#they all get super into it and the gaang and maybe even make some jokes about how Zuko reminds them of Hunter

[quadrantadvisor]

Sometimes I still think about The Owl House Gang all trying to watch ATLA together but then Zuko's backstory in The Storm retraumatizes Hunter so bad they have to stop

[ikatakoirl]

How To Write A Comic Relief Character That Doesn’t Suck

So. We all know the comic-relief character trope. The one who doesn’t do much but tags along because of their “loyalty” and falls on their face every now and then for us to laugh at whenever the tension gets too high. But then at the end they have their heroic moment and prove wrong everyone who ever doubted them! Only for them to go back to exactly how they were before in the resolution. Right?

NO! WRONG! THROW IT IN THE GARBAGE! In this post I’m going to give some ideas of how to add comic relief elements to a story without devaluing any of the characters! First of all, let’s start with some examples! I'll explain most of my choices throughout the post. I'm hoping I provided enough examples that everyone can recognize at least one in each category! I’ve also done my best to make direct comparisons.

Comic Relief Characters Done Poorly

Ronald Weasley (Harry Potter)

Neville Longbottom (Harry Potter)

Haymitch Abernathy (The Hunger Games)

Lance McClain (Voltron: Legendary Defender)

Loki (MCU, before the Disney+ series)

Marinette Dupain-Cheng (Miraculous Ladybug)

Luigi (Super Mario)

Goggles (Coroika)

Comic Relief Characters Done Well

Fred and George Weasley (Harry Potter)

Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

Peeta Mellark (The Hunger Games)

Sokka (Avatar: the Last Airbender)

Peter Parker/Spider-Man (MCU)

Chat Noir (Miraculous Ladybug)

Sonic the Hedgehog [depends on which show/game ofc]

Skull (Coroika)

Reki Kyan (Sk8 the Infinity)

Kai (The Hollow)

No Laughing Matter

It’s great to have a character who struggles with clumsiness or feeling incompetent! But what if you tried actually taking those concerns seriously? Instead of the divert-with-comedy-and-never-readdress approach, make your character turn angry or sensitive. (Or the best of both worlds, tsundere!) Really get into their head and explore how that incompetence is affecting them. Bonus points if they actually fail something of consequence! How do they react to this failure? Do they have people supporting them, and if so, how? And if instead the character is on the outs and constantly the butt of jokes, how does that affect their psyche? Maybe they’ll throw themselves into training or practicing to become better, but maybe all they need is a reminder of where their strengths do lie so that they can use them better to their advantage next time! I actually challange you to separate the klutz character from the comic relief character! It may be funny to watch people falling down on Reddit, but it doesn’t make for a compelling character that people will remember! I love Marinette, I really do, but I have to admit that she could be written better because she falls right into this sort of trap.

Himbos Are People, Too

Okay, okay. I know we all need to have our himbos sometimes. And that’s great! A character who’s a bit out of their element can be endearing for a lot of readers! But in order to get there, the character needs other personality traits, too! Comic relief is not a personality. It’s something you can stack onto a personality, but you need to create a whole character first, complete with hobbies and interests! Which means that, yes, you have to let your character be good at something. It doesn’t have to be the same as their interests, though! This is a great opportunity for a reminder that you can still find joy in something even if you’re not very good at it, and just because you're good at something doesn't mean it makes you happy.

And it should really be more than one thing they’re good at! Don’t write the Ron who’s only good at chess or the Lance who’s only (somewhat) good at flirting!

Tell Me What You Want

This also goes for character motivations! Each character needs to have either a clear motive or a clear lack of motive! Bonus points if it’s multiple complex but identifiable motives! Sokka is a perfect example of this! He wants to live up to the legacy of his father, find his place in the Gaang, and maybe pick up a girl (or a guy) along the way. And most importantly, he uses his humor not as a selfish way to avoid his feelings or for plot convenience but rather to lighten the mood as part of the duty he feels to keeping his sister safe and happy! His Voltron doppelgänger, Lance, has no clear motivation… ever, pretty much. He's implied to like Allura, but it's treated as more of a joke. Same with Ron, or Neville, or Luigi, or even Loki. What do they even want? You could say that Ron saw his greatest desire in the Mirror of Erised (to be recognized and respected), but does he ever take steps toward this? Does it ever even get brought up again? Or was it just meant to contrast with Harry’s greatest desire? After all, Ron ends up as some Auror as an adult but doesn’t show any regret or longing for a higher status.

(Another hint: Not dying is not a character motivation!)

However, I did give another option, which was a clear lack of motivation. We see this in Percy, Reki, and Kai at certain points, and they all express that they don’t understand exactly what they want. And that’s perfectly okay, too! I actually really love writing characters like this! That being said, this is typically a temporary thing, and you should have something in mind for the character’s endgame. I want to stress that this is actually the harder one to pull off correctly, so you can’t just use it as a cop-out.

So yeah, there’s your crash course in character creation and development! Maybe I’ll do a separate post for that in more detail!

According to my Calculations…

Yes, I know that can all feel like a lot. But it's no excuse to fall into stereotypes. Especially this one, which is often done as an Asian-American caricature. Going the other route with a conventionally unattractive, glasses-wearing, acne-having white kid is bad, too. It's cringe. It's harmful. Don't do it.

And this goes not just for the stupid-nerd caricature, but also for any other stereotype out there. This one is just the most annoying one I can think of.

The Loyal Lapdog

Another sort of random trope is justifying a bland character by claiming that their virtue is their "loyalty." If you're going to use loyalty as a personality trait, be very careful about it. You have to be committed to upholding that personality trait even if it messes with your plot. You don't want to end up like Ron, who is actually arguably one of the least loyal characters in the series, abandoning his best friends in an apocalyptic situation just because he was jealous and constantly getting in fights with Harry over things out of his control. It is good to test and even break the limits of your character’s loyalty, but if they give up at the slightest inconvenience they’re clearly not actually loyal at all. (I’m sorry I bash Ron so much. It’s not what it sounds like, I actually hate him much more than I’m letting on.)

Comedy Communism

Guess what? You can have more than one character be funny! In fact, why not make all of them funny? Even your dark, serious character can be accidentally hilarious, and Skull is a pristine example of this. And giving a brooding loner character a surprise one-liner can be a great way to mark character development as they become more comfortable in their environment.

Overall, spreading out the role of comic relief across multiple characters is just a plain good idea because it forces you to fully develop each character and makes your comedy less predictable.

Or here’s another idea: make the comic relief character the protagonist! It’s an unexpected move that Percy Jackson pulls off immaculately! It’s also another strategy to help you avoid writing flat comedic relief characters because your protagonist should be the easiest character to fully flesh out.

Don’t Ruin the Moment

Using comedy to lighten the mood can be a good thing, but it has a time and a place. I've seen so many truly moving, deeply emotional moments completely gutted by a stupid joke. It's so devastating to see a writer put in all this effort to build up to a big moment, only to ruin it. It’s up to you to decide what counts as a “big moment,” but once you decide, fully commit to it. If you really feel like it’s too much for the reader, you can use a scene break, which will provide relief to the readers with less bleeding over of the lighthearted mood into the serious part.

But it can also be hard to maintain that tension, especially if a comic relief character is involved. Having them tell a joke that falls flat can actually be a great way to further increase the tension while staying in character!

~

With that, thank you for reading! Go forth my friends and make people laugh with complex and memorable characters! And look out for my next post about How to Write a Truly Bone-Chilling Villain!

[farfarawayinthelandof]

THE GAANG WHEN THEY HAVE A CRUSH ON YOU

gn!reader

ੈ♡˳·˖✶

Aang

- omg he’s so shy around you.

- always trying to impress you during fights

- he blushes every time you walk into the room. like his heart literally leaps out of his chest.

- who gave you the right to be so beautiful??!??!!

- he is def making you a friendship bracelet rn.

- he’s waiting for a big moment to confess to you

- unless he finds out you return his feelings ;) then he’d confess right then and there.

- would be disappointed if you didn’t like him back, but would try to be chill about it. he understands its not your fault…

- still cant get rid of his feelings for you though, even if you rejected 🤕 poor guy

- in conclusion, give him love.

Katara

- acts 100% like a mom

- you tease her for it, and maybe she’ll give it up a little bit

- but she really cares about you and your safety!!

- constantly giving you compliments

- wants to spend every second hanging out with you

- likes to show off her bending in front of you, but if anyone brought it up, she’d deny it

- her confession would be a spur of the moment thing. like if you got hurt, or maybe succeeded in learning this really hard bending move.

- if you feel the same way, great!

- if you don’t, well then she’d be very upset and would probably never talk to you again. lol. she’d still understand, but please !! don’t break her heart !! she cares about you so much !!

Sokka

- constantly joking around you, trying to make you laugh

- always staring at you during training

- you’re the only one he’d share his food with

- he would be pretty stingy, but still.

- he’s always trying to impress you with his sword/boomerang skills.

- he’d have his confession all planned out for you, but something would happen and… it wouldn’t go as planned. it wouldn’t be as fancy, but his confession would mean a whole lot more.

- if you don’t like him back, he’d pretend it was a joke. despite feeling extremely let down, he wouldn’t want to loose his friendship with you.

Toph

- always making sarcastic comments with you, rather than at you.

- pretty touchy with you, but in a punching your arm because what you just said was way out of pocket kinda way

- knows if you like her back or not, because of her bending.

- if you like her back, she’d confess her feelings. it wouldn’t be formal, though. just while you too walking alone together to collect some firewood or something.

- if you don’t like her back, nbd. she’ll just be less enthusiastic around you, leaving you to wonder, what happened?

Zuko

- super shy around you, typically a blushing mess.

- at first, it was hard for him to talk to you 😪 but then he warmed up around you

- the feelings he has for you is very foreign, so he doesn’t understand it at first…

- until you two spend some time alone.

- he realizes he really likes you.

- you would have to be the one to confess.

- he might try a few times, but nerves probably got to him.

- at some point you’d catch on, and if you liked him back you’d just be like hey, i like you too.

- zuko would be so ecstatic omg.

