#pros: no agni kai! no burn!

[discordiansamba]

"running errands for your grandfather, aki?"

'aki' gave the shopkeeper an awkward smile. he'd started to get used to people calling by that name, but it still made him feel dishonest every now and again. he was pretty sure the actual owner of his borrowed name was dead, but he didn't have the heart to tell the blind old man who'd mistaken him for his grandson that. so he'd just kind of... hung around.

it wasn't like he had anywhere else to go.

...it was also extremely unsafe to be zuko right now.

he'd barely escaped from the fire nation with his life. he'd spent so long hiding his earthbending from the rest of his family, but it had been bound to come out eventually- and when it had, his father had been quick to disown him and label him as a bastard. posing as a member of the royal family was punishable by death.

(he didn't know if it were true or not- he couldn't imagine his mom doing that. and where would she have even met an earthbender?)

zuko had done the only sensible thing and broke himself out of prison. he'd snuck onto a merchant ship bound for the earth kingdom colonies- and upon arriving, was greeted with a wanted poster of his face. so he'd fled, deeper and deeper into the earth kingdom until he'd arrived in the small town he'd lived in as akiyoshi for the past three years.

"you're such a good grandson," the old woman said, "-i wish mine was half as thoughtful as you."

of course. he was basically taking advantage of the old man's misunderstanding. the least he could do was try and be helpful around the house. if he hadn't lived for several months on the run, he'd probably be more annoyed at doing household chores, but it was amazing what not having a roof over your head for awhile could do for a person's humility.

...and he kind of liked grandpa kenzo anyways.

adjusting the basket with his shopping in it, zuko aki made his way up the hill to what had basically become his house. it was a modest home, with a workshop in the back. grandpa worked as a potter, using his earthbending and the unique senses it gave him to master his craft despite his lack of vision.

"grandpa!" he called out. "i'm back!"

"oh, aki!" grandpa called back. "i'm in the workshop! come here!"

taking off his shoes, he set down his shopping, putting what needed to be put away in the icebox before he went to find the old man. he was sitting at a potter's wheel, carefully molding something into shape. he'd gotten an order for a tea set the other day from a noble in gaoling. it wasn't far from here. he'd deliver it for him when he was done. maybe he could see toph again.

there was no denying the man was a master craftsman. he'd been teaching him, but he still had a lot to learn if he wanted to be anywhere near his caliber. which was... not a future he'd ever imagined for himself back at the fire nation palace, but there was something undeniably relaxing about working with clay.

probably just because he was an earthbender, but still.

it wasn't just pottery grandpa had taught him either. he was skilled earthbender in his own right. they said that the original earthbenders were the badgermoles- and they were blind too. he'd helped teach him so much about earthbending, opening up a whole world to him that had formerly been closed off.

his earthbending had once been a source of fear for him. something he knew he desperately had to try and hide- the brutish excuse for bending that the people they were at war with were supposed to possess, not a prince of the fire nation. but now?

now he kind of loved it.

(maybe it would be okay to let zuko rest. it had been three years. if his past was going to catch up to him, it would have done that already...

...right?)

earthbender zuko would just be shun zuko getting mistaken by a blind potter for his dead grandson and then just. never leaving. he can't break this old man's heart. he ends up learning not only his craft but also a lot of other earthbending tips and tricks from the old man whom he genuinely starts to think of as his grandpa at some point.

(spoiler alert: the old man knows full well zuko isn't his grandson. in fact he doesn't even have a grandson. but the scrawny, clearly starving and definitely abused refugee kid will definitely stick around if he pretends to think otherwise.)

...and then he gets drafted into the earth king's army. well. isn't this ironic.

[forevermore05]

Let's say you're one of the writer's way back when Atla was first starting. Bryke has stepped back and let the writers do their thing. What are some things you would keep or remove completely? What are things you would have done differently? What would you have liked to explore more of with the story and the characters?

OOOH good question

I would definitely be giving South Asia, Hinduism, and Buddhism their honour back but making Desi main characters not caricatures. I will pay my respects to those religions by using them properly and not discarding them when you don't truly understand their meaning. And better representation will all the cultures.

Likewise, I would make a 4th (or maybe more) book, so we can see the healing of the 4 nations and flesh out the Gaang and other characters properly. I feel like ending it on book 3 was too sudden, and I hate the comic, so I don't even recognize those, since it is so OOC.

I would make Zuatara canon through some slow burn. I would not pair Aang up with anyone, since he is too young but keep him having a crush on Katara for the Chakra arc (which stays true and respect to Hinduism) but to provide a lesson on heartbreak and moving on. Same with Toph, such a cute little baby.

I will REMOVE those nonconsenual kisses entirely. Basically out with Kataang.

I want to see more of the evil politics of the Fire Nation before Aang defeats Ozai and how Zuko deals with it. In contrast, to how Zuko handles politics being Fire Lord.

I WANT more Suki and her backstory. I also want to see her and Ty Lee fight side by side. It would be so cool.

I would actually have Zuko and Katara speak to Azula after the Agni Kai.

I would keep Sokka's sexism arc.

Not only that, but I would love to explore Yue even more and her take on the NWT

I also want to go in depth with Mai, I want to give her some depth.

Have Aang's character understand the Mahabharat scripture before making a choice. (Maybe kill Ozai)

I want to see a healing arc for Azula

I also want Uncle Iroh to face some repercussion of being an activity member of war. I love Uncle Iroh, and I want to write the consequences and him accepting humbly due to his development.

Book 4 and (leading to adulthood) head canons for the Gaang

Katara: Helps the SWT and NWT, then goes on to become ambassador for the SWT in the Fire Nation

Zuko: Fire lord

Aang: Helping all the Nations to heal

Toph: I think she would totally be the creator of the pro-bender, you cannot change my mind, I think she would also become a teacher

Suki: Girlbossing as a Kyoshi Warriors and being known as one of the best

Sokka: Become Chief of SWT and a skilled engineer

I want Katara and Zuko to find his mother together (so we can get good development)

I feel like I have more, but I will add more if I think of any.

[surgepricing]

In the mood to talk ATLA again, and I wanted to do a Katara meta next, but Zuko still occupies my brainspace, so here we go.

Zuko's scar and the horrific level of abuse it takes to do this to someone, let alone their own child, is the first immediate indicator that Zuko is not all bad, through introducing the fact that the Fire Nation's terror is often inflicted even on its own citizens and royals. But like. Think on it.

Reeeeeaaaaaally think on it.

I love it. But I also hate it. Because it's one of those things that gets steadily more depraved the more you think about it.

I mean, first you have to remember that real life people like you and me can't just shoot fire from our fingertips. So the real-life equivalent of this parent burning his 13-year-old son for speaking out of turn looks more like, I dunno, a parent pressing their 13-year-old son's face to a hot stove.

And Ozai did this publicly. There was an audience.

Imagine what those people there were thinking. Some pro-war psychos, maybe, but probably plenty of regular-ass nobles who didn't expect a random exhibition Agni Kai between Fire Lord and Fire Prince today. And probably people like Iroh too, people who took one look at this, felt their blood run cold, and sat there in nervous, anxious silence thinking "he wouldn't really do this, would he?" before realizing "yes, he definitely would".

Imagine what that did to the people in that room. Imagine what it made them feel, knowing that the slightest peep out of line will get you hideously maimed at best and made an example of.

Mind you, all of this happened because Zuko embarrassed Ozai in front of his war cabinet. Of course, as completely in line for Ozai's character as it would be to viciously burn a child of his for speaking without invitation, it's also worth noting that what Zuko was actually saying when he did this was the very sensible sentiment of "it's fucked up to send your freshest recruits into a meat grinder just to score an easy victory".

The war has dragged on for 97 years at this point, with progress very slow and both the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribe failing to bend their knee. It is very likely that Fire Nation propaganda is not perfect. Many have likely seen the damage the war has done to the world around them, not to mention their sons and daughters. But if there was any dissent against the war or its most grievous war crimes at that point, it died in that Agni Kai that day.

Of course, Zuko's in a panic at this point. Right before he does this, he's crying and pleading his case. It's dawning on him now that not only is Ozai fully willing to hurt him even if he doesn't fight back, but that it was never a matter of witnesses stopping him. He's learning that Azula's little lies aren't always lies.

Speaking of, imagine what this did to Azula. Ursa is gone by this point--she only really has Ozai. And yeah, she was a fucked up little kid, enough to watch this and smile. It's a cowardly bully's smile, watching someone weak get hurt by the strong knowing that that won't spill over to them...yet.

Azula was always driven and determined to impress, but hoo boy, if there was any part of her that wasn't an obsessed perfectionist before then, that part died, too. She was never going to be anything less than the 100% perfect weapon of war because if she did, well. Who the fuck knows what would've happened?

And just like that, any chance that the Fire Nation, in their royal family or their common people, would be able to stand up against the war or the madman helming it, Ozai, was extinguished.

It's sick.

[rotinthedark]

Next up: Seb's LOK verse

Sebastian is a firebender living in Republic City who's a part of the Agni Kai triad. Living alone in an apartment, having been thrown out of his home by his stepfather at the age of 13 once his bending was found out about. Given the rest of his family are nonbenders, said stepfather was prejudiced and overruled his mother and half-sister to kick him out. He'd lived on the streets until the gang found and took him in once they saw how scrappy he was.

