#yes i do know that this is how i sound about sokka. no i have no intention of stopping any time soon . thank you for asking

[deadghosy]

🌊⛰️🔥🌪️

MODERN! READER WITH GAANG

𖤓PROMPT: you fell inside your comfort show.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩it was during book 2, you were happy to see toph show her father that she can take care of herself. You had wished to see it in person. And booom! You were suddenly in the show where you can see Aang get busted free from the metal cage.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩after the whole fight scene, toph noticed you and pointed you out. You knew there was no chance in running, so you outed yourself out. By calmly saying you are from another world. As much as you sounded crazy, they laughed while Toph knew you weren’t lying by your heart rate. You showed them your phone and that’s when the main Trio stops laughing and got curious

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩Sokka most definitely will ask if the ladies back in your time era are attractive, you said yes and this boy was asking to see what they look like on your phone 😭

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩and that’s how you got into the gaang. You were the therapist of the group, always listening to their troubles and helping them with all the knowledge you knew about their characters.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩katara always likes to rant about her day to you, and you don’t mind which makes her feels comfortable around her. Book 1 katara was very open on making friends. Book 2, I’ll say the same. If you had meet book 3 katara, YOU BETTER HAD PRAY FOR MERCY LMAO.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩aang likes to play with you with his airbending, and you enjoy the hell out of it. Literally you would smile with the brightest smile, and Aang smiles with you along. Just two sunshines having fun.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩toph likes how you taught her swear words. You and toph curse like sailors😈 lmao. Aang accidentally got influenced and that make katara step in and shut shit down 😭😭.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩you love appa and momo! These furry cuties love you too as appa always licks your face when you show up. Momo sometimes leaps on your shoulders, maybe even trying to share a fruit with you.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩Aang steals your big shirts, and you would try to match with him which makes him even like you more as a friend. You turn into his best friend right there and now.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩with you being a non-bender..protectiveness is to the roof! Literally even if you can fight. There’s still bending that can take you down without a single thought. The people who at your body guards are Aang, toph, Katara, and Zuko. The four powerful benders. But the ones who stick the most are Zuko and toph. Toph because she likes how fierce your personality is. Zuko, Zuko is just himself. Plus he needs more friends.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩Zuko awkwardly ask you a lot of questions from your generation. Like a lot to the point you grabbed his lips shut. That’s when Zuko knew, you weren’t playing games.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩headcannon on zuko and you just being awkward teens not knowing how to start the conversation so all he starts off is, “so, is war a thing in your world?” The way you gave him a wild side glance.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩I can see you making the gaang learn slangs LMAO. You made katara understand the wordings of “What you being messy for?” And she started to use on toph and Sokka 😭😭 you’d probably give Aang a short ass but wholesome slang.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩if you had curly hair, and not some katara curly hair iykwim. I mean like 4c ass hair that I possibly have 😭. I can see katara just amazed and ask in g to comb it which you quickly say no to. Toph, just stands there but probably does touch it when bored. People who ask to touch it is suki, Zuko, and Aang. Those three are people who I can see ask before doing it. Sokka will ask, but will touch it as it ask after 🧍🏾

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩big headcannon Sokka training you on sword fighting, but then Zuko comes in because Sokka is apparently “showing” you the wrong way lol.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩suki most definitely would love to teach you her ways of fighting. Plus chi blocking. Once you mastered it, she would take it up a notch and have you spar with her. In honor of her teaching, you agree. You had the upper hand until she practically cheated by distracting you. Making you lose your focus, she nailed you down. But in all warfare, it was full of laughter and friendship.

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩imainge you showing them that “car” comercial..(of course toph can’t see it lmao) 😭 ZUKO PROBABLY BURNT YOUR PHONE 😨 ALL BECAUSE HE GOT SCARED

[ivnxrori]

When Sun and Moon meet - S1

Zuko x Fem!WaterBender!Reader Enemies to Lovers

As one of the Princesses of the Northern Water tribe, you were blessed with a gift by the moon. However you were permitted to be allowed to use the gift at all costs. From many hidden waterbending usages, the aftermath of the avatar visiting the Northern Tribe had led to your beginning journey, hiding yourself as a water bender as a princess from the Northern water tribe

Warnings: mentions of arranged marriage

Masterlist

҉ * ‧͙ ⋆ ⁺ ༓ ☾ Chapter 1 - Welcome Avatar

“The avatar is here” The guard spoke up as my eyes widened in shock. “The…avatar…?” The guard nodded at my question. I genuinely thought the avatar had died a while ago but I guess they were just rumors? “Chief Arnook wants both of the princesses and prince to attend the gathering for the avatar” I nodded as I went to get up to follow the guards. It's been a year since Sivoy, our youngest brother, was born. Not a lot has changed over the years, except knowing probably this year is going to change us the most. Yue is getting engaged to someone who she has been crying about. I will never forget when she broke down in front of me in my room. I held her, that's all. I couldn't do anything, I couldn't whisper any reassuring words to her or tell her it's going to be okay. The truth is, I was consumed by my own fears of my own arranged marriage next year. It's selfish yes, especially it isn't my situation currently but it will be sooner or later.

We both make it towards the feast, also having Yue’s special announcement of her being able to get married. What everyone else doesn't know is that she is already engaged. I follow her lead, sitting next to her at the edge of the table looking at the variety of foods, which is all seafood. I take a quick peek of our surroundings and see our sister tribe. A sister and a brother which I assume, including a young boy with a blue shaped arrow across his head. “The Avatar is quite young” I whisper to Yue as she nods. I continue watching the show Master Pakku has been presenting to us. It was intriguing, for sure but what was more enjoyable was a southern water tribe member poorly flirting with my sister. Getting called out by his own sister already. I stifled a laugh and just when I knew it, the whole thing has already ended. ҉ ☾

It was quite late at night, the moon spirit was shining brightly. I bowed slightly towards the moon and put my mask on. The mask was carved like a full mood with room for eyes, including feathers surrounding the mask. I pull up my hood from my jacket and go outside, quite far away from the other male waterbenders who were practicing. I mimic the movements that were taught to them. Yes, this is how I'm able to learn and use waterbending. I never know when to give up, I have been told many times by a variety of people. My dad specifically. “Hey! Young one!” I snap my head towards the sound of guards and before they could even ask a question, I disappear. “Where did he go?” one of the guards asked, clearing the mist lingering in the air from my leave. Home. I went home heavily breathing from almost getting caught. I'll just try again tomorrow.

“It wasn't as fun after you left…” I wanted to drown. Oh how much I just wanted to flip this boat upside down to stop Yue and this Southern Water boy from flirting, and I could have flipped this boat around if there were no restrictions. The next thing I know that stopped me from day dreaming was the southern water boy falling off the ledge. I laughed softly, asking Yue “Do you even know his name?” while she was waving off to her new crush. “Sokka” She responded dreamily with a hint of red on her cheeks. My eyes widened with sudden worry “Yue…” The way I spoke was intended to remind her that she was an engaged lady. I doubt father would allow her to marry someone else, especially if he is constantly traveling. “I know” Yue cut me off with a disappointing tone I felt nothing but sorrow in the moment, what's worse I couldn't do anything to save her. I stayed silent, leaning slightly back hearing the water move around us.

I was able to stop by Yagoda’s place, there was no reason to but she taught me when I was very young, it was a way to make use of my water bending by my father. She only taught how to heal however but what more can you do in this kind of situation. It's only fair I show respect for her by bringing her food, supplies, trinkets or even my presence. Before I stepped foot I overheard her talking to…someone? I take a little peek, leaning my body so only my eyes would be visible towards the door. It was the southern water tribe girl! What is she doing here…? Looking further towards the door only to realize she’s a waterbender…She's a water bender! I could use her to somehow convince Master Pakku and my father. Yes, it sounds horrible. Using an important guest to my own advantage but it's beneficial for everyone, even her so it's not entirely selfish. I wasn't able to convince Master Pakku. Instead he told my father my plan which led me to get in more trouble than I already was. I'm just a princess, and that's all I will ever be. My head snapped up as I heard the Southern Water Tribe girl coming closer. I took the chance to grab her wrist and pull her to the side. “Hey! Who-” “It's me!” I said pointing to my very obvious white hair. “Oh you're the younger princess! What happened?” “You can waterbend? Correct?” I asked already knowing the answer “Yes…why?” “Because I feel like you can convince Master Pakku to allow us girls to waterbend” I whisper “A lot of girls have water bending abilities however they’re forced to keep it in because of the strict rules but!” I pointed at her “Your the southern side of the water tribe, maybe somehow show him your abilities and possibly convince him to allow girls to water bend” She looked at me confused. “How am I able to do that when I can't even learn whatever he is teaching?” I thought about it for a second until an idea popped into my head “Get it from your avatar friend! He is getting taught, right?” Her eyes widened as she nodded “You're right! Then I'll get it from him. Thank you…uh- princess…” I giggled “Y/N, just call me Y/N” “Katara” “Thank you Katara” I smiled as she walked away.

And this was the last thing I wanted. Seeing Katara and Master Pakku fight with waterbending. “This is all my fault” I muttered under my breath. “Your fault?” Yue attempted to confirm my statement. “What?” I look at her confused. Did I really say that out loud? “You said something” “I'm sure I did not” “But I hear-”

A big wave of water hit the ice, hearing the splash turned me away from the conversation. Both Yue and I were wincing from the sound of the impact. Last thing I see is Katara with a bunch of icicles surrounding her. She…lost…

I sigh sadly as I go to grab Katara's betrothal necklace that laid on the icy floor. But before I was able to, “This is my necklace…” Master Pakku grabs it gently. I immediately walked back. Ah…so the southern tribe existed because Katara’s family members did not want to stay in an area with unnecessary rules. It was quick to piece together. I heard Yue’s breathing become unstable, so I turned to look at her but she didn't look back. She was slightly shaking and tears were brimming her blue eyes. “Yue…” I spoke softly and sadly, reaching for her shoulders but she ran, covering her eyes with her hands to prevent more tears from falling. “Yue!” I yelled, already planning to chase her only for the southern water tribe boy to pull me back. “I’ll get her” He gave a reassuring smile then ran towards Yue. Both of them slowly disappearing. I wonder if he knows why Yue was crying. I furrowed my eyebrows in pity and turned on my heel to go back. “Y/N!” Katara yelled out for me, I turned towards her direction. “Thank you” she said out of breath. “I didn't really do anything” “You helped me gain confidence” She smiled “Well…your welcome and thank you for…all of that” I patted her on the head and she laughed. “You're an amazing water bender” I said and turned to go home. I sigh sadly wondering if Yue is alright.

