#good daddy aang

[flameohotwife]

Hmm. No.3 of the Choose Violence asks, please?

Ocean! Thanks for the ask, friend!

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr: The worst take I've seen on tumblr is that Aang as a father is comparable to Ozai. OZAI. I don't tend to see a lot of bad takes on account of my blocked-tags list being a mile long and being very selective about who I follow, but somehow that one slipped through, and I just... it took me a minute to collect my jaw from the floor.

I don't think Aang was a perfect parent because, after parenting multiple children for over a decade myself, I know it's impossible to be one. Parents obviously have a great responsibility but at the end of the day (which is honestly my worst time of day as a parent) we are all human and patience and energy are unfortunately not infinite. And parenting multiple children with wildly varying personalities and abilities and needs is no easy task: there is no one-size-fits-all parenting solution and sometimes kids interpret you parenting them differently as favoritism, when you're trying to be equitable and meet everyone's needs as best you can.

HOWEVER, I think Aang is an incredibly energetic and emotionally-intelligent human, and while he has an ungodly amount of responsibilities (to the WORLD, by no choice of his own), he would still find time and energy to be present for his kids when he was home with them. He would love and ADORE his kids and probably embarrass them by talking about them all the time when they're out together. He would spend extra time baking and playing music and exploring with Bumi when he was young (especially since there's such a big age gap between Bumi and Kya, Aang got to spend lots of one-on-one time with him). He would make sure to be a part of Kya's waterbending training when he could, and when he notices her taking an interest in meditation he would start waking her up early to join his morning meditations. He would travel with all of them. He would obviously have to train Tenzin to be the next leader and airbending teacher but that does NOT mean he wouldn't spend time with his other kids or teach them anything about their Air Nomad heritage (in fact, we know from LoK that he DOES because Bumi and Kya both mention their dad telling long-winded stories about the Gurus. My bet is at bedtime, haha). Anyway, sorry that was a bit of a rant, thanks for playing the Choose Violence Ask Game!

[kataangiscanon]

Bumi talks about his Dad,Aang. My baby Aang was a Good Daddy.

[longing-for-rain]

ATLA Discourse Simulator: 2024 Revival Edition

🌊 katara-stan Follow

It’s sad to me how Katara was forced to take on so many responsibilities from a young age. I relate to it as an eldest daughter with trauma in my childhood.

👺 404-literacy-not-found Follow

How DARE you parentify Katara! She’s just a silly little 14 year old not mom friend!!!

74 notes

🌙 zutara-fan Follow

I like Zutara

🚓 avatar-fandom-police Follow

You’re not allowed to do this as it is personally offensive to me, a balding middle-aged man. Your femcel fantasies are pathetic and no man will ever want you. By the way I’m gay so I’m not sexist.

32 notes

🍼 aang-lover Follow

How DARE anyone criticize my perfect little angel boy, he never did anything wrong! Touching girls without their consent is just a SMALL MISTAKE and I’m sure his implied apology was really good!

🙏undercover-tradwife Follow

SO TRUE it’s so sad how many women want to ruin an innocent boy’s whole life over nothing 😢

12,547 notes

▪️zvtara-was-never-canon Follow

Zutara fans are such bitter harpies who self-project their desire to have a fulfilling relationship with a partner who respects them! It’s such a boring relationship anyway. I don’t care about it at all, which is why I made a whole blog dedicated to bashing it.

⛓️ basement-dwelling-pedo Follow

So true kitten! You put those stupid cunts in their place! By the way, when is the next chapter of your bdsm incest rape fetish fanfic updating? I’m getting thirsty 😩

▪️ zvtara-was-never-canon Follow

Don’t worry Daddy, I’ll service you soon. I can’t believe how horribly Zutara shippers characterize Aang. They should be more like me, and write Zuko as a pervert who rapes his sister instead. Please tell me how special and talented I am again, please please Daddy I need it!

29 notes

🔥 firelady-mai Follow

I love Zuko’s redemption arc so much! What a beautifully written story about breaking the cycle of abuse!

🌊 zutara-lover Follow

I really like Zuko too! I always admired his character 😊

🔥 firelady-mai Follow

Fuck you, I take it all back. Zuko is an evil racist toxic abuser. How dare you suggest he taint Katara’s purity with his colonizer genes?

976 notes

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

something that makes sokka extremely adhd relatable is that he's constantly looking for his Thing, the one Thing he's good at or useful for that makes up for any failings or flaws or ways he just can't measure up to others. at the beginning of the show he defines himself by being the oldest boy in the village & best warrior, but then he gets his ass kicked by zuko and suki and sees aang's raw power and he can't exactly think fighting is his special skill anymore. but he still thinks he has to be defined by fighting ('man of the house' daddy issues) so he calls himself the guy with the boomerang bc that's turned out to be his most useful and versatile and unique weapon, the one that other people can't outclass him at (after all, it's his most successful attack in his fight with zuko). when he loses it in "avatar day" he explicitly says it's like losing a key part of his identity and the moment katara goes "hey you're good at solving mysteries" he's like "yeah! i'm a detective! that's my new thing! and gets a new set of objects to signify it ("i believe in the power of stuff"). but detective sokka doesn't last bc throughout the entire episode he and katara are pretty equally matched in detective skills and he gets his boomerang back anyway. failed experiment.

and throughout all of this, he's figured out that people find his insistance on getting them fed & his grumpy comments funny and so he begins defining himself as the meat and sarcasm guy, and when he's a tough spot in "bitter work", bargaining with the universe to get him help, he offers that up as all he's got to give. it's obviously a Joke that he immediately asks for meat after telling the universe he'll give it up but it's also pretty indicative of how much he clings to these identities. it's all he's got (he thinks), of COURSE he can't actually give it up. they stuck that boy in a hole for 22 minutes and it revealed so much about how he sees himself.

at some point (likely around "the library" when he takes initiative to come up with a fire nation invasion plan) he also becomes the plan guy, the idea guy, and the gaang find themselves looking to him for leadership. this is perhaps the closest to fully encompassing sokka that any of his "[blank] guy" labels get, since coming up with plans involves planning when and how to fight (boomerang guy) & how to get everyone fed (meat), and people not following his plans is a major source of frustration (sarcasm).

