#He doesn't have to be good at firebending or anything

[eponastory]

I know you most likely already realized this, but I was just thinking about Aang as a father in LOK, and realized something. If Katara ended up with Zuko and eventually had children together, Zuko would likely end up being a better father than Aang. Aang never even met his parents, and only had instructors as parental figures. They're like parents but mostly just in the way that a school teacher would be. But Zuko understands what good parents and what bad parents look like because he knows what his own parents are like. His memories of Ursa and Iroh would be his guide to what you SHOULD do for a child, and Ozai is an example of what you should NOT do. Zuko doesn't have the pressure of repopulating firebenders because firebenders aren't virtually extinct, so there wouldn't be as much (if any) pressure to pay unfairly extra attention to one child over the other. Zuko knows what it's like to be neglected by a parent that's supposed to love because of something you can't control. Aang clearly doesn't, hence why he neglected Bumi and Kya II in the first place. Zuko also has experience with Azula, and would know to recognize any bad signs of sibling jealousy and/or hatred, and put an end to it because he knows what bad sibling dynamics look like.

I feel like he would also be a better husband to Katara. He's not as naive as Aang when it comes to marriage; Zuko has the experience of growing up with two married parents, and would know what not to do. Katara would relax better because the distribution over who watches the kids would be more fair, as Zuko would give them ALL attention. While Aang made Katara jealous from always being around the Air Acolytes (in the comics), I feel like Zuko would not give polite attention to women who are rude to Katara/flirting with him because in the show, Zuko knows exactly how hurtful it feels for a romantic partner to flirt with/give polite attention to people who are obviously pursuers. Imagine being in an alternate dimension where Zutara was the main endgame couple, and we get to see their parental dynamics in LoK. There would probably be a flashback of Katara getting worked up about one of their children, and Zuko would ease her into calming down because he sees a solution that she didn't.

Aang's issues are more than he doesn't know. He is selfish by nature. Selfish parents aren't good parents. I know this for a fact. It's an endless cycle of 'It's your fault' or 'what about how I feel' every time you try to say something. It's not fun, and it's damaging. I can totally see Aang using this behavior as a way to get what he wants. As far as him being naive... yes. He is very naive and doesn't take anything seriously.

Like the war, for instance. He was only there for the last year of it. He wasn't born into the war like Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Suki. They aren't naive. They know what war is like. Toph is the same age as Aang, and she is much more mature than he is. He's got this idea that killing anyone is bad, but he is responsible for a lot of deaths. Honestly, he has a kill count from the Fire Nation attack on the NWT, and a lot of people overlook that for some reason. Actually, the show overlooks it because Aang is the Hero, and it's okay if he killed people. So, when all is said and done, all of the things that he does afterward is overlooked too. It's a huge writing flaw with the show. So how does this translate to him as a parent?

It makes him a hypocrite.

Plain and simple.

He's so focused on reviving the Air Nomads that he has little knowledge on what they actually believed. What we are given is a few Taoist, Hindu, and Buddhist proverbs to go off of. Then, it's completely disregarded (disrespected as well) for 'Love'. This 'Love' is actually deep infatuation fueled by jealousy and possessive behavior. Which is actually frowned upon by the three religions mentioned above. It is a 'poison' to the spirit. And disconnects you from being enlightened (I think that is what the proverbs/scriptures are eluding too, if I'm wrong, please do not hesitate to explain, I'm super interested in cultures and eastern religions) or granted a place in Heaven (or their version of it). Letting go of all earthly possessions is common place in most religions. Aang does not do this. But I digress.

So, while there is the Nature vs Nurture aspect of parenting... where Katara does most of the Nurturing because that is how her character is written post-war and LoK. Notice how is said Written. Written by two misogynistic men who stripped her of a lot of her characteristics from the original run of the show. This is the problem. And it's the same with Aang. I can't take him seriously because he doesn't take any of it seriously. Especially with his children. He's not a serious character. He acts like he's serious, but he never really left the 12 year old boy behind to mature. Probably because in his fictional relationship with Katara, she enables him to keep doing what he always does. Which is to not grow. Relationships grow sour when the two people in them do not grow. It's not really about who grew up with parents at that point because it's the current parents that are the ones that should be to blame.

Now on to Headcanon space...

Zutara is a Headcanon ship. Did it almost happen? Oh yes I believe it did because the writing supports it heavily and Bryke's actions post show also scream 'lairs'. Sorry, but I have a pretty good Bullshit metor and Bryke set it off big time by their immature behavior.

But I digress.

Zuko grew up with a Narcissistic Sociopath as a Father and a Mother who was caught in the middle of a choice she was essentially forced to make. Ursa was also forced to forget her own parents never existed after she married Ozai. This is all canon, by the way. Her life before her marriage was great, but then it was taken away so she had nothing left but her morals and beliefs. However, while she loved both of her children, her influence on Zuko is essentially what made him who he is. Ursa didn't get to influence Azula like she did Zuko. Why? Because of Ozai.

Ozai pit his children against each other. This was apparently a Fire Nation Royal Family tradition because it sounds like Azulon did this with Iroh and Ozai as well. This kind of parenting style is abusive to its core. What Ozai did to Zuko isn't neglect... it's straightforward abuse and control. How do you make a child do what you want? You hurt them, or you take something away from them. Ozai both hurt Zuko and took away his home by banishing him. If Zuko wants to go back home, he has to find and capture the Avatar. It's that simple, but at the same time, it's also near impossible.

Flash forward to Canon Zuko and we see he has one child and he is a very loving father. Actually, he's the best father in the show. His experiences with growing up as the not so favorite child has made his choice to have one child easy. Probably because he and his spouse had a less than perfect relationship. This also may have influenced him to be protective of Izumi (as we can see he's still protective over her even at 90 years old) because of the loveless relationship his parents had. It was enough to damage him deeply when it came to relationships. This is likely also why he had trouble with Mai as well.

Headcanon space now...

Zuko loving Katara is what makes the difference here. Love is giving your partner the freedom to make their own choices and support them. As long as there is good communication, trust, and honesty. Something Maiko does not have, by the way. So it stands to reason that even with Nature Vs Nurture in the way of parenting, both win here. I'll tell you why Zuko's relationship with his parents here have no effect on why he would choose to have more children with Katara.

Because if written well, it's a very good relationship between them. We already know they work well as a team. The show gives us this. We know that Zuko absolutely cares about Katara. The show also gives us that. We also know they become lifelong friends. So why do they make great parents?

Because they rely on each other.

It has nothing to do with how they were raised individually, but everything to do with how they support each other narritively. They trust each other to make good decisions together. They rely on being honest with each other. They also communicate with each other. This by itself is the building blocks for a healthy and stable relationship. With that in mind, parenting is easier. There is no need to be afraid of becoming a bad parent because they hold each other accountable. It's a deep relationship. Having multiple children is easier because it is a loving relationship. There's no conflict besides the silly little arguments over simple things that happen all the time. It's just an overall healthy dynamic.

And that is what appeals to Zutarians.

While it was almost canon, I'm glad it isn't because Bryke would definitely not get it right. They tried to make Korra and Mako happen out of spite because they believe Zutara is toxic. It's not. Their children would turn out absolutely fine because Zuko would not change a thing about Katara. It's in the show. He doesn't try to change her because that's not his job. His job in TSR is to let her find closure. He offers it to her because he cares about her. Bottom line.

Anyway, I probably forgot what you said at this point because I just tend to go on and on, but I tried my best to stay on topic... ADHD is both a blessing and a curse.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

you once said that the ZK do not allow the canonical Zuko to show real, sometimes ugly signs of trauma. can you write more about this? because that's what I always felt when I came across their terrible takes, but I couldn't express it.

Gladly! But first, I need to mention the sign of trauma that Zuko usually lacks - and that, for some reason, the fandom insists defines his character:

Fear

Don't get wrong, I'm not saying Zuko never experienced fear. We all saw that poor boy on his knees, crying, begging his father not to hurt him.

But in "Zuko Alone" we also see 10-year-old Zuko get bitter that only his younger sister was expected to show off her firebending skills, and deciding that he would go against his father and demonstrate his own skills to the Fire Lord - that despite the fact that he knew Azula was better at it than he was. Even when it goes wrong, he is upset, but doesn't look afraid of the consequences.

That same episode shows Azula mocking him for playing with knives despite not even being good at it, and even though the fandom insists she was his worst fear ever since he was a child, Zuko responds with a "Put an apple on your head and we'll see how good I am." That little guy has exactly zero chill.

Let's not forget why he was banished either: Despite being considered too young to be in that war meeting, Zuko demanded to be there, eventually got his way, and despite having been told not to say anything, the second he hears a general suggest using their own men as "fresh meat" to lure the enemy, Zuko speaks out against it. And at the start of the Agni Kai, he looked 100% ready to fight a grown ass man with battle experience - until he saw it was his father/Fire Lord.

Let's not forget his Agni Kai with Zhao, which was his idea and that he actually won - and before that, he openly calls Ozai a fool, to which Zhao points out that banishment clearly not teach Zuko to watch his mouth. Or the time he openly challenged Azula in Ba Sing Se and they only didn't fight then and there because Azula knew she'd have the advantage by using the Dai Li. Hell, at the start of that very season, after she tried to lure him to a trap, Zuko's first reaction is to charge at her, fire-daggers in hand. That boy is the definition of "Fuck around and find out."

He has also done things like choosing to save his uncle from earthbenders instead of chasing Aang, crossing a blockade and going into actual Fire Nation territory even though he legally is no longer allowed to do that, and helped rescue Aang from Zhao as the Blue Spirit. It shows us that Zuko doesn't have an issue with temporarely deviating from his mission because of something HE deems important even though his father doesn't, openly disregarding Ozai's orders, and even basically saying "My father will have the Avatar as a prisoner only if I'm the one to capture him"

And, of course, on the day of the eclipse, Zuko grabs his swords and directly threatens Ozai, telling that bastard to sit the fuck down, shut up, and listen to his list of reasons why he sucks as a parent, ruler and person.

Zuko is brave. Unbelievably so. He is fierce, proud, and impulsive to the point of getting himself in situations that he should have known would not go his way (like fighting a waterbender in the snow, in the full moon) because he is very much a "act first, think later" kind of guy. So the fandom's insistence that he is constantly paralyzed by fear is a gross over-simplification of how his trauma affects him.

We only see him genuinely afraid of Ozai twice. During the Agni Kai itself, and then again when he WANTS to speak out against his father's plan to burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground, but can't bring himself to because he remembers what happened last time he spoke out against that kind of horrible thing during a war meeting, at that very room. It took something THAT triggering to make him cower before a challenge.

However, fear wasn't the only reason why didn't speak out during that moment, and that takes us to the first "ugly" sign of trauma that the fandom as a whole likes to pretend Zuko wasn't repeatedly shown to experience:

"My father is right about me, actually"

Zuko doesn't think Ozai was wrong to disfigure and banish him. How could he? Nobody in that entire room stood up to at least try to support him, not even his uncle - who also once said "Why would your father have banished you if he didn't care about you?" because, surprise surprise, nobody in that family knows how to help someone through trauma because they're all dealing with their own shit. Even his crew, who WAS sympathetic to him after finding out how he got that scar, were still 100% willing to not only support Ozai, but risk their lives for him.

Zuko isn't just trying to heal from abuse, he is trying to heal from victim-blaming, and to go against YEARS of indoctrination that say the Fire Lord can do no wrong. That's part of why it was so difficult for Iroh and others to help him: Zuko didn't believe that he needed or deserved help.

And that is also one of his three major unhealthy coping mechanisms. Claiming that HE needs to prove himself to Ozai, that HE needs to make up for HIS mistakes, not the other way around.

