#AND KATARA SAVING HIS DAMN LIFE

[ecoterrorist-katara]

Zutara, romance novels, and the female gaze

Okay so I’ve been thinking about the female gaze a LOT so I checked out a subreddit about romance novels, despite never having read one. I came across this meme (which was initially a Tumblr post and then got posted to Instagram and then to Reddit and I’m now bringing back to Tumblr — Internet telephone, pls never change):

And…what is The Southern Raiders, if not a platonic grovel? Katara’s pain is central to the episode. It’s central to Zuko. Zuko asks Katara what he can do to make up for his betrayal; she demands the impossible. He reads between the lines, cockblocks her brother to get the necessary information, and then waits outside her door overnight (which he also did for Iroh, the one person we know for sure he loves). He basically makes himself a receptacle for her rage, and he holds space for her by coming with her on her revenge quest and carrying their bags and not saying a damn thing about what she should and should not do beyond like…asking her to rest. And obviously the grovel works! She forgives him and then they’re thick as thieves, bantering and fighting and saving each other’s lives, etc.

On a different note, I’ve been told that enemies to lovers is one of the biggest tropes in romance novels, similar to YA lit and fanfic. Here’s something else I found in the romance novel discourse:

And…yeah. In TSR, Katara really does show Zuko her worst self, because she doesn’t feel the need to perform for him. She doesn’t feel the need to perform moral perfection OR cold blooded vengeance. She bloodbends in front of him and he just goes with it. She doesn’t kill Yon Rha and he just goes with it. He doesn’t treat her any differently afterwards. Maybe they talk about it off screen, but I kind of like the idea that they don’t, because Katara doesn’t need to explain anything. And it’s so interesting, because some people in the ATLA fandom have a totally different read on TSR. They think Zuko was encouraging Katara to get revenge (by what, keeping his mouth shut?), and that Aang is the one who acts as her moral compass. I believe that either Bryan or Mike said in the DVD commentary that Aang is the angel on her shoulder the entire time. And this interpretation does make sense if you see it from the male gaze, where Katara as an object of affection is acting in an angry, irrational, threatening way. But if you see it from the female gaze, you recognize that actually it’s probably the most emotionally taxing experience Katara has to go through, and she doesn’t owe it to be nice or perfect to anybody. Katara’s formative trauma literally comes to a head, and she has to make a decision — no, a discovery — about who she is in relation to the tragedy that defines her life and even her identity (as a waterbender, as a parentified child who becomes the mom friend, as a genocide victim), and she’s accompanied by someone who trusts her judgement and validates her feelings.

I’m not saying TSR is explicitly romantically coded, but when it conforms so well to romance novel tropes…is it any wonder that so many people thought “yes this is her man?” And then he takes lightning in the heart for her and reaches for her when he’s literally dying, I will never be normal about that either

[gh0stsp1d3r]

second chance ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

warnings: r is a mutant w/ blood manipulation powers :3, death is mentioned, grief, angsty and fluffy

a/n: I wanted to make the readers power dark but her personality the complete opposite. I like dark and brooding characters w/ sweethearts LMFAOO it’s my favorite trope atp

MASTERLIST

Being sent to the void and being trapped in there was not how this was supposed to go at all. You stood up, confused as to where you were. You looked wildly around the deserted world, finding no one around you.

Sometimes you wonder how exactly it is that you got into this shit. After your boyfriend died saving the world, you let yourself go, not the happy go lucky person you usually were. Your friends noticed, you sulking around during missions, usually not saying a word to any of them.

Why’d he always have to be the damn hero?

And now you missed them, it was too quiet here for your liking. Your gaze landed on a patch of trees, seeming like the only form of life there. With a huff, you picked yourself up and walked towards the forage, walking around for a while until you came across something rather odd in this place.

A car? Here? It was random. What made you even more confused was the blood splatters all over it, the windows cracked. It was fresh blood, not dried yet, you could tell that much.

Slowly and curiously,you walked towards the car, peering inside quietly the two of them, Wade wrapped up in the seatbelts. Then your eyes were stuck on logan, heart stuttering and breath stopping at the sight of his bloodied body.

His eyes snapped open, eyebrows furrowing and forehead creased, he was going to attack you, barreling out of the car and standing in front of you before you jumped back and his movements paused.

You had already created a shield of their blood from the car, holding your hands out in front of you. You stared back at Logan, examining you as if it was as if he was wondering the same thing you were.

Is that you?

You put your hands down, blood falling back into the soil, both of you left staring at each other in silence.

It went on like that until Wade left out a cough, gasping and sitting up, struggling against the seatbelts.

“Motherfuck-“ he murmured out, both of you turning your heads to watch the man get out of his restraints.

He hopped out of the car, turning to the both of you staring back at him now. “You know what, I forgive you for that back there.” He told Logan.

“Gonna introduce me to your friend?” You asked with a small smile, both of them turning to look at you.

It was the first words Logan had heard you speak in a while, and Jesus, you even had the same smile.

“Pool. Dead.” He held his hand out, which looked broken. “Or Wade. You can just call me Wade.”

“Your um…” you cleared your throat, motioning to his floppy hand, that he quickly fixed back in place.

You shook his hand. “Y/n.” You mumbled.

“Where have I heard that name before…?” He asked, mostly to himself.

“I’m part of the x-men.” You told him. He snapped his fingers, remembering you suddenly.

“Oh, yeah! You’re dead in my universe.” He said the last part flatly.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Didn’t go so well for you. You have like… the blood bending powers, right?”

You snickered at his choice of words. “Blood bending is from avatar. Blood manipulation.” You corrected, but nodded anyways.

“So you’re like… Marie Moreau from gen v?”

You didn’t understand his reference.

“Are you two done?” Logan asked, his arms crossed against his chest.

“Cool your jets, wolvie.”

You had to suppress a smile at his choice of words, wolvie. You used to tease him with that nickname all the time. He glanced at you, before fixing his gaze back on Wade.

“What are you guys doing here anyways?” You asked them.

“Long story.” Logan spoke, still avoiding your gaze, his mind suddenly being flooded with the worst memories he has.

“Okay, then what are you guys planning to do? Except for stabbing each other.”

“We’ll catch you up, Katara.” Wade spoke, all of you piling back into the car, you staring out the window as Wade explained everything.

“Wait, let me get this straight, so she was your girlfriend but then she died, in your universe?” Wade whispered to Logan, who just grimaced and nodded, downing the rest of the alcohol in this place.

“I find it kinda hard to believe that you, the epitome of I have a grey cloud over my head at all times, and her, the living embodiment of fucking sunshine. She’s like fucking.. princess peach. You’re like bowser.”

Logan scoffed, glancing back at you for a moment. He was right. Despite him not getting the references, he knew what he was trying to say.

He ruined everything he touched, everything he went near. It was better to stay away from you, even if you are from another universe.

They didn’t get the chance to talk about it, because the others began walking in, Logan and wade taking one last glance at you before you all turned to them.

“You know, princess, you should talk to him.” Wade spoke suddenly, wrapping his arm around your shoulders, an innocent gesture.

You furrowed your eyebrows at Wade. “Princess?”

Somehow, in the few hours you knew wade, he was pretty nice, and you two quickly became friends.

“You remind me of like princess peach or something.”

Your eyebrows remained furrowed, face full of confusion.

“Oh my god, you guys don’t have Mario in your universe?”

You shook your head. “No clue what you’re talking about right now.”

“That’s.. tragic…”

“Anyways, what were you saying? Who should I talk to?”

“Mr dark and brooding outside.”

“Logan?”

“You know I’m talking about logan.”

You sighed, shutting your eyes for a moment and nodding, leaning your head back against the couch you sat on, recalling everything about the man.

“I was his friend for years. We met… through the X-men shit or whatever.” You waved it off. “I was… in love with him. I still am. We… eventually started dating, and we both were probably the happiest we could be. Then he had to go be the fuckin’ hero.” You said with a bittersweet laugh, Wade listening intently.

“It’s been 1 year, 3 months, and 11 days.”

“Wow… that is… bringing a tear to my eye.” He flicked the stray tear off his face, shaking his head to himself.

“Well, to me it looks like him and mini him are done talking,” he gently shoved your shoulder with his arm, motioning for you to go outside.

“Alright, alright, I’m going.” You murmured when he kept shoving you to the edge, small smile still on your face.

