#i really hope zuko can win this tournament

[peak-zuko-tournament]

Round One

[oneatlatime]

Atla season two predictions

We're halfway through season 2! I did a post on my thoughts on the show and its characters when I reached the halfway point of season one. My thoughts are mostly the same, and there's only one new character of note (all hail Toph!), so I thought this time I'd mark the halfway point by taking wild stabs at predicting where the rest of the season is going to go. I'm going to try to do at least one prediction per character. This is entirely guesswork. Once the season is done I'll come back to this post and see how prescient/stupid I was. Without further ado...

The season finale will have Azula as the Big Bad and introduce the Fire Lord as the Big Bad for season three. This is exactly what happened in the finale of season one: Zhao was big bad and Azula was introduced. So less prediction, more extrapolating based on existing data. It was a winning formula in season one, so I'm hoping the writers will do it again. I'm also hoping that Azula will follow Zhao's fate because quite frankly I don't like her very much. Tl;dr, Azula and her crew will get swallowed by a giant badger mole spirit.

Toph is getting a subplot. She feels like a character with nothing left to work on, and now that Aang can earthbend, her purpose is accomplished. So she needs another purpose in the story. That, or they're going to leave her behind at some point. I wonder if she's in season three? She'd better be. So either Toph is going to remain a character with no need of an arc, in which case her subplot will revolve around something she already excels at, or the writers are going to throw a curve ball and reveal a heretofore unknown weakness that she's going to have to work around. If it's the former, my money is on one of the idiots from the pro-bending tournament hunting her down to avenge their humiliating defeat at her hands. If it's the latter, my guess would be something intellectual that plays on her high society background. Political intrigue? Spy work? A cult? Maybe she finds out that her parents are colluding with the fire nation? Tl;dr SuperToph, somehow.

Appa comes back. This is not a prediction, this is a DEMAND. He breaks free of his captors (seriously, he went down way too easy), runs away into the wilds of the earth kingdom, and following some innate air bison sense, stumbles upon a lost colony of his fellow bison who escaped Sozin's genocide. (and have somehow remained entirely undiscovered for a century despite being each the size of a house and able to fly to boot well the earth kingdom's got a lot of empty spaces just go with it) They spend a few weeks chilling until Appa gets found. Season three can end with Appa's Air Bison Hunny showing up with a baby sky bison. Tl;dr Papa Appa.

Project Make Zuko Decent gets a new CEO. The current one sucks. Some new character is going to be introduced to provide Zuko with both the motivation and the guidance to become a decent person. Iroh's had a season and a half and made pretty much no progress; Zuko's spent all of season two trying, and has made himself somehow worse. Maybe not worse, but certainly more worn out. Time for new blood. I'd like to think that this show is above cliche, but let's be honest, it's going to be a love interest. They tried it with a kid brother in Zuko Alone and it didn't work. So some nice earth kingdom girl. Like Song, but with more backbone. Maybe she's really good at swords. They can bond over that. I feel like Zuko would be easier to connect with over something he knows he's good at. It would be less fraught than bonding over bending. She also lost her mother to the fire nation; they can bond over that too. The writers laid the groundwork in Zuko Alone, might as well use it. The more Zuko can empathise, the faster he'll get decent. I hate to see a character who exists solely for 'Man Pain' or 'Man Growth,' but let's be honest, Zuko is not self-aware enough to grow without some major hand-holding, and Iroh isn't volunteering. I know that Zuko is on the cover of my season three DVD so his 'get decent' arc has to be complete by the end of season two. Tl;dr Zuko gets schooled.

Sokka has been underutilised this season (as has Katara), so he's going to get something major. The Library set him up to lead the gang to that Earth Kingdom town who's name I forget so they can share the date of the eclipse with the king, but you know Aang isn't budging until they get Appa back. So for the next few episodes, Sokka will be in Master Tracker Mode, using all the skills he learned at the South Pole and more to rescue Appa. There can be flashbacks to him learning the skill from his dad/grandfather/uncles/Bato, then flash forward to see him applying that skill successfully, adapting it to a different climate and incorporating insights he's gained since the show started. We had Zuko Alone, now I want Sokka Alone with the ghosts of his family. Although I don't think Aang would be willing to sit out on Appa retrieval, so Aang's going to have to be urgently needed for Avatar reasons right when Sokka stumbles on the clue that is the key to finding Appa. The group splits and reunites to see the earth kingdom king, Sokka triumphant and Appa in tow. Tl;dr Sokka channels Liam Neeson with probably a lower body count.

Momo is going along with Sokka for aerial reconnaissance.

Katara needs something juicy too. She's mastered waterbending, so her growth has to be personal rather than skills-based. Maybe she gets her world view challenged? Maybe she meets an evil earth kingdom or water tribe person? Evil to the core; she's already met bunches from both nations who are stupid/malicious. Hang on - I forgot about Jet. So she meets an evil water tribe person. In the earth Kindgom. Somehow. Maybe she meets a good fire nation person? How about a fire nation healer/doctor/army medic? Someone who can show her that firebending isn't all bad. Can you heal with any element other than water? I have no idea, but it would be cool if you could. If you really want to challenge her, a fire nation firebending healer who is genuinely compassionate to people of all nations, but who is also proud to be a fire nation citizen and fond of their nation. That would REALLY confuse her. Doubly so if there's some healing technique that she desperately needs to learn from this person. Katara seems like the type to think that one person = one opinion, and that there is only one right opinion, ever, in all things, and that is hers. Show her someone complex, hypocritical, layered, but still a force for overall good. Tl;dr let's torture Katara.

Aang! It's been a while since his duties as Avatar have conflicted with his personal convictions. Actually, it's been a while since his duties as Avatar have come up at all, apart from training and getting chased for being the Avatar. Aang is going to encounter some problem that can only be fixed by an Avatar, likely something like the giant panda from season one. Maybe pissing off the Owl spirit causes unrest in the spirit world? Maybe Aang's going to have to fight a war on two fronts: fire nation v. other nations and spirit world v. physical world? Or maybe Aang's going to have to mediate in a spirit world civil war? Aang's got enough friends in the spirit world that maybe the giant panda and his friends take offence to the owl mouthing off about the avatar and it snowballs from there? It seems to me that pissing off a spirit is the kind of mistake that should have consequences beyond that spirit's episode. And this need for the Avatar comes up just when there's a solid lead on Appa, so Aang has to learn to delegate the Appa-finding to his friends while he's off saving the world. Tl;dr Aang has to do some Avataring.

