#izumis daughter x mako

[orangepanic]

New Fic: A Good Team

Written for @atlararepairmonth week 2 prompt, "what family means", in which Mako and the Fire Nation princess try to get her brother a date.

Title: A Good Team Relationships: Mako/Izumi's Daughter, background Iroh II/Asami Sato Summary: When General Iroh's little sister comes to visit him in Republic City she quickly enlists Mako in her attempt to matchmake her brother. It goes about as well as you'd expect. Rated T for a kiss and one mention of sex

[atlaandlokcontentsblog]

Mako And Princess Yua Of The Fire Nation

Based Of The Wonderful Fanfic By @bendingmuses

Called The Princess and The Cop

This Is An Amazing Fic That You Should Definitely Check Out

[aprettyweirgirl]

Mako: hey, gorgeous~

Ursa: what the fuck do you want now?

[bendingmuses]

             You’re everything, and I’m nothing

                                Detective Mako and Princess Yua

[atlabeth]

hey! i love your zuko fics so much and was wondering if you’d like to write this, because the idea just popped up: maybe a zuko x reader fluff that takes place before/during LOK? maybe they’re reminiscing about their past adventures w the Gaang while helping out the new Team Avatar? idk it’s just that every time I see old zuko it makes me soft and emotional 🥲🔥❤️ anyways, much love! (and don’t feel pressured to do this at all, I was just thinking abt who I could submit this request to, and obvi my first choice was you 💕)

reminiscence - zuko x fem!reader

summary: just because you and your husband are retired doesn’t mean you don’t have amazing advice for the new team avatar.

a/n: this is so cute omg!! thank you so much for requesting this and thank you for much for your kind words i'm honored <33 im so sorry this took so long

sorry im posting so much lately im trying to stop slacking and publish things that have been wips for over a month sdkjfh

wc: 1.3k

warning(s): none bc i choose to ignore the news of zaheer’s plan right after this scene

-

Retirement was… nice.

You had spent your childhood fighting with the Avatar to end the Hundred Year War, a feat that was only made more difficult with your Fire Nation roots and connection to the banished prince. But all that’s well ends well, and you ended up getting your happy ending together — you had to fight hard for it, though.

You married Zuko at nineteen, three years after he ascended to the throne, and spent the subsequent years balancing your duties as Fire Lady and taking care of your daughter. Ruling the Fire Nation was a lot, but you knew you could get through anything with your husband at your side.

When he told you his plans to abdicate the throne, you were more than supportive. One of Zuko’s biggest fears was becoming his father, and by giving up his position willingly to Izumi, it guaranteed that he wouldn’t fall victim to the power-obsessed ways of his ancestors. It also gave him a well-deserved break after decades of being Fire Lord, and you were more than ready to get out of the world of Fire Nation politics. You had sat through enough meetings to fill multiple lifetimes.

But just because the two of you weren’t as involved in every day affairs of the world didn’t mean that you were completely out of it. No, that was far from the truth. You and Zuko were still some of the most important people in all of the nations, which meant it wasn’t a rare occurrence for your husband to be called off on some sort of mission.

One such mission was stopping the Order of the Red Lotus for the second time; Zuko had been part of the team that stopped them from kidnapping Avatar Korra as a child, so it was no surprise that he had been called to help for a second time. You knew even in his old age that your husband was powerful, but you couldn’t help but feel concerned about everything he was doing.

This concern was ultimately what led you to join Zuko on his trip to meet with Chief Beifong and Chief Tonraq in the Misty Palms Oasis. He had originally been against your involvement, claiming that the Red Lotus was far too dangerous, and he didn’t want to risk you getting injured in any way. You, of course, weren’t having it. “The Avatar’s in trouble, and I’d like to think I know a few things about getting out of trouble.”

One thing was certain after you arrived — it had been far too long since you had ridden on the back of a dragon. You truly adored Druk, and you felt bad for everyone that would never have the opportunity.

After conversing with Lin and Tonraq inside, you all exited to greet the new Team Avatar. If what you were told was true, then they had been through quite a lot since leaving Zaofu. For as long as you had been involved in foreign affairs, you had never met Avatar Korra nor her friends, so you didn’t know what to expect — an awestruck boy that could barely speak wasn’t at the top of your list though.

“Oh my gosh. It’s Lord Zuko and Lady Y/N. I can’t believe it!” He stared at the two of you with wide eyes, his voice getting higher and higher as he whimpered. He looked like he was going to fall over until another black-haired boy pulled him out of the way, his tone apologetic.

“Uh, forgive my brother,” he said as he put his fist against his open palm, his brother following suit. “We’re just really honored to meet you both.”

“It’s no problem,” you smiled as you and Zuko returned the greeting. It had been years since someone had reacted that way towards you, and you would be lying if you said it didn’t amuse you. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”

The two boys straightened again as the taller one gestured to them each in turn. “I’m Mako, and this is Bolin. We’re Korra’s friends.”

“Ah, she’s got her own Team Avatar?” You inquired with a twinkle in your eye. “You know, I traveled with Avatar Aang years back along with my husband.”

“Of course I know!” Bolin exclaimed. “Oh, I’ve heard so many stories about your adventures, they’re all so amazing!” His eyes widened and you actually thought that he was going to fall over. “Oh, oh, could you tell us about some of the things you went through?”

