obstinate (6) | a. anderson
summary: you’re a new medic in the WLF base. you’re young, hardworking, and the thing that abby anderson hated the most, stubborn.
notes: fem!reader, medic!reader, protective!abby, soldier!abby, mutual pining, fluffyyy, they are both horny fr, no smut yet but like… you get a little something, manhandling?
taglist: @caitlinisfruity @mattm1964 @liabadoobee @shady-lemur @sweet-lover-girl @novadanversss @paleidiot @ratdungeon @elliesrealw1fe @feelsoseencantdream @mai5mai @thatonementallyillsimp @stunkbiggu @ellabsmasc @vii-v
an: this isn’t my best work and i know this series is probs long forgotten but i still wanted to put this out there! plus there’s a surprise at the end 😚
MDNI!!
after shutting the door gently behind manny, and staring at the wood, abby grins giddily. you were approximately ten feet away, in her room, sleeping under her sheets.
last night, you and her had both given in. you had quit your fighting, you had come to her. and she knew that now it was her turn.
she looks over her shoulder, seeing your figure below the covers, and she sighs. the clock reads 5:51 in the morning.
your face, while peaceful, was still sunken with exhaustion. she walks, her steps gentle and as quiet as she can make them, to your side. once again, she settles beside the bed, against the thin sleeping bag.
she took your hand that was still hanging over the bedside, pushing it silently towards your chest, and pulling the covers up your shoulder.
she turns to the side, leaning up on towards her window. she tugs the blinds down, securing any crooked ones individually with her thumb, to ensure the room was as dark as possible.
she wanted you to sleep as long as you could. she’d let you sleep for days on end if you’d wanted.
she sighs quietly, laying on her back with her hands clasped at her stomach. the sound of your breath coaxes her into the exhausted state she was in only ten minutes ago, and she quickly falls asleep.
. . .
the sun is already shining bright above the stadium when you’re eyes finally flutter open. you groan softly, rolling on your stomach, and clutching the sheets. you nearly fall back asleep when the smell of pine that had been invading your nose all night finally registers in your mind.
your eyes shoot open as you quickly remember where you are, and you sit up. you scan the room with parted lips, your cheeks growing hot as your memories return.
“i want you to stay this time” she had pleaded. and you told her you would. you smile to yourself as you realized you had meant that. most mornings like this would be filled with regret, followed by you silently grabbing your shoes and fleeing.
but not this morning.
you slide to the edge of the bed, eyeing abby’s shelf of cds to your left. as your feet hit the floor and you take your first step, you quickly feel yourself get caught on a firm, warm body.
“oh shit-”you yelp, tripping over abby’s sleeping form and practically kicking her in the ribs as you fall, sprawling embarrassingly across the floor with the groan.
abby springs up completely, her eyes blown wide as she clutches her stomach. her sleepy gaze focus on you, leaning forward worriedly.
“what is it? are you okay?” she asks quickly, reaching out to you as you pick yourself up.
you turn around quickly, your ears ringing from the awkwardness.
“you- you overslept” you quickly stammer, clutching your surely bruised knee from the fall. “its almost ten!”
you expect abby’s face to contort into worry, but it turns into something else entirely. she starts laughing, clutching her tensed stomach and doubling over.
“what?” you question with furrowed brows, your cheeks hot. “abby..”
“sorry im sorry-” she practically snorts, her cheeks growing pink from her laughter.
“you just-” she giggles breathlessly, “you stepped on me.”
“i didn’t mean to!” you whine, still not finding the situation very funny. “i thought you were gone, you were supposed to be gone.”
“i- i got manny to take my patrol” she breathes out, her laughs slowing but a bright grin still tugging at her lips.
“you-” you look away, finally letting out a small laugh. “i’m so sorry, are you okay? i could’ve broken your ribs!”
abby shakes her head, still clutching her stomach as she laughs uncontrollably again.
“i’m fine, i’m okay.” she assures, watching you like you’re the most inexplainable thing to enter her life. which you are.
“you’re so…” she stops, looking away with a grin. she wanted to say something far too endearing, like adorable, or sweet. but she decides on something tamer.