Thus, the triad life is all he's really known after 10 years with them. He doesn't love it, his heart isn't in it, but it keeps him fed and sheltered so he's simply gotten used to their kinds of jobs.

His firebending is his only connection to his birth father, who was murdered by nonbenders. Thus, he puts a lot of work into training so he can be the best he can be.

Unfortunately, his trauma has locked his fire chakra and made his firebending weaker despite his training and prevents him from generating lightning. It's an insecurity he doesn't like to talk about. (He is unaware about the chakra blocking.)

He often trains hidden away somewhere in the city while listening to pro-bending matches over his radio. Imitating what he hears in real-time. He attends matches whenever he's able to. If he could, he'd love to join a team and try it out, but his triad work takes up too much of his time.

Amon scared the ever loving shit out of him, as well as the Equalist Movement with all his past nonbender trauma, but that's a whole other story.

At one point in Book One, he nearly got caught by an equalist and he still has nightmares about it and what could have happened.

His 'upbringing' informs a lot of his general attitude, but he's not a bad guy. Just a guy who had no other option. He's empathetic with the homeless and downtrodden of the city, and he helps them out where he can get away with it. He never forgot his time sleeping hidden in alleyways by the trash he then scavenged for food.

With my ship with @xheartpages , Seb is dating Mako and friends with the Krew bc of it, but he's a loner outside of that. Has opinions about the Avatar, but he largely keeps them to himself.

He has absolutely just burned traffic tickets he's gotten for his bike instead of paying them more than once. That's about his level of respect for law enforcement and the government in general.

Enjoys Pai-Sho and is pretty good, actually.

He longs to visit the Fire Nation someday, so he can experience his father's culture and feel closer to him bc of it. However, he doesn't have the money or time for such a massive trip. So, he settled for looking out at the bay and imagining.

[chaoticnerdsstuff]

Linzumi angsty HC's?

This just shows how fucked my mind is.

BUT YEAH!

Lin and Izumi were interrupted by this woman, no name or identification, but it was clear she was from the Fire Nation. With coolness in her voice.”I challenge you to an Agni Kai My Lord” Most of the time Izumi would be told prior, no one dared to barge in and challenged her. Which made Izumi more pissed and she accepted. But as soon as she did she noticed one thing would be different from all the other Agni Kai’s Lin would be watching. Lin who stared at her with disappointment. The entire day Izumi was ignored. But she still refused to back down from the battle. When the battle came, Lin looked at her with pleading eyes in hopes she wouldn’t do it. As if Lin being in the crowd would change her mindset entirely. And it did. Izumi hesitated for the first time in battle. But it happened, the battle lasted seconds. Izumi cracked the woman’s neck and dropped her to the ground. Not looking at Lin. She refused.

After that agni Kai when Izumi was about to talk to Lin one of the royal court members said proudly infront of the couple.” Congratulations Fire Lord Izumi you have beaten the person with the most kills in Agni Kai history, Hei-ran Sei’naka”

Ursa father isn’t the same as Iroh's. Only a select few knew the man. The man who Kidnapped and did it to Izumi.  Zuko and Azula found the man within months and both of them burned him to death, a slow death. Which Izumi gladly watched. She never once told her children about what happened they still believed they had the same loving father, and barely managed to tell Lin when they were in their 50s. Lin held onto Izumi the entire night, they both were silent the entire night.

Izumi broke up with Lin more than three times. Each time was for the same reason, she was too afraid of what would happen to Lin if she was seen with her.

Every year Lin disappeared from everyone for a day. No one knew where she went or what she did. But they did know everytime she returned bit of her soul was taken away. One day Izumi got to worried and decided to follow Lin. What she saw was Lin sitting in a graveyard that were filled of her fellow detectives. Izumi never confronted her about it.

Lin rose her voice at Izumi, a voice that she didn’t even use on her sister, Izumi was in shock for seconds before she returned the same shout at her. The argument was over eachother’s habits. It took weeks for them to move on.

Lin often kept her emotions bottled up and when she couldn’t handle her emotional distress she took Izumi who did the same. They both anonymously fought in Pro bending,  bought liquor with the money they won.

Lin hurt Izumi on accident. When they were arguing about Suyin and Toph. Lin bent metal at her enough to barely scrape her right cheek. Izumi wasn’t nearly as affected as Lin was who broke down where she stood and apologized profusely

[not404error1]

Post War / Canon

no one knows anything but us By quidhitch (AO3, T, 3586 w, Durk, friends to lovers, Post- canon)

Sokka grips Zuko’s forearm and hauls himself up with a grunt. “Man, remember when you were honorable?”

“At least I’m not a twenty-five year old man who still calls people ‘dweeb’.”

“Fire Dweeb,” Sokka sighs, like he’s remembering his own stroke of brilliance. “Classic. I’ve still got it.”

Or, for one evening and one evening only, Sokka and Zuko are twenty-somethings on a date in Republic City.

The Good Vanilla by Haicrescendo (AO3, G, 5620w, post war, Zuko can cook, enemies to friends to lovers)

"Sokka’s beautiful friendship with Zuko doesn’t start with breaking Dad out of jail. That’s just what he tells people.

Sokka’s beautiful friendship with Zuko started the day he realizes that he knows how to cook.

Feat. breakup cake, an attempted assassination, and eating out of the pan like dirty heathens."

Love Language By dickpuncher420 (AO3, M, 6754w, fluff, post war, friends to lovers)

It’s after the third time that Zuko calls for a time out to spit his hair out of his mouth that Sokka asks, “Do you want me to braid that for you?”

—

There are entire stories that can be told through a person's hair. Zuko would know better than anyone else.

Growing Pains by callmecaramleh (AO3, G, 9893 w, Meeting the parents, fluff, angst, coming out, bakoda, post war)

Sokka brings Zuko home to re-meet his dad.

Ignition Point by Yuu_chi  (AO3, M, 18929w, post canon, getting together, bender sokka)

Most people know they're a bender since birth. Sokka just had to discover it at twenty when he accidentally burns his own house down.

this love burns so yellow (becoming orange and in its time, exploding) by meliebee (AO3, T, 18767, Civil war, Post-war, past mai/zuko, ANGST)

Ten months after Zuko is crowned at seventeen, he faces his first coup. 

*Zuko centric. Mostly deals with the after affects of the war on the fire nation and how zuko deals with it. One of my faves*

by the stars above, i knew we were in love  by theycallmesuperboy (AO3, T, 13899w, post war, angst, proposal, betrothal necklace)

“Thanks for coming with me,” Sokka said, leaning against the balcony.

“Did I have a choice?” Zuko asked, wincing at how harsh it sounded.

Sokka just scoffed. “Uh, yeah. Nobody can make you do anything, you’re the Fire Lord. There’s like, two people on this planet who can tell you what to do and you’d listen— the Avatar and your uncle.”

“Three,” Zuko corrected.

“What?”

“Three people who can make me do stuff I don’t want to do,” Zuko said, softly. “The Avatar, my uncle, and you.”

—

Approaching the 10th anniversary of his coronation, Fire Lord Zuko hopes that by the time they return to the capital he'll have another thing to celebrate: his engagement to Sokka.

*one of my faves made me cry* Prequal is here: in the crowded pale moonlight

Strange Young World by  CSHfic, VSfic (AO3, T, 8770 w, Pinning zuko, angst, assanation attempt, pre get together, post war)

In the weeks following the war, Zuko faces a gauntlet of Agni Kai challengers. Sokka worries.

Real Slow by surveycorpsjean  (AO3, M, 21490w, Pinning Zuko, Pinning sokka, Angst, Fluff, Humor, Getting together, Parent Zukka, Assassination attempt, Sokka has a sexuality crisis (minor), Ambassador sokka, betrothal necklace, friends to lovers, durk, post war)

“I see.” Zuko closes the scroll. “Is the Water Tribe sending a replacement?”

“Uh yeah,” Sokka gestures to himself dramatically. “You’re looking at him.”

*one of my faves*

Days and Nights We Lost to Weakness by  Kirazalea  (AO3, T, 3135w, Gay Azula, Gay Zuko, Azula redemtion, of screen Azula/Ty Lee, Post War, of screen Zukka)

Zuko never wanted to visit his father's cell again, but he needs to do it one more time.

He's spent far too much of his life living in fear of the man that controlled his every decision and now he's finally ready to say something he should have said a long time ago.

*Zuko tells his dad where to stick it One of my faves)

A Problematic Peace by stmangos PT1(AO3, T, 14145w, Past Mai/zuko, Past Jet/zuko, Oblivious Zuko, Pinning Zuko, Homophobia, Biphobia, Bi Zuko, coming out, Zuko Angst, Past sokka/suki, Post War, two part series)

It’s a little bit hard to sleep alone in an empty palace when you’ve just gotten used to having friends, a little bit hard to lead a nation when your family’s gruesome legacy still colors everything you do, and a little bit hard to hold onto your last vestiges of heterosexuality when you’re starting to realize that you never had them in the first place.

