#I ship zuko with therapy over anything else

[roobylavender]

i was going thru old posts & found where you said you only like zootara in the specific context of like... zuko dissolving the monarchy + devoting himself to reparations & it's an unrequited love think and lost my mind bc it was exactly what i felt but had never seen anyone say! i HATE any kind of firelady katara content but still find zootara’s dynamic fascinating. anyways from this i was wondering on if you had wider thoughts on katara, on both how she exists in canon and anything you'd change

i think re-watching avatar when they dropped it on netflix a few years ago was eye-opening for me in a lot of ways like sooo many of my opinions radically changed and not even necessarily in a way where it was an outright polarized switch but more like.. added depth to how i felt. which makes sense bc i mean i was seven years old when i watched the show and i'm twenty five now lmao. but with katara i kind of found myself on the fence between the two camps that were so vehement about justifying why katara worked better with either boy that i think they more or less forgot about her. like i don't entirely disagree with zootara shippers that katara's role being so diminished in post-canon was irritating but at the same time that's not something it makes sense to blame kataang being canon on. kataang is probably one of the most obv ships ever in retrospect like the buildup was so palpably there and katara was never going to choose anyone else but aang. but i also think it can be admitted that her post-canon storylines were just.. super boring? and that it had to do a lot with bryke being resistant to radicalism in their material in general. keeping the gaang together or taking them on group adventures for marketability purposes was obv impt but i feel like katara was one of the members who like really needed to do her own thing after the war was over. like there were so many times in the series where it seemed like she was having her moment to shine and there would always be some caveat or wedge to throw so she could move on with the gaang and for central narrative purposes i get that but why did that have to apply to whatever she did after (also this doesn't even get into the fact that bryke's liberal politics affected her individual storylines so much like the jet and hama stuff. very bad vibes). like i already said i think kataang was pretty much inevitable and the build up in seasons one and two and even the confusion of feelings between them at the start of season three were great but i also don't think they needed to be in a relationship by the end of the series personally like it felt so rushed and honestly very corny. like they're thirteen and fourteen years old they have so much time. i like the gaang a lot as a concept but the overwhelming feeling i was left with when the series was over was that the fallout of the war would be so significant it wouldn't realistically make sense to have them all in one place like there are so many things each of them would need or want to do. and ig bryke kinda acknowledged that like the gaang did have some individual gigs. but it all felt so tame. katara was potentially the most radical member of the gaang i really do not think she would have ended the war being in some honeymoon phase she would have been ready to get working on uprooting all of the bad and where they'd found it and aggressively reconstructing the society she worked so hard to try to save. but also on the most simplest note i could leave here i genuinely think every avatar character needed therapy / soul searching more than they did romance by the end of the series so ig this is my very roundabout way of saying that..

[nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice]

Zutara. My otp since I first watched as a 10 year old in 2005. Hopefully you'll be kind to them 😉 I'm convinced they'll be cannon in the live action 😅

Alright... *starts digging grave*, I think Katara and Zuko have a wonderful platonic relationship and for them to have a romantic relationship would (1) undermine Zuko’s redemption arc and (2) undermine the found family aspect of their friendship. I don’t have an issue with anyone who ships Zutara and I do not engage in shipping drama, but I think their platonic relationship is too damn important to favor a romantic relationship I don't really think has chemistry. 

Personally, I have never gotten romantic vibes from them like... at all? I think the progression of their friendship was important in terms of the show’s themes of forgiving those who deserve it and finding support in people you least expect, but I just don’t get chemistry from them. I’ve always been a Kataang fan but how I feel about Zutara has nothing to do with that. Avatar is one of those shows where I would have been totally fine with it ending with no romantic pairings because the found family aspect of it is so much more powerful. 

If anyone has spent 5 seconds on my blog, you know that Zuko is my favorite character and I think he deserves nothing but love and support after all the shit he went through. But a big aspect of why I care about him as a character is that he put the work in to make amends. He didn’t just show up one day saying “I’ve seen the error of my ways, sorry for all the stuff I did, I’m good now” and that was that. He had to work for forgiveness and he did it because he realized the fire nation was wrong, his father was wrong, and he was wrong. His decision to switch sides had nothing to do with any connection with the gaang because he didn’t really know them. His decision to switch sides stemmed from 3 very important things: 

(1) He felt guilty not for betraying Aang and Katara in Ba Sing Se, but Iroh. He realized his uncle was the person who had given him unconditional love while Azula and Ozai’s “love” for him was entirely dependent on his ability to provide them results. From this guilt, he was able to realize that his uncle had made the right decision in siding with the Avatar and more importantly, that Ozai was wrong and that all the abuse he endured under him was undeserved. 

(2) His experiences in the Earth Kingdom as a refugee. This post explains it really well, but Zuko’s realization that everything he’s believed about the Fire Nation has been wrong is rooted in his moment of empathy with Song and her matching burn scar, his empathy with Lee who lost his brother like Zuko lost Lu Ten, his empathy with Jet who lost his way going to extremes for a cause, and, yes, his empathy with Katara who’s mother was taken from her by the Fire Nation like his was. The reason he switches sides is because after all of those experiences, he can no longer be callous or unfeeling towards the Earth Kingdom like his father or sister. The people of the Earth Kingdom either empathized with him for the pain he went through and appreciated him for his desire to help the helpless (Song, Lee, Jet) or feared and hated him for being part of a country that caused their suffering (Lee, Lee’s mom, Jet, Katara). Throughout season 2, Zuko realized the extent of what the war meant for the other side. 

(3) The realization of the extents his father would go to and the truth about Ozai’s amorality. This point is kind of just the culmination of everything in the last two points, but all that set up comes to fruition when Zuko attends the war meeting where Ozai decides to use Sozin’s Comet to commit genocide. By this point he’s racked with guilt over what he did to Iroh, he’s empathized with people who have suffered and is coming to terms with the fact that it’s not only the people of the earth kingdom that have unnecessarily suffered because of Ozai, but him as well. In that meeting, he expresses adoration for the Earth Kingdom being proud and strong and Ozai’s response is to burn it to the ground. It’s the same treatment he gave Zuko at the Agni Kai when he stuck to his morals and refused to fight and was met with abject cruelty. At that meeting, Zuko realizes that his father is wrong and that he was always wrong. He realizes that millions of people will suffer at the hands of this man who is so incredibly wrong and lacking in empathy. 

SO, keeping all that in mind. His redemption arc doesn’t stop when he switches sides, it keeps going as he makes individual amends with Aang, Sokka, and Katara. It keeps going as he learns from the dragons, as he chooses what he believes in over his girlfriend, as he risks his life to protect the gaang from Azula, and as he tries to help Aang, Sokka, and Katara find emotional closure in different aspects. He helps Aang overcome his fear of firebending. He helps Sokka regain his honor. And he helps Katara address her grief regarding her mother’s death. These four episodes are some of the best in the series because it’s not just Zuko working to make amends because he wants them to trust him, but it’s him empathizing with their trauma, their guilt, and their fear of failure because he’s been there. 

Alright, that’s a whole essay regarding why Zuko’s redemption arc works, now what does this have to do with Zutara? Here’s the deal: if any aspect of Zuko’s decisions for his redemption were influenced by romantic attraction to Katara, it would undermine the meaning of his choices for him. He made the choices to be better because he empathized with a nation of people who needlessly suffered. He made the choices to be better because he learned to cut himself off from the need to please his abusive father and accept the unconditional love of his uncle. His choice to help Katara find her mother’s murderer stemmed from empathy and his desire to be better than the people who hurt him and hurt others. The reason Katara’s resentment towards him hurt him so much was because he was trying so hard to be better than the people that were feared and hated. Katara treated him like Lee’s mom and Jet did when they realized he was a firebender (that being said, Katara was justified since Zuko’s decision to side with Azula resulted in the fall of Ba Sing Se and nearly resulted in Aang’s death), and he didn’t want to be that person. He didn’t want to be hated or feared anymore and he was willing to do anything to move past being viewed like that. So Katara’s decision to finally forgive him? It’s the point where she realizes he’s able to empathize with her over his mother’s death where her mother’s killer could not. She realized that he was different and had changed because he put the work in. And that’s huge for his redemption, not for any kind of forming relationship because that’s not the point. 

