#Sifu Katara

[dapperapple]

I know she is distressed in all of these but she is just so pretty

#katara art #master katara #katara fanart #katara #water tribe #atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender art #avatar the last airbender fanart #atla fanart #atla art #sifu katara #i am so gay #she is so pretty #southern raiders #the painted lady #sozin's comet #avatar tla #atla katara #katara atla #avatar the last airbender katara #katara avatar the last airbender #avatar katara #katara avatar #traditional art #traditional drawing #traditional fanart #traditional illustration

[original-sheepsandwich90]

Forgiven.

#Katara #Book 3 #Sifus #Sifu Zuko #Sifu Katara #Zuko #gifs #Water and bloodbender #Fire and Lightningbender #atla #Hair down

[icyhotfirelord]

This is the answer to the question wether or not Zutara could be endgame in the Netflix reboot...

Some things are right, other, well, not so much...

I mean, do Aang and Katara really work well? Do they even work okayish? Do they share a similar vision?

Wouldn't Katara have many opportunities to ensure justice as the wife of the Fire Lord - as a literal QUEEN? Wouldn't that even be her daily job?

And Zuko's gotta do, what's best for the FN but wouldn't it be best for the Fire Nation to have a Queen whose heritage is different - it would ensure an alliance between the FN and at least the SWT and would be a demonstration to the world that the Fire Nation is changing and adapting, right?

I agree, that Katara would be an outsider in the FN but so she was in her own Tribe as the ONLY water bender in the Southern Water Tribe.

An she loves to take action and stand up to oppression and help people in need. She would absolutely kick ass as the Queen of the most powerful Nation. And Zuko would absolutely love to see Katara kick ass and put people in there places and help the ones in need.

And seriously, what opportunities did she have on Aang's side - as his supposed girlfriend who was actually his baby sitter and mother figure?

What did she accomplish? How important was she to the United Republic of Nations? How important was she to the restoration of the Air Nomad culture? How important was she to the people in need?

She got the job to give birth to the next air bender and to calm the fuckin Avatar down, whenever he threw a temper tantrum and activated the Avatar State! Great opportunities!

I mean imagine the opportunity to use blood bending for good. Who would encourage her to use her special powers for good and who would condemn her 'dark side' and tell her that she is acting like Jet? Who would understand that no type of bending is inherently good or bad and it comes down to how and what for you use your powers and who would be disappointed if Katara even once would think about the possibilities? Who would let Katara be her own person and view her as such and who would see her as 'the Avatar's girl'?

Who would she work not just well but great if not best with?

What would have been the better life for badass, water bending master, blood bending, kick ass, war hero, Water Tribe, feminist, care giving Sifu Katara? A life as 'the Avatar's girl' or a life as a fuckin QUEEN???

#zutara #zuko #katara #anti kataang #katara deserved better #bow down to Queen Katara #war hero katara #Sifu Katara #kataang critical #pro zutara

[m0use123]

It was early morning and Aang and Sokka were hungry.

"I don't know Sokka. She seems pretty tired still" Aang whispered anxiously as they gathered around the girl.

"It'll be fine. Annoying eachother is how we show love" Sokka said dismissively. Before he knelt in a comfortable position next to his sister and started to poke her cheek with his finger. "Katara. Katara. Katara. Katara. Kat- AAAAAGGGGHHHHHH".

The next thing the Avatar knew, Sokka was pinned to the wall of the cave they had overnighted in, encased in a wave of thick ice.

"Okay. New rule. No early morning wake up calls unless the fire nation is trying to kill us again" Katara said as she simply rolled over and berried her face into her pillow.

"But. We're hungry" Aang mumbled sadly.

"You're the Avatar Aang. I'm pretty sure you can figure out how to make porridge".

"But .... ".

"One hundred ice crunches. Right now" Katara said in her 'sifu' voice.

"What! Katara".

"Now Avatar- in- training Aang".

"Yes Sifu Katara" He sighed as he lowered himself into his stance and started to form a thin layer of ice at his feet before turning it to water as he raised, to re-freeze it was he squatted again.

- needless to say. Neither boy attempted to wake the water bending master up unnecessarily again -.

~ Fin ~

#avatar #atla fanfic #aang #katara #sokka #water bending #sifu Katara

[scamper333]

Another Story Prompt for you all

After a few years of bonding with her mother over fire bending Azula’s daughter discovers she’s a water bender much to both of their disappointment (ironically Azula is more upset at herself for being disappointed) worried that they will grow apart with this revelation both of them seek others for advice.