You shoved your hands into your pockets as you left, he glanced back, ready to tell whoever was coming up to go away, his words getting caught in his throat when he saw you. He turned back around, swallowing down the alcohol in seconds.

You sat next to him, both of you silent until you spoke up.

“Am I dead in your universe?” You asked him, voice almost a whisper.

He nodded, still not turning to look at you.

“Oh. You’re dead in mines.” You said, also turning to look ahead.

“How’d that happen?” He asked you, you were shocked that he was engaging in any conversation. You answered quickly.

“He was ripped in half.” You swallowed, remembering the scream you had let out, the cries you choked out on that day. “Right in front of me. Y-He told me…” you hesitated, turning to him, reaching for the bottle in his hands. He gave it to you, you taking a swig, the alcohol burning down your throat.

“He told me that he loved me, and that we needed to leave. I regret leaving. I regret it all.” You told him quietly, he stared at you now, and you stared at him back, passing him the bottle again.

“She was… stabbed, in the heart.” He told you, voice wavering for a moment. “I was so pissed off,” he chuckled for a moment. “I couldn’t kill them.”

You listened intently to the man.

“I never thought I would see…you again.”

“I know. It’s odd.” You said with a quiet laugh, both of you staring at each other for a moment, just sitting in silence, a collective understanding that maybe, just maybe, you were put in the void by fate.

A second chance. That’s what it was for you both.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I'm not one to police how "dark" people should make their fan content, or to act like there's something morally wrong with making a character go through hardship or with having a kink, but man, there sure is a noticeable pattern in how zutarians imagine Katara.

Every attempt to "empower" her always comes with some for of humiliation, violence, trauma or loss of identity.

No one is allowed to love her and treat her well. Not her dad, not her brother, not her friends, not her canon love interest. She needs to be just babysitter/cinderella to them. She needs to be made to feel lonely, isolated, disregarded and unloved until Zuko shows up to the rescue.

Gone is her strong connection to her tribe, that made her want to honor it even when she was traveling the world like she dreamed of. Instead she'll long to be part of the nation that almost erased her culture, commited genocide against her people and killed her mother. Gone is her right to be mad at them for it, even though she canonically always stops herself from letting that anger cross the line into blind hatred.

Instead SHE is the one who needs to learn a lesson on "not judging people just because they're different", and making them learn basic empathy towards someone they see as "other" is no longer on them, or on the guy that literally stepped up for that role of his own free will. Nope, that burden should be on Katara's shoulders instead. It's her job to convince the racists that she is, in fact, a human being and deserves to be treated like one.

And she should always be wearing red instead of the colors of her tribe, her children should grow up in the Fire Nation palace, preparing to inherit that throne (aka their father's legacy), and any waterbender she gives birth to will absolutely be taught bloodbending as that is supposedly Katara's legacy - even though she never wanted to learn it and refuses to use it 9 times out of 10 because she finds it immoral AND it is a source of trauma for her, as it was used by a predatory adult to violate her body.

She should not be "Just the Avatar's girl" and "Aang's reward" (even though she was always her own damn self before anything and their romance was a "reward" to both of them), but instead should be just the Fire Lady - after all, in their eyes, Zuko "deserves her more" and that's somehow Not The Same.

Gone is her right to remain a kind, compassionate soul. Instead she needs to let anger consume her and push her to do things she finds morally wrong, like murder or bloodbending, because she needs to hate pacifism so she can hate Aang by proxy.

In fact, Aang should be made to be the REAL source of oppression and violence in her life (combined with her tribe and family of course).

Compassion should no longer be something they both believe in, it should be an idea Aang tries to force into her head. The scars on her hands after he accidentally burns her should be permanent, not healed by Katara herself, to make her more of a victim (with "parallels" to Zuko) and Aang more of a bastard. Aang not wanting to let go of her should be a result of obsession and entitlement, not a combination of his own trauma, the natural desire to be with those he cares about, and the very explicit fact that Katara did not want to be let go of (see her reaction to him leaving in The Awakening).

And more importantly, Aang horribly failing to read the room and kissing her when she didn't want to be kissed, and immediately chastising himself for it because he meant no harm, should be turned into him full on forcing himself on her, preferably more than once. The more traumatizing the better, so Zuko looks like even more of a hero when he saves her.

But that is not say that he needs to be a perfect gentleman when rescuing her, oh no. It's totally fine if what "frees" Katara from the "burdens" that are her family, friends and culture is being taken to the Fire Nation against her will, especially if she's not just a regular prisoner, but instead made to forcibly marry Zuko - or be his sex slave. It's totally fine is this "rescue" involves her being beaten into submission and assaulted until she learns to like it. It's for her own good. It's "feminist" when Zuko does it to her. It's only abuse when Aang does it.

And obviously any anger she has ever felt towards Zuko, even when he sent an assassin after her group, is really just her being "mad at herself" because, secretly, she TOTALLY wants him to do exactly that.

Truly the perfect way to "empower" a character. Mutilate them until they fit in the box you designed for them - and then call people "fake fans" who just "don't understand or care about the character" when they say they liked the original version way more.

Zutarians really shot themselves in the foot with that "holier than thou" attitude. It's IMPOSSIBLE to take their version of "respecting Katara's character" seriously.

[superkitty21]

I don't really go here but I cannot imagine what it must have been like to be a Zutara shipper in the summer of 2008. The last 5 episodes of Avatar have some of the most intense Zutara moments of the entire series. They're literally paired off together in the finale and Zuko sacrifices his life to save Katara. Only for it to end with Mae coming back out of nowhere and a Kataang kiss. I would have lost my damn mind!

[chiefbeifongcanrailme]

Hello!! I would like to request a Linzin fic, when tenzin broke up with lin ofc she is mad but then suddenly starts bleeding, thats when they realize she has been pregnant but it was just a cryptic pregnancyy and her losing her period weren't her going into menopause.

The story basically is just Tenzin trying to get her forgiveness, and lin being "Would you be here knealing if I wasn't pregnant?" I want it to hurt ok🥰

Hello! Here is my attempt at a painful cryptic pregnancy Linzin. I hope this is what you were looking for.

It was that damned healer. That waterbending, icy bitch of a woman- who told her that she was done for couldn't have been more wrong. Lin should've gone to Katara. Spirits, she should have seen Kya instead.

Because now there she was, dismembered in a way she never thought her crime-fighting days could land her. Thankfully, every part of her body was still intact. What she was losing now was nothing she was born with.

The bathroom floor was bright red. Her vision kept shifting from black to red and back.

She only allowed herself to give in to the darkness when she felt the door to her house fling open from under her feet. Someone had entered her home. Someone was looking for her. Someone was going to find her. Someone was going to save both of them.

For the first time, Lin felt pain in her body like never before. This hurt far more than breaking a rib or getting stabbed in the thigh. Her emotions were unfathomable. To think she felt grief for something she never knew she had.

Her entire life would've been upside down had she known this whole time.

"What? A cryptic pregnancy...,"

"Will she be- will they both be—"

"Lin didn't know! She couldn't have known!"

"If you would please just let me see her..."

Lin was in an out of consciousness for what felt like days. Really, it had only been a few hours but it felt like a whole lifetime went by. She couldn't work out whose voices they were. It all felt like she had voices inside her head.

Sleep took over once again. This time it was quiet, dark and numb, like in a vacuum.

The first thing Lin realized was that she could feel her eyelids on her eyes. Her hand twitched, reminding herself that her body was whole. She was still very much there. Her toes wiggled in response. Slowly her fingers contracted, and she forced her eyes open.

She saw more red. This time accompanied with yellow.

What was he doing here? Who let him in? Don't people know better? She didn't destroy Air Temple Island for nothing after all, did she? Some destruction her meltdown had caused. That was the only time she lost control of her bending. Her emotions were volcanic- they had consumed her being, soul and body, and exploded all over the Island.

How was Tenzin both the only and the last person she wanted to see?

“Lin!” He cried, almost to himself.

Lin stirred slowly. She suddenly remembered why her body wasn’t moving earlier. Everything hurt.

“Hey, hey slow down,”

He had leapt off his seat to stand beside her, one hand on her shoulder to stay her movements.

“What are you doing here?” She asked through gritted teeth, pushing all the pain to the back of her mind.

“We almost lost you. I couldn’t—”

“As far as you’re concerned, consider me lost.”

