#The only thing zuko is giving any effort to is sokka

[ssreeder]

AHHHHH sssreeeedy,

this chapter made me so emotional!!! i can‘t deny I love some zukka cuddles and sweetness but I really enjoyed the more confrontational scenes and the angst. It’s nice that they’re finally being honest and actually talking

I can’t wait for next chapter!!!!! byebyeee:)

They needed to have a confrontation where zuko was able to put his foot down and find his voice. He’s been such a floater recently just vibing and going through things without really engaging in anything so it’s kind of nice to see sokka pull an emotional reaction out of him. Zuko will talk a LOT more next chapter I think the damn thing is 75% zuko haha so I guess get ready for that haha. thanks for the ask <333

[sapphic-agent]

Let's Talk About How Book 3 Ruined Aang

If you've seen any of my prior ATLA posts, you know that I don't hate Aang. In fact, I quite liked him in Books 1 and 2. He was flawed, as all characters should be, but the show didn't shy away from those flaws or justify them. He was called out for burning Katara and rushing his firebending, Sokka and Katara were rightfully upset when he hid Hakoda's letter, he willingly owns up to the fact that his actions helped drive Toph away, and his entire arc after losing Appa and finding hope again in The Serpent's Path was beautifully done.

(Hell, even in The Great Divide Katara says what Aang did was wrong and he agrees. It's played for comedy, but the show still makes the effort to point out that what he did wasn't the right thing to do. You're just meant to understand that he was fed up and acted off of that)

Those flaws and mistakes were addressed and improved upon and helped Aang to grow as a character.

But for some reason, that aspect of Aang's character was completely flipped in Book 3.

The best examples of this are in both TDBS and EIP. Both the show and the fandom are too quick to brush off that Aang kissed Katara twice without her consent, one of which after she explicitly said she was confused about her feelings.

(And yes, she is angry in response and Aang calls himself an idiot. But after this, it isn't really addressed. They go on like nothing happened for the rest of the episode. Aang's lamentation comes from screwing things up with her romantically, not that he violated boundaries)

The show never really addressed why what he did was wrong. Not only because he wasn't given consent, but also because both times he isn't thinking about what Katara wants. In both instances, Aang is only thinking about himself and his feelings. This is something that persists through a lot of the third book. And by Sozin's Comet it ultimately ruins any character development he had built up in the second book.

One thing I feel was completely disregarded was the concept of having to let go of Katara in order to master the Avatar State.

For me, the implication wasn't that he had to give up love or happiness necessarily. He was emotionally attached to and reliant on Katara, to the point where she was needed to stop him from hurting everyone around him and himself. This is obviously detrimental to his functionality as the Avatar. And the point of him "letting her go" wasn't that he had to stop caring about her, it was that his emotional dependency on her was stopping him from being the Avatar he needed to be and that was what needed to be fixed. I don't even think it's about the Avatar State itself, it's about being able to keep your emotions and duty as the Avatar separate.

(If you look at Roku, he loved and had a wife. It wasn't his love for her that messed everything up, it was his attachment to Sozin. He wasn't able to let Sozin go and not only did he lose his life for it, the world suffered for it. It's the unhealthy attachments that seem to be detrimental, not love itself)

And Aang realizes that in the catacombs, which is how he's able to easily enter the Avatar State and seemingly control it. He let Katara go.

So then why does it seem like his attachment to Katara is not only stronger, but worse in mannerism? He liked Katara in Books 1 and 2- obviously- but he was never overly jealous of Jet or Haru. He only makes one harmless comment in Book 2 when Sokka suggests Katara kiss Jet.

But suddenly he's insanely jealous of Zuko (to the point of getting frustrated with Katara over it), off the basis of the actions of actors in a clearly misrepresentative play. Katara showed a lot more interest in Jet and Aang was completely fine with it.

(Speaking of EIP, Aang's reaction to being played by a woman was interesting. He wore a flower crown in The Cave of Two Lovers. He wove Katara a flower necklace. He wore Kyoshi's clothes and makeup and made a funny girl voice. He willingly responded to Twinkle Toes and had no issue being called that. And for some reason he's genuinely upset about being played by a woman? Aang in Books 1 and 2 would have laughed and enjoyed the show like Toph did. His aversion to feminity felt vastly out of character)

I guess my point is, why did that change? Why was Aang letting go of Katara suddenly irrelevant to the Avatar State? It felt like him letting go was supposed to be a major part of his development. Why did that stop?

Myself and many others have talked about The Southern Raiders. The jist of my thought process about it is his assumption that he knew what was best for Katara. And the episode doesn't really call out why he was wrong. Maybe sparing Yon Rha was better for Katara, maybe it wasn't (the only one who's allowed to make that choice is her). Pushing forgiveness? That was wrong. But the episode has Zuko say that Aang was right when the course of action Katara took wasn't what Aang suggested.

Katara's lesson here was that killing him wouldn't bring back her mother or mend the pain she was going through and that Yon Rha wasn't worth the effort. That's what she realizes. Not that she needed to embrace forgiveness. How could she ever forgive that? The episode saying Aang was right wasn't true. Yes she forgives Zuko, but that wasn't what Aang was talking about. He was specifically talking about Yon Rha.

And that was wrong. Aang can choose the path of forgiveness, that's fine. That's his choice. But dismissing Katara's trauma in favor of his morals and upbringing wasn't okay.

I know it sounds like this is just bashing Kataang. But it's not simply because I don't like Kataang, in my opinion it brings down Aang's character too, not just Katara's. But let's steer away from Kataang and Katara for a minute.

The one thing that solidifies Aang's character being ruined in Book 3 for me is the fact that he- at the end of the story- does the same thing he did in the beginning.

He runs away when things get hard.

Aang couldn't make the choice between his duty and his morals. So he ran. Maybe it wasn't intentional, but subconsciously he wanted an out. And this is really disappointing when one of the things he was firm about in Book 2 was not running anymore. His character went backwards here and that's not even getting into the real issue in Sozin's Comet.

There's been contention about the Lion Turtle intervention. For many- including myself- it's very deus ex machina to save Aang from having to make a hard decision. And that in turn doesn't reflect kindly on his character.

Everyone- Sokka, Zuko, Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen (who was another Airbender and was raised with the same beliefs he was and would understand which was the whole point of him talking to her)- told him he had to kill Ozai. They all told him it was the only way. And he refused to listen to any of them, rotating through his past lives until he was given the answer he wanted.

And before anyone says that I'm bashing Aang for following his culture, I'm not. Ending the war peacefully, in my opinion, wasn't the problem. In a way, I think it allowed the world to heal properly. However, that doesn't make up for the fact that Aang refused to make a choice and face the consequences of that choice. Instead, he's given an out at the very last second.

Even if he couldn't kill Ozai and someone else had to deliver the final blow, that would have been better than the Lion Turtle showing up and giving him a power no one's ever had before. It would have been a good compromise, he doesn't have to have blood directly on his hands but what needs to be done needs to still get done. It would also show that being the Avatar isn't a burden he has to bear alone. That when things get hard, he can't run away but he can rely on the people closest to him to help him through hard decisions.

All these issues aren't necessarily a problem with Aang. Aang prior to Book 3 didn't have most of these problems. This is a problem with the way he was handled

[rboooks]

The Shadow Nation

Zuko will admit that his time as Fire Lord has been a rough adjustment. Many oppose his rise to power, scream for a more prolonged war, and still support Ozai over the banished prince turned tratior (In their eyes at least).

He has dealt with many assassination attempts throughout his two-year rule. Suki and her warriors were working nonstop to keep him safe, but even they couldn't be everywhere at once. So it came to no surpise that one managed to sneak through every now and then.

Ussually, Zuko is able to fight them off. What many people of the fire nation don't realize is that the stories of his bending and combat being weaker then his sister and father are in the past. He has plentely of front line combant experince, has re-shaped his whole fire bending tenchine and has even trained the Avatar.

Zuko, to this day, is much more deadly with his swords than with his flames. The fact his people consider none-bending as a none-threaten is a sadundervalue of his combat abilitiess. The assasins are always so suprise when they learned just how ready he is for them.

They spent the rest of their days in a prision cell, stweing in rage that the Fire Lord contuines to call back troops, return colines and some may say worst of all, welcome the Mixed Blood into the nation.

Mixed Blood are children who resulted from Fire Nation soldiers letting off some stress in conquered areas with other Nations. They were not seen as equals, for Fire stood above all, and those children were servents at best, dirty secerts at worse.

This was a notion that all four elements shared. They disagreed with intermingling with the wrong element. The Mixed were not welcomed anywhere, less if they shared Fire in their veins. There was some tolerance for Water and Earth mixing but only some and only in trading ports that were far out of sight. (Or the pleasure district where all the Mixed eventually ended up)

It saddens Aang; he claimed a hundred years ago that mixed was common, and it's another thing this wretched war ruined.

Mostly, it angered Zuko. He knew what it was like to be an unwanted child, knew the confusion, the anger, the pain of wondering why his birth was such a sin.

He met some mixed children while on the run from the Fire Nation - he suspected Jet was one of them, but he never dared voice his opinion. Being outed as mixed in some places was as good as a death sentence. Ba Sing Se was one of those places.

He decided that the if Fire Nation would heal everything they have done then they needed to make admends for such children. They needed to help them find love and a home. With the help of his friends, he sent out a world wide notice welcoming any Mixed Blood and promising a life where they did not need to hide who they were.

Zuko, will admit that this eagerness to welcome those children may have blinded him from how lowly his people saw the Mixed. His assassination attempts tripled since herds and herds of badly washed, weary eyes, and tired individuals started arriving in the fire nation.

It, apparently, didn't help that Cheif Hakoda did the same after much encouragement from Katara and Sokka. The Fire Nation for the past three generations grew up with nothing but tales on how they should never be like the rest of the world.

Agreeing to shelter Mixed like the Southern Water Tribe has many calling for a coup.

Zuko knew this. But he would not stop in his effort to right the many wrongs of his bloodline. He expected the assumptions, he expected the barely hidden insults of his advisors, he expected the resentment from some of his more patriotic people.

What he wasn't expecting was his people trying to rid of him using spirits.

Zuko doesn't know much about the spirits or the spirit world. Aang never really talked about his trips there, and Uncle would only warn him to respect the beings at all costs.

He knew enough to follow, honor them, give them prayers, and how to avoid them but nothing else. So he really isn't prepared for his latest assassin to be an old woman with a spirit trapped in a cursed pot.

Apparently, her family had sealed it away years ago, and in exchange for its freedom, the spirit is tasked with ridding the world of Fire Lord Zuko. The old hag waits until Aang, Uncle, and Sokka- who also surprisingly has some encounters with spirits- depart before attempting her plan.

She rushes into the Gand Courtroom, throwing her pot with a loud release spell on her lips. Zuko is in the middle of a peace summit, so his first instinct is to protect the visiting diplomatics, less the other Nations call war again.

The old woman is quickly taken down by the Kypshi warrior, but the deed is already over.

The pot shatters, and out bursts a blue burning flame that forms into a howling wolf. There are chains along the wolf neck, and no amount of thrashing can break them. The wolf looks up, straight into Zuko's eyes, ignoreing the swords and flames of his guards trying to protect him before it bows it head.

I'm sorry. It seems to say. This is the only way.

He leaps at Zukom by passing every attempt to stop it, before it digs it's teeth into the Fire Lord's neck. Everyone is left watching in horror as the young king screams in agony, blue flames licking all over his body as he truns to dust.

The wolf's chains shatter as the last of the ashes that were once the man who brought peace to the world fall. The old woman laughs, even though the wolf spirit now turns it rage filled eyes on her and her kin.

She did what she needed to do. The Fire Nation will rise.

She is unaware that her actions cause the Fire Nation to burn. The wolf spirit was the nation's original spirit of mercy, and her family was the ones responsible for sealing it away on the order of thelate Fire Lord Sozin.

She is unaware her ancestors were all but wiped out once they successfully put the wolf away, for fear that they would turn on the nation.

