#i can absolutely believe that Katara could take azula in a fight

[the-badger-mole]

I read a post about Katara having plot armor during the Last Agni Kai because she used a wave to block Azula’s lightning. What are your thoughts?

Well, lightning spreads when it hits water, so as long as Katara wasn't actually IN the water when it was hit, I don't know what people are whining about. I bet those same people think the Lion turtle and the Rock of Destiny were the most brilliant plot twists in all TV history 😒

[sokkabaddiebender2021]

ok y’all i finally finished the neflix live action avatar and…….don’t hate me……..but i enjoyed it 😭 my standards for entertainment is honestly on whether or not it entertained me, so honestly i question my standards.

first off, the visuals and score was absolutely amazing. the fight scenes were well choreographed, and the bending, which i was super nervous about, looked actually amazing.

i think we can all agree the writing and dialogue was pretty choppy at times, and the delivery could be better at times. but i also think (most) of the energy of the original characters was captured well. katara honestly got done the dirtiest because why was she so…….not passionate??? i’m hoping later on she gets more so because that’s a key trait of katara. i was very disappointed with that :/

what they did to suki too……..i liked her being a little awkward and such because it makes sense but i felt like too much of her character was dedicated to her having a crush on sokka. like where is her attitude, her ferocity?

i think aang was played very well by gordon cormier, especially considering this is a child actor we are taking about. his line delivery isn’t going to be great and yes he is a real boy so he can’t be as cartoony as some would hope but i think he was absolutely adorable.

surprise surprise, i loved dallas liu as zuko. i think there were some pretty whack line deliveries but he really captured the anger and cringeyness of zuko well. his martial arts were also also incredible, his fight scenes were my favorite to watch. the scene with him crying quietly on the bed when ozai banishing him shattered me, his subtle acting is underrated honestly.

i have my beef with ian ousley as sokka mostly because of the controversy and such, but i can’t lie he did play sokka well. yet again, as for the last characters, some line deliveries were iffy but he was still a very believable sokka.

so for the writing, i have LOTS OF OPINIONS. there were things they cut that definitely upset me, and that was just because of their lowkey questionable pacing. as much as i hate the slimeball, i missed a lot of the interesting parts of zhao’s story that they cut like his agni kai, jeuong jeuong (aang’s fear of fire??), zuko SAVING him. i feel like they had something interesting there with building a fake alliance with him and zuko, and they didn’t build more off it. [edit] that so, the dude who played zhao had me losing my shit. his line delivery was hilarious and i just love that zhao just gives that manager no one likes/that one creepy math teacher in high school vibes (only combination i could think of y’all).

the additions to zuko’s story was something i absolutely loved. i found myself actually getting very emotional with a lot of the flashbacks, and the 41st division being his crew 🥹🥹 but then i find myself being upset that we were shown other flashbacks so early (like the death of katara’s mother??).

i actually hate the hate azula’s actress is getting. she’s playing a 14 year old……like a 14 year old?? she wasn’t even in season 1 in the og so ofc she’s gonna not be the same, i’m hoping this means they’re building up her up to her fierceness in season 2.

one last critique PLEASE GET A WIG BUDGET GOOD LORD THOSE WIGS WERE BAAAAD. and also a lot of their costumes looked fake or like plastic this was actually my least favorite part 😭

overall, not as horrible as people make it out to be, i had a good time but obviously the og will always be the higher quality product. i’m just glad the young actors seemed to really be passionate for the project :)

[sokkastyles]

Hi! I have seen various explanations for why Azula asked Zuko to join her in the catacombs and then let him have the glory of killing Aang. The second part can be easily explained as a way to control him and a way to protect herself if Aang actually lived. But I have seen people argue that Azula let Zuko join her in season 2 out of some kind of love for Zuko. She never needed Zuko for her plan to succeed so it never made sense to me.

Also, how do you think Ozai reacted to Azula after the invasion when he found out she lied to him? I always found it odd that there was no reference or hints of Ozai punishing her or anything like that?

She actually does need Zuko and she tells him she needs him for her plan to take Ba Sing Se to succeed.

Azula tells Zuko that she's planned that moment very carefully, and she's not lying. She does a lot of things that are strategic moves. First of all is separating Zuko from Iroh, because she learned through experience that Iroh would be a thorn in her side in bringing Zuko home.

But if you think about what else she learned, specifically in season two in her fights with the gaang, she learned that she could not win if she had to face Zuko, Iroh, and the gaang at once. She loses against them in the Chase and has to resort to fighting dirty to get away.

So she divides and conquerors. She captures Katara, then seperates Zuko snd Iroh, then captures Sokka and Toph and Aang. What's interesting to me is why she chooses to put Katara and Zuko in the same prison and the rest of the gaang in a different cell, but if I were to speculate I would say that Azula expected that Zuko and Katara would fight and take care of each other. Even Iroh and Aang teaming up to save them works to her advantage, because seeing Katara and Zuko together creates tension for Aang and sewing Iroh and Aang together creates tension for Zuko. When Katara and Aang seperate from Zuko and Iroh, Azula is able to play on that tension to seperate Zuko and Iroh, AND play on Katara and Aang's emotions when it's uncertain whether Zuko might help them. Azula was absolutely counting on having Zuko on her side.

But I'll also repeat what I said before. Azula needs Zuko on her side, not because she cares about him, but because she bases a lot of her self worth on having what Zuko does not. If Zuko no longer needs those things, it is a threat to Azula's superiority. If Zuko no longer wants to go home, Azula has to face the reality that her home is not a great place to be. Her whole speech about how If he joins with her, he'll have everything he always wanted, isn't just her playing on what she knows Zuko wants. She NEEDS him to want those things, otherwise she can't be the golden child to his scapegoat.

This is why I keep saying that Azula's relationship with Zuko is abusive. Azula has to make Zuko feel bad in order to make herself feel good. If Zuko is happy living a simple life in a tea shop with Iroh, she can't convince herself that her life is the best, because deep down, she knows how empty it really is.

I also do not think it's odd that we never see a reference to Ozai punishing Azula for lying about Zuko killing Aang. When have we EVER seen Ozai punish Azula? Oh, I think the lie did contribute to Ozai's decision to take her down a peg in the finale, but I don't think he outright punished her. That's not his style. But the manipulative way he talks to her in the finale definitely is. I don't know that he even believed Zuko when he told him Azula had lied, as the reaction we see is disbelief and at that point Zuko has fallen out of favor so why consider what he says? But I think it did shake Ozai, the possibility that Azula could lie to him, and that her glory might outshine his instead of being a reflection of it. But that was always going to happen the older Azula got, and it's something a parent like Ozai would never handle well.

[peregrinvs]

(The below is a show-only question.)

Iroh during Sozin's Comet said that he couldn't fight Ozai in part because the world would see it as brothers fighting for the throne, instead of the restoration of peace. But then he says that Zuko needs to confront Azula so that when Ozai falls, he can take the throne.

I can see the argument that Iroh thought that Zuko would secretly enter the Fire Nation Royal Palace and capture Azula with Katara before then holding her hostage until Aang arrived. But it seems more likely that he intended Zuko to fight Azula and her forces together with Katara.

So how do you think people in-universe saw the Agni Kai, and how do you think Iroh/the White Lotus justified his seemingly contradictory statements/actions? Also, do you think Zuko or the other members of the Gaang caught onto the contradictory, and if so, did they ever talk to Iroh and/or the White Lotus about it? Or if you think Ursa ever returned, did she confront Iroh about it?

Thanks for the ask!

The "Iroh v. Ozai final fight" question is kind of a mess. The showrunners didn't flesh out their relationship at all, to the point you can barely believe they're related. They made Iroh a powerful firebender and a morally good person, which combined with his parentage puts him in prime position to stand up against Ozai.

And yet they absolutely needed for the final showdown to be Aang v. Ozai, which was needed thematically. They kinda painted themselves into a corner making Iroh the Designated Good Moral Upstanding Mentor Figure (tm), so they needed to find a good justification why this amazing man couldn't get rid of evil himself. Iroh needed an excuse that still made him look good so that's what they came up with.

Iroh's dialogue could have been better written to reflect that either he feels he lacks legitimacy to challenge Ozai, or to simply state that he doesn't want to kill his own brother, but with the way it was handled on the show, we're left to speculate about his motives.

If you ask me, Iroh's real motive is that he's unlikely so win against Ozai and he knows it, so all he can do is hope the Avatar is OP enough to do it. However, he has such a high idea of Zuko that he's sure the kid can beat Azula in a duel, especially with Katara's help.

Thre's also the question of legitimacy: Iroh has previously accepted Ozai as Fire Lord and didn't object to being passed over when Ozai took the throne. It's a bit complicated for him to do a 180 now that Ozai has been reigning uncontested for years. On the other hand, Zuko has a valid claim to the throne because he is older than Azula, and he is in the right timeframe to challenge her before her coronation.

Finally, Iroh is a character who doesn't act much, even when faced with hard choices. That's because he's written as an older mentor figure, but it has the result of having him be passive and tend to let others fight his battles. He has never tried to stop Ozai, he was content playing shop while the war raged outside Ba Sing Se. It's in character for him to just offload the hard work on the kids with some vague advice about destiny.

I very much doubt he intended for Zuko to peacefully capture Azula - he never expresses concern for her, and he clearly just sees her as a hindrance that stands in the way of Zuko's Destiny(tm). He probably doesn't intend for her to die, bur i doubt he cares how Zuko defeats her, as long as the kid ends up Fire Lord.

I don't see why the Gaang or the White Lotus would have any issues with that, since having Zuko as Fire Lord is beneficial to them.

Ultimately it's hard to give a convincing explanation because i'm sure the writers intended for him to have a good reason, but as is often the case woth Iroh, his actions and reasoning are at odds with how moral he's supposed to be.

NB: i have not watched the new live action version, this answer is based on the original animated show canon.

[atla-confessions]

they wanna make kataang the ‘power couple’ so bad when they weren’t even on the same continent during the finale lmaoooooo but there is a ship that had true power couple energy against azula and i think we all know who it was 😘😘

yeah, no.

zuko could barely beat azula during the agni kai. azula was having a meltdown which was why he was able to end up overpowering her, and even then, the truth is that he didn't. azula could and would have beaten him if she wasn't breaking down and if katara wasn't there. i love zuko but he wouldn't have beaten her with just firebending alone, and you need to accept that. your 'power couple' wasn't a power couple; zuko wasn't thinking logically. the fight could have gone better (aka zuko wouldn't have had to take a hit of lightning) if he had listened to katara's warning that azula was goading him. but instead, he agreed to azula's rules, putting him and katara in an even more dangerous position than needed if he had just let her help. he did not listen to her and they both almost got killed because of it. (azula would have absolutely shot her with lightning if katara did not have amazing quick-thinking skills and use the river water under the palace to her advantage.) that's not 'power couple energy', anon.

what is power couple energy is being able to separate when needed, despite wanting to stay with them no matter what. what is power couple energy is placing your absolute trust and faith in your partner, even if you want to protect them as best as you can. now that, that's power couple energy. believing in your lover.

there is a ship that had true power couple energy against the fire nation and i think we all know who it was 😘😘 (couldn't resist re-typing that! my bad!)

((ALSO, not anti zuko, just a tiny bit critical! love my boy, but that was a questionable decision during an extremely important fight!))

X

[juniperhillpatient]

The Earth King Re-Watch

This was a fun episode. I wouldn't call it one of my favorites, but I enjoyed it. Seeing Aang & Appa finally reunited is pretty heartwarming. I was a little annoyed & confused by Sokka's random new "positive attitude" even though he had some really endearing moments in this episode. I just don't get it. Yeah, Appa is back but you just discovered an underground creepy brainwashing cult & your old frienemy was killed? You have no reason to believe you're any closer to convincing King Kuei to hear you out? I can see the whole "brand new positive attitude" thing happening once the other good news hits later, but right at the start? It just felt jarring & weird.

