#and sokka the person who did ... absolutely everything else

[concernedbrownbread]

ID: tags reading

#'well at least this fucking dude won't come backin my favourite class spirits and mythology wherewe will read how princess yue became the #moon spirit with one last kiss to fucking sokka again I guess. anyway here's a list of the very little people who ever managed to go into #the spirit world and come back guess who's on there too' #'aw man I'm still so mad about the loss of the spirit library imagine all that knowledge. the only thing we have left is a description of #one of the last people who visited the library. guess fucking who again' #like obviously all the names of the gaang will be remembered but everyone else's #name when u first learn about them u know you need to remember them bc of course they will be important to history. like of course you're #gonna remember avatar aangs name bc you know his name will surely come back. of course you remember firelord zuko who led the fire nation #into an era of peace. meanwhile sokka's name is kinda a side note like yeah this guy was also #here you might need to remember this random detail for a test #except then he keeps coming back in every single class and by the end of your school career you're just like 'oh this test is asking me for #the name of whoever invented this or did that? well if I just answer sokka there's like a 50% chance it'll be correct do' #obviously then it becomes a meme #if tumblr exists 200 years after atla someone would make a post with a screenshot of some show with the text ah they really invented love' #and someone also will reblog with 'nice try but I think we all know who really invented love' and then it's one of those long posts in which #everyone reblogs with 'sokka' probably in a bunch of different fonts #atla. #sokka #mine. #atla #avatar

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obsessed with sokka’s name kinda popping up everywhere in school books years after atla. like yeah ur learning history about the end of the hundred year war? oh right with the avatars amazing team and some non bender named sokka who probably wasn’t all that important. on to gym class where u learn different fighting styles, did you know btw that the first guy to ever train with the kyoshi warriors was some random guy named sokka? oh well. can’t be late for physics where we learn about the invention of the air balloon and the submarine by … sokka? huh okay I guess, on to politics where we learn about all these important decrees over all the different nations which were first proposed by.. ah man, sokka? again? anyway art class now, here look at these paintings made by sokka

[seyaryminamoto]

My latest completed commission may have been a bit ambitious... because I went wild with it. But I certainly relished in doing so :') Combining my favorite ship with my favorite-ever Disney movie is, uh... a dangerous concoction :'D

The commissioner specifically requested for Azula as Mulan, Sokka as Shang, and Xin Long (my OC dragon from Gladiator) as Mushu. The rest of the cast was up to me to choose, and I pretty much went wild rewatching this movie and picking out some of my favorite moments to recreate them in my style, with these characters. I came up with a lot of correlating characters between both ATLA and 1998's Mulan, but I couldn't hope to draw EVERYTHING, unfortunately. Still, if you want my reasoning for the cast correlation... check out the Read More! Beyond that, feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to commission me, or if you want to join my Patreon!

The Herbalist as Mulan's grandmother might feel arbitrary but she honestly felt like the ATLA elderly lady with the most similar personality to Grandma Fa. Fickle, with a unique connection with a seemingly perfectly ordinary animal, old and sassy? Figured it fit! So for once, the Herbalist is Azula's grandma! xD strange notion, I know, Azulon/Herbalist is not a ship I ever thought I'd accidentally put out in the world but there have been wilder ships than that in this fandom...

Momo became Cri-Kee, I wasn't 100% sold on it but when I considered that Avatar features soooo many hybrid animals... I figured he could be a hybrid cricket-lemur. Weird, I know, but eh? Better than nothing xD

Aang as Chien-Po was a no-brainer. He's the only character I settled on instantly, never even considered anyone else for the role. Their personalities line up really well, and Chien-Po's tendency to be OP and resolve things that are outside of other people's reach sounded like he was prime Avatar material! So, while their dietary preferences are an obvious difference between them, I decided to go for it nonetheless considering all their other similarities!

Kino (another Gladiator OC) is Ling, and he actually did give me a ton of trouble to choose. I considered many characters for the role right up until I realized that Kino's personality actually lines up fairly well with Ling's, down to being a class clown type (who ABSOLUTELY would have cut gym class!) and breaking out in song about the hypothetical woman he'd like to fight for? Yeeeeah that's right up his alley xD but there's another reason why I picked Kino...

... And that is my likely unexpected choice for Yao:

ZUKO.

ZUKO IS YAO.

YES.

I'M NOT EVEN SORRY.

(For the uninitiated, Aang, Zuko and Kino are best friends in Gladiator, very often together, and they make a really good team, so that's the extra reason why Kino became the obvious choice for Ling aside from having really similar personalities, definitely closer personalities than, say, Jet, for instance.)

People have likened Zuko to Shang a LOT since ATLA aired. This is the main reason why I'm even making this huge note! I suspect it's primarily because of the aesthetic, let's be real here, and because he becomes Aang's teacher, but people have exaggerated Zuko's alleged similarities with Shang, or taken them out of proportion, in many ways. I actually remember an AMV ages ago with "Be a Man" and it was Zuko "training the Gaang"?? It... didn't feel right to me. Obviously, someone might rebuff with "well, how does Sokka make MORE sense than that, though?" And believe it or not, I have arguments for that... (when do I not...?)

Not only is this what the commissioner specifically requested (and it obviously lines up with the ship we love!), but let's examine the actual reasons why Sokka as Shang adds up:

Sokka actually had to train a bunch of toddlers who weren't paying any attention to him. You know. Kind of how Shang had to train the unruly soldiers who weren't getting anything right. Sokka has a positive relationship with his dad (Zuko, ofc, does not). Shang also has a positive relationship with his dad! And not only this, but there's a military component to both relationships, specifically with Shang wanting to follow on his father's footsteps and aid him in the war... so much like someone else I know, who jumped at every opportunity to rejoin his father in the war, even wishing to join him as a child until Hakoda tasked him with protecting their Tribe instead (kinda like Shang is tasked with training soldiers rather than joining a battlefield).

And the final cherry-on-top that I'd loooove to hear Zuko fans try to argue against... is sexism :') didn't Sokka get characterized as a sexist guy for four episodes, which made people decide that this was his main character trait even if it went away that quickly? Um, yes, that happened. Shang literally sings the memorable song that's a crazy ode to masculinity, including the rather sexist line of "did they send me daughters when I asked for sons". Shang outright abandons Mulan once they discover that she was a woman all along (while, admittedly, choosing to abandon her rather than KILL HER, which as we saw from Chi-Fu, he was NOT supposed to spare her!)...

So, is this REALLY what Zuko fans, who willfully believe their boy is a feminist king (... why? beats me...) are trying to compare their unproblematic blorbo to? :'D Me? I have no problem linking Sokka with Shang due to Sokka's beginnings and due to the fact that both Shang and Sokka have similar growth when it comes to accepting femininity is as valid as masculinity, and as they both learn to respect women as fighters and potential heroes! (I simply do not believe Sokka's ENTIRE tenure in ATLA was about that, though, and that's what I continue to clash with the fandom over...) So... all this is why I've reasoned that Sokka is a VERY solid choice for Shang, in fact, better than Zuko could hope to be.

... but this isn't all.

Maybe some might accept my arguments for Sokka-Shang. And then, they might ask:

WHY ZUKO AS YAO, THO??

... And the truth is it took me long to see it, myself, but HOLY SHIT, DOES IT FIT!

What is the primary thing we remember about Yao in Mulan? This guy is constantly itching for a fight, to prove himself, surely riddled with insecurities that he exteriorizes through overcompensation of masculinity. He's funny as fuck, but he's taking himself 100% seriously as a manly man all the time, and he's always ready for violence. But there's one more thing...

He treats Mulan as his RIVAL.

And more often than not? SHE SCREWS HIM OVER. Intentionally or not.

What does that sound like? Why, yes, it sounds a LOT like Azula and Zuko's sibling relationship!

The fact that Yao is a temperamental dude who lashes out easily at things (oh, something he has in common with Zuko!), that he specifically resents Mulan (in this case, Azula, just as Zuko does!) and is either constantly looking to defeat her and prove his superiority over her (... wait, just as Zuko with Azula??), that he has a black eye perpetually across the movie, and it's his LEFT EYE (just as Zuko's scar is on his left eye! :'D), that he's friends with a pacifist he has basically nothing in common with, personality-wise (just like Zuko and Aang!), and that he pretty much has a REDEMPTION ARC in which he goes from a bitter, asshole rival to Mulan to treating her as a friend and ally, to the point where he was disappointed to leave her behind and THEN joined her at once when she says she has a plan? :') I have always been critical of Zuko's redemption arc, goes without saying. But if ANY of these characters redeemed himself in any significant way, it certainly seems to be Yao to me, and with people gushing NON-STOP about Zuko's redemption? Why, he ought to be the character who goes from bitter rival to loyal friend, right?

So. I'm not even sorry. Zuko is Yao. And I'd dare say that he should be flattered by the comparison, even, because Yao ends up being cool as FUCK!

I don't really talk about this much nowadays, but Mulan was my favorite Disney movie growing up, it ABSOLUTELY had a formative influence on me as a little girl, and Mulan was my favorite female character for a looooong time. Thus, any excuse to rewatch this movie makes me happy as heck. With the wisdom of age I know, of course, that it's not perfect, it's not what China wants, it's not the most thoughtful depiction of Chinese culture or the most faithful adaptation of Mulan's poem (... but I'd also dare bring up that the 2009 Chinese adaptation ISN'T all that faithful either...), but it has a kind of magic in it, a solid storytelling flow, so many memorable moments one after the next, that I could hardly choose which scenes to depict... Disney has never again seen the storytelling heights it reached with Mulan in 1998. I don't even care if that's a controversial opinion in any way... this is their best animated feature for me, and nobody can change my mind.

So... depicting Azula, my beloved, in all these scenarios as this character I adored and idolized as a child, was so damn fulfilling for me. While some might think that, personality-wise, these two ladies don't have much in common, the fact that Mulan is sent to a matchmaker who basically tells her she looks good but is going to be the worst wife ever...? Our girl Azula, with all those insecurities about being unloveable and a monster, probably would relate big time to that.

Mulan is also an INTELLIGENT soldier rather than a brawny one, which is how she starts to make progress in the army, it's how she manages to overcome the huns with that avalanche... and Azula's primary difference with most other antagonists in ATLA is that she's smart as fuck. She is very strong, no doubt, but a LOT of that strength comes from her intelligence, from assessing situations in unique ways, from planning and strategizing. The way Mulan finds the most unexpected solutions that still pay off reminds me a lot of how Azula achieves unexpected feats through rather unorthodox means, capable of taking over a city with basically no bloodshed while her nation has spent 100 years trying and failing to do so through major army incursions and who knows how much senseless violence. Obviously, I'm not saying what Azula did is GOOD and it's kind of dumb that we always have to point that out... I'm merely comparing the magnitude of the feats, and the fact that they both come from ladies who use strategy and intelligence to achieve their goals rather than muscle and physical power.

And while anyone would rage at me for the comparison between Fa Zhou (her dad) and Ozai, the truth is the dynamic between them CAN be compared, if loosely: Mulan literally goes to war to keep her father safe. Azula goes to war under her father's orders. Hell, she makes herself BAIT in the Eclipse to make sure the Gaang won't get to her dad?? While it's very much possible to say that both characters have different personalities and attitudes in life... I'd also bring up that their contexts are evidently completely different. I wouldn't say for certain that Azula, had she been raised outside a Royal Family, would be EXACTLY like Mulan... but they might have more similar traits than one might expect. Ultimately, though... I love them both. And this opportunity to swap their places was pretty much a dream come true!

Alright, that was plenty of rambling xD ultimately, I had a blast doing this commission, as I'm sure is obvious by now. So! If anyone wants to commission me, feel free to check out my prices right here and hit me up if you're interested!

[siswritesyanderes]

Which yanderes would be best to help you hide a body with? It can't be anyone who can vanish the body with magic or throw it into the sun or w/e, they have to help you dig the hole or drive you to the pig farm or something. Who will ask zero questions? I know some of them don't want to get their hands dirty, who would?

My very first thought was Nagito Komaeda, but if I open this up to Danganronpa characters, we'll be here all day, lol.

Sokka would help you dig a hole. He might complain about it, and he might ask questions, but they wouldn't really be "Why did you kill the guy?" or "Who is this person you killed?" questions, so much as "Did anyone see you?" and "Have you had dinner yet? I'm starving. We should eat something after this."

Percy Jackson would probably drive you to a lake or river, with the body in the trunk of the car, and drop it off there. Annabeth would be the feed-it-to-pigs type. Work smarter, not harder!

Nico di Angelo would definitely help you dig a hole and wouldn't need to ask any questions because he can talk to ghosts; he'll ask someone else the details later. You might just dig in comfortable silence together, or you might be chatting about something irrelevant, like Mythomagic lore.

William Afton takes you to his pizzeria, and you pretty much just watch him shove the body in an animatronic. There is absolutely no ceremony to this, for him; you may as well have asked him to help you unscrew a jar. He's glad he can share this moment with you, though. He thinks it's romantic to let you choose which animatronic it gets shoved into.

Kris Dreemurr would help you dig a hole, for sure. Or, if pigs are available, they would help you feed a body to some pics. Maybe they'd convince Onionsan to eat it. Whatever method they choose, they don't ask any questions; they'd pretty much just shrug and then get up and help.

I would say most characters in Twilight would bury a body, no questions asked.