“clumsy” she finishes, shaking her head. “are you okay?”
you let go of your knee, and rub your ankle absentmindedly.
“just bruised,” you laugh weakly once again. “probably less than you are.”
she sits up, grabbing you gently by the arms and pulling you to your feet. you look up at her, brushing your hair out of your face.
“you missed your patrol?” you ask her with a small frown. “why? i would’ve… waited. like you asked”
abby blushes, shrugging her shoulders gently. she holds your wrists in her hands, not wanting to let go.
“manny owed me.” she says simply. “i didn’t want to make you wait. we’ve got important things to do.”
“important things?” you ask with furrowed brows. “like what?”
“like… training you” she says with a coy smile. she finally lets go of your arms after giving them a gentle squeeze.
she adds on to her statement before you can open your mouth, bending down slightly to meet your eyes.
“just… for a little while,” she nods quickly, her voice slightly nervous.
“i may have been.. wrong. with the way i handled things with isaac” she finally admits, pressing her lips together.
“okay…” you say slowly, watching her with careful eyes.
“but,” she sighs with a smile, “i still want to.. give you some pointers. y’know, before i send you out there.”
your eyes flicker up to meet her, lighting up completely, and your lips pull into a beaming smile.
“you- you’re going to approve me?” you ask hopefully.
“i will..” abby breathes, bringing up her fingers to your forehead. she pulls a piece of hair out of your eyes, her touch fleeting but electrifying. “as long as you entertain this. okay?”
“depends…” you start to hum sneakily, watching her reaction. she narrows her eyes, and tilts her head, preparing to insist .
but you quickly smile, laughing to yourself.
“kidding,” you finally assure. “i’ll entertain it. as long as you let me go.”
“i will,” she nods. “i promise you. just give me today. one day.” she takes a step forward, her eyes sincere. “that’s all i ask.”
you smile, your lips pressed into a fine line. after a short moment, you give her a nod.
“okay,” you say gently. “i’ll give you today.”
abby’s face brightens even more, and she rocks on her heels with her shaky palms now clasped together.
“okay,” she repeats back, looking off to the side and up the stairs.
“use my shower,” she nods towards her bathroom door.
you follow her eyes, seeing the full sized bathroom shared between her and manny; a luxury most wolves didn’t have. all of your showers took place in a communal restrooms where privacy was out of the question.
“all my soap and everything is in my room,” you sigh out.
“use mine,” she says once again, trying not to sound too excited about the idea. “i don’t mind.” she adds nonchalantly.
you nod, turning your head and smiling to yourself. but you quickly furrow your brows and look back.
“but my toothbrush-” you start but are quickly cut off.
“don’t worry about it- we’ve got a whole bunch of unused ones in the closet.” she responds, but her cheeks turn pink.
“cause of manny,” she quickly adds on. “he.. has a lot of guests.”
“ah,” you laugh slightly, “and you don’t?”
you immediately regret your question, as you quite frankly didn’t want to know the answer. it wasn’t your nature to be so flirtatious, but with her, you couldn’t help yourself.
“no,” she says immediately, her tone more sincere than the previously playful exchange. “no, i don’t.”
you blush, mimicking her mannerisms and rocking on your heels. you’d never say it out loud, but you were beyond happy to hear her say that. you didn’t want anyone in her bed. that is, anyone but yourself.
“alright,” you breath, breaking away from her as you walk towards the bathroom.
“take your time,” she calls out, watching you as you shut yourself in. as the door clicks, she springs into action, rushing giddily to the kitchen.
