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gladerwolfstarkimagines · 4 years

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Imagine being the reserved quiet niece of Ursa and cousin of Zuko and Azula, a powerful fire bender who catches Ty lee’s attention. You struggle to find a way to show her you return her affection until Azula threatens her....

(Note: this is loosely based on the comic the search which takes place after the tv show ended and follows Zuko finding his mother)

You’d grown up in a village terrified of the fire nation. Your family used to be the proud respected descendants of Avatar Roku....and then Fire lord Azulon showed up and demanded one of the line marry his son Ozai. Your aunt was stolen away just for being linked to a fire bender and so when you developed fire bending your family were horrified. They forbade you from ever using your bending but refused to explain why. So of course you ignored them and carried on working to be the best fire bender ever. You absorbed every technique you could read about and were advancing quickly....until your family caught you. They were furious but you were determined never to stop and so they saw there was nothing else to do but tell you the truth. They finally told you what fire bending had done to their family and urged you never to show your power. Who knew what the royal family would do if they knew you existed, if they’d take you too...and so you stopped. You stopped fire bending but you were restless, so much energy bottled up inside you, and so trained in other physical disciplines. Your family disapproved of your boisterous activities but they were better than fire bending so they allowed it. Even when your aunt returned from the fire nation they didn’t lessen their rules on you an inch. You listened to them dutifully but continuously felt the itch your fire in your palms. You vowed you would get to use your fire bending some day...some how.

8 years later

Your family had socially and physically isolated themselves so much you were unaware the war had ended even months after Zuko had been crowned. It wasn’t until said new fire lord appeared on your doorstep that you realised everything had changed.

You were outside with your little cousin Kiyi when a well dressed man appeared. You immediately identified him as some noble man from the fire nation or maybe even a royal and tensed. The fear instilled in you was strong and you swept your cousin behind you before getting in a defensive stance. "Who are you and what do you want?" you called adrenaline pulsing through you. The man started towards you and you drew the knife you always kept on you "don’t come any closer". The man raised his hands and you realised he wasn’t quiet a man yet, he was about your age and had an odd burn across his eye. "What do you want" you said louder and Kiyi clutched your legs. "I’m looking for a woman, Ursa...does she live here?". "No" you said "go away". "Are you sure?' he asked "please it’s important i find her, here’s a photo of her". He went to step forwards and you raised your hand. "Okay here" he said and put it down before walking away. You picked the photo up and before you could do anything Kiyi frowned "mommy!". "Mommy?" the boy asked confused "so you do know her? She’s here? I have to see her!". He started walking closer and wasn’t slowing down. You didn’t want him to get near you and so used your best attack. Your fire practically leapt from you after being supressed for so many years and hit him square in the chest sending him flying backwards. "Go away" you yelled loudly "now or i will hurt you". "Zuko!" someone yelled and you saw a group come running around the corner. "Kiyi run! Tell Ursa to run!" you yelled and turned to face them. You shot some warning jets of flame “leave now” you yelled trying to feign confidence. A girl dressed in blue threw up protection while a girl in pink worked her way towards you with super human agility. You fired at her but she dodged your flames as easily as if you were a beginner bender. The girl reached you and you switched to close range attacks and the two of you became locked in a close combat. “No stop!” the boy yelled but neither you or the girl stopped. The girl was dodging ever single attack you threw her but you were getting closer. You singed her t-shirt when the girl landed some punches along your muscles. Your body cramped in pain and you flinched clutching your arm. You raised your other arm but nothing happened. You raised both hands but again no flame. Your fire was gone. “My bending....” you gasped and the girl knocked the knife from your hand. “Ty lee stop it!” the boy yelled and the girl in pink simply backflipped back to the group. “I don’t know what you did to me but I still won’t let you take her” you growled. The others matched your defensive stance but the boy pushed past them “no leave her I think she’s my...” when a voice cut him off. "Zuko?". You turned to see your aunt running forwards her eyes fixed on the man. "Zuko!" she cried and rushed past you to throw her arms around him. They were both sobbing by the time the rest of your family arrived and you were utterly confused. "What’s going on?" you asked loudly and Ursa smiled "y/n dear it’s okay, this is my son Zuko, he’s your cousin, it’s okay!".

You family flocked around Zuko and all had similar reactions to Ursa. You watched still clutching your arm as they all headed to the house. The group with Zuko went to follow and you zoned in on the girl who had done this to you. “Hey you” you called at the pink girl. She glanced at you before bounding over “i’m Ty lee, it’s lovely to meet you, your fire bending is really pretty!”. “What did you do to me?” you cried in reply and the girls smile wavered. “Sorry about that, I’m sort of swore to protect your cousin so I had to attack you, i used Chi blocking on you don’t worry it’s not permanent”. “Chi what? That’s not important...what do I do to reverse it? Undo what you did!”. “ I can’t make it come back instantly” Ty lee frowned “it takes a while for your body to repair but it’ll come back soon I promise”. You stared at your hands “you swear it’ll come back”. “Totally” she smiled crossing her heart and you stared confused why she was so happy. Was she mocking you or something? You were about to ask her when your aunt called “Y/n come meet your cousins Zuko and Azula” and with a glance to Ty lee (who was still smiling) you made your way inside.

Ursa introduced you but that was all the encouragement Zuko needed, he seemed thrilled to have a cousin his age and launched into a thorough interogation to work out everything about you while his sister just glared. It was hard not to be caught up in his infectious happiness. He called over his friends to meet you and you noticed how proudly he called you his cousin, a large grin on his face. When the group reached you Zuko smiled “guys this is my cousin y/n! Y/n this is Sokka, Katara, Ty lee, Mai and Aang”. They all shot greetings at you and you blinked in reply. “Aang as in avatar aang....”. “Yeah” the boy smiled awkwardly and you stared “my cousin the firelord is friends with the avatar...the avatar and fire lord are in my house right now...”. “It gets old soon I promise” Zuko’s girlfriend Mai told you and everyone laughed. Zuko was called away by your adoring family but his friends stayed around you. They all began asking you questions excited to get to know you and arrived at your bending pretty soon. "You took Zuko out surprisingly easy" Mai smirked "you must be a skilled fire bender". You glanced at your elders worried but none of them were even listening, they were all staring at Zuko amazed. You’d never seen them look so relaxed before and it dawned on you that Zuko being fire lord would change everything. It would free your family from their fear and you smiled emotional at the thought. “Y/n?” the avatar asked bringing you back and you nodded "sorry yeah i’m a good fire bender" you admitted "well i guess...i’ve never had any training or actually met another fire bender". "Really?" Katara asked and when you nodded she smiled "so you’re a prodigy!" she cried and you blushed when someone started to laugh. You followed the laugh to it’s owner, your cousin Azula who was watching you with a cruel sneer. "A prodigy? How can she be growing up here?". You narrowed your eyes but another girl scolded her "you don’t need resources to be a prodigy that’s the whole point Azula" Ty lee snapped before turning back to you "I bet you’re awesome!" she smiled winking and you blushed.

Your family celebrated well into the night and you wanted to join them but something was worrying you...your bending still hadn’t returned yet despite what Ty lee had told you. You walked away from the house and practiced the basic moves you’d known since you were 5 but could conjure a single flame. “Maybe wait a bit longer?” a voice called and you saw the said cause of your predicament. “Sorry I don’t know exactly how long but they will come back I swear” Ty lee frowned. You frowned staring down at your hands “I’ve spent so long having to hide my bending and now I can show it, they’re gone”. “Only temporarily!” Ty lee assured you “but I get it and i’m sorry....it must’ve been hard hiding who you were all this time?" she asked and you nodded "i guess". Silence settled and Ty lee stared at you. "You don’t talk much" she observed and you blushed. “I noticed in the party you’re rather quiet, that does not run in common with your family” she smirked as your family could be heard from your position outside. "Sorry i was always told to never speak about what i can do and so to have an audience just waiting to listen....it’s pretty anxiety provoking". The girl frowned and laid a hand on your hand "i’m sorry i didn’t realise, we don’t have to talk about that, we can talk about something else". You didn’t get why the pretty girl was with you at all but suspected she felt bad for disabling your bending. "Thank you" you said politely and a silence settled again. You winced, fearing this would get awkward but Ty lee seemed to be a cunning socialite. "So what’s your favourite colour?". "My favourite colour?" you asked amused. Ty lee nodded "your aura is hard to read....you’re quiet hard to read actually and that intrigues me so humour me". You blushed as the beautiful chi blocker stared at you intensely and answered her questions.

A lot of time had passed and still the two of you were outside and Ty lee’s constant chattering broke past your nervous nature. "So what’s your life like?" you asked now more comfortable "growing up so high born must’ve been cool, so much power and freedom..." you said wistfully. Ty lee frowned and you were immediately worried you’d upset her. "I’m sorry have i...". "No" she smiled at you "you didn’t say anything wrong, you’re right, i had many opportunities women don’t get but they came with expectations and set backs" she said glancing back at the house "i did things i wasn’t proud of just to be different...you see i have 6 sister who look exactly like me and so i struggled to stand out and be different. I tried desperately to not fade into the background and guess i fell to extreme measures in the process". You frowned and Ty Lee sighed before smiling "but that was in the past! Now i’m a kyoshi warrior hired with the protection of the fire lord!” she cried “my life’s pretty good now”. “I’m pleased for you” you smiled and Ty lee smiled back at you. You noticed she had a habit of staring really intensely and with how beautiful and nice she was it was a bit too much for your tired state “we should go back to the party” you blushed looking down and Ty lee nodded “sure!” not seeming to notice the effect she had on you.

2 days later

Your cousins arrival had certainly shaken things up but things were slowly getting back to normal and your chores were still expected of you and so you took your cart into town to get the shopping like every week. You were almost back to the secluded area of you home when you noticed a group of green women on the path ahead. They all had their faces painted white and had fans. You frowned confused at the entourage your cousin travelled with when one of them popped out infront of you. "Y/n!" Ty lee cried "these are the women i work with the Kyoshi warriors, everyone this is y/n Zuko’s cousin" she said exposing you to the large group of women. "Hi" you smiled awkwardly and they all nodded to you “is Zuko okay?” you asked her. “Ow yeah Suki and the girls are just here to make sure it stays that way...that is a lot of shopping, do you need some help?" Ty lee asked looking at your full cart and you shook your head "i’m fine thanks". "Are you sure? It’s no trouble” she smiled and before you could protest she spun around to her friends. “Suki i’ll be back in a bit" Ty lee called and twirled back around to you. She hopped up beside you on the cart and you blushed as she perched on the armrest of your seat. “Lets go” she smiled.

Ty lee had a habit of finding you and joining you in whatever you were doing. You didn’t mind, she was nice company but that was also the problem. Any time she was around you became a soft slow thinking mess, made worse by Ty lee’s lack of boundaries and intense kindness.

Case in point, Ty lee was quiet for 3 seconds before she began complimenting you. "It’s so cool you can drive one of these things" she smiled and you blushed "it’s not hard really i snap it when i want the horse to go and pull it to stop...". "Well i still think that’s cool" Ty lee cried and you looked away so she wouldn’t see your blush. You’d have to learn to stop blushing around her or she’d realise you liked her. You reached your home and climbed down as Ty lee somersaulted off. You watched impressed before turning to the cart "if we unload it here that’ll be best". Ty lee nodded and watched you pick up three boxes. Ty lee stepped forwards and heaved two but they didn’t lift up. Ty lee frowned and tried again but they wouldn’t budge. "Those are probably a bit heavy" you frowned "try a bag". Ty lee lifted a bag of vegetables and then saw you discreetly lift the two boxes she’d been struggling with. "Wow you're so strong" she cried and you blushed "i’m not...” you stammered but Ty Lee wouldn’t drop it. "No you are i couldn’t move them and you just picked them up like that...i bet your arms are huge". Your blush was painfully obvious and there was no hiding it which made you angry, was she doing this on purpose? Why was she showering you in compliments if not to try embarrassing you? "I...i’m not...you're one to talk" you replied glancing at her toned physique before becoming horrified at what you’d just said and done. Ty lee didn’t seem to mind though she just blushed and carried on helping to unload the cart.

When you’d unloaded the cart Ty lee lingered as you sorted the supplies away and when you’d finished she still hadn’t made a move to leave. You liked being around her but knew you were so obvious with your crush she had to leave or she’d easily work it out. “So that’s all the shopping sorted, thanks for helping” you said and Ty lee smiled “no problem”. You nodded staring at her waiting for her to leave but Ty lee just smiled at you. “So i guess i’ll see you around?” you asked and Ty lee took the hint “ow i’m so sorry I bet you’ve got so much work...i’ll get out of your hair”. Ty lee smiled but you noticed she seemed a bit embarrassed and it killed you that you’d hurt her. So against the sensible part of your mind telling you to avoid the girl if you didn’t want to make a fool of yourself, you called after her. “Ty lee” you called “would you...do you want to stay for dinner?” you asked. “Really?” she asked smiling again and you nodded “we always cook too much so you’d be helping but of course you don’t have to...” you started when Ty lee cut you off. “I’d love to!” she cried and you nodded cheeks pink as you led her into the house. Zuko and Mai were inside already with your family and everyone looked up when you walked in together. “Y/n’s here great we can start” your grandmother smiled ��and she brought a guest”. “You all know Ty lee” you said awkwardly as Ty lee beamed beside you “y/n invited me! I hope you don’t mind”. You blushed as your family all told Ty lee she was welcome and made room for her beside you. “Your family’s so nice” she grinned at you and you blushed very aware of said family watching you and Ty lee very smugly...they knew you had a weakness for nice girls.

Mai was also watching and she smiled to see you blush any time Ty lee grabbed you or came close to you, two thing with Ty lee seemed to do to you a lot. Her friend has definitely brought her A-game.

You saw Ty lee around a lot, especially as your family seemed to find any excuse to bring the talented chi blocker anywhere near you. The excuses varied from sending Ty lee to help you with the horse, to calling you in for dinner, to having her bring you spare change on your daily errands. Ty lee seemed more than willing to help and no matter how crowded the room was she’d somehow notice you and make her way over to you. It didn’t matter who she was with she’d drop what she was doing and appear by your side, usually not moving away from you for the rest of the night. At first you found the constant attention and looks from your family embarrassing but you soon realised embarrassment was worth it just to have Ty lee by you. She made you feel special and important in a town and family that had always wanted you to be quiet. Ty lee seemed to make it her mission to get you to open up and you found you liked it. And her of course....a lot. The situation where you realised you couldn’t deny it anymore was when you ran into Ty lee in town. Ty lee surrounded by adoring suitors from your village what she caught sight of you. She called you over but never a fan of the boys your age you waved her away and expected that to be the end of it. Seconds later you heard heavy breathing and Ty lee appeared. "Phew your village has a lot of friendly people sometimes it’s a bit much...can I walk with you?”. You blushed realising she'd ditched all the boys in your town just for you and nodded "sure" and led her away from the group of simmering boys watching. As much as every encounter with her left you feeling dazed and humiliated at whatever embarrassing thing you’d done, you hoped Zuko would never leave so Ty lee could stay. You were well and truly smitten.

1 week later

Your whole family had been anxious for so long that when something did go wrong their response time was impeccable. You were all gathered out of bed minutes after Zuko called and stood around listening as he explained how his sister Azula had escaped his custody and was raising a revolt against him. You listened worried as your cousin explained what Azula was capable of and watched as everyone hurried to set protection plans in place. You wouldn’t be called on for your opinion or skills so you were just listening in the background when someone mentioned Ty lee. You perked up and noticed she wasn’t here. "I’m sorry but what was that about Ty lee?" you called and Zuko frowned "Azula kidnapped her, she took her as a hostage so we wouldn’t follow her". "What? We have to get her back!". Mai nodded "that’s the plan". "Well i want to help, if you need fighters i volunteer, I can leave tonight". "Y/n" your mother gasped but you shook her away "i’m a good fire bender I can help get Ty lee back". Zuko smiled "thanks y/n but were not actually planning on engaging with Azula". "But how will you get Ty lee back?". "Hopefully with a trade she likes those" Mai said dryly "it’s too difficult to sneak into Azula’s base so that’s our only option. She'll offer one we just have to wait". "Just wait?" you asked and Zuko frowned "I know it sounds backwards but we could do more harm than good attacking Azula". “That’s only if we lose” you pointed out and Zuko nodded “that’s true but my sister is hard to beat one on one and a group is too easy to spot, we’ll just have to wait”. You took in what Zuko said and fell silent. You stayed mute the rest of the meeting and may’ve seemed calm or passive to the others but you weren’t. You took in every single thing they said, every detail about Azula’s camp and snook away before the meeting had ended.

Azula’s camp was not as impressive as you thought it would be, just a small compound that was very easy to break into. Ty lee seemed to be the main prisoner and so you listened to some guards and found her location. You arrived outside the house you were sure Ty lee was being kept in and calmed yourself slowing your breathing and concentrating on what you were here to do. You waited for a guard to approach and took his keys before knocking him unconscious. You hid him in a shaded area before opening the door to Ty lee’s prison. You took out the first guard you saw with fire bending and he went down unconscious. A second tried to rush you but you winded him with fire bending and then kicked him over for good measure. The man fell over and went to get back up but your flared your fire "stay down" you yelled and he did. You straightened and looked around when a voice cried out to you. Relief flooded through your body to see Ty lee stood there and you rushed to her. "Ty lee! You’re....please tell me you’re okay?". She nodded "i’m fine! I can’t believe you’re here”. You smiled at her before spinning around to the conscious guard. "Open her cell!" you commend and the man scrambled to get it open. Ty lee swept out as soon as it was open and you pushed the two guards inside locking it and taking the keys. "You saved me" Ty Lee cried and she flung her arms around you. You hugged her back and smiled, going as pink as her top, "well i....we should go" you tugged Ty lee’s hand and noticed as she winced. "What’s wrong?" you asked and she shook her head "nothing lets go". "No you’re hurt...". You noticed how she stood awkwardly putting more weight on one foot and frowned "your ankle, you can’t walk". Ty lee shook her head worried how you’d escape if she couldn’t run "no i’m fine i promise". "I’m not letting you injure yourself more" you told her. Ty lee went to assure you she could exert it a bit more when you suddenly picked her up. Ty lee yelped as you carefully swept her up in your arms. "Is this okay? Does it hurt if I do this?". Now Ty lee was the blushing embarrassed one, you were holding her up so easily and securely, it was impressive. "It’s fine" she smiled "thank you" and you nodded. "Okay hold on" and took off into a run.

