#zuko: okay. I don't have an idea then.

[discordiansamba]

zuko's life turns upside-down in the blink of an eye. one minute, he's a fire nation prince. the next he's told he's been removed from the line of succession entirely. fire lord azulon has a different plan in mind for him.

he is taken to an isolated manor on a remote fire nation island. it is impossible to escape from, especially for a mere seven year old child.

zuko does not even try. this is what grandfather wishes for him. he is honor bound to follow it.

(fire lord azulon, he corrects himself. he is not grandfather anymore. they are no longer a family.)

the training that zuko is put through is incredibly harsh, but for once, it's something he thrives at. azulon is pleased. his assessment of the boy's talents was not wrong.

(ozai is pleased. now he has two children that will gain him favor with his father.)

zuko's master has not a single trace of kindness in him. it is not necessary for their line of work. emotions only get in the way.

this lesson is harder for zuko to learn, but he masters it eventually.

(at least until he becomes Li, and things are suddenly much more complicated.)

for as long as there has been a fire lord, there have been assassins at their beck and call. they have no name, but those who know of them speak of them as viper-ravens, for the birds they use to communicate.

zuko's time as Li is the first time he's had the chance to just... be a regular kid in years. it's a strange feeling. he doesn't understand how this 12 year old monk can be the key to defeating the fire nation.

he doesn't mind helping the avatar accomplish his goals, to a degree. he can win small victories all he likes. zuko has his eye on the bigger picture.

in ba sing se, when it comes time to fulfill his final duty, zuko doesn't hesitate. hesitation has been trained out of him.

(once he is out of everyone's sight, he vomits. he swears he can still smell aang's charred flesh clinging to his nose.)

li's betrayal hits everyone hard. it's bad enough to learn that he was never on their side, but learning that he used them like he did? that's even worse. sokka doesn't know how he can face yue again when he helped vouch for the very person who killed her father.

but the fact that after all the time they spent together, he didn't even bat an eye before killing aang? they can't get over that. toph thinks she's going to be sick. she should have known, but she never noticed.

katara is so, so angry.

aang just feels sad. he and li didn't always see eye to eye about everything, sure, but he thought they were friends.

when ursa finds out what ozai and azulon did to her son, she's horrified- but she also doesn't recognize the young man who returns to the palace.

(it doesn't matter. he is still her son. she still reaches out to him.)

(perhaps this is what truly saves zuko in the end.)

ozai might have given zuko his place back in the royal family, but he still expects his son to fulfill his duties as an assassin. when your treasonous sister returns during the invasion- kill her.

(he thinks about how relieved azula was to see him alive. for the first time in his life, zuko's not sure he can.)

[gotticalavera]

Zuko: STAY. AWAY. FROM. MASTER. AANG!!!

Aang: Don't worry! He's very friendly☺️

[Edit with screenshots of the comics "Imbalance" and "Azula in the spirit temple"]

[the-genius-az]

Tuberculosis Au.

The day of the comet.

Azula reluctantly prepared herself, she was subjected to being the Fire Lord, but that was okay, she wasn't going to last long, but she was going to do what she could for her Nation, it was the only thing she had left.

Until Zuko and the waterbender showed up, with their flying bison. And that's where her rage broke out, her girls-no... Mai and Ty Lee left her for stupid Zuko, always him, always him, why? Why do they always have to choose Zuko over her? HAS NO SENSE! WHAT DOES HE HAVE THAT SHE DOESN'T HAVE?

And so he accepted the Agni Kai with his damn brother, he wanted to show that he didn't need anyone but his power.

Everything was almost the same as in the series, until Zuko scoffed, and she prepared to launch a lightning bolt... but stopped when she had a coughing fit, the lightning bolt falls to the ground at Zuko's feet, making him goes flying, and Azula faints.

Katara, in shock, didn't know what to do, help Zuko who had burns on his feet? Or the girl who fainted after spitting up blood? Obviously it was because of Azula, she was mean, but she was her age, how could she refuse to help someone in need? Besides, Zuko was fine, he was still breathing and looking at the sky, he would be fine, he was a firebender, he could take burns.

[chiptrillino]

I'm sorry, just sent in 62 for the ask game because I'd overlooked that it's the amazing scifi thing!

Soooo 63?

