#i mean not even katara and the gaang could help aang here

[queen-morgana91]

This episode is so underrated

Aang wakes up from a coma and he discovers that the world thinks he's dead. He freaks out, because he knows the value of what the Avatar represents to the people. He had an entire episode where he had a breakdown and where he almost drowned in the sea AGAIN because he was feeling so sure that he had failed the world

He had to be literally dragged to physical safety by the Moon Spirit and some semblance of emotional stability by his past life or he would have died

Aang was gone for 100 years and he blamed himself for the war. He knows he's the symbol of hope

He never wanted to be the Avatar (at least before the genocide), but the people’s suffering in the world is one of the reasons he fully accepted his role

[melzula]

Could you write a Sokka x firebender reader that has the plot of the secret tunnel episode but instead of aang and katara getting stuck together it’s him and reader? :)

Don’t Let the Cave In Get You Down

a/n: got two requests for this sokka storyline and i was very excited to write it! i couldn’t find a way to seamlessly include the fire bending part of the request but i could definitely build on that in another piece. hope you enjoy <3

you met the Gaang when they were passing through a small trading village on the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom

they were low on supplies and in need of a shopping spree, so they stopped at your little food stand in search of fresh fruit and snacks for their travels

you seemed awfully young to have your own business, especially when compared to the other merchants, but you were kind and your prices were affordable

their shopping spree was cut short by the arrival of fire nation soldiers, but you quickly escorted them through the backstreets of the marketplace and helped them evade the soldiers

“That was a close call,” Aang breathed out in relief, “thanks for your help.”

“Those guys are jerks, I couldn’t live with myself if I had just let them capture you.”

“Who are you?” Katara asked in awe.

“My name is y/n, and I’ve been hiding out in this village for about three years now. I escaped from the Fire Nation when I was 12 and never looked back.”

“Wait a minute, Fire Nation?!” Sokka exclaimed before quickly pushing his sister and Aang behind him. Raising his boomerang in a threatening manor, he narrowed his eyes at you. “Is this some kind of trick?! Did you just lure us out here so you could capture Aang and get the reward for yourself?”

“Sokka, you’re being ridiculous!” Katara had scolded angrily, harshly pushing his boomerang away. “She said herself she came here to get away from the Fire Nation, I’m sure she’s just trying to make a better life for herself here and you’re not making that any easier for her by being a jerk!”

“I don’t trust her, Katara!”

You’re a little disheartened by the disdain in his voice when he speaks about you, and despite Katara vouching for you you can see that you’re out of place

“I’m sorry, I’ve made things awkward,” you apologized sheepishly, “I’ll leave you now.”

“Wait!” Aang called, stopping you from going. “If what you said is true then… then I think you should come with us.”

“Tell me you’re joking,” Sokka scoffed in disbelief

“If she’s from the Fire Nation then she must have knowledge about the ins and outs of that place. Maybe she can even help me find a fire bending master. We need her help, Sokka.”

Though he was reluctant and very distrusting of you, Sokka realized Aang was right, so he begrudgingly allowed the airbender to welcome you to their team

You agreed to help as much as you can, and the rest was history

From there on out you’re officially a member of Team Avatar, but that doesn’t mean Sokka becomes any more trusting of you

He always keeps a suspicious eye on you, never letting you help with tasks he deems too important to avoid having you “sabotage” the group

His lack of trust in you hurts, you can’t lie about that, but you continue to do what you can to aid the Avatar and his friends and earn their trust

Of course, this all changes when you get to the cave of two lovers

Unlike Sokka, you found Chong and his group of Nomads to be great fun. They’d braided your hair beautifully with flowers from the lake and performed wonderful songs, so despite your predicament you were in a cheerful mood

Being stuck in the cave had put a strain on your group’s mission to make it to Omashu, but you tried to remain hopeful and help as best as you can

Surprisingly, Sokka even puts you in charge of holding one of the torches

“I’m only giving this to you because I know you’re at least smart enough not to waste resources while we’re in here.”

It’s a start

And it’s a good thing he gave you that torch, because it comes in handy when you both end up getting separated from the rest of the group

“This is just great,” Sokka utters sarcastically after several failed attempts to dig through the rock and get back to the others.

“Come on, Sokka, lighten up. We have a torch and your map, I’m sure we’ll be able to figure something out,” you try to console. “What did Chong say earlier? ‘Don’t let the cave in get you down, Sokka.’”

He’s not amused by your singing

It’s a bit awkward being stuck with the boy who’s been so adamant that you don’t belong despite your best efforts to prove that you can be trusted

You don’t speak much and try to stay out of his way and follow his lead, but the tunnels keep changing and you keep getting lost and your torch is about to burn out, so things are beginning to seem hopeless

“Maybe we should try changing our strategy,” you offer only for Sokka to immediately dismiss you.

“Right, like I’m going to let you lead us through the cave. You’ll probably make us get lost on purpose.”

“You know, if you stopped being so judgmental for a second you’d probably realize that i want to get out of this cave just as much as you do!” You snap irritably, surprising Sokka. you’ve mostly stayed docile to try and keep the peace whenever Sokka accuses you of being untrustworthy, but at this point you’re finally starting to get fed up

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” he says softly, and this time you’re the one who’s surprised. You never thought he’d actually apologize to you, and it’s a nice feeling. “What do you suggest we do?”

“Well,” you start with a sigh, “maybe the story is right. Maybe if we trust in love, we’ll find our way out of here.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“Do you have any better ideas?”

You simply shrug, prompting Sokka to let out a heavy sigh. Your torch is going to run out soon, and his map isn’t doing anyone any favors. It seems you have no choice

“How exactly do we trust in love?”

“I’m not sure… the only love I know is the love I had from my parents, but I haven’t felt it in so long… I’m not sure I ever will again.”

“…What happened to them?”

“My parents were peasants with nothing but love to give each other. They were poor, but they were happy,” you explain with a faint smile. “My father was a fire bender, but he kept his gift hidden in fear he’d be forced to serve in the Fire Nation army. He didn’t want to leave me or my mother, but our home was attacked, and he had no choice but to bend to protect us. Our lives were saved, but he was taken away.”

Sokka hangs on to your every word, eyes glistening with unshed tears and sympathy. Your story is similar to his own, and he knows what it’s like to lose your family to the Fire Nation. He feels less disdain towards you now, more empathetic. He still isn’t 100% sure how to feel about you, but hearing your story makes you easier to understand now

“My mother knew I’d never be safe or happy if I stayed there, so she arranged for me to be smuggled out of the Fire Nation and brought to the trading village you first met me in. I haven’t seen or heard from her since, and I’m not even sure if she or my father are even alive.”

“I’m sorry,” Sokka utters solemnly. “Katara and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation, and we haven’t seen our father since he left to fight in the war. I know how you feel.”

“I don’t want to be Fire Nation, you know. None of this was a choice, and I understand why you don’t trust me but I’m not like them Sokka. Please believe me.”

“I’m sorry for always giving you such a hard time. It’s just… it’s hard to believe people from the Fire Nation can actually be good. But you’ve proven that you can be trusted over and over again, I was just too blind to see it.”

“Can we start over?” He asks with a sheepish smile, carefully sticking his hand out for you to shake. Instead, you push his hand away and throw your arms around him in a tight embrace.

The force of your hug knocks him back a bit, and though he’s unsure at first, he eventually returns your embrace by carefully wrapping his arms around your figure

The fire of your torch slowly begins to die, but neither of you seem to notice or care as you enjoy your moment together

You expect to be engulfed in darkness when the flame goes out, but instead you’re met with the beautiful shimmers of the crystals that line the roofs of the cave

“It’s so beautiful,” you murmur in awe, your eyes sparkling under the light

“Yeah,” your counterpart utters quietly, but he isn’t looking at the crystals

“Was she always this pretty?” Sokka wondered to himself

Together, you’re eventually able to follow the crystals and make your way out of the cave

And when you leave the cave, hands woven tightly together, you leave as two completely new people

You understand each other now, you trust each other

And your relationship will only continue to grow stronger from then on out

| atla tags: @sirkekselord @chronic-daydreamer @niktwazny303

[zukosdualdao]

just… the absolute trust between zutara in the finale is unreal. after zuko’s impromptu training attack session, yes, katara is surprised and even somewhat angry as she confronts him, but when she says “you could have hurt aang!” all it reminds me of is the fact that just a few episodes ago, she literally threatened to kill him if he ever gave her a reason to think he might so something to hurt aang. but here, now, even as she’s confronting him, she just… waits for him to explain, and she actually sees and agrees with his point once zuko tells the gaang about ozai’s plan.

there is also the absolutely, 100% synchronized way they fight during the simulated training session, something that calls back to their synchronization and teamwork in the southern raiders, and that inherently shows a lot of trust and understanding between them.

katara is the one who initially asks zuko what they should do after aang disappears. everyone else agrees, but it's katara who trusts him enough to position him, not just to herself but to everyone else, as someone they should listen to because of his history, skill, and experience, especially noteworthy because the reason she gives—“you are sort of the expert at tracking the avatar”—is what used to make him untrustworthy in their eyes. they’ve come such a long way.

then katara notices zuko freeze and sit in front of iroh’s tent, and when she asks if he’s okay, he just… completely trusts her with exactly what he’s feeling, and if he’s even a little worried that what he’s saying might cause her to act derisively, because what he’s referencing here is also what katara was angry and hurt about, he doesn’t show it. he just so completely trusts her with it, and her insistence that iroh will forgive him is born from her own trust of zuko, and she's able to tell him what he needs to hear because she was once in iroh's position and zuko proved his genuine remorse and care to her.

then, of course, we've got zuko not missing a beat as he asks katara to be the one to come with him to confront azula, and her ready acceptance. they make a good team, and they know it.

but when they get there and azula challenges zuko to an agni kai - though she initially has misgivings, katara ultimately trusts zuko when he says he can handle it and understands that he doesn't want her to get hurt if she doesn't have to. (an aspect of zuko's "i can't explain it, but she's slipping" line that i think gets underexamined, btw, is that that's not an inherently good thing for them. yes, maybe that means zuko will be able to take her, particularly because he knows azula and her fighting style well. but someone who is "slipping" is also, in this case, desperate, and more prone to being reckless with people's lives. zuko tries to mitigate that by fighting her alone, but it doesn't work because azula can't follow the terms she sets when she realizes she's losing.)

the lightning scene is a really interesting example of trust as it relates to zuko and katara, because to me, the emphasis there isn't quite so much on zuko and katara trusting each other. there's barely time for katara to think through what will happen to as azula aims for her or wonder what zuko will do, after all, and zuko is probably in too much pain and too out of it to think about katara coming to try to heal him. (though if they did have the time and mental faculties to think it through, i think they would both 120 percent trust the other to help them.)

instead, the emphasis is on the audience trusting the characters. from the moment zuko sees where azula's aiming, he doesn't hesitate, doesn't even think about, just. immediately jumps in front of the lightning before it can reach katara. i've said this before, but as soon as he understood what was happening, there was just no chance of that lightning ever getting to katara and that's the point. we've seen what zuko looks like when he's hesitating or conflicted, and the difference is stark. the show never wants you to question exactly what zuko will do, that he refuses to let katara get heart, that he'll save her.

and for her part, katara immediately runs to try and save zuko despite azula still being around and attacking, and tries again before realizing she needs to defeat azula in order to do so. but the entire scene of katara's defeating her, while obviously heroic and emblematic of katara's power and the culmination of her arc as a girl whose culture and identity was nearly stripped away from her to being a master waterbender, is also framed as katara defeating azula so she can get to zuko. she would have done it anyways, yes, but in this context, right now, she is fighting azula so she can get to zuko to heal him.

here, in the narrative culmination of their arcs together, it shows not just that they trust each other, but asks the audience to not doubt the development of the dynamic that’s been built, to trust that they will take care of each other. and they do.

