#like the ones complaining aang was “flying”

[sapphic-agent]

The ATLA fandom is interesting. There's been uproar about Katara's personality changing in the live-action... Besties, don't you think there's a reason why they did that? Maybe due to a certain influx of people bashing Katara every time she breathed in 2020? She was shamed repeatedly for being angry, outspoken, and confrontational. Not to mention how many of you defended her being a docile healer instead of a fighter in LOK (hell, some of you preferred Katara in LOK over Katara in ATLA, don't think I forgot). Why are we backtracking now?

(Yes the live-action could have done better with her. But they were probably trying to appease the people who whined in 2020, which they shouldn't have since this fandom would find something to rage about no matter what)

Istg, Renaissance fans and their performative activism. Again I say, the ATLA Renaissance sucked

[unpersoniverse]

I don't know if I was desperate for a little silly serotonin boost, if I am too unserious or if people are just straight up haters to everything but like...

I swear the ATLA la is not nowhere as bad as many are making it to be, like, this isn't a carbon copy of the og series, nothing will ever top of ATLA and if you wanted it to be the same just go watch the show again?

I've watched ATLA so many times in my life, it's my comfort show as much as yours. But the live action isn't the cartoon, that I understood right away. And of course it has a lot of flaws (and tbh I blame today's way of media consumption at that, trying to squish complex storylines in the least time possible, and also mainstream media performative activism but that's a war for another day) but as a stand alone thing I thought it was pretty solid? I felt like the essence of the show was brought to justice after the unspeakable movie. It felt familiar, at least to me idk.

I don't think this was for the fans honestly, it's been 19 since the og aired. Many things in the world have changed but many are still the same, I think this series was meant more to catch onto the new generations and public. I'm giving you a personal example but I've always recommended the show to everyone I know and despite all my efforts, there are still A LOT of people who disregard animation as something only for kids and wouldn't see it (boludos pero bue) and guess what? They're seeing the live action, and they love it.

Also the fact that there's a show with a cast of mainly asian and native-american actors at last? sign me tf up.

Overall, even if I didn't like some changes they made I still enjoyed it and mostly I want this series to succeed. Mainly because the ATLA story is always going to be relevant, even if it is fantasy it has the representation about people and feelings we don't often see in things. (like, as a girl from a south american country, seeing stories about fighting colonial and imperialists little shits are always gonna hit close home)

Don't get me wrong, it is completely valid if you didn't like the live action. Criticism is great, we need it a lot actually if there's going to be a S2.

But saying is straight up shit and garbage (even before seeing it) just because it's not a frame to frame copy and then go online complaining making 5839 posts about it? Grow up.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Your blog is my guilty pleasure lol, it's so validating to read your very matter of fact rebuttals after years of being talked over & down to in the fandom. Being in the fan space & hearing the way people talked about how much more "female gaze coded" Z/tara was made me feel like I was betraying other women by not liking Zuko or Zutara the way "real mature" women did.

Funniest thing is, when i watched the show as a kid as an older sister, someone with talent/skills that nobody else understood, a girl who felt she had to be mature all the time, Kataang instantly became my otp. Katara was living my dream of a fun, cute boy sweeping me off my feet, telling me I was special and going on a magical journey with me-- I had the HUGEST crush on Aang as a little girl. It was so lame growing older and hearing near constantly from the fandom how stupid and unbelievable the idea that Katara actually had feelings for Aang was, and how it's a "male" (aka: bad) fantasy, when honestly Zuko's angsty ass was far from dream boyfriend material in my opinion it made me feel gaslit fjhdidjskj.

Genuine Z/tara fans are fine, I totally get the appeal of the red/blue enemies to lovers sparks fly ship, but the meanest and loudest of your crewmates and the way they act like their tastes are the Correct ones has been just. ridiculous for many years. And why do those types always feel the need to start the conversation by bashing Kataang every single time?? I started with a positive opinion of their ship when I entered the fandom as a teen, even liked a few arts and whatnot as a "what-if," but all the nonsense has left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

So yeah, thanks for this space to complain about the experiences we've had lol. I've had one too many conversations about ATLA & how good it is interrupted with the other person going "well except for the Main Romance, that was shit and Z/tara should have been endgame" not to be Worn Out. Like if in their opinion the show is *perfect* except that One thing.... maybe the problem lies elsewhere?

Yup, that's definitely a pattern I noticed: zutarians are SO many and SO loud, that even though a pretty large part of the fandom disagrees with their takes (regardless of enjoying the canon ships or not) most of them just... didn't talk about it because they didn't want to be harrassed or talked down to or be hit with the "well, we are the majority therefore we're right" argument.

It's part of why I was innitially shocked at how much support this blog got. I thought I just gonna be in my own little bubble of the fandom, but nope, I got sooooo many messages of "FINALLY! Somebody said it!"

And looking back, I should've noticed something was off. There's a reason ATLA's ending was not one of these disasters that basically nukes and kills 90% of the fandom and live in infamy as one of the worst falls from grace ever, How I Met Your Mother style, even though both shows had the fan favorite ship not end together.

It wasn't just that one was well-written and the other wasn't (though that clearly affected the audience and critical reception of these endings, both at the time and through the decades).

HIMYM was a case of "The actual endgame ship was loathed by nearly everyone while the rival pairings were almost universally beloved."

ATLA was a case of "70% of the fandom likes this ship - of these fans, 25% are multishipers that also like the canon ships, 25% only like the ship in fanfic but don't actually want it to be a thing, 25% loves it but can accept it not being canon at point because they acknowledge it'd be rushed, and the 25% are the ones that would burn down Bryke's house if they could, so in reality only a fraction of the fandom didn't accept the Kataang/Maiko endgame, while the overwhelming majority was either happy about it or indifferent to it"

And that's without taking into account that Avatar got new popularity boosts through the years that lead to plenty of people that had Zutara being hyped up for years being disappointed when they realized "Oh, it was popular because of fanon shit, not because it actually would have made sense story-wise" or people who reached that same conclusion after rewatching the show.

I think that's why Zutarians have such a victim complex and want to pretend Bryke and Kataang/Maiko fans are "oppressing" them - they've been dominating the conversation for years, and not only got no results out of it, they're now losing that "leverage" too. They're no longer in an echo-chamber, they need to use actual arguments that make sense if they want their opinion to be almost universal and they just can't do it because their ship was never that good to begin with.

[oneatlatime]

Any predictions for season 3, or are you planning to dive straight in?

You're not the first person who's mentioned s3 predictions, so I'll give it a shot, but I'm really not sure if I have anything to use to make predictions. S2 ended in a very final, end of arc kind of way. Lots of things have been tied up. I don't even know where they're all flying off to. Back to the Southern Water Tribe, since the Earth Kingdom's a bit of a bust? The Fire Nation's out of the question, the Northern Water Tribe probably has mixed feelings about seeing them again, maybe the Eastern Air Temple? Although even that might not be safe, since Aang's travel plans to said temple to meet the Guru were known by various Earth Kingdom generals. And that stupid King.

I think the Fire Nation contingent are going back to the Fire Nation, and I am looking forward to a Zuko with eyes at least somewhat open interacting with FN citizens/nobles/military etc. who are still completely drinking the kool aid. I think it's going to suck for Zuko. Should make for good TV though. Lots of conversations where both people are saying entirely different things while thinking they're talking about the same thing.

I said it before, but I'm worried for Iroh. He's for sure arrested, but is he going to be executed? Obviously I don't want that, but unless Iroh still has enormous popular support, and the Firelord's grasp on power is incredibly shaky, I don't see how permanently eliminating a traitor (from a FN perspective) can be avoided. Then again. Kids' show.

As for the Gaang? In broad strokes, Aang still needs to learn firebending to fully Avatar himself, then he needs to defeat the Fire Lord (who is quite the homebody apparently - seriously, where is this guy?). So next season Aang will shake off his lightning hangover, find a firebending teacher, defeat the firelord. He'll probably have to commute to the Fire Nation to find the Fire Lord first. No idea what he'll do in between those things. Perhaps inadvisable shenanigans? That would be in character. His biggest story arc all series has been learning to accept his status as Avatar, but between his talks with the Guru and opening his last Chakra in the finale, I think he's done it. So all that's left is the main plot and goofiness.

Katara has the same problem she had going into S2 - she's mastered waterbending, so she needs a new conflict/arc. S2 answered this demand by... having her hang around? What did Katara do this season? Bend a bunch, set up camps, tear down camps, wreck Jet, support Aang, be nice to Toph that one time, yell at people. I hope she gets something meatier in S3. I still think she should meet some good FN citizens that challenge her morals.

Sokka was also kind of just there this season, although if I'm being mean I'll say that he was also kind of just there for S1 too, which is why it doesn't feel as odd as Katara's lack of purpose. I loved his stuff with Suki. Suki is officially the glow up of the season. I loved their interactions together, and I love the growth she poked him into doing. I'd like to see more of that. So less a prediction and more of a hope: S3 Sokka develops the ability to rely on/trust others (or maybe realises others can be relied upon/trusted is more accurate), hopefully with Suki somehow involved. And I loved his dad too. I want to see more of that guy, but since a cardinal rule of kids' stories is getting rid of the authority figures asap, it won't happen.

Toph. Honestly I'm stumped. She already broke the universe. Where can she go from there? Unless she's going to devolve into an antagonist, which I absolutely don't want, I don't see how she can top her S2 plot. And Aang's got earthbending down, so I guess she'll be like Katara was this season: tagging along. Not that I'm complaining; I love me some Toph in any form. We have seen that she wants to make peace with her parents, sort of, probably? Or at least give them another shot? But I kind of don't want her within 100 miles of her parents. So I don't know.