Now, concerning the whole found-family aspect I love so much? Zutara as a romantic pairing would undermine the beauty of Zuko’s ability to find a loving, supportive group of people that he was missing his entire life. Katara does not work as a romantic partner for Zuko because she works as his replacement sister. The fact is that Zuko’s actual family experience was founded on fear and not love, but the idea of “usefulness”. Zuko and Azula were only valued by Ozai so much as they were useful to him, which is why he favored (not loved) Azula, she was useful to him and Zuko wasn’t until he “slayed the Avatar”. Iroh (and Ursa for a time) was the only person who showed him unconditional love and support, but that wasn’t enough to snap him out of the need to please Ozai. Zuko rooted his entire self worth in what his family thought of him and engaged in very self-destructive behavior throughout season 1 to prove himself because he “didn’t want [his] father to think [he was] worthless”. Even throughout season 3, he still thinks that his uncle’s love for him is conditional (”my uncle hates me I I know it”) until he’s proven otherwise because that’s what he’s been taught. So him joining the gaang, that’s the first time in his life he’s really met with the concept of people liking him for himself, not for his ability to be useful (his family, Jet) or because they think he’s someone he’s not (Song, Lee, Jin). He’s met with friendship: people making fun of him in a playful way instead of tearing down his insecurities and vulnerabilities (”mind if I watch you too jerks do your jerkbending?” “so all we need to do is make Zuko angry, that should be easy enough”, “look, it’s baby Zuko!”, “actually I think [the play portrayal] is pretty spot-on”), people trying to help him fix his problems (”you need to go back to the original source”) instead of making him feel weak for not being able to solve those problems in the first place, and showing him express appreciation and encouragement (”you’re pretty smart”, “to Zuko, who knew after all the times he tried to snuff us out, today he’d be our hero”, “I’m going with Zuko!”). And that’s so. Damn. Important for his ability to heal after how he was treated for his entire life. He’s introduced to the idea that people want him to be around and they want to include him in their circle for being him. Up until the finale, he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to reconcile with Iroh or if Iroh will accept his forgiveness, but these people have given him a home in their group and he’s not afraid or insecure around a group of people for the first time in his life. 

And that’s why Katara has to be the one to defeat Azula: because Azula couldn’t be the sister Zuko had and Katara could be. It’s a tragedy that Zuko and Azula were driven apart by Ozai pitting them against each other, the corruption of firebending throughout the ages so it’s regarded for its power rather than its energy, and Azula’s own insecurities and fears of losing power because, like Zuko once did, she only considers herself to be worth anything so long as she’s better than him. The abuse he endured had an effect on her to because so long as she saw that Ozai’s “love” for Zuko was conditional, that meant that his “love” for her was conditional as well (”you can’t treat me like Zuko!”). Zuko and Azula could never support each other and they could never trust each other in the way that Sokka and Katara could. They wouldn’t sacrifice anything for each other because they were conditioned to survive, to leave behind the lesser sibling in order to get ahead. But at the Agni Kai, Zuko jumps in front of the lighting for Katara because unlike Azula, she has supported him since she forgave him and is there to back him up. She thinks he can be Firelord and she thought his uncle could forgive him in a way that Azula just never could. And that’s why Katara has to be the one to defeat Azula. Not because of any romantic attraction for Zuko, but because he’s protected Aang and Sokka and her and Toph and their little found family. It’s because he’s one of them. So in that moment where Azula is defeated, screaming and sobbing because she’s lost and that means that she’s the weaker sibling, she’s gone and it’s tragic. Zuko looks upon her and he wishes it didn’t have to be like this, but it is and it’s tragic. It didn’t have to be how it was but it did and it was awful and Azula is left broken, hating her brother with murderous fury. But he’s not alone.

He has a new sister who will protect him and fight for him when he’s lost his own. 

(addition: I want to make it clear that this does not mean I think Azula is irredeemable. Her actions and outlook are 100% a product of Ozai’s abuse, as I explained. I do not think that’s she’s beyond redemption, but by the finale she was still a villain and her goal was still to kill her brother so she could be Firelord. That’s not to say that she couldn’t have eventually healed and been able to reconcile with him, but by the final Agni Kai that’s not where their relationship was. The fact that she and Zuko had a toxic relationship was not her fault, but they still had a toxic relationship built on distrust and competition where Zuko and Katara’s friendship was built on support and protection. I am entirely sympathetic towards Azula, but just because she was redeemable doesn’t mean she was redeemed and just because there was potential for her and Zuko to eventually have a better relationship doesn’t mean that they did by the end of the series.) 

[klm-zoflorr]

Issues with the Tyzula ship that Tyzula shippers/fics typically avoid

Stereotypical Tyzula Ty Lee: “Azula-san, I completely forgive you for everything you ever did to me or my best friend and have always loved you unconditionally. I will help you become better if it means risking the quality of my life, my other relationships, my sanity, and even my life. I will magically be able to help you deal with your myriad of mental issues as if you always only needed love/affection instead of real medical help. I will always love you even if you don’t really change your behavior or worse, remain the same power hungry bitch you grew up to be. I love you ‘Zula.”

Look, I am not opposed to Tyzula for I actually think that they had a real friendship, even if there was a massive power imbalance, that got fucked up by Ozai’s abusive teachings and Azula trying to act as her sovereign and friend at the same time. But there is a tendency among Tyzula shippers/fics to make Ty Lee forgive Azula way too easily, make Azula not deal with her flaws or make (proper) amends to Ty Lee and Mai, retcon Azula into a soft baby who didn’t do anything wrong other than get abused, and/or gloss over the issues between the two.

For example, If Tyzula occurred pre-Boiling Rock like some fics imply, do you think it would have been consensual? Especially considering that there has been a massive power imbalance (Azula is Ty Lee’s Sovereign) since their childhood that Azula took advantage of even then; Azula forced Ty Lee to join her squad at firepoint; and Ty Lee is deathly scared of Azula? And if it happened post-Boiling Rock there is a massive power imbalance in favor of Ty Lee since the moment Azula “acts up” (it doesn’t have to be a big thing since Ty Lee is scarred shitless of Azula) Ty Lee can either call Zuko to jail her and/or have Aang de-bend her. There are some Tyzula fics that properly deal with, imo, the pre- and post-Boiling Rock power imbalances but most of them just gloss over them.  Not helping is the fact that comics imply that the two never had a real relationship at all and that Ty Lee is still deathly afraid of Azula, willing to chi-block Azula the moment she is anything other than docile. 

Also, how come most Tyzula shippers/fics don’t touch about LOK’s Turf Wars said about Sozin outlawing homosexuality and the implications it has for a lesbian/bisexual Azula? If Azula, who tries to be the model princess in a post-Sozin Fire Nation, can’t even realize that using fear is not a good way to maintain relationships, how would she deal with the fact that she has feelings for girls? Most of the Tyzula fics or headcanons I have read don’t seriously deal with the fact that either Azula is deep in the closet and/or suffering from serious internalized homophobia and would not likely express her sexual preferences in public unless she was in an extraordinary situation or got serious therapy plus years of self-reflection/character growth. Not to mention the fact she would be one of the leading perpetrators of homophobia by virtue of being Ozai’s right hand general/advisor.

So, do I have a valid point about how Tyzula shippers and fics often engage in abuse and/or toxic friendship/relationship apologism? Or I am just being too harsh on a group of shippers that have been vocally condemned by the greater ATLA community and most likely will never see their ship be canonized? And yes, some of my own fanfic works do contain Tyzula so feel free to call me out if I am being a hypocrite and holding people to standards that I can’t uphold.

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This was a very interesting submission, Anon, and I don't think you're "in the wrong" here, even if I don't necessarily agree with you. At least you're polite, so I won't swear at you xD I'll sum up your points for clarity's sake

"Tyzula shippers make Ty Lee dumber and ready to do anything for Azula. They write stories without depth and without adressing the imbalances in their relationship"

Here's my personnal opinion on that: this kind of drama/angst is hard to write, and I don't want to waste my time for 10 chapters while they're angstying over whether or not to love each other. Mental health issues are hard to write too, and I want azula to be happy, so I can just make them dissapear. I completely acknowledge it isn't the most realistic kind of writing, but I don't care, I just want to have fun. I wouldn't pretend it's canon either.

Now, some Azula fans are just biased towards her, and like to pretend her canon character did nothing wrong and is purely a victim and is owed Ty Lee's love. I'm not gonna shit on them, in the grand scheme of things it's quite inconsequencial, but I don't think that's accurate.