. . .
after finishing your far too long shower, you finally shut the water off. it had been a long time since you felt so.. clean, so rejuvenated. in fact, maybe it had been forever.
you groan softly as you dry yourself off, leaning over her ceiling high mirror.
the soap you used smelled like her. you smelled like her. not just from the shower, but from everything. the last night had restored you, and it had been in her room, in her bed. it wasn’t just the sleep that made you feel better, it was abby.
your fingertips run over your bare skin, and you sigh as you feel where her hands had grazed you the night before.
she cups your shoulder, pushing your dazed, and cried out frame backwards on the bed. “you should get some rest,” she mumbles, pulling the blanket over your figure, and waiting for you to lay down.
your skin feels hot, and you let your head fall into your palms.
shakily, she moves closer to you, tilting your face down. she keeps an unsteady hand on your neck as she brings her lips to your forehead.
you sigh out frustratedly into your hands, suppressing the noise into your skin. abby was just outside the door, preparing to train you.
but there was so much left unsaid.
she wasn’t just letting you go on patrol; she was letting you in.
and you were letting her in too.
you hear a small knock on the door, and look over as abby cracks it open.
“clothes,” she calls out, sticking only her hand through the opening.
you smile, chuckling to yourself as you take the fabric from her fingers. she closes the door gently, and you turn back to the mirror.
“fuck…” you sigh out, staring at your reflection. “okay..”
you silently get dressed into the outfit she had given you. the cargos were too big for you, but you belted them securely around your hips. the shirt was soft and loosed. it smelled, once again, of pine. of her.
you both knew you could just go back to your room to retrieve an outfit. yet you didnt. and she didn’t ask you to.
you take several minute to compose yourself before finally opening the door to the bathroom. you are immediately hit with the smell of bacon.
abby peaks her head around the corner, sporting that signature grin you had grown to adore.
“i made us some breakfast,” she smiles, handing you a piece of toast as she flips the bacon.
“gotta get my-” she starts but falters with wide eyes. “-you ready for our day.”
you lean against her counter, watching her as she finished up.
she looked so good. her muscles half flexed as she flipped the bacon, hair loose and wavy, her hardened nipples poking through the fabric of her shirt…
“you’re staring,” she interrupts your spiraling thoughts with a sly grin, turning to meet your eyes.
you’re breath hitches, surprised but also not at her boldness. you shake your head, brushing off her flirtation. baby steps, you thought.
“i- im just starving,” you immediately defend.
she nods, plating the bacon and an unnecessary amount of toast, and handing it over.
“eat up,” she smiles, and you take it gratefully.
you grow oddly silent as the two of you eat, but it’s comfortable. it feels familiar.
the two of you keep your eyes on your plate, both glancing up at each other, yet your eyes never meet. abby’s foot brushes against your ankle. she thinks about pulling away, but she doesn’t.
“so..” she trails off, watching you with a curious and careful expression. “do you want to talk? about last night?”
you pause, furrowing your brows in thought. you knew this would be brought up eventually, but you remained hesitant.
“i don’t know..” you shake your head. “i don’t have much to say.”
“you don’t have to say anything,” she says immediately back, leaning towards you and clasping her hands over the table.
“just.. just know that there’s nothing wrong with you. everyone has a breaking point…” she trails off, frowning. “hell, it’s a miracle you didn’t reach yours earlier.”
you look away, suddenly feeling embarrassed by your unannounced arrival last night, but her voice calling out your name breaks you out of it.
“hey,” she whispers. “i’m glad you came to me. in fact, i want you to come to me.”
she pauses, her tongue rolling on the inside of her cheek.
“you’re my friend,” she finally speaks, her voice slightly caught in her throat.
you watch her with a quivering bottom lip, feeling like you could cry from her words. it had been a long time since you’d had a friend. someone you could go to no matter what.
“thank you,” you whisper, and you both fall quiet again. the window is cracked at the edge of the room, and you sigh as you take in the fresh air.
“so,” you finally break the silence, finishing as much as you could of your food. “what does our.. training consist of?”
“well,” abby leans back, stretching her arms behind her head with a long yawn. “i want to see you shoot.”
“can do,” you nod, “what else?”
abby smiles at your line of questioning, tilting her head as she watches you.
“i want to see what you can lift,” she says.
“uh-” you laugh weakly to yourself. “you won’t be impressed.”
“i just want to see,” she assures, laughing along with you. “i mean- i know you can’t compare to..” she trails off teasingly, gesturing to herself with her large hands.
“oh hush,” you shake your head, “don’t get all cocky on me.”