[im-a-hoping-beetch]

Many people seem to get genuinely confused, whenever we, zutara shippers, mention how underdeveloped kataang really is. Usually, they’ll brush it off as us being delusional, bitter and you know the drill. Their main response to that, usually is: “How, could they possibly be underdeveloped, they had 3 seasons!?!”

The thing is they forget that the amount of time isn’t as important as what you do do with it. Cuz, yeah, Aang and Katara did have 3 seasons, but their relationship still managed to feel rushed as hell. Heck, even Bryke, out of all people, admitted to it. Which mostly as to do with a bunch of things that I’ll get into right now.

Let’s start with the fact that, Katara never actually shows any interest in Aang.

Now, many of y’all will probably come for me by citing how the cave of the two lovers or even the Headband have moments of her showing interest in him, but all of them end up falling flat at some point.

The cave of the two lovers:

The argument here, usually is“if she didn’t have any interest in him, why would she kiss him?” or “why would she blush at the idea of kissing him?”. The former seems to forget this is a life or death situation and that we don’t really know for sure that if there were another way to get out if this, she wouldn’t take it. For the latter, I’d like to say that blushing can have many significations such as, embarrassment. Which, here makes sense when considering what she says and overall demeanour, after suggesting to kiss.

Like yeah, a fourteen year old girl blushing bcz she’s embarrassed at the idea of having to kiss, her friend, out of all things, cuz you know… awkward. Can you imagine that (pun fully intended)???

The headband:

This one is going to be a ride, but stick with me. The arguments can range from “What about her jealousy while Aang is dancing with other girls.” to “What about the way she looks at him during the dance.”

Here, is said jealousy being shown:

And said look being done:

Now, yeah, I can absolutely see why these two exemples would be used as a way to prove her interest, but let me remind you that this is the same episode where we have this happen.

Yeah, the same episode where Katara is acting all jealous and giving flirty looks to Aang is also the same one where she pretends to be is… mother. While, I could go on about how it wasn’t the best idea on the directors or whoever was in charge of the episode part if it was their way of giving a glimpse of Katara being into Aang. The issue is, them doing so wasn’t completely farfetched either, because up until now it’s been established that Katara can be very motherly and she acts that way with almost everyone in the gaang. More specifically, the one with who she does so the most is, Aang.

I mean, even the show makes a point of poking fun at their mother-son dynamic on several occasions all throughout the show (ie. the don’t-rub-your-eyes-when-you’re-speaking scene in “The runaway” episode). So realistically, the two exemples shown way above could somewhat work, but only if you decide to completely ignore what episode they take place in, one that hasn’t really helped at stopping the mother-son dynamic allegations kataang has been getting, for years, now.

So, back to the development aspect, I think it has always been stunted from the beginning, because, fundamentally, the ship as always been designed to be Aang-centric. If you’d like more insight on that I’d recommend checking @starlight-bread-blog’s amazing post on the issue. But also, that their lackluster resolution is way much more obvious, cuz both are leads in the show. Katara's existence in the show, isn't solely there to serve as some love inerest for Aang. Shocker, but she's actually a MAIN CHARACTER in the show, meaning that we spend three seasons where we get to learn about her battles, fears and aspirations, none of which seems to involve a relationship with Aang.

Like yeah, the reason why The Ending Kiss™ feels so unsatisfactory is, simply, because, Katara doesn't like Aang (at least not like that). Katara, likes Aang, because the show said so. Now, stick with me, cuz I can already feel some of y'all ready to jump at the screen. Within the show, name a single moment where she ever comes to thinking of Aang in a romantic way. One that doesn't involve any external sources, such as someone suggesting about it or because of the given circumstances she has to. The answer is none. The only time we ever get to see her voice her ACTUAL opinion about it, this is what she says:

That's not even counting how her overall demeanor, from the body language to her choice of words seems to suggest that she's actually trying to let him down gently. Also, may I remind you that at that point THERE'S ONLY 3 FREAKING EPISODES LEFT BEFORE THE BIG KISS™ and this is where there at in their relationship. Plus, within the 3 episodes that are left WE NEVER GET TO SEE THEM TALK ABOUT IT, EVER!!!

This obviously was part of Bryke’s horrible attempt at the will-they-won’t-they trope. Which ended up playing right in their face, cuz like I mentioned they themselves had to come to glaring realization that kataang was rushed. Now, it could’ve been it, the creators realizing their obvious mistake and if they could, trying to fix it by giving us what seemed like the natural progression of their relationship, which was for it to end.

Instead, we got comics!Katara and oooh boy…

Basically, they decided that they would throw away Katara’s meticulously built characterization in order to make her existence revolve around, Aang. I kid you not, when I say that she isn’t allowed scenes, lines and actions that do not revolve around her “sweetie”.

Remember how I said that, Katara likes Aang because the show runners said so. This is an example of this cranked up to a hundred.

Essentially, when you start thinking about where these two are in terms of growth, kataang is the antithesis to development itself. On one hand it validates the regression of one (ie. the dropped chakra plot line), while simultaneously, having to strip any previously built characterization of the other (ie. comics!katara).

On that note, I’d like to remind people, how important Katara is to the story. Without her, the entirety of the gaang would be dead. Without her, there would be no story. Without her, there would be no Aang.

She deserved to have a voice within her own relationship and not for it to be stolen by two grown men who were still stuck in their childhood fantasy.

She deserved better.

[drpoisonoaky]

So here’s the thing, everyone in the Gaang assumed that Azula was the older sibling.

…

And they love her eyeliner.

— — — Sokka

Sokka: WAIT WHAT

Azula: Ugh, why are you yelling at me?

Sokka: YOU ARE THE YOUNG SIBLING

Azula: Yes? Why you ask?

Zuko: He was complaining about Katara. And then he said “Ugh but you wouldn’t get it cause Azula is the oldest”.

Azula: And you get it?

Zuko: Not really.

Sokka: IT’S IMPOSSIBLE.

Azula: It’s cause I’m better at everything.

Zuko: It’s the makeup and how insufferable you are.

Sokka: IT’S EVERYTHING.

Sokka: How she looks, talks, thinks…you have to be messing with me.

Azula: I honestly don’t know if I should feel flattered or insulted.

Zuko: She’s the same age as Katara.

Sokka: NO WAY.

— — — Aang

Aang: So tell me how was Zuko when he was a baby? I’m curious.

Azula: I don’t now. I’m guess he cried a lot.

Aang: Oh you don’t remember?

Azula: I wasn’t alive avatar.

Aang: Hold on, are you the younger sibling?

Azula: I am.

Aang: But you look older, and know more about history and stuff. Plus all of that trauma and emoti-

Azula, slightly annoyed: Yes Aang I get it.

Aang: It doesn’t make sense.

Azula: It’s simple: makeup and discipline.

Aang:

Azula: What?

Aang: I have some meetings this week could you help me to look older so they will pay me more attention?

Azula:

Aang: Please. For the sake of the world?

Azula: Sure I’ll show you.

— — — Toph

Toph, seeing how Katara and Sokka are arguing: Men sometimes I’m glad I’m an only child.

Azula: I almost was once. Zuko wasn’t happy about it.

Azula: But I must say, having an older brother who looks after you feels nice. But if you tell anyone I said this I’ll commit arson.

Toph: WHAT?!

Azula: I mean Zuzu and I fought a lot.

Toph: Not that. No way he’s the big bro.

Azula:

Azula: I’m actually curious about why you didn’t know it cause it’s impossible that it could be for the makeup.

Toph: You were a fucking pro master firebender back then and Zuko wasn’t.

Azula: Did you know that my flames are blue?

Toph: No way. Why nobody tells me this things. Anything else cool?

Azula: I can make lighting balls in both of my hands and I can make a perfect eyeliner in 30 seconds.

Toph: Can you do it now?

Azula: Which one?

Toph: Both but bring someone else cause when I ask if it looks good on me I need to know the truth and I still can’t fucking tell if you’re lying or not.

Azula: Makes sense. Although I would never lie to you about that.

— — — Suki

Suki: I need you to teach them firebender’s forms even though they’re non-benders.

Azula: Easy. I used to do it with Ty lee.

Suki: But you have to treat them as your younger sisters. Like how you would treat Zuko if you like him.

Azula: What?

Suki: Kindness?

Azula: No. Do you think I am the older sibling?

Suki: You aren’t?

Azula: No.

Suki: Wait what?!

Azula: I’m the same age as Ty lee. I went to the royal fire academy with her.

Suki: Whao.

Suki: You did and plan all of that shit when you were 14?!

Azula: I don’t know what that tone means.

Suki: Did you have that huge breakdown at 14?

Azula: Now you are simply being rude.

Suki: I don’t believe you. TY LEE COME HERE.

Ty lee: What’s sup?

Suki: Is she the same age as you?

Ty lee, raising an eyebrow: Yes?

Ty lee, realizing: Oh you didn’t know she’s younger than Zuko. It’s the makeup ‘Zula. You look beautiful, but it makes you look older.

Suki: It can’t be.

Azula: Can’t you stop being rude? I look great.

Suki: Not that, asshole. You being younger than Zuko. It doesn’t makes sense…

Azula:

Suki:

Ty lee:

Suki:

Ty lee: I think you broke her? What were you doing before?

Azula: She was explaining to me who I was supposed to teach and how I have to treat them.

Suki: But how she fights…

Ty lee: Oh right, c’mon they’re waiting. They actually pretty nice. You have to be patient ‘Zula.

Azula: Ugh.

Suki: And she played with us…

Ty lee puppy eye’s version: For me please?

Azula: I hate you.

Suki: She conquered Ba Sing Se…

Ty lee: No you don’t. *kiss Azula’s cheek* Hurry up. Bye Suki!

Suki: She killed the avatar…

Suki: AND SHE WAS 14.

Azula, being dragged by Ty lee: Ty, I think you are right. I broke your boss.

Ty lee: I hope that means a vacation for at least a week.

— — — Katara

Katara: You are my age?!

Azula: Hello Azula. How are you Azula? You look great Azula.

Azula: That’s how you have to start a conversation. But yes I am. Why?

Katara: Everything we did.. We were the same age all the time?

Azula: That’s how time works.

Katara: I THOUGHT I WAS BEATING SOMEONE AT LEAST AS OLD AS MY BROTHER

Azula: Why are you yelling at me? Is it a family thing?

Katara: I thought I was so ahead of my age…

Azula: You are a master waterbender without almost any professional help, you heal people with your bending and help to end a 100 year war. Plus you defeated me once. What the fuck are you talking about?

Katara, blushing: Oh, that…that was actually so nice, thanks. I- I appreciate it.

Azula: Your welcome. Now if you excuse me I have things to do.

Katara: Wait.

Azula: What now?

Katara: Can you…?

Azula: I can do a lot of things.

Katara: Well your eyeliner…can you…?

Azula: *sighs* You’re the third person to ask. So I guess it’s your turn.

— — — Zuko

Azula: If someone else imply I’m the oldest sibling you will have to bring back the straightjacket.

