#did aang's powers take care of appa

[oneatlatime]

The Journey to Ba Sing Se Part 2: The Drill

Could I have Appa back please?

The Previously On segment actually didn't spoil anything for once. Nice.

I do like these tank things. In fact I like all Fire Nation technology. Not what it's used for. But the designs are neat. And more interesting than most actual military tech. You ever look at something techy, and think to yourself 'there was an artist involved here,' because that's the impression FN tech gives me. It's not beautiful, but there's a pleasing toothiness to it.

Excellent sound design on the metal screechy moving bits. And is that tank escort really necessary?

I know this is a kids' cartoon, with characters that are designed to be the audience's age. I know! And usually I can suspend my disbelief and forget that I'm watching children do very adult jobs! But this caught me so off guard I laughed. The Fire Nation's big secret project to break through the wall once and for all, that would be an absolute career making achievement for whoever is in charge, and they've given it to a bunch of teenage girls. This is where my suspension of disbelief stops.

Can you imagine the meeting where this was proposed? The Fire Lord being like "Who can lead the attack on Ba Sing Se? We lost Zhao at the North Pole, does whoever it is who occupies his equivalent rank in the Army want the job? Or even Zhao's second in command perhaps? Or how about: three middle school girls, two of which aren't even members of the military? Doesn't that sound like a good plan?" And of course all his advisors have to agree and be like "that sounds like an excellent plan your lordship; did you have any particular girls in mind or should we go scout out the local Claire's?" because the last guy who disagreed with him got his face blown off. I don't care how viciously talented Azula and friends are; a country that puts eighth graders in charge of invasion plans should have lost the war in year one, not still be winning it in year 99.

Did that random commander guy just smack Ty Lee in the face?

Problem the first of this plan: unless the Fire Nation has invented pocket dimensions or bags of holding, there is no way that that drill, even stuffed full of soldiers, would hold enough people to take a city that seemingly contains every single refugee in the entire Earth Kingdom.

Do you think those refugees got preferential treatment for arriving on an Avatar powered elevator?

"I'm the Avatar. Take me to whoever's in charge." OWN IT BABY!!!

That's one hell of an irrigation system they must have.

"He was quickly expunged." Was he? I got the impression he quit. Of his own accord.

Something tells me like forty guys throwing rocks won't stop that thing.

So... what was Mai doing that whole fight? Hanging decoratively off a rope?

I'd forgotten how stupid Earth Kingdom generals were. Luckily Sokka is there to vicariously express my opinion of them. A reverse beat up Sokka quota fulfillment!

Toph is such a little shit and I love her.

Aang sure does put up with a lot sometimes. Part of being the Avatar. It's a good thing he has such patience. Can we talk about how lucky the world is that Aang is the one tasked with putting up with nonsense like this? Imagine if Sokka or Toph were the Avatar. There would be casualties.

I like complaining too buddy. Nice to see Sokka's worth being recognised. Now can we do that outside of a life or death situation too please?

I joke about Zuko's dumbass behaviour, but let's be honest, it's inherited.

Jet. Fuckboy. You do not make it easy to even slightly like you. Guy is missing the point as much as Zuko usually does. Going straight MEANS leaving the freedom fighters behind. It doesn't mean reforming them somewhere else. And what Fire Nation threat are you going to find in Ba Sing Se for your Freedom Fighters to fight? You know, if this idiot was actually serious about fighting for Freedom rather than blowing stuff up for fun, he'd fudge his age and enlist in the Earth Kingdom Army.

Four points: How does Katara know Ty Lee's name? Is this confirmation that waterbending healing cannot remove a Chi block? I love that the trait that gives away Ty Lee's identity is the fact that she cartwheeled away. I love Sokka. Just in general.

There is no way this girl is not tripping.

Can you imagine how loud standing right next to that drill must be?

ABS

Normally I'd say that one earthbender trying to slow the drill down with spikes will work even worse than the Terra Team who tried and failed with like 40, but this is Toph we're talking about. It could work.

These children are so polite when they're committing industrial sabotage. Truly, they were raised well.

Do you ever get the feeling that whoever is in charge of designing Fire Nation armour is into a few things that he's trying to repress so hard that they're coming out in all the wrong places?

Jet seems to have lost all the manipulative abilities he had in his episode. Suddenly he's very bad at reading body language and keeps saying the exact opposite of what he should.

New achievement unlocked! 1000% agreeing with something Zuko said! That was a pretty stupid move.

Cups made out of leaves are neat.

Katara, you can't have it both ways. You can't look to Sokka to make the plan, then get snippy when the plan correctly plays to all of your strengths. He physically CAN'T bend. Either you come up with a better plan yourself, or you do as the guy you appointed planner suggests.

Points in favour of allowing Katara to murder people, exhibit 1.

Confirmed: Sokka is catnip for girls.

Even in comparison to the others, Ty Lee has a bad case of cartoon physics.

Did Katara just disarm herself? That'll come back to bite her in 3, 2, 1...

Mai gets a second personality trait! Yay!

There is no way this is actually practical armour. This is someone in procurement with a thing for sweaty bulging muscles and puppy masks.

And thus, the log ride was born. Later versions would go on to perfect the concept by introducing a log.

I felt Sokka's mud freakout in my bones. Looks like Katara giving away her water isn't going to be a problem.

Petition to let Katara say bitch. The voice actress said Circus Freak but I know what I heard in my heart.

Remember that time Sokka smacked his forehead so many times that his face was permanently red? My turn now.