<- Back - Next ->

a/n: I finished this quite quickly! ALSO THERE IS STILL NO ZUKO IM SORRYYY! I PROMISE ZUKO WILL BE THERE IN CHAPTER 2. The masterlist should be out by the time this chapter is out. This whole fic is COMPLETELY last minute like I started writing all of this today. BUT WOO impulsive decisions led me to post this. Also surprisingly, S1 of this series is literally almost ending LMAO. I think S1 is only like 4-5 chapters? I only finished Chapter 3 currently so im not sure. However I think S2 and S3 will be PACKED and im planning to add some extras in there too :D ALSO If you want to be in the taglist pls go ahead and comment or ask me :) Have a nice day!

-- Taglist: @luvkvni @katovano

[seyaryminamoto]

My latest completed commission may have been a bit ambitious... because I went wild with it. But I certainly relished in doing so :') Combining my favorite ship with my favorite-ever Disney movie is, uh... a dangerous concoction :'D

The commissioner specifically requested for Azula as Mulan, Sokka as Shang, and Xin Long (my OC dragon from Gladiator) as Mushu. The rest of the cast was up to me to choose, and I pretty much went wild rewatching this movie and picking out some of my favorite moments to recreate them in my style, with these characters. I came up with a lot of correlating characters between both ATLA and 1998's Mulan, but I couldn't hope to draw EVERYTHING, unfortunately. Still, if you want my reasoning for the cast correlation... check out the Read More! Beyond that, feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to commission me, or if you want to join my Patreon!

The Herbalist as Mulan's grandmother might feel arbitrary but she honestly felt like the ATLA elderly lady with the most similar personality to Grandma Fa. Fickle, with a unique connection with a seemingly perfectly ordinary animal, old and sassy? Figured it fit! So for once, the Herbalist is Azula's grandma! xD strange notion, I know, Azulon/Herbalist is not a ship I ever thought I'd accidentally put out in the world but there have been wilder ships than that in this fandom...

Momo became Cri-Kee, I wasn't 100% sold on it but when I considered that Avatar features soooo many hybrid animals... I figured he could be a hybrid cricket-lemur. Weird, I know, but eh? Better than nothing xD

Aang as Chien-Po was a no-brainer. He's the only character I settled on instantly, never even considered anyone else for the role. Their personalities line up really well, and Chien-Po's tendency to be OP and resolve things that are outside of other people's reach sounded like he was prime Avatar material! So, while their dietary preferences are an obvious difference between them, I decided to go for it nonetheless considering all their other similarities!

Kino (another Gladiator OC) is Ling, and he actually did give me a ton of trouble to choose. I considered many characters for the role right up until I realized that Kino's personality actually lines up fairly well with Ling's, down to being a class clown type (who ABSOLUTELY would have cut gym class!) and breaking out in song about the hypothetical woman he'd like to fight for? Yeeeeah that's right up his alley xD but there's another reason why I picked Kino...

... And that is my likely unexpected choice for Yao:

ZUKO.

ZUKO IS YAO.

YES.

I'M NOT EVEN SORRY.

(For the uninitiated, Aang, Zuko and Kino are best friends in Gladiator, very often together, and they make a really good team, so that's the extra reason why Kino became the obvious choice for Ling aside from having really similar personalities, definitely closer personalities than, say, Jet, for instance.)

People have likened Zuko to Shang a LOT since ATLA aired. This is the main reason why I'm even making this huge note! I suspect it's primarily because of the aesthetic, let's be real here, and because he becomes Aang's teacher, but people have exaggerated Zuko's alleged similarities with Shang, or taken them out of proportion, in many ways. I actually remember an AMV ages ago with "Be a Man" and it was Zuko "training the Gaang"?? It... didn't feel right to me. Obviously, someone might rebuff with "well, how does Sokka make MORE sense than that, though?" And believe it or not, I have arguments for that... (when do I not...?)

Not only is this what the commissioner specifically requested (and it obviously lines up with the ship we love!), but let's examine the actual reasons why Sokka as Shang adds up:

Sokka actually had to train a bunch of toddlers who weren't paying any attention to him. You know. Kind of how Shang had to train the unruly soldiers who weren't getting anything right. Sokka has a positive relationship with his dad (Zuko, ofc, does not). Shang also has a positive relationship with his dad! And not only this, but there's a military component to both relationships, specifically with Shang wanting to follow on his father's footsteps and aid him in the war... so much like someone else I know, who jumped at every opportunity to rejoin his father in the war, even wishing to join him as a child until Hakoda tasked him with protecting their Tribe instead (kinda like Shang is tasked with training soldiers rather than joining a battlefield).

And the final cherry-on-top that I'd loooove to hear Zuko fans try to argue against... is sexism :') didn't Sokka get characterized as a sexist guy for four episodes, which made people decide that this was his main character trait even if it went away that quickly? Um, yes, that happened. Shang literally sings the memorable song that's a crazy ode to masculinity, including the rather sexist line of "did they send me daughters when I asked for sons". Shang outright abandons Mulan once they discover that she was a woman all along (while, admittedly, choosing to abandon her rather than KILL HER, which as we saw from Chi-Fu, he was NOT supposed to spare her!)...

So, is this REALLY what Zuko fans, who willfully believe their boy is a feminist king (... why? beats me...) are trying to compare their unproblematic blorbo to? :'D Me? I have no problem linking Sokka with Shang due to Sokka's beginnings and due to the fact that both Shang and Sokka have similar growth when it comes to accepting femininity is as valid as masculinity, and as they both learn to respect women as fighters and potential heroes! (I simply do not believe Sokka's ENTIRE tenure in ATLA was about that, though, and that's what I continue to clash with the fandom over...) So... all this is why I've reasoned that Sokka is a VERY solid choice for Shang, in fact, better than Zuko could hope to be.

... but this isn't all.

Maybe some might accept my arguments for Sokka-Shang. And then, they might ask:

WHY ZUKO AS YAO, THO??

... And the truth is it took me long to see it, myself, but HOLY SHIT, DOES IT FIT!

What is the primary thing we remember about Yao in Mulan? This guy is constantly itching for a fight, to prove himself, surely riddled with insecurities that he exteriorizes through overcompensation of masculinity. He's funny as fuck, but he's taking himself 100% seriously as a manly man all the time, and he's always ready for violence. But there's one more thing...

He treats Mulan as his RIVAL.

And more often than not? SHE SCREWS HIM OVER. Intentionally or not.

What does that sound like? Why, yes, it sounds a LOT like Azula and Zuko's sibling relationship!

The fact that Yao is a temperamental dude who lashes out easily at things (oh, something he has in common with Zuko!), that he specifically resents Mulan (in this case, Azula, just as Zuko does!) and is either constantly looking to defeat her and prove his superiority over her (... wait, just as Zuko with Azula??), that he has a black eye perpetually across the movie, and it's his LEFT EYE (just as Zuko's scar is on his left eye! :'D), that he's friends with a pacifist he has basically nothing in common with, personality-wise (just like Zuko and Aang!), and that he pretty much has a REDEMPTION ARC in which he goes from a bitter, asshole rival to Mulan to treating her as a friend and ally, to the point where he was disappointed to leave her behind and THEN joined her at once when she says she has a plan? :') I have always been critical of Zuko's redemption arc, goes without saying. But if ANY of these characters redeemed himself in any significant way, it certainly seems to be Yao to me, and with people gushing NON-STOP about Zuko's redemption? Why, he ought to be the character who goes from bitter rival to loyal friend, right?

So. I'm not even sorry. Zuko is Yao. And I'd dare say that he should be flattered by the comparison, even, because Yao ends up being cool as FUCK!

I don't really talk about this much nowadays, but Mulan was my favorite Disney movie growing up, it ABSOLUTELY had a formative influence on me as a little girl, and Mulan was my favorite female character for a looooong time. Thus, any excuse to rewatch this movie makes me happy as heck. With the wisdom of age I know, of course, that it's not perfect, it's not what China wants, it's not the most thoughtful depiction of Chinese culture or the most faithful adaptation of Mulan's poem (... but I'd also dare bring up that the 2009 Chinese adaptation ISN'T all that faithful either...), but it has a kind of magic in it, a solid storytelling flow, so many memorable moments one after the next, that I could hardly choose which scenes to depict... Disney has never again seen the storytelling heights it reached with Mulan in 1998. I don't even care if that's a controversial opinion in any way... this is their best animated feature for me, and nobody can change my mind.

So... depicting Azula, my beloved, in all these scenarios as this character I adored and idolized as a child, was so damn fulfilling for me. While some might think that, personality-wise, these two ladies don't have much in common, the fact that Mulan is sent to a matchmaker who basically tells her she looks good but is going to be the worst wife ever...? Our girl Azula, with all those insecurities about being unloveable and a monster, probably would relate big time to that.

Mulan is also an INTELLIGENT soldier rather than a brawny one, which is how she starts to make progress in the army, it's how she manages to overcome the huns with that avalanche... and Azula's primary difference with most other antagonists in ATLA is that she's smart as fuck. She is very strong, no doubt, but a LOT of that strength comes from her intelligence, from assessing situations in unique ways, from planning and strategizing. The way Mulan finds the most unexpected solutions that still pay off reminds me a lot of how Azula achieves unexpected feats through rather unorthodox means, capable of taking over a city with basically no bloodshed while her nation has spent 100 years trying and failing to do so through major army incursions and who knows how much senseless violence. Obviously, I'm not saying what Azula did is GOOD and it's kind of dumb that we always have to point that out... I'm merely comparing the magnitude of the feats, and the fact that they both come from ladies who use strategy and intelligence to achieve their goals rather than muscle and physical power.