It might seem strange that this could be a way to cope, but look at it this way: If it WAS his fault instead of Ozai's, then that means his dad is not an unfair, abusive piece of shit that is unbelievably cruel and impossible to please. Zuko just needs to accomplish this mission of capturing the Avatar and everything will be fine, they'll be a normal family again, and he won't have to be afraid of someone he thought he could trust.

It was like Iroh said: Things are never going to be the same ever agin, but the Avatar gives Zuko HOPE. And that hope that his abuser will one day have a change of heart and be a loving father to him again is both what allows Zuko not to give into despair - and what keeps him trapped in that awful situation.

Misplaced Anger

Another "unpleasant" sign of trauma that Zuko has is how he clearly has an anger problem. Sure, he's a moody teenager with a short fuse, but we see over and over again that he tends to blow things way out of proportion, and that when faced a fact or opinion he doesn't like, he is quick to lash out at someone with VERY cruel words (see him calling Iroh a lazy, shallow, jealous old man in "Avatar State", or calling him crazy and saying if he wasn't in prison, he'd be sleeping in a gutter in "The Headband").

Through the entire show, many people faced Zuko's wrath - Iroh, Aang and friends, his crew, Azula, innocent people of the Earth Kingdom, Mai, Ty Lee, that one rando that talked to Mai, and even Zuko himself.

The one person that usually escapes said wrath is, ironically, Ozai. In "Zuko Alone" he refuses to believe his father would ever be capable of harming him, in "Avatar State" he snaps at Iroh for doubting that Ozai really changed his mind about the whole banishment thing.

He is mad at Aang for being too difficult to capture, and at Zhao for stealing his one chance to come home. He never stops to question if it's fair that his father had him chase someone that was presumed dead, aka an impossible task, as the condition to bring him home. He also never addresses how he feels about the reason WHY said banishment happened until the Day Of Black Sun.

He is mad at Azula for lying to him and trying to take him home as a prisoner. He never gets mad at his father for not only wanting to lock him away forever because ZHAO screwed up at the North Pole, nor how messed up it was that he put Azula in charge of said mission.

For fuck's sake, in the day of the eclipse, we find out that Zuko legit believed his mother was DEAD - and the entire circumstance was shady as hell and put Ozai in a very bad light. Yet Zuko still wanted his love, still wanted to be a "worthy" son.

He HAS to direct his anger at other people, otherwise he'll realize that no, his father, the adult that was meant to care for him, is a complete monster.

Everytime Zuko lashes out at other people before confronting Ozai, he's basically acting like someone who is drowning and, in a panic, is trying to pull the nearest person under so he can try to breathe. It is one of the most accurate and honest representations of trauma and abuse, and it makes me SO mad when people erase it in their fics because "poor, innocent, helpless turtleduck that can do no wrong" makes Zuko look like less of a dick - and also completely strips him of his agency.

And that isn't even the thing that fans ignore the most. That "honor" goes to the simple fact that Zuko, as expected of a child raised to believe the Fire Lord can do no wrong, decided that Azula had the right idea and that the best way to avoid being a victim again was...

Copying His Abuser

Zuko has REPEATEDLY let his "inner Ozai" out through the show.

He is all manipulative by not letting the pirates know he was chasing the Avatar who was worth A LOT more than the scrowl they'd get as a reward for helping him, and by using Katara's necklace as a way to try and get her to say where Aang was.

He repeatedly steals stuff from innocent people (including some who helped him, like Song) because, in his own words "These people should just be giving stuff to us" - aka he's very much an entitled prince.

He betrays his uncle by joining Azula in Ba Sing Se, leading to Iroh being thrown in prison. He also doesn't give a shit when Katara says "I thought you had changed!" and he sends a freaking assassin after the Gaang. Even him refusing to tell Azula that there was a chance Aang could still be alive works both as a "Zuko doesn't trust Azula to not use that against him, and for good reason" and "Zuko did not even stop to think that, since Azula was the one who killed Aang, him coming back also puts HER in danger, because he's too focused on his own problems to notice anybody else's."

More importantly, he rejected a chance of a ceasefire with the Gaang three times (The Blue Spirit, The Chase, Crossroads of Destiny), much like Ozai refused his shot at ending the war in the finale before his battle with Aang, and not only did he challenge Zhao to an Agni Kai and seriously consider burning him, he also threatened one of his crewmen by saying he'd "teach him respect" - which we found out later that episode was what Ozai right before disfiguring poor Zuko.

For fuck's sake, Ozai was literally designed to look like an older Zuko. One without a scar, one that was never banished, one that never had to see first-hand all the death and suffering war brings and reflect on the role he plays in it.

Finally, we have the war meetings in "Nightmares And Daydreams", in which Zuko doesn't speak out against his father's completely inhumane plans to deal with the Earth Kingdom. When talking about it with Mai, he says "I was the perfect prince, the son my father wanted. But I wasn't me."

That is the turning point for Zuko for a reason. It's him finally being forced to acknowledge that, to become Ozai's ideal son, to earn his (conditional) love, to not be his victim he has to be just as bad as he is, just as cruel, just as unfair - and we see in Azula's breakdown how Zuko likely would have ended up if he accepted that path.

But he didn't, and that was not easy because even though it was the morally correct choice, it'd require him to sacrifice everything - his title as a prince, his right to be in the Fire Nation, his relationship with Mai, his (extremelly complicated, sometimes good, often awful) bond with Azula, the "easy" way to get literally anything he wanted at everyone else's expense, and, of course, accept that his father was never going to love him, was never going to change, and was never going to feel sorry for abusing him.

Erasing such a central conflict of his character for the sake of denying he ever did anything wrong is, ironically, removing one of Zuko's most noble character traits: his inability to just live with himself after doing something horrible. There's a reason he is in deep conflict even after getting everything he wanted after the fall of Ba Sing Se - he knows he doesn't deserve it after what he's done.

If you ignore his mistakes and the horrible consequences it had for other people, you also ignore Zuko's growth. This puts him more in the position of a good guy being held hostage by the evil villain, not of a troubled child that redeems himself as he matures.

No flaws, no mistakes, no growth, no arc.

Trauma Doesn't Just Go Away

This one is, by far, the bad trope regarding Zuko's trauma that Zutarians are the most guilt of: assuming that if he just gets enough comforting hugs (mainly from Katara), all of his inner turmoil will suddenly be healed. No more sadness, no more fear, no more of the ugly traits they never acknowledge in the first place. Just a happy, fully recovered Zuko.

But that's just not how these things work. Having the support of a loved one helps victims feel better, but it won't magically make everything okay. Trauma is a really difficult thing to handle. There's good days, bad days, relapses, bad habits that are difficult to move past from. And not only are there cases in which people take YEARS to recover, there are also cases in which they never fully heal, and instead just learn to live with that burden that is still very much present.

I understand the desire to show in fics and headcanons that Zuko will eventually be fully healed and happy, but the way Zutarians make Katara act as not just his girlfriend, but as basically his therapist that needs to find miracle solutions for every single one of his problems, comfort him whenever any minor inconvenience happens until he's gotten enough hugs to be magically okay doesn't just reveal how hypocritical they are, since they insist Kataang is about Katara being Aang's girlfriend/mom/baby-sitter, but also that they legit do not understand a damn thing about trauma and how it works.

Which takes me to:

How Mai Actually Did Right By Zuko

Poor, poor Mai. She gets blamed for "bring out the worst in Zuko", for not being "supportive", for being too cold and unemotional, for not "seeing the real him" - yet she's one of the characters that CONSISTENLY help put Zuko back on his track.

She offers him emotional support and lots of signs of affection over and over again - telling him not worry when they're arriving at the Fire Nation, pointing out she doesn't hate him when she says she's beautiful when she hates the world, explicitly saying she cares about him in The Beach, being incredibly sweet and loving to him during all of Nightmares and Daydreams, and then again in the finale by helping him get dressed up and acting all cute as they get back together.

But she also holds him accountable when he screws up. She doesn't let him use his difficult life as an excuse to be a jerk and calls him out when he's being unreasonable, or when she feels mistreated/like he's making a mistake (see The Beach and Boiling Rock Part 2).

But since the fandom loves to completely erase Zuko's mistakes AND to not let go of a stupid ship war, this completely changes the context, making Mai out to be this awful, bitchy girlfriend, when in reality, she did a great job handling Zuko - sometimes even better than the fan favorite and mentor figure Zuko had through most of his arc.

Uncle Iroh Fucked Up

Before all of you try to kill me, let me make one thing clear here: I love Uncle Iroh. He is one of the most awesome characters in the show, and I fully believe he was trying his best to help Zuko.

But he is still a human being that makes mistakes, and he was raised in the same dysfunctional family Zuko was, meaning he often had NO IDEA how to handle his deeply traumatized teenage nephew/son.

Him spending all of book 1 trying to help Zuko capture Aang so he could go back to living with the guy that disfigured him is already bad enough, but we also have the episode "Avatar State" in which Iroh asks "Why would your father banish you if he didn't care about you?"

Obviously he only did these things because he didn't want Zuko give into despair and depression - but he is still, at best, ignoring the issue, and at worst actively making excuses for Ozai's abuse of his own son. This backfires on him spectacularly, as Zuko sides with Azula over him both in the first and last episode of the season specifically because he believes that appeasing Ozai is the right thing to do, as he was only banished "for his own good."

But THE biggest mistake Iroh made when it came to helping Zuko was his refusal to accept that no, Zuko was never going to be happy by living a quiet, simple life in Ba Sing Se - even after Zuko explicitly said as much to his face.

Obviously, to some extent, Iroh HAS to make Zuko accept that he won't ever be able to come back home after Ozai literally ordered Azula to capture him, but he could have tried to find some kind of middle ground with Zuko, since being a waiter clearly wasn't making him happy.

"Oh, but what about how Zuko started acting after his metamorphosis? He was so happy about working on the tea-shop with his uncle, and that was supposed to reveal his true self!"

Yes, it was supposed to do that. But we saw how Zuko acted after actually dealing with his trauma and redeeming himself. He was obviously in a much healthier place, both mentally and spiritually, but he was still moody, still sarcastic, still as proud as ever, and even Iroh recognized that he was meant to be Fire Lord.

Zuko's arc has a lot to do with identity, with how he sees himself. At that point, the only thing he still had in life was his uncle - so he was acting like him, because there seemed to be no other role model, no other path. Seeing that weird, cheery, relaxed, always-seeing-the-good-side-of-things version of Zuko was honestly unnerving.

And Iroh thought that Zuko basically giving himself the Lake Laogai treatment was okay because he following in his footsteps, doing what helped IROH heal and change - he didn't realize it was never gonna be able to do the same for Zuko.

The very second Azula shows up, even when she's being hostile, Zuko drops the facade, because she's a reminder of both his old life and what he thought his future would be. And when she offers him "redemption" Iroh tried to advice Zuko against joining her by saying "The redemption she offers is not for you" (as in not for someone who is doing better and doesn't need to return to the Fire Nation) and "It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good." How is it a choice if Iroh is explicitly saying which option Zuko cannot pick, essentially making the decision for him?

Iroh didn't just get the way to help Zuko wrong - he didn't realize his nephew didn't believe he needed help. They were not on the same page at all, and that contribuited to Zuko betraying him.

Though, thankfully, it ended up being for the best, as Zuko found his own way to redemption by himself.

Conclusion

This fandom as a whole tends to not understand Zuko at all and just eat up a bunch of fanon while pretending to be so intellectual, which I very much resent it for.

