#and then Zuko wrecks him. the end.

[nanabanonana]

really like the idea that Zuko wakes w the sun bc it gives him ample time to just stare at the love of his life while he sleeps all cute and drooling all over the pillow. it's cute (it's gross) and he wants to wake up to this sight for the rest of his days

meanwhile, Sokka keeps asking Zuko to pls not stare at him so early in the morning. he knows what he looks like and it's not flattering, no matter what Zuko says.

Sokka: stop looking at me

meanwhile Zuko: no ❤️

[ecoterrorist-katara]

The tragedy of Katara’s parentification

Sokka and Katara were both parentified, and it’s a profoundly life-changing thing for both of them. One of the saddest things in ATLA, though, is how Sokka sort of got to outgrow parentification, but Katara never did.

Sokka’s told to be the man. The provider, the protector. He’s not so good at the former (his hunting failures are a consistent source of comic relief), and he takes failures of the latter very, very hard. He doesn’t manage to save Yue, and that wrecks him. After Yue, he becomes extremely protective of Suki in a way that’s borderline offensive to her. He’s willing to do anything to protect his friends and his family, including something as irresponsible as breaking into the Boiling Rock. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Sokka is the only one of the Gaang who unambiguously kills. The rest of them may technically have clean hands because of cartoon logic, but Combustion Man is very dead, and Sokka is the one who killed him. We don’t know how he feels about it, because the show never goes there, but I have a pet theory that Sokka is so uncharacteristically (remember he was team “leave Zuko to freeze to death”) against Katara confronting Yon Rha in The Southern Raiders because he’s the only who knows what killing feels like and wants to protect Katara from it.

But by the end of the show, Sokka’s in a place where he can start to let go of his need to protect. Objectively, all his friends are unbelievably powerful and can take care of themselves, including his sister and his girlfriend. Suki is the one who saves him in the final battle, representing not only a reversal of his initial cartoonish misogyny, but also demonstrating that he is worthy of protection. And of course, he and his friends saved the world, so there isn’t really an enemy that he has to protect them from anymore. Sokka’s loved ones create the conditions under which his parentified behaviour is no longer necessary. Sokka would still have to take the first step to stop seeing himself as the one who has to lay his life on the line, but at least it’s possible for him.

But not Katara.

Katara had to take on the mom role after their mother was murdered, which meant she was responsible for domestic labour and emotional support. Sokka says in The Runaway that her role was to keep the family together. Unlike protection, that’s always a full time job regardless of the war. We see Katara spending more screen time than anybody cooking, getting food, mending, and generally doing women’s work. We see Katara giving everyone emotional support, including strangers and her enemy. We see Katara putting aside her own discomfort and her own hurt in The Desert because if she falls apart, they all die. Nobody ever showed her that she doesn’t need to be the only one who cooks, or that somebody else can be responsible for the emotional wellbeing of her friends, or that — god forbid — someone else can actually be responsible for her emotional wellbeing.

That’s why I never cared for the Ka/taang argument of “he teaches her to be a kid again!” Putting aside the fact that Katara ends up taking care of Aang a lot more as the series goes on, the whole tragedy of parentification is that you can never again be a child. That part of your childhood, your god-given right, is robbed from you. It is extremely precious and important to still be able to be a kid, but breaking free of parentification is not about seeing yourself as a kid. It’s about breaking free of being responsible for everyone’s feelings and behaviours.

For Katara, that responsibility is not problem of perception, but of reality. Unlike Sokka, who was told and shown that his loved ones are capable of protecting themselves, Katara has zero reason to believe that her loved ones are able to feed and clothe themselves and not fall apart emotionally. Between Toph and Sokka who emphatically don’t want to do this work, it all falls on Katara. Telling a parentified child that they just need to loosen up is akin to telling an overworked mother that she needs to just relax (“happy Mother’s Day! You get a break from chores, which you will catch up on tomorrow because nobody else is doing them”). It doesn’t accomplish anything if nobody creates the circumstances under which it’s possible to let go of responsibilities. A lot of Zutara fans, spanning all the way back to the early days of the fandom, like the “Momtara and Dadko” trope where Zuko also does chores. Why? Because even without the concept and language of parentification, many fans recognized that Katara’s performance of domestic and emotional labour is inequitable and probably very taxing.

Growing out of parentification is about more than just letting go of old expectations: it’s also about finding a new way to value yourself beyond the role you grew up with. I’ve said this before, but it’s very important to acknowledge that just because a kid is parentified doesn’t mean they’re actually good at being a parent. In fact, it’s probably a given that they’re not, because they’re kids performing roles that are developmentally inappropriate! Sokka remains a shit hunter; he becomes a decent fighter but he’s still miles behind his friends. A big part of healing from his parentification is finding another area — strategy, engineering, project management (what else do you call that schedule) — where he actually excels, to which he can dedicate his time and from which he can derive satisfaction and a sense of identity. For Katara, fighting for the oppressed and combat waterbending give her that. Crucially, however, Katara does not stop being a girl when she becomes a warrior. She’s still responsible for domestic and emotional labour. Unlike Sokka, whose protector duties were more or less relieved as the series went on and he found new ways to contribute to the group, Katara continued to perform her old role in addition to her new one (which is depressingly realistic btw, look up feminist theory around the concept of the second shift). Still, it’s important that she found these new ways to value herself and her contributions…

…which disappear in her adult life. Where’s adult Katara fighting for the oppressed? Where’s adult Katara enjoying her status as a master waterbender? Where’s Mighty Katara? Where’s the Painted Lady? Where’s the person who vanquished a whole Fire Lord?

What do we know about adult Katara? She’s no longer a rabblerouser or an ecoterrorist. She did not translate her desire to help the downtrodden into a political role, like being Chief or on the United Republic Council. She’s not known as the best waterbender in the world, only the best healer, even though her combat abilities are what she took the most pride in. Even as a healer, she established no hospitals, trained no widespread acolytes (except Korra, I guess?), and made no known contributions to the field.

What Katara is known for…is being a wife and a mother. The same role she was forced to take on at age 8. One which she performed for the next 80+ years.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I believe Aang was right to end the war by sparing Ozai. But the only (imho) valid reason some people say he should have done it is because they wanted Aang to realize that pacifism is flawed.

I'm gonna disagree with you here, because a lot of the flaws fans talk about pacism and how ATLA in particular handles it as a concept are 99%:

1 - People being ignorant/racist and not knowing the difference between pacifist monks and "make love, not war" hippies.

2 - People being ignorant/racist and refusing to understand that there are different kinds of pacifism, even within the same cultures/people groups.

Aang is very clearly not the type of pacifist to go "You can NEVER react with ANY kind of violence towards someone else, even if it's to defend yourself/someone else" (which does exist, both IRL and in the show, just look at the owl spirit in "The Library").

We see him fight, and even be quite aggressive in said fights, in a lot of episodes. We also see he has no issues with invading the Fire Nation. More importantly, for the longest time the Avatar State was a result of him being pissed off enough at some kind of injustice that it makes him lose control, meaning he is very clearly affected by the horrors of war to the point of RAGE.

What makes him a pacifist is the way in which he doesn't WANT to lose control, doens't WANT go from aggressive to full on cruel, and, yes, wants to defeat his enemies, but not kill them.

And as I keep repeating, the show DOES make him question that last boundary he set for himself. He gets told by a past Avatar, who was also an air-nomad before anything, that, when there is such a large threat to everyone's life, including his own, he has to put aside his own spiritual needs and take a life - provided there isn't another option. But there was, so Aang took that, even after he decided that, yes, if there was no other way, he WOULD kill Ozai.

What people don't like is that Avatar, although questioning some types of pacifism, is far more interested in questioning the way people are WAY too eager to use violence to solve their issues, and, more importantly, expect someone else to get their hands bloody.

Fire Lord Sozin starts the war because he, according to himself at least, wants what's best for everyone and would like to share the Fire Nation's glory and great life with the other nations. He tries to do by invading foreign territories, killing his best friend, and commiting genocide. The fucker even has the dragons, an obvious Fire Nation symbol, to be hunted to extintion.

When Jet is angry at the Gaang for ruining his plan to free a village from the Fire Nation's control by blowing up a dam, Sokka asks "Who would be free? Everyone would be dead."

Zuko is banished because he spoke out against a Fire Nation higher-up's plan to use soldiers as fresh meat to bait the enemy into a more vulnerable position, thus assuring the nation's victory in that battle. He openly says "These men love and defend our nation, how can you betray them?"