“Bolin, we really shouldn’t bother them—” Mako started, but you laughed and waved it off.

“I assure you, there’s nothing to worry about. It’s not often I get to relive my journeys to such avid listeners. What would you like to hear about?”

He thought for a couple seconds then shot back up again. “What was it like when you escaped the Boiling Rock together? You guys were the first people to ever break out, right? That had to be amazing!”

You and Zuko both laughed as you shot him a look. “It was… interesting,” he said.

“By interesting, he means it was a complete disaster,” you corrected. “Everywhere something could’ve gone wrong, it went wrong. They had originally come there to rescue Sokka’s dad, but instead they found Suki and I. Then Zuko got found out and thrown into prison, our first escape plan failed, Sokka almost got found out, Azula showed up… it was honestly a miracle we made it out at all.”

“It wasn’t that bad!” he protested. “Getting thrown into prison was part of the plan, we wouldn’t have been able to get the cooler out if I hadn’t been found out.”

“I guess I can’t complain,” you chuckled. “I did get to punch you a couple times.”

“They are so cool,” Bolin whispered as the two of you went on in the background. He elbowed Mako in the shoulder and gestured towards the couple with his head. “Come on, ask them something! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!”

“I’m not going to ask them something, Bolin—”

“Excuse me, my brother has something he wants to ask too!” Mako shot him a dirty look which quickly disappeared when you and Zuko turned to him attentively.  

“Oh, um…” He coughed and scratched his head. “I guess.. is there any advice you have for us? With this whole Team Avatar thing, I mean.” You smiled at Mako and took Zuko’s hand.

“The friendships you forge during your journey are the most important thing — they’re the things that will keep you going during your darkest moments, and they will last a lifetime. There will be mountains and valleys, ebbs and flows, but no matter what, you will hold an unbreakable bond.”

You felt Zuko squeeze your hand and turned your smile on him as you returned the sentiment then nodded for him to continue. “Never take anything for granted, and trust in fate. You’re where you are for a reason — everything will end up working out in the end.”

You grinned and kissed him on the cheek, humming in agreement. “It did, didn’t it?”

-

After a few more minutes of talking with the two brothers, they went off to join the rest of their group. It was strange being on the outside of it all after how intense your childhood was, but it was… refreshing not to have the weight of the world on your shoulders anymore.

“The world’s in good hands with them,” you murmured as you leaned your head on Zuko’s shoulder.

“They all have that same fire you had when I first met you,” Zuko chuckled. You watched the four of them conversing and a smile graced your lips.

“Oh? Then I think the world’s in very good hands.”

-

perm tag list: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin

[fireember345]

Tea Snobs Prompt

An Avatar fanfic prompt

Do not own Avatar

Anyone can use it

 Zuko x everyone but eventually Jin

Izumi x Bumi II

Ursa II x Mako

Korasami

Izumi has nine daughters, all younger than Iroh II

Ever since Iroh’s tea-making skills, the Fire Lord Family have been known for being somewhat Tea snobs

Iroh made White Dragon Tea for Zuko’s wedding, making sure it was not White Jade Tea

Izumi learned firsthand from Iroh how to make tea and is skilled at it when she visited the Jasmine Dragon

Before Iroh passed on, he had a recipe/ journal of tea and plants that can be used to craft a tea to suit your needs

Zuko lacks patients for tea making and Iroh II’s a bit clumsly

Ursa II, the most skilled Teamaker in her family as she uses her free time to continue her Great-great uncle Iroh’s journal on Tea

Ursa II would complain that the tea she samples were no more hot leaf juice, which her older brother and younger sisters pointed out that what was tea is

Ursa II met Mako when she found him injured in the jungle, where she was searching for potent plants to make tea

Mako fell in love with her as she gave him Jasmine Tea to help sooth the pain

Korra and Asami pointed out how attractive Izumi’s children were

[writinginstardust]

Accidentally In Love

Pairing: Mako x reader

Request: anonymous asked “ Do you write for Lok/Atla?Maybe can you write an imagine where the reader is the daughter of Iroh (Izumi's son) and she meets Mako and they fall in love? ”

Warnings: nothing really

A/N: It’s two for one on Mako fic today 😂 I rewatched LOK much sooner than I’d originally thought, like I honestly thought I wouldn’t get to this for another couple of months but for once I suprised myself in a good way. hope you like it, it got a little longer than i’d expected it to.

Word Count: 3002

*

My life could be summed up pretty well as a long series of accidents. Some good, some bad, some neither one nor the other, all changing my life in inexplicable ways with consequences I'd never intended. I was born an accident for starters, the product of two 18-year-olds scared they might never see each other again when one left with the United Forces on a particularly dangerous assignment. 9 months later, there I was. 

I discovered I was a waterbender when I was five and accidentally knocked a candle over, managing to set the kitchen on fire. The water came to me in my moment of panic and I doused it without a second thought. Then I accidentally flooded the kitchen when I couldn't stop it and got myself sent to the southern water tribe to be trained.

It was there I met Korra although I was never supposed to. She'd slipped away and gone exploring and so had I. We bumped into each other and quickly became friends in the way kids do which somehow led to us being trained together. It also led to the rather unfortunate almost-drowning as we both pushed ourselves further than we were able to when we were 8. 

Republic City became my home again not long after that. 

