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writings-of-a-british-fangirl · 4 years

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A Heart Of Change (Zuko X Reader) [Everything Has Changed Part 4]

Title: A Heart Of Change Summary: Azula returns to exact her revenge, but that's not the only thing that returns with her. New events and old feelings come to light. Warnings: Angst ? And canon violence. Requested: By a few lovely followers of mine who wanted a part 4!!

A/N: I glossed over Boiling Rock Part 1 + 2 because I couldn't think of a good way to incorporate the reader in those events so I'll be referring to them instead of completely retelling them.

A/N 2: Sorry for the month long hiatus! Work has been crazy! Anyway, enjoy part 4 x

CATCH UP ON THE OTHER PARTS FIRST-

PART 1: EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED PART 2: CHANGE IS GOOD PART 3: CHANGING SPIRITS PART 4: A HEART OF CHANGE

Zuko~A Heart Of Change

A lot had happened in the past few days- and it was almost enough to distract you from the bigger picture. With Zuko and Aang learning the true source of fire bending, and Sokka to rescuing Suki and his dad (with Zuko's help), you'd almost forgotten what was inevitably coming for you. Your previous actions had consequences. And, where consequences and revenge were involved, Azula wasn't far behind. (If you were being honest, you were surprised she didn't find you earlier.)

What didn't surprise you, however, was how ready she was. She came prepared: a taunting expression on her face, and a fleet of air ships behind her, she launched her attack on the Western Air Temple. You couldn't fight them all at once, not even with Avatar right now. Fleeing safely was your main priority. If you had any hope of defeating the Fire Lord before that comet, Aang needed to master fire bending- and you needed to make it out of here alive.

You look over at Zuko and recognise a look in his eyes. Zuko had never backed down from a fight- especially with his sister. And, now you were worried what he would do next.

"We have to go now, Zuko," you plead, "It's not worth fighting her if it means we don't get out of here alive."

Zuko glanced at you and then back at his sister. He had to do something: letting his sister get the best of him again didn't sit right with him. He hated feeling helpless. Besides, a distraction was needed to get out of here. Zuko was happy to provide that.

"You go with the others," Zuko insisted, "I'm going to distract her, she'll be too busy fighting me to attack you guys."

You weren't sure about this, but decided to help round up the others anyway.

Haru began to make a tunnel out of the air bending temple, trying to help the others escape. Aang was doing his best to persuade Appa to follow them through the tunnel, but it wasn't working. Appa was scared of being under ground, especially after he got trapped in the mountain in the Earth Kingdom. You could see that it wasn't working. He would have to fly, even if it wasn't the safer option.

"This isn't working," Aang says, frustrated, "I'll take Appa and fly."

"It's too dangerous!" Katara insisted.

"It's even more dangerous staying here like sitting ducks!" you yell back, over the noise of the airships and the crumbling temple.

"She's right," Toph says.

"Haru, take the others to safety through the tunnel," Aang said, "We'll fly to safety on Appa."

Haru nodded and began to earth bend his way, with the others, through the air bending temple- he closed the tunnel behind him so that they couldn't be followed. Aang watched them go, and then turned back to the gang. They all began to climb onto Appa. Sokka looked behind him, when he realised you and Zuko weren't with the others on Appa. His eyes widened as he watched Zuko jump from the cliff towards the airships and towards his sister- also towards the huge fire balls!

"What are you doing?" Sokka yelled to you.

"I have to help him! Zuko needs my help! You lot go ahead- we'll catch up!" you reply, looking away from Sokka towards Zuko, "Besides you guys need a distraction!"

Aang hesitated looking down at you, but you nodded. He nodded back then told Appa 'yip yip' and the bison began to fly through the collapsing rubble. You watched them fly upwards in an effort to avoid the blasts of fire Azula and her soldier were firing their way. You looked to the edge of the cliff and then to the airships, before taking a running start. Using blasts of fire from your hands, you launch yourself further into the air. Zuko's head turned when he heard the sound of your footsteps running along the crumbling ground. His eyes widened.

He told you to stay behind!

This wasn't part of his plan!

What if you got hurt?

His mind was racing a million miles an hour, but he tried to stay focused on Azula. He knew she'd use you against him; she was always very aware of his soft spot for you. Even as a child, he'd try and shield you from Azula. She quickly caught on, and from then on enjoyed teasing him about his precious Y/N, and then she'd go onto describe what she'd do to you if she ever caught you alone and unawares. From then on, his effort to keep you away from Azula (even as you grew older and more capable) became even more conscious. That hadn't changed. Even now. Even as you were risking your life for him and the gang. He still feared losing you- especially to his sister.

"What are you doing here?!" Zuko yelled across the air ships.

"What does it look like?!" you reply back, "I'm helping you dumbass! This is dangerous- I'm not letting you do it on your own!"

Zuko tries not to freak out too much, but his attention is immediately drawn away by a large ball of fire heading his way. He dodges it narrowly and jumps to the next air ship. He quickly looks back to you- and luckily you're safe. You acknowledge him with a smile and then slide down the side of the air ship with a blade-like-flame, cutting down the side of the ship. The hull of the ship rips with a severe noise, and you can feel the ship start to spiral down. You use the side of the ship to boost yourself onto the next one.

Between the two of you, you made quick work of the air ships. It was made ever more difficult, though, with the interference of Azula. She was a powerful bender, even at such a young age. And, with the top tier training she'd received in the heart of the fire nation, with the nation's greatest fire benders, it was no surprise that she was putting up quite a fight.

"I don't think we can last much longer," you shouted over to Zuko, "We need to get out of here!"

"Where's Aang?" Zuko agreed.

"Up there," you pointed.

"We're going to have to j-"

Before Zuko could finish the word 'jump', you were both forced off the side of the air ship by another powerful ball of fire sent from Azula. In the process she was forced backwards. Luckily, when you were launched off of the ship, Aang was ready with Appa to catch you both. You landed with a thud on Appa's saddle, and looked back.

"She's not going to make it," Zuko said quietly.

Azula pulled out her hair pin, and dug it deep into the side of the cliff. Eventually she came to a halt, making eye contact with Zuko as she did.

"Of course she did."

---

Things between you and Zuko had been different ever since you escape Azula. In fact, you suspected it started before that. Ever since he'd gone to the Boiling Rock with Sokka, something seemed different. Seemed off. You hadn't even had the chance to talk to him alone, yet. For you, it was only making the situation worse.

You found yourself sitting alone on the beach. You'd eaten dinner with the others, and then excused yourself. Talk at dinner was lively, but you felt yourself shrink away from it. You hadn't seen Azula since you fled the fire nation; seeing her again was resurfacing old memories. Ones of her and you. Ones of you and Zuko. And, being at this house didn't help. Zuko and Azula used to come here all the time as kids. Sometimes Zuko would invite you. You had good memories here. However, now it felt so empty. You shook your head, trying to clear your thoughts.

Maybe that's why Zuko was being so strange; maybe he was going through what you were going through. Surely he wasn't having second thoughts about coming here? Or maybe it was just second thoughts about you?

You were so wrapped up in your thoughts, you barely heard footsteps approaching you.

"You didn't stay long at dinner," Zuko commented, sitting down beside you.

You brought your knees up to your chest and sighed.

"I didn't mean to leave you out there," you murmur, "I just didn't feel like I had much to say, that's all."

"And, I thought being the moody one was my job," Zuko teases.

You have a faint smile on your face.

"You're not moody, you're angsty," you correct, "There's a difference."

"There's a difference?"

"Yeah, you're so much more dramatic than moody," you reply.

Zuko shakes his head. You smile towards him, and he rolls his eyes playfully in response.

"I'm just teasing," you promise.

"I know," Zuko says calmly, and then he hesitates before speaking again, "Are you sure you're okay? We haven't talked just us-"

"-I'm fine, Zuko. It's not... It's not anything serious. I'm just over reacting. I promise."

Zuko is silent, and in that moment, you take it as a sign for you to continue. You've held it in for so long that you almost can't help to let all your emotions out.

"It's just I... I feel like we haven't talked in a while. And seeing Azula today, it just brought up old memories. And, this place... I feel like it should be comforting, but its not. It just reminded me of what I don't have any more," you sigh, "I feel like something happened on the Boiling Rock. Something you're not telling me. Not that you have to tell me anything... I didn't want... I'm not trying... I... I don't know I feel like something has changed. Between us. You know what- just ignore me. Forgot what I said."

You go to get up from where you're sitting, but Zuko puts his hand on yours and you stop.

"I didn't mean to hide anything from you," Zuko sighed, "I didn't mean to make you feel like this."

You looked down towards the waves lapping the sand.

"I saw Mai. I saw Mai on Boiling Rock," Zuko confessed, "And... She saved me-us. She saved us by going against Azula. I've been feeling... Conflicted about it. I'm worried about her- and what Azula has done to her-"

"-Oh."

That's all you could say. Part of you felt heart broken because you had pressed so much- Zuko rarely talked about his feelings like this even to you. Part of you felt selfish for thinking the reason he was so distant was because of you. It was Mai. It had always been Mai and it was always be Mai.

"I'm sure she's alright, Zuko. Her family's high standing will protect her," you say, placing a hand on his shoulder.

You squeeze it lightly before standing up and walking back towards the house.

"Wait," Zuko says, running up behind you.

"I'm going to bed, Zuko," you murmur trying to walk quicker.

"Y/N, wait, please, I'm not good with words... I don't-"

"-Don't worry, Zuko. Mai is special. She's special to you," you smile up at him, "I'm happy you've found that."

"No, that's not what I meant. Y/N, please. Mai is special, but so are you. She's not my special- you're... Ugh, I'm not good with words... I..." Zuko huffs, frustrated.

You look up at him, confused, "I'm special?"

"Yes," he nods, "You've always been special to me. More than anyone else. You always have been. I- When I was banished, you came with me; you've always been by my side. Even when I didn't deserve. Even when I didn't deserve you..."

"Zuko... I..."

"You don't have to feel the same, but I just want you to-"

You lean up and press your hand against his cheek. He stops speaking but his lips part before he gently gulps. You look up at him for permission, and he nods. In this moment, he might just agree to anything you asked of him. But, for now, all you ask of him is a kiss. He gladly accepts. You gently place your lips on his, and he kisses back.

"How long have you felt like this?" you ask him.

"A life time."

You smile: so dramatic you think. But, then again, you always did like a bit of dramatic flare in your life.

