#in the war including kya and hama and all the waterbenders and soldiers...

[comradekatara]

Would you...would you like to share Chief Katara of the Southern Water Tribe thoughts?

literally always. 

katara normally has very little patience for the weird shit sokka says, but she is honestly so baffled every time he casually alludes to her taking on the mantle of chief someday that it takes her a while to confront him on it. she’s like “why do you keep implying that i’m gonna be chief???” and sokka is like “do you... not think you’re going to be chief?” as if it’s just occurred to him that somehow she is not aware of this. turns out she wasn’t. huh, weird. seemed pretty obvious to him. 

katara counters, “well what if i don’t wanna be chief??? huh??? ever think about that???” and sokka’s like “ever since we got back to the south pole you’ve basically been leading the tribe in everything but name. if you refuse your earned title just to spite me that would be really, really stupid of you.” unfortunately for katara, he makes a pretty good point. 

it’s true: she’s been reconstructing buildings, teaching new waterbenders, healing soldiers, bringing back old traditions, and bringing her people new inspiration ever since the war ended. she loves traveling and exploring the world, but there’s nowhere else she’d rather be but home. 

when katara eventually does become chief (as everyone knew she would), nothing much changes, really, except for her title. it’s really just an excuse for all her loved ones to throw a huge party. even toph, who once claimed that you could only ever bring her to the south pole in a bodybag, shows up because she’s just so damn proud and happy for katara. (unfortunately, this proves to be killer on sokka’s back, since he is tasked with carrying her around the entire time, and she doesn’t trust anyone else to do it.) at the end of the night, they proudly unveil the statue they’ve been working on. it was made with multiple materials, including ice, bronze, silver, marble, and clay. katara claims it is the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen, and cries. a lot. 

(toph’s like “of course you would think it’s beautiful, you fucking narcissist” and katara’s like “oh my god shut UP who even invited you?????” and throws a snowball in toph’s face, only she misses slightly, and hits sokka right between the eyes instead.) 

as the tribe continues to grow, and more and more of katara’s students start to become waterbending masters in their own right, she stops being able to teach and heal everyone, and instead starts delegating those roles to her former students, teaching only a few classes, and healing only those who specifically require the skills of the best healer in the world. that said, she never retires her open-door policy, meeting with any member of the tribe who wants her ear, no matter how seemingly trivial their problem is. she also holds multiple meetings a week where anyone can attend and make suggestions, and she responds to everyone individually and works as hard as she can to address their issues. 

whenever zuko is in the swt and bears witness to these meetings, he’s like “if i had to do this as firelord i would’ve drowned myself in the turtleduck pond in the first week.” sokka’s like “i know right this is literally why i could never be chief.” katara how no idea what either of those curmudgeons could possibly be talking about. it’s one of the most rewarding parts of her job??? but it helps that she knows literally everyone in the tribe and they all adore her and bring her food every time they show up at her office, including little treats for catara, who sits on her lap during meetings. and the people she does have beef with know it, because she’s not afraid to yell at them. so it’s fine. 

her craziest moment as chief is honestly when this guy about her age approaches her in the street one day and says, “do i know you from somewhere?” and she’s like “oh, sorry, but i already have a boyfriend” and he’s like “no. i mean it. i think i recognize you.” and she’s like “well... i am kind of a living legend.....” and he’s like “ok.... no.... that’s not it....” and she’s like “i’m the chief of the southern water tribe?” and he’s like “nope... that’s not it either. wait! yes! i know who you are! you froze me and my friend to a wall because we were kind of rude to your other friend!!!! you’re the chief of the southern water tribe??????”