And while anyone would rage at me for the comparison between Fa Zhou (her dad) and Ozai, the truth is the dynamic between them CAN be compared, if loosely: Mulan literally goes to war to keep her father safe. Azula goes to war under her father's orders. Hell, she makes herself BAIT in the Eclipse to make sure the Gaang won't get to her dad?? While it's very much possible to say that both characters have different personalities and attitudes in life... I'd also bring up that their contexts are evidently completely different. I wouldn't say for certain that Azula, had she been raised outside a Royal Family, would be EXACTLY like Mulan... but they might have more similar traits than one might expect. Ultimately, though... I love them both. And this opportunity to swap their places was pretty much a dream come true!

Alright, that was plenty of rambling xD ultimately, I had a blast doing this commission, as I'm sure is obvious by now. So! If anyone wants to commission me, feel free to check out my prices right here and hit me up if you're interested!

[factual-fantasy]

28 asks! Thanks yall! :)) 🦶

My last doctors appointment came up with nothing. Onto the next one in a few weeks...

Oh good idea-- :00

Dink already has a friend! His name is Doink! :)

@stupid-thatsme

I usually watch YouTube or listen to music while I draw. I feel like it helps me draw faster and keeps me focused somehow.. XDD And no one wants to be alone with their thoughts lets be real-

@coolguyinternet

<XD I'll have to think about that one-

1: I knew what was coming for me in Tales from Ba Sing Se. But it still hurt. :(((

1: At first I don't think I liked Mei very much <XDD But after seeing her turn around at the end of the show?? I really like her :))

There's a lot of moments that were sweet and sad. But Zuko's apology to Iroh, and Toph and Sokka's talk about Katara's motherly nature were amongst the sweetest. And Aang going avatar mode when loosing Appa and being comforted by Katara has to be the saddest I can remember.. 🥺🥺🥺

The ending overall just felt like it came too soon, I wish the show was longer..

@mrplants-world

You're gonna have to be a liiiitle more specific- 😅

(Aang holding Appa art in question)

Do people really ask that?? Man.. smh.. smh.. 😔😔

That sounds like something they'd do! :DD

:DDD Thank you! I'm glad you like my artwork!! :))))

@the-woomyverse

XDDD Oh man that's some fantastic angst potential

(Evil Grim and V post in question)

An asker in this post described what I imagine they'd be like really well! :00

And yes! The evil versions are all shiny but evil Anastasia (Kricketot) is normal colors XD

I didn't intend to have Miraidon around, no.. 😅

And I don't have the DLC, so I am unfamiliar with Ogerpon.. <:0

@necromicon42

The boo mushroom isn't intended to be in my AU.. but the boomerang and cloud flower could be included :00 I imagine they'd be/look a lot different though..

The boomerang flower might not be a full on powerup.. I might make it this big flower that once it grows its oddly shaped petals fall off and harden like wood. Leaving behind these perfect flat boomerangs. I can imagine Mario and Luigi just learning how to throw the boomerangs instead of absorbing a powerup. This would also explain how boomerang bros got their boomerangs. They throw the same dried up petals that the bros throw-

The cloud flower might just be changed into some king of... wispy thing and the bros can collect. Instead of a flower. Maybe a literal cloud? I'm not sure.. but I can see it existing :00

@spinelfan11

I believe so! XD Thank you! :)

(Refencing this post and this post)

<XD No one is safe from the bootleg curse!

<XD No no, my AU was made before the movie came out. Nothing from the movie applies to my AU- including the Vanessa daughter thing <XDD

Well lets see,

1: I think Gravity Falls and Pixars cars was very inspirational to me! :0

2: My favorite song changes from day to day,, but currently I really like Lights by Ellie Goulding! :))

3: When I understood it, I think I liked math! :))

4: And sorry! But drawing suggestions are now closed 😅

@anikakitty11

Shroomie!! :DDD

@untitled-7613

I wouldn't trust them personally- 😅😅

@khoiazo

XDD The only appropriate response to evil Grim and V honestly-

@xxanxious-anxietyxx

:000 WAIT REALLY??? THANKO YOU!! :DDD

@hope0koi

They doin good! I've been meaning to draw them more often <XDD

@minophlia

Ah man.. this is very bitter sweet. I'm glad you found me here and that you like what I make. But its also horrible to hear that you found me through stolen artwork that I worked so hard on..

@katpotato55 (In response to this post)

:DD THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :)))

@im-nice-but-i-dont-like-you

XDD Well hey it made me laugh too! Also thank you! :))

@ink-machine-kidd

I'm afraid I wouldn't know what to do for that..😅I'm not familiar with Digimon.. 🥺 Thank you for the suggestion though! :00

@agent-cakeshroom

XDD Thank you!! And yes! I DO love sky! :DD Been playing ever since season of dreams back in 2021 💪💪💪

[doyouevenshipbr0]

examples of atla live action’s attempts to be more feminist and how they actually had the opposite effect and/or hurt the integrity of the show

already talked about katara and pakku. does not make sense that she did not have a master. point blank. just because something sounds empowering (ie katara saying “yes. and ur looking at her.” after zuko asked if she found a master) doesn’t mean it automatically is. there still needs to be logic and katara “being her own master” defies logic imo im sorry!

katara in general. she has no ferocity here which to be very honest i dont think is fully the writers’ fault. some of the blame goes on them but the actress for katara just delivered alllllll of her lines w the same exact mild tone. katara is overly motherly. she is bossy. she is passionate. she is nurturing. she is emotional. THERE IS POWER IN THESE THINGS!!!!! why would we take away her spark?!?!?!

i loved live action suki. however, i LOVE the line in the original when her and sokka part ways and sokka says “i treated u like a girl when i should’ve treated u like a warrior.” and suki says “i am a warrior” *kisses sokka on the cheek* “but im a girl too.” THAT LINE WAS SO PERFECT like lemme say it again there is POWER IN FEMININITY! there is no shame in that!!!!! why does this show wanna take that away so badly. at one point live action suki says something like “im not just a warrior, im a kiyoshi warrior” and before she parts ways w sokka she thanks him for showing her some of the world or something like that. which was fine but i just love the simplicity of the original. a girl can be a warrior and have a crush. why do we have to change that?

this is a small one and it doesnt REALLY matter, but i cant help but think they changed this to be more “feminist” which is just dumb. yue isnt betrothed? well she was but she broke it off? and hahn (her ex) isnt a huge dick? i mean it wasn’t the worst thing and i didnt really mind it but i was just kinda like ?????. feel like yue being betrothed tied into her sense of responsibility and foreshadowed the sacrifices she will make for her people. so. feels rly weird that they changed it. i think it was to show more women agency which is always cool. but in the original, yue finally gets her agency by becoming the moon spirit. that should be the end of her character arc. idk. a weird change that seemed unnecessary.

sokka not being sexist. honestly i think the live action did a good job at omitting this while not REALLY making it feel like something was missing. with that being said, something was still missing lol. once again, its apart of sokka’s character. i feel like everyone has already expressed their hate for this so ill just leave it at that.

i am a TAD indifferent on the women of the northern tribe joining the forces during the fight. on one hand i cant lie i smiled bc obviously i love water bending and i love women so there was definitely apart of me that was happy to see that moment. however. it was kind of giving like in endgame when theres that random shot of all the women superheroes in one frame so the movie could have a “slay queen. we are girlbosses:)” moment. like it just felt a little empty and it wasnt the feminist battlecry they thought it was. these women have been healing their whole lives. why would they be any good on the frontlines of a fight? they never learned combat skills! HOWEVER, when we see them, its mainly just them reinforcing the walls so like. that makes enough sense. im cool w that.

i know im dwelling but as we know i hold atla in the highest regards. it does a lot of things perfectly imo. and one of the things i think it does PERFECTLY is its treatment of female characters. literally the only thing i can think of that i dont like is when team azula beats the kiyoshi warriors and ty lee says something like “u are NOT prettier than us” NDBSKSJDJ like ok that was weird. but anyways. it irritates me how the live action kind of seems to have this pov that says “the original was good, but there were some ideas and plots that were outdated so we changed them to keep with the times” like they’re fixing something that was broken if that makes sense. when in actuality, i think atla’s representation of women is perfect and timeless. it was relevant and powerful in 2005, and it is equally as relevant and powerful in 2024. there was nothing about its feminist themes that needed to be “fixed” or “updated”.

[rifari2037]

Here we go again!! Okay, let me breath first!! 😮‍💨😮‍💨

Zuko was 16 years old, Katara was 14 years old. So, their age gap was only 2 years!

2 YEARS!!!

It wasn't like Zuko was a grown man, while Katara was a little girl.

They were both teenagers!!!

A teenage girl having a crush on a teenage boy with 2 years age gap and vice versa was normal.

Aang was 12 years old boy, had a crush on 14 years old Katara. What was their age gap? 2 YEARS!! So, when Katara was 16 years old, Aang was still 14 years old.

Jet was 16 years old, had a relationship with 14 years old Katara, yet no one talked about their age gap! What was their age gap again? 2 YEARS!!

It's not wrong but it doesn't feel right!

Even Anon said it's not wrong! But it doesn't feel right, because Anon just making things up to bashing Zutara!! Who cares if the arguments don't make any sense?

Katara literally bully Zuko, that's why we should ship Zukka??

That's called relationship development, Honey!

To show that two characters are well written, their interactions must have a reason and make sense. More importantly, there should be no holes/jumps (how to say that? I don't know the right word) in their development so it doesn't feel rushed or forced.

Anon said Zutara was the worst ship, but actually Zuko and Katara were well written because they act as they should!

Zuko and Katara were enemies and they act like enemies.

Katara and Zuko still enemies when they met in Crystal Catacomb, but then they tried to understand each other. They weren't friends yet when Zuko betrayed her.

Katara got mad and bullied him!

That's make sense!! I mean, what should Katara do after someone betrayed her? Hug him???

Actually, these scenes showed that Katara could vent her anger too, she could demand someone to understand her feeling, and not always her who understand others like she always did.

And what Zuko did? Yes, he made it up to her!! He understand what she needed and accompany her to facing her trauma without told her what she should or shouldn't do (except told her to get some rest).

Then Katara, by her own choice forgive him and they become partners/friends who can complement each other.

They even saved each other lives!!