“okay okay,” she puts her hands up, her eyes never leaving yours.
“anything else?” you sigh out.
“yeah,” she says, a little more slowly this time. “i want you to uh- you know- fight me.”
you’re face gets hot as memories run through your mind.
her knee digs into your thigh, pinning your leg down as she glares at you from above. each of your hands are in hers, sprawled out above your head.
you shake your head, struggling to snap out of it as you look up at her.
“we’ve already done that once,” you reply, almost in a whisper. you keep a gentle smile on your face, but your heart races at the topic. “you don’t need to prove what we both know again.”
“yeah?” she leans forward. “and what is it that we both know?”
you narrow your eyes at her, sighing in slight frustration. even though you were getting along far better than you ever had, you both had the same stubborn and teasing nature.
“abby,” you breath. “just because i can’t- overpower you, doesn’t mean i’m not ready.”
“i know, i know,” she nods, looking off to the side with a sigh. “you said you’d entertain me on this. i’ll play fair this time, i just want to give you some tips in combat.”
you breath in, rubbing your temples gently as you shut yours eyes.
“fine, fine,” you agree. “you’ve got a deal.”
“alright then,” abby smiles, standing up and reaching a hand out to you. “let’s get started.”
. . .
abby had been pleased with your shooting skills out on the rooftops, and even with your lifting in the west gym.
she knew little, next to nothing actually, of your past before coming to the wlf. but she did know you were training to be a soldier in your childhood.
as she walked by your side through the stadium, glancing down at you fondly every few seconds, she finally had the chance to talk to you about it.
“so you came here a few months ago,” she confirms as the two of you converse. “and you came with a group but they all got stationed at unit 10?”
“that’s right,” you nod, staring down at your feet as you make your way towards the field.
“does that- you know- make you sad?” she asks you softly. “being separated from the people you came with.”
“not really,” you reply honestly. “i wasn’t particularly close with any of them. they were sick of fedra, and so was i. we were all helpful to each other on our way here but..”
you trail off, pressing your lips together. “it was just that. they weren’t family.”
abby frowns, looking forward as your words make her chest tighten.
“do you miss your old qz?” she asks.
“most of the time no,” you say simply, looking up at her. “but sometimes i miss the freedom.”
you cross your arms over your chest, padding quietly beside her.
“most of the people i was around weren’t.. good people,” you say softly. “but with that.. there wasn’t any friendship. any real emotional attachment.”
you pause, feeling her watch you as the two of you make your way outside into the cloudy arena.
“you make that sound like a good thing,” she says with a laugh, but her tone was devoid of any humor.
“sometimes it was,” you admit. “made loss a lot easier.”
abby stops walking, turning to you fully as she observes you with a gentle expression.
“is that why you’re so reserved?” she asks softly. “you don’t want to get attached to people?”
you’re suddenly very aware of the sincere tone in her voice. if it had been any other person asking you these questions, you would have fled long ago. you weren’t one to open up, or complain about your past.
in fact, you had it a lot better than a lot of people this day and age. you never knew your parents, or had any family. you never had many close friends, and you never fell in love.
you’re life may have been pretty lonely, depressing even. but it was free of heartbreak. it was free of grief.
you had the feeling abby’s was the opposite. and so did she.
“i don’t want to be reliant on anyone,” you respond simply. part of you hoped that would be the last of her questions, but another part of you begged for her to ask more. you wanted her to pick you apart, bit by bit until she knew you inside and out.
“you can love people without being reliant on them,” she says, but you can’t help but shake your head in disagreement.
“i don’t know,” you whisper, “i think loving is reliant.”
abby smiles bittersweetly, watching as a gentle breeze travels through your hair.
“maybe,” she shrugs. “but it’s worth it.”
you shrug in return, looking up at her.
“maybe..” you repeat back as she takes several steps away from you.
the grass is dewy below your feet, brushing against the too-long cargos that cuffed your shoes. you shuffle backwards as well, looking around at the outdoors surrounding you.
you were still in the base, on one of the few outdoor patches that was left open for training. to your left were dogs, and horses, and ducks shut in stables. and on your right there were yards of garden boxes.
