#but it was possible for me to fall in love with a zuko

[melzula]

Can you please write jealous Zuko? It can be however you like😊

a/n: i love jealous zuko! however this ended up being more angsty than i intended😭 hope you enjoy!

summary: a party at the palace leads to a deep revelation for zuko

He was miserable.

The palace didn’t throw parties very often these days, but the recent conquering of another Earth colony was deemed a call for celebration, and so all of the noble families in the Capital City were invited to attend. A grand feast was held and praises were showered upon Ozai throughout the night. It was one of the rare times Zuko didn’t have to worry about his father’s wrath, and so he should have been enjoying himself.

But he couldn’t, not when he could see that across the way another boy was flirting with you right in front of him.

You were Zuko’s everything- his childhood best friend that he’d always held harbored feelings for. During his banishment he thought of you constantly, and upon his arrival he immediately asked you to be his girlfriend. You were sweet and friendly, easily approachable and always able to cheer him up despite his moodiness, you were perfect. And apparently this other boy could see this too.

You smile out of politeness and nod along to the boy’s rambling story about his fire bending skills and high IQ, not very interested in listening but too nice to brush him off. It infuriates Zuko to see someone else take advantage of your kindness, and he’s unable to just sit back and watch any longer.

A harsh hand lands upon the boy’s shoulder, startling both of you in the process. Zuko’s eyes are blazing with fury, his palm scorching the fabric of the boy’s robes and scaring the spirits out of him in the process.

“Can’t you take a hint? She doesn’t want to talk to you!” the Prince bellow angrily, prompting a few guests nearby to turn their heads curiously towards the commotion. A bit embarrassed at the sudden attention, you gently pull Zuko’s hand away and drag him out to the gardens before he can escalate the situation any further. The last thing you need is for him to cause a scene at his father’s party.

“What?” Zuko says defensively as you wordlessly walk through the palace hallways. “I was helping you!”

“You were acting jealous again,” you chide gently.

“No I wasn’t!” He argues defensively only to shrink under your pointed gaze. “…I was.”

“I love you, Zuko, but I don’t love how jealous you can get sometimes. I’m your girlfriend, don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I do!” He interjects quickly, almost offended at the notion.

“Then what is it? Why do you act this way?”

Zuko is silent, his eyes casted sullenly to the floor as you patiently wait for his answer. You take his hands in your own and give them a reassuring squeeze to let him know you’re there for him, and the act seems to coax him out of his stupor.

“I’m afraid you’ll change your mind about being with me, and once the right guy comes along you’ll realize you’re better off without me,” he admits quietly, almost ashamed to voice the thought out loud.

“Zuko…” you utter sadly, heartbroken at the fact that he could even believe such a thing.

“Why do you want to be with a boy who’s been exiled from his own country before? Whose own father burned his face? Who’s so messed up in every way possible?”

Gently carefully cupping his face in your hands, you tilt his head upward to meet your sincere gaze. His eyes are glossy with tears he refuses to let fall, and your heart aches for the poor boy before you. You wish you could take away all of his hurt in agony, but you can’t, so you do your best to take away his insecurity instead.

“I wish you could yourself the way I see you,” you tell him lovingly. “You are more than enough for me, more than I could ever ask for. You’re strong, you’re brave, you’re smart. You’re you. I love you, Zuko. No one’s ever going to get into the way of that.”

He says nothing in response but simply yanks you into his arms for the tightest hug you’ve ever possibly received. You know he isn’t the best at words or emotions, but his embrace conveys that he is grateful for every word to come out of your mouth.

He knows he may be jealous at times, but he also knows that he doesn’t have to be anymore.

Because you’re not going anywhere.

| atla tags: @sirkekselord @niktwazny303

| zuko tags: @thebluelcdy @royahllty @the-firebender-girl @ilovespideyyy @yiyibetch @eridanuswave @lammello @a-monsters-love @knaite-solo @taeeemin

[zukosdualdao]

(forgive the somewhat poor quality screenshots, especially on that third one. wifi is still out at my place post-storm so i took these from youtube and am writing from my phone. alas, alack.)

this is one of my favorite blink-and-you’ll-miss-it facial expression moments in atla. the animators 100% did not have to include this reaction shot of katara, sokka, and suki watching zuko rise back up on one of the war blimps and face off with azula, but i’m really glad they did. i also love the differences in their reactions.

suki’s is the most straightforward to me. she and sokka share similar posture, both of them leaning forward slightly and bracing an arm against appa’s saddle to support themselves. but suki looks almost disdainful, with her eyes narrowed and brow heavily quirked and sort of defiant. i think she’s a lot more focused on the azula of it all, since azula captured her and just last episode she was saying how “this is a rematch [she’s] been waiting for.”

sokka shares suki’s posture but katara’s wide eyes here. his mouth isn’t agape, but it is parted, suggesting in this context some amount of surprise or worry. though they’re all waiting to see what happens, there’s more of an air of… excitement isn’t the right word, because i do think he’s concerned, but anticipation, maybe, of the fight that’s about to come. he fought azula with zuko last ep, after all, and though i do think he’s worried for zuko here, i also get the sense that he has a lot of belief in zuko’s ability to fight her off at this point.

katara’s definitely registering the most shock, with her wide eyes, mouth open in surprise, and raised eyebrows. the most notable thing about this, of course, is that she was only minutes ago deriding zuko for pushing her out of the way of falling rocks, and now her expression actually suggests a lot of concern for him, which is reinforced by her pulling him onto appa’s saddle once he and azula fall. i keep wondering what exactly she’s so shocked about, though. at first i thought it was because they saw him fall and were surprised along with azula to see him alive and still ready to fight—but they were getting everyone onto appa and trying to figure out how to flee, so i’m not sure they would have seen. aang did seem very concerned when zuko told them to go on without him, so it’s possible they weren’t really expecting him to survive in general, even without seeing him fall. (which, fair. facing off against his set-on-murdering him sister alone does not seem conducive to zuko surviving.) but i also wonder if it has something to do with seeing zuko fight azula on their behalf considering the contrast it makes to his siding with azula in tcod. there, he chose azula’s side and katara felt betrayed, which is why she hasn’t been able to forgive him even as he proves he’s on their side. but here, he’s risking his own life to protect them, and while he’s done that before with combustion man, i think this is the first time katara is able to consciously acknowledge to herself that it’s not really about trust anymore. (but later, that only makes her angrier, because she’s still hurt, even though she knows he’s on their side, because she connected with him and wanted to trust him all the way back in tcod.)

[wakkass]

It's impossible to put into words how much I love designing characters, especially for AU.

Yes, I recently had an avatar AU, and I really wanted to draw Katara from there (and also Zuko). I usually draw a static pose in order to display all the details of the clothes. This is such a kind of character sheet that helps me to better imagine the scenes in my head.

If you're interested in reading about the AU itself, then there will be some information about it.

I apologize in advance for mistakes in the text, English is not my native language. But, I hope, this will not interfere with understanding.

In general, my AU concerns the ending of the series, because at some point it seemed unrealistic to me. There is too much positivity with the obvious problems of the post-military space, as well as little logic in some moments (for example, I don't understand what Zuko was doing in Ba Sing Se. Did he abandon his newfound throne to the mercy of fate with the risk of a palace coup? Did he not feel the effects of a lightning strike? The longer I think about it, the surreal it seems to me).

At some point I thought, "this is all like Aang's dream, in which everything is intentionally good. As if this is the ending he wants, but it's unattainable." And then it dawned on me. But it really looks like his fantasy about the future after defeating the root of evil. This explains why Zuko recovered so easily, why everyone is just relaxing and having fun without a drop of post-trauma. Because Aang wants everything to be so naive and simple after defeating the Fire Lord. Because he's dreaming about it.

I know this is a very hackneyed narrative technique. It's pretty easy to say "this is someone's dream" to deny any events. But I found it curious, especially against the background of the episode "Nightmares and Daydreams", where Aang's dreams already simplified the reality around him. For me, it's like a lead-up to the finale, where he actually sleeps.

You ask, "but why is he sleeping?". I also asked this question, and the answer to it killed me. Because during the battle with Ozai, when the stone hit Aang in the wound, he fell into a coma. His body was paralyzed because his brain perceived it as a repeated lightning strike, again fatal. The avatar's state was the only one that did not allow Aang to die, but only to fall into a coma. And instead of an epic battle, we have a little helpless boy spending a huge amount of energy just to maintain his life.

The second Aang collapsed, he disappeared, leaving Ozai alone with the remnants of his temporary power. And no one else saw the avatar…

I'll leave the intrigue for you about this, but for now I'll tell you about the concepts from the art.

Naturally, everyone searched for Aang, and, naturally, they did not find him. Katara and Zuko were the only ones who did not participate in the search, for several reasons:

Zuko was rehabilitated for a very long time after being struck by lightning, and Katara nursed him (I'm sure there are a lot of fics about this topic. The only difference is that there is no romance here. The focus of my AU is not on it, but on the problems of the consequences of the war). He survived, but he had major problems with his heart, digestive system and spine. Who noticed the cane in his hands? Yes, Zuko couldn't walk without it. From now on and forever. He was physically unable to leave the palace, and Katara maintained at least some of his condition.

Even after Zuko's rehabilitation, it was necessary to keep the power in his hands. Imagine what a shock the Fire Nation experienced when not just the former Fire Lord was overthrown, but the country's policy changed dramatically. Now Zuko needed to keep power in his hands and establish a new regime as soon as possible, before his opponents raised armies and people against him. This boy, who recently sat quietly at a military meeting, needed to show unprecedented strength and power to everyone: both officials sought to turn the situation in their favor, and the people who wanted stability and prosperity. But how to do this if Zuko couldn't even breathe normally, and getting out of bed required tremendous effort? It was impossible… Anyone else would have given up, but not Zuko. He has never given up without a fight and has never turned his back on danger, even if he risks dying.

It hurts me a lot for him, too. Fate has never stopped pushing Zuko against obstacles, but this time he couldn't rely on himself. He almost couldn't bend, his body almost didn't obey. He was an easy target and there was nothing he could do about it. This helplessness irritated him, saddened him, oppressed him. The only thing that wasn't broken yet was his spirit, and Zuko was barely able to maintain it in such conditions. If it wasn't for Katara, I don't know if he would have coped in the end. She was now his only support, his only ally in these cold oppressive walls, the only rational grain in his doubts.

You ask, "Where is Iroh? Where is Mai?"

Iroh, along with the White Lotus, took on a mission to liberate the Earth Kingdom from the Fire Army and establish relations with the kingdom. In fact, Iroh now shared power with Zuko: uncle was engaged in foreign policy so that his nephew could focus on domestic policy.

With Mai, everything was much simpler: after getting out of prison, she was completely disappointed in the guy who always left her. She sent him a letter, where she finally ended their relationship, and left with her family somewhere far away. Perhaps she and Zuko will cross paths again and will be able to establish a relationship. But not now.

Katara remained to help Zuko not only with treatment, but also with his policy. As a resident of an almost disappearing tribe, as well as an able leader, she helped him with projects and plans to improve the quality of life of the population and actively participates in them. She performed those missions that Zuko can only entrust to her. After all, she was a friend he could rely on and to whom he could open his feelings.

In her design, I wanted to reflect the combination of two cultures: Fire and Water. I was based on the designs of the "12 Kingdoms" (if you haven't watched this gorgeous anime or haven't read ranobe, I strongly recommend doing it. This universe is no less interesting than the avatar's world, I'm sure you'll like it), because the palace intrigues and the plot with winning the respect of the court reminds me very much of the story from there.

One day Zuko's legs finally gave up, he could not get up. All the stress he was going through was breaking his body so much that at some point the Katara's treatment stopped working.

It was a very difficult moment for both of them. Zuko has just started to promote his ideas and defend his rights to the throne, and Katara sincerely did not know what to do. If the truth about the true state of the Fire Lord had come out, all the ill-wishers would not leave this opportunity and attack, this couldn't be allowed. They urgently needed to create the appearance that everything is in order, but how?

Zuko came up with a very brazen idea. He asked Katara to use bloodbending on him to simulate walking. It was a very difficult request for her, because this skill represented the worst face of the war, it was created to torture people. And the last thing she wanted was to torment Zuko. She hesitated for a long time, he saw it, but he couldn't wait. He couldn't stop, it wasn't a luxury he could afford. Therefore, he went out, trying not to get up and move much.

Naturally, at some point his weakness was noticed at the most inopportune moment. Naturally, at this moment Katara couldn't let Zuko fall. Imperceptibly under her sleeves, she moved her friend's body like a puppet, causing him as much unbearable pain as most would not stand. But Zuko was not like that. He stood it.

It looked like this to me somehow:

They were both very depressed that day. He was suffering physically because of Katara's bending, and she could not believe that she had caused the suffering of a person dear to her. It broke and scared her, she opened the way to the Hama's madness, and was very afraid to fall into it.

Zuko assured her that it was impossible. Hama didn't have people to guide her, while Katara has friends. Maybe Zuko didn't consider himself the best moral mentor, but he promised to be there in the most difficult moments for Katara, and now he won't leave her.

This encouraged her and opened her eyes to her own cowardice. She was afraid of the darkness of Hama, and instead of curbing it, Katara hid it in herself, ignored it. And that's what it led to: the person who needed her help suffered. But she didn't want to run away anymore. She wasn't going to give up without a fight and turn her back on those who needed her.

At the beginning, Katara trained on herself, experiencing the same pain as the victims of bloodbending. Careless movement of blood through the vessels could cause internal bleeding at any time, it was very dangerous. The Hama's voice in her head pressed on her conscience, saying that innocent people felt all this pain, and only Katara was to blame for this.