Appa & Momo will hopefully be tagalongs in S3 too. I learned my lesson this season about wanting the animals to have character arcs.

I guess the antagonist in S3 will be the Fire Lord, finally. Who else is left? Zhao tried, he died. Azula tried, she won. Unless S3 has an Azula rematch. But would she want that? She's already proven that she won. She can go home and enjoy the spoils of her victory (which may or may not include Zuko - I'm kind of unclear on exactly how much agency Zuko is going to have in the FN, especially since I'm not actually sure that he has permission to be there as a free man - didn't the arrest warrant Azula was executing in episode 1 list both Zuko and Iroh?)

There's nothing left for the Gaang in Ba Sing Se, so I doubt they'll go back there. Frankly it's the FN characters who have roots there. I wonder what will happen to Iroh's tea shop? I wonder if his investors will find out who he is? I wonder if money talks louder than national loyalty? (It's the Earth Kingdom - the answer is yes) Wouldn't it be funny if Iroh busted out of imprisonment and went right back to serving tea? And everyone sent to find him would be thinking "this is the famed tactician the Dragon of the West - he's probably travelling the FN plotting a coup as we speak. That devilish mind of his must have safe houses set up all over the nation." When actually he's right back where he got caught, doing exactly what he was doing when he got caught, to great and not-very-quiet acclaim?

I think S3 might have an overall darker tone too, within the bounds of a kids' show. I don't know what place Ba Sing Se occupied in the mind of the average person in the Avatar universe (although refugees seemed to revere it), but the city's fall to the FN represents a very big FN victory. The Gaang will probably be the most underdoglike in S3. S1 was mostly stalemate, then a big FN defeat. S2 was opened with the FN taking Omashu and closed with them taking Ba Sing Se. The FN have never been in a better position, and I bet the NWT is safe from further invasion only until the FN have built their fleet back up. So even the few free areas could have an expiry date on their freedom.

This is rapidly devolving into rambles, so I'll conclude by saying I have no clue what's going to happen next season, and that's exciting.

[thebluemallet]

My Immediate Thoughts on the Latest Avatar: The Last Airbender Trailer

THE SHIP DESIGN FOR THE FIRE NAVY SHIPS! THAT MAST!

This must be the North Pole and leading up to the Siege of the North.

Appa soaring through the skies.

Yeah, they're really going to go and show us the attacks on the Air Temples. On the one hand, I'm excited about the new material. On the other hand, I feel like I shouldn't be excited about witnessing a genocide even if it's fiction.

IS THAT FIRE LORD SOZIN? OR IS THAT JUST A RANDOM FIRE NATION GENERAL?? I THINK IT'S SOZIN??

Aang breaking out from the iceberg seems a lot more violent than the cartoon but it also looks awesome! And if I were Sokka and Katara, I'd be scared shitless seeing that.

I think that's Monk Gyatso voice in the beginning? And he specifically says that the Fire Nation is embarking on a dark path instead of the super vague "storm clouds are gathering" like in the original cartoon. So Aang goes into that iceberg with more knowledge in this adaptation than in the cartoon.

Daniel Dae Kim looks great as Fire Lord Ozai!

Azula with a bow and arrow? Guess she's expanding her skill set.

Blink and you'll miss it, but that is JET that Katara, Sokka, and Aang are talking to before there's a big ass explosion behind them.

WE'VE GOT THE MOTHER EFFIN OSTRICH HORSES, BABY!

IT'S ZUKO COMING TO RESCUE UNCLE IROH WHEN HE GETS CAPTURED BY EARTH KINGDOM SOLDIERS!

Aang, Katara, and Sokka checking out the ruins of one of the Air Temples. Southern Air Temple, maybe, probably?

Water Tribe! Don't know if it's Northern or Southern but it could be the aftermath of Zuko coming to the Southern tribe to find Aang.

Katara coming in with her belief that Aang can save the world.

I'm in love with every shot of Appa flying!

THE AIR SCOOTER!

AND HE CRASHES INTO A STATUE LIKE HE DOES IN THE ORIGINAL OPENING CREDITS!!!!

There you go! You whiny little complainers finally got your sarcastic Sokka. And he definitely has more emotional range than the Sokka in the other project that shall not be named so I approve!

THAT'S ZUKO'S TINY LITTLE WARSHIP CRUISING AROUND THE SOUTH POLE LOOKING FOR THE AVATAR!!!

UNCLE!

That's not Zuko pinning up that picture of Aang. Maybe it's Zhao?

I fucking love the masks on the Fire Nation soldiers!!!!!!!

Zuko, you moody, angsty, traumatized teenager! I love you!

(This better get renewed so we can get awkward Zuko. I want to hear him say, "That's rough, buddy." I want to know how many takes they ruined when they eventualy film that scene.)

ZUKO AND IROH TEAM UP AGAINST THOSE EARTH KINGDOM SOLDIERS!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you know guys, maybe we should hear out what the fire nation has to say?

Nope, sorry, I was distracted by the abs. They should have had him silhouetted because I'm pretty sure this is the AGNI KAI WHERE HE BURNS HIS KID'S FACE!

Avatar "I don't want the responsibility!" Aang.

It's giving "Because I never wanted to be" and "I'm just one kid" energy.

THE FACT THAT I WILL NEVER GET TO CUDDLE APPA IN REAL LIFE IS A CRIME!

Sokka coming in and reminding Aang that he's not alone in this.

Reminds me of early on in the show when he says "Katara and I aren't going to let anything happen to you."

Momo's excellent comedic timing, there.

IT'S JUN! AND NYLA! IT LOOKS SO FREAKING GOOD!

HOLY FUCKING SHIT! IF THAT'S HEI BAI, THEN I'M GOING TO SHIT MYSELF WHEN THEY SHOW KOH!

Oh, Zuko isn't showing up to Kyoshi this time, it's ZHAO!

SOKKA AND SUKI LOOKING AMAZING FIGHTING TOGETHER!

THAT'S TEO AND AANG FLYING AROUND! THAT'S TEO AND AAANG!

I guess one of the big changes from the cartoon is that we'll see Teo and his dad in Omashu instead of the Northern Air Temple because that's DEFINITELY Omashu they're flying around.

AANG! YOU'RE SO PINT-SIZED COMPARED TO SOKKA AND KATARA! AND THE RUNNING HUG! I CAN'T HANDLE THE RUNNING HUGS! THEY'RE MY KRYPTONITE!

BLUE SPIRT! WE'RE GETTING THE BLUE SPIRIT AND AANG FIGHTING TOGETHER!

Aang ready to kick some Fire Nation butt.

I wonder if that's part of the Siege of the North? It looks like Sokka flies him in on Appa and Aang drops in.

I think the next shot is the South Pole when Zuko attacks trying to find Aang?

Aang pulling out the Matrix moves when Sokka lets his boomerang fly!

KING BUMI! They were really accurate with the costumes here.

KATARA FIGHTING OFF ZUKO AT THE NORTH POLE!!!!

Jet looking like a badass and fighting off some fire benders.

I know I've guessed this several times, but THAT WAS DEFINITELY AANG AND ZUKO AT THE SOUTH POLE!

I like we see the glow slowly going over the tattoos as Aang goes into the Avatar state instead of it just going straight to glowing.

AND THE CHANTING! I LOVE THIS MUSIC SO MUCH!!!

I think Aang's last transition to the Avatar State is definitely him at the Southern Air Temple when he finally has to face what happened to the Air Nomads, but I could be wrong.

Anyway. February 22 isn't that far away and there are not enough words to describe how excited I am for this.

[jessfandrawer]

What do you picture Jin dynamic with the members of Team Avatar like?

Interesting question @pedanticat, ummm... this might get long. And keep in mind, while I like to puzzle out how my thoughts would best fit into canon, this is all still personal interpretations of the characters.

For the group as a whole, I think Jin would blend in. She'd get along with everyone, but would naturally find the greatest benders and warriors of her generation intimidating (Zuko: How come you were never intimidated by me?, Jin: Because when we met, you were just some guy named Lee!). She's ordinary in comparison, which is not intended as a dig because it's something I like about her, and by extension Jin x Zuko. I think she'd sort of fade in and out of the group dynamic, being the weakest combatant, but perhaps having some knowledge or perspective that occasionally proves useful (whatever you may headcanon that to be).

Individually speaking:

Aang - He wants to be friends with nearly everyone. Jin has no idea how to act around THE AVATAR, so she's too formal with him and Aang finds this frustrating. They bond over appreciating simple pleasures. I also think Aang would be the most taken by the story of how Jin and Zuko met. He's a romantic, but also, the date occurred very close before Zuko set Appa free. I think Aang would find that interesting. He's also happy to have a new person to show his marble trick to!

Katara - She'd do everything she can to make Jin feel included and welcomed. This causes an early misunderstanding where Jin thinks Katara is forcing a friendship between them, and Katara worries that Jin is being standoffish because she feels like the odd one out. Once they have a heart-to-heart, they relate a lot through self-care stuff. Katara is also the most confused by Zuko and Jin's relationship.

Sokka - She's chill and sometimes joins in on razzing Zuko. 4 stars, would go on a double date again.

Toph - Erm, not sure about Toph. I guess they would be the friend group members who are almost never alone together, so if they ever were, they would have no idea what to do or talk about. Maybe they can complain about the Earth Kingdom uppercrust together. 🤷‍♀️

Suki - Jin feels most comfortable with Suki (though she's still quite starstruck) and loves getting non-bender self-defense tips from her. I could see Jin/Zuko and Suki/Sokka going on lots of double dates together for those older team member vibes. Jin and Suki chat easily and have an easy-going yet confident air about them.