"Tyzula shippers make it happen even if Azula is still a "villain" and hasn't redeemed herself for her sins"

I can link this to my first point a little, and erase all moral complexity for the funzies while acknowledging it isn't canon. But there's also the fact in ATLA, Ty Lee has little to no redemption arc herself. She just betrays azula, and then the good guys accept her and mai with no problem? We could interpret that as "she was always supporting Aang's cause and hated azula secretly since forever" but I don't think that's very correct, because Ty Lee never shows any sign of it, never talks treason, never helps the good guys while azula isn't looking (unlike mai!). The only thing that could possibly make her betray Azula, in my point of view, is seeing her other best friend almost die to her hands. And even then, it isn't a moral choice. I firmly believe Ty Lee was just as indoctrinated in the Fire Nation's ways as everyone else there. And that she actually supported her nation and obeyed Azula as her commander not only because they were friends, not only because she had to, but because she was loyal to her nation. And the only reason I can see her go to the good guys' side at the end of atla was simply because of self preservation with a side of unbrainwashing from FN propaganda

So, in conclusion, I don't think Ty Lee is a completely good character, and I don't think she has a problem with Azula's crimes.

"There is a power imbalance"

I'm not going to deny that. But who told you all relationships with a power imbalance are inherently bad? They're more likely to be toxic, but they won't always be. If the person with the upper hand is respectuous and nice, everything works out perfectly. It's more of an advice towards people who don't have the upper hand in their unbalanced relationship, and who could get taken advantage of. But Ty Lee is smarter than she looks, and I believe she would know to stay away from that.

Pre-boilling rock, there is indeed problems with them getting together, but they're not due to one of them being toxic. Azula is Ty Lee's princess, and it isn't her fault. She was literally raised to lead. And Ty Lee was raised to follow. We see that despite that, Azula still considers Ty Lee as her friend and gets her in her team in a nice way. But it isn't her fault she was raised in the middle of a war and sees the will of the fire nation as more important than anything.

Additionally, I don't think Ty Lee hated Azula, for the reasons I mentionned before.

Post-boilling rock, I just don't think Ty Lee would be scared, or cruel enough, to jail or unbend Azula for no reason. Because, again, I don't think she hates her.

"The fire nation is homophobic"

As is usual with me, I loathe the comics and don't consider this as canon. It doesn't even make sense, apart from saying "fire nation's evil, they're homophobic now too" to be honest, if anyone's gonna be homophobic it's gonna be everyone, cause there was no gay representation in atla.

Oh, and f*ck this, I hate homophobia, I don't want my fictionnal worlds to have it too. It's dumb as shit and everyone is gay in the Fire Nation. There.

"So, do I have a valid point about how Tyzula shippers and fics often engage in abuse and/or toxic friendship/relationship apologism? Or I am just being too harsh on a group of shippers that have been vocally condemned by the greater ATLA community and most likely will never see their ship be canonized?"

You do have a valid point that some tyzula shippers have the same problem as some azula stans, as in that they put her on a pedestral and say she did nothing wrong. But some also just don't want to bother with that and just want to write fluff, and that's fine. There are way worse things they could be doing.

It is true that Tyzula is kind of a controversial ship, and for this reason I don't think you should care too much about it. Bullying people never help anyone, and criticising tyzula shippers will only push them back in their fandom spaces and make them unable to tell apart genuine, objective criticism and mean bullying.

I don't want Tyzula to be canon, btw. Well. For me canon kinda stopped at the end of atla, so everything is possible after this point lol. Not that I even care much about canon.

You are not an hypocrite for liking tyzula and criticizing it. You can call out the behavior of people in your own community, it's perfectly fine and should be encouraged. I'd pay more attention to your opinion too, because I know you don't just dislike the ship and want to find any reason for it to be "problematic"

I'm gonna put that submission in the Tyzula tag, if anyone in there feels offended by that do let me know. I don't intend to shit on this ship at all. Also, if anyone wants to add points or give me perspectives I didn't think about go ahead!

[nerdybookworm25]

Rambling about Katara and Zutara

Ok so I’m going to kind of just put my two cents out there on this stuff. I joined the ATLA fandom this past summer and just started watching TLOK (my brother and I just finished Book 2 yesterday). This is a hot debate and I just want to ramble on about my opinions on this stuff. A lot of this will focus on Katara’s perspective because I can understand her better than Zuko or Aang due to personal experience. Im just... gonna... get into it now...

I’ll give you some background on me so you guys can understand where I’m coming from. I’m a 15 year old girl with abandonment issues caused by multiple deaths of close friends and family at a young age (my uncle when I was 4, a grandmother like figure when I was 7, my dad’s mum when I was 9 or 10, my great grandma when I was 11, a close friend of my dad’s when I was 13 and many others). I also am the Mum Friend (my friends literally call me “Mum”). I’m the caregiver of the group- the glue, the harmonizer, the therapist, the teacher, the good advice giver etc. (This stuff actually hot me in trouble as a kid and it kind of messed me up). My friends who have seen Avatar have compared me to Katara on multiple occasions and say I’ve got the temperament of a waterbender. You can kind of see where I’d relate, you know?

I do ship Zutara. My brother turned to me during the Book 1: Water- Episode 9~ The Waterbending Scroll and asked, “What if Zuko becomes a good guy and ends up with Katara?” From then on I was on the Zutara hill and I’ll probably die there. It limited ships that I loved from childhood and I thought it would hav been really cool- it would have fit the themes of the show, it would have been a cool thing to see grow and blossom, etc. It had nothing to do with Katara and Zuko being attractive at all- not in the slightest. It also wasn’t me projecting onto Katara. I didn’t really care to notice any major similarities between us until Book Three: Fire- Episode 7~ The Runaway. It was this exchange that changed Katara from my favorite character to someone I could heavily relate to.

Toph: [Sarcasically.] Oh really, Mom? Or what are you gonna do? Send me to my room?

Katara: I wish I could!

Toph: well you can’t! Because you’re not my mom, and you’re not their mom! [Extends her arm at Aang and Sokka, who are sitting on a ledge.]

Katara: I never said I was!

Toph: No, but you act like it! You think it’s your job to boss everyone around, but it’s not! You’re just a regular kid like the rest of us! Stop acting like you can tell me what to do! I can do whatever I want!

I remember bursting out laughing when I heard this. My brother asked me what was up and I paused it and explained that that was a lecture I revived so regularly when I was younger. It really really ended up messing me up. It’s not like I tried to mother anyone- it just happened. I wasn’t controlling it. I didn’t notice I was doing it and I got in trouble. Now things are different and I’ve embraced the fact that I am the designated Mum Freind. Still working on getting over being told off about it in therapy though. Anyway, I think you now can understand where I’m coming from with this “analysis.” Now I’m going to get into it (for real this time lol).

I think I’m going to start with the caregiver stuff. Katara’s mother died when she was very young. It was a very traumatic death. We can infer that Katara blamed herself for this death because the Southern Raiders were looking for the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe- her. That’s a lot for an 8 year old to try to process. Here’s the kicker: I don’t think she ever fully processed it until after Book 3: Fire- Episode 16~ The Southern Raiders. She almost immediately helped her grandmother take up the roll as the woman of the house. She probably didn’t feel like she had anyone to talk to about what she was feeling however true or false that’s what she most likely perceived this to be. When Hakoda leaves for war with all of the men of the tribe, Kanna might be the matriarch and help raise Sokka and Katara but even Sokka admits that Katara became a pseudo-mother for him. Taking care of others doesn’t leave a lot of time to deal with your own issues. Sometimes it feels easier to help others face their demons than face your own.

We continue to see Katara become the glue of the Gaang as the series progresses. She keeps them together in the Si Wong desert after Aang leaves her, Sokka, Toph, and Momo. She’s always the one cooking, cleaning, and mending not because she wants to, but because she knows no one else will do it and it needs to be done. We see her try to coax Toph into helping out around camp when she firsts joins the Gaang. It doesn’t work and this conflict continues for most of Book 2 and the beginning of Book 3. All of this time, she’s making it a point to take care of everyone. When the adults show up after the Boiling Rock, she’s still the one making the dinner and probably does a lot of the other chores as well (except for tea making- this will come into play later).

There’s a running joke about Katara being “Momtara” within the ATLA fandom (more the Zutaraians in the fandom than anything else but it’s a pretty well known concept). We continue to see this when the Gaang is on Ember Island. She brings them all drink during training sessions, watches said training sessions in case someone gets hurt and they need her, wrangles Sokka to the best of her ability, and just generally looks out for everyone regardless of age gap. It’s her natural instinct to be motherly. She retains this quality even after she finds Yon Rha. (Getting closure on her mother’s death doesn’t mean losing what had become a major personality trait).

Let’s unpack that now, shall we? Kya dies and Katara thinks it’s her fault. She doesn’t really talk to anyone about it. A few years later, Hakoda leaves to fight in the war. The Southern Water Tribe recives no letters or news about what happened to their warriors at all. Katara felt like she lost another parent. She nearly says as much during Book 3: Fire- Episode 1~ The Awakening.