When Zhao wants to kill the moon spirit, Iroh tries to stop him by pointing out that the Fire Nation needs the moon too (seriously, if it wasn't for Yue's sacrifice and Zhao's death, the Fire Nation would have had to create a word for "Big-ass wave that wrecks everything and kills people" like Japan did).

When Aang is deliberately trying to trigger the Avatar State because he doesn't want anyone else to die in the war, Katara, who had her life ruined by said war, is against it because while she opposes the Fire Nation, she cares about Aang and, in her own words, seeing him in so much pain and rage hurts her too. When Aang can't force himself to go nuclear, an Earth Kingdom ruler attacks Katara and makes both her and Aang, two very traumatized child soldiers, think he is going to kill her.

More importantly, when Ozai wants to burn down Earth Kingdom cities, he says "A new world will rise from the ashes, and I'll be supreme ruler of everything", to which Zuko concludes that, if they don't save the world before his dad takes over, there won't be a world to save.

And what does he say to Aang when he is about to kill him? "You're weak, just like your people. They didn't deserve to live in world, in my world."

Avatar does questions pacifism, and is critical of it on ocasion (again, watch "The Library"). But it's biggest theme is being critical of VIOLENCE, of resorting to it immediately without considering any other option and acting like it doesn't have long-lasting negative consequences, both to the person suffering it to the person inflicting it (see Azula's breakdown, Zuko's angry outburts only making him more miserable, Jeong Jeong growing to resent being a firebender, Zhao accidentally burning his own ships, etc)

The show is constantly highlighting that, yes, sacrifices need to be made for the greater good - but that CAN'T be normalized because it inevitably leads to a never-ending cicle of cruelty, as well as suffering to the one who has to do the dirty job (because lets not forget there's a big difference in how a soldier that is constantly in battle sees the war and how a king that just gives the orders but never goes into the actual combat sees the war).

The show embraces pacifism, despite knowing some versions of it are flawed, because the narratives themes are:

1 - EVERYONE is capable of great good and great evil

2 - No group has the right to impose it's own lifestyle onto others

3 - If everyone is either dead, mentally (and physically) scarred for life, or preparing to kill someone as revenge, then being killed by someone who wants to avenge that person, who will themselves be killed for revenge later, then the "greater good" you're sacrificing everything for doesn't actually exist because NO ONE will have a good life in a world that is stuck in the cicle of violence.

[purple-obsidian]

I'm back in your inbox again. Hello 👋

Been thinking about your ak jason todd and you've mentioned that his men know about her. They're intimidated by him and for good reason. But, hear me out, is Jason still working with scarecrow in your story?

Maybe Scarecrow is looking for the weakness in what seems like the arkham knights flawless armor. Maybe one of Jason's men isn't so loyal, or maybe scarecrow uses fear gas to get it out of them.

But I'm thinking how badly Jason would react if the reader was even in the slightest bit of danger or even vaugley threatened by scarecrow, even in passing. (Or slade, or even one of his men.) I think there'd be a bullet involved before the sentence is even over. Cause no matter how he treats her, she's still his person.

hello my friend! <3

in my little au, my fics 'say it back' and 'let go' happen just after the events of arkham knight, so jason is no longer working with scarecrow. i imagine that gotham is still a wreck, and jason hasn't yet transitioned to being red hood. so he's 'found' himself enough to have helped bruce in the end, but he's still harbors a crap ton of resentment and anger towards him and the others, and is still not above using lethal violence against those he thinks deserve it.

in my mind, this time period here is extremely tumultuous for him as he struggles to redefine and analyze what his goals and plans are now. like, if you're familiar with ATLA, i liken it to prince zuko getting physically ill after letting appa free. a sort of crisis of his self image. joker spent so much time convincing jason over and over how batman left him, abandoned him, telling him that bats was the enemy. and jason believed it, but when push came to shove, jason didn't exact his revenge. this turmoil inside of him, along with the unprocessed trauma of jokers multitude of atrocities, is what fuels a lot of his anger and unpredictability. his hired men are left over from his militia, he kept a handful of his most trusted guys on his payroll to help solidify his authority in gothams underworld. however, in my version of events, jason and reader were reunited back when he and scarecrow were still working together.

so, back to the original question. if earlier on, scarecrow had found out about reader, [and you're right, he had to trust some of his men to help keep her safe, so they could of had the info squeezed out of them. or maybe they were loose-lipped and talking shit, who knows.] no way crane could've resisted the temptation.

i think we can all agree that jason would use lethal force to protect reader. his own sins against her be damned, just because he's treated her like shit doesn't mean he will allow anyone else to threaten her or even touch her.

if it were dr. crane trying to use his fear gas on reader, jason would kill him on sight. no questions asked.

if it were someone less dangerous, like one of his militia getting too comfortable with reader, i see a possibility of him taking his time. we saw in 'let go' that he has some dark urges inside of him to hurt others the way he's been hurt. don't know if he'd actually have it in him to brutally torture someone, but if reader was injured, assaulted, or seriously harmed, who knows.

an important thing, though, is that i think jason would feel guilty after. not for killing them, not if they hurt his person. he'll be able to live with that just fine. but anything that prolongs their suffering i think he would feel remorse for, later on, when he's had more time to heal. more than anything, it will scare him to look back on it and know he's capable of such evil.

there would be a rare moment of vulnerability between jason and reader after he's eliminated the threat and can check and make sure readers okay.

if reader were suffering from fear gas, he would take her somewhere private and hold her close, not letting go until the toxin is out of her system, even if it's hours. most likely blaming himself the whole time and triggering him to spiral further down his path of self-hatred.

in the case of his militia men, they would be knocked out, and jason would get reader to safety asap. if reader has severe injuries, he may chance setting foot in a hospital, even though it reminds him of arkham. if the injuries are less severe, he would probably lock her up somewhere safe while he 'takes care' of the perpetrator, later returning to reader with bloody hands and eyes full of fear.

no matter the outcome, poor jay would be extra protective over reader for a while, second guessing who he trusts to leave her with and who is vetted enough to guard his safehouse when she's inside.

gahhhhh you're making me want to replay the games to brush up on the lore. its so tragic, jasons story. my heart hurts for him.

i would apologize for such a long-winded, unorganized response to a simple question, but i know you're just as obsessed as i am 😈

xoxo sid

[natlacentral]

For ‘Avatar’s’ Dallas Liu and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Zuko and Iroh’s relationship ‘was the most important thing’

One of the most emotional callbacks in Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is in the music.

The fourth episode of the series, “Into the Dark,” features a flashback to a funeral. As young Prince Zuko offers his condolences to his Uncle Iroh on the death of his son Lu Ten, the score transitions into an orchestral version of the familiar melody, “Leaves From the Vine.” The song, first heard in the animated “Avatar” series, has long been associated with the Fire Nation general’s grief.

“That wrecked me,” said Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who portrays Iroh in the new live-action adaptation, now streaming.

“I only just heard the [new] song in December,” added Dallas Liu, who plays Zuko. “I started imagining our scene and [it] killed me.”

The live-action “Avatar” co-stars were in high spirits as they discussed the show and their characters’ relationship over coffee at a West Hollywood hotel earlier this month. (This reporter borrowed a page from Iroh’s book on the joys of spending time with fascinating strangers and opted for tea.) 

Both actors say they are big fans of the animated series, which originally aired from 2005 to 2008 on Nickelodeon. More than once they mentioned the high bar set by the original show and the responsibility they felt to honor its spirit (a previous attempt was not well received), especially because everybody else on set loved the show, too.

“Not even just me and Paul,” Liu said. “Our cast members, our writers, even our transportation and craft [services] team.”

“Avatar” is set in a world inspired by Asian and Indigenous cultures, where certain people have the power to manipulate elements through a martial arts-infused ability known as bending. The original series was the rare children’s cartoon that touched on weighty topics such as war, genocide and imperialism within a fantasy coming-of-age story of a young hero destined to save the world.

“Zuko is a character that I’ve always loved since my childhood,” said Liu of the exiled Fire Nation prince. He is desperately searching for the Avatar — a special bender reincarnated into every generation tasked with maintaining harmony in the world — in order to win his father’s approval and a way back home.

Accompanying Zuko on his mission is Iroh, a renowned general and former heir to the crown who’d spent years at the front lines of the Fire Nation’s ongoing war to conquer the other nations.

Iroh “seems very jovial, but you know there is way more to him than that,” Lee said. “He carries a profound sense of sadness and loss.”