There is nothing more dangerous than a spirit that no longer holds mercy. The Fire Nation seems to vanish overnight. It breaks Avatar Aang's heart but world prepares for a second war. A war against the spirits.

But that is the fate of this timeline. Fire Lord Zuko would never know the fate of his people as he was sent far away by Mercy to fulfill another destiny.

It's the least the spirit can do for having to take his human life in part of a deal.

Zuko wakes to find the Blue Spirit Mask attached to his face, laying on his back in what could only be Fire Nation colonies within the Earth Kingdom.

His trusted duel swords tied to his back., his utterly black outfit with only hints of blue undertones, and the most startling feature of all, his now unscared skin.

Zuko has no idea what is going onas he studies his face in a river, tracing his smooth skin with a near-hysterical glee. He's never considered himself overly goodlooking, but for some reason his relection is pretty.

No, not pretty, gorgeous. Unnaturally so, as if he traded his humanity for features as perfect as these.

What in the world-

A scream breaks through the air. High pitch, laced with fear and sp obviously young, Zuko is donning his mask breaking into a sprint before he even process what he is doing.

He does not notice the small flickers of ember he leaves in his wake, multiple colors as his dragon flames, nor does he see that the speed he travels is impossible unless he, too, is an Airbender.

When he breaks through the treeline, he finds himself in a ruined camp. A crowd of Earth Kingdom soldiers surrounds two small children, who look no older than ten, while a third, probably twelve, is desperately trying to free himself from a large boulder that seems to have crushed his legs.

There is blood everywhere, and Zuko burns with rage.

"Mixed Blood isn't welcome here," A soldier spits, kicking the thrashing twelve-year-old. The gut-curling screams the poor thing releases don't seem to affect the soldiers besides a few taunting smirks.

"Spirits help us!" One of the smaller kids cries out and a near by soulder kicks her in the stomech.

"The spirits don't answer to the likes of-" His words are lost as blue flames overtake the small opening, placing a barrier between the children and the adults.

Zuko walks through the flames, a strange sense of calmness washing over him. Deep within, he knows that he will protect these children from the world and burn everything in his path that tries to stop him.

"A spirit," One of the soldiers gasps. "Why is a spirit here?!"

"You attacked children." Zuko's voice is his own but not. It sounds like it's coming from a deep cave, as if the echoing flickers in and out like a candle flame. Somehow, it sounds far worse than Aang whenever his past lives speak through him.

It would have chilled him to the bone if he was in the right state of mind.

"You attacked children." He repeats when he does not get the responses he wants from the soldiers. They are not groveling before the children in regret. They are not freeing the boy from his pain. They are not moving.

"These are not children. These are Mixed- abominations! We were only trying to Agggh No, please. Mercy! No no! Please," One of the soldiers starts, but his words are cut off by the blue flames that suddenly grab hold of him, shaping him into chains and dragging him into the shadows that have formed around Zuko.

Shadows that hold loud screaming voices all being for death for that would be a mercy.

His screams echo alongside the voices within Zuko's shadow as he tilts his head to the remaining soliders.

"You attacked children. Leave" He whispers and at once the screams stop, the shadows draw back into his own human shaped one and his flames blow out. The Earth Kingdom soldier remains on the floor, eyes seeingless, and skin blue.

Dead.

The rest of the Soldiers don't linger, rushing to leave the angry spirits sight. Zuko watches them leave from behind his mask wondering where such rage had come from. And why he felt numb to the life he just took. Why he felt so unhuman and not be bothered by the thought.

He reaches up to trace the Blue Spirit Mask, feeling dancing flames along his fignertips.

Well done. Our children are safe. A voice whispers in his mind. It's Zuko, but it's also not. It's something more.

He hears a small whimper that snaps his out of whatever hold the mask has over him snaps. He turns his attention to the three children. The two are trying to push the bolder off of the eldest, their features scream Fire Nation but their eyes and coloring belie their Earth Kingdom.

Zuko stride over, waves a hand and the rock butns to dust harmlessly. The younger children cower and the oldest is too daze with pain to do anything else but sob.

His legs are comepletly smashed.

The cold burning rage returns.

Our children. Heal them. Zuko hears, and he wonders if he's gone mad. It's his own voice, but it belongs to the Blue Spirit.

I can't. I'm not a waterbender. He tells it

We can. We heal with green flames. Heal. It insits

Zuko traces the jaw of his mask before he raises a hand and sure enough green flames lick his fingers. The children start to sob, but he heads their fear no mind as he brings the green fire down on the boy's broken body, willing it to warm, fix heal.

Bones, muscles and skin slowly repair one by one, taking whatever scars once decorated the child's skin and leaving smooth almost too perefect sking behind.

Once done the flames jump onto the other children, fixing the broken bones, the bruises and the many scars other less kind humans have given them.

The three gape up at the spirit who holds out a hand.

"Would you like to come live in my nation?"

"The spirit world?" One whispers wondering if they had not been rescued after all. If that had all pasted to the next world.

The spirit tilts its head before removing its mask and revealing a face so beautiful it could rival the stars and sun. "No, dear child. My nation. My name is Zuko."

A fifth nation is born. The Shadow Nation moves from place to place but can never be taken as the spirits themselves protect the civilians.

Not that Zuko realizes it. He's just trying to get back to the Fire Nation, and if he impulsively stops every time a child is in pain and said child follows behind him like a lost puppy, well, that's no one's business but his own.

The legend of the Blue Spirit, protector of all children, inspires so many before Avatar Aang is found in the Southern Water tribe three years later.

A fire wolf watches from a far and smiles.

[euryvices]

As someone who has never even touched ATLA (anime), and has only ever seen the movie, let me give you a list of reasons why i absolutely adored it :

aang is literally a kid in this one, like he's a child hero and golden boy, and god, doesn't your chest hurt a little from seeing all that youth pain and pain? don't you feel raw?

katara is a total badass. i know some of the anime fans don't like how she's different, but i look up to her so much and she's younger than me canonically. i would die for her. i esp like the fact that she saw jet, liked him, but the second she realised he was kind of a cult-leader she went fuck that shit im out

ZUKO IS A SMALL BABY I WANT TO PET HIM HE'S A SMALL CHILD HE IS MY SMALL CHILD HAVE YOU EVER FELT SO TERRIBLY ABOUT SOMETHING THAT YOU WISH TO EXIST IN A TIME WHERE YOU COULD HELP IT HEAL

sokka being a playboy/summer-fling/taylor swift's james from the love triangle coded kinda guy makes so much sense. in the movie he was obsessed with one (1) girl and that never made sense to me. like okay bby pop off monogamous king??? but i definitely feel that sokka is not the kind of person (esp in this time of his life) to be a one-woman guy. also i want to see him get in trouble for it sorry idk

iroh is zuko's dad and none of y'all can convince me otherwise.

i am so obsessed with jet he's literally babygirl. sebastian ATE TF UP!!!!!!

the complexities of monk gyatso being a friend and sort of a parental figure. how aang brought out his childish side, and how life is so terribly aching and huge with grief. how it's palpable in every room. and how love is an intimate boyfriend to time's cruelty and god why can't we let there be tenderness? this isn't fair.

FLUFFY!!!!! BIG!!!!! DOG!!!!! I LOVE APPA!!!!!! HES SO CUTE!!!!!!

ozai is more despicable that any father ive read about or even my own. i wish him all the most terrible forms of daily death.

absolute brilliant fucking chad actors (sorry for using the f-word and c-word) they're absolute g's. i love every single one of them and their ability to act and their personalities and also THEY HAVE A BIG WATER BISON THAT LOOKS ADORABLE HOW ARE YOU NOT HAPPY (SORRY FOR USING THE B-WORD)??????

Rant being over, I respect y'alls opinions fr. I get that seeing somethings change or become different in a new iteration of your favorite work is tough. But let's remember the amount of effort and time it takes for these actors, sets and even storyboard artists to work on these things!!!! Life is so terribly short, why must you fill your time with dissatisfaction? Find the things you love about the new show!! Find the positives!!!

also azula is so luke castellan coded

[comradekatara]

i love hs modern au and i find it unlikely that any of the gaang would like actually put effort into the clothes they wear except for maybe katara but also i know in my heart that azula only wears designer everything

LITERALLYYY whenever i see modern au fanart of them in like, the latest stylish fits i am just like “they would not fucking wear that!!!!” katara, ty lee, and to a lesser extent, azula (in the sense that she only buys designer) are the only characters who would actually put effort into their outfits, but even the outfits i do see them drawn in are not the CORRECT kinds of outfits wrt what they’d “actually” wear (in my subjective yet correct opinion).

katara would thrift all kinds of different clothes and curate her Lük every day depending on her mood, but she cannot walk thru her front door without first passing a vibe check. and she loves fashion and loves curating various outfits on pinterest and she has a lot of opinions on the latest trends, historical costuming in period pieces, haute couture, makeup, and stuff like that. she also makes her own clothes sometimes (or as gifts for her friends).

ty lee is less knowledgeable about clothing than katara is, but just as fashionable. she really only has one consistent style, which is to look as cute as possible at all times. her goal is always to have you know that she’s the prettiest girl in the room but also that you can’t have her. unlike katara, who mostly considers makeup a fun thing, ty lee refuses to leave the house without makeup, even though she’s so beautiful that her face looks exactly the same without it (except slightly less shiny and glowy and pink).

azula dresses like shiv roy, or lydia tár from tár (bad movie), so it’s not a matter of being more fashionable, but rather looking effortlessly sleek and elegant and clean and, most importantly, rich. but rich in a way that isn’t show-offy and crude, because azula cannot stand people who brag about their wealth in coarse ways that signify that they clearly don’t deserve it. she dresses like a corporate lawyer every day, years before she actually becomes a corporate lawyer. she grows into her threads.

as for the rest of them… aang wears a color block t shirt and shorts basically every day (he even wears shorts in winter sometimes, because he is oddly impervious to cold). so does toph. sometimes she switches it up with a pair of baggy overalls. sometimes she just wears sweatpants outside (which katara finds appalling) because fuck it, who cares? not her.

sokka wears the same basic outfit every single day, and whenever anyone questions him on it (usually katara) he’s just like “these are my clothes…why wouldn’t i wear them every day…” and he’s never once put more thought into it than that (except for the very first time he officially went on a date with yue, at which point he had a minor freakout over whether his favorite sweater made him look sufficiently erudite. katara was just like “yeah i can’t help you there”).

zuko dresses extremely preppy and has no sense of fashion whatsoever, he just wears the exact same type of clothes his mom bought for him as a child until he dies. sometimes he fantasizes about dressing cool and edgy, like to a concert or something, but every time katara offers to help him pick out an outfit he chickens out at the last minute and just ends up wearing the same soft brown sweater he always wears.

suki doesn’t put a lot of effort into her appearance but she puts maximum effort into looking as dykey as possible at all times. she kind of dresses like a lesbian fuckboy. that said, she is constantly trying to give sokka a makeover, because she’s convinced that “if he only dressed sluttier, he’d realize that he’s bisexual.” to which sokka is like, “wouldn’t i ‘realize that i’m bisexual’ if i ever felt attraction towards a guy?” to which suki’s just like “you understand nothing.”

finally, mai has a pretty similar style to azula in the sense that she also dresses in a casually elegant way, but unlike azula, she isn’t really putting effort into cultivating that look, she just happens to like soft yet elegant comfortable clothing, and she happens to have her dad’s credit card handy whenever she needs to purchase new clothes. she wears a lot dark colors, long cardigans, turtlenecks, long flowy pants, scarves, boots, and coats. tank top + long flowy pant is her go-to summer look, and big black peacoat and red scarf is to go-to winter look. but she especially thrives in autumn, her favorite season. not that she puts a lot of effort into curating her wardrobe, but it doesn’t even matter because she just looks effortlessly great anyway.

[stardust948]

do you have any zutara or atla fic recs?

Oh yes! I have plenty!