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tundrainafrica · 3 years

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Hi, after reading about 'why you think Levi and Hange are perfect together', and seeing your reasons quite similar to mine..I just want to ask if you have any opinions on Zutara?

I'm just very curious in what you have to say. It's okay if you don't want to answer.

Thank you for the ask anon! I’d be happy to give you my opinion on Zutara, so happy that you’re gonna be dealing with another long rant with probably a lot of rambling in between. Anyway, Lezzgo.

As always:

Disclaimer: I do not want to start shipping wars. I specifically avoided the words like should or best because I recognize that shipping is generally based on preferences. I respect everyone’s preferences on what they want out of a ship or even a relationship and through this, I just hope to express my own preferences and maybe even gush with people who agree.

So, to give you some background on my love for ATLA, I first watched it in middle school when I came out and yes, I was a basic bitch. So basic, that I would always pair the hottest guy with the first person I saw him have potential sexual tension with, hence came Zutara and in 2013 when AOT came out Rivetra.

I grew up. Things changed but ATLA remains a masterpiece and through the years I have watched it countless times especially when I encounter people who have never watched it because YO, That show is literally one of the best examples of good writing and world building and more importantly, how to write a good ending (which so many people manage to fuck up? I’m looking at u D&D =_=). For anyone who hasn’t watched ATLA please give it a try.

As I grew up, my two favorite pairings became Sokka x Suki and Sokka x Toph. Canon was fine but I would have wanted to see the other ship sail too :/. But yeah, this is about Zutara so will answer that.

If I ranked my current pairings: Sokka x Suki and Sokka x Toph are tied for first and second and I would put Zutara at third because that pairing still holds a special place in my heart.

Would I have wanted Zutara to be canon over Kataang?

Yes. I would. I still would have wholeheartedly picked Zutara over Kataang for so many reasons. (I have not watched the show in a while so a lot of my shit might be inaccurate but feel free to correct me.)

Okay, so first things first, two of the best written characters in the show for me were definitely Zuko and Katara from a character development sense. My favorite character is Toph and Sokka as second but I found Zuko and Katara to be incredibly profound characters with very blatant yet very well written developments which all culminated into one scene: THE ONE IN THE FUCKING CAVERN.

Their particular hate (or is it tension, can’t think of the right word) for each other was strong but the thing is, the emotion was already there. It’s much harder to build emotional investment (even love) from nothing than to build emotion from what already existed. Katara so easily channelled that hate into actual care because she was so emotionally invested in Zuko as a person already having spent the whole first season being chased by a crazed him. Like yo, from shitting on him in the cavern to suddenly thinking, hey this guy who tried to kill us the past season changed, let me use my very rare magic water on him to help heal his scar. It sounds weird writing it out but personally, I thought that development in the cavern was more well written than the whole Kataang plotline IMO.

And yeah, they only show you how fucking magical that water is by bringing a dead Aang to life with it at the end of the season. AND SHE WAS PLANNING ON USING IT FOR ZUKO TO HEAL HIS SCAR. Like wow, that’s some emotional investment.

Okay, I know this can pretty much be justified by Katara being motherly and just an emotional being so let’s not get into that, let’s just get into the potential of this dam ship. Because, as an ATLA fan, personally, the shipping potential of Zuko and Katara was outstanding and I really felt blue balled to see Katara and Aang kiss at the end of it.

Like literally Kataang was just too easy and the kiss kinda came out of nowhere?

The Katara and Aang romantic plotline was so easy, literally the first time we see any possible attraction between the two was ten episodes in when Aang blushed about the necklace he gave her. Here’s the thing I didn’t really like though, I found Kataang shoddily developed. The plotline between Aang and Katara seemed so one sided. All the way until season 3 with the ember island players episode, I was caught on to believe that the romance between Aang and Katara was one sided then they just bam, kiss at the end of the show

Zutara would have offered more development for both characters.

And anyway, what I really mourn aside from the shoddily developed plotline of Kataang is the lost potential of that damn ship. Zuko brought out an edgy side of Katara. I mean can we appreciate the part in the Southern Raiders episode were Zuko was the only who made the effort to understand what was bothering Katara?

The scenes between Zuko and Katara had more emotion on them? Literally, Katara had Zuko-exclusive interactions. She said things she’d only say to Zuko. Zuko really brought out a part of her than no other character has?

Like sure people say shit like, Katara cried when Aang died. But I had interpreted a lot of those as motherly. And the creators literally slapped us with a similar Zutara scene at the end of the show? Like Zuko wasn’t dead but Katara was still crying her fucking eyes out.

Also, Katara’s interactions with Aang were not so different from how she interacted with everyone else. They were all motherly. They were all caring. You could have literally slapped another character in most of those scenes and it would have still made fucking sense.

Her actions with Zuko felt more like they were only for Zuko and that’s why I liked it so much. They had so much shit they could have gotten sorted out and it could have culminated into such a good relationship compared to what we got in canon?

Yeah, but after spending months ranting about how Levihan a best friends to lovers relationship became the pinnacle of perfection for me, some people might be wondering why the hell I love the enemy to lovers Zutara.

Zutara was not unrealistic. It was not toxic. Zuko and Katara are both genuinely good people just working for the betterment of their loved ones and of the world. They had strong feelings they had to get sorted out between them and they had both proven to be characters willing to learn, change and grow which would have made the slow burn potential realistic.

Although Levi and Hange developed from best friends, I am sure before they became best friends they were definitely enemies. If not enemies, they fought and bantered enough with each other at least to see that there were a lot of feelings to be sorted out between them which is one of the reasons I love Levihan so much in the first place. Like people only gain so much patience for love ones if they spend a good amount of time sorting out feelings right? And I really think that the tension needs to exist for a good foundation.

The differences between Zuko and Katara’s characters and the feelings that would have had to be sorted out between them would have been such a good foundation to a good relationship and damn, the ending blue balled me so much. Just writing this brings back the strong feeling of disappointment from ten years ago and I had to go into shipping Sokka and Suki instead.

Thanks for the question though anon, it was fun to consider this <3

#zutara #ship

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tsukihimeyfan · 3 years

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Sozin’s Comet’s Deus Ex Machina (and ways to fix them)

I’m sure that most of us AtLA fans can agree that the four part Finale was one of the best moments in animation history, with astoundingly well choreographed fight scenes, fantastic emotional beats, gorgeous animation, and frankly breath-taking music. However, I’m also sure I’m not the only one who was frustrated by one aspect of it in particular, the one blot on an otherwise perfect finale: what I like to call the “lion-turtle and pointy rock” ex machina.

The saddest part is that there was very little they had to change to get to a satisfactory, ties-everything-together ending. For example, take Energy-bending and the Lion-turtle. I saw a post a while ago where they suggested that energybending could’ve been related to what Aang learned from the swamp and the Guru, and it just makes SO much sense (Note: I saw the post months ago and I can’t find it anymore, so if anyone knows who first posted that theory please let me know so that I can give credit where credit’s due). After all, Aang seemed to use the energy of the swamp to sense where Appa and Momo were, and later, during Appa’s Lost Days, Guru Pathik says this:

Meaning he, a non-bender, is capable of reading the energy of others, and of locating people bonded to them from miles away. Let’s not forget that he had also previously sensed everything Appa had gone through with the same ability. Sounds like a really useful skill, wouldn’t you say?

Also, looking at both “sensing” occurrences, they look remarkably similar, so we can be reasonably sure that they’re both employing the same method.

It would’ve been so easy to have Aang take a moment to ask how Guru Pathik met Appa. After all, as far as the Gaang knew, Appa was taken by merchants to be sold in Ba Sing Se, so he shouldn’t have had a chance to meet anyone at the Eastern Air Temple. Did the merchants pass through the temple on the way to Ba Sing Se? Did the Guru try to set Appa free? Pathik would then have to explain how Appa had already escaped on his own, and he helped him find Aang by reading his energy. Aang could then ask the Guru to teach him this ability so that if they ever get separated again he’d be able to find and help Appa easily. Boom - energybending basics acquired.

A highly spiritual person like Aang would no doubt have little problems mastering the sensing ability, especially since he’s used a limited version of it before at the Swamp. Also, if we think about how much the spiritual mentors in the show have tried to drill it into Aang that all things are connected,

we can assume that after mastering everything Guru Pathik could do he would eventually be able to sense even people vaguely connected to him from far away. Being the Avatar, the bridge between the spiritual and physical worlds, would almost certainly also help him master energysensing abilities no other had before.

Maybe they could’ve added a few 30 second scenes here and there of Aang meditating to hone his energysensing skills. Also, during the whole Boiling Rock debacle, imagine how great it would’ve been if Sokka had asked Aang about his dad and, after pressing his hand to Sokka’s forehead and following his bond to his father, Aang was able to tell him that his dad was alive and well, and that he was somewhere in the direction they’d come from, though at that point he wouldn’t be able to pinpoint his exact location.

“I’m sorry Sokka... I can’t tell exactly where he is yet... I know that’s not really helpful...”

“No, knowing he’s alright is plenty. Thanks, buddy”

After Sokka and Zuko rescue Hakoda, I could picture Aang practicing harder than ever until he could use Hakoda’s bond to Bato and the others to locate them in a prison in Caldera City (which would’ve made rescue before ending the war difficult to say the least, and would explain how they were all there for Zuko’s coronation so fast)

Later, during Aang’s trip to the mysterious island, it would’ve been so cool if, instead of handing him the ability, the lion-turtle just told him this:

... and maybe showed him visions of his energysensing training when he did the forehead-touch thing. Then, during the battle with Ozai, maybe after redirecting the lightning away from Ozai Aang could think to himself “I can’t... he may be a monster, but he’s still my friend’s father!”. Then, he suddenly realizes that just like with his friends and family, Aang has a connection with Ozai too, and that if sensing someone’s energy happens by putting a bit of his energy into them, maybe he can use the same route to take some of Ozai’s energy away from him.

Imagine how amazing it would’ve been if they’d added those little snippets of Aang’s energybending training all throughout book 3, without giving it that name, and then Aang used what he’d learned from Guru Pathik and Huu and what he’d taught himself to rediscover a technique that hadn’t been used in millenia all by himself! (well, with a little “nudge in the right direction” from lionturtle-sensei) We were SO close, all the building blocks were there but... *sigh* we ended up still so far.

