#nor toph with aang around

[wilcze-kudly]

The Gaang being 'bad parents' didn't ruin their characters.

I've seen this argument tossed around a couple times and it's honestly one of my least favourite criticisms of lok.

Katara (and Sokka but we have no confirmed kids for him, which seems unrealistic with how much game he had) lost their mother as children and their father was forced to abandon them when they were barely starting their teens. They were raised by their grandmother with little to no peers of their own age.

Aang did not know his parents and a huge chunk of his childhood was him being groomed into taking up the mantle of the avatar and mastering airbending. He also was isolated from other kids his age. His closest parental figure was Gyatso who was more of a teacher than a father. Also the Air Nomads were literally wiped out so that adds to the trauma pile.

I really don't think i have to talk about Zuko's family life here, but at least he had relatively positive parental figures in the form of Ursa (though i do have a burning personal dislike of ursa) and Iroh. Despite this his struggle around the subject of his family and his trauma relating to his upbringing was a focal point of his character arc.

Toph was raised in isolation by her asshole abelist parents who did not listen to her, sent people to capture and bring her back and then disowned her. (If my cursory understanding of 'the rift' is correct, I need to actually read it because i am unreasonably obsessed with the Beifong family.)

Where, pray tell, were they supposed to learn proper parenting skills? On their brief stint as child soldiers? While fighting a war as literal children?

There is the argument that they must've matured later in their lives, of course. But you can only recover so much from copious amounts of childhood trauma.

Being a bad parent doesn't necessarily make you a bad person. Sure it makes you a failure in an incredibly delicate and important aspect of human life but it doesn't make you a bad person. And saying that it does takes a lot of nuance out of the conversation.

Like, do you know how easy it is to fuck up a child?

Especially that the ways the members of the Gaang 'fucked up' as parents feel mostly in character.

Bumi was going to face some struggles with self worth due to being the firstborn child of the Avatar and arguably one of the most powerful waterbenders in history, while being a nonbender himself. That much was unavoidable, no matter how his parents approached the issue.

And Aang was obviously going to be over the moon when Tenzin was born. Think about it. He's literally the last of his people. He has no one else 'like him'. No one else to pass down the traditions, the teachings that Gyatso and everyone else he cared about and who were horrifically murdered to. Aang is getting older and he feels like his culture and history and his entire life before he got trapped in that damned iceberg will die along with him. And then Tenzin is born and Tenzin can take up the mantle that had been thrust upon Aang.

I'm going to withhold my judgement on Izumi and Zuko, since we barely know anything about them. She seems well adjusted but that's all i can say right now. But Zuko has also been shown to be extremely, painfully aware of how fucked up his family is and has clearly been putting in a lot of work to unscrew what his ancestors have screwed up.

Toph situation feels very tragic to me,because it's obvious that she thought she thought she was doing better than her parents. She gave her daughters the freedom to do what they want, to not feel opressed and trapped like she had. How was she supposed to know that she was making her girls feel like she didn't love them? (Here's another post of mine about the Beifong family and how they just feel like they're cursed or something at this point.)

TLDR; I get annoyed by people saying that the Gaang being 'bad parents' ruined their characters, because to me it felt like it actually enhanced them.

Neither Aang nor Toph acted out of malice or a lack of love. On the contrary, Toph was trying not to repeat her parents mistakes, accidentally committing a bunch of her own. While Aang probably didn't even realise that he was neglecting Kya and Bumi.

But just loving your children doesn't always make you a good parent.

I think these flaws only add to them as characters. It makes them feel more real.

It's unrealistic and, frankly, just plain boring to go 'oh the Gaang were all good people so they would be good parents too.'

The Gaang were a gaggle of traumatised children forced into saving the world, because the adults around them failed them, that then grew into traumatised adults who have no idea how to be good parents.

[hadesisqueer]

Honestly I have never fully agreed with the whole "Korra has the personality of a Firebender" because-- what exactly is the personality of a Firebender? She used Firebending a lot in the first books, I'll give you that, but it seemed more out of accessibility than anything; later she switches it for Air.

Fire is the element of power; Firebenders tend to be pretty determined people. Water is the element of change; Waterbenders tend to be very adaptable. Earth is the element of substance; Earthbenders usually are very resilient people. And Air is the element of freedom; Airbenders tend to be very free-spirited. There are stereotypes for benders (Firebenders are angry people and obsessed with honor, Earthbenders are usually pretty stubborn) that can be true with some people. But not always.

Now, here, look. These two are Airbenders.

Do they have the same personality?

Now, these two.

They're Earthbenders. Do they have the same personality?

What about these two Waterbenders?

Are they any similar?

Or maybe these two Firebender brothers?

What is the personality of a Firebender? Iroh's personality? Zuko's? Azula's, or Ozai's? Or Mako's?

Yes, Korra had affinity with firebending due to a couple of her personality traits that made her a very determined and fierce person. She also had an affinity with earthbending from a young age as well because she was a tough, stubborn and resilient person who stood her ground. However, she was also a very adaptable person who favored change, which is the main personality trait of what a Waterbender should be.

Personality traits aren't exclusive of one element. Kya is more spiritual and free-spirited than Tenzin and she's not an Airbender, but a Waterbender; stereotypically, Tenzin is kinda different than you'd expect an Airbender to be, actually, with him being more disciplined and serious. Bolin does not have the stereotypical Earthbender personality, either. And Mako doesn't have the stereotypical Firebender 'impulsive' personality either, he's more a 'cool under fire' person who usually stays level-headed in tough situations. Korra lacked spirituality and prefered to stand her ground or fight at first rather than avoiding conflict, which is why she had trouble with Airbending at first. But again, personality traits aren't exclusive of just one element nor does the element you bend really define and shape your personality; the way you are brought up, your environment and the people around you contribute more to that. Korra originally didn't have those traits due to the way she was raised, isolated from the world, groomed and pressured from a young age as the Avatar. Raise her differently, with a more normal, carefree childhood, and perhaps she wouldn't have struggled as much with airbending as she originally did.

In my opinion, the reason why people might think Korra has a full on 'Firebender personality' is because she has some common traits with a particular Firebender. The Firebender being Zuko. Both were originally hot headed, got angry easily at first, were fierce and impulsive. Korra also shared personality traits with Toph, too, being tough and stubborn —they were raised being isolated with no friends, too, which is a parallel between them. But like I said, personality traits can help with an element, but aren't exclusive of that element. Korra also had several things in common with Aang.