Aang. I know you love your friends. But maybe a battle on top of a moving machine of destruction in the midst of an aerial assault from your idiotic allies while facing off with the single most powerful and amoral firebender in existence, isn't a place to bring your pet lemur?

Beat up Sokka quota fulfilled by little sister. It's surprising that isn't the case more often. I know Sokka took it too far, but if you don't want him telling you what to do, maybe you shouldn't have looked to him for a plan?

Toph is here! Day saved.

Finally some sense re: Momo safety.

Time for the Western showdown. There's even something that could stand in for a water tower in the background.

If Azula had just struck at Aang the second he got knocked unconscious, rather than waiting until he woke up for dramatic purposes, she would have won this. I give Zuko Hell for being a theatre kid, but he's not the only one in the family.

I would love to know what they make Fire Nation boot soles out of. They have supernatural traction.

I take back everything I said about pet safety. That was a really cool Momo assist.

Aang invents the pneumatic hammer.

I LOVE that the cut braces had an effect after all. Sokka's contribution counts!

I bet this guy's wishing he'd been eaten by a giant fishman like Zhao right about now. Have fun explaining that one to the Firelord!

HOW is Ty Lee still alive?

HOW does Azula still have knees after that drop?

HOW does Mai have such perfect timing?

ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN ROCK TRAIN

They really ought to put wheels on all but the back car to reduce friction and save energy. Then again, if the Earth Kingdom is one thing, it's stupid.

So... Jet's change of heart lasted a bit less than one episode. Good job fuckboy!

So precious.

So Pretty.

Final Thoughts

This was like 90% action, with the other 10% being split between Zuko & Iroh plot stuff and Sokka playing comic relief. So there's not that much to talk about here really (she says, having found a whole post's worth of stuff to talk about).

Sokka had his bossy pants on, admittedly because he was asked to don them. Aang got to do some proper Avataring. Katara and Toph got to exercise their bending muscles. I'm not surprised that Toph was absent for much of the middle of the episode, because - let's be honest - given the right tools, Toph would have finished the Drill in one move. And then they'd be out of episode.

Actually, Mai got to have a personality beyond Too Bored To Live this episode. This is probably the most personality I've seen out of her so far. She's much more expressive when she's with just Ty Lee, rather than Ty Lee and Azula.

And Zuko! Had! Common! Sense! Iroh had to be a dumbass for Zuko to shine, but Zuko was, once again, the most reasonable character in his little B plot. For future reference: If you want to make Zuko reasonable, all you have to do is nerf his uncle and juxtapose him with a terrorist.

I loathe Jet. Always have, probably always will. But I'm still disappointed in him. His 'turning over a new leaf' - if it was sincere at all - lasted like 10 on-screen minutes. I feel sorry for Smellerbee and Longshot. I don't think their faith in their glorious leader is going to be repaid. He seems to brush off Smellerbee's opinions.

The strangest thing this episode was how few lines Azula had. I guess maybe they were using silence to try to show how calculating and collected she is compared to others, but honestly my first thought was that the voice actress had something going on. A cold? A previous engagement? It felt really weird to hear her speak so little, since previous episodes have shown she's not averse to gloating and dramatic monologues. She didn't even have much in the way of facial expressions.

I think the winners this episode were Mai, who got to have a personality; Zuko, who got a turn with the brain cell; and Aang, who got to work out pretty much all the bending he knows so far and successfully Avatar.

I did notice with some of the shots of Aang moving the big boulders the idiots were chucking down, that there was a kind of fuzziness to the air between Aang and what he was moving. Was I seeing the actual bending energy (Chi I guess) moving?

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #the drill

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Would you say that the show itself doesn't respect/understand Katara's trauma?

Let's see:

The first voice we hear in the very begining of the show (not just in the first episode, but in EVERY SINGLE ONE that followed), is Katara's. The first character to explain the show's whole deal, HOPE, is her.

Right away she explains to us through narration the whole conflict of the story, and the series itself immediately shows us how it has affected her and her family personally, with the death of her mother, the departure of her father as he goes to fight in the war, her and her brother struggling to get food, the tribe having no defense.

She is the first person to interact with Aang, the protagonist - and we find out about HER life, HER trauma, and see a bit of HER personality before we even see Aang or find out his name. The show introduces us to KATARA as a character, while Aang and his backstory are still always a bit of mystery until episode 13. For fuck's sake, the reason Aang becomes so endearing so quickly is because he brings the fun of childhood back to Katara and HER village.

The idea of traveling to the Northern Water Tribe is introduced because KATARA wants to be a fighter. And even when it goes from a promise of adventure between two friends to an official mission, Aang is happy that they will learn TOGETHER. Hell, excluding the opening, Katara is the first character we see using any kind of bending on screen, in the actual story.

The death of Kya and how it has severely traumatized Katara is brought up three more times in the first season - when she's comforting Aang, and bonding with Jet and Haru.

The first situation is one of the many times the show will make clear parallel between Aang's anger/grief at what was done to his people and Katara's anger/grief at what was done to hers. She comforts him about Gyatso's death by mentioning the death of her mother, managing to make Aang come back for the Avatar state. In the start of season two, we hear her mention just how tough it is to watch someone she loves be in so much pain. She comforts him again when the Sandbenders take Appa. And then in the Southern Raiders, when Katara wants to murder her mother's killer, Aang EXPLICITLY recalls these moments to explain that he DOES understand what she's going through (same thing she said to him the very first time) and still thinks that this is not what she needs to heal - much like Katara telling him not to weaponize the Avatar State, aka his pain.

