#katara was done dirty and we all know it

[johnskleats]

raise your hand if you married and had children with your first SO (started dating circa. 13/15 years old)

bonus points if you weren't allowed to pass on your cultural heritage to your children and gave up your sense of identity beyond motherhood

if you accomplished nothing significant past the age of 15 you get a prize (divorce)

[stardust948]

🌹

Zuko didn’t know what he expected.

A vague clue. A lie. An outright rejection. But not this.

Never this.

“Betrothed?” Katara repeated, seemingly caught off guard as much as him.

“You neglected to mention this to your…companion.” Ozai smiled.

“That’s enough!”

“What will the courts say Crown Prince Zuko? Do you really think they’ll accept a dark skinned water savage as Firelady? Wars may end in a day, but mindsets last lifetimes.”  

“He said that’s enough!” Katara pressed an ice dagger against his neck. “If you feel cold now, just wait until I’m done with you.”

Ozai narrowed his eyes.

“We’re done here.” Zuko said firmly.

As the two left, Ozai called his name.

“Visit me soon, son. You’re all I have left now.”

Zuko clenched his shaking hands. His breath became shallow and vision blurry. Katara squeezed his shoulders before guiding him out. She threw one last dirty glare at Ozai as the heavy door shut.

“Are you okay?” Katara asked gently. “We don’t have to come back.”

Zuko shook his head. “He’s the only one who knows where Mom is.”

“We don’t know that for sure.”

[goldenavenger02]

cause we survived the great war

For @badthingshappenbingo . Prompt: Fainting.

"Did you stop him?" Zuko interrupted, his vision growing more and more blurred from the salty water that was building up in his eyes as he squeezed Aang's hand tightly, "d-did you stop him?"

"I took away his bending. He's powerless."

Despite popular belief by those outside of the Fire Nation, Capitol City did get cooler at night.

Zuko had always assumed it was from the wind that came down from the high peaks of the volcanoes blowing down into the capitol city, or maybe the pushback from the waves that surrounded the smaller islands.

Either way, the chilly breeze was passing through once again which only made the fiery pain in the center of his torso more apparent as it engulfed him whole and pulsed through his blood with every thump of his heart.

He refused to make mention of it to Katara despite his arm being wrapped around her shoulders to keep him on his feet as they walked towards where they had agreed to meet up with the others on the shoreline; just like her, he needed to know that the others were alive, that Aang had done the impossible and had ended the hundred year war.

Even if that meant that he was now an orphan.

"Sokka!" Katara shouted, pulling away from Zuko to run forward and pull her limping older brother into her arms, resulting in a particularly strong thump of pain to hit him right in the chest.

He couldn't hear the exchange between the siblings and Suki from where he stood, but despite the throbbing in his torso, he couldn't help but let his lips curl into a smile as he watched the trio hug.

Only for him to be knocked back into reality by a harsh punch in the arm that he knew belonged to Toph.

"Glad to see you're alive."

"Same to you, Sparky," her grin was wide even in the dim light of the setting sun before her nose wrinkled, "ooh, but you stink."

"I'm sorry, you're saying that to me?"

"Ha ha," she said with sarcasm laced in her words before they turned serious, "what happened, did you fall in a fireplace?"

"Azula plays dirty, Zuko gritted his teeth as he spoke, letting an arm wrap around the wound to support himself, "Is Aang-"

"He's on his way, but he's in the middle of- Zuko!" Sokka cut himself off with an arm around Suki as he limped towards him, "that almost killed Aang! How are you sti…"

The ringing sound replaced any voices that impacted him as he tried to blink away the sudden dizziness and his mouth filled with a coppery taste, only to look back up at the four blurring faces surrounding him.

"-hat's wrong?"

"I can't…" he swallowed, trying to pull in a breath that remained just out of his reach while the edges of his vision started to dim, "I can't breathe…"

"-eartbeat's too slow, catch hi-"

Zuko's world went black as he crashed to his knees.

…

"Please, Katara."

"You need to rest, we all do. I don't even know when he'll wake up."

"I haven't seen him for two days and…he deserves to know about what I did."

Katara's sigh echoed through the room, only returning his attention to the searing pain in his torso that was once again returning with a vengeance.

"Okay, you're right. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Katara? You should get some rest too."

Zuko didn't hear her response, he was too focused on the feeling of a small, gentle hand looped around his own; he knew it wasn't Toph, not with how gentle the voice had been, which could only mean one thing.

He opened his eyes slowly and carefully turned his head to focus his vision on the figure next to his bedside before managing to speak, "Aang."

"You're awake," Aang took a breath that sounded a bit too shaky to just be exhaustion and the look in his eyes told Zuko that if it wasn't for his injuries, he would have been pulled into a tight hug, "Katara told me, about the Agni Kai."

"Aang, my…my f-father-" Zuko hissed through his teeth from the pressure that the inhale had put on the burn that adorned his chest, tears involuntarily springing into his eyes.

"Don't strain yourself. We can talk later, once you're feeling better-"

"Did you stop him?" Zuko interrupted, his vision growing more and more blurred from the salty water that was building up in his eyes as he squeezed Aang's hand tightly, "d-did you stop him?"

"I took away his bending. He's powerless."

Zuko loosened his grip. 'He can't hurt anyone any more.'

"Thank you."

Aang squeezed his hand tightly with a smile on his face, the closest thing to a hug that he would give right now, before speaking again, "go back to sleep. You're safe with me."

It was Zuko's cue to let his vision darken and let the pain dissipate once again.

…

It didn't elevate the pain when she focused her attention on the pink edges of the wound and it trailed away from his torso onto into his arm from where he had tried to push it out through his fingertips.

In fact, when Katara bent the water over his right arm to try and sooth the angry nerves that laid underneath, it was cooling and actually helped ease away a fraction of the built-up tension in his shoulders.

It made sense why she started there and worked her way inward towards the center of the attack during every healing session.

"Do you need to take a break?" Her voice was sincere as she looked up at him, the glassiness of tears apparent in her blue eyes.

"Do you?"

"I'm…" she stopped, raising an arm up to wipe away the tears in her eyes, "I'm fine."

"Katara-"

"Why did you do it?" She cut him off quickly, "you know what this did to Aang, so why would you do it?"

"I didn't t-think she'd aim for you."

"Just answer me, Zuko," she begged, the tears falling from her eyes to the point where she discarded the water she had been using into the nearby bucket due to contamination, "why did you risk so much for me?"

He pondered on her question for a moment.

He hadn't been thinking about anything but pushing the lightning away from himself and into the ground, trying to emerge victorious against his unstable sister; but the crazed glance and the blue twisting around her fingertips had him running forward before the impact and-pain pain pain-

He looked back up at Katara's eyes, teary and demanding as they searched for an answer that only he could give.

"Because we're a team, r-remember?"

She wiped her tears away again and pulled in a long sniffle before looking over at him with a smile before she spoke, her voice shaking from her crying, "I…I know I already said it, but thank you."

Zuko nodded, wrapping his fingers around his sheets as he watched her bend fresh water out of the basin and braced himself for the pain.

"I'll be as fast as I can, okay?" Her voice was comforting and quiet now that the tears had finally stopped running down her cheeks and she had received a satisfactory answer, but Zuko knew that as soon as he agreed, he would be launched into unbearable agony.

"Okay."

The cry of pain that escaped his lips didn't shine a light to the intensity of the fiery, searing pain that engulfed him and fought back against the healing water; he gripped the sheets tightly in his palms and squeezed his eyes shut.

"I know it hurts," he made out as she hit a particularly sore spot that had his back arching in protest, "I'm almost done."

When she finally pulled the water away, he was struggling to get full breaths into his lungs as he opened his golden eyes that were now filled to the brim with pain-induced tears.

"It's going to get easier," Katara's assurance was sincere as she gently cupped the right side of his face in her hand to wipe away the tears that had leaked from his eyes and onto his cheeks, "for both of us."

…

When he awoke again, there was no sign of Aang or Katara.

Instead, he was greeted by a soft humming of a familiar song that he had heard his whole life. A song that had filled the halls of the palace whenever his uncle, as well as his cousin, were safely within the walls rather than on the front lines.

"Well," The humming stopped, replaced by the familiar voice of his uncle, "look who's awake."

"I thought you w-were in Ba Sing Se." Zuko managed to speak, his tongue heavy in his mouth.

"I was, but when the news of you defeating Azula in an Agni Kai reached us, as well as the defeat of Ozai, I knew that my efforts would be better here. After all, someone has to weed out his loyalists and you, my nephew, are in no state to do that yourself."

"I did try, to r-redirect the lightning."

"And master Katara thinks that was what saved you. While she has expressed gratitude that you saved her life, it would be wise to follow her advice until you are healed."

It wasn't like Zuko planned on rebelling against her, not while his chest burned with every inhale.

Despite the pain, he still managed to push himself up on his wrists and sit up with the support of the pillows behind his head.

"Y-You were humming the song," he changed the subject, watching as his uncle raised an eyebrow while sipping from the teacup that was a part of the tea set sitting on the dresser, " the one you u-used to sing it to Lu Ten and I."

"Yes, I was. Here," Iroh nodded as he grabbed the second teacup, like he knew that Zuko was going to wake up, and pressed it into his shaking palms, "you should drink and go back to sleep."

Zuko slowly brought the edge of the cup to his lips and tipped the warm tea into his mouth, letting the familiar flavors of jasmine and chamomile coat his tongue, washing away the coppery taste from his mouth.

He let his uncle gently take the glass cup out of his palms before laying back down, his vision spinning by the time he was laying flat on the mattress once again; he closed his eyes, reducing everything to black.

Zuko allowed himself to drift back off to the sounds of his uncle singing softly, just loud enough that he could make out the words "Brave soldier boy, comes marching home".

…

"Absolutely not."

"Katara, the coronation is in a few days-"

"My judgment wouldn't change if it was in a few hours," she shook her head as she wrapped the new bandages around his torso and up around his right shoulder, "you are on bedrest until further notice, and your uncle said you listen to me."

"He said it would be wise to follow your advice." Zuko hadn't planned on fighting against her judgment at all, let alone so soon after he was advised not to go against her, but he needed to know what was happening outside of the walls of his childhood bedroom.

