#as Zuko saved her using waterbender style lightning redirection

[tracing-rivers]

Latest ATLA rewatch realization: we already know the whole gaang is learning from one another to improve their bending, and Katara had already shown it when she used an earthbending move to break the flow of Hama's attack, but I just now noticed that she defeated Azula by freezing the both of them, which means she could not bend herself out traditionally by moving - she used her breath to melt the ice around her. Expert firebender move.

[miekasa]

Low key i would absolutely love an aot/atla fanfic crossover. Random crossovers are my guilty pleasure maybe i’ll write it for myself😩🤚🏼

I also headcanon eren as a firebender, i think Hange would def be either an airbender or a nonbender. Erwin would be an earthbender :)

Okay okay I have thoughts. I’d love an aot/atla fic if somebody wants to write it…. I have $4 ready for you 😭😭

Eren is a firebender, something like Zuko in his progression. Definitely had a phase where he “loses” his bending and has to find a new source that isn’t pure anger/vengeance; probably after accidentally burning one of his friends/his mom. Also think that like Zuko, he never learns to bend lightning, only redirects it from people attacking him. It frustrates him to learn it at first, but once he does and feels it go through him, he decides that he never wants to use it himself.

Mikasa…. can go so many ways in my head omg. Firebender suits her, like Azula in her technique, blue fire and all; and she’s not just skilled as a bender, but in hand to hand combat, too. She’s smart above all, so even when she can’t bend, she’s not down for the count. She’d be able to bend lightning, too, but would only do it when absolutely necessary. BUT BUT!! Can also see her being a waterbender and there are definitely similarities between her and Katara (last of her kind, won’t turn her back on people who need her, incredibly skilled for her age); not as naive (?) as Katara could be sometimes, but there are comparisons for sure. Don’t know if I can see her as a healer, tho she’d wish she’d be able to. For sure would be a blood bender; but like with lightning, she’d only do it when heavily threatened.

Armin would honestly be a non-bender, but if he had an element it would be air. Water is an obvious choice, but I think he can still have the infatuation, and respect for water and benders, without being one himself. Honestly, he’d probably have spent so much time around water and felt such a pull from it that everyone thought he’d be a waterbender; as a kid his parents/grandparents probably tried to get him to bend water (and he’d happily try), and it wasn’t until a fit of frustration that he realized he’s an air bender instead. Plus there’s the pacifist nature of airbenders, and the way that airbending is more defensive than offensive; but also airbenders bear this cruel kind of pressure in controlling an element that’s so essential. Fits him idk.

Jean is a waterbender and if you’ve seen tlok, then I think his fighting style would mimic Korra’s; people often note that she fights like a firebender even tho she was born a water bender, and used it way more frequently than Aang. His hand to hand combat would also be similar to her, tho his attitude would be slightly more mellow. He’d also be a healer, but it’s something he keeps under wraps for a while; it’s not until one of his friends is seriously injured that people find out. He feels a kind of pressure when he’s healing people, and it’d hurt him a lot if he weren’t able to save someone.

If Sasha had an element, it would be air or water, but I see her more as the Ty Lee kind of type. She looks super sweet and it’s easy to overlook her, but she’s insanely precise and skilled (she did save someone running on a vertical wall once). Definitely blocks Jean/Eren’s chi when they start getting into it with eachother to save everyone the headache. Also walks on her hands sometimes just because she can.

Connie is another toss up… I’m serious about him not being a waterbender that would be so chaotic pls 😭😭 wanna say air. He’s seen as goofy and kind of a free spirit, but he’s very connected to his friends. Aang not wanting to give up Katara to unlock the avatar state kinda reminds me of Connie hugging Jean and Sasha when they get back on the airship after Marley; he knows it’s selfish, but he’s happy his friends are safe. He has moments of rage and hates to be betrayed, but overall he’s mostly calm and open to hearing other people out. Plus he’d 100% be in an airball like Aang whenever he could be. But if he weren’t a bender, he should 100% have a boomerang. It’s perfect for him.

