#zuko somewhere in the middle

[beevean]

Now I know that Isaac is the undisputed BDSM king but have you seen Zangetsu?

Ehh, more than a BDSM king, I'd call him a Guts with Zuko's hair that stole Juste's coat. Still iconic, just in a different way :P

... well, okay, the choice to wrap himself in chains is certainly interesting... I don't know yet if it's Symbolic of his Tragic Past or something, or if he just woke up one day and decided that he'd look cool :P

[the-badger-mole]

bro you need to realize you just see katara as your self insert and you just have a crush on zuko. maiko and kataang are canon, die mad

Lawd a mercy, you're right!!! I've never thought of it that way!!! My entire worldview has just been shaken. Thank you! Thank you, you tower of intellect and insight!

[mugentakeda]

my characterization of lu ten relies on THESE THINGS: 1. the middle child energy zuko post 2. the phrasing of lu tens letter (i will see you again when victory is obtained) 3. ursa crying over the letter confirming lu tens death 4. zuko saying "how would you like it if cousin lu ten wanted dad to die?" 5. The Netflix Medal (NEWEST ADDITION)

[sokkastyles]

Zutara Month Day 1: Reluctant Allies

Or, may I offer you a little CoD AU in these trying times?

There was an incredible flash of light. Zuko could barely see for the brightness, but there was something about the light. He had seen it before, at the south pole. He’d known immediately what it was then, and he knew now, here in the luminous green-dark of the catacombs beneath Ba Sing Se.

He’d chosen wrong. Zuko had made so many bad choices in his life, and today he’d chosen wrong again. He knew it when he’d seen the eyes of the waterbender staring back at him from the dark mouth of the cave. Yet that hadn’t stopped him from choosing wrong again. His sister’s victorious smile as he’d sent a blast of fire towards the Avatar. She hadn’t known what he would do, and something about that niggled at the back of his mind. Azula had doubted, and then smiled, and he saw Katara’s face fall at his sister’s triumph, and his ruin.

“I thought you had changed,” she had said, and her voice was like ice daggers sliding into the holes in his heart. But nothing had changed. The holes were still there, had been there for a long, long time, slowly bleeding out with each wrong choice he made.

But then there was the flash of light, and for a moment he felt the familiar hope, but it was different this time. This time, he had only a split second in which to decide, and suddenly he found himself in front of his sister, his index and middle fingers extended out towards her, the way uncle had taught him to do, and then there was another bright flash of light, and a jolt of energy that nearly knocked him off his feet. Then the energy was all around him, and he was holding it within, and he had to let it out, and then he let it go, somewhere past his sister and towards the roof of the cave, where it shot forward in a blast of lightning that sent a cluster of stalactites crashing down onto the cave floor.

There was still so much brilliant light. Not the rapidly dissipating light of Azula’s lightning, but the light coming from the Avatar, floating in midair, chunks of rock orbiting around him, gusts of wind hurtling towards them from the tunnels, the water from the pools rising to join the cacophony. The Avatar's eyes were glazed white-blue.

Azula had been knocked off her feet by the force of Zuko’s redirection, and was quickly rising, staring at the rapidly building center of the chaos. Katara was staring, too, and the Earth King’s Dai Li agents stood poised, uncertain. Zuko looked at Uncle, and then he saw that the rumbling of the cave walls was causing his crystal bonds to crack. Uncle looked worried, though. Too worried.

The wind was rising. Katara was screaming Aang’s name, and Zuko was running towards Uncle, but then the ground rose up to meet him and everything went dark.

He remembered the feel of Katara’s fingers brushing his cheek, the tip of her thumb accidentally grazing lightly across his upper lip. It felt like a lover’s touch, like a dream, and then he thought he must be dreaming while he was remembering.

Maybe you could be free of it.

Wrong. So wrong. He would never be free, even if he lived for a hundred more years of war. But maybe that was alright, as long as she was touching his face.

He opened his eyes. She was brushing dirt off his face, picking rocks from his hair. So much for a lover's caress.

They were still underground, but it was darker than it was before. Gone was the brilliant flash of light, and even the light from the luminous green crystals seemed dimmer. Zuko realized they were in a smaller section of the tunnels, although he wasn't sure how he got here. Dimly, he could feel the sun high above them, underneath miles and miles of rock. It was like being deep underwater, and he had to stifle down the faint feeling of drowning. Katara was looking down on him with dirt-smeared cheeks and worried eyes.

Instinctively, he reached up a hand to brush the dirt away, like she had done for him, and her flinch made him draw back as if he had been burned. Then she stood and turned away from him.

“We have to find a way out,” she said, to the darkness and not to him.

“Azula…” he muttered, having again the sense that this had all happened before.

“No, it wasn't her, she was thrown by the explosion the same as we were.” Katara shook her head, her back still to him, her hands feeling along the rock wall

“The…” Zuko sat up and took a step towards her. “What happened…the Avatar…” a horrible realization was forming in his mind.

“It wasn't his fault,” she said, and when she turned to him her blue eyes were so, so wide. “He can't control it. I thought maybe after he went to see the guru…” Her eyes were far away, but then suddenly their focus shifted to Zuko. “You did something. You stopped Azula's lightning! That was incredible!”

Zuko thought he had hated her judgment, but now having her look at him with something like admiration was even worse, especially considering the current circumstance. “And it did a whole lot of good, didn't it!” He spat the words at her. “The Avatar just blew up the entire catacombs because I saved him from being electrified!”

Everything he did was always wrong.

[oneatlatime]

The Journey to Ba Sing Se Part 2: The Drill

Could I have Appa back please?

The Previously On segment actually didn't spoil anything for once. Nice.

I do like these tank things. In fact I like all Fire Nation technology. Not what it's used for. But the designs are neat. And more interesting than most actual military tech. You ever look at something techy, and think to yourself 'there was an artist involved here,' because that's the impression FN tech gives me. It's not beautiful, but there's a pleasing toothiness to it.

Excellent sound design on the metal screechy moving bits. And is that tank escort really necessary?

I know this is a kids' cartoon, with characters that are designed to be the audience's age. I know! And usually I can suspend my disbelief and forget that I'm watching children do very adult jobs! But this caught me so off guard I laughed. The Fire Nation's big secret project to break through the wall once and for all, that would be an absolute career making achievement for whoever is in charge, and they've given it to a bunch of teenage girls. This is where my suspension of disbelief stops.

Can you imagine the meeting where this was proposed? The Fire Lord being like "Who can lead the attack on Ba Sing Se? We lost Zhao at the North Pole, does whoever it is who occupies his equivalent rank in the Army want the job? Or even Zhao's second in command perhaps? Or how about: three middle school girls, two of which aren't even members of the military? Doesn't that sound like a good plan?" And of course all his advisors have to agree and be like "that sounds like an excellent plan your lordship; did you have any particular girls in mind or should we go scout out the local Claire's?" because the last guy who disagreed with him got his face blown off. I don't care how viciously talented Azula and friends are; a country that puts eighth graders in charge of invasion plans should have lost the war in year one, not still be winning it in year 99.

Did that random commander guy just smack Ty Lee in the face?

Problem the first of this plan: unless the Fire Nation has invented pocket dimensions or bags of holding, there is no way that that drill, even stuffed full of soldiers, would hold enough people to take a city that seemingly contains every single refugee in the entire Earth Kingdom.

Do you think those refugees got preferential treatment for arriving on an Avatar powered elevator?

"I'm the Avatar. Take me to whoever's in charge." OWN IT BABY!!!

That's one hell of an irrigation system they must have.

"He was quickly expunged." Was he? I got the impression he quit. Of his own accord.

Something tells me like forty guys throwing rocks won't stop that thing.

So... what was Mai doing that whole fight? Hanging decoratively off a rope?

I'd forgotten how stupid Earth Kingdom generals were. Luckily Sokka is there to vicariously express my opinion of them. A reverse beat up Sokka quota fulfillment!

Toph is such a little shit and I love her.

Aang sure does put up with a lot sometimes. Part of being the Avatar. It's a good thing he has such patience. Can we talk about how lucky the world is that Aang is the one tasked with putting up with nonsense like this? Imagine if Sokka or Toph were the Avatar. There would be casualties.

