#oh right aang’s life is so happy lol

[queen-morgana91]

"Aang's reaction to the suggestion of Zuko and Katara having any kind of romantic feelings is NOT pretty"

Isn't Zuko the same guy who throw a guy across the room for TALKING to Mai? 😭 And he was 16, not 12 like Aang?

I swear Zuko's stans who hate Aang 24/7 don’t seem to realise their precious boy would not survive their criticism if they gave him even a TENTH of the level of scrutiny and bad faith takes they seem to hurl at Aang

Keep stanning this character and shut up about Aang, we are so tired 🤦‍♂️

[thepublishingpress]

A Civil Conversation

(Alt. title: Midnight Talks)

Zuko was feeling rather proud of himself. He had done it. He had managed to convince the Avatar to let Zuko teach him firebending. They had given Zuko a chance. Zuko absently poked at the fire with a stick. Though, not everything was ‘sunshines and rainbows’, as his mother would put it. He shuddered when he remembered the Southern Water Tribe girl’s threat. 

Hm. Perhaps betraying her was not the best idea.

He’s broken out of his thoughts when he hears footsteps. Zuko tenses; he’s ready to defend himself if Katara has come to deliver on her threat. 

“Um… Hi?”

Definitely not waterbender girl. “Hi.” Zuko narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. “Are you coming to make threats at me?”

Water Tribe boy chuckled. “Nah. I think my sister’s already taken care of that, don’t you think?”

“How…?”

“I saw her walking out of your room with a grin, and when I asked her what she did, she said the whole story. So, no, I’m not gonna bother you with threats of extreme bodily harm.”

“Um. Thanks…?” Zuko said hesitantly. The boy gave a shrug in response. “May I ask why you have come to visit me?”

“Wow, so formal,” The non-bender snorted, “I just wanted to ask you some things, since, you know, I didn’t have much time before.”

“Alright,” Zuko said, nodding, “Ask away.”

The other boy plopped down beside Zuko. “You’re the Blue Spirit?”

“I-uh…” Zuko blinked in surprise. Out of all the questions the non-bender could’ve asked, Zuko was not expecting this. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

“Oh! Cool!” Exclaimed the younger boy. “We’ve seen the Blue Spirit in posters and whispers around Fire Nation towns, you know.”

Zuko bowed his head. “Thanks, I guess, but how did you know?”

“Aang told us.”

The Avatar. His name was Aang. Zuko filed away the 12 year old’s name for later use. “Oh. I see.”

“So…” The boy in blue swung his feet like a child. “If it’s, um, not too personal, why’d you leave?”

“I…” Zuko paused, thinking about his answer. “Something felt wrong, I suppose. There was something missing that I knew the palace, my home could not provide. I felt discontent. But now…” Zuko trailed off.

“Now…?” Water Tribe boy pressed, curious.

“I feel more complete.”

The fifteen year old boy smiled. “Good for you, then.”

“Thanks.”

“So!” The non-bender said, clapping his hands together. “About you joining the team…”

“I won’t betray you, I promise,” Zuko blurted, “I know I betrayed you before, but I was unstable, but now–”

“Ah, ah, ah,”  The blue eyed boy shushed him, “It’s not about that. I think we can trust you, for the most part. What I am saying, though, is that if you are to join this group, you need to know about the members, hmm?”

“Oh. Right.”

The boy beside Zuko offered him a grin. “Let’s start with me! You know I’m from the Southern Water Tribe, and I’m fifteen!”

“You’re a year younger than me.” Zuko noted.

“Mhm!” The boy continued chattering, talking about his life in the Southern Water Tribe. Zuko eventually relaxed and they fell into a conversation, comparing each others lives, searching for similarities to bond over.

Finally, the Water Tribe boy glanced at the sky. “I should go to bed now…” He said quietly. He smiled. “It was nice talking to you, Zuko.”

“You too, um…” Zuko mentally smacked himself for not asking for the boy’s name. He had always called the members of the Avatar's group certain names in his head, such as Waterbender, The Avatar, Blind Earthbender, and Boomerang Boy. Said boy, however, laughed it off.

“Sokka,” He told Zuko, “It’s Sokka.”

“Good night, Sokka.” 

“Good night, Zuko.”

Yes, joining Avatar Aang's group was a wonderful idea. 

~*~

lol happy (early?) new year everyone!! finally got out of my writer's block and artist's block (if that's a thing ofc) just in time hehe hope you have a great 2024! <3 - basil dela cruz

(P.S: i love the idea that zuko has no idea what the gaang's real names are, so he made up nicknames. it's so silly and i simply adore it <3333)

[thebeeskeys]

This is me pressing you to elaborate on why zutara is the superior ship please

I mean, if you feel like it. No pressure. But yeah I would genuinely love to hear your thoughts

No worries! This is super exciting because this is my first ask. So excuse me for being nervous!

So to give some context, I was 6 when ATLA came out for the first time. As a 6 year old, I didn't really care about shipping yet, but I wanted Zuko for myself, lmao. I rewatched the series right when Nickelodeon rereleased ATLA with the little info cards at the bottom. I believe I was a biut older then, maybe like 9? 10? Anyway, as I rewatched the show, I noticed that Kataang didn't really have as much chemistry imo. Don't get me wrong, there are some really cute Kataang moments and if Zuko wasn't right there I'd be happy. BUT! I always saw Katara as mothering Aang, which, is fine because that's the role she has been for her entire life. But there didn't seem to be much more to it. To me, it read like, a little boy having a crush on his babysitter and his babysitter finding it cute/adorable.

I originally started shipping Zutara because "Oh she's water and he's fire! thats cute!" But they are so complimentary in the best ways. Like, he's Tui to her La. They are seemingly forever in a song and dance, tip toeing around each other but never merging, not quite. And that suspense, that sense of passion that both drive them, is engaging for me. They both love their people, and want to do what's right. Even if Zuko's right, at least in the beginning, is wrong.

Plus they're the grumpy sunshine and gloomy cloud partners trope, how could I not love that lol

[lovelyelbowleech]

HI!! HAIR ANON HERE!!! Sorry this is late my life has been CRAZY BUT!!!

Oh my god the latest chapter 😭😭😭 IT WAS SO GOOD!! IT WAS EVERYTHING I WANTED!!!! KATARA GOT TO HUG SOKKA AND SOKKA GOT TO HUG KATARA!!!!!!!!!!!! AND AANG GOT TO HUG SOKKA AND VICE VERSA TOO!!!!!!!!!!! And katara got to contemplate throwing zuko off a cliff :’) genuinely beautiful skdkskdk

Seriously, though, this chapter was amazing and made me so happy. I’m so worried about katara and sokka readjusting to each other, especially after everything they’ve both been through, but at least they’re together again. Aang’s response to zuko cutting sokka’s hair made me cackle 😂 I’m so incredibly excited for that dynamic, as well as zuko and katara’s. And for toph, of course, who is the excitement period 🥰 I’m also REALLY worried about kazuma holy shit. Also.

Also FUCKING zhao. Reading him thinking about azula genuinely made me so angry it made me nauseous and I had to put my phone down and stop reading for a moment lol. It was EXCEPTIONALLY well-written. I am genuinely in awe of your ability to write from his point of view, where he clearly thinks he is in the right and deserves good things (gags), but it’s still genuinely nauseating to read on the audience’s part. It’s SO fucking good. I genuinely don’t know who I want to murder zhao the most at this point lol. All I know is that I’ll be happy when he dies 🥰🔪

thank you SO MUCH for sharing this chapter as always 💖💖💖 it brings me such joy to read and ALWAYS brightens my day, even in the chapters when bad things happen. I’m so excited for the next chapter 💖 thank you, again, and I hope you’re having a lovely day!!

Thank you! Glad you liked it! That was a fun chapter to write!  Sokka and Katara are both going to have to do some adjusting to their new situation and dynamic, I love their relationship, so its going to be interesting to write. 

Zuko and Katara is also going to be entertaining 😬

Kazuma is indeed heading for trouble 😂

Zhao is fun to write. He's just so unpleasant (in a different way to Ro) It worries me how much I enjoy writing the POV of detestable people! 😂😂  And he is blissfully unaware of just how many people are out for his blood.

I hope the crazy in your life has been of the good kind, and that you have a lovely weekend :) 

Thanks for the ask! 

[emrys-merlin]

-Nice, but I don't care about fanfictions. In CANON, fire ladies have no power

-What changes? Again, she has no power. She will never be fire lord. And it doesn't change that living in the nation who genocided her people is sick as fuck

-What happened to her in canon? That she was an old woman living a peaceful life in the south pole finally (her old home)? At that point Aang and Sokka were dead, her children were adult and they were also living their life. Your point? She was alone all her life? Clearly not lol

You know what would have happened if she was married to Zuko? She would have lived alone all her life because the whole gaang doesn't live in that freaking nation

-Oh wow ok she's living in Sozin's PALACE. You are so lucky, Katara

Also...broodmare? Of course, classic Zutaras misogynism. She had the audacity to have 3 children (with age gap between them)? What a shame :( i'm sure you also think she was forced by Aang, right? But if she was married with Zuko and she had 5 children with him (i saw comments like this) aka heirs for the fire lord, it's fine right? She has agency finally!

And Katara is not a self insert?

Anyway yes, she's canonically happy with Aang and you can't change it

Have a nice day

"Katara deserved better"

The better:

-becoming an irrelevant fire lady (zero power/role)

-living in the nation that genocided her people and killed her mother

-being alone and miserable as fuck

-sleeping in sozin's room

......

She dodged a fucking bullet. Thank God

[dl4draws]

okay so here is my little bullet point story for the httyd au lol, hope you guys like it

love amongst the dragons

this is a zuko centered au but the story actually begins with how sokka got foof

sokka and hiccup are one no one can change my mind

the swt hunts dragons because dragons hunt them, same thing as httyd

so basically the httyd storyline isn’t zuko’s story but sokka’s

he shoots foof (sprinkle of saber tooth moose lion mixed with night fury, mostly changing the size and teeth – foof would look almost exactly the same as toothless but is taller, has bigger legs, is bigger in general and well the saber tooth of course – also night furies aren’t extinct!)), not because he cant actually participate in the hunting, he’s perfectly allowed, but he creates these machines and people are like just use a spear like the rest of us lol

he shoots the saber tooth night fury down and no one believes him so he’s like “okay fuck it im gonna go find it”

he does indeed find him, foof is too cute, sokka instantly loses the battle, he doesn’t wanna fight dragons anyway

he keeps foof a secret until katara one day sees sokka sneaking away while she’s practicing water bending (the war doesn’t exist, there’s just problems in the fire nation – so the SWT is full of people)

katara is like sokka what the fuck are you doing

sokka cant lie to katara, he can charm anyone else but not katara,, sisters are charm proof

anyways events of httyd proceed to happen

sokka learns how to fly, learns stuff in general about dragons

katara is kinda like the astrid but she’s like confused at the beginning bc sokka’s getting too good at handling dragons and she’s sus

they both get good with dragons after that

until they find another dragon when they were flying around

a Very Large tm dragon

basically a water dragon, inspired by the unagi but from the south pole, it can leave the water but it prefers to live in the deep ocean

katara loves her, she starts “practicing” water bending at a special spot so one can find her, only sokka and her know where it is since they found it while flying

blah blah blah the swt proceeds to have a happy ending and everyone gets a dragon

the swt starts a life with dragons this time and they believe they are the only ones doing this (aside from the air nomads) (there is no war so aang is born 100 years later)

BACK TO ZUZU

Crown prince zuko and soon to be chief of the swt sokka are penpals, they’ve met eachother once or twice, sokka never tells him about the dragons

The fire nation has few dragons left

The fn is the birthplace of all dragons, but they have very little dragons now, they hunt them for fun

It is a ritual for the crown prince to kill a dragon and bring to the palace its heart

ozai is aware that there’s only one dragon left in their territory and the last dragon nest is weeks away

he sends zuko anyway and zuko goes, but he really doesn’t want to kill a dragon

he finds one, he goes through all that same stuff sokka (hiccup) went through with “he looked just as scared as I was” so he lets the dragon free, the dragon isn’t hurt so he can fly away but he doesn’t

he knows zuko won’t do anything to harm him so he stays with him

zuko doesn’t know wtf to do so he does what he knows always sets him in the right direction

he writes sokka a letter and tells him exactly what happens, about the dragon (his name is druk obviously) and how he doesn’t have any idea about what to do, he hopes sokka can reply as soon as possible and if he has time he can come to the fn and help him, he’s an engineer right? He can help him build stuff for druk, right??