Levi is a firebender there’s no doubt in my mind. The only other potential option is an earthbender because I think he’d be the one to figure out metal bending under pressure, but I still like fire more for him. He understands that fire isn’t just destruction, that it’s warm and energy; and that’s why he doesn’t need to exert much power in his firebending. If he were to hold a flame in his hand it wouldn’t feel threatening, despite it being fire it wouldn’t even feel “too hot” to touch; it’d be warm, comforting, like you could put your hands immediately to it and not get burned. He’s aggressive when need be, but he doesn’t let his emotions cloud his bending, because that’s when he’d hurt someone he cares about. Can bend lightning but honestly if Levi is lightning bending, you’re as good as dead 💀💀

Okay, okay… I hear your Hange non-bender argument and I raise you Hange as an earthbender who is primarily a metal bender. Suit of metal that they bend on and off their body, definitely carries the metal whip around… do you see the vision. They sometimes forget they can actually bend earth and get frustrated, stomp too hard to flail their hands a little too roughly and everyone loses their balance as the floor shakes and Hange just “O.O…. oopsies!”

Honestly…. I think Erwin would be a non-bender. Sokka essentially mastered the non-bending fighting types of each nation, and that’s something I see for Erwin. Leans towards a sword, and kinda wanna say two swords would suit him better. Maybe it’s the aot influence, but that works for him in my head. I also think Zeke might be a non-bender.

Porco is an earthbender, no doubt in my mind. Dare I say a lavabender, tho I kinda wanna give that to Reiner. Maybe both of them? Reiner built like a brick wall, so earth isn’t that far off… don’t know if he’d completely master a sub element, but lavabending is a possibility for him.

Annie is an earthbender, too. You know how Kiyoshi had the fans and was an earthbender and murked that one general then came back as a ghost to say she didn’t regret it? Anniecore <33 she doesn’t really master any sub elements completely, but she doesn’t have to; her earth bending is as solid as it possibly can be. Under pressure, I’m sure she’d be able to adapt to metal bending, but she doesn’t prefer it.

Pieck would be an airbender!! Agile, quick-thinking, and adapts to whatever situation shes put in. Gets a kick out of blowing air into peoples faces, and how are they gonna prove it’s her? Exactly, they can’t. Lastly, I’d give water to Bertolt. The ability to both be calm and insanely destructive. Might be a healer, too, but could just be a regular bender.

[royaltealovingkookiness]

Tbh Zuko still isn't the best firebender out there but what's unique about Zuko is that he firebends by using different katas from other elements. I know this has been said numerous times but like the last agni kai, Zuko probably concluded that he couldn't win against Azula using firebending moves because she'd know how to repel them so Zuko mostly moved like a waterbender or airbender. I always love those details.

Zuko using other elements in his bending is definitely important, but not the whole picture.

One of the points of the finale is to show that “being the best bender” is meaningless as a concept. (I mean from the fights we see, certainly Ozai looks like the strongest firebender, but does that make him the best firebender?) Every bending has its strength and weaknesses - what matters is knowing your own element, but also the other elements. Then there is creativity, strategy, teamwork, adaptability, heart (and luck) that will decide a fight.

But let’s talk about Zuko’s bending in the last Agni kai (or honestly anytime post-dragons). Because it shows exactly how far he’s come. Since he doesn’t rely on rage anymore to fuel his fire, he becomes much calmer and focused. His breathing is perfectly controlled the whole time.

And we hear it time and time again, both from Iroh (”No! Power in firebending comes from the breath. Not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire”) and Jeong-Jeong how breathing is the basis of firebending.

It’s difficult to keep breathing under control when relying on anger and rage, as both emotions cause short, staccato breaths. (I think also this is why Azula’s breathing is so off in that fight - she’s full of anxiety, which typically causes shallow breath).

Zuko now with proper breath control is able to integrate all the things he already knows: the rock-solid basics Iroh drilled into him, combined with the unique moves he integrated into his own bending by fighting (and later training with) the other elements. 

In The Southern Air Temple in the Agni kai against Zhao, the camera focuses a lot on Zuko’s breathing and footwork. He heaves, he slides, he’s unable to find his footing, his defense is wobbly. Iroh keeps reminding him of his basics. (“Remember your firebending basics, Prince Zuko. They are your greatest weapons.”) 

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Now compare this to the last Agni kai, where the camera again focuses on his foot - it’s even in the final pencil-test - it’s such an important detail. His foot barely slides at the onslaught of the comet-fuelled firewall Azula unleashes on him. His defense is absolutely rock-solid, his footwork is precise.