Natasha Romanov definitely has a whole procedure for inconvenient corpses; she would take over the whole operation the second you indicate you need to dispose of a body, and it wouldn't occur to her that it matters why you did it or what's going on. After it's over, she'd probably take you home, pour both of you a drink, and debrief on everything.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

I Am Blackened Bones (Part 14)

It is more of a crash rather than a graceful step back into his body. But he is thankful to be back in the physical realm no less. Things make sense here. And nothing is on fire. Rather most things aren’t aflame. The fire spirit is fully engulfed again. Fully engulfed and trembling harder than ever. Aang’s stomach lurches. He had put work into getting into her mind and had done absolutely nothing but let confusion get the better of him. 

He rubs his hands over his face. What if he had just made things worse by invading Azula’s mind. He shakes his head. But Azula was the one who had invited him in—a part of her had anyways, likely the part of her that just wants love and affection.

“She needs some water.” Aang starts to say. But Katara already has the spirit drenched and lightly smoking whey she continues to lay, curled up and whimpering. He can’t help but imagine Azula there curled up in her human form, eyes closed, cheeks pressed against the ground. 

“You’re going to be alright.” Aang promises her. 

“What happened, Aang?” Sokka asks. 

“You couldn’t get the fire out?” Toph shoves herself away from the tree that she had been leaning upon.

He shakes his head. “No. I couldn’t. I…” got lost and didn’t accomplish a single thing.

“What? What is it Aang?” Katara kneels down at his side. “You can always try again. You don’t need to be so hard on yourself.”

But the more attempts that he needs the longer the spirit…Azula will suffer. He doesn’t think that she deserves to suffer but part of him, the part that he tries to stay far, far away from, can’t help but think that she did have it coming. It’s that same part of him that was so angry with Zuko for the longest time. And he feels like a liar for pretending like everything was okay. It is okay now, he had lied until it became true. Lied about not being angry until the anger left.

And if he had harbored a silent and passive resentment for Zuko what can he say for the woman who had killed him.

It would be so easy to just let the spirit drive her out and take her place. Nobody else would be wiser to it. Which is why he has to say it out loud.

“I…” He furrows his brows. “Well I don’t really know what I saw.” A lie. To himself he muses “Maybe I should wait until I know for sure.” But no he does have to say it. If for no other reason than to make sure that he doesn’t betray his own values.

Katara looks from him to a spirit that still looks somewhat dazed and disoriented. 

“Aang what happened?” Toph urges. “Come out with it already.”

“We can’t exactly offer advice if we don’t know what’s wrong.” Sokka points out.

He frowns. “I…I think that I found...” He pauses. Yes, that’s one way of delivering the news. But is it the best way? He starts over. “I think that the spirit is Azula.” 

Sokka’s mouth falls agape. 

Katara’s stare falls back on the spirit who is now sitting upright and listening intently with her head cocked. “Are you…are you sure?” 

Aang nods. “Not completely.” He needs to stop holding back. “But almost completely. Like as completely sure as I can be without being completely sure.”

“What does that even mean?” Toph grumbles. 

“Aang, what exactly did you see?”

“A burning maze.” He answers. “I was lost in it and then I ran into the spirit. Or she ran into me. And then there was this spot on the ground—it could have been a door—she fit herself right into it and then we were in a very dark place.” He pauses. “And that’s where I saw Azula.”

Katara’s brows pinch. 

“She and the spirit…they would say and do the same things. It’s because they are the same person. Two parts of one another.” 

“Are you sure?”

“I know what I saw and I’m pretty sure that it means what I think it does. Why else would I see Azula in the Fire Spirit’s mind? She can’t remember who she is. But she’s still there.” He stares at his hands, at the ground, the sky, the trees, at anything but his friends and the fire spirit. “I don’t know how to help her.” Is what he confesses. What he means is that he doesn’t know what to do; what choice to make. To save Azula is to get rid of the spirit. And to save the spirit is to leave Azula to be burned away. One of them will vanish so that the other can live. Perhaps it is a dreadful thing, but Aang wants to keep the spirit and its silly quirks and innocent stare.

.oOo.

“We should probably find Zuko and tell him what’s going on.” Sokka suggests.

“Tell Zuko what?” He hates it when they do that. Talk about him behind his back.

“Zuko!” Katara jumps. 

“Yeah…” Zuko grumbles, rubbing the back of his head. 

“Done throwing your royal tantrum?” Toph asks. 

“You know what, I’ll just…” He turns back to the treeline that he had just emerged from.

“Wait!” Katara shouts. He doesn’t care to do that. Maybe that makes him a jerkass, but he is tired and hungry and frustrated. And he doesn’t want to be around his friends when he is in such a touchy and defeated mood. “We found her!”

He pauses and turns around. “Then where is she?” 

And to his dismay, Katara points directly at that goofy, mischievous fire spirit. “Of course she is.” He mutters.

“Why don’t you come get something to eat and Aang can explain everything.” Sokka offers. 

“I can explain what I know, which isn’t much.”

“When did you find out?” Zuko takes his seat on the nearest log. The Fire Spirit…Azula fixes her eyes on him, he is surprised to see a lack of resentment and distaste in them. She doesn’t leave Katara’s side. 

“She doesn’t remember anything.” Aang says. “Well she does but she doesn’t.  I used energybending to go into her psyche; she’s in there and she remembers who she is. But the spirit doesn’t know that she is Azula and Azula didn’t recognize the spirit as part of herself. It’s complicated.”

“Aang, you’re making my head pound.” Zuko massages his temples.

Aang strokes his chin. It has been some time since Zuko has seen him look so serious. “It’s a spirit curse. There are two halves of Azula and the human part of her that remembers being human is trapped in her own mind but she doesn’t realize it and doesn’t know where she is.” He takes a breath. “And when she saw the manifestation of her spirit half she got angry.” 

“I thought that you said that you weren’t completely sure if that was Azula.” Sokka quirks a brow. “You sound mighty certain now.” 

Aang shrugs. “The more I say it out loud, the more sense it makes.” 

“I don’t know if I agree with that.” Zuko grumbles. He leaves for a little while and suddenly everything is one giant mess. 

“I’m going to try to go back into her head tomorrow. I think that the key is getting Azula to either remember what happened to her or recognize the spirit as a part of herself.” 

“Well which is it?” Zuko asks. “Does she need to remember what happened or recognize that they’re the same…entity?”

“Maybe both.” Aang replies quietly. 

“Well if she remembers how she got cursed, wouldn’t that come with realizing that she and the spirit are the same?” Toph asks. 

“Probably.” Aang nods. He bites his lower lip. Zuko hates when he does that. It means that there’s something more. 

“But…?” He prompts. 

“It could also be a matter of getting the spirit to recognize that Azula is a part of her. And that would be a bit harder because the spirit is a little…”

“Stupid?” Toph laughs.

Katara gives her a solid swat. “Naive.”

“Confused.” Aang says. 

“So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?” Zuko asks. “Apparently we can’t just take her back to the Fire Nation.” And he isn’t allowed to use his bending around her. 

“Well.” Katara takes the spirit’s spindly hand. “We make sure that her fire stays out so that she isn’t in pain. We usually have to take her for a swim every hour. And that’s about it. Now that we know that she’s Azula we’ll just have to keep her comfortable while Aang works with energybending.”

“You can’t just talk to her.”

Aang shakes his head. “She doesn’t get it.”

“If she doesn’t ‘get it’ out here in the real world, why would she ‘get it’ in…in Azula world.” He shudders. Agni, he doesn’t even want to know what Azula world is like. It is probably fully engulfed in flames and lies. 

“It’s a spirit problem that requires spiritual solutions. I have to reach human Azula. And to do that…” 

“You need to talk to her through energybending.” He finishes. 

“That’s right.”

“Just be glad that we found her.” Toph folds her arms. “That was our mission and it was a success.”

Zuko wouldn’t call this success. They still have to find Azula in some sense. Wherever she is locked within her own mind. Zuko groans. Her mind is so complicated! Aang has himself an impossible mission if even Azula herself is confused by her own mind. 

He watches the spirit crawl into Katara’s lap. Katara who should push her away but instead pets her head. It would do Katara well to remember that her silly, curious spirit is actually a conniving, intimidating monster. 

A monster, he reminds himself, that he wanted to find and make amends with. 

He rubs his hands over his face. He had expected the years to have changed her. 

But not like this. 

Not so literally. 

“Why does everything have to be so difficult!” He throws his hands up.”

“To make your life exciting.” Toph declares with an unhelpful degree of boldness.

He hopes that the Azula that comes out of this is more agreeable than the person that he used to know. At the same time he finds himself hoping exactly the opposite. It would be terribly strange if human Azula acted as timid and thoughtlessly as the fire spirit. 

So what does he want from her?

What had he been hoping to accomplish by looking for her?

Maybe he really has only been thinking of himself again. Of easing his mind in knowing that she is still alive.

He can’t help but look at the spirit and think that that could have been him if things had gone even slightly different for him. And perhaps that is what drives him. What makes him want to help Azula. 

They aren’t so different from one another. ‘

He doesn’t shoo the spirit away when she cautiously approaches him.

[zukkaart]

Zukka, #13. “Why am I always your second option?” because 😈

Wonderful wonderful,

For the prompt game! (No one has picked my favorite one yet, bonus points if you do 😘)

Anyway here ya go

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Exactly five years after the end of the 100 year war. A celebration is in order.

“So Sokka, who are you going to invite to the celebration?” Katara calls to her brother through the now open doorway connecting their rooms.

“I figured I’d just bring Toph, you’re going with Aang and she never bothers to ask anyone,” Katara gives him a completely unimpressed look. “What?” He asks defensively.

“You take Toph to everything, and anything you can’t take her to, you take me to. Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, even our own events”

“So? Is it wrong that I feel comfortable around you guys? Who else am I supposed to ask? Suki is still flittering around the EK helping in reconstruction and damage control, and she’s dragging Ty Lee along with her.” He pauses, a sly grin crossing his face, “Are you suggesting I ask Azula?”

Katara placed a hand on her chest in shock, “Absolutely NOT! I’m just saying it wouldn’t kill you to meet new people,”

“Actually- considering the semi-frequent attempts on my life due to my station as emissary, it very well could,” He countered, Katara only rolled her eyes.

“You know, you could always ask Mai” She offered. That stopped Sokka in his tracks. With one hand still holding his half-done braid tight he turned to face her.

“And have Zuko light me on fire? Absolutely not. Why do you hate me?” Sokka whined as the dutiful older brother he was.

“Sokka, they broke up. Like 6 months ago. For La’s sake do you ever pay attention when I speak? I’m going to get Aang, he told me if the meeting ran over three hours so to go save him. Think about talking to Mai, okay?” She said the last part with a genuine tone, but Sokka simply threw her a particularly vulgar gesture as she strode into the hall.

He grumbled to himself as he finished braiding his hair in the water-tribe style, letting the ends loose in his signature wild tail. He stared at himself in the mirror for a moment. He was twenty one now, and definitely looked it. He stood just over six feet and his build had filled out so much that sometimes it was hard to not think it was it father staring back at him.