What made them the worst ship after their relationship development written with this coherent storyline? No rushed, no forced. They were enemies to friends (and to lovers 😂) after all, of course they had conflicts like a great war.

And it was way way way better than, lets say...

Two characters fought in one episode, then they separated in a few episodes later, and they kissed in the end of the story without resolving their problem, even without any conversation at all.

Or like one character left their lover in jail, forgot about her for a few episodes, didn't even remember to release her out of the prison, and then they met again like nothing happened and kiss.

Those are examples of rushed and forced storylines.

Wait, those storylines sound familiar?? 🤔🤔

And what make Zukka better than Zutara, though? Why should I ship them?? Zukka were just crack ship and didn't even have relationship development!!

Or maybe because of this??

But, really? Because Zutara had more than that!

Or this??

Well, first of all, Sokka was going on a date with Suki. And second of all, don't forget their conversation after that!!

Sokka : So what's on your mind? Zuko : Your sister. She hates me! And I don't know why, but I do care what she thinks of me.

Or, maybe because they were so awkward toward each other that make them cute?

But it seems like these two teenagers were more awkward when they couldn't get rid of boyfriend-girlfriend allegations. Oh, wait, do I see a blush on their cheeks? I wonder why.

Well, what else?? Because I can't think of another scene in the show that makes Zukka a better ship than Zutara.

[petricorah]

Zukka Week Day 5—Tending Wounds

“You don’t have to do this.”

They were sitting in the ambassador’s quarters. Well, Sokka was sitting. Zuko was kneeling in front of him, wrapping his injured knee with a soft touch that made Sokka's heart sputter in his ribcage.

Sometimes, it was hard to believe. Sokka remembered when this man chased them all the way across the world trying to burn them to ash, and now those same hands were dressing his wounds.

And Zuko had other responsibilities, better things to do than be here, with him. Sokka was fine. His life wasn’t in danger, he was good. It was just an old injury exacerbated by a fight.

“Seriously,” Sokka said. “You really don’t.”

“I know,” Zuko said.

He moved Sokka’s leg to get a better angle, and Sokka sucked in air through his teeth.

“Apologies."

Sokka shook his head, jaw clenched in pain. “Not your fault. It’s just stiff.” He looked away, and quickly strung along his next sentence. “I’ve kinda…been skipping my exercises.”

Zuko glared up.

“They hurt!” he said.

“That’s the point,” Zuko said crossly. “That's how it gets better.”

Zuko’s thumb smoothed over the bandages, and Sokka’s heart lurched in his chest, a blush scraping over his cheeks.

“You really don’t have to do more,” he prattled out. “It feels better, now, really—”

“Sokka,” he said in a stern voice. It was the one Sokka heard in meetings, the one that stopped his advisors completely. “I said I would do it, and I meant it.”

Sokka closed his mouth, and Zuko kept going until he had used up all the bandages.

“Can I…try something?” Zuko said.

Sokka raised an eyebrow. “…What?”

“Ever since you injured your knee the first time, re-injuring it has been easier. But this time seems really…bad. Like, worse than the other times. It’s been a week and a half and you still can barely use it. You’re weaker.”

“Wow,” Sokka said dourly. “That sure is helpful. Keep it up.”

“No,” Zuko said quickly, shaking his head. “That’s not…I always say the wrong thing. Especially around…you, but that’s not what I meant.” He huffed, looking to the side, bangs falling into his eyes. “It’s just…your knee is worse because Katara’s not here, right? When she’s around, she can do her healing bending, but when she’s gone, it has to heal naturally. But I…I can help. I think.”

“Look, I appreciate it, but I don’t think the pain is going to go away if you set my leg on fire.”

“That’s not what I’m going to do!” he snapped. “I practiced,” he said. “Uncle was correct, about bending becoming stronger when you use tactics from other elements. So I went to the Northern Water tribe, and asked the healers to…teach me.”

Sokka snorted, waving his hand. “What, with that classroom of six year olds?”

Zuko stared at him sincerely. “Yes.”

Sokka blinked. Oh.

“It’s not the same as what Katara does, but I think it could still help.”

Sokka narrowed his eyes. “When did you even do that?”

“After you hurt it for the first time.” Zuko wasn’t quite looking at him, making himself busy with straightening the bandages, even though they were already perfect. “But Katara had it handled, so I never mentioned it.”

Sokka stared at him. “Oh,” he said softly. “Sure, then.”

Zuko perked up, a smile flashing across his features. “Good,” he said. “I’ve been practicing on people in the palace and after I host training,” he said. “And I only burned one person.”

“W-what?” Sokka drew his shoulders up.  

“I’m joking,” he said blankly.  

Sokka used his good leg to kick Zuko on the side, making him chuckle.

“It’ll work,” Zuko said. The eagerness was apparent in his tone. “Heat increases blood flow and helps tense muscles. It will also help with flexibility and pain.”

Sokka could barely hear him explaining it. He was just enamored in how he looked. Whenever Zuko got excited and let his emotions show—which was a rare occurrence—a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes shined. He could be surprisingly excitable when he was comfortable around someone.

“…And so if that sounds good, we’ll begin."

“Y-yeah,” he said. “Sounds great.”

Sokka watched Zuko’s hand glow a bright orange, and the light reflecting on his features. Between his fingertips, flickers of flame began to circle in the palm of his hand. The fire was a variety of colors, spinning with a bright rainbow. Even from far away, Sokka could feel the warmth on his face.

“Don’t worry,” he murmured. “These flames won’t hurt. Trust me.”

Sokka slowly nodded, and Zuko placed his hand against his knee.

Relief washed over him instantly, and the pain that had been stabbing into his leg for the past week slowly subsiding in waves as Zuko’s flames warmed him.

Sokka let out a slight gasp, and closed his eyes. He was afraid if he opened them, and saw the care in Zuko's expression, he would completely fall apart.

“There,” Zuko said finally, his voice a low whisper.

Sokka opened one eye.

The flames dissipated from Zuko's hand, the warm lighting vanished. He looked up at him, golden eyes still bright, and Sokka’s entire chest squeezed like Appa was laying on him. “That feel better?”

The pain was distant now, and the throbbing in his knee had faded. Even the swelling had gone down. He was able to bend it back a bit easier, even though it was still a bit stiff.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “Thank you.”

“Any time,” Zuko said. He stood and brushed off his robes. Sokka didn’t miss the small smile on his lips.

“And to think,” Sokka said. “I voted to leave you to freeze to death in the snow.”

Zuko blinked. “…Well, I’m…glad you didn’t do that.”  

Sokka laughed. “Me too. For a multitude of reasons. But thank you,” he said. “Again.”

Zuko shrugged and gathered up the rest of the materials. He didn’t let Sokka help, telling him to just rest.

But he hesitated in the doorway.

“About…how this happened—”

“Don’t even worry about it,” Sokka said, shooing him with his hand. “I’m just glad you’re here to help.”

Zuko dipped his head, and left.  

Sokka’s knee was still warm from his touch. Zuko had helped, but Sokka wasn’t sure if it was because of the bending or because of…him.

Sokka leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

This was going to be a problem, wasn’t it.

/

It became a habit over the next few days. Zuko taking care of his bandages, using his hands to reduce his pain, just being there for him. And every time he touched him, it almost sent Sokka into cardiac arrest.

It was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

For the sake of his injury, of course.

Today was no different. They were outside, sitting near the turtle duck pond. Sokka’s mobility had improved enough to where he could use the crutches without much pain. He was starting to get a little stir crazy staying inside, and needed some fresh air, and thought the pond would be a good idea.

Unfortunately, in the grass, Zuko was even closer than normal. He was sitting by his side, his shoulder brushing against Sokka’s, and Sokka was finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than the faint smell of cinders in Zuko’s hair.

“Okay,” Zuko said, and with a flick of his wrist, he stopped the fire. “Is that better?”

He turned to him, and he was close.

Sokka’s face flushed, and he blinked back at him.

“Sokka,” he said. “Is that enough?”

Sokka nodded, snapping back to reality. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, it’s totally great.”

Zuko suddenly frowned, peering at him. “Were the flames really that hot?” he said. “Your face is all red and botchy.”

Sokka’s cheeks flooded, redness no doubt spreading. He was praying Zuko wouldn’t notice the blushing. It wasn’t his fault. Zuko had spent the last half hour touching him, leaning against him. How was he supposed to react?  

“I…It’s nothing.”

“Maybe I should stay,” Zuko said. “Make sure you don’t faint.”

“No,” he said. “I just…my room was cold last night. Maybe I’m just a little under the weather.”

Zuko hummed, unconvinced, and reached forward, feeling Sokka’s forehead with the back of his hand.

He was close.

Sokka’s face burned, eyes wide. “Does that…work?” he said in a frail voice. “You being a…fire bender and all.”

“I can still feel,” Zuko said. “Fire benders run hot. We don’t only feel warm things.”

“Yeah,” Sokka said. “You’re definitely hot.”

Zuko raised an eyebrow.

The blood drained from Sokka’s face. “That’s not…”

Shit. Fuck. Why is he looking at me like that?

“I should go.” He shoved up on his bad knee, scrambling to get up. Pain overwhelmed him, and he pushed through it.

“What? Sokka—”

Sokka stepped back on wobbly legs, and pain instantly shot through him. He staggered, suddenly feeling like his brain was spinning inside his skull, as his entire leg screamed in pain, and gave out.

“Sokka!”

Zuko caught him in time, his hands on his shoulders to steady him.

“Are you okay?”

“Mhm,” Sokka said, clutching Zuko’s forearms tightly. He was half bent, his head hung as the world stopped spinning and the pain receded slightly. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. You can just go.”

“Go?” Zuko echoed. “You can barely stand. What is with you?” he said. “You’ve been acting weird all week. The past few days you’ve barely looked me in the eye, and every time I want to do stay and talk, you say no. I thought I was helping, but maybe I should just quit. If it’s not doing good, you should just tell me.”

“N-no,” Sokka said. He wanted to flee, but his crutches were still laying in the grass, and he was pretty sure if Zuko let go of him he would lose his balance and fall flat on his face. Not to mention the blaring pain everywhere. “It helps. It does.”

“Then what is it?” Zuko said.