this all culminates in "sokka's master", where the show finally names the underlying insecurity driving this quest - that he's a nonbender. katara being the last waterbender meant she was in danger and that keeping her safe was top priority, and even though hakoda and kya wouldn't have played favorites sokka probably felt a little like the unfavorite child for not being special like her. he lacks an ability, and believes his life has less value bc of it. almost like somebody with a disability and internalized ableism

(interesting, one of the people who most consistently mocks sokka for being a nonbender is toph, early on. toph has a lot of internalized ableism herself, a fear of vulnerability bc she doesn't want to perceived as weak like her parents thought she was. her bending is her disability aid, the thing that allows her to be stronger than people think, so she dismisses a nonbender until she learns better.)

piandao's response to sokka's lack of self-worth is not to train him to be great at one thing, but to introduce him to a variety of different arts, show him that his value lies not in having any one skill but in his capacity to learn and grow. there's no single thing that makes him worthy. it isn't even the combination of all of them that makes him worthy. he simply is worthy.

and i don't know if this is a unique narrative in fiction or anything but it really means a lot to me that sokka doesn't have One Thing that "makes up" for him not being a bender. he's of course extremely skilled and prodigious at many things he does in the show but there's no one savant talent that "justifies" him being in the group and i feel like so many disability narratives - especially for kids - go that route and i really appreciate that atla doesn't and simply says people are valuable because they are valuable, not because of their special abilities

[sjbattleangel]

If people talked about ATLA the way they talk about Steven Universe, Star Vs. TLOK and She-Ra.

"So Aang just ran away and froze himself at the bottom of the ocean, leaving innocent people to be conquered by the Fire Nation? What a selfish coward! He has blood on hands!"

"Ugh! The stupid chauvinistic crap Sokka says! The creators are misogynists!."

"Man, Katara is such a Mary Sue! The way she grew into a waterbender was so unrealistic. Bad writing!"

"Toph is blind? But how can we tell? A blind person can never do THAT! Nope, sorry. Not good enough. Doesn't count as real representation."

"Zuko is an irredeemable, imperialist brat, too easily forgiven. He doesn't deserve a redemption arc. He should've been killed at the beginning. The creators clearly have a thing for "Draco In Leather Pants".

"The King of Omashu, Imprisoned, Jet, The Deserter, The Cave Of Two Lovers, Avatar Day, The Tales Of Ba Singh Se, ect. Pointless filler episodes with nothing to add. More examples of sunk-cost fallacy."

"Azula is a powerful young woman who slowly goes insane because Mommy and Daddy didn't love her enough? The creators hate women and want them back in the kitchens!"

"So we're shown that there're innocent people in the Fire Nation who don't support the war yet the Fire Nation are still the bad guys? Trying to earn woke brownie points much?

"Aang doesn't kill the Firelord but drains him of all his powers, ultimately sparing him!?! THE CREATORS ARE FASCIST SYMPATHIZERS!! OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!"

[drpoisonoaky]

Azutara/kazula fix all the main points of the never ending “kaatang vs zutara which is better” battle:

- No age gap, they are same age.

- If you want a enemies to lovers or a enemies to friends to lovers, be my guest.

- 0 hate towards Zuko or Aang, kazula stuff are truly respectful to everyone especially them, Zuko is usually a good brother and Aang is a really good friend.

- Fire/water dynamics you know two different worlds blah blah blah.

More pros:

- They are gay which means is better. There is no discussion about it.

- You can have a non-toxic relationship or a toxic one whatever approach you like.

- MES universe!

- Royalty drama if you want that.

- They are a power couple, I mean they are prodigies in their own element.

- Mommy issues.

- Daddy issues.

- They are both the younger sibling but act like the oldest.

There are more pros but I think I made myself clear.

[the-badger-mole]

The two moments that I can think of Aang being supportive are (arguably) the end of The Blue Spirit where he saves Zuko and attempts to connect with him at the end. The other being The Painted Lady where Aang helps Katara blew up the factory.

But even with the latter I can’t give Aang credit because he straight up lies to Sokka about his involvement afterwards. Like… the destruction of the factory takes place at night, and when Sokka finds out the day after and asks if Aang knew, Aang says something like “I only found out this morning!” and says nothing when Sokka is chewing her out about the factory. Support means nothing if you throw your friend under the bus the second you’re met by confrontation.

I knew both of those moments would be brought up. You already pointed out why it doesn't work in The Painted Lady, but in The Blue Spirit, Aang is still mostly focused on himself and his feelings. I'm not saying he isn't ever "supportive", but it's surface level at best. And he never tries to connect with Zuko on anything deeper than firebending again.

Aang is never shown being an actually good friend in the show. Don't even get me started on what a garbage friend he is in the comics. It's wild because this would've been such an easy thing to fix, and it wouldn't even have to be explicitly brought up by any other characters in order for Aang to grow into a better friend. But then, that would mean that his daddies would have to admit their pwecious widdle self insert isn't perfect.

[risingsoleil]

do more of linzin funny moments with their kids!😭

I present to you a few fun moments Linzin has with each of their kids when they're tiny:

Kang

He's doing his homework at the table.

"Mommy. Mommy! MOMMY!!!"

Footsteps come closer. "Don't shout. Use your indoor voice."

Kang wiggles in his seat. "When were you and Daddy born?"

"He was born in 119, and I was in 120."

"Did you meet Avatar Kyoshi?"

She makes a face. "No. She was reborn as Grandpa Aang."

Scribbles filled the blank lines, his tongue poking out at the corner of his mouth. He paused. "Ok. Were you alive when the Fire Nation attacked?"

Lin puts a hand on her hip. "How old do you think I am?"

Kang blinks. "Enough to know all the Avatars."

She mentally facepalms.

"Did Daddy get meet Avatar Wan before you then?"

Areum

She's sitting in Lin's lap at an event and turns to face her mother. Lin is engrossed in a conversation with a colleague, who also happens to be a mother. So it doesn't surprise Lin's colleague when she sees Areum suddenly turning and playing with the betrothal necklace.

"Mommy." Her fingers trace the designs.

