#toph's atla & tlok rambling | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

astrawr1tes · 2 months ago

Text

astra. 20. she her. est. | hi, everyone! i am looking for fellow writers for long-term roleplays of the media listed below.

about me. literate to novella, lowercase, third person, past tense, multi-muse & ship, character-driven, plot-centric. fandom roleplays only, no tupperbot, please! i’m very active both ic and ooc, and aim for daily replies at the very least. expect media-appropriate themes & violence. i write all genders and possible shipping pairings (oc / oc, canon / canon, canon / oc), and i enjoy a variety of such. writer of both canon and original muses. 80-20 plot smut ratio, huge lover of nsfw headcanons. i literally adore worldbuilding, creating lore, sharing headcanons, making ocs just for the roleplay, and overall rambling. i will gush about our characters, ships and plots for actual hours if given the opportunity!

looking for. activity both out of and in roleplay. i’m generally just looking to friends be friends with those i write with! communication is very important to me, and i appreciate receiving it as much as i give it. enthusiasm for plotting and gushing about characters and ships is a huge plus! i do not write with people who only write female and bottom muses, or male x female pairings. again, variety! the more muses—both canon and original—the more ships, the more variety, the merrier!

fandoms + canon / canon ships & notes. fandoms i’m currently interested in are italicized! please note i am a huge multishipper and i love many more ships beyond what is listed below.

avatar. jake + neytiri, lo’ak + tsireya.

avatar: the last airbender. zuko + sokka, katara + toph, aang + toph, katara + aang. | looking for a post-atla sort of thing but unfortunately, tlok does not exist to me!

castlevania. trevor + sypha, alucard + trevor, olrox + mizrak.

demon slayer. amane + kagaya, obanai + mitsuri, giyuu + shinobu, kokushibo + muzan, douma + kokushibo, akaza + kyojuro, tengen + kyojuro, giyuu + sanemi, shinobu + misturi, obanai + sanemi, kyojuro + giyuu. | please note i have not read the manga, though i am aware of how it ends.

house of the dragon / fire and blood. alicent + criston, gwayne + criston, ulf + hugh, | have not finished a song of ice and fire but i’m doing my best. i also do not care for season two of hotd, so i am looking for canon divergence beyond season one! i don’t mind including certain things, however!

jujutsu kaisen. satoru + suguru, satoru + sukuna, toji + sukuna, nobara + maki, yuji + megumi. | again, please note i have not read the manga. i am aware of how it ends, but i am looking for something different.

transformers. megatron + optimus, bulkhead + wheeljack, ratchet + wheeljack, ultra magnus + wheeljack, dreadwing + optimus, knockout + breakdown, smokescreen + bumblebee, soundwave + shockwave.

marvel (venom & spider-verse saga). miles + gwen, miguel + peter b.

if this interests you, feel free to like this post or message me. limits, basic overview of ocs and ships, etc, can be discussed here before we move to discord!

37 notes · View notes

stitch1830 · 3 years ago

Note

All of your AUs are so good I love Taang, Kantoph, Zutara and Lin having good parents💕i think every one of those aus would be better than cannon. I don't like Sokka as Suyin's father because I don't want him as a deadbeat dad, tlok already made enough beloved characters bad parents but I could see that it could be true. Kantoph being protective of their little girl after Tenzin hurt her is the best and if Aang is alive Pema is 18 or even younger and I hope even Kataang would be mad

Hi Anon, thank you for the ask! And thank you so much for your kind words! :D I love chatting with you guys and coming up with scenarios for these questions, it’s so much fun and you all make it amazing too! :)

All the ships you mentioned are fantastic beloveds of mine, and I’m glad you enjoy my ideas for them haha! Perhaps I’m biased, but I agree, those ships would’ve been great canon alternatives (or with Kantoph, just more elaboration haha!). Zutara is a very interesting ship to explore, and there are so many great works to choose from and talented contributors!! Taang my beloveds, they got me into fandom and writing so they hold a special place in my heart :’) and KANTOPH. My little rare pair beloveds they’re amazing I’m having so much fun building a Kantoph world, and I hope others can find some amusement in my ramblings haha. Lin deserves the entire world, and it starts with her loving parents Toph and Kanto because they are gems and fabulous parents.

The Sokka is Suyin’s father is a very interesting debate, and with that concept there really is a lot of room to explore what that relationship could be like for Sokka and the Beifong’s. But I agree with you, it’s not my favorite headcanon/thought, only because it makes it seem like Sokka was an absent father when he probably wouldn’t have been. I must say, these are very interesting stories to read, just kind of stinks that we only really see those kind of fics in the Tokka tags now haha.

And as far as Aang and Katara being mad at Tenzin for hurting Lin? I could see it! Kanto and Toph would come storming up to their home and chewing them out for Tenzin being an airhead, and while Aang and Katara have Tenzin’s back and defend him from the wrath of the Beifong’s, I can see them being pissed at Tenzin for a moment. In the end, they probably know that Lin and Tenzin probably wouldn’t have worked out (if they had such different beliefs in LOK still), and it was better for them to not be in a relationship, but the way in which he broke up with her then immediately got with Pena was disrespectful. And I feel like respect is something that Aang and Katara want their kids to have with all people and cultures, so the fact that he let them down when breaking up with his girlfriend who just so happens to be the daughter of their close friends, is not a highlight for them lol.

And yes protective Kantoph my beloveds you guys take care of your little badgermole Linny. Kanto would be a menace lmao NO ONE messes with his baby girl.

Anyway, thank you again for the ask, Anon! Feel free to stop by anytime and chat, especially about our fav ships ;) Hope you have a great day!