I like complaining too buddy. Nice to see Sokka's worth being recognised. Now can we do that outside of a life or death situation too please?

I joke about Zuko's dumbass behaviour, but let's be honest, it's inherited.

Jet. Fuckboy. You do not make it easy to even slightly like you. Guy is missing the point as much as Zuko usually does. Going straight MEANS leaving the freedom fighters behind. It doesn't mean reforming them somewhere else. And what Fire Nation threat are you going to find in Ba Sing Se for your Freedom Fighters to fight? You know, if this idiot was actually serious about fighting for Freedom rather than blowing stuff up for fun, he'd fudge his age and enlist in the Earth Kingdom Army.

Four points: How does Katara know Ty Lee's name? Is this confirmation that waterbending healing cannot remove a Chi block? I love that the trait that gives away Ty Lee's identity is the fact that she cartwheeled away. I love Sokka. Just in general.

There is no way this girl is not tripping.

Can you imagine how loud standing right next to that drill must be?

ABS

Normally I'd say that one earthbender trying to slow the drill down with spikes will work even worse than the Terra Team who tried and failed with like 40, but this is Toph we're talking about. It could work.

These children are so polite when they're committing industrial sabotage. Truly, they were raised well.

Do you ever get the feeling that whoever is in charge of designing Fire Nation armour is into a few things that he's trying to repress so hard that they're coming out in all the wrong places?

Jet seems to have lost all the manipulative abilities he had in his episode. Suddenly he's very bad at reading body language and keeps saying the exact opposite of what he should.

New achievement unlocked! 1000% agreeing with something Zuko said! That was a pretty stupid move.

Cups made out of leaves are neat.

Katara, you can't have it both ways. You can't look to Sokka to make the plan, then get snippy when the plan correctly plays to all of your strengths. He physically CAN'T bend. Either you come up with a better plan yourself, or you do as the guy you appointed planner suggests.

Points in favour of allowing Katara to murder people, exhibit 1.

Confirmed: Sokka is catnip for girls.

Even in comparison to the others, Ty Lee has a bad case of cartoon physics.

Did Katara just disarm herself? That'll come back to bite her in 3, 2, 1...

Mai gets a second personality trait! Yay!

There is no way this is actually practical armour. This is someone in procurement with a thing for sweaty bulging muscles and puppy masks.

And thus, the log ride was born. Later versions would go on to perfect the concept by introducing a log.

I felt Sokka's mud freakout in my bones. Looks like Katara giving away her water isn't going to be a problem.

Petition to let Katara say bitch. The voice actress said Circus Freak but I know what I heard in my heart.

Remember that time Sokka smacked his forehead so many times that his face was permanently red? My turn now.

Aang. I know you love your friends. But maybe a battle on top of a moving machine of destruction in the midst of an aerial assault from your idiotic allies while facing off with the single most powerful and amoral firebender in existence, isn't a place to bring your pet lemur?

Beat up Sokka quota fulfilled by little sister. It's surprising that isn't the case more often. I know Sokka took it too far, but if you don't want him telling you what to do, maybe you shouldn't have looked to him for a plan?

Toph is here! Day saved.

Finally some sense re: Momo safety.

Time for the Western showdown. There's even something that could stand in for a water tower in the background.

If Azula had just struck at Aang the second he got knocked unconscious, rather than waiting until he woke up for dramatic purposes, she would have won this. I give Zuko Hell for being a theatre kid, but he's not the only one in the family.

I would love to know what they make Fire Nation boot soles out of. They have supernatural traction.

I take back everything I said about pet safety. That was a really cool Momo assist.

Aang invents the pneumatic hammer.

I LOVE that the cut braces had an effect after all. Sokka's contribution counts!

I bet this guy's wishing he'd been eaten by a giant fishman like Zhao right about now. Have fun explaining that one to the Firelord!

HOW is Ty Lee still alive?

HOW does Azula still have knees after that drop?

HOW does Mai have such perfect timing?

ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN

They really ought to put wheels on all but the back car to reduce friction and save energy. Then again, if the Earth Kingdom is one thing, it's stupid.

So... Jet's change of heart lasted a bit less than one episode. Good job fuckboy!

So precious.

So Pretty.

Final Thoughts

This was like 90% action, with the other 10% being split between Zuko & Iroh plot stuff and Sokka playing comic relief. So there's not that much to talk about here really (she says, having found a whole post's worth of stuff to talk about).

Sokka had his bossy pants on, admittedly because he was asked to don them. Aang got to do some proper Avataring. Katara and Toph got to exercise their bending muscles. I'm not surprised that Toph was absent for much of the middle of the episode, because - let's be honest - given the right tools, Toph would have finished the Drill in one move. And then they'd be out of episode.

Actually, Mai got to have a personality beyond Too Bored To Live this episode. This is probably the most personality I've seen out of her so far. She's much more expressive when she's with just Ty Lee, rather than Ty Lee and Azula.

And Zuko! Had! Common! Sense! Iroh had to be a dumbass for Zuko to shine, but Zuko was, once again, the most reasonable character in his little B plot. For future reference: If you want to make Zuko reasonable, all you have to do is nerf his uncle and juxtapose him with a terrorist.

I loathe Jet. Always have, probably always will. But I'm still disappointed in him. His 'turning over a new leaf' - if it was sincere at all - lasted like 10 on-screen minutes. I feel sorry for Smellerbee and Longshot. I don't think their faith in their glorious leader is going to be repaid. He seems to brush off Smellerbee's opinions.

The strangest thing this episode was how few lines Azula had. I guess maybe they were using silence to try to show how calculating and collected she is compared to others, but honestly my first thought was that the voice actress had something going on. A cold? A previous engagement? It felt really weird to hear her speak so little, since previous episodes have shown she's not averse to gloating and dramatic monologues. She didn't even have much in the way of facial expressions.

I think the winners this episode were Mai, who got to have a personality; Zuko, who got a turn with the brain cell; and Aang, who got to work out pretty much all the bending he knows so far and successfully Avatar.

I did notice with some of the shots of Aang moving the big boulders the idiots were chucking down, that there was a kind of fuzziness to the air between Aang and what he was moving. Was I seeing the actual bending energy (Chi I guess) moving?

[yuttikkele]

ok so I saw that anon giving very persuasive reasons to be a zukaang shipper, and I like was writing a bunch of tags on the reblog so I just decided to make my own post 😭😭 it was way too many tags. I have a lot to say about zukaang guys.

Everything’s under the cut, but this gets very chatty very ramble-y fair warning.

anyways the part I was mostly talking about was how zukaang has a lot of what mainline ships have to offer. but like, more. and like no offense to the ships mentioned, I think they’re cool banger ships! I'm just biased towards zukaang. ofc I'm gonna think it has everything those ships have to offer and more.

though I do like these ships, there might be a little negativity towards them in this post, but I assure you, I do not mean it in any mean-spirited way.

zkka for example. I liked it a lot at first, but then I got into zukaang, and, it's just no comparison. zkka is still amazing tho it's a really silly and heartwarming ship, and sokka deserves a popular gay ship as a treat. I like them 💙❤️

but text wise?? zkka went on a two part prisonbreaking journey. zukaang spent the whole show revolving around each other with multiple key episodes exploring their dynamic. zkka can't compete with that.

and sorry to bring ztara and ktng into this as well but I gotta.