- then you two become the second sappiest couple in the gaang, following katara and aang 😇

Suki

- she’ll want to spend all her time training with you.

- suki’s constantly trying to include you in conversation and loves make inside jokes with you

- she’d blush a lot around you, and would try to cover it up

- to confess she’d make it simple, maybe saying something after everyone else had gone to bed, and you were outside under the stars having one of your regular talks that basically just questioned the meaning of life

- she’d definitely change how she acted around you if you didn’t like her back, distancing herself

- if you like her back, from that point on, you two are attached at the hip.

ੈ♡˳·˖✶

I hope you enjoyed!! That was really fun to write, I can’t wait to do more!

[chiefbeifongcanrailme]

Linumi HC's?

Okay so let's say general headcanons?

- Bumi takes great pride in the way he can always make Lin laugh.

- Lin only saves her more heartier laughs for Bumi. 

- While in private, they have a hard time keeping their hands off each other, in public they’re both always at a respectable distance. No one would suspect there was any funny business between them unless they wanted them to know.

- Tenzin was initially bewildered by the idea of them being together, but eventually supports their happiness. Especially once he saw how adorable they were together, one drunken evening. 

- Bumi loves massaging her sore muscles before bed, and he’s good at it too, because Lin is teeny tiny in his large hands. 

- Lin lets Bumi help her whenever she’s cooking- he does so by sitting on the counter and telling her stories or maybe passing and tasting a thing or two, but when Bumi cooks he pretty much physically picks her up and places her outside the kitchen until he’s done.

- Bumi expresses affection through rough-housing: so he loves tossing Lin over his shoulder and then slamming her onto the bed to cover her face with kisses. What’s to appreciate here is: Lin isn’t delicate, so he doesn’t need to worry too much about hurting her and she gets super competitive in trying to pin him down. This is also wholesome, because Lin’s competitiveness allows her reciprocate Bumi’s affection in the same way and Bumi will, sometimes, let her win.

- They’ve both always been kinda distant from family and so they prefer spending majority of their time away, but on occasion, they do indulge the family. This creates respectful boundaries and allows for healthy relationships.

- It’s only because of their relationship that all of the Gaang’s children are back in close touch as they used to be as kids. Bumi is close to Izumi and Kya while Lin is close to Suyin and Tenzin. Bumi loves to boast how him and Lin are the glue that holds their little group together.

- Bumi gets along really well with Opal and is a great almost-uncle-of-sorts to her. He often employs her help whenever he wants do something nice for Lin. Suyin will often tease her sister that if not for herself, she should at least consider marrying Bumi so that Opal can finally call him her uncle.

- Tenzin’s kids are obviously in awe of Lin (That is lady is their hero) and they’re also very fond of their uncle. So if you’re reading this, you should know that the Airkids combined ship Linumi harder than you and me. Rohan shipped Linumi before he even understood what shipping was. They hate how private they are about their relationship so they’ll often play pranks and jokes that would result in Bumi either holding or kissing Lin or vice versa and then snicker in the corner. They love that two of their favorite adults found love in each other. 

- Bumi loves kissing Lin’s cheeks because her skin is incredibly soft and Lin loves running her hands through his hair. 

- They often take some time away from the madness of the City and explore new places. Bumi also loves to take Lin to places he’d been on during his travels and show her around.

I can’t think of too much general stuff without getting too specific :P I hope this is what you were looking for or the asks are open if you were looking for something a little more specific.

[stitch1830]

youve talked about the gaang witnessing softmom!toph, her parents witnessing it, but what about her coworkers? How would they react to her pregnancy with Lin, her maternity leave, and eventually, her coming back with a baby lin in her arms. How do they react when she does the same with sujin? What if they have to take care of the babie(s) while toph is in the field? i imagine that toph is the only woman in the force, and she has a good relationship with her coworkers.

Hi Anon, thank you for the ask! And yes yes yes I love this idea! :D

I must say I love thinking about this from two perspectives: one where Toph is a single mother, and the other where Kanto is in the picture. Both situations have really cute and funny (and angsty) scenarios to them, so I might dive into both if that's okay! :D

Single Mom Scenario: I see her coworkers being a little surprised, but supportive. They never really saw a guy in Toph's life that was super consistent, nor did she bring her dates to the station a lot. Her private life was just that. Private. But then after a few days where she showed up late and looking a little tired, she gathers the coworkers that she works with the most and is like "Listen up lily livers, because I'm only gonna say this once. I'm pregnant."

Everyone is like :O because they never really expected this, but they're surprised and excited and a little nervous for their boss. They try not to ask too many questions, but some of the officers that are closer to Toph than others learn a little more about the situation, but they still respect any boundaries she puts up. As time goes on and her belly gets bigger, they can't help but find their once menacing Chief looking rather... cute. She's grumpier than usual because she can't go into the field and she's slower than normal, but her colleagues are nice and understanding which is a relief to her. She spends a lot of time talking to the officers and being outside her office because otherwise she's way too bored lol! So it's a nice time for her to get to know the officers even more.

When she's on leave, they know what they're supposed to do, but they struggle to really focus because they kind of miss their Chief. She was a hardass, but she was still a great leader. But they go on with their days and try to get things done. One day, they have a visitor, though. Two visitors.

That's when they meet Lin and oh boy do the officers all fall in love with Baby Chief. She looks tiny even in Toph's arms, has a full head of hair, and her eyes are bright green like her mama's and she's an adorable baby. Toph lets some of the more responsible officers hold Lin, but everyone gets to see the little bundle of joy :D After that, they protect Baby Beifong as if she was their kid, and it makes Toph a little emotional thinking of the support system she has at work.

I would say the officers react similarly when they hear Toph is pregnant with Suyin, mainly joking around this time and saying "Again?" or "Another Baby Chief?" or "Not another Beifong to boss us around!" It's all in good fun, and Toph still appreciates the team's understanding and support. When they meet Baby Su, it's a very similar reaction to when they met Lin, but now they also get to play and joke with Lin while they see the baby.

If they ever had to babysit the girls, I'd imagine they'd rely on the team members that are actually parents and they're pretty good about keeping the girls entertained. I feel like the officers would be majority men, but I can also see a handful of metalbenders that are women and some are maybe even mothers themselves! That would certainly help ease some of the nervousness of taking care of the girls while Toph is out in the field (although it would be comical if it was just a bunch of single dudes trying to take care of Lin and Suyin for a bit lmao). But Toph seems like a pretty relaxed parent as long as she knows they're safe, and she knows her kids are safe with her officers. The team loved babbling with the girls when they were babies, and when they were older, they played a lot of cops and robbers around the precinct haha!

And now for a bit of self-indulging Kantoph scenarios.... :)

Toph and Kanto are super lovey dovey with each other around the officers, which is a drastic change to how they normally view their bosses. They're not sure whether they like the Chief and Deputy this way or when they were yelling at them LOL.

Per Kanto's orders, they keep a close eye on Toph and help her as much as she'll allow. I'd say it's not much and she complains about them hovering a lot, but their support is actually really nice whenever Kanto is out in the field.

In a scenario where Kanto dies before Lin is born, the officers keep a close watch on Toph and relay important information to the Gaang because she's so sad. They do their best to give her the support she needs, but the wound is still so fresh and they have no idea how they can truly help her when everything about work reminds her of Kanto.

The same thing would happen if he dies after Lin is born. They try to help in their own way, but a lot of them would also be grieving, so perhaps, they try to grieve with Toph 0-0.

And it becomes bittersweet whenever they see Lin at the office, because she looks a lot like Kanto, and it makes them miss their boss and friend...

Okay! I think that covers the question. Thank you so much for the ask, Anon! Always love talking about Toph, mama Toph, and incoming baby Beifongs :') Feel free to stop by again, I'll be here all day answering asks and writing. Hope you have a great day!

......

Send me asks about ATLA, or anything, really! :D

[rllymilerlly]

hii i just recently started getting into taang and i love them but i havent seen much fics where they’re like. not the background couple to zutara? i mean i do love them a lot too but i’d rather the story be taang centered. so i was wondering if maybe uh. you could do a fic rec 🥺👉🏼👈🏼

Oooo okay I think it’s time I post my unfinished Taang Fic Rec list this doesn’t even come close to all the fics I like so stay tuned Bc I have more:

Multi Chapter Fics

The Slow Path: I’m pretty sure every Taang fan has accepted this as The Taang fic. A must read. Essentially Aang comes back after being gone for a few years and now the Gaang has to come back together to take down a new enemy force. And along the way they find love

The Long Game: UNDERRATED SEQUEL. Yes okay- It’s not finished and that might be why. But it’s a fantastic follow up to The Slow Path. Zuko’s Fire lord status is questioned, Toph is having night terrors, Katara is adjusting to become Fire lady, and Suki is dealing with PTSD. It has great GAang interactions and lots of T e n d e r Taang moments what more could you want? This is more of Gaang fic but Taang is still very front and center.

Practice Makes Perfect: Toph goes up to Aang and say ‘What if we practiced kissing each other haha jk... unless?’ and Aang replies with ‘That is a crazy idea hahahahaha....unless?’

Roommates: ..And they were roommates. Oh my god they were roommates

Entranced: Do you know Aladdin? It’s like the first few minutes of Aladdin but with its own twists and turns. There’s no genie but there IS poverty.

Fall of the White Lotus: A long ass really fleshed out fic. It’s centered around Zutara, but there is a really well developed Taang plotline that connects to it and it involves Koh soo you know it’s a good one. There’s so much that happens it’s hard to like pin this one down. But like you should read

The Princess and the Badger-Cat: This is just such a fun fic that has the whole Gaang in it and has really good friendship moments in it. Sokka is turned into a Badger-Cat, Pirates kidnap Katara, Zuko and Aang vibe. It’s just a good time. (There’s sweet Toph and Aang moments in it as well obviously but it’s not the center)

Operation Zutara: This is a Modern au and there’s so much that goes on in this fic but imma try to boil it down: Toph and Aang try to come up with elaborate schemes to get Zuko and Katara together, but they get side tracked by the sudden realization of their own feelings for each other. Lots of shenanigans in this story. Also getting Revamped currently and I’m super stoked about it! And despite its name it’s very Taang centric

Heartbeat: Currently in the making. Your soulmates name is written on your wrist. It’s canon verse and I’m a sucker for soulmate AU’s

Whisper Into the Sky: Tophs been traveling around with Aang for years and loving life. Until her parents want her to get married. Toph fights her way through suitors for her freedom

Ya’aburnee: ‘you bury me’ A declaration of one’s hope that they’ll die before another person, because of how difficult it would be to live without them. Avatars aren’t meant to belong – that’s as much as Aang can fathom.