Zuko for most of the fight doesn’t do anything special, but lets Azula attack and tire herself out, while he just holds his ground and dispels the attacks (which probably still takes considerable energy, but looks less fancy)

And she unleashes all her greatest hits - but these moves are something that Zuko knows (even if he can’t reproduce all of them) and can anticipate and counter. 

And this is where the other elements come in.  

“Is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole. […] It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But, it can make you more powerful too. You see, the technique I am about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders.”

Zuko fights patiently - defending against the big attacks and waiting for the right moment (earthbending principle) to counter-attack. 

We see a couple of fancier, new moves integrated into his bending and from Azula’s startled reaction it’s clear that they surprise her - like this earthbending-like power move,

or this airbending-like twist (although Ozai also has something similar, so it could be proper firebending move)

or this move which is a bit more wave-like then normal firebending (and almost catches Azula).

But in the end - the winning move? It’s the same move Zuko uses to turn the fight around against Zhao. It’s the move he uses to get up when he’s beaten in Zuko Alone - it’s the move born out of learning to get up after his failures.

Zuko’s fighting style in the last Agni kai proves Iroh’s teaching methods right. With good basics he has all the building blocks he needs to improve and develop his own style at his own pace when he’s ready, when his control is enough to go to the next step.

But in the end, Zuko doesn’t have the killer instincts to push on his advantage. When Azula goes down, he doesn’t go after her like Zhao did with him, but waits for her to get up. 

And just a final word about the lightning redirect. When Zuko learns that move in Bitter Work, Iroh taught it to him to give him something that can counter Azula’s lightning. And despite Azula’s trick, Zuko does manage to redirect a comet-powered lightning mid-jump - not perfectly, but enough to avoid deadly damage. It’s only the second time in his life he did that move…so it takes considerable skill.

But the move he goes down with not only proves how good a firebender he is, but it shows that he’s grown past this need to prove himself through his bending. Trying to beat Azula doesn’t matter as much as saving a life. He’s grown past beyond this destructive competition of who is the better bender in the family, because at the end of the day, that doesn’t define a person’s worth.

And it all comes to a circle, where he finally redirects that lightning to the sky:

You’ve always thrown everything you could at me! Well, I can take it! And now I can give it back!

Being born into a family where bending might was always measured by the destruction fire could cause, Zuko returning to the true way, to use his bending to save someone (”fire is life”) is what breaks the cycle of abuse and violence in his own family in a way that beating Azula could never have. 

Sure, Zuko may not be the most powerful firebender in terms of sheer firepower, but how he bends during that fight is everything fire is supposed to be about.

[watchathon]

Book 2, Chapter 9: Bitter Work

In case you’re finding this post just by browsing the tags I’ve used for this post, this is the Watchathon, a blog where I’m hoping to watch an episode of a TV show every weekday, with a short blog post where I write down my thoughts as I watch. Each new thought starts with a hyphen and a bolded first word.

- Like so. Now that the introductions are over with, here’s my thoughts on Bitter Work.

- It sorta makes sense that Aang never called Katara “Sifu Katara”. Aang knew Katara as a friend for a long time before she was his Waterbending master. Meanwhile, he was hoping for Toph to be his Earthbending master from just about the moment he met her.

- I like that the different bending styles all have different... well, styles. Waterbenders move differently compared to Firebenders, and as Aang has to learn, Earthbenders move much differently compared to Airbenders.

- This flashback with Iroh and Lu Ten gets me right in the feels. It sorta gives us a glimpse into what a loving father Iroh was, unlike his brother... And then we cut to Iroh at Lu Ten’s grave.

- If anyone needed more convincing of just how evil Azula is, even Iroh thinks that she can’t be reasoned with and needs to be taken down.

- This episode is about Aang learning Earthbending from Toph, but also the b-plot is Zuko learning more advanced Firebending techniques from Iroh. And the c-plot is... Sokka learning how much it sucks to be trapped in the earth from a “little meat creature”.

- “Get in your horse stance!” I, uh... I don’t wanna get too NSFW, but that sentence was really easy to mishear.