[sokkastyles]

I do think it's a shame that people are so unwilling to engage with Kiyi as a character, particularly what she means to Azula because there is a lot of interesting stuff there that remains unexplored because people are so into the idea that she exists to be a "replacement sister" for Zuko and that's BAD. And like, I agree that Zuko doesn't need a replacement sister. But just because AZULA sees Kiyi that way doesn't make it true. Azula's instant hatred of Kiyi and her accusation that her mother replaced her says way more about Azula and her own internal conflict than anything. There's also a lot of interesting stuff in the way Zuko interacts with Kiyi, the way Zuko wants to protect Kiyi's innocence because it's something he never had and Azula's resentment of it for the same reason.

And the thing is, the comics do make parallels between Kiyi and Azula, but it's not to show that Kiyi is a monster or that Azula never did anything wrong and everyone just unfairly misjudged her. Azula meeting this little girl who is her half sister, who likes to mutilate her dolls, who is a firebending prodigy, who is too precocious for her own good, that Azula instantly hates and sees as a symbol of her mother's rejection of her, is meant to mirror her own self loathing and awareness that her father made her into something she doesn't want to be, deep down. Kiyi might have been Azula if Azula had not grown up as the Fire Nation princess and Ozai's golden child.

Also, as much as I have spoken against the "replacement sister" interpretation, Zuko is allowed to want to have a relationship with his half sister. Ursa is allowed to have another child when she was forbidden from seeing Zuko and Azula by Ozai. I really dislike the way certain parts of the fandom seek to control Zuko and Ursa's relationships because you know, that's what Ozai did. This idea that it's a slight against Azula for Kiyi to exist and be in her brother and mother's life reeks of Azula's own insecurity and desire to control the relationships of the people in her life.

[weepingchronicles]

platonic yandere katara headcanons

tw/cw: overbearing behavior, yandere, guilt tripping, infantilizing

a/n: yippie katara headcanons! this is just thoughts I had and female yanderes are so underated here especially katara herself

I'm also working your guys requests, i have a lot of drafts right now!!

katara is a very controlling but soft yandere

her tendencies are a bit more toned down if you're older than her, but if you're younger you are basically adopted as her little sibling or mother

however she sees you as, she's still very motherly

she's a bit more soft because she'll let you socialize and have friends especially with those she loves like aang, sokka and toph

but she'll get VERY protective if fire nation is somehow involved, even when she eventually warms up to zuko she doesn't like him around you

if you're fire nation however? she'll insist that you're different and the only one who is truly good in her eyes

if you go against her and talk to zuko or someone fire nation, she'll basically guilt trip you and cry

"how could you do this to me? you know my mother died by firebenders" sob sob

some part of its sincere, other half knows if she cries you'll do as she says

if you ever get sick or injured, she is by your side ALL THE TIME

if you get a smallest paper cut or bruise she'll insist on healing it for you, which is fine at first until she demands full body healing sessions DAILY just incase you're hurt somewhere she can't see or you can't feel

her controlling tendencies go to its MAX and her overwhelming need to care for you goes out of control. she'll bathe you or at least be right beside you (just incase something happens!!), cook for you, do all your clothes, EVERYTHING until you're fully healed.

she genuinely hates to see you like this and couldn't live with herself if you got hurt more because she wasn't there.

the only reason she lets you come with her and the rest of the gaang is because what if something happens to you and she isn't there to heal you? she just needs you to be within a 2 feet radius

the only way i can see you reasoning with her is if you go to sokka or aang for help, to intervene. aang straight up says no, he's too loyal to katara and knows she's projecting her trauma onto you. sokka does try talking but it ends up in a full blown argument and kinda gives up

besides it's not like she's hurting you or anything??

she'll tone it down after sokka talks with her a bit but goes back right after

so you might as well live with it! 🩷🩷

if you try to escape, which I don't blame you-

you might be able to get away for even a month or two if you prepare well enough but cmon, she has the fucking avatar as a boyfriend and a flying bison

it won't take too long before she tracks you so enjoy your freedom while it lasts

when she "reunites" with you, it's all tears. she's somehow even more overbearing and checks if you're hurt and asks 100 times as well

she won't be mad at you neither will she punish you

she'll definitely keep a closer eye on you and will snoop through your things if she believes you're plotting

the most she'll do to punish you is, again, guilt tripping

"how could you do this to me? you're just like my dad, leaving me alone!"

she's practically hysterical and the only way to calm her down is if you apologize and swear to never do it again

another thought is if she'd bloodbend for you?

I don't think she would nor do I think she'd get to the point of killing someone for you unless they MUST be stopped

but i do think she'd threaten to bloodbend others or maybe even you if pushed far enough

she'd never actually do it though..

[ivnxrori]

When Sun and Moon meet - S2

Zuko x Fem!WaterBender!Reader Enemies to Lovers

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

Warnings: none

Masterlist

҉ * ‧͙ ⋆ ⁺ ༓ ☾ Chapter 7 - Refreshing Tea

“Have you heard of that tea-house? All of a sudden their tea has been the best in Ba Sing Se!” One of the men said. “Oh then I must try it out! I have been craving tea recently," the woman responded with a laugh. I wasn't the biggest fan of tea outside of the northern water tribe. The only tea that exists was Spirit Oasis Tea which was only used for meditating in the Spirit Oasis to the Moon spirit. Ironic that the water tribe doesn't have a variety of drinks. “Uhm ma’am” I snapped out of me zoning out. I have been doing that more recently. “Sorry…” I said sheepishly as I handed him water tribe money. “You must be hearing about the new tea at the tea-house, I haven't had the time to go there but man I really want to. Sadly I'm constantly stuck at work.” The worker complained. Maybe I should check out the new tea area. “Water tribe money? Wow I haven't seen this currency in a while” The store owner said as I packed up my groceries for today. “Sorry, that's all I'm able to carry” Internally praying he accepts the pay. “Money is money” He shrugs and I let out a sigh of relief. “Have a nice day” he waved off while I smiled in gratefulness, taking Aku by the lead.

  ҉   ☾

Aku and I managed to get there, the sky was dark and the moon was slowly rising up. I really like the night sky because that's the only time I get to see Yue again. I smiled and parked Aku near the entrance. “Stay here buddy” I consoled before going into the tea-house. Once I walked there were still a lot of people, only one table was empty. Is the tea here really that good? Or this is the only tea-house here. I'm here to find out anyway. I was able to sit down at the empty table after making my order, which was just…tea. My mind wanders off thinking my father and Yue would have loved tea, not just specifically from here but in general. “Here’s your tea” a boy said, placing down the cup on the wooden table. I smiled softly “thank you” looking up at him, the realization hitting me. He has a very familiar scar on the left side of his face, it was none other than Zuko himself. Both of our eyes widened from the realization of who each other was. He totally figured out who I was. I immediately got up in fear, preparing to run away however it was prevented by Zuko himself. He grabbed my wrist, softer than I expected. “What are you doing here?” He whispered which made me irritated. “What are you doing here!?” I hissed. I didn't even get my answer due to an interruption made by…Jet?! 

“These two are firebenders!” Jet yelled out, holding two of his swords. How did he figure that out? Did he fight with them? “I saw the old man heating his tea,” Jet continued to yell. “He works at a tea shop,” one of the soldiers defended. He made eye contact with me, I freaked out internally thinking what was he going to do. “He is attacking this girl right here!” He pointed the sword at Zuko and I. We both looked down still seeing Zuko’s hand wrapped around my wrist. Due to this we quickly pulled back, I blushed in embarrassment. “N-No! The tea was too hot so he pulled my hand away before I could get burnt” I explained, my voice going a pitch higher than I wanted it to be. I don't know why I defended Zuko, but he didnt do anything bad to me at that moment. Zuko said absolutely nothing, way to go Zuko. “Drop your swords boy, nice and easy” The soldiers got up but Jet didn't care. “You have to defend yourself, then everyone will know. Go ahead! Show them what you can do.”  Zuko took the sword of one of the soldier’s “You want a show? I'll give you a show!” I grabbed my cub and tea before Zuko moved the table with his leg. I honestly couldn't be bothered with this situation. It doesn't include me and I wasnt that close with either of them to care. I tried taking a sip of the tea made, which was surprisingly still warm and I was even more surprised that it tasted really good. No wonder everyone wants to come here, and father would love this!

I continued drinking until I realized Aku was still outside. I went outside near the door frame to see a crowd of people surrounding Zuko and Jet, who were on opposite sides. “It's true sir, we saw the whole thing, this crazy kid attacked the finest tea maker in this city.” One of the soldiers said, making the old guy blush. Jet's eyes meet mine again making me flinch and look away. “Y/N do you trust me?” He says out loud making all the eyes go on me. My eyes widened and I looked down in embarrassment. What should I say? It's not like me saying anything would make much of a difference, unless if I took my hood down I would be able to use my princess card. “Stop bringing the young lady into this, can't you see she is scared” One of the women said, shielding me. Slowly everyone was defending me. I looked at Jet one last time before turning away. I'm sorry Jet, the person you shouldn't trust is me. He looked at me painfully before getting taken away from the guards. Jet continued spouting out words which slowly went faint and slowly everyone in the circle disappeared. “Some kinda friend you are” I turned around and saw Zuko. “He was not my friend,” I sneered. “Why did you defend me anyways, your the one that actually saw me fire bend”

“I didnt even defend you, I was trying to keep attention away from me” “Did it work?” “What is your problem? Isn't it more beneficial for you than it is for me?” I spat in annoyance. 

“Calm down you two” The old man said, calming the both of us down. “How did both of you recognize me?” I asked worriedly, holding the hood closer to my face. “Your face is quite recognizable once you've seen it, Princess Y/N. Now how about some tea, it will be on the house.” The old man whispered the second part which made me breathily sigh. “I'm good for the day” I glared at both Zuko and the old man. I go outside to take Aku and leave.

“Sorry Aku, i'm just going to go for a little walk okay?” I patted Aku on the head before I left. I was never allowed to go out at sundown before so I wanted to see what it was like. I stretched my arms over my head before seeing a kid and an adult. The adult had the kids' ball, taunting him. Really? How immature are these adults? “Hey, let the kids have some fun” I stated, defending the kid who turned towards me. His eyes were bloodshot red, tears were streaming down his face. “Hah, what are you gonna do? Hit me?” The guy taunted, shaking the ball. “I might just do that” I get water out of my water pouch, slapping them. “Ow” the guy hissed and let go of the ball “you will regret this!” he yelled running away. I grab the ball and gently hand it to the boy. “You need to be careful at night, who knows what could happen” I wiped the tears that were on his cheeks. He sniffed in response, grabbing a ball. Shakily saying “T-Thank you kind lady” He looked down. I smile softly “No problem, now where are your friends?” I looked around to see no one. “They all left once the scary man came” He sniffled. I patted his head sweetly. “Let's get you home little guy” I smiled as he grabbed my hand.

“Say thank you to the kind lady, who knows what we would do without her” The mom patted his back, ushering him to thank me. “Thank you!” He smiled. Both the mother and the son waved in delight. I waved them back and turned around, away from the house. I should probably go home by now, I'm feeling a bit tired. I yawned in my hand, till I heard something. I turned around quickly, searching for anything but there was nothing. Huh…I guess I'm just hearing things. Then I felt a grasp around my wrist. I immediately flick it away, using my water bending to hit them back. “Who's there?” I said out loud. “I told you, you will regret this” the guy from before said, chuckling evilly. The same guy who stole a kids ball. This time he had two additional accomplices. “Please you're so immature” I laughed mockingly which heated him up furthermore. Before he could strike, a figure barged in, striking them with two blades. My eyes widened at the scene and I quickly took out the figure behind me, whacking him down. I turned around to check out the scene again. I got a better look of the figure who held two swords, wore a blue mask and an all black outfit. “Just who…are you?” I raised my brows, moving closer. Just as I was about to get close enough, he ran, taking the three guys with him. That was awfully weird, man I really need to get home now…

<- Back - Next ->

a/n: Sorry for the late post WOOO Managed to post it on time!! So yeah! Thats literally it LMAO have a nice day and take care fo yourself!!

