#and bumi technically

[paintedpatroclus]

katara (:

[the--firevenus]

Actually make myself cry to sleep just imagining aang hold baby bumi for the first time ever and he cries cuz it's his son, his boy, his baby boy in his hand, a family he start with katara is real and they are with him and and —

[the-beacons-of-minas-tirith]

Aang: yeah I know there’s two jings, positive jing and negative jing

Bumi: actually there’s a secret, third jing

[yiangchen]

.

[sundry-whovengerslocked]

so I had a Big Brain Moment...

had this been done? I don't think it has

there's so much more I couldn't fit. so much more. feel free to expand on this (or make it look better)

other things:

since avatar is based off of Asian culture technically zuko also helped save China

all could be seen as an lgbt allegory

mulan and zuko both fighting for their honor (why didn't I think of that sooner, it's so obvious!)

atla had the kyoshi warriors and mulan fought with a fan

atla and mulan both had a strong woman having men to do drag

all have fairly recognizable voices

all at some point had talking animals (mushu, aang's sleep deprivation hallucinations scene)

zuko and mulan both had pivotal hair cutting scenes

all of them being physically different than others in some way (po being the only panda at first and being made fun of for being fat, mulan being a woman warrior, zuko and his scar) (this along with other things fits into the lgbt allegory idea)

badass old men (iroh and bumi, oogway and shifu, the emperor)

po and mulan both meet flower symbolism (the peach tree vs the cherry blossom tree)

atla and kung-fu panda both have turtles/tortoises as wise figures

mulan and zuko both wear badass clothes

all underdogs who eventually earn the respect of pretty much everyone in their stories

zuko and po both being the comic relief at some point

zuko and po both joining an already well-established team and feeling left out at first (the gaang, the furious five)

shifu and iroh both essentially losing a son but in wildly different ways

lotus symbolism (po's birth name being little lotus, iroh's white lotus group, again the flower blooming quote for mulan)

mulan and po being bowed to by someone higher up than them (the emperor, shifu)

[your-mom-friend]

Does anyone else ever think about how insanely OP and also politically powerful the Gaang is

Like Zuko is the FIRELORD and also one of the last people to ever be taught by the original fire benders, the Dragons

Toph is part of the Earth Kingdom aristocracy, and it’s been shown they have power, but she’s also one of the only people taught by the Badgermoles and also INVENTED METAL BENDING

Aang is the Avatar but even before taking on those duties he was the favoured pupil of the Air Bending Master of his time, Monk Gyatso, plus he was taught by the ORIGINAL Lion Turtle how to take away a persons bending.

Sokka is the eldest child of the Southern Water Tribe Chief, which technically makes him the heir, the equivalent to Yue. With that he’s also worked with some of the best inventors and is one of the best strategists in he show

Katara is also technically an heir for the SWT, again on par with Princess Yue. She’s also been taught by some of the greatest Waterbenders ever.

Plus they’re all casual friends with insanely powerful people. King Bumi, Chief Arnook, Uncle Iroh, Master Piandao, among others that I can’t name off the top of my head.

They achieved world peace yes by defeating Ozai but also because no one worth their salt with any knowledge on current affairs would even begin to try to mess with these insanely powerful, insanely connected teenagers.

[paragonrobits]

so one thing i've thought about before is how in AtLA, bending without any apparent effort, doing it casually or performing noticable feats of bending with very small movements (and in a similar way, doing it with apparent effortlessness) are all feats of the most powerful and skilled characters.

We see this most prominently with Bumi and Aang; Bumi is the first Earthbender we see fighting extensively, so its technically a misleading impression because a lot of what he does is directly contrary to regular Earthbending; he moves a LOT more, for one, and he famously bends with his face. this is notable because other benders, even those approaching his power, make use of powerful movements that are very showy and easy to see. Besides the fact that a lot of Bumi's feats feel like he's taken inspiration from Airbending in terms of technique, he is so powerful and skilled that only Toph approaches him, and she still doesn't do quite as much as he does with tiny movements. (and to be fair, Bumi is a master that's over a hundred years old, while Toph is 12 or 13, and has learned most of her practical skills either in solitude with the badger-moles or fighting in the ring; arguably a lot of her skills in less combat-centered stuff or finer details in Earthbending philosophy are learned more gradually on the road, and we DO see her doing subtle things like pulling metal around herself in a single movement, making her a very noticable example of this phenomenon.)

However, this begs a question; what does this say about Ozai?

He is very explicitly stated to be the most powerful Firebender in the world; he is very much not the wisest, nor does he really seem able to understand the fine details in Firebending or the control required; both Zuko and Azula perform feats he doesn't seem interested in doing at all, or learning, whether from Azula's fine precision allowing her to produce intensely burning blue fires, or Zuko's skill in doing stuff like manipulating existing fire with less effort and same results as producing it himself.

Its hard to get a grasp on his actual skills because we only see him Firebending a few times (one off-screen when he burns Zuko, another when he generates lightning almost instantly in Day of Black Sun) before the finale, where he is incredibly powerful but explicitly has his power amplified, so the best we can judge is comparing him to other Firebenders who do the same thing. Notably, Iroh seems to outclass him in sheer power (blasting through the walls of Ba Sing Se after a short time to power up, whereas Ozai's fleet fire blasts is not exclusively his doing), and while Ozai can use fire thrust to fly in a limited way that other Firebenders are not shown to do normally, Jeong-Jeong outdoes him here as well by hovering with his flames, achieving true flight and likely indicating a superior grasp on energy conservation, given how Ozai just blasts around, and not doing sustained attacks for the most part.

Bending, in AtLA, at its highest power is closely associated with wisdom and enlightenment. Ozai, on the other hand, is powerful but a staggeringly immature man-child whose vicious cruelty and lust for violence is only equaled by his complete incompetence when it comes to basic common sense. He's cruel, regards all non-compliance as insults on him, and regards his family as furniture whenever they're not actively serving his purposes. He is very much NOT wise.

But we also see him performing this same kind of effortless feat by constantly leaving fires burning in his throne room as a show of power. It's possible that this is standard for Fire Lords in general, or at least has become so since Sozin's time. So what does it say about him that he can do this effortlessly?

The first thought that occurs to me is that in his case, he might have achieved a strange kind of inverse enlightenment in being deliberately blind to anything except his own wants and ambitions. He's deliberately unaware of most things that the genuinely wise care about and can't conceive that he might be wrong or even be unsatisfied. This tracks with his ability to generate lightning, in that its required to be calm of mind, and yet both he and Azula show extreme rage when they feel insulted or have their dignity damaged, which doesn't seem consistent with what lightning bending requires according to Iroh. It might be that both Ozai and Azula, in their general lack of introspection, are superficially calm and are able to use lightning this way, but not as effectively as they MIGHT. A superficial, worldly power that seems mighty but ultimately is a sign of them being chained; a metaphor for everything wrong with the Fire Nation.

(Or in other words, he's achieved a poor man's version of enlightenment by being so goddamn childish and oblivious to any kind of actual insight that he's failed to have a mindset that's counter to Firebending despite lacking the wisdom to do that conventionally and he never noticed.)

The other idea is that the effortlessness he shows is also superficial.

Ozai is a very superficial person; he puts a lot of stock on appearances and doesn't think much about anything past that; by all indications, he was never particularly close to Zuko or showed much interest in him (and its quite likely the same applied to Azula, but his praise of her was interpreted as genuine pride when he honestly couldn't care less the second she was no longer making him look better by proxy), he just wasn't motivated to harm them.

Now, consider the possibility that while he is quite powerful, he's putting on a show to make himself look stronger. He makes it LOOK effortless, but he's going to a lot of trouble to put on a show. Now, this may not be likely (we see him doing a whole lot of powerful attacks in Sozin's Comet without much apparent effort, just a vicious glee) but it also tracks with his character to go to this kind of effort and put in a show just so people don't think he looks less than perfect, which also is a nice parallel to how Azula picked up that attitude.

It also nicely contrasts him against Aang, Iroh, the Air Nomad elders, and other genuinely wise characters who get embarrassed, look ridiculous, have pranks played on them, or get stuck in silly situations and they rarely care or even really acknowledge it. Wisdom, in AtLA, is heavily associated with characters who don't care if they look silly, while its characters like Ozai, Zuko and Azula whose violent defensiveness and hostility towards anyone threatening their pride are specifically framed as unwise, and even childish.

In this regard, Ozai mutilating his child over an act of disrespect by proxy lines up very well with that, and him constantly pushing himself to make a threatening image even when it needlessly tires him and doesn't serve any purpose beyond his own ego or frail fear that someone MIGHT not think he is the most badass thing ever.

[cardboardqueen]

ok so i read The Goblin Emperor recently (absolutely recommend) and it's given me some thoughts about a:tla specifically post canon zuko

he is the very young very new leader of a nation that's very abruptly lost its previous monarch. He's spent the last few years away from court and almost certainly isn't used to using his court manners even if he does technically know them. He's taking the country in a very different direction than his father with bold new political ideas and radical friends. The only heir to speak of is someone he'd really rather not pass the throne to. While he does have some support from his elders he was absolutely Not trained to take the throne and certainly not with so little warning.

sound familiar?

so now I'm thinking of a post-canon zuko fic of epic proportions that goes into as much detail in the world building and politics as TGE does.

Zuko finding a good secretary jesus christ please

Zuko slowly learning how to talk to his cabinet members as an adult, trying to balance being their Fire Lord, trying to be seen as an equal in competency and not a boy king, and acknowledging that he really isn't up to speed.