You made it back to your town with only minor incidences. It had been a rough night regardless and your arms ached painfully when you put Ty lee down having reached your home. Zuko and the others were still gathered inside and you hooked Ty lee’s arm around your neck helping her to the door. You pushed the door open and led Ty lee in. Mai glanced at you before doing a double take registering who was beside you. "Ty lee, you’re okay!" she cried rushing to hug her friend. You stepped away from her so Mai could hug her but rushed to grab Ty lee a chair. You seated it behind her and tapped Ty lee’s shoulder lightly. She took the seat shooting you a smile as the others all frowned. "But how?" Zuko asked. "Y/n" ty lee said proudly "she was amazing! She stormed Azula’s camp and carried me the whole way back!". Mai noticed how you brushed away Ty lee’s compliments and were blushing vividly. She also noticed how you stood protectively behind Ty lee and how Ty lee twisted in her seat to look up at you. "No it’s the bravest most valiant thing i’ve ever seen!" Ty lee cried and launched into a full blow by blow retelling. Mai watched as her oblivious friend made your blush worse and Mai smiled. It was clear you liked Ty lee but even clearer you didn’t realise Ty lee liked you too. Ty lee may come across as perpetually friendly but Mai could tell when she was just being nice and when she was genuinely impressed. Ty lee was indeed very impressed with you.

Ty lee’s POV

“I can’t believe you got yourself kidnapped” Mai scolded her and Ty lee rolled her eyes. Katara had worked on her ankle but it was a bad sprain so would take some time to heal. So Ty lee was forced to go to bed when all she wanted to do was help with the Azula problem. Mai however was very strict and seemed just as determined as you to make sure she was okay. “I didn’t mean to get kidnapped, plus it’s fine i’m back now!”. “Thanks to y/n” Mai commented and Ty lee nodded “I know, the way she risked everything just to help me...she’s really something” she sighed wistfully. Mai scoffed glaring at her and Ty lee paused “what?”. “You are not this clueless!”. “What?” Ty lee cried and Mai rolled her eyes. “You seriously don’t see that y/n is smitten with you?”. “What!” Ty lee yelled going pink “why do you think that?”. “Ow I don’t know maybe because she’s an introvert who avoids anyone but the two of you are always together, or because she brings you to her family dinner every week, or how whenever she’s around you she can barely look you in the eye without blushing....or how she tore down Azula’s camp risking her life just because you were there and then literally carried you back in her arms”. Mai sat next to Ty lee with a bounce and Ty lee stared “I....I never noticed”. “Figures, you never notice all the people infatuated with you but please tell me you realise you’re just as smitten for her?”. Ty lee blushed profoundly and looked down “i’m that obvious huh?”. “Yup, you’re not fooling anyone with all those excuses to run y/n’s errands with her”. Ty lee chuckled and then paused “you really think she likes me too?” she asked coyly. Mai rolled her eyes at how clueless her friend was but smiled despite herself ”definitely, so go get your girl”.

Your POV

After Ty lee was safely returned home and her ankle seen to by the healer Katara you promptly collapsed into bed. Your mission had been a resounding success but that didn’t mean you weren’t bruised and tired. You had just extinguished the candle when there was a knock on the door. You dragged yourself out of bed angrily and yanked open your door “what is....Ty lee?”. Ty lee stood there smiling at you and for once she didn’t have her signature confident aura. “Sorry were you sleeping? I can come back....”. “No it’s fine come in”. You led Ty lee into your room and hurried to tidy it and relight the candles “sorry for the mess I....wait what are you doing up! Katara said no walking" you cried realising she was on her feet. "It’s fine I have crutches!" she said happily gesturing to them but you shook your head "you should be in bed resting!". "You should know by now i can never stay still" she grinned and you rolled your eyes "fine but please sit down".

Ty lee would’ve argued she was fine but you seemed so certain she took the chair you offered her. You fussed around her, getting a cushion for her foot and one for her back and Ty lee blushed to see how much care you were taking. Maybe Mai was right....

"There" you said finished, satisfied Ty lee was comfy. "Now how can i help?". "It’s kinda the opposite...i’m here to thank you" Ty lee beamed "you saved my life tonight y/n and literally carried me to safety". "It was nothing" you tried to brush it off but Ty lee shook her head grabbing your hand "it wasn’t! Mai told me how everyone told you not to do it and how you actually disobeyed them by coming to get me". You glanced at her hand over yours and relaxed "well i...i was worried Azula might be being harsh to you, i figured even if i got caught i might distract her from you...". Ty lee blushed "that was very sweet of you but you don’t need to risk yourself just for me". You shrugged "i think you’re worth it" and Ty lee frowned "what do you mean?". You shrugged embarrassed "well you’re the nicest person i’ve ever met! I actually thought it was an act at first you’re that nice but it’s not" you smiled "you were so kind to me and for no reason...you just cared" you chuckled "i think we need more people like you in the world Ty lee, you’re very special". Ty lee let out a mini exclamation of emotion and suddenly threw her arms around you. You let her hug you, used to surprise hugs by now but you weren’t used to her kissing you. Ty lee wrapped her arms around your neck and pecked your lips with her own. You broke away immediately thinking it was a mistake but Ty lee just blushed looking at you "was that...was it not okay i did that?". "I...you mean you actually meant to kiss me?". "Yes silly!". "Because i saved your life?". "No because i like you". When you blushed Ty lee smiled "that’s a good sign right?" and when you nodded she leant back in. You were prepared this time but not for how great it would feel. Everything about her, how she felt, how her arms felt wrapped around you neck, how you felt wrapped together just made it bliss. It was a sweet but long kiss and when Ty lee pulled away you blinked your eyes open and stared at the wall in a daze "wow". Ty lee giggled looking up at you before you gasped. "You’re stood up! Ty lee!" you scolded her and she rolled her eyes "i’m fine, plus you realise you’re practically holding me up?" She asked and you realised without meaning to you were, you had your arms around her waist and she was hovering off the floor. "Ow well...i guess this works". "So if i want to stand up i just have to hold onto you ever time i guess" Ty lee grinned and you blushed. "I mean i don’t object to that". Ty lee smiled and stared up at you "good". Ty lee kept gazing at you and you lasted second before you looked away embarrassed. You blushed and Ty lee laughed so you just pulled her into you so you couldn’t see her face. Ty lee chuckled “you’re adorable” and settled her head against your neck. “You’re one to talk” you replied and Ty lee blushed too.

----

So I got Ty lee feels which has honestly never happened to me before but now I am obsessed! So might do a part 2 because I have lots of Ty lee ideas rn 😂

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flameohotwife · 2 years

Note

for the snippet ask game, from With You:

“I was happy about the baby already–really. But seeing Gyatso just now…I didn’t realize how badly I needed to tell someone, too. Someone who knew me from before.”

“The spirits were kind, today,” she says, slowly caressing his chest with her fingers. “They owe you that much, after all the times they’ve pulled you from this world for their emergencies.”

Aang chuckles. He knows how she frets over him every time he starts unexpectedly glowing during meditation, never sure when he will come back.

“I’m sorry if I worried you,” he says, but she cuts him off.

“Sweetie, I’ll always worry about you, but I trust you. I know you can take care of yourself in there. You are the Avatar.” She wiggles her eyebrows on this last bit and he laughs, feeling so loved. He bends to kiss her hair.

They curl up for sleep, and for the first time in years, fire does not consume his dreams. He dreams of his new child, of his family. He dreams of baking fruit pies and chasing each other around the island until their sides hurt from laughter. He dreams of taking them to the Spirit World to meet Gyatso, and his heart bursts when he sees them all together; all of the people who have loved him most. He knows now that nothing is missing. He pulls Katara closer in his sleep. Everything is as it should be.

Hiiiiii Northern! Sorry this is so late--kid stuff, birthdays, and holiday weekend got me. This snippet is basically the resolution of With You, which as you know was my Aang-centric secret santa gift for @itsmoonpeaches. It was where I was trying to wrap up all the loose ends and tie them into the purpose of the story.

The gist of it is that Aang is struggling with mourning his people and celebrating new life at the same time. They've just gone to the SWT to tell her family and he's sad that he doesn't have anyone to tell, too. When you lose someone, but I imagine *especially* when you lose *everyone* like Aang did, sometimes you still want to call them up and tell them things that happened to you. Sometimes it feels like you shouldn't be celebrating something without *them* there. Sometimes even the happiest events of your life are tinged with *hurt* because *they're not with you.* Add onto this the layer of war and genocide and being separated from everyone who knew you by a century... and Aang's gonna have some FEELS.

I also HC that Aang was kinda busy with both the mortal and spirit world after a century(+, if you include the time between Roku's death and Aang going into the iceberg) without an avatar. And sometimes the spirits don't necessarily think of human obligations when they have a problem that needs to be dealt with, so they might just steal Aang away on a whim during meditations or solstices or times when Aang is closer to the spirit world in some way. And we KNOW Katara is a worrier. BUT that doesn't mean she doesn't trust Aang to do what he needs to do; to do what's RIGHT. And to come back to her as soon as he can. Katara's remark is also a followup to earlier in the fic, where she prays to the spirits that his meditation will bring him peace.

And that last paragraph. OOOF. I contemplated writing a whole scene of it, but I was running out of time before the secret santa fics were "due" and I wasn't sure it would really fit... or if I really wanted that to be a real possibility or just something that happens in his dreams, to take away the pain and the fire and the guilt from before... I mean, obviously I *want* it to happen but you know. And I guess we *do* see the cloudbabies meeting Iroh in the Spirit World in LoK so it *is* possible... hmmmm maybe one day. And peaches pointed out that in ending the fic the way it started (with a dream) I brought it full-circle, which wasn't a conscious intention but sometimes our subconscious really knows what it's doing I guess, haha. Thanks for the ask, friend! This was fun :)

Send me a snippet of one of my fics and I'll give you a behind the scenes commentary on it.

#snippet ask game #northerngoshawk #asks #with you #kataang #kataang fanfic #my writing

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theclockworkmonk · 3 years

Text

Cultural Exchange

Written for @kataang-week

Day 2: Blending Cultures

Words: 2,009

Read on AO3

Read on FF.net

Summary: Katara has some selfish reasons for encouraging Aang to explore Fire Nation culture.

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Katara was starting to get worried as she walked up to Zuko's old family house on Ember Island. The outdoor furniture was smashed and splintered, and the door was ajar, hanging off its hinges. She sped up, beginning to panic, and ran up the stairs onto the porch.

She threw the door all the way open forcefully. "Hello!? Aang?"

She was greeted by a chorus of pained male groans.

"Close the door!" Haru wailed, shielding his eyes from the bright morning light that was now flooding the front room of the house. All the other young men, basically every male friend their group had made since leaving the South Pole, gave similar cries of distress from where they were strewn haphazardly across sofas and armchairs.

Katara sighed in relief, but then grew annoyed at the boys for scaring her. Instead of closing the door, she moved to the windows and threw all the curtains open.

"You're evil!" moaned Te'o from the floor, where he had fallen out of his chair.

"What exactly happened to those plans for a laid back, calm bachelor party?" Katara asked the room harshly, "How did it go? 'Oh don't worry, Katara, Zuko's not one to throw wild parties!'"

"Uggghhh, I"m not, but I'm friends with a lot of bad influences," came a weak voice from under a coffee table.

Katara laughed at the sight of the soon-to-be-married Firelord crawling out from under the table, looking like he had been put through a dozen successive Agni Kais. But her laughter died and she gasped when she saw what was on Zuko's head.

"Zuko, what happened!?"

"What does it look like? Your brother got us drunk."

"No, I mean what happened to your hair!"

Katara bent all the water from a nearby vase and froze it into a flat, shiny mirror, and held it up to Zuko's face. His eyes widened in horror and he leapt to his feet, upending the table.

All of his hair had been reduced to a narrow strip down the center of his head. That hair had been left long, and was tied back, but both sides of it had been shaved down to his scalp.

He recognized this look. It was exactly the way Sokka had his hair when Zuko had first encountered him.

"Aw Zuko, I'm touched!" crooned Katara dramatically. "Showing your support for rebuilding Southern Tribe culture by sporting a warrior's wolf tail!"

Zuko stared in disbelief at his reflection. He raised his shaking hands to the sides of his face.

"I look like I stuck my head between two grinding stones," Zuko muttered.

"Oh, don't say that, I'm sure once the Firelord is seen sporting this hairdo at his wedding, it will be all the rage across the Fire Nation," said Katara with a grin.

Zuko buried his face in his hands. "Oh, spirits, the wedding! Mai's going to kill me."

Katara was about to agree, but was interrupted by a scream of anguish and horror coming from the bathroom.

Katara and Zuko both bolted across the room and down the hall. She whipped out her bending pouch, ready to slice the door open, but lucky it was still unlocked. She kicked the door open and her blood froze in fear again as she saw Sokka doubled over, his face buried in the sink and his hands over his head.

"Sokka, what's wrong!?" asked Katara urgently, placing her hands on her brother's back. "Are you hurt—oh…."

She jumped back and gasped when Sokka turned to face her, his lip quivering.

He was completely bald, with a crude painted blue arrow leading from the back of his head, ending between his eyebrows.

Katara's chuckle at Zuko's expense was nothing compared to the explosion of laughter that erupted out of her now. She had to put a hand on the wall to steady herself as she shook until she was out of breath.

"Well, it was just a regular festival of cultural exchange last night, wasn't it?" she squeaked out.

"This isn't funny, Katara!" said Sokka desperately. "You don't understand, it's not coming off! It's real! And my hair! Next time I visit home, my brain is gonna freeze!"

"Oh, calm down," she said dismissively. She grabbed her brother's cheeks and pulled him down to inspect his new body art. "There's no inflammation on the skin, it's not a real tattoo. You just found some...wow, really durable face paint."

She looked him in the eye suspiciously. "Where did you get this stuff?"

"Uuuuhhh," said Sokka uncertainly. He turned to Zuko. "Where did we get this stuff?"

"Uuuuhhh," Zuko concurred.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Seriously? You don't even remember last night?"

"I can remember most of it," said Zuko defensively. "Things just get a little fuzzy after that bottle of moonpeachshine got opened. He was the one who brought that, so really this is all his fault."

"Hey, I don't remember tying you up and forcing the stuff down your throat, Lord Lots o' Shots," replied Sokka.

"Where's Aang?" Katara suddenly said, her grin wiped from her face.

For a moment, they just looked at each other in silence, then ran through the house again.

After searching the whole house and not finding Aang, Katara was beginning to panic again. But when she checked the back garden, she found Appa there sleeping soundly. A lumpy mass was sitting on the bison's head: a human body, the top half covered by a blanket, but long legs protruded from underneath, with blue arrows ending at the feet.

"Aang!" Katara called as she ran towards him, and thankfully the tattooed feet stirred. Aang slowly sat up, squeezing his eyes shut at the sunlight as the blanket fell from his face.

"Oh come on!" Katara sighed in relief. "You too?"

"What?" he mumbled, getting his bearings. He reached up to scratch his head, and discovered what was itching him.

Aang was wearing a wig. Avatar Aang, the mightiest being in the world, was hungover with a lopsided wig of black hair glued to his head. The foreign hair was pulled back into a knot that was contained by what Katara recognized as Avatar Roku's old hairpin.

Aang reached up and felt the hairpin, and winced. "Oh Spirits, I had hoped that was a dream."

"So you actually remember what happened?" asked Zuko, joining them outside along with Sokka, who had put a hat on to avoid getting sunburned.

"Well last night, Sokka got excited by this idea of me wearing Roku's hairpin at the wedding, as a sign of the Fire Nation's commitment to the Avatar and the balance of the world. I wasn't as intoxicated as he was, so I pointed out to him that one needs hair in order to wear a hairpin crown."

"Oh yeah!" said Sokka, remembering now, "Seems like a short sighted fashion decision."

"It's not short-sighted, that's the point," said Zuko irritably, "When royals or generals suffer a great defeat, they cut their hair off. The crowns of the Fire Lord and Prince are designed so that you can't wear them unless you've gone long enough without a defeat to have enough hair to wear it."

"Yeah, you said all this last night," said Aang. "Then Sokka suggested that I could borrow some hair, and we asked who would have extra hair to borrow, and that's how we ended up partying with the—"

"The Ember Island Players," Zuko finished in horror. "Oh, kill me now, this is going to be the subject of their worst play yet."

"I certainly hope so," said Katara. "I'll be there opening night."

"The wig and the facepaint….seemed like a good idea at the time," finished Aang painfully.

"Well if this stuff doesn't come off my face soon, then the Firelord is going to have to have them interrogated about how they undo it," said Sokka.

"Oh I will?" asked Zuko, raising his eyebrow. "The way I see it, I just have a bad haircut, I didn't put any crap on my head, so you can go begging for them on your own."

"It is not a bad haircut!" said Sokka angrily. "You're now the best looking guy here, saving my dignity is the least you can do."

"I might need help getting this thing off me too," mumbled Aang, futilely pulling at the wig. "And we should probably put this back in a safe spot."

He detached Roku's hairpin crown from his knot, and Katara gasped as his hair (that wasn't actually his hair) fell from it.

The messy black hair fell to the base of his neck, covering his ears and hanging in bangs over his forehead, partially obscuring his eyes. He scrunched his face in annoyance and brushed the hair away from his face. Katara felt her face grow hot as she watched her boyfriend's fingers run through the hair, and an image floated up in her mind of her fingers replacing them.

Zuko and Sokka went back into the house, Zuko cheekily offering to melt the facepaint off of Sokka, and promised to keep most of his face intact, as Aang climbed down off of Appa, still pulling at the mop glued to his head.

"I need to find a way to get this thing off me," Aang grumbled. "It won't stay out of my face, people can't see my arrow."

"Well, we can't have that," Katara chuckled. "The world can't know that the last airbender has broken such an important air nomad requirement as the sacred chrome dome."

"Well, it's not a requirement," said Aang, "but I still suspect I look far too much like Zuko for my taste—"

"Wait, really?" Katara cut him off, her eyes widening.

"Well you tell me. I don't have a mirror, but I suddenly feel the urge to sulk and reclaim my honor— "No, I mean, shaving your head isn't a requirement or anything?" Katara asked quickly.

Aang seemed surprised by her question. "Uh... no. Most of the boys did anyway, because it gives you a slight edge in airbending, since your skin is in tune with the air currents. We all had to shave it once, when we got our arrows, but most girls grew it back."

He continued to fidget with the wig as he started walking back towards the house, seemingly oblivious to the blush creeping up his girlfriend's face.

Katara tried to act casual as she fell in step with Aang and linked her arm with his.

"Sooooo...hypothetically speaking," she began, not looking at him, "you could have a full head of hair. If you wanted to."

Aang shrugged. "Yeah. But I've never really felt the desire to. With hair, you have to wash it, and there's so many different haircuts to pick from, it's easier to just shave it in the morning."

He turned to look at her curiously. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason!" she said innocently.

They walked in silence for a few seconds, then a strong morning breeze blew past them and Katara felt her knees grow weak as Aang's messy "hair" whipped in the wind, dancing around his handsome face beautifully, in a way his real hair had never grown long enough to do.

