#also poor bumi

[chiefbeifongcanrailme]

For the asks about your OTP 3 and 4 for Linzolt and Linumi please

3. Was it lust at first sight? Linumi: Errrr no, just because they probably first saw each other as kids. But as adults/teens, I'm sure Lin went DAMN when she saw him in that uniform. Or when Bumi comes back on break to RC and he runs into an adult Lin and can't get her out of his mind. Linzolt: HELL YES. Immediate electricity and poor Zolt wasn't even able to bend it.

4. What do physical trait do they love the most about each other? Okay, for both Linumi and Linzolt- I can see both the couples having an affinity for their partners' scars. Linumi: Bumi's a big fan of Lin's ass. He'll always whip his head around to see her walk away. Lin tastes peppers every time she sees the silhouette of Bumi's arms/shoulders/biceps. That general region. Lin also loves his scruffy hair- she loves running her fingers through them. Linzolt: Zolt is truly enamored by Lin's supple skin. He knows he'd set himself aflame if he wasn't careful when running his fingers over her body. Lin is very attracted to his eyes. Whether it's their golden gleam or just his gaze- she isn't sure. Whether it's the way he looks at her- more importantly, how she is made to feel when his eyes are on her- actual goose-eel bumps on supple skin. And then he runs those erogenous fingers of his on it. Ugh.

Coming in fresh with OTPs

[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.

[azure-firecracker]

ATLA Live Action Stream of Consciousness (Episode 4, Part 2).

Are we doing Cave of Two Lovers? With Sokka and Katara?

As a folk music girlie I love the minstrels (Sokka cannot consistently shake on beat).

It’s so musician core to go into a dark cave just for the acoustics.

OMA AND SHU ARE GAY NOW!!! LET’S GO LESBIANS LET’S GO!!!

I love lead hippie guy he sounds like he’d sell me some kombucha.

SECRET TUNNEL!!!

I like that people actually remember Iroh being a war general and have bitterness towards him for that. One of my critiques of the OG was that they didn’t address that enough. (On a narrative level I’m fine with that Earth Kingdom soldier beating him up but my emotions were like NO!)

Bumi stop torturing poor Aang.

HOORAY Zuko made a good decision for once!

“I’m coming Uncle.” MY HEART!

The Sokka/Katara arguments continue to be interesting and develop the characters well.

This guy was in Ba Sing Se okay that’s INTERESTING!! And I like the direct Ba Sing Se story gives Iroh more accountability. NOW IROH TAKE THE ACCOUNTABILITY!

This is a great addition because now we the viewers want Iroh to get rescued but also we really understand the Earth Kingdom soldier here.

Why is Iroh so angry though? I’m all for character expansion but at we don’t need another moody character here.

FLASHBACK WE’RE GETTING A FLASHBACK!!

IS THAT LEAVES FROM THE VINE FOR IROH AND ZUKO I CAN’T THE EMOTIONS!!!!

But it is funny that Dallas Liu is here because isn’t Zuko supposed to be like 11?

I like Katara being so forgiving and so adamant about being forgiving.

Why does Sokka get all the credit for leading the tribe? In the original Katara bore that burden too but ofc they have to take every important thing she did and give it to a male character.

Why does Bumi get to decide whether Aang should be the Avatar? I don’t like him he doesn’t scare me he’s just annoying.

Why are the badger moles scary now?

We like when Zuko gets to kick some ass too! I love this scene (but Iroh’s still too angsty for me).

Okay Katara saving Sokka and fighting things out doing more things is she getting better? If so I wish they’d showed more signs at the beginning if it was supposed to be some sort of character arc.

I do like Bumi dropping war truths on Aang. I’d like it more if he didn’t irritate me. 100 years and he’s still fed up over some friend drama?/

I actually like the stuff about making hard choices. Something I often think about when writing Azula.

I do see a recurring theme that the Avatar is supposed to be violent and Aang refuses it…that’s a theme I like.

Okay leader Katara I see you!

This ending is sweet I do like it (they kept the cart ride from the show!)

ANOTHER FLASHBACK?!

Iroh’s energy in this flashback is what I need more of.

AAW THEY’RE PLAYING LEAVES FROM THE VINE AGAIN!

I’M ON THE FLOOR THEY CAN’T DO THIS TO MY HEART!!!

[aangarchy]

Do you know of any metas that disprove the argument of aang being a bad father? :/

I haven't seen any metas but i personally found the argument for Aang being a bad father weak at best

Aang wasn't a perfect father, that much is clear. But imo no Avatar can ever be a perfect parent (no one can be a perfect parent but i digress). The Avatar has a responsibility to the world. There are times where the Avatar isn't allowed to be selfish. For example, think of when Aang had to let go of Katara in order to access the Avatar State. How would Katara feel if he ever told her that this is necessary for him to activate it every time? I'm sure she wouldn't be fond of the idea.

The only thing we have to go on when it comes to Aang and Katara's parenting, is episodes 3 and 4 of Tlok book 2 (at least that i know of). Tenzin tries to recall his childhood memories that he thinks Kya and Bumi were a part of but turns out, they weren't. We don't know the reason for this, and we don't find out. I'm assuming these trips were perhaps intended as "airnomad lessons" or something like that, and that would be a reason for the other siblings to not be present. We do have to remember that Aang has a nation to rebuild. He's the only one in the world that was physically present during the time of the airnomads, and he only has so much time between his Avatar duties. He's the only one that can authentically pass on the customs. That's probably why these trips felt so frequent to Bumi and Kya, the few times Aang was present he was off with Tenzin for airnomad teachings. (Again this is my assumption. The writers never gave us a reason for the other siblings being absent or for the trips to even have occurred.)

(Personally i do feel like this is affected by bad writing. Why on earth would Kya and Bumi not also be considered part of the airnomads, as well as the watertribe? Why would they not learn everything there is to know about their heritage, even though they don't master the element? Instead bryke made Kya a mini Katara, Tenzin a mini Aang and Bumi just kind of floats lost in the middle, and is clearly supposed to be a mini Sokka. It's a very poor example of a mixed family.)

Kya and Bumi's version of the events are obviously going to be biased. They felt like their father was never there, and they're very angry with him for being absent (who wouldn't be). Tenzin's view is also biased, he was the youngest and spent the most time with Aang. It surprises me that throughout this episode, they never once mention what Katara was like as a mother. All of their anger is aimed at Aang (easy target, the mf is dead already) but Katara is also responsible here as the other parent. What were discussions like? Did the kids ever tell Katara how they felt? She was still married to Aang it's not like they had separated and started co parenting. They were a team. Did Katara spend a lot more time with Kya to teach her about the watertribe? Did she take Kya on girltrips? What was Bumi doing during all of this?

At the end of these episodes, when the siblings reconcile, Kya shows them a family photo. They all look back on it fondly. If Aang was truly such a horrible father (or even abusive like some people have claimed bc why not throw every term around) they would not look at this picture like that. They like their family, as flawed as it is. They clearly have good memories too, but because these particular episodes are about how parents aren't perfect (the conflict between Ikki and her siblings mimics that of the one Tenzin has with his) those memories aren't talked about.

Anyway to summarize this into a point: i don't think Aang was a bad or abusive father. I think he was unfortunately an pretty absent father as a byproduct of being the Avatar, and that he committed the ultimate parent sin: picking a favorite. I wonder what type of parent Roku was, or any past Avatars that had children.

[oneatlatime]

The King of Omashu

I confess I've already taken to skipping through the intro. I wonder what I'll do with the whole 45 seconds that saves me.

Why wear one tie when you could wear three? Actually I learned a couple of days ago (thanks to *gasp* a follower! Never thought I'd have those!) that Katara's hairstyle is an authentically Inuit thing, so maybe Sokka's triple tie is too? Then again, boomerang isn't.

Not subtle. Still gorgeous.

The cart! Maybe the cabbages were rotten, but the cart was fine!

This guard has absolutely massive hands. Also props to Katara for getting that mouthful of a cover name out on the first try. Do you think they rehearsed?

Nice to see bending used for something other than fighting. Also, I would have ridden the hell out of those slides.

It does not take a mad genius to figure out that slides are for sliding.

Are we sure that's the most efficient way to package spears?

Oh my god these poor kids have no tailbones left. Their spines!

This guy restocked fast.

This whole set piece with the slides is really fun. I love the music, and the timing on the jokes is great.

SPINES!

"Malicious destruction of cabbages." The throwaway lines in this show are great. How did they determine intent?

