#let's not talk about all the nonsense about katara

[katerina-q]

Sorry but I can't take seriously Zuko/Zutara stans complaining about "Zuko the colonizer" posts when many of you are literally calling a 12 year old Aang ( a pacifist monk and a genocide survivor) rapist, incel, abuser, selfish and misogynist.

There is a whole anti aang tag here on tumblr of Zutara shippers saying the most horrible shit about him, all because your ship is not canon (yes that's the real and only reason)

You have no fucking right to talk.

[burst-of-iridescent]

yall need to stop this “but katara choose aang!” nonsense because a) idk how she personally told you that when she doesn’t exist and b) even if katara were a real woman, this is some choice feminism bs that willfully ignores a lot of the social pressures and dynamics within heterosexual relationships that kat.aang as a relationship taps into both within the world of atla & as a narrative.

the creators themselves have alluded to the fact that katara & aang’s relationship draws from the trope of a younger boy pining after an older, more mature woman who doesn’t give him the time of day at first but is eventually brought around with his persistence and determination to win her heart.

and this dynamic bleeds through into the show itself, especially when aang is talking to people about katara. he is told multiple times that she’ll come around because he’s the avatar and that all he needs to do is not give up. the social dynamics of the kat.aang relationship even within atla reflects the prevalent narrative around straight relationships in our world: if you keep trying, the girl you like will obviously give you a chance eventually, because how could she not?

that’s troubling enough but then comes the second half of book 3, and now this narrative isn’t reflected just in those around aang, but in aang himself. what began as a sweet, harmless adolescent crush warps into something more dangerous, more familiar: entitlement. the aang of ember island players is one who demands katara’s love, not one who wishes for it. just look at the language used here:

i thought we were going to be together, but we’re not.

why don’t you know?

when is the right time?

the line delivery here is frustrated, almost accusing — this is not the way you talk to a girl you claim to love. this is the irritation of a long-promised reward that continues to be denied, something you wanted but cannot yet possess. this is eerily, intensely reminiscent of real-world gender dynamics, and it continues to be reinforced when katara responds according to the same gendered script:

aang, i don’t know.

we’re in the middle of a war. this isn’t the right time.

i’m sorry but right now, i’m just a little confused.

katara gives neither a yes nor a no but a neutral, noncommittal in-between. her tone and body language are apologetic yet clearly tense, uncomfortable — dancing that fine line most women are familiar with, of having to let down a man yet protect his feelings at the same time.

it’s one thing for the narrative of kat.aang to be misogynistic from a doylist perspective, but when the same applies within a watsonian analysis as well, that’s a far bigger problem. when you set up this dynamic for kat.aang in the show and double down on it as their last romantic interaction, you cannot then remove the implications that follow when katara inexplicably, wordlessly, obediently kisses aang in the finale:

that she loved him because she felt she had to.

because that is the underlying societal expectation of this particular dynamic, the same expectation the show itself has set up within the advice aang receives: that a woman’s affections are owed to the man who fights for them, and if he fulfils his obligations in pursuing her, she will fulfill hers in turn by dutifully rewarding him.

as with women in the real world, no choice katara makes in her world is free of the delicate, insidious entanglement of social pressures and gendered expectations that underlie and drive those choices, even subconsciously.

so yes — katara chose aang. but as the show ends with no insight on her part as to the nature of this choice, the question still remains: did she choose him freely, joyfully, unfettered and unburdened by the weight of expectation? or did she choose him as the girl who always did what had to be done, who took on duties that she was too young to shoulder for the sake of the people she loved, who could never let down the child she fiercely, lovingly protected from the moment she met him?

[sokkastyles]

I have a question, I know we know that shipping does not equal morality. And I get that, and I really like that. However, on my other blog, that should have been my main blog (yes I am that dumb). I have talked about Aang's non-consensual and criticized how Kataang is written, however, if you ship Kataang I won't come for your throat because that's not my style. I know the few misogynists/antis on here and on Twitter, and I don't want to let a few bad apples be my impression of a fandom, that's not fair, So now I'm side-eyeing myself over my past remarks. Likewise, I know shipping is not equal to morality, but I also want to criticize Kataang because of how flawed it is and how wrong that kiss was (and other things). I have no idea what I'm saying because at this point I'm rambling. What do you think?

Well, there is a difference between criticizing a ship and criticizing canon. I don't honestly care what people ship. I use the antikataang tag because I don't want to argue with people who do ship it, but that doesn't mean I won't be critical of what is in the show. I think expecting people not to engage critically with media is absolute nonsense. But there is a difference between engaging critically with the actual media and criticizing people's fanon or headcanons, which is where you get away from critically engaging with canon and move into the area of criticizing other people's opinions, which is how arguments start.

Like, there isn't really any actual concrete argument you can make to criticize zutara, because zutara does not exist in canon. It's all fanon and headcanons and speculation. And criticizing other people's opinions just makes you look like a dick.

You also have to take into account the intention behind something. The thing about the way Katara's relationship with Aang is presented is that we're supposed to root for Aang to get Katara, and every obstacle towards that end is just there to create dramatic tension for the male point of audience identification. That's the real problem with the noncon kiss, and people who are critical of it are right to point it out.

In contrast, when I say shipping isn't morality, I'm talking about people who write, let's say, dubcon zutara fics. Fanfiction as a genre is largely female-centered fantasy. Yes, even those lurid fics you're thinking of. People write and read these fics for completely different reasons and have completely different expectations than when watching a series like ATLA. Trying to say that someone can't criticize the way the show presents Aang kissing Katara after she said she was confused as a mistake to be glossed over (that is forgotten as soon as it happens) because they also happen to like reading darkfic is nonsense. There's also a long history of women's interests being policed that informs my views here, vs the fact that consent has only fairly recently become a conversation in mainstream media. You have only to look at the way the show itself portrays Katara having interests (especially in boys) outside of Aang as dark and dangerous to see this happening in ATLA itself. Or the way the creators got away with saying that zutara shippers are doomed to end up in abusive relationships while painting Aang as a typical Nice Guy stereotype who expects Katara to magically become his girlfriend (and gets angry when she doesn't) and seeing nothing wrong with it.

The thing is that zutara, if we look at the way it's written in canon as a metaphor for a romantic relationship, follows the same tradition of how fanfiction has historically existed as an exploration of romantic and sexual dynamics. Those conversations about consent are actually happening and being explored in fanfiction, even the dark stuff, whereas relationships that are presented as "wholesome" often push us to NOT have those conversations. So when I say shipping isn't morality, what I actually mean is that noncanon shipping and darkfic actually has more of a moral leg to stand on than uncritically engaging with relationships on the grounds that Aang is the hero so his goodness and worthiness to get the girl should just be assumed. Zuko has to work for his right to be in a relationship with Katara because he didn't start out from a place of goodness, and that, on its own, is very female centered because instead of starting out from the perspective of the male hero deserving a relationship by virtue of being the hero, we see the idea that a man has to work to gain a woman's respect and affection.

So it's not so much that I hate KA, but I hate the idea that we should engage in it uncritically. And that would be true even if it really was the most wholesome relationship in the world. The same thing cannot be true of zutara because even the darkest of darkfic are about women centering themselves in the narrative and engaging with power dynamics in ways that are subverting patriarchal norms about relationships by definition.

[firelxdykatara]

I too ship Zutara and think they should have been canon. Although for me it's important to know how such a rewrite would go down. I tried to think, and I'm lost.

After Mai betrayed Azula for him, will he just go "sorry, not interested"? He isn't obligated to date her because of this, but her redemption hinges on Zuko and I don't see it being satisfying if he ends up rejecting her after this.

I thought the solution would be to rewrite her arc in boiling rock to make her have a moral realization, but then the problem with Maiko is practically solved. Their relationship wasn't salvaged by her redemption because last time they talked, Mai still didn't understand what's wrong with the Fire Nation and only changed because she loved Zuko. So how do you make it both satisfying & logical?

With Kataang the problem is the Chakras. The problem with the original (in my opinion) is that after he opened his chakra, letting go of his attachment to Katara, he's still attached (forcing a kiss on eip). Should TCoD get rewritten so that Azula shoots him before he opens it? Then why wouldn't he just open it later? Maybe the chakra would be locked so he feels as though he doesn't need to overcome his attachment just yet. In that situation, how would his chakra even unlock? The stone thing felt like nonsense, so how would I do it?

So yeah I have no idea how to approach this. How would you? (Thanks)

I've been rotating this ask in the back of my head like a rotisserie chicken for a few days--it's interesting because I don't generally stop to think like, how would I write them out of these relationships, I either ignore the relationships completely (which isn't hard, they were barely footnotes in the cartoon) or play a little bit with jealous exes or something. Thinking about like, In A Perfect World where Bryke wasn't in charge of ATLA post-canon (because if zutara had been canon, you can be sure they would've made us regret it) is interesting, and I do have thoughts on how I'd handle their relationships in a rewrite.