Later, she learned to control the flow of water on puppets, like Hama. The point was to pass water through the threads without bursting them. Absolute control was required here, and Zuko taught her the techniques of firebending for self-control. This was necessary for Katara, because the Hama's voice in her head did not subside and did not allow her to correctly distribute her forces. It seemed like Katara was about to stumble, but Zuko wouldn't let her do it.

Gradually, Katara mastered this skill and tried to draw blood on Zuko's legs. The effect was unexpected. Her great willpower and desire to help him resulted in healing. Zuko began to feel his legs, and Katara discovered the reverse side of this bending. No, she didn't heal him completely, it's too early for him to get rid of the cane. But maybe one day she will become so strong that she can do it.

Katara realized that there was no evil magic, there was only evil intent. This was her first step towards learning to look inner demons in the face, and not to hide them in herself when it was possible to hurt others.

But what about the other design?

Katara's father sent her a letter asking her to return. Her family needed her help, because she was the last waterbender, a carrier of culture and skills, as well as a healer of a new level, the daughter of a tribal leader.

At home, everything was not the same as before, moreover, everything taked shape as a Northern Tribe. I really like the idea of the comic "North and South" about the problem of assimilation. Only here has Katara accepted all aspects of its culture, even the most unpleasant ones, and she would not give up so easily when this newfound knowledge was in danger of disappearing.

Actually, I wanted to draw her outfit of this arch. I wanted to redesign the costume for myself, because I like to do it. I kept the front strands of Katara, we don't talk much about them.

I would really like to describe the path of the rest of the team and what they do, of Aang and what happens to him. But I'm already tired of typing, and you probably read.

After all, the post is more about designs, and not about the AU itself, so the goal to reveal some of my ideas has been achieved in principle. Maybe sometime later.

Hope you enjoyed reading this :3

[xkaidaxxxx]

Zuko x chubby reader

Mentions: body shaming, foul language, angst,aggression, lying, fluff?!

Simple! :) sorry for errors.

“You look very beautiful y/n.” Katara mentioned "Thanks. I decided it's time for a change." You replied. Katara's complement made you blush. Sokka was surprisingly good at cutting hair. He gave it layers and added braids that held your hair back. “ I agree with Katara” Mai spoke. You instantly felt horrible with the new hairstyle. Mai isn’t the one to express her feelings so that comment made you believe otherwise. Perhaps cutting your hair shouldn't have crossed your mind.

Aang noticed you playing with the charm bracelet you wore. It tells him a lot about how you feel. He noticed you'd touch a certain charm with the emotion you were feeling, such as anger, happiness, sadness, anxiety, etc.“Katara is right y/n. It suits you! Sokka did a great job.” He spoke. He had that nice big smile. “ New hair cut? Looks nice” Zuko said patting your back. You’ve been dating him for 4 months and you’re very thrilled about it. He’s very kind and romantic when alone with you.

The day went on by. Everyone was calm. You can hear the ocean tides and feel the wind blowing. “Tell her. I’m tired of hiding.” Mai said. Zuko rubbed his temples. “It’s not that simple Mai. I can’t dump her out of the blue.” He responded. You heard them. “You don’t even like her. Why did you agree on dating her?” Your tears slipped. You didn’t want to hear his answer. “Because…she’s saved me many times..and I felt bad. It looked like she was going to cry if I said no.That and how many guys do chubby girls date? Almost never. I’m giving her a little hope.” You cried silently. You felt sudden saddens and hate. Running towards the ocean Katara called out to you. “ Y/n we’re making lunch! Wanna come help?” You ignored her walking back and forth. The waves following your movement. You made a fist. Your anger was so out of control you created a storm. “ Hey! Y/n you created a problem here!” Sokka yelled as Aang used his air bending to keep the water from drenching them. “Sorry!” You took a few deep breathes calming away the storm and the crazy waves.

“What’s got you so upset?” Katara asked giving you a tight hug. “ I keep losing my arrows. Haha. I overreacted.” She knew you were lying. She’s your most trusted person. Katara understands your personality, sense of humor, and the way you just are. She whispered. “We can talk about it later.” You smiled and nodded. Lunch was yummy. Everyone’s stomach was content.

Another 3 months went by. All the same apparently Zuko still loves you and wants to spend was much time with you as possible. It was such bullshit. You heard him leave with Mai at midnight. You saw how they treated each other. The little things showed everything.

The ride on the ship was wild. Not because there was a storm or someone was throwing arrows,fire rocks or trying to drown you all. Simply because an argument started.

“ you have no right to be upset. I’ve known him longer. You don’t get it.” Mai said with a straight face. You couldn’t believe what she said. The fire nation is insane however a regular family took you in. You eventually met Zuko. “ Have no right to be upset!? Are you kidding me? Yeah, he was your childhood sweetheart or whatever but who followed behind him when he was exiled !? Me! Which one of us cared to help him emotionally? Me! I’ve given him all my love and support even if it meant I’d be killed on the spot for betraying the fire nation. You did nothing but hide underneath Azula’s shadow and power. Yeah, I have every right to be upset.” You replied tears falling down your cheeks. Everyone was witnessing this mess. You were smarter, stronger, and more reasonable than her. “Zuko out of all the mistakes you’ve made. Cheating on me is the worst one. I know I’m beautiful even if I’m skinny or not. Not many chubby girls get boyfriends you sure were right about that. You should’ve rejected me from the start because I don’t need your pity.” You spoke finally feeling relieved. You said everything you’ve been wanting to say. “You heard us that day? Why didn’t you confront us then?” Zuko asked looking Towards Mai and then at you. “I had hope that along the way you’d realize what you did was wrong and you’d fall in love with me. 3 months later it’s the same. Clearly, I was wrong. I’m done. I’m dumping your ass. I hope you feel guilty for body shaming and lying.” You replied holding onto Katara’s arm. You couldn’t help but do so. She’s your best friend since you’ve met her. “ One day there will be an amazing man who will fall in love with you. He’ll love everything about you.” Katara said. You smiled and hugged her. “ Awe!” Aang and Sokka said in unison.

Pt.2 is posted !!!

[aangsdefensesquad]

Genuinely how can you call yourself an Aang stan while shipping him with someone who’s insanely uninterested in him, she literally has a crush on Haru after a day, a huge crush on Jet after a day, and damn near falls in love with Zuko towards the end of the show which is wild to me, SHE LITERALLY ALMOST FALLS IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS WRONGED HER IN THE WORST WAYS POSSIBLE WHILE BARELY BEING FRIENDS WITH HIM. She can take interest into whoever she wants but it baffles me how people act like Aang benefits from this ship at all when in reality he doesn’t and deserves someone who actually has interest in him lol. It sucked seeing him be a simp over her and sadly they got MARRIED TOO, I wouldn’t be surprised if she cheats on him in the movie because she DOES NOT love him at all. Genuinely what do people see in this ship? It’s just Aang bending over backwards and being his weakest as a character for a girl who pays him no mind at all, I’ll never understand.

Did you watch the show?it’s not about shipping or anything but it’s the Katara hate that makes me mad rn.

“katara doesn’t care about aang at all” she was literally ready to leave her family when they decided to kick aang out and genuinely cared for him in many cases. When the whole group started laughing at aang for his decision to not kill ozai, katara was the only one who was concerned and didn’t pick on him and even attempted to run after him to make sure he’s ok.

she was never interested in zuko, she hated him throughout and was completely ok with aang killing him in the comics. She was never interested in haru. she has a crush on jet cuz he perfectly manipulated her into thinking he’s a good guy. she showed interest in aang from day one from running to rescue him in the first/second episode after zuko took him. She hinted that she and aang kiss while they were in the caves.

katara would NEVER EVER cheat on aang cuz she clearly loves in both of the show and the comics and isn’t shown to want a stable future with him. She loves aang and still loved him even after his death‼️

I don’t even care who you ship with but regardless of ships, KATARA ISNT SELFISH, KATARA ISNT TOXIC, SHE IS A CONFUSED TEENAGE GIRL WHO WAS FORCED TO GROW UP FAST AFTER HER MOTHER’S DEATH AND AANG WAS THE ONE WHO SHOWED THAT SHES A KID AND KATARA WILL NOT BE TOLERATED‼️‼️‼️‼️

The fact that you have a beef with a 14 year old fictional girl of a show that aired more than a decade ago is so stupid. Get a job 🗣️🗣️🗣️

But since u took the time and effort to write that stupid long paragraph, Here’s a star for effort

[discordiansamba]

jin's waiting for him after work the next day.

lee hangs up his apron, says goodnight to the owner, and goes to meet her. she meets his eyes, but her expression is unreadable as she asks if she can talk to him. he takes her back to his apartment so they can have some privacy, and makes her some tea.

she asks what she should call him.

"lee," he says after a moment, "-it's still who I think of myself as."

jin hums, taking a sip of tea. lee does the same. they sit in tense, awkward silence for a long moment before jin sighs, setting her teacup down with a loud thud. she asks him if he meant what he said. that he really does love her. that it's not just... something he was manipulated into thinking he did.

lee tells her he does.

he also admits he may only love her because of who he is now. but who he is now made that choice on his own. she makes him happy, and he can't think of a life without her... but if she wants to break up with him, he'll understand. he just hopes she doesn't regret dating him entirely.

jin just huffs. she points out that when she'd first caught his interest, he'd still been zuko. she says in hindsight him being a firebender makes so much sense. she'd always wondered how he'd lit the lanterns so quickly during their first date. lee blinks, because he doesn't remember that at all-

-it must show on his face, because jin's face falls.

"you don't remember that, do you?"

"i remember our date," lee tells her, "-i just... remember the lanterns being lit when we got there."

she's silent for awhile, then asks him if he can show her. lee breathes in and breathes out, holding his hands out in front of him like lady mai had shown him. it takes a bit of concentration, but a tiny flame eventually flickers to life in his hands. jin stares at it, transfixed and-

-calls it cute. it's so tiny.

lee flushes. it's the best he can do! he doesn't remember how to firebend. up until a month ago, he really did think he was a nonbender. she looks up at him and asks him that if he knows all this, why was he still brainwashed? you something about it being possible to reverse it. lee shakes his head and says he just... hasn't made up his mind yet.

"i didn't choose to become lee," he says, "-but i'd like to be the one to choose if I stay as him or not."

jin frowns, and admits she has trouble wrapping her head around the idea of wanting to stay brainwashed. lee laughs. yeah. he can see how from the outside looking in, his situation is terrifying. he can't even fully deny that it is. but he's had a lot of happiness as lee, that he doesn't think he ever had as zuko. so they idea of going back...

...it's scary. he doesn't know zuko. lee is comfortable. familiar.

jin holds his hands. she tells him that whatever he chooses, she'll support him. her lips twitch in a playful grin as she jokes about having the chance to brag about dating a prince. she wonders if she'd look any good in fire nation red. lee laughs and tells her he's pretty sure she'd look good in anything.

lee's face falls. he tells her that if he decides to go back to being zuko, there's a good chance he might fall out of love with her in the process. she looks hurt by that- but then makes him promise that if he does, he'll at least let her break up with him. after all, how many girls from the middle ring can say with their whole chest that they broke up with a prince?

"whatever you do," jin says, "-don't let that decide for you what you want. you make me happy, lee. I want you to be happy too."

lee nods. jin asks him how long he has to make up his mind... and stares at him when he confesses he only has until the end of the week- and that he still has no idea who he wants to be.

cutting it a little close there, aren't you?

...yeah. he can't deny that.

(he ends up making dinner for himself and jin. they sit next to each other. he tells her about the beach on ember island, and she listens with wide-eyed fascination. there were no beaches in ba sing se. she makes him promise to take her there one day- and you're not getting out of it if zuko falls out of love with me.

okay, he says, we promise.)

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

While "the network wants an episodic kids show, the authors want an epic dark complicated narrative" would explain A LOT about ML's problems, I'd still like to note that there are kids' shows that can do both, going full range from "mostly episodic with a sprinkle of narrative" (Kim Possible, MLP), to "heavily narrative but with episodic breather/filler episodes" (Gravity Falls, WITCH, the Owl House), with many variants in-between.

Even the transition from "fully episodic" to "more narratively-connected" that ML attempted to do can be done successfully - the aforementioned Gravity Falls and WITCH were more episodic in season 1 and more narratively driven in season 2.

However, I'd say there are a few other key problems that can be inferred from what we have:

The show tries too many things at once - as you have pointed out repeatedly. Magical girl and rom-com, single-hero, duo and team stories, wacky comedy and serious trauma, even trying to give several characters a redemption and a damnation arc at the same time (and failing with either). Apparently, it's not just TF vs writers: it's writers severely disagreeing with each other (see Thomas and Vincent's opinions on Chloe), and also trying to one-up the fans. Also, simply thinking too much of the work, which leads us to...

ML's total lack of self-awareness. Another famous case of a show that was almost entirely episodic is Phineas and Ferb. They use the same formula (the brothers build, Candace busts, Doof makes an Inator and is thwarted by Perry) over and over for four seasons. And by mid-season 1, the authors have been making fun of the structure, lampshading it, spoofing and twisting it, playing with "What if" episodes and never taking itself too seriously. When ML tries to be self-aware, it becomes either insulting to the fans (Animaestro), horrifically dark (Chat Blanc) or plain cringe (Simpleman). This is exacerbated by Astruc's arrogance and inability to ignore critics.

Is it possible to make a highly complex, genre-busting, yet kid-friendly story and succeed? Yes. But it needs to be better thought-out - if not from the start, then at the moment the network allows one to deviate from the formula.

And if all else fails and the story becomes too complicated and too repetitive at the same time... Well, self-awareness and the ability to make fun of one's own work can turn a sad mess into a hilariously fun disaster.