“don’t get distracted,” abby teases gently, watching as your eyes gloss over and take in the scenery.
“sorry,” you smile, looking up at the sky. “i haven’t been out here in ages.”
abby frowns to herself, that familiar feeling of regret settling in her stomach. it wasn’t often she second guessed her decisions, but when it came to you, things were different.
in her attempt to protect you, she somehow missed how unhappy you had been. she was harming you more than saving you. but she was determined to change that.
“okay..” she finally sighs out, going into training mode. “i’m not just gonna- come at you again i swear. i just want to show you some self defense.”
you roll your eyes ever so slightly, finding the whole situation silly.
“you know i’m not completely inexperienced in combat, right?”
abby shakes her head, her demeanor still playful, but also genuine.
“scars fight different than what you were used to. guns won’t be enough. once they get their hands on you…”
“okay okay..” you say with a small groan. “i get it. axes, and torches. show me what to do.”
abby smiles, straightening her back.
“alright,” she nods. “turn around.”
you furrow your brows slightly, but do as your told, turning your back to her.
“i’m gonna… im gonna grab your waist okay?” she whispers, quickly coming up behind you and snaking her fingers just below your ribs.
you shut your eyes, trying to breath steadily as she wraps her strong forearms tightly at your belly button.
“the worst position you can be in is getting attacked from behind,” she says quietly into your ear, causing an eruption of goosebumps to run up your spine.
she was thankful you couldn’t see her face, her red cheeks and forehead glistening with an anxious sweat. the wind whipped your hair slightly against her skin, and she nearly lets out a sigh.
“okay… now if they lift you.. you need to crunch your abdomen and kick your legs,” she instructs. “try it.”
“o-okay…” you stammer, holding your breath as she lifts you like it’s nothing.
“now..” she laughs weakly, her nose against your neck. “pretend i’ve got a dick, kick me there.”
“kick you?” you gasp out, eyes widening at her instruction.
“just- do it gently,” she chuckles. “i’ll be fine, just kick me.”
you bring your ankles up, and slowly bring one foot back down, kicking gently on her right thigh, just beside her crotch.
“good.. good,” she praises, smiling to herself. “you just gotta do that but harder.”
she reluctantly lets you down, her hands sliding away from your waist a little too invasively to be considered platonic. you turn back around to face her, your mouth pulling into a grin.
“and if my opponent isn’t a guy?” i ask.
abby’s expression falls slightly, her lips tightening into a thin line. she knew you were only messing around, but she didn’t like to imagine the idea. to imagine a situation where you wouldn’t be able to fight back.. a situation you couldn’t escape from..
she narrows her eyes, crossing her tensed arms over her chest.
“kick harder,” she says firmly, and looks away.
. . .
the two of you continue your training session for nearly two hours, and abby shows you just about every defense mechanism in the book. how to block, how to kick where it hurts, how to punch without shattering your knuckles.
while she was admittedly pleased at how quickly you caught onto things, the entire situation as a whole was getting her riled up.
she knew that ending this training meant sending you out. something that, while she knew was going to happen eventually, she wasn’t prepared for.
it wasn’t often she allowed herself to truly care for anyone beside her close circle of friends she had grown up with.
she was living in a war, and while she had many great relationships in the wlf, she also had a lot of loss. death was an every day occurrence, and losing a peer, whether that be a familiar grunt, medic, cook, or even comrade, was something abby often experienced.
she had grown used to detaching from the people around her. she was someone everyone could rely on, yet it was rare a loss fazed her.
but you were different.
she liked you, she cared about you. you didn’t fall into the large sum of people she could tolerate to see die, you never had.
you were one of her own now. like nora, manny, owen, and mel. maybe something even more important.
you were hers.
and she wasn’t going to let you go.
“now duck!” she yells, throwing an only half charged punch your way and grinning as you successfully dodge.
