#gymnast!suki

[mo-salto]

Ball State records a program record of 198.025 at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic (previous record: 196.9), helped by three perfect 10s from Suki Pfister, Zoe Middleton, and Megan Teter.

[sasuhinasno1fan]

Finding you again- Zutara Month Day 20 Part 1

So in honor of day 20 of @zutaramonth​ prompt ‘College’ I’ve decided to bring back a fic I was working on for Zutara Week 2021, my Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo au, with fencer!Zuko and rhythmic gymnast!Katara. This one is based off the prompt Hair from that year, but it also fits since they’re all attending sports university. It’s an update from the last time I posted this and I’m hoping to actually do all the chapters this time. Anyway, enjoy!

College

“I hear you’re not even father’s son.”

“Disobedient child!”

“Never forget how much I love you my little duckling. I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

“Zuko?” closed golden eyes opened and turned to see his coach standing in the doorway of the changing room. “Ready?”

“Yeah. I’m coming.” He tucked the hairpin in his hand into his bag and pulled it onto his shoulder, picking up his foil.

“Do you think it’ll happen again?” Piandao, his coach asked, taking the bag from Zuko after he made sure his student had his items first. “The panic attacks?”

“I don’t know. I still don’t know the cause.” Zuko reminded, fitting his gloves on.

Piandao sighed and stopped the young man, “And I take it you haven’t gone to the therapist I suggested to your uncle?” Zuko didn’t answer which made the bearded man sigh again, this time full of frustration. “Going to therapy is good for an athlete, especially if it helps your panic attacks. You do realise if you weren’t doing so well in training, the school would actually consider removing you. not to mention those who have connections.”

Zuko didn’t need to be reminded that the one person he wanted to avoid for the rest of his life was unfortunately still involved just because of where he went to school.

“I still get the best wins at practise. I beat Jett all the time.”

“But Jett is department captain and wins competitions. It’s been a year since you’ve been able to place in a competition, let alone not get disqualified. Zuko, if it happens again today, I’m pulling you from competitions until you start seeing the therapist.”

Piandao walked ahead, leaving him standing there. The threat was there and worrying. Thing was, as much as he wanted to do this, he knew he was going to end up having a panic attack again.

Never forget how much I love you my little duckling

Those words felt like a lie every time he heard them in his head.

“No?”

He felt uncomfortable as he stared at the guy in front of him. Mako Choi was an up-and-coming fencer. His own brother was well known for his own skill in taekwondo. After his match – where like he predicted, he’d gotten disqualified after the whole room went double, his hearing got wonky and not to mention, his heart beating like it was trying to escape his chest – Mako approached with his coach, asking if Zuko would train him for his Olympic qualifying match in a few months.

“I just don’t see what you can learn from a guy who’s been disqualified from every match since the season started.”

“A lot from the guy I’ve admired since he’s entered the competitive scene.”

Fiddling with the strap to his bag, Zuko shrugged. “Sorry. I don’t think it’s a good idea. That’s my coach over there, Piandao. He could recommend someone better.” Skirting around the two, he darted to where he left his bike, trying not to feel guilty. If things had been normal, he would have agreed. Mako would have hated his teaching style, he was sure, but at least he could have tried. Right now, all he wanted was to go back to his dorm and sleep, even if it meant dealing with Jett later. He was sure it would be snide remarks and threatening to have him do the worst event for the school’s upcoming Sports Day.

He was all set to go, Piandao just coming out of the gym, still talking with Mako and his coach, when his phone rang.

“What Sokka?”

“So, Coach texted the results of the match. Jett wants to talk to you; says he’s got the prefect thing for you to do to make up for your loss. The rice lifting challenge.”

Zuko had to bite his lip to keep from screaming. Their school’s sports day was each Department against each other in different events. It also had the tradition of one member of the Department being a cheerleader. Each event and challenge gained them points to winning the whole Sports Day and usually ended with a bonus in their funding usually for food. The idea of the lifting challenge was like it sounded: to carry as many industrial size bags of rice, like the one the school cafeteria ordered, and hold it for as long as possible, adding more bags to hold every minute. Usually, the Karate Department would be the one to win, Fencing never even coming close.

“I’m not going.” Zuko said, making up his mind. He’d dealt with enough today and not to mention what he was going to have to deal with once his uncle heard he hadn’t gone to his therapist appointment. He hadn’t said it to Piandao, but Uncle Iroh had booked one, he just never went.

“What?”

“I’ll hang out at Lu Ten’s office or something, but I’m not going. Not to the crapshoot of a meeting or to Sports Day. I don’t care what he threatens me with. I’m only coming back to drop my kit off.”

“Um, well…” Sokka sounded hesitant still, instead of warning him to not piss off Jett. Zuko knew what was coming next wasn’t good. “I actually heard Mai was back. Didn’t make it past the preliminaries for the national team I hear.”

Clearly, this day could get worse.

“Screw it, I’m not coming back for the next few days. I’ll be with my uncle if you need me.”

“Wait, wait, wait! Normally I’d be begging you to come back so I don’t deal with a pissed off Jet, but ask Toph to do your event for you. it would put the Weightlifting Department in danger of losing but it would be big help to her. They’ve still been trying to mess with her and she’d love a chance to get back at them. Just come back to campus, drop off your things and ask her. then I’ll take you out for lunch at my dad’s restaurant. You love his marinated salmon.” Sokka enticed.

Zuko sighed. “I want two orders. And you’re paying.”

“Done! Get here soon.”

Zuko didn’t bother answering, stowing his phone away and pushing off, heading towards Republic City Sports University.

Multiple girls watched the blue ribbon flow like water as Katara did a back leg grab turn. As she brought her leg down, she twirled her ribbon to the side, ready for her coach’s next instruction.

“Good. Very good.” Yagoda said. “your turns have gotten much better. I see someone has been practising her stretches on both sides. Now, I want to see your fouettés. If you want to place in the upcoming competition and qualify for the national team eventually, your routine has to be perfect. Ty Lee, pay attention, because I want to see your fouettés after.”

