#kataang ask to be boyfriend and girlfriend

[oneatlatime]

Hiii!!! I’ve been binging through your blog for the past few weeks and I noticed how you talk about how Kataang(Katara x Aang) is portrayed in the show. Honestly yeah, I will admit I didn’t like it at first but now I just don’t really care for it. But I’d be interested hearing an in-depth opinion on the ship(unless you already did and I just never noticed or forgot 😭).

Another question, do you think you’re going to read the comics that came out the series? If you’re asking my opinion I’d say they’re a uuuh 7-8 out of 10 IG?

I do have thoughts on Kataang which I haven't shared yet. Part of me thinks I should wait to answer your ask until I've finished the series; it's obvious to me that these two are being set up to be the big finale couple, which means if I talk about them now I'm probably missing the pieces I need to have a full, well-rounded opinion. But you know what? I feel like talking about them now. So here goes.

Short answer: It peeves me that Aang comes from a culture that seemingly doesn't even have parents, yet he still manages to date his mother.

Long answer: they're both way too young. I'm a huge fan of letting the kids be kids for as long as possible. Especially with these kids, who have been prevented from being kids by the war. As Katara points out in the opening scene of the very first episode, she's been the mother since her own died (or at least she feels like she has had to be the mother). Call me crazy, but I'd rather Katara spend a few years after the war doing dumb childish stuff to recapture that lost childhood than jump straight into a relationship. Isn't the safety and space to do dumb childish stuff one of the things those who are trying to end the war are fighting for? Shouldn't she get to enjoy that? And Aang is just way too young no matter what way you look at it. He's 12 right? I think that would make him a grade 6 student. Back in my day (yells at cloud) Grade 6 students collected yugioh cards and feuded over who had the snazzier lunch box. I could picture a 12 year old having a crush on a slightly older girl that goes to the same school, but it would be short lived and unactionable. I guess Katara would be around 14? So, a grade 8 student. A grade 8 girl would not date a grade 6 boy. It would just never happen.

They've both got bigger fish to fry. Aang is the last Air Nomad AND the current Avatar. When he fully takes on both of those positions, what time will he have for a girlfriend? Katara is the only Southern Waterbender. Whether or not she wants the responsibility, it will be her duty to single-handedly reconstruct a huge portion of her nation's culture from the ground up once she returns south. Does she have the time to ping pong around the globe mothering her boyfriend as he rides giant animals or does Avatar stuff? Say she wants to: what will her family and the rest of her tribe think of the only person who can access such a huge part of their culture riding off into the sunset?

Their current relationship dynamic is still too mother/son. This is more obvious in season 1 than in season 2 (maybe that's growth?) but you can't depict a male/female pair as pieta and then expect me to ship. I think this could change somewhat, but I've already been disappointed in that. I thought that once Katara had mastered waterbending and therefore felt she had something other than mothering to contribute to the group, she would back off with the mothering. And she did, a little, but not enough for my tastes. Maybe as Aang fully steps into the Avatar role and the last Air Nomad role (sidenote: no idea what the latter would look like) he'll move on to a more equal relationship with Katara.

I think Katara is meant for better things than rebirthing a nation. Bending seems to be at least somewhat genetic. So if Aang wants Airbending in any form to survive after his death, he's going to need a billion kids. While I could definitely see Katara wanting children, I don't see her as the barefoot pregnant type.

I'm not convinced that Aang has a clear picture of Katara. She has flaws, which is good! Does Aang see them?

I get the feeling that, while they are helping each others' skills grow as they travel the globe, they are also preventing each others' personalities from growing. As long as Aang is around, Katara has someone to mother. As long as Katara is around, Aang has someone who prevents him from feeling the full weight of his responsibilities. Again, this is worse in season 1, but how often did Katara deny that Aang was to blame for something that was at least somewhat his fault? Aang will never become a fully rounded person until he can look at his flaws and mistakes dead on and say "my bad" without a Katara in the background going "no you're perfect!" Katara deserves to find out what kind of person she is outside of a nurturing role. Quick thought experiment: what if you pair Katara with someone who needs no nurturing, or better yet, nurtures her? And what if you pair Aang with someone as bluntly truthful as Toph? Katara and Aang might find both of those situations uncomfortable at first, but I think it would contribute to their growth.

Aang having a crush on an oblivious Katara would be a great single season arc. I think it would fit both of their characters well, and I think Aang growing past latching on to the first person he saw after the iceberg would be a good way to show that he's rooting himself in his time-displaced present, and fully committing to ending the war. And don't get me wrong, I love Aang and Katara both as a fighting team and as friends.

These kids are all fighting a war, and all kids. I don't mind the supporting characters having romances, because it's not like Sokka or Suki can end the war, no matter how hard they try/might want to. But I'm a big believer in doing one thing at a time, and I think if you're the only person in the whole world who can end a war, then ending the war should take precedence over dating. I'm aware that that's an unrealistic expectation and out of step with the show's theme of balance. In the real world, birth rates skyrocket during war time because people live for the moment and grab happiness (read boinking) wherever they see it. But both these kids are pre-boinking age so I'm going to be a cranky old fart about it.

Being the wife of the Avatar is a position that will often come with being relegated to second place, especially with the amount of work that undoing a century of war will take. Although she works well in a team, Katara is a naturally dominant personality. Katara did enough of putting herself in second place before the series started. I think Katara could very easily fall into the pattern of subjugating her own needs and desires and putting her husband's first, but I don't want that to happen. And one way to prevent that from happening is to prevent her from dating the single most politically important person in the universe. (To be clear, Aang would never deliberately squish a wife like that, I just think the workload of being Avatar and last air nomad would cause that to happen)

A lot of my objections to this pairing are very adult objections. I don't know what I would have thought about this pairing when I was the age of the show's target audience. It undoubtedly would have bothered me less, although I probably would have been put off by how twee it is. As an adult, all I can see are babies playing house.

As for the comics, I hadn't made any concrete plans to read them. I don't know where I'd get access to them. I'm not sure how canonical they are. I guess I should probably decide whether or not I want to read them after I've finished the whole series. I've been told that my girl Jin appears in one of them, so I definitely have some interest. I have also had the Avatar Kyoshi novels strenuously recommended to me. But so much of Avatar's charm, to me, is in the medium. And while comics are closer to animation than books are, they're still static. Avatar does movement so well.

[survivalove]

Thinking about why I like Kataang so much

so a lot of my posts/asks lately have been about things I dislike so I decided to balance it out by talking about something I actually do like! ofc I immediately thought of kataang and started thing about why i like them so much compared to other couples in media I watched growing up.

first thing is, I don’t actually like romance in visual media. I much prefer it in books but having to actually watch it gives me the ick idk why. also when i first watched atla I was like 5, so the romance really had no appeal to me and I was super focused on katara and the other girls on the show because they were girls! i would completely block out the boys and all the ship scenes for years after that because my attitude to romance never really changed.

right up until I was about 11/12 and became aware of romance from hearing people my age start to talk about crushes, boyfriends/girlfriends, kissing etc. suddenly I had entered this phase in real life where romance was suddenly relevant among my peers and this made me start paying attention when it played out in the shows I was watching like Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, etc. this also included ATLA as my dad and I would rewatch it together on DVD throughout the year.

as I watched with my katara blinders, like I always do, for the first time I started to notice the boys in the show, particularly aang, (yes I finally started focusing on the main character after 6 years 😭) and certain interactions katara had with him that I never noticed before.

*dramatic pause*

and the way I consumed media would never be the same.

jk, but really tho.

fast forward to now, and I’ve recently started watching anime after consuming a bunch of western media my whole life from cartoons and disney shows to contemporary literature and Y/A movies/TV shows. and one thing that stands out to me with kataang compared to most of the romance i see in shonen animes (one of atla’s biggest inspiration as a TV show) is the way katara and aang develop in a way that is realistic, yet too good to be true.

let me elaborate:

starting from the very first episode, katara and aang have that classic meet-cute interaction. the music is playing, their eyes are widening, aang’s acting like he’s never seen a girl before and katara is impressed by literally every single thing he does. this is pretty much how every ship is set up, anime or otherwise, and kanna basically spells out their imminent connection when she sends katara and sokka off and sokka even explicitly says the word boyfriend seconds before that. obviously, these two characters are gonna get together at some point and it’s just a matter of when.

this is where it gets more than that:

the more katara and aang spend time together, the more they start to get on each other’s nerves.

I’m sure everyone’s had a crush at some point, where you see someone for the first time and go “oh they’re so cute” and you feel the butterflies blah blah. you either fantasize about them for a while and move on, or you pursue the crush and start to actively make moves to get to know them better.

and as you get to know them, you notice some things about them that kinda piss you off. the way they pick their nose, the way they bounce their knee, the way they chew. it’s always something. it can even affect friendships because that’s life. we are humans, not concepts. no one is perfect, there is nobody on this planet that you will 100% agree with or like about them. it just doesn’t work like that. and for some relationships, there is that one irritating thing about them that breaks the camel’s back and it doesn’t work out. you learn what annoys you and move on to the next relationship. or you have the lucky ones who actually stay together and the relationship continues to blossom as you get to know each other better.

similarly, kataang in the beginning are completely enamored with the other. until they’re not. throughout season 1, we see katara becoming more and more disillusioned with aang going from “aang’s so brave. he’s the avatar!” to realizing he’s just a boy with insecurities and flaws just like her. some of which get on her nerves BAD. similarly, aang goes from trying to impress katara and going along with every single plan she has, to disagreeing with her and even getting annoyed by her as the seasons go on.

despite this, it doesn’t stop that thing they have for each other from growing and flourishing. that is the magic part. watching two characters fall in love as they continue to annoy and irritate each other more and more. the more katara and aang butt heads throughout the seasons, the more and more unambiguous their romantic interactions become.

aang bluntly telling katara she’s not funny like he didn’t just ask her to dance with him in a candlelit cave in front of dozens of people a few days ago? katara constantly getting annoyed at aang’s antics to turn around and ask him for his opinion on the way she looks or kiss him on the cheek? right.

this is what makes them stand out from other fictional couples I’ve seen, where the girl and guy’s opinion on the other never changes significantly from that first interaction they have. one person, usually the girl because of course, worships the ground our main character walks on, meanwhile he seems to barely notice her apart from that first scene where she looked pretty and his jaw dropped or something. and even if they do interact a lot, their dynamic hardly evolves from that initial setup. they never get upset with each other or at the least, visibly annoyed. their dynamic is static, stagnant, mostly affected by major events in the plot rather than personal characteristics and minor misgivings the characters may have.

there’s no juice. it’s stale. and for me, very unrealistic.

I was watching this video about writing couples in media and one comment stood out to me in particular:

What you said about charm is so true. Entertaining chemistry to watch ≠ chemistry that pairs people together. A lot of sitcoms try to pair opposites romantically or as best friends, because opposites are good for comedy and conflict, but I find myself not understanding why they’re so into each other.

instantly i was reminded of the way people call kataang vanilla/boring, in favor of pairings that are far less similar. and while katara and aang do fight a lot, fundamentally they are very similar which is why they are so believable and realistic. I love watching them slowly become disillusioned with the idealized version of each other they had in the first episode to seeing all the ways they manage to piss each other off, and still being drawn by that initial mutual attraction.

katara learns the hard way that aang isn’t the infallible savior from her grandma’s stories, but she never stops believing in him. aang comes to discover katara’s flaws and conflicting opinions, but he still encourages her belief in hope, affirms her as a waterbender/healer and yes still calls her beautiful every chance he gets.

and what I love about this, is, it gives them reasons to fall in love that go beyond the superficial reasons that drew them towards each other in the first place.

they don’t fall in love with each other in spite of those little minor flaws, but because of them.

katara doesn’t love aang because he’s the avatar. she loves him because he is the goofy fun boy that allowed her to be a kid while taking up this heavy responsibility. aang doesn’t love katara because she’s beautiful. he falls in love witnessing those moments of her being determined, speak up for herself and others, and even going to great lengths to inspire hope in everyone she meets.