……

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

7 notes · View notes

the-last-cuddlebender · 4 years ago

Note

Since when young Tenzin is underloved? His dad loved him the best and treated him as the special one and his mom adores him and maybe his siblings would give him shit when they were kids because they were jealous but he had Lin as a good friend and then he cheated on her with a 20yrs younger woman. The guy gets as much loved as he deserves

Hi, anon! So there’s a few things to unpack here, so I’ll try to be as concise as I can. This is pretty much what I think Tenzin’s childhood was really like and why he should be appreciated just as much as Bumi and Kya. Also with Kataang TLOK parenting thrown in. I’m pretty tired and don’t wanna edit an essay, so I apologize if it rambles.

Also, I’m not gonna touch the whole Tenzin cheating point. I’m fairly certain that that’s just objectively wrong. Everything else I’m more than happy to discuss, though:D

To be clear, when I say I feel like Tenzin is under-loved, I mean by the fandom (and by TLOK, but to a smaller degree). Under-appreciated might be a better word. Or under-explored? Idk. I just know that Tenzin’s childhood—just his—doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Outside of Tenzin having some angsty one-on-one’s with Aang (which I love, make no mistake!), I don’t see a lot fleshing out his childhood. Bumi and Kya get a lot of it, though (or the kids as a whole, but nothing that’s just Tenzin’s).

I don’t subscribe to the idea that Aang treated Tenzin as “the special one.” Bumi and Kya being jealous—in the way that seems to be the majority consensus—of Tenzin when they were kids is a bit hard for me to imagine, too. I try to stick to canon as much as I can, but, for some things, I have to draw the line. There has to be evidence, not just anecdote, otherwise I hc it into oblivion. I’m not saying their feelings in TLOK aren’t valid. They absolutely are, and Aang would never want those feelings to be invalidated. Children just retain things differently. A traumatic accident could have no effect on them but falling in the shower and bumping their head might. Developing brains are weird.

I can see Kya and Bumi giving Tenzin some shit when they were kids (Tenzin does admit that Kya picked on him), but I highly doubt that was any more/less than normal sibling rivalry and Cain Instinct. Sure, Aang might have given Tenzin attention for being an airbender, but he gave Kya and Bumi attention for being a waterbender and a non-bender, too. To me, it’s like having siblings who play different sports. Just because dad went to every one of my sister’s soccer games doesn’t mean he didn’t attend every one of my basketball games. The hyperfixation on airbending in TLOK makes it sound like that was all Aang cared about, but even in ATLA we can see that that isn’t true. If it was, then he would have kicked out the mechanist from the Northern Air Temple.

To say that Aang loved Tenzin the best is to imply that he loved his other children poorly, which isn’t true in the slightest. I can entertain the argument that he spent more one-on-one time with Tenzin, but that could be attributed to different children with different personalities having different wants and different needs for validation from their parents. And I will gladly defend it, even though I personally hc otherwise.

It’s hard to talk about Tenzin without also talking about Aang and Katara, so bear with me here:

Tenzin and Kya:

Tenzin was the last airbender besides Aang. Kya was the last waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe besides Katara. To assume Aang treated Tenzin as the “special one” because he’s an airbender would, if using the same logic, mean assuming Katara treated Kya as the “special one” for being a waterbender.

I’ve never understood why The Southern Water Tribe being inherited by the Kataang kids isn’t as big of a deal as Air Nomad culture. Both of them were recovering cultures on the brink of extinction, so they both have a lot of pressure for the kids to live up to.

Plus, if Sokka had a right of passage for being a Water Tribe warrior, then who’s to say there wasn’t a right of passage for Kya, specifically, for being a waterbender? She would be the special one, there. And maybe Tenzin struggled with his two heritages because being an Air Nomad meant being vegetarian but being Water Tribe meant using dead fish to go penguinsledding?

Tenzin and Learning too soon:

Tenzin probably learned about his responsibility of carrying the legacy of the airbenders at a very, very young age. Aang and Katara probably tried their hardest to wait until he was older to tell him (a-la Gyatso wanting to wait until Aang was older for him to carry the burden of being the airbenders’—and the world’s—last hope, too), but it was unavoidable. It was a part of the world’s history, and the aftermath of the war wasn’t exactly something a kid could avoid. Plus, I’m sure Aang wanted to correct airbender history as it was taught in schools as soon as he got the opportunity after the war.

Tenzin just has the abstract “idea” of what his bending culture was like when it was alive and well. Aang has memories to draw upon from which to imagine the future that the airbenders needed to rebuild towards. Tenzin gets second-hand notes.

Tenzin also didn’t have a baseline by which to measure if he was a “good airbender.” He had only Aang to compare himself to. ONLY AANG. This is talked about in TLOK but only in regards to Aang being his dad, if I’m not mistaken. But Aang isn’t just Tenzin’s dad. Aang is his father, the Avatar, and the youngest airbender to get his master’s tattoos. That’s a LOT more to live up to than just being his kid. And it’s the only thing Tenzin has to compare himself to to measure whether or not he’s a good airbender. I’m shocked that his spiritual ineptitude isn’t more of a haunting issue for him, quite frankly.

Tenzin and Bullying:

Tenzin didn’t have any airbenders his age (anyone like him) growing up. Even Aang had a childhood with other airbenders. As a father, Aang was as playful as a kid, sure, but, to a child, it isn’t quite the same because they don’t share that special bond of growing together and having a shared upbringing.

Katara can especially empathize with this.

Airbending is the element of fun. It’s kindof hard to express/embrace that facet of the element if Tenzin is the only one his age who can wield it.

I can almost guarantee that Tenzin got voted out of playing with other kids at least a few times because he was the only airbender (and that would make teams unfair). He probably learned to play by himself. That would certainly make him serious. Toph would probably teach him how to entertain himself, too. And that might lead to Tenzin and Lin hanging out. Who knows?