P. S. Love your posts as always, you are the main reason I'm still in the fandom!

Thank you for the kind words! I'm so glad that you're enjoying my stuff and I agree with all the things you brought up.

A big part of the reason that Miraculous is so fascinating to me is that there ISN'T a single cause of the issues. There are so many valid ways to discuss the show's problems. It's a masterclass in bad writing and what not to do!

It's why I'm able to run this blog. If it was as simple as, "here's the single reason why it's bad and here's how you fix that" or if the show never had any potential, then there wouldn't be much to talk about. But it did have potential and there is no single reason why it's bad. The causes are multitudinous as are the potential fixes! It feels like investigating some complex wreckage or an elaborate murder mystery in order to understand what the hell happened, which is really fun if you like talking about writing.

I find it much harder to discuss writing in an informative way if you only have good examples to draw from because that path risks stifling creativity. Just because a popular story did a thing well doesn't mean that story showed us the only way to do the things or even the best way to do the thing, but that's often the lesson people seem to learn. They see a thing that they like or even just a thing that audiences liked and want to copy it without understanding the full nuance of why they liked it.

A great example of this is Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender. He was such a well-written and popular character that all these properties started copying him even though the properties in question did NOT have a setup that worked for a Zuko. Praising Zuko won't really tell you all the ways that Zuko could have failed. Meanwhile, a case study of Chloe vs Zuko or even just a general discussion of Chloe lets you actually talk about the various styles of redemption arc and what you have to do to make them feel real. It's also far more interesting than talking how Zuko could have failed because Zuko didn't fail so why are we even talking about this? It's also far more interesting than talking about a bunch of properties that did redemption arcs well because that would require you to have seen all of those properties. But Chloe is from a single property and she did fail and people understandably have wildly different feelings about what the failure was because the writing was so bad, which means that digging into her writing is way more likely to hold your interest and teach you something.

This gif really does sum it up perfectly:

[Image description: scene from the movie Knives Out where the detective Benoit Blanc exclaims "It makes no damn sense! It compels me though" to explain his feelings on an ongoing murder mystery that he's trying to solve]

As does the old adage, "failure is the greatest teacher." Of course, no one ever said that it had to be your failure!

[stereopticons]

On This Day In Schitt's Creek: March 22

2018

Five times Ray took David and Patrick househunting (plus one time they moved in) [david/patrick, G, 4,561] by @sloganeeer

After surviving the fall of Rose Video, as well as the last few years sharing a motel room with Alexis, he deserved something better. Patrick wanted to be the man to give David something better.

tempurpedic deathbead [david/patrick, T, 1,803] by mihaly

Patrick is sick. David thinks he's dying.

2019

All That Matters [david/patrick, G, 564] by WrathoftheStag

David Rose meets the Brewers. A small ficlet from Clint Brewer's POV.

mostly to yourself [david/patrick, G, 1,211] by livelyvague

Patrick's past is a little messy but David still wants to know every part of it.

Part of a Complete Breakfast [david/patrick, T, 2,692] by @sloganeeer

Across the table, he and Stevie shared a look, exasperated and fond. That was Patrick’s life now.

something for ourselves [david/patrick, G, 602] by amagicbeyond

The day after his surprise party, Patrick and David show his parents around the store. Patrick has come to a decision.

Sunday Morning [david/patrick, G, 505] by @mostlyinthemorning

A soft, waking up in the morning ficlet.

Sunny Day [david/patrick, G, 2,904] by @mostlyinthemorning

David convinces Patrick to skip out on his tax seminar.

2020

[Podfic] If Music Be the Food of Love [david/patrick, G, podfic] by @schittposting

“Or maybe I won’t play a song at all this time. Maybe I’ll read an original poem.” “Oh my god.” David looks like he’s in physical pain at the idea. “I can’t tell if you’re joking. Please tell me you’re joking.” Rose Apothecary has its second open mic night. Set a few weeks after Singles Week.

An end signals a new beginning [david/patrick, T, 1,762] by bellalafrella

Prompt: Patrick goes on bumpkin and is supposed to meet someone at the wobbly elm but last min gets canceled on but he meets David there

buckle up, we'll chase each other [david/patrick, T, 1,717] by @landofsonlali

following their bachelor party, david talks to patrick about the possibility of alexis moving away. spoiler alert: david really loves his sister, but patrick knows how to comfort him.

Cut Through All the Noise [david/patrick, E, 1,926] by @thedidipickles

All through dinner with the rest of the family, Patrick had been sending David one-word (or in some cases one-emoji) texts from across the table. Staying composed while reading them right next to Alexis had been a test of all David’s willpower and control. The first text had read "2nite," immediately alerting David that something was up. Patrick practically broke out in hives if he had so much as a misspelling in a text, so this kind of abbreviation was notable. The next text was simply an eggplant. It was followed by the word "dude" and then an emoji of a ball cap.

2021

[podfic] You Were the Ocean, I Was Just a Stone [david/patrick, M, podfic] by @hullomoon

David tried to ignore how the sight of Patrick- staring into the ocean, wind-tossed, swaddled in thick-knit wool, and looking downright beautiful with the early morning sunlight bouncing off his curls- made him feel at home for the first time in years. Or, David returns to his hometown of Peggy's Cove and reconnects with an old acquaintance, a fisherman by the name of Patrick Brewer. AKA the long-awaited Fisherman AU. [podfic of You Were the Ocean, I Was Just a Stone]

As I watch this seedling grow [david/patrick, G, 885] by @kiwiana-writes

Johnny watches David rush out of the café in a flurried panic, hurrying to get to Patrick, desperate to sort everything out. He barely spares a glance for his father as he brushes past, but Johnny can’t blame him.

best man? [patrick & ray, G, 1,589] by @hullomoon

After the Maid of Honour situation, Patrick thought his problems with the wedding party were over. Unfortunately, his lunch with Ray proves him wrong.

Episode 3: Curing a Pulmonary Embolism [mai/zuko, T, 3,316] by LittleQueenTrashMouth

Zuko is 100% positive that he is dying and needs to be taken to a hospital. Nobody is sympathetic. Azula has her first day at her new job at Aang's veterinary clinic. **** The ATLA/Schitt's Creek AU nobody asked for!

Guatemala [david/patrick, T, 300] by Rosey_Peach

i'll always give you another try (can't ever deny your crystal eyes) [alexis/twyla, G, 842] by @turningtimeinthetardis

"Pleeease, Twy?" Alexis begs, batting her heavy eyelashes for maximum devastation. "Those eyes won't work on me this time, Lex," Twyla lies, despite her weakening resolve.

I'm Right Where You Left Me [david/patrick, T, 4,646] by @agoodpersonrose

"So why exactly did you break up?" “I wasn’t honest, about some things- about a lot of things. I- I broke David’s trust.” Six months after their break-up, David ends up on a video which puts exes face to face with each other, and asks them to kiss for the first time since they broke up. The video prompts some discoveries from the both of them.

i've decided on you [david/patrick, T, 833] by @lastchancecafe13

Even though it keeps happening, this is the first time Patrick has noticed another man flirting with him. So of course he has to feed right into Alexis's teasing, the two of them winding David up with ease. Patrick's smile, filled with pure adoration, makes it clear that he means no harm. It’s not his fault that catastrophizing is David’s default.

just for one night [jake/rachel, E, 2,796] by @samwhambam

Rachel is embarrassed after driving all the way to Schitt's Creek to try to win Patrick back. So she spends her evening making herself a new tinder account.

My heart and soul, you were also holdin' that [david/patrick, G, 411] by petrichor_apothecary

David's anxiety is acting up and he can barely sleep but Patrick is there to sing to him and give him occasional kisses when he needs it.(The title is from Honesty by Noah Reid)

right next to you is where I belong [david/patrick, E, 2,380] by @cheesecurdsgravyandfries

A continuation of when i'm with you it feels like home by Hullomoon, who graciously consented to me playing around in their universe. This fic picks up immediately where the first left off, so please (re)read it first, leave Hullomoon some love, and then come on back.

safe and secure [david/patrick, E, 1,722] by @samwhambam

Patrick approaches David with an idea. He wants to get into shibari. But before David lets Patrick practice on him, he wants to show Patrick how good it feels.

See Me As I Am, Show Me That I Can [david/patrick, NR, 8,063] by lucianowriter

What if the Brewers visited Schitts Creek frequently? What then? David offers to be Patrick’s business partner to their face but his boyfriend behind the scenes. Here are 5 times David was “just the business partner” and the 1 time Patrick comes clean. Fic is based on Honest Man by Ben Platt.

the last great canadian dynasty [david/patrick, M, 46,000] by fairmanor

After 20 years in Schitt’s Creek, David Rose is practically native. The Roses had long ago lost hope that anyone vaguely resembling themselves would ever come to town…cue Patrick Brewer. Overachiever, Harvard MBA graduate, and one of the youngest business moguls Wall Street has ever seen. Well, before everything came crashing down. A role reversal AU, of sorts.

Time & Space [david/patrick, T, 1,212] by @rmd-writes

The conversation between Patrick & Rachel that we didn't see.

Volunteer Experience [david/patrick, T, 1,662] by @alinelovelace

While finishing high school, Alexis meets a cute volunteer. Since David has been single for a while, she decides that introducing them is the perfect opportunity for him to get back into the dating game.

2022

[Podfic] I haven't met the new me yet [jake/rachel, E, podfic] by @n0connections

The last time she had sex was the night Patrick left town — she’d gone out and gotten far too drunk and woke up the next morning in a stranger’s bed hating herself. This feels different, more deliberate; she’s pretty sure there are worse ways to kick-start getting over her ex-fiancé than a one night fling with a hot lumberjack-looking guy she’ll never see again.

Alarm C(l)ock [david/patrick, E, 1,010] by @shimmies

Before moving to Schitt’s Creek, Patrick would have been out the door by 6 am most days, even weekends, to either a trail or the gym, slipping out from Rachel’s arms. He was a “morning person” and “didn’t like sitting around in bed,” according to then-Patrick. But today? Patrick wants to live here. Not literally here, in Stevie’s apartment, but wrapped up in bed in David’s arms. -----The morning after the night at Stevie’s.

Never felt this way before [david/patrick, M, 17,502] by @a-noble-dragon

The year is 1964 and the Roses are vacationing in the small resort of Schitt's Creek. David Rose hates it there, but when he meets dancer Patrick Brewer for the first time, he soon changes his tune. The Roses may be in financial straits, but David’s about to have the time of his life.

Some Things Are Best Left Unfinished [david/patrick, M, 16,452] by @agoodpersonrose

A selection of previously unseen @agoodpersonrose writing dug out from the archives.

2023

[Art] "We're going hiking" [david/patrick, T, art] @lizzie-bennetdarcy

Inspired by the fic "Tradition" by 68Henley. David and Patrick go hiking, and picnicking, in their kilts.

Connect [david/patrick, T, 1,627] by @fakingsincerity

Is this a date? It’s not really “just a hookup”, since they’ve already established that they’re dating. Patrick has been making it pretty clear when they’re on a date, probably to differentiate it from the rest of their day when they spend 8 hours together at the store. The blue blazer has made another appearance, and Patrick always turns up the gentlemanliness, doing things like always holding open the door for him and thanking him (thanking him!) for a wonderful evening when he drops David home at the motel. Maybe that’s how he’ll know if this is a date or not, if Patrick opens the car door for him when he picks him up. Two 'Pregnancy Test' missing scenes: David gets ready for his date(?); and Patrick reflects afterwards.

glitter doesn't care about your consent [david/patrick, M, 657] by @filet-o-feelings

It's about consent, but not really about consent. Mostly, it's about glitter, and how Patrick convinces David to be okay with it.

Innocuous [david/patrick, G, 217] by @enablelove

David doesn't want to take every 'normal' gesture for granted.

2024

"Hey Patrick, who's Rachel?" [david/patrick, T, 4,353] by @like-its-all-infinite

Patrick’s phone pings on the counter by the cash. David reactively looks up to see what the notification was, forgetting himself and his boyfriend's privacy. Boyfriend, that’s a fairly new term for them, but it gives David a bit of a thrill to think of Patrick as that. His boyfriend. He reads the text: Rachel: xlkjdoius He racks his brain for a vendor named Rachel but comes up blank. “Hey Patrick, who’s Rachel?” Or:How would the barbecue play out if Patrick told David about Rachel beforehand?

Stats:

No fanworks for 2017 2018: 2 fics/6,364 words 2019: 6 fics/8,478 words 2020: 4 fanworks (3 fics, 1 podfic)/5,405 words 2021: 16 fanworks (15 fics, 1 podfic)/76,852 words 2022: 4 fanworks (3 fics, 1 podfic)/34,970 words 2023: 4 fanworks (3 fics, 1 fanart)/2,610 words 2024: 1 fic/4,353 words Total: 37 fanworks (33 fics, 3 podfics, 1 fanart)/139,032 words

[demaparbat-hp]

what is your Lee and Kya AU based off of ATLA

I've always been a little bit obsessed with Zuko's journey through the Earth Kingdom in Book Two, especially the time he (and the Gaang) spent in Ba Sing Se. The city, the people, the Dai Li, the conflicts... Everything is amazing. I love Jet's arc, and I never get tired of seeing Zuko (however briefly) feel happy and complete with a humble life.

There's beauty to the simplicity of life, and I'd like to explore that with ZK.

Book Two AUs will always be my go-to. From reluctant-travelling-partners to Bluetara-in-Ba Sing Se—I love all of it, so it's only natural the Lee and Kya from the Tea Shop AU came to exist.