Suki looked at the girl dressed in pink, who pouted at her matching hula hoop. She didn’t know why she was pouting. Ty Lee was already the most flexible out of the whole department, fouettés were easy for her.

Before the girl in blue could start her turns, the door to the practise studio slammed open, the door slamming into the wall. Standing with all the self-importance in the world, her gold eyes gleaming much like her smirk stood Azula Lung, daughter of the Prime Minister of the Fire Nation and ace of the Karate Department at the school. She had a massive amount of sway within the school just because her father. Not that she was a spoiled girl who would threaten her father on people. Oh no, she took care of giving threats herself and she took care of them well. Some people had assumed her father bought her admission, at least until she competed in her first competition with the rest of the department. She placed first, gained a record and left her opponents in bloody messes. Azula had skill and she knew it.

Seeing that she had everyone’s attention, she easily strolled inside, another girl following her. While Azula was dressed in reds and golds, this person was mainly in black. Her lightweight trench had long sleeves that mainly left her nails exposed, the red catching on the lights in the studio. She looked bored and sullen.

“Mai!” Ty Lee cried, running over and throwing herself at the girl. She looked uncomfortable with the hug but she didn’t push Ty Lee off of her.

“Mai has returned from her qualifying competition for the national team. We’ll be taking Ty Lee with us.” Azula announced, not even asked, announced to Yagoda.

Thankfully, while any other coach would bend easily, Yagoda did not. “You can get Ty Lee after practise is over. She still has her own hoop routine to show me, not to mention her routine for the Department cheerleader for Sports Day.”

Azula scoffed. “Sports Day, waste of time. She won’t be attending.”

“She will if she doesn’t want to be benched from the next competition.”

Azula’s smirk turned into a frown as she glared at Yagoda. “You really wanna do this?”

“This might work with your coach, but you’re not my student, and you don’t pay my salary.”

“We’ll see about that. Ty Lee, plan for us to go to Ember Island this weekend. I’ll take care of this.”

Azula turned and walked out, Ty Lee still holding onto Mai.

“I just can’t believe you’re back! I missed you soo much! Are you visiting before you head to the Olympic dorms?”

“Ty Lee. I’ll explain later.” That was all Mai said before peeling off her friend’s hands and walking out.

Katara watched Ty Lee pout, her whole-body slumping before Yagoda clapped, getting everyone’s attention.

“Let’s start again. Katara, fouettés please.”

While Katara was able to land her fouettés with little issue and do a perfect run of her ribbon routine, she kept thinking about what Azula had threatened. Everyone on campus knew that the Karate Department had gotten the old Weightlifting Department’s gym thanks to Azula. No one knew if the threats – because what else could it have been? – had come from Azula or her father. Just that before everyone knew it, the Karate Department was moving into gym that the Weightlifting Department had worked tirelessly to get hold of from the school, leaving the overworked Department to take residence in one of the older gyms. The last thing she wanted was for Yagoda to lose her job thanks to a spoiled girl.

“She won’t fire her. I mean, Ty Lee is her friend.” Suki said, spinning one of her clubs around her hand with ease.

“The same Ty Lee who didn’t seem that bothered her friend was threatening her coach.” Katara reminded, watching Ty Lee run through her routine with ease. She was Katara’s biggest competition, as Suki had no desire to aim for Olympics, instead using rhythmic gymnastics to better her tenssen jutsu skills for when she eventually took over her family’s dojo. Katara truly believed Suki would give Azula a good fight if she’d joined the Karate Department instead.

“Ok, fair. But come on, Yagoda was on the national team until her retirement age, both as a single competitor and as part of the group team. the school would be insane to fire her over something as small as ignoring a student’s demands, even if it was from Azula.”

Thankfully they weren’t going to fire Yagoda. Threaten her Department was a whole other matter.

“They’re threatening to cut our budget if Ty Lee isn’t excused? You can’t be serious!”

After practise was over, most of which had been with Yagoda on her phone arguing with someone – the Dean it would later be gossiped about – she’d called Ty Lee and Katara over and gave the news.

“You’re seriously going to accept this?”

“Katara, if it were up to me, I would ignore Azula’s demands but I can’t without it affecting the whole team.”

“Why are you letting her push people around like this?” Katara asked, turning to Ty Lee.

The girl shrugged, turning the hoop in her hand. “That’s just the way Azula is. She gets what she wants.”

“Yeah, and leaves a wave of destruction behind her.” Katara muttered loudly enough. Ty Lee flinched slightly but she can’t find it within herself to feel sorry. “So, she can’t be our Department cheerleader. Now what?”

“I want you to take her place. I know,” Yagoda interrupted, seeing Katara revving up to complain and protest, “It’s a lot of extra work, but think of it as planning your own routines. I’m usually helping you or giving them to you. if you come up with a good enough routine, I’ll let you perform it at the upcoming competition.”

“That’s not fair! What about me?” Ty Lee complained.

“Maybe don’t use your friends to back out of commitments. Make sure to pass the outfit you got to Katara, it was bought with our budget and I’d rather it didn’t go to waste. Katara, meet me here during open hours so we can go over the routine for Sports Day.”

Ty Lee huffed. “This is so unfair. I’ve been begging to do my own routine for a competition for ages.”

Rolling her eyes, Katara looked at Ty Lee. “And me being forced to take your place so the rest of us don’t suffer is fair? Grow up Ty Lee. You have all the chances to be amazing at this and you give it up to please your friend, who honestly, is nothing but a bully. And the fact that you seem blind to it says a lot about you.”

She didn’t let Ty Lee respond, putting her ribbon away before following Suki out the door.

“Wow.” Suki said, once they had fully exited the gym. “you let her have it.”

Katara dropped her bag on the ground and pulled on her jacket, the Southern Water Tribe symbol proudly displayed on the back. “I’m not gonna feel sorry for her. I mean, who does Azula think she is, just lording over everyone like that, like she’s some princess or something? So, her dad is Prime Minister; technically speaking, so is mine. You don’t see me using my name to do whatever I want.” She complained as she pulled her hair out of its bun.