[thebakingqueen5]

KW 2023: Spirits

Day 6 for Kataang Week 2023 hosted by @kataang-week with the prompt Spirits!

Links: AO3 || FF.net

Summary: 7 days, 7 prompts, 7 snapshots of their lives, and my 7th fricking year of having done this. Welcome to Kataang Week 2023 Day 6: Spirits. Three times Katara took the spirits' names in vain and one time Aang did.

Word Count: 3.5k

Preview:

Katara knew that she and Aang would probably be judged for loving outside of their respective cultures, and she knew that she and Aang would be a real couple, going to balls and nobles' parties together as each other's dates and being asked nosy questions.

What she did not know, however, was just how many hours her boyfriend would spend getting ready for their dates and outings, wanting to look his absolute best for her. She was by no means unappreciative of his efforts if the heat that rose to her cheeks at the sight of him was any indication, but it was quite the inconvenience in a time crunch like the one at hand.

Katara opened an eye from her position lying on the couch, daring to get a glimpse of the clock above their fireplace. 5:56. Lovely. They now had 4 minutes to make a 10-minute trip, not including the time needed to get on and off Appa and through the crowd of reporters that would most definitely be waiting for the Avatar and his girlfriend's first official social function as a couple.

Katara huffed and stood up once again to knock on the door.

"For Tui's sake, Aang, we're going to be late!"

"Hey!" came his muffled voice through the door. "Come on, Katara, you're not supposed to take the spirits' names in vain like that. The monks used to say it's bad luck, you know."

The waterbender resisted the urge to roll her eyes, even if he couldn't see it. "Bad luck would be arriving late to Kuei's ball when we're the guests of honor, sweetie."

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

zutaras : Maiko is abusive cause she said, "I just asked if you were cold not for your whole lifes story." (clearly they never improve as a couple and remain static cause the beach aint canon so they can ignore zukos bad behaivor )

Zutaras: you cant use zukos past to define zutara but they do it consantly with mai and zuko first meeting katara is a 100 times worse

Zuko invades kataras village/ roughly handles her grandma/ nearly burns the women/children/ nearly runs over a child with his large boat zutaras: Crickets / he redeemed himself/ doesnt count/ season 3 he hired a hitman well thats OOC awkard/ shy baby zuko would never. but aang would def abuse katara and make her do all the chores

Zutara: aang displays predatory behaivor/ abusive behaivor /bad boyfriend behaivor

Zuko throws a man into a wall because mai was talking to his friend/ insults her/ tries to wrap his arm around her after snidly asking, "wheres your new boyfriend? Zutaras: Call the two times he kidnapped her romantic/ Quote a line where he knocked her out as romantic

(and i have yet to see a kataang label zuko a rapistcause we aint braindead and dont want to demonize a child we just point out canon and zutaras just hate canon for some reason)

Zutara: Mai is abusive /katara would never/ worse girlfriend ever /bringing up zukos behaivor means you dont support abuse victims mai saves zukos life: Zutara: OOC // she never feared azula/ mai is toxic/ aang goes to save katara: CLINGY/ BAD BOYFRIEND/ hes obessed with katara zuko saves katara: TRUE LOVE

aang lets katara go and goes into the avatar state zutara: Seems fake that never happened katara:suggest her and aang kiss in cave of two lovers zutara: OOC / This is only happening because their stuck/ katara is his mom Zuko/katara trapped in a cave together: TRUE LOVE UNITES/ they were meant to be see the symbolism

Katara tells toph she doesnt want to be seen as a mom Zutara: MOMTARA is canon if you tell us otherwise your sexist

katara and sokka pretending to be aangs parent= GROSS INCEST tho i recall aang wasa their grandpa once.. its almost as if katara is the only girl who can pass as somewhat older, toph sure couldnt.. its not that deep fam..

zutara: LOK is sexist cuase kataras a mom but if she was the mom of zukos kid it wouldnt be sexist because.. she loves politcs

this is why i cant stand the zutara fandom from the hypocrisy, the igornace of canon, ignoring kataras agency , the hate towards aang, the sexist hate towards mai, the handwaving of aang trauma the sludge i went through with the tags as a zutara shipper.. made me nearly hate the ship.. it waasnt kataang fans that nearly killed a ship/ ruined zuko for me it was zutara fandom. sure not everyone thinks that way but so many of em do and it ruined the fandom experience for me i had to block the tag i still ship but it have zero interest in a fandom that hates the show /main character/ heck im convinced 90 percent of em hate canon zuko /katara cause they sure never talk about their canon personalitys kts all just boring fanon to throw shit/aang/mai worse shipping fandom i ever met..

The only thing I'll disagree with is the point about Mai and Azula. While fear/intimidation/Azula being her princess before being her friend WAS the main reason why their friendship crumbled, it wasn't as simple as Mai being just her puppet. We literally see her deciding, of her own free will, to go help Azula in book 2.

She made a bad choice by joining Azula. So did Zuko. If anything, the complexity of "I cared about this person, but the relationship got toxic and I had to distance myself from them because of it, and now to make things even worse we're in opposing sides of a war" is something they can both relate to - hence Zuko not holding it against Mai, since that is a mistake he also made.

It's almost like they are compatible or something...

[the-last-cuddlebender]

I wish you would write a fic where Aang is just flustered and is amassed at katara while she’s just doing nothing ❤️maybe after the balcony kiss (btw your my favorite fic writer 💕)

*smacks table* *kicks a chair over* *screams into the void*

(;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`) NO YOU’RE MY FAVORITE, ANON😤❤💕💖

Ngl tho, this prompt and one other have been haunting me for so long oml I just for the longest time drew complete blanks like...just nothing came to me. Nada. I even tried getting a legit 12 straight hours of sleep to turn my brain off and back on again but nOpE. I really wanted to keep it related to after the balcony kiss since I wanted the challenge, but gosh did it fight me. My brain go poof I hope you’re happy for making me question everything, Anon lol

Anywho, I love and cherish you, Anon, you bean, you godsend, you magnificent angel, you🥰~ I hope you enjoy the fic!!!

Words: 1,785

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Aang kneaded his right thumb into his left palm. The scars there were small and white and hardly noticeable unless he held his hand right to his face.

It was peculiar, to say the least. Only the hand that received Ozai’s lightning bore a shadow of his opponent’s cold fire. The belly of his palm was a memory of death barely avoided, but he tried (...tried…tried very, very hard...) to imagine the milky pattern on pale skin as looking like a leaf’s veins when held up to the sunlight.

Aang rolled his lip between his teeth. He was going to tear something if he crouched for much longer. The scars burned without burning, and he wasn’t sure which fate was worse. Was it even considered a scar if it was never open? It was just there after the battle like it was a maker’s mark on a finished piece.

Katara would know—there was little that she didn’t know—, but she had been far too exhausted for him to even consider asking—

Katara...

Aang’s face burned like the fire she lit in his cheeks was eternal.

If he was perfectly honest, he didn’t remember feeling the kiss.

He only remembered how the kiss felt.

Because remembering the moment when Katara redefined what happiness felt like was a moment Aang would never forget.

His shoulders rose to his ears; his face smoldered as giddy magma crawled up his neck. He teetered to one side when thoughts of her shifted gravity. Maybe it was a good thing that he was crouching, after all.

Katara…

...But then he looked at his estranged left palm and the new maker’s mark that it bore.

...And his heart crisped and flaked into ashes piling in the pit of his chest.

The scarring changed nothing but uprooted everything. It was a cancer, black and numb on his hand, like it was suffering from frostbite and needed to be removed.

The estranged left palm that saved his life was the same hand Katara held—all those months ago—when they kissed that day in the dark, trapped and alone, in an inky-black Earth Kingdom cave.

The kiss was a gentle waltz turning into a speedy tango, but her hand on his was the tug to lift him out of his chair. It was the strike of flint and steel that burned away the cobwebs in his heart and brushed aside all dust to welcome something new.

...Katara...

Sokka had interrupted before Aang could ask her to be his girlfriend. Time was an illusion, but time was precious. Memories framed in moments were the beginnings of beautiful new somethings.

What they were, though...

He really hoped Katara knew better than him. Of course, she would—there was little that she didn’t know.

Did the kiss make it—them—official? They said more in words unspoken than words said aloud ever could, but they hadn’t had a moment of peace since then. Surely, he had to ask her. He really, really wanted to, too. It didn’t feel right to celebrate an anniversary without a proper date—Spirits, he and Katara were gonna have an anniversary, oh Spirits—

Aang’s palm stared back at him. Embarrassment hit him like a skybison at full-speed.

Katara had nearly killed him during the meeting that morning.

Holding his hand—that hand—under the table was toying with whatever gave his heart reason to beat.

Aang had hugged her times a-plenty, but he had never held her hand in that way for that long. It eclipsed their kiss and left him powerless like a suddenly doused fire.

...It had felt like he was poisoning her—like he was touching her with an open wound. 

Aang slumped a little more in the corner of the balcony and stared at his callouses like they could tell him what to do.

The sunset was a smirk mocking his plight, but the moonrise was a gentle grin trying (...trying…trying very, very hard...) to heal his hurts.

Katara hated holding his hand. He felt that she did. She muted the room for him when she touched him; it brought her every reaction into stark relief. He had briefly wondered if that was what Toph felt like when she sensed when someone was lying.

Katara had stiffened. She even shifted like she couldn’t get comfortable. The breath that left her was fast at first like she was just told bad news. Her exhales after that were deep and almost seething.

...The worst part was when she wouldn’t look at him. She only glared about and around them.

Aang slumped from his crouch until his rear hit the ground. His right thumb stayed married to his left palm, and the white lightning stung tender like something freshly burned. He only partially wished that he had the top of his robes on when the thought of her regretting him cut the strings that held him together; he was a puppet collapsing against the balcony wall and sliding down gritty concrete. His scar—another reminder of her—stung him like smacks to the face and melted him into something made of noodles.

The moon was a bit higher, now, but its grin wasn’t any more reassuring than before. The bugs and small critters must have become annoyed with his melting because there was silence like Hei Bai’s forest when Aang made himself smaller than his shadow and dragged his kneading hand even closer to his face.

Their kiss—she had kissed him—barbed him with a sting like thorns on a rose bush except laced with poison and fiberglass. It was decaying from the start of something new into the empty longing for a once in a lifetime occurrence. 

Something shot him in the leg and crippled what made him Aang.

His right thumb kneading his left palm slipped and dug a fingernail into a callous.

He was goo freezing over—a body consumed by jennamite.

Aang breathed out, about to take the inhale to fuel the first hiccup dancing on his shaking lip—

—but then Katara stepped onto the balcony and leaned up against the bars.

Being an airbender had its perks, and his lungs not popping from the force and fullness of his panicked inhale was definitely one of them. He was a statue—a deformed gargoyle that looked more horrific to behold than to cross—, and the glimpse of Katara’s soft grin became a braided noose refusing to let him exhale.

None of the lights were lit.

Spirits, did he love his moonrise and the weakness that she gave him.

Katara was staring into something that didn’t exist on this plane and smiling at something he couldn’t see. She was a stilled lake normally raging and powerful and beautiful to behold. He wouldn’t dare disturb her. She was as calm as a reflection.

