#aang did not fulfill his destiny | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

quillthrillswriting · 5 days

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art credits<3: @l-a-l-o-u

ever wanted kataang as a little mermaid retelling, with a bit of an extra romantasy twist?

i present- "you with the dark curls, you with the watercolor eyes"

years ago, the spirits tui and la split the earth between the sky and the sea. however, they did not lose all hope for the rejoining of earth's peoples- tui blessed one avian a generation with the gifts of the mighty avatar, while la carefully selected one siren to grow into the role of the painted lady. the two were their little sliver of hope- hope that one day, the siren and the air-rider would fulfill their destiny, would find a way to reunite the tribes, would be able to root out the poison seeping through the land.

OR: a KATAANG AU where aang is a winged avian and katara is a siren!!!

the following are excerpts from this in-progress work: <3

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

Avatar Aang had been told time and time again that to venture across the surface of the sea when the moon had risen and claimed what rightfully belonged to it was to sign your own death certificate.

And yet, he found himself here, at the water’s edge, skipping stones, lost in thought.

To be the Avatar had once meant something, years before. Before the four tribes had separated, scattered to the ends of the earth. Those who formed fire itself chased the other tribes from the surface lands, those who could move rock and metal burrowed underground, those who flowed with the air sent ships with great sails across the sea until they reached towering mountain spires.

Those who bent water, who bent blood… they retreated to the depths of the sea, and with time, they became a part of it. Legend told of the way in which the Water tribes had adapted, two legs smoothed into razor sharp scales and voices twisted into something dark and luring.

Now, they were the monsters known as sirens.

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

As if in answer, the winds of the sea whispered back his own song, the melody made haunted. He made to turn himself away, to find shelter for the night, but that very whispering gave him pause. There was a different quality about it, something feminine, not simply his own voice reflected back. His instincts told him to duck, to crawl, and he did, bracing himself against a stone at the beach’s edge. The sound was louder here. He turned around the rock, wincing in anticipation…

…Only to be met with the sight of the most beautiful woman he had ever had the pleasure of seeing. He understood all at once why so many men had fallen prey to the charms of the siren.

For this girl to even gift him a wayward glance, he would build a temple. A religion.

She looked like a painting come to life, a sculpture kissed by the spirits themselves.

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

“I thought that sirens made a point of dragging Airriders to the depths of the ocean long before either party exchanged names.”

“Did you truly think so little of me?”

“The legends seem to think very little of you, at least. Me? I’m still making up my mind.” Aang tossed her a teasing grin.

“You seem fairly calm for a man who believes his fate to be sealed.” Katara raised her eyebrows, crossing her slender arms over one another.

“If my destiny is to spend the last few moments of my life at the side of such a lovely enchantress, who am I to fight it?”

“Handsome and a charmer. Is that your plan, to lull and seduce me into a sense of false security so that you can send a blast of air at my gills and leave me stranded in the bay?”

“If I’m remembering correctly, you are meant to be the lulling seductress of the two of us.”

⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

He smiled down at her, reaching out to take her hand in his and press his lips against her perfect skin. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady Katara.”

She pushed herself up off of her elbows, reaching up to brush her lips against his cheek. “The pleasure has been all mine, Airrider Aang.” With that, she slipped back under the waves of the sea, and Aang was left to wonder if the entire exchange of words had been nothing more than the spirited imaginings of a madman stranded and drowned at sea.

♥ if you want to stick around for this to come out, feel free to head over to my ao3 here! ->

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oneatlatime · 10 months

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The Fortuneteller

(A title which I am itching to divide into three words instead of two because boy does 'Fortuneteller' look stupid - seriously, stare at it for a bit and see how fast it starts looking like Fortun Eteller)

The last couple of episodes have had a contemplative character, so I'm rooting for this one to be a silly one. Also more Sokka please. Poor guy gets demoted to one liners in the B-plot whenever Aang is the main focus.

Episode Time!

We start this episode off with a potential love interest for Sokka.

I had completely forgotten that Katara used to have a necklace. I'd also completely forgotten that she'd lost it. When did she lose it?

Aang-o-vision has a pretty heavy rose-tinted filter - literally.

Told you it was a love interest.

The NOISE Sokka makes when the fish slaps him! I love it. Hang on I'm going to rewind and listen to it again.

Yep. Still as good the second time.

Oh wow! Aang just got Momo-zoned. Gotta say I'm not a fan of a romantic relationship between Aang and Katara at this point, so I'm all for some Momo-zonage.

Platypus bear! Finally some hybrid animals. I was beginning to wonder if that would ever come back.

Is this guy a martial arts master or an idiot?

I'm leaning towards idiot.

Friendly reminder of Appa's size. That's a lot of molars. No canines or incisors? Guess he's an obligate herbivore.

Is sniffing eggs something that people do? I get sniffing melons or other produce, but eggs?

Yep. Floppy hat guy is an idiot.

Aang buddy you might want to get that checked out.

And with a mighty squelch, the egg fulfills this episode's Beat Up Sokka quota.

Appa shakes!

Those are weird ducks.

I don't know a thing about anime, but that's the most anime-looking guy I've seen in this show. Is this show an anime?

Meng-o-vision is red-tinted. Probably doesn't bode well.

Also, Meng could give Zuko some lessons on how to style Pipi longstocking hair. Someone with more photoshop skills than me needs to make a Zuko with Meng hair.

"Don't be modest, they're huge!" Presented without comment. I'm not going to say a thing. But we all thought it.

Katara is totally the kind of girl who would fall for fortune telling. We've seen (multiple times) that she is gullible. Actually, now that I think about it, we've had multiple episodes where Katara gets swept up in something a healthy dose of skepticism would have guarded her from - Jet and The Great Divide come to mind. The writers are really hammering the 'Katara is susceptible to romantic nonsense and Sokka is a science-minded skeptic' message home. Is this going to play some bigger part in the show going forward? Why else would we be on version number (arguably) 3 of this same plot?

Aang and Sokka took off their shoes, but Katara didn't. Huh.

Pinky out. Classy.

I am not digging the Aang x Katara stuff in this episode. I'm with Sokka on this one - let's pretend it was a stellar bathroom break.

Aunt Wu is being unnecessarily antagonistic to Sokka. First he gets an egg on his head, then Momo steals his bean puffs, now Aunt Wu tells him his life's going to suck. I should have been more specific when I hoped for a Sokka episode. I didn't mean a beat up Sokka episode.

Aang. Priorities honey. Honestly, Aang casually dismissing his destiny after all that build up did get a laugh out of me.

A god-like figure coming to have his fortune read and only wanting to know about his love life would give me a headache too.

Add malicious signage to the Beating Up Sokka list.

"The fluffy bunny cloud forecasts doom and destruction." I bet that's the first time that sentence has appeared in the English language.

These people are stupid. Blazing Saddles style 'common clay of the New West' stupid. It would take, what, a day? to run a visual check on the volcano. But nope. Too much work. Listen to me I'm morphing into Sokka.

Katara giving off some serious fangirl vibes.

Katara is officially addicted to fortune telling.

Live footage of me watching these village idiots.

Add duck to the list of Things Which Assault Sokka. Gotta love those duck noises though.

Sokka is getting dangerously close to advising negging here. Also Meng deserves better. Her poor pigtails droop in disappointment. Girl has sentient hair - she deserves better.

Papaya? When you don't like papaya? Just because some old lady said so? Too far. That's not even teenage nonsense; that's tweenage nonsense. I kind of feel like sending Katara to her room. Actually it's just like that one line Log Man said in the Jet episode. Something like 'He tells us what to do and how to think and things all turn out right.' Outsourcing your decision-making. Which, by the way, is both nonsense and cult-like. Then again, the lost boys freedom fighters pretty much worshipped Jet the way this village worships Aunt Wu, so... parallels?

So if this guy got the panda lily himself, doesn't that mean that he recently went up the mountain? Couldn't he have had a peak inside while he was up there? Would have taken an extra 20 seconds.

"Flowers are fine once you're married" Somebody get this boy to Victorian times. If he ever sees an ankle he'll self-combust.

You have a flying bison. Why don't you fly up instead of climb?

This is totally live action fire copy-pasted in to the animation. There has got to be a more technical term for that than copy-pasted.

Raise your hand if you saw the twist with the volcano coming. (I did I swear. Blue spirit was an outlier).

Forget Appa, why didn't Aang just fly up?

"They just won't listen to reason." "But they will listen to Aunt Wu." So the mountain comes to Mohammed. I guess talking to people in a way they understand / will listen to is a good lesson for an avatar to learn. I thought he'd learned that one in The Great Divide though. Either way this episode is getting increasingly frustrating.

Can Meng get a hug? She seems astonishingly self-aware and emotionally mature for a kid. Also way too smart for this podunk town. I may rescind the hug in light of the stalking.

Well, it's not exactly subtle, but at least volcanic doom isn't a fluffy bunny.

Look at those yummy purples. Finally an episode where it's light enough to have a beautiful sky. My collection of wallpapers was suffering.

Digging a lava trench might work, if the volcano is going to put out a gallon or two of lava. This must be a baby volcano.

Nevermind.

The ashes effect feels oddly 3-D.