(ID in ALT text)

okay so... you know whats really funny here. i think made this while for the first time polls popped up on tumblr. and i had this werid idea of like... "choose your adventure" kind of story telling. but... lets be honest i don't have much... time to draw all the options? but this is still like... a sort of darker AU which is deer to my heart. and till today i don't know if they should have a happy end or not. sokka got shipwrecked. and to make his situation even worse zuko poped up and and took a bite of him.

the whole siren idea is more based on the sinister one. the one drowning and eating seamen. and zuko is now out to eat sokka. i have some plot lines written out. -sokka playing with zuko a game of riddles to buy himself some more time -zuko being unable to stay in the sun so sokka has to decide if he lest him take shelter underneath his make shift raft or lure him out of there to burn him. at the end sokka does get saved and can escape for some time? because zuko did end up biting him. and now sokka cant stop hearing him in his head, and zuko can still follow him. so... watch out sokka! zuko is on his way to eat you up but i still don't know if he means it literally or in a more plessurable way...

[cripplecharacters]

Hi, I have some questions regarding confusion over a certain topic. First off, I have a character with a severe scarring on the upper right side of their body. I've heard in some tumblr ppsts that such appearance shouldn't be fetished. Then I stumbled across some posts, mentioning how the character can be described as 'pretty with it'.

For sure, I'm trying my best to normalize the looks. Because I have a love interest set up for them and while they don't mind the looks, I feel confused on how to convey their appreciation for the character's looks even with the scarring. They like the character as they are and stuff.

Sorry if this is a lot, I tend to get confused on how to handle such scenarios. And this sort of varying opinions is making me go '???'.

It's okay if you take your time to answer! Have a good day ahead of ya!

Hi!

"Fetishization of a disability" and "thinking that a disabled person is pretty" are two very different things. Despite the somewhat similar sound, they're not connected by much.

In the context of scars, fetishization would be what I would call the "Zuko situation" (yes, I love ATLA as much as the next guy, let me explain) - the scar isn't really a scar, it's more of a, I don't know, make-up? It's just the color that changes, it's all sharp edges and intricate shapes, the facial structure stays the exact same. There's no physical symptoms. Essentially, it's permanent body paint.

It fetishizes a disability by making it inaccurate, sometimes almost mystical. You don't see anyone fetishizing how real people with facial burns look like because they only like the idea of it. They don't care for us; they don't care for Face Equality or why we are offended by "villain with scar #32482". It's just a fun splotch of color to add to your OC when you're out of ideas.

Another aspect of fetishization is the "a scar is the worst thing in the whole world", the tragedy porn. It's using a disability for cheap drama. Again; it's inaccurate and exploitative. I don't see writers excited to depict my "coming to terms with my facial difference as a teenager, and eventually being proud of it" experience because where's the shock value and pity points? Fetishization, again, is about liking the idea of it, not the real thing.

Describing your character as beautiful, well, isn't any of that.

The point that I tried to make on that post was that a scar is often considered inherently ugly. That it's a stain on someone's beauty, that it would be better if it wasn't there.

"Brown beautiful eyes, thick facial hair, strong cheekbones - he managed to be irresistibly handsome even with that nasty scar going across his nose."

This, well, sucks. It's as if the character's beauty and their disability are contradictory forces that have to fight each other. But in reality, scars and any other visible disabilities are neutral. If the character is pretty, their scar is pretty too. It's a part of them, so how could it not be?

"She was a cute girl; her pastel pink, thinly braided hair framed her face, defying gravity by curling towards her mouth. The burned skin on her lips shifted as she smiled, revealing a tooth gap. She played with her equally pink 'white' cane, holding it between the two fingers she had on her right hand, bopping it against the ground to the rhythm of the song."

This, on the other hand, just states her disability as a part of her person. It's nothing weird or shocking, she's pretty, has a burn on her face, she's blind, she's missing some fingers, she's enjoying the music - it's almost boring when compared to the usual "scar introduction". There's no "even with her horribly burnt face", no "if only she wasn't scarred she would be beautiful", no "poor thing, lost her fingers in a horrific fire" - instead, she is beautiful, and she has scars, and she sure is having fun. That's it.

This is my best shot at explaining the difference between "fetishization" and "yeah they're pretty :-)" ft. my questionable writing - I hope this makes sense.

I definitely took my time to answer, sorry about that. Thank you for your ask!

mod Sasza

[personinthepalace]

#actually i have more thoughts on this#robert as toph because he's loud#this is his idea of premium acting#so trevor running around doing special effects#annie playing all the minor characters/extras#chris as zuko#trying to play him seriously despite the play#sandra is more like the version of katara in the play#but i think she'd want the cooler lead#so sandra as azula#vanessa would be katara#and at some point it would become painfully obvious she's just copying sandra#causing a fight#max would be sokka#chris would think his happy and silly nature would come in handy for once#but of course something goes wrong anyway#actually max might also play uncle iroh#and then i'm torn when it comes to the rest#if we were faithful to the woman being cast as aang bit#we could put lucy as aang#but that isn't really striking me#if lucy appears at all in the play#i think it would be hilarious for her to play ozai#which leaves either dennis as aang#who is supposed to be the animated main character#who is instead stiff and forgetting his lines#OR jonathan as aang#and have him always kept out of sight by things going wrong with set effects costumes props flying wires etc via @dolphelecat

Ok, but hear me out. Cornley puts on The Boy in the Iceberg by Pu-on Tim and previously performed by the Ember Island Players.