Personally, in my opinion, someone Korra has a lot in common with as well, maybe more than with Zuko or Toph-- is Katara, another Waterbender. They both are driven people with a lot of determination, righteous and passionate about what they believe in, and pretty adaptable as well. Korra seems to be more aggressive, and impulsive as well, but let's not act like Katara didn't have a temper, too, and like she wasn't impulsive and reckless as well sometimes (remember when she blew up a FN factory because Sokka said it without thinking of the consequences). They both could get very frustrated as well when they weren't immediately good at something they expected to be good at. There are many differences between them, yeah, due to the ways they were brought up —again, Korra was isolated from the world with no friends her age and pressured to be the Avatar and Katara was forced on a motherly role from a very young age after the loss of her actual mother. However, if they had been raised in more normal ways, I fully believe they'd be even more similar. Put Katara as the Avatar from a young age like Korra herself was and I think she could have been a very similar Avatar to Korra imo. But it also makes sense in some way they're similar considering Katara was Korra's waterbending master and likely one of her biggest role models growing up.

(Free my girls they both get so overhated for no reason too).

Anyway, to me there is really no such actual thing as having 'the personality of X bender', they're mostly stereotypes. There are personality traits that can be helpful to bend an element, but they're never exclusive to that element. Just because you're stubborn as hell doesn't mean you're an Earthbender, and Bolin himself doesn't really exhibit that trait. Just because you're a very fierce person, doesn't mean you're an Firebender. You can be a pretty spiritual person and not an Airbender. You can be a very adaptable guy, but a Firebender instead of a Waterbender. Aang was far from having the slightest stereotypical Firebender personality and he didn't struggle with firebending, but he had the determination needed to be a Firebender. He also had the same adaptability needed to be a Waterbender. Korra had some personality traits that made her have it easy with firebending. She also had personality traits that made it easy for her to waterbend and earthbend. Easy.

[breached-containment-script]

Some arguments KA shippers make are valid and true. But that they don't necessarily do anything nearly enough to be valid anti-zutara arguments!

Stuff like, that quick burns probably wouldn't scar (Katara's hands) or that if she had gotten scarred, that Toph's feet should have gotten scarred too. This is valid.

That it's true that when Aang's negative aspects get developed to their final extreme forms in theories and fanfiction, it can feel weird and offputting to people who naturally gravitate towards staying approximately around canon vibes; that some descriptions of behaviour sound too strong to some people which results in pushing them away from zutara as a negative reaction to associated criticisms of Aang. But that also personal headcanon developments (even those with strong foundation in canon) are individual preferences and people are able to choose which headcanons to like, without using disliked ones to paint an entire show interpretation negative.

It'a true that most of Aang's bad behaviour in the show can be attributed to him being just a kid and not being self-aware enough yet. He's not intentionally malicious in most cases. His negative reaction towards Water Tribe culture and food is a depiction of a kid not knowing how to respect something that makes him uncomfortable, even if this kinda clashes with him having already had friends from all over the world. Unfortunatey, canon progression doesn't depict him learning as many lessons as he should nor does it show him outgrowing negative traits even though it should have. THIS is the source of headcanons which appreciate intentionally exploring main character developing in a negative light. His negative traits constantly repeat and have a common stay in his canon character. This is a fact, especially with his claim that he'd be in the Avatar state had it not been blocked, out of frustration that actors on a stage implied Katara doesn't feel the same way about him. This is a very bad thing, we've seen both him and others being afraid of it, it causing massive destruction and Katara having the burden of calming him down. How would she theoretically calm him down in the case he did enter the Avatar state because of this reason? Assuming she didn't have romantic feelings for him (which should always exist as a valid option for any character, to test if they have a healthy interaction) - she could pray he'd accept it and calm down on his own, or be under extreme pressure to lie that she likes him back. Even if she did like him back, having to admit under the threat of a destructive force being unleashed, IS NOT GOOD. Especially as the characters never addressed this later.

Yes, Zuko did a lot of bad things but not only are they overblown by KA-fans and Zuko-antis, they constantly purposefully ignore that he got punished repeatedly, suffered in canon for his actions and kept doing very risky and selfless things to make up for his past, they also forget that time flows FORWARD and that WHEN events happened on a timeline MATTERS. It's not an argument that Zuko burned Suki's village in book 1 when he helped rescue her and others by risking his life in book 3 and she forgave him. One thing is collateral damage in a cartoon filled with cartoon violence, and another when for example Long Feng kills Jet. Viewers should be able to discern the tone difference, because shows (or any creative work) especially with multiple writers, aren't homogenous, and aren't tonally or message-wise completely unified. Don't start your deduction argument from the idea that a show is fully consistent and is absolutely sending a singular message, start an inductive analysis from ideas about what a show's context is, what its goals are, what the tone feels like in each section, did it accomplish what it was aiming for, etc. Likewise Zuko could have been written even better in some areas and with more context!

However him hunting down heroes, knocking out Katara etc. isn't a gotcha argument some people think it is, because Katara knocked him out as well, twice even so badly he didn't wake up for quite some time; and he was struck, rejected, ignored, mocked and criticised by both Iroh, the gaang and Katara especially after he sided with Azula under Ba Sing Se, but then they forgave him as he actively worked to atone, and Katara herself forgave him for what he did. She then risked her life to save him back. The writing is very logical and consistent in this.

[enchantedmyth]

Zuko, What’s my name?

Fate hasn’t always been in the gang’s favor. Through their journey of finding Aang in the iceberg to meeting an awkward Zuko, they’ve had numerous ups and downs. So, it was wild when Zuko tried to convince them that he's on their side. No one saw it coming. Especially Sokka.

In general, Sokka was a very analytical person. Always bearing the responsibility for the safety of the group, for keeping them on track, and for coming up with innovative ideas to escape life-threatening situations. Of course, the most important thing, being the one who kept things light. 

As far as his calculation went, Zuko could not be trusted even though he had surprisingly turned out to be useful. He’d been skeptical ever since Zuko first showed up. Neither Appa licking him with joy nor Toph’s feeling that he wasn’t lying could convince Sokka. Sure, Zuko had won his trust a teeny-tiny bit by helping them against  Combustion Man, so Sokka gave in and decided to let Zuko teach Aang fire bending if it meant sending the plan into motion to defeat the Fire Lord. That was the only thing that mattered for Sokka. 

Still, something was bugging him. Right after everyone had agreed to let Zuko stay, he realized something when they were having lunch, something weird. 

Then, again during dinner, when they were sitting around the fire, he noticed the seemingly increasing weirdness of the situation. As soon as he had taken his last bite, he decided to speak up.