“Lin, she’s alive,” he whispered over her. His shaky hands captured her palm and brought it up to kiss her knuckles.

Lin lost her voice too. There was a lump in her throat now. There was no admission needed, a wave of acceptance came over her.

Motherhood.

Tenzin’s kisses were wet on her hand. When her eyes shifted to him, she saw tears rolling down his face.

“Where- where is—” she managed to croak out.

“In the other room,” he replied, gesturing to the left. “The chief healer is there, caring for both of you. The baby is healthy and happy. And she looks just like you. Just as beautiful. She’s got jet black hair and your eyes and-and—”

“Tenzin, stop.”

The airbender gaped at her.

“You don’t get to be a part of this. You don’t get to just walk in here and take what you want. That’s my child.”

“That’s our child.”

“There is no our because there is no us, Tenzin. That’s my child and—”

“And that’s also my child.”

“How do you know she’s yours?”

He was spellbound. The most joyous moment of his life had reduced to a pit in his stomach. But he knew better. She was saying that just to hurt him. When he peered into that child's eyes, he knew she was his.

“Lin, come on. Please don’t say that.”

But she continued to glare daggers at him.

Just then, hearing the voices, the very chief healer entered the room. She was an old woman, one of the few who were trained by Katara personally. Where was she when she stopped bleeding all those months go? “Oh, look. Mom is awake.”

Lin offered her a weak smile.

“Your little girl is a fighter,” she said, walking over to Lin's bed. “She's a stubborn one- the girl was determined to live.”

Lin audibly masked a sniffle, but Tenzin caught it.

“She gets that from her mother,” he said with a smile.

“Oh, we’re well aware. Captain Beifong, you fought through too. Valiantly, so. If it were up to me, this ordeal alone should make you Chief.”

“Can I see my baby?” Lin asked.

The woman nodded happily, pushing Lin's hair behind her ear affectionately before stepping out of the room.

They swiftly turned to look at each other. “I’m sorry, Lin. I’m so sorry.”

Lin bit back tears by biting her cheek.

“You don’t- you don’t get to…” she whispered, shaking her head in denial.

“We can work this out. We never should’ve ended things.”

“You’re not even in love with me…” Her voice was hoarse.

“Lin, I’m crazy about you. You and only you. And now that mini-you you just brought into this world.”

“What about your soulmate?”

Tenzin slapped his forehead. “The acolyte? She’s so far driven from reality, she wouldn’t know a soul from a chair.”

Lin almost let herself chuckle with relief. But she didn't. She couldn't just laugh off the thing that Tenzin allowed to weaponize against their relationship.

“No,” she said. “No, you can’t- I’m vulnerable right now. You can’t snake your way back into my life. If it wasn’t for my pregnancy- if it wasn’t for nearly losing your child, you wouldn’t have even been here. You would be with your soulless chair mate on your cold, lifeless Island. You’re dead to me, Tenzin.”

“Lin, of course, I would. I would always be there for you. Please—”

“You value your legacy far more than you’ve ever loved me. I kept putting your first and you kept making me fight for footnotes in your life.”

“That is not true!”

“Oh, but it is!”

“Lin, I have always been in love with you. I can't remember a time in my life when I haven't loved you, truly.”

“Then why would you leave me for her? Why when I had just found out that I couldn't bear you the airbenders you so wanted. The unborn children you put before me, a whole person you claim to be so in love with.”

“I was wrong. I was so very wrong," he cried, head in his hands. "I didn't know you couldn't have children. You pushed me into Pema's arms—”

“Don't you utter her name!”

Tenzin sighed. “You told me to be with her. That she would give me my airbenders. I only did that to free you from my burdens. You didn't deserve to—”

The door creaked open again, the same healer returning with their child in her arms. The two of them fell silent immediately.

“Here, Lin. Do you want to hold her?” The healer asked.

Lin’s sniffle was enough of a response.

As she cradled her arms- as best as she knew anyway- the healer slowly placed the baby in her mother's embrace. She was so little- so much smaller than Lin imagined. She could no longer hold back her tears.

She felt Tenzin’s hand on her shoulder.

“She’s perfect,” he whispered.

“She is,” Lin replied, feeling placated like never before. She eased up. Her mind was no longer clouded- clarity had taken over. “I can’t believe we created that.”

“I can,” he replied, kissing her head.

“Don’t make me ask you to leave,” she said, curtly.

“I’m never leaving, Lin.”

She huffed, side eyeing him as she prepared herself for what she was about to say. She felt certain about her decision.

“You’re leaving, Tenzin. I will allow you to be a part of my daughter’s life so long as you vow to stay out of mine.”

Tenzin watched her, heart beating faster in his chest, as she glared at him with storms in her eyes. He didn’t have the words to respond.

“You stay on your Island and I stay in my city. We only have our exchanges on the ferry. I will not step foot onto Air Temple Island and if you so much as even breathe Republic City’s air, I will arrest you and have you sent to the Dai Li’s prison in Ba Sing Se.”

“Lin, that can’t be sustainable—”

“I don’t care what you think.”

Lin pressed her baby into her bosom. Nothing mattered anymore. Her entire life would be dedicated to protecting this baby.

Tenzin would do the same, she trusted him that much. He would be a good father to her. She would have to find a way to be okay with that acolyte being a part of her daughter's life. But perhaps, that would happen with time.

“I love you. And I respect your wishes. But can you grant me just this one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Can we have one moment? Just a single moment where we, as her parents, hold her together with love. If I am to leave you alone, I just need a glimpse of what might’ve been to keep me going.”

Lin sighed.

“Let’s- let’s name her,” he suggested, realizing that he was babbling. “Together. Right now. That’s all.”

“Sure,” she gave out a low huff of defeat.

Lin shifted on the bed as Tenzin took a seat beside her. He placed one hand under Lin’s, supporting their daughter’s head while his other arm ran around her waist. He squeezed her into his embrace and as much as she wanted to fight it, she gave in and rested her head against his chest. It felt right. As if the entire universe conspired to allow her just this one moment. Even if it wasn't made to last.

“How do you like the name Dalha?”

Lin scrunched her nose in disgust. She kissed her daughter’s head, making her coo in a way that made Lin’s heart flutter.

“What about Meng?”

“No,” Lin replied with a gasp. A yawn escaped her mouth urging Tenzin to pull her tighter.

“Jin?”

Lin gave her baby a cheeky a smile and said, “Don’t worry, kid. I won’t let your daddy name you anything as unsavory like that.”

“Well, daddy is trying. Mommy hasn’t made a single contribution.”

Lin huffed. “How about Lila?”

“I love that name. Lila Beifong. We could call her Lili too!” Tenzin glanced over at Lin only to find her looking straight at him. There was a softness in her eyes. He cupped her face with one hand and drew her in. His lips slowly met hers. It had been far too long since he had kissed her. Lin melted against his touch- she was exhausted. She just needed to be held, to feel loved- if only for a moment.

Tenzin continued kissing her, smiling, making the most of the moment with the mother of his child- the only woman he wanted to kiss for the rest of his life.

When they pulled apart, Lin passed Lila on to Tenzin to hold. He delicately held her as Lin wiped her dried up tears with her palms.

“Say your goodbyes.”

Tenzin bit his bottom lip. “Thanks.” He admired his daughter, he couldn’t help but smile. A joy so unfathomable, he couldn't wrap his head around the grief that was yet to set in. “I love you so much,” he whispered to Lila. “You’re my world, Lili. You and your mother, you're my earth, my air, my everything.” He kissed the top of Lila's head before handing her back to Lin.

He stood up, and knowing she wouldn’t stop him, he planted a kiss on Lin’s forehead one last time. “I love you. And I always will.”

“I'll be sure to thank Saikhan for letting you know of my whereabouts. If it weren't for him, you never would've found us."

"Lin, I would've found you with or without my intel. Who, by the way, wasn't Saikhan."

"Who was it then?" she asked.

Tenzin chanced another kiss to her cheek and replied. "I'll save that story for the ferry when I pick Lila up next week."

“Fine,” she said softly, but there was a hint of a smile in her voice.

Tenzin beamed, making his way over to the door. “I’m going to win you back, Beifong. Just you wait. I look forward to those thirty minutes on Yue Bay.”

Before Lin could conjure up the metal tray beside her into mini spheres to throw in his direction, the airbender was gone.