I guess to an avatar this kind of challenge is small potatoes.

Totally ignoring the Aang x Katara stuff for a minute, I'm with Sokka on this one too, because I also had forgotten that Aang is a superbender. He didn't even need to go glowy.

If I lived in this village that redesign would absolutely give me nightmares. Are those mega claws of doom structurally sound?

I am going to punch this man.

Aunt Wu's final speech to Aang makes me think that at least she's not indulging in her own product as it were. I suppose a con artist (whose services are free, so, just jerking around a village for shits and giggles?) is better than an actual believer?

MENG!!!

Final Thoughts

This episode has me thinking about stories. Part of the reason Katara wants to believe in nonsense like fortune telling is because she is someone inclined to listen to / believe in stories. I think the opening monologue of the first episode mentioned something about her grandmother's stories. Katara was raised on stories and very much took them to heart as more than just entertainment. And you can't blame her for believing the conceits of stories could be possible in their world, not after the events of episode one dumped the star of those stories in her lap. Just so long as she doesn't confuse a belief in stories with a belief in happy endings. There is a war going on in their world, and judging by the stuff that the show did not shy away from discussing or implying in episodes like The Southern Air Temple and The Storm, I am willing to bet good money that there will be a couple of unhappy endings ahead. Not permanently unhappy; this is a kids' cartoon. But there will probably be setbacks and disappointments.

Would Katara have astrology nonsense in her dating profile?

"The fluffy bunny cloud forecasts doom and destruction" is going to be incorporated into my daily vocabulary.

Platypus + bear are interesting choices for a hybrid animal, since a platypus is about 15 normal animals smashed together anyway. A platypus bear is the swiss army knife of animals. Or the Mr. Potato Head.

At first I thought that Aunt Wu was a benevolent meddler (see putting together the couple with the panda lily), but she also advised that one guy to never bathe, which doesn't benefit anyone in any way that I can see. So I've concluded that she's a Bumi level ("it's pretty fun messing with people") shit-stirrer instead. Her services may be free, but she manages to pay for a very big house, an assistant in Meng, and anime guy the bodyguard(?) so I guess grateful villagers give her donations? However she's doing it, she's got it made.

There was some sort of running theme with those large blue-billed ducks that lived in the village. If that was meant to have more meaning than just a running visual gag, I didn't pick up on it.

Meng had a surprising amount of depth and insight for what (I assume) is a one-episode character. Stalking aside, I liked her.

This episode's humourous look at the stupidity of the village (in fact the science denial of the village) is not as funny as it would have been in a pre-covid denial, pre-antivax, pre-"global warming is a hoax" world. A shallow viewing of this episode is still funny because the villagers are just SO dumb (except Meng), but the more you think about the villagers' actions and the conclusions they reach at the end of the episode (to not change AT ALL - at least the tribes made up in The Great Divide, a similarly idiot-filled episode), the more you morph into Sokka. These people have denied reality so hard that it's frustrating rather than funny to watch. Their head in the sand approach is not cute anymore.

I really wanted to like this episode. Like I said before, I wanted a goofy fun episode after the one-two punch of the last two episodes, but this one rapidly went from goofy to frustrating. I can't tell if it's because I'm not the target audience (i.e. too adult) or if it's because much of the world is currently drowning in various forms of misinformation and science denial. I know this episode isn't supposed to be deep - it's supposed to be setup for Aang & Katara as a (hopefully very distant) couple. That's all. And the message at the end about shaping your own destiny (i.e. taking an active part in your life) is a good message, and thematically relevant to the avatar, who presumably is at least somewhat responsible for shaping the whole world's destiny. But damn if this episode doesn't make my teeth itch.

Pros: Sokka had some great lines. Appa got to shake. There were pretty backgrounds. The noise Sokka made when he got slapped by the fish was a thing of beauty.

Cons: Aang and Katara are not allowed to date until they're 35. I will smack each villager individually upside the head with a science textbook. Meng deserved better.

Maybe I'm just not in the mood for this episode. I'll stick it on the rewatch list just for the Sokka fish noise.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #the fortune teller #it should be THREE words fight me #avatar the last airbender

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nirvanox182 · 11 months

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Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Original Drawing Date: December 28 2022.

Zuko is the most developed character in the whole series, and he is one of the best developed characters in all history, he is on that list of best developed characters along with Kuzco and Vegeta.

The trajectory of this character is very impressive! He goes from having a life in royalty being a prince, to then be exiled by his own father, then to be a fugitive, then going back to the royalty, then back again to being a fugitive and finally he becomes the Fire Lord, King of the Fire Nation.

He has a devastating backstory, his mother sacrificed her well being in order to save Zuko's life, she was his only support after that his own father scarred his face by burning it and exiled him out of his own home. Because of this Zuko spent a good amount of his life looking for his father's approval, luckily he wasn't alone, he always had Iroh on his side to support him and teach him the good things in life, he stood with him during his exile and also while he was a fugitive and little by little Zuko started to learn what he really needed in life. When he was a fugitive the first time he learnt that he is not the only one who has scars created by the Fire Nation, and he learnt that he shares painful stories with others too, he slowly realises that he should not feel ashamed of his scars.

One tough moment in Zuko's life was when he betrayed Uncle Iroh, he finally got everything he wished for, the approval of his father, his return to the Fire Nation, but when he finally got what he wanted he did not felt happy, he still felt disappointed in life and angry at himself. His betrayal to his uncle was destiny, it was because of that that Zuko stood along his father while he was planning to commit a second genocide, prompting Zuko to tell Aang about Ozai's plans so that Aang could stop him on the day of Sozin's Comet.

In the end, Zuko obtained the humility por everything that happened, the good and the bad, and it was because of this that he was the only one who could restore the honor to the Fire Nation. Everything that happens is part of our destiny. The humiliations and pains that we go through, the mistakes we make, we may lose our way sometimes, but the important thing is to learn from our experiences y find our way back again y fulfil our destiny.

Zuko went from being humiliated by his father to repair all the disaster that Ozai and his forefathers made for about 100 years.

#art #drawing #dibujo #dibujos #pencilart #prince zuko #zuko #avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar tla #nick #nickelodeon #nickrewind #nicktoons

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earthly-ali3n · 1 year

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i think the biggest reason kataang never sat right with me is because it wasn’t really satisfying for either of their individual arcs.

Aang always seemed to be more infatuated with katara than actually in love with her. Aang thought she was beautiful and strong, and she spends all of her time helping him train and fight. she protects him and cares for him, of course he has a crush on her. but it always seems like a childish desire, even in the 3rd season. aang should have let go of katara in the final fight, it felt like kind of a cop out to hit that rock. aang spends the whole series at war with himself over being the avatar, something he never wanted but was his destiny nonetheless. it would have been more satisfying (in my opinion) to see him fully accept the role of avatar at the end of the show, and know he was content with his destiny. Aang had so much responsibility at both the avatar and the last airbender, as well as so much trauma from spending his first year conscious after being frozen for 100 years immediately fighting and training in the war. for him to end the show in a relationship, and achieving that relationship being his ultimate happy ending just seemed very shallow for everything he had gone through.

for katara, i really feel like she settled. and i’m not going to bring any other ship into this, because there are pros and cons to all of them, so don’t take this as comparing ships or trying to say one is better than the other.

Aang did not understand nor accept katara. to not understand someone is one thing, but aang would not try to even accept katara if her feelings were vengeful, angry, etc. he preached forgiveness and being the bigger person, but that is not what katara needed from him. aang could never be a comfort to her because he couldn’t accept wanting revenge and holding grudges were valid feelings to have when you suffered what she did. and of all the people in the show, aang SHOULD be the one who understands the most. he is the last airbender, she is the last waterbender in the southern water tribe. the survivors guilt weighs heavily on them both. when aang lashes out in the avatar state, it is always katara who bring him down to earth, just by being there! but aang could never do that for katara. he had to turn it into a moral lesson, he could not help but preach to her when all she needed was for him to be there with her while she got her anger out. zuko did not have to do anything to comfort or convince katara not to give into her anger and take someone’s life. he just had to be there, to back her up and not judge her. she made the choice to leave on her own. she had to make that choice on her own, and aang was just not emotionally mature enough to let her do that. and he still wasn’t able to comprehend why she would let him live if she didn’t forgive him. katara wasn’t raised a pacifist like him. she raised herself, and her older brother. she had to be strong, and it took her looking her mother’s murderer in the eyes to realize that she didn’t have to kill him to be stronger than him. she didn’t need to kill him to make sure he would never hurt anyone again, he was already incapable. it’s the same choice aang made when he took ozai’s bending.

basically the point of this ramble is that i think katara deserved someone who could put her first, who could understand her, and who wouldn’t judge her anger. and aang is none of those things. he is the avatar, and katara would spend her whole life fulfilling HIS mission to bring balance. she was put into the role of caregiver over and over again. it was natural to her at that point, but i think she deserved to be selfish in at least one of her relationships.

edit: i’m not tagging this anti-kataang bc i’m not an anti. this is literally just me wishing that he had grown up a little and showed the same emotional maturity towards katara that she showed him

#this is just rambling #you do not have to agree #live and let live #i do not care if you disagree #nothing you say will change my mind #and i’m not trying to change yours #we good?#alright #avatar #avatar the last airbender #katara #atla #aang #kataang

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nexstage · 1 year

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Something that got me curious about the whole deal Zuko and Iroh have with the concept of destiny is how ingrained in their minds it is concerning stuff that they believe must be theirs at any cost or it is theirs from the start because they feel it or say so despite the evidence against such sentiment or how questionable it is. And that got me wondering: what if it was a family thing? And well, I rewatched a fragment of The Avatar and the Firelord episode because I wanted to know if this destiny stuff had started during the several years before Sozin and Roku met each other again. Guess what? It did happen during that time or that is what Sozin’s dialogue implied: “I've been thinking hard about the state of the world lately.” Lately as in the several years before Roku’s return? Or lately as in the time it took Roku to ask Ta Min to marry him until the talk they had during the wedding party? Anyway, Sozin had been thinking and that’s where “destiny” comes into play: “Right from the start, I was destined to be Fire Lord. And although we didn't always know it, you were destined to be the Avatar. It's an amazing stroke of fate we know each other so well, isn't it?”