There was no more life-changing accidents for a few years until I got my first boyfriend when I was 12. That didn't end well. Turns out I accidentally dated the son of one of the most elusive crime lords in the city and found out enough to help Chief Beifong take them down. 

And the accidents didn't stop coming. 

I got knocked over by Asami and her father chasing a dog across the road. That got me a new best friend. I almost got myself expelled from school by turning the gym into an ice rink and getting half the student body to cut class. That got me a ton of new friends, many of whom turned out to be bad influences. Thanks to them I got caught fighting in the street and only avoided punishment by Beifong at my dad's intervention. That's what landed me under constant supervision training in the United Forces and what finally let me redeem myself by saving everyone on my warship during an attack. 

At 16 I became an officer, serving under my own father - the great General Iroh - and it's as odd as you'd imagine. I might have asked for a different assignment were it not considered such a great honour, especially for someone as young as I was at the time. It meant I got to spend more time with my dad at least, even if he was shouting orders much of the time. That wasn't something I'd had the luxury of growing up.

A few months ago I'd helped Korra and her friends defeat Amon and the equalists and met Mako. That changed everything for me yet again. I'd gone with him and Korra when the team split up and accidentally developed a bit of a crush as we worked together. So obviously I had to stay in Republic City after all that.

Beifong hired me without question when I asked and I ended up working alongside Mako. A lot. It should be no surprise that my next accident was a big one. I fell in love.

Who knows if he felt the same though.

We were grabbing dinner after a long day at work, both of us too tired to actually talk as we ate. I was watching him intently though. I did that a lot. 

It was one of those rare occasions when he wasn't frowning even a little. He was like that when he was tired enough. The harsh angles of his face softened and the seemingly constant worry in his eyes eased. It was my favourite time to be with him. 

He was more honest in those moments, more willing to open up about himself and his feelings. He was more willing to do that generally as of late actually. I wondered what new information I'd glean tonight.

"Hellooo," he dragged the word out, "You listening, (Y/N)?" Crap. I wasn't. I didn't even realise he'd started talking.

"Hmm?" I made sure to pay attention to what he was saying this time.

"I said, Beifong is letting me have the evening off for the Future Industries relaunch party in a few days-"

"Wait, there's a party ?"

"More like a gala but yeah, I thought you knew. Asami sent an invite." He frowned. I wish he wouldn't.

"I forgot to send her my new address."

He shook his head fondly and a small smile slipped onto his face. "Of course you did."

"Hey! I'm not normally that forgetful." He levelled me with a disbelieving look. "Okay fine, maybe I am. So what about the party?"

"Are you working Friday night?" I shook my head. "Good. Because I was going to ask…" He looked nervous and, dare I say it, a bit flustered. "Would you like to go...to the party...with me?"

It took a minute to compute that, it was the last thing I'd expected to hear. I watched as the hopeful smile that he'd been wearing slowly slid from his face as he mistook my silence.

"I'd love to," I finally blurted out.

"Really?"

"Yeah. It'll be fun." Our waiter came over and we quickly paid the bill and stood to leave.

"So, I'll come pick you up at 7?" 

"Sounds great." 

"I'll see you Friday then."

"See you Friday." I couldn't wait. He hugged me goodbye quickly and we went our separate ways home. It wasn't until I was getting changed for bed that I realised I hadn't asked one incredibly vital question. I hadn't asked if it was a date.

*

I radioed Asami in a panic the next morning and she dropped everything to come over and see me.

"So what did he say exactly?" She asked as I set a tray of tea down on the coffee table.

"He just asked if I wanted to go with him."

"Did he seem nervous?"

"A little I guess."

"Well then my guess is date."

"But he didn't do anything else to suggest it was. And maybe he was just worried I'd think he was asking me on a date and not as a friend."

"This is Mako so you might have a point there." She stirred her tea thoughtfully for a minute before looking up at me suddenly. I could practically see the lightbulb above her head.

"Okay so we don't know if it's a date but you want it to be, right?" I nodded and took a sip of my drink. "Well, in that case we need to go shopping." 

I looked at her quizzically. "Shopping? I have clothes from the last party."

"Yes shopping. If we get you the right outfit we could easily turn 'friends hanging out' into an actual date. And if it's already a date, a great outfit can't hurt."

"You really think a good outfit can do that?"

"I know a good outfit can do that."

"Okay. Let's go shopping then."

*

"Bolin, I need your help." I didn't bother knocking and walked straight into my brother's apartment. 

"Mako! It's great to see you bro! You gotta learn to knock first though."

"You should stop leaving your door unlocked and then maybe I would."

"Solid point. What can I do for you?"

"I have a date with (Y/N)."

"Well finally! You've been going on about her for months."

"I haven't- you're right, I have a bit." I flopped onto his couch and he took a seat beside me.

"Nice to see you admit it. So you've got a date, what's the problem?"

"I'm not sure she knows it's a date." He frowned.

"What do you mean? How could she not know it's a date?" I explained quickly and Bolin had his head in his hands by the time I was finished. "And you say you're the ladies man of this family."

"This is different. (Y/N) is different."

"Not a good enough excuse but we can salvage this."

"Okay, how?"

"First I'll say, from what you've told me she may well think it's a date." I breathed a sigh of relief. I hadn't completely messed up. "But we don't know that for sure so you've got to be observant. Look for signs of attraction, flirt a little, see how she reacts, you know the drill."

"That wasn't as helpful as i'm sure you thought it was."