Look, none of you have room to talk. Maybe the king is weird, but you all just went on a city-wide destruction spree. You're lucky his crown is crooked.

I like whoever is the King's voice actor. He reminds me of Dudley Moore. Dating myself a bit there. Also this is totally Aang's friend but old. And I'm not even going to try to spell his name until I've seen the credits, given my previous track record with spelling.

I like the guards' hats. They look cozy.

And the king gets it first try too! Pippinpadolopsicopoulos? My best guess.

I think he can keep you here Katara. You're not the one with spears. And he's also the king.

This king is living his best life. Feasts, mindgames, renovations. And fashion!

All of Momo's noises in this whole sequence are so expressive.

Never before have I seen a butt convey such disappointment and resignation.

So did they leave Momo in the wall?

Creeping crystal is a nifty maguffin.

Does the king just have these challenge chambers for whenever he's bored enough to mess with people? So, daily?

You're right Aang - sabre tooth mega rabbits are way more on brand than fluffy bunnies.

Earthbenders get airbender levels of air when they jump. I guess they make the ground kick them up into the air?

This episode is really a showcase for earthbending.

The king is so unbothered. He also seems to be anticipating every single one of Aang's strategies. Almost like he knows what to expect from an airbender.

This is neat. Turning solid rock to sand or dust. It's like waterbenders and freezing stuff.

Can we call this a tie?

Earthbenders are mole people.

Or maybe you figured out who he was because you talked about him twice at the beginning of this episode and his mannerisms haven't changed in a century.

Every time Sokka or the king make jokes that don't land in this episode, there's this disembodied coughing off screen. But they're all pretty funny! That being said, if you lived in this city with that guy as a ruler you'd probably develop humourlessness as a defence mechanism.

The first part of Aang's world (apart from Appa) that still exists. That's sweet.

Creeping crystal must be seriously light if you can walk around while encased in it. Also, rock candy is indeed delicious. But you can't bite into it like that without losing a few teeth.

"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people." Perfect one sentence summary of this guy's entire personality! Also, points for self-awareness.

Some nifty exposition, reassurance & guidance, and a reminder that Aang doesn't have to do it alone. The king knows his stuff.

Poor cabbage man. This is going to become a thing like Sokka getting ragdolled isn't it?

It is spelled BUMI.

Final thoughts

I don't really have much to say about this episode. I think it's for introducing the audience to earthbending. Also for wacky hijinks, of which I am always a fan.

Sokka's voice actor, who has been consistently excellent for me, got his first meh line reading this episode, with the laugh after the kangaroo island joke. It didn't work for me.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the guard who talks to Bumi about the good and bad prisons is the same voice actor as Bumi himself. Just a guess, but I love it when that happens. Both because I get to hear a talent showcase and because I get to picture some random guy in a sound booth somewhere having a whole conversation with himself. I don't know how voice acting works, it's just a funny visual.

There's some serious angst potential in Aang and Bumi meeting again, but I am not feeling angsty today, so that potential will go unexplored. Which is also why I'm happy there was no Zuko this episode.

This episode wasn't as pretty as the Southern Air temple, but it was mostly indoors, so there wasn't a chance to have sweeping clouds and sunsets. And the Southern Air Temple did set a really high bar.

This episode was consistently fun and goofy. I liked it. Would have been nice to have more Appa.

[woodlaflababab]

A rant on Aang being fed, this is half serious half a joke

Starting with the Headband episode where they go to a restaurant that is specifically for meat (as we hear Aang say 'oh, we're going to a meat place?' and based on how he doesnt join them, the place doesnt have any other options) despite 1/4 of their group being vegetarian.

And if that wasnt bad enough, when they brush off Aang, Aang says, and I quote

"I'll just get some lettuce out of the garbage."

And they accept this???? And leave him??? They don't act like this is exactly out of the ordinary? How often is Aang going dumpster diving for food???? Like, what a weird fucking throw away line.

And then

What was he eating during the painted lady episode? Bc all sokka was buying was poisoned fish and clams. I hope they just, had rations, and they were just,,,, choosing to eat poison fish instead of said rations, bc the alternative, is Aangs been on his own foraging plants around a dead river for however many days they were there. Katara over here extending their stay like, hell yeah pop off katara, save those people, but also, she had to know Aang didn't have shit to eat right???? Aang’s not eating the berries, wtf is he eating? Katara you found edible berries? And didn't tell Aang?????

And I don't remember him complaining abt any of this, like, kid, child, you are in one of the most rapid stages of growth and are doing the physical work of mASTERING THREE ELEMENTS IN NINE MONTHS, sustenance is, in fact, a necessity

Catch anti-aang ppl coming out here and saying Aang should've just stopped being so picky, that if he really wanted to eat, he'd have eaten what was available and how the others aren’t responsible for making sure he's fed. That sounds exactly like some shit anti aangers would say.

And you know who it also sounds like? SOKKA

MY BOY

HOW CAN YOU DO THIS

He looks at the vegetarian whos a vegetarian bc of his dEAD CULTURE/RELIGION and goes "just stop being vegetarian :) even the meat here eats meat :)"

Sokka I love you, but omg I want to punt you across a courtyard

Im sorry, but if my friend were to come up to me like "I'm a vegetarian, have been my whole life, it's the way a lot of my culture does things, its something I learned from family and friends who are all now dead" I'd be half tempted to become vegetarian myself just out of solidarity. Is that just me? Am I just gung ho on friendship? Hello? 

Also, fuck you @ bumi throwing a fowl leg at him knowing hes uncomfortable with touching meat. Theres gotta be better ways to prove hes an airbender than making him panic by throwing a dead animals leg at him

Justice for Aang man, feed the poor kid.

[quinn-fucks-shit-up]

watching the new atla and I have a couple of things to say

(for reference I am 4 mins into episode 6 and writing this while my sister has a snack break)

let's start with the positives:

zuko and iroh are spot on, iroh takes until the second ep for him to (as my sister said) "feel his oats" but otherwise their dynamic is spot on with some excellent acting all things considered

their scenes also have the most quality added to the show, with their flashbacks being genuinely emotional and believable, 10/10

jet + the freedom fighters, though in the wrong place, are also very well portrayed, helping katara and endangering innocents when needed.

ozai has also had a lot added to him, as we get to actually see his manipulation tactics at work with Azula, it makes him more effective and intimidating

koh the face stealer is genuinely scary

a round of applause for the costume designers and music writers, they really knocked it out of the park

cabbages

unfortunately, the negatives will be a longer list:

the acting from most of the characters is piss poor, I mean really shoddy, as in I have seen sokkas facial expression change once and his humour has fallen flat every. single. time.

the changes they have made to the plot have been unnecessary, confusing, and have actually muddied the timeline to the point that they have conveyed less information than the cartoon with the same amount of time

don't even get me started on how they slaughtered bumi

it lacked the scenes necessary to show aangs immaturity, (riding elephant koi, etc.) so his character development is kinda missing

katara also is so passive as to be unrecognisable from the source material, her anger is just not there, and her bossiness is non-existent, it's like they forgot to give her flaws and in doing so rendered her more 2 dimensional than when she was literally a drawing

I've already complained about sokka, but I need to reiterate, he is Not Funny, the sarcasm comes across as mean spirited but without that "pointless mysoginy" the writers were so keen to get rid of he doesn't have any chance to grow out of it. also they made his and Suki's relationship kinda weird

it seems like the dynamics of katara and sokka have switched?? like instead of her acting like their mum, he acts like their dad? odd.

the character designs are weird, it's a complete toss up how accurate they'll be, minor characters like the mechanist and June will be almost scarily accurate, but the same grace is not provided to integral characters like Zuko, Azula, Mai and Zhao, strange.

oh wow Zhao. wtf did they do to Zhao?? they took The most intimidating villain and made him utterly forgettable that's what. they made him downright respectful. geez.

I'll reblog with more info when I finish.

[empressofthesunwriter]

Yin and Yang

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Hello guys, sorry for the long wait. 

This chapter is probably not my best, but I don’t know anymore what to write, so there.

Also, I want to inform you, that if this fanfic doesn’t get any comments I will abandon it.

Would not be the first one I do so.

I see you reading it, I just want some feedback.

I know it’s probably a bit boring because Hua is just added in the episode but I can promise you we will have a big canon divergent soon.

I’m just saying wait till The Blue Spirit then things will change. :D

So please be patient, comment, motivate me and we can arrive at this point in the story.

Now have fun with the chapter.

Book 1.09: The Two Scrolls

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. 

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. 

Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua. 

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone. 