[marymary-diva17]

A marriage for peace and political

zuko x water tibe reader x male mai

This is story had been published on my wattpad, and I decide to bring it over here.

The war of the nations had been going on for 100 years and the fire nation kept on gaining ground and power, all over all the other nations. There had been a time of peace that came in the war and that peace was made through a political marriage or arrange marriage. That marriage was your marriage the second daughter of Hakoda of the southern watertribe you had been given away in marriage. As you were not just marrying the fire lord son, but also another Nobel man that is an ambassador. All the other nations and everyone thought this will be for the best as no wanted anymore war to happen. 

Y/n " dad" 

Hakoda " listen I know you must hate this idea but it need to be done" 

Y/n "......" 

Hakoda " I can't send your brother or sister they are to much of value and importance to all of us ... they are part of avater team we can't lose them" 

Y/n " i know that dad but have you heard about the stories of the fire lord he cruel and scary man ..." 

Hakoda " yes I have heard them y/n but sacrifices have to be made and this is one of them you are one of them" 

Y/n " please father o will do anything for my people but I'm scared" 

Hakoda " think about your people think about all the all other nations and all innocent lives that will be lost of you don't do this .... You can't be selfish" 

Y/n "  father ..." 

Hakoda " leave now I need to speak with my council and elders Wes most think for battle with three other nations, a war will come and war " you wish to say something else but your father had you escorted away from his office once words got to your siblings and their friends it didn't get better. 

Katara " please y/n we need this war to end we can't have aang go he not ready he hasn't master fire yet" 

Y/n " I'm just overwhelmed and scared that all this major decisions" 

Sokka " don't you think we all feel that you haven't been doing anything but stay here and healing, while the rest of us have been risking it all" 

Toph " I can sense many emotions right now" 

Sokka " if we don't have an answer by the end of week the war the fire lord wish for answers" 

Y/n " I ...." 

Aang " y/n I make a promises as an avatar and air bender if anything happen I will come help you, as you have my oath as avatar and all those that came before me" 

Y/n " I just need some time alone" 

Katara " fine go while we stay here and think about a back up plan" you could feel you were not welcome so you had soon taken your leave right away. As you were walking you had been getting cold shoulder from many people as they were all in fear. 

Gran gran " my dear" 

Y/n " hey gran gran" 

Gran " I came to see you I have heard the news" 

Y/n " I want to say yes for my people and everyone else but I'm scared" 

gran gran " it okay to be scared my dear whatever decision you make it will always love you and be with you in personal and spirt" you had hugged your grandmother as your cried, you had made your decision that night. 

Y/n " father I have made my decision" 

Hakoda " what have you decided my father" 

Y/n " I will take the marriage for safety for my family and everyone" everyone was happy about the news a hawk had been sent, and I'm days a fire nation ship had come with your future husbands. 

Iroh " lady y/n I will love to present my nephew prince Zuko and mister mao" 

Y/n " hello it good to meet you both and I hope our lives together will be good" 

Mao " hello it good to meet you"

Zuko " yes what you have done is honor and we hope to show you were are not that bad" this marriage will not be bad after all as you had thought, as the others around were either good and bad. Maybe you should give your future husband a chance and see their true selves. Celebrations had been held in your tribe you had tried to speak with your sibling and friends but they were with everyone else. You had been given the opportunity to get to know some of future family better. That next day you had left your home. 

Y/n " take care everyone I hope to see you soon" 

Katara " we will meet again" 

Y/n " yes and now we have peace life will need to be rebuild" 

Fire nation solider " lady y/n we are rests to leave" 

Y/n " coming goodbye everyone and please take care all of you" you soon got onto the fire nation ship, looking down to everyone and waving goodbye. You soon saw your home getting smaller and smaller as you head toward your new home. 

Iroh " I know you have heard bad stories about the fire nation and my family, and I don't blame you for being scared but we are all not that bad ... my nephew and mao might seem a bit scary but he a good young men and I have raised taught and many other well to be good and not to, follow their parents path"'

Y/n " thank you iroh I'm happy to know I will have friends there for me I, hope I can be a good addition to the royal household and ambassador household as well" 

Iroh " you will be amazing"

Zuko " uncle may I and Mao have some words with our wife" 

Iroh " yes" Iroh soon left the young couple to talk together, knowing it was going to be a long trip home.