I really hope some of my ideas end up being created

#story prompt #atla fanfic #azula x sokka #azula and ursa #zuko x mai #Ty Lee x Suki #atla iroh #aang x katara #hurt/comfort #kiyi #sifu katara

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Are the Gaang OP?? - Katara

This post is inspired by this earlier post where I questioned the timeline of Katara's mastery.

I had similar thoughts about Toph a while back and it made me wonder if the Gaang members were OP. I rewatched the scene where they invaded the Earth King's palace and these feelings grew inside me. So I will go over points for Zuko, Katara, Sokka and Toph. I am excluding Aang because he is the avatar and I just don't feel too strongly about him. I don't think Zuko is OP but I am doing him for fun. I am excluding Suki too because, like Aang, I don't feel like it and I don't know what her Kyoshi training was like. But I don't think Suki is OP.

I will start with Katara in this post and do separate posts for the others.

Katara (the queen herself)

Self-taught & eventually had access to a water-bending scroll

Basic moves in season 1

Impressive feats were done with Aang (manipulating the clouds) or done accidentally (healing) in season 1

Became a master waterbender in months, good enough to teach the avatar as declared by Master Pakku.

Reinforced her skills by teaching Aang and fighting in a war

Able to hold her own against Azula in the catacombs - another prodigy who has been training longer than she has

Mastered bloodbending with no practice or demonstration from Hama (she is able to competently manoeuvred the Southern Raiders captain when this is supposed to be her second time bloodbending)

Able to hold her own against Sozin comet-powered Azula

Good healer: healed Aang, Jet, Toph and Zuko. Able to save Aang and Zuko from (the brink of) death. Could not save Jet but was able to mind-heal him.

Able to fight against fire nation ships (The Awakening & TSR)

Conclusion: I love Katara but she is OP. Especially due to her bloodbending.

I can buy her becoming a master (whatever mastery means for waterbending) after a few months given her dedication and her self-taught background. I can buy her being good enough to teach the avatar for the same reasons. Aang goofing off at the northern tribe made it so Katara HAD to be good enough for the narrative to work. Her beating Azula in season 3 makes sense given Azula was off her rocker. She also had the spirit water when she healed Aang at the end of season 2.

But her season 2 fight with Azula and her bloodbending make her so unrealistic. Azula has been training far longer than she has and Azula only recently began her lightning training. I don't think Azula is a master yet. Is she?? Yet Katara was winning the fight until Zuko interfered. Although I will admit that Katara had the environmental advantage given they were fighting underground.

But Katara is out here bloodbending on the first try when it took an imprisoned Hama years to invent the technique. Her being able to break free of the bloodbending felt like a cheap plot convenience too. Especially when Hama has years of practice! What exactly makes someone a stronger bender anyway?? Hama is a waterbending master with decades more experience than Katara.

Katara is basically a master of bloodbending on her second try. Unless she has been practising bloodbending privately which I doubt.

Also, I am suspicious at how good Katara is at healing post season 1. I never got the impression that she was enthused to learn healing at the northern tribe. Understandably of course. I wish we could have seen more scenes of her at the healing hut but unfortunately, we did not. We can only speculate that she dedicated herself to healing like she did fighting.

Also if she was able to fight so well against fire nation ships as a single water bender then why the heck did the northern water tribe struggle against the fire nation fleet?? A boat of benders saved Aang from the ship he was trapped on. Are you telling me that men who have trained likely far longer than her need to work as a team to capsize a ship?? If all benders were like Katara then the siege would have been over in a day lol. Either the waterbenders in the north are pathetic or subpar or Katara is just better than anyone else for some reason.

Katara's mastery timeline does not make sense. She is a prodigy but I am still not satisfied. Based on dialogue with Roku and looking at other characters, true mastery takes years. I know the show had a limited timeline but Katara becoming a master in mere months is baffling. But I still love you Katara! And you are still one of my top cartoon female role models. Zuko will always be my number 1 but you are a top contender for number 2 :)

#katara #katara atla #atla azula #atla hama #katara critical #queen katara #the gaang #katara is op #waterbending #bloodbending #atla aang #northern water tribe #atla #prodigy #atla needed a longer timeline #is the gaang op? #this is my opinion #but I am open to discourse #sifu katara #master katara #the southern raiders #crossroads of destiny

[gurinpotte]

Please more buff aang I'm thirsty 🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏽‍♀️

well i hope these will quench ya....