With that mentality, Sozin believed it was also destiny to expand the Fire Nation, to “share their prosperity with the world” and that both best friends had this great future handed to them until Roku refused to be part on his delusions of power.

Other thing that is interesting is that even when Sozin had been thinking lately about such destiny, maybe there was an external influence that pushed him toward it, like his father’s teachings or words, or the greatness of former Fire Lords and what they had accomplished to make him believe world domination was his “destiny call” to make history.

Still, this context is super intriguing because it puts more weight into this mindset that we’ve seen on Zuko and Iroh. It’s not just reaching the top and make your mark on the world, it’s also like a family tradition. Though, while it was both of them for Iroh, for Zuko, destiny was tied to his self-worth too. Beyond the typical entitlement of a prince, there was also this high value his father had put on concepts like power, strength, dominance that were deeply connected to being a ruler, to be on the throne, and concerning the throne, that was also on a high pedestal. Heck, Ozai even created a new throne by naming himself the Phoenix King because he believed that was his destiny. So, when Zuko was stripped from his title and banished, his destiny AKA the throne, was taken away from him. No destiny means you were worthless or you screwed up so big you didn’t deserve to be close to what you have been told should be yours as long as you showed your power.

The same happens with the concept of honor, Zuko thought he was trying to restore it but in the end chasing Aang was just to please Ozai and get his love and approval. Honor and destiny are tied to his self-worth and this imaginary path he had paved in his head: getting his honor back means he finally did something right and he’s not a failure anymore, fulfilling his destiny means he has reached his true potential and is not a worthless excuse of a prince but someone worthy of the throne that is the embodiment of that potential.

The problem is that this attachment is not only unhealthy but also dangerous. Nor the show or the comics push Zuko to understand and come terms to with the fact that the throne is his not because of destiny but because of how the family inheritance structure works: if you are the firstborn, you will rule, if you aren’t, you won’t. And in very rare ocasions, if there were in ancient times, if the firstborn died on birth or childhood, another baby would have to take their place. Oh, but let’s not forget that he wasn’t even on the list, it was Lu Ten until he died on the Siege of Ba Sing Se and then Ozai schemed against Iroh and killed his own father to steal Iroh’s birthright, so Zuko’s case can be categorized as a special one of brother’s treachery and power usurpation.

Besides, by putting so much focus on destiny as this grand treasure that “he oh-so-rightfully deserves” it takes away the real struggles he had to endure to make sure the country is ruled appropriately. Sure, he was shown determined to restore the world with Aang after the war as a Fire Lord, but the comics have made him regressed a lot on character development making him incredibly entitled, abrasive, harsh, making poor decisions in politics, and arrogant by talking about how the throne is his and that’s law, blah, blah, blah. Though, to be a bit positive about how the comics portrayed Zuko, I have to say that they make him look like an ATLA version of Democles.

Have you ever heard of Sword of Democles story? He and the king, Dyonisius, swapped places and Democles starts enjoying the luxury and glamour of a king’s life, thinking that royalty is only that. He couldn’t have been more wrong because above the throne was a sword hanging by a single hair of a horse’s tail to depict the crude reality of being a king: facing multiple enemies and dangers that could eliminate him to take his throne.

Did Zuko have a sword hanging over his throne by a single hair? Technically, no. And symbolically, the comics made sure he was untouchable or that he got out of any trouble without confronting him with hard questions and realities in regards of always thinking the throne is his destiny instead of a duty based on loyalty to his people or how warped his sense of worth is by tying it to power. And honestly, with all the backlash I’ve read toward the comics, I doubt Zuko will be faced with such challenges.

#zuko critical #atla meta #the avatar and the firelord #atla comics critical #destiny this destiny that when will it be the time to address that this destiny is a warped sense of worth #heck even Eda from The Owl House knows destiny and chosen one stuff are cheap ways to feel special #Oh I forgot to mention Azula “divine right to rule” piece of dialogue #well I think she was talking with some spiritual knowledge she might have learned on the FN library

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the-badger-mole · 2 years

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How It Could Have Ended

Picture this: a story of a guy frozen in ice being woken up in a world he no longer recognizes. On waking, he meets a girl who is stubborn, strong and caring who takes him under her wing as he adjusts to this strange new world. The boy turns out to be the literal savior of the world, and with the help of the girl, he fulfills his destiny. There are some twists and turns, but in the end they fall in love, and it's a very sweet and satistfying ending, despite the fact that behind the scenes production drama made the last part of the series hit or miss.

Don't worry, I'm not being held at gun point and this is not a cry for help. I'm just talking about Futurama.

It's no big secret that I don't like Kataang as a ship, and I've spent a lot of words on all the ways it was a terrible ending for Katara and for the entire series. Here's something you may not know, though: I don't hate the dynamic that Kataang was built on. The lovable dopey boy and the competent, strong girl falling for each other is a Friends to Lovers trope that works really well if done correctly, and while I hate how ATLA did it, Futurama is one of my favorite examples of this ship dynamic in all of media and fandom.

The biggest reason that Fry and Leela's relationship development succeeds where Katara and Aang's failed is that the creators of the show seemed to actually care about Leela and her story. Fry and Leela's relationship develops in a way that takes them both into consideration. We get why Fry likes Leela, but we also see why Leela likes Fry. Leela's feelings matter. Leela is shown thorughout the series to have an attraction to Fry, but resists because Fry isn't mature enough to move their romantic relationship forward for most of the series run. Leela isn't made out to be the problem because of it. Despite the fact that Fry is a genuinely good guy, it's made very clear that Leela isn't wrong about him. Their relationship advances only as Fry becomes more mature, and Fry isn't maturing so that Leela will like him. Yes, she has the effect of making him want to be better, but there is never a point where Fry throws his development in Leela's face and expects to be rewarded with her affection. He hopes she'll like him back, but he doesn't demand it (also note that by "becoming more mature", Fry didn't have to stop being Fry. He was just more aware of how his actions affected others and acted accordingly).

Let's compare that to ATLA, where Katara's participation (such as it is) in her romantic development is very passive. When she rebuffs Aang's advances, our sympathy is supposed to be with Aang. Even in the end, where she initiates the kiss, that moment isn't preceeded by any discussion of her feelings or why she's decided she wants Aang. There are two moments in the show before the end where she could be argued to be showing any sort of romantic interest in Aang, in the end of the Fortunteller, and in the dance, and in both cases, it's not clear that Katara actually feels anything romantic for Aang. Her feelings are also never followed up on in either case. It doesn't need to be because Katara's feelings in this relationship don't really matter to either the writers or to Aang. She ends up with Aang in the end because that's what the script demands, rather than a natural progression of their friendship.

How the hero views his love interest is also handled very differently in ATLA and Futuram. It's very clear from the beginning that Aang likes Katara. What's made equally clear is that he likes her because she's pretty. Really think about all the moments where he's shown a romantic interest in Katara. It's all framed around her beauty, not who she actually is. Even though Aang should absolutely have understood a lot of what Katara was going though, it never comes into play in how he veiws her as a person, even when it really should. Katara and Aang have a very surfacy relationship. Katara takes care of Aang and she is a good friend to him, but she is either seeing Aang the child in her care, or Aang the Avatar. He is never Aang, the person she turns to when she needs help. In turn Aang sees Katara, the beautiful girl he has a crush on, and when she deviates from that view, he gets uncomfortable (i.e. his reaction to Katara challenging Pakku's sexism, or her wanting to go after Yon Rah). Aang doesn't understand Katara's pain, or her desperation to see the war ended. These are two characters who on paper should actually have a lot to connect on, but they don't make that connection, and the result is a very lopsided relationship where Aang persues Katara as a prize, and Katara gives in because he's the Avatar. Katara's wants are irrelevant.