(this got long, so the rest is beneath the cut)

Assuming you mostly want to keep canon intact, I think maiko would be the easiest to work around, given how little relevance their relationship has in canon. The problem with maiko as an endgame ship is that it was not set up that way--if it had been, it would not have begun entirely off-screen and their whole relationship would not have been a study in misery and utter inability to connect emotionally. His relationship with Mai was there to showcase just how much he had changed and how little he fit into the life he had been so sure he wanted more than anything since his banishment. It worked very well to highlight Zuko's growth--how that contrasted to Mai's lack of it and why she could not understand him even at his most open and vulnerable--and did not work nearly so well when she was shoved back with him in the epilogue, after he'd quite literally forgotten her existence (he never mentions her again after Boiling Rock, not even to say a word of mourning, considering he'd have every reason to believe she was killed for defying his sister).

I don't think you can fix this by giving Mai some moral realization, because there simply is no room for it. As @araeph says in the essay I linked:

As a character, Mai is very useful to the story during Zuko’s return, because she represents everything that Zuko gains by sticking by his father. A girl who cares about him; the ability to indulge her; the authority he has over others at the palace; we see it all in his interactions with Mai. But this makes Mai a tether to a life he has long outgrown. Her function is not to advance Zuko’s character development, but to obstruct it, which also unfortunately means that Mai gaining a full understanding of Zuko’s trials would be disadvantageous to the story. If she knew everything about him and still wanted him to stay, it would give Zuko more cause than he should have to remain in the Fire Nation, but if she knew and encouraged him to leave and join the Avatar, it would rob Zuko of the triumph of making this decision on his own. In other words, there are good narrative reasons for keeping Mai in the dark; it just doesn’t make their relationship any stronger.

The seeds of a genuine redemption arc (one that includes some sort of moral realization and change to her moral framework) for Mai would have to have been planted far earlier than five episodes from the end of the series, but doing so would have of necessity detracted from Zuko's own character arc and the realizations that he makes despite his attachment to Mai (or more specifically to their relationship, which I feel like he was clinging to more out of a sense of abject loneliness he couldn't shake rather than genuine feelings and emotional connection).

So, in my mind, since we're tackling this with an eye towards getting rid of maiko with the fewest ripples to the overall story anyway, the easiest way to do this would be make one slight change to the end of the Boiling Rock two-parter--have Ty Lee (who had always been the least gung-ho of the trio about bowing to Azula's whims and had to be textually threatened into joining her in the first place) save Zuko's life, and then have Mai (who showed the most genuine affection for Ty Lee anyway) save Ty Lee. I love Zuko more than I fear you always fell flat for me as some epic declaration of love, anyway, since a) Zuko is not around to hear it, and b) unlike Ty Lee, she never showed much fear of Azula to begin with, so it wasn't a very high bar to clear. It was a cool line that was entirely unearned, and I don't think it would be missed, there would be some cute mailee crumbs this way, and a throwaway line of getting them released from the prison after the war ended could wrap up their presence in the story pretty nicely.

Now, kataang is a little trickier, if only because the last leg of Aang's character arc is almost completely derailed by his refusal to let go of his possessive attachment to Katara, to the point where he never naturally reopens his chakras, he has to have the Rock of Destiny hit him in just the right place, and the deus ex lionturtle there to give him a way out of having to make a hard moral choice. (I've maintained for years that if you work the final act of your main character's overall arc in such a way that it could have been solved by one good session with a chiropractor, something got fucked along the way.)

The thing about Aang's chakras is that, narratively, his whole thing with Guru Pathik and leaving his training early to save his friends was basically his version of Luke running away from his training with Yoda on Degobah because of his Force vision, only to find out that his friends were in the process of rescuing themselves and then losing his hand because he hadn't completed the most crucial part of his training. What's missing, therefore, from the last act of Aang's character arc, is the return.

See, in Star Wars, Luke pretty explicitly makes the wrong choice when he chooses to prioritize saving his friends over attaining enlightenment and fully mastering the Force. It was the only choice he could have made, but it was still the wrong one--because, like Aang, his friends did not actually need him to save them, he actually almost makes it harder for them to get away by requiring them to save him because, like Aang, he loses a battle in a very critical way. This was a lesson he desperately needed to learn, and it is clear he has learned it by the time he makes it back to Degobah and witnesses the end of Yoda's life, his own enlightenment having already been reached.

But Aang never goes back to the Guru.

And the text refuses to allow us to sit with the fact that he made the wrong choice in prioritizing his attachment to Katara over his ability to master the Avatar State. He is actually narratively vindicated about it, because the plot bends itself into a pretzel so that he doesn't have to spend any time during the last book trying to reopen his chakras and regain access to the Avatar State, handed both in the final battle with no excess effort on his part, and handed the girl into the bargain. (The girl who never even wanted him, so far as we can tell from all the lack of cues she gave him that she actually returned his feelings.)

And I think this could have been solved with a few scattered scenes. Let Katara actually have some agency in her own romantic relationship (or lack thereof), insofar as noticing Aang's advances and clueing the audience in to how she actually feels. Let Aang struggle with the fact that he can't reach the Avatar State, that his mastery of the elements is in limbo because he can't access his full power, rather than ignoring all of this until the end of the show. If we're trying to keep the shape of the last season roughly the same, let Katara confront Aang about the invasion kiss.

This would have been the perfect time to establish that Katara actually does feel some type of way about Aang prior to the epilogue, and it could have saved us from the exceedingly cringey EIP kiss that Aang never apologized for. How it comes across now, of course, is that Katara basically pretends it never even happened, to the point where she doesn't even know what Aang is talking about during EIP until he reminds her--the death knell for any shot their relationship had at looking requited, because I can tell you, as someone who's been a teenage girl, if someone I had conflicted but burgeoning romantic feelings for had kissed me, I would not have completely forgotten about it only a few weeks later--and we never get any indication as to what she actually felt about the kiss (which was not mutual, despite what Aang's dialogue in the EIP scene implies) except for the fact that she looked away and frowned afterwards. (A change mandated by Bryke, who wanted to leave her feelings completely ambiguous; the original storyboards had her smiling to herself.)

So, with an eye towards wrapping up Aang's puppy love crush and establishing Katara's distinct lack of romantic feelings for him, have her talk to him about the kiss. A good frame of reference for this would be Meng's conversation with Aang in "The Fortuneteller", where she finally realizes that he doesn't like her in the same way she likes him. Katara and Aang's conversation about the invasion kiss could be a callback to this, with Aang having some important realizations--that just because Katara doesn't share his feelings doesn't mean she loves him any less, and just because he can't have her the way he wanted doesn't mean he has to love her any less, that she doesn't belong to him but that's ok, because she's still his family and they'll always have each other's backs. Which could have functioned well in helping him take another step towards unblocking his chakras. Going back to the Guru directly may not have worked, since by this point in the story we're hurtling towards the final confrontation and Sozin's Comet, but let Aang reflect on what the Guru told him with new understanding granted him by his experiences throughout the first half of the season.

To keep the stakes high and up the suspense, obviously, he shouldn't have fully unlocked his chakras and the AS before the final fight, but the seeds could be planted--little moments like a talk with Katara about the invasion kiss, maybe a little more empathy and understanding from him about why Katara needs closure in TSR, etc--and then, during the final fight, rather than hand him all the answers on a silver platter, have him almost lose. He still can't go full Avatar, he's out of time, he still doesn't know exactly what to do about Ozai given his own pacifism and desire to preserve that part of his culture--he tries to fight but he's pretty quickly overpowered. Idk how I would've animated this, and maybe it wouldn't have looked as cool for the final fight, but the true climax of the finale was the Zuko and Azula agni kai anyway, so it hardly matters--I'm picturing him doing the rock-shield thing and going into a brief meditative state, where he finally achieves the enlightenment necessary to unlock the AS on his own, no rock of chiropracty necessary. And at this point, I'd give Ozai a Disney Death, since leaving him alive causes more problems than it solves and it's not necessary for Aang to kill him for him to die--they're fighting on a mountain ffs--but if you don't want to change that part then him figuring out energy bending as part of becoming a fully realized Avatar would at least feel more earned than the lionturtle just handing it to him. (And that could've been foreshadowed better by seeding the idea for it earlier in the season.)

After all of that, particularly if you up the emotions during the agni kai and have Zuko and Katara kiss there (or something less explicitly romantic but still tender, like a brief forehead touch), it'd feel pretty natural to have a just friends ending for Aang and Katara. Maybe a brief, slightly awkward but ultimately amiable conversation if Zuko and Katara had a ~thing at their final fight, and then the final shot of the series could be the gaang all together, maybe zutara holding hands or Katara resting her head on his shoulder or something, but since they already kissed there wouldn't feel like a need to end the whole show on romance, something which I've always felt missed the point of the series.