"Hold on, sweetie. Mommy is talking to someone."

Areum pouts and grumbles under her breath until the lady finally leaves the table.

"Mommy," she groans.

"What is it?"

She points at the necklace. "I want one too."

Lin touches it for a moment, trying to remember which necklace she's wearing. Immediately she knows. "Then you need to marry someone from the Water Tribe to make you one when they want to marry you."

"I don't wanna wait."

A few days pass and Areum goes up to Tenzin.

"Daddy, can you make me a 'get married' necklace?"

He picks her up and holds her in his arms. "A what?"

"A necklace like Mommy's. The one you gave her when you got married," she explains and Tenzin 'ah's in understanding. "I asked the boy in my class, but he doesn't know how to."

Tenzin frowns. "Which boy?! He's not going to make you any necklace."

"Why not?"

"Bc you're not getting married, sweetie. Especially not to whoever this boy is."

"But--"

"No buts. I'll make you a 'get married' necklace."

Jin

Lin is working weird hours and Jin has been asking her and Tenzin everyday what time she's supposed to come home. Every day, Lin makes sure to write a note or tell him what time she's going to come home.

Today is a good day bc Mommy is coming home earlier! She's not coming home in the middle of the night. That means she can cook and play and go out on Oogi.

"I'll be home at 15:30."

Tenzin hears loud sobbing coming from the window and goes out to investigate. He sees his son, tears streaming down his face and cheeks red. His poor boy inherited his red-face syndrome.

Tenzin kneels next to his boy and holds him. "Why are you crying, Jin? Did something happen? Are you hurt?"

"MOMMY'S LATE. SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HER!! SHE SHOULD BE HOME BY NOW!"

He checks the clock. "It's only 15:31, son."

"THAT'S A MINUTE LATE, DADDY!!!"

It takes 20 mins for him to calm down his son (desserts did it for him, and he's willing to pay the price for a sugar crash later on). Finally, they hear metal boots clanking and Jin perks up, running to the person he's missed all day.

Jin hugs her and demands to know why she was late. He frowns at her for breaking her promise and not being home at 15:30 like she promised.

Lin rubs his back. "Alright, what will make you feel better?"

"I want dragon beard candy for breakfast. I can stay up late like you and Daddy. We go to the top of Kyoshi Bridge."

"Well, we can't do that all in one day. But we'll do that."

"And I want a baby brother."

Tenzin trips over air in the background.

Lin looks at Tenzin, then her son.

"Why do you want a little brother? You have your sister."

"So i can be a big brother. MeiMei is too mean."

"Well..." And she knows her husband is listening closely. "Daddy and I have to talk about it."

"Hmph."

Mei

It's summer and Tenzin is sure there's a heat wave rolling over Republic City this year. He's meditating without a shirt on because he's probably going to sweat with all the humidity surrounding the island.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Peaceful.

The air shifts and a tiny body climbs on top of him.

"Daddy, look at me."

He doesn't open his eyes. "Sweetie, I'm meditating."

The small figure climbs off of his back, but stands at his side and traces her fingers down the back of his head, along his back. She follows the lines until she can't reach.

"Mommy wants to know why you don't have your shirt on."

"Because it's hot."

Her hand disappears. "Okay."

For the next ten minutes, Mei doesn't disturb him. Then he feels her sit next to him. A swell of pride fills his heart.

'She's meditating with me. She's so sweet. My little baby girl. I love her so much.' he thinks.

Then he hears a new voice.

"Why is her shirt off?"

His eyes open immediately and he peers over at his firstborn. Sure enough, her shirt was thrown off to the side and she's sitting topless like him on the pavilion. From behind, Tenzin can see Lin holding their son on her hip and giving him that "what the hell?" look.

Before Tenzin can answer, his daughter pipes up,

"Daddy says it's hot, that's why he's not wearing a shirt. It's hot, so I took off my shirt too."

Lin sighs.

Why do kids take everything literally?

[aangarchy]

My younger cousin (16) watched tlok season 3 for the first time. Here's her opinion of the characters

Korra: "is it bad that she got more attractive to me when she was suffering?" Me: "idk, maybe?" Her: "... i'll talk abt it in therapy don't worry"

Asami: "i'm so confused is there something between her and Korra???" Me: "you know i'm not gonna tell you" Her: "yeah i hate it when you do that."

Mako: "alright he got more tolerable this season i'll give you that"

Bolin: "and he got worse. So sorry" Me: "but the lavabending?" Her: oh yeah that was cool. He still sucks tho"

Tenzin: "now THAT is Aang's son right there. That shit was bad-fucking-ass."

Bumi: "again, now THAT is Aang's son. THOSE are his children. Not the shitty adults we saw last season"

Kya: "a lesbian?" Me: "doesn't get confirmed til the comics" Her: "oh for FUCKS SAKE"

Jinora: "i love her i cherish her she's the smartest and most powerful character in this show she beats everyone else"

Kai: "he reminds me too much of my brother and i don't like that"

Ikki & meelo: "they're still annoying i'm so sorry"

Lin Beifong: "she needs therapy"

Suyin Beifong: "of all the characters i expected, i didn't think Toph would get the messiest. Like not one but TWO baby daddies? Man. Suyin is cool as hell tho but she does give awkward soccer mom vibes"

Opal: "does she have more personality other than 'sweet cute girl for bolin to bang?'"

Zaheer: "best villain this universe ever produced only for him te become absolutely pathetic in the end bc bolin pushed a sock into his mouth. They should have kept him stoic and scary. He was so cool until that exact moment and they HAD to have a dumb bolin one liner. I'm so mad about this if you couldn't tell"

P'li: "sparky sparky boom WOMAN. A win for feminism."

Ming Hua: "i still think young Katara would beat her in a fight and i'd pay good money to see it."