Fry and Leela, on the other hand, share a deep connection that isn't just based on physical attraction. From the first episode, their bond is based on the way they relate to one another's struggles. While, yes, it is clear that Fry thinks Leela is attractive, they connect over a sense of feeling out of place and lonely in the world they find themselves in. Leela is an orphan who (she believes) comes from a whole different planet. Fry is 1000 years away from the world he knows and everyone he has ever loved is dead. They understand each other in ways the rest of the world doesn't, and they help each other carve their own path. One of the most poingnant episodes of thier relationship is X-Mas Story when Fry spends part of the episode feeling sorry for himself because he is lonely and misses Christmas with his family. Then it's pointed out that Leela is feeling even worse because while Christmas is a reminder of what Fry doesn't have anymore, for Leela, it's a reminder of what she's never had and she expects never will. Fry goes out of his way to make Leela feel better, not because he hope she'll fall for him (at this point, I don't think Fry is even that serious about liking Leela romantically yet). He did it because she's his friend, and he can empathize with her lonliness.

There's never a moment where he demands Leela's affection in exchange for the things he does. Fry saves the world, several times, over the course of the series, but he never makes that transactional. He doesn't try to leverage the fact that he is the only person in the universe who could have done what he did to even get a date with Leela. Although he does plead with Leela several times to give him a chance, Fry is also willing to back off when he's rebuffed...It's really messed up that we live in a world where that's a rare and attractive trait in a man, but here we are.

At the end of the day, Fry respects Leela. He has feelings for her and would like those feelings to be reciprocated, but had Leela refused him, he would have let her go. And we get a few opportunities to see that he would let her go. Leela has a few love interests over the course of the series, and while Fry doesn't necessarily like it, he steps aside and let's Leela do as she pleases, even if it means he might not ever get to be with her himself. Aang, on the otherhand, was ready to go into the Avatar State over the mere suggestion that Katara wanted someone else. Rather than give Katara the space she specifically asked for, he pressured her for the response he wanted, and physically forced himself on her. Aang wouldn't step aside like Fry and let Katara have every chance to be happy, even if it wasn't with him.

By the time Fry and Leela get together, they have a deep understanding of each other, both the good and bad. Fry has worked on himself so he could be the partner Leela needed without any expectation that she had to pick him if he did the things he was supposed to do anyway. Leela in turn was able to let her guards down and trust Fry would see her vulnerability for the gift it was and handle her with care. In contrast, by the time Katara and Aang get together, Aang has proven his feelings matter more to him than hers. He's proven that Katara can't trust him with her vulnerabilites, and he's disrespected her culture several times (remember the time Fry literally threw himself into a toxic lake and got "mutated" so he could support Leela after she called him out for being insensitive?). Aang is the king of "girl, lower your standards!" Mike and Bryan could stand to learn a thing or 15 about building a romance from Futurama.

#atla #anti kataang #futurama #fry and leela #freela?#comparing kataang to freela #fry and leela are what kataang could have been #if katara's feelings mattered and bryke could admit that aang wasn't perfect #there's no version of kataang i would ship over zutara #but there's a version of that ship that i would have at least accepted #kataang sucks because aang isn't a good character and katara doesn't get anything out of it #that is all

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wingsfreedom · 2 years

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The thing is, Iroh had multiple occasions to admit his guilt of BSS seige, yet each time he brings up BSS or someone brings it up: Iroh doesn't admit his gulit.

- book 1, when the EK soliders brought BSS seige up to him, Iroh only said he was tired and his men were tired (despite in Zuko Alone scene, he was shown having a good time in a comfortable tent and didn't think calling off the seige until his son was killed by the resistance)

- book 2, when he and Zuko arrived at the shore of BSS: Iroh says this is the place of his military disgrace and now he's a tourist as he puts on a silly hat.

- book 2, Azula's tea trap: Iroh sees the palace of the Earth King, he says he expected himself to stands here as a conqueror, not as a man serving tea and that destiny is a funny thing.

- book 3, Iroh brought up what he did wrong in BSS: it was a misinterpreted vision! Then he went to the city in the day of Sozin's Comet when the firepower of the FN soliders within the city received a 100× boost (which logically would put his team, Piandao a non-bender swordman, Pakku a waterbender and Bumi an earthbener as well as the civilians within the city in danger) because the writing of Iroh's reasoning here suggests that Iroh desires to experience the power of the comet for his conquest. "Only once every hundred years can a firebender experience this kind of power."

- book 3, Iroh standing in front of the palace of the Earth King as a conqueror, but burning the FN flag and smirking proudly; having fulfilled his "destiny".

Iroh letting Aang almost getting killed by Ozai. Zuko and Katara almost getting killed/captured by Azula and the FN. Sokka, Suki and Toph almost fallen off the airships (all armed by plot armor) just because of his ego and obscure notions of destiny.

#atla #iroh critical

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zuko-always-lies · 2 years

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Why did Zuko only warn the gaang about the Sozin's comet and everything burning to the ground at the eleventh hour

Because the writers only inserted it as an incredibly clumsy retcon at the last minute?

If we try to apply a Watsonian explanation, it's hard to resist the idea that Zuko might have disliked Ozai's plan, but it wasn't something he cared all that much about, at least compared to regaining Iroh's approval, getting the Gaang to like him, and fulfilling his destiny by training Aang in firebending so that Aang can (eventually?) defeat Ozai. If stopping Ozai's plan was one of Zuko's top priorities, surely he would have brought it up sometime when he was agnsting before two or so days before it Sozin's Comet? There's also maybe the implication that Zuko didn't tell the Gaang because he was ashamed that he was at the war meeting and didn't speak out against it, but that doesn't exactly make Zuko look good, either. And it also makes little sense that Zuko just assumed the Gaang knew about Sozin's Comet and fully anticipated its destructive potential in the first place.

Again, the series finale is full of clumsy writing which just makes characters look bad, like the implication like the Order of White Lotus maybe already knew about Ozai's plan and just weren't going to do anything to stop it? Or that Aang has just somehow never picked up on the implication that people expect him to kill Ozai for the last three seasons?

#Zuko #zuko critical

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cotton-candy-haze · 1 year

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What’s Noka doing while Appa’s missing from the gang?

At this point, Noka has finally (much to her dismay) joined the Gaang and is fulfilling her destiny of helping the Avatar. This is what she was up to after Appa was taken.

Noka stared up at the sky, eyes squinting against the point on the horizon that Aang had disappeared into. She felt bad about him losing his bison, sure, but she had to admit that this felt a bit dramatic. Of course, she didn't know Aang as well as Sokka and Katara did, so maybe this was just how the boy was. Either way, she had to admit it was a little bit inconvenient for him to leave them alone in the middle of the desert. Shrugging, she turned around to face the rest of the group who all looked about annoyed as she felt.

"We'd better start walking. We're the only people who know about the solar eclipse," Katara said once she saw that she had Noka's attention. "We have to get that information to Ba Sing Se."

"Wait, hold on. Noka's all Avatar-y, can't she just airbend us out of here so we don't have to trek through the desert?" Sokka interrupted, eyes darting between Katara and Noka as if waiting for one of the girls to argue with him.

"Chaos Avatar, but I don't have airbending right now." Noka snapped her fingers and lit a small fire on the end of each of her fingertips to emphasize her point. "And even if I did, what do you expect me to do? It's not like any of us have gliders."

"Exactly," Katara replied, rolling her eyes at her brother before she started walking in the direction Aang took off. She didn't wait for the rest to follow, but called over her shoulder, "If you don't want to get left behind in the middle of nowhere, I suggest you all follow me."

Noka extinguished the flames alight in her hand, shrugged noncommittally, and followed after the girl. "We're gonna die out here one way or another. I guess I'd rather die trying to get out of here than die relaxing on a sand dune.”

"That's the opposite of what I want to hear right now, Noka," Sokka grumbled as he joined the group.

#just a little short snippet #noka is so underdeveloped #that's my bad lmao #noka: atla oc #ask the ocs #answered #CJ 💫

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litcityblues · 16 days

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Room To Master More Elements

I was just a little bit too old to have the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender be an integral part of my childhood and I never bothered to watch the movie (I have heard it's terrible and might be inclined to check it out at some point, but I'm not going to fall all over myself to do so.). I've sort of half-heartedly started The Legend of Korra once or twice over the years, but it has never really clicked with me the way the original Avatar: The Last Airbender did.

Point is: this wasn't an integral part of my childhood experience. Should they never get around to making a Thundercats movie (or show), I will undoubtedly have feelings about that and what they get wrong versus what they get right- so I understand that people have feelings about the Netflix show. I get that people were worried when the original creators departed the show and thought it was a gigantic red flag. I get that people weren't happy that they toned down Sokka's sexism. I get all of that and I'm here to tell you this:

Take a deep breath and calm down. It's not at all bad and actually has the potential to be really, really good.

Set in a war-torn world where certain people can 'bend' one of the four classical elements (water, earth, air, and fire) every so often, an Avatar is chosen that can master all four disciplines and usually is tasked with bringing the world back into balance. As the show opens, the Fire Kingdom is conquering the other three Kingdoms-- the airbenders have been wiped out, the Earth Kingdom is under siege and the Waterbenders are nomadic tribes clustered at the north and south poles. Waterbender Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley) find Aang (Gordon Cormier) frozen in the ice and free him, the Avatar, who has been frozen for over a century finds a very different world than the one he remembers. All his friends and family are gone, the Fire Kingdom is after him and he is still 12 years old and struggling to understand his role as Avatar and how to master the elements so he can save the world.