I honestly think Tenzin was bullied quite a bit (and not by Kya and Bumi), and that the bullying attributed to his demeanor as he grew up. Him cowering from Kya or running from his siblings when they picked on him was an exasperation of what he was probably dealing with outside his home.

In the recent comic with Katara and the pirates, we see a Fire Nation soldier flaunt some pretty nasty ideas about the Air Nomads because of Sozin’s propaganda. I don’t think that 15 years (or however long Tenzin was born after the war) is going to reverse that. Tenzin was probably picked on for being an airbender in addition to being the Avatar’s kid.

If the rise of fashion post-war was as fast-growing as industry, I can imagine kid-Tenzin being made fun of for being bald (even though it was part of his religion/culture) and for dressing in robes when the world, especially Republic City, was beginning to adopt different clothes.

Tenzin is an incredibly tender soul around those he loves but also incredibly serious around his adversaries. He has a soft inside and an armored shell, and that thick skin is usually forged through unsavory interactions. And he definitely interacted with plenty of normal kids his age. Aang missed the chance after the ice, and Katara was the only one her age in her village besides (kindof) Sokka. There’s no way Aang and Katara would keep their kids cooped up and strictly homeschooled. At the very least, Toph would bust them out if they did.

Tenzin and Katara:

Now, I’m not saying that Tenzin blames Aang because he obviously doesn’t. But Aang has memories of what airbender life was like, and Tenzin has only dreams. Honestly, it’s like he’s caught in the situation Aang was in when he was a young Avatar. They both have to live up to something that was pretty much just a legend. How could Tenzin possibly be expected to compare himself to something like that and be peachy fine? Aang wasn’t. So maybe, just maybe, Aang and Katara decided to have Tenzin go on private trips with Aang so Tenzin could understand that part of himself that was so hard for him to get? Inner peace is pretty dang hard to think about with THAT much pressure.

And yes, it was Aang and Katara who decided on the trips. I will not for a second believe that 1.) Aang would make that kind of decision without her input or 2.) that Katara would let one of her kids get private time with dad that would even potentially give the illusion of favoritism.

Katara knew how important one-on-one time with a parent was to some kids. This is why she tells Sokka to go see Hakoda instead of her in Ba Sing Se. She saw not only how much Sokka wanted but how much he NEEDED to see their dad. Sokka and Tenzin were both caught in a “passing of the torch” scenario (tbh, the scene where Aang tells Tenzin that he’s proud of him in the Spirit World reminds me of when Hakoda tells Sokka that he’s proud of him during the invasion when he’s injured. In both instances, it kindof solidifies the official passing of the torch).

“You didn’t love her like I did”—Katara learned pretty quick in tsr about how incredibly toxic the assumption of loving or being loved more/less was. She would never under any circumstance agree to anything that would show favoritism to one of her children. Absolutely no way. Aang and Katara are a team, and to villainize one for favoritism is to villainize the other.

Tenzin and Yue:

Tenzin had a stressful upbringing. I would even make the argument that he and Yue had a similar time trying to conform to a responsibility that they were told/learned about at a too young age. Their mindsets are very similar—responsibility even at the sacrifice of their own wants and happiness and an overwhelming love for their father.

Tenzin: “I have a responsibility to Republic City.” Yue: “I have a duty to my Tribe.”

They were both determined to love and carry on the legacy of their father and their people, but they did it in their own way. They both struggled with their responsibilities from an extremely young age.

Finishing thoughts I guess:

*********************************************

I can imagine a young Tenzin crying and trying to hide from the world that was shoving its weight onto his shoulders, and who, when Aang finds him hiding in the bison stables or somewhere similar, cringes away from Aang for a split second before recognizing his father and holding on so tight that it hurt. Aang tried his damnedest to teach Tenzin airbending and the responsibility of being the last airbender when Aang was gone, but even he knew that he couldn’t keep the weight of the world off of Tenzin forever. Aang never got that chance when he was told he was the Avatar. He heard the monks say that he was “the airbenders’ last hope” because storm clouds were gathering. Young Tenzin probably felt just as hopeless. The one-on-one trips he took with Aang were specifically to the places Aang had visited in S1 when he was still recovering from realizing that he was the last airbender. Maybe Aang took Tenzin with him one-on-one, just the two of them, to drive home the message that Tenzin was not the last airbender like Aang had been?

“I-I’m just one kid…I can’t. I…I-I’m just—”

“Shhh, shhh, shhh…I know, buddy. I know. But you’re my kid, too. You’re my entire world.”

“Everyone says I’m—”

“Don’t worry about them. They’re not here.”

“B-But—”

“But? What but? Are you hiding someone in your sleeping bag, Breeze-Butt?”

“N…No…”

“And do you see anyone else here?”

“…No.”

“That’s right. So don’t worry about them. It’s just you and me right now, okay? Just breathe. There you go. Just like I taught you—You’re doing so well, bud. Shhh…You’re okay. You’re not just one kid. You’re Tenzin. And you’re my son. You and your brother and sissy are my entire world. I love you so, so much...Oh, see? There’s that million-yuan smile!”

“…Thanks, Daddy. Love you.”

“Love you more. Do you want to try going in the water again? Or we can stay up here if you like. Whatever you want.”

“I wanna try again. But…But maybe just a small fish? I don’t wanna fall off again…I-I can’t do the air-chute yet…and the water hurt.”

“I’ll round up the smallest koi there is. I’ll sit right behind you, too. How’s that sound? I won’t let you fall.”

“Okay!”