“You know what Katara? Maybe I will,” He flexed his arms in the mirror, smiling satisfied to himself, straightened his sleeveless blue tunic, and set on his way down the hall towards Mai’s room.

~~~

“I can’t Mai, I just can’t look at one more persons ‘ideas’ on how to improve any number of things. My head is spinning, I think if I have to go over these supply routes one more time I’ll burst in to flames.” Zuko slammed his hand down onto his wooden desk, his meeting robes were hanging off his shoulders loosely. Mai sat beside him picking her nails, as disinterested as ever.

“Just tell them that you’ve got it handled and don’t need any more input. You’ve been Fire Lord for five years now Zuko, you’re not a little kid anymore” His only response was a deep groan.

Just then a knock came, but not on his door, it sounded distant. “I think that’s for me,” Mai stood with a heavy sigh “I swear if one more servant offers me tea I’ll puke” she opened Zuko’s door with an impatient “Yes?”

“Oh Mai! I was hoping I could find you,” A familiar deep voice came from the hallway. Zuko immediately jumped to his feet and straightened his robes, tying the belt so tight he almost couldn’t take a full breath. He tried to come in to Sokka’s view as casually as possible and simply hoped that he didn’t look as awful as he felt.

“Oh hey Sokka, did you need something?” Zuko spoke before Mai could make one of her signature snide remarks.

“Oh Zuko, I’m so sorry. Katara told me that you were- I need a date to- she said I- oh never mind” Sokkas face flushed all the way to his ears. Zuko thought he looked adorable. For all of his bulging muscles and political skills, he’s still just that awkward 16 year old boy who thought he could fly a bison in to the heart of the fire nation.

To his surprise, Maj stopped Sokka before he could take his leave of them. He strode over to them sheepishly. He looked absolutely stunning, obviously having just gotten finished getting ready for the night’s festivities.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Mai simply brushed past him to return to her own room.

“Oh wait, I-“ Sokka called after her, but her door had already slammed shut. He sighed and slid down the wall, firmly planting himself on the marble floor. “Why can’t I do anything right Zuko?” The Fire Lord eyed him quizzically.

“What are you talking about?”

“Katara told me you two had broken up, so I came here to- I don’t know, it’s stupid. And it doesn’t matter because I didn’t realize Katara was wrong. I’m sorry.” Sokka placed a hand atop is head in frustration.

This is it. Zuko thought to himself. He came here to ask me to attend the festival with him, but I need to make sure he knows Mai and I aren’t together.

“Oh, Katara wasn’t wrong,” Zuko sank to his knees beside him. “We did break up, she was just helping me with some trade routes,” Sokka chucked to himself, shaking his head lightly.

“Well it doesn’t matter,” what? “She obviously wants nothing to do with me,” oh

Zukos heart plummeted into his stomach. Mai, he had come to ask Mai to the festival. Not him. Ugh, how could he have been so stupid? Instead of the hot sting of embarrassment rising in him, all Zuko felt was… rage

“Mai?” He scoffed and rose to his feet. “You came to ask Mai to the festival?”

“Yeah.” Sokka stood and matched his defensive stance, “Something wrong with that?” The water tribe boy folded his arms over his chest, a scowl settled upon his features.

“Something wro- are you out of your mind?!” Zuko couldn’t choke down his emotions any more, but it seemed Sokka was not the best at reading emotions.

“You’ve been broken up for six months, and you’re obviously on good terms. Why shouldn’t I?” Sokka stepped aside into Zukos room so he could shut the door behind them. “Katara told me not to take Toph, I don’t want to go alone”

“Are you seriously that thick?” Zuko’s accusation hit Sokka like a bucket of cold water. “And to think that I- UGH” He threw his hands in the air.

“To think that you what?” Sokkas tone was much gentler now. He realized that there was something about this situation that he missed, and it was a big something. They stood in silence for a moment- then it hit him. “Oh, oh my La Zuko I am so sorry. You thought that I came to ask you?” All of the frustration had eddied from his voice, all that was left was confusion and a tinge of sadness.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter,” Zuko waved him off, tightening his sash even more. “I dont know why I thought you would,”

“Me either,” Sokka noticed his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. “No- not like that, you just never seem to want to go with me to anything.”

“What are you talking about?” Zuko snipped back

“Last years diplomat ball, Mai was busy, so you asked me. Three years ago the solstice in the south, you asked Katara but Aang showed up so then you asked me. Six months ago you asked Ty Lee to the opening of the new theater, but she had to leave but I was in town so then you asked me.” Sokka’s voice raised in volume with every account he laid out. “Why am I always your second option?”

It was Zuko’s turn to be embarrassed. He had misread this situation horribly. Sokka was trying to respect his boundaries, and Zuko had essentially just accused him of stringing him along. Really, it was Zuko who had done the pulling.

“Oh… oh Sokka I am so-“ He reached out but Sokka pulled away before he could make contact.

“Don’t Zuko… just don’t,” His eyes were as cold as ice as they fixed themselves to Zuko. “You always treat me like an alternate, and I’m always there. When everyone else falls through I am there. So don’t you dare accuse me of coming here under false pretenses, I have just been trying to protect myself,” Now that hit Zuko like a ton of bricks. Sokka felt the need to protect himself from Zuko. And honestly- Zuko didn’t have a good reason for why he shouldn’t.

Zuko had never meant to string him along of course, but it just kind of…happened. It wasn’t conscious, it was just because Sokka was always there, he was safe and comfortable to be around. In his royal training he was always taught it was polite to ask the highest ranking woman (or your partner, but it was always assumed that the Fire Lords parter would in fact be the highest ranking woman) to an event first, but he now realized that there’s no way Sokka could have known that. Zuko could definitely understand how that would look from the outside. How could he have been so foolish.

“Sokka you don’t need to protect yourself from me. I didn’t understand how you felt, I got wrapped up in customs and didn’t consider how it could possibly have made you feel. For that I am truly sorry…” Sokka said nothing, just pinned him with that same impassive look. “One thing I don’t understand though…” Zuko continued, Sokka raised an eyebrow, “Is why it went this far, I mean we only ever went as friends, you knew that.”

Of course Sokka new that, but that didn’t keep the knife in his gut from twisting. He couldn’t help but let out a bitter, humorless laugh.

“Oh Zuko, you really don’t get it do you?”

“What’s there to get? You’re my best friend, we went to a few events together, nothing sinister,”

“Oh is that what you’re aiming for?” Sokka began to pace the room

“Of course not… I don’t understand what’s happening Sokka, please tell me what’s going on,” Zuko had already made a fool of himself by assuming something once this evening, he wasn’t about to do it a second time.

“For Agnis sake,” Sokka took a sharp step toward him, it started Zuko so much that they both tripped and went flying backwards, landing in a heap of robes and curses. Sokkas head cracked against his mouth, splitting his lip open.

“Ouch,” Zuko groaned, he tasted blood. Sokka listed his head to look him in the eye, preparing to berate him for being so uptight but then… they were so close.

Zuko’s lip throbbed, but all he could focus on was Sokka’s warm breath mingling with his own, and his jasmine and musk scent dominating his senses.

Sokka stayed there, unmoving, steady. Zuko didn’t dare to even shift for fear that he’d get up. Of course- they’d been this close before, they’d sparred and slept next to each other on trips. But this felt… different somehow. Intimate. Was the word that Zuko’s brain provided him.

Then, a calloused thumb was wiping the stray droplets of blood off his bottom lip. Normally, it would have hurt, but Zuko’s entire body was buzzing with uncertainty and anticipation.

Before another thought could pass through his conscious mind, Sokka’s lips were on his. Cool and steady.

And it was like the answer to a question Zuko had been asking his whole life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ah my favorite idiots.

This could have been WAY longer so count your blessings.

Thank you for this prompt! Xoxo

[manlyquail]

Netflix Avatar

I've got many thoughts I want to get out and so why not just make a "nobody asked and nobody cares" word vomit about my opinions on the Netflix Avatar series!

It'll be below the cut, but let me say I thoroughly enjoyed it but am on the fence about if it did need to exist or not given how perfect the original is. I could go either way honestly, and would watch more if more came out, but I'll explain more stuff in spoilers below.

I'll break this into a few sections, Positives, Negatives, Neutrals, and some sort of summary for my thoughts, but there is probably going to be some overlap since some things could fall into a few categories.

Positive First:

So this could stem from trauma from the last time things came around, but I thought the bending in the series looked way better (for the most part...). The opening scene alone felt like an atonement for how done dirty Earthbenders were in *that movie* and everything felt really fluid.

The characters in general all felt really true to themselves (again, for the most part). I was skeptical at first when news came out about Sokka's removed sexism, but honestly with the way his character arc played out based on the pressure to be a leader and a warrior I think it still worked out fine.

There was a surprising amount in the series that I thought would be material that would just get cut out, which was simultaneously a pro and a con. It was good to see a few certain story elements (SECRET TUNNELLLLL) but the way they overlapped in order to get several things in at the same time makes some of them a pro and some of them a con.

The payoff for "MY CABBAGES" had me rolling. 10/10

For the most part, every time I saw a character I knew immediately who they were. Costume and character design were great, sets and backgrounds were beautiful, everything on this front felt good.

One highlight is tied to the changes made around Zuko's backstory and his crew. His belief in not sacrificing the soldiers and them being assigned to him (and Iroh's telling of this fact to the questioning soldiers) was a great addition in my opinion. It added more depth beyond just the sympathy originally given to Zuko because of his scar.

Each (recent) Avatar getting their own spot in the light was fun. Roku's personality was enjoyable even if he was only around briefly.

Finale was super fun to watch, the effects of the moon changes across all the characters and the spirit rage had me pretty hyped.

In general the balls to burn so many people alive caught me off guard as far as ratings go, but I won't complain!

The sexism addressed in the North was a good bit of development for a few characters, although without Sokka's sexism through the early parts and a moment that really felt close to 'She has help' I'm a little on the fence about the impact it had there.

Absolutely loved June.

There's probably a few smaller things I missed here or there but in general lots of positives, thought with those comes

Negatives:

I'll get this out right away because this was honestly the biggest gripe I had out of anything else. I was not entirely sold on Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai. For me they personally looked too young, the rounded cheeks felt too innocent didn't sell me on the fierce and sharp features Azula demonstrates in the show, but I'm really trying not to get too hung up on this element. Azula is honestly an impossible standard, and I think what was demonstrated was still okay, but I'll be brutally honest that her victory at the very end over Omashu took a lot of the wind out of my sails, especially following the dramatic war of the North. I think maybe the actresses could grow into the characters, but when I picture scenes like the desert standoff with everyone versus Azula it just doesn't vibe.

Airbending when it was first shown felt a little too 'wee I'm on a wire and special effects!' which was somewhat painful. The combat aspects of it felt a lot better and the glider scenes worked, but I was pretty nervous when Aang first made his way down from the towers.

The Kiyoshi scene while cool at first felt brief and somewhat underwhelming. We saw some guys get grabbed by water tentacles and then a big swirl tornado of all the elements but that was really it. People got tossed around and the instant they retreated the state ended. It was cool to see Kiyoshi but I feel like the badassery could've come through at least a little more.

They really nail over the head 'Friendship is magic!' almost too much. Each Avatar basically told Aang not to have attachments or get too close to people because its bad juju, and the lesson 'I only got this far because I work with my friends' got old fast.

Aang additionally didn't do any learning with Katara during her waterbending training headed North. I'm on the fence about this because a lot of extra drama was cut out (no Bato, no pirates and the questioning about morals of stealing a scroll, no jealousy of Katara from Aang's training, etc.). Additionally one weird change (I know I noticed this as a positive earlier), but the Cave of Two Lovers was entirely a Sokka / Katara scene, and the narrative was compressed a little bit so that their 'sibling love' on an emotional level was the reasoning the badgermoles escorted them out, as opposed to either music or following the lights (which they brought up the lights but then made it a red herring?). On that note this cave appeared in Book 2 on the return trip to Omashu, but here it just showed up to get Katara and Sokka into the palace (warned about Palace Guards which I guess also weren't a problem, and this was at the top of the city but tunnels under... anyways...).

A small nitpick but something I remember laughing at; Katara does a training scene where she hits herself in the face with water and proceeds to try and wipe it off, but she's entirely dry, so that... just felt funny.

Avatar Roku didn't get much time in the light either (not even a dragon), and several spirit moments were crammed into one. Yue is a fox spirit that was randomly in the forest, Wan Shi Tong was there to (only heard by Aang) give an ominous warning that his friends would be in danger, and then Koh was also there to... just be a creepy cannibal centipede? These all showed up during the Hei Bai plot thread which didn't even get resolved (the villagers got brought back but I don't recall ever seeing the spirit again; cut for time?). The Koh thing felt out of place as well because this was the motivation for Aang to go all the way to the fire nation to see Roku, who told him to just let them die before Aang took an idol from Koh's mom back to trade for a whole bunch of people. During this 'Koh will feed soon' period Aang made it all the way to the fire nation, did his Roku meditation, got kidnapped by June and turned in to Iroh and Zuko (presumably all the way back on the mainland?), got kidnapped from his kidnapping by Zhao, spent time in prison, then the entire Blue Spirit rescue, with Aang hiding out even longer from fire nation patrols before making sure Zuko got back to his ship safe, and then made it back in time to save everybody from hungry hungry Koh. Honestly just so much here that it made the whole segment feel a tad clunky.

Neutral:

Now this is a list of things that I'm on the fence on and could probably go either way on.

Bumi being the biggest thing here.

Now Bumi's character changes at first were jarring. His identity being revealed immediately was a surprise, but his throwing a big fancy party and seeming like a weirdly hedonistic bad comedian felt off. His original personality I think showed through just enough to keep this from being a negative, but the fun of Bumi was how he was messing with Aang to try and provoke a memory from him while also just being batshit crazy. This would sometimes crop up, and the fight between the two was pretty slick, but otherwise it felt like Bumi was more of just a jaded old man. It became about Aang teaching him a lesson and not the other way around, which in the way felt justified with Bumi being consistently at war for 100 years, but on the other didn't feel like Bumi. I guess I leave this neutral purely on the grounds that this is a reimagining and not just the same story vomited back out in live action, but it's still one of the tougher changes to adapt to.