Zuko learning all the servant's names

Zuko's struggle not to lose himself in the overwhelming force of being The Fire Lord

learning regular teenage emotional regulation but instead of telling your dad you hate him because he asked you to turn the music down you're screaming at your minister of agriculture in front of the whole cabinet and you can't remember why it was important

he was expecting the assassination attempts and even the coups. He wasn't expecting the more subtle attempts to lock him out of his own government

look i know we all love ignoring the political implications of gay shipping, but zuko is absolutely not in a stable enough position to be the first fire lord to get gay married. we're ignoring the opportunities presented by a well suited marriage of convenience. are they co-conspirators in world betterment and shenanigans? does the fire lady get him to take a fucking break for once? is it a slow burn where they eventually fall in love but like, 7years into being married? do they have elaborate arrangements of 'cultural informants' and ladies in waiting that are just a stream of consensual lovers? some options for your consideration under the cut

Yue (in a yue lives au)

most reassuring to an international audience

nonthreatening to a domestic audience

the optics of marrying the NWT princess are great and logical without requiring too many mental gymnastics

has spent her whole like preparing to do something unpleasant for the sake of her tribe and would probably consent to the marriage

politically powerful but a non-bender, very low chance of a waterbending heir

zuko has grown up around girls that could kill him and respects women, the fire nation might be an improvement on the NWT

once she breaks out of her shell she'd be a snark machine

the in world artists would get a kick out of the water/fire symbolism. there would be so many plays and paintings and poems

i understand that her death has symbolic and narrative importance but let me play here

Mai

relatively reassuring to a domestic audience

minimally objectionable to international audiences

marrying into a family that was powerful and favored in Ozai's time would pacify traditionalists without requiring zuko to actually make traditionalist political decisions

Mai can play the court game even if it drives her mad

azula would have an internal fit but they may be able to maneuver it such that it manifests as azula being driven to make Mai the most successful fire lady that ever was

Random Earth Kingdom Noble

afiak neither bumi nor kuei have children. idk what the heir situation is but i know there's an earth prince in alok so idk

'marrying an earth kingdom noble is a very logically and politically sound move' says zuko's cabinet. 'ok' says zuko, 'which one?' chaos ensues

someone tries to propose mai as an earth kingdom noble because her father was governor of New Ozai. the eyeroll is audible

great potential for OC shenanigans

Suki

sokka would throw a fit

potential for lovely zukki ot3 a la many of erisenyo's fics

allying with an important figure from mostly neutral kiyoshi island might translate to a mostly neutral political move and minimize outrage on all sides

she can make very heavy handed speeches about 'if we can forgive him so can you' when the earth kingdom representatives start getting mean

gives her an excuse to stay and keep and eye on zuko (and keep some warriors around to keep an eye on him too)

even if she didn't grow up in court suki is sharp, she'd pick up on the important bits quick and the rest she could pass off as her quaint provincial upbringing

imagine how the fire nation court fashion would respond to the Fire Lady in the Kiyoshi Warrior Gear. the heat exhaustion alone

Toph

objectively hilarious

i don't actually think it fits with her character arc about independence and growth but it's not significantly worse than making her a cop sooo

i really don't ship them so i'm imagining this for practicalities and logistics only but you do you

it would be absolutely hilarious for the bei fongs to go from 'no we have no children' to 'yes we would like to propose that our daughter marry the fire lord' overnight. even funnier if it's toph's idea and she has to wrangle proof that she is actually the heir of one of the wealthiest families in the earth kingdom

relatively reassuring to an international audience

the domestic audience doesn't know what to think. on paper she's a foreign merchant's daughter which is fine. in reality didn't she destroy like 10 war balloons? is that a war crime? she won't stop jump scaring the treasurer?

she'd get a kick out of redesigning all the parts of the palace that make zuko sad

the agni kai arena is now her earthbending practice ground, i hope you weren't attached to those tiles!

zuko's cabinet is free of secret loyalists in a week. toph spends her first month there roaming the halls listening for lying hearts

minor concern of earthbending heirs? she gets a kick out of all the anxiety

toph and azula would be hysterical to see interact. like introducing two cats through a bathroom door. maybe they fall in love idk. they almost certainly fuck at least once. their sparring matches threaten to destabilize the architecture and also the rim of caldera city

[dreamstate4you]

Goodbyes.

Chapter 0.2

After everyone had calmed down and took a breath. The young dancer had prepared some tea and seats of cushions where everyone could sit.

Sokka inspected the tea he was holding hesitant to drink it. Katara was quitely drinking her tea. Aang had not touched his tea. His face seemed lost as millions of thoughts ran through his head.

"I don't understand." Aang broke the silence. " I thought there were no Airbenders left... I- I thought I was the last one."

The young dancer looked sadly at the avatars sorrowful expression.

"Well. The fire nation did Kill all the airbenders a hundred years ago, but my Grandmother left the temples long before that. She was Rebellious. She didn't want to follow the ways of the temple, so she packed her bags and started a life here in the earthkingdom." The young dancers smiled as she recalled the story her grandfather told her. "She was young, reckless and impulsive ,but her actions are what lead to me. The only airbender in our little village."

"Wow, your grandmother sounds like an adventurous person." Katara complimented the girl, as she set her cup of finished tea to the side.

" Thank you... I never got your names." The young dancer asked.

" I'm katara, this is my brother sokka." She guided her hands to sokka's direction. " And this is Aang." She pointed to Aang.

"My name is Venti, but you already knew that" The girl was interupted by a strange young guard calling her to the side. "Excuse me for a moment."

Once the dancer was out katara and sokka turned their attention to the Avatar who hadn't said anything since. The two weren't use to this serious Aang.

"Hey Aang, how are you holding up." Katara put her hand at the back of his back to comfort him.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit shocked. I mean everything I thought I knew is." Aang paused his words. "Is not true."

Sokka finally sipped his tea. The aroma and taste earning a face from him. Somehow it tastes sour and not sweet. He did not like it.

The three stayed in silence for a few minutes not wanting to bother the other ones train of thoughts.

Katara as she was worried about Aang. Aang who had a million questions running through his mind and Sokka who was curious about the lifestyle this woman was living.

"Oh sorry for that." Venti entered the tent in a completely different outfit. It was a fitted luxurious green with fine silk, comfortable for her to move around without worrying about her movements.

Aang noticed the small cloud patterns on the silk, the detail in this outfit must have taken a fortune.

" It seems king Bumi had a plan up his sleeve." The young girl quickly walked over to the three. Holding a little letter in her hand waving it around before she handed it to Katara.

"Bumi knew?" Aang turned to face Katara who was reading the letter.

"Yes. He's been giving refuge to me and my little village. It's all thanks to him that I'm even able to do my performances." Venti started to pack her side bag. The bag contrasted with her whole outfit. Unlike it being green it resembled Aang's outfit. It was a old orange and a dark red. "If you don't mind, we can stop by my village. I'm sure some of your questions will get there answer ,Avatar."

"Just Aang is fine." Aang scratched his head once he heard her call him by his title.

The four exited the tent. Aang leading quietly in the front as he was gathering all his thoughts. Sokka at the back, as he was given a little snack to keep him busy.( It seemed to taste better than the tea ) and Katara in the middle with Venti trying to know the girl better as they kept chatting to each other.

"So we're the same age." Katara laughed. " What a coincidence."

"And I'm surprised you are not the older sibling." Venti commented as they continued to walk to Appa. Referring to how Katara seemed like the more mature one between the two.

"So you are leaving all your stuff here?" Katara asked.

" Yes and No. They all technically belong to the king. I'll only be taking the things I see as necessary."

A loud groan and squeak shocked the girls from her conversation making venti put her arms out in defense ,but they were brought down at the sight of the fluffy cloud in front of her... She smiled.

" A BISON!" she screamed as she pointed to Appa. Running to go engulf the bison in a hug. Appa only licked her in response.

Aang watched as Venti and Appa interacted. A small smile present on his face.

Everyone climbed onto Appa. The Avatar ridding Appa's head as he prepared to take off.

"Yip yip." Aang lightly tagged the ropes to Appa's horns. A small gasp was faintly heard from the Dancer.

Not a second later the young girl crawled on the sitting pad moved closer to the Avatar.

"Avatar, oh I mean Aang. Where did you get yourself a Bison?! And a flying lemur?!" Venti beamed with bright eyes.

" Appa has been with me in the ice burg and we found Momo in one of the Airbender temples." Aang happily answered.

" They are wonderful friends. The people from my village will be filled with joy when they see you and your friends." Venti giggled as she reached out her hand to touch Appa's soft fur.

"Oh right, you must go underneath that mountain arch." Venti instructed.

Appa flew down the mountain arch, darkness becoming more as the sun was almost out of their eye site. The further underneath the arch the more cold and sandy it became.

" Katara, sokka hold onto something." Venti screamed loudly at the two siblings as the sounds of wind started to become loud. Sokka held onto Appa's fur and Katara took the safer option and held onto Appa's seat.  "Aang, get ready to turn left when I say."

Venti kneeled properly on Appa's pad. She held out her right hand and her left supporting her other hand. Aang watched curiously to see her bend. Venti took a short breath in, she focused her bending into one spot and continuously bended more air into that spot. A short silence engulfed everyone as the compressed air was let go. The pressure stopping the wind that was furiously blowing from the front. Aang would describe it as an explosion. It was so powerful that it broke through the sound and nothing was heard.

"Aang now." Venti screamed, But Aang could only see her mouth move hearing nothing.

With one swift turn, Appa harsly turned and colladed with the soft grass, Appa failing to carry everyone after the turn. Aang let out a groan as he looked at the view infront of him. The grass was green and healthy as it could be. Small houses and mini temples resembling those of the eastern and northern air temple. The wind behind them continuing once more to blow. The village seemed to be enclosed in a forest like cave.

"We're here." Venti softly said still lying on the grass with the others.

Before anyone could react, their bodies a were weight down and traped by the earth. Making it impossible for them to move.

"Hey!" Sokka tried to wiggle himself out.

"Rohan it's me! " Venti screamed. An older tanned skinned man appeared from the bushes.

" I know." His dark and gloomy voice bommed threateningly. " But who are these three, did they force you to come here-." The slightly older earth bender couldn't finish his threatening speech as he laid eyes on Aangs tattoos. Zooned out, only to have Appa's loud groan that shakes the ground to snap him out.

The loud noise leading young eyes to run out of hiding. Four young kids ran giggling to the dancer.

" Aunty Venti."

"Aunty your back."

"Did you bring anything with you."

"Aunty is that big cloud yours."

Venti smiled at the kids behavior.

" Venti, what is this?" Rohan asked confused by what he was seeing in front of him.

" I'll explain after you let us go. And after I speak to my mom. " Venti looked at Rohan in the eyes. Soon after, the earth surrounding them disappeared. Everyone stood up and dusted themselves off.

The kids giggle more as they surrounded momo. The poor lemur scared of the eight eyes and forty fingers not giving him a second of a break. The moment momo saw a chance he flew to Aang's side and covered himself with his tail and ears.

Katara softly laughed at his response.

"Come on everyone." Venti called for everyone to follow her. They all walked in silence. Katara and sokka quietly looked around the hidden cave that flourished with plants and gaps of sunlight sunlight and Aang still having multiple thoughts run through his head.

"Mom! " Venti ran to hug the sickly woman who rested comfortably her bed. The two held each other for a little while.  Before the elder woman spoke.

" You came back early this time. I thought I would not see you for another month" The woman said happily to her daughter.

" That's because I found something, well someone." Venti stod up properly. She looked back to the three behind her.

"Aang." She signaled for him to come closer.

Aang walked closer and soon stood next to venti.

" Mom, this is Aang. The Av-"

"Avatar." Venti's mom interrupted midway through her sentence. She recognized those tattoos they were the ones she saw her own mother had when she was little.

Rohan let out a small whisper of 'i knew it' under his breath.

Behind his curious eyes on wonder ,Aang manged to let his voice out. " Are you an Airbender too?" He innocently asked.