Mao " we know you fear what life will be like in the fire nation but we will not be living there"

Y/n " huh why you are royalty and noble born"

Zuko " yes but I made a deal with my dad will be living on ember land it will be good for us all, and we get to know each other and live the lives we want if that fine with you"

Y/n " I'm fine with that if can keep bending and healing, and keep some cultures I have"

Mao " yes it will be good as we all should keep what we love most close to our hearts" this marriage was not going to be bad after all, you had been able to get to know your husbands better and their created famiky good as well. Life is going to be hard away from the water tribe but you know you will adapt to your new life and home.

[sokkastyles]

I'm not sure if you're tired of seeing asks like this, so it's okay if you don't want to give a lengthy answer, but I have some thoughts about why female fans (in general) are more open to the idea of Zutara or hearing takes about them as a pairing compared to male fans (in general). I think it might partially have to do with how men (in general) see women versus how women (in general) see themselves. I feel like a lot of male fans are very resistant to the idea of Katara being a flawed person because it gets in the way of their perception of what makes Katara desirable and a good character. For a lot of male fans it seems like Katara's darker, more complicated emotions are separate from who she is as a whole person or something that needs to be fixed, but for a lot of female fans Katara's complicated emotions and her trauma are considered an essential part of understanding her as a character and not something that needs to be corrected or fixed. Personally, as a brown girl myself, I loved the fact that Katara was realistically flawed, decided to handle her trauma on her own terms, and had Zuko supporting her through it and understanding her. I'm not really sure if this makes sense, and I might be very off base, but these are generalizations based on my personal observations. What do you think?

I think you're spot on. Just look at, for example, Katara's characterization with regard to her mother's death. Her taking on motherly traits is something that makes her a desirable love interest when those motherly instincts are turned on Aang, yet Aang especially refuses to deal with the negative side of that, Katara's trauma over her mother's death and the toll that this emotional labor takes on her. Women are supposed to be motherly by nature. They aren't supposed to complain about it or be negatively affected by having to carry other people's needs all the time without attending to their own. They aren't supposed to be human. The way that Aang thinks Katara should deal with her trauma is by being endlessly forgiving, and that's telling. It's framed as coming from Aang's personal cultural beliefs, yet he does not tell other characters, like Zuko or Sokka, that they should forgive the people who hurt them. He did not forgive the people who destroyed his people or who stole Appa. This need to forgive is focused solely on Katara, even though Sokka points out that Kya was his mother, too. And oh, we can talk all day about the difference between the way Katara and Sokka feel about their mother, but at the end of the day, these are fictional characters and the writers made a decision to portray Katara's pain, that is directly connected to the ways they established her as a motherly figure to Aang, as bad and irrational and something that stood in the way of her reciprocating Aang's love. That this aspect of her personality needed to be purged or repressed so that she could fulfill her role as Aang's motherwife.

Men dichotomize women like this all the time, without realizing that they have created these dichotomies. No woman ever fits into these boxes because women are not dichotomies, they are full human beings. That's why a lot of women identify with this aspect of Katara and resent the show's attempts to dichotomize her.

[p0ssywhippedcream]

Hey girlll, it’s me again (at this point file a restraining order LMFAO😭) I quite literally had this idea right now- Zuko, Katara, and Reader (if you need to choose then waterbender?), are fighting Azula together, and reader takes the hit of lightning form Azula instea of Zuko to protect him (they have like A HUGE mutual pining too rn lol).

Later when they won and are at the palace, he visits her and says he wants to talk, and he says he was super scared and wouldn’t know how to live without her and confesses, and she says yes and says similar stuff and like they start dating.

THANK YOU SOO MUCH FOR YOUR WRITINGGGG- TAKE ALL THE TIME YOU NEED, JET LAG SUCKS DUDE, I SLEPT FOR LITERALLY 20 HOURS STRAIGHT ONE TIME LMAO. LOVE YOU GIRLLLL<333

"I'm okay, I swear!" You put your hand over his and it flexes on the bed, "I just need to rest, most of it was deflected by my water bending."

Zuko's thumb crawls out from underneath your palm and gently rubs the top of your hand, "But not all. You- you got hit by lightning, Y/n. You could have died."

You grunt as you shift on the bed, the bandages around your stomach preventing a fully comfortable position. "Yes, but I didn't. You don't have to worry, Zu, I'm not going anywhere."

And something about the way the light from the candle beside your bed catches your expression, casting such beautiful shadows on your reassuring smile, compels a heart-wrenching feeling inside Zuko. He needs you to know, in case he doesn't get a chance to say it again and because his overwhelming gratitude for your kindness towards him needs him to repay your pain with something almost as difficult to do.

"Y/n," He starts and despite the nerves, keeps his fiery gaze locked onto yours, "I- I can't lose you. I wouldn't know what to do."