i had wayyyy more fun with this than i should have had. i was giggling and kicking my feet nonny, it's my first time doing quenching drawings like that. i'm not that great with manly muscles so i'm sorry for the messyness and mistakes. thank you sm for this ask my dear thirsty anon! also sorry if the kataang wasn't that you expected but in this house we serve kataang at every chance

#aang #atla #avatar: the last airbender #buff aangie for the girls #and boys #and everyone more #kataang #katara #just figured aang must wake up with is hair trying to grow out sometimes #my first drawing is absolutely wrong ofc aang meditates or does yoga BEFORE breakfast #but i wanted to draw him sleepy #and then yoga with sifu sweetie #the sweetie thing is just so ridiculous i now officially love it #now for the last one i got serious ok #i love to draw powerful avatar shenanigans aang #i know he's learned to not be in angry destructive avatar state but it doesn't mean it wouldn't happen eventually #he's mad and crying because he's heard of capitalism #i know aang i know #avatar the last airbender #anon request #to all other anons who have requested me stuff.....i'm sorry. i don't normally do requests this one just got to me #i am also learning to be more comfortable with posting sketches #gurinillustratesatla

[billykcplan]

SIFU KATARA ↪ the north

#atlaedit #atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #katara #kataraedit #kiawentiio tarbell #natlacentral #userzaynab #usertennant #useraurore #netflix avatar #the last airbender

[vlackevil]

Reasons why Kataang is a terrible ship:

1- They support each other

2- Aang always bring the best of Katara and support her in their worst times.

3- Katara always stay Aang side to help him.

4- They understand each other.

5- They have a healthy relationship

6- They blush each other when they think about kiss each other

7- They are the best dancers

8- Katara trust in Aang

9- Aang trust and show respect for Katara call her “Sifu Katara”

10- And they love each others.

That is the reasons why Kataang is a terrible ship.

Thanks for your time.

#kataang #pro kataang #katara and aang #aang and katara #avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar #otp #aang x katara #april fool's day #kataang defense #kataang defense squad

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Can you give examples of Aang showing Empathy? Oh wait, you can't.

Actually, I can - because unlike you, I base my opinion of the characters on the actual stuff that happened in the story, not the bad faith takes dumb people on the internet come up with.

Zuko literally only survived past book 1 because Aang was the ONLY person amongst the heroes that gave a single fuck about his well-being. Aang offered to be FRIENDS with him as early as episode 13, even though this dude is trying to kidnap him.

In the first damn episode we see him realize and try to remedy Katara's struggle with no longer being able to act like a kid and have fun. He wants to travel with her so SHE gets to learn waterbending. He willingly lets Zuko take him into his ship because he understood that a conflict could lead to the people of the water tribe getting hurt or killed.

In Warriors of Kyoshi he apologizes to Katara for letting all the praise and admiration go to this head. He makes sure to put out the fires Zuko and his crew started in Suki's village.

He tries to help remedy the Hei-Bai situation, even though he is unsure of himself and even scared, because he knows he is the only one that has any chance of helping - and the thing that allows him to connect with Hei-Bai is the fact that he is ALSO upset about the destruction the Fire Nation has caused AND hopeful that the world would eventually heal.

He thinks Jet is awesome because he wants to help people that are being oppressed by the Fire Nation - and then is horrified when he finds out his intension is to "free" them by killing everyone

He wants to help the two rival groups not only safely cross the Great Divide, but also stop hating each other.

He confesses that he hid the map to Hakoda because Bato, Katara and Sokka are showing how much they appreciate and trust him and he feels unworthy of it after what he did because he knows it'd hurt him if the roles were reversed.

He is so devastated by the fact that he ACCIDENTALLY hurt Katara that he swears to never firebend again. He is also able to recognize the same principle behind his mistake in Zhao's fighting style, allowing him to win the battle against the bastard.

He accepts the fact that the Northern Air Temple is now occupied by people who not only don't belong to his culture but also don't understand it and unknowingly destroyed something sacred to him (and that one of them had been forced to make weapons for the Fire Nation) because these people have nowhere else to go and he doesn't want them to suffer.

He is furious at Pakku for refusing to teach Katara waterbending, because he knows how much it'd mean to her and how unfair it is that she can't learn it just because of her gender.

He is so devastated by the death of the Moon Spirit that the Ocean Spirit latches onto him to avenge it and save the day - and the leve of destruction it causes haunts Aang, even though the violence was against his enemies. And still, he tries to go into the Avatar state again because people are dying and he can't accept that.

After the fall of Omashu, he wants to rescue Bumi, not because he needs a teacher, but because they're friends.

He felt empathy for Toph when she was explaining to her parents how lonely and unappriacted their over-protection made her feel.

