#but i think it's sokka just because toph is sokka's favorite (and vice versa)

[comradekatara]

i think it's so cute that sokka made/got toph a little dark green cape for the day of black sun that matches her helmet. it's just fabric, so it's not like it serves as any protective armor. toph herself doesn't even knows that it matches. he just wanted her outfit to cohere.

[moonlitxeuphoria]

14, 17, and 18 for Zutara asks please!

Hello there, kind stranger!! Thanks for submitting!

(This was a lengthy response so I apologize in advance)

14. How do you feel about “The Southern Raiders”?

- So many intense feelings, that’s for sure haha. That episode is just one of my favorites from the show overall, and not just because of the obvious showcasing of how good Zuko and Katara work together as a pair (though it does play a major part), or them finally having that moment of reconciliation after what happened in the catacombs, but mainly because of the highlighting of Katara’s internal battle over coming to terms with deep seated grief caused by the traumatic loss of her mother. Obvi, that loss is a big part of her character, considering it’s consistently referenced throughout the show but in ‘The Southern Raiders,’ we finally get to see and hear from Katara first hand about that awful day. The episode gives her the room to rage - to feel her and express those dark, ugly feelings - and delve into just how she’s been baring the pain of being the reason why Kya is no longer with them (them - referring to Sokka/Hakoda/Herself). It’s messy and cathartic and just great writing all around on the very real topic of how consuming grief can be; of how you can end up hurting others, be it purposefully or inadvertently, while navigating through it. With that, there’s also the flip side of being able to eventually find peace with the help of someone who truly understands that pain you’re carrying. That with the right person, that load can be lightened until it doesn’t feel as heavy anymore.

17. How do you think Iroh and Hakoda would react to Zutara?

- Iroh is zutara’s #1 cheerleader aside from Toph and Suki, and that’s just facts. There would be fireworks, music, and endless rounds of tea and food in celebration over the news. That sweet old man would be overjoyed at his nephew/adopted son having found someone who pushes and makes him into a better person and vice versa. Not to mention the endless supply of dad jokes, like come on. DAD JOKES.

- I feel like Hakoda - as easy going as the guy is - would be a little skeptical about zutara at first. Not just from general fatherly concern, but because of the stories Sokka and Katara more than likely filled him in on regarding Zuko during the aftermath of the battle in the crystal catacombs. He eventually comes around though, especially with the added help of getting broken out of prison by his son and the aforementioned ‘Prince of all jerkbenders’ and then later hearing about how the kid put his own life on the line to save his daughter from certain death. Needless to say, Hakoda cashes in on his own set of dad jokes later on at their expense alongside Iroh because seeing Zuko and Katara’s slightly mortified but amused expressions are absolutely worth it.

18. How do you think the Gaang would react to Zutara?

- Toph: this girl would be absolutely unsurprised. She’s the first one to find out and tell them straight up that it “took you guys long enough to figure it out” cuz she’s a walking, talking lie detector and those heartbeats never lie. She clocked them from the get go and takes every opportunity to tease them over it because how is it that the literal blind girl could ‘see’ they clearly liked each other but these two dunces couldn’t. (Deep down they know it’s her way of saying she’s happy for them without sounding too sappy about it).

- Suki: would absolutely be the second one to figure it out and is immediately onboard with it because who doesn’t love a good enemies to friends to lovers storyline. (One of us, one of us) She obviously teams up with Toph in teasing the hell out of them whenever the opportunity arises and the two end up bonding over how equally dense their friends were to the blatantly obvious fact that they’re so into each other. It’s borderline comical, really.

- Side note: In my head, Suki, Toph, and Iroh are the official but unofficial zutara council who get together every so often and gossip about whatever new updates on their favorite couple they may have over tea and cakes. It’s a grand old time for all of them and they all would absolutely lose it when Zuko finally proposes to Katara.

- Sokka: Ah my over dramatic water tribe boy. His reaction is just a thing of beauty, really. He would basically go through the five stages of grief because first off, that’s his little sister and second, that’s his best friend and third, what do you mean they’re together now???!! (I picture it to be like a Ross from ‘Friends’ type of reaction, specifically when he finds out about Monica and Chandler) It’s only made worse when Suki and Toph just say ‘called it’ and continue on like this isn’t the most earth shattering news to ever be released. After he’s processed it though, he’s 100% on board and later joins in on the zutara council meetings with Suki/Toph/Iroh.