And then, y'know, after that, the world's your oyster! This is how I'd do it if I were trying to keep the bulk of the final season intact. Of course, breaking it all down to its component pieces and rebuilding from the ground up is also an option, but that'd probably be a longer post lol.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

they managed to massacre Aang's character and all the struggle and importance of his choice in the finale in a SINGLE page, and yet there are people who think the comics are good

and of course Katara's would have nothing to say on the matter, toootally in-character

Not to mention: yes, Zuko is right that a lifetime of indoctrination won't magically stop affecting him just because he's aware of it now, but the way the comics really said "If you're not perfect, you deserve to die. Not rehabilitation, not even incarceration despite it being an option, just straight to violent, lethal punishment" is horrying.

And lets not forget the blatant abuse apologism of having Zuko, the kid who was told by his abusive parent that his disfigurement and banishment was "for his own good" after he made one "mistake", turning to his closest friends and asking them to be his "safety net" by MURDERING HIM IF EVER STEPS OUT OF LINE - and said friends then agree to it.

Are you fucking kidding me? The real Aang would have double-down on the "You're NOT your father" bit, and the entire friend group would have been super concerned about Zuko because a victim of abuse saying they're as bad as their abuser thus deserve to die is one hell of a red flag as to how their mental health is going.

Speaking of mental health: I talk a lot about how Azula was constantly being abused by the supposed heroes in the comics, and how the justification of it is rooted in ableism, but this nonsense with Zuko asking to be put down like a dog is also peak victim blaming, and one of the few moments in which one can actually feel bad for comics!Zuko.

And it ties into a disturbing pattern I noticed among Avatar fans - and mainly Zuko fans. They don't truly understand that what Ozai put his children through was wrong, they simply think he chose the wrong kid as the escapegoat. They think Azula should have been the one that is constantly punished just for existing, while Zuko is the golden child that can do no wrong - or else.

This moment right here? With the people that he trusts agreeing to inflict violence on him if he ever makes a mistake? This is that "or else". This is literally the same mentality that led to Azula's breakdown because NO ONE CAN SURVIVE UNDER THAT MUCH PRESSURE.

And that leads us to the main reason why the comcis suck: Yang was using Zuko as a self-insert.

"Zuko‘s relationship with Ozai is something we – Mike, Brian, Dark Horse, Nickelodeon, and I – talked about extensively when we first started working together. There’s this strange thing that happens to people in power. The pressures of power often blur the lines between enemies. That’s part of what happens to Zuko here. Ozai is the only one who knows what it’s like to be Fire Lord, the only one who has the wisdom of experience. I also looked at my own life. I used to clash with my dad quite a bit when I was a teenager. However, as I grew up and found myself in roles that he used to have, I began to understand more and more of his decisions. My father isn't thoroughly evil, of course, but I imagine Zuko feels a little of the same pull."

Yang. My guy. My dude. The words "Ozai" and "wisdom" should NEVER be in the same sentence. Every single action of Ozai's as Fire Lord was based on him being an abusive piece of shit that finally got access to absolute power. He is not a stern dad, he is abusive. He's not misunderstood, he needed to be stopped and locked away. He is a human being with feelings and motivations, yes, but he is WRONG ABOUT LITERALLY EVERYTHING EVER. He NEVER had a point. Zuko has nothing to learn from him except what NOT to do. That's why he looks like an older, unscarred Zuko. A version of Zuko that never changed.

This is the core issue of the comics, and why it had so many moments of unintentional abuse apologism: they say Ozai is a villain, but they're going out of their way to constantly make the characters come dangerously close to saying "Maybe he had a point." That's why they have Zuko turn to Ozai for advice despite claiming he wants to avoid becoming like him - because the guy writting them couldn't understand that the bad guy was, in fact, bad and in the wrong and has no wisdom to offer to anyone.

Avatar, the series, is about the world moving past from the sick mentality people like Ozai had, and about his son realizing that he did not deserve to be abused. The Avatar Comics are about telling Zuko (and others) "Ozai isn't wrong actually, you'll understand when you're older."

No, Yang, they won't. Because there's nothing to "understand" here other than THE GUY THAT ABUSED HIS CHILDREN AND COMMITED GENOCIDE WAS WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING, YOU DUMBASS!

Saying "the villain had a point" does not make a story better unless it is true - and in Ozai's case, it simply isn't. Insisting otherwise doesn't make the story and characters more mature, it just means you couldn't understand a cartoon aimed at 7-year-olds despite being a grown-ass man.

And I won't even get into Bryke approving of this bullshit otherwise I'll start tearing my hair out in rage at how badly they seem to have lost touch with the message of their best work, so let me just use a simple statemet to make everyone understand just how much of a disaster this is:

Even M. Night Shyamalan didn't misunderstand ATLA to the point of thinking Ozai wasn't actually wrong, but Bryan, Mike and Yang did. The comics understand the show less than M. Night Shyamalan did.

I rest my fucking case.

[redbayly]

Had to do another rambling because some Antis got their panties in a twist.

After posting my very clearly tagged Zutara headcanons last night, I saw a post in the Zutara tag this morning where some Antis were ranting about their usual nonsense.

I would've just blocked and moved on, but something caught my attention about the post. I realized what they were talking about was very likely a reference to my post from last night.

I don't remember all the details (I did end up blocking them), but the crux of their complaint was that Zutara shippers steal Kataang dynamics or something. Specifically, they were calling out a recent post about Katara and Zuko traveling around helping people (which I talked a lot about in my post, so that's why I think it was me they were calling out) and that that is exclusively a Kataang thing that I stole and applied to Zutara. Also, someone in the comments had added that, if Zuko ever did go around helping people it would only be with Mai.

There was also a lot of whining about seeing Zutara stuff when they were looking for Kataang. As if I hadn't clearly tagged my post as Zutara and even used the word within the first few sentences to let the reader know what the post was about.

(For pity's sake, moderate your tags or skip over something with a tag you don't like! It's not difficult!).

But back to the main argument that Zuko and Katara wouldn't travel around helping people together and that that is exclusive to Kataang.

That is absolute bullshit.

First off, it was a headcanon of mine and I can headcanon what I damn well please (as can everybody else).

Secondly, what even is that argument they were making? Did they completely ignore the fact that both Zuko and Katara are good-hearted, helpful people who are trying to make the world a better place? We see numerous instances in canon of them helping others for the sole reason that it's just their nature to do so. In fact, if anything, they are more likely to seek out people to help out of pure altruism than Aang, who usually just sort of stumbles across people in trouble and helps because it's his job as Avatar.

(I'm not insulting Aang. I'm just saying that he's more likely to goof off and avoid getting involved in something if he thinks it's not serious enough, whereas Katara and Zuko are more likely to leap at opportunities to be helpful).

A third reason this is ridiculous is that Aang doesn't own a monopoly on doing good or helping the world. Zuko was already planning to make changes to heal the damage the Fire Nation caused. He's an "idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor." Do the Antis really think he would sit around on his ass while there are orphans to feed and towns to rebuild and justice to be restored? Also, why would Katara not be out there doing her all to help the world regardless of whether Aang is involved or not? Katara "never turns her back on people who need [her]" so I doubt she'd let anyone decide for her whether she travels around to fix people's problems.

I could go on and on about why this Anti-Zutara argument was stupid, but I've addressed the main points.

So, I'll say this one last time. If you dislike Zutara, read the damn tags and avoid the post you don't want to see. Don't whine about it and make up nonsensical arguments for your faux outrage. Leave Zutara shippers alone and let us have our headcanons.

You already got your ship in Bryke's canon. Just let us enjoy our headcanons in peace.

[gemgirl28]

@jasmine-tea-latte sent me a trick or treat so how bout a little Halloween drabble? 👻🎃

Zuko sighed, pulling another tray of “mummy” pastries from the oven. He thought Iroh had gone overboard with the Halloween theming this year, but his uncle refused to cut back on the decor or themed food. For whatever reason, Iroh would simply smile at Zuko and say some nonsense about celebrating the seasons in their time. The store was draped in fake cobwebs with glitter spiders, pumpkins replaced votive candles, and someone had found jelly stickers that spelled “Trick or Treat” in the window.

It was, in Zuko’s opinion, all too kindergarten class party for his taste, but he’d given up arguing.

Instead he set the mummies aside to cool and grabbed a tray of pumpkin scones to refill the display case. He figured they had another hour or so to enjoy a bit of quiet before the trick or treaters (with their over tired parents) started coming by.

Zuko had just placed the last scone when the doorbell rang. His usual customer greeting died on his lips when he realized who was standing at the counter.

“Hi Zuko,” Katara said, smiling.

“Katara!” He came around the counter and pulled her into a hug. “I didn’t think you’d be back for another week!”