Appa and Momo - Flying with Appa is super fun, but as a city girl, Jin is not used to interacting with large creatures. She's more shy with him when they're on the ground. Momo could land on Jin and she'd give him continuous scritches until he decided to glide away without her even thinking about it.

[graphx]

so…that avatar show, huh?

me no likely:

they made aang leaving an accident. like he didn't deliberately try to run away from his problems, it was just coincidence on a midnight fly and he even says he will go back when he clears his head (then everyone else frames it as intentional??? Even himself???)

Kataras character literally feels like her ember island counterpart and made her perfect and I hate that she doesn't get mad at aang talent at all because she can't be TOO MEAN NOOO WHATEVER WILL WE DO IF SHE HAS FLAWS??? OR A REALISTIC REACTION TO FRUSTRATION OF NOT BEING ABLE TO DO SOMETHING SHE VALUES A LOT CUZ ITS HARD??? (took away all of her development about having to be the bigger person and gave it to sokka??? Fun loving joking sokka??? Even tho it ties in with her toph conflict later?)

jet blows up things with jelly and hurt civilians but…the entire point of jet was that he hurt people who did nothing wrong and there was definitely fire benders doing something wrong so he can justify his actions?? And the entire point was that he needed to REALIZE his actions were unforgivable before moving on from his vengeance to ba sing se?But now he does nothing wrong because we can't have the pretty boy terrorist be TO00000 BAD

i get that we are supposed to emphasize the power of friendship thing in the bumi episode but it just seems like instead of aang realizing he is going to make hard choices with no right answer his friends take that decision/responsibility AWAY from him? And the point in the show is that while he cant rely on others and has to do it alone???

azula sounds like she's complaining about zuko like a normal teenager gossiping to her friends even tho her entire beach episode was emphasizing how she is NOT A REGULAR KID AND DOESNT ACT LIKE IT. Or being mad zuko got banished and got himself an opportunity? No azula only cares about her dads orders/approval at this point she doesn't take zuko seriously as a threat? She was glad he was gone and tried to take him prisoner? Complaining that she is "risking her life undercover?" Did we watch??? The same source material???

would have been so easy to show badger moles and benders but noooo lets just make them savage animals that don't react to VIBRATIONS AT ALL ya know THE EARTHBENDING TECHNIQUE

why the hell is kyoshi getting mad at aang for not fighting WHEN SHE IS TRAPPING HIM IN A DREAM TO LECTURE HIM INSTEAD OF LETTING HIM FIGHT??

Good!

Never recovering from zuko and leaves on the vine playing at the same time

at least sokka got some development?? It could have been worse tbh

I like that they explained the avatar possession stuff can only happen in certain places

my cabbages made everything worth it

giving iroh and lu ten a bit more depth! I like that everyone subtly framed it in a good way but zuko was more empathetic

im a mixed bag on how they handled suki (great to show that she is unsociable from being an isolated warrior all her life but I hated that they just…beat up sokka for no reason by taking out his misogyny arc…. And didn’t frame it as a bad enough thing?? And then they just… got over it? With no real apology? Cuz it’s fine now that they think the other one is hot!! Problems solved!!!)

i like that they made jet and kataras relationship less “ooooo hot bad boy!!!” And more a mutual relationship (then they threw it out the window for no reason cuz JET IS BAD BUT NOT TOO BAD! KATARA NEEDS TO GIRLBOSS!!!! U guys can make empathic characters while still making them bad not giving him misogyny problems he never had???)

sokka and katara sibling moments? They were okay

(I’ll update when I watch more)

[jodjuya]

I just watched the first episode of Netflix's ATLA adaptation and it's fine actually? Perfectly adequate adaptation.

No, it's not the exact same as the original animation, but just go watch that if that's what you want to watch?

Netflix can go ahead and profusely thank Shyamalan for setting the bar so low, because I'm satisfied with this.

A couple days ago I watched Little Joel's video bitching about it (which has since been taken down from YouTube for bs copyright reasons, but it's still here on nebula), and now that I've watched that first episode of avatar for myself, many of the things he complains about are perfectly fine in context.

Paraphrasing, but like,

"Aang is flying without his staff I guess he can just do that now." - that's not flying? he's just falling with style

"Aang's 'i know who I am' monologue is shitty exposition" - bro he's just a scared little boy venting to his pet cow; that wasn't a conversation he was having with another human being

"why are we being shown these fight scenes of unnamed characters we don't care about" - because it's telling the story in a different way to the original show?

"these firebenders don't seem that powered-up by the comet what's even going on here" - bro they can now rocket-jump from ground level straight up to the air nomad's plateau at cloud-height, and the fire attacks of regular mooks are punching right through the defences of air masters. That's the power of Sozin's comet: rocket-jumps!

"Gran-Gran reciting the original show's intro is just dumb fanservice and dumb excessive exposition" - she's doing the old person thing of reciting old people's stories to a young person who doesn't care, to make her point that this young person in particular has never heard those old people's stories before, because he's the subject of that story who got time-travelled from then-a-days to nowadays. (And also, yes, it's gratuitous fanservice (but this who entire show literally only exists for the sake of gratuitous fanservice so why are you complaining about that?? (seems to me like going to the library and complaining that they only have books there instead of Belgian waffles)))

"Katara shouldn't be saying that 'these days nobody visits other nations anymore' because what do you even mean 'anymore'? Her entire life has been in the shadow of war, there is no 'anymore' because she doesn't have any experience not under the shadow of war" - she said that in response to Aang reminiscing about visiting his old pals in the Fire Nation, which isn't the done thing ANYMORE! She wasn't talking about her personal loss of visitation rights to her own pals in the Fire Nation! Aang was talking about how things used to be different, that's why she said it's not like that ANYMORE, because she's contrasting her experience to his! Not her own to her own!

And so on and so forth

Like, it's fine for this new show to be different to the old one! Being different is not sinful! Eat a Snickers or something before your next hot-take video. Get your blood sugar up so you're less of a sourpuss.

Heck, it took until this new show for me to comprehend that the Fire Nation's genocide of the Air Nomads was a purposeful act with the specific intent of killing The Avatar: we don't know which air-bender is The Avatar so we just have to kill every air-bender to make sure we get 'em!

I've watched the original show all the way through at least four times and I had never picked up on that point. I had always thought that the Fire Nation attacked everyone equally all at once in every direction and only genocided the air benders by happenstance because their pacifism made them uniquely unsuited to self-defence.

NATLA opening with conniving villainy is good because it's given an amount of sense as to why all this shit is happening. Gives more to the audience to work with than "the fire nation attacked everyone for no reason just because they're the Bad Guys", which is all the original show really had to offer for quite a while, exposition-wise.

Imma have to go back to the original and rewatch it again, but all that flashback exposition stuff with Sozin's out-of-control ambition and leaving Roku to die, that stuff didn't come up until like the third season right? When Aang and Zuko went off to befriend the last two dragons?

Anyway, the new show is fine. It would have been nice if it had been given the same treatment Peter Jackson gave to LOTR, but as it stands, the sky isn't falling and it's not worth getting mad about.

[sugarqueen-katara]

Netflix Avatar: the Last Airbender review

So, I just got around to watching ep 1 and I wanted to share my thoughts. I'll probably do this after each episode, but I am slow at watching things so this might take a while.

To make this more fair, I'll review the show as a seperate show and then review it as an avatar fan.

Maybe minor spoilers ahead so be aware!

As an individual show:

The context was repeated many times in different ways - it was a bit overkill but as "a new viewer" it makes the situation very clear

the genocide was such an emotional scene and very well done, but a little "convenient" (Aang leaving to clear his head at the perfect time and all the airbenders being in one location at the same moment that the fire nation arrives)

the characters seem cool maybe? Don't know much about them ~ yet

The bending looks epic

Overall a good and entertaining introduction episode, interested to see where this goes.

As an avatar fan

the intro sequence being done by Kyoshi is an interesting choice. I love Kyoshi as a character, but what is her relevance to Aang's story. If they wanted to do an avatar wouldn't Roku make more sense? Also the narration no longer being Katara reflects the changes of how important her role is to the story (will talk about more later)

No major complaints about the scenes at the air temple found the whole a great addition to the story.

Ok let's address Aang's flying. So first we can all agree that it goes against LOK lore. However, the other thing that bothers me is it is not clear when he needs a glider and when he doesn't. If he could fly why does he need a glider at all?

Now for the water tribe siblings! Let's start with Sokka. Some of his jokes were good some were meh... He is just kind of a jerk ~ which obviously is also the case in the animation ~ so I guess it depends on how the other episodes explore his character and develop his arc

Now for my poor girl Katara. They fail to show her complex character. We don't get any Katara sass or anger. All we get is caring Katara. There is not this duality that we usually see with her. She was also robbed of narrator and basically main or second main character to the show. The animation sets her up as the driving force of the show, now she's just kind of there. ~ Also I wanted to address everyone complaining about Katara's actress being the weakest. So first of all please don't send hate to Kiawentiio (I saw really awful comments under her instgram post which is really no ok) - I'm not saying your not allowed to think this, but maybe don't spam it under her posts. Next, I personally haven't had an issue with her acting so far, if anything the writing probably needs to be improved. And for anyone who says she can't show emotions go watch Anne with an E to see that she can act and the issues in the LA might be with directing (maybe I'm just biased because I love that show)

Aang is ok... his fear of responsibly shows but his goofiness is absent.

Now I am not the biggest Zuko stan ( don't get me wrong his character and arc is so well done in the animation he is just not my favourite), but I feel like he is the one character that I enjoy and have no complaints about so far in the LA

There’s something off with Iroh can’t really put it into words, but he just doesn’t have the same effect with the lines he delivers (this is only the first episode so I’ll have to see if it gets better)

Now, since I am largely a kataang blog ~ yes I am disappointed with the lack of penguin sledding but more in a sense that it removes Aang’s goofy behaviour. Then again, this isn't that big of a deal. Also I enjoyed the change of gyasto helping Aang out of the avatar state (it gives a different vibe but I’m not against it).