--

Taglist: @luvkvni @katovano @karmaswitch @someonesmember @velvet-spider @sh3sa1dwhat @nerdisthenewcool @meiraloves2dmen @fqnfics101 @iluvme547 @leaderwon @yukihatesreoyo @heart4hees @4l3x1s @kkissaku @corpsebridenightamare @newjellis @fatkish

[dont-leafmealone]

Jetko fic rec list

Feel free to add your own recs, and if you do read any of these and like them, comment something nice on it! If I find anyone hassling authors for updates I will drop ferrets down your chimney!

Modern AU

the things we leave behind - Mai and Ty Lee start a ghost hunting channel; their roommate, Zuko, cannot stand their new cameraman, Jet. Meanwhile, Zuko's sister just moved into their shared house, and forms a reluctant bond with Zuko's friend, Katara. Multiship, rated M, 200k, complete, HIGHLY recommend (also check out the rest of the author's works! She's amazing!)

never believed in meant to be - Zuko gets in-school suspension and meets Jet, who's cool enough they spend the day together. It's their first and last meeting. Rated T, 5k, complete. (Check out the rest of this author's stuff too!)

you're built to fall (beautiful) - in between the struggles of figuring out life as sixteen-year-old caretaker of kids, Jet finds himself falling in love with a handsome merman. rated T, 8k, complete. Amazingly written <3

paint it red, they'll cover it up anyway - Jet and Zuko are both kindergarten teachers, and both dealing with a lot of complications in their life. and in love. Rated T, 34k, in-progress

Ba Sing Se

up in the city (until the stars lost the war) - canon divergent AU where Jet doesn't see Iroh heat the tea, and Zuko's a little more receptive to city life. Absolutely gorgeous series. Rated T, 50k, in-progress

(Dont) Lose yourself into me - another canon divergent AU! Featuring rebel shenanigans, betrayal and angst all laid out beautifully. Check out the author's other works too, there's some really good ones! Rated T, 80k, in-progress

clay kids - after a misunderstanding about Zuko's - or rather, Lee's - parentage, he and Jet form a relationship built on lies of omission. Rated T, 35k, in-progress

a lesson in new beginnings - the author's summary probably says it best: 'zuko has bad coping skills, jet has a hella crush, and war is hell. welcome to ba sing se.' Very sweet with plenty of angst, drama, and misunderstanding. Rated T, 6k, in-progress

Post-canon

Like The Fire In Your Heart - Zuko's carriage is ambushed by thieves, and he finds that his old friend Jet isn't as dead as certain playwrights would have him believe. Rated M, 9k, in-progress

Miscellaneous

learning how to use a weapon (& other such tragedies) - flood-based apocalypse au! Beautifully written, possibly one of the first jetko fics I read when I was first starting to like Jet as a character. Rated G, 11k, complete

heat and sand - by the same author as above, au where a race of winged beings live among humans, and wouldn't you know it, they're not exactly welcomed by the likes of Ozai. Zuko finds himself taken in by Jet and his freedom fighters. Rated G, 16k, two completed fics. Honestly check out the rest of the author's catalogue it's all A+

Hearthfire- Jet is taken prisoner by the Fire Nation after his village burns. Rather than be put to work or executed, he becomes the young Prince Zuko's ward and they form an unlikely relationship. rated T, in-progress, 41k, covers canon books 1-3.

Perpetual - Jet, not quite mid-redemption arc, kills a firebender. Zuko can't actually die. Jet decides to make this his own problem. Rated M, 180k, in-progress <3

Sthe song in the secret room - haha second lesbeanlatte work on here 😈 a modern/time travel au based off of the Disney channel show Secrets of Sulphur Springs, if it were PG-13 and involved gator-related manslaughter. Hilarious and heart-wrenching 💚 Rated M, 280k, complete

Some further additions found in this reblog

This list will probably get updated if I remember any more or read anything new. And not to shamelessly self-promote but I have a variety of jetko works of my own, linked here if you're interested at all. :)

[mugentakeda]

pls tell me more about her + her relationship with iroh and lu ten.. she's so fascinating

GUH. thank you for asking anonsie pie. (TAKES DEEP BREATH

fuhua is a firebender, but wasnt part of the FN army. she was an entertainment firebender at this speakeasy/club for the elite joint in caldera city. her and iroh were both pushing thirty already when they met. he was just sorta tooling around with his military buds doing bachelor playboy prince shit and they ended up going into the joint. fuhua was the biggest hardass out of all the girls working that day, so she was the one entrusted to entertain His Royal Highness and his posse of noble dickheads.

iroh and fuhua actually hit it off pretty well. he was very enraptured by her while watching her perform and bend and whatever, so he followed her when she took her break and struck up a conversation with her, bought her fancy drinks and stuff. he liked her whole attitude (he is well known for liking women with attitudes) and look and whatever. she found him charming and easy to talk with despite his status. irohs pals ended up leaving after a while but iroh stayed behind because he wanted to talk to fuhua allllllll day and was totally caught up in their growing tension. eventually fuhua had to leave, so he offered to walk fuhua home. she accepted, they (naturally) had a one night fling, iroh went back to the palace, that was supposed to be that. cus having flings isnt an out of the ordinary thing for young iroh he was a #slut I'm sure we can all agree on that.

HOWEVER azulon naturally at this point is very tired of his favorite son going around whoring himself out but never picking a wife because he's pushing thirty and he needs an heir if he wants to do more military stuff. so azulon lined up a bunch of well born daughters and was like "Okay son I've had it with your dumbassery pick a wife right now". and iroh didn't like ANY of the women azulon had picked out. but then he remembered fuhua, who he got along with like a house on fire.

now please note, I made it clear in my awesome comprehensive list of Horrible No Good Fuhua Personality Traits that this woman is NOT built for marriage OR having kids. she's meant for the single hot girl life, bottomless mimosas everyday and coconut hair treatments and living alone with a cat that's as much of a jackass as she is. But its not like she can say NO to the crown prince of the fire nation, obviously. even if he seemed like a decent (????) guy. iroh found her not long after and proposed to her like "hey my dad wants me to get married but i didn't like any of the noble women Please Please PLEASE be my wife I'll make sure you never have to want for anything".

having a fun little evening chit chat session at the bar and then getting freaky for one night with a handsome guy is one thing. Being forced to marry him and have his kids is another!!!!!!! <- and fuhua is tormented by fear of having kids. on top of her just Not liking them and not being willing to give up her single hot girl lifestyle, she is tormented by fear of pregnancy and labor and all that. pregnancy and childbirth can kill you, it can kill your child (AND THEN SHE'LL HAVE TO GET PREGNANT AGAIN because she cant stop until she gives iroh an heir), it can ruin your body, so on so forth. there's a lot of factors to it that get overlooked.

and on top of that, fuhua may have worked in a club for the elite, but she was not well born. she is not a noble. she has no military creds, no training, no nobility rich people etiquette, no nothing. azulon was NOT pleased, and he made that very clear to iroh. iroh didn't give two shits, but what he didn't do was defend fuhua from azulons ire. because azulon would insult fuhua pretty openly, ALL the time. about her commoner status, her lack of "manners", how she doesn't support iroh's military ventures and shit, so on and so forth. azulon wanted iroh to have a wife that was like ilah, basically. and the worst part is that azulon would do it AROUND fuhua, but never to her face- he'd always phrase his antagonism as a question to iroh, as if fuhua was irohs misbehaving lapdog or some shit. and iroh NEVERRRR got on his dads case for it because "that's just how my father is lol don't let it get to your head dearest!!!!". just very blase and ignorant. naturally, fuhua got sick of it VERY quickly.

she took her frustration out on anyone she could. she stopped being nice to the servants, she'd antagonize ozai (who was like. a teenager at the time.), despite ozai going out of his way to avoid fuhua at all costs (ozai shared his fathers sentiments on her status and lack of manners, but he couldn't compare her to his mother. because ozai never got to meet ilah himself<- i hc that ilah died in childbirth having ozai (which is part of the reason why azulon hates ozai so much and iroh was so distant with ozai)), so on so forth. fuhua has a pretty short fuse, so she got super angry and bitter with EVERYTHING very quick. she tries to pick fights with iroh but iroh is like???? somehow oblivious to his wife's turmoil.

and then she gets pregnant and he just starts writing it all off as hormones. she hates it as much as she knew she would, but her growing hatred for iroh and everything in existence makes it even worse. she treats being pregnant like having a bug under your skin or something. its like her worst nightmare. she isn't even allowed to smoke her pipe while shes pregnant. she would, if it meant that shed kill the baby, but then she'd just have to get pregnant again. might as well get it over with. <-its at this point where she already starts planning to run away from the palace as soon as she gives birth to the baby.

on a rare night where shes pretty relaxed, iroh asks her if she wants to come up with names with him over tea. its so randomly pleasant that for a second she thinks that maybe she could become okay with this life, so long as she can get her husband to grow a pair and defend her from his father. they come up with a big list of girl and boy names, and end up going with hana for a girl, and toshiro for a boy.

azulon announces literally the next day that the kids name will be either ilah ii for a girl, or lu ten for a boy. iroh puts up zero fight about this despite him having literally just decided on names with his wife the previous day. fuhua goes right back to hating his fucking guts.

fuhua does not internally acknowledge the baby as a human. she insistently refers to the baby as an it, sees the baby as irohs spawn, etc, etc. at the point in her pregnancy where her hormones and body pain are at its peak shes genuinely insufferable to be around. like to the point where even iroh cant take it, so she just. holes herself up in their chambers for the most part. but soon she gets weirdly excited- because while even the idea of inevitably giving birth very soon scares her shitless, and even sensations of movement and whatnot from the baby makes her want to cry hysterically- its also the final bridge she'll need to cross before she can leave.

she'll leave the baby with iroh. he can have it, she doesn't want it. shes not sticking around long enough for it to be decided that iroh needs a spare heir. she'll leave empty handed and leave the main island entirely, cut her hair even. she'll go and live quietly in shu jing with one of her cousins or something. if the palace sends out a witch hunt to try and find her, she'll run to the fucking earth kingdom if she has to. shes not raising iroh's child, she's most definitely not having another one with him. she'll kill herself if all else fails.

and essentially, lu ten is born without complications, is confirmed to be a firebender. fuhua notes that iroh holds the baby with tenderness and reverence, but decidedly wouldn't care either way. she leaves in the night as soon as her legs allow her.

azulon almost sends out a witch hunt for her, but iroh tells him no, he'll go look for her himself. its not like she would've gotten far, as she's still recovering from childbirth. iroh just sends out some of the domestic forces all across the island to sneak around and try and find her. fuhua had decided to stop and stay one night at a little inn by the docks of the homeland before leaving to shu jing at first light, but for a hefty price (and fear of the royal familys wrath), the innkeeper rats her out to the soldiers that come in asking about her.

the soldiers return to business as usual once shes found just as asked, because iroh wanted to confront her alone. by the time he gets there in the early morning, he finds her preparing her raft by the docks. they confront each other and have a final one sided screaming match, fuhua pulls a knife and tells him if he tries to take her back she'll kill herself. iroh is pretty despaired, but thinks better of it and lets her go. he returns to the palace and convinces azulon (with difficulty) that he's okay with her leaving, and that lu ten is probably better off with just him anyway.

its only when azulon realizes that he agrees with that sentiment and expresses relief and satisfaction that it hits iroh how much azulon hated his wife. for some reason. but its not like he can do anything about it now.

iroh finds out through his contacts where exactly fuhua has settled down, but he ends up dropping it because he stopped caring. he has no time for a wife anymore regardless and probably never has, feels distant guilt about that, but also gladness that fuhua took the initiative to put herself first (<-WHICH IS UNFOUNDED ON HIS PART). because he'd rather she do that then stay and have lu ten subjected to her vitriol (<-IROHS FAULT).

and fuhua does end up living alone with a cat that's as much of a jackass as she is and gets coconut oil hair treatments and bottomless mimosas everyday like God intended. she doesn't keep track of whatever the fuck her ex husband does unless she hears about it on the street or whatever.

a few years later she hears that iroh's brat younger brother has taken a wife, and she has to laugh about that. she goes home and pours one out for the poor wretch.

even later than that, she hears that all the suffering she went through for iroh amounted to nothing. because iroh has allowed the dirt eaters in ba sing se to kill his son. it takes all the strength within her to not feel any kind of satisfaction or vindication at the karma of it all.

when the whole nation has a state of mourning in lu tens honor and portraits of him are plastered everywhere, its the first time she gets a glimpse of what he ended up looking like. he has iroh's square jaw, his eyebrows, his sharp eyes- but he has her high cheekbones, her narrow face, her long nose, her dimples, her deep brown skin. handsome and gentle-faced.

she looks at him for a while longer, digests all that information, and then promptly goes back to browsing the market. because shes making crab and asparagus soup tonight and frankly, that's more important to her.

