#and Zuko and Katara bonded despite being on opposite sides

[burst-of-iridescent]

As great and narratively significant as Zutara is. It really wouldn't work organically without a book 4: air. I can see it having 30 episodes.

It can feature Guru Patik as Aang's new sifu and he teaches Aang more abstract parts of airbending, such as flight, cloud gliding, astral projection, and of course, chakra mastery. We can then get flashbacks with Gyatso teaching tattooless Aang basic airbending. Aang can also learn to come to terms with the fact he has taken over a dozen lives, as did Gyatso and whoever else, and find out any other dark secrets the air nomads have hidden from Aang. They can feature Ty Lee's potential relations to the air nomads and hint/tease at the possibility that she can be an airbender herself.

Due to Azula being a descendant of Aang's past life Roku, (and/or due to Ozai being Vaatu in disguise) Aang and Azula become spiritually, connected, linked, and bonded with each other. This bond is created after Aang had let go of Katara and embraced his last chakra twice. This bond unites them as fate, allowing them to understand each other, derive character development from each other, and grow closest to each other despite being on opposite sides of the war. Aang would even be able to know when Azula lies and vice versa. This connection grows stronger over time. It reaches its apex after Azula has opened and mastered her own chakras.

Of course, there can be the revelation of where Ursa is but instead of what was shown in the comics, Ikem and Kiyi do not exist and while Ursa changes her face, it doesn't cost her her memories. She can hide out in the white lotus and meets up with Aunt Wu who's also a member along with Guru Patik.

The season doesn't have to be post-war though. The comet can arrive by the end of Fall instead of Summer. Season 3 ends with only the final agni kai but everything else is moved to the end of season 4. Or, Aang's year can be the 10,000th year and harmonic convergence arrives by the end of fall. The comet can arrive by the end of summer like originally, but Ozai fights the lion turtle instead of Aang, Ozai wins by slaying the beast. Aang loses his past lives, but Raava is able to make up for it by becoming the avatar spirit of darkness/chaos/yin and light/peace/yang simultaneously and will embody/control the sources of any/all bending.

Speaking of Ozai. For the former, Ursa and Iroh can be rewritten as bio-siblings while Ozai replaces Sozin in time/place of birth. Ozai will basically have all of Sozin and Azulon's characteristics/experiences/atrocities/lifespans while keeping all of his own. Or, for the latter, Ozai's secret/true identity is actually Vaatu. It's Vaatu who used the solstices and his time tree prison's cosmic energy to directly orchestrate the 100-year war through Sozin. He also manipulated Iroh's mother, Ilah, into escaping but at the cost of his dark power and status, which he can only get back via harmonic convergence. Ozaatu slays the lion turtle by absorbing its soul, he gains all elements, plus all non-bender skills, in the opposite order to Aang's cycle by absorbing the souls of all original benders, every member of the white lotus, all Kysohi warriors except for Suki and Ty Lee, and Hakoda.

Do you agree with any of this or do you have something completely different in mind for book 4: air?

i agree with you. when i say zutara should have been canon, it's only in a world where book 4 happened and we got the post-war slowburn we deserved. that's why my stance has always been that if we only had three seasons, the show should have ended with no canonical romances or with only a hint of future zutara. zuko and katara at the end of book 3 are in the perfect place to begin falling in love with each other, having formed a solid, beautiful friendship upon which the ideal romance could have been built.

personally, i'm not a fan of the raava/vaatu plotline that lok introduced (but my problems with it are too long to get into here, so i'll leave it to another time) so i wouldn't incorporate it into my ideal book 4. but i like the ideas about aang going back to guru pathik to learn more about airbending and his spirituality, and i'm always here for secret airbender ty lee.

i would prefer book 4 to be set post-war for two reasons: 1) i think most fantasy stories always end with defeating the Big Bad, so it would have been interesting for ATLA to actually explore a world after war, and how peace doesn't instantly solve all problems, and 2) character work is one of ATLA's biggest strength, and i would've enjoyed a season focusing solely on more introspective struggles (aang struggling to come to terms with the consequences of energybending, toph's conflict with her parents, zuko finding his mother, azula's redemption etc etc) than deal with the Great Evil that has to be vanquished.

but ofc everyone is free to visualize book 4 however they want, and i strongly encourage you to write your version of book 4 if you wish to! that's what fanfiction is for, after all, to play with a thousand different versions of what canon could have been.

#zutara asks #zutara

[catoscloves]

okay but like i can never just settle for just one couple because that's not my pattern as a shipper and the way mai and zuko are both introverted sullen moody people that bring out each other's soft sides and are like opposite sides of the spectrum where zuko's anger and is explosive passionate and expressive of how much he feels while mai is more quiet and reserved and apathetic but it's clear how much she also feels for others and how truly vicious she is... these differences in demeanors aren't necessarily bad things either and actually make them compatible. mai's not necessarily uncaring she's just more secretive about what makes her passionate and her cynical nature is what draws zuko to her because it's something they have in common.

then there's katara who is firm and vocal and LOUD about what she believes in and feels things intensely which contributes to the conflict between her and zuko when their personalities clash but also helps them bond!!! they both are so expressive of how much they care and value decisive action which was why zuko was so readily willing to help katara achieve revenge and closure on the man who killed her mother because he understands that katara needed that closure by expressing her anger and grief! and it was his dedication and effort he put in for her that led her to forgive him... they're bonded by the fact that they understand being emotional and not being able to keep those feelings to themselves

like i understand if zuko and katara weren't written to be romantic (despite being totally compatible in that way) because their relationship is so perfect as it is... the point is that zuko and these ladies have such great chemistry in their dynamics and there's just so much to offer here! imo mai and katara are both excellent options for zuko which is why they're my zuko OTPs 😌

#anna speaks #anna watches tv #atla lb #zutara #maiko #atla #zuko x katara #mai x zuko

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

AANG:

Iroh: How are you enjoying the spirit world, Aang?

Aang: This place is even more fantastic since I’m able to come here physically now.

Iroh: Pretty bold move asking Azula to come to a vacation with you, just the two of you.

Aang: Yeah well, she deserves a break. It’s because of her that Avatar Wan’s dying wish has now come true, Raava and Vaatu’s eternal conflict has finally ended with Raava being both light/peace and darkness/chaos at the same time. Though my link to my past lives is destroyed forever, true balance has been achieved.

Iroh: She is a wonder, isn’t she?

Aang: That’s somehow putting it mildly. I knew there was a reason I needed her by my side. I’m a different person now because of her. She made me a more powerful and more mature avatar. She’s never afraid to speak her mind and give constructive criticisms. Out of all firebender’s inner fire...hers is the most beautiful.

Iroh: Are you in love with her?

Aang: W-what? I...uh...

Iroh: No worries Aang.

Aang: Is it that obvious?

Iroh: Very.

Aang: How long have you known?

Iroh: From the moment I saw you two enter together I sensed a strong bond between you two...Besides, I kept catching you look at her when she wasn't looking and you had a dreamy look in your eyes.

Aang: Great...And now she probably knows and hates me or is afraid of me...

Iroh: Don’t be so sure. I was able to sense the passion in Azula as well. You should tell her how you feel, you'll both be happier for it.

Aang: Last time I expressed my true feelings to someone I thought I loved, it didn’t pan out so good.

Iroh: It’ll be different this time because Azula is not an earthly attachment, quite the opposite, she is the beacon of your ascension.

AZULA:

Iroh: How are you enjoying the spirit world, Azula?

Azula: Oh boy, the beauty and strangeness of it all. Words won’t do it justice. I can see why you wanted to spend eternity in this place.

Iroh: I’m here because of you. As you can remember, I was trapped in the fog of lost souls among others, forced to spend eternity in my own madness and failures. You got trapped as well, but no only did you withstand the fog’s powerful influence but used a firebending equivalent of spiritbending to purify the fog, absolving, saving, and freeing all of its prisoners. All right before slaying Koh, the face stealer. You are truly magnificent.

Azula: Well, ya know, it was the least I can do since both you and mother gave your lives to help me. Despite it all.

Iroh: Aang wanted this vacation to be special. It's not everyday the avatar offers to take a friend to the Spirit World on a private vacation.

Azula: Yeah, he’s a great friend.

Iroh: He means so much to you. Tell me. Do you love him?

Azula: Uh...I mean...I don’t...not...like...seriously!?

Iroh: It is ok, Azula, like the spirit world, love is strange and yet beautiful. There is more than one variation.

Azula: What do you suggest I’d do?

Iroh: Go ahead and show him how you feel.

Azula: Oh, sure, that’ll be a fun conversation. ‘Hey hippy, you remember the time I zapped you, possibly killing you, destroying the avatar cycle and truly putting the nomads into extinction, all just for sport and anger? Well, I think we should hook up now, don’t you?’

Iroh: It’s probably not place to say this, but he feels the same for you.

Azula: What makes you so sure?

Iroh: Think about it, right after Aang had let go of Katara and embrace his last chakra, he felt compelled to visit you often. He believed in you when no one else would. He taught you to master you’re own chakras. He gave glances at you often when you weren't looking. And he brought you here, a private vacation to the spirit world, a place where you two can be together with no distractions, do all of these sound like simple platonic gestures to you?

Azula: Well...the chakra part could be.

Iroh: You know, Zuko and Katara’s relationship started off very rocky as well, but as Zuko proved his atonement and how combatable they were, their love proved very indomitable. You and Aang’s love will be the same.

#azaang #azulaang #aangzula #atla headcanons #atla au #iroh #azula #aang #spirit world #zutara #not lok compliant #not atla comics compliant

[sokkastyles]

Hi. What would you say to antis who say that:

“Zutara wont be good together because their personality clash. They’re not exactly opposites attract. They both have short tempers, too stubborn, too passionate, too emotional; whereas Mai and Aang would be a perfect counterbalance to Z n K personalities.

Z/K would be soooo angsty and overly melodramatic. In the show, Zuko relents to Katara because he’s trying to amend, but what would happen when he’s not trying and just angry/ at his worst temper? He also brought up a lot of anger and hate in her. And Katara connects a lot of her childhood trauma to him. Most of their relationship has been a rollercoaster of trust and betrayal.”

Hello, thanks for the question!

First of all, the idea that "opposites attract" is hugely misogynistic, especially when it demonizes women for being too emotional and insists that they need men to provide rationality. Which is, coincidentally, not what happens in KA's relationship, anyway. Most times it's Katara having to calm Aang down and bear the responsibility for his anger, whether it be him literally going into a blind rage via the Avatar state, or getting angry at her for not fitting his ideal of her. It's just that Aang has the appearance of being the calm, pure rational one while the show and the fandom often portray Katara, a dark-skinned brown girl, as out of control. I wonder why.

