#and really they are one because if you force aang and katara so he gets her as his reward then you can’t properly resolve the set up you had

[sokkastyles]

Well, I actually do think he struggles with not necessarily knowing the right words, but that's because he's been gaslit his whole life, not because he's less emotionally available or insensitive. And I think there are many situations in the show where he gets characterized that way wrongly because he has that trauma, and I don't like the way the fandom tends to pathologize hlm that way because he's an abuse victim. I'm not saying that is what you are doing, but that is why it gives me pause when people make these kinds of arguments.

Like when he apologizes to the gaang, I think anyone would struggle with the right words in that kind of situation, and part of the reason for the miscommunication is because the gaang think he's trying to trick them and don't want to listen, sometimes to a ridiculous extent. Which isn't necessarily wrong of them because he has caused them a lot of grief, but it is acknowledged by Toph that they are letting their hurt feelings color the situation. It's not just because Zuko says the wrong thing. Same with Katara in the Southern Raiders. She tries to convince herself that the goodness she saw in him before was not sincere because she is scared of trusting him again, so it's not just Zuko's fault there or that he's being insensitive, it's that she's holding him to an almost impossible standard because she's mad at herself, and has to learn how to forgive him almost as much as he needs to seek her forgiveness.

And with Toph, the joke is that she was trying to force a "field trip," which is why it doesn't work. With Mai, Zuko was never in a place when he was with her to be an emotionally available boyfriend. He was trapped and scared and she wasn't listening to his feelings so I don't think it's very surprising at all that he shuts down and gets frustrated.

When Zuko is in a place where he feels safe and listened to, he actually gives really good advice. When he reassures Aang in The Firebending Masters, for example, or Sokka in the Boiling Rock, or when he tells Katara her mother was brave in The Southern Raiders. I also don't think he gets enough credit for being the first to apologize to Katara under Ba Sing Se. Or the fact that he's the one who tells Aang and the others what happened with Yon Rah so that Katara could have some space. We don't see that scene but Aang says Zuko was the one who told him what happened. And the subtext is that Katara was hesitant to confront Aang herself, probably because of his reaction towards her when they left, so Zuko is already in a position where he's mediating between Katara and Aang. And then in the next episode he's sitting between them while they're fighting. And then in the NEXT episode he's in that position again and telling Katara to let Aang figure things out himself. There's a reason the gaang looks to Zuko to lead them when Aang is gone, and not just because he knows how to track him. Zuko learned from Iroh, after all, and I think post-series he would be a lot like Iroh in this way.

I actually don't think he'd give hallmark-level advice if Katara told him that Aang forced a kiss on her, though. I think he would be angry. But that would be the right reaction. I don't see him being more worried about Aang if Katara told him that.

I do think people writing Zuko this way is a fantasy, and in general it's not my cup of tea, but I also think it's a valid reaction to the way the creators told zutara shippers that they would be abused for the crime of fantasizing about Zuko and not Aang.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t know who the consent-pilled, emotionally available, and unerringly sensitive Zuko that’s been popping up in fanfic the last couple of years is. This dude is The Perfect Man (TM).

That’s great and all and I’m not trying to knock it, necessarily, but I see it going more like this:

Katara: Aang kissed me! Why would he kiss me? This isn’t the right time! I’m so mad at him! Etc.

Zuko, who never met a woman who couldn’t kill him on sight: Uh…is he okay?

[magpie-trove]

Avatar The Last Airbender 2005-2008!!!!!!!

[surgepricing]

I think about Azula shooters often and their common refrain of "if Azula hadn't had a mental breakdown, she would've won" and I'm here to tell you that no, she wouldn't have.

There is no universe in which Azula was winning that fight with Zuko (or Katara, for that matter).

Azula spent so much of Book 2 being built up as this deadly terrifying force against whom the heroes are badly outmatched that it can be difficult to catch exactly how quickly Zuko is advancing.

Back up a bit to Book One. For the fearsome exiled crown prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko's not that impressive a firebender. He's not bad by any stretch, and he's able to lay the untrained Sokka and Katara flat pretty easily. Then he gets in the ring with Aang, who is an airbending master, and the difference between a regular bender and a master becomes apparent when Aang literally puts his ass to bed:

People have attributed this to the fact that no one's fought an airbender in 100 years, but I think it's also worth noting that Aang (a 12 year old from a pacifist nation) has probably never fought anyone before. Like, ever. And yet the second Aang thinks "okay, I'll attack back", the fight's over.

Zuko's got the same genetic predisposition for firebending talent that Azula does, yet it never seems to manifest because of his mental blocks. At the beginning of the series, he's already so beat down that all he really has is conviction, pride, and anger, so even with training from Iroh (the firebending master, thank you very much), he struggles. Yet throughout Book 2, when he has no time to train because he's on the run, he actually seems to advance faster. The fact that his bending is literally tied to his character arc (as his morals become tangled and he has to fight off aforementioned mental blocks) is pretty brilliant. Like, by the time of the Crossroads of Destiny, Zuko getting his ass handed to him by Aang is a pretty consistent feature of the show--he just can't match wits with him.

Hell, at the beginning of the series, he and Iroh (again: the actual firebending master) launch a combined power surface-to-air attack...which Aang casually swats away into a nearby ice wall. Come the Crossroads of Destiny, however, and Zuko by himself launches this bigass fireball that blows through Aang's defenses.

Zuko advances so quickly that it's scary. That prodigious talent is in him even if it doesn't come through as cleanly as with Azula. Who, by the way, was busy about to get flattened by Katara some few dozen feet away, until Zuko took over and then effectively stalemated her himself.

All of this in retrospect makes it abundantly clear why Zuko's firebending seemed to skyrocket so much when he learned true firebending from the Sun Warriors: it was really the only thing left. He's hard a hard road learning how to fight waterbenders, earthbenders, and airbenders, and even if unconsciously, he's applying the philosophy Iroh taught him about augmenting his bending style with aspects of other styles (see also, the waterbending-like fire whips he uses in the above gif). Once he actually understands fire and how it works, he's got it mastered. Hence why any gap between him and Azula effectively disappears as soon as their next fight--before her friends have betrayed her and her stability goes out the window. There's no real sense of urgency to their fight at the Boiling Rock prison. True, Sokka's presence with the sword helps, but Zuko doesn't look remotely worried and he counters Azula's every attack perfectly.

All her life, Azula only ever learned fire. She was taught by the best people the fire nation can employ, so she knows all the cool tricks, but she's still poisoned by the corrupted firebending practiced in the modern ATLA timeline. Unlike Zuko, who managed to get the basics if nothing else from Iroh (fire comes from the breath, and can be used to survive as much as to kill), Azula has always used fire as a weapon and a means to hurt others. She has no true knowledge of the craft, meaning she's got the same weaknesses as Zhao, she's just better disciplined to the point she can make up for it.