“Guys…” he started calmly. “I think we need to address the elephant in the room,” he declared, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“What elephant?” Aang asked.

“It’s called a Bison,” Toph commented.

“I KNOW WHAT A BISON LOOKS LIKE!” Sokka screeched, before he cleared his throat, “I’m talking about him!” Sokka pointed at Zuko.

Katara rolled her eyes. 

Aang raised his eyebrow. “I think we have already established that he is part of the group now, Sok-”

“Stop!” Sokka shook his head. “No, no, no. Don’t say my name!”

“But So-”

“DON’T SAY MY NAME!” Sokka screamed.

“What’s with him?” Aang whispered in Toph's ears, feeling defeated, and Toph shrugged nonchalantly.

Sokka stood up to face Zuko. “So…Prince!”

“Uhh…” Zuko curled his upper lip. “Yeah?”

“What is my name?” Sokka squirted his eyes.

Toph laughed. “I think Combustion Man got to his head.”

But Sokka didn’t budge. “The fact of the matter is, I haven't heard him call any of us by our names. It's always The Avatar or The Bison.” He said, impersonating Zuko as he stepped closer to him. “What is my name, Zuko? See? I just said your name! It’s not that hard.”

Katara growled, growing impatient, but chose to stay silent, just like Haru, The Duke, and Teo, who were also witnessing the whole thing while eating their dinner.

Zuko let out an awkward laugh. “Lee?”

Everyone gasped.

“SEE!” Sokka pointed at him again. “I KNEW IT! THIS GUY DOESN’T KNOW OUR NAMES!”

Hearing this, Toph sat up. “Wait, really?”

“But you've been following us forever!” Aang added.

Zuko scratched his cheek. “Uhh…You guys never really told me your names.”

Aang slowly shook his head in disbelief, “And you decided to just roll with it?”

“It was very awkward this morning,” Zuko argued. “You know, with the assassin trying to kill everyone? Then you guys went to do your own things. I thought it was too late to ask.”

An awkward silence took over only to be broken when Sokka cracked up. “And to think he followed us around the world!” He snorted. Toph and Aang joined in while Haru, The Duke, and Teo softly chuckled.

“Who do you think Appa is?” Sokka hollered.

“Is that the Earth Bender or the Bison?”

Sokka laughed even more. “Holy waters!” He wiped away a tear. “Can you guess who Aang is?”

“Ugh…”

“Who…Oh Spirit! Who is Sokka?”

“The…Avatar?”

“Hahaha! Who are these extra people then?”

“I’m seeing them for the first time…”

“Okay, guess who is the grumpy girl with the hair loopies?”

“The waterbender…”

“Don’t drag me into this,” Katara spat.

And just like that everyone else laughed, breaking the ice. Maybe Sokka trusted Zuko a little more now. 

..............

I wrote this a while ago in a sleepy state and thought I did something. Inspired by a post I can't seem to find. This is not exactly romantic but I see some zukka potential here idk man.

[im-a-hoping-beetch]

Many people genuinely get confused when we, native people, get uncomfortable when Katara, a native character, is reduced to a mom and her canon relationships with characters are put down in favour for a boy who lived in a society that benefitted from her oppression, antagonised her and her friends for most of the series and was even racist at times. But because he's hot and had an episode with katara, everything should be forgiven, because god forbid a native girl gets with anyone who isn't from a group of people who aided the genocide of her people. God forbid two characters who experienced genocide have a relationship and connect over this shared trauma, in favour for boy who also has mom trauma

Look, while I can understand your feelings of discomfort towards the ship, I’d still like to put certain things into perspective.

Now, I don’t really know what you meant by her being “reduced” to a mom. Do you mean that her relationship with Zuko would confine her to such a role? Which, by the way, is absolutely laughable, since one of the main reasons why so many ppl ship these two is bcz unlike every member of the gaang (aside from Suki), Zuko is the only one with who she doesn’t have to act like a surrogate mother. Katara is allowed to be angry and be vulnerable with him. All things that we rarely see her be able to do with the rest of the bunch, let alone her own brother.

Actually, one of the main appeal of the two is bcz, both have the same level of of maturity and similar way of interacting with the members of the gaang. Which is why so many ppl label the two as “parents of the group”.

But, if you’re talking about how, we zutarians usually talk abt the intricacies that come with her being a motherly person, I’ve got some news for ya. Most of us, usually, never fail to highlight how much of a tragedy, her being pushed into a role of adulthood at such a young age is. Also, on how, ironically, her canonical partner (Aang) has never really helped with that phenomenon, actually he perpetuated it even further.

Besides, wanna talk abt canon relationships being put down for a boy, well, look no further than canon itself, anon. I’m guessing that you’ve probably read this post, due to the phrasing at the beginning of your ask. One thing I specifically touched on, was how much of Katara’s existence seems to revolve around Aang, the biggest example being, the comics. In them, we do see the creators ready to strain Katara’s established relationships with the gaang (aside from her brother) in order to shove kataang down our throats. Cuz if you think abt it, Toph and Katara’s interactions are heavily reduced, let alone meaningful ones and do not even get me started on Zuko or Suki.

Yes, Zuko lived in a society that benefited from her oppression. He has antagonized her and her friends. But Zuko is also made to recognize the harm his actions have caused. Additionally, at no point is he not faced with the consequences of what he has done towards the gaang. Every single member gets to express anger or/and resentment over what he’s done in the past, Katara is no exception. Actually, she’s the one who’s given the most leeway in terms of doing so. Even for things he had no control over such as her mother’s death and the fire nation raids. However, instead of whining about how he’s not responsible for all of this taking place, something he could’ve easily done, he makes it up to her. He helps her seek justice for her mother while her canonical future boyfriend is out here reducing her righteous anger to blindsided revenge.

I don’t know what you mean by “Because He’s hot and had an episode with her, everything should be forgiven.” To me, that last part owed to make me scratch all the dandruff off my braids. Language is a powerful tool, but often than not, people don’t really know how to use it nor seem to understand the ramifications of their use. When you say “everything should be forgiven”, you are framing forgiveness as something passive, when, here, it is active. Someone does the action of forgiving Zuko, Katara does. Katara forgives him, because he earned it.

Right now, I’m assuming that you thought you were in defence of Katara, but the truth is that you are actually perpetuating an habit that many have had when it comes to the Southern Raiders. Which is to perpetually strip any agency Katara has in an episode literally centered around her character!?!

