#The Western Air Temple

[sokkastyles]

In "The Western Air Temple," when Zuko joins the gaang he is shown to a room and told to unpack, which implies that every one of the gaang has their own room.

Yet they all continue to sleep in the same room in sleeping bags while they're at the Western Air Temple instead of in seperate rooms. Which I guess has some practical reasons - they're less vulnerable to potential danger if they stay together, and also have the advantage of being near a heat source - but it's also kind of sweet. It's not like they're out in the wild, they're in a temple built to house many people and could have stayed in seperate rooms, yet they sleep near each other.

#zuko #sokka #aang #katara #toph #the western air temple

[zukkaart]

Me *watching the western air temple when Zuko shows up*: free my boy he did all of it but I don’t care

#avatar the last airbender #sokka #zuko #atla #the western air temple #aang #Katara #toph #atla book 3

[pink-concorde]

Completely inspired by the perfect post displayed here: credit to @my-bated-breath​. I saw that post and I just had to draw it! 

(Also, the second part where they’re kissing was made into an emoji in the discord with my IRL friends… It gets used surprisingly often despite me being the only one in the group who ships anything.)

#zutara #The Western Air Temple #Pinks Art #zuko x katara #katara x zuko

[lphoenixspiritl]

Starting Over ... Sort Of - Chapter 1

Part 5 of the 'The Spaces Between'

Katara spotted him on one of the sunbathed corners of the courtyard that overlooked the canyon. With his back to her, he sat silently in lotus, hands resting lightly on his knees, stripped from the waist up. His tunic and sash were a pair of neatly folded squares placed to his right.

A wooden box sat on his left and before him was an arc of eight lit candles. She had seen him shirtless before but not long enough to 'see' him. The warm ivory of his back was smooth only interrupted here and there with the occasional scar, some from minor burns others, thin lines drawn on by something sharp but none as serious as the one he wore over his left eye.

He was too close to the unprotected edge for her comfort, especially with him being here alone. Katara wanted to tell him as much but she was rooted to the spot. The flames before him seemed to breathe, shrinking and growing in time with his breath, it was hypnotizing to watch.

"I know you're there," Zuko called out to her.

Katara nearly jumped out of her skin.

"You're not as sneaky as you think you are," he said not bothering to turn around.

She quickly forgot her concern for his safety. The thought of blasting him the mere inches it would take to shove him off the stone ledge and send him tumbling to his doom had become more tempting than she cared to admit.

"I wasn't trying to be sneaky."

"Are you sure? You were standing in that doorway for a long time." Zuko doused the candles with a wave and finally turned to look at her.

Katara's cheeks flushed and her anger flared, "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Meditating."

"Out here, alone?" the one word was laced with suspicion.  

Keeping one eye on him she walked to the middle of the courtyard. Reaching into her tunic she produced a pair of spark rocks from a pocket and knelt before the firepit.    

"I didn't think anyone else would be awake. Meditation should be done in quiet places." Zuko shrugged trying to be civil, he had turned back to the candles before him and was packing them into the wooden box.

"Funny, Aang never seems to have a problem meditating when we're around. Maybe you aren't as good at it as you think you are."

"He's the Avatar, I hope he's better than me. He won't be able to defeat my father if he isn't."

Did he scorch his brain when he burned his face?  

She shook her head, "How long have you been out here?"

"Since sunrise."

She looked at him with mild surprise.

"I meant it when I told you we rise with the sun." he closed the cedar box and stood, picking up his tunic and shrugging it on.

She watched the muscles in his back and shoulders ripple as he moved. They attested to years of training in more than just firebending. Surprising for someone who was only sixteen. It proved that he worked as hard if not harder than the rest of them. His kind of persistence required discipline, something Aang sorely needed. She hated to admit it, but he might be the right teacher for the young Avatar. 

Too bad she didn't trust him as far as she could throw him.