Ghazan: "i have a rlly good joke about him" Me: "ok shoot" Her: "he's mista Lava Lava" *burts out laughing*

Lord Zuko: "ngl i screamed when i saw him on screen maybe i do like his character"

Varrick & Zhu Li: "HOW MANY CHARACTERS ARE IN THIS SEASON JESUS" Me: "and we haven't even gone over the president yet" Her: "oh my GOD"

[someponyholdme]

zuko and aang theory??

i've always had the thought that there was a deeper reason zuko so desperately needed to find the avatar. we all know zuko has a deeper connection to aang than was led on. his great grandfather sozin being the reason for the 100 year war/air nomad genocide, and his great grandfather on his moms side being avatar roku. of course he needed to find the avatar to restore his honor but what if there was a subconscious NEED to find him, subconsciously knowing he has a connection to the avatars soul. knowing he is a descendant of that soul. zuko's "daddy issues" caused him to search high and low for a paternal figure. he did find that in iroh, but searching for aang gave him a purpose - something to focus on while in the midst of his trauma. when they eventually became friends, aang ended up being like a brother to him. they were so close and he trusted aang more than anyone in the gaang. i think aang reminds zuko of the good he has in him, the good that he gets from his mom's side ;(

it would make sense that he'd feel compelled to look for his great grandfather's forever earthbound soul until he finds it. i just love their friendship :')

[ilikepjo24]

Atla characters as random tweets I found! Part idk!

Sokka: iam so haigh

Sokka: IMA SEEEING COLORSS

Katara: ...Sokka...

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Azula: I just remembered I was wanted for homicide at one point.

Mai: The good old days...

Ty Lee: Things were so much simpler back then!

Sokka: EXCUSE ME!?? YOU WERE WANTED FIR WHAAAT!?

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Sokka: My tummy hurts and I'm being VERY brave about it.

Suki: Yes you are ❤️ I'll bring you a heated blanket later

Azula: BOOO TOMATO TOMATO 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Zuko: Hakoda just pated me on the shoulder and said "good job, kiddo" i think I might cry

Azula: SOMEONE has daddy issues 😂😂😂😂

Zuko: i KNOW ur not talking 🧐

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Zuko: Do you guys think I can pull of a buzzcut like Aang and Sokka?

Mai: If you shave your hair I'm SO breaking up with you!

Zuko: damn girl 😢

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

Sokka: I just fell down the stairs and got another concussion im so embarrassed

Azula: I want you

Sokka: what

Azula: what

[flameohotwife]

Hey there, could you do some domestic kataang (maybe with a hint of cloudbabies)? I would really appreciate it.

I love your works, thank you for them and thank you in advance :)

Hi! This one got to be much longer than a drabble, with way more than a hint of cloudbabies. You can also find it on ao3 for ease of reading :) Thank you so so much for the ask--I hope you enjoy!

In Sickness and In Health (rated G)

Katara awoke with a start to the sound of Kya snoring loudly on the floor next to their bed. That’s right, she remembered, rubbing her face, she came in here because she couldn’t sleep. No wonder with that stuffy nose… She rolled over and found Tenzin curled up in Aang’s spot on the bed, snuggled into a blue blanket woven from Appa’s fur. His mouth was lolling open and there was a trail of drool hanging out. Scanning the dark room for Aang, Katara’s heartrate quickened when couldn’t see him anywhere.

Since having kids, Aang had sworn off leaving in the middle of the night for Avatar emergencies. He always waited until his family was awake and he could give them notice first. He said it was because they didn’t deserve to have their young lives interrupted like that, but Katara knew better. She knew that it was to say goodbye, just in case the mission went badly wrong, as emergency missions are wont to do. To make sure he gave each of his children a hug and told them how much he loved them one last time. 

Pulling on her robe, Katara slowly snuck out of the bed. She bent some water from a nearby pot and with a splay of her hands it vaporized, immediately humidifying the room. Kya snuffled in her sleep and rolled over. Katara padded down the hall to the kitchen with a smile, where she found Aang examining Bumi as they stood next to the table.

“I don’t think you’ll be going to school today either, Boom,” Aang was saying. Katara’s smile evaporated.

“But Dad!” Bumi protested. “I can’t miss today! I have my final presentation in World History and Uncle Sokka was gonna come talk to the class with me!” 

“I’m sorry, son,” Aang shook his head, putting a hand on Bumi’s shoulder. “You couldn’t even keep your breakfast down this morning and you’re burning up. If your mother was awake she’d tell you the same thing.”

Katara chose that moment to fully enter the room, placing the back of her hand gently against her oldest son’s head. She had to reach up to do so, now—he’d gotten so tall in the last few years. Her heart squeezed at the thought. He was in his final year of schooling, and then she was sure he would be off on new adventures without them. This little boy had been her entire world since the day she found out she was pregnant, and now he was almost a man. 

“Spirits, Bumi,” she exclaimed under her breath. “Your dad’s right. You definitely have a fever. I’ll make you some jook and then it’s back to bed with you—healer’s orders.”

Aang shot her a worried look as she started the rice on the stove and Bumi sat down, laying his head down on the table, defeated. He always hated when any of their babies were sick, and right now all three of them were being slammed with something. She looked out at the snow falling around Air Temple Island and sighed, weariness already seeping into her bones. She just hoped she and Aang could stay healthy.

This winter had been particularly hard on all of Republic City in terms of illness. The hospital she worked at had been overrun and she knew there had been many illnesses spreading through the school their older two children attended. It seemed like since the weather turned, every other week one of their children had been down with something, and now it was all three at once. 

Aang brewed them all some tea on the other stove burner. He pulled out some of Iroh’s special blend to help with Bumi’s stomach. Katara smiled sadly. They’d been through enough stomach bugs at this point that they had the response down to a science, though it never took the edge off of their parental worry. Aang had clearly woken up early to help Bumi this morning and already cleaned up whatever mess there was. 

The two of them worked together in silence, conveying their concerns in glances and pressed lips, gentle touches as they moved around each other in the small—but homey—kitchen. Soon the tea was ready and Aang passed Katara a cup before carrying two over to where Bumi sat. Aang passed his son his own cup and gently encouraged him to drink.

Now that Bumi was almost 16, there weren’t as many opportunities to still care for him the way they had when he was younger. He didn’t come to them for comfort as often. When Tenzin was upset, he would come toddling up to his parents for a hug or for them to “kiss it better.” Kya was six now and when she was sad, she waffled between wanting cuddles from her parents and wanting to prove her fierce independence. 