Zuko's victory was a given considering Azula's complete loss of control by the time of Sozin's comet, but even had she been in a perfect mental state, she'd have lost, because in many ways Zuko is simply the better firebender.

And that's the truth of it.

[ladyloveandjustice]

So I have no stake in ships in Avatar the Last Airbender, I do not have any real ships for the show. But when I was looking in Katara's tag for art and stuff, I saw this reoccuring claim that Katara always supported Aang with his problems and feelings, but that Aang never supported her back with hers.

And I don't care about the ships, but I do really like the friendships in Avatar, and that bothers me. It's a slight on Aang, but also on Katara (implying she wouldn't stand up for herself and break it off if a friend was all take and no give, which doesn't fit her personality at all.)

Aang does support Katara whenever he gets the chance, which is unfortunately few and far between because Katara seems to have a hard time leaning on the people she cares about and talking in depth about her own trauma and feelings about it, though she will do so when she literally doesn't care what the person thinks about her (and both times she opened up to Zuko about her Mom initially were her lashing out at him and not caring what he thought about her in return).

This would be something that would need to be addressed for a romantic relationship between them to truly work, and I imagine it would be part of the journey of finding a way to stay together, but it's very much not Aang's fault. And as I said, when he gets a chance to support her she does. Since I just recently rewatched most of the series, have a list of those times!

-His first time being supportive of her is literally a half hour after they first meet. As soon as she tells him about wanting more waterbending experience, he enthusiastically offers to fly all the way to the north pole so they can find her a master. And this very clearly means a lot to her.

-I don't think Aang knew how supportive of her he was being here, but there's the "I haven't done this since I was a kid" "You still are a kid!' exchange. As much as people accuse Aang of seeing Katara as his Mom (he's literally the one character who doesn't express that he does in The Runaway btw and I think that's for a reason) their first interaction establishes that he sees her as a kid, just like him, and think she should have fun like a kid does. This must have been huge for Katara, who'd been forced to take on adult responsibilities at a young age, who resented having to hold the family together, who thought her childhood was over. Aang helped her have fun and be the kid she is, and he'll continue to do so.

-When she lost her mother's necklace (And Zuko subsequently stole it) he was very concerned for her feelings and seemed to immediately understand the weight of that loss, due to his own experiences with loss. Not only did he make her a new necklace to wear as a way to comfort her, as soon as he saw Zuko had it he said "you're giving that back to me" and risked being hit by Zuko in his attempts to grab it. Then he gave it back to her and she was ecstatic!

-He was so supportive of her during the waterbending scroll episode it's actually ridiculous, despite how she lashed out at him. It's unclear if he actually understood she was upset or if this was just his unwavering respect for her coming out, but when she was upset that he learned the first move faster than her he said "well you didn't have such a great teacher!" and it clearly makes her feel better for a bit. He immediately forgives her for lashing out at him, doesn't judge her at all for stealing the waterbending scroll, or for accidentally dragging them into trouble. He, in fact, goes out of the way to reassure her, looking happy at the chance to work together and reminding her they need two waterbenders. And he appreciates her joke at the end (he's just straight up being simp (affectionate) there, and I get it).

-When Pakku won't teach her he immediately denounces him as wrong and unfair and is willing to sacrifice his own education (which he needs to save the world) because he won't stand for it. He remains upset about it even after Katara persuades him, tries to secretly show her what Pakku taught him, and cheers her on when she fights him.

-When she's crying over Jet's death, he's the first one to notice and reach out to her, putting his hand gently on her shoulder and drawing her into a hug (that becomes a group hug). She smiles and clearly feels comforted. They probably talked about it offscreen too (but this cannot be shown as they would need to directly acknowledge his death to do so)

-He's pretty much always praising her as a teacher, and when she grumbles about him not calling her Sifu, he goes out of his way to call her that.

-He notices that she's mad at her Dad and asks her about it, but she deflects

-He looks really sad when he has to remind her she has to take off her mother's necklace for their Fire Nation disguises, again it's something he very much seems to empathize with her about, he understands the weight of what it means to her.

-He not only doesn't judge her for lying during the Painted Lady saga, but praises her and enthusiastically helps her commit ecoterrorism.

-Both he and Sokka move to comfort her when she's crying after the bloodbending fiasco. Most of the comforting of her happens offscreen, which I do think is a shame, and a contrast to how Aang is handled- but it's more of a "he's the main character" thing, since the same happens for Sokka as well (I'm sure Katara and Aang talked to him about Yue's death and at least tried to comfort him, but we don't get to see that).

-He was trying to support her during the Southern Raiders ep, whether you believe he did it well or not, both according to his beliefs and cultural values and by trying to emulate the ways she's talked HIM down from revenge and hatred in the past. He specifically brings up those two incidents- losing his people and losing Appa- where she stepped in to keep him from losing himself to rage. As this post notes, he also specifically echoes her phrasing from when she was urging him not to lose himself to the Avatar state (she says "watching you be in that much rage and pain is really scary" and he echoes "you're feeling unbelievable pain and rage" while talking to her in this ep.)

It's not just the air nomads he's trying to emulate here, but her. Just like Katara doesn't want to see him consumed by hatred and pain, he wants the same for her. His concern is not for her mother's killer, but for her, he fears this will hurt her, just like her concern was always for him and how this would hurt him in those times he was raging.

He wants to do for her what she did for him. But, Katara is not him. She is not someone who will be talked down by someone else when she is grieving, angry, and looking for revenge. Nobody can stop her when she sets her mind to it. She needs to wrestle with whether to kill him and she needs to come to her own conclusions, because she's the only one that can stop her. And Aang realizes that. He says it's a journey she'll have to take on her own, that she needs to face him doesn't stand in her way.

(I wonder if it kind of hurt, deep down, that he couldn't reach her the way she always reached him. I wonder if he felt upset that he couldn't find the right words like she did for him. But I don't think there were any right words. She needed him to step back. It was her choice to make. So he did.)

And in the end, he was correct that she didn't want to do it. She did choose that based on her own feelings and values.

His assumption Katara not killing the guy = forgiveness is definitely him just kind of applying his assumptions and values, but when she says she doesn't forgive him, he doesn't like, judge her or anything that we can see.

So yeah, quite a few examples! It can feel lopsided because more attention is paid to Aang and Katara's personality affects things.

Katara is both open about her emotions and not. She's someone who will look after other's feelings but not really discuss her own pain with people she cares about, until it all builds up and bursts out.

