#Sokka and Zuko are the big brothers Aang never had

[rifari2037]

Antis : Aang and Katara are never sibling coded, Katara never act motherly to Aang!

Meanwhile Katara to Aang...

Katara : Stop teasing him, Sokka. Aang's just a good friend. [Pats the side of his head.] A sweet, little guy! Just like Momo.

Katara : (Cradles Aang's body exactly the same like La Pieta - confirm by the writer that it was the reference)

If anyone thinks that scene was romantic, or thinks Katara was never motherly towards Aang when they had a scene that was literally inspired by Mary cradles her son...., I'm loss for words.

Katara : What do you think, Aang? Do I act like a mom? Aang : [Rubs his eye.] Well. I, uh- Katara : Stop rubbing your eye and speak clearly when you talk! Aang : Yes, ma'am.

Katara : (Pretending to be Aang's pregnant mother)

Meanwhile Katara and Zuko act like parents to Aang...

Katara : Who wants a nice cool glass of watermelon juice? Aang : Ooh, ooh! Me, me, me! Zuko : Hey! Your lesson's not over yet! Get back here!

Katara : Aang, don't walk away from this. (Walks toward Aang) Zuko : (Puts a hand on Katara's shoulder to stop her) Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself.

Zuko : I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about Aang. What if he doesn't have the guts to take out my father? What if he loses? Katara : Aang won't lose. He's gonna come back. He has to.

Meanwhile the writers to Kat/ang...

(The writers and big fans of Kat/ang confirming that they're like a babysitter and a little brother...)

Antis : Zuko and Katara are sibling coded, Katara is sister Zuko always wanted!

Meanwhile Zuko and Katara in the show...

Meanwhile the writers to Zutara...

(The writers and Zutara shippers confirming that they fought for Zutara endgame...)

[oneatlatime]

The Guru

Happy 2024 everyone and welcome to the first time I managed to type 2024 without first typing 2023! Oh and also a write up of The Guru. That too.

Me too Iroh. Me too.

So Zuko is riding high on that post-crisis 'time to get my life together' buzz that, similar to 3 am life plans, should absolutely not be listened to. Wonder how long before he crashes and burns? There's literally 2 episodes left, so I'm guessing one and a half?

Poor Sokka. My boy's got anxiety.

I don't know if it's a monk thing, an airbender thing, an Avatar thing, or an Aang thing, but I envy his complete lack of nerves.

How is Appa ok with them splitting up for a week after JUST getting them back?

I paused in a funny place. Have bonk-eyed Appa.

I love them comparing heights. What do you want to bet that that guy on the right was one of the youngest allowed to go fight, and Sokka made a big deal about how they're almost the same age and surely that means he can go too, right?

A lot of these Southern Water Tribe people have dreads or braids. That's neat.

Bato's arm is still messed up. That's some good continuity.

I've found the source of Katara's cheek bones. I guess Sokka takes after his mum.

Ok I know this is a really emotional moment (and it is! Sokka's spent two seasons earning this!) but my brain fixated on the furs and briefly thought they were sky bison pelts.

"It's been a difficult week for me." This guy thinks the Kyoshi Warriors are there to provide him therapy. Someone please just crown the bear instead.

He just gave away literally every relevant plot point AND outlined how to make sure all these plot points don't succeed. Crown. The. Bear.

Maybe if these generals spent less time playing with their giant model Earth Kingdom and more time general-ing, the war wouldn't suck so much?

Pretty.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the designs, the colour palette, the music, the sound design of this air temple. I love everything about it. If I had the chance to live anywhere in the Avatar universe, it would be here. Even in its ruined state it's such a refreshing contrast to the claustrophobia of Ba Sing Se. I can feel the freshness of the breeze through the screen.

"A spiritual brother of your people" an adult perspective on a near extinct culture! What a resource!

"and a personal friend of Monk Gyatso" an old as balls perspective. He's got to be at least 130.

Anthropology cul de sac time: this guy is so valuable as a resource on the Air Nomads. There's probably parts of Air Nomad culture that Aang can't ever accurately talk about, because he was a kid when he left, and there was almost certainly stuff that the adults kept to themselves, or only shared with the older Air Nomads. This Guru doesn't seem to be an Air Nomad himself, but there's a good chance that there is knowledge that he has, that Aang doesn't. Aang should be nerding out more about this. I'll do the nerding out for him.

Aang just breezes right by that Gyatso name drop like it's nothing. Huh.

Oh hey Toph. I'd forgotten she was in a box. Tweedle dum and Tweedle dumber really are quite the pair. What's their plan for keeping her fed and watered? Actually, these guys apparently don't know that maps exist, so it's probably never occurred to them that humans need sustenance. They'll rock up to the Bei Fong estate with corpse Toph and wonder why they aren't getting the reward money.

Mai gets called out in-universe for shopping at Hot Topic.

Ty Lee's buttering up of Azula is getting less and less subtle as the season progresses. It's a testament to Azula's lack of awareness that she's hasn't noticed that, and that Ty Lee can get away with it.

Azula's right that it's an extraordinary opportunity. The King gave them quite literally every piece of info required to overthrow his kingdom in a 25 second conversation. I can't blame her for taking advantage of such an easy win.

That's a very effective unimpressed face. And a very impressive beard.

It's funny to see a spiritual concept from the real world pop up in a show that includes things like bending and giant fish possession. The mention of Chakras kind of sticks out. They couldn't invent a Avatar universe version?

"Once you begin this process, you cannot stop until all seven are open." Well that doesn't feel like foreshadowing at all.

This episode should be called "Aang's self-care Journey." It's about time the kid had a me day that wasn't avoidance-based.

Fear: Losing Katara - makes sense. Losing control of his powers via fish possession - makes sense. The Fire Lord - makes sense. But the Blue Spirit? He helped. Doesn't make sense.

Guilt: Running away - makes sense, although I thought he'd worked through that with Katara in the storm. Nuking that idiot General's base - makes sense, but boy did he quite literally ask for it.

This guru is saying some wonderfully accurate, and realistic, things. I love that he's not taking the Katara route of denying anything is wrong. He's going for the acknowledge, then heal route. And yes, it's unfair of me to compare the emotional maturity of Katara to a century+ old spiritual expert.

I'm going to ruin the immersion here and point out that Sokka's dad's voice actor voiced a bunch of characters in season 1. He's doing an excellent job, but couldn't they get a unique voice for a character that's so important (albeit offscreen) to Sokka?

That's an incredibly roundabout way of avoiding pointing out that the Southern Water Tribe are active participants in a bloody war. Sure, we can show multiple characters with visible scarring from horrific burns, but heaven forbid we imply that the Southern Water Tribe sinks ships. The parameters for what is and isn't appropriate on this show sometimes make no sense.

"Aren't you listening? I said the rest of you men get ready for battle." He hasn't seen his boy in two years, but fifteen minutes in his company and he knows exactly what needs to be said and how. That's some top tier parenting. Dad of the year. Dad of the century. Only decent Dad in this show that isn't technically an uncle.

"Follow your passion Zuko, and life will reward you." Great advice for your eight year old audience. Also a great way to end up unemployed.

Positive Sokka creeped me out a few episodes ago. Now positive Zuko is freaking me out too.

Pretty.

Back to Chakras! Shame: Burning Katara - makes sense. But that's it? To have the inner peace of mind of a twelve year old who's somehow only ever done one thing that he's ashamed of.

Is there anyone in the earth kingdom who isn't stupid? Once again wondering at the network's standards. Visible burn injuries are fine, but Mai can't say 'Shut up." It's got to be Shush up. Although I do seem to recall of brief time in the early 2000s when Shut Up was treated as a curse on par with Shit or Fuck. Maybe that was just at my school.

Chakras again! Even for a show that often has an A, B, and C plot, this narrative is ping ponging around a bit much.

Grief: nothing major, just a whole nation. Makes a horrific amount of sense. but I don't buy that he can get over grieving the whole world as he knew it by thinking about his crush. That's way too high a pedestal for Katara to be placed on.

Lies: Not accepting he's the Avatar. Interesting that not accepting that he's the Avatar and not accepting that he's a firebender are two different problems.

I see you reusing the opening credits footage. Your blue filters can't fool me.

PRETTY

Illusion: So we're relearning what we learned in The Swamp. Aang's probably the person currently alive least likely to believe in the rigid separation of the nations anyway. This doesn't feel like an illusion he's subject to?

The way this episode dances between its narrative threads is so great. It's all woven in so beautifully. And this makes perfect sense! Toph's spent her life secretly doing things excellently that everyone says are completely beyond her capabilities. Life has taught her that the statement "you are not able to" doesn't apply. Of course immutable laws of bending physics are treated with the same respect as an adult telling the champion of the Earth Rumble that she's can't earthbend beyond breathing exercises. If you told her that humans can't fly, she'd figure out how within the week.