- Aang: Oooh, our little flighty boy. This one was a tough one to settle on, let me tell you, buuut I think I figured it out. In my head, I think that Aang would obviously hurt for a little while over the news because Katara is his special person. This girl literally saved his life more than once, has seen him grow up, has supported him through so much, and seeing that person you so deeply love end up with someone else isn’t easy. Never is. He would more than likely keep his distance while he works through his feelings. But then one day, he starts really paying attention to how they interact with each other and Aang feels something in his brain click. Zuko understands Katara, and I mean truly understands her. He thought he understood Katara, that’s why he knew in his heart that he loved her, but seeing the two of them together makes him realize that maybe he doesn’t. His perception of her - her wants and needs - are vastly different from his and that’s probably why nothing ever truly developed between them. Sure there was maybe a spark or two but never anything big enough for a full on flame to burn, ya know. And that realization is what eventually pushes him to be in full, genuine support of their relationship. Because how could he deny her that deep understanding that Zuko is more than capable of providing? (To end on a happy note, he later joins the weekly zutara council meetings and full out cries happy tears when Zuko finally proposes to Katara because oh my god two of his favorite people love each other so much and they’re making it official.) Now keep in mind, this is how I think his reaction would be once he’s had some time to grow and actually understand (and I mean understand) that Katara is her own person and doesn’t belong to him (she’s not an object that someone can simply say is theirs).

This was so long oh my goodness but what a fun set of questions!!! Really got my brain’s gears working overtime to think up of some eloquent-esque answers for each of them 😊💗

[helpimobsessedwithpercyjackson]

ATLA + PJO:

Leo showing Sokka his designs for the Argo II and Sokka describing his war balloons and submarines to Leo

Percy takes Katara into the middle of the lake and they practice water bending. Percy learns so much from Katara and vice versa

Toph: so you’re an earth bender?

Hazel: I don’t think so?

Toph: so what are you?

Hazel: I don’t know, when I get stressed out precious metals pop up.

Toph: Woah! You metal bend!

Hazel, near tears, surrounded by gems: I don’t know!

Leo loves Ty Lee’s enthusiasm so much, Toph threatens to bash them over the head with rocks if they don’t stop dancing around and encouraging everyone.

Nico: my mom died and then my dad erased our memory and put us in a casino for seventy years and then when we got out my sister joined an immortal group of hunters and then died and then I learned my dad was the god of death so I ran away because I thought no one would accept me and then I turned the tide on a literal war as a child then the guy I was secretly in love with went missing and I found him then I went through the deepest pit of the Underworld, got captured, went into a self-induced coma to survive, got rescued by my crush who then fell into the same pit I just got out of, then had to lead an entire group of teenagers to rescue my crush, then got outed by a god, then traveled across the world with a giant statue constantly getting attacked, almost dying several times in the process.

Zuko: that’s rough buddy

Suki and Annabeth bond over their idiotic genius boyfriends

Katara shows Will her healing, he’s super jealous that he can’t use it but being a demigod and all, he’s able to learn a little bit after a lot of practice on a very annoyed Nico

Mai not liking Piper at first but Piper is so kind and actually listens to her and doesn’t put her down for Mai’s lack of emotions that they start hanging out more and more and Mai teaches Piper how to throw Katoptris.

Aang: so how did you guys tell your girlfriends how you felt? I really like Katara but I don’t know how to tell her

Percy: shit dude, I don’t know. She just kissed me and now we’re dating

Jason: a goddess gave her fake memories of me?

Leo: I too, was kissed, and now I have a girlfriend

Frank: I pulled her out of some dirt and then she kissed me on the cheek later

Aang: thanks this was the least helpful conversation I’ve ever had

Annabeth and Sokka talk about their favorite plans they’ve come up with and have a really long discussion about being an asset without having special powers.

Zuko and Aang use Leo to practice firebending so they can practice on an actual person without hurting anyone.

Hakoda and Sally discuss waiting for their children to come home from super dangerous missions that they can’t help with

Nico and Mai being emo together

Zuko: so then my sister tried to kill me and my friends

Connor and Travis: hey our brother did that too!

