#Earth Zuko (OC)

[what-if-i-just-did]

What about.. aliens and neurodivergents?

Like, they find out about body language, and facial expressions, and sayings, and all of that stuff. And the amount of poisons we drink for fun. And they're weirded out. And the humans don't know how to explain it, because they don't know any other.

Then the aliens meet neurodivergents. And at first they're like, wtf there are humans who don't understand humans? But then they realise, oh wait, these 'weird' humans can explain the 'normal' ones. And they start calling the neurodivergents 'h-w', 'humans weird'. So they talk about neurotypicals. And someone bring up how we poison ourselves for fun. And the neurodivergent is like, "Oh yeah, caffeine doesn't work on me, and I need like a whole wine bottle to get even tipsy and like six sigarettes for the nicotine to work but I had weed once and I got like wicked high instantly" and the alien is like wtf you're h-w you're supposed to be normal by galactic standards???

And say, the Kgrifu ship Hashalaiy has eight humans, which is almost the permitted maximum of ten, and only one of the eight are neurodivergent, and they tend to mask in public, even if the other humans aren't around. They usually turn down human applications but then they get one that states 'h-w, strong by human standards, frequently non-verbal' and they decide yes, let's hire this one, they're h-w, and if they're strong by human standards, they must be wicked-strong by galactic standards.

And this human, Bridge they call themself, introduces themselves to the other humans. The aliens look on with intrigue. Bridge keeps their eyes on the ground, talks softly, and fidgets with their sleeves. Seven of the other humans look them up and down, frown, and don't give them a second thought. The other h-w, though. Earth, her name is. She looks at them with curiousity, and exitement. When Bridge is done talking, Earth slowly walked towards them. She doesn't make eye-contact, like she usually does. "Autistic?" She asks in a soft voice. Bridge looks up, nods enthusiastically. Earth breaks out in a large grin. "ADHD with a side of OCD, on my side." The aliens don't know what those words mean. Then Bridge's expression changes slightly, and it isn't an expression any of the Kgrifu's know, but Earth immediatly replies verbally by saying "It's Earth."

The aliens observe Earth and Bridge interact the next few weeks. They're almost always around eachother, and barely talk to communicate. When they do talk, it's usually Earth- Bridge has said maybe a total of 20 sentences while around Earth, and usually they only really use one word. Rather than words, they use the 'body language' Earth claimed not to know, a few words from something called 'sign language' (an entire language of hand-movements!), simple noises such as hums, and, suprisingly.. touch. Earth will tap Bridge's right shoulder twice, or Bridge will run their fingers through Earth's hair (humans only have fur in four or five places on their bodies, and the fur on their heads are ridiculously long), and the both of them will recognise this as communication.

One time, ensign Ririfé sees/overhears (pretty much the same thing for xe's species) one of the 'normal' humans, Pietro, xe thinks his name is, look at such a non-verbal conversation with annoyance. Earth hums a specific melody, something best written as 'hmm-hmm-hmm-hhhhhhhh-hmm?', and then Bridge cocks their head to the left. Earth responds by doing a kind of half-shrug with one shoulder and saying "Tomorrow". Bridge thinks for a second before shrugging. Pietro calls out, saying: "Hey! Talk out loud, would ya!" This gets an identifiably 'angry' look from Earth, pointedly directed at Pietro, whereas Bridge, a large, muscular human, basically shrinks into themselves. Earth angles her head towards the door and looks back at Bridge. Without words exchanged, they leave. Pietro looks even more annoyed and goes over to his 'friends' (a human word for a non-biologically related pack consisting of humans (or other, sometimes!) of the general same age). Ririfé rushes to go tell the captain.

Alternatively, the aliens brand neurodivergents as the normal ones, and neurotypicals as the oddballs. The neurotypicals do not know how to handle this. I don't feel like writing a whole story for that right now but if you like the idea you should tell me.

Feel free to add on to this btw!

[yellow-faerie]

Does Lu Ten continue in the army or desert?

(Carrying on from this ask a bit)

Honestly, it's kinda both? He doesn't desert at Ba Sing Se, but due to his injuries (and the fact that Ozai would prefer it if he didn't gain any military prestige) he doesn't remain in the army after Ba Sing Se.

He is very much the biggest influence on his cousins during the two years after returning - unlike Iroh, he doesn't go to have a spiritual awakening or anything, so he's there when they lose their mother and are suddenly thrust into the position of the Firelord's children.

He's there to mitigate some of Ozai's worst manipulations, and it is my headcanon that he and Azula are as close as he and Zuko, so he is the best person to influence them to be a lot closer, rather than enemies; because of this, when the Agni Kai happens, Azula tries to intervene, which gets her injured too (in a slightly less conspicuous way).

Zuko is banished and Lu Ten is ordered to go with him, but Azula sneaks aboard the ship and Makei goes with them too because she's a healer. They go straight for the nearest of the colonies where they cut their hair, change clothes and money and names, and try very, very hard to disappear completely. That's where it might be considered desertion.