Listen, ktng is great. I think they’re really cute! Though there’s tons of discourse about which ship should’ve been canon, I think the creators made the right choice making this one canon (it was set up from the beginning, and I do think it’s the more popular ship. I think they would’ve gotten MORE backlash had they not made it canon). BUT, they’re literally middle schoolers. Of course they DO end up together, but the chances of that actually happening are off the walls! They only stayed together because of bryke, fan popularity, and what the show ended on (it would be really awkward if it ended with them getting together, and then bryke saying they broke up later. I get that. I don’t think they made a bad decision there). It’s just a liiiiiiiittle unrealistic (and I don’t wanna hear nothin bout “this is a fantasy world everything’s unrealistic.” You know what I mean go smart off somewhere else). Zuko and Aang, on the other hand, are bound by fate. They’re best friends, and they stay best friends for like, ever. Platonic soulmates, ying yang, does that not ring a bell? They’re not separating, it’s in the code. Though Katara and Aang don’t break up, I still think, realistically, it’s possible that they’d last a couple years then grow apart. Meanwhile, Aang and Zuko get closer and closer and then boom: just as much gay tension as roku and sozin. But not doomed this time.

ztara I can’t see happening based on the text. they have a lot of sweet moments from them talking about their respective moms' death (kinda sorta death) to like zuko accompanying her for "revenge" (not really revenge) to katara fighting azula with zuko. and their dynamics are cute like rivals to lovers and stuff. but, I just can’t see it. Plus, zukaang has that.

zuko’s mom was taken away from him, and aang’s father figure was threatened to be taken away from him. but it doesn’t stop there. no, shortly after these events, zuko was banished from his nation while aang fled from his. (MIRRORING CHECK DO I GET A MIRRORING CHECK???) zuko might’ve gone with katara to tie up loose ends of her past, but zuko went with aang to learn from the past for the future. and not to mention, on that journey, zuko and aang met mirroring red and blue dragons that formed a heart around them then proceeded to shroud them in rainbow flames while they learned firebending from the first firebenders not unlike oma and shu who were lovers from opposing sides of a war. (DO I HEAR SYMBOLISM AND STORY COMPARISON???) and zuko? he said “it’s my destiny for me to help the avatar.” and he DID. Yeah fighting azula was a culminating moment of his character arc and was imperative to taking down the imperial fire nation, but do you think zuko would just go attack his sister if she wasn’t a threat to Aang and peace? No, he would not. And you may be saying “uh yeah you said ‘and peace,’ zuko’s doing this because he believes it’s the right thing, and to take down his corrupt family, and for peace, not Aang.” BUT DO YOU SEE IT. AANG AND PEACE ARE LIKE SYNONYMS TO ZUKO. THEY COINCIDE. THEY’RE THE SAME THING. And in that Azula fight Zuko was given a MIRRORING scar with Aang. Aang’s back scar and his chest scar. (DO I HEAR DEVOTION???)

also headcanon-wise, I just really think Zuko is gay, so the ztara thing also kinda falls apart at that for me. Zuko just doesn’t?? Treat women very well??? Sorry, it IS kinda true tho. For so much of his life being spent with his main friends being only girls, he does not treat the women he dates very well. He actually treats Katara the best out of the girls he interacted with in my opinion even though he totally crushed her trust first try. (Some ships are about to get stray shots here while I explain this so sorry 🙏🙏)

Alright now here’s Zuko just not being the best with girls in general with romantic and platonic relationships. Not saying he hasn’t had his good moments, but, if I knew him irl I’d be trashing him for how he treats girls. Him and Mai always had continual problems on both ends. Zuko never really seemed interested in her genuinely, but on top of me just not really feeling the chemistry, Zuko was unhealthily distrusting and jealous of her like an object, he broke up with her through a note, and she risked her life for him and he didn’t even think about busting her out of jail. he really didn’t think about Mai much at all when he was with team avatar, and when he did, it was usually with weariness. he never really seemed upset that he was away from her. Now there was the “that’s rough buddy” conversation, but that’s when Zuko said “oh yeah leaving the Fire Nation was EASY” to which Sokka brought up leaving behind loved ones and Zuko went “Oh yeah, I had a girlfriend. Bummer I had to leave her to go FOLLOW THE AVATAR. AGAIN.” I was never convinced either of them actually liked each other romantically. The best thing I can say about their relationship is that Mai didn’t want Zuko to die, and the hardest part about Zuko’s easy decision to leave the fire nation was leaving Mai. For Katara, obviously, he severed things with her pretty early on, but was able to regain her trust so kudos to him. I guess he and Suki’s minimal interactions were positive I don’t really remember them sorry. Zuko DIABOLICALLY denied Toph her field trip. And Jin from Ba Sing Sei. j1nko is actually the Zuko het ship I like the most and that’s just cause I think they’re cute, and also this is like one of the times Zuko does something romantic that the girl actually likes. And he just never saw her again. Like I understand he was in a bit of a complex situation, but he could’ve gone to visit her or give condolences once everything settled down?? imagine you go on a date with this guy and the next day he’s ghosted you so hard he’s not even in the same city anymore? Jin was probably so heartbroken and then she sees HE’S THE FIRE LORD?? Nah I’d be so mad. Zuko has issues with girls. Men tho? I don’t see this problem arising. He just really reads as a gay dude to me.

Switching topics abruptly here, angsty zukaang has its place, but me personally, zukaang is not one of my angsty ships 😭😭 they worked so hard to be together y’all let them have it. There’s multiple solutions to the kid problem in my opinion, some more ideal than others but yknow. they could find out they loved each other after they already had kids and got a divorce? They could get surrogate mothers? They could say “screw you” to having to have bio kids and just adopt (and probably not announce it publicly cause how would the people know? Just keep them believing.). My personal favorite, they could avatar magic it and bring in some storks ectobiology and poof! magic bio baby they’re both blood related to. Hey, crazier things have happened. And zukkang has made a world where they can both be together and it’s beautiful and lovely and sweet ❤️🧡

and like, I don’t think it’s an all-out solution to the ship war. I think zutaraang is the all-out solution to the ship war. BUT, zukaang is a solution. It’s that one Thomas Sanders Prince vine where he goes “you’ll never have her! because I want you…”

uhhh anyways thank for comin to my tedtalk ramble about zukaang. Enjoy the rest of your day, and God loves you :DD

[punkeropercyjackson]

AHEMAHEM gaang headcanons? i’m very intrigued with the way ur brain works and the way u see the gaang… /pos

Yes ofc ofc!!!And tysm💗💗💗

They're all somewhere on the autism spectrum and trans.Aang is transmasc genderfluid,Katara is a genderpunk and mermaidkin trans girl,Sokka is a trans man and the token binary,Toph is a transmasc girl,Zuko is transmasc gothgender and Nia is transmascfem

Jet is a member because him dying was an unfair fate from a writing persective and him being used as anti-radical propaganda made me spite make it so he survived the Dai Li assassination attempt.He's bi and transneumasc

No Momtara,Yes Dadko because contrary to what Zutara shippers think parentification to little girls and an abuse victim breaking the cycle of abuse by developing into a parental figure for traumatized kids like they used to be are NOT the same thing

Aang is blasian since the inspo for his design was(The son of a black man on the crew with a chinese wife).He still shaves his head since he's a buddhist but in season 3 when his hair grew out he had baby dreads and he's full Air Nomad,just half of their black etchnic subgroup

Zuko calls Aang 'Mittens'.No reasoning,it just feels right

They all share a bed very often as non-sexual intimacy

And steal food off eachother's plates

Zuko and Nia are like.PAINFULLY obvious and unfiltered with how in love they are from the getgo but the Gaang dosen't try to get them together or constantly shove it in their face since they know they needed to go at their own pace

Aang and Nia started making windchimes for Air Nomad reasons and taught everyone else to

Toph in Book 4,about her parents:

Sokka has an infamous reputation for causing problems on purpose within the Fire Nation but unlike Katara,it's him being goofy asf instead of an eco-terrorist menace

Katara's actually well-versed on Water Tribe slang and it's history because she read up on it a lot

The Freedom Fighters thought Jet was actually dead and he didn't have a way to get back to them but they made a grand reantrance in Sozin's Comet Part 4 and they had a heartwarming reunion

Aang wears tibetan makeup <333

Nia is Otome Kei style wise and never straightens his hair and instead wears it in black styles!!

Kataang's a lot more middle school romanceish than in canon but specifically their dating dynamic because it felt a bit too mature in the comics?No hate to it but i think this is funner!

Mai,Ty Lee and Azula are honorary members

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

There's a common theme in Zutara fics where they put Zuko and aang against each other... Mostly to fill some fantasy of two guys fighting over a girl

They always forget that Zuko and aang are like, really close friends post canon (there's a whole monologue of Zuko talking about how much of an influence aang had on him in the legacy of the fire nation I think).