"Wasn't meant to be."

"What?" I sat up and glared at him.

"You're an idiot. (Y/N) likes you, has for ages."

"How do you know?" He rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh.

"Aside from it being obvious every time she looks at you? I'm her friend, I know things."

"She's better friends with me than you."

"That hurts bro."

"Bo-"

"Fine! Asami told me. But I knew anyway!"

"I've got to go." I stood abruptly and Bolin shot me a confused look as he got up too.

"What? Why?"

"Need to go shopping." I glanced at my watch quickly and cursed. "Actually I need to go to work. I'll see you later Bo."

"Bye!" He called out but I was already out the door. I'd be late if I didn't hurry and Beifong would probably make me work on Friday if I was. At least the conversation was worth it. At least now I knew she liked me.

*

Friday. 6:50. I was trying not to be sick. Nerves were getting the better of me. Honestly I'd feel so much better if I just knew what this was. Although, if it was a date for sure, I'd probably be hunched over the toilet by now so maybe this was just a little bit better.

I finished applying my makeup the way Asami had taught me and fixed my hair a little before sliding on my new dress. A dress I never could have afforded myself. Asami insisted though.

There was a knock at my door and I startled as I looked at the time. It was seven and the last 10 minutes had somehow gone in a snap. I rushed to find my shoes, yelling to Mako to come in as I did. The door clicked shut and he yelled out a greeting as I finally located the shoes under my bed.

"Sorry, I'll be out in just a minute," I called back and hastened to finish getting ready. I checked how I looked once more, tucking back a stray hair, and took a deep breath before stepping out into the living room. I could do this. It might not even be a date, I reminded myself again.

"Hey, (Y/-" he cut himself off and I was instantly worried. Well as worried as I could feel past the block in my brain that was screaming over how good he looked.

"Hey Mako," I smiled self-consciously and fiddled with my dress. He recovered himself at the sound of my voice and stood from my couch.

"Hey, (Y/N)." I bit back a grin.

"You already said that."

"Oh, right...uh, you ready to go?" I nodded and we left my apartment, walking down the stairs in an only slightly awkward silence.

"Woah! Nice wheels. Where'd you get that?" I was shocked when I saw the car he led me to. It was way too fancy to afford on our salary.

"Asami let me borrow it. Insisted I did actually. She said we should show up in style."

"She's not wrong. Let's go then." The drive was short and thankfully less awkward than the walk down. Whatever weird tension had been in my apartment - probably my fault - had dissipated and we chatted like we usually did.

We arrived at the party slightly late and the venue was already packed. A valet took the car keys from Mako and he offered me his hand as we walked up the steps together. A few photographers took pictures and the nerves from earlier started coming back. People knew who we were. People were going to talk, the papers speculate. What were they going to assume about us? And more importantly, would they be right?

I tripped on the last step, falling into Mako's arms as he moved to catch me automatically. His face was too close to mine and I struggled to breathe. Heat flared in my cheeks as I scrambled to get my footing back and pull out of his embrace. He shot me a concerned look but I just shrugged it off with a small smile and continued inside, tugging him along with me. I almost wished I hadn't when we entered and people turned to look.

The first hour was a bit off a mess. I mixed up people's names, spilled a few drinks, almost knocked over a table full of cakes, and tripped over just about everything. Eventually we ended up talking to Bolin and Asami. I excused myself to the bathroom with a pointed look to Asami. She got the hint and came with me.

"Are you okay?" She asked as the door shut behind us.

"Not even a little bit. I'm freaking out and I keep messing things up and I'm so nervous I think I might be sick and I still don't know if this is a date and if it is I'm on my way to making it the worst date ever and I know this is ridiculous because it's just Mako and he's one of my best friends so this shouldn't be awkward but I love him and he looks so good tonight and it's making me want to kiss him but I can't because I still don't know if he likes me too but I really want him to and I just think I'm going to ruin everything somehow-" the words kept tumbling out in a jumbled mess as I slowly got more hysterical and Asami finally had to cut me off.

"Breathe. Just breathe." She held my shoulders and took deep breaths herself for me to follow. I felt myself beginning to calm down. "Just keep breathing. You're fine, okay? You're not messing anything up. I've been watching you two since you got here and Mako definitely likes you too."

"How do you know?" I asked in a small voice

"It's obvious to everyone here. Honestly, if you could see the way he looks at you, you'd understand."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. Now go out there and get him."

"Okay."

*

"Am I messing this up?" I asked Bolin when the girls disappeared off to the bathroom. "(Y/N) seems so uncomfortable. Are you sure she actually likes me."

"I'm sure bro. If anything this proves it."

"How?"

"She's nervous, Mako. She likes you and you know that but I don't think she knows that you like her."

"Oh. Oh."

"Now you get it. She's hoping it's a date but she's not sure and she obviously doesn't want to mess anything up which is making her nervous and awkward."

"How in the world could you know that?"

"I'm very smart and observant." I gave him a pointed look. "Fine! Asami told me again. You know it hurts you don't think I could figure it out myself." 

"You'll live." I patted him on the shoulder and he rolled his eyes before glancing behind me.

"Watch out, they're coming back."

*

"Well, it was good to catch up with you guys. I'll see you a bit later but I've got more guests to talk to now. Bolin?" He looked over at Asami. "You mind coming with me?"

"Of course."