[oneatlatime]

Any predictions for season 3, or are you planning to dive straight in?

You're not the first person who's mentioned s3 predictions, so I'll give it a shot, but I'm really not sure if I have anything to use to make predictions. S2 ended in a very final, end of arc kind of way. Lots of things have been tied up. I don't even know where they're all flying off to. Back to the Southern Water Tribe, since the Earth Kingdom's a bit of a bust? The Fire Nation's out of the question, the Northern Water Tribe probably has mixed feelings about seeing them again, maybe the Eastern Air Temple? Although even that might not be safe, since Aang's travel plans to said temple to meet the Guru were known by various Earth Kingdom generals. And that stupid King.

I think the Fire Nation contingent are going back to the Fire Nation, and I am looking forward to a Zuko with eyes at least somewhat open interacting with FN citizens/nobles/military etc. who are still completely drinking the kool aid. I think it's going to suck for Zuko. Should make for good TV though. Lots of conversations where both people are saying entirely different things while thinking they're talking about the same thing.

I said it before, but I'm worried for Iroh. He's for sure arrested, but is he going to be executed? Obviously I don't want that, but unless Iroh still has enormous popular support, and the Firelord's grasp on power is incredibly shaky, I don't see how permanently eliminating a traitor (from a FN perspective) can be avoided. Then again. Kids' show.

As for the Gaang? In broad strokes, Aang still needs to learn firebending to fully Avatar himself, then he needs to defeat the Fire Lord (who is quite the homebody apparently - seriously, where is this guy?). So next season Aang will shake off his lightning hangover, find a firebending teacher, defeat the firelord. He'll probably have to commute to the Fire Nation to find the Fire Lord first. No idea what he'll do in between those things. Perhaps inadvisable shenanigans? That would be in character. His biggest story arc all series has been learning to accept his status as Avatar, but between his talks with the Guru and opening his last Chakra in the finale, I think he's done it. So all that's left is the main plot and goofiness.

Katara has the same problem she had going into S2 - she's mastered waterbending, so she needs a new conflict/arc. S2 answered this demand by... having her hang around? What did Katara do this season? Bend a bunch, set up camps, tear down camps, wreck Jet, support Aang, be nice to Toph that one time, yell at people. I hope she gets something meatier in S3. I still think she should meet some good FN citizens that challenge her morals.

Sokka was also kind of just there this season, although if I'm being mean I'll say that he was also kind of just there for S1 too, which is why it doesn't feel as odd as Katara's lack of purpose. I loved his stuff with Suki. Suki is officially the glow up of the season. I loved their interactions together, and I love the growth she poked him into doing. I'd like to see more of that. So less a prediction and more of a hope: S3 Sokka develops the ability to rely on/trust others (or maybe realises others can be relied upon/trusted is more accurate), hopefully with Suki somehow involved. And I loved his dad too. I want to see more of that guy, but since a cardinal rule of kids' stories is getting rid of the authority figures asap, it won't happen.

Toph. Honestly I'm stumped. She already broke the universe. Where can she go from there? Unless she's going to devolve into an antagonist, which I absolutely don't want, I don't see how she can top her S2 plot. And Aang's got earthbending down, so I guess she'll be like Katara was this season: tagging along. Not that I'm complaining; I love me some Toph in any form. We have seen that she wants to make peace with her parents, sort of, probably? Or at least give them another shot? But I kind of don't want her within 100 miles of her parents. So I don't know.

Appa & Momo will hopefully be tagalongs in S3 too. I learned my lesson this season about wanting the animals to have character arcs.

I guess the antagonist in S3 will be the Fire Lord, finally. Who else is left? Zhao tried, he died. Azula tried, she won. Unless S3 has an Azula rematch. But would she want that? She's already proven that she won. She can go home and enjoy the spoils of her victory (which may or may not include Zuko - I'm kind of unclear on exactly how much agency Zuko is going to have in the FN, especially since I'm not actually sure that he has permission to be there as a free man - didn't the arrest warrant Azula was executing in episode 1 list both Zuko and Iroh?)

There's nothing left for the Gaang in Ba Sing Se, so I doubt they'll go back there. Frankly it's the FN characters who have roots there. I wonder what will happen to Iroh's tea shop? I wonder if his investors will find out who he is? I wonder if money talks louder than national loyalty? (It's the Earth Kingdom - the answer is yes) Wouldn't it be funny if Iroh busted out of imprisonment and went right back to serving tea? And everyone sent to find him would be thinking "this is the famed tactician the Dragon of the West - he's probably travelling the FN plotting a coup as we speak. That devilish mind of his must have safe houses set up all over the nation." When actually he's right back where he got caught, doing exactly what he was doing when he got caught, to great and not-very-quiet acclaim?

I think S3 might have an overall darker tone too, within the bounds of a kids' show. I don't know what place Ba Sing Se occupied in the mind of the average person in the Avatar universe (although refugees seemed to revere it), but the city's fall to the FN represents a very big FN victory. The Gaang will probably be the most underdoglike in S3. S1 was mostly stalemate, then a big FN defeat. S2 was opened with the FN taking Omashu and closed with them taking Ba Sing Se. The FN have never been in a better position, and I bet the NWT is safe from further invasion only until the FN have built their fleet back up. So even the few free areas could have an expiry date on their freedom.

This is rapidly devolving into rambles, so I'll conclude by saying I have no clue what's going to happen next season, and that's exciting.

[aangarchy]

Netflix atla live action review ep 7-8

Home stretch baby. I figured since i love the source material i should just be able to enjoy it, or at least be entertained by it somewhat. But even that was just not possible. I pirated it after the first three episodes just bc i didn't want to give netflix the satisfaction of a view.

It's not so much the acting, the costumes or even the bad/mediocre cgi, it's the writing. It's an absolute shitshow, a mess of the highest caliber. For someone who claims to love the source material, it really seems like Albert Kim didn't understand why a lot of the things in the original worked the way they did. Things that are important for character growth got removed, and lore that we normally don't see til later on in the show (or even in a completely different story within this universe!!) got crammed in. For no good reason too bc it doesn't really add anything, just gives us another obstacle or useless exposition that's supposed to explain another useless thing they added.

Both of the last episodes take place in the north pole. This makes sense somewhat because in the original all three of the last episodes took place there. The reason they did this in the original is to have room for all of the stories that still need to take place (pakku, zuko, spirit world, koh, waterbending training, sokka and yue etc.) However in this version, even though minutes wise we have more time, we have less story. Like way less. Also episode 7 proportionally is much shorter than 8 and it really gives issues with pacing.

Let's start with what annoyed me most. Where is the waterbending training? Where is it? The season's title is Water and Aang bent ZERO water this entire season unless he was in the avatar state. Katara "trains" yes, but it's mostly practicing moves she found on the scroll (which gran gran just gave to her? Why didn't this woman give it to her sooner???). She gets NO guidance from anyone, and the way she gets better at bending each time is because a BOY told her encouraging things. A BOY. In the OG we get Pakku saying "raw talent alone is not enough", which makes sense because bending in this universe is an extension of martial arts, and you have to train to become good at martial arts. This LA show however treated bending like a magic power, basically giving some mumbo jumbo about balance and a clear head and think of the people you love to become a better bender. And while yes, your mental headspace also is important (as highlighted in the original where zuko couldn't bend anymore bc he had no aggression left) it wasn't the only factor, it wasn't even the main factor.

When we arrive at the North Pole, Pakku and the chief of the North both expect Aang to help with battle strategy in order to stop the attack bc they're already aware it's coming. Aang tells them he doesn't really know how (wtf were they even expecting it mean that is a whole 12yr old) and they turn away going "guess we can't count on the avatar" like? Dude?? If they have such good intel that they already know the fire nation is preparing an attack, and that the Avatar is alive, how tf did you not hear that the Avatar is also 12 years old and far from a master of the four elements? Idk this weirded me out.

They removed the deserter episode, which means Aang doesn't renounce firebending, which means we get no storyline of Aang dealing with his conflicted feelings surrounding firebending because fire gives life, not just destruction. Katara also doesn't find out she can heal naturally. We just get told that healing is just a thing all waterbenders can do if they train for it. Katara's necklace has no significance at all in the story currently. Yugoda doesn't recognize that Katara is Kanna's granddaughter. Katara's gran gran being from the north originally doesn't play part in the story at all. Katara doesn't even once utter the words "this necklace used to be my mother's". Idk why that bothers me so much but it does. They also removed her rage at not being allowed to fight. Sure this show's Katara also goes to fight Pakku, but literally everytime she speaks she just sounds reasonable. She fights him not because she's So Enraged at not being allowed to become the master she's meant to be, but because the script demands it. She says it so matter of factly too. She's like a mellowed out shell of who Katara is supposed to be. I feel like this overall for her character in this show btw. I don't blame Kiawentiio bc i saw clips of her performance in other works (anne with an e notably) and she's good. This genuinely just seems like poor writing and directing. They removed all of Katara's passion. She's not warm, she's not feisty, she's not angry, she's not nurturing, she's also not flawed at all. I hate to say it but in this version she's giving Mary Sue, especially bc she just learns waterbending on her own, and then gets called a master out of nowhere. That's not how that's supposed to work. You're supposed to earn the term master.

Let's talk about Yue. Amber Midthunder is a great actress, but damn, that wig. Their budget was over 100 million dollars and yet they couldn't give my girl a lace front? Her wig was so structured and stiff, and if it were any other context like cosplay or a drag show this would have been perfect. Now it just looked really unnatural and instead of the hair being platinum it was gray. Yue's character got given more to do here. They changed the story to have her break her own engagement, but it's implied that the reason she did this is bc she met Sokka in the spirit world and... fell in love? Idk it was a bit weird. Both Suki and Yue were inexplicably entranced with Sokka. In the OG it's implied that Yue likes Sokka bc he's so different from the boys in the north, kind of like a city girl falling in love with a country boy. But here it feels different, he doesn't stand out at all compared to the other boys, and Hahn isn't a dickhead like the OG. I will say i like that Yue is a stronger character here. She takes charge of her own destiny and she is the one to realize that she can save the moon spirit, and wasn't told by someone else that she could do it. I am confused by them making her a waterbender, but i'm not mad at that change per se. I liked her sacrifice scene, her own acting was great. Sokka however... i genuinely burst out laughing, like so loud. The zoom in on his face, the expression, it was too much and too little at once. Overall, Yue's story was okay. Was it better than the original? Debatable. But it wasn't bad and that's a win.