Working within a franchise with a passionate fanbase is nothing new for Lee, who has appeared as New Republic pilot Captain Carson Tevain several recent “Star Wars” series including “Ahsoka” and “The Mandalorian.” But getting cast as Iroh has offered the “Kim’s Convenience” actor a chance to take on the challenge of portraying a character that is already well-loved.

For Lee, Zuko and Iroh’s relationship “was the most important thing to get right.”

“It’s such a backbone to [Zuko’s] story arc,” Lee said. “To his pursuit and where he starts and where he ends.”

Because while “Avatar” is a story that follows Aang (Gordon Cormier), the world’s last airbender, as he figures out how to embrace his destiny and become the hero he is meant to be, it’s also a story about the teens in Aang’s orbit carving out their own paths.

Knowing this, Liu appreciated that their “Avatar” explores Zuko and Iroh’s past a earlier than it was revealed in the animated show. While there are some hints, it’s not until the second season that the animation digs into the Fire Nation royal family’s (dysfunctional) backstory. And some flashback scenes, like Lu Ten’s funeral, are original to the adaptation.

“I was excited because there was no expectation for it already,” Liu said. “I think there are scenes and dialogue [from the animated show] that people are going to look for with a certain level of expectation. But for everything that is new for Zuko on our show, it allowed me to be an artist and be creative.”

These moments were blank canvases Liu relished. He explained that to prepare for the younger version of Zuko in these flashbacks, he took hints from what he learned from his time on “PEN15” watching creators Maya Erskine and Anna Conkle portray middle-school versions of themselves.

“I think I got to tap into that younger side of my own self because I do see similarities between myself and Zuko,” said Liu. “Especially 14-year-old Zuko because there’s no ounce of evil in him.”

Iroh is despondent at Lu Ten’s funeral, as a procession of guests stop by to express their sympathies for the death of his only child. When it’s his turn, Zuko only offers the sentiments that are expected of him at first. But then he shares more heartfelt words as he tries to console his uncle. It’s one of the show’s earliest looks at Zuko’s humanity and capacity for love.

“Dallas does some really, really beautiful work at that funeral scene,” Lee said. “That speech that he delivers is just so heartbreakingly beautiful and comforting. He does all the heavy lifting. I just needed to react to what he was giving me.”

Not for the first time, Liu is quick to respond to the compliment by expressing his own appreciation for everything he learned from Paul during their time together on set. 

“Especially that scene, and in a lot of our other emotional scenes, I can’t stress how much I actually relied on Paul,” Liu said. “He was always there every day to support me with honestly all of our scenes.”

Equally charming was when Liu tried to credit Iroh’s influence as the reason why Zuko is able to open up, for one brief moment, with Aang during another episode. Lee is quick to point out that Zuko’s compassion was something already within him from when he was younger, as seen in the flashback scenes. 

Lee is aware that “Avatar” fans have wondered whether he would sing “Leaves From the Vine” on the series. It was first featured in Season 2 of the animated “Avatar” in an episode that shows Iroh singing the song through tears after he sets up a small memorial for Lu Ten on his birthday. (That segment was dedicated to Mako, Iroh’s original voice actor, who had died before the episode aired.)

“I didn’t want to spoil anything … but I knew that one scene was coming up,” Lee said. It’s one of the reveals that leads to “everybody look[ing] at Zuko differently. I love that. This adaptation, it really is about subtext, past experiences, traumas, success, failures, all of that stuff.”

Both Liu and Lee hope that their Zuko and Iroh will get to continue on their journey.

“What I love about their relationship is, Iroh is there to give advice, but he never tells [Zuko] what to do,” Lee said. Zuko’s “got to find his own way, and he supports him. … I really do wish [we get] to do more [seasons], because I want to see that relationship flourish even more.”

[oneatlatime]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[wileycap]

I haven't got the spoons for writing anything long, so I'm just throwing my ideas out here in little snippets. This little snippet turned out a bit long, but...

This is super dark. I've tagged all of the dark stuff, and if I've missed a tw, please tell me. I don't think I did. There are no graphic descriptions.

ATLA AU: Aang defeats Ozai. Aang loses everyone.

Aang has just defeated Ozai. He looks out to the horizon, and sees a number of airships crashing down. He mourns the possible loss of life (even though he can see many crews huddling on the tops of the airships, surely there were some who didn't make it) but ultimately, he's at peace with it.

He sees one particular airship go down rough. Well, he thinks. Time to go rescue people.

He secures Ozai to the rock and even though the man is a monster, he promises to come back and that the former Fire Lord will be treated humanely.

There are bodies in the wreck, and he offers some words to Agni on their behalf, because that's who he is, and he remembers that Fire folk need to be guided on their way to the Sun. He remembers the words from a hundred years ago like yesterday, because for him, it was. Well, yesterday and a year.

But when he finds three bodies, huddled close together with a burst steam pipe near them and the room slowly filling with water, Aang finds that he doesn't have any words at all.

He takes them from the wreck and lays them out on the beach. Sokka must have been holding Suki and Toph close, and from the shape of the bent metal sheets in the room, he could guess that Toph might have tried to cushion their fall with Metalbending. But he'll never know for sure.

If they'd only had a Waterbender. The boiling steam could have turned to a cool mist.

Waterbending takes his thoughts to Katara. She or Zuko weren't anywhere to be found. Were they gone, too? If they weren't, how was he going to tell Katara that her brother was dead? And Toph. And Suki.

He sits by the bodies on the beach for a long time. Eventually, some of the surviving soldiers approach him.

He gives them a short speech. He brings Ozai out to them. Ozai is still feeble, and babbling commands to kill the Avatar, but as Aang had hoped, he can't inspire fear or respect without his bending. His soldiers refuse to attack Aang.

A few of the airships can still fly. He orders a crew to fly him to the Fire Nation. He has some kind of inkling that that's where Zuko and Katara might be - he tried meditating to see if he could connect with Katara the same way he did when she was captured in Ba Sing Se, but the grief is still too near. And in any case, ending the war is most important, and to do that, he has to go to the Fire Nation.

Ozai stays on the bridge with him. He thinks its good for the crew to see him, to lose their fear of the man. A voice inside him whispers that it's good for them to see that Aang could do it to them, too.

He quashes it. It's the grief and anger talking. He tries to meditate, to center himself, to let himself feel all of his grief so that he can begin the long journey to overcome it. But the meditation doesn't help, and he can't even cry.

They reach the Caldera.

He finds the Fire Lord sitting on her throne, alternating between laughter and tears and screaming and whispering. Crying for her mother, screaming for Zuko, laughing to her father that she did it, didn't I do good?

The duel is short. The Avatar State allows him to overpower Azula with ease. Her energy is bitter and twisted and wrong, but he untangles the knots and removes her bending. Curiously, Azula doesn't even fight it very much.

The screams and laughter and sounds don't stop. But some sages and ministers and a few guards come in, and he centers himself, meaning to explain to them that the war is over, when one of the sages asks him if he knows any Waterbender healing.

He's happy for a chance to help someone. He tells them that he isn't as good as Katara, but he knows the basics.

Prince Zuko has been asking for Katara, they say. (None of them knew the name of the Waterbender who came with Zuko to challenge his sister.)

Aang's hands are very cold. He tells them to take him to Zuko, immediately, and to bring pure water.

Zuko is lying on a bed. His chest is as crimson as the covers. His breathing is shallow. He keeps rasping out Katara's name until he sees Aang. Then he tries to say something else.

Aang tells him not to speak, and gets to work on his chest, but he doesn't have Katara's skill (why didn't he train more, he asked himself, and even when a fair little voice tries to tell him that he had his hands full with learning three styles of bending simultaneously as well as everything else that had happened) and the wound is severe.

Prince Zuko dies in the early hours of the morning, and Aang stands there with his hands dripping. Blood and water.

He still can't cry.

Then one of the Fire Sages in the room asks him if he knew the Waterbender who came with the Prince.

He asks them where Katara is. They show him.

His fingers are numb, but he cleans the blue necklace as best he can, even though the ribbon is almost burned to nothing.

The wind is picking up.

He asks them what happened. A sage timidly and hurriedly starts explaining. The two rode in on a sky bison, there was a duel, Zuko dove in front of Katara, and...

Wait, he says. Where is Appa? Where is the sky bison?

The beast was slain by Azula, the sage says, and continues his explanation like that was a footnote, until suddenly he can't breathe and the wind is turning into a storm.

As the sage chokes, Aang tells the others to take him to Appa, now. He needs to see.

They had dragged Appa into a stable. There's black on the white of his fur.