Together the three companions set out to help Aang fulfill his destiny as Avatar, while pursued by Zuko (Dallas Liu) the exiled Prince of the Fire Nation, who wants to regain his honor by capturing Aang once and for all. With Zuko is Uncle Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) who is a retired General of the Fire Nation who acts as both mentor and father figure to Zuko, whose actual father, The Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae-Kim) is cruel and sadistic and whose sister Azula (Elizabeth Yu) is almost more sadistic and cruel than their father.

If you've seen the cartoon, you know that the show more or less hews to the plot of the first season of the cartoon. They tweak a few things here and there-- Azula is introduced far earlier here than in the original show for instance, but it ends with a confrontation between the Fire Nation and the Northern Water Tribe. Aang and his friends help the Waterbenders win-- but not without paying a heavy price.

I think if anything slows this adaptation down a bit, it might be their insistence on delivering the 'moments' that fans are going to expect to see in this show. And that's not a bad instinct to have, it's just that- especially when the show gets to Omashu and Aang meets his now elderly friend, Bumi, it becomes a little too much like the cartoon to the point where in the early going, you're left wondering why this feels like a live-action remake, not of the story of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but of the actual animated show itself. I think this show is going to need some time to master all four of the elements- much like Aang and happily, I think by the end of the first season you see signs of growth in that direction.

The casting for Fire Lord Ozai is brilliant- you can't get much better than Daniel Dae-Kim, but somehow, this show does, because they absolutely nailed the casting for Uncle Iroh. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is perfect for this role and you get to see a little more of his backstory and his trauma of fighting in a war which helps you, the viewer understand the relationship he has with Zuko a lot better.

Did they tone down Sokka's sexism? Maybe a touch, but... not in a way that bothered me. It's a different medium, so an animated show/cartoon might be more inclined to be a little more direct with its themes, while a live-action show can be more subtle, perhaps? I didn't notice a dramatic difference in the character myself-- he's still young, brash, awkward, and sticks his foot in his mouth more than once, but he's also loyal to his friends and shows some personal growth throughout the season, which is what you want to see with the character.

It's largely the same with Katara and Aang. I feel like both of these young actors have the ability to really grow in these roles and while the growth with a little more pronounced with Katara this season (she gains a lot of knowledge and ability with her waterbending abilities throughout the season and gains confidence as well- I feel like Aang will get there as well-- his willingness to sacrifice himself to the elemental spirit in the final episodes (I'm trying not to be spoiler-y here) is a good sign for the next season.

Overall: There is room for this show to master all four elements. I think it will find its feet and while the early episodes could be a bit awkward and hew a little too closely to the animated show, by the end of the season, this show was starting to feel like it was finding its feet and gaining in both quality and confidence. It's earned enough from me to tune into another season- whenever they drop that onto Netflix. My Grade: *** out of ****

#avatar the last airbender #netflix #review

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themovieblogonline · 2 years

Video

youtube

The New Avatar Cast For Netflix

Avatar Cast for Netflix News Update: Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series is currently in production and just added a whole bunch of new actors to its already incredible cast. After a failed live-action film from M. Night Shyamalan in 2010, the new series is highly anticipated. The exit of the original creators of the animated series worried the show’s long-time fans. However, announcements of the Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action cast did a lot to alleviate those concerns. With 20 new cast additions, those worries are dissipating with each day. Avatar: The Last Airbender is the story of a boy named Aang. This boy wakes up in a war-torn world full of elemental magic. Aang then embarks on a mythic quest to fulfill his destiny as the long-prophesized Avatar. The Avatar is a being of legend who could master control of all 4 elemental forms of magic.

#youtube #Avatar #avatar the last airbender #Netflix Avatar #Avatar Show

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littlegingermochipie · 3 years

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anastasia au / アナスタシアバージョン zukaang week 2021 day four | ba sing se season 2 au / 平行宇宙

aang woke up under the control of dai li, while zuko and iroh lived in ba sing se three years after banishment. set as canon divergent version before crossroads of destiny. more of this story below the cut!

excuse my fuzzy brain for incoming plotholes maybe hehe yeah wow i love impulsiveness. anyway yeah sozin comet ain't comin until like, 120 AG-ish

zuko and iroh stopped searching for the avatar and peacefully worked under quon's patronage at ba sing se.

fortunately, due to their successful tea business, they found better access to knowledge of the avatar, as well as various air nomad's relics and textual informations. they decided to keep everything at their secret warehouse, hiring bands of thugs to keep it safe.

unbeknownst to iroh and zuko, four years before they lived as refugees, dai li was the first one to find aang in his iceberg state near eastern air temple.

hundred years ago, aang briefly fought against fire nation army at the temple alongside pathik, gyatso, the nuns, and several young monks. he was saved by pathik from dire situation by getting thrown into the ocean.

long feng planned to raise the boy as their secret weapon so earth kingdom could rise, taking down the fire nation.

upon woken up, aang was hypnotized, and could only remember that he's an orphan named liu jun, born as earthbender.

he was told that the markings on his skin was a curse since birth by angered spirits, and to never let other people see it or they'll be facing the consequences of his misfortune.

he lived like a bird in a cage under long feng's watch and the head of dai li's tutelage. for six years long, he felt horribly stressed.

one day, aang finally found a way to get out of his residence by tricking the caretakers, sneaking and riding on earth kingdom's logistic vehicles.

once he's out of the food supply cart, he found and saved momo from being sold by black market thugs in the lower ring. there, he stumbled upon zuko and iroh's secret warehouse.

zuko was mad for the intrusion, but quickly realized something about the boy's appearance. iroh, however, noticed that this liu jun has upper class upbringing, and concluded that he's one of the rebel child who wanted the taste of outer walls.

zuko just blatantly state the obvious; "kid, you really, really look like the avatar in that painting," but aang was like, "who's avatar?" and ended up being educated about hundred years war history.

aang felt shocked by the tattoos he saw on the painting. still, he quickly dismissed the idea that he might be a living airbender, since their tattoo was supposed to be a sign of mastery, not a curse like long feng said. he didn't tell this to iroh and zuko, yet.

"aish, you must be mad for ever thinking i'm the avatar. he should be an old man by now! i'm afraid of being near fire or under the water for too long, and i dislike being in cramped spaces with damp air. how am i supposed to bend those elements?" (those are also the mental issues resulted by long feng's braingwashing, ofc)

either way, he needed to hide from long feng. aang quickly sealed the deal to iroh's offer who gave him the chance to help their tea shop in the meantime. well, anything but being under dai li's supervision works.

for a week of working together, zuko had noticed a lot of strange things in aang; like how he could easily play kangling (air nomad's bone flute), how his footsteps were so light he almost can never be heard walking, and how he never want to bathe and get dressed with other people nearby.

in the hunt for aang, long feng sent royal guards to every corner of earth kingdom territory. finally, they found aang at the warehouse. chaotic pursuit ensues. iroh and zuko managed to save him—at the price of being labeled as criminals.

with the help of june, iroh and zuko found their way to their old ship and crews. they brought aang there, and asked who he actually was since he's so important for the dai li.

from zuko and iroh's research, the only living people who could confirm the avatar's identity was bumi, who's in omashu, and the temple sages. too much risk for those, ofc, so they opted to go to the empty eastern air temple for more hints.

there, they met pathik, who went, "monkey feathers! aang, is that you?" to which aang replied, "nah, i'm liu jun." and pathik's like, "but i can sense your avatar spirit! and-and your tattoos, let me look at it!" but aang was so, so afraid of showing it.

then, by nudging his inner ki, pathik managed to trigger the avatar state out of aang, causing him to remember everything, including his airbending ability.

zuko and iroh be like, "well, shit, he's really the avatar," and their journey went rather hellish from that, with both zhao's fleet and the dai li on their tail.

after being informed by pathik that he had bonded with an air bison named appa, aang wished he could find him, since appa's the only family that might remain alive with him in this world. zuko promised that they would find appa.

under the pretense of companionship, zuko secretly plotted to give aang to ozai, while he and iroh helped the boy to master four elements by travelling around the world.

feelings were hindering him on the way, though. months of travelling together did that. "i think we could be good friends, even in another lifetime, if not a hundred years ago." oof, aang.

just like dimitri and anastasia, zukaang had deep bonding session at the boat with their dancing dragon and firebending lessons. iroh did smile knowingly at them.

betrayal slapped hard when aang found out about zuko's actual plan during their fight against zhao at north pole, who revealed with, "you befriend this dishonored prince, avatar? all he wanted to do was to send you to the fire lord as a nicely wrapped gift! this was all a ploy to earn your trust, to take you down by knowing your exact blind spots! you are merely a tool for him to regain his former identity!"

ouch. they got separated from there. aang then teamed up with the eventually formed gaang at the other side of the world, while zuko getting scolded by iroh, "you don't only lose someone that you care about, but the hope of the whole world! your hope! hadn't the past three years taught you something? hunger for power only bring despair to you!"

both once separated parties then reunited with the crossroads episode. aang ended up dead, katara swore to finish the fire siblings off, and zuko went absolutely mad, drowned in grief.

it's up to zuko now, to actually fulfill his promises; from finding appa to saving the world from his father—all without knowing that katara could revive aang. angst angst angst, final boss, zukaang banging then everyone lived happily ever after ♥

the musical scores would be:

a rumour in ba sing se

once upon an agrahāyana

caldera holds the key to your heart

learn to wield it

learn to wield it (dancing dragon reprise)

in the dark of the moonless night

feels great to finally manifest this draft of zukaang anastasia au for @zukaangweek uwu

#zukaang #zukaang week 2021 #zukaang anastasia au #longer haired aang is life #yes yes shonen haircut #had too much fun with this #zuko #iroh #aang #pathik #aang fanart #zuko fanart #avatar: the last airbender

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dawnwriterimagines · 3 years

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Wrong side, Losing side: Zuko x f!Reader

Summary: When (y/n) chooses to help the avatar escape and betray her boyfriend Zuko, she is instantly a traitor to her home country, the fire nation.