[broadwaybalogna]

Zutara prompt: While fishing, Zuko accidentally admits to Sokka that he like Katara.

STOP IT THIS IS SO CUTE OMG

-

Sokka didn’t exactly know how to bond with Zuko when they weren’t committing crimes or saving the world, so they went on an abundance of “bro trips” to find new hobbies for the two of them. There was golfing, swimming, and cooking, but they ultimately landed on fishing. The activity was a nice change of pace for their busy days, and it allowed them to catch up with each other without having to worry about anything else.

The sun was just beginning to set when Zuko and Sokka finally got their stuff outside and ready to set up. It had been a long day for both of them, but they tried to maintain their weekly bro hangouts as much as possible.

“So, how was your week?” Sokka asked once they had fully set up.

“Ugh, the usual. Making laws, opening borders, selling my soul. How about you? How’s Suki?”

“Suki’s doing great. I soar her every now and again-“

“And lose.”

“And allow her to take advantage of weak spots I didn’t know I had.” Sokka huffed. Zuko laughed. “And you? Any new girls in your life?” Sokka asked as he wiggled his eyebrows.

“Ah, no. Just the usual, haha.” He sputtered.

Sokka liked to think he and Zuko shared everything with one another, so when he sensed that Zuko was hiding something, he immediately pounced.

“Reaaaally….” He imposed, making the word long as he got up in Zuko’s face. “C’mon, you can trust me bro. Bro to bro, what’s my bro been up to?”

“That’s too many bros.”

“My bad bro.”

“And I’m not seeing anyone.”

“You so are.”

“Am not.”

“Are to.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re beat red! You very clearly are!”

“It’s not because of- Agni help me.” Zuko sighed, exasperated.

“Just tell me who she is!”

“I’m not seeing any girls. I wouldn’t be allowed to see her anyway.”

“So you DO have your eyes on someone! And why wouldn’t you be able to see her?”

“Why do you ask so many questions.”

“I’m a top tier wingman, I don’t know what else to say.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Look, her family is- er.. strict?”

“Is that a statement or a question?”

Zuko gave Sokka a look that very clearly said that he wasn’t playing any games. Sokka raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Damn, you have some serious feeling for this girl, huh?”

“I suppose.” Zuko looked down at his lap, then out into the distance. There was this look in his eyes that Sokka saw and he knew Zuko saw her in the sunset before them.

“I’m sure that if her family see how much you care, they’ll come around.”

“I’m also afraid it’ll strain a relationship I have with one of my best friends.” Zuko finally said after a few moments.

Sokka thought for a moment. “Well, I’ll always be here to pick up the slack from whatever friend you’re talking about! Bros gotta stick out for each other all the time!”

Then Zuko looked over at him. And there was this look in his eyes that confused Sokka for a moment before the realization finally settled in.

“Do you?- my- Kat—? HER!?”

Zuko looked over to his fishing rod, nothing had been caught yet.

“How long, Zuko?”

“How long what?”

“Have you liked her!?”

Zuko flinched at the sudden loudness of Sokka. He couldn’t tell if his friend was angry, upset, confused, surprised, or a horrifying mix of it all.

“I don’t know. Maybe a couple years?”

“Years!?”

Zuko sighed, “Yeah.”

“Fucking FINALLY.”

“What?”

“I said ‘finally’, dipshit.”

“Yeah, I heard that. Why?”

“Because I’ve been so sick and tired of hearing her ramble on about you and how hot you are and blah blah blah!”

Zuko was in pure awe, “Seriously?”

“‘SeRiOuSlY’ my ass! You’re saying I could’ve avoided this for YEARS!?”

“Sokka, are you being serious?” Zuko had gotten closer to Sokka and grabbed him by his shirt.

“Of course I am! I wouldn’t be this annoying if I wasn’t.” Zuko softly let go of the taller man and sat down in his chair beside his fishing rod.

“Holy shit.”

“You better tell her as soon as possible because I don’t know how much longer I can listen to her ramble on and on-“

“I thought you would hate me.”

“What?” Sokka was finally taken out of his annoying persona and thrown back into reality. “Why would I hate you?”

“C’mon Sokka, I like your sister. Most people would be at my throat if I said I liked their family member.”

“Yeah, sure, but— you’re my best friend. If anyone should date my sis, it should be you. There have been plenty of guys who have had a crush on Katara and believe me, not many of them have been all that good. So to know she has someone who I know is amazing for her. That makes everything a lot easier. Of course I’m glad you like her. I’m just upset you would think anything would make me hate you!”

Zuko laughed and Sokka continues to babble on. Zuko finally caught a fish and Sokka begged him to cook it for the two of them.

“Promise me you won’t hate me if I tell your sister my feelings and we start going out.” Zuko finally said after they finished eating.

Sokka thought for a short moment before responding. “Promise. Pinky swear.” He held out his pinky finger and wiggled it, urging Zuko to lock in own pinky with his. Zuko grumbled but ultimately folded.

“Thanks.”

“Of course, bud.”

[low-budget-korra]

Comments on Netflix's Avatar The Last Airbender

*spoiler alert*

First of all I'm gonna start by saying it is one of the best adaptations I've seen so far. And that's the key word, adaptation. I've seen a lot of fans and others complain about some things that honestly, doesn't make sense because some things only work in a cartoon(just as much as some things only work in a book or a video game)

And before I start to talk about some topics that I judge important, I also wanna say that the production is fantastic, from the costumes to the CGI. It all looks amazing. (A part from Yue's wig)

1. The Script

It's not easy to pick 20+ episodes and make it fit in only 8 but damn they did a hell of a good job, especially when judging what was important to show and what they could let it go. Some fans commented that since there's no fillers, the Gaang and others miss some development but I think that for the universe of the live action what we got here it worked.

I can express how much I like to see Ozai and Azula's relationship and how it is now clear that he uses the siblings against each other, manipulating them to get what he wants. But I will admit I miss the fear Azula had, since it's implied in the show and some extras that she does fear Ozai, and fears becoming like Zuko.

I hope the 41. Is just fine after the battle in the north. See all of them bowing to Zuko after discovering that Zuko was the one that saved their asses and was heavily punished by that...it was beautiful. I loved the writers did that, give names and faces to Zuko's crew and a beautiful yet sad arc when Ozai banished his son and the men who he saved.

I also loved that they put weight into things that was treated as a joke, like Katara talking about her mother. She was a little kid who saw her mom get murdered in front of her and the live action made sure to let us know that it is not okay to make jokes about something so traumatic. All of the deaths here have tons of weight in it, it's not some random person, is someone we met, someone we liked, someone who helped. The costs of the war, something the cartoon manages to show us but know in live action, with real people, the massage gets stronger.

And they didn't forget Iroh's past like the fandom does, which is great. That actor, the earthbending soldier really let it all out, that's how you use the few screentime you have.

Sokka's isn't sexist and y'all were making a storm outta a cup of water, is not like Sokka sexist didn't go away after like the 4 or 5 episode in the original show. I think the live action was able to bring more depth to him in comparison to the first season of the cartoon. We see how he feels about his father's, the absence of him and his duty as warrior who kinda doesn't want to be a warrior.

I need a Gyatso in my life, I didn't know I needed to see more of him until the live action gave us more of him. Kyoshi was the Thor coming to Wakanda from this season, WHY THE FUCK BRYKE DONT WANNA GIVE US A KYOSHI SERIES? She is absolutely a jewel of a character. Roku and Kuruk, damn poor Kuruk man, so much pain in his words but again that's what it means to be the Avatar, it's not fun and games. Zhao saying to Aang what Korra villains said to Korra😭 that the world doesn't need the Avatar anymore, it hurt.

Guys I'm gonna say it, there's no way in hell for anyone to ship Kataang here. I'm saying this because some shippers complain that the secret tunnel part was different but c'mon, look at Kiawentiio and look at Gordon, it would be so s awkward and weird and just wrong. I know they don't have a big age difference, is only like 3 years but when they filmed Gordon looked so much younger than her, maybe in the next seasons the difference won't be that big.

The pace is good, once you start you don't wanna stop.

2. The Acting

Everyone is really good at capturing the essence of it's characters and somewhat making them their own. The highlights for me were Dallas and Ian, Its like they came straight from the show. Ken Leung's Zhao was also amazing as he was way more threatening here than he was in the show.