He stares until he can't look at Appa anymore, and then he turns around and looks at the quivering sages and ministers instead.

It was once the Fire Sages' duty to serve the Avatar, he says. You will serve me again. And together, we will remake the world.

All of them bow.

They ask him for his commands.

The reply is spoken by a thousand voices:

"Bring me Azula."

In Ba Sing Se, Iroh looks out to the city. Children are playing in the streets. Vendors are serving food at no cost (he might have indulged in a dish or two). Ba Sing Se is free, and he is happy.

And he still can't shake the feeling that something is horribly wrong.

[petricorah]

“we can’t leave him here” “sure we can” is so goddamn funny when you know they’re divorced (via @haroldtea)

so which one is it? who says it?

Does Sokka say it? And it hurts Zuko more this time. He was barely conscious before, just making out the voice of the Avatar's non-bending friend say they should leave him to die. And part of him wishes they would. He'd failed.

And here he was, failing again, but now he was losing the man he loved.

"You can't leave me here," Zuko said, his voice a frail whisper. He knows it's selfish. He knows Sokka belongs with his people, that half his heart is with them, that he could do far more good there, where he belongs, but he can't leave him there.

"I have to," Sokka says.

And he does.

Or is it Zuko? Do you think he sees Sokka grapple with his decision, not knowing if his heart lies with his people or Zuko, and Zuko is angry, even though he knows he shouldn't be, that he doesn't have the right. Do you think he leaves him first, before Sokka's even decided (before Sokka works up the courage to tell him he'd chosen Zuko.) Do you think he burns him before Sokka has the chance to do it?

"Y-you can't leave me here," Sokka said. His voice is wrecked, ruined. He's pleading with him.

"Sure I can," Zuko said, and he brushes past him, unable to bear the look on Sokka's face.

Do you think Zuko feels some satisfaction that things have come full circle? Do you think that gives him enough power for him to survive the first few weeks being apart from Sokka? Do you think he leans into his anger so he doesn't have to dwell on his own pain and regret?

But then again, there's only one real answer, right? They get back together, they don't--the end was bound to happen. It was unavoidable.

"I can't leave you here," Zuko said.

He held Sokka in his arms. His hand was over the wound on his stomach, pressing as hard as he could with heat from his palms. But pressure, cauterization, none of it was going to work, and they both knew it.

The dust of battle was distant from his mind, and the only thing he could focus on was feeling the pale pulsing of Sokka's heart from the wound just under his ribs. With every second, it was getting fainter. His life, slipping from under his fingertips.

"Zuko..." Sokka said, mouth parted as he looked up at him, trying to hold himself up somehow.

Zuko knew that tone of voice. He knew what was coming next. He refused to let it happen.

His fingers curling into Sokka's blood-soaked shirt. "I-I can't do this without you. I don't want to do this without you." Sparks flashed from his palm, singing Sokka's shirt. "I love you. I never stopped loving you."

Sokka smiled, but his eyes were sad. It was...a little too late for that confession. He tried to sit up slightly, but his elbow gave out, and Zuko readjusted, still trying to put pressure on his wound.

"Don't try to move," Zuko said tersely. "I-I need to think. We're barricaded in, but I-I'll find a way to carry you out--"

Sokka winced, placing his hand over Zuko's on his torso. "You're gonna make my sacrifice meaningless?" he said with a huffed laugh that cut off in a pained gasp, eyebrows drawing together. "That's a dick move, Hot Stuff."

Zuko bit back the bile in his throat. His eyes flicked back and forth, looking at Sokka's ashen face. He could feel him getting weaker, see it in his face, the focus waning in Sokka's glassy eyes.

Sokka had pushed him aside, taking his place. That hit wasn't meant for him. He wasn't even supposed to be here, and now...

"You shouldn't have done that. W-why did you do that? Why? You're so--"

Stupid. Reckless. Foolish. But he couldn't say that. He couldn't say any of that, because there was a good chance it was going to be the last thing Sokka heard him say.

"So are you," Sokka retorted weakly.

Reading his mind. Even now.

Sokka was serious now. The softness was gone from his infliction, replaced with the severe decisiveness of a leader and ambassador. "You have to go before they come back."

"I can't leave you!" Zuko snarled, his hair falling into his face, as every inch of his body felt like it was breaking, crumbling to pieces, his voice splintering in his throat. "You can't leave me."

Sokka's ice melted, and he spoke in a low voice, a whisper between them, in that tone that he used to say he loved him. "Sure I can," Sokka said. He reached up, knuckles gently moving back his long black hair, thumb grazing across his scarred cheek.

Zuko leaned into his touch, eyes screwing shut. He was trying to chart it to memory, the feeling of Sokka's fingertips, him, everything, because he couldn't do this. They should have had more time. He'd wasted it.

"You can't leave me," he repeated desperately, voice barely registering above the sound of his own anguish.

"It's okay, Zuko. Let me go."

And then his hand dropped, and coldness where his touch had been rushed in.

///

Sokka slowly opened his eyes. He was looking at something white.

He squinted.

White and cracked.

Did the spirit world have peeling ceilings?

He tried to sit up, and immediately collapsed. Pain unlike anything he'd experienced flashed through him. Well, flashed would presume that it left quickly. This was wave after wave of agony, stretching through every part of him. He let out a stifled gasp, but managed to prop himself up with a locked out elbow, only to feel a warm hand on his shoulder. It gave a slight nudge, but that was enough to send Sokka falling back into the sheets.

"If you try to get up again, I'll kill you."

He stilled. That voice, soothing and sharp, unmistakeable.

He was almost afraid to look, because it couldn't be real.

It was Zuko. Alive. Well, with a few more burns and scratches, but alive. Alive.

"You're alive," he breathed out. Then his heart pounded in his chest. "Unless we're both dead, and the spirit world makes you heal from the injuries that killed you before you get to be a spirit ghost or--"

"No," Zuko said. He bent down and helped Sokka sit up, propping the pillows behind him so he could rest properly, then he sat back down in the chair next to Sokka's bed. "We're alive."

Sokka's heart pounded against his ribcage, and he relaxed slightly in relief.

"The assassins?"

"Taken care of," Zuko said. "Thanks to the research you put together, we were able to find the ambassador who betrayed me. Thank you," he said. "And thank you for...risking your life for me. Again."

Sokka shrugged, ignoring the pain that stabbed through him with the action. "You've done it for me before."

Zuko's yellow eyes darkened, and Sokka faltered. This had been different. Even as he'd shoved Zuko aside, he didn't think he'd get to...see him again, much less...

"I mean, I wasn't that close to dying. I just had to be dramatic." The lie came quickly with a nonchalant wave of his hand, but that, too, sent pain through his joints. He pressed on. "I mean, some of that stuff you said." His trademark smirk played across his lips. "That you still loved me? How many years has it been?" He shook his head with a click of his tongue. "That's embarrassing for you, Fire Lord."

Zuko chuckled, a low, good sound. "Is it?"

Sokka nodded, closing his eyes for emphasis. "And you're probably thinking about how you regret it, now that I didn't actually die. But you can't take it back. And you're probably thinking, 'oh, he got hurt because of me, I can't be with him now, blah, blah, blah.'" He opened one eye up, and saw tension in Zuko's shoulders. Of course he was right. "But..." he leaned forward slightly, ignoring the pain, because it didn't matter. Nothing mattered except.

"I'm telling you, you can't get rid of me. You're stuck with me forever. No matter what you say or do, friends or more, I'm here. I'm going to be by your side. And I'm not going anywhere."

Zuko was quiet for a moment, and Sokka hesitated. Zuko's face was unreadable, and Sokka could feel his heart in his damn ears--

But Zuko closed the gap between them, and kissed him.

It was soft, gentle, like he was afraid he'd hurt him, but Sokka melted into it all the same, his hand fitting in his spot on Zuko's cheek, Zuko's warm palm a grounding presence against his neck.

Zuko pulled back, swallowing, his hair slightly out of place. Sokka resisted a smile. That was always his favorite part--seeing Zuko's stoic facade break in a mess of blushing and mussed hair. Seeing him lose control, to just let go when he was with Sokka. Even now, through everything they'd been through and everything that had changed between them, he still...

"I love you too," he said. "In case you didn't know."

Zuko smiled, and reached forward to take his hand. "Good. Because I'm not leaving, either."

[xthis-rebelle]

@zutaramonth Day 1 prompt: Reluctant Allies

Take My Hand, Wreck My Plans

And Zuko knows, no matter what happens to him after his showdown with Azula, he’ll never, ever regret turning on his father and becoming allies with the gang. With Katara.