Zuko: In my defense they didn’t ask they just assumed.

Azula: You know how many eyeliners I had to do today besides mine? Three. THREE.

Zuko: I think Sokka was going to ask you too, he was looking for you…

Azula: For Agni’s sake.

Azula: At least I hope you don’t want me to teach you too.

Zuko: Mai taught me a long time ago.

Azula: Thank Agni.

Zuko: But I must say I don’t get them. You clearly are my little sister.

Azula: Because I’m a much better version of you?

Zuko: No.

Zuko: Because you are a lot more insufferable and insane than I am.

Azula: If you don’t start running now I’m going to celebrate becoming an only child. Again.

Zuko: Sure buddy.

Azula: One, two-

Zuko: LALA DON’T YOU DARE. STOP THE SPARKING.

— — — Mai & Ty lee

Azula: FIVE five people’s makeup. And I don’t even like them.

Ty lee: Wait five? Suki too?

Azula: I’m counting mine. Adds more drama.

Mai: Such a drama queen.

Azula: But anyway I don’t deserve this.

Mai, raising an eyebrow: You sure?

Ty lee: Look at it as your little price to pay in your healing path. Plus every time you do an eyeliner your aura gets a little bit pinkier. So stop complaining.

Mai: Although I don’t see the big problem with the fact everyone thinks you’re older than Zuko.

Ty lee: True, why is bothering you so much?

Azula: I refuse to think Zuzu ages better than me.

Mai:

Ty lee:

Azula: Whatever. By the way I’m impressed with the little avatar’s fangirls. You were right Ty.

Ty lee: Of course. When am I not?

Mai: When you started to date her.

Azula, starting to sparkle:

Ty lee: And here we go again.

[livrere-green]

ATLA x Omegaverse AU

Part 1 | Part 2

I've been thinking about an omegaverse atla au a lot recently, so I'm gonna vent about it cuz it's getting tiring just to have it spiralling in my head ngl

So, the only thing that I need to mention now it's that the standard age at which someone presents is around 13 to 14 years old. Knowing that, lets talk about the main characters.

Aang (12) would be unpresented by the time of the show. Also, I don't believe that being the avatar makes him an alpha perse. I mean, there's a possibility he presents as one (but he could also be a beta), and it wouldn't have anything to do with his avatar status (historically there could be a higher rate of avatars being alphas/betas, but there are some important exceptions... iykwim). Well, I think he'd present at age 13 almost 14.

Katara (14) is one of the characters that confuses me the most in this aspect, but just to add fuel to her fury and her personality, I'll make her an omega, not the kind that rejects her nature but the kind that embraces it and doesn't see it as something that makes her inferior or helpless. Katara would fight against the life society wants to impose on her in the same way she does in canon, maybe even more. She would resent the people who doesn't respect her because of her gender and at some point, she'd get frustrated about it, but she would think that hating herself would mean letting her oppressors win. About her presentation, there's two option: 1. She presented some months before they found Aang, 2. She presented during the first months they were traveling to the NWT (in this case, I think the ideal place would've been Kyoshi Island, because there's people able to take care of her there).

Sokka (15) would be an alpha, he probably presented after Hakoda left (14), he fits the type and the stereotypical personality at the beginning of the show. But I think he would get over it sooner rather than later, because the why he acts has to do more with his perception of himself and the expectations set upon his shoulders than with unshakeable beliefs about the ability of betas and omegas. He would learnt to respect and don't underestimate them quickly. Also, I think that Sokka would scent the Gaang to protect them and particularly to cover Katara's scent as they travel or run away from trouble.

Toph (12) would be unpresented by the time of the show. She'd present as an alpha some time after the end of the war (13). There's not a lot to explain here (talking about her at that age, except for the fact that even during her time with the Gaang, she probably hated Sokka's essence, just as an early hint about her gender). I consider that there's a lot to discuss about her as an adult and how she managed her relationships, but that's a discussion for another time.

Zuko (16) would be an omega, and also a late bloomer, probably presented a couple of years after his banishment (15).. Zuko would be determined to hide his true nature under any circumstances, letting only his Uncle know about it. Ozai would've been informed that his son is a beta, which was already a disappointment for the Royal Family (historically alphas), but it wasn't nearly as negative as being reduced to be treated as an omega. Zuko would end up causing himself a lot of damage in order to disguise as a beta, either by using too many suppressants or other medications, or even hurting himself. He would stop hiding after joining the Gaang but It'll be complicated, since he'd be distressed all the time and even Aang and Toph would be able to notice (their senses are not totally develop, so it'll be kinda alarming).

Suki (15) would be a beta, presented at 14. In her case, the characteristics of its gender would be especially helpful to mediate conflict or get out of it. The scent of a beta has calming effects in both alphas and omegas, so she would use it with her friends, or even in battle, to make her opponents lose focus, particularly if they are driven by rage. The fans are particularly helpful for that.

Azula (14) would present early as an alpha (12/13). At that age, one of the traits she would manifest the most is assuming the position of head of the pact with her friends, she'd probably scent them with the intention of establishing superiority and control over them. In this context, Mai would be a beta and Ty Lee an omega or a beta as well.

That's all for now, I still have some things in mind for this, but I'll share that later, and if you have questions, I'll be happy to answer!

[waterfire1848]

AU where Ozai wins the spirit battle against Aang during Sozin Comet and becomes the new Avatar.

Hello, @stardust948 !!! (This could have been a lot darker but I’m in a comedy mood)

1. When Aang loses, no one knows that he’s now not the Avatar. They just know he’s lost and was forced to flee with Sokka, Suki and Toph. Katara, Zuko and Azula are still at the palace and know something is wrong. They try to flee without Azula but she actually asks to go with them because she was beaten and she really doesn’t want to be alone to face Ozai (she doesn’t know why but she has a feeling he won). They get on Appa and fly to where Sokka, Suki and Toph were supposed to be and get the four. Since Aang is tapped out, they’re forced to fly off and regroup. They decide to head back to Ember Island for the time being so they can think over what to do. In this time, everyone tends to their wounds, Azula stays pretty much on her own, and Aang grows angry about how he failed. Katara, trying to help, offers a waterbending training sessions which Aang agrees to. When they try to bend a simple waterball back and forth, Aang finds that he can’t. In fact, he can’t bend anything aside from air. (Aang: What happened?! Katara: You’re sure you can’t bend anything besides air? Aang: Positive! It’s like the other three forms just disappeared! Katara: Well, if you’re not the Avatar anymore…then who is?)

2. Ozai is weakened very much by the Avatar’s attack and his airships have been damaged. He tells those who remain to stay put (cause he can’t be there and he’d die if he wasn’t center stage during Sozin’s Comet). It’s a set back but they’ll destroy the Earth Kingdom later. Ozai is brought aboard one of the ships for a medical examination and nothing is found to be wrong but Ozai, internally, feels off. He tells everyone to leave and remains in the room by himself, eventually falling asleep until they return to the palace. He receives word that Azula is gone but just takes the title back himself and is Fire Lord and Phoenix King at the same time. That night, he’s meditating when he decides to get some water. Getting up, he accidentally trips and waterbends. (Ozai is like 99% sure he’s not a waterbender). He tries firebending, but he also takes a wack at waterbending, earthbending and airbending and can do all of them. Ozai doesn’t know how but he’s the Avatar now. (Not only that, but there are a lot of angry voices in his head. He can’t explain it but once sounds like a very pissed off Earth Kingdom woman and the other a very, very pissed off Air Nomad woman).

3. The Gaang is trying to understand how Aang isn’t the Avatar anymore. Does this mean there’s a new Avatar? Who is it? Is there some new baby in the South Pole? Did Aang somehow start all over with his bending progress? While everyone else is freaking out and trying to find a solution, Sokka is trying to decide what they should do since Sozin’s Comet wasn’t the victory or defeat any of them suspected. They heard that Ozai didn’t continue with the attack so BSS is still standing but that doesn’t make any sense to them at all. (Sokka: He had the perfect opportunity to get rid of the city, why not do it? Aang: Maybe he realized he could choose another path? Everyone:… Sokka: Normally, I wouldn’t consider that but that might be a possible scenario here. Azula, off to the side: Ha! My father would sooner give up his bending than not use Sozin’s Comet. Katara: Then why is Ba Sing Se still standing? Azula:… Suki: Could something have happened to Ozai during that big light beam show? Aang….Huh?)

4. Ozai can hardly move without bending another element and, of course, he doesn’t want anyone to know he somehow can bend all four elements. Under normal circumstances, he’d be very proud to show off his new power but anytime he even considers using his bending in that way, Kyoshi is on him. (He’s 70% sure she can read his thoughts and it’s so annoying). This being said, I kinda want a Roku & Ozai friendship. Roku knew Azulon, a younger version but still, and Ozai has no fond memories of his father. (Kyoshi: Ah, daddy issues. Why does everyone in this family have daddy issues? Yangchen: Says mommy issues. Kyoshi: I do not have- Yangchen: Let’s not go back and forth right now….but you totally do. Kuruk: And it’s not everyone in the Royal Family who has daddy issues, Azula’s got mommy issues. Kyoshi: Oh, yeah, I forgot about her. Szeto: You and the comics). Roku and Ozai talk frequently after everything that happens. They develop kind of an older brother & younger brother relationship with Roku trying to give Ozai good life advice and Ozai saying “I’m gonna do the opposite of that.”

5. The Gaang decides to leave Ember Island and try to regroup with the White Lotus. While heading to the EK, they’re captured by FN soldiers and brought to the capital (without the Avatar and being tired from the comet both physically and mentally they aren’t on their best game). Everyone is put in prison, including Azula who is internally having a heart attack, when Ozai comes and demands to see Aang. Everyone, minus Azula, starts going crazy because they think Ozai is about to kill Aang. Instead, Ozai takes him to a private room and just starts yelling at him (Ozai: What did you do to me?!? Aang: What do you mean what did I do to you?! Ozai: I didn’t know being the Avatar was contagious!) Aang learning that Ozai is the Avatar now would probably make him both laugh, cry and nervously be like ‘what spirits in the spirit world okayed tbis’. (Aang: What do you want me to do? Ozai: I want you to teach me how to keep these other inferior bending forms under control. I can’t move my wrist without throwing water at something. Aang: Why should I help you? You were just trying to kill me a week ago. Ozai: I won’t let all your friends die. Aang: But then I really won’t help you and you’re back at where you started but now three masters down. Ozai:…What do you want?) Spoiler Alert: Aang wants his friends to be free but they find the knowledge that Ozai is the new Avatar way too terrifying and hilarious to just leave. Which is how Ozai gets Katara, Toph and Aang as his new teachers and maybe a “not as big a jerk as you could have been” award.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

so this post is inspired by a person who sent an ask to @my-nitpicking-self (i hope you don't mind me tagging you), who mentioned the confrontation between katara and zuko in atla, in reference to glimmer's and catra's relationship in spop. i thought it was an interesting comparison, so i'm going to expand on it.

so two very similar scenes in atla and spop: katara and zuko being stuck together in crystal catacombs and glimmer and catra being stuck together in horde prime's ship. two things to note here - zuko was beginning to heal at this point and had almost completely given up his mission of capturing aang, while catra has just finished conquering salineas and was neck-deep in villainy.

as soon as katara sees zuko, she becomes outraged. keep in mind, zuko did not kill katara's mother. but she still had a valid reason to be mad at him. she holds him accountable for everything he has done.