Overall, it is 100x better than the movie. Is it perfect? Not at all. So far,I think the main problem is that they tell instead of show. If you are able to detach it from the original (which is hard for me as you can probably tell from the review) and not think about what's missing it can be really enjoyable.

These are just my opinions. If you don't agree no need to hate or argue✨✨ (I hope this isn't an issue since it is not on Twitter)

[wanukilppari]

I'm going to do long con with Netflix's Avatar and watch it in one episode once a week style. And to annoy everyone, I will post my thoughts about each episode here afterwards.

Score first, the spoilers under the cut:

2.9/5

A bit awkward, a bit clumsy, a bit rushed

Honestly... The first scene was probably my favourite. Nice fight, nice introduction to the idea of the bending (to new viewers) and nice reveal for why the Fire Nation plans to attack to the Air Nomads. It also gave an overall feel that this war has been building up for a while and the only reason it has taken this long for the war to start is because Fire Nation was waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

The first air temple scene though... I would have left it out. Yeah, I understand why it was added and it was essentially just Aang's original flashbacks, but I missed the short mystery of "what happened to the Air Nomads?" build up the original show gave us. Plus the whole scene felt a bit like waste of time and made the later jump to Katara feel a bit awkward. Which was a general problem I had with this episode: the cuts in between characters felt often way too awkward and clumsy.

I liked the change with the reason why Aang was absent from the temple, though. Him going to a flight to cool his head instead of running away felt a bit more natural for him.

Southern Water Tribe seemed nice. It felt way more living village than in the cartoon. It was nice to see that they added kids that were a bit closer to Katara and Sokka's age. Sure, the original joke about Sokka's warrior being just punch of less than 6 years old kids was funny, but it also created this horrible implication that someone/something had killed all children that were younger than Katara.... I also liked how they changed Sokka's ignorance/disinterest towards bending into him just being paranoid of Katara being discovered.

The only thing I hated were most of the Gran-Gran's lines... why on earth she started to repeat the opening words? Why she had to be the one annoyance that Aang was the Avatar? I just hope her lines had been a bit more natural at least....

Loved how the gave Zuko all those mini Avatar statues and that book he made (too bad Aang stole it...). It gave a better feel that Zuko has been obsessed with finding the Avatar for a long time. Plus I could see those things having some future roles in the later episodes.

Zuko at Water Tribe village scene was fine. I missed Sokka's war paint and the boomerang, but those are small complains. Liked the "build up" how they "introduced" Sokka's club-sword thingy though.

Rest of the episode was fine. I might be a horrible person, but I kinda hoped they would have shown the skeletons of the children. To make it very obvious that Fire Nation had been looking for Aang.

But yeah, it was quite a meh episode. It felt a quite lot that they were rushing through scenes, so taking something out to give other scenes a bit more breathing room might have been a good choice. I just hope this will go away in future episodes.

It will be nice to see why they are focusing on Kyoshi and not Roku. And how they are going to combine different episodes. Sure, there were more than couple "why would you made that choice!" but I wouldn't call the show bad just yet. A bit messy and boring at the worst.

CGI for flying was horrible, though. And sometimes humans looked like they were animated in the scene when bending. But we all knew that was going to happen so it wasn't that big of a surprise.

[lady-iskra]

'oh Aang wasn't that bad, Kya and Bumi were just jealous' and it's like... really? That's what you're going with? These 50/60+ year old fully grown adults are still stewing about petty jealousy over their younger brother getting taken on a couple airbender-exclusive trips as kids to the point where it's colored their perceptions of said childhood their entire adult lives?

They both will never stop surprising me... I mean, you don't even have to be good writers to know that this scene went far beyond simple sibling jealousy and, when it comes to Aang, far beyond playing favorites. Especially when you take it so far that their father is presented as ignorant towards his other two children, and there is nothing in this episode that proves them wrong. Honestly, this was so bad dad-coded that I have to ask myself if Bryke have any empathy or understanding of the human mind.

And what about Tenzin? He was his father's legacy, and in Korra, it was shown that Aang made him feel the pressure of ensuring that the airbenders wouldn't go extinct. I can't even imagine how overwhelming that must've been for a child, and he carried the burden into adulthood.

I mean, I kinda understand Aang, he wants to make sure that his culture along with the bending style won't get lost. But then, why being in a monogamous marriage when it wasn't even part of his culture? You could argue that he loved Katara and wanted her to be his forever girl, but a polyamorous lifestyle with his air acolytes/fangirl club would've made much more sense to make sure new airbenders are created. What enormous pressure that must've been for Katara? At the end of the day, Aang barely saw her anyway when he won't take her and his other children with him to the trips. No wonder that many people think they broke up secretly... And, Tenzin? He married the first pick-me who was ready to be his airbender factory; sorry, yeah, I'm not a Pema fan.

I saw Bryke stans using their interviews as a proof that Aang wasn't a bad dad, and I saw the ones claiming that in the comics it is shown that he was indeed a good father who cared about his children and wife. I mean, if they are personally fine with the explanations and the senseless retconning, okay—but then don't act as if the critics wanna make a bad dad out of Aang when we are complaining about the lack of good storytelling and about destroying a beloved character.

The funny thing is, by missing the mark in presenting a healthy, happy family, they ended up creating a well-written tragedy—starting with the final scene of A:TLA where they had Katara kiss Aang without addressing his mistakes first. One of the siblings even mentioned that Aang would still fly away in the middle of an argument.

And frankly, the way the three k/a kiids are treated in LoK--Kya is Water Tribe because she's a waterbender, Tenzin is Air Nomad because he's an airbender, Bumi is cultureless because he's a nonbender until he becomes an Air Nomad when the universe gifts him airbending--is so at odds with the themes of the first series that it almost seems like it had to have been deliberate, but then the question is... why?

Ikr, I mean, is Sokka cultureless then? Mai, Ty Lee, Jin and all the other nonbenders along with almost the whole Southern Water Tribe? What about Ravaa and Vaatu? In every good you find evil, and in every evil you find good, yin and yang, tui and la, this was the beautiful message of A:TLA. And then Bryke introduced the angel and demon of the avatar-world, representing pure good and pure evil.

I don't think it was deliberate. Bryke just don't understand their own worldbuilding... Without the writers who made A:TLA great, they were doomed.

Sorry, this became long again.

"Why do you want to make a deadbeat dad out of Aang?", "Aang wasn't a bad father, he was just flawed!"

No one said this to me personally, but those or similar claims I read coming from people defending Aang and his actions towards his non-airbender children.

The thing is: I and many A:TLA fans don't want to make a deadbeat dad out of Aang. And for the flawed-thing: where do people draw the line?

I draw the line when the non-bender son apologizes to his father's statue for something he had no control over. Because he felt his father's disappointment, likely more than once in his life.

I draw the line when an air acolyte—one of the persons who are supposed to know everything about Aang's life—doesn't know that her messiah has more than one child. That means Aang never, ever talked about his other children. Wanna prove me wrong? Then show me other air acolytes later on in the same episode who indeed know about his other children and love the stories Aang, as a proud father, used to tell them about Kya and Bumi. And his soulmate Katara...

I draw the line when a father, who barely sees his other two children and his wife who is supposed to be his soulmate, decides to take whole vacations with his one airbender son and neglects the rest of his family even in his free time.

So, no, I don't want to make a deadbeat dad out of Aang. The narrative did it. Bryke did it, and, as someone who loves Aang, I was pissed af. Cancel Bumi's apology, the scene with the air acolyte and the vacations, keep Aang travelling with Tenzin alone to the air temples as some kind of duty and show me beautiful memories of Aang hugging and playing around with his whole family, and I believe that he was just flawed.

The family portrait in which Tenzin was a few months old and didn't even show signs of airbending isn't enough evidence—none at all. You find those happy-smiling portraits in every happy and unhappy household (Pink's song "Family Portrait" comes to mind). I never read the comics, but heard they retcon the scene in Korra so far that it would only make sense if Kya and Bumi would have memory loss or dementia.

The Aang I know from A:TLA would've loved to pass on his culture to all of his children, airbenders or not. They don't have to be airbenders to learn about it.

Bryke are great world builders and artists, but no writers, they should let other people do the job. They are literally the only writers I know who refuse to learn from their mistakes, keep on retconning instead, and are defended by some people among the fandom for it.

And surprise, surprise: what Katara thought about it, if she said anything to Aang or if she just sat back and watched, wasn't even mentioned in the talk between the siblings.

TL;DR: Bryke decided to portray Aang's actions as a father and husband to the extent that it comes off as if he isn't interested in his non-airbender children and Katara at all. It isn't me and the other critics who want to portray him as a deadbeat dad, on the contrary: as someone who loves Aang, it pisses me off. A family portrait makes no difference, because it proves nothing. And neither do the comics. Either you manage to convey the message you want to send in this exact scene, or you miss the mark.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://www.tumblr.com/allnewalldifferentwildspider/748862622231838720/the-reason-im-so-vulgar-in-regards-to-aangs

What a bunch of bullshit.

"He makes no effort to get to know or understand her" they're literally traveling the whole world together - and their original reason for doing that was because he wanted to help her go to the North Pole to learn waterbending, something which means a lot to her. Just because the writers didn't think the audience was stupid and needed a scene of them sitting down and telling each other a list of their flaws, qualities and motivations, doesn't mean their relationship was shallow.

"We get the MALE GAZE from him" Wow, he thinks a pretty girl is pretty. What a crime.