Plot collision incoming.

Interesting that Katara initially recognises Zuko by his voice rather than his scar.

I'm pretty sure that Zuko and Iroh don't know about the whole brainwashing thing, but wouldn't it be hilarious if Zuko introduced himself to Katara as Joo Dee, and his uncle Joo Dee, welcome to the Jasmine Dragon, can I take your order? That would throw Katara into one hell of a moral quandary.

Katara being framed as the solution for Chakra number four comes back to bite Aang, as she's the problem in Chakra number seven. I knew that pedestal was too high.

I've changed my mind. This episode should actually be called "Half a dozen reasons why everyone should just learn to keep their goddamn mouths shut already."

So is anyone going to let Zuko and Iroh know that they're now in immediate danger and need to leave, like, yesterday?

I think the Guru is going for the whole 'if you love them, let them go, and they'll come back to you' thing. Don't cling, in other words. But for the sake of the plot he's suddenly lost his ability to explain Chakras in a way that makes them seem like the logical thing to do. The only clunky bit of this episode so far.

May I introduce you to our Lord and Saviour Toph?

"I am the greatest earthbender in the world." Yes. Yep. Yeah. That's now a quantifiable fact, and it's correct. Look on ye mighty and despair. She's even got Bumi beat.

Earth Tongue Running is a bit wonky looking but it covers a crazy amount of distance.

What's the range on Toph's earth sense? Can she sense what direction Ba Sing Se is?

I hope those two idiots' horse bird is ok.

"You don't know how much this means to me dad." He does. Very much so.

Every word out of this guy's mouth is precision engineered to make Sokka feel like a million bucks and I for one think it's about time someone built him up. Also, seeing this makes me realise how few good parents there are in this show. It's a trope of kids' adventure shows that the parents fundamentally can't be there, but I also think it's a commentary on yet another thing that this war has messed up.

Hey look! Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most, and right now that's in Ba Sing Se, protecting your sister! I love narratives that tie their themes up with a pretty bow on top.

This is Azula laying a trap, right? Which means that Katara squealed to someone about the exact location of Iroh and Zuko's tea shop. Don't like the implications of that.

Photos taken seconds before disaster.

Final Thoughts

This episode was a lot! I mean that in a good way! But I felt a bit like the Maxell Blown Away Guy, the way I kept getting assaulted by yet another plot thread. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a criticism. I think the switching between plot threads and the amount of info in this episode worked 99% of the time. But I'm kind of in awe at the balancing act the writers pulled off and I'm sort of sitting here blinking a bit trying to fit all this stuff in my head. I'm probably going to forget half the stuff I wanted to talk about in this write up, so here goes nothing.

Given the Azula reveal in at the end of last episode, I thought that this would be the episode where the shit hits the fan. I was wrong. I'm glad I was wrong. An episode of set up is required and is nice breathing room, even an episode as busy as this. And I got to leave Ba Sing Se! But this does mean that next episode is going to be calamity after calamity.

Aang and his Chakras: I'm fascinated by this guru. I hope he comes back. That brings the total number of people who were alive before the war started up to three: Aang, Bumi, Guru Patik.

I'm impressed that the run through of the Chakras rarely felt like an info dump. The onion and banana juice thing didn't work for me, but I'm sure it worked for people in the target age bracket. Kids love burp jokes.

So many shows sprinkle in tragic backstories for flavour and then never have them influence the character in the present. It was a nice contrast to see a show take a whole episode to tell Aang "yeah all that sucked. It's ok to feel down about it. Here's how you move forward."

Sokka and his dad: Love it. Love it so much. I love seeing Sokka built up, and he definitely deserves it, but I wonder if this is the reward for a character arc well done, or the set up for a character arc that's about to start? Is his dad's praise his prize for crossing the finish line, or is it so he's built up with farther to fall?

I loved seeing more of the Southern Water Tribe. I loved the fashion. There's a lot of variety in accessories and variations on a few basic elements like those knee guard things. I loved their hairstyles. I loved how cozy and communal that command tent felt. I loved their ships. I wonder how often these guys work out, that they can make loading ramps that are presumably deployed and stashed out of the way frequently, out of whole logs rather than planks. I have a bone to pick with the child-friendly sea mine. But it provides a good set up for a dad joke, so I'll let it slide.

Zuko and Iroh: Of course the one time Zuko is allowed to be in a good place, it's so that he and Iroh both have farther to fall when the inevitable happens. Poor guy just can't catch a break. I'd be mad at Azula for the party crashing that I'm assuming she'll do next episode, but it's been established that Zuko has all nice things taken away from him as soon as he gets them, and I can't blame Azula for being a tool of the universe.

Azula & Long Feng: Azula's acting in Long Feng's prison cell was miles ahead of what Long Feng was doing in front of the Earth King, so I'm wondering if Long Feng has bitten off more than he can chew. Also: conspiring with the enemy to bring down your own city just so you can reinstall yourself as the power behind the throne that will presumably cease to exist as soon as the Fire Nation takes control? That is both treasonous beyond description and an incredible case of shooting yourself in the foot. What's Long Feng's plan here?

Toph and the Dunderheads: it says something about the consistency of Toph's characterisation from her introduction onwards that she breaks the universe this episode and my reaction was "that's neat." It's obviously a huge moment, but of course Toph can do that. Toph can do anything. More importantly, Toph knows that Toph can do anything, so Toph routinely does do anything, especially things she shouldn't be able to do. If you had asked me a few episodes back which character would be most likely to fundamentally redefine bending, I would have said Toph, since she's already fundamentally redefined bending with her earth sense sonar vision.

Also Toph just breaks stuff. Things that come into contact with her cease to function as intended and instead function as Toph requires. Look at the two idiots: both successful business owners, one also a successful hoodwinker of the richest family around. But they come into contact with Toph and their brains take an extended vacation.

Katara & the Generals: this plot was more like an extension of Azula's plot than its own standalone thing. You can't blame her for spilling the news about Zuko and Iroh to someone she honestly thought was Suki. Not much else to say about it, although it's cute that she asks for a table for two at the tea shop. Momo gets a chair!

I like that there's a theme this episode of things going wrong despite the best intentions. No one's acting maliciously here apart from the Antagonists. The Earth King is having an honest chat with people he thought were friends. Sokka vouched for people he honestly thought were the Kyoshi Warriors. Katara shares information about a presumed threat with people she honestly thought were her allies. You can quibble with the wisdom of some of these decisions, but there were all done with good intentions. The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry and all that. It brings to mind that Star Trek quote about how you can do everything right and still lose. And this set up is going to hit harder when whatever goes wrong next episode happens. And something will go wrong. A few months ago I figured that the Season 2 finale would be a triumph, but all signs are pointing towards a tragedy instead.

This episode was visually stunning, the soundtrack in the Air Temple sections especially was very evocative, and I applaud the minds that could juggle that many plot threads at once without dropping any. This one is definitely going on my rewatch list.

[the-air-nomad]

A wolf's love

You've known Sokka since you were little. Your father was the chief of another southern tribe and also a close friend of Chief Hakoda. Also, your grandmothers were friends in their youth. 

You were a waterbender but you discovered this shortly after Kya's death so you decided to hide this ability. After the men left for war, your father left you in Kanna's care.

 You became very close to Sokka, and Katara often laughed at your childish love for her brother. Sokka, on the other hand, adores you and has dreamed of you two getting married since childhood. 

When Sokka and Katara brought Aang to the village you were skeptical but then you agreed with Katara hoping that you would be able to find a waterbending master. 

You convinced Sokka to come with you telling him that you need someone strong to protect you. 

When you arrived on Kyoshi Island, you and Sokka argued for the first time since you met. It was the first time you noticed how misogynistic Sokka really was. Sokka begged Suki to teach him to fight and even agreed to wear traditional Kyoshi clothes. You, Katara and Aang laughed but at least you weren't mad at him anymore. 

Then came the meeting with Jet. Sokka will never admit to you how good he felt when he noticed that you also thought there was something wrong with that boy.You helped Sokka save the village.

The visit to the North Pole was a nightmare for you. The brothers found out you were a waterbender and were upset that you didn't tell them sooner. Katara soon gave up her upset being happy that she is not the last waterbender from the South. Sokka was extremely upset, first you lied to him and then you gave up on him to spend time with his sister. He won't admit it, but the fact that he wasn't a bender hurt him a lot. He decided to try to make you jealous by approaching Yue. But things did not go in his favor. After his kiss with Yue from Spirit Oasis, you decided to give up on the idea of ​​a relationship with him.