"I was just thinking Sokka might be onto something!" she blurted out before she could stop herself. "You know, about wearing Roku's crown. Maybe the Avatar adopting a few Fire Nation fashions will placate a few of the naysayers, who say that you're a foreign interloper. It will show them that you're their Avatar too. It would be a great exchange and blending of cultures, to reflect peaceful cooperation."

Aang frowned thoughtfully. "Well, I….guess that kind of makes sense." He shrugged and chuckled. "I'm still definitely going to get this hair off me, though. Then I can decide whether to start growing my own."

"Hmmm….yeah," Katara whispered greedily under her breath, "I bet that'll look even hotter."

"Hmm? What was that? I didn't hear you."

"Nothing!" she squeaked, and ran back into the house.

#kataang #kataang week #kataang week 2021 #kataang-week #aang x katara #katara and aang #aang #avatar aang #katara #fanfic prompt #atla fanfic #ao3 fanfic #atla #avatar: tla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #hangover #day 2: blending cultures #bachelor party

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to-a-merrier-world · 4 years

Text

blessed-by-the-sun-spirit!Zuko AU

another atla au, lads🍻

while (heavily) pregnant with zuko, ursa finds out that her parents have died. realizing that she doesn’t have anyone to protect but herself and her unborn child now, she decides to risk running away. unfortunately, ozai figures things out pretty quickly and sends people after her. while running from her pursuers, ursa ends up getting hurt and is afraid that zuko may have been hurt, too. she’s able to drag herself to a cave entrance and ends up giving birth alone in the mountains, and while she makes it, zuko isn’t crying and seems to barely be breathing. she’s terrified that this is it, that the risk she took just cost her son his life, when she hears a rumbling from within the mountain.

she looks into the deep darkness of the cave and suddenly something massive is rushing past her and out of the cave. she cowers against the wall, trying to protect zuko. after several moments, the creature is finally all out of the cave and ursa looks up again. perched on the side of the mountain and looking into the cave at her is a huge, golden dragon. ursa can do nothing but stare in awe and fear. then, something within tells her to present zuko to the dragon, and as though her body is moving of its own accord, she does. she lays zuko in front of the dragon and looks up at it with pleading eyes.

the dragon lowers his head until it’s nearly touching zuko, and then after a long moment of just looking at him, rears back and breathes rainbow fire in a swirling vortex around him. ursa is terrified and nearly throws herself into the flames to save zuko but by the time she’s able to get her body to move, it’s over. the flames dissipate and zuko begins to cry. ursa is astonished and rushes to take her son back into her arms. she’s so relieved to see him taking heaving breaths as he cries that it takes her a moment to notice the difference. around his left eye, traveling around his neck, across his chest and torso, and down one leg and one arm is a dark pink, almost red marking with jagged edges like flames. at first, she fears he really was burned, but the skin is smooth and unmarred, as though it’s a birthmark.

she looks back up to--she isn’t sure, since the dragon can’t talk, but she has so many questions. however, the dragon is no longer there. she’s been sitting with zuko for several hours, resting and feeding zuko, when the dragon returns again. he leaves the cooked leg of some large animal for her, as well as--mysteriously--a water skin and a blanket. then, the dragon sits back and waits for ursa to eat. when she’s finished, he eats the rest and then disappears back into the cave. (if you haven’t figured it out, ursa has just met the physical manifestation of the sun spirit, the original firebender)

ursa waits a day to see if the dragon comes back, but when he doesn’t she climbs back down the mountain. she eventually finds her way to a small farm house and the residents there help her and zuko (she doesn’t tell them their real names, obviously. she calls herself yuuri and zuko she calls li). they let ursa stay a week, but then ursa gets worried the longer she stays the more at risk she is of getting caught. so, she leaves and makes her way for the earth kingdom--somewhere massive where she and zuko can disappear.

years pass, and ursa and zuko are happy. they’ve settled in a coastal town only a few days journey from ba sing se. ursa makes a living as an apothecary, and zuko grows up learning about his great-grandfather, avatar roku, and not knowing anything about his father’s family. he knows no one can ever know he’s a firebender or that they’re originally from the fire nation, but he’s still a happy, sweet boy (even if he does get angry when people make fun of his birth mark).

he lives a fairly normal life until, one day, he stumbles across some fire nation scouts. he tries to get away and when he’s about to get caught, resorts to firebending (which he’s not supposed to ever do in front of other people). the men are so shocked he ends up getting away. zuko runs as fast as he can back home, but doesn’t tell his mother what happened.

two days pass, and zuko is finally starting to relax when an entire company of fire nation soldiers arrives at their town. everyone knows the fire nation has been aiming for ba sing se, but their town was far enough away that it’s a major shock when they arrive, led by none other than general iroh, crown prince to the fire nation.

(to be continued...)

Part 2

#this is eventually gonna be #zukka #so i'm tagging that #zuko #ursa #ursa atla #zukka atla #zuko atla #zuko and ursa #atla iroh #lu ten lives #lu ten atla #uncle iroh #atla #avatar the last airbender #i'm full of ideas and yet writing it Terribly Difficult #mine #blessed zuko au

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nanaminsonyfans · 4 years

Text

Between Worlds; Chapter Six

Previous, Next, Masterlist

A/N: Thank you all for being to patient with me while I took a break. I hope you enjoy this chapter, I am actually very proud about this one. Thank you to my editor @imagine-yourself-happy

Gif is not mine

!!TW!! Swearing, injuries, mentions of blood

The statue’s eyes began to glow a light blue color, then a silhouette formed, stepping out into view. “Roku?” You asked softly upon seeing him. “I-I have a question for you…I understand you brought me here for something else but I’m just so confused. I don’t belong here. Why am I here and not Aang?” You walked forward, trembling slightly with each step. “Y/N, this was always your destiny. No matter how you look at it, this is yours. Aang may have had it first but this is yours.” Roku put his hand on your shoulder, squeezing it softly. “But...I don’t know how to do any of this. I mean, Air comes naturally to me but I can’t control it. I almost hurt Katara and Sokka.” You said as you started to cry.

Roku shook his head and lifted your chin up so you’d look at him. “You are a strong woman. You can do anything you set your mind to. Look how far you have already come. Y/N, you protected two villages even after you were burned, you saved another one.” He spoke in a comforting tone and wiped away your tears. It was the reassurance of an adult that made you feel safe. You sniffled and nodded as you peered up at him. “How do I control my bending? When I get emotional, it just takes over. I don’t want to hurt anyone by being blinded like that.”

“You can control it. It’s okay to have a few slip-ups. I wish I could give you more time and not rush you, but…you have to master all four elements by the end of the summer.” He explained with an even tone. “I know…I’m just scared. What if I can’t do it? What if I’m not strong enough?” Your eyes began to water again, your throat became dry as you tried to hold back a sob. “You are. As I said, you’ve made it this far. You also have the past Avatars to help you.” You looked back behind Roku, seeing the light slowly start to fade. He had noticed as well. “By the end of this summer, another comet will come. It will give the Fire Nation the rest of the power that they need to fully need to take over the rest of the nations. You must stop them.”

“Y/N? Y/N!” Katara’s voice snapped you out of your trance as you mindlessly were applying a cold cloth to Sokka’s forehead. “Oh…sorry.” You whispered and stood up. “Is Sokka feeling any better?” You asked softly and stood up, looking at him with concern. “Not very well. That storm really did a number on him.”

“Well, I found a map. There’s a herbalist, I’ll go see if they have anything for tea. That might help.” You explained, but turned to Katara when she started coughing. “Oh no, not you too?” You went over to her and laid her down on Appa next to Sokka. “Just rest here and I’ll be back with medicine.” You wrapped her in a blanket and grabbed your glider, running out of the small shelter you had.

The rain made a small pitter-patter against your skin and gilder. It was soothing, considering everything preoccupying your mind - what Roku had said, your encounter with Zuko, Jet, that horrible storm, and now taking care of the two Water Tribe siblings. You sighed softly as you walked up a trail to a greenhouse or terrarium-looking thing. When you entered, you were greeted with the scent of roses, lavender, and...cats? You looked down and saw a cat rubbing against your ankle. It was a beautiful white cat, fluffy too. You bent down and scratched it’s head softly, the small gesture made you feel ten times better.

You noticed an old woman tending to her plants and herbs. “Umm…ma’am? I’m very sorry to barge in like this, but my friends are sick and I need medicine for them or even a little ginger for tea?” You spoke fast and with urgency. “Calm down, young lady. Your friends are fine. I’ve been up here for forty years you know, there used to be others but they all left years ago.” The old woman pet the cat that was now on the table, “Now it’s just me and Miyuki.” You stared at her, growing a bit impatient. “Ummm, that’s nice. Could you tell me what I need to do to cure my friends?” You noticed her starting to pick herbs and such. “One moment, I am doing something…” She muttered to herself and walked around the garden.

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Ten, fifteen minutes passed of her trying to find a herb and it still wasn’t even to help you! That was irritating. It was only food for her cat. “Ma’am, could you please tell me what a cure for my friends is?” You asked for maybe, the fifth time. “Oh yes, about that. You must go to the swamp for frozen wood frogs and then have your friends suck on them! They must be frozen though!” She grinned crazily. “You’re insane aren't you?” You snored. “Go on now! You don’t have time to sit around and talk!” The woman ushered you out of her greenhouse.

You rolled up your pants as you stepped into the murky swamp, gagging softly at the smell. Eventually, you found four and stuck them in your pockets. Just as you were about to grab a fifth, three arrows pinned your shirt sleeve to a log. You yelped in surprise and used your Airbending to shield yourself as more arrows were sent your way. “Uh, do you want your arrows back?” You called out as about four people jumped out of the trees. You gulped and looked at them as your heart started to pound. You waterbended an ice wall but it was quickly shattered by an arrow. “Shit-” You mumbled to yourself as your shirt collar was pinned to another log. You winced feeling the sting of the arrowhead grazing your collarbone. You were shot with a tranquilizer then a net, resulting in you losing consciousness.

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Your eyes opened. Everything became a blur. There was an attempt to move your feet but you quickly realized they were tied together by a rope and your arms were chained behind you. The chains jiggled as you tried to struggle but it was no use. “Well, this is the Avatar? Master of all the elements? I have no idea how you eluded the Fire Nation, but your game of hide and seek is over.” You recognized that voice, Admiral Zhao. “I wasn’t hiding from you, Zhao. Untie me and I’ll fight you right now!” You yelled fighting with the restraints. “Uhh, no. Tell me, how does it feel to be the last Airbender? Do you miss your weak people?” You teared up at the thought, but you were quick to blink back any visible tears. “Don’t worry, you won’t be killed like they were.” You dug your nails into your palms and gritted your teeth. “Shut up.” You growled, glaring up at Zhao.

He only smirked at you. “If we kill you, the next Avatar will just be reborn again and the Fire Nation will have to search all over again.” He bent over and grabbed your chin, forcing you to look up at him. “I’ll keep you alive, but just barely.” You glared and spat in his face. He backed away in disgust. “You little bit-” You blew a gust of wind at him, knowing him off his feet. “Blow all the wind you want. No one is coming to save you.” He hissed and walked out, his aggressive footsteps fading off in the distance. You screamed in anger and started to thrash around, only giving yourself rope burn and bruises around your wrists. You started to cry softly, from anger and pain. “Fuh-Fuck you Zhao.” You mumbled to yourself through the tears.

After thirty minutes, you gave up trying to break free. You were sweaty and bloody, the palms of your hands were bleeding, ankles burned, and wrists were bruised. You heard a soft ribbit and croak. Oh, no! Frogs started to jump out of your clothes, still half frozen. “No, no, no, no! Get back here! I need you to cure Katara and Sokka!” The frogs obviously didn’t give a shit about your feelings, and honestly, that kinda hurt. “Please, come back.” You cried and leaned forward in defeat, your tears now hitting the metal floor. You were snapped out of your pity party hearing metal and something heavy dropping to the floor.

You looked up and saw someone dressed in all black, but a blue dragon-like mask. You furrowed your eyebrows and felt a familiarity with the person. “Wh-Who are you?” Your voice cracked. It made sense since you’ve been crying for the past twenty minutes it seemed. “Ar-Are you here to rescue me?” There was a hint of hopefulness in your voice. The person didn’t say anything. They just opened the door after freeing you from the restraints. “I-I’ll take that as a yes.” You mumbled and followed the other out. Then it struck you. The Blue Spirit…Zuko. Joy filled your body as you followed him. You turned your head to croaking, your frogs! You ran to find them, they were thawing out.

“Please don’t thaw out! I need you!” You tried to grab one but was pulled back by your collar. You winced in pain as the fabric rubbed against the cut you received earlier. The Blue Spirit let out of you immediately after hearing your reaction. “I-I’m fine. Just sensitive, there is all.” You mumbled as you adjusted your clothing. “But, thanks for coming for me, whoever you are.” You smiled softly and kissed the mask. “My hero~” You giggled and was dragged off by the Spirit.

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“I want a full transcription written down and sent to the Fire Lord. I only want glowing testimonials from the soldiers and generals.” Zhao said as he walked down the dimly lit halls with a scribe. He was snapped out of his trance with ordering when he heard moans and croaks from frogs. “What the-” He turned, seeing guards tied up and gagged. He gritted his teeth and kicked open the door that you were supposed to be held in. “The Avatar has escaped!” He yelled, running down the halls.

“There, on the wall!” A soldier yelled pointing to where you and the Spirit were climbing. “Shit.” You grumbled, trying to climb the rope on the wall faster. One of the soldiers cut your rope, forcing you and the Spirit to fall to the ground. You screamed in your way down but quickly hopped up. The Spirit unsheathed his swords and started to run. “Stay close to me.” You said and ran in front of him, blasting all the soldiers in your way with wind.

The third gate was close, but then it closed before you got there. “Fuck.” You hissed and turned to the spirit. All the soldiers took aim at the two of you. “Wait! The Avatar must be kept alive!” Zhao yelled, causing the soldiers to step back. The Blue Spirit moved and out his swords to your neck, close to cutting your head off. “What the hell?” You hissed in shock and he started to back away. To avoid being cut you pressed your body against his, you heard his breath hitch slightly as you did that.

“Open the gates.” Zhao grumbled. “But sir-” A guard interjected before being cut off. “I said, open the gates! He’ll kill her if we don’t.” He hissed, the soldiers nodded and opened it. The Blue Spirit and you backed up slowly, exiting the yard. You shuffled backward, following the Spirits lead. You got halfway down the trail but an arrow was shot, cutting your earlobe and knocking the mask off of your savior. Everything happened in slow motion it seemed, you acted fast. Using your Airbending, you brought the Spirit and yourself to safety in the woods.

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You chewed on your lip as you sat on the root of a tree. You saw him, now that you knew for sure was Zuko, wake up. “Thank you for saving me…but I know you didn’t do it out of kindness, but rather for your own gain.” You took a deep breath, “I may not remember much but I know I had friends a hundred years ago. Now, I have a family - Sokka and Katara. I wonder, if things were different, do you think we could ever be friends, Zuko?” Your voice was soft and calm as you stood up. He glared at you and unsheathed his swords in a threatening manner. “I’ll be here...if you ever do decide to make things different.” You sighed and used your glider to take off, leaving Zuko.

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“Suck on these. You’ll feel better.” You mumbled giving Sokka and Katara a frozen frog. The sister took notice of your distraught and frowned. “How was your trip, Y/N? Did you make any new friends or meet new people?” You tucked a piece of hair behind your ear and sighed.

“No…I don’t think I did.”

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Taglist; @imagine-yourself-happy @toobsessedsstuff @bluecrystals01 @cheyenne-dunn-universe @foolishgang @alrightberries @givemetundies @anxietyriddledcollegekid @gra-hamcrackers @marionette-ghoulette @miracle-rat @bangtanboyswriting123 @wattpadwaterandfire @hopelessly-hopeful-hope @alexander-the-great32105 @mavix @mcartist @furblrwurblr @celamoon @ghost-of-the-oldwest @whatanicepanohthatsjustme @itscomplicateddw @panini-the-bird-killer @yoongnysus @willa-the-bean @so-fuckin-tiredd @utterlyconfused-tm @ctrl-alt-jeon @gabsnac @angxlicwanda @snackgod @gardenofideas @aexonian @chewymoustachio @possumbender @analovesyouverymuch @hopefully-a-decent-person

#between worlds #zuko x reader #avatar zuko #atla zuko #blue spirit #atla x reader #atla #katara atla #sokka atla #sokka and katara #katara and sokka #avatar the legend of aang #avatar the last airbender #avatar x reader #avatar zhao

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jaxsteamblog · 3 years

Text

Spirits

Click here to read the entire fic on AO3

The closer her wedding day got, everything got harder and harder. The nobility in Caldera weren’t happy, but kept to themselves because the Earth Empire also didn’t want the marriage to happen. And Arnook ramped up his sullenness to the point that they no longer took their weekly meal together.

For all of that talk about destiny, it seemed to Katara like the whole world was against her marriage to Zuko.

With a headache building, Katara headed to the oasis. True to her word, she had started visiting Yue more often, finding the trips less uncomfortable. The conversations were a lot better too.

Katara took her place next to the pond and focused her breathing on Tui and La. As Tui rose in her vision, she inhaled. When La rose, she exhaled. After a time, she closed her eyes.

Projecting her spirit felt similar to the falling sensation she’d get when laying in bed. She moved forward without moving, and when Katara opened her eyes, she was at the edge of the pond. Standing, she looked back at her body. That was always disconcerting.

Facing the pond again, Katara dove between the spirits. Without having to breathe, Katara swam down for longer than her physical lungs could manage. At some point, the swim down flipped to a swim up and Katara broke the surface of another pond.

It was a full moon, and usually Yue was waiting for her here.

But no Yue.

Pulling herself up, Katara looked around. The landscape of the spirit world fascinated her and some of the fauna approached her in curiosity. Being connected to La, Katara radiated with a dark light that was only possible in this realm. Some spirits kept their distance, whispering the phrase “vattu,” but neither Yue nor Thuy could tell her what that meant.

Regardless, she wasn’t threatened, wearing the scales of La, so Katara started to walk about. A breeze she couldn’t feel ruffled the long purple grass, making the sloping hills around her undulate.

In the distance, Katara saw the tiny figures of bipeds and she squinted. Iroh and Rohan explained to her that Airbenders were able to access the Spirit World easily, and a handful of others that could master their spiritual balance. Katara had yet to run into other humans in all of her visits, but Yue assured her that there were plenty around.

“Looking for me?” Yue asked, directly behind Katara. She laughed as Katara jumped, whirling around.

“I was beginning to think I was being stood up.” Katara remarked, making Yue smile.

“I had something take longer than I thought.” She said and Katara narrowed her eyes.

“So what were you looking at?” Yue asked, floating past her.

“Are those humans?” Katara asked, turning back and pointing to a far hill. The figures were gone.