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

***

The day for our young heroes started with two panic attacks from the Avatar and Daimon.

Aang was pacing around on Appa's saddle, breathing heavily, while Hua had wrapped her arms around her knees and was swinging back and forth.

You could hear her mumbling something about the world being so doomed.

Katara looked worried at her young friends as Sokka called out from his place on Appa's head: “Would you sit down, Aang? If we hit a bump, you'll go flying off. What's bugging you two anyway? Hua looks like she is ready to fall over.”

“It's what Avatar Roku and Daimon Lixue said.”, answered Aang worried.” We are supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives.”

Jokingly Sokka told them that they only needed 112 years to learn air- and earthbending, he was sure they would master the other ones by next summer.

This was when Hua stopped her manic back and forth swinging to glare at Sokka: “I don’t know if you noticed, I’m not exactly a master earthbender. What I can do I learned while helping construct buildings in the Lower Rings of Ba Sing Se, from Bumi and inventing moves I copied from other bending. I still need a master for earthbending too.”

“You never told us this.”, said Katara softly. 

She saw in Hua's twisted face how she disliked talking about it.

“That my family was poor. Poorer than poor? Yeah, I don’t like to think about that.”, grumbled Hua.

The Daimon looked at her knees to not see the pitiful glances of the others. They could never understand how it was to grow up never being full, wearing clothes which didn’t fit and working the whole day to help bring money home.

If she had looked at her friends she would have seen that they didn’t look at pity at her. They looked sad for her, that she had such a hard start in life.

No wonder she didn’t like to talk about it.

“Hua at least started learning airbending with me.”, tried Aang to change the subject. It was the least he could do. “But we haven’t started waterbending and we're still weeks away from the North Pole. What are we gonna do?”

“Die.”, proclaimed Hua drier than the dessert.

“You know, not even I feel optimistic enough to talk back.”, admitted Aang.

He sat down beside Hua and together they swayed back and forth.

Not that Sokka didn’t understand that these two had a huge responsibility, however, reducing themselves like this was not the way.

So he called out to his sister, in hopes she could cheer them up. 

This was Katara's thing, not his.

“Calm down, it's going to be okay, Hua and Aang.”, told Katara. She kneeled before them, taking a hand each. “If you want, I can try to teach you some of the stuff I know.”

“You'd do that?”, chorused the Avatar and Daimon with hope in their voices.

Their friend agreed and told them they needed to find a good source of water for practice.

Always the jokester Sokka said they could probably find a puddle for them to splash.

The puddle turned out to be a huge waterfall with a river.

The girls and Aang made ecstatic faces, as Sokka frowned and murmured: “Nice puddle.”

How the universe loved to prove him wrong!

Appa flies down into the river and creates a huge splash that soaks and almost knocks Momo off the rock he is standing on, turns over, and floats on his back. Jaiyi, who had hidden behind Hua, made a fox laugh at her lemur friend. Momo was just cooing embarrassed.

Aang wanted to take a bad with Appa too, but was reminded by Katara and Hua why they were here.

It was time to practice waterbending.

Sheepish he dressed himself.

Meanwhile, Sokka wonders what he should do, while they practice and Aang tells him he could clean the dirt from Appa's toes.

Strangely Sokka agreed.

Maybe he was that utterly bored.

Whatever, like good students, Aang and Hua sat down beside the shore and looked up at their teacher Katara as she explained their first lesson.

”This is a pretty basic move, but it still took me months to perfect. So don't get frustrated if you don't get it right away.”, reassured Katara, while the younger ones nodded. She moves her hands back and forth and makes small waves in the water.“Just push and pull the water like this. The key is getting the wrist movement right.”

Hua and Aang stand up and copy what Katara is doing.

“Like this?”, asks Aang.

“That's almost right. If you keep practicing I'm sure eventually—”

Katara can’t finish even her sentences as Aang calls out that he is doing it. 

His waves were even bigger than Katara’s!

“I got it too!”, chirps Hua happy. Her waves were higher than Katara’s, but tinier than Aangs. “This feels a bit better than airbending.”

“Wow, I can't believe you two got that so quickly. It took me two months to learn that move.”, tells Katara surprised.

It’s…a bit weird to see both Aang and Hua having success on a move she worked so long on.

“Well, you had to figure it all on your own.”, begins Aang.

“We are lucky enough to have a great teacher.”, ends Hua with a smile.

Touched Katara thanks them.

“What now Sifu Katara?”, questioned Hua her best friend, as Aang nodded along.

Aww, this made Katara feel all fluffy inside being called Sifu. She hardly was a master but Hua and Aang saw her as one.

Precious darlings!

“This is a more difficult move. I call it streaming the water.” She moves her hands and raises a stream of water from the river into the air and moves it around. “It's harder than it looks, so don't be disappointed if-”

The waterbender stops talking as she sees how flawlessly and fast Aang executed this move, even Hua was faster and more elegant than her. Both children let the water flow back into the river, while Katara's orb splashed down the ground.

She felt…annoyance rise in her.

How could Hua and Aang get this so fast?!

“Nice work.”, she praises them and then frowns at Aang. “Though the over-the-head flare was unnecessary.”

Aang says sorry but begs for more move, Hua is right along with him giving Katara the best puppy-seal eyes.

A bit unsure she shows them the move she was still working on. The idea was to create a powerful wave. Sadly Katara fails.

Curious Aang and Hua copy her, a big wave and a medium-sized wave, form, mesh together and race down the river. 

Poor Sokka falls victim to it.

Excited Avatar and Daimon ask for more moves, but Katara annoyed about their success tells them practice is over.

Sokka agreed since their merged wave managed to make their bags with supplies float down the river.

Both kids say sorry, they didn’t mean to, but Aang was sure they could find somewhere to replace their supplies.

Defeated Sokka murmurs how his life was hard enough when they were just airbender and earthbender and sank down the river.

***

Luck was on their side.

They found a little harbour with market stands not that far away from their camp.

The only problem was the folks who wandered around.

A lot of armed men staring at the quartet. 

Hua, Sokka and Katara looked nervous while Aang looked around in wonder.

The Daimon was glad that she left Jaiyi with Appa. She had a feeling these friendly people would do anything to get the pelt of a ninetails.

Currently, they were waiting for Sokka to return with their supplies.

He comes out of the shop and signs: “We've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money that King Bumi gave us. Let's spend it wisely.”

Sadly this advice came too late since Aang bought a bison whistle, which even didn’t work.

All gave him annoyed looks and Katara told Aang she would hold into the money now.

Our quartet started walking again and passed where a man was talking in front of his boat docked in the water.

“Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come on by!”, advertise he for his shop aka. boat. The man wearing an earring zero in on them and runs up to them. “Oh! You there, I can see from your clothing that you're the world-travelling type. Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?”

“Sure! What are curios?”, ask Aang innocent.

The earring guy blinks confused.

“I'm not entirely sure. But we got 'em!”

He puts his hand on Aang's shoulder and smiles, walking him into the ship. The others follow them.

Inside the ship they spread out, to look around.

Hua was looking at some pretty hair ornaments, only listing with half an ear how someone wants to buy Momo, when she wanders over a shelf.

There already was Katara browsing it as she let out a gasp: “Hua look!”

“Is this a waterbending scroll and firebending scroll?!”, said Hua surprised.

Neither expected to find something like this here.

Katara picks up the water scroll, while Hua the fire scroll.

“Look at this, Aang. It's a waterbending and firebending scroll!”, calls Katara for the Avatar, who joins the girls. “Check out these crazy moves.”

Aang turns to the captain, excited, wondering where he got these two scrolls.

The captain takes the scrolls from the girls, putting them back in their places and tells them he found the water one up north and the fire one, and gave them a nice firebender.

For free.

That’s when Sokka realizes: “Wait a minute ... Sea-loving traders, with suspiciously acquired merchandise and pet reptile birds? You guys are pirates!”

“We prefer to think of ourselves as "high-risk traders."”, tells him earring pirate, friendly an arm around Sokka's terrified form.

Meanwhile, the other three wander over to the counter, where the captain stands behind.

“So, how much for the, uh, traded scroll?”, asks Katara.

“I've already got a buyer, a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom. Unless of course, you kids have four hundred gold pieces on you right now.”

Oh by the spirits no, they would never get the scrolls like this.

So Hua did something she hadn’t done in a long time.

Casual she walked over to the shelf and faster than lighting put the scrolls in her bag.

That’s when Katara walks over and looks stupefied at the missing scrolls on the shelf.