Hakoda: You’re taking about me too, aren’t you?

Katara: How could you leave us, Dad? [She attempts to wipe away the tears.] I mean, I know we had Gran-Gran, and she loved us, but we were just so lost without you.

Hakoda moves to comfort her as she turns away.

Hakoda: I’m so sorry, Katara.

Katara: [Embraces Hakoda.] I understand why you left. I really do, and I know that you had to go, so why do I still feel this way? I’m so sad and angry and hurt!

The thing that sets off this exchange is Aang running away for the third time since Katara has known him (the fourth time in Aang’s lifetime). The other times he ran were when confronted by the rude fisherman in Book 1: Water- Episode 12~ The Storm, then again during Book 2: Earth- Episode 11~ The Desert. Aang has a, for lack of a better word, chronic running away problem. I’m not mad at him for it. It makes him an interesting character and shows that he too has flaws (even if they aren’t always addressed but that’s an issue with Bryke). When Aang flys away after waking up during 3.1, Katara is distraught.

Katara: He left.

Hakoda: What?

Katara: Aang. He just took his glider and disappeared. He has this ridiculous notion that he has to save the world alone, that it’s all his responsibility.

Hakoda: Maybe that’s his way of being brave.

Katara: Its not brave, it’s selfish and stupid! We could be helping him and I know the world needs him, but doesn’t he know how much we need him, too? How can he just leave us behind?

Katara feels abandoned by Aang. This is completely understandable. She has every right to be angry at him and feel sad that he flew away. He comes back every time but I feel like if I were in her position, as much as I’d hope my friend would come back and I’d tell everyone that I knew he would, I’d still be afraid that there was an off chance that he doesn’t. This is a natural human reaction to this situation. People were seemingly constantly fading in and out of Katara’s life and that just wasn’t good for her mental health. It couldn’t have been. This also raises the question of if someone has a very serious fear of abandonment, would it be healthy to be in a romantic relationship with someone who consistently leaves? Personally I don’t think so. Be friends? Sure. Date? I don’t know. It doesn’t quite sit right with me.

Katara probably feels abandoned by Zuko too. During the Book 2 Finale: Crossroads of Destiny, Katara and Zuko bond in the crystal catacombs under Ba Sing Se. They relate over their shared fear of being abandoned by those they love (yes I think Zuko has abandonment issues too- among other issues/fears). When he turns his back on her, she doesn’t live him (obviously). She has cared about him enough up to that point to offer to use what is arguably her most powerful possession to heal his scar. She cares. Because she cares about him then, she is downright livid when he betrays her. (Of course the difference between Zuko and Aang with this is Zuko leaves once and comes back and he doesn’t leave again. Aang leaves and comes back over and over and over again).

Katara: I thought you had changed!

Zuko: I have changed!

Katara carries the weight of his betrayal on her mind until she and Zuko go on their life changing field trip to confront the man who killed Katara’s mother. This was her time to finally get closure. She had probably had these feelings bottled up for 6 years and didn’t act on them. When she finally had the chance, her best friend and brother tried to stop her. She lashed out.

Katara: We’re going to find the man who took my mother from me.

Sokka pauses and stands up, surprised.

Zuko: Sokka told me the story of what happened. I know who did it and I know how to find him.

Aang: Um ... and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

Katara: [Shakes her head in dismay.] Ugh, I knew you wouldn’t understand. [Begins to walk away.]

Aang: Wait! Stop! I do understand. You’re feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?

Zuko: She needs this, Aang. This is about getting closure and justice.

Aang: I don’t think so. I think this is about getting revenge.

Katara: [Angrily.] Fine, maybe it is! Maybe it’s what he deserves!

Aang: Katara, you sound like Jet.

Katara: Its not the same! Jet attacked the innocent. This man, he’s a monster.

Sokka: Katara, she was my mother, too, but I think Aang might be right.

Katara: Then you didn’t love her the way I did!

Sokka: [Hurt.] Katara!

Katara gets a lot of flack for this interaction. She says Sokka didn’t love their mother like she did and Sokka I’d understandably hurt. It doesn’t excuse what she said, but people do lash out when they are feeling a lot of emotions and they get defensive when they feel like they’re being ganged up on or attacked (I myself am guilty of this sort of thing). What Katara said was wrong but I have no doubt in my mind that she didn’t apologize to Sokka when he and the rest of the Gaang arrive on Ember Island later in the episode. She is seen walking over to him after she hugs Zuko.

Zuko and Katara go after Yon Rha anyway. For once in her life, Katara is feeling emotions and no one is trying to get her to stop or to push them aside. She doesn’t have to be constantly taking care of someone so she can focus on herself. Katara trusts Zuko more than I think she realizes. I mean she trusts him with a lot and he follows through on a lot of unspoken/subconscious agreements and promises.

Zuko is looking out for her. Zuko has her back. Zuko is allowing her to feel all of these emotions and work them out of her own accord. Zuko isn’t telling her to feel one way or another. Zuko isn’t going to judge her for whatever she decides to do when they find Yon Rha or what she does in order for them to get to that point. Zuko ensures she gets the closure she feels she needs.

When he sees her bloodbend, he’s surprised, but he isn’t appalled. When he thinks she’s going to run Yon Rha through with a giant shard of ice, he doesn’t try to stop her. He lets her be her. He sees a dark side of her in a way that no one else in the Gaang has seen. It’s strangely intimate. Clearly it has enough of an impact to make her forgive him. She knows he isn’t going to abandon betray her and her friend again.

Once they become friends, and even before that, Zuko starts to help out with small things here and there. We see him making tea for all of the kids at dinner. He tells jokes to make them laugh. He teaches Aang firebending. He goes with Sokka to the Boiling Rock to make sure he doesn’t get himself killed or in a prison cell for the rest of his life. With all of this, “Dadko” is born.

If you strip away Zuko’s anger, he just becomes the awkward-turtleduck-first-time-father that we all know and love. There’s more balance in the Gaang with him there to help and become an “authority” figure with Katara. They become the parents of the other members of the Gaang. It’s an interesting shift in their relationship- enemies to unsteady acquaintances to enemies to frenemies to friends. They’re close enough that they show small signs of physical intimacy and they tease each other.

Also if you look close enough when the Gaang walks into the “seedy Earth Kingdom tavern,” Zuko and Katara appear to be holding hands and are near each other from then until the finale episodes. They are clearly just great friends by the end of the show. I mean Zuko also takes a bolt of lightning to the chest for her...

Zuko doesn’t leave when his life gets difficult- not after he joins the Gaang. He made that mistake once and he won’t make it again. Aang was always part of the Gaang but continued to leave (again, I’m not mad at him for it but he never seems to realize the effect it has on the people around him- especially Katara). Zuko also doesn’t all but forget Katara and continue to run around the world. When Zuko fully decides to stick around, you best believe he is sticking around.

This works really well for Zutara. They’re both each other’s rock. They support each other and help each other in times of trouble. Do they argue? Yes. Is that a normal part of a healthy relationship- romantic or otherwise? Yes. Do they take care of and look out for each other while also not smothering or suffocating each other? Yes. I don’t know about you but this sounds stable and healthy to me. They balance each other out so well (I’m not going to get too into that because if you’re reading this you probably already know with the whole Tui and La, Yin and Yang, Oma and Shu thing).

Now, this is a big deal for me and it makes me furious, but Katara is forgotten by history. She has no statue. She is reduced to a housewife and healer- things our wonderful water feminist was afraid of becoming as an adult. I mean this girl

This girl

THIS GIRL

She becomes nothing but a housewife stuck in a healing hut who gets forgotten by the world and left behind by her family just... let’s all of that happen? Yeah that’s pretty unrealistic. I think about this frequently and with starting TLOK I have formed even more opinions and have a little thingy (I don’t know what to call it) for what happened to her.

Kya II is everything Teenage Katara wanted to do and be before settling down. Old Katara is everything Teenage Katara was so afraid of become reduced to/becoming.

It’s an interesting way to think about it and I thought I’d share. Now if Katara was Fire Lady, she wouldn’t end up like that. She’d have the power to change the world and continue to fight for what she believed in. She could have helped with the trail with Yakone. Katara has so much potential to not be forgotten or brushed aside and somehow it happened. It makes me so sad. The potential Zutara had to make sure Katara had a genuine legacy was right there at their finger tips and they didn’t use it. What a shame. What a shame.

With all of the things I’ve talked about, I just feel like Zutara would have been better for Katara than Kataang was. I think that’s more Bryke not developing the relationship well enough and instead choosing to be sloppy and selfish in the way they structured the relationship. Yeah this is my rambling on about the issue. Hope it was mildly entertaining! If you want me to write something about how Zuko would have benefited from Zutara, let me know!