“Hmm, always possible.” Yue said, rolling in the air like a seal. Becoming a fully-fledged spirit had relaxed her apparently. She was like this a lot of the time; ethereal and fluid.

“You now, I never asked, but what does being the moon spirit entail?” Katara questioned, continuing her aimless walk.

“Does it need to be something?” Yue questioned. “Is there something about being the ocean spirit?”

Katara scoffed, casting Yue an incredulous look.

“Of course. Blood, boats, and babies.” She retorted and Yue rolled her eyes.

“You’re really fond of your quips.”

“I’m serious. You know our people, we live and die by the ocean. Salt water runs in humanity’s veins, and amniotic fluid is salty. But boats sink, humans drown, and sea water is poisonous. Life and death exists in the ocean.” Katara explained, gesturing with her hands as she spoke.

“So what is the moonlight?” Yue pondered, tapping her lips with one slim finger.

“Yearning.” Katara murmured and Yue paused. Her hair and robes continued on for a moment, flowing in the watery air.

“Oh?”

Katara laughed and looked around.

“I don’t think I could ever get tired of being here.” She said instead.

Yue nodded and rolled over, flipping to look in the same direction.

“We just have to be careful. Time passes differently here, and we want you to have a body to return to.” She said.

“That’s alarming.” Katara laughed.

“Do you want to try to find the humans?” Yue inquired.

“What if they’re not humans?”

“We’ll be fine.”

They traveled on, moving in what they both assumed was an arc to keep close to the pond. While the thought of skipping the next few days was appealing, Katara didn’t want to go back to a grave.

“So what’s bothering you?” Yue asked and Katara sighed.

“There’s just so much. After the last lunar eclipse, I just don’t really have the energy to deal with it anymore.” She replied.

“Those are always scary for me. I can’t feel you or anything, and I don’t like being so helpless.” Yue said.

“At least you don’t have a physical body. I think that’s how I’m going to die.” Katara muttered.

“Oh, no, that was the same for me when I was alive. I had to stay in the oasis during an eclipse because I almost died each time.” Yue corrected and Katara winced.

“Sorry.”

“I forgive you.” Yue flashed her a grin and swam forward again. “So how’s Zuko?”

“He’s…” Katara drifted and looked away.

“What’s the matter?”

“How did it feel when you knew that no matter what, you weren’t going to be able to marry Sokka?”

When Yue stayed quiet, Katara looked back at her. Still floating in the air, Yue was looking off in the distance.

“I’m guessing you mean before I died.” She said.

“Yeah.”

Yue sighed and rocked backward, reclining in the air.

“There just wasn’t another option for me. There was a war going on, and my father needed the support.” She answered.

“I know you said that I should marry Zuko and become Fire Lady, but I don’t know if that’s what our tribe needs.” Katara said. “I love him so much, but every world leader is standing in our way.”

“Every single one?” Yue questioned.

Katara frowned and waved her away.

“Near about.” She muttered.

“There’s the two of you, and I think that should be enough.” Yue stated primly.

“On what authority?” Katara pushed Yue’s floating body and watched her lazily rotate.

“On my own authority, as the spirit of yearning.” She needled and Katara groaned.

“I just want to know everything is going to work out.” She said and Yue lowered herself, putting her feet on the ground. With her hair and robes, it still looked like she was made of silk, being pulled through the water.

“Katara,” Yue said and took her hands. “What does that even mean?”

Her flippant question, coming from a serene and godly face, made Katara laugh.

“No seriously.” Yue continued, sounding on the edge of laughter herself. “Things can work out, but how you feel about it depends on so many things. I mean, look at me.”

“You? Look at me!” Katara countered. “I’m some kind of Avatar knock off with this miserable little connection.”

“What are you worried about?” Yue pressed.

Lowering her head, Katara sighed again. She ran her thumbs over the backs of Yue’s hands, desperate to feel something.

“I just don’t want my desires to overcome me again. I want to know that I’m not going to hurt anyone and that this choice, this marriage, it’s not going to ruin anything.” Katara explained.

“Is that what you think happened?” Yue asked.

Katara shook her head.

“If it was fate, it’s not my fault, right? It was supposed to happen. But that’s so dumb.” Katara looked back up at Yue. “I chose that for all the wrong reasons. I want some confirmation that I’m choosing this for the right ones.”

“Well, we both know you’re not going to listen to me.” Yue said and swung their hands back and forth.

“What do you mean?” Katara asked, affronted.

“I’ve already told you my answer and you’ve obviously ignored it if you’re still being a baby about this.” Yue answered and released her hands.

“Hey!” Katara chased after her as Yue floated back into the sky.

“Wait, do you feel that?” Yue asked, pausing and rotating around.

“Yeah…” Katara murmured, also looking around. The air was warm, which was impossible since she didn’t have a physical body.

“The veil is thinner here. I wonder…” Yue drifted, in thought and body, and Katara watched her.

“It’s the solstice!” Yue chirped.

“What?” Katara exclaimed but Yue patted her hands in the air.

“Calm down. I told you time is different here. You’re still fine, I can see you at the pond.” She said.

“Well which solstice?” Katara demanded.

Yue regarded the empty space, rolling over to examine the patch of nothing from other angles.

“Definitely summer, and in the northern hemisphere. But I can’t tell if it’s a past one or future one.” She said.

“The past?” Katara stepped closer to the spot Yue regarded, trying to see what Yue did.

“Sure, why do you think so many humans are desperate to get here? The potential to see the future is too tempting to pass up.” Yue said and straightened. “It’s a good thing the monks and some very confused Waterbenders are the ones who usually manage to find their way.”

“Is someone trying to come through?” Katara asked, taking a step back.

“Maybe. Spots like this open up all the time and no one notices them.” Yue shrugged. “I mean, a lot of them are miles in the air or deep underwater, but eh.”

“I think we should head back.” Katara said.

The empty patch started to shimmer and she took a few more steps back.

A figure walked through the patch, making Yue yelp. He was tall and his long hair was clipped back. His topknot and pointed beard made Katara’s absent heart stop.

It took her a moment to realize that this man had a different face than Roku, and she recognized it just as the man recognized her.

“Katara?” Zuko asked.

He was forty years older than she had last seen him.

“Zuko.” Katara whispered as Zuko looked over his shoulder. He looked back at her, confused.

It made her laugh.

“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in-” He started but Katara shushed him, waving her hands in the air.

“Ssh! I’m not there yet!” She said sharply. “I’m still, I mean, we haven’t… Spirits, we do end up getting married, right?”

Zuko stared at her before doubling over, laughing.

“Married? You look so young.” He wheezed.

“I’m twenty-five!” Katara balked.

“Hello Zuko, it’s been awhile.” Yue interrupted and Zuko stood, his chest still jumping as he contained his mirth.

“Yue, I know you’ve been busy.” He said.

“So you know!” Katara accused.

Yue gave another of her fairylike shrugs.

“I know sometimes. This hadn’t happened yet, so I didn’t know. But also, I’ve met you both over and over through the years. I can only tell you things linearly since that’s how your minds work.” She explained. “Once you ascend, you’ll understand.”

“Asce-” Katara squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No. Nevermind. That’s a tomorrow conversation.”

“Katara, I’m surprised to see you. But it’s...wow.” Zuko said and approached. Katara lowered her hand and found him right in front of her.

If she had a pulse, it would have thundered up her neck to make her blush to her hairline.

Spirits above and below he was still handsome.

“I always said you are as beautiful as the day I met you.” He said, taking her face in his hands.

Katara would have ripped the spirit world apart to have her body here.

“I probably look like my grandmother.” She mumbled.

The corner of his mouth hitched.

“Do you want me to tell you?” He asked.

Katara sputtered and he laughed.

“Blazes, I know you’re my wife but I feel like a lecherous old man.” Zuko said and lowered his hands.

“So we get married?” She asked meekly.

“We do. And so far, you’ve stayed married to me.” He replied.

“I want to ask about so many things, but that feels like it’s cheating.”

“It does take the fun out of things.”

“But can you tell me if everything ends up okay? I mean, you’re here, we’re still married, so everything works out, right?” Katara questioned.

Zuko stroked his beard, looking so much more like his uncle with that simple gesture.

“There’s a lot that happens in the forty-some years. A lot I’d love to change or avoid.” He mused. He shook his head and crossed his arms loosely at his chest.

“We’re all safe and happy. Everyone that you know and love is fine.” Zuko said.

“And us? We’re still, how we are now?” Katara questioned. Her tone caught him off guard and he looked surprised.

“Katara, if anything, you and I get better.” He said.

The empty patch behind him shimmered again and Yue clapped her hands.

“Well, time to go!” She said.

“But I want to see!” Katara pleaded as Yue grabbed her arm.

“Say goodbye to your husband.” She said and Katara pulled against her.

“Wait!” She said, but Yue pulled her up, launching them both miles into the sky.

As Yue dragged her back to the pond, Katara tried to keep the image of the woman who started through the portal. Her hair was long and curly, tied back in loops. She was so young.

“Who was that?” Riza asked.

Zuko patted her back and they started forward.

“Your mother.” He said.

“What?” Riza shrieked and Zuko chuckled, stroking her hair.

“She hasn’t gotten to that part yet, and you were absolutely meant to be a surprise.” He said.

“Da-ad!” Riza whined, pulling on his arm.

“You’re just trying to get out of finding Bumju. You lost him and it’s your responsibility to find him.” Zuko said.

“UGH.”

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#zutara #fanfiction #jax writes #modern au #the fic that prompts built #zutara week 2021

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watchathon · 4 years

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Avatar: The Last Airbender, Series Finale: Sozin’s Comet

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

- Like so. Now that the introductions are over with, it’s time to break that one-episode-a-day rule and finish off Avatar: The Last Airbender with the climactic grand finale, Sozin’s Comet:

PART 1: THE PHOENIX KING

- Okay, so, Katara in the intro is still saying “He has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone.” I could’ve sworn they removed that part by this point... Maybe that was just something for the DVD?

- I like that the “Previously on” segment is so long. It really emphasizes how much buildup there was to this. How much the Gaang has been through to get here.

- I gotta say, I was not expecting a beach party in this episode.

- Somehow, for reasons I can’t explain because I don’t understand them myself, this ambush from Zuko made the audio of Nicolas Cage saying “Surprise attack!” in Into the Spider-Verse play in my head.

- Zuko’s really lucky that he earned Katara’s forgiveness before this violent pop quiz, seeing as just a half season ago... “You take one step backwards... one slip up... give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang - and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends right then and there. Permanently.”

- It never occurred to me that we didn’t get details on the war meeting before now.

- I’d bet hearing about this plan is the thing that tipped the scales and fully convinced Zuko to join the Gaang, and prevent the genocide of the Earth Kingdom.

- It’s so nice to see Zuko being welcomed into the group hugs. Especially when it’s Katara who invites him.

- I like that Zuko is teaching Aang to redirect lightning, the same way Iroh taught him.

- Even before it’s made explicit, you can tell that Aang’s uneasy about the idea of killing.

- Toph is just delighting in her role as Melon Lord, isn’t she?

- Someone out there has definitely written an AU fanfic where someone gets killed during this training and it’s Toph’s origin story as the malicious Melon Lord. If not, then I will write it myself, and it shall be the crackiest crack fic that ever cracked.

- Y’know what, I wish Toph could’ve actually gone on a life-changing field trip with Zuko too! Everyone else got one...

- This scene of Sokka climbing into Appa’s mouth is even more uncomfortable once you’ve... well, once you’ve grown up and... Okay, I tried to put it subtly, but I just can’t: Once you’ve been cursed with the knowledge of what vore is.

- Well, there’s a bait-and-switch if I’ve ever seen one: “Azula, you’re the new Fire Lord!” “=)” “But I am now the Phoenix King and still your superior who you will answer to.” “=O”

- Nice to see June and her Shirshu make a comeback.

- Does this mean Aang wasn’t running away on purpose? I honestly thought he was just going to that island to get some alone time, maybe meditate or contact the previous Avatars’ spirits.

PART 2: THE OLD MASTERS

- I’m not sure if this is something I forgot from June’s first appearance, or if it’s actually just never been brought up before, but I didn’t know her Shirshu had a name.

- It’s sweet that Zuko is seeking out Iroh’s help. Even if the method of finding him is, ah, well... unorthodox.

- Even Avatar Roku doesn’t know where Aang is. And here I thought it was some Avatar thing that had never been brought up before.

- It’s nice to see these people make a comeback. Bumi, Piandao, even Jeong Jeong and Master Pakku are here for the finale.

- I am surprised that we didn’t get an interaction between Toph and Bumi, though. The man Aang wanted to teach him Earthbending, the girl who ended up doing it... But I guess there’s only so much time, and I don’t think there’s any scenes that could be deleted to make room for it.

- It seems like Aang is just searching for confirmation of his beliefs, rather than actually seeking wisdom.

- I like that we get to see Bumi taking full advantage of the eclipse to take back Omashu from the Fire Nation, instead of just being told about it.

- It’s nice to see so many past Avatars beyond just Roku and Kyoshi, Avatars that we never heard of before, but now we hear their stories. But all of these past Avatars echo the same sentiment that Aang should kill Ozai, even an Air Nomad Avatar.

- What can I say about this scene of Zuko and Iroh reuniting? Forgive me for echoing a post I made on my main blog, but this is a scene that’s both sweet and sad.

Sad, because Zuko’s abuse at the hands of Fire Lord Ozai left him anxiously expecting furious punishment for crimes much less than what he did to Iroh. He can’t even comprehend the idea that Iroh would forgive him. His expression while apologizing to Iroh clearly shows he’s expecting the worst.

Sweet, because Iroh still loves Zuko like his own son, and doesn’t even need to forgive him because he never felt anger at Zuko’s betrayal: Only sadness and a worry that Zuko had lost his way, truly lost his honor. And Iroh is so clearly happy to see that Zuko has found his destiny, and joined the fight against the Fire Nation.

I could go on and on about this scene... It’s my absolute favorite scene in the whole series and it brings me to tears every single time I see it.

Gosh... it’s gonna be so awkward going back to the jokes and little mundane thoughts after this, isn’t it?

- Okay, I have officially given up on the idea of finding out what the heck this island is.

- I like the smile on Katara’s face, when she’s asked to team up with Zuko and fight Azula.

- It’s nice to know that Iroh will get the opportunity to run that tea shop, even if Zuko won’t be there to work with him.

- Okay, okay, so the island was actually a lion turtle. Frankly, I’ve still got a lot of questions. Even some new ones.

- It’s nice to see that the Netlix subtitles aren’t ALLCAPS anymore.

PART 3: INTO THE INFERNO

- Gotta hand it to the music, it can make even a scene of Azula making a fuss over a non-pitted cherry rather unnerving.

- Azula’s... Azula-ness has gone straight up to eleven with her newfound role. Hasn’t it? What with all the banishments, even banishing the entire Dai Li.

- Sokka, Suki and Toph are the real dream team.

- And we get a great final blind joke!

- I like that we get to see everyone doing their part in this final battle. All the members of the Gaang, even the White Lotus, get their moments to shine.

- The hallucination of Ursa shows that Azula, on some level, has an idea of what’s wrong with her. You can tell that they were thinking of a redemption arc for Azula come Book 4, though I am glad that didn’t happen.

- It’s chilling to see Ozai razing the forests of the Earth Kingdom like it’s nothing. And then to realize that this is what Aang will have to face.

- At first I wasn’t sure what Sokka’s plan was, but now that I see it in action, it’s really creative.

- I like the idea of a final one-on-one Zuko vs Azula duel(...a). It’s been a rivalry since Book 2, and it’s nice to finally see it get settled, even if I can’t imagine it’ll end up that easy: Otherwise, what would Katara do?

- It’s so cool to see Aang showing his prowess in all bending techniques, using them all in this final showdown.

- The background music during Zuko and Azula’s Agni Kai really sells it. It makes it sound almost tragic, and it is: two siblings pitted against each other, no choice but to fight to determine the future of the world.

- Azula might be slipping, but she’s still Azula, all too willing to cheat in what’s supposed to be a one-on-one duel.

PART 4: AVATAR AANG

- Netflix isn’t showing the intro for the individual parts, but I’ve gotta say... There’s no way that Katara’s still saying Aang’s “got a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone.” Right?

- I like that we get to see one last use of Metalbending from Toph in the finale.

- Dang, I hope this isn’t really the end for Sokka’s sword, or his boomerang. Especially when the sword was so cool, and one could say meaningful.

- I honestly wasn’t sure the Avatar State would ever be a factor again. But if there was ever a time, this is it. (ADDENDUM: This is probably the best time to clarify that I find and add the images at the start after writing the rest of the post.)

- And it’s so epic to see Aang bending all four elements at once.

- I like that Iroh got to burn down the Fire Nation flag.

- Since Zuko’s down for the count, I guess this means a battle between Katara and Azula, the latter powered up by Sozin’s Comet.

- To be honest, I could barely make out what Azula just said. “kjsdbksrbfkjvf family position to look after, kdcbkfh”?

- Katara may not be stronger than Sozin’s Comet-powered Azula, but she’s much more clever than Azula is right now as she loses her marbles.

- This is just the perfect kind of defeat for Azula. There’s no grace to it, no dignity, just writhing around, screaming and spewing fire as Zuko and Katara look on with pity.

- There’s probably a great practical reason someone could find for Spiritbending being a thing, but here’s why I’m glad it exists: Aang gets a happy ending. He gets to take down the Fire Lord, and hold true to his beliefs. If it weren’t for Spiritbending, if Aang killed Ozai, then he would be conflicted to the end.

And I don’t want that. I want Aang to get an unambiguously, undoubtedly happy ending, where the world is saved and that’s all there is to it.

Plus, Spiritbending is quite the spectacle.

- I’m guessing Sokka’s space sword and boomerang really are done for. But hey, there’s always headcanon. Maybe Sokka searched the forest and eventually found them.

- Weird to think that Ty Lee’s gonna be a Kyoshi Warrior.

- Again, I can’t believe Zukaang’s not the most popular Zuko ship in the fandom. Not a ship I’ll go to bat for, but it’s got all the hallmarks of a fan-preferred couple.

- It’s so nice to see Zuko’s coronation, and the official end to the war. It’s a happy ending for the whole world, the start of an era of peace.

- “Love and peace,” huh...? Now that’s funny to hear in the finale to this show, considering the next show I’m covering, come 2021...

- I like that we get to see one last confrontation between Zuko and Ozai. Even if Zuko’s question of where Ursa is doesn’t go anywhere (in the show, I know they touch on that in the comics), it’s nice to see the newly-crowned Fire Lord Zuko having evolved past a need for Ozai’s attention, or a fear of Ozai’s wrath.

- It’s nice to see the whole Gaang having fun at Iroh’s tea shop, in the end. And I stand corrected, this is where we get the final blind joke.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’m lucky in that most of my childhood cartoons hold up as an adult. I watched Kim Possible, Phineas and Ferb, Code Lyoko, Courage the Cowardly Dog...

