#Katara feels too old for him and she seems to dislike him a lot at times but I understand that he matures and that they're good together

[llycaons]

genuinely how is katara homophobic when thats just fandom interpretation? it’s a little weird that katara is seen as that when she’s the only main brown girl character on the show.. and to see you as someone who criticizes fandom interpretation for the wx fandom fall into that is kinda disappointing. i hope you reassess your bias genuinely esp since youre white

hi anon. first of all, thanks for the ask. I do love to criticize fandom interpretation, and to share my critiques as well

so, that tag was referencing several semi-joke posts talking about it, that I assumed were common knowledge in my circles. I'm actually a little confused that this is even in question, because I thought that katara's canon sexism and contempt for gender-noncomformity (which ties in with homophobia) was fairly well known. I spend very little time in the atla fandom, because I don't like it very much, and while katara clearly IS unfairly hated and treated poorly by both fanon and canon, it's fairly easy to extrapolate from her behavior and attitudes in the show itself that she is (mildly) homophobic. it's not just fan misinterpretation, it's following a set of attitudes to a possible logical conclusion. she's not explicitly homophobic in canon, but it's very easy to read her as such, and not an unfair interpretation. it's not just her, either - she's like this because other characters around her are as well. as is a lot of the humor, because it was written in 2005. I mean, uncle iroh sexually harassed a woman onscreen and it was treated like a joke. toph mocks aang for being feminine, she's definitely got a lot of those same attitudes. a lot of characters had bad traits that were played for comedy or just accepted as normal and fine. iirc suki managed to avoid this and encourage sokka to connect with femininity in ways that didn't make him feel humiliated, so that's why I voted for her. she may be mistreated, but possibly marginally less mischaracterized? maybe a weak reason, but I thought katara was going to win anyway and I didn't give it much thought

to be clear, I do not dislike katara at all. she's one of my favorites from the show and her work in ecoterrorism was inspiring. I think she's a wonderful, complex, well-meaning character whose heart is in the right place and who probably deserves to win that poll because I get the sense she is much more hated than suki, but her behavior towards other women and towards characters deviating from gender norms isn't...great. it's ironic, because she herself advocated against all those sexist old men for her right to be taught in the northern water tribe, but she mocks sokka for carrying a purse, she attacks toph for being unfeminine, and she tells sokka his behavior would improve if he kissed a girl. I mean, when I read the reasons for her being included, I thought she was definitely treated poorly and exaggerated, but it's not like her homophobia is coming out of nowhere. my memory is poor, so I'm linking gifs from the show itself. the post is half a joke, but the throughline is pretty consistent imo. and I don't think this makes her a horrible person, she's a 14 year old girl who grew up in a certain social setting and she reacts to it. as an adult she seems like the kind of person to do her best, but slip up once in a while and say something off-color.

it's also important to remember that katara is a fictional character written by two white men in the year 2005 for a certain audience. jokes mocking 'unmasculine' behavior in ways that lended themselves very easily to homophobia were much more popular then, and it doesn't surprise me that the show includes them. I like to think katara grew out of it too, but that's a headcanon, and something I don't take into account when critiquing the actual show. I'd love to see justice done for them in terms of their indigenous identity, sexuality, and gender expressions, but when it comes to analyzing the actual show, that's just not what i'm working off of

as I said, I'm not involved in the fandom. I don't like any ships from it. It sounds like the sexist fans make katara out to be much worse than she actually is, and I don't support or agree with them at all. but I'm also not interested in ignoring her flaws, because they're part of the story that's being told (and part of the out-of-universe historical context) and they inform her as a well-rounded, complicated person in a certan social setting, who has room to grow. I hope I've made myself understood and answered your question, as I genuinely didn't mean to imply I agreed with the misogynistic and racist fans who villainize her to support their m/m ships.

an important note: I haven't read any of the comics or any supplementary material. so if there's canon content relating to her that I'm missing, please understand I'm speaking only about the tv show

all this being said, I really do not want to speak any more about this series. if you follow me you probably know how I feel about it. love and light.

[xaibaugrove]

Everyone in the Krew is Problematic

I was inspired to go on this rant by someone who recently brought up a question in a server I’m in, asking why so many people in the fandom seem to hate Mako and Makorra and why. This wouldn’t be the first time I defend Mako and it most likely won’t be the last, but it might be the first time I tear him and everyone else in the Krew down in the process, only to bring them back up. Hear me out though.

I think I’ve totally accepted that a lot of people in this fandom will always hate Mako and that I will have to perpetually defend him, I understand that this is the relationship I’ve chosen with this world. But what I still will never understand are the reasons why people hate/dislike him because compared to how much they love other characters in the Krew who honestly aren’t that much better than him (in some cases, even worse!), it doesn’t make any sense.

Let me also preface this by saying, I love these characters with all my heart and soul, probably more than I should love fictional characters, but this is the life I live and with that being said, I am going to tear them apart just to prove a point. Okay, here we go.

MAKO

Most of his detractors list the usual criticisms, which are valid when isolated. He cheated on Asami, he lied to Korra, he was a terrible boyfriend and essentially he treated the women he claimed to love or care about horribly. Gee, it’s almost like the man was a teenager with no experience in having long-lasting, healthy relationships and was raised in the streets by gangmembers while doing anything to survive and provide for his younger sibling after seeing his parents killed right in front of him and suddenly being orphaned…

I think Mako has been torn down enough, so I won’t get too deep into the tearing down part for him. It really does baffle me how someone can claim to be woke and not comprehend how someone coming from poverty could possibly be a product of their environment. Like, does everyone think that poor people automatically have hearts of gold and turn out like Little Orphan Annie? Why are people surprised that when someone has a shitty life, they might do shitty things?

Also, sooo many people love Zuko, who actively tried to cause harm to Aang, Katara and Sokka numerous times, and sympathize with his troubled past. But like, sure Zuko had an abusive father and his mother peaced out of his life for whatever reasons but at least he had his uncle. Mako had his parents for maybe 8 years before they were murdered in front of him and then had...no one for the next 10 years? Except for Bolin, sure, but no other parental figure in his life. Dude literally had to become him and his brother’s own parent and joined a gang to survive, and after all that, the worst he does is acts as a bad boyfriend toward Korra and Asami and he is instantly thrown to the wolves. Something doesn’t add up. It’s just...I don’t get it.

Yes, the way he treated people was bad, but people can grow? That’s a thing humans can do. And he was a teenager, my god. No, we cannot allow our past to be an excuse for how we treat others, but we have to be aware that there is a growth process to being human. And being human in and of itself, isn’t pretty. You think Mako is problematic? Don’t get me started on your fave.

KORRA

Ok, I love this woman to death but she is ridiculously problematic. She pursued someone in a relationship and essentially forced Mako to cheat on Asami by kissing him against his will, that’s already pretty awful and shows a lack of empathy on her part, also kissing people without their consent is no bueno. But also I just have to say it for the people who might not know this. One of the fundamental reasons why Makorra didn’t work was because KORRA WAS ABUSIVE. Okay? It wasn’t just that Mako was inadequate at relationships and didn’t know how to people, it wasn’t that she was secretly confused and wanting Asami the entire time (biphobia at it’s best) one of the main problems in the pairing was that Korra was crazy abusive towards Mako. Seriously, why don’t I see this more often in those discussions??

If we need examples, I have dozens. Honestly, it’s really easy to see how terrible Korra was to Mako, I’d actually argue that she treated him worse than he treated her. I mean, they were both terrible to one another, but in Korra’s case she went through the motions of being completely infatuated with your first teenage crush, getting with said crush, then crashing and burning once you realize that you have no idea how to treat a romantic partner so after the butterflies wear off you subject them to all the wonderful aspects of your anger issues. Not only did she scream at Mako during every argument they had, she also threatened him with bodily harm if she got really angry. Remember how their relationship crashed and burned in Book 2? Here are the things that Korra did during that time. Let me reiterate, this was not okay.

Mako is visibly shaken by this!

This woman burst into her boyfriend’s place of work and violently kicked his desk out from in front of him with all his coworkers present. That is not normal behavior. That is a red flag. And after she came back, had amnesia or whatever and forgot they broke up after that scene, let’s not forget that Mako was legitimately Afraid to break up with her again. Korra made her partner frightened that they might suffer bodily harm if they upset her. Again, and I can’t stress this enough, this is not okay!

The little scene in Book 3 when Korra is lifting Mako like 100 feet off the ground with airbending while he’s screaming in fear just to make Asami laugh is cute, right? I’ll admit, I loved that little moment too, it’s one of the only instances of Korrasami development that we got, but also, there were sooo many things wrong with that scene lol. Not only does Korra terrify Mako for literally no reason, it’s also sort of just her continuing to exercise some degree of power over him for her own amusement. Almost like a subtle reminder to him saying, “I am stronger than you in every way and I can break your femur like a twig if I wanted to… but I won’t, so look how much fun we’re having!”

Now of course, there are reasons why Korra acts like this. She was isolated for almost her entire life and never learned how to treat people and be around people. The Avatar is human because they must live amongst the people they protect and that helps them develop empathy and cherish life. The White Lotus deprived her of that fundamental aspect of her duty as the Avatar and it showed throughout the beginning of the series. Clearly, she was young, didn’t see how her actions could negatively affect others and hurt the feelings of not just her partner but also friends and family (she was really awful towards a lot of people in her life!). But as the series went on, we see her having less outbursts and learning to control her temper more.

One can only assume that she does not have the same behavior with Asami because for one, I don’t think Asami would play that shit, she seems like she would electrocute a bitch in a heartbeat and not hesitate if needed, but also Korra is not the same shitty partner she used to be as a teenager. Again, kids do stupid things. Adults do stupid things. And we learn and we grow. Korra will probably make some more mistakes in her relationship with Asami. I don't think anyone can have one bad relationship and suddenly learn all the lessons they can from it and have a perfect one the next go around. I can totally picture Korra losing her temper and raising her voice at Asami if she gets frustrated and forgets who she’s dealing with. Managing anger issues is hard, I know this from experience, and it doesn’t magically get easier. Of course, if Korra does pop off, Asami would definitely put her in her place because she’s a bad bitch who doesn’t take anyone’s shit, next character.

ASAMI

You know her, you love her, you fantasize about her and you probably have her on your list of fictional characters you would totally bang if you had the chance (I know I do), yes, even your best girl is problematic. It’s interesting to me that a lot of people sympathize with Asami and very few openly criticize her (so few that I’ve never seen anyone say a bad thing about her). What’s there to criticize though? The poor girl was cheated on by Mako, had her feelings disregarded by Korra, who claimed to be her friend but pursued her then-boyfriend behind her back and then made up for it by simping for her for the rest of her life? Also her mom was murdered when she was just 6 years old, her father threatened to kill her once and physically abused her, then died right after they started repairing their relationship, essentially making her an orphan at the ripe age of 22. Suffice it to say, Asami has been through it.

So, how could she be problematic, you ask? Why, of course, through the classic Bryke technique of romance progression in storylines called Kissing People Without Their Consent

To be honest, I did gloss over this with Korra, simply because there were sooo many other issues with that woman and I just couldn’t go through every single one in as much detail but that doesn’t negate how serious this whole sneak attack kissing thing is. Sure, Asami is very emotional and lonely and sort of desperate too, (it's a little sad, really) but Mako is clearly uncomfortable and completely caught off guard by the kiss. This is also the second time this happens to him in the series! There are a couple factors that might contribute to why Asami does this and acts this way, maybe Korra’s general awfulness rubbed off on her (don’t make a dirty joke) but this is still wrong.

AND that’s...pretty much it. Kissing people without their permission is a big no no, though. Not wanting to gloss over that, but Asami really is a good person who just did a not-so-great thing. Getting burned by Mako twice probably made her a little less inclined to be as forward with anyone though, and it looks like she now takes her time and is patient in her relationship with Korra. It even seems like Asami is the only person Korra is afraid to upset, as Korra does seem more gentle and calm when around her. And who knows? Maybe Asami living a life where a majority of the time she got whatever she wanted when she wanted it might have also influenced her to be more assertive or even imposing within her relationships.

If anything, those three fools getting into relationships with each other just showed how not ready they were to be in relationships in the first place and also how not okay they were.

BOLIN

Originally I titled this as “Everyone in the Krew is problematic (except Bolin)” but then I remembered that Bolin totally kissed a woman without her consent so I deleted the shit out of that!

This asshole looks genuinely pleased with himself after essentially assaulting Ginger. Not a good look.

Sure, Bolin is baby. He will always be baby to me. But that does not erase the fact that he also actively supported a fascist dictator. Not only was the kissing without consent thing bad, but there’s also that. No matter how many times people around him warned him about the fact that he was on the wrong side of things, that he was helping someone who was putting people into concentration camps...Bolin wanted to believe the best of Kuvira. He ignored obvious signs that the woman was a dictator committing human rights violations like crazy and you know, there’s gotta be a reason for that too.

Maybe Bolin wanted to feel like he was doing something good for once. When you think about it, with his role as the comic relief in the Krew, and sort of constantly being infantilized by his older brother, I wouldn’t be surprised if the man developed some insecurity in his ability to do anything good or useful for anyone without screwing it up in some way. In Kuvira’s army, it seemed like he was actually taken seriously, he felt like he was doing something that mattered. Korra had being the Avatar, Asami had her business and mindblowing philanthropy (honestly, her ability to be as charitable as she is profitable is insane) and Mako had his police work (ACAB, tho). Bolin had...the role of being a joke. A superficial actor. A former pro-bending meathead.