"Enjoy the party you two." Asami hugged me then. "Good luck," she whispered in my ear before letting go and heading off with Bolin. I watched them leave, still slightly nervous to face Mako again. He cleared his throat and I turned my head.

"Would you like to dance?" Breathe, I told myself, you can do this.

"Sure." I took his hand and he led me to the middle of the room. The song playing was slow, thankfully since I wasn't a great dancer. I knew the steps and where to put my hands at least. His hand settled on my waist and electricity raced through me. I swallowed hard to control my nerves, trying not to get distracted by the warmth that spread from every point of contact as we started to dance. I was lost in him for a while and the silence went on. Finally it was broken.

"(Y/N)-"

"Mako-" we both spoke at the same time and I grinned at how ridiculous this all was.

"You go first," he said.

"Okay. I need to ask, I can't stand not knowing anymore, is this a date?" 

"Yes."

"Okay." Okay? Why was that all I said?

"Are you alright with it being a date?" He looked a little worried. Unsurprising since all I said was okay. I wanted to smack myself for being such an idiot.

"Yes."

"Okay." A few seconds passed in silence again.

"So...does that mean you like me the way I like you?" I asked finally.

"That depends. Can I kiss you?"

"Please." And he did. 

His lips were soft against mine, softer than I'd imagined actually, and the kiss was unhurried. He pulled me closer and I leaned into his body, letting his familiar warmth and comfort permeate my skin. It didn't last long but we stayed close when our lips parted.

"So is that a yes?" I whispered.

"I think it's a yes." He smiled and pulled me into another kiss. It occurred to me that people were watching and we'd probably have to suffer through the ordeal of it being in the papers but I found I didn't care all that much. Getting to finally kiss the guy I'd fallen in love with was more than worth it.

*

Tag Lists: (send an ask if you want to be added!)

Everything: @wonderfilledness

[joleanart]

ok, consider this: izumi’s daughter and wei beifong

i know bryke wanted to pair her with mako, and i like the ship, but what if she met wei and they end up falling in love? i love the twins, especially wei, and i love izumi’s daughter - even though we don’t know anything about her. i think i love the idea of her character. 

i have this headcanon where ursa (that’s my name for her) is opal’s best friend. it works for both ways, if she dates mako or wei - with mako they would hang out all the time cause opal dates bolin, and they are brothers. in wei’s case opal would be the one to introduce them. i like to think that she invites ursa to go to zaofu with her, and when they get there, wei is playing power disc with wing. ursa is like all impressed and wei is embarrased cause he’s very sweaty

they spend a lot of time together during the time she stays in zaofu, it’s kinda hard when she needs to leave. wei talks to opal, he ask her to bring ursa more often, and then she realizes they like each other. opal starts to ursa about wei, and to wei about ursa. opal’s is their angel and she’s SO happy when they finally announce they’re together

su and izumi think their relationship is the cutest thing. iroh, opal, wing and huan went out to dinner with ursa and wei to celebrate it. and of course it would be sooo cute to see toph teasing zuko about those two. in my head zuko is very protective over his grandchildren - his whole family, actually - and he gets kinda.........hm okay....... when ursa tells him about wei. toph loves it. in the end, zuko ends up loving wei, he thinks he’s such a good boy

so that’s it! i still like ursa x mako, but ursa x wei is so cute. love my little headcanon that brings together my two favorite families from tlok <3

[lokgifsandmusings]

Definitive Ranking of Book 4 Episodes, #3/13

3. 4x10 Operation Beifong

Toph’s mothering skills wow everyone. Zhu Li is the world’s worst saboteur. All the tropes get busted. The spirits give no shits about anything.

Okay. If you’ve been following these definitive rankings, you know that I have one main issue with Book 4: while Kuvira worked very well as a foil for Korra, and a way to externalize Korra’s *internal* struggle, Kuvira in her own right is a little less successful, since everything is framed as being about the Beifongs for her, and that thread gets effectively drop-kicked.

For that reason, I objectively know that “Operation Beifong” is an issue with the whole of Book 4 considered. It’s essentially the culmination of the Kuvira/Suyin tension (which I’d argue is far more important and central than her relationship to Baatar), and the rationale for why she didn’t get her ass kicked by Toph at the end of the episode was more or less, “the script said not to.” I mean “leave it to the kids.” 

See, it had to be reserved in its climax because Kuvira’s downfall had to be saved for Korra. Which is fine; protagonists should be considered first and foremost when writing antagonists. But it also meant that the high-high-high emotional and personal stakes of this episode for the characters were always set to fizzle. In fact, the only tension that paid-off here was Lin working through her fractured relationship with her mother, and even that just ended on the note of Toph saying “maybe if you don’t hate me it’s fine.” Sadly for our unsung hero, that’s the happiest resolution she’s ever going to get.

Oh wait, Bopal forgave each other too. And you can make the argument that this was the climax of Bolin’s maturation arc: we saw him rise to the occasion in 4x07 and take charge in a way he hadn’t before, but his decision to save Zhu Li at great self-risk fully demonstrated his moral fiber. I personally think that he already exhibited these traits, he’s just a bit easily led (giving people apples = helping them...just don’t look to the right or left or ask the deeper questions), but fine.