He and Katara both feel bad for snapping at Toph during "The Chase" and wanted to apologize for not understanding that being part of a group was a radical change to her, even though she had refused to even try. He also didn't have a problem with fighting alongside Zuko and Iroh against Azula, AND he looked concerned when Iroh was injured.

After Katara comments on the fact he called Toph Sifu but not her, he calls her Sifu while bowing, to show that he respects her both as his master and friend.

The hopelessness and downright depression he was feeling after Appa was stolen only starts healing because he saw a couple being happy with their newborn baby - the same couple he decided to help cross the Serpent's Pass, even though he and his friends had just been allowed to take a much safer route to Ba Sing Se.

His understanding and sympathy towards Jet, even after everything the guy did, was so strong that it freed him from literal brainwashing.

He doesn't want to push his love for Katara aside to gain power because he cares about her too much - and then does it anyway because, even though not making her his main focus 24/7 offers the risk of her being hurt, him neglecting his mission guarantees she'll get hurt.

He is devastated to learn that the world thinks he is dead because he knows he was everyone's last hope - and yet in the end he still accepts the burden of failure because he understood that, at that moment, everyone would be safer if no one else knew he was still alive.

He goes to a Fire Nation school and bonds with the kids, wanting to give them a taste of freedom and joy, as well as trying to understand what the war is like from their perspective. The same episode also has him pull Katara for a dance because he noticed she was feeling left out.

The boy felt empathy for, and understood the mistakes of, both Ruko and Sozin. SOZIN. Aang could see the humanity in the monster that is responsible for him losing his entire culture and everyone he loved.

When Zuko spoke about wanting to control his impulses so he wouldn't accidentally hurt anyone, Aang explicitly connected with that struggle and saw them being teacher and student as fate, and Zuko agreed because that's how deep their connection was.

Aang is not happy about Katara wanting to murder a man, but he still lets her take Appa on her mission and is not disapproving when she ultimately spares the guy but does not forgive him and makes it clear she never will.

He feels empathy for freaking Ozai, to the point that refuses to kill the guy - even as he has the balls to say that Aang's family, his people, deserved to die. He spared that guy - but only after he had a way to do that without it meaning the death of more innocents. Aang, the pacifist, was going to turn his back on everything he believed in just to avoid more human suffering.

So yeah, miss me with your bullshit and don't come back until your brain is developed enough to understand a cartoon aimed at kindergarterners.

#anti zutara #pro aang

[survivalove]

debunking lies zutara shippers say about the atla creators & writers

disclaimer: this is in no way an endorsement or defense of bryke or anyone mentioned. literally just debunking false statements i see spread throughout and outside the fandom as it pertains to kataang

1. that bryke made kataang endgame because the nice guy should get the girl

this is something I see often usually linked with this video of a man ⬇️ who they claim to be bryan/mike echoing this sentiment.

this man is in fact john o’bryan, one of the three known zk shippers in the writers’ room (we’ll expand on this in point 5) talking about how he saw aang. not the creators. so of course it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he doesn’t even like kataang in the first place.

2. that bryke made kataang endgame last minute and zutara was the original pairing

bryan and mike (notice how i’m using both of their names separately. this too will be important in the next point) have talked about how kataang was planned since they originally wrote the show.

they have also talked ad nauseam in a video (which I will not share here cuz it made a lot of ppl angry) about why they do not like zutara and its shippers, so this entire point is bogus.

++ the reason why they say zk was the original pairing is because of one of the zk writers (joshua hamilton) wrote this in the atla fun facts that used to run on tv. (we’ll get into him later) those atla fun facts contain a lot of inaccurate/non canon “facts” which you can check and verify on avatar wiki if you know what i’m talking about.

3. that aang is bryke’s self insert (specifically mike)

yeah, here’s where the separation becomes important. bryan (L) and mike (R) are two different men. mike has never said that aang was his self-insert, nor has he directly talked about relating to aang. bryan, however, constantly talks about how much he relates to zuko. even, going as far to say he tries to think like zuko when he writes characters and shows.

the only time mike has come close to saying he relates to aang is when dante said he thinks mike is more like aang while bryan is more like zuko, and they, mostly bryan, agreed. (mike has actually said he relates to korra more than aang but hey) bryan also is the one who drew mike’s beard on adult aang because he considered it a nice reference to his friend. this is the main reason why shippers ran with that self-insert narrative because half the time, they think bryke is actually one person ☠️

++ in fact, aang’s original character design is based off the mixed black-chinese son of sifu kisu

4. that atla was supposed to have a season 4 where katara and zuko got together

this is mostly something that has come out of a fabricated interview by the head writer, aaron ehasz. he was allegedly asked what he would have liked to do if given the chance to write a fourth season of the show and talked about an azula redemption arc among other things. zutaras then made up a whole fake interview including that he wanted to make the two characters endgame.

ehasz then came out to say that most of these “interviews” were faked and that he has never talked about having a preference for any ship. if you go on his twitter, you will see him talking about an azula redemption arc tho.

as for atla having a 4th season at all, it was never intended. the creators, the music composers have all said at various points in time, the show was written and pitched as three seasons, three elements.

