he pulls away and slowly shows her a bracelet he had in his pocket. “this is for you, princess katara,” zuko smiles timidly. “i thought of you, and i got it...um, for you. well, actually, uh—i made it. i know, i could have done better, but i just really wanted to make you something—“

“thank you, prince zuko. i love it, it’s so pretty,” katara giggles and nudges him gently. she points to her wrist, “so, can i—“

“um—here, let me,” zuko ties it around her wrist securely, cheeks red. it’s a black, cotton string with a charm on it: a silver crescent moon connected to a gold sun.

“do you really love it, princess katara?” he asks quietly, fidgeting in his seat.

“i do,” she nods and kisses his cheek. zuko smiles at her. “and...i may have made you something as well.”

his jaw drops. “wait, what? really?”

“yeah,” katara grins and hands him a bone dagger with blue handle and a fire carved into its side. she looks at him nervously as he holds the dagger.

she rambles: “you mentioned in your letters that your cousin got a really cool earth kingdom dagger and that you wanted one, so i—i made one for you. well, my dad helped me, but—“

zuko hugs her. “this is so cool, princess katara! thank you so much!” she hugs him back, both of them feeling butterflies in their stomachs.

they get up and join their family members, and they all go back to the ember island house. then zuko admits that he has another gift for katara. “wait here,” he tells her when they’re in the living room. he runs up to his room and runs back downstairs.

“here,” zuko whispers as he blushes and holds out a fire lily, “for you, princess katara.”

“oh—thank you, prince zuko,” katara whispers, grabbing the flower as her cheeks get hot.

(yes, she knows what a fire lily means.)

they hug again.

when zuko travels with her and her family on their journey back to the south (with ursa, of course), they bicker about cloud shapes (katara swears it’s a flower and zuko swears it’s a baby turtle duck) and when it gets to be night time, they argue about what a constellation is named.

“it’s the little penguin named tuka,” katara insists.

“no, it’s a baby dragon named eyala,” zuko shakes his head.

“no, it’s not!”

“yes, it is!”

“last person to the other side of the ship has to admit that they’re wrong!” katara calls out and they race to the other end of the ship, laughing as they do so.

they tied, then played a game of elements (the atla version of rock, paper, scissors. idk if that’s the name of it though?) to break the tie.

katara won. (and zuko didn’t mind saying he was wrong all that much.)

when they make it the south pole, and they hug, it’s zuko who kisses her cheek this time. “i’ll write to you soon, princess katara,” he whispers and pulls away.

“you better,” she whispers back, and watches as zuko gets on the ship. she waves goodbye until she can’t see him anymore.

they keep writing to each other.

but then, gradually over the course of a few years (she is eleven now and zuko is almost thirteen), zuko’s letters get shorter and more vague, and they don’t come in as often as they used to.

then he completely stops sending letters by the end of the year, and she remembers how, the last time they talked in person, he admitted to her: “listen, so—um, i don’t know what’s going on with my dad—but if i ever stop sending you letters, katara, please know i had nothing to do with it. you’re my best friend—and i’ll always want to talk to you.”

(then he placed his hand over hers, his thumb stroking her skin. “you’re my best friend, and...i love you, katara,” he whispered it like it was a secret. she whispered it back, and they hugged.)

(and they had a joke only written in their letters to each other—that she was his, and he was hers. she’s gonna be honest: she doesn’t remember how the joke started, but she knows she keeps it going even when he’s not around. mostly because she thinks about it all the time. he’s her zuko, her zuko, her zuko. she’s his katara, his katara, his katara.)

she’s very worried, angry and sad all at the same time. and she never liked ozai in the first place if she was gonna be honest with herself.

as three years pass, she doesn’t hear from zuko. once, she wrote to azula asking about zuko, and azula wrote back with a vague letter that gave no information on zuko. she tried two more times and got vague responses each time. (she gave up writing to azula after the third try.)

all she found out was that ursa left, and she had to find out through her dad.

but why doesn’t anyone know what happened to zuko?

she doesn’t want to think negatively, but she’s fourteen now, and if her dad knew anything about zuko, he would’ve told her by now. she often stares at the bracelet zuko gave her when she was nine. she was six when they met and they wrote to each other until she was eleven.

she misses him.