Katara saying she wants to leave this horrible place....I will take my "Jet's death mattered" crumbs where I can get them. I think Katara & Toph's idea to leave makes a lot of sense, but so does Sokka & Aang's desire to force Kui to hear them out...I mean, they are trying to plan this attack on the eclipse...So, that was a well-set-up conflict, because both sides make sense. I also absolutely loved the fight scene with the Gaang breaking into the palace! Everything about it was iconic. It was neat to see Aang use earth-bending in a fight against earth-benders too because he usually relies heavily on air-bending. I loved Katara & Sokka apologizing lmao - & Toph saying Kue's distrust after they broke in made sense.

Kue is a bit pathetic & easily pushed around so I'm not a huge fan of him. Bumi has a chaotic morality & he's not always the most LIKABLE person but at least he's fun so I always enjoy him. Kue is just pathetic, & not even in the hot way lol

Possibly the best part of the episode was Katara telling Sokka that he gets to see their dad & Sokka bouncing around in excitement & hugging her & kissing her while she's just like "yeah yeah, I know, I'm great."

[ID: Sokka saying "Nicest....sister...ever!" to Katara while Aang & Toph watch.]

Also, the Gaang talking about how they will miss each other while they're split up was really cute. I loved the group hug & Sokka like "alright alright, we love each other" trying to end the hug was such a mood - me when friends or family try to get all touchy-feely lol! Sokka gets 10 iconic behavior points for interrupting Aang before he could confess his crush on Katara. I wish I was giving out jerk points so I could give them to Aang for the line "yeah, girls are waiting for us." Ugh, pushing the Katara/Aang agenda before Jet's body is even cold? The writers deserve jerk points for that tbh! Not even Aang really, 'cause he's just a kid with a crush, but I'm still allowed to be annoyed.

Anyway. Zuko gets 500 iconic behavior points for doing one nice thing in his entire life & immediately collapsing like a Victorian maiden. Zuko you drama queen, ily. However, while I've said this re-watch has made me appreciate Zukaang I MEANT the romantic ship Zuko & Aang NOT this monstrosity that lives in my nightmares.

[id: a horrifying image of Zuko & Aang's faces combined.]

What the fuck lmao

As for the rest of Zuko's dreams.....Very interesting lines from Azula & a very interesting performance from our lord & savior Grey Delisle. I will say nothing more about that :)

[id: Dennis from It's Always Sunny saying "because of the implication..."]

Anyway *ahem* right, I think Zuko clearly sees his father & sister as sort of devils & Iroh as an angel on his shoulder. This is what the writers were going for, & an unpopular opinion maybe but I think it works to an extent. The biggest issue here is that Zuko continues until the end of the series to treat Iroh like a messiah of good & he never learns to view Azula with any more nuance despite evidence that Iroh is not perfect & Azula is not irredeemable. Another issue I take is that while I love Azula as the embodiment of the Fire Nation & that darker path here, especially right before Crossroads of Destiny, & I actually find the shifting of the blame about Ursa's disappearance & by extension Zuko's bad childhood from Ozai to Azula super interesting - it's again, just something that's never addressed as wrong by the narrative & therefore becomes frustrating.

[id: Azula as a blue dragon next to a scarless Zuko]

I would have liked to see Zuko's black & white way of thinking about his uncle & sister (which is just really obvious here with the angel & devil motifs) addressed by the narrative. However, I don't think the whole "two sides arguing for different paths through dream visions" in itself is bad. It's certainly fun to watch & makes for a nice visualization of Zuko's internal struggle. Oh, Zuko & Azula get +500 iconic behavior points for foreshadowing the Crossroads of Destiny betrayal. I know it's just a fever dream version of Azula, but she still gets the points.

Oh, & Azula, Mai & Ty Lee get 1000 points each for their Kyoshi Warrior surprise reveal at the end. I love them so fucking much.

Anyway, that's all I have for this episode! Tune in next time for more rambling thoughts on the kid's cartoon!

[discordiansamba]

Katara apologizes that she couldn't heal Zuko well enough that it didn't leave a scar. Zuko just laughs and tells her he's kind of glad it did. It's proof he's mortal again.

The Fire Nation is about to get the weirdest possible crown prince.

Zuko spends a lot of time with his great-niece. He wants to believe that she has the potential to change. She's only fourteen.

Azula would like Uncle Zuko to stop visiting her already. It was weird enough dealing with him when they were fighting. She's not sure how to handle her great-uncle that looks barely older than she does when they're on friendly terms.

Mai has a crush on Zuko. This drives Azula insane. Really Mai? Really???

azula: uncle. please tell me it's not requited.

zuko: not to be rude to your friend, niece, but that is a whole ass child. please think a little better of me.

For the first time in a century, Zuko gets taller. The rest of Team Avatar responds by throwing a party.

zuko: ...nephew. this is awkward. but can you help me brush up on my defensive firebending?

iroh: of course!

(Iroh is very pleased that his uncle put his lightning redirection technique to good use. And he even taught it to the Avatar! There can be no higher praise.)

zuko: it has occurred to me that I have entirely forgotten how to be a prince. fuck.

iroh: princes do not swear half as much as you do, uncle.

zuko: ....maybe I don't want to be a prince then.

(iroh heaves a long sigh. age does not always bring wisdom, especially when the person in question has been sixteen for an entire century.)

one member of team avatar is tasked at all times with keeping an eye on zuko. he hasn't been mortal in a century. he's still getting used to it. he is absolutely going to make stupid mistakes in the process that could get him killed.

zuko, sighing: I miss spirit world shortcuts.

zuko kicks down the door to azula's prison cell. hey. niece. get up. we're going to go find your mom.

azula: no thank you, I do not want to take a life changing field trip with you.

zuko: you have literally no choice in the matter.

(azula: aren't you angry at her? she killed your brother.

zuko: he was on death's doorstep anyways. a light breeze would have killed him.)

zuko continues his lifelong trend of ignoring ozai entirely.

Something is different about Zuko.

Katara's not sure what at first. She just catches herself thinking that there's something different about him compared to yesterday when he joins them for breakfast. Maybe it's the way he scarfs down more food than usual- normally he tries to eat the smallest amount. It's a weird kind of consideration they've never been able to shake him out of. He doesn't need to eat to survive, not technically- but his immorality just prevents him from dying. It doesn't stop the effects of starvation.

It's only when Sokka asks where Aang is that she finally gets her answer.

"Oh," Zuko says, "-he's communing with a lion turtle, apparently."

"...and how do you know that?" Sokka asks.

"The spirits told me when they visited last night," Zuko says, "-which reminds me. We might need to rework our plan."

"Why?" Katara asks. "Don't tell me Aang's not going to make it back in time?"

"No, he should," Zuko says, "-I'm just ah. not immortal anymore."

They stare at him in silence for a long moment. Zuko doesn't really look at them, finishing up his second bowl of rice. He only stops when he notices nobody's talking anymore.

"Wait," Katara says, "-if you're not immortal anymore-"

"-did you get released from the whole bridge thing?" Sokka finishes.

"Yeah," Zuko says, "-pretty much. I'm just as mortal as you guys now. No more spiritual responsibilities."

They exchange a look with each other- and then they're all practically throwing themselves at Zuko. He's downplaying it, but this is huge. They know how much he's wanted this- but only Katara was there to see the fear in his eyes when Aang died in Ba Sing Se. She's so, so happy for him.

(They change their plans. Aang will face the Fire Lord alone after all. Zuko assures them he'll be okay. Suki, Toph, and Sokka will stop the airships before they can rain fire over the Earth Kingdom. She and Zuko will return to the Fire Nation so that he can challenge Azula to an Agni Kai in place of Iroh.

It goes well- until it doesn't.

Azula tries to shoot lightning at her. Zuko goes down-

-and he doesn't get back up again.

Katara watches him clutch his heart with fear in her eyes, and she realizes. Oh. He's mortal now. Zuko can die. Zuko is going to die.

She doesn't let it happen.)

[zuko-always-lies]

i think they were going for iroh finally deciding to stop being subservient to the fire nation in the siege of the north, when zhao tries to, yknow, kill the moon, and then him finally deciding to actively fight against the fire nation when he broke out of prison, thinking zuko "lost his way" in book 3. then him retaking ba sing se was supposed to be his ultimate redeeming moment. however, this doesn't work well if this was what they were going for, because of course doing "one good thing" doesn't automatically redeem him, especially when he doesn't decide to do anything after the war other than profit from the people he once tried to conquer via his tea shop. it could also support him not having compassion for those he doesn't see, as i believe ultranos made a post about how his violent retaking of ba sing se could affect the people more directly and negatively than azula's coup did. thoughts?

So I don't see Iroh's actions in "The Siege of the North" being anything other than trying to stop Zhao from screwing absolutely everyone in the world over. Iroh has not decided to take a general stand against the Fire Nation there. Definitely, afterwards he goes back to hanging out and engaging in hedonism at a Fire Nation resort, and he only becomes a fugitive because of Ozai's orders. Even then, Iroh's reaction is to try to run and hide and live a life as a teashop owner rather than draw on his considerable resources to fight back. This decision to hide persists for the rest of Book 2.

When Azula begins her conquest of Ba Sing Se, Iroh seems to come to some sort of decision that he has to fight back against the Fire Nation, something he sticks to the rest of the series. Honestly, him helping Aang and Katara escape in "The Crossroads of Destiny" is his finest moment in the series.

Yet after that he regresses. He tries to point Zuko in the right direction, but implicit in what he tells Zuko is that Zuko should be the one to teach firebending to Aang and be the one to lead the Fire Nation into a new era, even though Iroh would be better suited for both these tasks. And it only gets worse from here.

You see, Iroh's big contribution toward "saving the world" is gathering the White Lotus to retake Ba Sing Se. On a surface level, that's a very reasonable objective(although the invention of airships probably greatly decreases Ba Sing Se's defensive value). But then Zuko and the Gaang show up, inform him of Ozai's plans, and beg for Iroh's help. At that point, there are several extremely critical military objectives which much be accomplished(in order of importance):

1. Stopping the Fire Nation airship fleet from killing millions of people

2. Defeating the Firelord

3. Defeating Azula and carrying out a coup in the Fire Nation.

All these objectives need to be accomplished in order to win the war. Failing to accomplish any one of them would result in pyrrhic victory at best. All of these objectives all more important than taking Ba Sing Se, and taking Ba Sing Se is pointless if you win the war through accomplishing all three. Iroh has access to five of the most powerful fighters in the world, so he has ample strength to throw behind any of these.

Yet he chooses to prioritize the conquest of Ba Sing Se beyond all reason. He lets Aang face Ozai alone, something which nearly results in Aang's death. He lets Sokka, Suki, and Toph take responsibility for stopping the airship fleet, even though only one of them is a bender, even though they could easily have failed, and Sokka and Toph nearly die as a result. Most importantly, Iroh sends Zuko and Katara into the lion's den alone, something which almost certainly would have resulted in Zuko and Katara being killed or captured by Azula, the imperial firebenders, and the Dai Li if Azula hadn't had her breakdown(and even breakdown Azula comes very close to defeating both of them). Why does Iroh act like?

Iroh: Sozin's Comet is arriving and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord. (Cut to a close up of Iroh) When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would one day take Ba Sing Se. (Camera pans across the various members of the Gaang) Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it back from the Fire Nation so the Earth Kingdom can be free again.

...

Iroh: Goodbye, everyone. (Cut to a frontal shot of Iroh looking up at his nephew) Today, (he closes his eyes and lowers his head) destiny is our friend. (he opens his eyes and looks back up again) I know it.

It looks suspiciously like the "liberation" of Ba Sing Se is an ego trip primarily done to "fulfill" Iroh's "Destiny." Taking Ba Sing Se also allows Iroh and the White Lotus to ensure that King Kuai is restored to power, because I can't imagine anyone in the Earth Kingdom and Ba Sing Se actually wanting him back unless he was forcibly imposed from above.

Now, we turn to the question of damage to Ba Sing Se. This raises the question of why the White Lotus attacked Ba Sing Se during Sozin's Comet? The Fire Nation troops they are fighting are strongest then, and the uncontrolled and power-boasted firebending they wielded likely resulted in a lot of collateral damage. Well, I would say that we also get an explanation for that:

Iroh: Only once every hundred years can a firebender experience this kind of power.

So it's another part of Iroh's ego trip, allowing him to experience the exhilaration of fighting while Sozin's Comet boasts his power and allowing him to take the majority of the credit(and if you wonder why the other members of the White Lotus are OK with this, remember that three of the five known members are deeply questionable in their own ways).