The AU itself is only a bunch of scenes in my head so far. Of all my AUs, it's one of the most focused on the vibes and characters than the plot itself. That's not to say there's not a story involved. It's just not my main focus.

It's one of the most common Book Two AUs ever. Zuko and Katara are separated from their companions, find each other and travel together to Ba Sing Se, learning how to work together and falling in love along the way. Nothing new there, except for a few scarce scenes that are so precious to me and, by extension, to the AU itself.

They get help from Uncle Iroh and the White Lotus to get to Ba Sing Se, but they go alone (he'll eventually join them, just not for a long while). No Uncle Iroh = no Jasmine Dragon = more time in the Lower Ring.

There's also a lot more of Jet (and his antagonistic, one sided crush on both Kya and Lee), and possibly some spy/informant work for the White Lotus. Also short hair Zutara because we need more of that.

For some reason, Katara isn't searching for the rest of the Gaang (maybe she believes them dead, or perhaps they were forced to leave her behind at the Swamp and her deeply ingrained abandonment issues resurfaced).

Zuko is Tired with a capital T. Tired of the war, tired of trying, tired of everything.

Uncle Iroh is off on some obscure White Lotus business, and he trusts them both enough to draw them into the Order and ask for their help.

So, a little drama, some spy shenanigans, and lots of fluff.

[loreandletters]

WarTrophy!Sokka snippet...

tysm! 12yr lore would have loved to read this lmao and yeah, Zuko def deserved that hit, what was he thinking saying all that? (also apologies if i didn't reblog this right? haven't been on tumblr that long)

Speaking of snippets, I have been finding all these little scenes littered through out my old docs. (i feel like an archaeologist rn) I didn't think about posting it until I read ur tags lol thanks for the idea!

Warning, some of the writing had a few months in between (I think this was around the time I got super sick) so there'll be difference in quality. lol I'm really enjoying all this tbh, very nostalgic for me :)

(fic in question)(this comes right off the 2nd chapter lol)

-

Sokka woke up in pain and decided that it was a good enough excuse to start brooding up a storm.

A traitor. Him? Was their defeat so inconceivable that Zuko had gotten amnesia? (totally possible by the way, Zuko was dramatic enough for it) It’s not like Sokka hadn’t spent, oh, nearly ten years trying to prove otherwise. Honestly, aside from the color of his eyes, what about him screamed Water Tribe? 

Sokka couldn’t stand the cold. He loved the smell of a fresh fire, and yeah he complained, but sometimes he was more faithful to Agni’s rites than Zuko was. When the chill came at night, he made sure to wear double layers, and when they re-entered warmer waters, he breathed a sigh of relief. He can’t remember a time when he didn’t like spicy food, he embraced their festivals (even the one that celebrated the fall of the Airbenders), and wearing anything other than red felt wrong. To put it simply: everything about Sokka was Fire Nation, down to the lingo, down to the bone. Just not the eyes.

And his family? His parents were a faded memory. Yes, he hadn’t wanted to leave (what did they expect, raids and children didn’t exactly mix well!), but obviously that wasn’t still true. He had plenty of chances to run back ‘home,’ but he never did. 

The more he thought about it the angrier he got.

He’d followed his prince in his banishment, sworn fealty to the royal family, and accepted all the burdens that came with it. If he were born with golden eyes, people would be envious of him. No one would even think to call him a dog or a savage - he would just be Sokka. Not even that! His name would be different, less strange and so obviously foreign.

Damn you, Lady Ursa. Lu Ten. Sokka thought viciously, hot tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. If only you had just let me die back then.

That had to be easier, right? His heart was burning with the anger, but underneath it bubbled a sickening kind of grief. His chest hurt, like a knife twisting round and round and round. Almost ten years of loyalty, and what did he get but Zuko screaming all of his insecurities to his face?

Azula was right. Sokka was way too stubborn for his own good. Even now, he didn’t know if he was more upset with the prince or the fact Zuko might just kick him off the crew all together. Where would he even go? Sokka didn’t want to leave - he wanted another chance. He wanted to see Zuko home like he swore. (he wanted to go home too. The Fire Nation may have taken from him, but it had given him so much more in return)

Sokka scrubbed at his face, drawing deep, steading breaths so as to try and kill the sob building in his chest. Zuko was so lucky, he was so fuckin’ lucky that Sokka loved him this much. He was lucky that his mom had saved Sokka, ripped his chest open and tricked him into caring for her kids. And that Lu Ten had instilled such a deep love for the Fire Nation, that Sokka never even thought twice about returning ‘home.’ war

If they hadn’t, then Sokka would have left Caldera the night Ursa died and never looked back.

[blastaway2004]

ZK Stans are so insecure about their ship LOL

Not gonna name drop this person because I don’t wanna be a total dick. But the ISANE amount of copium this MF is on must be seen to be believed. 😂🤣

“Kataang RUINED the show because the writers didn’t cave into fandom entitlement and make MY ship canon” boo-f*cking-hoo

“Look at all this EVIDENCE, see how a the writers talking about an intial scrapped concept from the show’s bible, Katara’s VA saying she has a crush on Aang and two jokes, one making fun of Zutara irrefutably proves Zutara was going to be canon”

“SEE! MY middle-school Twilight-ass ship would’ve made the show better, that’s why I don’t write from any legitimate media and I sit in my room all day writing non-canon ship fanfics on Wattpad”

Notice how none of this actively points to Zutara being a thing. One is about Zuko taking wisdom from other nations, one is about Aang opening his chakra, one is about Aang saying that not everyone in the Fire Nation is evil, one is Katara offering to heal Zuko and this nutcase just thought of “SHIP”

Ignoring the fact that Tui and La is clearly suppose to parallel Kataanf (with much clearer parallels too) NONE of this crap relates to how Tui and La are described. OP is desperate 😂

“SEE! The VAs agree with me” ignoring the fact that most of them also ship Kataang, almost like you can like non-canon ships without pathetically trying to make the canon ship look as problematic as possible 🤔

“Someone tell me where I find this totally fake information, I need more proof and evidence to validate my mid non-canon SHIP. What’s the source?”

Source: “dude, trust me”

“This sexualized, overly-emotional depiction of Katara from the nation that colonized her tribe, is actually how the writers view Katara”

A.K.A. OP wants to make this caricature of Katara as legitimate as possible because it means MORE ZUTARA (despite the play making fun of it), so they gotta shift the blame back to the writers, because Bryke is the devil for not making their Wattpad ship canon.

“See, SEE, Aang didn’t let go of Katara (even though he clearly does in the Book 2 finale). MOAR evidence as to why this ship is bad and my ship is better” 🤪

OP blatantly admitted they’re too media-illiterate to understand what’s happening 🤣

“Both Aang and Zuko are saving Katara from falling rocks. That means Zutara was gonna be ENDGAME”

🙄

“NOOOOOOO!! You can’t call Zuko and Katara siblings (even though some writers have) because my kids magazine totally wasn’t ship-baiting me in middle-school”

“But Aang and Katara are siblings, mother-son, babysitter based on this PITCH BIBLE. Just like how Toph is a man. Aang and Katara are totally platonic, she totally didn’t wanna kiss Aang in that cave, that dance in The Headband was totally platonic, her physical affection and irrefutable love for Aang is like a sister and brother or mother and son! TOTALLY NOT COPING AND SEETHING” 😡

“Katara was touching Zuko’s scar because I… uh SHE totally wanted to make out with Zuko, not because she was checking his wound because she was thinking of healing him with a one-of-a-kind healing water. Look at this SEXUAL TENSION!!

“ZUKO RUNNING UP TO KATARA IS SO ROMANTIC”

“ZUKO LOOKING AT KATARA FOR THREE SECONDS IS SO ROMANTIC”

“ZUKO SAYING KATARA’S NAME IS SO ROMANTIC”

Also OP didn’t watch Hunchback and it shows

“See Zutara totally isn’t superficial. Besides Aang is 12 and he’ll ALWAYS be 12. Also 12 is ugly I guess”

-OP, probably

“SEE! This is the ONLY TIME Katara has ANY SUPPORT! Aang and Sokka didn’t care about her all they NEVER did ANYTHING for her. No, the guy who tried to attack, capture and harm her for months is the ONLY one who supported her”

Basically you can describe the entirety of OPs futile pathetic attempts to make Zutara seem legit with this

“The pitch bible said Aang and Katara have a sibling, babysitter relationship, Kataang is one-sided, Aang never supported Katara, Zutara is Tui and La, Zuko is more attractive and that means Zutara is the better ship, see! SEE!”

Anyway

Kataang >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Zutara

OP can Cope and Seethe

[falafels]

Hey homie I’m backk

Sorry about the vitamin thing. It unironically reminds me of the scene from avatar the last Airbender when zuko does one (1) good thing and immediately falls violently ill.

anyways the song for today is vignette- twenty one pilots for jean

(Is it obvious that Jean is my favorite? Anyways Clancy is basically his album atp)

this is quite possibly my favorite song ever. It sounds very cool. It is also apparently *checks notes* my number one streamed song so. Yeah. some strangely vivid memories associated with this:

a.) in the car listening to sick tunes (this song) with my sunglasses on. Lil sis points out the window and says that she just saw a raccoon for the first time. It was also a dead raccoon. Keep in mind that this is happening while we are hurtling 80 miles an hour down the freeway (roughly 130 kilometers if you don’t live in this hellhole) (yes we are speeding its genetic) extreme whiplash. b.) consuming an entire 900k long fic over the course of a week with this song on repeat. Good times. (Fic was the cadence of part time poets. Marauders fans you guys are freaky but I still love you.)

anyways love ya homie byeee

omg HEYYYYY. vitamin thing was Exactly like zuko evildoer withdrawal. frame for frame.

i still can’t truthfully call myself a twenty one pilots person but it’s your favourite song and you are the homie so i will dutifully listen to it on repeat until i have absorbed some of your personality. that said i do quite like this song quite a lot and i def see what you mean about it being a jean song like “testing what is real what is good/man, it’s been a long night” “clinging to promises” “where do i go from here?” okayyyy yes mr jean-yves

all songs sound better w sunglasses drip 🔥 i am assuming the hellhole is americaworld due to you saying freeway and im not american but i am still from a miles per hour location. 80 is barely speeding dawg you’re sound have another pint and floor it i believe in you. that said it is very impressive to even recognise a raccoon corpse at that speed

900k in a week is VIGILANT work and i have to respect it. not a marauders person due to. well all that. but still good lord that’s dedication there is for sure something a little bit wrong with you in a way i am most enchanted by

LOVE U HOMIE <3333

[zukosdualdao]

Just some more thoughts I wanted to chat with you about. I am getting some of these points from anti-Zuko spaces, admittedly, in an attempt to think about things, but only the ones that I think are interesting questions to explore regardless.

The first thing I think is interesting is the idea that part of why Zuko stole the ostrich-horses from Song is not just because it was convenient, but specifically because he resented the vulnerability, and it was a way for him to lash out. I think that's interesting and it fits with some of the other stuff I've seen you saying. It was especially cruel given Song's mother helped Iroh, but nonetheless, I think that makes sense.

Second one isn't actually directly from any anti-Zuko blog I don't think, but I've seen people in your circles (I can't remember if you said this) say that Azula brought Zuko back in honor purely as a way to pawn off the blame on him potentially, but I... don't feel like that really fits? Like, obviously she was also being manipulative a lot, by not telling him she told Ozai he killed the Avatar, but if she really wanted Zuko out of the way, she didn't need to bring him in at all? She could have probably won by herself (or at least, I find it hard to believe she would think she would need Zuko), and she certainly didn't need to give him credit for killing the Avatar– she could have just said that she got in a deadly blow but the Avatar has a waterbending healer, if she knew that as I believe Giancarlo Volpe said.

Fundamentally, I don't see a reason for her to bring Zuko back, especially in such a way that he would return to the role of crown prince, unless she genuinely also wanted to have him back. Sure, her love might be selfish, and she may have also wanted someone for Ozai to blame for things, but it strikes me as odd to claim that there was no positive feeling towards Zuko, especially given The Beach, which I just rewatched for this ask. For example, we see her come get Zuko from their old house, and then try and help Zuko figure out who he's angry at, which I do think was genuinely her being helpful, given Mai and Ty Lee were also doing it.

To be clear, she obviously also loves making fun of, tormenting, putting down, and generally, abusing Zuko, and it's very possible that was part of her motivation for bringing him back, but it seems like it's not just that.

Third, and this one you might agree on, Zuko seems to genuinely not have much positive feeling associated with Azula? Like maybe I'm forgetting something, but I can't think of a single time Zuko felt positively about Azula. The closest three times I can think of are when he suggested to Iroh that he should try and get along with Azula (which sounded kind of rote, but maybe he also believed it), when Azula was falling and he said she's not going to make it, sounded shocked and maybe a tad worried, then had a very slightly barely soft expression for a single frame when she did, and finally after her breakdown. I think that does fit in with the idea he can only feel compassion for Azula when she's in a vulnerable position, which I think I've seen you reblog before and I agree with? (And of course, this is precisely what makes it possible to help with Azula post-war, because he's seen her in that vulnerable position and she continues to be in a relatively vulnerable position).

Anyways, that one seems doubly interesting because he also doesn't seem to have any good memories of Azula when she was younger, either? He has a flashback of Ozai with his hand on young Zuko's back, of Lu Ten and Iroh, of Ursa of course, but there's never a time when he has a flashback to Azula at all.

Anyways, these are just some things I was thinking about and I was wondering if you'd be interested in going some of them, and what you feel about the positive feelings in the Fire Sibling relationship more generally. Are there signs of care from Zuko to Azula that I've missed?