We get Avatar Kuruk way earlier than we originally got him. I'm still kind of confused about the whole "you can talk to past Avatars but only in their shrine with their statue" thing, because if that's the case how in the hell is Aang ever gonna ask advice from Roku (or Kyoshi, since the writers clearly have a bias towards her and want to make her the main Avatar guide ig) without having to travel all the way to the shrine? Can they only talk in the one specific shrine or can we take a miniature set of Avatar action figures with us just in case we ever need advice? Also this lore abt the shrines and statues is flawed at best bc later on Kuruk shows up for Aang during the fight, while they're not present at the shrine. Either way, Kuruk was far from the go with the flow Avatar he was characterized as in the original. I know that we got some insight into Kuruk's story in the Kyoshi novels, and turns out it's a lot darker than expected, but Kuruk never let that change his character. He always remained chill, or at least kept up the facade, and i don't think OG Kuruk would be the type of man that is angry about how his life turned out. In this version, Kuruk is this scared, mean, bitter man who is really unsatisfied with his destiny, which he lashed out at Aang for. He seemed really angry at Aang to for no good reason. We're also not supposed to know this part about Kuruk's life yet. It's too much information and de waste time learning about his life story, the only reason we learn it in the first place is to explain the Special Spirit Killing Knife. Also the actor for Kuruk.... yikes bro. Idk which hallmark movie they pulled him from but he and his stupid polar bear hat looked like ass the whole time.

So there's this weird part about Kuruk having a Special Knife that is able to kill spirits. Idk if this is a thing from the Kyoshi novels that also made it into this show bc truth be told i haven't made it far into those novels yet at all, but it was strange to me. Somehow Zhao has this knife. We don't know how he ended up getting it (did the fire sage give it to him? I didn't see it but i might have missed it) and we pretend that this is the Only Thing that can kill spirits even when the spirits are mortal. Doesn't that negate the fact that the spirits are mortal, if they can only be killed by a Special Knife? Also there's this weird convoluted part about how the spirits actually live in the spirit world and only cross to the physical world once every ice moon to know what it feels like to be "mortal" and choose a different "mortal" form each time and this time they happened to be fish. But still, they can Only Be Killed By The Special Knife. Huh? What's the purpose of this added extra lore? I saw someone say the underlying point is that it shouldn't be this easy to kill spirits but.... that's the whole idea behind the Ocean and Moon spirits having permanent mortal forms? Them being mortal and choosing a form as insignificant as a fish, constantly circling each other to represent the precarious balance between Ocean and Moon, a balance that can be thrown off very easily. The whole point was that they're fragile so why add all this extra exposition for no reason? Why make the spirits harder to kill if in the end you're still just gonna have a guy stabbing a wet bag and not some rough spirit killing battle?

Zhao also just gets told by the fire sage that killing the moon is a thing he can do. I don't like what this changes about Zhao's character. Zhao is supposed to be this cunning man. He's scary, determined, strategically inclined, but alas overconfident and willing to go too far which ends up being his downfall. His ambition is what led him to do his own research by visiting a spirit library to find any weakness he could potentially exploit, and that's precisely what he found. In the original, Zhao always fought for his own career. His own accomplishments got him the tools to try and beat Zuko in the Avatar race. But in this version, Zhao just keeps getting handed things. He's a slippery snake that plays friends with Zuko and then tries to steal the glory from under his nose. He gets handed the archers, he gets handed the information on the moon spirit, he gets handed a war balloon (which completely ruins the surprise of the fire nation suddenly having air power at the invasion), and he gets helped by Azula of all people. It makes him look a bit chumpy in this story, and it really worsens his villain qualities.

On a completely other note, this LA seems to have a thing for making adults yell at a 12yr old Avatar for leaving the world behind, and it doesn't make any sense, because in this story Aang left on Appa for a joyride to clear his head. Aang didn't purposely leave. He had every intention of returning after an hour. Yet every adult in this show, even the past Avatars that know damn well Aang didn't flee from his responsibilities, yells at him bc he accidentally got encased in ice. And somehow this Aang gets made to feel worse about it than OG Aang even though he deserves it way less bc this Aang didn't actually run away! I don't like what this changes about Aang's character. In the OG, Aang has one fatal character flaw and that's avoiding responsibility. He runs away, and has problems with taking accountability for what his actions cost the world. He goofs around, plays games and likes to have fun to avoid having to face his destiny, all while carrying the guilt and blame for the century war. It's a huge part of Aang's character journey. The guilt he feels isn't misplaced bc Aang knows he ran off, and he knows that the world is in its current state because of his decision. In the end he takes responsibility by showing up to the fight with Ozai alone. In this LA, even though by all means Aang shouldn't feel responsible, he ends up taking responsibility right away. He goes to Kyoshi Island, not to goof around and ride giant koi, but because he knows he can talk to Kyoshi there. Kyoshi yells at him for leaving (again, why? She knows he didn't run away) and gives him a vision about the watertribe getting destroyed. Instead of panicking about it (like OG Aang did after finding out abt the comet) he just accepts that he needs to go and help. And while this Aang does get to have fun moments (i especially loved how in the first episode he sees playing watertribe children and immediately joins them, that was quintessential Aang), he just seems very down and serious a lot of the time. He's scared of people getting hurt and is very worried abt the safety of his friends to the point where he agrees with Pakku and tells Katara she shouldn't fight. It's not Aang at all bc OG Aang was rooting for Katara when she fought Pakku. To sum it up: i think the casting for Aang was perfect. A cute southeast asian skater kid that loves to have fun and genuinely just looked the part? Brilliant! I am genuinely not upset at Gordon's performance at all (although sometimes i wish he'd enunciate a bit better). But the writing messed up the character so much that i couldn't even feel the joy for having the perfect looking Aang. I will say Koifish Godzilla (Koizilla if you will) looked dope. What did confuse me abt the Koizilla scenes is that sometimes there was no music (which is a choice i often like bc it gives the scene extra gravitas) and then sometimes there was a majestic score playing in the back, like they couldn't choose how they were gonna execute it and just picked both. I know that's nitpicky but it bothered me nonetheless.

Speaking of Koizilla. Wtf was that thing they added about Aang "succumbing" to the ocean spirit and being "lost"? They didn't even explain it at all, but both Yue and Iroh talked about how Aang would be lost forever now. We don't get a why, we don't get a how. And "lost" is such a vague word for it too. Like would his spirit be lost and only his body remain? Would he be completely swallowed up by the ocean? Would he remain Koizilla, forever rampaging at the ice wall? They added this for extra tension i guess, but it doesn't really work when only minutes later Aang is able to return no problem bc Katara talked him out of it, so we don't even get to find out what "he'll be lost forever" means. Also: the scene with Katara talking Aang out of it was cute, but the execution was weird. Originally Katara gives this speech when Aang goes Avatar state at the southern airtemple. I like that they still kept Katara's speech to Aang bc it highlights their bond which is especially important for later on in the show, but I don't like how now Katara had to give this really heartfelt emotional speech to Aang in front of everyone else at the northern watertribe. It's supposed to be quite an intimate moment between her, Sokka and Aang as a new family, they're supposed to promise they won't let anyone harm him, which eventually calms him down. Here though Katara's just yelling these words at him in front of everyone and all the intimacy is gone. It also doesn't work as well bc we barely got any time of the gaang bonding. They spend episode 3-6 apart most of the time, so really they shouldn't feel this bond towards each other just yet. Because this LA removed a lot of the side adventures, we don't get the feeling that these kids have known each other for months.

Another thing they removed is Appa and Momo as characters. In the original they each get their own moments, we even got one whole episode with Appa as the main character (which won an award btw). Here though, Appa is solely used as a transportation animal and Momo... honestly i don't even remember what he does but i think it's mostly a small comedic bit? Also he hands the acorn to one of the characters. This is a bad change bc in these episodes Momo gets hurt so bad he nearly dies, and it has no emotional impact at all bc he's just an accessory in this story. I felt no emotional attachment to Momo and he just has no personality. I wonder how this choice is gonna play out when we get the kidnapped Appa story bc so far it's not looking good.

Anyway, for positives. I warmed up on Dallas's performance a lot, i wasn't that mad at Ian Ousley's performance and there were moments where he genuinely made me laugh. The cgi for the creatures was decent, but for the backgrounds it looked horrible. I liked that they showed how devastating the Seige of the North ended up being, with the unnamed kid and Hahn both dying. I liked the effect showing those two had on our main characters. I liked when Aang, Sokka and Katara all worked together taking out that one firenation ship. I liked the way they showed Sokka and Yue bonding. I really warmed up to the costumes as well, i still wish they dirtied it up a little to make them look less new.

There's probably some more positives but they're really minor compared to the negatives and also my brain is just done atp. I'm never gonna rewatch it for more analysis either bc i don't think i'll survive it lol. I might make another post abt my opinion on the show as a whole? Like an overall summary? Bc this shit is VERY long and i do apologize. If you made it this far, uhm. Thanks for caring abt my opinion so much that you sat down for like 10 minutes to read my angry yapping? I appreciate it.

Anyway bye

[kingwuko]

Also I've made a post about this before but aside from Airbender Wu I'm obsessed with the idea that canon nonbender Wu has the potential to be a competent badass like Asami but different, in his own style.

And I actually got this idea during the clip show episode and the wuko segments, when it occurred to me that Mako is probably training him to fight the way Mako himself learned to fight.

And I don't think that fighting style fits Wu's mindset, temperament, build, anything really, it's a style informed by street fighting and firebending, two things Wu could not be further removed from.

He's an earth kingdom prince used to fine silks and jewelry, expertly moving about the world with the grace and balance of a dancer even when confronted with physical aggression...

Say, doesn't that sound familiar to anyone else?

I'm just saying, he could be the earth kingdom royal to denounce the Dai Li and bring the Kyoshi Warriors to the forefront of their culture.

By becoming one himself.

When it comes to Wu learning to defend himself and fight, I have two favorite hc.

1. Yes yes yes to Wu training with Kyoshi Warriors. I will say that I'm hesitant to have him become a Kyoshi Warrior, because Kyoshi Warriors are women. (Though if people have hc about Wu's gender being different, that's certainly worth exploring!) But much like Sokka was permitted to train with them, I see no reason why Wu couldn't learn from them as well! I think if given the opportunity, Wu would pick up the fighting style quite well. The method of fighting practiced by the Kyoshi warriors, and originally taught to them by Rangi herself, is focused on turning your enemy's strength against them. Seems like an excellent style for Wu, as he's built much more slender. I think he'd be into the overall aesthetics, too. I also love the idea of some Kyoshi warriors becoming his royal guard and replacing the role of the Dai Li.

2. Training with Asami. Asami has taken formal self defense lessons since she was a child. She has the technical know how of self defense and since she learned it formally, I think she would be excellent at teaching it formally. To further my Asami-teaching-Wu propaganda, check out the description of Asami as a teacher from the Avatar Legends Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide:

As a teacher, Asami is encouraging and supportive—she prizes an individual’s own inventiveness when channeled appropriately, far more than her own ideas. When it comes to the overall tone and style of mastery conditions set to PCs, Asami will emphasize thought over force, clever ideas over direct results. Asami wants those who learn from her to see how problems can be solved in many ways, and there’s nearly always a better way, in addition to seeing how they can help others and don’t always have to solve the problem on their own.