Nobody forbid anyone from anything. If people don’t feel comfortable shipping these two, so be it. However, to act as if Zuko hasn’t actively fought against the system that has led to those atrocities being done or like he hasn’t used his position of power in order to make actual change or/and retributions, is simply disingenuous.

Aang and Katara did have a relationship, but have never connected over their shared trauma. More specifically, Aang failed to connect over their shared trauma, when he should have and instead used as a way to silence hers. @sokkastyles makes a very good point about it in this post.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

i think that after zuko's redemption, every writer decided that they wanted their redeemed villain to join the heroes and help save the day. and this would not be a problem if,

a. the villain actually earned the heroes' trust instead of being handed it on a silver platter

or

b. if including the villain strengthened the group.

let's take my favorite catgirl for example. i've talked a billion times about why her redemption was so bad, i trust i don't have to repeat it.

but is catra at least a valuable member of the BFS?

zuko had a purpose in team avatar. aang needed someone to teach him firebending and since practically all of the firebenders were his enemies (except for jeong jeong), aang had to accept zuko's offer. apart from tutoring aang, zuko also becomes the gaang's sense of preservation and their dad friend, of sorts.

this all comes naturally and doesn't contradict his previous characterization, nor does it take away from the other characters' roles. the rest of team avatar aren't dumbed down so that zuko can shine. sokka is still the brains of the group, toph and katara are still proficient fighters, and so on. zuko just serves as the last puzzle piece.

it seems that spop tried to recreate the mom/dad friend part with catra by putting adora, bow and glimmer in danger and having catra rescue them. but at the cost of their characterization. these three characters are normally capable. but they are dumbed down in s5 so that catra can have her tiny heroic moments and endear the audience to her.

other than that, catra is kind of useless. she's a part of the BFS because.. she's adora's gf. that's it. she doesn't develop an actual friendship with bow or glimmer (there was lost potential with her and glimmer), she doesn't earn their forgiveness and trust, and she doesn't really add anything to their group.

i guess you could say that her experience with being chipped by horde prime helped them, but it mostly just hindered them. and this could have been achieved with any character, not just catra. it's not exclusive to catra's abilities.

usually when a villain joins the heroes but is still kind of an asshole, the heroes keep them around because they're useful. they add something to the group. that's not even the case with catra. it almost feels like the BFS only include her in their group because she would throw another hissy fit if they didn't.

[discordiansamba]

some more general spitballing for the pirate zuko au:

once katara gets over her rough start with him, she's actually glad to have another waterbender around. kou's status as Most Experienced Waterbender in the group is a temporary one, but he enjoys it while he can.

local pirate still steals things on the regular. it's just a habit at this point.

kou picked his new name by using the last half of his old one, because he's not very creative when put on the spot. it's a total coincidence that it sounds like koh, but he feels like it's vaguely appropriate, given that he's already had half of his face stolen from him.

traveling via appa has him missing the ocean.

neither aang, nor katara or sokka think to tell toph that kou is fire nation. they think it's obvious- but of course, toph is blind, so she just assumes that since he's a waterbender, he's water tribe. it's kou who has to clear up this misunderstanding.

they forge a tight bond. former rich kids who were forbidden to learn their element and who embraced a less than legal lifestyle in secret? hell yeah. they've got one eye between them and they're ready to be absolute menaces.

aang has to step in so many time because people keep trying to arrest kou. his reputation as a pirate proceeds him.

sokka, as they're being attacked by the sea serpent at serpent's pass: i know! kou should try talking to him. they're kin, right?

kou: NO?????

(toph's nickname for him is, inevitably, sea serpent.)

the gaang just learns to accept that roughly 80% of kou's proposed plans involve illegal activity. you can take the pirate off of his ship, but you can't take the pirate out of the boy.

if you think kou isn't still incorporating breakdancing into his waterbending well. you'd be wrong. pretty sure it drives pakku nuts whenever he does it. that is NOT even remotely a proper waterbending form, young man.

kou: and yet. it works.

zuko's status as a waterbender was likewise hidden from mai and ty lee. when it comes out in the open, they have plenty of questions for azula. she just shrugs and says that her brother is a freak of nature.

learning that his great-grandfather was avatar roku finally clicks things into place for kou. that's why he's a waterbender.

imagine everyone's surprise when the person who gets arrested in chin village is aang, not kou.

local pirate still carries two water skins to go with his dual dao. just absolutely dedicated to the art of dual-wielding. at least it means they have a little more water on them when they're traveling through the desert.

kou meeting the swampbenders and realizing that there are other waterbenders out there who aren't water tribe.

whenever kou brushes off his high society skills, it always throws everyone for a loop. like. oh yeah. you were a prince at one point, weren't you?

it is a beautiful day in ba sing se, and you are a horrible pirate.

the dai li hate him! local pirate infiltrates their base and sets the avatar's sky bison free and departs with plenty of physical proof of their underhanded activities. thanks for keeping meticulous records long feng!

the gaang is jut like. we left you alone for FIVE MINUTES.

the gaang arrives in the fire nation and immediately sets to work spreading rumors that a.) prince zuko is alive and b.) was born a waterbender.

kou's just offended toph started the scams without him. hello? you didn't think to ask the pirate to do scams with you?

kou has zero talent for healing. he has no idea why it's so looked down on and dismissed as 'women's work' when it's actually incredibly difficult to learn.

(hama touches kou's cheek and says it's such a shame. he could have been such a handsome young man. kou is keenly aware she's touching the right half of his face.)

the day of black sun like. your prince has returned. he's a waterbender now. the solar eclipse has taken away your bending, but it hasn't taken away his.

(he still gets to confront his father. he winds up having to dodge his lightning because he can't redirect it.)

he and katara tag team that final fight against azula. kou picks the palace courtyard on purpose. there's water that runs underneath it. it's the perfect place to fight a souped up firebender.

[hedgiwithapen]

suki has conversation with kyoshi via aang and they talk about leadership

(Guess who just read the Rise of Kyoshi novel? me! uh. expectational spoilers for a character death)

"Avatar, I come seeking speech with you." Aang is startled to hear Suki speaking so formally. None of his friends ever seemed to, excepting Toph at her most sarcastic, unless there was a large audience that required careful scripting. But they are alone.

"Sure, what's up?" he asks, before noting that she's also dressed formally. Suki's in full face paint and her silks, every button of her arm wraps polished to gleaming, every strand of hair woven neatly into her headdress. The white band, three fingers wide, tied around her upper arm stands out starkly.