 Katara could no longer bear the horrible condition her brother was in, so she told you about his plan from the North Pole. To give Sokka a taste of his own medicine, you started flirting with Zuko. Katara thought you were a perfect match for her brother due to your extremely great talent for making plans (notice the sarcasm, please). You and Toph found Sokka's silly jealousy hilarious. 

Sokka was absolutely crazy, what did that fiery head have that he didn't?!

 During the Siege of Ba Sing Se you and Sokka finally confessed your feelings for each other. Sokka was happier than ever but that didn't last because you were seriously injured and lost a lot of blood. You've been unconscious almost as long as Aang. In that time Sokka was completely destroyed. He felt like his life was over and he swore that when you woke up, he couldn't imagine you wouldn't, he would do anything to protect you.

 When you woke up Sokka exploded like fireworks. Even though you felt horrible, you struggled to give him a big smile. After that, things started to go downhill. Sokka had become inhumanly possessive and protective. You tried to talk to Katara and Hakoda but they told you that Sokka acts like this because he doesn't want to lose you like he lost his mother which made you feel like a terrible person.

 When you arrived in the Fire Nation, Sokka followed you like a shadow. At Hama's inn he slept in the same room as you. When you found out that Hama was from the Southern Water Tribe something clicked in your mind. You asked if she had known your paternal grandmother. Her eyes widened when she heard your father's name. It seems that Hama was your grandmother, Sokka's grandmother's friend. That didn't make Sokka calm down and he almost attacked Hama with his sword when she tried to hug you. After Hama was arrested Sokka consoled you saying that you don't need anyone else when you have him.

After Zuko's coronation you and Sokka returned to the South while Katara and Aang had to stay in the Fire Nation. Although Sokka's protectiveness still bothers you, you were extremely happy when Sokka asked you to marry him.

But as heroes never have a simple life, your story has only just begun.

Although I do not own the characters from avatar the last airbender, this work belongs to me! I sincerely hope you liked it. Please rate it and leave a comment! follow me to see my next posts! 💖💖💨

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[bunthebreadboy]

i saw a fanart on pinterest when i decided to change my entire phone theme and i can’t get it out of my head.

the art was just after the zuko and ozai agni kai. zuko was knocked out, iroh was getting ready to take him and leave, and azula just came in and said “i took care of it”. if anyone knows what i’m talking about and has it saved or knows the og artist pls lmk!!

anyways. it got me thinking about an expansion of this au (that i will never write because i have neither the patience nor the time to do that) that (unsurprisingly) results in disasterlesbian!azula

so hear me out on this one. there would need to be an entire plot. like. what’s aang going to do??

azula killed ozai by electrocuting him. it’s the first time she discovers her lightning bending. it looks like he had a heart attack in his sleep. (don’t get too wrapped up in the details. azula’s a prodigy she can be overpowered for a bit)

why did she kill her dad? she’ll swear up and down that it was because “he really should have picked on someone with a better fighting ability than zuzu. honestly, it’s stupid he didn’t lose his honor after frying my pathetic firebender of a brother to a crisp.” it’s actually because she kind of sort of loves zuko. she will NEVER admit that.

iroh becomes fire lord, albeit a bit reluctantly. he spends the next three years attempting to end the war, stop the spread of propaganda in the fire nation, and deal with his niece and nephew bickering all the time.

so aang comes out of the iceberg. meets katara and sokka. katara convinces him to take her to the north pole because he’s the avatar, he still should probably master all four elements war or not. all of the traveling is the same (except zuko chasing them) until they get to omashu and king bumi is like “what’s up my dude, welcome back. we’re recovering from a war, so you should probably learn politics and how to not offend anyone while you master the elements!!”

(“there was a WAR?!?!!!” -aang, probably)

so now aang does a deep dive into all of the nation’s politics while also training. katara doesn’t really attend his meetings, but sokka’s a total nerd and is sat for every single one. first is waterbending at the north pole. insert canon things but add in a meeting with arnook.

this is where we introduce the REAL enemy, because the enemy can’t be the gaang attempting to learn international law at 12, 14, and 15 years old. during the full moon someone assassinates the moon spirit! (sorry yue, i love you but you still die in this au…)

so after mastering waterbending the gaang heads to the earth kingdom. they meet toph and she joins. they head to ba sing se, which, after trying to talk politics with the king, they realize is still completely unaware of the war. while in the earth kingdom, we get a name for the big bad. the dai li. after realizing that ba sing se is basically a military dictatorship, the gaang escapes and head to the fire nation.

that’s where zuko, azula, and iroh get reintroduced. aang and sokka consistently come back from meetings with the royals complaining about “oh my god, the princess is such a bitch. seriously, how is she allowed to help run this country??”

katara eventually goes with the boys to a meeting to get them to shut up. toph makes fun of her for being a people pleaser, but katara will do literally anything to get her brother and best friend to stop yapping about the same topic at her every. single. day.

azula (disaster lesbian) doesn’t say a single word throughout the entire meeting. sokka and aang walk out feeling like they were in the twilight zone. katara shows up to more and more meetings. why? definitely not cause the princess is sort of kind of somewhat cute intriguing.

insert azula’s gay awakening crisis here. she eventually starts talking at the meetings, but she’s only ever nice to katara lmao. katara does realize that azula’s an actual genius, though. she decides that the two of them could probably like, take over the entirety of ba sing se in a day if they tried hard enough. but of course that is purely hypothetical.

so one day a meeting gets interrupted by a literal dai li assassin trying to kill aang. he barely escapes the resulting fight.

so the dai li send more assassins. and even more assassins. until finally zuko gets fed up and is just like “alright i’m tired of dealing with these guys. can we please go kick their leader’s ass??”

that is how azula and zuko end up joining the gaang. and how azula can eventually lay siege over ba sing se (even if she reluctantly gives it back when katara tells her to).

—

other misc key points:

- azula and katara get together right before they fight with long feng. it happens cause katara notices that azula is nervous (nobody else would be able to tell) and so she’s like “zula. you’ve got this. we’ve got this” and kisses her lmao

- toph and azula are best friends, to katara’s obvious dismay

- the second azula calls zuko “zuzu” in front of sokka he immediately starts rolling on the floor and laughing. katara has to make sure his lungs are okay afterwards

- zuko: “im literally not gay??” sokka: “yeah, and toph can see”

- toph regularly comes back to wherever the gaang is staying with bags of money. she knows how to find every single illegal fighting ring in the world.

- this is a loooooong term plot. since there’s no reason to worry about the comet it can take place over many years. which also means that katara and azula literally pine for each other until they’re like 20 and everyone around them, especially (and surprisingly) aang, is like “oh my god make it stop”

[ladyloveandjustice]

I felt like my faith in humanity was dying reading the tags on that Atla poll. Half of the hero team and one whole villain squad were women ffs, during a time when most shows still had on designated girl slot on the team, or maybe two for tomboy and girly girl.

"Being motherly is Katara's whole character" I see, I see

Wanting to master waterbending -> being a mom

being fed up with her own slow progress and lashing out -> being a mom

stealing back a cultural heirloom in spite of the consequences -> being a mom

taking on two waterbending masters and defeating one with their own technique -> being a mom

standing up for the oppressed and exploited -> being a mom

ecoterrorism -> being a mom

suggesting a kiss between herself and Aang and being offended by his idiotic reply -> being a mom

having big and impotant battles in all three season finales -> being a mom

lmao about the ecoterrorism you're so right and she was so right for doing it.

Yeah there was a tag that Katara's entire character was "being a Mom and her trauma" which again, I think it just straight up misogyny disguised as feminism. I've never heard anyone say "all there is to Zuko is his trauma" despite the narrative spending so much more time on him grappling with it.

Why is it when it's a female character, having trauma and exploring that trauma is a bad thing? Katara's pain and anger and hatred and grief is just as important as a male character's, but instead it gets dismissed and used as a point to get her. When it's a male character, it's "complexity" but when it's her she's a stereotype. The fact her trauma was taken seriously, that she got mad and wanted revenge and was terrifying when she attempted revenge in a way that was usually reserved for male characters is actually really important to me! There are so so many male characters that have this kind of trauma and it makes them cool and angsty and badass.

(lmao now I'm imagining someone saying "all there is to Batman is being a dad and his trauma". Why have we never heard that. god the misandry).

That's all there is to her character? Like what about her staunch commitment to justice and desire to put herself on the line to help anyone in trouble without caring about the consequences? What about her constant stubborn rage and desire to challenge the establishment? What about her resistance to sexism and willingness to challenge tradition? Her tendency to hold massive grudges? Her desire to make fun of her brother every chance she gets? Her passion for honing her waterbending and commitment to her craft? Her desire to fight and get better at fighting? as you said, her intense jealousy when Aang catches on to waterbending better than she did, to the point where she lashes out at him (she's clearly momming him there SUCH a Mom)? Her anger at her father for leaving her and her brother behind? I could go on.

