#and zukos thing being adapting water bending forms

[strawberrymilkyumyum]

as much as ive liked how katara doesn't have to be as much of a mother towards aang (so far from what ive seen) i also feel like it doesn't do her character justice. like part of her character is that it is unfair that she has to be the mother of the group. she needs to be the reliable responsible one and its so so unfair to her. she's angry (another thing that the live action didnt really do) and she clearly has resentments towards the rest of the group for treating her like this. part of why her mother's death affected her is because she never really got the chance to mourn because she had to fill that role immediately.

so yeah, i like that they're not putting all the emotional shit on her (again from what ive seen) but i also feel like that takes away from her and her spark (which is also something that inspires hope in people)

[sapphic-agent]

Why & How Katara is the Strongest Waterbender

The ATLA fandom is funny. Because if there's one member of the Gaang whose skills are continuously doubted, it's Katara's.

No one hesitates in saying that Toph is the strongest Earthbender in the world. Aang has always been maintained as a natural prodigy. Sokka's strategic intelligence and cleverness are never in question. Most people are positive that Zuko would have beaten Azula if she hadn't targeted Katara and hail him as a swords master.

But for some reason, it's always Katara whose proficiency is either called into question or severely downplayed.

Some are skeptical about the legitimacy of her becoming a master in a short time. Others are certain that her victories are due to plot manipulation. Both of these arguments that ATLA is a kids' show which pushed it into giving her the win.

(Funny how ATLA is the greatest piece of media ever read until it comes to anything pertaining Katara's character lmao)

So I wanted to take a minute to talk about the progression of her waterbending skills and how she became Master Katara.

Pre North Pole

The first time we really see Katara practice waterbending is in The Waterbending Scroll when she decides to show Aang her limited very skill set. She noticeably has a difficult time with her bending, whereas he seems to pick it up rather quickly.

As we know, Katara has never met another waterbender before. She has no idea what their bending is supposed to look or feel like. And that's reflected in the moves she shows Aang.

I want to draw attention to Katara's stance here. She's stiff, even a little awkward. She's standing where more like an Earthbender. We see this repeated when she's practicing the Water Whip.

Even later when she does perform the Water Whip correctly, there are still traces of this.

You know how Iroh learned to redirect lightning watching Waterbenders? Well, my assumption (at this point I'm 80% sure it's meant to canon) is that Katara learned most of her bending by watching Aang and the Earthbenders they met around the world.

It makes sense, right? They would have been the closest thing to Waterbenders she could have learned from. She even asked Aang to teach her in the first episode. So the start of her bending began with incorporating the forms of Air and Earth.

And we see the results of that in her fight with Pakku.

Fighting Pakku

Katara's fight with Pakku is a great demonstration of his visually. He's a master, so he's already proficient at "push and pull." Katara is not. She's done it before, but it's not her go-to style when she's fighting. And we can see it in this fight.

Again, her stance is firm. She either blocks his attacks or bats them away. She doesn't reinforce and redirect them like he does hers. She isn't fighting like a Waterbender, she's fighting like an Earthbender.

Not to say this is a bad thing. Pakku himself even admits that she's good even though they both know she can't beat him.

Why am I bringing this up? Because one thing about Katara that's overlooked is her adaptability. When she didn't have a waterbending teacher, she made do with observing Earthbenders. She picked up Pakku's teachings even better than Aang had. And going forward from here it really begins to shine in her bending.

She completely dominates Pakku's other students and Zuko (twice). Why? What makes her so special compared to men who have been training their whole lives?

Because water is the element of change. By being so proficient in adapting (not just in her bending, but openly embracing different things and experiences and people), Katara unknowingly embraced the mentality of her element.

(It's actually a funny twist of fate because you could make the point that the North held its other Waterbenders back by being so bound to and unflinching in their traditions. It would explain why none of Pakku's students even stood a chance against her)

If you think about it, you could draw parallel to Yue explaining the history of Waterbending to Katara to the Sun Warriors explaining fire as an element to Zuko. In both cases, you can see that they're able to see and understand their element in a new light. Although it's more of a realization moment for Katara as she already knew about pushing and pulling and it's more of a lesson for Zuko who was taught something completely different.

Katara vs Azula (Round 1)

You know how I said people attribute her wins due to plot manipulation because ATLA is a kids' show? Well it seems like Katara vs Azula is the scene they focus on the most for that.

But let's be real, this isn't a fluke. The show purposely draws attention to Katara prowess and skills during this fight.

Azula is someone who's always in control. She's someone who goes into fights with full confidence. But she is completely thrown off by Katara's abilities here.

And this is something that persists throughout the entire fight. Katara completely overpowers her. At no point during the fight did Azula have the upper hand against her.

And remember, this is Azula's fight. She's the one who imprisoned Katara and Zuko. She's the one who attacked Katara and Aang to begin with. Sure, she was probably counting on her manipulation of Zuko working and him backing her, but there was no guarantee that he would be able to get away from Aang long enough to help her.

And right after this, Aang really struggles against Azula. He doesn't own the fight nearly as well as Katara does.

So, we know it isn't a fluke. The creators intentionally made Katara outclass Azula here. She's canonically the superior bender between the two of them. And that's not a small feat by any means. Azula at this time is one of the best Firebenders alive, probably fourth (after Ozai, Iroh, and Jeong Jeong (she could possibly be above Jeong Jeong)).

So what was the reason for this? Why was Katara able to outclass Azula so effortlessly?

Well here's where Katara's mastery of the meaning of her element comes into play again. She understands and excels in the concept behind water. Always changing, always adapting. She embraces water to its fullest capabilities (which also includes incorporating other elements into it; water would actually be the best element to do this with). The entire fight, she's switching stances and forms and keeping Azula on the evade. Whatever Azula throws back is dealt with without an issue.

And as we know, Azula (and most Firebenders) misunderstand fire as an element. She uses it solely as a destructive force, but it's also energy, life, and passion. This is also part of the reason Zuko lost so easily in the Northern Water Tribe; he also had the same issue. Katara's proficiency in water as not just a weapon, but an element, gave her the advantage over Azula she needed.

Katara vs Hama

A debate that comes up a lot is who's the better bender between Katara and Amon. To that I have always said Amon was taught Bloodbending, Katara just did it.

Let me reiterate: NO ONE TAUGHT KATARA BLOODBENDING. Hama explained the concept to her, yes, but never actually taught her. In fact, she did not expect her to pick it up without guidance. In her own words, "You should've learned the technique before you turned against me."

This was a technique that took Hama decades to learn. Tarrlok and Noatak were trained relentlessly. And Katara just... Did it. No guidance and no build up. This supports that Katara's adaptability and versatility in her bending is unmatched. She's able to comprehend and perform advance concepts with no training or teaching.

Now that we got that out of the way, this fight is so comprable to Katara vs Pakku. This is the second time she's fought a master and we can see how much she's improved. So much so that she doesn't even struggle against Hama.

At this point, she's mastered "push and pull." She's able to take everything Hama throws at her and send it right back with little to no effort.

But she takes it a step further.

Instead of redirecting, Katara completely stops Hama's onslaught. This undoubtedly is something she picked up from Earthbenders. It certainly isn't a Waterbending technique, yet somehow she made it into an effective move.

Look at Hama's face. She's completely thrown off by this. This was not something she ever expected out of any Waterbender. She was completely unprepared for Katara to be able to outmatch and overpower her.

Katara completely surpassed her, solidified by using the technique she invented against her.

I was going to talk about Katara and Azula's second fight, but there isn't much to add there. I already compared the difference in their skills talking about the first fight, and the Agni Kai is an escalation of that. The outcome of the Agni Kai was already decided and confirmed in the catacombs.

And that my friends is how and why Katara is the best Waterbender in the world

[multiverseworm]

If Batfamily members were part of the Avatar (The Last Airbender) universe. Which element would each be able to bend?

It’s probably been done before by other creators, but I will write each one of my headcanons and why I think they’d bend that element. You’re free to think otherwise about these.

Water: as Uncle Iroh explained to Zuko, water is the element of change. The people of the water tribes are capable to adapting to many things. They have a sense of community and love that holds them together through anything.

•Dick - had to evolve many times in order to fit, whether from an orphan to a billionaire, a sidekick to forming his own team (the titans), or even moving cities altogether and becoming his own hero.

•Bruce - the original evolving character. He had to adapt from having loving parents to being an orphan. From being a one man show to having sidekicks and a whole team formed of superheroes. Whether he realizes it or not. He’s build a community around him to help the people that are part of it, feel loved and understood.

Earth: Earth is the element of substance. The people from the earth kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persisting and enduring.

•Cass - to begin and try to explain how enduring Cass is would be a whole essay on its own. She was raised from the minute she was born to be a living weapon. Endured years of abuse towards that goal. And much like Toph, she concentrates, analyses and concludes before she attack.

•Jason - I know Jason could arguably be added as part of the fire element as well. But he’s been one of the Batfamily members that has had to endure a lot. His parents abused and neglected him, he never adapted to Bruce’s moral code, he was killed by the joker and brought back only to be another soldier for the League. He is strong in more ways than just physical strength and has never stopped persisting about what his beliefs are, even if that has created a breach with his family at times.

Fire: Fire is the element of power. The people of the fire nation have desire and will and the energy and drive to achieve what they want.

•Damian - a lot like Zuko, Damian’s drive and will was at first conducted by anger, superiority and desire for power. But the more he has immersed himself in achieving his own goals, and not the ones that were imposed to him by other people, he has been one of the most strong willed and powerful members of the Batfamily.

•Kate - Since childhood, Kate has been someone that felt she lacked power over her own life. The kidnapping, the loss of her mother and sister, her expulsion from the military, and overall control of her destiny. But this hasn’t stopped her from achieving what she wants. The will she has is enormous.

Air: Air is the element of freedom. The Air nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, the apparently had pretty good senses of humour.

•Steph - having to detach yourself from your own blood is something incredibly difficult. But Stephanie proved this can be done in order to achieve freedom when she took the mantle of spoiler and helped Robin and Batman take down her own father. She forged her own path.

•Alfred - One of the greatest characteristics from air nomads is their ability to remain peaceful. With every single thing the bat kids have put him through, he remains one of the more sarcastic and empathetic members of the family, and also a true guide for each of them.

Non-benders: Having no bending abilities has never been an impediment for the people of the four nations. We’ve seen them being great combatants, logical thinkers and overall, people that had earned their place amongst the people that seem to be ‘most powerful’.

The following three are listed as non-benders is mainly the result of their efforts to prove themselves in order to be a part of the Batfamily.

•Tim - His own strength has always proven to be his intellect. No combat, threats or anything physical at all was needed in order for him to use his mind to act as the greatest detective of this family and find out Batman’s identity. His brain has proven more useful than any violent action. He earned his spot inside the family.

•Barbara - Much like Tim, Barbara proved her own way into the family. She started out as a potential casualty in Batman’s book, but she quickly proved herself to the family. Even after being incapacitated to deal with criminals hand to hand, her logical thinking has helped the family perhaps even more with her role as Oracle.

•Duke - after losing his parent’s sanity at the hands of the joker, Duke also proved himself with the ‘we are Robin’ movement. He couldn’t care less about how powerful anyone else was, because he knew that what the movement represented was far more important than walking amongst heroes.

*All of the above could arguably be moved from one element to the other, but this is my personal headcanon.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

started watching the new live action avatar

it’s. It’s pretty ok I guess? But there’s a lot of things I’m not altogether happy about. It feels very. Generic. Which is kind of sad.

I’m only two episodes in though, so I won’t be too harsh. But there are a few things that I really don’t like, and number one was Aang going into the Avatar State in front of Sokka and Katara for the first time when seeing Monk Gyatso instead of when escaping Zuko, and that moment being isolated instead of the moment everyone in the world knew the Avatar had returned

in the original series, Aang goes into the Avatar State when confronted by irrefutable proof in the form of the skeleton of his best friend and mentor - the airbenders really were massacred and he can no longer deny it.

every statue of the Avatar around the globe lights up in a single moment. the legendary figure’s destined return is announced to the world by an overwhelming outpouring of grief and rage from a young child who just discovered that everyone he ever knew and loved is gone. it’s poignant. the Avatar’s return in that moment is not a triumph. that terrifying show of strength and power, enough to light up the world in its glow, is pure emotional anguish from a small twelve year old, who just saw the dead body of his mentor and now believes he is all alone

and Katara and Sokka having seen the Avatar State before means that there is less of the shock and “what is happening” in this pivotal scene (which was the main focus in the live action). of course Sokka is still concerned about them potentially getting flung off the mountain. but both of them know this reaction for what it is - mysterious power, sure, but primarily, they see and recognize his grief.

I just. what happened to “we’re your family now” and “neither of us are gonna let anything happen to you”??? :(

on a side note, I do feel like Katara and Sokka themselves have been heavily (heh) watered down. it’s a shame. Sokka’s my favourite, and I just think that I. Don’t trust writers with Katara now. (Why is her waterbending a secret? The whole reason she didn’t learn was because there was no one to teach her and she couldn’t leave… also where is her instant connection with Aang… where is their silliness… where did it go…)

however! I did like a couple things that were done and I want to be a bit positive so here

love Zuko and Suki’s actors. they did a great job

Sokka and Suki’s training together was cute ☺️ (though I wish he had worn the uniform of the Kyoshi Warriors…)

Aang himself is adorable :) (wish he got to be a little more silly but Netflix adaptations always are more serious for some reason)

I actually kind of enjoyed getting to see some of the scenes from the war’s outbreak. I prefer the way the original show portrays it, with a lot of info being learned reverse chronologically, but it was cool to see Sozin, and some of the airbenders, and a little more of Gyatso (who I also really enjoyed :’) )

Katara bending water at Aang and it reducing to them splashing each other without even trying to bend. Rare sillies!