K: Why did they throw you in here? Oh, wait, let me guess. It's a trap. So that when Aang shows up to help me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches!

K: You're a terrible person! You know that? Always following us! Hunting the Avatar! Trying to capture the world's last hope for peace! But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood!

Z: You don't know what you're talking about.

K: I don't? How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me personally! The Fire Nation took my mother away from me.

here, zuko doesn't try to argue with katara until she implies that violence and aggression is an inherited thing, because he's from the fire nation. zuko accepts his mistakes but he is also aware that being a fire nation citizen or even royalty alone doesn't make you a bad person. even then, he doesn't raise his voice or lash out at her, he just calmly disagrees.

after katara mentions her mother, he apologizes and sympathizes with her.

Z: I'm sorry. That's something we have in common.

K: I'm sorry I yelled at you before.

Z: It doesn't matter.

K: It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face.

katara also apologizes but zuko understands that it was completely in her right to blame him. and then we get to the crux of the issue. katara's mother was killed years ago but she still hasn't been able to move on from the grief.

now, of course, zuko again turns back to villainy but this was an important confrontation. and it wasn't the only one. as you all know, after zuko's official redemption, the gaang still doesn't trust him and katara is the last person to forgive him. she is still upset and disappointed by the way he betrayed her after they had begun to bond in the catacombs. and zuko has to prove his loyalty before katara could forgive him.

now let's come to glimmer and catra. catra DIRECTLY caused the death of glimmer's mother. and it was recent. glimmer had been grappling with her grief in the last season, to the point where she spirals into a small corruption arc. s4 of spop does NOT forget angella's death.

so obviously, you would expect there to be a confrontation between glimmer and catra in s5, especially since they were alone together in a confined space. but let's see what happened.

Glimmer: You again. Why do you keep coming back here?

Catra: Just...bored, I guess.

Glimmer: No, I mean, Horde Prime told you not to talk to me. He's gonna catch you eventually. Why risk it? ...You're lonely, aren't you?

so far, no confrontation, no apology.

Catra: What do you know? You're the prisoner here. I can go where I want. So, stay here by yourself for all I care.

Glimmer: Okay, okay, you're right. It...helps having someone to talk to. Even if you're the last person I'd ever want to be stuck here with.

Catra: Trust me, Sparkles, the feeling is mutual.

and just like that, they're on better terms now. glimmer doesn't bring up angella's death, she doesn't bring up the way catra treated adora, how she and bow were kidnapped by catra, nothing. they seem more like casual rivals than enemies here. catra doesn't seem guilty in the slightest, she just has to threaten to leave and glimmer immediately makes her stay.

and not just that, they joke about adora's paranoia that was rooted in her trauma, as if it's just a fun quirk. at this point, it's clear that the writers are not even trying to make it seem like they don't favor catra over all the characters.

and the one time glimmer somewhat confronts catra—

G: Please, Catra. Do one good thing in your life!

C: Don't talk to me like you know me! You don't know anything about me!

of course, catra shuts her down immediately. and afterwards, even when catra saves glimmer, she makes it clear that she's only doing it for adora. while on the surface, this might still come off as a good deed, it's clear from her later behaviour that catra's goal wasn't to help either adora or glimmer. my best guess is that she was practically awaiting death at that point and didn't expect to face the consequences of her actions, so she wanted to go out with one good deed, much like shadow weaver.

it's crazy how zuko, who was just an antagonist and has done very little to directly hurt the gaang, faced the consequences of his actions and got a drawn out and detailed redemption; while catra, who spent the entire series hurting the protagonists out of her own interest, gets off scot-free.

any time her past actions are brought up, they are mentioned in the vaguest terms possible i.e. “she made some mistakes” or “shs hurt people”. it's so clear that the writers were hoping that if the other characters forgot everything that catra did, the audience would do the same. and the worst part is that they're right. 90% of the fandom were willing to accept catra's redemption because no one in the show ever holds her accountable or confronts her properly.

[blackbullet99]

Not to be petty, but I’m bringing this up again…

I already brought up how stupid and objectively wrong this take is. If you want to see it it’s down here:

But this loser also thinks that apparently because Katara never had to calm down Zuko, that means “oh Zuko is such a better match for Katara he’s oh so mature, not like that evil bald kid, blah blah blah”.

I love Zuko, I really do, toxic genocide deniers sucking his metaphorical d**k and b***s could never make me hate him. But Katara never even attempted to comfort or help Zuko when he was angry because they were enemies, he was a dangerous threat to them for a good chunk of the show. Not to mention, unlike Aang in The Avatar State, Zuko was angry of his own volition and was angry and prone to violent tantrums much more frequently, it usually fell upon Uncle Iroh to comfort Zuko and stop him from making bad choices. Expecting Katara to comfort the guy trying to burn her is ridiculous.

Scratch that, one time Katara did try to comfort a distressed Zuko after The Gaang and the dynamic duo were forced to work together to confront Azula who shot fire at Iroh. Katara actually offers to help them both and Zuko blasts fire at them, yelling at them to LEAVE!!

Don’t get me wrong, I understand why Zuko was distressed, his uncle was shot at with fire, but it don’t make it right for him to shoot fire at the people trying to help him, just like I understand Aang grieving over losing Appa, but it wasn’t right for him to lash out at the people trying to help him. But Zuko was much more intentionally aggressive and Katara made the right decision to get away from him, because she knew Zuko was an active threat at the time.

The point being, not only is longing-for-rain’s trashy post ridiculous stupid, but her statement is flat out wrong on so many levels. But what do you expect people like her are the scum of this fandom and are too stupid and obsessed with a dusty @$$ ship to even comprehend or understand this show. These people need to leave this fandom and stick to middle-school Wattpad fanfics instead of making their lack of media-literacy everyone else’s problem.

[stinkysarai]

role-swapped: sokka, and either fire sibling

made an account solely for this, but i feel like sokka role swapped with either sibling (either zuko or azula) makes some sort of sense. call me crazy (if anyone is even seeing this to call me crazy at all, then hello) all you want, but i don't know, i feel like it makes sense. though to be fair, i do really um, overanalyze things and might just be making my explanation sound really ooc and weird and too 'he's me i'm giving him my issues'. not sure. just here to be overdramatic i guess. sorta relate to all three of these characters so. take my 'it makes sense!!!11111!!11!!' with a grain of salt. also scared i got the characters all wrong. so. yeah

firstly, the similarities.

sokka and zuko:

sokka and zuko are both insecure fellas who want to prove to someone that they are honorable and worthy people; zuko wants to show his father and his nation that he is a worthy prince that should return to his rightful place for the throne, and sokka wants to show his father and his tribe that he is a strong and manly warrior, that he can protect katara and the tribe. they both have something to prove, something they want to become. they are both overshadowed by their prodigious sister and they both find themselves feeling lesser by it, just in different ways. sokka doesn't feel as useful as he wants to be and zuko feels like a failure compared to azula. they both don't quite like the fact that their skills aren't the best they believe they could be. the two of them both solve an issue between themselves: sokka learns how to overcome obstacles without bending, and zuko learns how to follow his own destiny and stand up for himself. they both have lost their mother, they both have distant fathers (except hakoda isn't distant because he wants to be, nor is he abusive, but that doesn't mean he isn't distant), and these similarities made me write this whole thing. it would be interesting to see how much would change and how much would stay the same, what life would be like for zuko and what life would be like for sokka. would their personalities swap as well? sokka's would change drastically, but i think zuko's would not change extremely.

sokka and azula:

don't get me wrong, sokka is insecure and everything, but he's also much like azula, at least, in my eyes he is. azula and sokka are both crippling perfectionists, excelling at a specific thing: azula's firebending and battle (plus regular) intelligence, and sokka's skillful planning, his own battle (and regular) intelligence, and inventing. they both see their father in a bright light, they both were heavily affected by his actions and again, they both lost their mother. due to their need to succeed and win, they both become irrational and heavily emotional when they do not. sokka blames himself for the loss during the eclipse raid, and azula has a mental breakdown when she loses against katara and zuko during sozin's comet. when they've been defeated, they break down in one way or another. and back to the first sentence, azula is insecure too. she feels unlovable and has major trust issues, and more that if i said, would make this already somewhat long thing even longer.

—

now: onto what i feel like the characters would be with roles swapped. zuko role-swapped with sokka: an insecure sixteen-year-old, angsty boy with a crippling need to be useful for his family. he misses his father dearly and wishes he could have spent more time with his mother, whose face he can't even remember. he looks like a trash bender compared to his younger sister, azula, who has blue fire and a natural, raw talent. he wants to be a warrior like his father, fighting against the monstrous water tribes. he's insecure about his unimpressive bending but learns to improve his skill and find new techniques instead of letting his self-hatred get the best of him. he helps aang, the avatar, defeat the water tribes, and while on adventures with the gaang, he learns to accept himself. he becomes more than just a planning, brooding, awkward guy; instead of making himself feel worse with his less-than-average firebending skills, he focuses more on using double swords, becoming very good at it. he rarely uses his firebending because of it, realizing that he doesn't need to be a good bender to be a good fighter/warrior. sokka role-swapped with zuko: a self-hating fifteen-year-old who misses his tribe and misses his honor. he is worthless, weak, and a failure, horrible at waterbending, unlike his gifted sister, katara. his father gave his left eye frost burn, and he is partially deaf and blind on the left side of his face due to it, but he deserved it; he spoke out of line, disrespected his elder, disrespected Ice (or water) Lord Hakoda, his own dad. ever since he was twelve, he has been looking for the missing avatar to bring back to his tribe to make his father (and tribe) proud and love him again. he travels with his honorary uncle bato, who helps him eventually turn a new leaf. bato helps him learn new skills and new techniques that help him improve his waterbending quickly, being patient with him and supporting him through his darkest moments. he realizes that what he is doing is wrong and he abandons his home and his father to help aang, the avatar whom he had been hunting constantly, learn waterbending. he learns from his mistakes and successfully becomes the Ice / Water Lord, helping aang defeat his father and simultaneously helping azula defeat his maniacal sister, katara. —

sokka role-swapped with azula: either thirteen or fifteen-year-old.(katara as zuko is aged up if sokka is fifteen, sokka as azula is aged down if he is thirteen) he is an extremely impressive waterbender, gifted and prodigious, unlike his poor older sister, katara. if he wants something he gets it, and he will go at any length to win, to defeat, to conquer. he, much like his talented father, never fail, they never fail, and they never will! he doesn't need anyone's trust or love; spirits, he doesn't need anyone. sokka'll use peoples' fear of him to get whatever the hell he wants, no matter what. his mother was right; he is a monster, and he- he takes pride in it! after his so-called 'friends' betrayed him, one for looooove and the other for, well, the one in love. ((can you tell i have no clue who to make his friends? maybe suki and yue?)) he saw her once again, taunting him while he grew furious with his stupid long hair. (stupid wolftails.) he messes his hair up, messes up once again, and throws the scissors in the mirror to try and make his dead, naive, stupid mom go away. but that's not all: even though he's perfect, even though he's supposed to be, he fucks it up. his father was supposed to be the Ocean King, and sokka himself was supposed to be the new Ice/Water Lord, but of course, his stupid sister and her stupid fire-bending friend got in the way of the water tribe's supposed-to-be success and defeated him, humiliated him. and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. he breaks down, crying nonstop and feeling utterly defeated.

azula role-swapped with sokka: she's the genius. she's the one who does the planning, it's azula. not zuko with his amazing firebending, not aang with his... dumb avatar-ness, not toph with her scary earthbending; no, it's sixteen-year old ((aged up to be oldest in the gaang like sokka is, but she can still be fourteen if u want i don't know.)) azula, the bad bender. agni, she's basically a non-bender anyway, with the way her fire can barely light a torch. but her uselessness doesn't stop her from trying to be perfect, of course it doesn't! she's useful, she knows it, she just has to figure out how. she can't strive to be anything less, not when she wants to protect her brother and her friends. not when she wants to be the next chief of the fire nation when this is all over. instead of wallowing in her own self-hatred, she decides to try something new; she decides to try bows and arrows. and agni, she's good. she decides that she doesn't need to be a master bender like zuko, aang, and toph are, because she's a master in her own way and doesn't need her firebending to be useful. she can still protect her friends and brother without relying on her bending. and while azula sometimes wishes that she were as talented as zuko is with firebending, she also understands that she is just as talented as he is without firebending, but with her bow. she accepts herself and her flaws.