Iroh needs to get his act together and come up with a better plan than following Zuko at a safe distance. This is more of a wish than a prediction, because Iroh's still very much a big old question mark to me. It's easier to predict what the child/teenage characters are going to do, because apart from maybe Toph, they have limited and already defined means. But Iroh's lived decades. He could very easily have resources, skills, connections, knowledge etc. that viewers haven't seen yet that he could call on at any time. He could pull anything out of the blue and I'd believe it, because that's how the world works when you're a sociable person who knows how to talk your way into things and has spent decades doing so. There have to be some earth kingdom collaborators around from his invading days who could be blackmailed/flattered into helping Iroh and Zuko get back on their feet. Tl;dr Iroh phones a friend. I can see the plot for the rest of the season ending in three ways:

A)Sokka's news about the eclipse causes the earth king to arrange a direct strike on the fire nation capital, killing Azula in the finale. The fire lord escapes, Azula gets promoted to fire nation martyr, and the war enters a new, worse, heightened, far more scorched earth/bloodthirsty state at the start of season three.

B) The Earth King says "yeah kid, we've had star charts for millennia, we know about the eclipse, they know about the eclipse, it'll be the one time their defences are at their absolute highest, this plan is dumb as hell, go away." This is the one I think is most likely.

C) News of the eclipse never reaches the earth king, because it turns out that unless the local king is your nonagenarian former best friend, getting a royal audience is hard if you're a water tribe nobody, and maybe his friend is the Avatar, but he's also twelve, and even in a kid's cartoon letting twelve year olds have a say in national policy is a bit of a stretch. The eclipse nonsense remains a one-episode occurrence that was just the set up required for Appa's Appa-napping, and the rest of the season is spent de-Appa-napping Appa, until a surprise appearance by Zuko jr. and her girlies in the finale.

[theturncoattournament]

Are you rooting for anyone in particular? And who do you think will actually win?

There's definitely a lot of characters in the tournament I really like and hope do well, and I do have one or two I'm particularly hoping will win, but I don't know if I want to say yet partially because I don't want to like accidentally bias any voting and also because I don't want to jinx them lol.

But in terms of who I think right now is most likely to win, I don't think it's giving too much away to say the most obvious probable frontrunner is Zuko, since I'm guessing that's probably what most people would assume, anyway. He was the most submitted character, though there were actually two others who were close behind. Even so, anything can happen! There's already been characters who were knocked out, some right away in round 1 even, who I thought were likely to make it to quarterfinals, so I think there's always a chance for more surprises. We'll just have to see!

[thoughtfulseason]

this month starting tomorrow i’m gonna take myself super seriously in fencing cause i wanna be worth participating in that tournament at the end of october. i really hope my coach will take ME seriously like i have an opportunity to win a fight out there and not just help the ones who’re not as good as me in training or do simple stuff (though now it comes to mind the scene with zuko and uncle iroh where zuko urges his uncle to teach him the advanced set while he has to learn the basics well). and even if he doesn’t, i will try to show him that i can do stuff (he noticed earlier before and told me that i’m perceptive and work hard/goal oriented) and i hope he’ll see a great opportunity in me. fingers crossed for october to be my lucky month where the hard work finally pays off (that’s when i also will learn if i won the book contest)

[thetierdslytherin]

The Avatar’s sister pt.2

Bolin x reader

this is a continuation of the avatar’s sister and it’s also based off of  season 1 eipsode 2 of lok

2.2k words 

        I'm woken in the morning by an incessant knocking on my door. I try to ignore it by pulling a pillow over my head but after the knocking doesn't stop I'm forced to get up and answer the door “what!” I throw the door open coming face to face with.“Korra! You better have a good reason for getting me up before the sun is up.” I cross my arms standing in the doorway waiting for her explanation

            “I do! I have training in 30 minutes and you know Tenzin's rule I can't leave unless your with me so we gotta go so I can be on time, get dressed” Korra pushes me out of the way entering my room “come right inthen” I say sarcastically shutting my door following her to my closet as she goes through it throwing clothes in my direction “Now get dressed and cleaned up. We don’t have a lot of time. Plus the sooner we get there the sooner you get to see Bolin” My heart beats a little faster at the mention of Bolin as I change into some of my water tribe clothes then brush my teeth and fix my y/h/c hair into a braid.

           “Well even Bolin isn't enough to make me move fast this early in the morning and I just met the guy. Besides you only to see Mako” I tease as we head out of the building to the shore “Korra i’m well aware i'm not your mother or in charge of you but please be careful I don't want to see you get hurt” 

          “psh y/n i'm gonna be fine your making a big deal out of this”

           I sigh and stop walking, Korra stopping with me. I look into her eyes before saying “Korra I know guys like Mako, i've dated too many guys like him I just don't want you to get hurt”

           “Yeah well maybe you just start minding your own business like you said you're not my mother and you're sure as hell not in charge of me so let me live my life for once!”Well,That could have gone better. We spent the rest of our journey in silence only speaking when we ordered breakfast. Maybe I am being too controlling. Korra deserves to live her own life and make her own mistakes. But we did just meet the brothers yesterday and know literally nothing about them. But I know Korra and if I push the issue any more she’ll just cut me out of her life until she's over it. 

          “Your late” Mako doesn't even turn to look at us when we enter.

           “Okay yeah true but we brought food so lets call it even then?”

            I move to one of the tables setting their food down “yeah Mako look at this y/n was nice enough to bring us food so let's just take a break and enjoy the food” Bolin says starting to make his way over 

          “ we haven't even started yet so let's not. C’mon on Bo, Korra we have a lot of training to get through” The three of them run through drills for the better part of an hour before moving to the cool downs.

           “What's the big idea making me train this early in the morning? The morning is evil” okay dramatic much Korra? The three of them move into a triangle passing a weighted ball around.

          “Were the rookies so we get the worst time slot in the gym” Bolin passes the ball to Mako

          “And you're the rookiest of us all, we gotta get you up to speed if we want to survive in the tournament deal with it!” he passes to Korra 

          “You deal with it” she passes the ball back to Mako sending him flying backwards 

          “Children, children can you please not hurt each other this early in the morning. Alright let's not make this any more unbearable then it has to be” I pass by them to check on Mako and other than a sour look on his face he seems perfectly fine.

          Bolin pipes up “uh y/n not that i'm not happy to see you I really am it's just why are you here? you're not on the team?” 

          I glanced at Korra and said, “you didn't tell them?” she shakes her head I guess she just thought I would “tenzin's one condition for her joining the team. Wherever she goes I go so that means you're stuck with me, pretty boy. and you too mako… I guess” I go moving to stand by Korra. 