Book 3: Fire: A completely different version of season 3. I believe they completed it before season 3 was even released, so it’s completely original and captivating. Aang gets help opening his chakras, Katara is a badass, and Zuko is moody. There is A LOT that happens in this fic and is so fun to read from start to finish. (Sweet Taang moments in between)

Between Heaven and Earth: Everyday I curse the fact that this isn’t finished, but its still 100% worth your time reading. Follows the journey of Toph and Aang (and the rest of the Gaang) after the war.

Listless Afternoons: Aang has some stuff to work out and Zuko forces him on a vacation. While ‘Vacationing’ in the fire nation Aang runs into a certain someone that’s looking for an escape too.

The Avatar’s Lover: Unfinished, but so good. Rumor has it that the Avatar’s Lover has great power and a certain spirit wants to harness it for themself

Past Mistakes: Unfinished 😪. Lao requests the Avatar to help his daughters plaguing nightmares

One Shots that just HIT different

As It Should Be: Toph asks Aang a shocking question in the middle of the night

Rhythms: Toph hears her child’s heartbeat and contemplates about life

Rose Garden: Aang promises Toph a ~R o s e G a r d e n~

When in Rome: THIS ONE IS SPICY but Toph and Katara run away to Rome

Lessons in Disasters: Aang and Toph go out on a date and obviously it ends up in a bar fight

Meet Me Under the Table: Aang and Toph have a wide collection of tablecloths as a personal inside joke shared between them

Etched in Earth: Toph knows the foot patterns of all her friends, but one particularly stands out

Feels like Home to Me: Aangs is insecure and Toph snaps some sense into him

2Am: Katara is pissed off at whoever set the fire alarm off at 2am.

I have a lot more now and a lot more newer fics to add this is an old list I started awhile ago so if you guys want me to I’ll make a big list and keep it updated 😤

[listless-brainrot]

I get haru’s chemistry with katara, but how does he connect with any of the other members of the gaang in your opinion? I'm genuinely curious

hey thanks so much for your curiosity anon!! i love talking about this and i’ve actually made a post about it already, lemme add it here but also elaborate further to include zuko and toph this time

haru’s character is one never intended to be anything beyond surface level given that he’s a background character but there is a LOT to deduce from his character and it’s really interesting how they managed to make a “boring” side character with a lot of main character potential, and i think i’ve finally managed to crack why and it’s because of how much of his character has in terms of potential with connecting and working with the main gaang

just gonna put it out here i’m also gonna pull some haru characterization from the videogames to help my case

let’s start with aang, who is actually kind of similar to katara in terms of complete cultural devastation, it’s of course much worse for him as he lost all of his people but that’s still a point of sympathy and i’m sad it’s not brought up as much as it should be because it’s absolutely integral to his character and position as the avatar. speaking of being the avatar haru clearly knows who he is and believes he represents hope in this world coming back, there’s that sense of wonder and true faith in his cause to end this war and just as katara gives haru that inspiration to fight and make a stand against this war, i think aang does that too, whether he realizes it or not. there’s also this cultural obligation to continue bending or practicing your culture when everything else has been erased or suppressed, whether it be to preserve the memory of someone you once held dear or just because you know its the right thing to do. i think haru would really understand that on a personal level, even if his dad and the earthbenders did come back, and in turn try to give aang hope as well. in terms of personality i’d also just love to see haru, who probably has some sort of reverence for the avatar and was taught to respect him and be polite all the time, see aang as this kid who’s optimistic and sweet while also being a wielder of all four elements and learn to see him as a person and even a friend.

i’m not going to go too in depth with katara, as that post already did a phenomenal job, but i will add on the fact that i believe that haru and katara would also bond over how they had to learn bending and its sources, especially if we cite the “haru bends using firebending techniques” meta, which is also super in depth and well worth the read, and especially considering how katara learned bloodbending if this was something actually expanded on within the show i think haru would be able to help her understand that she is much more than that pain and suffering, and even if the techniques were used to hurt people in the past, she can be much more than that now.

and man. haru and sokka. they’d get along so well like. “my dad who is the leader of my tribe/village was sent away due to the war and i have idolized/missed him so much since then and though it’s unspoken there is a lot of pressure on me as man of the house to protect what little i have left”?? cmon. “my dad who used to be a rebellious leader full of hope and strength was broken down over the course of his five year imprisonment and i struggle with who he has become now” haru and “my dad left me in charge of a tribe of women and children on my own and i want to be a warrior just like him but i wonder if he could see me now if he’d really be proud of me and who i had to become” sokka. that sense of imposter syndrome that comes with being the eldest and the son of a leader?? the sympathy and that personal understanding?? i would’ve loved to see it. also in the games haru often makes fun of sokka just as much as he makes fun of everyone else and it would’ve been really funny to see these two smartasses clash given their different styles of whiny attitudes. also haru is pretty book-smart, and knows a lot about earth kingdom culture and technology, and i think he’d work well with sokka in terms of strategy. however, given haru’s lack of an impulse control, the plans he suggests may be a bit debatable.

now we get to haru and toph, who i should honestly make an entire separate post on but. to summarize most of my thoughts, haru and toph are both earth kingdom kids who come from entirely different places and positions of power and class in the war, and have been affected by the war to differing degrees. haru is a peasant from a coastal farm living under fire nation control for five years. he’s our prime example of what average life in the earth kingdom was like under the fire nation. toph comes from the rich beifong family, with personal bending tutors and even guards. she’s so far removed from the war, and she joined to fight it on a whim. their personalities and viewpoints would clash so much, and i think they’d have a really hard time getting along at first. there would be a lot of misunderstanding and haru wanting to understand toph somehow but toph being toph thinking he just wants to parent her or something. it would’ve been interesting interpersonal conflict. but i think when they do eventually become friends they’d become really close, they’d have shared experiences and inside earth kingdom jokes the rest wouldn’t get and hell maybe even toph would try to teach him how to metalbend cause you can’t win the war with just one metalbender, and haru would finally be able to learn from a real earthbending teacher, whose style is so unrestrained and powerful because it developed in a place away from war. also they can bond over having strained relationships with their parental figures!

zuko is... hard to place with haru, i’ll admit. the fact that he’s fire nation is an inseparable fact given how much of haru’s life has been directly affected and ruined by it, as everyone else’s has. i think that, if he was treated more like an actual character, haru would offer a valuable perspective on the gaang later accepting him into their group. sure, he hasn’t been hurt by zuko personally (unless we count the possibility that after the prison break zuko may have followed the prison boats back to the village looking for katara and aang after getting her necklace but that’s another can of worms entirely), but he’s experienced the horrors of the fire nation soldiers firsthand. they’ve heavily taxed his village, they’ve taken all of the earthbenders including his dad, they’ve broken into and threatened to burn down his mom’s shop... these are things not easily forgiven, and it’d be interesting to explore his side. but in terms of them as people, i think what’s funny is that both haru and zuko are extremely dramatic and angry and their similarities, while tragic, would also be kind of funny to see. though, i think out of everyone on this list, haru and zuko wouldn’t get that close- i don’t think haru would let himself, but if there was an arc involving zuko gaining his trust on some personal level, maybe it’d be interesting to explore.

all in all, though- haru has been cited as lonely in many of his official characterizations. i’d just like to have some friends, and maybe he’d find them with the gaang.

[ur-jinji]

wallflowers: part two

zuko x reader modern au

warning: sokka throws up a lot. sokka always ends up throwing up in my fics

summary: after a night at a party with the gaang and meeting zuko, you join them for breakfast and find time alone with him

a/n: i had no intention of writing a sequel & left part one off with a little bit of cliffhanger just for the fun of it but i got like two comments asking for a part two and i was like damn i feel like i owe it to yall for ending it like that,, so here you go :) i don’t really know how to feel about it

Unknown: hey :) it’s zuko

Your eyes widened at your phone in surprised.

‘He actually texted me,’ You thought to yourself in awe.

“What are you smiling about?” Katara questioned from the drivers seat of the car. She raised an eyebrow and a very smug smirk was wiped across her face.

“Uh, nothing,” You lied before turning back to your phone. You stared at the message for a moment, your fingers stuck. Why were you so nervous to text him back?

You: hey :) how’s the party?

Zuko: really boring now that you’re gone :( aang and i just went up to the guest room for bed. everyone started to leave

You smiled softly.

You: you’re so sweet!!

Zuko: i heard we might go to breakfast tomorrow. will you be there?

“We’re going to breakfast?” You asked Katara.

“Yeah, once they all rise from the dead. Sokka and Suki will probably be the ones most screwed up tomorrow,” She replied, causing you to laugh and nod in agreement.

You: yeah i’ll be there :)

Zuko: good :) see you then

You put your phone back into your pocket and could not stop smiling. Butterflies were swarming in your stomach. You eventually made it to Suki’s apartment, and you and Katara had to practically drag them inside. Once you tucked them into bed, you made yourself comfy on the couch in the living room. You pulled your phone out of your pocket and saw another text.

Zuko: did you make it to suki’s okay??

You: yes :) thanks for asking. we had to put sokka and suki to bed. i think theyll be out for the rest of the night so no funny business haha

Zuko: just give it a minute

Just a moment after Zuko sent that text, you started to hear a consistent creaking of a mattress coming from the other room

You: oh my god you’re right they’re going at it

You: i don’t even know how lmao they were knocked out a second ago

Zuko: i’ve suffered through many long nights in the same house as them. they always find a way -.-

You: god theyre animals lmfao

You: i’m gonna get some sleep, you should too!!