*one of my faves Pt 1 mainly deals with zuko figuring out his sexuality*

Made to Last by  stmangos  PT2 of A Problematic Peace (AO3, T, 18771w , Past Mai/zuko, Past Jet/zuko, Oblivious Zuko, Pinning Zuko, Homophobia, Biphobia, Bi Zuko, coming out, Zuko Angst, Past sokka/suki, Post War, Pt 2, coming out, assasination attempt)

Sokka’s been in the Fire Nation for a while now, so he totally knows the ropes-- except, that is, as regards his brain rebelling against him, a pro-Ozai group orchestrating attacks, and the ever-present mental rigmarole of how he and Zuko will get out of this damn closet.

*one of my faves*

for love and turtleducks by snowandfire (AO3, G, 3063w, fluff, zuko adopts a turtle duck, emotional healing, oblivious zuko)

Newly crowned fire lord zuko raises an orphaned baby turtleduck and learns how to give love without apprehension 

*one of my faves*

The Consequences of Knowing  by azenki (AO3, G, 2871w, sad so sad, secret relationship (kinda))

Zuko’s eighteen years old and drinking a lukewarm cup of jasmine tea when Sokka turns to him and says, “You know I’m in love with you, right?”

Zuko doesn’t choke on his tea. He keeps drinking it, then stops drinking it, then sets it down on the table with a quiet clink.

“Yeah,” he answers, his voice almost inaudible over the faint crackling of the torch. “I know.”

Or: Sokka's in love with Zuko. Zuko knows this. Zuko's in love with Sokka. Sokka knows this.

They're not meant to be in love. Everyone knows this.

*one of my faves*

Those Who Favor Fire by CSHfic, VSfic  @voidcenturyscholar @klabautermanns  (AO3, T, 30652w, kid-fic, fake death, angst, izumi, established relationship, spymaster sokka)

After a failed attempt on his life, Sokka fakes his death, dons a disguise, and infiltrates the would-be assassin's ranks in an attempt to bring them down from the inside.

 Zuko learns of his husband's tragic death, mourns, and vows revenge.

*one of my faves Great plot and lots of emotion loved it*

[low-budget-korra]

More comments about TLA and TLOK

Look, Toph and Aang don't being the parents we thought they were its sucks but it's okay. Honestly I didn't consider an writing flaw like some people do.

Toph wouldn't allow Su to be in jail. And as a police officer she wasn't corrupt as some people think. She didn't let Su go to jail for her shit not only because of her image as Chief of Police but I think mainly because she is the chief of police, she put a lot of bad people in jail and those bad people would hurt or even kill Su in jail as some kind of revenge or power demonstration.

And also Toph wasn't a great mother because I guess she tryed to be like the opposite of her parents, and also is Toph. She isn't that kind of sentimental person. And that's okay.

Of course Aang would have Tenzin as his "fav kid". Tenzin was not only the only other Airbender and than Aang could teach everything from his culture and Airbend, but also though Tenzin, Aang saw the chance of his people live again. And I'm sure that being the Avatar also affect his personal life.

Of course the White Lotus isn't the same. The world isn't in war anymore. The great old masters dont need to be fighting battles anymore, they have a lot of young soldiers to do that.

Of course the bendings fights is a lil different because the world isn't in war anymore. And there's a huge difference between practice fight for sport and practice to actually kill people in a battlefield. And of course somethings changed, the Pro Bending is a example of that. The fights became more agile and fast, and some old forms became kind of obsolete, we saw that on Korra's first attempt in Pro Bending.

Of course the technology evolved a lot, because the world wasn't in war anymore so all those efforts put in war technology, now can shift to other areas like communications, transport, engineering...

Azula probably would defeat Zuko in The Last Agni Kai if she hadn't have an massive mental breakdown. Uncle Iroh himself told to Zuko he would need help to face Azula and that's why Katara was there with him. And it was Katara who actually beat Azula. And besides, Azula would never surrender and Zuko would never kill her , so Katara was the only person there who could beat Azula with need to severally injury her or burn her to death

Zuko character's arc is amazing, one of the best ever. Buuut WHAT ABOUT SOKKA CHARACTER'S ARC? It was amazing and I don't see people talking about it. Oh, I don't see people giving him much credit, I know, the benders are the cool ones but seriously? Dude learn non bending fight styles from every nation, he was the ONLY one who could defeat Azula in those strategy stuff, he defeat two firebenders in Sozin's Comet event with one arm and his boomerang and sword all this while laying in his back with his knee hurt and doing his best to save Toph from an deadly fall.

[thelastspeecher]

Avatar Angie

Okay, here’s the very indulgent Avatar AU variation we’ve discussed on the Discord, where my OC, Angie McGucket, is the Avatar.  I’ve got even more written, but here’s a sort of first part.  Enjoy.  c:

——————————————————————————————

              As if in slow motion, Stan watched the bolt of lightning come for him.  He was frozen, unable to move to avoid it.

              This is what I get for thinking the other team wouldn’t play dirty.  They’ve got someone who can bend lightning, of course they’re gonna use it in an illegal move.  Suddenly, someone shoved him out of the way.  A very short someone.

              “Angie!” Stan screamed, spinning around just in time to see the lightning bolt hit her.  However, she didn’t get thrown back.  If anything, she steadied her stance.  Her arms moved in a circular motion, similar to the katas Stan had seen Angie’s waterbending relatives do.  He didn’t just recognize it from waterbending, though.  His firebending teacher had tried to get him to learn it.

              She’s redirecting the lightning.  The lightning came out of her other hand, hitting the domed ceiling, bursting lightbulbs and breaking glass.  In the darkened arena, Angie collapsed to the ground.

              “Angie!” Lute screamed, his voice even more raw than Stan’s.  He grabbed his helmet and threw it roughly to the ground, rushing to his younger sister’s side.  Stan ran over as well.  He could hear some kind of commotion happening in the stands but tuned it out.  The only thing he could focus on right now was Angie’s prone body.

              “Is she-” he croaked, falling to his knees by Angie.  Lute was already doing his best to heal her, holding handfuls of glowing water above her body.

              “She’s alive.  But her chi is all kinds of screwed up.  The energy flow is tangled and blocked, and I ain’t a good enough bender to even begin to reorganize it!” Lute said.  His voice was full of tears.

              “Luckily, I have some experience with lightning wounds,” a voice said.  Pa McGucket gently nudged Lute out of the way, taking his son’s spot healing Angie.

              “Pa?” Lute whispered.

              “I’m here too,” Ma McGucket said.  She sat next to Stan.  “We decided to come to your pro-bending match.  Didn’t expect this to happen, though.”

              “She redirected lightning, right?” Stan asked. Ma McGucket stilled.  “That’s what she did.  She pushed me out of the way and took the lightning, but not really.”

              “Oh, she absolutely took the lightning,” Pa McGucket said softly.  “Her technique was very good given the circumstances, but not perfect.  She’ll take a while to recover from this.”  On his face was an expression similar to the one he’d had when he first saw Stan’s Agni Kai burn.  Tension.  Disgust. Fury.  

              This isn’t something he’ll take laying down. Stan almost felt bad for the firebender who’d struck Angie with lightning.

              “Okay, but how did she do it?” Stan demanded. “That’s a firebending technique!”

              “Looked like waterbending to me,” Lute mumbled.

              “Redirecting lightning is a technique adapted from waterbending,” Stan said impatiently.  “Haven’t you ever paid attention in class?”

              “Yer not one to talk ‘bout school,” Lute shot back.

              “Boys,” Ma McGucket snapped.  Lute and Stan fell silent.  “Yes.  That was a firebending technique Angie just did.  And if it was waterbending, she’d have been able to do that, too.”

              “But- but how?” Stan asked.  “No one can bend more than one element.”  Ma McGucket met his eyes.

              “There’s one person who can.”

              “…No,” Lute whispered.  He rocked back onto his heels, covering his face with his hands. “No.  Angie’s- Angie’s-”  Stan’s mouth went dry.

              “She’s the Avatar,” he whispered.  Pa McGucket nodded.

              “Yes.  She is.”

              On the ground, Angie’s eyes flickered open. They glowed an eerie white.

----- 

              “So, how long have you guys known?” Stan asked. They were back at the McGucket farmstead, waiting for Angie to wake up.  At the insistence of the McGucket parents, they had gathered in the living room while Angie slept in her own room.  Ma McGucket sighed from her favorite rocking chair.

              “Since the day she was born, really.”

              “That’s not possible.  The tests they do to track down the Avatar don’t work that fast,” Lute protested.  He seemed unsure of how to take the news that his little sister was the Avatar.  At the moment, he’d settled on arguing every point. It was becoming increasingly more difficult for Stan to resist the urge to elbow Lute, sitting next to him on the couch.

              “No, but she was born the same day Avatar Korra passed away,” Ma McGucket said.  “And thanks to my job in the White Lotus, I soon found out those two events happened at the same time.”

              “I didn’t want her to be the Avatar,” Pa McGucket said in a low voice.  He sat in his recliner, his head in his hands.  “The responsibility, the danger the Avatar has to deal with?  I don’t want my children to have to go through that. So I held out hope that she’d be a waterbender like me.  But ‘fore she was even a year old, she showed she was an earthbender.”  Stan sat up straighter.