And it's not surprising she's most concerned about Aang, if my friend had recently (from his perspective) survived a genocide where he lost everyone he loved and was now tasked with saving the world at twelve years old, I'd be pretty worried about him and want to support him too! Aang goes through a lot by virtue of being the protagonist, he has the most pressure on him, he's routinely in the most danger, he literally dies for a few minutes. It's not surprising Katara has more opportunities to comfort him, but he unfailingly supports her in any of her problems of goals (when they're not murder) when he can.

I do think there's some missed opportunities to explore Katara and develop their relationship, but it doesn't make Aang a bad, unsupportive friend, or Katara his Mom and not his peer.

[sokkastyles]

Do you think some parts of the world would have been unhappy in Aang's decision to spare Ozai? That people would be so bitter - this madman gets to live, while their friends and loved ones died? Why is that? Oh - because the Avatar didn't want to compromise his own morals, to kill someone? Tough, it's a war. People die.

The thing I don't like about the way the show frames it is that the narrative doesn't really give Aang a choice, either.

I think people who frame this as Aang respecting Air Nomad culture are trying to give the show too much credit, because the show doesn't act like Aang gets to choose a moral high ground, they act like he has no choice. Aang seems to believe that the only way he can honor his Air Nomad heritage is by not killing, and...what about all the Air Nomads who didn't have that luxury? What about Gyatso, who was faced with the choice of kill or die, and killed, and died?

I think a lot of people would see Aang's choice as a slap in the face. Every person who had to do things they considered against their personal morals to survive. People like Jet who sincerely wished to stop leading a violent life, but couldn't, because that life was chosen for him the moment his parents were murdered. People like Hakoda who felt deeply ashamed of having to leave his own children to go to war. Are these people just inherently less moral or more bloodthirsty than Aang? No, they simply didn't have the power Aang had at his disposal that allowed him to avoid the kind of violent lives that many people, children included, were forced to lead during the war.

That's also why the "Aang reminds Katara/Zuko that they are kids" thing annoys me. What Aang does is remind them that HE has the luxury of thinking of himself as a kid while they don't. The reason Katara hadn't been penguin sledding in so long isn't because she's a buzzkill who hates fun or she "forgot" that she's a kid, it's because she was forced into a role where she had to take care of her family in her mother's absence, and that doesn't go away with the introduction of another kid she has to parent. As for Zuko, that "well you're just a teenager" line is funny and it's easy to think of Zuko as someone who takes himself too seriously (and part of why it's funny is that teenagers in general do view themselves as so much older than younger children), but Zuko was kicked out of his home at thirteen and expected to be fighting a fully-realized adult Avatar. Even when he was Aang's age, he never had the luxury of thinking of himself that way. You can see this also in the way Zuko interacts with adults early in the series, notably Zhao and his crew. He is desperate to be seen as a hardened adult because he has had to act like one to survive.

These people don't act this way because they've lost their morals or sense of fun or because they don't value peace enough. They act this way because this is what they were forced to do to survive. I think people would rightly be offended by the idea that wanting to see Ozai dead for his crimes makes them just as violent as a genocidal tyrant, and they would be right to feel resentful that Ozai gets to live when he was responsible for so much violence. This is also why Zuko tells Ozai that he's lucky that Aang spared his life. Because in the end, Aang has NO moral obligation to spare Ozai whatsoever, not because of his culture or any reason. Pacifism has never meant that you aren't allowed to use necessary force to stop violence from happening. And anyone who uses the argument that Aang has to spare Ozai because of his culture or that this is his only way to honor his people is LYING.

[threalcrabbysamantha]

the southern raiders & misplaced anger

Saw people being weird about the Southern Raiders episode again, and I started a long response but it was sooooooo long, I thought I should just make a separate post. 

Here’s the thing: the Southern Raiders episode is about two things - on the surface it’s about Zuko, Katara, and misplaced anger. Thematically, though, this episode is about forgiveness and negotiating where forgiveness fits into the overturning of oppressive regimes. 

I’m just here to talk surface level today. Maybe one day I’ll delve into the thematic stuff (which I think is also so well done). What’s brilliant about this episode is that even the surface level hits more than just the surface - it’s complex, filled with a lot of subtext. Recently I saw someone lament that it’s weird that this episode seems to reinforce the idea that Katara blames Zuko because of her mom’s death - but this reading of the episode really takes things at face value, and I think we need to look deeper than that. 

What always strikes me about this episode is that before it happens, the audience sort of assumes that Katara is angry at Zuko because his actions caused a lot of harm to Aang. But once we get to her confrontation with Zuko, she names the source of her anger as something different: I was the first person to trust you, she says, and you turned around and betrayed me. This is the first thing she says to Zuko that makes an impression on him likely because it feels like the first real thing she says to him about her anger, beyond just aggressively taunting.

But it’s also…ridiculous. He “betrayed” her?? They had no agreement, no alliance! He chose his sister over some random girl he had one conversation with, an action that, as smart as we’ve seen Katara be, shouldn’t have been all that surprising to her. I think the wording here is very important that she trusted him and he betrayed her, because it should set off some alarm bells in your head, the absurdity of the accusation. And it points to the truth: Katara is directing her anger at Zuko, sure, but who is she really mad at? 

It has to be herself. She trusted Zuko, like an idiot, and then Zuko almost got Aang killed. That’s why, for the first time in the show, her anger spins her so out of control. Because she’s not putting the anger in the right direction, not working through it. Anger has a very interesting role in ATLA because the show never really suggests that anger, at its core, is a bad thing, which is a radical position for a kids show in 2005. Katara is the best evidence of this, since her anger 99% of the time is a life giving force interconnected with her hopefulness; the show celebrates her anger more often than it punishes it. But in TSR, her anger is killing her because it’s different than usual. It’s tied up her guilt, and instead of feeling it and working through it, she’s just pushing it on someone else. 

It’s also telling and important that Katara starts blaming Zuko for her mom’s death. Again, this is misplaced, but it’s no wonder she would be thinking about her mom in the wake of her renewed guilt over what happened to Aang. Her mom, after all, also died because of her. 

This is the crux of the episode: Katara feels intense guilt and anger over her mother, and she places it all on Zuko because let’s be honest - she blames herself for all of this, and it all ends up tied together, her guilt her anger. I have no doubt that the person she’s most angry at is herself, unable to do anything to save her mother. And then years later she turns around and trusts ZUKO, of all people - how stupid was that? I mean just LOOK at the way that Katara had spent years turning herself into a caretaker for everyone around her. At first this just seems like a trauma response to losing her mom at a young age - but once we know that her mom died to protect Katara, died in her PLACE - it becomes clear, to me anyway, that Katara making herself into a caretaker at 14 is wrapped up in her guilt and anger over her mom. It’s a punishment, in many ways; she has to take over her mom’s role because her mom died in her place.