Katara's grief over her mother is explicitly shown as a reason why she wants to protect the innocent, to help anyone who needs her. In the Haru episode, she's explicitly shown as a figure that symbolizes hope in the darkest situations, just like Aang is too her. Once again, the show lets her have some time in the spotlight, even in a plot that could have easily been filled by Aang since the dude is basically a messiah. And in the Jet one, while she's being lied to, she IS trying to do something good - and Aang is there with her. Once again, Katara's hero journey, and all the grief that comes with it, is literally being written alongside Aang's.

The show also places great emphasis on her journey to become a poweful warrior, even openly challenging (and giving some trouble) to a master that is unfairly refusing to teach her solely because she is a girl. She gets to hold her own in a fight against Zuko in the season one finale. In season two, when she expresses the desire to be given the title of Sifu like Toph, Aang immediately accepts. Katara is constantly shown to be pretty badass - including in the Southern Raiders, where she looks the man that killed her mom straight in the face and says she's not a helpless little girl anymore, exposing one of, if not THE, main reason why she wanted to be a fighter so bad. To regain power, to protect herself and those she cared about.

And while the show DID highlight these moments of strength from Katara, it also let her be vulnerable. We see her crying after thinking she saw her mother in the swamp, and when she believes her friends see her more as a motherly figure than a kid because she was forced to grow up too fast after Kya's death - and then Toph comforts her because they DO see her as their friend, not just a replacement mom. There's also the beautiful scene of her and Hakoda, in which she is allowed to admit how badly it hurt to suddenly no longer have her dad around, even if it was necessary/for a good cause.

There's also little things like her being allowed to bond with Bato and reconnect a bit with her tribe's way of life after some time away from it, or the show explictly having her tell Hama that it would be an honor to be allowed to learn more about her culture and heritage, which the Fire Nation obviously has robbed her of as the tribe is struggling to just survive. She also is clearly overjoyed when Pakku says it's about time for the North to help rebuild the South.

And, of course, when she's face to face with the man that killed her mother, she is allowed to stay her compassionate self - while still not forgiving him because, surprise surprise, the writers knew what they were doing and did not want to force her to suddenly ignore all that trauma just to half-ass a lesson about forgiveness is ALWAYS the way to go.

Katara is allowed to be strong AND vulnerable. To help AND be helped by others. The show clearly demonstrates, repeatedly, that she isn't just struggling to deal with the death of a parent, but with having to sacrifice her own childhood, not having BOTH parents around, seeing her home be destroyed both literally and figuratively, the feeling of helplessness as this century old war is taking so much from her and others (both dear friends and strangers). The writting for her wasn't perfect, but it was clearly not an after-thought like part of the fandom claims.

Just because she didn't kill a guy and wasn't okay with using bloodbending unless 110% sure there was no other alternative, it does not mean the show didn't take her character and it's struggles seriously. And if this fandom cared about her half as much as they claim they do, they'd recognize that instead of complaining non-stop about how one of the kindest characters in the story didn't suddenly do a 180 turn and go "Murder is great actually"

#katara meta #katara #katara appreciation #katara deserved better #pro katara

[highfantasy-soul]

Things I LOVED in NATLA Episode 7 - The North

Lt Jee actually being worried for Zuko!!!!

And Iroh tenderly bandaging Zuko's head 🥺

Zuko desperate to make sure his father doesn’t truly think he's turned against him!!!!!

A FANTASTIC set-up for his eventual ACUTAL turn against his father

Zuko genuinely thanking Lt. Jee 😢

And aaggghhhh!!! Zhao being a tricky slimey mf

This is a slick way to get Zuko being blown up without the pirates - though they're fun characters, I think this set-up enhanced the themes they were exploring in the season more

TEAM AVATAR!!

So cute that Aang excitedly tells his friends he made a connection with Zuko - Sokka is unimpressed while Katara has hope that people can turn out to be good.

Agna Qel'a!!!!

It looks GORGEOUS! And love that it has a name now!!

Apparently it was given a name in one of the books, but they never did name it in the show, so I'm glad they did it here

I don't even care that they know it's the Avatar right off bat and they're ready to welcome them in - it was cool as shit flying over the city on Appa

Maybe they had scouts out that saw Appa flying and brought news to the city, same as the scouts who saw the Fire Nation fleet - I'll accept that

Them treating Aang like a weapon rather than a person 😡

It's something that comes up a lot in the series and I'm glad they aren't shying away from it

Lol Katara's sibling jibing at Sokka staring at Yue 🤣

I love these little sibling moments - they're just so cute

And Sokka now hard-core staring at the ground instead of at Yue because Katara said he looked like a weirdo doing that 😅

Zhao's overacting at how pissed he is 🤣

Then his 'omg I can yes and this. I can SO yes and this!' as Iroh tells him what he 'think's happened

Oooohhh Iroh's understated insults at Zhao's qualifications

And Zhao's comeback about no record of failure unlike Iroh😐 bitch, that still doesn't make you qualified!

More Azulaaa!!!!

I really love this added storyline to see exactly why Azula is the way she is

It's great to see that her place as next-in-line isn't a shoe-in here - she's desperate to show her father that 'she's the one' and will do anything to get there

Sokka's heart eyes 😍

Stewed sea prunes 😭😭😭

"It tastes like home" 😢

I like this intro to Pakku - like with Sokka, they're not doing a comical level of sexism, they're making it more realistic

YUE IS A BEEENNDDEERR!!!!!!