Also aang isn't one to dictate who Katara likes? When Katara was crushing on Jet (and possibly haru if you wanna go there) he just let it be. He wasnt jealous or angry, just sort of went on his business

I give them a pass when it's done in good fun - as in genuinely going "I'm just gonna have this happen because I like the drama". I also excuse it when Aang is given actual reason to feel insecure/like he's losing the girl he liked to someone else (remember, he only took the Ember Island stuff to heart because he had assumed he and Katara would get together after their kiss during the invasion, while during the Jet and Haru things he did not seem to believe he'd have a chance with Katara either way so he wasn't really losing anything).

What I cannot stand is the "This is totally what would happen in canon" or worse "This is exactly the same as that scene in which Aang wants to sit next to Katara, but Zuko won't let him because he' wants her too/is trying to protect her from Aang"

My guy. My dude. My pal. Aang was not really mad at Zuko on that scene. He wasn't happy about not sitting next to his crush, or about the play forcing to ackowledge his anxiety that the reason he and Katara are not together yet is because she doesn't think of him that way - but he doesn't take it out on Zuko. Hell, when he confronts Katara about it, he asks if it's true that she thinks of him as a little brother, not if it's true she's into Zuko because he knows that part isn't true.

As for the idea that Zuko either felt he needed to "protect Katara from Aang" or was into her, and that's why he doesn't give up his seat to Aang, we need to remember that this is ZUKO we're talking about here.

The guy who saw the same girl coming to his uncle's tea shop repeatedly and assumed "She must know we're Fire Nation is planning to take us down by ordering tea!" before he went "Maybe she's into me, or just likes the tea."

The guy who shouted "SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" in the middle of his date because he felt awkward about acknowledging he liked a girl, and didn't even register she could take it as him not enjoying their date. The guy who interrupted their kiss at the end of said date because he just had to give her a freaking cupon.

The guy who saw Suki trying to sneak into her boyfriend's tent, in the middle of the night, and acting all sus when she was caught and then went to talk to Sokka without having a damn clue that he interrupted their romantic night until he saw Sokka with a rose on his mouth, practically telling Suki to draw him like one of her frenc-I mean Kyoshi girls.

The guy that is related to miss "That's a sharp outfit, Chan"

That boy cannot read the room to save his life. When he told Aang "Just sit somewhere else, what's the big deal?" it wasn't him being passive-aggressive, or possessive, or jealous, or trying to do literally anything. He just didn't realize that Aang wanted to sit there because it was the seat next to Katara's. Hell, he probably didn't even know about Aang's crush on her.

[forevermore05]

How about this prompt?

In an attempt to control both Azula and the Avatar, Katara and Zuko end up getting brainwashed by the Dai Li and are now living new identities somewhere in the lower-middle class of the upper rings.

Long Feng doesn't anticipate Azula usurping him. She figures that Zuko can be a useful pawn elsewhere or at least be kept out of her way.

The gaang and Uncle Iroh can't find them because they're still under the impression that the pair are imprisoned in the Crystal Catacombs. They end up having to escape the city during all the chaos and hope that their loved ones are still alive.

Azula still goes crazy at the end, Ozai is defeated, and Iroh has to step in until they can find his nephew and the Avatar's waterbending teacher.

Azula, though, isn't forthcoming about anything, and she very well might not even know what happened to Zuko and Katara.

Li and Hwamei met at a party a few years ago and ended up really connecting with each other. Hwamei is from an upper-class nobel family, and they ended up disowning her because she fell in love with a lowly tea server.

They both live comfortable lives, and they have a few kids.

From there, they can be extra confused when the rest of the gaang finally finds them. They must adjust to their new lives as their old identities and Zuko and Katara can get to know each other all over again. Their kids also have to get used to being royalty.

Or

It's actually been a few decades since the war ended, and Katara and Zuko went missing. Then someone from the gaang sees them with their family and recognizes the pair. It could be a question of if they should try and get their loved ones back or just let them continue to live their lives.

The Gaang's reactions are up to you

Okay, this plot looks so cool. Okay, here is a confession when kids are thrown in the mix, I lose interest. I don't think I have the chops to write their children. Is it okay if I don't write kids into the plot? Going to add this to my to do list though

[ravenflorals]

For your prompt ask:

Zutara, smutty, "run"

and we run

pairing: zuko / katara ( ATLA )

word count: 2540 words

rating: Explicit

warnings: consensual sex between two consenting adult ( post war , 20 & 22 ) characters

Excerpt: That this wasn’t one of the dirty little dreams she had under her sheets in the middle of the night. They’re both completely naked, bare as the day they came into the world. Yet Zuko covers her with his body like the finest silk dress. He’s warm and the way he fits so perfectly against her makes her heart flutter faster than any bird or insect. Her mind races until the point she can feel his cock tease her entrance. Holding back a gasp blue eyes meet ember as he continues to rub back and forth against her.

In the years Katara had known Zuko she truthfully never thought this was where they’d end up. Completely bare, with a sheet only covering them. The blanket was haphazardly thrown off to the side somewhere. Her back was pressed to Zuko’s chest as he held tightly to her.

“Zuko. You have a meeting with the earth kingdom in thirty minutes,” she mumbles, feeling him kiss alongside her neck and shoulders.

He hums “They can wait for me. I’m getting what I waited for.” Katara giggles at this, letting him push her down onto the mattress. Straddling her as the assault on her neck continues.

12 HOURS PRIOR

“You did a number on yourself ” Katara chastised as she took the water from the fountain and onto the spot Zuko had gotten a little reckless regarding his bending. There had been years of proper training between them. But unfortunately, they also knew of one another’s worst habits and how to get them on the edge.

They’d run from one another, ducking and covering wherever they could. Katara would stand in the center of the fountain, surrounding herself with water before firing off in his direction. Steam would fill rooms so they had to move to a courtyard.

She’d let her fingers run across his chest and shoulders. Tracing the marks over each scar and mark. Gazing at his frame she notes little imperfections. From the freckles and moles that speckle across his body, to the bruises that come from training. They’d run the same routine over and over, it became a constant of theirs. The only constant if Katara were honest.

They’d run the outline of the palace, a race against one another. Except this time around something happened that wasn’t in the routine. Sat on the edge of the fountain Katara runs a healing hand down the Fire Lord’s chest. Working on healing a small burn mark from training she tries to keep her focus on him. On healing him, on keeping any inappropriate actions at bay. She had healed him before, this was like any other time. She’d healed him with skin against skin, water whirling over the spots of anguish.

“You need to be more careful my lord,” Katara speaks, using the title as a way to mess with him. She knew how he felt regarding anyone using that title, worst of all one of his ambassadors. She had told him ‘It’s a way of showing respect’ and he rolled his eyes. He had earned the respect and had deserved the honor that came alongside it all.

Zuko eyes Katara as she stands in front of him. Standing at the front of his closed legs. Realistically the healing would work better if she could get closer to him. But she couldn’t get closer than standing between his legs. “Katara, I’ve expressed how I feel regarding that title,” he says, and the ambassador smiles trying to calm her rapidly beating chest.

“And I’ve expressed that I call you the title because it's one of honor,” she says, letting her hands linger against his chest

This conversation was a recurring one, the conversation of honor and the way it leads us to what we least expect. Regaining his honor was something that led him to the avatar. But then again, it led him to her. They were friends ——— best friends. Yet she always found herself running to him. There was something sweet in the simplicity. Despite them only getting a few hours alone a week. He was a busy man, she was getting busier too as the Southern Tribe fishing season approached.

“Well. Don’t call me it,” he says, leaning further into her touch. Letting her touch linger against him. Despite him bringing heat, he’s melting against her touch.

Keeping focused on him she stops her movements to stare at him. Brows raised “What would you rather me call you?” She asks moving to rest a hand against the side of his face. They’re friends. She repeats

“anything but my lord.” He pleads, keeping his eyes focused on her.

“Here let’s try some nicknames out.” She hums. “We could do my liege.”

“No.”

“Sparky.”

“Reserved for Toph.”

“Lord Sparky.”

“Absolutely Not.” He says sternly. During this time the two had somehow moved even closer together. Katara was between his legs and pressed against him.