Perhaps the final sort of evidence for me that Katara is actually mad at herself in this episode is that Zuko, king of self-loathing, becomes her mirror, her sounding board in this episode. People like to argue that Zuko takes Katara down a “dark path,” but he seems to me more like a beacon in the midst of her turmoil. Placing him next to her, it’s a poke to the audience. Remember? Zuko said not so many episodes ago that he was mad at himself. By the time he joins the gaang, his anger has clearly been redirected at his father; it’s closer now to the anger that Katara most often feels, that hopeful, life giving anger. And allowing Zuko to guide her through this side quest is a reassurance: Katara will work through her anger too.

At the end of the episode, Katara says she’s ready to forgive Zuko. I think this is why people take at face value that she was genuinely angry with him, that her anger at him was a pure expression of her rage and hurt and not a muddied one. But I’d argue that her verbal forgiveness of him isn’t about his “betrayal,” it’s about the themes of the episode - she’ll probably never forgive Yon Rha, she says, a vow to remember the wrongs done in the past - but by forgiving Zuko, she’s saying that she’s willing to collaborate for a better Fire Nation of the future, a more just world. And now that she’s been able to confront and work through her anger at herself, she’s in a balanced place to do so.

Honestly, I think if the true source of Katara’s l anger about all this really was Zuko, they wouldn’t have the relationship that they do by the end of the show. They clearly really trust each other and care about each other by the end, and I think that if Katara really felt betrayed like she says, she would have held back her heart a little bit, keeping them at allies but never quite friends.

And ya know what? This is one of those episodes of ATLA that refuses to spoon feed you the answers, which I really like. It offers a lot of subtext for good, old fashioned analysis and argument, and it’s why it’s one of my favorite episodes - plus it’s an episode that REALLY brilliantly puts the focus on Katara and complicates her character, and I love that. 

[hazashiovo]

Omg that kuvira sub req was lit! Could you do one for Zuko please? Maybe after he’s become fire lord?

I decided that instead of writing nsfw, to just make it angst to fluff. Sorry that it's not what you asked for ,but this is what I got.

Genre:Friends with benefits to enemies to lovers ,angst to fluff,

Tw: mentions of trauma, burning and leaving a scar.

Zuko x Fem reader

Ever since you ran away from Zuko to help the avatar restore peace to the world,you kept thinking that he would let go of you.

But no, you can't catch a damn break, since you ran away he's been chasing you. He swore to find you.

How? You have no clue. But you never doubted his devotion for this cause,you knew that Zuko had that burning will in him.

I mean,you were his soldier,and things between you two were...complicated.

Sometimes you would have heart to heart conversations. Maybe about your life,or what you would be in the future, and other times it was just making out after a stressful day. But you never did more than that,he wanted you ,and you wanted him but there was always something holding you back.

Now this is something that fuels Zuko, his need for revenge is powered by those moments between you two. And not only that,but if he finds you he also finds the Avatar. Which is the perfect reason for him.

You get to be punished for treason,and at the same time he would finally have his honor restored. That's what he says to himself at night. It's not like he wants more.

So for months, almost a year he searched for The avatar,and for you,each time you managed to slip right trough his fingers.

The last time he saw you was at the northern water tribe,when he tried capturing Aang you fought Zuko while Katara protected the younger boy. Zuko knew he could do so much damage to you,but he simply couldn't.

You unfortunately lost,after all Zuko was stronger than you. You both knew it,but it never stopped you before.

You tried talking to him,you always thought that if you got a chance you would be able to at least get him to think of another way,a better way. Maybe this way things wouldn't be so complicated between you two.

But no matter how much you tried,he was just too stubborn.

You tried putting a fight again,he was so angry that he didn't even realize with what force he sent that fire at you,not even throwing you a second glance.

Too blinded by anger,now that you weren't in his way anymore he went for Aang.

If you wouldn't have blacked out you would've saw the way Katara fought the prince,after all he harmed you, and wanted to take Aang away.

You woke up on Appa,Katara was tending to your burn mark, trying to completely heal it.

"I'm sorry (Name),but it's going to leave a pretty big scar here." Her hand would lay on your shoulder comforting.

It was rough looking in the mirror,but you started getting used to it. The bad part was when you started having nightmares of your fight with the prince,the burning feeling awaking you in cold sweat.

You healed with time, fortunately for you,the prince and you didn't meet again after that. You split from the team,it was necessary for you to find a way to heal the scar that Zuko left in your mind.

Imagine the shock on your face when you finally got reunited with your friends.To see Zuko there was something you never expected. Deep inside you knew he could change but never actually thought he would.

He would be so awkward, and yeah he would talk to himself, trying to find the right way to apologize to you for hunting you down and kicking your ass. It was also this little thing, he never realized how much you affected him when you were around until you left,and it drove him mad. Never quite understanding why.

He kept his distance from you, mostly because he didn't really know how to approach you. It's not that he's as mad as he was before when you betrayed him, but it's still awkward.

So you two just stayed away from each other. The group could see something was up with you two,I mean they knew about your scar and journey ,but Zuko didn't.

Nobody told him about the scar he left on you back then, and you never confronted him about it.

One night when you wanted to take your mind away from all that's happening ,you found yourself in the lake near your camp.

A swim would do you good.

Unfortunately for you ,that's what the young prince also had in mind.

He was left speechless once he saw your naked form in the water. A certain part of you got his attention,your back.

There was this big part of your shoulder all the way to your waist that was just burned.

And then it clicked, when he fought you in the north water tribe,he did this.

"Stop staring." You speak,loud enough for him to hear you, getting deeper into the water so your back would no longer be visible to his longing stare.

"I wasn't staring." He turns his head away embarrassed,his face hot just thinking that you caught him staring at your form. He acted like a pervert. How could he be so stupid?

Zuko quickly took off, not allowing you to say anything else.

He spent the night thinking,about you ,your scar your body. It annoyed him so much that all he could think was you.

So he left the next day with Sokka, on a mission to free Sokka and katara's dad from a high security prison. Totally no big deal.

Each day he spent there he hoped he could get you off his mind,but no matter how hard he tried you were just stuck on him.

Let's just say that he had some pretty unusual taughts while he was locked away.

After he saw Sokka with Suki he got this weird feeling, it was some inside him pushing him to be this way,with you.

So there he was,back at the camp with a complete mission, trying to find a way to speak to you. And he couldn't really bring up the last time he saw you, 'Yeah I saw you naked and I stared at you, wanna date?' no way in hell, unless he wants to be seen as the biggest creep ever.

"Mind if I sit?" Zuko's eyes dart up at you,he didn't even hear you coming her.

"No one's stoping you." You sit down next to him, noticing how he quickly looks away.

"It's been a while huh?" Your eyes look up at the dark starry sky, hoping he's willing to talk to you.