Kiawentiio was the Katara we were looking for, she is kind yet strong, brave and caring. And Gordon was Aang, sure, he has to learn a few things since he slipped a few times in his acting but nothing that could ruin the experience, that kid is good and just needs some experience.

Elizabeth Yu was Azula. It was different but yet the same character, is like learning something new of her and I like how cleared she show emotions with her eyes. Maria Zhang had great chemistry with Ian and I can't wait to see more of Suki. Arden Cho and Yvonne Chapman as June and Avatar Kyoshi look like they came out straight from the cartoon. Daniel Dae Kim...man is Ozai, so cold, so sharp, so scary, already way better than the cartoon version. I wanna see more of Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh since the character he really starts to shine in book 2.

3. The live action doesn't have the spirit of the OG?

Yes, it does have. The thing is now that we are seeing real people, things get dark one way or another but I don't think it ruined the spirit of the show. Aang is still a kid, Sokka still making sarcastic jokes, Zuko still annoying as hell, Katara still hopeful and strong... There's everything there really.

The thing is stuff like genocide, murder, war, death and suffering are, for some people, better to watch as pixels in a cartoon than real people.

I think it's a great adaptation and I would recommend it to every fan.

[woodlaflababab]

Thinking about Aang and Iroh and their parallels when it comes to Zuko.

I mean, they are such similar characters and one of my biggest regrets with the show is that we only get one scene with the two of them interacting. That's a damn shame. Even just beyond the fact that they're both wise, humorous, and centered on peace (though they have different ways to go about it), they both have two distinct and very different parts of their lives.

Iroh has the beginning of his life, which was centered around training to be Firelord and fighting a war, and then after Lu Ten died, where he gave up all of that and pursued something very different.

Aang has the beginning of his life which was about peace and childhood (and mastering his element) and then after he woke from the iceberg in which he was thrown into the world and his role as the avatar.

And it is these events that bring them to Zuko. Without them, neither of them would have had the relationship with Zuko that they do, Aang wouldn't even know him.

For both of them, Zuko reminds them of a loved one they lost (one in which they feel even a little bit responsible for that loss) Lu Ten and Kuzon, and to both of them, Zuko is one of the things that lessen the tragedy they went through. Iroh learns to love Zuko as one of his own and Zuko becomes one of Aang's best friends (each having Zuko fill the place of the person they lost.) (Aang even explicitly says one of the bright sides of the iceberg was the new people he gets to meet. "I did get to meet you." - Aang @ Katara)

They also both relate to and understand Zuko even if Zuko doesn't recognize that. Iroh understands being caught up in the fire nation propaganda and chasing an idea. (Honor for Zuko, Glory for Iroh.) Aang understands the pain of being ripped from your home and understands the way pain can drive you to do things you would never dream of doing otherwise.

They both are endlessly forgiving of Zuko. No matter how many insults Zuko throws at Iroh, no matter how much fire Zuko throws at Aang, they refuse to stop caring for him. Iroh in the form of standing by his side and Aang in the form of saving his ass again and again and offering him friendship.

Honestly, I think part of Zuko's frusteration with Katara's very reasonable unwillingness to forgive him as soon as he does something right is because he's a little bit spoiled on the forgiveness he has always gotten from Iroh and Aang. (And I also think Katara's resistance makes Zuko appreciate her forgiveness and thus their forgiveness so much more, especially when Iroh immediately forgives him once again at the end.)

It is Iroh's and Aang's patience and virtue that allow Zuko to grow and become the person he becomes. They are the two biggest influences on his change and both their influences are so similar in many ways. Iroh stands on the inside never leaving Zuko's side and Aang stands on the outside constantly offering a place by his own side.

I don't think it is a coincidence that Zuko had to lose Iroh's help and forgiveness to realize he needs to seek Aang's help and forgiveness.

Both of them have made mistakes with Zuko. Both had a phase where they realized they needed to turn their back on Zuko because of the pattern of behavior he's shown (dispite him trying to show different levels of repentance) and both welcome Zuko in once he has made it clear that behavior has ended and his change is true. Both love him, not because of what he's done, but because he has inherent value as a person and because they know deep down there is something good inside him.

Both of their relationships with Zuko are beautiful.

[aangsdefensesquad]

https://www.tumblr.com/rifari2037/763621496657756160/the-idea-of-her-being-mother-figure-is-challenged?source=share

Wouldn’t anyone with a bit of compassion and sympathy not tell a damn CHILD that his whole culture/family was killed away?

they make katara into a mother-figure just cuz she cares for all of them, news flash just because a WOMEN cares for your well being and takes care of you doesn’t mean she’s a mother figure

Aang's irresponsible and childish behaviour *sigh* aang is a child and y’all are acting like he called her something worse. All of the characters in the show has some kinda of bad moments. I don’t see any of you calling out zuko or katara for calling Ty lee a circus freak.

once the character u don’t like say something oh god the patriarchy oh aang is an abuser.

Aang ran away after someone blamed him for something he actually did a hundred years ago. Katara must find him in the storm, then help him dwelling with his past.

I’m so sorry but like are we talking about the boy who just woke up from a 100 year old coma to find out that a horrible war has broke out AND he has to stop it and learn bending within a year span? Oh and his family aka everyone he cared about is dead, I’m sorry murdered. While aang should not have run away and just leave katara.

That’s probably his maturity level for the millionth time HES A CHILD and how come I don’t see any essays about ppl blaming zuko for betraying his uncle, who was there for him for 3 WHOLE YEARS.

ppl love to blame aang and pinpoint his flaws but just when it comes to their favorite characters they just blame it on their trauma. aang is a child ppl if he was acting like this if he was like 18 or something then sure you can blame him that too only half of the things.

And how come none of you talk about how many times aang was literally ready to risk everything for katara?

aang offers to take katara to the northern water tribe so she can learn waterbending under a master after knowing her for only a few hours at most. he also does this after she expresses her upset at being the only southern waterbender left. “katara! we’re going to find you a master!”

aang gives himself over to zuko and his fire nation crew to save katara and sokka’s village

aang completes all of bumi’s challenges to save katara and sokka

aang goes out and basically risk his life trying to get the medicine for sokka and katara cuz they were sick.

y’all make it seem like aang was some abusive jerk to katara as if katara never enjoyed the time she spend with aang

And zuko is a dad? Please he was rather the emo eldest child. The real dad here was sokka. Zuko basically bullied aang when he said he didn’t wanna kill ozai. And zuko being mature is like saying zutara shippers dont mis-characterize the og characters.

Zuko blamed mai and basically accused her of cheating

called Ty lee a circus freak just cuz he can’t find anyone to blame his problem on rather than himself

3.oh and he constantly throw tantrums through out the whole show.

I mean obviously zuko will do these things cuz just like aang, zuko is a child who is forced to grow up too fast.

fun fact of the day : none of the gaang kids had a childhood

and please don’t snd me these zutara arguments I really don’t want to involve myself in their stupid arguments

[ok-boomerang]

YOU DID WHAT?! for the drabble prompts!

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

Zuko had waited until Katara had fallen asleep at his bedside—which she had scarcely left since she dragged him away from the scorched courtyard—before he slowly and gingerly slid out from under his blankets. His bare feet touched the cool floor of his bedroom, and he stood for what felt like the first time in days, though really it had only been a handful of hours since he last carefully got up used the restroom.

He tiptoed across the room, sparing a glance at Katara, only to see she was indeed fully out—he knew she was exhausted from constant healing sessions, even though she tried to hide it. The dim glow of the torch on the wall revealed how she'd fallen asleep with her head against her hand; a piece of curly hair swayed in the breeze of her breath each time she exhaled.

Unfortunately, Zuko had taken too many steps just watching Katara, and he forgot the small circle of chairs the sages had set out to use when they visited him. This is how Zuko woke Katara: yelling "Fuck!" loudly as his knee painfully collided with the corner of a chair.

Katara at once jumped awake and launched herself from her sleeping position, water already flooded around her hands as she surveyed the room in a panic. But there was no would-be assassin—just Zuko, clutching his knee and finding it suddenly hard to breathe from the energy he expended by yelling.

"What are you—what?!" Katara exclaimed before she was on him, her water-clothed hands now surveying his knee. "It's the middle of the night! What were you doing?"

"I was—uh—" he stuttered, which was his downfall. Couldn't he have said "I was going to the bathroom" instead of hesitating like the terrible liar he was?