Another small change is that Aang did zero bending of any of the other elements outside of the Avatar state. He didn't train with Katara as I mentioned, nor did he have his interaction with Jeong Jeong to give him mini trauma about fire bending. Not the biggest deal but still noticed, which makes me wonder how they'll handle his bending in the future.

Azula being Zhou's contact and source of resources felt a little off, as did his learning about the spirits. Zhao was downplayed so much to be a random nobody in the live action version and then he 'needed an edge' and learned about the spirits (and how to kill them with a spirit knife?) right before the siege. Honestly the original of 'I stumbled upon this information unintentionally back when' wasn't great justification either but still.

Several of the Ozai scenes were a little offputting as well. Right before dying (to Iroh instead of the spirit, which again, random change) Zhou mentioned that Zuko only existed as the flames to forge Azula, but there was a lot of sorrowful emotion in Ozai's actor that made him seem oddly sympathetic in a lot of scenes. Lines as well which change context after the 'revelation' are hard to get a feel for as well, such as Ozai's reminders to Azula that it was Zuko and not Zhao that discovered the Avatar. In scenes like this it feels like Ozai is actually trying to defend and support Zuko, but with the motivational thing for Azula was this just him poking the bear? Either way, maybe a subsequent watch will change my thoughts on this, so for now its neutral.

Summary:

Overall I honestly had a good time with the series, but it really just drove me to go back and start the original all over again. It was by no means bad, I'd recommend it as a watch even if just for the numerous easter eggs, but I really don't know if it's good enough to justify existing. There were some changes I really liked, such as the change with Zuko's crew, and some others that I think have potential as reimaginations such as Bumi's narrative, but others like the cave, the Koh stuff, Yue being a fox that showed up in the forest felt like they should've just been left out.

Anyways, I do recommend watching it all the same, especially to get you in the mood for the original and to at the very least set a different standard for live action Avatar than what we had in the past.

Thank you all of nobody for coming to my TED talk. I really just wanted to get this all down somewhere for my own sake but I'd be interested in other's takes on it too!

[thegeminisage]

6, 13, 18?

HI BESTIE ty for asking sorry i didnt do it last night I Went To Bed. lets fuckin go

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

well, look, the obvious answer would be those j*hnlock truthers, and i do hope those tjlc people are having a wretched day rn wherever they are, but ACTUALLY im actually choosing atla for this just to say (sorry) i hate zu//kka SO MUCH. i hate it so much, it's unreal. i don't particularly have beef with the shippers necessarily but i think the concept is so fucking lame. it's a classic case of migratory slash fandom paired with a side of misogyny. the thought process goes like "zuko is rotting holes in my brain > want to ship him with someone > i don't want to ship him with a female character > the only one left is sokka." (even though suki is right there.) aang is out on the basis of being a baby and the rest of the gaang is girls. if you don't like zutara that's fine, but sokka/zuko is the SAME THING with less anger issues and less women. katara is kind of a devisive character to begin with (this is misogyny) but then one time i saw someone deride zutara for being "straight" to reason why shipping zuko with sokka was superior and i have never forgiven it. IT'S THE SAME SHIP. like HOW was this popular enough to PIT ZUKO/SOKKA/SUKI IN THE OT3 SEMIFINAL POLL? hello?? what were they doing there?? suki and zuko speak TWO LINES to one another! god! i guess that's better than using your ship to excuse hating suki but jesus christ it's so transparent just say you hate women and go

13. worst blorboficiation

i'm not doing this one or your other one for spn bc someone else sent in these exact numbers so i am choosing teen wolf. what im gonna say is so controversial but it's actually peter hale and it's not even fanon that did this IT'S CANON. i used to be a big peter fan and then it got completely ruined. ok so peter's whole thing, right, is that he's a deeply horrible person and that kate argent burned every molecule of humanity out of him during the hale fire. okay, got it. fuck yeah. that's rad. SO WHY THEN. IN THE SEASON 3 FLASHBACK EPISODE. WAS HE ACTING EXACTLY THE SAME AS HE DID AS AN ADULT. and this was the one thing that fanon was getting RIGHT. pre-fire versions of peter in fic were wildly different to post-fire versions BECAUSE THAT WAS THE IMPLICATION. peter works perfectly as a villain because his actions are reprehensible but his motives are justified which makes him COMPLEX and with one episode they RUINED IT. it speaks to a larger problem of jeff davis backtracking a lot of stuff that was said or implied in season 1 (such as kate preying on derek when he was underage) for censorship or what the fuck ever. now whenever i see peter in anything the only thing i wanna do is roll my eyes. they made him like him for ten whole minutes in 6A and that was the best it ever got again. sorry to peter hale fans.

18. it’s absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on…

i won't list my teenwolf rarepair here, but that. oh, wait, actually, my ff13 rarepair. fang & lightning are WAY BETTER than fang & vanille. this on the basis of 1. hot. that section where you can do double commando. sexy. 2. everyone keeps calling vanille a kid and it weirds me out to ship her with someone who calls her that/thinks of her that way 3. lightning/fang is sort of the same dynamic as lightning/snow which i love in a NONROMANTIC way in that lightning is the straight man, very stoic, and fang is so flippant and casual about everything and so open with her emotions that it gets on her nerves until it becomes endearing. and theyre both quite In Charge generally so when lightning is like well every monster is one step closer to rescuing vanille they keep each other going in that same way, out of sheer stubbornness. anyway 10/10 ship dynamic i completely understand and respect fang/vanille fans but i wish fang/lightning got the same amt of attention

[ASK MEME]

[atla4art]

you explained it perfectly but tbh, i don’t think it’s “dark” anyway. she was just going after the man who completely fucked up her life while being overrun with emotions bc of how long she had suppressed it. Yon rha wasn’t shown to feel remorse or anything, he was so pathetic to offer up his own mother. even if he did get killed (i personally think he would have deserved it), but katara didn’t even do that. she was born and grew up in war, then her village got raided

she saw a fire nation soldier in her house with her mom, when she finally came running back her mom was dead (she was literally burned since Yon rha wasn’t shown to have weapons on him) knowing it was bc of her. they wanted to get rid of katara for being a waterbender

then her whole family fell apart (not to mention she was much closer with her mom), she stood up and didn’t really have the ability to grief and process it

then 4 years later (i counted it) her dad and every man left their village to fight in the war, leaving behind pregnant women and mothers behind with a grandma + 2 older kids behind. sokka was the warrior and protector of the village (and it’s very clear he isn’t that good at that time) and katara doing basically every chore in the village bc the mothers and grandma need rest

she had so much on her shoulders and her own brother didn’t even appreciate her, he was so sexist and annoying

it’s so obvious that she would be really mad and overrun with emotions. i also believe that she said “then you didn’t love her the way i did” to sokka bc of those emotions. and she would 100% apologise. also sokka should’ve realised how much it affected her and apologise too

i feel like zuko understood her the most at that point, he indeed needed to face his father to really get over everything ozai did to him. when Ozai threatened him he literally pulled out his swords, but did he kill him? no. he could have done it, he could’ve thought about it but he let it go. he may have had aang to kill him instead but he still let his anger out and didn’t forgive him

zuko let her feel what she felt, he didn’t judge her. anything that contributed to her absolute rage was personal and situational. he literally only said he knew who killed her mother and how to find him. he didn’t mention anything else. it’s weird how people just assume things about characters. like critically he isn’t shown to do that

extra: i would’ve loved a scene where she completely breaks down crying (maybe even screaming) and falling into zukos arms. it would be a logical response to all the trauma and finally letting them go

The Southern Raiders: so, demon Zuko brought out the worst in poor, innocent Katara…

What did Zuko do to deserve this accusation coming from some people among the fanbase? I rewatched The Southern Raiders the other day and spend close attention to catch up on what they could possibly mean.

So, what does Zuko do to Katara after the Gaang flees from Azula?

He looks after her and is holding an appropriate distance while asking her, calmly, why she still can’t trust him.

After her response he realizes: Oh yeah, I wronged her the most. Followed by asking how he can make it up to her and understanding what she needs, even though she is giving sarcastic answers.

He offers Katara a chance to face the killer of her mother, so she will be finally able to receive closure and begin the process of healing. This is an exact parallel of Zuko facing Ozai on The day of the black sun. He could’ve just left and join the Gaang, but instead he chose to face his father first: because he needed this.

(Furthermore, he spared Ozai, the same way he spared Zhao even back in S1; that goes against the frequently used argument that he definitely expected Katara to kill Yon Rha coming from some people.)

As I mentioned before, I paid close attention during my rewatch

At no point is Zuko pushing Katara to do anything she doesn’t want, nor does he do anything else to release her dark side.

Am I the only one picturing an incubus-like Zuko whispering in Katara’s ear, every time someone claims that?

On the opposite: He is listening to her and is offering support while facing her biggest trauma. The same goes for the actual field trip: he is nothing but supportive, doesn’t push her to do anything and is standing aside, so that Katara can receive closure under her own conditions—which she did, and she forgave Zuko because of it. Not only that, she even gives him a tight hug out of deep gratitude. Would a person act like this towards somebody who brought out the worst in them? I highly doubt it.

But then why is Katara showing a dark side, some might even say, she is OOC?

I genuinely don’t get the OOC-part... She is very in-character, and her dark side has nothing to do with Zuko. It’s Katara being presented as an actual human being with feelings. Imagine that...

Why is Aang allowed to show a dark side? I never heard anyone complain about him in those specific situations. But Katara, despite raising her voice before and showing her rage in many situations during the show, is suddenly acting OOC when it comes to The Southern Raiders.

She is about to face her trauma and to meet her mother’s killer, of course she won’t be the happiest person in the world, more nervous and angry, lashing out if someone tries to stop her. Yeah, and even going as far as to use bloodbending when finally meeting the (wrong) man.

Doesn’t mean her feelings aren’t justified, and it wasn’t Zuko who brought them up, but the situation alone.

That’s all this is

A person facing her trauma, thus showing very natural darker feelings in this situation, after suppressing them for years. Of course, it was hard for Katara, but she agreed on this trip because she knew she needed it. It was the right thing for her to do—and Zuko is the one who gave her a chance on this, nothing more, nothing less.

[ellakomskaikru]

I saw your list of ships that you like and dislike. You explained why you dislike M@iko and I agree with all your reasons. It’s the absolute worst relationship in the entire series. I literally can’t stand it. You said you that don’t like K@taang either. I wouldn’t say I like the ship but I don’t dislike it either. I’d like to know your reasons for disliking K@taang.

Hello anon!

You are correct. I do not like Kat.aang. In fact, it makes me very uncomfortable as a woman. Now, just to get this out of the way, before the accusations start. I do not hate Aang. I have so much sympathy, empathy, and compassion for him. The poor child lost his entire people and culture, was frozen in an iceberg for a century, and woke up to world ravaged by the Fire Nation that could only be saved by him. That’s absolutely awful, and he still managed to remain a good person and save the world despite the immense pressure. I want him to be happy. But all of that does not entitle him to Katara’s romantic affection. And that was the way Kat.aang was written. I anticipate this will be fairly long, so everything else will be below the cut.

It was understandable that Aang had a crush on Katara. She was the first girl he’d seen in a hundred years. She was always there to comfort him and help him. And she was pretty. He did appreciate her and support her at times. But Katara did not seem to even notice his crush on her and just saw him as a friend and even mothered him, until The Fortunteller Episode, which was supposed to really begin to set up Kat.aang. Ironically, that is the episode that completely put me off Kat.aang.

The writers clearly wanted us to sympathize with Aang failing to get Katara to notice him in a romantic way. It did not focus on Katara’s feelings. It was all about Aang’s desires. Then when we did hear what Katara desired in a partner, someone tall and handsome, which is a description that did not fit Aang, then she later looked like she was beginning to consider Aang as a romantic interest after Sokka called Aang a powerful bender. That really rubbed me the wrong way. To me, it looked like the message that was sent was that women should lower their standards and accept dating less attractive men, while men should be entitled to attractive women.

During that same episode, Meng had a crush on Aang, but she learned to accept rejection unlike Aang, who was rewarded by the narritive for having a crush on Katara even though it doesn’t look like she reciprocates. The Fortuneteller Episode sent the message of, “Katara is an idiot for not realizing how great of a guy Aang is because she’s such a shallow teenage girl who only cares about looks, but later that will change.” So I feel like it shamed women for having preferences, but rewarded men for having preferences. For me, that’s when Kat.aang shifted from feeling like an innocent little crush to a nice guy fantasy.

There is also something about the Kat.aang dynamic that I did not like. I didn’t like how Katara was the only one who could get him out of the Avatar state when he went into it uncontrollably. The writers clearly meant for that to look romantic, but to me it looked like anything but. Katara was put in danger time and time again for Aang’s sake. They made her responsible for calming him down at her own personal risk. Katara also did mother him a lot, which is not a good foundation for a future romantic relationship. The writers made Katara’s feelings for Aang so ambiguous and then on top of that made her act like she was his mother. She coddled him and was always so considerate of his feelings, sometimes even at her own expense.

Then in the Day of Black Sun episode, that’s when I truly started to completely loathe Kat.aang as it officially geared into non-con territory. There is some debate on whether or not Aang kissed Katara without her consent in that episode, but will not be debating that. He did. Katara was in the middle of talking, and he smashed his lips to hers. She stayed with her eyes open blinking in surprise for a while. She did not look pleasantly surprised. She did blush after but then she looked away, as if in discomfort. People can blush due to discomfort or embarrassment as well, not just due to attraction, for those who claim that her blush is proof that she liked the kiss. Then to make matters worse, Aang didn’t even stay to ask her if she had liked the kiss. He just flew away, and they never discussed the kiss again until the Ember Island Players episode.

The Southern Raiders is an episode where I have issues with Aang’s behavior towards Katara, and trust me, it has absolutely nothing to do with Zutara or Zuko. I understand that Aang was raised as a pacifist and he was taught that forgiveness is always better than violence, but Katara was not an Air Nomad, and he knew that she and the rest of the world most certainly did not share his pacifist beliefs. Many Kat.aang shippers criticized Katara’s behavior during that episode, when she literally did not do anything wrong. Aang was trying to get her to forgive her mother’s killer. Of course she reacted negatively to that.