Sudden exposure reminded him of stepping into a forbidden part of the Southern Air Temple, and his presence became a violation of something precious. Katara was remembering moments of beautiful new somethings if the way she absentmindedly bent a stream of water about one wrist—her bending her joy unhindered—was anything to go by.

Aang blushed a shade of red that Aunt Wu could have mistaken as the intended location for eruption from the Symbol of Volcanic Doom. He closed his eyes, covered his ears, and dared to shimmy into the shadow of the corner. Katara was a warrior unmatched and without equal. That’s why she was Master Katara. He could no sooner escape her than escape the earthshaking hammer-blows that the hint of her smile drove into his chest. 

He sat on a tightrope whose cables were snapping and unwinding.

It was only when he felt weaker in a way that made him stronger that he peaked an eye open.

Katara was crouched and more concerned than bemused. “Aang?” She touched the knee that had curled to his chest and was threatening to buckle into his sternum. “Are you okay?”

…’Okay’ was a subjective and circumstantial term.

His voice was the sound of rubber sliding water off of wet glass. “M-hm.”

“What are you doing out here alone and...in the corner?”

“Well, I was just...Well, y’know…” His right thumb stuck to his left palm like they were nailed together. He tried (...tried...tried very, very hard...) to hide his wound from her. “Moon ‘s nice ‘n…’n stuff.”

Katara mulled over his words, said and unsaid. Her stare was an examination checking his vitals—his heart, his soul, and his happiness. She hummed a thoughtful sound that bookmarked her place in the pages of him.

It all happened in under the time it took her to breathe. Aang nearly stopped breathing altogether when she tapped her finger on his knee.

“You’re hiding on the balcony because ‘Moon ‘n stuff’?”

“...Yes?”

She spared his ‘hidden’ fiddling hands a half-lidded glance. “Aang...”

“What?”

Katara flicked his arrow. Then, she waited.

Aang didn’t crack. He melted. 

“I was just—I thought…” He deflated. “I needed somewhere to think.”

Something about his words or the way that he said them made every bit of her soft. Her concern riddled him with holes, and, when she settled on the ground before him and propped her head on her arms on his knees, there was barely any of him left to keep him together.

“You wanna talk about it? It’s okay if you don’t. I just haven’t seen that look on your face since...Well, I can’t remember since when.”

One part of Aang threatened to grab the other part of him and throw him into a volcano.

He was making her worry. He should never make her worry, especially over something so silly—

He opened his mouth but hesitated. He didn't want to say no.

“Not—Not now.”

His honesty tamed her like she could feel it as easily as a temperature change. “It’s not something hurting you, right?”

Yes.

“No.”

Katara frowned with her eyes.

Then, she stood.

(Spirits, Aang loved his moonrise.)

“Take my hand.”

Aang’s heart took a trip to the tiny star just to the right of the moon.

She looked at him, and he felt hot cinders flake from his face and into his twisting belly. It sparked a fire so hot that it turned his sea of chi into an ocean of molten ore.

He was suddenly empty of something and filled to the brim with something else.

Katara’s hand was an invitation without equal, and the instinct to grab hold and never let go was a god’s hand trying to push him forward. 

He almost did.

But then his right thumb paused on his left palm, and white lightning struck him down.

Katara flinched like she felt it.

Aang curled into a knot like he could still hide it. 

Kneeling, Katara unraveled him without touching him. Her eyes found his and held him in place not like in a trap but like in a hug. Too soon his right thumb was hushed away from his left palm and his estranged hand was held close to her face. 

Aang couldn’t remember hearing her words, but he felt what she was saying.

Her sorrow nearly tore him apart.

Luckily, her smile kept his shredded heart together. 

And the kiss to his white lightning and the three points of his hand’s arrow put air back into his lungs. He dove into the cool-blue look she gave him and drowned himself in all that she was. 

He was filled with clouds so puffy that they threatened to let loose their rain, but his eyes became only wet and never misty. He smiled beyond the limits of what anatomy allowed when her face turn as red as his felt.

She said something that put his pieces back together, and she looked at him with something that gave him the strength. Cherry-red metal poured from a kiln and wept up her neck and into her cheeks.

Katara rolled her eyes to something that wasn’t there, disappeared inside, and returned with a mass of blankets.

“What are all the blankets for?”

“Moon ‘n stuff,” Katara said as she finished her nest of comforters and fortified quilt walls. 

Then she offered her hand again—she slipped it loosely into his own and waited for him to hold her first. 

“Sit with me.”

Aang shouldn’t have been as giddy as he was, and Katara pursed her smile like she was struggling not to enjoy his happiness too much when she tugged him up from the ground and laid with him against cushioned concrete. 

Moon ‘n Stuff was laughing and pointing out funny bits in constellations of their own designs. It was gossiping all the good rumors and their hopes about which of them might be true.

Katara crowned him King of their Chateau of Comforters with the softest blanket she had. It was blue and smelled like mornings when he could sleep in and like the small joys of finding warm things in cold places.

Katara accepted his invitation into his Blanket Castle within their Comforter Chateau. The blanket was plenty big for both of them and tied them together in a fuzzy cocoon.

She relaxed against him like she was sinking into warm water. The air that left her was fast at first like she just saw something she dearly missed. Every exhale after that was slow and satisfied—drunk on the indescribable and bewitched by the unimaginable. Aang felt her every movement so clearly that he wasn’t sure whether to give thanks or repent for the precious moment she was creating with him.

But then she shifted like she couldn’t get comfortable enough.

And she dragged an eye open to glare at any critter’s sound breaking their peace.

That was when Aang understood.

That was also when Aang lost it.

The urge to laugh was so overwhelming that it didn’t process into the bodily function, instead filling him from toe to brim with small giggles and soft feelings.

Katara didn’t want to share.

Of course, she didn’t.

Their moments were their moments, and he was hers and hers alone.

Master Katara was a being without equal, but Aang knew that which even she didn’t know.

Don’t worry about them. It’s just you and me right now.

Aang’s confidence limped back to him and convinced his estranged left hand to sidle towards hers. He touched the back of it with two fingers—an almost mute invitation, an almost silent knock on the door.

Katara laced her fingers with his like it was the most natural thing in the world. She handled it not like it was something wounded but like it was something precious, and she kissed all of his knuckles before cooling his white lightning with the gentle touches of her snowy-soft palm.

The hands were the most sacred part of a bender. They were the outlets from which their soul leaked. They were the culmination of all of their senses to interact with the world.

Aang’s world shyly smiled and fiddled with her hair. She shifted like she couldn’t decide on which spot against him or which way to hold him would bring them as close as she wanted. 

She wouldn’t even look at him for fear of changing color and state of matter from beautiful young woman to gorgeous little puddle.

She blushed like something beautiful coming into bloom.

Then, she said something.

Her words bypassed all feeling and branded themselves onto his heart

“...want to be my boyfriend? O-Only if you want to...because I want to, so...um...”

She inhaled on the word like she was telling good news and hoping for the universe to talk back to her.

Aang’s current incarnation threatened to be kicked out from under him and reborn into the Water Tribes.

His head nodded like it was trying to make a break for it.

Katara laughed like it was the only language she knew.

They shared each others’ smiles in a shy kiss that felt like a brushing of souls—like the gentle zap of lightning between earth and sky that brought beauty and shook all that they knew but brought with it no scars or destruction.

She squeezed his hand.

He kissed her again just because he could.

White lightning and snowy-soft touches connected what made them each other.

Aang wilted like soggy grass, full of that which gave him life and drunk on all that she gave him.

His hand didn’t hurt anymore. His heart was starting to ache, though. It was going to burst if he looked at her for much longer.

His night got darker when Katara closed her eyes, but he welcomed the weakness his rising full moon gave him.

She fell asleep against his side, and even when Aang no longer felt his arm, he didn’t dare move.

The balcony was empty except for them, and his heart was full of only her.

Katara mumbled once, shifted twice, and adjusted her grip to hug the whole of his arm.

She was hardly doing anything, but her doing nothing did everything to him.

Aang’s courage found him just as Katara found her new favorite spot.

He kissed her cheek, but, if he was being honest, he didn’t remember feeling the kiss.

“...I love you.”

He only remembered how her smile felt.

***************************************

.

.

I hope you enjoyed, Anon! I know this isn’t Katara doing “nothing”, per se, but this is what my mush-brain put down when I sat and wrote😅  (I did, however, tuck that little ”doing nothing” idea away for different ficlet👀)

[hello-nichya-here]

Honestly the only reason I prefer Zutara to Kataang is because Aang didn't handle his jealousy well at all and Katara deserves better

Aang definitively did not handle his jealousy well and he misjudged the moment absurdly by kissing Katara right after she said she was confused and it was a terrible writting decision to make them get together right after that, even though the episode DID NOT portray his actions as morally correct. HOWEVER that absolutely does NOT mean Zuko is this perfect guy who has his emotions in check - quite opposite actually.

Zuko's temper and entitlement issues are a major part of his character. He is constantly lashing out at people for the smallest things because he, understandably, has a lot of anger and pain that he doesn't know how to deal with due to the immense trauma he suffered.

He asked his girlfriend what she thought of a guy, and when Mai told him she didn't have any feelings or thoughts, negative or positive, for the guy Zuko immediately assumed this meant she was interested in him.

Then when she had the audacity to *gasp* listen to that guy talk to her (without really demonstrating any kind of enthusiasm on what he was saying) Zuko instantly thought she was cheating, and resorted to physical violence. He then thought he was fully justified in passive-aggresively asking "Where's your new boyfriend?" when:

1 - The break up was HIS fault

2 - She CHOSE to be there with him instead of at the party, with the guy he was so paranoid about.

Finally, when Mai said "You want me to express myself? LEAVE ME ALONE!" Zuko, for some god forsaken reason, thought that was an excellent time to make a move on her.

Zuko is not perfect, not as person, not as a boyfriend. Does that mean he can't grow into a great boyfriend? Of course not. But the same applies to Aang. It all comes down to personal preference.

If you want Katara to be with a guy that already has his shit together and no jealousy issues that is fine, but on that aspect replacing Aang with Zuko would be replacing 6 with half a dozen.

[lilac-melody]

Whenever I go on the zutara tag, I just wanna see fanart, relatable asks, theories, and so forth. So why do I keep seeing people with such bad takes commenting things like, 

“Aang is a genocide survivor, just because he and Katara get together doesn’t mean that he’s a r/pist”

First of all, who the fuck is saying that? I certainly haven’t. I’ve only seen people simply saying that it was fucked up that Aang kissed Katara without her consent.

And guess what! It was fucked up! Hey, hey! Shocker! You can have a flawed protagonist! Aang isn’t perfect! We’re not supposed to think he is perfect! Just because he’s a genocide survivor, that does not make it okay for him to kiss her without her consent! She explicitly said “now isn’t the right time. I’m confused.”

If you had a best friend who had a massive crush on you, or hell, even if you were dating someone already, if you say no, if you make it clear you want space, you are entitled to that space! You don’t owe your best friend or boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever jack shit! Aang crossed a boundary in the show. Point. Blank. FUCKIN PERIOD.

Genuinely so sick of this abuse apologist mentality.

If your best friend kissed you without your consent then everyone told you “but they had a rough life, stop overreacting” I’m quite positive you wouldn’t be happy.

Yes, I know it’s a show, but at this point, I don’t give a rat’s ass. A LOT of kataangers are sending genuine hate to zutarians for pointing out that what Aang did in The Ember Island Players is uncool.