Katara crossed her arms in front of him and frowned. "Were you by chance, going to visit a certain palace sage?"

Zuko huffed, annoyed he was so transparent, but even more annoyed at the sage who had insulted Katara. "He has to know what he said about you was out of line! You've been healing me non-stop, you already fully saved my life—"

"I appreciate your concern, Zuko—believe me, I'm angry too—but you can deal with him when you're better, right?" She laid a cool hand on his chest, as if surveying for more damage. "Why a midnight rendezvous in the first place, unless you're trying to—trying to—" she trailed off, realization seeming to hit her as Zuko's stomach sank.

"You were going to fight him?!" she hissed.

"No!" Zuko yelped, much too quickly.

"An agni kai?"

"No—no—of course not! I mean, nothing that could end in death!"

Katara exhaled like an angry cat.

"Just a minor beat-down to defend your honor," he murmured.

"Defend my honor?"

Zuko didn't say anything, for the look on Katara's face told him nothing he could say would calm her down.

But instead of chewing him out, she only sighed, put one hand on his arm, and began to lead him back to bed. "You're going back to sleep. I'll give you the sleeping tincture you clearly didn't take tonight, and we'll talk about Fire Sage Shayu in the morning."

"All right, Healer Katara."

"Damn right," she said with a little grin as she helped him climb into bed. She gave him the tincture and after one last look at Katara's self-satisfied expression, Zuko was fully out.

--

In the morning, Zuko woke with the sun, and automatically turned toward where Katara usually sat—she was there, of course, sitting vigil and fast asleep. He couldn't help the small smile that unfolded on his face, except—

That was weird. Katara looked—rather roughed up. There was dirt on her cheek and what looked like a burn hole on her tunic sleeve.

"Katara?" he asked loudly, shifting toward her and too concerned not to wake her. What had happened while he was sleeping?! "Are you okay?"

"Mhm," she said sleepily, blinking her eyes open with a lopsided grin. He noticed her lip was split. "But I made sure Fire Sage Shayu wasn't."

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

[oneatlatime]

City of Walls and Secrets

I am also once again saving the commentary for a rewatch.

I still think rock trains are neat but their inefficiencies hurt my brain. The friction! They should at least install dynamic braking.

That's big. This show has really confined itself to the hinterlands so far, so this is really novel. I had no clue anything this big existed in the Avatar universe.

Complete nitpick time! Given that earthbending is a thing that exists, why bother making things out of stone with individual tiles like this?

Single most threatening musical sting of the whole show so far goes to an overly smiley tour guide.

Wow! I hate this lady already!

"Oh, Ba Sing Se has many walls! There are the ones outside, protecting us, and the ones inside, protecting us from smelly poors!"

"In case someone brings home a lady friend!" Do you know your nephew AT ALL?

Both Iroh and Zuko are right. Life does happen everywhere and without your permission. But, the city is also remarkably prison-like.

He got them jobs in an afternoon. AN AFTERNOON. Stop it Iroh, you're making me feel inadequate.

Once a fuckboy, always a fuckboy. This particular leopard can't change his spots, no matter how he tries to dress up his actions in a new law-abiding veneer. I feel sorry for Smellerbee. Her faith in her leader isn't exactly being rewarded.

So... is there a law on the books that makes being a firebender illegal in Ba Sing Se? Because the head-in-the-sand vibe I'm getting from Judy makes me think that the average citizen doesn't even know there's a reason to dislike the Fire Nation. Iroh and Zuko could probably bend as openly as a waterbender or an earthbender could here.

This whole being handled thing must be dredging up some pretty nasty feelings for Toph. This is specifically what she left behind.

Speaking of precisely targeted torture, Judy is engineered to be as irritating to Sokka as possible. Man of action versus Lady of script.

What a productive use of time! What an exemplary case of turning over a new leaf!

Iroh buddy I have news for you regarding the ingredients of tea.

That's like the nicest thing a member of the Fire Nation royal family has said all year.

How to get Iroh's ass in gear: Step 1: Make insulting tea. Step 2: There is no step 2.

I thought that little thingy in the background was one of those electricity things.

The attention to detail in this show is stupid. There's a moving reflection of the carriage in the water as it goes past.

Hi forbidden city!

Ba Sing Se has a morality police?

I've already run out of patience with the city and I'm 7 minutes in. I haven't even made it to a commercial break yet!

Their house is cute but the veranda is so substantial that it's probably really dark inside. Also there's a pumpkin hood ornament on the roof.

I don't think you can stop there for a month. Have you guys forgotten the now-doubled ticking clock? Eclipse and comet?

Oh ok we're doing 1984 now. Damn. This show goes places.

I stand corrected. Everyone knows about the war and would be appropriately non-welcoming to firebending. But not openly. This could be like one of those Bugs Bunny bits where he traps someone in societal rules. If someone told a firebender not to bend, all they would have to do to get the guy off their case would be to ask why they aren't supposed to be firebending. What's the guy going to say, because there's a war on?

Shout out to Pong for doing the Gaang a solid and providing the only useful info since they've arrived.

There is something very Gollum-like about Jet, crouched in laundry on a roof in the dark, talking to his stolen spark rocks.

Sokka. Feet off the artwork.

Time for Toph to weaponise her oppressive upbringing and out-fancy the fancies in the name of ending the war.

Aang can master an element in a couple of months but a qualified expert declared manners to be beyond him.

I just realised that Sokka and Katara don't have a last name.

Sneaking into a Bear's (JUST Bear's) birthday party may be the single least violent infiltration attempt in the show so far.

Smellerbee is very articulate, and it's rare that this show spells out its themes so obviously. No metaphors, just "you're obsessed. It's not healthy." And Jet still doesn't get it. Maybe Smellerbee should have tried metaphors.

Normally glowy green stuff is bad news, but all of Ba Sing Se's green lighting is surprisingly cozy.

Sometimes, rarely but sometimes, Zuko has to put up with a lot of nonsense.

A raise? Did I miss a timeskip?

Busting in to a local business, yelling about the enemy, pulling out a lethal weapon: How to Look Sane, A Guide by Jet.

Customers, amirite?

I guess the Bei Fongs are too minor as nobles?

"You don't know what I had to do to get seats this near the bear!" but I want to.

I know this guy's voice from something.

Momo ghost plan. I want it.

Pretty funny that the busboys plan works better than the fancy ladies plan. Goes to show you should always play to your strengths.

Get de-wheated punk.

I'm not sure I've rooted for Zuko this wholeheartedly since The Storm.

Jet be like.

Judy is not good at her job. Like really not good. Her insistence on getting out of there before they cause a scene caused the scene. Nice going!

The music slowing down when Judy's face falls is really effective.

You ever get the feeling that it should be Aang who ran away to the circus rather than Ty Lee?

Actually a travelling circus would be a great way to be, and remain, an incognito airbender. Aang should have done that rather than frozen himself. Ok I'm not sure how much say he had in that, but you know what I mean.

For the first time in his life, Zuko has people take his side. It's too bad that it's based on a lie, but it must feel nice.

I would have preferred if Zuko had a clean win against Jet - they're both great with swords, but I thought Zuko was better - but an assist from the funky hat police works too.

I'm getting some funky vibes from the funky hat police.

Bye! I won't miss you!

The face on the guy on the left is the funniest part of this episode.

Now these are some funky hats.

I know this scene is supposed to be scary and tense and action-packed, but I can't get over the fact that the king just did a drive by. They carried him in one side and out the other. This concludes the King's presence at his Bear's birthday party. He's a very busy man, you see.

Long Fang's title keeps getting fancier.

Brain washing crops up quite a lot in kids' cartoons. This is not the first time I've seen this plot beat.

Forget the Fire Lord. Forget the Fire Nation. Long Fang just threatened Appa. Long Fang has to die now.

The Judys are replaceable. Given everything else this city seems ok with, they're probably disposable too. Yikes!

Final Thoughts

This episode was probably the most expository I've seen this season. Maybe even the whole show. It was a big infodump with barely any humour. Actually that's wrong; there was humour, but not to my taste.

Jet is infuriating as usual. I think the writers are going for the villainous decay trope, because smooth-talking season one Jet hasn't reappeared once.

I feel really sorry for Smellerbee and the archer guy. I wonder if they even wanted to go to Ba Sing Se in the first place.