I guess my real frustration is for Suyin and Kuvira’s characters here, who you could easily view as the primary “actors” of this episode’s A-plot, especially given the number of scenes throughout the season we were given to set up this tension. Suyin gets practically no resolution of any sort from this episode, or frankly this season. She escapes imprisonment, sure, but what it boils down to is that she fights Kuvira and quasi-loses, then flees, only for her moments in the finale to be focused on forgiving Baatar and destroying the spirit gun. Sure, she played her part in taking down Mega Maid and was the one who led Kuvira off with that super-memorable-and-not-at-all-just-a-never-replaced-placeholder line, but I fundamentally don’t understand why so much emphasis was placed on her and her point-of-view in this conflict. And it’s one thing if it’s Suyin telling Korra a backstory to set-up the final conversation, sure. It’s just....consider how many scenes we have to explain away that have *nothing* to do with Korra’s arc, including the entirety of this episode.

I guess it kind of reminds me of the Winterhell plotline in GoT Season 5, where it’s an uphill battle to argue that Sansa was the protagonist because Ramsay had 5 or 6 scenes dedicated to his fraught relationship to his dad. In this case, it’s not that Korra ever stopped feeling like the protagonist. It’s just that if we’re going to have so many non-Korra (and frankly non-Krew) characters cannibalizing our screen-time, can we at least give them a complete story?

I know I’ve talked about how it’s a problem before given Kuvira’s arc, but yeah, it’s a problem for Suyin too. It’s honestly a problem for the entire Beifong clan, since other than Suyin and Baatar’s weird “we’ll get through it” scene, the strife that had consumed their family wasn’t really given any kind of space tp land. They’ll get through it. Nifty.

In my brain, I know that this is a shortcoming of Book 4. It’s one of the primary reasons I feel this season needed a draft #2 (I suspect Bryke would have preferred a longer time-line and a heads up about resources as well). And yet... I love this episode. I LOVE this episode.

No you don’t understand: every minute, every aspect of this episode, I love.

Well, I feel rather tepid about the B-plot actually, so let’s knock that off first. It’s just the planning for an inevitable Kuvira invasion in Republic City. Varrick introduces Asami’s hummingbird suit and I have to assume does all the talking because of the voice actors involved (you *use* John Michael Higgins when you have him, and I’m wondering if Gabriel was limited to a set number of episodes). I liked the instantly photoshoppable blueprints that were held up, but remember thinking how ridiculous this biomimicry was given how completely energy inefficient hummingbirds are. I try to at least make sense of it as a suitable countermeasure to Kuvira’s spirit cannon in my newest fic, though.

(x)

Wu suggests evacuating the entire city in case Kuvira attacks. I guess in fairness they didn’t know the two-week timeline of the planned invasion, so it’d seem feasible to be able to craft that strategy, but you’d think fortifying the borders (with the help of Izumi’s troops, like she promised) would have taken priority. Personally I’d be doing everything I could to keep the fight out of my country’s population center. But it was a simplistic idea to show that Wu was actually concerning himself with the safety of others, and that Mako is an easy-to-impress boyfriend.

Finally, Korra decides she’s going to enlist the help of the spirits to defend the city, and they tell her to fuck right off because even though Kuvira is using vines to her own ends, helping the other side would be just as bad, or something. In other words, the spirits continue to be butts, and the entire thing went a little like this:

At the time this aired, I actually thought this was going to set-up a moment like the trees arriving at Helm’s Deep, but no. The spirits really didn’t want to be involved. Sucks to be human.

Like, all of this was fine. I can nitpick military decisions and engineering details, but it was fine.

It just was heavily overshadowed by the most wonderful, complicated familial dynamics.

The shining star was Lin and Toph, as it should have been. For Lin to be in a place where she’s risking her job (again) to save Suyin and is going to these extreme lengths given where they had started a few years before is nothing but touching, especially given how Suyin is more or less living the idyllic life (her rich-ass mom bought her a city to run, she’s got a loving husband and a bunch of kids, etc.) and Lin is still, ya know...

But her relationship with Toph...just murder me.

Every dang conversation they have with each other is more painful than the last. It’s made so clear how much Lin truly loves and respects Toph, and is just desperate for her approval in some ways, but there’s been so much hurt in how Toph brushed off her feelings over the years and is unwilling to actually state her own (you know you’re an INTP when...), that Lin can’t help but be closed off and sardonic. Then you’ve got Bolin picking at the baby daddy wound, Toph just randomly volunteering the information, and...

Toph: Lin, I can feel your enraged breathing from here. Just say what you have to say and let's get it over with.

Lin: Just get it over with? Yeah, let's not linger on the fact that I grew up without a dad. No need to get all touchy-feely about it. Just one of those things, right?

I have to imagine this was Toph’s general approach to parenting, and gods, Mindy Sterling SELLS the hell out of how deeply Lin feels things but how unable she truly is to express herself. As a brief side-note, I do have to imagine that Lin the detective *did* figure out who her dad was, since she doesn’t react to that information itself, but more to why the fuck Toph is willing to talk to Bolin of all people when it was kept from her previously.

Toph: Hey, I forgave you for all your garbage a long time ago and Su and I worked things out. You're the only one who wants to hold on to this family drama nonsense for the rest of your life.

Lin: Forgave me for what?! And not knowing my dad is nonsense to you? It was pretty important to me. And until now, you would never even discuss it.