Please go outside. Get off the internet. Stop letting a fucking show dictate your life so much that you have to send death threats to other people over a simple little fact.

[kataraslove]

theory: katara and aang might likely be engaged during the “imbalance” comics

disclaimer: obviously, there’s no canon confirmation as to whether or not katara and aang actually ever get engaged during the canon timeline of the comics (otherwise we kataang stans would have never shut up about it). however, given the fact katara and aang’s ages are meant to be 18 and 16 respectively by the time of “imbalance,” and that there is a period of time between “north and south” and “imbalance” that we never get to see, I decided that it would be fun to theorize the possibilities of kataang’s relationship status following this brief interval. and they definitely give off some serious engaged energy in “imbalance.

1. “north and south” sets up the perfect stage for an engagement: 

the comic occurs in the southern water tribe (abbreviated as swt), where of course katara and aang have their first faithful encounter years ago that ended up changing the trajectory of their lives forever. katara even reminisces over this memory in “north and south: part 1” to sokka.

given that this is the first place they had met, it would also be the perfect place for aang or katara to propose to one another. imagine aang getting down on one knee and asking her to penguin sled with him forever. but when would aang – or katara – exactly get the time to propose, you say? easy; the gaang (aang, katara, sokka, and toph) decide to stay in the swt for a few more months before heading back to cranefish town. this gives opportunity for the perfect Penguin Sledding Proposal of the century to take place. 

2. katara’s family resides in the southern water tribe: 

another reason why the end of “north and south” is a very good opportunity for a kataang proposal is that katara’s family and community are all together during this comic. hakoda, sokka, her grandma, everyone is just about there. therefore, if aang had wanted to get their blessings before he asked katara to spend the rest of her life with him, he would have the perfect timing.

3. hakoda basically gives his blessings: 

while helping katara understand hakoda’s own love life decisions (which I won’t elaborate on), he informs katara that the right kind of love – the kind that is real and sacrificial – is not meant to blind you, but instead helps you see more clearly. in the next second, katara sees aang show up. after katara and aang embrace, aang and hakoda share yet another father and future son-in-law moment: 

during this scene, hakoda happily acknowledges that aang is the right person for katara, and that what katara and aang share together is real. he approves of her choice in a life partner, essentially giving his blessing for their relationship to progress even further. of course, this does not actually prove that hakoda might approve of them getting engaged at such a young age. but he has offered no indication that he would be opposed to the idea. hakoda has never been the type of parent to dictate his children’s choices anywhere outside of the battlefield. since he believes that what katara and aang share is real and special, and that aang makes his daughter happy, hakoda would be elated.

4. the absence of “my girlfriend” or “my boyfriend” over the course of the two comics: 

this evidence is weaker than the others, but just hear me out. in the earlier comics, all we ever see is that katara and aang are dating each other, and that katara has been delegated to the role of aang’s girlfriend. but unlike in “the promise,” they’re more comfortable referring to each other as friends in north and south.

that does not obviously mean that they have broken up. quite the opposite in fact: it demonstrates that there is much more maturity in their relationship. your significant other should be your best friend, and you should have no problems admitting so. given how their relationship has matured between north and south and the other comics, I’d say that at the stage of north and south they are certainly ready to be committed to one another for life .

5.  it is implied that they are sharing a room/bed in imbalance: 

obviously, couples do not have to be engaged in order to sleep together. but here’s just an added bonus (and I thought it was cute):

6. they are holding hands & overlooking their future home together in this iconic scene:

we all remember this scene. how could you not? it is so gorgeously drawn. the island that they are standing appears to be an uninhabited version of air temple island. they are overlooking cranefish town, which will soon become republic city.

aang wants to see this town grow and prosper, wants it to become something bigger and better than what it currently is. he asks katara’s permission if she is fine if they stay longer in this land, and she agrees that this town needs him. aang says that it needs them (katara and aang, but also the rest of the gaang). these two scenes demonstrate that no matter where aang is, his future is with katara. and therefore, he wants her to be at his side. again, this isn’t solid concrete evidence that they are engaged, but it is evidence that at this point in their relationship, they are ready to settle down somewhere and call it home.

7. “but there’s no betrothal necklace!!” there doesn’t have to be:

betrothal necklaces are a northern water tribe tradition. we haven’t the slightest clue how people propose to one another in the south and what their traditions are. but the absence of a betrothal necklace doesn’t mean that they can’t become engaged, especially since katara wears no other necklace (aside from the one from her mom) as a married adult. maybe they get matching tattoos.

8.  they’ve been certain that they have wanted to be with each other since the end of the war:

in “the promise” where aang is 14 and katara is 16, katara has a daydream about their future, where katara and aang are likely in their 20s and the baby in the bundle is a newborn bumi ii.

in the “search” where aang is still 14 and katara is still 16, they share a happy look with one another after seeing ikem and ursa’s family together. “It must be nice to be married.” ursa then calls them out and says that they are a little too young to be married, but essentially gives her approval (ursa ships it). given that katara and aang have always been certain that they want to get married young, there could be a plausible chance that they decided to get engaged when they were 16 and 18 (by the time of imbalance) and then officially get married until much later, maybe when they’re 20 or so.

that’s all the reasons that i currently have and can list when examining these comics. if you have any more, feel free to add. please remember to take this with a grain of salt, as this was purely done with a light-hearted intention. It’s not meant to be concrete evidence of any sort since there’s no canon confirmation whatsoever otherwise.

with that being said, if this does end up being true and we were denied seeing the proposal, i better expect to see the wedding from avatar studios.

[theclockworkmonk]

What Happens When You Assume

Written for @kataang-week

(I know, I know, it's late because my life kind of got consumed by the Olympics)

Day 6: "Tease"

Words: 1,081

Read on AO3

Read on FF.net

Summary: Katara finds out about a piece of Aang's past that she doesn't care for at all.

********

Katara slammed the door shut and nearly collapsed from exhaustion, leaning against the door to catch her breath. It only took a few seconds for her to start to calm down. The frozen block of ice at the bottom of the world would always be her home, but this house in Ba Sing Se that she shared with her friends and boyfriend had still become a refuge for her.

As she felt more at peace, she smiled to herself as she thought that word. Boyfriend. It had been months since the end of the war, but she still had trouble believing that she had gotten such a happy ending.

"You okay?" she heard the boy in question ask, and she opened her eyes and saw him looking at her from the doorway to their living room, his face full of concern.

"Oh, nothing new," she waved him off, "just the usual reporters and scholars wanting to know everything. Even when I don't wear Water Tribe clothes, I'm probably the only girl in the city with this skin tone, so it's not hard to get recognized as the Avatar's girlfriend."

"Well, as much as I love the whole world knowing you're my girlfriend, I'm sorry that it gives you so much trouble," said Aang sadly.

"Don't start that, you're more than worth it," said Katara, giving him a kiss. "Make it up to me by brewing me some tea."

"Way ahead of you," he said proudly.

They went into the kitchen, where a pot of tea was already sitting on the table. The rest of the table was taken up by piles and piles of books and scrolls that Aang was studying: the entire history of the last one hundred years of the Earth kingdom. Aang was determined to stop being caught off-guard during negotiations by some deeply important piece of context that made his suggestions unacceptable.

"In case you've forgotten already, I fought against an evil empire with you," said Katara playfully, "So I think I can handle a few biographers wanting every detail of the Avatar's life."

Aang frowned as he started pouring them tea. "You know, I would hope that there's still important things about my life coming. Seems a bit early to start writing my biography."

"Well, a lot of these people aren't interested in anything important, silly," Katara laughed. "They're more after gossip fuel. Does the Avatar have any annoying habits? Is he tortured and broody from the war? What's his favorite food? How was his first kiss?"

"Well I'll show them broody, if they keep sticking their nose into stuff like that," Aang grumbled, pouring his own tea.

"Oh, rest assured, I'll tell anyone who asks that it was dazzling," said Katara lovingly.

Aang snorted as he went back to reading his scrolls. "Well, I wouldn't say that, there's no need to lie to them."

Katara huffed indignantly, "Oh, excuse me, Mister Avatar, were my kissing skills not 'dazzling' enough for you?"

"Oh no no," he said quickly, still not looking up at her, "Our first kiss was amazing, once I stopped comparing kissing you to dying. My first kiss ever was a lot more embarrassing."

Aang reached for his own cup of tea and took a sip. The loud slurping sound drew his attention to how oddly quiet the room had gotten. He looked up at his girlfriend and flinched backward when he saw the look on her face. Her mouth was gaping open and her eyes were flashing dangerously.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Are you kidding me!?" Katara shrieked. "You're not just messing with me? The cave really wasn't your first kiss?"

Aang just blinked at her for several moments, before he broke into a disbelieving grin. "I...never said that it was?" he chuckled.

"This isn't funny!" said Katara, jumping to her feet. "When exactly were you planning on telling me this!?"

"Well I'm telling you now, it's never come up before!" said Aang defensively, putting up his hands. "What did I do to imply you were my first kiss?"

"You didn't have to do anything!" said Katara, rolling her eyes. "That's the natural—"

She suddenly stopped herself and bit her lip. Aang's eyebrows shot up and he gave a smug smirk.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"No, no, go on, finish that sentence," Aang teased, crossing his arms and sitting back. "You assumed that you were my first kiss, because who would actually want to kiss me, if not to just escape a magical cave?"

"That's not what I—"

"And of course if the beautiful and popular Katara hadn't had her first kiss by then, then surely short and dorky Aang wouldn't have, since you're so out of my league."

"Shut up!"

"If only all those fans and biographers knew the truth," Aang lamented sadly. "People think that the Avatar is this spiritually pure being, but to my shame, I used my extensive romantic experience to take advantage of an innocent, naive Water Tribe girl—"

He was cut off by a jet of water hitting him in the face, soaking him and filling his open mouth.

He spat out Katara's bending water and raised his eyebrows at her, as she continued to glare at him with her arms crossed.

"Really?" he asked pointedly.

"Don't tease me," said Katara quietly, pouting her lip, but Aang could tell she was trying not to laugh.

He sighed, stood up, bent the water off of him, and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist.

"Would it help to know that my first kiss was only because of a dare?" he asked. "She caught me after a game of airball, her group of friends giggling behind her, and she just grabbed me and pressed her face against mine in front of half the Southern Temple."

"Oh, poor you," said Katara, rolling her eyes.

"Let me finish," said Aang. "I was so shocked that I launched myself into the air, landing in the bisons' feeding trough, and knocking her back into a fountain. She ran off with her friends crying. Nobody would let me live that down for months."

Katara didn't meet his eye, but she snorted in laughter and draped her arms over his shoulders. "Okay, yeah, that does make it a bit better."

"So, tragically, you weren't the first girl I ever kissed," Aang sighed, "could you settle for being the last girl I ever kiss?"

"Hmm. Deal," Katara whispered, and got a head start on it.

[flameohotwife]

kataang 19 for the ask fluff T_T

19. "You know, I think my parents would be proud if I brought you home."

This *also* turned super long, and a little sad in parts though I still think (hope) it's adequately fluffy. I am apparently incapable of ficlets at this point. I'm sorry! Read here or on ao3. Rated G. 3k words.

Katara was freezing. She had only been gone from the Southern Water Tribe for a year and already she had forgotten how cold it was there. They had decided to take a quick trip to Katara’s home to officially tell her father they were together after finalizing the Harmony Restoration Movement in Ba Sing Se, and were quickly approaching the South Pole on Appa. She wrapped her parka more tightly around her, shivering.