“because you’ve got sugar in your veins.” A new voice said.

Coming up behind them, led by an oversized Bernese Mountain dog was Toph. If Azula was the Karate Department’s ace at only a sophomore, Toph was the Weightlifting Department’s as the youngest freshmen to be admitted into the school with the most amount of records ever gotten as an incoming freshman. However, many of her teammates didn’t believe she deserved to be there. For one, Toph was blind and another was she was the heir to one of the richest families in the Earth Kingdom. They seemed to ignore Toph ran away from home to even apply and if anything, her blindness made her work even harder. She was sarcastic and sassy and on the worst of days grinded every one of Katara’s nerves, but she was a true friend and Katara felt lucky to have her.

The nicknames she could have done without.

“I heard Azula. What’s the thief up to now?” Toph asked, letting her guide dog lead her past the two rhythmic gymnasts, knowing they’d follow.

“Dragged Ty Lee away for the weekend, leaving Katara here to take her place as Department cheerleader. On the plus side, Katara was given permission to create her own routine for the next competition, which upset the poor Ty Lee.”

Toph burst into laughter. “Serves her right. If she didn’t like it, maybe she should find new friends.”

“I am happy, but it’s already another thing to add to my plate, not to mention practising, checking on dad and now doing what I think is one of the dumbest traditions in the school.”

Toph cackled in a way that told the others she knew something. Toph had this way of just knowing people and hearing things which she used it to her advantage all the time.

“You won’t be saying that when you hear who some of the Departments’ cheerleaders are. Wanna take a guess as to who’s the Fencing Department’s cheerleader?”

Katara looked over at Toph, who’s smile grew maniacal. Usually that meant someone was going to get embarrassed as hell. It usually tended to be Sokka.

“Wouldn’t it be one of the girls?”

“Nope.” Toph shook her head, popping her p.

“Is it-?”

“Katara, watch out!” Suki cried.

Turning the corner, a guy on his bike appeared and with a panicked look, veered off course at the sight of her. She still stumbled over her feet and fell to the ground, her hands pricking in pain as they were scratched. Thankfully though, her jacket took most of the damage. The guy on the other hand, tumbled onto the grass as he was thrown from his bike, the vehicle in question clattering loudly.

She took in the pale skin and dark hair surrounding his face, his gold eye grimacing in pain. It didn’t stop her from noticing the large burn surrounding his right eye. she noticed that his school jacket was the same one Sokka wore, meaning he was in the Fencing Department.

“You should be more careful.” She meant for it to come out a bit nicer, but the anger from dealing the whole situation with Azula and Ty Lee slipped in.

clearly the guy didn’t enjoy being yelled at as he snapped back. “I didn’t see you.” he seemed to rethink his anger and continued in a calmer voice. “Are you ok?”

Katara sighed, trying not to keep hold of her anger. It was an accident and yelling at him wasn’t going to do anything. Though, his pale skin and gold eyes reminded her of Azula, but he hadn’t been the one to manipulate the whole school to get what he wanted. “I’m fine. here.” She got up, pulling his bike up while he grabbed his kit that had fallen off. Other than a few grass stains, he didn’t look too hurt.

“What’s up Sparky?” Toph called, Badger bringing her over and with surprising accuracy, punched the guy in the arm, hard.

“Ow! Stop calling me that.”

“This is Zuko. His dad owns that really cool tea place I keep telling you guys about.” She loosened her grip on Badger’s lead, his signal that he could greet people, as he nosed Zuko for pets. “This is Sugar Queen and Honey, aka Katara and Suki. They’re both Rhythmic Gymnast.”

“Nice to meet you.” Zuko said, wiping his hands from the slobbery kisses Badger gave him in return from the pets on his pants before fitting his bag on his bike again.

“So, have you seen it? what does it look like?” Toph asked, leaning in as Zuko took the bike from Katara.

The gymnast wondered how the two met. Zuko, from what she could tell, was quiet, seeing how he was answering most questions with a few words. Toph was wild and had no filter. Maybe he was different in front of others he knew better.

“How do you – you know what? Never mind. I haven’t seen it, and I don’t know if I can guilt him into showing me. He’s already holding Jett off for me.”

Toph’s face contorted hearing Jett’s name. while she hadn’t been there for Jett’s dating and cheating scheme, Toph didn’t like Jett on principal seeing how Sokka complained about him all the time, he didn’t seem to care that he cheated on Katara and that he was rude to anyone who wasn’t he close friends. While Toph could stand being around Pipsqueak on the weightlifting team, Katara would have to remind Toph that setting Badger on Jett wasn’t a good use of a guide dog.

“What’s his problem now?”

“I’ve been instructed to do the rice lifting challenge for the Fencing Department, but after the day I’ve had, not gonna happen. Any chance you wanna stand in for me?”

“Didn’t you have a competition today?”

“Why do you think I’m avoiding Jett?”

It wasn’t often Katara saw Toph look sorry and with pity. Getting Toph to apologize was near impossible and she’d cover her emotions with her snark most of the time. Clearly whatever relationship she had with Zuko was something deeper than she understood.

“Alright. I overheard the Weightlifting Department talk about switching the orientation of the gym to mess with me, so anything to piss them off.”

“Perfect. I gotta go before Jett finds me, but good luck. And sorry again about knocking you over.” He said to Katara, before he got on his bike and took off.

“So how do you know him?” Suki asked.

“I go to his old man’s tea house sometimes; he was working there and I got to know him and his family. He’s Sokka’s roommate apparently.”

“Oh, that’s Zuko! He’s a pretty good fencer from what I hear. Weird though, I haven’t seen his name in the announcement of students placing.” Suki said, speaking about the posting on their school’s website so they could show off their students and people could keep track.

She had a point. Katara never remembered seeing the name either. She also found it a bit strange Sokka never dragged his roommate to meet the rest of them but at the same time, never really said a bad word about him. There was something about Zuko though that seemed familiar. It wasn’t the burn around his eye, in fact it was his eyes. There was something about the gold that seemed different from other Fire Nation born. It was on the tip of her tongue but nothing came to mind.