Continued with solving “pointy-rock-ex-machina” under the cut

In Book 2, we’re told that to master the Avatar State Aang has to “let go of his attachments”, but that plot point is dropped completely and all he has to do is get hit in his lightning scar and BAM! Avatar State unlocked, no letting go required! 😒

He was still just as attached to Katara as he was during Book 2, if not more so. So, in the interest of trying to figure out how to tie up as many loose ends as possible, we could try to hit two birds with one stone by fixing another thing at the same time that wasn’t addressed either.

We could start with a conversation between Aang and Katara where he apologizes for kissing her when she clearly didn’t want him to at some point during Sozin’s Comet Part 1 - The Phoenix King.

“I accept your apology Aang” Katara’d say, “but from now on make sure to respect people’s boundaries, Ok? Especially girls’ boundaries :) We can talk about this more after everything’s over”

At this point, maybe Aang could be left to think and reflect on his relationship with Katara, on his attachment to her, and on how he’d started thinking about her as “his” almost without any input from her.

Maybe Aang could begin to really understand what Guru Pathik was trying to teach him when he said “you must let go”, and the difference between love and unhealthy attachment to people.

He’d therefore be going into the fight with Ozai with that fresh on his mind.

Then, as the battle raged and he grew increasingly desperate, maybe he’d try a few times to force himself into the Avatar State only to fail miserably.

At this moment

when he’s been overpowered and cornered (and also has a little bit of “downtime” to think), he could start desperately trying to figure out a way to enter the Avatar State, and wondering why he can’t do it. Katara’s been healing him every day! The scar doesn’t even hurt anymore! Why doesn’t it work???

Then, he'd realize that it doesn’t really make sense for a lightning strike to lock his 7th Chakra, since according to what Guru Pathik taught him chakras are locked or unlocked through changes in emotional and spiritual state, not physical.

(Note: this is also backed up by what little I know of irl chakras and activating Kundalini in the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy. If anyone knows more about it please feel free to add to this or correct me. I’d love to learn how the concept of chakras in Avatar contrasts with its real life counterpart 😊)

Also, if the lightning had messed with the Avatar State some other way, like by blocking his chi for example, he shouldn’t be able to bend properly either.

So what could’ve caused his problem with the Avatar State?

Of course! After Katara saved him, Aang became even more focused on gaining her love, and grew even more attached to her than he’d been before! Of course he can’t enter the Avatar State!

Now, I’m a Zutara shipper all the way, and this would work much better if that had been canon, but this could work even with a Kataang endgame since, as I said before, Aang kind of become obsessed with the idea of making Katara “his” no matter what, a clear earthly attachment, instead of loving her unselfishly and letting her love him in her way:

Notice that he said “we kissed” even though he kissed her, and then “I thought we were gonna be together”, an assumption he made without asking her anything once. Same as in this scene:

Mastering the Avatar State doesn’t mean not loving anyone romantically, as we can clearly see through Avatar Roku’s example (also the “if you want power abandon your loved ones” message is stupid and I don’t like it at all. This would be better imo)

Even during the process for unlocking the chakras, the Fourth Chakra tells us that finding love isn’t contrary to spirituality, and can even be a source of spiritual strength. However, I’ve always thought it was a bit strange that the “new love” Aang found to fill the hole left by the deaths of his people was.... just Katara

Because what Aang lost was essentially all of his family and friends right? So wouldn’t it have made more sense for Aang to envision Sokka, Toph, Appa and Momo as well? You know, his old family vs. his new family?

I didn’t fully understand what exactly was wrong with it until I read some of tumblr user marsreds’ metas on the matter, and I have to agree with them that it seems Aang was sort of focusing on his love for Katara so much partially as a way to cope with the loss of his people. To keep it out of mind. That’s not how you build a wholesome romantic relationship, and it doesn’t seem like the best way to deal with grief either. No wonder his Seventh Chakra was blocked.

I would’ve loved to see Aang realize at the moment of truth that in order to access the Avatar State he simply had to let Katara go enough so that he could love her selflessly, so that her wants and needs, and the needs of the world, could come first. He needed to become able to accept her answer, whatever it was, when she gave it. He needed to come to understand that his happiness wasn’t completely (or even mostly) dependent on getting into a relationship with Katara. He had a family he’d found all on his own, made up of friends who adored him and who would’ve given their lives for him if necessary. He was not alone in the world any more. Even if she told him no, he would in all likelihood find new love and be happy.

(in fact we have proof and there’s a perfect candidate right there in the Fire Nation but I digress)

The rest of the finale could’ve played out exactly the same as canon, and in the end Aang would’ve had a better understanding of himself and some inner peace. They could’ve also given us an inkling that Aang would later get to mourn over the deaths of his people properly, surrounded by his loved ones (maybe, ideally, in a hypothetical Book 4-AIR?. God, I wish)

I’ve seen some posts about Aang letting go of his attachment to the Air Nomad’s teachings instead (with maybe that very decision to put the needs of the world above his own being what unlocks his Seventh Chakra), and those are magnificent ideas as well, but I myself would’ve preferred if it went this way because I think there’s something beautifully poetic and satisfying about Aang staying true to himself, finding an alternate solution to violence that would still protect the world, and using the wisdom of His People to put an end to the very war that caused their destruction, while simultaneously giving the worst possible punishment to a man as power-hungry as Ozai

...and leaving him the same way he’s left many of the Fire Nation’s victims in the past: trapped, powerless and forgotten.

I also feel like this ties up all the loose ends better, since it was his attachment to Katara specifically which stopped him from mastering the Avatar State in the first place. And, Kataang endgame or not, it would’ve sent a wonderful message about building and maintaining healthy relationships, perfect for the show’s target audience of preteen and teenage kids.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

#atla #sozin's comet #Avatar The Last Airbender #thyf rambles #atla meta #aang #katara #meta #my drabbles #kinda

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captain-azoren · 3 years

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Legend of Korra books 3 & 4

Finished rewatching books 3 and 4 of Korra. Here on my thoughts on them and the series as a whole after seeing it again after so many years.

I think books 3 and 4 are pretty solid. Aside from a few flaws, I think 3 is the overall best with the best pacing. I think a big issue with book 2 was that it was trying and failing to juggle a very big cast and multiple subplots that made it feel like a mess. That’s not an issue with 3 or 4, where every character has a relevant purpose and plot threads come together more naturally.

4 does this a little bit worse as I think the plot kind of starts and stops a couple of times, but it’s not terrible. Kuvira’s build up as a villain is very shaky when compared to Amon and Zaheer, but still better than Unalaq’s arc going down the drain. It really does seem like the worst parts of her villainy are told and not shown (those being the reeducation camps and slave labor). I think they could have shown at least one of these camps instead of just seeing the escapees that Varrick and Bolin meet.

I still think the Red Lotus are the best antagonists in LoK just for having the best arc overall. They had Amon’s intrigue, stayed consistent in their motivations like Kuvira, and they have the most dimensions overall just from the little bits of interaction we see of them. What’s more, they didn’t disappoint me in the end.

The Colossus I didn’t mind or find out of place. It just doesn’t bother me when the show has had Koizilla and giant drills in AtLA. I can understand how the mechanics of it work as well. I didn’t feel like my suspension of disbelief was broken considering everything else. I think fans who dislike it are more bothered by it breaking the setting further away from fantasy and into sci-fi.One question though, why does a spirit energy canon need a rifled barrel?

Mako is a much better character in 3 and 4 because he’s finally allowed to be someone other than a love interest. His interactions with Bolin can be really fun and it’s kind of a shame how often they’re separated. I also noticed on a rewatch that he does make a good detective, having good perception and coming up with ideas. It’s better than the pro-bender he started out as and probably his best strength.

I think I actually like Mako now whereas before he was the most forgettable, and I think he deserves some looking into. A lot of the hate comes from him being put into really tough spots where he just can’t win. Mako goes from being extremely aloof to being a loyal but beleaguered straight man to the group.

Raiko I feel similarly to Mako. I think he’s another guy who keeps getting put into tough spots with no easy solution. He doesn’t really deserve hate either, and honestly probably made the best decisions he could as a president (I know from experience how bad they can be...) Him being hated and voted out in the comics seem like Bryke was over correcting, something they seem to do a lot.

Suyin I have mixed feelings on. She really does seem like someone Bryke really wanted fans to like and agree with, but they shilled her a bit too much and at the expense of Lin. Su’s apology to Lin at the end of their dispute felt kind of half-hearted, and despite being justified, the whole thing is framed as Lin being the one in the wrong, stuck in the past, unable to move on after Su had changed. We don’t see Su change though, and Su keeps acting like what she did wasn’t that big a deal, so it falls flat.

What’s more, Su continues being a big presence into book 4, and I think I have to agree with Kuvira that Su should have at least done something to help the EK out. It really does make Su come off as kind of a cowardly hypocrite who’s so afraid of looking like a dictator that she doesn’t even try to help. She doesn’t want to be treated like royalty or an authoritarian, but if you look at Zaofu the place is already set up like a small kingdom, with the Beifongs being the divine bloodline descended from Toph, the strongest bender to ever live. Su is a queen in all but name, and if she was so afraid of looking like a dictator she could have just given up the power like Kuvira was supposed to have done. Su just rubs me the wrong way from start to finish, and it’s partly because the show doesn’t challenge her or make her change. It just expects us to see her as being right, and she just isn’t.

Bolin being a lava bender I remember being really excited for, because it was something I predicted when I first saw it years ago. I don’t have a problem with how he discovered it. It’s not the best way I’d like see someone discover a new power, but I think it’s better than when Korra finally got airbending (though that didn’t bother me too much either). It just kind of made sense to me and finally gave something else to stand out besides comic relief.

The air kids got better in 3 and 4 too. Meelo got less annoying, Jinora was more fleshed out, and I actually really like Ikki in book 4.

Now Korra and Asami. I think Korra is maybe at her most static in book 3, but her arc in book 4 is the most interesting as she had to build herself back up. I don’t agree with some of the things that are just told to the viewer, like how she needed to learn from her enemies. At the finale Korra says she had to suffer to learn compassion, but it’s not like Korra wasn’t a compassionate person already. Korra’s arc seemed more centered on dealing with trauma and finding her purpose in a world that seemed hellbent on telling her she wasn’t needed. I don’t know if that was some kind of meta commentary, but it does work.