Ultimately, the White Lotus's pointless "liberation" of Ba Sing Se likely resulted in widespread destruction in the city. "Dragon of the West" Iroh joked about burning Ba Sing Se to the ground; "redeemed" Iroh's ego trip to "liberate" the city during Sozin's Comet probably resulted in large portions of Ba Sing Se burning to the ground.

So, I don't think Iroh's "one good act" was actually that good an act. This was not the intention of the writers, but the way they wrote Iroh behaving contains so many disturbing implications, and this is probably true in "Sozin's Comet" more than anywhere else.

Edit: I didn’t make this clear, but I’m sure Iroh rationalized his actions as being the “right thing to do” and the “the only possible course of action.” He’s very good a rationalizing his failures and flaws.

Fun fact: Friedrich Paulus actually ended up defecting to the Allied cause after being captured at Stalingrad. In terms of German World War II generals, he seems to have his hands relatively clean and as far as I know was never accused of war crimes. Yet I don't see taking over managing a tea shop in the city he destroyed after the war.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Ten Into The Fog (Part 3)

Ten years ago…

It is a bold claim. She can believe that perhaps a year or two had gone by, maybe a third. But ten. No, she couldn’t have lost so many years. She couldn’t have been asleep for that long. And yet Sokka sits at the edge of her bed sporting a full beard. 

A beard which he could have grown in a year or two…

“I’m going to go get Zuko.” The comment falls on deaf ears. Sokka gets up and heads for the door, under the assumption that he had practically been commenting to himself. 

But why is he here? Why not father? Why hasn’t father come to take her home? It must be that he is furious over her failure at the Boiling Rock. Her stomach plummets; of course Mai and TyLee haven’t come to visit her. 

She is alone, completely so now. 

Everyone is angry with her. 

Everyone hates her.

They are going to leave her to face her confusion alone. Not that she isn’t well accustomed to that much. Right now, she is tired. To exhausted to begin to face it. To drained to wonder why, if she had been in a coma for, presumably, ten years, the wounds still feel so fresh. Why her head is still bandaged and throbbing quite furiously. 

And maybe it is more than just tiredness–maybe she doesn’t want to flirt with this idea that Sokka might be telling the truth. That she truly has put on ten years–ten years that by some means or another mean absolutely nothing to her. Ten blank, colorless, soundless, sensory deprived years. A gaping trench in her mind…

Azula rolls onto her side, stirring up a new partial numbness laced with those pins and needles. She closes her eyes and she is back in that blackness. That cold, uncaring blackness. That merciful, safe blackness. 

.oOo.

“She doesn’t remember anything?” Zuko frowns. 

“Nothing recent.” Sokka confirms.

“Well what’s the most recent thing that she recalls?”

“Fighting you at the Western Air Temple.” Sokka grimaces. “You know, right after we made the prison break that led to…the incident.” He supposes that, that is one perk to her forgetting everything–she doesn’t remember what her father had done after her failure at the Boiling Rock and the following confrontation at the air temple. 

She doesn’t remember that pain but she remembers pain.

Pain and none of the pleasure. None of the love.

She remembers abandonment and dishonor. 

She remembers fear. 

And he has a good feeling that she will know fear better still soon enough. 

Katara must have arrived at the same conclusion because she speaks up with a suggestion. “Maybe we should take her back to the Fire Nation. Republic City will probably be really overwhelming. It’s…a lot to take in and I saw it while it was developing. I can’t imagine what it would be like to just wake up in the middle of all of this new technology..” 

“It’d be like waking up in the Spirit World.” Aang speculates. 

“Plus Yakone is still on the loose and he’s madder than ever. She doesn’t even know that she has this enemy. It makes her a really easy target.” Sokka points out. 

“And she’s the main target now…” Zuko mutters. 

“She and Toph.” Katara adds. 

“At least Toph knows what she’s up against.” Sokka replies. “Azula’s powerful and really smart but Yakone is clever and strong too. And he has the advantage.” 

“Should we get her on a ship to the Fire Nation while she’s still asleep or should we expose her to Republic City?” Aang asks. 

“I can have a ship ready to pick us up in an hour. And I will.” Zuko says. “Of course, Aang and Toph are going to have to stay behind and keep Republic City secure. Katara, I know that you wanted to spend some time with Aang but…”

“Azula needs a healer. I know.” She sighs and casts a somber glance at Aang. “I just get tired of it sometimes, always having dates and good times interrupted for…stuff like this.”

“It’s the price of dating the Avatar.” Aang shakes his head. “For being the Avatar.”

“Azula would hate this…” Sokka winces. “She never liked it when people sugar coated things and tried to protect her. She would want to stay here and face everything.”

“But Yakone is probably expecting her to be here until she’s recovered enough to travel.” Katara says. “The longer she’s here, the longer she’s at risk of being hurt by Yakone or his thugs.” 

Sokka gives the hallway a sidelong glance. Just on the other end of it, Azula is having a fitful sleep. “Yeah, we can’t let him get to her. A trip back to the Fire Nation it is.” Nevermind that bringing her back to the palace will only make it that much easier to pretend like it hasn’t been ten years. Compared to Republic City and Ba Sing Se, the Fire Nation hasn’t had such a massive boom. The nation and its people seem perfectly content to cling to dated traditions and the past even at the cost of innovation.

Azula always has been the very embodiment of Fire Nation mentality.

[narutakijune]

About ATLA Relationship Arcs

So, this is me, finally trying to write some meta after lurking in my little tumblr corner for months! Hi!

Although I’ve tried to tag properly, if you are a Kat*anger and just want to enjoy your favourite couple in peace, this might not be the post for you. I am not trying to bash characters but I do have a lot of critical stuff to say about the writing.

Anyway, you have been warned and here is my story about my personal first Atla experience: I watched the show this year for the first time, and after the end of Book 1 I decided to look up spoilers, because after what happened to Yue, I wanted to make sure that Zuko and Iroh would be ok. So I knew what was going to happen: Kat*ang endgame and absolutely no Zutara at all. Still, by the end of Book 3, I was convinced that I had read wrong - that there would be an epilogue with a different ending or at least that Aang would only get together with Katara post-show- in that Korra series or something - because anything else wouldn’t make sense- right?

….

After I got over my shock and surprise, I went online and found out about that decade-long aggressive passionate ship war and how even the showrunners got involved.

And then I really worried that I might have missed a few points. Apparently ”Aang and Katara were the DNA of the show”, according to the creators themselves, and “Zutara could never have happened”.

Another popular anti-ZK argument I found was: Why do you always go on about Katara and Zuko? Just look at Zuko and Aang! They are the hero/ anti-hero and each other’s foils, their relationship is much more meaningful!”

So I tried to find out what it was that I apparently couldn’t see.

(Another disclaimer: I love analysing stories (like many Zutarians apparently) and this will get long and rambly. If you get bored to tears when people start talking about “narrative structure” you will probably not like this.)

Talking about narrative structure, I do believe that, in order to let your story, your characters and their relationships really shine, a good basic structure is important. There should be a recognizable development and individual parts of the story that build upon each other and lead to consequences and change, until there is a completed arc - because it is all about the journey that takes you to a satisfying ending, right? So that’s what I tried to do, with my personal Kat*ang vs. Zutara take, I tried to look at the structure and development of their relationship arcs.

The argument that threw me off track for a while is that compared to Aang and Zuko, Zuko and Katara’s relationship is not supposed to be that relevant for the plot. After all, Zuko is the foil, the anti-hero, the deuteragonist to Aang, who is the hero protagonist.

This is all true of course. But then why is it that in every finale, Zuko’s main opponent (and later ally) is not Aang but Katara? Why is it that their sun/moon, red/blue, fire/water dichotomy is so obviously highlighted?

I think one reason why Zuko and Katara are paired off so frequently in the story - as opposite elements, as opponents and as allies - is that they BOTH are Aang’s deuteragonists. While Zuko also acts as antagonist and Aang’s foil/mirror, Katara takes over the more traditional deuteragonist role of confidant / best friend/ narrator.

Protagonist Aang is what connects them, although they are on opposite sides: Both need Aang because he represents their hope to save their world. Very simply put, Katara protects him, so he can make the world a safer place again, and Zuko wants to capture him, so he can go home and be safe again. That rivalry between them is already established in the first episode, even before they meet each other: Katara, who hopes that the Avatar will return (as she tells everyone in the intro), and Zuko, who seems to be obsessed with finding him for more sinister reasons.

And just to make sure, I am not talking here about the characters’ feelings and emotions! This is just about the abstract roles they have been assigned within the narrative.

When regarding Zutara’s special connection to Aang and their rivalry with each other, it makes absolute sense to stress their “same but different”ness as well, visually and metaphorically: Red and blue, fire and water, sun and moon, arguably Painted Lady/Blue Spirit, and, when you put into account their story arc, also Oma and Shu.

With this basis, which puts them together and sets them apart simultaneously, their relationship already becomes very dynamic and interesting, even before you consider any romantic potential.

And here’s another thing, Zuko and Katara also have their own story arc within the main plot. Although they don’t have many scenes together before Zuko joins the Gaang, when they do meet there is always a new shift in their relationship and in quite a few cases their interactions are important for the main plot as well. If you just look at their “end fights” at each book’s finale, there is an obvious and consequential build-up, like any decent story arc should have:

Book 1 starts with Zuko as the powered-up enemy and Katara as the weak newbie waterbender. Both are battling over Aang. At the end of Book 1, they are finally established as equally powerful fighters but still fundamentally different (You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun!)

In CoD at the end of Book 2 happens the next step: they realize that they are not different at all! But Aang still doesn’t represent the same for them and they end up on opposing sides of the war again.

In the Book 3 finale, when Zuko has completed his own (anti-) hero's journey and Aang represents the same “hope” for both of them, they do not only join forces: Their “same but different”- traits make them such a uniquely suited match that they are even able to save each other’s lives during their fight with Azula (who in turn happens to be Katara and Zuko’s antagonist/mirror/foil).

And in addition to their own story arc they even get an individual recurring theme, which also appears in every book whenever their relationship status changes: The lost mothers, especially Katara’s mother.

In Book 1, Katara’s necklace (the symbol of Kiya) plays not only a major part in two of Zuko’s capture attempts, it is the reason for their very first one-one one encounter in the story.

Their first friendly connection in COD in Book 2 happens because they start talking about their mothers. And in Book 3, their final reconciliation (sealed with a very cathartic hug) happens after their life-changing trip which is, of course, all about Katara’s mother.

Again, I am not even trying to analyse their characters and motivations within the story - there are many metas that have already done that much better, more detailed and with screenshots. This is just dry structure and tropes and themes. But I think people recognize and connect with a well-structured arc, even subconsciously, which is one of the reasons that makes Zutara such a compelling couple. They complete and contrast each other, their relationship dynamic constantly changes, builds up, falls apart, reconnects. Such a setup is the perfect playground for a lot of creative takes on what-ifs and alternative scenarios and of course, shipping them romantically is extremely tempting - think of all the possibilities! It’s no wonder that the Zutara fandom is still so active decades after the end of the show. And it’s also no wonder that the Zutarians are known for “over-analysing everything”. You can only over-analyse if there is anything that gives you enough food to analyse to begin with. Which brings me to

KAT*ANG

I just go right to the top and take the quote from Br*yke themselves:

Kata*ng was in the DNA of the thing from the start…. [Zutara] was just dark and intriguing.

If you read this quote and then start watching the show, I would (grudgingly) agree that:

Aang and Katara understand and complement each other really well. Aang gives her the chance to have fun and go on adventures and in turn, Katara is his fiercest supporter from the very beginning, something that he really needs after he lost all his people AND has to find out that the world thinks the war is sort of his fault. In turn, the journey to the North Pole is as important to Katara as it is to Aang, because it is her dream to learn waterbending properly. That’s what she literally says when Sokka & Co try to banish Aang: (Sokka: Where do you think you’re going? Katara: To find a waterbender. Aang is taking me to the North Pole.) In that way, they are friends who give and take equally and are equally taken care of. They even have the last Airbender/ last Southern Waterbender status that connects them. The few times they have a fight, Aang does something in the end to redeem himself (perform some heroic feat) and Katara sees that she is right to believe in him.