"she and toph are not as complex as aang and zuko" no you just care about them more. Skill issue. (love how poor Sokka gets left out).

TBH I do think "The Runaway" exaggerated her motherliness (and in framing her as a wet blanket. she LOVES having fun and committing crimes. Though you could argue her concern there had to do with the gravity of what they were about to do and the possibility of getting caught, which is what she emphasized rather than it being "wrong" (i mean it was wrong. but Katara didn't seem to care lmao). if anything it was ooc for Sokka to be so into it considering his earlier commitment to the schedule and previous disapproval of theft.) But it also made the point she was very much forced into this role at a way-too-young age as a result of absent parents.

And she, notably, RESENTS that. One of the first things we learn about her is she resents that! She screams at Sokka that she's sick of keeping the family together, sick of doing his laundry, that how she's treated is sexist...it's not something she enjoys, and that makes sense! in the Big Joel comments I saw a lot of comments related to how she's parentified (using that specific term).

I don't think her love and protectiveness of others falls under being a mom, btw. There are plenty of times she acts as a peer to the others, or is even the immature one in the situation. Especially in the first season, where Sokka really had the role of the wet blanket (he was kind of parentified too, fandom just doesn't really focus on that. It just manifests in a different way because he was asked to be "the man of the house". His early sexism, his need to be in control, the way he often chides Aang and Katara for goofing off, his (sometimes very justified) paranoia about things going wrong and hyper vigilance about protecting the group and keeping them on task ,those are all things that partly come from thinking he has to assume a parental role imo). It is an established part of her personality but every time she looks after someone or holds the team together is not "being a mom".

If you want to see a Katara that's entirely defined by her trauma (her anger left out) and relationships with men, just go watch the netflix show or the movie. You'll notice the difference!

Well i just really went on a rant there. But I do deeply love Katara and she's my favorite and fandom misunderstands her so much. As much as I was talking about the atmosphere of 2005, I think there's something much more insidious about dismissing female characters but dressing it up as "feminist critique".

[waterfire1848]

For the AU-Ask: Azula joins the Gaang-AU :)

Hello, @subterraneanwatcher! Thanks for the ask!

Azula joins the Gaang during BSS when her coup fails (because it always irked me how the Dai Li just went along with Azula) and she needs a way to escape as does the Gaang. Now that the city is controlled by Long Feng, neither the Gaang, Azula's team nor Iroh and Zuko can remain there, so they're all forced to flee on the most awkward bison ride in history.

The second they hand, Azula is ready to murder Aang. Both because she knows she can't return to her father empty handed and also because she's having a mini version of her breakdown (she's never failed before so failing this great on such a large scale is a blow for her). A fight ensues until the two groups finally agree to a truce for the time being while both of them figure out what to do next.

The Gaang still have to head to the Fire Nation because of the invasion and comet which is when Azula gets an idea. She knows Aang has a good heart and, because of that, he'll take pity on a "down on her luck" princess which means he might accept her if she asks to join their group. Then, when the invasion happens, she, Mai and Ty Lee can just betray the Gaang and they're already be back in the palace. It's a perfect plan. The Gaang doesn't trust them one bit but Aang is more inclined to see the good in them so they let them tag alone until they reach Fire Nation borders.

From BSS to the Fire Nation, it's a looooooooong flight, so you know what that means. Bonding moments! Mai and Toph start talking more and more because they realize that they come from pretty similar backgrounds after Toph makes a remark about her mom (still reeling from the whole fake letter and attempted kidnapping thing) and Mai agrees with her. Ty Lee and Aang bond because both of them would be the people who constantly need to move and stretch their legs so they get to talking on their little walks or when they decide to do a little climbing (Ty Lee teaches Aang a couple moves from her time at the circus). And Azula remains with, who she considers, the three most dangerous people here, minus Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Iroh. Of course, sibling stories begin with Azula and Zuko going back and forth between embarrassing childhood stories which is both hilarious for the other three but also makes it clear that these two siblings did once have a good relationship. And, of course, Azula and Katara training together moments.

By the time they reach the Fire Nation's borders, they're not friends but they certainly are closer than they were before. Everyone is ready to go their separate ways until Ty Lee finds a poster during one of her walks that says she, Mai and Azula are all traitors to the Fire Nation and working with the Avatar. Azula, of course, has a mini panic attack but calms herself down by reminding herself of the plan. Her father will surely forgive her when she brings the Avatar, her traitor brother and uncle right to him, right?

(Just some mini headcanons) - The first member of the Gaang Azula fully trusts is Appa. The first human Azula fully trusts is Sokka because they get into such heated debates but he's also oddly the most comforting person to Azula. Recently joined the Gaang!Azula is exactly like her beach self, a bit self conscious and really awkward but trying her best. Azula does not understand the team being so powerful but hardly using their bending, it's just such a big contrast against Azula's reasoning. Katara is the one who teaches Azula how to do her hair (an old Azutara headcanon of mine but I think it works here). Azula still refuses to share her sweets with the Gaang and this had led to more than one argument between her Aang and Momo.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://www.tumblr.com/allnewalldifferentwildspider/748862622231838720/the-reason-im-so-vulgar-in-regards-to-aangs

What a bunch of bullshit.

"He makes no effort to get to know or understand her" they're literally traveling the whole world together - and their original reason for doing that was because he wanted to help her go to the North Pole to learn waterbending, something which means a lot to her. Just because the writers didn't think the audience was stupid and needed a scene of them sitting down and telling each other a list of their flaws, qualities and motivations, doesn't mean their relationship was shallow.

"We get the MALE GAZE from him" Wow, he thinks a pretty girl is pretty. What a crime.

"He doesn't try to find out what happened to her mom" he didn't have to, she fucking told him basically right away. Complaining about that is like complaining he never asked if Sokka was her brother, even though one of the first things Sokka ever said to Aang was "And this is Katara, my flying sister"

"He always gets surprised when she's mad about something" Aang, the naturally cheery person, is pretty much ALWAYS surprised whenever ANYONE is angry, because that's not an emotionl he usually experiences much. Doesn't mean he doesn't get her - and I say this as a very grumpy person.

And ya know who else gets surprised at Katara's anger all the time? Zuko. The guy that sent an assassin after her group because Katara had to bring Aang back to life after Azula killed him - which only happened because Zuko helped her when Aang and Katara had her cornered.

Funny how things are only bad when Aang does it, but totally okay when Zuko does them in VERY different contexts that obviously paint him in a negative light for good reason.

"He hates the food and culture that she loves so much" Disliking a culture's food is not the same as hating said culture. We only see him talk shit about the Water Tribe's hunting culture once: in the Bato episode, in his friends are accidentally shutting him out of the conversation because they're too excited about being reunited with someone that is basically family. A 12-year-old throwing a tantrum is not the same as him being openly racist. Ya know what IS racist though? Zuko supporting his nation's attempt to genocide the water tribes.

"He doesn't respect her boundaries and kisses her twice without her consent" ONE poorly timed kiss is not the same as him forcefully holding her in place and kissing her, or even asking first then going for it anyway after she said an explicit no. And Katara visibly enjoyed the kiss during the eclipse episode, and was basically cuddlying with him on Appa afterwards.

"He keeps trying to talk for her when she's angry" You mean literally the same thing Zuko did in Southern Raiders?

"He expects her to do the work for their relationship... but he also makes wild assumptions about them being an item already... but he also wanted to talk things out with her to make sure he got it right..." I don't even need to tear these apart, the OP did it for me by making their arguments contradict each other. How kind of them.

"Aang wants the beautiful image of Katara. He wants that pretty face, those big blue eyes, that body, those long legs, those hips, the chest, and the hair that is just so manageable" While Aang is attracted to her, he NEVER mentioned a single one of those things, ever. The hair thing was literally MENG being insecure about her own hair. If you wanna simp for Katara, go ahead and do it, there's nothing wrong with it, but don't act like Aang only sees her a piece of meat.

"He has no interest in the complex, strong, hurt, angry, and caring person that Katara actually is" Ah yes, that's why he doesn't cheer her on when she's fighting Pakku, or helps her with the Painted Lady thing because he admires her compassion, or tells her she gives him hope, or calls her sifu, or accepts that she won't kill Yon Rah but also won't forgive... oh wait, he did do all those things.

"I'm calling it like I see it" Too bad you need glasses and refuse to wear them.

"Aang doesn't actually like Katara; he's just really horny for her" Considering your random description of why she's so hot in a post that has nothing to do it, all while ignoring her agency that used to choose Aang, I'd say that's more likely to be an accurate description of YOU than of our protagonist. Sorry, just calling it like I see it.