Putting most of this under a cut, lol, maybe one day I'll be able to talk about things with any sort of concision but no one should hold their breath on that tbh

Oh, I 100% agree with the point regarding Zuko and the ostrich horse he stole. I don't even really see that as an anti-Zuko take and rather, just like. What happened, because it was part of his journey, lol.

(Aside: which is I guess what bothers me about many anti-Zuko spaces? Which is not to say you're doing or saying this, I know you're not, just in general. I'm perfectly willing to criticize the characters I like and talk about their faults and poor choices, of which Zuko has many. The issue is that so many treat those things as a condemnation of Zuko's character on the whole or his redemption journey, but, like... the narrative treats those things like they're wrong. Iroh may agree to it, but he's not happy about taking the ostrich horse and notes it as being unkind, especially, as you note, given the kindness Song and her family just showed them. For a redemption arc to work, the character has to have something to redeem himself FROM, so I"m like... yeah... he sure did do that... and then he grew and changed, lol. They don't go back to every specific instance and be like, "Yup, that was wrong" because it wouldn't be realistic and wouldn't move the story forward. When he does get confronted with the wrong things he did, it's from the Gaang, because that's what's most relevant to the larger story being told, and he takes accountability and atones.)

I think something important to remember that Zuko's perspective on the war and the Fire Nation cannot be disentangled from Zuko's perspective on Ozai as the father who abused him. Because Ozai's power-hungry and imperialist worldview, whether Zuko would put it in these terms, was something he was challenging when he defended the division being sacrificed, and even in refusing to fight Ozai back. Which relates to this episode because Zuko, for the first real time, is considering the perspective of the people the Fire Nation, in their war efforts, have othered and harmed. When Song is showing him the scar on her leg, he looks horrified - the war effort is not just soldiers battling out on even footing, but families getting displaced from their homes and torn apart, civilians getting burned, too. Zuko, up to now, has been willfully ignoring what some part of him knows is wrong, but when confronted with Song's suffering, real and right in front of him, he is forced to look at that more deeply. I know a lot of people might say "Okay, but then, if he knows it's wrong at this point, why doesn't he change right here and now?" But that's what I love about Zuko's character arc. It's not clear or linear are simple because people aren't that way, generally. Yes, in this moment, Zuko is confronted with and aware of at least some of the atrocities the Fire Nation has committed. But in that same scene, he's also confronted with Song noting that he is a victim of the Fire Nation, too. (Which he is, albeit not in the exact same way. But there are parallels - not only were he and Song both burned, but they were both forced out of their homes.) Zuko can't fully acknowledge or comes to term with the Fire Nation being on wrong side of the war without also acknowledging that not only is Ozai abusive and doesn't want him back, but that he's wrong for that. Zuko isn't ready to accept any of that, so instead of taking this moment of vulnerability as a chance to grow, he doubles down and reasserts himself as what he thinks, based on Ozai's standards, he should be - someone who's cruel and take things like they're owed to him.

I do think we disagree on the second point pretty heavily, which is fine, but to offer my perspective:

I disagree with the notion that Azula wouldn't think she may need Zuko to win. Azula is very skilled and can be very arrogant about and assured of her own skills, that much is true. But she also often prefers not to fight alone. I remember reading an interview (I would have to dig around for it) where one of the ATLA creators said that she surrounds herself with people like Mai and Ty Lee because she understands they have skills she doesn't. I tend to see her as someone who is very distinctly aware of what advantages she has and very intentionally fills those gaps.

Zuko is the wild card in "The Crossroads of Destiny." He is the only person, by the point of the final battle, who no one (I think, for a moment, even himself) knows exactly what he'll do or which side he'll fight for. Iroh and Azula both make their bids for him - Iroh tries to appeal to his sense of morality and sense of self. Azula tries to appeal to things she knows he wants - his honor and the love of their father back, yes, but also to be genuinely needed and respected by his family in general, including her. And while what she says here is couched in manipulation, often, what's so dangerous about manipulation is that there is or can be an element of truth to it, but it's twisted to fit the manipulator's agenda. She tells him that she needs him to win the fight, and I think that part, she genuinely means.

I don't think she would believe she needed Zuko to win a fight in most or every circumstance. This fight is different. She has faced off against the Gaang-Zuko-Iroh when they very, very briefly joined forces against her in "The Chase." The only reason she got out of that is because she feigned surrender, and, using their moment of surprise/distraction, targeted Iroh. That will not work twice. I think she is incredibly aware that this group of people at least holds the capacity to genuinely pose a threat to her. In fact, she is notably growing wary and arguably losing, with Aang and Katara facing off against her together, before Zuko intercedes. She's also very explicitly losing when she and Katara are facing off and Katara's got her trapped with her water-tentacles, and again, it's Zuko who cuts that off and saves Azula there. So not only do I think she was very intentionally encouraging Zuko to join her to fight because she needed him, I think she was pretty smart to do so. (Not morally good or justified, of course, but strategically competent.)

Of course, people can have more than one reason for doing something. I would say most people usually do. I don't think that Azula MINDED that the end result would be that Zuko came back, because (this is something I will delve into more below), having him around, I think, kind of boosts her ego. It's possible that she also has some degree of unhealthy but genuine affection for him - after all, people are complicated, and while Azula is abusive toward Zuko, it's possible to abuse someone and still love or be convinced you love them. That doesn't make it healthy or the abuse okay, of course, but my point is that I do agree with the general notion that Azula, while a villain in the narrative and abusive on a personal level, is not born evil nor 100% devoid of any good qualities. But I think we would also be remiss to act like it's not true that, a lot of the time, the reason Azula seems to enjoy having Zuko around, it's because she can demean him, like when she cornered into playing with them so she could embarass him as children. Or when she quite obviously delights in calling him paranoid and making him squirm while he confronts her about the lie she told that he killed the avatar.

Zuko being around gives her someone to be better than, given her status as Ozai's golden child and Zuko's as the scapegoat. (But again, more on that in a minute.) Any affection she does have for him is unfortunately deeply entangled with that aspect of their relationship as well.

I don't know if you've read that interview with Volpe in full, but I made an addition to this post a while ago that details the quote about this. Volpe makes it pretty explicit in the interview that as soon as Azula saw Katara sweep in, it was her explicit intention to lie about Zuko killing Aang so that he'd be the one to take the fall if/when it came to light that he was alive. One could argue about how well that was executed in-show (I would argue well, but to each their own), but it was the authorial intent. Authorial intent doesn't count for everything, of course, but in such a series-defining moment as this, I think it should count for a fair amount.

(*Note that I don't know where to fit but I think is relevant - on the Zuko coming back and being crown prince front - I agree that it seems somewhat weird that Azula's willing to have him back, given that. But I did also read a post a while back (I can't find it; I'll try to see if I can dig it up at some point) talking about how Zuko's status as the crown prince, set to take over as Fire Lord one day, is... somewhat murky. Yes, he returns and is immediately hailed as a hero because of Azula's lie - but he's also often aimless and unsure of his real role in the Fire Nation at this point. He's frustrated with being sent off on a 'forced vacation' in "The Beach", he's not even sure whether he's allowed in the war meeting from "Nightmares and Daydreams". (And I read a lot of deliberate manipulation on Ozai (and Azula's) part in that. As mentioned in that last post, Zuko spends a lot of time in the series talking about his crown - but I'm not sure he spent a lot of time thinking about what it would mean to get it back. By the end of the series, Ozai is clearly drunk on power and trying to make himself the most powerful person in the world, basically, handing off the hollow title of Fire Lord to Azula. In truth, I don't think he ever wanted or expected either of his children to succeed him; he only saw them as extensions of himself. When Zuko is back, yes, he's being treated like he's a hero and more trusted/respected, but I'm not entirely convinced it would have lasted very long, had he not left. This next part is somewhat based on conjecture/headcanon, but I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to think that Azula doesn't think bringing Zuko back will mean, in Ozai's eyes, he is still next in line to become Fire Lord. Which I actually think she's right about. In her eyes, Zuko has always been the scapegoat who can't do anything right, and it won't take long before that's true again. But I also think that, while Azula has a pretty good read on how Ozai sees Zuko, part of her tragedy is that she does not have as good of a read on how Ozai sees her - he might on the surface treat her more respectfully or with my trust, but at the end of the day, he sees her as a weapon in service of his own ego and power. Knowing that, it's not difficult for me to imagine Azula might have thought she could eventually work things in her favor so she would be Fire Lord - she does, after all, have a pretty good example in Ozai of him doing just that. When Ozai makes her 'Fire Lord' in the finale, I do read some surprise there, but it doesn't seem to me like surprise that he would do such a thing - she deems that it "seems appropriate". I think the surprise is because the timing makes it pretty clear what a hollow gesture it is, and for the first time, she's being confronted with how Ozai truly sees her, and has truly used her.)

The last point is difficult to discuss because Azula and Zuko have a very complicated relationship because of Ozai's abuse of them both, and because his treatment of Azula encourages her to participate in Zuko's abuse as well. (Something pretty relevant to the second point above.)

I talked about this briefly before, but to reassert it: I see the way Ozai treats Azula and Zuko as a pretty clear demonstration of the idea of an abuser treating their children a 'golden child' and 'a scapegoat', respectively. (I have complicated feelings about the origins of these terms which I won't get into now, but regardless, they are pretty commonly recognized roles family structures can fall into that character dynamics and tropes often parallel.) Azula, on the surface, is praised and seemingly treated with more respect or trust, but there is a lot of pressure that no one can truly live up to placed on her, Ozai sees her skill as an extension of himself and in the context of how they can serve him (see him having her demonstrate for Azulon in the flashbacks of "Zuko Alone"), and Zuko is always there as an implicit threat of how she COULD be treated. ("You can't do this! You can't treat me like Zuko!") Zuko, by contrast, is most often treated like everything he does is wrong, and even when he's trying to do what he thinks Ozai wants, he's still a failure. (He's notably displeased by Zuko, in the same flashback sequence, trying to demonstrate his own skill even before it goes wrong, because the expectation is that Zuko will fail before he ever even tries.)

I know this is just like, defining terms, but I genuinely think it's important context to consider when talking about Zuko and Azula's relationship. The tragedy of Zuko and Azula is that they should be able to have a good relationship, but Ozai's abuse has ensured that they don't.

So, yes, I would say that Zuko seemingly has few positive feelings about Azula. Because there has been very little to be positive about. What he does displays a desire that things were different. While Azula is lying about wanting Zuko back home, she is obviously there as an extension of Ozai, but it's her telling this lie, her he's choosing, in this moment, to believe. Because he wants to be able to trust what she's saying and that their family, as a unit, including her, wants him back. In the moment you mentioned where he says he should be trying to get along with her, I think that is another acknowledgment that he wishes things were different because he would like to just get along with her. But she has proven herself dangerous, having just attacked Iroh, and Iroh rightly points out that he doesn't have to simply get along with her, because she is not willing to make the same effort. And yes, a lot of the moments of compassion he seems to feel for her are in moments of vulnerability, because in moments where she's in power, she's often using that power against him, to target him.

Azula does have moments where it may seem she has more positive feelings about Zuko's presence, but as I said before, it's hard to disentangle that from the broader context of their dynamic. I do think the moment in "The Beach" is one of her more genuine moments of care for Zuko, because she sees that he's sad and does something to show there's more to Azula than just cruelty, manipulation, etc. But it's also notable that Zuko is sad because he's finally starting to acknowledge that the way their family is isn't right or healthy, that he's not happy being back in the Fire Nation. Turning away from that is what Zuko's BEEN doing most of the series. He NEEDS to face that if he’s going to grow. Azula trying to get him to turn away from it in the moment isn't entirely healthy, even though that's not something I think she herself recognizes. I'm less inclined to think she was being caring when she asks him who he's angry at, because she immediately demeans him for the answer.

Which is sort of the problem with a lot of the evidence people will sometimes pull to show Azula caring about Zuko - they usually come from moments where either she's manipulating or straight up lying to Zuko or where she is insulting him. It's fine and in fact important to acknowledge that she has more sympathetic moments and is not this completely evil person with no capacity for love or affection (one of the show's central themes is, after all, to suggest that no one is born evil), but I often feel that, when people are making this argument, they are using it an attempt to justify the abuse Azula has committed against him. To say that, because she cares about him, it's okay. And I've seen people go further than that and suggest he's a bad brother for not putting up with her abuse. And I don't agree with either of those stances.

[imagines--galore]

||The Thread of Fate|| Part Thirty-Six

Summary: Soulmate AU. They say the Thread of Fate connects you to your one true love. It may tangle. It may stretch. But it will never break. Wrapped around your little finger it tightens when it feels your soulmate is close and loosens when they are far. And becomes visible with the colors of your soulmate’s Nation when you finally fall in love with them.

Pairing: Zuko x OroraOC (ATLA)

Rating || Genres || Warnings: T+ Romance. Adventure.

Previous Chapters - Masterlist

A/N: I had WAY too much fun writing this chapter :3

Their walk down to the local market area was uneventful.

To anyone watching, it would be a rather normal sight to see several teenagers laughing and talking as they went about enjoying themselves.

No one would ever suspect that the small group of children were actually rather lethal when it came to a specific set of skills. Not to mention the raw power and talent each of them carried within them.

There was Aang, the Avatar who was well on his way to mastering all four elements, an unassuming young boy of thirteen who was smiling from ear to ear as he walked behind the hooded figure of Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, a skillful firebender, not to mention a prodigy when it came to sword fighting. He was leading the group because he knew the way to the Market.

Though he would've much preferred to walked beside his soulmate even if it meant being teased mercilessly by the rest of the group.