“Hey, let’s go find Sokka. Maybe if we catch him off guard, we can get him to agree to let us wax his legs.” Toph said, taking Badger’s harness again.

“Ok, why?”

“Well, you’re cheering for your Department. Who do you think is cheering for the Fencing Department?”

“Oh!” Suki bursting into laughter, grabbing Katara’s arm, “We’ve got to go see this.”

At least there was a small positive for the day. Before they got far, Katara noticed something glinting in the sun. it was a gold hair clip, the design of the Fire Lily shimmering with the inlaid stones. It was exactly where Zuko had landed. She quickly scooped it up, letting Suki drag her along as she took a good look at it. it was beautiful, a bit old if the oxidation on it was anything to go by, but still pretty none the less. But why was Zuko carrying it? his hair was long, but not long enough to need a hair clip like the one she held, not to mention it seemed a bit feminine. So why did he have it?

“What do you mean she wants to get back together?”

Zuko looked up at his cousin, who stopped his job of placing stickers on the bottles. He knew his uncle was going to be coming in with another batch and if they didn’t move quickly, he was going to scold them.

“She moved back. She didn’t make it past the preliminary rounds. She and Azula found me as I got back on campus and she told me she wanted to get back together, that I was the only person she could date. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”

Mai’s reappearance in his life was something he could have done without. While he gladly gave up any relationship between him and Azula, his relationship with Mai was nice. It was safe and they understood each other. At least until the day he had his first panic attack and it caused the first of many disqualifications and Mai wouldn’t answer his calls. In fact, with Azula smirking in the background, she dumped him like he was nothing, saying her career in archery was more important than him. He wanted to make it as a professional fencer, but never at the expense of the people he cared about. When she stood in front of him, after another disqualification, asking to get back together, he yelled at her. Told her to leave him alone and follow Azula’s orders like the good dog she was. He didn’t regret his words, even after seeing the look on her face.

“Wow. She’s got some nerve.”

“Lu Ten! Zuko! You two better not be talking and not finishing those bottles! That delivery is due in an hour!”

“We got it dad!” Lue Ten called before turning to his younger cousin. “What are you gonna do?”

“Ignore her. There’s nothing I want from her anymore, so it’ll be easy. You’re putting that on crooked.” He pointed out, looking at Lu Ten’s bottle.

“Shit. I could kill Aang. Who orders tea for 3 different Departments the day before they’re needed?”

Zuko didn’t bother mentioning that their younger cousin wasn’t the smartest person with some things. While he focused on putting the correct stickers on the types of bottled tea, all he could think of was where his mother’s hair clip disappeared to. He knew he had it in his bag, resting on the top of his gear. It wasn’t there when he emptied it and it was no where in his room at the house. He had no clue where it could have ended up. The campus was huge and he’d been around quite a bit before heading home so if it did fall out, it could be anywhere.

“Guess I’ll have to ask Sokka.”

“Sorry?”

“Nothing.” There was a lot involving his mother he didn’t want to tell his cousin or his uncle. “Hurry up before Uncle comes with the next batch. Everything starts at 1 pm and I don’t need Jett getting ideas of dragging me back in.”

Thankfully they finished on time and Lu Ten drove them to the school. While he directed Lu Ten to where the Fencing Department would have their tent, he stacked the coolers on top of each other and headed to where Aang said the Track and Field Department would be set up. The noise from Sports Day and people gearing up for events surrounded him. The year before he was ready to try and get his Department on the tiers, even with Jett being an ass. This year, he wanted to be as far away from this as possible.

“Watch it!”

Stopping, Zuko turned to see past the coolers, surprised when he realised, he nearly crashed into Katara again. The last time he saw her, her training clothes were blue, made even more aware with her Southern Water Tribe jacket she’d been in. this time, it looked like Ty Lee had gotten a hold of her and threw her into her own closet. Her cheerleading uniform was bright pink, the Department jacket somehow matching. He guessed Ty Lee had that made since all the Departments lettermen jackets where some shade of grey.

“It’s you.”

“Sorry. We’re creating a habit.”

“Hmm, more like you are, but that’s fine. what is this?”

“Tea, from the Jasmine Dragon. My cousin put in a massive order last night so it’s getting delivered now. It’s for the Track and Field and Weightlifting but I’m sure Toph wouldn’t mind you stealing a bottle.”

“Tempting, but if my coach sees us downing extra sugar before the day is over, she’ll kill me. I heard from my brother that Jett is trying to hunt you down and since I hate Jett, you should probably deliver that before he finds you.” Katara said, pointing over her shoulder, to where the main field was.

“Thanks. Sorry again.” He walked around her when she called for him. He looked over his shoulder, watching her walk up to him, tugging something from the bun she wore. It was a hair clip, a very familiar one. “That’s…”

“I found it the day we met. It was where you landed so I thought it might be yours?”

He dropped the coolers on the ground, taking the hair clip from her. It looked slightly shiny, as if it’d been cleaned. He was about to ask, looking up when he stopped. He really got a good look at Katara, her bright blue eyes, the braid that spilled onto her shoulder, with the minor kinks from being in a bun.

“You, you went to Ba Sing Se Preparatory.” he stated.

“Yes?”

“You screamed at those bullies.”

He couldn’t believe he forgot. Her blue eyes briming with anger, the conviction in her voice as she yelled at the bullies from down below, even Sokka trying to calm her down. her family saved his life.

Zuko crawled carefully on the ledge as he wiped down the windows, the rest of his class pushing desks out of the way to be swept and mopped. Most of his classmates didn’t want him anywhere near an open area, especially with his limited vision but he’d just gotten his bandages taken off and he wasn’t about to let it hinder him.