Sokka didn’t answer. How could he say it? That he loved him, and it was impossible to be near him without wanting to blurt out that friendship-ruining fact?

Zuko glanced away, fringe hiding his face. He let go of him, and Sokka almost collapsed, but managed to hobble on one foot.

“Is this because you got injured because of me?”

Sokka’s blood froze, splintering inside him. What?

Zuko’s flames flickered in his hand. “I knew it.”

“No,” he whispered out. “Of course not. No. Zuko, I don’t regret that. It’s not your fault people tried to assassinate you!”

Zuko shook his head. “I knew this was a mistake. I didn’t want you to get hurt for me. You shouldn’t have done that. You should have just left—”

“I wasn’t going to leave you!” Sokka shouted. His foot was barely on the ground, just enough to steady him, but the pain in his knee was nothing compared to the panic stirring in his chest. “I’m glad I was there. I made a choice. And I would make it again, even if it meant I wasn’t standing here right now at all.”

Zuko’s head jerked back, shock rolling across his expression.

“I-is that why you’ve been helping me?” Sokka’s voice broke. “You just feel guilty?”

“Of course not,” Zuko snapped. He stepped forward angrily, the flames singing the grass under his feet. “I did it because I care about you, and I don’t like seeing you in pain. How could you think that?”

“How could you think I should leave you?”

“Because I would rather something happen to me than you, and you just said you were willing to die for me!”

They both glared at each other. Smoke curled from under Zuko’s hands, and Sokka felt like he was going to topple over.  

“Can I have my crutches?” he said, unable to think about anything clearly other than he was about to wipe out. “I’m going to fall.”

Zuko blinked, and bent to pick them up, hurrying so quickly he thrust them against Sokka’s chest enough to almost push him over.

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that,” he said softly. “I’m not so injured I can’t still beat the crap out of you. I told you this wasn’t your fault, and I meant it.”

Sokka wasn’t sure if he saw glassy tears in Zuko’s eyes, or if he was imagining it. The wind pushed his hair in his face, and for a long moment, Zuko didn’t move.

“So it sounds like we’re even,” Sokka said slowly. “We both don’t want to see the other hurt. So can we just…move on from this already?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah.” He shook his head. “Come on, I’ll help you back.”

They walked slowly, Zuko's guiding hand on his back to make sure he didn’t slip.

“If I say this isn’t necessary, is that going to stop you?” Sokka said. He was trying to inject some sense of normalcy into this conversation.

“Not in the slightest,” Zuko said roughly. “...Have you been doing the exercises?”

“Yes,” he said. “Mostly. I mean…”

Zuko glared at him, fire blazing in his eyes, and Sokka held back a laugh, amusement in his eyes.

“It’s really hard to find you threatening when you’re telling me to take care of myself.”

Zuko grumbled under his breath. “Just shut up and do them.”

They stopped at his door, and Zuko let go.

“Can you make it to your bed alright?”

“Yeah,” Sokka said.

Zuko moved to leave.

“Wait!"

Zuko looked back at him, cocking his head.

“To be honest,” Sokka said slowly. “I didn’t even get it a second thought. I haven’t thought about it all week. I mean, you’ve risked your life for me countless times. We’ve been through way worse situations together, and the only reason I got injured at all was because my knee is prone to getting hurt. So I haven’t been thinking about it. And I didn’t mean to be distant. It’s just…the only thing I’ve been thinking about all week is…”

Zuko was staring at him expectantly, and Sokka felt the blush creep up on his cheeks again.

“Uh…”

Shit, he was losing his nerve. He just had to say it. Blurt it out. If Zuko rejected him, he could say he got brain damage from the fight. He just had to say it.

“What?” Zuko said.

“I’ve just been thinking about…you.” He swallowed. “And how…close you are to me.”

Zuko’s brow furrowed. “Oh,” he said. He took a clear step back, withdrawing completely. The spot where he was touching his back felt cold as he let go. “Okay—”

“No, it’s not a bad thing,” he said quickly. “It’s good. I like it. When you’re close to me.” He stared helplessly, Zuko’s blank face staring back at him. “You’re…hot,” he blurted out.

“If you’re cold, I can have the attendants bring more blankets—”

“No! You’re not…warm, you’re just.” His eyes flicked back and forth, but Zuko wasn't helping this torture at all. “I like spending time with you.”

“You’ve been distant because you…like spending time with me?”

“Yes?”

Zuko squinted. “Okay. I’m going to let you…get some rest.” He turned, and started to walk down the hallway.

“I love you!”

Zuko stopped in his tracks, his back toward Sokka.

Sokka stiffened.

“I…” 

“What did you just say?” Zuko said, still facing away from him.

“IthinkIhaveaconcussion.”

“…No,” Zuko said, turning slowly. “You just said you loved me.”

Sokka gulped. He’d gotten pretty good at reading Zuko’s features. He knew his pouty glare from his annoyed one. He knew when Zuko was truly angry, and when he was just low on sleep, and when you should run the hell away. But now, Zuko’s expression was unreadable.

“Is that…one of your jokes?”

Sokka’s shoulders dropped against the crutches. He let out a long breath. “No. It’s not.”

“You…love me?”

Sokka’s skin pricked, and he was starting to feel faint. Why couldn’t he ever just keep his mouth shut? He should have just held his damn tongue—

“I love you, too.”

“W-what?”

“I love you, Sokka.”

“You love me,” he repeated. The grin spread across his face. “You love me back?”

“Yes,” Zuko said. “I do.”

“You love me. You love me—”

He repeated it until Zuko closed the gap between them, hugging him in a warm embrace, and almost knocked them both down.

Sokka laughed, almost tripping up on the crutches.

“I can’t hold you back like this—”

But Zuko just smiled, hugging him tighter, then kissed him.

Sokka let go of the crutches, and pulled him closer.

He was sure if he fell, Zuko would catch him.

----

@zukkaweek

this was my first time writing something a tiny bit longer. I hope people enjoy!

[zukosdualdao]

give your all to me / i'll give my all to you

zutara month, day 10: secret, @zutaramonth

summary: the night before they're set to leave to face ozai, katara can't sleep. neither can zuko. "tell me a secret," she asks of him.

warnings: references to ozai's abuse of zuko, kya's murder and katara's discovery, and ursa's disappearance.

other notes: title is a lyric from all of me by john legend. yes this is the second fic i've written about zutara the night before they're supposed to leave for the final battle. no i will not change <3

Though there are several rooms in the Ember Island house, on the first day everyone was here, they’d dragged all the blankets and pillows from them and instead set up in the open room at the front of the house, and that’s how they usually all fall asleep, near to each other—a holdover from Katara and Sokka’s days growing up in the Southern Water Tribe.

Aang is somewhere else, though. She doesn’t know what he’s doing, what he’s thinking.

She doesn’t know what will happen tomorrow.

Toph is snoring lightly, on her back and feet planted firmly on the ground, but Katara’s gotten used to that. That's not why she can't sleep. Sokka sometimes snores, too, but tonight, she can hear his easy, even breathing. Suki is silent in a way she wouldn’t be if she was awake, and Katara knows she’s pulled Sokka up to her side as she always does in sleep.

Zuko is awake. She doesn’t have to look at him or hear anything to know that. 

“Tell me a secret,” she says quietly to the ceiling and to him.

“Like what?” Zuko asks, matching her volume, not bothering to pretend he doesn’t know who she’s asking. Even in the darkness, they have come to understand each other.

“I don’t know. Anything.”

It takes a long moment, but then Zuko says, “Okay.” Another pause, and then: “I use my bending to get the temperature right for the tea. Sometimes.” He says it almost a little guiltily. 

Katara snorts and then looks over to make sure she hasn’t woken the others. Toph shifts in her sleep but otherwise only snores again. When she turns, resting her chin on her hand, Zuko is already staring back at her in a mirror image. His amber eyes are two bright points in the dark.

“That is not a secret. You’re not as stealthy as you think.”

“Oh.” She can just make out the way his frown shifts into a slight smile.

“Try again,” Katara says again. “Something I don’t know. Something real.”

He takes a moment to think it over. “The day of the eclipse,” he says finally.

“Yes?”

“My father… he said something.”

“Was this before or after he shot you with lightning?” she asks. It’s rude, abrasive, but—she can’t help it. He’d said that almost casually today while training Aang, and for a moment, that uneasy anger she’d felt when he first came to them resurfaced. Only now, it was for him as well. 

How could he ever choose to go back to that? she’d thought. To someone who would do that to him?

“Before,” Zuko says, matter-of-fact, not seeming bothered by her intrusive question. Katara blinks, brought back to the moment. “He said… he implied… I don’t know. He said she might be alive. My mother. I don’t know if it’s true, or if he just…”

Katara’s heart stutters. Knowing something like that was awful. Knowing that no matter how she wished for it, her mother would never return this earth was an awful burden to bear. Remembering what it felt like to run with everything she had, only to find… 

But not knowing? Being made to wonder? There’s a different kind of cruelty to that.

“If we win,” Katara starts, then pauses, shaking her head. “When we win—you should look for her. And I'll be there with you,” she promises.

There’s a long, silent moment in the aftermath of that. 

“You will?” Zuko asks, sounding sort of choked. Katara smiles softly at him. 

“Yeah,” she insists. “You helped me. Remember?”

The journey to find Yon Rha… it hadn’t been easy, or particularly pleasant. But it was what she needed. And Zuko helped her get there. Told her what she needed to know. Guarded her. Respected her choice to walk away without a word one way or the other, no approval and no dissent.

Zuko stares at her for a moment, discerning. “You don’t owe me anything, you know. It—it wasn’t about that.”

“I know. But I still want to help you.”

“...Okay,” he replies in a soft voice. Then:  “Now it’s your turn.”

“Hm?” Katara asks, her eyes starting to feel heavy with sleep.

“To tell me a secret.” 

Katara winks an eye open again. Mulling it over, she leans just a touch closer and reaches over to smooth his wild hair out of his eyes and touch a gentle hand against his face, against his scar. 

Zuko leans into her hand.

“I’m really glad you’re here.”

[sokkastyles]

Hi,

Hope you are doing well.

Thank you for the answer on the Final Agni Kai. I had some questions regarding one of your favorite topics TSR.