He sends the hawk with the letter, knowing it’ll reach sokka in about week, since he’s farther south right now, so he expects sokka’s answer in two weeks

He most definitely is not expecting sokka to get there a week later riding a dragon the color of the night sky, you’d think the dragon was black if it wasn’t standing under the sunlight

Zuko hasn’t seen sokka in a few years, so he’s not exactly the same as he was back when they were still 19 (they’re 21 and 22 now)

Sokka isn’t expecting to see zuko with a supposedly extinct dragon when he gets there tho

He’s fascinated by druk (also zuko looks very pretty)

Sokka teaches zuko everything he knows about dragons, how to fly them, how to treat them, everything (they’re like little dates but they don’t mention that, they’re buddies tm)

Zuko comes back to the fn and he finds out that ozai is planning to wipe out the last nest, so zuko tries to stop him

And ozai lashes out so druk appears to protect him, and ozai is like oh bitch you’ve done it now and his little army is about to attack both zuko and druk when sokka and foof (both were hiding there in the palace) do a sneak attack and get them both out

Azula sees all of this from the shadows (this is important)

Zuko and sokka grab some stuff and leave the fn

They fly to the swt, zuko’s nervous about ozai’s plan but sokka knows that once they get home and set up a plan he’ll be okay

Once zuko lays eyes on the swt he goes holy fucking agni and sokka laughs so hard he almost falls off foof

The swt is built to house dragons and such, it really is a sight to see

They make a plan and basically go all out, the swt and the air nomads are good buddies, so aang is there with his cloud jumper (appa!!!!! Flying bisons exist but they’re like very important to the air nomads and people don’t ride them, they just vibe)

Aang is the avatar, so he has a deep connection with alpha dragons (the bewilderbeast)

They all make a plan, and they start flying to the fn, katara takes her big ass unagi like dragon, but she goes underwater with aang following her from the skies (they’re trying to find an alpha to ask for help)

They get to the nest before the troops, and stand their ground

It seems like they’re about to lose when katara appears with her dragon, the cloud jumper and aang in the avatar state on top of an alpha

The battle ends quickly after that and zuko and sokka are like !!! we did it and they share a sweet little kiss bc I say so (currently listening to coming back around and it’s making me emotional)

Azula appears after all this in sokka’s room (he’s staying at the fn palace for a bit to help the fn get adjusted to the new dragon rules) sokka hasn’t gotten the chance to talk to azula much, but he knows she isn’t opposed to dragons (or that is what it looks like)

His answer comes in the form of azula actually asking him for help, because she’s been hiding two dragon eggs for about two years

Sokka’s like!!!!!!!!!! Yes I can help!!!

She takes him to the eggs and he realizes that he hasn’t seen those types of eggs before but the coloring of the egg indicates that they are fire nation born dragons (they’re bright orange at the top and dark red at the bottom)

He asks if she found them near a volcano and azula’s like, hm yes but are you aware this palace is IN a volcano, and sokka’s like oh yeah right, and he tells her those are most likely dragons that live inside volcanoes and they like extremely hot temperatures so she should keep them near lava or with constant heat

Azula takes note of everything, and she starts going to sokka if she needs advice with her dragon eggs

Azula: how long until they hatch? Sokka: you gotta wait, depending on the dragon they can take from 2 to 5 years to hatch Azula: hm okay

Time passes, zukka dancing and singing to the dancing and the dreaming is all I need in life (will draw tomorrow)

Anyways yes sokka and zuko start living their best life riding their dragons under the moonlight and early in the mornings watching the sunset from between the clouds the end <3

[toujoursmiraculous]

Thoughts and Reaction to ROCKETEAR!

It's a long post, but when are these ever really short? xD Seeing Carapace first made me so excited. I've been sad we haven't had much of him in the show. And then I saw that it seemed like Ladynoir was doing pretty good as they only had Carapace helping them this time. More S2 & S3 like. So I was like cool, cool, this is great. But what the heck scientist WHY ARE YOU BRINGING TYRANNOSAURUS REX'S BACK! Obviously she's going to be something big later on, she's too nicely animated not to be back. Not to mention Bob Roth's plans. Anyone else both intrigued but also scared at what that could do later? Big upcoming plot point, I think.

I screamed awwww because this is everything. I've wanted a LB/Carapace and Marinette/Nino friendship bond in this show since season 1. This scene made me incredibly happy! I'm a huge Nino fan, for those that don't know, so you can imagine how much I love this episode. Even though sad Nino.

"Alya, everyone has to believe that you will never use the Miraculous again!" End of episode: So anyway... So what I'm seeing here is, Alya's not fond of the idea of being just a spy, not being in on the action. Even though it's Ladybug's plan. Chat Noir isn't fond of what's going on right now either, where he thinks what's going on is all Ladybug's plans. Alya makes the decision to not do what Ladybug wants and tells Nino she's still Rena Rouge. So what's Chat Noir going to do to go against her? Because that's coming up on the horizon. Despite everything being easier for Marinette since everything's not just on her shoulders now, she's still been unable to play video games with her dad, and we know how much she loves doing that. :c That's really sad she doesn't even have time for her family anymore. DJWifi over here being all adorable. "You don't love me anymore!" Me: *Chat Blanc flashbacks* Alya suggests her new content could be Chat Noir edits and Marinette's like YES DO THOSE. Then those edits helped push Nino into thinking she was into Chat. Big oops. Not gonna lie, the rewind freaked me out for a moment. Last time I saw that was Chat Blanc so I thought something big was up. But nope, it's just like that scene in Puppeteer 2. Ugh poor Nino! He knows something's bothering Alya, but she won't say what it is and her behavior's too off from how she normally is. Poor guy. x.x Grumpy Nino that Carapace doesn't get attention and then they wrote his girlfriend with Chat Noir. I remember when Alya was grumpy for a bit about Rena Rouge not getting a party to celebrate her. Movie Ladybug telling Movie Chat Noir that he's better with Movie Rena Rouge. Is this a reference to the episode in Avatar, The Ember Island Players? Getting strong vibes when Play Aang and Play Katara were like, we're just friends nothing more and it's great! Play Katara was extremely into Play Zuko. I can see why Ladybug dismissed the movie (or was it the previous one since it's been awhile? Maybe?) because Rena Rouge and Chat Noir???? The writers (of the movie) just wanted to be different because everyone can see Ladynoir, unless they're blind. Alya and Nino are Andre's favorite couple. YES THANK YOU. I mean they're not my favorite because Love Square. BUT they're my second favorite next to them. Those kids are super adorable but definitely that kid playing Chat wasn't doing Nino any favors. First picture Alya shows. Chat with a heart tail. Yeah that's not doing her any favors lol. Nino: UGH CHAT NOIR'S COMING IN BETWEEN ME AND MY GIRLFRIEND. I KNOW, I'LL CALL MY BEST FRIEND TO VENT TO ABOUT IT. Best Friend Chat Noir: Best Friend Chat Noir: Welp maybe I should see what's up. Maybe I went a little to hard on the cat charm and she's fallen in love with me. Me: Oh oof here we go. Also can I ask, if anyone knows, who animated this episode? The fluidity is great and it looks really pretty. But it doesn't quite look like SAMG's work either. Whoever did it, I love it. S2 Chat Noir: You're not replacing me with a turtle, are you? :c S4 Nino: Who would want a reckless turtle as a partner? BOYS STOP. But yeah this whole scene had me laughing so hard XD Very dramatic and I love it. Nino's hilarious even when he's worried and sad! I would've absolutely loved to have heard this in English with the old English voice of Nino, but the new one worries me on whether or not he'll do a good job sounding like Nino and less high-pitched and whiny. :/ New York Nino was great but S4 Nino....x.x THE TRANSITION BETWEEN HIS INNER MONOLOGUE AND SPEAKING REGULARLY AGAIN 😂😂😂😂 Brilliant! It doesn't really feel like Miraculous Ladybug this episode, and I love it. Not that I don't love the show as usual but wow this is great. Okay, I want to point out that Chat Noir

probably was more worried about it than he would've been otherwise because of what happened with Marinette in Weredad. It probably made him more cautious about this sort of thing.

LOL Chat's sulking because Alya's laughing at the idea of being interested in him. 😂😂 I know that's a blow to one's ego and all, and he's dealt with this kind of thing a lot so I do feel bad for him, but that is his best friend's girlfriend and he definitely doesn't want her to like him. Alya: With him it's not just ❤️it's *makes massive hand gesture indicating she loves him deeply* SO SO SO CUTE OKAY ALL THIS DJWIFI 😭 Alya: And I don't even know your secret identity! I would never fall in love with someone I don't know. Chat Noir, literally fell in love with Ladybug, whose identity he doesn't know. Well Alya, I wonder if you saying that matters for later somehow.... o.O Nino running away crying is honestly one of the things that hurts me most in the entire show. Ugh. Adrien over here being all, I'm having a good day. I'm happy and smiling and it's great. And then it wasn't. Adrien, if Nino let him and didn't interrupt, would've told him about how Alya really doesn't love Chat Noir, and that would've seriously led up to his identity being exposed since Nino was watching and filmed them. o.o Did you notice how he was going to tell him about it? S4, the basement is where it's at. Adrien: Uhh, when did you arrange all this? Nino: *pounds fist on desk* I ASK THE QUESTIONS! 😂 So like. Why is Nino interrogating Adrien when he's after Chat Noir? He doesn't know they're the same person. XD He's looking at him like Adrien has info he's keeping or something omg.

Also again this animation is so nice. Adrien, feeling uncomfortable and so turns the music off. Nino, wanting his dramatic music on while he interrogates Adrien, turns it back on. Adrien, feeling even more irritated and uncomfortable, wants the music OFF and turns it off. Nino, turns the music back on. This may be a reference to something, I don't know, but lolol it's so funny. This episode is both super hilarious and super angsty! Honestly they've done such a good job in my opinion. Nino: I'm talking about something that I shouldn't tell you! ...but I'm going to tell you anyway! Alya's Rena Rouge and I'm Carapace! Okay but the way Adrien went from shock to utter anger, knocked his chair back and grabbed Nino's shoulders like "Tell me the truth. You two know about each other?" Aw man, my poor sunshine boy. A lot of the stuff bothering Adrien is all circumstantial, none of it is to purposefully keep him in the dark. And yet from his perspective, that's how it looks. "I thought secret identities must be protected at all times! If that was the truth, you would never tell me this!" Alright so three things. If he's referring to him saying that Nino and Alya know about each other, that was situational and important info for him to know now that this is out. It wasn't important to know before this. The time it happened was dire and was really no time to get around it. If he's talking about Nino telling him the secrets, well yeah that's not supposed to happen and Nino broke that trust. But also, I get the feeling pretty strongly at this point Adrien's going to be breaking some rules too and one of which is he's going to tell Nino who he is. Adrien's being too emotional in this scene to not be involved in it all, I'm wondering if that's going to be questioned later by Nino. He's acting like he knows too much to be a random viewer of the heroes like the rest of Paris. Also Adrien's best friend just totally dissed Chat Noir and went off about how he throws himself at Ladybug whenever he sees her with roses and love confessions. 😂😂😂 This is just too funny! "But he's always rejected because Ladybug finds him annoying! And she's completely right!" Omg Nino, that's not the reason anymore, shush! "And then Rena Rouge appears and he goes *tickles under Adrien's chin* hey pretty lady! You look elegant and you have great perfume." OMG does Chat Noir actually say and do stuff like that to Rena Rouge or is he just exaggerating here XD "If I could I would shut his mouth forever!" Yeah Nino, say what you really think about your best friend in the entire world. Yikes poor Adrien though. I never imagined he'd hear all these bad things about himself from his best friend directly like that. :/ That's a major misunderstanding of him. Which kind of pushes me more towards the "he's going to tell Nino" theory. Sad Adrien transformation DDDX Alya: *explained everything about why Chat Noir went over to her house in the middle of the night* Marinette *facepalm* Ugh that Chat Noir... Well at least there will be no misunderstandings there! xD "Chat Noir, you stole Alya from me! I will steal your life from you." Good lord man calm down. You can't just kill a man! Fanon: Chat Noir gets attacked by a guy over Marinette. Canon: Chat Noir gets attacked by a guy over Alya. Time to go back to the basement! lol Nino's music's still playing xD And the video is left with it paused on Chat Noir hugging Alya. Marinette looked a bit sad, but it was probably more about the situation being a mess rather than being sad he'd hug her. Meanwhile, Chat Noir's fighting Nino and would rather get beaten up by him than fight. x.x "I can't believe that I doubted you." "I can't believe I chose to do anything but be with you!" She wiped away akumatized Nino's tear just like how Ladybug wiped away akumatized Chat Noir's. ALL THE PARALLELS 😭😭😭 But that hug is so sweet!! Nino broke off the akumatization just like Alya did :o Dang, I wonder if that means something later too. "Love and secrets do not go well together, Ladybug. And I'm sure you have a lot of

them!" Secrets = from Chat Noir. Love = for Chat Noir. Yeah even Shadow Moth knows at this point. xP Thanks for that foreshadowing. Nino's charm is my favorite charm so far! It's my favorite shade of blue. Chat Noir: Everybody has doubts sometimes...even me." Ladybug: Is everything okay, Chat Noir? Chat: Oh yes...pound it!

So um. The placemet of Adrien's poster in between Chat Noir, Ladybug, and just with this entire situation feels very strange. Very intentional. But no clue exactly what that could mean..... Nino and Alya are happy over there watching those two, like they're waiting for them to figure things out or something. But really, Adrien should've talked to Ladybug when he could still do so calmly and be reasonable. I doubt that's going to be the case later on. And honestly Ladybug doesn't even know what's going on. Every episode we've seen really either has them working together or she's unable to be Ladybug when he's unable to be Chat Noir most of the time. I've said it before but these two really need to communicate. Nino and Alya are like a less adorably romantic version of what they'd be. "But they're a couple and they know their secret identities, so why does that rule exist for us but they can know?" Very simple. Because they were temporary holders and the Miraculous they had, Hawk Moth hasn't made it his life's mission to obtain, unlike them, who are permanent holders and Hawk Moth's been after them fiercely to make a Wish that could destroy everything. But. The fact he's asking this, and Marinette's Chat Blanc nightmare, really points in the direction that he's going to eventually find out that while she's thought about telling him all along, Chat Blanc's kept her from doing so.

Okay, so while it looks like he's staring up at the moon, if you notice, it really is just one of the pink bubbles.