Or, Zuko’s thoughts about his developing friendship with Katara.

Read it below, or here on AO3

It all starts when Zuko decided it was his turn for a life-changing field trip with Katara to hunt down the Southern Raiders.

Zuko had seen many scary things in his lifetime, but nothing held a candle to the cracking of bones and puppet-like movements from their leader as Katara gestured and narrowed her eyes in focus. She, he’d decided then and there, was not messing around when she said she would end him, permanently.

Zuko had seen many impressive displays of strength in his lifetime as well, but nothing compared to watching Katara, his not-quite-friend-not-quite-enemy-mostly-reluctant-ally, bend the rain droplets into sharp, jagged ice daggers that deliberately missed Yon Rha when she threw them. She’d never forgive the man for taking away her mother, but even he had to admit there was something absolutely pathetic about watching him snivel like the rat he was, begging Katara to take something of equal value.

Zuko’s own father couldn’t— wouldn’t— forgive him for trying to spare his countrymen from death. His own father didn’t hesitate to use his fire to mutilate and maim him with indifferent resolve and cold steel, but there was just as much steel and resolve in Katara’s voice when she says, “But, I am ready to forgive you.”

She’d hugged him right after, and his heart exploded. She’s short, fitting perfectly in his arms, her head brushing his chin. She squeezes, once, and Zuko breathes in Katara—her skin, cool like a sudden spring breeze, her scent, like crisp water. His hands caresses her long brown curls, and he closes his eyes as he (reluctantly) lets go.

“Zuko?” Katara pulls him out of his thoughts, “Everything alright?

”Oh? I’m fine,” Zuko says.

”Are you worrying about Azula again? You shouldn’t be. We’ve got this,” Katara says, as softly as she can from sitting atop Appa, but he can hear that familiar steel in her voice. Smiling, she turns around to look at him, her hair whipping around her face.

And Zuko knows, no matter what happens to him after his showdown with Azula, he’ll never, ever regret turning on his father and becoming allies with the gang. With Katara.

[gilthoniel94]

Hot Stuff (I'm Not Talking About Tea).

They have been careful. It all started with stolen glances and now they are stealing kisses here and there, when they make sure no one is around. Not because they don't want anyone to know. They could shout from the highest mountain their feelings for each other, but they decided to keep it for themselves for a while, let it be just their little secret. They are good at hiding and pretending, they are just close friends enjoying their time together and working to make a better world.

His office has become their favorite place to hide. People think that they are discussing politics and restoration plans for all the nations. Surely they do that too, but when the ambience gets too electrifying and charged with emotions, they have to act on it. And that's what just happened on this beautiful Spring morning. The birds were singing a beautiful melody and the cherry blossom trees had started to bloom, just like their romance. They were just talking about the need for more public hospitals and then, she was sitting on his lap with both her hands on the slope of his neck. His hands were one on her hip and the other one on her waist, grasping firmly, like never wanting to let go. Mouths clashing, tongues dancing, teeth biting soft wet lips. They got lost in space and time, the world around them was just a blur.

They just stopped for a moment to take some air, panting and breathing heavily. They looked into each other's eyes, so many emotions that not even the most talented poet could put into words. After a while, Zuko spoke.

"I want to recite you a poem I read yesterday and it made me think of you. Actually, I'm all the time thinking about you even when I think I'm not thinking at all. All my thoughts fly to you."

She stared at him with the brightest and deepest blue eyes and the softest kindest of smiles. Shit, he was doomed and deeply in loooo... No he doesn't want to think of that word yet. He doesn't want to scare her away. It has been just two weeks since their confession and agreement to start slowly and take time for things to develop smoothly. Love was a heavy word, at least right now. But he couldn't find another word to describe the turmoil inside his heart. Devotion? It was beyond that. Want? Sure, but that word seemed so superficial right now. Longing? What he has been feeling for the last 7 years. But it was way more than that.

Her voice took him out of his thoughts.

"Then I shall listen to it, Fire Lord." She leaned and kissed him softly on his scar. Damn, damn, damn. She is making things more difficult.

"Ok but don't laugh. You know I'm not good with words at all."

She laughed, and something mischievous glinted behind her eyes.

"Sure you are. Remember how you confessed? I think you have the smoothness of a tigerdillo."

"Come on, stop mocking me. I was a nervous wreck. I thought I was going to vomit and then pass out in front of you."

"Yeah, I thought that too. You were pale as a ghost. All the color came back to your face when I said that I felt the same way about you. But it wasn't any different for me, you know. I was trembling and shaking. That's why I was holding my hands so tightly. I didn't want you to notice and make you more nervous."

"But in the end, it all turned out well. Right?" He smiled and she thought that his eyes were like two little suns warming her soul. And his smile, so rare to see but she knew that it came with all the sincerity he had. He doesn't smile for everyone. He just does that for her, for Iroh, his mom, his sisters and their friends. But the smiles that were meant just for her were something unique.

"Absolutely. I wouldn't change a thing. It was perfect and it is perfect right now. I am just sad that we won't be able to be on a proper date for a while. But it's for the best. The world will go crazy once everyone finds out that the Water Tribe Ambassador and the Fire Lord became more than allies, and I'm not ready for that just yet. I want to enjoy all of this and keep it just for us for a moment."

"Don't worry, I feel the same. Even though I want to tell everyone, at the same time I want this little peace we have right now."

"I agree. So, the poem?"

"Right, the poem. Firstly, I want to make a promise here and now. I will read you a poem every day of our time together. For as long as you have me, you will have to endure the pain of listening to me reciting poetry. That's what you get for being so beautiful, smart, courageous, brave and for not leaving my thoughts all day."

She laughed a little too loud and then clapped her hand over her mouth. It was music for his ears, but they had to be quiet to avoid gossiping ears.

"Sorry, you just say the dumbest things sometimes. So wise and yet so dummy, Fire Lord."

"Hey, I never said I am wise. Okay here I go. I don't know if I will be able to hold your gaze so I think I'll close my eyes and just do it. I promise that with time, I will look you in the eye while I recite. I just need to get a hold of my nerves."

"It's ok. Don't worry about that. We have all the time in the world to get to that. I will also close my eyes to make you feel comfortable and focus on your voice and not your lips."

"Really smooth. I could learn from you, master Katara. How many men have been eating from your hand?"

"You should. And so many I can't count but only you have my heart" she said and then closed her eyes. "Ok, I'm ready."

He also closed his eyes, took a deep breath and started reciting, slowly not wanting to mess any single word:

"You are a promise

You are a song

Smooth like a waterfall

A sea in the calm.

You are the summer

You are the sun

You are the desert plain

Where the wild horses run.

Deep as a valley

Sweet as a stream

Dark as a storm cloud

And bright as a dream

You are what I long for

You are what I need

When it's You and I

Then my heart can sing

When it's You and I

Then my soul is free.

You are all my life

You are all my strength

You are all my hope

You are everything"

He starts to slowly open his eyes and is received by hers, all round and open and shining with unshed happy tears. She doesn't say a word, her tongue is tied. She just acts on impulse. Suddenly she decides that sitting on his lap is not enough and positions to straddle him, so that he can put his hands on her hips. And then she kisses him fiercely, with the strength of a tsunami, powerful waves of emotions crashing and destroying every single doubt and fear that were left in their hearts.

This is the most passionate kiss they have shared since it all started. She can't keep her hands still. For a moment, they are holding his handsome face, then they get at the back of his head to finally start grasping firmly his soft and long hair. She can't get enough of him. She wanted to get lost in him, forever. In his eyes, in his lips, in his scent, his skin. Just let him melt her and warm her for the rest of their lives. She loved him, she was sure. She had loved him for years. She had dreamt of this for a while and now, it became reality. The grasp on her hips and the way he caressed her back grounded her and helped her realize it all was real and not just a dream again.

And then, the door started to open, and panic took over them. They were sure they had locked it but it seems that they were so eager to be alone that they let go of this tiny yet important detail. With all the ability that her body could gather after what happened moments ago between them, she made her way to her chair and grabbed the book that she has been pretending to read all the times when someone knocked on the door, opening it on whatever page and reading whatever was written, covering her face to hide her burning cheeks. Zuko, on the other side, composed himself quickly and grabbed his pen and started passing pages and pages of documents, as if looking for something in particular.

She took a glance just above the book to see who had interrupted the most amazing kiss she ever had. Of course, it was Iroh. Smiling brightly and openly, carrying a tray with a steaming kettle and two delicate cups.