Fluffy fics

Questions & Answers by @gemgirl28

Kya and Lu Ten learn about the Hundred Years War, and Kya has a lot of questions for her Father about his role in the war. Or The Steambabies learn the origin of Zuko's scar.

A Month of Sundays by ok_boomerang

Fire Lord Zuko is desperately trying, and continuously failing, to successfully propose to Ambassador Katara. She's oblivious; everyone else is entertained. Meanwhile, Zuko is giving weekly Sunday speeches to the Fire Nation in an effort to help his people feel closer to their government. This effort was not supposed to include telling the entire Fire Nation about his plans for a future with Katara before even she knew about them. But it's fine! They promised not to tell!

Even Dragons Need Hugs by EKWolf2020

Zuko is missing his wife while off for business. While she is gone, he can't help but feel prickly and clearly misses having her near him.

Fire Dance by HomeAgainRose

Zuko goes with the gang following the events of Crossroads of Destiny. This is what happens when they're first in the Fire Nation and Aang ends up at the Fire Nation School. Katara wasn't exactly prepared for the feelings that come out.

little rays of starlight by JasmineTeaLatte

Izumi had been a mere babe during her first and only trip to the Southern Water Tribe, back before Druk had even joined their family or the twins were even born. She remembered freezing white snow flurries and huddling in her father’s arms for warmth, but little else...   Or, the Fire Lord and his wife take their infant daughter out on a trip to see the Southern Lights during the crown princess' first visit to the Southern Water Tribe. Takes place in the timeline of "The Phoenix and the Dragon" but can be read as a standalone.

vitamin z by thetasteoflies

Katara has a cold and there's only one person in the world she wants to see.

Angst/More Mature Fics

Incendiary by Anon

Bizarrely, the first thing Katara felt was a wave of relief. Zuko. Not Ozai. They just wanted her to marry Prince Zuko. And then the horror of it washed over her, cold and harsh and insistent; an iron grip on her heart.

Past the World's Horizon by Mauve_Avenger / @the-badger-mole

When Katara finds herself with an unwanted secret admirer, she and Zuko end up on a frightening adventure.

The Scourge of the Mo Ce Sea by ajstyling

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and with one look at her face he understood the truth of her words. She would kill him and not lose a minute of sleep.

i'm still here by owedbetter

"You see me."

And somehow, that makes all the difference.

thicker than water by akaiiko

Zuko tries to pick up the pieces of Katara.

AUs/Slice of Life fics

The Worst Prisoner series by @emletish-fish

What if Sokka was there during the events of the Blue Spirit? What if he accidentally kidnapped Zuko? It's not a poor life choice of it's an accodent, right?

The Prince of the Fire Nation by HarrisonHolmes2014

Zuko was raised in the Fire Nation royal family alongside his sister Azula. He has never known any life outside the palace, his family, or his homeland. But when two slaves claim that he is their brother, Zuko must face a destiny he never asked for.

The Fire and the Flood by @badlucksav

Katara has lived in the same town with the same people her whole life, and since the death of her mother, she feels like her life has been on hold. But then she meets Zuko, an intriguing stranger, and everything changes.

what you want is what i want by zelzenik

Katara isn't alone. She has Bumi and Kya. The three of them are family.

Zuko isn't alone either. He has Izumi. The two of them are family.

But maybe... just maybe, they can all be family together.

It Runs In The Family by Anon

Katara and Zuko were a lot of things. War heroes. Master benders. Fire Lord and Fire Lady. Their favorite occupation? Parents. They'd managed to find each other again and had children, who are part of a brand new world and mixed nations family. While isn't exactly easy, as shown through a repeating series parent teacher conferences.

Or basically, steambaby shenanigans because they have Sokka as their uncle and how could they not be wreaking havoc?

Shameless Self Plugs

They have stolen the heart inside you; but this does not define you series

At a young age, Katara is taken to the Fire Nation as the first candidate in an experiment to assimilate the 'savages' instead of wiping them out. She grows up alongside the Royal Family before eventually escaping. Years later, an oddly familiar Fire Nation solider shows up at her village looking for the Avatar.

Kintsugi series

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with gold. It treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise. Zuko is tortured by Ozai after helping Katara and Aang escape Ba Sing Se.

Head Above Water

While running away from home after the Agni Kai, Zuko befriends a curious mermaid. He later learns how protective merfolk are.

Dead Hearts

Ozai is a mass serial killer who forces Zuko to lure his victims to him. It’s the same drill for as long as Zuko could remember until his father sets eyes on the new girl who just moved from the Southern Water Tribe.

Let beauty come out of ashes

Zuko is done with Spirit tales. Everyone knew worthless nobodies like him didn’t receive happy endings. He wasn’t even allowed to go to the ball to see his love, a veiled waterbender he met in the woods, in person. Zuko lost all hope until a mysterious dragon helped him with a bit of magic.

Always With Me

While moving away from the only home she’d ever known, Katara finds herself spirited away to a strange in between realm. There, she struggles to ink out a living with the help of a mysterious masked boy who promised to get her home.

Are There Still Beautiful Things?

Katara befriends a lonely boy and they spend the summer together until he suddenly moves away. She doesn't learn the dark truth about why he left until years later.

[soopersara]

Union

Zutara Week 2023: Day 3

Read it on AO3 | @zutaraweek

Everyone seems to know that Zuko and Katara plan to get married someday. The only question left is when they'll finally get around to it.

For what feels like the dozenth time in a row, Zuko checks his own pocket. In his thick polar leopard fur parka, even a set of solid gold hair beads and combs is small enough, light enough to feel insubstantial. Still, he is aware of its presence. Almost too aware of it at times.

“I’m surprised the two of you haven’t gotten this all settled before now.” There is a familiar look in Hakoda’s eyes, the same one that Uncle gives him every time the subject of marriage comes up. A look of curiosity and impatience that usually comes just before another casual inquiry about when Zuko plans to marry Katara. But Hakoda isn’t quite as pushy as Uncle. “I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d decided to elope before you made it back to the South Pole.”

Zuko offers a sheepish shrug. “Apparently that’s not the proper way to do things. I’ve thought about it every day for months now, and I doubt Katara would have minded, but I don’t need to make her life any more difficult by proposing the wrong way.”

“And what about my life?” Kanna thumps her walking stick against the floor. “I’m not getting any younger here. If you two don’t hurry up, I’ll never get to meet my great-grandchildren.”

Hakoda frowns. “Mother.”

“It’s a fact of life, dear. We can’t all be King Bumi and live as many centuries as we please.”

“I’m going to ask her,” Zuko says. “Before we go north again, I swear.” His pulse quickens at the sound of his own admission, and he checks his pocket for reassurance. The engagement gift itself is as close to perfect as he can ever hope, but he’s less sure about his ability to actually propose. “I’m not sure about kids yet, but you’ll at least know if she wants to marry me before we leave.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that part.” Kanna waves a knobby hand at him. “I’ve known my granddaughter long enough to know the look she gets in her eyes when she’s made up her mind. She’s decided what she’s going to say. And frankly, I don’t think she would have dragged you all the way down here if it was no.”

Though Zuko’s heart still races, he manages a smile before Katara bursts into the house, cheeks flushed with cold, and hair glistening with ice crystals at its tips.

“There you are,” Kanna says. “We were just talking about you, weren’t we, boys?”

Zuko feels his face flush, and Katara looks from him to Kanna and back again. “Well, that’s always reassuring. Thanks, Gran-Gran.” Before there can be any further response, Katara grabs his hand and pulls back toward the door again. “I think we’re going to leave before you fill my boyfriend’s head with any more embarrassing stories.”

He makes no effort to resist, and before he knows it, Katara has led him out into the snow and halfway down the street toward the burgeoning waterbending academy.

“So how bad is it?” she asks, looping her mittened hands around his arm. “Did they tell you about the time when I froze all my dad’s underwear to the side of the council hut because he wouldn’t let me keep an otter penguin in our tent?”

His eyebrow creeps ever so slightly upward. “You did?”

“Okay, I’m going to take that as a no, and also as a sign that I need to stop giving away my secrets.” Still walking, she buries her face in his arm. “Stop me the next time I try to embarrass myself, okay?”

A snort bursts out of him. “I would, but I know for a fact that Uncle tells you so much worse about me every chance he gets. Even Sokka is too busy to tell me any embarrassing stories about you most of the time.”

“I’d really like to keep it that way.” They make it only a step or two farther before her mood seems to lighten again, and she pulls just far enough back to steer him around a corner. “Maybe you can come with me to watch waterbending lessons tomorrow instead of spending the whole morning alone with Dad and Gran-Gran.”

He certainly isn’t opposed to the idea. Any excuse to spend more time with her is always welcome, even if all that entails is sitting quiet at the sidelines while Katara guides a group of noisy, energetic children through their waterbending forms.

He agrees, and as Katara leads him past the bending academy, pointing out all the practice space and sparring areas, he checks his pocket one more time. The combs and beads still rest there, exactly where they should be, and Zuko lets out a long, slow breath. Two opposing impulses battle inside his chest—on the one hand, he’s been waiting to find the right moment, the perfect moment for weeks now. If she’s going to remember this for the rest of their lives, the least he can do is propose to her properly.

But on the other hand, his patience with himself is running thin, and the brilliant warmth of her enthusiasm strains his resolve to its breaking point. If he doesn’t ask her soon, he might well lose his mind.

So when their winding path takes them to the far side of the village, he can hardly bring himself to stop alongside her.

“Oh, spirits, we should probably go back before you freeze out here.”

“What?” Though his face tingles a bit when a breeze passes by, though he’s certain that his cheeks are crimson from the chill, he doesn’t feel cold. Not enough to turn back, at least. “No, I’m fine. It isn’t that cold.”

Katara raises an eyebrow.

“It isn’t,” he insists. “I was just—thinking.”

“About what?”

Under the intensity of her gaze, his mouth goes dry, and it takes all his will to keep from checking his pocket again. Instead, he nods toward the path leading out of the village. “I was thinking that there’s probably a great view from the hill over there. Especially around sunset.”

Her lips twitch into a crooked smile, and the grip on his hand tightens ever so slightly. “You do realize that the sun isn’t really going to set for a few more days, right? If you want to wait out there until sunset, you really will freeze.”

“In that case, I guess I can settle for half an hour. But I think you’re underestimating my ability to keep myself warm.”

“I could never. You’re the one who keeps my feet warm every night.” She bumps him lightly with her hip before starting up the path. “But you might be underestimating the South Pole’s wind.”

It’s all that Zuko can do to keep his composure as they make their way up the sloping path. But he waits, and when they reach the crest of the hill, Katara stretches before turning a brilliant smile back on him.

“Okay, I’ll admit it. Freezing or not, this view is worth it.”

Though Zuko has trouble focusing on the landscape, he can’t help but agree with her. The afternoon sun paints shining bronze streaks through her hair, and her eyes shine as bright as he’s ever seen them before.

He grasps her hand before she can go any further. “Katara—I wanted to ask you something.” His heart sits in the back of his throat. Despite her family’s confidence, despite his own suspicion that Katara will say yes, he can’t seem to push the worry away.

“Oh?” She looks up, and her gaze pierces him.

Silently, he thanks the spirits that it’s cold enough to keep his mittens on so that Katara won’t know how much his palms are sweating. He fumbles in his pocket until at last his fingers close around the little box of combs and beads. “Being with you has been one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. Every day that we’re together, you mean more to me, and now—” He succeeds in extracting the box from his pocket and fumbles to turn it right side up.

Before he can finish, Katara lets out a squeak of surprised excitement and claps her hands to her mouth. “Yes. Yes, of course I will.”

Zuko blinks, and a surprising amount of tension leaves his chest and shoulders all at once. “You—you realize I haven’t finished the question yet. Right?”

“Oh! Right, I knew that.” She makes an apparent effort at bringing her expression back under control, then motions for him to continue. “Go on.”

Despite his best effort at solemnity, a smile breaks across his face. “I’m not sure I can remember what I wanted to say anymore. I swear I had this all planned out yesterday.” Looking down, he clears his throat and slides open the richly engraved lid so that she can see the beads and the combs lying in neat rows inside their case. “But I love you, Katara. And even if I can’t remember the right words, I would be honored if you would marry me.”