Similarly, the idea that Zuko needs a caretaker is abuse apologism. Zuko has emotional issues due to abuse, but he actively chooses to work on them and Mai didn't do jack on that front. Zuko and Mai could not see eye to eye and constantly fought because her only way to deal with his emotions was to shut him down, which did nothing to actually calm him down because repressing your emotions doesn't actually make you feel better. This is why Zuko finally explodes at her and tells her he wishes she would feel something. Because Zuko needs to be allowed to feel, and he needs someone who will be there with him, not someone who tells him to shut up and put up. Mai is also not as calm and rational as she seems. She can be vicious when she's angry. She won't put up with Zuko's emotional turmoil but will threaten and berate him when he does things she doesn't like, like breaking up with her, lol.

Saying that Katara and Zuko's relationship on the show would be indicative of how they would be as a couple doesn't really work because it ignores the specific situations they were in. It wasn't a "rollercoaster," which is a word that implies a constant up and down with no pattern, it was a clear arc of them initially bonding over trauma after starting out as enemies, him betraying her trust, her reacting to him out of anger, and him making amends. After that, they don't fight at all. This wasn't a domestic situation where two people get into a relationship and then constantly fight over small things (hi, Mai and Zuko) this was a situation of two people who initially did not trust each other because they were on opposite sides of a war, which is a perfectly sensible reason to not trust someone. They bonded over shared trauma, but they still were not in a place where they could make each other any promises. Katara can't follow through on her offer to heal him, and Zuko can't fully commit to her side because he still has ties to his family and a ton of psychological conditioning to overcome. It's not the same as a betrayal that happens between two lovers or even friends, because they barely knew each other in the first place and were in no position to give each other what they needed, and never made any promises towards one another in the first place. As it is, the times they fight on the show actually make them stronger because they start from the bottom, as complete enemies, form an initial bond, break that bond, but are left with lingering feelings towards one another that lead them to make amends. If it's a rollercoaster, it's one that, despite its dips, is actually moving upwards. That's why I and many others have said that if anything, their fights indicate an ability to grow, not that they would constantly clash. If Katara never expressed anger at Zuko for betraying her and he had never confronted her about it, they would have never made amends. Hell, if he hadn't betrayed her in the first place, he would have never known that her trust was something he wanted. His anger there was born of a desire to be better, and helped him be better.

Ditto on the idea that Zuko "brought up hate and anger in Katara." First of all, Katara's hatred for Yon Rha is NOT a bad thing. Her desire for justice is one of her most admirable traits. And Zuko did not create her anger, it was already there. What he did was give her a healthy outlet for it, and tell her it was okay for her to feel it without trying to moralize her feelings.

Being angry is not a bad thing, and if you are afraid of your partner's emotions to the point that you cannot confront each other honestly, then you will have more relationship issues than two people who are able to meet each other on equal terms. Because of their experiences, Zuko and Katara know that they aren't afraid to confront and talk honestly with each other, and that's something that I think would carry over if they were to ever have a romantic relationship. Would they fight? Probably, but that's normal. What matters is how you deal with conflict in a relationship. And Zuko and Katara are both the types of people for whom it is not healthy to ignore conflict. They both feel strongly about things, and in both cases what they need is someone who will be there to feel with them. When Zuko and Katara were angry and in pain, they did not want to be calmed down by their respective love interests. But when they bonded in the caves, and again when they went on their field trip, it wasn't because one tried to "fix" the other. What they did for each other was much more meaningful, someone to be there and say "I know you are in pain, I'm in pain too." Sometimes "I hear you" can be a more powerful conflict resolution than trying to put a bandaid on pain.

#katara #zuko #zutara #atla meta #antimaiko #antikataang

[linnoya-writes]

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

[theotterpenguin]

hi ⭐️

i read your tags and i do agree that characters don’t have to fit yin/yang exactly to be a “good ship” because it does seem that everyone wants their ship to do so, but it’s perfectly fine if not

the thing with zk is that they match it i think because they are (their interactions and arc) written for the overall story and themes of avatar, which additionally is why so many people like them despite not being the official? canon ship (think bonus points)

point is, i liked your comment and tags!

Hello!

they are (their interactions and arc) written for the overall story and themes of avatar

Yes, exactly!! You’ve hit the nail on the head with why Zutara is such a popular ship - their relationship arc is not only very well written, but also ties in with the core themes of ATLA. It does justice to Zuko and Katara's individual character journeys and has elemental symbolism that connects to the existing mythology of the world and carries narrative significance. It really has everything you could look for in a ship.

Guru Pathik: The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same. Aang: Like the four nations. Guru Pathik: Yes. We are all one people, but we live as if divided.

I think this quote from The Guru explains the appeal of Zutara best.

They have everything against them - growing up on opposing sides of the war, both being children of royalty of the enemy nation, mastering opposing elements, consistently being paired up against each other in fights, and their conflicting roles of protecting the avatar vs. capturing the avatar.

And yet, we see from the beginning of the show that they are fundamentally similar people, bound together by their hope in the avatar returning. They are both passionate about standing up against injustice (Zuko arguing against sacrificing a division of soldiers and choosing to side against the Fire Nation’s imperialism by the end of the show, Katara inspiring an uprising of earthbenders in prison and helping a Fire Nation village as the Painted Lady). They both have similar moral belief systems - they choose to spare the lives of the men who took their mothers away, but refuse to forgive. They both connect over losing their mothers to the war. They both have similar arcs involving understanding the realities of war and the "good and bad" on both sides. They are the first to bond over their similarities and the first to mutually trust each other.

ATLA focuses a lot on breaking apart the simplistic idea of good vs. evil and instead, shows morally grey areas on all sides of the war. Coinciding with this theme, the show also emphasizes learning from those who are different from you - there is no one philosophy that is right above all others. Rather, it examines the importance of understanding different elements/philosophies (to improve your own bending and, by extension, expand your own worldview). Ultimately, all of this is necessary for achieving balance, peace, and harmony.

And these ideas parallel perfectly with Zuko and Katara's arc - two enemies from opposing nations at war that come together and realize their similarities, rather than only being "the face of the enemy." Zuko and Katara master opposite elements (something highlighted as especially important to learn from) which is reflected in how they adapt their fighting styles over time to incorporate waterbending or firebending movements, culminating in Zuko using lightning redirection - a technique learned from waterbenders - to save Katara's life. Katara is the one with Zuko at some of the most pivotal moments in his character arc - his betrayal in the catacombs, then his final battle with his sister. Similarly, Zuko is the one with Katara when she faces Yon Rha, her most important journey that has been building up for three seasons. They are even tied together by the mythos of the world through Oma and Shu and the Blue Spirit and the Painted Lady. And as you pointed out, the fact that they also are representative of yin and yang is just the cherry on top. Their push and pull relationship ties everything together - they balance each other, something that carries weight in the avatar universe. Simply put, if you erased Zuko and Katara's relationship arc it wouldn't be the same show.

Of course, even their platonic relationship alone includes all of these important elements. But if romance has to be included in the show, it's no wonder that people would rather focus on the potential of a romance between two characters that have an existing relationship that is already interwoven with the main themes of the show rather than two characters that don't have this and never actually resolve the problems driving a wedge between them. What better way to signify the end of an era of division and the beginning of an era of peace and love than the future marriage of the daughter of the chief of the Water Tribe and the prince of the Fire Nation?

I'm glad you enjoyed my comment, thank you for the ask :) I always love the chance to ramble about my favorite ships!

#zutara #zutara analysis #my meta #asks #my post #i’m sorry anon that this answer is so late but i hope you see this! #i feel like i just strung a lot of random thoughts together so i hope this makes sense!! #the only other atla ships i can think of that could compare to zk in terms of thematic signifance/symbolism/complementary arcs #would be taang and zukaang #atla was - and still is - such an amazing show with so many complex themes explored #and i’m still dumbfounded that they squandered the potential of a romance that has so much thematic cohesion #instead for a poorly written relationship which has its main conflict based on “will they or won’t they get together” #which isn’t necessarily a bad trope (just poorly written in atla) but so simplistic compared to everything else the show has pulled off #and what’s even worse is that they brought up some interesting issues in k/ataang’s relationship! #like the fact that he can’t reconcile his idealized image of her with who she truly is #and how she has the same issue (though it’s resolved better in the show) with placing all of her hope and expectations on him as the avatar #and how they have huge disagreements over their moral beliefs - whether forgiveness is always needed and if ozai should be killed #but instead of actually exploring these issues and finding a way to resolve them that results in a deeper understanding between katara/aang #they chose to brush them under the rug and focus on the drama of nonconsensual kisses and ‘will she like me back’ #ultimately hurting both aang and katara’s character development #i think i would always find zutara a more compelling relationship because of all of their elemental symbolism along with everything else #but k/ataang could have been written in a way that ties in with the themes of atla #even if it would involve rewriting a lot of their b2 and b3 interactions it would benefit both of their character growth - esp aang’s #(m/aiko is probably a lost cause though - you would have to alter who mai and zuko fundamentally are for it to work) #anti kataang

[holding-out-for-an-antihero]

I see a lot of confusion over what exactly people mean when they say they enjoy enemies to lovers pairings, so I tried to create a chart that illustrates how I think about this trope & how it differs from other, similar tropes. 

The x-axis illustrates the personal relationship between the characters, i.e. how well do they get along with each other. The y-axis is for their ideological/group alignment - basically, are they on the same “team” or not. 

This gives us 4 different categories, 3 of which can arguably be described as “enemies to lovers” in one form or another:

Group 1: Star-Crossed Lovers (“Friendly Opponents”)

Parings in this category find themselves drawn to each other despite being on opposing sides of some external conflict.  They should be enemies because of who they are, but their personal bond is stronger than the external forces trying to keep them apart.  These characters might be opponents on paper, but they are enemies in name only, so I don’t consider these pairings to be examples of a true enemies to lovers relationship.

Examples: Romeo/Juliet, Edward/Bella

Group 2: Enemies to Lovers (“Antagonistic Opponents”)

This is what I would consider a “true” enemies to lovers relationship.  Like our Star-Crossed Lovers, couples in this category find themselves on opposite sides of some grand conflict. However, what sets this group apart is that the conflict is not just ideological: there’s also personal animosity between them. They may even be actively trying to kill the other.  Couples in this group have to find a way to reconcile both their personal and ideological differences (often via a redemption arc for one of the characters) as a part of their relationship journey.

Examples: Rey/Kylo Ren, Zuko/Katara

Group 3: Belligerent Sexual Tension/Rivals to Lovers (“Antagonistic Allies”)

This is the category that I most often see confused with enemies to lovers. The main distinguishing feature is that for couples in this group, the “enemies” label stems solely from their interpersonal relationship. I’m reluctant to even use the word “enemies” to describe these relationships because it seems like a very strong term for what is essentially just two people who don’t like each other. They might not get along (at least initially), but they’re not on opposing sides of some grand conflict that pits them against each other.  The difference in scale keeps this from being a true enemies to lovers relationship. 

Examples: Elizabeth/Mr. Darcy, Han/Leia

Obviously (as with anything), there’s some overlap/gray area and opinions will vary from person to person on which relationships fall into which category, but just wanted to share how I think about it in the hope that others might find it interesting or useful.