“Aang, don’t worry,” Katara comforted from the saddle. Even from this distance she could see his nervous fidgeting. He gave Appa instructions and climbed back to join her and Sokka and Suki. Toph had just recently found her first metalbending student, and was not about to leave Yu Dao to go to “a block of ice I can’t see or bend on.” So the two couples journeyed southward, with a lot of talk of “oogies” from Sokka, a lot of snippy comments about the thinness of tent walls from Katara, and a lot of unsure glances from Aang and Suki.

“Yeah, Aang,” Sokka chimed in as the airbender settled in next to his girlfriend. His girlfriend! It still felt strange to call her that. It seemed too informal for all that she meant to him, but anything more would sound ridiculous coming out of a thirteen-year-old’s mouth. “Don’t worry about the tribe. They already love you, remember? The kids are just going to want a bunch of rides down Appa’s tail again.”

“Oh! They haven’t gotten to see him fly, yet!” Katara added excitedly.

“Plus, you’re the Avatar,” Suki said, rolling her eyes. “You stopped the hundred-year war! If that doesn’t endear you to everyone, I don’t know what will.” Suki rubbed her arms over the green parka Katara had made her, looking down uncomfortably.

“You helped, too, Suki,” Katara reasoned, leaning over to place a hand on her friend’s arm. “And Dad already knows you’re together and definitely approves. You helped break him out of prison!”

Suki smiled back at her in thanks while Sokka wrapped an arm around his girlfriend proudly. “The truth is,” he started, “Katara and I couldn’t have picked better people to pair off with, and the Southern Water Tribe has been starved for happiness for a long time, now. Neither of you have anything to worry about. They’ll be proud to know you. I bet there’ll even be a feast!” He rubbed his belly with his free hand.

“But, I let all those warriors get captured… on the Day of Black Sun,” Aang said. He had kept his guilt over that day to himself for so long, but Katara knew. She knew it had hung heavy on his heart since the moment she found him crying on Appa, and she knew that he needed to clear that pain away.

“Aang, look at me,” she said, taking his face in her hands. “The Fire Nation knew we were coming that day, but you couldn’t have known that. None of us did. We trust you as the Avatar and we trust you as Aang—that hasn’t changed. Warriors are led into danger all the time. That’s what they train for. Nobody blames you.”

Aang took a deep, clarifying breath. He tried to remember what Guru Pathik had told him about accepting the bad things that have happened and forgiving himself. He had to keep the pools of his chakras flowing, and while this guilt hadn’t accumulated to the point of blocking his water chakra, he knew it could if he didn’t keep it in check. He released his breath, feeling much warmer and more confident than he had a moment ago, and smiled at Katara.

“Thank you, Katara.” The way he looked at her caused her breath to catch; she still wasn’t used to the pure, unadulterated devotion in his eyes. Her heart swelled with it, and she went in for a hug.

She expected Sokka to call out “Oogies!” but he just sat back with his girlfriend and rolled his eyes. Her brother was much more used to these displays of affection than she gave him credit for, anyway. She had hugged and touched and even kissed Aang on the cheek so many times throughout their journey to end the war, and he hadn’t batted an eye. Kissing seemed to be what brought the cries of protest out, but even those seemed half-hearted the more he was forced to witness it.

Katara felt that telltale swoop in her stomach as Appa started his descent, and separated from Aang, grinning widely. They were here! She could hardly contain her excitement, and Aang fed off of it. He would do anything to make her happy. He jumped back to Appa’s head to steer him towards the center of the village.

The children who had been outside playing all gathered together when they saw the large shape of Appa in the sky. Some of them even recognized him—shouts of “It’s the sky bison! It’s Aang! It’s the Avatar!” could be heard as the group approached. The ensuing ruckus drew adults out of their huts as well. Katara noticed there were more snow huts than tents, now, probably thanks to Pakku and the benders he’d brought from the North when he sought out her grandmother, who was just joining the throng of people. She saw her father’s face among the crowd, as well, and her heart soared.

She and Sokka were leaning over the edge of the saddle, waving to everyone and sporting wide, toothy grins when they finally landed. As soon as Appa’s feet touched the snow they both jumped down, rushing to greet their family. Aang and Suki hung back a moment, unsure of their place, until Hakoda pulled back from his children to open his arms to them, smiling.

“It’s so good to see you Aang, Suki,” he said, embracing them all in a group hug. His voice was warm and strong and he hoped it was welcoming, too. Whatever his feelings about his kids growing up and moving on, he wanted their partners to feel safe and loved and cared for here.

When they all pulled back—some a little teary eyed from the reunion—they saw Kanna and Pakku making their way over. Gran Gran was smiling in a way Katara wasn’t sure she had ever seen before. She looked so happy. So at peace. She had lived her entire life in the war and had been the one to tell Katara (and Sokka, when he would listen) the stories about the Avatar when they were younger. Katara supposed this all must be like a dream come true for her as well. She hugged each member of the group in turn.

“It’s good to see you again, young airbender,” she said to Aang, before turning to Suki and the others. “And it’s wonderful to meet you, Suki. Pakku tells me you’re quite the warrior, from what he could tell while you all were camped outside Ba Sing Se. I’m so proud of all of you for stopping this war.”

They seemed to remember the rest of the village was watching them, and Hakoda cleared his throat. The kids stopped playing on Appa’s tail to listen to their Chief.

“Everyone! Sokka and Katara are home and they’ve brought guests!” he started. His voice boomed powerfully across the ice. “I’d like you to meet Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors, and of course you all have met Avatar Aang and his bison already.” There was some applause and squeals from the children, and Aang blushed and waved. “I think this calls for a celebration. Let’s feast in the new council lodge tonight!”

“I told you,” Sokka whispered to Aang. Aang chuckled in return as the crowd cheered once more before returning to their business. Hakoda invited them all into his hut and they sat down in front of the fire with some tea, along with Gran Gran and Pakku.

“So, Dad, there’s actually a reason we came down here,” Katara opened once they were all settled on cushions around the low, circular table. She was sitting between Aang and Suki, and her father was directly across from her, flanked by Sokka and Gran Gran. Pakku sipped his tea observantly between Aang and Kanna. “Aang and I…” She grabbed his hand under the table. No matter how confident she was in their relationship, she’d never had to announce a new relationship to her family before. She felt sure she’d never have to, again. “We’re together, now.”

Hakoda smiled. Kanna beamed. Pakku looked like he had accidentally swallowed the bitter leaves of his tea, but Katara ignored him; he always looked that way.

Hakoda was the first to speak. “I figured this would happen eventually,” he said, laughing when both Aang and Katara looked somewhat shocked. “I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. And the way Katara was so protective of you, Aang, when you were in a coma...and her heartbreak when you left? I knew there was more than just friendship going on, even if Katara was too hard-headed to admit it.”

“Hey!” Katara protested.

“He’s not wrong,” Sokka spoke up. “You were the one who kept putting it off. Even after Aang kissed you at the Invasion…”

“You knew about that?!” Aang asked, flabbergasted.

“Toph told me,” he shrugged. “The subs were made of metal… she could feel it.” Sokka shuddered.

Both Aang and Katara were as red as tomato-carrots at this point, but Kanna actually laughed.

“Do you remember what I told you when you left the South Pole?” she asked, speaking to her grandchildren.

“Yeah, yeah, something about it being our destiny to help Aang, I think,” Sokka answered.

“You said…” Katara gasped, eyes wide. “You said our ‘destinies are intertwined with his.’” She looked at Aang, smiling. “I thought it was just about ending the war, but…”

“I also called him your boyfriend, that day, if you’ll remember,” Sokka pointed out. “You denied it then, but face it, Katara. You were already smitten from the day we met Aang.”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I was.” The blush was even higher on her cheeks, now. Aang looked as though someone had just granted him his biggest wishes: a mixture of surprise and glee covered his face as he looked at her. He squeezed her hand under the table, not completely sure she was still real; that this wasn’t a dream. Katara had really liked him for as long as he’d liked her?

“It was the same for me and Suki,” Sokka continued on. “The moment she beat me...again... in that dojo on Kyoshi Island, I knew.”

“Awww, Sokka,” Suki cooed.

“I mean, any girl who can take down a Water Tribe warrior is girlfriend material, am I right?”

Everyone at the table exchanged glances before simultaneously rolling their eyes and laughing. It was so good to be around family again, Katara thought. But what was even better was that she still felt at home and comfortable—maybe even moreso—with Aang there by her side. She could see him at future family gatherings, see him as an adult, proudly holding their child at the Solstice Festival in the South, comfortably talking with everyone from the children to the elders. It filled her with warmth, and she pressed her shoulder into his as the conversation went on well into the afternoon.

That evening, after the feast, there was dancing. It was different from the dancing they had done before, in the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. Katara and Sokka, along with the rest of the tribe spent much of the evening laughing and teaching Aang and Suki to dance in the Water Tribe way, readjusting their form, feeling the heavy beat of the drums; the qilaut.

At one point Aang and Katara stumbled outside for some air, clutching their stomachs which were beginning to ache from so much merriment. They sat back in a snowbank, arms around each other, watching the stars twinkling in silent chorus above them, taking comfort in each other’s presence.

“You know,” Aang said after a time, “I think my parents would be proud if I brought you home. Would’ve been proud, I guess. Gyatso, too. We could have celebrated and eaten fruit pies and sang and danced at the temples...” Katara looked up at him, expecting to see the grief and sadness etched in his face that was so often there when he spoke of his people, but he looked...wistful. Like he was perhaps picturing such a reunion, and her heart ached for all that he had lost. She had never even heard him mention his parents before. “Being here, around your family and your tribe… it’s been so wonderful, Katara.”

She wrapped her arms tighter around his waist, pulling him ever closer. She kept her sapphire eyes focused on the light flickering out from the lodge behind him, feeling like perhaps this next thought was too much, but she wanted to open it up to him. To be there for him in the same way he’s been there for her for so long. “We could visit the Air Temples,” she suggested, quietly. “I know the other Air Nomads are gone… and it might be… sadder. A lot less celebratory. But… I’d like to visit your home again now that the war’s over. I’d like to learn your dances. Learn about your people.”

They turned to each other then, both their eyes sparkling in the starlight. “I’d like that,” Aang whispered as a tear escaped him with a choked sob.

“Hey, Sweetie,” Katara comforted, reaching up to gently stroke his cheek. She realized that in the few months since the end of the war—probably actually since she’d broken him out of the iceberg—he hadn’t had the chance to really be. To reflect. To grieve. “It’s okay to be sad, you know? To miss them. You’re not alone though. I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

Aang clung to her then, letting his feelings flow. They listened to the sound of the drums inside, and she rocked him, whispering how strong he was, how amazing it was that he’d found a way to end the war that was still true to himself; to his people. How proud they would be. How proud she was.

Eventually, he lifted his head from her shoulder to kiss her slowly, tentatively. He was still mostly letting her take the lead in their physical relationship, but he couldn’t think of any other way to thank her then. No words seemed sufficient. His hesitance melted away the moment she moved her lips against his, though. His hands gripped her waist as best he could in their sitting position before moving to thread into her hair. He could feel his heart starting to beat just a little too fast. He felt lightheaded, but in a good way. He pulled back for a breath, and they both giggled. Kissing was still new, but something they both clearly enjoyed finally being able to do together.

“You called me ‘Sweetie,’” he said, realizing. She’d never called him anything other than Aang before. His heart fluttered.

“Is that okay? Sorry, I didn’t even realize…” Katara was pulling at her hair and looking anywhere but at Aang until he stopped her with another kiss, though it was much quicker this time.

“I loved it, Sweetie,” he teased back, but somehow it felt like the most natural thing in the world to call her.