Ignoring him as he moved around the courtyard Katara pulled the dew from the kindling Sokka had left her the night before and used the spark rocks to try and get an ember going.

"I can do that for you." he offered.

"I don't need help from the likes of you." she spat back, her words harsh and cutting.

Zuko's anger and frustration sparked and threatened to boil over. He was just trying to help. Did she hate him so much that she wouldn't even allow him to help? How could he prove that he was good if they won't let him even be of some kind of assistance? 

He needed to calm down. Blowing up at her of all people would just make things worse. Clenching his fists, he squeezed his eyes shut and did what Iroh taught him when his anger threatened to overcome him. Breathe in for four, hold for four, and then release.

"Ok, suit yourself," he said trying to keep his voice as even as possible.

Katara ignored him as he walked past still striking the spark rocks against each other. He headed into the large hall that led to the dormitories intent on washing up and going through a few forms before starting on his first day of training Aang.  

"Zuko."

Hearing her call his name made his heart stutter. Half of him held out hope for change, the other dreaded what came next. Zuko stopped and turn around but she kept her back to him as a thick curl of white smoke rose above her head.

She took a flat matter-of-fact tone that unnervingly reminded him of Mai, he hated it.

"There's a jug of water for you in the bath. Breakfast will be ready in an hour and don't sit so close to the edge when you're out here alone. You can plummet to your death after you've taught Aang how to firebend."

Read more here.

#zuko x katara #zutara #katara #zuko #katara x zuko #zutara fanfiction #fanfiction #atla katara #atla zuko #The western air temple

[theowritesfiction]

‘The Western Air Temple’

Okay wow, yes, the upside-down Air Temple is one of the coolest places in the world of ATLA. Interesting little Zuko flashback, too, I had forgotten that this was not his first visit to the temple.

Ok, so Aang is back to his flighty "I guess you don't have a firebending teacher lined up for me, so I’ll just goof around" ways. Enter Zuko. Zuko hatching his plans on how to convince the Gaang to accept him and delivering his monologue to a frog will never stop being funny. The Frog remains unconvinced. But I think Zuko's impersonation of Azula was actually pretty good. :)

Ooof, Zuko's first attempt to ingratiate himself to the group is so damn rough. Can't believe he used the practiced routine that didn't even work on the frog. Still... he was doing almost okay until he mentioned the Combustion Man. Seriously Zuko? Diplomacy is clearly this boy's dump stat. (Great for a future Fire Lord...) Gotta say, I love seeing Katara being absolutely ruthless to Zuko here.

okay, but for Zuko thinking that he should have said Azula sent the assassin... sorry, Zuko, that's 30 Jerk Points right there. I think it also clearly shows how biased Zuko is when it comes to his sister, and that HE is actually just as or even more ready to lie to make her look worse.

I loved all the back and forth between the Gaang when discussing Zuko, and I thought it was especially interesting how Toph mentioned that Zuko could have turned out a lot worse considering his crazy and messed up family, and like... yeah, sure, but... how much does Toph actually know about that? She has nowhere near the full story. And I get why Toph is arguing on Zuko's behalf - unlike the others, she has no negative experiences when encountering Zuko.

Do I give Zuko Jerk Points for burning Toph's feet? No. That was a complete accident. Also, I love Zuko's dramatic 'Why am I so bad at being Good?' cry.

Well... I guess the key to joining a group of heroes is to first hire an assassin to kill them and then make a public but ineffective spectacle about trying to stop said assassin. Problem solved!

Also, Sokka's boomerang throw was legendary. <3

I absolutely love Zuko sweating pinballs as Aang asks Katara if it's okay for Zuko to join. I cracked up laughing. And I love how angry Katara still is when she agrees to it. Also, the ending is just so perfect. I know Katara got a ton of hatred especially from Zuko fans for this episode, but screw that. The way she leans in menacingly against Zuko's doorframe and then proceeds to give Zuko likely the most threatening speech of his life? That's... amazing. Running away from Azula, only to run into Katara, that's too funny to me.