Now, they could be making it seem like it's the moon though to give it a double meaning. But poor Kitty, he's feeling so awful right now over in that dark corner Dx Nino felt bad for only two episodes? and it got resolved, so hopefully this all won't last too much longer for him! Marinette had a few shaky episodes so hopefully he'll have a few before it gets resolved. But somehow I think that may be wishful thinking. This episode was so amazing, honestly. Wonderful writing, made me laugh a lot, aw a lot, and hurt a lot. It focused on the core 4 characters which I've wanted more of for a long time. The animation was beautiful. And it just felt so different in such a good way. Chat Noir's having a hard time right now, and I know there's a lot of anger and hate about it going around. But please, think of this as him hitting a rough spot in the road to a much better and brighter future. He's going to end up okay, he'll understand it all someday. And that day's honestly not that far for him if you think about it.

[leossmoonn]

mind games [part eleven]

masterlist | part ten | part twelve

zuko x fem!reader fluff, angst smau (it has the social media elements, but not as much as the last series)

avatar: the last airbender

summary - being zuko’s best friend is the easiest thing in the world. until he gets a girlfriend and you realize you’re in love with him

warnings / includes  (this counts for any/all chapters) - fighting, suggestive, language, crying, alcohol, cheating, talk about injuries, making out, alluding to sex, talks about sex. you are sokka and katara’s older sister. you, mai, and zuko are seniors in college, sokka and suki are juniors, katara, aang, and toph are sophomores.

note - so for this one im gonna be switching pov’s. so for the first half it’ll be 2nd point of view with y/n and the second half it'll be like 2nd point of view but with jet (hope this made sense lol)

————

“so, how has living with jet been?” aang asked. 

“really good,” you smiled. “he’s a really good housemate. he cooks, actually cleans. doesn’t mind that i had to take up a little more closet space.”

“wow, sounds like you have the perfect man,” suki smirked. “i do,” you sighed dreamily. 

you and jet had been dating now for a little more than 4 1/2 months. you two decided that it was time to move in together. you two had already practically been living together so it seemed right to start the next phase of your relationship. you weren’t at jet’s, though. you were at an ice cream shop downtown with your friends. 

living with jet was amazing, as stated, but you rarely saw your friends. college was coming to an end, too. with you and between that and looking for jobs and picking up extra shifts at the JD, it had been very busy. but you had just finished all your finals and was now ready to graduate in the next week, so you were able to relax, finally. 

“how about you guys, how have you been?” you asked. 

“really good! i can’t believe you won’t be at school with us,” katara frowned. 

“yeah, i hate to admit it, but i’m gonna miss you,” sokka said. 

you chuckled, “thanks, sokka. well, i’m not planning one really going anywhere. i’ll just be out of school, which thank the spirits for that.”

“must be nice knowing you don’t have to deal with finals anymore,” toph suck her tongue out in disgust. 

“yeah, i definitely won’t miss that,” you snorted, taking a bite of your ice cream cone. 

“have you found a job yet?” toph asked. ”i’ve found a few. i have yet get interviews, though. i’m waiting until the july to so i can enjoy there summer,” you explained. 

“makes sense. we’ll miss you at the JD,” katara said. 

“yeah, you’re the only one who makes good frappuccinos,” aang chortled. 

“i know. zuko and katara just can’t grasp the recipe,” you teased. 

“i can! i just prefer to make the tea. it’s a lot easier,” katara deafened. 

“don’t worry. i agree,” you smiled. your phone vibrated on the table. 

you turned it over, seeing that there as a text from zuko. 

“is that zuko?” aang asked. “yeah, how did you know?” i asked. 

“he’s been missing you lately,” sokka explained. 

“oh, really? we hung out a couple weeks ago, though,” you said. “exactly. he knows you been busy so he hasn’t asked you to hang out yet, but we told him you’re less busy now,” aang said. 

“oh,” you frowned. “well, he asked if we could hang out today. you guys okay if i go?”

“yeah, of course! we’ve been here for hours, anyways,” suki said. 

“great. still on for the sleepover tonight?” you asked, getting up and grabbing your purse.

“you know it! have fun,” katara smiled. 

“will do,” you smiled back, waving goodbye at them. 

you walked to your car, getting in and driving to your friend’s and sibling’s house. you parked in the garage, going in and seeing zuko on the couch. 

“hey, stranger,” you smiled, taking off your shoes. 

“hey, long time no see,” zuko smiled, getting up. you hummed in reply, opening your arms out and hugging him. 

“i’ve missed you,” zuko whispered. 

“i’ve missed you, too. i’m sorry i haven’t reached out,” you sighed, pulling away. 

“no worries. we aren’t kids anymore. we have our own life,” zuko smiled reassuringly. 

“right. so, you said you wanted to talk about our plan?” you asked, walking over with zuko to the couch. 

“yeah. so, how do i approach her?” zuko ask. “well, i wouldn’t suggest doing it over a date. do it at night so you can go somewhere else and sleep immediately. you two are living together, right?” you asked. 

“yeah,” zuko nodded. “great, well, just tell her you need to talk to her. don’t hint at anything, be neutral about it all and break the news to her,” you explained.

“easier said than done,” zuko chuckled. 

you furrowed your brows and studied his face, seeing the guilt and confusion in his eyes. you leaned against the couch and put your hand on his forearm comfortingly.

“are you sure you want to do this?” you asked. “i am,” zuko nodded. 

“are you sure? like 100% positive?” you checked with him.

zuko chuckled, “yes, i am. plus, i…i like someone else.”

your eyes widened, “o-oh. this is new info. who is it?” your heart started to race and you began to feel very nervous thinking about who he could like.

“i’d rather not say just yet,” he said, averting his gaze from you. 

“alright. well, no pressure,” you smiled softly. your phone then started to vibrate in your back pocket. you pulled it out, seeing that jet was calling you. 

you answered it quickly. “hey, babe, what’s up?”

“hey, when’re you coming home?” jet asked. 

“oh, um…” your voice trailed off as you looked at the clock. “tomorrow? i’m hanging out with zuko right now, and you know i’m having a little sleepover with the girls.”

“oh, right,” jet muttered. you furrowed your brows as he sounded annoyed and sad. you stood up off the couch, holding your first finger up to zuko to let him know you’ll be back in a minute. 

you walked into the kitchen and leaned against the island counter. “hey, you sound sad. everything okay?”

“yeah, i just miss you,” jet sighed. you smiled, “i miss you, too, but i haven't seen zuko or my friends in a while.” “i know, i know. i wasn’t going to make you come home, don’t worry,” jet said. 

“i didn’t think you were. i know you’re understanding.”

you and jet sat on the phone in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before you spoke up. you did a little awkward cough before speaking. 

“so, um, i better go,” you said. 

“oh, yeah, yeah, of course. i’ll see you tomorrow,” jet said. 

“see you tomorrow. i love you.” “i love you, too,” jet smiled, hanging up the phone. 

he sighed and gently threw his phone on the bed. he laid down, running his hands through his hair and down his face. he felt so jealous. so jealous of you and zuko. he knew it was silly since you have been nothing but loyal to him, but the unwanted thoughts of you and zuko still crept into his mind every so often. he was thankful you two didn’t live together anymore and that you lived with him now, but jet was beginning to think that wasn’t enough. 

even though you and zuko weren’t living together and didn’t hang out as often, you two were constantly texting and calling. jet often found you downstairs late at night texting zuko, smiling and laughing at whatever he said. it made jet’s blood boil to see another guy making you happy, especially since it was a known fact - not between you and zuko, though - that you had a thing for zuko a while back. jet was positive that you still had a thing for him, no matter how much you denied it. 

he sat up on his bed and grabbed his phone, getting up and going to the only person he knew would understand; mai. 

he drove to her house, going up and knocking on the door. mai answered the door almost immediately, a surprised but pleasant smile on her face. 

“hey, jet. what’re you doing here?” she asked. 

“i was just seeing if you were free. y/n and zuko are hanging out, and we haven’t hung out in a while,” jet shrugged. 

“right, right. well, come in,” mai held the door open for him. jet stepped in with a smile, walking into the living room. 

“i like what you did with the place,” jet noted, looking around at the new furniture and decorations. there were a lot more brighter colours than he remembered.

“thanks. ty lee said i should make the place more lively,” mai chuckled. 

“glad you took her advice,” jet smiled. 

mai nodded, “are you hungry? i was just about to eat some leftover pizza.”

“yeah, sure. you got any beers?” jet asked. 

“yep,” mai said, going over to the kitchen. “make yourself comfortable!”

“thanks,” jet said and sat down on the couch. 

mai came in with a pizza both and a six pack bottle of beer. mai and jet watched tv for a while, getting drunk on the beer. after a while of silence, mai decided to ask jet about what he thought about you and zuko. 

“so, you jealous of zuko and y/n, too?” zuko asked. 

jet’s brows raised, “w-what?”

mai smirked and turned fully to him. “that’s the reason why you came here, because of zuko and y/n.”

jet sighed, turning to her. “yeah. you caught me.”

“they act like they’re dating each other,” mai rolled her eyes. “zuko is always like “y/n this”, “y/n that”, “look what y/n said”, “sorry, i’m talking to y/n”. god, it’s all so annoying.” “and they always stay up late talking to each other! like, i understand they’re each other’s best friends, but we’re here, too.” “right!” mai nodded. “i wouldn’t be surprised if they were making out right now.” jet frowned and looked down. “you think they are?”

“mmm, i wouldn’t doubt it,” mai shrugged. 

jet looked up at mai, his eyes meeting her’s. he studied her face for a few moments, his eyes roaming her face and stopping at her lips. mai noticed his gaze and smirked, scooting closer to him. she put her hand on his thigh, her fingers snaking up his leg. 

“m-mai, what’re you doing?” jet stammered. his heart was racing a million beats per second. 

“c’mon, we both know zuko and y/n are in love with each other. plus, i’m pretty sure zuko is going to break up with me soon. let’s just have some fun, okay?” mai gave jet a flirtatious look, biting her lip and batting her lashes. 

jet sighed, looking into mai’s eyes. he knew in his heart that you weren’t cheating on him with zuko, or anyone, but the just thought of you with zuko, kissing him, running your fingernails all over his back, moaning his name, it clouded jet’s mind with anger and fear. without thinking rationally, jet smashed his lips onto mai’s. 

both melted into the kiss immediately, grabbing at each other and pressing themselves closer to each other. after a few moments of kissing, jet pulled away, looking a mai with wide, shocked eyes. the kiss with mai honestly felt amazing.

mai smiled at him, taking his hand into her’s. “wanna go upstairs?”

jet nodded furiously, getting up off the couch, mai leading him up to her bedroom. 

————

Like and Reblog!

note - hey guys, sorry for not posting this series for a while, but im back now so :)

taglist is open, just lmk if you wanna be on it for this series by messaging me, commenting, and/or send me a message!

@theblueslytherin @thatarthistorynerd @coldlilheart @akiris @serenitytomothings

[the-last-cuddlebender]

I straight up check your profile daily for the southern raiders analysis you’re working on. 👀👀 where IS IT 😩

bRUH I am so excited to drop this analysis you have no idea (It’s creeping up to 22k+ I am gonna cryyyyyyyyyyyy). The only problem is that my TSR analysis and “Moon theory” are so incredibly hard to structure and articulate. I’m happy you’re so excited for it, though!!! Truly, it’s an honor. I’ll give you a taste of my madness and what’s to come, but be warned: it may be a bit hard to follow because TSR (from how I’ve come to understand it) is about the vagueness of beginnings, endings, and cycles, so there isn’t really a starting point for me to begin with. (So it may seem a tad bit like a ramble in some points that I haven’t fleshed out yet/am summarizing for this ask)

This analysis has me on trails like THIS brilliant nonsense, and I am 1000000000% here for it:

Roku: “The spirit's name is Koh, but he is very dangerous. They call him The Face Stealer.”

Katara: “We’re going to find the man who took my mother from me.”...“That’s him. That’s the monster.”

Lion Turtle: “To bend another's energy, your own spirit must be unbendable, or you will be corrupted and destroyed.”

Roku: “When you speak with him, you must be very careful to show no emotion at all. Not the slightest expression, or he will steal your face.”

Hama: “Congratulations, Katara. You’re a bloodbender.”

(If Katara had killed Yon Rha, she would be giving up her identity--her face. Not only would she have become a killer, but she would be killing what made her Katara)

Aang: “Let your anger out, and then let it go. Forgive him.”

Forgive him--approach him for what he is, not the faces your memories or your heart are having him wear. See him for the pathetic man he is in that moment right in front of you.

Aang’s forgiveness is seeing someone for the sum of their parts. It’s judging them and seeing through into their very soul, just like the Firebending Masters saw through Zuko being the Crown Prince and Aang being the Avatar. That meant nothing to the Masters. What did matter to them was who the boys were right there, right then, right in front of them.

“Why should I hold a grudge against you for something you did in a past life? After all, you’re a different person, now. You’ve come to me with a new face.”

But anyways...

If I can give no other take-away from my analysis and moon theory, it’s that Yin and Yang are not two entities; they are three. I think the fandom’s misunderstanding of it may be why the discourse on TSR (and Aang, Katara, and Zuko) is so black and white (pun intended lol). 

“But Yin and Yang are obviously two things. Don’t you know the symbol?” I hear some people already saying.

Wrong, sir.

It has never been just Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang have never existed as just two things.

They are Yin and Yang and Wu Wei.

(Aunt Wu has her name for a reason, and she has the mark of the wise in her hair for a reason, too...AND she is at odds with Sokka in The Fortuneteller for a reason, too!!!...but that’s for the analysis😉)

Balance isn’t good triumphing over evil. Balance is good and evil. Balance is standing on the flow between two opposites--it’s the compliment that connects them. (The koi fish live in an oasis for a reason.)