I just feel like Asami would make a good, patient teacher, I think her formal training would translate well into teaching skills, I think she might actually appreciate Wu's creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, AND I think her foundation in self defense would be ideal for Wu to learn. I don't see him needing to be a fighter in the thick of battle right alongside the rest of Team Avatar, but he should certainly learn to hold his own to protect his own life and limb.

Regardless of how Wu learns self defense and/or martial arts, we can all agree on one thing, I'm sure. Mako is a terrible person to be teaching him. He was literally the worst teacher in Remembrances lol like what was he even doing. And you're right, his style of fighting does not match the kind of fighting that Wu should learn or that he would be able to master.

That's ok. Mako can cheer him on from the sidelines!

[fallingskiesandrisingseas]

Alright kids some Sokka analysis!

We all know that ATLA is an amazing show, with brilliant character development, a respect for heavy topics, good plot design and overal enjoyable episodes.

But what is very interesting is the way that both Sokka and Suki are portrayed.

Sokka is a non-bender of the southern water tribe. His sister is a bending prodigy, his best friend is the Avatar, Toph is the best earthbender alive and Zuko is the son of the Fire Lord.

Yet we never ever feel like Sokka doesn't add anything.

In the episode where he learns swordplay, the other characters are bored to death without him He is the tactician, the planner, the jester, the leader of the group in a way, the heart.

And yet he is still a child. He's allowed to be funny, silly, and stupid even while displaying qualities that the others don't have.

And the best example I can think of is when the final fight against Ozai happens.

Sure, Katara and Zuko take down the best firebender of their generation, Aang takes down the Phoenix King ( the most powerful firebender on the planet ) and Toph metalbends whole ships into oblivion.

But it is Sokka's plan that prevents a genocide, prevents devastation. It is Sokka that takes down all the enemy ships, Sokka that plans the attack.

Moreover, he takes down two firebenders amped up by the comet with one hand, lying on his back, while holding Toph up with the other.

The scene shows us brilliantly why Sokka is their leader: both Suki and Toph are utilized to the best of their abilities. And both are allowed to save the day.

He's also the planner of the eclipse attack and the prison escape, although these have varying degrees of success. Once he starts coming into his own as a full member of the team, when he starts to have faith in his own capabilities, there is no one quite like him.

And Suki, a nonbender like him, is treated in the same way. Strong, quickwitted, capable. Saves Toph from drowing in the Serpent Pass, member of the Kyoshi warriors. Able to go toe to toe with Ty Lee, who's been shown to immobilize powerful benders like Azula.

In the final fight, they are seperated, but never once is Suki treated as a damsel in distress. Indeed, she is the one saving Sokka and Toph by commandeering a war balloon.

All in all we love Sokka and Suki in this house

[waterfire1848]

ok, to add on to anon’s previous ask-

Sokkla parenting headcanons?

Hey, @vanilladrizzlequeen 👋

Got it!

Sokka is a pushover when the kids are younger. When they're babies and toddler, they can get away with murder. However, when they're older Sokka became a bit more harsh and actually setting real rules for them

Azula is terrified when she discovers they're having more than one kid because she's worried she'll favor one over the others or pit them against each other. It takes a lot of long conversation with Sokka, Zuko, Katara and even a couple with Ursa because she's even begins to think she can handle it. Of course, she doesn't do either of those things with her children.

You wouldn't think it but Azula is actually the one who sneaks her kids treats. Sokka keeps trying to stop her from doing this but he always finds mochi boxes in their rooms.

Azula makes it a point that, no matter what the kids bring home, good grade, drawings, a new friend, a story from school, anything, she praises them and tells them she's proud. Her youngest once brought her a pretty rock she found in the garden and Azula kept it on her nightstand for years.

Sokka teaches all the kids how to fight with weapons. Bender or not, they all need to learn how to fight in case bending isn't an option but also because assassins are still common and Sokka wants to make sure all his kids are prepared. Azula helps with the teaching, in regards to firebending, but in smaller amounts because she doesn't want to risk snapping at the kids or working them too hard.

Both parents let the kids pick which culture they want to learn more about. Of course, both of them tell the kids about their Fire Nation and Water Tribe roots but nothing is forced on them and none of them are made to accept one nation over another.

[sokkastyles]

Just wanted to ask you your thoughts on Zuko being motivated by empathy and compassion. Seems like so many people want to deny it these days lol.

I think a lot of people forget that the Zuko we see at the beginning of the series is a Zuko who is trying his hardest to deny his compassionate nature, to fit in with what he thinks he is supposed to be.

I'm not saying that Zuko was "good all along" or that he didn't need a redemption arc, but a big part of his redemption arc was returning to the person he was in his childhood and learning that there wasn't anything wrong with that child, that it was his father and nation who were wrong.

We're shown that Zuko as a child is someone who is sensitive and cares about living things, but who is feeling pressure to live up to a standard set by his father, which is why he emulates his sister in being cruel to the turtleducks, but is shocked by the harm his actions cause. Before the mother duck bites him and he gets defensive, to which his mother has to explain to him that the mother was only protecting her children, he has this look on his face when he sees that he hurt the turtleduck:

We also see him try to appeal to Azula's empathy.

And we see Azula use his empathy against him, first by using his feelings of obligation towards her because they're brother and sister (an idea Zuko will later repeat in the present timeline) to get him to join the game so she can play a trick on him, and also knowing that he would try to save Mai from the burning apple.

We haven't gotten any hints that Zuko has a crush on Mai, and he didn't even notice that she feels that way about him. He just saw that she was in distress and wanted to help her. And Zuko jumping in front of danger to help others - to his detriment - is something we see him do over and over in the series. More on that later.

We're shown all these scenes of Zuko as a child because they're important to establish who Zuko was before he was burned, before we see him trying desperately to be what he thinks he should be. And these scenes specifically are meant to mirror what happens in the present timeline in "Zuko Alone," in which we see him protect children and women from soldiers taking advantage of the town, for no other reason other than that it's the right thing to do. But also because these are things he couldn't do when he was a kid.

The two kids he protects from the soldiers at the beginning mirror Azula and Zuko as children

Being menaced by a tyrannical adult male presence.

Zuko calls out the group of soldiers for the bullies that they are in a way that he could not call out his father as a child.

And also protects the family when the older son is forced onto the front lines, mirroring both Lu Ten's death and the sacrifice of the soldiers Zuko tried to speak up against in the war meeting.

Zuko teaches the boy how to use his dao, the way Zuko had to find an alternate means of defending himself when he couldn't rely on firebending -

And gives the boy a knife to mirror how his knife was taken away -

And reclaims his mother's name because she was taken away. All of these can be read as not only Zuko reclaiming a part of himself that was lost, but being able to indulge in the side of himself that is motivated by compassion for others.

And he gets no credit for these things. Once he reveals himself as the Fire Nation prince, he is chased out of the town. And Zuko could have told himself that these people were just ungrateful, but he doesn't, because he didn't do it for their gratitude, but because it was the right thing to do. "Zuko Alone," as an episode is meant to show us what Zuko is when he's on his own, without the pressure to be what his father wants him to be, and we see someone who is haunted by his past but also motivated to help others.

This episode is so interesting because it shows us such a different side of Zuko but it's never brought up again. Zuko doesn't bring it up when Iroh is pushing him to do the right thing, nor when he's trying to get the gaang on his side. It's something only Zuko and the audience know that shows us that Zuko already knew what doing the right thing was.

Of course, the big example of Zuko's compassion as a child that I only briefly touched on is when he objects to the treatment of the soldiers in the war meeting. I'd also argue that Zuko's refusal to fight his father was also motivated by his sense of kindness and goodness. Of course, he is also motivated by fear of and loyalty to his father, but I think he also just won't do it because it's his father and there are supposed to be those bonds of love there. Zuko has a deep capacity for love and his father betrayed that love horrifically, and Zuko doesn't even see it as a betrayal because he is blinded by love for his father. There is an irony in Zuko speaking up for soldiers he doesn't even know, speaking about love, how those soldiers love a nation that is willing to betray them, and then he himself is betrayed, has his love betrayed, and doesn't even see it until the end of the story.

Of course, "the Storm," as well as being the episode that tells us about how Zuko stood up for the soldiers and was scarred, also shows Zuko's compassion in his willingness to admit that he was wrong and protect his own men. Zuko also apologizes to Iroh in this episode for trying to drive the men into the storm. This is meant to show us that, although Zuko is trying to deny that part of himself that feels an obligation towards others, he still has that inclination towards kindness and empathy. This is also highlighted by the contrast with Azula giving her men dangerous orders and threatening them when they question her.

There's also Zuko's compassion for Iroh, that Zuko threatens to leave Iroh behind but then goes after him when he is captured, indulges Iroh on a wild lotus tile chase, goes on a date and works in a tea shop and throws down his swords just because it will make Iroh happy.

There's his refusal to burn Zhao and attempt to save him at the North Pole. All the other examples above are Zuko showing empathy for his family or innocents, but Zhao was not only Zuko's enemy, but someone who tried to kill him. And Zuko still doesn't want to see this man suffer.

I could talk about Zuko's field trips and his pep talks with the gaang, how he boosts Aang's confidence - someone who was, for a long time, his rival - how he won't let Sokka go to a maximum security prison and risk his life alone (and at first tries to protect Sokka from the knowledge of where his father is), how he gets to the bottom of Katara's grief and gives her closure with her mother, how he is torn up about burning Toph's feet, how he attempts to break Iroh out of prison, how he jumps in front of Azula to protect the gaang, how he tries to jump in front of a fire whip for Chit Sang, how he jumps in front of lightning for Katara. How he stands in front of representatives from all nations and talks about creating an era of peace and love.

How he doesn't win through beating an opponent into submission, but through teaching, and learning, and apologizing, and growing, and sacrificing himself for others.

[ur-frndly-neighborhood-memer1]

WAS OZAI AN ABUSIVE FATHER TO AZULA?

I know most people will immediately go "Yes, he fcking was!" without the slightest hesitation. And I agree. Ozai was certainly an abusive father, not surprising considering the fact that he is a total narcissist (Some people say he is a psychopath, but this isn't true). Narcissistic parents are very likely to be abusive towards children even if it goes unnoticed by others, even by the children.

However, there are also many people out there who claims Ozai never abused Azula. I also sort of agree with this. Yeah, he didn't abuse her physically or verbally like he did with Zuko. But let's not forget psychological and emotional abuse are still abuse. And Ozai totally takes the cake!

When we take a look at their family roles, we clearly see that Ozai was the narcissistic father, Azula was the golden child and Zuko was obviously the scapegoat (also the invisible child at times). And this dynamic makes a ton of sense. So, let's start with the definitions!

-Golden child, as you can understand from its name, is the child who is being favored by their narcissistic parent. They're often lauded for having something special that the narcissistic parent values; such as academic performance, athletics, good-looks... It can be anything. And for Azula, it's because she was a firebending prodigy and an extremely bright strategist, also clearly inherited her father's ruthless nature. And not surprisingly, golden children often have more privileges that the other children don't. And we clearly saw that Azula was given a huge and majestic Fire Nation ship only for her.

Azula was obviously spoiled rotten by her father. But spoiling a child isn't exactly the same thing with showing affection. But still, I can totally imagine Ozai giving Azula anything she wants in a materialistic way, doesn't matter how expensive it is. It's no surprise that Ozai poisoned his daughter's mind with a false sense of superiority instead of teaching her empathy and compassion... However, while he was giving her anything in a materialistic way, he wouldn't give a damn about giving her something to satisfy her emotional needs.