"Not you, Aang," Suki says quietly. "Please?"

"Ah," Aang sits, settling his posture smoothly. It's a familiar position: spine straight, the lines of his blue arrow tattoos meeting seamlessly where his hands touch. "It may take some time." He can call his past lives up easily enough these days, but it's harder to channel them for others to see.

"That's ok," the Warrior says, sinking into her own stance. They breathe.

The light out the window has faded some when a hand reaches across and touches Suki's face. She opens her eyes, and sees the familiar face, one she has seen in effigy her entire life.

"Sworn sister," Kyoshi says, and waits.

"Avatar Kyoshi," Suki says, not moving. She should bow, but can't. Not with the hand under her chin. "I come before you seeking guidance."

Kyoshi meets her eyes, looking down from her height. "You have lost one of your sisters." It is not a question. Suki reaches for the armband, a subtle symbol of mourning.

"Yes," she says hoarsely. "It was my fault. I--The war is over. She should have been safe."

"Do you think that the Fire Nation's war is the spawn of all evil?" Kyoshi asks. "That there was none before?"

"No," Suki answers, knitting her brows. "Of course not. We all know of your efforts to root out corruption. How you saved our people from Chin the conqueror."

"Then you know that evil does not know the borders of nations. It does not know the boundaries of war and peace. There is no 'should have been.' It has always existed and always will."

Suki swallows. "I failed her."

"Do you wish me to strip you of your place as leader for this?" Kyoshi asks. "Or admonish you to die before it happens again? I can do neither. You are not the first to fail a friend. To hope that with an enemy beaten, no more pain might come."

"You would have been able to save her," Suki says.

"Perhaps." Kyoshi's perfectly impassive makeup cannot hide the shadow in her eyes. "I cannot stop the guilt you feel any more than I can stop the tides. Nor would I. Let it guide your actions, but do not let it drown you. Allow me to share in it. You have heard of me, but not every story. I will tell you of one. Keep it in your heart. It is a hard lesson to learn, that some things happen despite victory, despite strength."

"Avatar?" Suki asks.

"Call me Kyoshi, sister. Let me tell you of our brother, Lek."

[weepingchronicles]

platonic yandere katara headcanons

tw/cw: overbearing behavior, yandere, guilt tripping, infantilizing

a/n: yippie katara headcanons! this is just thoughts I had and female yanderes are so underated here especially katara herself

I'm also working your guys requests, i have a lot of drafts right now!!

katara is a very controlling but soft yandere

her tendencies are a bit more toned down if you're older than her, but if you're younger you are basically adopted as her little sibling or mother

however she sees you as, she's still very motherly

she's a bit more soft because she'll let you socialize and have friends especially with those she loves like aang, sokka and toph

but she'll get VERY protective if fire nation is somehow involved, even when she eventually warms up to zuko she doesn't like him around you

if you're fire nation however? she'll insist that you're different and the only one who is truly good in her eyes

if you go against her and talk to zuko or someone fire nation, she'll basically guilt trip you and cry

"how could you do this to me? you know my mother died by firebenders" sob sob

some part of its sincere, other half knows if she cries you'll do as she says

if you ever get sick or injured, she is by your side ALL THE TIME

if you get a smallest paper cut or bruise she'll insist on healing it for you, which is fine at first until she demands full body healing sessions DAILY just incase you're hurt somewhere she can't see or you can't feel

her controlling tendencies go to its MAX and her overwhelming need to care for you goes out of control. she'll bathe you or at least be right beside you (just incase something happens!!), cook for you, do all your clothes, EVERYTHING until you're fully healed.

she genuinely hates to see you like this and couldn't live with herself if you got hurt more because she wasn't there.

the only reason she lets you come with her and the rest of the gaang is because what if something happens to you and she isn't there to heal you? she just needs you to be within a 2 feet radius

the only way i can see you reasoning with her is if you go to sokka or aang for help, to intervene. aang straight up says no, he's too loyal to katara and knows she's projecting her trauma onto you. sokka does try talking but it ends up in a full blown argument and kinda gives up

besides it's not like she's hurting you or anything??

she'll tone it down after sokka talks with her a bit but goes back right after

so you might as well live with it! 🩷🩷

if you try to escape, which I don't blame you-

you might be able to get away for even a month or two if you prepare well enough but cmon, she has the fucking avatar as a boyfriend and a flying bison

it won't take too long before she tracks you so enjoy your freedom while it lasts

when she "reunites" with you, it's all tears. she's somehow even more overbearing and checks if you're hurt and asks 100 times as well

she won't be mad at you neither will she punish you

she'll definitely keep a closer eye on you and will snoop through your things if she believes you're plotting

the most she'll do to punish you is, again, guilt tripping

"how could you do this to me? you're just like my dad, leaving me alone!"

she's practically hysterical and the only way to calm her down is if you apologize and swear to never do it again

another thought is if she'd bloodbend for you?

I don't think she would nor do I think she'd get to the point of killing someone for you unless they MUST be stopped

but i do think she'd threaten to bloodbend others or maybe even you if pushed far enough

she'd never actually do it though..

[electro-strike-zukka-time]

Just a little thing

Zuko was laying in bed, well he thought he was anyway. He rolled over and could only really make out a door a couple feet away. “Why don't you go to him?”

Zuko could hear a voice….it sounded like his sisters or maybe even his mothers but it was monotone too perfect. None of the softness that came from his mothers or the sharpness that was his sisters.

“Why do you sit there?” Why did he indeed, Zuko was not quite sure his mind was muddled like it was swimming through mud.

“I can't.”

--------------

“Zuko love please wake up,” Sokka shook the other man's body frantically. “Please breathe love!”

--------------

“Can't what?”

“I just can't.”  “Can't go with him?” “I can't follow him through that door”

--------------

“Zu please open your eyes for me,” Sokka’s mind was frantic. This couldn't be happening, he couldn't lose him not now not ever.

“I need you to just do something anything love.”

--------------

“Why can't you follow him through the door?” Zuko tried to look to see who or what was talking but his body was frozen, unable to move, only able to watch the door. “Is the door the thing that scares you? “Who said I was scared?” “Are you saying you aren't?” “No.” “Then what are you afraid of?”