This time, Katara isn’t content to merely smile at him. This time, she springs forward and throws her arms around his neck. “Yes. Of course I’ll marry you.”

Zuko laughs, and as his arms close tight around her waist, the world seems to slow.

Right now, with Katara in his arms and the future opening up around them, all the urgency in the world is gone.

[linnoya-writes]

Aang actually *was* a Terrible Dad (and we should stop making excuses for him).

One thing I cannot get over is how people say that Aang actually wasn't that terrible of a father, and I keep hearing the same excuses to his behavior: he didn't grow up with conventional parents, he had to focus on bringing back his air-bending culture, Katara was already a natural parent and was totally okay being the housewife/mom who let Aang off the hook with most of the serious parenting duties... ugh....

Anyway, I have three points to give:

1) Aang may not have grown up with conventional family structure, but he certainly knew enough about the world (being a nomad his whole life pre-war) to understand what a healthy family dynamic looked like. He knew enough about Toph's dad and Zuko's dad to understand what a poor father figure looked like. Aang also spent time with Hakoda, in ATLA season 3, to see the characteristics of a good father -- and this doesn't even include the time he spent traveling with Sokka/Katara alone and noticing how their dad's absence was affecting them. I put a lot of emphasis on Katara, here, because she makes it very clear in Season 3 that her father leaving the family was devastating... and this girl would want a partner who understood those feelings and do absolutely everything to keep the family together. It's what she did throughout the entirety of ATLA-- Katara was the glue that kept everyone close -- and you would think Aang would pick up on those cues, rather than let history repeat itself after he had his family with Katara. Imagine how awful it must've been for Katara, watching the man she married ultimately go off with their air-bending son on these cultural excursions, and not even consider that their two other kids might want to learn about air bending culture anyway. They're a bi-cultural family, after all, right? Wouldn't that have been a prime example for the new world, showing a blended family being together and not separate? Just let that sink in for a moment.

2) Many people say that any misunderstood family dynamics between Kya, Bumi and Tenzin came to a peaceful conclusion in LOK season 2 with a happy family portrait. Here's the thing-- a posed, smiling family portrait doesn't necessarily indicate a healthy family unit. I'm also making note of LOK Season 3, when Bumi admits that he finally feels more connected to their father after he magically gets Airbending, and also that scene when Kya/Bumi arrive to the Northern Air Temple and the acolytes are shocked to hear that Avatar Aang had other children besides Tenzin. I mean... how much effort would it take, exactly, for Aang to just mention to the temple monks and acolytes that he had two other kids? Was he embarrassed to tell them they weren't air benders? Was he ashamed? In any case, he was the Avatar and he should've demonstrated pride for the children he had regardless of their bending ability or lack their-of. It goes without saying that, while Aang did grow up differently and had many priorities being the Avatar and the Last Airbender... he still made some conscious choices about how little of a "family man" he wanted to be. Aang clearly favored the air-bending life and didn't process that he was also raising a family that was part WaterTribe (perhaps because many of their customs clashed with his air-bending way of life... but that's another conversation.)

3) Yes, Bryke are notorious for writing examples of poor father figures (Ozai/Unalaq/BeiFong/Yakone/Hiroshi) and I'm also here to tell you that they're known for writing women who lose agency and turn devoted-doting-domestic-docile once they get with their man. Pema from LOK is a good example-- all we know about her is she literally gave her life to be an air-acolyte and carry Tenzin's children (the only backstory we get is Pema secretly pined for Tenzin until it became too much and she had to say something), and be the good housewife and mother to those air bending kids. We know nothing about this woman's individual wants or needs outside of motherhood. Another example is the backstory of Yakone and his unnamed wife who-- after giving this man two sons, completely disappears from the narrative and is not aware Yakone is abusing his kids. And she's still exists, because Amon refuses to go with Noatak so as to not abandon their mom. Their mother was so unnecessary as a character after she had the kids, she became this oblivious/silent character in the background who let her own kids get abused. Another example is Unalaq's wife-- again, about a father using his two kids like his henchmen and the mother isn't even in the picture. We know she exists because after Unalaq gets destroyed... Esna turns to Desca and says "what're we gonna tell Mother?"  It may have been written as a subtle joke... but the underlying sentiment is still there.

I'd say my favorite example is the fate of Fire Lady Ursa-- a woman once determined to protect her children that she was willing to commit murder and treason -- ends up choosing to forget those same children and instead wipes all her memories of them entirely to start a quiet domestic life with her childhood sweetheart, a man who very much knows the life Ursa left behind and has the power to decide what truths he wants to tell her about the world and live like there wasn't even a bloody war happening. (Don't even get me started on how The Search disappointed me. Oy).

Perhaps Aang and Katara -- even without intent -- might have fallen into that formulaic pattern when Bryke wrote out the first two seasons of LOK, because that was during the time The Promise, The Search and The Rift comics got published, and Katara's character was definitely becoming that unquestionably-loyal/no fuss/devoted girlfriend to Aang where she would go with everything he decided and sadly sit in a corner while Aang got all the praise and attention and never considering her feelings. Bryke picked up on these mistakes, however, because in the later comics like North & South and Imbalance, you can see them giving Katara some leadership moments (particularly when Aang isn't around) and Aang more of a mature, considerate approach with Katara, saying things like "I'm sorry I just left you to fight alone like that!" and "You're always asking me if I'm okay. Now it's my turn-- are you okay?"  The effort was definitely there to make Aang and Katara look somewhat more compatible than they let on. But things didn't really seem that promising in Legend of Korra... as Katara's character arc gets breadcrumbs of acknowledgement regarding what she did for the world outside of Aang's narrative.

It seems like Katara's badass individual characteristics were written second only to whatever she needed to be for Aang, including being the primary parent to his non-airbender kids while he focused on the air-bending culture.

In any case-- I'm almost certain Bryke will be bending over backwards to "fix" all of these flawed elements of Kataang and Aang as a father figure in the upcoming animated feature films, because if there's anything Bryke likes to do... it is "tell" us that Aang was a great guy and there absolutely was no other better person for Katara.

[timur-pannonicus]

Zuko and Azula had no reference for what a normal or healthy sibling relationship is like

To address the always present argument about whether their relationship was abusive and who abused who. People point out that being mean and competitive, sometimes to the point of being hurtful, is not unusual for siblings.

I agree. But my point here is that Zuko and Azula don't know that.

Neither is either of them in their early to mid adulthood where the majority of people who had siblings they never got along with start understanding and forgiving.

Azula and Zuko most likely think that their rivalry is NOT a common thing. They lack examples from others in their lives.

I know bringing up the comics is justifiably frowned upon but in the Search, Zuko is absolutely bewildered by Sokka's and Katara's behavior towards each other, which was nothing more than fun bickering. But let's look what can be concluded or assumed from the show.

Iroh and Ozai were both well into adulthood when Zuko and Azula were born and they sadly did not reconcile their differences. They most likely behaved very icy to one another but the demands of court probably required them to act in a very civil and respectful seeming way. In Zuko Alone we can conclude Ozai didn't say anything nice, warm or funny about Iroh to Azula as seen by her attitude to her uncle and Iroh likely didn't tell any fun anecdotes either due to either being away at war or because he didn't want to risk a fight with his brother.

Ursa might have had siblings and cousins but nothing in the show confirms that and the comics clearly say she did not.

Mai didn't get a brother until she was 14.

Ty Lee has six sisters but it's quite possible that each of them had a "pair" in their matched set and Ty Lee was the only one left out, made worse by the fact that her parents seemed to barely acknowledge her. It's possible that only her friendship with Azula made her stand out at all, which likely contributed to her desire for uniqueness and independence too. In any case she likely didn't have much interaction with her biological sisters.

There seems to have been no other kids in the palace with whom Azula and Zuko could interact, limiting their scope of experience and insight.

Zuko not realizing that little siblings tend to be annoying and mean and do pranks has been discussed in detail by others and I don't think I have to add anything.

But, AZULA did not realize some things about older siblings either. They can be entitled, patronizing, attention hogging, dismissive, rude and even cold. Countless older siblings have told the younger ones that they were adopted or found in the trash or said and done even worse things.

One way to simplify the rivalry between Zuko and Azula is to say each was jealous of the attention the other was receiving from a parent.

However, sadly for them their parent's relationship was strained either from the start or after a while, to put it lightly.

Add the fact that they were sheltered and secluded royalty and what they learned about what siblings should be like most likely comes from official ceremonies and rituals, state approved stories and plays, idealized versions that don't correspond with reality.

Plus due to the Fire Nation being a blend of East Asian cultures it's likely they have some form of Confucian ethics. According to those the younger sibling owes obedience to the older and the older is bound to protect the younger. I think it's not too much of a stretch to believe both Zuko and Azula felt wronged in that regard by the other but both were too stubborn to give.

I can't blame Zuko too much for not realizing Azula was trying to help him a few times. Boy was brought up to believe that little sisters SHOULD be very kind, nice and demure. Even if he had acknowledged her efforts he'd still be inwardly pushed to believe she was doing it wrong.

So yeah, both could use a very long life changing field trip with Katara and Sokka, who were both allowed to develop their relationship naturally.

I think I've said enough for now. This is how I see things AT THE TIME OF WRITING.

I tried, really tried to be as fair to Zuko as possible and not harp the poor Azula harp. But if anyone wants to scream at me and be rude over my obviously wrong opinion on either fire sibling, don't expect a response from me.

[unfriedough]

‘Positive!’- Zuko x female!reader

Masterlist <3

An: HIYA! Okay, I wasn’t planning on writing but idk. Wanted to. ALSO ANYONE WANNA RECOMMEND ZUKO FICS TO ME?? I’D BE SO HAPPY PLEASE <33 

Thank you for the requests btw!! This was super fun to write, and hopefully I'll write the rest soon!! <33

Summary:

@heejin1sm said:

 “waterbender fire lady (maybe related to sokka and katara) finds out she's preggo and she kind of freaks out and is scared that if the baby is a waterbender then the people of the fn will not accept them and attack the child. zuko comforts and helps reader.”

P.s: I didn’t include yn being sokka/katara’s sister as that kinda limits how Yn could look.

Warnings: pregnancy, established relationship, panicking, crying, zuko being insecure (he’s just like that).

Two lines. Your eyes skimmed over the maternity test for what felt like the 100th time, disbelief setting in as the clock made no effort to slow the ticking. Your mind ran laps, unable to process the newly-found information. It was as if every voice in your head abandoned their assigned post, running wildly across the expanse of your throbbing head. 2 Lines sat pretty on the cheap screen of a pregnancy test you picked up in secret. It’s not that you didn’t want Zuko to know, you didn’t want to give him false hope. However, things took a turn when you realised your baby could be a water bender, and you crossed your fingers - praying it would be a single line.

“One,” you pointed shakely, “two,” a choked sob escaping your closing throat.

As if testing your ability to count mentally, truly, you must’ve looked like a joke to any spirits watching. Actually, they were probably sharing popcorn and a good laugh by now. You slid down onto the floors, back against the sink cabinet. You flashed back to the cruelty of the first few months of being a royal. People would give you the dirtiest looks unbeknownst to your busy husband. You tried to ‘suck it up’, but that made it worse. Not having anyone to talk to made you feel homesick - you’d jump at the opportunity to go back to the water tribes if it weren’t for the excessive bullying that would occur when you got back. A whiny voice pulled you out of your wide-eyed state, you would have laughed if it weren’t for the circumstances.

“You almost done? I’m gonna pee myself!” Sokka screamed from outside, his bladder on the verge of exploding. He had been standing there for like 30 minutes.