Then again, Aang wasn't exactly letting up either. He nudged Zuko, a playful smile on his lips. "You sure firebenders don't burst into flames Zuko?" He asked, to which the Prince frowned in confusion. "No, they do not. Why would you ask that?" He said, to which Aang simply grinned wider, if that were even possible.

"I was afraid I'd have to find a new firebender teacher there, you looked like you were about to go up in flames when you saw Orora." Zuko's nostrils flared, and Aang was almost sure he saw steam coming out of the older boy's ears. His entire face turned red, and he opened his mouth to tell the grinning boy off.

As if on cue, the two laughing figures of Katara and Orora raced past the two boys, with the former having teasingly flicked the latter with some ice cold water. The two boys followed their soulmate's playful and giggling figures, watching as Orora tackled Katara and began to mess up her hair in retaliation.

Though she was unaware of it, Orora had reached the same level of Mastery over waterbending as Katara. They were both talented and powerful benders in their own right. Though their fighting styles were distinctly different. Katara was always more on the defensive side, seeking to cause minimum damage while she protected herself as well as those around her who needed aid. Orora, meanwhile, was the opposite. She wasn't afraid to attack first and neutralize the threat if she had the opportunity. The two girls complimented one another, with Katara and her more nurturing side, and Orora with her more protective side.

"Get off Orora!"

"Make me!"

Though their childish tendencies did tend to come out every now and then, since well, they were still children.

Zuko and Aang were standing there transfixed, for lack of a better word. It was rare to see the two girls just laugh and be themselves without the worries of the world weighing down on them. The adoration in Zuko's molten gaze, and the longing in Aang's stormy eyes was evident as the two girls linked arms and began to lead the way instead, chattering non-stop as they went.

"Are you two gonna keep staring at them all day?" Came the gloating voice of the World's Greatest Earthbender. "Cuz if your heartbeats go any faster then they already are, I'm gonna assume we ran into the Fire Lord on his shopping spree or something." Toph's voice seemed to snap them out of whatever reverie they were experiencing. Zuko reached up to pull the hood even tighter around his face, while Aang pushed his hat down further, nearly covering his eyes. The blind girl let out a cackle as she lightly punched both boys in the arm as she passed by. "Keep walking Lover Boys." She teased,

Though she missed The Duke fiercely, a realization that had surprised her more then anything, Toph was happy that her friends were finally starting to relax and enjoy the companies of their soulmates. Honestly, in her opinion, they were all making issues out of nothing. Except Sokka and Suki.

Still, she was willing to nudge Twinkletoes and Sugar Queen in the right direction if the need arose. And Toph was sure the need would rise. As for Ice Princess and Firebug? Well Toph was happy with simply teasing them both whenever she felt like it.

And that was all the time.

Who knew a girl like her, who had been treated as an invalid and had been kept in isolation her entire life would be part of a group of people who were just as extraordinary as she was.

Well maybe not exactly as she was, because lets face it, she was still the best out of them all, the girl figured smugly.

Though she was glad for every single one of them.

Bringing up the rear of their small group, Suki and Sokka walked hand in hand, with the former simply enjoying the scenery around her. She'd been locked up for way too long, and had missed the landscape she had gotten so used to seeing. Now though, after all those months at the Boiling Rock, Suki wasn't about to take the beautiful scenery around her for granted.

From the well worn dirt path they walked on, to the plants and foliage on either side, to the beach that ran along the right side, the waves crashing against the shore. The wind carried the smell of the sea, yet she had never felt something so free. A ridiculous notion, air having the scent of freedom, and yet for Suki it fit.

The leader of the Kiyoshi Warriors was an intimidating and formidable warrior, Anyone would testify to that. She could take down opponents bigger then her, and do so without breaking a sweat. Extracting information from those unwilling to speak was a skill that had come quite easily to her.

And yet, in that moment, she was just a girl, holding hands with her soulmate, as they followed after their friends. "You're not gonna go and join Toph?" She asked, knowing just how much Sokka adored any and all opportunities he could get to annoy Zuko. The Water Tribe Warrior shrugged. "I'll get to him later. Let Toph have her fun first." He chuckled, glancing at Suki with a smile. "Besides, I like walking with you more." He admitted, squeezing her hand lightly as he did.

If any of the others heard him, Sokka was sure he would never hear the end of it. And yet, he didn't really care. Ever since Azula had told him of Suki's capture, he had been beating himself over and over for not going to her rescue. But then where would he have even begun?

Not like he could go to every single prison in the Fire Nation to try and see if she was there.

And though he could've used his string for guidance, other more pressing matters had stopped him from doing his heart's bidding. So he had waited and fate smiled on him that day at the Boiling Rock. The Sokka from just a few months ago would hit him over the head for wasting time and not continuing his training as a Warrior. But then during his travels Sokka had seen just how badly some soulmate destinies could turn out. Look at what had happened to all his friends, even his sisters.

Toph, who was separated from The Duke until the foreseeable future.

Aang and Katara, who were refusing to even speak of their bond, just because they were too scared of being a distraction to the other.

Zuko and Orora, who had been on the opposite sides of the war, were only just beginning to find themselves with one another.

As he glanced at Suki's smiling face, Sokka couldn't help but thank Yue for sending her to him.

Turning a corner, the small group came to a halt at the sight of the market that sprawled in front of them. They were mostly stalls and tents, set up by the merchants who were passing by. Ember Island was a good source of income for merchants who brought goods from all over the world. The food stalls were run by the locals though, dabbling in local cuisine mostly.

And since Zuko had been there before, all eyes turned to him, looking to him for guidance. A rather uncomfortable notion for the Prince since all his life he'd been sidelined and told to keep his opinions to himself. By everyone other then Iroh and Orora of course.

A brief brush of a familiar warmth against his fingers, had the boy glancing briefly at Orora, who was smiling at him in an encouraging manner.

He cleared his throat. "We can split up and get what we need, or we can travel in a group." He shrugged. "I vote we stick together, so we can keep an eye out for one another." Aang said, to which the others quickly agreed. Nodding Zuko continued. "Alright then."

Reaching underneath his cloak, the young Prince pulled out a large coin purse that was filled to the brim with Fire Nation currency. "I took the liberty of taking some money out of the safe back at the house." He explained, as he showed everyone the money.

Toph cackled. "We get to spend the Fire Lord's money." Sokka smiled gleefully as he clapped his hands like an excited child. "I can't wait to visit the weapons shop."

                                            ————————–

Suki wasn't exactly picky with what she wanted to buy for herself. It was just that she was a little sad about not wearing the colors she was familiar with. The others could at least wear the clothes of their Nation whenever they felt like it because they had that option.

While she was stuck wearing red.

Seriously the Fire Nation had so many varying shades of red it was ridiculous.

Holding up two blouses she glanced at one, then at the other. "Er....what exactly is the different between these two?" She asked, glancing at the shopkeeper from the seemingly similar items of clothing. The shopkeeper looked at her as if she had frown two heads. Or perhaps three, depending on his imagination.

"How can you not see the difference?" He chided her, prompting Katara to lift an eyebrow at his sudden change in tone. As if he were speaking to someone beneath him. "This is carmine, while this is ruby red." He clarified, pointing to each blouse as he named the colors. The two girls glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes. Clearly they shared the sentiment that neither of them could see any difference.

Still, best not to aggravate someone they would be haggling with soon.

Picking up the items of clothing she would need, in varying shades of red, Suki disappeared into the changing room that had been set up. Katara was still browsing through the different clothing materials on display, Orora at her side.

Running her fingers through the fabric of one of the clothing material Suki had rejected, Orora couldn't help but marvel at the silkiness of it. A figure came up to stand next to her, enveloping the hand that rested atop the silk.

"The last time we were at a dress shop, I distinctly remember you complaining about there being not enough red around." She said, turning her head so she could smile at Zuko. "Is this red enough for you?" The girl gestured to the various stalls and racks around them, all stacked high with rolls and bundles of red with her free hand.

Zuko looked around, though his gaze was half-hearted before he was looking back at her again. "I kind of miss the greens and brown." He admitted, the fingers of the hand covering hers locking with her fingers. "And I do prefer the reds, but," He paused, bringing their joined hands up.

All so he could whisper against her skin.

"More so when you're wearing it."

She may have rendered him speechless with her new appearance. However, Zuko returned the favor with just his words. Her cheeks darkened and she could feel her blush travel down along her neck as she swallowed, lips parted slightly, unable to break away from the intensity of his eyes.

"Didn't know your skin could change colors Orora."

The two teenagers snapped out of their intimate moment, only to see Aang standing just beside Orora, checking out the different robes on display as nonchalant as any other buyer. The barest hint of a smile was the only indication that he had heard the entire exchange between them both.

Their hands unglued, with Zuko turning slightly away, a little embarrassed that they'd been overheard. Orora pushed Aang's hat down over his eyes in retaliation. "Just like yours did when you first saw Katara in her Fire Nation clothes Lover Boy." She teased, though her words had the opposite effect.

Where she had been expecting Aang to smile in embarrassment or even blush, he did neither of those things. Instead, his shoulders dropped and his eyes darted to where Katara was standing, waiting for Suki to come out. Orora frowned slightly.

"You alright there Little Brother?" She asked, the concern in her voice prompting Zuko to pay full attention to the conversation. Aang sighed before nodding. "Yeah, I'll be alright. Its just soulmate stuff." He admitted, to which the Prince raised an eyebrow. "What you still haven't told her? Even after you told me you kissed her?"

The new information had Orora gasping sharply, her ice blue eyes holding Aang in place. "You kissed Katara, and you told Zuko before me?" She hissed, looking just a little angry at having being kept out of the loop.

"No offense." She quickly added.

"None taken." He responded with a shrug.

"Whats this I hear?" Toph spoke up from where she had been passing by. "Twinkletoes kissed Sugar Queen?"

"Shhhh!!!!!!!!" Aang hissed, slapping a hand over Toph's mouth as he looked around his gaze frantic. Spying Katara a good ways away from their little group, he relaxed before removing his hand from Toph's mouth before she licked him.

It had happened to Sokka before.

"Could we not talk about this?" He pleaded, looking every bit as forlorn as Momo did whenever someone refused to share their food when he asked for it. If Aang had big floppy ears, Orora was sure they would be drooping now. "Wait so, when did you kiss her?" Toph asked, a little too invested in the new piece of information. Then again, Orora looked just as expectantly at the younger boy who pursed his lip, glancing at Zuko, blaming him for the situation he had put him in.

"Before the Invasion." The boy muttered. The revelation had the waterbender wincing. "That long and you still haven't spoken to her about it?" She asked. Toph shook her head. "I'm new at the whole soulmate thing, but even I know that that's way past the point of talking it over."

Aang shrugged. "We've had so many things happen that I haven't had the time to do anything about it! I mean first, we lost the Invasion, then Orora sacrificed herself, then Zuko came back, and so did Orora." He was gesticulating wildly as he recounted all that had occurred the past few weeks or so. "Then Katara was unsure about Zuko being around, and then I had to learn firebending from dragons. Then Orora and Katara had their fights, and then Katara's dad came back, and then Azula attacked and she went off to find the man who killed her Mother, and now we're here."

During his tirade Orora glanced at Zuko out of the corner of her eyes, meeting his gaze as he did the same. He shrugged, and she nodded. Best not to stop Aang and allow him to let it all out. Once he was finished, the young Avatar breathed deeply, trying to catch his breath as he panted.

Though as soon as he was done, Zuko stepped forward. "Look Aang, I told you before while we were trapped at the Sun Warriors Temple, its never a good thing to leave things unresolved." His golden gaze flitted briefly to Orora. "You can still talk to her about it." He urged, softness in his eyes as he regarded the younger boy.

Had he grown a soft spot for the annoying yet bright student he was training?

Yes he had.

Would he admit it out loud?

He would rather eat bland food for the rest of his life.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Zuko is right." Toph said. "Who knew you could give some good advice Firebug?" She quipped, before turning her attention back to Aang. "And really Twinkletoes, every single thing you just said, has been one excuse after the other. I mean look at Sokka and Suki." She waved an arm in the general direction of the duo in question. Suki had appeared wearing her new clothes, and was being admired by her soulmate, with Katara standing by, pretending she wasn't related to her brother. "They found each other despite Suki being in jail." Pressing a hand against her chest, Toph continued. "I'm blind, and I had no hopes of ever finding my soulmate, but I still did."

Her hand shot out to gesture at Zuko and Orora as they stood side by side. "And then take these two. I mean they were enemies at one point, but now they're together, and stronger then ever." The compliment had a proud smile rising to Orora's lips as she gently nudged Zuko with her shoulder who responded with a gentle nudge of his own.

"So don't give me the 'there was never a right moment' excuse." Toph said, pausing as Zuko took over. "There is never a right moment Aang. Trust me, if I waited for that, I would never be where I am now."

Finally, Orora spoke up. "Aang? You've waited a hundred years for your soulmate. Even though they were spent in a catatonic state, that doesn't mean your soul wasn't waiting for her. Yearning for your other half." She reached out to rest a comforting hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "You deserve to be happy with your soulmate." She urged as he looked up at her.

Aang glanced over his sister's shoulder, seeing Katara standing beside Suki as the latter paid for her clothing items.

He nodded.

"I'll try and talk to her." He said as a way of promise, as he looked around at his three friends who smiled back in response.

Toph nodded. "That's the spirit!" She urged, wrapping an arm around Aang's shoulders. "You guys come on! We're going to the armor stalls next!" Sokka called out where he was waiting with Suki and Katara. Toph began to drag Aang with her as Orora and Zuko followed, with the former turning to the latter and stating with a laugh.

"Who'd have thought you would be giving love advice to the Avatar?"