But right now, Bumi took a sip of his tea, winced, and buried his face in his father’s shoulder. Aang wrapped his arms around his son as best he could and stroked lovingly at his back. 

Katara stirred some miso and ginger into the boiled down rice, remembering the first time Bumi had been sick and how terrified Aang had been. They’d been so young when he was born, and Aang was still figuring out the many ways in which his trauma presented and affected him. The first time Bumi had caught a cold and his little body struggled to breathe, Aang had been positive that their child was about to die. While Katara had cleared the infant’s nose out as best she could (while Bumi screamed and coughed even more and tired himself out), Aang pleaded with Katara to save him. 

“Please,” he had begged, tears in his eyes and pain etched into every surface of his face. “I can’t lose him, too.”

Katara had known Bumi would be fine with continued treatment; she was a healer after all, and this was a typical childhood cold. But Aang had flown into a worry spiral unlike anything she’d ever seen from him. She knew how important their children were—to each of them individually and to the world—but to see how the unlikely loss affected her young, strong husband was jarring.

She had placed baby Bumi in his arms, then, under his sash so that they were skin-to-skin, chest-to-chest. Immediately, both of them relaxed into each other. Tears still streamed down Aang’s face as he hummed an old Air Nomad lullaby but Katara watched the tension drain out of his muscles now that he could physically feel their child breathing. Alive. Okay.

Katara watched as that same tension evaporated from Aang now. Cupping Bumi’s head against him and stroking his back. She scooped up a bowl of jook and brought it to the table, pressing a kiss into Bumi’s wild head of hair. 

“Thanks, Mom,” he mumbled weakly.

“I love you, Boom,” she cooed. Tears pricked at her eyes and she quickly blinked them away before pressing a kiss to the top of Aang’s head too, and going back to the kitchen.

Kya and Tenzin had been down with colds for the last two days, and the kitchen was a bit of a disaster as a result. Katara took a deep breath, willing herself the energy to get the dishes washed and the counters wiped down.

“I can get it in a minute,” Aang reassured her, but she shook her head. He was right where he needed to be in this moment; she could handle the dishes. Just then, Tenzin toddled in, coughing.

“Mama! Water, pease?” 

She smiled as he raised his arms up to her. This was the precise reason the dishes hadn’t been done the day before—she’d had two sick and clingy children who needed their mama. Aang had tried to stay home and help, but a messenger hawk called him away by lunch and then he’d been kept at the council late into the evening. Bumi came home after school, took one look at the pile of sick children resting on his mother on the couch and said he was going to Uncle Sokka’s to work on his report, not returning until bedtime.

Katara scooped up her toddler and poured him a glass of water which he guzzled down. Hopefully Kya would sleep late and feel better when she awoke. She was already a creature of the night—often feeling the call of the moon and asking to practice her bending after the boys were in bed. It wasn’t unusual for her to sleep until midday on the weekends even when she was healthy. She took after her mother so much already.

Katara ladled another few bowls of jook, then took Tenzin’s now-empty glass and set it down on the counter to refill later. Tenzin played with her hair as she bustled around, tidying the kitchen, allowing their meal a moment to cool. She saw Bumi take a small bite out of the corner of her eye and watched him anxiously. He swallowed, then returned his head to Aang’s shoulder. Aang returned her look, but gave a subtle nod. I’ve got this, he said, wordlessly. He’ll be alright. 

Breathing a sigh of relief, she brought Aang his own bowl, which she knew he wouldn’t eat until after Bumi was safely in bed and he’d reheated it with firebending. Then, grabbing the bowls for Tenzin and herself while balancing the wiggly toddler on her hip, she took them into the larger, more formal dining room that was really only used when they had guests. It had plush orange pillows on the ground and a low table. She didn’t normally allow her children to eat in there, but since Bumi was ill, she didn’t want to risk a very messy Tenzin slurping or spilling his food and turning his brother’s stomach even more. Eating with small children definitely wasn’t for the faint of heart… 

Tenzin absolutely lived up to her predictions, too. By the end of their meal, she even had jook in her hair. She reminded herself that Tenzin was the least rambunctious of her and Aang’s children at this age as she wiped food out of his pajamas and summoned water to clean up the cushions they were sitting on before the rice mixture hardened. It seemed as though he had hardly gotten any of the food in his mouth, finding more enjoyment in flinging his spoon or painting with it. Not that she was surprised—he was so congested.

Eventually, she heard hushed voices and the scraping of a chair. Aang must be helping Bumi back to bed, she thought. Or he’s been sick again… She knew Aang could handle whatever the situation was, though.

Once the mess was cleaned up, she set Tenzin in the living room with his toys and tried again to start the dishes. She could feel a headache coming on but tried to will it away—she could not be sick, too. She didn’t have the time.

Already it felt like she’d taken more time off work in the last month than she’d spent at the hospital. And the Republic City council was beginning to get frustrated with Aang as well for his frequent absences. Being a working parent had always been difficult, but it was another level of anxiety when the kids were sick.

Tenzin came in and tried to cling to his mother’s legs as she worked, scrubbing dish after dish and setting them to dry. As she went to set another plate down on the counter, she found it landed in Aang’s hand instead and she grinned up at him.

“Thank you,” she said quietly as he began to dry each dish and put them away.

“Of course,” he said. “Bumi’s resting, now. He’s got a bucket in there just in case, but I think he should be okay now. I sent a hawk to Sokka to let him know, too.”

“Oh Spirits, thank you,” she sighed. She truly was grateful for a husband who took on so much of the work when kids were sick and didn’t need to be told what to do. Suddenly, she sneezed, and Aang looked at her with concern.

“I’m fine,” she tried to insist, but Aang already had his hand up against her forehead.

“No, you’re not,” he said, taking the same tone he had with Bumi not an hour before. “You need to go lay down, too. I’ll finish the dishes and send hawks to the hospital and the council that neither of us will be in, today.” He bent and lifted Tenzin off the ground, freeing Katara’s legs.

Katara set the bowl she had just picked up back in the sink and leaned heavily over the counter. She knew Aang was right. Aang wrapped an arm around her and she rested her head on his chest, allowing him to walk them all back towards their bedroom. 