Bolin lived his entire life following after his brother that once they were adults and Mako finally decided to live his own life for once, it left Bolin completely lost. And lost young men are perfect recruits for fascists.

So, in conclusion, my whole reasoning behind destroying the integrity of my favorite characters is to prove a huge point. All of these characters are problematic. They have flaws, some bigger than others (looking at you, Korra. Just...wow), but ultimately, even if your fave is problematic... that’s okay. A lot of people, mostly younger people it seems, are really obsessed with being right about everything that they do and stan. And that’s a wonderful thing, so much change has come about by the younger generations calling out people who do fucked up shit, don’t want or try to improve, and get away with it. But it’s also caused a lot of people to be unforgiving and completely unwilling to acknowledge when people do improve and try to be better.

Personally, I love my problematic Krew because having issues that you’re constantly working on internally is human. It’s human to make mistakes, it’s human to grow from those mistakes. And it’s inspiring to me, who is wholly imperfect, to see myself reflected in fictional characters who aren’t perpetuating unrealistic ideals of human nature, characters who are messy, crazy and ultimately human.

As one of my favorite manga artists and queen of impeccable character creation Rumiko Takahashi once said:

“I think that perfect people are not very interesting.”

And I will always wholeheartedly agree.

[hello-yue-here]

if anyone else saw the post saying that katara was gonna be 16 and sokka was gonna be 14 in the live action here is my take:

im pissed ab this.

and no, it’s not because its most likely being done so they can make zutara a couple. i dont care about that. i have nothing against zutara. i may not ship it myself but if you ship it good for you. ive seen cute fanart and cute fanfics for zutara that ive really enjoyed. i like zutara. not my favorites but i dont dislike them. just wanted to make that clear. that isnt what im mad about here.

im pissed because its gonna ruin katara and sokka’s characters.

by making katara older there is not a doubt in my mind that they will make her more “motherly” seeing as she will likely be responsible for taking care of sokka and aang. there has already been way too many issues in this fandom with stereotypes of katara being reduced to “just the mom friend” and nothing else. in my opinion many of the mom friend stereotypes that have been pushed onto katara in fanon has led to a lot of sexism towards katara and this will inevitably end up forcing the mother role onto her even more and thats just a no no for me. katara literally fights sexism in the NWT, plz dont force her to be a 16 year old girl forced to care for her brother and the avatar because she is older than them. katara deserves more than being forced into a motherly role for aang and sokka. again this is just my take on what i think will happen if katara is made to be the older sibling. i could be wrong. but i would really hate to see this happen because i know itll result in more sexism towards katara and i would really hate to see that.

and now sokka. a major part of sokkas character comes from the fact that he is an extremely protective older brother. because he is the OLDER brother he feels the need to be the man if the tribe. he is very responsible and very serious. this all stems from the fact that he is OLDER. he even says that he is the leader because of it. sokka pretty much IS the leader because he keeps these younger kids on track as an older brother. his insecurities largely stem from the fact that his little sister is a prodigy bender and he is not. there was literally a whole episode about it. and being an older brother w a prodigy sibling mirrors zuko and azula PERFECTLY and that parrallel is one of the most compelling things about atla!!! that will all be flushed down the drain. sure you can still have sexist sokka getting his butt whooped by suki without him being the older brother, sure sokka would likely still be insecure of his status as a nonbender without being the older brother, but in my opinion it would be much less compelling that way seeing as it stems from his status as. an. older. brother. his status as the older brother is also part of the reason why his relationship with hakoda is so interesting as well. his father left him behind to be the man of the tribe because he was older. he wants to make his father proud by proving that he can be a man. his healthyrelationship woth hakoda also DIRECTLY parrallels to zukos horrible relationship with ozai. WHICH IS ALSO AN EXTREMELY COMPELLING PART OF ATLA. sokka just wants to make his father proud by proving that he CAN protect katara. without this, his protectiveness is gone, leaving his protectiveness over Yue in the northern tribe and his protectiveness of suki at serpents pass and his protectiveness of toph on the airship rooted in nothing. sokka is protective BECAUSE he is the older brother. sokka as the younger sibling will reduce him to nothing more than comedic relief and strip him of much of the traits that make him an amazing three dimensional character.

all in all you dont have to agree with me. im not one of the writers. i cant confirm that mom friend katara and comedic relief sokka are what will result in the live action show due to the age swap. but i am very very very very VERY confident that that is what the characters we know and love will be reduced to should this occur. just my thoughts. just my opinion. (if you disagree thats okay but plz be respectful i tried v hard to be respectful when writing this as well)

tl;dr while it may seem inconsequential to change the ages of sokka and katara their roles and older brother and younger sister help shape their characters and changing that just to make zutara canon (even tho i have nothing against zutara. zutara stans please do not attack me ur ship is cute i swear.) it will also change the dynamic of the show we know and love and i am too attached to their original character arcs to be happy with this change.

have a lovely day everyone. go drink some tea and read a fluffy fic and distract urself from another live action atla disaster.

:)

EDIT: keep in mind the age swap isnt like totally confirmed yet so this could all end up being for nothing but yk still wanted to put my thoughts out there🥰 now if you will excuse me im going to write a college essay and then some fanfic cuz why not

EDIT TWO: pretty sure its fake. im sorry for how long this is. false alarm everyone! i think! i hope!

EDIT THREE: i ship zutara now lol. i still stand by this post tho. not happy ab the character age swaps.

[reinerispretty]

rotations. (zuko x f!reader) pt 14

hi everyone!! i hope you’re doing super well :) thank you so much for reading rotations and for sending me so many kind words!! you all mean the world to me and i rlly mean that bc i am a very emotional person hehe

pt 1

pt 13

pt 15

There were enough rooms in the house for everyone to have their own and, out of habit, (Y/N) picked the room that had once been hers whenever she stayed with the royal family. It was eerie how little it had changed. It was like it had been frozen in time since she had been eleven. Half-finished letters to her friends on the mainland remained on the desk, their scrolls crinkled at the edges with age. An old painting of her and Zuko hung at her bedside. She took it down immediately and shoved it into a desk drawer. 

“This place is amazing!” Sokka yelled as he ran up the steps of the beach house. After being attacked by Azula and being forced to flee the Western Air Temple, at Zuko’s suggestion, the group decided to fly to Ember Island to hide in plain site among the Fire Nation. On their way there, Zuko and Katara had gone on a separate mission to track down the man that killed her mother. While (Y/N) understood the necessity of Katara finding closure, she disapproved of her doing it with Zuko. She especially disapproved of how friendly the two seemed when they returned. Katara had always been her confidant in disliking Zuko and it seemed he had won her over, too. 

(Y/N) stopped at the end of the stone path, looking up at the ornate designs carved into the wood that symbolized to who this house belonged. The last time she had been here was years ago, but it felt like it was a lifetime away. So much had changed since then. 

Katara nudged her shoulder with her own. “Everything okay?” She asked, a small smile etching into her features. (Y/N) pursed her lips. Katara was the first person that she had ever told the full story of her past. She remembered choking on her words a lot because she was unable to find the happiness in her once good memories. Now that they were back on Ember Island, it was like everything was flooding back to her at once. 

“Yeah,” she said with a nod, but it was just a second too late to convince Katara that she was being honest. “Being back here just weirds me out.” 

Everyone had once again changed back into their Fire Nation clothes and while (Y/N) was comfortable, she felt completely exposed. Like anyone could recognize her at any moment. She had to keep reminding herself that it had been years since these people had seen her. 

There were enough rooms in the house for everyone to have their own and, out of habit, (Y/N) picked the room that had once been hers whenever she stayed with the royal family. It was eerie how little it had changed. It was like it had been frozen in time since she had been eleven. Half-finished letters to her friends on the mainland remained on the desk, their scrolls crinkled at the edges with age. An old painting of her and Zuko hung at her bedside. She took it down immediately and shoved it into a desk drawer. 

She dropped her bag and began taking the sheets off the bed so she could wash them. A flash outside of her door caught her eye and she leaned back to see what it was. In the room across the hall, Zuko was hanging clothes in his wardrobe. She tensed. How could she have forgotten that their rooms had been across from one another? It would be doubly difficult to avoid him now. 

She tried to talk to Zuko as little as possible if it could be avoided. It made her upset, seeing that all of her friends were gradually becoming more friendly with him. She had been happy before he had entered their group and she would be happy again once he went away. All she had to do was wait it out. 

Quickly, she gathered her bedsheets into a bundle and darted out of her door, down the hall, and down the stairs, where Katara had already set up buckets of water and soap to wash their clothes. She silently sat down beside her friend and began scrubbing. 

“You’re gonna rub a hole into those if you keep scrubbing so hard.” She looked up to see Katara raising an eyebrow at her. 

“These haven’t been used in years, I just want them to be clean.” In reality, she wanted to scrub those sheets free of the long, sleepless nights she had spent thinking about her future with Zuko. 

“I’m surprised that Zuko wanted to come back here,” Katara said in an effort to start a conversation with him. “The last time he was here, he was with Azula and those two girls.” 

“Mai and Ty Lee.” 

“You knew them?” (Y/N) nodded. 

“I went to school with them. They were all a grade below me. Ty Lee ran away and joined the circus and Mai had the biggest crush on Zuko.” She frowned and Katara must have noticed it, because her friend giggled. “What?” 

“Are you jealous?” 

“Why would I be jealous? Zuko can date anyone he wants. I don’t care.” Katara hummed knowingly and (Y/N) splashed her with soapy water. It irritated her that friends were always trying to act like they knew something she didn’t. 

After they had finished doing laundry and eating lunch, the entire group wanted to sit on the back steps of the house to enjoy the nice weather. Despite being in the Fire Nation, Ember Island was beautiful and its weather was almost always temperate. Everyone besides Aang and Zuko sat while the two boys practiced their firebending. Aang was getting better with each passing day, but (Y/N) noticed he was still holding back. With firebending, you have to give it your all, or else your flames would be weak. She told him this as he ran back to the steps for a water break. 

“I want to be able to be in control of my fire,” he said. He glanced over at Katara, who looked away. She knew he still blamed himself for accidentally burning her. 

“You can be in control and still put your whole being behind it. Firebenders attack with their whole self, because we have fire inside of us. You have it too, you just need to let it out.” 

“(Y/N) knows what she’s talking about,” Zuko said. “She was one of the best prodigies back in the Fire Nation.” 

“Don’t do that,” she snapped at him. Zuko looked at her, surprised. “Don’t just bring up the past like we’re reminiscing on good times.” She stood so she was eye level with the former prince. “And you’re crazy if you think you can get back on my good side just by complimenting me.” 

“(Y/N)-”

“No! You’ll let me speak. For years I tried to reason why you would just drop me like I was nothing to you. Like we didn’t spend ever summer for years on this island, together, and that I didn’t spend almost every waking moment of every day at your side. You left me in the Fire Nation and even after our fights, even after you captured me to take me back to the Fire Nation as a war criminal, I still believed that there was some good in you. You sure fooled me! You had been fooling me for years and I just never realized it. And then, after everything I said to you in your uncle’s tea shop, you betrayed me. You ran home to the people who had been nothing but evil to you from the moment we met and left me in a prison to rot!” 

This was the most she had spoken to Zuko since he had joined their group. The fire that raged in her eyes was apparent, and Katara was close enough to see the flames dancing on her fingertips. 

“And then you want to come here and act like everything is fine? You want to befriend my friends, the people that cared for me when you didn’t, and bring up the good times we had and just completely forget that for the past three years you treated me like I was nothing! Every fight we had, I held myself back because no matter how hard I tried to, I couldn’t hurt you!” 

She shot a fire ball at him that missed by a few inches. Zuko stepped back as (Y/N) walked down to the beach. “You want to be here so badly? Prove it! Fight me!” 

“(Y/N),” Zuko began. 

“I challenge you to an Agni Kai!” The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them. She and her friends realized the weight of what she had said quickly. Zuko set his jaw, his fists balled at his sides. 

She regretted what she had said as soon as it came out of her mouth. She was just so angry and as she looked at Zuko, it was hard to not get angrier. Angry for leaving her behind in the Fire Nation, angry for betraying her in Ba Sing Se, and angry for being able to fit himself back into her life so easily. 

(Y/N) made the first attack, which Zuko dodged. She shot flames at his head, body, and feet and their friends watched in astonishment as they jumped, flipped, and kicked their way around each other. 

“It’s like they’re dancing,” Suki said. Aang narrowed his eyes. 

“He’s on the defense,” he said. 

“What?” Toph asked. 

“Zuko isn’t fighting her back.” 

Their friends could feel the flames get hotter as her anger toward Zuko eventually took control. She was getting sloppy with her movements and instead chose to shoot fire at Zuko every chance she got. Katara stood to diffuse the situation, but Sokka grabbed her arm. 

“They have to do this,” he said. 

(Y/N) was ruthless. She knew she didn’t want to hurt Zuko, but she couldn’t stop herself. Years of anger were reaching their boiling point in this battle. 

“I don’t want to hurt you!” Zuko shouted at her. 