Zuko: okay, sleep well :)

You: you too :)

You awoke the next morning with a sliver of sunshine from the mostly closed curtains shining brightly directly on your face. It was sometime around noon. You rubbed your eyes tiredly and noticed a sound from the bathroom that sounded like gagging. You were suddenly very thankful you only had one drink the previous night. If it weren’t for Zuko, you probably would’ve had more.

You stood from the couch and followed the noise of gags. The door was wide open and you could see Sokka leant over the toilet. You walked towards him, concerned.

“Hey, buddy. Want me to get you some water?” You offered kindly as you placed a hand on his back, rubbing circles. He looked up at you with a look of disgust on his face and nodded slowly.

“I don’t know how Suki does it. She’s perfectly fine,” He mumbled before burping and leaning back over the toilet. Some vomit came up. Gross.

You made your way to the kitchen where you saw Suki, all readied up, pretty, and ready to go.

“Hey, Y/N! How did you sleep?” She chirped. She handed you a water bottle for Sokka, already knowing.

“I slept good. The couch was very comfy,” Yoh replied with a smile.

“I didn’t mean to get so trashed last night. Did I do anything embarrassing?” Suki asked.

“Nope. Sokka on the other hand...” You responded, gaining a laugh from her. Katara appeared in the kitchen and greeted the two of you. She also looked ready to go. You felt embarrassed that you were the last one up.

“I’ll go get ready real quick!” You told them before speed walking from the kitchen. You bee lined to the bathroom and gave Sokka his water.

“Thanks,” He muttered sickly.

“I’m gonna get ready in here while you puke, mkay?” You told him. He nodded and took a long drink of water. He fell backwards onto the tile floor and stared miserably up at the sealing. You went over to the vanity and rushed to get ready using Suki’s things and an extra toothbrush she left for you. As you ran a brush through your hair, you heard Sokka scramble to get back up and upchuck into the toilet some more. You finished up getting ready and made your way out of the bathroom.

You joined the girls on the couch in the living room and chatted for a while until Sokka was able to hold down his vomit. He appeared in the living room and stared miserably at the three of you.

“Don’t you look pretty,” Katara teased. “Now let’s go. Aang, Toph, and Zuko just got to the diner.”

The four of you made your way out to the car and you somehow got stuck in the back with Sokka. He looked like he was about throw up all over you.

“Suki, I hate you for calling shotgun,” You told her. She turned around from the passenger seat and giggled.

“I’m not about to be thrown up on!” She reasoned.

Sokka grumbled something incoherent and then rested his head on the window, closing his eyes. Maybe if he does throw up, he’ll just do it on the floor? Maybe.

You arrived at the diner without any puke on you and you all made your way inside. Aang waved you over at a large table when he saw the group walk in. Your eyes landed on Zuko, who had already noticed you. He smiled warmly. He was seated at the very end of the table with Toph on the other side of him. You took a seat across from him, and Suki sat beside you. You were grateful Sokka didn’t sit by you.

“Hi, Y/N,” Zuko greeted you from across the table. You greeted him back, adding a grin. You looked over the menu to busy yourself. You felt yourself becoming very nervous again in Zuko’s presence, and feeling his gaze on you didn’t help.

“You’re lucky we’re in public, snoozles. I’m ready to put you into another chokehold,” You heard Toph say, presumably to Sokka, earning laughs from the rest of the group.

The table’s waitress came over and took everyone’s orders and then proceeded to say that it may take longer because the kitchen was super backed up. Your stomach grumbled loudly in response.

“God, I’m so hungry,” You said when she walked away.

“Me too,” Sokka said moodily from the other end of the table.

“I’m surprised you even want to eat!” Katara replied to him.

“Do you think you can wait?” Zuko asked.

“I mean, I have to,” You said with a chuckle, thinking you were stating the obvious.

“I have a granola bar in my car if you want it?” He offered softly to you, nudging your shoe with his.

“Really? I wouldn’t mind having one. I’m literally starving,” You responded, ready to jump out of your seat to get the dang thing.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Zuko said as he got up from his chair. You followed him out of the diner and into the parking lot, making small talk on the way to his car. Once you arrived at the destination, he opened the cardoor and fished a granola bar from his school backpack.

“I always have an emergency snack just in case for...y’know...emergencies,” He explained, his voice sounding anxious. You thanked him and ripped that sucker open. You split it in half and handed a half out to him.

“Please share it with me! I don’t want to spoil my entire appetite on accident,” You begged him.

Zuko grabbed the other half and then leaned against the door, munching on his half. You joined him against the door and looked up at him.

“So, did Sokka and Suki keep you up?” He asked.

“Not really. It was quickie,” You answered with a chuckle.

“You’re lucky. They kept me up for two hours once. It was awful,” He said, breathing out a shaky laugh. His nerves were becoming more and more obvious. “I’m not as bold as I was last night.”

“Well, the nickname liquid courage might explain it,” You joked.

“Wanna go for a walk?” Zuko asked with a hopeful expression. You nodded in response and the two of you began a trek out of the parking walk and down some sidewalk. The two of you spent the time sharing stories about your past and friends. You couldn’t help but notice how every so often, his hand would accidentally brush against your knuckles as you walked, causing a few blushes. You ended up at a large mural on the side of an abandoned bricked building on an empty street. It depicted the city abstractly. You looked up in admiration.

“We don’t have very many murals in my town. Just graffiti of random names,” You said to him. “It’s beautiful.”

You walked up to the mural, and as you got closer to the bricks, you reached out a hand, touching the paint gently, and running your fingers down the bricks. Zuko copied you, and his hand accidentally got a little too close to yours. His index finger lightly grazed your pinky. You both froze for a moment, taking in the rush that the contact gave. Zuko turned to you with a soft expression, which you returned.

“We should probably head back. Our food might be ready,” You said, nerves taking over you. You pulled your hand away from the bricks.

“Wait,” Zuko told you hurriedly. “I’ll regret not doing this.”

Before you could ask him what he meant, his hands found their way under your cheekbones. Zuko leaned forward and his eyes fluttered shut. His lips touched yours, causing a rush to race throughout your body. You immediately kissed him back, feeling like you’ve been deprived of his touch all your life. His lips moved quickly against yours like it was urgent. You opened your mouth slightly, welcoming his tongue, which seemed more than happy to enter. You eventually pulled away to catch your breath, both of you panting heavily. Zuko smirked and then leaned in for one more quick kiss, then another, then another, then another, pulling away for a second inbetween each one.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been wanting to do that since last night, but didn’t want to give you the wrong idea. I just really like you,” Zuko explained through his deep breaths. You grinned and pulled him back in for more to tell him you felt the same way. You eventually separated again, and you shared a smile with him.

“I like you too, Zuko. You replied, caressing his cheek, smiling and breathing out one final deep breath. “Let’s head back before our food gets cold.”

Zuko nodded with a small opened mouth smile. The two of you began your walk back, and he surprised you again by taking your hand in his, entwining your fingers.

As you walked back, you couldn’t help but think about transferring colleges.

-

taglist: @complainsalot @teelagurl558 @coldlilheart

[bellatrixobsessed1]

You mentioned that a lot of mai!!e content is anti azula. What do you mean by that? Not disagreeing, just curious.

What I’ve see is less fics and more meta. But a lot of Mailee meta that I’ve seen has Azula totally casted out or demonized. I saw a lot of Mailee headcanons about how they bond over how much they hate and/or fear Azula.

I just never bothered to read any of the fics because I’ve seen the meta and headcanons. And so I just didn’t bother searching the ship up more. Basically I was trying to stay in my lane lol.

Another thing I noticed is that a lot of the people who ship Mailee (at least a good chunk that I’ve seen) also Azula/therapy which is a bit of a red flag for me. I can link to my reasons for that when I’m not on mobile. Mostly because this crowd tends to be anti-Azula and/or use Azula/Therapy as a means to imply that she will always be too unstable for a relationship and that just rubs me all wrong.  But more in depth explanation in the link. Point here is that I see a lot of people who ship Mailee also shipping Azula/Therapy. Which is super off putting to me even if it is meant in a more innocent way.  

Like I don’t have anything against the ship itself and I have seen some art and incorrect quotes things where Azula is supportive of TyLee and Mai while recovering food herself and those are wholesome and cute. And I have enjoyed those. 

But I’ve also seen quite a few incorrect quotes and headcanons where she’s either the butt off the joke or the homophobic antagonist. And I absolutely loathe the homophobic Azula (and while we’re here, the homophobic Katara) headcanons. So to see her portrayed as a homophobe just annoys me. I also don’t like it when she is constantly portrayed as either the abusive ex or the one who is trying to break Mailee up. Which are two tropes that I’ve come across at least once or twice. The abusive ex one is pretty common (sort of how abusive ex Jet is a thing). And I’m not a fan of that as I like to see healing arcs for Azula. 

More often that not though I see her just actively excluded with maybe a mention of how much TyLee and Mai resent her now and that’s just depressing to me so I don’t read it. Even if they don’t mention Mai & TyLee hating her now it’s just seeing her excluded makes me sad in the same way it makes me said when I see art of the gaang + Mai & TyLee and Azula isn’t there. Because there’s just this implication that she never healed. Which again is just sad to me and I don’t like interacting with that content. I’m not going to judge artists and writers for it, but it’s just content that I don’t view. 

All of this said, I actually haven’t seen anti-Azula Mailee content in a while knock on wood. I feel like that’s kind of starting to fade out now that the hype is dying down a little.

Of course I’m down for some pro Azula Mailee content recs. Like I have seen some Mailee with Jinzula as a side ship that I liked and thought was cute. Or some content where Azula was trying to get them to just kiss already lol. Those are nice. So if you have any good recs send ‘em my way.

I’m not opposed to writing Mailee either.

Tagging Mailee because I don’t think that this is anti Mailee? And I feel like tagging it is the best way to get recs. If it’s goes go belong in the Mailee tag let me know.

Edits to fix some of the typos (I dropped my phone and it’s so fucked up I can barely use it lol).

[takaraphoenix]

For the ask game zukka

Thanks for asking! ^^

Who said “I love you” first: Sokka does, definitely, but by accident, like “Urgh, why am I in love with such an idiot!” and Zuko just stares at him like “You’re in love with me?”