The sound of Kya’s snoring greeted them, though it wasn’t as loud as it had been earlier. Katara hugged Aang, then squeezed Tenzin’s hand before collapsing back into her bed. 

“I’ll bring you a glass of water and some tea,” Aang whispered. “Call me if you need anything.”

“I love you,” she murmured.

Aang lovingly brushed her hair away from her face. “I love you too, Sweetie. Get some rest.”

When Katara woke up again, her throat was throbbing, and she felt achy all over. She rolled over and saw that Kya had left the room at some point. Her tea was still there. She took a sip to soothe her throat, but it was cold. Outside their room, Kya and Tenzin were bickering about some sort of toy configuration. 

Aang either sensed her movement or had perfect timing, because at that moment he opened the door and brought her a steaming bowl of soup. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked hesitantly.

“Worse,” Katara croaked. “This should help, though. Thank you. How’s Boom?”

“He’s still sleeping!” Aang chuckled after he shook his head and the concern over Katara’s state faded from his face. “He hasn’t been sick again since this morning. Kya coughed so hard a few times I thought she was going to be sick, but we’ve been safe so far. Tenzin seems to be doing much better.”

“That makes sense, since he was the first one to get it. Hopefully that means Kya isn’t too far behind.” 

Aang nodded then, noticing that Katara hadn’t had any of her soup yet, bent a mouthful up to her. She smiled when she noticed, rolling her eyes at his playfulness that she loved so much. She finally opened her mouth and allowed him to bend it in. It immediately warmed and soothed her and she sighed happily once she swallowed. 

“Now you have to stay healthy,” she said sternly. “We can’t afford to have everyone down but the toddler!”

Aang full-out laughed at that. “No,” he said. “That certainly wouldn’t do. Can you imagine all the furniture he would paint?”

“Or the ‘soups’ he would make in the sink?”

“Or how many cushions would be used for forts? Do you think we would even be able to walk through the house when he was done?”

“Ha! Probably not.” 

“Speaking of which, I should get back out there before they find a way to overturn hot soup all over themselves. Will you be okay?”

“I’m good. Thank you again for the soup. And for everything. I love you so much.”

“Love you too, Sweetie,” he said as he closed the door to their room once more.

Katara grinned. She felt terrible, but she was so glad that if she and the kids had to be sick, Aang was the one they had by their side through it all. She couldn’t imagine a better partner in these moments. He had his flaws—it was not easy to be married to the Avatar—but he also knew exactly how to cheer her up when she needed it.

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

A Little Less of a Family Reunion

(Rohan is about 7 and meets Jinora in his dreams)

Kidnapped au

“Whoah! Why do you have tattoos like that?” Rohan asked the older girl unsure why she would host the tattooed aunt Lin said that his father and grandfather had for being good airbenders.

“My arrows? I got them when I became a master airbender.” She answered kindly.

“Woah! How long ago did you get them?” He asked excitedly. He’s seen this spirit before in his dreams. He imagined she was a wise old airbender from when his grandfather was younger, someone sent to help him and Lin when they needed her.

“About six years ago now.” She mused, thinking it over. “I was eleven when I achieved mastery of the element air. These are an old air nation tradition.” She started to go into a deeper explanation and Rohan sat in the grass and smiled as he listened to her. Ever since he was little he would have these vivid dreams in this strange place. Creatures he’s never heard of scuttled by and he hoped to see the funny old man again, but this girl was so smart and kind.

“But that's enough about ancient times, how did you get into the spirit realm?”

“Spirit realm? I’m asleepin’ this is my dream.” He shook his head.

“No, this is the spirit realm, you must be meditating.” The older girl frowned.

“I do that sometimes! But I sleepin now.” He assured her.

The older girl looked at him for a moment and he could see she was deep in thought.

“What’s your name?” She asked after a silent few seconds.

“I’m usually called Yuka but Auntie Lin calls me Rohan.” He smiled and held out his hand to her. “What’s your name?”

“I-I’m Jinora.” She looked at him shocked and stood frozen for a moment as he saw tears fill her eyes.

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Rohan said quickly, retracting his hand as he thought he did something wrong. Jinora fell to her knees and pulled him into a tight hug.

“No, no, don't be sorry. Please- take my hand and let me see where you are.” She said holding onto him like he would fade away any moment.

Rohan nodded. “I can show you my room!” He said excitedly and held Jinora’s hand as he headed back to the spot he knew he could come and go through.

Rohan woke with a yawn and was excited to see a blue and green glowing figure of the girl next to him in the dark room.

“I’ll show you my art! Aunt Lin taught me to color.” He said excitedly and held her hand as he turned the light on and showed her around the room.

“That’s very nice Rohan, can you show me outside?”

The boy tensed.

“No, we’re not allowed outside without Mr. Amon.” He said quietly now. Jinora's heart sank. Amon was alive and had been holding onto Rohan all this time.

A commotion of something hitting the floor, a door opened and closed down the hall.

“You have to go!” Rohan said quickly. Trying to push Jinora into a hiding spot. He quickly turned the light out and hid under his covers.

Jinora heard footsteps coming up to the room and quickly went straight up to see where she was exactly.

The door opened quietly to Rohan's room and Lin came in.

“Little man? Did I hear you talking in here?” She asked gently.

Rohan sat up and nodded. “I was showing the girl from the dreams the colors I did.” He explained.

Lin nodded. “Okay, let’s get back to bed now.” She said, keeping her voice quiet. She had just been shoved from the bed and told to shut him up. Lin moved to tuck Rohan into bed when he reached up to hug her again.

“She’s really nice.” He yawned wide and closed his eyes. “And she had tattoos like you said daddy and grampy Aang had.”

Tears filled Lin’s eyes as he fell asleep. Could he have been seeing past avatars in his sleep? Were they visiting him to help guide him without any masters to teach him? She smiled sadly at the thought and gently kissed his forehead. “You get some sleep. I’ll hear all about her in the morning.” She assured him.

Rohan nodded and was quickly back to sleep.

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Hello, what do you think of the Toph and Aang couple?

Hello!

I am really not the best person to ask about Taang. The main reason why I began to give the ship a chance was due to one of my ATLA mutuals.