              “Wait, that young?” he asked.  “That’s really early for earthbending, isn’t it?”

              “Yes.  It is. Basstian was ‘bout three when he first bended a pebble.  Angie, she was causin’ earthquakes from her crib.”

              “Wow,” Stan whispered.

              “That was our first hint.  Avatars tend to start out strong like that.”  Ma McGucket quirked a small smile.  “And then, one day, I caught her playing with something I’d brought from work.  I was tasked with refurbishing the toys that have been used to determine Avatars in the past, and Angie managed to find them.”

              “She didn’t just find some of ‘em,” Pa McGucket put in.  “She found all of ‘em.  There was an enormous number of toys, and Angie gravitated towards the four that every Avatar is guided to.”

              “I asked her why she went for those, and she stared at the toys, a look in her eyes much older than her actual age, and said she knew them,” Ma McGucket said softly.  “The strength of her bending, the timing of her birth, those we could explain away.  But not this.”  She sighed. “After the difficult childhoods of the last two Avatars, the White Lotus made the decision to keep Angie’s Avatar status from her until she was eighteen.  But it seems like destiny has other plans for her.”

              “She’s sixteen, right?  That’s supposed to be the age the Avatar gets told anyways. Isn’t it?” Stan said.

              “Yes,” Pa McGucket said.  “I just wish she didn’t have to find out this way.”

              “Who’s finding out what?” a weak voice asked. All heads shot up.  Angie stood shakily in the living room entryway. “And what way are they finding out this thing?”

              “Sweetling, you shouldn’t be up!” Pa McGucket scolded, getting to his feet.  He strode over to his youngest child.

              “I know, I should prob’ly go lie down.” Angie leaned against the wall.  “I feel like I got trampled by a heard of Komodo-rhinos.”

              “Do you remember what happened?” Stan asked.

              “I remember the match.  And then you were ‘bout to get hit with lightning.  I pushed ya out of the way.  But then it came fer me.”

              “And?” Lute prompted.  Angie frowned.

              “I guess I just sort of used a last-ditch attempt and tried to redirect the lightning.  I know I ain’t a firebender, and I’ve never even seen it done before. But I’ve seen all sorts of waterbending moves, and lightning redirection is derived from waterbending.  So I went fer it.”  Angie shrugged.  “Clearly, since I’m an earthbender, it didn’t work.  I prob’ly made myself look like a right fool.”

              “No, it worked.  Better than I coulda done,” Stan said softly.  Angie rolled her eyes.

              “Geez, Stan, I know we’re good friends ‘n all, but ya don’t need to constantly suck up to me.”  She wrinkled her nose.  “Ugh. That lightning messed me up.  I feel all kinds of weird and sick.”  She sneezed.  With the sneeze came a burst of flame.  “What in tarnation?!”  Angie stumbled back, lost her balance, and fell onto her butt.  “Stanley, that was an awfully mean joke!”

              “I didn’t do that,” Stan said.  Angie crossed her arms.

              “Well, I sure didn’t!”

              “Yes, sweetie, you did,” Ma McGucket said gently. Angie eyed her.  “You don’t believe me.”

              “Ma, I’m an earthbender, not a firebender!”

              “Hang on.”  Stan got up and walked over to Angie.  He pulled her to her feet, then summoned a small flame.  It flickered above his open palm.  Angie watched it with awe.  “Take it from me.”

              “What?”

              “Take it from me,” Stan repeated.  “Fire’s like earth.  It needs a firm hand.”  Angie’s hand hovered over Stan’s uncertainly.  “Take it.”  Angie took a deep breath.  The flame inched away from Stan to circle around her hand.  “See?”

              “I…”  Angie stared at the fire wrapped around her fingers.  “But- but how?”

              “You’re the Avatar,” Ma McGucket said.  The fire dissipated.  Angie stumbled backwards again, but this time, was caught by Stan. “Angie?  You all right?”

              “Am I allowed to say that bein’ the Avatar explains a whole lot?” Angie croaked.  The McGucket parents and Stan chuckled.

              “Yeah, I think so,” Stan said.  Angie smiled.

              “Good.  ‘Cause it does.”  She kneaded her forehead.  “…I think I need to lie down again.”

              “Sure, sure,” Pa McGucket said, putting an arm around his daughter’s shoulders.  He and his wife led Angie back to her bedroom, leaving Stan and Lute alone. Lute looked at Stan.

              “I guess she is the Avatar,” Lute said quietly.  Stan rolled his eyes.

              “No shit.”

              “Shut up.”  Lute grinned cheekily.  “After all, I may be related to the Avatar, but yer the one with a crush on her.” Stan felt a surge of warmth spread through his face that had nothing to do with firebending.

              “How did you-”

              “Oh, please.”  Lute waved a hand.  “It’s as plain as the nose on yer face.”

              “I’m not the only one around here with a big nose.”

              “Fine.  It’s as plain as the nose on both our faces.  Happy?”

              “No.”  Stan looked in the direction of Angie’s room.  “Mostly just confused and a bit weirded out.”  After a moment, Lute nodded.

              “Same.”

----- 

              Lute leaned against the pasture fence, unrestrained amusement on his face as he watched Angie practice firebending katas.

              “Whatever happened to ‘I’m not good enough at firebending to be your teacher’?” he asked Stan.  Stan sighed.

              “She’s got those big green eyes.  I can’t say no when she uses them to full effect.” Angie punched the air, producing a large fireball.  “And I’m just helping her get the basics down until her actual firebending teacher shows up.”

              “She’s pretty darn eager to get started,” Lute said softly.

              “I mean, can you blame her?  She’s been watching other bending styles her whole life, feeling drawn to them.  Now she knows why and she can put it to good use.  Honestly, though?”

              “What?”

              “I think she’s most excited to learn waterbending.”

              “Really?”

              “Most of her family members are waterbenders. She told me that when she was younger she wanted to be one.”  Stan looked at Lute.  “Like you.” Lute blushed.

              “Aw, shucks.”  Lute sighed.  “As lil sisters go, she’s ‘bout the best there can be.  But aren’t ya worried about her losin’ control and burnin’ stuff down?”

              “Not really.  Earthbending requires a different kind of control than firebending, but they both need a heavy hand.  Angie’s used to keeping an element in line.”  Stan shrugged.  “Fire seems to come really naturally to her.”  Angie abruptly stopped firebending.  She looked in Stan and Lute’s direction, but past them.

              “What is it?” Stan asked.  Angie’s eyes widened.  “Good or bad?”

              “Good,” a voice said behind the young men.  Lute and Stan spun around.  “At least, I hope that’s what she thinks of us,” said the old woman.  She and an old man had walked onto the farm property, and were watching Angie thoughtfully. “What do you think?” the woman asked the man.  The man nodded.

              “She definitely has a knack for firebending. But I think I see some room for improvement.”

              “I certainly hope you do,” the woman teased. Angie ran over.  She came to a stop in front of the man and woman, then bowed deeply.

              “Master Mako, Lady Asami,” she said in a carefully controlled voice.  “It’s an honor to meet you.”  The man and woman bowed as well.

              “Avatar Angie,” the man, Mako, intoned.  Angie straightened.  Something about the lighting made her eyes look almost blue.

              “That’s no way to greet an old friend,” she said cheerfully.  The woman, Asami, covered her mouth.  “Was that too much?  Sorry.”

              “No, it’s fine,” Asami said sweetly.  “I just wasn’t expecting it.”

              “Though I don’t believe you’ve already managed to make contact with Korra,” Mako said.  Angie raised an eyebrow.  “Not that I doubt your strength.  But you’ve only just recently learned you were the Avatar.”  Angie grinned.

              “My Ma’s an earthbender, but my Pa’s a swampbender. I’m no stranger to spirits or spirituality.”

              “So you have connected with your past lives?” Asami asked.  Angie shrugged.

              “I meditated this mornin’ and heard Korra’s voice. But that’s ‘bout all.”

              “That’s a lot more than Korra had at your age,” Mako said.

              “Yeah.”  She bounced on the balls of her feet eagerly.  “So, ya watched my firebending?”

              “I did.”

              “And?”

              “It was very interesting.  You were moving with the caution and forethought of an earthbender, but the force of your bending was a lot like Korra’s.  Very excited, powerful, and with the energy of someone who jumps into combat without thinking.”  Mako rubbed his chin.  “I haven’t seen that combination of neutral jing and positive jing before.”

              “Is that…bad?”

              “I’ll have to think about it,” Mako said with a smile.  “Right now, it’s just…odd.  But while I figure out whether you need to drop the neutral jing to firebend properly, we can work on some katas.  Your forms could use refining.”  He frowned at Angie.  “Where did you learn those forms?  Pro-bending?”

              “Sort of.”  Angie jerked her thumb in Stan’s direction.  “Stan showed me.”

              “Uh, hi.”  Stan waved.  “I’m Stan.”

              “Wait, you know I’m a pro-bender?” Angie asked eagerly.  Asami laughed.

              “I still follow the game, but Mako doesn’t. I had to tell him that the new Avatar was a pro-bending champion.”  Asami smiled at Lute and Stan.  “I’m glad to see your teammates as well.”

              “We’re basically the new Team Avatar,” Stan said breezily.  Lute snorted.