“You already did!” She shouted back, jumping into the air and smacking her fists to the sand, sending a wave of fire at him. The flames had spread around them, encircling them in a ring of fire. Her fists were lit with fire blasts. “Fight me back!” She screamed, shooting balls of fire at him. He had been dodging her attacks and slashing through her flames. Not once had he shot fire at her. “Do something!” 

“I won’t!” Zuko shouted over the roar of the flames. “I don’t want this!” 

(Y/N) could feel the tears streaming down her face. If he fought her, she would have a reason to retaliate. She would have an answer for hurting him, just like he hurt her. Zuko’s amber eyes stared in to her own.

“I won’t fight you.” 

She was twelve again, watching with tear-filled eyes as Zuko knelt to the ground in front of his father, begging him for mercy. She remembered the fear in his voice and the way he screamed when his father burned him right after he had said the very same words he was saying to her. “I won’t fight you!” 

The flames died down instantly. (Y/N) brought her hands to her mouth and slowly fell to her knees, her body shaking with sobs. Her tears hit the hot sand around her. 

She felt strong arms wrap around her and pull her body close to theirs. Zuko rested his chin atop of her head and rubbed her back, his own tears sliding down his cheeks. She pulled away to look up at him. Her eyes were red, her cheeks puffy from her tears, and her bottom lip quivered as she held in a sob, but Zuko still felt his heart skip a beat. 

“I’m sorry,” she cried. “I didn’t mean--I didn’t want--” 

“I know,” was all Zuko said. She wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him tightly, tucking her face into his neck like she had when they were kids. They sat like that for what felt like hours, until one by one, they felt their friends wrap their arms around them. 

---

Tag List! 

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[firelxdykatara]

So I was at work thinking about Zutara (as you do) and my mind drifted to a kat@@ng argument I tend to see a lot of. About how Aang would be so sad if Katara never returned his feelings and therefore Zutara 100% //can't// be endgame which... a) homeboy is literally 12 and would get over it, and b) BUT WHAT ABOUT KATARA THO. But it got me thinking. Is there even any evidence in canon that Air Nomads believed in wholesale monogamy or marriage? I mean, Aang never knew his parents (1/2)

(2/2) -and Aang was raised communally by the Air Nomad monks and nuns. So like, why would being with Katara (specifically JUST Katara) //forever// be something he'd hyper focus on so badly? Also, Aang is shown wanting to adhere pretty strictly to Air Nomadic teachings but in this instance he gets a pass? It just boggles me tbh. Anyway, your meta and responses are just plain amazing and would love to hear your thoughts on this.

I’ve actually talked a lot about Aang’s willful disregard for his people’s culture and customs when it clashes with something he wants, but I think most of these discussions have happened in private server spaces and I haven’t actually spoken much about it here, so let’s remedy that!

You are absolutely right--Aang’s lifelong monogamous relationship and Katara being his ‘forever girl’ clash with literally everything we actually know about Air Nomad culture. And it’s actually kind of frustrating, because this would have been an excellent chance for some worldbuilding--speak about how the Air Nomads did not hold with typical family structures, that monogamy simply wasn’t done because they practiced detachment and while that doesn’t mean they couldn’t love one another (Gyatso loved Aang a great deal, for example) it means they most likely would not have practiced relationship exclusivity.

Honestly, it would have been really cool to see a culture where monogamy was not the norm, and we get hints of it--Aang never knew his parents, and he wouldn’t have been discovered as the Avatar until years after his birth (I believe they do the toy test when the kids are toddlers or older), which means he was likely removed to the Air Temple shortly after being born. His parents most likely lived at separate temples--nuns had their own, as the temples were separated by gender--and its not a stretch to believe they didn’t have any sort of monogamous relationship. One theory I’ve seen proposted is that the AN practiced something like a yearly or bi-yearly fertility festival, where adults from the temples came together in celebration--of life, of love, of their people, of the element they breathed that informed every aspect of their lives--and I’m not suggesting wild orgies, but that many would pair off, have their own smaller celebrations, and return to the group, and this is where most pregnancies would happen.

That is, of course, pure speculation, but it would be a lot more in keeping with what we do know of the AIr Nomads than Aang deciding, at the ripe old age of twelve, that he’d found his ‘forever girl’ and he would be with her, and only her, for the rest of his life, no matter what.

It’s also very... odd, though, that Aang would even come up with this idea on his own. It’s not like there are tons of examples, as the gaang travel the world, of aggressively heterosexual couples pairing off and spending Forever together, because, well, they’re in the middle of a war and everyone has more important things to think about. And Aang’s crush, while cute and seeming more like puppy-love than anything else book 1 and most of book 2 (he literally imprinted on the first girl he saw when he hatched from the iceberg ok), becomes almost disturbingly possessive in book 3, and it really comes out of nowhere. When did Aang decide, without ever once asking, that Katara must return his feelings? And why? Because, as established, it makes absolutely no sense given what (admittedly little) we know about his own culture and how he was raised.

I realize that the Doyalist explanation is that Bryke are, themselves, aggressively heterosexual, and had decided from the jump that they wanted Aang to Get the Girl in the end, and so were determined to Make It Happen even when, given the story and how the characters had developed, it no longer made any narrative sense. (And yet they never thought to make Katara’s feelings a focus when trying to force Kataang to happen. Odd, that. Or maybe not so odd, considering their treatment of Katara in LoK. But I’m stopping myself here cause that’s a whole other rant.) But the Watsonian one paints a very unpleasant picture, especially given Aang’s actions towards Katara in book 3--during EIP in particular.

And it’s funny how Aang’s complete and total disregard for his people’s beliefs and culture, when it would deny him something he wants, is never mentioned in those ‘but Aang couldn’t kill Ozai, it goes against his culture’ posts. If Aang had demonstrated any willingness to uphold his people’s beliefs before this--like, say, following through on letting go of his attachment to Katara and understanding that if she didn’t feel the same way he did, he was not entitled to her affections and would be able to move on--then I’d be much more inclined to give those arguments credit.

As it is, however, the only reason I agree that Aang shouldn’t have had to kill Ozai is because he was just a child, and he should have been able to preserve the innocence of childhood as long as possible--but I still dislike the way his battle with Ozai ended, because he had disregarded his people’s beliefs over the entire book, he had done nothing to regain the Avatar State except get slammed against a pointy rock, and energybending was handed to him on a silver platter by a lionturtle who literally came out of nowhere to give it to him.

Not only that, but the discussion about what he would do once he actually faced the Firelord came much too late--the subject wasn’t even broached until The Southern Raiders, and thus Aang’s insistence that he can’t possibly take a life seems to come out of left field because a) he never felt any guilt over the lives he took while in the Avatar State at the end of book 1 (and this isn’t to say he was at fault for what Koizilla did while he was fused with it, but he has felt guilt over his actions in the Avatar State that were just as uncontrolled before this, and you’re telling me that he wouldn’t have seen any of that as blood on his hands? that if he killed Katara, or Sokka, or Toph, in one of those rages, he’d have just shrugged his shoulders and blamed it on the Avatar State? no), and b) there was absolutely no discussion of this before the eclipse, leaving one to wonder what, exactly, Aang was planning to do in that eight minute window where Ozai would be powerless. I don’t think it was a dance-off in the cards, that’s all I’m saying.

I’m sorry, I got incredibly off-topic. but the bottom line (TL;DR:) is: I absolutely agree with you. And it’s suspect, from both a character arc and a worldbuilding perspective, that Aang is only committed to his people’s beliefs and his culture in the one instance where he might have been asked to do something he didn’t want to, but not at all when following his own culture might have meant losing something he wanted. This not only paints him as incredibly selfish (something that is hard to dispute when looking at his behavior in book 3, though I would point out that if his arc actually followed a natural progression from books 1 and 2 he would have grown up rather than... that), but puts his culture in an incredibly simplistic light. We never get any deeper insight into what his people believed or how they lived, because Aang latches onto the first girl he sees and is determined to make her his ‘forever girl’, and there’s never any talk of how he was raised or what his people actually believed.

And even when he meets the Guru--someone much more well-versed in Air Nomad culture than Aang is, because Aang went into the ice at twelve years old and never had an opportunity to understand his culture--he almost immediately disregards what the Guru told him when it conflicts with his own desires. Sure, he says ‘I’m sorry, Katara’ when letting her go at the end of the finale (although....why he’s apologizing to her, when he’s had no indication she has feelings for him, and he certainly never asked, is beyond me), but come book 3 he’s right back to wanting to have her, and assuming he will just because he kisses her--without preamble, without any discussion of feelings, without even asking if she wants to be kissed--and flies off before the invasion.

Any way you slice it, it really doesn’t make sense, unless they wanted Aang to come across as selfish and pigheaded throughout the entirety of book 3. But I suspect that isn’t actually the image they wanted to project, and it makes me really sad when I think of what his arc could have been if it weren’t for Bryke’s insistence that he get the girl at the end of the story.

[stitch1830]

🎩

I'm fine and dandy,

Mind i ask your opinion on what became of the Gaang in LOK? I know the Toph being a cop thing ruffles some feathers and some don't accept Aang was a bad father.

HAT ANON HI glad to hear you are fine and dandy on this exquisite day of the week. And OOF this is a loaded question, but I'll do my best! :)

So I feel like there are a couple ways to answer this question based on your shipping preferences, but for the sake of this I'll try and answer everything based on what is considered canon. So ATLA, comics, and LOK.

I'll also preface by saying that I get why there are some controversial takes in LOK... I think they were trying to make the characters have more depth and show that even our favorite characters have flaws, even when they're adults. I just think that in some situations it was OOC and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth when you see where the Gaang went from the start to the end of ATLA, and then to see glimpses of their adult life and only seeing the trashiest parts.

Aang: If he's with Katara, it's not surprising to me that he's not a great father. Like, he has very strong opinions about his culture and while Katara is just as passionate about her upbringing, there isn't a ton of evidence of Aang accommodating the children's upbringing to also integrate SWT traditions in their lifestyle. I don't think he was outwardly trying to be a bad dad or anything, but his desperation to pass down Air Nomad traditions to an airbender overshadowed his primary need to be a father to all three of his kids. It's also really hard to see him as still this happy, lovable nice guy who treats everyone with kindness and respect when we know that he practically ignored 2 of his kids... But basically, his 'bad takes' as a dad were left unchecked, and his actions were probably defended by his wife as opposed to having to face them.

Katara: This one hurt lol. Again, it's not surprising that when she's with Aang that she chooses to settle down and be a wife and mother and healer. Aang's the Avatar, he's busy, their two oldest children are really rambunctious and are craving attention, so it's gonna be Katara to give them the love and care they need. But based on what we see in ATLA, it's just sad that we don't get to see or hear about any changes she made in the world or fighting. She really does seem to be ushered off to the side, left to retire in SWT after Aang dies. It's also sad/crazy that her strength and ability to stand up to disrespectful or ignorant people goes away when she's an adult. And I feel like this is glaring in her relationship with Aang and then also when Korra is finishing up training in the SWT. The other masters are whining that Korra isn't ready and Katara says she is and then the men keep complaining and whining. Like, no way would ATLA Katara let that go without her giving her two cents. Yes, she does help Korra leave, but she definitely would've said something to those old hoots. It's also weird that her strong resolve doesn't show up when she's raising her children with Aang. Why didn't she confront him? And if she did, how come nothing changed? Maybe it was too late, but idk. Katara doesn't seem like the person to let things go after she stood up to the problem once. Essentially, I'm upset that Katara was this strong and powerful female protagonist in ATLA, but not really hear about her amazing strides in the world in LOK (because if she did change the world, they didn't mention it... sad).

Sokka: Hmmm, he's not really ever shown in the show except in one flashback (because he's dead tears), but from what it sounds like, he didn't have any children, didn't sound like he ever really settled down, nothing like that. I think it would be sad if Aunt Wu's fortune was true and he never really ended up happy because of things he did. Would that be considered OOC? I don't think so... He was the goofy guy and the brains of the operations, but he seems like the guy that is afraid of being happy or ruins things when he is happy. My only reasoning for this is when he lost Yue, it changed him on some level, and at first he tried to push away Suki when she was initiating a kiss. Pretty light and lame reasons, but it's something....

Suki: MY GIRL SUKI NOT MENTIONED THAT'S SO OOC. Lol. Like, why didn't she randomly pop up from time to time? Are the Kyoshi Warriors just not around? I don't like that she wasn't in LOK, not even in a small flashback or anything. She was friends with the Gaang and it seems odd that no one mentioned their dear friend that helped save the world with them even if she passed away or anything. And also I don't think a casual statement about her settling in the suburbs counts as canon lol.