Without them on, he didn’t see Mom flinch at the sight of them, though the massive burn that he now had wasn’t any better, let alone the lack of hair that had been left too. The fights between his parents were getting worse and Azula’s teasing was starting to become more hurtful than playful. He wanted it all to stop. If he pretended that things were ok, maybe they would be eventually.

“Hey scarface!” Zuko looked over, 3 of his school bullies storming over. He tried not to flinch, already knowing what they were going to yell at him about. They’d been doing it all day. “We lost the race thanks to you!”

Zuko used to be more confident. But after the burns, a few harsh words and he’d start retreating back down into himself. These bullies took advantage of it. During their Sports Day, Zuko had dropped the baton in the relay race and ran in the opposite direction of everyone else, away from the bullies yelling at him.

“Mr. Reversal, can’t believe you’re so stupid.”

“You need a walking stick, scarface? Huh?”

Zuko felt one of them shove him and he expected to hit the window frame. Instead, he went flying out the open window. Zuko would mostly remember being caught by an older man with darker skin, most likely from one of the Water Tribes, with kind blue eyes, who held him as he burst into tears and two younger children. The boy patted his back, telling him not to worry because his sister would take care of it and the girl screaming up at the bullies from the ground floor. Her long braid swung back and forth as she shook her fists and threatened to do violent things to them. her eyes seemed bluer than her families, like the clearest ocean.

Katara blinked at him before she gasped. “Wait, Zuko Lung? You, you were in the River Class with Sokka. You disappeared not long after my dad caught you.”

“My uncle, he took custody and it was far from where he lived, so I had to…I can’t believe I forgot about you. Sokka’s my roommate.”

With a smile, Katara shrugged. “no one ever said he was smart. Are, are you happy? Before you left, you always seemed…”

For the first time since this whole list of messes started, Zuko felt like his smile was real. “I am. I mean, I’m dealing with different things, but for the most part, I’m happier than I have been in years.”

“Good. I should really let you go deliver those before Jett shows up. But, don’t be a stranger, ok?” Zuko had only just picker up the coolers again when Katara got his attention again. “How did you know it was me? You didn’t recognise me yesterday.”

“Your hair. I remembered your braid most of all from that day.”               

[atla-confessions]

Headcanons of which sports the ATLA characters would in Olympics:

Aang: Athletism (running)

Katara: Swimming

Sokka: Kayak

Toph: Wrestling

Suki: Judo

Zuko: Fencing

Azula: Artistic Gymnastic

Mai: Shooting

Ty Lee: Rhythmic Gymnastics

Yue: Ice Skating

Jet: Skateboarding

X

[ecoterrorist-katara]

Idk about you, but there was a period of ATLA fans trying their damn hardest to convince me that Katara didn't get any hate. And then when I counted that yes, she did (I didn't make up all of 2020 and 2021 ffs), they told me to calm down?? Like, am I the only one who's experienced this?

The people who are so "neutral" in this fandom are actually the worst ones istg

IT’S SO WEIRD! It’s not even just revisionist history, it literally still happens today. Reddit is overrun with “haha Katara dead mom” jokes. Redditors really show their asses with their simultaneous contempt for Katara and their fervent defense of Ka/taang.

On Tumblr I blame the Zu/kka shippers lmao (who also tend to be the ones who claim to be neutral multishippers, as if multishipping wasn’t the norm in this fandom, yes even amongst the ZKs). Some m/m shippers really want to get rid of the female character in the way of their m/m ship. Which, hey, shipping is supposed to be fun, and if you put Katara with Aang or Azula or Haru or Suki or whoever with zero development for the purpose of your Zu/kka, there’s nothing wrong with that! They do that with Mai and Ty Lee, no drama, bc Mai is not so well developed as a character.

It’s just that…instead of admitting they want to get rid of Katara so that they can enjoy their Zu/kka, they emphasize how she’s so mean to their woobie Zuko, or to their woobie Sokka. Then you get absolutely wild mental gymnastics that are just Katara slander with more steps, like the baffling “homophobic Katara” headcanon (as if Katara, who allowed a fortuneteller to dictate her breakfast and spent the entire show waffling over whether she likes a boy, is any less likely to be queer). People on Tumblr don’t hate on Katara directly anymore because they know it’s misogynistic, so instead we are subjected to a wide variety of random ass takes. The latest form of Katara slander is “just let her be a kid” and assigning her qualities to Sokka, which I categorically refuse to read, because it pisses me off. People are so weird about Katara.

I think this must be something specific to Zu/kka, not m/m ships in general. My first major ship was Klaine and female character slander was not an issue at all. Anyway I ship all variations of Fire Sib x Water Sib (except the incest ones, which apparently requires clarifying nowadays), but Zu/kka is becoming my least fave of the bunch due to fandom shenanigans.

[lis-muerta]

Side note could you image if Korra and Asami go to a gymnastics thing in republic city because both never been and they hear moves like the flying boar the Beifong || and thier like whats that about and they find out Lin retired from gymnastics to become a cop just ‘cuz.

Yes, I've just been watching compilations of gymnasts doing hard moves, and I like the idea, Lin was close to Mai Suki and Tylee because her mom was uninterested.

[quillthrillswriting]

atla tumblr, i need help!

i'm working on a summer olympics atla au oneshot, and while i have picked some of the gaang's sports, i'm struggling a little extra with choosing sports for katara and zuko.

for reference, aang & toph are both rock climbers (for reasons that will be clear upon reading), sokka is a fencer (and yes, sokka calls his fencing sword a "space sword"), mai competes in the shooting event (because c'mon, mai with a gun just makes sense), suki does judo, and azula does volleyball (very competitively, think back to the beach episode).

!link to zuko's poll here

[waterfire1848]

Modern au

Thanks for the ask!

I’m going to assume you mean Avatar but if I’m wrong correct me.

1. Katara and Sokka live with their grandma because their dad and Bato are off fighting in the Navy. Katara is in high school looking to do something in human rights and Sokka is also in high school and wants to become an engineer. Sokka met Suki, who lives with her two dads, his freshman year and the two started dating a few months later.