Still, there’s something special about Avatar: The Last Airbender. It had a unique aesthetic and world that no other show was quite like. It had a story that was like nothing I’d ever seen as a kid.

And it doesn’t just hold up, it’s even better.

When I was a kid, it was as simple as rooting for the good guys to win, and for the Firebenders to lose, except for Zuko once he turned good.

Now, as an adult (but mostly as someone with a DVD player/Netflix account so I’m not just watching whatever reruns I can catch) I can appreciate the character development, the arcs, the entire story.

I can appreciate how Aang grew from a little boy who does indeed have a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone, into a hero who could save the world.

I can appreciate how Zuko was an abuse victim who did what all abused children wish they could do and left his abuser.

I can appreciate... Gosh, Iroh’s entire character and dynamic with Zuko.

Some people say that Avatar “starts off as a kids show, then turns serious”, but I’d disagree. Avatar is a show where our heroes change, where they learn lessons, where they come of age and become the kind of heroes who can end a war that’s been going on for over a century.

As relieved as I am to be (mostly) done with these posts for the rest of the year, I am still oh-so-glad that I’ve rewatched Avatar yet again, and I know that I will be whenever I rewatch it in the future.

Now, with all that said... Farewell! Until the Christmas special, at least...

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forever-more-never-again · 5 years

Text

Light and Dark (Part Three)

Summary: What changes would occur if there were Two Avatars during Aang’s adventures? One that has a connection to the banished Fire lord Prince?

Word Count: 1627

Pairings: Zuko X Avatar!Reader, Aang X Avatar!Reader, Platonic!Katara X Reader, Platonic!Sokka X Reader, Platonic!Toph X Reader

Warnings: Mentions of angst

A/n: We meet a minor character that everyone should remember

Part One / Part Two

Matsterlist

It took a few minutes, but eventually you were in the saddle atop Appa flying through the air with the rest of the Gang.

Aang sat on his head, glancing back at you every so often in concern. You sat on one side while Katara, Sokka and Toph sat on the other side.

You were emotionally drained after your confrontation with General Iroh. Dragon of the West.

“So. Where are we going exactly?”

Aang spoke up from his seat, “We’re gonna find a small village to lay low for a while. Don’t worry about it [Y/n]. We’ll figure all of this out. I have faith in us.”

Aang turned and you saw the spark of truth in his grey eyes. Feeling heat creep up your neck, you quickly looked away, out over the clouds sailing past.

You heard movement from beside you, and turned to see Sokka stretching out, his head now near your crossed legs.

“Um.” Was your eloquent wording.

Sokka Smiled up at you, and you were immensely grateful that he was quick to warm up to you, unlike his sister and Toph.

“Oh hey [Y/n]. Come here often?” And then he did a ridiculous wave with his eyebrows.

You snorted, bringing a hand up to try and stifle it but more giggles burst past your lips and soon you and Sokka were both laughing.

Faintly, you picked up some quiet chuckles from Aang.

“Stop messing around guys. We’re in Fire Nation territory. Do you want to be caught because someone looked up at a laughing cloud?” Katara’s icy cold voice cut through the light atmosphere.

Sokka looked over at his sister, a hint of disappointment on his face.

Katara looked away, her arms crossed, a frown on her face.

In an attempt to dissuade a sibling fight, you hummed in acknowledgement, “You’re right Katara. I’m sorry I was careless.”

Her blue eyes flew back over to you and you saw the shock in them. You hadn’t expected that to hurt as much as it did though.

True you had only been apart of this group for a handful of days, but you had already grown close to Sokka and Aang and hoped to be friends with Katara and Toph.

After all those years on the run, it was nice to be with a set of people and let them in.

“Alright. We’re going down.”

At Aang’s words, everyone grabbed the sides of the saddle as the giant sky bison slowly descended into a wooded area.

Once on solid grown, you slid down and wobbled when your feet made contact with the ground.

Before your face could get reactuanted with dirt, hands wrapped around your waist and stabilized you.

That’s how you found yourself face to face with a red faced Air Bender.

His hands flew to his sides like they had been burned as he opened and closed his mouth a few times.

“Thank you for catching me.” You smiled softly at the teen.

One hand went to rub the back of his neck and he mumbled something before rushing back to finish unloading the saddle.

Confused slightly by his behaviour, you brushed it off as you watched Sokka laugh and kiss a black sword he called his ‘Moonbeam’. Which made your mind go somewhere dirty and you covered your giggles by coughing.

“The Village is a few miles that way.” You jumped with a shriek at the voice that came from right next to you.

Hand on your chest you glared at Toph even though she couldn’t see it.

She seemed unfazed by your freakout, and remained stone faced as she pointed South.

Aang walked up on the other side of you, “Yeah that’s what I spotted from up above. It looks pretty small, but not small enough that we’ll draw attention to ourselves.”

Breathing deeply, you shouldered your courage, and your bag, and began walking, “I guess we’ll see what happens when we get there.”

Silence descended as your group walked under shaded trees. Listening to bird songs and lizard chirps.

You found yourself walking behind everyone. Noticing the quick glances Katara would occasionally give you, showing her unease at having you at her back.

Aang drifted towards you after a short conversation with Toph and Sokka that you couldn’t hear.

“So.”

You looked at him from the corner of your eyes. His tattoos were once again covered by a headband, his dark hair covering the rest of his head.

“You want to talk about the whole Avatar thing. But honestly, I have no clue...and I’m scared Aang.” Your last words came out in a whisper, barely a breath.

You knew Aang heard you though by the way he stiffened ever so slightly and his hand twitched like he wanted to comfort but didn’t want to overstep.

Instead, he ended up clasping his hands together behind his head, staring ahead at the others, “I know we don’t have a lot of answers [Y/n], but we should go over what we do know so we can figure it out.”

Closing your eyes for a moment, you thought back over the events that led you to your current position.

“So we know that you’re the true Avatar.”

Your statement startled Aang and he opened his mouth, but before he could argue, you shook your head and met his grey eyes head on, “You know it’s true Aang. I’m not supposed to be here. Simple as that. I’m only a- a multi bender because some dark spirit got released.”

You struggled with calling yourself an Avatar and settled with Multi Bender. Because that’s what you truly were, weren’t you. The Avatar was someone merged with the spirit of Raava not Vaatu, like you were.

“Let’s not forget, Avatar Roku said it was a sign of change. And that you can control how Vaatu merges with your soul.”

You were thankful Aang didn’t argue with you, but his words brought a round of nausea through you.

“Yeah. And I feel like I might have already screwed up.”

At Aang’s curious glance, you sighed and elaborated, “How I reacted to General Iroh and my past...that wasn’t all just me. I could feel Vaatu coursing through me, feeding my anger, stoking it higher.” Your tone was dejected, and you couldn’t look at Aang anymore as you felt the shame of your actions.

A gentle touch on your arm had you startling and looking back at the Air Bender.

A soft smile graced his lips and you felt the sudden urge to hide behind your hands but at the same time protect that smile with everything you had.

“[Y/n], you can’t beat yourself over that. You acted rashly, but you can choose how you react from now on. And with us beside you,” he gestured ahead to where Sokka was teasing Toph and Katara was shaking her head good naturedly at them, “I know you can achieve great things!”

Aang’s words of encouragement had your breath catching in your throat. You felt hot tears sting your eyes but you refused to allow them to fall.

This was a first for you. People believing in you, having your back.

Sure Prince Zuko had been there for you when you were a simple servant and child in the royal palace, but this was different.

These people had no reason to be this nice and understanding, and yet here was Aang, smiling softly at you, his hand gently holding your arm as if to cement you into the moment.

Which was broken when a cry rose out from in front of you.

“We’re here!”

Looking ahead, you saw sunlight illuminating some rooftops as the village came closer into focus.

As you entered the village, you villagers glaring distrustfully, and ushering their kids into their houses.

Lowering your voice, you whispered to Aang, “It doesn’t look like they get strangers that often.”

Aang frowned, head going back and forth watching the villagers, “Something’s wrong here.”

As you reached the center of the village, you saw an elderly woman pulling up a bucket of water from a well.

As she bent over to shoulder a wooden pole with a bucket filled on each side, you rushed forward and gently took it from her grasp.

She gasped but then smiled at you from her hunched position, “Why thank you dearie.”

You smiled back at the grandmotherly woman. Even slightly hunched from age, the woman had an eerie beauty to her with her long gray hair and cloudy gray eyes.

Looking behind you, her eyes widened at the sight of the other four, “My my. Travelers? We barely get any this time of year. Come come, Hama here runs a small inn where you can rest.”

Waving a gnarled, age spot riddled hand, she turned and began hobbling towards the edge of the village.

Shrugging at everyone, you hoisted the water buckets up and began following the lady.

Soon you were all walking close together following the woman. Katara was on your left next to Aang as well.

Whispering, her voice laced with concern, “Should we be trusting this woman so early on? We know nothing about her or the village.”

A hoarse laugh caught you off guard.

Realizing that a small cottage style house stood before you and you were on the doorstep, Hama turned around, her eyes glinting in the sun.

“Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I have bad hearing.” She tapped the side of her head playfully.

Katara flushed, and you tensed, ready to run at the first sign of danger.

Looking intently at Katara, Hama said something that sent all of you reeling.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen another waterbender besides myself.”

FOREVER Taglist:

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Light and Dark (Avatar) Taglist:

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amixiifish · 4 years

Text

Heat- Chapter 34: The Airship

“Zuko?” Sokka’s bleary voice said from somewhere on Zuko’s right.

Zuko opens his eyes to see everyone awake but him and Sokka.

Sokka was curled around the smaller teenager, inhaling the scent of content omega.

“Yeah?” Zuko replies.

“Where do you think my dad and the rest are?” Sokka asks.

“Sokka-”

“Just tell me. I won’t do anything stupid.”

“If I had to guess, probably the Boiling Rock.”

“What the fuck is the Boiling Rock?”

“An inescapable island prison inside a volcano surrounded by boiling water.”

“Wow.”

Zuko snorts. “Yeah, wow.”

Sokka pouts but hugs his omega closer. Suko turns and presses his face into Sokka’s collar.

“Get up!” Toph yelled, throwing mud at them.

Zuko’s nose wrinkles distastefully. Haru laughs from where he’s helping Katara cook rice.

Jet was speaking intently with Teo about something. Jet blows an over-exaggerated kiss to Zuko when he notices him staring.

Zuko rolls his eyes but gets up. Sokka whines at the loss but allows him to leave.

“Zuko, Zuko, Zuko! Duke stole my beads!” Aang cried.

“No, I didn’t! I just borrowed without asking. And my name isn’t Duke, it's The Duke!” The Duke cried.

Zuko was completely lost (when did we get beads), and Katara was wheezing she was laughing so hard.

Zuko eventually calmed the two down and they managed to compromise.

“Hi, Katara,” Zuko said, hugging the taller bender from behind. He buried his face in the back of Katara’s neck and his hands were held loosely around her abdomen.

“Nice to see you haven’t forgotten me,” Katara teased.

“How could he forget about the person who’s breathing down his back 24/7 to make sure he doesn’t do something stupid?” Jet said from the side.

“Haru, could you make the rice? I’d like to spend some time with Zuko,” Katara asked the Earth bender.

Haru nods and waves them off.

Katara turns and hugs the omega back.

“Wanna go on a walk?” Katara asks.

“Let’s,” Zuko said with a smile.

“Don’t die,” Teo calls from the back.

“Yeah, yeah,” Katara said, waving them off.

“So…” Katara says, looking at Zuko as they walk through the southern side of the forest.

“So what?”

“Have my dad’s gifts had to be used yet?”

“Dear Agni, Katara, no!”

“That’s disappointing.”

“If this is our conversation then I’m turning back,” Zuko threatens, turning around slightly.

Zuko turns but is stopped by a giggling Katara.

“I’m joking, let’s go,” She said, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

They lay on a stream, Katara bending a nice fluffy snow bed to lay on. She made sure it wasn’t cold. Zuko laid his head in Katara’s lap.

“I missed you,” Katara murmured, carding her fingers through his hair.

“I’ve been by your side this whole time.”

“Not like this.”

Zuko hums in acknowledgment.

They lay like that for a while, Katara half asleep and Zuko already passed out. They are rudely awoken by a crashing noise from their right.

Katara immediately raises a wall of water and Zuko takes a bending stance.

They slowly creep towards the noise to see a couple of monkey-squirrels jumping around on an airship.

“Is that a-” Zuko starts.

“Yeah. And by the looks of it, it’s been here a while.” Katata said with worry etched on her face.

Zuko pokes her cheek. “Don’t do that. It’ll give you worry lines.”

Katara snorts. “Like you don’t already give me worry lines.”

Zuko huffs in irritation.

“Should we tell everyone else?” Zuko asks.

“No,” Katars said, shaking her head. “They’ll only worry. It’s fine. If needed, we’ll tell them.”

Zuko nods. “Can we go and eat now?”

Katara looks shocked. “Oh my god, I didn’t give you breakfast.”

Zuko suddenly sees a turtle duck in the pond.

Katara was pacing trying to remember the way back when she’s bombarded with the smell of happy omega.

She turns to see a baby turtle-duck sitting in Zuko’s lap.

Zuko, though he would deny it, squealed with joy when more joined the first in his lap.

Katara felt her heart both explode with joy and convulse with pain at the sight. She knew how much Zuko’s mom liked turtle-ducks. She sits next to him and smiles as the mother waddles up to her. She climbs onto Katara’s lap but still watches her kids from her comfort zone.

“We need to go,” Katara said quietly, hating the looks of sadness on Zuko's face.

Katara picks up the babies and puts them into the pond one by one. The mother lets out a sound of thanks and follows her children.

“But I want to pet them more,” Zuko whines.

Katara rolls her eyes. Then a smirk forms on her face.

Zuko looks up too late as Katara throws him over her shoulder, a shriek leaving the surprised omega.

“Put me down!” Zuko demands.

“No,” Katara said as they walked into the temple.

Everyone laughs as Katar puts a blushing Zuko down.

They all laugh, eat and enjoy the rest of the day.

That night, Sokka slipped away from the nest and went climbing on Appa.

He gets to the top only to fall back with a silent yell as he sees his omega with Jet sitting on top of Appa.

Zuko looked over the edge of the saddle with an accusing glare. “You said you wouldn’t do anything stupid!”

“I’m not! I’m saving my dad!” Sokka snapped back.

“Not without us!” Jet hisses.

“What?” Both Zuko and Sokka whisper yell.

“Thanks, man,” Sokka said, grinning as Jet pulled him up on Appa.

“What a great idea. When we get there we can go to the flying bison daycare, have some tea with Avatar Roku, get pedicures with Sozin, and then ask to get your dad back. Clearly they’ll give him to us with no fight at all,” Zuko said, sarcasm dripping with every word.

Sokka looked like he was about to argue but Zuko gave him a look, making him shut up.

“We can take a war balloon. I saw one crashed here on the southside with Katara,” Zuko said.

Sokka huffs but jumps off Appa to walk towards the forest.

“He does know that’s north, right?” Jet asks.

Zuko just sighs.

Eventually, they make it on the balloon with Zuko regulating the flight with his fire.

Jet’s as relaxed and Sokka was anything but.

“What’s wrong?” Jet asks the other alpha.

“We’re very close to the moon. My first girlfriend turned into the moon,” Sokka said.

Zuko turns away from his bending of the firepit. He questions his wording. “That’s rough, buddy,” Zuko says finally.

“That was so condescending, it’s not even funny,” Sokka deadpans.

Zuko smiles but kisses Sokka’s cheek. The water tribesman visibly relaxes after the show of affection.

“I made these balloons with a friend of mine,” Sokka recalled.

“Oh?” Jet says, mildly interested.

“Yeah. Balloons but for war. Then the Fire Nation started to use them for war,” Sokka said.

“If there’s one thing my father knows it’s war,” Zuko mutters.

“Runs in the family, I guess,” Jet said.

Everyone freezes. Zuko suddenly looks beyond pissed.

“How could you say that?” Zuko snapped harshly at the alpha.

“I didn't mean it that way, you’re a good person and-” Jet placates but tears are already burning Zuko’s eyes.

“My uncle was such a great person! He would never fight unless made too. He was like a father to me. He stood by me and showed me love when one else would. And I hurt him. I left him to Azula, no less,” Zuko said, sobs wracking his frail body.

Jet shushes the omega and wraps his arms around him, gesturing Sokka to join.

“Oh, honey, you didn’t leave him. You're going to save him, ok? We’ll bring him back,” Jet coos to the omega.

“I’m sure he still loves you, darling,” Sokka said, the pet names making the firebenders’ sobs lessen.

“I’m sorry,” Zuko says after a minute.

“No, I am. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry,” Jet said firmly.

“It’s fine. I think we’re here,” Zuko informs the two looking over Jet’s shoulder.

“Holy shit,” Sokka whispers, and , yeah, that pretty much covers it.

A giant fortified metal brick filled with living, breathing people surrounded by scalding water.

#jetokko #jetko #zukka #sokka #jet #zuko #atla #katara #toph #aang #omegaverse #our fic #heat (amixiifish)

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cozy-possum · 4 years

Text

How I Became Yours: Prologue

Summary: A re-write of the classic How I Became Yours, Zutara comic

This can also be read over at my Ao3 account

The war is over. The war is over. You can rest. You can rest. Aang sighs draping himself against the bench he’d found outside of the council meeting. He tries to brush off Roku and the rest of the avatars humming in his head.

Aang, you need rest. Rest. The war is over. Aang swats out with his hand trying to shove his past lives from the room but ends up smacking Zuko in the face.

Aang “You need rest.”

“Zuko..” Aang looks horrified; he knows he’d hit the scar, the way the skin under it had felt, almost like dragon scales.

“Stop waxing poetic about it; I can hear you thinking.” Zuko laughs a little, a small chuckle and Aang looks nervous but releases the breath he was holding.

“We have a lot to do.”

“Yes; for the moment we all need to be together; to plan our next moves; to pull my nation’s ruling back to its own shores.”

“So you’re saying we’re all going on a trip around the nations? Like old times.”

“It was two weeks ago Aang.” Zuko’s face is back to his usual neutral expression, the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

“Yes; we do need to; mostly the Earth kingdom; Agni knows my people have destroyed much of it.”

“The water tribes?”

“Later; they; the North was able to resist us, Katara and Sokka would be better suited as go betweens.” Zuko gestures to them as they walk up, Toph following with Iroh who drags them all back from the council meetings to the garden for tea.

“Not the Avatar?” Aang looks a little hurt and resigns himself to quietly sip his tea.

“You and Toph need to help the Earth Nations that were devastated by mine. Suki would also be a good ally to have; anyone who knows Earth kingdom traditions, and anyone who can soften the blow of what’s to come.”