She looks at Hua as her friend nods and pats her bag. Katara smiles, giving her a thumbs-up and calls for Aang to leave the pirate ship.

The boys follow the girls out back into the street, wondering why all of a sudden they wanted to leave the ship.

Neither Hua nor Katara gives them a clear answer about just how they felt weird on the ship.

They were still too close to tell the boys what they did.

Luck again wasn’t on their side, because the pirates noticed the theft and chased them all over the harbour.

The bender used their elements to slow them down, but in the end, they fled all together on Aang's glider.

It was a wonder how this was possible.

Soon they reached their campsite.

They were now safe.

“I used to kind of look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible.”, said Aang putting his glider away.

“Yeah, that’s why we did this!”

Excited Hua and Katara show the scrolls to the boys.

“No way!”

“Aren’t they great?”, asks Katara rhetoric.

“No wonder they were trying to hack us up! You stole their waterbending and firebending scroll!”, scolds Sokka.

“Actually it was me!”, admins Hua. “Not the first time I stole something.”

“What really?!”

“Sokka, if you grow up so poor as I am then sometimes you have to steal to get food for your little brother.”

“Also if Hua hadn’t grabbed them, I would have done it.”, tells Katara. “I prefer to think of it as high-risk trading.”

Aang laughs: “Good one, Katara.”

Seeing how Sokka still wasn’t happy with them Katara asked him where he thought the pirates got the scrolls from.

They probably stole it from a waterbender master and a firebender one.

“It doesn't matter.”, makes Sokka clear. “Hua, and you put all of our lives in danger just so you could learn some stupid, fancy splashes and some fiery, sparkly flames.”

“These are real waterbending and firebending forms. You know how crucial it is for Aang and Hua to learn waterbending! Also, Hua needs to learn firebending like yesterday, where else should we find help for her to do it?!”, challenges him Katara.

The oldest boy just waves it away with a whatever turning his back on them.

“Well, what's done is done. We have them, we might as well learn from them.”, told Aang.

The three benders decide how Hua should have a go first with her firebending scroll.

Katara holds it open for her, as she examines the forms.

“Okay, the first one.”, the Daimon mumbles. “A simple Fire Punch. Seems good enough.”

Nervous Hua faces the water, while all her friends look equally nervous on.

Would she bend fire and get it out of control?

Or would she master it?

With a deep breath, Hua goes through the steps and then…flame shoots out of her fist!

All exclaim in surprise.

“I did it!”, shouts Hua happy. “I firebenden!”

“How does it feel?”, asks Katara.

“Good, better, like how it’s supposed to. Oh let me try the next form.”

The next hour or so they watch how Hua performs the firebending forms flawlessly and with elegance.

Aang was reminded of when Kuzon would bend for them and Katara and Sokka saw for the first time how fire can be pretty.

Hua herself feels at complete ease.

It was how it should have been, first learn fire then the next elements in her Daimon Cyle.

She has a feeling she will now learn air and water better.

After Hua finished her set again, Katara called out for a break.

She sees how her best friend was breathing heavily and was sweaty. So she gives her one of their water bags and Hua gulps it down.

They decided now it was Aang and Katara's turn to use the waterbender scroll.

It works…not well.

Katara was so determined to get the water whip down, that she shouted at Aang as he tried to help her.

Seeing how she hurt the feelings of her friend, she apologises and gives him the scroll.

She doesn’t want to do anything with it more if it turns her into this jealous bitch.

In comfort, Hua pats the back of her best friend.

The Daimon can understand her feelings well. If Aang starts one day to learn earthbending and he is better than her, she would be angry too.

What was done was done, for today's practice was over.

They all needed to calm down.

***

Hua was currently dreaming about eating the biggest mochi of her life when she was rudely woke up.

“Huh, guys what's wrong?”, she yawned, then frowned.

Where was Katara?

“She took the scroll!”, answered Sokka her unspoken question. “She's obsessed with that thing. It's just a matter of time before she gets us all in deep-”

More he can’t say as a pirate throws a rope around his arms and drags him forward. He rolls away and charges at the pirate while another two pirates capture Aang and Hua in a net each and drag them away.

Offended Sokka asks if he is not good enough to be kidnapped and gets as a reward kidnapped.

A while later, Aang, Hua and Sokka, bond by their wrists, and stand with the pirate on one side of the shore, while Prince Zuko and his man are on the other. Katara was bonded on a tree.

Prince Zuko praises the pirates, while Katara says sorry to Aang and Hua. 

All was her fault.

The Avatar and Daimon try to reassure her that it is okay, but Zuko's uncle just says to Katara that it was indeed her fault.

Now the pirates and Prince Zuko argue about who should hand over their bargain chip first.

This uses Sokka to his advance, telling the pirates how Aang and Hua were the Avatar and Daimon and how the Fire Lord would pay them more gold, than the two scrolls together.

The deal was off and fighting started.

Prince Zuko and two of his soldiers send a blast of fire at the pirates. 

The pirates jump back and Earring Pirate runs out, throwing smoke bombs and jumping into the cloud as the fight ensues. Some of the soldiers run out to Hua, Sokka and Aang, who are struggling with their ropes, but are stopped by several pirates, who also throw smoke bombs down. 

“Okay, let’s try this!”, Hua mumbles to herself.

She concretes and burns her robes off.

“Nice! Sokka, Aang, where are you?!”

“I’m here Hua!”, she hears Aang from somewhere on the left.

“I don’t know where I am.”, comes from Sokka, somewhere on the right.

“Let’s just get out!”, advises Hua.

After a few seconds, she was out of the smoke, followed by Sokka and then Aang.

They run the shoreline down and find Katara who was trying to push the pirate ship into the water.

The three join her in trying to push the boat, but can't.

“We'd need a team of rhinos to budge this ship.”, bemoans Sokka their fate.

“A team of rhinos, or three waterbenders.”, corrected him Aang.

Katara looks touched at the Avatar, while Hua gets in position.

“Let’s do it guys, push and pull!”

Hua, Aang and Katara push and pull the water until the boat rises up.

They board the ship and sail through the river.

The Avatar sees how the pirates are following them in Zuko's ship and begs Sokka to go faster.

He admits he doesn’t know how, since the boat isn’t Watertribe.

Several of the pirates jump onto the ship but are quickly swept away by Aang's waterbending. 

Two pirates go after Hua but she spins herself around and sends a fire whip after them. This shocks the pirates so much that they fall over the ship.

Determined, Katara performs a perfect water whip to throw the last pirate off.

Aang and Hua congratulated her on her water whip, and Katara admits she wouldn’t have got it down without Aang's help.

Sokka meanwhile was being held in place by two pirates and begs them to stop congratulating each other and help him.

This time Hua water whips at the Pirates, who let go of Sokka, and one goes even overboard.

Earring Pirate turn to Aang who whistles in his Bison whistle.

The pirate was more than confused, but this gave Sokka the chance to throw him off the ship.

Then Katara calls out to them.

They are nearing a waterfall!

Thankful the watertribe girl has an idea and together with Aang and Hua they push and pull the water again, creating a vortex which stops the ship.

Their triumph was short-lived since the enemy boat rammed them and all four fell off the ship and down the waterfall.

However, they are lucky as Appa, with Jaiyi and Momo, appears and catches them on his saddle.

Fast they flew away.

***

Safe and sound Team Avatar-Daimon flies throw the clouds.

What a day they had and it just started!

“Aang, I still owe you an apology.”, begins Katara. “You were just so good at waterbending without really trying. I got so competitive that I put us all in danger, I'm sorry.”

“That's okay Katara.”

“Besides, who needs that stupid scroll anyway?”

“Is that really how you feel?”, asked Sokka sarcastically holding the water scroll up.

“The scroll!”

Her brother puts his hand in front to keep Katara from grabbing it.

“First, what did you learn? Hua, you listen too, alright.”

“Stealing is wrong.”, chorus the girls together.

Katara takes the scroll back and adds cheeky: “Unless it's from pirates.”

This makes Aang and Hua laugh.

“Good one, Katara.”

Previous

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[iminaworldofpureimagination]

thoughts on the episodes they're keeping

and keep in mind with the OG. each ep is about 20 mins while netflix is usually 50 to an hour.. so i think they should be fine, like there is no reason for it to feel rushed.

The Last Airbender: Where we see the Air nomads attack/ anyone ready to see people burned alive? I'm not.. Also the gaang is going to the air temple where .. poor aang finds gyatso.