Jerk Points for Book 3:

Zuko - 640 Aang – 280  Ozai - 250 Roku - 100 Hide, Sokka - 80 King Kuei - 60 Toph - 50 Haru - 30 

#my atla rewatch #atla book 3 #the western air temple

[bruce-waynes-parenting]

For No Reason All

Fic on Archive Of Our Own-

Some Zuko angst with Sokka there to be his friend <3

Summary:

They stare at the fire for a while before Sokka does ask a question.

“How long ago did it happen?”

“A little over three years.” it feels like it’s been longer–and sometimes, like now, it feels like it happened days ago.

“Oh.”

He can hear Sokka doing the math in his head. They’re around the same age.

“...Was it an accident?”

Zuko takes a slow breath. He’s never had to tell someone about this before. He’s not sure if he’s ready.

“No.”

#atla zuko #sokka #Zuko needs a hug #zukka #ATLA #atla fanfic #the western air temple #hurt/comfort #angst #zuko angst #character study

[juniperhillpatient]

The Western Air Temple Re-watch

This section of Book 3 is possibly my favorite section of the show because we get to see Zuko as a good guy interacting with the Gaang, which sparks so much joy for me. I'm just gonna be bitter about just one thing really quick - the reason Smellberee & Longshot (some of the most interesting side characters the Gaang has interacted with) aren't there is 100% because if they were the show would have no choice but to acknowledge Jet's death. So like, fuck the writers for that one. Ok, (most of) the rest of what I have to say is positive actually!

I'm gonna say that Aang's determination to distract himself & go play with the other kids is TOTALLY understandable & it makes so much sense with his trauma around trying to learn fire-bending & the pressure he's under - he's still just a kid, of course, he's gonna wanna run & play - BUT it still gets on my nerves, personally. Just because like...Ugh, Katara ALWAYS has to be the responsible one pushing Aang to do what's right & it's really not fair to her.

Zuko's redemption arc & decision to join the Gaang continues to be impressive & it absolutely deserves to be held up as a strong example of a redemption arc & just a beautifully well-written character arc. I already made a separate post about how emo I am about Zuko in this episode but like.....I fucking love Zuko ok, he is just very special to me.

I thought that Zuko rehearsing his little speech to join the Gaang to a frog was so adorable & he says he's not good at impersonations but you know, I think he's pretty decent at them. Also, it's cute that he still says "what would Azula do?" to himself here. Even though they're enemies again, I think he still admires his sister a lot (& definitely continues to put her on an unrealistic pedestal of untouchable perfection, but that's its own rabbit hole, right now we're just talking about a cute funny moment.)

[id: Zuko smiling & holding up a hand in greeting. end id]

Yeah, tbh, my next couple of re-watch posts are.... probably mostly just going to be me gushing about how much I love Zuko, okay lol

Toph getting her feet burned was pretty sad, but I don't think either Toph or Zuko was to blame here, it was just a well-written misunderstanding/interaction, & Toph was still honest with the Gaang that it was an accident even though she had to drag herself back to camp which - oof. I loved how fast Toph was to advocate for Zuko. I think that this has to do with her not being around when he was the Big Bad but I think it's more than that. I feel like Toph is a very pragmatic & realistic character. She knows that Zuko is being honest, she knows that Aang needs a fire-bending teacher. To her, it's obvious what the solution is regardless of past hurt.

Sokka just cracked me up in this episode & his awkward interactions with Zuko were funny. Zukka rights I suppose.

Katara's scene with Zuko at the end was SO good. Katara does not fuck around at all, & her continued mistrust of Zuko is obviously 100% understandable. I also love that for Katara, this is very personal. She trusted Zuko & he betrayed HER. This isn't just about being military enemies, Katara feels personally wronged by Zuko - & she has every right to. I just loved that scene between them. And... if I was ever going to say Zutara rights, this little era of the show is when I'd say it. It's one of those "ok it's still not my thing but I get y'all" things lol - like ok, the tension of betrayal & hesitance about the new trust thing is kinda fun. For me personally, it's just as fun as the tension between 2 platonic (soon-to-be) friends though.