(a messager arrives and gives a letter to hakoda. he reads it in his office. he doesn’t know how to tell katara, but he knows he has to.)

hakoda goes to katara, and tells her gently that zuko was burned and banished by ozai three years ago, and she feels sick to her stomach.

her zuko?—burned by his own father?

and he could be anywhere in the world right now?

and he could be—

no.

she can’t think like that.

she tells hakoda that she needs some alone time. he hugs her and walks out the room.

she starts writing to her friend, aang—who has an air bison—and hopes that he’ll agree to help her find zuko. and aang is also friends with zuko.

(they can find zuko, can’t they?)

unfortunately, though, hakoda intercepts the letter (the messager dropped it, and it popped open, and he recognized katara’s handwriting.)

he tells her that she can’t just leave and they argue. kya was trying to be the mediator. it did not help.

katara attempts to leave at night on a boat, and sokka catches her. he tells her, “katara, you can’t leave—“

“—oh, not you too—“

“—without me,” sokka finishes.

katara looks at him, confused. “what? you wanna come along?” she notices he has a bag slung over his shoulder.

sokka nods. “yeah, why not?”

“okay, then, come on, sokka,” katara motions for him to hurry up and get on the boat. sokka gets on the boat and informs her that he left a note for hakoda and kya.

she grumbles something like, “whatever,” in response. (she’s still grumpy about the argument with hakoda.)

she uses her waterbending to make their trip to aang’s temple faster. sokka sleeps while she waterbends, and sokka rows the boat while she sleeps. and the cycle repeats until they’re at the air temple.

aang agrees to help them (he’s also very concerned about zuko after katara tells him what happened) and they all get on appa. aang says that zuko once told him that if he ever ran away, he would go to the earth kingdom. so they head to the earth kingdom.

“i think he mentioned gaoling,” aang tells them. “so let’s head there.”

they search for a few days.

and...

they don’t find zuko.

instead, they find toph, an amazing earthebender who didn’t want to be miserable with her parents anymore.

(basically, they went to an earth rumble, and watched toph fight, and aang was like, “she’s so cool, can she be part of our group?” and sokka was like, “if you can convince her to join us, sure, why not?”)

(by the way, sokka didn’t mean it.)

(he also didn’t think aang would do it—or that toph would agree.)

either way, they ended up with a confident, blind earthbender who ‘carries her own weight’ in their group. (at least she brought a bag full of money with her. they were already running low on funds.)

(sokka has a bad spending habit.)

(plus, him, aang and toph have big appetites for their sizes.)

(seriously.)

“i heard there was a good fighter in ba sing se with a big scar on his face,” toph tells them as she picks at her feet. “they say he’s a firebender. it could be this zuko guy you guys are looking for.”

“we can try ba sing se,” sokka nods. “especially since we don’t have any other leads.”

“i hope we find him,” katara mumbles, staring at her bracelet. she’s scared—because he can’t be dead, he can’t be dead, he can’t be dead. she can’t accept that possibility. “i mean, he’s been by himself for three years, and we just found out about him. he—i hope he’s okay.”

“well, you know how zuko never gives up without a fight, katara,” aang says to assure her and to lighten the mood, “after all, you knew him best out of all of us.”

“yeah,” katara smiles a bit. “he’s so stubborn—in fact, he’s more stubborn than me.”

“okay, let’s not go that far, katara,” sokka snorts. “because you are—nothing,” sokka whistles when katara raises a small water whip and raises an eyebrow at her brother. “i mean, i wasn’t—i was just—i think you’re great, katara,” he says quickly.