I do like Korra’s overall development from where she was in book 1. If I had to put it into words, I think her story is about trying to fulfill a role that she’s been groomed for her whole life, trying to live up to expectations, pushed into doing what others want her to do, failing those things, then finding the strength and resolve to achieve success on her own terms, even if it’s not what everyone wants. Korra gradually learns to stop being a tool for world leaders to use to keep order or power. It’s not always done well, but it’s there.

It’s nice to see her and Asami be friends after the love triangle stuff. It’s kind of surprising, but they didn’t really interact all that much in the first two books all things considered. Asami doesn’t change a whole lot throughout the series, but her reconnecting with her dad at the end felt satisfying.

I’ll be honest, I never really saw Korrasami happening and didn’t view much of their interactions as being romantic in nature. I think only the letter writing and their reunion seems a little shippy, but not very obvious. That said, I can buy the two of them finally realizing they might be attracted to each other at the finale, as a beginning to their relationship. The real problem is that shippers and even Bryke overhyped this moment up as it being ENDGAME rather than treating it as what is was, a spark of attraction. Korra and Asami aren’t in love yet, they’re just going on their first official date.

I do like them being together though. It seems a lot healthier than other potential relationships, and let’s be real here; Asami NEEDED something to make her happy because holy shit has she be through a lot by the end of the series. Dumped by Mako twice, almost lost her company and lost her dad after she forgave him. Give the poor rich girl a break.

So, final thoughts on the series as a whole; it’s not as good as AtLA, but that’s mostly on the execution. LoK was messy and had issues, but it did eventually smooth things out after a lot of course correcting. There are things I don’t like, but not enough for me to write it off, and it has plenty of strengths that make it deserving of a watch if you keep an open mind.

I remember ThunderCats 2011 getting a lot of flak too, and that’s one of my favorite shows ever despite its glaring flaws, so I really can’t work up the energy to trash LoK. I know plenty of people can connect to it even if I don’t, at least not fully, and I honestly do believe that overall LoK’s strengths outweigh its flaws, even if it can be inconsistent and unpolished.

LoK may take place in the same world as AtLA, but it is a very fundamentally different series, and beyond a few very core basics of storytelling I think it’s a little unfair to compare the two. It’s not the masterpiece it could have been, but at the end I still enjoyed it. I might have more thoughts later, but these are what I have for now.

#Legend of Korra #The Legend of Korra #lok #tlok #korra #mako #bolin #asami #asami sato #korrasami

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enchantedisabella · 4 years

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headcanons about atla that should’ve been canon

azula is not straight

like if you tell me she is straight i will proceed to laugh in your face for ten minutes straight

and never take you seriously again

like, ever

okay moving on

ty lee is bisexual

tyzula was a thing

zuko has major daddy issues but azula has both mommy and daddy issues and she is by far one of the most fucked up characters in the series, and did not deserve her fate, and the series instead showed her ‘getting what she deserved’ when in reality she was a teenager following orders from her father who was supposed to guide, protect and love her

but instead of doing any of those things he manipulated her and twisted her into becoming his lackey and his killing machine and that was wrong and she deserved so much more than being thrown in a mental institution and being forgotten about

actually a lot of these are about azula idk why

wait no ik why it’s because i love her with all my heart but anyway

toph and sokka had the strongest bromance to ever exist in the whole avatar universe and for the directors to portray bamf toph as having a crush on sokka was such a cold take and so,,, not it

like isn’t there like a six year age difference for them? or maybe four? but I’m pretty sure it’s six because toph is ten but sokka is sixteen but correct me if I’m wrong whatever

like,,, just let them live you know??? toph and sokka are the two sassiest most sarcastic characters in the entire series and you cannot tell me that their bromance would not rival,,, literally everyone else’s

katara once put makeup on toph. needless to say she absolutely hated it but katara was in a sucky mood so toph wanted to cheer her up. she stepped out for one (1) second, intending to watch her face, and sokka wouldn’t stop laughing for twenty (20) minutes. he still brings it up at campfires now

zuko sometimes tries to incorporate katara’s waterbending moves into his firebending after uncle iroh showed him the lightningbending move. he tried to teach azula how to do it once too but it took three days before she would deign to try and learn a ‘filthy water peasant move’

azula secretly loves how she can exercise her power in completely different moves though and she works in secret on new bending moves, taking inspiration from the other cultures, but she’d rather die than admit zuko helped her

azula, mai and ty lee absolutely called themselves the terrible trio. it started after mai coined it sarcastically after they suffered a bitter defeat at some battle and after that it just stuck. azula hates it, ty lee loves it

ty lee calls mai and azula ‘her girls’. they hated it at first and azula stuck her chin up saying she was not anyone’s girl, but ty lee was unshakeable about the matter. mai almost threw up after azula responded immediately to it after a few weeks despite her protests. then mai responded to it accidentally and spent the rest of the week contemplating suicide attempts

tyzula shared their first kiss after azula brought down ba sing se’s walls. ‘i’m so happy i could kiss you’ were the exact words azula said, and ty lee responded ‘then do it.’ it was the first time azula had ever admitted she was happy. ty lee smiles every time she remembers it

suki doesn’t like azula, but after the war she has a kind of grudging respect for her. i mean this girl conquered a city at fourteen??? and became fire lord, if only briefly??? like??? what a badass bitch? warrior to warrior, suki respects azula. person to person though is a different story.

after people fall in love, their auras have a little of the colour of their s/os. that was how ty lee could tell zuko and mai were really in love, after zuko’s scarlet red developed kind of a grey tinge and mai’s sludge grey had a kind of reddish air to it. she couldn’t believe it at first when azula’s electric blue had a steady pink hue around the borders. she jumped into azula’s arms and kissed her the moment she saw. it was the most emotional azula had gotten after ty lee explained why, with one (1) tear rolling out of her eyes. she evaporated it on her skin but ty lee still remembers

katara and aang are that kind of couple who are close in a way that people always assume they’re best friends instead of, you know, dating. but katara doesn’t care because she’s never given much thought to everyone else’s opinions and she’s more in love with aang every passing day, so. aang takes it as a compliment that people assume they know each other inside out.

sokka and suki, however, are That Couple. kissing everywhere and anywhere. and surprisingly so are zuko and mai. when katara compared them, mai reached for the nearest bucket and wouldn’t let it go for three hours.

ty lee and mai trained alongside azula just so they could hang out with her after ozai announced he thought azula was too old for playdates. they all got special treatment at the fire nation royal academy for girls and that was where ty lee learnt to do acrobatics and chi block, and where mai learnt to throw her knives. it’s also why they work so well as a team together

katara found a way to use her bloodbending to heal people- to clot blood as it’s bleeding out or to stop internal bleeding, for example. it’s lifted a lot of the guilt of bloodbending off of her shoulders, knowing that she’s helping people while she’s doing it. a form of it was even incorporated into the northern water tribe’s healing lessons. katara tries, everyday, to come up with more ways to use her water to heal and help people. she still prefers fighting over healing, but after the war, she knows the power of healing can work wonders now.

azula only underwent a year in the mental institution before being released. it was the one thing she couldn’t handle- not being able to use her bending in such a controlled, sterile environment. zuko quickly realised that the only thing keeping her sane was her bending, and immediately made arrangements for her to go back to the palace. she wouldn’t talk to him for weeks, so he invited ty lee back from the kyoshi warriors to try and get her to open up.

azula had planned to ignore ty lee too, but ty lee straight-up slapped the princess the moment she saw her (‘that was for putting me in prison!’) and then collapsed, sobbing, in azula’s arms, and wouldn’t let go of her for ten whole minutes (‘and this is because I miss you so much, azula!’) and after that things kind of got better, but slowly.

zuko hates sitting in the fire lord’s throne. like, he hates it. it reminds him too much of his father, and so he tries to be out of the throne room as much as possible. this works in his favour- there are always councils and meetings that he needs to oversee.

zuko is so bad at politics. like, he’s so bad that it’s not even funny. it kind of was in the beginning, but then he made a spectacular mess of things and aang was zero help. in fact, despite being the avatar, zuko thinks he might have actually made it worse. and then aang got caught up in the mess too, thanks to his disastrous involvement, and azula and mai wouldn’t stop laughing at their predicament for a week before they deigned to help them.

so now despite zuko being the actual fire lord, azula and mai, being trained for politics their entire lives, are usually the ones to step in when things get a little too much for him to handle. azula is still not satisfied with her role, of course. but then, azula’s never satisfied.

azula and ty lee are the epitome of disaster gays. one time ty lee tried to hold azula’s hand, and azula shook it. ty lee wouldn’t stop laughing, but azula was so embarrassed she accidentally set her clothes on fire. that just made ty lee laugh even more, but azula’s pride was mortally wounded. the first time ty lee told azula she loved her, azula formally thanked her. as if they were at a business meeting. and then asked ty lee what positive assets or advantages their new relationship would bring azula. it’s rumoured that to this day ty lee is still very confused about what went down.

with the intention of teaching azula a humbling lesson and to find ‘peace within herself’, zuko sent her to work at uncle iroh’s tea shop in ba sing se for a month shortly after she came back to the palace. after azula nearly setting fire to the shop, throwing a teapot of scalding hot tea into a customer’s face after they demanded to ‘speak to the manager’, destroying general property and terrifying the other employees to the point where one regularly wet himself every time she walked in, iroh was begging zuko to take azula back before the end of the first week. when she came back, the only thing azula said she’d found was solid proof of why ozai had good reason to burn down the earth kingdom while he was at it. and a new idea of how short her patience was.

you guys are welcome to add more if you think of them

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likeabxrdinflight · 3 years

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there’s a lot of opportunity with this new avatar studios thing to tell a lot of different stories in this world and honestly, it’s a world that I think would be hard for me to get tired of. I love this world. I love returning to it. I’ve loved both main animated series that have been set in this world. I have gripes with the comics, true. But this studio opens up some possibility to correct, augment, or possibly even retcon them.

...I know retconning is controversial, but the comics are a mixed bag that a lot of the general audience don’t even know about, and I think most people would be just fine seeing those stories altered.

that said, there are a few things I’d like to see happening here. Obviously I understand Bryke will be in charge of the show, and...I mean, it is their world. I can’t blame them for wanting creative control over it. But I would like to see them adding new voices to the creative process- new, younger writers and artists. Let’s add more diversity to the writer’s room, get more POC, Asian people especially, on the team. Obviously I’d like to see more women and queer people. I’d even like to see what happens if they step back into more of an executive producer role and allow other creators to take the lead on some projects. There are potentially limitless possibilities here, and they don’t all have to be the Mike and Bryan show. There has never been a time in US animation history when there was more of a push for diverse voices than right now- so if ever there was a moment, it’s this one.