She squeezed him tight, and he let himself bask in the hug.

“I changed my flight at the last minute. I was ready to be back. Besides,” she said, pulling back but not out of his hold, “Halloween is my favorite, and I wanted to be in the city for it.”

Suddenly, Iroh’s insistence on the over the top decor made sense.

“Of course it is,” Zuko said with an exaggerated eye roll. “What are you going to be this year?”

“I hadn’t decided yet,” she said, suddenly blushing. “You see, there’s this guy I like, and I’ve been seeing him for a little while, but I’m not sure if it’s long enough to ask him to dress up with me.”

He kissed her, fighting a grin in favor of savoring her being back.

“For you? Of course I will,” he finally said.

“How do you know I was talking about you? Maybe I was going to ask my other boyfriend.”

“Ha ha,” he said, and kissed her again.

Maybe Halloween wasn’t so bad after all.

Trick or Treat!

[empressofthesunwriter]

Yin and Yang: Book 1.13

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Book 1.13: The Blue Spirit

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. 

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. 

Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua. 

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone. 

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

***

A pot with vegetable soup was sitting on the fire pit Hua made.

The Daimon stirred the soup and tasted it.

“Mmh, a bit more salt.”, she mumbled to herself.

She added the spice, as Katara called out to her: “How is the soup going, Hua?”

“Nearly done, Katara, how is our patient?”

Together they looked at poor sick Sokka. He was lying against Appa, coughing and sweaty, huddled in his sleeping bag. 

Thank the spirits they had found this old ruin to make camp or Sokka would suffer more.

At least here they were safe from the weather and it was cosy warm.

Katara pressed a wet rag onto Sokka's forehead.

“This should bring your fever down.”, she cooed at her brother.

Hua put the soup in a bowl and joined them.

“Here Sokka, something to eat. It will help you too.”

But the older boy was so delirious from his fever that he just said: “You know what I love about Appa the most? His sense of humour.”

“That's nice. I'll tell him.”, said Katara a bit amused.

Appa growls.

Sokka laughs. “Classic Appa.”

“Come Sokka, eat a bit of the soup.”, pleaded Hua and raised the spoon towards his mouth. “It will help.”

“I want meat soupy.”, he whined like a child.

The Daimon signed so Katara shovelled the soup down her brother's throat. 

At least he eats it like that.

That’s when Aang returns from his little scavenger trip.

“How's Sokka doing?”

“Not so good.”, tells Hua with crossed arms.

“Being out in that storm really did a number on him.”, adds Katara, shovelling the last bit of soup down his throat.

The sick Sokka gulps down his soup but starts sniffing pitifully.

“I couldn't find any ginger root for the tea, but I found a map.”, explained Aang, putting said map on the floor. “There's an herbalist institute on top of that mountain. We could probably find a cure for Sokka there.”

“Aang, he's in no condition for travel. Sokka just needs more rest. I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow.”, says Katara, however suddenly she starts coughing too.

This alarms Hua and Aang.

“Not you, too!”, they shout together.

“Relax, it was just a little cough. I'm fi-”

She coughs again, this time with greater force, and lightly groans after.

“It’s like how Sokka started yesterday.”, reminds Hua. “Now look at him, he thinks he is an earthbender like me.”

“Take that, you rock!”

“See?!”, waves Hua to Sokka as flails his arms as if he is hitting something.

“A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense, too. I'm going to go find some medicine.”, decides Aang. He grabs his glider and begins to head out just as a flash of lightning strikes. “Uh, maybe it's safer if I go on foot.”

The black-haired girl steps towards him and holds him by the shoulder.

“Wait a second Aang.”

“Mmh?”

Hua gives him a big hug, which makes both blush, as she whispers in his ear: “I take care of Sokka and Katara, you be careful. You will be all alone, the last we need is you getting captured by Prince Zuko or somebody else.”

Aang hugs her back, nodding.

“I promise.”

They let go of each other and with a last smile, Aang runs out of the ruin.

The girl signs, wondering why her stomach feels all flattery before she turns to the water tribe siblings.

“Don’t worry guys, I will take care of you.”, she promises.

From her friends came only pitiful groans.

A sweatdrop runs down Hua's forehead.

Well, better start caring for them.

So Hua helps Katara into her sleeping back and feeds her then with the soup.

Then she rotatory wipes away the sweat on her friends faces and entertains Sokka's hallucinations.

This goes on for a while, with wiping their face and giving them food and entertaining them, till Hua notes they are out of water.

“So thirsty.”, croaks Sokka.

“I know Sokka.”, coos Hua at him. “I will take a quick trip to the river and fill our water skins, okay?”

“Be careful”, coughs Katara, even sick she still worries for her.

“I promise, maybe Aang will be back then. He is taking his sweet time.”, grumbles Hua a bit.

She really hoped he was just taking his time and not something terrible happened to him.

With a sign, she slugs the water skins to herself, gets out of the ruin and earthbends an avalanche under her with it she surfes down to the river.

As she reaches the river and starts to fill the first water skin, she feels eyes on her.

Fast she twirles around and creates a whole of ice between her and the unknown danger.

“An arrow?”, she mumbles stupified.

More arrows struck the wall before two more landed in the same spot and sliced the arrows that came before it. 

The ice cracks and another set of arrows pin the green sleeves of her kimono top to a fallen tree in the water.

Before she can react a net is launched at her.

Scary Hua looks into the face of the archer who captures her.

Who are this?

And what are they gonna do to her?

***

As it turns out they cart her into a Fire Nation fortress and lock her up in a cell.

Hua was bound at her legs and arms with chains, barely able to move. 

Angrily she struggles against the chains.

Oh, whoever did this to her will pay?!

Her cell door opens and Commander Zhao enters with a smug look on his stupid face.

She growls at him.

“Feisty aren’t we?”, he musses and stands before her. “So this is the great Daimon. One of the two masters of all the elements. I don't know how you've managed to elude the Fire Nation for a hundred years, but your little game of hide and seek is over.”

“I will show you who is feisty!”, she growls back. “Untie me and I will make you pay for implying that I hide from cowards like you!”

“Uhh, no. Tell me, how is it to find yourself in a world where all your loved ones are dead?”

Anraged Hua shows him her teeth. How she wants to bite this asshole!

“Don't worry, you won't be killed. See, if you die you will just be reborn and the Fire Nation would have to start searching all over again. Even if you would be reborn in the Fire Nation. We simply don’t have time for this. So I'll keep you alive, but just barely.”

The arrogant asshole turns his back on her to step out of the cell, as Hua takes a deep breath and spits a fire stream after him.

Sadly he can bend it away.

“Nice little trick, who taught you this?”

“I learned it myself!”

Strangely Zhao laughs and the next words make Hua shiver all over. “You are indeed a feist one, the Avatar just attacked me with an airblast, but you…you were going for the kill.”

“Avatar…”, she repeats shocked. “You have Aang?!”

“We caught him before you. Sadly you won’t be seeing him, who knows what you two would do together.”

With a last arrogant smirk Zhao leaves, leaving a panicked Hua behind.

Oh no.

Oh no!

OH NO!

This was so bad you needed a new word for bad!

The Fire Nation had both of them.

Oh spirits!

Angry tears fall from Hua’s green eyes as she tries to free herself.

She needs to get out and find Aang!

How long she tries to free herself she can’t tell, only how out of nowhere she hears battle sounds.

Surprised she looks up and that’s when Aang steps into the room!

“Aang!”

“Hua!”

He runs up to her and hugs her the best he can.

“Did they hurt you?”, he asked worried, taking her face in his hands.

“No, No. Did you get hurt?”, she asked back, looking him up and down.

“No, I’m fine too.”

Both signs relieved, then Aang steps away, Hua misses his hands on her face, and a tall man in all black with a blue spirit mask steps towards her.

“Aang, who is this?!”, she asked scared.

“A friend. He released me.”, he explains. “He will do the same for you. Don’t get scared of his swords.”

Hua does haven’t the time as Blue (she will call him this in her head) takes out Duo-Swords and frees her from her bindings.

She thanked her saviour with a bow, and then she and Aang embraced each other again, happy the other was okay and that they were together again.

The Daimon can’t explain since when she craved so much Aang touch, she just knows she felt safe and happy in his arms.

“Yeah, you are right, we should go.”, says Aang to Blue, who had pointed at the cell door.

The Avatar and Daimon take each other hand and follow Blue through the fortress.

They managed to reach the innermost wall of the fortress, scaling it on a rope as they got spotted!

A soldier appears at the top of the wall they are climbing. He cuts the rope and the trio falls down the wall.

Thankful Aang airbends them to a soft landing. 

When the dust clears, the Blue Spirit unsheathes his swords and they run.

A wild prison breaks take place, where they have to fight and climb up the walls of the fortress.