"No no. The bending ability skipped me." The elderly woman said soflty." But my daughter makes up for all the years I would have missed. "

" I - I don't understand." Aang shakinly spoke in a hused whisper.

" What don't you understand, young child." The elderly woman encouraged him to speak.

Aang held his voice in for a moment. Everyone quiet not to disturb him. " I thought I was the only Airbender left. The rest of the temple. They- they are all dead."

The elderly woman let out a heavy sigh. " Aang, let me ask you something. Do all flying lemurs eat PincelPert fruit? "

"No-"

" The same applies with people. My mother ,  was an air nomad just like you were. She lived in the eastern air temple ,but she was not happy living her life as an air nomad. So she left everyone she knew to live her life in the earth kingdom. " Everyone listened in silence as the old woman talked. " In a population filled with thousands of people there are bound to be a few who break the rules."

The elderly woman let out a dry chuckle. " I can tell you right now that we aren't the only air bending family out there who survived. After 100 years  there are some of us who hide our bending well and continue to live in harmony with the rest."

"But ,but-" Aang outstretched his hands in a hurry

" I know of the fake refugee camps the fire nation orchestrated. Informing the Airbenders who escaped from the temples that they would find safety ,but all they met was death....Aang, a few of us Airbenders are gifted with so much bending possibilities that you can't even imagine. "

" I thought I was the last Airbender. " Aang hang his head in defeat. With the sudden shift of atmosphere Venti took action. She lightly put her hand on the avatars shoulder to give him comfort.

The atmosphere slightly shifted to a less tense one.

" Now everyone, who would like some steamed buns. Rohan go pack some steam buns for them to enjoy on their journey." The elderly woman gave a closed smile to the earthbender.

Rohan gave a nod to the woman. " And my daughter, you should also be packing for your journey ahead."

" Of course mom- wait what!" The young one exploded with shocks after her mother's worlds reached her.

" M-my journey."  She stuttered.

" Yes, Venti. Aang can help you improve your bending abilities greatly and so can you. You both need each other to complete your Destinies."

"Woah mom. I don't understand."  Venti held onto her mother's hands. Trying to understand what the women was saying.

She smiled at her daughter. "You are destined for great things, freedom, you must not live a life of worry and fear like I did. Go out there. Help Aang restore the balance to the world. Don't worry about us. We will be here waiting for you."

"Aang." She turned to look at the Avatar. "Be patient with her. She was not raised by monks her bending methods are questionable."

"Water tribe." She refers to Katara and sokka. "Welcome her as one of your own."

"Now go. Go. Hurry and finish so you can come back to babysit the kids."

"Mama-" venti hugged the elderly woman. "I promise I will be back as soon as I can."

Venti saw how Rohan was holding a small bag for her.

"I'll take care of her until you get back." Rohan referred to her mother. "Food and all the necessary are in here." Rohan handed venti who looked like she wanted to cry the bag.

Venti mouthed a quiet 'thank you' to the boy before taking a last look at her mom.

"Okay team Aang, Sokka, Venti, katara, momo and Appa." Venti put the bag across her shoulder.

"Let's do this."

.

.

.

.

"That's too long. We need to come up with something shorter." Sokka cringed at the roll call.

"Agreed." Venti lauged in response as they all walked out of the house. Venti waving goodbye at her mom and Rohan.

[im-okay-unless-im-not]

Saw something about korra technically being katara's husband which makes her kya, bumi and tenzin's dad and now I'm mad about them not using it in the show like...?

imagine tenzin giving korra a hard time about following rules or something and she just flips the script on him like 'I've taught you better than that my son' and tenzin gets all red and screams FOR THE LAST TIME KORRA YOU'RE NOT MY DAAD!!!

i just think it would be funny

[princess-of-the-corner]

So, I know you have an AtLa au for Miraculous Ladybug, but do you have the reverse? Like.

(THIS GOT LONG SO)

Aang is Ladybug. Zuko is Chat Noir. Ozai is Hawk Moth. Azula is Mayura. That kind of thing. cause my brain wouldn’t stop spinning this idea around last night, so like. All the random shit I came up with:

- Gyatso, who here is actually an old member of the Order that dipped out cause the Order kind of sucked, actually. He found and adopted Aang. Owns his own bakery. Also does martial arts. Is less than thrilled that his kid was chosen to be the Ladybug.

- half-baked idea that Gyatso replaces Fu here? But like. Still raising Aang. Also, he’s a touch less paranoid? Maybe?

- or, we have that random monk who was supposed to help Aang master the Avatar State be Fu? Or Roku, Roku could be Fu.

- Toph kind of has Corner!Chloé’s Aura Vision. She gets the Turtle.

- Toph’s dad is the mayor. Her mom runs a charity.

- Sokka gets the Fox. The flute doubles as both a boomerang and a sword.

- so like. By process of elimination, Katara SHOULD get the Bee? But. I know I said “Azula as Mayura” but instead, I think Azula should have the Bee & Katara should get the Peacock. Like. Either there’s a swap at some point, or the Bee got lost instead of the Peacock. Bee lost instead is probably easiest.

- You could also do Sokka as the Ladybug, Aang as the Fox.

- Or Aang has the Cat, Zuko the Ladybug. So many options.

- Suki with the Tiger? The Dragon?

- Sokka with the Dragon?

- ZUKO WITH THE DRAGON.

- Zuko with the Dragon. Sokka has the Ladybug. Katara has the Cat. Aang has the Fox. Toph has the Turtle. Suki has the Bee?

- Ty Lee and Mai are here, what Miraculous do they get?

- wait, Yue wouldn’t be dead, she’s here too. The Rabbit?

- Or Teo, the Kid with the flying wheelchair.

- the match-ups are too many.

- … in so many ways, actually.

- no one is straight.

- Zuko absolutely still has the big, F-off scar. It was absolutely inflicted by Ozai.

- Piandao as the school’s teacher, also coach of the local fencing/sword-fighting club.

- Pakku’s the principal.

- Bumi’s the gym teacher.

- Hakoda, Kya, and Bato live together on a boat in the Seine. Katara and Sokka have grown up on the water. I see boat tours, or maybe their job is to clean the river? Fishing? (Can you fish in the Seine?)

- Katara wants to be a doctor. Or therapist? No, Doctor.

- Sokka will probably be an engineer? Inventor isn’t a profession, is it? He’s also the DM anytime they do a D&D campaign.

- Iroh has a roving tea & pastry cart. He’s well known for giving out delicious tea, and sage advice. He has an ongoing rivalry with that annoying ice cream man, who Iroh is CONVINCED hasn’t ever heard of a health inspection, and who he constantly gets into fights with about his supposed “soulmate ice cream”.

- Azulon knew about the Miraculous, spent most of his life hunting for them. Imparted the knowledge and desire into his kids.

- Iroh and Ozai spent a lot of time when they were young adults looking for the Miraculous, but eventually Iroh met someone, fell in love, and had Lu Ten, so stopped caring as much for the Miraculous. When a car accident killed his wife, and crippled his son, Ozai tried to dangle the possibility of bringing Iroh’s wife back, or healing Lu Ten, to get him to help again, and Iroh shot him down. The pair are now quite tense with one another. (other idea, wife dies, so Iroh DOES agree to try and search for the Miraculous, but the resulting search ends with Lu Ten dying, so Iroh gives up the Miraculous entirely)

- (if we don’t go with option two, or sort of combine them) Lu Ten is still around here, he’s in a wheelchair from a car accident. He can TECHNICALLY walk, but it causes him so much pain if he tries for long periods, the wheelchair is easier.

- this is definitely a Team Miraculous Sort of vibe.

- Azula has a heel-turn, obviously.

then, I can’t decide between:

- Ursa and Ozai are divorced, which was a HUGE scandal for Ozai’s company. Ursa took Zuko, and tried her best to get Azula too, but Ozai “Won” that one, so Zuko and Azula don’t see each other much. Ursa and Zuko live with Iroh, who supported them during the divorce. Ursa has since remarried, and had another child, Zuko and Azula’s half-sister.

OR

- Ursa is dead, it’s a tossup whether Ozai killed her or not, but he wants to revive her, so is seeking out the Miraculous. Azula eventually either gets told, or figures it out, but Zuko doesn’t. Ozai’s desire to revive Ursa is less “I miss my wife” and more “How dare you try and get away from me”/Show of power. He’s used the Butterfly for years to make his company blossom, but he wants more power.

OR

- Ursa is either dead or missing, and Zuko lives with Iroh rather than Ozai. Iroh filed for custody after the Scar Incident, but while he managed to get custody of Zuko, he couldn’t get custody of Azula. 

Thoughts, feelings, Opinions? New Ideas?

-

Okay okay okay:

Love the idea of Gyatso taking Fu’s role. I think he wouldn’t choose Aang at first but Aang would get involved later.

Sokka as Ladybug is 100% perfect and beautiful.

Zuko I feel comfortable narrowing down to the Cat or Dragon. I think it kiiiiinda depends on where his mindset is at but we’ll come back to that because I did have Thoughts™ on a S1/2: Atla Edition before so I have ideas on the family.

obvs Ozai has to be Hawkmoth but I think his motives are more pure wanting more power. Maybe add in like. Instead of ruler of a nation he’s just head of a company. The family business he ‘inherited’. Except he’s running it into the ground because he fucking sucks at making good business decisions. I’ll come back to my thoughts on Ursa later.

Toph as the turtle seems like a decent idea, but idk if it fits her right. I think the Ox would be better for her.

Aang with the Turtle though! Both in reference to the Lion Turtle but also how he’s very protective?

Katara has to get involved…. hm. I’m not sure there’s a Miraculous that would fit her. I think having a sibling LB/CN duo could work if I don’t give Zuko the cat. On the flipside the Dragon could ironically work as the ML Dragon is more Water than Fire.

Suki, on the other hand, has so many options. The Tiger if Toph doesn’t get it. I could see her with the Snake (she’s a leader and good strategist in her own right, so she’d do well with it.). Tempted to leave the Peacock on the Heroes’ team and give it to her because ya know fans but idk how she’d handle the Sentis.

Yue 100% gets the Rabbit. Both have Moon Connections™

Azula - I get where you’re going with Bee and that works but she’s also on board for the Dragon. Or the Monkey because she knows the art of Derision.

Ty Lee - BEE. Hands down she gets the Bee. Paralysis motherfucker!!!

Mai - I actually think I’d give her the mouse? Like, her hair. Quiet as a mouse. She’s the one person on this crew with multiple tiny weapons.

I’m bringing Jin back in and giving her the Pig!!