Also, using it for the most important things: dessert

Sokka's absolutely abysmal (bet very endearing) interaction attempts with Yue 😅

Her little fake gasps as he keeps saying the wrong thing, but smiling because she knows what he means, she's just teasing him 🥺 incredibly adorable

Love that they have a conversation that actually has substance!

Don't hate me, but in the cartoon, they never had a substantive conversation ONCE. It was just Sokka flirting, Yue giggling, then Yue freaking out and running away - rinse and repeat like, 5 times in the course of 3 episodes.

Omg Hahn isn't a dick!!!

I like the more mature tone they've taken in the live action - they can have jokes, but for serious topics like…idk, a battle against the Northern Water Tribe being genocided, they make the characters take it seriously

GOOOOODDDD the adults expecting Aang to be a master strategist and offensive weapon!!

This actually makes sense that they'd believe he could do it - Aang is the culmination of all the past Avatars, so they'd assume he has all their knowledge and power.

The poor kid just got out of his iceberg, though!!!

"Airbending is primarily a defensive discipline"

You tell them, Aang!!

"But you're not JUST an airbender" :( don't bring logic and reality into this, Arnook

"I did it with the help of my friends 😊"  sweet baby Aang

And here's Pakku, telling Aang what a lot of watchers were frustrated about this season: uuhh maybe you should have been focused on your training

While that's a legit comment, I think the live-action showed why Aang didn't pretty well

Love love LOVE that we're introduced to healing with respect rather than the distain it was shown in the animated series

Healing is a wonderful and beautiful skill and I'm glad we got to see Katara interested in it (and it being used) rather than Katara sadly moping into the igloo filled with children learning healing

Sometimes, when people try to make things less sexist, they end up making it more-so. I think that happened with the animated series where healing was actually put up in conflict with combat - where combat was clearly shown as the 'better' skill and healing was 'stupid and bad, we don’t want to do that'. The live-action showed that healing is an important and powerful skill, the only issue comes when you aren't ALLOWED to do anything else. Healing itself isn't the issue, the fact the women are kept from combat IS the issue.

Nice Hahn and Sokka fishing for info about Yue

Avatar Kuruk RESPECT!!!!

LOVE Yue getting more character here!

She can pop into the spirit world! It makes so much sense with her having part of the moon spirit inside her!

The live action fleshed her out soooo well!

Poor Sokka not understanding AT ALL why someone would want to go to the Spirit World for fun 😂

"Don't do that. Don't make it less than what it is"

Such an important message for EVERYONE. You don’t have to have the most tragic of backstories for your trauma to be important. This isn't the oppression olympics - we aren't doing the whole 'well someone else has it worse so you can't complain' bullshit.

Everyone has hurt in their lives and everyone deserves to have their hurt taken seriously and healed. It isn't 'strength' to pretend it's nothing - it's strength to face it and accept that it was important, not something to shove under the rug

Yue reminding Sokka about what makes him special - his care for his friends! He's not a selfish guy - just because he wasn't the best leader or warrior when he was 13 doesn't mean he has nothing to offer the world

"Hahn is everything a girl could want. But he is not the boy of my dreams" 😭😭😭

"Being the Avatar means being the one who bears the burden: alone."

The thing is: like in the animated version, this advice MAKES SENSE! But it's how you USE the advice that makes the difference

No, you can't put all the weight of responsibility on your friends, but neither can you do it without any help - or without caring for others. It's very much advice coming from pain: all the Avatars got hurt because they DIDN'T abandon their friends and so they're giving a skewed version of the advice onto Aang to try to spare him the pain they went through.

It's Aang's job to find the balance

Sokka's fish carving that Yue thinks is a bear 😭😭😭

I wanna see it, props department!!!!

Yeess!! Katara's first confrontation with Pakku!

I like how she still tries to lead with diplomacy, making her case, and Pakku has 'reasonable' excuses not to let her fight

Instead of him being cartoonishly sexist, he's much more realistic giving 'logical' reasons for Katara not to be in combat, but she stands up anyways because she knows it's wrong.

I can see how some might find Aang not wanting Katara to fight to be jarring, but this is in line with the animated series

When they're going into particularly dangerous missions, Aang does have a tendency to try to do it himself and tell Katara to sit this one out - he does it in The Winter Solstice: Part 2.

He's just been told a past life's love was killed because he didn't keep her out of his fight, he has no idea how he's going to win this battle, and he's realizing that he does see Katara as someone incredibly important to him. It's in line with who Aang is to try to keep her safe and away from the battle

Zhao coming up with nicknames for himself 😑

Iroh straight up calling Fire Nation 'info' propaganda!!

While some people could see this as 'treason', when you're in positions of power in high-control groups, you KNOW it's propaganda - you HELP CREATE the lies and when people are going to do something stupid (like attack the North without a solid plan), you let them know that they're being stupid if they're going to make battle plans based on the lies you've helped spread.

Zhao and his dumb bitch destiny 🙄 he's such a great villain - he's one who's bought into his own lies

"The plan is to prove my father wasn't wrong to trust me with this mission. The plan is to go in and capture the Avatar once and for all. The PLAN is to reclaim what is rightfully MINE!! 😤" - "So, no plan? 😐" - "I'm working on it uncle 🥺"

This exchange = gold. Pure gold.