--------------

Sokka ran his hands through his hair, his skin was becoming too pale and his breaths were becoming shorter and less frequent. “No no no love you promised! You promised you would never leave me!” Tears had long since started sliding down his cheeks but they were full on streaming now. “Babe please I need you!” --------------

“I am not afraid of the door” “Are you afraid of him?” “NO!” “Are you afraid-” “No! I’m not afraid of any of that’ “Then what do you fear?” Zuko continued to stare at the door as it seemed to move farther away. It wasn't the distance he feared nor what laid on the other side as long as he had him he did not fear anything. Well except for one thing  

“I fear who I will be on the other side.” --------------

“Zuko? Zuko!” 

His body had gone cold as if someone had smothered the fire that lived in him.

Sokka shook him once more why did it have to be now, when it was just him. No Katara to heal him, no Toph to feel his heartbeat, no Aang to pull some spirit miracle to bring him back. Just Sokka. Sokka who loved him but what good would that do now? “Oh love….please….come back to me.” --------------

“Why?” “Because I don't want to turn into something he fears! I don't want him to regret choosing me.” “Do you regret choosing him?” “Never” “So why do you think he would?” “I-,” Zuko's words stopped as heard ... .a voice. Another one from the other side of the door, different from the one he had been speaking to. Baby..baby please “Well? Will you follow him through the door?” --------------

Zuko's last breath had been several minutes ago but Sokka refused to let him go. To let himself believe that he was gone. “Zuko… Zuko darling” Sokka held his lover and cradled him to his chest. His mind blank he had no plans, no ideas, nothing that could-

Then he felt movement in his arms. “Hnrgh.” “Z-Zuko?” Sokka pulled back and looked down to see two perfect golden eyes blink slowly up at him. “Sokka?”

Tears started once again as he watched Zuko start to breath once more bringing color back to his skin and heat to his body

Sokka kissed him on the forehead, cheeks, nose, lips, and scar. 

“Oh love, don't ever don't do that to me ever again. I love you so much baby you don't know how much you mean to me.”

He buried his face on the other man's neck and just breathed. He was alive, alive, alive he hadn't lost him. He was okay. He was still with him Sokka felt arms wrap around him and a face nudge into his cheek.

“I know love, I know how much I mean to you.”

[paragonrobits]

so one thing i've thought about before is how in AtLA, bending without any apparent effort, doing it casually or performing noticable feats of bending with very small movements (and in a similar way, doing it with apparent effortlessness) are all feats of the most powerful and skilled characters.

We see this most prominently with Bumi and Aang; Bumi is the first Earthbender we see fighting extensively, so its technically a misleading impression because a lot of what he does is directly contrary to regular Earthbending; he moves a LOT more, for one, and he famously bends with his face. this is notable because other benders, even those approaching his power, make use of powerful movements that are very showy and easy to see. Besides the fact that a lot of Bumi's feats feel like he's taken inspiration from Airbending in terms of technique, he is so powerful and skilled that only Toph approaches him, and she still doesn't do quite as much as he does with tiny movements. (and to be fair, Bumi is a master that's over a hundred years old, while Toph is 12 or 13, and has learned most of her practical skills either in solitude with the badger-moles or fighting in the ring; arguably a lot of her skills in less combat-centered stuff or finer details in Earthbending philosophy are learned more gradually on the road, and we DO see her doing subtle things like pulling metal around herself in a single movement, making her a very noticable example of this phenomenon.)

However, this begs a question; what does this say about Ozai?

He is very explicitly stated to be the most powerful Firebender in the world; he is very much not the wisest, nor does he really seem able to understand the fine details in Firebending or the control required; both Zuko and Azula perform feats he doesn't seem interested in doing at all, or learning, whether from Azula's fine precision allowing her to produce intensely burning blue fires, or Zuko's skill in doing stuff like manipulating existing fire with less effort and same results as producing it himself.

Its hard to get a grasp on his actual skills because we only see him Firebending a few times (one off-screen when he burns Zuko, another when he generates lightning almost instantly in Day of Black Sun) before the finale, where he is incredibly powerful but explicitly has his power amplified, so the best we can judge is comparing him to other Firebenders who do the same thing. Notably, Iroh seems to outclass him in sheer power (blasting through the walls of Ba Sing Se after a short time to power up, whereas Ozai's fleet fire blasts is not exclusively his doing), and while Ozai can use fire thrust to fly in a limited way that other Firebenders are not shown to do normally, Jeong-Jeong outdoes him here as well by hovering with his flames, achieving true flight and likely indicating a superior grasp on energy conservation, given how Ozai just blasts around, and not doing sustained attacks for the most part.

Bending, in AtLA, at its highest power is closely associated with wisdom and enlightenment. Ozai, on the other hand, is powerful but a staggeringly immature man-child whose vicious cruelty and lust for violence is only equaled by his complete incompetence when it comes to basic common sense. He's cruel, regards all non-compliance as insults on him, and regards his family as furniture whenever they're not actively serving his purposes. He is very much NOT wise.

But we also see him performing this same kind of effortless feat by constantly leaving fires burning in his throne room as a show of power. It's possible that this is standard for Fire Lords in general, or at least has become so since Sozin's time. So what does it say about him that he can do this effortlessly?

The first thought that occurs to me is that in his case, he might have achieved a strange kind of inverse enlightenment in being deliberately blind to anything except his own wants and ambitions. He's deliberately unaware of most things that the genuinely wise care about and can't conceive that he might be wrong or even be unsatisfied. This tracks with his ability to generate lightning, in that its required to be calm of mind, and yet both he and Azula show extreme rage when they feel insulted or have their dignity damaged, which doesn't seem consistent with what lightning bending requires according to Iroh. It might be that both Ozai and Azula, in their general lack of introspection, are superficially calm and are able to use lightning this way, but not as effectively as they MIGHT. A superficial, worldly power that seems mighty but ultimately is a sign of them being chained; a metaphor for everything wrong with the Fire Nation.

(Or in other words, he's achieved a poor man's version of enlightenment by being so goddamn childish and oblivious to any kind of actual insight that he's failed to have a mindset that's counter to Firebending despite lacking the wisdom to do that conventionally and he never noticed.)

The other idea is that the effortlessness he shows is also superficial.

Ozai is a very superficial person; he puts a lot of stock on appearances and doesn't think much about anything past that; by all indications, he was never particularly close to Zuko or showed much interest in him (and its quite likely the same applied to Azula, but his praise of her was interpreted as genuine pride when he honestly couldn't care less the second she was no longer making him look better by proxy), he just wasn't motivated to harm them.

Now, consider the possibility that while he is quite powerful, he's putting on a show to make himself look stronger. He makes it LOOK effortless, but he's going to a lot of trouble to put on a show. Now, this may not be likely (we see him doing a whole lot of powerful attacks in Sozin's Comet without much apparent effort, just a vicious glee) but it also tracks with his character to go to this kind of effort and put in a show just so people don't think he looks less than perfect, which also is a nice parallel to how Azula picked up that attitude.