          “There are my hard working street urchins, it's an honor to finally meet you avatar” a muscly man in his mid thirties approaches us.

          “And you are?” Korra says crossing her arms.alright then just go ahead and pretend like i'm not even here.

          “Butaka I run this whole pro bending shabang. Anyways here your winnings from the match” Mako goes to pocket the cash but before he can Butaka stops him. 

          “First you owe me for the avatars new gear, gym and equipment rentals for last month, rent on your apartment, and a personal loan on groceries” By the time he's done there no cash left. Is it always like this for them?

          “Oh uh one more item of business the Fire Ferrets need to ante up 30,000 yuans for the championship pot” Damn ok that's more than I make for 6 months at my job and the brothers definitely don't have that kind of money just lying around.How are they gonna come up with it?

          “30,000 yuans!” My thoughts exactly Bolin

          “Sorry kids you have till the end of the week to pay or your out” with that final statement Butaka leaves along with the fire ferrets chances of playing in the championship.

          “The two of you wouldn't happen to have a secrets bank account filled with gold would you?” Mako and Bolin look at us with hopeful eyes 

          “No sorry boys I mean I have some money I could pitch in but not 30,000 yuans”

          “I've got nothing. I've never really needed money, I've always had someone taking care of me” Korra shrugs, giving a small smile. 

           “Then I wouldn't say you've had nothing then” Makos words carries no venom though, just distant sadness packing up his gear throwing it into a duffle bag.

           “I'm sorry I didn't mean-” “no its alright its just ever since we lost our parents we've been on our own” Bolin says giving Korra a sad smile shuffling towards us

           “Bolin, I'm so sorry that you had to go through it” I put my hand on his shoulder trying to offer some sort of comfort.

         “So anyway how are we gonna come up with the money?” 

“Ooh ooh I got it. I've been training pabu to do circus tricks now people would pay good money to see that” Bolin raises pabu into the air twirling him once.

          “C'mon bolin we need serious ideas” the smile immediately falls from bolins face and I can't help but stand up for him “that is a serious idea Mako. When we first came from the water tribe I know I would've paid to see pabu perform” 

          “ don't worry about it, I'll figure it out. I always do” and after that Mako walks out of the training room presumably to ‘figure it out’.

          “Hey korra why don't you head on back to the island bolin and I are gonna hang out for a little bit” he looks at me confused“we are?” I give him a nod “we are”. 

          “Yeah okay y/n just don't stay out too late you know how Tenzin gets” I give her a smile and a ‘of course’ then it’s just bolin and I left. 

          “So Bolin, how about you show me some of pabus tricks and you help me eat the rest of breakfast that Korra and I brought?” “um yeah but can i get a quick shower first im kinda gross?”

          “Only if you let me join you.” spirits his eyes almost bugged out of his head at my comment stammering to get an answer out before I take mercy on him “i’m teasing you Bo” 

          He clears his throat “right right yeah totally know that” That leads me to where I am right now Bolin and I on their couch eating cold pastries.

           “Hey Bolin” he pauses his eating for a second to look at me “why don't you tell me something about you. I mean we basically know nothing about each other except our shared love of pro bending and food” he looks thoughtful for a moment “Pshh not true” I shoot him a look saying ‘you sure about that’

            “Well I know you're a waterbender and that you have a sister and where you live...and that sounds way creepier than I meant it. I just mean you know you live with Tenzin who lives on air temple island not like I've been stalking you because that would be weird...” i've noticed he does this thing whenever he's embarrassed he’ll scrunch his whole face up for a second and start playing with his hands, which he's doing right now

          “Well okay but I don't know any of the important stuff” I say leaning in propping my chin on my hand 

          “What's the ‘important stuff?’”

          “Like your favorite color. You know a person's favorite color will tell you a lot about them”

          “Whoa hey now you just stepped over a line. I can't possibly tell you that” we make eye contact bursting out laughing at the notion.

           “ok fine I don't really have a favorite color” he scratches the back of his neck giving me a half smile

           “well maybe instead of telling me your favorite color you tell me about your parents” after seeing the look in Bolins eyes I quickly backtrack “you don't have to though I imagine it's a touchy subject I was just curious” he sighs setting his food down turning to me

           “no it’s not that it’s just not a very fun story to tell” he takes a deep breathe grounding himself “when Mako was 7 and I was 5 we were at home with our parents one night and a fire bender broke in trying to steal from us… he killed them right in front of us y/n, after that it was just mako and I. It's been that way ever since” he looks down trying in vain to keep me from seeing the tears in his eyes. I grab his hand running my thumb over his knuckles. 

          “Hey bolin why don't we go and set up for pabu to do his tricks” he glances at me “we could set it up under fire lord zuko's statute?” he laughs wiping the tears from his eyes

           “yeah y/n that sounds perfect” 

          We're both sitting on the base of zuko's statue on a carpet with two cups and a plank for pabu to walk on.Bolin and pabu have matching get ups and bolin has a fake mustache. while I sit beside Bolin bending water into different shapes to amuse myself. “Come one come all see pabu the fantasstic fire ferret as he crosses the ladder of peril upside down” Pabu then crosses the plank and flips landing on one paw which i'll admit is cute but not 30,000 yuans cute. “Thank you folks you are too kind too kind” Bolin says as a man passes by dropping 1 yuan into the cup. 

          Bolin looks a little upset by how far we still have to go “Hey Bolin look its a start you don't have to get all the money yourself i'd be happy to pitch in and i'm sure mako found a way to make some money” he sighs “yeah i'm sure mako has” that's the problem isn't it? I bet bolin is tired of his brother always solving his problems or better yet being the one who gets them out of ruts. 

          “Hey bolin is that you?” I Look up to see a well dressed man with urban water tribe clothes on getting out of his sato mobile 

           “oh hey shady shin” he waves at the man and I urgently whisper to bolin “by any chance is this leader of the triple threat triads shady shin?”

           “mhmm” 

           Wow since when did bolin run with gangsters? “I hear you're a big time pro bender now. Not bad.Anyways lighting bolt zolt is looking to hire some extra muscle” 

           “I don't know shin Mako told me to stay away from the triple threats” 

           “it's just some security work nothing crooked” he pulls out a fat wad of cash and throws it in Bolin’s cup he's about to agree before I cut him off before he can agree “double it and were both in i'm a water bender and a healer plus i'm good at ‘security work” 

           “Alright kid deal don't make me regret it” he puts another was of cash in the cup “now let's get going” Bolin and I follow him and get in the back of his sato mobile. What a mistake that was.      