Seriously, forgive her for what? Toph, again, just wants to avoid and evade the whole “feelings” piece of this. But keeping in mind that it’s been like TWO DECADES since they’ve talked, for Lin to be able to spit this all out and call her mom out on her dismissiveness is huge. HUGE.

Lin: You know, after Su and I patched things up, I thought, "maybe I should try to reach out to mom." But now that we're together again, I remember why we stopped talking. You make me furious and you don't even know why. And when I tell you, you don't care. Once we save Su, you and I are finished.

Toph: If that's your decision and it makes you happy, then fine.

Treat yourself and listen to the voice acting, because the way Philece Sampler does this little inhale and the break in her voice when she says Toph’s line is tragic, simply tragic.

Toph. Just tell your daughter you fucking love her and you care. You obviously care; you’ve been creeping on her in the swamp for years. And Lin just putting it all these raw emotions out there.

I know I’m gushing, but this is so fractured and so beautiful and if they could just flippin’ COMMUNICATE we can *see* how they care about each other underneath. It’s not a witchy-Repunzelesque mother situation or anything about escaping toxicity, but more a mother and daughter with a Shakespearean flaw that prevents them from having a happy relationship, at great personal cost.

And yeah, somehow Lin finds it in herself to apologize for snapping, and Toph just ends on the whole “if you don’t fully hate me, I’ll take it” note. In one episode we watched 20 years of hurt acted out, and it never felt forced or even a little dumbed down for the Y7 audience as like, Asami saying that she “should” try to forgive the dude that wanted to murder her sort of did (frankly that Hiroshi dialogue was all a little wonky if I really want to nitpick).

The second most important relationship in this episode was, of course, Suyin vs. Kuvira. What’s interesting is that the decision to engage with Kuvira instead of sneak away wasn’t made until after Bolin and Opal decided to go after Zhu Li, so it was a little passive on Suyin’s part, but once that fight started, nothing else mattered. Not a single word was uttered and yet you could *feel* how charged and fraught it was. Which yeah, maybe it’s reading a little too much into subtext, but there is something THERE, damnit.

However, the way Suyin’s entire family operated was just delightful. I love that Huan and Baatar Sr. were never expected to fight, and never shamed for it, and Suyin’s shrug to Lin when Baatar Sr. clung to the side of their cage in terror was just perfect. Yeah, they don’t conform to traditional gender roles, and it goes with no more comment than that shrug. Then Wing's “We can’t let Opal be the coolest!” was hilarious, and just felt...real. The Beifongs feel real, and I think that’s one of the things I appreciate the most about them. Dysfunctional, led by a hypocrite, fractured at the moment, but real. Though full disclosure: I’ve been known to call them “aspirational” in the past, if that’s any indication on why such dynamics appeal to me.

It’s worth noting that Baatar Jr. cleared the lowest possible bar possible in not wanting to murder his sister with his cannon. But fuck Zhu Li; she doesn’t even get a re-education camp. I don’t get Baatar Jr. apology (and I *especially* don’t get Kuvira apology), though given where he ends up (regretting his actions) we could have stood to see just a bit more of his reaction to the ensuing fight between his ENTIRE FAMILY INCLUDING HIS GRANDMA and his fiancé.

I should say the Zhu Li saboteur thread didn’t work super well, mostly because you’d think such a cold, heartless war machine could have thought up a better way to actually make the thing malfunction. Or just not have kept the missing pin on her body. Maybe she want to the Galen Erso School of Engineering Sabotage. But the reveal that she was purposely messing things up (and Bolin’s happy face) was lovely. Her devotion to Varrick is certainly not free of problems, but knowing she wasn’t on-board with fascism and actually jumped at the opportunity to undermine the campaign in a big way? I’ll take it, happily.

I’ll also ignore the possible implication that she only did it to save Varrick from more of Kuvira’s wrath, knowing how he’d operate on his own. Anti-fascist Zhu Li is the only Zhu Li. That’s the 2017 hero we need.

That finally leaves us with the Bopal plotline. I cannot believe the amount of hate that Opal got as this season was airing, but I have to think that on rewatches, especially in this cultural context, her point-of-view seemed a lot more reasonable, as well as her frustrations with Bolin. Yeah, her anger towards Kuvira at the very, very start of the season could be framed as a bit OTT and likely the result of loyalty to her mother (who wasn’t exactly the model of reason then), but after that... like, no! We *know* she’s seen prison camps, we *know* she’s learned about dissenters being dragged off, and when her entire family was captured (and to her own admission quite possibly being tortured or already having been murdered), her boyfriend came back and said he was responsible for it (oh Bolin and your logorrhea), but just wanted to pick up exactly where they were right away. And this was after he outright ignored her in Zaofu when she clearly lay out what was happening. Who the hell wouldn’t be pissed?

Frankly, Bolin should have been suggesting how they could save her family, so when she suggested that he should come with her to fix things, it’s...reasonable, even if high-risk. It would demonstrate that at the end of the day, he does have her back. I really have a hard time finding a fault in that.

I do think her line “he’s been in the polar bear doghouse long enough” was overly reductive. We can tell that the moment he was willing to get himself killed to save Zhu Li is the moment that Opal forgave him. Because it showed that his heart is always in the right place. He just sometimes needs a little coaching, and doesn’t do nuance well. If the people *he’s* seeing are happy, it’s difficult for him to think the campaign is doing something bad.