He compared her to Jet for wanting justice. Zuko did not tell Katara that she had to kill Yon Rah, he just was defending her from Aang telling her that she had to forgive. And yes, Aang did lose his people, and that’s very painful, but that is not the exact same pain as losing a mother. Air Nomads did not have family units. They were raised by the community. So he cannot understand the deep bond between mother and child. That’s not his fault, but it’s the truth, and it makes Zuko more equipped to understand Katara’s pain, having for all intents and purposes lost his own mother. Aang later did accept that Katara had to go on the trip to face Yon Rah, but he still insisted that she forgive him, and yes, Zuko mocked him for it. Was it nice? No. But Zuko reacted like that out of annoyance for Katara, and because he himself could not imagine forgiving Ozai for taking away his mother. It was an emotional reaction.

And by the end of the episode, when Katara returned, she did not do what Aang wanted. She faced Yon Rah, she scared him, but she did not forgive him. No, she didn’t kill him. But she didn’t do what Aang wanted either. When Aang tells her that he’s proud of her and assumes that she forgave him, Katara tells him she didn’t, with a rather angry expression, and then goes on to forgive Zuko wholeheartedly. Zuko tells Aang that he was right, but that isn’t true. The writers were wrong. Katara did use violence. She did display her dark side.

She did what she needed to do. She did not forgive the man like Aang told her to. So Aang was not correct, and that episode put me off Kat.aang even more by how Aang was trying to get Katara to forgive the man who murdered her mother. Aang felt uncomfortable with Katara’s anger, “You sound like Jet” he was used to the soft, kind, and gentle Katara who always was accommodating towards his feelings. Aang was shaken when Katara acted out of his idealized perception of her. And I love that episode for Katara. She got to do what she wanted, others be damned. She got the closure she needed. She forgave Zuko on her own terms.

After the Day of Black Sun kiss, I think that was when Aang truly began to feel entitled to Katara, and he hadn’t even asked her how she felt about him in return. I think he had the mentality of, “I’m the Avatar so she’ll have to come around sooner or later.” So when time passed after the kiss and Katara did not automatically become his girlfriend, Aang began to show his entitlement issues towards Katara during the Ember Island Players episode. During the play, Aang showed some alarming possessive behavior in regards to Katara.

He angrily nodded when an actor on stage said, “I thought you were the avatar’s girl.” That made me so uncomfortable. Katara and him had not even discussed their potential romantic feelings. But Aang still viewed Katara as his without any regard for her feelings. Then when Aang and Katara talk in the balcony, Katara looks so uncomfortable. She has her arms crossed and she plays with her hair in discomfort. It reminded me of a similar situation I went through in my own life. I felt so bad for Katara, and I related to her as a fellow woman who has dealt with pushy men. When Katara told Aang that he was overreacting and he said that “If my chakra wasn’t locked I would be in the Avatar state” I actually felt alarmed and scared for Katara. Aang said that he would go into what is essentially an all powerful destructive God-mode because an actor playing Katara said that she viewed him as a brother.

Then Aang went on to say that he thought him and Katara were going to be together after the kiss at the invasion, to which Katara had no comment. It was honestly as if she had forgotten about the kiss entirely, which again, is not a good foundation for a future romantic relationship. Aang’s immaturity really showed. He was a 12 year old who did not understand that the feelings of the other person were important as well in a romantic relationship. And people defend him with “He’s 12! What do you expect?“ Well, exactly. If he thinks he is entitled to a girl’s affection after one kiss that wasn’t even discussed after, then he is not old enough to be in a romantic relationship. Then Katara told Aang that she “didn’t know” and that “it isn’t the right time” and that “she’s confused” for some reason, Aang took this as permission to kiss her, to which she rightfully got angry at. I thought I couldn’t hate Kat.aang more than I already did by that point, but I was wrong.

Yes, they did show Aang calling himself an idiot for kissing her. But that isn’t enough. It was narratively framed as the writers wanting us to feel more sorry for Aang than Katara. I felt the message was “Yes, Aang was wrong to kiss her, but aw poor Aang! He just loves her so much!” Not, “Poor Katara, who got kissed without her consent for the second time by a boy who is supposed to be her best friend.” After Katara ran away, the camera stayed on Aang instead of following Katara to show her more negative reaction. We were meant to sympathize more with Aang than Katara, and that really rubbed me the wrong way. There should have been a scene that showed Aang apologizing to Katara and showing that he truly learned that it is wrong to kiss someone without their consent. But there was no such scene.

Then after that, there was no more discussion about Kat.aang. There was no focus on Katara’s feelings. In the finale, after Aang saved the world, Katara magically knew that she liked Aang back, and went to make out with him on a balcony. We did not see Katara’s reasons for doing that. And no, I don’t buy the excuse of, “Katara liked Aang back, she just didn’t want to be with him because of the war.” Because if that was so, she would have just told him that. But she didn’t. It was hard for me to interpret that scene as anything but Katara being handed to Aang as a trophy for saving the world. To me, Kat.aang read as a nice guy fantasy for men who do not feel as attractive and who have been rejected by attractive women. It is not Aang’s fault. It is the writers for writing it that way.

The romantic relationship as a whole made me deeply uncomfortable. Other women have spoken out about how Kat.aang also made them uncomfortable, and have been rudely shut down by Kat.aang fans, because some of them shipped Zutara, as if that somehow invalidates our discomfort with Kat.aang. It doesn’t. When Zuko chased Aang and by default Katara, he was her enemy. He was not supposed to be nice. But when Aang kissed Katara without her consent and did not care about her feelings, he was her friend. A friend is supposed to respect you. To value what you want. And Aang didn’t do that. To me, that is worse.

I understand not feeling comfortable with the enemies to lovers trope. I’m not comfortable with it either unless it is done right. With Zutara I feel that it was. Katara was allowed to be angry at Zuko. His actions were not excused. He worked to earn her forgiveness and she forgave him when she was ready. After that, they developed a friendship based on mutual trust and respect. They supported each other equally. And if a romantic relationship developed from that, I would feel comfortable with it, because they had the foundation of being friends.

Zuko and Katara cared deeply for each other, and that was shown especially during the Final Agni Kai. Zuko initially took her with him to fight Azula with him, but then decided to keep her out of the fight to protect her when he realized he could defeat her alone. Then he took lightening for her at the potential cost of his own life. Then Katara tried to heal him during the fight despite Azula chasing her. Then she did heal him with tears of joy in her eyes. You cannot tell me that Zuko and Katara didn’t care deeply for one another. So yes, I feel uncomfortable with Kat.aang and ship Zutara, and that is not invalid, no matter what anyone else says.

I also did not like the way Kat.aang was portrayed in LOK. Kat.aang was not a multicultural family. Bumi seemed to be part of neither of his parents culture’s because he was a nonbender. Kya seemed to only participate in Water Tribe culture because she was a waterbender. And Tenzin only participated in Air Nomad culture because he was an Airbender. The Kat.aang kids did not participate in both of their parent’s cultures. Katara’s only grandchildren are from Tenzin, and they are all airbending Air Nomads who never participate in her culture. I feel that it wrong, because Katara’s own culture was almost completely wiped out too, and coming from such a family-oriented culture would have made her want for her descendants to be part of her culture too.

I feel that realistically Aang and Katara would have clashed culturally and ideologically. As someone else pointed out before, Aang did show disgust for Water Tribe culture once because of the use of animal skins. He also didn’t like their food, which is fine, it’s a taste, but it is concerning because his future wife is a proud member of the Southern Water Tribe. And I can’t picture Aang being truly okay with participating in a culture that is so different from his.

People say that Aang and Katara bond over being genocide victims which is true, but I think they’d clash more over their different cultures and ideologies on life, and I can picture Katara feeling the pressure to birth Airbender children to repopulate the Air Nomads, which is just something that is so unfair to her. Kya and Bumi canonically did feel overshadowed by Tenzin, which I think definitely says something. I get that Aang was trying to rebuild his culture, but I think it would have been so much easier if it had been done with an Air Acolyte, someone who is willing to completely embrace the Air Nomad culture, so that Katara wouldn’t have that pressure on her and she’d be able to focus completely on her own culture, that was also completely annihilated.

And you may be thinking, “But Ella, Katara would have to give up her culture if she was with Zuko too!” No, I don’t agree. There are many ZK fanfics that portray Katara still participating in her own culture while married to Zuko. Their kids are proudly both Water Tribe and Fire Nation, regardless of their bending. And Zuko and Katara also have more similar ideologies on life. They are both not pacifists and both omnivores. They both come from cultures that have family units. Yes, I’m aware that the Fire Nation nearly wiped out the Southern Water Tribe and I totally understand why someone may be uncomfortable with Zutara because of it. But as I’ve said in another post, Katara does not blame the entire Fire Nation. She helped the common people of the FN and she forgave Zuko. And Zuko himself also was not responsible for the raids. And he would make reparations to her tribe and help her rebuild. Some people think Katara would be uncomfortable with marrying Zuko because of the Fire Nation’s atrocities towards her tribe, while ZK shippers do not for the reasons I explained. Therefore, we are not invalid for disliking Kat.aang and shipping Zutara.

People are welcome to have different interpretations of Kat.aang. But this is the way that I interpreted it, and that is why I don’t like it and why it makes me uncomfortable.

Thanks for this ask anon. I’m not going to lie, this was kind of hard for me to write because I’ve gone through experiences in my life where I’ve felt like Katara when she was being pressured by Aang. To any potential haters, don’t even waste your time trying to invalidate this view. You will not silence me. I send support to any other women who feel uncomfortable with Kat.aang. You are valid no matter what anyone else says.

Thanks for the ask!

[sanrielle]

I see a lot of chatter in fandom spaces about how Toph would never have become a cop and I have OPINIONS about it, so please allow me to scream them into the void.

Firstly, her reasons for becoming a cop might've been similar to the ones that led her to join the war:

-Avoiding boredom. Toph needs to be doing something important. She loves being important. And she would love chasing bad guys through the city with metal cables. She would love the hunt, the detective work, and the interrogation with her truth sense. She would LOVE being the boss and telling her underlings what to do, and she would love being the authority who gets to enforce the laws (you know, whatever they are...).

-Strong sense of justice. At no point during her time with the Gaang in AtLA did she give any indication that she wasn't fully invested in bringing peace back to the world. She'd want the same thing when living in crime-infested Cranefish Town/Republic City.

-Stickin' it to her parents. I have no doubt that Toph ran away at least partly because she knew it would piss her parents off, and I also have no doubt that she knew that they would be horrified by the thought of her working as a police officer. I think it's safe to say she might've gotten some satisfaction from that, regardless of her age.

Which brings me to my second point: People aren't the exact same person they were when they were twelve. "But she has that episode where she does a bunch of illegal things!" Yeah, and when I was fifteen, I wanted to marry Legolas. What's your point?

Finally, the request to start a metalbending police force would likely have come from either Aang, Sokka, or both. Let's be real: she probably would've done anything Sokka asked her to do. And they would've said 'If you don't do it, someone else will.'

How would our girl have reacted to the idea of someone else stealing her thunder? Any guesses?

All that said, I fully believe she would've grown to hate the job more often than not, especially when it came down to bureaucratic BS that she didn't care about.

I'd be willing to bet that, after Lin was born, Toph was raring to do something, anything besides be pregnant and take care of a newborn 24/7. And she probably didn't have a clue how to be a mother, so it's very likely she would've hired a nanny to do it for her so she could go back to what she already knew she was good at (her job).

Now, I'm firmly in the 'Toph loved her daughters to absolute bits' camp. I just think she didn't know how to be an effective parent and communicate well. Then when Lin started to get older and Su came along, resentment began to grow and Toph retreated to the familiarity of her job where the rules were clear and everything made sense.

But eventually, the strain became too much and she was faced with choosing between the job and her daughter's entire future. And maybe she made the wrong choice. Maybe she didn't. Maybe her whole life felt a little like that, where every decision she made felt wrong but it was the best she knew and she accepted whatever consequences they brought.

[ultranos]

How does Sokka know Azula/Areshi is a lesbian? Did she tell him?

"So I gotta ask: what are two Fire Nationals doing all the way out here in the middle of the Earth Kingdom and not, you know, trying to take everything over?" Sokka asks Areshi when he finds her chopping wood outside. It's not that he doesn't trust her or her mom, but...no, he pretty much doesn't trust them yet.

Wolf-gold eyes glance at him before focusing again on the logs in front of her. Areshi shrugs. "Living, mostly."

"Hah hah," he deadpans. "No really." He sighs and rubs the back of his neck. "You didn't have to help us back in town. And...judging how a lot of people there seem to, uh..."

"Hate my face on principle?"

Sokka grimaces. "I wasn't going to say it like that. But, yeah, basically. You gotta admit, it'd be a lot easier on you if you were actually in the Fire Nation."

Areshi is quiet for a bit, the only sounds the thunk of the axe biting into the wood. "You sure about that?" she finally asks, voice soft.

Something about how she says it makes him stop short. There's a hint of something in her voice, a something that he doesn't expect, never even thought to expect, to come from a Fire National, much less an actual ashmaker. Or...he thinks, considering Areshi, maybe just a firebender.

Is that it? Is there a difference between the two? They've been one and the same for so long in Sokka's head that untangling the two words is strange. But putting Areshi and Eri in the same category as the rest just...doesn't seem right. Not just because they helped him and the rest out of a tight spot. Nah, he knows people can do them nice favors while still being awful.

This isn't the same. It's that hint of something in Areshi's voice, a weight of hurt and fear and dread that's all too familiar.

And damn it, Sokka's always been too curious for his own good. "What do you mean?"

She doesn't answer for long enough that he wonders if she didn't hear him. "Here, they might hate me, but they're honest about it. They don't actively want me dead and hide it behind claims of being family."

"What?"

Areshi looks uncomfortable. He's about to tell her nevermind, to forget he ever asked, when she shakes her head and sighs. "I...Eri told you guys how I was...separated from her until recently, right? My father...heard a rumor that I was a, uh, sleeve-cutter. He wasn't pleased." She looks away, the tips of her ears red. "The fact that it's true didn't help."