"I wouldn't poke the bear if I was you, Sparky." Toph remarked from where she was lounging on the ottoman, her head hanging just above the floor.

"What did you just call me?" Katara turned away from his tight bandages to presumably glare at Toph, like it would make much of a difference.

"Relax, sweetness. I'm telling him to listen to you and not to piss you off, especially while you're gone."

'Wait, what?'

"You're leaving?"

Katara's sigh acted as confirmation even before she started speaking, "not for long, just for the rest of the day. There are a lot of injured people in both Ba Sing Se and the Fire Nation, they need all of the healers they can get," she explained as she finished wrapping the bandages around his chest, "these aren't too tight?"

"No, they aren't."

"Good. You're doing a lot better and Sokka's leg has been healing up well enough, which is why I'm going with Aang and Suki," she explained as she stood up and pulled her bag over her shoulder, "but you are staying in bed."

Zuko raised his hands in surrender, resigning himself to staring at the ceiling for the rest of the day, allowing Katara to leave the room without another word.

However, just as he was starting to let his eyes flutter shut in relaxation, it was shattered by the young earthbender who had taken residence in his room that afternoon after his uncle had left.

"Do you want to get up?"

"What?"

"She just left the palace and I'm not gonna snitch. I used to run away all the time!"

"Toph-"

"You can't get better just laying down all day," Toph cut him off as she walked over and held her hand out, "besides, I still wanna know what's in this place."

"I don't-" Zuko started, but it quickly clicked in his mind just what Toph wanted and why she was encouraging a rebellion against Katara, "you still want your life changing field trip."

"Fine, you caught me," her voice was much sadder as she sat on the end of his bed and flopped backwards onto the mattress, "I know it won't be life changing, since the war is over and you're still hurt but…even if it isn't a new thing to you, this is the first time I've ever been anywhere outside of the earth kingdom."

"Are you gonna go back?"

"I'm not sure yet," she shrugged before standing up and offering her hand out again, "but right now, I'm gonna go to the garden and you should come with me."

"Okay, okay." He relented and pushed himself onto his feet, wincing at how the pain ricocheted up into his shoulder which forced him to grab the bed frame for support while his knees threatened to collapse from under him.

"On second thought, maybe you should stay here."

"Just give me a second."

"I don't want you getting hurt again."

Zuko's knees stopped shaking and the pain ebbed into a dull ache instead of the strong stabbing-like pain and it didn't return when he let go of the bed frame or when he walked forward to slide on his sandals.

"I'm fine," he insisted as he pulled one of the many robes around his shoulders in order to conceal the bandages around his torso and tied it closed, "but, just to be safe, can I-"

Toph didn't let him finish before taking his right hand and guiding it to her shoulder as support, "just tell me where to go."

And with that, the two of them began their walk through the palace.

No matter how much Zuko attempted to focus on the task at hand, he was still using his left hand to shield his vision away from the glaring pictures of the former Fire Lord all while thinking that this place was in serious need of redecoration.

Because while he understood the importance of the portraits of the Fire Lords before him, as to not to forget his lineage, he would be unable to rule under the glaring gaze of his father for the rest of his life.

Luckily for himself as well as Toph, the garden was not far from his room and soon enough, she was taking his hand off of his shoulder and helping him lower himself to sitting on the ground next to the small pond as the exhaustion began to seep into his bones.

"Are you still doing okay?"

"Oh yeah," Zuko breathed, resting his hand over his bandaged wound to try and sooth the renewed throbbing while resting his head against one of the tree trunks, "never better."

"I don't know if that was just sarcasm or just a load of monkey feathers, but your heartbeat is going crazy, Sparky."

"Why did you want to come out here?" He asked, trying to change the subject in order to give himself a chance to relax and let his agony dissipate once more.

"It's too hot in the palace, it makes my feet hurt," Toph explained as she pulled her knees in, "and I feel more in control out here, that if something were to happen, I'm surrounded by the earth so I can stop it faster. Also, Aang said he was able to hold one of the turtle ducks yesterday."

"We should have grabbed some bread from the kitchen first." Zuko chuckled but still pushed himself forward and rested one of his palms into the pond just like he had been taught by his mother when he was a kid.

Sure enough, one of the small turtle ducklings swam right up to his palm and gently pecked at it in search of some sort of treat, allowing him to gently scoop it up in his hands before turning to Toph, "hold your hands out."

She was obedient, cupping her hands as she held them out which helped him set the small bird into her palms before guiding her left hand to cup over it to keep it secure, "you have to be careful though, the mothers are notoriously ruthless when it comes to protecting their young."

"It's so soft," Toph murmured, running one of her fingers over the top of its soft head which resulted in a few content chirps, "and so small."

"This one is probably a few months old, it'll get bigger as it gets older."

Toph continued to hold the turtle duck securely in her palms, but Zuko couldn't help but swallow when the image of the young earthbender was replaced by a memory of his little sister.

They were just five and seven when she allowed him to place the turtle duckling in her open palms only to carelessly sear a hole right through its delicate shell.

There had been a lot of tears shed on both his as well as the baby turtle duck's part, but his mother arrived quickly to send Azula to her room before bringing the turtle duck and Zuko to the palace infirmary in order to do her best to soothe the burn.

It had resulted in a loud argument between his parents that night, one that echoed all the way into his bedroom; he hadn't been able to decipher the words back then while covering his ears, but he could only guess that his father had been displeased by the heir to the throne sobbing in response to an attack on an innocent animal.

He hadn't even noticed that Toph had let the turtle duckling swim back to its mother until she rested her hand on his left leg in complete silence.

"After we went to the play on Ember Island, I asked Aang about your scar," Her words were sudden but not unexpected as he turned his face towards her only to see her staring straight ahead at nothing, "he said it starts over your eye and spreads all the way over to your ear. Is that how you know how to describe stuff to me, because you know how it is?"

"Yeah," Zuko managed to say as he looked down at his fingernails, even if there was no point in avoiding Toph's non-existent gaze, "I got it right before I was banished from the fire nation."

"It was Ozai, wasn't it?" Zuko's tongue went dry at her words, he couldn't lift it to respond as tears welled up in his eyes from the statement.

He had never confirmed the rumors when asked, despite the tale being a popular propaganda piece during his father's rule, about what he would do to those who disrespected him. Given her next statement though, it seemed as though his silence was confirmation enough.

"Unless you ask me not to in the next five seconds, I'm going to hug you."

He didn't respond, allowing Toph to throw herself into his lap and wrap her arms around his neck while pressing her head against his shoulder.

Zuko ignored the renewed fire in his abdomen and wrapped his arms just as tightly around Toph.

…

"That one looks too stuffy," Sokka commented as he bit into the apple he was holding while leaning against the wall to seemingly avoid putting weight on his splinted leg, "and the sleeves are huge. You'll firebend once and woosh! Erupt into flames!"

"It's a flame resistant fabric, like all of the clothes produced in the fire nation," The tailor explained while wrapping the line of measuring tape around Zuko's bandaged abdomen, "it would be preposterous for the new Fire Lord to be unable to firebend in their regalia."

"I'm just saying, maybe it's time to update the regalia! Make it more Zuko and less Ozai. Right, Zuko?"

Zuko just wanted to get down from the platform he was standing on, away from the gaze from the tailor who had been part of the palace staff since his grandfather had been on the throne; even though he had been questioned extensively about where his loyalties lied, his chest still felt tight every time he looked over at the elderly man.

"Zuko, you with us?"

Zuko blinked a few times, his arms still extended outwards while he met Sokka's concerned glance but when he tried to respond, his mouth was dry as he lowered his arms while a shiver of fear went down his spine.

"Zheng, can you give a second?"

The tailor left the room with a bow in his direction, but all Zuko could focus on was Sokka's hand gripping onto his wrist as he helped him step down from the platform and sit on the lone, padded bench that sat in the corner.

"Are you in pain? Because I can get Katara-"

"It's stupid." Zuko swallowed, resting his face in his hands to try and get his heart to stop beating so fast. 'You're safe. No one is going to put you in a room with people that haven't been thoroughly questioned. You're fine.'

No matter how much he knew those statements to be true, his chest was burning with panic and paranoia.

"I once tried to keep us from going to get supplies because I had a dream where food ate people," Sokka's hand was gentle on his shoulder, just enough pressure for him to know that he was there, "I'm pretty sure it can't get more stupid then that."

"Just…worried, about all of this."

"About being the Fire Lord? Because that's not stupid, I'd argue that it'd be more stupid if you weren't."

'I shouldn't be scared. They shouldn't put a coward on the throne. The last thing that the Fire Nation needs is a coward ruling over them.'

"Look," Sokka spoke again, despite Zuko unable to respond as he rested his face in his hands, "this is a lot of responsibility, I get that. I was too young to go with my father but too old to be protected which meant that before Katara and I met Aang, I was the head of the Southern Water Tribe. I know it's not the same scale, but if I can do it, you've got it in the bag."

"You shouldn't doubt yourself, Sokka." Zuko finally managed to lift his head out of his hands and rest it against the wall instead as he responded, his heartbeat starting to fall back into its normal rhythm.

"Neither should you," Sokka argued, "even if the crown wasn't your birthright, which it is, you beat Azula in an Agni Kai."

"Aiming at someone else results in a forfeit."

"You saved my little sister's life, Zuko, and I…" he looked over as Sokka wiped his face on his sleeve before looking back to him, "I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you."

"You don't need to."

Sokka shrugged, which gave him permission to rest his heavy head, the head that would be crowned as the new Fire Lord in the morning, on the shoulder of one of the bravest warriors in the world.

"So, are you gonna kick me out of here then?"

"I didn't say that."

"Good, because someone needs to be here to tell you that these sleeves are so," Sokka smiled as he lifted up the edge of one of the sleeves and wrapped his hand around it to prove that Zuko still had plenty of room for his wrists in the robe, "so impractical."

…

"I should count myself lucky. The new Fire Lord has graced me with his presence in my lowly prison cell."

His vision was spinning when he finally returned from the Boiling Rock; it was real, he was the Fire Lord and he had proven his father wrong.