So you have two nonbenders (except maybe not) and the two quite young firebenders that they've got to somehow train, and a goal to one day take back the fire throne and end the war.

[bayofalgecirascranes]

The Muse has barreled back into my head with a scene from an AU where Kuzon of Shijuichi ends up with Zuko on the Wanyi and during the scene where Zhao is like "I'm placing your troops under my command" Kuzon is like "I'm afraid that won't be possible, Admiral." And Zhao does his patented Leer and says "And what could you possibly mean by that?" and Kuzon does his patented Rock Spike Through The Throat and says "I imagine you'll find it quite difficult to take command of his Highness' crew once there's no longer a 'you' who can take command".

[toxicshipsincorporated]

Listen...that's the flavor okay? Zutara is the quintessential enemies-to-lovers romance. Romeo killed Juliets fricken cousin. And both their families were just murkin each other left and right. Thats part of the grim romance of it all.

If you don't like Zutara, that's fine. But you don't have to do all this. I promise, even if you don't try to suggest that strangers on the internet are secretly...idk facist sympathizers for liking the ship you don't like, you are not going to fall in to evil and depravity. I promise (edit: this more in response to some other replies and reblogs on this post rather than the ones above).

Sidenote, I feel like to a certain degree, Yue/Zuko would make more sense in terms of a pre-end of the 100 years war. The Fire Nation would not need to make peace with the Southern Watertribe but after a hundred years of sending soldiers to die, throwing endless amount of funding (not to mention Iroh's blunder at Ba Sing Se, and then AZULA'S blunder, that must have cost a lot of money), yeah, I think that marriage brokering would be considered eventually.

Also why are we pretending like there isnt historical presedence for marriage being an answer to war?? Why are we out here pretending that countries HAVE traded spunk in lieu of trading spears???

Idk yall. Just....ship what you wanna ship. And don't ship what you don't wanna ship. I promise, these think pieces are why a ship shouldn't exist aren't it.

Zeeks: “B-but! Katara marrying Zuko would help better the relations between the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe!”

My guy, Katara can do all that without marrying into the monarchy that colonized and slaughtered her people. Let her have her agency- damn.

[demaparbat-hp]

First, omg YOUR ZUTARA ART! It's so so beautiful I want to weep.

Do you have any Zutara fic recs? I need some more Zutara in my life lol

Hi! That's so sweet, thank you ❤️

Most of my free time is spent reading, but I almost never save the links...and can never seem to remember the names and/or authors of the fics.

Luckily I saved the links for some of my absolute favorite fics! There are a lot of truly breathtaking works out there and, sadly, I can't mention them all. These are some names in a very long list of favorites. I hope you enjoy them ❤️

Vermillion Seas, Cardinal Skies by @geothewriter

New directions and re-imagined canon events race toward a different endgame. From lighting bending to bloodbending and deal-making in the Spirit World, this canon-divergent/adjacent AU travels a new road, where unforeseen experiences shape who our heroes are, and who they will become. A Zutara slowburn.

Forgetting is a kind of mercy by @nerdylizj

It's death by a thousand cuts, Katara thinks. Saying goodbye to their old lives, forging ahead with whatever amalgamation of reality once they both fully remember everything, whatever reality that may be. Yet, two tethers between them will remain. Or, Five years after Katara and Zuko go missing in Ba Sing Se, Kya and Lee are found living peacefully in the Earth Kingdom countryside.

Eight Years Later by @starlight-tea-writing

Eight years after Sozin’s Comet, everyone’s lives have begun to take shape, their responsibilities pulling them further and further apart. The last three years have been broken up with infrequent and hurried meetings and get togethers, but by happenstance, things play out a little differently for the eighth anniversary of the End of War. Follow what happens in the year after all of Team Avatar gets together again and the found family re-finds each other and grows even larger. Zutara centric, Sukka, Toph/OC, Aang/OC Irregular updates, Saturdays only.

The White Lotus Zuko series by @calcliffbas

Zuko becomes one of the good guys a little earlier than usual, and joins Aang, Sokka and Katara in Omashu. A canon-adjacent series featuring friendship, humor, and romance.

The Spirit Trap by @leradny

In the Southern Water Tribe, Hakoda teaches his second son Katara to channel the grief over the death of his mother in a healthy way. In the Fire Nation Capital, Ozai tries to betroth his eldest daughter Princess Zuko to Iroh's son, and Ursa has to explain why that's not a good idea. [AU: Switched Genders, but just for Zuko and Katara]

Everything I Am by we-were-angels(untilwefallinlove)

There is something inevitable about them; like the certainty of the sun in the morning and the moon and all her stars at night. After all is said in done, how will history tell their stories? (Set after the One Hundred Year War and the years following.)