Zuko furrows his brows, searching for the right words to say. He never had to think so hard while talking to you,why is it so hard now?

"I won't bite if you say something." You nudge him with your elbow, sending his thoughts away for now.

"Listen,I'm really sorry for what I did to you back in the north,I was just so blinded by my desire for honor that I was willing to cut trough-" your lips stop Zuko from saying another word, already hearing what you wanted.

He's sorry for hurting you,and he admitted that he was blindly chasing something useless,and that's all you wanted to hear from him.

He whidens his eyes for a second,finally realizing what's happening he cups your cheek with one hand and closes his eyes, kissing you back.

You break the kiss, looking at his face for any sign of reluctance. But all you can see in his eyes is this soft look,it's really cute.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to hear that from you." You whisper, afraid that if you would speak any louder you would break this comfortable feeling around you.

He smiles, closing his eyes. All this time he thought so much , wondering how your next interaction would go,or what would you say to him.

He missed the kisses,soft ones were his favorite,but the making out had a tool on him too.

"I missed this." He speaks,hand trailing down your lip, carefully touching it.

"I never thought you'd forgive me." Zuko allows his head to meet with yours gently stroking your cheek.

"Thank you for becoming a better version of yourself."you smile, placing your hands on his wrist in a gentle manner.

"Okay what's going on here?" Sokka looks at the two of you like he witnessed a war crime. Did he drink cactus juice without realizing??

I couldn't do it.

I couldn't write Zuko smut yet ,I'm sorry 😭

[moonsaver]

Wait listen‐totally out of the blue but modern!au atla in a high-school or college setting. Zuko x reader btw

Listen listen. Zuko drops down from being a cool popular kid after he joins the gaang,but also? He's kinda the school's crush. Like yes, most of azula's fans and many kids in general from the fire nation dont like Zuko anymore, but many people develop a crush on him. And he's so painfully oblivious to it.

And the gaang is always making fun of his loser aesthetic, posting him on social media and forcing him to actually start using his social media account. He never does use it much except for reposting photos and statuses his friends have on there.

Until you.

He was especially struggling with a problem and awkwardly asked you for help. You were technically just polite out of general respect but you were... really nice. And he groans into his pillow at night when he realizes that small interaction has an irrational grip on him. To make it worse? Sokka from the other side of the classroom saw it and made it his personal mission to track down your socials.

With a lot of pain and difficulty (none, actually. Turns out Suki is quite media-literate), the gaang manages to find your account and send it to the group chat. For once, Zuko's.. actually trying to do normal social media things. Some of them start bickering on whether or not Zuko should send a follow request, but by the time they're done, you've already accepted it, and Zuko curiously scrolls through your profile. The gaang frantically tells him not to like your old photos, he's confused at the concept, but begrudgingly listens anyway. If this happens when they're all meeting up, then they huddle around Zuko and watch the tiny screen and point out all things about your little profile, and ogle at every tidbit of your life. If it happens when they're all at home, then they collectively cyberstalk you, sending various screenshots to the groupchat and discussing about you.

You on the other hand, only know Zuko as the kind of cute, awkward guy who needed your help with a math problem. You wondered if you messed something up while explaining the problem to him, and then brushed it off and forgot about it entirely until you woke up one day and noticed his entire friend group had viewed your status. A few of them had even liked it. (Ahem, Aang and Toph).

It's not soon until one of them actually comes up and talks to you, because Zuko is deathly afraid of messing things up, and he stutters so much everytime Sokka makes him practice talking to you, it's like a lost cause. Of course, in the end, it's Katara and Suki to the rescue! All three of you get along surprisingly well. It's only a matter of time until you actually get added to the friend group. Until then, maybe pretend Zuko's acting skills are believable as he asks for your help with the simplest problems, to borrow your stationaries, and make awkward small talk. You go along with it anyway. He's cute.

[rifari2037]

When , did you , Start Paring Aang and Toph and why do you pair them, Together are there similarities between the Two .?

"Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?"

Unlike Zutara that I remember well when I started ship them, I don't really remember when I started ship Taang (and Sukka). But, it was long time ago because I found them so cute together.

Taang have potential, but it needs time or another season to develop their feeling. Because, while Zutara had some romantic moments, Taang didn't have moments like that so it would be forced if they ended up together in season 3 (just like canon).

Then, how could they have potential if they didn't have romantic moments?

Their connection

Aang had connection with all his master bending. Katara was there to saved him, Zuko was there to captured him. Their connection with Aang makes these two characters always face each other and had their own development.

Meanwhile, Toph wasn't in the connection between Aang with Zuko and Katara. She had her own connection to Aang. In the swaps episode, Sokka and Katara saw a vision of their past, but Aang saw a vision of Toph before even meeting her in person.

There's an interesting theory that Aang not only saw a vision of his future, but also his past. Because in Nightmares and Daydreams episode, Toph has no face in his dream. It was parallel with Avatar Kuruk's lover that her face stolen by Koh.

Instead of water, Aang was connected to earth, Toph's element. Even though earth was a difficult element for Aang at first, but it was element that Aang often used in battle after mastering it.

In final battle, earth was the element that re-opened his chakra and made him enter the avatar state.

They compliment each other

Just like fire and water, air is the opposite of earth. They are different, but compliment each other.

Air is the element of freedom. Aang is free person. He is Toph's first friend and also the one who offered her freedom, something she really wants and needs.

Earth is the element of substance. Toph is persistent person. She is the one who taught Aang to be tougher and stand his ground, something he really needs to get out of his comfort zone.

They have same vibes

Toph and Aang are still kids and they act like kids. They like to have fun. That isn't something wrong. In fact, they have the same vibe so that neither one is having fun, while the other is taking care of him.

Yes, Aang is the one who makes Katara child again, but still they don't have the same vibe. Katara has a motherly nature, so Aang's childish nature makes their relationship like mother and son.

It's different when Katara with Zuko. Zuko is more mature, so when Katara is with him, she doesn't have to act motherly. Instead, it's Zuko who look after her, brings her things, and reminds her to rest.

Their Culture

Believe me or not, I found this from Aang/Kataang stand and it made me wonder. If Katara and Aang's cultures are different, then what makes them suitable to be together?

Cultural differences actually don't matter if they can respect each other, but this is Aang's expression of water tribe culture.

Katara : Bato, it looks like home! Sokka : Everything's here, even the pelts! Aang : [Sarcastically.] Yeah, nothing's cozier than dead animal skins.

And this is Aang's expression of water tribe food

Hama : I wanted to surprise you! I bought all this food today so I could fix you a big Water Tribe dinner. Of course, I can't get all the ingredients I need here, but ocean kumquats are a lot like sea prunes if you stew them long enough. Aang : [Sticking his tongue out in disgust.] Great!