Thanks that Hua was an earthbender, she just smashed holes into the walls, where they could escape.

They are nearing the last wall, however, four firebenders unleash their flame on them, but Aang and Hua put the masked man behind them and he airbends and she firebends the flames away.

“Hold your fire!”, commands Zhao. “The Avatar and Daimon must be captured alive!”

The Blue Spirit instantly comes up behind the two children and crosses his swords in front of their throats, surprising Aang and Hua.

A stand-off takes place, in which Zhao gives in and commands to open the gates.

The gate is opened and the Blue Spirit backs out with his captives, swords still at their throats.

The Blue Spirit continues backing away from the fortress. Zhao now looks on from the top of the main gate.

Then all happens fast.

Hua recognizes the archers who capture her and tries to warn Blue and Aang.

“Get down!”

Blue takes the swords from their troats and wants like them to drop down to the floor, but the arrow hits him in the shoulder!

With a pained groan, their silent ally falls down on the floor.

“No!”. scream Hua and Aang together.

Aang creates a huge dusty cloud as Hua checks for Blue.

“This is bad Aang.”, she tells him. “The arrow pierced his whole shoulder, if we don’t help him, he will bleed to death.”

“Alright, let’s take him with us!”

Hua grips Blue's arms and Aang his legs, together they airbend away from the scene.

***

Luck was on their side and they reached their campsite with Blue without any more problems.

Hua and Aang put Blue on Hua's sleeping back, as Katara called out to them: “Aang, Hua, where were you, who is this?”

She coughs pititful.

“Ah, I forgot the frogs, I will be back soon, okay!”, proclaims Aang and races out.

Hua deadpan after him.

“Sure, I will try alone to save the life of our saviour.”

She signs at gets to work.

As she collected the things she needed, she explained to Katara what happened. 

Thankful her best friend was lucid enough to understand, other than Sokka who said Blue was a Demon and here to eat his heart.

Sitting beside Blue, Hua checks their supplies. Bandages and some salves. Thankful she had one full water skin before she got captured so she could clean his wound.

Careful with her knife she opened his black shirt up where the arrow had gone through and checked it.

Okay, it seemed no bone was hit, this was good and the arrow had gone through nicely.

Alright, she could do it.

First, she slowly cleaned the wounds in front and in the back with water and put the antiinfection salve on it.

Then she cut the rest of the arrow with her knife away.

Only the little bit who looked out of his back remained.

Now she needed to carefully slip it out and pray he didn’t bleed to death.

Taking a deep breath she pulled the arrow out.

Blue screamed in pain.

Katara gasped.

Sokka shrieked about how the demon hoards would come for them.

And a blood fountain gushes out from Blue wounds.

OH NO!

Shit, shit, shit!

Hua let out some really creative curses, which made Katara even more gasp, as she tried to stop the bleeding with the bandages.

They get soaked in seconds.

She tries with water to wash it out and then bandaids over.

It bleeds and bleeds and bleeds!

“Oh come on please!”, she cried, holding her wet hand on the wound. “Stop please.”

Then something unexpected happened.

Her hand and the water started to glow blue and like a miracle closed the wound!

Unellegant Hua's chin meets the floor.

What happened?

What had she done?!

Whatever it was, it had probably saved Blue life.

***

“So let me get this straight you get captured by Zhao, Blue Mask over there saves you and you manage to get him wounded and then you bring him here without knowing who he is?!”

“Sokka, he saved mine and Aang's lives he can’t be bad.”

“I don’t trust masked vigilante! They always have something to hide.”

“What done is, is done. I’m with Hua and Aang. He can’t be that bad if he saved them.”

“Katara, you are too trusting.”

Zuko woke up to loud voices squabbling over him. 

He blinked behind his mask the black dots away and turned his head.

There were the Avatar and Daimon together with the two teens of the watertribe and their three animals.

The humans were sitting around a fire, eating something which looked and smelled like soup, which made him notice how hungry he was himself.

What should he do now?

His prizes were before him, but also a bison, a kyuubi, a waterbender and a guy with a club.

He couldn’t just snatch them up.

Also, his shoulder still hurt.

No, he had to analyse the sitation before he did something stupid.

“Ah, I think our guest woke up.”, said the water tribe girl and walked over to him. With a friendly smile, she kneeled beside him, offering him a bowl of soup. “I don’t know who you are, but you saved Aang and Hua. This makes you in my eyes a friend.”

The water tribe boy groaned behind her.

Zuko just said nothing.

He wasn’t used to people who treated him nicely, well besides his uncle.

So he better stay still.

“Not a talker are ya?”, giggled the girl. She put the bowl and a spoon beside him. “You have your reason to hide your face, so no one will look when you eat. Enjoy it.”

“I still think this is stupid.”, grumbled the water tribe boy.

“Sokka, people have a right to their privacy.”, scolded the water tribe girl.

With that, she stood up and joined her friends again.

Incredibly they really turned their backs on him and talked just with each other, even if he could see how the water tribe boy fought with turning around.

Slowly Zuko got an idea.

If they already trusted him for saving the Avatar and Daimon…maybe if he stayed a few days with them, and played their ally, they would leave him eventually alone with the two youngest and he could take them to his ship and then the Fire Nation.

Yes!

He could play a few days being nice, he just hoped his uncle wouldn’t worry so much.

Maybe he could send him a message?

Whatever one thing after another.

He ate the soup, which was after years on the sea with a cook with a bad temper, really tasty and enjoyable.

Soon, he would get his honour back.

He just had to be patient.

Previous

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[leantailean]

Hey for we need to talk about toko. Have you ever shared headcanons for their wedding/proposal. In my mind zuko would be proposing and it would something very intimate for just them. I also think theyd keep keep it secret for a little bit not wanting to rush. For the wedding i like to think it would be iroh walking toph down the aisle. Modern they would so there vows private cause they both seem like people who would want to have those moments just them. Let me know what you think.

Hello anon! Thank you for such an interesting question!

  Toph is the one who figured out her feelings for Zuko first. As someone more mature and more collected, she realized how much she loved him and admitted to herself that she is in love much earlier than Zuko.

Zuko's affection for Toph grows gradually, year after year, because she is the only one of his friends who spends the most time with him after the end of the war, stays in the palace for many months, and step by step, over the the next 5-6 years, becomes the closest person for him. he consults with her on political issues, she makes dirty jokes about his ministers and generals, And they are sparring when they have some free time.

Zuko, in his usual manner, is terribly silly and cannot understand his feelings for her. He is afraid of his budding love, afraid that he will ruin everything and lose his best friend. Toph notices his awkwardness, but thinks that she was too ugly and loud for him and made him tired of their friendship. Two idiots.

At some point, Zuko talks about his confused feelings to his uncle, and he, as usual, straightens his brains out. Iroh tells him he is risking losing her. And Zuko, confused with a blushy tomato-red face, catches Toph in the garden the day before her departure home and immediately dumps on her all his feelings. There are no emotions on Toph's face, and when Zuko begins to think about whether to wait until he is hit by a boulder or is it better to burn himself on the spot, Toph suddenly and sharply flies up on a block of earth and kisses him fiercely.

She never says yes. Everything is clear between them.

Toph never comes home again.

She moves from the guest rooms, which over all these years of her frequent visits have practically become her second home, where everything is covered with earth, into the chambers of the Firelord.

Nobody knows except Iroh.

They hide their relationship very carefully from their friends, so when Katara Aang and Sokka come to visit, they don't suspect anything.

Suki guesses.

Another year goes by like this.

And suddenly everyone receives letters��inviting them to a wedding.

Zuko and Toph have two weddings.

Firelord’s wedding is a rare thing. Before almost every Firelord ascended the throne having been married already, and for a monarch wedding there was a special very long and solemn ritual. So one of them takes a whole day full of all kinds of ceremonies, worship and libations to spirits and ancestors, swearing oaths and other nonsense, so after 13 hours Zuko just wants to die, and Toph wants to kill someone. 

And the second wedding is when Toph, Zuko and 10 very close friends go far outside the city one early morning. It is a quiet  improvised wedding that is held by Avatar himself. There is traditional Fire nation and Earth Kingdom treats. In the evening everyone gather around the campfire. Iroh sings an old wedding song for a just married couple which no one of the rest of the company including Zuko has ever heard before. And finally late in the night when everyone is sleeping in their tents Toph and Zuko changed clothes and go far in the fields.

_____________

[duckiedaledeservedbetter]

finished a:tla netflix

here are some thoughts (idk, they might be controversial)

Things I liked:

Avatar itself is so good that even a bad adaptation is enjoyable, and i really enjoyed seeing the avatar world in live-action style, especially Omashu !!!

Ian Ousley was born to play Sokka idc what anybody else says, idc about the butchered character arc, or the personality changes or any of that, Ian Ousley is the live-action Sokka we deserve and he ate every scene (except one, which i WILL be mentioning later)

Like seriously Sokka has never given such big bro energy before and i'm living for it, Ian looks like Sokka, sounds like Sokka, and imo carried the show a bit.