"Good morning, nephew. I brought you tea to calm your racing mind. I know you have been working a lot lately. Oh, miss Katara! Good morning to you too", he said like he hadn't noticed her before. Then he served the tea he brought and passed their cups. "Your beauty blesses my tired old eyes on this warm Spring morning. So good I brought two cups. One was meant for me but I gladly give it to you now. I thought that being this early, my nephew would be all alone here and I came to pay him company."

"Good morning, Iroh. Yes, we decided to start our duties a little earlier today. And thank you for your compliment. You know, Fire Lord Zuko could learn more of your way with words. By now he could be married to a nice lady." She let go of her book and took the cup Iroh offered and sipped from it, enjoying the honeyish taste and sighed in satisfaction. "Delicious tea, as always."

Zuko grunted and took his eyes off of the documents that he was (pretending) reading, an accusatory look shot at her and she responded with an apologetic gaze, like saying: "sorry, I have to play my part".

Iroh laughed wholeheartedly. "Oh dear. I know, I know. I have even tried to make him read poetry too. I am also sure that by now, if he listened to me, he would be married to a beautiful lady and start giving me and Ursa lots of grandchildren."

"Yeah, I'm sure of that." Zuko said harshly, while taking a sip of tea. "Uncle, thanks for the tea but if you don't mind we have so much work to do. We want to finish it so we can see you later and have breakfast with my mom and my sisters."

"Of course, nephew. I am sorry, I won't be delaying you any longer. And Zuko, be careful with the hot stuff. Your lips are all red and swollen. And I'm not talking about tea." With that he winked at them and left the office as fast as a bolt.

And they were left there, at a loss for words. It seems they weren't so careful in the end.

NOTE 1: So I have been a sailor on this ship for how long? 19 years or so but haven't written anything even tho I had so many ideas running through my head.

I don't know why, at 30 years old, married and with a 18 month old baby boy I decided to act on it. I think it will be my only fanfic cause I honestly don't have all the time and energy in the world right now (motherhood and house stuff is so tiring), but I don't want to regret not writing at least this little thing for these two idiots I love. I hope you enjoy this piece of my mind. Thank you for your time and I want to apologize in advance if my writing is not so good. English is not my first language so I'm sure there will be mistakes.

NOTE 2: The poem Zuko recites is composed by two songs: "You" and "You and I", both by Future of Forestry. I do not own any of them.

[princess-of-the-corner]

I keep thinking of mistaken spirit. Specifically how weird and respectful Enji treats the Gaang. He sees them as children yet doesn't shy away from involving them in battle plans. He's said the doesn't want them on the battlefield but "I know I can't stop you from fighting, the most I can do is supervise." Where most adults have actively disregarded Sokka's plans, Enji takes every word he says seriously. Katara thought he was going to be like Pakku at first, but was swiftly proven wrong by Enji asking Katara to spar with him. "This could be a good opportunity to learn how to fight a firebender without the fear of death." Toph thinks he found a way around her truth detection, but no he genuinely sees them as worthy fighters. Aang knows he's not a spirit but appreciates his advice when he asked how to handle Ozai. He's scared of Suki, she knows Enji is smart because he knows who to fear. And yes out of everyone he's mostly scared of Ty Lee and Suki. No I refuse to elaborate.

YES.

Like.

He knows what teenagers are capable of. Even before the whole series' canon, he'd worked with a lot of interns/work study students that have been hella good, even if they're rough around the edges.

He also knows like. After Toya, he sees it in these kids. A determined Heroic Spirit that won't quit no matter how he tries to keep them out. And he's learned from how he handled Toya that if he bans them entirely, they'll go behind his back anyway. He'd much rather do what he can to make sure to mitigate the damage.

I think-

Okay so like. I think in terms of sparring matches, Enji would focus on both Katara and Toph. Katara notices this, and as she's used to sexism she assumes it's because they're girls and all.

Eventually this causes a fight but he does handle it well in the 'hold on i'm not good at picking up on anger/frustration and bad at explaining' thing. But he does explain that his reason for focusing on them is that they have zero backup options. Like. All the non-benders have both weapons and hand--to-hand combat skills. Zuko and Azula have both bending and combat(Zuko has swords, Azula knows more hand-to-hand). Aang is a touch lacking in combat, but he's got access to four elements so finding a way to nerf him is hard.

Katara and Toph, on the other hand, only have their Bending. And he's focusing on them because he's learned that there's various ways to negate Bending (Spirit Nonsense™, Chi Blocking, environmental factors, etc.). If something happens, they have no backup.

Re: Aang: I think that some of the changes may change this scenario? Like uh. In Canon part of the reason Aang had to take down Ozai was because the Avatar taking down the Fire Lord meant something. (Even Iroh kinda points this out of he'd have no issue killing Ozai at this point, but the world would see it as a power struggle between royals rather than the end of the war). With this AU, Enji kinda.... fixed that problem. Because 'The Fire Spirit' showed up and called Ozai a bitch ass fraud and not the rightful heir to the throne. So anyone can kill Ozai now.

Being scared of Suki is entirely reasonable actually. She can wreck you.

Being scared of Ty Lee is similar but different because of the Chi Blocking. Because it works on his Quirk and that freaks him the hell out.

[erisenyo]

For this prompt game!

(@demondarakna and NSFW-y content ahead!)

“I don’t know,” Sokka sing-songs, “That sounded like a lot of begging at the end.”

Zuko snorts against his shoulder. “Did you hear yourself? You were gagging for it.”

“And yet you were the one gagging on it earlier.”

“And you were begging then, too.”

Sokka rolls his eyes even and wiggles down more comfortably under Zuko’s weight, enjoying the slide of their sweat-damp skin together. “Like you weren’t so desperate you could barely keep your hands off me during dinner.”

“I’m sorry.” Zuko pulls back enough to hit him with an incredulous look, “Who was deep-throating a Komodo rhino sausage at the table again?”

“It just tasted good,” Sokka huffs, pretending at disdain, “Don’t flatter yourself.” Though now that he’s thinking about it, Sokka wouldn’t mind finishing off that plate Zuko shoved into his hands before hauling him out of the formal dinner…

“Oh,” Zuko says, dry, as Sokka cranes around, finally finding the plate just off the rug and twisting to reach for it without needing to unhook his legs from around Zuko’s thighs. “You did plenty of flattering for me when you—shit, are you bleeding?”  

Sokka pauses, one arm extended toward the plate, craning back to see a wicked rug burn across his shoulders. He blinks, registering the sting—on both sides—through the lingering post-orgasm languor of his body, finally shrugging and offering Zuko a smug smile. “It was that good, huh.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Zuko says, levering himself to the side enough for Sokka to actually reach the plate, laughing at the annoyed grumble Sokka lets out over the loss of contact. “Relax, you can get right back under me—”

“Not the same.” Though still good.

“—and like you didn’t love every bit of it.”

He did, he really did, his body fucked-out and syrupy in that way only Zuko can do to him, every inch of him feeling it in the best kind of way as he rolls to the plate, grinning back over his shoulder at the way Zuko unabashedly watches the show.

“Don’t worry, love,” Sokka says as he admires the marvelous sight Zuko makes sprawled out naked in the firelight, relaxed and lazy and comfortable. “You got your own damage.”

Zuko stares a moment, uncomprehending, then glances down at himself, seeming bemused as he registers the scratches on his hips and twisting to try to see what Sokka is sure is a matching set on his back, too.

“Huh,” Zuko says, contemplative.

“Yeah,” Sokka agrees, munching into a dumpling that is still delicious even cold.

Zuko glances around at the wreck they’ve made of their Omashu suite. “…There’s probably blood in a few places.”

Considering the path they took to finally end up on the rug…yeah. Probably.

“Got a good story for it?”

Sokka purses his lips, taking another bite. “Assassination attempt?”

Zuko hums. “They’d probably be upset about that one.”

“Then nope,” Sokka says cheerfully. The cover stories have been fucked right out of him.

“Shame,” Zuko says, not sounding particularly broken up about it. But then, it’s not exactly the first time…

Sokka gives him a sideways look. “We probably can’t make it much worse, then.”

“…Oh?” Zuko says, intent, clearly registering his tone, and it might not even be ten minutes since they both came but Sokka is suddenly feeling like eating the…berries and honeyed cream, he decides, off of Zuko sounds like just the way to start the rest of the night.   

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://www.tumblr.com/demaparbat-hp/756408322513616896/i-used-to-just-think-zutara-was-cool-because-zuko?source=share

Thoughts on the response?