[ultranos]

Thoughts on Ty lee/Azula or Mai/Azula?

Somewhat ambivalent? I’ve read both, and I’ve read ones I’ve liked for both.

With Ty Lee/Azula, there’s an aspect of uneven power dynamics that’s kind of hard to get away from. Azula is Ty Lee’s direct commanding officer, which is a huge no-go for me (I earned fandom wings over in Stargate fandom back in the day lol. I was very lucky to have so many very smart women in that fandom talk about that kind of thing to baby-fan!nos). And then as royalty in an authoritarian absolute monarchy, Azula holds even more power and is expected to use it. On the flip-side, post-war, I see a lot of fic where the power dynamics are reversed, with Azula as prisoner and Ty Lee functioning with...apparent diplomatic immunity as a Kyoshi Warrior? (Oh god, what is their legal status?) Which is still a distressing-to-me power imbalance. It kind of becomes worse to me when the common plot of Ty Lee trying to help “fix” Azula comes in, because that’s just...I’m personally uncomfortable with the implications of emotional labor required and the co-dependency. That being said, I have seen some excellent examples that manage to avoid all of that.

Mai/Azula is similar, although I view theirs as less of a power imbalance and less-likely to lead to unhealthy co-dependency. That’s probably because Mai canonically has zero problem presenting herself as Zuko’s equal, and if anything, Zuko as crown prince during those scenes ranks higher than Azula. No, it’s less power imbalance with Mai/Azula and more the risk that it trends to “masochism tango”.

(I also tend to the interpretation that when they were little, Mai and Azula were legit best friends. No one knows exactly how far they can push you like a best friend, when you’re talking shit like a best friend...and where to hit you where it hurts like a best friend. I think that Mai genuinely was pleased to see Azula after N years in Omashu, and gradually became aware that Ozai had destroyed her best friend in those years apart. Mai would have willingly followed her best friend into hell [and did]. At Boiling Rock, the girl she turned against was just a pale shadow of the Azula she used to know.

Mostly because I want to add as much weight to that moment as possible to make it matter to Mai herself on multiple levels and not just because Zuko.)

In both cases, I think the best-case scenario for each of them requires significant time apart with little to no contact. The equivalent of leaving midway through high school and then maybe reconnecting post-graduate school or something. They’d need to learn how to define themselves apart and to heal from, well, all the ways they’ve mutually hurt each other. Also work through that. and figure out how to be friends on equal terms first before anything else.

(If it sounds like most of my shipping thoughts for Azula boil down to “not until after therapy and getting her head unfucked, and then get her and the other party on something resembling equal footing”, that’s because they are)

[avarice-inclined]

GET TO KNOW THE BLOGGER .

Can be used for RP and non-RP blogs to get to know a bit about the person behind the screen!

1. FIRST NAME: emmett

2. STRANGE FACT ABOUT YOURSELF: i have an overall weird talent for mimicking character voices, but the most notable one is Stitch from Lilo and Stitch

3. TOP THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU FIND ATTRACTIVE ON A PERSON:   -✧ eyes, definitely, even though it’s a bit of an oxymoron because of how much i HATE making direct eye-contact in conversation, but i like eyes when i can look and the person isn’t looking directly at me -✧ how a person smiles is a big one, because happiness is really heckin beautiful and it’s even better if i know i’m the cause of a smile -✧ freckles. i absolutely love freckles, like, the more the merrier. it’s like having constellations on their skin, like the universe doused them in glitter idk, they’re just super pretty 

4. A FOOD YOU COULD EAT FOREVER AND NOT GET BORED OF: mac n cheese, esp if it’s nice and gooey with lots of melted cheese. i go absolutely ham for good mac n cheese lol

5. A FOOD YOU HATE: i don’t really care for beans of any sort. baked beans are an exception but, like, they gotta be the sweet kind. i hate sausage, in general, esp breakfast sausage because the smell just makes my stomach feel bleugh 

6. GUILTY PLEASURE: collecting stupid quarter machine figurines and writing complex, self-insert fanfiction in my head that never make it into written form because i am not brave enough to actually write any of that shit down lmao

7. WHAT DO YOU SLEEP IN: leggings and a t-shirt, sometimes just a shirt and nothin else cuz i live in florida in a house with no central air and it’s HOT don’t judge

8. SERIOUS RELATIONSHIPS OR FLINGS: serious, but only because i’m not emotionally capable of flings and i have to get p close to someone for anything bedroom-related to come up, and if it’s gotten to that point i’m definitely already HELLA ATTACHED and probably already telling the person ‘love you’ in casual conversation

9. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN THE PAST AND CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WOULD YOU AND WHAT WOULD IT BE: i honestly don’t know about this because, like, ideally i would have left my parents house way earlier than i did, or at least tried to assert my demand to be treated like a human being way earlier, but, then again, everything that’s happened in my life has led me to the point i’m at today and if things had gone just slightly different, i might not have met my husband, or i might not be as sure of my gender identity as i am now. so, like, even though a lot of things in my past REALLY SUCKED, there’s only a specific few things i might change but even then i’d be hesitant about it because i like how my life is now, even with all the shit i had to struggle through to get here.

10. ARE YOU AN AFFECTIONATE PERSON: probably, yeah, i am def that touch-starved bitch who craves physical affection, be it platonic, romantic, or otherwise. i’m not down to hug or cuddle with a stranger but, like, if i’m friends with someone and know they’re cool with it, they’re gettin loved on

11. A MOVIE YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN: all of the LoTR/Hobbit movies, any Studio Ghibli film, the last unicorn, WOLF CHILDREN EVEN THO IT MAKES ME LITTLE-GIRL SOB EVERY TIME, Venom, Detective Pikachu, THE PRINCESS BRIDE

12. FAVORITE BOOK: island of the blue dolphins, the entire animorphs series, DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN SERIES, actually just about any book with dragons in it where the dragons are complex and not evil is absolutely my jam, the Abhorsen series, also the Hunger Games... i don’t really have one specific favorite book that’s literally impossible to decide lol

13. YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP ANY ANIMAL AS A PET, WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE: anything that isn’t a spider or a bug that can inflict bodily harm unto my person. i just really love all animals okay just gimme a farm house or a ranch so i can have ALL of my favorite animals in one place that’d be ideal. but if i had to pick just one i’d want my cat because she’s the best little girl and i’ve only had her for 4 days but i would die for this chaotic little ball of fluff you have no idea. i am incomplete without a cat at my side

14. TOP FIVE FICTIONAL SHIPS [IF YOU ARE AN RP BLOG, YOU CAN USE YOUR OWN SHIPS AS WELL]: (FMA) ed/winry or ed/ling, just let the kids be happy, (WITCHER) geralt/jaskier/yen, because geralt has two hands and both of them deserve to be held, (FMA) greed/not dying au’s, I JUST WANT MY BOY TO HAVE A HAPPY ENDING IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR?, (ATLA) katara/zuko/aang, lemme have my loving polyam pairings, (ADVENTURE ZONE) taako/kravitz, because the bar doesn’t get much higher than seducing the grim reaper with threat of tentacles

15. PIE OR CAKE: i literally cannot choose between the two, i have favorites from both categories and i BAKE so that makes it even harder

16. FAVORITE SCENT: vanilla, peaches, and books

17. CELEBRITY CRUSH: brendan urie or kiera knightley... also david tennant

18. IF YOU COULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD YOU GO: new zealand, because i’m a nerd and that’s where LoTR was filmed, but i’d also like to go to japan

19. INTROVERT OR EXTROVERT: definitely an introvert

20. DO YOU SCARE EASILY: very much so, but i do still enjoy horror themes in movies and games, even if i can’t play most games myself and have to watch lets plays of them

21. IPHONE OR ANDROID: i’ve only ever had android phones. the only apple device i ever had was an iPad but since i was only using it for art i don’t have much of an opinion on it beyond that lol

22. DO YOU PLAY ANY VIDEO GAMES: i’m currently playing the witcher 3, whichever final fantasy has Noctis in it- i don’t know what the number is because i have a hard time reading roman numerals, kingdom hearts 3, and animal crossing new leaf (if any of you also play i am welcome to giving out my friend code if you’re interested!)