5. that most of the other writers shipped zutara and bryke’s authoritarianism shut it down

as I said above, only three writers on the original show have come out to say they preferred zk at some point. atla has had a total of 21 staff writers. 3 out of 21 is not most if you ask me.

as for bryke (yes now i’m using the shorthand cuz i proved my point earlier) being authoritarians, no writer or staff that has worked with them on the show has said this so…? idk where that came from but i’m not here to back them up just mention facts.

6. that all the women who worked on the franchise shipped zutara while only men shipped kataang

atla has very few female staff as it is:

5 writers (elizabeth welch: zk; others: unknown)

1 director (unknown)

5 storyboard/character artists (lauren montgomery: ka; elsa garagarza: ka; angela song mueller: zk; others: unknown)

1 comic writer (faith erin hicks: ka)

2 comic artists (gurihiru: ka)

++ mae whitman (katara’s voice actress) has expressed her like for both ships throughout the years.

so i’m not sure what defines all and only for some ppl but those definitions are not in my dictionary. disclaimer: i’m not declaring anyone here as a shipper in any official sense. this is just based off statements they have made that you can google!

7. that katara is written poorly in post-atla content because of kataang/bryke

I mean the first part isn’t really a lie, more of an opinion which I can agree with to an extent.

why I mention this here is because zks will not only go on a tangent and link the misogyny in the writing to a m/f ship and say the other m/f ship would have been more feminist…

but they also refuse to hold all the men involved accountable. like I said, 3 known atla writers shipped zk and 2 of them (joshua & john) were men (who would’ve thought men could like a ship and it could still be considered feminist 😃). they were also 2 out of only 4 atla writers that came back for legend of korra, outside of the creators. (19 to 4 ☠️ no comment). these shippers very well know this and instead of holding these men accountable for the misogynistic writing, they instead brag about them shipping it and ask them about zk whenever they have the chance.

another example is gene luen yang, a comic writer who again shipped zk (another man GASPPPPP) responsible for the first 5 comic books. everyone knows his comics suck in terms of characterization, particularly katara’s. in fact zutaras have made multiple threads on how poor the writing is. funnily enough, they always fail to mention that gly was the script writer or acknowledge his part in this mischaracterization, while bragging about him shipping zk in other posts. ironic.

meanwhile, bryke have never offered writers’ commentary on any of gly’s comics besides the search - mike (because they were mostly writing legend of korra during his run.)

basically these shippers don’t care about misogyny or holding male writers accountable if they ship zk which is funny because I thought it was… for the female gaze? why are you hyping men shipping it anyway? confusion.

#atla #atla fandom problems #anti zutara #antizutara #pro kataang #kataang #if you want me to remove any tag let me know!

[the-badger-mole]

I really think people wanted to put up a monument to Katara as a war hero, they consulted with Aang as her husband and avatar, and he was just like "Nah, I don't think she needs it."

I wouldn't be surprised. No way would Katara see all of her friends getting their own statues and not feel slighted at not getting her own. A lack of appreciation is something she has been frustrated by throughout the show. You mean to tell me the girl who told Aang she wanted to be acknowledged as his sifu, just like Toph was just cool with not getting her own statue? Not having her contributions to the war recognized? The only thing that makes sense to me is that someone turned it down on her behalf, and the only one I could see doing that is Aang.

#atla #anti aang #anti kataang #give katara her flowers #and her statues #and the hospitals #schools #cities named for her

[original-sheepsandwich90]

#Avatar Aang #Avatars #Aang #Zuko #Toph Beifong #Katara #Sifus #Sifu Toph Beifong #Sifu Zuko #Sifu Katara #waterbender and bloodbender #earthbender and metalbender #Airbender #Non-bender #Firebender and Lightningbender #Momo #team Avatar #Suki #Sokka

[antizutara]

what are your top 5 kataang moments in the show?

this is such a sweet ask but it’s also so hard, anon!! i love them alllllll

my number one is For Sure but idk abt the others

1. katara finding aang on the fire nation island, running and falling on her knees to hug his head. then she looks at him with happy tears streaming down her face and they share a small forehead touch

2. the serpent’s pass speech when aang indirectly tells katara he loves her and she cries happy tears and they hug :’)

3. first two cheek kisses (s1 and s2) are fighting for this spot—i think i lean towards the second bc it also came with a hug and an interrupted confession, but the avatar’s love playing for the first is so sweet!