According to the post I got, Aang can wear Earth Kingdom clothing because it doesn't use animal materials. He can also wear fire nation clothing, but I don't think all types of fire nation clothing, because there are fire nation clothing made of leather.

The people of Earth Kingdom aren't vegetarian, but not all of their food from animal based. Aang doesn't seem to have a problem with their food.

Btw, Aang has problem with Fire Nation food too.

Aang : [Looking at a meat display. Disappointedly.] Oh, we're going to a meat place? Sokka : Come on, Aang, everyone here eats meat. Even the meat! [Points at a hippo cow eating a piece of meat swarming with flies.]

So, yeah, for me Aang and Toph not only have potential in the story, but also have chemistry with each other.

[yandere-avatar]

I'm Not Jealous... Well, Maybe a Little

Summary: How do they act when jealous? [Damn, 3 posts in one day? Wow. Popped this out in like 20 mins.] Characters: Katara, Sokka, Aang, Suki, Azula and Zuko

Katara

She doesn't take jealousy well

She'll pretend she's not jealous and bury these feelings

But they'll end up bubbling inside her and it'll come up in a fit of rage

When your back is turned, she'll attack the person that was flirting with you

You'll be none the wiser to what she did

She'll smile at you and you'll probably be confused

The person won't even see Katara coming or even know what she did

She watches in fury though, while the person hits on you

It definitely irritates her more that you don't realize they're flirting with you

Sokka

He's like his sister, by burying his feelings deep inside

He'll probably know his feelings are bad, but he loves you and it feels so right

He might challenge them to a fight, just out of nowhere

You'll be confused, but the person won't take Sokka seriously

Sokka would make an absolute fool of himself, as long as it meant he had your attention back

He needs your confirmation that you still love him

He'd take your pity over your distaste any day

Aang

He's the most passive about his jealousy

He's very extroverted and will join the conversation, turning the vibe off [at least hopefully]

If they don't, he will get a little angry

He'll control the conversation and the flirter can't do anything about it, because Aang is so likeable

He makes sure the hint is thrown out there, that they need to leave you alone

If they don't? Well, let's just say their house blew down, so now they don't have time to hit on you

You'll feel bad, but Aang will come up with an excuse on why you and the gang need to leave

Suki

Ugh, she gets so huffy

She is very forward though and will enter the conversation

If the person tries to push her out, she will get aggressive

She's very straightforward and will confront them, even if you're there

You think they're just being friendly and the flirter will use that to their advantage

"You're just being paranoid, I was just telling them about the town"

Suki will glare, knowing it's bull, but she quickly realized she was cornered

She awkwardly smiled and turn towards you, "The gang needs our help, we should go now"

You won't think about it much and wave goodbye to the flirter

As you both walk away, Suki will turn around, smirking while waving bye to the person

Azula

Oh, you screwed up bad

When she gets jealous, she gets violent [Though she gets violent a lot]

But, she doesn't know how to healthily express her emotions, or really just express them at all, so she acts out

She hates this feeling because she's used to be confident and adored

She hates when you even waste a second of your time on someone that isn't her

She deserves all your attention, why are you wasting a second on them?

She's mad at them for talking to you, but she's also mad at you for encouraging them

You'll have to calm her down, or she's killing everyone

Her fits of rage cause a lot of casualties

She then blames you for everyone that got hurt

"Well, if you hadn't been flirting with them, this never would of happened"

Zuko

Him and sister have anger in common

He wants to burn them into the ground

Make them suffer for making him watch

He's very annoyed, but doesn't know how to express his jealousy

He won't act out like a child, but he was glare and fire emits from his fist

Anyone can tell he's angry

He'll walk up to you both and glare at the person, before wrapping an arm around you and forcing a smile

"What are you guys talking about?"

You weren't really into the conversation, so you'll say nothing, but Zuko takes it as you not wanting him to know

Did you hate him? Wait, were you talking about him? Why won't you tell him?

God the anxiety eats him alive

He then begins regretting approaching you both. But you just grab him, before pretending to hear your name and pull Zuko along, saying something like "I think I heard Sokka call us. Let's go"

He'll apologize, but you'll laugh, and lightly punch his shoulder, "I didn't want to talk to them. They were so cocky. I'm so glad you saved me. My hero"

You kiss his cheek and he blushes a dark red and you'll continue to walk as he freezes

[sausage-rolll]

The amount of times I said something along the lines of "They would not fucking do/say that!" while watching the live action atla series is insane. It felt so weird to watch because the acting was pretty fantastic and the set design/costumes weren't bad for the most part either, but the writing and direction itself was painfully bad.

I think King Bumi is probably one of the worst offenders of being written completely ass backwards, which is a shame because the guy portraying him did a great job and I think he would have made a fantastic Bumi if the writing was better.

It feels like they missed the entire point of his character. They took his goofy/slightly mad front from the original show and dialled it up to 11 all the while completely ignoring all the nuance behind that front.

Bumi isn't just the mad king they portray him as in the live action, he's a mad genius. Despite his quirks, he's a fucking fantastic fighter and a brilliant ruler. Despite what you may believe from first impressions, it really does feel like he always knows what he's doing.

Even when he's being antagonistic towards the gang in the show, he's never actually putting them in significant danger. The crystals he trapped Katara and Sokka in were ultimately harmless and all the trials he gives Aang were more akin to games than anything. Even when he fights Aang in his episode he's very clearly not giving it his all, as seen when he single handily takes back his city from the fire nation during the eclipse and when he takes back Ba Sing Se with a small group during Sozins comet, when the opposing forces would have been at their most powerful. My point is that if he actually wanted to beat book 1 Aang, he could wipe the floor with him easily. But this version is fucking furious with Aang (wrongfully so this time around because he explicitly did not run away from his duties in the live action) And very much seems like he wants to cause Aang as much pain as possible, but can barely manage to land a hit on him when he's not pulling cheap tricks with the crystals.

-

I'm getting very side tracked but god damn it! This is the man Aang eventually decides to name one of his children after. Their friendship was so sweet and meaningful in the original. Bumi was such an interesting character in the original! And all of that meaning is lost here.

Ironically in an attempt to make Bumi's arc more dramatic and dark, they ended up making it significantly less interesting, along with also missing major parts of his character.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Concept:

We’re often told that Percy is naturally talented and I wish the narrative pushed that in contrast Jason is hard working.

Percy’s the Gaara to Jason’s Rock Lee. Jason’s the Katara to Percy’s Aang.

That Percy is someone who kind of effortlessly strong. He killed a fury the first time he held a sword and his powers work more often then not on instinct.

Meanwhile Jason’s strength comes from years of intense training. He moulded himself to be what he is now. He came to camp after Lupa deemed him worthy to do so.

I love the idea of Percy learning the Wolf Stare but its Jason who masters it.