Warriors: Speaks for itself/ Kyoshi warriors/ Suki/sokka. hmm i wouldn't mind seeing Katara train with them either now that i think about it.. oh and I'm guessing Aang will let being avatar go to his head. im bummed Zhao is leading the charge but ohwell

Omashu: Honestly bringing the northern air temple characters here is fine by me.. hopefully sokka invents something/ we all saw bumi so he's gonna be included and i hope he's crazy.. if hes not there is no point in his character. Will get a MY CABBAGES moment. i know it bec why else would they cast him? Im sad imprisoned seems to be gone .. ): maybe they'll fit into omashu somehow?

Spirted away: Could this be the winter solstice episode? probably. im guessing they'll show Aang vision of an attack on the north pole Into the dark: The storm? it has to be the Storm .. and maybe will met Jet?? and katara had the waterbending scroll in the trailer maybe that will happen here too? or in the masks ep??? Masks: BLUE SPIRITS.. katara/sokka better suck on frogs (:

The North: SOO SOOONNNN .. well obv when they go to the north pole I wonder if they'll keep Pakkus sexism.. i cant imagine a reason to remove it.. as compared to sokka we aren't suppose to like this guy.. .. and we saw katara vs zuko that should be fun.. i want to see a live action Koi destroyng things too.. some badass waterbending or it will be a lame ending Legends: hrmmmmm maybe Sozi and Roku flashbacks? stories of past avatars.. maybe Azula stuff? its unclear..

it looks like fortune teller/imprisoned/great divide are gone.. and honestly TGD is very underated and undeservedly hated but.. yeah not needed here either.. so.. thats fine. bummer about FT but eh.. im sure its gonna be a 50 min ep as most netflix la series are so there really is no reason for these not to be a cohesive plot. time will tell.

[nalgasde-hao]

(Deciding if I should put this as anonymous or show my avatar...I just don't want anyone coming after me when I ask or say this stuff. They're just questions and I like to hear your answers...ah, screw it, I'm just gonna show my avatar. XP )

I got two questions and one opinion. Here's my opinion: I hate how they made Aang in Korra. People say that he was a bad dad, and I feel like he was written that way on the show, which wasn't intentional, but it looked like it was...by the creators themselves. It would seem the creators are in denial of how they made Aang, cause he's their fave character or something. Don't get me wrong, I like Aang too, but...the creators are really unaware of how they made him into a bad dad in Korra. ^^;

Now for the two questions:

Let's just agree that ATLA is the superior show, and Korra is...eh. Now, Kataang happened on that show, which is fine. HOWEVER, do you think if Taang happened, the events in Korra would've been a WHOLE LOT different and maybe a whole lot...better? Cause Aang's kids' Bumi and Kya in Korra felt unwanted by him in a way and Katara would've said something(which I honest-to-goodness think the whole Kataang hooking up 3 months later after the war in ATLA thing is poor writing. Like let us SEE what happened after that!), whereas Toph would've been like "Twinkles, no, get your priorities straight." And honestly, the Aang WE know would cherish those kids either way, it wouldn't matter if they weren't airbenders. I guess what I'm saying is, do you think Aang and Toph would've been the most awesome and take-in-charge power couple ever and that it would affect the story in Korra in general? Think deeply on that.

Do you think Kataang was necessary for the story of ATLA? I mean, I'm kind of being honest, I don't think anything would've changed if it wasn't included. However, I honestly do believe that Taang would've changed and affected Korra a lot more, whereas people would say Zutara would've affected ATLA. Course, I'm a big Taang fan, and I like Zutara a bit, but I'm mostly Team Taang. XD I just also think it would've made sense for Aang to not be so hooked up on Katara and actually start finding other girls attractive(cough, like Toph, cough) as he grows. It's just...I feel like the whole last part of ATLA was just bad writing. ^^; What are your thoughts?

Wow, first of all, thanks for taking the time to write to me! i really appreciate it ( ͡👁️ ͜ʖ ͡👁️)

Regarding your opinion, I COMPLETELY AGREE. I get that Aang only had Gyatso as a father figure until he was 12 y/o, so he's a bit screwed on that front, but I am CONVINCED that what they did with his paternity was an aberration. I mean yes, surely he had to be absent due to his duties as the avatar, but I REFUSE to believe that he would have taken ONLY to Tenzin on a trip to learn the customs of the air nomads. If there is something that ATLA made clear to us, it is that no matter what nationality you come from, Aang is always going to want to make you smile and show you the fun that can be had, so yes, it doesn't make ANY SENSE to me that he wouldn't have brought to ALL their children to their trips. On the other hand, even though it might have happened a few times (because Aang is a bit of a dork pff lmao), Katara would have NEVER let that happend. Aang would have noticed and would have done ANYTHING to make up for the lost time with his two other children, so yeah, totally agree with you there.

I got excited so I'll try to be more brief with the questions ( ͡눈 ﹏ ͡눈)

Well, there are several comics after the Hundred Years War that more or less show Katara and Aang's relationship (and I'm not going to lie to you, even though I love Taang, Kataang are such a cuties). And regarding Taang as parents, I once read a post from @stitch1830 in response to something similar, and I couldn't agree more. More than opposites, both complement each other perfectly, and I think that in the same way that they do it romantically, they would also do it as parents. Toph, grounding expert that she is, would have been stern if she had noticed that Aang had preferential treatment with any of their children. Similarly, we know the flaws in Toph's motherhood, and I feel like Aang would have managed to balance the excessive freedom she gave her daughters, giving them more structure to their lives and a respect for traditions. On the other hand, I'm VERY SURE Toph was terrified growing up of her daughters being alone (of course, she's too stubborn to even show it), I guess afraid that she might be a terrible mother like her parents were to her. No doubt Aang would have calmed all those worries. AAGH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH (╥︣﹏᷅╥)

2. While Kataang wasn't necessary (it certainly wouldn't have affected the plot too much if it hadn't happened), I think it was a natural fit between the two. Extremely stressed and full of traumas from the war, Katara was the safe, maternal and familiar place that he needed so much, while for Katara, Aang was the hope to cling to, the calm she needed from all the anger contained by the war with the fire nation. Let's say that both of them were attracted to each other for those reasons, because they needed each other.

But you're right, for me, the love that Aang felt for Katara was something platonic, something that had to pass as his first love, after all, she was the first girl he met and who technically saved him from the iceberg. As you say, it would have been much more interesting if both of them grew up to realize that they were each other's support in times of war, and eventually broke up to meet other people (i mean, they met at 12 y/o and 14 y/o, and you say they were together ever since for the rest of their lives? I don't think it's realistic. I guess Aang's world travels and Katara's desire to work in the southern tribe would have also driven them apart over time.

My Taang headcanon is that their relationship started because, first, Aang has to continue to travel the world for his avatar duties, and on the other hand, because Toph hates being stuck in one place, loves freedom, and traveling the world is what connected her the most with it when they were at war. That way she would have joined his travels and little by little they would have begun to fall in love. It would have been entertaining to watch Aang and Toph go through the conflict of realizing that they find each other attractive. (Aang like: "Since when is my sifu so cute? If I fall in love with her she'll kick my ass!, Toph by her side would have been like: "Me? In love with twinkle toes? That skinny? (who is no longer so skinny cofcof) i prefer to be dead before!)

Yeah, I said I was going to keep it short- but FUCK, I really wanted to be able to express everything I was thinking. Thanks again for asking! I'll always be on the lookout and ready to continue talking about a thousand years of Taang and why I think they work so well, cheers!

[flameohotwife]

potential prompt idea: kataang star-gazing in the South Pole 😌

A short drabble for you, my friend! Also on ao3:

Peace in the Starlight

“It’s so quiet out here tonight,” Katara whispered, leaning against Aang for warmth. The absence of the wind was almost unnerving, especially with her husband around. She snuggled in closer and Aang rubbed his hands up and down her arms as they leaned back against the snow of their hut in the Southern Water Tribe.

Aang hummed in agreement. “It is quiet, but maybe it feels extra quiet to us because it’s been such a loud day and this is the first bit of peace we’ve felt in hours.”

Katara chuckled. Loud was an understatement. They’d spent much of the day flying on Appa, and had made the terrible discovery that Kya was getting her two-year molars and that she experienced motion-sickness on long flights. Kya had flown on Appa many times before in her young life without issue, but only for an hour or two at once. Unfortunately, this trip from Air Temple Island to the South Pole was much, much longer than that. 