“i know i am. thank you, sokka,” katara laughs.

they travel for about two months (appa needs rest, he’s not used to traveling for so long.) they make a stop to omashu mostly because aang insisted it would be a good idea (and appa needed a break too), and aang’s friend, bumi, joins them in appa. (toph is more than delighted to meet another earthbender on her level.)

all of five of them head to ba sing se, bumi talking excitedly about ba sing se and the great deserts they have. and this, of course, leads to a discussion about food, and then—of course—everyone gets hungry.

so they have to stop and make camp, and katara goes to get some water for the rice, when she sees someone sleeping on the other side of the river next to a small fire, wearing a—a blue spirit mask.

her heart races.

a blue spirit mask.

it’s—that’s—that’s zuko’s favorite ‘love amongst the dragons’ character.

it couldn’t be.

could it?

katara puts the pot down. she doesn’t hesitate to swim over, with a water whip in case she’s wrong, and quietly gets out fo the river. katara gently shakes the guy awake, cautiously trashing her water whip in case she’s wrong.

the guy sits up immediately and draws his swords at katara. “what are you doing?” he demands. (her heart beats faster—that’s his voice. it’s his voice.) “do you—wait...katara?” he sheathes his swords slowly. “is—is that really you?”

“zuko?” katara whispers, tearing up. “it’s you. oh, spirits, it’s you.”

she bends the water out of her clothes, and moves to hug him, but zuko scoots away before she can touch him.

she frowns, hurt. “zuko, why did you—“

“i don’t want you to see—it.” zuko awkwardly adjusts his mask. “i don’t—you—i want—just...katara. trust me—you’re not gonna like...it. you’re not gonna like me.” his voice breaks with vulnerability, with sadness, and katara does her best not to cry.

how could he think that?

because—

she loves him.

“are you kidding, zuko? i’m your best friend. i’m always gonna love you,” she sniffles, and zuko doesn’t hesitate to hug her tightly. she hugs back, her head in the crook of his neck.

“i love you, too,” zuko tells her softly, holding her. “i missed you.”

“i missed you, too.”

a beat.

“katara, i’ll show you...my scar,” zuko swallows.

“are you sure?”

“yes, but—but i’m just scared. i don’t want you to think i—that i’m...ugly,” zuko confesses, “i’ll show you, and then i’m, um, gonna put the mask back on.”

“okay, zuko,” katara nods and gently pulls away from his arms. she misses his warmth already. it’s been too long.

she sits across from him, watching him patiently.

zuko’s hands shake as he takes off his mask, and puts it beside him. his eyes are closed tightly.

katara gasps softly as she looks at it. her zuko—he—it must have hurt so much.

she leans forward, and carefully cups his cheek. zuko tenses up, then relaxes. he leans into her hand.

“my zuko,” she whispers, fingers brushing against his scar.

“my katara,” zuko whispers back, opening his eyes, and placing his hands over hers.

“it’s not ugly,” katara informs him as his fingers curl around hers. “and you’re definitely not ugly. my zuko—how could you ever be ugly?”

zuko stares at her, almost as if trying to see if she’s lying, almost like he doesn’t...believe her. “katara, you can’t be serious,” he gently pulls her hand away, but keeps holding it as he grabs his mask with his free hand.

“i am,” katara says, eyes soft. “i’ve never lied to you before. can...can i heal it?”

zuko frowns. “it’s a scar. you can’t heal it, katara.” a beat. “but it itches, sometimes.”

“can i...?”

“you can.”

katara summons water around her right hand like a glove. she cups his cheek with her left hand, tilting his head to the side. zuko closes his eyes and katara presses her water gloved hand on his scar. she watches as the water glows, and feels the scar change, somehow. (yes, she wishes she paid more attention to her healing classes. she knew enough, but she didn’t know everything.)

when she’s done, she puts the water back in the river. “it feels...better,” zuko admits. “thank you, katara.”

“of course,” katara grabs his hands and squeezes. “anything for you, zuko.”

they smile at each other.

then katara remembers—“i still have to get the water for the rice!” she gets up and zuko looks at her, confused.

“i’ll tell you everything later, just—please,” katara reaches a hand out to him. “come with me, zuko.”

zuko nods slowly, and grabs her hand. he gets up, and puts his mask on. “okay, katara, i’ll come with you. after all, we still have a lot to catch up on, don’t we?”

“we do,” katara smiles brightly, holding his hand, and intertwining their fingers. they go into the river, and katara puts water into the pot.

then they head to camp, both of them smiling like idiots.