Once again, for the third episode in a row, Zuko is one of, if not the, most reasonable character. Season one shouty Zuko is gone. Is this what I think it is? Has Zuko really turned a corner? If so, I'm liking (rather, disliking less) this new Zuko. This is good. I'm also surprised, because in my experience, if you want to domesticate someone, you don't put them in a customer-facing role. That will have the opposite effect and make them turn feral.

Iroh is having too much fun. It's good for him to have something of his own going on. I think he's been in Zuko wrangling mode 24/7 for the last two? three? years, so he definitely deserves to pursue his own interests for a bit. But I can't see Zuko being a tea boy for long before he's back to needing wrangling.

What's the long term plan though? Are Zuko and Iroh going to live the rest of their lives in Ba Sing Se? Are they waiting for something? Are Iroh and Zuko functionally dead, with Lee and Mushi taking their place?

I will give the show credit for finally coming up with and antagonistic force that Aang & company can't just bend or talk into submission. Bureaucratic tomfoolery covering for authoritarian censorship and information suppression and re-education was not something I'd ever have expected in this show, because it's a little too much like the real world, if you know what I mean.

I don't like seeing our heroes unable to triumph, so this episode was kind of uncomfortable to watch. It felt off the whole way through, which I credit to that creepy music box tune that played throughout. The soundtrack of this episode was a cut above what I usually hear in this show. I noticed it more than I usually do, and I mean that in a good way.

As someone who'd be lucky to pass as a busboy, upper class intrigue and social games stuff doesn't do it for me, so this wasn't an episode I was going to enjoy anyway. I preferred the B plot with Zuko and Iroh, for the sheer absurdity of the concept. Imagine you're in 1950s London, having barely survived the Blitz, and you come across Himmler working in a pub. It's so odd that it almost wraps back around to normal again.

I didn't find this episode very enjoyable. I don't like the forced inactivity that's been imposed on the Gaang. The humour was not to my taste. The worldbuilding was substantial, but - probably thanks to Joo Dee, whose name I've definitely been misspelling - it felt inorganic, like a lecture. Which the writers do lampshade by making Joo Dee sound like one of those audio guide things you rent from tourist attractions. But lampshading a fault does not make a fault go away.

Thanks to what happens to Jet, I know that the people of Ba Sing Se don't dare even think about the war, for their own safety. But after spending more than half a season being shown every type of refugee and victim of war in other parts of the Earth Kingdom, I could not bring myself to give a flying fuck over Pong's concern for keeping his house. The city is frustrating, the officials are frustrating, their priorities are beyond frustrating. Zuko was right when he said he didn't want to make a life there, although I did find the lower ring where Zuko and Iroh are to be far more comfortable than the high ring where the gaang is.

This episode makes me want to bite something.

And still no Appa.

[astriddestelle]

The way I was obsessed with enemies to lovers/rivals to lovers as a kid 😭😭😭 my top pairings growing up ranked. Canon/Fanon included.

Can you tell I’ve been on a nostalgic rewatch.

1. Logan/Quinn from Zoey 101. The OG teenbop enemies to lovers omg I stan. When they pronounced their love for each other at the season finale at the prom, screaming crying throwing up. The way they get together is so random lmao he calls her hot and they kiss then Michael rides by on a horse like what? But the pay off and ending was so *chefs kiss*

2. Courtney/Duncan from TDI. They were everything to me and Cartoon Network ruined it. First season the bantering, the flirting. When I tell you I was hooked. The scream I scrumpt when they finally kissed (also me didn’t she just throw up but whatever I guess) then she left and it was all downhill from there.

3. Rose/Jake from ADJL. The Romeo and Juliet of this paring needs to be studied. They were so down bad for each other. When Jake found out she was huntsgirl then when she found out. Their first kiss being right before she had to ‘kill’ him for sport in an arena. Her giving up her life to keep him and his family safe, him giving up her to keep her safe. 😭😭😭 they don’t make em like they used too

4. Draco/Harry from HP. The ship that started it all. Before this I’d never read a slash fic before is it even still called that. Anyways this right here is my longest going ship I’m still into only reason it’s not higher is that I love the other ones more. You get so many variations of this, from the super toxic fic, to the I’ve always secretly loved you, to the meet up after the war is over and so on and so forth. Ugh I love it. There’s like 50,000 fics of them on a03 and I know I’ve read like half at least 🤣

5. Zuko/Katara from Avatar. My second non canon ship on here. When I tell you I was obsessed with them. Sigh then I discovered other fandoms and by the time I came back to them I was just done. Which I think comes fromm just not being as much of a Zuko fan anymore. This ship was gold, tho, I mean come on I’ll save you from the pirates how can I not. The way he jumped in front of her (obviously he’d do the same for everyone but like listen it ate down bad) the whole crystal caverns episode was fuel to the fire, the writers/creators knew what they were doing

6. Jake/Miley from Hannah Montana. Another OG omg she hated him so much. The flirty the snark then they had to kiss and both of em were like oh hot damn. They were so cute together and I will forever hate Disney for making her choose Jake just for him to cheat on her like what was the reason. What was the reason 😭😭

7. Alejandro/Heather from TDI. Woo child buckle up. This is one of those slowburns cause it’s not until like a quarter in to the season you’re like hold up. Are they going where I think they’re going and then they did. I don’t like the ending cause seriously wtf was the point. But the lead up and bruh the stuck in a hole song I still sing that on a daily. They were literally made for each other.

8. Chad/Sonny from Sonny with a Chance: one thing about Disney they ate down when it comes to enemies to lovers, or annoyance to like, whatever you wanna call it. Chad Dylan Cooper and Sonny omg the drama was beautiful, they hated each other so much and when they started dating I bout passed out. Lol they were so hilarious together I miss it.

9. Raven/Beastboy from TT. This and next two aren’t super enemies to lovers, more live annoyances or belligerent sexual tension. But I really was obsessed with this, like I was the girl reading Terra bashing fics 😭😭 they were so cute, the Beast Within was ship gold, Nevermore, the fact that she holds onto to the penny he gives her when she ‘dies’ and oh he only turns into the Beast again to protect her from Slade and never again. Beautiful

10. Jimmy/Cindy from JN. They may have only been nine but sheesh the rivalry to lovers or in this case crushes was intense. Cindy was down bad since day one but she hid that shit so well. The Valentine’s Day episode still makes me giggle like a kid. And the last episode where they’re legit just straight up flirting with each other I can not. When she almost confesses when he’s the orange hulk. So cute.

Honarary mentions:

Jinx/Kid Flash from TT. They were cute but I hated it solely for the fact that it shoulda been me 😭😭🤧🤧

Sam/Freddie from icarly. Ok so I used to love this one and as I got older, Sam was just so fucking mean that I couldn’t ship like damn. At some point it’s not cute anymore, it’s just down right abusive, early seasons yes, later seasons where they’re actually together no.

Bakugo/Deku simply cause some days I think it’s cute other days I hate it

Mindy and Josh from Drake and Josh. Cute and amusing but didn’t care for em much.

Bailey and Code from Suite Life on Deck see above.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

There's a common theme in Zutara fics where they put Zuko and aang against each other... Mostly to fill some fantasy of two guys fighting over a girl

They always forget that Zuko and aang are like, really close friends post canon (there's a whole monologue of Zuko talking about how much of an influence aang had on him in the legacy of the fire nation I think).

Also aang isn't one to dictate who Katara likes? When Katara was crushing on Jet (and possibly haru if you wanna go there) he just let it be. He wasnt jealous or angry, just sort of went on his business

I give them a pass when it's done in good fun - as in genuinely going "I'm just gonna have this happen because I like the drama". I also excuse it when Aang is given actual reason to feel insecure/like he's losing the girl he liked to someone else (remember, he only took the Ember Island stuff to heart because he had assumed he and Katara would get together after their kiss during the invasion, while during the Jet and Haru things he did not seem to believe he'd have a chance with Katara either way so he wasn't really losing anything).

What I cannot stand is the "This is totally what would happen in canon" or worse "This is exactly the same as that scene in which Aang wants to sit next to Katara, but Zuko won't let him because he' wants her too/is trying to protect her from Aang"

My guy. My dude. My pal. Aang was not really mad at Zuko on that scene. He wasn't happy about not sitting next to his crush, or about the play forcing to ackowledge his anxiety that the reason he and Katara are not together yet is because she doesn't think of him that way - but he doesn't take it out on Zuko. Hell, when he confronts Katara about it, he asks if it's true that she thinks of him as a little brother, not if it's true she's into Zuko because he knows that part isn't true.