[calderacitylovers]

Zutara SlowBurn FanFiction: Personal Favs, part II

·        DESTINY IS A FUNNY THING by Megara Pike | Published: 2020-08-21 | 198K Words | 45 Chapters

ATLA Season 3 rewrite, fills in a lot of blanks between canon scenes. From the Southern Raiders to Sozin's Comet through coronation and aftermath. Growing friendships, bonding, being there for each other, a carnival & a cave, epic spirits' appearance on the Ember island, sparring, nightmares, assassination attempts, political ruses, and covert operations. Lovely, sweet. Exciting plot.

 ·        ATLA Book 4: Ashes by elayne_cypher | Published: 2018-10-27 | 306K words | 34 Chapters

This action-packed story picks up right after Ember Island Players and continues well after the war. Zuko is facing many challenges as a new Fire Lord. Romance, tough decisions, rebels, traitors, out-of-body experiences, secret headquarters, angst, teamwork, fire jets. The story has a bunch of OCs.

 ·        Refraction by caroes3725  | Published: 2020-09-09 | 215K Words | 37 Chapters

After breaking up with Aang, Katara needs to figure out her place and role in the patriarchal world. As determined Katara stubbornly bulldozes her way through Fire Nation political scene, her feelings for Zuko grow. Diplomatic visits, Gaang reunion, bonding with Kanna, insights into the life of Caldera city, stuffy politicians, cute correspondence, tropical storm, women supporting women, assassination attempts, personal boundaries. A sweet well-written coming-of-age story with a healthy measure of slow-burn and mutual pining. Katara and Zuko are both POVs, but the story mostly follows Katara. Bonus: Mai is NOT a clingy resentful idiot, but a smart person and a good friend. Some explicit language here and there, a bit of mild smut.

 ·        I Asked You First by halfhoursonearth | Published: 2020-10-03 | 142K words | 22/? Chapters

Ongoing, incomplete. Post Southern Raiders ATLAS3 rewrite. Mostly canon-compliant with blanks filled in between familiar scenes. Zuko and Katara develop a close friendship built on trust and sharing each other’s fears and hopes. Includes mentions of implied child abuse, Lu Ten’s diaries, exploring Avatar Roku’s legacy, sharing a balcony, heart-to-hearts, a hot spring under the stars, an actual date, and artbending. It’s incomplete, but what we have is bliss. Slowburn, mutual pining. Zutara-centric, but also explores the personalities of Team Avatar and their relationships.

 ·        Katara Alone by cablesscutie | Published: 2020-05-31 | 21K words

Katara is not an “unnecessary accessory to a more powerful man”. After the war, she is willing to forge her own path as she turns to people who need her the most on her journey of self-discovery. Features character exploration, correspondence, exploring outback villages of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, sweet reunions, and new firebending skills.

 ·        THE PHOENIX AND THE DRAGON - THE COMPLETE SERIES by JasmineTeaLatte | Published: 2021-06-11 | 100K words | 31 Chapters

This story picks up after The Ember Island Players. Zuko and Katara get to know each other during a late-night conversation by the campfire. In this story, you will find healthy boundaries, protective Sokka, a dash of Taang, sparring, funny banter & lots of flirting.

·        HESITATE by tiffaniesblews | Published: 2020-07-11 | 22K Words | 12 Chapters

This story picks up right after Zuko's coronation and spans two years afterwards. Zuko & Katara talk, share a few beautiful moments, write to each other, and reunite for the 2nd anniversary of the war ending. Very sweet, fluffy story about two sweethearts figuring out their feelings for each other.

·        LIKE WE'RE MADE OF STARLIGHT by Naladot | Published: 2021-11-28 | 5K Words

Katara leaves her post as the ambassador to the Fire Nation to take up a new one as the ambassador to the Northern Water Tribe. Her absence makes Zuko realize that he's got an unfortunate crush, which he is determined to keep secret. Unfortunately for him, subtly has never been one of his strengths—especially when he arrives in the Northern Water Tribe and she keeps taking him on what seem to be dates.

·        FIGURE IT OUT by clearascountryair | Published: 2021-12-20 | 35K words | 13 Chapters

After choosing not to kill Yon Rha, Katara rethinks her sense of self and others' perceptions of her. Or,    In which Katara learns that there’s a really big difference between being kissed when you don’t want to be and being kissed when you do. Aged-up 3B/Ember Island AU.

-  I FOUND YOU by that_turtleduck | Published: 2020-11-01 Completed: 2024-02-24 Words: 157,541 Chapters: 28/28

After divorcing Aang, Katara uproots her family and travels to Caldera. There she finds comfort, kindness and support from an old friend. Katara tries to find her footing as an independent political figure. Great story & relationship dynamic of Momtara & Dadko in their early 30s (Ember island, diplomatic meeting, dancing, turtleduck pond, letters). Delicious slow burn with rewarding spicy resolution in the end (explicit open door). Titters on the side of Anti-Aang.

Here’s a link to Part I of my personal favorites.

Here’s a link to Wholesome Zutara Short Stories.