- I like how Iroh is telling Zuko about the other elements, and how the technique he’s gonna teach Zuko is inspired by study of the Waterbenders. It demonstrates that each nation, and each bending style, doesn’t just exist in a bubble. A bender of one style can learn from another and incorporate it into their technique.

- “I’m willing to be Sokka, the veggies and straight-talk fellow.” So... movie Sokka? (I don’t think we ever saw movie Sokka eating meat...)

- Iroh is telling Zuko that the lightning-redirection technique is only for emergency. “If you’re lucky, you will never have to use this technique at all.” And this sets up how serious it’ll be when Zuko does redirect lightning.

- I like that the thing which marks Aang as having an understanding of Earthbending isn’t any actual Earthbending he did, it’s how he stood his ground. Even though he used Airbending against the sabretooth moose-lion, he demonstrated the attitude of an Earthbender, and that was the thing he was stuck on, not the motions or the form.

- This gag of Aang about to use his Earthbending to save Sokka, before Toph interrupts him because he’s new to this and might hurt Sokka, always sticks in my head, and makes me laugh out loud whenever I watch this episode.

- To be honest, I would’ve liked to hear Sokka finish his speech.

- The image of Zuko, all alone on a mountaintop, shouting at the skies to hit him with lightning, is pretty sad. He just seems so desperate to know that he’s mastered this technique...

[supernutellastuff]

Endings, Beginnings - a short and fluffy Zutara fix-it

Something different from my usual style. Wrote this for my friend because neither of us could deal with our broken shipper hearts after ATLA ended. Feedback is appreciated! Read it on ao3 here :)

xxx

The streets of the Fire Nation capital are awash in the soft golden light of dawn as the new Fire Lord stands at his balcony, struggling with his red ceremonial robes. The bandages covering his chest are stiff and awkward but the only thing preventing him from ripping them off is the prospect of incurring his uncle’s displeasure. Though that doesn’t stop him from cursing out loud while trying to stuff his arms into the robes.

“Need help with that?”

Zuko turns. There she is, leaning casually against the open doorway, a teasing smile playing on her lips. She looks fresh, considering the ordeal she’s been through.

“Katara.”

“You sound surprised.”

“I thought you’d be with Aang.”

“Aang…has Avatar duties. I came to check up on you.”

“First day as the Fire Lord and I’m already failing.” He gestures ruefully at his half-open robes.

Katara rolls her eyes and walks over to him. With practiced movements, she gets his arms through the holes but pauses before tying up the front of his clothes. Her eyes linger on his chest. “Does it hurt?”

“Sometimes.”

“I still don’t know how to thank you.” She backs away, maintaining a more respectable distance.

“Then don’t,” he snaps. He still has nightmares about being a split-second too late and watching the lightning strike Katara. It hadn’t even crossed his mind to redirect it when he’d realised what Azula was going to do. Bending lightning required mastery over emotions, something which Zuko had long recognised was impossible when it came to Katara.

“You saved my life.” Her eyes are fierce.

“And you saved mine, so we’re even.”

“What about when you saved me from being crushed by rocks at the Western Air Temple?”

“Oh, we’re acknowledging that now, are we?”

“And when you helped find my mother’s killer and bring me closure?”

“It was the least I could do for betraying you in the crystal catacombs.” He’d given her every reason to hate him and yet she hadn’t hesitated in offering to heal him. He still remembers the way she’d traced his scar with her fingertips. Even Mai had never touched his scar. He thinks of Mai, now on a ship headed far far away from the Fire Nation. As soon she’d been released from prison, they had sat down and talked and this time it was she who had ended things for good. Zuko hadn’t even pretended to feel anything but relief.

She crosses her arms. “What, are you saying you’re the one in my debt?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…” Zuko is nonplussed to see that she’s smiling. “You’ll have to put up with me a little longer then, until I figure out a way to collect on my debt.”

“I do have a way,” he blurts out before he can think twice. “Become the Southern Water Tribe ambassador to the Fire Nation. Help in the reconstruction and rehabilitation. Help in resuming trade and peace relations between the nations.” She looks taken aback so he blunders on, suddenly uncertain of the offer. “It’s a lot of boring politics and it’ll keep you away from your friends and family, so I understand why you may not—actually forget I ever said anything.”