As for the idea that Zuko either felt he needed to "protect Katara from Aang" or was into her, and that's why he doesn't give up his seat to Aang, we need to remember that this is ZUKO we're talking about here.

The guy who saw the same girl coming to his uncle's tea shop repeatedly and assumed "She must know we're Fire Nation is planning to take us down by ordering tea!" before he went "Maybe she's into me, or just likes the tea."

The guy who shouted "SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" in the middle of his date because he felt awkward about acknowledging he liked a girl, and didn't even register she could take it as him not enjoying their date. The guy who interrupted their kiss at the end of said date because he just had to give her a freaking cupon.

The guy who saw Suki trying to sneak into her boyfriend's tent, in the middle of the night, and acting all sus when she was caught and then went to talk to Sokka without having a damn clue that he interrupted their romantic night until he saw Sokka with a rose on his mouth, practically telling Suki to draw him like one of her frenc-I mean Kyoshi girls.

The guy that is related to miss "That's a sharp outfit, Chan"

That boy cannot read the room to save his life. When he told Aang "Just sit somewhere else, what's the big deal?" it wasn't him being passive-aggressive, or possessive, or jealous, or trying to do literally anything. He just didn't realize that Aang wanted to sit there because it was the seat next to Katara's. Hell, he probably didn't even know about Aang's crush on her.

[atla-confessions]

"What's hilarious and hypocritical as fuck is that 'he's only 12' has been used to excuse every single out of pocket thing Aang has ever done? From forcing a kiss on Katara to yelling at Toph and saying she was jealous and wanted Appa to get stolen after she saved his goddamned life." (this is in reference to people pointing out that Azula being 14 doesn't absolve her of wrongdoing)

Idk man Aang wasn't committing war crimes nor attempting murder nor did he participate in sibling abuse (I will never understand when people deny that Azula and Zuko are the world's most obvious golden child and scapegoat sibling dynamic, I'm not saying Azula wasn't abused, she was because this dynamic is inherently abusive towards both children, but she did participate in Zuko's abuse since he's the scapegoat, arguing otherwise isn't supported by the text) or nor was Aang threatening his friends into coercion and obedience but what do I know.

Aang has done bad things as the previous anon stated but if the only examples you can list are him losing his temper at someone who didn't deserve it while st his lowest as a genocide survivor who just thought he lost someone incredibly important to him andmisinterpreting a situation as romantic and breaking a boundery once I think pointing out he's 12 is fair.

If we can recognize Azula's actions are a byproduct of her abusive family situation and that she shouldn't be damned for eternity for her actions as an abused 14 year old then surely we can recognize that Aang's also not irredeemable for two genuinely way smaller mistakes.

Anyhow Azula was still abusive to her friends and brother and they don't owe her anything. Same goes for Aang. If Katara and Toph were hurt by his behavior to a point of cutting ties with him I'd support them too. Though again I don't believe these situations are comparable at all. That being said.

Being a child when you did something bad explains your behavior and nobody should be deemed irredeemable for something they did as a child but that doesn't mean they are owed friendship or kindness or support from the people they hurt.

X

[bravesoliderboy]

“Aang and Katara Had No Chemistry”

There is no way in AVATAR HISTORY that you can say this without looking dumb. Seriously? Are you serious? You’re joking? Cause’ it is so obvious that they had chemistry. You’d have to be intentionally trying to be ignorant to not notice that.

THEY GOT MARRIED AND HAD KIDS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. 3 WHOLE GOD DAMN KIDS. WDYFM??

BUT ZUKO AND KATARA HAD CHEMISTRY?? WHERE?? PLEASE TELL ME?? CAUSE YALL JUST TAKE EVERY CRUMB YALL SEE AND CALL IT CHEMISTRY.

Things that Zuko and Katara did:

•Confided in each other

•Katara offered to heal his scar (during that same episode, literally betrayed her but okay)

•Zuko protecting Katara from rocks (which she didn’t appreciate)

•KATARA WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT DIDNT WANT ZUKO TO JOIN THE GAANG

•Zuko sat next to her during a play

•Only one person assumed they were dating

•They went to go beat up some old man that took her mother years ago (that’s more like besties than anything 💀💀)

•They hugged

•Zuko saved her life by taking a lighting struck to the chest

Now I could care less what “would’ve happened”, I’m talking about what DID happen and what’s CANON. Now this list ain’t shit compared to the list I could make for kataang. But that’s literally EVERYTHING, besides when he basically captured her because of some scroll.

Zuko and Katara are NOT made for each other by any stretch of the imagination. (I don’t care what writers said, it didn’t happen end of story) Even after restoring balance to the world and defeating Ozai, Zuko still was “bad at being good”.

Aang and Katara DESERVE each other ffs. So what, aang is a good guy? Katar deserves a good guy!! HELLO? PLUS he was in her future, beat that. Zuko is not even close to being a powerful bender. 🥱🥱🥱🥱

Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t care less about you just SHIPPING the two together, but don’t try to discredit kataang as if it isn’t CANON. AND ITS ACTUALLY A GOOD AND HEALTHY CANON RELATIONSHIP IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF.

PLUS THEY WERE SO SWEET AND HEALTHY TOGETHER. I DONT UNDERSTANDDDDDD.

[sokkastyles]

Galaxy bra1n on Tumblr What do you think about this post? I just happened upon it honestly, and it just... made me squirm tbh. I just don't like it. But I'm not sure how to put it into words, so I'd really like to know your thoughts on it if it's not too much of a bother ofc. I don't mean any offense to the OP too, it's just that this take rubs me the wrong way. Really love your blog!

Yeah lol this take is weird for a few reasons. First of all if you don't mind the ship idk why you care about what is a "good" reason to ship them. Characters can and have been shipped together because they looked at each other once and for no reason at all, and that's perfectly fine because like, who cares?

Second, I am so tired of people blaming Zuko for Azula shooting lightning at Katara. Zuko wasn't goading Azula out of stupidity or pride, he was trying to end the fight quickly without involving anyone else using a move he knew Azula had no defense against that he had used once before against his father, to quickly end a fight without violence. He did not think Azula would go for Katara because that is against the rules - that Azula set, because she challenged Zuko - of an agni kai. You could MAYBE say that Zuko should have anticipated that Azula would cheat, but that's always been their dynamic. Zuko is always too honorable and Azula is always lying and cheating. What has changed is that she's no longer able to manipulate Zuko and is revealed to be the lying cheater that she always was, but that still doesn't mean he could have anticipated her aiming at Katara, who had to be exactly in the right place at the right time.

As far as him "doing the bare minimum"...I mean, I do think he would have done it regardless of who it was who was in danger and his relationship to them, but that's not a reason to diminish what he did, either. It takes incredible fortitude to put yourself in harm's way for another person, and fast reflexes to get there in time. Katara herself is frozen to the spot, which is a natural reaction to danger, but if Zuko had done that or not reacted fast enough or even been slightly off, she or he would have died instantly. So let's not belittle what Zuko did in sacrificing his own life to save someone else in an incredible act of selflessness, compassion, and heroism just because we don't like a ship.

Third, these takes always miss WHY it's seen as a shippy moment. It's not only the culmination of a specific narrative arc between the three of them, the thematic motif of Zuko being positioned between what Azula and Katara represent to him, respectively, the choice between selfishness and selflessness, hate and love, cruelty and forgiveness - which alone are pretty damn good reasons to ship them. But not only that, it's the strong emotions that are created from that act. I don't think Zuko jumped in front of the lightning because he loved her. But you can't help but love someone after that, after giving your whole being to another person in that moment. And Katara does the same thing for Zuko. Sure, you could argue that she would have done it anyway, her morals wouldn't allow her to let him die, but the act itself still remains, with all its meaning, and the emotion behind it.

And the narrative goes out of its way to tell us that this is impossible! That a failure to redirect lightning correctly will result in perma-death. That Katara's powers of healing alone weren't enough to bring someone back from that precipice without spirit water. But they do it anyway. They save each other, through sheer force of will, and they can't not be tied to each other after that.

If that's not a good enough reason to ship, I don't know what is. Which doesn't mean you have to, of course. You are free to not vibe with a ship, regardless of the reasoning behind it. But don't tell me it's not a damned good reason.