Zuko: then she went insane. You too?

Connor and Travis: ...he did not do that no

Frank turns into a flying bison, Leo asks why they didn’t just put a saddle on Frank instead of building an entire ship

Reyna and Mai have very similar yet very different energies... they’d be friends

Percy and Sokka practice sword fighting together, Sokka gets super good, Percy learns some new comebacks

Jason and Aang fly around. Aang tries to fly on his own to look as cool as Jason (it does not work.

Chiron and Iroh try to pass around wisdom to these children running around. No one listens to them. They go inside and drink tea

[that-was-anticlimactic]

📂 hmmm let's see... how about Toph?

aw Toph Beifong, how I love you,

Okay. So. First:

Obviously, Toph can tell when people are lying, but much like how the gaang always forgets that she’s blind, they forget that she’s a living lie detector. After the war ends, the kiddos are all obviously traumatized and always ask each other how they’re doing and they usually always say “fine” and Toph can feel that they’re lying but she just... doesn’t do anything. Sometimes it’s obvious a person is lying, but sometimes they can really pull it off and Toph is the only one who knows. She just lets them be, though, because she would want to be left alone too. In her mind, if it was a big enough deal, they wouldn’t say that they’re fine (also because that’s the reasoning she gives herself to not talk about her problems). She doesn’t want to push them.

Eventually, and let’s use Aang here because poor kid suffers so much trauma and no one really talks about that much (myself included, I need to pay more attention to Aang), Aang’s mental health really starts declining and everyone is really worried but Toph always lets it go because she doesn’t want to push him or stress him out. One time, it’s so bad that they ask Toph to out Aang for lying and she just shrugs and says “he wasn’t lying” even though he definitely was.

After a week or two like this, Aang kind of just breaks down and Toph instantly feels guilty because deep down she feels like she could have prevented it, but she didn’t. It’s one of those times when she learns that letting people believe a lie, no matter how good intentions are, is worse and more hurtful than telling the truth.

It kind of starts making her more honest than before. She began by calling everyone out on every little lie until she realized it would probably be better to talk to people in private and I just... mmm... I feel like Toph wields so much power after the war because everyone will always say “I’m fine” and she knows, she knows, they’re lying.

And now for an angsty Toph-related headcanon because I said so:)

Toph’s parents. Mmmm. I have not read the comics and also I heard they were... iffy... so we’re disregarding comics here. Toph’s parents kind of suck. Like, once she talks to them after the war, they treat her like a helpless child again and not the LITERAL HERO she is. She doesn’t live with them, but she wants a relationship with them, even though she physically cannot make her say it out loud. So, eventually she blows up at them and Earthbends and her parents are like “okay, if you’re not a child, then start acting like an adult” and COMPLETELY misread the intention behind what Toph was saying. Ontop of that, they constantly complain about everything to her. Like trivial things. They complain about trivial things to a traumatized child (not to mention they did like nothing during the war smh, they just sat there and were rich). Like, they complain about each other to Toph say all of these things that she never wanted to hear ever and that no parents should actually burden their child with. Eventually she just... stops.

She just never answers letters, never returns to the city, much less the house. And it just... it kills her because she wanted to fix their relationship. She wanted to try and be a family again and she tried. She tried so hard but her parents never pit any effort in.

It was actually Zuko (or Azula...) who kind of made her realize. Like, I’m just gonna say: Sokka and Katara HATE Toph’s parents, like, with a burning passion. Toph offhandedly mentioned some of the terrible things her mom said about her dad and vice versa to the gaang and Katara was about to go give them the biggest lecture they had ever received. Katara lowkey got all mother hen (but sometimes Suki would have to drag her back and be like “you’re smothering her” so Toph wouldn’t feel like Katara was acting like her parents) (and again, Toph would never say it outloud, but she could never think of Katara in that way ever. She’s SUCH a better person than her parents could ever be) and would try and... not be the mother Toph never got to have, but give her the support she never had.