"He doesn't try to find out what happened to her mom" he didn't have to, she fucking told him basically right away. Complaining about that is like complaining he never asked if Sokka was her brother, even though one of the first things Sokka ever said to Aang was "And this is Katara, my flying sister"

"He always gets surprised when she's mad about something" Aang, the naturally cheery person, is pretty much ALWAYS surprised whenever ANYONE is angry, because that's not an emotionl he usually experiences much. Doesn't mean he doesn't get her - and I say this as a very grumpy person.

And ya know who else gets surprised at Katara's anger all the time? Zuko. The guy that sent an assassin after her group because Katara had to bring Aang back to life after Azula killed him - which only happened because Zuko helped her when Aang and Katara had her cornered.

Funny how things are only bad when Aang does it, but totally okay when Zuko does them in VERY different contexts that obviously paint him in a negative light for good reason.

"He hates the food and culture that she loves so much" Disliking a culture's food is not the same as hating said culture. We only see him talk shit about the Water Tribe's hunting culture once: in the Bato episode, in his friends are accidentally shutting him out of the conversation because they're too excited about being reunited with someone that is basically family. A 12-year-old throwing a tantrum is not the same as him being openly racist. Ya know what IS racist though? Zuko supporting his nation's attempt to genocide the water tribes.

"He doesn't respect her boundaries and kisses her twice without her consent" ONE poorly timed kiss is not the same as him forcefully holding her in place and kissing her, or even asking first then going for it anyway after she said an explicit no. And Katara visibly enjoyed the kiss during the eclipse episode, and was basically cuddlying with him on Appa afterwards.

"He keeps trying to talk for her when she's angry" You mean literally the same thing Zuko did in Southern Raiders?

"He expects her to do the work for their relationship... but he also makes wild assumptions about them being an item already... but he also wanted to talk things out with her to make sure he got it right..." I don't even need to tear these apart, the OP did it for me by making their arguments contradict each other. How kind of them.

"Aang wants the beautiful image of Katara. He wants that pretty face, those big blue eyes, that body, those long legs, those hips, the chest, and the hair that is just so manageable" While Aang is attracted to her, he NEVER mentioned a single one of those things, ever. The hair thing was literally MENG being insecure about her own hair. If you wanna simp for Katara, go ahead and do it, there's nothing wrong with it, but don't act like Aang only sees her a piece of meat.

"He has no interest in the complex, strong, hurt, angry, and caring person that Katara actually is" Ah yes, that's why he doesn't cheer her on when she's fighting Pakku, or helps her with the Painted Lady thing because he admires her compassion, or tells her she gives him hope, or calls her sifu, or accepts that she won't kill Yon Rah but also won't forgive... oh wait, he did do all those things.

"I'm calling it like I see it" Too bad you need glasses and refuse to wear them.

"Aang doesn't actually like Katara; he's just really horny for her" Considering your random description of why she's so hot in a post that has nothing to do it, all while ignoring her agency that used to choose Aang, I'd say that's more likely to be an accurate description of YOU than of our protagonist. Sorry, just calling it like I see it.

[oneatlatime]

The Waterbending Master

Finally! Only took the whole season to find one.

This one apparently also has commentary. I'll leave it off for now.

After countless episodes without, we finally have another hybrid animal. Behold:

A koala Sea-otter? That makes noises like a Raven. Alright.

Sokka saying "I'm not one to complain" is a) pretty damning evidence of his amount of self-awareness b) self-deprecating sarcasm c) a funny line that I'm reading too deeply into

Why is Appa flying so low anyway?

Subtle signs that these guys are way too used to relying on bending: -no railings -no alternate propulsion source (seriously, not even an oar?) -no emergency supplies in case a trip runs long (I don't even see an emergency sandwich, and come on guys, it's not like waterbending controls the weather)

Random pinball bumper style ice stabbies does seem like a good defense though.

Not so subtle exposition dump from Zhao the asshole. Avatar writers are usually better at integrating catch-up dialogue. Looks like Aang will be arriving just in time to defend the Water tribe from the invasion that, ironically, he summoned. Talk about self-inflicted problems. Do you think if Aang had found a waterbending teacher somewhere else, the Fire Nation would have left the water tribe alone for another hundred years? Aang's been learning on the run; they could have picked up a single waterbender and hightailed it back to some cave in the earth kingdom to learn there. Or the water tribe could have sent a waterbender out to find the gaang as soon as rumours of the avatar reached them. See? This was avoidable.

Always love me some sea-bison.

They have bending doors like Omashu. Actually is this a door or a lock? I think the water level is changing.

Is this a hybrid animal? The yak thing, not the two legger.

Last time you got a hero's welcome, Suki's village burnt down. Foreshadowing?

How often does this lady see sea-bisons? She just passed by one and didn't even bat an eye. Is there a secret sea-bison colony that's spent the last 100 years hiding from the fire nation in the north pole?

Music Night! Need a better lyricist.

What's going on here? Did they roast a giant turtle thing and now they're cooling it to serve by dunking it in water? Did they feel the need for a steam effect for the guy's speech so they heated up a giant thingy and dunked it in water? Is it a weird boat thing? It looks like it has a face. I bet it's a ritual object.

Are these pot stacks the water tribe version of Totem Poles?

Oh nuh uh. Nope. 16 is way too young to marry.

This girl is so into him I can feel it through the screen, the dvd player, and the 15+ years since this aired.

Even the head guy's like "yeah, he's an asshole, What can you do?" Let's put this asshole and Zhao the asshole in a room together. They can out-asshole each other. Should be fun.

Remember back in episode three when I said that Zuko needed to learn how to lie? This is why.

Nevermind, we don't need to put Zhao and Paku in a room together to out-asshole each other. Paku wins. As far as I've seen, bending is not gender specific, either in who gets it or how it's taught/used. What kind of idiot would tell someone born with the ability to wield an incredible weapon that, actually, they aren't allowed to? How did this attitude get instilled in the first place? Why didn't the first guy who ever said this get slashed to death by ice stabbies thrown by the ten nearest female benders? Are these northern water tribe people so unbothered by the war that they can afford to sideline 50% of their forces? More than sideline, render incapable of defending themselves or others? Obviously this tribe is far too privileged if they can afford this attitude. And also far too bored. I guess hiding behind that giant ice wall for 100 years left them so understimulated that they turned on themselves.

Bad attitude? Fucking bad attitude!?! There's only one guy in this episode with a bad attitude and it isn't Katara. Zhao looks downright pleasant compared to this Paku guy.

Question for Paku: why would the Northern Water Tribe's rules apply to a Southern Water Tribe member?

My god these two are so cute. Sokka could propose they disembowel whale carcasses for their activity and the princess would say yes.

So the parrot lizard did survive the fall over the waterfall.

They're little tiny children. Katara, who has spent her whole life wanting to learn to bend to fight, has literally been shoved back into the igloo with a bunch of babies to learn lady-bending (no offence to the babies). How how HOW is she so calm right now? If I were in her situation, I think I'd be so angry I'd be ugly crying. And also plotting how to murder that Paku guy.

WHAT.

Paku the asshole is apparently a proponent of the tell don't show philosophy of teaching. The Tell-while-doing-unspeakable-things-to-my-lunch don't show philosophy.

Unexpected backstory. This lady must have been pretty close to Gran Gran if she recognises a carving she presumably wore for maybe a few months about 50 years ago or more. Also this lady is shockingly dumb if she can't see why Gran Gran left this misogynistic hellhole, but I guess it can be hard to see it while you're in it.

Nitpick time: How does the teacher recognise this? Isn't this just the water tribe symbol? Probably the most common symbol in the whole north pole?

Nosferatu Zuko. Nosferzuko. Zukoratu? Iroh's pause here was so long that I checked in case I had muted by accident. And how does your crew being taken by Zhao the asshole make your crew traitors Zuko? Orders are orders.

So we're adding asassinating royals to our list of reasons Zhao is an asshole. I think he's won the title back from Paku.

Fuck this port I guess.

Zuko's dead. Huh. Bye then. Gotta say I don't get why he's so big in the fandom.

This princess sure does send some mixed messages. At least she didn't ghost him.

"Master Poophead." My God. It's perfect. Why didn't I think of that?

Aang passing on what he learns to Katara. Why didn't I think of that either? My plan was to get Katara to launch unprovoked attacks on Paku's students and study how they defend themselves until she can copy / surpass them. Mostly so I could watch Katara beat the crap out of sexists.

Die mad about it you troglodyte. Disrespect? How nice it must be to have enough of your culture left that it can be disrespected. And you're going to deny the avatar training, thus dooming the whole world to death via fire nation, because you're butthurt? Freakin manbaby.

YES! YES! BEAT HIS ASS! PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!!!!!!

"I know. I don't care." + "I'm not doing it for you." = I'm officially in love with Katara. I took a while to warm up to her, I admit the first few episodes were a little rough, but this seals the deal.

This screenshot sparks joy. Last episode Aang bitchslapped a fire nation guy with air. This episode it's Katara's turn with water. The Firelord Uber-Bitchslapped Zuko with fire a few years ago. All I need is an earth bitchslap and my collection will be complete. Avatar: master of all four bitchslaps. Also this wouldn't have worked to goad Paku into fighting if he was half as mature as he thinks he is. Although he gets points for being harder to goad than Zhao in the Deserter.

In an episode where the A plot is Katara, the B plot is Aang, the C plot is Zuko, and the D plot is Sokka's love life, the writers still manage to fulfill the Beat up Sokka quota. Good job guys.

If only she'd aimed a couple of inches to the left. This show already includes a kid getting his face burned off. Surely a Poophead being separated from his nose is ok?