-As a contrast to the golden child, the scapegoat is the least favorite/disliked child of the narcissistic parent. Doesn't matter how hard they try, doesn't matter how much they make a progress, doesn't matter how good they actually are, they will never be good enough for the narcissistic parent. They remain as a constant failure and a disappointment. Zuko is literally the embodiment of a scapegoat!

-And lastly, the invisible child is the child who goes unnoticed in the house. They're not recognized and often ignored by their narcissistic parent. Zuko was also ghosted by Ozai in the past. Like...

So now that we are certain about the family roles, we can get deeper into the relationship dynamic between Ozai and Azula.

Narcissistic fathers in real life also tend to favor their daughters over their sons (it's also the same case for narcissistic mothers, they often favor their sons and are rather harsh towards their daughters). Because in the deep down, they fear that son threatens his authority over the family, so he is a potential compitetion in the narcissistic father's eyes. And since Zuko looks nearly identical to his father, this only the encouraged the deep fear in Ozai about his authority being shaken by his son.

But a daughter on the other hand, admires her father, just like how Azula admired and idolized Ozai. Narcissistic supply here everyone! So in other words, Azula was the "flying monkey" in their relationship too. For those who don't know it, let me explain it shortly:

If you want to learn more about it, you can check the link here, https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-autism-spectrum-disorder/202010/are-you-narcissist-s-flying-monkey%3Famp&ved=2ahUKEwjCtO7iwJD8AhVsX_EDHQzyB-kQFnoECAcQBQ&usg=AOvVaw1ck3Gk4T-LS0zOmbrijSff

So, why do I think that Azula was the flying monkey? It's because;

-She totally worshipped her father,

-She was obeying his commands,

-She was doing all the dirty works for him...

Think about it, Zuko in Legend of Korra went back to Fire Nation in order to protect his daughter (who was already an adult) from Red Lotus. And Ozai sent his 14 year old child after Avatar, literally the most powerful person in the world.

Yes, you can say that Ozai sent Azula because Zhao failed, Zuko was useless and Iroh was a traitor... And at age of 14, Azula was already a crazy powerful firebender. So, according to Ozai, if someone really could take down the Avatar, it would be his own golden daughter (which she technically did in season 2 finale)

So strangely, Ozai definitely believed in Azula and considered her a strong warrior who would bring glory to Fire Nation, but it wouldn't stop him from using her as his personal weapon. But I'm pretty sure that was Ozai's way of "love" his daughter.

For narcissistic people, love is a complicated case. They only love their children as extensions of themselves. Their supposed love for their children is there, because the children are their parts, their flesh and blood. And Ozai is no exception, of course. Ozai's "love" for Azula was ultimately toxic and conditional.

As a contrast to this, we get a healthy relationship between Ursa and Zuko. They loved each other dearly. Ursa's love for Zuko was genuine and unconditional. Now, that's how you show love!

But because Ozai's approval was hard to earn, Azula had to work for her entire life. She had to do everything perfectly, because Ozai isn't exactly a type of father who would tolerate anything less than perfect. So Azula didn't really have another choice other than being perfect as it befits the Fire Lord's model heir. But of course, Ozai's extremely high expectations forced Azula to become obsessively perfectionistic. It's also a common case in real life. The children of the narcissistic parents often come across as perfectionists in order to please their parents, and Azula is no exception. So, it's no wonder why she cracks at some point due to the all the pressure she lived through for her entire life... And yes, putting so much pressure on a child is definitely a psychological form of abuse.

So in a sense, Azula had to "walk on eggshells" for her entire life in order to be seem as the ideal princess for the Fire Nation. Oh, and for those who don't know what "walking on eggshells" means,

(Here is a simple definition. You can check its details)

And why do I say all this? Because Azula was extremely cautious around Ozai in order to not offend or disrespect him. Otherwise, she would become a failure in his eyes, just like Zuko. And we all know how Ozai treats failures... Not nicely

So at the end of the day, Azula was psychologically abused by her father. And she was emotionally abused as well, because not caring/ignoring a child's emotional needs is definitely neglect, and neglect is definitely a form of emotional abuse. Which is, again, not surprising since narcissistic parents only care about their golden child when they perform something good. Other than this, they don't give a shit about the child's emotional needs and mental health.

And let's not forget, the golden children are very likely to become narcissistic when they grow up too. So, Azula became just like her daddy. While some of her antisocial traits were innate, they're definitely encouraged by Ozai. So Azula didn't only inherit her father's cruelty in nature, but was also influenced by his cruelty in nurture. Which makes their relationship very interesting. Because Ozai created a monster just like himself

But strangely... Ozai is a son of a narcissistic father too, but he wasn't a golden child. Just the opposite, he was the scapegoat of his family! Azulon notably favored Iroh and didn't give a shit about Ozai. Worse, he was seen to be cold and harsh towards his own son, just like how Ozai was cold and harsh towards Zuko. That means Azulon definitely Zuko-ed Ozai. And the abuse that he suffered his father's hand turned him into the megalomaniac asshole he is today.

(Not exactly the stare of a loving father, is it?)

Which means Ozai projected his own insecurities on Zuko (and it gets worse since he remarkably looks like him and becomes a constant reminder of his weaknesses), and he also projected his grandiosity on Azula, that's why he doted on her skills. Think about it, he truly shows a certain respect towards Zuko when he was told that he slaved the Avatar. In fact, it was the only time that Ozai felt proud of his son.

At the end of the day, abuse was an endless cycle in the Fire Nation royal family. From Sozin to Azulon, from Azulon to Ozai and Iroh, and from Ozai to Zuko and Azula... They were all circles of the chain, only to Zuko with Iroh's help to break it and ending this toxic cycle for good. Which is a fascinating story in my opinion. And if the cycle continued, Azula could very well become an abuser as well, copying her father. After all, being a victim doesn't prevent someone from becoming an abuser too, which is exactly what happened with Ozai.

Long story short, Ozai indeed abused Azula. But it's a complex situation, not as simple as some people like to dismiss. But their relationship is definitely very interesting in my opinion, and it really stands out as a realistic portrayal of narcissistic father-daughter relationship in the series.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Hi! I'd like to hear your opinion about this:

https://www.tumblr.com/burst-of-iridescent/742859432096120832/of-course-zuko-would-have-taken-the-lightning-for?source=share

Let's go through this piece by piece, because there's good, mixed, and bad points all mixed up with each other.

"Katara needed to be there"

100% true. After all, Nickelodeon doesn't want to traumatize the 7-year-olds by making them get attached to Zuko, see him redeem himself, be told he will be Fire Lord - only for the boy to die horribly. They absolutely needed a character to save him, and as the healer of the team Katara was the logical choice.

"Katara needed to be there for the SACRIFICE to make sense. Imagine if it was SOKKA there - ridiculous, right?"

Aaaand there is the bullshit. Sokka could not replace her on that moment because he is the person in the Gaang Zuko has the least meaningful connection with. But Aang and Toph? Either of them could have easily fit the role in a different circumstance and the only problem would be there was no one to come to the rescue when it was time to shout "MEDIC!"

"She has to heal the wound at the core of her character — the agony and helplessness of being unable to protect someone she loved from a firebender — by successfully saving another person she cares about from the narrative embodiment of fire nation aggression and destruction"

*casually ignores that she already did that for Aang in book 2, full on bringing him back from the dead*

"the agni kai isn’t zuko and [insert companion here] alone, it's ALSO about Azula"

The fuck you mean ALSO? The larger battle on that moment might be between Zuko + Katara against Azula, but the agni kai itself is between just the Fire Siblings. We literally hear Azula say "Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be."

Much like the bit with Katara healing Zuko is about their dynamic, the main battle so to speak is about Zuko's dynamic with Azula. About them being siblings who ended up in opposing sides of a war after being life-long rivals because of their abusive father. Can we not treat this epic, meaningful, tragic moment that has been foreshadowed since the first episode of book 2 as an after-thought just for the sake of a ship? Especially since said ship will be thrown a bone moments later?

"Katara is the one person connected to both Zuko and Azula"

Katara has a connection with Zuko, yes, they are friends. And she has lots of parallels with Azula, enough that I can understand the claim that they are narrative foils.

But they have ZERO true meaningful connection. They never talked. They were never told anything that would make them think they have anything in common. Azula is just another dangerous foe to Katara, Katara is just another peasant that means nothing to Azula.

Parallels and one fight before it doesn't put that dynamic (or rather, the lack there of) on the same level of Zuko and Katara's enemies-to-friends dynamic, and it sure as fuck doesn't put it anywhere near the complex mess that is Zuko and Azula's relationship.

"Katara is the only one who touches his scar, and she and Zuko saw each other's darkest moments"

1 - Mai was nuzzling that scar all the time, in actual intimate personal moments. Katara touched it to try to heal it. A meaningful act of kindness, sure, but it's still just a doctor trying to help someone, not physical affection.

2 - She did NOT see Zuko's darkest moments, that was Iroh, she didn't even see the worst of him acting like a dick. As for Zuko, he encouraged Katara to embrace violence because that's what he was taught his entire life, and it led to her doing something she felt was fully against her true vallues and who she was as a person.

"The scene is easy to romanticize"

Yup, big dramatic moments tend to be like that. And if Zutarians weren't constantly insisting that is the ONLY valid interpretation of the scene, no one (except the typical "only canon/what the writers says is valid" people every fandom has) would complain about shippers watching the scene with romance goggles on.

[balanceoflightanddark]

(Based on a discussion about an ATLA/Power Rangers crossover I had on Discord)

looks at @prying-pandora666

Aang: Hey, Azula. I'd hate to bother but...the Dragonzord doesn't look too okay. Azula: He's a giant mechanical dragon. What would he have to worry about? Katara: You're the Princess of the Fire Nation and the best firebender in the world. What would you have to worry about? Azula: ...(sighs) Alright. Point taken. [Azula finds the Dragonzord by itself in a valley] Azula: Hey big guy! You okay? [The Dragonzord looks at her like she's stupid] Azula: ...it's about Burai isn't it? [The Dragonzord looks a bit guilty upon the mentioning of his old ranger's name] Azula: Look...I don't know what to tell you, but Burai's dead. He's not going to come back, and it doesn't do you too good by sulking about it all the time. Everybody's got dead people after all. [Naturally, the Dragonzord gives an enraged roar about Azula making light of his grief.] Azula: Listen I...(sighs, sits down). I'm sorry. It's just, I'm no good at this. The other guys are close to their Zords, but I couldn't even treat my own friends well before they got wise and left. What hope would I have? [The Dragonzord calms down, feeling a bit ashamed about his loss of control] Azula: I do get it. You lose somebody close and everyone tries to tell you to get over it. That they're not gone and that you need to honor their memory. Then you feel the only way to do that is to throw yourself into danger to make their sacrifice worth it. Yeah...I've been there. [Azula thinks for a moment] Azula: ...his name was Lu Ten. We weren't close or anything, but...he was the only one who didn't see me as a monster...well, that's enough about me then. [The Dragonzord roars again, telling her that she shouldn't leave it there.] Azula: Alright! Geeze! I wasn't happy that Lu Ten's sacrifice was in vain and that he died trying to serve a country that didn't care for him! Is that what you want?! We both lost somebody and we were told to move on! [...] Azula: ...guess that's one thing we share in common I guess. [The Dragonzord nods in agreement.]

Sort of based on the original Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger where the Dragonzord (or Dragon Caesar in that series) mourned the death of his original ranger, Burai.