I’ll explain what Wu Wei is later in the full analysis (like many things in here), but here’s some of my evidences and proofs for the “Yin Yang trio”:

The Tibetan “Wheel of Dharma”

(I’ll also explain the Wheel and Dharma and etc. later because it has everything to do with Koh and the moon) Long story short, the wheel and its spokes are representative of the 8 steps to enlightenment and the cycle of rebirth. 

Look at the hub of the wheel. It’s a swirl made of 3 parts.

It is also a white lotus

Here’s the colored version of the wheel (as an alter):

Recognize the colors?

BLUE, WHITE (or gold, depending), & RED

These are the “THREE TREASURES” OR JEWELS.

They symbolize DHARMA, BUDDHA, & SANGHA respectively. 

KATARA, AANG, & ZUKO

water, air, & fire

T H R E E

Bato: “Ice dodging is a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery, and trust.

Bato: “The spirits of water bear witness to these marks...”

Why does Bato say spirit(s) plural? The Ocean and the Moon are only two spirits. The Ocean can’t be two things. Right?

WRONG

Yue: “The legends say the Moon was the first waterbender. Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves.”

The Moon--singular. The Tides--plural (push and pull)

Lion Turtle: “In the era before the Avatar, we bent not the elements, but the energy within our senses.”

The moon pushing and pulling the tide is the moon bending the energy of its world. 

Katara finding balance between “being too weak to do it” or “strong enough not to” is her bending the energy within herself.

It’s two solutions written as a question but said as a statement.

Yue: “Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves”

THE SOUTHERN RAIDERS IS ABOUT AANG AND ZUKO LEARNING FROM KATARA. Katara had already learned from Aang and Zuko all leading up to TSR. That was her studying. TSR was her test.

TSR is Zuko’s and Aang’s studying. Sozin’s Comet is their test.

Bato: “For Sokka, the Mark of the Wise. The same mark your father earned. For Katara, the Mark of the Brave. Your courage inspires us. And for Aang, the Mark of the Trusted. You are now an honorary member of the Water Tribe.”

Aang - Wise (”you’re pretty wise for a kid”)

Katara - Brave (the same mark her mother earned)

Zuko - Trusted (”I was the first person to trust you”)

Sokka - Bato ("I am to have no part in this--you pass or fail on your own.”)

Yin and Yang are nothing without their dance. The Avatar and the Firelord mean nothing if they don’t have a world to rebuild.

The valley means nothing if there isn’t anyone to live in it.

Fighting is useless if there isn’t someone to fight for, otherwise it is “selfish and stupid”

Katara had to have a reason to return from Yon Rha. She needed to have Aang waiting for her. If she didn’t have a reason to stay, then she wouldn’t have a reason to go.

To have a reason to sleep, a person has to have a reason to wake up.

Katara: “Aang. He just took his glider and disappeared. He has this ridiculous notion that he has to save the world alone; that it's all his responsibility.”

Hakoda: “Maybe that's his way of being brave.”

(Bato: “For Katara, the Mark of the Brave. Your courage inspires us.”)

Katara: “It's not brave! It's selfish and stupid! We could be helping him! And I know the world needs him, but doesn't he know how much we need him, too? How can he just leave us behind?!”

(It was, in fact, not easy for Aang to ‘do nothing’)

Katara: “I understand why you left. I really do, and I know that you had to go, so why do I still feel this way? I'm so sad and angry...and hurt.”

Hakoda: “I love you more than anything. You and your brother are my entire world. I thought about you every day when I was gone, and every night when I went to sleep, I would lie awake missing you so much it would ache.”

(AND YUE IS ONE OF THE ONES TO SAVE AANG IN THE OCEAN FOR A REASON)

Thinking and missing: a matter of mind (who) and heart (want). 

Iroh: “Who are you? And what do you want?”

Sokka: “We need to go back. I wanna see Dad, but helping Aang is where we're needed the most.”

Mai: “I love Zuko more than I fear you.”

BUT YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THE MOON FOR A HOT SECOND???

I���LL TELL YOU ABOUT THE MOON

I’LL TELL YOU ABOUT 2 MOONS

OH

OH REALLY???

OH REALLY, ZUKO

A FEW HOURS YOU SAY?

THEN TELL ME, ZUKO

WHY IS THE SUN GOING UP

WHEN IT IS THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT A FEW HOURS LATER

AND KATARA IS SLEEPING SO YOU CAN’T TELL ME IT’S BECAUSE YOU RISE WITH THE SUN OTHERWISE SHE’D BE WIDE AWAKE DURING THE FULL MOON THAT SHE USES TO BLOODBEND NOT EVEN TWO MINUTES LATER

THIS, MY FRIENDS, IS A HARVEST MOON

WHICH IS THE LAST FULL MOON OF THE SUMMER 

(and looks off color when it rises/falls because of the angle of the rise/fall in the atmosphere...it’s normal once overhead)

AND SYMOLIZES HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF

“We’re going to find the MAN who took my mother from me.”

“That’s him. That’s the MONSTER.”

8 spokes on the wheel

Katara was 8 when Kya was killed

8 steps to enlightenment (the “Eightfold Path”)

8 phases of the moon

8 faces of Koh

“One of your previous incarnations tried to slay me! Be it 8 or 9 hundred years ago” (but time is an illusion, so hundreds mean nothing)

THE OTHER TWO MOONS THAT ARE CONSUMING MY EVERY WAKING MOMENT???:

1.) The WOLF MOON--the first full moon of the new year (a love between the wolf and the moon in the harshest winters...connection is kindof obvious lmao)

2.) THE THUNDER MOON

The Thunder Moon is the full moon of July. It is also known as the Buck Moon--for when young buck regrow their antlers.

Yue: “My hair turned white.”

Zuko: *cuts and re-grows his hair*

Aang: “I have hair?”

The Thunder Moon--the full moon of July--is also the beginning of a certain Buddhist holiday.

DHARMA DAY

WHICH CELEBRATES THE BEGINING OF BUDDHISM AND THE FIRST OF THE 8 STEPS (the first spoke of the Dharma Wheel) TOWARDS ENLIGHTENMENT

AVATAR IS ALL ABOUT CYCLES

THE SOUTHERN RAIDERS IS ALL ABOUT BREAKING THEM

I haven’t even touched Jung, Koh, Hinduism, and Buddhism yet

or the fact that Katara and Kya are the only characters in the entire series to wear moons on their clothing and that, together, they form an actual lunar phenomenon

or why the spirit oasis isn’t a complete circle

or the fact that this thing that Aang is told to chase is just like Whaletail Island:

or how important the Great Divide and the Solstice are

AND I’M JUST GETTING STARTED

BECAUSE EVERYTHING IN THE SOUTHERN RAIDERS--RIGHT DOWN TO THE SOUND DESIGN--IS ABSOLUTELY MONUMENTAL IN UNDERSTANDING THE SHOW, ITS MESSAGE, ENERGYBENDING, AND LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE

TLDR: Idk how the heck I’m going to arrange or articulate this analysis because it is WILD. Be warned: There is literally no exact beginning and ending to this analysis because the whole point of Yin and Yang is that is has no beginning or ending (...kindof...), so you’ll have to bear with me once I’m done editing it into something that’s somewhat coherent.

These are just SOME of the things I’ve been able to answer with my moon theory and analysis of The Southern Raiders as it currently stands:

Why “letting go” isn’t really letting go (as we understand it...see: Aang’s confrontation with Koh)

Why Lake Laogai and the Spirit World are symbolically the same thing.

Zuko’s advice to the bullfrog is actually a summary of the show, energybending, the origin of bending, and the definition of Aang’s “forgiveness” I stg

Why “Sokka’s instincts” are the reason Katara yells at Sokka

Believe it or not, every time Katara mentions her mother, it is at specific times for specific reasons.

^^^same thing for the moon, lack of moon, moon positioning, etc.

Katara’s mother’s necklace is more important than we realize.

Who the faces of Koh are and WHY they are there.

The true meaning of Jet’s sacrifice.

Why Jet’s episode about the dam explains the entirety of TSR as it pertains to Katara (all the way down to the little girl who runs to get her doll after the dam breaks)

Why Katara actually DID forgive Yon Rha, and the fact that she doesn’t even know it is proof that she did

^^^^^Aang’s definition of forgiveness is completely misunderstood by the fandom, and the way he “forgives” is sososo much deeper than “moving on”, and it is DEFINATELY by no means “doing  nothing” or “excusing” past actions.

The importance of lightning, Zuko, Aang, and Katara.

The absolutely monumental and not nearly talked about importance of Jeong-Jeong like holy crap.

How Katara and Azula are just as much of a Yin and Yang as Zuko and Aang but not in the way we think they are

Why Koh has the Blue Spirit’s face

Why Koh DOESN’T have the Painted Lady’s face.

Who Ni-Ni from Katara’s campfire story in The Puppetmaster is 

How and why Iroh was able to learn firebending from the Masters even though he didn’t have a partner. 

How/Why Azula had her breakdown and why she saw her mother in the mirror

Why “Leaves from the Vine” and “Four Seasons” are the same song, explain Azula’s downfall, and explain the Yin and Yang of TSR.

Why Katara and Sokka are so often mistaken for parental figures.

Why Aang’s flashbacks to the Air Nomads are so important in understanding TSR.

Why Toph and Suki disappear after the campfire in TSR.

How Hakoda, Gyatso, and Kya are all connected.

Why it is so dang important that Azula shows up in the beginning of TSR.

The importance of the Spirit Oasis.

Energybending, healing with waterbending, Aang’s trauma, and Zuko’s scar.

Why Zuko gives Katara the exact opposite advise in TSR that he gave her in the catacombs. 

How everything could be predicted and read by the moon.

WHY YIN AND YANG ARE THREE THINGS AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THREE THINGS.

HOW ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL OF THIS TIES BACK TO THE MOON AND BUDDHIST BELIEFS--AND YEAH THE MOON AND BUDDHISM AND HINDUISM ARE MORE CONNECTED IN ATLA THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE.

AND HOW IT LEADS INTO OUR MODERN UNDERSTANDING OF THE SELF--BECAUSE JUNG TOOK GREAT INFLUENCE IN HIS DEVELOPING THEORY OF THE CONSCIOUS AND THE SUBCONSCIOUS FROM THE HINDU/BUDDHIST RELIGIONS 

^^^^AND ALSO THE THEORY OF THE SHADOW AND THE PERSONA 

The ocean is a deep, dark, unknown place with a lot of hidden monsters (like Yon Rah). Katara needed a light to find her monster, but she also needed somewhere she could breathe when she came back up for air.

If she didn’t have both Zuko and Aang, Katara would have drowned. 

I wasn’t kidding when I said this was a thesis, and what I’ve said and listed here isn’t even all that I have.

btw This all does line up on the traditional Yin Yang symbol we know and see in the show, but I don’t have enough space here for that lmao. That’ll be in the analysis

I hope you enjoyed this little taste, my friend, because I need to sit down for a hot second before my brain leaks out of my ears. Sorry for the ramble. I promise the analysis isn’t like this lol. This is just me trying to summarize as best as I can. 

***Disclaimer: My points are always subject to change since I am still researching. These are the facts as I’ve found and applied them to the evidences I’ve noted from in the show. I’m always open for friendly discussion or any directions to better sources on Buddhism/Tao/Jung!***

[stitch1830]

@twinkle-toph I heard you wanted a bit of angst so here's what I found in my stockpile lol.

I wrote this with the idea in mind to eventually make romantic Tokka, but for now it's just platonic (also hopefully I have more ideas to get to romantic Tokka. Time will tell lmao).

......

She hadn’t left the bed since the services concluded, and they were only informed of the state of their friend through nannies that Poppy sent over. Apparently, Lin hadn’t stopped crying and Toph blocked out the world, unwilling to engage with anyone, including her daughter.

It hurt to hear this, but it wasn’t entirely surprising, either. After all, none of them knew how they themselves would have reacted to such a jarring change in their life.

Sokka paced her living room floor while the group decided to talk with Toph alone, one by one. He waited with everyone else while Katara attempted to coax Toph out of the bedroom. Aang sat in a lone chair, bouncing his leg incessantly and twiddling his thumbs. It was a rather odd sight to see Aang so jittery, but Sokka assumed it was because he wasn’t sure what to say.

Zuko sat on the couch upright and still, his eyes closed. Sokka could feel the Fire Lord trying to summon a reality—any reality—that was an ounce better than this one.

Suki sulked on the couch as well, resting an elbow on the arm and her head in her hand. Tears slowly made their way down his friend’s cheeks.

The turning of a doorknob had everyone jumping in their seats and staring at the doorway. Only Katara emerged, and she looked worse than when she entered the room.

It seemed that his sister’s attempts at comforting and helping Toph were futile.

And it went on like this with every member of the group. One of them would enter, prepared and determined to help Toph with their specific strategy, and they would always leave the room defeated. Even stranger, no one talked about what was said in the room.

One by one the group came and went into Toph’s room, until Sokka was the only one left. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing his intervention speech and determined to help his best friend through the hardest time of her life.

But the second he opened the door, his resolve cracked, and he wasn’t so sure he could help.

……

She lay down on the bed, clutching the side of the covers Kanto used. She felt and heard nothing in the bed they shared—used to share. All she did was replay the scene of the last time they woke up together. Over and over and over, hoping her will to change the scene would eventually become a reality…

His mocking gasp and his playful baby voice woke her. “What’s this? Mama’s almost up! Should we say hi? Huh? Say hi to Mama?”

Toph heard Lin giggle in agreement, and spirits, was it hard to keep still and not smile. But she did, and pretty soon Kanto had Lin hovering over Toph’s face close enough for her little arms to touch.