Aang has this very sweet crush on her and it will be very sweet and wholesome when Katara will return his feelings at the end of their adventure after he has hit puberty. On the other side, there is also some heavy shipbaiting with Zuko: I save you from the pirates. The betrothal necklace. June and her excellent shipping taste. But in the end they are enemies, they barely know each other and, come on, it would be too dark and intriguing! There is no real threat against friends to lovers Kat*ang, the soft heart of the story. It’s very straightforward and there are a lot of simple “the hero saves the day” scenes for Aang but that’s fine! It’s not really my kind of ship but that’s not the point, it works for the story they want to tell.

End of Book 1.

In my - probably harsh- opinion, everything you really need to know about the Kat*ang relationship has been told by this point. If you want to be really mean, already by Book 1, episode 3.

That explains maybe why many (not all! but many) pro-KA arguments sound as if their shippers have not watched Book 2 and 3 at all. The Book 1 synopsis also perfectly sums up Bry*ke’s quote above. But then Book 2 and 3 are still there and I don’t know what happened but it seems as if they somehow decided that the Kat*ang story does not need any new and lasting input. Maybe because they were afraid that too much new development and change would stray too far away from their original Kat*ang vision. But there are still 2 more books and more adventures and Kat*ang somehow has to be kept apart until the finale.

So the tension in their potential romance is based largely on the question whether or not Katara will return Aang’s feelings. In general I don’t have a problem with that will-she-won’t she-technique. It works well in books where the love interest is not a POV or in shows/ movies where the love interest is not one of the main characters. But Katara is not only the female lead but also arguably the narrative voice of the whole story! As a result, this kind of writing makes Katara look as if she doesn’t have any agency in their relationship, which is not surprisingly a very popular anti-KA criticism.

Additionally, since her dream - learning waterbending - has been fulfilled by the end of Book 1, the relationship work becomes a bit one-sided. Of course Aang is the hero and his journey is the heart of the story. But in order to highlight their special connection it would have helped to give Katara another personal agenda, which Aang could have supported in some way. She is still the last Southern Waterbender and he the Last Airbender but this is not really explored in the Kat*ang relationship. And her other personal agenda, her mother, is already reserved for the Zutara arc.

Instead, in Book 2 and 3 the Kat*ang story is somehow all over the place. Of course there is new conflict and a few romantic scenes as well. But obstacles are either introduced too late or just dropped when not needed anymore, conflict is not resolved and their flirty, romantic moments never lead anywhere- and if they do, they lead to more conflict that is not resolved (yes, I am looking at you, EIP Kiss!).

Take for example Katara’s very sudden argument that they cannot be together now because there is a war going on. We hear her saying that for the first time in the very last episode (EIP) before the 4-part finale. That is too late to have any impact! That she has these kinds of thoughts was never even alluded to before. Not once.

Or the pattern Aang runs away/ is flaky - Katara is upset - Aang comes back and does his hero thing - Katara is relieved. In regards to their relationship arc, nothing changes here between Book 1 and the finale, only the stakes for Aang’s heroic performances get higher.

Or Katara being the one who is able to calm Aang down when he cannot control the Avatar state (which, in my personal opinion, is neither romantic nor healthy). This is also connected to the problem with the seventh Chakra, that Aang needs to let go of his attachment for her. I will be angry forever with how they wasted this for a possible relationship development! That Aang has to decide to either do his duty or save his forever girl (because let’s be fair, he did try to let go and only ran when he had the vision of Katara in danger) - that’s a fantastic setup!

But no, it doesn’t have any real consequences for Kat*ang at all. Instead there were only half-baked attempts – Aang does lie about his failed practice with Guru Pathik but the ultimate reason why his chakra is blocked is Azula, not his decision to run. Aang does try to let go of Katara for a little bit but then Azula shoots him. Nothing in Book 3 shows any change in his feelings that could have been a result of his instant let-it-go. If anything, he gets weirdly obsessive - which could have been used as a side effect of his blocked chakra but – again, no, nothing happens.

I suspect the whole thing was just introduced to create temporary drama for poor Aang, but it is never explained why Katara holds him back, what aspect of the attachment is blocking him or what would happen if he did let her go. Maybe they tried to make a statement about how love is more important than Avatar rules – which would have been fine but it’s also never properly explored. Instead, as soon as that plot point becomes inconvenient it’s simply dropped like a random rock™.

Compare all that to the Zutara arc, where both characters’ feelings about each other are always very much in the open, and where every interaction causes lasting effects in their relationship. Yes, it is unfair to compare that to Kat*ang, because up to the end of Book 3, Zuko and Katara almost never meet, while Aang and Katara spend almost every episode together – of course they cannot do meaningful things all the time. But on the other side, with Kat*ang, there would have been a great chance to show a subtle, gradual build-up instead.

It also doesn’t help that the Zutara arc seems hellbent on sabotaging every romantic moment Aang is allowed to enjoy:

There is Kat*angs first maybe-kiss in the dark before the background of the Oma and Shu legend. But it does not lead anywhere. Instead, Zuko and Katara almost reenact the legend itself in the Book 2 finale as two real enemies to almost-friends, including a glowy rocks-backdrop and the right costume colours, just so nobody misses the message.

In Footloose The Headband, Aang and Katara have a really sweet dance together, and everybody can see how they almost intuitively know each other's moves. This could be a great hint on how well they will fight together in the finale. But is it plot-relevant? No, because the final tag team is Katara and Zuko! While Aang gets paired off with random rock™.

Then there is Aang’s riding off to battle- kiss in DotBS, which Katara is not even allowed to enjoy, because keeping her feelings vague is apparently more important than character development at this point. It is the only romantic moment that gets mentioned again, but in a way that sinks the former cute and wholesome ship into the deep ocean, and the reason is - Aang is jealous of Zuko!

If all of this was only done for the sake of shipbaiting, then it really went out of control at some point.

In the end, the showrunners still had their reasons to choose Kat*ang, maybe because that corresponded more to their own vision, and there are still enough people out there who agree with them. Which is absolutely fine! In the end, what matters most is how you personally connect to the characters and nobody needs to defend their personal taste. But the typical anti-ZK claim, that all the Zutarians with their crazy analysis and rambling meta essays are reaching and delusional and that they desperately try to construct something that isn’t there, is not only a very lazy argument but simply not true.

And I’d claim that in spite of the canon choice, Zutara is technically the better written relationship. By far.

[momsopposed2theoccult]

It’s come to my attention that a good majority of people on this website have a really poor understanding of the conflict between Toph and Katara in “The Chase.” As somebody who loves both characters and their friendship, this irritates me. Without further ado, let’s unpack that in what is in theory supposed to be a meta but turned out more like a rant. 

“Katara was hostile towards Toph because the fact that she’s a gender non-conforming girl made Katara uncomfortable because Katara is obsessed with gender roles.”

Alright, so right off the bat this is just... completely idiotic and clearly fuelled by an agenda (and likely also a lot of projection). First of all, how is Katara of “I don’t want to heal, I want to fight!” fame “obsessed with gender roles?” There’s an entire episode in Book One dedicated to Katara refusing to conform to societal norms for women in the Northern Water Tribe! Katara routinely calls Sokka out on his misogynistic bullshit! (Mind you I adore Sokka but he could be a little twerp at times and Katara was 100% right to challenge him on it) Katara is the feminist icon of ATLA! The fact that people act like Katara is some sort of conservative tradwife who loves gender roles instead of the outspoken feminist and political activist she is makes me incredibly angry.

Second of all, Katara was extremely kind and welcoming towards Toph at first. She gently encouraged her to join in with the group as they all set up camp together as opposed to setting up her own private camp. It’s only when Toph refuses to comply with her that Katara begins to get irritated. Mind you, Toph has her reasons for this, something I’ll get to in a minute, but from Katara’s perspective (key word here is perspective) she’s just being an annoying little stubborn, selfish, lazy, anti-social, entitled brat. Of course we the audience find out later that this isn’t the case at all (or at least in theory we should find out later but apparently some people on here skipped that part), but for all her many talents Katara is not a mind reader and has no way of knowing what’s going on inside Toph’s head, nor does she know her well enough yet to fully grasp the context behind why Toph acts the way she does. Katara is somebody who greatly values community and believes in teamwork, so Toph turning down her warm welcome in favour of “carrying her own weight” likely felt like a slap in the face. Not to mention that she’s already emotionally exhausted from having to constantly mother Aang and Sokka. If I were Katara, I likely would have reacted the same way. 

Oh and I agree that the “the stars look beautiful tonight, too bad you can’t see them, Toph” comment was out of line, but it doesn’t make her a horrible person. It makes her a 14 year old, and 14 year olds can be nasty, especially sleep deprived 14 year olds. Katara is otherwise a very kind and compassionate person. Other characters have said worse than that. Hell, Toph herself has said worse than that. That being said, it was a deeply hurtful comment and I do like to imagine that she apologized for it off-screen. 

“Toph is a lazy, entitled, and classist spoiled rich brat who just didn’t want to do chores and expected other people to wait on her.” 

This is another one that makes me roll my eyes and ask if they even watched the show. First of all, the presumption that Toph is a lazy or entitled person is just... laughable. I feel like people forget that Toph isn’t actually an earthbending prodigy in the way that Azula is a firebending prodigy (I could say more about Azula and how her belief that she was the unshakeable prodigal daughter ultimately caused her downfall and how by the end of the series Zuko is arguably a better firebender than her but this isn’t a meta about Azula and Zuko, now is it?). Nah. Toph was a sheltered kid who discovered she had the ability to earthbend, was told that she could never become great at it because she was blind, and in response said FUCK THAT and decided to work her ass off until she was not only great but the very greatest all thanks to her crazy, stupid, off-the-charts nerve, drive, grit, ambition, and desire to prove people wrong about her. Does that sound like a lazy person to you? Believe me when I say that you do not achieve that kind of skill level by sitting around on your ass and expecting to have things handed to you. And entitled? Don’t make me laugh. Toph hates having things handed to her, that’s one of her defining characteristics. 

As for the implication that she’s classist and enjoys basking in her family’s wealth and being waited on...... are you stupid? Did you even watch the show? Toph absolutely despises everything about her parents’ lifestyle. Growing up like that was traumatizing and restrictive for her. We’re talking about a girl who likes to play around in the mud for fuck’s sake. Toph does not care how much money you have. She never wanted any to begin with. She even says it herself; “I guess I shouldn’t be complaining. They gave me everything I could have wanted. But they never gave me what I actually needed - their love.” Not to mention that she easily could have continued to freeload off her parents wealth but instead chose to sneak out of the house and make her own money doing what she did best; disproving people’s assumptions about her earthbending. Oh and I’ve seen someone point this out before but WWE is generally considered a “low brow” activity that “proper” people frown upon and shouldn’t associate themselves with. Toph fucking loved it. I don’t know how seriously people take the comics, as they often miss the mark when it comes to characterization (Toph’s, however, was generally pretty accurate), but there’s a part in The Rift where Sokka asks her when she’s going to start charging people to learn metalbending and she gets all serious and flat out tells him that she will never do such a thing, because money doesn’t matter to her. Sharing her one true passion with the world is what matters to her. Oh and the part where she basically tells a bunch of rich and sleazy businessmen to fuck off and “stop thinking about money and start thinking about people’s lives” is just... *chef’s kiss* Sorry my thoughts here are so incoherent but this take is so piss poor and makes me so angry that I don’t even know where to start. As for “Toph enjoys being waited on” I just- *sigh* Toph has such a visceral and defensive reaction to any implication that she is unable to take care of herself. Like I said earlier, that’s one of her defining characteristics as well as the reason for her behaviour in “The Chase.” Where are people getting these takes?