As for the content itself, of course there’s part of me that would want to see the original characters again- but I think, because it’s been so long, that people probably have their own ideas and headcanons about what happens after the series. So showing the original characters again has....risks. The backlash to how Aang and Toph were portrayed in LOK definitely jumps out to me as a way this can backfire. Like, sure, would I love to see a full length animated “azula alone” movie that fleshes out a redemption arc for her? obviously. but I’ve also had ideas in my head for literally fifteen years about what happens to her character post-canon that I probably don’t want to see Bryke et al. blow up, either.

I think it’s better, then, to focus on new stories, or adaptations of existing stories like the Kyoshi novels. Like I said before, I think the Kyoshi novels are a good starting point to test the waters. But, if they were really going to be bold with this, I think they’d be best served by telling new stories with new characters, new arcs, and with perhaps limited cameos from our faves at best. I think the success of the Mandalorian might provide a good playbook for how to handle this- and the Mandalorian is, despite its casting controversies, a good show, and stronger because it doesn’t overly rely on Luke, Leia, and Han for fanservice. Nobody’s watching the Mandalorian because Luke showed up in the season two finale for a hot minute, they’re watching it for the father-son bond between Din and Grogu.

so...I don’t know what I expect from this, exactly, and I think it will depend on how people respond. there’s obviously a corporate side to this that has me a little cynical- don’t think for a second this would be happening had the response to the netflix release not been so overwhelmingly positive, and I know they think they can get money from this and use it to market paramount+. When companies do things like this there’s always a risk of burnout, and sometimes, in hindsight, a story is probably best left to simply stand on its own. but then, there are some worlds that people just love returning to. disney is going to milk star wars until it slowly bleeds itself to death and yet I think there are always going to be people willing to tell more stories in that universe. I don’t know if atla can do the same, but considering how willing people seem to be to revisit this story fifteen years after it first aired...maybe it can.

I’m going to say I’m cautiously optimistic about this. I may not like everything they produce (that’s to be expected) but I think there’s room here for a lot of interesting stories to be told. hopefully they can get this right.

#i'm rambling a bit

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seyaryminamoto · 4 years

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Hey! Do you really like Zuko and Suki together or you just ship these two just so you can ship the best and hottest ship ever aka Sokkla? In any case, why do you think Zuko is better off with Suki out of all the avatar characters? Thank you and pls stay healthy.

XD well, it’s a mix of both, I guess.

The truth is, I read the comics and I sensed the romantic vibe between Zuko and Suki because I don’t think anyone who has had much experience with romantic fiction could see those scenes and not think there’s SOMETHING going on there. I mean, seriously, the hand reach in The Promise, Suki unnecessarily correcting herself in The Search to say EVERYONE is worried about Zuko, not just her, their moonlight conversation in Smoke and Shadow…? Come the heck on. If neither one was in a relationship, most people would be reading all those scenes as blatantly romantic.

Still, I stayed neutral as far as Zuko ships were concerned until I met a Zuki shipper who read my first story, The Reason, and roped me into Zuki without much trouble :’D (if you’re wondering, that was @jordanalane). It didn’t take her too much work to convince me to ship Zuki, because yes, it was convenient as heck to have Zuki happen when you ship Sokkla, but I was already half-on-board with it as I was…

Now then, if you’d like to know my actual, rational reasoning for why I’d ship it, the truth is that I’m not exactly the biggest Zuko fan (as some archive diving in my blog would show…), and most the ships I’ve seen for him seem to exacerbate what I really don’t like about his character. Meanwhile, Suki seems to do the exact opposite thing…

Mai is Zuko’s canon girlfriend, and I was more or less neutral towards this ship at first… but upon further reflection, I found I didn’t enjoy their relationship that much. Maybe they could work well with each other… if they were more mature and less impulsive :’) but Zuko’s behavior with Mai through most of Book 3 only convinced me that he’s absolutely not grown enough to have healthy romantic relationships with anyone (and seeing as Mai was pissed at him 9 times out of 10 throughout Book 3, I think my perception isn’t exactly off). Both have their faults, and boy, in the comics Mai is a much worse offender than Zuko if you ask me, but the point is that, while canon certainly has been very realistic by not turning their love story into the perfect, smoothest fairytale, I really don’t think they’re much good for each other as they are, and the only way they could get better in the future is if they grow a LOT, on their own, before trying their luck at being together again. The likelihood of that, however, isn’t exactly great :’D

Then there’s the most famous pairing for Zuko, Katara, who actually feels wrong to me for the exact same reasons as Mai would, despite Katara is on the opposite end of the spectrum Mai is, character-wise: the thing is, both Mai and Katara have a ton of things in common with Zuko, but not necessarily good things. If Zuko and Katara were, as well, less impulsive and more mature, they might make a decent enough match. But as they are in canon? They’re every bit as likely to self-destruct and tear each other down as Mai and Zuko were. Where Mai and Zuko share a jaded, gloomy perspective of the world, Katara and Zuko share a hot-headedness that means every tiny thing could easily lead to catastrophic, world-ending arguments between them. I mean, if Zuko could have huge arguments with someone as cold-blooded as Mai… just imagine with someone as hot-blooded as Katara :’) And I DO see the virtues of this ship, namely the ones that resemble, to a fault, my particular OTP… but I honestly can’t see Zuko and Katara being good influences on each other, romantically. Friendship-wise they could be healthier, but romance means expectations and complications that, like I said, I don’t think Zuko, as we last see him in canon, is prepared to deal with.

There’s other Zuko ships, naturally, and I won’t get into all of them, I just bring up these two because they’re the biggest ones… and so, why would I ship him with Suki rather than with Mai or Katara or anyone else? What exactly could make her a better match for him?

Suki has a few things in common with Zuko… but they’re not the things Mai and Katara have in common. The first, and most important of them for me, is that Suki (in her initial episode) seems to put a lot of stock in honor and duty as a Kyoshi Warrior. I’m not at all in the “Zuko is the most honorable man in the Avatar world!” camp, if anything I believe he needs to learn a LOT to really understand honor, even at the end of the show and at this point in the comics… whereas I don’t have the same feeling with Suki. Not only did she fight for her people, defending them from any threat even if she might die for it, she also was inspired by Aang, Sokka and Katara to travel the world, not with some angry intent to defeat the Fire Nation and end the war, but…

And while “changing the world” could easily be interpreted as “she wants to defeat the Fire Nation at any cost!”, what do we know Suki was up to between Books 1 and 2?

Suki wanted to HELP people. Compare this to the banished prince who stole from them instead… :’) Suki didn’t have an Avatar leading her group, telling her this was “the right thing to do”, she simply does it because she believes it is, deep down, and she doesn’t just wait around for someone else to step up, she chooses to take action by her own volition. She doesn’t need anyone telling her what’s right or wrong, she has strong enough principles that she can tell what is and what isn’t, all on her own :’) Doesn’t THIS sound like honor? Duty? Doesn’t this sound like someone who actually sets a great example, as far as these concepts go?

Compare this to Katara, who was easily influenced by Zuko into wanting to kill a man, who shifts between “I want to steal things because I feel I need them” and “OMG Toph how dare you scam people that’s so unethical” at the drop of a hat? Yes, Katara’s heart is in the right place, but Katara is highly emotional and hot-headed… so as many good intentions as she may have, she can do pretty awful things without even realizing how awful they are (as in the case of the theft, she doesn’t even blink about stealing clothes from people in The Headband and then is utterly aghast about what Toph is up to merely a few episodes later… come the heck on). Compare it, too, to Mai, who apparently loves her baby brother so very much (according to her fans and to Smoke and Shadow, at least…), but didn’t even blink when Azula decided they couldn’t trade a toddler for a king, and declared the deal was off without betraying the slightest hint of remorse? Do we really know that Mai has decent principles at all? She doesn’t exactly betray Azula because she ideologically disagrees with her, she does it to save Zuko. Which leads me to wonder, what on earth are Mai’s morals? What does she value other than Zuko? If she values Zuko more than anything… heh. Yikes. Definitely sounds like theirs will be a healthy relationship if that’s the case, huh?

I can’t imagine Suki being swayed easily by any wild or stupid ideas Zuko gets if she knows they’re stupid AND wrong. She’d put a stop to him where Katara or Mai could get swept into whatever he’s up to (whether out of excessive empathy or apathy, in either case), and she’d be likely to set him straight before Zuko can take anything too far. As far as morals go, I will always hold that Zuko leaves too much to be desired… but Suki really doesn’t. Could be because we don’t know Suki as well as we know the other characters, but what little we do see of Suki, she doesn’t do anything that merits much reprieve. Most importantly, she never needed, like I said, Aang or Sokka or anyone else to tell her what she had to do, to correct her morals or anything of the sort. This by itself already makes her, in my opinion, the best possible character, in canon, to stabilize Zuko and temper his most chaotic impulses while teaching him, by example, what honor really looks like.

Now, that’s not all: Suki is highly independent and has experience as a leader. Zuko has always tried to be independent too, succeeding in some situations, failing in others. Of course, there’s a stark difference between independence and loneliness, and Zuko does have tendencies to isolate himself from others whenever he gets stubborn and wants to prove himself… fortunately, that’s one of the things I do think the show helped him with, as he did learn there’s nothing wrong with asking others for help. Still, I’m sure Zuko would like to handle things on his own, without needing everyone to help him… and once again, Suki can set an example for him in that sense. She makes her own decisions, fights for what she believes in, follows her heart and such, and never self-destructs in the process… all of which must sound idyllic to Zuko, who I’m sure has always wanted to be like that, too.

Maybe it sounds confusing for me to advocate for a couple while saying the characters ought to teach each other to be independent :’D but the way I see it, this is, if anything, a good thing: Zuko shouldn’t be in a co-dependent relationship, not unless he’s HIGHLY developed, far more than canon and most fics allow. Being with someone who doesn’t need him 24/7, who respects him and knows how to give him space, who wouldn’t be invasive and who would teach him not to be invasive too… through a relationship with someone like Suki, Zuko could genuinely learn to respect someone else’s independence fully, and figure out how to be like that, too.