4. any time katara’s eyes sparkle bc of aang (two waterbenders, sifu katara, the painted lady glance after he called her a secret hero)

5. all of the cave of two lovers (hand holding under the lights? “even if you’re lost you can’t lose the love because it’s in your heart” foreshadowing katara’s uncertainty to begin a relationship?? the way they parallel oma and shu??? peak)

i refuse to categorize the following:

- the desert hug

- their final kiss

- the kataango

they’re just too iconic.

(i’d include more pictures but tumblr limit :/)

#thank you 🫶🏽🤍 #ask #mail #kataang #kataangtag

[muffinlance]

Would you be willing to do one where the g'aang meets zuko with his dragons and is like? Wtf? Because I would appreciate the image of aang seeing thw dragons and going, can I pet em, while sokka or katara is like, can I fight dragons? No, no I cannot, and the other is going, not evil fire lord, bet. Please?

(Continued from parts one, two, and three.)

“My older brother should have had the throne, of course,” said the man Aang had come to meet. “But he was still mourning for his son, when… Well, when I think of it now, it was the beginning. My father, poisoned in his bedchambers. My wife, missing in the night. It took me years to piece together what must have happened. It was unthinkable, for a child so young to…”

Aang swallowed thickly, his hands balls on his legs. “Zuko… did all that?”

“When he was younger than you are now. There was always something wrong with that child,” former Fire Lord Ozai said, from between the ruin of his twisted lips in his scared face. Aang wasn’t sure how much farther the scaring extended, but… but he could see it creeping down under the man’s collar, emerging again on his hands. “I was not—I am not—a good man, Avatar Aang. I know that. I was like King Kuei, sheltered in my palace, unaware of the true extent of this war. A spare prince; I was never meant to rule. Neither was he. But obstacles were removed from his path, one by one, until I was the only one who stood in his way. I was not a good man, Avatar. But I would never try to kill my own father.”

“Thank you for speaking with me,” Aang said. “And… I accept your offer, Sifu Ozai.”

Sokka and Katara shifted behind him, uneasily. Long Feng gave no sign as to his opinion, beyond being the one to make this meeting with the Fire Nation’s rebel leader possible. But there were very few firebenders not under Fire Lord Zuko’s control. Aang had to learn from someone. And… at least Ozai understood, how dangerous fire could be.

* * *

Earth King Kuei had thrown out the treaty his advisors had spent so long negotiating, and slapped together his own private agreement with Fire Lord Zuko after only a few days; Ba Sing Se and the eastern part of the continent were left intact and under Kuei’s reign, while the western coast was handed off to the Fire Nation as tribute. 

The North Pole’s borders remained closed.

The South had been the first nation pressed into an end-of-war treaty, while the Fire Lord’s dragons watched on.

The Air Nomads… if there were any left, still hiding somewhere, they hadn’t come out for Aang.

* * *

Master Yagoda wasn’t a fighter, and claimed that one world journey was quite enough for her lifetime. She’d remained in the South Pole after Aang’s training there was complete, to help her new tribe.

Long Feng’s responsibilities as the Earth Kingdom’s own rebel leader made it inadvisable for him to place himself in enemy hands. The Fire Lord and King Kuei were close; if Long Feng were taken prisoner, he would be handed off to Ba Sing Se for a quick trial, and likely a quicker execution. 

Sifu Ozai’s injuries made it impossible for him to truly fight by Aang’s side, of course, even if he didn’t face an even swifter death than Long Feng should they be captured on Fire Nation soil.

But this was Aang’s job. He was the Avatar, so he had to do this. He had to give all the nations of the world a chance to grow, free from the Fire Lord’s enforced peace. 

“We’re not leaving you now,” Katara said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Her brother mirrored her, a moment later.

They’d started as his escorts, in this terrifying new world. He’d trained under the same master Katara had; learned everything there was to know about healing, from Master Yagoda, who’d used the false peace to travel south. Healing was… it was so much better, than the training Sifu Long Feng had put him through, the precise way earthbending could be used to contain or kill. Or Sifu Ozai’s lessons, hard learned, about just how much fire it took to truly stop a fellow bender. At least Ozai had been sympathetic to Aang’s concerns, to the culture only he seemed to remember. Ozai didn’t want his son dead, either. He still loved him, even after what he’d done. He just… wanted him stopped. 