                                            ————————–

If Sokka had to choose one aspect of shopping he loved more then anything, he'd have to pick weapons shopping.

There was just something about browsing through the weapons display that had him feeling excited. And since he had someone who shared his love for weapons, Zuko, he could make comments that someone actually understood.

"Woah! Look at these!" He called to Zuko as he leaned forward to examine a display of several razor sharp looking Uchigatanas. Zuko whistled under his breath as he moved closer. "These look so light to handle." He observed, his eyes roving over every single detail of the gorgeous piece of weapon. "Bet they can cut through steel." Sokka gushed, stars in his eyes as he admired the sword.

That is before his eyes fell on the price and he winced. "Katara and Orora will kill me for spending that much money." He muttered under his breath, glancing to where the two girls were riffling through an entire stall of leather arm gauntlets. "Maybe once we defeat my Father we can have access to the treasure volt of the Fire Nation and buy whatever we want?" Zuko suggested, to which Sokka grinned. "I'll take you up on that offer!" He exclaimed.

Just a few steps away, Katara glanced up at her brother's voice, before returning her attention to the black leather gauntlet she had picked up and was weighing in her hands. "I don't know, they feel a bit too heavy Orora." She mused while her older sister browsed with interest.

"I dunno, I kinda like the feel of them." The waterbender admitted, as she pulled out a pair of them that were hidden well under the pile. "Oooooo these are gorgeous!" The girl muttered to herself. Immediately she pulled off the arm bands she had been wearing and pulled on the gauntlets.

"Mind tying them up?" She requested Katara, who quickly did up the laces along the length of the gauntlets as they ran up Orora's forearms. The insides were soft against her skin, but the leather outside was sturdy. They leather split into two colors, with the more dominant color being a deep crimson, with an added hint of gold along the edges as well as the laces that kept the gloves firm around her arms.

Orora flexed her fingers, trying out the stretch of the leather. "How do they look?" She asked, turning to show them off to Katara who smiled and nodded. "They look amazing! You should get them!" She urged, grabbing Orora by the shoulder, turning her around and marching her towards the owner of the shop.

The two girls passed Suki and Aang as they stood observing a contraption they had never seen before. They both had their heads tilted to one side, and had identical expressions of curiosity on their faces. "What do you suppose it does?" Suki asked, her fingers itching to reach out and touch the contraption, just to see how it worked. But she held her hand, a trait Aang had not yet mastered as his hand darted out to run his fingers along the smooth metal.

"It looks too....innocent to be a weapon." He said, leaning down so he could look underneath the weapon. "And yet here it is, in a weapon's shop." Suki murmured as Toph came up behind them. "What're you two looking at?" She asked, feeling the strange shape of metal in front of her.

Aang shrugged. "We don't know. Some sort of weapon." He admitted, his exploring fingers finding a small indent in the metal overlay. An indent that pressed down. "Hey, what does this do?" He asked, even as he pressed down against it.

The reaction was instantaneous.

Whatever weapon it was, it was one that shot some sort strange iron darts out of it. They flew through the air with deadly precision, before coming in contact with the skins of several other patrons as they milled about.

The three of them watched, dumbfounded, as the people who were hit dropped to the ground after a bit of swooning.

Reaching out, Toph quickly swatted Aang's hand away from the weapon. Aang and Suki glanced nervously at one another, before they quietly, and as sneakily as they could, stepped away from the contraption.

Toph stayed where she was.

Until Suki's arm darted out and grabbed Toph's hand before she yanked the earthbender away from the scene of the crime.

                                            ————————–

"Are they still following us?" Orora asked Suki out of the corner of her mouth as the two girls pretending to be entranced by a truly horrendous piece of art that depicted the Fire Lord. The Kiyoshi Warrior nodded, her eyes never wavering from their pretend distraction. "And from what I heard, they're rather persistent when it comes to their conquests. And yes, that was the exact word I heard them use." She added with a look that had Orora rolling her eyes.

No sooner had she stopped speaking, when the two girls found themselves flanked on either side by very two people concerning their conversation.

"Don't think we've seen you two around before." The boy at Suki's side said, grinning a little too smugly for someone who looked like he had never seen a good fight before. He had too much muscle for either of the girl's tastes. "You probably haven't." Suki replied in a tone of complete indifference as she lifted a stage mask and examined it with more interest then she was giving Muscles.

His friend, whom Orora dubbed Earring, on account of the several earrings he wore in one ear, sought to add to the conversation by saying. "May we ask where you lovely ladies are from?" He asked, grinning down at Orora, who's fingers itched to embed an ice dagger somewhere on his person.

Preferably where the sun don't shine.

"You just did." Orora responded, her tone mirroring Suki's. "And where we are from is none of your business because I doubt you will see us again." With that Suki looped her arm through Orora's and the two girls began to walk away.

But the boys were persistent.

Something the two girls had noticed, when they had been harassing some other girls just half an hour earlier, before their attention was diverted towards them.

Muscles quickly stepped in their path, blocking them. "Woah! Woah! Come one girls. We're just being friendly." He said with a chuckle and a wink in Suki's direction. The Warrior only glared back. "Leave us alone." She said as a way of warning them to back off. But of course, in the eyes of the two idiots, they didn't appear to be a threat.

Earring chuckled. "Awww, don't be rude. We just wanna show you girls a good time." He drawled as he moved to wrap an arm around Orora's shoulder.

Only to find himself on the floor, with the same arm twisted behind his back in a painful hold that had him whimpering. His friend blanched, taking a step forward to try and help him, but stopped at the look of sheer disgust and anger that was directed towards him by the two girls.

Suki, standing to the side, arms crossed over her chest.

And Orora , holding Earring down in a painful hold.

"We'll be staying here for a few weeks." Suki said, adopting the very drawling tone Earring had used moments ago. "So it would do the both of you some good if you were to disappear for those time period." She added as a friendly suggestion.

Orora smiled maliciously, her ice blue eyes glittering, promising pain. "Because if either of us see you again, our little vacation will be ruined." Her hold on Earring didn't let up. "And trust me, you don't want to annoy us."

She stepped away, allowing the boy to scramble to his feet and scurry to his friend. "Plus if we see either of you harassing any other girl." Suki continued with a sweet smile on her lips. Her eyes, however, were another story.

Just as Orora, they promised pain.

And perhaps death.

"We'll be sure your kind doesn't.........spawn."

The idiots ran.

Leaving Orora a little surprised. "I didn't think they would understand that last threat." She commented, the look of pure ice and anger melting away. Suki shrugged. "I don't think they did. They were just cowards."

So saying, the two girls moved to where Katara was busy haggling over the price of a new waterskin, completely missing their other halves as they stood just a little ways away, having just seen what had happened.

"That was......scary."

"Was it?"

"No not really. That was....."

"Hot."

"So hot."

Oblivious to their inner turmoil, Aang grinned at the mask he had found. "Hey Zuko! Look what I found!" He called out to the Prince, who snapped out of his reverie to glance at the Avatar.

As he stood there, proudly wearing the mask of the Blue Spirit.

"Look familiar!" He said, his voice muffled behind the mask. Zuko rolled his eyes, moving to ignore Aang so he would drop the subject. However, Sokka was quick to pick on Zuko's annoyance. "Whats that?" He asked Aang to which the boy grinned as he removed the mask. "Its the mask Zuko used to wear as the Blue Spirit." He explained to which Sokka raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"You know, Orora wasn't exaggerating when she said that you lived for the drama." He said, feeling that maybe his sister had been right in judging the Prince for what he was. Zuko shot the water tribe boy and annoyed look. He wasn't even fazed as Aang handed over a few coins and bought the mask.

Zuko blinked. "Did you actually buy it?" He asked, to which Aang responded with a shrug. "What? I didn't say it wasn't a cool mask." Placing it within the shoulder bag Sokka had purchased, Aang glanced at a figure approaching them.

"Er.... Zuko? How much money did you give Toph?" He asked, prompting both him and Sokka to turn and look at what he had spied.

And sure enough there was Toph. Barely able to walk under a staggering pile of......well......things.

"Where did you get all of this?" Sokka asked, the amazement coloring his tone as Toph dropped everything at the boys' feet. The girl grinned. "This blockhead bumped in to me, and I played the blind card. Next thing I know, everyone was offering me free stuff." She shrugged, looking much too proud and smug. "And who was I to ignore their kindness and charity?"

Zuko looked over the knick-knacks Toph had been donated. "I don't think Orora is gonna be happy about this." He muttered, glancing in the direction of his girlfriend who was still busy with Suki and Katara. Sokka nodded. "Yeah, and neither will Katara."

Toph raised an eyebrow. "Why? Are you two scared of them?"

A beat of silence.

And then:

"Yeah that was a stupid question. Of course you're scared of them both." She answered her own question, to which Aang added with a shrug. "Aren't we all?"

The four of them made small noises of agreement. "What're you gonna do about all this junk?" Zuko asked, to which Toph shrugged. Taking a look around the inventory Toph had accumulated, Sokka hummed. "Well most of it could be used at the beach." Suddenly his eyes brightened and he grinned wide. "Why don't we have a beach party?" He suggested.

His words were meant with quite the enthusiasm on Aang's and Toph's part. Zuko however, was remembering the last party he had been invited to, and how disastrous it went.

"A beach party?" Katara said, once Sokka had raced over to his sisters and soulmate and told them the plan. Suki shrugged, smiling. "That sounds fun. And with all the extra stuff Toph was donated we can have a really good party."

Orora narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Yeah." She said, not believing the story for a second even as Toph gave her an innocent smile.

"Donated."

                                            ————————–

"Now! For the final and most important items on our list. The food!" Katara declared as the group finally made it to the food section of the market. The air was heavy with the spices and scents of the various items being cooked. There were many stalls set up that sold produce, but the majority of them offered cooked meals.

"And since we're having a party, I think its best if we get double. That means we'll need to buy twice as much meat, thrice as much as vegetables and fruits since that is what Aang and Momo eat." The boy smiled in relief, prompting Katara to smile back at him. Sokka, already excited about the prospect of a party, was barely able to contain his emotions over the fact that they would be buying and eating meat that night.

And so their final task began.

Katara was in charge of haggling, making sure they only paid enough and didn't overpay just because they were children. She was ruthless in her tactics too. Orora and Suki were in charge of picking up and putting away the best of the produce. Aang joined them once they reached a vegetable and fruit vendor. Sokka and Toph were taste-testing. Or rather they were eating whatever they could until they had the chance to reach the stalls where they were selling food that sold cooked food. Zuko was simply standing to the side and holding whatever Orora, Suki or Aang would pile into his arms.

The young Prince also made sure that an extra few moon-peaches were packed. Because he knew they were Orora's favorite.

Maybe they could share some later.

Having slapped Sokka's hand from taking yet another fruit to devour, a strange smell wafted through the air, that had Katara crinkling her nose. "What is that smell?" She asked Zuko, who was standing right next to her, Sokka have sulked away to nurse his red hand. The scarred Prince looked up from where he had been putting everything in one of the many shopping baskets Toph had been gifted.

"Burned Jasmine." He admitted, his eyes finding the source. A tea vendor nearby had apparently boiled the brew for far too long and was now being scolded by the customers. "He should've stepped it for only four minutes over a steady flame. That's when you can get the proper scent and taste of the tea leaves." He added, as if the knowledge of making tea was common and everyone should know it.

The girl grinned. Yanking at his arm, she began to pull him towards the flustered looking tea vendor who looked up at them in confusion. "Tell him what you just told me." She urged him. Zuko looked uncomfortable for only a minute before he glanced at the desperate looking tea vendor and sighed.

A few minutes later, the entire group was standing a little ways away from the small tea stall and sipping on a freshly made brew of perfect jasmine tea. They had to move away from the stall because it suddenly got too crowded.

Mostly because the scent of the jasmine tea, after the tea vendor brewed it under Zuko's instructions, had attracted more then a fair share of the customers. The tea vendor had been in tears when he offered the entire group a cup of jasmine each for free to thank Zuko for his help.

"I always knew you were paying attention to Master when he would give he tea brewing lessons." Orora teased as she stood beside Zuko, enjoying her own cup of tea. The boy shrugged in response. "I just wish I had paid more attention." He admitted in a low voice, his gaze trained to his own reflection within the cup he now held.

Reaching out to pat his shoulder, Katara smiled. "I'm sure your Uncle would be really happy to know that even when you weren't paying attention you still actually listened to him." She reassured him as Aang nodded. "Katara's right. This is really the best tea I've had, and I'm a hundred and twelve years old." He added with a grin, no one mentioning how he had been trapped in ice for a hundred of those years.

"I don't normally like tea." Sokka said, looking down at his cup of tea with a critical eye. Suki rolled her eyes at him. "What he means to say is he liked it." Sipping from her cup, Toph made sure to add her opinion in as well. "Out of all of us, I'm the only one who's had tea made by Zuko's Uncle, other then Orora."

She pointed towards the girl. "And since Ice Princess is a compromised, what with her being head over heels for Firebug here." Both teenagers blushed at the words, unable to meet the other's eyes as they sipped their tea. "I can tell you that this is a close interpretation of his tea making skills."

Despite her teasing, Zuko couldn't help but glance around at the smiling, open and encouraging faces of his friends. "Thanks." He muttered, unable to say anything more as he felt Orora reach out to take his free hand in her own and gave it a squeeze.

This.

This was what she had always wanted. People who supported and encouraged one another. Who helped lift each other up and help however they could. People who loved one another unconditionally because they genuinely cared, not because it was a necessity. Who teased and made fun of you, but would not hesitate to lay down their life if the situation called for it. People who had your back no matter what.

A family.

"You alright there Orora?"