So really, I have zero problems with it. They were two young adults growing apart in a long-distance relationship, and the fact that this mission placed them decidedly on the same side and Bolin took initiative with it...yeah, it works. Their long-term is uh, well, let’s just hope they don’t find themselves in morally ambiguous situations too much.

Also I don’t want to sound like Opal is the font of wisdom and truth either. She can be bad-tempered, impatient, she can let her emotions guide her (though it never pushes into the hysterical woman trope), she can be biting and bitter and cutting when she wants; she’s a fully realized and fully fallible character. I just don’t happen to think she mistreated Bolin in any way during Book 4’s run.

The Bopal take-away, too, is important: women can assert their frustrations and that doesn’t mean their relationships will blow up. Too often we see narratives where women must stuff it, where their emotional needs are always always on a back-burner to the men that they’re with. It’s frustrating and I’ve had enough of it (I’m in a mood thanks to Supergirl lately), so this is dang refreshing. Bust ALL the tropes, Opal.

Frankly, bust ALL the tropes, Beifongs. That’s truly what makes this episode amazing. The central fight is between two women, one of whom is middle-aged and has children, while her husband and elder son (that isn’t Baatar Jr.) are guarded by her mother. There is a mother/daughter “reconciliation” that still ends with them both shoving their feelings down as far as they can go, though they at least achieved a less hostile relationship. There was the Bopal resolution, there was Zhu Li, not Varrick, taking on the role of the saboteur, and there wasn’t instantly a neat redemption for Jr. because he had one moment of human decency.

Yes, this episode was a little contrived in its existence, and it gave us a bit of a false resolution. But it was packed, exciting, and utterly transgressive, while also delivering a wallop of feels.

#13: 4x08 “Remembrances”

#12: 4x11 “Kuvira’s Gambit”

#11: 4x09 “Beyond the Wilds”

#10: 4x07 “Reunion”

#9: 4x06 The “Battle of Zaofu”

#8. 4x12 “Day of Colossus”

#7 4x01 “After All These Years”

#6 4x03 “The Coronation”

#5 4x04 “The Calling”

#4 4x05 “Enemy at the Gates”

Book 2 ranking/essays found here

[orangepanic]

who's iroh ii's sister??

We have no idea! The idea of Izumi having a daughter is only mentioned in the B4 DVD commentary as a character and romantic side plot (for Mako) that was dumped in trimming down the story line. However, I love the idea of Iroh having a little sister so I've included her in my own headcanons as Princess Tai, a kind and bubbly girl ten years his junior who loves Iroh to absolute pieces even though he can be a bit of a dumbass. She's bright and takes her duties seriously but is far more of a homebody and much less ambitious than her brother. She loves the Fire Nation and its history and customs in a way that he can't. Tai is generally well-liked and a leader in her own right in areas that interest her like FN culture, where she takes a hand in organizing a lot of the major celebrations and exhibits. She misses her brother something awful but out of everyone in the family probably understands him the best, too, and knows that trapping him in the palace would be terrible for him as well as deprive the world of all that he could be. Iroh for his part welcomes Tai's perspective as a trusted advisor and would happily incinerate anyone who so much as looks at her funny. This is my sunshine x grumpy platonic pairing and I love them.

I've seen many different versions of Izumi's daughter over the years from talented writers and they're all so different, from a swashbuckling adventurer to an accomplished historian to a challenged older sibling to the future Firelord. They're fun to read and I hope we get to keep them instead of something official coming from Avatar Studios.

[aprettyweirgirl]

Korra: the floor is lava!

Bolin:*helps Opal onto the counter*

Ursa:*kicks Mako off the sofa*

Korra: as you can see, there are two types of lovers

[aprettyweirgirl]

*Mako and Ursa over the phone*

Mako: what’re you up to?

Ursa: eating my cookies in bed

Mako: and what would you be doing if i was in bed with you?

Ursa: ...i would still be eating my cookies

[aprettyweirgirl]

Ursa has a bunch of random small talents that she wishes she could show more. She knows how to juggle, can fold almost perfect origami, and has amazing art skills but never gets the chance to show people. She’s worried about being annoying so when Mako comes along he assures she otherwise. Now she shows Mako all these talents and he will always act amazed.

yessssssss

when Ursa meets Tenzin's children and they (Ikki, Meelo and Rohan) are completely amazed by the things she does, or Mako asking her to teaching her something like origami and she's 🥺someone cares about this🥺

Lin and Izumi keep a painting and/or a piece of origami that she did in their respective offices/studios

[aprettyweirgirl]

let Mako be a Ursa simp plz

[aprettyweirgirl]

im weirdly craving fluffy and/or spicy Mako x Ursa

[aprettyweirgirl]

I love your hc about them, so do you have any new hc about ursa and mako to share?

dgsgsgsjvs thank u so much! :3

and yesyes i have a few that come from the top of my head, while im in class (here are more btw...)

Mako is the most common victim of the Ursa-pouring-whipped-cream-in-someone's-mouth-without-warning move and it's funny

the first thing Ursa did when she realized she was attracted to Mako was shouting out loud "oHH ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? *Ursa's disgusted noises*"

awkward-simping Mako? yes.

Ursa comforts him after a nightmare

Mako's way to show affection is with gifts and acts of service. Ursa's is physical touch and... like taking care of people

Ursa's bed is way softer than anything he's used to, so it tends to happen that right after he lays on that bed he falls asleep also bc he's sleep deprived