*********************************************

Maybe this has been said before idk. These are just my thoughts on Kataang parents and Tenzin. I retcon the entire Kataang family as it’s presented in TLOK, but this is how I imagine it going down in canon.

This isn’t an attack on any person or fandom btw! I just think Tenzin isn’t as appreciated as the airbean deserves😞 He’s been through so much😭

If there’s a secret stash of young Tenzin appreciation content somewhere, please share! I might be looking in the wrong places for Tenzin love, and I would love nothing more than to be wrong, honestly. So, please, if there’s a secret stash, yeet me that link!!

#tenzin #Avatar The Last Airbender #the legend of korra #atla #tlok #answered #aang #tenzin love #cloudbabies #kataang #katara #Kya II #Bumi II #the cuddles have spoken #im sorry for the late response anon I had a helluva day #tbh just my ramblings in a sorry excuse for an post I’m sorry okay😭 I tried to make it presentable at least lol #in this house we stan bestdad!Aang and bestmom!katara😤😤😤#thanks for the ask!#post

79 notes · View notes

nerdybookworm25 · 4 years ago

Text

Rambling about Katara and Zutara

Ok so I’m going to kind of just put my two cents out there on this stuff. I joined the ATLA fandom this past summer and just started watching TLOK (my brother and I just finished Book 2 yesterday). This is a hot debate and I just want to ramble on about my opinions on this stuff. A lot of this will focus on Katara’s perspective because I can understand her better than Zuko or Aang due to personal experience. Im just... gonna... get into it now...

I’ll give you some background on me so you guys can understand where I’m coming from. I’m a 15 year old girl with abandonment issues caused by multiple deaths of close friends and family at a young age (my uncle when I was 4, a grandmother like figure when I was 7, my dad’s mum when I was 9 or 10, my great grandma when I was 11, a close friend of my dad’s when I was 13 and many others). I also am the Mum Friend (my friends literally call me “Mum”). I’m the caregiver of the group- the glue, the harmonizer, the therapist, the teacher, the good advice giver etc. (This stuff actually hot me in trouble as a kid and it kind of messed me up). My friends who have seen Avatar have compared me to Katara on multiple occasions and say I’ve got the temperament of a waterbender. You can kind of see where I’d relate, you know?

I do ship Zutara. My brother turned to me during the Book 1: Water- Episode 9~ The Waterbending Scroll and asked, “What if Zuko becomes a good guy and ends up with Katara?” From then on I was on the Zutara hill and I’ll probably die there. It limited ships that I loved from childhood and I thought it would hav been really cool- it would have fit the themes of the show, it would have been a cool thing to see grow and blossom, etc. It had nothing to do with Katara and Zuko being attractive at all- not in the slightest. It also wasn’t me projecting onto Katara. I didn’t really care to notice any major similarities between us until Book Three: Fire- Episode 7~ The Runaway. It was this exchange that changed Katara from my favorite character to someone I could heavily relate to.

Toph: [Sarcasically.] Oh really, Mom? Or what are you gonna do? Send me to my room?

Katara: I wish I could!

Toph: well you can’t! Because you’re not my mom, and you’re not their mom! [Extends her arm at Aang and Sokka, who are sitting on a ledge.]

Katara: I never said I was!

Toph: No, but you act like it! You think it’s your job to boss everyone around, but it’s not! You’re just a regular kid like the rest of us! Stop acting like you can tell me what to do! I can do whatever I want!

I remember bursting out laughing when I heard this. My brother asked me what was up and I paused it and explained that that was a lecture I revived so regularly when I was younger. It really really ended up messing me up. It’s not like I tried to mother anyone- it just happened. I wasn’t controlling it. I didn’t notice I was doing it and I got in trouble. Now things are different and I’ve embraced the fact that I am the designated Mum Freind. Still working on getting over being told off about it in therapy though. Anyway, I think you now can understand where I’m coming from with this “analysis.” Now I’m going to get into it (for real this time lol).

I think I’m going to start with the caregiver stuff. Katara’s mother died when she was very young. It was a very traumatic death. We can infer that Katara blamed herself for this death because the Southern Raiders were looking for the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe- her. That’s a lot for an 8 year old to try to process. Here’s the kicker: I don’t think she ever fully processed it until after Book 3: Fire- Episode 16~ The Southern Raiders. She almost immediately helped her grandmother take up the roll as the woman of the house. She probably didn’t feel like she had anyone to talk to about what she was feeling however true or false that’s what she most likely perceived this to be. When Hakoda leaves for war with all of the men of the tribe, Kanna might be the matriarch and help raise Sokka and Katara but even Sokka admits that Katara became a pseudo-mother for him. Taking care of others doesn’t leave a lot of time to deal with your own issues. Sometimes it feels easier to help others face their demons than face your own.

We continue to see Katara become the glue of the Gaang as the series progresses. She keeps them together in the Si Wong desert after Aang leaves her, Sokka, Toph, and Momo. She’s always the one cooking, cleaning, and mending not because she wants to, but because she knows no one else will do it and it needs to be done. We see her try to coax Toph into helping out around camp when she firsts joins the Gaang. It doesn’t work and this conflict continues for most of Book 2 and the beginning of Book 3. All of this time, she’s making it a point to take care of everyone. When the adults show up after the Boiling Rock, she’s still the one making the dinner and probably does a lot of the other chores as well (except for tea making- this will come into play later).

There’s a running joke about Katara being “Momtara” within the ATLA fandom (more the Zutaraians in the fandom than anything else but it’s a pretty well known concept). We continue to see this when the Gaang is on Ember Island. She brings them all drink during training sessions, watches said training sessions in case someone gets hurt and they need her, wrangles Sokka to the best of her ability, and just generally looks out for everyone regardless of age gap. It’s her natural instinct to be motherly. She retains this quality even after she finds Yon Rha. (Getting closure on her mother’s death doesn’t mean losing what had become a major personality trait).