("Areshi loves women, not men," Eri later explains bluntly when he asks her quietly for clarification. "Her father is willing to have my little girl die for the sin of loving who he thinks is the wrong person. She can't be exactly the little toy soldier he wants her to be, so she's useless to him and there's no place for useless things in a Fire Nation ruled by a son of Azulon.")

He blinks, unsure. She shrugs and swings the axe with quite a bit of force, splitting the wood in front of her. "With him knowing that, it wasn't exactly safe for me to stick around. And it wasn't like I had anyone else to help me. My uncle hates my guts on the basis that I exist in the first place, I think, so that wasn't even worth the effort."

"And...you didn't...running into enemy territory was seriously your best option?" Sokka doesn't know if he even wants to know the answer to this question.

She shrugs again, a little too forced to be completely nonchalant. "My older brother and I never got along, at least half of that's my fault, so I can't be surprised he blew me off before I could even admit I needed help." There's a sharp twist to her smile. "I guess I even had it coming. Even if it did still sting."

Sokka thinks if he frowns any harder, it's going to be permanently etched into his face. He doesn't know what to say to that, doesn't even know what to think. (Even when Katara drives him absolutely bonkers, he'd never in a million years do that to her. If she ever needed help that bad and he'd blown her off, and he found out? He'd rather eat glass and wash it down with boiling whale oil.)

Maybe there isn't anything he can say.

"Here, give me the axe," he says gruffly, holding out a hand. "You're making me feel lazy, doing all that chopping while I'm just standing here and not helping."

Areshi stops and gives him a long look. Sokka doesn't waver under the gaze of those wolf-gold eyes, just stands there with his hand out, palm up. Waiting.

She hands over the axe.

[haitanirindo]

zukka fics that live in my head rent free! 

1. what did you bury before those hands pulled me from the earth (what were you digging) by draco_sollicitus status: complete (18k words) rating: mature pairing(s): sokka/zuko  summary: Sokka is immortal; it's been tested, he knows that he can't die. He's immortal, but he's not quite a god like his sister, Katara. He's immortal, but he's not quite powerful like his friends Aang and Toph. He's just sort of Sokka: good at fixing things, good at playing pranks, good at helping people. When a bet against Toph goes horribly wrong, and an attempt to save him goes even worse, Sokka finds himself the unwilling guest of the Lord of the Underworld. And, strangely enough, every story Sokka's heard about Lord Zuko seems to be ... completely wrong. (Also, he's really handsome. Why does he have to be handsome?)

mythology nerds come get y’all juice. a very good fic. 10/10

2. Where I Want to Be by through-the-stars-to-the-pavement status: WIP (83k words) rating: explicit pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: "'The fog was where I wanted to be.'" Everything is different. The pitch of his voice, his posture. The auditorium goes silent. No one can take their eyes off of him.… He's amazing.  Zuko had to perfect the art of acting as a child to survive the horrors of his homelife. When he got older, it was only natural to take his talent to the stage for entertainment and escape. Enter Sokka, a craftsman and set designer with a giant heart who is haunted by plenty of ghosts of his own. A tale of trauma, disability, family, creativity, and love. 

this is one of my all time favorite fics. it’s seriously so good and i think about it often

3. Teaching a Heart by @i-write-shakespeare-not-disney status: WIP (114k words) rating: teen and up pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: Sokka is asked to go to the Fire Nation to teach the crown prince how to sword fight. When he arrives, he's surprised to learn he has to pose as a companion before he can teach the stubborn prince because he rejects every teacher. Far from home and among new customs, Sokka struggles to gain the prince's trust and friendship despite the uncertainties of the customs and dynamics he sees. As he slowly finds answers to his questions, his bond with the prince grows until it becomes something far more ardent than friendship. Doomed as it may be with the prince's approaching wedding ceremony and coronation, Sokka and Zuko find themselves consumed by what they find in each other.

i have no words, i just love this fic and it makes me weep.

4. The Road Between Action and Inaction by @donvex status: complete (17k words) rating: teen and up pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: Sokka does a shitty k turn in the parking lot across from the bus station, pulls up to the curb where the boy is looking determinedly at his phone, and rolls down the passenger window. “Hey! Which way were you going?” He may die, but at least his conscience will be clear. The guy blinks at him. “Don’t.” Oh, he’s prickly. Or: the hitchhiker au, featuring Sokka and Zuko falling in love without even realizing it.

a classic. roadtrip fics own my ass. 

5. purrfect for eachother by lesmiserablol status: complete (3k words) rating: general audiences pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: “Let me teach you how to be a cat person,” Zuko says. “Learning from the master himself,” Sokka grins. “Alright, this can’t be too hard. Show me what you got.” (because sometimes, it takes going to a cat café four times to realize you're in love with your best friend)

this whole series is adorable, reading it is self care

6. Ashes Inside When You Finish Your Song by @muncaster status: complete (47k words) rating: teen and up pairing(s): sokka/zuko, aang/katara, mai/ty lee summary: Sokka writes lyrics for his sister’s band. Zuko plays piano and is unnecessarily nice. Fellas, is it gay to write love songs about your friend and his golden eyes? (AKA, a modern band AU featuring The Gaang, crappy software equipment, homoerotic lyrics, and the realization that maybe, if you think about a guy every night before you sleep, you just might be in love with him.)

i think this is the longest one-shot i’ve ever read and it’s so worth it

7. a study in matchmaking by @verdanthoney status: complete (12k words) rating: general audiences pairing(s): sokka/zuko, aang/katara, bato/hakoda summary: Zuko and Sokka try to play matchmaker, but things don't go exactly as planned.

this fic makes me want to scream, in the best way. it’s so cute

8. A Predictable Story by mindbending status: complete (7k words) rating: general audiences pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: "On this night, you shall share a kiss with a great love of your life!” That lying, scummy Aunt Wu predicts a grand romance for Sokka. To disprove her "fortunetelling" once and for all, Sokka decides to spend the night with least romantic person he knows. Zuko.

again, i have no words. this fic is cute as hell

9. that’s murder, buddy by @bisexual-atla status: WIP (14k words) rating: teen and up pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: Throughout the streets, on quiet nights, it was rumored the screams of those missing could be heard. Some say the sounds were coming from underground. Where were the young girls? And what was happening to them? Was an evil spirit haunting Gaoling, or something more human? More sinister? My name is Zuko, and you’re tuning into another episode of ‘That’s Murder, Buddy’. Or: Sokka has no idea that his crush is the host of his favorite podcast. (But everyone else knows.)

i love the entire concept of this one, we love oblivious sokka

10. We’ll play hide and seek (to turn this around) by @crosspin status: complete (5k words) rating: general audiences pairing(s): sokka/zuko, bato/hakoda summary: Sokka gave him a sheepish smile. “It’s…well, you see, there’s this boy…” Hakoda sighed and set down the sports section. This was going to take a while. “He works at Barnes & Noble. At the big information desk in the middle. Every Saturday. And I really want to ask him for his number, but it’s super awkward because there’s always this other guy working the information desk at the same time. He’s old, like you. But I have a plan." Sokka’s eyes lit up deviously. “You come with me to Barnes & Noble today when they’re working and distract the old man. And while you have him distracted, I’ll swoop in and get the goods!” Sokka has a plan to ask out the cute boy at the bookstore. Hakoda is a begrudging participant until he meets the boy's beautiful older coworker.

this fic!! this fic! adorable, incredible, magnificent

11. feels like we only go backwards by @oldpotatoe status: WIP (88k words) rating: teen and up pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: [Time passes oddly. Between one second and the next, Sokka has the Fire Lord pinned to the wall with his hands around the bastard’s throat. Golden eyes (one gold eye, his mind whispers) widen in shock. “Sokka?” he chokes out. And then he smiles. What the fuck? “Sokka, I—” Sokka slams his head against the wall, once, twice, and the smile wipes off his face. Good. “What,” Sokka bites out, “have you done to my sister?”] Or: An injury leaves Sokka with amnesia. His last memory is of the failed invasion, of leaving his father behind in enemy territory on the Day of Black Sun. Of hopelessness. Rage. But then he wakes up, and the war is over. Suddenly, he must come to terms with the fact that years have passed, and that he's somehow the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador to the Fire Nation. He is also supposedly friends with banished-Prince-turned-Fire-Lord Zuko, of all people. Close friends. Yeah, nah.

if you’ve been following me for a while you know this fic fucks me up beyond belief

12. breakable heaven by @fruitysokka status: WIP (43k words) rating: teen and up pairing(s): sokka/zuko summary: With his twenty-first birthday looming just around the corner, the Southern Water Tribe Elders have decided that Sokka, next in line to be Chief, needs to get married. Sokka does not want that, but he does need to get them off his back until he can figure his way out of it. What better way to do that than to pretend to date his best friend (and newly minted Ambassador to the Southern Water Tribe) Zuko? Seriously, this is a foolproof plan. Maybe one of Sokka's best. Absolutely nothing can go wrong.

this just in: sokka and zuko being oblivious makes me want to yell

this turned out a bit longer than i expected but it also doesn’t even cover all my favorites. i had to stop somewhere, or i’d be here forever. maybe i’ll make a part two someday.

anyway, enjoy!

[seyaryminamoto]

Any thought on Toph's writing and "arc" in ATLA? I personally think Toph was the most stunted and underdeveloped character. She never really develops at all and is mostly just a walking joke. It's clear that the writers loved her but also clear that they never did anything with her.

If you mean stunted and underdeveloped character in the main cast, definitely yes. A lot of minor characters were done a disservice by the show, given next to no complexity, so I wouldn't rank her as #1 altogether, but among the main cast, absolutely.

Now, I wouldn't say she had zero growth, it's just... not an arc. I also don't think she was only a joke, though they used her for comedy a lot. It's part of why it weirds me out when the fandom acts like Sokka, and only Sokka, was comic relief in ATLA. Toph, Aang, Iroh, even Zuko whenever the narrative wanted to poke fun at him, provided comic relief often, so it's kind of stupid to pretend it was only ever Sokka.

... But that ridiculous perception, then, caused the not-so-funny LOK phenomenon of "Bolin is the funny one", where basically all comedy was meant to be about/around this one character, which didn't work nearly as well as they expected it to, and did nothing for the team's synergy and bonding, but I digress...

What do I think about Toph's story and journey in ATLA?

Toph starts out as a girl who wants nothing more than to be independent and for people to stop underestimating her. When we consider that, in her final action scene in the show, she's clinging by her fingertips to someone else, and that her survival and life depend expressly on HIM, it suggests that she's learned that she doesn't have to go at everything alone, and also that she doesn't have all the answers to all situations. The first time we met her, it doesn't really feel like she wants to work alongside other people, as shown in her conflict with Katara in The Chase, where Toph felt absolutely no need to chip in and help out with anything but her personal needs.

I will say, in Toph's defense about that last thing, it's perfectly common for a child who has spent most her life being cared for, not having anyone expect a single thing out of her, to not understand why she needs to contribute ANYTHING to the team. It doesn't hurt that she's new, which implies that the others have been setting up camp, finding food, traveling across the world, without needing an earthbender's contributions. So it's fairly easy to see her side in this: why does she need to help at all? Why can't they handle things on their own when they always did?

But in her chance encounter with Iroh, Toph is given a chance to think on things and ponder that there's nothing wrong with relying on others. It's so effective that this scene concludes with Toph telling Iroh that maybe he should tell Zuko that he needs him too. This might even be one of Toph's strongest moments in the entire show, honestly. She has no idea who she's talking about, has never met Zuko or Iroh before, but what she tells Iroh doesn't sound like it comes only from having determined that IROH needs Zuko: it sounds like self-reflection, based on Toph realizing that maybe she can open up to needing her friends, too, and working alongside them isn't such a bad thing.

I think this is decent writing. Really!

The issue is... this is about as good as it gets with Toph.

I really like her character, she has a lot of good jokes, some interesting moments of vulnerability here and there, but this scene with Iroh is the only instance of the show I can think back on that actually features Toph questioning her strict ideas and reasoning with them, choosing a different path and abandoning something else she wasn't ready to forsake (complete and utter independence). What's more, this isn't even the kind of growth where Toph has COMPLETELY abandoned her individualistic mentality: she's adjusted it. She allows herself to consider she could be part of a team, to have friends, to work with others, but that doesn't mean she's tied down to them. It never stops feeling like Toph is more than ready to do things on her terms, in her own ways. No matter how much she bonds with the others, she will rely on them exclusively when she needs them (see how she clings to others when she has little to no visibility), or when they need her in combat and such, but outside of such spaces? It's unlikely that Toph will be the type of person who feels the need to be accompanied all the time, who feels better if someone is constantly watching over her. Her friends allow her to find some kind of balance between her need for independence and the comfort of having allies and friends to connect to... but that doesn't mean that she'll never break off on her own when the urge hits her, when the big battles are settled, when problems are resolved.

And I'm the last person to think Yang, of ALL PEOPLE, has any solid understanding of these characters, but whether it was his idea or Bryke's to feature Toph as a teacher, and to have the Gaang drop by to pick her up during The Promise? Ultimately, this just proves she doesn't feel the need to be with Aang, Sokka and Katara non-stop. If even someone like Yang thought she'd go do her own thing (... the quality of what he wrote is, of course, forever in question), down to even leaving her out of The Search entirely? It's clear that they're not trying to promote the idea that Toph is forever clinging to her friends now. She's still independent.

But like I said earlier... this balance Toph finds between her friends and her freedom isn't the product of multiple episodes and lots of hard work and bumping into obstacles to achieve. This... is literally just Toph's second episode. That's the last time the show actually challenged Toph on a PERSONAL level that doesn't involve "becoming a more powerful bender".

Take her relationship with her parents, for instance: the fandom is convinced they were abusive as fuck and that Toph would hate them forever. Ironically, the show DOESN'T promote this notion at all (which makes The Rift kind of insane when compared to the show's treatment of Toph's parents), for it features her parents as two idiots who underestimate Toph immensely and who simply want her to come home and stay out of danger. This could be deemed as abusive in some people's minds, as usual the word needs to be taken more seriously nowadays... they're not good parents, there's no denying that. They don't understand their daughter, outright. They allow their preconceptions of her disability to determine who they think their daughter is. There's nothing in the show that suggests otherwise.