Anyways, Zuko or Azula talk to Toph and are like “take it from one abused child to another, your parents are abusing you” which just confirms the suspicions she had deep down but refused to believe. She was just filled with so much rage because it’s not fair and she was trying so hard but her parents really don’t care about her in the way that they should of and she gave them so many chances to be better but they never took it.

okay so, sadness over, let’s make Toph happy:)

Toph is asexual (and maybe aromantic, unsure as of right now) because I said so:))

Toph takes great pleasure in going to The Jasmine Dragon and just... listening to make sure no one is ever rude to Iroh or any of the other employees ever. If they are, she causes trouble so they can feel ashamed for being mean to people in food service.

no you know what? Am I going too overboard? Yes. Do I care? No. One friendship Toph headcanon for everyone in the gaang.

Aang: Toph and Aang both help remind the other that they’re children because they both forget sometimes. Toph is great at taking Aang away from work and making him take breaks and spend time for himself rather than others. Aang is great at giving Toph the “having friends as a child” experience she never had. He teaches her games he learned from all four nations as a child and sometimes they do really ‘childish’ things like playing bending tag or even like regular tag with each other just because it’s nice.

Katara: oooh the Toph and Katara friendship is one of my favorites in the show. The two are both ridiculously competitive. Like. Out of everyone in the gaang, they are the most competitive (let’s be real, Sokka is too petty and WE NEED TO FOLLOW THE GAMES RULES to be competitive and Zuko just gets angry and rage quits). But eventually, they learn that they’re stronger when they work together and make a competitive truce. So whenever people need to team up for games, they immediately go to each other and they destroy everyone.

Sokka: Sokka and Toph ahhhhh I love them so much. Sokka adopted Toph as his daughter-sister, as in he can’t choose whether he wants to replace her dad and be her dad or be the protective but not overly protective older brother she never had, so he calls himself “father-brother” and everyone hates it, but Sokka was never good at naming things. Also, one time they were really bored, so they decided to try and invent a language that is never spoken, but can be interpreted through Earthbending. Like, different methods of bending meant different things and stuff. It worked... kind of? Sokka likes learning and Toph likes kicking dirt and making people confused about what they were doing. They both have short attention spans, though, so they didn’t get far. They each still remember s=certain things and still talk through it (since Sokka is not an Earthbender, he taps his foot on the ground or kicks dirt a certain way. It’s kind of like morse code, bit different because only Toph can feel the taps).

Suki: Suki Suki Suki I love you! Suki is Toph’s go-to for fake relationships. Like. These two have been in a fake relationship with each other too many times to count. Toph’s parents invite her to a formal event but she needs to bring a date (and also she doesn’t want to go but she wants to repair the relationship)? Suki is her date. Suki needs to attend a royal event because she’s the highest Fire Nation palace guard (because I said so)? Toph comes as her date. A random person is hitting on either of them and they don’t know how to respond without unnecessary violence? Find the other and kiss their face.

Zuko: Zuko and Toph, what a pair. They both find beauty in nature (in different ways, obviously), so they’re walking buddies. They’ve gone on hikes together, like week-long hikes together. They’ll walk around the palace together... sometimes they’ll just sit together in silence because they don’t always need words to be friends.

Azula: (because yes, I am including the three girls): y’all. These two together can scare the entire world. Not just because they are actually insanely powerful, but because they make the most horrific self-deprecating jokes known to man and say it with intense seriousness that everyone has been genuinely worried at some point before they caught on (if it’s serious, they say it as a joke). One time, they both made these depressing jokes at lunch and Aang choked on his food. He didn’t die, but like. He was so unprepared that he choked. What I’m saying is, these two have a really weird relationship that takes place entirely through insults at each other, theirself, and everyone they love.

Ty Lee: Toph was actually scared of Ty Lee at first because of her chi blocking abilities. Not like terrified-scared, but like if you even take one more step towards me I will smash you with a boulder no matter your intentions-scared. Also, Ty Lee was so perky and kind of loud and Toph found that suspicious at first. It wasn’t like an Aang perky or loud, it was like... well, Toph couldn’t explain it (as in, I, op, cannot explain it), but it was a bit overwhelming? And then one time Ty Lee just. randomly visited her at her parents’ house even though they “weren’t friends” and Toph was just ????? but let her come in for dinner anyway because she kind of wanted to see how her parents would react to this peppy girl. Her parents ended up making a kind of snide remark at Toph’s expense during dinner (which was the usual but Toph didn’t realize it was a b u s e) and Ty Lee went off. That’s when Toph knew there were reasons to be terrified of this girl, but she would never be on the receiving end of her fury unless she really deserved it. They have very different family situations, but take pleasure in actually talking about it to each other. Because Ty Lee is a very open person and Toph is not. Toph thinks it’s nice to just let Ty Lee ramble on (kind of like Mai) and Ty Lee thinks Toph gives really good advice and has good insights (plus strives to help her feel more comfortable with her feelings). They become spontaneous buddies and randomly show up at each other’s houses when they’re living at home and it’s just nice.