[sokkastyles]

ATLA Live Action Ep 1 Thoughts:

When the writers meant they wanted it to be like game of thrones, clearly they meant "we want the battles to happen in complete darkness so nobody can see what is going on," and not, you know, the sex stuff.

Idk why this never occurred to me until now but ostrich horse is chocobo.

They are clearly going for a darker, more grittier feel here, but it clashes with the attempt to keep things true to the animated origin. Like, the earth kingdom OC looks straight out of some more realistic Adult fantasy show, whereas Sozin's character design makes him look like evil Santa.

So firebenders are able to do that to bodies, which I appreciate from a fanfic perspective and also confirms what people have been theorizing about the agni kai, that Ozai put his hand on his son's face. Not sure it was necessary to see it, though. The original does a good job of horrifying us with implied violence and the adults already get it, while showing it makes it less accessible to a younger audience. This is hardly a problem unique to this show, though.

Air nomads actually riding sky bison!

I like having more background with the air nomads and Aang's actor is great but front-loading the flashbacks doesn't work great for the pacing.

One thing I do really like is the emphasis on how the war damaged the harmony of the nations in more than just a spiritual way. No one has friends from other nations now. Zuko comes seeking "someone who does not belong" with the (false) promise that no one will get hurt if everyone keeps to themselves, keeps the status quo. The air nomads are a complete anomaly in a world of division. We are introduced to Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Zuko, and all are isolated in their own way by the war at the beginning of the story.

Overall there is something just weird about the pacing. Characters keep pausing at vital moments of action to deliver exposition or meaningful monologues. It just feels off.

Zuko so desperate for "glory" that he accepts Sokka's proposal to fight one on one (nice foil to the final agni kai by the way). Then his surprise when Aang shows himself reveals that Zuko himself did not know whether he would really find the Avatar in this village he's suddenly shown up to terrorize. God, it just emphasizes how low Zuko is at this point. This is probably his first real high stakes fight and he might have killed Sokka over absolutely nothing out of a false sense that he had something to prove. It's just...sad.

The scene at the Southern Air Temple looked great and had me in tears. I actually saw some criticism of this to the effect of them "ruining Aang's arc" because he comes out of the Avatar state himself, but first of all, let's be real and admit that if mastering the Avatar State was Aang's arc, he never completed it. Second, just because he could bring himself out does not mean he can control it, and he's still letting his emotions control him which is a learning curve for handling that power, it's just that he was able to control his anger in that moment by remembering the people he loved. Which is not that different from how the scene plays out in the original, only he isn't using Katara as a crutch. Which is a good thing, actually. It's much more fitting and poignant that he thinks about Gyatso here.

I don't think there was any mention of Katara wanting to go north. She has a few lines about wanting to help more and Aang teaches her about balance so she can bend now, apparently, but where is her drive? It feels like they're attributing her accomplishments to Aang and that bothers me. Maybe it'll be mentioned in the next episode, since they haven't talked about Aang learning waterbending yet, either. But I do miss the Katara who was ready to banish herself from the village the moment she met Aang not just because it was the right thing to do, but because of her own desire for independence and autonomy.

Liked the scene between Aang and Iroh. It gives us a glimpse of an Iroh who is stuck as to what to do and so he just gives Aang the Zuko treatment by offering him tea. I'd be excited if this means we get to see more development for Iroh.

[what-if-i-just-did]

YOOOOOO BRICK.

Okay. So. Uhm. Brick is currently losing. Badly. (how do I fix this)

Brick comes from a large family! I can write a thing about them interacting with their siblings? The majority of their sibling know that they're nonbinary, but their parents don't.

Maybe I can write a little bit of an adventure or something?

You guys should check out their original post, for sure...

Well they're a spraypainter. They always wear badly done black nailpolish which gets splattered paint on it, usually. The tips of their index finger always have paint of it cause they can't for the life of them figure out how to hold the can in a way that won't do that. They like using black along with bright colours, and most of their tags are about trans issues. They're good friends with another oc of mine, Earth Zuko, of who I've posted a few stories here.

They met the Doctor because the Doctor was being a dumbass and they dragged his ass to their house.

They've got tumblr. They know what a blorbo is and they have mutuals and they almost blow their cover back in the 1990's one time because someone comments on their shoelaces.

One of their first adventures is them practically DEMANDING that the Doctor take them to Ceasars assasination. Catch them ominously chanting "Ides of March Ides of March Ides of March" for weeks after. They soooo wanna tell Tumblr about the aliens and the invasion that happened on the Ides, but they know they can't. They know they won't be believed.

They're pretty scrawny. They're fourteen, but they look like they're eleven. Especially because they keep getting mistaken for a girl, despite being amab, and they obviously don't have boobs.

They're a writer! They've made a self-insert original work fic on AO3 to write about their adventures. Everyone thinks they're joking when they write things like 'if I don't write again next week, assume I'm dead or the Doctor dropped me off somewhere before internet'. They keep getting asks to write something like this or why did you chose that or that seems unrealistic. They adamantly say that that's how it went, and that's what they're writing.