Sighing shakily, you wiped your eyes with the intricate sleeve of your red silk dress, the ornate golden accents dulling with the liquid. You stood and leaned against the sink for support, your hand clutching your stomach tightly. Your eyes were puffy, cold water ought to do the trick. Leaning over the counter, you allowed yourself to enjoy the feeling of the crisp coolness. Three more frantic knocks on the door, followed by the low chuckle of no one other than your husband. Zuko laughed at Sokka’s whimpering and whining state, 

“There’s like a million other bathrooms you know,”

“Yeah I only trust this one!”

“You trust the bathroom?”

“You don’t?”

You decided to take your leave then, bursting the door open and swiftly walking away, the watertribe boy speeding into the restroom.

Zuko followed you, a stapled batch of papers in his large hands, and a handsome smile on his face. Suki called it the resting smile, no matter what he was doing or saying, if you were in the vicinity, a smile graced his features. It was truly a sight to behold. His hair was in a loose top knot, showcasing the amount of effort he puts into his job. The firelord was a hard working man, and a loving husband, you can only hope he’ll be a present father too. 

‘Why now?’ tears pricked your eyes at that last thought.

“Hey yn, I was wondering if-”

“Not now hon,”

The firelord furrowed his brows, pausing his walk, “It’s really important,”

He sped up to your pace, before gently taking a hold of your shoulder. You whipped your head around, his face mere inches away from yours. He studied your face, the wrinkle in between his brows growing more prominent. The confusion on Zuko’s face twisted into an expression of pure concern.

“What’s wrong, love?”

You tried to keep your composure, but he made it so difficult. Zuko stared expectantly, his mouth slightly agape. You breathed deeper than before, your throat feeling hoarse. Alternatively, Zuko began to lose his patience - worry quickening his breath.

“Did,” a pause followed, “Did I do something?”

The firelord pouted as he watched you intently, did he forget your birthday? No, that wasn’t today. An anniversary? Nope, still got a month. What did he forget? Was it really that important? You probably hate him now. You deserve someone a million times better. Atleast, that's what he thought.

Then the waterworks started, your husband frantically examining you. You pushed yourself away from him and speed-walked to the nearest room, attempting to shut the door, only for him to stop it with his foot.

“Yn.”  To anyone, he would seem angry, assertive, scary even. To you, he was just a teenager afraid of rejection. “Can we please talk?”

You sighed, pulling the door back to allow him in. Quietly, he shut the door behind him and walked to where you stood - near the window.

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

“I think I forgot something but I don’t know what and I-”

You pecked him on the lips gently, “You didn’t forget anything,”

Sniffling, you pushed your hand into your pocket, and pulled out the pregnancy test.

Zuko’s eyes locked with yours as he gently held it. His eyes traced back and forth. Two lines.

“You’re pregnant.” he said, disbelief vident in his tone.

Zuko swallowed thickly, staring at your sad face, “Isn’t this good news?”

“I’m scared, Zuko.”

Your husband brought his lips to your head, landing a reaffirming kiss. You scrunched your nose as you sniffled again, wiping your wet cheeks.

“Do you wanna keep them?” a hand ran through his messy hair, pin long abandoned on the carpeted floors.

You nodded, looking into his eyes. A great big grin adorned on his face, as he pulled you tighter to him, tears pricking his eyes. You giggled as he peppered kisses on your face, tears spilling from his eyes. 

“We’re gonna be parents,” he cheered, you couldn’t help but give him a peck on the cheek - god he was adorable.

He wiped your tears, smile fading ever so slightly “Why were you upset though?” it seemed as if he snapped back to reality.

You sighed, pulling his hand towards the bed, sitting him down. Zuko rubbed his thigh nervously.

“I’m scared they’re gonna be a waterbender.”

The firebender furrowed his brows, before smirking slightly.

“Why? They’d just be more like their mom.” he joked playfully, pinching your side, causing you to squirm.

“That’s not why,” you said through a giggle, taking a pause before continuing “I’m scared the people won’t accept them.”

Zuko’s face seemed upset, “They accepted you, no?”

“Yeah but after how long, darling?”

He clenched his jaw, pulling you closer to him.

“I don’t want to sabotage a kid’s life you know,” you laid your hand on your stomach.

“You- we won’t. The world knows how amazing of a ruler you are, and even if the baby was a waterbender - they’ll be respected and loved. I’m positive.” he tilted your chin to meet his eyes.

“I suppose you’re right,” a kiss landed on your lips.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” he said, smugly, earning a nudge on the shoulder.

“Shut up.”

You paused.

“But what if, what if they attacked our baby?”

The gears seemed to turn in the firebenders head, “Then we’ll get them bodyguards! I know a few kyoshi warriors that won’t mind.”

You grinned, safety finally beginning to welcome itself into your body.

“Okay. I guess we’re gonna be parents.”

The firelord’s eyes sparkled as he hugged you so tight you could barely breath, “I love you, so so much,”

“I love you more, stupid.”

Zuko chuckled, wiping his tear filled eyes. He leaned closer to your lap, and laid his head against your thigh. “I’m gonna be a dad!” a muffled voice claimed, earning a giggle from you.

You ran your fingers through his hair, he really was just a massive dork. 

An: This feels rushed but whatever i guess. As always, hope you enjoyed reading, SEE YA! <3

[seyaryminamoto]

I apologise if this question may lead to a massive spoiler, but I wish to know the answer all the same; What do you think will be the dynamic between Azula and Ursa in the future of this fic? I believe that they may reconcile, but will Azula accept the former princess in her new family? What may be the dynamic between the two? Will Sokka be the glue in their relationship? All I would like to know in my rambling is how Ursa's and Azula's relationship may develop into the future.

Ooookay, that answer goes under the break 🤣 read at your own risk, people!

God I kinda don't wanna talk too much because so many Ursa-related things have been some of my best kept secrets throughout Gladiator's process... but I also wanna talk so much about it because I'm very hyped over this and I love to see people who are also interested in how this will play out!

So... let's get cracking:

What will their dynamic be? Azula and Ursa's dynamic will start tense, for sure. Even when neither of them actively wants to antagonize the other, the years of trouble between them, the unresolved issues, are still very much present between them. Ursa is now much more aware of the awful effect she had on her daughter during her younger years, she has been punished harshly for it by the swamp, which absolutely drove home the point that she was already starting to understand, at the time when she left the Fire Nation: she wasn't the best mother she could have been to her daughter. Azula, on the other hand, has been through soooooooo much that her early issues with Ursa, while not meaningless because they never could be, certainly appear a lot less awful now that she can see them from a distance, so to speak. Therefore, initial tension, cordiality, and then... ... And then they'll find one point in common. The one thing only the two of them would EVER understand. One thing that basically bonds them in ways that they can't bond with anyone else. Ursa can't have that dynamic with Zuko. Azula could never have it with anyone else either. It's very specifically something very important for them, so important that these two would be the ONLY people who would ever understand each other when it comes to this... And that basically breaks the dam and changes things for the better :'D they become a lot more open with each other, their relationship begins to heal, and things get a lot better quite quickly for their restored parent-child relationship. While obviously it's too late to make things perfect, they absolutely can them better, and both Ursa and Azula will be ready to make those efforts for each other.

Will Azula accept Ursa in her family? As you may guess after reading the previous answer? Yes, haha. Azula will work towards fixing one very serious problem Ursa needs solving, and after that, Ursa's basically going to be like Persephone and spend half a year with one of her hids and half the year with the other one. At least, that's my current plan for her future 😂

Will Sokka be the glue in their relationship? ... Actually? No 🤣 someone else will be the glue, so to speak, but Sokka certainly will help and he will be the one who tells Azula what's up with her mother. He'll give her the chance to decide what she wants to do, when to meet her, and how to manage the whole situation. Of course, he will tell her everything he's learned from Ursa and how affected she has been by the things she's been through, but all in all, he steps back and allows them to build their bond themselves rather than being their facilitator. But he will definitely help, and Ursa will be stoked to see those two together once she finally does... though Azula, of course, will be very awkward about it because it's Azula. Poor girl won't know how to handle having a supportive mother in some regards, and if Ursa spots any PDA, Azula will most likely be embarrassed to death by it... but a little embarrassment over this is definitely a step-up compared to the awful things she's had to deal with as of late :'D so I'm sure Azula will be very happy to trade her current problems with: "I can't kiss you in front of my MOM that's awkward" "Azula we're literally forty years old..." "Your point???"

Soooo... as you can see, it will develop. Quite a bit. It will become healthier than it has ever been. No doubt the scars can't be erased completely, but Azula can gain a better understanding of her mother and her circumstances, just as much as Ursa has come to accept that she absolutely fucked up in many regards and could have/should have done better for her daughter.

Hope that's a good answer without being... too spoilery 😂

[oneatlatime]

Imprisoned

The opening shot's background has to be a watercolour.

I don't see Katara looking for food. If she's going to complain, she can find her own dinner.

This looks comfy.

Sokka two for two so far: only one getting food, only one with any common sense. Sokka has mom friend vibes here.

I see my prediction about Katara going nuts upon meeting a teenage boy who isn't her brother is about to come true.

Looks like we're back up to the standard of beauty set by the Southern Air Temple. It's all so colourful.

"Look at how they're dressed." This brings up a point I've been thinking about: Aang & company know that the fire nation is after them. Why aren't they making even a token effort at disguise? They could even wear the same styles, just in brown or green.

Ah yes, natural.

"how can you say that?" Katara - you've known these people like five minutes and narrowly avoided getting them into trouble once already. Maybe don't go around judging them like you know their whole life story? Also that comparison will mean absolutely nothing to the earthbender's mom. What does she know about your relationship to your waterbending?

Katara is painfully out of character here: "What can the fire nation do to you that they haven't done already?" Would Katara, who has already mentioned multiple times that the fire nation straight up killed her own mother, believe that the Fire Nation would go no farther than a protection racket?

Kudos to the mom for giving them shelter for the night.

Every shot in this episode so far is very pretty. I don't want this post to devolve into 75 screenshots so just imagine I'm going 'ooh pretty' a lot.

And Katara mentions her mother again! See, she's very aware of what the fire nation does.

"It's not enough, is it?" Raw line. And a good point.

At what time of day is this episode happening? The atmosphere seems unnaturally yellow. Maybe it's mining dust in the air?

Not good deed goes unpunished. This won't come back to bite them at all.

Sokka right again on the need to leave asap. Seriously, I do not envy him the impossible task of herding a flighty 12 year old (who also tops the fire nation's most wanted list) and a stubborn-just-because younger sister all the way across the world. Like herding cats, if cats also had the ability to blow you across town and drown you on dry land.

Now it's night time. Ok, must have been some funky dusk lighting.

Nice bait and switch with the soldiers coming to the door. It fooled me.

Sucking water out of the pump like that seems like a great way to lose the prime.

Katara didn't quite force him. But I don't think he would have done it if Katara hadn't been there to talk him into it. I still think it's a little bit her fault, but it wasn't all her fault. Kudos once again to the mom for not blowing up at Aang & friends. They've been in town maybe 12 hours and her son, who has managed to evade capture as an earthbender for - what, five years? - gets immediately arrested.

Katara's plan is to get herself arrested by the same people who, as she intimately knows, have the ability to kill people's moms. You know what, I was right. Katara just goes out of her mind around teenage boys.

Sokka why are you on board with this? They also killed your mom. You know that's a thing they can do. You have no guarantee that these fire nation soldiers are as bad at capturing the Avatar as Zuko is. You saw yesterday that these soldiers are willing to burn down buildings for pocket change, what do you think they'll do to your hotheaded sister who runs her mouth at the slightest injustice?

Avatar universe version of the squirrel joke from Up.

Ok this is obviously an episode with a tone switch in the middle. From super-serious bonding over shared trauma to gooftastic misadventure. Kind of tonal whiplash. I guess I should stop trying to take this episode seriously from this point on.

Poor Sokka. He is surrounded by idiots.

I think Aang's ears are the biggest. Of the humans.

Once again guys, can you not throw something beige on? You're on a stealth mission.

Are the things on the left and right ship hulls under construction? Is the fire nation fleet built by prisoners of war?

Why would anyone think that Katara knows what she's doing? Although I will say that there's no better place to be a waterbender.