She blinked, not realizing she had started to follow Zuko when he began to lead her away, once the group started to move. Blinking away the suspicious moisture that had gathered at the corner of her eyes, the girl smiled up at her boyfriend. "I'm alright." She said with a nod.

Zuko glanced around him, seeing their group disperse slightly as they began to go over the different food stalls to try and find something to eat before the beach party.

Now was his chance.

He had been meaning to ask Orora before, while they had been shopping for Suki's outfit. Then Aang had gone and interrupted them, he was still a little miffed about that because it had been the perfect moment. With his soulmate flustered and him with the upper hand feeling confident and sure of himself.

Now though, his heart began to pick up speed, and he could actually feel his hands start to feel clammy. Which was ridiculous because what he was about to ask had been a long time coming.

So why in Agni was he so nervous?!

He opened his mouth. "Orora?"

Just then a loud scream cut him off, followed by a loud cackle.

The two teenagers looked to the source. Only to be greeted by the sight of Toph rolling around on the floor, laughing her head off, while Sokka screamed and yelled, clutching at his throat, his tongue hanging out, tears streaming down his face.

Spying the stall they were standing in front of Zuko groaned. "He ate the fire flakes." He muttered to a confused looking Orora, who winced in sympathy. Katara quickly handed Sokka the waterskin to try and quench the heat.

"Why'd you go and eat the whole bag?" Suki scolded her boyfriend as she watched him gulp down the water, though most of it spilled from the sides. "Becauth Thopth tholdh mthe ith wath thweeth." Sokka responded, or at least tried to.

His attempt to speak around the spice had the rest of the group laughing as well. Toph, who had only just begun to sober up, began anew. "Come on Sokka! They can't be that hot." Aang said, reaching out for a couple of fire flakes which he put in his mouth. The boy chewed, and instantly his face turned red and steam came out of his ears.

"On second thought." The Avatar said, wiping the heat sweat from his forehead. "Maybe Sokka's reaction isn't an exaggeration." Both Suki and Katara tried a few fire flakes as well, only to agree with Aang and sympathize with Sokka.

Orora rolled her eyes. "Oh come on! They're not that bad." So saying she reached out and grabbed a handful. Despite the loud protests, the girl threw the flakes into her mouth and chewed.

No reaction.

The entire group, minus Zuko, stared dumbfounded.

If Orora were honest, he looked a little proud even.

"How are you not crying from the spice?!" Aang demanded to know, to which Orora shrugged. "Firebenders love spicy food, and I traveled and stayed with two of them for months." She gestured to Zuko who was standing beside her. "Guess I built up a spice tolerance." She grinned, and reached for another handful.

"And a Zuko tolerance." Sokka muttered darkly under his breath, glaring at the flakes as if they had done him some personal offense.

Where she would've been insulted at the comment, Orora tilted her head. Contemplating.

"Huh! I guess I did."

                                            ————————–

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[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Who treated Mai worse, Azula or Zuko?

Guys, be serious, I love Azula and I love her dynamic with Mai, but come the fuck on, it's REALLY difficult for ANY dynamic between ANY characters to be as unhealthy as Azula's dynamic with literally every character in the story.

The first thing Mai says to Azula is a joke about possibly being murdered by her. When she refuses to follow orders in "The Drill", Mai says Azula can shoot all the lightning she wants at her. And at the Boiling Rock, Azula literally says "You know the consequences" and then they only don't have fight, potentially to the death, because Ty Lee intervenes.

Compare that to Mai ending things with Zuko when he's being too much of a dick, or simply her feeling free to call him out on his bad behavior, without feeling any fear of "consequences."

She knows Zuko would never use his position as a prince to have leverage over her. She never bows to him like she does to Azula, she never gets ordered around and side-eyes him like it happened with Azula during "The Headband", and we never see Zuko WANTING Mai to fear him so he can get her to do as she's told, or sending her to prison after they had a falling out

Azula treats Mai with far more respect than she does most people, but the power imbalance is still very much there and Azula takes advantage of it ALL THE TIME. She WANTS Mai to be too afraid to truly stand up against her or so much as say "I don't wanna be friends anymore because I don't like how you treat me."

No amount of typical teenage overreaction to jealousy can compare to "I don't trust that you won't banish, imprison, hurt or kill me if I do something you don't like."

Zuko is Mai's flawed, but caring boyfriend. His status as a prince/Fire Lord never comes up except when it is to her benefit (being spoiled by servants or getting out of jail). Meanwhile, Azula is Mai's tyranical princess that happens to think of her as a friend, but doesn't actually treat her with the basic respect a friend should.

[antispopausandstuff]

SPOP and the problem with "you vs. me"

.

you know the drill, this will be very long and may be scattered.

in attempts to show a more completed picture, i will be referencing arcane to compare sibling // familial dynamics and how the respective medias represented them.

.

as adora is our main protagonist and catra was an main antagonist, a lot of the show's focus is on their characters and arcs ( or a lack thereof ). however, because of the blatant favoritism of catra over adora, rather than it being relatively equal or at least addressed in a more healthier way, this results in both the show and fandom diminishing adora's trauma and showcasing catra's.

the "you vs. me" conflict is a standard trope in fiction and is very much a struggle relationships have in real life, due to many issues including, but not excluded to, honesty, deceit, manipulation, accountability issues, anger issues, victimization, villainization, etc.

in fact, in terms of it being a trope, you could say that almost all of fiction relies on this, especially with protagonist vs. antagonist scenarios, such as batman & joker, superman & lex luthor, sonic & eggman, aang & ozai, korra & kuvira, or, in this case, adora & catra.

but when i'm referencing this trope, i'm specifically referring it to be in a familial context, such as zuko & azula, eda & lilith, vi & jinx, and so on and so forth.

now, what makes adora and catra so different from most other relationships that fall under this trope is because of one problem:

inconsistency.

despite the abuse being the center reason why adora and catra are separated and at odds with each other, the show is more focused on the effects of catra's trauma rather than the cause.

she is flippant with shadow weaver, doesn't hold her in very high regard as an authority or maternal figure, and just generally doesn't show any possible affection or positive emotion towards shadow weaver unless it has something to do with proving her wrong until s2, when s1 already establishes a hostile relationship between the two and catra explicitly stating she doesn't need shadow weaver.

now, this isn't to say that the cycle of abuse is a straight line. the writers can have catra show animosity towards shadow weaver and still make a relationship where she ends up being the victim of manipulation and hostility. but how they did it is the issue.

let's compare her story to jinx's.

parental situation - unlike catra, powder did not have a negative relationship with vander. but it wasn't a necessarily positive one, either. it was more awkward, silent, and not really given a chance to grow and develop into something more loving.

i don't doubt vander cared for powder, but it wasn't the exact way he cared for vi. the only thing they had in common was that they loved vi, but even that was in different ways ( parent // sibling ).

meanwhile, catra's relationship with shadow weaver has no actual room for plausible deniability on either end, but more importantly, catra's end.

there's no mother gothel-esc scene where shadow weaver love-bombs and gaslights her, no 'loving' manipulation, there's barely even a power imbalance, it's just animosity on both ends in the establishing season.

all of those scenes are towards adora instead, creating a rapunzel // mother gothel dynamic, like mentioned, as shadow weaver groomed her, used her for power, and raised her to be the perfect child soldier.

akin to mother gothel, after adora left the horde, shadow weaver become hyper-focused on getting her back and returning to the status quo, and both abusers do this by manipulation, sabotage, gaslighting, and instilling fear into their victims.

we don't get this with catra until s2.

the reason why this doesn't work is because:

catra is fully aware of the horde

catra is fully aware of shadow weaver

catra references // insults adora for being manipulated

catra establishing she doesn't need or want shadow weaver

catra broke shadow weaver's mask // source of power

all in s1.

which is why, when you watch s2, you might be wondering "why did she fall for that?" if you recall earlier scenes of basically admonishing adora for being a victim of abuse herself.

"she was desperate!" you say. but just because catra was desperate doesn't mean that she had to change her tune, especially since shadow weaver has literally no power over her.

it'd make a lot more sense for her to make a deal with shadow weaver rather than suddenly questioning shadow weaver on why she abused her, then begging her to help.

maybe, if the writers still wanted to continue with the cycle of abuse, the deal could've been a way for catra to be slowly manipulated and throw her off, anyway. because she was once on equal footing with her abusive mother, but now is beneath her for xyz reasons.

writing wise, it just makes no sense for us to be sympathetic to catra in s2 when it's been shown several times that any chance of a less than hostile relationship is impossible between them because they both hate each other.

origin of villainy - now, from catra's perspective, she blames adora and sometimes shadow weaver for her 'downfall', but simultaneously continues to have her own independence and choice to become evil. this is something the show states bluntly, despite still being wishy-washy in s5. catra chose to stay. catra chose to be evil.

the true origin of her choices lie in wanting to be powerful and ruling over the horde as revenge for who looked down on her ( shadow weaver, mainly ).

in fact, she pretty much says so in this line ( in 'Promise', s1 ):

"i don't WANT to leave. what don't you understand about that? i'm not afraid of shadow weaver anymore, and i'm a better force captain than you could've ever been."

catra desires power over love, but relied on adora to get that power through several years of abuse that continues on in their older teen, young adult lives.

what's the first thing that catra does when adora strays?

she electrocutes her, twice, and threatens to do it again.

she portrays it like it was an accident, but her face right after she shocks adora the first time is pure anger. when the moment passes, there's no apologetic look, she looks more 'awkward, if anything.

then when adora tries to get up, she shocks her again and justifies it by saying it was a "reflex". while i think she's full of shit, i do think this line holds at least some truth, as catra's had a clear pattern of putting adora in physical harm when she gets 'out of line' ever since they were kids.

like catra, powder does believe that her source of villainy ( if she even sees it as that, at first ) is also from vi leaving her. however, powder has more reason to believe she was abandoned than catra does.

why?

choice.

catra had a blatant, clear, on the table choice to join the rebellion and leave the horde, have a healthier, happier life, and stay away from shadow weaver. every time adora asks ( 3 times ), she doesn't push catra once she says no, but accepts it, however disappointed she may be, which is a stark contrast to how catra reacts to rejection.

neither vi or powder had the choice of staying together and running away. vi had a reaction that most people would have when powder accidentally killed basically their whole family, but she showed immense regret and walked away to take a breather.

but, as she wasn't able to communicate that, powder saw that as vi leaving and not coming back.

and then silco came in. vi was going to go back, going to try to save powder, but then marcus got involved, knocked her out, and took her to prison.

basically, fate fucked around with them. it was all just bad timing. neither vi or powder could play with the cards they were dealt with.

catra basically said "no, fuck you" and then turned around and victimized herself over and over, while still trying to maintain her own autonomy at the same time.

developing villainy // spiral - powder turning into jinx is tragic because it all started from an accident. because powder was a child that didn't mean to hurt or kill anyone and was taken advantage of in her time of need. because while suffering from psychosis and abandonment, silco preyed on her ( i'm not going to debate this with you, don't start a fight in the comments ).

catra turning into a horde general is visually displayed as devastating in s4, but it's very weak, writing wise, once you take a look at the full picture for all of its amateurish details.

catra participated in all of this willingly. it's very difficult to sympathize with someone who knows what they're doing and doesn't give a damn about who they're hurting.

catra's already had spirals. s1, s2, and s3. if you take off the rose-colored glasses, this gets exhausting and feels more pathetic than anything else.

catra's worst was in s3, not s4. and it was only about shadow weaver for maybe five minutes until it went back to being about her obsession for adora to be her meat shield. you can't really get any worse than destroying the entire universe, engaging in extreme sadism, and killing a monarch all out of spite for one person.

this was, supposedly, her wake-up call season, but catra doesn't change until s5 and the 'wake-up call' is garbage, telling us that she didn't mean any of the things she did or said, she didn't mean to hurt and abuse people, she didn't mean to send entrapta off to beast island, she didn't mean to threaten scorpia multiple times, yada, yada, yada, while also potentially victim-blaming her, and also saying "well, fuck you, it's all your fault lol". it's sloppy.

she had a mental breakdown because scorpia left her? oh no. how sad.

she starts hallucinating scorpia's laugh and thinks she's coming back? oh wow. tragic.

she starts pushing people away, for the millionth time, and victimizing herself again? aww. who woulda thunk it.

all of it falls under "what did you expect?" when you look through the many holes in SPOP's story.

and yet, despite it all, despite the fact that she committed universal genocide, death of a monarch, aggravated assault // attempted murder, attempted murder // suicide, etc., etc...

she's 'redeemed' by a hallucination in a ship that somehow tells her that she was the one who drove adora away, when she fucking knows that already.

jinx is eventually aware of herself and vi, as much as she can be, and continues the path to villainy because she's already gone too far. vi may forgive her, but she's killed a lot of people and is a criminal. not a petty thief, but a murderer.

the show helps us sympathize with jinx, but they don't erase what her actions, they don't erase her crimes, and still embrace writing her as a villain // antagonist that can't and won't go back.

catra has bare minimum sympathy from me. it's terrible that she was abused, but the show doesn't write it well or consistently enough for me to fully care and go "it's really sad that she's become a bad person", but rather "if you died, i'd be thankful".

that's harsh, maybe, but i don't see any other option, except for her being jailed for life, as a satisfying conclusion for her. because i don't care enough to wish a better life for her in canon.

the "you vs. me" problem in SPOP is that catra is constantly pushing this ideology in almost every single situation, even when it is not applicable, and it forces fans to view it the same, if not worse.

it's not specifically about shadow weaver, but more about what can give catra control in whichever situation that can allow her to victimize herself and // or dominate the other party.

and, as a result, to this day, catra is still seen as the biggest victim of the entire cast.