#enemies to lovers #tropes #rivals to lovers #romance tropes #fandom discussions #reylo #zutara #darklina #rayaari #lotura #dramione #my meta #my post

[jaxsteamblog]

Oma and Shu

Click here to read the full fic on AO3

Katara remembered what Rohan had told her about King Bumi. Avatar Aang had friends in every nation, but Bumi was always his closest companion and became another father figure in his children’s lives. In one familial anecdote, King Bumi had placed Baby Bumi on his throne and let him rule for the day, daring anyone to definitively prove that he wasn’t the actual king. 

It was this intimate friendship that kept Omashu safe during the war until Aang passed. King Bumi was killed during the fall of Omashu, outliving his promise to Aang that he would see the end of the war. 

His heir, Queen Liu, was not a relative. She had been his head accountant and, as stated in Bumi’s will, had been actually running the kingdom for the past decade. A head for numbers but little skill with people, Liu relied on her inherited friendship with Aang’s family to keep her seat in the turbulent political waters. 

When Zuko had reached out, hoping for a visit, Liu cleared out a villa near the palace for them. Their interactions with the Queen when they first arrived was brief, and the dinner was slightly awkward, but the villa was airy and Katara could watch the ancient mail service fly by the windows. 

Now, after the failed kidnapping, they were being brought in for a royal audience.

“I am so sorry.” Liu gushed as soon as they stepped into the throne room. Her green suit was rumpled and her crown was tangled in her short hair, giving her a frantic look that matched her energy. 

“I had my security team sweep through the area just this morning.” She continued, taking quick strides to meet them. 

The guard attending them stumbled to a stop, unsure of how to proceed. 

“Your majesty, if my suspicions are correct, there was a lot of money that made sure you wouldn’t find out anything until it was over.” Zuko said, holding up his hands. 

“And we’re fairly certain they weren’t planning on killing us.” Katara added, looking at Zuko. “Having us gravely wounded would have gotten the same result.” 

Liu stared at them. Despite her inexperience with political machinations, she was still brilliant with equations. She snapped her attention to the guard, who reacted with the same alacrity as they saluted her.

“Find out who let them in and bring the persons responsible directly to me. I want it quiet.” She said. The guard nodded and left quickly, their heavy armored clothes making a clatter.

“I hope you don’t think Omashu is involved in this.” Liu said, attending to Katara and Zuko.

“Not at all.” Zuko said.

“Well, there might be some bad blood.” Katara interjected, rubbing the back of her neck.

The scorch marks, barely a decade old, were still present on the walls. 

“Which may have been part of the plan.” Zuko agreed.

“So you do suspect someone here?” Liu asked coldly.

“No, your majesty. Only that an interested party in the Earth Kingdom would leverage that fact. Omashu was the only kingdom that was successfully invaded.” Zuko explained.

“Hmm.” Liu sounded irritated but then she let out a breath.

“We cannot come to war again. With the Fire Nation or another city-kingdom.” She said, pressing the tips of her fingers to her temple. 

“We don’t want that either.” Katara said, taking Zuko’s hand and lacing their fingers together. Liu saw the movement and her eyes narrowed. 

“How did you escape your assailants?” Liu asked.

Zuko and Katara looked at each other.

“The badgermoles saved us.” Katara said, facing Liu.

“Of course they did. They’re nothing if not hopeless romantics.” She replied. 

Both being completely confused, they stayed quiet as Liu untangled her crown. The queen sighed as she straightened her hair and replaced the simple piece. She turned around and walked back to the throne, her hands behind her back. 

Katara and Zuko followed after, walking slowly.

“I asked Bumi why he picked me, since I was the furthest thing from royalty in the entire kingdom.” Liu said suddenly, putting her hand on the flat arm of the stone throne. 

“I’m a competent Earthbender and, like him, I know my crystals.” She continued. Lifting her hand, a column of purple crystal sprouted up after her. “But I’m a bastard.”

Lowering her hand, Liu pressed the crystal back into the nondescript stone. 

When they didn’t reply, Liu snorted and sat down on the throne. Tapping lightly on the arms again, crystals erupted all around her. 

“Oma was the first Earthbender and she ripped this entire kingdom up from the ground in her grief. There used to be a forest here, did you know that?” Liu asked. “It was mostly destroyed in the war between her village and Shu’s, but the rest lost its roots when Omashu emerged.

“Bumi told me that every single ruler of Omashu has been a bastard, because of one simple curse.” 

“A curse?” Zuko repeated.

“No one had seen earthbending before. What Oma did was something people thought only the spirits themselves could accomplish. They thought her a witch, and probably would have sent her off with Shu had they not been thoroughly terrified.” Liu said. “And when she raised Omashu, she vowed never to marry and that if any marriage occurred in the royal line, they would be as barren as the desert that surrounds us. But worse, if the blood of fated lovers was ever spilled again in Omashu, the kingdom would fall.”

“So are you…?” Katara started and Liu shook her head.

“Bumi’s preferences would have a slim chance of ever producing natural children. I’m the illegitimate child of a professor and a housekeeper.” She answered. 

“Wait, are you saying that you’re worried the kingdom will fall now?” Zuko asked. 

“Had either of you died, I think we can all agree that plenty of people would look to hold me responsible.” Liu said. “My claim to this throne is tenuous at best, considering my history and Bumi’s chaotic whims.” 

“I think prophecies and curses are made vague enough that a random coincidence could fulfill it.” Katara said. 

“Why did you choose to visit Omashu?” Liu questioned.

“Our, well, the first time we went out together was to see an art exhibit about Oma and Shu.” Katara answered. “It was Zuko’s idea.”

“And why did you choose that?” Liu inquired.

“I.” Zuko cleared his throat and avoided eye contact. “I mean, I thought the similarity was interesting.”

“Two people from opposite sides of the war, but claiming no allegiance, love each other even as their people condemn them for it?” Liu asked. 

Zuko shifted uncomfortably and Katara stared at him, mildly irritated and incredulous.

“In the name of Oma’s bastard children,” Liu said, speaking the typically annoyed phrase with lofty importance. “I acknowledge the bond of this pair and will strive to protect it.”

The solemnity fell on them, and Katara couldn’t even feel awkward. 

“For as long as you two are together, you will have the friendship of all of Omashu behind you.” Liu said, speaking casually now. 

“Thank you, your majesty.” Zuko said and bowed. Katara mirrored him, but felt empty inside. 

She didn’t want prophecy or fate. She didn’t want a legacy to protect. She certainly didn’t want any part of a curse.

She just wanted Zuko.

But, Katara felt the warmth swirl in her chest, that was probably all Oma wanted too. To be with her beloved.

“Thank you.” Katara whispered to earth. 

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#zutara #fanfiction #jax writes #zutara month #modern au #the fic that prompts built

[tsukihimeyfan]

The Crossroads of Destiny Alt. Ending

I’ve been thinking about Zuko’s decision during The Crossroads of Destiny a lot and I had to write my thoughts down. Like many of you, I was heartbroken the first time I watched this episode and wished fervently that he’d made the opposite choice. In later years, I realized that it was absolutely necessary, from both a character and a narrative perspective, for Zuko to go back to the Fire Nation as it’s Prince in order for him to be able to realize how much he’d changed during his travels and how his father’s love and acceptance wasn’t something his current self needed. 

I told myself that during his “metamorphosis” Zuko had only realized that capturing the Avatar, besides being dangerous and impractical, wasn’t going to earn him his father’s love, and so he should learn to be happy with what he already had (namely Uncle Iroh and a peaceful uncomplicated life).

I reckoned that Zuko hadn’t given up on his desire for his father’s regard, just on ever obtaining it, and so he had to make the wrong choice in order to be confronted with the truth: that he shouldn’t have had to try so hard to earn his father’s love, that having it wasn’t all that great in the first place, that what he thought would make him happy wasn’t necessarily what really would make him happy, that he wasn’t to blame for the Agni Kai incident, that he had a better father figure in Iroh, and that what the Fire Nation had been telling him all his life about the war was completely wrong.

Looking at it in that light, it made perfect sense for Zuko, who still wished for nothing more than to be accepted by his family, to decide to side with them against the Gaang.

However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that there’s something fundamentally wrong with Zuko’s choice even if you take all of the previous into account, coming down mainly to these 2 things:

1) Zuko shouldn’t have trusted Azula AT ALL, especially after what she did to him during The Avatar State. How did he ever trust that Azula would keep her word and not just dump him in a dungeon somewhere as soon as her objective was complete? She had literally given him no indication ever that she was trustworthy, and he trusted her anyway! C’mon Zuko you’re smarter than this! At least think about it for a moment!

2) It goes against everything we know about Zuko up until this point for him to betray Uncle Iroh. After realizing how lost he was without him during Zuko Alone (and confirming it to the audience during The Serpent’s Pass), 

after nearly losing him to Azula’s attack during The Chase (just look at the poor boy’s face jesus),

after learning to chase his own happiness and cherish the bond he had with him during The Guru, 

after all of that, you’re going to tell me that Zuko would leave Uncle behind?? And not even try to free him from the crystals?? I don’t buy it

So this is my proposal (it’s not perfect so be kind please I’m doing my best with what I’ve got because Zuko HAS to go back to the Fire Nation, AND it has to be as a Prince instead of a prisoner, AND he has to genuinely desire to go back so that we can watch his growth as a person, AND he has to not betray his Uncle). I think it should’ve gone something like this:

Let’s start by giving Zuko better motivation for his betrayal than just “I want dad to accept me”; Azula’s speech to lure Zuko to her side would stay much the same, except she’d place extra emphasis on how she knows he’d NEVER betray his father and his sister over the Avatar, their greatest enemy, and how she’s sure he’d never turn his back on their people, who are counting on them to end the war once and for all in order for their soldiers to return home.

After she leaves them alone, Uncle Iroh would still plead with Zuko but instead of just a shot of his back we’d see how Zuko, full of regret, tells him that he’s sorry but he just can’t. Iroh would beg him to reconsider, to think for a moment, to remember that Azula had promised him love and greatness before and they both knew how that had gone down. Zuko would say that he knows, but even so he can’t bring himself to betray both his nation and his family, and that if there’s even the slimmest chance that his father would take him back and come to love him he has to try. 

Zuko would then free Iroh from the crystals and, almost in tears, beg him to run, to go back to Pao’s tea shop in the Lower Ring and lay low for a while. Azula would have to leave Ba Sing Se soon to deliver her prisoner to the Fire Lord after all, and once she’s gone it’s unlikely they’d ever find him so he should be safe to resume his peaceful life in the city, even with it under Fire Nation control. Zuko would then push Iroh towards the exit of the catacombs, yelling at him to leave, please. He needs him to be safe. Iroh would be disappointed and agree on the surface, but of course he’d only hide himself to find the opportune moment to aid the Avatar. Once he’s out of sight Zuko would take a deep breath and follow Azula.

In this way, the “I have changed” line during his fight with Katara would actually mean something, since he is not only doing this for himself, but also for the Fire Nation as a whole, despite not really wanting to hurt this girl he empathized with mere minutes ago or this literal child that happens to be the Avatar. He’d be very conflicted about it, but ultimately decide his people HAD to come first.