There's actually an adventure where they end up in this universe and are totally weirded out by the tv show. It's got some angst and some fluff and not much plot. Just imagine.

Gahhh I don't know what else to write. If there's any specific bribe or whatever you want you can dm or ask me. Just please vote for Brick, they're losing.

Round 1, Match-Up 3!

Brick Ashton ( @what-if-i-just-did )

Extra Facts: smart, spraypainter, has Tumblr, multi-fandom fanfic writer, can sense other people’s emotions, comes from a large family

Pronouns: they/them

Era: future era, alongside an oc Doctor

Species: human

Selena Ali ( @gender-snatched )

Pronouns: she/her

Era: Ten-Martha

Species: human

Extra Facts: uses crutches, Martha’s SO, hijabi, artist, works in a shop, clumsy

[dieauster-und-diegarnele]

A:tLA general meta and theories

water/earth/fire/air/general

Passive bending

Gaang's address in Ba Sing Se

Tea of four elements

Aang is a sunshine boy and Toph is a gremlin

Learning during the war

Kataang beats Zutara

Bumi meets Aang after 100 years

About previous avatars

Character's wrong fandom treatment

Wan Shi Tong "He Who Knows Ten Thousand Things"

Tea pots in Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 1

Tea pots in Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 2

Tea pots in Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 3

“Siege of the North" filming - left and right

“The desert” forces characters into circumstances that fundamentally change core aspects of their personality

“The Phoenix Flight”

Great non-benders Sokka and Suki

THE FOUR ELEMENTS + CHEMICAL ELEMENTS

There is nuance in mercy: Aang and Ozai

“The King of Omashu” and Foreshadowing

Color Theory in ATLA Part 3: Siege of the North (links for the previous parts are there)

The Gaang: first and last battles (sort of)

“Rock paper scissors” exist in the Avatar universe

Great A:tLA characters

“There is no war in Ba Sing Se” (about balance)

The best written characters of all time

Avatar drinking game

The Sokka and Zuko dynamic

Can waterbenders bend oil? Can earthbenders bend glass? Can airbenders bend sound? Can firebenders bend mixtapes?

Key cultural influences of Avatar: The Last Airbender

Culture tips for writing asian settings: naming taboo

@atla-lore-archive - EVERYTHING about the show canon

The only advice Aang doesn’t take is Yangchen’s

Patterns in Given Names in the World of Avatar - very useful to name an OC

The Gaang as Love Languages

Gender-Swapped AtLA names

[ponytailzuko]

"cal what have you been drawing the past couple months since you literally disappeared off planet earth." so. erm. about that. literally just my dnd oc. literally JUST my oc guys its literally just been my oc. theres so much more but if anyone is wondering why there's no zuko. its because lord marion swagalicieuse the ii has tragically consumed all my art ability. my bad.

(all of the characters are marion or her background npcs, since im not comfortable posting other players' characters on my tumblr.)

[what-if-i-just-did]

So... expressions?

Slightly overdone, but still fun to write _____________________________________________

Znar'b overheard two humans speaking in code, once. It had to be code. Because otherwise, what they were saying make no sense.

Human Earth said, softly, like she was embarrased, "I think I've fallen for you." This alarmed Znar'b. Had Human Earth injured herself? He was about to alert a medical unit, when he heard Human Alyssa respond in what he assumes now to be the same code. "Well, sorry, uhmm... Earth.. I don't, uh.. swing your way." What?? What could that possibly mean? As far as Znar'b knew, humans weren't cabable of swinging, so being unable to 'swing' in a certain direction seemed like a useless assertation? Especially when Human Earth had been injured! "Oh." Said Human Earth. "Well I guess I'm making an idiot of myself." Now Znar'b was really confused. Human Earth was particularly intelligent, it would be impossible for her to craft an idiot from herself? Is that what she was saying? No, ..he must have heard wrong. "It's okay, E, you couldn't have known." What could Earth not have known? Has Znar'b missed something???

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

okay so i just stumbled upon your blog and the first thing i saw was the pianjeong tag.

i have to ask.

do you ship piandao and jeong jeong??? do other people ship piandao and jeong jeong ???? is pianjeong a thing, and if so, WHY ?????

i'm truly baffled but i want to be enlightened

(i know you sent this a while ago sorry, took me some time to figure out how to respond and gather all the links to fic)

yes, yes, and yes, though of course it's a pretty niche thing since it's about minor characters.

as to why - imo it stems from the fact that if you want to ship either of them with someone, the other is the most obvious choice. around the same age, fellow white lotus member, fellow ex-fire nation military, easy to interpret as gay. like no, they don't have any canon interaction, but it's easy to imagine that they've interacted offscreen.