I thought Kyoshi herself coming to defend her island was pretty sweet!!!

Katara getting flashbacks to her mother’s death on seeing firebending. Well I don’t like this, obviously, but it clearly shows how her mother’s death haunts her, and if they have Katara face off against Zuko again at the North Pole, it’ll be all the more triumphant.

Suki’s mom!!! Damn she was so cool!!!!!!

[dhampiravidi]

LOK oc form (Princess Natsumi)

template adapted from this one

Basic Data

Name - Princess Natsumi

Nickname - Natsu

Age - 34 in LOK, Book One (born in 136 AG)

Gender - Non-Binary (she/they)

Sexuality - Questioning

Occupation - Princess of the Fire Nation

Nationality - Water Tribe, Fire Nation & Earth Kingdom

Abilities

She could firebend until her “accident”, which took place when she was twelve. After that, the only thing Natsu could do resembling bending was heat up things, like people’s hands or leftover food. So she learned chi-blocking and tessenjutsu (fan fighting) from the Kyoshi Warriors. Natsu also can wield her grandfather’s broadswords, though she does so more as an art form than as a combat skill she’d feel comfortable with using in a fight.

Appearance

Natsu is a young person who stands at 5'3" (1.6 m). She is graceful enough to do extensive martial arts, and yet she has a decently muscular build, considering her level of physical activity. Her skin is light but has warm undertones and leans more towards tan than white due to her mixed heritage. Like a typical firebender, Natsu's eyes are amber in color. She wears her shoulder-length, jet-black hair in a ponytail & this is her typical outfit. This is her formal outfit. She's thinking about cutting her hair shorter, though.

FC: Jessie Mei Li

Personality

As a child, Natsu was someone who had a natural curiosity and a laid-back attitude, but at the same time, she cared deeply about others. She also had a tendency to be a perfectionist. She kept this same attitude as she matured, although she became much more concerned with her political role. She's still very interested in learning as far as physical combat is concerned. The spiritual world kind of scares her, though she won't admit it.

  Biography

Natsu's life was pretty normal, as far as Fire Nation Royal standards were concerned. Her older brother, Iroh, was kind towards her, even when he went off to join the United Forces (he sent weekly letters via a dragon hawk). Her parents, Izumi and Shun, cared deeply about her, though she sometimes wished she could spend more time with them (being next in line for the thrones made them busy). & her grandfather, Zuko...he was always so proud to see anything she had to show him when he visited, especially where her bending was involved. Then Natsu's father died, having been crushed at a faulty construction site. The moment she heard, Natsu nearly burnt down the building she was in. She passed out from exhaustion & when she awoke, her bending was gone. Her parents hired tutors, healers & scholars to get it back, but no one could help. Natsu hid away from the public, who were never told what had happened to her. The princess was determined to waste away until Zuko came & told her the story of her great-great-great-grandmother, Zeisan. Zeisan was a Fire Princess who had been born a nonbender. She embraced who she was & rejected her militant family, deciding to renounce her crown & adopt Air Nomad teachings. Natsu was inspired to learn all the forms of nonbending combat she could.

Favorites

Food - red bean paste mochi

Drink - chai tea OR Grand Slam cocktail

Color - violet

Season - summer

Scent - honey OR a campfire

Music - zheng (stringed instrument); country

Time of Day - noon

Item - her grandpa’s swords

Movie - The Mummy

[chriscdcase95]

“The Ancient World”: Draft Part one

Introductions: So, as I said in other posts, I’ve been revisiting some shelved and unwritten fics of mine for over a year. And one I liked revisiting the most was The Ancient World: A crossover adapting Godzilla into the world of ATLA, taking place a few years after the series.

While it’s unlikely I’ll get to writing the full story, with the numerous WIP’s and planned fics I’m working on, I have been writing segments and scenes for The Ancient World, that I’ll probably post on this blog.

I have also written two layouts for what the full story would include. Here’s ink to the updated version.

Anyways, I have been working on two sequences that would cover the first chapter. I’ll put the whole draft on AO3 but this post covers Godzilla and Ghidorah’s initial appearance and fight in the Water Tribes, as well as peoples initial reactions to them.

The other segment covers the Fire Nation cast (Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee and Azula), and their reactions to these creatures appearing. But that will likely be a separate post due to length issues.

And now for the draft itself; “Godzilla Comes Ashore”.

----

Aang  paced back and forth within his quarters aboard the rescue ships, trying to collect his thoughts. The past few hours was a cycle of pacing, and trying to sit down and meditate.

Really, he just needed some alone time to mull things over. He didn't want his companions to worry. At least not as much as he worried. If anything, he hoped they'd take a breather themselves.

The day was simply put, a flustercuck.

----

Actually, it started weeks back; it was one of the first international industries formed by the United Republic Council; The "New Dawn Mining Firm", an operation that offered prosperity to the newly founded Republic City.  

When a series of Islands were discovered off the coast of the three nations, initial expeditions showed these islands had no life or culture to speak of. So, it was fair game for the Council. Perhaps to build another city state or foraging territory.

At the initial discovery, Earth Benders among the got a (literal) feel of the place; in their words, they “are walking on either the biggest grave in the world...or the biggest trash pile.”

It's only when the foraging began, did they strike gold, so to speak.

Or more accurately they struck the remains of a city deep beneath the bedrock.

All it took was one look at the ruins, and it brought to mind these stories many heard but few seriously believed in.

Depending on who you ask, among historians or folklorists, it was sometimes believed there was a civilization that blanketed the world; a civilization that once held the power and advancements beyond that of this world.

“The Ancient World” it was called.  

A time before spirits, before bending, before the existence of hybrid animals.

Aang personally never paid heed to such stories. Such a period would be a dark age. Though admittedly, you could chalk this up to his upbringing.

As far as Aang knew or was concerned, the world he lived in was so entwined, with the mystical and mundane being adjacent, such a period was too alien to him.

Aang wasn't alone in that sentiment. 

Ask any historian at the time, and they'd tell you the Ancient World was more than likely a myth. If such an advanced society and age existed before the time of the Lion Turtles, there'd be more historical accounts.

Believers in the Ancient World would counter that the history of the Lion Turtle's era is also pretty obscured, to the point of being thought of as myth, that such a thing as wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

Of course, recent discoveries proved these stories true, and historians ended up second guessing what they knew to be true or myth.

And with this, the New Dawn Mining Firm struck something greater than gold; they unearthed the keys to civilization's newest advancements. The remains of ancient cities. Relics of a bygone era. And in their quest to bring prosperity to Republic City, they would seek out more.

Bit by bit, pieces of this old world were uncovered.  

Though as of yet, the industries are still working to figure out what these items are, how they worked, and how they could be reverse engineered for their own prosperity. Thus far, they were able to wrap their minds around electricity and gas-powered devices.

If only they knew what else, they unearthed.

----

In the weeks that followed, there was still very little the current world learned about the ancient one. They were able to uncover several familiar languages from that period, which would be useful in translating other languages.

Though the more they found out, the more they kept hitting a speed bump.  

There was one constant element in these myths; “The Final Wars” - a so-called “mythological” event which saw the destruction of the one world, which gave birth to the new.

Thing is, despite the Final Wars being common in Ancient World “myths”, there was still little known about the event. At most, they could only find cave paintings and tablets from centuries after the fact.

They'd often depict this giant beast. Reptilian in appearance.

Many believed was a sea dragon of sorts. And in each depiction, it would be wreaking havoc, burning cities and fighting other monsters. If the bits and pieces uncovered of this creature were any indication, it may as well be a spirit or god made flesh.

One of uncovered items was a broken tablet dating back at least ten thousand years.

Affixed to this tablet was a depiction of this creature standing in a burnt wasteland city, as other giant beasts bow to him.

Lion Turtles being among these creatures.

While the tablet was broken, what can be translated was “-the fury of the world (...) king of the monsters (...) The destroyer(...)a fire that burned the world(...)The fire will burn again.”

This brought grave concerns to some of the population. The more superstitious and spiritually inclined believed that these were a sign of the times.

To those who got a look at these paintings, one thing was clear; if this thing ended the Ancient World, and they themselves were on the verge of a new one, who's to say something like that can't happen again ?  

And if something like that did still exist, what can be done to stop it ?

Could the world see the Final Wars anew ?  

Unfortunately, they soon got their answer.

----

They were in the Water Tribes when it first happened.

It was a wedding celebration, and this friend of Katara and Sokka's, an older girl named Matanya was the lucky bride. Her fiancé, Igaluk, being a young commander of the Agna Qel'a' military, brought quite a number of visitors from Katara and Sokka's otherwise quaint little village.

While they haven't been as close to Matanya in a while, what with the two siblings finding the Avatar in an iceberg, but it was as good an excuse as any for Katara and Sokka to wind down, relax and reconnect.

Among the friends Sokka and Katara would invite for the occasion were Aang, Toph, and Suki.

Late in the evening before the wedding, Katara was going about explaining the wedding ceremonial traditions to Aang.  She noticed the way Aang got flustered when she said when they get married.

Not if. When.

Katara found Aang's blush, and his stuttering and sputtering, frankly adorable.

“Well, if you're going to be like this at our wedding, it looks like you're gonna need a bit of practice.” She says with a teasing chuckle.

“Practice ?” Aang gulps.

“Practice makes perfect.” Katara winks.

She snuck him to a temple while everyone was busy. Hoping to give him a demonstration of how the groom greets his bride.

She'd have him wait at the altar, as Katara walks down the aisle. She takes Aang by the hands, and has him go over the traditional vows, and she goes over their own, coming just sort of a kiss.

“We can't do that, or we'd actually be married in the eyes of the tribes.” Katara says in a warning tone.

“W-well, we'll have a while to wait for that. I-I mean we don't want to upstage Matanya on her special day.”  Aang says, trying but failing to put on a confident front.

Katara beams at him, before she chuckles again “Well, I wouldn't worry about it. We've got years before we worry about that.”

With that Katara and Aang kiss on the mouth on impulse...and then widen their eyes at the realization of what they just did!

“Th-that doesn't count. Right ?” Aang asks nervously.

“No! No one knows but us! There-There has to be witnesses...I think.” Katara insistently says, blushing up a storm.

With nothing else to save them from the awareness of the situation, the two turn to take their leave, but just as they reach the door, Sokka opens and steps in.

“There you are. Look, any other night I'd give you your space and all, but Gran Gran is in curfew mode.” Sokka says, looking back and forth between Aang and Katara's flustered faces “What, uh, what are you two up too ?”

“Counting tiles!” Aang says quickly.

“Looking for my necklace!” Katara says at the same time, before looking down and seeing her necklace is around her neck “Oh, there it is!”

Sokka chuckles and rolls his eyes “Anyways, Gran Gran says dinners about ready and Suki can't stall her forever..”

Katara nods, taking Aang by the hand as they follow Sokka back to Kanna's hut. 

Besides the excitement for tomorrow's ceremony, the time Katara and Sokka have spent with their family in the Water Tribe has been few and far between, and they want to make the most of their time with them.

On the way there, they spotted Toph standing on the beach shore, right by the hut, staring out in the distance, even if she couldn't see anything.

“Hey, did you guys feel that too ?” Toph asks.

“I don't think so.” Aang says in a questioning tone “What is it ?”

They knew what she was talking about of course. How Toph always just knew when an Earthquake hit or was about to hit.

Thus far she demonstrated this ability as having the capacity of feeling potential earthquakes as far as 200 miles, which came in handy the year before when four quakes hit. Helped the evacuation effort tremendously.

This time Toph had a more confused, and curious expression on her face "I never felt one that big before."

“Do we need to evacuate ? Should I tell-”  Katara starts to ask.

“N-no. I don't think it's a tsunami.” Toph says, in a rare instance of sounding uncertain “It's like something ripped its way out of the Earth and...I don't know. I don't think I should have felt it from here.”

It was rare seeing her this way. It was rare to see Toph uncertain over something, it's even rarer to see her...scared ? 

Toph doesn't get scared easily. Aang and the gang can count the times they have seen her so much as nervous the past few years in a single hand.

“How bad is it ?” Aang asks.

“I-I don't know.” Toph says, still trying to wrap her mind around it “It should have been too far for me to feel. It's like it's on the far side of the globe.”

“Then how is it our problem ?” Sokka asks.

This earns a glare from Aang and Katara.

“What ?” Sokka says “All I'm saying is that if it's on the farthest side of the globe, then it's probably nothing we need to worry about. It's not like there's much out there anyways. Let alone anything we can do about it.”

Aang and Katara were about to argue but decided against it. At the time, the known world was the three nations for a reason. Whatever else was there was, at best, a relic of an extinct world. If there was life elsewhere, it would have been thousands of years ago.

Even so, it was enough for the others to accept Sokka's advice, and not worry too much about it.

Just before they took their leave, Katara could have sworn she felt something out in the distance. Not in the physical way Toph could feel things. It was more like she was feeling an emotion, like this empathetic link to something out there.

Was it fear, anger, annoyance ? There was certainly a little confusion. It was the sensation you felt when you suddenly awaken from a long, long nap, and suddenly had a mess to clean up. 

There was certainly an air of frustration to it, and it all manifested as some imaginary voice in the back of Katara's head.

“He has returned.”

Katara shudders without even noticing it. She's not one who gets cold easily (“The coldest day in the Fire Nation ? That's our summer!” She once said when Mai once complained about an incredibly low draft.)

It didn't escape Toph's notice.

“I just heard that.” Toph says as she and Katara, referring to her shudder “You felt it too ?”

“What you mean ?”

“The rumbling. It's not just in the Earth, you know.”

“What ? You mean, like a tsunami ?”