So why, exactly, is it that every instance where Toph considers communicating with her parents or meeting them, she seems to be perfectly content with doing it?

Xin Fu's trap for Toph was completely cemented on the notion that Poppy Beifong had come to visit Ba Sing Se and that she finally accepted her daughter for who she was. Toph's reaction isn't some kind of jaded dismissal because there's noooo way her mom would ever accept her... she outright goes to see her. Which allows Xin Fu to trap her. Which then results in Toph discovering she can metalbend. But the thread that started this whole plotline? It... goes nowhere. Of course, Toph's parents AREN'T there, there's no real reason to assume they've changed, and this was just a trap... but we get no reaction from Toph when it comes to this. We see no conflict. She simply embraces her new abilities and runs back to Ba Sing Se. A quick glance through the transcript shows zero focus or interest in what she went through. Hell, there's not even any acknowledgement that she learned to metalbend. It's all about Aang's struggles with the Avatar State and Katara being in danger.

Next time? The Runaway. A very frustrating and annoying episode. What happens here? Katara decides to dig into Toph's old wounds regarding her parents, tries to psychoanalyze her and decides that all of Toph's rebelliousness against authority boil down to having a bad relationship with her parents. Which... maybe it's true? Doesn't really justify Katara trying to act like her mother anyway? And then the episode ends with Toph asking Katara to help her send a letter to her parents, which sounds like Toph has made her peace with them and like she's ready to accept that she would like them in her life too, and that she wants them to accept who she is. Yay.

... The issue here is there's no follow-up. This doesn't feel like development because nothing comes from it. Nothing really changed. It doesn't come from organic writing either: it comes from Katara's forced "mother friend" role that she didn't use to hold at all (as I said in the ask about why I think Katara loses her appeal as a character the deeper we go into ATLA), and it never actually confronts Toph with her parents again. It doesn't feature a deeper reflection from Toph regarding why she feels the way she does about her parents, nor does it feature Katara realizing that Toph's parents actually did fuck up a LOT with her and that she has every right to push back against them. It merely makes Katara calm down because she realizes the others care about her (while eavesdropping, ofc) and are ready to accept her for who she is... even though she, too, merits a LOT of reflection regarding this mom friend role and nobody else should be comfortable with that, let alone her :'D

Point being, the show really just holds this as the only thing about Toph that wasn't actually resolved, but it acts like it's fine because Toph sent a letter. What growth did we see in Toph that actually means this letter makes all the difference, though? We have no idea how it affected her parents -- as much as Yang acts like it didn't affect them at all, it could have made them rethink some things, or it could have made them mount an even more desperate search for their child, who knows? And it's a pretty solid thread to pull at, to tug loose, to TRULY challenge Toph's character... aaaaaaand they just don't do it at all.

The way I see it, that's really what it boils down to. The show doesn't challenge Toph in any significant way after her... second episode. This isn't the case for most main characters, and I'm not even asking for Toph's story to feature an intense, horrible, super harrowing and difficult plot...! Just, make some things complicated for her. Show her frustrations, show her difficulty to grasp things she hasn't experienced before. Confront her with realities that she, a sheltered girl from a pretty well-off city, has never really needed to face before. Her attitude towards Ba Sing Se is never questioned or challenged narratively: she's constantly proven right about the city being fucked up, and about her reads on all high society people. While all this makes Toph feel smart to a viewer, the issue really comes where this character basically only has her admittedly sizable charisma to win us over. She succeeds! But what does this show give her to work with besides a very quick "I don't wanna work in a team-I learned to work in a team" conflict that is resolved even faster than Sokka's sexism, which pretty much died out within 4 episodes?

There's definitely a component here were Toph is successful not only because of her personality, her abilities, her strength... but also because of the message she conveys regarding disabilities. A LOT of disabled people have clung to Toph as an example and inspiration to not allow whatever ails them to define them or hold them back. Whether the comparison between a blind girl with magical powers and a disabled person of our world without them is valid or not? The effect Toph has had on a lot of viewers who related to her struggles is undeniable. In a sense, it almost feels like the fandom's worship of Toph suggests that in not giving her further challenges on a personal level, they actually hit some kind of jackpot as far as social messages are concerned... but once you actually scope in and pay proper attention to her character, you might find she's got so much more potential that went ignored by this story in favor of presenting her as this unquestionably strong girl who relies on others when she really needs to but otherwise is independent and free from all of society's restraints on her.

Personally, I know this to be the case because of the pushback and reactions my version of Toph in Gladiator initially resulted in. She had no reason to think anything of Sokka and damn near killed him when they first clashed in the Gladiator League... and this horrified a LOT of people! They couldn't BELIEVE Toph could be like this! An older Toph, 7 years older to be precise, who broke free from her parents' hold, struck a bargain with her would-be-captor to get him MORE money than he'd find if he turned her in, and who wanted nothing but to measure her strength against other powerful fighters. If she doesn't have Aang's group's influence on her as early on as when she's 12-years-old, is it REALLY that crazy for Toph's problems with her parents and authority to fester, for her craving for independence to reach new heights, for her readiness to prove herself stronger than anyone to actually be a hazard for other people who stand in her way?

Thus... a lot of the work I've done with this character has been deconstructing these flaws, building her into someone who understands herself better. It's in learning from the examples Sokka and Azula set for her that she starts to realize what kind of person, what kind of LEADER she wants to be. One of my favorite scenes to write about Toph is when she's setting her city free from Fire Nation control, extending her earthbending reach all across Gaoling, putting a stop to the FN army while focusing on creation rather than destruction. On building up her people, on leading her forces with the power of her seismic sense, on capturing the enemy leader, all of it without razing her home city to the ground. Early Gladiator Toph? She wouldn't have cared one bit to join the war to begin with, and if someone had told her that her city, the place she associated with rules, limitations and restraints would be razed to the ground? She might have even encouraged it. Yes, a part of her would have felt guilt over her parents... but she would have been so emotionally stunted that she would have forced herself to ignore any part of her that still cared about them.

And worth noting? One of the biggest personal issues Toph faced was actually nearly killing Azula and Sokka because of her absolute determination to win against them during an event. They were already friends, but they were also each other's biggest rivals in the League... neither side holds back when it comes to this particular competition, and Azula and Sokka had actually beaten Toph and Iroh on their previous encounter! Which meant Toph's desperation for victory was driving her a bit crazy. But once Toph takes it too far at one point, she freaks out. It triggers guilt that actually jumpstarts a much deeper and more complicated arc than anything she'd been through before. Her determination to win at all costs, her pride over her lifelong winning streak within the League... she's suddenly facing the possibility that all this shit she used to cling to, so damn hard, means NOTHING when she could lose two of the people she cares most about if she continues to privilege all that stuff over their wellbeing and safety.

And this doesn't mean that she didn't like fighting as a Gladiator anymore... it means she really came to terms with the fact that other things mattered more. Later on? She realized there are BIGGER fights out there, too, than what's going on in the League: she was the last line of defense against a brutal attack by a rogue waterbender who killed a lot of people and could have killed many more... and after the fact, she spends quite some time worrying about what could have happened if she had failed to protect everyone, if her strength had faltered when she needed it most.

Yes, touting my own horn a lot... but everything I've typed about my own story is exactly why it can even piss me off, at times, to see Toph's potential as a character squandered to the extent it is in canon. I've done so much more with her than they ever did, and granted it's a huge story, but Toph ISN'T the main focus on it and I still managed to give her more to work with than canon ever did. It makes no sense, does it?

I don't think she was given the respect she deserved, and partly, I feel this happened with a lot of female characters who straight-up don't have arcs at all. There's this latent fear that in questioning a character, showing they're flawed, they could become unlikeable... ironic how this is seldom a concern over male characters, but it is with female ones. And mind you: it DOES happen to male characters, because Aang himself is the most egregious example of a male character showcasing flaws and people spiraling over them, turning them into something they never were, all be it to pretend SOMEONE ELSE (*cough* Zuko *cough*) is that much better than him. But they WEREN'T scared of writing Aang into complicated situations that showcased his flaws and resulted in his growth, though. They are with Katara, Toph, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee... :') wonder why, huh?

Ultimately, Toph is a much better character, boiled down to basics, than many characters I tend to talk about and criticize openly. The issue with Toph, for me, isn't really that she fails as a character, or conveys wrong messages, or that the narrative is biased in her favor (though sometimes it is...).

The problem with Toph is she has no chances to truly grow into her own. That her biggest growth comes from a singular conversation with Iroh in episode 2x08 is incredibly unfair to a character who can provide SO MUCH if you simply give her a chance and let her be... human. Flawed. Complex. There's so much more that can be done with her, and if given a chance? She really could have been the best character of the entire show. Too bad they didn't have the guts to let that happen.

[nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice]

I couldn't really get into Azula, tbh. I mean, she is a Whole Look and I appreciate her lack of chill, but she felt like she needed more dimension.

AIGHT! LOOKS LIKE IT’S TIME TO WRITE SOME MORE AZULA META. Because I’m not about to have one of the most complex antagonists in television history slandered like this.

If you want to talk dimensions, let’s start there. From the basis of her actions, we can characterize Azula as many things: manipulative, ruthless, ambitious, and lacking in empathy. We see her as a military strategist: commanding the drill to go through the wall, conquering Ba Sing Se by staging the coup, and planning the destruction of the Earth Kingdom with Sozin’s Comet. We see her as a master manipulator: convincing Mai and Ty Lee to join her hunt in season 2, convincing Zuko to betray Iroh, lying to Ozai about Zuko killing Aang, and stalling Sokka at the invasion by taunting him about Suki. We see her trying to kill her brother and uncle all throughout season 2 just on her father’s orders, shooting Aang with lightning in the season 2 finale, almost killing Zuko multiple times in season 3, and nearly killing Katara in Sozin’s Comet. 

So from her actions, we can characterize her simply as power-hungry and lacking in empathy, sure, but it’s in her motivations that her dimensions lie. And everything, everything Azula does in this show is to prove to her father that she’s worthy of his favoritism.

We’re introduced to Azula in season 1 indirectly via Zuko and we know some things about their father already. The two main things being the whole ‘burned half of Zuko’s face off and banished him for speaking out of turn and refusing to fight him’ and the whole “[their] father said [Azula] was born lucky” and “[Zuko] was lucky to be born.” At the end of season 1, Ozai calls Zuko “a miserable failure” and we see him about to send this mysterious sister figure to do something about that. We know that Ozai had absolutely no sympathy whatsoever for his son and horrifically, publically abused him over what exactly? Showing weakness. 

That’s what we know from season 1. With Azula’s introduction in season 2, it’s clear that their upbringing was way more messed up than just this one instance. We start to see that there are these cracks in the royal family and the manipulation and callousness goes way beyond Zuko’s banishment. 

From the Zuko and Iroh plot of The Avatar State, there are a couple key moments where themes of favoritism, perfectionism, and jealousy enter. It starts with the three-year anniversary of Zuko’s banishment where he’s sitting in self-loathing just wanting his “father not to think [he’s] worthless,” holding onto Ozai’s approval as the achievable thing that will mean he’s worth something. We see Azula practicing lightning bending (something we have never seen a firebender do on the show before, it is clear that she is incredibly talented) but still berates herself for being ‘one hair out of place’. We see Zuko lash out at Iroh for implying that Ozai might not really want him to come home despite what Azula says, and we know that Iroh genuinely cares about Zuko and wants him to be safe, but Ozai doesn’t. Iroh introduces the concept that “things in [their] family are not always as they seem, but Zuko reduces this to sibling rivalry, and there’s a reason why. Zuko and Azula have been raised under a competition for their entire lives, and for that entire time, Azula was winning. And by this point she’s still winning. She’s ecstatic that she’s the favorite child while Ozai wants to “lock [Zuko] away where he can no longer embarrass him”. By the end of this episode, one thing is clear: Azula and Zuko are competing with each other. Only one of them can be good enough for their father. But while Zuko takes his first step to cut himself off, Azula doesn’t want to stray from this competition that she’s winning.

In Zuko Alone, this favoritism goes deeper. Just like with Ozai, Ursa’s approval and love is conditional, but these are conditions Azula isn’t meeting. She’s not as empathetic or sweet as Zuko and their mother isn’t shown treating her with the same affection as she does with Zuko. It’s not just Ozai favoring Azula over Zuko with that one scene of Ozai smiling when Azula performs her firebending and frowning when Zuko performs his, it’s Ursa favoring Zuko over Azula. It’s Ursa treating Zuko with gentleness and care and only reprimanding Azula for the way that she is.

Despite the fact that she’s obviously getting all her ideas from her father. This mentality of ‘I must do anything for the throne, even throw my own sibling under the bus,’ is all from Ozai. And when Ursa leaves, there’s no one to keep her in check. There’s only one parent to win the affection of and she’s already succeeding because all she has to do is be a better firebender. All she has to do is follow Ozai’s example of callousness and ruthlessness in order to be the favored child. And keep in mind, being ‘the favored child’ under this roof isn’t something petty, it means ‘one of you gets to be the heir and the other might not be allowed to live.’ This episode reveals what’s been going on in Zuko and Azula’s head this whole time. It reveals that they’re both constantly thinking that only one of them is going to be seen as worthy in their father’s eyes, as they were taught to believe that Ozai was more ‘worthy’ than Iroh since Iroh retreated from Ba Sing Se after Lu Ten died. And the other one, the one that wasn’t seen as worthy, that one was ‘disposable.’ And for most of their lives, the ‘disposable’ one was Zuko. 