Who would have the other’s picture as their phone background: Zuko is a total softy, even if he doesn’t admit it

Who leaves notes written in fog on the bathroom mirror: Sokka, but not like romantic notes, he draws beards or crowns and such onto the mirror, trying to make Zuko smile in the morning

Who buys the other cheesy gifts: Zuko does! He is not entirely good at that whole romance thing, it is new, so in the beginning he’s trying to overcompensate with expensive gifts - he is the Fire Lord, after all. Sokka doesn’t know what to do with that and in the end it’s up to Katara to step in and explain to Zuko that maybe he should tune it down some, so it turns into silly little joke gifts, the kind that will make Sokka genuinely smile and aren’t that overly expensive

Who initiated the first kiss: Sokka did, to shut Zuko up from asking stupid questions like “Why are you in love with me?”

Who kisses the other awake in the morning: Zuko does, whenever he has to get up for his work as the Fire Lord

Who starts tickle fights: Sokka does, totally, absolutely, that’s a Sokka-thing, trying to make Zuko laugh. He likes the way Zuko laughs

Who asks who if they can join the other in the shower: Sokka does usually, wiggling his eyebrows with a sly grin

Who surprises the other in the middle of the day at work with lunch: Usually, Sokka. He brings snacks and tea - thanks to uncle Iroh - to make sure his Fire Lord husband doesn’t just work through the day

Who was nervous and shy on the first date: Zuko was a total wreck. Dates? Urgh. And the fact that the Gaang (and uncle Iroh) were sneakily hiding close by to see how it goes was not helping

Who kills/takes out the spiders: Zuko lets Sokka believe that he’s afraid of spiders, because it makes Sokka so proud to take them out and that in return makes Zuko happy

Who loudly proclaims their love when they’re drunk: Oh totally Sokka, he gets all loud and exclaims how much he loves Zuko. Zuko however gets super affectionate, just playing with Sokka’s hair and telling Sokka softly all of the little things about him that he loves

[beignetbenny]

If you're comfortable would you share more you projecting your relationship onto Zukka? I originally followed you from the grocery trip post and i honestly love that sort of thing

You... you want me to project my relationship onto Zuko and Sokka more? My relationship? The one where my GF texted me “if i cosplay zuko and you cosplay sokka and we kiss would that be crazy or what?” that relationship?

I have literally been DYING to do this

Zuko and Sokka met in their junior year of college (performing arts college because if we’re projecting we’re projecting) and the first time Sokka sees him he’s already like: I’m in love

Since Zuko is an arts student, his style is a little more on the quirky side i’m not gonna lie. It’s usually a mix of grunge and goth stuff with the occasional surprise like “oh you have a turtleduck pin on your backpack. Are those pride flag socks?”

Sokka already had a pretty established friend group, but Zuko had transferred back in that semester after taking a leave of absence for family reasons. So, immediately sokka takes him in.

Zuko becomes really good friends with Aang and Katara and Suki and Toph of course, as they spend most of their time together. With rehearsing, running to get food at obscene times of the night still in their dance gear because rehearsals ran long. They food hop and get boba at 2 am, coffee at 3 am, McDonalds at 4 and so on. They go out and get pasta at midnight and refer to it as pasta time. Only one of them has to drop that phrase alone in the groupchat and everyone agrees on a time. Pajamas be damned. They get away with it because technically they are student athletes

A joke by Sokka that is run into the ground by the time they sneak ben and jerrys into a Tap level 5 placement. Zuko is the only other one out of the friend group that gets the highest dance placement as Sokka. It’s understandable, tap dancing is very hard, its’ a difficult skill, and not everyone can do a winged time step into navy time steps it’s rightfully difficult and the timing is off

So... the two of them start rehearsing together more. It wasn’t that they didn’t a lot before, but the class was mostly split and sure they were definitely friends outside of classes too but Sokka felt like his super mega crush on the hot belter who came in with Aftershocks from Next to Normal was something he could get over. So he kinda stuffed it away the more they worked together. 

Then they get assigned a scene. An acting scene. An acting scene that ended in a passionate kiss. An acting scene the teacher said they were both capable of

So they rehearse it. They’re both dead letter perfect by the first night because they have expectations to live up too and both of their siblings just get things so much easier and suddenly they’re talking instead of rehearsing.

Three hours pass before they remember “holy shit we’re running this with blocking in class tomorrow we should probably get this right”

So they go through the scene, the emotions are pretty high, and they both lean in for a stage kiss before Sokka stops

Sokka: Wait...  Zuko: What? Sokka: This is okay right? I can touch you? I mean we didn’t talk about it first and- Zuko: Sokka Sokka: And I know this is both of our first scenes with a kiss and i really respect you as an actor and i don’t want to make you uncomfortable Zuko: ...Sokka Sokka: And I just want to say that- Zuko: You can kiss me Sokka: What? Zuko: It’s not a big deal. We’re both trying to be professionals right? It doesn’t need to mean anything.  Sokka: ... yeah...

So they kinda uh... kiss... and they don’t really stop... kissing

They do it in class and the kiss maybe plays off a little too well. The other classmates clap, the teacher gives feedback. His main point is that you’re supposed to be in love but you’re acting like it hurts.

And sokka makes some bullshit excuse about how he saw the character differently and Zuko tags along to that idea giving more validity to the statement and the teacher is like “alright, bet. You’ve proved your point. It’s probably not what the playwright wanted but this is about expression so i’m glad you feel expressed”

They don’t rehearse together anymore because both of them feel like they’ve gotten it and don’t want to ruin anything. They still hang out. They still have pasta nights. But things are kinda weird. But more than anything, Sokka really misses his friend

In the end, they end up having to do the scene for a showcase. Meaning that during rehearsals they have to do it again and again and again and again until it sort of just becomes normal

Good luck kisses back stage turns into kissing in greeting when they’re visiting each others dorm rooms turns to picking up food orders for each other. Never in front of people, because you can make it platonic. And realistically it’s only done so both of you can make the stage kiss feel more comfortable.

But that doesn’t stop Sokka from being like “woah man i’m getting mad butterflies when we kissed even though I immediately called you dude after the kiss broke"

So sokka comes up with a plan because as much as he likes whatever they’ve got going on, which he does because friend and kissing and cuddling is GREAT for someone who is scared of commitment because the chance of something happening to that person would literally destroy him and that doesn’t feel great.

Instead, the night of the showcase he gets all of his friends to hype him up to ask Zuko out with his favorite candy, a coupon to get pasta, and well... the obvious question

But Sokka waits until they’re in places like an asshole but also because he’s kinda terrified and if something goes wrong it could change the whole dynamic of the scene and they’d both flunk out of fucking THEATER SCHOOL AND-

And he shoves the snack and the coupon and a note he hastily wrote into Zuko’s hands before running to his own entrance to do the scene because he’s stage left while Zuko’s stage right.

And they do the scene, but somethings a little off. Zuko seems distracted but he’s also happy? like super happy? Like did the laugh queue and made it sound genuine instead of spiteful happy? And he smiled into the kiss? That wasn’t... something they did. But Sokka went along with it because the scene SEEMED to be working fine

And then they go off stage and the second the theater darkens, Zuko shoves the prop pillows into Sokka’s chest

Zuko: Fuck you Sokka: What? What did I- Zuko: I mean, yes, obviously yes. The hot tamales were a great choice but fuck you. Sokka: Yes? Zuko: Yeah!

And that’s the only conversation they get in because they have to help with the other prop changes but the moment they are finally backstage and their mics are off they kiss in the little hallways backstage that goes from one entrance or another

(at least they think they’re mics are off but uh... that was embarrassing and i don’t want to put that on them carrying on)

When the show ends and they’re both wiping they’re stage makeup off about to leave their director approaches them and obviously they both think they’re in trouble because they just did a 180 to what they had practiced for the last month but the director loved it. And then he asks them why it was different and Zuko admits that something finally clicked. And the director chalks it up to opening night vibes and that now they should keep it that way for the rest of the performances

The night the show closes they do a Gaang pasta night and the rest of them don’t even realize anything is different until Sokka reaches over and takes something from Zuko’s plate (which was usually off the table and would result in getting fussed at) that they noticed something was up.

[stonerz4sokka]

the gaang (& co.) on zoom

aang: ALWAYS mixes up his class times and it isn’t until sokka helps build his schedule and set reminders on aang's phone that he actually shows up to the right class at the right time, always excited to be there but is constantly getting distracted by the littlest things (doesn’t help that his window is behind his computer), isn’t afraid to tell the teacher when the hw assigned is too much (the whole class thanks him for that), types jokes in the class chat, wears his appa print pajamas to class everyday, motivates people to stay optimistic during these ‘troubling times’ (and it works)

katara: wears sweatpants and a crewneck everyday but NEVER forgets to do her hair, talks shit about the ugly white girls in their class (some are sokka’s exes) with zuko, wants to do pranks with toph but is too scared of getting caught (though she eventually does a few),  takes the lead in breakout rooms bc she can’t stand the awkward silence although if aang is there they’ll both be very distracting, will literally laugh on camera every time she hears a stupid comment, gives emotional speeches to help motivate her classmates which are well-intentioned but come off as a little preachy :/ people still try though bc they weirdly don’t want to disappoint her, refuses to let a man interrupt her so she will continue talking even if their voices are overlapping for a good 20 secs 

sokka: has an insane amount of reminders, alarms and organizational tools on his phone and computer so he doesn’t forget to go to class, he tries so hard to focus but ends up doing something that’s completely unrelated yet still educational, wears his same dumbass science pun t-shirts to class but he has his hair down more which makes the white girls in his class go crazy, starts all his sentences with ‘i think’ or ‘maybe we should’, tried to be clever once by setting a video on loop for his zoom background so the teacher didnt know he went to the bathroom but forgot to mute himself so the entire class heard him pee :(( his teachers enjoy him more in a zoom setting bc he's less of a distraction but they hate how he never stays on topics and asks questions they dont have the answer to, whenever katara sees him getting increasingly neurotic she’ll send him links to cool small businesses and they’ll ignore their classes n go online shopping together 