As for the leadership, Suki has only led Kyoshi Warriors, a small group… so it may sound like something that can’t be compared to leading an entire country. But that’s REALLY part of my problem with Zuko… I’m sorry, but the point at the finale where everyone looked to him as though he’d lead them into finding Aang was absolutely absurd to me. The argument that he’s the one experienced at figuring out how to track down Aang DID make sense and salvaged the scene for me, but as far as leadership is concerned? Sokka by far outdoes him in that area, he literally led a goddamn military invasion and later in Sozin’s Comet he’s seen strategizing and leading Toph and Suki as he orchestrates the downfall ofthe worst of Ozai’s conquest/destruction force. I mean, seriously...

… Anyways, got sidetracked :’D the point is, Zuko hasn’t really been much of a leader in canon. Has he been in a position of command before? Yeah, he was in Book 1. But does this mean he’s a LEADER? A born leader? Yeah, we didn’t see remotely enough of him in a leadership position that could have convinced me of that.

Hence, Iroh theoretically should be a great influence for him in those regards, because Iroh not only was raised to be Fire Lord for well over 50 years, Iroh has been in positions of leadership before, he’s even apparently the leader of the White Lotus. Therefore… Iroh is a good idea. But what did canon do? They sent Iroh on a retirement plan to a teashop in Ba Sing Se and Zuko had to fend for himself! :’D fascinating, right?

While of course Sokka could be a great influence and help Zuko too, as far as leadership is concerned, canon chooses to keep him chasing after Aang and Katara without any aim or purpose… whereas it chooses to send Suki to Zuko as bodyguard and eventual confidante. Like I said, Suki does have experience as a leader, even if only on a small scale: couldn’t she be eligible for helping Zuko figure out how to lead the Fire Nation, through sharing some of the lessons she learned as leader of the Kyoshi Warriors? It even offers the possibility of Suki and Zuko learning side by side in some regards too, since this whole royal mess isn’t at all what Suki would be used to… so that allows interesting dynamics and complications to arise too, and they can both grow and learn a lot together.

Point and case being, I just can’t imagine these two ever getting into a fucked-up toxic romance, whereas I absolutely can see something of the sort with virtually every other Zuko ship I’ve known. Granted, the whole “But Sukka and Maiko are canon so they’d be cheaters!” side of things can lend towards an unhealthy situation, but I’d honestly rather not portray these two as cheating on their current love interests for each other…? Anyone who wants to is free to do as much, of course, but it’s barely necessary if you ask me :’D people can break up, and get together with other people, without needing a Days of Our Lives-sized drama along with it.

So, in short, I really think Suki is the healthiest possibility for Zuko. Pretty much every harmful thing I can think of in any other Zuko ship is ruled out with Suki. Even as friends Suki would be a great influence on Zuko for all the reasons I said above, but the reasons I mentioned above are also why I think that, if Zuko got to know Suki better, he might find himself smitten before he knows what’s going on: she basically embodies everything he ever wanted to be. He’d be full of admiration for her, and she’d probably be utterly clueless over why x’D and that even offers interesting romantic dynamics to the two characters. I can imagine Zuko being a bit of a tortured old-school romance hero who feels Suki is absolutely magnificent and wonderful and perfect… while she’s like “so is he ever going to pin me to a wall or is it all in my head?”, and frankly that’s about the best possible idea I can imagine in a relationship involving Zuko x’D

I do ship Zuko in a few other ships, I’ve mentioned before that I like Toph and Zuko, but I like Toph and Zuko as a temporary thing (and ONLY with a fully developed Zuko too, once they’re both around 20-30 too). It’s a cute enough ship, but I don’t really think it could last, and I don’t think they could offer each other nearly enough of what Suki and Zuko can offer each other. Hence, I’ve always envisioned Toph could be more of a casual love interest for Zuko (a big reason why is because I can’t imagine Toph consciously settling down with anyone…), and I’ve seldom written it into anything because I lean harder towards Zuki. Gladiator-wise, Toph and Zuko would have been AWFUL together, no matter if I had a few people asking if I could make them a thing :’D hahaha, nope. I like the ship plenty, but it would have been dreadful.

Anyways, yes, Zuki is highly convenient and compatible with Sokkla, but that’s far from the only reason to ship it. Canon may go in whichever direction it wishes, I’m pretty sure they won’t find anything better for Zuko than what they already toyed with in the comics with him and Suki.

Granted, a few of these arguments aren’t exactly suitable for Gladiator’s Zuki, but there are many other arguments to be made there (I actually leaned very heavily into the honor side of things when Zuko first saw her in the Arena, precisely because I think that particular side of Suki would be one of the first things to appeal to him about her). Either way, be it in canon-based settings or in my own particular AU, I’m pretty sure Zuko’s best match would be Suki.

#anon #zuki #I'm sure I've done analysis and meta about em before #but it was probably so long ago #that I can't even remember #aaaat any rate #yes I do ship it #yes it started because it resolved the obvious problem poised by Sokkla #yes they're great together #yes I think she's the best option for Zuko objectively speaking #... and if you want everything in detail #click the read more :'D

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theotherace · 4 years

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Current AU, 4

Baby Bumi (Who was planned about as much as Sesi, which is to say Not At All, because I doubt anybody’s reading all of these. He gets his name because Aang lost a bet to Bumi when they were both boys, I’ve decided. Born in 112 AG. His namesake dies the year after, but they do get to meet a few times. Even if the baby won’t remember that; he’ll get a plush Flopsy, or something, to carry around. He’s an earthbender, because of course he is. He’s tagged as “Bumi II”, though technically he’d be Bumi Beifong, not the Second. [Correction: He’s Bumi II in my documents, if they mention both Bumis, but in my tags, he’s just Bumi.])

Toph proposes (After Bumi I dies. Actually getting married will take them another ... ten, fifteen years. Around the time Iroh I dies. The Beifongs probably aren’t happy about them “living in sin” (even if there is no such thing in the Avatar world, technically), but they’re their own people, and I feel like they don’t care much about making things ... official official. Like, on paper.)

Ichirou (He’s an OC, still barely formed. Green eyes, so some Earth Kingdom ancestry, which I only decided when I coloured his son. He works as a guard in the Fire Nation Palace, though, and is, in fact, a bender. That, I just now decided. He’s important because he’s the guy Azula’ll ultimately marry. They actually get married around the time Bumi’s born. Nobody hit me because she’s with a guy, please, I know people like to hc her as a lesbian (or is that cofirmed in the comics?), and that’s very valid. She’s just not in this AU. Also, happening during canon T*zula is possibly the worst ship to come out of this fandom, which I just wanted to say at some point. I’m not willing to discuss this.)

Baby Kesuk (There will be a lot of children in this post. He’s born in 115 AG, on Kyoshi Island, I think. Non-bender. Second and last of Sokka and Suki’s children. Around the time of his birth, Ty Lee and Haru get married, Katara and Zuko get enganged and Little Iroh starts learning shuriken-jutsu. Also, Teo is now King of Omashu, probably, and there’s reasons behind that, but I haven’t decided on a lot of details.)

Babies Norbu and Tenzin (I like the name Tenzin, so I’m keeping it. Just as I kept “Bumi” and “Kya”, who will come later. They are planned, technically, though obviously, you can’t plan for twins. Kesuk was planned as well, btw. The German word for a planned child is “Wunschkind”, which literally translates to “wish child” and writing in my second language really makes me appreaciate my first. They’re both airbenders, though incredibly different in nature. Born in 116 AG.)

Lao Beifong dies (After his grandsons’ birth, before his granddaughter’s, who’s the next point.)

Baby Asha (As I said, a lot of kids in this post. Fourth child and only daughter of Aang and Toph. I don’t entirely know why, but they always end up with way to many kids in my AUs. I feel like they’d have one or two hoppala children. That would be Bumi and Asha (and technic-technically one of the twins, because, y’know, two for the price of one). The twins are born in early 116, she’s born in late 117. So there’s about a year and half between them. These children’s birth years are the only thing I’ve got down for sure. She’s an earthbender.)

Six more children after these five. I think. It’s late. Can you tell I enjoy the “Babies Ever After” trope? I’m weak. Anyway, they can all be found in the last story of this series.

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rudderless-in-an-ocean-of-stars · 7 years

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of broken mirrors and haunted rooms (i'm empty inside but so are you)

Avatar: The Last Airbender was one of my first fandoms, and still is to this day, so I dug up a half-written fic from a few years ago and cobbled together a little something.

Bear in mind, this was one of my first attempts at fiction of any kind.

Read it here or on Ao3 at:

http://archiveofourown.org/works/10998975

Summary:

After nearly half a decade in a cell, the decision to take Azula’s bending away has finally been made.

Someone has to break the news to her, and who better than the Avatar, who has spent the past three years trying to show the princess the kindness he realized she’d never known.

Note: Assuming Aang was 12 coming out of the ice and 14 at the series finale, this takes place roughly 5 years after that. We don’t ever really get to find out the ages of the other characters, so this fic is going by my rules.

This makes Aang, Azula, Katara, Sokka, Mai, Ty Lee, and Suki all about 19 years old. Zuko, canonically one year older than Azula, so he’s 20. Toph, as the youngest, is only 18. You only see Azula and Aang here, but I just wanted to let you know where everyone else stands in my little fanfiction universe, just in case this ever expands.

The Avatar doesn’t take away her bending.

Doesn’t need to, because that’s what the drugs are for. It takes the doctors years to figure it out, how to make something that will block her chi and nothing else.

She’s told that the Fire Lord was adamant that the medicine only bind her powers, not her mind.

She’s heard the stories of what drugs like this do to people. How it takes away their bending. How it takes away everything else, too. Hollows them out until nothing remains but a practically catatonic shell that once used to be a functioning person.

That’s why it’s taken them so long to cook up a recipe that wouldn’t leave her virtually brain-dead, all at little Zu-Zu’s behest. She didn’t realize he still cared so much.

Maybe he just wanted her awake enough to be able to gloat.

If only they knew that their work was wasted on her.

Ozai had taken great care to strip out her insides and replace everything warm and living with cold, dead things a long time ago.

There was nothing left for the Fire Lord to preserve, but his misplaced affection for the little sister he wished she could have been blinds him to the fact that Azula has been scraped empty long ago.

She sees it in his eyes every time he comes to visit- the little boy he used to be. The big brother, responsible for his baby sister.

She’s neither a baby nor his sister anymore.

Would that they could, Azula knows they would have preferred to slip it into her food without her noticing at all.