[aftermathdb]

DEATH BATTLE Review: Johnny Cage vs. Captain Falcon

Two punching stars do battle for the title of most famous man of punches.

The Community DEATH BATTLE from DBC 120/121 comes back to see the real deal.

Johnny Cage′s Preview.

Mortal Kombat. A deadly tournament where only the best of the best can hope to survive. From four-armed gladiators seeking konquest, to ninjas seeking vengance, there’s nothing that can surprise you.

Even if one of the fighters is an actor.

Johnny Cage was an actor and a stuntman. Known for his many over the top action films, like Ninja Mime, Citizen Cage, Time Smashers, and one of Boomstick’s personal favorites, Tommy Scissorfists.

But, as with many actors, Johnny’s fame was fleeting. His time in the spotlight was becoming a detriment because he was accused of being a fraud.

So, what better way to prove them wrong than to enter a tournament to the death?

Luckily, Johnny wouldn’t have to do it with a stunt double or anything. He’s mastered all sorts of martial arts, from karate to Bruce Lee’s self-made style of Jeet Kune Do.

These skills would be a good thing, because Rayden was in big trouble. Shao Khan was one win away from taking over the Earth… Because I guess he doesn’t know how much it sucks.

Anyways, Johnny didn’t have to rely on his martial arts alone to win fights. As it turns out, he’s actually descended from an ancient Mediterranean war cult that bred warriors to fight among the gods.

With these powers, Johnny has access to a variety of powers that lets him do all sorts of crazy stuff. He can shoot out balls of green energy to hit opponents from afar, the Shadow Kick can knock them that distance, or he can do a Guile impression with the Eclipse Kick (Speaking of Street Fighter, Wen Vega?).

But since Johnny is still a mortal human being, he needs a move that can get him out of trouble. And he came up with one alright. It’s the Nutcracker, the Berry Buster, the Infertilizer, the Beanbag Barrage, the "Not that kind of blow" Blow, and Boomstick’s personal favorite, the "Help, Doctor! I think they're in my ribcage!" Special! It’s even a fatality!

Of course, Boomstick give it a shot…

(Looks like Wiz learned his lesson from the preview)

Anyways, Johnny‘s got a list of feats to pull from as well.

From being able to chop through diamond, to dodging point-blank automatic gunfire, Johnny isn’t a slouch in the strength or speed department. He’s taken on deadly foes multiple times, and has even defeated the fallen Elder God Shinnok thanks to his powers.

Now, Shinnok can reasonably scale to Rayden. Rayden on his own was able to destroy a large temple.

Now, Buddhist temples tended to shy away from stone, so by using wood and concrete as a base, the estimated destruction comes out to about…

A little over 250 tons of TNT!

But Johnny is far from invincible. He’s been beaten before, and his power does have it’s limits.

But despite his arrogance, Johnny has proven that he’s a capable fighter and a powerful protector. And after having a family, Johnny has shown that he has matured to truly earn the title of Earthrealm’s protector

Incidentally, Shokan do have yamsacks.

Captain Falcon′s Preview.

In the year 2560,the Earth has gone crazy. Aliens are everywhere, space travel is a norm, and the newest sport is all the rage. F-Zero! A deadly sport where racers use anti-gravity technology to race along the tracks of insane courses. One wrong turn can lead to death.

However, the champion of this sport is a mysterious man known as Captain Falcon.

Little is known about Blue Falcon pilot. However, what is known is that he is a respected bounty hunter, one who protects the universe from the forces of evil like the vile Black Shadow.

But in order to take on Black Shadow, Falcon needs a powerful arsenal to get the job done.

From his mighty Raptor Boost, to the Falcon Dive, this is no ordinary racer. Falcon can imbue his pyrokinetic power into a variety of powerful moves.

But the most famous, and powerful is his, say it with me, FALCON PUNCH!

How he does this, is really up to anyone’s guess. However, it’s reasonable to say that the secret lies within the Captain’s Blue Falcon machine.

As it turns out, it’s powered by a thing called a Reactor Might, a fragment of power that was created by the Big Bang. As for why it’s in a racing machine, that’s anyone’s guess.

The Reactor Might can also let Falcon do some other crazy techniques with his power as well. Like the Boost Fire. And thanks to some weird mystic power that the Reactor Might uses, the Captain can call upon it at any time. No matter where he is, Falcon is never without his ride.

Reactor Mights are powerful. One of them destroyed a space station, an explosion that yielded over 6 megatons of TNT!

Of course, Falcon has to go out with a bang. In his final fight with Black Shadow. While it may look like he exploded part of a galaxy, Falcon had destroyed a prior device known as a Dark Matter Reactor. Which has the power to rewind the Big Bang using the six Reactor Mights- It’s a long story.

However, defeating Black Shadow is impressive. Since Shadow has tanked attacks from other powerful beings without even flinching.

He’s defeated multiple robots at once, torn apart a metal cage, seen a sniper miles away, and tanked bazookas.

And while Falcon accomplished his mission, it took more than one man to do so. And we’re not talking about that typical “Power of friendship” thing either. As it turns out, the name of “Captain Falcon” is a legacy title, similar to The Flash, or the Dread Pirate Roberts.

Each new Falcon is hand-picked by the previous one, so long as they can prove that they surpass them. Since Ryu Suzaku is the current one, anything the other Falcons can do, he can also pull off.

Falcon may fall, but the legacy will live on. And he will save people one raceway at a time.

One more time people.

FALCON PUNCH!

The Battle Itself.

Kervin, Luis, Kiid, Zack are using Jerky’s spritework for this animation. Johnny Cage will be voiced by Kieran Flitton and Captain Falcon will be voiced by Kestin Howard. Brandon Yates composes Falcon Uncaged (Soundtrack unavailable as of this review). Chris Kokkinos lead on audio.

The battle starts with Johnny getting footage of the F-Zero track, where they’re getting clips of a movie about Captain Falcon whom which, Johnny will be playing.

Which comes off as a bad thing when you remember that only those that surpass Falcon can be Falcon. So, as far as fight stories go, this one is actually pretty good.

So after a flurry of punches and blows, Johnny takes up the challenge.

The Falcon charges Johnny, but Johnny uses his reflexes to not only dodge, but to also hit Falcon back.

Of course, Falcon recovers and counter attacks.

And he combos (kombos?) Johnny into a Falcon Dive

Johnny, not one to give up so easily, gets back up.

Falcon goes in for a FALCON PUNCH but Johnny…

So, while Captain Falcon recovers from a “Doctor, help! I think they’re in my ribs” special, Johnny takes some time to quip.

Falcon quips back. But the two end up on a F-Zero machine and continue the fight there.