But I think the ship is cute! They look good together. Plus I think Taang would be a better ship for Aang than Kataang. Another plus is that it would make me happy to see Toph in a loving relationship instead of a single mother with two baby daddies! Was not a fan of that in LOK :(

Besides looking good together, I think they are complimentary. They are the same age and they can be kids together. Plus, I honestly think Toph has greater impact on Aang's story after season 1. She challenges him (although a tiny part of me fears Toph could be one of those tough women who hurt their softer male partners). Plus Aang uses earthbending way more than waterbending. I told my mutual @phoebester that Aang and Toph have more fight scenes than Kataang after book 1. It's like Katara left Aang in the dust when she became a master. I also pointed out that Katara is the only teacher to not teach Aang an advanced bending techniques. I think Aang had the most growth related to earthbending and firebending. Waterbending has little to no impact on his character growth.

The issue is how Aang benefits Toph. They have nice friendship moments but Toph has similar moments with the rest of the Gaang. So I need some more time to think about that.

I think Taang would have served Aang's story better. Plus I think Aang is sweet with Toph. Both of them would need to grow up a bit before I support Taang though. I don't believe in 12 years old dating.

[sludgewolf]

We need to talk about the lack of "filler" in series that're been released recently

I just watched a video about ATLA and it's filler or lack there of and, they're right, ATLA doesn't have filler episodes as we define "filler episodes" now. Our understanding of filler is closer to what's used for anime that is, non canon episodes that are made so the anime doesn't catch up with the manga. Applying this to western animation (I say animation bc I graduated in it thus a better understanding and I don't really watch many live action series so I don't have much of a say) we ended up with the impression that it means "episodes that don't move the plot forward"

Which, doesn't make sense with Western animation since most of it isn't a adaptation of something else, or with comic adaptations for ex, they're mostly adaptations of various arcs coming together as a single story. Smt very different from the manga to anime adaptation process

Comparing ATLA who positively doesn't have "filler" and X-men 97 who negatively doesn't have "filler" is a good example of what I'm trying to say.

Not all of ATLA episodes move the "learn the elements and defeat the firelord" plot forward and that's good thank fuck not all episodes are rushing ahead to throwing this 12yo we barely know into a battle with a full grown adult who's perpetrating a war against the rest of the world. Instead we actually get to know the characters, we see them traveling from the South to the North Pole instead of spawning where the plot demands, we see Aang adapt to the world post iceberg nap and learn to be the avatar, we see the effect the 100 year war had in this world. And most of all, the more "filler" episodes contributed to the pacing of the series, when binging the series now I still feel like the Gaang traveled across the whole world and didn't just teleport to the plot.

Opposed to X-men 97, don't get me wrong I'm absolutely loving it but the story is always being racing forward at a breakneck speed. They did try to pace it better inter cutting the main plot with Scott, Jean, Madelyne, Wolverine's whole deal and the "LifeDeath " plot, but if there wasn't the weekly wait for the next episode we would not have any time to breathe and digest what happened in the episodes.

I'm still confused on how Madelyne went from trying to have a normal life outside the x-men to being in Genosha's council. Still on Madelyne, I didn't care that they had to part ways with Nathan, ik he's their baby and all that, but as soon as they named the baby Nathan I knew they were throwing that baby to the future to complete the time loop of him being in the original series. And that's because they never got the chance to try to make us care, the writing team couldn't waste time with that since they only had 8 episodes to tell all these stories, the speed that the plot is being taken makes me believe that when writing this season Disney still hadn't signed on the second season and when they did it was too late to rework the script.

This whole thing is reminding me of Hazbin Hotel's pacing problems, analyzing it as if I didn't watch the pilot, we just met the characters and suddenly had to care that they were going to die in six months, we don't really know Charlie other than 1. she's Lucifer's daughter, 2. daddy issues that aren't rly addressed besides jokes, 3. she's with Vaggie (other character we didn't get to know) and 4. she's the owner of the hotel and wants to rehabilitate the sinners. The worst part of it is, we teleported from the start of the season to 6 months later out of nowhere and suddenly we're at the finale with the big boss battle. Of course HuskDust is a more popular ship than Charlie and Vaggie, we never got the chance to see them being together other than in episodes when the characters are being dragged by the plot while Angel and Husk had an episode where we met them and got the time to see them interact without being pushed by the extermination plot

This is exactly why "filler episodes" are important, we should actually know who these characters are before the big fight at the end so we can actually care about what happens to them. X-men 97 may not suffer that much from it but it's because we already knew most of the characters, but we never got to meet this version of Madelyne, see her going out alone to a world that hates her existence, see her morn having been forced to send her baby off to the future and maybe not being able to see him ever again and finally see never see how did she even end up in Genosha.

Or Storm, sure we got a two parter, but how did she get to fuck knows where to meet Forge in that bar, what did she go through during the time she was traveling alone, it's not as if people wouldn't recognize her as a x-men even if she'd left the team, maybe see more of how the relationship between her and Forge developed, cuz I didn't get why she still wants to be with him even after he basically created the tec that was turned into the weapons used to kill mutants, that's smt one can't just forgive, and yes I'd like to see her as she struggles with not having her powers, smt other than she feeling lonely without the wind (this would work even as just a montage with sad music as she travels to the fuckall haunted desert)

On a rly quick note on Invincible I do think they did a good job with their pacing and character development with the time they had, I'd like to have seen a bit more of Rex's development from complete douche to Lizard Leader homemade lobotomy to where we are now, but on the Grayson family whole thing they did an amazing job at showing how they're dealing with the aftermath of season 1, there was just a little jump from Debbie downing a bottle of wine every day to full bug mom mode but I do think she'd step up to it no doubt.

Maybe just some scenes of her still working through s1 trauma and questioning wtf is wrong w Nolan bc from her perspective he just killed hundreds of ppl on Earth, almost killed Mark, fucked off to space and suddenly there's a purple half bug baby living in her house calling her mom. But I don't think that's strictly necessary since there's always fanfiction to bridge this gap and it's just a minor thing that bothered me

TLDR: Filler in western cartoons isn't really filler, these are just episodes to help develop the world or characters without having to rush with the plot and also episodes that help with the pacing of the story, thus showing the passage of time or great distances being crossed without having the characters spawn at the next plot point. And we do need it specially for shows that are intended for binging, such as most shows now. What determines good filler from bad filler here is good writing

[emeraldspiral]

Sometimes I wonder about the amount of Zimfluence there was in Avatar.