Kya wailed the entire day. Not quite two yet, it was all just too much for her little body to process. Katara could tell Aang felt terrible, but there wasn’t much they could do. They needed to get South for her father’s retirement celebration, and both of them had been caught up in Republic City for too long to take a ship. Not that a ship would have necessarily been better, Katara thought.

Poor Bumi had tried to cheer her up to no avail, before deciding to spend his time reading or hanging over the edge of the saddle to talk with Aang on Appa’s head. But even he got sick of the noise after a while and, like most nine-year-olds, began to complain himself.

“How much longer?” he’d whined, pressing his hands against his ears in attempt to block out the auditory assault. 

“Still a couple more hours, Boom. I’m sorry,” Aang said. 

“UGH!” Bumi yelled at the sky. Those last couple hours had been filled with Kya’s screams, sickness, and Bumi’s near-constant grumbling, while Momo chittered nervously about their shoulders. 

Now, though, it was quiet. So quiet that their ears were almost ringing with it. They’d arrived in time for dinner, which Kya obviously refused to eat. Aang took her and gave her a soothing bath and put her down for bed while Katara and Bumi caught up with Hakoda, Sokka, Gran Gran and Pakku. Much later, once everyone was finally in bed, Aang and Katara escaped to recuperate and decompress. Together. 

They sat in that silence for a while, relishing it.

“The stars are beautiful, though,” Katara said eventually. They always seemed brighter in the South Pole than in Republic City, but they were particularly spectacular tonight. The universe seemed to twinkle in chorus above them, soothing her frazzled nerves. 

She felt Aang’s head tilt down towards her, and she angled her neck to peer back up at him. She grinned, already knowing what he was going to say. 

“Not as beautiful as you,” he said, leaning down even more to press a soft, sweet kiss to her lips. She sighed through her nose, losing herself in the comfort of him.

“You’re so cheesy,” she teased when he eventually pulled back, but her wide smile gave her away.

“Yeah, but you love me,” Aang said, cocking his head and donning a smirk of his own.

“Mmmmmm, that I do,” Katara breathed, lips so close to his she could feel the warm clouds of breath that escaped. “I love you, too, Sweetie,” Aang replied. Then he closed the miniscule distance between them to capture her in another kiss, erasing the hardships and exhaustion of the day. Maybe the stars weren’t brighter here. Maybe it was just the love she felt in this moment that made everything around her sparkle just a bit more. Whatever it was, she wanted to hold on tight and never let go.

[shrinkthisviolet]

hellooooo, A, C and T for the ask game please :)

A: Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

Oooh ok ok well, to start off with romantic:

Westallen, Snowest, Barrisco, Westhallen, Barriscowest, Snowstorm, Percabeth, Kataang, Maiko, Bumizumi, Shirbert, Samguel, Torisha, Narumitsu/Wrightworth, Franmaya, Klapollo, Junithena, Tedbecca, Roykeeley, Finnrey, Finnpoe, Reyrose, Jedistormpilot, ElizaDarcy (idk their ship name 😅), Kathony, Lukemara, Hanleia, PeterMJ/Spideychelle, Parksbornson

Keep in mind that these aren't all the ships I like, just the ones I love! Ex: Snowestallen is a cute ship, but it's a "like" ship, not a "love" ship. And these can always change tbh (they have, over the years), though usually this is what they are

Now for platonic (and I'm including brotps of my own making because I make the rules). Somewhat ranked but also not really:

Barry & Morgan (ofc), Jesse & Morgan, Lucy & Luke, Tina & Morgan, Lucy & Astra, Team Flash (Barry, Cisco, Caitlin, Iris, + Harry when he’s around), Barry & Cisco, Original Quartet (Luke, Leia, Han, Lucy), the Gaang (Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Suki), Iroh & Zuko, Izumi & Zuko, Izumi & Mai & Zuko, Bumi & Aang & Katara, Caitlin & Morgan, Morgan & Cisco, Rey & Luke, Sam & Tory & Aisha, Sam & Robby, Daniel & Johnny (when they’re not being idiots), Amanda & Carmen, Anne & Diana, Anne & Josephine Barry, Peter & Ned & MJ, Phoenix & Maya, Apollo & Trucy, Athena & Apollo, Athena & Blackquill

There’s also Morgan & James, who are currently a ship but become platonic. Idk where to put that so I’m just making it its own category. And Morgan & Thawne are so interesting but in no way a brotp

This list isn’t exhaustive, but I got most of them, I think! It’s hard because I love so many more brotps than ships 😅

The rest of the letter answers are under the cut for length:

C: A ship you have never liked and probably never will

Gonna try censoring this one a little more than my previous “ships I don’t like” answer, so it hopefully doesn’t pop up in any tags…but if it does, I’ve heard putting a # in front of the search term can keep it out:

Sn0wb@rry. The origins of that ship just puts me off too much, I can’t ship it in any capacity (and tbh they both have better love interests, even if poor Caitlin doesn’t have a good love interest post-s1)

T: Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

Doesn’t everyone? 😂 to name a few:

—Sam, Aisha, Demetri, and Eli were all childhood friends (the “Nerd Quartet”)

—Barry loves comics because of his mom, and that’s part of his motivation to be a superhero (comics canon! Headcanon in DCTV/Arrowverse)

—Ned’s the first one to figure Peter out, when they do their special handshake

—When they were supposed to be asleep, Iris used to sneak into Barry’s room, and they turned his bed into a mini pillow-fort 😂

—Barry’s Flashpoint adventure ~did~ change Caitlin’s past and give her powers—I’ll die on this hill, it’s the only way things make some amount of sense (and it’s no more ridiculous than the OTHER Flashpoint changes)

—Thawne was actually lying in s4 when he said he “hated every minute of [being Harrison Wells]”. Because literally wtf was THAT, writers??

—Maiko had two weddings: one for their close friends, and one for the Fire Nation. They were the first of the Gaang to get married…though they didn’t have Izumi until after Kataang got married. They wanted most of the “so, when are you having kids?” bs to die down first

—Lando introduced Luke (and Lucy) to hot chocolate, and Luke and Lucy love it 💞 (Legends canon I believe…tho ofc not Lucy since she’s not canon. In proper canon tho, this is just a headcanon)

—Barry makes the best hot chocolate ever

—Iris can bake better than she cooks…tho she gets easily distracted, hence the burnt/lumpy pancakes sometimes 😅 still, I gotta believe someone brownie-obsessed can make good brownies

—Finn is a legend among his former stormtroopers…as an enemy to some, as an inspiration to others

That’s all I can think of off the top of my head, tho there might be more!

ask game!

[nochi-quinn]

legend of vox machina season 2 episode 2: the trials of vasselheim OR sphinx-assisted therapy speedrun

giant eagle keyleth my beloved

"before I met you I would have found this very upsetting"

my partner remembers grog calling it vagisil in the stream; I do not remember this but also absolutely do not doubt it

australian matt mercer my behated

well. "behated" is strong. my beconfused.

getting "bidet" WAY early

percy you didn't get any education in statecraft you were like the fifth in line for anything

"expand the quadroads" I HEARD THAT (this time)

grant us a clip show

"when peril arrives here, our walls stand ready" yeah about that

raven queen!

"I have an old friend on the inside" a bitter ex-girlfriend more like

so much is being condensed and moved around but it mostly works!

kashaw!

stabby wheelchair!

fucking memelords

hello king bumi

"did you say yours already and I just forgot, or…" relateable

"the stormlord has no interest in dragons. his interest lies in warriors" mala: and yasha's personal relationships

I do miss grog naming pike as one of his friends for the groon fight even though she wasn't there at the time

(and vex hiding behind grog's leg)

zahra!

"you're not as charming as you think you are" vex: you take that back right the fuck now

"I just wanna put her in my pocket"

this is condensing quite a bit (and possibly combining zahra with the original leader of the Take) but also I'm just as glad to not have to deal with wil wheaton or felicia day

this demon slayer looking motherfucker

super-convenient trap door

the squeaky little "rage"

poor flametounge, only ever used as a flashlight

osysa is so fucking COOL

callout post for all of vox machina

wonder if that "save those closest to you" will come back with vex

like if kashaw will still do the ritual and pike has guilt over that, or if she learns how to rez out of sheer desperation

we do not need the lifespan angst right now osysa

"no one cares about you" what's his mother's name

who fixes these walls after grog bounces off of them

we don't do anything with dignity

"I don't care if I die. none of us do." scanlan: she doesn't speak for me

the divergence sequence is so fucking cool

ugh osysa's design, the way she's animated, her voice, everything about her

"step three?" "profit?" MEMELORDS

VICTOR

the fact that I can SEE matt's face

PERCY

no more LIES, PERCIVAL

and that was the last anyone saw of victor

I thought that was sumalee as the highbearer

(if that was already announced I absolutely forgot, I have a deficit of attention)

WELP TIME TO CRY

[aero-sense]

The game hints at Haru becoming one of King Bumi's guards in the distant future and it's just the perfect way for his character to continue to grow. It would be an amazing experience for him since Haru never got to learn earth bending properly. He was stuck in his village under FN rule, but now he can be taught by his fellow Omashu guards, which are some of the most elite benders in the kingdom. Even better, he can learn from King Bumi himself, who I'm the most excited to see Haru interact with. Haru still carries a lot of baggage from the war, which Bumi can match quite well.