I love a good long episode, none of this percy jackson 30 minute nonsense.

Fire Nation costumes HIT - like some of the other costumes were lacking but the fire nation uniforms and armor ? amazing.

They kept so much of the original music !!!

Honestly the bending was pretty good. i fully expected it to suck and be super cringey but there were really only a few moments of cringe for me.

Lieutenant Jee!!! best character!!! best casting!!! amazing, 10/10.

Like seriously though Omashu looked amazing, Agna Q'ela looked amazing, the southern air temple looked AMAZING.

Hahn was cute, i liked Hahn.

Blue Spirit accuracy omg i am so glad they stuck so closely to the original blue spirit storyline.

Gran gran was giving, ngl.

Again, Ian Ousley as Sokka. Show stopping.

Things I didn't like (sorry, the list is long):

sorry, gordon cormier did not do Aang justice. maybe it was the writing? idk, either way, Aang was not Aang-ing and he was honestly boring ? also i'm pretty sure Gordon is age-accurate (?) but if i had to guess his age with no prior knowledge i would guess 9. maybe 10. idk. i get that Aang is a kid but idkkkkkk I was just disappointed ig.

KATARA. ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. DON'T EVEN ASK, WE ALL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. Like, i never even liked Katara that much in the og show but dang, they ruined her.

besides katara, Iroh seemed the least character accurate to me. like, in the very first scene in the og show when Zuko is practicing his firebending iroh gets on his case for doing it wrong or whatever and he def has some attitude about it. like, Iroh isn't all chill all the time, let him have some attitude. also where was the wisdom? I felt a bit like i was watching endgame Thor - like iroh was kind of a joke? idk, i couldn't take his character seriously. the actor fell flat for me. bland. didn't sound like iroh, didn't really look like him. writing was weird.

THE PART WHERE THEY HEAL MOMO IN THE POND AND AND AND SOKKA - HUGS HIM ???? LIKE THAT ???? WHAT DID I JUST WITNESS ???? IM CRYING IT WAS SO CRINGE LIKE WHY DID I HAVE TO WATCH THAT WHAT WAS THE POINT

Maybe it was just me but Zhao's actor delivered all his lines like jokes with no punchlines. and he also was not remotely intimidating.

SORRY DANIEL DAE KIM I LOVE YOU BUT no. he didn't do Ozai justice (but really, who could possibly stand up to the performance of mark hamil?)

it wasn't funny. straight up. the whole show. just. not funny.

idk maybe i'm just a nitpicky bitch but none of the performances really hit except Ian's. that's my biggest complaint. they can change what they want (it is an "adaptation" after all) but none of the actors felt right. ig dallas liu wasn't bad ? ian ousley was great, but that's about it.

butchered bumi storyline. no thank you. i will be pretending that didn't happen.

i really just wanted to see live action sokka in kyoshi warrior makeup tbh.

ALSO STRAIGHT UP WHY DID EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER HAVE TO TALK ABOUT HOW SOKKA WASN'T A WARRIOR ??? LIKE YEAH VALIDATE HIS ENGINEERING PASSION AND WHATNOT BUT HE IS A WARRIOR? THAT IS PART OF HIS CHARACTER ? AN IMPORTANT PART ? THAT CARRIES HIS ARC TO THE VERY END OF THE SHOW ? LIKE HE IS A WARRIOR? A NON-BENDING WARRIOR ? idk man don't @ me i stan warrior sokka, it's literally a big part of the show, his growth from child to warrior, his training with piandao, his training with the kyoshi warriors, etc etc. like, it's important.

i feel like they took the wisdom and hard-hitting lines right out of the show. "youre just a child." "well, youre just a teenager." etc etc.

idk. it was fine overall. i watched it. i enjoyed it. i wish it could've been better-acted and more faithful to the original but you win some you lose some.

[megashadowdragon]

I have to be frank the claim that mako was a creators pet or Gary stu never had any merit

it amounts to people with an irrational hatred for mako daring to be flawed in a way that cant be romanticized

abusing labels to try and slap it on him

or claim that their distortion of how mako actually is ( Ron the death eater treatment)

should be how he is actually treated when its not

mako was never manipulative or a womanizer etc

he mishandled al ove triangle where korra kissed him

he should have talked to asami about it that's it

mako ending b1 in with makorra which he wanted isn't him being rewarded for those flaws he didn't need to be specifically punished t a love triangle mishap and neither did Korra ( this applys to b1 and b2

( to be honest the show should have ended with korra single with hints to makorra he didn't need to be specifically punish

( that's what the narrative pointed to when I see people make the karma argument it ignores that mako was not the only person responsible for the love triangle so claiming consequence for love triangle should mean ending the show single means all 3 of them should end the show single

( they were just dumb teenagers mako didn't need punishment for love triangle mishap ( and you can say that b2 breakup was enough consequence even if they get back together at the end of b4 (as they should have

the claims that makos mistakes in b1 or b2 should cost him trust is nonsensical

some people complain about mako doing well as a officer and possibl being promoting or whining about those two officers being incompetent/corrupt etc

saying its just having them be that way to make mako look good ( when that's what happened with katara in atla b1 with her water ending training she quickly became a waterbending master, the other students were portrayed as sloppy/bad ( getting insulted by the master)

or lazy ( in aangs )

to make katara look good

in fact with mako you can say its less egregious

aang had been ahead of katara in terms of waterbending previously

while with mako ( he had just been very successful in his job ( he used to work for the gangs) and getting a job as an officer in the 1900's was a quick process.

and lin called him out when he messed up ( with how angry she got

the claim about mako needing to be humbled has always been absurd mako was never really arrogant

I feel bryke just let themselves listen to the fans  ( wthe people who can only see mako as having had two girls be into him and a good job ignoring all the suffering that mako did need to go through  in his life ( and his lack of arrogance)

 they let themselves listen to the cool guy mako idea ( at least they didn't listen to the worst aspects of fandoms view ( I feel like bryke shouldn't have listened to the fandoms concerns 

[the-badger-mole]

💭

Excerpt from Down the Road and Back Again Chapter 5

They fell into a comfortable silence as they continued their meal. Every so often, Katara or Tenzin would remark on Hakoda’s cooking, and Hakoda would preen and insist that it was nothing special. The tension from earlier seemed to have dissipated, at last, Katara noted with relief. As long as Tenzin refrained from mentioning Aang or his upcoming wedding, Katara thought the visit would pass pleasantly.

“There’s a lot that’s changed since the last time you were here, Ten,” Hakoda remarked. “Your uncle was working on some plans to incorporate more traditional Southern Water Tribe architecture into the main buildings, and your cousin Amaruq has been working with the designers to have them readied for all the modern amenities.” The mood changed as soon as Amaruq’s name was mentioned. Tenzin sat up straight, and his face became hard as stone. He had never looked more like Katara’s child than at that moment. 

“Granddad, I respectfully ask that you not mention Amaruq or Yue to me,” he said.

“Tenzin, what are you talking about?” Katara asked. “They’re your cousins.”

“And they insulted my father!” Tenzin snapped. Katara flinched back in surprise. She had never seen Tenzin so angry.

“It can’t have been that bad,” Katara tried to reason with him. “I said some...unkind things about your father, too.” 

“ You didn’t call him an abuser!” Tenzin’s face flushed again, but this time with anger. “Mom, after you left...the things they said! And Aunt Suki didn’t stop them either!”

“Oh…” Katara sank back into her chair. Tenzin watched here expectantly, waiting, Katara assumed, for her to contradict them.

“Mom,” he prompted her, “it’s all nonsense! Dad never hurt you.” Katara winced and lowered her gaze. 

“Tenzin, I don’t want to talk about this,” she said. “Yue and Amaruq shouldn’t have said what they did-”

“ No , they shouldn’t have,” Tenzin’s brows furrowed and he leaned forward. “Dad never put a hand on you!”

“Tenzin, your mother said she doesn’t want to discuss this,” Hakoda warned him. Tenzin rounded on his grandfather angrily. 

“It’s not just about her!” he reminded Hakoda. “My father went through this divorce, too!”

“Your father ,” Hakoda spat the word out like a curse, “is the reason the divorce happened in the first place!”

“Dad,” Katara tugged at Hakoda’s sleeve. “Calm down.” Hakoda took a deep breath, patting Katara’s hand. 

“Is that what everyone thinks?” Tenzin demanded. He slammed his hands down on the table and stood up. “That Dad is some kind of monster who...who brutalized you?” 

“Tenzin, that’s not what anyone thinks,” Katara tried to placate her son. “Things between your father and I were...unhealthy.”

“ Unhealthy ?” Tenzin gawped at Katara. “ Mom! Do you know what they’re accusing Dad of?”