It also nicely contrasts him against Aang, Iroh, the Air Nomad elders, and other genuinely wise characters who get embarrassed, look ridiculous, have pranks played on them, or get stuck in silly situations and they rarely care or even really acknowledge it. Wisdom, in AtLA, is heavily associated with characters who don't care if they look silly, while its characters like Ozai, Zuko and Azula whose violent defensiveness and hostility towards anyone threatening their pride are specifically framed as unwise, and even childish.

In this regard, Ozai mutilating his child over an act of disrespect by proxy lines up very well with that, and him constantly pushing himself to make a threatening image even when it needlessly tires him and doesn't serve any purpose beyond his own ego or frail fear that someone MIGHT not think he is the most badass thing ever.

[darklinaforever]

So, you have to stop messing around. Yes, Atla live action is not and will never be better than the original version but we have to stop spitting on it for that. Overall the series is very successful. I see some critics saying it's mediocre and that's blatantly bad faith. No, the actors don't play badly, quite the contrary. It's not the best acting in the world but they are still children who are doing very, very well and will continue to progress. They're not fucking disasters. The actors of Aang and Zuko are the best in my opinion. And if I still see someone criticizing the weight of the actresses for Azula and Mai... There are also critics who say the CCG is disgusting, uh sorry ? This is more of a bullshit, at this stage it's downright spitting. I've even seen people say that THE MOVIE WAS BETTER ?! WTF ?! A few days ago everyone was spitting on the movie, and now under the pretext of downgrading the series, we're going to say that it wasn't so bad now ?! And even downright better than this new version ?! But damn, this is mind-blowing bullshit. Also, if I hear one more complaint that it's bad that the original creators didn't have much input into the live action project... FUCK YOU ! It's going to get into people's heads when Atla would never have become the good animated series it is today if it had only been them in charge ?! Katara would have simply been Aang's girl ! (What she ironically becomes in the sequel in comics under their sole supervision !) Toph would not have existed, nor would Zuko's exceptional arc. Misery, the best episodes of the series do not come from them ! Stop glorifying them ! They had the basic idea, but it was developed by a whole competent team behind it ! When they are the only ones in charge it sucks ! The Atla comics are an abysmal disaster in terms of character characterization and many other things. What they did to Zuko, Katara and Aang is unforgivable. The Legend of Korra is filled with the same flaws as the original series but much worse and triple ! And they want to make an animated movie about the adult gaang and another animation series with the avatar as an earthbender ?! But stop the bloody massacre ! Also... do I need to remind you that your creators, darling, that you are complaining about are not on the adaptation project, therefore complaining about the future fidelity quality of the product... THEY VALIDATE THE MOVIE ! THIS MOVIE HATED BY EVERYONE, THEY SUPERVISED AND APPROVED IT, YOU FOOL ! It's not surprising that others are more respectful of the universe than the creators themselves who have always wiped their ass with the original series through the adaptation of the movie, the comics and the legend of Korra ! Damn people can be so stupid...

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I mean are katara and zuko really that similar apart from their temper? Katara seems more empathetic to me (although zuko gained a lot of it) and she grew in a community like aang while zuko has been abused his entire life. And her values are also more similar with aang.

Like I've said repeatedly, zutara is, to me, a ship in which the characters involved have the wrong things in common and their differences make them clash instead of balance each other out.

Their temper is the main thing they have in common - combined with the fact that they're both petty as fuck and can get REALLY mean, even towards people they care about, when they hit a nerve, either accidentally or intentionally (see all of Zuko's scenes lashing out at Iroh, Katara making a cruel joke about Toph being blind in The Chase and saying Sokka didn't love their mother like she did). They can also get frustrated when they aren't immediately good at something (Aang has a bit of that trait too).

Two people that are quick to anger, very stubborn, and prone both to say mean things they don't actually mean AND to take things to heart is the kind of pairing that would require A LOT to work in a healthy way because they naturally NEED someone a bit more chill to balance them out (hence both characters being so attached to people like Aang, Mai, Iroh, Hakoda, etc) or at the very least for them to be on the same page about a lot of other stuff to compensate for the inevitable clashes when they disagree - but Zuko and Katara clearly are not.

Even once Zuko changes his mind about war and imperialism, his way of trying to help remedy the consequences of it (something Katara cares deeply about too) is still pinning for Ozai's throne, ruling over people, calling all the shots in the country, having his kids inherit that position, and living in a comfortable, luxurious palace.

Katara meanwhile seems to long for her tribe, aka a life in a fucking desert in which simply surviving takes A LOT of work, and for the ocasional adventures around the world, helping people either through fighting or healing. She's also not Hakoda's "heir" and if we take Korra into consideration (which I usually don't) even if she was the firstborn, the chiefs are ELECTED, meaning that either way she is not expecting, or wanting, to rule over anything, nor to have any child of hers to want "royal" treatment.

Very different life-styles for people that will be living half a world away from each other and are NOT willing to compromise because they feel very strongly about what their role in the world is.

Their ambitions for their lives are very different, neither would ever move to each other's homeland permanently, and they already would be likely to have huge fights over small stuff, let alone something that huge - terrible combo, practically begging for a messy break-up and years of resenment if they were to ever be involved with each other.

I will say that I don't think it's fair to count Zuko's abusive family situation as one of the big things that would make them opposites because Zuko doesn't WANT that kind of family life for himself, or anyone else. He actively longs for a healthy, loving family in which everyone takes care of everyone like Katara's family did - again, the difference is in the lifestyle he'd want for said family.

He's not gonna be hunting to have food to eat or to give to his kids, he ain't sleeping in an igloo, and he is not moving to such a cold place where his firebending wouldn't be as strong because lack of/less intense sunlight when he spent most of his life having a complex about his abilities as a bender. And Katara sure as fuck isn't dreaming about being Fire Nation royalty and seeing her children inherit the crown of people that nearly killed their tribe.

They're not Yin and Yang, and they're not basically the same person either. They want very different things AND have the same tendency to react poorly to not having things go their way. Probably THE worst combo imaginable.

[bisexuallsokka]

Ooo! New prompts. What bout zukka with "Where's my good night kiss?"❤️❤️❤️

Sokka is trying so hard to be quiet, he barely even breathes until he’s made it back to his room in the Fire Nation palace, closing the door and finally inhaling.