Of course, he’d be horrified when, instead of capturing the Avatar like he’d imagined they would, Azula strikes him down with lightning (and we’d actually get to SEE HIS FACE when it happens this time). 

(maybe something like this; the only other time we see Zuko reacting to violence from the Fire Nation onto an innocent person, but more pronounced because he actually kinda knows this kid and his friends. Song was a stranger)

The rest would play out just like in canon, with Uncle coming in to save the Gaang and being captured, and Katara fleeing with Aang.

Azula’s later speech to “cheer up” Zuko would again stay quite similar, except maybe she’d add a few lines about how he’d brought glory to his nation, his people would be proud to call him their prince, etc.  Against all odds Azula keeps her word, which would make Zuko a bit wary, but of course it’s only because just in case the Avatar survived she now has a scapegoat ready to take the blame.

Zuko would still feel like he betrayed Uncle since his choice got him captured and the Avatar “killed”, but still he would’ve understood that trying to free him would’ve only gotten them both caught and thrown in prison. He would’ve figured he could help him more from a position of power in the Fire Nation, but would’ve still felt guilty for not attempting it.

This Zuko would also lie to Azula about the Spirit Water unambiguously both because of his guilt over getting the kid hurt and his desire to keep his father’s regard. Unlike canon Zuko, whom some argue did it only for the latter reason.

Once in the Fire Nation, we’d see the same journey of Zuko realizing that even if they win the war it’s doing nothing but twist his people by telling them lies, taking their resources and their family members, and feeding their hatred instead of their passions. I also feel like this would be more in tune with everything we saw of Zuko’s character during Book 2, with more taciturn reflection and regret and less yelling at Uncle for no reason other than take his frustrations out on him. Maybe he’d yell a bit about how he’d told Uncle to leave, why didn’t he?? Also maybe he’d try more seriously to convince Uncle (and himself) that he’d done what was best for their nation, and that Iroh should beg for forgiveness so that maybe they’ll let him out of prison, he’d talk to his father for him, he’d back him up, come on, “why aren’t you saying anything?? Uncle please talk to me!!!”. 

For extra angst Uncle would stay the same as in canon, not talking to Zuko in hopes that he’d realize he’d lost his way on his own.

#atla #the crossroads of destiny #Avatar The Last Airbender #meta #thyf rambles #Zuko #uncle iroh #Azula #katara #aang #zuko is the best boi #my drabbles #kinda #atla meta

[korranguyen]

Some thoughts on romance in TDP and ATLA: What Does Rayllum Get Right?

Okay, I know this post doesn’t do much service to this claim, but I don’t love the idea of directly comparing ships to one another. Every relationship is different in the context it takes place, and it’s just as unfair to directly compare any two relationships as it would be to compare two different couples in real life: every person, and by extension, every character, is unique in their own way. Not to mention I’m a bit hesitant to write this because TDP just found its footsteps away from ATLA with the new season, and I honestly fear plaguing the lovely positivity of the TDP fan base with old wounds from the ATLA ship wars.

BUT since there are already a lot of popular Kataang/Rayllum comparison posts floating around, I feel the need to share my two cents on the bit as someone who wholeheartedly enjoys the trajectory of Rayllum, but had my... reservations when it came to the canonized romance in ATLA.

Instead of dwelling on those reservations, though, I’m gonna focus on talking about and validating the parts of the ships we do like (meaning both Zutarians and Kataangers).

This essay, in a nutshell:

Two ships form an unlikely bond and find their peace in the midst of warring kingdoms fandoms. #amirite

What Rayllum Learns from Zutara

TBQH I surprised by how many embraced the Kataang/Rayllum parallels because the setup itself reminded me of Zutara— not Kataang. They share a similar origin story: Rayla threatens Callum in an attempt to pursue his little brother, just like how Zuko often pursued Katara to capture Aang. Their introductions are antagonistic, if not explicitly violent, but because the writers take the time to humanize both characters outside of these interactions, the audience understands that these conflicts happen because they’re driven by motivations from opposite sides of the war. Of course, when they are forced to become allies, it’s... not as smooth-sailing as you’d expect.

At its core, both Rayllum and Zutara are very cautious friendships. They don’t trust each other right away. It’s not perfect; they have their outbursts, reluctance to trust, and painful blows to their bond. But against all odds they eventually establish trust in each other. And because that trust isn’t just given, but needs earning, it takes its time dwelling on wounds necessary to transgress those lines and establishes extra depth in the meantime, making it well-earned and conducive to an understanding relationship. When they find their peace and friendship, it feels earned and respected on both sides, and both parties have a deeper understanding of each other than they could've had with a happy-go-lucky friendship.

Also, a side effect of the bitter work (sorry I had to lol) it took to to build that relationship, both Zutara and Rayllum have become especially in-tune with each other’s emotional cues. On the behalf of Zutara, there’s the moment when Katara comforts Zuko as he’s cowering in front of his uncle’s tent. She immediately recognizes that something’s wrong and approaches him about it:

Zuko opened up to Katara yet again about his insecurities and fears just like he did in Ba Sing Se. I love how easy it is for him. Zuko’s normally so guarded yet doesn’t mind being vulnerable with Katara. He’s so worried because he doesn’t see how Uncle Iroh can forgive him. It’s important that Katara’s the one encouraging him because she was also someone he betrayed that day. Someone who had faith in him to make the right choice, someone who changed for the better. She forgave him and she knows Iroh will too. That carries some weight with him. 

-- Geektastic08

Because of how many more opportunities Rayllum than Zutara to show off their perceptiveness of each others’ emotions, I could name off a lot of similar moments-- but I’m going to go with when Rayla slices open the mummy on the Cursed Caldera. When she returns and anxiously gets to ushering people forward, Callum notices almost instantly that Rayla’s acting off and expresses his concern. And, of course, Rayla opens up that she did, indeed, see something “horrible”— immediately opening up to him on the fact she was afraid, almost instinctively overcoming her reluctance to show her fears and weaknesses as established from previous episodes when Callum is the one who asks about it.

Also, this:

"I know that face. It’s your dumb idea face.” =)

Another reason: balanced-out co-parenting is a thing (Ezran vs. the rest of the Gaang).

On a more grand-scheme note, their relationship actually also shares a lot of the same “thematic importance” as Zutara as a symbol of overcoming differences and bonding. As cheesy as this line low-key is (IMO), Harrow says:

“I ask you and your brother to reject history as a narrative of strength and instead have faith that it can be a narrative of love.”

Yeah, read by the human boy crossing foreign lands with a she-elf to return the Dragon Prince to his mother as a gesture of bonding elves and humans and ending the war between nations. Having faith that history can be rewritten as a narrative of love and compassion.

To top it off, Rayllum owns it when it comes to living up to the not-overtly-kissy romantic foreshadowing of Zutara.

This is an allusion to the established Moon symbolism from earlier in the episode. As painful as it was, finding out about the king winds up illuminating, and eventually fulfilling, the possibility of deeper relationship and understanding of trust they originally couldn't see (but was still there) when Callum crosses the barrier into the “light face” from the “dark, shadowed side”. 

Also, this shipper’s haven scene:

Agh, yes.

What Rayllum learns from Kataang

Okay, so one of the bigger (and very understandable) issues with Zutara is that all of their development (aside from “Crossroads of Destiny”) happens very late in the last season. No matter how solid the moments we do get are, there simply isn’t enough time to fully wash away their damaged terms only a couple episodes prior, much less transgress necessary lines before a healthy relationship can occur. Whether or not their build-up does justice for their relationship arc as friends, by the end of ATLA, Zutara’s negative interactions still outnumber their positive ones by a sheer majority, so pushing that relationship into romance so soon comes with negative implications. (Which is where the Book 4 rumors seep in, but let’s not touch those today)(Anyway, even as a person who generally supports Zutara, I don’t advocate for that relationship to be “endgame”, or even as a part of canonized material because romance that soon after establishing that trust wouldn’t have conducive to a healthy relationship.)

On the other hand, Kataang gets a lot more credit in the time department. Because their friendship is established in such a positive light from the very first episode, Kataang has the benefit of faith from their countless endearing moments capturing a casual, comfortable friendship we can know and love, and then can grow nostalgic about over time. Even when their angrier moments play out, they usually fizzle out in the pool of happier memories they already have, so such instances are easily forgivable from the majority of the audience.

Now, despite initially being at odds with each other, Rayllum is established early enough to have the advantage of 5/6/7 seasons under its belt to build to that healthy relationship. Even in the less-immediate circumstances of their trust, the show still leaves plenty of time to fill with the necessary builds and prove their friendship through positive interactions. This is evidenced by the fact that by the end of Season 2, their negative interactions— even Rayla’s original position as Callum/Ezran’s killer— is water long down the bridge.

(Random tangent: To all who believe Zutara is an unforgivably abusive ship because of Katara’s and Zuko’s previous enemy relationship, let me pitch this to you: Rayla literally corners Callum and holds a blade in his face, about to kill him in the second episode yet Rayllum is very inarguably not abusive. The issue with Zutara isn’t that it’s inherently a sour relationship because they used to be enemies, it’s that there’s a dire lack of time to ease the ratio of interactions of Zuko hurting Katara to him helping her before the end of the show where starting that immediate relationship would have come with poor implications. In the case of Rayllum, Rayla actually gets a very extended chance to make that up in a larger span of time and exceeded those numbers two weeks ago long ago)

Thanks to all that screentime, maybe if our Season-2-Shipper-Scenes can be read as glimpses of a possible building crush early on like Kataang’s, that’ll stir up some of the heartstring garble later that it did with Kataang, too (for some, at least).

Rayllum’s interactions share the lovable silliness of Kataang. When it comes to picturing your ideal, sugarcane relationship, we will often find our soft spots in the couples who spend the most time smiling, laughing or being casually friendly with each other.

Also, here’s an interesting parallel: Katara was Aang’s primary support through his loss, just like Rayla was for Callum. Also, both Katara and Rayla struggled to hide the fact from their “romantic counterparts” at first, in fear of hurting newfound friendships with people they cared about, only to have this backfire later. However, I’d say it’s interesting to note that because Callum is almost 3 years older than Aang and thus arguably in a different phase of maturity (older childhood at 12 vs. teen at almost 15), the way they processed that realization took remarkably different forms between the two characters. Breaking the news to Callum meant surfacing more relationship-based questions about trust, meeting its resolution in a heart-to-heart conversation about honesty and hurting people you care about. On the other hand, because Aang is still, for most purposes, a child, that recognition on Aang’s part, as well as the honesty/lack of censorship on Katara’s part, doesn’t exist as much as an expectation in that relationship. Consequently, Aang’s grief process in “The Southern Air Temple” was wholly Aang-centric, coming to life in a display of rage and pain before he comes to accept his new position as the avatar and the last airbender in the arms of his new “family”. (I actually think the most obvious comparison to Aang here is Ezran, who became angry and ran away when he found out about his father’s death, then returned with a fuller understanding of the newfound individual responsibility he must face despite not being ready for as a growing kiddo. But that’s a discussion for another time; maybe I’ll write something on that later). 