23. DREAM JOB: making a living off my art, or even getting into video game design

24. WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A MILLION DOLLARS: pay off debt/overdue bills, finally get hormone therapy and top surgery, and get myself and my friends and chosen family into a better house and away from abusive situations

25. FICTIONAL CHARACTER YOU HATE: i don’t think there are any characters that i hate tbh, i might hate things that certain characters DO, but that’s not the same as hating the character itself. from a design perspective, though, Tingle from LOZ can fuck right off, actually. WAIT SCRATCH THAT. SHOU TUCKER CAN SWALLOW A CACTUS WHOLE. that is all. ahem.

26. FANDOM THAT YOU WERE ONCE A PART OF BUT AREN’T ANY LONGER: twi//light, until i realized just how gross smeyer was and how her writing is, objectively, not as great as everyone made it out to be

tagged by: stole this from @dolcetters tagging: if you wanna do it, go for it!

[raisindeatre]

loved your project runway fic! do you have any more crack fics written for atla?

Darling anon - I do now! Also that Project Runway fic continues to and I suspect always will haunt me, but I’m glad you liked it, and I hope you like this one as well. (I would like to add as a caveat that I do not know anything about Dungeons and Dragons! I remain flagrantly unaware of the rules of the game! It is used here merely - and shamelessly - as a plot device.)

roll the dice (Some Zutara, some gen, 100% crack)

“D and D in the D,” Sokka says, spreading his arms dramatically - Katara can just catch a glimpse of the movement, the excited gleam of his eyes. “Dungeons and Dragons in the Dark!”

“Really?” Suki asks him. “That’s what you want to do right now?”

“What else are we supposed to do during a blackout?” Sokka says. “Our options are kind of limited here!”

“It sucks, not being able to see anything, huh?” says Toph.

“One day, these blind jokes are going to get real old, Toph! And by one day, I mean six months ago!” Sokka retorts, as Toph cackles.

“Hold on,” Katara says, because she’s still kind of lost. “Dungeons and Dragons?”

“Yeah,” Toph says. “We’ve been playing it for ages.”

“Wait, what?”

“Well, not me,” Suki says diplomatically. “I’ve only played… what, three games?”

“Mmmm, something like that,” Sokka agrees. “But me and Zuko and Toph have been playing for about a year now, I think.”

“Wait, what?” Katara repeats indignantly. “How come I never got in on this?”

“Because,” Zuko’s voice says from behind her, and Katara has to quell the urge to stiffen in surprise, “You were always with Jet then.”

She looks up at him over her shoulder; from this angle she can’t see the candle she knows he must have cupped in his palms, so for one strange heartbeat it looks like he’s cradling a handful of flames, the small, wavering light bathing his face in orange, shadows chasing their way across his aristocratic features.

It’s a well-established pattern, by now - how Katara can only ever appreciate those features for one second before he opens his big mouth and ruins it. “Katara can’t play D and D with us,” he says, lowering himself to sit on the ground next to her, and any vague thoughts about how warm he feels is extinguished by the indignation that roars to life inside her.

“Why not?”

“Well, you don’t know how to,” he says. “You don’t understand the rules.”

“I’ll pick them up,” she retorts. “I’m a fast learner. And how hard can it be?”

He glares at her; she can feel it even through the dark. “You can’t just barge your way into a game - you don’t know anything about the dynamic we’ve set up, or the mission objective -”

“Mission objective?” she echoes incredulously, and really, the nerve of him. Zuko’s always been this way, all arched eyebrow and gentle disdain, like being her older brother’s best friend gives him any right to act superior over her. It’s infuriating, and - “I’ll show you mission objective!”

A beat. “What does that even mean?” Toph asks.

“Okay!” Sokka cuts in hurriedly. “Zuko, I get where you’re coming from, but I don’t think it matters if Katara joins us now. I’ll make it work. Besides,” he says, as Zuko opens his mouth to protest, “do you have any other suggestions as to what we can do until the lights go back on?”

Zuko glowers, then says grudgingly, “No.”

Sokka rubs his hands gleefully. “Okay, then! Let’s get started!”

“Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Your mission: to find and defeat the evil Fire Lord Ozai, and restore peace and balance to the world.”

“Wait. Why is this bad guy named after Zuko’s dad?” Katara asks.

“Because Zuko’s dad is a bad guy,” Sokka says, dropping his dramatically deep voice, and Katara finds herself nodding - they all know the story behind Zuko’s scar, why he moved in with his uncle three years ago. “We name all our villains after him, and then we spend four hours each game trying to kick his ass. It’s like therapy, but free.”

“Very true,” Toph says. “Sometimes we put Azula in as well. In fact, I think she’s in this particular game, right, Sokka?”

“Dungeon Master Sokka,” her idiot brother corrects. “And yeah, she is.”

“Mmm, we don’t name all our villains after Ozai, though, do we?” Suki says thoughtfully. “Remember that one game, on the Islands of Kashykk? Zuko insisted the villain be named after Jet.”

“You did?” Katara asks, swinging her head around to look at Zuko. “Why?”

Zuko shrugs, looking a little flustered. “I - After dumping you the way he did? The guy was a douchebag, Katara. It seemed only right.”

“We played that game before Jet dumped Katara, though,” Suki points out, and Zuko says hurriedly, “Anyway! I thought we were getting started?”

“Right,” says Sokka, arranging his features into a Very Serious Dungeon Master face. “If you guys remember, the last time we played a storm hit the ship you guys were on. You have all been scattered across the globe, washing up on the shores of…” He points at Zuko. “Shu Jing!” Suki. “Kyoshi Island!” Toph. “Gaoling!”

Katara clears her throat.

“Oh, right. Uh, Katara, you’ve been washed up with Zuko.”

“What?” they exclaim in unison, turning to glare at each other.

“Hey, Dungeon Master’s rules,” Sokka says sternly. “What I say goes. Alright, everybody, let’s go!”

“I call Druk, and get him to fly me to the Fire Nation Capital,” Zuko says.

“What the hell is a Druk?” Katara says.

“He’s my dragon.”

“You have a dragon? Hey, Sokka, I want a dragon.”

“You can’t just get a dragon! Do you think it’s that easy? I’ll have you know I raised Druk myself, all the way from when he was a hatchling! Found his egg eight months ago in the Dungeons of D’Qar -”

“Sokka, I want a dragon.”

“Sorry, sis. You heard the man. Dungeons of D’Qar.”

“Fine. Then I get on Druk as well. Let’s get to the royal palace and kick Ozai’s ass already.”

“Druk’s a one-person dragon,” Zuko informs her haughtily. “There won’t be room for the two of us.”

“So you’re - what, ditching me? You can’t do that!”

“Actually, I can. See ya later, Katara! Guten adios!”

“Unfortunately,” Sokka cuts in, “Druk has been hit by the storm as well. You guys won’t be reunited for another three turns.”

“Oh, damn.”

“Katara, your turn.”

“I attack Zuko!”

“WHAT?”

“Try to ditch me, will you -”

“Uh, you guys are on the same side so -”

“I swing at him with my sword, Sokka!”

“You don’t have a sword.”

“He gets a dragon, and I don’t even have a sword?”

“Hey, you were the one who wanted to join last-minute. I had to draw up a really simple character sheet for you.”

“So what do I have?”

“You’re a healer, so… poultices.”

“What? Sokka, I don’t want to be a healer, I want to be a warrior!”

“Dungeon Master’s rules, Katara.”

“Fine! Then I poultice his face!”

“WHAT?”

“Oooh, naughty.” This coming from Toph.

“You can’t - okay, okay, whatever. What did you roll, an eight? Congratulations. You succeed in poulticing Zuko’s face, which does absolutely nothing, only now you’re one poultice short.”

Katara juts her chin out defiantly. “It felt good, though.”

“Oooh, naughty.”

“Shut up, Toph.”

“Toph, you reach Omashu where you see Fire Nation soldiers have constructed a blockade, restricting supplies to the village behind it. Do you: a) bypass the city entirely, and concentrate on getting to the Fire Nation as quickly as you can, or b) try to break down the blockade?”

“Don’t insult me, Wolf Tail. When have I ever turned my back on people who need me? Also, when do I ever run from a fight?”

“If you try to break down the blockade, you’ll be delayed by at least five turns. You won’t be able to rejoin the others for a while.”

“Eh. Need a break from them, anyway.”

“Hey!” Katara says.

“So how do you plan on breaking the blockade, Toph?” Sokka interjects smoothly.

Toph rests her chin on her interlocked fingers for a while, staring gravely into the tiny candle flame - although how Toph even knows it’s there, with her sightless eyes, Katara has no idea. “How many Fire Nation soldiers are there?”

“At least forty. Each one capable of delivering 10 damage.”

She frowns. “I’m good, but not that good. I can’t take them all by myself.” She pauses for a while longer, before a grin creeps across her face. “I’ve got it! You said Omashu is home to a bunch of badgermoles, right? I call them. I summon my badger buddies!”