Falcon then opts to use his famous Falcon Knee Of Justice to knock Johnny into the boost pads.

Johnny uses the pads to get back at Falcon. So Falcon then grabs his ride and starts attacking Johnny.

Finishing Blow in

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Ninja Mime needs a new star now.

Verdict + Explanation.

So, Johnny had the better martial arts, and he could even match mach speeds. But Falcon has dealt with tricky opponents before, and his other stats beat out Johnny’s.

Remember that final punch Falcon dealt?- Well, Falcon was able to create energy from the impact. Accounting for the conditions of space, this would mean that Falcon’s best energy output would be over 150 billionn joules of energy.

For reference, that’s like dropping twelve elephants onto Black Shadow, but is also thousands of times greater than Johnny’s best feat.

Now, Johnny might have defeated Shinnok, but that’s not exactly on the same level as Falcon.

Now you might be thinking “Wait, shouldn’t Johnny’s green glow help him out?”- Well, yes and no. Johnny’s powers are, well, powerful, but they’re kinda limited. While it’s a great power to have in the realm of Mortal Kombat, where deities are basically everywhere, it’s kinda restricted to Elder Gods. Even allowing for it to extend to other gods wouldn’t really help, since 1: Falcon isn’t a god, and 2: Johnny has been killed by non-deities before

So, Johnny can tank blows from god-beings, but that’s mainly because his powers let him do so. A bullet to the head or heart will still kill him unless it’s a god bullet.

The winner is Captain Falcon.

Overall impression.

Overall, this battle is really fun to both watch and look into. It takes two characters that are well known for the hype they generate and brings them in to see how well they stack up.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting Johnny to match Falcon’s speed stats at all. It was pretty surprising. Plus, seeing Falcon in action after mainly being associated with Smash Bros is a real treat, I hope that the F-Zero fans got some enjoyment out  of the episode… Bummer that the DEATH BATTLE Curse couldn’t kick in for Falcon, but them’s the breaks.

Great fight, interesting research, and awesome music.

8.7/10. Will watch again.

Next Time…

Oh, an excuse to rewatch Avatar that doesn’t involve my constantly pushing the idea of Zuko vs. Dinobot (The Beast Wars guy (It’s two warriors known for their redemption arcs. Let me have this))

And a reason to at least take a look int FMA.

Is there a fight that you want me to review? - Send an ask/request, and I’ll look into it!

Do you want to read my fanfic based around DEATH BATTLE itself? click here!

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time for…

Elemental Masters.

[lethesomething]

Someone adopt Todoroki already

Let's talk about everyone's favourite BnHA prince, Todoroki Shouto, and his parental figures. This kid is some weird cross between Haikyuu's Kageyama and the Last Airbender's Zuko, in that he's a socially awkward pretty boy with a dark past and some very serious daddy issues. This kid has seen some shit, my dudes. And like those two he gets a rather satisfying, still ongoing character arc, making him one of those characters you can’t help but root for. You know what else Todoroki is? A walking symbolism manual.

 Todoroki's parental figures

So BnHA is very interesting in the way it deals with parents. As opposed to most manga, they don't just all die or disappear into the background here. This series has some of the warmest mother-son relationships (hello Midoriya Inko), and it's also chock full of father figures (Dad Might, Dadzawa, Dad Torino). People like Midoriya and Bakugou, and Kirishima in the manga, get several of these mentors to help them on their way.

Todoroki, on the other hand, gets surprisingly few. He doesn't have the same relationship with Aizawa or All Might that Midoriya and Bakugou have, and he doesn't even get a separate mentor during his  apprenticeship, because he chooses to spend that time with his own father. In a way, this makes a lot of sense. Whereas Midoriya gets outside guidance to grow, Todoroki's character development is very much an internal struggle. It is central to Todoroki's character arc that he learns how to deal with the parents he already has.  

Putting this under a cut because it’s super long, and it ventures a little into manga territory (i tried to keep the spoilers mild).

 Fire and Ice

I don't think I'm going to shock people when I mention that Endeavour, Todoroki Senior, is a bit of a dick. The man has many flaws as a father and a human being. He's abusive, for one. He is shown as proud, calculated, ruthless, selfish. He wants to mould his child with the very specific purpose of defeating his own greatest rival and he's willing to disregard the lives and feelings of others (like his wife) to make this happen. Now what may shock you is that honestly, I don't believe Endeavour is a purposely cruel person. You can't really save that many people if you're a full sadist. He appears to actually want a relationship with his son, or at the very least, he wants his son to look up to him. He doesn't seem to understand that holy shit, bro, you frigging traumatised that boy.

I feel that the way he's treated his kid, and his wife, is mostly him having a one track mind and going overboard. I'm not trying to redeem him here, but there are levels of evil and Endeavour for me falls into the 'drunk in a wife-beater' category. Putting aside the question of whether Dabi is also a Todoroki sibling, it does seem like not all his kids hate him, for instance. Shouto's sister Fuyumi seems pretty ok living in that house still. As a school teacher, she is an adult woman with an income who could be living alone. The fact that she stays in that house could mean she's there to take care of her younger siblings, or that she at least has a casual enough relationship with her (rich AF) dad that staying is preferable to making it on her own. Honestly, he probably just lowkey ignored his other kids for most of their childhood, or at least let them have a normal life. As such, it's mostly just Todoroki's bad luck that he was born as a 'perfect sample'. Endeavour strikes me as someone who is very full of himself and it causes him to look at other human beings as a means to an end.

On the other side of the scale is Mrs. Todoroki. Like Izuku's mother, she is framed first and foremost as someone who loves, someone who cares, someone selfless. But unlike Inko, her selflessness is pushed to a point where she can't take it anymore.  This is a woman who has lost any and all agency. She is trapped in a loveless marriage she did not want and she doesn't even seem to have a name of her own. She is just 'Mrs. Todoroki', a plaything to be used and disposed of by a powerful man. The pain and fear she absorbs during the years is too great and she snaps, hurting the ones she loves the most. She is then quickly carted off and locked away somewhere out of view.

��Appearances

So how has this whole business shaped Todoroki? For one: he doesn't give a damn about appearances. BnHA is very big on the difference between what you look like, and what you are. For a blatant example, check out the 'two forms' of All Might. Appearances are important for a hero, but Todoroki knows that this could be bullshit. Endeavour is the 'number two' hero. He is looked up to as a great and powerful man by the general populace, but it seems to be a bit of an open secret (judging by Present Mic's reaction at the Sports Festival) that he's a grade A jerk. On the other hand 'Mrs Todoroki' is known as a violent woman. Someone crazy. Someone dangerous. Someone that has to be hidden away in a hospital, never to see the light of day. In both these cases Todoroki knows better. He doesn't particularly look at the outside. He doesn't even judge people on what they say, but on what they do.