2. Aang is still twelve but he's also in high school. Gyatso would be his foster dad and Appa and Momo (a dog and a ferret(?)) are their pets. He's still bald but instead of having an arrow on his head it's now on his yellow and orange jacket.

3. Toph's parents think that the school they all go to is a private school that helps her because of her blindness. She's been able to keep that lie going for three years now. Katara helps her with any questions that she has and she's already declared that Sokka will be her chauffeur when he gets his license.

4. Ozai lost custody of Zuko and Azula when Zuko ended up in the hospital with third degree burns. They both live with Iroh who sends them to school and takes care of them in the apartment above his tea shop. Zuko, due to being partially blind and deaf, is in a few classes with Toph who introduced him to everyone else. Azula took longer to meet everyone because of her rivalry with Katara but eventually joined the group.

5. Mai's parents were strongly against sending her to a local high school but she wore them down. They also had to cut back on spending when Tom Tom was born at the same time that Ozai, their business partner, came under investigation for child abuse. Mai and Zuko started dating their sophomore year. Ty Lee's parents never cared where she went and Ty Lee liked going to the school because her sisters didn't go there. She does gymnastics for the school and has won three gold metals for her work. She also loves to freak out teachers and students by twisting her body into different shapes. She and Mai join the group shortly before Azula does.

[radfemsiren]

oooh i ship zutara too! i also ship katara with jet, and i ship zuko and jet together lol. i love it all three ways. my ot3 is jet/zuko/katara aka jetkotara. i hate how toxic the atla fandom is because you have zukka stans saying zutara is an evil colonizer/colonized ship, yet they ship zuko with katara's own damn brother, but i guess *~yaoi~* makes it ok. and the kataang stans are just a bunch of creeps and misogynists who will claim that katara was never a mother figure to aang (when she clearly was) and they ignore all the implicit sexism of kataang and say stuff about how aang 'deserves' katara the most.

what makes me laugh really hard is when kataang stans say that katara was like a sister to zuko because katara is a parallel to azula. oh ok, so you think katara is like a sister to zuko when nothing in the series indicates that, but you people totally deny that katara treated aang like a brother for most of the series and mothered him? zuko is also a parallel to BOTH jet and aang, doesn't that make him katara's ultimate love interest now? or does that suddenly not count to you dumbasses performing mental gymnastics. i actually don't mind zukka because it's fanon and not in the show, but kataang is horrendous and doesn't even make sense for the narrative. they had 60 episodes to develop that ship and it still sucks and feels forced. 😭

Omg literally, every single argument they make against objectively better ships they toss in the garbage the second there’s a chance for yaoi lmao… also Jet and Zuko? My emo loving 13 yr old self would’ve exploded if that ever happened lmaoo, I actually never heard of that ship but I love it. Like… why do Jet and Zuko have more chemistry than Aang and Katara? 🤭 They def hooked up in basing se after a tea shift, I’m calling it 👀

Bruh I hate Zuko and sokka ships so much, it’s like when so many fanartists always draw bubbline in their male form only… like just say you hate women. They had like zero interactions, the boiling rock was the only time they talked lol. Also, sokka can’t have everyone! He can’t get princess yue, suki, Tylee and toph having a lil crush … AND Zuko?? ENOUGH!!

[fanfought]

modern verse suki is an extracurriculars girlie. she is constantly on the move. martial arts, gymnastics, maaaaaybe ballet. some kind of dance. she’s constantly doing stuff so she doesn’t have to be at home shshshkala

[3cosmicfrogs]

I am curious about your thoughts if you have any on Hakoda/Bato/Jee. Are they in a harmonious throuple? A messy ex of my ex situation? Are Bato and Hakoda both arranging dockside meetups without being aware of each other, or even flirting yet? Are they all pretending what they have is sustainable and fine and not a big deal until suddenly the Avatar is back and the ship blows up?

hmmmmmmmm you're out here asking the big questions...

i think bato and hakoda ought to be together already. they've been away from home for so long etc etc. but because they're not always in the same place for months at a time (bato being hakoda's second in command often leads part of the swt fleet for extended periods of time when they divide up their forces) and through mutual understanding they've opened up their relationship, which is fine, totally, and they're not secretly jealous, absolutely not. this is a healthy relationship.

So they both are not so much arranging as occasionally running into jee on docksides. Look, there's only so many ports not under firenation control this far into the war. And their partner surely wanted to open their relationship, so they might as well reciprocate the flirting of this very tired man.

i think up until the final defeat of the firenation they just somehow manage to never be in the same location all 3 at once, and no one is pursuing anything because bato and hakoda are pining after each other while already being in a relationship, and all 3 are aware that their loyalties put them on ultimately opposing sides. they're all reasonable men, and able to compartmentalize, this is fine this is totally fine. there are no feelings here.

Hm. I dont really headcanon a romantic relationship per se, perhaps a bato/hakoda situation with jee as a platonic third? family friend? Guy they occasionally sandwich when he's in the area? For me the meat of this crackship comes from the mental gymnastics everyone is doing to 1) avoid discussing war loyalties and 2) pine after your romantic partner on bato/hakoda's side. If you want to go down a proper throuple romantic route, I would imagine the above situation except with the addition of jee learning what polyamory is (as i headcanon the water tribes being a lot less into the concept of marriage and monogamy than the firenation). ("lieutenant jee, meet my boyfriend sokka and his girlfriend suki" "you're... all in a relationship with each other, sir?" "what, like it's hard?" "...i see. excuse me.")

hehehehe thanks for this ask! it certainly got me thinking ! about old men, which is my favourite activity btw!