You wanna know why Toph acted the way she did in The Chase? Well, first let’s recap her life up to this point. Toph was born the blind daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the Earth Kingdom. From day one her parents treated her like glass due to her disability. She was not allowed to leave her house unsupervised, and even then she was only permitted to walk around the gardens of her home. Every day of her life she was pitied, gaslit, babied, ignored, emotionally neglected, and made to feel ashamed of herself. She was not allowed to make any decisions for herself. She was not allowed to do anything for herself. She was not allowed to talk to other children. She had no friends. Other people didn’t even know she existed on account that her parents kept her locked up in her own home and didn’t tell anybody about her because they were so ashamed to have a blind daughter. Flash forward to “The Chase.” Toph begins to set up her own camp separate from the rest of the Gaang. Considering that she flat out was not socialized as a child and hadn’t even interacted with anybody her own age prior to a few days ago, this is understandable. So then Katara comes up to her and asks her why she isn’t setting up camp with the others as if she’s somehow incapable of taking care of herself (again, this is just what happened from her perspective) like she’s her mom or something and it just angers her because she thought she joined this group to get away from all that and she doesn’t understand how friends work because she’s never had one, all she knows is that apparently this girl thinks she isn’t capable of taking care of herself, and that infuriates her because it’s the exact same bullshit she thought she was running away from.

There’s a lot more I could say about this but I’m sick of typing so yeah in conclusion both of these takes are piss poor and I’m sick of having to read them. Stan Toph, Katara, and their friendship. 

[scarletemeterio-thesecond]

Hello! Could i request a Sokka imagine where the reader is Tophs older sister who tries to leave her home when Toph join the Gaang? The MC is an outcast in her family, even by Toph. Toph doesnt want her to join because she claims she cant bend so shed be useless, this makes Sokka defend her and she joins along. The real reason shes an outcast in her family tho, is because shes a fire bender, and she has to hide her secret, only reavling the truth by accident after protecting Sokka in battle.

i absolutely loved this concept and i finally managed to finish this fic, i am so sorry for the long ass wait, but i'm starting to catch up on some old requests. hope you like it!

•••

Secrets (Sokka x Fem!Reader)

Warnings: none i think

Genre: Fluff i guess

Fandom: Avatar The Last Airbender

Summary: See request

Word Count: 1938

Reader uses she/her pronouns

•••

Being home was too much for (Y/N). She felt like she was invisible in her own family. The Beifongs had taken her in when she was little, but when they found out that she was a firebender, things changed completely.

When Toph was little, they were quite close, but then her parents managed to break them apart. They'd tell Toph that she was dangerous but also that she was useless because she couldn't bend.

So during the last few years, she felt like an outcast. She would go to the ring most of the time and analyze the movements of the fighters, trying to train herself. She eventually managed to improve her firebending, which had an unique style based on earthbending, but she still had a lot to learn.

She stopped going to the ring once she realized that Toph was the Blind Bandit, she didn't want to run into her outside of the house, but kept practicing on her own.

But suddenly one day the Avatar came to her home. He was looking for an earthbender teacher and she immediately knew that the person he was interested in was Toph. Dinner was a little awkward, but once everyone was ready for bed, things seemed much calmer.

(Y/N) was outside the house, enjoying the fresh air of the night when suddenly, she heard her sister talking.

''Even though I was born blind, I've never had a problem seeing. I see with earthbending. It's kind of like seeing with my feet, '' she said. ''I feel the vibrations in the earth, and I can see where everything is-- you, that tree, even those ants. And also my sister around here somewhere,'' she chuckled at her words. Even though they didn't have the best relationship, it was nice hearing Toph call her her sister. It made her feel a bit normal, even if back at the house she was still an outcast.

She stopped paying attention to the two kids and lost herself in her thoughts, but she got out of her trance when she heard an unfamiliar voice. (Y/N) went running back to the house and desperately called her parents.

''What's the meaning of this?'' Asked her father, clearly annoyed at the noise.

''Toph and the Avatar! Someone took them!''

Everyone went outside, following her, and they realized that the captors had left a note.

''If you want to see your daughter again, bring 500 gold pieces to the arena,'' read the girl from the Water Tribe. ''And it's signed 'Xin Fu and The Boulder.'''

''Master Yu, I need you to help me get my daughter back.''

''We're going with you,'' said the waterbender.

''I wanna go, too,'' said (Y/N). She was looking at her father as the words left her mouth.

''No, you can't come, (Y/N), you-.''

''I don't care. I know you've broken the relationship between me and Toph, but she's still my sister and I want to go.''

''You're not a bender, (Y/N), it would only be for the worse.''

''You know I can help,'' she muttered, knowing that her father knew what she meant.

There was a small pause while they shared a look. ''Fine, you can come, but don't try to do anything you might regret.'' He walked away from her and soon they all headed towards the arena.

Once Toph was free, her father finally saw what she was capable of. The way back to the house was awkward, to say the least.

After the conversation that Toph had with her father, there was a bigger tension in the house than usual.

A few moments later, (Y/N) heard some noise close to her room, and when she opened the door a little, she realized that her sister was escaping. She considered the idea of staying home, of being the only Beifong daughter and she couldn't think of something worse.

So as fast as she could, she changed her clothes to something more comfortable and ran quietly outside.

"Wait, guys! Please!" Said (Y/N) while running towards the group. "I wanna come too," she told them. "Please?"

She could see how Aang, Katara and Sokka all started nodding with smiles on their faces, but whem she looked at Toph, her expression was completely different.

"You can't," said the girl.

"What? Why not?"

"Yeah, Toph, what's the problem?" Asked Katara.

"Look, (Y/N), I don't mean to offend you but why would you even come with us?"

"Because I don't belong here, and you know it."

"You're not a bender, you would only be a liability to us."

"Hey! Don't be like that, Toph!" Exclaimed Sokka.

(Y/N) already had some tears on her eyes but quickly got rid of them. She didn't want the others to see her cry.

Sokka got down from Appa and stood next to (Y/N). "(Y/N) is coming with us, okay? Now let's go, we don't want to waste any time." He grabbed the girl by the arm and helped her get on top of Appa.

During their whole journey away from the Beifongs' house, Sokka and (Y/N) talked a lot.

He liked having someone like him around, it made him feel like he wasn't so alone; and she liked feeling like someone cared a little bit about her.

-

The days went by and (Y/N) could finally tell that she'd found her new family. Even her relationship with her sister had improved significantly since they'd both left home.

Still, no one knew that she was actually a firebender. She hated lying to everyone but she also didn't know how to tell them; in her head, she thought that they wouldn't want her to be with them anymore, she was afraid.

"Hey, (Y/N)," she heard someone say. She looked up and saw Sokka standing next to her. He took a seat by her side. "What are you thinking about?"

"Hi, Sokka. It's nothing, really," she tried to sound convincing but knew that she'd failed. Out of everyone in the group, Sokka was the one she was closest to. She even had a little crush on him, and the fact that she was lying to him was destroying her.

"You always say that but I never believe you."

"I already told you, Sokka, I can't talk about it." She looked at him and he gave her a sympathetic look.

"You can tell me anything, (Y/N). And I promise I won't tell your secret to anyone else."

"No, I can't. You'd hate me if I told you, trust me."

"What? I could never hate you!" He exclaimed and she smiled a little. (Y/N) knew he believed what he was saying, but would it still be true even if he found out what she really was?

Sokka took one of the maps he'd taken from the library, trying to decipher it while still enjoying (Y/N)'s company.

"Waterbending bomb!" Katara yelled from afar, and then everyone saw her get into the water, splashing everyone.

"Sure, 5.000-year-old maps from the spirit library. Just splash some water on 'em," complained Sokka.

(Y/N) couldn't help but giggle a bit at his reaction.

They had to figure out a way to finally get to Ba Sing Se, and The Serpent's Pass seemed to be the only way, but that was until they met a couple that told them about the ferries.

However, the plan was a total failure, so the only option they had left was the dangerous Serpent's Pass.

It wasn't easy, but they eventually made it to the great city of Ba Sing Se. But there was something waiting for them there: a drill with the Fire Nation insignia on it.

It was obvious who was behind that, the Fire Nation princess herself, along with her two friends. Luckily, Sokka came up with a plan, they were going to take the drill down from the inside.

"Okay, we're gonna go with Toph and then we'll get inside of it, okay?" Sokka said.

They all nodded and got ready to go, but the earthbender suddenly stopped for a second.

"(Y/N), I think that you should stay here."

"What?" She was confused. They had been getting along a lot better lately, but that comment took her by surprise.

"You could get hurt, it's not safe. Plus, well, you can't bend and you know that."

"Toph, I can take care of myself, okay? I told you a million times before!"

"I know, but-."

"She's coming with us," interrupted Sokka. "She is one of us and we won't leave anyone behind, okay? And she's not helpless, Toph."

The little girl tried to say something, but the young boy didn't let her.

When they finally reached the drill, Toph stayed outside, and the rest of them went inside.

"I need a plan of this machine. Some schematics that show what the inside looks like. Then we can find its weak points."

"Where are we gonna get something like that?" Asked Aang.

"Maybe we should break something, then some engineer would have to come to fix it," suggested (Y/N).

"Good idea," said Sokka, and he got on with it.

Once they had the map, they knew what they'd have to do, but it wasn't going to be easy.

Aang and Katara had to cut through the braces of the structure, but they turned out to be a lot thicker than they thought. They luckily realized they didn't have to cut all the way through them, instead it was enough with just cutting a little to weaken them.

All of them were focused on the braces, so the only one that noticed the three Fire Nation girls was (Y/N). She realized Azula was about to blast some fire towards Sokka, and she quickly pushed him away and instinctively threw some fire at her, too.

Everyone was shocked, even the three girls that were trying to fight them, but there was no time for explanations.

Katara, Sokka and (Y/N) escaped through the pipeline and even though the battle wasn't over, as soon as they were out of the drill Sokka started interrogating (Y/N).

"You were a firebender this whole time? Why didn't you say anything? And why doesn't Toph know? I mean, she's your sister and- Wait," he made a pause, suddenly realising something. "That was your secret, right?"

She nodded slightly, and looked away to try and hide her blushing face.

"(Y/N), how could you think we would ever hate you for that? That I would hate you?" She could see the hurt in his face, and she hated herself for it.

"The Fire Nation is the enemy, so I guess I figured you wouldn't want me in your team anymore if you found out where I'm really from."

"(Y/N), you can't change where you come from, and we would never hate you for that," said Katara in a sweet voice, still using her bending against Ty Lee.

Sokka wrapped his arms against (Y/N), which took her by surprise, but she quickly wrapped hers around his waist. "Thank you for protecting me back there. And once again, I could never hate you, okay?" They pulled away just a little to look at each other and then he kissed her forehead.

They knew they were still in the middle of a battle and that Katara was just a few meters away from them, but right there in that moment, it didn't matter. It was only (Y/N) and Sokka, wrapped around eachothers' arms, finally starting to realize their feelings for one another.

•••

TAGLIST

@talas-starlight @just-a-belgian-girl @sorrythatspussynal @siriuslyslyslytherin

[adhd-bisexual-pink]

I'm so sick of Azula haters. Like seriously find someone else to attack (maybe the man who left his 11-year-old niece with her physically abusive father for 3 years just a suggestion).

There is all this hate for a 14-year-old girl who is heavily brainwashed and hasn't even done much wrong (in the specific circumstances).

The major things Azula did in the show were: try to kill Aang, Zuko, and Katara (and I guess the rest of the gaang), imprison Suki and take over Ba Sing Se. I'm gonna talk about these all individually for a moment. Because people seem to forget they were at war.

Attempting to kill any member of the gaang (including her brother) is just war, would you call any person who fought for either side of a war in history massively evil for doing it. I don't think so. The fact that she never actually succeeded in doing this on top of that. Why does she get hate for this? Please remember that for a while the gaang were actively trying to kill her father (excluding Aang) and Aang only refused because of air nation principles. Everyone else was still massively for it.

Suki's and the rest of the Kyoshi warrior's imprisonment. Absolutely justifiable. Once again they were at war. We don't even get a mention of them being physically harmed or tortured here (that could be because it's a kids show though). But still imprisoning someone on the opposite side of a war to you is absolutely justifiable - in fact, expected.

The take over of Ba Sing Se especially was a bloodless coup. That means that the only person who was harmed in this entire takeover was Aang, one person, and Azula managed to take an entire city. This isn't just a war tactic this is actively non-violent. Iroh spent years at the siege of Ba Sing Se and was actively violent (his son wasn't the first soldier to die on the field I can assure you).