 On a much more symbolic level, this is even the case for the whole 'element' business.  I personally love how the reality of Todo's fire and ice, and of his parents elements, doesn't correspond to their official 'element'. Fire is supposed to be warm. The 'hearth' is the traditional centre of the family, whereas ice evokes the cold, lonely wilderness. But when it comes to parental love, Todoroki's mom's is the warm one. Her loves is even so hot that it when it goes out of control, it literally burns his skin. On the other hand, his father's love is a cold one. To his father, Todoroki is a product, a pawn in the race for Number One. It is an attitude that causes Todoroki to reject any sentimental ties he has to his father, almost literally turning the boy into a block of ice, since that's the only skill he's willing to use.

Walking. Symbolism. Manual.

 Dual personality

But as the manga mentions, Todoroki is the perfect genetic mix of both his parents, whether he wants it or not. He is the 'half and half bastard' and step one in his development is actually becoming that. When we first meet Todoroki, he has a cold personality and he quite literally only uses ice, in apparent defiance of his father. This is his Ice Side. It is calculated, it is sharp, it is dismissive of others and it is ambitious. This is the kid that wants to win the tournament on half strength. It is the kid that challenges Midoriya as an 'opponent-to-beat'. It is, against all rebellious tendencies, the personality of his father.

Now let's look at his Fire Side. Remember when we first saw that? It's not the moment you're thinking of. It's this one

Todoroki's fire side is passion, it is anger, it is explosive and full of feelings. It is the side that cares, and cares so much that sometimes it explodes and threatens to hurt people (like poor Sero). Oddly enough, Todoroki's Fire Side comes much closer to his mother's personality.

Don’t believe me?

Todoroki's mom with a whistling kettle in the background.

Todoroki right before he freezes the hell out of Sero.

 Achievement: Fire

Enter Midoriya, our superhero with an extra in 'unlocking character development'. What our boy does, in the tournament, is set Todoroki's fire side free from several years of suppression, obviously. He does this by making him forget about his father and get more in touch with his mother.

For just that moment, Todoroki switched sides, willingly.

And you see that from then on, he starts to flip between both sides more regularly. In his fight with Bakugou he's still sputtering, but honestly, boy just had a revelation, you can't expect him to be up to speed that fast. But you do see it more often later on.

We see Todoroki slowly warm up to his classmates, particularly to Iida and Midoriya. We see him start to visit his mother, because he's quite literally nurturing that side of him.You see him give very sensitive advice and lose his cool (heh) another time, like in the superhero exam. We see him remain his calm and calculated self all through that Bakugou rescue mission.

Back to dad

An interesting point in the story here, is the apprenticeship. Todoroki chooses to go to his father here. This is a calculated decision and he even mentions that in the anime. His father is a popular hero and it gives him good opportunities to work with the 'number two', despite whatever his feelings for this man may be. That's his ice side speaking (his father's side, if you follow my theory).

Now look what happens when Midoriya needs help.

Instant dismissal.

Todoroki knows what he cares about, and it is the continued well-being of Midoriya. The switch is almost instantly flipped. Forget his father, go save his friend. His mother's side is slowly but surely gaining.

 Balance

Right now, you see a lot of duality in everything Todoroki does. This boy, despite unlocking both sides of himself, is still very much struggling. He can still come across as aloof in unfortunate situations. And let's not forget that his explosive side is just that. Explosive. If he doesn't learn to reign that in, he, too, could cause hurt to others. What Todoroki needs, more than anything, is to balance these sides of himself.  The right brain and the left brain. Hot and cold, doing and feeling, Ice and Fire. Right now, he's almost split himself in half, showing one side now and another side the next. I'm not sure if all that switching is altogether healthy, but at least it's better than what he did before when he was literally suppressing entire parts of himself. It's progress. I'm hoping that he'll get past this stage also. It's slow going, but honestly? I get that. Kid's seen some shit.

PS: I have a bunch of these BnHA meta things.

[cody-hammond]

My rewrite of LoK: Book 1(Episodes 1 & 2)

@awesomechocolatesauce

So, I’m just gonna say, I like Legend of Korra. It wasn’t as grand as Last Airbender, and that’s fine! They’re two different ways to go about the universe, and that’s okay. The being said, there are a lot of things in LoK that don’t quite hit the mark as TLA did. So, for that, I’m going to go through what I would do differently for the series, Book by Book.Let’s start with Book 1!

Now, there’s actually not a whole lot I’d change about Book 1, as it’s actually my favorite of the series. I liked Republic City, I liked the story, and thought it was a good intro for “Korra.” However, there are some things I would change.

Episode 1: First, I would keep everything relatively the same in the beginning. We meet Korra, she knows 3/4 of the elements, we meet Tenzin, he tries to guide her towards spiritual enlightenment to help her master Air, she wants to go to Republic City but can’t, sneaks on board a ship, arrives, fights some thugs, meets Lin Bei-Fong, Korra’s able to stay in RC, has the press conference, and we meet Amon, finishing the episode. 

However, there is one underlying story for Korra, and that’s how she can hope to be as great, if not better, than Aang. After all, this 112 year-old boy did end a war that lasted 100 years, brought the 4 Nations together, and led everyone to a brighter future. Korra’s a capable fighter, sure, but her inability to master Air, or the spiritual side of Bending, greatly hinders her. 

Episode 2: Korra reads about the Pro-Bending matches in the paper, and desires to go and see one herself. Tenzin, of course, disagrees, telling her it’s a mockery of Bending, all flash no substance. Later, Korra fails at both meditation and the spinning fan training, argues with Tenzin once again about wanting to see a Pro-Bending match, sneaks into the Pro-Bending arena, and then meets Bolin! Now, here’s where we start to change a few things.

1. Bolin: Oh Bolin, poor, poor Bolin. I feel for him, I really do. He’s a character that just SCREAMS comic-relief. Which isn’t bad, mind you, but... I felt like he could’ve been more. The great thing about Sokka was that, even though he was comic-relief, he wasn’t the relief 100% of the time. He was smart, he was obnoxious, he was a brilliant strategist, he was a capable fighter without any bending powers, he was so many things! Bolin... I can’t think of anything about him other than he’s funny, and Mako’s brother. Which is why I would change his arc. He can still be comic-relief, sure, but make him have a purpose other than that. That’s why, in this version, Pro-Bending isn’t 3-on-3. Instead, it’s a classic 1-on-1, similar to boxing or MMA, or even the wrestling-style fight they had in “The Blind Bandit” in A:TLA. Bolin is a young up-and-comer, an underdog. He has his fans, but nowhere near enough to become a household name. 