Haru takes a lot of pride in his identity as an earth bender, but because of how difficult it was to reclaim it, it's a sore spot for his ego as well. He has a lot of pent-up anger towards the Fire Nation without an easy way to resolve it and it manifests his defensiveness. At the same time, Haru has a tendency to devalue himself since he struggled for so long to get to where he is now.

Because of his insecurities, he admires figures of authority, like the Omashu's guards, despite not always deserving it. There's also how class and colonization play into this, like the guards' treatment of Haru since he's from the country, and how Haru admires and even envies how grand Omashu is, unlike his village that had to suffer from colonization and enslavement (in the game's current timeline).

Haru can also be overly stiff and formal even in casual settings, especially with people like Aang and Bumi. He builds a very noble image the Avatar and King, and hopes to be an aide to them, without knowing how help them as individuals, and not as figures of power.

That's why it's good that Haru would end up as Bumi's guard, as he's the most well-equipped to tackle Haru's issues. Bumi is suggested to have a low class background as well, and that he climbed through the ranks of Omashu to the top, earning his title as King and one of the best earth benders around. He's very dismissive of power structures and rules, and prefers when people find their own loopholes. He knows how to play into his image as an senile old man to give people the slip. He understands the importance of having fun and loosening up, and how much that can work to your advantage as a bender. Most importantly, he shares just as much resentment towards the FN and the desire to protect your people when powerless, so Bumi would understand best where Haru is coming from.

I quite like their interaction in the game. Bumi and Haru bounce off each other well:

Haru immediately bows on his knees and recites a formal greeting to the King (like you know he was practicing it since he was a kid...).

Only for Bumi to joke around with Aang and leave poor Haru baffled (look at his face)!

Later on, when they reveal the Consul's plans to the Bumi, he tells them that he was already aware, and Haru reconfirms his faith in the King (like bro you did not know).

They're very cute and I can see them grow into a sort of comedic duo. As Haru strives to become the ideal Omashu guard: a stoic, loyal soldier there to serve the King's needs without question, Bumi sends him on the most nonsensical tasks to show him there's more to being an earthbender than just pretense and rules. Bumi would challenge Haru to think outside of the box and gain confidence in himself.

[likeadragonfruit]

Much like last book, anything that doesn’t get its own dedicated post is going into this brain dump post.

Big Picture

Overall flow

This book was a slog from the jump, mainly because how it ended made the prospect of 14 episodes building to that finale daunting

In retrospect, with the entire season finshed, I can say the first six episodes, despite their flaws are “better.” Even though I had such a difficult time watching those on a consistent basis.

I better understand why the “Beginnings” two parter is such a breath of fresh air on the whole for so many people. Even if it does introduce Vaatu, and with him begin the slide in story quality.

But really, there was a precipitous drop in the last two episodes of the book.

Also remember how I said this show had a cast size management problem? Well here’s where it starts worsening. We drop Tarrlok, Amon and Hiroshi… but keep Korra and the rest of the Krew, Tenzin and his family and Lin. Then add Korra’s family, expand Tenzin’s family with Kya II and Bumi II, plus Varrick…

Korra’s spirituality arc:

I- don’t have much to say here

I thought I would, but I don’t

There’s remarkably little to say

Which is odd for an arc that’s supposed to be about rounding out Korra’s knowledge and understanding of spirits and spirituality 

Themes:

The big thing that jumps at me is identity, which Tenzin embodied well. Shame more of that didn’t completely trickle down to Korra

Character opinions

Korra: I’m kind of frustrated and underwhelmed, but less with Korra herself and more how her arc has been handled, and going to be handled going forward 

Mako: I came into this season expecting to hate Mako more than I did in book 1, but that didn’t happen. He, his romance subplots not withstanding, was fine. In fact, his police work storyline was a relative bright spot.

Bolin: frustrates me immensely. Had a good moment or two in this season, but at this point I despise how he’s written.

Asami: she has some good moments, but she’s hurt by barely getting anything to do. In a sense, she’s the Krew’s Toph in terms of having no arc

Tenzin: I’m a little stuck for what to say, here. I guess I don’t hate what they did with him? He does bring up the question of how airbending and spirituality work, but that’s another story.

Bumi II: I don’t hate him, but I don’t particularly like him either. 

Kya II: favorite new addition this season. She doesn’t get too much to do, but she more often than not holds the familial brain cell

Lin: poor Lin. She spends most of the season playing disbelieving boss for Mako’s Cassandra storyline. I still love you tho

Tonraq: meh. 

Unalaq: an absolute mess, but could’ve worked with a clearer sense of where they were going

Eska: don’t hate her but don’t care for her either. She did present a contrast for some franchise weirdness, though.

Desna: I was surprised by how much I liked him. Probably helps that he’s not weighed down by a terrible romance subplot like his sister

Varrick: he’s absolutely awful, amoral businessman and thrives in the role of self-interested schemer who helps when it’s to his benefit

Shipping

sigh yeah, I’m dedicating a section to the messes this time

Even if I wasn’t big on Makorra, the way it’s handled is such a mixed bag. On one hand, when their break up happens mid season, I could see where both of them were coming from. But there are several points of their relationship that feel like they’re written with this air of “women, amirite?” When Mako is having difficulty understanding what Korra wants or needs at the moment

And that’s before getting to the whole amnesia element… 😒

But then I’m not really against or for Masami. They can be cute together, but the way the decided to have them get back together, kinda, felt weird. Then they torpedo that too…

Do I have to comment on Boleska? It was bad, just bad. Made worse by trying to have Bolin get back together with her at the end of the season.

Looking at Varrick and Zhu Li’s dynamic in book 2, and looking forward to the finale, they’re really going to try to pass this off as romance?

Stray observations

Asami and Bolin are actually a good duo and them hanging out before Bolin got swallowed by his dumb plots for the season was nice

Despite generally not caring for the Beginnings two-parter, I did come to find myself coming around on them. I still didn’t think it was a necessary story but it’s well told for what it is.

Also there’s something about Raava saying “we will be together for all of your lifetimes” that just hits 

In “The Guide,” Tenzin brags about the garden at the Eastern Air Temple being the very one that Aang trained with Guru Pathik in. So that’s apparently public knowledge? Oh okay

Why is Unalaq working for Vaatu?

(No really, why is Unalaq working for Vaatu?!)

Despite all my grievances with Bolin’s handling for the book, there’s something wonderfully poetic about Varrick’s plan unraveling due to that “knucklehead earthbender” he underestimated 

At the end of the season, the level of detail for my notes plummeted. Around “Darkness Falls.” I basically gave up.

But I also find it interesting that there’s the decision at the end of whether or not to leave the spirit portals, when Korra is presented with an opportunity to that no other Avatar was: to stop being the Avatar. But there’s not even a debate there, she just wants to reunite with Raava and try to regain her connection to her past lives.

Mind, the “leave the spirit portals open” idea has a lot of ways that it should backfire

The franchise never going to get to deal with the can of worms that Korra’s successor 10,000 years in the future will have both Raava and Vaatu inside them, will it?

From what time I’ve read, this was the most hellish season of either show to finish. It took from May 2011 for the writing process to begin to November 11, 2013 to finish mixing the final episode, which then aired 11 days later. 

And on a personal note, gathering my thoughts on this season was much harder than with the first.

It’s been like pulling teeth to try say what I wanted to about this

Now onto book 3 😬

[oneatlatime]

The Great Divide

Is this episode as bad as people say?

It starts pretty at least.

Would Little Miss Steals From Pirates really be a stickler for camping etiquette? Also, I have to agree with Sokka on this one. If you're lucky enough to live somewhere with such predictable precipitation that you can name your seasons after it, hell yeah don't prepare for off-season weather unnecessarily. Imagine the freedom that comes with not having to carry an umbrella everywhere.