Toph: Okay. I don't hate that she's a cop. It's not really in character, but I don't hate it. If all of her friends settled in Republic City, and they all had their own responsibilities to deal with and asked Toph to run the RCPD, I think she would say yes out of loyalty to her friends, maybe out of boredom. I'm surprised she was in the role as long as she was, though... She was starting to get bored of her metalbending academy after a year or two once things were running smoothly, so she seems like the kind of woman that would search for the next adventure. But if she had to be a cop, I think she'd much rather be the one enforcing the rules at the top as opposed to following the rules, but... yeah. In a canon universe I struggle to come up with a long-term career for her, so I made my peace with the cop thing. Many of my friends haven't though lol, which is okay! Another thing I didn't like was how she was portrayed as a bad mother. Not that she was a bad mother (as much as it would suck, I can kind of see her being a bad mom), but they way she was a bad mom didn't really fit her character. She was neglected as a kid, doesn't seem right that she in turn would neglect her kids by giving them too much freedom. Also! My least favorite thing was how she had a 20/30 year rift with her girls, and then it was suddenly resolved. Like... No we need some more context to the conflict, and we need to see work being put into the resolution if we're going to bring this up. If Lin held a grudge against her family for 30 years, a short "sorry I wasn't a great mom, hope you don't hate me" comment isn't going to make her forgive them lol. I do like how she was portrayed as a single mother to two girls. She doesn't really seem like the type to settle down, and it was a nice surprise to see her have daughters from different men. Families come in all shapes and sizes, and it would've been the perfect opportunity to show those differences and show that there's more than one way to have a positive upbringing (Like, let's see the cloudbabies and the Beifongs both happy even though they had two very different parental upbringings? Just... there was an opportunity is all). And yeah, she seems like the one that would never settle down or have a family, so it would've been interesting to see her handle motherhood and her job! So I'm okay with that bit.

Zuko: Okay Zuko seems chill in canon, but who's his wife? Where she at? He got a partner or anything? We may never know... But it's nice that he appeared to have a happy life with good kids and grandkids... And yet I'm confused as to why Korra preferred to go to Zuko instead of the Avatar's wife for advice on what Aang would have done when choosing between saving the Air Nomads and turning herself in to the Red Lotus?? Like, I know Katara was in the SWT, but they have phones now, you're telling me they couldn't have called Katara? Why wasn't Katara the first person they thought to ask about the situation? I know the logistics would've been difficult considering Katara is holed up in the SWT, but why did everyone say that Zuko knew Aang the best? Why didn't his wife know him the best? Thoughts to ponder.

Okay. I wrote a lot and there's probably more that I do and don't like about how the characters were portrayed... But I think what it all boils down to is that there was an opportunity to still get depth in these beloved characters without us being frustrated with situations that are OOC. Then again, that would make it less about the Krew and more about the Gaang... It just seems like a bit of a slap to the face when we see glaring problems with the Gaang's characterization, and yet, we get no explanation. It does allow for canon writers to play with the 70 years in between, but idk. I much prefer AU's where there's time and opportunity to explore the characters as their best selves I suppose. Honestly, with my disinterest and disliking of canon ships, I don't see the bad takes in LOK as OOC, but it makes me wonder how different things could have been if other ships were made canon (thank goodness they weren't, we're not pigeonholed into one type of story, but still).

Does this kind of answer your question? Lol, sorry if not. My thoughts are all over the place with this one! Thank you for the ask, though, Hatty. Hope you have a great day! :)

[dreamsequencer]

ATLA for the fandom asks?

Character I first fell in love with: Katara! Her very first scene involves her calling out some sexist bullshit, so like... good for her, Miss Katara I care you,,

Character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Azula. The first time I watched ATLA I was like 8, so I didn't fully appreciate her, and when I decided to rewatch recently, my opinion of her was tainted by 8-year-old me who just thought she was mean, but I quickly grew to love her and now I cry about her daily.

Character everyone loves but I don't: the fandom's opinion of Ursa seems to be overwhelmingly positive, so I guess she fits here? It's not that I dislike her, I just... don't particularly like her, either. She was good for Zuko and I can appreciate that, but the way she treated Azula was... not great. I don't really have a strong opinion on her tbh

Character I love but everyone else hates: I've been seeing a lot of Jet hate lately and I do not enjoy it! Is he a bit of a trash boy? Okay, yes. Is the mouth wheat unsanitary? Probably. But I have some very strong feelings about Jet. He's a child shaped by war. It's hardly his fault it turned him somewhat brutal. Obviously some of his actions were inexcusable, but Zuko did some pretty bad shit too, and we still love him. Jet didn't really get his redemption arc, but he should have and I think we as a fandom need to be more sympathetic to him. He really seemed to be on the right track there at the end, and if he had lived, who knows what could've happened?

Character I used to love but don't anymore: The Mechanist. Again, when I first watched the show, I was about 8 years old, and I thought he was funny and a cool inventor guy. That was the extent of my opinion on him. Rewatching, I was able to form an opinion on what he did to the Air Temple, and I liked him a lot less. He's not all bad, of course, but I will forever be pissed at him, and at the creators for handling that episode... badly.

Character I would kiss: June! Goth lady pretty,,,

Character I want to slap: Pakku. I would like to slap Pakku a lot.

A pairing I love: So many,,, my main 3 ships tho are Zukka, Bakoda and Mailee.

A pairing I hate: "hate" is a strong word, but I... do not love Zutara.

[tuiyla]

Every time Katara mentions her mother

Alright so I know it’s meant to be lighthearted and fun but I have this aversion to people making a meme out of Katara mentioning her dead mom. It might seem like she brings it up a lot or perhaps in random situations, which isn’t true but also if it was, it’s no reason to make a meme out of it. And yes, okay, people aren’t actually making fun of a 14 year old’s trauma and Katara is a fictional character anyway but it still grinds my gears. What did it for me was when people were making fun of it in the context of bringing up Kya’s death being Katara’s reaction to the Air Nomad genocide.

So anyway, I’m petty and I immensely dislike how this downplays the importance and nuance of this storyline so I did what any reasonable adult would do and counted the amount of times Katara mentions her mother. It’s ten, plus a few mentions of the necklace in the context of being her “mother’s necklace”. The number jumps to 14 if we consider every instance in “The Southern Raiders” as an individual one, and, I mean, it is an episode about Kya so I really think we should allow it but whatever, make it 14.

Fourteen times, so it sure isn’t every single episode, huh? But hey, let’s take it further and consider the context of each and every mention. It’s what Katara would want.

101 The Boy in the Iceberg: Ever since mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!

Katara brings up Kya in the context of what their family life has been since her death. This is the very first time Kya is mentioned and it sets up how her absence affected both Katara and Sokka.

103 The Southern Air Temple: They killed my mother, and they could have done the same to your people. //  I know you're upset and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom.

Katara is talking to Aang, first in the context of trying to prepare him for what might be waiting at his old home. Second, she’s trying to show empathy, not by equating their pain but by showing an understanding of what he might be feeling and connecting with him through loss and trauma. It’s a recurring theme with Katara and establishing trust.

106 Imprisoned: I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid. This necklace is all I have left of her. //  My mother's necklace! It's gone!

Like with Aang, Katara connects with Haru based on a similar loss. The second time around it’s Haru who brings up Katara’s mom, which is when Katara realizes that her nacklace is gone.

109 The Waterbending Scroll: My mother's necklace!

This isn’t counted in the tally since it’s not actually Kya Katara mentions, just the necklace, but it’s here for the sake of completionism.

110 Jet: Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation.

Once again, Katara connects with Jet by sharing this part of her past with him. She feels an immediate connection to those who share a similar trauma. This time around, she sees that people sometimes betray that trust. Jet also brings up Kya later when trying to convince Sokka that murder is good, actually.

118 The Waterbending Master: My grandmother gave my mother this necklace and my mother passed it down to me.

So technically Katara is once again talking primarily about the necklace and doesn’t even mention her mother being gone but I still included it in the tally.

204 The Swamp: I thought I saw Mom.

Unsurprisingly, the swamp haunts Katara with her mother’s memory.

220 The Crossroads of the Destiny: The Fire Nation took my mother away from me.

Katara brings up her mother’s death as a way to demonstrate to Zuko just how awful the Fire Nation had been. Little did she know but this would be another instance of connection based on similar experiences and betrayed trust.

302 The Headband: Aang: Uh ... your mom's necklace. Katara: Oh, oh, yeah. I guess it's pretty obviously Water Tribe, isn't it?

Once again, it’s more about the necklace and it’s someone else bringing it up.

307 The Runaway: Sokka: When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life.

For the first and only time in the series, it is Sokka who mentions Kya unprompted. Not included in the official tally (but a beautiful scene that demonstrates just how well the show handled this very human trauma).

308 The Puppetmaster: We completely understand. We lost our mother in a raid.

What do you know, Katara connects to someone based on a shared experience, this time that being the genocide of the Southern Water Tribe. It’s a different connection than with people like Jet, even more personal in a way. Hama later mentions Kya again as she betrays Katara’s trust. Almost like we have a theme here, huh.

316 The Southern Raiders: Or, I know! You could bring my mother back!

This is only the first time Katara mentions Kya out of five total in this episode, but like I said, the whole episode is about Kya’s death. It’s the culmination of the arc set up in the first episode.

321 Sozin’s Comet Part 4: Avatar Aang: Hakoda: And your mother would be proud, too.

The very last time Kya is mentioned goes is by Hakoda. It’s closure for him, Sokka, and Katara.

So that’s it. And even if it was twice as many instances, it all informs and builds one of the most emotional arcs of the series. It’s never random, never emotionally inappropriate, and always in service of something greater. Okay I’m done now.

[madebycoffee]

OH ALSO I finished watching Legend of Korra and here is non spoiler thoughts: I really enjoyed it and just like atla I cried at every single season finale. I really like that the main cast while still young, is older than the lITERAL children of atla. atla still holds up watching it as an adult, but I feel like korra is a bit more my jive. There is only one episode that I won’t watch again (season 4 remembrances, when you are binging the show it isn’t necessary as it’s a recap and not as fun as ember island players which serves the same purpose in atla. Also I looked on IMDB, that is the lowest rated episode. I agree. Honestly, if you are binging you can skip it) but I can def see myself watching the whole thing again. Season 1 is my overall favorite of the series. 

Spoiler thoughts below the cut because WOW I HAVE THOUGHTS (it’s long)

hi spoiler time last chance to look away

Before going into LOK I had read a decent amount of spoilers beforehand since this aired back in 2012-2014. I don’t think I even knew about it after it was nearly done so the one thing I knew was that Korra & Asami get together lol. Anyway my point is I knew what was coming overall.

Season 1: My personal favorite, I think it’s a really strong stand alone season. I thought it was really smart to begin the series in the water tribe again, as well as with Katara as that’s how ATLA started. I also think its really clever that with Aang, he was very spiritual and a master airbender already, but needed to learn the other 3 element. Korra is the opposite. It helps it not be so repetitive. We already saw one avatar working to master fire, water, and earth. I also realized how used to the world of atla I was and was confused for a split second how Mako and Bolin were brothers but one was an earthbender and one was a firebender... Yeah I know I’m dumb and I forgot that its a different world lol.  -Another strong point was that no matter how in danger Korra got in season 1 she never went into the avatar state, because as she says in what ep 1? that she has never been good at the spiritual side of being the avatar. Part of me kept expecting it to happen, but even the final showdown with Amon it didn’t so I was like oh damn. The finale when she does go into the avatar state with Aang giving her the bending she lost back.... I was a wreck. Sobbing my eyes out it just HIT ME.  -Other moments that hit me hard: Hearing Dante Basco’s voice as General Iroh ow my soul, Hearing through Katara that Sokka is dead, The flashbacks to the trial of the bloodbender (forgot his name??) and seeing them get bloodbent HURTS MY HEART. And every time Aang’s statue was shown. ;-; Also, just like ATLA there isn’t a main character that I dislike. I genuinely like Korra, Asami, Mako, & Bolin as a team. Lin is my favorite which not hard being Toph’s daughter lol. Tenzin and fam are a delight (though Meelo can get on my nerves but eh)  TL:DR SEASON 1 IS GREAT I CAN’T WAIT TO WATCH IT AGAIN!!

Season 2: Alright so. A lot of Spirit World dealings. Unalaq being a GASP evil brother??? LOK has a thing about brothers lol. First with Amon and whathisname, now with Korra’s dad and uncle. Anyway, season 2 I really like too. Yes even the finale. And it’s been a few weeks (maybe months??) since I watched season 2 so the finale is really all that stands out. Other than that I do really like seeing the story of the first avatar. OH MAN AND IROH IN THE SPIRIT WORLD HAD ME ALL SORTS OF LEVELS OF EMOTIONAL. -SO. This was the big spoiler I knew going in, that the past lives of the Avatar are severed from Korra. I know that A LOT of people really don’t like it either. And upon hearing that plot point I didn’t like it as well. But when I sat down and watched the whole series. I actually thought it was the right thing to do. And I didn’t mind it as much as I thought. Korra can no longer call upon the past lives which is sad, but those Avatars still existed. And with Tenzin being so prevalent in the show, it really feels like Aang is still there in spirit. The reason I thought it was the right thing to do with the story, is that it let’s the show as a whole exist on it’s own. IDK how to properly explain.. I get why people don’t like it, but it makes sense to me. -And I do commend the show runners for sticking to this. There is no getting contact back with the past lives. Which, personally I approve of. Whenever you do something world altering like that it annoys me when the show takes it back. My main gripe is people dying but wAIT NO THEY’RE ALIVE!!! It lessens the stakes. And I think a through line of Korra is that actions have consequences. TL;DR I LIKE SEASON 2 AS WELL. DOESN’T LEAVE A LASTING IMPRESSION SINCE THE FINALE IS SUCH A BIG DEAL.