for my part, i got into it in 2020 when my friend abby @rarepairnation came up with it while writing earth system history, a zukka fic with piandao as zuko's gay professor. when trying to find a character to be his husband, she landed on jeong jeong, and then decided to go explore that dynamic with spark from a flame and we said forever (but forever wouldn't wait for us). i'd always liked both characters - i'm a sokka fan so of COURSE i like piandao, and i thought jeong jeong was fascinatingly tormented - so i was drawn in.

i think i'm still into it so many years later bc the storyline and characterizations established back then are legitimately really good. there's kind of a pianjeong "canon" to me:

they meet as young men in the fire nation military. young piandao is desperate to prove himself worthy (backstory from an old nickelodeon lore site says his parents abandoned him as a kid for being a nonbender) meanwhile young jeong jeong is a firebending prodigy (from that same lore site) vaguely uncomfortable with the status & privilege that grants him. they both crave what the other has

piandao brings a sword to a fire fight and wins. they both find the experience exhilarating - piandao is thrilled to be defeating a powerful firebender, and jeong jeong is thrilled to have someone stand up to him (spark from a flame, an old phenomenon)

they start a relationship of sorts, kept secret bc of the homophobia in the military (army dreamers)

jeong jeong deserts, leaving piandao behind (we said forever)

piandao eventually leaves the military too, traveling the world and learning the truth of the war (beyond your darkness)

they both independently end up in the white lotus

piandao offers jeong jeong a place to stay at his mansion after the war and they reconnect. it's been so long and so much has changed and jeong jeong definitely isn't in the right mental place to be in a relationship but slowly, he gets better and they get close again (i'm your light, ghosts, diary of the deserter)

like, is this kinda just two OCs in atlaverse? probably. but i think another reason i've been into it so long is that it allows me to engage with atla without always having to deal with the broader fandom discourses that frustrate me. i think atla is a pretty good show so the way fandom tends to want to change or ignore canon doesn't really appeal to me. i'd rather just play around in the universe! also i started writing a lot of pianjeong fic in 2020-2021 and tend to be a slow writer so i'm still working on it, and that keeps my interest alive.

so yeah. feel free to join us in old man yaoi if you like :)

[ma1dita]

jo's birthday event!

helloooo! i turned 23 on march 13th, so in hopes of ignoring my waning existence and time on this earth, i’ll be hosting an event open until march 23 so i can celebrate with all my online friends woot woot

the collection (ongoing)

this event is pertinent to the following characters (that i’m in the mood for atm, unless you can convince me otherwise):

luke castellan, the marauders, regulus black, weasley twins, spencer reid, steve harrington, zuko, jet, sokka, farleigh start (bro im scared to write him but i want him bad)

for luke requests, i'll take anything for the trouble!verse too!

drop the following emojis into my inbox:

🐥 drop an ask for a short blurb/headcannon! send me a prompt and i’ll get to work as soon as i can (check requests for guidelines -> will write fluff, smut, angst, crack)

🍯 describe your favorite character, yourself/your oc, and an aesthetic/color & i’ll make you a moodboard (can cater to one of your fics if you send me the link)

⚡️ tell me a scenario/link a fic about you & your favorite character & i’ll tell you what song it reminds me of <3

🥂 send me an ask about anything you want! come chat, be my friend—tell me unpopular opinions, tell me how you perceive me, fmk, movie recs, even about your day, i’m here for ya!!

hope you enjoy or else i'll look real stupid if so 🫨 i'll do my best to get them out as fast as i can xoxo, jo

EVENT CLOSED!

[ao3feed-zukka]

Its A Blessing and A Curse

Read now on Ao3 at https://ift.tt/Dpa8f0T by Comicgeek20 After the Air Nomad genocide, The world expects a war, but it never comes. The Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe move in to dethrone him, putting someone else on the throne and sending Azulon into the countryside with a curse, given to him by the spirits. Flash, for decades into the future, where world leaders are meeting in the south pole, because the avatar has been discovered and Princess Katara and Prince Sokka meet two of the Fire Lord’s servants, Azula and Zuko. Words: 1956, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: Multi Characters: Azula (Avatar), Katara (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Sokka (Avatar), Ozai (Avatar), Ursa (Avatar), Hakoda (Avatar), Kya (Avatar), Toph Beifong, Aang (Avatar), Appa (Avatar), Suki (Avatar), Yue (Avatar), OCs Relationships: Azula/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Ozai/Ursa (Avatar), Hakoda/Kya (Avatar), Hakoda & Sokka (Avatar), Ozai & Zuko (Avatar), Azula & Ozai (Avatar), Azula & Ursa (Avatar), Ursa & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Aang & Katara (Avatar), Aang & Toph Beifong & Katara & Sokka & Suki, Sokka & Yue (Avatar), Kya & Sokka (Avatar), Katara & Kya (Avatar) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Good Parent Ozai (Avatar), Azula and Zuko Have a Good Relationship (Avatar), Good Azula (Avatar), Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), Dragon Azula (Avatar), Dragon Zuko (Avatar), Dragon Ozai (Avatar), Dragon Ursa (Avatar), Good Parent Hakoda (Avatar), princess katara, Prince Sokka, Servant Azula, servant zuko, Spirit Shenanigans Read it on Ao3 at https://ift.tt/Dpa8f0T