Anyway, this was a delightful episode & I'm very excited Zuko is now part of the Gaang - even if he has a ways to go to gain their trust! Excellent episode 10/10.

Oh, I almost forgot about iconic behavior points. Zuko gets +100 for his little impressions. Toph gets +100 for crawling on her goddamn hands back to camp & STILL advocating for Zuko. Zuko gets another +500 for helping defeat the assassin that he hired, I thought that made a lot of narrative sense & was the perfect dramatic way for him to prove himself. Katara gets +500 for her speech to Zuko at the end.

#atla re watch #the western air temple #atla book 3

[zaddyazula]

i’m laughing so much i’m in pain

#hello #zuko here #this episode #👌 #i lied this is my favourite episode #zuko #the western air temple #the peak of comedy #and my baby girl

[demaparbat-hp]

Handprint

#atla #avatar the last airbender #zuko #katara #zutara #atla art #atla fanart #zuko fanart #zuko art #katara art #katara fanart #atla zuko #atla katara #katara of the southern water tribe #prince zuko #zuko x katara #katara x zuko #Western Air Temple #zutara art #zutara fanart #avatar #She figures it out on her own #And Agni it hurts #Who's up for killing papa Ozai? #fire lord ozai #This is one of my favorite ZK headcanons of all times. Katara just... putting the pieces together and figuring out what happened to Zuko. #It's a different kind of angst #Zuko's scar having the shape of Ozai's hand is heartwrenching. I get why some people describe it as a comet and whatnot. But a Handprint... #The visual metaphor... #Agni help Ozai 'cause I fucking won't

[sokkastyles]

This is something I've turning around in my mind due to the general discourse around Katara "hating" Zuko, and obviously she doesn't hate him at all after TSR, but do you think she truly even /hated/ him after Ba Sing Se? She was absolutely within her right to be hurt and angry about his choice, and I'm glad the show actually let her hold onto that for awhile b/c so often K has to be the bigger person and manage everyone else's emotions, but being hurt and angry at someone, even lashing out at them b/c of that, isn't the same thing as hating them imo. Like tbh their entire vibe to me from the moment Zuko turns up at the Western Air Temple until TSR is exes after a bad breakup but there's still unresolved feelings there, which was certainly an interesting writing choice for them to go with (only made more so by the textbook romance writing grovelling in TSR.)

Yeah, she isn't mad at him because she hates him, she's mad at him because she cares about him, because she wanted to care about him, and because she thought he cared about her. Even when she tells the gaang that Zuko was "pretending to be a human being" in the catacombs, it gives the impression that she is trying to convince herself that what she's saying is true, that the moment they shared and the vulnerability Zuko showed in that moment wasn't real.

The other thing that gives the lie to the idea that Katara hates Zuko or just sees him as an enemy is that when she confronts him when they are alone, and threatens him, she doesn't react to him like she thinks he's lying about wanting to do the right thing, she confronts him about how "you and I both know you've struggled with doing the right thing in the past." In front of everyone else, she makes it seem like she thinks Zuko is just evil, but when she's alone with him, she makes it clear that she knows he isn't, and that this is really about how she can't trust him, how he broke her trust. It's personal, not just about him being fire nation.

And the fact that she waited to tell him this in private, while denying her feelings in public, is absolutely romantic coded. I've also pointed out before that the framing of the confrontation mirrors the final scene between Zuko and Mai (or rather, that the Zuko and Mai scene, which is explicitly romantically coded, mirrors this one), Katara standing in the doorway to interrupt Zuko's triumphant moment with a reminder that his past isn't so easily moved past, and a reminder of who he's hurt. It absolutely gives vibes of an ex who you still have feelings for.