Basically, Azula's actions can all be justified as classic war maneuvers that were relatively non-violent (especially for the fire nation). The only time she was violent was when people were actively attacking her as well - she didn't harm random innocent people for fun.

There are a lot of people who are like Azula's mental health issues don't excuse her actions. No, they don't, what excuses her actions is the fact that she was at war. And none of her actions are particularly cruel or unexpected.

I fully agree that Azula is on the wrong side of the war. But if she had done this against the fire nation. No one would have a problem with any of her actions. And the reason she was on the wrong side of the war is that she has been fed propaganda since she was a child.

She grew up believing in the superiority of the fire nation - this was never challenged from her perspective. She likely hadn't left the fire nation until the show started and we see that in fire nation schools they believe that their colonisation of the world is to share their greatness and technology.

Azula isn't inherently a bad person, she has been taught (read brainwashed) into thinking that what she is doing is the best thing for the world.

Azula deserves redemption because she isn't inherently evil. But rather has just been fighting for a cause that she believes is correct when it isn't. All this girl needs is some love, some psychological help, and someone to show her why the fire nation is in the wrong.

I believe that Azula truly cares for her people and just wants what is best for the fire nation and its people. She just doesn't understand why what she is doing is wrong currently because no one ever taught her that.

Zuko had Ursa and Iroh to guide him and his morals but neither of them paid any attention to Azula. She gathered her morals and her ruthlessness of Ozai.

I'm gonna put in a comparison to Zoya Nazyalensky here (Spoilers for Shadow and Bone if you haven't read it). Very similar characters in my eyes. Ruthless, determined, initially led wrong. If Zoya had stayed with the Darkling she probably would have ended up the way Azula did in the show. And I think that if Azula got the healing and teaching and love that she needs that she can end up like Zoya.

Basically, I think it's ridiculous that people are so hateful of a 14-year-old, who was brainwashed from birth, for committing actions that any person actively involved in a war would commit.

[sokkagatekeeper]

what do you mean when you say that zuko is a pessimistic idealist and sokka is a pessimistic realist? i love your analyses and i’d love to hear more of your thoughts on that!!! (also love how you say sokka and zuko are perfect for each other because they’re both grumps lol)

i do not remember saying that however it does sound like something i would say lmao. i think what i (would) mean with the statement “zuko is a pessimistic idealist” is that he grew up... idk if unappreciated is the exact word, but in the militaristic hypermasculine society that valued traits that he did not have in comparison to azula, zuko was always at a disadvantage and he had to run for it, sometimes make rash decisions as they were the better/only decisions he could make at all in order to be appreciated and most times it did not pay off which resulted in the entire mess that is zuko’s personality. for all of this, zuko has a tendency to see the worst part of the situation he’s in (coming to mind atm ‘it blew up in my face — like everything always does!’ ‘this city is a prison’ more or less?), so in other words he’s grumpy and kinda sour as hell, all the time.

but at the same time, zuko has a certain... idea of the world, a kind and caring heart, a strong sense of justice, an overall vision for a world that’s good. when zuko comes to understand the fire nation is actually actively pushing back this vision, and he practically immediately turns away from its ideals and pursues a philosophy and a group that actually fit his ideas of what’s better for the world. zuko spent three years at sea looking for a myth, in hopes that finding it would finally put an end to his suffering, making him and katara the only people in the world who truly believed the avatar was still out there. zuko is always expecting everything to blow up in his face like it often did throughout his childhood, and he sees the worst part of the situation before anything else but he always pushes back to make it better, or to what he believes would be making it better.

my favorite example of this is during the blue spirit after zuko finds out zhao got the avatar before him, and he gives iroh a speech about how all hope is lost for him and he will never ever have love honor or happiness ever again, and about five hours later he’s behind a theatre mask with two swords against the world rescuing the avatar just so he can capture this avatar himself in the future, while also letting him go afterwards because it’s not honorable to take him in the easy manner he could take him at that precise moment(???) and that was just nuts. therefore pessimistic idealist.

on the other hand there’s sokka.

sokka is a pessimist through and through, a serial complainer, a paranoid neurotic strategist. sokka grew up in disadvantage to the rest of the world and overshadowed by a his little sister — not because katara was a bender and sokka was not, but because katara was the last bender they had left. i’ve talked about this before but basically it’s no wonder katara is a solid optimistic idealist with all the hope and faith and determination in the world while sokka is a pessimistic realist and pragmatic depressed cynical bastard. presumably his village but also sokka put himself at disadvantage. it is safe to assume sokka sacrificed his own uhh. hope? naivetè? innocence? for katara to keep hers and in order to protect her better — after all katara is the last southern waterbender, their collective hero, and you can’t have a hero with no hope, you can’t have a dead hero. and also sokka is an eldest sibling, it’s instinctual.

now don’t get me wrong, sokka has a huge heart full of love and devotion and wonder. he is an inventor, an artist, a scientist. sokka is filled with ideas, but he is always waiting for the lowest blow, he is always waiting for a disaster to happen (and with a good reason!). sokka believes optimists are liars, he thinks destiny and fate is more or less bullshit, he has a pragmatic and careful approach to almost every situation he’s presented with and even though he has a clear sense of morality, he is willing to make certain sacrifices as are the demands of war – where zuko is willing to save zhao without hesitation, who tried to kill him multiple times and whom he had been fighting not one minute ago, for example.

sokka wants the world to be a better place, and at the same time he has little trouble turning away from people who aren’t in any immediate danger even if they are suffering because he has more pressing matters at hand (the painted lady), he obviously would want the avatar to come back and save them, but aang being a complete stranger signaling to a fire nation ship is most definitely a valid justification for sokka to banish him (the boy in the iceberg/the avatar returns i don't remember lol). among many many many other situations in which sokka is technically right, even if it doesn’t fit other characters’ idealistic views or it doesn’t make for a good story, sokka is the realist they all need in order to survive.

also i admit ‘perfect for each other’ can be kind of a stretch and i believe that it being because they’re both grumpy is kinda reductive since that can also be the basis of mai and zuko’s relationship and we all know what i think of those two aksjaks (this is NOT mai slander. # mai deserves better 2k21). however i do think sokka and zuko fit together because they have different types of emotional constipation and they actively push each other to be more balanced in order to reach to the other. sokka wants to believe deep down, and the fact that he is in a story even if he doesn’t really believe it plays its cards sometimes which translates into the universe’s obsession with sokka, and zuko is destiny fan #1 so he can give sokka an overemotional speech once in a while that sokka will ruthlessly dismiss and dismantle verbally but that at the same time will warm his heart and help him loosen up on his scheduled cerebral to a default existence on the long-run; zuko needs grounding once in a while which he usually got from iroh or at the very least iroh made an attempt to get through him, and sokka is intellectually crude enough to give zuko a reality check while making himself understood and because of their shared wavelength he can do this without crushing all of zuko’s hopes and dreams in the process.

they are also two eldest siblings one with depression the other filled with rage and they are the only real ‘pessimists’ in the gaang, so while yes, zuko will take action to solve problems he will also complain about it forever more and he can do that with sokka. together they can yell at god, complain about jocks, complain about prescriptivists, bond over their very niche taste in art that nobody ever understands, and absolutely tear apart everything that doesn’t fit their competence standard (it’s a very high fucking standard, those are two grumpy neurodivergent people) among many other grump-activities that seem to make them miserable but that actually serve both of them to validate their annoyed kind of love for the world and it makes both of them really happy :)

[seyaryminamoto]

How much was azula and zuko blinded of the propaganda?I have seen someone say that" azula knew the propaganda was a lie and there evidence was the fire nation were willingly to burn ba sing sa to the ground so azula should have known better"

O_o um, no offense intended to that person but... where’s the evidence that Azula ever had any doubts about the Fire Nation’s supremacist views?

I can outright point at a key dialogue where Zuko blatantly proves he’s not blinded by his father’s propaganda: Book 1, episode 3. Zuko directly tells Zhao: “If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool!”, quoted right out of the wikia. So... heh. Zuko seems to be critical of his father, of his conquest, of his colonialist pursuits...

... And yet he proceeds to continue chasing the Avatar, fighting against him, outright committing treason against his own nation by releasing Aang but ONLY so he could be the one to turn him in personally, still saying things like “My honor, my throne, my country, I'm about to lose them all.” (Book 1, episode 13), telling Iroh “I want it back. I want the Avatar, I want my honor, my throne. I want my father not to think I'm worthless.” (Book 2, episode 1), introducing himself in this manner: “My name is Zuko. Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne.” (Book 2, episode 7), and the list goes on :’) basically, insert everything nefarious or gray Zuko does through the three seasons, and factor in that Zuko has proven he doesn’t believe his father’s propaganda since early Book 1... you get the picture.

So... what that line in “The Southern Air Temple” ends up telling us is that all his actions are self-serving! :’D Which takes away from Zuko’s big speech to Ozai, namely when he says that the argument about the war spreading the Fire Nation’s greatness was an “amazing lie”. No, it wasn’t an amazing lie, and no, he didn’t believe it, at least he didn’t ever since the show began, as far as we saw. Therefore... I give no free passes to Zuko over any arguments that he was doing Ozai’s bidding or acting in his behalf. No one who says “my father is a fool” with such conviction in the show’s very THIRD EPISODE can pretend he was completely unaware of how wrong the Fire Nation’s direction was until he finally had his change of heart and awakening to the goodness of the world. He knew it was wrong. He did everything he did because it didn’t matter to him that it was, his throne and honor mattered more. 

And considering I could quote at least three different instances where he talks about the throne as his own, or meant to be his own, I think it’s damn clear it was constantly on his mind. The only occasion when he says anything about wanting to do right by the Fire Nation itself is with Mai in the Boiling Rock... and by then he’s “redeemed”. Ergo, he’s supposed to know better at last. Before redemption? Zero signs that Zuko believes the Fire Nation needs new guidance and that he realizes the problem is Ozai’s propaganda and ideological indoctrination. That line in episode 3 suggests he KNOWS his father can and should be questioned, but later on he doesn’t betray any interest in doing so until he outright confronts him in The Eclipse. And that’s the thing: Zuko knows Ozai is bullshitting everyone, but it’s not his problem. That’s not why he’s doing what he’s doing. He’s not here to further spread Ozai’s gospel, he’s here to get the Avatar and earn his ticket back home, and he’ll do ANYTHING to achieve that.

Meanwhile, Azula... anyone can say she’s not blind to the horrors the Fire Nation has committed, that she’s an active participant of the war, that she’s her father’s enabler too... sure. But I don’t think ANYONE can say with any degree of certainty that Azula had broken out of the Fire Nation indoctrination on any level by the time we meet her in the show. Azula, as far as I’ve always seen her, is a product of her upbringing: she is sheltered, troubled, capable of dismissing any moral dilemmas in the face of any mission, absolutely unwilling to fail at anything she ever does. But really... where’s the evidence that she KNOWS the Fire Nation isn’t inherently superior to the others? Where’s the evidence that she knows Sozin’s doctrines are just excuses? I’m not saying she’s not smart enough to figure it out, I certainly write her that way myself... but I don’t think there’s anything you can point to in the show, the way there IS, objectively, with Zuko, to say “Yeah she’s 100% aware that the Fire Nation supremacist ideals are BS and she just follows fit with them because she wants a throne for herself.”

In contrast: how many times does Azula say the word “throne” in the show?:

“The fact is, they don't know which one of us is going to be sitting on that throne, and which one is going to be bowing down.” (Book 2, Episode 20) -- not the Fire Nation throne, but Ba Sing Se’s. Ergo, a throne she took via strategic prowess... that she then abandoned and left in Joo Dee’s hands SOMEHOW (why... Azula, just... why?? xD) before returning to the Fire Nation instead of merely relishing in having obtained MORE POWER!

... That’s literally it.

Where Zuko constantly talks about “his throne”, Azula only displays genuine, overt, blatant interest in becoming Fire Lord when Ozai directly offers her the position. She doesn’t shy away from it at all, of course, but when she’s seen talking about her alleged future as Fire Lord, her wording is... curiously different from Zuko’s:

“My father asked you to come here and talk to me, didn't he‌? He thinks I can't handle the responsibility of being Fire Lord. But I will be the greatest leader in Fire Nation history.” (Book 3, Episode 20)

This isn’t even fully healthy Azula, so using her behavior here as representative for her genuine views is a tricky thing to do. And yet... she says she will be the greatest LEADER? She’s not looking at the throne as something she is owed, she’s looking at it as a challenge she needs to prove herself worthy of. She’s not looking at a crown or a throne exclusively: she’s looking at LEADERSHIP. She’s ambitious enough to think BEYOND obtaining the power, and instead she’s already thinking of how she’ll use it.