There’s a feeling of something hard between her and Zuko. Realization slowly strums of what it is. Visibly tense, she lets out a quiet “oh.” Slip her lips. She’s not uncomfortable with this, she just didn’t know she had deserved that much of a response.

Zuko flushed a bright red, realizing she had been able to feel how he had felt at that moment. Practically pushing her away he stumbles over his words for a moment, trying to come up with something to say to cover this moment. “I feel like such a damn creep. I'm so sorry.” He says and despite blushing she shakes her head

“It’s completely natural… if you want.” She pauses and makes sure she’s making eye contact with him “I can help you relieve that?” She offers. “If I caused it… I can at least help.” She says and can hear his breath stutter.

“Katara, I don't think you know what you’re offering.” He says keeping his glance on her.

She steps back between his legs. “Do you want me Zuko?” She asks.

He swallows harshly before nodding. “I want you.” Things would completely change from those words. Lips pressed against his lips, they’re crushed together. Bodies pressed hard. She can feel the outline of his abs. And can feel her nipples pebbling under her shirt at the feeling.

“Wait wait. Not out here. But come back to my quarters with me?” Katara asks, glancing at him hopefully.

He takes her hand and they run.

They’re like teens again, despite not having been those teens or those people in a very long time. But they’re sneaking around. Even though this is his palace. He’s an adult, she’s an adult. They’re both unattached. Running down the hallway. Katara giggles as he throws open her door.

Katara watches as he steps out of his pants. He had already been shirtless, but the sight of him in front of her had her unable to breathe. “Can I touch you?” She asks pressing her lips back onto his. He nods rapidly. “Words my lord?” She says feeling a little bratty, just to ease into things without tension.

“Just touch me Katara.” He hisses out, watching as she reaches her hand down his front. Under the waistline of the cloth shorts, he’d still have on. She wiggles them off his hips, looking at his cock. Precum already sat at the tip, Katara licked her palm before swirling a finger across the tip. Movements are slow, each stroke, and pull are intentional as she wants him as close to the edge as she can get him. “hnggg—“ the moan slips out of him and she can feel herself grow wet at just the sound of him.

A few more strokes, varying in length and intensity get him coming, white streaks hitting Kataras hand as she removes her hand, sticking her cum soaked fingers into her mouth. “You will be the death of me.” He says throwing her onto the bed. “Be a good girl and start to strip for me.” He instructs.

She moves quickly to remove her top, unwrapping the layers of her chest binding. Before she can get her bottom garments off he stops her. “Don't. I want to take a second to look at you. “ he says “to touch you.” His hand traces down her chest. “And to taste you.” he admires her for a moment more. Her breasts are a glorious handful, with small freckles and moles all across them, there’s a scar, and he chuckles to himself at the idea that they have matching wounds. But the star of the show is her nipples, the brown-toned area is perfect for him. “You’ve been hiding these from me?” Holding one of her breasts with his unoccupied hand, and his mouth lands on them. Her breast is in his mouth, teeth playing with her nipple. She lets out a soft whimper at the contact.

He worships her and touches her skin with delicate strokes. It lights her on fire. Making her whole body want to scream. His hands further skate down her hips, he digs his fingers into her. Carving prints into her body like an architect with a cathedral. Each move with purpose, with purpose “Lift your hips for me.” He says, pulling down the loose wraps she used to sleep in. “Beautiful.” He says pressing a kiss to her bare core.

“Zuko.” She whines.

“Hold on. Let me make you feel good.” He says throwing her legs around his shoulders. Kissing up her thighs and finally, his lips find her cunt, and the way he moves against her. Worshiping her with his tongue, lips, and teeth. The edge of his scar brushes her most sensitive region, and in response, Katara’s hand comes to whack down and grasp Zuko’s hair.

When they had met first he hadn’t been the smoothest with words. He grew into his words as his lessons in press management continued. Now she was having a masterclass in the magic of his mouth. She comes in a big tidal wave of cries, sweat forming on her face. Then Zuko looks up between her thighs —— and Tui and La does he look wolfish. He’s feral with her release covering his mouth and chin. Dripping onto her thighs. “Was that —.”

“If you ask if that was okay. I’m never sleeping with you again.” She says panting from the pure intensity of the orgasm.

Her thoughts run wild as he moves up and presses his forehead to hers. Breathing in one another, for Katara she was still trying to remind herself that this was a reality. That this wasn’t one of the dirty little dreams she had under her sheets in the middle of the night. They’re both completely naked, bare as the day they came into the world. Yet Zuko covers her with his body like the finest silk dress. He’s warm and the way he fits so perfectly against her makes her heart flutter faster than any bird or insect. Her mind races until the point she can feel his cock tease her entrance. Holding back a gasp blue eyes meet ember as he continues to rub back and forth against her. It is still too close to her last one… he can't be serious.

“Zuk—oh!”

The tip would occasionally brush her entrance, causing her to grasp at the sheets below her. There’s no torture as sweet though as when he finally enters her. He starts slow but he stretches her out to an agonizing degree. He stays still for a moment. “You’re so warm.” He says between gasps of pleasure.

“Please… you can move.” she whimpers out to him.

“Are you … is this okay?” he asks and her heart beats even faster in her chest. He’s the only one who would ask if she was okay during sex. She was perfect, absolutely perfect.

Nodding Katara opens her eyes that had been closed. “I feel full... I like the feeling,” she admits. Allowing her hips to grind further into him. He groans and she can tell he’s already slowly breaking. He moves slowly, and while he’s hitting the right places. She isn’t fully satisfied. “Go faster…” she tells him, and he does just that. Thrusting into her, Katara’s hand slinks down to her entrance. Teasing at herself the thrusts harden and become more intense.

“Are you… dear gods——.” He says knowing just what she’s doing. And to go even further why she’s doing it? “Greedy little thing.” He says and Katara feels herself clench around him at those words. “Oh did you like that?” He asks with a smirk rising onto his face

“Shut. Up.” She grits out, continuing to buck forward to let him thrust into the right spots.

He’s inside her –————— gods this was better than his dreams. What he didn’t notice was that it slips “better than my dreams.” Echoes out and she looks at him.

“You’ve dreamed about this before?”

“At least once a week since Ember island” He admits shyly. But he knows he does something right when her lips are pressed against his.

It feels like a thousand butterflies. She’s not sure what she’s done in a past life to deserve the sight of him on top of her… she knows at this moment she’s in love with him. The kind of love that would make every single sappy romance novel jealous. But right now, hair wildly laid out under her and the way he looked at her when she broke their kiss to allow a soft sob to escape Katara's lips, Zuko's mouth moved from kissing her lips to leaving kisses and bite marks everywhere. Any place he leaves a bite, he sucks on it to soothe it. She’s going to be covered in marks that everyone would see. One under her ear, another across her breast, three on her neck. Her insides clench and she can tell she’s close “You’re a goddess. God, a genius in bed and on the battlefield. You’re unstoppable.”

And if the dirty talk from earlier caused storm clouds in her belly. The praise sends hurricanes to race throughout her.

She tightens and clenches hard around him. Coming with a sob that she’s sure the guards can hear. Yet right now, she doesn’t care who hears. His orgasm spirals from him with her name on his lips like a curse. He spills inside her—— “shit. I swear I didn’t mean to…” he says and she shushes him with a kiss as he pulls his still half-hard cock from her.

“Waterbender … remember?” She says allowing their liquids to be bent out of her and into a small waste bin in the corner.

NOW

The way he touches her makes her feel like she is his element. Being bent in whichever direction he sees the best fit.

“Wait wait. We should um… “ and she felt him take a nipple into his mouth. “Oh. no no, we should talk about this,” she says, wiggling out from under him. His brow furrows as he keeps his eyes on her. Like he’s trying to read her mind. “I want this. I want you. But I don’t think it's wise to let it distract us from our duties.” she says standing up to dress. He watches as she starts to wrap her chest.

“After the earth kingdom meeting… I don’t have another meeting till after dinner. Can we talk then?” before their meetings had been about radical groups causing rebellions, or the loudness that came with the industry disruptors of their nations. This meeting was about them. “We can talk about us. Not our duties.” he takes a step forward. “Not about our honor.” he kisses her cheek. “And not about our nations.” and kisses her lips. “Am I understood…?”