—

while i think zuko and sokka's role-swap would make sense and works better, i also think that azula and sokka's role-swap works too, just a little... reachy. i guess. i don't know!!!! i just. sorta been thinking about this for too long. ahaaa i don't think this is gonna be read at ALLLL so hey guys! hey fruity gang! #awesome!

might post art idk? blegh ... SORRY TO WHOEVER READS THIS LIKE THIS IS SERIOUSLY DEF OOC IDK.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM6uB6D7u/ not even the video but the comments are killing me BECAUSE HOW THEY CAN BE THAT DELUSIONAL

i mean everyfrickingthing is wrong here-

p.s. sorry for putting this shit into your inbox 🫤

"She's marrying the person, not the nation" That argument is only valid when the person in question is not the absolute monarch of said nation. Zuko's coronation by itself is a symbol of the Fire Nation redeeming itself because the Fire Lord IS the Fire Nation.

And even ignoring the internal conflict Katara could feel if she ever developed feelings for someone of the Fire Nation, let alone someone who, again, represents the nation itself: she doesn't want to live there, she wants to go back to her home with her family. She wants to be a fighter and healer, not a political ruler. And more importantly, she does not have feelings for Zuko anyway so this is a pointless discussion.

"Katara's arc was ruined even though she became a badass warrior, literal war hero, helped destroy the system that had been oppressing people for over a century, is reunited with her dad and free to go home, and is such a powerful healer she brought a boy backt to life. After all, she kissed Aang instead of Zuko, therefore nothing else about her arc matters" is peak "tell me you don't give a shit about Katara as a character without saying the words I don't give a shit about Katara as a character"

Also, the Fire Nation can rebuild it's relationships with the other nations without a political marriage - especially one that would require taking away the South's "princess" and biggest hero, which would likely only make them MORE pissed off.

Also Katara and Zuko had fuck-all to do with each other's arcs. She became a badass warrior and hero travelling with the Gaang, and he redeemed himself by traveling with his uncle and then returning to his nation.

[blluespirit]

It continues.... the Big NATLA Analysis; (s01e02 - WARRIORS)

Oh man. I did not expect to dislike this episode so much. The more I thought about things, the more there was to talk about. I am writing this at 10:30pm on a work night, so I apologise for any spelling or grammatical errors.

Any way if you're interested in a (probably unnecessary) deep dive into the netflix atla series, come with me on this journey.

You can find Ep1 here

1 - Intro scene - Zuko's journal is missing

I did enjoy the overall vibe of this scene; Zuko tearing his room a part, loosing his cool coupled with Iroh trying (and failing) to placate him was great. Funny, but not trying to hard, revealing Zuko's drive and intensity, and Iroh's attempt to calm him through Logic all makes a great scene. Plus Zuko's "he rAN" actually made me laugh the first time I watched it.

Things I didn't like:

a) ah yes. Zuko's drive to become Fire Lord is the reason he's after the Avatar... right? I mentioned this in part 1: Aang. The show uses establishing scenes to have Zuko talk about his want for the throne, which is not true to Zuko's character or motivations. In season 1, he mentions this only two times - once when he's been antagonised by Zhao and again when he finds out that Zhao is now also hunting the Avatar. Two moments where his emotions are heightened, either in anger/shame or hopelessness.

Even in season 2 he doesn't mention it very often. He mentions being royalty, being a prince, but rarely ever talks about being the heir and wanting the throne. You may think I'm being pedantic, but the reason I keep harping on about it is that this show keeps insisting that the reason that Zuko wants to capture the Avatar is so he can take his place as the crown prince. Whereas, in the OG, Zuko only mentions being the heir often in emotional moments or as an afterthought. Zuko wants to go home (*cough* his father's love *cough*)

In The Avatar Returns, after Aang gives himself up, Zuko says:

ZUKO: [Determined] Head a course for the Fire Nation. I'm going home.

Right from the offset, the writers frame Zuko's hunt for the Avatar as something other than a want for power.

Compare this to the third line of dialogue Zuko says this episode:

ZUKO: I'm still the heir to the throne, that's got to mean something... even in this dustbin corner of the world.

It's too early in our introduction to Zuko for the audience to understand any nuance to his words - which is why the OG goes out of it's way to make sure we don't misconstrue that.

2 - the Gaang at the SAT

Things I liked:

a) Sokka's hesitance to continue on their journey; Katara's ability to see the bigger picture and an opportunity to help others It's very fitting to their characters and Katara actually talks about herself for like... the first time lol

KATARA: It’s about more than just helping Aang. Ever since he came into our lives, things have changed for me. Before I met him, I couldn’t bend enough water to fill a thimble. And now look what I can do! And that’s after a single day! Look around. Look where we are now. I don’t know about you, but I can’t go back.

FINALLY!! A glimpse at that drive! She actually stands up to Sokka in this scene too, even - dare I say it - getting frustrated at him. To Katara, she is willing to leave home and put everything on the line to help save the world, learn waterbending and help Aang. Is it idealist? Is it unrealistic? yeah i mean she's 14 and the Avatar is some kid who's even younger than her with no combat training (aside from learning bending) but she doesn't care!! I love her so much, words cannot describe.

I'm also so glad she just walks away from Sokka after she delivers this speech. It's clear she's made her mind up and there's nothing Sokka could say that would change it.

b) Momo He looks so cute... we needed more of him 🥺

c) sokka & momo rivalry/friendship Wouldn't be atla without it lol

Things I didn't like:

a) the waterbending scroll being gifted from Kanna Okay, I get it. I never really expected to keep in the pirates subplot since there's only 8 episodes, but I did expect them to show us what we learnt in some other way in The Waterbending Scroll - that learning waterbending is something that's important to Katara. It's a massive part of her identity as a warrior, a fighter (I think it's so important that healing is something she stumbles upon and being a fighter is something she seeks). It's her culture, something she has been robbed of. Coupled with comparing herself to Aang, who picks up the skills that Katara has spent seemingly years trying to learn almost instantly, we get to see that Katara is just a person. She gets jealous. She wants, so desperately to be a good waterbender, and when raw talent is thrown in front of you like that it's a hard pill to swallow.

It's a shame that we seemingly don't get to explore any of this - Katara's drive to learn and teach, Aang's raw talent, Katara's jealous streak, Aang learning waterbending. I haven't yet gotten through all the episodes on my re-watch, but from what I've seen, they don't convey this all.

So TLDR for this point; removing side plots is fine if you don't sacrifice the character moments that make the show what it is. Continuing to rob Katara of any personality traits (favourable or not) does not serve anyone. It's interesting that despite her extremely strong sense of justice and right and wrong she's willing to steal in this instance! That's an interesting thing to explore!!! DEPTH!!!!!!!

3 - The Kyoshi Warriors storyline.

Things I liked:

FR the only thing I liked was Kyoshi appearing through Aang and scaring the shit out of everyone.

Things I didn't like:

a) Sokka and Suki Sokka tries to (awkwardly) flirt with Suki and she immediately is rude to him and talks down on him, despite the show trying to show they're interested in each other.

SOKKA: I get it. I know why you wanted us off your island. I’d have done the same thing. It’s a big responsibility, all these people’s lives in your hands. Personally, I take that responsibility very seriously. I, uh… I’m the guardian of my village, too, so… SUKI: [incredulous] You? SOKKA: Yep. SUKI: A guardian? So how are you protecting your people if you’re here? SOKKA: [bumbling and awkward; visibly nervous] What? I’m not. I mean, I am. I may… I may not physically be there, but still… That is, I’m… I have to save the world first. Katara, how does it go again? I’m protecting Aang, so I’m protecting the village… [Suki begins to walk away; Sokka rushes after her] SOKKA: Hey! Hey! Um… The point is we have a lot in common. We’re both warriors, right? SUKI: [irritated, aggressive] Before she died, Avatar Kyoshi trained an elite force in her image. One ready to protect not only our homes but our way of life. That tradition has been passed down through the generations, and it is now my honour to protect this community and to uphold the values of the Avatar. That is why I’m not just a warrior. I’m a Kyoshi Warrior.

Suki's harshness makes sense in the original because Sokka is busy being a sexist asshole to her and she doesn't let him walk all over her. But here it feels very out of place, especially considering it was her words that convinced Yukari to let them stay in the village.

And then the next scene being Suki seeking him out to oogle at him getting dressed?????? hELLP It's fine to make her a little awkward and out of her depth with this new, interesting person here that, given their isolation, she just doesn't know what to do with herself, but now they've managed to make almost her whole motivation be she finds Sokka physically attractive. She's the one who seeks Sokka out (for seemingly no other reason than foreign boy = hot), rather than Sokka being the one to seek her out to prove a misguided point to himself.

That's NOT Suki. By skirting around the sexism issue, they managed to make Suki less of herself.

They could have had a real powerful moment here. I absolutely adore OG Suki's line to Sokka:

SOKKA: I should've treated you like a warrior but I treated you like a girl SUKI: I am a warrior... But I'm also a girl.

At least from what I've seen, media tends to forget that badass women can be and often are feminine as well. Being strong does not equal being more masculine/manly. And Suki owns that.

Yeah she's a warrior, a protector. She can handle herself, and she's a girl as well.

The Suki and Sokka subplot was short. It was not an arc, more of a moment, but it had meaning. Suki began the process of Sokka realising his internalised misogyny and humbled him. By the end of the episode, Sokka faces up to his mistreatment of Suki and apologises. He respects her as a warrior and as a person. We see the impact that left on him.

All of this is gone. This version is not better. Sokka and Suki are not more interesting in this. The conflict forced Sokka to grow and learn and we got to meet this incredible, underrated strong female character without her presence feeling obnoxious or mary sue.

Once again, the substance is gone. They took all the growth, the real-world issues (even if handled simply - it's a kids show, after all) and interest away and made it all about that Suki and Sokka find each other physically attractive.

b) Making the head of the village Suki's mum I just don't really understand why they made this change... it doesn't really add anything to Suki's character. I'm happy we have another female character - especially a leader. But, I just wish they didn't make her Suki's mum! Yukari doesn't need to be Suki's mother in order for Suki to advocate for the Gaang, or have a strong connection to her. I think it might have been more impactful if Suki had reached out to Yukari, the head of village, as a protector rather than it be Suki reaching out to her mother - therefore adding to how Suki is respected in the village as a warrior and protector; her word is respected. Because Yukari is her mother, it doesn't come off like that. Did Yukari listen just because Suki is her daughter? Would she have done the same if a different person was leading the Kyoshi Warriors? And their whole interaction just felt way to personal to me to be just... having in front of everyone?