"It's almost as if he's working for someone else - someone much smarter"

WOOOOWWW Iroh, throw that shade a little more, why don't ya 🤣

Though I LOVE that they're giving Azula her brainy due - she's smart and she's the one not to be underestimated.

AZULA'S LIGHTNING!!!!!!!

Love how she stood up to her father, but because she was able to 'prove' her strength, he respected it rather than punished it

"Set me loose" AAAAHHHHHHH

SUPPORTIVE BROTHER SOKKA!!!

Love how matter of fact Katara is "I'm going to challenge Pakku to fight" - just like that. She's decided, so it's going to happen.

Sokka admitting Katara was right 😭😭😭😭😭

"Who's talking sense? What I'm trying to say is: go kick his ass" FUCK YEAH THAT'S RIGHT!!!!

Aang trying to go forward and help Katara, but Sokka holds him back

Love the sibling solidarity!!

The fight is almost beat for beat the one from the animated series!!!

I love that the live action knew exactly which sequences to put in almost 1-1 from the animated - this fight being one of them

"Is that all you got?!?!" FUCK YEAH!!

"They'll just say I lost" "Did you?"

The fact that it wasn't just Pakku's opinion that would change everything - Katara's actions inspired everyone else, even if Pakku didn't want to change his decision.

Change isn't made by changing one man's mind - it's about standing up to them and inspiring others (like in the Imprisoned storyline) to stand up too

Even inspiring Aang to realize that the conclusion the other Avatars came to from their pain was wrong - that Katara was right and that EVERYONE gets to choose whether to fight or not for themselves

Avatars aren't the only ones who worry about protecting people - it's a human, family thing, not just a mystical force of balance thing

Only Aang can write his own story - not anyone else.

This is a great through-line for the whole series where everyone has expectations put on them and they have to decide themselves who they want to be

Don't eat the sooty snow, Momo!!!!!

"Ok, time to fight"

I like that we end on the fire nation ships arriving: next episode is going to be THE BATTLE

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

#natla #natla positivity #netflix avatar #atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar netflix #live action avatar #yue #sokka #katara #aang #iroh #zuko

[overtail]

Chapter One - Tribal Trust

Stable Ground - Sokka x OC

🪃⛰️

I apologize if this seems boring, it is the first chapter!

...

The air was thick in the forest west of Omashu. It was hard to breathe, especially when you were running away from an angry hoard of Fire Nation soldiers. After the Gaang had their 'fun' with Bumi, they had decided to travel west.

Usually, they would escape on Appa's furry back, soaring through the air and laughing at the soldiers below, but of course he had gone to find food about 10 minutes before the ambush.

Katara was using the water from a nearby lake to whip soldiers into the air, making icicles and throwing the objects at them. Aang was running far ahead, trying to look for any sign of Appa or safety. And of course, Sokka was in the back, huffing and puffing while he let out a girly scream at the fiery arrows shooting past his head. One of them had actually pierced his coat, and he had to be drenched by Katara to not burn alive.

"I did not want to get involved with all this magic crap!"

He screamed in a high pitched voice. A Soldier cackled behind him, throwing a fireball past his head. God, they had to be playing with him, right?

"Sokka, maybe you should spend less time complaining and more time running!"

Katara. spoke, creating a wave to shove a few enemies back.

"Good- Good idea!"

It wasn't very helpful that Aang wasn't assisting with the fight. It was pissing Katara off quite a bit, which only fueled the fire of her anger towards the soldiers.

Sokka wasn't really useful either -- other than being a target. It was easy to predict the fighters throws since they were almost all directed at Sokka.

"Guys! There's a village! Come on!"

Aang's voice was heard from up ahead, turning into an open gate. Katara gasped, stopping her fight to speed up. Sokka just groaned, not happy with the loss of defense.

"How nice! Leave the guy with no powers behind!"

Sokka turned around the corner, immediately bumping into Aang who was standing completely still. He and Katara were in a battle stance, and Sokka quickly stood up straight, grabbing his boomerang.

The fire troop stopped in front of them, not stepping into the village. They stared intensely, before smiling menacingly. Their teeth were yellow and gross, obviously unhygienic from the lack of a proper bathroom.

The group dispersed, laughing manically and never removing their eyes from the group. Sokka loosened up a bit, raising a curious brow at the sudden end of the chase.

"Wha-"

"Shut up Sokka!"

Katara interrupted, shushing him.

"Why did they-"

"Shhh!"

They all stood still, quiet and looking out for any surprise attack. But there was nothing. Only the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind and their heavy breaths.

"How odd.."

Aang said, standing straight up and looking around.

"Something is weird about this place.."

"Obviously."

Katara retorted, crossing her arms and turning to face the rest of the village.

"Oh, so you guys can talk but I can't?"

Katara ignored him, and Aang just let out a sympathetic shrug. Somka groaned, stepping back and glancing at the area.

The place seemed abandoned. There were tents with assorted colors surrounding campfires, and two large buildings. One was on the opposite side of the village, and the other right text to them near the entrance.

"What is this place?"

Katara whispered, taking a step forward. Aang placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing her back.

"Be careful. There could be worse than the fire nation here.."

Katara nodded, huffing out a nervous breath. Though Aangs warning was fresh in his mind, Sokka couldn't help but walk into the center of the village. Curiosity was swarming his mind.

"Sokka be careful."

Katara spoke with urgency, looking at him with concerned eyes.