[booneysboyfie]

SING + SING 2 HEADCANONS (human au)

Part 2: side characters (may not be as long because I don’t have as many ideas haha

Picrew link, art by Naylissa on various social medias

(One year passes in between movies so for characters who are in both movies, there will be two ages listed)

I’m posting this here instead of on my main because you guys are used to me being cringe <3

Also, important: I chose each character’s ethnicity based either on where in the world their species of animal lives, or (for animals that live all over, like pigs or mice) other contextual things (like Gunther’s accent)

Eddie Noodleman (he/him, gay)

35 years old as of the first movie

5’7”

Mixed race (his mom is black and his dad is white)

Still lives in the pool house

Does not have a job

But he does have a YouTube channel! He posts video game speedrun

Bleaches his hair

Grew up rich so he doesn’t know how to cook or anything

He is really close with his family, and Nana likes him a lot

He was the one who broke up with Buster— nothing bad happened, he just thought they would be better as friends, but Buster’s feelings were hurt :(

Nana Noodleman (she/her, asexual)

92-93 years old

5’10”

Eddie’s maternal grandmother

Becomes good friends with Clay Calloway— they’re both old, rich, mean, and famous in the music industry

They don’t really have the same taste in music (Clay is a rockstar and Nana is a theater actress), but they have a lot in common otherwise

Was a very iconic and popular actress, but it was “controversial” how she had a child out of wedlock and raised them alone

At first she didn’t like Buster at all, but she changed her mind after watching his show, which was very successful

Ryan (he/him, questioning but he ends up identifying as gay)

24 years old

5’11”

Thai

He’s a natural at dancing, and is the youngest person on Klaus’ high-level choreography team

Was kind of friends with Alphonso during the production of “out of this world” and maybe had a little crush on him

Is very kind— he felt horrible having to beat Johnny over and over on the first day of practice

He thought about reaching out, but was really shy

Really likes to wear pretty clothes and extravagant outfits

Is really stressed out because a lot is expected of him

Suki Lane (she/her, femme lesbian)

26 years old

5’4”

Egyptian

Bleaches and dyes her hair often

She got her job working for Mr. Crystal because her parents are big investors for Redshore City’s theater shows

After Jimmy Crystal is arrested and she’s out of a job, she decides to pursue her dream of going to art school and becoming an artist full time

She starts dating Sasha a few months after everything went down, but they had been friends pretty much since the day they met

She doesn’t actually need glasses, she just things they look cool

Loves to thrift

Is allergic to cats

Sasha (she/her, futch lesbian)

27 years old

5’6

South African

She works as a stunt actress and happened to be hired by Jimmy to train Rosita— so she doesn’t directly work for Crystal

She’s very strong and good at gymnastics and rock climbing

Has a two year old child from a previous relationship, and has full custody

She is very close with her siblings and parents— they help raise the kid when she has a lot of work to do

Met Suki during “Out of This World” production, and they became fast friends. Suki needed a cheaper housing arrangement after she lost her job, and Sasha happened to be looking for a roommate, so they end up living together and eventually dating

She was the first one to confess— Suki didn’t realize her feelings were reciprocated

James “Jimmy” Crystal (he/him)

45 years old

6’0”

Originally from Canada, but moved to Redshore for business opportunities

Has always struggled with controlling his anger, but he stopped putting in an effort after his wife left him

Has a podcast about how to “survive” in the entertainment industry

Thinks being gay is a choice and doesn’t support Porsha being a lesbian

Definitely one of those “alpha male” guys

Jerry (he/him, gay)

48 years old

5’8”

Norwegian

Is so in love with Jimmy and in denial about him being a horrible person

“Babysat” Porsha way up until she was a teenager because she used to get into trouble and Jimmy let her do whatever she wanted

Was really good at his job and very dedicated

Always fought with Suki because he was jealous that Jimmy liked her better

Trying really hard to learn Norwegian because he wants to travel there one day

Mike (he/him)

25 years old, was sadly murdered at the end of the first movie (this is implied in canon btw)

4’11

Recently graduated from the Lincoln School of Music, but had yet to land a real gig

Still loved to drink and party, and used to go to clubs every weekend

Is from a rich family, but got cut off financially after he made some poor choices regarding money in his teens

Really loved Nancy— she went to the same music school learning to play the flute, and they used to date. She broke up with him because she was going through some tough personal things and didn’t have the energy to be in a relationship

When he saw her again in the first movie, a year had gone by and he was hoping that she was ready to date him again

He plays a lot of instruments; he’ll get bored quickly and move on to another one as soon as he masters it

Nancy (she/her, pansexual)

24

5’0”

Glamorous af, really cares about her appearance

But also really sad :( she was partying and drinking to cope with how lonely she was

Her life was spared by the bears that killed Mike. She ended up breaking down and asking them to kill her, but they felt too bad— Mike had cheated them out of a lot of money, but Nancy hadn’t ever done anything to them

She ended up moving to Washington state to live closer to her family and just get away from the city that held so many bad memories for her

She finds out shortly after the events of the first movie that she’s pregnant, and chooses to raise the child anyway

Still has horrible memories about witnessing Mike’s murder

Alphonso (he/him, pansexual)

25 years old

6’5”

Lactose intolerant

Meena isn’t his first girlfriend, but his first breakup left him not knowing what to do because his ex had been so controlling. As a way to try and get over it, he had been practicing putting himself out there by flirting and being really friendly with all the actors and actresses he served

Once he met Meena, though, there was kind of a spark— they were both so awkward and didn’t know how to flirt, lol— he was glad to meet a kindred spirit, and started kinda crushing on her in secret. Plus, she was like really pretty.

He would tell his friends about his feelings, and they encouraged him to ask her out, but he thought for sure she’d have a boyfriend already because she was so cute and kinda famous

He was so glad when she asked him out, and he’s the best long distance boyfriend ever! They do a lot of virtual dates, and send each other love letters and gifts, and all that cute stuff :]

[getoutofthisplace]

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Mom took Gus to gymnastics tonight -- he still loves it -- so Magnus and I got some quality time. We took Suki for a walk around the block and we ran into the Cerrato girls. As soon as Sasha stopped the car, all of the girls swarmed out of their seats and Zoey casually made it all the way out of the car. I dread the day when you two can easily get out of your seatbelts. But also, I can't wait.

Dad.

Little Rock, Arkansas. 9.5.2023 - 6.41pm.

[atla-confessions]

On this post:

Modern au where Ty Lee and Zuko are popular kids because that's how it is anyways.