[cienie-isengardu]

The Last Agni Kai is my top favorite fight in the ATLA because of the music, colors, choreography and the tragic sense of two siblings forced to battle each other but I’m still not sure why Zuko and Katara needed to confront Azula instead of being part of team Avatar in the final, the most important battle. Like, I get it thematically, as Azula and Zuko had their own storyline to resolve and so on, but from the perspective of in-universe events? Taking the title of Fire Lord would mean nothing, if Aang was killed by Ozai and the man returned to Fire Nation as a winner against Avatar, leaving Zuko and Katara on enemy territory all on their own, to either fight to the last breath or flee. 

Azula, as just crowned Fire Lord, was not that big of threat at that moment because ATLA takes place in a world that has limited long-distance communication and it was not like she had an idea what was going on with Ozai or if he was attacked by Avatar or not. She was far away from Earth Kingdom and would not be able to travel fast enough to aid her father, no matter how much she would want to do so. She would need to learn first about her father’s defeat to plan revenge or counterattack - what gives the White Lotus & alliance forces some time to plan the next step. With Ozai defeated, Zuko could come back to challenge her for the throne the same as he did originally. And even if he died during the final battle against Ozai and/or Ozai’s forces, there is still Iroh with a legit claim to the throne, right? Not to mention the psychological blow to Fire Nation’s psyche, if Avatar came to Fire Nation with their dead or depowered “great” Fire Lord.

And sure, Zuko taking throne with Avatar’s support wouldn’t put him in the best light, considering how his people were raised on imperialism and propaganda, but let’s be real here, his original regime was too controversial for the sole fact he left his country to aid Avatar and his future politics were aimed at peace and repairing damage done by Fire Nation across the world. On that matter alone, coming back to face Azula with the whole Gaang at his side won’t change that much.

My problem with how Zuko and Katara were sidelined on a different mission is not just the whole Iroh’s hypocrisy of I can’t fight my brother ‘cause history will remember it bad but you definitely should go fight your sister for the Fire Lord title. It is just the disappointment we didn’t have a chance to see Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Toph and Suki united like the Old Masters, all different elements in harmony, benders and non-benders supporting each other and together defeating the common enemy; the new generation all here for Avatar so their friend could focus on his task. Dunno if I make sense, but I truly wish that our young representatives of all cultures were there together, as there should be Zuko - firebender - standing against the corruption and deprivation of once honorable Nation, the same as Katara (waterbender) should be allowed to partake in mission alongside her brother, as they together went against the world since the first episode. 

Like I said, I love The Last Agni Kai, but damn, we were robbed of Gaang’s final battle against Sozin’s Legacy. Because we have never(?) truly seen them all together at the same time in full battle? Shame. Just shame…

[ao3feed-zukka]

Golden Child

Read now on Ao3 at https://ift.tt/nGCA5gr by generationriot In the palace, Zuko was the banished prince. A disgrace to the Fire Lord and Fire Nation, honorless and cowardly. But beyond those walls, to the people themselves, Zuko was their hope. Hope that this war would end soon, that their futures would be more than ash and war. His eyes and fire, bright as the sun itself, were the symbols of the new era. The citizens of the Fire Nation had always loved Zuko more than they feared Ozai. ~*~ Zuko is banished and realizes that his father is a liar, they aren't bringing prosperity to the world. They're destroying it and everything that makes it beautiful. He spends years playing his part, secretly working with the rebels while "searching" for the avatar. He never expected to actually find him, but when it comes down to it Zuko knows what choice he'll make. After all, a little treason was good for the soul. Words: 3858, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: M/M Characters: Sokka (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Aang (Avatar), Katara (Avatar), Toph Beifong, Momo (Avatar), Appa (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar) Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar) Additional Tags: other people show up but they aren't as important, Good Zuko (Avatar), Zuko-centric (Avatar), Sokka-centric (Avatar), POV Sokka (Avatar), POV Zuko (Avatar), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, POV Alternating, Protective Zuko (Avatar), Zuko Joins The Gaang Early (Avatar), The Gaang Learns How Zuko Got The Scar (Avatar), Hakoda Adopts Zuko (Avatar), eventually, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Big Brother Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Disaster Sokka (Avatar), Obvious Sokka (Avatar), Oblivious Zuko (Avatar), zuko commits treason for kicks, Good Azula (Avatar), Protective Azula (Avatar), Azula and Zuko Have a Good Relationship (Avatar), she's still crazy tho can't front, Yue & Zuko Friendship (Avatar), Yue Lives (Avatar), fuck Zhao lives, Zhao Being an Asshole (Avatar), as usual, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Maybe - Freeform, The Fire Nation Loves Zuko (Avatar), Everyone Loves Zuko (Avatar), zuko: a true prince of the people, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, sokka thinks he's adorable, Badass Yue (Avatar), Sun spirit zuko, kinda sorta, like yue, ish Read it on Ao3 at https://ift.tt/nGCA5gr

[badplacetohaveagoodtime]

I used to lean more towards Zutara than Kataang bcuz when watching the show, I always saw Aang more as Katara's younger brother, although even I saw that he had a kiddie crush on her at some point. Also, 14 y/o x 12 y/o feels a bit weird. It's not that big of a difference, but 14 and 12 is a bigger difference than 30 and 28, for example.

ALSO: Older Kataang definitely looked more natural than younger/series Kataang.

Anyway, when actually watching the show I wasn't actually rooting for any ship, I wasn't paying attention to that at all I think, but I never do bcuz I just don't find it the most interesting thing in a movie. Romance always feels like less important plots, b- or c-, or even lesser plots, even in romance-focused movies, I'm still more focused on the drama surrounding them most of the time.

So anyway, my point is that when I finished the show and eventually got into fanfiction, I leaned more towards Zutara and (idk what the ship name is for) Toph x Aang.

Then I got into Zukka and Zukki and Kazula etc etc and you get it.

But tbh, right now, I am actually leaning more towards Kataang. At least in the fanfics, I never read Zutara and usually read fics with Kataang in the background. They actually feel better, more emotionally on the same level than they used to. I think that seeing small, cute panels from the comics (from post-series canon) helped, too.

And then I obviously ship Zuko with Sokka (and sometimes Suki) like a rational human being. They're cute asf.

Idc if ships are not canon bcuz like I said, I don't pay attention to the romantic developments in a book/show/movie unless I'm reading fanfiction that I usually choose to read partially based on the romantic plot(s).

[yikes-kachowski]

Hiii! I dropped by on accident and found out your avatar headcanons and OCs so so nice

I gotta ask a few curiosities of mine if that's cool? *takes out a notebook and a pen*

- since katara and zuko are a thing, did it make their friendship with aang weird or was he cool with it instantly? And how did it even began for them? Did it followed the show's events? Did Aang even got a crush on Katara?

- What happens to Azula?

- How does all these next gen kids react when Korra shows up? Is it weird, is it fine, is it all the same? I mean, they all knew the previous avatar and he was pretty much their family and all. Tho I think them having their own lives also mean it's not that much of a deal?

- Is Katara still one of Korra's teaching masters?

- Sokka's kids get along?

- Does Tenzin and Bumi eventually get okay with each other?

- Korra still loses her connection to the past avatars and therefore Aang? Do they even talk, like he did to Roku and all?

- do you have any other headcanon or change of other characters from tlok or tloa that you mind sharing? like, a plot from tlok that you think it could be better improved or discarded, or something that happens on your universe and you haven't talked about yet?

Sorry for this such a big of an ask, i really REALLY liked these ideas you had (and your art is also amazing and so awesome and pretty too 💞).

heyyyy anon! sorry for the late reply, i hope you still see this.

First of all, thank you! I love genuine interest in my stuff I never expect it. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy and clever. ALSO thanks for complimenting my art! i'm a slow artist so my blood sweat and tears (mostly tears) are in every drawing !!!

onto answering your questions to the best of my ability:

1) Aang is completely cool with Katara and Zuko's relationship. He's basically their biggest shipper :) He did have a crush on Katara (and Zuko tbh), but he was able to let it go pretty quickly. As the Avatar, after the war he was almost too busy to even be sad about it. Overwhelmingly, he was just happy for his friends

Also, Katara and Zuko get together after the war, when Katara's about 17 and he's about 19. Katara goes to the South Pole and they fall for each other through letters and short visits.

Most show events aren't really taken out for me. Just really the kiss right at the end.

2) Azula has a redemption arc. I like to think of it as being a redemption arc she herself is hardly aware of. She just thinks she's really in the long haul of fooling the gaang into liking her. Her redemption arc starts immediately after the war because Zuko keeps her safe in the palace.

Aang becomes her friend first and encourages everyone else to give her a chance. Sokka provides an outlet for all of her older brother issues, since she and Zuko have an awkward relationship. And Katara is tutored by Azula in Fire Nation etiquette and history so she's better equipped to be Fire Lady.

sorry if this is confusing, but believe it or not this rambling all makes sense to me.