So it is a ship yard. Fleet built by prison labour. Huh.

What is up with this warden?

I hereby rescind all previous objections to characters' lack of disguises. This guy is less than a foot away from a water tribe necklace being worn by someone whose sleeves are obviously blue and he spots nothing. Maybe fire nation people are colour blind? Sartorially inept?

Bending racism. Bendism? I'm actually surprised that this is the first time it's really come up. Once I understood the magic system I figured the superiority/inferiority of the elements would be a big plot point.

This show has consistently gorgeous skies.

Was that really the only way to find them? They couldn't have asked around? The prisoners and prison staff need food and supplies. Those have to come from somewhere, so someone knows. I'm putting too much thought into this again.

I think I know the father's voice actor. He sounds familiar.

Katara once again back on her "how can you say that?" bullshit. Judgy much.

Katara put a sock in it! You just announced your very non-earth kindgom origins to the entire rig. And come to the attention of the warden. She has a death wish. How is Sokka going to keep her alive all the way to the north pole?

I like this! I didn't work!

And she's back to being an idiot. Obviously she's going to end up freeing them in the end, because this is a kids' cartoon and they don't get unhappy endings as a rule, but an ending that affirms Katara's bleeding heart tendencies is only going to make things worse in the long run. Because next time she goes on a justice spree and does something even stupider she'll be over confident due to her success here.

You want a way to help them? Defeat the fire nation.

Sokka sure puts up with a lot.

It's a good thing that the Snidely Whiplash division of the fire nation forces is in charge of this particular rig, rather than the mom-killing division.

The humour is not landing with me in this episode.

What was Katara's plan for freeing the prisoners if Sokka wasn't there to come up with the whole plan? Just hope really hard?

The father would be right, if they didn't have the Deus ex avatar with them.

Straight facts from the warden here. If he hadn't kept running his mouth I bet not even the not-yet-broken-in-spirit guy would have acted. But he did keep talking, and so wrought his own downfall. Nice.

Badass line from old guy here, but I'm being a nitpicky little shit today, so I gotta ask: was the warden really a coward? 'Colossal asshole hopped up on his own power' seems more accurate. I guess you can't say asshole in a kids' show.

Appa can keep up with coal-powered ships. Speedy boy. Also where's his saddle in this shot?

You really think you'll be able to take back your villages? You think the fire nation is going to lose out on a source of coal without a fight? Yeah, yeah, kids' show, consequences handwaved.

Perfect one scene summary of Aang: uses prodigious bending powers to play with his friends. Also a callback to the butterfly.

By freeing the boy's father, so that the boy has more than just one thing (his earthbending) to remind him of his family, Katara loses the one thing (the necklace) that she had left of her mother. That is ouch.

Hey Zuko! haven't seen you in a while. Your hand is giant. Your haircut is still trash, but you are surprisingly menacing in this shot.

Bad guy and beautiful sky. As tonally dissonant as the rest of this episode.

Final thoughts

The credits tell me that the guy's name is Haru. I wasn't even going to try to spell it until I saw it written down. They also tell me that his dad is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. A quick google tells me that he was in Lilo & Stich, which is where I known him from. Also the warden is George Takei? A bit on the nose to have him playing the warden in a POW camp. Also he deserved a better character.

If it's not already obvious, I don't like this episode. The visuals were consistently beautiful, and it started off strong with exploring loss and the realities of war. Then it descended into girl power fantasy / looney tunes episode. Turns out that Katara's plan for getting through life is to cause problems and let Sokka fix them.

What was Katara's plan for freeing the earthbenders if Sokka hadn't come up with the coal plan? Was she going to try another speech? She was determined to stay until she freed them, but how was she going to do that? Haru getting arrested was somewhat her fault, so she was sort fixing a problem of her own making. Fixing what you broke is a good lesson, but this whole plot line still bugs me.

This kind of turned into a Sokka episode. And it's wonderful how supportive he is of his idiot sister. And he's obviously been that way their whole lives, because Katara basically expects him to fix things. She looks to him for a plan. But it's also not so wonderful how all of his very legitimate (and correct) concerns were steamrolled over. And why was he ok with the fire nation arresting his sister?

Even Aang is kind of a dud in this episode. Why is Aang ok with letting the fire nation arrest Katara?

There was some sibling stuff in this episode that was interesting. Sokka being Katara's constant support even when her problems are very much self-inflicted; Katara expecting Sokka to fix things, or even just keep them fed, to the point where it's basically an unconscious expectation on her part.

Mostly this episode just felt out of character. The backgrounds were consistently gorgeous and it's nice to see Aang take a backseat and get to hang out with some animal friends. But I don't think this one is going on my re-watch list.

I have to come up with a collective noun for Aang, Katara, Sokka, Appa, & Momo.

[ssreeder]

*taps mic*

*screeching synth noise*

hem hem

first of all

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

now that we have That out of the way

SREEDIE YOU’RE SO SPEEDY (that’s an awful rhyme I’m so sorry) ARE YOU READY TO HEAR MY EVERY THOUGH WHILE READING THIS CHAPTER (once again I’m so sorry But not sorry enough to spare you bc I’ve gotta keep being annoying to remind you why we got divorced)

yikes it really must be lowkey terrifying on katara’s end rn… like it’s pretty much the whole They Died And Came Back Wrong trope except sokka only died in theory and yet came back wrong anyway. I feel so bad for her :((

SLAY TOPH keep an eye on iroh please

not katara suspending her disbelief regarding jet being heroic T-T

this is actually a really interesting dynamic change for katara and sokka bc even though katara was always caring for everyone else in the show, sokka was always the one person who was always looking out for katara, so to have him be the sibling that needs taking care of is like… damn yk

okay maybe this means absolutely nothing BUT I feel like jet losing his arm and therefore his ability to wield dual blades has the potential to cause even more tension with zuko bc jet will not only hate him for being fire nation but now they won’t even be evenly matched in a fight and he’s gonna resent the fact that zuko still has both arms. and that’s ASIDE from the fact that it’s gonna be a gruelling healing process before jet even gets the chance to Think about picking up a blade again

jet: is literally on his deathbed

suki: I’m looking respectfully-

“how did sokka handle that” well katara isn’t that the money question, and unfortunately the answer is always Not Very Well

oh katara sokka has also stabbed a man to death with a stick so uh,, yeah while amputating jet’s arm was unideal, alas it is far from the most gory shit sokka has done

perfect girl but sokka wants a boyyyyyyyy~ (these bitches gay)

yes sokka let’s try to keep the house hacking to a minimum shall we

okay definitely nothing has been solved but crying on the bathroom floor is actually very therapeutic not that I’m speaking from personal experience or anything haha HOWEVER I do think sokka needs to cry for longer for the catharsis to work properly. so that’s my note sreedie. MAKE HIM CRY MORE

fuck dude there’s just.. Nothing like sibling relationships. like obviously katara and sokka are (were?) really close siblings but even when siblings are estranged to whatever extent it’s still just so different from any other kind of relationship you have with other people so it’s like… if Anyone would be able to help sokka it would be katara. idk how to express it but not even zuko would be able to help sokka the way katara (though he would Understand it more) bc sokka needs to know that he has people that have enduring love for him and the only person he’ll be able to trust to give him that initially would be katara and I just AHHHHH

YAY MORE CRYING YOU LISTENED TO ME

ugh sokka stop LYING you LIAR

zuko IS an asshole and I love that about him <3

not katara’s bluffing about yue- absolutely appalling effort folks, katara this is the funniest thing you have ever done

sorry I know it was a very intense and somber situation but I just find it hilarious that the solution to zuko being stubborn and refusing to cooperate (however much that is understandable given the circumstances) is just to straight up knock him out. like night night kiddo

ah shit I wish iroh weren’t the one undressing zuko. actually I wish nobody was undressing zuko this is just shit

ZUKO PLEASE YOU’RE DYING WHY ARE YOU STILL AWAKE

speech impediment zuko my beloved <3

ZUKO WHY ARE YOU A MENACE literally first thing out of his mouth that’s not defensive in an attempt to protect himself is to fucking insult jee I can’t T-T

JEE YOU SAVAGE ily

zuko bit jee I forgot omfg this is hilarious (even though it’s actually very sad but shhh we’re ignoring that)

jee the emotional support bestie reporting for duty bc he is the only emotionally stable adult in this household

iroh: is indescribably furious about the fact that zuko has been tortured

also iroh: my this boy has a mighty strange haircut going on

ah fuck here we go. it’s SA discovery time >:/

sreedie did jee break something accidentally bc he was in shock or did he smash something out of rage

rasu fashion icon <3

dragon of the west popping off with the murder plans

when a blind girl and a human disaster are left alone in the kitchen-

oh okay so he Did break a table. slay.

jee in dad mode <3

SOKKA JUST FUCKING TELL PEOPLE PLEASE THIS IS FRUSTRATING AND SAD AT THE SAME TIME WTF

I’m sorry but not jee thinking sokka is a bigger pain in the ass than zuko. alas, he does have a point

OHIHOHOHHEHEHEHE ITS CHANG BITCHES AND HE’S IN HIS GIRLBOSS ERA

nvm chang is in his struggle era actually

lots of layers LIKE AN ONION-

OH SHIT REHO RECOGNISES CHANG

“little wet-noodle” PLEASE I adore chang

for once in her life, slay ara, now the story is finally fucking getting a move on (no shade to you sreedie <33)

lmao bato is so right both about sokka AND about teasing hakoda despite being in the midst of a very tense wartime situation

omg in relation to you an: pls let zuko fuck up all of sokka’s lies accidentally bc this boy cannot lie for shit LET ALONE when he doesn’t realise he even needs to lie and is also high as fuck from iroh drugging him so that he doesn’t bite people

OR sokka is gonna see zuko on his sickbed and immediately his whole world is gonna narrow down to just zuko (understandably) and everyone else in the room is gonna figure out what’s going on pretty quick and effectively sokka just exposes HIMSELF à la love for zuko spewing out of him alongside guilt and regret and fear and relief (essentially the full emotional gambit)

in review: sokka needs to cry more, zuko should bite more people, zukka needs to reunite, I love jee, I love chang, hakoda is gonna need a head massage after all the mental gymnastics he’s gonna be subjected to next chapter. THE END.

love you So much TOODLES *mwah*

LEEEEEEKI BELOVED!!!!

I’m sure you’re like wtf ex lover why aren’t you answering my ask & I’m innocently over here cherishing every word and sniffing it until it loses your smell….

Yes, I’m weirdo. But you keep coming back for me so HA…. ;)

I know some people in the comments were like “I can’t believe Sokka just DID THAT!! no way!!”

& it’s like what’s worse? Stabbing someone in the neck 30 times with a jagged stick you found on the ground while pretend shitting or cutting off your kind of enemy kind of whatever guys arm to save his life??

(There was also the warden situation too… so idk I think Sokka is pretty desensitized at this point and is so emotionally constipated that he doesn’t know HOW to feel about ANYTHING right now ((except Zuko))))

Jee: Zuko is the most difficult person

Jee meets Sokka: I stand corrected

Haha I enjoy your reviews, & I can’t wait to see you soon!!

[magnorious]

Review: The Last Airbender Episodes 2 & 3

I still need to watch this show in a pitch-black room to see anything on screen during night scenes. Did you not learn from Game of Thrones?

Jet’s here! He shouldn’t be, but he is! Teo’s here! He shouldn’t be, but he is! And they’re both fantastic. Azula, Ozai, Mai, and Ty Lee are here! Wait a second….

—

Something I didn’t touch too much on the last episode that I’m going to now: This crippling addiction Hollywood has to ~reimagining~ beloved cartoons in live action consistently has the same flaw: It’s so *boring*. 

On the one hand, yes, I love the live action costumes. I love all the detail that can now be added since it doesn’t take tediously intricate details drawn frame by frame. However, cartoons, especially anime-inspired cartoons, take full advantage of the medium and frequently don’t draw *realistic* humans, they emphasize the features that matter like caricature.