She smirks. “Yes my lord.” giggling at the sound of the groan that slips out.

[captain-azoren]

Are you pro or anti fire siblings reconciliation? Or somewhere in the middle?

I guess I'm pro reconciliation, it's ultimately what I hope for. That said, I don't want it to involve Azula having to submit to Zuko in order for it to happen. They don't need to be friends either, they just need to move on.

[atla-confessions]

"I ship neither of these but i noticed that many Zutara shippers depict Zuko as some alpha, macho man while many Zukka shippers depict Zuko as a bottom-bitch femboy."

yup.

and both are mischaracterizations btw! nobody seems to understand that zuko's character is not on either end of the masculine-feminine spectrum, but moreso somewhere in the middle.

X

[the-badger-mole]

Katara doing the "kiss to distract them then push them to safety" 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌

Also imagine those soldiers imprisoning her the same way Hama was imprisoned, with the dry air and her arms restrained, because that's just how you imprison waterbenders, but she knows there's a way out, she just has to wait for the full moon...

We don't get enough of Katara doing the distraction kiss on Zuko, imo.

I do think her escape would involve bloodbending. I like the idea that she runs into Sokka and the Blue Spirit somewhere in the middle of the prison and they all have to fight their way out. She's going to be pissed when she realizes who's under the mask. All that she did to make sure he got away safe, and he ran head first into danger to save her? But...his recklessness is one of the things she loves about him.

[gwydionsart]

I feel like I've barely drawn at all the past few years. My sketchbook reflects this, having started drawing in it Jan 2018 with about a third of it still blank as of last summer. So I have been making genuine attempts to sit down and draw more. Feeling out of practice, a lot of the time I would copy images instead of freehanding (collages 1 and 3), but I tried not to rely solely on that (collage 2), and lately I've been feeling more confident. So I'm just gonna post my progress here. Because that's kinda what this sideblog is for, lol.

I used to be able to say "if you wanna know what I'm into at the moment, just open my sketchbook". For the past year, that's been true for the first time in quite a long time. It feels nice.

Thorfinn showed up first, working on him while on vacation last year. Meant to draw him more, but it took me quite a while just to finish the one (gosh I'd drawn, like, one, small picture in the two years prior?).

But then my One Piece phase hit, and I realized that I had only ever attempted to draw Sanji maaaaaybe once about 15 years ago? lol So I practiced until I felt comfortable enough to try it without copying. Not all the final results made it into this post, and I'm still not super satisfied, but all the random headshots really helped get me back into the groove.

The random guy in the middle of the second one is an old OC named Xander that I was never fully happy with his design (the drawing was an attempt to update it, though I'm not sure I was successful, lol). And we've got a couple very boring Zukos - I hadn't drawn him in like a decade so I went as simple as possible.

Characters I haven't had a lot of practice with, though, are superheroes in general - I drew Spider-Man a fair amount, like, 30 years ago, and I'd attempted some version or other of Robin a couple times, but I tend to find all the details a bit intimidating. So I finally sat down and practiced drawing some of my favorite comic heroes. X-Men '97 got me to finally draw Gambit for the first time and that lead to me rereading some of my Batman/Robin/Nightwing comics and drawing Dick and Damian as well. Pretty far outside my comfort zone, but I quite enjoyed it.

Lately I've been filling the pages with some King's Quest, but I'll save that for a future post (maybe lol). I've got maybe only a fifth of my sketchbook left, which is especially great seeing as how it is completely falling apart and being held together by duct tape and a prayer. XD It'll be nice to finally be able to move on to the new one I've had sitting around for a couple years now, waiting to finally be opened. If you for some reason decided to read all my ramblings, kudos to you! lol It's just nice having somewhere I can get this kind of stuff out on occasion.

(References taken from the Vinland Saga anime, One Piece anime/manga, X-Men: The Animated Series, Batman and Robin comics, and Nightwing comics.)

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Northern Skies & Airport Lights

For the winter prompt of @sokklasaturdays

Summary: Azula and Sokka meet at an airport after their flights get delayed due to winter weather.

Azula watches plane after plane take off through the lightly frosted window. None of them are hers. She groans. Three hours and counting. Three hours and counting when she should have already boarded and been well on her way. Instead she is here with her carry on bags leaning against her chair eating a cup over overpriced, albeit decently tasty, airport yogurt.  

She had plans for the day, a trip to Äkäslompolo Lake and a taste of what it entails; mostly the sauna and a daring dip into one of the ice holes. She has never gone ice swimming, and never wanted to. Not until TyLee had talked her into it. Frankly she had planned on going somewhere warm, somewhere like Dubai or Maui or maybe Toamasina. Some random lake in the Finnish Laplands was not on her list. But TyLee had begged and begged until Azula had caved. And now, several hours into her canceled flight catastrophe, she is desperate to get to Finland. 

The prospect is exciting, an adventure ready to be taken.

 She finds herself mourning the missed opportunities. One look at the clock tells her that she won’t be getting to Rovaniemi with enough time to make the four hour drive to Äkäslompolo. Be it via bus or a rented vehicle, odds are she will only have enough time to unpack and then attempt to sleep in spite of the day’s stressors. 

And that’s if she is able to get there at all. All signs are pointing at a night in this airport in Kazakhstan. 

She should have just went at the same time as TyLee and Mai but she just had to stay back a day and get ahead on her term paper. Not that she really needed to, she could hammer that out with no problem, she just didn’t want to have to worry about that while she was supposed to be enjoying her winter break. 

She sighs and leans her head back, staring at the steady fluorescent lights. Her phone buzzes in her pocket, probably TyLee asking for her hourly update. She fishes around her pocket and finds the phone. Two messages flash across the screen; ‘Did they get you a new flight yet?’ From Tylee. And one from Zuko, ‘I told you to come with us but nOooOoo, you had to get a head start on your head start first.’ 

She rolls her eyes. And informs TyLee that all flights are still suspended until the weather clears. And so she is stranded here listening to crying babies and griping middle aged women that she has half the mind to join in their mission to get compensation from the airlines. 

Instead she gives TyLee her update and fishes around her carry on bag for one of several novels. Zuko can make what he will of her silence. But it is terribly hard to read with that woman with the bob screeching about how, “it’s ChristMAS! How can you keep all of us stranded here on Christmas!?” Nevermind that it is only the 17th of December. The woman is lucky that she gets that gaudy, flashy Christmas tree in the corner. 

She hears the thump of buttcheeks on the seat next to her and suppresses a groan—there are at least twenty other seats that this dolt could occupy and he has decided to place his buttocks here. She should have just put her bags on that seat. She has her sense of politeness to blame.

The young man waves. He looks to be about her age with a scruffy little goatee and a floppy dark blue beanie. Baggy gray pants and a baggier blue hoodie complete an extremely leisurely, comfortable look. One that leaves her jealous considering that she will be spending the night in her somewhat tight dress pants and her red and ruffled satin blouse. She can take her belt and some of the jewelry off and let her hair down but that still wouldn’t be nearly as relaxing as what he is wearing. “Hey so, you were on the delayed flight too?”

It is a stupid question. Everyone waiting in this lobby was on one of the many flights that couldn’t take off. “I was, yes. I would probably be in Finland now if not for this emergency weather related stop.” 

“Where are you coming from?”

“Japan.” She answers plainly before specifying, “Kyoto.” 

“That’s a long flight. Like ten hours right? There would have been a layover anyways.” 

She has to admire his flippant, nonchalance. “Yes, but there wouldn’t have been a wait as long as this.” Azula replies stiffly. “I am going to miss my day trip to Äkäslompolo Lake.” She folds her arms across her chest. “My stupid brother is probably having the time of his life in the sauna right now…”

The man nods. “I’m coming from Deering, Alaska so I’m kinda used to this whole blizzard thing.” He rubs the back of his head. “I was supposed to be heading to Finland as well but there was some type of computer error and the wrong flight was booked. Suddenly I’m on my way to Laos.”

“Laos! That’s not even close to Finland. That is exactly incorrect. Are you certain that it was a computer error and not a moron wasn’t paying attention to what he was clicking error?”