Thank God you said "the response" because the ask itself such bullshit with that "This relationship between an unrelated 12-year-old and 14-year-old is totally pseudo mom-son incest" take XD

I only have two things I strongly disagree with in this response

"Zuko and Mai never learned to make their relationship work"

Zuko full on says he doesn't want to rely on anger anymore and has been trying really hard to keep true to that, so no more of the toxic behavior he displayed on "The Beach."

We see in Nightmares And Daydreams that they found a way to show affection towards each other that they both appreciate and understand, so no more sea-shell incidents. That same episode also has Mai being Zuko's safe space, as he repeatedly goes to her for comfort and to vent, and she's giving him all of her time and energy on those moments because she wants to be a supportive partner.

Finally, the big, seemingly undefeatable obstacle in their way was the fact that Zuko wanted to dethrone his father, while Mai was still supporting Azula - and that was solved when Mai took that leap of faith and risked it all to help Zuko achieve his goal, because even if she couldn't fully understand it yet, she loved and trusted him.

They made it work and they made each other happy. How is them ending up together in any way a contradiction or regression?

"The show dropped the arc of Aang needing to let go of Katara"

I still can't believe some many repeat that lie when we SAW it wasn't true. Aang let of of Katara on Crossroads of destiny, even after Iroh told him he was wise to choose love over power.

He then IMMEDIATELY dies and it's KATARA that saves him. In "The Awakening" Aang leaves her and everyone behind to try and defeat Ozai somehow because he can't accept letting the world lose hope - and Karata is WRECKED by it. She does not WANT to be let go of.

Hell, Iroh had to let go of Zuko only to be reunited with him, same with Maiko. Even in the finale, in which the entire group is splitting up for the sake of strategy, the happy ending is not just the Kataang endgame, but EVERYONE being happy with ALL their loved ones (relatives, friends, love interests) because, surprise surprise, things aren't black and white. We can't let our attachments blind us to things we have to do, but they exist for a reason: because they are things that make life worth living. Even the Guru uses Aang's love for his people AND FOR KATARA as a good thing that helps him with his chakras.

That plot wasn't "dropped" and it was never exclusive to Kataang's romance. Knowing when to let go and when to hold something close to your heart is a consistent theme through Avatar, and we repeatedly see that you don't really have to let everything go FOREVER - see Aang saying in "The Awakening" that he won't accept hiding his air-nomad tattoos, then doing it anyway for the greater good, and because of it being allowed to show them proudly again by the time of the eclipse.

For fuck's sake, in the finale Aang is literally told by a past Avatar, who was also an airbender, that, BECAUSE he's the Avatar, he can NEVER fully detach, because his duty is to the world, to the people in it, TO KATARA.

Aang letting go of Katara permanently would make them both just as miserable as they would have been if he never let her out of his sight.

[magicaljarofbeans]

ATLA Live-Action Series

So.

I just finished the season, and there are some good things, and... some bad things :|

I have purposefully not engaged with what the rest of the internet think about it since it came out so keep that in mind. All I know is that it's not been well received and people hate the acting (all from other people telling me in person rather than me looking it up).

Let's start with what I consider the good bits:

Sokka is funny

Iroh is amazing as always

Zuko is pretty good, but specifically amazing with Iroh

Admiral Zhao is even more detestable

The bending looks pretty good (minus the ice sledding)

Iroh's backstory made me cry like the animated series (it's the goddamn music ok!)

The cabbage man makes an appearance

Firelord Ozai is cast and acted well

Suki is great

Ok, I think that's probably the extent of the actually good. Now for the absolute wreck that is the issues:

The removed Sokka's misogyny, a key aspect of his character development

Aang isn't running away from his duties as the Avatar (and doesn't at the start either), despite it being a key character trait he works through. However, everyone is gaslighting him into thinking he has been?

Katara and Aang are simply not acted well. They are the youngest cast members, but it's incredibly forced and not really written well to begin with.

Katara has become Gandhi. Well, is trying to be. She just keeps blurting out inspirational messages and not saying much else.

THEY CHANGED THE ORDER OF EVENTS. This doesn't have to be an issue, but it is when it's done in a way where story-lines no longer make sense. i.e. Sokka meets Suki before they go to the northern water tribe and meet Yue. Basically Sokka kinda cheated on Suki and just doesn't care. (There are several more examples of this)

Aang literally doesn't bend a single drop of water himself. As in, NOTHING (giant water monster doesn't count)

Katara and Aang don't end up getting trained at the Northern Water Tribe. Like. At all.

Katara is labelled a "Master Waterbender" and now has to train Aang???? Ummm, what?

Aang can just fly now. Glider don't glide, it fly. It woosh over continent in a single day!

That brings me to, WHAT EVEN IS TIME. Apparently going from a small village in the middle of nowhere to Roku's temple in the middle of the Fire Nation takes a day by glider (Katara and Sokka were just sleeping and weren't for long enough to worry about food or water)

Ozai is happy to sacrifice half his navy to "distract them while we take Omashu". Which is so far away from the Northern Water Tribe that the distraction wasn't needed.

It's Book 2 with Book 1's ending?????

The old people are clearly young guys with old age makeup. Apparently they can't get older guys anymore? (Except Iroh :)

Aang keeps talking to the previous Avatars but not actually getting anything out of it.

Apparently he has to be at a temple to talk to the past Avatars now.

Azula is introduced prior to the Northern Water Tribe fight

We see Ozai's face. It removes the mystery and power behind his presence

What is up with Jet? He's now a bomb placing terrorist. Not too far from accurate but still

Oh and his base sucks. Literally only like 2 meters off the ground at most.

I'm sure I have forgotten some atrocities, and there are several things that are ok that I haven't mentioned (Momo and Appa look fine) but overall, it's fine, I've watched worse shows, but it's not that great. Just watch it for Iroh.

[shyjusticewarrior]

Reverse Robin/Mismatched Mantles AU

Damian is the first batkid born, but not the first to join the fam due to still being kept secret and trained in the League of Assassins.

The first to join is...

Tim Drake - Red Hood:

After a young Tim's parents are killed by a gang of career criminals called the Red Hoods, he swears to bring them to justice. He concludes his best chance to do that would be by personally enlisting the help of the Batman.

In his investigation of Batman, Tim figures out his secret identity. He confronts him in the hopes of impressing, or blackmailing, him into working with him. Bruce sees his own pain at losing his parents in Tim and agrees to work together. They take down the gang, Tim adopts the mantle Red Hood and Bruce adopts Tim.

Damian Wayne - Nightwing:

A couple years later, Damian is revealed and left in Bruce's care. At first, he isn't allowed on patrol yet as Bruce doesn't think he's ready to be the hero Gotham needs.

Damian eventually sneaks away to do a mission with budding friend Jon Kent and proves himself. During the mission Jon tells him a Kryptonian legend that would inspire his mantle: Nightwing.

Jason Todd - Red Robin:

After Catherine, the women who raised him, overdoses the gov tracks down his birth mother Sheila and she accepts custody of him. Immediately the Joker, a Red Hoods member who fell into a vat of ace chemicals, wrecks havoc on their lives.

Joker blackmails Sheila into making Jason sabotage the batfam. Jason is told Sheila will be killed if he doesn't go along with it, so he does to protect her. He steals the tires off the batmoile to get their attention, and uses the story of his hardships to gain their sympathy.

He feels bad taking advantage of people who show him such kindness. He confesses the plot to Red Hood and agrees to be a double agent if they help get Sheila out of Jokers' clutches.

Joker finds out and tricks Jason into putting himself in danger to save his mother, who is in on it. The batfam doesn't make it in time and Joker throws Jason off the roof of a warehouse. The last thing he hears is Joker remarking how he looks like a robin in the air. Joker betrays and kills Sheila as well.

Tim feels especially guilty about Jason's death at the hands of Joker. So much so that he gets Damian to tell him how to access the Lazarus pit and uses it to bring Jason back to life. Jason decides to become a vigilante called Red Robin. The name is a reference to Jokers' comment, an homage to Tim, and because red robins symbolize rebirth.

Dick Grayson - Robin:

Dick is a part of a family of acrobats, the Flying Graysons, that almost meet their end by Tony Zuko but are saved by Red Robin. While they're okay, they worry it's too dangerous to let Dick keep performing with them.

They don't have any other family, so they allow Dick to be a ward of Bruce Wayne while they're on the road. Dick's parents are killed at a Haley's Circus show in Bludhaven by a jealous performer, Gaggsworth A. Gaggsworthy (aka Gaggy.)