Season 3: I THINK this would be my second favorite season. I REALLY like Zaheer as I guess the ~big bad~ and the squad he has. SO much so that I’m actually upset that they all are dead by the end. I think P’Li is done the dirtiest. You see and know very little about her until an ~exposition~ line a few scenes before she dies. (But damn if the scene of Su throwing her metal breastplate around her head isn’t hardcore cool. I haven’t said yet but the fight sequences in Korra??? Amazing.) Bolin finding out he can Lavabend??? oh hell yeah that’s the good shit, same with lavabending in GENERAL. seeing what people can REALLY do with their bending is probably my favorite part about Korra. I do think Zaheer looks a little silly when he starts flying around, but hey that part is cool too. Also easily the most horrified I’ve been watching this show was the pulling the aiR OUT OF SOMEONE. JESUS. Up until that point Airbending still seemed like the least dangerous form but HOLY SHIT. I will say that the way Kuvira is if not introduced/ we’re reminded about her in the finale is a little bit more like “uhhh is Korra’s dad going to have an affair???” to me than “she gonna be the big bad next season” Also on IMDB the finale of season 3 is the highest rated finale. 

Season 4: Even thought this has the same number of episodes as season 3, it feels the most rushed to me. However I do appreciate the timejump and GODTDAMN I love me some old lady Toph. I also like that Toph says that she’s watching Su & Lin through the swamp, an episode or two later Su and Zaofu are attacked and captured, and when Lin, Opal, and Bolin go to Zaofu to try and rescue, Toph is there. It’s a nice payoff. As Su was getting captured I was thinking “hmmmm does Toph see this” And she does, which has her leave the swamp, so she’s not there when Kuvira’s army is cutting vines. Because cmon is Toph was there she woulda kicked their asses. -The huge mecha suit with the spirit weapon on it is HARROWING. I like that Baatar Jr. see’s that Kuvira was gonna kill him for thE gREatER gOOD and was instantly like “oh shit well i guess my loyalties were wrong then ok” Oh and out of order but I had a feeling that Zhu Li was telling Kuvira what she wanted to hear to be sneaky and I was v happy to be proven right by Toph. I ALSO like that things like Toph being able to tell if people are lying aren’t forgotten about. Also... Cried like a baby at Zhu Li and Varrick’s wedding. Haven’t mentioned Varrick yet but hot damn if he isn’t one of my favorite characters. What I wouldn’t GIVE to have Sokka and Varrick brainstorm some truly crazy shit. 10/10.  TL;DR SEASON 3 IS REALLY GOOD AND SEASON 4 IS GOOD BUT FEELS LIKE IT’S TOO SHORT.

But yeah. Overall I really enjoyed it. I looked through the episodes on IMDB and nearly everything is above 8.5 except for some of the first episodes in season 2 which I get. I can tell that this is by the same team that did ATLA. It feels so much the same. And I think there was the right amount of the original peeps or their kids but still was focusing on our core four. Other little things:

- I like that the “villains” or ig the conflicts of people weren’t anyone from the Fire Nation. (Although do we know where Zaheer is from??? Family lineage?) Well regardless, what we have is Amon: Waterbender, Unalaq: Waterbender, Zaheer: Airbender, Kuvira: Earthbender. ATLA we were fighting the fire nation, LOK has the range lol. - I do wish we could have been in the Fire Nation tho. I wanna see what’s it like over there :( - Adored seeing all the changes to the world. In ATLA we see the blimps/airships more or less being invented and then 70 years later AIRSHIPS AND CARS GALORE. And having radios/phones VERY nice. Don’t have to rely on letters or talking in person.  - I really like Korra. I feel like it needs to be said lol, but I thoroughly enjoyed her as the Avatar (maybe more than Aang??) - Zuko’s face after Korra says she talked to Iroh in the spirit world I’m not crying you are.

ANYWAY. I think that’s it. I just needed to get it all out somewhere. Not a perfect show (neither is atla) but damn if it isn’t some of the best TV out there. If you read all of that woW good job.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

The Art Of Remembrance (Part 25)

They are on another boat almost immediately after leaving the first. Azula is beginning to think that the majority of her life has been spent on boats. When she had said that she wanted to get things moving right away, she hadn’t expected Zuko to call a meeting within the hour of their homecoming. She certainly hadn’t anticipated it to conclude so quickly and with new plans for stricter and lengthier patrols and a promise for a deeper search for anyone with a connection to the Vine Research Facility. She had only a night in her own bed and then she was packing again. Not that she isn’t pleased that things are moving so quickly.

Even still, she is just about as apprehensive as Katara is thrilled to be venturing back into the relentless frigidness of the poles. She wishes that she can be on the boat head for the Earth Kingdom and Lake Laogai. She has only just begun to truly appreciate the Fire Nation sun on her skin and she is straying from it once more. Her phantom finger tingles at the thought of a reunion with the nippy winds.

Azula sits on deck watching her homeland fade into a speck on the horizon. “Maybe I can heal those for you.” Katara gestures to the scars. “If we have some time, there’s this spirit oasis in the north…”

“No!” Azula says much too quickly. “I’d rather not leave one freezing place for another.” She brushes her fingers over the lightly raised skin. “I don’t mind them anyways. I hadn’t even noticed they were there for a while.” She shrugs. She doubts that Katara would have if she hadn’t made a show and tell of them at the council meeting.

“Are you sure?”

Azula nods, “I think that they suit me.”

“I can’t disagree there.” Zuko props himself up against the banister.

“Have you and Sokka been getting along?” Katara asks. “He mentioned that you guys really patched things up at Fire Lake.”

“Yes.” Azula confirmed. “He has been very helpful.”

Katara smiles. “He’s been saying a lot of nice things about you to Aang and the others.”

Azula returns the smile, though she is still somewhat nervous for the dinner time conversation.

.oOo.

Sokka thinks that the only reason he has managed to get Azula out of her cabin and into galley is because he has linked his arm around hers and practically dragged her there. As he recalls, the last conversation that they all had together had been awkward.

As expected, Azula sits rather quietly, only opening her mouth to taste the dish in front of her. He watches her crinkle her nose and mutter, “more sea food.” This time there are no alternatives so she forces herself to stomach it. He tries not to laugh at her assortment of appalled faces. “This is worse than your cooking.” She remarks on one occasion.

“Gee, thanks.” Sokka grumbles.

“Hey! Hey!” Toph bursts out. “Show me fire finger again!”

Azula blinks.

“Come on! If you hold it close enough, I might be able to feel its shape.”

“Alright, come over here then.” She gives a reflexive beckoning hand gesture.

Toph springs up from her chair and waits for Azula to make good on her promise. The princess holds her hand just close enough to Toph for her to be able to feel the heat. “Sweet.” She chuckles as she makes her way back to her seat.

“Getting more comfortable?” Sokka asks quietly.

“A little, I suppose.” Azula replies. Though her posture suggests that she is still having some difficulty adjusting to so much company.

“Tell them about how you escaped from the Vine Research Facility.” He suggests.

“I’d rather not talk about that.”

.oOo.

She’d rather not open that discussion, but she isn’t sure what else to say. Especially not to Mai who still seems to have a particular hatred of her. Sokka, Zuko, Katara, and Toph seem to welcome her, Aang doesn’t seem to mind her, and yet she still feels out of place. Like she is intruding in what would have been a tension free meal.

“Sokka told me that I killed you?” She looks at Aang. Decidedly, this isn’t a great topic to be had over dinner.  

“Yeah.” He rubs the back of his head. “But I’m still here so...uh...yeah…”

“I don’t remember why I did that.” She says, feeling her cheeks begin to color. “But I suppose that I should apologize for that.”

“That’s a good start.” Katara agrees.

They all look at her and it occurs to her that she is actually supposed to do that now. Apparently just mentioning that it is appropriate to apologize won’t suffice. She clears her throat, “I’m sorry that I fully engulfed you in flames.” It is terribly hard to offer such when she doesn’t know precisely what she is apologizing for.

“You used lighting, see.” He lifts his shirt. On his belly is a rough star shaped scar. Azula swallows. It is much too similar to the one she’d spied on Zuko earlier in the day when she’d caught him running through his firebending forms.

“Did I...give those out a lot.” She gestures to the scar.

“Not too often, just twice. As far as I know.” Aang replies.

The relief must have shown on her face because he offers her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about it. It’s healed now.”

She thinks that he is being too nice. She doesn’t think that she would be able to let something like that go so easily. “I gave the second one to my brother, didn’t I?”

“Yeah.” Katara answers. “It was scary to watch.” She wraps her arms around herself.

Azula’s stomach lurches again. It is just one more thing to add to her growing list of unlikable traits and past misdeeds. She very nearly asks Sokka what is wrong with her. Instead she has another bite of turtle crab. Her face scrunches. Even a tense conversation can’t truly overpower her hatred of the dish.

“I guess that, that’s why no one want to talk to me.”

Sokka reaches under the table, takes her hand, and squeezes. “That’s not true, Toph and Katara are talking to you now.”

“Azula, you did some scary stuff.” Katara cuts in. “Even if you don’t remember it, it’s really hard to…”

To be around me, she finishes.

“...For us to forget about it.”

“Yes, I suppose that it would be.” She glumly admits. “You’re afraid that I’m going to do it again, yes?” She can’t say that she isn’t afraid of such.

“Something like that.” Katara replies.

“But we gave Zuko another chance, so we’re going to give you one too.” Aang beams.

For the first time during that dinner, her belly tickles with something other than anxiety and shame. She decides that it might be hope. “Thank you.”

Sokka squeezes her hand again. Conversation is less tense from there; they talk more freely and about more mundane topics. About likes and dislikes and about hobbies and bending. There was a lighthearted debate about which element is the most superior. She was disappointed that Sokka’s ‘highly esteemed fifth element’, the element of surprise, took victory. She had even managed a pleasant conversation with TyLee about a mutual dislike of the approaching cold.

And yet she still wandered back to her cabin with a sense of unease and a tinge of helplessness.

.oOo.

“Every time I hear more about my about myself, I like…me... less and less.” Sokka watches her drop herself onto her mattress. “Haven’t I done anything good for anyone?”

Sokka thinks for a moment. “That’s the funny thing about wars. One side looks worse than the other.”

Azula fixes her golden gaze upon him.

“There are a lot of people who think that you did good. I haven’t talked to many of them, but there are a bunch of generals and soldiers who probably think that you were a great leader. You were doing what you thought was a good thing for your nation.”

The princess nods, seemingly satisfied with his explanation. “I suppose, yes…”

“But…?”

“Everyone still looks at me like I’m going to either set this ship on fire at any moment or that I am going to set them on fire at any moment.”

He nudges her, “you’re an intimidating person, is all.”

She rubs her arm, “apparently not intimidating enough.”

He slings an arm over her shoulder. “You love my nudging and my terrible jokes.”

Azula sniffs hauntily. “Your jokes make me want to pitch myself overboard.”

“More or less than having to eat turtle-crab?”

“More.”

Sokka shrugs. “Look, I’m just saying that everyone still has to get used to you. It was easy for Zuko because he’s your brother. And it was easier for Katara because she saw you…” he almost says vulnerable, but decides that the princess wouldn’t take well to that word choice. “Because she saw you right after you got out of the tundra. She has a soft spot for people who get hurt like that.” He explains. “The others still need to get to know you, this you, better.”

.oOo.

“This me.” She mutters “But what about the old me. What’s going to happen when I get my memories back?” What happens with the old clashes with the new. When old rivalries and resentments meet new bonds and kind gestures.

She anticipates confusion and turmoil. A maddeningly irresolvable  inner conflict. She wonders which memories, which opinions and viewpoints will take precedence in her mind.

“You’ll keep making progress, that’s what.” He answers quite boldly. “That’s what you’re good at, making progress and pushing forward. You’re still going to remember all of this.”

“But what if I decide that my old memories and opinions are more valuable to me. What if they’re more dominant?”

“So what if they are?” He alters the question. “You’re more like the old you than you realize.”

Her stomach lurches again. Once more, she is certain that her discomfort displays on her face.

“That’s not a bad thing.” He smiles softly. “There were so many great things about the old you. You were...are resilient and determined and strong.” He pauses. “You’re confident and to the point and you’re smart and cunning.”

“Keep going.” She prompts with a half smirk.

“And you don’t need any more ego stroking…” He trails off with a chuckle. “You were all of those things before and you still are, you just channel them differently than before.”

Azula clasps her hands over her belly as though that will steal away the nervous fluttering. “Yes, but if I get my memories back then I might decide to channel those things as I always have. I might get my memories back and decide that the things I hated about Zuko are more potent than the things I like about him now…”

“Then I guess you’ll just have to form really powerfully good memories now.” He shrugs.

She stares at the ceiling, the boat lolls and rocks. She likes to think that all of her moments with Sokka will be enough to keep her soon to be inner conflict at bay.

“Hey?”

“Yes, Sokka?”

“Do you even want your memories back?”

“Of course I do.” She replies. “I need them, they are mine and I am going to take back what is mine.” And yet she fears what is hers more than anything else in the world. Perhaps more deeply than she fears the merciless tundra. “I need to know who I was. I need them.”

[theinfiknight]

Is it bad that I don’t enjoy legend of Korra that much? I LOVED atla, but the legend of Korra just ain’t it. I don’t like the story in the city, the way the gaang travelled around the world and it had a more old timey vibe just sat right with me. Plus I miss Zuko.....

First of all, you don't have to justify liking our disliking anything. People have different tastes, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. You're free to like our dislike whatever you wish, and it isn't 'bad' to do so, it's natural.