- - -

You kicked off the cliff side, vaulting your body into the air, a flame manifesting with a concentrated swirl from your ankle down to your boot heel, with a swift flip in the middle of Azula's blue flame, the fire dispersed into loose embers as you landed in a crouch between Azula and the Avatar. The smoke around you all quickly dispelled as you came into view, Katara and Aang letting out synchronized sighs of relief.

Aang smiling widely, his heart leaping, "(y/n)!"

You spared the Avatar a comforting glance behind you, "You both need to keep going, the Dai Li can't be far!"

Katara tensed in alarm, shaking her head. "Not without you!"

The fire nation princess straightened from her attack, her brows raising in mild surprise before narrowing with an angered glare, "So, you've chosen to remain a traitor to your nation, have you? I expected more from you, (y/n)," her eyes narrowed deeply to slits, "That was my first mistake," she sneered, before raising a fist that quickly launched a flame your way, "And it won't happen again!"

You dived to the side to avoid the blistering heat, rolling onto your side and lunging to your feet then sprinting forwards. "Aang, go now!" You warned, backhanding a stray fireball before it could make contact with your face, directing a fire ball of your own towards the princess.

Aang and Katara reluctantly keep moving, running further into the cavern, but they don't get far, Azula kicks her foot out in front of her, sending herself backwards while blasting a plume of blue flames towards you. You gasp before bringing your palms up, your own purple flames materializing and splitting the fire apart, the heat licking at your bare arm's, you let out a fiery breath before tearing your way through the wall of flames as they dispersed and running towards Azula, who jumped off the side of a boulder to hurl two balls of fire towards the Avatar and Katara.

Luckily they were able to water bend a covering from the lake surrounding the cavern, as Azula lands, she grimaces in annoyance as she glances behind her to see you as well, it was three against one now. She wouldn't stand a chance.

You gasped as a rope of red hot flames tore through the steely glare that you and Azula shared, your eye's widening as Zuko lands as few feet away from you, his hands closed into tight fists directed at two people, Azula and Aang. He takes a few steps to the side, an equal distance between his two targets, he seems to be deciding.

His eyes link with yours, he seems to pause, his fists tightening as his jaw clenched from the decision he was about to make, his eyes close briefly and suddenly you understand. His eyes open once again with a vengeance, a menacing determination you hadn't seen since he had first found out the avatar was alive.

"Zuko, no--!" But, he's made his choice.

He fires two separate balls of fire, the first going towards Aang, the other hurtling towards you. You leap to the side, skidding before flicking your wrist outwards to produce a rope of fire as Zuko unleashes a fiery assault on Aang. You waste no time in flicking the fire whip his way, but he hasn't forgotten about you, quick to turn and sidestep it before materializing one of his own.

"What do you think you're doing?!" You snap the whip towards him, only for him to counter as you demand his answer.

"I'm fulfilling my destiny," his gaze hardens, before his own whip meets yours, the flames canceling as embers fly. Using your free hand, you throw out a fire ball towards his feet, his eyes flicker downwards and he rolls to his side before standing as you run towards him.

Aang rejoins Katara to help against Azula, swinging full force a violent wind that causes her flames to lose course, she sneers bitterly before raising her arms up, a wall of fire following before she pushes it forwards towards the two.

"How could your destiny be getting rid of the world's last hope?!" You swung a fire ball his way, to which he raised a flaming hand to extinguish.

"You wouldn't understand!" He grimaced, he gives a violent wave that produces a massive twisted flame towards you, you flip backwards, landing on your feet before tearing your hands through the fire wall as Zuko prepares another blast from behind it. "You never have!"

As you part the fire with a force of your own, your eye's widen in horror to see a massive fire ball, spinning like a vortex, violently hurtling towards you. You pull your hands up, raising a fiery barrier between you and it, but you're not fast enough, the wall fizzles out with the red flames and the two colors mix together. You would've found the mix of blazing flames as beautiful as you had always did, if it weren't for it hitting you point blank and throwing you back into the crystal cavern's side wall.

You hit the solid, jagged wall with an pained yelp before crumbling to your knees and onto your side, your hands burning from the flames, while you curled into yourself, sinking your elbows to your belly to ease the agonizing burns across it. You hissed with a cry, beads of tears springing up from the feeling, your eye's flicker up to look at Zuko.

He's stunned, although he tries not to make it too obvious, his hands open and close, clenching forcefully and his nails dig into his palms wondering if he had actually caused you pain or if this wasn't real. But, when he finally felt the first string of blood fall from his fingertips, he knew he had done the unforgivable. "(Y-y/n)--" he stepped forwards, taking an unsteady, almost hesitant step as if he'd scare you and himself if he moved too fast. "I didn't--" he starts, his eyes follow the first tear that slips down your face as you drop your head down.

Fire rains down behind the two of you, illuminating the cavern once again, Azula kicks her foot out towards the Avatar and whips her head around to glare at her brother. "Zuko!"

He turns, before giving you one last look. "No, please," you beg, trying to stand, only to fall. "Please, Zuko, don't do this."

You've never seen him as conflicted as he was now, it was almost painful to see him tear every single option, every choice in his head until one remained. He turned his back on you, your eye's widening, hurt and disappointed, "I have to do this, (y/n)," he breathed, before running off towards his sister.

"Zuko!"

He split apart Katara's attack towards Azula, the water bender nearly succeeding in her assault, but cutting in, the prince faced the water tribe girl with new vigor, as she only glared his way. Azula smirked, straightening before running forwards to throw a ball of blue fire hurtling towards Aang, who quickly dodged it and sent an attack of his own.

"I thought you had changed!" Katara forced the water to crawl up her limbs and quickly formed two water whips around her arms, "I believed in you," she sneered before flicking her wrists and throwing her arms down along with the bending water to hit against Zuko's own fire whips. "(Y/n) believed in you! And you betrayed her!"

Zuko frowned, “I have changed.” He fires another blast to the waterbender.

You stand to your feet, your hands shaking in agony from the burns across your palms, your face wet with sad, pained tears as you stumble before letting your hands ignite with flames, this time red in color. Your eyes catch Aang’s form as he attacks Azula encased in crystal from the cavern, Katara holds her own with Zuko as the two elements clash with one another.

You run over to Aang as he rushes Azula, but the seasoned warrior princess is ready, halting in her movements and using her firebending to break Aang’s crystal armor and sending the young Avatar flying to the back wall. “Aang!” You gasp before charging forwards, faster, jumping up and firing off two blasts of fire to the prideful Azula.

She turns in surprise, instinctively covering herself from the flames with her own, narrowly avoiding being burned. She straightens with a sneer as you land in your own stance to face her, “You disappoint me. Truly, (y/n). How your family must feel to see such a seasoned warrior reduced to this. You were once a pride of mine,” your gaze hardened at the princess as she glared at you heatedly, “Now, look at you, a fugitive of your nation and after today, a prisoner,” Azula’s hands lit up with blue flames as she got into a stance of her own, “That I will leave to rot.”

“Promises, promises,” You speak, tiredly, snickering lightly as Azula’s eyes turn to slits.

You dodge a blast of fire aimed at your feet, skidding to the side to kick out a flame soaring towards her. She pushes it away to embers with her own flames and rushes towards you, blue flames blazing from her fingers like lightning, she collides with you, purple and blue flames swelling around one another. The both of you exchanging fiery blows, one after another, your stumble as you tiredly deliver another blow to the princess with a cry. She dodges easily, her feet kicking up to sweep your legs right from under you, you fall with a gasp, using your hands to catch yourself only to scream in agony at the reminder of the burns across them. Azula gives you no time to rest as she raises her leg to stomp you down, rolling from under her, you use both your feet to send a wave of flames right into her chest.

She stumbles back with a gasp, flames shrouding her gaze, she aims a flame to her front but she's stunned to see you’ve already moved as the flames part. She releases an angered, “No!” As she turns to see you using both your hands to create a tidal wave of fire that crashes down and towards the princess. “AH!”

Your eyes linking with the princess as she raises her arms to counter the move, you’ve never truly looked Azula in the face before, always reminded of your place. And even now, that look never ceased as she remained as proud as ever, even with a smile, conniving and evil, despite the situation, your brows furrow at her look as your flames clash together and fight for dominance.