I love how we’re letting most people live lmao. But yeah without a war or spirit nonsense our only options are like. Gang violence? But yeah anyway

Gyatso is being low-key. Idk how exactly he got Aang. Like Aang probably has less trauma in that I’m not gonna be like ‘ah yes he was in an orphanage that was victim to arson’ but like. Does he have parents that he lost and were presumably friends with Gyatso to leave Aang in his custody, or did Gyatso just find an abandoned baby on the doorstep?

Aang could actually have the Adrien plot of wanting to go to school! Like, he was homeschooled by Gyatso for most of his life because while Gyatso isn’t /as/ paranoid as Fu, he’s still a touch ‘let’s err on the side of caution’. But Aang decides he wants to socialize more and school is a great place for that!

I think most of the various leaders are going to be part of the City Council. The Earth King is the City Mayor, and yeah he’s being manipulated by half the council. Long Feng is chief of police ofc. While I have Ozai as owning some mega company rather than directly in politics, he does fund the city to get what he wants and has Mai’s father on city council to essentially be his proxy as he can’t be bothered. Tbh probably the only sane and good council members are Hakoda and Arnook like bruh. The other good but not sane one is Bumi and no one’s sure he’s actually on the council he just shows up to meetings and the mayor counts his vote.

the Kya/Hakoda/Bato polycule? Beautiful. And yes they get the houseboat lmao. You mentioned cleaning the river so I think I’m gonna give Hakoda a bit of a lean into trying to make environmental changes to the city.

Toph’s parents are still rich af. And yes they still both baby her and want her to be this demure debutante when she’s here to throw hands with anyone and everyone. Does trade Earthbending for Magic Synesthesia

Okay now the Fire Royals because let’s have fun with them:

Search for the Miraculous probs started with Sozin. Passed the torch and the company to Azulon.

No idea why Ozai and Ursa married but it probably wasn’t a good reason.

Switching up the stuff with Lu Ten so he’s alive. But he’s in a coma and the doctors know that even if he does recover he’s not going to go 100% back to normal. (he wakes up after a few months. And while physical therapy goes well, he’s mostly in a wheelchair. Can use a cane for short distances if needed.). But yeah while it’s unsure if he’s gonna make it Iroh’s a wreck.

Which leads to a similar to canon thing of Ozai going ‘hey how about I inherit the company instead?’ and then having Ursa kill Azulon. Still similar in part of the deal is her leaving and Ozai tries to have her killed but she disappears too well.

With Ozai getting all the inheritence, Iroh just low-key cuts all losses in the family and  opens his own tea shop. Technically he could retire and live a grand lifestyle, but he likes doing things. So Jasmine Dragon it is!

You know that post like ‘you correct your dad on his zoom meeting so he kicks you out and says you can only come home if you find Bigfoot’? That’s kinda what goes down for the Agni Kai situation. Zuko gets burned and Ozai throws him out. 

Zuko goes to Iroh’s place because he has nowhere else to go. Due to this being  a modern au thing there’s some of a custody battle deal. But like. Ozai  is a manipulative little shit who frames it as ‘oh I didn’t kick him out, he ran away! such a bad kid. If he wants to live with an uncle that coddles him then fine!’.

I’m gonna shift from canon slightly in the sense of that Zuko and Azula never cut contact. It’s easier because they’re still in the same city, in the same school, and have technology. Ofc Ozai forbids it, but while Azula is scared of him the differences in the AU mean that she’s not fully cut off from them regardless of anyone’s wants. (this gets even easier with the Miraculous when they can hang out as Heroes together)

Neither Zuko nor Azula know about the Miraculous stuff in the family history. Because Ozai either doesn’t think they’ll be helpful, or doesn’t want to risk them double crossing him. He does use Azula to set up secnarios for Akumas tho

I don’t know why Iroh wouldn’t go ‘oh a butterfly villain? Probably Ozai being a fucker’.

[clydethesnake]

Icy Waters Vol. I

Chapter Seven

It’s six months before another note arrived. 

Things had been going well in hindsight; Kiko got another job, as well as the one at The Union, so she was earning a little extra money, Bumi had come to visit again, she was having regular healing lessons with Katara, who assured her that she didn’t need any more lessons in combat, and in general, the feeling of eyes on her became a less regular thing. 

She’d even had a rather successful birthday on Air Temple Island with the Beifongs and the Avatar’s family. 

Kiko walks up the large flight of stairs to reach the Air Temple, unbuttoning the top of her black shirt after coming back from work. It had been a busy night, but she was glad to not hear any happy birthdays from any patrons.  

Not that she’s told anyone her birthday here anyway. 

It's a difficult day for the waterbender; without any family to celebrate, she never made it a regular habit to do something. Especially after moving to Republic City. 

However, clearly, someone found out.  

She jumps back like a scared cat, bending some water into ice shards as a weapon as she hears jumbled shouting.  

“Dammit, Bumi! You ruined it.”  

Kiko’s eyebrows furrow, her alarmed expression morphing into one of confusion. Dark silhouettes emerge from the bushes, illuminated by the street lamps dotted along the path.  

She makes out a group of people, led by Kya who is scolding Bumi. Aang has a large smile on his face, Katara and Sokka by his side. Tenzin is also there, standing next to Lin with Toph and Su behind them. 

“What...?” She can hardly mutter out before Katara interrupts. 

“Happy birthday, Kiko!” 

She looks at her best friend with an unamused expression, “Really? How did you find out?”  

Kya turns to Lin, who is standing next to her mother. She has a slightly guilty expression, “I got the Chief to find your file. You know, you’re a hard person to find information about.” 

Kiko's jaw drops slightly in disbelief, “I can’t believe you. That is so creepy, not to mention an insane breach of privacy!” 

“I’m a police officer, and you’ve been arrested in Republic City before; technically, I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Besides, the majority of your file was locked.” 

Kiko’s eyes narrow and she opens her mouth to speak, “Don’t be mad at Lin, she was checking for me.” Katara interrupts, her smile not faltering. 

“Why?” 

“Everyone deserves to have a nice birthday. We thought it might take your mind off everything that is happening.” Kiko stays silent for a moment, her eyes roaming the hopeful faces all looking at her, but Katara carries on, “I made roast duck.” She says in a teasing sort of tone. 

Kiko’s head perks up at the mention of her favourite food, “I suppose I could stretch to having some nice food.” She walks past the group, “But no singing.” 

So, when Kiko woke up one morning, the sunlight muted from the clouds and her sheer curtains, spotting a new envelope on her bedside table, the waterbender was understandably uncomfortable.  

She almost doesn’t want to open it; the threat Toph has given her is still on her mind, if there’s any escalation further than some notes, then you are joining a programme immediately.  

Kiko sits up and throws her legs over the edge of her bed, her head pounding from the lack of sleep she had received the night before. Working two jobs and having healer training is really taking it out of her; she’s hardly ever on the Island now. Katara will probably have me on house arrest after this.  

They had all been hopeful that the waterbender’s stalker has stopped trying to contact her after six months with not a single new note. However, they have clearly decided now that they are done waiting. Kiko can’t help but feel a sinking feeling in her stomach, this is the start of something bad. 

She reaches for the note on her bedside table, hands shaking slightly out of nervousness. It's in the same format as the previous two; a neatly pressed envelope with a single sheet of paper. And the writing, gorgeous copperplate, clearly written with good quality ink.  

Her eyes scan over the crisp piece of paper, a shiver crawling up her spine.  

I’m getting impatient. Reveal yourself or who knows what might happen to your pretty girlfriend and her sister. 

Kiko’s heart is racing and she feels her hands start to become clammy, her breathing quickening at the words. Pretty girlfriend? Reveal yourself? She shakes her head and places the note face down back on her bedside table. Just what am I meant to reveal? Kiko scans her brain for answers to the question. 

They had been close to figuring out who was the one who sent the notes; Chief Beifong had sent the second note Kiko received to be brushed for fingerprints months prior. It had made it to the lab well, but as the evidence was being sent back to the police station, the car carrying it was raided.  

It was the Amber Wolfbat Triad, Toph told her, almost indifferently. There’s nothing we can do. They lost the evidence that day, and Kiko knows that it’s only going to get harder to figure out who is doing this. 

Kiko sits on the edge of her bed, face in her hands. She knew something like this was going to happen. She knew that she had put Lin and Su in danger, and yet, she couldn’t stay away. A little voice is nagging in the back of her brain, you need to cut ties. It has been her go-to method when she gets too close to people, when they start to ask questions about her childhood.  

And yet, cutting ties with Lin seems like an impossible task. 

They had just begun getting closer; her and Kiko were spending lunches together, taking turns in deciding which restaurants they go to when they have aligning lunch breaks. Though, Lin doesn’t need to know that I sometimes take my lunch later just to eat with her. 

It was only yesterday they had visited Narook’s for food that, as Kiko described, was the most authentic Water Tribe food in Republic City. 

Kiko turns the corner on Kyoshi Street, Narook’s coming into view. 

To this day, it’s the most authentic Water Tribe food she’s found in the city, specialising in Northern cuisine. 

Her stomach growls aggravatedly, despite her shift at The Union not being a particularly busy one. Kiko's lips quirk up into a small smile at the thought of being able to share one of her favourite restaurants with Lin. 

However, her smile drops as she notices the earthbender in question already standing outside the restaurant.  

“I see you’ve beaten me here.” Kiko acknowledges, in a slightly teasing tone. 

“The Chief let me off earlier.” Lin smiles. 

“You’re lucky. Boss has been giving me as many shifts as possible. If I even think about leaving early, I have him screeching in my ear.” Kiko shudders, her and Lin walking side by side into the cozy restaurant. 

Lin snorts, “You do know you’re entitled to time off?”  

“I know that.” The waterbender says, a little to defensively, “I just- I'm finally making a little more money and- and I like being able to see something and just say, you know what? I’m going to treat myself to that today.”  

Lin nods, “I get that,” She muses as they sit down at an empty table, “We could always get out of Republic City for a few weeks? Kya invited us to come along with her to Ember Island.” She perks up even more, clutching the menu, “And Izumi would be there! She would love to meet you.” 

Kya had left to travel over the past few months; sending letters from each of the cities she was visiting. The last letter Lin had received was from Ba Sing Se, where Kya admitted to wanting to visit somewhere familiar; Ember Island. She invited the whole group to come, with Bumi even being able to take some time off to come. 

Kiko recoils a little, “Really? It doesn’t seem like you to willingly take more than a few days off work. Let alone a few weeks.”  

“It would be relaxing.” Lin carefully avoids Kiko’s very true words about not taking time off work. 

Kiko shrugs, “We could always ask Kya about it.”  

And that’s how Kiko was roped into going to Ember Island. 

The waterbender sighs at the memory, the pleasant emotions she had been feeling seemingly so far away. Well, I’d better call Lin about this note. 

She stands, pockets the envelope, making sure not to crumple it, and heads to the phone in the living room of the temple.  