Dick decides to become a vigilante called Robin to help protect others. He's too young to be out there on his own, so he's a sidekick to Damian, who is protecting Gotham as Batman while Bruce is missing and Tim and Jason are on a mission to find him.

If this gains enough traction I might make a part two.

[highfantasy-soul]

Things I LOVED in NATLA Episode 6 - Masks

Opening with Zuko pre-scar getting ready for the war council - you really didn't have to gut-punch me like that, show

Starting the camera from behind his head so we don't know yet and having Iroh's monologue starting up - really really great stuff

Dallas Liu did such a great job acting as a 3-years younger Zuko here! The way he holds himself, the tone of his voice THE WAY HE FREELY SMILES!!!!! Immediately lets you know this is younger Zuko before the most traumatic shit of his life

Damn that transition from young Zuko to him on the shiiipp!!

Zhao is so slimy and is so good at making you hate him

Love Zuko's desperate plea to his crew that they stand by him and then Jee's outburst at the way Zuko treats them

We see both sides (and even more by the end of the episode)

Love the added layers to the 'villains' of the story

"We can solve the world's problems without hurting anyone!?" "We can try"

Such a great back and forth there - already showing where Aang's ideas are at and how he's a pacifist at heart

But he still mentions painful consequences if they fail - consequences those of us who know the animated version know all too well how close that is to Roku

The Mother of Faces! Great deepening of lore and reinforcing the themes of identity and masks for the episode

Though I miss Roku wrecking shop at the temple, seeing the fire sages all taken out by Nyla's paralysis was dooooopppee!!!

June is so cool and so very, very competent. Love her to death

Zuko's resigned 'no' as Aang begs him to let him go save his friends :(

Yet another instance showing that although Zuko's put a mask on to show the world since his banishment, Aang is the one who can see through it because he truly believes the best in people - even enemies

Baby Zuko in the war council not paying attention

Just trying his best but clearly not taking it as seriously as he should - giving plans of attack they'd already discarded

He just wants the approval of his father

Love the added depth from Ozai here

He WANTED Zuko to come up with a good plan, he's DISAPPOINTED he didn't.

This Ozai hasn't written Zuko off from the start, he's 'giving him chances' to be the son Ozai wants him to be - and is failing

Let's be clear here, it's not ok that Ozai is doing this and this doesn't mean Zuko brought his abuse on himself, it means that in Ozai's mind, he can justify it and 'gave chances' - see the cycle of abuse

Zuko's core shining through as, even though he doesn't have a good plan himself, he KNOWS what the other general suggested is wrong

You don't have to be an expert on world affairs or battle plans to know WRONG when you see it - it's basic humanity and anyone who tries to tell you you shouldn't have a say because you're not an expert can eat shit

AAAHHHHH Zhao throwing it back in Zuko's face that defying one of Ozai's generals (admirals), Zuko is defying his own father

AARRRUUGGGHHHHHHHAHAAAAAHHHHAAAA

Zuko strategizing immediately!!

Iroh trying to talk sense into him!!

Everything from this point on is almost directly pulled from the animated series and I think the show knew EXACTLY when to do a 1-1 translation to live-action

Zhao's little smarmy speech to Aang, Aang then blowing him into the door XD

Zhao's absolutely pitch-perfect middle manager 'Our numbers have been great this quarter, here's your pizza party!' energy that's waaayyyy too into this

He's so obsessed with the appearance of power and the rush of shouting accomplishments to uproarious applause, he doesn't care about anything else

Spit in my mouth, that pan over to The Blue Spirit hanging out in the tree and the little head tilt as he hears the wagon rolling underneath - uuuuuuhhhhh that was…good. Yeah, that was good. Ahem, I'm fine, totally normal over here, carry on.

NiNjA sTuFf!!

The whole unseen hallway fight *chefs kiss*

"Who are you?" Head tilt "Right, talk later, run now" while the Blue Spirit is already all the way down the hallway XD

Their heads popping up above the crates to scope out the courtyard XD too cute

"Now is that 'loyal' or 'faithful', sir?" 😭

Zhao's panicked scream after just having been so confident 🙃

SIIIICCKKK sword flourish!

ALL the choreography at the top of the battlement was fantastic - I could see the CGI doubles in a few places, but really, it was so good I didn’t care

Just two cuties stilt-walking across a courtyard full of enemies, nothing to see here

I LOVE how The Blue Spirit holds himself so differently than Zuko does. The mask hiding his features really does let him take on a persona that he can really settle into

The way he holds a stance ready to fight is completely different than Zuko does when he's firebending and I think it was such a good touch to make sure their fighting styles were nothing alike (even barring the difference in weapon)

It's sooo interesting that in this version, you can see through the eye-holes of the mask - looking closely, you can see Zuko's fear and insecurity, even his shallow breaths as he's terrified his plan won't work. It's something you have to look closely for, but it's very very good.

And that little nick on Aang's neck from the swords! Zuko really was holding them tight to him

Zuko slapping Aang's hand away XD it's hilarious in how honest of a teenage reaction that is

So much of what Zuko does is exactly what teens do when they're trying to be badass and edgy, but to us olds, it comes off so try-hard and petulant - it's a mask of confidence and badassery that's so easy to see through

"Can I ask you a question? It might be a little personal - goat hair or rabbit?"

I legit almost cried at that - it's just SO AANG to talk about mundane things with the 'enemy' to try to find common ground. Humanize each other so they can find a way to resolve the issue without threats or violence.

Ugh just, ugh - Aang telling Zuko that the work he did in the notebook was really good and helped him a lot

Zuko has finally heard he did a good job - something he did was worthy of praise. It was unique and impactful and Zuko should be proud of it. And it's his enemy telling him that - a genuine complement, not gloating or digging at him, but genuinely telling him that he did a good job

Zuko breaking and opening up to Aang!!!! Them bonding!!!!

Zuko's little smile at Aang's joke about snoring while meditating!!!

Love this expanded conversation between them - really humanizing each other and seeing the cracks in Zuko's façade, his mask that he thinks he needs to strengthen to be what he's "expected" to be - and how he reacts with anger when people try to lift that mask.

The Agni Kai - just….wow, yeah, it was a lot

Again, I love how they expand these scenes to really delve into character more rather than a quick, frankly a bit surface level, bullet point of character these scenes in the animated show had.

I have a whole essay about the Agni Kai in my analysis of the episode, but cliff notes:

All of Ozai's lines are dripping with depth and nuance to why he's doing this and a deeper meaning to this lesson than just throwing Zuko away as a nuisance

Ozai really wants Zuko to do well, to prove himself

And Zuko tries - he tries insisting that they don’t need to fight, that he does respect Ozai and the military, then he tries to please his father by fighting

The choreography is brutal and stunning

The fight builds, flows, and ends with Zuko showing compassion, unwilling to really strike his own father

And I've again, written an essay on it, but I do like seeing the conflict on Ozai's face as he brands Zuko

He's not any less horrific of a father, but he is more REAL - which makes it all the more terrifying and heartbreaking that we can see people like that in the world, he's not just a character relegated to a cartoon - his type of abuse is very real and present in our everyday lives

Aang talking about Kuzon :'(

"He's hurt" "He'll recover" "But he'll never heal"

WHAT and exchange.

"Sometimes the weak can become stronger. Sometimes, you just have to give them the chance"

Aaahhhhh!! There's Zuko's character thesis right there: he's always had to fight for his abilities, it's never come easy for him - but what 'strength' is will change and grow with Zuko through the story!

Jesus, Daniel Dae Kim's voice is just sooooo goood as the fire lord. It's not fair. Seriously.

Mark Hamill is legendary - there's no doubt about that, but damn if Daniel Dae Kim doesn't do just as good of a job, putting his own, very resonantly deep take on it.

And the 41st reveal!!!!!

I think this was a genius addition by the live-action team

Bringing it all around full circle where everything is connected.

Iroh cupping Zuko's face and him pushing him away, back to the 'petulant' (what he thinks is strong) mask D':

"There actually are a few of us who care about…about such things"

Cue the waterworks

"Our prince has returned"

Again, waterworks

No, it's not 'home' in the Fire Nation, but it IS the home that Zuko and the crew have made over the past 3 years

Enter the trope of home being where you least expect it and all that

"They must have missed you at music night" DX

Coming in again with the fire ending monologue )':

No Gyatzo waiting for Aang DX

Zuko seeing his unscarred, happy face in the mirror DX

"What's hard is knowing that sometimes, the mask is who we really are"

There were a lot of big emotions in this episode - I needed some time to recover

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]