Mai: last but never least, Mai and Toph! These two. feel for each other. so much. Rich kids, only children, parents who ignore them, ahhhhh, do you smell that? The repression of feelings:) Sometimes, they prefer to just be around each other because everyone else can kind of be overwhelming. They can communicate through few words and they both like throwing things, so they like sparring together a lot, It gives them a chance to throw things with another person who likes throwing things. For them, sparring is like this connection and it’s own method of loving each other (as friends do) and it’s just really nice for both of them.

Okay. I am done. Thank you, Grace, for fueling me.

I love Toph and I don’t give her enough attention.

[janedrakey131]

zukka hp au part 12

I think one of my favorite friendships is Katara and Zuko, so time to flesh that out a bit in this au. (Also, thank you to @margaritavilleee for reminding me Katara is definitely a Gryffindor.) 

And one quick question, do you like having links for each part on every post? I’m debating just making one big post I can update with links for all the parts, but if you like the way it is or have a different suggestion, let me know!

If you would like to catch up on this au:

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 part 9 part 10 part 11 part 12 part 13

If you would like to join the tag list

Hope you enjoy!

So Zuko doesn’t join the gaang for A LONG TIME

But when he does, he’s really awkward about it

Because he was expecting idk, badass Avatar constantly evading Sozin and his father

And instead it’s just a bunch of meddling kids dragging Aang out of the way

So eventually, when he joins, he was expecting them to just ask him for help when they needed it and to ignore him the rest

But uh, nope

They pretty much all adopt him

Sokka is really happy, but also he’s like Katara why do you talk to him more than you talk to me

Katara just enjoys spending time with Zuko though

He’s older than the rest of the kids and a bit more chill (usually)

He’s fine with just studying together or listening to her try to figure out how she feels about Aang

(She’s definitely listened to him gush about Sokka to the point where she’s like this is weird and uncomfortable, but you’re both idiots)

She sometimes joins Iroh and Zuko for tea

Iroh doesn’t ship them, but Katara is a nice young lady in his book

And he thinks his nephew needs more friends

At some point she has the field trip with Zuko (or this au’s equivalent)

I think this is all pre-getting together with Sokka and pre-shovel talk?

I have to figure out exactly when they’re going to start dating

Anyway, Katara and Zuko like sparring together

Zuko is trying to figure out the limits of his fire magic

Like can he improve on using other kinds of magic, or is he just inherently bad at water magic

And vice versa

He’s not really the research dude, that’s Sokka

But Katara likes working with him, because he’s really intuitive and can make really interesting leaps in logic

I think Zuko likes spending time with Katara because she doesn’t have any expectations for him

Also, she’s just nice to him? And Zuko doesn’t have a lot of people who are nice to him without strings attached

And since they’re in the same house, they see each other a lot more now

He waits for her after class sometimes so they can head to the library together

Zuko starts growing his hair out

So sometimes she’ll braid his hair

Idk, let the dude have some nice soft platonic shit

They eat dinner together in the Great Hall sometimes, too

And idk, they have a system to grab each other’s favorite foods if the other is too far away and then switch

When he tells her about how he got his scar, he has to get Suki to come sit on her to stop her from slapping his family

Then she hugs him

And tries to make his favorite food

She’s too angry though, so it turns out really really burnt

But Zuko just thanks her and eats all of it

She tries extra hard after that to get Zuko and Sokka to stop dancing around each other

Because she’s like you need more nice relationships

And if that isn’t a nice relationship

I will put the fear in you both

It doesn’t work

They’re still both oblivious T.T 

She, Aang, Toph, and Suki all get together with Uncle Iroh and moan about it for awhile

They’re like he finally stopped following Sokka around

So can’t they get together already and put us out of our misery

It’s agony watching them blushing around each other

They’re the zukka initiation squad though

They want to be the zukka protection squad, but the two haven’t gotten together yet