Fire didn’t kill easily. But it could definitely stop someone. And then Aang could heal him, and just… keep him in jail. The Fire Lord had a little sister, kept hostage all these years, who Ozai thought might still be convinced to join them. She could be the new Fire Lord, with Ozai as her regent. And then the Earth King’s main ally would be gone, and Long Feng could go back to reclaim his home for the people, instead of the nobility who’d grown rich on war without ever stepping foot outside of their walled inner city. 

And. And Aang could travel, and relearn this world, and practice his healing more. That was what the world really needed: healing. 

But it was like Yagoda had taught him. Sometimes a break had to be reset, before it could really heal.

* * *

It was… really easy, getting into the Fire Nation palace. They rolled Appa in soot, and came in the night. Landed on a roof. Entered through an upper window on an inner courtyard, where guards wouldn’t think to stand watch. The Fire Nation had uncontested aerial supremacy, after all.

They knew where the Fire Lord’s rooms were; they were Ozai’s old ones. They were also very empty. Which they’d been warned about, because apparently the Fire Lord did his best evil planning at night when his advisors couldn’t reign him in. 

There was the flicker of candlelight under the sliding doors to his office. And… no guards. Which led to a round of is-this-the-right-place looks shared between them, but. This was where the map Ozai had given them said to go. So they had another round of looks, with resolute nods this time, and then Katara was sliding open the door as he and Sokka ran in and…

…And a very tired looking servant was standing in front of a desk, shuffling papers around like there was something he’d missed in them. His long hair was partially tied up in a frazzled bun, but mostly down his back. He blinked at them through a pair of glasses that were almost an exact match for the ones in fashion at King Kuei’s court, like he’d gotten them from the same artisan. And also there were some ink stains on his face, like maybe he’d fallen asleep on some still-drying documents. So… maybe a scribe? 

“Where’s the Fire Lord?” Sokka demanded, club raised.

“...I can see the family resemblance,” said the servant, who had turned fully to face them, and oh. He… had the Fire Lord’s scar. And there was the Fire Lord’s crown, being used as a paperweight at the edge of the desk. 

“Does Chief Hakoda know his children are here to assassinate his ally—” Fire Lord Zuko said.

“ ‘Ally’ is a little strong,” interrupted Sokka.

“—Or do the Water Tribes have their own ‘rebel leader’ now?”

“ ‘Assassinate’ is a little strong, too,” Aang said softly, shuffling his feet, his hands tight around his staff.

The Fire Lord stared at him a moment. “...Ah. So my father would prefer that you maim me, and drop me in a dark cell for the rest of my life?” 

“Umm.”

Zuko stared, and stared, and then pushed up his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. “Listen. Can we just… reschedule this?” 

“Reschedule,” Katara repeated. “This.”

“You haven’t attacked me yet, so this isn’t technically a diplomatic incident. It’s just… a scheduling conflict?”

Sokka snorted, and then looked vaguely angry at himself. Katara elbowed him. Aang kept gripping his glider, but maybe a little less tightly.

“We got news of an earthquake on Shojima not even two candlemarks ago,” the Fire Lord said, sliding his glasses back down. “Which means the tsunami is on its way to the main coast by now, if it hasn’t hit already, and I need to get these out if the relief supplies are going to be on their way by morning. So we can either have a really fast assassination attempt and then I have to add ‘explain to the world why the Fire Lord killed the Avatar and a nation’s heirs’ to my schedule sometime this week. Or we can talk first, but I don’t have time for that, so can we reschedule this to…”

And the very evil Fire Lord turned away from them to begin shuffling through his papers.

“First,” Sokka said, pointing a finger at the teenager, “Aang would be more than a quick fight, rude. Second: I’m still working on the second, but seriously, rude. And third, what do you mean you’d put our fiery-death-explanations into your schedule sometime this week?”

The Fire Lord didn’t seem to be listening. But he’d apparently found his appointment book, so that was good? Except for all the flipping.

“I can do… lunch tomorrow? If you’re okay with actually eating while we talk. I’m not allowed to skip meals, or Captain Izumi cancels my appointments ‘for national security’.”

Sokka slowly lowered down his pointing finger. 

“Talking would be good,” Aang said. “I like talking.”