              “Angie, I’m glad we were able to talk with you, but we also need to talk to your parents,” Mako said.

              “I’ll take you to ‘em,” Lute said cheerfully. He winked at Asami.  “Maybe we can talk about how much ya love my pro-bending, Lady Asami.”

              Stan and Angie watched Lute lead Mako and Asami to the house.

              “Pretty cool that they’re here, huh?” Stan asked. Angie nodded.  There was a faraway look in her eyes, which once again looked blue, despite being a bright olive-green.

              “Yes,” she said.  Her voice sounded older than her sixteen years.  “It…it was really good to see them again.”

[beckytailweaver]

Avatar: The Last Airbender (fic stuff)

Since I’m trying to work on something (ANYTHING!) and I seem to be in an Avatar mood of late, I’ll throw this up here.

These are fics, potential fics, and mostly-concrete ideas that have existed in the back of my closet for a very long time, since the good old days of watching ATLA when it was shiny and new and cool. Most of them are also so old that LOK didn’t exist yet or was in its infancy.

Note: These are mostly gen fic. If pairings come up they are not the central goal of the piece; they will be mainly canon as it existed at the time the fic was outlined. Treat them like the scenery (no ship war drama allowed in my workroom, that’s what stopped me participating in the fandom years ago).

I’d kinda like to put some feelers out and see what folks think would be most interesting to work on.

Read on:

The End of the Circle Post-canon continuation, my oldest ATLA fic, conceived and outlined before comics or LOK existed. Does some headcanon worldbuilding based on what was available at the time of the original series. Dragons and spirits and legends coming to life, oh my!

Status: outlined, some scenes written, firm endpoint, world built.

Summary: Roku warned Aang that he could not die in the Avatar State, or the cycle would end. Azula’s lightning killed Aang in the Avatar State. To their good fortune, Katara’s spirit water was able to bring Aang back to life, but there are Consequences—for the Avatar and for the world.

Wild Fire Canon AU/semi-rewrite. Also born before LOK was a thing so Druk doesn’t exist. It borrows some concepts from the idea of Toph and her badgermole family. It breaks some TLA canon around the edges but it’s all in good fun.

Status: outlined, many scenes, ending fully plotted.

Summary: The young Fire Prince was burned and disowned by the Fire Lord, cast away and abandoned on the hostile shores of the Earth Kingdom before his kindly uncle could aid him. Disfigured, angry, and lost, young Zuko finds solace in the wilderness when he is taken in by a most unusual protector: A dragon.

Phoenix Legacy Not-a-time-travel “time travel” fic. It was born after seeing Season 1 of Avatar LOK and...kinda liking it but not? (I mostly lost interest in LOK after S1.) And wanting to add some more classic feel to the season. No information from subsequent seasons was used to outline it (thus there is no Druk) but recently I have gone back and “fixed” Zuko’s daughter (giving her the correct name and appearance), and added her nameless daughter (Iroh II’s sister) for lulz. Basically a rewrite of LOK Season 1 with a TLA character along for the ride to shake everything up, because at the time I was disappointed that there was only Katara and no other Gaang members out there kicking the new Avatar into shape.

Status: outlined, a few scenes written, ending plotted; not to be a rehash.

Summary: A phoenix cannot die by fire—it can only be reborn. When Ozai claimed the title of Phoenix King, he had no idea what sort of spirit he might be invoking. When he lost his ancestor’s war and his crown, the spirit’s blessings were unknowingly conferred upon his heir: The hapless Fire Lord Zuko, determined to bring his nation to peace. Seventy years later, there’s a tragic explosion in a tea shop in Republic City, and exiled traitor Fire Prince Zuko wakes up to an unfamiliar world full of unfamiliar faces. The last thing he remembers is an Agni Kai under a Comet, catching lightning to protect a friend.

The Prince’s Prisoner Another ficling born before the comics or LOK were really a big deal and/or I didn’t know about them. Basically during TLA S1, rather than fleeing Prince Zuko’s clutches, Aang decides to remain his prisoner. The original reasoning for this was a kind of modified Peggy Sue: Aang effed up his final battle with Ozai for reasons, his soul is sorta sent back in time to do-over from his iceberg wakeup. The problem is that this is not a perfect process and he doesn’t actually remember everything, only some very important faces, feelings, and concepts. The idea of Zuko as a dear friend/teacher/trusted person is one of these things. Thus, in defiance of all visible logic, Aang trusts S1!Zuko with his life and keeps his promise to go with him. In spite of his Water Tribe friends continuously trying to rescue him, Zhao continuously trying to capture him, and Zuko himself continuously trying to avoid being befriended by his ticket home. (”I’m your prisoner, not anyone else’s.”)  Intended to be a funny and heartwarming friendship/journey story taking a different angle at the series.

Status: tentatively outlined with very few scenes skeleton’d out, season 1 definite, endpoint undecided but can continue throughout the series. The premise mechanic is a bit flimsy; it’s less concrete since it’s supposed to be fluff, angst, and friendship.

dragon!Zuko AU fic Everybody has to write one of these, it’s like a law. Here’s mine: Ozai’s cruelty during the Agni Kai with his young son invoked the wrath of Agni, bringing down a magic from a time before memory and no one knows if it’s a blessing or a curse. When Zuko’s face burned, the fire didn’t stop there, and when the flames went out a young dragon was left on the floor of the arena. Uncle Iroh came to his rescue before the rest of Court could gather their wits, and then had to get him on a boat and out of the Fire Nation before Ozai could decide whether to make him into a pet or a trophy. Part 1: Rather than going on a mission to hunt the Avatar, Zuko and Iroh are on a road trip to keep Zuko alive and secret from the world (Ozai wants to usurp his brother’s title of Dragon). Iroh and his crew end up raising this stubborn angsty dragon prince; since he can’t turn back into a human he has to come to terms with being a dragon most of the time (which can’t talk), and he can often be Very Dramatic about it. Part 2: Years later, there’s rumors of the Avatar’s return and Zuko (who has sort of learned to take a human shape again) sees an opportunity to spare his own life and go home by offering his father a bigger prize than a dragon’s head...

Status: very general outline, some scenes conceived and a general plot/endpoint. Part 1 is in the 3 years pre-canon, Part 2 is during canon, including the grumpy dragon hiding out in Ba Sing Se.

Years Gone/Avatar kids AU S1/pre-canon rewrite. Some whim of fate cracks open Aang’s iceberg three years early (a storm, a passing boat, pure chance?) and he tumbles out into the world in the same year that Prince Zuko was banished. Despite befriending some Water Tribe children who would love to go adventuring with him, he’s got to get home to the Southern Air Temple and that’s where he runs into young, angry, raw-wounded Prince Zuko on his first visit. The tiny chase ensues up and down the entire temple. Aang will of course be friendly but escape. And this begins a probably-ill-advised adventure with a lot of kids who are entirely too young to be camping across the world on a bison (but it’s exciting!), chased by another kid entirely too young to be leading a manhunt. The Comet is three years away so there’s plenty of time for adults to tear their hair out over this. Zuko is a tiny ball of determination, rage, and tears. Aang feels bad for him and tries to make with the befriending even as he’s dodging the fire tantrums. Occasionally during adventures Zuko just gets scooped along for the ride in Appa’s saddle, no one’s sure how these weird truces get called, but Iroh sips tea and directs the crew on a new heading and they’ll pick up their prince at the bison’s next stopover most likely after the kid pendulums back the other way and remembers he’s trying to nab the Avatar again. So Zuko spends 50% of the time yelling and chasing the Avatar and 50% of the time sitting in Appa’s saddle learning tentative smiles and being offered berries and seal jerky, all the way from the South Pole to the North. (It’s slightly terrifying to realize that Aang and Zuko are currently the oldest kids in the party and are actually in charge of this terribly irresponsible expedition.)

Status: general outline, a couple of scenes written, particular S1 plot points, no endpoint yet. Possible bonus content: Toph and/or Suki come along for the ride because why not.

The Blacksmith of Ba Sing Se This is a very old Lu Ten Lives! story. Lu Ten always knew Uncle Ozai envied him, but secure in his position he didn’t really care about it until he took an arrow in the back during the final battle of the Siege of Ba Sing Se. With unknown assassins among his own ranks and no safe place to retreat in the melee, the wounded prince decides to fake his own death by hiding in the rubble, and then swapping clothes with a slain Earth Kingdom soldier half crushed in the ruin. At first, it’s only to get to safety until he can get to the bottom of this. But Lu Ten is picked up by the EK medic teams after the surprising withdrawal of the Fire Nation troops, and ends up spirited away into the heart of Ba Sing Se—where he discovers that it’s hard to escape. He also discovers a whole new world, and a whole new perspective, and, keeping out of the authorities’ notice, eventually manages to make a life for himself as Chang the Blacksmith, a humble craftsman with a wife and kids. This...is much nicer than war, death, and Court politics. Years later: refugee Zuko walking home from his job at Pao Family Tea Shop runs across a little boy crying over his broken toy in the dusty street...

Status: nebulous outline with a few particular sketched scenes. Takes place mostly in Ba Sing Se, outcome indeterminate. It could be mixed with the Lineages concept from below.