You're a little taken aback, a rosy blush dancing with the firelight across your cheeks but you remain with that comforting smile of yours, "You'd keep being the good person you are, keep loving."

"I don't know if I could," He confesses with a small shiver down his spine knowing all he can tell you is the truth, "I don't think I can be a person at all without you. I can't live without you."

Your eyes widen, easy grin flattering and Zuko knows that rejection is coming, braces for it like he's in the presence of his father again until your soft hand is pulling his face closer and you're kissing him. You're kissing him slow and gentle, like leaves in a summer breeze but its your lips and it drives him crazy all the same. He presses a little more, molding his mouth against yours when a rushed exhale leaves your nose and he remembers your wound.

He pulls out of your reach, clutching the hand that drew him in as he checks your tummy and makes sure you're alright.

"Zuko," It comes out breathless and accompanied by a laugh, "I'd be more alright if you kiss me again."

So he does. A couple more times actually. And when you ask him to lay next to you in the bed as you sleep, no matter how red the idea makes him, he blows out the candle and tucks you in anyway. He watches your eyelashes flutter as little snores leave the lips that left him speechless and knows that he gets to watch you breathe in and breathe out, everyday for the rest of his life.

He wants to kiss your forehead but you're a light sleeper from your time with the Gaang so instead, he opts to kiss you tomorrow. And the tomorrow after that, and the one after that too. And he gets to kiss you and hold you and watch you breathe for the rest of his life, knowing how deep the love of yours goes as he traces a lighting bolt into the sheet beneath him.

[demaparbat-hp]

I’m sorry, but don’t you feel bad for your fav ship cuz’ like, a lotta Zutara fans are obnoxious and hate Aang and Mai for no reason. It just, kinda ruins your ship and makes it one of most hated ships in the fandom cuz’ of them. You’re the one of the few sane Zutara fans and I’m proud of you. Stay this way through your entire journey.

Oh! Thanks! I, uh, I'm glad you believe me sane 🤭

Honestly, there are terrible people in every fandom, but those are just a loud, small minority. Most of us are just here to share our love for these characters and their world.

The ZK fandom is, sadly, very well versed in ship wars and fandom hate and...well, we all know about it.

That being said—I don't let fandom wars or toxic behaviour from fans on any "side" dictate how I enjoy the og series or ZK.

People have vastly different takes on ATLA. Some may not like Aang as a character, or Mai, or Katara, or Zuko, or Sokka—and that's okay! We all have our own ideas and our own ways to interact with canon and the Fandom.

But things get out of hand when someone sends you death threats using anonymous asks, or calls you horrible slurs, simply because you enjoy something (I am talking through personal experience here).

I support discourse. I support metas and takes and headcanons. I support those who say "Well, I understand why you like this couple/character, and I respect that, but I don't like them because..."

And that's the thing that's sometimes missing—respect.

I know what my stance is regarding ZK, and Kataang, and Maiko, and this senseless hostility. And I will always defend it, but that doesn't mean baseless insults need to be part of my vocabulary.

I can't tell anyone how to engage with fandom—and I'm not trying to! These are my own personal views on this matter, and I hope everyone understands the intention and meaning behind them.

[discordiansamba]

sokka: okay. we have to be smart about this. if we just try to take over the prison rig without a plan, we'll just get ourselves killed.

zuko: have you just tried not dying?

sokka: ...can we have ideas that don't come from the immortal?

aang: I don't know, I think not dying is a good plan.

sokka: that's not a plan! that's an ideal outcome!

[mantizimus]

Now hear me out on this one, how about a Zuko x Wife! Female! Reader one shot? It's set after he became the fire lord, basically reader met him in s1 and was basically this absolute badass, no filter and brutal girl who always showed clear disgust at the thought of intercourse or pregnancy, while also disliking kids and feeling like she won't be a good mother because she didn't have a good one either, but after a while into the marriage thought it over and at how Zuko needed an heir so one day while they're just doing their things she just randomly say : "You know I thought about it and I may tolerate a kid or two."

I hope I hadn't botched it.