_____

this......got way longer than i originally thought it would. (it was supposed to be short and cute)

i promise i can do better than this though. i promise!!!!!

(i might write a fic about this now....but it would be different from this obviously)

also, you can thank @ pokidokies for making me think about baby zutara.

like, i was already thinking about them, and then i saw this on instagram—and oh my god,,,,!!!

i had to! express! my thoughts! i just had to!

baby zutara is just...something that can be so personal, you know?

follow her on tumblr and on insta! :D (her blog name on here is the same as her insta name!)

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sunshinelikesavatar · 1 year

Text

This is a fanfiction that I wrote for atla. It's about the scene with Aang asking Katara why they're not together. Hope you like it :) Forgive me for any mistake. I'm a foreigner.

MATTERS OF THE HEART | PART 1|

Katara walked on the balcony of the theatre and followed the sight of the younger boy. " Hey Aang."she said and the boy with the hat turned and looked at her.

" Are you alright?"she asked worried while standing behind him with her red cloth to cover her body beautifully and her arms crossed.

The whole night was a disaster. He had to sit at the whole play, next to Zuko, the one and only rival (to his romance at this time ),where he actually didn't have any idea that he existed and that he shared this romantic moment with Katara at the dungeon.

So,that explains the look of Katara and her hatred towards Zuko!

Aaaahh!!

He was such an idiot!

He thought that Katara didn't want Zuko in the team because he would try to catch him all over again, not because she may had some feelings for him! But did Zuko ever shown that he liked Katara? Or maybe he did but Aang didn't have any idea? Just like the dungeon incident? What if he shared a moment with Katara when Zuko went with her to find the killer of her mother? What if their hug was not friendly?

Aang felt the anger inside his chest.

How could this happened?

He met her first!

She was the love of his life right?

The fortune teller said that Katara was going to marry a very powerful bender. So, Aang thought that it could be him. But what if he wasn't? She didn't say you're going to marry the Avatar. The Avatar is the most powerful member. Right? But yet again, the fortune teller wasn't always right. But what if she was and Aang was actually the one who Katara loved?

" I-I'm not! "he said with tight eyebrows.

He took out his hat and threw it on the floor.

" I hate that play!"he said angry.

Katara walked towards him.

" Well, it's not the best, but I think you're overeacting."she said.

Aang turned towards her and looked at her angry.

" I'm overreacting? If I hadn't lock my chakra, I would be in the Avatar State right now!"he yelled and then looked in front of him.

Katara looked down sad and touched the wooden rail with her hands.

The moon was giving it's light to the water.

Aang tightened his fist and took a deep breath.

If the fortuned teller was right, if the prediction of hers was referring to Aang, then... Then he needed an answer.

He needed an answer or he would go insane!

" Katara did you actually meant what you said in there?"he asked.

" Where? What do you mean?"she asked.

Aang looked at her.

" At the stage. That you only see me as your little brother and...Not like a boy. Y-you understand?"asked Aang and Katara lifted her eyebrows.

" Aang, the actress said that."she replied and touched her left arm.

Aang huffed.

" Yeah but is it true?"he said and looked down.

" We kissed in the invasion and I thought that we would be together but...We're not."said Aang with a sad expression on his face.

Katara looked down and closed her eyes.

She loved Aang.

But she wasn't sure that she loved him more than a friend or if she actually did. And she clearly wasn't ready to give him an answer. She needed to be sure is she was going to reply to him about her feelings. She did, shared her first kiss with him.

But...

She wasn't expecting that.

And how could see like someone? The only boy that she ever had feelings for, was Jet. And Jet was gone. And it's not that Katara ever felt the same for any other boy.

Well...

That would be a lie...

She wasn't really sure about that too.