This got off Katara and Zuko’s friendship

But whatever

If you would like to catch up on this au:

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8 part 9 part 10 part 11 part 12 part 13

If you would like to join the tag list

@topblurryface119 @assyouwishh @aphrcditeee @a-hermit-who-lives-in-your-attic @bring-back-wally @zuko-just-wants-his-honor @youcant-escapefate @iwillgodownwiththisship27 @animegeneral17 @uglybutuwu @cocoa-hooves @errvaaa @floweryrage @syddles-the-squiddles @easy-as @the-celery-stalks-at-midnight @crappyravioli @belonginthesky @grim-cat17 @imsocial-not @svgasuga @vehicularimpact21 @kurooslaugh @grimmjowskitty @spotkidsprout @delievia

[wingsfreedom]

Gladiator Week: Favorite Character(s)

I hope I'm not late! @seyaryminamoto

My favorite: Azula, Ozai and Iroh.

I'm so happy to read a story flash Azula out in a realistic, in-tune with her show portrayal. You made proper character analyses about her, not write based the impression the character gives you.

I love how you brought up a lot of the depth she has to the surface, both her good and dark sides. Though you focus more on the good side. Her new flames was such great touch.

I like how she's not closed off in the Palace train or study, but go around and meet new people of all sorts, and people get to know and meet her too, especially through the Gladiator league.

I love her friendship with Toph a lot, they're like sisters. Even though they started as enemies (or at least how Azula saw it). But after that trip to Ba Sing Se, the chase of the Dai Li and Toph's family drama they grow to become great freinds that enjoy each other's company. I think Toph is the second best character in the show to fuction positively with Azula and vice versa.

I become overjoyed eachtime you give Azula something new: a sword, dragon, different kind of flames. Other things: redemption arc, becoming Fire Lord, Sokka the love of her life... and more. You fulfill all my Azula needs in one story! I'm only waiting for a child now, and the list will be complete 😁

Ozai. The fics that explore Ozai as character are rare but you flashed him out really neatly. No need to make him more evil, just the evil he is. I appreciate the way you write him, a deep, well-rounded character. His relationships with his family is fascinating too. I absolutely love the complexity and toxicity of his relationships with Zuko, Azula and Ursa. You capture its elements wonderfully. I like the possibility he had a chance for redemption with Ursa but rejected it for his own ambition. I love Ozai because he managed to be both ridiculous and threatening.

Iroh. Most just write Iroh as this one dimensional Zuko's warm, funny, wise, sage uncle. But you captured all his characteristions including his old general, ruthless, tactical side. And it's amazing take on the character.

I also noticed Iroh has sort of elitism, in your story, he thinks that only he knows what is right. No one else does and he must use his standards to enforce his righteousness on the fire nation or the world around him. Zuko doesn’t know what he's talking about or doing, but Iroh thinks he knows.

His own experiences have reinforced his ideology, he hasn’t felt a need to branch out and broaden his horizons with different possibilities. Azula has changed, and is much healthier perosn emotionally, mentally and morally yet he refuse to chage his views on her and still (even more) insisting on putting her down, instead of putting faith in her or meld their relationship despite Azula's efforts to make things better between them. Azula and Zuko 'changes' challenging his views and ideology somehow, and that's why he develop a deeper rivalry with Azula. I mean his sense of elitism gets in the way of him seeing new possibilities, if I wasn't wrong.

Unpopular opinions ahead: Rui Shi, Kaun and Lu Ten.

Rui Shi was the badass, rational, duty fulfiller....until Azula ruined him. But I like how he's so loyal to her. They're BrOTP.

Kuan. The obnoxious, spoiled boy. He was more complex and rounded character than most governors Azula meet during her travels, his characteristion has impacted me more than other OCs. He's wily but isn't smart enough. His malice fuel his persistence. He's cruel but can't handle violence. He appreciates beauty but ugly inside. Like, a hateful human being but damn so well written.

Lu Ten *wipes a tear*. Between Ozai and Ursa in Azula's flashback he was the only good thing there, neither irritating or disturbing. Such a good cousin. I loved him instantly, he wasn't overly judgmental of Azula like Ursa or manipulative of her like Ozai. He was understanding and loving. And Azula loved him. She still does. I wish he still alive, I imagine he will go better with Azula than most and Azula will enjoy his company and look forward to it. Well, if Ozai didn't grow upset of this and tries to spilt them apart.. or Iroh.