He rubs the back of his head again and gives her a sheepish smile as his cheeks grow pink. “Yeah, it could have been that. My mom or sister usually book the flights.” He laughs but there is a flicker of hurt in his eyes that leads Azula to speculate that there might be some story there. “Imagine my surprise when the pilot announced our destination. I’m kind of glad that we made this stop. I was able to book the right flight this time around.” 

She should just let the conversation conclude right here but some deeper part of her hopes that conversing with this stranger might take the edge out of her agitation. She clears her throat. “So…what part of Finland are you heading to?”

“I’m meeting my dad and sister in Rovaniemi to celebrate what would have been my mom’s 49th birthday. We lost her two years ago. She was fighting lupus and there were some complications at her last hospital stay.” He swallows. “Sorry, that’s a little dark to just unload on a stranger.”

Azula shrugs, “when I was fourteen they put me in an institution. My family was a disaster.” 

“Was? Hopefully that means that things are better now?”

“They’re trying to be.” 

He nods. 

“Why aren’t you with your father and sister?” 

“I’ve been away at college so I didn’t go with my dad and sister when they went to Canada to visit my Gran Gran—I’ll have to pay her a visit too, spring break probably—so I’m meeting them in Finland and then we’re all going to fly back home together.”

“If you booked the right flight, you will.” Azula quirks a brow. To her surprise, the man meets her dry humor with a somewhat booming laugh. “You’re not going to get offended?”

“It was just a joke.” His smile doesn’t fade. “It was a joke right? You’re laughing with me not at me?”

“I could be. Or maybe I’m just a mean person.”

“Hmm, I don’t think so. I like you.”

“You just met me.”

“I make friends easily.” He shrugs. “I mean we’re traveling to the same destination and we’ll be sitting next to each other on the new flight.” She follows his eyes to the new plane ticket that she had forgotten to slip back into her pocket. “That has to be a sign of something, right?”

“Except that you live in Alaska and I live in Kyoto. That’s not exactly within walking distance.”

“We have phones, the internet, video chat!” He declares. “And if you’re old fashioned you can send me a letter.” 

“I suppose that, that can be arranged.” She opens her mouth to speak again but finds herself cut off. 

“Excuse me.” He begins. “As an apology for the inconvenience of the delay, the airport is offering a free meal to all of our stranded passengers. We are offering beshbarmak, syrne, sopra, and koktal.” 

“I will have the syrne, thank you.” Azula replies. 

“I don’t know what any of that is.” the young man confesses. Azula listens to the other man summarize each dish.

“Hmm I think that I’ll try some beshbarmak.” 

The other man jots the order down. “Your order numbers are 32 and 33. We will have them ready shortly.” 

“My name is Sokka by the way.” He introduces himself and holds out his hand. 

Somewhat hesitantly, she takes it. “Azula. 

He grins. “It’s nice to meet you, Azula!” 

She nods. If nothing else, she supposes that she might get a friend out of this. She could use more friends. She supposes that she wouldn’t mind making semi-regular trips to Alaska every now and again if the two of them have a particularly remarkable time together in what little of it that they have. “What hotel are you staying at? Perhaps if you are nice to me I can get you and your family a reservation for one of those glass igloos.” 

Sokka’s face brightens, “for real!?”

Azula nods. “But you have to impress me. You have a few hours to do so.” 

“My family is going to be staying in a little cabin but it would be nice to stay at one of those igloos for at least one night.” He muses to himself. “Alright, deal! You’re going to have the best trapped-at-an-airport of your life.”

“I hope that this will be my only ‘trapped-at-an-airport.’” She rolls her eyes. But she can’t say that she is completely miserable anymore. There’s something about this Sokka. He’s got a good sense of humor and a way of making her goal of being less cynical seem possible to achieve.

[oneatlatime]

The Storm

This post was delayed due to dumbass technical issues. I managed to save it from annihilation by the skin of my teeth, and learned an important lesson about saving drafts along the way.

Long time no blog. As it's currently storming where I am, I feel it's time to watch this one.

Aang in the opening credits has his tongue out like a dog on a car ride. Now picturing a car full of airbenders hanging their heads out the window.

It's been long enough since I watched one of these that I forgot that dream sequences tend to be tinted brown. Had a two second panic trying to remember the episode where Sokka learned airbending.

I wanted to see more of Gyatso but not like this!

Appa the morning person.

Hey Zuko's back. Haven't seen him in a few episodes. Pipi Longstocking hair is still doing him no favours. Also is he really pale this episode?

I feel like Zuko's intelligence varies wildly from episode to episode (usually to serve the plot) but this may be a new depth of dumbness: tell the crew to their faces that their lives don't matter. You know, the crew that prevents the thing you're standing on in the middle of the ocean from sinking. The crew that keeps you fed and actually going somewhere. That crew.

On the other hand, Zuko's method for creating mutiny may break a world record for efficiency. He's such a dumb smart guy.

I'm with Katara on this one. I don't like that swishing either. And if they're out of money, why were they in a market anyway?

And with a kick to the rear, this episode's 'violence towards Sokka for laughs' quota is filled.

Never before in the history of humanity's hubristic quest to tame the seas has a wharf ever been this clean.

And I'm with the crewman on this one too. Zuko's actions really do line up with him not caring about anything beyond his own concerns.

Talk about rock and a hard place for Iroh here. From what I've gathered, it's Zuko's ship, which means that Zuko's in charge of everything including keeping order. But, Zuko is also being unreasonable in the face of a very reasonable complaint from the crew. So Iroh has to pacify both while undermining neither, and not appear to be in command. Takes delicacy.

Appa gets a mooring! Also what is that cave back there?

I was hoping the show would bring this up! To anyone who isn't riding along on Aang's adventures, it sure does look like the Avatar disappeared when he was needed most, continued to stay gone no matter how bad things got, and then just reappeared randomly one day with seemingly no plan to set set things right. Did he reappear to fight the firelord? According to rumour, he reappeared to ride giant koi. What would the average person be left thinking? The fisherman is right. And Katara - will you please let Aang fight his own battles for once in his life?

Aang being the bravest person you know? Do you not remember this?

You know, this?

"That fisherman was way out of line."

Poor guy needs a blow dry. Should be possible, what with airbending and all. Didn't know that Appa had a goatee. Actually the facial hair in general in this show is pretty creative.

If this is going to be the exposition dump storytelling episode, we may all need an emotional support Momo.

These air scooter shenanigans are making me think that the first lesson airbenders learn is how to nullify motion sickness.

Is this the first airbending we see by someone that isn't Aang or Appa?

Someone's been taking fashion tips from Narcissa Malfoy.

Oh fuck off that's too much pressure for a kid. Nice Wisteria though.

Isn't the toys thing a thing in the real world? Something to do with the Dalai Lama?

If Avatars have to be told that they're the Avatar, that implies that they don't know instinctively. Theoretically, could an isolated avatar living in peace time go their whole lives without figuring it out?

Oh wise and learned council of airbenders, please tell me how relying on a 12 year old is going to save you from a war?

Baby Zuko! Baby scarless Zuko! He looks like just the prettiest little princess in these shots. Also, either this happened not all that long ago, or Zuko is majorly overdue a growth spurt, because he's maybe one inch shorter in this flashback. Also also, Pipi Longstocking hair doesn't work no matter how much hair you have to put up. Also also also, the whole reverse tonsure look he has going on in the present really downplays how round his face is. He's got chubby baby cheeks. Also also also also, if Zuko is as much of a prince as his title implies, he's right that he needs to know how to rule.

I have picked up over the course of this show the fact that the fire nation seems to prioritise aesthetic. But this is just ridiculous. And a bit on the nose too. A literal wall of fire dividing you from the commoners? Not even the commoners, the highly esteemed generals in charge of your war? How does this guy see or hear anything that's going on?

Katara asking Aang why he wouldn't be excited about being the Avatar seems out of character for me. Why exactly would he be excited about being catapulted to the number one spot on the fire nation's 'enemies of the state' list? It's not like Katara doesn't know what happens to people on that list.

Don't worry about these jerks. They'll all be immolated in a little bit.