But the taste is too bitter for them to mask, to crush pills into powder and stir it into her tea, so they are forced tell her up front that she will be medicated.

Rather, they send in the Avatar to do it, terrified of her reaction to the news.

She hasn’t actually burned anyone in years, merely sent out flashy displays of sapphire flames as a warning to anyone who draws her ire. But her scare tactics have worked well over the past few years, and work well even now.

“I’m sorry, but it’s the only way.” He looks at her with wide, apologetic eyes, brimming with a mixture of hope and compassion that turns her stomach at the sight.

“Why?” She snorts, rolling her eyes, “Isn’t being in this glorified prison misery enough?”

The corners of his lips twitch downwards as he averts his gaze.

His reaction to her words elicits a harsh bark of laughter from her throat.

“I see. The rest of the world isn’t content to have me simply locked up for the rest of my days. They want me to suffer.” Just like I made them suffer, she thinks, pursing her lips to keep the wayward thought from escaping her mouth.

In typical Airbender fashion, he redirects her barb with fluid ease. “And you consider being here punishment enough for your crimes?”

Ah.

Punishment.

Azula’s least favorite word after Ozai and Father and dutiful.

“It doesn’t matter what I think or who I am.” She nods towards the evenly spaced steel bars stretched out across her window. “What matters is what everyone else beyond these walls wants.”

It’s never mattered, none of it. None of her hopes and dreams and desires and fears. None of it has ever mattered to anyone. At least Ozai had the decency to be up front about what he wanted from her. About how he saw her, what she was.

The Avatar narrows his eyes at her, and she can almost see the gears turning in his head as she stares back, unflinching in the face of his unwavering gaze.

The past few years have changed him just as much as they’ve changed her.

He’s older now, leaner.

If she’s correct in assuming that they’re both around the same age, he’s nearly twenty now, like her.

Age has stripped them both of the baby fat that once softened their features half a decade ago when they first met, children fighting a war started by people who didn’t fully understand that the price to pay for power was blood.

Or perhaps they did understand, and chose to spill it anyway, painting the world crimson and leaving stains that would likely never wash away.

Thinking about either option for too long always makes something in Azula’s gut twist.

He’s grown into himself, no longer looking like someone far beyond their years trapped in a childish form.

But his eyes remain the same, youthful and ancient all at once, and still gleaming with the unmistakable spark of hope.

Azula hasn’t looked into a mirror since the day she shattered her mother’s reflection, but she knows that her own eyes carry no such emotion.

Hope was something that Ozai had taken pains to ensure would never blossom in Azula’s heart. He’d stolen it from her as soon as he was able, extinguished from her childish eyes to be replaced with the cold steel of blades forged in angry flames.

They sit like that for several moments, neither one moving. Neither one looking away.

Then he speaks, and it strikes at the wobbly foundations of sanity she’s struggled to build ever since the day she shattered her mind along with that mirror.

“So who are you, Princess Azula?” She’s long-since lost any right to the title, but that never stopped him from using it, not three years ago when these visits first began and certainly not now. “And what do you want?”

She turns away from his piercing stare, the hand buried in the folds of her skirt curling into a fist as her nails bite deep enough to draw blood.

For the first time, she is the one who looks away.

The significance of the gesture is not lost on him- she can tell as much by the way he stiffens in surprise. But she cuts him off before he has a chance to speak again.

After all, her fragile tether on sanity could only take so much in a single day.

“Don’t ask questions you aren’t ready to have answered, Avatar.” She says it quietly, voice low and tight with an emotion she knows he can’t quite place, because neither can she.

Don’t ask questions I’m not ready to answer, she thinks, but the words go unsaid.

She doesn’t know if she can trust her voice to carry them.

She doesn’t know if she can trust the Avatar to understand.

For the first time since he started visiting, her voice shakes.

Azula looks brittle, as if the next wrong move could shatter her and every single bit of progress he’s spent the past three years trying to make.

As much as he wants to push, to finally solve a piece of the puzzle that is the deposed princess, he knows he can’t. Not if he wants there to be anything left for him to solve.

He bows his head in acquiescence. “I apologize, Princess.”

She nods silently in response, now peering carefully at the embroidery of the silken scarf resting in her lap despite the fact that they both know she could care less about its craftsmanship.

The piece is exquisite, its stitching flawless- he knows this, because he’s the one who bought it for her. It’s become something of a tradition- giving her a tiny token of appreciation for allowing these visits, for speaking to him when they both know she could simply treat him like everyone else who tried to arrange a meeting- with the stiff, regal silence befitting her former station.

He’s still not really sure why she tolerates him in the first place.

Zuko tells him it’s because he’s the Avatar, and if there’s anything Azula respects, it’s power.

Aang thinks it might be something else.

He can wield the four elements, but the princess is a prodigy in her own right.

He may be the Avatar, but she is Azula.

Azula, who possesses sapphire flames and a mastery over the most difficult of all firebending skills- manipulating lightning.

Three years ago, when he’d first dared to enter her room, Azula had no need to respect his power. Not when she was already so sure of her own.

She was still the same girl who had struck him down with a bolt of lightning, the same girl who had shown no fear at the prospect of confronting the Avatar.

The same girl who had left a scar on his back that not even Katara’s considerable skills as a Master Waterbender and healer could dissolve.

But for some reason, she tolerated him.

And over three years of regular visits and carefully worded exchanges over tea, he’s never asked why.

One day, he hopes she’ll feel comfortable enough to tell him.

But the dismissal is evident as she skims a hand along the silk of his latest gift to her, firmly ignoring his presence.

“Until tomorrow, Princess.”

For a single second, her eyes dart back up to meet his, golden irises flashing bright in the light spilling through the bars of her windows.

“Until tomorrow,” she echoes, casting her gaze back down to the fabric in her lap, the expression etched across her features still unreadable.

He’s nearly out the door when he hears her call out behind him, hesitant and unsure.

“Avatar?”

He stops and turns back instantly- uncertain isn’t a word he’s ever associated with Princess Azula, but it’s how she sounds now.

“Yes?”

“Tomorrow, you said they’ll begin giving me medication during tea.” Again, the flicker of her aureate eyes looking up to meet his lasts only a moment, too fast for him to read the emotions glimmering within. “Will you join me?”

I don’t want to be alone.

It goes unspoken, but they both hear it just the same.

He realizes it then, how much this must scare her.

From the little she’s shared and the information he’s managed to pry out of Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee, her firebending has been the one constant in her life.

And now, like everything else, it’s being taken away.

All this time, he’s waited for her to open up, to show the vulnerability he’s never doubted she possessed, not since the day he watched her lose her mind as well as her crown. It had struck him then, that she must have lost as much, if not more, than he and his friends. The cost of the war had been paid by both sides of it.

But this is not the way he’d wanted to get her to open up.

He bows, not deep enough to appear subservient, but deep enough that his feelings are made clear.

“I would be honored.”

Good? Bad? Absolute trash?

Should it end here or should I pick it up after all these years and turn it into something longer?

Let me know down below. :)

#Avatar #ATLA #Azula #Aang #Post-series #fanfiction #old writing #rudderless writes #Avatar The Last Airbender #Ao3

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seyaryminamoto · 7 years

Note

How does Sokka and Azula make sense? Not bashing just confused. I have attempted, really, REALLY attempted to read the fanfiction with them but I can't fathom it. Personally I can see Azula and Aang or Azula and Ty Lee better...

Oh, boy. Gotcha, I understand you’re not bashing, but this is going to be hard to explain if that’s what you think makes a better match for Azula.

What I’m getting from your preferences is that this really is a matter of tastes. You may be choosing Ty Lee and Aang over their gentleness, maybe? You think they’re happy, they’re sweet, so they’re ideal counterweights to Azula’s cold, abrasive nature? If that’s what you’re thinking, naturally you won’t see how Sokka and Azula make sense. This may be how you’re looking for Azula’s “happy ending”, if we may call it that, and I’ll say there’s nothing wrong with you thinking that way, Anon. You are allowed to have your own opinions and shipping tastes, regardless of what they may be.

But, alas, as it must be obvious, I find Azula’s “happy ending” can be very different from what Ty Lee or Aang could provide, and it happens to be extremely fulfilling for me to see Azula and Sokka together instead. Below, a longer explanation of why I choose Sokka and Azula over any other ship for them.

For starters, it must be obvious that I disagree with you. I absolutely adore Sokkla, with the force of a thousand suns, and I’ve never found a pair that suits each other as well as Sokka and Azula do. And I mean in any other fandom, too. Matter of tastes indeed, but this is how it’s been for me up to date.

So, of course, that means I find other Azula ships to be less satisfactory than Sokkla. And here I’ll explain a few things where, in my opinion, Sokka surpasses Ty Lee and Aang as partners for Azula:

Personally, I don’t like Ty Lee’s history with Azula. While Ty Lee can be very sweet, she also has proven to be one character (along with Mai, truth be told) who can lie to Azula’s face and Azula will swallow it all without having any clue of what’s going on. Ty Lee has learned how to lull Azula into false senses of security, and she betrayed Azula, something Azula will have a lot of trouble getting over, if she ever does. The way I see it, Ty Lee and Azula would have no walk in the park fixing this relationship, because Azula’s likeliness to trust her friend again isn’t very good. Especially when Ty Lee, canonically, isn’t interested in fixing this relationship. So… as I see it, canonically, Ty Lee’s dishonesty is a major problem that won’t be easy for Azula to overcome. While she could be very loving if she feels like it, the show (and then the comics) press that Ty Lee doesn’t really feel like being loving with Azula, at least ever since Azula yanked her out of the circus.

Sokka doesn’t offer the same problem. Sokka is ridiculously honest, blunt to the point of insensitive: this is something I personally think Azula needs. He won’t pull his punches, he’ll tell her what he truly thinks about anything. Whether she’s going about things right, whether she’s going about them wrong, he won’t hesitate to tell the truth because he also has a very bad sense of self-preservation. I mean, Azula shoots a fireball at him and yet he still stands there waving at Ty Lee because she smiled at him? In clear shot? So yes, no self-preservation. He’d tell Azula blunt truths and only think “Oops, she didn’t take that well” a little too late.