“I don't think so.” Toph nods, with a shrug “But it like Sokka says, it's too far off for any of us to do anything about.”

Katara shakes her head, but says nothing. 

What else can be said ? That apparently there's something in the water that's very angry ? Underwater earthquakes happen all the time, and tsunamis were rarely, if ever, a problem to the Water Tribes.

They reached Gran Gran's hut, just in time for dinner and to overhear Suki being entertained by stories of a Baby Sokka (much to the latter's increasing embarrassment).

That night was largely uneventful, though it was daybreak that things got exciting.

----

To make a long story short ? The wedding didn't happen.

To make a short story long ? The next morning, people were roused from sleep, not by the crack of dawn, but the lack of dawn. 

At the time the sun should be rising past the sea, dark blue clouds of icy rain filled the sky.

The usual storm plans were in motion; non benders had to hunker down for the storm to pass, while the Water Benders attending for the groom, had to work to keep the rainfall under control, which as usual was a team effort.  

This of course put Katara and Aang front and center for what was to come.

It was a stronger storm than usual. Many Water Benders were nearly taken up into the air, and of course Aang had to work fast to rescue them.  

It must have taken the manpower of a hundred just to keep the rain fall clear, while the wind seemed to work against them. Almost as if it were toying with them.

It wasn't long before they saw it at last; emerging from the thick clouds, flying in the air above them was the apparent source of the storm.

To be simple...it was a dragon.  

A large one at that. It looked a little different from the kind they were familiar with. Folklorists and anthropologists sometimes talked about differing types of dragons from different times/regions.

But what stood out the most, was that this beast had three heads.

The dragon was golden in color, and it flew at such a height that its wings blocked out the sunlight like an eclipse. When everyone got a good look at it, they saw it seemed to lack front legs, but as it reached the ground level, it seemed its wings were an extension of its forearms.

When it landed just off the snowy beach, adjacent to the village, it used its wings to “stand” on all fours. Everyone saw it had two tails with a spiked ball on their ends.  

Each of its heads had a set of horns, but the middle head had three horns, where left and right had only two. The middle heads' horns were larger and stuck out more prominently than its “brothers”, resembling a crown.

As it descended, if the observers had to estimate its size, it had to be seven hundred feet tall, standing up. It's wingspan, they couldn't tell for sure.

Everyone was awestruck. The civilians either hid entirely or watched from a short distance. Its right and left heads were looking down at the people, while the middle head gave them a passing glance.

It was just staring out at the sea, as if it were waiting for something; as it did so, it hissed and snarled. It's already unsettling hissing noises echoed with the wind.

It is here the people noticed something on its right head - a nasty, nasty gash going down the side of its face, and neck. It appeared to be healing, but at a slow rate.

It's also here, people saw its right wing. The membrane was torn and tattered, skin hanging off, its dark blood making a sticky mess. 

Aang felt himself clutches his right arm, cringing at the sight. It was like if one saw a deer shed the velvet from its antlers, and clutched their own head in response.  

The question on Aang's mind, as well as Katara and presumably the other witnesses, was “What is this dragon ? And what could have done that to it ?”

The dragon spent a moment or two observing the spectators, its oddly expressive face(s) looking as if they were deciding something before they got the answer.  

Rearing back, it spread its wings, making itself look bigger (probably eight to nine hundred feet in total). These specs of yellow light running up its torso and necks.

It's here everyone felt a rumble in the ground below them. Following the dragon’s line of sight, they say something disturbing the water. Like two or three blue whales swimming at once at a ramming speed.

On Katara's part, she felt something else as well. That invasive, empathetic feeling once manifesting as a combination of fear and anger, as well as a silent, but niggling voice in the back of her head. 

“He is here...”

Right then and there, everyone present could hear it coming; a deep, rumbling, droning growl that reverbed the ground and ice beneath them.

As if on cue, the dragon let out its breath attack. Only it didn't breathe fire. It looked like...lightning ?

The blast hit the water, far off into the bay. And just below the surface, everyone saw a massive blue light draw closer and closer to the shoreline. It appeared to descend as if to dodge the dragon's attack.

Even so, the dragon reared its middle head back. Aang could have sworn he saw it smile, but before he could make anything of it, something else burst from the water.

The thing in the water let out a quick "RAEAEH!!" noise at it surfaced, climbing up onto the shore, with seafoam in its wake. 

The rain and storm clouds still obscured it as it rose from the depths, bringing a small tide in its wake. Many water benders, Katara included, spread out the water before it reached the village, even if they were as taken aback by the newcomer as everyone else.

As it emerged, and the storm began to clear, the beast standing before them was clear as it was in the paintings.

What was about four seconds in real time, felt like time stopped, as its orange eyes glanced down at the people. 

Standing at the estimated height of three hundred feet, the creature was bipedal, and quite bottom-heavy, with considerably shorter forelegs/arms, almost resembling a bear in its structure and build.

But its actual appearance was that of a crocodilian-like-lizard, with a small but protruding snout, a long crocodile-like tail and greyish green scales all over its body. And finally, a series of large dorsal spikes, resembling the leaves of a maple tree, going down its back, all the way down its tail.

It was the beast of forgotten myths, here to show the world just how “mythical” it actually was.

As soon as time seemed to stop, it started yet again, as the beast's eyes glared at the dragon. In that short amount of time, it became clear the beast had the dragon in its sights. It was also what inflicted that cringe-inducing injury on its right head and wing.

The air was once again, filled with that deep, rumbling, droning growl. It builds and builds, as the beast rears its head back, and lets out a roar that shakes the ground around it.

“R-R-R-R-E-E-E-E-E-E-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-N-N-N-NG!!!”

With that roar, dozens have already scattered.

A few dozen others, stand where they are, frozen in terror as the three headed dragon let's out a call of its own. 

It was oddly a high-pitched chirping, and would bring to mind the singing of tree-frogs and crickets.

“BIDIBIDIBIDIBIDIBIDIBIDIBIDIBIDI!!”

All three heads let out a blast of lightning, striking the beast back towards the water. It staggers, letting out an annoyed bellow and snorting as it finds its footing.

As the beast staggers back up, it is hit by another lightning blast. It hobbles a little, before tripping off its ankles and into the sea behind it.

The impact causes a giant splash, creating waves too big and too fast for any of the water benders to counter it; the wave crashes down sucking in dozens of people into the tide, as the beast staggers back up.

“R-R-E-E-E-E-O-O-O-O-N-N-NG!!!”

The beast roars again as the dragon lunges forward; the dragon's two legs grab the water beast by the shoulders and slam it down onto the ice. A couple dozen people weren't lucky enough to get out of the way.

Below the two monsters, hundreds of people try to gather who they can; two young men try to help their elderly mother get to safety after their father was swept up by the waves; three children trip over each other as they try to find their mother; a little boy running back to pick up her stuffed polar bear dog.

Katara lost track of who was where, and how much time has passed in the pandemonium. She calls out for her brother, friends, and grandmother. She spots Aang, doing what he can to pick up anyone he can get too; he's got them on Appa's back, if he can't carry them himself by his glider.

Avatar or no, it was not a one-person job.

While the dragon was busy trying to maul the water beast, Aang spots Katara and lands towards her, with Appa.  

“Get on!” he gestures to the Sky Bison, as fourteen people climb onto Appa.

“I can't find Sokka!” Katara protests.

“He's fine!” Aang insists “I got him out with the first few. Suki and Toph too! They're saf-!”

“R-R-E-E-E-E-E-O-O-O-O-N-N-N-G-G!!”

They are interrupted by another roar from the water beast. It's only then they notice how close his head was to them - though it was thirty or so feet away, given its size, it mattered not. They might as well be a footstep away from its perspective.

That's when they hear it again. That rumbling, reverbing sound. When they looked, they saw the creature's tail out of sight of the dragon. There was something blue on its tip.

Did this creature get some kind of substance on its tail ? Why is it glowing ?

It wasn't just the tip of the tail either. The bright blue light travels up the length of the tail, spikes glowing as the light travels up its back. That reverbing sound continues before it reaches all the way up.

BRRRRRRRRHHHHHH

From the water beast's mouth, a bright blue fiery light blasts out, hitting the dragon in the chest and blasting it hundreds of feet into the air.

The dragon lands with a crash, one that shatters hundreds of feet of ice around the spot it lands. Even then, the cracks expand and spread towards the village.

Aang and Katara look to each other with terrified and guilty expressions.

There was nothing they could do. Hundreds have already reached safety, a few stragglers are taking their chances, and are out of reach of Aang and Katara anyways.

With Aang wrapping an arm around Katara's waist, Katara wrapping her arms protectively around Aang's neck, Aang's glider takes to the sky.  

They narrowly avoid the creature's tail and find themselves uncomfortably close to its head as it lets out a fearsome roar and steps towards the dragon.

Aang manages to reach Appa, dropping Katara off before turning around.

“What are you doing ?”

“I'm the Avatar.” Aang answers simply, preparing to make his leap “I have to do something.”

Aang!” Katara calls out, getting Aang to turn around “Be careful.”

Aang gives an uncertain smirk and nod, taking off on his glider as he flies his way to the reptilian monster.

The blue light is already running up the water beast's back, as the dragon weakly tries to stand back up.

Suddenly Aang lands on the beast's nose.

“Wait!”

Its orange eyes widen and narrow towards Aang. They had the expression of confusion and frustration.

“I don't know if you're a spirit or animal.” Aang says cautiously “But I know you can understand me, otherwise you wouldn't have stopped just now. You are putting these people in danger.”

The water beast breathes heavily, another blue flame boiling inside him, waiting to be unleashed. Aang knows he needs to use his words wisely.

“I don't know if it'll mean anything to you,” Aang starts "But I am the Avatar, and I nee-"

Before Aang can finish his sentence, the monster snorts and bellows, causing Aang to slip and yelp. As he does, the beast let's out another blast at the dragon.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRHHH

This one causes the dragon to collapse through the ice beneath it, completely submerging it in water.

Luckily for Aang, when he was around the creature's hips, he got control of his glider, just barely able to keep flight as he felt the shockwave of the blast. He gilded several dozen feet towards Appa, with Katara and two others catching him as Aang landed.

The monster lets out a bellowing roar, staring down at the ice. He pays the sky-bison and the people on it a glance and a snarl.

Katara felt it again. That silent voice in the back of her head.

“You small ones, how often do you have to learn this lesson ?”

The water beast peers down at the cracked ice below it. Something was moving beneath the thick but breaking ice beneath him. Snarling in preparation, it leers down and lets out another challenging roar.

“R-R-R-R-E-E-E-E-O-”

Out from beneath its feet, the ice gives way, and the monster rapidly sinks down into the sea beneath it.

Where the water beasts fell, the dragon emerged from the depths, reaching hundreds of feet into the air.

“BIDIBIDIBIDIBIDIBIDI” 

It clicks at it takes flight a storm covering the water tribe The dragon quickly disappears into the storm, reaching an altitude no one can reach.

In that time, the survivors were able to reach a safe distance, and as soon as it came, the storm disappeared.

As it did so, Aang, Katara and the rest looked over the what's left of the village. Half the village was submerged beneath the water, and there was scarcely a spot of ice that wasn't filled with cracks, ready to give way at the drop of a feather.

Right as the onlookers could grasp what just happened, the monster from the sea emerges again, right up to its hips looking towards where the dragon was flying off too. Its frustration and annoyance very obvious.

“R-R-R-R-E-E-E-E-E-E-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-N-N-N-N-G-G-G!!!!”

With a snarl and a glare, it directs its attention at the onlookers, too terrified and exhausted to do much of anything. 

The creature snarls at them, before it takes a few bellowing breathes, turns around and submerges itself into the sea.

It was only when the scene was cleared, did people notice the bodies floating into the water. By then people didn't want to look. 

Many were silent, many were crying, many of them were in utter shock as fear gripped the collective survivors.

----

As everyone took a moment or two to get their barrings, Katara and Aang felt someone touch their shoulders. It was Sooka, Toph and Suki.

“Sokka!” Katara exclaims, wrapping her arms around her brother's neck in relief and fright. Sokka returns the gesture, while Aang receives a double hug from Toph and Suki.

“Are you alright ?” Aang asks.

“I don't know.” Toph says, her tone indicating she's just keeping it together "I...I think I- I can't even imagine."

“Is Gran Gran okay ?” Katara asks.

“Uh...Yeah.” Sokka scratches the back of his neck, uncomfortable thoughts going through his mind.

Needless to say, his statement the day before of it being “too far off to be our problem” was really kicking him in the stomach.

“I'm not sure if alright’s the word, but she's safe. We think she's in shock.” Suki explains.

Katara looks at Aang.

“I have to-”

“Go.” Aang nods “She needs you.”

With that, Katara made her way to find Kanna, along with Sokka and Suki, leaving Aang and Toph to assess the situation.  

A collective fear and despair washed over the hundreds of survivors, all trying to get their barings. Aang and Toph were no exception.

“So...” Toph sighs, sounding a little dejected “What now ?”

Aang pinches the bridge of his nose.   Think, think, think...

“Kyoshi Islands.” Aang says, settling on a solution “It should be two days from here, but we can-”

Toph stops Aang with a look.

“On foot or air ?”

Aang pauses, inhaling deeply.

Back when he first travelled to those islands, it did in fact take a few days. But back then it was him, Katara, Sokka, and Momo on the back of Appa. Now it was them, with a couple of hundred or so refugees.

“We can- we can get word out.” Aang nods, gesturing to the sky “I mean, something like that doesn't happen without word getting out!”

“Right. Right.” Toph nods, with a shudder “You know ? I normally don't feel this way, but-”

“It's okay to be scared.” Aang says, putting a reassuring hand on Toph's shoulder "Believe me. I'm terrified."