SUKI: [crouches down] What harm is there in letting him look through some books? YUKARI: [stern] It’s not about them. SUKI: It’s about who else may come. I know. But if he is the Avatar, how can we turn our back on him? YUKARI: [softer] Such a fierce warrior. And yet such a kind heart. SUKI: [frustrated] Mother. YUKARI: Suki, you’re too young to know that there are many in this world who would take advantage of that kind heart. SUKI: I’m not too young. I just haven’t seen the world. [she stands up]

This is in front of everyone. Yes they're whispering, but it just feels weird to me.

I've read a lot of posts where people really liked this change, so I don't expect everyone to agree... just my feeling on this one.

c) Aang's characterisation

I'm not going to say much here because i have been struggling to put my feelings into words here.

Ultimately: Aang feels too serious to have his silly moments make sense.

He's deeply troubled by the death of his people, and therefore, is desperate to make a difference in this world. He's running towards his problems so far. Yet, the show keeps trying to say that he's avoiding it by having him refuse to even attempt any waterbending and have these 'silly' moments that remind of me of OG Aang but the whole thing just doesn't feel right in this adaption.

On one hand, Aang is monologuing about his responsibility and what he has to do and how he has to save the world, and then on the hand the story is trying to tell us he's not trying to do that.

(Because they did not want Aang to learn apparently, any waterbending, we miss the idea that Aang has this crazy raw talent. Yes, we know he's a good airbender, but The Waterbending Scroll shows he's a good waterbender too and picks it up almost immediately. But we don't have that, so instead we get this information in monologue and dialogue form from Aang in episode 1, telling Gyatso he doesn't need to train and again here, when he tells Katara the other kids were scared of him because of his raw talent and power. Not a bad thing on its own, but I keep noticing that a lot of moments are sacrificed and replaced with exposition to communicate this.)

This is the best explanation I can do for this one. Would genuinely love people's thoughts on Aang; whether you agree or not!!

d) Zuko continues to have decisions and agency taken away from him to seemingly make him seem 'better' He doesn't burn down the village and he says like two (2) sentences to Zhao. Iroh makes 99% of the decisions for him in this episode and Zhao is the one who does most of the damage, leaving Zuko to be largely uninteresting and not at all impactful to the story.

It seems like they're trying to make Zuko less bad than in the original (a lot of his outbursts and personality is dialled down as well), but it's truly a talent how they can make this so utterly uninteresting and actually manage to remove a lot of Zuko's passion, intensity and drive.

The problem can be explained largely through the fact that Zuko just doesn't actually do anything: 1 - He follows Iroh's lead when approaching the Naval Commander (Zhao); and Iroh interrupts him anyway when he snaps at Zhao and Zuko never interrupts again and instead stands in next to Iroh looking mildly annoyed the whole time. 2 - when Zuko realises Zhao got to Kyoshi before they did, he seemingly feels close to giving up, before Iroh points out he may not be in the village, but at the Kyoshi statue. Zuko listens and goes there. 3 - Zuko sort of gets a Decision when he fights Katara who tries to stop him from passing; finally something I guess??? But then Kyoshi appears and that's over so whatever I guess. 4 - Zuko has this outburst in front of Zhao that just pisses me off so bad.

ZUKO: [abruptly to Zhao, as he's walking away] Don’t tell anyone... About the Avatar. No one else can know. ZHAO: [ominously] But of course. I fully understand the sensitive nature of this information. And if you’ll permit me, working together, we’d be able to devote twice as many resources to the hunt. Obviously, with Your Highness taking the lead in all matters… ZUKO: [steps towards Zhao] Wait, we don’t- IROH: [Cuts Zuko off. Stern] An excellent suggestion, Commander. We would be honoured to have your partnership and your loyalty. ZHAO: Believe me, there’s nothing more important than knowing where to place my loyalties. [immediately cuts to Zhao writing a letter about the Avatar's existence to Ozai]

OG Zuko would never do this lol. He'd challenge Zhao to an Agni Kai before he believed a single word that came out of Zhao's mouth.

This Zuko is boring. The OG made Zuko burn Suki's village down and yet, we were still cheering for him in the agni kai against Zhao, because they pinned them against each other in a way that was impactful to the audience.

I'm going to go into more detail below:

4 - The Zuko & Iroh vs Zhao storyline

I will tolerate the Zuko and Iroh and street vendor moment because it's kind of cute. I like that the vendor caught the vibe and rolls with it with Zuko's expression being pure agony watching the whole thing play out... golden. Plus, Uncle Iroh telling Zuko he needs to use ✨tact✨ and ✨empathy✨ to trick Zhao into telling him what he wants (if anything unusual has happened in the area) and immediately getting distracted by sticky rice, plus Zuko's voice trailing after him trying to get him to focus... valid and perfectly on brand.

This is the end of things I liked. Now buckle in.

My disappointment is endless:

The Zuko and Zhao dynamic just... isn't good. I've been writing and re-writing this section over and over trying to get my words out about this but I think ultimately the issue is here is that it's just.... boring. The interactions between Zuko and Zhao are not as tense, lack an intriguing history and I think ultimately it robs Zuko of personality and does not set him up to be liked by the audience as well, despite him being the antagonist.

Once again, I'm adding the caveat that a 1:1 copy of the original is not at all what I'm asking for - it's an adaption, after all - but changes should NOT take away from the story or make it worse.

Now with that out of the way, I'd like to compare the introductory scenes respectively:

ORIGINAL:

ZHAO: Prince Zuko? ZUKO: [disdainfully] Captain Zhao. ZHAO [smirks] It's commander now. And [he bows slightly to Iroh] General Iroh. Great hero of our nation. IROH: [bows back] Retired general. ZHAO: The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests anytime. What brings you to my harbour? IROH: Our ship is being repaired. ZHAO: That's quite a bit of damage. ZUKO: Yes. You wouldn't believe what happened. [He glances at his uncle, and angrily commands him as he gestures at Zhao.] Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened. IROH: [startled] Yes. I will do that. [with enthusiasm] It was incredible! [Hesitates. To Zuko, confused whispering] What? Did we crash or something? ZUKO: [uncomfortable] Yes! Right into ... an Earth Kingdom ship! ZHAO: [In disbelief] Really? You must regale me with all of the thrilling details. [smirks and gets into Zuko's face] Join me for a drink? ZUKO: [averts his gaze and begins to walk away] Sorry, but we have to go. IROH: [stops Zuko with a hand on his shoulder] Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect. [Iroh removes his hand and faces Zhao. Zuko narrows his eyes] We would be honoured to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favourite.

LIVE ACTION:

ZUKO: [stern] Where’s your commander? I need recent surveillance reports. Right now. FIRE NATION SEAMAN: Excuse me? ZUKO: And maps. Nautical maps. The more detailed, the better. [Zhao is in another room and hears the discussion. He appears to recognise the voice. He moves to the door] SEAMAN: And you are? ZHAO: [entering the room. calmly] Prince Zuko. What an honour to welcome actual royalty to our humble base. What can I do for the crown prince? ZUKO: [irritated] As I was saying, I need- IROH: [interrupts him] Please excuse my nephew. We’ve been at sea a long time, and our manners have grown as rusty as our anchors. ZHAO: [intrigued, but remains calm] General Iroh, no need to apologise, and please forgive our lapses as well. We don’t get many VIP visitors around here. Much less the famed [puts on emphasis] “Dragon of the West.” IROH: [pauses awkwardly] As my nephew was saying, we are in search of maps and surveillance reports. We’re hoping to track schools of jumping.... [hesitates] shark squids. ZHAO: [confused] Sh… shark squids? IROH: Mmm. They’re migrating this time of year. Oh, they’re delicious, grilled with a touch of lemon. [chuckles] ZHAO: [suspicious] Huh. I see. Anything I can do to help. If you wouldn’t mind giving me until the morning, we can track down what you need. IROH: Very kind, Commander… [seeking Zhao's name] ZHAO: Zhao. Commander Zhao. At your service.

All the depth is GONE babe. The IMMEDIATE hostility between Zhao and Zuko that speaks of a turbulent history between them is completely erased and somehow after all this time on sea, Zuko and Iroh... don't know the Navy's commanders? They would have inevitably ran into them in their travels.

But regardless of that, Zuko and Zhao's history is not something we ever learn, but remains intriguing. I mean, this animosity runs so deep that Zhao literally tries to have Zuko assassinated and Zuko commits actual TREASON to stop Zhao from capturing the Avatar. It's not like these two think the other is kinda off - they hate each other.

This show is BLAND.

The only other interaction that Zhao and Zuko have is when he has that outburst at the end of the episode, basically asking Zhao "hey pretty please don't tell anyone about the Avatar... pretty please.... 🥺" and Zhao is like *very clearly lying is ass off* "of course not my liege..... my loyalty is to youuuu".

Let's compare the scenes when Zhao realises Zuko is hunting the Avatar to illustrate this point:

LIVE ACTION:

ZHAO: The Avatar? SEAMAN: Yes, sir. ZHAO: [shocked] He thinks he’s found the Avatar? SEAMAN: According to his crew. They claimed to have discovered him at a small Water Tribe village. Prince Zuko captured him but then lost him. ZHAO: If Zuko’s looking to us for information, it means he thinks he’s still in the area. Gather any reports of unusual sightings in the last few days, anything out of the ordinary, no matter how small. And do it fast. SEAMAN: Sir.

ORIGINAL:

ZHAO: [irritated] So a twelve-year-old boy bested you and your firebenders. You're more pathetic than I thought. ZUKO: [angrily] I underestimated him once, but it will not happen again! ZHAO: [aggressively] No, it will not. Because you won't have a second chance. ZUKO: [alarmed.] Commander Zhao, I've been hunting the Avatar for two years and I - ZHAO: [cuts Zuko off and firebends over his head in an arc.] And you failed! [He walks intimidatingly up to Zuko.] Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. He's mine now.

Zhao's cocky enough to stand there and insult Prince Zuko and the Dragon of the West with no fear of repercussion. That speaks volumes to how people view Zuko. Iroh may refer to Zuko as Prince, but Zuko is not someone who's respected or even liked by other members of his nation - including outside of his crew.

And Zhao does not stop trying to humiliate Zuko. The next scene goes like this:

ZHAO: My search party is ready. Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship and you'll be free to go. ZUKO: [angrily] Why? Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you? ZHAO: [laughs mockingly] You? Stop me? Impossible. ZUKO: [stands up, enraged] Don't underestimate me, Zhao! I will capture the Avatar before you! IROH: [stands up, sternly] Prince Zuko, that's enough. ZHAO: [confidently] You can't compete with me. I have hundreds of war ships under my command and you? You're just a banished prince. No home, no allies. Your own father doesn't even want you. ZUKO: [angrily] You're wrong! Once I deliver the Avatar to my father, he will welcome me home with honour, and restore my rightful place on the throne! ZHAO: If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation. ZUKO: That's not true. ZHAO: You have the scar to prove it. [Zuko yells in frustration and jolts up from his chair, into Zhao's face. The two stare at each other, furious] ZUKO: Maybe you'd like one to match! ZHAO: [mockingly] Is that a challenge? ZUKO: An Agni Kai. At sunset.