Unfortunately, Lin hadn’t quite yet grasped the concept of the gentle touch, for she slapped her mother square on the cheek. Toph groaned at the sharp disturbance while Lin and Kanto continued to laugh.

“Linny says good morning,” Kanto said.

“You need to teach her how to say it without slapping,” she complained lightly, turning in the bed so she was on her back.

“Why me?”

“Because she likes you more.”

“You have a point.”

Toph scoffed at Kanto and lightly slapped his forearm. “Jerk! You’re not supposed to agree with me.”

“Hey! You know I was lying, what’s the big deal?” he asked playfully. Lin began to wiggle in his arms, and he gently placed her on Toph’s chest and in her arms. “Lin is very excited for her ladies day.”

“Why do you keep calling it that? The nanny is off today, that’s it.”

“Yes, and you get to spend the entire day with this little badgermole. I’m a little jealous.”

“Don’t be,” she reassured him. “All we’ll be doing is sitting together in silence. If anything, I’m jealous of you.” Toph turned to point a smirk in Kanto’s direction, and he grew quiet. An unusual deviance from the typical morning banter, and she wondered why.

She didn’t have to wait long to figure out what, however.

“Hey, Toph,” he began.

“Hey, Hotshot.”

“Have you ever thought about our future?” he asked.

“Like?”

“Like, what do you think our future holds, what it will be like…” his voice sounded as if he had more to say, but Kanto left the sentence lingering in the air, waiting to be answered.

Toph assumed it was an opening for more banter, so she responded with, “Our future holds coffee and baby spit up.” She kicked her feet over onto the floor and made her way to the kitchen with Lin in her arms, while Kanto quietly chuckled and followed slowly behind.

He asked about their future. Their future. Together. And it all hit her when she stood over his body at the morgue, clutching to the thin, metal ring she found in his pocket what he was asking earlier in the day.

Marriage. He was going to ask her to marry him.

And so she replayed that morning in her head over and over and over, fixing the memory to make it what it was supposed to be…

“What are you asking, Kanto?” she asked, sitting upright in the bed with Lin still in her arms.

“I’m wondering if you’d… um…”

Toph smirked at his erratic heart rate. It wasn’t easy to detect in the soft bed, but his heart was beating out of his chest that Toph could practically hear it.

“Croco-cat got your tongue?” she teased, Lin giggled at her antics as well.

“Spirits,” Kanto groaned, rubbing his hands through his hair. “Why is this so difficult??”

“Just ask me, Hotshot,” she replied quietly.

“Huh?”

The earthbender sighed. Sometimes Hotshot was a little dense.

“I can ‘see’ the ring,” she confessed, then chuckled when Kanto sat up stiffly in the bed. “Just ask me already,” she repeated.

Her calm and steady voice must’ve tipped the man off that he had nothing to fear. Kanto chuckled and inched his way closer to Toph and Lin. He gently placed his forehead on Toph’s and held her free hand. “Toph Beifong, will you marry me?”

A smile grew across Toph’s face. She never thought she’d be the type to settle down and get married, but with Kanto… it felt perfect. Right.

So there was no hesitation in her answer. “I’ve got no plans today.”

“Wait, you wanna get married right now?”

“Why not?” she asked. “Work will be there tomorrow, and Lin and I have the day to ourselves. I think we can make room for Baba.”

He grinned into her cheek like he always did, then kissed her. “Sounds like we’ve got ourselves a date.”

Toph laughed. “That, we do.”

But no matter how many times Toph replayed the memory, it wouldn’t change. She didn’t stop him from going into work, she didn’t give him the opportunity to ask her, and she couldn’t even remember if she told him she loved him.

Now all she had were his lingering scent, the memory of his voice and his laugh, his clothes now rendered useless in her house, and the little bits of his personality she found in Lin.

It wasn’t enough.

She wanted her happy ending or whatever the fuck people called it. She wanted him. She wanted to hear of the future he thought for them, for the question that he meant to ask her for weeks, she wanted life with him.

And now that was impossible.

……

His entire speech seemed to fall on deaf ears, because Toph didn’t move. Sokka watched as her grip on the covers tightened and loosened every so often, as if a thought of Kanto appeared before her and the thought alone was too much to bear.

“Toph?” he called out after 5 minutes of talking to himself. “Can you hear me?”

No response.

He crouched down and reached across the bed to grab her hand. When his hand made contact, Toph immediately sprung to life and snapped at him as she sat up on the bed.

“Get off his side!” she hissed.

Sokka quickly took his hands off the covers. “Toph, I just—”

“No,” she interrupted.

“Toph,” he repeated, standing up. “You can’t lay here forever. You need to take care of yourself. Take care of Lin.”

“Didn’t know I was competing against you for ‘Mother of the year,’” Toph snapped. “Leave me the fuck alone, Sokka.” Toph stood up and turned away from the warrior, her hands crossed over her chest. He didn’t recall anyone else getting such a reaction from Toph, so he took this as a sign of progress.

“You’re lashing out because you’re upset.”

“Upset doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling.”

“I’m sure it’s not,” he agreed. “But staying in here won’t bring him back. And he wouldn’t want—”

“Fuck that, Sokka!” she yelled, spinning around to face him once again. “Fuck what Kanto would’ve wanted! He’s dead! What he wants is impossible.”

“But he wouldn’t want you to waste your life away for him, Toph!” he argued.

Toph scoffed. “What would you know? None of you know what this feels like.”

“We’ve all experienced loss—”

“Oh? Have any of you lost the love of your life to some crazy murderer on the day they were planning to propose?!”

“Toph—”

The earthbender waved a hand at him. “I don’t want to hear it, Sokka.” Toph fell back onto the bed, all of her fight suddenly spent on those bitter and hurtful words. “Just leave me alone. All of you.”

Sokka didn’t move. He just wracked his brain for something, anything that would bring Toph some semblance of peace. She was so heartbroken, and he wanted to fix it for her. Because that was what they did for each other. He protected her, and she protected him.

But how could he protect Toph from a broken heart?

She was snow on a mountain. Stuck in place until just the right tremor sent her down the elevated earth and back in motion, back to some semblance of life.

And he knew what had to be done.

His entire friendship hung in the balance of his next move, but he had to risk it. Toph was worth it, even if she remained furious with him for the rest of her life.

Sokka walked over to Toph’s side where she lay, and he wrapped his arms around her, picking her up and leading her to the door. His small but mighty friend lashed out, throwing her arms and legs in every which way and screamed for him to let go, but Sokka didn’t.

Thankfully, Toph didn’t earthbend at him, but she slammed her fists into his arms in an attempt to break free. The warrior wouldn’t budge; his friend needed to leave the prison she made for herself.

They made their way out of the bedroom, eventually, and Toph Beifong was still furious at him. She pushed, shoved, and punched Sokka, hoping to escape his iron grip. But she couldn’t break free, and the fight she had within her was slowly withering away.

She didn’t want to stay in that room forever. But it was the thought of losing Kanto completely that kept her holed up. What if Toph forgot what he smelled like? What about his voice? His heartbeat was strong and soothing and helped her fall asleep each night, now it ceased to exist. Would she forget all that made Kanto Kanto?

The fear of the unknown ate away at Toph, and now that she was out of their bedroom, she couldn’t go back. Being in the room, especially now, caused her to succumb to thoughts of Kanto again, allowing them to consume her completely with no fight to stop it from happening. She crossed the doorway, taking the first painful steps of moving on... and she had to be dragged to the starting line.

In the back of her mind, she hated herself for pointing all her pain and anger and sadness on Sokka, her best friend. But he absorbed and shouldered every hurtful comment and shove she aimed at him, and years down the line, she would be grateful for his boldness. Still, in the moment all Toph could do was cry and beat at his chest until all the anger left her, and all that was left was the grief. Her fight slowly but surely withered away.

Kanto was gone, and now she had to spend the rest of her life filled with regret and pain and Toph Beifong wasn’t sure how she was going to get through it all.

But the arms of Sokka were strong and warm and soothing all at the same time, and Toph cried in the comfort of them. She sobbed and let the tears fall as she thought of what her life could have been, what it was supposed to be, and how sad her reality would soon become.

[zkfanworkweek]

ZFAW Fan Content Creator Interviews: HayleyNFoster

Hey everyone! We hope you’re all excited for ZFAW, and to honor (ha!) ZFAW’s commitment to supporting and celebrating fan content creators in the Zutara fandom, we’re going to be rolling out a series of interviews with well-known and widely-beloved content creators over the next few weeks. We’ve got artists and fanfiction authors, some names you recognize as well as a few phenomenal up-and-coming talents, and we can’t wait for you to meet them all!

For the second interview in this cycle, we have our best propaganda creator and this fandom’s hottest new artist/undisputed queen of the animatic, @hayleynfoster!

1. Tell us about how you came to ship Zutara. What does this ship mean to you?

When I was around 14 or 15 and caught Avatar: The Last Airbender on television, I was drawn in by the art style, the humor, and the wonderful characters. I caught the episodes out of order, and the first one I saw and wasn’t prepared to be sucked in by was The Waterbending Scroll. It intrigued me at that age, and the line “I’ll save you from the pirates” combined with the tension between Katara and Zuko in that whole scene was electrifying. I remember my teenage self thinking these two have so much chemistry! And when I saw a commercial on Nickelodeon that featured fanart submitted by fellow Avatar fans, I realized that I could do that to! So I set about making Zutara fanart for myself. I stumbled onto Youtube, practically in its infancy, and discovered that people set clips of Zuko and Katara set to music (And this was still in season 1 days… so people who made these amvs were the real mvps because they were able to make compelling narratives in their amvs with like practically nothing to work with!). The AMVs really spurred my interest in this couple, I remember distinctly one Zutara AMV using the Dido song White Flag utterly capturing my imagination. I found fandom shortly after, getting into deviantart and forums. But the ship really began to mean something to me when, as I was working on my drawings in the computer lab at school, a buoyant presence hovered over my shoulder noticing my Zutara art on the computer screen. The girl was someone I had never really talked to and had only seen from afar but she immediately started excitedly saying she shipped Zuko and Katara too! In this simple shared obsession, I made one of the best friends I’ve ever had and we’re still friends to this day. We would theorize and fangirl over Avatar like it was nobody’s business; we poured over bootleg San Diego Comic Con footage that showed spoilers for season 2 before it aired; we lost our freaking minds when we finally saw The Crossroads of Destiny. We had watch parties every week as Season 3 of A:TLA aired, and comforted each other when the show ended as it did (much ranting was shared). Those are some of my happiest memories from high school… all because this one pairing from this wonderful show. Even though Zutara didn’t happen, we still chat every now and then about it. Zutara will probably be a lifelong obsession, always bubbling under the surface. And without it, I would have never realized that animation was a viable career path. It really did inspire everything including the work I’m doing to this day in the animation industry. I owe a lot to this ship and to Avatar: the Last Airbender.

2. What inspires you to create zutara fanworks?

The resurgence of Avatar: The Last Airbender this year really helped sort of spark that dormant love I had for Zutara. The show’s ending still disappointed me on the rewatch, but Zuko and Katara’s relationship arc was as captivating as ever, so I turned to some fanfiction and looking at people’s pretty Zutara art and AMVs to just revel in fanon instead of getting to hung up on the actual ending of the show. But then I realized, with quarantine and my work load being pretty light, I had time to actually make all new Zutara art for myself, art I was never fully capable of making as a kid, but now could do with my 7 years of industry experience and just… life experience. And I was inspired to do some corrective animatics to satisfy my own desire for a different ending. I just really like exploring these two characters, doing different and interesting things with them, and frankly I’m inspired to make cute, fluffy, romantic art simply by virtue of living in a really sad and depressing world. Things are so crazy right now, creating art about two characters I love being in love, is comforting. And it helps to have inspiring music and amazing Zutara amvs to just sort of stir up my emotions and imagery in my head to make into animatics and art.

3. Be selfish - if you could request one fanwork based on your own art/fanfic, what would it be? What would you absolutely love to see someone create?

Ohhhh… Well, It’s always nice to have people write fanfiction that puts words to my animatics. I am not that great at coming up with dialog myself, so I’ve just chosen to indulge in visuals and emotions for my boards. But when I read things like RideBoldlyRide’s take on my Reunion Animatic, it makes me pretty giddy. (They finally have voices!) :) And this is the MOST selfish thing I could request, but I’m not shy about saying how much I love well done amvs, so I will literally kill for someone to make Zutara AMVs to songs I like… Like, most of AURORA’s songs but especially Exist for Love, Sunseeker by The Naked and Famous, Promises or Take Me by Aly & AJ, Adore You by Harry Styles, Human Enough by ONR, Never Let Me Go by Florence + The Machine, and/or Almost (Sweet Music) by Hozier just… I can see the AMVs so clearly to any of these songs in my head, but I don’t have the tools or skill set at my disposal to make a compelling fan video. When I was in high school, I originally thought I wanted to go into video editing simply because I loved making very crappy AMVs (they were so bad you guys), but I figured out being a storyboard artist was more in my wheelhouse. haha

4. Any words for people who are new to the fandom and/or nervous about sharing their work for the first time?

If you’re new to the Zutara fandom, just have a good time! Don’t waste too much time arguing with people over your shipping preferences. I wasted so much of my teen years having pointless shipping wars with people on DeviantArt, and I’m just so much happier nowadays because I’m just making Zutara art in my little corner of the internet, and honestly, in the politest of ways, I don’t give a shit if people don’t like my art or Zutara. haha I think that’s sort of a key thing for people thinking of posting creative works here in the fandom, just make art for yourself, satisfy your own desires for the pairing, get your creative sparks flying, and create just for the joy of creating. It’s always nice to get comments and such, but simply making the art should be what spurs you on, not the external validation. And have a good time, don’t worry too much - I say as someone who worries about EVERYTHING. But honestly, making art for A:TLA is some of the most relaxed I’ve been because I make it just for me. I’m lucky others seem to like it too!