--- 

Kiko thought that it would take at least an hour for Lin to make it to the island, prompting the waterbender to head to the gazebo that overlooks the bay, where most Air Acolytes come to meditate.  

She had always hated meditating; staying still in one place for hours was never easy for her. And it wasn’t a common thing to be encouraged in her household, not after what happened to her mother. 

And yet, Kiko found some sense of mind in that moment, sitting in the lotus position and breathing deeply helped her to briefly forget about the chaos of what was happening. Of the stalker. Of her slightly complicated feelings for Lin. Of her unresolved childhood trauma. 

It was all too much.  

But in that moment, the waterbender allowed herself to relax. 

However, after about 10 minutes, she feels a presence behind her. Turning around immediately, she comes to face Tenzin. Kiko gets up, “Need something?” 

She doesn’t particularly have the best relationship with the airbender; knowing that he is practically head over heels for Lin doesn’t help. He's always huffy and grumpy around Kiko, preferring to ignore her existence and live in his own little world where he believes that the earthbender is in love with him. 

Tenzin rolls his eyes a little, clearly not happy to be talking to the waterbender, “Lin’s here. I offered to come and tell you.”  

Kiko raises and eyebrow, “Oh yeah? Willingly talking to me now?” She teases with no real amusement, “Or are you only here because Lin wanted to talk to me?” The waterbender moves close to Tenzin, who rolls his eyes again. 

“She’s in the living room.” He grumbles, ignoring her question. 

Kiko backs off, taking a few steps back before walking past the airbender, muttering a quick thanks. 

What in spirits’ name is his problem with me?! The waterbender thinks angrily, walking through the cobbled courtyard of Air Temple Island. She half-heartedly stomps up the rest of the steps, walking into the living room, where Lin is sitting patiently on the couch. 

She raises an eyebrow, “Another note, you say?” She gets straight to the point, arms crossed. 

Kiko nods almost solemnly, sitting next to her friend, “Unfortunately.” She takes out the slightly crumpled envelope and hands it to the earthbender. 

Kiko watches Lin’s facial expression closely, noticing her eyes widening slightly before she puts on a mask of no emotions, “Who is this referring to?” She points at the words, pretty girlfriend. 

The waterbender’s face reddens a little, muttering out her next words, “I’m guessing that they are referring to you.” 

“What? But we’re not dating.”  

“Yeah, I know that.” Kiko rolls her eyes a little, her tone a little sarcastic. 

Lin decides to ignore the comment for now, “We need to get this to the Chief.”  

“So she can do what? Send it to the lab and get it stolen again?” Kiko asks, her sarcastic tone persisting, “There’s no point, no one is doing anything to help me.”  

“Then join the programme the Chief recommended.” Kiko huffs a little, knowing that it would be the best idea, but before she can say anything, Lin continues, “Why are you so insistent that you don’t want to join anyway?”  

Oh boy... “I just- I guess... I've always had a bit of a problem accepting help from others.” Kiko keeps her eyes trained on the wooden floor. 

Lin is silent for a few seconds, before she hesitantly places her hand on the waterbender’s shoulder, her thumb drawing comforting circles into her dark skin, “I- uh... I’m not very good at this but- you can always come to me for help. For anything.” The earthbender takes her hand away, but is stopped when Kiko catches it, “I- I don’t know if that helped but-” 

“Thank you.” Kiko squeezes Lin’s hand before releasing it. She flops down on the couch and runs a hand through her loosening hair, “I guess we should go to the station then?” 

Lin nods, “I think that would be the best idea.” She replies, pocketing the note that Kiko had handed her earlier. 

It takes 10 minutes for Kiko to freshen up, before they are on the ferry to the mainland.  

Kiko feels a slight weight being lifted off her shoulders at the thought of joining the Zheng Hai protection programme, despite being so against it in the beginning. But, of course, Lin managed to break through her walls and convince her to join. She just seems to have that effect on me... the waterbender thinks, as she looks at Lin’s sharp side profile. 

“Were you at work today?” Kiko questions, taking note of Lin’s civilian clothes. 

Lin shakes her head, “No, I took the day off for myself.” 

“Oh, well, I guess this probably isn’t what you had in mind.” The waterbender looks out to Air Temple Island, watching it get smaller as they get closer to the mainland. She can’t help but feel a pang of guilt at ruining Lin’s plans of relaxing for the day. 

“Hey, what did I say earlier? Don't worry about coming to me for help; that’s what friends are for.” Kiko only hums, her eyes latching catching Lin’s. The earthbender continues, “But, if you’re really that worried... we could grab some dinner after going to the station? It might help to take our minds off things.” Her tone is hesitant, with a hint of hopefulness. 

Kiko smiles, nodding slightly, “That would be great.” 

She is also hesitant, though not in the same way as Lin. Her stalker already thinks that her and Lin are more than friends, and now that she knows that they are back to threatening her, the thought of going out with Lin brings Kiko a great sense of anxiety. What if they decide to attack? The thought makes the waterbender’s heartbeat quicken.  

Kiko hopes that Lin didn’t catch onto her nervousness, but it’s evident by the look on her face that she did, “Is everything alright? Your heart is racing.” She asks, concerned. 

The waterbender looks away from her piercing green eyes, “I- uh- I don’t want to put you in any more danger, is all... the stalker already thinks that we’re dating.” 

Lin’s face falls a little, but a determined look flashes across her features, “I can handle myself.” 

“We don’t know what we’re up against.” 

“I’m a Beifong. And you’re a strong waterbender, I know you’ve been training with Katara.” 

Kiko interrupts, “Healer training.” 

“That only proves my point more,” The earthbender looks a little smug, “Katara knows you’re amazing at hand-to-hand combat.” 

“Yeah, enough to beat you.” Kiko snickers, thinking back to the time they sparred with no bending. 

Kiko stands in the courtyard of Air Temple Island in only her cream-coloured bindings and a pair of navy blue shorts. Across from her, Lin is wearing a white tank top and similar shorts to Kiko in black. The taller of the pair can’t help but risk a few glances at Lin’s strong thighs. 

Lin finishes wrapping her arms and stands with her feet shoulder-width apart, “Ready?” 

Kiko nods, standing in the same position as Lin, “Remember, no bending.” She teases, giving the earthbender a small smug smirk. 

She rolls her eyes, but nods anyway, stalking closer to the taller woman. 

Lin immediately curls her fingers into a fist and throws a punch, going straight for the offence. Kiko catches her fist, twisting the earthbender’s arm and sending a jab to the gut to wind her. Lin doubles over briefly, before straightening up almost immediately and sends an uppercut straight for Kiko’s jaw. 

The waterbender swears under her breath as she feels her teeth collide, feet stumbling backwards as she feels Lin’s presence follow her. Wow, she is really not pulling her punches. Kiko thinks, tasting a hint of metallic blood in her mouth. 

The two agreed not to go easy on one another, excited to be able to properly spar without knowing that they are seriously going to injure one another. They are both on the same level when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, after all. 

However, just as Kiko recovers from the blow, Lin sweeps her legs out from under her, causing the taller of the two to go falling to the floor. She lands on her front, and Lin gets on top of her, wrapping an arm around her neck in a weak headlock, “Yield?” 

Kiko makes a weak attempt to shake her head, but then decides to use Lin’s weight on her back against her, and rolls both of them over. Kiko is now on top of Lin, though the Beifong’s arm still had her trapped in a headlock. 

The waterbender makes use of their position, jabbing Lin’s gut once again with her elbow until her grip weakened, and twists out of her hold. Kiko kneels on her abdomen with no real weight, grips the front of Lin’s now slightly dirty tank top and pulls her up slightly. Her arm comes up in a threatening position, “Do you yield?”  

Lin hesitates for a moment, their eyes catching, before she huffs, “Yes.”  

Kiko smiles, getting off the earthbender and offering a hand to her. Lin takes it, heaving herself off the cobble ground and stands. They shake hands almost jokingly, chuckling to themselves.  

“Want to go get some tea? Katara is making some.” Lin offers, a soft smile still on her face. 

Kiko nods, “Of course.” 

Lin rolls her eyes at the reminder from Kiko, “Yeah, yeah. I was distracted that day, you know that.”  

“Excuses, excuses.”  

Lin gives her an unimpressed look before they both feel a jostle as they dock, “We can take my Satomobile.” 

Kiko nods and follows Lin to her car with a slightly grim expression on her face, “Lead the way.” 

--- 

“So, you’re finally agreeing to join the programme, then?” Toph asks, legs crossed in a domineering way at her metal desk. 

Kiko sighs and glances at Lin before agreeing, “Yes, I think it would be for the best.” 

Toph nods but stays silent. She heaves out a sigh after what seems like an eternity to the two girls, before she motions to the man on her left, who Kiko assumes is a scribe, to get something from one of the filing cabinets.  

He seems to understand what she wants straight away, and immediately starts rummaging through the overfilled metal files. “Take a seat.” The Chief motions to the chair in front of her desk. 

Kiko does as she says, noticing that Lin moves to stand behind her seat. 

“Are you comfortable with having Officer Beifong here while you do this?” Toph asks, gesturing towards where she knows her daughter is standing. 

“Of course.” 

The man in the room seems to have found what he needs, and places it in front of Kiko with a pen. The waterbender mutters out a small thanks before looking over the print. 

Toph’s voice interrupts her again, “Normally, the Zheng Hai protection programme is reserved for important figures, particularly those who have already been targeted. However, considering your relation with the Avatar and my daughter, we will make an exception.” 

“How charming.” Kiko mutters under her breath, catching Lin’s slight snicker from behind her. 

It doesn’t take long to fill out all of the necessary fields of the paperwork. By 2 pm they are done. 

The man standing next to Toph takes the piece of paper from in front of Kiko and files it away again. 

“Thank you.” Kiko expresses her gratitude towards Toph, but also Lin. If it weren’t for her, Kiko probably wouldn’t have joined. 

The Chief only nods, but Kiko knows that she appreciated the thanks. 

The two women leave the office and walk through the bullpen back into the lobby of the station, before Lin is caught by another officer. 

“Thought you weren’t in today, Beifong?” An older man asks her, tone teasing and cocky.  

“Had something to do.” She doesn’t look him in the eye, instead focusing on the people working and milling about behind him. 

“Oh yeah? This girl of yours get in trouble again?” He smirks almost viciously and Lin tries to ignore him, but he just has to open his mouth again, “She seems to be ‘round here lots recently. You into the naughty ones?” He looks Kiko up and down with a wolfish expression.  

The waterbender feels her skin crawl, a slight sense of dread filling her, but doesn’t show her uneasiness.  

Lin’s face goes bright red, but not in the cute, flustered way Kiko loves to see, “Shut up, Lieutenant Keta, you have no idea what you’re talking about.” She doesn’t raise her voice, but her tone is warning. 