Lineages / not Ozai’s kid AU Not really a concrete plot so much as a campy idea from long before the Avatar comics blundered through Ursa’s backstory. There was a phase in the fandom (I think the Search comics drew off of that) where it was popular to imagine almost anyone else than Ozai as Zuko’s Secret Real Dad (the boy deserves a better father) and Iroh was often selected as primary candidate. (I know, Iroh is already the real dad and stepped into Ozai’s cold empty shoes like a pro.) Me, deciding that I had to be different, decided to offer up Lu Ten on that altar. Justifications: Iroh and Ozai looked to have a pretty extreme age difference and there was no solid age for Lu Ten at the time of his death, but his picture looks mature enough. Deals with family secrets and the political issues of muddying the lines of inheritance in the middle of a war. Also takes a crack at Ursa having a clever hand with Azulon’s last will and testament on Ozai’s behalf, with provisos.

Status: nothing really more than a vague concept without enough plot to stand on its own. Without a viable framework, it could work better/well folded into The Blacksmith story, above.

I’m open to opinions and/or asks about these. Trying to get a spark going! (I need to be working in a fandom, ANY fandom at this point! ^_^;; )

[vulpyx]

questions 13-17

thanks!!!

13. Favorite Katara moment?: already answered!

14. Favorite Aang moment?: my absolute faves for aang would be: when he offers zuko friendship after finding out he’s the blue spirit, tricking zhao into burning his own ships, when he created the zoo in ba sing se, the whole of the headband episode, his fight with ozai and removing his bending

15. Favorite Zuko moment? my son.....there are so many. his agni kai with zhao, all of zuko alone, deciding azula is worse to fight than the whole earth-kingdom, his date with jin :’0 and saying ‘it was nice’ afterwards to iroh, letting appa go, being a moody ass at the beach, realising his destiny and confronting his father, the terrible impressions and trying to join team avatar, “well what do you think we should do?” “...think about our place in the universe?”, talking with sokka about girlfriends, helping katara deal with her grief and “THE SCAR’S NOT ON THE WRONG SIDE!!!”

16. Favorite Toph moment?: all of the blind bandit, calling katara sugar queen lool, joking about seeing the library, trying so hard to save the gaang and appa at the library :’(, kissing suki thinking it’s sokka and saying ‘u can go ahead and let me drown now’ or something along those lines, learning to metalbend in such a short amount of time daaamn, being one the first to see the sense in zuko joining the group, being thrilled about how she was portrayed in the ember island players’ show, I AM MELONLORD

17. Favorite Sokka moment?: ‘this is katara, my flying sister’, trying to teach a bunch of toddlers to be warriors, getting his ass kicked like a pro and learning the error of his sexist ways, his attempts to impress yue, the fact he knew jet was a damn creep, trying to prove that science is the truth and failing miserably, his reactions to the nomads in the cave of two lovers, foo-foo cuddly-poops, offering wan shi tong a literal piece of string, wang fire, all of sokka’s master episode, really wanting to nail his speech but not quite managing, being fairly willing to let zuko join the group depending on what aang though (and bc zuko is great roasting material lmao), painting a picture of the whole group at the end bc he’s adorable

[crypticbeliever123]

Chapter 10 of my AO3 fanfic. The chapter’s title is “The Shredder”. Let me know what you think of it, please!

Hob wasn’t the only one who knew that Shredder had been in Republic City for months. Raph had taken to perfecting his Firebending technique, especially the one needed to sever a person’s Bending because he knew that with his- with Shredder so close, it would only be a matter of time before he ran into him again. And he was going to be damned sure he was ready. Now that he had finally mastered the technique Shredder showed him all those years ago, now that he had developed his Bending even past the point of the dreaded Oroku Saki, he was finally ready to face him.

He donned his Nightwatcher gear and tracked him and his Foot Clan to an old, abandoned Future Industries warehouse. He knew he couldn’t take on Shredder and the Foot Clan all at once, but he knew the Foot would no doubt be heading out soon to spread fear and panic in the streets. That was Shredder’s M.O. after all. He’d lay low in a city for a few months at a time, getting a lay of the land and its people before striking at the perfect time. He would’ve had a couple more weeks but knowing the Shred-head, he’d no doubt be sending his little soldiers out after him after the Pro-Bending fiasco the other night. As soon as the Foot Clan left to search for him, the Shredder would be all alone and raph could make his move.

He was ready. He was. Ready to fight, ready to beat him, ready to take his Bending forever so that he could never harm another person. But was he ready to actually face him? The man that taught him almost everything about his Bending, the man that brought him into the world, the man that tried to kill him, who ran him out of their home for being a mutant, who still haunts his nightmares. Was he ready for that? Maybe he wasn’t, maybe he could never be truly ready but it was now or never. It all came down to this moment. It was just going to be him and-

“RAPH!” Mikey shouted with glee as he and their brothers showed up on the roof across from the warehouse, before rushing up to him in a hug.

“Mikey? Guys? What are you doing here?! How did you find me?”

“Hob told Splinter and Shen where Shredder was hiding out at and while they were busy organizing a team to take out the Foot Clan’s base we just decided to come here and get you ourselves,” Leo explained.

“Of course Hob knew Shredder was here. Typical. Look, you guys need to get out of here. I got this.”

“You got this? Really? You actually expect us to believe that you, as good a Bender as you are, can take on Shredder and the Foot Clan? No offense but that’s about the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Donnie replied.

“Oh I agree,” a female voice piped up from the shadows before stepping out into the moonlight.

“And who the heck are you?” Raph asked.

“I’m Karai. Oroku Karai, the Shredder’s daughter.”

“Shredder’s daughter? Wait so Raph has a sister? Dude, why didn’t you tell us you had a sister?” Mikey asked.

“My sis- You… you know?”

“Well lookie here. Seems like I’ve just added another three turtles to my kill list. Oh well, the Foot Clan was going to exterminate you filthy mutants anyway,” Karai said before pulling water out of her backpack and launching razor-sharp ice shards at the turtles.

Leo used his own Waterbending to divert the ice away from his brothers but soon found himself having to pull the discarded ice in to form a shield as he blocked the ice blades Karai had formed on her forearms. She kept trying to slice at him, to no avail before being blasted at by Raph, causing her to backflip out of the way and right behind Donnie where she held her icy blade at his throat.

“One move and the tall one gets it.”

The others took a step back in fear of what Karai might do to Donnie if they didn’t.

“Good choice. Now, you are all going to come with me and you will be executed by the Shredder. If you do not agree with these terms than I can just kill you myself. Though I know my father was looking forward to killing Raphael himself,” Karai said with a smirk, causing Raph’s fists to ball up tightly with a white flame.

“Unh-unh,” Karai reminded him before nicking a small spot on Donnie’s throat.

Raph let the flame die out with a grunt of indignation.

“Good call. Now follow me!” Karai said harshly as she pulled Donnie toward the stairwell.

She led them into the dark warehouse where the turtles were quickly ambushed and bound in handcuffs, before forcing them to kneel. The lights came on to reveal the Shredder standing at the front of the room.

“Leave us!” Shredder roared at his Foot soldiers.

They bowed and rushed out of the room, all except for Karai, who hadn’t been kept in the dark on why Raph was now public enemy number one in Shredder’s eyes. Shredder slowly approached the turtles, stopping only when he came little more than a foot away from Raphael. He then turned his head to Karai.

“Remove his mask.”

“Yes, father,” Karai said with a bow before obliging with her master’s orders.

Raph glared at his former father with an intense, burning hatred.

“Raphael.”

“Shredder.”

“I’ve noticed your technique has improved greatly since last I saw you. I’d be impressed if I weren’t so disgusted with your mutation. A pity. You could’ve been a great Oroku had Professor Stockman not disfigured you so.”

“He didn’t disfigure me. Mutants aren’t an abomination like you seem to think. And I would never have made a great Oroku, because there’s no such thing as-”

“BITE YOUR TONGUE, YOU INSOLENT WHELP!” Shredder roared as he gave a fiery backhand to Raphael across the face, leaving a burn mark on his cheek.

“RAPH!” his brothers cried out.

“Pathetic. Disgraceful. How you could ever have come from my bloodline is beyond me. Fortunately, no one shall ever have to know of what a blight you have made to the Oroku name. Tonight shall be your last.”

Shredder then grabbed Raph’s head pushing it back as he lit the tips of his two fingers under Raph’s chin with blue flame.

“Any final words before I end your miserable existence?” he asked the boy he once saw as a son.

“I challenge you to an Agni Kai.”

“A what?!” Leo exclaimed.

“He can’t be serious,” Donnie said in unison.

“Uhhh what’s an Agni Kai?” Mikey asked.

“An Agni Kai is a traditional duel between Firebenders, meant to restore honor when one is disgraced,” Leo explained quietly as they awaited Shredder’s response.

Saki contemplated the challenge for a moment.

“Exactly what dishonor do you think you have to defend? You are the disgrace. You are the one who has dishonored me.”

“All the more reason for you to accept isn’t it? How about this; I win you can use your Firebending to kill me, but they go free, allowed to live out the rest of their natural lives without being in danger of being killed by you, your family, or your Foot Clan.”

“And if I win?”