“You have earthbending abilities, not the ability to talk to animals.”

“I SUMMON MY BADGER BUDDIES.”

“What is the point of being Dungeon Master if no one’s going to listen to me?”

“Okay, Mister Dungeon Master, how about this? If I roll a twenty, I get to summon the badgermoles.”

“You’re on! You’re never going to get - THAT WAS A FLUKE!” Sokka says, as Toph punches the air in delight.

“Has it been three turns yet?”

“Yes.”

“Great, I call Druk and get him to fly me to the Fire Nation capital.” A clatter of the dice. “That was a six, Sokka.”

“Okay. You succeed in calling your dragon and the two of you rise up into the sky.”

“I poulti -”

“He’s out of range, Katara.”

“Damn.”

“Pirate attack! Suddenly a ship pulls up on the riverbank next to you and a horde of pirates swarm out. You are surrounded!”

“Water whip!”

“Water whip, with.. 7 damage! Wha-pow! Wham-bam! Three of the pirates are knocked out of commission! But that leaves nine more!”

“Water whip again! Double water whip! Triple wat -”

“Katara, you gotta roll the dice.”

“Sorry.”

“Oh, too bad! Only 3 damage! Not enough! The pirates overwhelm you. They tie you to a tree!”

“Oooh, naughty.”

“Shut up, Toph.” This from all four of them.

A heavy sigh, an eye-roll, a thunderous beat of wings echoing in the sky as a shadow looms on the horizon, a great beast with a rider on its back. “I turn back, and help Katara.”

“I don’t need your help!”

“Clearly you do. Don’t worry,” Zuko says, and even in the dark she can feel him smirking. She wants to wipe it right off his face. “I’ll save you from the pirates.”

“You’re captured! The bandits put you in a cage, and are now en route back to Gaoling.”

“I bust my way out!”

“You have earthbending abilities. This box is metal.”

“Then… then I invent metalbending!”

“You can’t just invent metalbending -”

A clatter of dice, a series of gasps.

Suki. “I can’t believe it - she rolled another twenty -”

“I INVENT METALBENDING!” Toph shouts, and Sokka throws his hands up in surrender.

“Suki, you’re being held prisoner in the Boiling Rock,” Sokka intones, and Suki watches him solemnly, eyes intense. Katara is biting her lip; beside her, Zuko looks like he wants to get up and start pacing. “The situation is dire. You are alone, far from friends, in a prison that no one has yet to escape from. You have no companions, no weapons. You have nothing but yourself.”

There is a heavy silence, then slowly, so slowly, Suki smiles.

“Then I don’t have nothing, do I?” she says, then straightens up, posture knife-sharp. “I distract the guards.”

“How?”

“I start a riot!” Suki declares, and rolls a ten.

“You start a riot!” Sokka agrees. “The prison is thrown into turmoil! Prisoners are throwing punches! Scuffles break out everywhere. The guards are suitably distracted.”

“I use,” Suki says, “my level 20 agility and my level 30 strength to somersault my way across the crowd! I vault up the walls of the prison and get to the head guard, where I grab him by the hair -”

“Oooh, naughty -”

“- and demand the key to the shuttle that leaves the Boiling Rock.”

“Hell yeah, you do!” Sokka cheers, and Katara can see it all in her mind’s eye - Suki’s graceful figure whirling through the air as she leaps up the stone wall, her fierce grin as she looks the head guard in the eye. “That’s my girl! He surrenders the key, and you -”

“I make my way to the shuttle and start the mechanism, jumping into the train compartment as it makes its way across the lava.”

“And the people behind you?” Sokka says urgently.

“I dismantle the winch with, uh, a sword I stole from the head guard so nobody else can follow me!” Suki rolls an eight, and blanches. It’s an ambitious move she’s proposed, and they all know it. Sokka’s face is grave. They wait, nerves stretched to breaking.

Finally Suki breaks the silence. “Is that enough?”

“An eight,” Sokka says solemnly, and then: “Yes, but you don’t get out scot-free. You take an arrow to the ribs. 14 damage. Severely injured.”

Suki nods grimly, and the others hold their breath. Sokka looks around. “Maybe we should take a break?”

“Man, that was intense,” Katara says as she follows Zuko into the kitchen where they’ve volunteered to get some juice. It’s his apartment they’re in, his and Iroh’s, so Zuko is perfectly capable of navigating it in the dark, but Katara has to just lightly grip his elbow to stop from bumping into anything. Zuko hasn’t grumbled about that once, which strikes Katara as a little strange. “Are they all like that?”

“Oh, yeah,” says Zuko, just a shadow next to her in the dark. His voice is familiar, though, always familiar, his smoky rasp just as warm as the skin she can feel through the sleeve of his shirt. “You should’ve seen the game at the Islands of Kashykk. We just barely got out of that one alive.”

“That sounds like it was a lot of fun,” Katara says, as they emerge into the kitchen. Zuko bends down to open the fridge, and icy blue light radiates into the room, casting a frosty glow across his face. She has a strange, fleeting thought that this would be what he would look like if he ever came to visit her and Sokka at the South Pole: his eyes turned silver by the ice and his dark hair so windswept. “Why didn’t you ever invite me?”

“I told you,” Zuko says, still looking into the fridge. “You were spending a lot of your time with Jet, then.”

“Right.” A pause. It’s no secret that Zuko and Jet hate each other, and it’s even less of a secret that Katara hadn’t been the most attentive of friends when she and Jet had been dating. She’s long since apologised, but she knows it must still be a little sore. “I’m still sorry about that. About, you know, not being around as much back then. I was a pretty crappy friend.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Zuko says. “You’re here now.”

“I am,” she agrees, and something about the moment feels so strange and tentative - and hopeful, somehow, although Katara has no idea why that’s the word that comes to mind - that she feels compelled to break it. “Hey, whatever happened to you and Mai, anyway?”

“We broke up. You know that.”

“I do, but not the details. You know, what happened? How did it end?”

“It ended…” Zuko says, then laughs a little, almost self-deprecating. “Before it even started, I guess. I don’t know.” He shrugs, his back still to her, still peering into the fridge - although how long he needs to take just to choose some juice is beyond her. “We just weren’t right for each other, you know? It was never some big thing. Just a lot of little things.”

“Like what?” Katara says - and some part of her knows this is probably crossing the line, but the other, larger part of her has to know.

“Like…well, if she was here tonight, for example. She would never have agreed to play D and D. She’d think it was beneath her, just too nerdy.”

“D and D is nerdy, Zuko.”

“Says the girl who almost cried when she managed to summon a tidal wave back at Ember Island.”

Katara sighs. “I just didn’t think I could do it, you know? Sokka says I had to roll a twelve or higher - what were the odds?”

She still can’t see his face, but she can just hear his smile. “Yeah. Well. Mai wouldn’t have been up for that, you know? It was just stuff like that. The little things. You want to be able to hang out with your girlfriend and your friends at the same time. You don’t want to have to keep those parts of your life separate. It gets pretty tiring after a while.”

Katara thinks of Jet. “Yeah. I know what you mean.”  

“And…” Zuko pauses. “It’s, like. Remember when you saved me back at the Western Air Temple?”

“I love that you say it like it actually happened. Like it was a real thing that happened in real life. You know it’s not, right?”

“Don’t blaspheme.”

“Okay, okay. You mean when the temple crumbled, and you were falling through the air -”

“ - and you grabbed my hand and pulled me onto Druk, yeah -”

“- at which point we promptly proceeded to plummet like a thousand feet because your stupid dragon can’t even carry two people? I remember.”

“Don’t blaspheme! Druk was trying his best, I told you he’s normally just a one-person dragon -” Zuko blinks. “Wait. What was I talking about?”

“Mai,” Katara reminds him, and his face clears.

“Mai, right. It’s just… you saved me.”

Katara shifts uncomfortably. “I figured I owed you one. For the pirates. And for knocking me out of the way of the falling rocks.”

“Right,” Zuko says, and finally he turns to look at her, straightening up, a carton of orange juice in his hand. “But I guess I mean… look, this is going to sound a little dramatic.”

“You? Dramatic? Perish the thought.”

Zuko smiles at her, just a little. “I just mean,” he says, and his voice is softer, suddenly, in a way which means Katara has to step closer to hear it, “that… Katara, I would follow you into battle. And I would always have your back. And - and I know you would have mine. I trust you, you know?”

“I know,” Katara says, and she does.