“block, now throw!” she had shouted over a dozen times, the two of you maneuvering around each other as abby commands. “good, good girl now back up- back.”
you shuffle your feet backwards, this time not waiting for abby’s cues to start your movements.
duck, block, throw, back.
duck, block, throw, back.
“you’ve got it,” she smiles, her entire body now shining with a thin layer of sweat, the strands of her braid clinging to her neck and forehead.
“cmon now, i’m done telling you what to do,” she finally urges, panting as she raises her fists.
“show me you can do this.” is all she says before you march forward, successfully dodging her soft hits, dancing around her stance as you push her chest back.
the two of you go silent, the only sounds filling the outdoors being the grass crunching below you and your short bursts of breath. you circle around each other, touching, and pulling, and grazing your dampened skin as you train.
abby’s eyes narrowed, her irises fiery as she leans in. she grabs your belt loop, tugging you a little more aggressively towards her chest.
you’re surprised for a moment, whimpering as she goes to bring a gentle but firm hand to your throat, when you roll away from her grip, using your newly trained skills.
abby smiles at your maneuver, going once again to tackle you, but you’re already prepared.
this was it.
it was time you prove to her that you can do this, that you can be out there.
you weren’t a defenseless medic waiting to be killed off in the field. you weren’t unprepared, or stupid, or reckless.
you were reliable, and strong, and caring, and capable.
and in this moment, you were a girl, now straddling the hips of abby anderson, pressing her face into the dirt with a hand pinning her left arm to the ground, and your booted foot pinning the other, breathing heavily as you feel her racing pulse.
you clench your teeth together, tensing as you notice the buckle of her belt rub enticingly between your thighs. you feel her hips buck, and watch as she groans into the grass.
abby goes quiet, her chest heaving and her face flushed as you finally let go of her cheek, pulling your hands up but remaining on her lap.
she turns her head, looking up at you with a now toothy yet sly grin. she sits up with a grunt, looping her arms around your waist and holding you steadily against her.
and she leans in, her nose brushing against yours teasingly, her pupils focused on your parted lips.
“you’re ready,” she sighs out.
and she kisses you.
. . .
an: only took six chapters 🤷♀️
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The Warriors of Kyoshi
Two in one day, look at me go! Do not expect this rate going forward.
Before we start. I'd like to give thanks to the writers for putting the place name in the episode title. As someone who has been attempting to spell things phonetically, but has no familiarity with non-english names and has therefore screwed up many many times, I am grateful.
I really didn't notice Zuko's voice in the last episode but he's back to sounding like a muppet in this one.
My man that meditation is not working. Nor is the hair. After that burst of flame how do you have hair left?
Somehow I missed last episode that they had named the lemur. Welcome to the gang, Momo!
So this is going to be the 'Sokka faces his sexism' episode. I'm going to get really nitpicky here. Sokka says "You need to give girls space when they do their sewing" and Katara responds "What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?" Well, nothing actually! It's Katara who makes the leap and ties the two ideas together. Sokka then 100% puts his foot in his mouth (and follows through with getting his pants in his face) and I love the way Katara responds to it! Sew your own pants Sokka! But I gotta say, if Sokka had only kept his mouth shut he would have been in the clear.
"Where we're going you won't need any pants" is not a relaxing statement Aang.
Appa rocking the Justin Bieber look.
Guess Katara threw those pants harder than I thought she did. He's only got one tooth left.
'Lookit me! Lookit me! Mom are you looking? Mom did you see me? Mom are you watching? Mom did you see? Mom watch this! Mom look at me!' -Aang, while harassing the local wildlife.
Growing up in the South Pole, jumping into any body of water is absolutely insane, so yeah this tracks.
I love how Momo is the most enthusiastic watcher.
What do koi eat? There must be a lot of it here.
The fish is doing all the work!
Nessie on roids.
They caught Momo! I love how this implies that Momo carries the same status as a threat that the humans do. They don't blindfold him though. Do you think they had a bag big enough for Appa?
Yikes this is turning into an after school special. Rule of thumb: if you have to flanderize your character in order to make them objectionable enough to be a candidate for the lesson of the week, maybe that's not the right character to use to teach the lesson?