“We’re accusing him of abandoning his family!” Hakoda told Tenzin. “We’re accusing him of neglecting your mother!”

“He didn’t abandon or neglect anyone!” Tenzin’s voice echoed off of the walls. 

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Katara said quietly. 

“Aang left your mother alone to raise three children on her own!” Hakoda countered angrily. “He kept such a tight grip on those purse strings that she had to take up healing part-time just to keep you all fed! That’s not even touching on all the women he carried on with!”

“Dad is the Avatar! If he left us behind sometimes , it’s because duty made him! And we never went hungry!”

“No,” Hakoda laughed. “You didn’t go hungry, because your mother wouldn’t have let that happen. Aang, on the other hand-”

“Stop talking about my father that way!”

“Stop fighting,” Katara raised her voice a bit louder.  Tenzin turned to her, a confused and wounded look in his eyes. 

“Mom, tell him that Dad never hurt you,” he pleaded. “I know you’re upset about the divorce, but the things they’re saying about him aren’t fair!”

“Tenzin, I told you, I don’t want to talk about it!” Katara balled her hands into fists and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. “ Both of you drop it, now!” Hakoda dropped his gaze contritely. 

“I’m sorry,” he said. Tenzin was still standing, his chest heaving and his bottom lip firmly between his teeth. 

“Is that really what you’re going to let people think?” Tenzin asked Katara. “You’re just going to let them think he treated you that badly?” 

“Tenzin-”

“ No, Mom! ” Tenzin’s face twisted in disgust. “Everyone in this family is treating Dad like he’s some sort of monster. Well...maybe he was right to leave you, if this is how you talk about him behind his back!”

“ That’s enough! ” Hakoda jumped in. 

“I deserve to know why you’re all jumping on my father like this!” Tenzin shouted. “I’m the only one he has left on his side! I deserve to know why you turned everyone against him, Mom!”

“It’s complicated.” It hurt to speak. Katara’s throat had constricted as tightly as the rest of her body. Her nails had dug into the palms of her hands, and Katara knew she’d have to heal the cuts later.  But Tenzin didn’t notice. 

“Explain it to me,” he demanded. He sat in his chair and pulled it up to the table, leaning across so Katara couldn’t avoid his eyes.

“Being married to your father was like being in a cage,” Katara told him. “He kept me so tight that I couldn’t breathe. There are a lot of ways to mistreat someone, Tenzin. You don’t have to be violent, just selfish. He put me in a position where I had to raise three children on my own and make sure his life was in order. He didn’t help. He just gave me more and more work until my entire world was him and you kids. Just because your father never intentionally hurt me physically doesn’t mean he didn’t hurt me.

Tenzin pulled away from his mother. He swallowed hard a few times before he could get his jaw working again. 

“I’m sorry,” he said at last, “that we were such a burden to you.” 

“That’s not what I meant,” Katara said firmly. 

“That’s what it sounds like from here!” Tenzin leaped out of his seat again. Katara stood up, too, reaching out for him, but not quite daring to touch him. 

“I love you kids! I loved raising you. But that didn’t mean that I didn’t need more from your father! I worked for him full time, you know! Even when he was gone, I was still working on his behalf, but he didn’t see a need to make sure I had enough money to feed us! I had to take on healing work because he wouldn’t make sure we had what we needed! And then he resented my work because it took my attention from him. ”

Tenzin drew his arms tightly around himself and shook his head. 

“We were fine,” he said quietly. “If Dad was so awful, then why do I only have good memories of him? Why do I remember him taking us with him whenever he could?” Katara lowered her eyes sadly and shook her head. 

“He took you with him,” she said quietly. 

Want to know what my favorite scenes from my stories are? Drop a 💭 in my asks!

[flameohotwife]

6, 7, and 15 for the Fanfic Writer Ask Game!

AHHHHH HI RACH!!! I was so happy to see this in my inbox. Apologies for taking a bit to answer--the weekend got busier than expected 😅

6. Have you written any fanfictions featuring OCs? If so, elaborate! I have not been very good about creating OCs, given that fanfic was supposed to be my gateway back into writing original fiction, but I do have a few OCs that show up in verrryyyy minor roles in some of my fics. Most recently, Dr. Li, a FN royal doctor who takes care of Katara in my kataang fake dating fic Unspoken, Undeniable (rated T). She is no-nonsense and will not let her patient's room become a political battleground; very strict but attentive and caring.

7. What’s a troupe you love to write? Because I love to write for Kataang, I obviously loooove writing best-friends-to-lovers. I am a big fluff fan but also like to write kataangst from time to time, especially if it's character exploration and especially especially if it has to do with Aang's grief.

15. Are there words, phrases, mannerisms or scenes you tend to use a lot? Oh my goodness yes. In my last fic I had Aang kissing Katara's hair so much I was starting to cringe at myself. I also have them rub each other's hands with their thumbs while holding hands and talking about something difficult or deep in almost every fic. I find myself wondering how many hugs is too many, but also... has anyone seen this show? They hug ALL THE TIME!

Thank you SO MUCH for playing the Fanfic Writer Ask Game, friend!

[ultranos]

It looks like if Ursa wants to build any kind of relationship with her daughter in Go Fish AU she's going to need to invest a lot in acceptance and respect because it doesn't look like feral gremiling Azula is going to cut off parts of herself to fit whatever 'perfectly suitable princess' idea Ursa or the Fire Nation have, let alone accept someone talking nonsense about her NWT family or trying to hurt them. Come to think of it, it already started badly with the whole 'kill the moon' thing :p

It gets even more fraught for Ursa if we go with something I was spitballing with @lightdancer1 last night. For a few reasons, it ends up that Yue and Azula aren't technically adopted siblings here. Enough people are probably a little wary of the idea of a Fire National getting that close to an inherited seat of power, even via adoption, that Arnook decides against it. Not that it stops the girls from effectively thinking of each other as such. Nor, really, from being adopted family at all.

Arnook instead convinces his cousin to adopt this feral storm child La sent them instead. And the cousin talks it over with his husband and the two agree.

"Congratulations, it's a firebender," Arnook says as he gently shoves the bewildered looking girl at them.

(As a side-note, I suppose I should note here that the NWT is still very much a gender-segregated society. It's just the NWT acknowledges the existence of more than two genders and that it can be a spectrum. However, that means that transboy is a boy and off to class with Master Pakku he goes.

Essentially, Azula as gets slotted into "not girl" and "not boy" by NWT standards, mostly by being Other, which is how everyone deals with the cognitive dissonance and weirdshit.

Ultimately, this ends up eventually giving Katara's entrance and stand in the NWT a greater knock-on effect, and it is not limited to female benders. Katara is still the one who carves out space for her own damn self and dares everyone else to complain about it.)

Which means that between two NWT dads and her own personality, Azula starts to basically look more like San from Princess Mononoke than an actual princess from the Fire Nation's perspective.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://www.tumblr.com/mokkamicci/708045503336775680/kataang-vs-zutara-a-small-chat

This accidentally came up on my dash so I thought I’d give it a read and you know what? They were so close - so gosh darn close - to making a couple of really good points, but they kept losing it. I was willing to hear them out, but they lost me when they started talking about Aang’s character traits.

Honestly, I think you're being too kind. I see someone who is not okay with harrassment, but that is perfectly happy living in an echo-chamber where the only thing that exists is their alternative version of Avatar in which Katara never liked Aang and he was terrible, and, more importantly, an alternative reality in which the poor zutarians are just "fighting back" against the evil Kataang fans by *checks notes* accusing them of pedophilia, rape apologism, racism, and misogyny for shipping Kataang instead of zutara, and thus using that as justification for doxxing and sending rape/death threats.

(Seriously, the dick sucking and constant "BUT I DO LOVE OUR OBVIOUSLY SUPERIOR SHIP" after the tiniest criticism is the biggest proof of the zutara fandom having some serious issues. Even zutarians are scared of speaking out against their so-called friends because they KNOW these fuckers are unstable and impossible to reason with).

Aang is a child that wants to have fun instead of fighting a war - a responsibility that he never asked for and has no way of rejecting. He feels trapped because he is, and that upsets him. That's his only "immaturity."

The most selfish we've seen him be was when he hid the map to their dad from Katara and Sokka, because he was afraid THEY were going to leave him - because they were the only 'family' he had left, and he was scared of being all alone. He still realized what he did was wrong and confessed. He wasn't caught, he decided, of his own free will, to tell the truth and suffer the consequences.

And I gotta laugh whenever Zutarians pretend AANG was the character that had trouble putting people's needs before his own, not their "perfect", beloved Zuko, who literally let his uncle go to prison just so he could be on Ozai's good graces again - Ozai is literally the ONLY person Zuko always put before himself, and that's why he ended up trapped in that abusive situation for so long: he was constantly distancing himself from people that could help, because they weren't saying what he wanted to hear.