But as you feel another set of flames headed down towards you, you move away quickly, red flames crash down into your previous spot, giving Azula time to unleash a set of her own onslaught onto you.

Katara groans as she sits up from the position, her hair having come undone from its braid, her back aches from hitting the crystal wall. Her eyes looking up to see the Dai Li agents surrounding the cavern as they jump from the top to land and prepare their attack on the remaining three.

Katara stands to her feet despite her limbs screaming in protest as she aches all over, her hands moving up in repetitive movements as water moves to circle at her feet rising to make octopus like tendrils around her, daring any Dai Li to step up. The waterbender looks around, her eyes catching on familiar attire beyond her group of Dai Li enemies, her eyes widening as Azula steps away from your slumped form against the crystal pillar, “(Y/N)!” She screams in worry, glaring angrily at Azula, “You’re a monster!”

“That’s a compliment where I come from,” Azula snickers as she steps over your leg to walk towards the avatar, who was just beginning to notice the Dai Li piling to face him. Zuko hesitantly follows, his worried gaze lingering too long on your still frame to not feel the immense guilt that flooded him.

With the fire lord’s children staring him down, trained earthbending guards of the earth kingdom’s royal guard ready to throw everything they have, Aang was face with a final decision. Fulfilling his final chakra, and letting go of love, “I’m sorry, Katara,” he whispers, squeezing his eyes tight before turning his back on the benders to create the crystal barricade.

Your eyes open with the rough haul into someone’s grip, your eyes flickering to the side before throwing your hands up to wave a flamed hand to ward them off. It does the trick but it also sends a ripple of agony through your shoulder, to which you notice the large burn across your shoulder to your back, it burns horribly and you can feel the tears that had already been shed for the pain on your cheeks. But you still had a fight to continue. The dozens of Dai Li agents went for you again, but you sucked in a breath, releasing a fiery burst of fire from your throat, spewing the purple flames like a dragon, an angry roar manifesting.

A bright light ignites the cave eliciting everyone's attention, you stumble a little as you pause in your onslaught, flames dying out as you watch the Avatar rise into the air within a pillar of white light. Your eyes widening in awe, smiling faintly as he rises higher to stop the fighting finally.

But then the loud shock of thunder in the air and the piercing of lightning interrupts the glow of the Avatar and the feeling in your heart is indescribable when you see Aang fall, the avatar’s eyes close and his body falls limp against the sky. Tears fall down your cheeks. “AANG!”

You can hear the sound of a wave behind you flushing out all the Dai Li, but it doesn’t stop you from running forwards, propelling yourself upwards with a short burst of fire as Katara washes over the rest of the tyrants below. You roll down in front of the two as Katara lands before you, catching aang in time with hopeless, miserable tears in her eyes.

You lean down, reaching out to the young boy sadly, your hands stopping inches from his cheek, before balling up sadly as you crumble to your knees, exhausted and defeated. Katara shares your tears and the two of you reach for the others hand, holding tight as you turn back to see the Dai Li, Azula and Zuko standing, soaked but ready.

"You didn't have too..." you sniffled, groaning as you placed your hand to the ground, only letting the tips of your fingers touch the soiled cement beneath you. Katara reluctantly lets your hand slip from hers as you rise to protect them, "You didn't have to do this...you could've just--talked to me," you pushed yourself up to your feet, whimpering lightly as you clutched your side with your other hand. Zuko reached out, you glared at him instantly, making him tense before shamefully remaining where he stood. "Azula isn't the answer. Neither is betraying me or your uncle," your gaze softened slightly. "You don't need anyone to give you your honor, Zuko. You never needed anyone but yourself."

Zuko looks away from you. "None of that matters now.”

You frown, sadly. “You’re right. Because I could never forgive you for this.”

Zuko’s gaze drifts back to you, lips parting mournfully, oh how he wanted to beg you to join him, maybe run away from this mess, but he was too deep in and he was so close to restoring his honor. So, he keeps his mouth shut, even as Azula and the Dai Li start advancing.

A line of fire blocks them, aiming at their feet. Iroh lands before them, in front of you and Katara. “Go!” He yells in warning, throwing flaming punches skillfully, “I’ll hold them off for as long as I can!”

You turn from Iroh sadly, nodding before spinning around quickly, “Come on!” You help get Katara to her feet with Aang in hand, she stands on shaking feet and begins to bend water to encircle you all when you step out as she begins to go up.

She gasps, “What’re you doing?!” She can’t lose concentration unless they’ll drop, she yells to your worriedly. “You can still make it, come on, please!”

“Go, Katara!” You yell to her, throwing a fire ball at an approaching Dai Li agent, “Be safe! Save him.” You turn to her one last time as she tearfully look you in the eye, you’re smiling. Before bursting upwards in her spiral of water with Aang.

They disappear from view and Iroh is encased in crystal as his attacks settle upon ensuring the escape of the two. He looks at you as you look to him, confused. “You were supposed to go, lotus,” he says softly, almost sadly.

You smile faintly, fists dropping as your flames subside. “I couldn’t let you be alone,” You hum, tiredly. Iroh’s eyes glow in their love but in their sadness as well, until they meet his nephew’s and they burn with sorrow. Your body quickly encasing in crystals as you both give up to the fire nation.

Carried off to become prisoners of the fire nation, your eyes can never meet Zuko’s consumed with sadness and anger, tears come to your eyes upon each time he comes to your cell to speak with you. Tears fall when he begs you to say something. And you sob when he leaves with angry screams of the choices he’s made and the things that's led him here.

Zuko wasn’t sure of it yet, but he picked the wrong side.

#atla #atla x reader #zuko x reader #zuko #zuko and you #zuko x y/n

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linnoya-writes · 3 years

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Things I always hear Kat*angers argue (with counter-arguments):

1) Zuko and Katara’s elements might showcase an “opposites attract” idea, but they’re the same people: both are hot-headed and stubborn and would be at each other’s throats. Katara and Aang carry the “soft boy/head strong girl” dynamic that is more healthy.

Let’s dive into this idea that Katara and Aang compliment each other better based on their natural responses to danger/conflict:

Aang is playful and cheerful where Katara is serious and focused.

Aang is a patient and peaceful soul where Katara is quick to anger.

Aang encourages Katara to reach for the sky, and Katara keeps him grounded.

Okay-- so it’s safe to say that whenever one partner is angry/frustrated, the other approaches them in a calm, collected supportive manner... right?

Actually, look closer. These fun-loving, playful and peaceful kid-like traits embedded in Aang’s personality are traits that Katara always had in her-- she just needed someone like Aang to remind her that she had them. The focused, serious and disciplined traits of Katara are all traits that Aang should be adopting into his own sense of maturity as he gradually becomes more confident and determined to be The Avatar.

It’s not so much that Katara and Aang compliment each other enough to manage a relationship together, but more that they inspire each other to become more complex, beautiful, individual human beings. Romantic potential between them has nothing to do with that.

This “soft boy/head strong girl” idea of Kataang doesn’t even address the way Katara always hides her dark side/emotional issues from Aang in order to be a capable “voice of reason” for him on any given moment, or the fact that Katara is always defending Aang like a mother to a son, chasing him every time he literally or figuratively runs away from problems. The dynamic between them is an imbalance of maturity rather than a balance of character traits.

Which leads me to Zutara’s dynamic; yes, Zuko and Katara are quite hot-headed, stubborn individuals who easily get frustrated when people don’t see things their way. They have been at each other’s throats in the past... but here’s what people forget -- they stopped fighting the moment Zuko learned the error of his ways, stood by Katara’s side without judgment when she faced YonRha, and they became an unstoppable well-oiled machine of a duo who understood, respected and trusted each other enough to lay down their lives for the other.

It isn’t to say that Zuko and Katara would never argue or fight again, but the difference here is that their shared maturity, their understanding and mutual respect for one another would keep them at bay to hear each other’s point of view. They have seen the darkest sides to each other and would know how to approach it calmly and collectively. Neither of them would downplay or ignore the other’s anger; they would face each other until the conflict is resolved.

And that’s why Zutara’s dynamic, despite sharing similar character traits, holds a lot more weight and power that Kataang.

2) “Their bond is so epic that not wanting them together is like not wanting Han Solo/Princess Leia to be together.”

Okay, so, I’m not completely disagreeing here.

I do understand that Katara and Aang had a spiritual connection since the beginning (very much like how Hayao Miyazaki sets up two protagonists to have a special, unspoken bond) and the adventures/obstacles they face together make their relationship all the much stronger. I see Katara seeing Aang as the culmination of all of her dreams come true with the revelation that he is the Avatar, and that she brought him back, and I see Aang seeing Katara as the person who not only welcomed him into this second chance to fulfill his destiny, but to also guide him as a voice of reason into this darker war-torn world that he isn’t prepared for. As Bryke once commented, Katara and Aang are the “DNA of the show” and I interpret this as the two of them moving the story forward... taking the initiative to go from plot-point to plot-point to fulfill all the needed tasks (ie. finding Aang bending masters) in order to have Aang become a fully realized Avatar.