And yet, as he held onto the doorframe, his heart pounding in his chest and his ears filled with high-pitched ringing, he couldn't help but wonder if somewhere in his jail cell, his father had been hoping for this outcome.

That his son would be put on the throne and maybe he would be able to worm his way into his mind again. It made Zuko's stomach fill with nausea at the thought of being the puppet on his father's string again, like he had been just a year ago.

"There you are! Katara wants to check how everything is healing before we head to the Earth Kingdom…Zuko?"

Zuko had just been able to hear the voice over the ringing in his ears and looked up to see the blurry shape of Aang staring right at him.

"Zuko, are you-"

Zuko let go of the doorframe as his vision went dark, feeling hands grab his shoulders on the way down that were accompanied by a scream.

…

The first thing he heard when he opened his eyes was "don't move" followed by the familiar sting of water being passed over the lightning mark.

Zuko wasn't planning on it, not with how much everything was aching just from breathing; that was, until he heard a second voice that had him lifting his head from the pillows and propping himself up onto his elbows.

"He's awake?" Before he could even speak, Aang was rushing over to his side with relief tinged in his words, "you're awake."

"And he needs to lay," Katara cut herself off to use her free hand to press on his chest and guide him back onto the pillows, "back down."

"Is it bad?" He asked, wincing at how dry his mouth was and how hoarse his voice was.

"I'll get you some water." Aang insisted as he disappeared from view once again, leaving him to look up at Katara's squint of concentration.

"Everything is irritated. The nerves, the skin…it's all irritated. We put off the trip to the Earth Kingdom till tomorrow and King Kuei sends his regards," she stopped for a moment before looking over at him, "where were you?"

Zuko swallowed; he didn't want Katara to know that he had gone much further than anyone was comfortable with permitting, especially without security, not to mention that he had gone to see the former Fire Lord.

Even with his reasoning, he wasn't sure that any of his new found friends would be comfortable with the fact that he had gone in the first place.

"Here," Aang's return with the glass of water returned Katara's eyes to his burnt abdomen and gave Zuko, at the very least, a temporary scapegoat and took the lack of questioning eyes on him to lift his head and let the water coat his aching throat, "we told General Iroh too, since we'll be staying with him when we get there."

"Thanks." Zuko nodded even though he knew that it was going to be more difficult to keep his visit from his uncle then it was to keep it from Aang and Katara.

"No problem, Fire Lord Hotman" Aang smiled as he took the glass despite the quick glare he shot at the airbender, glancing at the burn for a moment before looking back at Zuko, a half-hearted giggle in his voice while gesturing to his back, "what do you know? We match now."

Zuko couldn't help but laugh despite the pain it caused him.

After all, Aang had saved the world and he had stopped Azula; the next few weeks, months, maybe even years would be hard as the nations settled down now that the war was over and started to rebuild.

But that could wait; for the next few hours as he rested, he didn't have to be the Fire Lord; he had the permission to just be Zuko.

[mal3vol3nt]

What are ur thoughts on natla?

i definitely have…. thoughts lol

but let’s start with the positives first i guess

i really liked the special effects and cgi. i thought the bending looked pretty neat, particularly the earth and fire bending (which isn’t surprising considering hollywood has spent decades improving the realism behind fire and explosion effects). the water and air bending looked cool too, but definitely didn’t look as realistic in my opinion. which isn’t a bad thing. it didn’t break my submersion or anything. tbh i thought the air and water bending looked more like they came straight out of a really enhanced video game

i liked what they did with the 41st division plot line. having that division be the crew on zuko’s ship was a really nice change from the original and humanized zuko’s character even more in my opinion. though i find it hard to believe that ozai would’ve allowed a freshly banished zuko to travel in such close quarters with a division he literally saved (something something about soldier loyalty wavering and army coups blah blah blah)

the scene of kyoshi possessing aang and getting rid of the fire nation soldiers on her island was honestly… amazing to watch. one thing about me is i LOVE watching the avatars go full avatar mode and give it to people, so that scene had me jumping in my seat cause she looked so damn cool (but i also have other thoughts about that scene and everything that led up to it that aren’t entirely positive lmao so not a complete win)

the casting for aang made me so happy. it’s no secret that aang is my baby, so if they did him dirty in casting i wouldn’t have even made it past episode 1, but gordon actually did such a good job with what he was given and i really wish the writing would have given him the chance to actually be aang. cause he has aang’s adorableness and goofiness (that we see from bts) so idk why it wasn’t utilized, but this isn’t the section for me to start talking about that

aang sending zuko away on the boat after the blue spirit rescue was everything. idk but it was done so gently and in a way that was just so aang that it makes me wanna scream

koh the face stealer. i don’t even think i gotta explain this one, but they did good with koh

so now lemme talk about what i didn’t really fw about this live adaptation. the negatives, if you will

(disclaimer: i have no issue with adaptations straying away from the original source material to make some changes or add some twists. in fact, i love it when they do. but the changes should add to the story and characters, not take away from them!! and that’s a short lil synopsis of my issues with this show)

them getting rid of sokka’s sexism. the reason the show got rid of this was because the creatives didn’t understand that the og show never presented sokka’s sexism as a good thing. he was constantly and immediately humbled when he said something stupid, and his thought process made sense for his character because he’s a boy who has never ventured outside his tribe. all he knows are the gender roles within his own culture and we see that throughout the show as he mets other people, he starts to realize that way of thinking is wrong. them removing this aspect of his character also got rid of the tension between him and katara. sokka undermines katara a lot in the og and it’s clear that that kind of underestimation is one of the fuels firing the burning anger within her. and it’s that anger, provoked by sokka’s sexism, that leads her to releasing the avatar and driving the whole show in motion. because they got rid of this, sokka and katara don’t really have any huge issue to work through, so they had to add in this weak older sibling vs little sibling conflict instead. katara blowing up because he treats her like a little kid does NOT have the same punch as her blowing up because he treats her like she’s incapable. and it also muddies the real dynamic between the two considering they’re both constantly taking care of each other due to them BOTH having to grow up quickly

sokka and suki’s development was done DIRTYYYY. again, because they got rid of his sexism, they had nothing for suki to challenge. he never questioned her legitimacy as a warrior. instead, he was immediately impressed and felt a lil insecure at how skilled she was. and she just immediately liked him cause he’s attractive ig. the whole sequence of them training together (which he didn’t even wear the kyoshi warrior outfit during DINT GET ME STARTED-) is literally just a few long minutes of them stopping to catch their breaths every couple seconds cause they’re so insanely attracted to each other. that’s all it is. suki thinks he’s cute and eyes him up and down (????? literally why), and sokka does absolutely nothing but stand there to attract her to him. SUKI??? the insanely talented warrior who humbles him multiple times, and who sokka literally begs on hands and knees to train under so he can work for her respect, was watered down to “pretty girl who likes pretty boy”

katara. literally just katara. what did they do to my girl? HOW DO YOU MAKE THE KATARA OF THE SOUTHERN WATER TRIBE BORING?? first off, water bending is not a struggle for her?? aang just gives her a very confusing pep talk where he says basically nothing, and suddenly she’s able to make a perfect water sphere without even really trying. nevermind the fact that before aang got there and spewed nonsense at her, she could barely make a ripple in the water let alone pick it up. she was also just handed the waterbending scroll—literally handed—and got insanely good off of that. no master needed, she just picked it all up no problem. the og show makes it clear that while the scrolls can teach you the basics, they do not compare to a real master. in the og, katara fights tooth and nail to get her hands on the scroll and then to later get a master. she’s so determined and works so hard to perfect her element that when she finally reaches mastery level, it feels like a reward. it feels right. but in this show, she literally doesn’t have to work hard AT ALL and only needs to hear a few encouraging words from other characters to become a master. there’s no real development in her skill. one day, she can barely make a ripple. the next? she’s sending ice spears at pakku like it’s nobody’s business. where was the development? it wasn’t there. and because she’s so good at water bending already, she has no real motivation or purpose. she’s not driven by her desperate want to learn how to waterbend under a master. she doesn’t have any real reason to be driven by anger cause what is she so angry of? sokka doesn’t undermine her. she’s already insanely talented at bending with no real training. sure, pakku won’t let her fight but that’s a stupid conflict. a stupid conflict that’s the result of them making her too skilled for a master. cause instead of her frustrated that he won’t teach her, she wastes time trying to get him to let her fight in the upcoming battle. but why does she need his permission to do that in the first place? it’s not like he’s gonna try stopping her? he and everyone else will be too busy trying not to die to care if she’s out there slicing people with ice. so really, katara is just there. she has no drive, no personality, no reason. and it feels insane to even be saying that about katara cause she’s literally katara. but natla fucked up with her and i am not about to forgive them for that

aang. i could scream. natla aang is not aang. it’s literally identity theft. where is the joy? the whimsy? the child-like qualities that make aang aang? he’s so fucking serious all the damn time. he’s 12 years old, freshly out the ice, and already behaving like he’s been at this avatar gig his whole life. he doesn’t play around or get easily distracted like he does in the early books of the show. every pitstop they make on their way to the northern water tribe isn’t the result of aang wanting to have some fun, but because people are literally telling him “hey, you should go to *insert location* because they need help and you’re the avatar”. in fact, their whole reason for going to the northern water tribe isn’t because he or katara need to learn water bending (she’s already so good and he just doesn’t feel like learning??), but because kyoshi took his hand and explained to him that something bad was about to happen and he needed to be there. literally every decision he makes is the result of someone repeating exposition we already know and telling him what he needs to do. the show literally walks the audience through everything that happens. it literally even explains to us countless times that aang is a really goofy kid who likes playing airball with his friends, but we never see it?? he never goofs. he hardly even smiles im not gonna lie. he just introduces himself as a super goofy person and we’re supposed to just take his word for it. why is he already so intense, man? not even book 3 aang was that damn serious all the time. them eliminating his joy and optimism and childishness literally makes him a shell of a character and it PISSES ME OFF. not to mention his dialogue is written like he’s always on the brink of breaking out into song. no shit i thought this show was a musical for a good few seconds cause i fully expected him to start singing when he was venting to appa 😭

aang’s “running away” scene. don’t piss me off. this show was so afraid of giving their characters any actual flaws that they got rid of one of aang’s biggest sources of guilt: him intentionally running away from the air temple. no instead, he was just clearing his head up in the sky “where everything makes more sense” and just happened to get trapped in a storm

kyoshi yelling at aang. this one goes hand in hand with the previous one, but i’m giving it it’s own bullet point. in this scene, she yells at him for running away and tells him that he better not ever do something like that again because now the world’s gone to shit and needs its avatar more than ever, essentially placing blame on him for 1) something that literally isn’t even his fault—unless they get rid of roku admitting his involvement in the war beginning—and 2) didn’t even happen?? aang didn’t run away in this version of the story. he just went on a ride with appa and got caught up in a storm. so why is kyoshi acting like it was intentional when the show makes it clear that it wasn’t?