And yeah dude different people like different things. There are a lot of things about lok that I didn't like too but personally, for me, the good bits outweighed the bad ones. Maybe that just wasn't the case for you. I didn't like how rushed and meaningless the love triangles felt, or how everyone except aang's kids and red Lotus (and toph, obviously) seemed to have turned bending into just 'water beam fire beam earth beam', and something like lightning bending, which once required total control over one's own chi to perform, pretty much became just a spell slot ability. I didn't like how a fight with as much potential as the unavaatu one ended up as just a power rangers style megazord fist fight instead of what could have been two avatars using all the elements against each other. I didn't like how a concept with as much potential as the fundamental inequality between benders and non benders just stopped being an issue the second it's figurehead was defeated. And of course, they did do the whole gaang dirty. Making toph 'fuck the law' beifong a cop, making Katara 'i will never turn my back on the people that need me' do absolutely nothing during a war between the water tribes, and obviously fucking killing off sokka and Suki, though of course you can't really argue about those cause people dying off is kinda realistic. I just wish they'd kept them alive for the fans though.

There are a lot of less than ideal things I didn't like but the number of things about it that I did like were more, so despite all that I can say that overall I did like the show.

Amon was fantastic as a villain though the way korra beat him did feel a bit cliched, cause she didn't overcome any sort of mental block to unlock Airbending like how aang had to to unlock earthbending, she just kinda got desparate and magically unlocked the ability. Zaheer was also very well done in terms of villains, a really good showcase of why exactly the air nomads had to be so strictly pacifist, and the whole depictions of PTSD and korra having to painfully recover step by step, that hit too close to home. And wan! Holy shit Wan's story so beautifully built off the established Avatar mythos, with a gorgeous animation style, to provide a fitting origin story to the legend of the Avatar. Honestly that was my all time favourite part of lok. The new gang also did have some really fun dynamics, love triangles aside, and korra herself as a character has just so much personality, you can't help liking her. The bits in ba sing se and honestly the entire red Lotus arc, with all the battles and interactions included, the concept of republic city and places like xiaofu, they were all really really cool. And the dynamics between the gang and Aang's kids, and ikki meelo and jinora especially, that was so fun to watch. And Tenzin having to learn the hard way that you cannot mother hen an avatar. Tenzin and korra honestly have one of the best dynamics in either show. And they even recognised the 'spirituality has died and the white Lotus has become just a militia' in universe and had a villain specifically address that.

So yeah that's just what I liked and didn't like about the show, if your opinions are different that's alright! You have every right to them! Don't force yourself if you don't enjoy the show, that's totally alright too. But I can't really tell from the ask whether you finished it or are still watching, since Zuko does return post dark Avatar arc, so if that's the case I would say there are still some really good bits in the next arc plus the deadliest Airbender you've ever seen and the return of combustion bending and also ba sing se and uncle iroh, and after that you have... Well, fascism but with mechas and lasers, but that was still fun to watch too, if a little contrived. But anyhow, it's completely up to you whether you want to watch it or not, either way there's nothing bad about whatever you choose to do

[thethiefandtheairbender]

Mai x Zuko x Aang x Katara is the perfect OT4 and we are not worthy of such greatness

RIGHT!! it gives you all the best relationships

mai and aang: initially aang is uncertain bc it doesn’t seem like mai likes him very much - she’s always gloomy and he can’t even get a smile out of her - but it doesn’t seem like she dislikes him either, so he doesn’t really know what to do. then one day mai comes up to him and privately thanks him for how much he’s cheered up zuko one day and she smiles and aang realizes how her affection and happiness works and after that they get along swimmingly. sometimes zuko grumbles that aang has an easier time of getting her to smile than he does, before katara reminds him that of course aang does, he’s aang. mai hugs him tight when she eventually learns he’s the one who returned tom-tom in “return to omashu”

zuko and katara: long political discussions and zuko has a bit more in-born patience for bureaucracy than aang does and katara, liking rules most of the time, is interested in it. they playfully bicker and have other people around to balance them out when they do have a big argument. zuko is honoured and so relieved when katara comes to help mai through giving birth, and zuko is the one who pays for katara to have a statue of herself in the southern water tribe as her tribe is still struggling a bit financially. katara switches between him and sokka at the brother-sister dance at her wedding. they get tea a lot together once mai and aang pass away. they’ve always appreciated the understanding between them.

mai and katara: they like getting their hair done together and katara isn’t sure whether to be fascinated or horrified at how rigid and traditional some fire nation etiquette can be. for two people who are so different emotionally they bond through things other than feelings at first. mai shows her how to throw ice daggers with better accuracy. mai often intervenes on katara’s behalf when she and zuko get into rows to calm her husband down. katara helps mai get more in touch with her feelings in a healthy way and they bond over their brothers, sokka and tom-tom. the first time mai cries in front of her is when she holds her daughter in her arms, and asks katara to be one of izumi’s godmothers (the other being ty lee, of course).

zuko and aang: the firebending masters but with zuko being 10x more appreciative of his joyful bf(f). they share visions of the future and aang has the belief and optimism to get them there. zuko always feels on top of the world when aang smiles at him or believes in him, because even though aang believes in a lot of things, zuko will never forget that aang was the first person to trust him - “do you think we could have been friends too?” - and the one who gave him the chance to achieve his destiny: “i think you are supposed to be my firebending teacher.” zuko is often the voice of reason aang needs when he’s really struggling and katara can’t get through, and republic city is their baby they built together. they love each other so completely and Whatever It Is that they have, is theirs, even if they’re not totally sure What it is. aang only Knows when he grows old, and zuko only Accepts it when mai and aang pass away shortly, her first, and zuko realizes he’s lost the Two loves of his life.

zuko and mai: mai is the clear cut viewpoint that zuko needs when his emotions get the better of him. she’s excellent that sharply taking down other fire nation nobles down a peg when she feels them grating on him, while also being polite enough to not get called for it. she believes in the vision he has for the fire nation and wants to help him get there, and adores his friends. at the same time he gets her to express herself, quietly at first, but soon they’re so good at silently communicating they can relay a lot of things with just a glance. also, all the servants in the palace are secretly surprised they only had two kids in the end.

katara and aang: sweeties, the both of them. whatever time they don’t spend in republic city is spent travelling, especially once sokka goes back to be chief of the southern water tribe (as such, bumi, kya, and tenzin often stay with a begrudging toph when both parents are gone). they like to vacation at ember island and see more accurate plays, and now that they’re not invading it, they like being in the fire nation capitol. sometimes katara’s hands shake when she passes That Courtyard but aang takes her hand and squeezes it and she feels better. seeing zuko alive and well doesn’t hurt either. above all else, they’re in love and know the world is a peaceful one they earned. katara wishes she could go back in time and tell her lonely waterbending self that not only one day would she meet someone who could bend with her, but also her best friend and love of her life.

zuko, katara, and aang: the sun, the moon, and the truth. they spend a lot of time reminiscing about the “old days” and katara is delighted to finally see zuko’s dragon, druk, because she always wanted to know about they told her about meeting the firebending masters. they’re each other’s best friends and love each other so, so much, and katara is delighted when zuko is made kya’s godfather (sokka being bumi’s). she, especially, can never quite wrap her head around how full circle and happy their lives became, after everything. also if any stuffy dignitary comes after her boys she will Cut them. aang tries and fails to teach both of them how to play pai sho, and just laughs when they play against each other and get increasingly more frustrated because they don’t get the game well enough to know who’s losing or winning.

katara, aang, and mai: the sheer sass, laughter, and zuko roasting that goes on between these three is unimaginable and sokka loves being around them because they are a riot. they go shopping together and usually don’t come back with much but it’s fun to walk around the streets and just talk and catch up, especially when zuko’s in meetings. part of it is to rub it just a little in his face but mostly, so mai can catch up separately so that when they’re with zuko, he gets the most of their attention. katara and aang bring her a palace kitten as a gift, and more than once her advice about republic city has solved an argument between the two lovers themselves.

zuko, aang, mai: zuko loves being surrounded by two people of the people who love him the most and have seen him at his worst and believed him anyway. since mai and zuko are grumpy and uncaring about most things, most of their time together with aang is spent with him pulling them around to see cool different things and them ‘reluctantly’ following and finding it really hard not to smile. zuko especially leans on them once iroh passes away. alternatively, they’re two of the people who become the best at calming aang down, particularly if he’s worried about katara for some reason (maybe when she’s giving birth).

katara, zuko, mai: a very reasonable and pragmatic grouping, katara isn’t quite the ray of sunshine aang is but she still knows how to have fun and mai more outwardly indulges her for it and drags zuko along with them. mai and zuko do their best to try and cheer katara up and it has varying degrees of success. admittedly this is the dynamic that happens the least just because of schedules, geography, and personalities, but it’s still a very good dynamic overall.

katara, aang, zuko, mai: the Best. they have a lot of fun and it’s always a really special time when they get together, and they try to every two years or so. lots of aang and zuko roasting happens, katara and aang always fill in mai on one or two stories zuko forgot to tell her about their old adventures. they drink wine and talk about their lives and everything and anything under the sun. nobody would have ever thought that a group of best friends would be two fire nation nobles, a southern water bender, and an air nomad avatar, but here they are - and they couldn’t be happier about where they are.

[inhalareexhalare]

Memento mori. 

Nynaeve recommended this before, and I loved it and am remembering.

It suddenly started raining.

Karu also said,

"I think I'm gonna be a terrible dad"

Out of nowhere.

We'd just been talking about his gig today about half an hour ago.

I feel a bit down that I can't seem to find the motivation to keep my work space organized, but I think that's because I put it down too much in my priority list. Dr. Seth told me to take one day off of work, to do housekeeping duties, to express how important it is to her.

Awesome.

From Karu:

Wala lang. I remember Aang being a terrible dad [It's nothing. I remember Aang being a terrible dad]

Aang was a terrible dad according to the old airbender guy from Legend of Korra

Apparently it was Katara that took care of the children cause Aang was busy being the Avatar

Kinda like how Naruto is busy being Hokage

Aang's airbender kid was also obviously favored over the non bender and the waterbender

To Karu:

Hahahahaha I see I see

We won't know until we get there, and we'll never know if we don't keep trying :)

God gave man a partner for a reason, so don't start thinking you're on your own

Outside family, there's also a reason why we're a team, remember? :) No man is an island, and no man is big enough to carry out a vision

I am technically your secretary, so don't hesitate to call for me. In fact, I'd love to help

We're still a small ship of a small crew in such a big sea, so of course it's gonna be busy

The burden gets lighter as more pillars are added, and as these pillars are slowly built with strength over time

...we teach the youth what wonders life can do :)

2018-11-07 12:00 Philippines Wednesday

BOOODLE FIIIGHT!!!!

I ATE TONS OF MEAT! Pork. Chicken. Fish!!!

I feel like I got closer with Ms. Charree.

It was the right choice to return to her side when she was left alone coincidentally. She's sociable, but also shy in many ways.

This is always a fun tradition in the Philippines hahaha! I still have a hard time eating rice with my hands though. My hands don't understand how to do it naturally.

“Privileged ignorance”

Born and bred With spoon and fed

Yes. I am one of those sheltered kids. It's one of the reasons why leaving home was particularly radical to the family tree. It seemed the natural thing to do though when words couldn't get through...

Though I think I could have tried other approaches to help them understand my thoughts. I'd never recommend leaving home abruptly.

It first assumes that you cannot trust your family. It also leaves things on a bad note.

Explorer's motto: always leave things better than when you arrived in there.

You'll have no power to fix things, but you always have the option to be kind and give love to others.

I thank God for sharing his strength and giving me courage today. I was able to smile sincerely at Dr. Seth, at Ms. Charree, at Ms. Len, Jun, Marg, and Deanne, and Cecilia—and I realized how much a tiny gesture can help lighten up someone else's day.

2018-11-07 13:00 Philippines Wednesday

Don't stop believing.

Cecilia dragged me into the Brothers' House tour with the rest of the gang. I suppose greeting them all the way to the other side at the boodle fight before returning to Ms. Charee was the right choice.

My intention to be a friend came through!

The brothers are so cool! So human. They make the most of life because they have confidence in the love of Life.

Skating, biking, childish jokes, friendships, rivalries, ambition, doubts, faith, laughter...

Being a brother, one of them said, is not about being worthy as a person, but instead about how God is worthy and all his greatness.

How very true!

To whoever’s out there:

No matter where you are in your life and no matter what position you are put into; whenever that nagging feeling comes—"do I deserve this?" remember that you ask a wrong question.

The question is always whether the cause is worth it or not. Answer that, and you'll know what to do and where to put your energy into.

We do not choose our calling, but we choose our faith and meaning.

Life always puts you where you need to be. Your sole resource is what you believe in.

Don't stop learning, don't stop growing. Be open to new ideas, but also stand up for what you believe in.

2018-11-07 14:00 Philippines Wednesday

It's funny how a person's confidence level can only either increase or decrease as the number of group mates fluctuate.

For me, my leadership instincts work better in small numbers. Big crowds tend to overstimulate me and I go quiet to reserve energy.

The commonality among everyone, I think, is that the extent that individuality is compromised is positively correlated to the number of people (that is part of the group) present.

2018-11-07 14:28 Philippines Wednesday

Don't you get it? The anomaly is us—the consciousness, the ego; entities aren't supposed to think about themselves.