zuko: always looks tired and grumpy even when he’s well rested, his camera is at 256p even when he has the newest macbook (azula messed w his computer & he still hasn't realized), extremely paranoid around accidentally unmuting himself so he just never talks, cannot figure out zoom and never screen shares for projects bc it takes him 15 mins every. time. is weird in breakout rooms because he's bad at social situations but he's trying!!! he could try harder tho :/ is able to empathize well with his fellow classmates n tries to lift their spirits (it rarely works but the effort feels nice), the teacher once saw him scream and punch his desk during the desmos activity and sent iroh an email about local therapists who specialize in anger management, spends his breaks between classes crying 

toph: she will pick her nose, eat food, clip her toenails, do anything gross on camera to get back at her history teacher who told her she needs to be more ladylike, is actually cool in breakout rooms she seems like she would be super distracting but she would complain about the shitty teachers n provide insightful thoughts for the discussion/assignment at hand, does her zoom classes in her backyard so she could play with bugs, gives very helpful advice for maintaining ones sanity during online learning

suki: is always wrapped up in her blankets to the point where u can barely see her face, eats on camera & doesn't realize that no one wants to see that shit, she laughs at all the teachers' bad jokes bc she genuinely thinks they're funny, refuses to let sokka outperform in zoom learning so she does actually pay attention although it doesn't look like it, is really chill in breakout rooms n pretends she doesn't really care but will edit the work after class so it fits her expectations, she once farted in the middle of when she was talking and just pretended like she it didn't happen, actually is fine with online learning and likes the flexibility and doesn’t get why sokka is spiraling all the time :// 

azula: oh god, she wears entire outfits with khakis and polos and SHOES!!! for her zoom meetings!!! she. wears. shoes. her hair is always perfect, tries WAY too hard and everyone knows when she wants to speak in class bc she literally starts vibrating on camera, one time someone won a debate against her in class and she turned off her camera for a good 3 minutes, when she turned it back on her eyes were watery and her entire face was red, doesn't understand how people are underperforming over zoom, has the second highest gpa in the school (after sokka) and managed to convince herself he is actively trying to ruin her life but he's just........ sitting there. constantly messes with zuko's google calendar so he's late for class, can clearly see the art of war by sun tzu on her bookshelf in the background

mai: yawns on camera whenever azula talks just to piss her off, doesn't talk often because her teachers & peers underestimate her but she's smart and when she does talk it's always something rlly insightful, one time her and ty lee were paired with jet for a project where he spent the whole time 'explaining' the topics at hand while they did the entire project on another tab and pretended to pay attention to him, tom tom will sometimes join her during class bc he misses her n she acts like she hates it but she does love spending time with him, is actually secretly extremely anxious about maintaining her grades during online learning but only sokka and ty lee can tell, her and sokka gossip through heavily layered inside jokes that only the two of them understand

ty lee: built a completely new daily schedule and organizational system the minute she learned they were switching to zoom, is always ready for class 20 mins before it starts but joins the zoom 2 minutes after class started so no one thinks she’s an overachiever, a great student but she waits too long to speak in class so she barely joins in on the discussions, is seemingly the regular ty lee but every so often she’ll pretend to go to the bathroom & turn off her camera to recollect herself bc she’s always on edge :/, would have the best gpa in the school but doesn’t want to seem intimidating so she purposefully scores lower on certain assignments so she has a 3.75 gpa, 

jet: he tries to subtly vape during class by turning off camera his camera but its really obvious bc when he comes back he’s coughing and waving the smoke out the air, only participates in breakout rooms when the teacher comes in and immediately turns off his camera when they leave, staged a kidnapping during one of his lectures as an elaborate prank but no one cared noticed, someone else recorded the prank and posted it on tiktok where it blew up & all the comments were insulting him, he didn’t care though because ‘there’s no such thing as bad clout’

chan & ruon-jian: has not gone to a single one of their zoom classes sober (honestly barely attend), still tried throwing houseparties even when the cases were at their peak, tried to one-up jet's kidnapping prank by calling SWAT on themselves but ended up getting arrested because they forgot to hide their stash (they sell counterfeit juul pods), worst part was that their prank only got 250 views on yt :(

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

nina you know i love your salty takes. 13) Unpopular opinion about Sokka and/or Zuko (just because they're such beloved characters)? & 14 ) Unpopular opinion about your fandom? & 25) How would you have ended ATLA (ie the sozin's comet four parter)?

13.

(gonna just do sokka bc i feel like i've already complained a lot about zuko mischaracterization)

i love and fully adhere to the headcanon that sokka is bi, but i feel like it's sort of...overstated by the fandom, and not really explored. like, in modern au zukka fic, he's often portrayed as this out-and-proud bisexual in contrast to a closeted zuko, and that's not in line with his canon characterization at all. suki knocked the sexism out of him, but he spends a lot of the show trying to live up to this masculine warrior ideal and getting mocked/feeling ashamed about feminine traits (e.g. "don't answer to twinkletoes, it's not manly" "says the guy who matches his bag to his belt"). there's so much potential in a bakoda and sokka story where hakoda coming out as bi prompts sokka to reevaluate his ideas about masculinity and start thinking about his own sexual orientation.

but that would involve not centering zuko for once, and we can't have that, can we?

14.

there's pretty common assumption that this fandom is for kids because atla's a kids show, and that adults are guests in the fandom who have to behave themselves. that is often the case for kids show fandoms, but since atla is 15 years old, i feel like the same rules don't quite apply. i'm pretty sure the renaissance consisted of a lot of people revisiting childhood nostalgia, or even people like me who missed it as kids and were catching up on their generation's formative media. adults should be careful to curate their fandom spaces to keep kids safe, and kids should do the same to keep themselves safe, but to act like adults in atla fandom are interlopers and that their content about characters growing up with them is not appropriate is...misguided.

25.

i generally like sozin's comet. the lion turtle thing wasn't super built up lore-wise, but it was satisfying character-wise and that's way more important. i love getting to see the white lotus in action, i love the insights into past avatars, i think azula's breakdown is well-executed and heartbreaking, and the final battles between zuko & azula and aang & ozai are incredible to watch. i feel like every member of the gaang got a chance to show off their character growth.

however, since this is salty opinions - pretty much everything after the final battles feels a bit hollow to me.

1. aang defeats ozai and it's this powerful character moment and awe-inspiring sequence...and then sokka shows up and calls ozai the loser lord. it's an abrupt tone shift that undermines the gravity of the situation. they could've held off on the jokes for just a moment longer and it would have been so much better.

2. iroh absolutely should not go retire to ba sing se. i don't think he should be the fire lord - i'm pretty sure the earth kingdom wouldn't love the dragon of the west as the fire lord - but he should definitely stay with zuko and help him. maybe he splits his time or something just so people don't think zuko's a puppet king, but leaving zuko alone to clean up the fire nation by himself is just irresponsible.

(y'know which member of the white lotus does get to retire post war? jeong jeong. man's been on the run for years, put his life on the line to defy his imperialist nation. he deserves a break)

3. the bit with zuko asking ozai about his mother feels like a leftover from another version of the episode where they were setting up a spinoff movie or fourth season. it should've been cut.

4. the reconciliation between mai and zuko feels rushed. the coronation happens some time after the events of the final agni kai (enough for zuko to be somewhat healed, at least), and they could have established that mai's been around for that period of time and that they've worked things out. instead, it comes off like this is the moment they reunite, and their relationship problems are brushed off as 'don't break up with me again'. just a little tweak would've made it much more satisfying.

5. the final scene in ba sing se is good in many ways, namely, that everyone's chilling having tea and sokka's drawing them. that's adorable. the kataang kiss is a little weird since aang is still so young, but it's fine. my main problem is how they're all wearing earth kingdom clothes except aang. if i were visualizing a final scene for a show about ending a war, i would definitely imagine of a bunch of characters from different backgrounds sitting together in peace and enjoying each other's company, but i'd also want to communicate that visually, make them look like they're from different backgrounds. i don't see what the symbolism of having all the characters in earth kingdom clothes is. there probably wasn't any.

i feel like that's all the salt i got. hope you enjoyed

[nodesiretogrowup]

alrighty, let’s recap this bitch!

LAUNCHPAD! I’VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH! PLEASE COME BACK!

I looked up when National S’mores Day is (because I’m a nerd) and it is August 10. So either the photo later was mislabeled or, more likely, Launchpad got the wrong info

Huey with the little baby scouts is TOO CUTE!!

I wonder if Violet’s there. Probably not because she would have been hanging out with Huey if she was. Or this episode was meant to come before Challenge

It’s a baby beagle boy! I wonder if he’s there of his own will or if it is part of some plan

He scared away most of the kids! Now they won’t get to enjoy s’more-y goodness

His s’more sounds DOPE AF, though it probably would give you INSTANT DIABETES

“Aw, not even a modern robot.” MY SWEET SON!

I know it was the bully saying it, but Huey should chill a bit when it comes to doing things EXACTLY and PERFECTLY. It’s just gonna cause stress

 BOYD IS BABY AND I LOVE HIM

“Would you like to be friends?” “Sure. Wow, that was easy.” If only it was always that easy

I don’t know if Huey has the JWG as memorized as he thinks, going by Challenge and Quack Pack

“We’re just kids.” “Definitely!” *uses laser eyes to light fire*

This episode does a good job showing what a trigger word/phrase is like, though I’m not sure if that was the intention

I like that a squirrel with a burnt tail scurries out of one of the trees. It’s the attention to detail that helps elevate this show

Instead of jumping out of the way or hiding Huey jumps straight onto Boyd to try and help him. Huey already sees Boyd as someone worth protecting

The kid that just runs across the screen while his hat is on fire is great

Not sure why they took the time to change before going to Gyro but whatever

BOYD IS ADORABLE AND I LOVE HIM

“I’m more than an intern, I’m a scientist.” I feel like this might be hinting at Fenton’s arc for the season, possibly wanting to be seen more as a scientist than a superhero

I’m gonna pretend that using sunglasses on someone who is shooting lasers out of their eyes is a Cyclops reference. And they look pretty dope too

At least Fenton knows when he is in over his head...this time

Gyro trying to climb up on the table to avoid Boyd was kind of funny. And then him protecting himself with Lil Bulb

“Which one?” Manny is DONE with this shit

“Boyd? What idiot called it that?” Even when he’s not there, Gyro can still burn Mark lol

I figured 2-BO was a reference to something but wasn’t sure what. Apparently it’s a bit of a play on the name of Astro Boy’s in-universe creator’s son. Neat

 Huey stays in between Gyro and Boyd to protect Boyd

Fenton’s face cracks me up. There are NO THOUGHTS in this man’s head lol

“You were an intern like me?” “Nothing like you.” Damn Gyro, why so salty?