This is a fundamental difference between both Zuko and Azula. Azula’s motivation wasn’t the throne, or a crown, or anything like that until the finale. If she’d wanted more political power, like I always say, she would’ve stayed in the Earth Kingdom and ruled over Ba Sing Se herself, getting high on the thrill of finally controlling a nation of her own. She’s the main artificer of the take-over, the Dai Li literally answer to her, and yet she didn’t stick around: she left the city for other people to deal with rather than going wild over her newly acquired power. Doesn’t this speak lengths about Azula’s priorities? And once she’s finally being offered the throne she does value, her troubled mind is set on LEADERSHIP. And while of course someone can argue she’s just vain and wants to be remembered forever, kind of like Zhao did, the question of what kind of leadership Azula has in mind is still worth asking: if she didn’t want the Earth Kingdom throne, it suggests she actually cherishes the Fire Nation above all else, and another nation’s throne doesn’t suffice or particularly prove fulfilling for her beyond the initial conquest. Prioritizing the Fire Nation, WITHOUT being Fire Lord yet, above Ba Sing Se’s throne... strongly suggests a belief that the Fire Nation matters more than anything else. And that’s basically what the Ozai propaganda impresses upon his people.

For further evidence... I present to you the Fire Nation Oath:

“My life I give to my country, with my hands I fight for Fire Lord Ozai and our forefathers before him. With my mind I seek ways to better my country, and with my feet may our March of Civilization continue.” (Book 3, Episode 2)

Just one reading of this oath explains Azula’s actions and motivations immediately. Recapping her actions throughout the show: 

She finds Iroh and Zuko under Ozai’s orders, attempts to take them home peacefully, then they rebel, she fights them and regards them as traitors, loses, still intends to continue chasing them after her defeat.

Gathers new allies for her quest, comes across the Avatar, decides to take him down, fails, decides she has two targets now.

Chases the Avatar, fights both him and Zuko, narrowly escapes before being defeated, all be it to fight another day.

Helps in the Drill’s operations in Ba Sing Se, nearly stops Team Avatar’s scheme, fails again once Aang finishes their plan perfectly.

Follows Appa, fights and defeats the Kyoshi Warriors, takes their uniforms, impersonates them and breaks into Ba Sing Se while no one’s the wiser.

Acquires crucial information about the enemies’ plans to attack her nation on the day of the Eclipse.

Acquires the support of the Dai Li, captures Katara, Zuko and Iroh, overthrows Kuei.

Offers Zuko one more chance to fight by her side, attempts to fight Aang and Katara by herself, then is shown willing to fight Zuko as well as those two until she joins forces safely with Zuko and they defeat Aang and Katara.

Takes Zuko home as a hero, he hides crucial information about the Avatar, Azula attempts to set up a trap so Zuko takes the fall if the Avatar isn’t dead.

Offers Zuko advice about not visiting Iroh so he stays out of trouble, which he disregards to no consequences.

Goes on a chaotic vacation with her friends.

Gives Zuko a history lesson with more than a few harsh burns.

Tells Zuko he should go to a war meeting, which he attends later to no consequences, and she was right to say he was expected to be in it.

Intervenes in the war meeting and cuts off Zuko before he says the wrong thing, Ozai extrapolates Azula’s suggestion into his perfect, megalomaniac villain plan, and she’s shown perfectly satisfied with supplying her father an idea he values.

Organizes and leads the resistance against the invasion, stalls the Avatar’s group, keeps her father safe.

Visits the Boiling Rock, presumably upon finding out her brother infiltrated the prison, and in all likelihood suspecting he didn’t do it alone, considering that she immediately barges into the interrogations about the escape attempts rather than appearing at Zuko’s holding cell.

Fights Sokka and Zuko, nearly dies when the Warden decides to cut the line but saves herself by flying off, loses her shit when Mai betrays her, gets chi-blocked, sends her friends to prison.

Attacks Team Avatar in the Western Air Temple, takes a near-fatal plummet but still manages to survive and return home while the enemies escape.

Intends to go with Ozai to set fire to the Earth Kingdom, loses her temper, Ozai loses his, he offers her the role of Fire Lord and becomes Phoenix King.

Loses herself to paranoia gradually, hallucinates her mother, pushes everyone away, agrees to fight an Agni Kai with Zuko instead of merely commanding to be crowned disregarding Zuko’s intrusion.

Loses the fight against Katara, is sent to an asylum.

I think there’s quite a lot in here that suggests Azula’s actions are meant to uphold the values and beliefs of the Fire Nation Oath. She gave herself completely to her missions, to the point of even facing deadly peril more than once. She fought many battles, lost a LOT of them, and yet she never backed down. She is by far the most strategic character in the Fire Nation side of the story, switching her tactics constantly while the show progresses... and what is she after? Victories. For whom? Herself? Why... again, if it were just for herself, why abandon Ba Sing Se, the crown jewel of the Earth Kingdom’s Ultimate Conqueror? Why allow Zuko to share in that big achievement, too, instead of merely locking him up someplace and taking all the credit for herself?

There’s seriously zero reason to believe Azula DOESN’T live by the Fire Nation Oath. I, personally, don’t see how any of her actions indicate she’s questioned her nation’s indoctrinated creed in any way. Do I think she’s smart enough to know that the war wasn’t about spreading “greatness”? Sure. Does this automatically mean she was doing everything she ever did for herself, and not for the Fire Nation AND her father? Absolutely not. And that’s where Zuko and Azula are crucially, fundamentally different: Zuko’s concerns are PERSONAL. Zuko’s battles are PERSONAL. Zuko wants HIS honor, HIS throne: Azula never says any similar words in the entire show. Azula’s biggest display of ambition is claiming she wants to be the Fire Nation’s greatest leader. Ambitious, yes, BUT... an ambition that is perfectly in line with the oath, again, especiall with this line: “may our march of civilization continue”. Whereas Zuko’s words and actions throughout the show honestly don’t strike any legitimate chords with the Oath, as far as I can tell?

And I’m relying on the Oath because it’s literally the only solid evidence we have of actual creed and speeches the Fire Nation people are taught. While we can make plenty of guesses as to what else their education includes, by judging Fire Nation people’s actions and behavior, the only solid things we have are the misinformation the teacher attempts to give the children in Aang’s classroom and the Oath she makes the children recite. I think it’s safe to guess most Fire Nation people would know that Oath by heart, and probably attempt to live by it, too.

But like I said, where Azula’s actions can easily be interpreted as morally awful ways of displaying the “values” present in the Fire Nation Oath, I don’t see how Zuko’s actions EVER had anything to do with those values. They plain didn’t. And that isn’t a bad thing, objectively speaking: it means Zuko wasn’t insanely attached to the Fire Nation to the point of valuing it above his own life, after all. And yet, it puts a spin on Zuko’s actions and behavior that definitely doesn’t do his character any favors: no, his actions aren’t motivated by the Fire Nation Oath or any similar creed, they’re motivated, above all else, by the hopes that his father will return his birthright and honor to him. And his redemption is, of course, coded as him realizing that Ozai doesn’t get to decide whether he has honor or not! Which... again... is a blatant way of saying that Zuko’s true motivation wasn’t “doing Ozai’s bidding and advancing the Fire Nation’s war”, it was his honor, his throne, and everything to do with what he’d lost after his banishment. The whole show is full of obvious signs that Zuko’s not motivated by any beliefs greater than this -- such as the fact that he returns home as a hero and it feels WRONG to him. It’s not only because his father now respects him under the false pretenses that he killed the Avatar, but also because he plain feels out of place and isn’t happy at all! Why? Because he “got everything back”, and it feels off. Why is it off? Because he wants honor and he doesn’t feel like he regained it at all in the first half of Book 3. Then he turns his back on his father and chooses a whole different path and he’s finally at peace with himself, so much he can’t even bend anymore :’D but the point is, simply, that there’s no evidence anywhere within the show that Zuko honest to gods was acting out of anything but his own, personal needs rather than a constant pursuit for the Fire Nation’s advancement.

And like I said before, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It probably makes his redemption “easier”, to a fault, since there’s less to address. Do I like it? No. Do I think Zuko is fundamentally a better human being than Azula because he questioned Ozai and she didn’t? Considering how many awful things he still did while proving he could question his father, not a chance. Do I think Azula is fundamentally a better human being than Zuko since her actions do seem to follow fit with what Fire Nation indoctrination looks like? Considering what that indoctrination entails, and the deeds she proves capable of to uphold it, the answer would once again be “not a chance”.

In short: neither buying the Fire Nation indoctrination or questioning it makes either Azula or Zuko objectively better people. Both are capable of amoral deeds and actions that should never be supported, encouraged or excused :’D and while I absolutely will impress that they have different motivations, which codify their actions, I don’t think Azula’s deeds would be objectively any worse if someone SOMEHOW finds solid evidence that she truly didn’t believe in any of these doctrines, just as I don’t think Zuko’s would be any better if it’s proven (though... I’d be pretty sure it can’t be) that he’s just as brainwashed as everyone else in the Fire Nation.

On a final note, directly answering your final concern there: both Zuko and Azula are shown reacting to the notion of Ba Sing Se being burned to the ground. Heck, Ursa is shown reacting to it too. If we need a refresher...

If this is somehow proof that Azula “understands” the FIre Nation is evil (How? She’s laughing like it’s a perfectly happy revelation? So is her mother? So is her brother? How does someone watch this scene and interpret this as “this messed up family KNOWS they’re the BAD GUYS!”, rather than “this messed up family thinks burning a city down is GOOD?!”), then it’s also proof Zuko and Ursa do. And they still laugh just as she does.

If the person in question was talking about Azula’s intervention in the war meeting? Zuko’s reaction shows he thinks burning down a continent is evil. Zuko’s betrayal of the Fire Nation shows he didn’t want anything to do with that (his reluctance to share this information with Team Avatar, however, is highly illogical?). Azula’s behavior doesn’t suggest at all that she thinks burning an enemy nation is anything but a sign of superiority, something both Ursa and Zuko are totally fine with in the scene above, and her suggestion, yet again, is something that is perfectly in line with the Fire Nation’s morally reprehensible values. As such, it’s not something that proves Azula somehow was acting of her own accord and is immune to Fire Nation indoctrination and propaganda, by any means.

So.

I’d think that answers that. :’)

[cablesscutie]

Inspired by @hayleynfoster’s comic and some hilarious headcannons about the littlest steambaby with Hayley and @favlie​

Read it on AO3

1.

The day Avatar Aang comes to meet his second niece, Fire Lord Zuko refuses to let his youngest child out of sight.  Katara rolls her eyes, and reminds her husband that neither of their children had ended up psychologically disturbed because of their flights.  “Not,” she adds, pointing at Aang, “that I am allowing a repeat, but I think just holding her while firmly on the ground will be fine.”

“Mmmm,” Zuko hesitates, curling Kallik closer to his chest.  Her big eyes blink up at the adults guileless from her blanket.  “No.”

“You let Azula hold her!” Aang argues.

“She doesn’t do anything with the babies!” Zuko shoots back.  It’s not strictly true, he knows, but his sister’s ritual with newborns is unsettling in a much different way.  She simply stares deep into each child’s eyes upon being handed them, until some kind of understanding passes between her and the baby.  Results have varied, but the most important part is that there was no threat to life and limb.  

Katara’s raised eyebrow says that she also doesn’t believe Zuko’s words, but she doesn’t say anything.  They are, after all, a united front - to the children, to politicians, to their friends.  In the privacy of their chambers, however, he knows he will be hearing about this.

2.

Katara and Zuko take the kids to spend Kallik’s first birthday at the South Pole.  It’s a tradition they’ve observed with all three, and Zuko always looks forward to going to visit her family.  The house is loud and chaotic, full to bursting with people, the exact opposite of his own lonely childhood.  There is no posturing, and everyone loves and squabbles openly.  On this particular visit, they have overlapped with Aang’s stay with Sokka and Suki, so Gran-Gran’s house is in even more of an uproar than usual by the time Zuko and Katara arrive.