Let’s unpack that now, shall we? Kya dies and Katara thinks it’s her fault. She doesn’t really talk to anyone about it. A few years later, Hakoda leaves to fight in the war. The Southern Water Tribe recives no letters or news about what happened to their warriors at all. Katara felt like she lost another parent. She nearly says as much during Book 3: Fire- Episode 1~ The Awakening.

Hakoda: You’re taking about me too, aren’t you?

Katara: How could you leave us, Dad? [She attempts to wipe away the tears.] I mean, I know we had Gran-Gran, and she loved us, but we were just so lost without you.

Hakoda moves to comfort her as she turns away.

Hakoda: I’m so sorry, Katara.

Katara: [Embraces Hakoda.] I understand why you left. I really do, and I know that you had to go, so why do I still feel this way? I’m so sad and angry and hurt!

The thing that sets off this exchange is Aang running away for the third time since Katara has known him (the fourth time in Aang’s lifetime). The other times he ran were when confronted by the rude fisherman in Book 1: Water- Episode 12~ The Storm, then again during Book 2: Earth- Episode 11~ The Desert. Aang has a, for lack of a better word, chronic running away problem. I’m not mad at him for it. It makes him an interesting character and shows that he too has flaws (even if they aren’t always addressed but that’s an issue with Bryke). When Aang flys away after waking up during 3.1, Katara is distraught.

Katara: He left.

Hakoda: What?

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

Hakoda: Maybe that’s his way of being brave.

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

Katara feels abandoned by Aang. This is completely understandable. She has every right to be angry at him and feel sad that he flew away. He comes back every time but I feel like if I were in her position, as much as I’d hope my friend would come back and I’d tell everyone that I knew he would, I’d still be afraid that there was an off chance that he doesn’t. This is a natural human reaction to this situation. People were seemingly constantly fading in and out of Katara’s life and that just wasn’t good for her mental health. It couldn’t have been. This also raises the question of if someone has a very serious fear of abandonment, would it be healthy to be in a romantic relationship with someone who consistently leaves? Personally I don’t think so. Be friends? Sure. Date? I don’t know. It doesn’t quite sit right with me.

Katara probably feels abandoned by Zuko too. During the Book 2 Finale: Crossroads of Destiny, Katara and Zuko bond in the crystal catacombs under Ba Sing Se. They relate over their shared fear of being abandoned by those they love (yes I think Zuko has abandonment issues too- among other issues/fears). When he turns his back on her, she doesn’t live him (obviously). She has cared about him enough up to that point to offer to use what is arguably her most powerful possession to heal his scar. She cares. Because she cares about him then, she is downright livid when he betrays her. (Of course the difference between Zuko and Aang with this is Zuko leaves once and comes back and he doesn’t leave again. Aang leaves and comes back over and over and over again).

Katara: I thought you had changed!

Zuko: I have changed!

Katara carries the weight of his betrayal on her mind until she and Zuko go on their life changing field trip to confront the man who killed Katara’s mother. This was her time to finally get closure. She had probably had these feelings bottled up for 6 years and didn’t act on them. When she finally had the chance, her best friend and brother tried to stop her. She lashed out.

Katara: We’re going to find the man who took my mother from me.

Sokka pauses and stands up, surprised.

Zuko: Sokka told me the story of what happened. I know who did it and I know how to find him.

Aang: Um ... and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

Katara: [Shakes her head in dismay.] Ugh, I knew you wouldn’t understand. [Begins to walk away.]

Aang: Wait! Stop! I do understand. You’re feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?

Zuko: She needs this, Aang. This is about getting closure and justice.

Aang: I don’t think so. I think this is about getting revenge.

Katara: [Angrily.] Fine, maybe it is! Maybe it’s what he deserves!

Aang: Katara, you sound like Jet.

Katara: Its not the same! Jet attacked the innocent. This man, he’s a monster.

Sokka: Katara, she was my mother, too, but I think Aang might be right.

Katara: Then you didn’t love her the way I did!

Sokka: [Hurt.] Katara!

Katara gets a lot of flack for this interaction. She says Sokka didn’t love their mother like she did and Sokka I’d understandably hurt. It doesn’t excuse what she said, but people do lash out when they are feeling a lot of emotions and they get defensive when they feel like they’re being ganged up on or attacked (I myself am guilty of this sort of thing). What Katara said was wrong but I have no doubt in my mind that she didn’t apologize to Sokka when he and the rest of the Gaang arrive on Ember Island later in the episode. She is seen walking over to him after she hugs Zuko.

Zuko and Katara go after Yon Rha anyway. For once in her life, Katara is feeling emotions and no one is trying to get her to stop or to push them aside. She doesn’t have to be constantly taking care of someone so she can focus on herself. Katara trusts Zuko more than I think she realizes. I mean she trusts him with a lot and he follows through on a lot of unspoken/subconscious agreements and promises.

Zuko is looking out for her. Zuko has her back. Zuko is allowing her to feel all of these emotions and work them out of her own accord. Zuko isn’t telling her to feel one way or another. Zuko isn’t going to judge her for whatever she decides to do when they find Yon Rha or what she does in order for them to get to that point. Zuko ensures she gets the closure she feels she needs.

When he sees her bloodbend, he’s surprised, but he isn’t appalled. When he thinks she’s going to run Yon Rha through with a giant shard of ice, he doesn’t try to stop her. He lets her be her. He sees a dark side of her in a way that no one else in the Gaang has seen. It’s strangely intimate. Clearly it has enough of an impact to make her forgive him. She knows he isn’t going to abandon betray her and her friend again.