After witnessing her first live Pro-Bending match, and Bolin’s scraped-by victory, Korra offers to train Bolin in exchange for learning a few tricks of her own, and shows him some Fire-Bending moves he could probably use to better fit the agile side of Pro-Bending, sort of like how Iroh taught Zuko lightning. 

The next day, after failing to pass through the spinning fan training Tenzin gives her a second time, and burning it down, Korra and he argue. Tenzin angrily asks what’s wrong with her, and Korra responds by saying there’s nothing wrong with her. She tries and tries to understand Air-Bending, but it doesn’t sink in, and maybe the reason is because he’s a terrible teacher.

Tenzin gets furious and says no matter how many times he tries to be patient, it’s clear the only thing she responds to is force, so he forces her to stay on Air Temple Island until her training is complete. Korra vehemently refuses, and says maybe she doesn’t need Air-Bending! Tenzin says, “That’s ludicrous, if all you care about is fighting, than you’re nothing more than a child throwing a temper-tantrum. Actually, wait, Aang was a child, but even he was doing better than you!” This causes Korra to leave, ignoring Tenzin’s call back.

At the Pro-Bending arena, she meets up with Bolin, preparing for a match. They do a little training to get ready, and we even get a little character development on Bolin wanting to be equal to his brother. “When people talk about me, it’s mostly as “Mako’s brother,” which honestly, kinda hurts. I love Mako, don’t get me wrong! But just being “Mako’s brother” isn’t good enough. That’s why I went to Pro-Bending, to win the tournament and make a name for myself, and show Republic City I’m something more... and a little training from Avatar Korra doesn’t hurt.” 

Bolin’s match is exciting, but nerve-racking. His opponent is tough, being a fellow Earth-Bender, but also rather vicious with his moves. Bolin tries his best to dodge and attack, but ends up losing Round 1, and doesn’t last long in Round 2. It’s in Round 3, where his opponent deliberately sends an Earth disk to his right arm, possibly breaking it. Bolin’s obviously in pain, and the Water-healers try their best, but it doesn’t look like he’s capable of continuing. This, at first, shatters Bolin, and he begs them to keep him in, saying he has to do this, even if it’s with one arm. When asked if he’s sure to compete, Bolin slowly makes his way up to his feet, broken arm and all, and says yes.

The final round is a nail-biter, but something seems different. The fans in the arena are cheering... for Bolin! With this new-found confidence, Bolin musters up a unique brand of offence, thanks to Korra, blending Earth and Fire-Bending moves that actually give him the win, and a spot in the Tournament! The fans go crazy!

Korra is elated, and goes down to the arena to celebrate. Bolin takes this time to thank everybody who cheered for him, but most of all, he wants to thank Korra, the Avatar, for her patience and training. The crowd cheers for both of them.

When they get back to the locker room, Korra starts healing Bolin’s arm, thanking Master Katara. Bolin than takes the time to properly thank Korra for showing him the Fire-Bending techniques, saying they really came in handy in the last round. Korra’s grateful, saying he did great out there, but Bolin still feels like he can’t live up to Mako. “Ever since we lost our parents, Mako’s been the one trying to find justice, to find the Fire-Bender that killed them and put him in prison. I admire that part of my brother, but the more I hear and read about Mako cracking down cases, putting away bad guys, and seeing him in the spotlight, I can’t help but feel left behind. I mean, I’m a Pro-Bending rookie. I know I can’t make it as a detective, but I believe I can at least bring a smile to the people of Republic City.” Korra tells him, “You shouldn’t compare your success to Mako’s. You has to make your own, and you can do that by winning the Championship Tournament, and no matter what, your parents would’ve been proud of you.” They have a bonding moment, and Korra leaves.

Later that night, Korra returns to Air Temple Island, where the spinning fans are being rebuilt. Tenzin is there, and Korra takes this time to apologize. She realizes she was impatient, and frustrated at herself, and took it out on him. Tenzin also apologizes, in trying to teach her patience, he lost his. No hard feelings between them, and if she’d like, they can go and see a Pro-Bending match together soon, maybe see her new student? Korra asks what he means, and Tenzin tells her he heard Bolin’s speech on the radio.

Finally, the spinning fans are complete, and Korra offers to give it one more shot. 

She succeeds, ending Episode 2.

(It might not be much, but I hope it’s, at least, interesting. I was going to add episode 3 on here, but that part ended up being pretty long XD So that’s for another time)

[midnightmooncatcher]

writing prompt: fake dating, iv - zutara :) (i have feeling they will be awkward dorks)

 Oooo! Nice one! Prompt:  iv) I won tickets to a couples retreat but I’m not a couple, so…?

“Please, Zuko!” Katara stuck out her bottom lip, giving her best puppy dog face.

It didn’t make a dent in Zuko’s irritated expression. He sighed, faking exasperation, “Why don’t you just ask Sokka? Or Aang? Or I don’t know, anyone else?”

“Sokka has a date with Suki and Aang has a basketball tournament that weekend. Toph has a family reunion. Please, you’re one of my best friends and I really really want to go!” Katara pleaded with him again, bottom lip sticking out impossibly further.

“It’s just the beach. You can go anytime,” Zuko replied turning back to the homework he had out before him.

“But this is free. And a three day two night stay. Room included and everything!” She looked intently at him as if this was that was supposed to make him bend. He held firm though and continued to stare at the text before him.

It took another second before her face fell, and she resettled herself in the seat, hands on the table. “Look. Zuko. I never win anything. So please just go with me?” Her hopeful tone finally drew his eyes up to hers. 

He sighed. I’m not winning this one am I?

“I still don’t see why you can’t just go alone,” Zuko tried again. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go. It wasn’t. He just didn’t know how to spend a weekend with Katara and not… tell her how he felt about her.

“It’s a couples retreat, Zuko,” she said flatly, looking unamused. “I told you that already.”

He also was all too aware of that fact. 

“So we’d be expected to be… couple-y then, wouldn’t we?” he pressed, trying to get her to drop it.

“We can do that!” Katara exclaimed.

Zuko’s stomach dropped with his mouth.

“Come on. How hard could it be to hold hands and lean against each other?” Katara smiled across the table from him.

Hard? More like torture.

“You really want to go so badly you want us to fake date to make it happen?” he asked in disbelief.

She just looked at him expectantly.