5. What’s an idea for a fanwork that you have but haven't gotten around to making?

I have an idea for a second generation storyline with my Zutara kids that involves Kya (the eldest firebending daughter) falling in love with an airbender boy (tentatively named Gora in my headcanon who’s a bit of a rabble rouser and one of Aang’s kids he had with a Kyoshi Warrior), and then they start a socialist revolution in the Fire Nation in order to dismantle all of the hierarchical societies across the Avatar world… Together Kya and Gora Fan the Flames of revolution… ehhhhh... Get it?? Oh! Oh, and then Katara, who had put in legit liberal reforms in her time as Fire Lady listens to her daughter after resisting in the first part of the story, but then realizes she can actually play a part in the dissolution of the royalty and is also active in the revolution realizing that moderate liberal reforms are no substitute for a society free of serving royalty (which she had always been uncomfortable with but had rationalized with herself that she was doing good in her capacity as Fire Lady.) I just feel like there’s a lot of cool potential for discussing these ideas and also having some aspirational change in the Avatar world. lol For aesthetics and just happy fluffy times, I can indulge in Fire Lady and Fire Lord Zuko stuff, but really at the end of the day, I take issue with the structures in a society that have to exist for monarchies to exist. Soooo, I kind of want to do my own corrective story for that… if I ever have the time or guts. On a less ambitious note, I would love to do a Zutara sparring animatic to practice doing action, but I need a good story; I am not good at doing fights just for fighting’s sake. Those are just some things I have rattling around in my head.  

6. Are you participating in ZFAW? If so want to give us a hint as to your plans?

Yes! The most I can say is I have one animatic almost finished and one that’s still being thumbnailed. The rest are probably going to be comics or emotive single pieces based on the fanfics I really like right now. :)

[azucanela]

being sokka’s s/o would include hcs?

BEING SOKKA’S S/O HEADCANNONS [GENDER NEUTRAL!READER]

being zuko’s s/o headcannons | being korra’s s/o headcannons

SUMMARY: being sokka’s s/o from the confession to the marriage

WORD COUNT: 2.3k

WARNINGS: mild lok spoiler, fluff, kissing, do these count as warnings, yeah this is pretty pg man, blood, stab wound, sokka being sokka

A/N: im sick and dying h e l p, but also interact with me im lonely, become and elusive anon idc <3 also wow i have 500 followers??? idk why you all followed me?? but thanks?? hi??

getting into the relationship

oh god 

i see him with a friends to lovers thing where he either flirts with you from the moment he meets you or progressively begins to fall for you and is far to flustered to flirt because woah there why are you so beautiful

if its the former, then he’s probably gonna be ‘joking’ for the most part and you know this, so you two are just playfully flirting all the time until one day he realizes that he wants this to be REAL and panics 

when you flirt the first time he’s flustered, because he’s really just not used to the same level of forwardness that he has himself, but after a while Sokka is gonna get used to it and he’ll just roll with it

but when he realizes he wants more? he’s gonna be flustered all over again, and he’s probably gonna flirt with you signifigantly less, which is gonna cause you to confront him, much to his dismay, because oh no he’s alone with you-

“oh! haha.. hey y/n. yeah i need to go sharpen my boomerang-”

“sokka that’s not something you can do.”

when you confront him, he’s probably gonna be honest with you and tell you how he feels because he really cares for you and just wants you to calm down because no he does n o t hate you

“do you hate me or something now?”

“uh.. it’s the opposite actually you see-”

if its the latter, he’s gonna go from really calm and chill around you, because of the friendly vibes and such like cracking jokes and such, to a complete and utter mess

you two are really close as friends and that isn’t something he wants to mess up but he’s definitely gonna confess at some point because he’s not one to bottle his emotions up and hates how weird things are between the two of you now that he’s realized he likes you

in general i see sokka as a mess around whoever he likes, until he comes to terms with the fact that he likes them, and this likely won’t take long, he’s pretty in tune with his emotions

he’s not gonna wanna ask you out at first, in all honesty, i see sokka’s whole confidence thing as a facade, because in actuality he has really low self esteem and genuinely sees himself as the “extra” member of team avatar because he lacks bending and everyone around him is so talented that he sometimes forgets he is literally super smart and makes all the plans that save their lives on the daily

just things you are too good for him, especially if you are a bender

if you start hinting that you like him too, he is initially gonna think it is a joke until you start getting bold and then it’s gonna hit him like everyone hits the cabbage man’s cart

i can see either of you confessing first, if Sokka does, he’s probably gonna be really bashful and flustered about it, but he’s also gonna try and act cool because thats like his trademark

if you confess first, he’s gonna be in shock temporarily, but then he’s gonna jump right into things because you like him BACK omgomgomgomg 

he’s gonna wanna kiss you right after the confession, and it’ll probably backfire because he got really excited and ended up headbutting you and now you have a bruise forming on your head and a very apologetic sokka oops

in general, quickly recognizes his feelings and confesses shortly after, because he just hates the weird tension even if he thinks he’s the only one feeling it, even though hes NOT

during the relationship

so

a really attentive boyfriend, you will never feel neglected, he’s a very clingy person who gets intimate with you all the time, so if you like affection you got it

kissing him is nice, he’s good at it 10/10 recommend, always wants to hold you as close as possible, prefers a hand on your hip/lowerback and another on your face or neck to pull you closer

if you don’t like affection, he’ll express his love in other ways

for example, cooking, i see sokka as someone who can either cook REALLY well, or not at all. there is no in between. 

genuinely just really wants to make you happy

the type to bully you if you’re in a relationship, pls bully him back, humble this man. he’s gonna roast you but he doesn’t really mean it okay, he’s just doesn’t want things to change between you

loves that his best friend is his lover, would not want it any other way

probably forgets to tell the gaang you are dating and like aang and toph are gonna catch you two kissing or smth and sokka’s just gonna be like oh hey guys and they are both like ???

"when did this happen?”

“wym lol”

if you two are together during the war, he’s gonna wanna be by your side like 24/7 because he does not want you to die, like this lowkey stresses him so much that he will subconsciously, when developing battle plans either put you in the safest possible spot or by his side, and its because he has literally lost so many people he’s care for and now he’s distressed

remind him that he matters and is important to the team, because he forget that sometimes and falls into a mood, where he’s all sad and stuff and it just makes you sad so like

tell him he matters, because he does, tell him he’s great even if he can’t bend, and tell him he is a fantastic and brilliant leader, this will serve as an ego boost though so be prepared to humble him

steal his hair ties and do all of us a favor okay, just steal them, burn them because no littering, just make sure he cannot find them! he will walk around with his hair down in confusion, searching for them before he starts the day

speaking of starting the day, you always wake up first, this man is not a morning person and needs his beauty sleep, definitely have a 17 step skin care routine, change my mind, he is big on self care and will make sure you participate with him because he cares about you

speaking of care he knows you so well since you are his s/o so if he notices something is up he will not hesitate to confront you, and will ask if you want solutions or just someone to listen to

prefers solving the problem though

back to mornings, um have fun waking up to sokka with his hair down that sounds HEAVENLY um

mild lok spoilers but sokka ends up chief, and gets involved in politics over time, so he kinda runs out of time for you a bit until he figures out how to organize his time better, then he gets kinda sad, but he still wants to take you out on dates as often as possible ok no more spoilers

so speaking of dates, sokka wants weekly dates, this is a must, does not care if it is a fancy restaurant, cooking at home, or a picnic. he loves picnics most though, and please notice how food is the common factor here

sokka would never cheat on you but if he did he would cheat with food

arguments aren’t rare, but they are mostly over dumb stuff and you both know its dumb stuff so for the most part its a joke, but sometimes someone takes things too far so then apologies are necessary

like actual argument arguments are mostly rare because sokka doesn’t wanna pick fights with you and he’s fairly passive unless he feels really strongly about something

he can be REALLY MEAN THOUGH AND PETTY like wow sokka will go days without talking to you because of a fight

he can and will apologize first when he realizes the toll its taking on your relationship, probably will apologize first

if you catch him being a misogynist put him in his place :)

 he thinks you are hot when you are angry and might pick a fight with you just for that reason, pls make out with him

marriage n’ stuff

im still waiting for someone to explain what weddings are like guys please

anyways he’s gonna realize he wants to marry you when he nearly dies and is like wow life is really short also lets discuss him losing all the important people he’s loved in his life one more time, he does not want to lose you!!!

ever!!!

so he’s gonna nearly die and then be like i need to propose, like now, i cannot die without being married to the literal love of my life so i should do that literally the moment i get home instead of getting medical attention first

yeah he is the smart one, but he lacks common sense, so i hope you got a LOT of common sense. y’all do be sharing a braincell

stops by a ring shop place, and the moment he just feels like he saw the one, price does NOT matter he has purchased it and is now heading home to you

you on the other hand are PANICKING because what do you mean sokka just ran out of the hospital with no explanation and is nowhere to be found katara

what do you mean you thought he would be h e r e

yes katara went over to your house to see if sokka was there and he is not!!!

yet ;)

there is like a manhunt for sokka and he has yet to notice because mans has tunnel vision and as he opens the door to your shared apartment he does not expect to see a crying katara and oh no-

“SOKKA! YOU’RE NOT DEAD?!”

hes like of course im not dead what the hell

you’re seated standing next to Katara trying to console her when you see sokka and wow you are relieved to see he is not dead or kidnapped

“SOKKA DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW WORRIED I WAS-”

lol he’s kissing you to shut you up how cute, now leave katara you are infringing on an extremely pivotal moment of this relationship

honestly seeing you comforting his sister just makes him love you more and he kinda just wants to marry you 10x more now 

you pull away from the kiss looking at him like what are you doing, and katara is like, “Sokka where the hell were you??? you have a stab wound???” and now you’re like WOAHWOAHWOAHWOAHWOAH

“stabbed? sokka you need medical attention-”

“to answer your question dear sister, i was getting a ring for your hopefully soon to be sister in law.”

“EXCUSE ME?” you are so confused, katara is confused and is now realizing that she was probably not supposed to be here

sokka is already dropping down onto one knee and pulling out the just bought ring as saying, “marry me!” now he’s high on adrenaline and pain has yet to hit him and he’s kinda just sitting there beaming up at you despite the blood seeping out of him at a rapid rate

“im sorry what?” thats katara girl be quiet they are trying to have a MOMENT

anyways you’re like, “sokka. hospital.”

and he’s like, “answer me first” and he’s giving you a weak lil smile as he realizes how stupid he was and he’s about to stand back up but you put a hand on his shoulder and just nod.

now he’s back to beaming so brightly, and he’s putting the ring on your finger and oh no- he’s passed out. is it from excitement or bloodloss? idk

he also might pass out before hearing you answer and then at the hospital you’re kinda sitting there like, “ARE YOU DUMB STUPID OR DUMB. YOU COULD HAVE DIED.”

and he’s like, “not without hearing your answer” <3<3 heart eyes emojis everywhere

alternatively, he is one of few people i could see having a public proposal, with lots of flowers, a band, fireworks, the whole nine yards

he’s gonna want it flashy

something probably goes wrong and he nearly cries but you say yes anyways and he throws a party after

anyways the actual wedding is preferably public, but if you want a more private one then he does what you want because he loves you most

he is gonna be very active in wedding planning, wants to try the foods and desserts and appetizers and everything especially. wants to do the weird stuff like picking napkins with you and flower arrangements and all that stuff i think this happens idk someone please inform me

this stuff just makes him fall in love with you more tbh, and he’s just so so sure he wants to marry you 

his vows will make HIM cry, like he is going to cry when he sees you walk down the aisle, he’s going to cry when he reads his own vows, and he’s going to cry when you read your vows, it doesn’t matter if they are lowkey bad

makes jokes in his vows because he is a nerd but can barely reach the punchline because he is in tears

fr though he is just so happy to be marrying you and wow you look REALLY GOOD in whatever you are wearing um damn okay you really went off

married life with sokka is elite ngl, mans cooks for you, he probably cleans sometimes, but otherwise chores are fairly divided 

he spoils you

overall sokka is a real great s/o and he gives you everything you deserve and yeah marry sokka 2020 everyone deserves a sokka 

taglists[lmk if you wanna be added or removed via askbox or replies]

atla:  @bubblebars @jada-cleo @Art-flirt @the-deli-meat @wemissyou3000 @ajediherowitchrunner 

sokka: @iammello

[klm-zoflorr]

Issues with the Tyzula ship that Tyzula shippers/fics typically avoid

Stereotypical Tyzula Ty Lee: “Azula-san, I completely forgive you for everything you ever did to me or my best friend and have always loved you unconditionally. I will help you become better if it means risking the quality of my life, my other relationships, my sanity, and even my life. I will magically be able to help you deal with your myriad of mental issues as if you always only needed love/affection instead of real medical help. I will always love you even if you don’t really change your behavior or worse, remain the same power hungry bitch you grew up to be. I love you ‘Zula.”

Look, I am not opposed to Tyzula for I actually think that they had a real friendship, even if there was a massive power imbalance, that got fucked up by Ozai’s abusive teachings and Azula trying to act as her sovereign and friend at the same time. But there is a tendency among Tyzula shippers/fics to make Ty Lee forgive Azula way too easily, make Azula not deal with her flaws or make (proper) amends to Ty Lee and Mai, retcon Azula into a soft baby who didn’t do anything wrong other than get abused, and/or gloss over the issues between the two.