“My mom used to call me that,” she admitted, shyly. “I don’t know why it just came out when I was talking to you…”

“Did I ever tell you what the guru told me about love?” Aang asked. Katara shook her head, confused. “He told me that ‘love is a form of energy,’ and that the airbenders’ love for me hasn’t left this world, but was reborn in new love.” He looked pointedly at her. “Our love.”

Katara took in a sharp breath. She felt at once shocked, humbled, and overflowing with pure, confident love. Sokka certainly wouldn’t believe it, but it made so much sense to her. The instant connection she had felt… the fierce need to protect him… her intense love for him that was as big as an entire nation. She couldn’t help but smile widely.

“Maybe...” Aang started. “Maybe your mom’s love for you was reborn, too.” It seemed like such an outrageous thing to say, but at the same time, like the most obvious thing in the world. The look in her eyes told him all he needed to know. She believed it, too. “I love you, Katara.”

“I love you too, Aang. So much.” She leaned in to kiss him again, feeling like nothing could quite top this feeling. They’d said ‘I love you’ so many times in so many ways; in small gestures, in touches, in roundabout ways, even before they’d been together. But this… this seemed much bigger.

Finally, they stood to return to the celebration. Surely people had noticed their absence by now, though they were thankfully still young enough to avoid any terribly embarrassing rumors. As they walked back to the hall, hand in hand, they shared a look before opening the door.

“Ready, Sweetie?” Aang asked, eyes shining with pure joy.

“Ready, Sweetie,” Katara responded confidently. She squeezed his hand before pulling him inside with her, already moving to the beat of the drums again. Their hearts were so full. Their lost loved ones were never truly gone from this world, and they would cherish that fact for the rest of their lives together. Even in their grief they were connected, and by their love they were healed. It was beautiful.

[lottienatyellowjackets]

mai and katara friendship headcanons? i saw them alluded to in another post!! (also i love ur takes on maiko!)

dkdhsksjsksjs i love them so much!!! thank you for the ask <3 n thank you so much!! so sorry this is so late!!

•katara and mai do not start off as friends post war. katara is wary of mai (rightfully so!!) and mai is cold to katara. while she slowly begins to befriend the rest of the gaang, she does not interact with katara and the younger girl doesn’t understand why. it’s not until sokka cracks a joke about the boy in the iceberg and mai’s entire mood changes for the night does katara realize mai does not know much of her and zuko’s FRIENDship. she clears the air with her right away and says that she would never like zuko and he loves mai. and mai awkwardly does admit she was jealous because she’s trying to be more open with her feelings.

•they are a year apart and slowly realize they have more in common than expected. they’re both masters at their craft and have dreams and ambitions of their own, but both already find themselves reduced to their boyfriends and their accomplishments by others. “the avatars girl” and “the fire lords girlfriend” are what some refer to them as, as if katara is not a master waterbender and mai not a extraordinarily talented knife thrower.

•katara is very radical in her politics (saw a post on this once!!) whereas mai definitely has more conservative ideas on money and states of the nation. their discussions often end in debates with both girls needing to cool off. but it’s always stimulating and they both just want the best for all the nations.

•there is a camaraderie when both your partners are world leaders. both girls sometimes wonder where they fall in the line of priorities for their boyfriends, and if they will spend the rest of their lives with these insecurities. it’s comforting to know they are not the only ones with these thoughts.

•they spar together and mai tries to whip her knives through water (i’m not sure if this is possible, i don’t know physics whatsoever!!)

•trying food from each other’s cultures!!

•mai loved learning (what she could) about the other nations as a child and katara takes her to the southern water tribe. they go penguin sledding and mai will deny it but she smiled the entire time and felt free for once!!

•when mai and zuko break up, katara and mai stay in touch via letters. also, when mai goes to republic city post smoke and shadows (another hc of mine <3) katara visits her often and they go out for dinner. she thinks mai breaking up with zuko was totally justified and applauds her for taking time to figure her life out and who she is.

•mai and zuko marry at 19 and 20 as opposed to 23 and 25 for katara and aang. it was just how each couple chose to do it! but on mai’s wedding day, katara helps do her hair and on katara’s, mai paints her nails.

•(besides aang), mai is the first person to know bumi is a nonbender. katara and aang love their son regardless of if he can bend or not, but they both know the world will see it differently and katara just wants to protect her son. also, she knows that some will be angry she did not have an airbender. she knows mai will relate in some capacity, because she and zuko have been married for eight years without a heir(which is a long time for royalty). mai is oddly comforting and reminds katara he’ll have so many ways to defend himself with all his awesome aunts and uncles.

•on the topic of mai and katara and families, they strongly relate to each other due to the immense pressure on their shoulders. katara knows the world needs an airbender, aang would love an airbender to continue their legacy, she wants an airbender to ensure aang is no longer the last one. mai knows the fire nation needs a heir for the line of succession, zuko wants a child, she wants a child. they’re both ripped apart by misogynists who blame all the problems on the women and despite constantly fighting for themselves, it is so tiring.

•katara helps deliver izumi <3

•mai and katara end up attending many of the same diplomacy meetings throughout the years and love to take down misogynists together!!! they always celebrate with some rice wine or tea or whatever they want that night after another successful day of being wonderful and intelligent woman.

•maiko and kataang double dates <3

•overall, they are unlikely friends and while it takes them a bit to find their footing, they become very close and stay that way until their dying days.

•also, the constant comparison between the two is just :( they’re both such wonderful, complex characters that don’t need to be brought down to tear the other up!!

[jjksblackgf]

domestic!bts headcanon

kim seokjin

you felt an urge to eat a cake

so, naturally, you went to the kitchen to bake some

30 minutes later, your cake was in the oven

but the kitchen... oh…. the kitchen…...

“what happened here?” seokjin asked with wide eyes as he came home from practice

“I felt like eating cake,” you said without looking at him “I will clean everything as soon as I finish mixing the frosting”

he didn’t say anything after that, just dropped his bag on the sofa, and grabbed a few dishes so he could help you clean

he reached for a few bowls in front of you, his lips very close to your ears

“you could’ve just gone to the bakery store” he said

you leaned back a little bit, to feel his chest to your back, and said “I was bored.”

min yoongi

your ladder was quite short, so you could see a bit of his belly as he reached to the ceiling to change the light bulb

“what else you got?” he said as he came down

“there’s a screw that’s loose at my bedroom door handle,” you said with an apologetic tone “can you help me with that?”

“that’s kinda easy, you sure you need my help?” he smirked as he crossed his arms

“the damsel in distress didn’t help me today, did it?”

“babe, I am literally your boyfriend,” he said as he hugged you, knowing this act very well, as it was played before “you could’ve just come to the studio or called me if you missed me that much”

“but I don’t want to interrupt you, or be a distraction, or anything” you pouted

“You’re not a distraction, baby,” he took your chin to make you look in at his eyes “you’re my muse”

jung hoseok

Barry White was blasting on the Spotify you set on the tv

you were about to use the broom as a microphone and sing to him

you know, like in a cutesy rom-com, or whatever

but he was really concentrated on cleaning the stove

so you had no choice but to start singing with a very deep voice

“if feels so good, you lying here next to me” you sang

that was enough for him to pay attention to you, with his eyebrows arched and a playful grin on his lips

“oh, what a groove, you have no idea how it feels”

he was about to start filming your antics, but your body roll on the broom just made him burst laughing

but it was not long until he joined you, forgetting all about the cleaning

“why do you always put some weird playlist to clean the house” he said as he grabbed your waist and dipped you

“I don’t know, but I know that you like it” you were now back on your feet as he swirled you into his arms

easy to say the cleaning was on pause until the song was finished

kim namjoon

he was chilling on the porch, taking care of his bonsai trees

you were at the garden watering the flowers

he put on a new playlist he created just for moments like this

starting with Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson

he loved watching you just be yourself in his garden

he rested his chin on his hands and smiled at you, his heart Doing Things™ when you looked at him

you smiled at each other, but you couldn’t see him clearly because of the bright sun

he decided to join you with the flowers, but you had already finished

“help me with the lemons at the yard” you said dragging him by the hand

you were holding a small basket as he picked up the lemons

“this is such a nice summer day” he noticed with a smile on his face

“I know, right?” you agreed

just to spite him, God sent a summer rain

and just like a movie, you two ran towards the house, giggling

“Good thing you’re not a weatherman on local news” you teased him as you reached the porch

“I would, legit, starve” he humored with you as you entered the house.

park jimin

you were missing some home cooking meals with your busy week, and you also wanted to cook something for Jimin

so you two went to the grocery store to grab a few things

but you could tell that he wasn’t in his best mood

he was distracted, not really paying attention to the day and bumping the shopping cart into others a lot

“babe?” you asked

“yes, honey” he answered unlocking his phone, only to lock again, without looking at anything

“can you grab me that blue box?” you pointed to one of the high shelves

you didn’t really need that, but this little thing always made him laugh a little, and you wanted to see if it would work again

he grabbed it easily, and after putting the box in the cart, he kissed your cheek and grinned “thanks”

“what was that for?” you asked, already knowing the answer

“I just love when you make me feel tall” he laughed

you joined him with a playful slap to his shoulder

kim taehyung

“nah uh, babe, you’re throwing this away” he said with command in his voice over a dress you didn’t remember buying

“why?” you screeched, taking the dress from his hands

“we’ve been dating for a whole year and I never saw you wear this” he said and went back to look at clothes to throw away

you mentioned that you had no space in your closet anymore and asked for his help to clean it up and judge a few of your outfits

“this has to go too” he said with a disgusted tone in his voice

“but I look so good in these…” your voice lowered as you placed the tube top in front of your body

he looked at you up and down with an expression of disbelief, but his face changed as an idea popped up in his head

“I think you can make a case for these clothes” he smirked as he traced his index finger on his chin, wiggling his eyebrows, “model them for me”

and after that, you gave him a whole fashion show with clothes he never saw you in, accompanied by Madonna on the speakers and a grinning boy as the audience

jeon jungkook

“why can’t you believe that they had chemistry?” he asked as he went to the side of the bed

“they did have chemistry, but only as friends” you said taking your place by the other side

“so you’re saying they could end up boyfriend and girlfriend if they were given the opportunity?” he questioned as he placed his hand under his side of the mattress

flipping mattresses was the worse job at the house

so Jungkook always liked to start some sort of “controversial” topic to get the adrenaline going

why? to forget about the most boring chore

“eww, of course not” you replied catching the edge that was now upright

he helped you put the mattress and the bottom sheet in place and then jumped on the bed

“I can’t believe I am dating a kataang shipper” he huffed as he grabbed your arm to join him in bed

“they work because it’s canon” you clapped as you said every word, only to be silenced by a kiss

[shameaboutthedilettantism]

Kataang Week 2021: Day 1: Height Difference

written for @kataang-week

Summary: Ty Lee plays matchmaker for kataang. I don't really know what I did here, but I did it, so here it is.

Rating: T

Word count: 2380

Ty Lee watches the embracing couple with a soft smile. She turns to Suki, her new comrade-in-arms, and her smile widens. “They are so cute! Can I also have a boyfriend who's shorter than me so he can put his head on my shoulder? Or a girlfriend. A girlfriend would be good too. Not both at once, though, just one or the other.”

The skin between Suki's brows furrows with her puzzled look. Oh gosh, she is going to give herself wrinkles doing that, Ty Lee frets. She starts to mention this danger, but halts when she remembers how awful she felt every time her mother warned about ruining her looks. Suki is so smart and strong and interesting; Ty Lee doesn't want to hurt her feelings or alienate her. It is so nice having friends who don't also scare her half to death. Not that Suki's a pushover, but she's reasonable.