I don’t know why Fenton is so surprised that Gyro was an intern. I feel like that’s a pretty standard thing

LOVE IS STORED IN THE BOYD

It make me sad when Gyro mentions how many times Boyd’s core programing was altered. Poor baby doesn’t really get a say in what happens to him

“ROAD TRIP!” Huey, you do these kinds of things ALL THE TIME. I feel like he should be used to this by now

“YOU’RE not going. GIZMODUCK is.” Does Gyro see Fenton and Gizmoduck as separate entities or is this just a no, but yes type of joke?

Huey standing up for Boyd is so sweet. They barely know each other but Huey trusts him

When the episode doesn’t have the theme song you KNOW shit’s ‘bout to go down

I wonder who’s flying the plane. My guess is Launchpad because Della would have been cooing over Huey making a new friend and go into embarrassing mom mode. He probably went of on his own adventure or did tourist things like buying collectables. Or maybe Gyro flew them there. Who knows

As many people have said, the art direction and animation for this episode are BEAUTIFUL. I love the pink tint the lighting has in most of the episode

SAILOR MOON CONFIRMED CANON

I bet Mark Beaks is a Sailor Moon fan

I like that the in-universe Sailor Moon is a bunny because Usagi is Japanese for rabbit

I love that going incognito nowadays means you wear a hat, a hoodie, and sunglasses. Boyd looks good in red (though red is my favorite color so I might be biased)

Gyro-takes one step and the fuzz shows up. NOICE

I like detective lady. She has a cool design

Huey and Fenton are awful at acting casual

“Crimes?” Oh my sweet Hubert. I’m pretty sure most if not all of Scrooge’s employees have had run ins w/ The Law

Gyro is like, move I’m gay

“I’m here on a very important...field trip.” ALL THE KIDS NEED A GYRO FIELD TRIP LIKE HOW THE GAANG GOT ZUKO FIELD TRIPS

Lil Bulb said FUCK THE POLICE

I wonder what it actually says

Fenton just watches as the inspector chases Lil Bulb

Seriously though, Fenton does a bunch of silly stuff in the background and this episode warrants a rewatch SOLELY for him

How did Lil Bulb know where to find them? And how did he shake off the inspector? I want to see his little adventure

FOR SCIENCE!

“Blah!” *arm armor attaches* I want this joke to come back

Fenton and Huey INSTANTLY nerd out. I love them

Fenton being a Gyro fanboy is ADORABLE

“AH, DUST IN MY EYE! The dust of GENIUS!” What a dweeb lol

I like that Fenton keeps the arm on for the whole scene

Poor Boyd, he looks so scared

Huey going into protective big brother mode

Doofus continues to be equal parts hilarious and disturbing

Where are their parents? Like, someone should be looking after these kids! ESPECIALLY DOOFUS!

“Do you need a hug?” I SURE FUCKING DO

Mark is such a prick lol

“NO WAY, A ROBOT BOY! DREAMS DO COME TRUE!” YOU DON’T DESERVE THAT DREAM YOU COCKWAFFLE

SOMEONE HUG THIS CHILD! BECAUSE I CANNOT!

“Seems like the little guy’s had it tough.” MY POOR BABY

Lil Bulb gets SO PISSED he blew a fuse

You really shouldn’t have left them alone, Gyro

Why does Fenton automatically jump to superhero for Boyd? I mean the theme of the episode is letting Boyd choose who he wants to be so of course Fenton would have his own idea of what Boyd should be, but why go straight to superhero? Do you want superbros, Fenton?

Huey already realises this might be a bad idea, because he’s more concerned about Boyd as a person rather than Boyd as a machine

“IN RETROSPECT WE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE USED THE FIRST HOLE” Fenton, you dumbass genius

Dr. Akita’s setup made me laugh. I DIED when he “enhanced” the image

I recognized the character on the chips though I don’t know their name. I’m more of a western animation fan, so many of the references probably flew pass me

BOOP

I also have a key on my laptop that flies off (it’s the u key)

I LOVE BABY GYRO! It’s so cool they went with his og look (minus the red hair) to show him younger

I LOVE THE OUTLAW COUPLE! SO COOL! SO HOT!

Huey is so DONE with Fenton

I love the stupid G pose he does. PLEASE HAVE HIM DO IT AGAIN. PREFERABLY WHEN DW IS NEARBY

Such a polite boy

“My bones are metal!” This line and Boyd’s catchphrase of “Hi, I’m Boyd/2-BO, a definitely real boy!” reminded me of Olaf. The end of the episode gives Boyd even MORE Olaf parallels

Gizmoduck sliding by those boxes was cool

How did Gizmoduck get himself unstuck from that alley?

I loved the double take the female outlaw does

Huey is TRAUMATIZED

I legit thought Boyd was gonna light the oil on fire the first time I watched and I was like that won’t help

“So, what do we do now?” “I...don’t know.” This is why you don’t leave babies alone to fight criminals

Boyd reminded me of Calculester from Monster Prom when he asked the lady to return the money

STOP LEAVING THE CHILDREN ALONE! THEY ARE BABIES! THEY AREN’T EVEN TEENS!

“Why do we always fight when we’re on vacation?” Because this is Ducktales and there is no such thing as a normal vacation

Lil Bulb just kicking his lil feet

The “lab” safety poster made me chuckle. Then I remembered Akita is also a dog and I laughed more

LITTLE BABY GYRO GRADUATING! My guess is his professor/dean/principal influenced him on a personal level and is partially the reason Boyd is a parrot

Lil Helper blueprints. Nice reference to the og series

Has anyone talked about the poster with the cogs and the dogman in old-timey clothes that says GIZMOS on it? I think it’s a Dr. Who reference

IDEALISTIC GYRO AND BOYD IS TOO CUTE!

How did he NOT notice the second hole in the wall?

That is a surplus of handcuffs. Do you think she uses them for...fun times?

“I’m just a guy! With very bruisable skin!”

Poor misunderstood Gyro inventions

Boyd just politely waves at everyone

Huey is WAY calmer than I would be if I got lost in an unfamiliar city

Boyd says FUCK WORK

 I love Huey stimming. Really hope Disney will let them confirm in words that Huey is autistic

Is it more common for two kids to wonder around by themselves in Tokyo? Because as an American I find it super stressful and would want to find their parents so they could be safer

THE BUNNY! AND THEN THE KITTIES!

Do cats just take buses on their own in Tokyo?

CHERRY BLOSSOM TIME BITCHES

“And I know what you’re thinking, what about ninjas?” I am ALWAYS wondering about ninjas

I like that Huey finally has a friend who shares the same interests and doesn’t mind info dumps

“Boyd, I don’t think you’re a killer robot. You’re just a kid.” “Aw, that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” T_T

I CAN SHOW YOU THE WORLD

I like Boyd’s motief

Akita is us after the quarantine

When he complained about being stiff I was like mood

I like his Green Goblin disc thingy

The other people don’t give a shit about Boyd just FLYING DOWN WITH HIS ROCKET FEET!

Gyro shows up *dramatic wind*

His tablet has a duckie on it. I wounder if they have a Mac/PC thing going on with Waddle and what brand the duckie represents

When the adults argue and Boyd gets all sad and scared I FELT THAT

Huey doing his best to keep Boyd calm and defend him SO PURE

OH GOD HELP THIS POOR CHILD!

HUEY IS A GOOD BOY AND A GOOD FRIEND

“Because of you I’ve become an outcast.” I feel like you did that to yourself

ANIME HAIR POOF

ngl, that shit was TERRIFYING

“You don’t have to do what Akita tells you. Do what I tell you.” So close

“INTERN! FIGHT BETTER!”

Huey must weigh NOTHING if Gyro can pick him up

Akita’s tail looks like a cinnamon roll

Huey always finding that hidden info

The gibberish Gyro says is great

BOYD SAYS IT BECAUSE GYRO TOLD HIM THAT!

THAT HUG!!!

HOW DARE AKITA HURT BABY GYRO AND SWEET BABY BOYD?!

PROTECTIVE PAPA GYRO

NEEEEERRRRRRRD FIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT

“You’ll never invent anything worthwhile.” LIL BULB HAS ENTERED THE FIGHT

Are doggos recyclable?

HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGS

Blue eyes=good robot

ANOTHER HUG

Be Only Yourself, Dude

I like that basically Gyro admitted that he was like Fenton if Fenton hadn’t had support

“That’s not technically how doctorites work, BUT I DON’T CARE!” Do you think Gyro doesn’t have his doctorate or do you think he assumed Fenton already had one?

“The hugging is a ‘just for today’ thing.” YOU CANNOT STOP THE HUG TRAIN!

“Leave. Now.”

Are they gonna go to the plane?

This season has been consistently knocking it out of the park! I’m a SLUT for backstory episodes, so I enjoyed this one a lot. I loved seeing Gyro when he had hope and faith in the world. It SUCKS that Akita took that away from him. Hopefully Gyro will see things slightly less cynical now. Fenton was a dweeb the whole episode and I love him for it. Boyd is SO SWEET AND PRECIOUS and in NO WAY deserved the treatment he got. I have a feeling there is more to Boyd’s creation/Dr.Akita that we’ll get later on. Huey was ADORABLE this episode. It’s really sweet to see him hangout with someone who gets him. Everyone deserves to have at least one friend like that. The fight scene was GORGEOUS! SO FLUID! I really loved this one and I hope we get more Team Science episodes because these characters play really well off each other. 