the death of the moon spirit. the plot point about kuruk’s knife was so stupid LMAO i’m sorry it was pointless to me. and why did nobody do anything while zhao was attempting to murder the moon spirit. everyone just stood there 🧍 like hello??? more importantly, why didn’t aang do anything?? in the cartoon, he tries talking zhao down and zhao plays along like it worked, setting the moon spirit back down into the spirit water before killing it anyways. in this version, zhao never pretends like he isn’t about to kill the koi fish. and nobody makes a move to do anything until after it happens im crying 😭

aang becoming the ocean spirit. my main gripe with this scene is that it’s framed in a way that’s all about vengeance and just pure rage more than anything. but aang becoming the ocean spirit has always been, to me at least, a depiction of grief. it’s pain that the ocean spirit is expressing as it washes away the fn soldiers and ships. it’s done in a way that is, yes brutal, but also graceful and conscious. the ocean spirit is mindful of what it’s doing. it’s intentional and emotional. it’s not just striking anything and everyone out of pure rage, which is how this scene was choreographed and shot in my opinion

[comradekatara]

I rewatched “the boy in the iceberg” the other day, and it’s not an episode I revisit often, but when I do, I’m always kind of amazed by the level of insight it provides into katara and sokka’s upbringing, but only when you watch it through the lens of having already seen the entire show.

for example, kanna as a character does not register for the viewer unless you already know her backstory as it’s revealed to us in “the waterbending master,” at which point the fact that she is shown to be unflinchingly harsh and stern and keeps preventing katara from the fun and adventure she clearly yearns for actively signals to us what kind of toll the war must’ve taken on her and the responsibility she feels towards keeping katara out of trouble. the fact that we see kanna push katara from aang, warning her to not pin her hopes on this boy and telling her she needs to do her chores, is really interesting because it frames the fact that katara does a lot of chores not as something she might have volunteered to do, or even is expected to as a girl, but rather something that kanna forces her to do as a distraction method (both from her grief and from her impulsiveness).

it’s clear that kanna sees far more of herself in katara than she does in sokka, but that comes with the acknowledgment that katara has the capacity to be just as adventurous, reckless and impulsive as kanna was at her age, and that means keeping a close eye on her at all times. I’m convinced that if kanna had ever said “sokka, be a man and wash your dirty socks,” sokka would’ve done that shit without question, but instead kanna made katara do all of the laundry because it meant keeping her in their house for longer, where she can keep an eye on her granddaughter and make sure she isn’t running off to go penguin sledding or exploring the ruins of an old fire nation ship (two things she immediately does the second she makes a friend her age) or god knows what else. kanna has no need to keep an eye on sokka because he is extremely cautious, takes his duties very seriously, and refuses to entertain the notion of having fun of any kind, so there’s no chance of him wandering off and getting into trouble.

when sokka says “I knew I shouldn’t have taken you fishing,” because of what he says next (“leave it to a girl to screw things up”) he makes it sound like it’s because he believes that women can’t fish because their tits get in the way or whatever, but I bet that katara begged him to take her because she was bored and was clawing at the walls desperate to go outside and explore, even if it meant putting up with her annoying ass brother (not like she has any other friends her age). she probably went through all her chores really fast and then caught sokka on his way out and did adorable puppy dog eyes and had a whole numbered list ready with reasons she should go until sokka relented (only to immediately realize that fishing is just as boring as doing laundry).

kanna did not approve of the idea of katara going alone with aang to the north pole, but once it was sokka’s idea to go rescue aang and travel the world, (and it was clear he had packed the necessary provisions, unlike katara, whose decision to leave with aang was a spur of the moment thing,) kanna gave them her blessing. and her respective farewells to both of them are also so telling in that regard, because she is giving katara permission to be hopeful, to finally live up to her heroic potential, whereas she tells sokka to look after katara. on their travels, katara does have some practical skills sokka doesn’t (sewing and midwifery being the primary two things sokka is fucking useless at) that she acquired from spending every waking second since kya’s death doing chores with kanna, but she is also constantly getting herself into trouble, with or without aang (or toph) as her accomplice. and every time sokka is just like “yup, classic katara shenanigans. just so you know i disapprove but also will do everything in my power to help you out of this mess.”

watching out for katara, making sure that she doesn’t get herself into trouble, and then helping her out of said trouble, is the exact kind of thing both hakoda and kanna told sokka his primary responsibility was, and it’s clear he takes that responsibility very seriously. it’s also probably why he was way more chill about the consequences of toph’s scamming. like, he told her to be careful after noticing her wanted poster, but he wasn’t mad about it the way he was when katara attracted the wrath of pirates, because he didn’t spend his whole life being shown and told that toph needs someone responsible to keep her in line. and he does feel a level of responsibility and protectiveness towards toph, that much is clear, but he also trusts her judgment because he’s never actually seen her make an actively bad judgment call (excluding katara from the scams was mean and wrong of her, granted, but it’s clear he doesn’t wanna involve himself in their beef).

“never turning his back on katara” is always sokka’s first priority, above anything else, and that shows even when he’s being a dick to her, saying inflammatory shit like “leave it to a girl to screw things up.” again, once you've seen the show in full, it’s pretty clear that sokka is just saying that because he’s insecure that all the warriors left him behind, so he’s projecting his insecurities onto her, but if you don’t have the context to understand how much the idea of “not being a true warrior” means to sokka, it just seems like he thinks boys rule girls drool. and if you don’t realize that kanna is actively making katara do more chores on purpose, whereas she trusts sokka to be responsible for himself, it does seem like katara is taking on an unfair amount of responsibility, in a gendered way. you take that conversation at face value, because you don’t realize (at first) that they’re both projecting their insecurities and blaming their personal frustrations on each other. you don’t realize that sokka is minimizing katara because he sees her as his annoying little sister who always gets into trouble, and you don’t realize that katara is telling herself stories of grand adventure because she feels cooped up at home, because this is the inciting incident where adventure does await, so sokka’s suspicion and exasperation seems out of pocket, whereas katara’s wonder and eagerness seems totally justified.

it’s similar to how when zuko sees the light from the iceberg opening iroh warns them that they’ve gone down this road before and not to have too much hope. kanna tells katara the same thing. both zuko and katara believe in the avatar as their salvation, and are so eager to put their faith in this narrative that they accept it without question. of course, we as the audience know that they’re right, but it’s also perfectly reasonable for sokka and iroh to warn them not to get their hopes up, to be careful and patient. it makes you wonder how many times not only zuko, but also katara have gone looking for the avatar before, firm in their belief that he’s still out their somewhere, and they will be the Chosen One to finally find him (of course, they’re right, but no one had any way of possibly knowing that). katara and zuko are obvious foils whose journeys mirror and intersect, but iroh and sokka are too, and they’re both there to support and guide their younger, less jaded family member, both in giving them the space and encouragement to be the best versions of themselves they can be, and also cautioning them or saving them once they get themselves into trouble due to their shortsighted impulsiveness.

the same way that zuko’s always yelling at iroh that he’s just a lazy old man who doesn’t understand the importance of honor is how i view katara’s rant to sokka that he “doesn’t do anything around camp” and “from now on, he’s on his own.” like, what does she even mean by him “being on his own”? his primary priority at all times is literally protecting her. he’s not the one making her do his laundry, their grandmother is. blame her, katara! (actually ykw i bet she does but just yells at whichever family member is in vicinity in that moment.) katara has every right to be bored and frustrated, but her anger is mostly misplaced (other than calling sokka sexist, that’s fair). and it’s clear that sokka doesn’t take any of what she says to heart anyway, because the entire time she’s ranting he’s just sitting there thinking about how they’re gonna get home without a boat.

what makes kanna so fascinating is that we only ever see her agreeing with sokka, but it’s clear she’s secretly rooting for katara, for her naive, impossible worldview to be somehow, against all odds, right. and when she is, when the avatar is revealed to be alive, kanna thanks her for bringing back the dormant hope she long thought gone for good. sokka, like kanna, has been utterly jaded, all and any sense of wonder pulverized by the war. but aang and katara bring it back, through their sheer optimism against all odds, their sense of adventure, their commitment to justice, and their dedication to preserving their childhoods amidst all the grief and violence they’ve had to suffer.

[that-bajan-kid]

The live action atla series was... ok. It wasn't as bad as i thought it would be, but it could have been better. It could have been so much better.

The actors weren't the problem, it was the way the characters were written. If u look at these kids in interviews u see the vision. Like that is them. The chemistry is immaculate, the personalities are perfect, like its the gaang brought to life.

And then u watch the series and its like, where did that personality go? Like Katara? Bro Katara got done so dirty. They should have let Kiawenttio do her thing cause wtf was that.

And Aang was a little too serious for my liking. Gordon as Aang was perfect casting but the writers did not do my boy justice.

Sokka was kinda just there for the most part, he didnt really do much which is disappointing. Bro didnt have an arc or anything. Ian did a good job being sokka but the writing wasn't giving.

Zuko was amazing as always, Dallas really did him justice, but i feel like they paid more attention to him and his relationship with Iroh than they did with the rest of the cast.

They showed Ozai way too much. Most of the time he was just standing around being a troll and giving his kids trauma in a season he's not suppose to be in.

They made azula seem too insecure. Like where did her confidence go? Like we know she has insecurities but they're not supposed to be her main defining character trait.

Mai and Tylee didn't do anything. Like they literally added nothing to the plot. You could take them out and nothing would change.