Kya immediately dashes off to coo over her little cousins as they toddle around behind Pakku, pretending to be otter penguins.  Satoshi runs to the kitchen to be showered in kisses and cookies from Gran-Gran.  Hakoda finds them barely out of their parkas and already thoroughly abandoned.

“I could’ve sworn you had at least one other child,” he tells Katara, scratching his head as he pretends to search for his missing grandchildren.  She laughs and hugs her father tight.  Neither of them let go for long moments, and Zuko’s throat feels tight when he notices his father-in-law’s misty eyes.  He looks down at Kallik, thinks of his other two children, and wonders for the thousandth time how Hakoda could ever forgive him for keeping Katara so far away.  It’s why he hands his daughter over easily when her grandfather waggles his fingers expectantly and says, “Alright, give her here.”

Hakoda settles Kallik on his hip with practiced ease, and pulls Zuko into a brief hug with his free arm.  “Good to see you, son.”  

Zuko clears his throat.  “You too,” he says, and Katara laughs softly at his awkward shuffling, amused by how he doesn’t know what to do with his hands without a baby in his arms.  She answers his question by lacing their fingers together as she leads him deeper into the house to find her brother and their friends seated around the hearth fire watching the kids run around.

Hugs are exchanged all around, and Zuko settles into their familiar company.  Hakoda joins them after taking Kallik to say hello to Gran-Gran and Pakku, and bounces the baby on his knee to make her laugh.  Aang makes silly faces at her that have her letting out piercing giggles and reaching out to try and grab at the wooden beads of his necklace.

“Well clearly she’s bored of me,” Hakoda says, making to hand her off to her uncle.  “Here you go -”  Zuko leans over and intercepts.

“Oh no.  No baby catapult,” he says, shaking his head.

Aang gives him a pout to rival Momo.  “Come on, we’re indoors!”  Katara clears her throat, and when Zuko glances over, her eyes are narrowed at him.  With a sigh, he holds Kallik out to Aang.

“Fine.  But I’m watching you.”

3.

Extended family vacations to Ember Island always sound like a good idea to Katara.  At first.  When her husband is burnt out and aching, and the kids are climbing the walls, and she just wants to lie in the sun with a book, it seems like the cure for everything.

And then they arrive.  Somehow, much like she forgets the excruciating pain of childbirth, she never recalls the onslaught of chaos and catastrophe that comes every vacation.  Like the time Sokka got stung by a jelly-ray.  Or the time Suki and Zuko got in a fight about disciplining each other’s kids.  Or the time every single one of the kids managed to get sunburnt and couldn’t sleep.  Every year, it’s always something, and somehow, it usually ends up being at least partially her problem to solve.

This year, though, is somehow turning out alright.  They reach day three without major incident, and almost entirely without tears - a near miracle for a vacation involving five children under the age of ten.

“I’m almost done with my first book already,” she tells Zuko as they rock slowly in a hammock on the deck, whispering in hopes of keeping any listening spirits from knowing that she’s gotten her hopes up.

“Good, you deserve the break,” Zuko says.  He looks on the verge of sleep despite the fact that the sun is still climbing in the sky.  The dark circles beneath his eyes are already faded almost to nothing.  She sighs happily and grabs her book, but before she can actually crack it open, she hears Toph cackling and her Mom Senses light up.  Zuko calls after her in surprise as she leaves the hammock swaying wildly behind her, but she doesn’t look back on her way to the beach.  

When she arrives, it is just in time to see Toph pick up Kallik, a wicked smile on her face.  Sokka and Suki’s twins are further down the beach standing beside Aang, both of them jumping up and down with excitement, waiting for something.

“Go long, Twinkle Toes!”  Katara’s eyes go wide, and faster than should be possible, she reaches them, yanking Kallik out of Toph’s hands.  “Hey!”

“Absolutely not!”  Katara says, scowling.

“I was gonna catch her!”  Aang shouts.  Katara shakes her head.

“This is not happening.  No way.”  Then, silently lamenting the loss of quiet time with her husband, Katara looks at the twins and asks, “Who wants to go get some ice cream?

4.

At Zuko’s request, his birthday is not a big deal with his family.  It’s a combination of the fact that the entire Fire Nation loses its mind about the day anyway, so he is all but forced to spend a day attending a festival in his honor, and the fact that he is used to his birthday being a marker of all the disappointments he has been in the past year.  It is a long-standing compromise with his wife that she is allowed to throw him a small, family-only party, to be kept within the bounds of the garden.  He enjoys the excuse to get everyone together without a barrage of meetings involved, and the rest of their family is so boisterous in comparison to him, he can almost forget that the day has anything to do with him at all.

For his thirtieth birthday, he makes the further concession of allowing Uncle to set up his new phonograph so there could be dancing.  Zuko is manning the crank, watching Katara and Kya swing each other around while Aang sits next to him, flipping through the records looking for the right song.

“Do you have a request too?” Zuko hears him ask, and turns to see Kallik has toddled away from Uncle Iroh and approached the Avatar.  She puts her hands on his knees and starts bouncing, flashing him a smile that shows all of her new teeth.  “You want upsies?” Aang coos, and reaches to scoop her up by the armpits.  Zuko clears his throat loudly, shooting Aang his best murder eyes, and the Avatar shrinks back into the collar of his robes a little.  “What about dance party?”  He lets Kallik grab onto his fingers and starts hopping around with her to the beat, hunched over and both of them giggling.

5.

“Oh Uncle Aaaaang!” Kya sings, striding out into the garden where Appa has just landed. She has Kallik on her hip, and Satoshi follows along at her heels, excited to see Appa and Momo again.  His pockets are already full of lychee nuts for his fuzzy friends.

“Hey guys!” Uncle Aang calls, his gangly arms waving excitedly.  “Are you the welcoming committee now?”  He lands in front of them on a gentle breeze, setting down his bag and grinning broadly.

“Mom and Dad are in a meeting,” Kya informs him.  “But somebody wanted to go for a little flight.”  She hitches the toddler higher and winks conspiratorially.  “If you catch my drift.”  Uncle Aang’s eyes go wide, and he looks between the kids with unease.  Satoshi feels terror grip his throat.  He knew his big sister was crazy, but would she really…?

“Oh I dunno, your Dad was pretty...adamant...that you all are grounded until further notice.”  Satoshi lets out a sigh of relief.

“Dad’s in a meeting,” Kya reiterates, as though being in a meeting involves entering another dimension.  She should know better, her brother thinks to himself.  Mom and Dad always find out when they’re up to no good, and as the sibling who’s usually leading the charge into trouble, Kya should definitely have that figured out by now.  Uncle Aang should absolutely know that by now, but with horor, Satoshi realizes that the Avatar is looking a little bit convinced.  “And we’re not gonna tell on you,” she wheedles.  Speak for yourself, Satoshi thinks, glancing around to see if there are any guards within earshot if he calls for their parents.  Sadly, it seems nobody has realized that the Avatar requires careful supervision.

“Well…” Uncle Aang considers, then comes to his decision, smiling once again.  “Alright, I guess one can’t hurt.  Who’s going?”  

Kya moves to offer Kallik to him, her tiny hands reaching out and making grabby motions.  Satoshi’s world goes into slow-motion.  There’s a roaring in his ears, and as if from outside his body, he hears his own voice say,

“I am.”  Kya and Uncle Aang blink at him, stunned.  Their uncle is the first to recover, and asks,

“Are you sure, kiddo?  I mean, you weren’t the biggest fan when you were a baby…”

“I want to try again,” he makes himself say, despite his sweating palms.  Uncle Aang grins and ruffles his hair.

“That’s the spirit!  You get that from your dad.” 

As his uncle’s hands grab him under the armpits, Satoshi hears Kya mutter, “It’s the self-sacrificing idiot gene,” and then he is gone.  As he soars through the air, he wonders if maybe his body hasn’t even left the ground yet.  He can’t feel anything.  Maybe he just died of panic and this is just his soul taking off for the spirit world.

Then he reaches the height of his arc and starts plummeting back to Earth, and the sensation of all his internal organs rattling around asserts the fact that he is very much still alive and experiencing this.  He closes his eyes before he gets anywhere close to the ground, so it comes as a surprise when he comes to a sudden stop, cradled briefly by robes smelling of hay and bison fur, before being deposited back on his feet.

“How’s the weather up there?” Uncle Aang asks him, patting him on the back.  Satoshi doesn’t know what the weather was like.  He doesn’t know anything except that solid ground beneath his feet may have replaced his mother’s hugs as his favorite feeling in the world.  He meets Kya’s eyes, and sees from her horrified expression that he must look like as much of a husk of a child as he feels.

A quiet, affectless “Thank you,” is all that he can manage to say, and then he is wandering back into the palace, where he shoves his head into the nearest antique vase and screams.

+1

“Psst.”  A small sound behind him has Aang on alert.  The Fire Nation Royal Palace hasn’t been a place of danger for years now, but with Toph and Sokka around, the probability of sneak attacks has risen a hundred fold.  He doesn’t see anything though, and goes to turn back around, only to be caught by a surprisingly firm grip on his cape.  About two feet below where he’d expected to find his assailant, Aang comes face to face with his youngest niece, Kallik.  Her expression is the same determined furrow of the brow that Katara and Zuko have shared for so long it is impossible to tell which parent bestowed the trait on her.  It has the eerie effect of summoning the terrifying force that is their combined will.  Aang already knows that whatever she wants from him, he’s going to cave, and it will probably get him in trouble.  “I hear you’re in the business of yeeting kids.  I want in.”

Aang sighs.  Zuko has been trying to prevent this day since the moment Aang met Kallik, and Kallik has been trying to evade her father’s overprotective tendencies since the moment of her existence.  It is a battle Katara has elected not to fight, likely remembering her own impossible stubbornness and the futility of trying to stand against it.  So it is with all of that knowledge that he says, “Okay.”

“Flameo!” Kallik cheers, punching at the air.

“Well ‘flameo’ was actually more of a greeting -”

“Let’s save the fun facts.  I wanna fly.”  With a creeping sense of dread, Aang follows the child pulling him along by the cape until they reach a courtyard.  Kallik turns to face him, plants her feet, and rubs her palms together.  “Alright,” she says, spreading her arms wide.  “I’m ready.”

“Here we go...I guess,” Aang says, glancing over his shoulder as he reaches out to scoop her up by the armpits.  The coast is clear, so he swings her around in circles a couple of times to get ready.  As his niece starts to giggle, the garden blurs, and wind ruffles his robes, Aang feels the giddy anticipation of liftoff.

He hoists Kallik, up, up, up.

And then her momentum carries her out of his hands, and the wind that has built up around them propels her even higher.  Her already small body shrinks until she looks more like the shadow of a bird in the night sky, clearing the palace roofs.  A happy shriek pierces the air.  Aang smiles, feeling her wonder as if it is his own.  This is always the best part of someone’s first flight - witnessing them discover the wind anew - and while taking Air Acolytes to glide at the Northern Air Temple is fun, nothing compares to sharing this part of his culture with his nieces and nephews.

Kallik tumbles back into his arms, eyes wide with wonder, ecstatic grin plastered across her face.  “Again!” she cries, the moment breath rushes back to her.  

Aang laughs and holds her on his hip.  As he always does, he asks, “How’s the weather up there?”

“The moon is huge!  And I could see the whole city!  And the ocean!”  Kallik’s pudgy hands move in broad, sweeping gestures so similar to her mother’s bending as she speaks.  He still remembers Katara’s delighted gasp the first time she flew, Toph’s bruising grip, Zuko’s shocked laugh.  This moment, too, will be another piece of the Air Nomad legacy living on.

As Aang tosses Kallik yet again, Katara finds Zuko leaning against a pillar at the edge of the courtyard, watching.  She approaches her husband, curious to find that he isn’t having a coronary at the sight of their daughter in freefall, and takes hold of his arm.

“You gonna yell at him?” she asks, feigning nonchalance.  He doesn’t look away from them, but he is smiling, serene.

“Eh, she seems fine.”