My argument here is, why does it have to turn romantic? Why can’t the bond remain as a spiritual, wholesome connection between friends? Even Roku and Toph brought up the idea of friendship being such a powerful bond that it can transcend lifetimes in “The Avatar and the FireLord”... and I think the beauty of Aang and Katara is that it was a powerful friendship that occurred serendipitously and yet perfectly, setting up the entire arc of the ATLA story. To me there is more emotional weight in keeping Katara and Aang as life-long friends rather than making things romantic.

The problem with turning their bond into a romance is that it brings up a lot more issues. Katara is not a nomad like Aang; she would give up her own personal wants/needs to not just be at Aang’s side but travel everywhere with him as the Avatar’s SO, when we know that she is a girl who prefers setting roots, building connections and helping people for as long as its needed (”Imprisoned” and “The Painted Lady”). She has a strong connection to her family in the SWT and would want to rebuild her home after the war and especially train new water benders. Her SWT culture that greatly values quality family time, a meat-based diet, clothing made by animal skins would also clash with Aang’s personal tastes-- he’s not even discreet about how much he doesn’t like SWT food. Furthermore, Aang as the Avatar would have so much responsibility fulfilling his work to the world that he would have a lot of trouble understanding the emotional needs/wants to Katara as a partner-- especially since in the show, he’s so accustomed to seeing her be mature enough to handle tough situations calmly and collectively. Aang has even repeatedly avoided, ignored or downright down-played Katara’s angry and aggressive outbursts, so it goes to show that he wouldn’t know how to properly “be there” for her dark moments. Katara has gotten accustomed to setting aside her own emotional headspace to instead nurture/coddle/support Aang. It becomes a very lonely, very unsung existence, carrying that responsibility to be “collected” one in the relationship. It’s easy to determine that this would continue as they’d get older, and Katara would continue to carry that heavy burden of always “being there” for Aang, but not vice versa.

The emotional imbalance in a romance between Katara and Aang would be palpable (and it’s implied in LoK and the comics that they did have problems) especially since healthy relationships are meant to express equality and partnership-- where the two people interchangeably give love and support as needed.

So yes, Kataang is indeed an “epic” relationship in the sense of friendship, but turning it into a romance would come at the cost of the individual characters’ wants/needs and development, and the healthy dynamic that they had as friends would suffer.

3) “But... what about Aang?? He’s loved her since the beginning and would be so devastated from Katara’s rejection, he wouldn’t be able to fulfill his duty as the Avat--”

Stop. Just-- I’m gonna stop you right there.

It is not Katara’s responsibility to be there for Aang, especially as PR/damage control for the Avatar. She does not owe Aang a relationship just because he harbored strong feelings for her, or because he’s grown to depend on her over time, or because he has this unbelievable power of the Avatar State that he hasn’t learned to control without her influence.

Aang is the one who must grow up, who needs to be the Avatar and understand how to manage this power and sense of duty to the world. On his own.

Aang needs to learn to be enough on his own.

... And while we’re on this topic, it is never healthy for someone to be figuratively “stuck” or “trapped” in a relationship just because their partner would be a lost, broken wreck without them.

That is called “codependency,” and that is not okay.

#kataang critical #aang needs to grow up #katara #katara of the southern water tribe #aang critical #pro zutara #zuko #avatar the last airbender #atla meta #atla critical

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sokkastyles · 3 years

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Wait… I just saw a post saying that “Aang let go of his attachment to Katara to protect her” in The Crossroads of Destiny but I honestly can’t remember that happening? I thought that he never ended up letting go of his attachment?? Is my memory just foggy??

They're talking about the scene where Aang and Katara are fighting against Azula and Zuko in the catacombs. The Dai Li arrive and surround them, Aang sees that they're overwhelmed, says "I'm sorry Katara," and then goes into the Avatar state.

I. Hate. This. Scene.

I've read SO many metas about it, from various perspectives, and none of them make it make sense. We're supposed to believe he gave up his attachment, yes, but it's not at all clear why or how or if he did it to protect Katara.

Aang does his thing and there's a shot of Zuko watching like "what in the holy Ba Sing Se is happening now???" That is me watching that scene.

Me too, Zuko. Me too.

I remember when I first watched this part I was like, extremely pissed at Aang. He sees Katara surrounded by Dai Li agents, struggling to fight them off, says he's sorry, then creates a structure of crystal around himself to meditate. I was pissed because his apology seems like he's giving up on saving her in exchange for going into the Avatar State. He seems to have realized that they can't win unless he purposefully goes into the Avatar state, but by doing so he's leaving Katara momentarily vulnerable.

See, that would really have been sacrificing his attachment to her.

It's not very clear that he's trying to protect her or how that exactly constitutes giving up on his attachment to her, how he manages to do it while leaving her vulnerable to the Dai Li, and why, if he's doing it to protect her, he's apologizing to her.

Like, I know he's supposed to be apologizing because he loves her, but like, dude, she's looking like this.

She's happy to see Aang going into the Avatar state willingly and consciously, not scary and out of control like the other times. This isn't sacrificing Katara, because this is what Katara wanted, the fulfillment of everything she'd been trying to do with Aang. Aang's apology isn't really for Katara, who never asked for Aang's love to begin with. It's an apology for himself. Which means he isn't actually letting her go at all. The only way this would actually be a sacrifice and a letting go is if he had to break up with her or something or would never see her again or doing this left Katara in danger somehow, which would make sense.

Except it only takes two seconds for him to give up his earthly attachment, the thing that he struggled with so hard in the last episode, and he opens his chakras just like that. There's some wonky spirit plane effects, and then BAM, fully realized Avatar.

Which is all well and good, I guess, because the show told us what he was supposed to do and that he did it, but we didn't actually see him do it. This is the epitome of telling and not showing.

Like giving up your earthly attachment to the world, to the person you love, is just a switch you flick in your head.

Look, I get that this is hard to portray in a cartoon show, but I would like a little narrative cohesion here, and I would like the plot elements to be meaningful to the characters.

How was Aang suddenly able to give up his earthly attachment to Katara, which it is established an episode prior is a representation for his love for his lost people? Did he just decide to? Did he just say "well screw her, I guess she can die?" How is this going to change his relationship to Katara (spoiler: it won't)? If Aang couldn't give up his attachment to Katara when he got a vision of her being captured, how in the Omashu is he going to give up his attachment to her while she's being menaced by an army of Dai Li? It just doesn't make sense. You don't meditate for two seconds during the climax of the battle, your adrenaline pumping while the bad guys are closing in, and then reach enlightenment. Even the most spiritual person in the world would find that impossible, without all the baggage that Aang is dealing with.

This is completely contrary to how Aang's Avatar state is established to work in the first episode of the season, too. There, Katara being in danger is enough to drive him into Avatar State overdrive, uncontrollable destructive rage and all. What changed? How did we get from there to Aang deliberately deciding to let go of Katara while she is in active danger and that being the thing that unlocks his chakra? How was Aang able to achieve this especially after flagrantly disregarding the Guru's words and lying about it?

I get that they're drawing from Eastern spirituality, and that they're trying to portray it in a way that would make sense to the average American young person, but the show literally did this with Zuko a million times better an episode ago, and was able to tie Zuko's spiritual awakening into the story in a way that made sense for the character. I totally believe that Zuko would be able to reach a more enlightened spiritual state after being at war with his own morals and suffering a long illness and having to be taken care of by his Uncle, and then waking up with a new appreciation of his life and his relationship to said Uncle, realizing that the home he wants could be the one he makes with Iroh. It makes sense on a spiritual level and a character level.

You know what's a good example of giving up earthly attachments? Zuko giving up his unhealthy obsession with capturing the Avatar and trying to please an unpleasable father and choosing instead the security of his tea shop life and his Uncle's love. You know what's another good example? Zuko choosing to break things off with Mai, even though he still loves her, to protect her. That's the difference between selfless love and unhealthy attachment.

But that doesn't matter because this conflict is not only thrown out the window in this episode, it is immediately replaced by the new conflict of Aang's chakra being blocked by Azula's lightning. Why was this necessary? Especially since book three Aang's attachment to Katara becomes more unhealthy, not less. Moreover, it is an external conflict replacing an internal one, and internal conflicts are always more compelling than external conflicts. The show literally threw up its hands and was like, "you know what, this is too complex and emotionally resonant to resolve in a way that makes sense to our audience! Have some lightning!"

Do you know what would have been a good way for the show to address this? Let's say Aang does reach the Avatar state voluntarily under Ba Sing Se by opening all his chakras, but Katara is captured in the process because Aang isn't there to fight off the Dai Li, because in this AU he spends a little bit longer in the spirit realm. Aang has to make the decision to let Katara be captured, and it eats him up inside, he's able to go into the Avatar state, but this doesn't actually solve his problem with being able to control it because now he's more attached to Katara than ever. This sets up the conflict for book three, where Aang has to deal with his increasingly possessive feelings for Katara, along with his insecurities about defeating the Fire Lord (two things that naturally go hand in hand, because the more insecure he gets, the more he clings to Katara) and resolve them in a meaningful way.

#the crossroads of destiny #katara #atla meta #the avatar state #atla critical #atla salt #aang #zuko #antikataang #not really but

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