Organisms act according to their survival and self-interest, but they think about and react to outside threats (or opportunities) and predators (or friends). They don't flee (or fight) thinking, "how do I defend myself?"

Rather, they think, "how do I survive from this predator?"

Get it? The focus is on the foreign object.

The same way we flail even after hours of practice just because we become overly conscious of how to do things instead of focusing on the goal which would have naturally assisted us in accomplishing it (since we already did practice and it should all have been muscle memory).

We are minor creatures, swayed and small-mindedly occupied with our shadows. No different from a cat that is enamored by a mere laser point.

This thought occurred out of nowhere. But I remember a video that can show you stuff about performance anxiety:

Still, studying the self has shown exactly how studying the self made us ineffective. Pop quiz. Do you call this a paradox, or an irony?

I rather think it's more of an irony.

2018-11-07 19:00 Philippines Wednesday

Mah keyss.

The girly not-key looks so girly and so unlike me that I like it. It says "Open your mind!" on the tiny pink heart of it.

I think this was an excess Christmas gift when I was in late elementary school days or high school and it used to be a keychain, not a key, but look what I did to it haha

I really like how Ms. Siomai smiles back at me sweetly when I greet her and when I thank them for the meal with my own smiles.

I know she's just being polite, but she seems like she can be an easy-to-talk-to friend.

God always provides enough for his people.

Thank you for this meal.

2018-11-07 20:00 Philippines Wednesday

Peak Meeting adjourned!

Exciting big quests.

“Calm Spell”

I feel sad for some reason, almost to tears But this ain't nothing And it sure as hell ain't everything.

Keep your cool. It's okay. Take it slow.

Focus.

Yana's soul is fuzzy. Like, cozy fuzzy.

She

Tries to reach out to me. In bits, in chewable pieces.

I can feel Her.

Karu and I are out to get the second half of our dinner.

We finally established at tonight's Peak meeting the curfew—23:00. Thank God. Thank you, Ira and Moira.

I don't usually draw that way by the way. I am pretty flexible with art style. The problem? I'm no practitioner. I'm just an on-and-off hobbyist. I'm not even sure I'd count it as a hobby anymore. I used to draw a lot, but then I realized my true love was words.

2018-11-08 00:32 Philippines Thursday

I cried. 

A lot. From about 01:00 to 02:38.

I didn't know whether I'd write about this or not, since it's pretty much an inconvenient coincidence that caused it, but here I am.

After the meeting, Karu and I walked outside to get food, right? While walking with him, I wrote that previous entry above this.

Karu had lots of ideas and stories. He cut himself off at least twice, saying instead that I should finish my entry first since I lose my ideas pretty fast when another thing catches my interest.

Turns out he's the same. Walking together, I kind of sensed his slight frustration. But I didn't make room to dive that thought because I wasn't done finishing my thoughts for the entry yet.

We reach stoplight after stoplight, and he suggests that we can get food from a carinderia (small eatery) instead. Cheaper, healthier.

But I still wasn't done analyzing my thoughts for the entry. I kept typing and told him I leave it up to him, and that I'm good with whatever.

Then I noticed we were heading towards the convenience store instead. Only then was I done with the entry. He got my full attention.

We look at sandwiches. They seemed the best option in there.

But we only got 70 pesos. A sandwich that was even worth our time is at least 39 pesos.

I kept suggesting to him that I can go walk back to the house to get more money and he can wait in the store since I knew how much he disliked the action of going back and forth for such trivial things (even things that matter to him).

But he kept saying that my suggestion made no sense. That we had enough.

That confused me. I tried suggesting the 30-peso hotdog sandwiches. Then he said he didn't feel like eating anymore.

He entrusted the money to me and so I walked inside the convenience store while he remained outside and sat on the sidewalk.

I tried to assess the situation, and I thought maybe he liked the 39-peso sandwiches better than hotdogs, but he didn't want to make me have to resort to a hotdog sandwich just to fit the budget.

So that's exactly what I did. Maybe he'd like the sandwich. He didn't feel like eating anymore but we both knew he needed it.

And we head back home and as expected the first thing he did was light up a cigarette at the dirty kitchen.

It was quick, so I could tell he didn't want to be around people. Job, Ira, and Zenith were around.

Entering our room that I occupied was the lesser evil.

After taking our bites, he finally shared why he's so pissed.

He made his own logical assessment of his emotions.

"You are annoying sometimes."

Firstly, he said, he forgot the ideas he wanted to tell me about. Secondly, for some reason he also wanted me to make our decision as he gave suggestions on where to eat. Lastly, he really just wanted to have the time with me to walk and talk to each other.

This was the first time anything like it happened so I was deeply affected. He left the room for water and I took the chance to cry by establishing the threshold: the point where the tears are about to overflow. I wouldn't let it, and distracted myself with other thoughts until I got my neutral face back and cried silently until I reached the threshold again.

He got back, lied down, and we turned the lights off.

When I couldn't restrain my now willingly hidden tears, I turned my back against him and lied on my left side.

My tears overflowed, dying to spill everything. Everything. I did it all silently. I cried hot tears soundlessly.

He clicked his tongue, as he always did when he got pissed. Either it's because he thought I was just leaving things unfinished and going straight to sleep, or his musician ears caught the irregular breathing of my tear-soaked lungs (figuratively). (Fuck musicians.) After a minute maybe, he apologized for "getting pissed."

I wanted to say that it wasn't something he should apologize to me about, but I couldn't say a word. I knew my voice would betray my tears.

I cried some more in the quiet and then finally got the leaning-positive shade of my personality back when I was satisfied with crying my shit out. I lied down on my right this time, facing him.

I asked if he needed the blanket that was accidentally on his pillow, and he gestured a yes by lifting his head. I had a bit of trouble unfolding it, since it was in a messy fold, and was surprised that he helped me.

His hand traveled under the sheets and took my left leg so it was laying over his, as he usually did to show affection. I couldn't muster the balls to hug him as I usually did to return his affection and he sensed it, taking my left hand to let it rest on his left shoulder.

He asked me what was making me feel bad, since according to his understanding of the situation, no one was to blame. It's not wrong to want to write my journal entries. It's not wrong to want to walk and talk with your wife.

After multiple hesitations and anxiety over his patience (he repeatedly asked me what's up with such gentleness), I finally said that it's because I vowed to be a wife and a partner. But all I am is a failure. He touched my face and confirmed my tears.

It's good that I got to deal with the self-obsession somehow, as I realized halfway how my thoughts are beginning to be overly critical and close-mindedly inward. Still, I felt sad.

I felt too guilty to get over this emotionally-perceived mistake.

He said I have more "successes" than "failures," the complete opposite of him. He asked me to mount him (nothing sexual, although it did come to that later when I promoted it HAHA) so I could hug him more naturally.

I wanted to tell him he's wrong, but all I could do was shake my head to our darkness-adjusted eyes, because my voice kept breaking. I'm bad with crying.

He comforted me, saying he couldn't stay mad at me even if he wanted to, unlike his signature temper.

We basically ended on a kind note, but I still think we didn't end with the good we could have. We ended good in a way, but we still have obsessive dwellings on our respective egos. He still thinks he's a bad husband most of the time, and I still think I'm a bad wife most of the time.

We must find a way to get out of this rut. Replace the mode of thinking. It doesn't help anyone.

Also, as a note, Karu didn't know exactly how we got there either. To that conflict. We're usually more flexible than that. I'm just realized after the fact last "night" that he just came from a gig.

That could actually make sense, but I'm not ready to conclude yet.

[seyaryminamoto]

I am curious about what's your opinion on how Katara is treated in the comics vs in the show (both ATLA and LOK). Maybe a better question is, what do you think the dynamics between Katara and Aang have with each other and to the kids should have been like?

God I had written up a huge response and the browser shut down so I lost it *sobs*

But alright, I’ll try to be brief this time.

I think Katara is not written well in the comics. You can see it clearly not only because of her flawlessness (I’m not saying this as a compliment), but because some elements of her character have been as good as wiped out for no reason. There’s no sign of the sass she had in spades in Book 1, and that she still had to some degree during Book 2 (can’t really remember much of it in Book 3, that was mostly just passive-aggressiveness towards Zuko). She’s not really the same character we knew from the show, and that’s obviously not her fault, since the one I hold responsible for this is Yang.

Katara is her own character in the show, but in the comics she’s mostly coded as “Aang’s girlfriend”. There’s not a lot of material for her as a character, which is a lot of what happens to Asami in LOK - her agency in the story is relegated to her relationships with other people. Sometimes Katara’s relevance, like in The Search, is in relation to her sibling relationship with Sokka (which is then used as a parallel to Azula and Zuko’s), but most times it’s in relation to Aang. And that’s not how her character worked in the show at all. Granted she was Aang’s friend, but she could get important subplots where you could see what her character really was made of. Her subplots in the comics (up until North and South) are so few, so lacking, and do nothing for her character overall. Sokka gets subplots in nearly every single trilogy (subplots that also do nothing for his character, because it’s usually just Sokka being a goof all the time), Katara is mostly in them right next to Aang, to kiss him or support him and curiously, seldom do we see it the other way around (I guess North and South may have changed that at last, but I haven’t read part 2 so I can’t say for sure).

In LOK, I absolutely understand Katara being an old woman who doesn’t do a lot in the plot (if anything what ticks me off is Zuko and Toph being brought back to fight while Katara isn’t, in my frank opinion none of them should’ve been brought back for action if LOK was supposed to be a story of “late teens and adults”, unlike ATLA which was the “kids and old people show”). But it’s certainly annoying that we don’t know nearly enough about what Katara did in her adult life, and that the only news we have is that she got bloodbending banned (when technically that sort of bending could have done wonders for medicinal purposes of different sorts, but I guess that never crossed her mind…). Outside of that, there’s not a lot of news on what Katara was up to, and it’s not too surprising that there’s not, since LOK and the comics were written with the same idea of Katara in mind: she seldom gets to do anything important, mostly just helps and supports whoever needs it.

Granted, part of her character was about being the “mom-friend”, but that’s PART of it. It’s not 100% of what comprised Katara. Her more aggressive sides, the sass, the stubbornness, most of that is gone in the comics, and in what little we saw of her in LOK. It’s not something I can understand, really.

Lastly, regarding how her children were raised, I’m actually pretty bothered by that topic. Not only do I fail to understand how Aang could be such a mess of a father, but I don’t like that it’s implied that Katara did nothing about it. I’m not here to toot Zutara’s horn or anything, but I THINK they like the idea of Katara calling out Zuko when he needs it. Zuko will make mistakes all the time, that’s just what he’s like, and whoever he marries should be able to make him rethink whatever he does wrong. Of course, Katara is no paragon of perfect morality, but on most regards she’s better with morals than Zuko. 

Now, I guess the problem is that we’re told Aang is perfect in regards of morality (… which is not entirely true), and ever since they got together, Katara somehow thinks he’s always right? Which is why she swallows her jealousy in The Promise and ends up thinking she’s the selfish one for not being a fan of Aang’s fan club (tbh that was one of the lousiest things that trilogy did). And it’s also why she hasn’t really defied him at all throughout the entire comics’ run. I can’t remember any defiance at all, actually. Not even a “Hey, why the hell did you forget to invite ME to your fancy lunch but you didn’t forget to invite Toph?!” in The Rift. Nothing. And… that’s another thing that makes Katara feel weird in the comics. She just seems to turn a blind eye to any mistakes Aang makes, regardless of the magnitude of those mistakes (and in the Rift it actually pisses me off a lot, because Aang literally forgets about Katara for an entire volume of the comic, and only remembers her when Sokka tells him she’s stuck in a cave-in, and so far I think I’m the only person who’s claimed to be bothered by it). I know we’re expected to think Aang is a better human being than everyone else in general, but he makes mistakes: and Katara is PERFECT for calling them out. She’s born for that, calls out everyone else’s already!

But not Aang’s, at least not since the show ended. She won’t do it in the comics, she didn’t do it between the comics and LOK (that is, if we assume she probably stood by and allowed Aang to take Tenzin on vacations while neglecting the rest of their children). It’s not something that can sit well with me. I don’t know why they’ve started writing her this way, but I mostly dislike the way her character has been written in the comics and LOK. It doesn’t look like she was a bad mother, but she still could have been a better mother and wife if the writers had just wanted her to be one.

Now, what do I think Katara should be like in comics and LOK?

First off, I’d scratch all the “sweeties” nonsense. Dear god is it corny and it feels out of place ten times out of nine. I don’t like it, it’s not cute for me, it really feels forced. Terms of endearment aren’t impossible, but I wouldn’t have them refer to each other as sweetie ALL THE TIME. NO. *heavy breathing*

Secondly, I’d want Katara’s subplots to not be only about Aang or on a lesser degree about Sokka. How about seeing her interact with other characters, like Suki, like Toph, like Zuko? Why didn’t she befriend Kiyi too in The Search, for instance? Even Toph gets a weird BFF comic with Ty Lee, but Katara is relegated to mainly interacting with her boyfriend and her brother. Sokka gets to spend time with Toph, with Suki (in Shells exclusively), with Aang, with Zuko, even has a pretty personal one-on-one competition with Azula throughout The Search that Katara did NOT have. But Katara is stuck with Sokka and Aang only. If we wanted to see her character being as it used to be in the show once more? That would need to change. We could have more stories like that one in the Lost Adventures, where she goes out with Toph for a day. We could have stories about her and, I don’t know, Mai! Anything!