"Katara, it's fine! Look, this place is abandoned-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he screamed. The ground surrounding him and his friends rose up, like spikes growing from the floor. Katara grabbed onto Aang quickly, and Sokka got into a fighting stance, holding his boomerang in front of him.

"Who goes there?"

A voice boomed all around, the source unidentifiable. Sokka shivered, looking all around. His eyes locked onto Katara and Aang, who were also trying to find the voice.

"This is sacred land! It is forbidden for the Fire Nation to step foot here!"

Katara, in the middle of her shake, spoke,

"We mean no harm, sir -- or uh ma'am. We were just trying to escape the fire nation troops. We have made a terrible mistake wandering here."

The voice groaned, and footsteps clicking against the brick path flooring. The spikes began to sink back into the ground, shaking the floor beneath the group. The face of the man was exposed as the ground lowered.

"How shall i believe you? I surely cannot trust a bald little kid in warm colors.."

Sokka giggled, but soon dropped his smile when he saw Katara's angry stare. He looked at the floor, a nervous pool forming in his stomach.

"I'm wearing the traditional Garb of Air Nomads. I'm not a fire bender -- I'm an air bender."

Sokka crossed his arms, taking a step to the side. He glared at the stranger, not trusting him so quickly. He got a good look at the main -- he had dark skin, a similar complexion to his own, dark long hair and mustache that complimented it. He had tired eyes, full of grief and anger.

"Ha! Air nomad? You're an air nomad?"

The man laughed furiously, and giggles from all around flooded their heads. It was quite unsettling, the voices having no direct source.

"You're some uneducated Fire Benders. The Air Nomads were slaughtered 100 years ago, boy."

Aang looked a bit shocked and worried, but he didn't let the man's words faulter his faith. He couldn't back down.

"But I am an airbender! I can bend air!"

Before Aang could prove himself, Katara stepped forward.

"And i can waterbend!"

Her voice was desperate, scared. Sokka looked around, trying to figure out a way to explain himself.

"And I'm just kinda here!"

The man grinned, ready to attack. He dragged his hands up slowly, a sharp dagger made of rock making its way from the ground and pointing towards Aang.

"Prove yourself, or you'll be cast aside, firebender."

Katara's jaw clenched as she stared at the man, trying to stay poised despite her anger. As she inhaled, her hands glowed a beautiful blue. A stream of water left her hand and traveled several feet through the air.

While Katara's water traveled, flowing above her head in graceful shapes, Aang considered how to show he isn't the enemy. He held his hands together, the air swarming together between his palms. The ball grew larger and larger, before he jumped upon it, giggling as he rode the air.

He went in circles as gasps filled the air, both Katara and Aang laughing along with them.

Sokka grinned, looking about as the spikes fully sunk into the ground, exposing the people who were guarding the village. Men with knives lowered them, turning their heads to inspect the Gaang.

"That must mean.."

The man began, but smiled before he could even let out the last words.

"The Avatar!"

...

It had been a few hours since their arrival. As usual, Aang had spent most of the time entertaining children with his tricks. He did try and listen to the man for a little bit -- who he later learned to be Chief Ottawa of Izuma -- but he was always attracted to having fun.

Katara had made friends with a few girls, and had spent the time talking to them about her trip so far. And Sokka -- Sokka kind of just frolicked.

"Avatar Aang?"

Ottawa called out, looking at Aang as he showed the kids a marble trick. He looked up, the marbles falling into his hand. He stood up, waving goodbye to the kids and skipping over to Ottawa, Katara quickly following in suit.

They stood next to Sokka, who was sitting on a log picking at his fingers.

"Nice for you guys to finally join me."

He had a snarky undertone in his voice, a bit angry that he had been keeping himself occupied for hours. Aang whispered a quick apology, while Katara just shook her head.

Ottawa had his arm crossed, looking down at the floor. His energy seemed the same as when they had first arrived -- deflated, sad, angry.

"It is an honor to have the Avatar here. We'd love for you to stay, but we must come to an agreement.."

He began to speak, voice low.

"8 years ago, our tribe was ambushed by the fire nation. After much loss -- over half of our village lost -- we made a peace treaty with the fire nation."

Sokka raised a brow, looking curiously at Ottawa.

"A peace treaty? With the fire nation?"

His confusion was valid, since they didn't do 'peace treaties'. The fire nation only believed in loss and destruction, at least thats what Sokka thought.

"We were doubtful too, but at the time, that's all we had. So, we trusted them."

"That treaty was the biggest mistake of our village. Instead of attacking us head on, they sent troops to live around the area. They began destroying the land -- killing trees, tempering with the spirit world, and killing anyone who stepped foot outside Imaza. We have been trapped here. Unable to fight against the troops, our people have died from sickness, lack of crops, and smoke in the air. If these troops do not leave soon, our people will go extinct."

The realization hit Aang like a gut of wind, knocking him back. These people -- people who have been here since the beginning, since Oma and Shu created earthbending, and they would soon be a distant memory because of the fire nation.

"So.. you want me to get rid of the troops?"

Aang asked with uncertainty, messing with his pants. He looked at Katara and Sokka, who were both staring at him before he even turned his head.

"Yes. Not only you, Avatar, but your friends, Katara and uh.. uhm.. Soyki."

Sokka frowned, groaning at the name.

"I believe you can free our people, free the spirit world from the fire nation's torture."

...

THANK YOU FOR READING MY FIRST CHAPTER!!