And then they got to meet Captain Izumi, which was a lot scarier than meeting the Fire Lord.

And then they realized that what they’d thought was vaguely tacky dragon-print paneling along two walls was actual dragon skin and this wasn’t an office it was an open-air veranda and—

“Quick fight” might have been an accurate prediction, yes. 

More accurate than Sifu Ozai’s map.

(Read more prompts || Longer ATLA fics || Original works)

#Zuko’s Guards Five Minutes Later Back From Getting Him More Parchment: And then you… rescheduled your assassination #Azula: Ah the power of being an idiot #And Father thinks he can control me as regent? #that's adorable #Meanwhile the Gaang: Wow this heavily guarded suite of rooms is WAY nicer than the refurbished chamber that was once bad #Ran and Shaw: were sleeping this entire time #the sounds of Zuko shuffling papers and making unhappy mouth-noises are their usual nighttime serenade #the sound of Captain Izumi firmly berating her Fire Lord for co-scheduling work with meals is not #sleepy dragons yawn and look in #Sokka sees no scheduling conflicts down their maws #Avatar The Last Airbender #atla #Zuko #Aang #Hello Dragons Here

[eponastory]

Alright let's break this silly argument down a bit shall we?

First off, yes, everyone in the Gaang has trauma. We know this, and we don't disregard that. We know that Sokka and Katara have trauma. We know Aang has guilt over what happens with the Air Nomads when he ran away. We know Toph has baggage because her parents kept her confined because of her disability. That's all been established.

Comparing trauma does not work in anyone's favor because it's different from person to person and the way that it's treated. Hell, there are FOUR types of PTSD and not all of them have to do with existential circumstances. Some of these types have nothing to do with being in a situation that causes panic.

But it's how we deal with our trauma that sets us on the path to healing.

In Katara's case, she had some pretty severe Survivors Guilt. Not necessarily PTSD, but it could be argued that she does have that. It changed her life irrevocably and that is something she had to deal with. She does get to deal with it in TSR but this leads to conflict between her and the group because there is this perception of her that isn't really her.

Sokka has to rise above his issues with being a non-bender and feeling left out. I also feel like he hides a lot behind his humor to deflect how he really feels about things. This is what happens when you have anxiety about meeting expectations. He has expectations he has to fulfill, and it never goes right. He's afraid of disappointing people he cares about and doesn't want to let them down. He isn't a failure, but when he does actually do something amazing, there is Imposter Syndrome. We don't see it much, but we do in NAtLA.

I'm not going to talk about Aang. I refuse.

Toph has been sheltered her whole life because she is blind. She is at home with herself, but she doesn't like anyone to do anything for her. She eventually learns that it's okay to have help when she needs it and that it's okay to have friends. (Not comparing trauma here, but she has the minor character arch out of all of them)

Zuko is... a lot to unpack. At the beginning, we know next to nothing about him except that he is the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, and he's hunting the Avatar to reclaim his 'honor'. He's hot-headed, but we never actually see him hurting anyone. He threatens, but he doesn't want to hurt people. That's the first sign that things aren't all they seem with Sifu Hotman. Throughout book one we get to know him a little better and see that he is Banished from home because of a 'misunderstanding' and he was also brutally abused by his own father. In the Netflix Adaptation it's more nuanced at how Ozai is playing his children against each other for his own benefit. It sucks but it's also good writing (some of the best writing is done with the characters of the Fire Nation) but anyway, we get an understanding of where Zuko's trauma comes from.

He has been emotionally abused by his narcissistic sociopath of a father because Zuko didn't have that 'spark' in his eyes at birth (not the entire reason but I'll get to that in a bit). Azula was the Prodigy, so Ozai put all his focus on to her. Then, his mother literally killed Azulon to save Zuko's life, but he doesn't find out until later. All of that plus the Agni Kai against his father is why he is so invested in finding the Avatar. Ozai seemingly took everything away from Zuko, but Zuko still loves his father and his people.

So why is he chasing the Avatar? Because he wants to go back to everything he knows. It's not just about getting back something that was never really taken away, it was all about getting back everything Ozai took from him.

Zuko never lost his honor, but he had everything else stripped from him and was humiliated for it.

He eventually grows through this and begins to heal himself with confronting Ozai on the Day of Black Sun. That was when he said 'fuck this shit I'm doing this my way' and that royally pisses Ozai off.

So if you don't like that our argument has better standing than yours, I suggest you go take some creative writing classes and learn about character development.

#fight me on this and youll lose. #it pays to go to college #adult opinions here #zutara #pro zutara #pro zuko #character development