“Who are you talking about?” Suki scans the crowd in the grand ballroom. People from all nations are gathered here, dressed in their finest and bedecked in jewels. It's inspiring to see people from all nations celebrating the new Fire Lord together.

Ty Lee giggles and uses a gentle touch to turn Suki's head toward Aang and Katara. “Those two! The Avatar and the Water Tribe girl. Seriously, they have to be one of the cutest couples in the room. And their auras complement each other perfectly; the colors are so balanced and beautiful.” Ty Lee sighs dreamily. She can feel how sappy her expression is. A lifetime of friendship with Azula has her bracing for a stinging rebuke about her obsession with romance.

And Suki does laugh, but there's no ridicule in it, only a gentle humor. “Oh, Ty Lee, that's a good one.”

She continues snickering and Ty Lee feels her own brow knit. “A good what?”

Suki's giggles trail off. “Oh, you're not joking? You really think Aang and Katara are a couple?” At Ty Lee's nod Suki shakes her head and continues “No. No way. He's her best friend and she's his. There's nothing romantic there.”

Ty Lee looks at the two again and can't understand how Suki could miss the spark between them. Okay, Suki can't see auras. So she doesn't know how the iridescent halos of light emanating from the two intertwine and mingle. Where their auras touch the colors blaze even more brilliantly, clearly revealing trust and joy and friendship and passion. But even someone who can't see auras shouldn't miss the purely mundane clues! For goodness' sake, they are still holding each onto each other. In Ty Lee's experience purely friendly hugs don't go on for that long after a mere few hours spent apart.

“Suki, forget what you think you know about them and really look.” She waits to continue until she is sure Suki's eyes are trained on the couple. “Look at Katara's hand. She's stroking the back of his neck. Do you do that to your good buddies? Look at Aang's face. Do you see how deeply he inhales? He's breathing in her scent. I bet you a gold coin that if you ask him what Katara smells like he can describe her scent exactly and in the most flattering terms. Trust me, they are extremely attracted to each other.”

Suki tilts her head a bit and there's that crease in her forehead again. Ty Lee bites her tongue once more on unsolicited beauty advice.

“Huh” Suki breathes out a bemused little sound. “If I didn't know them and saw them for the first time, I guess I might think they were a couple. But that's just how they are, Ty Lee, they're always looking toward each other and holding hands and hugging and she touches his face a lot and they cuddle together by the campfire and they do a lot of waterbending practice in their underwear...” With each behavior described, Suki speaks more slowly, wonder creeping in around the edges of her words. “Oh, spirits, maybe they are together. But, no! They would have told the rest of us, right? Or at least Sokka...” Suki's voice trails off as if she is unsure on this final point.

“Well, if they're not officially a couple, they should be.” Ty Lee's voice is firm with conviction. “It's ridiculous for two people who clearly adore each other that much to not be together.”

And then inspiration strikes. Perhaps the two only need a small nudge from someone who can see how well their auras mesh. Someone who believes in love and wants all of her new friends to experience maximum happiness. Someone who successfully played matchmaker for one of her sisters, and an uncle, and even for Mai and Zuko after Azula brought him back to the Fire Nation. That is to say, someone like her. And maybe Suki will help, now that she sees the truth.

Ty Lee hugs herself in delight. This is going to be so much fun!

Enlisting Suki's aid is simple enough. It turns out her commander has a romantic streak nearly as wide as Ty Lee's own. They work out a plan of attack while observing Aang and Katara until Aang is pulled away by someone quite serious and official-looking. He looks back toward Katara reluctantly as he is ushered away. Katara frowns down at her hands, fingers tangled together.

It is time to enact the first phase of their plan. She and Suki move toward Katara with studied nonchalance.

“Hi Katara!” Ty Lee says too brightly. Uh-oh, she didn't mean to sound so eager. Ah well, her reputation for extreme bubbliness can be useful in deflecting wariness.

Katara, thankfully, doesn't seem suspicious. “Hi, Ty Lee. Suki. What's up?” Ty Lee hadn't quite realized how pretty Katara is. Most of their previous interactions, of course, found them on opposite sides of a battle. Up close, outside of war, surrounded by friends and at peace, she's radiant. Sparkling eyes, smooth brown skin, and a cloud of soft dark hair. Wow, she is simply lovely.

“Suki told me the Avatar is your best friend, so I thought you'd be a good person to talk to about him.” Ty Lee begins to spin her web.

Katara's open expression quickly slams closed. “Why? Is something wrong?” She looks around the room anxiously, no doubt trying to locate Aang.

And the fly flits right into her sticky net! “Oh no! Nothing's wrong. I just wondered if you could tell me how old he is, exactly. And if he has a girlfriend. Or boyfriend.”

“What?” Katara's voice is shrill. “Why?”

“Watching the coronation today, it struck me that he's pretty cute. Plus he seems kind and he's definitely interesting. It's obvious he's younger than me, but I don't know by how much. Perhaps it's not an insurmountable gap? If, that is, he's not seeing anyone?”

Katara's face goes oddly still and her mouth is pressed into a tight line. She is so clearly distressed by the thought of someone else pursuing Aang that Ty Lee finds it hard to keep from laughing out loud.

Katara grimaces. “He's 13, which is too young for you. What are you, 18?”

Oh, she does have it bad, Ty Lee thinks gleefully. “I suppose he is for now. But...” Ty Lee pauses for effect, tapping her chin with an index finger. “My cousin Ling seemed pretty intrigued by him, too. She's 14. That isn't too big a difference. And maybe in a few years, after he's had some more experience, our age difference won't matter.” Ty Lee trails off, looking thoughtful.

The sound coming from the other girl could definitely be classified as a growl. Ty Lee bites the inside of her cheek to restrain her incipient grin. Her gaze slips to the side, signaling Suki. It's Suki's turn to add a bit of tinder to the blaze.

Suki speaks up. “Is your cousin the girl who came to get you from practice yesterday morning?” At Ty Lee's vigorous nod she continues “Oh, she's so pretty! And tiny! Even though she's older, I bet Aang's half a head taller than her. They'd be so cute together! Is she here tonight? We should introduce them!”

Katara glares fiercely then turns away, spitting an almost polite “Keep arranging Aang's life without me. I need some fresh air” back at them as she stalks toward an open stone archway leading to one of the palace gardens.

Ty Lee looks to Suki, grinning broadly. Who cares if it causes wrinkles!? But Suki seems uncertain now, biting the corner of her lip, eyes downcast.

“What is it?” Ty Lee asks.

“I didn't quite believe she thought of Aang that way. Not until I saw how she reacted to what we just did. I don't know. It felt like a game before, but now I'm worried we may hurt them.”

Ty Lee replays the interaction in her mind. “I don't think she was hurt. She seemed angry to me. Trust me, this is working out ideally. Let's go find the Avatar. Quick! Before she comes back in.”

Trying hard to hold a somber expression, Ty Lee extends her hand to Suki. Suki's head tilts slightly and a faint pink tints her cheeks as she takes Ty Lee's hand. Ty Lee does not allow herself to think about how warm and strong Suki's hand is. Nope. Not thinking about that at all because the girl is taken. And Ty Lee does not poach. She pulls Suki toward the last place she spotted their quarry.

As they make their way to the Avatar, Ty Lee reminds Suki “You're going to have to do the talking here. You know him and I don't.”

Suki doesn't even have time to nod before they're at his side.

He smiles and bows slightly in greeting. His smile is adorable and his eyes are truly beautiful. Despite his youth he looks mature and wise in his saffron-colored formal attire. Really, if he were even a year older, Ty Lee might actually consider setting her cap for him. Well, if he were a year older and not utterly in love with someone else. Ty Lee is beginning to worry that she might be a bit too personally focused on love and attraction. Her goal here is to instigate someone else's relationship, not to find one for herself. Focus, Ty Lee, focus, she reprimands herself.

“Hey, Aang, do you know what's wrong with Katara?” Suki's gentle question breaks into Ty Lee's self-examination and she is grateful to be pulled out of her head.

Aang's expression quickly switches to one of concern. “What do you mean? I was talking to her a few minutes ago and everything was fine.” He is scanning the room now, surely trying to locate Katara.

Suki continues “She went out to the gardens and she looked upset.”

Aang's expression of worry deepens. “I better check on her” he announces. “Or should I send Sokka? Did I upset her? She seemed okay when we were together.”

Suki flashes panicky eyes at Ty Lee. Ty Lee shrugs in response, then answers for the other girl. “If you did upset her, better go make amends, right?”

“Yeah, you're right.” His smile returns briefly, wordlessly conveying his gratitude. “I'll go find her. See you later.” Without another word he's moving toward the nearest open archway leading to the conservatory.

“Quick” Ty Lee whispers once he's through the opening. “Let's find a spot to observe them.”

They speed through the same exit Katara used, hoping to locate her before Aang does. Luck is on their side and they spot her quickly. Katara hadn't gone far into the garden. She sits on a bench next to a small ornamental pond. A swirling orb of water rotates slowly above her upturned palm. She doesn't look angry any more. Instead, she seems pensive, gaze trained on the water floating above her hand. Silently, Suki gestures toward an alcove that is partially screened by deep burgundy leaves on the drooping branches of a willowmaple tree. There they should be able to observe secretly. Ty Lee holds the branches aside for Suki and then follows her into their concealment.

Only a heartbeat later Aang strides off the path onto the lawn that abuts the pond. He pauses briefly and observes Katara. Then he says her name softly. Ty Lee marvels again that anyone is unaware of how the two feel about each other. The longing and adoration between them is unmistakable.

Then Katara is rising, rushing toward Aang. She pulls him into her arms and holds onto him tightly. The tension that filled his frame when he left the path drains away and his arms wrap around the girl's shoulders.

“What happened? Are you okay, Katara?” he whispers.

Katara leans away from him slightly and stares into his eyes for a long moment. He looks back at her steadily. Then she tilts her head down and kisses him. In the quiet of the garden, their observers hear his sharp inhale and her soft sigh. Through the leaves they see when she curves her palm around the side of his face as the kiss deepens.

Suki places her lips against Ty Lee's ear and whispers “Come on, it's time for us to go.” Aang and Katara are so caught up in each other that Ty Lee believes they can steal away unnoticed.

When Suki has gone through the doorway Ty Lee looks back. Aang's head is resting against Katara's shoulder once more and his aura is the most sublime representation of joy she has ever seen. And Katara is looking right over his head at Ty Lee. Her eyes are narrowed with suspicion.

Ty Lee stumbles slightly. Thinking quickly, she raises her eyebrows at the other girl and gives a slow, deliberate wink. She points to Aang, then to Katara and lifts her brows again. Ty Lee smiles blithely and mimes applause.

Katara's eyes go wide. Slowly a smile transforms her face. She shakes her head wonderingly and chuckles. When she does, both her aura and Aang's blaze so brightly that Ty Lee has to look away.

Ty Lee decides that perhaps she should make a match for herself next. She dances back into the ballroom, considering her prospects.

[sparkles-and-trash]

Kataang ficlet

Part 2 of The Inspiration Jar project, based on this request by @kataraseye for a hurt/comfort theme with the quote;

“Why are you bleeding?"

tw for mention of a small injury and blood! 

- - - - - 

Katara walked quickly into the room that had become her room in the Fire Nation Palace, hoping that none of her friends were waiting for her inside. 