“I’m not scared!” Toph says, though the expression on her face and tone in her voice isn't doing her any favors. 

This was a girl who has heard and felt the destruction of a whole village, and how many people dying. Somehow, this felt worse than actually seeing it.

“Just...I’m just shaken and nervous.” Toph looks ways take a deep breath. 

Aang notices Toph trembles a little. Without a word, Aang wraps an arm around Toph's shoulder pulling her into a hug.  

By then, Toph didn't care if she lost her cool.

----

The next course of action was soon decided. 

Appa would take fourteen of the villages most sick, wounded and vulnerable to the Kyoshi Islands. Suki and Toph were among the first to go so as to get word out over what happened.

In the meantime, the rest had to endure the frigid outdoors and make camp for the night. Help wouldn't come until the next morning. 

By then, out of the 400 people in the village before the monsters attacked, there were sixty three confirmed deaths.

It was a sleepless night, the strong and healthy among them barely keeping it together as they tended to the remaining sick and injured. 

Some of the especially distressed where looking for some kind of escapism from the terror of the day. Aang would try to cope with what happened by meditation, and it soon started a meditation/prayer circle for people trying to find some inner peace.

Ultimately, it didn’t help much.

When the cavalry arrived from Kyoshi islands, it was learned that Toph was sent to Gailong to get word out to the Earth Kingdom. 

So far were no other sightings of the dragon, but many have heard reports of a storm passing through in a beeline towards the Earth Kingdom.

The water beast on the other hand ?  

By the time Suki reached her village, it turned out the monster made landfall at Koi Harbor. Earlier that evening in fact.

There was considerably less destruction left in its wake as it passed through the fishing village, but it destroyed six homes, passed through the forests and submerged itself into another nearby bay. 

The docks were wrecked by the creatures' entrance, and the forests were wrecked by it's path.

With only six houses wrecked, the Kyoshi village was only in marginally better shape. But as it stood, it was the safest haven the refugees could reach.

----

Aboard one of ships, Aang was keeping to himself, trying and failing to meditate, and find the inner peace that now seemed so out of reach.  

Despite his attempts at a brave front, not even Ozai had Aang on this much of an edge. In fact, Aang might have felt a greater anxiety from these monster's attacks than he did at the prospect of facing the Fire Lord. 

One was just a man who had too much power than he should, the others were literal beasts - monsters, spirits, animals - Aang didn't know the right word for them.

But what little he knew of “Ancient World/Final Wars” legends...these beasts were signs of the times. Things that have ended the Ancient World and left little, if any, memory of it behind.

He tried taking walks around the deck. He tried to eat and drink his rations. He tried to sleep. 

Nothing worked. 

And so, in his attempts to relax, all he did was sit around in his quarters and wait out the journey. Everytime he looked out at the sea, he'd shudder, for all he could hear was the creature's roar echoing in his head.

And going about the ship, he had no doubt he was alone in that sentiment.

As Aang sat in his quarters, his attempts to quell his anxiety were once again interrupted when he heard his door knock.

“Come in, Katara.”

The door opens, with Katara stepping in and closing it behind her.

“How'd you know it was me ?”

“Cuz you check on me every half hour.” Aang looks up at her.

“Yeah, sorry.” Katara rubs her arm, looking away with a sheepish expression “I worry.”

“I know. I'm sorry.” Aang replies, getting up from the floor “So uh, how's Matanya holding up ?”

“Don't know.” Katara says, shaking her head “She and Igaluk are on another ship. Probably about the same as the rest of us.”

“Oh right,” Aang nods, looking to the side, before looking back at Katara “Look, sweetie. I'm sorry if you feel like I'm pushin-”

“No. No, that's okay.” Katara says, giving Aang a sad smile, before stepping towards him “I think we all need space to think.”

Aang gives a sad smile of his own sitting back onto the floor in his previous meditation position, with Katara sitting on her knees across from him.

“There's not much to think about...” Aang says “Everytime I try to find my center, it's always out of reach. I haven't been this rattled since-”

“I know,” Katara says, putting a hand on his shoulder, and pressing her forehead to his “I know.”

There's a pause between the two, before the couple wraps each other's arms around their necks, letting a few tears fall in their embrace.

“I'm sorry-” Aang says, letting out an airy sound that was like a mix between a sob and a sigh “I should have done-”

“Aang, there's nothing we could do-” Katara says, wiping her eyes.

“Those people are dea...” Aang can't bring himself to finish the words “That's on me! Just like-”

“No.” Katara says plainly, “Aang, we can't hold ourselves responsible for what's beyond our control. That...thing ? That was beyond any control!”

Aang nods, taking this in.

“I should have been able to do more.” Aang says, stepping out from their hug, to stand up and make his way to the window “If it had been an animal or a spirit, I could have maybe tried to reas-”

“I don't think it matters if it was an animal or spirit.” Katara says, getting up from the floor. She steps behind Aang, and wraps her arms around his waist, resting her chin on his shoulder. “It was a monster.”

Katara and Aang exhale, looking out the window and over the vast and dark sea.  

Together, they thought back to those plaques that were uncovered. The images of the water beast drawn by a bygone civilization.

It was just like those plaques uncovered said; his thing was a destroyer, the fire that burned the world. The fire that will burn again. 

And above all else-

“The King of the Monsters.” Katara says under her breath.

----

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

atla - wisdom

Zuko: “Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy to drive and achieve what they want. Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring. Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything.”

Azula: “What is the meaning of this? Why are you explaining this to me?”

Zuko: “If one is to understand great wisdom, one must study all aspects, not just the dogmatic narrow view of the fire nation. Even though no one else can bend elements themselves like the avatar can, that doesn’t mean we can’t learn the ideologies of the other nations like him as well. Since father trusted you to be fire lord, if you want to become a complete, just, and wise leader, you must embrace a larger view of the world.”

Azula: “I already know enough of the other nations. The air nomads had a tyrannical military form that threatened the well being of the fire nation. The water tribe are misogynistic and homophobic scoundrels. The earth kingdom leaves its poor to rot and die, they allow lazy and competent bigots be their kings and queens who are easily controlled by underhanded cowards like Long Feng and they killed our cousin and turned our uncle and you. They are beyond saving and deserve to die.”

Zuko: “Believe it or not Azula, not everyone in the other nations agree to their standards. My friend Katara, fought against the water tribe’s misogyny and revolutionized unisex bending teachings. Her brother, Sokka was once misogynistic but changed his ways. Ever since Kuei found out about Long Feng’s deception, he traveled the world, he learned to fight and studied psychology so that no one can manipulate him again. According to Aang, there was no military and it was all ambush, but Aang has come to learn that the nomads ways are more complicated then he once viewed.”

Azula: “He’s lying. You’re lying.”

Zuko: “Come one, you seen me lie before and saw right through it. Look me in the eye and tell me that what I’m saying is not true.”

Azula looked deep into Zuko’s eyes, she’s unnerved that Zuko really isn’t being deceitful.

Zuko: “Only through the avatar and your spiritual connection to him can you reach your true potential.”

Azula: “Get out! GET OUT!”

Zuko bowed and complied. His words began haunting Azula to no end.

[sunmoonturtleduck]

Zutara and Mutual Understanding: Part Two

Part One

Complementary Values

Even when they had completely contradictory goals, Katara and Zuko still had complementary personalities and values. They are both family-oriented, protective, and determined. They both extend their compassion beyond their personal biases, willing to risk their lives to defend innocent people, including people who come from the opposite side of the war. Both of them demonstrate great moral complexity, understanding that doing the “right thing” is not always simple.

Katara and Zuko’s greatest difference is the difference of their elements. After all, it’s hard to find two things more opposite than fire and water. However, even this difference, when examined closely, becomes more similar than not.

Remember when Iroh summarized the main traits of each element? Well, what he says about fire and water can be applied to both Katara and Zuko.

Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want.

Over the course of Book 1, Katara:

-shatters a massive iceberg on her own despite having no formal waterbending training

-completely disarms three Fire Nation soldiers (again, with no training)

-single-handedly resuscitates Aang after he drowns (did I mention no training??)

-plans and executes an uprising against the Fire Nation

-challenges an experienced waterbending master to a duel and, while she doesn’t win, definitely gives him a run for his money

-dedicates herself to studying bending and becomes a waterbending master in a matter of weeks

And these are just the highlights.

Over the course of Book 1, Zuko:

-practices firebending constantly

-insists on learning more advanced firebending forms

-challenges an experienced firebending master to a duel (sound familiar?) and wins

-takes on a group of earthbenders on his own to save Iroh

-frees Aang from Zhao’s prison despite being vastly outnumbered, and without even using his firebending

-goes to great lengths to capture Aang in the North Pole, nearly drowning and/or freezing to death in the process, surviving only because he uses the breath of fire, a relatively rare firebending form

None of these are the actions of people without power, desire, and will. Katara and Zuko are both extremely driven individuals, who each had incredible power even when they had relatively little experience at the very beginning of the series (which is why I only used examples from Book 1). This power only gets stronger as the series goes on. Neither Zuko nor Katara are naturally gifted prodigies—in fact, they each struggled with learning bending for a good portion of their childhoods. However, their persistence, drive, and energy cause them to practice relentlessly, always ready to put in the work to achieve their goals.

Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything.

Though all the members of the Gaang experience personal growth over the course of A:TLA, Katara and Zuko arguably change the most from the start of the series to the end. Zuko undergoes the most obvious changes, growing from an entitled imperialist to a kind, compassionate leader determined to help the world. Katara changes from a naive, untrained waterbender to a powerful waterbending master who has made peace with some of the darker, more violent parts of herself. Katara is also the character who was most willing to believe that people can change, being the first person to truly trust and reach out to Zuko in the Catacombs.

Both Zuko and Katara have to adapt to a lot of different, unpredictable situations. Katara lives a nomadic lifestyle for nearly a year, never knowing quite where she’ll end up the next day. She has to adjust to taking care of more people without her grandmother’s support, and takes on the role of the “adult” in difficult situations. Likewise, Zuko also has to adapt to many new environments and people. He is willing to keep an open mind when traveling through the Earth Kingdom, despite it being enemy territory, and starts to form connections with the people there. He adapts to going hungry, traveling alone, and fighting when necessary. He adapts to working in service of others, and later, being part of his own friend group for the first time in his life.

Community is what saves both Zuko and Katara. A:TLA is all about found family, and these two characters perfectly exemplify that. Not only have both Katara and Zuko found their family in the Gaang, but they also understand the importance of staying together as a group in difficult situations. When the Gaang hits one of their lowest points in “The Desert,” Katara is the one who keeps everyone together, thus ensuring their survival. In “Sozin’s Comet,” when the Gaang is faced with the incredibly stressful situation of finding Aang before the comet comes, it’s Zuko, with Katara’s support, who keeps the group cohesive and focused on their task.

Fire and water may be opposites, but Zuko and Katara are, at their core, very alike.

[headcanonthings]

The Gaang + Cooking

Aang

Cannot cook to save his life

He never had to at the temple because he was so young; the most he did was occasionally help with some of the prep like cutting up carrots, onions, peeling potatoes, etc. but he never payed attention to what the monks did after that 

tends to get impatient and/or distracted so his few attempts to cook are either burnt or under-cooked (the last time it was somehow both??? Sokka and Katara banned him from cooking dinner after that)

never really gets the hang of it even as he gets older

only makes the effort to successfully complete one recipe and that’s Gyatso’s custard tarts 

One of the few happy memories that Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin can all agree on having is making those tarts with their dad

Katara

She’s okay at it, no one’s going to be asking her to open a restaurant anytime soon but she’s also not making anyone sick

She also only knows a handful of recipes from helping Gran-Gran and Bato (Hakoda literally only knows how to roast something over an open fire and can name like two seasonings one of which is salt) and has a hard time diverting from them

it’s a bit of a rough period as she learns how to adapt Earth Kingdom ingredients to her Southern Water Tribe recipes but once she figures it out it’s easier to do it again when their in the Fire Nation

Even as she gets older she has a horrible time at experimenting when it comes to cooking, she’s not the type who can just throw things together and have a tasty dish at the end

Give her a recipe though and she always does fairly well

Once the war is over she puts some of her energy into learning recipes from the other nations so that she can make them for her friends when they get together

the idea starts to form while they’re hiding in the fire nation and Toph offhandedly mentions once missing one of her favorite dishes from home which gets the rest of them talking even Aang

the idea comes back to her when she’s visiting the Northern Air Temple and Teo hands over some old scrolls that he found, one of which holds what were common recipes and she recognizes one that Aang had described that night around the campfire 

She know it means a lot to Aang to be able to eat traditional Air Nation food, and she enjoys being able to share that with him and is happy to learn that a few of the dishes even appeal to the others but she also loves the looks on the other’s faces whenever they visit and find that she has made one of their favorite dishes

Sokka

Takes after his dad and is a terrible cook

bless this boy’s heart because after he starts drinking that Respect Women Juice TM he doesn’t see cooking as “women’s work” and genuinely tries to learn

but he just can’t get it??? every time he tries something goes wrong and he has no idea why

he ruins so many pots and pans in his attempts

also like his dad the only thing he can somewhat successfully make is roasting/grilling something over an open fire and thanks to his travels he’s got a bit more of a wider spice palate which can be nice but he also has a tendency to over season his meat

even as he grows older he never gets the hang of cooking so when he’s not with the Gaang/Family he frequently eats out or eats a lot of preserved dried food when he travels on his own

when helping Aang with making tarts one day he does learn that he’s actually kind of good at baking

the precise scientific nature of baking really speaks to his skills and he finds that he even enjoys it (his decorating skills still leave something to be desired though)

once everyone figures out that baked goods are the one thing Sokka can reliably make he becomes the defacto dessert maker for all of their get togethers 

all the kids beg their Uncle Sokka to make their birthday cakes which makes him uniquely proud each and every time