“Yeah,” Zuko says, rubbing the back of his neck absently. “I just think… that’s kind of the litmus test of any relationship, you know? Trust. It sounds small, but it really isn’t. And if I can trust you to save me, even when I know you don’t like me, that’s just something to think abou -”

“Is that what you think?” Katara says. “That I don’t like you?”

Zuko blinks at her; backlit against the blue light of the still-open fridge door, the planes of his face look so young.

“Don’t be an idiot,” Katara continues, taking another step forward. They are very close now, and like he can’t help it, Zuko tilts his head down, so that he is looking right into her eyes. “I like you, Zuko,” she says, very softly. “I like you.”

“I like you too, Katara,” he says, his voice so warm -

“How long does it take to get some juice?” Sokka hollers from the living room, and the moment is gone.

“The Great Divide,” Sokka says solemnly. “The world’s largest canyon. To get across it, you guys will need to reconcile two warring tribes: the Zhang and the Gan Jin, and -”

He breaks off, frowning. “You know, maybe we should just skip this one. It sounds like it might be kind of boring.”

“You think?” Toph says.

Here they are, the final showdown. Katara watches from the pillars of the palace as Zuko and Azula square off. He keeps his eyes solidly on his sister, tension etched in every line of his shoulders. Her heart is hammering in her chest.

“She shoots a bolt of lightning at you!” Sokka says.

“I redirect!” Zuko fires back, and rolls a seven. “Ah, yeah!”

“Lightning successfully redirected! It’s your turn now! What’s your next move?”

“I… I trash-talk her!”

“What do you say?”

“I say…” Zuko hesitates. “Uh, sorry but you’re not going to become Fire Lord today. I am!”

A pause. Then Toph: “Sparky, that was terrible.”

“So bad,” Sokka agrees. “It has zero effect on Azula! In fact, it helps her power up! Azula gains one level from having to listen to the worst trash talk in all of human history!”

“What?” Zuko yelps. “You can’t do that!”

“She firebends at you, level 10 damage! You’re going to have to roll a nine or higher to counteract this!” Sokka says, and Zuko rolls both his eyes and the dice.

It’s fraught. The only sounds are Sokka and Zuko’s voices, low and terse, the clatter of the dice, the barely stifled gasps as Toph, Katara and Suki listen in. The candle is burning low, so everyone’s face is just barely illuminated in the tiny orange glow, strange, sharp shadows thrown over their features. Then:

“Azula prepares to shoot lightning -”

“I deflect,” Zuko says, but Sokka continues -

“ - at Katara.”

Shock fills the room; Katara can feel it suck the air from her lungs.

But Zuko leans forward, jaw set, and says without hesitation, “I jump in front of Katara.”

“What?” she exclaims, staring at him, but he refuses to meet her eye. “No, no he doesn’t!”

Zuko rolls the dice, squints at the number that comes up. “A five. Come on, Sokka, I jump in front of Katara.”

Katara snatches up the dice, rolls a six. “He un-jumps in front of me!”

“I do not un-jump,” Zuko says irritably. “I take the lightning bolt meant for her.”

Toph’s eyebrow is raised sharply; Sokka is blinking, but Suki - Suki is looking right at them, something like a sneaky delight on her face.

“Don’t be an idiot,” Katara snaps at him. “You’re the one who’s going to be Fire Lord after we defeat Ozai, you can’t die now! It’s just simple strategy! We’re almost to the end, at this point I’m expendable, okay, we don’t need me -”

“I need you,” Zuko says, and something in Katara’s throat closes up; her pulse stuttering. His voice is so intense. In the dark, she cannot see his face. “Katara, I need you.”

Everything is quiet.

“… okaaaay!” Sokka says. “Um, what’s done cannot be undone, I guess. Zuko jumps in front of the lightning bolt. Takes a hit -” He rolls the dice, winces. “Oooh, 12 damage. Zuko, you’re pretty much out of commission.”

Zuko nods grimly, pressing his hand to his stomach as if he’s really been shot. Suki reaches forward, pats his shoulder in comfort. Any other time Katara might laugh, or roll her eyes at the drama of it all, but right now all she can think about is the sound of his voice in the dark. Katara, I need you.

“Katara? What do you do now?”

Rage rises up in her, fury white-hot. Somewhere before her Zuko is lying prone on the cobblestones, twitching in pain as electricity courses through his veins, sears his nerves. “I attack Azula!”

“How?”

“Oh my god, Sokka, I don’t care. I just bring her down! This ends now!”

“If you’re going to end it now, you need to roll at least a twenty,” Sokka says.

“I thought we agreed to call it a Toph,” Toph says. “Like, you need to roll a Toph.”

“I’m kind of in the middle of dying here,” Zuko points out, and Katara rolls the dice -

- she gets a Toph, and Suki and Toph and Sokka break into cheers, but Zuko is looking at her, and she knows it’s not over yet.

“Sokka, where did the lightning bolt hit Zuko?”

“What? Oh, I don’t know. Does it really matt -”

“Where?” she snaps at him, and her brother blinks at her in surprise.

“Uh - his stomach!” Sokka says, and Katara draws herself up, breathing in deeply. The dice rattles loosely in her closed fist.

“I poultice his stomach!” she declares and rolls another twenty, and somewhere under her palms, Zuko gasps back to life, his amber eyes blinking, his heart unsteady but alive in his chest. The emotion that washes over Katara is almost unreal in its intensity; a joy so big it feels almost like terror; a relief so vast it feels almost like grief. For a moment she cannot speak for the tightness in her throat.

“Sure, okay,” Sokka says. “Zuko, you’re, uh, not dead, I guess.”

Zuko looks at her, and she can just barely make out the gleam of his eyes in the dark, the wonder on his face. “Thank you, Katara.”

“I think,” she says softly, “I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

The lights flicker back on.

The blue fire around the palace fades away; Druk disappears; Katara’s waterbending abilities vanish. Abruptly, they are back to where they started: five kids sitting cross-legged in a circle, in the living room of an apartment. They blink at each other in surprise.

“Well,” Sokka says. “That was, uh, intense.”

Suki checks her watch. “Wow, have we really been playing for three hours?”

“Three hours?” Toph repeats. “That’s it! Time for me to get some beauty sleep.”

“Wait,” Katara protests. “But we haven’t defeated Ozai yet! The game’s not over yet!”

Sokka yawns. “We’ll get around to it, sis. That’s the beauty of D and D, you know? The game can last as long as we want it to. But right now, it’s 2 in the morning and I agree with Toph - it’s bed time, kids.”

Sokka, Suki and Toph get to their feet and call their goodnights, disappearing into the bedrooms they’ve been allocated for the sleepover tonight (Sokka and Zuko in Zuko’s, and Suki and Katara and Toph all bundled in the guest bedroom.) Zuko and Katara are left sitting on the floor, studiously avoiding eye contact.

“Well,” Katara says at last. “I guess we should go to bed too. I mean!” she says hurriedly, as Zuko starts to cough, his neck turning red, “not together! Just - oh, you know what I mean.” What she wouldn’t give for the lights to go out right about now.

“Yeah,” Zuko says, blinking rapidly. He clears his throat. “Yeah. I, uh, yeah. Um. Goodnight, Katara.”

“Night, Zuko,” she says, getting slowly to her feet. His voice halts her at the doorway.

“Hey, Katara.”

When she turns to look back at him, he is on his feet as well, looking right at her. There is embarrassment on his features, but also a kind of determination, a stubborn tilt to the jaw she knows so well. “I, uh. I got Druk eight months ago.”

Katara blinks. There are non sequiturs, and then there’s Zuko. Honestly, this boy. “I, uh. Yeah, I know. Dungeons of D’Qar, right?”

“Right!” he agrees, nodding vigorously. “But what I meant was… that was eight months ago. Which is a pretty long time.”

“It is.”

He winces. “I guess what I’m saying is, Druk must’ve gotten pretty big. I feel like he’d… he’d easily be a two-person dragon by now. Or by the next game. Whenever that is. If you, uh, wanted to… join us.”

Katara bites her lip for a second, trying not to laugh at the way Zuko is looking at the floor, at the ceiling, at anywhere but her. “You want me to take a ride on your dragon?”

“OOOH, NAUGHTY!” Toph yells down the corridor, and Zuko flushes.

“I didn’t mean it like that, I just - Oh, whatever!” he huffs, and tries to push past her, but Katara grabs hold of his elbow.

“Zuko,” she says, and then: “Yes.”

He stills, then turns to look at her, eyes wide. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she says, and throws a smile at him over her shoulder as she makes her way to her room. “Yeah. Save me a seat. Say hey to Druk for me.”

“I will,” Zuko says, and waits until Katara closes the door behind her before he lets himself punch the air in delight.