Like babeeeee. this is so intense and SO revealing. There's so history between them. In the OG, Zhao hears Zuko's voice and hones onto him like a shark. He addresses Zuko as mockingly as possible while still using his title and Zuko replies, just as sardonic which is made worse when Zhao corrects him - he's a commander now, not a captain.

In the live action, Iroh doesn't even know Zhao's name, and Zuko barely even speaks to him. I am genuinely baffled at this change.

The live action sucks the life out of this dynamic. Iroh and Zhao have more lines than Zuko, and half of those is Iroh interrupting Zuko when he snaps back. In the OG, Zhao's soldiers are both scrambling to grab Zuko's arms to stop him physically attacking Zhao and when Zuko realises he can't get to Zhao, he breaks a table with his foot.

That's at least interesting. At least Zuko has lines with Zhao. At least Zuko is y'know making decisions, even if they're bad ones that he'll ultimately come to regret.

Zuko is not more likeable. He is not interesting to the audience. He just follows after Iroh like a lost puppy and is Sad About Zhao trying to get to Aang before him.

5 - Aang speaks to Kyoshi

I don't like anything about the entire Kyoshi and Aang interaction. I have three main issues with it.

Kyoshi's personality is weirdly different.

There's a continued discrepancy between what Aang is doing vs what characters/the story are saying Aang is doing (re: responsibility)

Avatar = strong (live action) vs Avatar = balance keeper (original)

Let me explain:

1) Kyoshi This is Kyoshi's speech to Aang:

KYOSHI: [tern] It’s about time. AANG: [apologetic] Uh, I’m sorry.I didn’t know how to reach you. I didn’t know I could reach you. KYOSHI: There’s a lot you don’t know. [scene ends - new scene] KYOSHI: [irritated] There are many dimensions to being the Avatar. You need to be a guardian, a general, a mediator, a guide. You must fill several roles, and many of them require unparalleled strength. AANG: That’s why I need to master all the bending disciplines? To become strong? KYOSHI: Yes. And to help you gain control over the ultimate power. The Avatar State is the combination of all your past lives, focusing their energy through you. The Avatar State gives you the strength of a thousand benders. AANG: I’ve seen it. It’s dangerous. KYOSHI: If uncontrolled, yes, but it can also be the ultimate weapon, and it can save your life. [scene ends - scene starts] KYOSHI: [stern] You wanna know what is the Avatar? I can’t tell you that. Every Avatar is different. We are shaped by the different demands of our times. AANG: [hesitant] So I have to figure this out myself? KYOSHI: That is part of the journey. AANG: [frustrated] But what if I hurt someone along the way? KYOSHI: [angry] And how many have already been hurt because you haven’t been here? [Kyoshi gradually raises her voice and begins to approach Aang] Run away from your responsibilities again, and even more will be hurt! Being the Avatar means putting your duties above all else. Even your life! [sighs, frustrated. She crouches down and her voice lowers, calmer] I was like you once. But then I saw what was at stake, and I will show you what will happen if you fail. Tragedy awaits the North, and unless you do something about it, another race of benders will be wiped out just as the Air Nomads were. You asked me what it means to be the Avatar. It means being a warrior. [distorted, her voice grows angrier] A mighty, merciless warrior.

What is this!!!! I've not read the Kyoshi books, so I'm going off OG atla canon, but girl. this is not Kyoshi. In every scene in the OG, Kyoshi is frustratingly calm. She doesn't baby Aang, but she's not mean. She is honest, frank. Brutally logical. Evil men cannot live. That is justice. In this version, she swings from stern to irate to frustrated to furious. She rags on him about things he cannot control and it even comes of threatening at times.

Her anger at Aang just feels so weird an out of place, especially considering in this version, Aang didn't even run away.

2) Aang So far, Aang keeps spiralling about how he's not doing enough to save the world and he needs to help as many people as he can and he needs to train and he needs to figure it all out - etc. etc.

Aang is doing everything but avoid his responsibility.

But then the story tries to shoehorn these points in - Aang avoiding waterbending, Katara interpreting Aang's nervousness that he won't find the answers as giving up (i.e. avoiding responsibility) and now Kyoshi, telling him he needs to face the truth:

KYOSHI: [...] Run away from your responsibilities again, and even more will be hurt! Being the Avatar means putting your duties above all else. Even your life!

Aang avoiding responsibility has not been an issue to warrant this kind of reaction. It just does not make sense to me.

And the whole the Avatar = Strong Person is not very avatar-esq. Yes, the Avatar is the strongest, but being the strongest is not the point, maintaining balance is.

3) Avatar = strongest (and that's all there is to it) In the original, we learn that the Avatar is the one who must restore and maintain balance to the world. The Avatar is the bridge between worlds.

It's one of the reasons I loved atla so much - that the main 'chosen one' was yes, extremely strong, but their strength is not the point of their existence.

The first Avatar we meet in this series explicitly tells us this is not the case:

KYOSHI: [irritated] There are many dimensions to being the Avatar. You need to be a guardian, a general, a mediator, a guide. You must fill several roles, and many of them require unparalleled strength. AANG: That’s why I need to master all the bending disciplines? To become strong? KYOSHI: Yes. And to help you gain control over the ultimate power. The Avatar State is the combination of all your past lives, focusing their energy through you. The Avatar State gives you the strength of a thousand benders.

Yangchen and Roku frame being the Avatar and the Avatar State differently (respectively):

YANGCHEN: The Avatar must be compassionate towards all people, and the only way to do that is to live with them. The Avatar must experience sadness, anger, joy, and happiness. By feeling all these emotions, it helps you understand how precious human life is, so you will do anything to protect it.

ROKU: The Avatar State is a defence mechanism, designed to empower you with the skills and knowledge of all the past Avatars. The glow is the combination of all your past lives, focusing their energy through your body. In the Avatar State, you are at your most powerful, but you are also at your most vulnerable. If you are killed in the Avatar State, the reincarnation cycle will be broken and the Avatar will cease to exist.

Over and over again, we are told that an Avatar's purpose is to essentially keep the world balance and protect the people within it.

In this series, it takes the least interesting angle possible: to be the Avatar, is to be strong.

Wow. So compelling 😐

---

This episode is a combination of boring and disappointing for me.

All respect to you if you enjoyed it - please don't let my ramblings upset you. These are just my opinions and feelings that i need to analyse and get off my chest.

I can't remember happens in episode three so I'll see you then :)

[sokkastyles]

Do you think Zuko was being hypocritical in TSR when he confronted Katara? I read a post saying that even though he acts humble about not deserving the Gaang's trust, he still feels entitled to Katara's trust, which makes him a hypocrite. Idk, what do you think?

No, it doesn't make him a hypocrite, because there is a difference between being humble and self-flagellating, just as there is a difference between being entitled to someone's feelings and trying to figure out why they feel the way they do and offering to help.

And Zuko has come a long way in both respects, because at the beginning of the series he was both entitled and carried a huge amount of self-loathing. But his actions here show that he's learned more healthy behaviors, because even though he does start to give in to his own guilt, he doesn't just accept it when Katara makes a mean remark. What she says in response to him saying he doesn't deserve praise, "yeah, no kidding," is rather cruel because Zuko's remark comes from genuine guilt and a desire to atone, as well as that struggle with his own self esteem that he's had for a long time due to his history of abuse.

Katara doesn't know that, and of course her feelings of hurt are understandable, but at the same time, that doesn't mean Zuko needs to just take mean remarks directed at him, especially being kicked when he's already down. That kind of behavior is neither healthy for Zuko nor Katara. As I said above, it's healthy for Zuko to stand up for himself and develop relationships where he feels like he can do that after his history of abuse (and the fact that he feels like he can highlights the difference between his relationship with the gaang and with Azula/Ozai.)

But it also is healthy for Katara that Zuko wants to find out why she is acting this way, and guesses that it has something to do with her own hurt. Of course he is angry about her mean remarks, but he very quickly figures out that her distrust of him comes from feeling personally hurt by him, and owns up to it.

Let's look at the context, because it isn't just that one remark from Katara that clues Zuko in to what's going on with her.

Aang: Wow, camping ... it really seems like old times again, doesn't it?

Zuko: [Jokingly.] If you really want it to feel like old times, I could, uh ... chase you around a while and try to capture you. [He smiles and the rest of the group laughs, except for Katara.]

Katara: [Sarcastically.] Ha, ha.

This tidbit from the transcript is super interesting, because I didn't catch Katara's sarcastic "ha ha" at Zuko's joke. This isn't the first time she has responded sarcastically to Zuko's jokes, but her reaction to this particular joke is interesting. Because Zuko is joking about how he had hurt them before. Zuko's delivery is rather shy, like he's not sure if it's too soon, but then the joke lands...for everyone except Katara.

Because Katara doesn't just distrust Zuko, her feelings come from seeing him "change" before. She is genuinely hurt by Zuko's joke, because she's still not convinced he might actually decide to chase them again for real. Then the scene continues with the rest of the gaang praising Zuko, oblivious to Katara's feelings.

Sokka: [Holding up his cup.] To Zuko! Who knew after all those times he tried to snuff us out, today he'd be our hero?

Team Avatar: [Everybody except Katara holds up their cups.] Hear! Hear! [Aang nudges him with his elbow, before Toph lightly punches him.]

Zuko: [Smiling.] I'm touched. [Stops smiling.] I don't deserve this.

Katara: [Angrily.] Yeah, no kidding. [Walks away.]

Sokka: What's with her?

Zuko: I wish I knew. [Follows her.]Cuts to shot of the entire campsite.

Sokka: [Voice-over.] What's with him?

Again, everyone praises Zuko except Katara. Then Zuko says his thing and again looks shy and a little guilty for being praised (because abused kid) and Katara makes her comment and walks off. In the show, Zuko does look angry and defensive when Katara says what she says, but notice his response when Sokka says "what's with her?" Zuko says "I wish I knew." He doesn't say, "I don't know why she's acting so irrational" or something that would otherwise imply that her feelings are not valid. He says quite seriously that he wants to know what is wrong. Because at that point he probably already has an idea that it has to do with what happened between the both of then in the caves. And he goes to confront her, because he knows that this is something that they need to hash out between the two of them.

Sokka's reaction is also meant to be funny, but I've talked a lot before about how Katara feels hurt by Sokka not understanding her feelings, and frequently gets frustrated by him because of that. The camera focuses directly on Katara's hurt face when Sokka is praising Zuko, and then Sokka acts like he has no idea why Katara reacted the way she did, and acts flippantly like there is something wrong with her, in contrast to Zuko saying he wants to know what is wrong. Then Sokka humorously repeats his comment about Zuko when he walks off, which also underlines that this is a conflict between Katara and Zuko that only the two of them can work out.

I know Zuko also gets flack for what he says when he confronts her in the next scene, but again, he's allowed to be angry and hurt when Katara is deliberately trying to get that reaction from him, and quickly understands why she feels that way towards him, and his expression when she tells him explicitly that she wants to trust him, but he betrayed her, is one of admission of guilt. But then he offers to help, and doesn't stop trying to help even after she rejects his help.

Of course, he looks hurt, but again, he is allowed to be, and the fact that he still tries to help her and resolve things between them shows a difference between entitlement and genuinely wanting to repair the relationship. If Zuko were entitled to her kindness or trust, he would not try to repair things after she told him there was nothing she could do. He'd act like she was just acting irrational and ignore it like everyone else does, or hope that she'd come around eventually, or offer her things without really trying to get to the bottom of her hurt feelings.