[comradekatara]

the gaang + how well they would do on the infinity train?

this is suuuper hard because there are so many factors to take into consideration. first is obviously the train itself. the train's function in a metanarrative sense is to serve as a vehicle for storytelling, dissecting & deconstructing the process of a narrative and how a character's arc is propelled by their circumstances. the train supposedly functions to improve its passengers, and yet we also know that The Train is a deeply flawed mechanism that can corrupt and further traumatize its passengers just as much as it can "fix" them. when the train invites you in with the single-minded goal of getting your number to zero, assuming you ever disembark, you're probably gonna be left with even more trauma than when you arrived, or at the very least, weirder trauma.

grace wanted to be seen, but instead of learning to value herself for her own intrinsic worth instead of relying on validation from those around her, she was enabled by that validation and literally started a cult. likewise, since jet is basically a less heinous version of simon, i see him taking a similar path to the apex (though he would of course name them the freedom fighters) trying to overthrow the tyrannical one-one and reinstate the True Conductor. he would think his path is righteous. he would think he is protecting those kids from evil. who knows what would happen once he learns the truth.

then there is the matter of what the train wants from you. the train arrives at a pivotal moment in one's life, when they are at an emotional crossroads and need a catalyst for growth. for example, jesse's problem was relatively small (because he is perfect) but hurting his brother caused him emotional turmoil nonetheless, so the train stepped in. this means that to answer this question properly, i would have to answer not only when the train arrives for them, but why, and seeing that every single atla character carries massive amounts of baggage (most of it flavors of trauma that infinity train has not addressed), this proves extremely difficult. i have to identify the most narratively satisfying moment in each character's lives to have the train arrive, and then i have to make assumptions about which cars would propel them which way (emotionally). you're asking me to outline nine different fanfictions.

only jet's character feels similar enough to any of the characters we've seen in infinity train for me to even have an inkling as to what path he would take. while sokka and tulip are quite similar as people (rational, scientific yet creative thinkers who over-rely on logic over feeling, are deeply loyal, and instinctually blame themselves for the problems caused by others), their character arcs themselves have little in common. both aang and hazel experience a tragic loss of pure, childhood innocence (which is why i cry over both of them every day), but in relatively dissimilar ways (at least appa gets to return to aang). min-gi and zuko are both pressured by their upbringings to conform to a standard that makes them miserable to please their parents, only to ultimately embrace their own passion & truth... but not only do those arcs play out completely differently, zuko and min-gi are completely different people, and if anything, zuko's approach to life is far more like ryan's (ie, jumping off a cliff and hoping he lands on his feet).

but what i think you're really asking, at the end of the day, is how emotionally mature, self-aware, and capable of positive growth is each atla character? because how am i supposed to know what the train would do to their psyches, considering each external situation would shape them differently, and unless i'm supposed to meticulously craft fanfiction for each one of them (which i wouldn't be opposed to doing, but only for one character, i simply cannot do all nine – also, i'm surprised infinity train AUs aren't more common, but then again i'm not particularly familiar with fanficition, so maybe it is!), it would only be an approximation, in which i identify their core problem (which again, is not how real people work, or even how atla characters work, but how The Train works) and then analyze how long it would take for each of them to solve said problem.

so, that was a very long-winded preface. without further ado:

aang's main problem is that he keeps running away from his problems, which is to say, distracting himself from the enormity of his grief. personally, i would say his coping mechanism isn't the worst. after all, he experiences so much world-shattering pain in such a short span of time, and he does deserve to preserve his childhood and his innocence for as long as possible. but, for the purposes of the narrative, the train must necessarily disagree. he must confront his grief head-on, without distracting himself from it or flying into a destructive rage that he'd only regret later. it also depends on who his companions are. with katara by his side, he can get through anything (and vice versa), but it's unclear who will be there to guide him through his pain. that said, i know he'd make it through okay. he's aang. he has to.