[paragonrobits]

i also think a lot of particularly loud people in the AtLA fandom who really dislike Aang and are increasingly going out of their way to make him and other Air Nomads look bad or implying that they were becoming colonizers and imperialists, and also have a record of constantly trying to depict the Fire Nation in the best possible light, are unknowingly telling on themselves by assuming that the series depicting the Fire Nation in a poor light (as being, well, imperialist genocidal conquerers, in ways indicating that these were part of general attitudes culminating in the Hundred Year War) is commentary on a particular noncanon ship.

This indicates that regardless of what they might say, it does mean that they conflate the Fire Nation with this ship in particular, as they outright saying that an attack on the Fire Nation (which is by default an antagonistic state that has lost its way, become consumed by hatred, feelings of imperialism, and lost touch with its own spiritual ways) is an attack on their fanon ship.

Its hard to assume anything else whenever the Fire Nation is shown in the poor light that it logically must have been, for its people to be so okay with taking part in genocides and regarding the rest of the world as unenlightened barbarians that needed to be conquered for their own good. Those attitudes don't come out of nowhere. Empires in general have feelings of exceptionalism or being better than everyone else, so the Fire Nation being like that is consistent with what they later wound up doing.

This fanon ship is not being referenced or brought up, as the Roku novel is written over a hundred years before those characters are born. Nonetheless you see people saying that they're being written like this solely to demonize their fanon ship, which is all but outright saying that they are conflating the Fire Nation, with all its cruelty, as synonymous with their ship.

This shouldn't be surprising; for a long time a lot of the attitude around this ship has focused on its power, on the luxury of its ruling class, on achievements in politics someone marrying into the royal family could be. And so a lot of the statements about the Fire Nation's practices DO seem like a reaction to fandom opinions about this sort of thing. Not necessary in a critical way (though that could be seen as involved, as a lot of the attitudes expressed by that part of fandom are directly contrary to the tone of the series and the spirituality and aversion to ruthlessness it advocates), but feeling more like clarifying things, such as how the Fire Lady has no political power at all, and is solely expected to produce children, and apart from that is a complete political nonentity.

I've seen glimpses for a while of that part of fandom becoming increasingly more pro-empire; denying that the Fire Nation has decimated the Water Tribes, increasingly demonizing the Air Nomads, going out of their way to constantly insist the title character is the worst person in the world... at this point, them outright saying that the Air Nomad genocide was justified and that the Fire Nation SHOULD take over the world is them just being honest about it.

and once again i find myself asking: if you hate the actual story this much, if you're so fixated on your fanon ship that was never going to happen or overwriting those characters with your self insert OCs, why do you still care about it? You're so distanced from the actual show that I honestly can't see why you care about this setting at all outside of complaining whenever the Fire Nation is shown to be, in fact, a conquering nation with racist and classist attitudes.

At this point I expect the next thing from them to say is 'Ozai was actually a hero, did nothing wrong, his duel with Zuko was just tough love, and Iroh was a traitor for abandoning the siege when he could have brought the Earth Kingdom into glory'. At this point you're 40k Imperium stans without the irony.

[erisenyo]

Hey there, can I ask how you come up with your OC names?

Anon I am THRILLED you asked because I am about to dump so much in-my-head-only worldbuilding on you, so much more than you probably needed or wanted lol.

As always this is not short, and forgive in advance the butchery I’m about to do of like, all of phonetics and linguistics.

OKAY so generally speaking, when it comes to names I have a set of foundational building blocks/general guidelines for the various countries and I work from there. These are based on phonetic characteristics of the canon names we see, and then from there I'd start layering in additional fun along groupings I've noticed around gender or class or family lines or whatever if I want to take the worldbuilding that deep.

So for example, with the Water Tribes…

We have Sokka, Katara, Hakoda, Bato, Kya all from the South, so I pick out...

Hard K or T sounds being quite common

Primarily A and O as vowels

Vowels being between consonants (ie, being single vowels)

Names being 2-3 syllables

In the North, we see Yue, Hahn, Agna Qel’a, Arnook, Kanna, Pakku...

Some similarities with the Ks and hard Qs

Now we see some softer ‘gn’ and ‘hn’ and L sounds, and the addition of P (which makes Bato’s “B” and Sokka’s “S” stand out)

Some ‘oo’ instead of ‘o’ vowels (so double vowels)

Hahn and Yue with no hard consonant sound at all (and both upper class!)

So that gives us some basic starting blocks to start building up names that sound like they fit within the Water Tribe culture in terms of sounds, as well as some potential regional and class differences to start working with! (Maybe Q sounds are only in the North, and upper-class people have soft consonant names, for example.)