Zuko closed his eyes. I cannot believe I’m about to say this. “Ok, fine. I’ll go.”

He almost jumped out of his skin when Katara gave a delighted squeal and lunged across the work table to give him a hug. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” She released him, bouncing in her seat.

“Ok, so it’s next weekend, as you know. Pack for nice weather, and don’t forget your swimsuit or sunscreen!” She said the last part pointedly. “I will not have you burning like you did over spring break last year.” And with that she left just how she came, like a hurricane.

Zuko stared at his textbook then scrubbed at his face. I cannot believe I just agreed to this.

“Hello! Welcome to Beach Side Hideaway!” an energetic blonde greeted as they approached the reception desk.

“Hi!” Katara smiled brightly with excitement. “We’re just checking in.”

“What’s your reservation under?”

“Katara Mizushima,” she replied happily. 

“Oh!” the blonde exclaimed. “You’re the sweepstakes winners! We have your room already, here’s the key and there’s a list of restaurant that you can dine at in the hotel for free. If you need anything else just let us know!” She shuffled some papers and got them their room key.

Zuko followed as Katara basically leaped down the hall way, her sun dress flowing from how quickly she was walking. The small bubble of feeling started to make his chest expand again and he pushed it back down. You’re friends. Nothing more.

They finally made it to the room. The first thing Zuko noticed as he walked in was that there was only one bed. Katara seemed to notice too because she mumbled out, “Well I guess it’s only to be expected. It is a couples retreat.”

“It’s fine,” Zuko replied. “I can sleep on the couch.” He motioned over to the small love seat by the window. 

Katara looked flatly at him, “You’d barely fit on that. No, we can share the bed. It’s fine.”

She walked over and put her bag down and started to dig through it. Zuko couldn’t even begin to list all the apprehensions he had before the trip, and now being on it that list was starting to grow. 

Katara turned back to him. “Well hurry up, we have a beach to go to! I heard they had surfing lessons!” She smiled as she walked to the bathroom to change.

Zuko sighed, relenting and went to set his own bag down and get his suit.

He really shouldn’t have come. It wasn’t that Zuko wasn’t having fun, he was. And it wasn’t that the beach wasn’t nice. It was that Katara was taking the couple persona they were supposed to have very seriously and Zuko was… enjoying it a little too much.

His heart would flutter when she grabbed onto his arm, it skipped when she’d look over at him, and swell when she laughed. And not only that, he found himself wanting to take her hand when they walked, and when she talked he couldn’t stop looking at her mouth, and… he was slowly realizing that he was in so much deeper than he’d thought.

“Zuko?” He looked up from his dinner. “Are you ok? You seem a little out of it.” Her hand had crept across the table and was now touching his. 

“Yeah,” he said, trying his best to sound normal. “Just a little tired. It was a long day, after all,” he smiled.

Katara smiled back and squeezed his hand lightly, pushing his heart rate through the roof. She just had to kill him, didn’t she?

“Well i still want desert, then we can go back to the room, ok?” She smiled before turning down to look over the menu again.

“Sounds good,” he breathed out, Wondering how he was going to last two more days.

It kept getting harder. Today he now wanted to kiss her and was having an incredibly hard time not just grabbing her hand in his own. In fact, he’d already slipped up once this morning on the way to the beach. And the worst part was, she held his hand. She didn’t draw away from his touch. She intertwined their fingers like it was normal. 

Zuko’s heart felt like it was bursting and sinking all at once, because he knew she probably just thought it was for the sake of looking like a couple and not because Zuko just really wanted to hold her hand and it was killing him a little inside. 

He looked out to the waves. Katara had signed up for the surfing lessons and attempted to drag him along too. He was glad he convinced her to let him stay on the beach because she looked incredible out there. She had said she had a little experience already, but she looked so natural, like the water was bending to her will.

She caught his eye then and smiled. She came back in soon after, her hour with the instructor up. All Zuko could think about as she walked up to him was how much he wanted to kiss her.

“Hey,” she grabbed his hand. “Wanna go get lunch?”

He pulled his hand away for fear he would do something stupid. “Yeah, I’ll wait while you get dried off. Where did you want to go?”

He noticed her brow crease slightly before she replied. “How about the beach shack over there?” She motioned down the way to the beach side restaurant.

“Sounds perfect,” he replied. 

She started toweling off and put on her flowy beach cover-up. They then started strolling down to the restaurant. Katara was just a bit further away than usual. Had Zuko done something?

As they ate lunch and went back out for the afternoon, Zuko couldn’t help but feel like he’d missed something. Katara didn’t grab his arm, or walk close enough for their arms to bump. It was like their was a new wall and she seemed so… stiff now. It continued all through the afternoon and dinner.

On their way back to the room Zuko finally couldn’t take it anymore. When they went in he took a deep breath.

“Katara? Did I… do something? You’ve been feeling kind of distant.

She turned to him, her face falling slightly, and her arms crossing over her chest, she looked down at her toes. “No, you didn’t do anything.” She finally whispered out. “I was just… I was getting my hopes up again,” she smiled at him a little sadly.

Zuko didn’t know what to say. He was confused. “Getting your hopes up about what?” 

Katara sighed. “Look, Zuko, I… I haven’t been completely honest with you. I wanted you to come on this trip with me more than anyone else because, well,” She looked down at her hands and then back up. “I like you. Like romantically like you.” She fidgeted a bit. 

Zuko’s head felt like it was spinning. Katara… liked him. He didn’t have unrequited feelings? He had been trying to bury them for nothing?

He stepped up to her, sighing, a soft smile making it’s way onto his face. “I like you too.” He took her hand. “A lot.”

A flash of surprise swept over her features. “But, you pulled away, I thought.”

“I was worried you’d notice how I felt,” Zuko interrupted. “I didn’t think you could like me in that way and I thought everything you were doing was to make it look like we were a couple.” Zuko swallowed nervously.

Katara beamed at him. “So, we could make it official and actually be a couple instead of a pretend one.”

“I think I’d like that,” he smiled in return, taking her hands in his. They were warm.

She looked down at their hands and back up at him. “So can I kiss you now? I’ve been wanting to like all day.” She bit her lip nervously.

Zuko could feel his cheeks flushing, but nodded and leaned in slightly. Katara did as well, meeting him half way. When her lips brushed his he couldn’t help but think how happy he was he had agreed to come.

[peak-zuko-tournament]

Round One

[peak-zuko-tournament]

Round One

[peak-zuko-tournament]

Round One

[peak-zuko-tournament]

Round 1

[peak-zuko-tournament]

Round One

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Round One

[peak-zuko-tournament]

Round One