#avatar the last airbender #sokka x reader #aang #katara #sokka #fandom #fanfic #fluff #smut #earthbending

[azure-firecracker]

ATLA Live Action Stream of Consciousness (Episode 1, Part 3).

How does Gran Gran know all of this (how does she know that Aang is the avatar?)

I AM SORRY ANIMATED KATARA WOULD NOT GO HIDE BECAUSE SOKKA TOLD HER TO! Yeah character reinterpretation is a thing but no.

Okay Katara’s monologue to Sokka I see her character there she is! And confirmed the problem was the directing because Kiawentiio acted the hell out of that. Now do more of it! I have also seen her energy in interviews and I know she can bring the power if they just…let her.

“Lord of snow and ice” lmao

Zuko continues to be a reckless idiot that’s good (don’t fall for it-proceeds to fall for it)

I wonder if the substitution of “glory” for “honor” has any deeper connotations because those words don’t mean the same thing.

I know the Water Tribe being SO unprepared for war was a key point in the original but I did like the moment with the village kids I thought it was sweet.

Okay Zuko is the one instance so far where I liked someone saying “burn it all down” because I’ve seen all the comments about him being soft and this reminded me that no, he’s still a bad guy for now.

Who told Kiawentiio to stop moving the second Ian Ousley touched her? That struggle (when she’s trying to stop Aang from turning himself in) doesn’t look realistic at all I’ve seen better stage directions in my high school theater productions. Somebody hire new directors.

I know the Aang and Iroh scene is fanservice and I don’t care.

This Iroh is more overtly conflict averse and I like that we may be exploring that some more. I love Iroh but I’m also glad for the chance to get to see some of his flaws.

The transition onto the Water Siblings flying on Appa was awesome and very reminiscent of the cartoon. I don’t personally need this to resemble the cartoon too much in terms of energy because I can tell it’s so different, but those moments are nice.

God Zuko’s room looks like an emo theater kid’s room too.

He has a fucking detective wall it’s my murder mystery fanfic! Wish fulfillment! (Also self plug here’s the only fanfic I’ve ever finished I’m fond of it and you should check it out).

There’s some good old Zuko yelling.

Katara waterbending moment! Nice!

How are there 15 minutes left in the episode?

They’re fitting…another episode in here? Okay.

I’ve seen people say that it doesn’t make sense to have Aang go into the Avatar State when he sees Gyatso’s skeleton since he already knew about the genocide. I think it passes since seeing something is different than hearing about it. I do, however, think that we didn’t need to see the genocide, have Gran Gran tell Aang about the genocide, and see Aang react to Gyatso’s skeleton. One of those (probably the middle one) could have easily been removed to make time for some more character moments or something.

I miss Katara pulling Aang out of the Avatar state. The vision is nice but having it be Katara emphasized the power of friendship and family which they literally did…so why couldn’t they do it in a way that made Katara more useful? Because book 1 Katara already veers in the damsel in distress direction (ish-more so than in later books) without them taking away when she does important things. I did love the Katara/Aang hug though.

THE TRANSITION TO ZUKO WHEN AANG WAS LIKE “THIS WAS MY HOME AND NOW IT’S GONE” NARRATIVE FOILS MY BELOVED!

#atla #atla live action #natla #netflix atla #avatar the last airbender #katara #sokka #aang #zuko #iroh #atla stream of consciousness

[innocentimouto]

Positive ways to explore Jet

The Older Sibling

Him being very good with kids. Not to the point of shielding kids entirely from war because...war. Also him taking the role of the adult to the point he ignores a lot of his emotional needs and possible ways he could be wrong. Swearing to protect kids under his care at all costs.

Jet walking into a village and seeing some kids suffering and wanting to help, but if it would endanger the kids he already has with him, he won't risk it.

Jet actually falling for Katara and the Freedom Fighters noticing and wondering if he'll back out from the plan and Smellerbee getting angry and Jet promising that they always come first even though he likes Katara.

(I said positive, not healthy)

Not having faith in the Avatar

What's his view on Aang? Is he a kid to him, or does being the Avatar make him an exception?

For someone constantly painted as an extremist by the fandom, he's not interested in getting Appa to help them or in the fact that Aang's the Avatar. None of the kids are excited about it either. Book 1 had a lot of characters treat Aang differently just because he was the Avatar, whether positively or negatively.

Jet didn't care. There has to be many people who gave up hope on the Avatar. What did they go through? Did they lose hope or did their parents lose hope and so the novelty of the Avatar was never passed on to them?

Exploring that along with Aang's heavy weight of having to save the world and then learning some people gave up hope and the guilt he could internalize from that.

Also Aang bringing hope to people! Aang trying to get Jet to be a kid like he did to Katara. Aang's habit of having fun and bringing joy to others.

Fine with being a villain

I'm interested in the idea that Jet could recognize how bad it is to hurt innocent people and children but seeing no other way to save the kids and himself. Jet ignoring the wrongness of his actions until confronted again and again and then he snaps that it's war, who actually believes anyone isn't getting their hands dirty. War isn't a cute little hero story where you have the power and luxury to always do the right thing.

Jet never allowing himself to sit with his thoughts because then he'll look at the kids around him and then look at himself and then look at how much land his people lost and wonder if he will ever recognize himself again, wonder if it's gotten to a point that he can't remember who he was before the war destroyed his home.