Of course, the aforementioned covert foreshadowing of the Zutara ship comes coupled (pun intended) with the overt romantic foreshadowing of the Kataang ship! Because what kid (or kid in the heart) doesn’t let out the giddy squeals over that.

Also, it’s the male and female lead. Everyone’s gotta love those characters! Bet you money all the 2010s children who watch TDP are gonna get hella attached to that stuff and rack up the tears on how well-elaborated those characters were and how perfect they were for each other through thick-lens nostalgia goggles when they grow up. That’s just how dat shit works.

TL;DR If Zutara was too “dark” or “intriguing”, or “bound to make six year olds cry” (as Ehasz himself supposedly said in a class at UC Berkeley; lol), Rayllum re-illustrates that arc with the cushiness of a clear, lovable path and the positive-interaction-to-death-threat ratio, audience faith, (love for small critters,) and longer friendship screentime of Kataang.

Rayllum shares all of the literary nuances of Zutara and the sweet lovability of Kataang. And then adds its own little sparks of healthiness.

It’s a ship built for everyone to fall in love with.

I honestly don’t care whether this winds up being a very strong friendship or a romantic relationship (though I’m inclined to believe from the narrative that it’s the latter), but no matter the direction the show takes, I love their relationship so much and have full faith it’ll be done right.

Let me know if I missed anything else! I know I might be missing the narrative importance and/or parallels others might see in Kataang because I’m a bit biased to Zutara as the poster of this multi-ship analysis (though I tried my best to counteract it for objectivity), so especially if you’re a Kataanger, let me know what you’ve noticed and I’ll be happy to add it in.

positive/non-warring reax only please :)

#kataang #zutara #rayllum #the dragon prince #tdp #writing/criticism

[unwiltingblossom]

But then you are contradicting yourself then; if you say that in Japan the woman gets the man she loved not the other way around then Mai did loved Zuko and so did Katara loved Aang. According to that, it worked fine. And about sasusaku and zutara being similar, their similarities just end at aesthetics only. Don't get me wrong, I ship sasusaku hard and perhaps might have ship zutara if the show was stretched, but Zutara is actually pretty dark. There's just too much rift that needs to be ....

cleared that the 100 year war brought. Then differences in lifestyle like Zuko belonging from the imperial lifestyle while Katara coming from tribal land.  That wouldn’t have fit well. And the bond; Sasuke and Sakura knew each other since childhood. They shared the happier times. That wasn’t the case with Zutara. They started off pretty bad to the point that Zuko ended up nearly killing Aang. The piece you wrote was certainly enlightening and very informative but to compare Sasusaku with Zutara             

Side characters don’t count like that. That said, I did account for Mai, as she is the ‘damaged’ and ‘woman of inferior morals’ that the ‘damaged’ Zuko deserves.  This is similar to if Sasuke had ended up with Karin. Basically, the men need to be ‘good enough’ for the girl, if they’re not the paragon of virtue (the hero), they get a woman who isn’t as ‘good’ as the heroine. This obviously doesn’t really apply in a canon that lacks ‘good guy hero, good girl heroine, bad boy rival/support’ element, but you can see it even in unlikely places, such as X-Men (Scott will always get Jean in the end because he’s the boyscout, while Logan is the bad boy whose love will never measure up to Scott’s, due to his looser morals).

As for Katara loving Aang…  e h h. She falls squarely in the ‘hero earns her love by being a good hero’ square. As Aang hits checkpoints of strength or advances on his hero’s journey, Katara has moments of ‘oh no he’s hot’ or similar. This culminates in him confronting her about his feelings right before the end of the series and her rejecting him on the basis of being ‘confused’. Cue finale, where Aang completes his journey and saves the world. Katara immediately seeks him out and kisses him, resolving her confusion offscreen. Conclusion: her confusion was settled because he completed the prerequisites to unlock her ending.

As for Zutara being darker than Sasusaku…once again… e h h.

I can’t really presume to argue with authority against someone who actually knows the fandom, but I’m going to say what I know of it anyway, and if I’m wrong you or others can correct me.

1- Zuko and Katara are not 100 years old, therefore you cannot project the tensions of the entire war on their relationship and simply say it can’t work under those pretenses. It’s an unfair measurement they appear to overcome in the course of their on-screen relationship anyway.

1b- Sakura is a hardcore village loyalist who is never given any reason to question the Leaf dammit kishimoto and Sasuke views - not completely incorrectly - the village as collectively at fault for the total massacre of his family. While he does change his perspective to ‘the shinobi system as a whole is at fault’, the reason they end up on opposite sides for a while is an extremely personal trauma to Sasuke,  and part of the hatred and oppression of the Uchiha that stretched back to the village’s founding.

2- Zuko being royalty and Katara being tribal doesn’t appear to be a real concern? Do they often butt heads and find themselves incompatible with each other due to this difference of raising? Even if so, would this reasoning not equally apply to Kataang, as Katara comes from a hunting and gathering tribal system, while Aang comes from a peaceful and serene temple monk lifestyle? 

2b- If we consider different raising to be important, then we have to consider the differences between Sasuke and Sakura’s raising. Sasuke is essentially the younger prince of the Uchiha and a genius, with incredible talent that everyone (except his father, at least by his perception) believes means he will OF COURSE end up with some legendary or amazing status…until he’s seven, when his beloved older brother inexplicably goes insane, murders the entire clan including their parents, then forces Sasuke to live through watching those murders repeatedly before abandoning him because he’s ‘not worth killing’. He then lives in his empty home where his parents died, all alone, from that point until joining Team 7. Sakura, on the other hand, has completely normal and unremarkable parents no one knows or cares about. She’s bullied as a child because her forehead is big and she’s timid, until Ino befriends her and teaches her to be tough. For the most part, Sakura doesn’t really have a traumatic childhood like Sasuke does, and she doesn’t truly understand the isolation and pain he suffers until he leaves. When it comes to different backstories, they have quite a rift.

3 - It’s true, they do start out as enemies, but Sasuke and Sakura become enemies, and I don’t know if Zuko and Katara are ever seconds away from outright killing each other and need intervention. I don’t deny that Sasuke and Sakura have a deeper bond to begin with, but there is certainly plenty of angst and hostility between them during the time that they are enemies, despite the fact that both of them love each other and are suppressing it. 

4 - Does Zuko almost kill Aang to the tune of puncturing his lung with his fist and leaving him to bleed out, almost call down a giant lightning storm to kill him, poison him almost to death, or get into such a brutal and long lasting beat down that he blows off Aang’s arm and then nearly kills him through sheer exhaustion and (again) blood loss? I legitimately don’t know the answer to this. However, if the answer is no, I don’t think Zuko ‘almost killed’ Aang as hard as Sasuke ‘almost killed’ Naruto. Therefore, this shouldn’t count as a point against him in a debate over whether Zutara is darker than Sasusaku.

Now, I’m not saying that one is better than the other. I’m not saying they’re identical. My only point here, really, is to show that at least from what I can see…Zutara is not particularly darker than Sasusaku. Yes, Zuko and Katara began as enemies and Sasuke and Sakura didn’t, no Sasuke didn’t ever kidnap her and had to be deeply provoked to try to kill her, but considering how much time is dedicated to moving Katara and Zuko to a point where their relationship has grown beyond that (even as platonic friends, the point still remains the same), I don’t see the reason to hold it against them.

I also said in the post itself that they aren’t identical, merely that they ‘have the same energy’ and that there are some direct parallels between them, so that it’s close enough to make this observation.

Your second ask seems to end abruptly, like there should be a third, but I don’t see one and I have waited a bit to be sure.

Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong on any Zuko and Katara points, but from what I have seen, addressing your specific points, I don’t see the rift between the ships that you do, and would be surprised to find anyone who strongly OTPs Sasusaku and Kataang and NOTPs Narusaku and Zutara.

#zutara #sasusaku #naruto #atla #a:tla #ooc #ask #meta #long post #anonymous

[joemerl]

Post-Korra Avatar Fanficcy Thing

As I mentioned a while back, I’ve had these half-formed ideas for an AtLA/LoK “Next Avatar” sequel pretty much since Korra ended, but without any sort of firm story for the characters that I’ve created. Since these plotbunnies are hopping around my brain again, I’m gonna try to write things out just to see if that will a.) put the plotbunnies to sleep, or b.) help me get ideas for an actual fanfic (that I don’t have time to write anyway).

Keep going if you want to see a ridiculously long explanation of one fan’s stupid ideas.

Worldbuilding/Backstory/Whatever

Much has changed in the Avaverse since Avatar Korra beat Kuvira in her attack on Republic City. The Earth Kingdom/Empire is now called the Earth Confederacy, with a Parliament and Prime Minister running a bunch of semi-autonomous states. Technology has advanced in ways that I haven’t exactly figured out yet; maybe, like, 1950s-level? Also, everybody has last names now. Makes things easier to keep track of.

So, thirty years post-Kuvira, Korra goes on some sort of trip. I’m not sure why, where (maybe the Spirit World?) or what happened, but she vanishes, and all attempts to find her fail. This naturally causes some problems, because nobody knows if she’s alive or dead, and if she is dead, well, good luck finding the new Avatar in a continent-sized country when you don’t even know what birthday to look for. So yeah, we get a smaller version of the Aang-in-an-iceberg situation where people have no idea what’s going on with the Avatar cycle.

Cut fifteen-to-eighteen years later, and meet Keno Hiiragi. 

Main Characters (and the Vague Narrative That Brings Them Together)

Keno Hiiragi (name somewhat subject to change) lives in Omashu with his widowed mother and twin sister. If Aang was the “spiritual” Avatar and Korra the “physical” Avatar, he’s the “intellectual” Avatar. He’s tall, gangly, bookish and introverted. He’s always had big plans for his life and tends to get moody and upset if things don’t work out like he expected. 

Like when he’s worked his whole life to get good grades, won early acceptance to Ba Sing Se University, and then finds out that NOPE, it turns out that you’re the Avatar and have to spend the next decade or two learning to bend all of the elements.

(How does he find out? I’m thinking something dramatic happens, like a flood, and he winds up accidentally Waterbending to save someone. This naturally brings the White Lotus to his door.)

Oh, yeah---Keno already knew he was an Earthbender, but unlike his predecessors, he didn’t bother to master it by the time he hit puberty. Earthbenders learn it for their Physical Education requirement in school, but like most nerds, he dropped that class as soon as he could and faked a lot of injuries so that he could read in the bleachers. Basically, he’s just constantly rebelling against this whole situation, because he doesn’t want to learn anymore bending and why is bringing world peace his responsibility and askjsadkhjdfasknasd.