Aang's line, "I forgive you, that give you any ideas?" which he uses when Zuko and Katara take Appa seems wrong to me in many ways. It really feels like he desperately wants Katara to forgive Yon Rah, not even realizing that its just not possible for Katara to forgive Yon Rah. In a way, it really shows his discomfort with Katara's darker emotions, but she had been feeling that way since her mother died, along with the fact that she had no idea she could even confront him till Zuko gave her that information.

Do you think that a huge moment of growth for Aang would have to acknowledge this side of Katara as well?

I would like your thoughts on this.

Yeah, that "I forgive you" line is Aang being desperate. It's also really condescending and tone deaf to even compare his "forgiveness" in this scene to Katara forgiving Yon Rah.

I put forgiveness in quotes because Aang absolutely does NOT forgive Katara for taking Appa. He just knows he can't stop her at this point. The sarcastic tone and "that give you any ideas?" make him look pretty hypocritical because he is neither being forgiving nor understanding, he's just being flippant and dismissive.

It's also really clueless for Aang to make this comparison in the first place because, once again, Aang thinks the way to get Katara to listen to him is to compare her to a murderer. People talk a lot about how hurtful it was for him to compare Katara to Jet, when Katara was strongly against the things Jet did and was hurt by him personally. But let's talk for a minute about how Aang's new tactic is to literally compare her to her mom's murderer and compare her forgiving Yon Rah to him forgiving her for taking Appa without permission after she repeatedly tried to get Aang to listen to why she needed to go and he shut her down.

It takes a lot less for Aang to forgive Katara here than it would for Katara to forgive Yon Rah, so this kinda puts a damper on his whole "forgiveness is hard" theme. And even so, as I said above, he's not really forgiving her, he's just making a sarcastic comment while still judging her. Aang is not being the arbiter of forgiveness here that he pretends to be.

Let's also look at the conversation in context because I have more to say here.

Aang is flippant and dismissive - while also implying that Katara taking Appa is comparable to her mother's murder. And I'm not saying it wasn't probably hurtful to Aang that Katara would take Appa without his permission, especially considering what Appa means to him, but it's not comparable to cold blooded murder motivated by genocide. In any way. And, like, considering how they left things in the previous scene, with Katara telling Aang she had to go, what did Aang think Katara was going to do?

I'm pretty sure I've also mentioned before how this plot point is manufactured to make Katara look worse. However, in the previous episode, Sokka tried to take Appa without permission and the only reason he didn't was because Zuko pointed out that it was a stupid idea and he happened to have a war balloon stashed away, which he conveniently no longer has as of TSR. This is basically a case of moral luck, where a character's morality is judged based on plot contrivance.

(I've also said before that Aang not killing Ozai is down to moral luck, but that's another conversation.)

So Aang is flippant and condescending, and Katara seriously and very directly tells him that yes, she is going to take Appa. Mae Whitman's voice acting is phenomenal in this scene, btw. She sounds so sad, because I think she does feel that she is betraying Aang by doing this, but she tried to tell him why she needed to do it. She tried. He didn't listen.

Then she says "don't try to stop us," and Aang says he wasn't going to and that "this is a journey you have to take," but, again, it doesn't feel like he's saying this because he really believes it. It feels like he's saying it because he has realized at this point that he can't stop them from going, short of attacking them. But if he thought he could, he definitely would have continued to try to stop them.

Which brings me also to Zuko's sarcastic comment. Because Aang's the one who sets the tone for this conversation. Zuko simply responds in kind. Katara, by contrast, continues to speak in the same sad, hurt, but firm and direct tone, and thanks Aang for understanding. She thanks him. For understanding. When Aang is offering none of that to her.

I actually think Aang could learn more from Katara about forgiveness, given how much restraint she uses towards Aang here and the way he's treating her.

I think Zuko saw that, too, and that's why he responds angrily to Aang here. Not because he disagrees with Aang's beliefs but because Katara keeps quietly but firmly telling him what she's going to do and he keeps ignoring her and acting like she's being irrational.

I've said this before, too, but that would also be triggering for Zuko to watch this happening, considering how he's been gaslit by his family. Notice how he's quiet until the end of the conversation (and didn't say much in the conversation before that, either.) Aang's language, even if well-intentioned, would probably set off something in him and he's not wrong to defend Katara.

[drpoisonoaky]

Training routine

Azula is... a person made by routine. She starts training every day at 5am.

But one day she said said “None of you, menaces to society, can do it too” so they try to prove her wrong.

Azula: Oh you made it. Sokka: Of course. Azula: But you look like shit.

Sokka: Well, I didn't sleep, so I can be awake right now. Azula: You didn’t sleep? How do you pretend to follow my training session? Sokka: To be honest, I didn’t think I’d made it this far and I’m too tired to even care anymore.

Suki: Ok smart-ass let 's begin. Azula: You look awake. Suki: I am. You’re not the only one who usually does this.  Azula: I know it’s not a Kyoshi warrior thing because I know Ty Lee.  Suki: It’s my thing. Believe or not I’m more than a “fan girl”. Azula: And she has humor too. Suki: So? Azula: Honestly, you were the only one in that group that I knew was capable of doing my training. So if you want to go and do your thing, it wouldn't change my mind or what I'm going to say to them. Suki: I’m here for your training. We will do that. Azula: Hmn. Suki: What are you waiting for? Azula: Fine pretty girl. Let’s start meditating.

Toph: I know you’re nuts but this is madness. Why do you have to start to do this so early?! Azula: Good morning to you too. When do you want me to do it? Toph: I don’t know, in the afternoon or after breakfast. Azula: After breakfast, I have to read the scrolls for the meetings that will take place that day. I have two hours to do this, and if I don't need all that time, I do paperwork. Azula: Then the meetings start. Usually everything for the day is set before lunch. Toph: Have lunch later and train there. Azula: After lunch I have to appear in several places in Caldera. You know, publicly blah, blah, blah. Toph: When you finish, you can train there and you can use it to relax. Azula: After that I have to have dinner. Toph: I’m pretty sure you can have dinner later. Azula: Dinner is with Katara. We hardly see each other during the day. Toph: So train after dinner. Azula: No. Toph: Why? Azula: Because that time is usually reserved for Katara and is non-negotiable. Toph: Her words or yours? Azula: Your poi- Don’t you dare to do a whip sound. Toph: Sure, domesticated prissy princess. Azula: Enough of this small talk. We have lost so much time already. Toph: And we don’t want to reduce your Katara time. Azula: Horse stance NOW.

Ty lee: Good Morning. Azula: At least open your eyes first. Ty lee: I train like this. Azula: You train in your pyjamas? Ty lee:  Azula: Go to sleep. Ty lee:  Azula: You tried and you are not a menace. Well, you never were, because you weren't included in that statement. Why are you here? Ty Lee: I'm too tired to shout at you, but in 3-4 hours, be prepared.

(Mai didn’t try it or even talk about it)

Aang: Good morning Azula! Azula: Oh, you look fresh? Aang: Is that a surprise? Azula: Yes. Let’s train. Aang: Sure, but it wouldn't kill you to say good morning too.

…

Azula: We'll see how Zuzu does, but by far you and Suki deserve a bit more respect from me. Aang: Thank you! That's nice, I guess. So if Zuko does well, you would give him more credit? Azula: Of course not.

Zuko: Of all of the things you have done to me, this is the most evil. Azula: Aren’t you a morning person? Zuko: Yes but when it’s morning. THE SUN IS NOT EVEN THERE. Azula: Don't worry, Zuzu, the sun will be there when we're done.

…

Azula: Zuzu, can you please stop throwing up, I want to have a bath and then breakfast. Zuko: I hate you. Azula: Don’t worry, you aren’t the only menace, you should have seen Sokka. Zuko: Aang? Azula: Nah, he did it well. Zuko: Suki? Azula: Don’t do this to yourself Zuko.

Katara, still half asleep in bed: Who’s turn is today? Azual, already up and ready: Yours. Katara: Oh okay let me just…*takes all the bed for herself* Katara: Have a good time. Azula: Don’t you want to prove that you are not a menace to society? Katara, almost asleep: I’m dating you.  Azula: See you point. *kisses her forehead* Sleep well, see you for breakfast. Katara: *snorts*

[waterfire1848]

Would you be willing to do Yue x Azula as star-crossed lovers(42)? Of the thingy.

Hello, anon!! Yes I would!

AU where Azula becomes the sun

Star-crossed lovers: Lovers who's attraction for each other is doomed to end in tragedy.

The story of the princess blessed by the moon and princess blessed by the sun was a well known one for people regardless of their nation of origin.

Many children heard about the young Water Tribe girl, sick from birth, who was blessed by the moon spirit. She was given hair as white as snow and some even said she had the ability to communicate with the spirit. Her name was Yue.

The story of the girl blessed by the sun was less known but no less true. The girl, unlike her counterpart, was not sick at birth, but rather strong. She had fire in her eyes, so much so that it was said her eyes burned the color of the sun and her fire was brighter and stronger than anything. Her name was Azula.

But it’s common knowledge that the moon and the sun were not meant to be together. There was a reason they were separated by the night and day. Just as the moon and sun were never meant to be together, Yue and Azula were never meant to be together. In the sky, the moon and sun were separated by miles of space between them. Yue and Azula suffered from a similar struggle of distance.

A distance which only grew when Yue assumed the responsibilities of the moon spirit, saying goodbye to her family and friends to keep the world safe. Azula, alone in a cell and forgotten by the world, didn't have as great a showing when she became a spirit. The fire in her eyes was weak and dying when she was taken away, but, ignited like the strongest fire ever seen when she gained spirithood. Her fire suddenly felt as if it could never go out.

It’s common knowledge that the moon and the sun were not meant to be together. But every rule has an exception and, for the sun and the moon, that exception is a solar eclipse.

"So, you're the sun spirit?" Yue asked.

"I am." Azula confirmed, "And you must be the moon spirit."

"Forgive me if this is too forward, but you don't look like the other spirits around here." Yue said.

"How so?" Azula asked, letting the fire on the end of her hair fall down as she undid her topknot.

"You look too...beautiful and human." Yue admitted, "I've only met one human spirit that was beautiful before: the Painted Lady."