Which is why it's hilarious that Bryke made that comment about zutara being a relationship you experience before realizing what you really need (with the implication that Katara really needs Aang and Zuko really needs Mai), because what it actually feels like is two people who were immediately drawn to each other, ended up hurting each other, broke it off, but then still had feelings for each other and ended the series closer than they were before. If Bryke really wanted us to think zutara were not good for each other, then there could have been a moment where, when Zuko and Katara get their closure with each other, there's also the G-rated equivalent of "let's just be friends." Maybe have Katara say something like, "I forgive you, but I can't make the choice you want me to make." This is also in an alternate universe where Zuko more explicitly encourages Katara to kill Yon Rah. But none of that happens. The episode does not tell us that Zuko is not good for Katara or vice versa. It has Katara end the episode by explicitly disagreeing with Aang and enthusiastically embracing Zuko without any hesitation at all.

That hug is so meaningful because it's the release of tension that the narrative has been building up since that moment in the catacombs. It's not that Katara hated Zuko but now cares about him, it's that she wanted to care about him way back in the catacombs and now she's able to express that without being afraid that he'll break her trust.

#zutara #zuko #katara #the western air temple

[thyinum]

A forgotten memory of home

#atla #aang #yangchen #avatar the last airbender #air nomads #air benders #western air temple #atla fanart #украрт

[comradekatara]

in which zuko is still adjusting to the group dynamic, and katara's got jokes

#id in alt text #atla #avatar the last airbender #i like to think that this is set at the western air temple #when katara still hates zuko's guts #but she would simply never miss an opportunity to make a mean joke at toph's expense #zuko #aang #momo #katara #aang&zuko #aang&momo #momo&zuko #katara&toph #art #mart #[aang voice] good one katara! #if katara wonders why her dinner has 50% more sand in it than usual that night. well that shall simply remain one of life's great mysteries

[candle-scm]

not thinking things through

#atla #avatar the last airbender #zukka #zuko #sokka #digital art #atla fanart #my art #artists on tumblr #i like to think sokka and zuko started sucking face at the western air temple #which is fun because it brings the angst of falling for somebody right before a life-or-death battle #and also sokka lamenting being fwb with the worst guy ever #even if he is recently reformed and maybe not so bad #hes still zuko #and sokkas rationality goes out the window #no matter how hard he tries #also obligatory rip toph #school has been kicking my ass but im still going to draw zukka dammit

[myhyperfixationisiforgot]

The ATLA renaissance shifting the fandom from Zutara towards Zukka without actually changing the ship dynamic is so fucking funny because most of the time it functions pretty well. However today I saw another 'oh Sokka had this forbidden crush on Zuko from the beginning' and. Look. What happened there? Seriously, did we watch the same show? Fucking nobody likes Zuko from the get-go! He's an acquired taste at best. Jet notably falls for Zuko at first sight under explicitly false pretenses. Sokka has both a brain and a decent understanding of Zuko's early role in the Fire Nation. He would not say that.

#i have nothing against zuko/sokka i just have strong feelings about fanon sokka #to be clear they are negative feelings #like sokka's early picture of zuko is an heir-apparent to the worst genocide in living memory #and there are signs to the audience that this is changing - that zuko is changing - but sokka doesn't ever see those #sokka isn't katara or aang. there's no necklace. he doesn't have positive feelings toward zuko until the western air temple at the earliest #avatar: the last airbender #zukka #sokka #zuko

[wevemadeitthisfar]

in love with this tik tok by sfordaisy

#western air temple zutara at its finest #go send the artist some love #and outnumber the anti-shippers in the comments 🫶🏼 #zutara #atla #zuko #katara #zuko x katara #katara x zuko #avatar the last airbender

[feetoffire]

rewatching The Western Air Temple, and i gotta say, i love that Toph is never even a little bit scared of Zuko, not even immediately after he burns her feet. she just jumps straight to being mad and it's kind of fantastic

#atla #toph #zuko #3x11 the western air temple #toph out here living her best life