Which puts him in strong contrast to Mariko Hiiragi, his twin sister. While Keno was always bringing home perfect grades, she was an Earthbending jock who probably had a poster of Toph on her bedroom wall. The siblings bicker, but were relatively peaceful being prodigies in their separate fields. In fact, Mariko was accepted for training by the world’s greatest Earthbending master just as Keno got accepted into school! Accept HA HA no now they’re going to said Earthbending master together, because Keno gets special treatment even though he can barely levitate a rock and never practices and people are talking about how he’s going to be the best Bender ever in every element and---

(The Keno-Mariko rivalry is basically a much toned down version of Zuko and Azula. And it’s also ironic, because ultimately they wish the same thing---that Mariko was the Avatar instead of Keno. Mariko kind of unfairly blames him for the situation, but this would probably be an early subplot that gets resolved fairly quickly---no doubt one of them will save the other or they’ll team up to fight something and then resolve their differences. Then Mariko becomes his tutor or something. She’s probably more of the “B-Squad” of the new Team Avatar, though; she’ll join in the big battles but doesn’t travel around with Keno on his big world-spanning adventures.)

We also have Anling Soh, Keno’s childhood friend (and probably the person he saves in the aforementioned flood or whatever). She’s a Firebender, though she may not be very adept at it, having grown up in an Earth Confederacy city without any teachers. (I’m not sure if the similarities with season 1 Katara are a plus or a minus there.) She’s a lot more extroverted and calm than Keno but also extremely loyal to him, to the point where (despite his strenuous objections) she insists on accompanying him for his Avatar Earthbender training. He thinks his life is ruined, and dang it she's going to stick with him and give him some sense of normalcy until he finally gets over his freak-out.

Anling is Keno’s love interest, by the way. In contrast to both Aang and Korra, however, I don’t want to drag this out forever. Like, in “season one” of this story, Keno realizes that he has a thing for her, that her own playful flirting with him may be more sincere than he thought it was, and after one “episode” of conflicted “do I want to risk ruining our friendship” stuff they hook up. Then they’re just low-key dating throughout the rest of the story, with relatively little drama and mostly just acting the same as they did before.

So they’re off to Zaofu to see Sukru Beifong, the world’s greatest Earthbender, who happens to be the son of Zaofu’s mayor, Bolin, and his wife, Opal. He’s a decidedly tougher teacher than Keno would have preferred; the fact that he’s used to teaching the best of the best (like Mariko) and now has to teach an amateur isn’t helping matters. 

In Zaofu we meet two more members of Team Avatar III: Bolin and Opal’s grandkids (from a kid other than Sukru). Shouta Beifong is the older of the two. He's an Airbender, but he’s decidedly less the “peaceful and spiritual” type and more “Toph as a male Airbender with Bolin’s physique,” prone to boisterous attacks, pranks and loud laughter. His younger sister, Hue Beifong, is a non-bender, but also kind of a psychopath. She regularly carries around ten-foot swords or Spirit-vine-powered bazookas and no that is not even remotely legal, she made them herself. She probably plans to become chief scientist of Varrick Global Industries someday, and will no doubt wind up in prison like her idol. 

Okay, so now all we’re missing is a Waterbender! Admittedly, I haven’t figured out how to fit Nasak Innugati into the narrative as well as the others. I have multiple conflicting ideas of his ancestry: Foggy Swamp? Sokka’s descendant? Somehow related to Desna or Eska? In any event, he’s the apathetic/sarcastic member of our group who nobody really likes, but who cares about the others deep down.

We also need a team pet, which is a problem because Keno hates animals and is allergic to just about anything with fur. He manages to ignore everybody’s “no, seriously, every Avatar has some sort of spirit-bonded animal” thing for a while, but eventually he finds an injured baby viper bat and winds up carrying it around with him for a while. Then someone/-thing attacks him and he instinctively throws it at them, and the viper-bat winds up biting the enemy so hard that Keno can escape. He opts to keep the thing afterwards and names it Mulda (which is Korean for “bite,” if I’m getting my online translation right). 

Other Characters (Including Old Favorites!)

As previously mentioned, Bolin and Opal live in Zaofu with their son and grandkids. Opal’s probably off doing Air Nomad things a lot of the time, though. 

Based on an aborted Korra plotline apparently mentioned on the DVDs, Mako wound up with Fire Lord Izumi’s daughter Susila. He moved to the Fire Nation and eventually became the palace’s chief of security. He currently works to protect his great-nephew, the sickly ten-year-old Fire Lord Thahn, who probably gets kidnapped at some point so that Mako and Team Avatar III can team up to save him. 

Asami continues to run Future Industries, and remains wistful about Korra’s disappearance. Finding out about/meeting Keno no doubt is a blow to her, since it definitively confirms that Korra’s dead. 

(Side note: As a running gag, people keep telling Keno how “close” Asami and Korra were, and he repeatedly doesn’t get what they’re implying.)

Ikki and her husband Haneul are in the White Lotus and are in the group that finally tracks down Keno. He’s a non-bender and skilled at Chi-blocking. (They test Keno’s Earthbending skills by having him fight him. Keno loses in about three seconds.)

Jinora is now the leader of the Air Nomads. She and Kai are married. She runs the government, while he’s Air Temple Island’s main teacher (and has a Gyatso-esque tendency to teach his students how to cause trouble). They probably have some kids but I’ve not fleshed them out too much.

Meelo runs the Air Nomad military on his sister’s behalf.

I dunno what Rohan’s doing. I’ve always headcanonned him as a non-bender, though.

Desna and Eska are probably still alive and running the Northern Water Tribe. I guess Tonraq could still be alive in the South, and it’d provide some more character-building angst when Keno shows up.

Varrick is now an important member of the Earth Parliament, running the opposition to the current Prime Minister. His company is currently being run by Zhu Li and/or their daughter Dipika.

Toph is totally still alive. I mean, this may never come up, but I headcanon that she just lives in the wild now, beating up Death whenever he tries to claim her.

Plot???

I mean, I guess “what happened to Korra” is an obvious one. Team Avatar III must go and investigate? Maybe Keno can contact her spirit, despite being cut off from the other Avatars? The new villain was behind it?

The new villain is...someone? Maybe a non-bender? Or a spirit? 

AtLA-style Evil Overlord or LoK-style Well-Intentioned Extremist? Something based on modern terrorism and/or Asian New Religious Movements?

Vague ideas about exploring the Earth Confederacy, particularly the conflict between its national government and semi-autonomous states? But conflict with no clear-cut right answers = headache. 

Conclusion

This thing has been in my Drafts for like a year now, so I hereby release it into the wild.

#Avatar the Last Airbender #The Legend of Korra #Legend of Korra #AtLA #LoK #Next Avatar #The Legend of Keno

[seyaryminamoto]

This is the first time I have come across Sokka and Azula being shipped seriously. This interests me, so would you care to explain why you ship them? =)

Well, I have explained a few times before… or a lot of times xD but alas, if something can get me rambling, it’s a question like this.

Alright, soooooo… why Sokka and Azula? Why not any other combination of characters? Why did I have to choose these two despite their canon interactions are so few and far apart that sometimes it made me, a hardcore shipper, lose my mind, desperate for more?

Everything really sums up to one word: potential.

People have all sorts of reasons to ship anything they like. The most common one you see out there, in fandoms, is history: the childhood friends trope is very loved, for instance, and even I can’t help but love certain ships built on the basis of long-term, strong relationships that could endure absolutely any obstacles. When shows take ten thousand years to get that big fan couple together, people will start gushing about all the history the pairing has, and alas, it’s a great reason to love a pairing!

But as you will notice, there’s no such canonical history between Sokka and Azula. What is the root of this ship, if not shared history? What makes me say they have potential, when they seldom interact?

The potential we shippers see comes from something else entirely. It comes not from history, but from the contrast between their characters, the parallels, the similarities and the differences between them. All this brought together can give birth to a unique relationship that, to this day, I can’t realistically picture brewing between any other characters in this show aside from Sokka and Azula.

Alright, to start off:

1. The parallels and circumstances: Sokka and Azula were born to the family of leaders in their respective nations. The situations aren’t 100% the same, but their fathers are the leaders of their communities and their mothers had a closer relationship with their other sibling. In regards of their relationships with said siblings, Sokka and Azula are the rational, even cold-blooded siblings at times, in contrast with their emotional and hot-headed siblings, Zuko and Katara.

Curiously, with the upbringing they have, Sokka and Azula both turn out to be the siblings who tease the others, the ones with the sense of humor (I will never let anyone forget Azula’s absurd puns), They’re the ones who grew up with a tight bond with their fathers, looking up to them and wanting to follow on their footsteps - not that Zuko didn’t try to do it too, but the difference here lies in how the fathers reacted to it: Ozai embraces Azula’s attempts to imitate him and rejects Zuko’s, while Hakoda tries to teach Sokka how to be a leader and a warrior, much like he is. So, Azula and Sokka have similar relationships with their fathers.

And just so, they’re the ones who are more military/strategy oriented of their pair of siblings. Azula was, hands down, a strategist and intellectual, shown as she can recite perfectly what Ozai requests from her as a child in Zuko Alone, and shown again when Zuko asks her about Sozin’s history, uncertain of his own knowledge but assuming Azula would know better. Sokka, likewise, is the “plan guy” in Team Avatar, and the one who was ecstatic and determined to go to a Library. Sokka loves learning new things, and from the looks of it, Azula may be intellectually inclined as well.

Also, they’re the most awkward flirts you’ve ever seen. Combine “Maybe we could do an activity together?” with “That’s a sharp outfit...” and you find yourself with the most hilarious attempt of courtship ever seen.

Considering all this, we also have the issue that comes with their insecurities. The complicated relationships with their mothers, the sense of inadequacy... they’ve both canonically felt the despair of not being good enough, Sokka struggled with it silently for a long time, begrudging his sister for her special skills. Azula felt it too, while watching as her friends picked to side with her brother over her. Sokka felt it as well when his father left him behind in the Water Tribe as he took off to the war... and Azula did it in the same circumstances, years later, as her father leaves her behind, too. Even in these regards, they’re similar.

In conclusion, their upbringing may have just had a hand in grooming them into being this similar to one another, no matter that they were as different as they were. These experiences are the kind of thing that could easily bring two people together, realistically speaking. There’s a lot of potential bonding that could happen because of this.

2. The differences: these two are also vastly different, and of course, the opposites attract notion has been repeated to no end with this ship and many others. But what’s going on with Sokkla isn’t that simple, I believe. People can ship something on the premise of “opposites attract”, but I personally can’t do it unless there’s more substance to it than just that (ergo why I like the parallels I listed above more than I like the differences).

So, let’s list the obvious differences, shall we? Princess and peasant (despite there’s a lot of people who like to think otherwise, but upbringing-wise, Sokka lived far more humbly than Azula did and that’s really what this is about), water and fire, bender and non-bender, moral and amoral, sociable and loner, healthy family and unhealthy family. 

Amongst the not-so-obvious differences, I said they’re great at strategy, but as it turns out, they’re great at different kinds of strategies: Sokka loves long-scale plans, but they fail for him more often than not. He’s better at improvising, at thinking of solutions on his feet. Meanwhile, Azula is the opposite: she regroups when a plan fails, then builds new plans steadily, but with perfect precision so that everything falls into place when it has to.