Smelly kid jokes. That's some peak 90s comedy right there.

I love Gyatso. Solidly in Aang's corner and happy to advocate for his charge even against grumpy temple elders. Never loses sight of the fact that Aang is just a boy and needs balance.

This Zuko disrespecting old farts stuff is nonsense. Like when you get called in to HR for 'walking disrespectfully past Sherri's desk' or 'aggressive choice of footwear' and you know it's just because they're looking for a bullshit reason to fire you/force you to quit because the owner's nephew wants your job and they don't want to pay for severance or unemployment. If pointing out obvious flaws in objectively stupid plans is an offence worthy of an honour duel (I'm not even going to try and spell the actual name), then this guy needs to be dueled too:

He called bullshit too.

No

No no they're not actually going to

oh fuck no

hang on he doesn't have his scar yet is this going where I think it's going?

Back to idiot monks phew. Another rock and a hard place situation. Aang needs to be a normal 12 year old. The world needs a fully trained Avatar. The best they can do is a half trained 12 year old avatar. That would have ended well I'm sure.

Oh yeah just yank out the remainders of Aang's support system. That will certainly encourage him to quickly develop into a responsible adult, rather than an emotionally disturbed 12 year old with unmatchable uncontrolled powers. What were these monks thinking? Or were they thinking at all? Were they just panicking? Because only Gyatso seems to have his head on straight. Upset avatars destroy things - we've SEEN that - and these monks think the best way to turn Aang into the Avatar they need is to do something that will upset him probably more than any other possible thing? At least they didn't think to take away Appa too.

Katara's right. He does have a right to be angry. I like that this show gives the characters permission to feel.

Indulging my inner pedant for a minute, he never saw Gyatso alive again. His bones were in pretty good condition. Actually, given that firebenders killed him, why weren't his bones covered in scorch marks? Also, is that where all the other airbender skeletons went? Instant cremation?

The fisherman's right - the avatar did turn his back on the world. Aang's right - he did run away. Katara's right - not running away wouldn't have saved anyone. Kudos to a kids' show for not flinching from tackling topics that have no right answers. Yay nuance!

oh god here we go

Free life tip: If you ever see a dependent and/or child assume this position at the feet of their guardian, call the relevant authorities. Quickly.

And of course there's a crowd of hundreds too. Nothing like a little public mutilation of children to flex your power over the masses. This firelord's ego is so fragile.

So that's where the scar comes from. Also the firelord's line about learning respect casts a new light on when Zuko said he'd teach respect to the crewman at the beginning of the episode. Guess he was channelling the firelord.

Big repsect to Zuko for the above. He's never lacked in bravery. This is the opposite of the "shameful weakness" nonsense.

"Things will never return to normal." THANK YOU

Why is Zuko in such a hurry to go home to that anyway? Seems like the only person who likes him is his uncle, and he's travelling with him.

This is odd. I've always felt like I know Aang, and hearing his story this episode just confirms that I do know him, who he is, what makes him tick. And it lets me know him better. I've deepened an already deep understanding of who he is. However, I thought I had a surface (if jumbled) understanding of Zuko, but hearing his story this episode, and especially the final series of shots, the way they frame him as alone in darkness contrasted with brightly lit memories, makes me sure that I've never known Zuko at all. Who is this guy? I feel like this is meeting him for the first time.

There's also definitely something worth examining in the fact that Aang tells his own story but Iroh tells Zuko's (beyond the fact that Aang is the only person left who could tell his story).

Thank god some comic relief. Not a moment too soon.

I didn't know firebenders could do that. Judging by his face, I don't think he did either.

The judgmental energy in this shot is unparalleled.

"I'm not but I still don't wanna!" This old couple has some seriously good lines.

Appa saves the day once again, this time with an assist from the Avatar powers. I swear if Appa's existence was paired with Sokka's brain they could do the Avatar's job no problem.

Zuko apologises. That is good. But is it Iroh he should be apologising to?

"I'm here now and I'm going to make the most of it." A lovely message to conclude a show on. But are we going to gloss over the whole 'father mutilates his son BARELY offscreen' thing?

Appa shakes!

Final Thoughts

This section could very easily devolve into increasingly hysterical ranting about the whole ZUKO JUST GOT HALF HIS FACE BURNED OFF AS A FORM OF COURT ENTERTAINMENT thing. Lord have mercy the fire nation is fucked up. To prevent that, I am going to share one thought, and only one thought on that fiasco:

this is the first time I've really felt that I'm not the target audience of this show. If I had seen this at 8 or 10 years old, I would have been appropriately mad at the firelord for doing such a bad thing, but it would have made perfect sense, because he's a bad guy, and they have to do bad guy things. It's what makes them bad guys. As an adult, with more knowledge in general, but especially about things like power dynamics and the long term consequences of child abuse, I am valiantly fighting not to spiral down a path of horrific implications because I want to be able to sleep tonight. From both a political and a familial point of view, there was no one (who wasn't 12 and frozen) who could have stepped in. It was the firelord who did it; it appears that there is no one above him in the fire nation hierarchy. It's Zuko's father who did it; good luck getting a kid to stand up to a father in front of an audience of hundreds in a culture that obviously worships a bastardised concept of respect (zuko tried though). Iroh couldn't (or wouldn't) interfere on either political or familial grounds. As an adult, seeing a child (because Zuko may be 16 in the show but that boy kneeling is BABY) stuck in such a situation, knowing there's literally no way to get out of it, no hero going to swoop in and save the day, no judicial process to dish out consequences, well that's hard to watch. And that's all I'll say about that.

Here's a thought: did the avatar (not Aang, but the figure/concept of the Avatar) disappearing fail Zuko, and by extension the fire nation, as much as it failed the other three nations? And the natural follow-along to that thought: did the fire nation attacking the rest of the world hurt the fire nation as much as it hurt the rest of the world?

Aang made a mistake many years ago by running away. He gets to redeem himself by not running away and saving Sokka and the fisherman. Zuko made a mistake at the beginning of the episode by undervaluing the lives of his crew (to their faces, no less). He gets to redeem himself by saving the helmsman and letting the Avatar pass in favour of getting the crew to safety. But I don't think these stories are really parallel. Aang's natural impulse was the mistake. He learned from it, modified his behaviour, and did better the next chance he got. Zuko's natural impulse was to act as he should have. He was taught (violently) that this was incorrect behaviour, and modified his behaviour based on his father's teachings. This modification (not valuing the crew) is the mistake. In Zuko's case, learning from the experience and modifying his behaviour actually means unlearning the lesson he was taught and reverting to his former behaviour. Aang's natural state needed modification; Zuko's externally imposed behaviour needed to be forgotten. Not parallel.

Aang = hope is an interesting conclusion. It's only possible for him to represent hope because he dashed everyone's hopes by disappearing and staying gone. If the avatar had defeated the fire nation 100 years ago and prevented a war from ever happening, he would not have been a symbol of hope. I don't know what he would have been a symbol of, but it's the fact that he's been gone long enough for things to get really bad that makes him a symbol of hope in the present. So if Aang was always meant to be hope, then he was always meant to get frozen.

Aang = hope is also interesting in that it positions Zuko on the side of the enemies of the fire nation. If Aang represents hope to the world, and Aang represents hope to Zuko, then Zuko is not on the Fire Nation side of the conflict (whether he knows it or not).

The humour in this episode was minimal but very welcome. The old couple was heaps of fun, Sokka got a couple of good lines (although never enough - still waiting on a Sokka episode), and the juxtaposition of humour and very serious themes was artfully handled. It was never jarring or tonally off. The switching back and forth between the two story threads was well done too, especially how they tied in at the end.

I'm kind of annoyed that Katara got relegated to shouty defender of the actually-a-little-bit-guilty or Agony Aunt. She deserves better. I'm not at all annoyed that Momo filled the role of cuddle administration. That was lovely to see.

It didn't even occur to me to check if the art/animation in this episode was pretty. That's usually a primary concern with me, but I was too wrapped up in the plot to notice.

I can't believe a kids' show went there, but they did. And they did it well. This episode felt much longer than 20-ish minutes, in a good way. It was packed. Definitely going on my rewatch list.