“If you win you can still kill all of us if you want but my brothers get a five-minute head start to try and run for their lives. Either way you get to kill me. And let’s face it, even with a five-minute head start my brothers would still probably wind up dead. So what do you say? We have a deal?”

“Raph, don’t do this,” Donnie insisted.

“Bro, this is crazy!” Mikey agreed.

“I accept the challenge.”

[black-velvet-lady]

This is what I mean by Narrative Bias. You are so set on Azula fitting a certain box that you cut off parts of her to fit.

Don't mistake this for a Pro Azula argument.

It's not.

I'm not gonna say she didn't smile at the Agni Kai, cause she did. I'm not going to say she didn't burn Iroh, cause she did. I'm gonna say that she did it for different reasons then you did cause that's the point of interpretation.

You say she burned Iroh to hurt Zuko, I say she did it cause Iroh got distracted by Toph and he happens to be the most dangerous one out of the six people that have her cornered.

Neither of us is right but you act like you're spouting fact. You'll use Earth Kingdom Chronicals to illustrate your point but you brush aside the Sozin’s Comet Novelization as an adaptation and not Canon but both are adaptations.

They say if you see the world through rose tinted glasses all the red flags just look like flags. But the opposite is true as well. Seeing red makes you miss white flags as well.

Just think about what you're watching on TV reexamine it. Sometimes you'll feel in the right, and that's fine. Sometimes you'll be in wrong and that's fine too. But no one is always right.

Who's scarier? Ozai, Azula, Hama, or Koh? 👀

Koh was creepy, I guess, but he can't even hurt you unless you show emotion. Ozai was too cartoony and obsessed with himself, so I couldn't take him seriously. Hama mostly only went after firebenders, and to be honest I understand her motivation. I'm not saying what she did was okay and her powers are certainly horrifying, but I don't think people appreciate just how scary Azula is. She's a teenager, but she will burn you alive. She will kill you in the most painful way imaginable. She's the only character who severely injured Aang, she tried to strike her own brother with lightning, she burnt her uncle with a smile on her face, she tried to kill her friends when they turned on her, she laughed when her grandfather died, and she celebrated her mother's disappearance. She's smart, bloodthirsty, and unhinged, and that's a scary combination. She will set you on fire, laugh while you scream in agony, and dance on your ashes. She'll do it because that's what she was raised to do, and she enjoys it.

[thelastspeecher]

I stumbled across a pretty great ATLA fanfic today and it made me want to write something, so I sat down and wrote more of my Gravity Falls Avatar AU, where Ford was identified as the Avatar as a child, but Stan turns out to actually be the Avatar, something that gets discovered when he accidentally airbends during a pro-bending match.

In the original version of the AU, Ford wasn’t misidentified as the Avatar; that’s a retcon.  And since I actually wrote and posted a couple things before the retcon, I just went back and edited them to be in line with Ford being misidentified as the Avatar.  Here are the two ficlets that are now officially retconned.

Anyways, this ficlet is just the start of the AU, where Stan stumbles across two siblings who need a firebender for their pro-bending team.  Enjoy.

——————————————————————————————

              Stan walked down the street, his hands in his pockets and shoulders hunched.

              Well, Stan, you made it to Republic City.  Now what?  The dream he’d had for years – of becoming a pro-bender – suddenly seemed further away than ever before, despite being in the world’s pro-bending hub.  The burn on his shoulder ached, despite being a week old by now.  Stan’s head drooped further.  He wasn’t supposed to be here alone.  He was supposed to be here with Ford.  

              But after screwing up Ford’s shot at going to Ba Sing Se University, his brother didn’t even want to look at him.  Even after the Agni Kai Stan had with their father, which he’d lost.  That night, while Stan struggled to fall asleep and whimpered from the pain of the fresh burn, Ford had said and done nothing.

              It only made sense to leave.  Stan didn’t want to live with a father who hated him, a mother who was disappointed in him, and a twin brother who sat in silence while he was in pain.

              What’s the disgraced, disowned, and dishonored twin of the Avatar supposed to do?  Stan kicked a rock.  It bounced off a nearby fruit stand.  This is bull.  For years, I’ve wanted to come here, and now that I’m here, I can’t-

              “We still need a firebender,” a voice said nearby.  Stan’s head jerked up.  Two young people about his age stood behind the fruit stand.  Judging by their appearances and clothing, they were a brother and sister, likely Earth Kingdom.  Maybe even Earth Kingdom nobility.  The way they held themselves reminded Stan of the upper-crusts that would visit after Ford was announced as the next Avatar.

              “Where are we goin’ to find one of those?” asked the girl.  Stan raised an eyebrow at her accent.  The uncouth way she spoke didn’t match her more refined appearance.  “Firebenders don’t exactly grow on trees.”

              “Maybe we put out an ad?” suggested her brother.  “Say we need a third fer our pro-bending team?”  His sister sighed.

              “Do you have any clue what kind of weirdos would respond to an ad like that?” she demanded.  Stan straightened his back and strode over to the fruit stand.  He slapped on his smarmiest grin.

              “Couldn’t help but overhear that you two need a firebender for your pro-bending team,” he said with a wink.  The siblings looked at him doubtfully.  Stan held out an open palm.  A ball of fire crackled into existence above it.  “I just so happen to be one of those.  And I’m damn good, if I do say so myself.”

              Up close, the siblings looked less like Earth Kingdom and more like one of the blended families that were becoming increasingly commonplace.  They weren’t as stocky as Earth Kingdom people tended to be, and the boy had startlingly blue eyes that could only come from a Water Tribe.  The siblings looked Stan up and down for a moment, then exchanged a look.

              “What’s yer name?” the boy asked after a moment.

              “Stan.  Stan Pines.” Stan held his breath, praying that they wouldn’t recognize his name.  As the Avatar’s twin brother, he was more well-known than he’d like, but he also wasn’t a household name.

              At least, not yet.  Once I become the best pro-bender in the world, I will be.

              “Hmm,” said the girl, frowning thoughtfully at Stan.  She met Stan’s gaze, her olive-green eyes staring into Stan’s golden ones.  “…Okay.”

              “Uh, are ya sure?” her brother asked.  She nodded.

              “My gut says we can trust him.  And I trust my gut,” she said firmly.  The brother shrugged.

              “If yer good enough fer my sister, yer good enough fer me.”  He held out a hand for Stan to shake.  “The name’s Lute McGucket.  This is my baby sister Angie.”  Stan extinguished his flames and shook Lute’s hand.  The movement tugged on his raw wound.  He let out a gasp of pain.  Angie and Lute’s eyes widened in worry.

              “You all right?” Angie asked, coming around to the front of the fruit stand.

              “Yeah, just, uh, just pulled something, that’s all,” Stan fibbed. Angie’s gaze landed on his back. She gasped.  “I know, my ass is pretty-” Stan started, trying to keep her from focusing on the burn.

              “Lute, get some water, he’s got the nastiest burn I’ve ever seen!”

              “How could you see it?” Stan muttered.  “I’m wearing a shirt.”

              “It’s seeping through the fabric,” Angie replied.  Her brother came over with a water flask.  He winced at what he could see of Stan’s burn.

              “Oof.  I don’t feel comfortable healin’ that.”

              “Did you get any medical care fer it?” Angie asked.

              “No,” Stan answered, feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

              “Your parents didn’t bother to take ya to a healer or anything?”

              “Fuck my parents,” Stan said without thinking.  Angie and Lute were silent.  “Look, just tell me where to meet for practice or whatever, and-”

              “Lute, pack up the stand,” Angie said, ignoring Stan.  “Stan, look at me.”  Stan reluctantly did as he was told.  “Our pa is a great healer.  Come with us to our place.  He can help ya out.”

              “I don’t have any money.”

              “You don’t need any.  He’ll do it without chargin’ ya.”  Angie grabbed his hand and dragged him over to a nearby beat up car.  “Get in.”

              “I don’t-” Stan started.  The ground lifted under his feet, propelling him into the car.  “What the- are you kidnapping me?”

              “No,” Angie said.  “Once you get healed, yer free to go.”  Stan opened his mouth.  “Yer on our pro-bending team now, right?  You can’t fight in yer condition.”  Stan closed his mouth, disgruntled.

              “Fine,” he muttered.  “Your dad can heal me, but then I’m leaving.”

----- 

              “I think that it’ll only need a couple more healin’ sessions fer ya to be back to normal, son,” Mr. McGucket said cheerfully as he bended the water off Stan’s shoulder and into a bucket.  “That infection ya got was nasty, but ya beat it fast.  You’ve got a lot of gumption in ya.”

              “…Thanks,” Stan mumbled.  He stood up and put his shirt back on.  The day Angie and Lute had dragged him to their home, which turned out to be a farm on the outskirts of the city, their father had taken one look at Stan’s burn and informed him it was infected and needed multiple separate healing sessions to be resolved.

              Before he knew it, Stan had been given a room to stay in, a bed to sleep in, and three square meals a day.  The meals were courtesy of Mrs. McGucket, who was surprisingly down to earth, despite coming from the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se.  Stan was quickly settling in with the McGuckets as part of their household. And, to his surprise, he liked it.