Once they become friends, and even before that, Zuko starts to help out with small things here and there. We see him making tea for all of the kids at dinner. He tells jokes to make them laugh. He teaches Aang firebending. He goes with Sokka to the Boiling Rock to make sure he doesn’t get himself killed or in a prison cell for the rest of his life. With all of this, “Dadko” is born.

If you strip away Zuko’s anger, he just becomes the awkward-turtleduck-first-time-father that we all know and love. There’s more balance in the Gaang with him there to help and become an “authority” figure with Katara. They become the parents of the other members of the Gaang. It’s an interesting shift in their relationship- enemies to unsteady acquaintances to enemies to frenemies to friends. They’re close enough that they show small signs of physical intimacy and they tease each other.

Also if you look close enough when the Gaang walks into the “seedy Earth Kingdom tavern,” Zuko and Katara appear to be holding hands and are near each other from then until the finale episodes. They are clearly just great friends by the end of the show. I mean Zuko also takes a bolt of lightning to the chest for her...

Zuko doesn’t leave when his life gets difficult- not after he joins the Gaang. He made that mistake once and he won’t make it again. Aang was always part of the Gaang but continued to leave (again, I’m not mad at him for it but he never seems to realize the effect it has on the people around him- especially Katara). Zuko also doesn’t all but forget Katara and continue to run around the world. When Zuko fully decides to stick around, you best believe he is sticking around.

This works really well for Zutara. They’re both each other’s rock. They support each other and help each other in times of trouble. Do they argue? Yes. Is that a normal part of a healthy relationship- romantic or otherwise? Yes. Do they take care of and look out for each other while also not smothering or suffocating each other? Yes. I don’t know about you but this sounds stable and healthy to me. They balance each other out so well (I’m not going to get too into that because if you’re reading this you probably already know with the whole Tui and La, Yin and Yang, Oma and Shu thing).

Now, this is a big deal for me and it makes me furious, but Katara is forgotten by history. She has no statue. She is reduced to a housewife and healer- things our wonderful water feminist was afraid of becoming as an adult. I mean this girl

This girl

THIS GIRL

She becomes nothing but a housewife stuck in a healing hut who gets forgotten by the world and left behind by her family just... let’s all of that happen? Yeah that’s pretty unrealistic. I think about this frequently and with starting TLOK I have formed even more opinions and have a little thingy (I don’t know what to call it) for what happened to her.

Kya II is everything Teenage Katara wanted to do and be before settling down. Old Katara is everything Teenage Katara was so afraid of become reduced to/becoming.

It’s an interesting way to think about it and I thought I’d share. Now if Katara was Fire Lady, she wouldn’t end up like that. She’d have the power to change the world and continue to fight for what she believed in. She could have helped with the trail with Yakone. Katara has so much potential to not be forgotten or brushed aside and somehow it happened. It makes me so sad. The potential Zutara had to make sure Katara had a genuine legacy was right there at their finger tips and they didn’t use it. What a shame. What a shame.

With all of the things I’ve talked about, I just feel like Zutara would have been better for Katara than Kataang was. I think that’s more Bryke not developing the relationship well enough and instead choosing to be sloppy and selfish in the way they structured the relationship. Yeah this is my rambling on about the issue. Hope it was mildly entertaining! If you want me to write something about how Zuko would have benefited from Zutara, let me know!

66 notes · View notes

alfredolover119 · 4 years ago

Note

34 and 35 for the fic asks 😍🥴

nicool omg what are u doing in my inbox..

ok ok

34. Copy and paste an excerpt you’re particularly fond of.

well. im not very fond of most things i write so here is a spoiler-free bit from a wip im working on currently

“Don’t they know I’m the prettier sibling?” Sokka grunts. Eventually, his dagger flies across the courtyard to rest with Space Sword and the other half of Zuko’s dao.

Zuko pins Sokka’s wrists above his head with one hand, settling his body firmly on Sokka’s stomach. He holds his remaining sword to Sokka's throat. “I tried telling them that.”

“Did you really?” Sokka grins up at him, chest heaving, a glint of something in his eye.

“Yeah.” Zuko can’t help but smile back. “I also told them to go ahead and reinstate my father as Firelord.”

35. Ramble about any fic-related thing you want!

nicool i do this in ur dms everyday,, why do you want me to expose myself here too ??? but anyway. have a rant about friendship between women in atla and tlok :^) disclaimer, i am content with canon,, i just constantly crave More.

i wish atla had focused more on the friendships between Girls. we get,, like,, katara & toph and mai & ty lee. i would Die for both of these friendships but i think they deserved more screen-time. i feel similarly towards tlok with korra n asami. there was so much time dedicated towards showing mako and korra’s friendship that the korrasami friendship, and later romantic relationship, felt very half-baked,, which makes me sad because there was so much potential!!! they couldve made me FEEL THINGS!!

sincerely, your local lesbian who craves healthy, developed relationships between women.

#bwaaagh #katara and toph got good devo in atla but #give me more mai and ty lee screentime #give me an azula redemption arc (unrelated just important)#korrasami. ugfh #feelings #my writing #ask game #fic writer asks #nicool

3 notes · View notes

hachibe · 4 years ago

Text

Ok, if anyone haven't noticed before, due to the amount of atla stuff i've been rebloging recently, I was rewatching atla after a long time. And now I'm on to tlok. Except for season 1, I haven't rewatched anything from tlok ever. Especially s2, which i hate.