“Sokka and Suki are thinking of travelling on their own, Toph is planning to open a metalbending academy, Aang wants to resettle the Air Nomad colonies. It’s not like I had anything else planned…” she trails off.

“You’re not going with Aang?” He toys with a stray thread, voice deliberately casual. While it was obvious the way the kid mooned over Katara, it had been a little more ambiguous on her side. But things might have changed now: who wouldn’t choose the Avatar, the hero who ended the war?

Katara’s face clouds over. “Aang needs to realise that I don’t fit into all his plans. That I don’t want to.” She tugs on her hair loops, anxious. “So it’s not about Aang or the rest. I just…I don’t know if I deserve the position,” she whispers.

Zuko snorts. “Who’s more deserving than the master waterbender who took down Azula at the height of her powers?”

Her smile grows. “In that case, I accept.”

“Good.” Their eyes meet, hold, and the moment stretches. He breaks away with difficulty; he has nations to address and he needs to look the part.

The rest of the royal raiment has been laid out on the bed. It was somehow important to him that he do this by himself so he’d dismissed his attendants. Katara, perhaps sensing this, refrains from extending a helping hand. He puts on his gold-threaded robes, gathers his hair into a topknot, slides on the ornamental headpiece and adjusts it until it stops scraping painfully against his skull. All the while, he can sense her gaze on him. It does not make him feel flustered. Not at all.

“Would you like some tea?” he asks after the fifth time accidentally catching her eye in the mirror. If one thing Iroh has taught him, it’s this: never let your guests leave without a cup of tea. Luckily he has a pot ready in his room.

Katara nods. He crosses to the little table in front of the still-burning fireplace and picks up the pot, stays the lid with one hand, and pours into a porcelain cup. The tea’s gone cold, so Zuko takes a deep breath, reaches into his chi, and exhales. The inside of his hands glow with warmth. He places his palms around the cup until steam rises gently from the surface.

She takes the cup from him and their hands brush, her fingers cool against his burning skin. An expression of delight spreads across her face at the first sip. “This is lovely!”

Zuko grins. “Uncle’s special blend—white dragon bush. ‘So delicious, it’s heart-breaking’” he quotes, fondly.

They chat about nothing and everything while he finishes his transformation into the Fire Lord and Katara her tea. She’s already bursting with ideas about her new role.

When he’s finally ready, he extinguishes the fireplace with a deft flick of his wrist, and turns to leave. And that's when the skies choose to burst open. Groaning, he cranes his head out the balcony and catches a few stray drops of water on his face. The rain comes down in waves, lashing the marbled courtyard. The walkway from his quarters to the palace where the official ceremony will be held is fully uncovered. It would’ve been easier to stay in one of the palace rooms but Zuko wasn’t fully comfortable with that idea. Living in the guest quarters had seemed like a suitable temporary solution until the weather had gone and ruined that as well.

Zuko hurries down to the gate and stops at the threshold, deeply annoyed. Water seeps through, almost soaking his feet. “Great. Just great.”

“What are you waiting for?” says Katara, coming up from behind.

He waves a listless hand at the rain and then over his ceremonial clothes and careful updo.

“Good thing you have a waterbender by your side.” Katara places a hand between his shoulders, just like the time when they’d been standing over a chained Azula, half-crazed with anger and spitting fire, and the only thing keeping him upright had been the unyielding support of Katara’s palm on his back.

She nudges him to move and they fall into step together. Her other hand cuts through the air in graceful arcs, bending away the rain directly above their heads. They shuffle slowly across the courtyard, enclosed in a bubble of dry air amidst the heavy shower. It’s like he is behind thick-plated glass; all he can hear is the sound of her breathing, all he can see are the sinuous shadows of the rain on her face.

When they’re finally safe beneath the shade on the palace steps, she releases him. “I should go find Sokka and my father,” she says. “Aang should be waiting for you inside.”

He nods, suddenly nervous.

“You’ll be fine, Zuko.” He doesn’t know what she means—the speech, ruling as the Fire Lord, climbing up the steps without tripping himself—but a spark of hope ignites in his chest.

The rain stops as abruptly as it had begun. He watches Katara walk away, stepping nimbly over puddles, her ocean blue tunic swishing around her legs. And long after she is gone, he feels the warmth of her hand on his back.