Something that's occured to me is that Katara is always slapping Sokka around (usually for a comedy bit) but Sokka never gets to slap her back. We're like three minutes into this episode and Katara's already thrown sticks at Sokka twice. It's about time Sokka throws some back. There's probably some cartoon violence rule that says violence is only ok when it's gendered the one way, but isn't it about time that got changed?

When Aang namedrops his job a slowed down version of the flute melody from the credits music plays. Neat.

Really liking the banjo type music in this episode.

I have bad luck with spelling phonetically, so the tribes will henceforth be known as Prissy and Dirty.

Gotta say, Prissy seems to always be attacking. Looks like Dirty wouldn't even bother with the feud if Prissy didn't keep bringing it up.

That Canyon guide earthbends a seriously large amount of earth. Like Bumi quantities.

Another responsibility added to the nebulously defined Avatar duties: peacemaking between peoples. I figured he was just for spirit stuff.

Appa's weight limit is apparently at least 11 people plus supplies. Strong boy. Also, this episode he understands enough English to know where to go without a human steering him.

"Would you rather be hungry, or dead?" Love how that line is delivered. Also I get the feeling this poor guy's been working a customer-facing role for too long.

Tiny Momo.

More evidence that this guy is a Bumi level earthbender. Diverting a landslide in mid-air? Diverting a whole landslide's worth of momentum-heavy rocks without any contact with them? This is nuts. Throw this guy at the Fire Nation and the war would be over in ten minutes.

"Now we gotta help me!" Unexpectedly funny line.

You know, now would be a good time for the Avatar to know earthbending. Actually how does that work? Aang can bend all four elements, but I guess he hasn't unlocked earth yet? What unlocks it? Apparently not peril.

Told you that earthbending guide had worked too long in customer service.

I get it. This whole tribal conflict is a mirror of Sokka and Katara's fight at the beginning. I completely agree that Sokka would have the grounded practicality of the Dirty tribe, but I've never read Katara as a "you can never be too careful" type of person. If anything, she's the much bigger risk-taker, especially compared to Sokka. In the very first episode, it was Katara who (with Aang's encouragement) went on the Fire Nation shipwreck. In the second episode, it was Sokka who was carefully assembling the supplies required to rescue Aang. Frankly Katara and Sokka as written in any other episode would fit into the opposite tribes, although Katara wouldn't fit the aesthetic of the Dirty tribe. Maybe that's the point? That they're not so different after all?

"Well, I guess it's ok if everyone's doing it." I am abruptly reminded of the fact that I am an adult, not a member of the target audience of this show. That line awakened my disapproving mom voice with such force that I had to restrain myself from yelling "if all your friends were jumping off a cliff, would you jump too?" at the screen. Honestly, I thought that the fact that I am not the target audience would cause problems like finding the humour too juvenile or the plots too basic or preachy. Turns out the humour is not juvenile at all, and the plots are complex and sincere in a way that makes any message being delivered seem a natural consequence of the plot and the opposite of preachy. No, where my age gets in the way is when Katara acts her age in small ways that make me want to throw half a dozen parental figures at her, with great force.

Wanna bet that Gin-wei and Wei-gin were the same person, if they existed at all?

Add gullible to Katara's list of things she needs to work on.

The justifications for bringing in food are hitting 5D chess levels.

This is gorgeous. I'll side with the Dirty tribe just because their myth is prettier. Yes, I'm that shallow, but this episode is too.

Sokka maintaining the appropriate amount of distance from the conflict and not getting sucked in like his sister by focusing on food is a lovely touch. Both true to Sokka's less trusting tendencies and true to the fact that he is a teenage boy.

Don't worry Aang, you're not missing much.

This canyon guide's got wisdom. Impartiality is lonely, and getting out will be a team effort. Definitely not his first rodeo.

Every argument between these two tribes is started by the Prissy one. Would they just put a sock in it?

Don't let the praise go to your head honey. I don't think they took it like you meant it.

One-man-army Aang strikes again.

"You're all AWFUL!" Yep. I think that's the crux of this episode. The problems are tiny and stupid, but seem huge when you're in the middle of them. Another of the side-effects of being impartial is that sometimes the pettiness and irrelevance in the grand scheme of things of very heated debates is infuriating.

"I only took their side because they fed me." Sokka shines this episode.

How did Aang make the canyon crawler pile? First time I haven't been able to follow fight choreography.

Combination muzzle and reins? I wouldn't have thought of that in a million years. And are people who aren't airbenders/acrobats going to be able to pull that muzzling move off?

Apparently yes. Gotta love cartoon physics.

Congratulations to both tribes for having superhuman grip strength. Clinging to a moving giant bug thing at 90 degrees while ascending a several hundred metre tall canyon seems neither fun nor possible.

I love the fake-out resolution. No way would 100 years of oral history be forgotten because of one bout of co-operation.

I love the noise these two make. They sound like ducks.

The panda referee going completely without explanation is fitting, given that Aang is completely done with these people, and is putting in as little effort as possible to get them out of the way as quickly as he can.

Can you really forget 100 years of prejudice so quickly? I predict there will be some hiccups along the journey.

Someone get that poor canyon guide a cushy retirement.

Look at these faces. I have nothing to say about them, they're just worth looking at.

The purple sky in the last scene is a delicious colour. Also harmonises really well with water tribe attire.

Casually overwriting a century of oral history (otherwise known as culture) in order to get the stupid problem to go away is funny as hell, and putting two warring tribes on the path to peace is an objectively good thing to do. That being said, any anthropologist in the audience is cringing, and I would think at least Katara, who seems to be very aware of the cultural importance of her waterbending, would not be ok with Aang casually rewriting someone's history like that. And maybe an Avatar that lies that easily is not the ideal. It's certainly realistic - sometimes bullshit problems require bullshit solutions. And lying equally to everyone is technically impartial, right?

Final Thoughts

This episode is not bad. That is my ATLA hot take and I will stand by it. Do you know what this episode is? It's an episode where Aang and friends get to see what their more ludicrous adventures look like from the perspective of an uninformed outsider. I guarantee you that Aang & company's attitude by the end of the episode is an exact mirror to how the guards in Omashu felt after hosting them for a couple of days. 'Good riddance to that nuisance, may it never darken our door again. What a headache that was.' We always see Aang's adventures from within, with the context to understand what is going on. Riding a mail cart down a mail chute makes sense to Aang and the viewer, but the guards see it as a disruptive nuisance that needs to be stopped. Hating a member of the opposing tribe for a past betrayal makes sense to one of the tribe members, but Aang and the viewer can see that it's a disruptive nuisance that needs to be stopped if they want to get out of the canyon alive. I liked that the episode did let us inside both tribes' perspectives, so that they aren't entirely unsympathetic. But even with an understanding of the dispute, what essentially amounts to a century-long blood feud is objectively a bad idea, especially with the fire nation after both tribes. It's not like the fire nation will go after one but not the other; both tribes will just be earth kingdom citizens to them, as they are to Aang, the impartial observer.

This episode was sort of Aang & friends getting a taste of their own medicine. It also maintained a consistent attitude of not taking seriously the problems that people who are too involved are taking too seriously. I think that the overarching theme of the episode is basically 'it's not that deep.' Sometimes the Avatar's duties will include solving petty, stupid problems. Good to see that Aang has at least one workable, if ethically dubious, strategy for handling said problems.

I do feel that Katara's sudden goody-two-shoes characterisation in the tent fight in the beginning of the episode was incorrect, unless I'm missing or forgetting some time she's clung to the rules before. It was obviously to set up the episode's larger conflict on a micro scale between her and Sokka, but as I said in my post on the Warriors of Kyoshi episode, if you have to Flanderise your character in order to make them eligible for learning the lesson of the episode, maybe they weren't the right character to use to drive home the lesson.

Aang is so zen most of the time that I enjoyed seeing him lose his temper on people who absolutely deserved it. Sokka had lots of great lines this episode, and Katara was a beast with that water whip of hers. Looks like, much as I don't want to admit it, stealing the water bending scroll paid off.

It does bother me how every argument between the two tribes seems to be started by the Prissy one. I would have preferred if the two tribes were equally antagonistic, I guess that would just be fairer?

If this episode was aiming for Southern Air Temple or Jet levels of depth and emotion, then this episode would be bad. But this episode, to me at least, is clearly a goofy side trip style episode, like the King of Omashu. Makes sense to have some utterly irrelevant side adventure after and episode as dark as Jet.

As an unexpected bonus, Zuko's characterisation was wonderfully consistent this episode!