Is this Water tribe or Earth kingdom territory? The warriors are in green, but everyone else is in water tribe blue. Assuming the colour coding we've seen with fire and water extends to earth, maybe the warriors are assigned there?
Kyoshi is a place and a person. Now picturing Aangland. Also I guess the warriors are from here after all.
Aang is really good at finding ideally placed sharp edges on which to cut his ropes.
I like the game of telephone sequence and how the colours gradually change from blue to red.
Needs to eat but too tired to get up. We've all been there buddy.
Katara absolutely going for the jugular in the breakfast scene. Speaking of, Sokka's line reads in that whole scene are just beautiful. Offended and cranky, but still showing genuine appreciation for breakfast.
First time Katara's made me laugh out loud. She's spot on.
This painter's line reads are great too!
Your dance lesson? Sokka you're letting me down. You're making me want to watch the warriors beat you up. You're the best warrior in your village? You're the only warrior in your village. You won by default. (Although it must be said that he does refer to his potty break pals as warriors, so maybe he thinks of himself as the best of many).
Sokka how is your shirt staying closed? And you totally brought that on yourself.
Passed out Momo.
Oh lord AANGY?
Do you think one of those warriors could be convinced to do the Sokka treatment on Aang too? His head's getting a little big. Parallels!
Warrior lady Sookie has some very poor line readings. She's not helped by the fact that she's contrasted with Sokka, whose voice actor is probably the best in the show.
Aangy seen here being very unmonkly. The back and forth here is great.
"I got you!" Yeah Sookie he did. "You're not going to get it in one day, even I'm not that good." Maybe you aren't but Sokka is.
Nessie on roids has enough thinking skills to use his own self as a table. Well done Nessie. Don't hurt yourself.
Did the airbender forget he could airbend? He's being flung around through the AIR by Nessie. Just bend!
It's a good thing Katara is a waterbender, otherwise going into the water while wearing head to toe furs would have absolutely drowned her.
How does Katara know Zuko's name? Or recognise his ship?
How does Katara bend water out of Aangy's lungs? Doesn't she have no training at all? I feel like that could have gone horribly.
Momo includes himself in the 'girls come quickly' statement.
This has Mexican stand off vibes, as does the music. Also why are people hiding from firebenders in wooden houses?
This is why I don't like after school special plots. Sokka's been learning their technique for a couple of days and he's already better at it than Sookie. Which retroactively justifies all his patronising sexism from earlier in the episode.
Fire breakdancing is shockingly efficient. He took out three opponents while flat on the ground. Also Zuko is getting some serious air on his jumps.
That's twice now that Zuko has reacted to Aang's presence by saying "Finally."
Did Zuko happen to be carrying a bag of coal dust? Either way he's dead.
Shmymbolism!
Katara gives the single most stupid advice possible 'get inside this flammable building children!' and follows it with straight up lying to Aang's face. I'm glad he called her on it. And I'm glad she was so quick to change back to what she's been trying to tell him the whole episode (we need to LEAVE). You were right all along Katara, don't bend the truth now to make him feel better.
BIG SIGH. I don't know if this is bad writing, bad line reading, or both. It's just so corny.
So now he remembers he's an airbender. Also I hope he had some sort of air shield when he hit the water.
Roid Nessie's water breathing dragon traits coming in handy. And I thought that was just worldbuilding. That's two episodes in a row where what looked like worldbuilding was also plot. Sneaky!
Ha! They're going to rust.
Appa caught him! With his paws!
If I was the leader of Kyoshi, I gotta say I wouldn't be thanking the avatar. Thank you for luring the fire nation to our previously neutral territory and then having the decency to fix the immediate problem that caused, though long term we're still screwed. Assuming that Zuko's actions represent fire nation actions, Kyoshi's neutrality is gone and the houses no longer have roofs. Do you think the fire nation does reprisals?
So pretty.
And I've been spelling Suki incorrectly. I guess the gimme with the episode title was too good to be true. Gotta check my hubris. I need a Sokka treatment myself.