Toph

honestly never really thought about cooking

her parents never let her near the kitchen for fear that she would be hurt and it had been enough of a fight to convince them that she could feed herself

as a Beifong she always figured she’d be married off to some other wealthy Earth Kingdom family which would have a number of servants including cooks at their service so she’d never have to worry about it

She also had more important things to focus on like learning earth bending and becoming the greatest earth bender of all time

when she becomes more comfortable with the Gaang, she does try to help but she doesn’t know anything about cooking and can’t figure out how to use her seismic sense to help

she and Katara silently agree that she’s better off helping Sokka hunt after she nearly cuts her finger off (thank the spirits for the water benders healing powers)

She sets her self the task to actually learn when she’s older and moves out of the Fire Palace (where she’d been staying since the end of the war as the Fire Lord’s personal guest) and into the newly built Republic City

Sokka and the Machinist come up with a few different adaptive tools to help her around in the kitchen (like a recording device that reads out recipes) and she learns how to extend her metal bending skills to get some vague sense of temperature

Katara comes over and walks her through some simpler recipes 

the first time she cooks a full meal for the Gaang she feels a weird sense of pride in herself and tells everyone to shut up when they compliment all the food; none of them mention the way her eyes get a little watery at the compliments

Zuko

excellent cook like five star restaurant chef quality cook

the kitchen had been one of his favorite hiding places because his father never went near it

at first none of the staff had known what to do with the prince in their presence after all a kitchen can be a dangerous place especially such a busy one

One of the older and more kindly cooks asks the Prince if he wants to help and Zuko worried he’d be kicked out otherwise agrees and so the cook sits the boy down in a corer out of everyone’s way and shows him how to cut vegetables

and well Zuko is curious and full of questions and he gets the sense that he can ask the cook without getting yelled at and so he asks question after question and one of them leads to a demonstration and it quickly just turns into cooking lessons after that

because of this Zuko learns not just how to follow a recipe but a lot of the theory behind cooking so he has an understanding of how different ingredients go together and why they go together so he’s the type that can look at a seemingly random looking assortment of foodstuffs, throw it together and make a tasty meal he actually really likes the freedom of not following a recipe

cooking quickly makes its way into how Zuko displays his love for others

the first person Zuko cooks for his is Uncle shortly after his banishment; its a simple meal since he had to make it in his room on the ship but Iroh understands it for the thank you for coming with me and thank you for caring about me that it is

Katara doesn’t let him near the food due to her distrust of him for a long time, so the first time the Gaang learns of his skills is when they get to Ember Island; the kitchen is more or less kept well stocked as it should be ready for the Royal family to visit at a moments notice so Zuko is able to make a large meal to feed all of them and is careful to keep the spice level low having already heard how the others feel about Fire Nation fare

The others are extremely surprised to learn that Zuko can’t just cook but is really good at it and they carefully question him about it until he tells them the story of how he learned and through this they also figure out how this isn’t just a whim to show off a skill they didn’t know but a way for Zuko to show that he actually cares about them, really thinks of them as his friends and possibly even as family

Zuko learns how to make Azula’s favorite dumplings and takes a plate to her every time he visits her at the hospital

In the days leading up to his coronation as Fire Lord he is extremely glad to learn that the cook who had taught him is still employed at the Palace and makes his way into the kitchen to show him what he’s learned in the almost four years he’s been gone

(if having the prince in their space had been weird having the Fire Lord is worse but everyone quickly becomes used to finding him there helping out and occasionally taking lead)

Suki

Also an excellent cook

everyone pulls their weight as a Kyoshi Warrior so she learns how to cook from a young age along with how to wash, clean, sew, and fight

she never actually learned how to cook from a written recipe, most of the Kyoshi Warrior lessons being passed down orally which also means that she has no clue about the standardized method of measuring since she learned with phrases like “a pinch of this” and “just a smidge of that” and “let your heart tell you when you’ve put in enough” 

they may not have been as formally told to her but like Zuko these lessons give her an idea of the theory behind cooking so she’s also the type who doesn’t actually need a recipe to cook, and knows just how to throw things together to make something not just edible but tasty

EXCEPT because she learned how to cook for the Warriors she really only knows how to makes food in near excess quantities

to make anything for less than at least a dozen people is nearly impossible for her

Katara and Zuko’s guidance help when she joins the group and curb her from using all their ingredients in one go like her instincts tell her

but she never really grasps how to cook for a few people and always makes enough to feed all the warriors

So before she returns to Kyoshi she’s just as bad as Sokka on relying on other people to cook whether she’s at the Palace or going out to eat or sticking to preserved food while traveling

[royaltealovingkookiness]

I had a discussion with my teacher about Zuko today and while we had disagreements here and there, we agreed on one thing: Zuko is actually a VERY good firebender, definitely one of the best in the show. I think he should also be considered as a prodigy, too. People that are saying he's "not good enough' or" mediocre' is because they're comparing Zuko to Azula. When it comes to fighting skills, Zuko absords new moves/skills like a sponge and he can easily adapt to them.

I agree with your first point. Zuko is a strong firebender compared to everyone but his own family. Already in Book 1, he beats Zhao twice, but for me his most badass moment is when he uses his bending to melt ice after swimming under frozen water and being completely out of breath. 

By the end of Book 2 in CoD, he holds his own against both Aang and Katara very well.  Like he says in the Western Air Temple, he’s “pretty good” and he’s evolving constantly. 

I don’t agree though that he “should be considered a prodigy too”. I think Zuko’s story is much more interesting precisely because he is not a prodigy like Azula is (and Aang, and Toph, and arguably, Katara). He’s only “pretty good”. And because of this, he’s labelled as weak and a failure. He’s told that he’d never catch up. His worth is tied to the perfection of his firebending forms. But no matter how hard he trains, he doesn’t seem to be getting to the point of measuring up.

We watch him struggle against these expectations, how he beats his head against trying to be as good as Azula, to have the same number of advanced sets, we see him work through plateaus in his training, losing fight after fight and getting up again and again. But we also see that not being able to progress linearly makes him branch out more. He learns sword-fighting on the side, stealth, all kinds of ninja tricks - and he becomes “pretty good” in all of them. And he may not be able to master some of the more advanced bending moves like lightning, but he integrates new moves from other elements into his bending making his own style more and more unique. 

Zuko may not be as strong a bender as the others in the Gaang in “classic firebending”, he may not be a prodigy, but he is by far the most versatile fighter and that levels the playing field (just watch his fight against Jet or how he keeps up with Aang’s airbending with nothing but his athletics in their training duel).

But the real breakthrough comes only when Zuko stops trying to live up to his father’s expectations. He stops stressing about trying to beat Azula, and instead focuses on being the best version of himself in every sense. He realizes that “playing his part in ending the war” is what counts. After he joins the group, he gives his absolute best every time.

And Zuko thrives within the team. Focusing not on himself, but on how he can contribute the most in a given situation (mentoring, back-up, defense, assist) makes him a phenomenal boost to Team Avatar (dare I say he’s their MVP in those last crucial weeks?). The kid who was written off as failure before he even got a chance to prove himself, who’s only “pretty good” turns the tide of the war. It doesn’t matter if he’s as good as Azula (the whole tiresome could he have beaten her if she was not slipping)- he’s good enough. 

On the other side we also see that the prodigy label in the long run harmed Azula more than helped her. Her learning was linear and very fast - she didn’t learn to cope with failure. Being as precocious as she was probably meant that she dealt with a lot of things that she wasn’t able to process emotionally. But the biggest problem was how her self-image became tied to “better-than-Zuko”. The label “prodigy” gave her a feeling of invincibility - that she is inherently more worthy, and is entitled to win every time. That’s why losing broke her so badly; her entire world and self-image shattered. 

I become frustrated with these discussions in fandom of who is the better bender, the biggest prodigy, etc. It reminds me uncomfortably of Ozai’s point of view (and a lot of harmful practices in education in general, where kids are put into “gifted” and ordinary boxes at a very early age disregarding individual strength and weaknesses, pace of learning) where everyone who doesn’t fit into the label or can’t get on with the program is written off. 

Zuko is all these kids - the ones who are told that they’ll never matter, that not being a prodigy, not having insane raw talent means that it’s not even worth trying. But his arc proves that even non-prodigies can become extraordinary if they work hard, nope out of toxic competition and focus on their own progress, find their own winning combo.  

Prodigies are not inherently more worthy or better. “Pretty good” can be a game changer. “Pretty good” can save the world. 

[clumsydarknut]

Having just rewatched The Legend of Korra and The Last Airbender in that order...

I just gotta say, the Gaang is so incredibly powerful that it's shocking to me that anyone argues Korra is the more powerful Avatar. Let me break this down:

Sokka

Though he isn't especially good at combat in the beginning of the series, his intellect repeatedly comes to the rescue at just age 16. It's Sokka who develops the lid for the Fire Nation War Balloons. He also thinks up the fake firebending they use in the Fire Sanctuary. His tactical knowledge is equally impressive - it's him who figures out the Solar Eclipse, how to bring down the drill threatening Ba Sing Se, and who discovers Jet isn't as righteous as he claims. Despite being the butt of all the jokes that episode, Sokka's instincts are, in fact, incredible. Then on top of that he trains in the way of the sword with one of the greatest blade masters in the history of the world, and progresses at an incredible speed. The man is an unstoppable force of intellect and dedication, even compared to many of the tacticians and leaders in both ATLA and LoK.

Katara

In only season one, before reaching the Northern Water Tribe and at only age 14, Katara teaches herself most of the basics of waterbending, including freezing things at will, improvised control, and basic forms from the scrolls she stole from the pirates. But that's just what we see on-screen. When they do reach the Northern Water Tribe, she not only unflinchingly challenges a master waterbender in at least his 60s, she holds her own against him, using advanced techniques we don't see used anywhere in LoK (even by Kya, her own daughter) that she is largely improvising on the spot. She then learns everything Master Paku has to offer her in the span of a few weeks and is deemed a master waterbender, at only 14. Katara, with no training, was able to take on Fire Nation climbing tanks single handedly, and with training was capable of halting the rain in at least a 40-foot radius. Katara bends more water at one time than any other waterbender in either ATLA or LoK with the exception of the Moon and Ocean spirits.

Toph

In addition to being blind, being the creator of metal bending, and being the first to learn the badgermole's seismic sense, Toph had raw power that few other benders ever knew. The most notable instance I can think of off the top of my head is when she, on her own, in the middle of a sea of sand where she could hardly see, halted the descent of Wan Shi Tong's Library, which was being dragged back to the Spirit World via his spirit powers. She single handedly stopped a hugely powerful spirit in his tracks with only brute force. This 12-year-old tiny blind girl had enough power to keep a massive stone library tethered to the physical realm. I'd argue this is on par with Avatar Kyoshi separating Kyoshi Island from the mainland in terms of raw strength.

Zuko

Though he is always shown to be a weaker firebender than other members of his family, it's important to realize he is still far more powerful than your average firebender. In the beginning of the series he's still learning the basics, but he hits a major turning point when he asks his uncle to teach him how to use lightning. He isn't successful with that, of course, but in the process of learning to redirect it, we see a change in him. He gets the hang of that technique more or less, but the real difference shows in how he absorbs his uncle's ideology on the balance of the world. From that moment on, Zuko's bending improves at rapid and even frightening pace. His bending becomes fluid, adaptive, and creative. Rather than the short bursts of flame we see in season one, where he's focusing on the muscle and not the breath, we see his abilities change to more full and sweeping attacks - where he focuses on the breath, and how it extends past his body.

In all honesty, though, it's his sword and stealth skills that are truly incredible. I'm fairly certain we can all agree that his work as The Blue Spirit far outdoes any other nonbending warrior (and most other bending warriors) in either series. It's actually when he combines his swordplay and his bending that he is the most proficient. Then, on the day of Sozin's Comet, he is able to fight with heightened power without losing control of the flames - I'd bet that some of that comes from his swordplay. Neither Ozai nor Azula show the same level of precision or restraint.

Aang

This kid is 12 and he's already an airbending master, complete with tattoos. People may complain that he relies far more on airbending than the other elements compared to Korra, but realize this - Aang's avatar experience began the day he was told. He didn't even attempt bending other elements until he met his teachers. In terms of time covered in the show, Aang had access to these other elements for a considerably shorter amount of time, and we didn't see much after the defeat of the Firelord. By my estimate, he likely was just as proficient in the other elements as Korra by the time he reached 16. I don't think using his most comfortable element more frequently while still learning the others (all of which he's been studying for less than 6 months) indicates a difference in power or skill - especially when you look at how much raw strength he has in all four.

Without the Avatar State, Aang was able to: destroy dozens of Fire Nation Naval Warships singlehandedly; create a whirlpool powerful enough to wrench a massive sea serpent into the side of a cliff; generate a shockwave of earth large enough to take down the entirety of the Earth Palace Royal Guard (different from the Dai Li); create a rolling wave of earth to ride while wrecking Dai Li agents; build a massive zoo in a matter of minutes; redirect lightning from a comet-enhanced Ozai; and, though not necessarily powerful, he invented the air scooter.

The most amazing thing, though, is that Aang could easily take any one of his companions in a fight. Without the Avatar State. And while still bearing the burdens of his entire culture being destroyed. It's shown that he defeats Zuko multiple times, and based on the little bit we see of him fighting with Toph, the makings for a quick victory in an actual fight are all there - though that's probably more due to him being able to fly, making him immune to her seismic sense. Against Katara in a water-only match, he'd probably lose. But give him his other elements, and we're in for a show. And again, his companions are nuts. Some of the strongest benders and smartest warriors in history. That should tell you something about just how amazing Aang is, and all without the Avatar State.