Kiko grips onto Lin’s arm as he opens his mouth again, “What are you gonna do about it, Beifong? Cry to mommy?” 

Lin's expression turns to one of anger and she scoffs, but as she’s about to yell at him, Kiko pulls on the arm she had grabbed onto, “Let’s get out of here.” The waterbender’s voice is steady as she walks away. 

“That’s it! Get your pretty girlfriend of yours to fight your battles!” He barks after the pair, and Kiko can see Lin’s jaw clench tightly in anger.  

They get back into the Satomobile, but neither open their mouths. 

That is, before Kiko does, “Does he always harass you like that?” 

Lin hesitates for a moment, “Ever since he got promoted a few months ago, he thinks that he can do whatever he wants.” She rolls her eyes. 

Kiko wants to ask another question, but she knows she probably already has the answer to it, “Why haven’t you told Toph? Or me?” 

Lin sighs, “Because then I’d be playing right into his game; he already thinks that I’m just a spoiled brat who used her position as the Chief’s daughter to get into the academy. If I go to mom, then I’d be exactly who he thinks I am.” 

“Lin- no.” Kiko places a hand on her friend’s shoulder and coaxes her to look at her, “This is bullying, and you need to tell your boss, even if she is your mother.” Lin shakes her head again, but Kiko continues, “I can see that his words are hurting you.” 

“It’s not that- It's- I just couldn’t stand hearing him talk about you in that way. And the way he looked at you... it- it made my skin crawl.” 

Kiko hesitates before wrapping her other arm around the earthbender’s shoulders into a hug. It's a little awkward and uncomfortable because of the fact that they are in a car, but Kiko revels in the feeling of Lin’s hesitant arms circling her back. 

“Please, speak to the Chief about this.” Kiko whispers against Lin’s neck. “You’re not weak, or turning into what Keta thinks you are if you do. You know that you’ve worked hard to get here. Why does some idiot’s opinions of you matter?” 

“Because... it’s what everyone thinks, oh, she’s just using her mom’s position to get here. I know that it’s not true, but it’s not going to change my colleague’s opinions.” 

Kiko shakes her head slightly, her nose bumping against Lin’s neck, “They’re only mad because you’re better at your job than they are.” She chuckles, attempting to lighten the air a little. Lin lets out a small huff of a laugh, “Seriously though... you’re not going to be able to completely change everyone’s views. It's tough knowing that people think these things about you, but you just have to remember that you’ll go further than any of them.” Kiko pulls away from the hug, placing her hands on Lin’s shoulders, “I mean, you’re a Beifong for spirits’ sake!” 

Lin smiles a little bashfully, “You’re right.” She shakes her head and looks to the side, “I- this is hard, but I promise I’ll think about it.”  

Kiko only nods, her mood rising at seeing the cute expression on her friend’s face, “Now, I want that dinner you were talking about. Take our minds off all of this drama.” She sits back properly in the passenger seat. 

“Let’s go.” Lin starts the engine and drives deeper into the city. 

--- 

Hours pass as the two enjoy each other’s companies. 

Lin managed to park her Satomobile on the side of the road somewhere, using her badge as an indicator that she was allowed to, even though she wasn’t on patrol. Kiko teased her for using her position to do that a little, if only to see her flustered expression. 

Between them, the pair agreed on a little Fire Nation diner. It was quaint and had a cozy, homely feel. There were a few paintings of famous Fire Nation jazz singers on the walls, the reds and blacks of their clothes popping out on the walls. Kiko and Lin even recognised a few.  

However, all good things must come to an end. 

They walk out of the restaurant, Kiko holding a small bag, in which she carried some left over noodle soup and roasted komodo chicken. They were both a little tipsy, having drank a few glasses of plum wine between them.  

Lin heaves a sigh as they stand on the pavement, “I think I’m going to walk home. Probably shouldn’t be driving like this.” She has her hands in the pockets of her jacket. The same jacket Kiko had borrowed all of those months ago. 

Kiko nods, “I’m walking to the docks, too.”  

“Just- be careful, alright?” Lin’s eyebrows furrow in concern, and Kiko appreciated that she is not telling her to stay at hers. She doesn’t think that she can risk another note being found in Lin’s apartment. They've already done it once, what’s stopping them from breaking in again? 

“You too.” Kiko responds, smiling before looking around, “I’d better get home; I don’t want to miss the 11 o’clock ferry.” 

Lin nods, “See you later.” 

“See you later.” 

They part ways, walking in opposite directions. 

Kiko feels more than slightly hesitant to be walking alone at night, the hair on the back of her neck excruciatingly aware that someone could be following her right now.  

But there is something that she just needs to do. 

[btheleaf]

More Suyin x tenzin? 🥺🫡

(angst)

TW mentions of noncon/rape, mentions of violence against children

Another day of mandatory training.

Some of the children were old enough to practice on gliders now. Tenzin had been informed as he was pulled from his cell and thrown into a cold shower.

Having children of his own had always been a dream of his. Little airbenders to love and cherish and teach the culture to.

But all of these children wore the green garb of the Earth Kingdom.

They would never know their culture.

They didn't understand that he was their father.

The gliders were made of metal.

Strange, platinum gliders. Spring loaded wings.

So uneseccary.

There was nothing wrong with the wooden ones.

The feeling of the metal had been so odd that during his first flight, he fell and broke the blasted thing. Bataar himself had dragged him back to his cell and beat him for his failure. Suyin made him wait until the next day for someone to pop his shoulder back in. No healing was offered until it became evident that the prolonged injury would interfere with the training of her army.

The shoulder always ached just before it rained.

The cruelty never made sense to him. She knew he didn't do anything to deserve this, and yet, this was his sentence. A lifetime of imprisonment. A lifetime of beatings. A lifetime of his family and friends thinking he did unspeakable things.

Another day of mandatory training.

At least he was out of the cell and not in the bed that gave him nightmares.

The mothers watched, the Metal Clan officers assigned to him watched, and of course, she was always watching.

He did his best to smile at the children. None of this was their fault. They didn't know any better. He hoped that one day, they would understand that he was their father. He hoped that if he instilled loyalty in them, maybe one day he could escape and take them with him.

They were technically half his, each of them from a different woman, or at least he assumed so. He never remembered how they were conceived. The drugs took care of that, but apparently, they were starting to make him impotent. Suyin said that the next time, he would be fully aware.

Coherent.

Just like he was when she or Bataar wanted to have their fun.

She said he would act like he liked it. She said if he cried or spoke out of turn that she would beat him senseless. She said that if he begged for mercy or tried to lie to whichever girl she sent, that she would take the life of one of the children.

The threat wasn't empty. She had done it before.

Once.

Never again.

Tenzin smiled as young Raane climbed on his back, the small child ready for his first flight. He still wasn't sure which woman was Raane's mother. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Some of the women watching were far, far too young to be involved in this.

"Ready?"

"Yes!" Raane burst out in laughter. "Fly!"

"Hold on very tightly."

Tenzin's smile broke as he turned away and lept off the platform. Raane laughed the whole way down and up again. He would make a skilled airbender in no time without the fear of falling holding him back. They did one lap around the inside of the domed city and Tenzin's heart ached for the open air, for the sun, for Oogi. The ache twisted into sickening knots as he thought of his mother's and sister's final words to him. The way Bumi looked at him. The fact that Lin hadn't even been at the sham of a trial.

Raane hopped off his back as they landed, still laughing fiercely. The wind had luckily dried his tears. Suyin couldn't stand it when he cried.

"Who's next?"

Dozens of little voices called for attention.

He had always wanted children.

But they would never know their culture.

The gliders were made of metal.

They wore green clothes.

Suyin made it clear they would never earn their tattoos.

Tenzin smiled and picked up the next child.

Maybe he could pretend, just for a little while, that this is what he wanted.

[yell0wsalt]

For the OTP + Character Ask

Linzin 7, 17, 27

Linumi 5, 15, 25

And dealer's choice - any number and pairing you thing would be fun!

These were really good questions, many thanks!

Linzin 7, 17, 27

7. Who's clumsier?

In the day to day neither of them are all that clumsy. Consider that a product of their bending and training. However, there are instances when Lin might be more clumsy than Tenzin. Have her out of her element doing something she may not be particularly used to and she's on rocky waters so to speak, well, good luck to her 🫡 

Tenzin as a bender is not only self aware of his body/movements, but years of training as an Air bender he is particularly light/graceful on his feet.

If either of them catch a glimpse of the other’s booty, all bets are off and they’re tripping on their own feet.

17. Who is more competitive?

Ooh this one I can see going either way. Lin is blatantly more competitive when they are sparring and things like that. However, Tenzin also has the tendency to take things and himself too seriously. So he’ll make a competition out of the trivial things that don’t matter, such as how well either of their art came out or how much Oogi likes either one of them.

27. Craziest place they had sex?

I did answer that one here, suggesting Raiko’s office out of spite and a changing room in the shopping mall. 

Linumi 5, 15, 25

5. Who is the cheesier one of the two?

Bumi. He’s more expressive with his affection. Pet names, big gestures, PDA… things of that nature. Lin gets embarrassed and acts like she hates it, but she can’t deny that part of her secretly loves it.

15. Who's the first to cry during movies that don't seem sad?

Lin. She’ll be crying happy tears the main character, despite all the trials and tribulations they were put through, were able to get their happy ending. Bonus points if the movie had a found family situation. I can see her internalizing any of the conflicts the characters had in the movie and it ends up spilling over. Meanwhile, Bumi enjoys the movie for what it is and has a higher degree of separation of himself from the movie.

25. (a lil sappy, but..) What do they like about each other?

Lin loves that Bumi underneath all the foolishness he can exude, is actually a genuine and standup guy. He is quite adept when it comes to reading others, and it's helpful that she doesn’t always need to tell him what may be wrong or what’s on her mind. Somehow, he just… knows. He makes *a vague circular hand wave* everything easy for her.

Bumi loves that not only is she a strong and capable woman who doesn’t take shit, but there’s a part of her that would do anything for the ones she loves. She’s not afraid to tell it like it is and he appreciates that realness.

And dealer's choice - any number and pairing you thing would be fun!

I went with 1. Who is the better cook? (Linzin and Linumi)

Lin is technically the better cook. However, I say this meaning that she has a small rotation of dishes she cooks out of a sake of efficiency. But because she is so efficient in the kitchen, the few recipes she knows, she has on lock. 

When she takes time off, she’ll use that time to practice/try something new to swap in and out of her rotation.

Tenzin is not that great of a cook. He is an excellent baker though. 

With their powers combined, they eat well. They try to make kitchen activities a bonding moment for them.

Bumi is actually quite the excellent cook. He’s had to be resourceful and has also had greater exposure to local/traditional cuisines from around the world in his time in the United Forces. He’s gained knowledge on what spices and techniques to use and applies them to impress Lin on occasion.