"Where's my goodnight kiss?"

He lets out a very manly squeak, his arm automatically reaching for his boomerang before realizing 1) it's just Toph and 2) he must have left it back in Zuko's rooms.

"Fuck you," Sokka says once Toph is done laughing at him, his heart still racing. "What the fuck?"

"That's what I was about to ask you. Where have you been? I came here to for something like an hour ago and have been waiting ever since."

"What did you want?"

"You think I remember?" Toph asks, annoyed. "What were you even doing?"

"You're not my mom," Sokka responds, flicking her on the forehead as he walks over to his bedside table to reach for the lamp and get some light in the room.

Toph punches him in the arm in retaliation. "You're a weirdo. Sneaking around the palace in the middle of the night, someone is going to think you're an assassin. I should report you to the guards."

"Are you done? I'm ready to go to bed now, get out of my room. Ugh, did you even wash your feet before putting them on my bed?"

"Nope," Toph beams, rubbing her feet into the sheets even more, and Sokka swears under his breath. "Come on, I'm nosy, just tell me."

"I was working," Sokka says carefully. It's not a lie, he was working...before Zuko found him in his study and pulled him back to his rooms until they realized it would be pretty suspicious if they happened to be caught in the same room in the morning while their friends were visiting.

Toph is quiet for a moment, and for a second Sokka thinks she detected a lie, but she just smirks. "Oh, is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

"What are you talking about?" Sokka mutters, walking over to the bathroom and brushing his hair out. He's lucky she can't see how disheveled it is, nor can she notice the new mark on his collarbone.

"You've been here for a few months, don't tell me you haven't gotten laid this whole time?" she asks bluntly.

"Toph," he starts, more annoyed than scandalized. He steps out of the bathroom and stands near his bed, facing her with his arms crossed.

"Who is it? Ooh, one of the Kyoshi Warriors?"

"Absolutely not."

"Or maybe one of the cooks? I'm certain the way to your heart is through your stomach."

"Toph--"

"Or is it true what Aang and Katara say about you and the Fire Lord giving each other obnoxious heart eyes all the time?" she asks gleefully. "I bet that's it, you're sneaking around just so no one finds out about the scandal of the century."

He freezes, and after several seconds of silence he realizes it's too late to try and deflect, and he definitely can't cover with a lie. "You can't tell anyone."

She freezes too. "Tell anyone what?" she asks slowly, before her eyebrows raise in shock. "I was just fucking with you!" she says, scrambling off the bed and pointing an accusatory finger at Sokka.

He sighs.

"What do you-- gross! Are you kidding me? You and...oh, shit, I can't believe you just made me think about that. Bleh!"

"I didn't do anything! You wouldn't leave me alone!" Sokka says.

"Who else knows?" she snaps.

"Iroh figured it out, so just him," Sokka sighs.

Toph waits expectantly. "That's it? Not even Aang and Katara?"

"No!"

"This is the best gossip of my life! And I can't even brag to them about finding out first!" Toph groans.

"You're going to let them and the whole palace know if you don't shut up!" Sokka hisses.

Toph scoffs. "Whatever. I'm out of here anyway."

"Where are you going?" Sokka asks.

"Where do you think? I'm going to go yell at Zuko for keeping this from me," Toph says.

[seyaryminamoto]

If you could change anything in the original ATLA storyline (besides making Sokkla happen) what would it be?

Uhhhh well with all my complaints across the years pertaining ATLA I don't think there's just one (1) singular thing I'd change.

Off the top of my head, I immediately thought I'd make Zuko's character and story more coherent :'D but then there's ALSO Iroh, who also needs to be more coherent.

I'd make the White Lotus an active faction throughout the war rather than just being Iroh's connections, initially, only to become the Avengers at the last minute. Hell... I don't even think I'd make Iroh part of the White Lotus, a group that's fighting for what's right should not readily spread its arms and embrace Fire Lord Azulon's warmongering son, much less let him be their leader :'D If anything, they can be a mystery Iroh spends the whole show trying to reveal, and we'd watch him prove himself to them in order to ever be deemed worthy of joining the group because NOW he has the right beliefs and is hoping to do right by the world. His membership there would not be a done deal from the get-go.

I'd also gladly make Ozai a more complex character, far worthier of being a final villain.

I'd give Toph an actual, challenging arc.

I'd make Katara learn from her mistakes so much more than she ever did.

I'd make sure Mai and Ty Lee actually learn to question what needs to be questioned rather than redeeming them just because they sided with Zuko one time.

I'd flesh out Suki way more too.

I'd give Aang more respect when it comes to his tragedy, and make his morals more consistent (which is part of respecting him and his culture that the OG show just... did whenever it suited it).

I'd absolutely rewrite every romantic relationship (I mean, even if Sokkla is canon in this dream scenario here, Maiko and Kataang still would be canon too, right?) so that they're nowhere near as unbalanced as they feel in the OG.

I'd hint at energybending all along rather than just keeping it as a last minute secret.

I'd most likely not kill Jet nor imply I killed him. Just don't see the need for it.

Probably would either give Hama a different approach or not have her around at all.

Combustion Man would also need a full rework or be deleted.

Zhao would also get more depth and complexity rather than just being around to make Zuko look better.

Sooooo... there are a lot of things worth changing if you ask me :'D but as far as priorities go, I think I'd definitely fix Zuko first out of all these things. I haven't ranted about his character for so many years in vain, even if Iroh were to stay the same, I'd love to see a Zuko who learns to think for himself and doesn't just rely on Iroh's guidance and on doing whatever he thinks Iroh would want him to do. :'D

[poetsgraveyardspost]

Thinking about ATLA and how Ursa was just a terrible mom all around

I know everyone talks about her favoritism towards Zuko vs Azula, but she set up a lot of traumatizing events for her own son, starting with the letters claiming he was the son of her lover in the comics. If I remember correctly, he was actually Ozai's son, blood-related and all, and had purposely made it seem like Zuko was some other man's son. And much later in the comics, she admits she had forgotten about Zuko and Azula, claiming she brainwashed herself into forgetting them. Imo, she just wasn't a decent mom, not to Azula nor Zuko in any capacity, and I genuinely believe that Iroh was the only good thing in Azula and Zuko's life and I just want a whole fanfic dedicated to him taking custody of Azula and Zuko before the events of the hunt of Aang and escaping the palace with them. Like flees to a neighboring Earth Kingdom and raises them, basically adopts Toph at somepoint, and they all join Aang on the mission to defeat Ozai and dethrone him.