As a fan of epic battle scenes, despite how beautiful LoK's animation was, ATLA is always gonna take the cake.

[phantoms-lair]

EnergyBending snippets

Takes place late in my Nursery Rhyme/Avatar Zuko Story. Unlike in cannon Zuko’s main focus was bringing back airbenders, so things didn’t go as badly between the group and Wan Shi Tong. Zuko learned Energy Bending rather than about the Day of Black Sun (though that does come in later), but he learned it from a book, so he doesn’t have the confidence Aang had with the Lion Turtle gifting it to them.

~~

“Toph’s asleep.” Aang reported.

Zuko’s breathed out a sigh of relief. He wanted this to be a private conversation and she was the one he was most worried about overhearing. Sure she was brash and forward, but he hadn’t forgotten how sneaky she was capable of being, hiding her second identity from her parents. “Could you wait here too?”

Aang crossed his arms. “Sokka won’t even know I’m there.”

“But I would. And it would feel like I’m ganging up on him, but it has to be his choice and-”

Aang put his hands up. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll stay here.”

“You could always get some lesson plans ready.” Zuko suggested, which had Aang grinning.

Zuko left his tent and went to where Sokka would be standing watch. He was often the last to go to sleep, taking the safety of the group seriously. “Can we talk?”

“I’m not stopping you.” Sokka shrugged.

“I’ve been studying the techniques I learned at Wan Shi Tong’s library. It’s been focusing far more on the Spiritual Side of being an Avatar than I’ve ever done. According to Aang more than any Avatar has done in generations. But I think I’ve got it. I can use energybending to make more airbenders.”

He heard the sharp intake of Sokka’s breath. He understood how important this was. “I just need to put it into action, and the first new airbender...Sokka I want it to be you.”

Sokka crossed his arms, but didn’t respond for a few minutes. "I don't need bending,” He finally said, tersely.

Zuko took a deep breath. "Sokka, you are without a doubt one of the greatest warriors I have ever met. You're clever, adaptive, and pick up new disciplines faster than anyone I've ever seen. If I ever heard anyone suggest you needed to be a bender I'd fight them myself, if everyone one else in our camp didn't beat me to it."  

"You don't need to be a bender, it's more...I need a bender to be you." 

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "And that makes sense how?" 

"We don't have much time before the Day of Black Sun. In that time I need to at least create some new airbenders in case I die. But I need to know this is going to work. And for that I need the first new airbender to be someone who can travel with us. But our path in dangerous and they'd need to be able to defend themselves, and not with a bending they're not used to. I need the first airbender to be a warrior who doesn't have to rely on bending, but who's adaptive enough to be able to incorporate it into what they already do. Who else could that be but you?"

~~

"Katara, can we talk?" 

Katara looked up from breakfast at the serious expression on her brother's face. He looked like he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. "What about?" 

Sokka took a deep breath. "Zuko wants me to become an airbender." 

It took her a moment to process what she'd heard. "Wait, you? Why?" 

"The long story short of it: I'm adaptable and don't need to rely on bending to fight." Sokka plopped down by the fire. "It's weird, you know? I wasn't the biggest fan of your bending back at the South Pole. Then bending got us mixed up in all kinds of weird stuff after we teamed up with Zuko and Iroh, and I was glad I never had to deal with that. But after a while I got, you know, jealous. You and Iroh, and Toph can doo all these amazing things, and Zuko was the flipping Avatar, and here I was just a guy with a boomerang." 

"You know none of us saw you that way, right?" Katara asked, her eyes looking troubled. 

"I know, it's just... I'm afraid the part of me that wants to say yes just wants to feel special, while another part of me is how much I'm afraid I won't be me anymore, and I don't know what to do. I know logically Zuko's right. I'm the best candidate we have right now. But I'm scared."

~~

"Okay, let's do this before I change my mind." 

"No." 

Sokka blinked at Zuko and his instant shut down. "What?" 

"We're not doing this unless you're completely sure. There's too much risk otherwise." 

 Sokka's eyes narrowed. "What risk, you never said anything about risk." 

"Because the risk isn't to you." Zuko snapped, then took a few breaths to calm down. "Consensual energy bending like what I have planned has no real risk. But if you panic and change your mind it becomes a battle of will. Your will has never faltered. Mine has. You could shatter me, Sokka, so excuse me for not wanting to risk that until I know my work is done.”

There was a whole lot to unpack there. Zuko's lack of faith in himself, his utter faith in Sokka (who had to admit he was kind of touched the Avatar had no doubts he would be the one to come off better in a test of wills), or Zuko implying that the risk would be okay, as long as he'd made enough Airbenders to know the cycle wouldn't be broken upon his death. 

 It also helped to know Zuko wasn't so eager that he'd pressure Sokka into it. That took a load off his mind.

~~

"I'm sure." Zuko looked up from his meditation. He didn't have to ask what Sokka meant. 

"I thought about it and I had a lot of concerns about a lot of things, but in the end, I think it came down to your concern. You're right. Letting the cycle stay broken any longer than absolutely necessary is beyond risky. Being the Avatar doesn't protect you from death. I swore I'd do anything I could to help end the war. This wasn't what I was expecting, but I can’t turn away from it." 

Zuko nodded. Duty and Honor were what he understood best.  "Okay. Sit down in front of me. I'm going to need to put my hands on your head and heart to do this. Like I said before, please don't fight me. Also it would help if you focused on Air to give it something to anchor to." Zuko tried to sound wise teacherish, if only to hide how nervous he was about the procedure. 

He placed his hands where he said and bent. It was...like nothing he'd ever done before, it wasn't just pulling on an element, it was raising his awareness. He could suddenly see into Sokka's soul, and see the nodes of chakra that governed it. Sokka's elemental nodes were reasonably balanced with a slight weight towards Water. Not unusual for a non bender and oh hey he could raise Sokka's spiritual awareness and give Aang someone else to talk to. 

Tempting, but no. He'd stick to what he said and no more.

He strengthened the Air Charkra and pulled energy into it. But almost as quickly it drained out. "Sokka, are you focusing on air?" 

"Yeah, I'm thinking of all those dumb temples and everything." 

There was a beat of silence. "Sokka YOU ARE NOT A MONK. Those images mean nothing to you. Don't think about the image of what you think an Airbender should be. What does air mean to you?" 

To him? Sokka was taken aback. Air was...was...Air was wind. It was blowing snowflakes in a blizzard while Gran Gran told them stories of the North Pole. It was the crisp scent of salt as he stood on the shores waiting for his father's boat to return, which could turn sharp as a knife if it wanted. It was the warmth that filled their balloon and let them travel between poles all the way into the Fire Nation. Wind was Home. Wind was Freedom.  

And something in Sokka clicked. He opened his eyes to see an exhausted looking Zuko pulling his hand away, and the others just watching mouths mostly agape, with rocks clinging to Katara’s legs. 

"Will someone tell me what's happening?" Toph grumbled, keeping her hold on Katara. 

 "It was quite the impressive light show, nephew." Iroh observed, stroking his beard. "From both of you." 

"Both? Sokka's jaws worked up and down. Sure Zuko glowing was one thing, with his while Avatar dealy, but him too? 

"Sweetness here tried to grab you away. I may not know what's going on but, I figured that would be bad." Toph explained. 

"It would have." Zuko panted. "But it worked. " He gave Sokka a tried smile. "Congratulations. You're an airbender."

~~

"Hey Zuko, just to be clear. All we're doing is sitting at you families beach house laying low till the Day of Black Sun, right? There's nothing we need to be working on?" 

 Zuko shot Sokka a look. "Well, you need to be working on your airbending forms, otherwise no." Sokka's face had been pure mischief, Katara had caught it too. As had Toph, though she was grinning in a way that made things worse.

"Well I think this is a perfect time for a little Energy Bending practice. More precisely, I think you should take away Katara's waterbending till we're ready to leave." 

Katara let out a squack of indignation and Zuko just sighed. "Sokka, remember when I explained energy bending can be risky if the other person is unwilling? There is no way she's going to willingly give up her bending even temporarily." Zuko pointed out. 

"I wasn't suggesting we leave her empty handed." Sokka waved them off. "Something like, say, firebending?"  

"Why on Earth do you think I'd willingly become a firebender?" Katara asked heatedly. 

"Because when Zuko was having a hard time getting a grasp on waterbending, you made a claim that you could pick up fire much easier than he did water. I just want to see if it's true. Or do you admit you were empty boasting?"

 Katara glared at him, then marched up to Zuko. "Fire-ize me." 

Zuko sputtered, not expecting that. "Are...are you joking?" 

"Do it!" Katara’s tone left no room to argue.

 Zuko could feel the headache building, but put one hand on Katara's head and the other over her heart. It was honestly far easier than giving Sokka airbending. The water was well entrenched, but her anger was practically singing for fire. "Done. You might want to ask Uncle for lessons, though. He's a better teacher than me." 

She gave a curt nod, then a predatory smile at her brother, then walked off. 

"I can't BELIEVE you got away with that!" Toph was rolling on the ground laughing. 

"Who says he did?" Zuko smirked. "He got his sister pissed at him, then convinced me to give her the power to shoot fire." 

Toph laughed even harder as all the color drained from Sokka's face. "Better throw yourself on the mercy of the Avatar. It's the only chance you got." 

"Nope, even the Avatar knows to pick his battles. The entire fire nation army is one thing, I learned my lesson about little sister bending prodigies with fire. Good luck Sokka." 

~~

It was good to be free Cheif Hakoda thought as he stepped out of the balloon Sokka and the Avatar had rescued him in. They were in the Western Air Temple, apparently. According to to Sokka the Avatar's Uncle, an earthbender, and more importantly Katara was there as well. He saw her before she saw him. She was doing waterbending forms and he just wanted a moment to stop and look at her, to see how much she'd grown... And then a small gout of fire burst from her hands. 

"Sokka, I don't remember your sister being a firebender," Suki commented, staring at the sight.  

"We probably should have mentioned that." Zuko admitted. 

"Hey Katara, guests!" Toph said with a laugh. 

"Guests? Toph who could visit us way up here." Then she turned and saw them. "Dad?" she chocked, before running and squeezing him as hard as she could. 

"I'm here too," Suki joked. 

"Zuko and I May have staged a prison break. At the most high security Fire Nation prison to get him out." Sokka tried to sound casual, but was obviously pleased with himself. 

"Aang wants to point out he was there too." Zuko added. 

"Who's Aang, and why is Katara firebending?" Hakoda felt more confused by the second.  

"Aang is Zuko's Spirit Guide. As for the firebending, I just thought Katara should put her skill where her mouth was. Or rather her lack of skill." Sokka sounded smug. 

"You better be glad I'm so happy Dad's here or you'd be getting a fiery first to the face." 

"Like you could manage more than smoke." 

"If I may." Iroh interrupted. "When your daughter was teaching my nephew waterbending they came across a common problem among Avatars, a difficult grasping the opposing element. Katara made the claim that if she was in his place, she would be much more adept at firebending then he was at water." 

"My nephew learned of energybending, a way to give or take away bending ability, in his quest to bring Air back into the balance. And you son decided to call her months old bluff."

That...sounded like Sokka. "Avatar Zuko, I don't suppose you could set my daughter back to normal?" 

"Certainly sir," Zuko couldn't hide the relief in his voice, but Katara grabbed one of his wrists. 

"Oh no, you're not winning that easily." She warned. 

"Winning? I'm not even in this argument." Zuko protested. 

"I'm not giving up on this till I learn Firebending. Even if the day of Black Sun comes, I’ll be firebending into battle." Katara declared. 

"Okay no." Zuko put his foot down. "First of all we are not giving up one of the few waterbending masters in this fight for your ego. Second, there is no firebending on the Day of Black Sun. That's the whole point of the Day of Black Sun." 