OTP + character asks!

[dont-blame-it-on-the-kids]

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

Ooooh! Hmmmm can I do not Lin for this one? (I know I know she is technically my favorite but I feel like fandom is all so divided there’s not really a “everyone gets wrong” lmao)

So if I can! (And please let me know)

Rohan. Little man is Not a Bender. And fandom seems to lean towards him being an airbender. But nope. Not for me.

He grows up really attached to Bumi because of it.

[empressofthesunwriter]

Yin and Yang: Book 1.06

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Book 1.06: Imprisoned

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. 

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. 

Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua. 

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone. 

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

***

"Yeah that's it, keep holding it!"

"I never knew air could be....so rebellious!"

"Don't lose your concentration, Hua, spin the air ball, and make it bigger!"

"Make it bigger?", repeated Hua astonished.

She wanted to send a glare at Aang, but all her concentration was fixed on the little air sphere she had created.

Team Avatar-Daimon had left Omashu a few days ago and were on the road again.

While they waited for Sokka to bring them dinner, Hua and Aang trained in airbending.

Katara had Jaiyi on her lap watching them and Appa was relaxing beside her.

"You are doing great, Hua!", cheered her Katara on. "You can do it!"

Jaiyi yipped in agreement and Appa made an encouraging grumbling noise.

Biting her lip in concentration the Daimon tried her best to bend more air into the airball.

It failed spectacularly!

She lost control of the ball and got hit in the face with the air current.

Autsch!

From all around her she heard sympathetic whines as tears shot in her eyes.

"I'm the worst airbender, EVER!", cried Hua, rubbing her hurting face.

Fast Katara was at her side, hugging her, while Jaiyi snuggled up her legs.

"Now, now, Hua, you can do it. It just takes time.", tutted Katara gently. "No master fell from heaven. Aang tell her she isn't the worst."

The Avatar joined them and petted Hua's shoulder awkwardly.

 "A few days ago you couldn't even form an airball, now you can do it, even if it's tiny."

"Thanks, Aang."

Yeah, since being reunited with Bumi and then leaving him, the air between the Avatar and Daimon was weird.

Hua wouldn't say they were friends per se, however, they didn't argue as much as before and Aang finally started to teach her better airbending.

Oh, they still had different opinions on a lot of things, Katara and even Sokka a few times, had to stop them from really starting a big fight, but as she was saying seeing Bumi again had made them both think.

They remember Bumi as this crazy redheaded young boy with even crazier ideas, seeing him as an old man, made it real what had happened to them.

How they had been imprisoned in ice for over a hundred years, how anything has changed but them.

Technical they were both 112 years old, however, their bodies and minds were still the ones of young children.

No one could understand what a situation they were in.

No one, besides their other half.

So, they had formed a kind of truce.

It was...comforting to talk with another how everything was so different, how they missed their old lives and have the person understand it fully because they were right along with them.

Yeah, so not as much hating as before and a bit of camaraderie had forward between Aang and Hua.

Maybe with time they even would call each other friends!

Something a week ago both had thought impossible.

Anyway, for today the airbening lesson stopped, decide Katara.

She put a cold wet cloth on Hua's face to help the light swelling which was forming.

The Daimon gave her her thanks, Katara was so awesome, as Aang welcomed back Sokka and Momo.

The lemur sat beside Jaiyi and Appa chittering away, maybe telling them what Sokka and he found for food.

The humans were eagerly sitting before Sokka as he dug through his back to show them, what he had found.

"We've got a few options.", told them Sokka. "First; round nuts. And some kind of oval-shaped nuts? And some rock-shaped nuts, that might just be rocks. Dig in!" 

They all stared at him.

"Seriously ... what else you got?", asked Katara for the rest of their group.

This couldn't just be it?

How should they get a full stomach with only nuts?

Suddenly the entire earth quakes, surprising the group.

Sokka wonders what this was, as the earth again shudders. Somehow Aang managed to pin-point the direction it came from and all beside Sokka started curious running towards it.

"Shouldn't we run away from huge booms? Not toward them?", calls the oldeste, before he joins them.

As it turns out it's a young boy who is practising his earthbending making all these noises and tiny earthquakes.

The Daimon feels happy to see another earthbender and was all for approaching him, maybe they could share some moves, but as Katara speaks to him, he runs away.

Huh?

Weird.

The waterbender was disappointed she just wanted to say hi, as Aang says that the boy probably ran to a town, which means they could buy food there which wasn't nuts.

The girls were all for a nut-free dinner and followed Aang.

Poor Sokka laments how hard he worked to find these nuts, only to have Momo chittering at him and he admins, yeah he didn't like nuts either.

The town they find is a small mining town, in typical Earth Kingdom colours.

Aang got himself a hat, which he puts on, while Hua frowns.

Her Daimon-Rader was on, making her shiver. She tasted the melancholy and despair in this small town.

What was going on here?

It seemed like a nice cute mining town.

The Daimon couldn't pinpoint, why her Rader was on.

Still wondering what was going on she followed behind Sokka and Aang into a shop, where Katara already was.

Their waterbender had found the earthbender from before!

In the shop was also a woman, probably his mother.

"Hey. You're that kid. Why did you run away before?", asks Katara curious.

The earthbender boy was sweating from his nerves, you could see.

"Uh, you must have me confused with some other kid."

"No, she doesn't.", disagrees Aang. "We saw you earthbending."

The earthbender and his mother gasp in horror and both the door and window to the small shop are promptly slammed shut.

"They saw you doing what?!", asks the mother in a mix of anger and worry.

"They're crazy, Mom! I mean, look at how they're dressed."

This makes the whole Team Avatar unsure about their appearance.

Aang gazes at his conical hat, shifting it about in confusion. Katara awkwardly grasps at her dress, looking with astonishment at herself. Sokka quirks an eyebrow and smooths out his sleeve and Hua fixes the sleeve of her green kimono tunic with a frown.

They all thought they looked fine.

"You know how dangerous that is!", reminds the earthbender mom her son. "You know what would happen if they caught you earthbending!"

Surprisingly someone knocks on the shop door, demanding to open up.

Stealthy Sokka peeks through the window's blinds.

"Fire Nation! Act natural!"

Fast the kids run around the shop to act natural, while Haru's mother opens the door.

The Fire Nation tax collector stares awkwardly at the five children in front of him. 

Haru grasps his chin and stares at an apple in Sokka's hand, which the watertribe boy presents to him like he wants to sell it.

Katara embraced a bowl of berries and stuffed her mouth full of them. 

Hua stands before a shelf on her tippy toes like she is a ballerina, trying to reach a large jar and Aang has his hand atop a barrel, beaming an immense toothy smile. 

His pose is short-lived as the barrel's lid spins, dunking Aang's hand into the barrel of water and causing him to fall down.

Angry Haru's mother demands to know what the tax collector wants since she already paid them this week.

Gleeful the tax collector informs her how the taxes have risen and if she doesn't want her shop to get burned down, she better pay up.

Not having a choice Haru's mom hands him the small money she has in her cash register.

Like he was doing her a great favour the tax collector throws the copper one on the floor and leaves the shop.

"Nice guy.", says Sokka full of sarcasm. "How long has the Fire Nation been here?"

"Five years. Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships.", explains Haru's mom.

"They're thugs. They steal from us. And everyone here's too much of a coward to do anything about it.", adds Haru in rightful anger.

His mother shushes him. He shouldn't talk like that.

Katara wonders why Haru shouldn't help this town since he was an earthbender.

Tired his mom tells her how earthbending was forbidden and brought them only misery. Haru never should use his bending.

This makes Katara angry on Haru's behalf, he has a gift and he shouldn't use it? It would be like to tell her not waterbend.

She asks what could the Fire Nation do to them, which they already haven't.

Defeated Haru's mom replies they could take him away like his father.

You can collectively hear how the hearts of Team Avatar-Daimon break hearing this.

***

A while later Team Avatar-Daimon followed Haru and his mother home.

They offered them a sleeping place in their barn.

It was super nice of them.

"My mom said you can sleep here tonight. But you should leave in the morning.", tells them Haru.

"Thanks.", says Aang to the group. "I'll make sure Appa doesn't eat all your hay."

Appa engulfs a mouthful of hay. The flying bison pauses, turning to stare dubiously toward Aang before continuing to chew hay. 

Jaiyi jumps happily into the hay rolling around, while Momo flies around the barn.

Sokka and Aang enter the barn, so Hua is the only one who notices how Katara and Haru walk away together.

A small smile forms on the female earthbender lips, Haru is really cute, and Katara deserves the attention of a cute guy, even if she feels a tiny bit jealous.

Hua had never preferred one gender over the other, her first kiss had been with a neighbourhood girl when she still lived in Ba Sing Se. It was a cute little romance, which didn't get further after it was revealed she was the Daimon.

As she had told Jaiyi in Kyoshi, she had a tiny crush on Katara, but she knew she had zero changes with the other girl.

Her friendship was enough, even if she would feel a tiny bit jealous of how someone else could be close to the beautiful waterbender.

Other than Aang, the airhead.

His crush on Katara was still going strong.

At least Hua could distract Aang and Sokka to give Katara as much time with Haru as possible.

So she stepped into the barn and proclaimed: "Aang, do you think your marble trick is a good trick for me to learn?"

This started a long discussion between all three because Sokka said they couldn't just start airbending in a barn in a town full of firebenders, Aang mussed and explained how the trick seemed simple, but was actually quite complex and Hua playing her part at being stubborn.

Katara returned to the barn, when the moon was up, and found her friends and brother discussing with each other about who would win a race between Jaiyi, Appa and Momo.

How in the name of Tui and La did they get to this point?

The waterbender raised an eyebrow and saw how Hua winked at her.

Oh...!

Her best friend, because that's what Hua has become in these long weeks they have travelled together, must have noticed how she had taken a walk with Haru and made sure that Aang and Sokka were none the wiser.

Hua thought probably, they would share a kiss with each other, not that Katara would have minden, Haru was cute and nice, but they had just talked and then saved the poor old man from the collapsed mine.

It made her feel warm in the heart that she had someone in the corner, who would have her back.

She would do the same for Hua too.

When all were on their haystack beds, beside Aang who slept on Appa with Momo, Katara told them all about how Haru had saved the old man.

"You must have really inspired him.", mussed Aang, as Katara finished her story.

"I guess so."

"You are great, Katara, you know that?", adds Hua, cuddling with Jaiyi under her blankets.

"That's sweet of you, Hua."

"Everyone should get some sleep.", advised Sokka. "We're leaving at dawn."

This made the others unhappy.

"Not so early again!", moaned Hua in despair and Jaiyi yipped in agreement.

"Dawn?! Can't we sleep in for once?", demands Katara an explanation.