“What’s to come?” Sokka furrows his brow.

“The lies and manipulation in Ba Sing Se need to be destroyed if we want to rebuild peace.” Zuko states drawing his gaze to his Uncle who narrows his eyes back at him.

“While I’ll be your council I am not one to rebuild a city I tried to lay siege to.”

“I’m not asking that; I’m simply reminding you how traditional tea brewing is vital to Ba Sing Se; there’s a tea shop that needs it’s owner back.

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”I kissed Katara” Aang’s nervous about leaving; Zuko can tell just from how he shifts on his feet, let alone the fact Aang is giving him a recount of the only two days that had passed while they hadn’t been constantly together in the palace.

“Did you like it?” Zuko shrugs a little curling inward unsure of how Aang wants him to react.

“No; it was like kissing you.” Aang laughs; Zuko knows he must have looked offended.

“Sorry; I’m sure you’re a wonderful kisser; but it wasn’t anything I thought it was; we’re friends, we’re meant to be that way I think...” Aang chuckles to himself and Zuko shakes his head fondly.

“I’m wounded, Avatar Aang; I thought us two were meant to be together!! Two halves of the same whole; two nations able to restore peace!” Zuko offers a half smile and a wink; throwing his arms up and dramatically twisting around in front of the ornate mirror in his bedroom. He can hear Sokka laughing and he tenses up; knowing that if Sokka is around not only will Katara be but so will his advisors. He wonders how relieved they’re feeling to be leaving the Firelord's den. Zuko had asked Sokka and Hakoda to step in on advising; besides his Uncle’s council he wasn’t sure how trustworthy many of the generals' words were. His lingering suspicion of them from before the war made him uncertain; he never knew if they would advise something to unheedingly sacrifice more lives to make him look bad. With the war over they didn’t have to worry much about fights or keeping control of colonies; but Zuko was most concerned about releasing the varying prisoners and some of the towns that were being destroyed under the Fire Nations rule right away.

He knew there was a long way to go but with everyone having discussed plans and the smaller changes he’d already been able to make he knew it wouldn’t be long before they would all see each other again.

With Toph and Aang agreeing to work with the Earth king, and Katara and Sokka agreeing to work with their father to bridge the north and south tribes; Zuko relaxes a little. Enough to assure his Uncle that he can return to running the Jasmine Dragon. Iroh seems reluctant to leave but Zuko refuses to let him stay, even threatening him with making all of his tea. Iroh rebuttals he’d happily put up with it if it meant being near him and Zuko shakes his head reassuring him that he’ll be visiting as often as he can.

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Aang writes letters every week; at first Zuko had gotten swarmed with three days worth of mail, small half scribbled updates of everything Aang and Toph were doing; the poor messenger hawks he’d given them were exhausted; and after a refueling and two day rest did he respond, in one multi-page letter, requesting they do the same; if not to spare the poor hawks, to spare his servants from thinking something was wrong if the Avatar was sending in seventeen letters a day.

Aang responds later that week two tubes on the messenger hawk’s back detailing everything that had been happening that week; which was to say Appa had eaten at least five new fruits, and that Momo stole someone’s hat. That Toph was improving her sandbending, using it to clean up towns that the Fire Nation had tried to dam and redirect rivers from. She’d also been working on her metal bending, all of the factory pieces and parts that the Fire Nation wasn’t bothered with retrieving was giving her plenty of practice with sculpting tools and other items for the villages and towns to trade and use in rebuilding.

They’d met up with Suki and Sokka, who were travelling to the north pole with Katara, although Katara had trailed behind checking up on a river town they’d helped before.

Zuko knows it’s silly but he writes each of them letters; well he tries; he combines Aang’s and Toph’s as they’re travelling together, as well as Sokka and Suki’s; they’re a couple anyways is how he justifies it. Which means he has to write a letter just to Katara, it's a good excuse for the first few letters which cover at least three months of travel. He doesn’t blame anyone; he’d been swamped with his Firelord duties as well as trying to rekindle his relationship with Mai, something he was nervous about, now that he was the firelord, and he’d abandoned her to his sister, he’s not sure how she’ll feel about him. By the time he figures out she forgives him; that she’s more than happy to be by his side, although she hates the meetings and council members that drag him away; their false pretenses of peace and caring for the firelord annoy her; she discusses this with Zuko more than often and he’ll laugh it off, assuring her no one but her knows the best ways to take care of him. He’s not sure why he dreams of a soft blue light and a cool touch that night.

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Mai always laughs when he reads Aang and Toph’s letters aloud. They’ve moved on from the earth kingdom villages; they’re working at restoring some parts of the air temples and improving the structures that hold them upright. Which means Toph is flying most of the time to reach them and Aang details her reactions to returning to the earth. This usually involves her covering herself in a layer of rocks and then letting Aang use them as target practice for his air or firebending. Toph notes he’s gotten better at his control; she’s able to make nail sized pieces of rock that he can hit and splinter without damage to anything around it and only a few misses compared to the disaster he’d used to be when it came to targets. Sometimes they’ll do it while they’re flying, an excuse for practice they both know they don’t really need anymore with the war finished. It’s a good distraction for Toph, while her dislike of flying never changes, having earth to focus on helps .Aang comments in the letters that she’ll often warp the meteorite bracelet when she gets nervous which is usually whenever they’re flying. While the restorations are underway; increasing the structural integrity is a slow delicate progres that calls for carefully fortifying the pillars and rock structures from the inside; Toph has developed a side project. Her quest to create Toph statue’s in every place they visit. So far they’ve been small palm sized sculptures of her, as she didn’t want to bother the townsfolk or scare any of the wildlife. Since the air temples are uninhabited by humans for now Aang assured her she could make them bigger; they’d visited each temple deciding that the Western one was in need of the most repair and help. Moving the debris and damage that was caused from combustion man was a surprisingly easy task; most of the pillars were scattered around the temple and very little of it had fallen from the cliff face below. Aang knows the restoration isn’t as simple as that; that Toph can really only help with the structural things; that the artwork and murals might not be things she can construct; he wonders if he’ll be able to find everything to mix the paint with.

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He grows to enjoy Suki’s updates, matter of fact reports that hold very little personal information. Just details about the towns they visited and rankings and tallies of which ones appear to need the most help. Which towns need which supplies. Areas that need the fire nation troops to stay; their influence part of the economic growth and removal could cause worse devastation than leaving them. He’ll often interspersing these reports with Sokka’s humour. Trying to avoid the overwhelming darkness that his family has caused dragging him down. Most of Sokka’s attempts at humor were jokes that reminded him of Uncle and Zuko would try to return the joke with one of his own; or borrow yet another half remembered joke from Iroh. Sokka also includes a string of training and sparring ideas for both of them; they’d been trading tips and tricks after both finding out they’d studied under Master Piandao, Sokka offering moves he would use his boomerang for or fighting moves he’d seen earthbenders repeat. Zuko offered firebending stances and the meditation he would use; as well as the training he’d use for his broad swords. Sometimes he would find Suki’s handwriting in the margins, adding tips from her use of fans or noting some things Sokka was saying were things she had taught him. Both Sokka and Suki were enjoying the weather, the clear skies and fresh air proving to be good for training and practicing sparring with their weapons of choice. Sokka also includes drawings of what Zuko assumes are the animal’s or scenery they’ve been seeing. It was mostly various hills and the occasional house; but he’s tried to draw what Zuko guesses is a gilacorn.

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Katara are his favourite updates; he claims it's due to her discussions as a budding diplomat, as well as the doodles of waterbending forms she includes; things he can relate to being the firelord and moves he can try to incorporate into his fire bending when he spars. He explains to her that the palace staff is slowly warming up to him; they’re less stiff and he’d even managed to avoid a reaction of terror when he called one of the older chefs by name. He tells her that the turtle ducks have returned to the pond, not that they ever left but they had been hibernating and he includes a crude drawing of a turtleducking with a note in case she’s never seen one. He sends a second letter scrambling after he’d sent the first one; realizing that she’d spent plenty of time around the pond, practicing her waterbending. Mai rolls her eyes lovingly as he grumbles about the mistake of sending the letter too early and making a mistake; she laughs a little, chiding him about using the royal scribes.

Katara writes back almost instantly, the turtleduck drawing he’d done is included, but there’s another one beside it, obviously drawn by her, Zuko keeps it folded in his robes to laugh at. Her drawing is almost real life, his is a little more impressive than Sokka’s. A doodle he gets weeks later, Katara having no doubt shown him Zuko’s attempt. Her actual letter is just as impressive, Zuko’s a little amazed Hakoda hasn’t named her chief successor; and then he’s panic stricken that he doesn’t actually know any watertribe customs. He resolves to brush up on their traditions when they meet next. She is slowly working on teaching some of the northern waterbenders the other styles of water bending, mostly the bending of water in plants; while they’re surrounded by snow and ice she worries one day they won’t and she’d never want any of them to feel cut off from their bending.

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He doesn’t receive letters for another few months; then it becomes a solid year. He finds out when a swarm of messenger hawks show up that the birds had been through a storm and had gotten turned around twice before finding their way back to the original senders, and once they’d been refed, they’d made their way to him.

He replies to each letter individually; it takes him three days to get through them all; and before Mai can drag him to bed, he’s offered a meal and a seat in the Council for the weekly meeting they have. He gets through the meeting and falls asleep the minute he curls under the tree by the turtleduck pond.

The letters continue for the next two years; a comforting back and forth habit for all of them to keep in touch. It doesn’t replace actually seeing them; and while he has Mai most of the servants and palace staff still avoid him in a social context. The letters stop for a full week. Zuko asks some of his staff to be on the lookout for the messenger hawks.

They bring him one a day later; he pulls an invitation out; obviously done by Hakoda, but the doodle signature is Sokka’s, he grins, laughing a little but responds immediately.

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Hakoda is bringing everyone back together in Ba Sing Se for Sokka and Katara's announcement as councilpersons for the water tribes. He also includes a note about the celebration of Aang's achievement in the complete restoration in the Western Air Temple. Sokka has added a note about it being Katara’s birthday as well, and that Zuko will need to get her a present. This information brings the resurgence in his lack of knowledge about water tribe customs. He knows a few earth kingdom ones but assumes those don't translate and he resists the urge to send a frantic letter to Sokka or even their father and settles for researching everything in the library and asking any of the palace staff to inquire about water tribe customs for an eighteenth birthday celebration.

He finds the water tribe scrolls on his desk the next morning, and three pirates in the jail awaiting sentencing. He also finds one of the scribe's notes about necklace making, and he reads over them, noting that apparently hand crafted items are the biggest compliment to pay to someone you admire; and a necklace is the ultimate expression of that. He stores that idea content that the water tribe scrolls and bending formations will be good enough as a gift. He thanks his servants and makes sure everything is prepared for his trip to Ba Sing Se. Mai declines to come and he assures her he won’t be long; she assures him she’ll survive without him; he knows it’s as good as her saying she’ll miss him. They share a kiss before he leaves on his trip. He didn’t tell his Uncle he was coming, hoping to surprise him, it had been two years since they’d seen each other.

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When Zuko gets to the entrance to Ba Sing Se he’s not really sure where to go; his feet try to make him return to the house he’d lived in with his Uncle but the carriage he’s riding in brings him to a sprawling house in the uppermost ring; the avatars home; the guide tells him.

He’s not surprised that Sokka is the first one to hug him; Aang follows, slightly taller than the last time he’d seen him. Toph offers him the usual shoulder punch and he sweeps her into a hug, carefully keeping her feet on the ground so she doesn’t lose her bearings. Suki grins pulling him into a hug twisting her face so she doesn’t smudge her warrior face paint.

“Do you have a mission?” he smiles a little and she grins back.

“Of course; I’m in charge of security.” She laughs and Zuko shakes his head. She leads him back into the house; where he greets Katara; surprised by the hug she gives him.

“Missed me that much then?” He grins at her and watches as she looks away slightly. She looks older; he’s sure they all do; but her hair hasn’t changed; it's down a natural wave to it, save for the bun and looping strands that frame her face. He wonders how different he looks. He knows his hair has grown out more; it’s not the length he had it when he was banished but it’s long enough where he no longer has to force it into a barely long enough ribbon.

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“Now before the party later today we have to stop at this wonderful tea shop we never got the chance to visit.” Toph grins as the rest of the group move to follow. Zuko leads the way, they’ve all chosen to walk and he’s surprised how many people seem amicable to him, he reasons it’s because of who he’s walking with but he jerks slightly when Katara nudges him forward when a few people call his attention.

“Yes?” He’s grateful he’s been able to master the neutral expression because he wants to frown when they bow to him. He resists the urge to bow back; his advisors had informed him it was unheard of; still he inclines his head smiling when they gasp a little.

“Firelord Zuko; it’s so wonderful to see you out in our city.”

“Well it is home to one of the best tea shops in any of the nations; the Jasmine Dragon.” He grins when they look excited and nod.

“We’ve been there; the service is wonderful.” He laughs a little recognising one of the older members as one of the guards he had served. They make it to the Jasmine Dragon uninterrupted. Zuko figures he deserves to be childish as he hides behind the rest of them, making shushing noises as they enter the tea shop.

“Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon.” Zuko swears he can feel his Uncle looking for him; how his voice waivers at the word dragon; Toph leaves the group first moving to hug Iroh; Zuko can feel the ground shifting slightly and he rushes past while his Uncle’s eyes are closed. Grinning as his apron is still on the hook after these years. He ties it automatically and can’t keep the smile from his face as he stands to the side watching the group finish greeting him

“Uncle- um Iroh.” Katara nods to the empty seat and he shakes his head.

“Please; we insist. Excuse us.” Katara waves her hand as she pulls Iroh into the seat. Iroh looks amused and Katara smiles at him saying something Zuko doesn’t hear beyond the blood rushing in his ears.

“Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon; I’m Li, your server-” He’s surprised he got that far before his Uncle hugged him. He gets them all their tea; he’s about to let his uncle make it when Katara shakes her head offering him her seat as she assures him she'll supervise Zuko.

The tea tastes almost exactly like when his Uncle makes it and it’s enough to make Zuko sigh in relief.

Zuko serves everyone and settles into the seat between his uncle ant Katara. He’s watching Katara as she flicks her wrist; he knows most of the table misses it. He knows his uncle didn’t but when he complements the mixing her face lights up.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were spoiling him.”

“So what if I am? The man who freed Ba Sing Se deserves his tea made exactly how he likes it.”

“Ohhh, and here I thought;” he holds his hands up with a sly smile creeping on his face, it drops for a second when Katara makes eye contact with him, her eyes shimmering at whatever comment he’s going to add.

“I see what you’re doing; making us depend on you for our tea first; and then what; it’ll never end Ms. Water nation diplomat; pretty soon we’ll be having trade routes and intermingling of cultures.” Zuko chuckles.

“Conspiring with the Dragon of the West himself! Truly a stroke of genius.” Zuko’s chuckles fade nervously at Katara’s now unreadable face.

“Sorry. Was that inappropriate?” Zuko curls inward slightly.

“Oh no; it just wasn’t funny.” Katara’s smile and Sokka’s bark of laughter make him grin, until he feels the flick of cold tea against his neck and finds that the tea in his cup has turned to ice.

“And here I thought teaching those kids waterbending would have improved your sense of humour from being around them for years.”

“But I wasn’t with Sokka?” That makes him laugh again and Katara smiles back at him, hiding her continued laughter by turning to check on everyone else, she starts to ask about some diplomacy meeting and Sokka jerks her chair.

“No working on your birthday missy!” Sokka grins, Katara scowls and Zuko nods along with Aang who has a solemn look on his face.

“Yeah, listen to your brother; you can’t work on your birthday; save that for tomorrow, when he’s passed out from a hangover.” Aang laughs at Zuko’s joke so Zuko counts it as a win.

“Oh I was wondering where I should bring the present I have for you.”

“Present?” He can see Katara’s eyes turning towards Sokka and narrowing.

“Uh yeah; it’s your birthday; you get presents on that day; I mean in the fire nation you do.” The terror strikes through him as he realizes Sokka may have been joking about the gift.

“That’s really sweet Zuko; thank you; I guess I’ll have to open it later?”

“You can open it whenever we get back to the house; it’s there with all my things.” He can see Sokka narrowing his eyes at him and he shifts slightly backwards in his seat.

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”They were in the library I thought you would have more use for them; and they’re yours by right anyways; this doesn’t seem like a very good gift now that I think about it…” Zuko hangs his head slightly; Katara doesn’t seem to hear him; she’s focusing on the scrolls, waterbending forms and movements he’s assuming she’d seen before but with how delicately she’s holding the scrolls he thinks maybe she hasn’t.

“If it’s stuff you’ve…” he trails off looking confused when Katara grabs Sokka’s hand and pushes him towards the scrolls she’s holding.

“That’s..” He doesn’t finish instead pushing Katara aside slightly to just stare at a corner of the page. He cranes his neck, noticing they’re looking at the notes written in the margins. He hadn’t bothered reading the waterbending notes; he barely opened the scrolls themselves just to check they weren’t anything cruel on them. He reads it now; understanding dawning and his throat tightening in empathy, he tries to swallow it away but the thought of finding something his mother had left just for him; is suffocating. He understands why both her and Sokka are tearing up. He’s struck with a sinking feeling as well; these must have come from the raid; from the day she was killed. Zuko feels a little sick but brushes it aside for now; his friend's happiness comes first. In addition to the fact he has a party to attend in a few hours and refusing would be seen as rude at the least and an act of war at the very worst.

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royaltealovingkookiness · 5 years

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I'm not sure if you've done meta on this (you probably have) but I've been re-watching Avatar and I just passed the desert episode, and the look on Katara's face when Aang goes into the avatar state just breaks my heart. It's like a mixture between sad at seeing him this way and 'not this again'. I think the thing that gets me is she's not even surprised it happened, she didn't even atttempt to run like Toph and Sokka, it was like she was waiting for it to happen sooner or later.

Thanks for the question. No, I haven’t really done a meta on it, because I’m still quite confused about a lot of things when it comes to the mechanics of the Avatar State.

That scene in The Desert was really effective - because it highlighted well not only how the Avatar State gives incredible power, but how dangerous that power is without proper control.

As far as Katara’s reaction is concerned, I think you have to go back to the first episode she sees Aang like this, all the way back in The Southern Temple.

There Aang seems to enter into a milder version of the Avatar State, and he calms down when Katara talks to him and snaps out when she grabs his hand reminding him that he’s not alone.

[Katara: … and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom. Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Sokka and I, we’re your family now. Sokka: Katara and I aren’t going to let anything happen to you. Promise.]

So Katara knows from this already that Aang needs help to get out of the Avatar State and that reminding him of his attachments is what helps.

Fast forward to after Aangzilla annihilating the Fire Nation Navy at the North Pole and the Earth Kingdom generals thinking that they have found their nuclear weapon in 2.01. Remember there the argument between Katara, Sokka and Aang?