Don't even get me started on that god awful spirit world plot omfg. The story itself felt kinda rushed too. The special effects, costumes, and casting were all phenomenal, the writing just wasn't giving as much as it could.

tldr; The actors did a great job with what they were given. Unfortunately, what they were given wasn't much.

[yell0wsalt]

🍬 🧩 🦴 -> for the ask game pretty please, amarillo <3

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

Katara wasn’t done all that dirty in LOK.

She’s like 80 years old— Why would she get involved with fights in LOK? The story wasn’t about her. But Korra. You know, the Legend of Korra. 

She already did her part as a young adult, ending the 100 years war, post-war reconstruction, and training Korra as a kid. I know people in the show can still kick it at that age in the show, --shoutout to Bumi-- but he is an anomaly. People in their 80s are worn down and tired.

LET THE WOMAN REST.

Also I’m not completely sold on the idea of a statue being “needed” for her. Yes, she took on a leadership role several times throughout ATLA, but she wanted to inspire people to take initiative for themselves. It wasn’t necessarily about her. She wanted to do her part to end the war. I don’t know how she would feel about that kind of attention directed on her unless it made sense.

Also, where would it be? It's logical for Aang’s to be in the United Republic, Zuko’s in the Fire Nation, and Toph’s in RCPD HQ and Zaofu. 

It's not clear what other things she may have done in her adulthood, so who knows! Not all the parts of RC or SWT in Korra's time were shown, leaving a lot to interpretation.

If she focused on work to make healing more accessible and setting up a hospital in RC, then yeah put one up there! As long as it's believable, then sure, why not have a statue of Katara be erected

🧩 ⇢ What will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

There are several subjects that will make me hit that back button so fast. But one is when there is an exaggeration of hatred towards certain men in the ATLA/LOK fandom.

What bothers me about them is when negative traits are cast on them solely to push a shipping agenda. They typically sound OOC and I can hardly recognize the character I’m supposed to be reading about. 

It is possible to go forward in one’s shipping agenda without completely villainizing one of the characters involved. 

It gets worse when the hatred is extended to other parts of the fandom and makes you question whether we all watched the same show.

🦴 ⇢ Is there a piece of media that inspires your writing? 

Usually music is what inspires my writing. Sometimes I’ll associate songs with certain character or ships and the storytelling in songs provides a good flow. Especially if I want to punch up a fic with emotions that may be more sad, angsty or even spicier when I'm looking to tap into more NSFW stuff

Let's play Truth or Dare

[cabbageslost]

Characters of NATLA thoughts

Because we're not at all sick to death of picking this over yet. ROFL Thoughts on Aang as presented in the live-action. (And not commentary on acting chops, but on the show's story choices.)

I may share thoughts about others eventually, but I'm starting with Aang because the whole dang show is named for him and so he IS the main character. Taking away his outward tendency to be "fun" was, I think, a disservice. Part of the charm of OG Aang, part of what made him So Very Perfect for the current war-torn world was that he had literally never lived with the stresses of war. He had to work, he had to train, he even had to deal with the fallout of being told he was the avatar and having his peers look at him differently because of it. But he was still full of joy, and mischief, and curiosity. He knew how to live in a world at peace. 100 years later and no one knows how to do that - he is the perfect one to show them how because for him, it was just yesterday. So taking that away was the wrong tactic, I think. I mean, my guy didn't even get to show off his marble trick. They also decided to have him just happen to be away from the temple, on a clear-my-head ride on Appa, when the attack happened. He didn't run away in this one. I actually didn't hate this choice. What I did dislike was that he KNEW he didn't "run away", but never bothered to reassure the people that he didn't choose to leave them when he was accused of doing so. It makes it harder to see why he'd feel such guilt, basically, if he wasn't running. And I mean, in the original, he wasn't actually running because he was told he was the Avatar. He had still been around the temple after learning that. He was running from the news he overheard that the monks were going to separate him from Gyatso - the one person who still treated him like AANG first and foremost rather than the Avatar. It's a difference. But it's one I could see being easily muddled in a 12 yr olds head, and he did still choose to run, so in the original his guilt makes sense. I also prefer the original's way of having his new friends (Katara - who is the next person to see him as Aang first and foremost) help him through it, pointing out that he likely couldn't have done anything then and that he's here NOW when the world needs him. I mean, it was cool to get to see Gyatso again, but.. enh. Wasn't needed, didn't make as much story sense, and took away a moment that cemented some of the solid bonds between the core Gaang.

And my biggest I'll-die-mad change of all.. him deciding to NOT back Katara up when they got to the North. I mean, it bugged me since the start that they didn't have them excited to learn waterbending together. I figured they'd get there but it never happened. It's a very Aang-focused choice, when one of the things that made him awesome was thinking of others most of the time. And then for the whole journey North, they didn't show a lot of bond-forming between the core trio along the journey, skipping over most of it. We're told that they're friends, but it's much harder to be invested in it when we don't get to see it really. All the small scenes that were cut were actually important for building those bonds. And then when we do get a deep one-on-one moment, Katara comes to vent to Aang - supposedly her close friend - that Pakku says she shouldn't learn to fight. And Aang - who in the original was young, was at times unsure of himself and scared, but who always ALWAYS had unwavering belief in his friends being capable and pride in specifically Katara's talents - Aang in this version tells her Pakku's in the right. That basically if she works towards her dreams, she's in the way of him doing his job as Avatar. And this change is the one I will never forgive them for. Friendship was one thing that was so central to the spirit of the original, and they did it dirty.

[tuiyla]

NATLA Ep. 1 "Aang" thoughts

It might not be the Avatar but it's still an Avatar show which means I'm giving it the respect of not doing anything else while watching, so I'm not gonna liveblog, as such. BUT, I do have many many thoughts after just episode 1 so before I proceed I'm gonna digest a bit and do a word vomit of those thoughts. Maybe I'll get around to a more in-depth and critical examination later after watching the whole thing but for now, a few thoughts here and there. Spoilers inbound.

The opening

The first huge difference is of course how the whole thing kicks off. Trust me, despite having been a huge ATLA fan for over 15 years I'm not trying to approach this in a way where I automatically shit on everything the new show changes. It's a different era, different medium, different audience. Well, in a way. So some changes are outright necessary and, in some cases, even good! Therefore I don't automatically roll my eyes because we don't open with Katara's narration and the Southern Water Tribe. Modern audiences, Netflix audiences are more fantasy savvy than Nick's target audience in 2005 so it makes sense to open with the war's beginning. I'll even take the Sozin scene, though it feels a bit wrong, in a way, to introduce a character like him so early on. I wanted to say, without much sense of threat, too, but it's not live action movie Ozai levels bad and we do get our arguably most brutal scene when Sozin straight up burns an earthbender from pretty much inside out. This level of violence is something I'll perhaps get into more in another post but long story short, I think it's the right amount. This ain't a Nick cartoon anymore but it's also not gratuitous. What it is, is war.

Part of the opening is the intro, of sorts, a twist on the beloved opening sequence as narrated by Katara. The twist itself, I'm okay with, but I have Feelings on Kyoshi being our narrator that are again for a more in-depth look. In short, it makes no thematic sense for it to be the Avatar from before the last to narrate this. I know Kyoshi is the fan favourite, pun intended, but that's all the justification they have. If anyone other than Katara, who is done dirty by taking her narration away btw, it should be Roku. You know, the actual last Avatar? Having it be Kyoshi is fan service as much fans are symbolic of her. Bad pun, I know. I haven't seen ep 2 yet but do tell me we're shifting to Katara, pls pls pls. Another gripe I have is the title, "Aang", since the OG show has such beautiful symmetry with its first and last ep titles but this is a nitpick. Also, nothing to indicate that this is the season of water? Titling the seasons after the elements matters very much.

And then, just when I think we're jumping to 100 years later, we meet Aang. I'm already going into more detail with thoughts here than I intended but I just do not like how we drag this on and on. Show Aang's backstory and the details of the attack later, mid-season. Yes, like the original did it, because the original did it for a reason and that's to not info dump in the very first episode and have sloppy exposition that would have felt more natural had it been delayed for later. We don't need to know everything about the world and the role of the Avatar right away. I do like how the Aang and Gyatso relationship was established but we didn't need All That, and we could have had the vast majority if not all of this as a flashback later on. Random idea, but maybe even in the episode where Zuko's backstory is covered. I'm really innovating here, I know. I'll explain why this was too much in another post, maybe, but for now I'll say the positive that I do think these scenes are done well, I just don't like their placement. And I don't like what we're doing to Aang's ch in terms of his responsibility and role so far, such as him not actually wanting to Run Away run away, but I'll wait and see where they take him for the rest of the season.

Wolf Cove

Omg what, the Southern Water Tribe? Finally. The ch who started off the whole thing in the OG appears 21 minutes into this episode, almost the length of an entire ATLA ep. So far, the sibling dynamic is Fine. Again a bit too heavy on the exposition but what can you do when you cut Katara's opening narration about their family and tribe. Some things I take issue with include the way Katara breaks the iceberg open, i.e. lack of feminist rage and in general her lack of strong presence in this first installment. It feels like they're trying to give Sokka more but you can showcase Sokka without making it feel like Katara is less of a presence, less of a driving force, and frankly more of a kid than she is in the OG. I do like her and the actress, her interactions with Aang and role in the story just feel lacking so far. And then they actually include her intro word for word, just said by Gran Gran! Like yeah we know Katara tells the story like Gran Gran told her but damn, straight up theft.

I'm also not satisfied with Kanna's place in the story. Her breaking the news to Aang feels flat and devoid of the tension that was present in the OG where Aang and Katara put two and two together on their own. Also no goodbye to Gran Gran? No big sendoff to her grandkids? No speech about destiny? Disappointing. What is done well is the sense of dread when the Fire Nation ship arrives at the village and Zuko's whole entrance, that's good. But again, he and Iroh give away way too much way too early about his mission and banishment and such. You guys, you have a whole season to get into it, why rush. I have a fear as to why they're rushing but we'll see. It just feels like a rookie mistake to try and shove so much into the first ep. We get it, the world is so much bigger and these chs so much richer than they first seem but that's the point, the audience will watch and learn as the season goes on. Just because Avatar has all this lore way beyond the first installment doesn't mean we have to go back to Wan and explain everything before we can head to the North Pole. I joke and exaggerate, but there were times I rolled my eyes at the dialogue. Again, not Shymalan levels bad but that is not where the bar should be.