              Still not quite sure what Mrs. McGucket’s job is…  Mrs. McGucket had some sort of career that caused her to be out of the house most days, and judging by how tight-lipped she was about it, it was important.  But Stan couldn’t figure it out.  There was a knock on the door of Stan’s room.

              “Yeah?” Stan grunted.  The door opened to reveal Angie.  She beamed at Stan.

              “How are ya feelin’?” she asked.  Mr. McGucket clapped a hand on Stan’s uninjured shoulder.

              “He should be in fightin’ shape within a coupla days, dragonfly-bunny.  Then you ‘n yer brother can start trainin’ with him.”

              “Great!” Angie chirped.  Mr. McGucket squeezed Stan’s shoulder and left the room with the bucket of water he’d used to heal Stan.  Angie cocked her head.  “My pa answered for you.  How are ya feelin’?”

              “A lot better than before,” Stan said truthfully.  Angie beamed, but her smile quickly vanished.  She looked down at the floor.  “…What’s going on?”

              “I…”  Angie chewed her lip.  “I heard yer name on the radio today.”  Stan held his breath.  “At least, I thought it was yer name at first.  But it wasn’t.”  Angie looked up at him again.  “Stan, why didn’t you tell us yer brother was the Avatar?”  Stan walked over to his bed and sat down.

              “Didn’t think it was relevant,” he said with a shrug.  Angie sat next to him.  “I’m here ‘cause you needed a firebender for your pro-bending team.  Ford doesn’t have anything to do with that.”

              “Yes, but…”  Angie sighed. “That’s still a major detail to keep secret!”

              “So?” Stan grunted.  “We haven’t known each other that long.”

              “You live here.”

              “By accident,” Stan pointed out, eliciting a soft snicker from Angie.  “Look, I probably woulda told you guys at some point, but…”  He trailed off, unwilling to be vulnerable in front of her.  Angie nodded.

              “I get it.  I’m the youngest of six.  I don’t get to be my own person most days.  I’ve always been referred to as the baby sister of one of my siblin’s.”  She shuddered.  “I can’t imagine how it must’ve felt to grow up in the shadow of yer own brother.”

              “That’s what happens when your brother’s the Avatar,” Stan said, feigning a casual tone.  Angie rolled her eyes.  “So, are you the only person that knows?”

              “Lute knows, too.  We were in the same room when we heard yer brother’s name on the radio.”  Angie grinned cheekily at Stan.  “I was chosen to talk to ya ‘cause you tend to go easy on me.”

              “Only ‘cause fire can boil water,” Stan muttered, looking away.  “Won’t do anything to a rock.”  Angie laughed.  Stan felt himself blush fiercely.  “Your parents don’t know?”

              “I mean, I’d be surprised if they didn’t.  Ma’s part of the White Lotus, so she’s on top of Avatar business,” Angie said casually.  Stan whipped his head around to stare at her.

              “Your mom’s what?”

              “You didn’t know?”

              “No!”  Stan ran a hand through his hair.  “That explains a lot, though.  Especially the thing about her knowing who my brother is.”

              “Yeah, Lute ‘n I were confused by how much she just…watched ya when you first arrived,” Angie said cheerfully.  “Now, we know why.”

              “Hmph.”

              “And since Ma and Pa tell each other everything, Pa definitely knows, too.”

              “Great,” Stan muttered.

              “Why are you upset about that?”

              “You said it yourself.  I’ll always be in Ford’s shadow.  I’ll always be the Avatar’s brother.”

              “Not ‘round here, ya aren’t.”  Angie smiled sweetly at him.  “Yer just Stan to us.  And knowin’ ‘bout yer fam’ly won’t change that.”  She got up off the bed.  “I best go help in the garden.  Dinner should be ready in ‘bout half an hour.”

              “Got it.”  Angie left the room.  Stan stared at the wall for a few minutes.

              Not “the Avatar’s brother, Stan”.  Just…Stan.  A slow smile crept across his face.  I could get used to that.

[thelastspeecher]

( ; w ; ) > I would love more deets about Stan's pro bending team, and more about his (and their!) reaction to the revelation that he's the avatar

All right!  Like I said, there’s a lot of stuff involving my nonsense, which means that my McGucket OCs come into play here, and there’s a callback to my OG Stan McGucket AU in the form of the McGuckets once again taking Stan in.  Oh, and as a frame of reference, we decided that Stan is the firebending avatar after Roku.  So Aang and Korra and the earthbending avatar that would follow Korra (dubbed Priyanka by @vulpixen) have all happened.  And now it’s a firebender’s turn to be avatar.  I don’t know exactly how technology would have progressed in the elapsed time, so I’m just sort of operating off of the technology we see in LoK, even though it’s definitely advanced since then.

When Stan left home after his agni kai with Filbrick, he just sort of wandered around, trying to figure out what to do and how to best manage his fresh burn.  Eventually, he stumbled across two people about his age, who were obviously siblings, complaining that they needed a third for their pro-bending team.  Stan had been obsessed with pro-bending for some time, so he snuck a bit closer to eavesdrop better, and overheard that they were an earthbender and a waterbender, and they needed a firebender for their team.  So Stan spoke up and introduced himself, saying that he was a firebender, and that he would love to be on a pro-bending team.

Stan figured that these siblings would just scoff and ignore him, but they actually seemed interested.  They then introduced themselves, saying that they were indeed siblings: Angie and Lute McGucket.  Before the conversation could get much further, they noticed the wound on Stan’s shoulder and said that he should probably see a healer.  Of the two of them, Lute was the waterbender, but he wasn’t as good at healing as their father, a native of the Foggy Swamp Tribe who had moved away from the swamp and settled down with their mother, an Earth Kingdom noble, to start a farm and a family.

Stan wasn’t that willing to go to some stranger’s house, but Angie and Lute insisted, and Stan found himself at the McGucket farmstead, where he was healed and invited to stay the night.  Stan didn’t plan on staying more than one night, but as per usual for my AUs, he got roped in by the friendly McGuckets, and they offered him a job on their farm while he got back on his feet.

After Stan had been healed sufficiently that Pa McGucket decided it was safe for him to train, he, Angie, and Lute began to train in earnest together, learning how the others fought and doing their best to compliment each others’ strengths and weaknesses.  Lute had learned waterbending from his father, so he followed the Foggy Swamp Tribe methods, while Angie had learned how to utilize seismic sensing from their mother.  It was a struggle for them to work together at first, since they had similar tendencies in battle: go in guns blazing and give it your all.  Eventually, they figured out how to strategize better, and once they did, they began to rise up in the ranks.  Their team name was the Swamp Catgators, after the family pet, a catgator named Snappy.

At the pro-bending championship finals, the opposing team knocked Angie off the court, in a way that could severely injure her.  Stan instinctively airbended to save her, the arena went silent, and Stan ran away, upset by what it meant.

Stan is terrified.  Sure, he loved being in the limelight.  He loved being a powerful bender and kicking ass.  But he’s scared of the responsibility that is involved with being the avatar, and convinced that he won’t be able to properly do what he is expected.  He’s happy with where and who he is, a kick-ass pro-bender who may or may not be developing a crush on one of his teammates.  Traveling might be nice, but he doesn’t want to do it if it’s just to learn how to master the remaining three elements.  He’s also concerned that he’ll have to do more formal training in firebending, now that he’s the avatar.  Sure, he got lessons as a kid, but he doesn’t think he’s got the rank of master in it.  He’s also upset about the spiritual aspect of being the avatar.  He doesn’t want to be the bridge between the two worlds, to be an ambassador.  And he sure as hell doesn’t like the idea of having past lives, all of whom might be judging him when he fails, which he’s sure he’ll end up doing.

Eventually, Angie and Lute find Stan, wherever he ran off to, and sit down next to him and talk.  They were stunned when Stan airbended, but neither of them are half as surprised as Stan is.  They both had the feeling that there was something special about him when they first met, something Lute says is probably due to their Foggy Swamp Tribe heritage.  Swampbenders are in tune with the natural world and its spiritual connections due to the nature of their home, and Pa McGucket made sure that his children could also tap into the connections that the world has.  Mentioning spirituality makes Stan get twitchy, so they tell him that if he’s nervous about the spiritual part of being the avatar, they’re more than happy to help him get started.  After a little bit more sweet-talking, they convince Stan to come back to the McGucket farmstead, where the White Lotus has already been summoned to help Stan begin his journey to becoming a fully fledged avatar.

As for more of Angie and Lute’s reactions to Stan being the avatar, they’re freaking out.  They keep it calm in front of Stan, since he’s obviously a flight risk but he needs to come see the appropriate authorities to help him.  But on the inside, they are losing their minds.  Yes, they felt like there was something different about Stan when they first met, but they didn’t expect it to be that he was the avatar.  They just assumed it was because he was a particularly powerful bender.  And they’re a worried that Stan being the avatar means that he’ll have to leave them.  They’ve grown very close, but Stan has to learn a lot now.  He won’t be able to be a pro-bender and goof around on the farm with them anymore.  He has to travel the world to master all four elements.

Luckily for them, when Stan agrees to travel to be formally trained, one of his requirements is that Angie and Lute come with.  And Stan ends up needing the moral support when they set off on a sky bison for the closest air temple.  He might be the avatar, but he’s still scared of heights.