Because Percy learned it as another tool in his arsenal. He could already defend himself. While Jason had to rely it as his only tool to survive until he learned how to fight.

And the way they view each other could utilise this theme for (if we must) jealousy that becomes admiration for each other.

Percy thinking that Jason is too strict and stuck up. Learning that Jason was forced to grow up quickly. To mold himself into the defined standard because it was the only way he’d survive.

Jason was dictated by rules and expectations. He was never allowed to find who he was beyond that. As such relying on instincts doesn’t come natural to him like it does Percy.

Jason thinking that Percy just doesn’t try and thinking everything comes easy to him. Learning that Percy is always trying his best and that he wouldn’t thrive in the strict environment Jason was raised in.

Percy relies on instinct because it’s what comes natural for him. Also he was placed on a pedestal far too soon, thrown into war and thus didn’t give him much time to learn and grow like Jason got too.

Seeing how these differing attitudes are viewed by their camps.

That Percy’s ridiculed for his lack of technique and polish. He fights in a style that works for him but doesn’t fit their ways. He doesn’t know the rules but breaks then anyway so the 5th is the place he’s cast out into.

While Jason has his achievements lose their merit because of course he’s strong, he’s the son of Jupiter.

Especially if you consider how different Jason is too Thalia who could also be attributed to that idea.

And Jason being frustrated by it because he worked hard to get here. It didn’t matter who his father was when he was abandoned at the Wolf House and forced to learn or die.

He joined the 5th cohort just to prove they could be great because he was going to be great. And to have all of his triumphs and skill attributed to his father, hurts.

People see Jason and assume he’s perfect. That he’s had everything handed down to him. He looks like every kid that used to bully them and the one that got the girl.

But it couldn’t be further from the truth. And maybe that anger comes from the fact Percy left and everyone expected me to be just like you (and maybe also Luke.)

The fear that plagues them, Percy relies on luck and how he doesn’t know what to do if it fails him while Jason wonders if he’ll ever be good enough.

And in time have it that Percy and Jason are able to learn from each other with their new experiences and time together.

Percy teaching Jason how to trust himself. Giving him space away prying eyes to figure himself out. To feel the wind in hair and the spark between his fingers.

And tell him that’s you.

Jason being the teacher that Percy never really had. Demonstrating different techniques he’s learned and seen. Helping him to find that balance and train in an environment where no one’s trying to kill him.

And seeing him make those skills his own.

And just imagine seeing that show as they fight alongside each other.

[hadesisqueer]

but would korra be really able to defeat azula

I assume this is related to my post from yesterday about Korra not getting fair fights with her villains because they knew she could beat them all?

And, yes. If Korra and Azula were to fight, Korra would win 100%. I love Azula, she is my favorite villain on both shows and one of my favorite characters overall. Azula is a firebending prodigy and very intelligent, yeah. She presented the first actual threat for the Gaang. She can bend lightning and is very powerful. We know she was already a master by the time she was 14.

Korra could bend three elements by age 4 or 5 and had mastered those three elements by the time she was 17. It took her about 12 years or so. Assuming it took her 3 or 4 years to master each element, that means she mastered waterbending before she turned 10 years old, which turns her into the youngest known bending master in the show, younger than 12yo Aang and 11yo Jinora. So, just like Azula, she is a bending prodigy. She's older than Azula as well, more experienced too, has fought villains of Azula's level or higher. Azula would give a good fight but yeah, no way she could win a 1v1 against Korra, and I'm not talking about end of the show Korra; maybe Book 1 Korra could make a mistake and Azula could have a chance, against Book 3 Korra she'd lose. Azula is a good tactician, but Korra —unlike people who haven't paid attention to the show and think she's a brainless brute— is a smart fighter as well, and she's more assertive than Aang, who Azula never truly defeated, by the way, and who could have most likely defeated Azula with just Airbending if he was more into aggression and less defensive and evasive. You could argue that Azula could throw lightning at Korra, but Korra is faster than Azula, and tbh could just block it just like Katara did; unless Azula attacked her in the back and by surprise like she did with Aang, that wouldn't work either.

In a fair fight, Korra could probably beat Azula just with water; her waterbending skills and raw power are insane. She once lifted a river and threw it at a giant mecha with enough force to make it stumble before freezing said waters and trapping it. Without a full moon or a moon at all, actually, because it was in plain daylight, when waterbenders are weaker. Without the Avatar State, that's the biggest feat of waterbending in both shows, and it's a bigger feat than Azula's biggest feat at firebending. As an Azula lover, sorry but no, she's not winning this lmao.

[beifong-brainrot]

The Gaang being 'bad parents' didn't ruin their characters.

I've seen this argument tossed around a couple times and it's honestly one of my least favourite criticisms of lok.

Katara (and Sokka but we have no confirmed kids for him, which seems unrealistic with how much game he had) lost their mother as children and their father was forced to abandon them when they were barely starting their teens. They were raised by their grandmother with little to no peers of their own age.

Aang did not know his parents and a huge chunk of his childhood was him being groomed into taking up the mantle of the avatar and mastering airbending. He also was isolated from other kids his age. His closest parental figure was Gyatso who was more of a teacher than a father. Also the Air Nomads were literally wiped out so that adds to the trauma pile.

I really don't think i have to talk about Zuko's family life here, but at least he had relatively positive parental figures in the form of Ursa (though i do have a burning personal dislike of ursa) and Iroh. Despite this his struggle around the subject of his family and his trauma relating to his upbringing was a focal point of his character arc.

Toph was raised in isolation by her asshole abelist parents who did not listen to her, sent people to capture and bring her back and then disowned her. (If my cursory understanding of 'the rift' is correct, I need to actually read it because i am unreasonably obsessed with the Beifong family.)

Where, pray tell, were they supposed to learn proper parenting skills? On their brief stint as child soldiers? While fighting a war as literal children?

There is the argument that they must've matured later in their lives, of course. But you can only recover so much from copious amounts of childhood trauma.

Being a bad parent doesn't necessarily make you a bad person. Sure it makes you a failure in an incredibly delicate and important aspect of human life but it doesn't make you a bad person. And saying that it does takes a lot of nuance out of the conversation.

Like, do you know how easy it is to fuck up a child?

Especially that the ways the members of the Gaang 'fucked up' as parents feel mostly in character.

Bumi was going to face some struggles with self worth due to being the firstborn child of the Avatar and arguably one of the most powerful waterbenders in history, while being a nonbender himself. That much was unavoidable, no matter how his parents approached the issue.