Overall

I have less to say about the Southern Air Temple as it is quite brief, all things considered and because we already got so much of it before even making it to the present. I do think it's funny people thought the live action would let the story breathe more just because the eps are longer because look, here we are, three 23 minutes eps shoved into less than an hour with expanded stuff from the very beginning. This is not it breathing more because there aren't 20 eps to work with. They have a lot of content to get through and as a viewer you can feel it, which doesn't bode well. The whole script does have this first/second draft smell which is sus, when this thing has been in development since at least the end of 2018 and the OG eps it's based on just turned 19. Yeah, that's right, nineteen.

As for things like the visuals, the costumes, the acting, the score, bending, I think it'll make more sense to pass a judgement at the end of the season. Besides, what I'm most interested in is the script and I don't pretend to know much about things like costuming. First impression, it looks good. CG is a bit stifled at times but I like how oversaturated it often is, especially with the nations' colours. It's probably the closest we'll ever get to Avatar in live action and I'm okay with that, since I still believe they should stick to animation anyway. But yeah, good. Nothing mindblowing and bending so far but I'd also rather it didn't try to razzle dazzle with just flashy CGI and no substance. As is, there's not too much substance so far anyway so I'm waiting for subsequent eps to be more confident in what they're doing, whether that's building on or steering from the source material.

[juniperhillpatient]

Please don’t kill me, friends, but I’m going to express a potentially unpopular opinion. This is a bit of a hot take to put out there on Atla Tumblr & possibly batting a hornet’s nest as I know this is something a lot of people feel strongly about but I just don’t think the problem with Azula’s arc was sexism.

I keep seeing this get brought up & i understand where the argument is coming from to an extent but I also think it’s…. not truly accurate? The writers gave us a lot of incredibly nuanced, well written female characters. Katara is probably the member of the Gaang apart from Aang & Zuko who gets the most focused personal development journey. We get a lot of different types of leading ladies too, with Katara & Suki as badass warriors with soft compassionate sides, Toph as more brash & gender expectations defying in more obvious ways, Yue as soft & not necessarily a fighter but perhaps the bravest & most selfless & honorable character in the series. And it’s not like the guys aren’t occasionally done a lil dirty too? Sokka is sometimes a very nuanced character with a complicated way of coping with & repressing trauma, other times he’s the butt of every joke. I’m pretty sure I’ve made clear my opinion that no character was done quite as dirty by the writers as Jet.

Like…. All of the characters, side & main cast alike are interesting & well written for the most part with some areas that could be improved. I just do not see a gender pattern here. I think Azula’s ending is SAD & I’ve written like a million essays on how i think it could’ve been changed to improve the show’s ending to feel more satisfying. But I don’t really think it’s…..sexist. Sorry, I just keep seeing this opinion & I’m sort of having trouble with it.

(Edit to say I made this post specifically wanting people to reply with perspectives on this so I can understand whether i ultimately agree or not. I made it unrebloggable because I get anxious if my opinion posts start spreading around to a bigger audience than my little circle)

[theowritesfiction]

'The Crossroads of Destiny'

Aaah, here we go with the epic finale of Book 2, I have been waiting for this.

Azula ordering the Dai Li around like a queen... you know, I'm not even surprised that people watch the entire show and then are shocked to find out that she's 14. Which just makes her that much more amazing, obviously. What really makes this scene for me, though, is Ty Lee just cheerfully making tea for her girls nearby, enjoying Azula's speech and simping hard. And Mai is just loving it.

Aang lying to his friends about mastering the Avatar State... umm no I'm still salty about the previous episode and this ain't helping. 30 more Jerk Points.

Okay, Iroh using his fire breathing trick to escape Azula's trap was very neat. I love how Iroh facepalms when Zuko states that he's going to face Azula. And Azula just plays it so cool. 'You're so dramatic, Zuko.' lmao, he really is. <3 Agni Kai? lol, no thank u. I love this girl. <3

Iroh pleading with Gaang to help him save Zuko... I mean, on one hand I like that he's not proud enough to ask because he cares about Zuko that much. But on the other hand, I am still salty when he claims that there's good in Zuko, while unwilling to see anything but rot and evil in Azula.

I love the little scene when the Dai Li agent reports to Long Feng in his cell, the agent just can't stop going on about how great Azula is. Okay, guy, we get you, she really is that great.

The crystal catacombs scene with Katara and Zuko was pretty much a starting point for one of my early atla fanfics, so I've done my fair share thinking about this scene already. But it would be silly not to acknowledge how defining it is for a large part of the fanbase. I mean, this is the scene that pretty much kickstarted Zutara. And even if I no longer actively ship them, I have to admit, Katara and Zuko just have strong chemistry. Katara touching Zuko's scar, the looks they exchange when Katara leaves, it's all there if you want to look for it.  

But I have to say... Katara claiming that she was saving the spirit oasis water for 'something important' when offering to heal Zuko's scar now just makes me think back of Lake Laogai and become angry. The writers did Jet dirty, and they also did Katara dirty by implying that she would let Jet die and not consider him important enough to save his life? Screw that. We all know that Katara would have stayed behind and saved Jet. This is a shameful plot hole.

And I do love the twist of Aang dying because Katara is unable to save him because she healed Jet or Zuko prior to Azula's lightning blast. I love it when a character as hopeful and pure is sent spiraling towards full emotional breakdown and descending into darkness, as I believe watching Aang die would do to Katara. It's a tempting scenario for me to explore.

Iroh's conversation with Aang as they make their way to the catacombs... Iroh validating Aang's terrible decision not to unlock the Avatar State, you don't know what you're talking about, old man, so stop flapping your gums. 40 Jerk Points for terrible advice.

I love the scene of Toph and Sokka trying to alert the Earth King. Azula is like... I'm not even going to lower myself to fighting those two. She just ends the fight by threatening Kuei. But I love how she lets the girls have a bit of fun with Toph and Sokka. I still love the Sokka/Ty Lee flirting. Sure Sokka, you're 'involved' with Suki. You've spent less time with Suki than you have with Ty Lee. The triple-cross of Long Feng is perhaps the most iconic Azula moment. I think it's very interesting that Azula invokes the divine right of rule as her political legitimacy, when I don't think that Zuko ever refers to it - even if it IS the only reason why he has any claim on the Fire Nation throne.

Zuko making his choice... I'm trying to see how it could come across as Azula manipulating him into making the 'wrong' choice, but... she really doesn't. This decision is all Zuko. Okay, when Azula promises Zuko that he will have his father's love, she is obviously saying what Zuko wants to hear. But at the same time, Azula has a very warped understanding of what their father's 'love' even is. She thinks she has it, but we know she doesn't, not really. It's all conditional, and Zuko coming back home as a fellow conqueror of Ba Sing Se fulfils these conditions so... it's not that Azula is even lying here. And unlike on my first watch of the show, I'm not even mad at Zuko for his betrayal. It's so understandable to me now that I can't even give him Jerk Points for it.

Okay these are some of the most iconic fight scenes in the show between the four kids. Zuko for once is able to put up a good fight against Aang. Azula fighting Katara means everything to me. <3 I had forgotten how well matched those two are and Katara almost gets the better of Azula. <3 Azula using her blue flame jets to completely destroy Aang. Zuko and Azula teaming up to overpower Katara... just amazing scenes. Zuko and Azula working together are so deadly. <3

The scene of Sokka and Toph liberating Bosco is so sweet and funny. Ty Lee trying to teach the bear how to hand walk <3 Mai not even bothering to put in any effort to defend a stupid bear. Yeah, she's soooo afraid of Azula punishing her, right?

Iroh turning traitor and allowing Katara to escape with Aang was a decision that has always fascinated me, because I think that Iroh is a more complex character with more complex motivations than to just decide 'well I've finally realized who the good guys are and so I'm going to go against my nephew and stand with them'. There are myriad of other explanations. The death of the Avatar would mean the loss of hope and likely collapse of all remaining resistance. Maybe Iroh simply did not wish something like that on Zuko's hands. Or maybe he's playing a long political game.

I think the final exchange between Azula and Zuko is almost wholesome? Azula has absolutely no reason to treat Zuko decently here if she didn't want to. I don't think Ozai ever ordered Azula to capture the Avatar, so she doesn't need Zuko as her fall guy for that, because that wasn't even her task. Wasn't her task to bring back the Fire Nation traitors, Zuko and Iroh? Task achieved. She did not necessarily have to bring them both back in chains. Capture of Ba Sing Se also wasn't Azula's goal. She just saw an opportunistic chance to do it and acted upon it. And now she has a massive success under her belt with which to further endear herself to Ozai. Again, why should she share this success with Zuko, unless she actually wants her brother back?

Anyway, I've rambled long enough. This was a great conclusion to Book 2, and I'm looking forward to Book 3! In the meantime, here are the final Jerk Point standings for Book 2, and we congratulate Iroh with a well deserved victory!

Jerk Points for Book 2:

Iroh - 600 Long Feng - 560 Aang - 320 Azulon - 300 Ursa, General Fong  - 200 Zuko, Toph - 120 Ozai, King Kuei - 100 Sokka - 70 Bumi, Lao Beifong - 50 Pakku - 30

[northerngoshawk]

3, 19, 25 for choose violence!

thanks for the ask peaches!!

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

hmmmm this is an interesting question. i try not to get involved with shipping/character discourse because I know for a fact that i'll just get mad and break something.

with that being said, someone else's answer reminded me of this, and that was the screensho that said aang was just as bad of a father as ozai. which... W H A T ?

there's just so much fandom twisting of aang that i feel like i shouldn't have been surprised... but i was. i just... i can't. i can't deal with a take like that. so i'm just gonna pretend i've never seen it and move on with my happy little fandom corner 😌

hmmm... what were we talking about again?

there was another take that's just fandom culture in general that is not nearly as bad, but it still boils my blood. i once got into an argument with a dude who believed that if the creators of atla had spelled everything out explicitly, then there wouldn't be as much drama over ships and stuff, i.e. if the atla creators had shown every single moment of kataang in the show/explained every little motivation of the characters, then there wouldn't be such bad takes floating around on the internet.

first of all: no, that's not how fandom works. second of all: storytellers don't spell out everything for a reason. they craft the narrative in such a way that the audience should be able to pick it apart and understand the motivations/actions of a character in the heat of the moment... especially in the heat of the moment. i could go on and on, but i don't have that much time, so i'll just leave it with this:

SHOW, DON'T TELL.