ALTA not only uses caricature but the slapstick, rubbery physics of a cartoon world to hand-wave away the consequences of elemental fisticuffs. The expressions the characters make, their peak character designs, the exactness of every frame, even the less-detailed background shots of little gummy people with undefined details, these define the show.

So while the casting has been great so far, Gyatso, Iroh, Bumi, Zuko, Sokka, Gran Gran, through no fault of their own or the fault of the medium, lack the cartoonishness of the original characters. The cartoonishness that makes this show so beloved so the live action scenes feel… lesser. 

Also, because it’s anime-inspired, the fight scenes storyboarded and drawn in anime are incredibly dynamic. The way the camera sits and follows the action is beholden to no real-world physics because it’s all drawn and anime is particularly good at making spectacular, intense fight scenes. This show’s fight scenes, while well-choreographed, aren’t filmed like a live-action anime, and that also makes it feel lesser.

—

I can’t be the only one disappointed that every episode doesn’t begin with Katara’s narration, can I? They went through the trouble of CGI-ing the whole thing, so why not?

I was holding out hope that they’d still find the avatar statue room, because it was so well-animated and hauntingly beautiful with the buildup and all the eyes glowing. They kept tiny versions of the statues, it just lacked the oomph.

Or the foamy-mouth guy and all the kids enamored with Aang on Kyoshi Island, and Aang reveling in the praise and attention. That dude has become his own meme. He’s hilarious.

Still not satisfied with Iroh’s voice (not the actor’s fault), or Zuko’s, for that matter. He doesn’t quite hit the “I’m an angsty 16 year old stuck with an uncle whom I do not respect or take seriously in any way and refuse to admit that I care about” vibe. Zhao also doesn’t sound intimidating (though he tries and his physical acting is great). When casting all these roles, I wish they would have paid as much attention to the voices of the live-action actors, as much as their faces. There’s zero grit in anyone’s voices, even Gran Gran’s. Zhao sounds his best when his voice lowers as he narrates his letter to Ozai.

Humor-wise, this show sits in a weird spot where it’s trying to be funny only with one-liners (like Marvel) and zero situational humor. Sokka is the best attempt the show makes at being funny and sometimes it lands, I just wish there was more of it. It’s like this show is afraid to lose its “gritty” badge if any scene dares to be legitimately funny.

I do like the nod to the cartoon’s title sequence with Aang air-scootering into that statue. That’s the situational humor I’m talking about.

—

Kyoshi island (and their costumes) was good, lacking humor and giant koi notwithstanding. Kyoshi herself making an appearance giving Aang some sagely wisdom 50-odd episodes early is a treat, even if he’s suddenly excellent at handling the Spirit World with zero effort. They didn’t turn the Kyoshi warriors into insufferable girlbosses, remaining incredibly competent warriors that happen to be women.

In attempt to make it more adult, they’re starting to fudge some backstories and motivations, like Aang now having too much power to the point where the other kids were afraid of him, and the Sokka/Suki romance being far less subtle, and a lot more physical. It’s less sweet and more “wow, these teenagers are horny”. Katara did not witness Kya getting burned alive, her mother would never have let that happen. She’d left the tent to find her dad, and by the time she came back, Kya was already gone. It was tragic already, why make it worse?

**Side note, Momo is a lemure, not a monkey, please don’t give him generic monkey noises. They already gave you plenty of sound design for Momo, just use it.

Aang fumbling around in the Spirit World at the worst possible moment is so true to form, it would be hilarious if it wasn’t so serious. Him ending that trip by manifesting into Kyoshi totally kneecaps the moment during the Winter Solstice where he becomes Roku, even if it looked cool.

The Ozai reveal, though. Why? Just why? Did Daniel Dae Kim have X amount of minutes contractually obligated? Ozai wasn’t revealed for two entire seasons, not his face. They waited and waited and waited, leaving him silhouetted by flames and shadows, only drawing him from behind or from the neck down. This was a *reveal* because we didn’t know what to expect. Would he be as ugly as his soul? Handsome? Pretty? Scarred himself, like his son?

Oh. Azula’s here, too.

The writers of this show and Percy Jackson went to the same school of “Mystery be damned, let’s shoot our load right f’ing now!”

Also, Mr. Kim should have been Zhao, not Ozai. He would have made a fantastic Zhao.

—

The more Ozai is on screen, even if his scenes are good, misses the whole point of why he was barely a character. I’m trying not to use “the cartoon did X better” too much, but the cartoon did it better and here’s why:

Ozai is basically a non-character. Who *he* is doesn’t matter, he’s a bad guy doing bad things because he’s an evil narcissist. His actions and his orders are felt across the globe, though. So the Gaang doesn’t meet him (some ever) until the finale, but they still feel the impact of his actions the entire series.

Who’s Ozai? The guy who burned and banished his son and sent him on a wild goose chase.The guy who’s admiral murdered the moon spirit. Who continues to lay siege to the Earth Kingdom and whose daughter orchestrates its downfall. We don’t need to see who he is for him to be one scary dude. He doesn’t need all these extra scenes to prove how terrifying he is.

The original perfected “less is more” and Ozai (and Azula, and Mai and Ty Lee) just don’t need to be here. Not yet.

With that said, Azula’s great, what little we see of her. Ozai is great. They really seem to be having fun with their roles.

Episode three leaves me curious if all the kids watched the original and wanted so badly to make this show funny, and all the adults told them to tone it down. They’re trying so hard. Props to everyone doing their best with an IP as beloved as this one, and the massive shoes they all have to fill.

More missing humor: Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis! But at least they kept the cabbage merchant.

Episode three decided to combine the Northern Air Temple with Omashu and Jet for reasons. These were two entirely separate plots and locations, but Teo and the Mechanist are incredibly entertaining even if they’re early. They filmed only eight episodes and I feel like a broken record when I say: If you hadn’t given us the wrong filler, you could have properly adapted the missing content. You can skip the Great Divide, though. I hope you skip the Great Divide.

The filler is entertaining. I like the easter egg of the Yu Yan archers training in the background with Azula, implying that she’s as good as they are. I don’t think Azula would bother mastering archery when she’s a firebending prodigy, but the scene is nice. The original Omashu and Northern Air Temple would have been nicer.

Can’t say I miss the original Jet episode and the second I saw this scruffy boy with emo hair in his eyes on that wagon, I thought, “This is Jet, right? It’s gotta be Jet. He’d make a perfect Jet.”

And I was right!

Wrong time, wrong place, but this is the first character who, upon seeing them completely out of their episode, even if he looks nothing like his cartoon version, he fits that character’s vibe perfectly. Excellent casting.

“Omashu” is so far divorced from the original, it might as well be its own thing and it’s buckwild, but it combines elements from three independent episodes and it works incredibly well, even if the plots still feel disjointed from each other, each stays their welcome as long as they need to.

The freedom fighters are amazing. Their costumes are amazing. As each one showed up on screen I was grinning from ear-to-ear. My only detractor is the slight-fanservicey nature of it all once Jet starts naming his team. No notes on Jet dropping his disguise and the slow-mo of the reveal of his hook-swords. One more re-write and it would have been flawless. Can’t wait to see this guy ambiguously pass away beneath Lake Laogai. He’ll be great.

—

I’m liking Iroh less and less every time I see him. He’s just not Iroh. He doesn’t act like him, doesn’t talk like him, doesn’t wax poetic like him, which is a shame because, behind Zuko, I’m pretty sure Iroh is the fan-favorite character. He was an entire generation’s mentor and this just isn’t him.

Zuko’s dickishness was also tempered by him being an awkward turtleduck. Here he’s just aggressive with zero moments for second-hand embarrassment. He doesn’t get bullied by Sokka in the premier, doesn’t bicker with Iroh, he just yells and screams. He’s not endearing in the slightest.

The VFX as well – I know the underpaid and overworked artists did their best but it’s very distracting when they’re so obviously standing in front of a greenscreen.

This show still does not need to exist, make no mistake, and I can see why the original writers left. There’s scenes I’ve legit fast-forwarded through because they just won’t end and I am bored – the massacre of the Air Nomads? Skipped.

With that said, it’s not the worst adaptation in the world, and everyone still showed up to do their best with the script they were given. Does every line land? Heck no. Are the fight scenes cool? Ehhhh, kind of? Is it funny? No, not really, not compared to the original. Is it for kids? I think no less than 20 people have been burned alive at this point so, no, not really. Not like the original was for all ages.

Once again we have a “but was it better than the first attempt?” bar two feet into the topsoil. Yes, so far, it is. At least it’s not like that other horrible adaptation that forgot it was an action-adventure story.

But Jet was awesome. If he carries this review solely on how awesome he was, so be it.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Skin & Scale (Part 30)

I’d like to give @subterraneanwatcher a shout out for the dragon name idea.

“You guys don’t hate me.” She mumbles. By now it has been several hours since their squabble with Iroh. Hours and that is all she can manage to utter. She can’t seem to get past it. Decidedly it is a good thing, of course. And yet her mind is stuck on it in the same way that it catches on awful things.

“Of course we don’t hate you.” Sokka says. The table has since dwindled down to just she, Zuko, her parents, and Sokka. To just she, her parents, and Sokka. And then with a bidding of kind dreams it had become just she and Sokka.

She supposes that she has known for a good while now that they don’t hate her anymore but sometimes she can’t shake that sense. At least until now. Now she is quite certain that most of the hostility and bad blood has run its course. 

“Actually…” Sokka begins reluctantly. “I think that I love you.”

Azula blinks.

“Oh come on, Azula, I’ve been dropping hints.”

“Hints?”

“I stood my ground against your parents to sit next to you during the play! Why else would I have done that!?”

Azula shrugs, “to be annoying?” 

He takes her by the wrists and gives them a gentle shake. “Because I wanted to sit by you. Because I like you. A lot.” 

“But why?” 

He shrugs. “Is it enough to say that I just do?”

“No.” She frowns. “There is a reason for everything and I want yours.”

Sokka laughs. “Believe it or not, it’s because of stuff like this?” He pauses. “I’ve never met anyone like you. Most people wouldn’t be brave enough to say a third of what you say, especially with the level of confidence that you do!”

“Are you implying that I say embarrassing things.”

He thinks for a moment. “Sort of, maybe? You definitely say some awkward stuff, which is kind of refreshing and adventurous. With Suki I always felt like I was making an idiot of myself…”

“If you don’t feel like you’ve been making an idiot of yourself with me, then I have been doing something wrong.” Azula offers him a flippant flick of her wrist. She furrows her brows. “What are you laughing at, I just called you an idiot.” 

“Affectionately.” His chuckles tapper off. 

“Who said that it was affectionate?”

“The tone of your voice.” He replies. “The way you call me an idiot is different from the way you call Zuko and Aang idiots.”

“Because all of you are different types of idiots.” She insists. It is perfectly reasonable in her mind to assert as much. Logical as well, if she must say. 

“Okay but you are usually at least vaguely amused when you call me an idiot.” He shrugs. “You have this smile and…”

She scowls, a light flush creeping over her cheeks. “I most certainly do not. And any hint of a smile that you think that you have seen is because…”

“You like me better than everyone else and I’m special.” 

“Especially stupid, maybe.” 

And now he is cackling. “Can’t you just admit that you have feelings for me? Unless…you don’t realize that you have feelings for me do you? Because you’ve never been in love before!” He accuses.

“Sokka, that’s ridiculous.”

He smirks, “ridiculously true.”

“Oh you think that you’re clever, don’t you?” She mutters, all the while wondering how the aftermath of one spat has led to this conversation. She finds herself morbidly curious as to just how long Sokka has been holding this one in. It must have been for a while if he is using this as his opening–he has wedged his whole body through a door that was only open just a crack.

“I am and that’s part of my allure.” He wiggles his brows.

“Any allure you have is being severely eclipsed by whatever your face is doing right now.”

“I like what your face is doing right now.” He comments. 

She imagines that her face is some blotchy shade of red and contorted into some expression of outrage and befuddlement. Sokka sure has a lot of audacity. In one final effort to dissuade him she grumbles, “say that I do take you up on this silly little declaration of love, you’re going to have to talk this over with my parents.”