And Aang was obviously going to be over the moon when Tenzin was born. Think about it. He's literally the last of his people. He has no one else 'like him'. No one else to pass down the traditions, the teachings that Gyatso and everyone else he cared about and who were horrifically murdered to. Aang is getting older and he feels like his culture and history and his entire life before he got trapped in that damned iceberg will die along with him. And then Tenzin is born and Tenzin can take up the mantle that had been thrust upon Aang.

I'm going to withhold my judgement on Izumi and Zuko, since we barely know anything about them. She seems well adjusted but that's all i can say right now. But Zuko has also been shown to be extremely, painfully aware of how fucked up his family is and has clearly been putting in a lot of work to unscrew what his ancestors have screwed up.

Toph situation feels very tragic to me,because it's obvious that she thought she thought she was doing better than her parents. She gave her daughters the freedom to do what they want, to not feel opressed and trapped like she had. How was she supposed to know that she was making her girls feel like she didn't love them? (Here's another post of mine about the Beifong family and how they just feel like they're cursed or something at this point.)

TLDR; I get annoyed by people saying that the Gaang being 'bad parents' ruined their characters, because to me it felt like it actually enhanced them.

Neither Aang nor Toph acted out of malice or a lack of love. On the contrary, Toph was trying not to repeat her parents mistakes, accidentally committing a bunch of her own. While Aang probably didn't even realise that he was neglecting Kya and Bumi.

But just loving your children doesn't always make you a good parent.

I think these flaws only add to them as characters. It makes them feel more real.

It's unrealistic and, frankly, just plain boring to go 'oh the Gaang were all good people so they would be good parents too.'

The Gaang were a gaggle of traumatised children forced into saving the world, because the adults around them failed them, that then grew into traumatised adults who have no idea how to be good parents.

[sokkastyles]

There's this one fanfiction I read once that takes place after the events of TSR. Basically, after the events of TSR, Katara is noticeably behaving very differently from the way she used to. She's still caring and kind and helpful, but she's not forcing herself to be positive and happy when she's not, and she's acknowledging how overwhelmed she is more often. Everyone in the Gaang notices this, but Aang is exceptionally upset about this. Katara's also upset about this because Aang isn't trying to understand her and why she's changed. She overhears him talking to Zuko about this and I think Aang said something about them needing to make Katara happy again or the way she was before or something. Zuko says something along the lines of "maybe she doesn't want to be that person anymore. maybe that's not really who she is." And Aang disagrees and gets angry at this and then stomps away angrily. But Katara hugs Zuko and feels properly understood for the first time. It's a great story, and I found it on Tumblr, but I don't remember who wrote it or which ATLA blog it was on so I don't have a link (I wish I remembered so I could give proper credit). But if you do happen to find it, please read it, it's so good. I hope you're doing well.

Don't know the fic, but posting so that if anyone else recognizes it they can drop a name or a link.

This does feel very realistic for what I think would happen, and I think this, more than anything, is the real change in Katara that Aang fears and tries to prevent - A Katara who no longer feels the need to carry everyone's burdens for them at the expense of herself. I don't think he does this consciously, but that is very much at the heart of why the Southern Raiders is so upsetting for him.

[coffee-with-mint-syrup]

The case of live-action atla zutara.

First of all, the scarf scene. I won't be repeating myself, here are some main points - there was absolutely no reason for Zuko to act the way he did and for the scene to be shot this dramatically. Even if they did the shipbaiting in this scene - it means there's a ship which is much more than live-action kataang has at this point. Also I don't really think these guys are shipbaiting type but that's just the impression I got.

Then - the second obvious one - Oma and Shu's visuals. We have star-crossed lovers from two towns at war, basically the local equivalent of Romeo and Juliet (as in legendary lovers who are known above all for their love) wearing coincidentally colors that are primarily associated with two of our characters (who shared this dramatically shot scene in the previous episode).

And I know, it may seem so insignificant - but but but but! - you have to think about this. Of course there are creators, writers and showrunners that are unaware of some non-canon ships or don't care about them. But it's not the case for atla. No, creators of atla were so aware of zutara - they wrote a parody scene in a in-world trashy play to mock this fan pairing and it still proved absolutely nothing and just gave zutara more content. The creators and writers of this adaptation clearly had the discussion "what we should do with kataang" - because there is no trace of kataang in the 1st season. So it was a conscious decision to omit that - but where would the romantic subplot go? Well, I don't know, but they are showrunners, they most certainly discussed options. They are clearly very, very, very much aware of zutara. And they still do this? They still show us Oma and Shu wearing red and blue? All they had to do is to give at least one of them any different color. Any. But they didn't. (for fuck sake, it is the Earth Kingdom - yellow and green would do it)

There were zero, no, nada Kataang interactions, implications or those scenes that are filmed just a little bit too dramatically like the scarf one. I don't know, there's still a chance that they will wait for season 3 to make Aang's crush on Katara happen. I'm also not so sure what will happen to Aang failing to open seventh chakra, I mean - his love for Katara has a huge purpose in series, so it still doesn't look very good. But you can't even imagine how glad I am that they didn't do this secret tunnel thing. It was very uncomfortable.

So it was the more fact-based part of my case, let's get to the irrational, almost delusional part, tin foil hat probably needed.

Almost all the scenes Zuko and Katara shared in the first season kept reminding me of another famous enemies-to-lovers ship that actually became canon in the infamous final episode - Reylo, the way it was filmed in The Force Awakens. I mean - the first fight in the woods where she looses, the intensity of him staring at her, the final fight in snowy location where she kicks his ass and shows her mastering this superpower, him trying to talk to her during this fight and mentioning her learning/having to learn...Zuko calling Katara a peasant reminded me of this "Rey is no one" discourse. I don't know man, I haven't thought about The Force Awakens reylo for a very long time and it just kept popping in my head.

All of this - it's like a blueprint for enemies to lovers.

Also I actually think that the look they shared in the 2nd episode was also shot kinda weirdly and dramatically. It's not to the extent of the scarf scene but I do remember thinking that "why did they film it they way? it's too intense".

In the conclusion I'd like to say that as much as I like all the season 1 zutara stuff they left out in the adaptation - necklace subplot and implications, pirates and the famous "You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun" - I think I actually prefer the scarf scene. Yes, it would be so great to see those things in adaptation but in the end of the day they would still be just the things they kept from the original and probably noting more. Like the cabbages or the secret tunnel song or anything else, just things from the source material that implicate nothing. While the scarf scene, the Oma and Shu's clothes - it means they made a conscious decision to make it that way. It means they put some thought into that and some meaning. And this gives me hope there's a chance for Zutara in this adaptation.

P.S. I told about this my sister who hasn't watch the series yet and she said "I think people who made this show are just shipping zutara in secret". I do not necessarily imply she might be right - but creators of animated series (the very same people that made kataang canon, not zutara) DID leave because of some creative differences and because they couldn't control creative decision. Might as well be THAT kind of decision.