[Aang: I told the general I’d help him… by going into the Avatar state.Katara: Aang, no. This is not the right way.Sokka: Why not? Remember when he took out the Fire Navy? He was incredible.Katara: There’s a right way to do this. Practice, study, and discipline.Sokka: Or just glow it up and stop that Fire Lord.Katara: If you two meatheads want to throw away everything we’ve worked for, fine. Go ahead and glow it up! Aang: Katara, I’m just being realistic. I don’t have time to do this the right way.]

Katara is the only one who feels strongly that triggering an uncontrolled Avatar State is a very bad idea. She is right - Aang when finally triggered by General Fong endangering Katara causes a total rampage in the fort and this is when Roku gives him the basic rundown on the Avatar State-theory; that this is something powerful but it also makes him vulnerable, and being killed in this state would end the entire Avatar cycle.

Notice that Aang is still not in control either going into the Avatar State, or getting out of it - this time it’s Roku’s intervention that helps him snap out.

After this incident, Aang apologizes to Katara: “I’m sorry, Katara. I hope you never have to see me like that again.”

So by the time we are at The Desert Episode, Katara has seen Aang in the Avatar State a couple of times. She knows that the fear of losing his loved ones is a strong trigger for Aang, she knows that he’s unable to control it or get out of it without help, and that the powers he unleashes based on strong emotions of rage and pain are very destructive, and take an emotional on Aang.

So I guess, her reaction in the episode is a combination of different things - she’s sad for Aang that he’s going through such extreme pain that it triggers him, she’s becoming aware just how central she has become to Aang and the responsibility that comes with that - because what if next time something happens and she’s not there? It’s a lot to bear. Also, I think she feels bad that despite their promises earlier, they can’t keep Aang safe, and despite his promise, Aang is unable to keep himself from entering this state. There is no sheltering him from this, Aang needs to learn to control the Avatar State.

What I found interesting in The Desert is that when Katara first touches Aang, she gets this visceral, hateful reaction from him:

It seemed to me at the time that they were setting up a narrative where going into rage-induced, uncontrolled Avatar State would make it harder each time for Aang to snap out of it and it would become more and more dangerous for him and those around him every time he used it.

Even as Katara holds Aang, her face is conflicted - because she could stop him now, but she sees how next time this could quickly spin out of control. This is very different from their embrace in The Southern Air Temple, where I think Katara felt this was something she could protect Aang from.

A word about Sokka’s and Toph’s reaction. Obviously, for Toph, it’s the first time she experiences Aang becoming like this. Her senses are fuzzy because of the sand, so whatever Aang is about to unleash, Toph may not be able to get away from.

By this time, Sokka is attuned enough to Toph that he knows exactly which situations she can handle and where she needs help. So his first reaction is to get her to safety so she doesn’t become a collateral damage. And while in The Southern Air Temple, he was worried about Katara, here he seems to have faith in her ability to calm Aang, and he’s fully focused on Toph instead. (And let’s not forget that Aang was also mad at Toph for Appa’s loss, so it was also not unconceivable that he would have targeted her in that state).

This scene basically reinforces the seriousness of the Avatar State-conondrum. Not only it is a potential powerful weapon, but it’s a huge risk for people around Aang - innocent bystanders could get hurt. Whether Aang’s objective was to beat the Fire Lord or simply to not hurt people in line with his pacifist values - he had to get control over it.

This is why it’s a big deal (and a complete betrayal of who he is and what he stands for - paralleling Zuko’s theme in CoD) when he abandons his chakra-training in The Guru and lies about it to everyone. But Book 3 really dropped the ball on the narrative of the Avatar State, shifting the focus as regards Aang’s non-violence solely on the issue of whether he should kill Ozai or not and in the end it feels like that this build-up leads to no properly delivered arc.

#atla #atla meta #rtk #aang #avatar state #katara #aang & katara #1.03 #the southern air temple #2.01 #the avatar state #2.11 #the desert #sokka #toph #sokka & toph

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joculatrick · 4 years

Text

she-ra...but it's avatar....

au time babey

it's in the time of sozin + roku (it fits a lot better shh)

catra + adora grow up in the fire nation

they're in an elite soldier training program they were inducted into at 5

sw is their supervisor, a water bender that defected from the nwt for power

they never knew their parents

both are stars of the program, adora first and catra a persistent second despite her unique blue firebending

at one point in their late teens they go exploring farther from base than usual, deep into some woods bordering the ocean

adora starts to hear whispers. ancient voices telling her she has a purpose and worth outside of being a soldier, telling her to do something she doesnt quite catch

catra pulls her away, distrustful of the idea of voices and change and tries to dissuade adora from returning, and to avoid upsetting her adora pretends to concede

of course, she does return, and the voices coax her into bending air and discovering she's the avatar

shocked to her core, having been told that the avatar died out, adora is at a loss

suddenly she's wrapped in ocean water and out spring glimmer, the daughter of the chieftess of the water tribe, and her nonbender bff bow

the 2 snuck off a northern water tribe ship sent to spy on the growing fire nation army

delighted to have caught an elite soldier of said army, glimmer and bow are totally hostile towards their hostage

pleading with her captors, adora says she's the avatar and bends fire and air (a lil bit, shes a beginner)

bow and glimmer's jaws drop. the world had been alert for the avatar but the fire nation had claimed that a new one was never born so the world mourned

confused but warming to adora, b + g take her back to the ship and immediately their captain strikes a course back the nwt

on the way they discover how sheltered and abused adora was and start helping her heal, as well as bonding!! adora tries to bend water on the way but has very little success, it is her opposite after all

bfs rolls up to angella, leader of the nwt

unsurprisingly she's not eager to trust

but after some time, everyone basically adopts adora the avatar because she's just that lovable

meanwhile, in the fire nation...

with adora absent, catra finally gets to be first and graduates top in her program, becoming a commander of her former classmates

she feels utterly betrayed and abandoned by adora and takes on the task of hunting down and delivering the avatar to firelord hordak with vigor

she's accompanied in the task by scorpia, who as daughter of 2 general moms felt she had to inherit the mantle even though she's not much of a fighter

even though scorpia's a commander herself she's infatuated with catra and follows her command

eccentric IT genius entrapta, who built herself 2 prehensile arms attached to her back via harness, is often consulting the 2 and strikes up a friendship with them (super pal trio for life!)

now, back to the best friend squad and element learning:

adora's waterbending teachers are princesses glimmer of the northern tribe and mermista of the southern tribe!

glimmer is a talented bender but never the master her mom is no matter how much she struggles

she is a much better leader though, as well as a good friend

obviously adora struggles a lot with water, and that coupled with the nwt recieving dire messages from their sister tribe prompts the bfs to travel to the south pole

once there, they discover that the fire nation has been raiding the swt

after sending a message to her mother for northern reinforcements, glimmer and squad invite mermista, daughter of the chief and ridiculously talented water bender, to the group

(glimmer imagines herself mermista's rival and pushes herself wayyyyy too hard to try and top her. eventually, with reassurance and camaraderie with adora, she gets over it)

from there, the princesses + bow (as bow teasingly calls them) start the long trip to the earth kingdom

along the way - bonding, shenanigans including adopting pirate comedian seahawk, flirting (adora to glim, unknowingly, glim gay panics) ((seahawk to everybody)), bending practice (adora finally makes bubbles! and waves! she's ecstatic and splashes everyone constantly)

finally, they arrive at the earth kingdom!

it's adora's first time seeing a bustling city not made of ice and she generally just looks around in awe (glim thinks it's adorable)

how adora wishes she could share it with catra.

as representatives of the northern and southern water tribes, and the avatar of course, the group is invited to a fancy ball hosted by a powerful family

there, adora and fam run into catra, there as rep from the fire nation. there's dancing. and lots of gay tension.

the host of the ball is none other than frosta, recently orphaned and secret master earth bender (I went more based on personality than Princess Ability for the elements of the alliance members, and if you make a couple logical science jumps earthbenders could bend ice)

after adora and crew fend off some burglars that interrupt the ball, frosta is enamored and begs to join the group and teach adora earthbending

she does just that, with a healthy dose of tough love

at this point, the bfs are seasoned friends and formidable fighters

unfortunately, after a timely break and a few vacations, the pals hear a devastating message. "the fire nation attacked the north pole, trying the capture the moon spirit to control the source of water bending. the attack failed, but only because angella gave her life to stop it."

stunned, the group returns to the north pole. bonds are tested under the weight of glimmer's grief and impending responsibility.

once there, glimmer has her coronation ceremony and becomes distant and stressed, bending over the weight of a whole tribe to lead

after a tough couple months, adora feels her last element calling to her. glimmer pleads her to stay and help defend her nation but adora needs space to breathe, and doesnt feel confident as a protective force without well rounded bending knowledge. she leaves. bow accompanies her

the 2 journey to the western air temple, the closest to the fire nation, because it just feels right to adora. bow worries.

there they find perfuma, stalwart gardener and accomplished airbending student, the mysterious madame razz, and a young dragon named swift wind

perfuma teaches through learning WITH adora, and this method really helps adora find confidence and some inner peace, away from the chaos and demands of her life

finally having an animal companion also helps! he's fun loving and flies while she glides and is an excellent listener

madame razz speaks in riddles, but she helps adora learn about her past lives and the chakras. throughout this process adora accepts a lot of what makes her her, but she gets stuck on letting go of attachment

letting go of her friends, her found family, is tough, very tough, but even after she manages that she's still not there. there's only one face she sees and she doesn't understand how she hasn't let her go yet

meanwhile, in the fire nation...

the attack on the nwt was a huge success, mainly due to catra's tactics

however, her habit of challenging authority left her in a tough spot with firelord hordak from the beginning, and her control of this last battle was the last straw

he challenges her to an agni kai, claiming she undermined his authority

she wins

keeping sw as an advisor, she takes command, and her first target? the western air temple

all together now!

in the midst of adora's training, catra strikes

she slashes adora's confidence, back, and progress on letting go of attachment

the chakra is locked

catra ends up defeated, but only just, and only because glimmer showed up with a ship full of water benders and scorpia and entrapta defect

meanwhile, charismatic political leader prime leads his followers in an uprising, kidnapping catra and glimmer after the battle ends

captive at prime's estate on a faraway island, catra and glimmer bond over adora, rashness, and isolation. it's rough but at least they're not alone

desperate to save glimmer, adora and bow pile on swift wind and start searching for the elusive island

when they arrive, catra creates a distraction and frees glimmer, sending her to adora with a message not to return

the bfs is finally reunited, but adora is missing something. she confesses she wants to rescue catra and glimmer is right with her

with adora on the attack, sw bloodbends catra to fight her, finally throwing catra off a cliff. adora follows

shifting into the avatar state through pure rage, adora heals catra, beats sw, and takes catra home

catra bonds with the bfs and starts to heal, and her and adora slowly return to their flirty best friendship

glimmer and catra flirt up a storm "as a joke" (the only ones they fool are eachother)

adora knows they'll have to defeat prime. there will never be peace with him in power

they come up with a plan, but it mainly relies on adora sacrificing herself. adora knows it's her pupose

catra can't stay and watch, she can't

adora is heart broken

on her way to prime, she has a vision of catra, its tender and loving and it hurts

catra comes back. she passes glimmer and bow guarding the way. glimmer hugs her

right before adora enters the throne room, catra pulls her back

she kisses her

adora finally understands, and becomes a fully realized avatar, and uses the avatar state with control to defeat prime

catra and adora and glimmer and bow watch their world blossom with a new peace

#WOW that was long #my brother and i had Thoughts #i fleshed them out even more #wow #shera #fan

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armageddon-generation · 6 years

Text

Fixing The Legend of Korra - Book 2

I’D LIKE TO CLARIFY THAT I IMAGINE THESE SEASONS TO BE 26-8 EPISODES IN LENGTH, YOUNG JUSTICE-STYLE, TO FIT EVERYTHING IN

ALSO THIS IS LONGER AND I TOOK MORE LIBERTIES WITH CANON BECAUSE BOOK 2 ISN’T THE GREATEST

Book 1 here Book 3 here, Book 4 here

BOOK 2

KORRA

When we start 6 months later Korra still doesn’t have her fire, earth or waterbending – but she’s still not mastered airbending because she associates it with her trauma.

This simultaneously justifies how protective Tenzin is, and how frustrating Korra’s airbending training has become – she’s stuck using the element least like her, forcing her to use cut-and-run tactics she hates

This also explains her frustrations with Mako – he’s fighting crime while she’s stuck on the island, feeling powerless. She’s angry at him for doing what she taught him to – embrace his gift. Their relationship is becoming unhealthy.

If Amon was powered by dark spirits it also explains why Korra is so angry her Dad has been hiding the spirit attacks in the South from her – in her head dark spirits are the thing that stole her bending, so she wants payback (which Tenzin is actively against)

This fear Korra will hurt herself also means Unalaqq’s faith in her will mean a lot more – we can see it positively impacting her

All this time we see Korra’s past lives debating what to do with her – Aang is defending her, but Kyoshi is taking a hardline approach – death and moving on to the next life?

After Korra shows herself to be completely useless against the first Dark Spirit attack, Kyoshi has enough and possesses Korra's body (like Roku did to Aang in ATLA 1x09 Avatar Roku). Team Avatar then have to hold off crazy Korra while she tries to reassert control over her own body

Kyoshi and Kurruk argue over who should be in control - the Water Tribes are his people - and Korra literally fights herself, destroying everything, as control switches between them (both Kyoshi and Kurruk try to flirt with Mako, which freaks him out)

Eventually it's Raava (unnamed and unknown at this point) who helps Korra reassert control - all the past Avatars are stunned she intervened

Only reopening the Southern portal gets Korra her bending back – the strengthened spiritual connection allows Raava to heal and reconnect her to the elements – Aang gets to say ‘I told you so’

Unalaqq's plan getting Korra's bending back explains her loyalty to him and desire to prove he’s a good person

Emphasise the familial connection between Unalaqq and Korra – maybe flashbacks to visits when she was a child?

Explore more Avatars' stories while we have the him, to deepen the impact losing her past lives has on Korra (she barely communicates with them in the original) - Aang sees a lot of similarities between Korra and Kyoshi, which worries him

Compare the active Korra to the last waterbending Avatar, Kurruk (the inactive guy who fought Ko the Face Stealer) - Unalaqq disapproves of him. Establish the Avatar was always flawed and prone to laziness

When Korra does get her bending back she’s boisterous and overzealous, driving Mako up the wall

Learning the origins of bending as a weapon against spirits in Wan's time causes Korra to reconsider the aggressive and excessive way she uses hers. She becomes a lot more self-conscious and careful

In Book 1 we established Korra had trouble with waterbending’s emotional side (accepting change and letting emotion flow) and Kya had to teach her using adapted firebending techniques

The conflicts of this book teach Korra (and Kya) to value her culture (the spiritual and emotional lessons it teaches) and she learns how to let her emotions flow from Katara

In the finale when Korra turns into a kid, have Naga be her guide, not the dragon-bird. It’s an awesome design, but it’d be cool to see Naga do her job as animal guide - she can have a crazy spirit form once Korra grows back up

UNALAQQ

I think this would be a really interesting opportunity to explore theocracies – If Unalaqq is the leader of a spiritual cult who worship Vaatu as a god. If spirits are influenced by human emotion, worship could do some very interesting, dangerous things

Have Katara also clash directly with Unalaqq (not physically, but in terms of ideals and influencing the people) as the South’s unofficial spiritual leader

Explore Unalaqq’s childhood, isolated and jealous of his brother (he’s basically Loki from Marvel, and he’s one of their most sympathetic villains)

Chart Unalaqq’s corruption under the influence of Vatuu – think the One Ring’s influence on Gollum – see him turn from a promising scholar to a scheming Machiavellian mastermind, turn it into a family tragedy

Also touch on the twins’ relationship with their father – I’m assuming it was cold and empty, like Mai’s relationship with her parents. But their parents are estranged (a result of Unalaqq’s fall) and their mother abandoned them, so he is all they have

Draw direct comparisons between this relationship and Tonraq’s relationship with Korra, which is almost too caring, yet at the same time he leys her be her own person in a way Unalaqq won’t let them – the twins don’t really get this kind of affection, though by the end of the season they express a wistful longing for what could have been

Asami relates to the evil father thing, and is a key instigator of their turning against Unalaqq

Lets see more of the actual Civil War in the South, to maintain the urgency of the plot – Tonraqq leading guerrilla warfare. Maybe one desperate moment where Katara comes in for support – not actual fighting, more like the wave from The Last Airbender Movie – something to scare pursuers off

ASAMI

In Republic City Asami is trying to put the Equalist experience behind her. This doesn’t work so well when she’s having to testify at her father’s trial at the beginning of the book

I think it’d be a tragic twist if the same day was the anniversary of her mother’s death, and she had to visit her grave (first one parent – in jail – and now the next – in prison). This compounds how lonely and directionless Asami is

At the same time, the Equalists (the same likeable Chi-blockers from Book 1) are attempting to gain legitimate democratic representation in the United Republic – something Raiko is understandably not keen on. Non-bender rights have actually back-slid in the wake of Amon’s revolution. They keep asking Asami to become their official representative – a multibillion-yuan company would make people take them seriously. Asami keeps turning them down because it’s bad for business, but she’s also not ready to go there emotionally

Asami comes to South Pole separately to Korra and the others – they bump into each other on the dock (which is super-awkward) and Bolin insists on going with her to see Varrick to get away from Makorra

Asami’s arc over the season is affirming she isn’t like her father (a legitimate worry, now she’s inherited his job and the Equalists want her to lead them) or Varrick – she is a good person and she wants to help people.

In the time when Korra doesn’t have her bending she and Asami bond over the frustrations of being a non-bender, and she helps Korra practice airbending – Korra now has much more respect for Asami, and her inferiority complex makes her think that, if it came down to it, Asami would be a better Avatar than her

Asami gradually becomes more involved in the Civil War conflict until by the end of the season she is basically Korra’s right-hand woman, and they have an extreme professional respect for each other – laying the groundwork for Book 3’s friendship/romance

In the finale Asami agrees to fund the Equalists’ political campaign – she is fully committed to righting her father’s wrongs and creating positive change (setting up the next book)

ATLA FAMILY TREE (KYA)

This a personal thing, but I think Kya would be much more interesting if she was Katara and Zuko’s daughter, and not Katara and Aang’s.

Because I’m rewriting Korra I’m taking liberties and declaring everything post-Sozin’s Comet fair game. No offence to any Kataang shippers out there (my first OTP), but I think it’d be more interesting if they broke up soon after the war ended and reality set in (I have many reasons why but that’s not why we’re here) and Katara eventually flalls for and marries Zuko

You could then have Tenzin’s mom be an air acolyte – I personally like the idea of Aang eventually ending up with Ty Lee because their humble monk/crazy flirty girl dynamic would be interesting, and there are loads of headcanons that Ty Lee has a connection to the airbenders.