Earlier that week had been the third anniversary for Aang defeating Ozai and the hundred year war ending, and Katara and all her closest friends and family have been staying in the Fire Nation for the last two weeks to be part of all the celebrations. 

Katara had managed to sneak in a quick morning training all by herself that day, something she rarely found the time for these days, and she had a great time, until she was finished up, got distracted by a old painting she really liked, and tripped down a small flight of stairs, cutting open a sizable gash on her lower arm. 

Healing it would be a quick fix, her biggest worry at the moment was someone, like her brother, seeing it, asking how it happened, and laughing his head off. 

Not that her brother would make fun of her for being in pain or anything, but she had to admit, coming out of some pretty intense training and tumbling down the stairs because she was distracted by a pretty painting? 

It was kind of embarrassing. 

Upon entering her room, she realized quickly that someone was in there, lying on her bed, but luckily, it wasn’t her brother. 

Even when she was slightly embarrassed and bleeding quite a bit, she couldn’t help a small smile. 

“Aang.” 

Upon hearing his name, her Airbender boyfriend sat up quickly, turning around to greet her with a smile on his face, but the smile faded quickly when he saw her bleeding arm. 

“Katara!” he exclaimed, alarmed. 

“Why are you bleeding?"

Katara sighed. 

“It’s nothing to worry about, sweetie, I just tripped,” she said quickly, sending him a reassuring smile before she started looking for some rags and water to start healing herself. 

“No, let me!” Aang said, and quickly bounced over to her, wetted the rag and started to carefully clean up the wound to get a closer look at the damage. 

The cut was admittedly deeper and gnarlier looking than Katara had initially thought, but she had a pretty high pain tolerance, and blood and wounds didn’t really bother her anymore. 

BA-DUMP.  

Katara looked up from her arm, alarmed at the loud thud, and a cold panic rushed trough her when she saw that Aang had slumped to the side and fallen out of his chair. 

Had someone poisoned him? Shot him with something? 

She quickly wrapped her arm, and sat down, looking for any sort of damage on her boyfriend, but found nothing. 

- - - - - 

Aang’s head was pounding. 

Why was his head pounding? 

He blinked his eyes slowly, the light feeling like tiny daggers in his eyes. 

“Aang!” 

The voice of his beloved girlfriend made him look around a little more, trying to understand his surroundings better. 

“Katara?” he asked, groggily. 

“What... what happened?” 

Katara smiled softly, looking like she tried to hold something back. 

“Well you... you sort of passed out when helping me with my wound?” 

Aang felt all the color drain from his face. 

“What?!” he said, feeling mortified. 

Katara put her hand on his shoulder. 

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m all healed now, see?” she said, showing off her arm, perfectly fine again. 

Aang softly dragged his finger over where the cut had been. 

“I can’t believe I fainted...” Aang mumbled, biting his lip. 

“I never had issues with seeing blood before! And you needed me!” 

Katara chuckled softly, and kissed his cheek. 

“Hey, nobody likes seeing someone they care for hurt,” she said as she gently ran her hand up and down his upper arm. 

“You had just sat up really quickly, and it was a gnarly looking cut, to be fair!” 

Aang bit his lip again and sighed heavily. 

“I’m sorry, Katara...” 

Katara grinned and bumped his shoulder with hers. 

“You know, you sort of did me a favor?” she said, making Aang look at her, confused. 

“You passing out at seeing a little blood on my arm? That’s way more embarrassing than me taking a tumble down some stairs while looking at a pretty painting!” 

Aang chuckled, and kissed her cheek. 

“You always know how to help me feel better again, love.” 

Katara grinned at him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. 

“It’s my special talent, after all!” 

requests for the inspiration jar is open ~

[wakatoshine]

forever girl (atsumu x reader drabble)

summary: over the years you have been in a relationship with miya atsumu, you have noticed almost all of his little habits. one of them being choosing a new show every month to be entirely obsessed with. this month’s pick? avatar the last airbender. (fluff ~600 prob)

“come on babe, just one more!” atsumu whined, running his hands through your hair.

you look up at the man (or toddler, as you should say) and playfully roll your eyes.

“it’s two in the morning and i have class tomorrow,” you say, trying to stand from your spot on the couch.

your attempt to stand was futile, and you find yourself getting tugged right back into atsumu’s arms.

“yer not going anywhere y/n,” atsumu coos, nuzzling his head into your shoulder.

you sigh and hide a smile from your ever doting boyfriend. you ultimately gave into his pleas, not being able to ignore your massive soft spot for the blonde.

“one more tsumu, but that’s it okay! no more.” you say sternly, only turning back to face the TV after you see him nod in response to you.

about five minutes into the episode you feel atsumu’s lips press up against the back of your head.

“yes tsumu?” you say, looking up into his brown eyes. you know by now that atsumu tends to get physically affectionate when he wants attention.

“do you think we’re like aang and katara?” he asks.

you laugh. atsumu pouts. sometimes it really does feel like you’re dating a twelve year old.

“tsumu i’m not gonna lie to ya. i definitely like the idea of zuko and katara together, but i’ll be yer katara.” you answer, leaning back into his chest.

atsumu gasps, “how could you ship zutara when kataang is right there!”

“i’m not gonna argue about this with you again tsumu. i know you’ll never accept it,” you tease, poking his nose.

atsumu pushes you away and you pretend to be offended.

“admit that kataang is the better ship or yer not getting kisses for a week,” he says, crossing his arms.

you laugh at him. you know that he wouldn’t be able to keep himself from kissing you for a whole week. atsumu’s love language was definitely physical touch. the two of you could be found cuddling or holding hands more often than not.

“you know ya can’t hold yerself back from kissin me for a week tsumu, don’t kid yerself.” you tease.

atsumu scowls before pulling you back onto his lap and kissing your cheeks. there. point proven, you think to yourself with a smug smile.

“i cant believe my own girlfriend ships zutara. i feel so betrayed,” he complains.

“no need to be so pressed about it,” you say and proceed to kiss him on the nose.

the two of you share a smile before atsumu pulls you in for a gentle kiss. your hands lace behind his neck and you feel your whole body gradually relax into his touch.

it really was the little moments, like this one, that made you feel most grateful to have miya atsumu in your life.

“you know why i wanted ya to be the katara to my aang?” atsumu asks you after he pulls away.

“why?” you ask, tilting your head back to meet his eyes.

“‘cuz baby yer my forever girl,” atsumu says with a smirk.

you snort and half heartedly punch his arm.

“did ya really initiate an argument to use a fictional child’s pick-up line?” you say, poking his flushed cheeks.

“and so what if i did?” atsumu snaps back, “it was a good line.”

you snuggle up closer to him, “i think yer just mad that a twelve year old has better game than you.”

atsumu gasps, “i’m gonna break up with ya right here and now.”

you snicker, “what happened to me bein yer forever girl?”

atsumu shakes his head, but the sheer amount of adoration in his eyes as he looks at you gives him away. you know he’s not really mad at you.

“if ya really wanna be a fictional couple, i’ll be the zhu li to yer varrick,” you say with a smile, “zhu li’s much more badass.”

“i’ll settle for varrick. he’s no avatar but at least they get married at the end,” atsumu says while squeezing you tightly.

you give him another kiss on the cheek (the fifth one of the night? you weren’t too sure at this point).

“is this yer way of proposin’” you ask atsumu jokingly, enjoying the way he immediately gets completely flushed.

“woah woah woah y/n slow down there, we’re still young,” he stutters out.

“i know tsumu, i was just kiddin!” you pause, “but now that i think about it, i’ll be yer forever girl.”

atsumu flashes you a bright smile, the same smile that you fell in love with all those years ago back at inarizaki.

“this is why i love ya so much, y/n” atsumu says, “ya always give in eventually,” he adds a wink to the last part, not missing the innuendo.

you shove him gently and he only laughs.

“i love ya too,” you say, “even though yer the biggest dork i know,”

just a short one for today! i’ll get back to updating kita soon, but this headcanon came to my head today and it was too much to ignore!

general tag list (mssg me or send an ask to be added!) @cadenceh2o

[the-last-cuddlebender]

Okay so.

~It’s Old-timey-Aang-hc-time-because-it-makes-me-smile~

Going on the theory that the 100 years that Aang missed in the ice is comparable to someone from 1900 waking up in the year 2000 (just for argument’s sake because it’s fun and because the technological jump makes it all the funnier to me), the slang changes would be the same, yes? And dating rituals/normalities?

SO

The words “boyfriend/girlfriend” weren’t popularized until the 1950s (arguably first used in the end of the 19th c. to maybe 1909-ish) with the rise of the terms’ use (and their meaning) resulting from their reference in rock and roll. Before then, they weren’t used as often in the way we understand them today, and they weren’t NEARLY as widespread, if known at all in most areas of the world.

THEREFORE

May I propose that Aang would not know what the terms boyfriend/girlfriend mean? And thus humbly ask that you let the hijinks (and sweet kataang implications) that would result from such a revelation about the airboibean run amuck in your imagination because they are ✨glorious✨

A few of my favorites (some not as plausible as others, I know I know, but they make me happy to think about okay?):

1. Aang would ask to ‘court’ Katara (and, very a la Mr. Darcy now that I think about it, uses the Headband dance to show her that they make good ‘dancing partners’)

2. He would ask her on overly-romantic dates in a very old-school way because he is, literally in every sense of the word, old-school.

3. PDA and such would usually be initiated by Katara until Aang eventually catches on and becomes enthralled with the idea of being able to hold Katara’s hand in public. He is a little bit shy about kisses and such in front of others, though (only at first, obviously). He cherishes their tender moments as theirs, nobody else’s, but he swoons with over-dramatic flare like every kiss was a blessing from the heavens so he must thusly treat it as something holy (if for no other reason than to make his sweetie flustered and smile stupidly in good nature). Once he gets it, it's kisses left right and center like in the comics, though❤️

4. The airbenders loved their poetry, and Aang creates pet names for Katara that wax very Shakespearean (I’ve made a long list, but here are a few: my comet and my moon, my soul of another heart, my dear panda lily, the song of my heart’s dance (personal favorite❤️), moondance, etc.)

5. He is the kind to pull out chairs and open doors and bow and give hand-kisses, and he gets flustered out the wazoo when Katara goes out of her way to beat him to the punch and do it twice as dramatically

6. He is completely and utterly overjoyed about the term ‘girlfriend’ and so he uses the term in every introduction and conversation (could be argued that he was still getting used to the term when he introduced her to the future air acolytes and Katara had to remind him of her 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 status❤️). This, of course, further supports the ’that's my wife’ hc

7. Before he knows the term, there is mass confusion. Especially when Katara calls him her boyfriend for the first time and poor Aang is befuddled and confused because he thought they had always been friends:c

8. Bonus point hijinks: someone (probably Sokka) explains the term, when Aang asks him, as a word meaning a person you’re really good friends with *wink wink*, so Aang walks around for a short while referring to everyone in the Gaang as his boyfriend/girlfriend.

9. He refers to himself as Katara’s ‘suitor’ because ‘boyfriend’ is the term he struggles with the most, especially since he had dreamed of being her ‘suitor’ for so long that the reference to the term is branded into his very soul.

10. Suki is the one to pull him aside and explain the terms boyfriend/girlfriend properly (and dating/etc.), and, after having a pleasantly open and nonjudgmental conversation with him (as Suki is oft to have), she gives him the sparknotes of how dating is different now than it was 100 years ago.

I know there might be more than a few holes in this lil hc, but I learned about the boyfriend/girlfriend thing and fell in love with old-timey/old-school Aang okay? It fits into my ‘Aang is a ~little shit~’ narrative, and I adore it sososo much😭