For example, If Tyzula occurred pre-Boiling Rock like some fics imply, do you think it would have been consensual? Especially considering that there has been a massive power imbalance (Azula is Ty Lee’s Sovereign) since their childhood that Azula took advantage of even then; Azula forced Ty Lee to join her squad at firepoint; and Ty Lee is deathly scared of Azula? And if it happened post-Boiling Rock there is a massive power imbalance in favor of Ty Lee since the moment Azula “acts up” (it doesn’t have to be a big thing since Ty Lee is scarred shitless of Azula) Ty Lee can either call Zuko to jail her and/or have Aang de-bend her. There are some Tyzula fics that properly deal with, imo, the pre- and post-Boiling Rock power imbalances but most of them just gloss over them.  Not helping is the fact that comics imply that the two never had a real relationship at all and that Ty Lee is still deathly afraid of Azula, willing to chi-block Azula the moment she is anything other than docile. 

Also, how come most Tyzula shippers/fics don’t touch about LOK’s Turf Wars said about Sozin outlawing homosexuality and the implications it has for a lesbian/bisexual Azula? If Azula, who tries to be the model princess in a post-Sozin Fire Nation, can’t even realize that using fear is not a good way to maintain relationships, how would she deal with the fact that she has feelings for girls? Most of the Tyzula fics or headcanons I have read don’t seriously deal with the fact that either Azula is deep in the closet and/or suffering from serious internalized homophobia and would not likely express her sexual preferences in public unless she was in an extraordinary situation or got serious therapy plus years of self-reflection/character growth. Not to mention the fact she would be one of the leading perpetrators of homophobia by virtue of being Ozai’s right hand general/advisor.

So, do I have a valid point about how Tyzula shippers and fics often engage in abuse and/or toxic friendship/relationship apologism? Or I am just being too harsh on a group of shippers that have been vocally condemned by the greater ATLA community and most likely will never see their ship be canonized? And yes, some of my own fanfic works do contain Tyzula so feel free to call me out if I am being a hypocrite and holding people to standards that I can’t uphold.

-----------

This was a very interesting submission, Anon, and I don't think you're "in the wrong" here, even if I don't necessarily agree with you. At least you're polite, so I won't swear at you xD I'll sum up your points for clarity's sake

"Tyzula shippers make Ty Lee dumber and ready to do anything for Azula. They write stories without depth and without adressing the imbalances in their relationship"

Here's my personnal opinion on that: this kind of drama/angst is hard to write, and I don't want to waste my time for 10 chapters while they're angstying over whether or not to love each other. Mental health issues are hard to write too, and I want azula to be happy, so I can just make them dissapear. I completely acknowledge it isn't the most realistic kind of writing, but I don't care, I just want to have fun. I wouldn't pretend it's canon either.

Now, some Azula fans are just biased towards her, and like to pretend her canon character did nothing wrong and is purely a victim and is owed Ty Lee's love. I'm not gonna shit on them, in the grand scheme of things it's quite inconsequencial, but I don't think that's accurate.

"Tyzula shippers make it happen even if Azula is still a "villain" and hasn't redeemed herself for her sins"

I can link this to my first point a little, and erase all moral complexity for the funzies while acknowledging it isn't canon. But there's also the fact in ATLA, Ty Lee has little to no redemption arc herself. She just betrays azula, and then the good guys accept her and mai with no problem? We could interpret that as "she was always supporting Aang's cause and hated azula secretly since forever" but I don't think that's very correct, because Ty Lee never shows any sign of it, never talks treason, never helps the good guys while azula isn't looking (unlike mai!). The only thing that could possibly make her betray Azula, in my point of view, is seeing her other best friend almost die to her hands. And even then, it isn't a moral choice. I firmly believe Ty Lee was just as indoctrinated in the Fire Nation's ways as everyone else there. And that she actually supported her nation and obeyed Azula as her commander not only because they were friends, not only because she had to, but because she was loyal to her nation. And the only reason I can see her go to the good guys' side at the end of atla was simply because of self preservation with a side of unbrainwashing from FN propaganda

So, in conclusion, I don't think Ty Lee is a completely good character, and I don't think she has a problem with Azula's crimes.

"There is a power imbalance"

I'm not going to deny that. But who told you all relationships with a power imbalance are inherently bad? They're more likely to be toxic, but they won't always be. If the person with the upper hand is respectuous and nice, everything works out perfectly. It's more of an advice towards people who don't have the upper hand in their unbalanced relationship, and who could get taken advantage of. But Ty Lee is smarter than she looks, and I believe she would know to stay away from that.

Pre-boilling rock, there is indeed problems with them getting together, but they're not due to one of them being toxic. Azula is Ty Lee's princess, and it isn't her fault. She was literally raised to lead. And Ty Lee was raised to follow. We see that despite that, Azula still considers Ty Lee as her friend and gets her in her team in a nice way. But it isn't her fault she was raised in the middle of a war and sees the will of the fire nation as more important than anything.

Additionally, I don't think Ty Lee hated Azula, for the reasons I mentionned before.

Post-boilling rock, I just don't think Ty Lee would be scared, or cruel enough, to jail or unbend Azula for no reason. Because, again, I don't think she hates her.

"The fire nation is homophobic"

As is usual with me, I loathe the comics and don't consider this as canon. It doesn't even make sense, apart from saying "fire nation's evil, they're homophobic now too" to be honest, if anyone's gonna be homophobic it's gonna be everyone, cause there was no gay representation in atla.

Oh, and f*ck this, I hate homophobia, I don't want my fictionnal worlds to have it too. It's dumb as shit and everyone is gay in the Fire Nation. There.

"So, do I have a valid point about how Tyzula shippers and fics often engage in abuse and/or toxic friendship/relationship apologism? Or I am just being too harsh on a group of shippers that have been vocally condemned by the greater ATLA community and most likely will never see their ship be canonized?"

You do have a valid point that some tyzula shippers have the same problem as some azula stans, as in that they put her on a pedestral and say she did nothing wrong. But some also just don't want to bother with that and just want to write fluff, and that's fine. There are way worse things they could be doing.

It is true that Tyzula is kind of a controversial ship, and for this reason I don't think you should care too much about it. Bullying people never help anyone, and criticising tyzula shippers will only push them back in their fandom spaces and make them unable to tell apart genuine, objective criticism and mean bullying.

I don't want Tyzula to be canon, btw. Well. For me canon kinda stopped at the end of atla, so everything is possible after this point lol. Not that I even care much about canon.

You are not an hypocrite for liking tyzula and criticizing it. You can call out the behavior of people in your own community, it's perfectly fine and should be encouraged. I'd pay more attention to your opinion too, because I know you don't just dislike the ship and want to find any reason for it to be "problematic"

I'm gonna put that submission in the Tyzula tag, if anyone in there feels offended by that do let me know. I don't intend to shit on this ship at all. Also, if anyone wants to add points or give me perspectives I didn't think about go ahead!

[su-univeralai]

Hi Su! I have a question....

What were Toph and Aang's reactions to all their pregnancies/incoming dunebabies?

Oh boy! This is something I have strangely haven't thought too hard on, but here goes something:

So I HC them popping out babies from a young age, earlier than the rest of the Gaang, which is a shock to everyone. Gyatso is the oldest of all the next gen babies except Azula's daughter, who is three years older than him.

Gyatso: I think Gyatso is born when Toph and Aang are around 18 or 19, and is definitely a surprise. They had been dancing around admitting their feelings for each other until they were 16 and now 2-3 years later, they've got a bun in the oven. They both intended to be life partners, but Toph hadn't considered being a mother, yet. Both were nervous about being parents because Toph didn't have a great time growing up with hers and Aang grew up in a community. But with a lot of help and bothering from Katara, the pregnancy goes well and the Gaang eases their nerves of becoming parents.

T&A = 19

Three years later

Lin and Tenzin: Gyatso begged Nana and Amma for a little brother or sister since he could talk. Toph had always intended to have multiple children once they had Gyatso since she hated being an only child, so now was a perfect time to have a kid. Of course they were shocked when she heard two heartbeats instead of one, and that got them nervous for a new reason. They'd be outnumbered lol. Even as wombmates (lol) Tenzin and Lin fought with each other, making for a rough pregnancy.

T&A = 22, G = 3

Six years later

Suyin: Su was another surprise baby. After the roughhousing that the twins did in Toph's womb, she was good with three kids, but fate had another idea when Su was conceived. Now, in their late-twenties and with the rest of the Gaang popping kids out left and right, they didn't have to worry about Su being younger than the rest of her siblings.

T&A = 28, G = 9, L&T = 6

Five years later

Songa, Kera, and Choekyi: Yet another surprise with becoming pregnant. An even bigger surprise when they realized they had one-upped themselves by having triplets. Aang and Toph had tried having another kid a couple years after Su was born, but never succeeded and gave up. With Gyatso, Lin, and Tenzin now being adolescents, and there being triplets on the way, Nana and Amma roped the three of them into contributing to taking care of the rapidly growing family.

Toph was done with giving birth after Choekyi came out and threatened Aang not to get her pregnant again.

T&A = 33, G = 14, L&T = 11, S = 5

But alas, another three years later Gyun came around.

Gyun: Toph was not happy finding out she was pregnant again. Weren't seven kids enough? apparently not. Even the rest of the Gaang had stopped having kids at this point, but Toph and Aang were making an army of dunebabies - unintentionally of course. Aang was thrilled to be having another kid because their family was starting to become like his childhood, a community as a family, but everyone had the same parents!

T&A = 36, G = 17, L&T = 14, S = 8, SK&C = 3

One year later

MeiLin: They actually conceived MeiLin quickly and was trying for her, wanting Gyun to have someone around his age to play with. By this time, Toph being pregnant was a family affair and everyone took part in raising the family. MeiLin and Gyun are known as Irish twins because they were born within a year of each other.

T&A = 37, G = 18, L&T = 15, S = 9, SK&C = 4, G = <1

Three years later

Tiao Wu: The last surprise, and a difficult pregnancy. Toph destroyed the fighting ground she was practicing on when she felt the heartbeat of Tiao Wu in frustration. Katara had told her that she couldn't get pregnant anymore just a few months ago, but lo and behold, another baby. Aang nervously laughed more scared at what Toph was going to do than worrying about a 10th child. Let's just say that Katara got an angry welcome the next time she and the family visited.

T&A = 40, G = 21, L&T = 18, S = 12, SK&C = 7, G = 4, M = 3-4

LMAO Ok stitch! Here are the reactions of all the children that Aang and Toph have. I think... more than half of them were happy surprises? That's 21 years between the oldest and youngest of the dunebabies

[that-was-anticlimactic]

kai from tlok or hakoda, maybe even bumi ii?

hello, my beloved :) jeg siger undskyld (i apologize in danish) for the uh. belated response. work got uh. a lot. and then i got far too invested in sds for my own good anD THEN I MOVED lol aNYWAYS here's all of them as a treat:)

kai

how i feel about this character: i absolutely adore him. i think he has a lot of really good moments--especially when everyone thought he was dead but then he wasn't and rather than saving himself, he risked his life to save the people who, essentially, saved him from a rough life on the streets. not to mention that this was probably the first time they realized people cared about them. like, the group was so happy to see that he was alive, and before he joined the air acolytes, he probably didn't have anyone who would have mourned them. he shows so much courage and passion when he gets invested in something and i love them for it.

all the people i ship romantically with this character: kainora my beloved !!! and like shipping him with pretty much anyone but jinora and maybe ikki would be. weird and kinda gross tbh. but he and jinora balance each other out yet aren't afraid to encourage the other and have fun together and that's just. that's so good.

my non-romantic otp for this character: mako and kai !!! like... they both have a lot to learn from each other and i love them for that. it's after mako realizes that bolin is old enough to take care of himself, he fixates on kai as his younger sibling to try and make up for that and to feel needed and able to protect someone because he sees bits of his younger self in kai. and it's kai showing mako that he doesn't always need to be the big brother, that he can depend on other people but also loving having an older brother figure and not knowing how to process that so they act out because that's all they've ever known... it's messy and weird but it's them and their odd sibling-esc relationship and i love it<3

my unpopular opinion about this character: idk if this qualifies as unpopular but demiboy he / they kai rights !!!

one thing i wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: i wish we got more backstory for him--like, that we learned more about his life as a child and that they explored the mako and kai sibling-esc relationship more but's it's all good--i can always headcanon :)

~

hakoda

how i feel about this character: hakoda my beloved !!! ngl, at first i didn't like hakoda because he seemed like the perfect person for awhile--swt chief loved by everyone, best warrior ever, can do no wrong... and that bothered me a lot when i first watched the show two years ago ??? anywas, i love he now. he's a good dad and the love he has for his kids is extraordinary and heartwarming and i love it and him<3

all the people i ship romantically with this character: bato !!! sometimes i forget that bakoda isn't canon... like... genuinely i forget that it's a fannon ship. that is how deeply i ship bakoda.

kyoda is obviously wonderful too! bakoda just holds a special place in my heart. but i wish we got more kyoda scenes in flashbacks or something because they were adorable.

my non-romantic otp for this character: hakoda & sokka, hakoda & katara are my two biggest ones. i mean,,, that reunion hug at the end of boiling rock ??? like,,, yes that family is everything to me. plus, as much as i love the possibility for great dynamics and healing with hakoda being a father figure to zuko, there are more fics under the tag 'hakoda & zuko' than there are with both watertribe siblings which is just. very sad. so i feel like zuko's possible relationship with him gets more attention than hakoda with his kids. like... don't get me wrong, i love the hakoda and zuko dynamics... but like. sokka and katara...

also hakoda and toph. i feel like they'd get along really well and would be too powerful for this world.

my unpopular opinion about this character: that... hmmm... idk if i have an unpopular opinion about him... yeah, i can't think of any oihgvhj

one thing i wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: i wish we had more scenes with hakoda and his kids, but that's me being greedy. i also wish canon would just admit that bakoda is canon already p l e a s e they !!!