That's twice now she's lost her necklace. If the carving has lasted 50+ years, surely it's earned a metal chain rather than a hair ribbon?

Gran Gran! Bullet dodged! Excellent call!

That's a lot less beat up than I was expecting. And Iroh has never once given the impression that he isn't quietly ride or die for Zuko, so why would Zuko not expect Iroh to help him? Because Zuko isn't terribly perceptive? Because the writers needed a way to deliver yet more exposition?

I did notice that the healing lady specified that Gran gran was in an arranged marriage but Poophead was talking about love. Again, why was Gran Gran leaving a mystery?

Underrated moment of wisdom from Aang here. He gets why the princess is upset and he's twelve! But I'd bet good money that the idiot on the right has no clue what's going on.

Princess ran so far away that it's night time now. This episode is not subtle anywhere, so I figured that the princess being engaged was the cause of this whole blowing hot and cold thing. Despite being 16 and fictional, Sokka handles mixed signals and rejection with 10000% more maturity and kindness than many unfortunately non-fictional grown men I've met. Kudos to Sokka for being honest and respectful.

Even redeemed, Poophead is still an asshole.

Well that's a problem.

Fire Nation ships would be a lot more intimidating if they didn't look like shoes.

Final Thoughts

This episode was a lot of exposition, a lot of set up, and even some catch up. And it was not done as gracefully as this show usually does it. More than once the dialogue between characters felt like two actors lecturing the audience rather than the characters we know.

This episode also had twice the concentration of assholes. A Zhao episode I can deal with. An episode with a one shot asshole where Zhao doesn't appear? I could also deal with. But TWO grade A assholes in ONE episode? No. Too much.

My whole-hearted congratulations to Gran Gran for seeing Poophead for what he was, and refusing to put up with it. Leaving his ass didn't make him get the message. 50+ years alone didn't make him get the message. The granddaughter that ought to have been his being so disgusted by his conduct that she attempts to cut his face off didn't make him get the message. There was no way that this idiot was going to change. So congrats to Gran Gran for making an excellent call, leaving his ass to freeze, and getting two most excellent grandchildren instead.

I also have to applaud Sokka and Katara for not being bitter about the Northern Water Tribe. I can't help but notice the spectacular architecture, complete with embellishments and unnecessary non-structural doodads. Let's do a quick comparison (ignore the ship):

Left has one waterbender. Right has all the waterbenders. We know that Northerners can travel south thanks to Gran Gran. The North couldn't have sent one sneaky waterbender to at least make the south a ship-proof wall? That chief guy has some audacity calling Katara and Sokka their brother and sister or whatever when they've evidently left the south to rot for a century. And I know the Fire Nation, the War, bla bla, but you guys are so bored behind your walls that you're cannibalising your own capabilities based on gender just for fun.

RANT INCOMING

Since I'm on the topic, can we talk about how STOOOPID it is to separate your combatants from your medics? Here's a secret about combat medics: they're both. They learn the basics of combat, and they learn the basics of emergency medicine (And a LOT of other stuff besides). Basic training includes basic first aid for EVERYONE.

Because here's the thing. People who get hurt beating the shit out of other people are usually hurt in an environment where beating the shit out of people occurs. If they are injured enough that they can't get themselves out of the 'beating the shit out of other people' zone, then unless they can treat themselves on the spot or their fellow soldiers can administer first aid or get them out, they die.

Alternatively, if they can't get themselves out of the 'beating the shit out of other people' zone, then medics have to be sent in. A medic who doesn't know how to fight who gets sent into the zone will - guess what? - get the shit beaten out of them. Now you're two men down at present, and who knows how many more you're going to lose over the next few days because you're down a medic. So unless every single waterbending fighter in the Northern water tribe is going to go into combat with a waterbending healer literally attached to them, there will be mountains of unnecessary losses and avoidable injuries.

Now let's look at this from the other angle. What happens if the enemy breaches your defences (because all your defenders are merrily bleeding out from wounds their bending could heal if only they'd learned how) and then makes their way to your combat hospitals? Which are full of soldiers who are too injured to fight and healers who don't know how to defend themselves? Apart from the whole living surrounded by their element thing, waterbenders' greatest advantage in a fight appears (to me) be to be their miraculous healing powers. Katara completely healed her burnt hands to the point where there wasn't even scar tissue and she had no training at all. A skill that can erase burns (the thing firebenders give you) negates the fire nation's greatest weapon - their fire. Any fire nation general who's not an idiot would therefore target waterbending healers, maybe even over waterbending fighters. So any fire nation commander would absolutely put 'capture field hospitals' as one of their top priorities. This is a kids' cartoon, so let's ignore historical precedent as to what happens to nurses caught in field hospitals behind enemy lines and say that the fire nation would defeat the waterbending healers.

Let's paint a quick picture here: in the background, a field full of waterbending fighters sidelined by treatable injury. In the middle ground, an inexorably advancing wall of firebenders. In the foreground, a field hospital full of defenseless waterbending healers. Just peachy isn't it?

How fucking UNSTOPPABLE would a bender able to shrug off a fireball to the face then turn around and take out a firebending platoon be? Get one hundred - no fifty - benders who can both heal and fight, have them advance in two rows: Front row fights, switches with back row when they're injured, gets healed up, rotates back up to front row as a replacement. Functionally unstoppable barring the need to eat and sleep (so long as they bring their own water). The Northern Water Tribe had decades to develop that. Unlike the south, they had the time, the resources, and apparently so little going on that they took up sexism to pass the time. The wasted opportunity here burns. See kids? Sexism hurts the sexists too.

This northern attitude is just dumb. It's illogical. It's stupid. I'd call it a ham-fisted unsubtle after school special of a plotline if it weren't a fictionalised version of something that's literally baked into to many cultures worldwide, past and present.

RANT CONCLUDED

What else can I say about this episode? Aang and Sokka had like three lines each, but they were very in character. Sokka and the princess are cute together. Zuko and Iroh had a good dynamic when they weren't acting in service to exposition. This whole episode really feels like part one of a two parter.

I think something might have been off with the narrative weighting of this episode. There was an honest to god assassination attempt and I forgot.

While the shot of Paku looking put out that the ice disk landed so close to his face was funny, I would have preferred it if Katara had gotten in one hit beyond her bitchslap. Just one. His ego needed the beating which it got via the necklace thing, but I would have liked to see actual beating too.

If I had seen this episode as a child I absolutely would have lost my mind over Katara getting to beat up a sexist. I'd bet good money that this episode did lots of good for the self-esteem of little girls who saw it.

Katara's plot line is like the plot of the Waterbending Scroll episode, but in a positive light. In that episode her selfishness regarding bending got them in trouble; in this one it helped. Seen in that light, the fact that it's the necklace rather than Katara's skill that gets through to Paku is a bit undermining, but if "magical girl has such impressive skills that the sexist dinosaur throws away decades of sexism for the chance to be her teacher" had been the plot instead, I'd probably be complaining about cliches instead.

All in all, a bit clunky, a lot of set up, and too many assholes and frustrating idiocy for it to go on my rewatch list. Feminist beat downs are good for the soul, but I'm not sure they outweigh Poopheads.

[simpywriter]

Flames

Part Three

Pairing: Zuko x Reader Universe: Canon Words: 3.6k

Part I | Part II

Summary: What will happen when you meet Zuko after what happened in Ba Sing Se?

Warning: little little tiny bit of angst

‘Where is she?’ was the question that Zuko found himself to ask more often than he thought. And it was followed by images of her face, from where they were little to his exile; he always knew where she was. But these memories were now blended together with her expression when she saw him attacking Katara, protecting the same sister from whom Y/N herself saved him not long before. He remembered the tears in her eyes as he kept throwing fire balls in her direction and the way her shoulders drooped while she jumped on the Avatar’s sky bison.

‘Why didn’t you come back? We would have found a way to free you from your accusations’ He was looking at the city under the palace. He was prince, he finally regained his father’s respect but he still didn’t feel like part of the royal family at all. He couldn’t bring himself to see the city under his feet like his reign. Did Iroh feel like this? No, Iroh was just a stupid old man that refused to accept his place in the world. But… Was Y/N just a stupid little girl?

«Zuko?» Too distracted to pay attention to the surroundings he didn’t notice that Mai was now right behind him, a concerned look on her face. «Are you okay?», she asked placing a hand on his tense shoulder. His face quickly relaxed, even If his body just refused to do the same, and he gave a soft smile. «Yeah», he said encircling her waist with an arm, he placed a slow kiss on the girl's lips, savoring the warmth of a loving touch «Everything's alright»

«Hello, Zuko here» ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’

You couldn’t believe this. You just fled the Fire Nation and found a place to hide, slowly regaining your power after the solar eclipse. And there he was, Zuko, the one that betrayed you and nearly cause the Avatar’s death, asking to be part of your new family. A family that immediately threatened to attack him, even your fists sparkled with red flames. You were surprised when he just lifted his hands in surrender and ignored your team’s words, instead tried to explain himself; Appa even licked him and you saw doubt crossing Aang’s eyes.

But the others didn’t seem even slightly convinced by the flying bison’s display of affection, and even the young Avatar quickly changed his expression in a stern one. «There’s no way we can trust you after everything you’ve done», his words echoed in the temple, quickly gaining support in Katara and Sokka. The former fire prince tried to complain, his eyes set on you as for asking for help.

You weren’t looking at anyone, fingers trembling just as your breath as you vaguely heard Toph trying to intervene, interrupted by waterbender «I think the only one in charge of this decision is Y/N», she said, drawing all the attention on you. You could feel golden hues on every inch of your face, but your gaze remained fixated on the ground as you gulped down the knot stuck in your throat.