Final Thoughts
This episode ANNOYS me. First, the good:
I'm glad that the show touched on the status of avatar going to Aang's head. The first couple of episodes firmly characterised Aang as not wanting to be the avatar, but you'd have to be superhuman not to let it go to your head just a little. And Aang wouldn't be anywhere near as fun to watch if he was superhuman.
I also like that Aang explicitly verbally acknowledges that Katara was right, and that he can put into words the ways he was wrong and the lesson he learned. The lesson has a better chance of sticking if he can actually articulate it.
I like how this show is consistently sticking to actions having both good and bad consequences that can't be bended/handwaved/magic-ed away. In episode two, the flare went off and now the village at the south pole has a giant gash in it and Sokka and Katara had to leave home. In this episode, Aang stayed too long and now the village has burned down. There's no magic fix. This makes the world of the show feel real, and feel like something that's worth caring about. Actual stakes mean actual investment by the viewer is not wasted.
Katara got a turn with the brain! She was right about Sokka being a sexist jerk, right about Aang getting a big head, right about Zuko following them if they leave. I like Katara being right.
The bad:
I am not liking the direction that Aang and Katara's relationship is going. It's fine for Aang to have a little crush, and it's fine for Katara to baby him (he is younger, and judging by the ages of all the children in her village apart from her brother, Katara's been a mini-mom for a while). But it's jarring when those opposing perceptions are so blatantly juxtaposed. I think this is one of the places where the fact that I'm an adult and this show is for kids is making itself known. If I had watched this at 8 or 9 years old, I probably wouldn't have even picked up on the opposing dynamics. I can't quite articulate why it doesn't sit well with me. It just doesn't.
And now, the Sokka arc. BIG SIGH. Sokka needed to grow past his sexist tendencies. No argument there. But his sexism boils down to believing in the gendering of tasks and that said gendering has a basis in fact. That there are man things and woman things. That men ARE better at man things and women ARE better at women things, with the corresponding (though unacknowledged) belief that women are worse at man things and men are worse at woman things. Sokka was supposed to have these beliefs challenged and ultimately overturned in this episode by meeting, and being beaten up by, Suki and her warriors, women who excel at (what Sokka thinks of as) man things. Suki and her warriors do challenge the first part of Sokka's original beliefs, that being a warrior is a man thing. But after a 45 second training montage he gets the best of her.
Being a warrior seems to be Suki's full time job. We never see her out of her armour; this is her role in the village, a role she has presumably trained for for many years. And Sokka gets the best of her in the training room, and fends off Zuko after she fails to do so herself. If Sokka surpasses Suki so quickly at what she has devoted her life to, I guess being a warrior is naturally easier for men. And sure, women CAN be warriors, Sokka outright says it (although Suki kind of has to correct him as he only get halfway there), but putting aside the dialogue and looking at the action, Sokka's just better.
For that matter, given that Sokka was quite literally the only man over four years old in his village, he must have been used to seeing women fulfilling a male role. Unless his demonstrated subpar fishing skills could feed the whole village, the women were going hunting. Which is why I said he was flanderized earlier. He might want to believe in the gendering of tasks because it makes him feel manlier or more connected to his interpretation of his culture, or heck maybe it give him a sense of purpose or makes him miss his dad less, just spitballing here. But there's no way he hasn't spent every day since the men left for war seeing that belief be contradicted. And sure, he could have some cognitive dissonance going on, especially since he seems to have staked his whole identity on his manliness, but would that cognitive dissonance be enough to insult a pack of warriors to their face while tied up, then insult them even worse while they're actively practising with their weapons? I guess teenage boys have done stupider.
I'm probably reading too much into this.
The meh:
Zuko in this episode is literally just filling the villain of the week slot, and serious step down in narrative focus after the last episode, where he got a whole arc.
So I have problems with this episode. I like the avatar stuff temporarily going to Aang's head, but I don't think it redeems the rest of the episode. It won't be going on my rewatch list.
Last, totally vain complaint: this episode was nowhere near as pretty as the Southern Air Temple. That one had beautiful contrasts with blue/purple air and red/orange fire. This one is just beige.
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