"I probably look this way because I was human. I was human for sixteen years before I became a spirit." Azula told her.

"You were human too?" Yue asked, her eyes growing wide upon finally meeting a spirit like her.

"Too?" Azula asked.

"I was a human myself. I was the Princess of the North Pole, but then this Fire Nation admiral attacked the moon spirit and I took her place. I don't really know how long it's been since the attack, the Spirit World concept of time is tricky, but I remember it very clearly. I remember my father, my people, my home, Sokka-"

"Wait. Sokka as in that Water Tribesmen who traveled with the Avatar?" Azula asked.

"Yes. He was traveling with Avatar Aang." Yue confirmed, “Do you know him?”

Azula made a face, “In a way. He invaded the Fire Nation during a solar eclipse and was the only one with a brain who could see my plan.”

Yue smiled with a light blush coming onto her cheeks, “That sounds like him.” She looked away from Azula before speaking again, “How long has it been? If Sokka is still alive then…”

“It’s been two years since the North Pole siege. Not much time has passed.”

“Two years?” Yue’s eyes grew, “The war-“

“Relax. Your side won.” Azula grumbled, taking a seat away from her.

Because of the solar eclipse, Azula and Yue could pretty much float in the sky and spend the few hours they had just watching over the mortal world. A benefit from being tied to celestial bodies miles in the sky. Yue had watched over the invasion but she hadn’t seen what happened in the tunnels.

“You seem upset by that.” Yue gathered, sitting next to her.

“I was on the Fire Nation side. I was the Fire Nation princess actually.” Azula revealed, earning a look of shock from Yue, “After the war, I was thrown in an asylum because my uncle and brother said I was crazy. They locked me up and threw away the key.”

“I have no experience of being locked away.” Yue admitted, “But I was locked in a marriage with someone I didn’t love. I thought I was doing what was best for my people, my duty as a princess, and…” She brushed her spirit dress, “I guess I am doing something for my people just not in the way I expected.”

“You view this as something for your people?” Azula asked.

“I do. You don’t?”

“Everything I did before this was for my people and my father. I fought in the war, trained hard, became the perfect warrior all to lead my nation to victory and so my father would be proud. When I became a spirit, it was the first time that I didn’t have any of that responsibility. This is the first time I get to do something just for me, no one else. Yes, I bring the sun to the world every day but I also get to visit the dragons when I want, I get to meet the other spirits, spend time watching over people doing things I wish I could have done. I get to be…”

“Free.” Yue added, “That sounds perfect. But….you know we’re not supposed to go near mortals.”

Azula chuckled, “Are you going to tell on me?”

“No. I’ll let it slide this one time.”

“Why do I sense an if?” Azula asked.

“If you promise to take me down there and show me some of your favorite spots.” Yue added, “It’s been a long time since I’ve had someone to really talk to….that isn’t La.”

“It’s a date.”

[muffinlance]

Cheating at Pai Sho Outtake: Crew Interrogation

Opened up Cheating at Pai Sho and this alternate version was just chilling in my notes. I ended up using the “Sokka goes out drinking with the crew” version instead, but behold, the crew messing with Zhao’s men:

* * *

Sokka was entirely unclear on whether the crew didn't notice him under his newly replaced guard helmet, or just didn't care.

"Look sharp, Ensign Other One," a fellow creepily anonymous skull-mask-guard said, giving Sokka an elbow nudge to the chest plate, and firmly putting an end to the did they know or just not care question. "Hostiles incoming."

"What do we do?"

"Mess with them." The guard lifted his faceplate. Hawker Genji winked at him, then let it drop.  

Heavy boots stomped up the loading ramp, mere minutes after Zuko and the resupply party had left.  

"Attention on deck!" one of the newly arrived armored-but-not-wearing-helmets guys bellowed. None of the crew had any particular reaction to this bellowing, probably because it was a few decibels below what they were used to. The man's lips twisted down. "The port commander has ordered a mission debriefing. You will assemble all crew—"

"Yes," Genji said, and the same time a woman next to him was saying "Agni blight it," and handing over a handful of coins.

The port inspector snapped his head towards them. "What was that, crewmen?"

"Nothing, sir,” said Genji. “Just won a bet. Thanks, by the way."

"Nothing, sir,” said the woman. “Just lost a bet. Thanks, by the way."

A third crewmember snickered, and stifled it as soon as the dock officer whipped around to glare. And suddenly Sokka realized why everyone on the Wani had put on their own helmets: near-complete anonymity.

So began the messing with.

%%%

The crew was, basically, locked in the mess hall. Except for the people who the port officer had hauled off to speak with one-by-one; they, presumably, were being released into the Wani wilds elsewhere, to minimize the getting-their-stories-straight thing.

"Do it," Genji urged Sokka on. "I'll give you a silver if you do."

"He's low-balling you, kid," Assistant-to-the-Doctor-and-Occasional-Pikeswoman Satomi advised.

"What even is a silver worth?" Sokka asked, having grown up in a region largely decoupled from the greater world economy. "I need a baseline for how much this is worth to you."

"A silver is worth about five kilos of rice if they don't know you're from the Wani," Satomi said. "Half that if they do. Hold out for a gold from him, at least. That's ten silvers, or an hour with a really good hooker."

"Sssh," Helmsman Kyo shushed, in a manner most shushily. "I can't hear what they're saying." He had his ear pressed to a metal pipe that connected to another pipe that ran to the room the port officer was doing his interrogations in. "Wait no, I got it. Okay, so we're up to The Avatar appeared before Prince Zuko in a column of light which vanished into the sky, leaving behind the last living airbender. The airbender lives on our roof and helped us fight off the Southern Savages that attacked us from the sky on their snow-white beast. It sounds like they're—yeah, they're finished! Next up!"

The uninterrogated remainder of the crew all assumed their sullen stances, and waited for the the port officers to drag the next of them off. Satomi was picked, and went with some literal dragging of heels. "Oh no, not me."

The Wani crew, as it turned out, tried very hard to be consistent in their ridiculously over-the-top rewrites of the truth.

"We don't get battle stories to brag about," they'd explained to Sokka. "But we do get Avatar Hunt ones."

Kyo pressed his ear to the pipe again, and continued his narration. "Okay. Good, good—she laid out the basics again. And she's adding—oh wow, this is great—'Together with our new airbender, we brought the light of Agni to the frozen heathens, and converted them to our cause. Now they worship graven images of Fire Lord Ozai and leave offerings at the rusted ruins of our ships—'  

Sokka. Knew what he had to do.

%%%

"Sit," the port inspector ordered.

Sokka sat.

"Your fleet commander demands an explanation for this wasteful expenditure of resources to the south," the man snarled. "Tell me the truth of it. Start from when your ship departed this port the last time."

"Well, I'm not going to be able to help you with that," Sokka said. "You see, I was out minding my own business on my culturally inferior ice shelf when the light of Agni shown upon my world. Also, Avatar something-something? I forget what they told me to say. Anyway, long story short, I'm a converted Southern Savage. Hail Fire Lord Zuko's Dad!"

It might just be the sleep deprivation, but the guy's expression was hilarious.

%%%

"How did you all get written up for insubordination?" Zuko shouted. "I was gone for less than two hours! You're not even in the navy!"

"Yeah," the Water Tribe peasant said. "That officer guy got really angry when he thought I was giving him a fake name. Then he heard them calling me 'new guy' and just wrote up Pikesman Kazuto. Sorry, Kazuto."

"He… what?" Kazuto, who was carrying the last sack of rice aboard, paused long enough to look befuddled.

The teenager shrugged; his armor clattered and creaked even worse than Jee's. "What can I say? Just because I'm not part of the navy doesn't mean I'm not part of this crew."

There was. There was so much cheering and backslapping. Zuko had left for less than two hours, and now his crew liked a Water Tribe barbarian more than their prince.

[ghostofthejungle]

I wish I could physically see and meet the braincell who told me it was okay to draw a whole ass PIANO

In my defense, I kept thinking about Sokka somewhen learning how to play; maybe, shortly after the end of the war, during a trip to the Fire Nation, he finds a broken piano in an abandoned room of the palace and manages to repair it (servants and guards decide not to question the din coming from said room day and night).

To everyone’s and mostly Sokka’s surprise, he is a natural: his fingers dance on the piano keys like they have no other purpose in the world and he is able to replicate tons of melodies by ear. Slowly, but inevitably, the notes generated by those black and white blocks become a great comfort for Sokka; his unspoken sorrows, fears and regrets turn into a melodic balm for his soul, the piano his trustworthy companion when he can’t sleep during the hot, endless summer nights.

He likes playing for an audience, but in certain cases the only thing he wants by his side is quiet, warm breeze accompanying the sound, while the moon´s cold rays gently wrap the dusty room.

It’s during one of these nights that a sleepless Zuko can’t help but follow a long-forgotten home call, Sokka’s notes materializing in front of him and guiding him towards something he didn’t even know he needed. He moves slowly, hypnotized, almost dreamwalking; the melancholic notes give voice to the cold air, embracing him like a soft blanket, soothing his spirit like a soft voice coming from afar, wandering through the Reigns just to find him and whisper in his ear everything he’s always needed to hear.

With this sensation strongly engulfed in every fiber of his being, Zuko stood in front of the door, meeting the pianist’s back in religious silence. He didn’t want to scare Sokka or interrupt the music + in that specific moment Zuko wouldn’t have been able to produce any sound whatsoever, even if he was asked to scream for his life: everything he ever wanted to express, and never dared to say, was wrapped around those tapered fingers, gently pressing the piano keys, tenderly stroking the most sensitive strings of Zuko’s soul, smoothly caressing his hair just the right way, just like his mother used to.

And when the song’s over a dense silence wraps the room, briefly interrupted by a dull tear falling on a gloomy D#, the same key Sokka touched last.

The candle on the piano suddenly lights up, allowing the tear to evaporate. A moonbeam escapes his trajectory and lands on Sokka’s widened eyes before a sincere, embarrassed smile warms his tired face. Sokka doesn’t turn towards the door, Zuko doesn’t walk towards him and neither of them will ever mention that night.

From that moment, anyway, Zuko rarely missed Sokka’s daily exercises, and Sokka didn’t mind at all; when he was there, for some reason, Sokka made some more mistakes, but he didn’t care. For once, he knew he didn’t need to be his usual perfectionist self to be understood, to give emotions, or to be useful, even.