So, I'm gonna live blog. I'm sorry for all my followers that couldn't give a shit about it. But i’m tagging it as #pris rewatches tlok so feel free to block

some thoughts on The Legend of Korra season 1:

- first thought: i love all the ways that Korra is so different than Aang

- I know I learned to love Tenzin with time, and I think is because it took me a while to realised how everything we know about him is what the narrative (and also him, I guess) wants us to think, not exactly how he actually is. We are constantly told how Tenzin is calm and patient and wise but we keep seeing him being nervous and impatient and making wrong decisions ( some of them completely biased and stiffed). And I learned to love him when I realised that he has (and us as an extension) this idea of what a airbender should be, and he tries to be that, he tries really hard to be that, but is not who he is. And I think this is more explored in s2 and s3 (I love his contrast with Zaheer) but I'm getting ahead of myself. So... to cut things short, I appreciate how the narrative keeps telling us how calm and collected Tenzin is and then keep showing us how he is not.

- Mako, my boy Mako. On the first episode when he appeared I was like "why do I hate him, again?" and then 2 episodes later I'm like "oh jesus Christ will you shut your mouth!!!?"

- Lin, is a perfect human being, never done anything wrong ever in her life. (And I must confess, her voice is so sexy)

- the whole thing with Pema is so 😬

- i recently read a fic where in different occasions Sokka and Toph (or was it 2 different fics? Who knows?) complains that pro-bending is lame, is not truth to the real spirit of fighting or bending or whatever, and that earth ramble was the real thing. And although I agree that pro-bending brought something new to the styles of bending (you can see by the way the characters moves that there is not that clear distinction between the bending elements in their style of bending anymore, not like there was in atla. And I don't know if it was proposital or a mistake/laziness by the team), I must say so that is so cool to watch!!! I would definitely be a fan of pro-bending if I lived in that world.

- Lin sacrificing herself to save Tenzin's family? That's the shit! That scene haunts me in my dreams till this day.

- knowing how this romance plot is going to end is what's keep me going, honestly. Every time I have to see Mako and Korra interact in a scene I just get this nervous laugh.

- we haven't gone through the other seasons yet but I feel like Amon was the dude who had the best plan. The guy thought and planned his moves and I admire that in a villian.

- not to compare tlok to atla but...... I feel like the new avatar team misses a guy like Sokka. The plan guy, the guy with the ideas. And not just a person to have ideas but a person who think things and how to do things. I feel like this new team avatar just reacts to stuff. That's why their opponents are always ahead of them, because they never think things through. And I know that this is particular to Korra's nature, she's impulsive and always tries to strike first. (Alot like Zuko in s1). But they needed someone like Sokka in the group to balance things out. And I don't think any of the new avatar team is like that. Not even Tenzin.

- general Iroh was kind of the idea guy, and a good one, but he also only appeared for 3 episodes and never again. So... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- btw, he deserves the name he was given. That dude never stopped even when the odds were all against him. I never checked for the tlok comics but I think I should. I would love some spin offs of the United Nations forces. Would love some stories with Bumi and him, please and thank you.

- to be honest I don't like how Korra got to airbend in the end. She couldn't airbend because she was never in the face of danger or because someone/something she cared about was in danger. It was always because she never listen, she never had patience. Or whatever it was necessary to airbend. Like Aang, when he couldn't earthbend, he couldn't do it because he was never willing to stand his ground and face things head first. And he was only able to do it when he finally stood his ground. But Korra, Korra only did it because the narrative needed her to.

- not gonna lie, that ending with Tarrlok and Noatak? The saddest thing ever.

#tlok #pris rewatches tlok

2 notes · View notes

marvelatthismess · 1 year ago

Text

Thinking about how easily Kuvira dodges airbending while fighting Korra outside of Zaofu

That stuff is invisible in universe and yet she's just straight vibing the entire time

#ive thought about it before and im thinking about it again #its my quarterly tlok rewatch enrichment session #kuvira #tlok kuvira #kuvira tlok #the legend of korra #avatar the legend of korra #toph's atla & tlok rambling #toph's kuvira rambling #i dont have a tag for that yet??#well i do now #i will be posting more about her

55 notes · View notes

marvelatthismess · 2 years ago

Note

tell us more about lin's pro bending career

I took an unplanned hiatus but I finally got around to this-

When she first tried out for the team she played for, she lied about her age so that they would think she was more experienced. She, of course, told them the truth later but that wasn't until she was sure that she had proved herself to them enough

She hid it from Toph and went behind her back at first but Toph eventually found out about it. Lin expected her to be angry at her for it but she was actually pretty proud of her and was one of her biggest supporters (you can pry Toph being a good parent before everything in their family imploded from my cold dead hands)

Lin is the reason the uniforms gain helmets and there’s a rule against headshots put in, she’s clean and efficient, the other team can’t beat you if they’re knocked out

She’s really interesting to watch play since she utilises other bending styles (this is an extension of a general headcanon I have for Lin since she spent her childhood watching other benders and not just earthbenders), it sometimes leads to 3v1 situations that have the crowd on the edge of their seats wanting to know if she’ll be able to pull the round back into their favour (she's able to a lot at the beginning but it gets more difficult as the other teams get used to playing against her)

She quit once she signed up to join the police force, she misses it sometimes but she knows doing both wasn't a feasible option

I had more for this written down somewhere but I can't find them for the life of me

#atla #lin beifong #toph's atla & tlok rambling #toph's lin rambling #lok #tlok #tlok lin #lok lin #avatar the last airbender #avatar the legend of korra #the legend of korra #legend of korra #toph's ask box

9 notes · View notes

marvelatthismess · 2 years ago

Note

who do you think suyins father is

Probably not the answer you're looking for and incredibly blunt but, as someone that relates a lot to Lin in being and older sibling that always ends up taking the fall for my younger siblings whether I was involved or not (she has every right to be angry at her family and not want to be around her family, that reunion and forgiveness plot was bullshit (though I do appreciate the relationship it gave us between Lin and Opal)), I don't care enough about Suyin to theorise about who her father is

I also don't tend to involve myself in theorising about possible biological relationships between characters unless its something heavily implied, I just don't find it interesting

#legend of korra #the legend of korra #avatar the legend of korra #tlok #toph's atla & tlok rambling #toph's ask box #tlok suyin #suyin beifong

2 notes · View notes

wilcze-kudly · 5 months ago

Note

Do you (or well the fans of ATLA for the most part) believed Sokka and Suki ever had a child?