katara lives in a fairytale. like i said with aang, that's not really a bad thing. she's a great kid with big dreams and a big heart. she wants to save the world, and – guess what! – she does. but living in a storybook strips one's worldview of the nuances of life, not simply the harsh realities of the world, but also the full extent of one's personhood, outside of simply the black and white worldview of heroes and villains. katara's apotheosis is when she confronts yon rha, looks him in the eyes, and sees a human being staring back at her, another human being. she is no longer in a revenge tale. she is out of stories to tell herself. (life doesn't make narrative sense.) ironically, the train is a metaphor for storytelling, so katara coming to realize that she isn't in a story would both be confusingly meta and also fucking brilliant (if i do say so, personally). i don't know how exactly it would play out, but by god i would pay to see it.

in many ways, sokka is remarkably open-minded, and in many ways, sokka is extremely stubborn. i think he'd come to terms with his own emotional growth (which would be rooted in learning his own self-worth) faster than he'd come to terms with the train itself. "okay, fine, yeah, i deserve love regardless of what i can do for other people, but WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS PLACE?!?!?" his journey through the train is actually everyone else's dream experience on the train. passengers and denizens alike keep falling in love with him (or at the very least, admiring him more than they've ever admired anyone they've ever met), but he doesn't even notice because he's too busy being extremely suspicious of everything he comes into contact with. yes, he'll solve your problems and puzzles and help people and make meaningful connections and eventually he might start to realize that he is worth something even when he's alone, even (especially) when he's being unconventional or "weird" or "selfish." but even once he does get his door, does he walk through it? oh no, he takes it apart and tries to figure out how it just created a fucking portal. so while he would technically "do" quite well, he is never leaving that fucking train. rip sokka.

well, toph needs to learn to accept and embrace her own vulnerability. she definitely goes through that same crystal karaoke car tulip did. that, or the train just tortures her by putting her in increasingly more painful situations in which she must ask for help. but that's too awful to even think about, so i'm just gonna say she has to sing karaoke.

zuko needs to learn to trust his instincts and his own internal moral compass instead of the external pressures being forced upon him by his Father (capital F to emphasize that his nation & his father – aka the patriarchy – are one & the same for him, lmao). and he would fail. a lot. but eventually he would realize that his number goes down when he lets himself be himself, and he would leave the train happy. he probably also gets a bunch of cute little talking animal companions to guide him through. he deserves it.

the train appears to suki while she's having a breakdown in solitary confinement at the boiling rock. she finds healthy ways to cope with being put through hell while on the train, and by the time she gets off, she's being let out of solitary. it is a very rewarding experience, and one that she can swear wasn't just some hallucination. she's constantly telling herself yes, of course it was just a hallucination.... but still... it felt so real....

if i had to diagnose azula with one singular problem that plagues her at the core of her very being, it would have to be her fear of rejection. but it's not good enough to just keep having train cars reject azula, she has to accept that rejection, instead of just intimidating people into submission after the fact. she needs to understand why she is being rejected, and be fine with it, and learn from it, instead of letting her lack of universal perfection in every area anyone could ever excel in shake her to her very core. when ty lee proved that she secured the affections of dumb stupid boys better than azula ever could, she did an arson to cope (which of course is still very valid of her uwu). azula needs to learn to come in second place, third place, even last place, and shrug it off, think to herself, "hopefully i'll do better next time, and if not, that's okay also," and once that happens, everything else will fall into place. though maybe she could read bell hooks or smth at some point on the train cuz i think that could help too.

mai needs to stop being so goddamn depressed all the time. has she tried lexapro, or perhaps using a lightbox in winter? her favorite coping mechanism, knives, only helps her feel something some of the time, but most (if not all) of the time she's still being expected to play a part. has she tried, like, being herself? i heard from zuko (you know, the guy? from the train?) that "being yourself" works wonders. so the train gives her that opportunity. and she actually even enjoys herself for once in her miserable fucking life.

omg there must've been some sort of mistake ty lee was totally sent here by accident because she's actually super happy all the time and doesn't have any problems!!!!!!!! jk, can u even imagine? ty lee hates her life too, she just doesn't go around advertising it like mai does with her big dyke boots and depressing eyeliner. but apparently she also needs to learn how to "be herself," whatever that means. as if life isn't a constant performance, you know, like jacques said or whatever. she sees mai on the train. she rolls her big beautiful brown eyes. "oh god, not you too."