«No, you’re right. We can’t trust him». You finally looked up to see Zuko’s features twist in hurt «Please Y/N», he took a step forward and Katara was ready to attack him before you stopped her with a wave of the hand «Let me expla-». The arm raised acted almost, almost on its own accord, sending your palm to hit the boy’s cheek with maybe too much force even for him; it seemed to silence him and the entire team, with the corner of your eye you saw Sokka’s jaw almost touching the ground.

But all your attention was on the firebender in front of you, now touching his face with slight reddened cheeks. «Yeah I… kinda deserved it» «Oh you kinda deserved it??» «I totally deserved it», he punctuated «But if you’ll just let me explain…» «No! You left me in that cave! You betrayed me and broke my heart. You knew exactly what you were to me and you just threw my trust, my friendship and everything between us away to follow your insane sister! I’ve always been there for you! Even in your exile. I gave up on everything, I rejected my life to follow you and now you expect me to forget everything just because you realized that you are good now?». Your voice traveled from angry, to broken, to scornful before you were able to calm yourself, nobody uttered a word, even Toph was speechless.

«Please Zuko, you’re smarted than this. You know I can’t do it», and he heard no more from you, instead being definitively kicked out, without you seeing the pleading (and teary) looks he kept sending you. Katara was the first to approach you, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder «Are you okay» «No», you whispered, but Toph seemed too eager to speak «That was stupid, we need someone to teach Aang firebending as soon as possible and, no offense Y/N, but you’re not really doing a good job regarding the ‘speed’ part» You didn’t respond, head hanging low in shame as you were reminded how terrible you were in teaching (not that your state of mind was helping); but Katara quickly interceded «I don’t care, I don’t want Zuko here. He betrayed me, he betrayed Y/N. No matter what he says, he’s not good». You agreed.

You didn’t expect the attack of Combustion Man and even less you expected Zuko to be the one warning and saving you, risking his life in order to stop the assassin. You felt the blood in your veins completely froze when you saw him being pushed out the cliff, only to hang on a liane. It was obvious that Aang would’ve welcomed him into your group at that point, finding the agreement of all the others, and even you didn’t have to force yourself to nod when asked. The fire boy gave you a smile, but it disappeared when you didn’t return it, looking around embarrassed. But after seeing the way his expression dropped when Katara treated him with the minimum amount of respect you felt guilt creeping in your lungs. Yes, he hurt you but he also tried to make it up to all of the team; he deserved at least some words from you.

When you approached him it was evening, he was arranging his sleeping bag close enough to feel the warmth of the fire you had just lit but farther from the others; seeing him so isolated made you feel sorry, reminding you of the way he struggled to make friends in the absence of his mother when he was little. «Hey», you whispered, making his head whip around to see you standing just a few feet away from him, and the way his eyes widened sent your heart on a racing speed. «O-oh, good morni-evening, I-I mean hi, hey», his cheeks shifted from his usual pale color to a soft pink and, by the end of his awkward greeting, a bright red that made you grin in amusement. He was even shyer than five years ago. And so cute.

«Hi», you repeated, taking a step forward, as you kept fiddling with your fingers «Listen, I think you deserve a thank you, for you know… saving us». His smile was softer this time, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of warmth when you got close enough to take a seat next to him; even if his skin was burning in shame he couldn’t stop looking at you, speaking with timid tone «It’s okay. I was the one putting you in danger in the first place, it was the bare minimum from me-» «If you’re trying to make me admit you weren’t a jerk, then it’s not working» But you were grinning and he even let out a low chuckle. And you’ve gone on and on, talking to each other and joking and laughing and smiling. You two were so invested in each other that when Sokka screamed your names for dinner neither of you heard him.

«Are you done, lovebirds?», the boy asked again, this getting your attention and all the air from your lungs at the nickname «What?!» «D-Don’t call us that!», you both stuttered at the same time, with faces set aflame. Toph snickered from right next to Sokka, having heard the smell of fools-ready-to-be-humiliated from miles away, you instantly froze when you saw her smirking lips part to speak. «Yeah? Well, tell Zuko. His heart is giving me headache» The two benders were sure they had never seen two people take two different directions in such a rush.

 

‘Thanks to the spirits Y/N is not here. Who knows when the teasing would end…’, Zuko thought looking down at the Boiling Rock’s prisoner uniform he was wearing. But what the girl would have paid more attention to would surely have been the furious looking ex-girlfriend in front of the firebender. He just needed the right signal from Sokka and Suki. Just the right signal… «It’s for her, isn’t it?», Mai’s voice was lower, trying to hide the hint of hurt behind, but it didn’t go unnoticed by the boy «You left me like this for her…». «I… I don’t understand. Her?» «Y/N. You started getting weird as soon as Azula brought you back, without her. Just stop lying and tell me if you betrayed your nation for another traitor».

Zuko couldn’t restrain himself, getting up with fists tightened at his sides «She’s not a traitor. And you know exactly that my decision wasn’t just impulsive». He tried to not sound too aggressive, looking at the way Mai refused to meet his eyes during this discussion; he scratched the back of his neck, going back to were he sat while she scolded him just a few minutes ago.  «I’m not a stupid Mai. I really care about you, you know that», the girl couldn’t find a way to retort without feeling a pang of guilty «And you have to believe me if I say that I left because I thought that was the right thing»

«That’s not the only thing I was talking about, idiot», she muttered, rolling her eyes when she saw him open his mouth to answer back «I got it some time ago, you don’t need to make up excuses». Zuko looked at her with a frown, an expression too stupid to be of feigned confusion «Are you serious?», the girl asked raising her eyebrows after a few seconds of silence «You really don’t» «What are you talking about?» «Spirits, you’re so dumb…» «Hey! I’m not-» They were interrupted by a guard reaching for the door in a rush, voice laced with exhaustion «Ma’am, there’s a riot going on, I’m here to protect you!». ‘Here’s the right signal’

 

In the following days it was not uncommon for Zuko to rethink what Mai had said to him at the Boiling Rock; most of the times they were fleeting thoughts as he talked to the others or prepared some tea, but the others, the most difficult to shoo away, would pop out of nowhere during the most inopportune and embarrassing moments. Once, during training with Aang, you were getting ready to switch with him, tying your hair into a high ponytail while turning around, the movements let your crop top rise even more as the skirt fluttered around your thighs, making the arching of your back’s curve enough distracting to make Zuko freeze on the spot and get an accidental kick from Aang. Little did he know you were turned around just to spare yourself the pain of having to stare at his toned and very very very naked chest.

Another time the firebender was busy lighting the fire while Sokka and Toph were fighting over the last supply of dried meat. «Hey», you called him, struggling to keep balanced between your arms some branches «Need a recharge?» You talked to him with such a sweet tone that he almost forgot he wasn’t at the palace anymore, when you were no more than ten years ago; and he found himself contaminated by your kindness, looking down at you with the same soft gaze you always reserved for him. «Thank you», he whispered smiling, helping you to set down the branches. You didn’t know what happened, but your now free hand seemed to move on its own, and you caressed his hair the moment he knelt to stock the fire.

For Zuko, who was currently trying to hide his rosy cheeks from you and whose mind was occupied by the now omnipresent dialogue with Mai, it was the final blow. The feeling of your fingers combing his locks caused a short circuit in his head and his lips parted, letting out a low, but loud enough to be heard, sigh. You froze. He froze. Even the fire died with a puff. «I-I-I…» «Oh, well, uh-» «S-Sorry..» «No… I mean yes! I m-mean…» «It was just… You know…» «Yes of course! Just a…» «A nothing» «Yes nothing»

«Guys! We need more fooooood!» You closed your eyes in gratitude ‘Sokka my savior’ ‘Thanks the spirit for that dumb guy’, Zuko thought at the same time, hiding his expression even when you walked away, face leaning forward as he relighting the fight.

And then there was the last time. A night, right after everyone had gone to sleep, while Zuko fulfilled his guard shift you found yourself tossing and turning in bed, anguish for the upcoming fight and the stress of training prevented you from falling asleep. With a frustrated groan you pulled the covers off your body, stepping out of the tent careful not to wake Suki, gladly welcoming the cool air against your skin; you caught a glimpse of Zuko sitting on a log on your now extinguished fire. After the extremely embarrassing hair caressing session of the other day you couldn’t find the strength to be alone with him, too scared to say or do something really stupid; but you two have been separated for so long that you simply could not stop from automatically walking in his direction. The slightly damp grass creaked slightly under your feet, until it signaled your presence to the boy. If Toph had been awake she would’ve already taken the opportunity to make a few jokes about the increased rhythm of your heart as soon as you met golden eyes.

«Couldn’t sleep?», he asked, shifting a bit to the right to make space for you. ‘Spirits, he’s so damn cute’ «Yeah», you answered in a hushed tone after taking a seat next to him, scolding yourself for being victim of your own mind. «I’m just…» «Scared». You looked at him, he was playing with a small flame spiraling through his fingers, his expression serious and somewhat… sad? «I feel the same», the little flame was gone and his eyes met yours again, lips bended a sympathetic smile «I’ve never been this scared» «Zuko…» «Don’t»

Your chest tightened at the way he was clearly trying to avoid the subject, he was going to fight his sister, his father, his home. You had left these ideals behind you quite some time ago but him… he suffered more, he fought more, against others and against himself. And now he didn’t even have time to process the change that was immediately about to be thrown back into a struggle with his pat. How could you leave him like this, tormented and alone? «Maybe you should-» «Please Y/N», his tone was trembling and he gripped the log’s edge with a shaking hand «I can’t now, I can’t, I can-» «Hey, hey. Okay, it’s alright», you took his hand, squeezing it in both yours and trying to stop his quivering «We won’t talk about it now» You felt another pang in your heart when the boy murmured a faint “Thank you”, managing to respond only with a simple nod.