When Zuko betrayed them and went to team up with Azula, Katara felt the same pain she felt when she learned about Jet's intentions and the destruction of the village. But with Zuko's case the opposite happened for a moment. Something made her see her old enemy differently when they were alone in the dungeon. Something made her actually see him. Their conversation, the words they said, the emotions they seemed to share. Somehow Zuko made her forgive him even for a tiny moment. And then, when she touched his wound, she felt his innocence. It wasn't long before Katara understood that his wound should have happened from a very close distance. That only someone cruel and heartless would do something like that. She felt that he was just a boy trapped in a war just like her. Someone who had to grow faster than the correct time he was supposed to. Just like her. The loss of his mother, their loss of their mothers. Two people that were different from the places they were born. Made for something more. To fight for their truths.

After his betrayal, Katara felt heartbroken. The first time she left someone see her like she actually was, showing him her dark side (the dark side that Aang was afraid of), and immediately betrayed her. Even though, at the time they were exiting the cave with Aang, she met Zuko's gaze. And actually saw the kindness in his eyes. And made her feel that with that glimpse of their eyes, they would share this moment. They would have secret.

Just between them.

She wondered, if Aang and Zuko's uncle didn't make it on time, would she actually manage to heal his wound? Would that meant that right now he will be by her side? But yet again, Aang wouldn't.

It didn't matter though. She couldn't trust another boy in her life again. What if they would betray her again? And then Zuko came to ask for forgiveness again and she thought that he was lying but then...Then he helped her find the killer of her mother. He understood for once again her pain.

And Aang didn't.

So, what if she just liked Aang's kiss because she never had kissed anyone else?

But again wh-what if she was lying to herself though?

Maybe she had romantic feelings for Aang. Feelings that she never thought they were there. Maybe she was just afraid of betrayal. How she could give him an answer so quickly?

Her eyes fell upon the dark sea in front of her.

" Aang...I don't know."she replied.

The shorter boy looked at her.

" Why don't you know?"he said and Katara turned and met his eyes.

She tightened her eyebrows.

" Because we are in the middle of a war."she said and crossed her arms.

Her blue eyes started to look up.

" We have other things to think."she

looked down.

Her guilt about not giving him an answer made her feel awful. But what if she was lying to him? She prefered to not discuss about the matter at the time, than to lie to him. Besides, he needed to take down the Fire Lord. So a heartbreak or a not so sure promise of her love, would distract him from his goal.

" This is not the right time."she said.

The little boy felt the sweat to his forehead.

" And when is going to be?"asked Aang nervously.

Katara crossed her arms and looked down again.

Exactly.

When was the right time to discuss about it? She didn't know either. So, how could she answer to him? Those black eyes, of the small child that now belonged to a more mature boy, were looking at her and waiting for her answer. Katara had learn that Aang trusted her, but she could feel with the edge of her eye, his gaze to look at her, persistently. But how could she not answering him? She was always the one who would make him feel sure for himself. She would always be by his side and agreeing with him in most of his decisions.

But at that time, she wasn't.

Because she didn't know.

All those thoughts inside her mind, making her feel dizzy, make her consider many facts, many possibilities, not helping her to decide or actually respond about her feelings...

She was so confused!

" Aang...I'm sorry."she said and turned and looked at him with a sad expression on her face.

" But right now, I'm still a little confused."she said and touched her braid with her hands nervously.

She closed her eyes.

That was the only honest answer she could give him.

That or she would stay silent.

Aang lifted up his eyebrows and then looked down sad.

Maybe, maybe if he was showing her that he loved her, he would make her understand. If he was about to fight the strongest enemy of the world again, he needed an answer from her. He was in love with her since the day she met her. But what if she wasn't? But it wasn't the fact that she didn't like their kiss. Right? If she hated it, she would tell him. But yet again, what she meant with the fact that she was confused? How could she was confused? Did she or did she not like their kiss? And she didn't deny that she liked Zuko either. Only that the actress said that.

He moved his body and without being able to control his mind, he decided to risk it. His black eyes fell upon the taller girl with the closed eyes and he put his lips against her's.

This was the moment of truth.

This would be the moment that she would tell him if she loved him or Zuko.

Katara opened her eyes surprised and took a step back.

She touched her lips in shock and she felt the anger to conquer her chest.

" I just said, I was confused!"she said loudly.

Aang lifted his eyebrows surprised.

The young girl looked down.

" I'm going inside."she said and she swallowed slowly.