Katara looked pensive for a moment. "Fine. I accept the second reason. But I'm going back to fire right after."

~~~~

I was a little torn on making Sokka a bender becasue, as was said above, he doesn’t need bending by any stretch of the imagination.  But thinking with an in universe perspective, there’s no one else Zuko would pick. He doesn’t have the confidence he’d win a battle of wills if someone tried to turn it on him the way Ozai did Aang, so he had to make sure at the very least the first new airbender was someone he’d trust his soul with. And that is a very short list,

[dhwty-writes]

Zutara Week Day 3 - Fuse

Whew, day 3! This is so much fun though I am not entirely happy how this part turned out. Still, I hope you enjoy it! If you havent already be sure to read day 1 and day 2 first, to know what’s happening.

Have fun!

Read on AO3

Fuse

It was the dead of night and the explosion shattered the silence. The Fire Lord was on his feet in a heartbeat. 'Katara!' he thought and lunged for his swords. He pushed his door open, startling the dozing guard awake. "What is happening?" he demanded furiously and shook the shocked woman by the shoulders who was doing her best to blink the sleep out of her eyes.

Another explosion ripped through the nightly silence and the Fire Lord dropped his grip on the armour and raced up to the deck. He was vaguely aware of the guards that crowded into the corridor and tried to form a protective circle around their liege. But he didn't care. He didn't care at all about his own safety because his mind only screamed 'Katara, Katara, Katara!' and so he pushed them out of the way.

"I'm fine!" he bellowed. "Find out what is happening out there!" He finally pushed onto the deck, the humid night air welcoming him. He stumbled to the railing and his breath caught in his throat.

The town was illuminated by the silvery light of the full moon, the serenity interrupted by fire that bloomed in the dark, erupting in flickering blossoms on the town square. And every now and then they hissed, recoiling from the layers of ice thick as Ba Sing Se's walls. "Fuck," he cursed loudly, his thoughts racing. He slung his swords over his back and looked back to see his guards stumbling clumsily onto the deck. "I'll be fine," he assured and vaulted over the rail.

"Your majesty!" he heard them call but he ignored them. He knew he was being unfair; he knew that they only wanted to protect him but Katara was fighting and Katara was in danger. And he had just won her freedom with the trial yesterday, he would not - could not - allow her to be hurt.

He ran through the narrow alleys of the town that had become so familiar to him in the past weeks, past dying fires and minor scuffles between benders and non-benders alike. All of that didn't matter.

The square was a ruin. The hospital Katara had fortified and protected so adamantly was ablaze and so was the governor's house and Zuko knew that come morning there would not be a single wall standing save for crumbling ashes. Where once had been a well and cobblestones, there was now a slippery icy floor with melted splotches all around.

And amidst the destruction was Katara. Katara, beautiful, furious, terrifying Katara. Suddenly he knew again why he had been afraid to cross her on the battlefield.

Katara had always been a force to be reckoned with. A child prodigy, a master waterbender by the age of fourteen, a bloodbender. She had taken down Azula during Sozin's Comet after all. Even when he first met her, even when she barely managed a water whip, she had been magnificent. He had made the mistake to underestimate her quite a few times. He had learned his lesson quickly. Apparently, two dozen firebenders hadn't.

When Zuko remembered all the battles they had fought, it was not hard to pick the most brilliant one. He might have been tempted to say their first fight after she had found a master, or the one after his betrayal in Ba Sing Se, or even her fight against Azula. Yet, they all paled in comparison to the time they had set out to avenge her mother. He had thought nothing would ever compare to the day she stopped the rain. He had been so very wrong.

Katara stood amidst the smoking ruins of the town square and her chest was heaving heavily from the exhaustion of bending what looked like half the river at once dousing the flames, protecting three rebels that huddled behind her, attacking the guards. Zuko didn't even know where to look first and yet she moved with grace and elegance through her forms as if it was nothing. He could just stare in awe.

Of course, she was bound to slip. Not even the Avatar could hold this up for long and he could bend four elements, not just one. So, of course she missed one.

And Zuko didn't even hesitate.

Because suddenly he wasn't on some backwater island, suddenly he was in the palace again with Sozin's Comet parting the sky and there was lightning rushing towards Katara so he had to jump. He always had to jump.

This time he was fast enough. His feet planted on the ground he redirected the lightning and it exploded in the sky. He grunted and Katara yelled and then there was the next wave of attacks raining down on them. "I got you," he promised as he deflected the fire.

"Thanks," she panted. "I thought you'd never show."

'Always', he told himself and drew his twin blades to cut through a curtain of fire. 'I'll always show.'

He had no idea where all the attackers came from if he was quite honest. He knew the regulations on the household guard of a governor, put in place to prevent exactly this. He knew that a town of that size wasn't entitled to any kind of militia. And yet the firebenders crowding into the square were nearing on thirty. So, where the hell did Yozin get them from?

"I don't understand, Shao," Katara yelled, freezing one of the benders to a wall, "I thought you were on our side."

"I'm sorry," the man sobbed and it sounded genuine. "But the governor pays more." Zuko knocked him out with the pummel of a sword and grunted in disgust.

"These are your rebels?" he sneered

Katara ducked under a fiery blast, slithering on an ice trail and bending up an ice cube with a move that looked suspiciously like one of Toph's. "Some. Dirty bastard baited them with money."

"Where's the rest?" He drove one of the guards back with a quick succession of blasts then stepped back to have her water whip them into some rubble.

"Fighting somewhere else," she said and moved closer to cover his back. "These ones are ours."

He grinned and nodded. "Like old times?"

The sound escaping her throat almost sounded like a laugh. "Sparky, that doesn't even come close. Just hope you can keep up with me."

Now he was laughing, too. "Don't you know the Fire Lord's the best firebender in the world, sugar queen? And this one just happens to be the best swordsman, too."

She laughed and it almost sounded genuine. "Don't let Sokka hear you."

Relief washed over him. If she could joke their chances weren't all that bad. "Won't tell him if you don't. Let's go."

"Let's go," she agreed and cast a quick look back to the rebels she had protected so fiercely. "Get out of here. This'll get ugly." Then she nodded and together they advanced.

It was ridiculously easy to fall into step with her. They had fought each other innumerable times. But that didn't even compare to the times they had fought together.

All members of Team Avatar were almost inhumanly in sync with each other, he had learned that first hand more than enough. And once he had joined them it had been ridiculously easy to fit into the glaring gap that had been in their midst. He had expected it to be easiest with Aang, the Avatar did use firebending as well, after all.

However, it had been easiest with Katara. Katara, the waterbender, the element of fluidity and change, adapt and overcome. Her and Aang were simply a sight to behold while no combination could surpass the instinctive trust between her and Sokka and seeing Toph and Katara together had managed to convince him his last hour had rung.

But Katara and him? That was just something else. Perhaps it was that their elements were opposite. Perhaps it was that they had fought each other so many times. Perhaps it was something else entirely. The only thing he knew was that nothing in this world could surpass the feeling of euphoria he felt whenever he and Katara fought together.

In all honesty, the guards never stood a chance. And he might've even felt pity for them if he hadn't been so furious. But honestly who on earth attacked a waterbender on a full moon? Who on earth attacked the waterbending teacher of the Avatar at all? Who on earth attacked her with the Avatar's firebending teacher by her side? That was foolishness bordering on insanity.

She took out two attackers with a water whip and he followed suit with a fiery one. She bent the scalding steam towards four of them who screamed in pain. Blinded as they were, they went down quickly beneath Zuko's swords.

"Katara, watch out!" he shouted and grabbed for her arm to yank her behind a crumbling wall, trapping her between his arms. The searing heat that licked against his body made him quiver and think of another fight where he had felt the fire far too hotly. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind, only glad to shield Katara.

Once the burst of flames died down, he pulled away a little. "You need a break," he stated as he took in the exhaustion that was plain in her face.

"We need to keep fighting-"

"Even you can't keep this up for ever. And you are running out of water."

"The air is humid-"

He growled and curled around her once more as another firestorm raced towards them, spinning to deflect it. "Stop arguing," he hissed, "and run. I'll meet you back at the harbour in half an hour."

"Zuko-"

"Go, Katara!" He pushed her away and she stumbled a little. "I'll be fine."

Another burst of flame, another spin. The horror was plain on Katara's face and it almost broke his heart.

"Don't hurt them. They're not bad people," she pleaded. Then she turned and ran.

Fighting alone felt wrong. There was no other way to describe it but suddenly his movements felt stiff and wooden as he stumbled through the forms. Not only once he waited for another person to complete the attack without anyone being there.

This led to him coming dangerously close to some vicious burns he would rather avoid while he tried to slowly draw the firebenders to the harbour where an angry waterbender would be waiting for them. 'Agni, please let them be that stupid,' he prayed while he considered his chances.

They were bad.

He had figured that out the moment that he had told Katara to run but he hadn't known how bad they would be.

He only figured that out when he found himself backed into a dead end with five firebenders blocking the exit.

'Fuck,' he thought. "Fuck," he said. Slowly he raised his hands. "Stop attacking. I am your Fire Lord."

One of the guards barked a laugh. "Not likely, your majesty. You should've thought about this before sticking your royal nose where it doesn't belong."

He winced. 'Not bad people, huh?' Slowly he dropped into a defensive stance. "Bring it on, then," he gritted, "and let it not be said that the Fire Lord went down without a fight."

The traitors raised their hands, ready to attack and Zuko braced himself, waiting for the blow and-

Nothing happened.

Well, that was not entirely true. Something happened only that it was not the blazing inferno he had expected. Instead the earth shook with a mighty tremor that swept the guards and Zuko of their feet before they went flying one by one.

"Great spirits, your jerkiness." A tall slender figure stepped into the opening. "Do you have to be that dramatic?"

Zuko blinked in surprise. "Toph?" he asked unbelieving.

"In the flesh. Get up, Sparky, you're looking ridiculous."

"What on earth are you doing here?" he asked as he got to his knees.

"Katara sent me. Sugarqueen's got her pants all in a twist because she thought you were doing something stupid." She frowned. "Not that she was wrong."

"I mean what are you doing here? On this island specifically?"

"Aang sent Sokka and Suki. He was very concerned once he heard that Katara got involved in some kind of revolution or something."

"They're here, too?"

"Down by the harbour," she answered as she started walking. "Suki took control of your guards and is beating some sense into the fighters. Sokka is beating some sense into Katara. Anyways, nice work with the town square. That'll take a lot of money to rebuild."

He winced. He'd tried not to think of that particular problem. "That still doesn't explain why you're here."

She flashed him a bright grin. "Come on, Sparky. There's no way I'm missing all the fun. I'm pretty pissed at Katara that she hasn't asked me to come along in the first place."

Zuko 'hm'ed, silently thanking the spirits for that. There wouldn't have been much of a town left once he'd arrived if that had been the case.

An explosion a few streets over caught his attention.

"There they are!" Toph exclaimed excitedly and started running towards it. "Hurry up, Zuko, or they'll be done until we get there!"

Zuko sighed in defeat and started running after her. He almost wanted to chide her as she led him into another dead end before she blasted her way straight through the wall.

"Oh, this feels great!" she said, pointedly ignoring the flabbergasted stares of Zuko's and Yozin's guards alike. Only Katara, Sokka and Suki seemed not shocked at all.

He sighed again.

"What are you waiting for?" Suki yelled. "No slackening on my watch!"

And then the fighting started up again, with bursts of flames and razor-sharp ice daggers and flying boulders and Sokka yelling.

"No quite how I imagined this reunion to go," Zuko grit out once they had formed a tight circle to better defend themselves.

Suki rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you, too."

Sokka just laughed. "Be honest, Zuko. You always knew this is exactly how this reunion would go."

He was still thinking of a clever reply when Katara suddenly shouted: "Take cover!" He had barely enough time to get out of the street before she and Toph shot up on a earth column and she bent a thundering wave from the ocean. Mixing it with the dust Toph bent up the two of them flooded the street with mud. Katara breathed out and it froze solid in place.

Zuko stared in awe for his knees gave out under him. "Great spirits," he murmured. Yeah. That was why he didn't want the two of them fighting together.

Sokka slid down the wall beside him. "Yeah," he agreed. "I'll never get used to it."

Zuko nodded but when he looked up his best friend’s eyes were set on Suki. He frowned in confusion.

Toph suddenly appeared in his field of vision. "We should get back to the harbour."

There was nothing he could say against that so he just nodded and got up, trailing behind the others with Katara by his side.

He didn't know when he had felt this awful the last time. Every bone in his body hurt and he was pretty sure if he stumbled once more, he would just not get up again even though he could feel the call of the rising sun.

Still he managed to stumble to the harbour and stopped before his ship. The docks were mercifully deserted. "Do you think it's over?" he asked.

"No," Katara grit out and he could tell she had just as much trouble keeping it together as he did. "Yozin still didn't show. I'm sure he'll come soon, once he knows my power has faded. And he won't come alone, now that he knows that we've got back-up."

It turned out that she was right. The first rays of sunshine crept over the horizon and Toph announced: "They're here."

"Fire Lord Zuko," Yozin boomed as he stepped into the place, his two sons by his side. "I hereby renounce my allegiance to the throne."

Suki rolled her eyes. "Oh, here we go."

"This island and this town are as of now independent entities of the Fire Nation. You and your warriors are no longer welcome here and-"

"-we demand that you leave immediately, yadda yadda yadda," Sokka said with a groan. "Yeah, we know the drill. Just get on with it."

"Yeah!" Toph yelled. "Do you mean to fight us or bore us to death?"

Zuko crossed his arms. "I will accept your surrender any time."

"We will not surrender!" one of his sons yelled. "We-"

"For fuck's sake!" Katara yelled. "Just get it over with."

Fire bloomed. Toph raised a wall of stone. Katara pulled water from the sea and slashed at their enemies.

"Toph, do your thing," Zuko said before he vaulted over the wall. He could feel the earth rumbling.

"I'm not sure if I can keep this up any longer," she panted and sank to her knees.

Zuko set his eyes on the sky. "You don't have to," he answered. "Everyone, stay back."

The moon set.

Katara fell to the floor with a strangled cry.

The sun rose.

Zuko stepped in, the first sunrays of the day tingling on his skin.

He breathed.

The next burst of flames raced towards them.

In.

Fire flared in his veins.

And out.

He parted the sea of fire with one mighty blow.

"Enough!"

And just like that the blows stopped.

Perhaps the attackers were just too startled to continue.

Perhaps the attackers had finally realised who they were fighting against.

Perhaps the attackers were just as tired as Katara and he were.

Probably they realised that Toph had trapped Yozin and his two sons in stone columns.