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

hmmm... maybe platonic azulaang? i don't actually like them in canon or anything, it's more of like... in an alternate universe where they were both friends, what would their dynamic be like? i think it would be the utter hilariousness of it all that intrigues me about them. i don't think i would've even considered had i not seen some fanart of them meditating, with aang being very mellow and azula looking at him in confusion.

still, platonic and in an alternate universe. mostly i'm just indifferent to the ship and the possibility in canon.

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

anything that's tagged with "[character] deserves better" has got me IMMEDIATELY side-eyeing them, especially if it's aang or katara. mostly katara, cuz a certain sector of the fandom loves to rant about how the creators did her dirty by pairing her with aang and proceed to demonize him while uplifting poor uwu zuko who's never huwt a fwy.

fun fact (or not so fun, depending on how you look at it): i was doing this poll on what atla female character they think gets done dirty by fandom - highlighting this because it's important. then one day, i was just minding my business, going about my day, when i decide to check the poll. i open the app, notice that there's been some activity, and silly old me decided to check out my notifs.

and holy. crap.

someone had rbed the poll with an entire essay. in the tags. about why it was katara and how she was done dirty by bryke. like, i literally had to keep scrolling to get to the end of the rb. and like. yes, i'm fine with the poll reaching other fandoms. but also. please note that i literally said in the question, "by fandom."

when i tell you i was so tempted to tell them, "see you just proved my point"...

but i didn't. i just quietly clicked their profile, blocked them, and logged off tumblr.

ohhhhhhhhhhh boi 🫠

choose violence ask game

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender (Season 1)

And so the trend to try and adapt a beloved anime, manga or an American animated series to live action continues. It isn't uncommon that the fans demand it or someone has a vision to bring such beautiful piece of art to the big screen. It just the fact that each attempt has been a disaster or has completely missed the point of the source material. Not everything in animation translates to live action so changes have to be made for an audience to digest the information. Which in this case, was a travesty since the rich themes of identity, personal growth, fear, loss and the power of hope is what made the original animated series a masterpiece. Such themes that connected with children and adults alike is what made the series such a massive draw. Now we all know how horrible the 2010 film adaptation so there’s no need to retread those waters. You can say that expectations were tempered going into this new Netflix adaptation with all the problems that existed internally. To be fair, I will not continue this review by comparing every aspect of the original series to this new live action version, but I will always encourage you all to seek out the original series. That being said, I will save my biggest critiques at the end. Now, I went into this series with the single hope that it would be as close as possible to the original series. Well, this was a better adaptation that captured a certain percentage of what made the cartoon special, but you can feel the tug of war going on from the very first 3 episodes. This version wanted to establish that there is a dark and grittier edge to it, but also show the light hearted and fun nature of the adventure across the different nations and the lessons each character learns. In my opinion, for every great moment this series provides and gets right, there was an empty void where any connection to original show or even to the characters themselves was severed.

Gordon Cormier was really good as Avatar Aang. In many ways, he nails the character’s many emotional states as he slowly comes to grips with the loss of his Air nomad friends and mentor. He captured the pain in the Aang’s heart and also his childish humor in many scenes. I wish he had more time to actually grow out of his reluctant hero stage instead barreling through the most formative moments with his new friends. Lim Kay Siu was wonderful as Air nomad mentor Gyatso and I loved the emotional bond they had in the beginning of the show. Their chemistry was very strong and was the life blood for Aang. Kiawentiio was good as Katara and I felt she was done dirty in this show. She felt too sheepish at times and I wished she was more strong willed. She had her self doubts which is part of her arc, but I wish her steadfast nature was way more present. Everything was handed to her and she never really earns her upgrades in a selfless way as she comes off as more selfish when with Aang. Aside from a major missing character trait, Ian Ousley was excellent as her older brother Sokka. He nailed the characters' strength and humor, but I do wish he was a little bit more awkward. The family drama between Sokka and Katara was great and I liked the way it was resolved even if it was too quick. The 3 of them together make for a decent group, but I didn't feel as if they were really bonded. It felt as if they were following Aang as extra characters instead of being his friends and actual new emotional core of his heart. Utkarsh Ambudkar was awesome as the King of Omashu / Bumi. His playful nature was on full display and his message about making the hard decision as the Avatar and in his own way, as a King, was heard. He isn't the mad genius you love, but more the war torn and world weary older man. Maria Zhang was great as the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, Suki. She was strong, had a good and ambitious heart. Her instant chemistry with Sokka was cool and I loved their training montage. I wish they took more time to develop the eventual love story between them instead of just jumping right into it.

Dallas Liu was fantastic as Prince Zuko. He nailed his obsessive desire to capture Aang and bring him back to the Fire Nation. His story was a bit more fleshed out as we get to see the deeper emotional toll of his father's banishment. Dallas also nails the physicality of the character and I enjoyed every action scene. You feel the desperation, pain and overall need to please nature of his broken spirit. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee was great as his guardian and beloved character, Uncle Iroh. He is such a layered character and in the amount of time we get with him, it isn't wasted. I really liked that his past as a warlord was brought up and you see his regret. He is always been the nurturing core for Zuko and he was exactly that for this version of the series. Daniel Dae Kim was perfect as Fire Lord Ozai. He was the tyrannical lord of the Fire Nation that we all know and I loved how cold and unflinching he was in his tactics. There was a moment where I thought we were about to see an emotional side of him come out, but I'm glad I interpreted it wrong. It wasn't a father's care that was being shown to Zuko, it was more disappointment and shame and that was rough. Ken Leung was awesome as Commander Zhao and he nailed the characters arrogance and hunger for respect and power. He wanted forge his legacy in the Fire Nation and I loved his ambition and dedication. He was an excellent adaptation of the villain. On the other hand, we have a character that is not supposed to be focused on so heavily in the first season. Elizabeth Yu was good as Princess Azula, but I believe she missed the point of the character. She is supposed to be the absolute polar opposite of her brother Zuko and truly her "father's daughter". Where Zuko shows doubts and emotion, she shows rage, venom and ice cold dedication to setting the world ablaze. Here she is doubtful, second guessing and sometimes winey as hell. The actress did what she could, but she is the second character in this show that I think was done dirty.

Takeshi Furukawa takes over the reins as the series composer and he did an epic job. He nailed the emotional beats and made the action even more intense. He incorporates some of the original themes from the animated series and a favorite song returns as well. I do miss the touch of Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn, but Takeshi did a wonderful job. Visually, the show was torn between vibrance and darkness and I wish they leaned more into the vibrance of the worlds without the dark overcast in almost every location. Like I said before, there were so many things that rubbed me the wrong way as this adaptation completely rushes past or condenses so many arcs for the sake of time. The first 20 minutes of the show was a mistake in my opinion, because we see the Air Nomads being wiped out instead of hearing about. Sometimes the stories about an event are more heartbreaking than actually seeing it. That 20 minutes could've been condensed to dialogue like the opening of the animated series. Princess Azula and her friends should have never been introduced in this season until the very last shot of the show. That's precious time wasted to build her up instead of forging Team Avatar. Aang needed to connect more with his new friends and rely on them instead of his dead mentor. That's why they never felt like a team or a new found family for Aang. This show really would've benefited from a 10 episode run instead of 8. In the end, it all boils down to the question of “Was this a faithful adaptation to the original animated series?” I would say that its a good cover album that takes too many artistic liberties and misses the many notes that made the first album a masterpiece. Fans like myself will like it better than the 2010 abomination, but will still see the major flaws. I highly recommend going back and watching the masterpiece the original series is, but if you don't, you'll still be entertained by this adaptation. Let me know what you thought of the show or my review in the comment below. Thanks for reading!

[sugarqueen-katara]

Katara’s humour is underrated

I don’t know what everyone is on about when they say Katara isn��t funny. She is genuinely funny especially in season 1. 

this might be a but long post due to all the pictures. So, just in case...

Just in The Waterbending Scroll (B1, E9), Katara makes 2 jokes

Example 1:

Example 2:

Another one from Book 1 that came to mind:

This one is from The Nothern Air Temple (B1, E17)

There are other funny Katara moments in Book 1 (like the Sokka’s instinct one from The Fortune-Teller) but I think you get the idea.

I also looked to see if I could find any funny moments in the other books. Although it was harder I did manage to find this one from The Library (B2, E10)

Then why is she done so dirty in Book 3? 

Katara’s sense of humour is based more on sarcasm, explaining why she doesn’t make very good jokes in Sokka’s Master (B3, E4). She can’t just crack a joke whenever she wants to. What i’m trying to say it happens in a more natural way. But that doesn’t mean she’s not funny. Although she may not be making jokes every two seconds, when she does make one it is actually funny. Now maybe sarcasm is just my type of humour but i really think we should give Katara more credit for it.

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

Zutara - The southern raiders but Hama is there

Katara: “Do you know who I am?

Yon Rah: “No. I’m not sure.”

Katara: “You better remember me like your life depends on it! Why don't you take a closer look?”

Yon Rah: “Yes, yes, I remember you now.  You're that little Water Tribe girl.”

Katara: “She lied to you. She was protecting the last waterbender!”

Yon Rah: “Who?”

Katara: “ME!”

Yon Rah: “I was just following orders! The new fire lord ordered the hit on your mother! He’s who you want!”

Zuko: “What? My father ordered you kill her mother?”

Yon Rah: “Yes! Do you want to know why?”

Katara: “YES!”

Yon Rah: “This was just after Ozai’s coordination, after his father Azulon was assassinated by Ozai’s wife, Ursa! She was banished because of it! Ozai learned about this witch from who managed to escape prison using some unholy magic to control people’s bodies! He lead us to believe that the monstrous waterbender has returned to the south pole and so his first order of business was to send the southern raiders!”

Katara and Zuko turn to Hama.