She run towards the theatre without saying anything else and Aang felt the guilt as he was looking at her going inside. He hit his head with his hand.

" I'm such an idiot!"he said and put his head on the rail.

Katara stopped in front of the door of the room that the play had just started from the ten minutes brake. She tightened her fist and a tear fell on her cheek.

What was wrong with her?

D-did that meant that she didn't have the same feelings for Aang?

She didn't want to break his heart though.

But she still, didn't know!

She passed the red curtain and walked towards her seat.

" Where is Aang?"she heard the older's boy voice and turned and met his golden eyes.

The boy with the dark, short brown hair and the scar, met her blue eyes.

She lifted her eyebrows.

How could she even look at him in the eyes now that she remembered the incident at the dungeon and the thoughts that she had about him?

" H-he'll be back in a moment."she replied while looking down. She felt the blush into her cheeks and the older boy to look at the stage.

His presence was too much for her at that time.

After a little, her eyes fell upon the younger boy that this time sat to the behind seats, next to her brother and Suki and she couldn't hide the fact that she felt a little bad. Did that meant that her, not accepting his kiss would lead their relationship to an end?

And what about their friendship?

Aang was so important to her!

She swallowed slowly and tried to avoid her thoughts from ruining her night more, so she focused on the play.

Which was a bad idea.

Especially when the actors of the play, showed them the last scene. And the worst fears of Katara, we're shown in front of her eyes.

The end of Avatar.

His death.

And the win of the Fire Nation.

After the end of the play and the applause from the Fire Nation citizens, she and her friends commented on the play, while leaving the theatre. As much as she tried to avoid thinking about the matter, when they all arrived at the summer house of Lord Ozai and Aang and the rest had went to sleep, she sat on the stoned stairs and put her eyes on the sea that the rays of the moon were giving it their light.

" What happened?"she heard a girl's voice and looked behind her. The younger, blind girl with the black hair and the red clothes walked towards her and sat next to her on the stairs. " Toph."said Katara.

" Your heartbeat is beating really fast all night. It made even me worried."she said and Katara smiled. Toph always knew of how to make her laugh in times like this. Just like her brother Sokka.

" Well..."said Katara and put her face upon her knees, after placing them near her jaw.

" I-it's Aang. W-we had a moment in the first invasion but... I'm not sure. But tonight he waited for an answer and I wasn't ready to answer him. It made me feel awful and I thought that, this was the worst that could happened but then..."she said and left a deep breath while having a sad expression on her face.

" He kissed me and I pulled back."said Katara.

Toph lifted her eyebrows surprised.

" You sound sad about it. Do you regret pulling back from the kiss?"asked Toph.

" No, but..."said Katara.

" I feel like I'm hurting his feelings."she replied and huffed.

Toph took a deep breath.

" We all know that Twinkletoes has feelings for you. But if he, showing his feelings makes you feel sad then...What's the point?"she said and Katara lifted her eyebrows and turned and looked at her friend.

" Aang is your friend. If his love for you is real, then he will accept you even as his friend if you don't want to be his girlfriend."said Toph with a small smile.

Katara looked down.

" Thanks Toph."she said and lend her a smile.

" And this is why I can't understand all of you! It's really gross to kiss each other!"she said and pulled her tongue out of her mouth while thinking it.

Katara laughed.

" Maybe you'll understand in the future."said Katara and touched her friend's shoulder.

Toph smiled a little and a pink blush appeared on her cheeks.

Some minutes passed and the tall, older boy lifted up his body from the bed. He felt his body to be hot and walked on the halfway of his house. He touched his hair and walked outside at the garden. He sat on the stairs and took a deep breath.

The night was so awkward!

His guilt about his betrayal made him being sleepless even though Toph managed to calm him down for some hours. He was still, feeling awful about it. He betrayed the one person that he actually loved him. The one person that be actually believed in him. His own uncle.

Well, this was a lie.

After his mother and his uncle, Katara was the first person that trusted him. She even tried to heal his wound. Zuko touched his wounded eye and looked down. He had made Katara forgive him, but he still was feeling that something was missing.