Kids

Zuko

One of the things that Zuko would never forget was the first time he met you. And honestly, who could blame him? You were strong, tough, and fierce, with no filter. He was absolutely fascinated by you, even though he hid it until the last minute, because he knew you could use it. And imagine his surprise when he later found out that you loved him too. During the time you were together, the prince of the Fire Nation had talked to you about your future more than once. For the most part, you were more than happy to discuss it with him, except for one cute little detail. Kids. You had a less than ideal childhood, which left its mark on your psyche. You were afraid that you would be a terrible mother, which is why you decided to never have children. To be honest, Zuko himself had caught himself thinking the same thing a few times, but he preferred to ignore it or push it into the back of his mind. The Firebender knew that sooner or later you would have to discuss this, but unfortunately, he never got the chance to do so. And when he did, he had no idea how to start the conversation. "What are you thinking about?" you asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Oh, nothing," the prince began to evade the question, but deflated when he noticed your gaze. "Zuko," you sighed, "You do realize that if the situation requires it, I will always listen to you, right?" "I understand. There is just one topic that I have always wanted to discuss with you, but I do not know how." "Is it kids?" at times like these, Zuko could swear that you could read minds. "Yes," he replied. Without giving you time to say a word, he continued, "Look, I understand that you're nervous about this and afraid of ending up just like your parents," the Firebender pulled you close, "But I promise you, Y/N: I'll do everything in my power to make sure you don't end up like that." "And how do you know it will work?" your voice wavered, but only for a split second, which didn't go unnoticed. "Because I believe it. And that you'll be a good mother," there was silence. A sticky, unnerving silence. "I need to think about it," you muttered, slowly moving away from him. He only nodded in understanding.

---

You didn't bring it up for the rest of the day, but the black-haired man decided to give you as much time as you needed. He didn't want you to make a decision under pressure. However, by the time the two of you went to bed, the thought had completely left his head… but not yours.

You spent the entire day thinking. On the one hand, your phobia kept rearing its ugly head, reminding you of your parents' mistakes. On the other hand, you knew that your husband was telling the truth and that he would help you no matter what. Finally, it was time for bed. Before you fell into the arms of Morpheus, you smiled. The decision was made.

---

"You know, I thought about it, and I may tolerate a kid or two," if your husband had been drinking something at the time, he would have spat it out right away. "What?" Zuko asked you, confused. "I agree," you explained. He looked at you in complete confusion for the first few seconds before remembering your conversation last night. "Okay," he told you. "And thank you." "For what?" "For letting him know you'll always be there for me," and with that, you pulled him in for a kiss.

[the-badger-mole]

On the Unredeemed

Unredeemed villains are important in fiction. I feel like that needs to be said. There is a trend in recent years (probably since Wicked became a hit) of people wanting to see monsters redeemed. I'm not against that (per-se... glowers in Maleficent), but also, I feel like we do lose something when we lean into the idea that the monster gets to make good.

Fiction can be really useful for teaching us about life. I remember seeing a quote some time ago on Pinterest or something that said something along the lines of "fairytales are important not because they tell us dragons are real, but because they tell us that dragons can be slayed". That has been on my mind a lot recently when I see discussions about characters like Azula and (more recently) Ozai. They are fictional characters with super magic fire powers, but they represent something real- they represent the cycle of abuse in families, and while I understand the impulse to absolve someone as young as Azula, I think it's also important to tell the story where she isn't redeemed.

One reason that most Azula redemption stories bother me is because of the responsibility they tend to place on Zuko as her older brother, despite the fact that she victimized him probably more than anyone in her life (that we get to see. I don't think her soldiers believed her death threat for no reason). There are plenty of stories about the victims of abuse needing to be the bigger person to keep their families together and being villainized when they don't (I think by now we all understand that Terri was not the villain of Soul Food). We need stories about knowing when it's okay to walk away, and that illustrate the idea that "the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb".

In a time when more people are talking openly about going low contact or completely cutting off family members- close family members- I personally think that seeing stories about coming out of the other side of it, of building a new family, healing from the past, and dealing with the residual guilt that comes with "turning your back on family" even when it's the right call, is helpful in the same way that those fairytales about slayable dragons are.

I'm not saying any of this to discourage Azula redemption stories. In fact I would love to see more. Stories that have Azula confronting what she did to the people she should have loved most, and have her considering what to do with the knowledge going forward, instead of just using her past abuse and mental health to gloss over the real harm she did. I want to see her grappling to accept the fact that no one- not her brother, not Iroh, not her friends- owes her forgiveness, and then dealing with all the complex emotions that come with just one of them actually forgiving her. But also, I want to see stories where Zuko gets to let go of his father and sister and go on to be supported in that decision. Because to him, they were dragons, and they were slain.