But neither of you could endure the silence for long, full with unspoken words. Zuko was the first to speak. «What about you? Ever been this scared?» Your grip on his hand wavered, until it slipped away from yours and the boy immediately missed your warmth, «Yes. When Azula found out about my bending», you quickly added, seeing the questioning look on his face. «That’s when you came to work at the palace…», he said, talking more with himself than to you «You were unhappy and I didn’t take care of you as I should have…» «Zuko. It’s thanks to you if I didn’t end up in the army» «It’s also thanks to me if you ended up working for my father» «Better than the army», you whispered. Your gaze remained on the ash that the breeze moved among the scorched branches.

«In that way I was with you, Iroh was also there sometimes and this will seem absurd but I never found the courage to fight back until I ended up under the eyes of the Fire Lord». His features creased in an amused smirk, eyes rolling to the side «Yeah… all that mysterious blindfolded girl stunt» «Hey! You had the Blue Spirit, I had-» «The Blindfolded-Hooded-Woman?» «Ah ah, very funny», you snorted, but his chuckle didn’t stop and you weren’t sure you wanted it to stop.

«However, while everybody knew you were the Blue Spirit no one recognized me until I came to save your ass from Azula. I also had to bandage my forearms after getting my tattoo and you seriously have no idea how uncomfortable it is to bend with gauze covering most of your arms», you two weren’t even trying to contain your burst of laughter «Maybe for noobs like you» «If you really want to, I’ll kick you and see how noob I am» «Dream as you want». Your chuckles continued for a few moments, toning down slightly only when neither of you could argue anymore.

You bit your lower lip when you met his gaze, the eyes of both did not seem willing to separate from each other; there was something that pulled you towards him, something that had really made you understand how much the child who hid behind his mother’s legs had really grown, in every sense. There had always been something, a little something, that kept you tied to him but never before had it been tangible.

But Zuko broke the contact, looking down at your forearm to steal a glance of your tattoo. You didn’t even noticed he had moved his hand in your direction until his fingertips had gently brushed against your skin, making you shiver under your breath. «I never asked you what it meant», he whispered, and luckily for you he didn’t look up, not seeing the way you blushed at the mixture of his touches and words.

But when you answered your voice was surprisingly calm, «It doesn’t have one», you said «It was just… out of rebellion. Against my father, against Ozai, against the nobles I had to protect…» Zuko knew he should’ve had listened to you, you were confiding in him after a long time and he was finally able to really understand what you were saying; but he could not help it, his conversation with Mai suddenly returned to cloud his mind. He watched you speak, smile, move, without really getting your words, but he didn’t need those.

«Y/N», he called for you, too softly for you to hear «Now that I think about it, it can also be against Azula since I finally managed to do something transgressive…» «Y/N» «And she also said that I-» «Y/N!» «What?» «I want to kiss you»

And he did. Before you could say or do something to make him regret and ask Toph to bury him alive. He did it because he didn’t miss the sparkle that passed over your surprised eyes; so he leaned forward and brought his lips on yours. Everything happened so quickly that you didn’t even had time to think about what he had just said that he was already doing it. And Spirits if you didn’t want him to stop.

His kiss was soft, a barely perceptible movement of his lips which you responded to. When he started to distance himself you immediately leaned forward, refusing to let him go already, chasing the contact. You felt him smile in the kiss as he cupped your cheek in his palm, his touch was slightly trembling from fear and excitement. It was a tender kiss, a tenderness that you knew had always been and would always be there only with him. When you parted there was no need to say anything, it came natural for both of you to just smile without a word as you leaned your head against his chest while Zuko gently stroked your shoulder. After his date with Jin it became rare for you to stop and think about what could have happened with the boy, when he chose Azula those thoughts became mere remains of anger and resentment that encouraged you to fight at Aang’s side; when he betrayed the Fire Nation instead you never really realized the turn that your relationship could finally take, as if everything had returned to the starting point between embarrassed looks and skipped heartbeats.

«You know…», you were the first to speak and he gently squeezed your shoulder, showing that he was listening «Right after the battle in the Crystal Catacombs I thought that I’ve lost you» He groaned «I’ve been such an idiot» «But you’re here now, you proved yourself what the extraordinary leader you can be. And I’m so proud of you Zuko». His smile grew and this time you leaned in at the same time. That night you slept in his tent and he didn’t linger indecisively with his hand over your hips, but he wrapped both his arms around them and held you tightly against his chest while you both drifted to sleep.

The next morning it would have been very embarrassing to explain the situation when Sokka came to wake up the firebender.

Thank you so much for reading this final part! This is the end of the story but I have some bonus chapters in mind (even little drabbles). Let me know if you would like to read them! :)

[lobularia-maritimum]

zuko’s crew is so real for complaining about the ice lmao.

very weird feelings about the katara aang interaction rn?

good acknowledgment of sokka having to grow up fast, i feel like that gets glossed over sometimes

oh baby aang confused about war. i love him

hot take i don’t love the firebending cgi

awww zuko preparing to fight some great trained warrior and it’s just a little guy who wants to go penguin sledding

i love that katara has a little water bending cave

also i feel like a lot of the time their eyeshadow is too dark

i like that katara knows she’s a warrior. why isn’t she saying that to sokka. let him have it girlie

sokka arming a bunch of nine year olds is tearing up my soul.

gran gran again spitting facts

sokka … in his armor … i mean …… 😅

sir let your badass sister fight

sokka immediately turning over aang is hilarious for some reason but also katara yes you are /right/ and you should say it

sokka with weapons ……

SOKKA PLAYING ONE ON ONE KNOWING HIS WARRIORS DONT STAND A CHANCE. YES LEADERSHIP. YES AANG DRAMATIC ENTRANCE. YES VAGUELY HOMOEROTIC FIGHT SCENE. YES YES YES this is excellent i am enjoying this.

OH AND THE KJDDOS AND KATARA THROWING ROCKS AND FIGHTINF BACK

okay i actually really like the way this fight scene happened

ope except for katara’s disney princes “wait”

slay aang for acknowledging her bravery and badassery though

with respect girlie there’s really and truly not a lot you can do

SCREAMING CRYING HIM APPOINTING A NEW LEADER AND THEYRE ALL JUST KIDS AUGHSKDJJS

aang and iroh. aang with the heavy questions. augh. “it doesn’t matter how this world started. it only matters how it can end” iroh being so careful to not say what he believes. aww and sending him tea.

aang stealing the keys is so on brand i love it

SOKKA ON APPA AKSNDHDJKSNSHAQ

i love that zuko looks like a raging older brother whose sibling just stole something

HOW DID THAT FIRE REACH GODDAMN

aang you’re an ajrbender just fly bruh

awwww the saving him i love this

ZUKO IS MAKING FUCKING COMETS??!

KATARA YESSSSSS

i love sokka’s face like. shit what did i get into.

oh god seeing the temple.

oh god the recognition. oh //gods//

the just complete inability to process

okay i actually love the way the avatar state is being executed

this is just sad. /pos

katara why are you coming in with the dull platitudes

oh zuko does art?! okay . I’m very okay with that

i have to say aangs sudden resolve and okay-ness with it all feels way too forced

why is the credits music so fast??!!!

alrighty I’m finally watching the live action atla let’s goooo

[charlesoberonn]

Ok, here's my ideas for Renegade Princess.

Toph misses Earth Rumble 6 because the Beiphongs decide to bring her along as they inspect their holdings in a colonial port town. And when the Red Hands raid the port, Mai recognizes the flying boar crest and they kidnap the Beiphongs daughter for ransom.

Toph could get away, but that would out her as an accomplished earthbender and while it's no Earth Rumble, getting kidnapped by pirates sounds pretty exciting.

She quickly realizes that being a hostage is boring and, after one of the poor fools guarding her in the brig complains about the sand in his boots, Toph decides not to wait for the ransom to be paid. Thirty minutes later, Azula is watching an obnoxious, seasick 12-year-old use one handful of sand to choke out one of her lieutenants while threatening to do the same to her with the other handful and demanding to be taken back to shore. "Tell me, Toph Beiphong, have you ever wanted to be a pirate?"

Toph and Azula make a deal to turn her over for the ransom and meet up later at the EarthRumble arena. Toph thinks this is to avoid having her parents turn their resources and connections against the Red Hands, when actually it's a ploy for Azula to cement Toph's trust and loyalty.

She earns the name Blackhand, because coal is the only earth available for bending aboardship; also she starts carrying a small censer on her hip so she can ignite her bending coal.

Assuming Aang still has his swamp vision, the flying boar leads him to a soot-covered little girl with flaming hands.

Azula demands that she learn to swim, which is an ordeal for everyone involved, and Azula ends up personally taking charge of her lessons.

Toph does not volunteer that she is a human lie detector. Which ends up being important when she realizes that she can't tell when Azula is lying, a fact which leaves her shaken and suspicious.

Toph invents metalbending earlier than in canon, because Zhao got lucky and managed to capture 'Azula's pet earthbender' and has her imprisoned on his flagship. Despite Toph's bravado afterward (and the fact that she crippled his vessel), the incident is definitely harrowing for her. Close-quarters combat in an unfamiliar, enclosed space; her only tool a bending style that she literally just invented and has no practice in; vastly outnumbered by soldiers taking orders from a man who is an experienced, vicious combatant and does not believe in holding back.

That's all I've got so far.

I really like all of those ideas. I don't know if I'm gonna use all of them, but I definitely going to make Toph join Azula's crew (I was going to anyway).

I especially like Toph ransoming herself back to her parents. It's a very cruel thing to do that would set her on a very different path than she did in the show.