~

bumi ii

how i feel about this character: oh boy, where do i staRT !!! i love bumi ii. he is my 1.5 favorite lok character and i absolutely adore him. i wish we got more of him--i do. and that is me being greedy because i think we got more of him than kya ii, but still. he is everything i love in a character--feels useless compared to the others because he can't bend, feeling disconnected an unimportant in his own family because they're all super powerful benders and he's just... he's just bumi ii, the nonbender. acting out for attention because, at this point, even negative attention is better than constantly being overshadowed. and despite the resentment he may feel towards his siblings for being "better" and "more important" than he is, he's still a big brother at heart and would do / sacrifice anything for them.

all the people i ship romantically with this character: no one !!! bumi ii is aroace thank you and goodnight <3

my non-romantic otp for this character: bumi ii & izumi. i just,,, i just feel like they would get along so well??? like. i cannot describe it, but in the gaang's kids crew, they are the best friends. izumi is one of the first people he comes out to as aroace and bumi ii is the first person izumi comes out to as nonbinary. they find solace and peace in each other and understand parts of the other that no one really understands.

bumi ii & sokka also. they have so much in common and they deserve to be besties. bumi ii needs reassurance from someone who understand being the resident nonbender, and sokka needs someone who recognizes and verbalizes that he's amazing and someone worthy of looking up to.

also, naturally, bumi ii & his family. i mean, the sibling relationship was a bit strained, but the three care about each other so much even though they don't get along well. bumi ii is used to looking out for them and taking the blame if kya ii or tenzin did something bad because he wants to protect his siblings the best he can and he may not have magic bending powers, but he can do this. and bumi ii's relationship with aang and katara is definitely better than how they made it seem in the show--change my mind. aang may accidentally give tenzin more attention due to, ya know, airbending, but there is quite simply no way that aang or katara would ever neglect a child as much as the show made it seem. the kataang parents are good parents and i stand by that.

my unpopular opinion about this character: bumi ii has tourette's !!! he got it from his uncle sokka and actually, i headcanon that he actually doesn't curse or say vulgar things a lot because he has some form of coprolalia and always has to curse / say vulgar things against his will, so he does his best not to curse if he isn't being forced. also aroace bumi ii rights.

one thing i wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: i so desperately wish that bumi ii had tourette's in canon... y'all have no idea... i also hate the way that the show had him join the military like ??? that's just weird and i just. did not like it that much ??? so i wish it happened differently. no. you know how i wish it happened? since he has coprolalia, he struggled to find jobs willing to hire him. the other sailors didn't care that sometimes he yelled inappropriate things--it didn't matter to them.

and, lastly, may i suggest reading never been in love (and it's all good) by my bestie @zukkaclawthorne ! it is an aro bumi ii fic about him coming out and it's the content we don't deserve but cherish <3

[hello-yue-here]

About your atla ship songs, I have a couple of questions (sorry if my phrasing comes out wrong, english isn't my first language and I worry it might across as accidentally defensive): how did you end up with the choices for zukka, jetko and yuekka (note: I haven't seen the great comet, so feel free to obsess over it, I'm intrigued now and the hype is appreciated!)? Sidenote: I think the mailee choice is HILARIOUS and the tokka one just make me sad, I didn't expect to be attacked like this😭

kdjfha;s i love you im gonna obsess SO HARD over great comet now. you may regret this

this is gonna be so long so the rest is under the cut whoops

yuekka: no one else from great comet

where do i even begin. WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN

okay so background information on this show: it's based off of a 76 oages excerpt from war and peace and its centered around a woman named natasha (and this guy pierre but he's irrelevant to this song so we wont worry about him) and natasha's bethrothed is off fighting in the war right now. she hasn't seen him in a while but she is in love with him.

every single lyrics of this song SCREAMS yuekka to me. the innocence and purity of their love. the love at first sight. and even the melancholy ending just- i go apeshit for this song. i love this song so much. and denee benton's voice??? kljsdhflwksugf please listen to this song if you haven't already. listen to the whole show. your life will be changed forever.

onto the lyrics (i stg this is ab to be the whole song whoops)

"the moon"

THOSE ARE THE FIRST WORDS ON THE SONG. natasha and andre (her bethrothed) met underneath the moonlight. Sokka and Yue first spoke to eachother at night and always met each other for their most intimate moments under the moonlight. also yue is LITERALLY the moon so like: right of the bat with those two words it's yuekka.

"and i saw your eyes / and i saw your smile / and the world opened wide"

sokka fell in love with yue the moment he saw her in the canal. she literally enchanted this motherfucker. everything about her made his heart go crazy. and 'the world opened wide' to me is from yue's perspective. Yue had never left the north pole and sokka had seen a good chuck of the world at the point. He took her on appa, he told her about his adventures. he saw the world yue wished to see and you know damn well that Sokka would have done anything to give it to her.

"oh the moon /oh the snow in the moonlight / and your childlike eyes and your distant smile / ill never be this happy again / you and i and no one else"

natasha sings fondly about the moon and the snow, seeing as it was where she fell in love with andre. yue and sokka LITERALLY fell in love in the same place: in the snowy nothern water tribe under the light of the moon. childlike eyes: THEYRE CHILDREN!!! distant smile: this is where it gets a little sad. theyre both children with way too many duties during a world that has known nothing but war for the past century. they want to be happy but yeah, theyre smiles are distant and far away because happiness seems out of reach for them most of the time. i'll never be this happy again: the moments yue and sokka shared together were probably the happiest either of them ever were. they were able to ignore the war and the world in the moments they shared together. and with no one else. no one else would be able to give each other this sense of peace and happiness and love.

"joy and life inside our souls / and no body knows just you and me / it's our secret"

Yue and Sokka had to sneak out in secret at night to go and see each other. Yue and Sokka couldn't be together for real because Yue was already engaged, but they were literally in love so she decided to see him anyways in secret. kasdjfhklasjd im losing my mind over them at this point.

"this winer sky / how can anyone sleep / there was never such a night before / i feel like putting my arms around my knees / and squeezing tight as possible / and flying away"

these are my FAVORITE lines in the entire song. yue and sokka had never felt this strongly about anyone before and that's why they are so drawn to each other. they had never experienced love before and they wanted to hold onto it for as long as they could even though they knew they couldnt. Sokka takes yue up on appa and she is wistful and wishes she could live like he does every day: ie flying away. oh my god these two deserved so much better. so much fucking better.

now for the saddes part. the saddest fucking part.

"maybe he'll come today / maybe he came already / and he's sitting in the drawing room / and i simply forgot"

natasha misses andre so intensely at this point. when i first listened to this show and heard this song i was like "wait a min... is andre like... dead?" and im sure i wasnt the only person who assumed that this was why natasha felt so sad by the end of such a beautiful song. (spoiler alert andre is fine)

but this line really exemplifies how sad natasha is, and hints at the fact that andre may never come back. it implies that their relationship is doomed (at least in my opinion) and that's all yuekka. Sokka misses yue intensely when shes gone. Yue accepted her fate almost immediately but sokka was in denial. he thought there had to be another way. but in the end it wasn't meant to be. and sokka will go on, loving yue, wishing for her back, even though it's not possible.

fuck im gonna cry.

zukka: all i've ever known- hadestown

"i was alone so long / i didn't even know that i was lonely / out in the cold so long / i didnt even know that i was cold"

sokka is from the swt so theres where the cold comes in. also in the gaang (initially) it was just him katara and aang. and katara and aang were much closer to each other than sokka was with aang and the two of them were benders so sokka was kind of an outsider with the two of them. He also represses a lot of his emotions and feels the need to do everything himself so i do see a lot of loneliness in sokka. and the fact that so many people in his life have left him (his mom, yue, his dad, suki briefly, etc...) he is known to keep people at an arms length. i see a lot of loneliness in sokka.

zuko's loneliness is a lot more obvious: he has literally been cast out and abandoned by everyone except iroh. and even then he still feels the need to be alone (remember zuko alone? thought so) these boys look after themselves and push others away and revel in their loneliness in order to keep themselves from getting hurt. at least in my opinion on canon and also some fanon because id be a liar if i said fanon didnt influence how i view ALL my ships (not just zukka)

"all ive ever known is how to hold my own / but now I wanna hold you too"

COME ONE MANNNN, they just wanna hold each other. theyre both very big protectors as well and kljhflkasdhg they wanna protect eachother like kljdhfl im gonna lose it rn.

"You take me in your arms / And suddenly there's sunlight all around me / Everything bright and warm / And shining like it never did before / And for a moment I forget / Just how dark and cold it gets"

SUNLIGHT SYMBOLISM. zuko is literally powered by the sun. i don't think i even NEED to elaborate on this one anymore lol. They find comfort in each other away from all of their trauma. when they're together nothing else matters and i personally love that for them. they both deserve love.

"I knew you before we met / And I don't even know you yet / All I know is your someone I have always known"

these two are extremely similar in canon. many parallels. older brothers overshadowed by their prodigy little sisters. longing to make their fathers proud (granted one dad is good and one is fuckin evil), both are pretty bad with emotions. both are seen protecting others before themselves (sokka protecting suki during the serpant's pass, sokka protecting toph on like multiple occassions, zuko protecting katara in the final agni kai), the list goes on. they know who the other is because they see themselves in the other person. they already know each other because they are each other (in a way, not entirely, but the similarities are strong in my opinion)

"I'm gonna hold you forever / The wind will never change on us / Long as we stay with each other / Then it will always be like this"

i just think this line is so cute and sweet (ignoring all the symbolism and foreshadowing that comes with the last line in the musical itself. im gonna pretend this is nothing but happy) and i think these boys deserve happiness so yeah. this song is zukka to me lol.

jetko: thrill of first love- falsettoes

if you've never listened to this song go an do it now. you will know INSTANTLY that it is jetko because of the dynamics alone. marvin and whizzer are pure jetko and i take no crticisms.

marvin and whizzer are both extremely stubborn, and they don't always get along, and they fight a lot, and they get mad at each other a lot, and they are both passionate as hell, and they will bring this passion into everything. they love each other that is without a doubt, but they arent perfect and they are once again stubborn and determined as fuck.

sound familiar? it's literally jetko.

the lyrics aren't what remind me of jetko, but the dynamic itself. the lyrics are too on the nose for a gay couple in 1970's america so that rlly cant apply to jetko all that much. but the way these two characters bounce off of each other and get annoyed with each other and argue with eachother reminds me of jetko. because let's be honest: these two are the most stubborn characters in the whole show. they will fight for what they believe and it will take literally everything to change their minds.

i love jetko but i think they would have petty arguments all the time and get aggravated by one another so easily. and this is even seen in canon: they work so fucking well together but they did not even HESITATE to fight one another after neither of them would give in and let the fight about whether jet was right or wrong about zuko being a firebender. like i cannot say it enough they are stubborn as fuck.

but underneath all that stubborn pettiness and bickering: marvin and whizzer still love each other. and jet and zuko would still love each other. because even though they are stubborn when it comes to arguments, they are even more stubborn and determined when it comes to each other. these two passionate motherfuckers are in love.

(now when i chose this song i decided to ignore the fact that this song literally spells out the fact that marvin and whizzer's relatinoship is doomed because they literally say passion dies. thats the difference between jetko and whizzer and marvin because i dont think passion dies. i chose this song strictly for the bickering lmao)

and i know you didnt ask about tokka but,,,,

i rlly wanna talk about the tokka one

so im going to

tokka: on my own- les mis

look. i KNOW this song is about unrequited love and i love tokka as a couple but,,, the unrequited love in this song just SCREAMS unrequited tokka to me so thats what i went with.

eponine is a girl who has neglectful parents who lives life by her own rules: toph. eponine is shown to be tough and confident and spunky to others but behind all of that she has emotions, she feels love, she hides her vulnerability so much: toph. she is in love with a guy she cant be with because he loves someone else: TOPH

eponine is toph to a t and toph is eponine to a t. this is not up for debate lmao

"without him i feel his arms around me"

toph is always seen grabbing onto someone (and its almost ALWAYS sokka) when she's somewhere where she can't use her feet to see. FEEL and ARMS cmon. look at it.

"and i know / i know that he is blind"

COME ON. IMAGINE TOPH SINGING THIS LINE. this line is already powerful enough in les mis but having toph, a blind character, sing it just makes the symbolism even deeper. toph sees the potential relationship they could have together. toph sees that sokka is oblivious to this. toph is not blind to the truth or the potention, but sokka is blind to her feelings. im about to lose my mind over this line.

"I love him / But every day I'm learning / All my life / I've only been pretending / Without me / His world will go on turning / A world that's full of happiness / That I have never known"

i need to sit down for a moment. toph grew up in a household where her parents did not understand her. she has learned to hide her true emotions and vulnerabilities from everyone. and its the fact that toph knows that she and sokka will never be together and the fact that she still loves him in spite of that is what makes this even more heartbreaking.

"but only on my own"

TOPH AND EPONINE SWEETIES I LOVE YOU

thank you for indulging my theatre kid nonsense. you are very sweet and kind and lovely and awesome and i hope you have a lovely day bestie :) <3

ask me why i think these songs go with these ships