Katara: “Is this true?”

Hama: “What does it matter child? He’ll say anything to avoid the punishment he deserves. We’ve come this far. Finish him!”

Yon Rah: “Wait! I did a bad thing! I know I did and you deserve revenge, so why don't you take your friend! The fire lord’s son! While your at it, you can take my mother? That would be fair!”

Hama: “I already took care of that.”

All: “WHAT!”

Yon Rah: “I didn’t exactly mean...”

Hama: “We’ve said enough! Now that this insect knows what it’s like to lose a mother, we can end this. Kill him Katara, kill him now.”

Katara: “I always wondered what kind of person could do such a thing, but now that I see you, I think I understand. There's just nothing inside you, nothing at all. You're pathetic and sad and empty.”

Hama: “Precisely, scum like him don’t deserve to live. Kill him!”

Katara hesitated, she turn to Hama.

Hama: “What are you waiting for? Do it!”

Katara turned to Zuko but he’s as confused on what to do as she is.

Hama: “This must a difficult task but you need to kill the killer of her mother! KILL HIM NOW!”

Katara: “As much as I hate you...I just can't do it.”

Katara closes her eyes and lowers her head. Without saying another word, Katara turns around and walks away; Zuko looks from Katara to Yon Rha, shooting the latter a last dirty look, and follows her. Hama constructed a water blade from the rain and stabbed Yon Rah in the heart.

Katara: “(Gasps horrified) What have you done?!”

Hama: “I ask you to do one simple task and this what I get? Just when I thought you couldn’t get any more pathetic. No matter, stand aside and I’ll deal with this scum prince for you.”

Katara: “No! Leave him alone!”

Hama: “What?! You’re protecting him!? Your mother would be ashamed of you!”

Katara: “You don’t know anything about me or my mother! You’re the reason she’s dead but I know you never meant for that to happen.”

Hama: “If you will not stand aside then I’ll end you first!”

Hama and Katara have an epic waterbender showdown, Zuko fight along Katara. They managed to stand triumphant over Hama.

Katara: “It’s over.”

Hama: “YOU TRAITOR!”

Katara: “No Hama. You became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people.”

Katara and Zuko leave without another word.

[allnewalldifferentwildspider]

Zuko & Katara's Relationship Dynamic

This is like the third or fourth time I've tried to write up this post so please bare with me.

Oh wow. That video. Hopefully everyone has seen it now. Not only did it articulate arguments I've been making for years, but it also brought up ideas I had never thought of or noticed before. Watching that and watching the second half of Book 3 again (because it's my favorite) made me want to redo my zutara dynamic post.

I'm going to be using the tiny bits and pieces the show gave us to see how Zuko and Katara's relationship looks and how it would look if they gave us more because...Bryke really fucking hated zutara. I mean, I guess they did.

Katara is compassionate; Zuko is empathetic

A lot of anti-zutara arguments have said that Zuko and Katara could never be together because they would constantly fight and hate each other and it end sooner than later. Not only does this actually describe maiko, but that argument would need to ignore the characters' actual character.

One of Katara's biggest character traits is how compassionate she is. She has a drive to help others and ease their pain. Whether it's getting Aang out of the iceberg or healing a Fire Nation fishing village, Katara will go out of her way to help someone in need.

Katara: No. I will never ever turn my back on people who need me.

Zuko is very emotional and passionate person. As much as he tried to hide it to appease his father, Zuko does want to open up and connect with people. Unfortunately, aside from his uncle, most of the other people he knows are like Zhao and Azula. Not the most understanding of crowds. But because of this he can pick up what people are really thinking and feeling. Think of it as a defense mechanism he developed growing up around people like Azula.

Get these two kinds of people together and you get the crystal catacombs scene. Katara lashes out at Zuko until she breaks down. When she does Zuko opens up with empathy since they have something in common. This creates the beginning of an understanding between the two. Zuko uses that to finally open up to someone who isn't his uncle and Katara listens and reaches out to help. Contrast to the first episode of Book 3 when Zuko tries to voice his thoughts and concerns to Mai and she...doesn't really care.

Something similar happens during The Southern Raiders. Zuko figures out that Katara is taking out her anger of being separated from her father by The Fire Nation onto him and even connecting her mother's death to him.

It's not the first time Zuko has done this either. He easily figured out that Sokka was planning on going to The Boiling Rock. He does it again during Sozin's Comet when he tells Katara that Aang needs to figure out what to do about Ozai by himself.

There's a noticeable pattern of behavior by the time Sozin's Comet arrives. Zuko voices his concerns about meeting his uncle again and Katara is right there to help him through it.

Zuko's empathy combined with Katara's compassion creates almost a cycle of understanding and emotional vulnerability that the two can't really get with anyone else. One notices the other having concerns or problems and goes to give comfort by words or by actions.

Zuko still has a temper but so does Katara

Even after Zuko's fever dream character change thing, even after The Day of Black Sun, he still has it in him to yell at anyone who commits even the slightest transgressions against him:

Aang: That one felt kinda hot. Zuko: Don't patronize me. You know what it's supposed to look like. Aang: Sorry, sifu hotman. Zuko: And stop calling me that!

Sokka: So all we have to do is make Zuko angry. Easy enough. *pokes him with his sword* *annoying laugh* Zuko: All right! Cut it out!

Maybe it's the firebender in him or maybe he really is just like that. Basically if you annoy him, he'll let you know. What people sometimes overlook is that while it takes Katara a bit longer, she also gets worked up when people upset her.

Toph: What's the matter? Can't handle some dirt, Madame Fussy Britches? Katara: Oh, sorry, did I splash you, mud slug?

And remember, it was Katara getting angry at Sokka that even broke the iceberg that revealed Aang.

Katara: Ugh, I'm embarrassed to be related to you! Ever since Mom died I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier! Sokka: Uh... Katara? Katara: I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT! Sokka: Katara! Settle down! Katara: No, that's it. I'm done helping you. From now on, you're on your own!

The point is that it is both Zuko and Katara that are very passionate and emotional people. One of them isn't emotionally dominating the other because they both wear their emotions on their sleeves.

This also comes in to play when they set goals for themselves. When Zuko sets a goal, he puts everything into it. Katara is the same way. The difference is that Zuko's drive sometimes gives him a one-track mind while Katara is more flexible. Like for example Zuko being so focused on finding Aang before Sozin's Comet that he ignores Toph's story about her childhood versus Katara wanting to go to the North Pole but taking time to stop and help whoever they come across.

This passion also fuels their values and how strongly they stand by their beliefs. I already put The Painted Lady quote up above but Zuko's morality is what is making him so angry at himself during The Beach. He knows what he did was wrong, but he couldn't face it yet.

Sometimes their emotions get the better of them, but it's only because they are passionate about what they're doing.

Their natural teamwork is amazing

I can't provide a lot of clues in this bit because it's more of a visual thing. Just consider how flawlessly their plans worked during their attack on The Southern Raiders. Especially when you consider that it was a stealth mission so they barely even said anything to each other during and it still went incredibly well.

You could see it again during their mock battle with The Melon Lord. Sokka must have noticed because he paired them together to deliver some "liquidy-hot offence." And they pulled it off, again, without having to say anything.

They've only been a team for a few weeks(?), days(?) but they act as if they've been doing it for years.

They trust each other's judgment

Piggybacking of the previous point, Zuko and Katara have only been a team for a while but there seems to be a level of understanding in terms of judgement. They both know that whatever the other chooses is going to be a well-thought out decision. Maybe it's because they see each other as the mature members of the group even though Sokka is the same age as Zuko? I don't know.

Aang disappears right before they embark on their fight against the Fire Lord, and out of nowhere, Katara puts Zuko in charge.

Zuko: Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka. We have a real problem here. Aang is nowhere to be found and the comet is only two days away. Katara: What should we do Zuko? Zuko: I don't know. Why are you all looking at me? Katara: Well, you are kind of the expert on tracking Aang.

and that wasn't the first time in that episode that she went along with one of Zuko's decisions

Katara: Aang, don't walk away from this. *She begins to walk towards him as a hand touches her shoulder to stop her from doing so.* Zuko: Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself.

As a lot of people have pointed out during the entirety of The Southern Raiders, Zuko never gives a suggestion on what he thinks Katara should do. Aside from making it a stealth mission, he follows her lead the entire way.

Katara teases Zuko (and he lets her)

The fun one. This one has two parts: pre and post The Southern Raiders.

Before The Southern Raiders, Katara was tolerating Zuko. She was still angry with him about the betrayal at Ba Sing Se. Getting little jabs at him was the only thing that was really helping her from loosing her cool around him.

Katara: I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know... how it would have been nice for us if you lost your firebending a long time ago? Zuko: Well it's not lost. It's just weaker for some reason. Katara: Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are. Toph: Ouch.

He just finished yelling at Aang and Sokka but all he does is glare at Katara. She does it again, but to be fair, he kind of set himself up for it.

Zuko: It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old! Katara: Oh yeah? What's your little form called? Zuko: ...The Dancing Dragon.

Then comes post The Southern Raiders and...yeah, she's still picking on him and he still lets her. Granted it's a lot more playful this time around.

Zuko: They make me totally stiff and humorless. Katara: Actually, I think that actor's pretty spot on. Zuko: How could you say that? Actor Uncle: Let's forget about the Avatar and get massages. Actor Zuko: How could you say that?! (Cut back to Katara wearing a satisfied grin on her face and she looks to an expressionless Zuko as he slouches in his seat.)

I love pointing it out every time. She teases him and he does nothing about it.

Katara: Er, no. I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found this. Look at baby Zuko! Isn't he cute? Oh lighten up, I was just teasing.

And she admits it!

-

So what can we take away from this? From what little time they were given together (thanks, Bryke) it seems that Zuko and Katara really understand each other on an intimate emotional level. They can sense when the other is distressed and offer comfort. They're both passionate in and out of combat, for better or for worse. They're comfortable with each other as if they've known each other for years even though it's such a short time. Katara also likes to add a little bit of playfulness in there with Zuko letting her have her fun, again, showing how comfortable they are with each other.

I do think their relationship could have gone to romantic sooner than later if you would have given it a bit more time. Like first half of a hypothetical Book 4.

To me, at least.