3) Korra is very important to the next gen kids, aang's kids and the zk especially. Her arrival is in the middle of great political conflict that never would have happened if Aang wasn't murdered, so they're eager to get her in on the Avatar business.

My idea with Aang dying so young, is that all of his business is half finished. His kids didn't get real closure for their relationship. So Bumi, Yelaan, Palkyi and Tenzin all have complex feelings toward her. Bumi's in particular are very intense.

Being around Korra FEELS like being in his father's presence, which is hard for him. He doesn't want aang to have been a good person or a good father because then he'd really have to miss and mourn everything he was gone for. but this is a lot and hard for me to say so

the steambabies also need Korra and consider her central. They watched their parents' reactions when Aang died (particularly Zuko), and that has affected them deeply. Sakari has been advised to always follow the avatar, so she's happy to have guidance. Besides, she hopes the Avatar will restore and era of peace since she worries for Bumi and Akiak.

Akiak has changed since Aang died, a lot. In ways he's not always proud of. Facing Korra is somewhat hard for him for that reason. Especially since sometimes she opposes some of his methods. He thinks her way of bringing peace is naive.

Tophs kids (and Tenzin to some extent) are the same :)

4) Yes! Katara is one of her waterbending masters. I feel like when you're an Avatar's Master, that's your role for life. She already knows how to train the Avatar. She, Zuko, and Toph taught Korra in the right order, and are old friends with her. Korra has already met the whole Gaang even if she doesn't see Toph or Zuko as often as she'd like

5) I usually choose not to give Sokka kids. I feel like he doesn't want to be a father (even though he'd definitely be the best at it). He and Suki work too hard and have agreed they just aren't super interested in kids. He and Suki are full time Aunt and Uncle to all of the Next Gen. Now, ive made some OCs for asks and I'd say that they do get along :)

6) Bumi and Tenzin's relationship is ROUGH in this story, but yes, they do. It takes a while but eventually they're only mildly hostile with each other. Tenzin helps Bumi reconnect with Air Nomad culture, and Bumi helps him commune with the spirits better. This is jumpstarted by Korra.

7) Korra does keep communication with her past lives! But her path to being a fully realized Avatar is much more difficult. The decision to raise her in a compound was a mistake, and so her growth as an avatar is severely set back. This means, she speaks to her past lives when they reach out to her (and she's in tune enough to listen). Aang is not easy for her to talk to, but eventually she masters it. She doesn't really tell anyone because she's scared everyone will then only want to talk to aang, not her.

8) First of all: for atla, i write very particular cultures and geographies to expand the universe. They affect things in only minor ways for the most part in atla. Also, Aang is trans. I love it too much for it to not be true (if youre wondering how he had kids he made deals with spirits)

Now for tlok. In my opinion, it's very necessary for the different conflicts to not have clear starts and ends. These should all be interweaving conflicts that everyone's caught in the middle of. Not only does this facilitate a lot more character interactions, but it also builds stress and feels realistic.

Mako and Bolin are former triad members and pro athletes, they should be rougher around the edges. Also, Mako would NEVER EVER become a cop after seeing the direct damage they cause marginalized communities. I think that perspective would be very important for korra as an avatar.

Season two plotlines should just be a civil war between north and south. Tbh, I'm not digging all of the subtle ways the north takes over the south, and I imagine the south isn't either. They separated from the north for a reason, and then during the war, the north didn't even help them. The tensions were rising and Aang never came up with a good long term solution when he was alive, and that affects Korra.

Season three's plotline can mostly stay the same except there is no harmonic convergence that introduces new airbenders. The airbenders are the group that they are. They're travelling the earth kingdoms doing peace talks since much of the earth kingdoms don't want to be under ba sing se. Particularly the Si Wong Desert. Aang was in active peace talks when died and was never able to come up with a long term solution.

Season four is also mostly the same except no mechs or spirit nukes.

All the while the equalists are raging on at home.

ANYWAY. thanks for the ask! I hope you see this after i posted it SOOOO late.

See the pattern? Korra must fill aang's shoes while also dealing with all of his unfinished business. Every character serves a unique perspective that helps inform korras decisions.

I dont think these ideas are perfect and the only way to write Korra, but I think they make sense. They help tell a story Im more interested in.

[linnoya-writes]

Kataang “But it’s only a 2-year age difference!” argument

Ah yes.  The amount of times KAs bellow this, along with “...but Katara was a mother to everyone!” can wallpaper my entire apartment.  

Let me deep-dive as to why a 2-year age difference is actually much more significant between a mature teenager like Katara and a carefree kid like Aang, particularly in the universe of ATLA.

The ATLA world isn’t structured like our modern day, where 14/15-year-old girls worry about Algebra tests and Homecoming dates, or 12/13-year-old boys only have to skip down a couple blocks from their junior high to the big-kid school to meet their first crush “forever girl” for some ice-cream and Instagram Selfies after her friendly tennis practice, and French Kiss under the bleachers before her big brother catches them and nearly vomits from Oogies.

Oh no.  The ATLA world is very much a dystopian, post-war world... where children like Katara, Sokka, Suki, Jet, Yue, Azula and Zuko had to forfeit any sense of normal childhood and instead take up more mature responsibilities for themselves and those around them.  Toph even had to learn to be independent and raise herself for survival, despite being the same age as Aang.

What separates Aang from the other young characters is that he actually got to have a normal childhood.  

Aang lived in the air temples, where monks lived in isolation and cultivated their own food and treated living things differently from the rest of the world.  They travelled everywhere, but kids like Aang were shielded from any sense of conflict or confrontation, and they definitely weren’t raised to see the world as a societal, economical hierarchy.  The pre-ATLA AirNomad world raised carefree innocent kids who got to take their time to grow up, because they never had to prepare for a brutal, cruel, unforgiving world where people and creatures they loved could die outside of natural causes.

Aang mastered airbending naturally, and for fun.  It wasn’t to prepare for war, but for his proud cultural heritage.  On the other hand, Katara worked herself to the bone to master waterbending... not for fun... but to fight in a war, to help train the Avatar to end this 100-year-war, and to maintain a delicate connection to her cultural heritage that has all but died out.  

Katara and Aang’s perspectives have been different since the beginning.

And the “2 years is not that big a deal!” argument totally overlooks their maturity gap as characters.

Katara was a girl raised in a remote war-torn village in the South Pole.  She lost her mother in this war and had to internalize that grief for years as she took up more adult responsibilities to help her small village.  By the time she was Aang’s age, she cooked for people, cleaned for people, helped raise other people’s children... and, as seen in the S.2 episode “The Serpent’s Pass,” she didn’t flinch when having to deliver babies out of women’s vaginas.

Katara is 14, going on 25.

Aang, not having been raised in a war, was a kid.  He was that carefree, playful, innocent soul up in the Southern Air Temple who loved games, and recess, and pulling pranks on his teachers.  At the age of 12, Aang still hasn’t had to learn to be responsible in an economical world that functions through jobs, currency, and self-sufficiency (and he’ll probably never have to, since the Avatar title rewards him with free-loading hospitality anywhere he goes).  When Katara someone isn’t willing to cook for him, Aang’s instinct is to dumpster-dive for lettuce, as seen in the S.3. episode “The Headband”.  This is also the episode where, not only is Katara comfortable enough to dress up as Aang’s (pregnant!) mom, but Aang gleefully shows off his grade-school crafting skills with dried-macaroni collage artwork of Ozai-- you know, the kind that children usually give to their parents to proudly post on the refrigerator?  And this wasn’t sweet-innocent doe-eyed Aang from Season 1.  This was kid-emotionally-processing-some-real-world-shit-Season 3 Aang.  His maturity was still lacking.  And let’s not forget that, before the iceberg... the most horrifying thing Aang had to deal with was cleaning his own room.

Aang was 12, going on 8.

Even in the final scene of the show, Aang is still that kid, sitting on the ground and playfully teasing his pet lemur with a toy while the older teens mingle with tea and paintings and critical-thinking games like PaiSho.

The maturity gap was very much present through the end.

And I have a hard time believing Aang even knew what a vagina was, by the time he and Katara french-kissed in the finale. 

Look.  The point is not whether or not Aang did know.  The point is, you, a hypothetical Kataang fan... had to stop for a moment to consider that.

And that’s what makes Kataang weird.

Now excuse me while I grab some more wallpaper glue. :P

[bellatrixobsessed1]

I Am Blackened Bones (Part 2)

Sometimes he looks at pictures of her and his heart aches. Most of the time he thinks that it is his fault. And maybe, partly it is. He is her older brother and he can’t say that he was the best at it. Azula, of course, was no delight to him. Once or twice Zuko swears that she had been, in her own way, trying to connect, trying to be kind. But it always felt short. She just…she never felt sincere. And so he never felt compelled to show her any compassion. He can’t imagine that she would show him any were their roles switched. 