The reason for it was irrelevant, the only thing of importance was his order: "This fight stops now." And so, it did.

"Go home." And so, they did.

Zuko turned back to the others. "Nice work," Toph commented. Katara leaned heavily on Suki.

"And there's Aang." Sokka pointed to the sky where the distinct shape of Appa drew nearer.

Zuko stepped in to share Katara's weight with Suki. It seemed like the right thing to do. With an arm around his shoulders they watched together as the fires died down and the soldiers went home. They watched together the dawning of a new day.

"That reminds me-" she started with a frail voice.

Zuko hummed. "Yeah." He smiled. "You should get some rest."

[restitutor-orbis]

Zutara: Katara and Zuko are so perfect for one another. I mean, look a the symbolism!

Me: Sure, but if we are discussing symbolism, then it could be argued that Katara and Aang fit the bill better. Both of their civilizations’ benders were nearly wiped out - with Aang being the Last Airbender in all the world, and Katara the last waterbender in the Southern Tribe. Both seek to hold onto to their cultural beliefs, even if Katara’s is more subtle. Both are kind, caring, and neutering. Water puts out fire. That’s it. They’re exact opposites. Fire and Water is not the only thing that brings balance, but all four united. While if we look at the actual bending forms, air and water are similar, more flowing and adaptable, to the earthbending sternness and firebending aggression.

[punkinroses]

My brain refuses to shut up so here we go, more ramblings about the Avatar Lian storyline lets go.

I really, really wanna like explore the idea that was posted on the old nick website and was claimed by the writers to be the original idea of the Avatar being the embodiment of the planets spirit. I have so many ideas for what it could entail and I think that's the direction I'm heading in for this rather than the Raava and Vaatu storyline. While I don't hate or dislike the original Avatar Wan storyline done in Korra, I feel like this is the best route to take this fic in and hey, if I'm gonna make an au, why not go full force into it.

I still stand by the idea that Toph created Pro Bending with Sokka. They absolutely did that. I'm torn because I want Toph to be like that bitch that's still running her Metalbending school because I feel like she would but also her fucking off into the swamp where no one can bug her also felt super in character.

I kinda think it could be interesting if there is actually beef between her and the police force of Republic City because she doesn't like them using her Metalbending and she is constantly stirring up trouble for them. Especially because she hates the chief and I may be getting into that into the fic but I'm uhh I'm gonna put a pin in that.

The only thing that really is gonna like. Stick around from the comics is Republic City and the Republic Nation and something akin to how its formed in the comics, the legend of Lady Tienhai, and the Air Acolytes. Mostly because there's a uh there's a lot from the comics that just...I dunno 😬. There might be some changes to the formation of Republic City but there's some deep dives I gotta do to plot shit out.

If Zuko finds his Mom, it definitely ain't gonna be how it was in the comics I'm sorry I can't. Though the Mother of Faces?? Beautiful design and lore.

Azula hasn't been seen by Zuko or any of the gaang in many years. She escaped and ran away a few years after the end of the war. But I'm toying with how I'd want her to appear.

Aang! Has! Fucking! Energybending! And! Sky! Bison! He was able to help unlock airbending to bring back the Airbenders and to try and rebuild and help give birth to a new era of Airbenders. Because. He's the one who has to restore balance. As the Avatar. And he absolutely could have done this. I will die on that hill.

Two characters who actually become airbenders are Ty Lee and Teo. I feel like we all forget about Teo and he was a good kid and Aang even said he had the spirit of an Airbender so why not make him an Airbender. And Ty Lee is just. Obvious. Maybe her sisters even become Airbenders or certain ones do but I don't know.

Sokka had students of his own who wanted to learn how to fight with weapons rather than bending. It wasn't a big, formal school, but he was very happy to do this.

The Kyoshi Warriors continued to help around the different nations wherever they were needed and are still basically just an all women superhero team of the Avatar World, making Kyoshi proud. And Suki still holds a really like high honored position amongst them and likes to go out with them still.

Also I refuse to accept that Suki "died young". I'm sorry, but it's funny they think Suki would fucking let death take her. She laughs at the thought.

Katara is an amazing Fire Lady and works hard to make better progress changes for them while doing her best to help her home in the Southern Water Tribe and finding a balance between both. I think she also tries to make strives, being inspired by Aang and her home, to look into old traditions of the Fire Nation before the war, perhaps helps revitalize old holidays that they didn't get to celebrate anymore. She wants to see this nation heal from the effects of the war that hurt everyone involved really.

Moving onto like the "third generation" thoughts, i.e. Lians generation:

Lian and Jesa are basically best friends and have alwayd had this instant connection with each other. So it makes sense that when Lian runs off to make her own Avatar journey, her best friend comes with her.

The White Lotus is uh Not Having That. They've already had to wait 16 years for her to be told and trained -- because Katara herself would have killed them for forcing her into a role she would not be ready for as a tODDLER because she knew what it had done to Aang -- and they believed she has to be kept with them and for them to choose bending masters for her to learn from.

So it's them actively trying to hunt her and Jesa down to bring them back -- something Kyas sons are actually running interference for.

I think Lian really wants to see the world and have new experiences because she knew how important it was to her grandparents and now it's her also trying to connect with her past lives by doing what Aang and other Avatars had done, while also figuring out for herself what kind of Avatar she wants to be.

I'm also really excited to explore the contrasting family dynamics between Lian and Jesas families. Lians family is very close knit, and supportive and stick together through a lot. Jesas family has a lot of strained relationships between each other and hasn't done much to repair those relationships and her getting to kind of discover what happened.

Movers have been around for ~2 decades by the time of this and I really want there to be like an early film adaptation of the Ember Island Play. I don't know why. I just think it'd be funny.

Adding onto that quick note too, I think this worlds version of television may be starting to be created at a later point in the story just because that could be kinda neat.

I do wanna do different maybe even mini chapters that show what some of the other grandkids are up to that will connect into the overarching storyline

I'm really excited to go into the topics of who Lians Earthbending and Firebending teachers are going to be for her Team Avatar and to see who else may join up with them.

I just really kinda needed to ramble a little bit and I know it's not as in depth on the second gen but yeah just some thoughts

[watchathon]

BONUS: The Last Airbender

In case you’re finding this post just by browsing the tags I’ve used for this post, this is the Watchathon, a blog where I’m hoping to watch an episode of a show (or in this case, a movie) every one-to-two days, with a short blog post where I give my thoughts on what I’ve just seen. Each new point starts with a hyphen and a bolded first word.

- Like so. 

But today, I’m subjecting myself to the notorious live-action film The Last Airbender, to... Well, to “celebrate” its tenth anniversary. I initially planned on doing it either after Book 1, or after Book 3, but for whatever reason, I have decided to do this now.

Fair warning, this is going to be one of my rare posts where I’ll be mostly negative.

So much for “gushing about things I like”...

Also, so much for “the rare occasion I cover movies”, but that I don’t mind so much. The Lilo & Stitch post was a ton of fun to make.

- So, first things first, I don’t tend to be a fan of live-action movies based on animated properties in general. But it’s not like I don’t give them a chance. 

Sometimes I even like them better than the original. I could never get through The Jungle Book in one sitting as a kid, but the 2016 live-action remake? I adored it!

Even the worst ones I tend to be “meh” about rather than flat-out disliking. But The Last Airbender? I hated it when I watched it as a kid... Emphasis on the past tense. I could well change my tune because of this, though I can’t imagine I’ll end up liking it.

- They recreate the “Water, earth, fire, air” part of the intro but without narration. Which, to be frank, just makes it look pretty silly.

- “The four nations. Water, Earth, Fire, and Air Nomads.” Sooo are they all nomads?

- Awvatar? Pronouncing Aang as Awng, I could sorta get, but... Awvatar? Really?!

- It feels oh-so-weird to see a white Katara and Sokka, when they, and all the people of the Water Tribes, had the darkest skin in the show.

- Something that really strikes me about this movie already is that it’s so... humorless. Sokka described himself once in the show as “the meat and sarcasm guy” if I’m remembering right, and not even five minutes in I can already tell we’re missing half of that description.

- Not only is this movie humorless, it can seem strangely... smaller, than the cartoon. In the cartoon, Katara got Aang out of the iceberg by accidentally using powerful Waterbending. 

But here, Sokka causes the ice to crack by accident, revealing the iceberg with Aang inside. Then Katara grabs Sokka’s boomerang and whacks the iceberg twice with it. 

- More about the lack of humor: There’s not even a mention of penguin sledding once Aang is out either.

- And not only are our most prominent Waterbenders white, the Fire Nation (who had light skin in the cartoon) have the darkest skin of the whole main cast. Juuust great...

- Aang’s heroic moment from the cartoon is taken away from him. In the cartoon, Aang was on his way out of the Southern Water Tribe when he saw the Fire Nation approaching, at which point he turned around and helped them.

Here? Aang sits in a tent until one of the Fire Nation soldiers sees his tattoos and drags him out.

- “We found that boy, he’s our responsibility!” Katara sounds like she’s talking about a stray puppy they found. “I’ll feed him, and bathe him, and teach him!”

- It crosses the line into unintentional hilarity when, as Katara and Sokka are discussing Aang, there’s just Appa noises in the background, entirely unremarked upon. The only take a glance in that direction once they’re done talking, ironically after Appa’s quietened down somewhat.

- Nobody gets out of this movie without major changes, but if it weren’t for Iroh referring to Zuko as his nephew, I’d have never guessed it was him. Also, Eeroh. Frankly, I’ll be surprised if Zuko isn’t pronounced Zucko.

- Katara and Sokka’s grandmother pronounces Avatar correctly. Why don’t Katara and Sokka? Or, heck, why doesn’t she pronounce it “Awvatar”? It’d be better if they stuck to one rather than the inconsistent pronunciation.

- I’ll give them props: The idea of testing if Aang is the Avatar by setting four objects representing the elements in front of him is pretty cool. Does become kinda silly, though, when the rock just... wobbles and goes upright. They could have had it, like, cracking, but instead, wobbly rock.

- I might be misremembering, but it felt like Aang’s escape from Zuko’s ship was a lot... more, in the cartoon. I know, time constraints of fitting a twenty-episode season into a two-hour movie. But I have to tilt my head at just how much shorter (and milder) this particular scene is than its animated counterpart.

- It’s weird how Katara’s narration calls Aang by name, then like a minute later (at most) we see her ask him for his name.

- Wow, is it weird to see Aasif Mandvi playing Zhao when I watched The Daily Show as a teenager.

- Exposition is always fun when it’s delivered in the form of a roast.

- “But we will let [Zuko] wear [the Fire Nation uniform] today, like a child wearing a costume.” And nobody even smiles at Zhao’s sick burn.

- Hey, at least they have Iroh drinking tea. But cartoon Iroh probably wouldn’t do that so casually while his nephew is fighting Zhao’s soldiers. And cartoon Iroh would probably smile. At some point in time.

- And movie Katara and Sokka have apparently gone all the way to the Earth Kingdom without learning that Aang is the Avatar.

- “He was bending tiny stones at us from behind a tree! It really hurt!” I gotta be honest, that’s not a bad joke. It does feel kinda out of place with the general tone of the movie thus far, but whatever. I’ll take the lighthearted fun moments where I can get them.

- I can sort of understand why they would want the Earthbenders imprisoned by the Fire Nation to have some sort of earth to bend without the Gaang going to all that trouble to get the coal. But putting them in a quarry is more than a bit overboard.

- Aang gets a big Katara moment from the cartoon. And the thing is, Katara doesn’t really get that much time to shine in this movie. She could have used a moment like this one. Heck, Aang could’ve joined in to confirm that the Avatar has returned.

But no... In this scene, Katara just shoves a Fire Nation soldier who’s being rude to Aang.

- Ah, the infamous pebble dance. And the thing is, in the cartoon, this would’ve been a joke. 

Aang would go through this huge, over-the-top dance just to make a relatively small rock float slowly towards a Fire Nation soldier. At which point, Toph would make the rock move much faster before teasing Aang about what he just did.

- Ohhh, gosh, I’m half an hour into this hour-and-a-half movie, and the post already looks like... this.

- “Teachers to teach you bending.” A lot of attention gets given to another repetitive line later on in the movie, but we shouldn’t ignore this beauty.

- Weird to see Ozai in plain view. Especially considering how, later on, he will be framed in shadow.

- Agni Key... What is it with this movie and changing pronunciations? I wouldn’t even care if that was the only problem, but with how it is, it’s one of several things that make this movie feel like “Avatar but wrong”.

- “Yip yip.” Gosh, does it feel weird to hear those words in a movie that tries to be more serious than the cartoon.

- I had to stop and continue this in the morning since it was late, so I might be forgetting something... But was it established before the Blue Spirit that Zuko knew Zhao would be hunting the Avatar?

- Hard to take it seriously when Zhao looks at his soldiers, chained by their hands to the ceiling, and simply mutters “fools.”

- “You think my son is this person the soldiers are calling ‘Blue Spirit’?” *pause of at least four seconds* “...Yes.”

- “My brother and the princess became friends right away.” First off, that’s really underplaying it. But second, Sokka’s face is so blank as Katara says this that I can’t buy even that.

- Zhao really becomes a much less threatening force when it’s Ozai who tells him to kill the spirits, when it’s Ozai who starts talking about their destiny.

- “HOOOOOOOOO” lives in a pineapple under the sea?!

- Everything in the Spirit World is compressed into this one dragon. Which makes it seem a lot less like a Spirit World than just the home of this dragon.

- I would say that the whole bit of Aang trying to avoid Zuko even though he’s right behind him is more like something from the cartoon... But, the dramatic music really makes it seem like this is supposed to be a serious moment. And it just doesn’t work as one.

- Iroh’s trying to stop Zhao is nowhere near as good as it was in the cartoon.

- “He’s making fire out of nothing!” I don’t understand why they made the change that this is uncommon. The Fire Nation are the villains, they should be stronger than other benders.

- “It’s time we show the Fire Nation that we believe in our beliefs as much as they believe in theirs.” I don’t understand how anyone thought this could work as a serious line.

- Back to the whole thing of this being smaller than the cartoon, Aang doesn’t turn into Aangzilla here. He accomplishes a very impressive feat of Waterbending, but when I just watched the cartoon version last week, it feels lesser in comparison.

- I imagine this is supposed to be Aang bowing in response, since he didn’t with the monks. But it doesn’t look like bowing. It just looks like an elegant dance move.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Yeah, I still don’t like it much. But I’ll say this: Now that I’ve watched it again, I appreciate the cartoon so much more.

I appreciate the characters. I appreciate the tone, I appreciate the pacing. And I appreciate all the things that are lacking from this movie.

I can only hope that the new live-action adaptation will be better, even if I know the cartoon will still be my preferred way of experiencing the story.