But while Zuko spends most of the series slowly learning, with Iroh’s help, that the situation shouldn’t have been like this, that parental love and protection shouldn’t have to be conditional, Azula is still stuck in this mentality. And season 2 is full of examples of Azula doing everything in her power to prove herself to Ozai. Her task was to just bring Zuko and Iroh home for imprisonment, but along the way she added ‘capturing the Avatar’ and ‘conquering Ba Sing Se’ as additional tasks for herself. Why? Because those were the things Iroh and Zuko failed at doing. And she needs to prove that she’s better than them, otherwise what’s going to stop Ozai from deciding that she’s the person who he’s going to be disappointed in next? But if she does these things, if she conquers Ba Sing Se, if she finds the Avatar, that means she’ll still be considered useful to him, right? That means she’s the one who “has father’s love,” right? 

Because that’s what Azula strives to be over anything else: useful. She wants to be the person he relies on. The child he believes in. There’s a really good example of this early in season 2 when Azula goes to Omashu to get Mai: 

Azula takes control of the situation. She doesn’t really have anything to do with this city or the fake plague or the hostage trade. This is entirely the governor's responsibility and she’s just there to pick up her friend, but since she’s there, she has to make sure things are in order for her father. So she strips the governor of his power, takes control of the hostage situation to ensure that Bumi doesn’t slip through her fingers, and renames the city ‘New Ozai’ just for good measure. We see Azula as the actual proactive villain for all of season 2 and she would be well within her rights to name the city after herself. But she doesn’t. Because that’s not why she’s doing anything she’s doing. 

The flashback showing where she suggests burning down the Earth Kingdom reveals a lot with her body language. She suggests this by interrupting Zuko, who’s more resistant to the idea to ‘destroy their hope.’ He doesn't agree with Ozai’s idea, but she needs to show that she’s on her father’s side. She’s the one who can be as ruthless and destructive as he is. So she suggests this and looks to Ozai for approval, and once he gives it, that’s when she looks pleased. The actual plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom isn’t what brings her joy at this moment, it’s Ozai’s approval of her suggestion. We didn’t see her clap once his back was turned. This isn’t about the plan itself, it’s about Azula’s ability to be the heir she thinks Ozai wants her to be. 

And it’s in this moment in Sozin’s Comet shows exactly where Azula’s been coming from this whole time: 

This whole time, it hasn’t been about the destruction. It hasn’t been about what she wants. It’s been about being the favored child. It’s about being better than Zuko. In Azula’s eyes, she’s done everything right. She’s master lightning. She wasn’t the traitor like her brother or uncle. She conquered Ba Sing Se. She showed her father that she was on board with the destruction of the Earth Kingdom and proved her loyalty. She did everything right. But there’s a part of her that was waiting for this shoe to drop for years, ever since she watched her brother get his face burned off for not meeting Ozai’s standards. And she sure as hell remembers that all throughout the series and it shows: she can’t afford to be imperfect because she knows the consequences if she’s not. 

But in this moment, her fear shows. Her fear of not being good enough. The fear of being imperfect, disposable. She’s been terrified of this moment her whole life and has done everything to delay it. This moment: where Ozai casts her aside, where she isn’t good enough to come with him in her eyes. There’s no one left but her: no Iroh, no Zuko, no Ursa. Everyone else left and there’s no one else to compete with. And she’s left alone with this meaningless position of Firelord now that Ozai’s about to declare himself ‘Phoenix King’ and she clings onto that position because it’s her last chance to prove herself after this rejection. 

She goes off the deep end because she’s all alone. She’s snipped out anyone who was imperfect. She cut off her friends once they betrayed her. Azula isolated herself on the throne and demanded perfection because that’s what she saw her father do. Family wasn’t important to him. Loyalty and perfection were. So that’s the example she follows but it’s lonely and terrifying, so she loses herself. All her fears about not being good enough come back up after Ozai leaves her behind. That’s why she mentions Mai and Ty Lee. That’s why she sees Ursa. These are the people who didn’t choose her, and now that her father has left her behind and she hasn’t met his standards for the first time in her life, all those vulnerabilities and insecurities come to the surface. The thing Azula fears most over anything else is rejection, which is why she’s obsessed with perfection. Because she’s been taught that if she’s good enough: if she perfects her firebending technique, if people fear and respect her, and if people choose her, then that means she’s not disposable.

And at the end, she’s the one who challenges Zuko to an Agni Kai. To prove one last time that she is worthy. That she was worthy all along and that her father was right to choose her to be Firelord. 

And there’s an interesting parallel to consider here. The first time we ever see Azula is at Zuko’s Agni Kai with Ozai in the season 1 flashback, and at that one she’s smiling at her brother getting punished because it signifies to her that she won. Ozai picked her. Zuko was the disposable one. And in the end she wants that to still be true and finds that it’s not. In the end she loses and she doesn’t know what to do with herself now that she’s the one cast aside. 

And that’s the tragedy of Azula, really. This entire time she was conditioned to think that her value and the value of the people around her rested in perfection and she spent the entire series trying to prove herself. She was convinced that love was something that needed to be earned and that if she didn’t get results, if she didn’t win, then she didn’t deserve it. 

And that’s just a small piece of her character if we’re being honest. This doesn’t get into the details of how Ursa’s treatment shaped her, how her relationship with Zuko was ruined by their parents, how her bending is a reflection of her mental state, or how he relationship with Mai and Ty Lee reflects her view of herself and others. Azula is one of the most complex villains in television history not only because she has a rich backstory, interesting motivations, or unique persona, but because underneath everything, she’s just a teenage girl who doesn’t wants her dad’s approval and is so deeply terrified of being cast aside. She may be ruthless and she may lack empathy, but those traits stem from deeply rooted damage and vulnerability. 

(For some more Azula meta I did a deep dive into how The Beach foreshadows her breakdown and reveals her vulnerabilities and here where I talked about how she and Zuko were pitted against each other and had their relationship damaged by parental favoritism.)

[dameferre]

hello! if you have a tag just ignore this but do you have any zukka fic recs? i Know you have good taste and you're the only atla blogger i trust !

okay what a fucking honour holy shit?? idk what i did to deserve this but if i may i’d like to rec the fic and bloggers i trust

breakable heaven by @fruitysokka. if you liked my fic you’ll like hers, bc fun fact! haley and i share a single zukka writer brain and accidentally, without either of us having read the other’s fic, wrote like. a dozen near identical passages and elements. bh is just so fucking full of love it feels like your heart’s gonna explode sometimes but you’re honestly okay with it.

victory lap and literally anything else by @dickpuncher420 but specifically vl, 2022 winter olympics au with hockey player sokka aka my kryptonite and pair figure skater zuko. it’s got it all- perfectly researched and fleshed out jock shit, emotional depth, flirtatious antagonism from two assholes at the literal top of their game who are useless at everything else, just like. love and support and understanding up the wazoo, it’s so good please read it

feels like we only go backwards by @oldpotatoe i know everyone and their mother recs this fic but like. mostly through aggressive sobbing? and it’s over 100k? so it may seem daunting but do yourself a favour and read it. ruby does this thing where she perfectly balances comedy and devotion and heartbreaking angst and beautiful prose and some writing that’ll stick with you till your dying day

some other fics that i love but don’t know the authors as well include

sirens & sleepless nights by @satirewrites, which is a goddamn masterpiece. the fucking zukka blueprint. it’s hilarious, it’s suspenseful, it’s really just too damn good for words. i know i always say this but i cannot emphasize enough that this fic is so good i almost gave up writing zukka altogether

at the top of the world by @this-lady-of-the-flowers which is still a wip and hasn’t updated in a while but it’s so fucking worth the wait. the next chapter could come out on my death bed and i’d ask the angel sent to collect me to wait a sec while i caught up

and im gonna go ahead and preemptively rec anything written by @lesmiserablol / @bisexuallsokka who i’ve literally just realised are the same person because im fuckin dumb. i’ve read a few of their zukka fics and Loved them and am looking forward to reading my way through the rest lol ALSO we’re both courferre shippers so you know she has good taste. i trust her implicitly

& finally i’m currently reading blue by @hollypunkers which is a behemoth but so so fucking good it’s absolutely worth it. zuko actively restraining himself from murdering customers in the tea shop and keeping a piece of fabric from sokka’s fucking shirt on him at all times like ‘this is a totally normal and not at all meaningful thing to do with a scrap of fabric from someone i hate’. really deals with all the shit zuko’s internalised really well, as well

and you didn’t ask but on the note of atla bloggers i know & trust on the art side of things i’d be remiss if i didn’t point you in the direction of @bleekay and @sebsketchs

[forever--rain]

I wanted to create a separate post for this, @thebansheeandherboy, because it’s a topic that is near and dear to my heart as a little sister with an older brother. (And this got...LONG. So I've hidden part of it under the cut.)

My brother used to be very set in his patriarchal ways. Certain things were "a woman's job." He was absolutely convinced there was something wrong with every guy who miraculously took interest in me. For a long time, we had a very Sokka-and-Katara-Book-1 relationship. Antagonistic yet fond. Full of conflict yet protective.

As we grew up, he dated some girls who were very strong-willed and courageous. They didn't take his crap. They were my earliest feminist influences and I love them all for it. Without them, I may not have found my voice and become the person I am today. And they changed him, too.

He's very supportive of my independence now. He thinks I kick ass and is extremely proud of who I am, even if we don't always see eye to eye. And as the years have passed, he's learned that my judgement in regard to friends and significant others is pretty good. Sure, I made my youthful follies, but so did he.

Though I know he'll never admit it out loud because it would mean admitting that he likes someone whose views directly oppose his, he actually likes my S.O. and he's glad that we finally found our way to one another. And though I know I'll never hear the precise words, "I like him," I see it in a myriad of little ways which I won't delve into now because it's not pertinent.

"Ever," you may be asking. "What does any of this have to do with fictional characters?"

Well, Sokka learned from strong female influences as well. He shed his misogynistic views and embraced Katara, Suki, and Toph for who they were--strong women. He learned not to underestimate them. I've seen that in real life and I can relate to it.

It's my personal headcanon that Sokka and Zuko become lifelong best friends after everything that happened during the war. Zuko would come to admire Sokka's ingenuity and Sokka would appreciate Zuko's sense of duty and honor. They'd both respect each other's leadership skills and be in constant communication about inventions or laws or anything else under the sun. They'd be good sounding boards for one another. (And they'd also really grow to appreciate each other's senses of humor.)

(Truly, these two are my brotp.)

In a universe where Zuko and Katara get together, I actually see Sokka catching on long before either of them do. Maybe Suki would have to clue him in, but I don't think so. I think he'd catch on to their chemistry at the Western Air Temple during the war. And I think that he'd sit down with Zuko to talk to him after the war. Not in an "over protective big brother" kind of way or anything. He'd definitely just want to thank Zuko for saving Katara's life since she's always been the one to sacrifice for everyone else. He'd make sure to tell Zuko what that means to him and how much he respects him for it. He might even tell Zuko that he's like a brother to him.

That would be the beginning of it, though.

Sure, maybe a part of Sokka would find it weird because it's his little sister and his best friend (and, honestly? I'd find it weird at first if my best friend liked my sibling), but he'd kind of get it. Zuko and Katara push one another. They complement one another. They have a selfless and unconditional give and take that somehow always remains equal. Plus, Sokka knows Katara better than anyone. She's strong-willed and determined. Even if he hated the idea of her and Zuko getting together, that wouldn't stop her. He knows, too, that Zuko has always seen Katara for who she is. Zuko's not once underestimated her. He'll remember when Zuko and Katara went to track down Yon Rha and that memory will reinforce in his mind that Zuko is willing to provide Katara with unwavering support no matter the decision she makes.

And when he notices them looking at each other when the other has no clue, he'll realize he's seen that look before. Katara looks at Zuko the way Suki looks at him. And Zuko might be better at hiding his emotions than Sokka ever could be, but he can't completely disguise the way his eyes go soft when Katara walks into a room. (Don't forget: Sokka trained with Piandao. He has higher observational skills than most people give him credit for.)

And he'd just kind of watch over the years as Zuko and Katara sit in denial and dance around it. But he'd also definitely tease them both about it relentlessly, don't get me wrong! He'd make kissy faces at Zuko behind Katara's back. He'd walk around after Katara mimicking her voice as he says, "Oh, Zuko's so handsome. Zuko's such a powerful bender. Zuko has such nice, shiny hair." (Until Katara bends a snowball into his face, of course.)

Maybe Katara would try dating other people. Sokka would say things like, "You know, this guy doesn't make you laugh. Even Zuko makes you laugh." Or, "This guy can't even sling a boomerang! At least Zuko can wield two swords at once. You should find someone like that." Or, "You should be with someone who's unafraid to give you autonomy and likes your political ideas."

And if Zuko looked like he was about to give in to an arranged marriage, Sokka might step in in a subtler way. "You know, you should find someone who challenges you and inspires you to be a better person. Someone with aspiration who isn't afraid to speak her mind. Especially if she's speaking up for the average person. And you should really try to find someone you love because leading a nation seems like a lonely thing and you don't deserve to be alone."

When they finally decided to try to be together, the two of them would keep it under wraps at first. People might suspect, but there'd be no concrete evidence. Toph would claim she's noticed a difference in the energy between them. And Suki might say Katara's letters suddenly contain a little too much Zuko. But Sokka, ever the skeptic, wouldn't buy into it because his best friend and his sister are dense.

Maybe Sokka stumbles across them snuggled under a tree by the turtleduck pond one day. Or maybe he catches them kissing during the winter solstice celebration in the Southern Water Tribe. And he definitely pulls something melodramatic because, let's face it, he's Sokka. Plus, he just wants to give them shit because he's still Katara's brother and Zuko's best friend and he's obligated.

Afterward, though, he'd track Zuko down. Zuko might try to explain in his usual fumbling manner, but Sokka would just look at him and say, "You know if you hurt her or leave her or if you don't find a way to make this last forever, she'll kill you, right?" And then he'd pull out a flask of Southern Water Tribe vodka, raise it in Zuko's direction and say, "Flameo, hotman. Flameo." And together they would toast to Zuko and Katara's relationship.

(But Sokka would still lovingly give them shit for the rest of their lives.)