The differences abound, by the tons, but as you may see, they’re not the worst kind of differences. While it sounds cliché as heck, even the example of the way their strategies work is ideal to prove why these differences aren’t quite as problematic as they can seem. If they work together, those differences become complementary. Take your time to imagine what a strategy concocted by Sokka and Azula would look like: who on earth would be able to stop these two if they joined forces? I tell you, no one on ATLA’s cast would stand a chance xD

The differences between them are pivotal for the third point, I’ll say. And that’s where things really kick in.

3. What they could become together: Sokka and Azula are of course not without flaw, they’re both pragmatists to the point of cold-bloodedness, he can be really goofy sometimes, she can be extremely amoral often, so as much as I adore them in every sense, I know there’s a lot of room for character growth in both of them, even now (yes, I sing praises for Sokka’s development, but I’ll be damned as a fan if I didn’t realize he can grow even more than he already did!).

The one who clearly needs to grow more is Azula, nobody will question that. Her downfall is very heartbreaking and everyone wants her to heal. I am not going to claim Sokka and Sokka alone can patch her up, that’s absurd. But I do believe Azula needs support from someone who’s as emotionally strong as Sokka proved to be throughout the show, someone who will stand by her even in her darkest moments, someone who doesn’t give up on those he loves. Sokka fits the requirement just right. 

3A. But why Sokka, and not anyone else? Because Sokka, who’s one of the characters with the best moral compasses in this show, is also not a preacher. If Azula chooses to take an aggressive stance on something, or a threatening one, Sokka might talk her down from that by showing that approaching the problem from a different angle will be more efficient. Sokka isn’t above murder, that’s something that cannot be forgotten: he knows sometimes you can’t find peaceful solutions for problems, as it was in canon when they killed Combustion Man. But Sokka would seek any other solution before reaching the point of killing someone. Spending time with someone who has a good moral compass, but who isn’t high-and-mighty about it, is the kind of thing that I think Azula would benefit from. With him, she can learn to let go of her father’s teachings of using fear as the means to control anyone: Sokka would show her why that’s pointless, really.

And speaking of which… it’s canon that Sokka isn’t inherently terrified of her. Azula could intimidate Ty Lee into submission, even send Mai away with a mere suggestion (and sure, Mai glared at her but still left as she was asked), she can terrify her brother and uncle enough to make them think the Earth Kingdom killing them isn’t as bad as being handed over to Azula… and yet, when she goads Sokka during in the Eclipse, he doesn’t hold back. He doesn’t back down. He gets up in her face and yells, demands for the truth. He will not let her walk over him, and even when she regains her bending afterwards, he makes a move as if to go after her before he realizes it’s futile. But he isn’t scared. He’s courageous enough that in the Chase he swings his club at her as she’s running off, tosses his boomerang faster than the elements the others sent at her. His sword threatened her far more than Zuko’s bending in the Boiling Rock when the two of them took her on. Sokka kept her in check, never hurt her, but it SHOWS that Sokka isn’t going to back down on her just because she’s threatening. Heck, even the comics prove this! He took her on, one-on-one, in the Search. And heck, he survived despite the roof collapsed :’D wouldn’t you consider that quite a feat?

Point being, Sokka will NEVER let Azula walk over him. And this is something that makes me believe he’d gain her respect rather quickly. He’s not a minion, he’s not a vassal: he’s a leader in his own right, and I believe Azula would acknowledge it. 

Why would she? Because she ditched an entire firebending procession in favor of traveling with two non-benders. Because she took a legion of earthbenders under her command, no matter that they weren’t Fire Nation: contrary to the popular belief, Azula’s sense of superiority doesn’t blind her to other people’s skills, regardless of who they are or where they come from. She’s willing to find allies anywhere, and the show proves it clearly. Why would she scoff at Sokka for being a non-bender when she didn’t do this to Mai and Ty Lee? Why would she scoff at him for not being Fire Nation when she didn’t do that with the Dai Li? Well, my answer is that she wouldn’t scoff at all. Not if they met under better circumstances than they tend to meet in canon, or if they amend their relationship somewhat.

Sokka has a lot to offer Azula, but the first thing that hooked me on this pairing was the realization that he might actually make her laugh to the point of tears. Sokka’s jokes, silly as they can be, are the sort of thing that definitely could fly with the girl responsible for “the Avatar’s fangirls”, and nobody’s ever going to convince me otherwise. The real thing that hooked me is that this goofy boy, with his witty comments, his sarcasm, his often poorly-disguised enthusiasm for all things new, could really bring happiness to someone like Azula. The little history between them is bad, yes, they were at opposite sides of a war, but as enemies they could respect each other. As friends? I think they would find they suit each other really well, their senses of humor match, their countless list of things in common do, too. Even if someone doesn’t want them to become romantic, the potential between their interactions is so great it fascinates me even after all this time. They have it in them to be amazing partners, whatever the nature of their relationship.

The bad blood between them isn’t the kind of bad blood I see between Azula and any of her Fire Nation friends. She never expected anything good from the members of Team Avatar, but she did from the Fire Nation gang. She had helped her brother out but that went to waste in her eyes, and their relationship only ever got worse to the point of them damn near fighting to the death in the finale. She was definitely not the greatest friend to Mai and Ty Lee, but she believed they were friends for real: they betrayed her. The amount of backstabbing Azula has received is kind of overwhelming. People can think she had it coming, whatever, but those wounds are a lot more likely to open again when dealing with the people who inflicted them in the first place. Team Avatar was always just the enemy for her. She doesn’t need to bounce back from being double-crossed with them, so honestly, I find that establishing bonds with them could be smoother for her than trying her luck with everyone who turned their backs on her before. She should have new friends that she knows aren’t lying to her face, or shooting glares at her when she’s not paying attention. 

And that brings up another reason why Sokka is so good for her, in my opinion: he is terribly, ABSURDLY, blunt and honest. Sokka’s attempts to lie his way out of anything are laughable, and for someone like Azula, it’ll always be obvious that he’s lying. But he’d never lie about serious things, too, which is where his great principles are a wonderful thing for this relationship. He’s not going to be dishonest to her, and she’ll know it. She’s a people person xD she can tell when someone’s absolutely honest, and she’ll find that Sokka is practically incapable of dishonesty. So whenever she’s doing something he disapproves of, he’ll say it. He speaks his mind, always, no matter the cost. He doesn’t even know how to hold his tongue. 

Finally… the honesty part ties in with something essential for me in a stable, healthy relationship for Azula. This girl has gone her whole life telling herself she’s a monster: when someone as honest as Sokka gets to know her, and lets her know she’s not one? No doubt her life would end up upside down because of it, but she’d know he’s not lying. She’d know he’s saying it because he truly believes it. Sure, it’s a huge source of drama for their relationship anyways xD but if Sokka loves her, her fears of not being deserving of love could start to be dismissed. If her enemy from the times of the war could possibly grow to have feelings for her… well, first off she’d think he’s crazy xD but once it kicks in, so much of what she feared and dreaded about herself would be disproved. I know many people expect this problem of Azula’s to be fixed through her family, but as I said above, the bad blood there is so damn bad that I don’t see why someone else can’t do it instead. Maybe it’s not the ideal way, but I believe it would work. 

So, that’s quite a bit on why Sokka suits Azula as well as he does. But you might be wondering by now if it’s a two-way street: can someone like Azula be good for someone else? Well… you might be surprised.

3B. But why Azula, and not anyone else? Sokka has a ton of love interests in-canon, and a ton more ships outside of canon. So why would I dare claim Sokkla is the best ship for him?

Something funny I like to bring up is that what people love in Sokka’s most popular ships gets gathered into one with Sokkla. 

The main reason why people ship Yuekka: impossible love, princess and peasant, he did everything he could for her, didn’t stand a chance and fell head over heels for a girl who loved him but loved her nation too. So… Azula and Yue are obviously characters who differ in A LOT of aspects, in fact, in most of them. But they share two things: they’re princesses, and they would do ANYTHING for their nation. Azula’s goal when striving to become Fire Lord is to be a great leader for her nation, remember? Curious coincidence, right? So… if Sokka falls for Azula, you get these same elements that you had with Yuekka. Funny.

Top billed reason why people ship Sukka: “I’m a warrior but I’m a girl too”. That quote sold a lot of people on this ship, and frankly it’s the main reason why Sokka and Suki are together at all: both are warriors but her feminine side appeals to him anyways. Do I even need to say who’s a girl and a warrior, AND A STRATEGIST JUST LIKE HIM…? Yeah. I don’t. You already know :’D

Top billed reason why people ship Tokka: Toph and Sokka were hilarious together, right? Got along really well, they even bonded over Katara being annoying and all that. They were the nickname ones, the jokesters, offered a lot of comic relief in the show. But alas… I am not a fan of the comics, yet Sokka and Azula provided comic relief just fine too. As I pointed out above, Sokka and Azula grew up with very similar siblings: they could just as easily bond over that, too.

Point being, Sokkla can pull everything off. At the same time. It really can. You could say that Sukka’s famous line applies to Tokka too, but it doesn’t work with Yuekka. You can’t say the appeal of Yuekka can also be found in Tokka because Toph actually doesn’t care for worldly affairs the way Yue did (she doesn’t join Team Avatar out of wanting to help people, she does it to be free and to have a chance to be herself, completely personal reasons). The comic relief thing about Toph and Sokka having similar senses of humor can’t apply to either Sukka or Yuekka. And Yuekka’s circumstances simply don’t apply for Sukka either.

So Sokkla has the potential that every one of these ships has, and more. It even gathers factors that the other ships didn’t have (as I mentioned, relationships with family, interest in strategy and intellectual pursuits), and adds several that I find pivotal for why Azula can help Sokka grow lots:

Azula is a challenge. What does canon show us regarding Sokka and challenges? He absolutely THRIVES in them. Sokka can claim he wants to have a peaceful and easy life, but the minute something extraordinary happens, he’s all over it and doing his best to be part of it. Sokka was set free from burdens and allowed to grow into the young man he became because of the challenge of stopping the Fire Nation. It was a fight they could have lost, but he did his damnedest to help his friends succeed.

Yue was a challenge of sorts for him, too. She was out of his reach, and he tried to love her without being with her, which showed an amazing nobility from him and proved how much he can care about the people he falls in love with. It ended too fast for anyone to say if that relationship could have gotten anywhere, but it was promising, if anything.

As for Suki… I really don’t love the ship. And one of the reasons I don’t is because while they care about each other, I feel that Sokka doesn’t need to try at all. Being comfortable is fine, but as I said earlier, Sokka thrives in challenges. He loves proving himself, and he did to Suki early on, but he doesn’t need to prove anything anymore. Thus, their relationship isn’t the kind I think would suit Sokka best. It’s not a relationship that compels him to do better, to try harder, to give it his everything.