And yet he stares at her portrait. At her perfect, impeccable smile. Not a hair out of place, not a crinkle in her clothing. A far cry from the last state that he’d seen her in. Although he must say that she looked at least a little better. Her face had regained its color and her eyes had lost that odd glint. 

“I think that I should try to find her.” Zuko comments one day over dinner. 

“Who?” Aang inquires. 

“My sister.” 

“Did you already try that?” Katara asks.

“It’s a waste of time.” Mai sighs. “She doesn’t want to be found.” 

Zuko shrugs. “Yeah. Maybe.” The last that he had heard any news of her at all had been two months ago. A fire in a factory then things had been quiet around Caldera City.

“She’ll turn up eventually, she always does.” Mai mutters.

“Usually at the worst time too.” Sokka adds with a swish of his fork. 

But she doesn’t. Not in the month to come nor the month to follow that one. And then Zuko would get swept up in politics and duties and a vacation or two. He doesn’t know it now, he has absolutely no clue, but it would be another four years before he’d think to look for his sister again. 

While he eats his supper, his sister enjoys her fifth day of fire.

.oOo.

As many things do, it begins as only a vague cause for alarm. A subtle sense that something is not right. The kind that she would readily dismiss if she hadn’t experience to tell her that some of the worst fates have come in the wake of tiny inconveniences. 

Her little itch is a hole. 

This minuscule blank spot in her mind.

It used to be a memory that occupied that space. 

A useless fun fact to be precise. 

She can no longer recall how tall the average komodo rhino grows to be. She remembers that she had a phase as a child. She had a stuffed toy that father had won for her at a sun festival. She remembers the jingling bells tied to the stall. She also remembers the smell of spicy sausage links and the sound of their sizzling. She remembers tugging on father’s sleeve and asking for one. He had gotten her two since it was her birthday. And then she got to ride one of the komodo rhinos—its name was Kenzo. She held her stuffed komodo rhino, nibbling on its horn until father reminded her that doing so was unbecoming, and that big girls didn’t chew or suck on their toys. Lu Ten came home the next day and he had fashioned some armor for her toy. For his efforts and troubles she had prattled on and on about real komodo rhinos. She could list off everything that there was to know about komodo rhinos; their horn length, their average weight, what to feed them, and how to saddle them. She still knows these things. All of them except for how tall they grow to be. 

She sits upon a large rock, lightly beating a fiery fist against a flaming forehead, as though she can knock the memory back into her mind. But no matter how hard she tries she can’t seem to fish it back out of that hole. And so the blank space remains, small but seeming to gape all the same. 

Azula rubs her hands over her face. Not that she can call them hands anymore. They look more like twigs on the end of a branch of a smoldering tree. At first she thought that she was looking at bone…her bones. But no, her arms have a very distinctly woody texture and spines to go with it beneath all of that fire. Her ribcage on the other hand, is very much still bone and it is displayed openly with her flesh burned away from it. In place of guts and throbbing bits, she has a belly full of fire. A belly like a furnace that never stops raging. She doesn’t know what her face looks like, she doesn’t want to. But she imagines that it is no longer pleasant to look at. Perhaps it is hollow and skull like. Perhaps her eye sockets are empty of eyes. But how then, would she see? She knows that she has a tail, it is long and rigid and spiny like her arms. It bares likeness to a hardened lava floe, complete with cracks, glows, and occasional pops of sparks. It warps around her when she is feeling dread—an involuntary motion from an appendage that she hasn’t learned to use. It is wrapped around her now. It has been wrapped around her since her transformation. 

Azula, for all of her intense warmth, shivers and trembles. Not for the first time in her life, she doesn’t know what to do. But for the very first time in her life, she hasn’t even a semblance of a plan. 

Most of the time she finds herself wandering, occasionally stopping to catch the attention of a spirit. But when she begins to ask her question, only fire and smoke spouts from her mouth. Her words are weak, her voice soft and lost beneath the fire’s roar. 

And so the spirits slink or dash away from her, terrified of the power that she hadn’t meant to unleash before them. 

She is no closer to uncovering the how and the why. Possibly the who. Which spirit had done this to her? Or had it been the universe itself? Had she done this to herself? She thinks that she might have—with some help of course. The last of this gaggle of spirits flutter away. 

But she cannot weep for the fire steals her tears before they are shed. The feeling is still there constricting her chest. Azula is terribly sad and this time she doesn’t think that she can salvage anything at all. 

And so she wraps her arms around herself and carries on. 

Lost…

Lonely…

Suffering…

[juminsswife]

my thoughts on Netflix's ATLA live action

As an adult who watched this show growing up and was there for the countdown to the comet (iykyk!!) I have thoughts!

Best: Zuko. angsty, teenage boy depression, father issues, determined to a self-destructive degree. The actor is great at capturing all these facets of Zuko's conflicting, complex character. Really great with the choreography/martial arts too. Its not easy to pull off Zuko's mostly shaven but with a ponytail haircut, but this actor manages it. And yes, the opening scene with him seeing the beam of light from the iceberg and saying, "Finally." did give me some chills. Honestly the actor just captures Zuko really well. Great casting.

Worst: Katara. has the personality of an elegant yet unassuming well watered house plant. Its more because of the writing than the actress… she's doing her best with this depressing egg whites version of Katara she's had thrusted upon her. It's not going to be convincing when Toph comes along next season and calls her sugar queen.

Aang: never has any fun. spends every episode staring into the distance being sorrowful and melancholic. *teardrop rolls down cheek* he is a depressed 40 year old in the body of a 12 year old. He has no fun side to him anymore- an important side for a 12 year old kid to have! Also spends the entirety of season one (you know, titled "water"!) and doesn't learn a lick of waterbending, not even from Katara, who spends a lot of it learning from the waterbending scroll!! Why??? However the actor is doing a great job and I think he captures Aang's essence really well. He is young and I think next season he will improve a lot.

Sokka: I almost forgot to write thoughts down for him, which I think says more than anything else. He's essentially been boiled down to the same old overprotective big brother, but now he comes complete with daddy issues. It's a little hilarious that Katara's worst memory is watching her mom get burned alive by a firebender soldier while Sokka's is hearing his dad say he's disappointed with him. Kind of ruins the moment tbh. They really took all the fun aspects of the main Gaang and dulled them down completely, its sad. At least he's cute though- and imo, the chemistry with Suki's actress was there.

The previous avatars: every single one meets Aang just to berate & yell at him and tell him he shouldn't have friends and where has he been for the past 100 years without giving him a second to speak. What?? Sadly it seems any dignity, grace, or wisdom the previous avatars had in the original, has been completely wiped out in this live action. Also, this idea of them telling Aang about things that are going to happen makes no sense. Did no previous avatar tell Roku his friend was going to betray him, let him die on the island, and start a 100 year long war? Also the idea of Aang being able to communicate ONLY if he's in one of their temples is stupid. What is the point of the avatar state, then? Will Roku be able to teach him anything at all?

Princess Yue: yes I wrote an entire paragraph about her lol. She is one of my favorite minor characters. I think they wanted her to look so accurate to her original counterpart that she just looks too much like a cosplayer, with such a stiff and lifeless looking wig. This is the one and only time I will concede I prefer M. Night's version of Yue as far as costuming goes, though both funnily enough forget her eyebrows shouldn't be dark. The actress was fine. But this version of Yue is quite a different person from og Yue, I can't really compare. Plus, it feels like we see her for a good 10 minutes before she dies for the moon spirit. I couldn't buy into her and Sokka having feelings for each other because it felt like they knew each other for a good 2 hours at most. Ideally, I think these two versions kind of fused together would be perfect.

Azula/Mai/Ty Lee: Grouping them together because. Azula is the most unconvincing out of the characters for me. I don't buy that this girl is supposed to be the princess Azula for a second. I'm neither intrigued nor intimidated, and that's pretty bad as Azula was one of my top favorite characters from the original. The costume is fine, the wig feels cheap, her dialogue is horrendous, the actress can't convince me. Azula isn't smart or cunning, sharp, or collected, and her "working with Zhao" just made her look dumb when the entire plan flopped. She is a whiny, petulant little girl stamping her feet in every other scene. It's not for me. Also, the way her relationship with Ozai is depicted here makes Ozai look like a loser, too. It's like they want us to not be afraid of either of them.

As for Mai and Ty Lee. Ty Lee is fine. She looks okay, the actress is fine for how little we see her. On Mai, the wig is just so bad I don't get what happened. It's like they're struggling on the line of being realistic with the styling, or leaning completely in cartoon-character-came-to-life. I don't think the actress for Mai here was a good choice.