But the thing is, Azula would appreciate his brutal honesty. Her closest friends lied to her, betrayed her, chose someone else over her. If someone like Sokka, honest to no end, picks HER? She knows he’s for real. She may think he’s wrong to want a monster, may hesitate, may be unsure of how this will work out, but she’s going to know he means it. It’s not going to be empty words or shallow promises with him. This in particular is something I emphasize as a quality Sokka provides in this relationship that is hardly paralleled by any other ships (also, if he ever did try to lie about anything it’d be obvious too, so Azula would be able to tell immediately, that’s how I write it anyways).

And the loving aspect Ty Lee provides is something Sokka could provide too. Just look at him in his relationship with Yue, how he defends her even when Toph wasn’t even attacking her outright. If you ask me, Azula deserves someone like that. Someone who’d stand up for her regardless of whether she’s listening or not. Someone whose dedication to her is absolutely genuine. And Sokka can very easily be that someone, if their relationship is developed properly, of course.

Now, as for Aang, does sound reasonable to some degree that the most morally and ethically correct character would influence one of the more morally corrupt ones, I guess? But the thing is that Aang’s morality is very… uh, extreme, I’d say. Azula has always been ends-justify-the-means, and I don’t think Aang could tolerate this easily at first (which would make relationship development a lot more complicated for them). Aang didn’t want to kill Ozai at all, refused to (although, uh, he kinda has killed other nameless people before, surely, soooo… that was kinda hypocritical, but the show let it slide), and he also reacted explosively when the others insisted that it was the only way (sure, they were wrong, but at the time they seemed to be right). Whether Aang is ethically correct or incorrect, the fact of the matter remains that he’s very strict with his sense of morality.

Meanwhile, Sokka’s morals are top-notch if you ask me, even though he doesn’t see the world in black and white. He dares trust a Fire Nation old man from as early as episode 10, and he challenges Jet because he knows is doing the wrong thing. This isn’t to say Sokka is exempt from making morality mistakes, but he’s usually a lot less preachy about his ethics, too. He has his principles, but he doesn’t really force them on anyone. He tried to convince Katara not to kill Yon Rha because he knows it won’t bring their mother back, but he doesn’t hesitate about doing what needs to be done to protect his friends and family. He will blow up a bunch of tanks off the Northern Air Temple if he has to. He will kill Combustion Man. He will tear down all the airships he can if it means stopping them from burning down the Earth Kingdom.

The basic difference is that Sokka doesn’t LIKE resorting to drastic measures, but he will do it if he thinks there’s no other choice. Aang instead won’t ever want to resort to those drastic measures, and if backed into those situations he’ll likely always try to find another way out. The way I see it, Aang’s strict mentality that won’t accept murder, for instance, as a resource to put an end to a menace or two, won’t sit well with Azula. Instead of leading her to rethink her own ethics, it can lead her to dismiss him as childish, innocent, idealistic and whatnot, and as I said above, this would cause rifts between them. Sokka, instead, will kill if death is the only way (but he will always choose another way if there’s another one). His cold blood in these regards is not too different from Azula’s: but his morality is a lot better than hers. In matters where she might think “If the enemy won’t comply then we threaten them…”, Sokka will stop her if he can think of another alternative to achieve success. And she will listen to the alternative, because maybe it can be more effective than what she wants to do. But Sokka won’t stop her with “No, this is so wrong!” but rather, “You don’t have to go to those extremes when this is a perfectly feasible alternative where nobody gets hurt”.

Sokka serves as a moral influence on Azula really well, if you ask me, because of how much of a pragmatist he can be. In those regards, he won’t be too different from her. But he will never pass a sentence on someone just on the basis of where they came from (old man from the Fire Nation, as an example), he won’t preach morality in a strict way even if he will certainly try to stop her from making bad mistakes and treating people wrongly. But she likely won’t feel like he’s a goody-two-shoes, the way she might with Aang. And I think that would make her a lot more receptive to what Sokka would say about morality than what Aang would.

But there are also other reasons why I suspect she’d listen to Sokka, and respect him, and it’s involved with one of the most powerful reasons why, I think, people ship Sokka and Azula: They have a huge number of things in common!

First off, their families are fairly similar, only, Sokka’s isn’t a toxic mess while Azula’s is. The two of them admire their fathers (as usual, let’s not focus on the awful things Azula’s dad did…), gravitated towards them instead of their mother, from the looks of it. And they are the trouble-making, teasing siblings. Sokka will mess with Katara a lot, usually gets bitten back for it, Azula will tease Zuko to no end and Zuko explodes: both Sokka and Azula are, thus, the pragmatic, intelligent siblings with a sense of humor to siblings who are emotion-oriented, constantly striving to do the right thing, and whatnot.

So, their families are similar, and also they both have sense of humor. A major, seriously important factor, though, is intelligence. Sokka and Azula are both the smartest people in their respective groups (which, interesting, also turns them into the leaders). Azula certainly seems smarter, going by how her long-scale plans tend to pay off flawlessly, but therein lies the difference, the way I see it: Sokka likes long-term plans but he’s not so good at executing them. Instead, the show presents us a Sokka who can improvise rather quickly, who can analyze situations very fast and come up with solutions to handle every obstacle on the way. So, we have two tacticians here, but different kinds of tacticians: she’s good for long-term planning, he’s good for short-term. Imagine the unbelievably badass team such pair would make in a battlefield. I tell you, not a lot of people could stand against such leadership and tactical power.

But of course, there’s a lot they’re not equals on. Their origins are vastly different, and even though Sokka is somewhat a prince, he was raised humbly while Azula wasn’t. Water Tribe, Fire Nation, bender, non-bender. But see, curiously Azula doesn’t discriminate races or nations. At most she is classist, since she does call others “peasants”, but she takes the Dai Li into her service just fine because she sees how useful they can be. She discards a whole procession of firebenders and chooses to travel and finish her mission with two non-benders. So, if anyone’s thinking “She’d never want a Water Tribe non-bender”, the evidence really says the opposite. She’d be able to see what he has to offer, no matter his origins or lack of bending.

The encounter during the Eclipse also speaks for something that I don’t even need to headcanon as a possibility. Azula notices Sokka’s leadership, singles him out as the one who needs to be stopped. She might have tried a different strategy if she had seen Aang was the leader (like “At this moment, my forces are preparing to attack as soon as the sun is clear again, and your precious friends won’t survive… that is, unless you help them now instead of playing around with me”, for instance). She doesn’t. She goes for Sokka. And Sokka pushes her to that wall, glaring at her with defiance, and she responds with the same challenge in her eyes. Fact is, he’s not afraid right then and there. He’s fierce, he’s strong, and she’s seeing into the eyes of a man who will stand up to her if need be. Only when she attacks does he back off, and even when she ran he briefly wanted to stop her before realizing he’d made a terrible mistake by falling for her trap.

What this scene makes me think, in conjunction with the Boiling Rock’s fight, where Sokka and Zuko fight her, is that Azula would have no trouble in genuinely respecting Sokka, just the way she respects Mai, for instance. Sokka actually could have killed her in Boiling Rock, you know? There are moments where he’s just holding Space Sword inches away from her face or throat. Azula struggles keeping him at bay, and you can see he’s making her struggle. Basically: respect. As a warrior, as a leader, as a rival tactician, Azula absolutely would grow to respect Sokka because she already did in the show. And frankly, this sort of intellectual-warrior-respect bond isn’t something I can see in her canon or potential relationships with any other character in the show. This level of equal standing between them, the whole fact that the Day of Black Sun turns out to be Sokka vs. Azula (both physically and intellectually, since it’s his plan vs. her response to his plan), it tells you there’s potential. Lots of it.

Now, I cannot and will not deny they’ll butt heads, A LOT. Something else they have in common is stubbornness, no doubt. Neither Aang or Ty Lee are this stubborn, so maybe this is one of the reasons why you feel those two would match Azula better. Thing is, if Sokka and Azula find a rhythm, figure out how to handle their differences, how to balance each other, they make a brilliant match regardless of their stubbornness (if anything they get like Gladiator Sokkla as they are right now: their conflicts become lighter, sillier, and they just love it). I, personally, write them to make this happen. I write Sokkla to give them balance, not for one to overcome the other in any way. I want them equals, never uneven.

Truth is, the reason I jumped fully on board with Sokkla was because I ended up concluding this was the relationship that, if handled well, could make Azula the happiest. Sokka would get her, you know? He’d influence her in regards of morality, encourage her towards being better, but not by preaching how to be a model citizen to her, and he’d also be a challenge in regards of intellect: just imagine the board games, the two of them testing each other, working to beat one another and figuring out the other’s weaknesses and strengths. Sparring-wise, Sokka already proved in canon that he can be a challenge to her, and Azula is clearly aware of how deadly his sword is. Whether you do what I did, by having it so Azula hadn’t be taught how to use swords and Sokka teaches her, or whether you make it so she always knew, they can spar and have lots of fun with that too. And heck, a recent headcanon I thought of was Hakoda, Sokka and Azula having a bad jokes competition that everyone else flees from (it is known Hakoda and Sokka have the same sense of humor).

In short, I see a future with Azula and Sokka that holds endless adventure for them. If their potential wasn’t this great, I assure you, Anon, I would have never written a fic of the size of Gladiator. I’m nowhere near done with it. There’s so much story to tell with these two, and it’s amazing to rewrite ATLA completely with these two at the center.

(Also, I answered another ask about why I think Sokkla is the perfect match for Sokka, and not just for Azula, so if you’re interested in that side of the matter, here you go. Better than repeating myself.)

You are allowed not to ship Sokkla, nobody will stone you, nobody will be disappointed in you (plus, you’re anonymous, so who’d even know? xD). If you don’t see it after all I wrote here, that’s fine. If you still think Ty Lee or Aang make better matches for Azula, that’s fine. People can indeed agree to disagree and not clash about it, right? Only, if you follow me you should know (if you haven’t realized it yet) that I’ll always be posting Sokkla, so I warn you already that, um, you may not enjoy yourself much here if you can’t wrap your head around the ship. But really, you may just be like I am with Toph and Sokka. I have never been able to ship that, even though I tried at first. It just doesn’t work for me on some fundamental level, so if that’s what’s going on with you and Sokkla, I get it. Just, keep in mind the reasons I described are as valid as anyone else’s ideas for shipping Azula with someone else. I think the amount of fanfiction that has been written for them speaks for itself regarding how much potential Sokkla has.

Anyways, thank you for coming into my askbox to ask this out of genuine interest, and I hope my answer wasn’t rude in any way.

#anon #also in case anyone misunderstands #this ask has been waiting to be answered for weeks #it's not involved with what's happened the last two days

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