A relationship with Azula would be the absolute opposite of that. Sokka would know Azula doesn’t settle for mediocrity in anything and he will not be a man who doesn’t deserve her. He would constantly strive to better himself, and she would help him reach his potential as a fighter and even as a leader, because that’s the kind of stuff she knows, and it’s the kind of stuff he’s interested in. So he can learn more about these things with her! In any case, he’s not going to have a single second of boredom with Azula. Not a chance. And I really think that’s something Sokka would love to enjoy in his life: a relationship that never ever feels complacent.

And another thing that always gets to me is Sokka’s acute awareness of how ordinary he seems in comparison to all his friends. It’s a nonsensical thing if you ask me, HE’S WONDERFUL! XD but he has these insecurities, and those insecurities can gnaw at him a lot. Wouldn’t it be great for him to be with someone, a partner who would make him realize how amazing he is? And I don’t mean that Azula would spend all day coddling him and telling him he’s remarkable: I mean that she would make him feel remarkable, because nobody can hold a relationship with Azula the way Sokka can, no matter how hard they may try. In a fully stabilized relationship, where they’ve both worked together to reach their full potential individually and together, these two really would develop a bond like no other. A relationship this incredible would be so strong it could reduce Sokka’s insecurities a huge lot. And I’d say that’s yet another point in favor for this ship. 

4. The potential: with everything I said, I think it should be clear now why I talk so much about this ship being one based on potential. Nothing is set in stone, you can really do whatever you want in fanfiction with this pairing. You don’t have nearly enough canon interaction that you can take as shippy, no landmarks, nothing you absolutely need to feature… you really can do anything.

There’s Sokkla fics about them being partners in some organization, be it the White Lotus or anything else, there’s Sokkla fics where they’re a happily married pair, there’s fics where Azula captures Sokka that can start dark and go light, or even stay dark all along. There’s modern AUs, there’s crossovers of all kinds… there’s SO MUCH you can do with Sokkla. So much. These two really aren’t limited by anything, as far as I can see. People can portray their relationship as the healthiest in the Avatarverse, but some enjoy drama or angst, and they can take the relationship towards a toxic angle if it suits them. Someone can write them in the fluffiest of fluff, simply being happy together, and instants later they can give them the wildest smut you’ve ever imagined. And if done right? Everything will work. EVERYTHING.

Canon didn’t give us the ship, but it gave us the possibility. As I am, I don’t even worry about it becoming canon or not anymore: the richness of stories I’ve seen with these two is so vast I am constantly in awe over it. There’s been some serious fanfiction masterpieces for Sokkla that anyone should read (but if you want those, there’s another ask for fic recommendations waiting for me, so hold on and I’ll get to it eventually xD). The worlds that can be created for these two are amazing, truly.

And well… maybe you know this, but I’ll say it in case you don’t. I’ve spent almost five years of my life writing a fic about Sokka and Azula in the most compulsive manner EVER. Five years WITHOUT writer’s block. Five years of constant work in an AU that has already spanned over 1.6M words. What can I tell you of this experience? That I could have never made it this far, and created something this vast, with another leading pairing. I can’t replace their characters with others, I can’t write a version of Gladiator with, say, Toph and Zuko instead. It wouldn’t work. I can’t do it with Azula and Aang. It would never work the way it does if the main characters weren’t Sokka and Azula, and if their relationship wasn’t the main line that moves the plot forward (or slows it down, sometimes). I’ve rewritten ATLA as a whole, and gone further than I ever imagined I would with a story.

And it’s all because of them. Because that’s how much potential they have. Whatever criticism Gladiator deserves for my decisions, the fact remains that the story wouldn’t even be even a pale shadow of what it is if it weren’t about Sokka and Azula.

Lastly… doesn’t hurt that they make a beautiful pair, does it? :D

(Sokka and Azula by Drakyx)

Nope. Certainly doesn’t hurt one bit.

So, I hope if you got through this absurdly long ask, you would take two things with you: first, this wonderful ship has a ton of potential and it just takes a willing eye to see it. They’re a remarkable match in every way, seriously. Sometimes I get so lost in it I forget there’s next to no canon material about them, because of how real the connection between these two characters feels to me xD

The second thing I want you to take with you is…

… I talk a lot. I have too many feels about Sokkla. If you ask me to talk about them, I will ramble for hours, as I just did :’D hope you enjoyed reading my crazy gushing, and if your curiosity is still stirred, stick around and I’ll recommend Sokkla fics very soon! Thanks for the excuse to squee about them!

#anon #sokkla #sokka #azula #and I rambled again #how many times will I ramble today I do not know but I sure am happy about this last session of rambling xD #this is the kind of stuff I wanna talk all day about yes

[linnoya-writes]

ZUTARA - the Trials and Tribulations that come with finding “The One”

I don’t think it was a coincidence that the two most mature kids in ATLA had various potential “suitors” throughout the show—people they were officially “together” with, people they went on dates with, people they connected with, and people they fell smitten over-- and yet, those feelings would always fall short of that “once-in-a-lifetime” romantic, magical element.

It really made me believe that ATLA was setting up a wonderful example to young viewers about the real-life hardship of finding “true love,” demonstrating that sometimes... it takes a lot of trial and error and experience to eventually get to that person who’s deemed The One.

Zuko and Katara were two characters who had to mature to an outstanding degree in a time of war, and we notice them trying to make connections with people all around them.  We also notice how, in spite of the many “potential suitors” they have in their own individual story arcs, the two of them always seemed to “bump into each other” along the way, noticing each other’s character development every single time.

In the show, they build connections with people, but never seem to find someone who carries all that they need for a partner.  I could also say that they never find someone who “sees” them in their fullest, complex selves... until it’s the two of them!

Let’s review the suitors for Katara:

1) Haru-- While fans like to speculate that Katara may have had a “thing” for Haru, I personally think she saw him as someone she connected with easily because of his bending ability… in the same way she immediately connected with Aang the moment she found out Aang was a bender.  Katara didn’t grow up around other benders, and so it would make sense that she would cherish the idea of bonding with other benders.  Haru and Katara had their connection with bending, but it’s pretty clear that Haru’s shy nature and his sensitive personality wasn’t something Katara was looking for in a love interest.  

2) Jet-- We do know that Katara falls very smitten with Jet, and here we get to see the kind of person she tends to cling to:  someone who’s a strong capable leader, courageous, tall, athletic, someone who makes her feel like she can use her talents and brains, and who supports fighting for justice.  Of course, Jet also carries his sense of justice too far with his cruelty and malice, which Katara immediately says she will not support in a partner.

3) Aang-- Yes, we see Katara having a long-term connection with Aang in the show, and this relationship turns from a motherly/child relationship gradually into something that could become a romantic partnership.  We also know from the beginning that Aang has deep feelings for Katara, and he tries really hard to get her to see him as a potential boyfriend.  

However, there are various “hints” throughout the show that Katara wasn’t completely “taken” with the idea of being with Aang (ie. her behavior in the episode “The Ember Island Players”) and based on what we know about the two characters… there would be problems with their relationship down the road:  Katara is a proud meat-eating Watertribe girl and the last Waterbender of the SWT determined to bring back her culture/heritage after the War.  Being with Aang--  a proud vegetarian who can’t really handle Watertribe food and customs—might make her have to decide if she is willing to give up part of her heritage for her partner.  She would also have to give up her own individual goals in the post-war in order to be at Aang’s side, as his voice of reason.  There are many instances in the show where Katara had to be the mature one and set aside her own emotional needs in order to tend to Aang’s needs, and this imbalance would eventually make her realize how she needs a partner who can see her as a complex human being, rather than just a “coddler”… a partner who can be the pillar that she can lean on whenever she needs to let out her emotions and rage.

Now, let’s look at all of Zuko’s suitors:

1) Mai-- With Zuko, we learn he had a childhood crush on a girl, and that crush is returned, but after 3 years being banished… there’s no real evidence that either of them “ached” for the other during that time and distance apart.  Zuko and Mai did have their moments together when he returned to the Fire Nation, and while Mai does care about him, the relationship was emotionally lacking, and it’s clear that Zuko cannot be with Mai in his fullest, most open self.

2) Song-- During his time as a fugitive, you begin to see just how self-conscious Zuko is around kids his age.  Of course, the last thing on his mind is finding a girlfriend, but he demonstrates how awkward he is as a teenager (and I don’t just mean because he’s a Fire Nation fugitive in Earth Kingdom territory).

When he meets Song, his focus is only to get his Uncle healed, not paying mind to the hospitality this family has given them.  He acknowledges Song’s kindness and her family’s suffering because of the Fire Nation, and it emotionally hits him when he finds out she’s been hurt.  And yet, despite her being a healer, Zuko doesn’t let Song touch his scar.  Zuko isn’t thinking about relationships.  He’s on the run with his Uncle and is only thinking about survival.  Song wasn’t necessarily a “love interest” for Zuko, but this is the first time we as viewers see a kind, sweet girl try to have a connection with him, and how Zuko—perhaps in any other circumstance—may have developed feelings for her.  

3) Jin-- When Zuko and Iroh make it Ba Sing Se, there’s plenty of time to “lay low” without feeling like anyone is after them, and we have another chance at seeing Zuko making a connection with a girl.  With Jin, there is a definitely crush from the girl to Zuko, and she doesn’t even acknowledge the boy’s scar.  Zuko is  awkward, almost uncomfortable trying to be a normal teenager when it’s clear his life has been so different.  He still does a sweet gesture to try and make Jin happy (risking his own safety as a Fire Nation fugitive), but it isn’t enough to have Zuko say that he wants to see Jin again after that date.  However… we do learn that Zuko likes dating, of having a connection with someone, even if that connection is not meant to last more than one date.

**My personal take with Song and Jin and is that these two girls had that sweet, nurturing, caring trait that Zuko desired, but they still lacked a certain type of passionate, fierce attentiveness that Zuko also needed in a partner to really “reach” him fully as a person.**

So, with all of these potential suitors... why Zutara?

The ironic thing here is that Zuko and Katara had run-ins with each other since the start of the show. They were on opposite sides of the war, fought each other, saw their bending abilities develop more powerfully each time, had a chance to talk and have a mutual connection… and also went on a private mission that nobody else wanted them to do.  Zuko and Katara had opportunities throughout the show to really “see” each other as complex characters… but the beautiful thing was that this was all happening *without* any romantic implications.  

With their minds preoccupied on bigger things through the war, Zuko and Katara’s interactions were forming the foundation to a life-long understanding and friendship, and... had the show continued… had the two of them finally had a chance to set aside some time in their lives to start dating people in the Post-War… it wouldn’t have surprised me if, one day, they would’ve just exchanged a glance as Fire Lord and Master Katara, and realized… “woah.”  

And it really does bring together the dreams and the realities of a good romance:  Sometimes it just takes a lot of patience, and time, meeting a lot of “potential suitors,” before you discover the person who’s meant to be The One.  

#zutara #zutara meta #relationship meta #zuko x katara #zuko #katara #avatar the last airbender