He became her friend, so what?

And that damn play, made his thoughts to run inside his head all night!

The most peculiar thing that he saw, besides the weird end of Jet and the end of the Avatar, was the scene with the dungeon in Ba Sing She. The time that he and Katara spoke their truths for the first time. He couldn't really forget about it. But he believed that after Katara's forgiveness he would feel alright again. When he shared his thoughts with her, when Katara started to listen to him after he joined the team...

Mai never really accepted to hear his thoughts. And that, even though he never said that, was making him feel sad. How the love of his life could never hear him out? Could never be by his side, but Katara, the girl that he once was an enemy to, believed in him? Listened to him and in the end trusted him?

He rubbed his neck while looking down sad.

In the scene the actors, actually became a couple. Did that meant that he and Katara had a romantic moment? But what if Katara thought about that too? Or maybe she didn't? He tightened his eyebrows in frustration.

Was their moment romantic?

Or just an understanding situation between two future friends?

They were friends now, but why he was still feeling that something was missing from their relationship?

He hated it!

He hated it, thinking too much!

"Zuko?" he lifted his eyebrows when her voice sounded.

He turned his upper naked body towards her and Katara's blue eyes fell upon the tall boy with the red pants. " I thought that you were sleeping."she said and looked down.

His golden eyes sparkled inside the darkness while observing the shorter girl.

" I-I wanted some air. I couldn't sleep."he said and rubbed his neck while looking away.

Katara looked at him with an awkward smile.

" Yeah, it's been a weird night ha?"she said and touched her arm with her hand.

" Yes. We actually saw many weird things in the play."he said with an awkward smile too.

Katara looked at him surprised.

" Like what?"she asked.

Zuko rubbed the behind part of his neck. " Like the end of the war... I-I wouldn't want it to end like that."said Zuko and Katara laughed fakely.

" Me neither."she said while looking down.

Zuko looked down too.

If he was going talk to her about it, would Katara give him some advise? Or just avoid the topic? Was he actually going to ask her about it? Even though Katara never but ever had shown any sign that...

Katara lifted her eyebrows.

Even though she couldn't even look at him, she could not accept the fact that he seemed bothered by something. Like something was making him feel bad. His expression was showing frustration and Katara knew that he was carrying a burden inside him.

" What's wrong?"she asked and the older boy looked at her surprised.

He tightened his fist.

" I'm thinking about something all night."he said and Katara lifted her eyebrows.

She went a little closer to him.

" Wh-what?"she said.

Her blue eyes looked at him in the dark.

" W-well..."he said and swallowed slowly.

Katara tightened her fist too and felt the sweat to run through her forhead.

Zuko wasn't the only one with a burden. And if her, asking him about the dungeon incident, would help her clear things out, and maybe actually organise her thoughts and then finding the truth about her feelings, she would risk it.

" About the scene that we were in Ba Sing She..."said Katara and Zuko lifted his eyebrows.

He looked at the young girl that was looking down and touching her arm.

" Wh-what did you think about it?"she asked.

Zuko looked at her surprised.

He definitely didn't think that she would ask him about it too.

" Wh-what do you mean?"he asked.

" Y-you know..."said Katara while trying to avoid his gaze with difficulty.

She felt her cheeks to be on fire and the blush to appear.

Her shyness to conquer her.

" D-did you like the end of it?"she asked and closed her eyes.

Zuko opened widely his eyes.

" Y-you mean... Th-their hug?"he asked.

Katara nodded without saying anything else. Zuko rubbed the behind part of his neck and looked down. Was he actually going to answer that? And why did Katara...?

He swallowed slowly.

He needed to know!

" I-I suppose."he replied and Katara looked at him shocked.

" Y-you did?"she said.

Zuko felt the blush in his cheeks.

" It's a play. Right?"he said and Katara looked at him confused.

" W-well, yeah but... Th-those actors were playing us so..."she said and Zuko rubbed again his head. " I should go and sleep. I have a training with Aang tomorrow."he said and turned his body towards her.

Katara goggled her eyes from the shock as the older boy was walking away and nervously blinked them.

What just happened?

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