[loopy777]

‘Team Avatar Tales‘ Hoedown

This isn’t a review. I’m not sophisticated to do Reviews with a number score at the end and some kind of pronouncement about whether or not every single person, regardless of their personal tastes/circumstances/finances, should buy this book. So, instead, I’ll be dancing through the each of the short stories in this book.

(It was on sale at NYCC at the Dark Horse booth. So I guess this is super-exclusive NYCC coverage! Woo! I am sophisticate and journalism!)

1. “Rebound” (Script: Gene Luen Yang / Art: Ryan Hill) Yes, this is the same comic that came out for Free Comic Book Day six years ago, still serving as an epilogue for The Promise and a prologue for Smoke & Shadow even though it isn’t collected with any version of either of those stories. Mai is still awesome, we still don’t have that ‘Lone Wolf & Cub’-inspired anime about her and Tom-Tom, and this story is one of TWO in this collection using a main Fire Nation character and the other one is ALSO a FCBD-reprint and also doesn’t feature Zuko despite him being on the cover. Sorry, Zuko fans!

2. “The Substitute” (Script: Dave Scheidt / Art: Little Corvus) Hey, remember the comic ‘Private Fire’ about Sokka going out while wearing fake facial-hair and getting hauled into a comedic misadventure due to mistaken identity? Apparently, Dave Scheidt does, and he loved it so much he used the exact same idea -- substituting a preschool for a military camp -- and compressed it down to 8 pages filled with standard “kids are monsters” jokes. It also has a framing that makes no sense because the gAang is already in their Fire Nation outfits but they still need to stay out of sight or wear disguises and also Toph is missing for some reason. Maybe the artist didn’t get the note and this is supposed to take place in Book Water in the colonies.

3. “Shells” (Script: Gene Luen Yang / Art: Faith Erin Hicks) Another FCBD reprint, this is the story of how Suki hates stock misogynists who promote the Fake Geek Girls thing and also reveals that Kyoshi started the Kyoshi Warriors in order to give women the means to defend themselves. This comic is still heavy-handed and still perfectly adequate and still the second-best thing Gene Yang has ever written after Rebound.

4. “Sokka’s Poem” (Script: Ron Koertge / Art: Gene Luen Yang) This is a two-page little love-letter to Sokka’s character that is exactly like all those “We need to talk about Sokka...” tumblr posts that I like and reblog except this one is illustrated by Gene Yang for some reason. Also, both pages were in the official previews, so you can just read it there. This story features Zuko’s only appearance (outside of Mai’s memories) in the collection, showing him sleeping in a sleeping bag with the rest of the gAang. (I mean they’re all sleeping in sleeping bags, not all in his sleeping bag. Missed opportunities.)

5.Toph & The Boulder (Sara Goetter) One of two pieces in this collection to be written and drawn by the same person, and so it turns out to be the only comedy thing in here that completely nails it. This story was previewed last year at NYCC, and is about Toph helping the Boulder with his cat. It’s silly and funny and ridiculous and impossible to take seriously and full of energy. Like I said: nails it. I think Sara Goetter should take over the main Avatar comic line and turn the post-cartoon series into a sitcom. I’m being completely serious.

6. Origami (Kiku Hughes) The other of two pieces in this collection to be written and drawn by the same person, and also the other of two pieces in this collection about a member of Team Avatar giving a confidence boost to a girl with self-esteem issues. Instead of being about Fake Geek Girls, this is about a girl who can’t fight and feels like she’s not special compared to warriors. It’s a cute little tale that shows some insight into the fact that being the Hope Girl of the group can’t be easy for Katara, but unfortunately it just leaves this revelation as a pep-talk in some dialogue rather than actually doing anything with it. Still, it’s a nice little tale and gets Katara’s character and almost manages to be pleasant enough to numb the pain coming with the next story in the collection.

7. Sisters (Script: Gene Luen Yang / Art: Carla Speed McNeil) Yes, another FCBD reprint. And I figured it out! Ty Lee’s sisters are all gaslighting her, and none of what they say about her or their childhood is true. One of the reasons Ty Lee ran away is because she couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t anymore back at home, and Mai told her to get the flameo out of Dodge. This is still the absolute worst thing to ever come from the Avatar franchise, and Ty Lee still needs help to beat a random thug working for a random guy running a random extortion racket against random circuses. I still think Sara Goetter should take over the entire Avatar comic line and do it all as  a sitcom.

8. Scarecrow (Script: Dave Scheidt / Art: Coni Yovaniniz) For some reason, Dave Scheidt got to do two stories in this collection about abusing Sokka. This one is the more ridiculous of the two, and doesn’t bother trying to be nice with its treatment of Sokka, and so this one is actually funny. It’s probably because the art is much more cartoony, so it makes physical abuse look fun and amusing. It’s like the Chibi Shorts in that respect, but this one actually has a sense of style that wasn’t stolen from anime and so is inherently superior.

[flameo-hotman]

I am somewhat split on if having nine lives would make him more or less reckless. Because on one hand it would give him a certain level of leeway to do more risky shit but the other hand knowing he has only nine lives could lead to him trying to use them cautiously.

Though an interesting plot could be that he still tries to capture the Avatar but during the blizzard during the Seige they do actually leave him behind and he does end up burning another life. So when they next see him it is really shocking because hey how is this guy alive????? And maybe Aang knows legends about people like Zuko. (Hell, in this au you could go with Kyoshi had nine lives as well. [even though in the Kyoshi novels we learn she actually learned how to just not die which is very badass of her. We Stan an undying queen.])

Now of course you would have to keep track of how many times Zuko had actually died because some readers (I am readers) will analyze the text and extrapolate times when Zuko more likely than not actually died and some readers (I am readers) love locating continuity errors. (Seriously Plan Nine From Outer Space is my favorite movie for the unbelievable number of continuity errors found in that movie.)

And maybe Iroh knows about Zuko’s nine lives or maybe he knew that the marks were once there beneath his eye but never realized what they were and might have just thought they were freckles or beauty marks. But the Gaang pointing out that they are surprised Zuko is alive makes Iroh realize that actually Zuko very much did die and is horrified to know that because Zuko did not tell him about that and how many other times has Zuko died without telling him.

So now Iroh is basically treating his nephew like a glass doll because he can not lose another son and he doesn’t know how many lives Zuko has left. Which grates on Zuko’s nerves and might result in further reckless behavior and even Zuko joining the Gaang just because he knows he would be in even more danger and maybe it’s rebellion and maybe he has a death wish.

And it isn’t like the Gaang is going to turn down a free fire bending teacher. So he joins the Avatar before Appa even gets stolen and while they are wandering the desert after Appa is stolen he jokes that hey if it comes down to it they could just kill him and drink his blood, since he more than likely wouldn’t stay dead. Which okay dude? Are you okay because that is a super dark joke.

And no Zuko isn’t okay. His dad is Ozai of all people and Zuko has died multiple times already. But he kind of thought the joke was funny and Sokka tells jokes and Zuko wants to fit in so he tried a joke.

But they get to Ba Sing Se and Zuko the human shirshru tracks down Appa with the same ease he did in the show but now with the added benefit of a Zuko who has nine lives maybe he gets himself killed in the process and burns yet another life. Which yeah his friends are less than happy about, but he got them Appa back and now they can go tell the Earth King about the war and their plan to deal with it.

And then Azula happens.

Maybe Zuko takes the lightning bolt when she tries to kill Aang and like during the Agni Kai from the show he isn’t able to fully redirect it and maybe unlike the show it kills him. But as long as you’ve been keeping track of the Zuko Kill Count you can know if it is just one of his lives or if he needs to not die but almost die because Katara does have that water. But him getting hit instead would give Aang the chance to do whatever he was going to do with the Avatar State and thus allow them to either escape or take Azula down. (Not killing her because we all love a good Azula reception arc and her killing her brother again when she really didn’t want him to die would be a good start of one.)

Now Zuko doesn’t stay dead. We all know that, but he sure as hell is gonna wish he’d stayed dead when he has both his uncle and Katara angry as well at him for pulling a stunt like that.

From there you would have a few options on how to advance the plot. Enough that the question would be if you wanted Aang to defeat the Fire Lord on the day of Black Sun with the whole of the Earth Kingdom army backing him up or if you would want something to go wrong and have the Gaang have to retreat and then bide their time until the comet to try try try again.

Sorry for the wall of text I drank a whole pot of coffee and my brain exists on another plane of existence right now.

When you have a plot bunny in your head but you aren’t sure where it’s trying to go…

Zuko was born with nine lives. Not in the cutesy, octopus cat way people always talk about, of an animal that’s just good at always landing on its feet and getting out of a tight spot–though Zuko is very good at both those things, too. 

No, Zuko was born in the very heart of midwinter in the darkest part of a moonless night with nine marks to show his disfavor freckled under his left eye.

His first life went to Ember Island, when he was too young to really swim by himself but too fascinated by the waves to know yet that he shouldn’t. And it took Azula two lives to learn to play gently enough to break but not too much. (And Zuko is pretty sure the second time was an accident. Her face had been so hard and angry and pale.)  

He wasn’t old enough to realize what the marks signified until the Fire Lord burnt the tally off his face, presumably using up another life in the process. Zuko didn’t know for sure, though, since he couldn’t see the count anymore, even if he did finally remember it as a truth and not a dream when Agni sent him back with a sad, sparking admonishment about using them up too fast. 

Zuko learned then the particular difficulty of knowing he had lives left to spare, but never knowing how many. Because Zuko was born with nine lives like a cat in both the literal and figurative sense. And the line between the things that kill you and the things that just get you most of the way there is often harder to see than you’d think.  Was that bout of sickness after leaving a merchant’s table food poisoning or poison? Did the famed Yuyan Archers intend to knock him unconcious, or did they actually hit their mark? What are the normal marks of surviving an explosion, and what are the signs of death giving up her grip on his body? And the Avatar–Zuko has built up the resiliency and strength of his body, but he has died with a shattered back and punctured lungs before. He thinks he remembers how it feels. 

Where does this go then? What comes next?