Tenzin’s mom will have recently died so we don’t have to deal with another character, and we can still have an interesting pseudo-maternal relationship between all of Team Avatar’s kids and Katara

But imagine if Firelord Zuko’s firstborn, heir apparent to the throne of the Fire Nation, was a waterbender? Kya would’ve forfeited the throne as soon as her younger sibling was born (this could be a version of the Izumi character) and her roaming the world trying to find herself would have greater weight

Kya always connected more with Aang and Toph’s kids then her own sister – her arc over the season is reconnecting with them and creating her own family – maybe she and Tenzin clash, because she knows what it’s like to be disappointed by family and wants to tear down his delusions of Aang as the perfect father

ZUTARA + FAMILY

Because he’s now blood-related to Katara General Iroh has greater motivation to help in the war – he takes a leave of absence and goes with Korra to the Fire Nation to appeal for help. When they’re attacked by Eska and Desna, Korra saves Iroh from the dark spirit and he manages to make it home on his own.

He helps Lord Zuko sneak into the South on a small ship (paralleling Zuko sneaking in to the Northern Tribe in the ATLA book 1 finale) to go help Katara (Zuko splits his time between her and his responsibility to Izumi)

Zuko is present when the Krew arrive at the South on the Zhu Li. Zuko is horrified by what Unalaqq is doing to the spirits and explains the story of The Search comics to Korra in flashback – how a spirit gave his mother a new life and then reunited them years later. This story of inspiring positive interaction between humans and spirits is partly what motivates Korra to keep the portals open – tying it to the biggest mystery from ATLA means the choice is more likely to emotionally resonate with the audience

Compare how different Katara’s life is to her daughter’s – Katara settled hard when Kya never stopped running. This is because Katara wanted more than anything to be a good mom, because she knows what not having one is like, and no-one should ever go through that. There’s a suggestion that because of this Katara’s potential as a spiritual leader and figurehead wasn’t fully realised (a deficiency exploited by Unalaqq) – she feels guilty, for failing both her tribe and Aang’s legacy

Kya reassures her before the final battle that she has nothing to regret – she’s an amazing mom. They reconnect, and Katara gets to make fun of her for her crush on Lin. Tenzin is the one to reassure her about Aang being proud of her, after returning from the spirit world

LIN

At the beginning of Book 2 Lin is being pushed out of the Police Force – Raiko wants her to retire. She knows it’s just because she’s still stuck being a non-bender (because Korra has fixed her own problems yet). Not only does this mean no-one trusts her to be as hands-on as she used to be, but to Raiko’s administration she is a scar left behind by one of the greatest instances of civil unrest in history – she is an unwelcome reminder of Amon

Bolin is drifting - he attempts to join the RCPD but flunks out when he's unable to metalbend - a frustrated Lin sympathises, but she's ha her own crisis of faith desperately drafting and training up new metal benders who have far less skill discipline and respect for the art than her - a teaching role she's clearly uncomfortable with

Insert flashbacks of Toph trying to teach Lin as a kid (Toph's line about her girls never taking to metalbending in Book 4 implies this wasn't happy). This plays as a tragic parody of Bitter Work - Lin suddenly has a bitter empathy for how her Mom felt

She starts receiving letters from Su, asking if she’s OK or if she needs help – these only make her angry, and she ignores them (Toph hasn’t sent her anything)

By the beginning of the book (I’m thinking we spend a whole episode in Republic City setting everything up, then move to the South in Episode 2) it’s gotten so bad that Kuvira turns up at Precinct One in full Zaofu guard uniform. She’s the only one with enough will and stubbornness to come down and try to talk some sense into Lin. Because she’s looking for the Chief, they send her to Lin’s favourite rookie – Mako.

Mako talks with Kuvira (at this point a complete stranger) and comes away really admiring her. This trip is the first time she’s taken administrative leave from Zaofu. She takes particular interest in how they deal with prisoners, and Mako’s upbringing comes up – she reassures him to hang in there, explaining her own tragic origin as an orphaned nobody. Mako is inspired (she reminds him of the way Korra used to be, the way he wishes she was now)

Lin, of course, kicks Kuvira out as soon as she recognises her uniform. This doesn’t go as smoothly as usual, though – Kuvira is one of the few people who can stand up to Lin, and leaves on her own terms.

Lin’s angry, near abusive reaction to Bolin's incompetence at metalbending makes him concerned about for her, not angry (Build a relationship between these characters!) and Lin realises she's becoming the worst parts of her mother. She needs a break to go find herself

She accepts an invitation (from Katara) to go to the Glacier Spirits Festival (Lin doesn’t really do vacations – she has nowhere else to go)

While in the South Lin’s interactions with the other Team Avatar kids are pretty awkward – she hasn’t talked to Bumi in literal decades – but she has a warm (if reluctant and awkward) surrogate mother relationship with Katara, which bonds everyone together

Kya and Lin in particular bond over both being outcasts, never feeling like they were what their parents wanted – I just really like the idea of Kyalin and want to see them interact – joking about their role reversal - Lin is soul-searching while Kya is the devoted daughter

Once Korra gets her bending back she cures Lin, and Lin comes storming back to the City with Mako, halting Raiko’s replacement plans

She is now a big supporter of non-bending rights, and together with Asami, by the end of the book she’s become an official advocate

MAKO & BOLIN

With benders gone Republic City is still in a semi crisis state, with electricity being rationed and the removal of a lot of triads' bending (and the prison break in the finale) sparking a full-on gang war keeping the RCPD busy

Mako’s colleagues are bitter he is only getting ahead in the RCPD because he is one of the rare benders left, and therefore more effective in fieldwork

Explore Mako’s struggle as a cop with ties to the triad – before he gets framed, establish no-one on the force really trusts him yet. Lin is sympathetic (suggest, when Su’s letters arrive, she’s trying to make up for what happened with Su becoming a criminal – saving Mako is equivalent to making up for her mistakes)

Lin believes Mako’s theory about Varrick after he gives her the evidence (her ignoring him is frustratingly dumb) . When Mako is framed and Raiko demands his arrest she secretly helps him go on the run

The triads nearly catch him and kill him, but he gets to Bolin’s new apartment in time

Have Bolin not be an idiot – after Mako warns him, he recognises who Varrick is. They’re actually really similar – both using a ridiculous personality to distract people

Bolin is the one to turn Mako in because he’s playing the long game, and recognises that in a holding cell Mako is safer than out on the streets where the Triads (and, he fears, Varrick, if the problem isn’t solved) are more likely to kill him

Life on the inside is still rough – explore that, have Mako be confronted by old acquaintances from his childhood, Equalists, and triads he’s put away as a cop. (He tries out some of his corny lines on them as a coping mechanism)

Now the brothers’ original dynamic is flipped – Bolin is the one supporting/protecting Mako as much as he can (sending in mover fan art as moral support etc.) Build the contrast between their lives – Mako in the gutter and Bolin living the high life.

Don’t prolong the love triangle – Makorra breaks up midway through the season, that’s it. Asami kisses him (?) but she feels really guilty about it because at this point she really respects Korra, so they don’t start dating again. No amnesia when Korra comes back. That’s it. Done.

RAAVA AND VAATU

Obviously explore Wan’s story more – maybe a four-part mini-movie like the ATLA finale. Explore Vaatu’s influence on humans, so Korra understands what he did to Unalaqq; have her sympathise and feel sorry for him

Establish the idea of Gaana, the original, primordial harmony spirit that split into Raava and Vaatu

A big complaint about Raava is she overwrites the explanation of the avatar cycle in ATLA as the combination of all the past Avatars’ knowledge. In this version, combine the two – make it clear that everyone reincarnates (Sozin into Zuko, Gyatso into Momo) but the Avatar is the only one who can communicate with their past lives, through Raava

During the finale let's see the chaos Harmonic Convergence is causing - Dark Spirits terrorising the world as in the third act of Ghostbusters

Also Asami goes ham with tons of gadgets she’s been developing with Varrick, and a customised plane, instead of sitting on the benches. She gets Jinora to the healing hut and then gets back just in time to bomb Unavaatu after he’s destroyed Raava, stopping him killing Korra’s physical form too. She takes Korra back to the Spirit World and the Tree of Time.

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faithandfairies · 7 years

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I Ship It

Okay, I officially love Zuko, especially how he is with Aang.

And with that if I was in charge of pairing everyone up romantically the pairings would pretty much all be gay. Well, except for Sokka’s.

The pairings would be:

Aang-Zuko

Katara-Toph

Sokka-Suki

I also love that this pairs everyone up and leaves no one living secluded in a swamp. I’m looking at you Toph. Forever miffed that Toph didn’t get a love that lasted.

I love the pairing of Aang and Katara to be honest. They are great together. And I also love the children and grandchildren they had. And part of me thinks that that is why the characters were paired up the way they were. While the pairings I made might work better emotionally and romantically, not to mention would leave everyone paired up, almost everyone involved in them needed to procreate. And wouldn’t have been able to do that through the pairings I made. Both Aang and Katara were the last of their kind, Aang the last airbender and Katara the last waterbender of her tribe. And the most powerful one alive. Then there was Zuko who was the first young firebender in a long time who knew true firebending which his heritage allowed him to be. Aang especially couldn’t afford not to procreate. And the old-fashioned way was the only way back then I imagine. Katara’s situation was the next dire one. Both she and Aang needed to pass on their genes. So did Toph, being the strongest earthbender and first metalbender ever. And Zuko being the combination of Avatar Roku’s and the fire lord’s genes one could argue that goes for him too. Although possibly less so. Again, Aang’s situation was the most dire one since he was the last of his kind and so the air nation would have died out with him had he chosen not to continue it himself. Back then he couldn’t have known that the airbenders would re-surface through Korra’s work. And Katara couldn’t have foreseen that a disgraced future northern watertribe chief would have been thrown out of his tribe and become southern watertribe, producing Korra, a southern watertribe waterbender and the next Avatar.

I also realized that I don’t really lie how Zuko is with girls. I had high hopes for him and that ratsniffer girl. Then I had high hopes for him and that first earthbender girl. Then I just gave up.

And I’m not talking about the awkwardness either. That’s pretty normal. It’s the lack of interest in girls altogether and in really getting to know one beyond feeling like he had to. The only one he truly showed a bit of an interest in was that first earthbender girl. And I liked that they both had firebender scars.

Mai he was with by default, because she basically claimed him and he didn’t really protest. Just went along with it in my opinion. Because at least it was someone from the fire nation that wasn’t disgraced that liked him.

On top of that, Zuko kind of has a one track mind. And the only thing he’s focused on throughout the show, is Aang. Aang literally lit his fire ;D, gave him purpose and hope. And there’s a thin line between love and hate.

For Aang, I think Katara was love at first sight that he never really strayed from. But that doesn’t always work out so well. I think Aang saw Katara and made up his mind that she was it for him and didn’t really look anywhere else for romance after that. Lucky for him they get along swimmingly. But from Katara’s side it took her quite a while to return the feeling. In fact, it was only when Aunt Woo told her she would be with a powerful bender and Sokka described Aang the same way that Katara truly began to focus on Aang as a possible love interest. Probably in part because he was younger than her. But to be fair, Toph fits that description perfectly as well.

So outside of all that procreating stuff and the fact that Aang and Katara do love each other and get along I’m starting to think Aang-Zuko could be an even better pairing than Aang-Katara. And I’ve been convinced for a while that Toph is actually in love with Katara and is only remotely interested in Sokka because he’s basically a male and therefore as a love interest more acceptable version of Katara.

Katara is the first person we saw Toph be even remotely kind to. She made Katara believe her optimistic advice in training Aang was helping where she could have easily hurt her instead. She simply chose not to. Possibly because she might have initially just thought Katara too kind and compassionate to feel the need to hurt her.

Later we also saw her be sincere with Katara first. And we saw Katara see her and basically hold a mirror in front of her. One that basically told her she was loved.

Katara on her end is the mothering, caretaking one. She’s usually calm and collected. But Toph was the first person that got under her skin just by being and didn’t just blindly follow her instruction.

Now that I think about it I’m not sure how well they would work romantically considering ho often they fight. But I am convinced they love each other.

I think it’s more that Katara would be a calming, stabilizing presence in Toph’s life. One that would understand her and love her without hurting her. She makes Toph want to be a better person, well, kinder and more compassionate and has succeeded. I think that’s what makes me think Katara is good for Toph. Because Toph needs and wants that in her life and that’s who she is herself, she just covers it up with this hard veneer of toughness and sarcasm and while it’s a part of her, one that I love so much, it’s also armor that protects the deeper, more vulnerable parts of her.

I think that Toph could be good for Katara in that she brings out the fire in her. Katara is always calm and reasonable and with Aang she’s his rock, his solid ground. He would often literally fall apart without her. But I feel like she has made taking care of Aang her personal responsibility in a way that is more than just...than the way Asami is with Korra. It worries me that Katara maybe sees it as a 24/7 job to protect Aang, from himself, from people that want to exploit his kindness and want to hurt him. And about the toll that might have taken on her. And whether Aang was able to return the favor. Whereas Katara doesn’t have to be calm, responsible, reasonable and on guard all the time when with Toph. She’s still protective of Toph but it’s a bit different. And they don’t always fight, just when Toph is trying to hold onto her armor for dear life in front of Katara and Katara and Katara won’t let her. That is what their fights are about. About the fact that Katara sees her and she’s terrified of anyone seeing her.

That is also why I love Zuko and Aang. Because where Katara and Aang are both calm, responsible, reasonable people Katara is still the stabilizing force there.

Whereas Zuko and Aang stabilize each other. Zuko is the impatient hothead, but just like Katara he is older than Aang, maybe not in years but in mental development, growth and life experience. Aang may be 112 but he has only actually lived for 12 of them. Although he has definitely experienced more in those 12 years than some people do in an entire lifetime.

Still, Aang has the mind of the young boy he is. Zuko is older in that. And he is happy to guide Aang when needed but he doesn’t try to fight his battles for him. He fights them with him.

Aang is also Zuko’s stabilizing force. He’s infuriatingly optimistic and God knows Zuko needs that. He’s also more forgiving than anyone I’ve ever seen and a symbol of hope and has so much love to give. Not to mention playful where Zuko is serious. All of which Zuko needs in his life.

At the same time Zuko has a determination that Aang usually draws from his friends’ belief in him. Zuko is basically all of that determination balled up in one person. Aang is a runner. Well, his first instinct is to be afraid and run but the stakes are always too high for that. Aang stays because his love for his friends and the importance of their safety, of his role always outweigh his fear. But Zuko could teach him to be determined without the need for high stakes in the moment.

Inner motivation, instead of outer motivation for doing things. Which is what Zuko’s story is all about. Looking within to find his path, not outward. Zuko is the embodiment of Aang facing his fears and overcoming them. The evil spirit turning out to be a lovable panda.

Zuko and Aang are yin and yang. Whereas Katara and Aang are a bit more Yin Yin. And as was said on Castle. Yin Yang is harmony. Yin Yin is a name for a panda.

Who is left?

Ah, Sokka.

The thing with Sokka is that he had certain beliefs. Beliefs on what girls were and were meant to be. Meant to be saved and protected. Damsels in distress, not warriors. Then Katara, his sister, and Suki happened and blew those beliefs right out of the water.

Sokka started out as not someone who was willing to listen to anything a girl had to say, let alone learn from them.

Suki changed his mind. She surprised him. She showed him a warrior, herself, and then made him one. And in turn he inspired her to be even more than she already was.

He learned that girls could be warriors and leaders without it taking away from their femininity. They emphasized that by having both Katara and Suki kick ass in dresses. Suki even in dress, a full face of makeup and using fans as weapons.

And she learned that a boy could be taught and actually learn.

I have my doubts whether Sokka truly loved Suki though. Even though he respected her. She certainly loved him, willing to follow him into danger so he would have her by his side helping him.

The thing is that when Katara was in danger Sokka dropped everything to go and find her. It wouldn’t matter if the world was ending or where the enemy took his sister, Sokka would always be there for his sister. If she was lost he (and Aang) would always find her. Sokka didn’t seem to truly care about much, sometimes entirely unable to show sincere compassion, but he loved Katara.

Yet it never occurred to him to find Suki when he knew she wasn’t safe. Even when it was brought to his attention that she was a prisoner of the fire nation and that she believed he would come for her. There were so many other things that had greater priority to him than she did. In the end he did end up rescuing her but not because that’s what he was there for. Whcih kind of makes me sad.

There’s also the fact that it seemed their chosen destinies never aligned. Suki was a Kyoshi warrior. Sokka was one of team Avatar. They had entirely different priorities, not just when it came to how high of importance they ranked each other’s safety. Although I do think Suki would have dropped everything to find and save him if she knew he was in danger. Which is why she expected the same from him.

But what I love about this show though is that they’ve included beautiful heartfelt moments for almost every pairing, so you could pair almost any two people in the group (including Zuko) up romantically and it would make sense.

Sokka-Toph could make sense, if you don’t consider the possibility that Toph is gay. Which I have.

Zuko-Sokka could make sense. Aang-Sokka could also make sense. And so could Katara-Zuko. Possibly even Toph-Zuko. Although those two hotheads together might end up in them killing each other. Maybe. (Yeeah, I take it back. I don’t think Toph-Zuo would work. Zuko treats Toph about the way he treated Mai. He doesn’t care about her problems. And n Toph’s case he can’t even make himself care.) And Suki-Toph. The only person we actually saw Toph kissing (on the cheek).

In the end in my opinion Aang and Katara ended up together simply because they chose each other. And that is beautiful. But they were not each other’s only option that had potential.

I just realized that there are children who’s parents haven’t been confirmed. So just for fun I’ll speculate.

There’s Zuko’s daughter. Looking at her face shape I’d have to say that she could definitely be Mai’s daughter. Probably all the women on the show have pointy chins, but Mai is the only one with a long face that about matches Zuko’s daughter’s.

As for Toph’s children, we know Lin’s father is a man named Kanto, if Toph didn’t make that up on the spot to hide the true identity of Lin’s father. Either way we definitely don’t know who Suyin’s father is. It’s interesting because Lin has about Toph’s coloring so a dad is harder to pinpoint. It could be someone with a darker complexion than Toph. Or not. But Suyin is a bit darker than Toph. And her hair is wavy, almost curly.

The moment I saw her to be honest when all I knew was The Legend of Korra, I considered her father might be watertribe, although I didn’t know whom it could be.

I mean anything else is possible but I immediately connected her appearance to that of Korra at the time and considered the fact that Toph is a lot lighter and a child with a watertribe person and her could turn out lighter than said watertribe person.

Knowing what I know now it’s possible that that watertribe person is Sokka. If that’s true it’s also possible he never knew.

#all about ships #ATLA #TLOK #avatar

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