Moreover, continuing to rehash a conflict that has already been resolved in canon and imply that Zuko's feelings towards Katara are not sincere also implies that Katara's forgiveness of him is not sincere. Is Katara a hypocrite for deciding to trust and forgive Zuko? Or is it a repeated theme of the series that people are allowed to change and grow, and that growth is necessary in order to be a better person?

[innocentimouto]

Honestly if Jet joined the Gaang, the shipping wars would be between Jetara and Zutara.

I think Jet would shut down some of Aang's "antics" regarding his behavior and his relationship with Katara. He'd probably would have Aang keep a distance from Katara in order to feel focus ( such as when he had to choose to let Katara go or not in the Guru episode). He'd probably be in favor of Aang letting go if it meant the Fire Nation's war would be over.

I'm not sure Kataang would even be able to develop as it could with Jet being right there.

I'm not even sure Kataang would happen if Jet and Katara developed further romantically. Although I don't ship it - I prefer my crackship of Jet and Haru lol- I'd probably be in favor of them over K/A and even Z/K.

Also, if Jet joined earlier, it might've made Zuko's redemption more shallow as Jet would've already fulfilled that role.

Outside of Aang kissing Katara in the play episode, nothing about his behavior seemed wrong to me. He always supported Katara. When she stole the waterbending scroll, Sokka was lecturing her over it while Aang laughed at how she contextualized it. For the fandom claiming he's incapable of seeing her anything other than perfect, he didn't have a problem with her stealing.

That episode is a prime example of how kind Aang is to Katara. And it even shows how the narrative makes Katara apologize so many times for

stealing a waterbending scroll that's actually useful for her and Aang.

It helped her get better, which is possibly the only reason she even lasted against Pakku, meaning Aang probably would have had to stay at the North for longer if Katara hadn't got a chance to learn.

She was able to help Aang in fights after that.

reclaiming a part of her culture that was stolen from her

Zuko being at the island because Iroh wanted a game tile, yet Iroh blames her

Sokka has many lines of blaming her, her being obsessed with waterbending, endangering all of them, and yet when on Kiyoshi Island, when Katara told Aang they needed to leave soon because it wasn't safe and then was proven right, Aang admits he was wrong, Katara doesn't blame him, and they leave. End of story. Sokka isn't even in the equation here.

The writing is very different, but ironically the only one who actually judges Katara is Sokka. Aang has always been supportive, except when she was planning on killing someone in a clearly upset state.

The whole thing about Aang having to let go of Katara to activate the Avatar state doesn't make sense to me because this was never true for any of the previous avatars. And he activates it again later anyway.

I lean more toward Jetara than Kataang, but it's not impossible for Kataang to happen with Jet in the group.

Sorry when it comes to shipping culture and the like, I'm the worst because I'm that one person who will read a major shipping fic just to see good writing of my favorite character, and good friendships, and skip every romantic scene. I have a few ships I like yeah, but romance as a genre doesn't work for me, despite me trying to enjoy it. So if there would be a love triangle if Jet was there, or jealousy or drama, any of that doesn't appeal to me. The drama and messiness of romantic tropes can make for really entertaining stories but I am not the intended audience.

I don't think Jet having a redemption arc would make Zuko's shallow because Zuko was on the side of the oppressing nation and was desiring his "rightful place on the throne" for a long time. Jet was entirely different. Besides even if say Zuko actually had a redemption arc, it's not like they're all written the same way.

Not all of them have to end with befriending the main cast, or with complete forgiveness. I enjoy when characters rightfully dislike someone for some injustice, but have to work together for a common goal and still don't become friends. Just because someone has apologized, or has helped, doesn't mean the character deserves forgiveness. It's also a more interesting dynamic than all is forgiven, to me at least. Especially because then it truly emphasizes the person wants to change not for someone's forgiveness or good graces, but because they recognize they did wrong and want to change.

Besides Zuko joined right after a failed invasion. That is EXTREMELY suspicious. The kids just got separated from their people and fathers, and now the prince of the Fire Nation shows up. Zuko joined at the worst possible time. My first question, if I didn't attack immediately, would have been why didn't Zuko help during the invasion?

[kataraslove]

Do you think Kataang will ever get retconned for Zutara? I can see Bryke/Avatar Studios/Paramount/whoever tf is in charge now for the upcoming movie being like, “To drive up sales we should reintroduce Kataang vs Zutara discourse. Let’s make it so that Katara never actually loved Aang and only settled for him because she couldn’t have Zuko.”

short answer: highly doubt it

long answer: bryke had the chance to give in to fanon and make zutara canon at the end of atla; they didn’t. bryke again had the chance to make zutara canon in the legend of korra; they instead gave confirmation that katara and aang got married and had three children. bryke could have made zuko and katara end up together in old age; we have not seen one instance in which they even interact. bryke could have had them date in the comics, especially now that zuko is currently single. instead, katara spends her time helping rebuild the world with aang. any supplementary material from avatar studios could have indicated that they were spending time together - but the only thing i’ve really seen is stuff like legacy of the fire nation reiterating their friendship during the series. so if bryke never made it canon all these times, they’re probably not going to reverse their decision now. especially not when it’s been 15 years and the canon ships have a lot more support now.

in fact, one of the writers who had wanted zutara even said, “they’re definitely together in an another universe.” and offered no follow up as to whether they canonically had feelings for each other in the current atla one.

i mean, mike dimartino doubled down on braving the elements by stating that the moment in which katara offered to heal his scar wasn’t intended to be romantic. for context, when zach tyler eisen stated that the scene of katara bringing aang back to life was more romantic than the zutara moment, mike offered no denial. mike even confirmed one of my fave kataang parallels in that episode. so, the chances of kataang being retconned for zutara happening with avatar studios content are very slim. and isn’t that the whole point of avatar studios; so that bryke could tell their stories in the ways that they want to?

while kataang is probably going to be retconned for zutara in the live action adaptation, I highly doubt it will in any animated content (not going to say no because if the past lives can be completely removed in avatar lore, anything is possible. but it just wouldn’t be consistent with the canon that they’ve spent establishing over the last 15 years).

finally, the whole “katara secretly wants zuko while being married to aang and maybe could cheat with zuko behind aang’s back” is an insult to katara’s character in general, but it is especially insulting for the version of her character that’s a married adult women with a political career and a baby. even if for some reason she hated being married to aang and/or secretly wanted zuko, I’m pretty sure the version of adult katara that we’re going to see will be way too busy with her own affairs to even contemplate cheating. quite frankly, i should hope that there’s a ton of plot lines that bryke plans on doing with adult katara that isn’t “having a secret affair with her husband’s best friend.”

now here’s what i think will happen (and you can revisit this in two years time if i’m right): i think the marketing of the movie might have zuko and katara stand beside each other. y’know, hype it up for the loudest portion of the fandom who is relying on content from 2008. emphasize on the Fire and Water and red and blue and whatever.

the actual movie content will consist of aang and katara - as lead characters - being politically involved while navigating early parenthood. i think zuko will get a little bit of screen time, enough to build-up events for the rumoured zuko movie (which will likely be a sequel to the adult gaang movie). i think the adult gaang movie will confirm zuko’s relationship with mai. zuko and katara might talk with each other, could even share a nice platonic moment - but that’s about it (and that would be enough to stir up zutara shippers).

meanwhile, for kataang, I think the movie’s plan is to break popular misconceptions that:

aang is a horrible father and husband

katara is a SAHM (not that there’s anything wrong with that)

and i’m not saying that as, like, things that i want to desperately see. i’m saying that based on all the comics that have come out in recent years and all the content from avatar legends. of the two, the second misconception is the one that i’m most confident about that. we will definitely, no doubt in mind, get to see katara’s career and legacy (which I’m super fucking excited about!!!). and the movie will 100% contain a plot surrounding katara. this i can guarantee you, based on everything that I’ve read behind the scenes. remind me to one day finish writing out all the evidence i have surrounding this.

but anyway, anon, I hope this helps give you hope and anticipation? long story short, you’ve got nothing to worry about. look at how beautiful the happy couple looks.

[sharlmbracta]

i can't help but think that the two firelords in aang's fever dream would've been ozai's previous, early-staged designs, from the concept of the "firelord" to the concept of "ozai"

1.

this guy literally has fire shaped eyebrows and a fire nation insignia (or what it used to be?) stuck on his forehead. his blatant (stereotypical?) theme from his appearance is powerhungry(small eyes, bulky form), greedy-arrogant(eating grapes as a symbol?), brute-forced(war-themed clothing). I think this could be the very first design of him when creating the first idea of the "ultimate hero" and the "ultimate villain". The marks of the "first" can also be seen from the clothing design (the scarf? napkin? thingy around his chest) and simple color choices (simple red with simple yellow).

also you can see that he was agreed to have a very long and thin beard from the beginning which would feed on the "wisdom" "intelligence" and "strength" propaganda

2.

again, simple red and simple yellow.

clothing looks rather flashy, which means this look of him was also made at early stages of development and the atla fashion in general hasn't yet been stabilized. (: the flair in his wrists and the thing that goes across his shoulders to his chest. makes no sense. the top half looks like a flashy sleeping robe while the bottom half looks like... an outdoor activity metal skirt?)

he looks older than the previous one. does he? he looks more manipulative though. i think this is where his "slick tongue" personality was established bc a narrow eyes, narrow eyebrows character design kinda points to a stereotypical "rat person". i think. again long beard. that points to his high status or whatever.

this design looks like it was given to an earthbending trainer who haggled on money rather than actual teaching, who was assigned by toph's parents to be her earthbending teacher

3.

this is the very first time his face is actually shown. in seasons 1 and 2, his face was intentionally hidden, probably a tactic to bubble up the audience as "what could a monster like him look like 😱".

but ironically, he's a very normal looking guy. in fact, the most normal looking guy the designers could ever make intentionally. No part of him that could make anyone go "yep this is the face of the villain." this design of him is meant to convey that looks are often the most deceiving to your judgement. this ALSO shows when the gaang finds his baby picture in his beach house on ember island and mistake him for baby zuko.

it represents that everyone can go crazy with propaganda and an insane amount of power. like aang said, how everyone is capable of "great evil" and "great good".

taking katara's quote on the baby picture, "but he looks so sweet and innocent": his "innocent" look acts like a mask he puts on, as well as the mask of neutral expression, on top of the mask of his slick tongue.

the only thing that changes from here on is the frame of his face for anatomy i guess

below is also an impacting scene in my viewpoint:

how his face contorts from this

to this

in less than a second at azula's proposition of "burning it all to the ground". shows him that he's able to mask everything as he want it to, especially about stuff like neutral-face and power-face as that is NOT his ego-high power-tripping face:

THIS is his ego-high power-tripping face

and this is him putting back on his slick face right after a moment of being unable to mask his shock-rage and consequently rage-stripping himself

"now the universe delivers you to me like an 💅act 💅 of 💅 providence 💅" yep the providence that single-handedly blew your fucking ship up

also i forgot that the scene right after defeating ozai existed, i forgot how much of a drama queen he is:

"i'm STILL ALIVE"

and "i AM the phOEnix KING"

ok girlie fellow girlie

one more thing: he sounds genuinely proud of zuko when he commends him for "slaying" the avatar. and he reprimands aang for being "weak even with all the power in the world". looks like he really does think everything around power and ONLY power. hmm, i wonder who taught him that, hmm? tragic.