Sokka shrugs. “Your dad let me sit next to you at the theater.”

He has her there and she hates it. 

And she hates that she loves it, that it induces something of a thrill. 

She lets a smirk creep across her face. “Alright, Sokka.” She pauses. “I’ll play along. Let’s see how much you can handle.”

.oOo.

It is a simple question that sets her up for a day of unrest. Just one mundane, perfectly ordinary, innocent question. “How did you sleep, Hosekko?” Mother’s face pales in unison with the furrowing of Azula’s brows. 

“We were going to name you Hosekko.” Ran clarifies. “Small jewel. You were our small jewel. You are still our small jewel–precious, valuable, and one of a kind.” He cups her cheek. 

Azula swallows. 

She could have been Hosekko but she is Azula. She could have been precious and unique. Instead she is Azula, an extension of someone else. She could almost laugh, but the tears tickle behind her eyes first in sync with the flutters in her belly. 

“I’m sorry.” Shaw apologizes. “I didn’t mean to. It has just been hard; we had the perfect name picked for you and we never had the chance to say it.”

She swallows harder and clutches at the fabric of her pants. “It’s alright.” She manages.  But it isn’t. It isn’t alright that Ozai had taken her name from her too. Spirits, she hadn’t even considered that. Hadn’t even thought to be upset by such a small thing, and yet here it is, another weight on her shoulders. 

“I slept fine, mother.” She manages to answer the initial question. In fact she had slept better than she has in a while knowing that she truly does have support when it is warranted. That Zuzu, of all people, is willing to put in a good word for her. 

She supposes that when they return home she can tell the council to behave for him and stop giving him such a hard time. 

Mother smile. “That is good to hear, Azula.” 

She takes a breath. 

“Or would you like me to call you Hosekko?” She asks softly. “I can give you time to think about it, if you’d like.”

“Yes, some thinking time would be nice.” She replies. She has been Azula for the entirety of her life, for better or for worse. She doesn’t think that she wants to part with Azula entirely, even if it is just in name. 

“We will understand either way.” Ran adds.

Azula nods, “thank you.” 

They return her nod and leave her to get dressed. She emerges from her room to Toph’s very loud declaration. “Hujiang!” She holds–upside down–a theater poster. “That’s where the traveling group is now.” She pauses. “I sure hope that this poster says ‘Hujiang’ because the guy who handed it to me said it does.”

“It says Hujiang.” Katara confirms. 

“What, what guy?” Mai mutters. 

“The one Toph and I ran into on our early morning walk!” TyLee grins. “He was very friendly. He kept trying to sell us cabbages though.”

“Wait, why would the cabbage merchant have theater posters?” Zuko asks. 

Sokka shrugs, “he’s kind of a running theme in our lives.”

“He said that he was planning on following the Burrowing Badgermole Troupe to try to boost cabbage sales.” TyLee taps her finger on her chin and hums. “I don’t think that cabbage is theater food?”

“And he’s sure that the Burrowing Badgermole is mother’s group?”

“Well he’s only heard of one traveling troupe from Ba Sing Se.” Toph points out. 

“It’s the best lead that we have so we might as well follow it.” Azula replies. “As far as I know we don’t have any particular time constraints.” Evidently she just wants to get away from the Jasmine Dragon.

“I’m willing to give it a try.” Zuko agrees.

“Hujiang it is.” Aang confirms. 

“We’ll have a quick breakfast and be on our way before noon. Use breakfast to say your goodbyes to Iroh.” Azula replies. “Mother, father, and I will have a quicker breakfast and begin arranging the luggage. Is this agreeable?”

“Agreeable enough.” Zuko replies. 

Frankly she would rather depart right now but she will power her way through breakfast and its discomforts–namely having to sit at the same table as Iroh once more. It is no matter. They will be on their way soon enough and perhaps at a new altitude, she will have time to think.

She will certainly have much to mull over during this flight to Hujiang.

[atlabeth]

warmth - zuko x fem!reader

summary: the two times he notices her shivering and the one time he does something about it. 

a/n: lmaoo we have been in a DROUGHT my people. i have barely given you any content this whole month and i feel bad. i wrote this out over the course of a few hours after getting the idea in the shower. i did not proofread. i am not sorry. enjoy.

and NO that end part is not dirty it is simply two kids sharing a bed for warmth bc they got cute lil crushes on each other 🔫🔫🔫🔫

wc: 1.6k 

warning(s): this is pure fluff bbbbbb 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three times. 

It happened three times before Zuko was finally able to get over himself and have a real, face to face, one on one conversation with the one person he hadn’t been able to get out of his head. 

Y/N. It was a name that had made a home in his mind, belonging to a girl that had made a home in his heart. He knew that she was a waterbender from the Northern Tribe and that she had joined the team after the Siege of the North, but apart from that, her life was a mystery to him. She was a mystery to him. 

It was pathetic. How could he become so enraptured with a girl when he didn’t even know the first thing about her? When he had spent the past couple of months fighting against her, trying everything in his power to hurt her? When she had no idea he even thought about her that way? 

Sometimes Zuko questioned himself, but then he caught a glimpse of her — the gleam of her hair, the way her eyes crinkled at the edges when she laughed, the fierceness with which she fought rivalled only by the way she cared for her injured friends afterwards — and he laughed inwardly. 

There was no way he couldn’t feel that way about her. She was simply enchanting. 

But there was only one thing he questioned more than his affections — why in the name of Agni could he not just walk up and start a conversation with her? There was no one else in the world that made him as nervous, as flushed, as completely incapable of basic speech as Y/N, and it drove him insane. 

It drove him insane that it took three times. 

~~~

The first time he noticed her shivering, it wasn’t on purpose. 

Zuko was serving tea to everyone as they gathered around the campfire, chuckling as Aang recounted one of their earlier adventures, back when he was still trying to capture the Avatar. Thinking about his past, who he used to be, was painful, but it gave him all the more reason to be thankful for where he was now. 

He wasn’t as focused on Aang’s story as he was on Y/N, though. She could hardly keep her thoughts to herself, interrupting every couple of seconds to add a detail that Aang forgot or give her own input on the events that he was describing. He started to frown as he noticed her shivering despite sitting right next to the fire — Zuko didn’t even realize how distracted he was until he felt someone hitting his arm. 

“Hey!” He was snapped out of his reverie by the harshness of Katara’s voice, angrily gesturing at the broken teacup and now spilled tea all over Haru. 

“Oh— I am so sorry,” he stammered as he crouched down and started to pick up the pieces on the ground. “Are you okay?” 

“It’s just.. really hot tea,” Haru muttered with a small wince. “No big deal.” 

“You’re right. It’s not a big deal.” Y/N raised her hand and with a small, fluid movement, she bent the liquid out of the fabric and formed it into a tiny sphere in the air. “See? Good as new. And you’re not even burnt.” 

Haru chuckled and pulled at his tunic, giving Y/N a grateful nod. 

“Can a sky bison drink tea?” She mused as she moved the liquid orb around in the air. 

“I don’t think so,” Aang said with a small laugh. 

“Shame we have to waste it.” Y/N bent it away from the group and let it fall to the ground, sinking into the rock below them. “Zuko can always make more though, right?” She said with a hopeful smile. 

“Uh, yeah. Of course.” 

“See, guys? No harm, no foul. You’re the best, Zuko.” She gave him an overexaggerated wink then began to pester Aang to get back to the story, leaving Zuko to continue handing out tea and keep his shaking hands as steady as possible. 

She really had no idea the effect she had on him. 

~~~ 

The second time? It was definitely on purpose. 

The night was unusually cold, even with the bonfire blazing in the middle, and he found his eyes trained once more on Y/N. This time she was the storyteller, giving them all a taste of Northern Water Tribe culture as she recounted a bedtime story she was told as a child. She had a whole arsenal of character voices at her disposal, keeping everyone thoroughly entertained despite the numerous lines she forgot. Zuko didn’t even realize he was staring until Sokka elbowed him in the elbow, gesturing at her with a nod of his head and a cocky grin. 

“What are you doing, just gawking at her like that?” 

“Wh— gawking? I am not gawking. I’m— I’m just listening to her.” 

“Yeah, sure. But I’m pretty sure Appa could start talking right now and you wouldn’t notice because you are hopelessly into her.” He gestured at Zuko’s eyes with his hand then in Y/N’s direction. “Gawking.” 

“I— I am not!” He protested, tearing his eyes away from Y/N’s animated face to give Sokka one of his signature glares. He lowered his voice to a whisper to ensure that no one would hear them. “I’m not into her, I’m not gawking, I am appreciating her storytelling.” 

“Uh huh, yeah.” Sokka looked at her and grinned before glancing back at Zuko. “If you’re not into her, then I can ask her out, right?” 

Zuko didn’t respond, simply kept glaring at him in hopes that it would intimidate him into backing down so he wouldn’t have to say anything and risk embarrassing himself. 

Sokka chuckled and held up his hands. “Alright, geez, I’m just joking. But maybe use some of that fire to keep it going? Looks like she’s cold.” 

Almost immediately, he broke eye contact and fueled the fire with a simple blast. Y/N shot him a grateful smile and nodded as she continued her story, and Zuko noticed her hands falling back down into her lap from their former place on her arms. 

No amount of fire could’ve caused as much warmth as her smile. He was sure of that. 

~~~

There was no way he could miss it the third time. After all, she was the only one there. 

Zuko hadn’t been able to sleep so he ended up outside, and there she was — sitting there, all alone in the middle of the temple grounds, shivering quietly with a moonless night sky as her backdrop. Before he could second guess himself, Zuko started walking over. 

“Hey.” Y/N greeted him without even looking up as she pulled her arms around herself, bringing her legs up to her chest in an effort to conserve all the warmth she could. 

“Hey.” Zuko took a seat on the ground next to her and crossed his legs. “Are you cold?” 

She let out an airy chuckle and nodded. “Strange, isn’t it? I grow up surrounded by snow and ice and I’m perfectly fine, but after a few months away a couple of breezes are tearing me down. I don’t get it.” 

“You’ve been shivering a lot lately,” he said after a beat of silence. Y/N raised an eyebrow and gave him a wry smile. 

“What, have you been looking?”

That sent him stammering. “I-I— yes? I mean— no, I’ve noticed, but I’m not actively looking at you, that’s weird, I’m not— I mean—”

Y/N threw her head back and laughed, the same laugh that sent flutter bats through his stomach and made his heart burst with happiness. She set her hand on his and squeezed, giving him a gentle look that almost immediately ceased his rambling. “Zuko, it’s alright. It’s… nice that you’ve noticed. Like you’re looking out for me or something.” 

He opened his mouth to respond but couldn’t find his voice — he was sure his cheeks were as red as his tunic, just at the simple touch of her hand — and it only got worse as she placed her other hand on top of it. 

“You’re warm,” Y/N muttered. “Like… intensely warm.”

“Is that bad?” He wondered aloud, preemptively panicking. “Do you want me to turn it off? I can’t turn it off, but I could find a way somehow—” 

“Thank you,” she interrupted with another small laugh, “but no. I don’t need you to uh, turn off your firebending. That already happened once. But you’re adorable to think of me like that.” 

The two of them stared into each other’s eyes, the air between them heavy with something she couldn’t quite place. Y/N pursed her lips and bit back a growing smile as she glanced at the ground. 

“This is, uh… really helping. With the cold, I mean. And I was… I guess I was just…” Another laugh. “I was just wondering if you’d maybe want to spend the night with me? Just because my room is especially freezing, and you’re so warm, and I think I would sleep a lot better if I—”

Now it was his turn to interrupt her rambling. There was something about her getting so flustered about him in the same way he did around her that made this easier. “I’d love to.”

“Great,” she breathed, the same smile from before returning just a little bit brighter. Y/N stood up and they began their walk back into the temple, hands still intertwined, warmth emanating between the two of them. 

Three times. 

Two strikes. 

One success. 

And that was all he needed.