Third, in regards of LOK: if we’re going to relegate Katara to the role of the “healer”, which I’m not the biggest fan of, but I figure that’s what Bryke went for… why the hell didn’t she inaugurate Republic City’s Main Hospital or something epic of that sort? That’s the perfect place for her to have a superb statue! It could be a place that employs all sorts of bending healing types, where research is done to find new ways to use bending for healing, or new means to cure people without bending, too. Why didn’t this happen? Beats me. I’m not saying Katara wasn’t allowed to be a housewife, because she is, but it bugs me that as a housewife she apparently doesn’t even get a say upon how Aang plays favorites with their kids. So, if she’s not going to have much of a say in that, why not give her a job? She could handle a job and raising kids at the same time, so could Aang. I really have no doubts about it.

And there’s probably more things I’d add, but those three would be the first steps to giving Katara some of her agency back. If she didn’t want to be a healer she could easily have a waterbending academy too, why not? She really could do lots of things for Republic City and I’m sure she would have been happy to do it. Fact is, it’s just unfair that everyone else gets to make their “mark” on Republic City but Katara doesn’t (and obviously Suki doesn’t either, but let’s just pretend she left her own mark in the Fire Nation instead…). It feels out of place for a character who was the third most important one of ATLA’s franchise, right behind Aang and Zuko. She should have gotten a little bit more recognition, inside the story and out, too. The writers could have done her character justice, and they should have. But well, who knows? Maybe North and South Part 2 gave her some of what her character was sorely lacking…

So, that was a long answer anyways, lots of grumbling and rambling but I hope I answered your question properly!

[archergwenwrites]

ZM Day 27 - Youth

(Days 24 and 26 - Home and Sacrifice, are parts 3 and 4 of the Labyrinth AU so will be along later)

Zuko can’t quite bring himself to dislike the daughter of the Southern Water Tribe’s chief.

He’s twelve, and as big cousin Lu Ten reminds him, that comes with important responsibilities. After all, Zuko is third in line to the throne after Lu Ten and then his dad, Ozai.

Most of the responsibilities seem boring, though. He’d much rather they be more exciting, like battles - usually when he expresses that Lu Ten gives him a small lecture on “the broken window fallacy” and “separation is an illusion,” and Zuko really thinks his cousin is actually as old as Fire Lord Iroh, he just hides it better and makes worse tea.

The Water Tribe Princess Katara (only she’s not really a princess because they elect their leaders for life, though some families like theirs crop up frequently because they make good leaders) is ten, and doesn’t seem to have anything to worry about.

She is Azula’s number one ally when they visit, superseding even Ty Lee, because Katara can waterbend, and the possibilities for pranking Zuko are endless.

It’s not until play goes wrong, and Katara has water soaked hands pressing away the bleeding, that Zuko sees the determined glint in her eye, a razor focus to care. Then she’s yelling at Azula for drawing blood, and Zuko resolves that Lu Ten absolutely needs to stay allies with the Water Tribe if she gets her hands on the chiefdom.

She’s terrifying, when riled, and Zuko swears in that moment never to mess with her.

Of course, at sixteen, she fourteen, it’s all too amusing to play with the heat and frizz her hair into impossible clouds - even if he does get buried in ice up to his neck. She’s no longer his sister’s friend, but his friend. They always buy or make something for the other to make up for pranks, which he’s thankful for when he wakes up the last morning of this yearly visit to find his underwear drawer frozen solid, and all the clothes inside encased in ice.

It’s the thought that counts.

She shows up the next year, fifteen, and Zuko lasts maybe thirty minutes into the traditional beach trip before he begs off, claiming to feel sick. Katara, of course, instantly starts to make for him, to fuss, to care, and he can’t tell her that her increased presence is making everything worse so he just makes a highly embarrassing noise and runs away.

He - breathless, red-faced - runs into Iroh, who smiles. “My. It must be quite hot on the beach.”

Zuko makes a strangled noise and excuses himself to what he wishes would be a quick death in a cold bath.

He doesn’t frizz her hair that summer, and she seems almost hurt by that.

The next time he sees her, things are a lot easier. Official mourning clothes are not attractive on anyone, and his mind is rather preoccupied with how unfair it is that his cousin was killed by pirates.

That is when he realizes she’s his best friend.

She listens, she cares. She’s the only one he wants to bounce ideas off of, the only person, now, that he wants to confide in, to ask advice of.

He’s not sure when it turned from friendship with a side of unwanted attraction to a love he’d kill and die for, but it did. And he held it inside like a festering wound, the idiot, until he almost burst and almost lost her.

Katara, in her near-infinite wisdom with her own hidden whirling mass of affection, kisses him back.

[junk-and-clutter]

Katara x Boruto --- Wed.  June 10, 2020.

Boruto Taps away on his handheld while strolling around. He couldn't put the damn thing down since he had just gotten the new Kagemasa game.

x Katara x See's a boy with a strange object in his hands walk pass. If she waved would he even notice? Probably not. . . with that look on his face, he was really involved with his contraption. First the torture box she wondered if that too was some sort of device konaha ninja's use for torture. A light bulb appeared as it might be for in-tell or long distance talking like those things called phones!!!! "Oi!! Blondie if your not careful you might run into something~"

Boruto Boruto had been completely unaware he was being watched. The village was a safe place where he felt entirely comfortable to let his guard down, so he was hardly on the watch for spies or stalkers. However, just as the brunette would be telling him to be careful, his foot would catch on a nearby tree root that had grown out of its area. With a surprised yelp, the blonde shinobi fell to the ground. His face took a hit, but his hand ensured that his game was safe and sound. He had his priorities in order. It had only just registered that the shouting girl may be talking to him, and so he turned his blue gaze up towards her. "Yeah, thanks for the tip." He said, his tone as sarcastic as it always was when he embarrassed himself. He was quick to get up and dust off and, after pausing his game and rubbing his eyes, his attention was fully on her. "You new to the village? I don't think we've met before."

x Katara x She heard her own voice boom inside her mind ‘HE’S-GOING-TO-FALL!’.  She bolted off the bench appearing beside him in seconds but just a split second to late falling short from the soreness of her muscles.  She grounded her teeth, hard as sharp shattering pain tore through her muscles.  Every fiber of her being wanted to explode with anger because she wasn’t fast enough.  Holding back the pain in her gaze.  

About to reach her hand out so she could help him up but he seemed to be resilient on his own picking himself up.  Ocean hues finds the courage to re-greet him again — her warning forgotten.   A fragile smile upon her face as she’d place her hands behind her back straightening up.  “Yes.”  Finding it a little long winded to explain why she was there.  Pointing to herself “I’m Katara I previously hail from Kumogakure.”  Headband glinting the Hidden Cloud symbol.

Boruto Something seemed to be bothering her, but before he could ascertain exactly what it was, she answered his question and introduced herself. Boruto's smile returned easily, as he tried not to stay in a bad mood when making first impressions. "Well, welcome to the village, Katara. I'm Boruto. I'm a Genin, and one of the best shinobi around." He extended a hand towards her, smiling as he did so. He had specifically left out the part of him being the Hokage's son as, despite their new understanding of each other's life, he still wanted to be seen for himself, rather than for who he's related to. His game was brought back to his attention and he started tapping away. "So, what is it you do for fun, Katara? You play any games?" Adding people to his circle would increase his battle power, so he tried to recruit anyone he could to his virtual team.

x Katara x Lips blossoming into a polite yet euphoric smile as she too was a Genin.  Though unlike him she was not the best.  She could never achieve something great, she works hard so she doesn’t fall behind.  Though it always caused an inner struggle but it never really got in her way from reaching her shinobi duty's in life.  “I’m a genin too but the reverse of you.”  Her cordial tone does not falter against the truth.  Taking his hand doing the ritual greeting between the two as she wouldn’t judge him by the chapter of his life she’s stumbled upon.  Hands right back behind her back as she was found herself confused.  She wasn’t really sure of that answer.  

Not really the kind of person to do many things for fun.  Though she had one personal hobby but collecting rocks wasn’t exactly something that fell under fun.  “I train a lot so I don’t really do many fun activities,” — lips standing idle pausing for a moment.  “I’ve been known as someone who doesn’t play well with others.”  Being completely honest, most kids that get to now her end up avoiding her like some sort of plague.  It’s just a matter of time but she didn’t mind it.  Of course not.  In fact Katara was actually used to the alluring embrace of solitude.  It left her more room to train and become a better shinobi though.

Boruto He had assumed she was a genin, given their similarity in age, but confirmation was always nice, what with wildcards out there becoming Anbu at thirteen or less. At her reversal comment, he gave a quizzical look but wouldn't interrupt to ask her to clarify. He was already getting tired just at the thought of training that much. He needed his game and relaxation time, or he would go insane. Still, he had met someone similar to her, and that was something he would voice. "Jeeze. You sound just like Metal." His exaggerated weariness showed on his features as he always loved being the dramatic. "Don't play well with others?" His attention snapped back to her as his expression turned, once more, to one of confusion. "That's what they used to say about me." Flashes of his pre-academy days, lectures from Shikadai, and stern looks from his mother invaded his mind, and he offered her a reassuring smile. "Listen, if you spend all day training your skills in combat, you'll never have time to train your skills with other people. Telling people you don't play well with others doesn't put you in the best light." He was giving a light chuckle in an attempt to keep the mood happy. After all, he didn't want to scold someone's way of life, but how could someone just accept the way they are without trying to get better? "Maybe you should try to find a hobby or something. That way, you could find some common ground with other people."

x Katara x Metal?  She seemed to like the name as much as she liked the material.  Passions differ as much as reasons do but she did wonder if he was much like her own self.  Someone who struggled.  A soft giggle surfaced as she was entertained by the facial features that he presents.  “Yes.”  Confirming his question with little hesitance.  Opening her mouth to say something, but then thought the better of it.  Wasn’t it better to warn someone honestly before they hear the heartless gossips and cold whispers that succumbs around her?  She didn’t want to be the deceiving silence before the storm.  Each second was painful, as her mind kept transitioning memory after memory through the scenes that guarantee the warning.  However she couldn’t help but smile accepting his gift of wisdom.  

She trusts his words like a moth drawn to a flame : his persuasive charisma burned a new path before her she just has to work hard to change her fated self.  Ocean hues gazing into his, she was unsure how to express her thanks.  There was something about Boruto that was truly enchanting yet undeniable.  The fact that he made her feel disarmed with just words to such a degree was certainly alarming but she didn’t dislike it.  “I suppose I don’t want people to get disappointed.”  A soft hum as the look of disappointment always came to surface on many occasions.  “Mmm.  I do have one hobby but collecting rocks isn’t much of a conversation starter.  Perhaps I should explore more options.”  Her larynx soars towards new light.  Crossing into new undiscovered waters onto new parts of her soul.  “You?  What are your hobbies?”

Boruto It was obvious his words had some sort of effect on her as a certain brightness overtook her previously dulled hues. How long had she lived in her own self-doubt? She was smothering herself with training to avoid being a disappointment to others. A gloom threatened to overtake Boruto's mood. He was naturally talented, so he couldn't relate to those who had to work to get where they were as well as others, but he had heard stories of his father and how much of an upward battle it had been to get where he was. People who went through that sort of thing came out stronger. That was just fact at this point. She spoke of her rock collection and, though he wouldn't outwardly say anything, he had to agree that rocks weren't t he most interesting thing. When asked of his own hobbies, his hands were stuffed in his jacket pockets and he looked towards the sky to think. "Me? Well, I like to play games, train, play shinobi bout, and collect merchandise for the things I like." He looked back down to her, satisfied with his answer. "I have an idea. How about you go into the market, ask the shopkeeper what's popular, and buy something that a lot of people like. If you can get into it, you'll have a sure fire way of finding people who think similarly to you." He grinned confidently and, like his father, his hands met behind his head and he leaned into his own grip. He had spent enough time talking to a stranger, as his game was beckoning him. His shin obi duty was to help those in need, but any more advice and he'd start to feel too much like his old man. "Hey, I'll see you around. I'm pretty popular around here, so maybe if you talk about me, that could help you find some friends." He said this while walking away and wearing an overly-confident face. Truly, he had played himself up, but it wasn't totally a lie. If she ran into any of his friends and said that she too was friends with Boruto, then they'd accept her no doubt. He was just about to pull his game out when he noticed how low the sun had gotten. Panic struck his heart like a shuriken against a target. What time was it?! He was going to be late for dinner again! Suddenly, he took off in a mad sprint.

x Katara x He certainly had a range of hobbies and it was interesting hearing about them.  Looking away towards the direction of the market listening to his idea was going to be a lot easier than following through but not at all impossible.  But why not?  Maybe she’ll do that next time she’d find herself near the area at most.  Standing like this for so long was starting to feel draining but she didn’t show it.  “Thanks for the advice it was nice meeting you Boruto” Optimistic words chime as she’d wave seeing she spent to much of his time meeting in unique circumstances of him and his device.  

Watching him from behind until he vanished as she’d turn her head towards the direction of the academy.  Like homework she thought it would be best to go to the academy.  A good place to start to find what kind of person she was and what kind of hobbies she could dabble into while training the mind at the same time.  Slowly walking towards the direction of the academy with blank thoughts just listening to her surroundings.