Yes, Sokka could finally allow himself that self-indulgence with Zuko.

And there was no better feeling in the world.

Will I ever be able to capture all of this in a fanfiction or a fanart? Absolutely not. So, having said that, make do with this sketch and take care of it before I colour and definitely ruin it for good and for evil 🍵

[kingwuko]

Also I've made a post about this before but aside from Airbender Wu I'm obsessed with the idea that canon nonbender Wu has the potential to be a competent badass like Asami but different, in his own style.

And I actually got this idea during the clip show episode and the wuko segments, when it occurred to me that Mako is probably training him to fight the way Mako himself learned to fight.

And I don't think that fighting style fits Wu's mindset, temperament, build, anything really, it's a style informed by street fighting and firebending, two things Wu could not be further removed from.

He's an earth kingdom prince used to fine silks and jewelry, expertly moving about the world with the grace and balance of a dancer even when confronted with physical aggression...

Say, doesn't that sound familiar to anyone else?

I'm just saying, he could be the earth kingdom royal to denounce the Dai Li and bring the Kyoshi Warriors to the forefront of their culture.

By becoming one himself.

When it comes to Wu learning to defend himself and fight, I have two favorite hc.

1. Yes yes yes to Wu training with Kyoshi Warriors. I will say that I'm hesitant to have him become a Kyoshi Warrior, because Kyoshi Warriors are women. (Though if people have hc about Wu's gender being different, that's certainly worth exploring!) But much like Sokka was permitted to train with them, I see no reason why Wu couldn't learn from them as well! I think if given the opportunity, Wu would pick up the fighting style quite well. The method of fighting practiced by the Kyoshi warriors, and originally taught to them by Rangi herself, is focused on turning your enemy's strength against them. Seems like an excellent style for Wu, as he's built much more slender. I think he'd be into the overall aesthetics, too. I also love the idea of some Kyoshi warriors becoming his royal guard and replacing the role of the Dai Li.

2. Training with Asami. Asami has taken formal self defense lessons since she was a child. She has the technical know how of self defense and since she learned it formally, I think she would be excellent at teaching it formally. To further my Asami-teaching-Wu propaganda, check out the description of Asami as a teacher from the Avatar Legends Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide:

As a teacher, Asami is encouraging and supportive—she prizes an individual’s own inventiveness when channeled appropriately, far more than her own ideas. When it comes to the overall tone and style of mastery conditions set to PCs, Asami will emphasize thought over force, clever ideas over direct results. Asami wants those who learn from her to see how problems can be solved in many ways, and there’s nearly always a better way, in addition to seeing how they can help others and don’t always have to solve the problem on their own.

I just feel like Asami would make a good, patient teacher, I think her formal training would translate well into teaching skills, I think she might actually appreciate Wu's creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, AND I think her foundation in self defense would be ideal for Wu to learn. I don't see him needing to be a fighter in the thick of battle right alongside the rest of Team Avatar, but he should certainly learn to hold his own to protect his own life and limb.

Regardless of how Wu learns self defense and/or martial arts, we can all agree on one thing, I'm sure. Mako is a terrible person to be teaching him. He was literally the worst teacher in Remembrances lol like what was he even doing. And you're right, his style of fighting does not match the kind of fighting that Wu should learn or that he would be able to master.

That's ok. Mako can cheer him on from the sidelines!

[bisexuallsokka]

zukka n 22 pls :)

22. a kiss in a rush of adrenaline.

"Sokka."

"I know."

"It's just that…if you don’t make it…”

"I know, Zuko."

"Sorry. You can do this. Win for me, yeah?"

Sokka spares a glance at him, seeing how he is worrying his bottom lip. Zuko meets his eyes, as if he can read Sokka's thoughts about Zuko's lips and his hands and his--

"Sokka!" Suki warns.

"Shit," Sokka curses, redirecting his attention to the television and glaring at the banana peel that his kart just ran into. "Sorry, uh, got distracted."

"Sokka just hit a banana peel," Zuko says, continuing his ongoing narration to Toph. "I think it's the one he planted during the last lap."

Toph lets out a cackle that Sokka chooses not to acknowledge, and out of the corner of his eye he sees Katara lean forward more. His palms feel sweaty. He's so close to gaining on her, he can't let Zuko down after Katara beat him in the last race. Funny, the fact that he could lose the pool of money reserved for the champion of their Mario Kart bracket doesn't seem to matter to him anymore.

"Katara is still in the lead but Sokka is catching up, they are approaching the finish line to start the final lap, they both just got a power-up..."

Sokka tunes him out as he crosses the finish line, focusing on the final lap, on beating Katara. He turns a corner, then another, then-

"Fuck," Katara mutters as she just barely misses the shortcut that Sokka takes, then she shouts, "Fuck!" when her position changes to 2nd and Sokka takes 1st. He doesn't dare let it distract him though, tries desperately to not get distracted by Zuko for once as his narration of the game gets louder from his excitement. Sokka just focuses on completing the rest of the track smoothly, dodging a shell that Katara sends his way, then-

"YES!" he and Zuko shout at the same time, Sokka jumping to his feet as Zuko chants, "He won, Sokka won!"

Suki and Aang cheer and Katara gets up to give her brother a firm congratulatory handshake and a smile that makes Sokka fearful of ever trying his luck a second time. He turns back to Zuko, finally letting himself fully bask in his smile and the way his eyes are wide and excited. He's on his feet, throwing his arms around Sokka so strongly that they nearly topple over, then Zuko is pulling back from the hug and Sokka's hands are grabbing his elbows to stop him from getting too far and he's leaning forward and-

Shocked silence falls over the room except for the music from Mario Kart and, after a few moments, Toph saying, "What?"

Zuko and Sokka are staring at each other in shock, Sokka's hands still frozen on Zuko and Zuko seeming unable or unwilling to step away.

"Uh, Sokka just kissed me," Zuko tells her. Toph cackles again.

"I did," Sokka says. It had barely been a kiss, just a peck really, but there was no denying their lips met. And he wanted it to happen again. But also... "Sorry, it was the adrenaline," he starts, but when Zuko's face falls Sokka grips his arms tighter. "Not like that! Like, I definitely wanted to kiss you, but I hadn't planned to do it just now, I was just excited and you were looking so-"

"Sokka, I will double my contribution to the money pool if you have this conversation literally anywhere else," Katara says, already going through the menu to start a new race, sounding way too unenthusiastic for someone who has been telling Sokka to make a move for months. Everyone else is still busy processing what just happened to say anything else; Aang's eyes are darting quickly between Zuko and Sokka, Suki is hiding a smile behind her hand, and Toph is smirking in their direction.

And, well, it's the push that Sokka needs as he grabs Zuko's hand and leads them toward the door to go for a walk and a conversation that has been a long time coming.

[chaoticly-shy-dragon]

so I am working - dragging my feet - through natla (1 episode left) and I thought I would share some of my thoughts and commentary:

Iroh: You must use your tact, your empathy-

Season 1 Zuko: [looks back at him]

*

Canon s1 ep3 Zuko: You... are working with Zhao. Willingly.

Show s1 ep3 Zuko: Yes? What's the problem? He is annoying but that's mostly it.

Canon!Zuko: UNCLE! DID YOU PUT SPIRIT MUSHROOMS IN MY TEA AGAIN?! I'M HAVING LUCID NIGHTMARES!!

Other random thoughts:

[Suki proceeds to defy gravity with her fan to impress Sokka]

Me, exasperation incarnate: Suki, I didn't know you were an airbender!

and

[Previous incarnation avatar bashing sesh]

Me: [...] But I love Zuko-Iroh interactions

[The one scene. Zuko is shouting how they can't just ask around. Iroh is offering advice until he gets distracted by street food.]

Me: The fact Zuko stood there for a few seconds trying to figure what this proverb means before he realizes its very much not a proverb - cackling

Second-hand long-suffering friend, who is at the end of her wits after hearing me talk about the butchering of Kyoshi's character for 20 minutes: XDDDD He legit thought rice had sth to do with it XD

there is more but it's more of

Oh no, he is hot.

And oh no he is also hot

Why is every extremist hot?!

Bumi is very bitter. Very.... Jaded.

Aang has no situational awareness: He did not just ask Zhao (Zuko too) to let him go so he can go save other enemies of the Fire Nation. He didn't.

Also. Why the firebender this, firebender that. Are the Fire Nation non-benders saints or something??

Mai casually says Ozai sucks for not thinking Azula is perfect <- Me: I mean she is absolutely right but she would not say that.

Azula's whole. Thing. I felt the narrative was trying very desperately to make her seem competent and clever but the fact that Iroh's thoughts insinuated the frontal attack on the Northern Water Tribe was her idea left me in stitches

But yeah. They nerfed Azula

Zuko - feral, bloodthirsty, a loser. <- Me: Oh my god they captured his essence! Minus the honor thing!

ZUKO NOT SAYING HONOR

THE TRAVESTY OF SOKKA NOT WEARING A DRESS

I WANT SOKKA IN KYOSHI WARRIOR UNIFORM

Katara not having any emotions ::: Aang walks all over her saying he can't support her in her fight against the patriarchy that is actually just Pakku and Yugoda or whatever was happening in the 7th episode: Katara doesn't blow up at him. Sokka calling her a little girl and never actually apologizing about the whole Jet accusation especially when he did the same with the Mechanist. : Katara doesn't blow up at him

Me: sounds fake but okay

At this point when Toph comes along Katara will let her not be a part of the Team (no Gaang just Team Avatar) and not contribute and not bond and NO FOUND FAMILY TROPE

Aang teaching Katara waterbending, Aang not goofing off, No Kataraang (not even a smidge) - something in me shriveled up and died.

Why is Azula soft??????

And why is Ty Lee assertive and forthcoming??? Just?? Why????

And finally, my second favorite:

Azula, trying very hard not to mention Zuko's ludicrous tenacity: Commander Zhao is a great asset... Maybe he needs better resources to showcase his true potential.

Zhao who barely passed his exams according to Jee the gossip queen: Yes, I do need the best resources. Give me all the 'sources.