"Absolutely not! This village is crawling with Fire Nation troops. If they discover you're here, Aang and Hua, we'll be eating fireballs for breakfast. Goodnight."

"I'd rather eat fireballs than nuts.", sasses Katara, making Aang and Hua laugh.

"Good one!", praises Hua.

Huffing Sokka turns around, giving them all literally the cold shoulder and a goodnight.

The other three share some more giggles, before Katara blows out their lamplight.

Time to sleep!

***

Sokka really made them stand up at dawn!

Aang and Hua shoot unhappy and tired looks at the older boy, while they help him to back their things.

Katara had stepped out to fill their water pots.

The three were nearly done with packing as Katara stormed back in and shouted that Haru was taken.

The Avatar and Daimon shouted in surprise and worry for their new friend, as Sokka tried to calm his sister down to get an explanation.

Turns out the old man Haru saved yesterday sold him out to the Fire Nation and Katara felt so guilty since she practically encouraged Haru to use his earthbending, it was all her fault!

"It wasn't your fault Katara. You couldn't know the old man was a backstabbing traitor.", tried Hua to make her best friend feel better.

However, Katara was determined to fix this mess by any means.

She would get herself arrested for earthbending and then break out Haru from where he was held prisoner.

A big discussion broke out between all of them.

First how Katara shouldn't enter the belly of the beast alone or not at all, then that Hua said she should go look for Haru since she is the only real earthbender they have.

This was shot down because Sokka and Katara made clear that the Daimon in Fire Nation's hand was bad.

They couldn't lose her when the world needed her and Aang.

So, Katara had to pretend to earthbend.

The plan was actually really simple.

They needed to find a Fire Nation patrol and Katara and Sokka would start a fake fight, where Katara would treat him then with her "earthbending".

Hua and Aang would stay out of sight and Hua would earthbend the boulder for Katara when she heard her que.

Team Avatar-Daimon got themselves ready and didn't have to wait long for a Fire Nation patrol.

As the group of spear-wielding guards approach, Katara and Sokka made a show of walking into one another by their stomachs before emphatically shouting.

"Get out of my way, pipsqueak!", growls Sokka, pointing at Katara in anger.

"How dare you call me pipsqueak, you giant-eared cretin!", shouts Katara back, waving her fist around.

"What did you call me?!"

"A giant-eared cretin! Look at those things! Do herds of animals use them for shade?!"

"You better back off!", then Sokka mumbles to Katara: "Seriously, back off."

But Katara was so in her role that she just yelled: "I will not back off! I bet elephants get together and make fun of how large your ears are!"

"That's it! You're going down!"

"I'll show you who's boss! Earthbending style!"

That was Hua's cue.

From behind the boulder she hides with Aang, she bends the boulder up at the same time Katara over-dramatically leaps toward the boulder, clenching her fist upward.

It should now look and be clear that Katara "earthbends". 

However, Momo had been hiding behind that boulder and had his arms raised, licking himself.

This shows how dumb some people are because one of the guards points at Momo surprised and gasps: "That lemur! He's earthbending!"

Sokka can't believe it.

"No, you idiot, it's the girl!", corrects Sokka waving his arms towards Katara.

Blushing shameful the guard agrees.

So the rest of Team Avatar-Daimon watches how Katara gets into custody and is hopefully brought to the same prison Haru was.

They need to follow them, but before Sokka tells Momo that he has big ears, maybe to feel better about all the comments Katara made about his, which makes the poor lemur coo in protest.

***

Following Katara leads them to a prison island made completely out of metal.

Smart.

Ocean around them and no earth or rock to bend.

The Fire Nation did their homework.

Hopefully, Katara finds Haru and then they can leave.

Well, this is what Aang and Sokka thought, Hua was nervously playing with her hands as they waited for Katara twelve hours passed.

It was again her Daimon-Rader who let her feel and taste the sadness and hopelessness of the prison.

Could they really just take Katara and Haru and leave the other earthbenders<?

This were Hua's people.

As the Daimon she had to protect her people too.

The young girl thought about what they could do to save the other earthbender.

She couldn't let them be.

When it was finally time to fetch Katara, Hua decided to tell the others how they had to save the prisoners.

Aang returned with Katara to her and Sokka and her best friend made clear that she wouldn't leave these prisoners.

Sokka protested loudly.

"I'm with Katara.", she told them. "We can't just leave these people her suffering if we can change it."

For this Katara gave her a bright smile, while Sokka declared them both crazy.

They gave him unamused looks.

Aang was swayed too and Sokka gave up to change their minds.

So they got on the Prison Island, while Appa with Jaiyi in his saddle, would hide in the clouds, tile they needed them.

Team Avatar-Daimon hide behind some wooden boxes.

"We don't have much time. What are we gonna do?", asked Sokka.

"I wish I knew how to make a hurricane!"

The others stared blankly at Aang.

"The warden would run away and we'd steal his keys!", explains the Avatar.

"Wouldn't he just take his keys with him?", points Sokka out.

"I'm just tossing ideas around."

"I tried talking the earthbenders into fighting back but, it didn't work! If there was just a way to help them help themselves.", signed Katara.

"I may have an idea.", starts Hua slowly.

"Well out with it.", motivates her Sokka, while Katara and Aang look couriose at her.

"I have tried to think of a solution to help the earthbenders. What they need is some kind of earth or rock to fight with. So where do we get this on this metal island?", Hua turns to the large chimneys pointing at them. "From there. Coal is earth too."

"That's brilliant, Hua!", praises her Katara, which makes the younger girl blush.

"Mmh, it could work...", trailed Sokka off, gripping with a hand his chin, thinking. "I may even have an idea how to get the coal!"

Sokka explains his plan to them and after Aang sneakily checks out if it is possible, they get to work.

Morning arrives, Sokka Katara and Hua are alone by an air duct. 

Sokka is peering down into it, while Katara and Hua kneel beside it with their hands on its rim.

"It's almost dawn. We're running out of time! You sure this is gonna work?", asked Katara worried.

They only had this chance.

Her brother reassured her that he thought it well through. There are vents everywhere, where the smoke the coal produces goes out. Aang closed all vents beside the one that leads to them and when he airbends all the coals will pop out.

And boom!

Something to earthbend for the earthbenders.

"There are the intruders!", suddenly shouts a guard.

Not even a few seconds later the girls and Sokka are in circled by them. The prisoners have gathered a safe distance away from this spectacle, observing what is happening.

Sokka gets his boomerang ready, while Haru's father, Tyro, calls out to Katara that she can't win this fight. The warden was also there, telling her how utterly hopeless this all was.

A sudden rush of air fills their ears as the facility shakes. 

The ventilation shaft bursts off its hinges as an immense blast of coal soars into the air, crashing down into a gathered pile. 

Everyone present is silent, staring in stark surprise at this turn of events. 

Lastly, Aang leaps out from the barren ventilation shaft, landing atop the coal pile and coughing, covered in soot and dirt. 

Momo follows him and Katara runs up to the coal, turning to face the earthbenders.

"Here's your chance, earthbenders! Take it!", encouraged Katara them, holding a piece of coal high in the air. "Your fate is in your own hands!"

Haru bolts ahead without hesitation, prepared to bend the waiting coal as a weapon. 

Tyro throws his hand up, bracing his son's chest to halt his advance.

No one makes a move.

Katara looks unsure at the prisoners.

The warden starts to laugh at her: "Foolish girl. You thought a few inspirational words and some coal would change these people? Look at these blank, hopeless faces. Their spirits were broken a long time ago. Oh, but you still believe in them. How sweet. They're a waste of your energy little girl. You failed."

The warden finishes his speech by turning to take leave of the facility. 

As he does so, a single piece of coal sails through the air and pelts the back of his head.

Outraged, the warden spins back to see who dared to attack him. 

Haru stands defiantly levitating three pieces of coal above his hand. 

The warden sends a blast of fire toward Haru, but the fire is blocked, as the newly invigorated Tyro raises a wall of coal in his defence.

The Guards line up and prepare for battle.

"Show no mercy!", commands the Warden and they attack a blast of fire as one toward the rebelling prisoners.

The earthbenders work together to haul a sizable mass of coal to block the fire.

"For the Earth Kingdom, attack!", shouts Tyro.

Slamming the coal to the ground; chunks of rock assault the guards. 

The battle immediately flares, prisoners ducking blasts of fire and countering with fists of coal. 

Katara, Hua and Aang chase after Sokka as he snaps soldiers' spears in two with his boomerang, tossing the broken shafts to Momo overhead. Momo continues to collect other pieces of broken spears that are thrown up at him.

Tyro and Haru work in unison to compress gathered coal into one lump, slinging this through the doors to make way for their escape. 

The guards on top fall down.

Some of the earthbender race out of the hole, while others stay to give them time to reach the ship, like Tyro and Haru.

Aang and Hua help the remaining earthbenders against the warden.

The Avatar generates an air funnel and holds it between his hands which Katara and Sokka fill with coal. 

Then he fired the material rapidly at the warden and his fellow benders, knocking them to the ground. 

Following this, Tyro, Hua and another earthbender work together to lift coal beneath these adversaries, moving them away from the rig and over the ocean.

"No, please! I can't swim!", begs the Warden.

"Don't worry. I hear cowards float.", tells him Tyro.

They drop their enemies into the ocean.

Now they can all leave!

The earthbenders take the little ships of the firebender to sail away, while Aang, Hua and Sokka ride Appa beside them.

Katara was on one of the ships with Tyro and Haru.

Both thank her for her help and for giving them back their courage.

Tyro calls out how they will take back his village and every village in the Earth Kingdom the Fire Nation took.

All the earthbenders shout in agreement.

"Come with us.", asked Haru Katara softly.

He may have known her for a short time, but she was one in a million...maybe they could...?

The waterbender blushes and her heart flatters a bit. There were no boys her age in the Southern Water Tribe, besides her brother, and she did like Haru, however...it was not enough.

"I can't. Your mission is to take back your home. Ours is to get Aang and Hua to the North Pole.", explains Katara.

They both look over to them.

Aang was sitting on Appa's head, playing with Momo and coal, while Hua was beside Sokka on the saddle cuddling Jaiyi, her trusty ninetails licking her cheeks.

"That's them, isn't it? The Avatar and Daimon.", guesses Haru correct. "Katara, thank you for bringing my father back to me. I never thought I'd see him again. I only wish there was some way ..."

"I know."

Like always she wants to touch her mother's necklace, but to her horror, it's not anymore on her neck.

Oh no!

Where did she lose it?

Back on the prison rig, Katara's necklace was lying amid coal sparsely on the deck until someone picked it up.

None other than Prince Zuko stares at it grimly as he stands alone facing the sunset.

This time he was too late, however, next time the Avatar and Daimon wouldn't slip away from him!

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