Dialogue: the worst part of this show. When they're not completely quoting word for word from the original, it's.. just bad. Everything is always exposition and thats not good. The few moments that aren't are just... idk.

CGI: not bad. I was expecting worse. Fire, earth, and air all look great. Water feels a little slow, mostly when its just water and not ice but that can be improved I assume. Koh was pretty cool, as was Wan Shi Tong.

Settings: Beautiful!! Omashu looked great. South and North water tribes looked great. Ozai's throne room looked incredible and I was annoyed every time we see it, he is just standing around and not sitting on his throne. It just reminded me how amazing the buildup to Ozai and Azula's reveals were in og season 1.

Costume: Its either a hit or a miss. There's strangley not much in between. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Iroh, June, Ozai, Jet, Suki, the Kyoshi warriors, all look pretty great. Then you have characters like Azula, Mai, or Yue, who just look like half decent cosplayers. It kind of takes you out of the moment when it looks like the person is a cartoon character, rather than just a normal person. For example, compare how Katara looks compared to Azula.

Music: of course it was fantastic. A lot of it (I think most) was from the original show, which has one of the greatest soundtracks an animated show has ever had imo.

Final thoughts: Ultimately, it was kind of what I was expecting. You can't condense 20+ episodes worth of development into 8 and expect it all to flow perfectly. However, there are also a lot of changes that really don't make sense to me. I am very curious to know how on earth they will do seasons 2 and 3, as season 1 is the slowest in pace compared to the next two seasons. The original's finale was split into four episodes! Unless they add more episodes for next season, it's going to be a big jumbled mess of lore being shoved into our faces. I am also concerned about Toph. The Gaang so far has been stripped of their fun/unique personality traits. Is Toph going to be the same?

[bendingmuses]

@heirscrchd wanted me to talk about this scene from the comics. This bot long, so bear with me. Cause I have thoughts.

So, a bit of backstory for those have not read the comics. The gaang, minus Toph and plus Azula, are in search for Ursa (Azula and Zuko's mom). They had just fought off a spirit wolf that spat moth-wasps at them. Everything has calmed down after that and Zuko and Sokka are taking first watch (because they don't exactly trust Azula). While Aang meditates, and Katara and Azula sleep. Azula has fought them and ran from them to try and get ahead of them. So they need to be careful.

Azula is shivering, it's a wonder she can sleep at all. Especially while her mind is essentially attacking her in her sleep. Which is terrifying to think about. That you can't trust you own mind even when sleeping. But then Sokka asks that question: "After everything that's happened, you're still gonna let her sleep with her hands unbound?"

Which, come on Sokka. Let the girl have some bit of dignity. It's probably really uncomfortable to sleep bound up. I know she's messed up, but you all have a common goal right now.

Then starts my favorite conversation in the comics. Ever since his own redemption and rise to Fire Lord, Zuko has been willing to give Azula chance after chance. He desperately wants a connection with his family, and he's willing to make questionable decisions to get there. Including bringing Azula along on this mission, and trusting her to not run off or go against them. He wants to believe that his sister is capable of being and doing better. Just like him and Uncle Iroh. That she can learn from her mistakes and come out of it a better person.

I mean, just look at the scene that made him want to search for his mother in the first place. A speech about how the way a dignitary treats their family is a good indicator of how they will treat their nation. Which, in Zuko's case, is a far cry from a good sign for the future.

Zuko is unsure and questioning. He just wants his family, and as great as Uncle Iroh is, he also doesn't want to disturb his peace in Ba Sing Se too much. He's trying so hard, but maybe it would be a little easier to be Fire Lord if he had his family at his side. At least, as much of his family as he can get.

But back to the original scene in question.

Not only is this just a really cute moment between Zuko and Sokka, but we get to see more of Sokka being a caretaker for Katara. We get to see the good side of having a sibling, and so does Zuko. And I love the parallels here. Two big brothers that just want to do right by their little sisters. Granted, Sokka seems to have a better grasp of it than Zuko does, but can you really blame him? Zuko and Azula were pitted against each other all their childhood. It's kind of hard to fight against something so ingrained in you from a young age.

I mean, just look how soft Sokka looks caring for Katara. I love them so much, and would kill for Zuko and Azula to have something similar. Though, I know it's a far cry from what we'll probably ever get in canon.

"Seem's like you're getting the short end of that stick," Zuko says when Sokka compares throwing witticisms at Katara like she throws snowballs at him. Zuko is so used to comparing himself and his life to Azula's that getting the short end of the stick seems foreign to him. He was always striving to be equal at least equal to Azula. Which seemed impossible until he finally accepted his destiny and learned what true firebending was. So, he doesn't quite understand where Sokka is coming from, but he wants to. He wants that type of relationship. Where they're not constantly fighting to outdo the other, but instead just to tease each other. To be somewhat normal and have stupid little arguments instead of life-threatening ones.

Lastly is such a cute and sweet moment from Zuko. Putting a blanket over Azula so she won't freeze. Which, to most, it doesn't seem like much, but it is. Zuko during the war would have never thought to do something like that for Azula. He would have let her freeze, because if she's so great and smart, then she can figure it out. Which comes from a place of resentment and insecurity. Not that he's becoming more secure in himself and realizing how much damage his father actually did to them, he's starting to resent her less and less. Does that mean he necessarily trusts her? No. What it does mean is that he's willing to not just see her as just her war crimes and terrible behavior towards him. He's willing to look at her as the victim she is, but also hold her accountable for her actions.

In the end, Zuko wants Azula to do better. He wants to have that relationship with he where they can actually be friends. In his core, he really does love his sister. He just needed to be able to separate her from Ozai for him to actually start trying to express that. After all, I think he fully believed the institution was supposed to help her. Until he realized that it was doing more damage than good.

What I'm saying, is let Zuko be a good brother. That's all he wants. He wants to do right by Azula, and now Kiyi. Just like how he wants to do right by the Fire Nation. Because if he can rebuild his broken family, then he can rebuild the Fire Nation. To him, they are kind of one in the same.

[theowritesfiction]

'Sokka's Master'

Have we ever had a Sokka episode on this show before this? I can't remember one. Such disrespect to our boi. It's about time he got some spotlight.

It's interesting how even though Sokka has on some occasions displayed defensiveness about being the only bender in the group, this is the first time where we see him actually feeling down because of it. Perhaps it is because of the increasing power of the group's benders that Sokka feels more and more left behind. And that's understandable because the way Katara, Toph and Aang worked together to put out the meteor caused fire was very impressive.

Katara knowing just how to cheer up her brother really does make her the best sister ever. I can't stop gushing about how amazing she is to suggest this shopping trip to Sokka. Also, I can't get over how shopping is Sokka's favorite hobby. I love the Water siblings. <3

I'm trying to think of something meaningful to say about Sokka's training with Piandao, but all I can really think about is Sokka's endearing and infectious enthusiasm. Sokka approaching Piandao's tasks from his own unique Sokka angle... yeah, that's our boy. Unorthodox is the word for it. Even Piandao quickly warms up to him.

I like the touch on how the rest of Gaang really miss Sokka and just feel incomplete without him. Katara trying to be funny will never stop being funny to me. <3 And shut up, Aang, it's not like you've ever made me laugh, you have no room to criticize Katara. 10 Jerk Points. The Gaang rushing Sokka and hugging him, and Katara being so affectionate and even Toph blushing - it's just nice to see that Sokka is so appreciated.

Swole Iroh? Yeah, okay, whatever. I don't know what to say about it, other than that it's a thing. I really wish we'd have a more clear perspective of where Iroh's mindset is at, and what exactly is he working towards. It is clear that from the very start of the show, he has had the ability to interfere in the events more directly and make a difference, but instead he has made this decision not to do so. And because I have to guess at his motivations, one of the unflattering explanations is that he relies on teenagers to fight his battles. Is Iroh that much of a sucker for this obnoxious 'destiny' trope? Is this really the 'you're a wizard, Harry' moment? I mean... probably?

I don't know how to feel about Sokka confessing being Water Tribe to Piandao. Isn't he the big 'keep your mind on the mission' guy? This seemed like putting his feelings above the mission moment, but also like... I get you, Sokka. Just go easy on Katara when it's her time for a side-adventure.

So, the White Lotus way of teaching is to put kids into dangerous and deadly situations, I guess. But fair enough - Piandao isn't Bumi. I think he was in control of the situation, even if Sokka was scared shitless. Does Piandao deserve some Jerk Points for this? Eh... I don't know. I don't feel like going quite that far. I still don't like the White Lotus, though.

Jerk Points for Book 3:

Zuko - 290 Aang – 90   Hide - 80 Sokka, King Kuei - 60