I personally feel like if they'd had a kid, they would've been mentioned in tlok already, so I'm gonna have to say no.

But then again, we all thought Lin was an only child until Suyin jumped us in B3 with her whole ass city and 5½ children. So really who's to say that Suki and Sokka's babies didn't just fuck off to Kyoshi Island or smth and stay away from all the drama in tlok.

So to answer your question, probably not, but if Nickelodeon suddenly pulled out some Sukka kids out of their ass, it would not be earth shattering news to me.

In my heart of hearts Baatar Sr is their son because that's so fucking funny to me.

Also with how people lost their shit at Aang and Toph for having realistic flaws as parents, I'm honestly kinda glad Sokka and Suki escaped that scrutiny. I can already picture one of Sokka's kids mentioning Sokka doing something less then ideal and the internet rambling about how "tlok ruined Sokka" or some shit like that...

#sukka #sokka #suki #avatar #legend of korra #tlok #the legend of korra #avatar the legend of korra #atlok #atla #avatar: the last airbender #the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #baatar #baatar sr

31 notes · View notes

wilcze-kudly · 5 months ago

Text

Beifong babies appreciation post

This is gonna be a more self indulgent post. But if you spend any time on my blog, you know how much I adore the Beifong family, particularly Suyin and her children. And you know what I don't see enough appreciation for Suyin's babies, which makes sense, since they're side characters, but here's a lil ramble about them and some reasons why I love them.

Baatar Jr

Actually, I think Baatar is actually a very underutilised character for being Kuvira's supposed right hand man, as well as her fiancé.

He's technically the brains behind Kuvira's collosus, and probably much more.

As damaging as living in his father's shadow was for him, I do find it extremely adorable how he engineered all Baatar Sr's projects, it's really cute!

His loyalty to Kuvira and his love for her is admirable. It's honestly adorable, how much she means to him.

Btw mans stared into Korra's eyes while she threatened him im the Avatar state and laughed. Say what you want about him but he has balls.

The angst surrounding his involvement with Kuvira is absolutely delicious.

Like imagine turning your back on everyone you know and love for one person, only for then to turn on you and try to kill you with upur own creation?

And then everything you've worked for for 3 years is null and void? Gnarly

Also him being under house arrest with the family he betrayed? You could argue he got off really easy, which he did... but goodness gracious the angst.

Huan

I'm like 75% sure that he's a reference to The Dark One, one of Toph's metalbending students, which is actually really fun I love you emo metalbenders.

I always found non combative benders very interesting, especially when they use their bending for things like art, it's very cool.

While I think a Huan's character is made to mock "tortured abstract artists" a bit, he actually isn't terribly caricaturised?

Like... he has a pretty clear ideology and moral compass, and he sticks to his guns, even when threatened. He clearly values personal freedom and freedom of expression, and is willing to stand up for it.

I also love headcanoning that he had a close relationship with Aiwei. Since some of Huan's ideals match up more or less with Red Lotus ideology, which makes me wonder if Aiwei did subtly indoctrinate Suyin's children.

Huan and Ikki's friendship is really cute too lol.

His design is also really cool ngl

Opal

MY BABY AHHH 🧡 honestly my fave female tlok character.

Free her from the heterosexual love interest dimension she deserves so much better lol.

Like, I really dislike Bopal as a ship, and part of it is because of how much of a disservice it does to both characters. But most anti Bopal takes I see are also horrifically anti Opal.

Honestly, Opal just gets a surprisingly large amount of hate in genral? Like why? People call her annoying and a brat/ a knockoff Korra and she's barely done anything lmao

Opal's is very interesting, her journey to independence, her unseen development between B3 and B4, her firece loyalty to her family despite her separation from them

A lot of people criticise her attitude towards Kuvira, but honestly, she was quite rational in her anger? I also think she should have been allowed to hold a grudge against Bolin for longer, like yes he redeemed himswlf somewhat when rescuing her family, but it does feel really shallow and a fast way of tying up a pretty complex storyline.

Her arc reminds me very much of Toph's in atla, which is bittersweet since we see how that ended for Toph.

I love her lil pouty face ahh.

Wei and Wing

Genuinely. Might be my fave underdeveloped side characters.

Avatar has a habit of making very interesting twin duos and these two are no exception.

I really like their strong bond with their mother, they really are the most mamma's boys to ever mamma's boy.

Similarly to Opal, the twins' firece loyalty to their family and city is really sweet, but also there's a lot of potential for angst here. Like, Opal gets to see the world and adventure, but the twins are probably stuck in Zaofu forever.

The twins also are the only ones of their siblings upholding that "Beifong metalbender" archetype that Toph started. I think there is a bit of pressure on them, ad they are the "golden boys" of the family

I'm also a sucker for when benders work together/combine their skills so seeing the twins work together is really sweet.

Also. Gay™️. [Insert longass ramble about weilin lol]

I actually find the small differences in personality between them that we are shown. Where Wei is a bit more snooty and competitive, Wing is very playful and outward with himself. I like picking their differences apart.

Okk.. that's it my ramble for today us over 😭 I love the Beifong babies so much and wish there was more appreciation of them lol

33 notes · View notes