[zukosbangtan]

"zutara shippers are just a bunch of girls who self insert as katara bc they have a crush on zuko" okay... and? while this is not the case for most zutara shippers i still don't see the drag in it even if it was.

literally who cares. it's a fictional ship between two fictional characters from a fictional world. they do not exist. it's a tv series. a tv series made for entertainment. and oh how DARE girls even try to derive joy from a tv series meant to entertain!?!!

it's really annoying how kat@@ng shippers use this argument as a drag but i honestly also don't like how some zutara shippers seem to get weirdly hostile and defensive abt it and feel the need to fight tooth and nail to deny it. cause again, there's nothing wrong with it! there are no rules to shipping !! (i mean. in my opinion there are a few rules but they don't apply here so we move lol)

it's literally just misogyny. shipping is supposed to be fun but i forgot that girls, especially young girls, aren't allowed to have fun.

i know that a lot of kat@@ng shippers won't see anything wrong with this "drag" but i do wish that at least zutara shippers would stop acting like it's something girls should be shamed for and embarrassed abt.

also how could being a "self insert ship" be a drag when it comes to zutara but not to kata@ng when kata@ng is literally only canon bc it's brykes version of a self insert ship. and so the same thing they try to drag female zutara shippers for.

most of us first watched avatar when we were kids. zuko is a handsome and strong (and angsty) teenaged firebender prince; it's not surprising that a lot of young watchers had a crush on him. katara is a beautiful smart and powerful young waterbender that a lot of young girls growing up related and looked up to; it's also not surprising that a lot of girls imagined being her (at least i did lol). and if some of them decided to ship zutara based on that then so fucking what?? what's so wrong about that??

cause you're trying to tell me that it's weird and wrong when young girls insert themselves into a ship between two teenagers but it's totally fine and normal when bryke (two grown ass men) make a 12 year old boy their self insert character and make him date a 14 year old girl? like..that's not weird to yall?? i need you to be so fr.

again, it's just pure misogyny. it's like there's no space in which girls and women won't be ridiculed and shamed for even the most innocent things we do. they'll always try to deprive us from any type of joy and fun, even if it harms literally no one (well in this case, harms no one but the idea that katara could never possibly even think abt wanting anything else for herself than brykes idea of a self insert ship. cause remember, self inserting is only bad when girls do it. but when it's grown men? no problem!!).

the atla fandom is sadly no exception from that. i genuinely couldn't care less what or who ppl ship but it's just so sad to see how much misogyny is directed at specifically female zutara shippers. and what makes it even more fucked up is that it's not only from non-zutara shippers but from bryke themselves.

there's so many things that are wrong within this fandom but young girls imagining that they're katara and shipping themselves with zuko is definitely not one of those things and should be the least of our problems. like this is just such a dumb argument against zutara and such a silly thing to get mad abt in generel. like. why do u gaf. genuinely. why is this something that makes u mad. please be normal. and being misogynistic is definitely not normal.

well okay these are quite a lot of words for me just wanting to say that hi if you're a girl that ships zutara bc u like to insert yourself into the ship that's totally fine pls don't listen to those weirdos and i hope u have a lot of fun 👍👍

okay actually while we're at it it doesn't matter why you ship zutara; if it's bc you like their bond or their dynamic, bc you like the development of their relationship during the series, bc you're a fan of the enemies to lover trope, bc you're a fan of the betrayal trope, bc you like the red and blue symbolic of their ship, bc you just like how they physically look together, or bc you have a crush on zuko and/or katara and like to insert yourself into the ship or just bc it's a random monday evening and you just felt like shipping it or whaaaatsoever it doesn't matter okay none of these reasons are superior over other reasons and none of them are dumb reasons as long as you have FUN.

let's strive to make this a kinder and fun place for everyone but especially for girls and women please. thank you👍

[woodlaflababab]

Thinking about Zuko's influence on the audience's perception of Aang, specifically in Book 1. I kinda touched on it in this post but that post is pure unsorted rambling in which I didn't get to delve as deep as I wanted. Anyway, the relevent part was:

"With this whole episode, it's just the fact that Zuko is the reason we first get to see just how fucking cool Aang is. It's so easy to be like the others in the show and see Aang for his childish antics and sweet nature, but Zuko is the one that consistently reminds us, “No, this is the Avatar. He's powerful, he's brave, he's fiercely protective, and he deserves respect and acknowledgment for that.”"

Like, I mean, the point is redundant, everyone knows they are foils, so I'm not saying anything ground breaking when I say Zuko is often the one who brings out the best in Aang and encourages him to embrace being the avatar and that a lot of Aang's strongest charater moments are because of Zuko, yada yada, okay, we know, zukaang meta 101, nobody wants to hear it

But also, Zuko's opinion of Aang is so interestingly different from everyone else's. We get a view of Aang from the pov of himself, in which we see his doubts and struggles, the pov of the gaang, through which we see his antics and improvement and flaws. We also understand the opinion of the Fire Nation abt Aang (pure threat that's weirdly small), and we get plenty on the different opinions of the rest of the world.