Like, I've already talked about how Aang defeating Ozai through sheer willpower is reminiscent of Zim overpowering the Control Brains with raw insanity in The Trial, how LoK's ending resembles the post-cancellation ending comic where Zim and Dib leave earth to go frolicking in space together, and how Mai's sour, apathetic attitude being the result of feeling pressured to behave herself all the time to please her parents is similar to Gaz trying to win her father's approval by being the Good Child to Dib's Problem Child.

But like, more than a few people at Nick, including co-creator Bryan Konietzko, worked on Zim before Avatar, and members of the Zim crew have expressed regrets about the show being cancelled and not getting to explore things that they had wanted to. So it'd honestly be more weird of Zim didn't have an influence on Avatar.

So let's consider some of the similarities between the shows and elements that may have been inspired by things people wanted to explore with Zim but never got the chance to.

Like, to begin with, the premise of both shows is that there's a war instigated by an Imperial colonizing force that wants to wipe out and/or enslave all other races and take everything over. It's not a super original concept but there are more specific similarities.

Both shows, rather than just having one protagonist that the story centers around, have a protagonist and a deuteragonist, who both have their own stories which are separate yet interconnected to form one large picture integral to the overall narrative. Both sets of characters are both boys who due to circumstances are pitted against each other on opposite sides of the war but have the potential to be great friends if they didn't have that conflict in the way.

Both Zim and Zuko are banished for stepping out of line and sent on a fool's errand at the beginning of the story to keep them from interfering in the war and embarrassing their leaders. Both are determined to succeed and willfully deceive themselves into believing that the ones who sent them on their missions really do expect them to because they're so desperate for their love and approval. Zim and Zuko both have a second rival (Tak & Zhao) looking to make a name for themselves by stepping on their toes, and Zim & Zuko both end up committing treason by teaming up with their main rivals to stop their secondary rivals from succeeding and robbing them of the victories their self-worth hinges on.

Dib and Zuko are both obsessed with capturing a singularly unique individual in their world in order to win their father's love, but even if/when they succeed it doesn't get them what they want. With Zuko, he realizes that his father only loves him conditionally, and that's not real love at all. With Dib, he realizes that his father does love him unconditionally, but in ETF, the comic Dib's Dilemma, and the Zimvoid storyline it's made clear that Membrane will never believe Dib or respect his chosen field of science, regardless of whether he defeats Zim or not. So defeating Zim isn't the key to his happiness either, although Dib has yet to come to that realization.

The Membrane family and the Fire Nation Royal family both have a single dad with two kids, a boy and a girl, with the boy being the eldest. The boy is supposed to be his father's successor but he and his father disagree and his father refuses to accept his son's dissenting opinions and makes the son feel that he has to earn his father's love and approval by accomplishing something great. The daughter resents her brother and tries to prove that she's more worthy of their father's love by being a Daddy's Girl who acts more like the child he wants. The son is known for being a loser while the daughter is known for being incredibly scary. Both are strong and talented, but the daughter seems to better at everything with less effort while the son is unfairly maligned. The daughter gets treated better by their father, but he's still not really being a good father to her. Although the son is motivated by a selfish desire to prove himself to his father and fueled by a lot of anger, he has a good heart deep down and cares about doing the right thing while the daughter doesn't really care about anything except pleasing her dad and her own gratification.

Dib and Gaz are also somewhat like Sokka and Katara in that they have to more or less raise themselves because their mom is gone and their dad's preoccupied with important world-saving work that keeps him away from them. Katara feels that she has to step up into the role of a mother, despite being the younger sibling, while Gaz is often tasked with wrangling her brother. Sokka and Dib both fantasize about being heroes and making their fathers proud, but are a bit too cocky and get in over their heads their first time facing a real enemy combatant and have to learn to think more strategically and sort out their priorities.

Many fans see Zim as a victim of the society that created him, who's just doing what he does because it's the only way he can feel valued or loved, and wish that if the series had continued he would realize he was being played for a fool and turn his back on the people he'd been trying so hard to please, realize what he'd been doing was wrong, befriend his rival, and become a hero fighting back against the Imperialist regime. And that's exactly what Zuko ends up doing. Also, something at least one of the writers has said they would've done with Azula had the series continued.

Azula is mostly shown as cold and ruthless throughout the series, but near the end she starts to show more vulnerability, starting with the Beach episode. In that episode, her obsession with competition and asserting dominance to affirm her superiority is played for comedy, which makes the similarities between her and Zim stand out much more than it normally does when the series frames her as dead serious. The scene where she awkwardly flirts by telling a guy they could dominate the earth together in particular always gave me Zim vibes from the first time I saw it. There's also one scene where she makes one of her only friends cry and actually feels bad about it and apologizes, similar to the scene in Walk of Doom where Zim thinks he's made GIR cry and tries to make him feel better. Both scenes stand out as rather uncharacteristic for two characters who are usually cruel and callous and don't care about anyone else's feelings.

Zim and Azula also both have huge, but fragile egos, believing themselves to be better than everyone and unable to accept being less than perfect. They both derive their sense of self worth from having power over others and believing that they were just born better, regard themselves as above the need for genuine friendship, view love as a weakness, and consider everyone in their orbit as either an asset to be used and discarded or an obstacle toward getting what they want.

One of the most popular concepts to explore in Zim fanfic is the idea of Zim's ego being broken by the realization that his mission is a lie and breaking down over it, and that's exactly what we get from Azula when she realizes the control she thought she had over her friends and the prize her father was dangling in front of her the whole time were just as fake as Zim's mission.

Bonus: The most popular ship in the fandom is a Red/Blue ETL ship which the creators hate but board artists draw fanart of in their free time and the voice actors are willing to indulge for the fans. Also, it used to have a large hatedom that was just upfront about not liking it because it got in the way of other ships, but then a new generation discovered it on Netflix and now people dress up their petty reasons for disliking it with purity culture BS about it being "problematic".