I feel like Azula would lose school council elections to Katara for their year. Because even though Azula is more academic, Katara is more popular and passionate about improving things.

Also, Zuko would be the guy the not out lesbians would say they have a crush on because he is always unavailable.

I feel like Sokka would probably be valedictorian but I am not sure how his poor skill with art would affect that however I think he would still be top student.

In terms of extra-curricular activities and clubs:

Sokka would do AP stuff and I think Athletics, maybe a team sport as well. Also a poetry club if available and maybe school council.

Suki, full jock. Lots of sports (especially team sports). Martial Arts, gymnastics and possibly wrestling.

Zuko, some sports (I feel he wouldn't be on a team and only do team sports recreationally). Martial Arts. And theater.

Mai, I don't think she does many extra-curricular stuff in school but does stuff in clubs outside of school

Ty Lee probably a jock. Gymnastics and stuff similar to Suki but with some Artsy and more social stuff. Probably a cheerleader.

Azula nerd, does sports (netball, volleyball, ect.) as well but can be considered a bit bossy by her teammates so isn't popular among them. Does AP and all the clubs and extra-curricular activities she can to make herself have the best chance at a good college. Maybe school council if she could get enough votes.

Katara jock and activist. Does sports, I am not sure which though, swimming? maybe hockey. I think she would be part of school activist groups as well. + School Council.

Aang jock and arts. I feel like he would be in band or something. Martial arts, dance and whatever Air Ball is. Also into activism.

Toph jock but I think she also sculpts. Obviously wrestling maybe martial arts but no team sports. Her other main extra-curricular would probably be detention.

X

[zed-makes-stuff]

More about OC’s I showed in the last video.

Note: This is based on my friend @newcyber-demonslayer ‘s AU. In which a phenomenon occurs that sends millions of people all over the world into their favorite show/anime. And depending on their will power, they obtain all the powers from the world they’re sent to.

I talk with her about it a lot and help her develop it. I’ve even made some OCs for said AU, two of which I’ll introduce you to now.

Both were sent to Demon Slayer.

First, Suki Mayura!

She’s 15 (13 when she first arrived)

She’s Japanese and American. Has been back and forth but currently lives in Canada, Toronto.

She’s a bubbly, energetic, boy crazy, but also emotional girl. She can get pretty self-conscious at times but she’s really compassionate.

She’s very flexible. Participated in gymnastics a lot .

She joined the corps because she really didn’t know what else to do. She was homeless and alone in Taisho Era Japan. Besides, she’d rather be trained to fight demons than randomly get jumped by one. Plus, she might even get to meet the characters she’s so fond of.

She finds that she’s compatible with all the breathing styles and can use the blood demon arts. But has side effects like mild sunburn, allergies to wisteria, and intense hunger at times.

She’s fairly likable among the corps, but she sometimes confuses people with her 21st century lingo and references.

She’s a huge simp. Often drools over all the cute boys she meets, especially the main trio.

She mainly uses Water Breathing and Love Breathing on missions. Because she can utilize her flexibility. Starts to alternate more often when she gets a better grip of the rest.

Next, Rowen Izenor!

He’s 21 (19 when he first arrived)

He’s European, lived Birmingham for most of his life so far. But is of Japanese decent. He’s been back and forth.

He’s a stoic, emotionally detached, and generally apathetic person. He can come off as mean a lot of the time and his straightforwardness can come off as rude. He’s not a bad person though. He’s also incredibly intelligent and analytical.

He often talks back no matter who he’s talking to. This gets him in trouble with authority figures a lot. Including his own parents but they got used to it.

He joined the corps for a similar reason as Suki. Why not? Better than being in the dark. He’d rather keep up with the timeline anyways.

He’s also compatible with all the breathing styles and got all the blood demon arts, with the same side effects as Suki.

He isn’t as well liked by his comrades. Most find him standoff-ish and his passive aggressiveness annoying. But they respect his intellect and skill.

Obanai and Sanemi absolutely hate his guts though. They despise how little tact he has and how he’s a "know-it-all". He doesn’t seem to respect their titles as Hashira that much either given how much he talks back.

He couldn’t care less.

He mainly uses Thunder Breathing and Mist Breathing on missions at first before alternating more later on.

Keep in mind some of these things might change down the line as I develop these characters more.

[gymnasticscoaching]

Suki Pfister - Vault

Doesn’t get much better than Suki Pfister on vault… literally🤩🤯#WeFly | #PTS pic.twitter.com/9kaORWPt2D— BallState Gymnastics (@BallStateGYM) February 26, 2023

[backhurtyy]

scream it’s 12 30 am and I’m thinking about gymnast suki ❤️❤️❤️ i have brain rot xoxo

i was gonna tell you to go to bed but then i realized that i was up late also so i can’t judge 👀

but this has been in my brain ALL morning... your mind. i wanted to uh... present some ideas™️ about it, although i don’t claim to know anything about gymnastics beyond what i gleaned from obsessively watching the olympics (rip 2020 olympics)

anyways here’s what i’ve got

her team is called the kyoshi warriors

suki is very good at acrobatic gymnastics- just in the boiling rock, we saw her balancing on top of people’s heads, using the railings as bars to propel herself up the building, balancing on top of them, and flipping around all over the place

so i think she could totally dominate in acrobatic gymnastics, especially on the balance beam, vault, and uneven bars (her floor routines are no joke either though)

i also think she’d do rhythmic gymnastics- this one popped into my head because tessenjutsu, which is what the Kyoshi Warriors’ fighting style is based off of, uses fans and when it’s performed at competitions and stuff it reminds me of gymnastics

so maybe she’d prefer to use clubs, since they’re kind of like fans, or maybe a hoop? i’m sure she’d be good with each apparatus, but i think she’d prefer and excel with those

add ty lee and the other girls on the team to the mix and... The Kyoshi Warriors dominate the gymnastics world

anyways these are just some thoughts i had because of this beautiful big brained idea of yours 💖☀️