If you took out Zuko's reactions to Aang, you'd feel like you know pretty much all there is to know about Aang. But to Zuko, Aang is an ever present mystery. The gaang doesn't really question anything abt Aang except what he can do and the rest of their enemies don't care to know things about Aang

But Zuko does. To Zuko, Aang is a source of constant questions, and this is sometimes played as a joke (i.e. "He must be a master of evasive maneuvering." to "You have no idea where we're going, do you?") and sometimes it hits the very core of Zuko's being and changes the course of the plot, (i.e. The Blue Spirit)

Zuko is unique because, to everyone else, Aang is one of two things. A Hero, or An Threat. He is neither to Zuko.

Zuko has no desire to defeat Aang. Aang is not a Threat to him. Hell, as Iroh says, Aang actively gives Zuko hope. But Aang is also not a Hero or ally.

He is neither a protagonist or an antagonist in Zuko's story. He's a goal. And that's such a unique perspective that allows us to question who Aang is from a neutral standpoint. Who is this person who effortlessly escapes trouble while having no idea what he's doing? Who is this person who saves someone they defeated? Who is this person who looks at an enemy and says 'you remind me of my best friend'?

Who else makes us ask these questions?

Through Zuko we, or at least I, see Aang as more than a person, and more than a hero, but as this unconventional conundrum that defies expectation at every turn, baffling and beautiful. Aang is so much more than your conventional hero and nobody sees or shows us that more than Zuko.

My favorite way to look at Aang is through Zuko's eyes.

[coolbeansnico]

I've caved. Here's my Avatar The Last Airbender uni au and modern/non bender au headcanons.

Here's what I think the main kids uni majors/minors would be:

Aang: wildlife conservation with a minor in political sciences

Katara: medicine, education minor

Sokka: engineering, polisci minor

Toph: geology with a martial arts minor (changed my mind, education minor)

Zuko: forced to do law & politics by his family but switches to history/anthropology, keeping politics as a minor

Azula: law w a psychology minor

Mai: forced to do politics by family but wants to do art, history minor

Ty Lee: training in acrobatics and performance at a performing arts school and works at the circus

Suki: human relations and activism, martial arts minor

Yue: Dance major (same school as Ty Lee, polisci minor

☆

Living situations:

Katara and Sokka flat together and eventually Aang becomes a permanent resident

Toph lives right across from them, she likes her own space and independence but she'd never want to be too far from her friends

Zuko lives with Iroh above his teashop and works there part time

Suki has a sharehouse with the kyoshi warriors (her hockey team)

Ty Lee and Yue get assigned room-mates first year and became pretty quick friends, they continue to live together afterwards

Azula has her own apartment (of course). So does Mai, but she spends so much time at Azulas she basically lives there. Neither of them would admit it but they much prefer it to having whole houses to themselves.

---

General modern au/non bender au hcs:

(Pretty obvious) Ethnicity n nationality hcs:

Sokka and Katara r Inuit and from Alaska

Azula, Zuko and Mai are all Japanese American

Ty Lee is Japanese and Mongolian

Toph is Chinese and Singaporean (born in Singapore)

Aang is Bhutanese (so is Gyatso), but he grew up in Singapore. Him and Toph were childhood friends

Yue is Inuit and Sámi and her family lives in north-east Canada

Suki is mixed Chinese, Filipino and French-Canadian and live in an island off of Quebec

Have not decided where the uni would be but probably BSSU (Ba Sing Se uni) cause I know a lot of ppl use that as the uni name

I don't know a ton about US and Canadian geography so if y'all have ideas for what states or provinces the characters would hail from (especially what state/city Zuko, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee grew up in) I would def appreciate the suggestions

☆

Aang has a Tibetan Mastiff called Appa and Sokka has a Siamese cat called Momo (he found him behind a dumpster looking for food scraps and Sokka knew he'd found a kindred spirit,,, much to Kataras initial dismay)

Aang grew up in a sort of hippie/alternative living foster home that taughtbuddist beliefs, he never knew his real parents but he was okay with that.

I'm a fan of bigcorp ceo Ozai but also political tyrant Ozai works as well so I'm srsly torn on that. Politician Ozai would either have to be a nation ruler or American ambassador because I like to think Zuko and Azula moved around a lot as kids so he couldn't have a job that keeps him in ine place. That's why I like the idea of ceo Ozai. He would still have a lot of political power and it would still mean moving around a lot plus him being super corrupt and exploiting his workers is fun for angst.

Oh and!! Zuko and Azula lived in Singapore for part of highschool and their family visited a lot for holidays. Since Tophs parents and Ozai worked together, Zuko and Azula were around at The Beifongs a lot and entertained themselves by making fun of Toph for hanging out with a "poor tree hugging commoner" like Aang

---

I may add more to this so look out for a part 2

♡♡

I'm currently working on drawing them (and maybe chara profiles with sexualities, pronouns, character aesthetics/how I think they'd dress, interests ect) :] I've done the boys and the (non fire nation) gals are next!!