Similarly in the Fire Nation…

The royal family is Zuko, Azula, Ozai, Azulon, Sozin, Iroh, Lu Ten, so...

A lot of Z and K sounds

(Male) names that end in N

A lot of two-syllable names (with the emphasis on the first syllable)

A lot of riffs on each other (Sozin and Ozai, Azulon and Azula, Azulon and Zuko)

Iroh and Lu Ten stand out as having fairly distinct names comparatively, with the “oh” ending and the softer "Ir" and "Lu" starts

Chan, Zhao, and Ruon-Jian are the other upper-class guys we see, which gives us...

short syllables again

N endings (for men) agai

The ‘two word’ name again (so Lu Ten's name naming structure is used elsewhere)

The introduction of “Ch” and “J” and “R” and double-vowel sounds (ao, uo, ia)

We also see Roku and Kuzon...

So very similar names to our royal bunch with those Ks and Zs and oku/uko and uzon/ulon sounds

Also older names from 100+ years ago, and commoner names

Mai, Ursa, Ty Lee as our upper-class ladies gives us...

short syllables again

‘two word’ names again

M sounds!

Mai and Ursa both don't have a hard consonant stop

Some phonetic/vibey similarity with “Mai” and “Ty”

And adding in Chit Sang (another commoner!) (presumably!)...

Another two-word name

Introduces the ‘ng’ ending

Leverages a lot of the consonant sounds we already saw

Uses an “it” usage of the "I" vowel (vs Iroh’s I)

So pulling it all together, in addition to those foundational consonant and vowel sounds, we also see that the royal family has a distinct naming convention that may be rooted in archaic naming styles.

And we can start to build out some ideas around gendered naming, family/honorific naming, and some potential class/pre-unification culture differences, as well as some space to speculate about why Iroh and Lu Ten’s names are so different from the rest of the royal family, too (as well as the ammunition to suggest that Zhao comes from a family of suck-ups lol)

Moving onto the Earth Kingdom (where I truly went wild)…

We start off with Toph, Haru, Long Feng, Kuei, Jet, Bumi, Poppy, Lao, and there's a lot of varability here!

Generally, the names are one or two syllables and start with a consonant

We see more double-vowel pairs (uei, ao), perhaps in the upper class but just as many single vowels

Consonants are hard or soft, and don't seem to group like the Water Tribe or FN royals did around particular sounds

Names end in vowels or hard sounds or softer 'ph' and 'ng'

Those guardrails are fairly wide and broad for feeling out distinct-sounding names, but it makes sense given how huge the Earth Kingdom is and its history of war, displacement, movement, etc.

So for a fic like That Love You've Been Looking For which was super EK-centric and focused on worldbuilding, I ended up breaking it down into broad regions and leaning into place names as well to help articular some basic rules:

In the southwest (Gaoling, Toph, Lao, Poppy), I decided that there’d be a mix of single and two-word names, and that the ‘ph’ ending would be used by women and the ‘ng’ ending for men

On the western coast (Haru, Omashu, Bumi), I went with primarily two-syllable names that follow a ONE-two pattern (PA-lo, BU-mi, CHE-lu, HA-ru) and went with mostly softer consonants

In the north (Ba Sing Se, Si Wong Desert, Long Feng), I went with short multi-word names where each part would be a single syllable

And in the center I was kind of pulling it together from what was left, but I went with names that end with an ‘an’ or ‘in’ sound and echoed some of the place names I was using

So we have some building blocks for the various regions, this time that we can use to indicate where someone’s family could be from and to give each region a more specific feel.

For Kyoshi...

I generally lift the Earth Kingdom rules, but view it as more of a trade-center and melting pot (Suki could fit in WT or FN rules), so it's deliberately a lot looser and with more variation.

And everywhere has a Lee/Li, so none of these rules are hard and fast, and I imagine too that there’s a ton of cultural mixing and fads and trends and whatnot in naming across various regions.

A quick note from a process standpoint--

This approach is very much not trying to find names within various existing real-world cultures. If I'm writing ATLA canon-world, I tend to stick to the idea of leveraging real-world contexts as a base rather than a strict guide. Something I wanted to flag, as there are other ways to go about OC naming that lean much more heavily into researching the naming conventions of various cultures throughout history, thinking about translation and name meaning, etc.

And also, if I need a lot of names, I'll often use the Fantasy Name Generator and look for names that either fit or that I can tweak into the above 'rules.' (Otherwise I accidentally start giving people ship names lol, RIP to Mailee, Maizula, and Yutara, you lived on under new personas)

I also don't always dig as deeply into the way names can signify class or status or whatnot, either. It can be very fun, but sometimes you just need a one-off name so your POV character looks like they actually interact with the people they nominally see every day haha

Editing 10/24 to add - this is representative of my prior approach, going forward I have shifted to leveraging real names as much as possible and building headcanons around, for example, different real-world inspired cultural influences within the nations