The only thing that's funnier is their insistence that Kataang is one-sided despite plenty of evidence that Katara liked Aang back, meanwhile they insist zutara is canon when neither character was explicitly stated or implied to have feelings for the other.

So much for "Zutara fans criticise the Kataang ship with logic and facts." If that shit is logic and facts, I don't even wanna know what lies and nonsense would look like.

[firelxdykatara]

Katara x Aang :3c

are you trying to get me in trouble

-cough-

no but in all honesty, my genuine feelings about kataang boil down to three major points: 1. it's boring, and does not jive thematically with either of their character arcs, to the point of, 2. actively hampering character development on both sides, and 3. katara deserved better.

points expanded under the cut. (please, if you're a kataang shipper and you see this, just keep scrolling. i've tagged it appropriately and put the bulk under a cut and at this point that's literally all i can do lmfao.)

send me a ship and get my (brutally) honest opinion!

1. It's Boring: This is the most subjective point on the list (I mean, in fairness, it's all subjective, but I have evidence from the show and post-canonical materials to support my other points; this one is just preference), but there's just... nothing to kataang. It's cute (when it's not actively aggravating), and... that's about it. It's not even that I dislike friends-to-lovers as a shipping trope (though it's not my overall preference), because there are a lot of friends-to-lovers couples that I do ship (kanej comes to mind, also will/elizabeth from potc, karolsen from supergirl, romione and hinny from hp, among others), but one thing that I think all of those couples have that kataang doesn't is that both sides of the pairing are teens or adults when they get together, with teen/adult dynamics and issues and stories to deal with, rather than one half being a teenager and the other being literally prepubescent.

And don't get me wrong, I have no problem with age gap ships in general. And as far as atla goes, Katara, at 14, has the same age difference from Zuko (16) as Aang has from her, and it's never stopped me--because both Katara and Zuko are well into puberty when they meet and I have no problem picturing them being into one another and growing together as they enter adulthood. Aang, on the other hand, is a child. And he acts like it. Which wouldn't be a problem, if the show weren't expecting me to believe he is a) ready for a romantic relationship, and b) ready for one specifically with Katara, who is not only older and far more mature but is specifically cast as his caretaker in a very maternal role for the entire show's run.

This show asks me to believe that a teenage girl well into adolescence is going to be attracted to and develop romantic feelings for a pre-adolescent child--and it asks me to believe this while showing us otherwise that Katara's type is actually older boys with fabulous hair and angsty pasts in all of her other potential romantic dalliances--and then enter into a relationship with him, all while ignoring the elephant in the room that is the fact that she was basically acting like his mother for the entire series to that point. (Something that is heavily lampshaded earlier in the very same season.) That just stretches the bounds of credulity way too far for me, especially when there's no evidence that Katara herself would get anything out of their romantic relationship.

There's nothing there for me to sink my teeth into. No delicious development, no parallels where they help each other grow, no internal conflicts that they have to work through together, nothing. Certainly no reason for me to actually believe Katara feels (or would grow to feel) anything for him other than the platonic affection of a caretaker. I can easily believe she loves him dearly, as a friend and quasi-little-brother, but I just can't see that developing naturally into romantic love--not the way it's presented in the show.

And even if they did manage to at least make the development of Katara's feelings believable, unless they changed something fundamental about the nature of their relationship, it'd still be boring, so.

2. It Actively Hampers Their Character Development--On Both Sides: I've written before (extensively lol im so sorry) about how kataang is actively detrimental to Katara and to Aang. In short (because ye gods this post is already getting long enough), Katara is narratively harmed by being shoved into a relationship that completely ignores her stated feelings--a relationship that had been presented as a one-sided puppylove crush for the vast majority of the series--and it inhibits her growth as a character in ways that become far more obvious in the comics and lok, where the very same creative forces that lead to her beginning a relationship with Aang in the first place reduce her to 'the Avatar's girl' and very little else, all the way through to the end of LoK (where she is a Healer and the Avatar's wife and, again, very little else).

As for Aang:

As to how this relationship is detrimental to Aang (other than the comics and LoK nonsense)? Just take a look at book 2, when he’s trying to learn Earthbending from Toph. Katara constantly coddles him. Much of the time, she’s afraid to be anything other than gentle and understanding with Aang--partly because of her fear that if she pushes him too far, he’ll run away. (Which he does, several times.) But sometimes, what Aang needs to grow is a sharp kick in the slats, which Toph was more than willing to provide--and which worked. Katara was great for teaching Aang to waterbend, but he needed more than that to grow as a person. And he can’t get that while he’s in a relationship with someone who will apologize for getting upset when he was very explicitly neglecting her.

In addition, it is pointed out by Guru Pathik at the end of Book 2 that one of Aang's chakras is blocked by his attachment to Katara. Aang takes this to mean (incorrectly) that he has to stop loving her in order to become fully realized as an Avatar, but this is actually part of the problem--because the issue isn't that he is in love with Katara, it's that he's possessively attached to her. He believes himself entitled to her love in return, rather than selflessly loving someone regardless of whether or not they return that affection. (This is obvious come the EIP episode, where Aang demands to know why he and Katara aren't in a relationship already--because he kissed her without asking [or even checking to see if she'd be ok with kissing him], which he phrases as mutual even though it very much was not, and he gets angry and violates her boundaries when she says that she is confused and doesn't want to think about it right then.)

It is his attachment to Katara--the need for her to return his love, the belief that she will and it is only a matter of time before he gets what he wants--that he was supposed to let go of, not his feelings for her in general. Unfortunately, while he pays lipservice to doing this (far too late for it to be useful--if he'd stayed with the Guru for five more minutes and unlocked his chakra there, that battle would've gone very differently), he almost immediately backtracks on that development come book 3, and there isn't another single whisper of Aang maybe growing up and moving past his one-sided and possessive crush and realizing that even if Katara doesn't feel the same way, it doesn't mean she loves him less or that their friendship is less important.

What really needed to happen, for Aang to grow as a person and become fully realized as an Avatar, was for him to grow up. To realize that his feelings were not of paramount importance, and that even if he was in love with Katara, he was not entitled to her love in return. He should have been able to move past his need for her to love him back, in order to get past that stumbling block, unlock his chakras, and regain the Avatar State in time to face the Firelord. But he didn't. As a result, they had to find some other way to just give him the Avatar State (a well-placed rock) and the means to defeat Ozai without killing him (the deus ex lionturtle) and his entire character arc just fell apart in the third act rather than reaching a satisfying conclusion.

3. Katara Deserved Better: This really ties into how her romantic relationship with Aang hampered her own development, but I'm still bitter enough about it that it gets its own bullet-point. And the biggest single reason I could never ship kataang--the thing that would've turned me off even if there were substance and a halfway decent storyline for them--is the fact that Aang kisses her without her consent (for the second time) in Ember Island Players, Katara gets angry at him and storms off, and then..... she walks out onto the balcony to make out with him.

With nothing to bridge that gap.

It's bad enough that a show aimed at children had a scene where the child protagonist kissed the object of his affections without her consent when she didn't want him to (made explicit by her angry reaction)--and this is absolutely an issue when the show is aimed at children and it may well be the first experience they've had with consent issues portrayed in media--but this moment is never addressed again. Katara just decides--completely off-screen--that she does love him Really and walks out to make out with him in the epilogue. There's no conversation, no apology for violating her boundaries, no discussion of why that was wrong or any indication that Aang understands what he did and why it upset her. They don't have a single one-on-one interaction between that kiss and the epilogue, and the only other time they are on screen together, Aang yells at her and storms off.

So, even leaving the comics and lok aside, Katara deserved much better from her own romantic plotline. In fact, she deserved to have one, rather than simply being the oblivious object of Aang's affections, given a couple moments where she blushes but otherwise remains completely ignorant of his feelings (she looks shocked and upset when he kisses her prior to the invasion, and then she completely forgets that even happened because she's confused as to what Aang is even talking about during EIP until he brings it up; that's not the behavior of a fourteen-year-old girl who was kissed by someone she was developing romantic feelings for), before the epilogue where it becomes clear that she figured all of that out off-screen and had feelings for him after all.

She's a main character, not a side-character written in solely to give one of the mains a love interest. She deserved a romantic plotline of her own. (She could have had one with someone else, with very few changes made to what was actually on-screen prior to the epilogue, but that's another conversation entirely.) She deserved to have her feelings considered at all important by the person she was going to be paired with in the end, rather than having him just assume she felt the same way and then get mad at her for never giving any indication of it when he'd never asked about her feelings to begin with. She deseserved agency in her own romantic narrative, and she just didn't get that with Aang.

So yeah, at the end of the day, my biggest issue with kataang is that it involved doing Katara dirty, and she's my favorite character and she deserved so much better damnit.