Freedom Fighters not being manipulated

Tired of the gang take. He's 16. He's in the same boat as them. Develop the Freedom Fighters more and their relationship with Jet. Show their reasons for hating the Fire Nation. Jet thought Sokka would understand his actions. There's no way he then assumed the people he lived with wouldn't. The Freedom Fighters knew what they were doing.

Well knew to the point that Jet knew, which is to say traumatized children in war.

Give reasons for why these kids didn't choose to live in other villages. Trauma. Talk about the trauma. They weren't kids playing at being vigilantes under some brainwashing cult leader. They lived in trees, near a village that we still don't know if it was occupied or taken over. Trees. Imagine the winters. How many of them died from the elements? How dangerous was it to simply stay in a village instead?

Have the Freedom Fighters be morally gray too. The show could have used more of what could cause kids to ever do something so extreme something something tragedy of war something something judge the victims less than the perpetrators.

Fascination with waterbending or bending in general

Just sleeping on Hakoda adopting Jet. Or just Jet forming a relationship with any Water Tribe people. The Fire Nation tried to wipe out firebenders, and Katara survived against all odds. Even if we didn't have his quick thinking over how bending could work, out of pure spite he may just be interested in waterbending or airbending.

Maybe have him work with benders. Another contrast to Sokka who disliked bending in the beginning but could still find ways for it to be useful while Jet is fascinated by bending and also good at utilizing it.

Loss of culture

Contrast how much Katara strives to preserve and talk about her culture while Jet forgot everything. The idea is so foreign to him that he questions why it would even be important. Que Katara passionately talking about how it's their identity and a way they're connected to their people which inevitably leads to Jet understanding this is another thing the Fire Nation took from him, which he subconsciously always understood.

And then we have Jet, Katara, and Aang and conversations about importance of culture

Earth Kingdom Nonbenders (and Haru)

I've posted this before, but have Jet, Haru, Teo, Jin, Song and maybe some Freedom Fighters band together. Explore their different traumas and personalities. Will Jet take the leader role? How will Jet and Song feel being the only two without fathers?

Will Song's soft approach to everything rub Haru or Jet the wrong way? Does Jin remember the war or was she brainwashed? Will Teo hide how his father helped the army? Will anyone pick up on the fact that teasing Haru for his bending is triggering?

Having Jet in a group where he isn't the automatic leader seems like new territory and a good way to explore his character.

Also have Jet befriend and clash with people he's not directly responsible for.

#Jet #atla jet #atla

[akiizayoi4869]

Master Meta post (updating)

The Last Agni Kai

Azula's family does indeed owe her

Zuko at age 13 vs Azula at age 14

Azula fanfics that make her stand trial for war crimes

The most tragic character of the show is Aang, not Zuko

If Kuvira can be redeemed, so can Azula

The dumb letter in The Search

Zuko did not realize that Azula was abused

Zuko only asks Azula what's wrong with her one time in The Search

On the topic of Azula, Ozai, and Abuse

Zuko and Ozai in The Promise

The Search: a story about abuse, abuse apologism, and ableism

Smoke and Shadow: "Trust is for fools! Fear is the only reliable way!" On steroids

Stealing food: Suki Alone vs Smoke and Shadow

Comics! Zuko and Comics! Ursa don't care about Azula

Azula brought Zuko home with her because it's what Ursa would have wanted

Azula redemption circle jerk

Azula and Zuko in the Crystal Catacombs

Azula and Zuko in the first half of Book 3

Azula and Zuko headcanon

Zuko's fever dream

Ursa and Azula: "What is wrong with that child?"

Azula and Ursa: A complicated mother daughter relationship

Commentary from The Search and Smoke and Shadow

The Search commentary

Aang killing Ozai dies send a powerful message

"Azula should be blamed for everything wrong in Zuko's life"

Azula did not think that Zuko would join her in Ba Sing Se

Jet had every right to be suspicious of Zuko and Iroh

My thoughts on Uncle Iroh

Zuko and Mai in Nightmares and Daydreams

Mai and Zuko in The Beach

The Family Portrait

"I just asked if you were cold, not for your whole life story."

Aang hate in fandom

Azula in Nightmares and Daydreams

Who cares if Azula did bad things? She's not real.

Why Azula killing Aang does not mean that she is evil and irredeemable

The Invasion Plan

Zuko and Jin's date

Zuko apologizing to Iroh

Why Zuko's arc falls flat for me

Most horrific Mai and Ty Lee take I've ever heard

Zuko doesn't know what's wrong with Azula in The Search

"She was right, of course, but it still hurt."

Azula did not hold power over Zuko

The bedroom scene

Aang when Appa gets stolen

Zuko needs to forgive Azula in order to move on and let go of the anger and resentment that he has towards her

The Infamous Smirk

The Southern Air Temple

Azula is not irredeemable

Zuko's redemption arc deserved better writing

Unpopular opinion: Aang understood Katara's pain better than Zuko did

Azula in The Storm flashback

King Bumi

Original cover art for The Search

Zuko and Azula both get undeserved hate

Why doesn't Zuko's crew know about his scar

Azula is not a feral animal or a bumbling crazy person

Azula was abused in the asylum

Book 3 should not have been the last season

Azula saying "I am about to celebrate becoming an only child!" to Zuko is not abuse

Little Azula eating mochi

Gene Yang's favorite panel in The Search

Yang forgot all of the bad things Zuko did when he wrote the comics

Azula and the doll

Azula and the sandcastle

Azula in the spirit temple

"I think we should take they're precious hope, and they're land, and burn it all to the ground"

Azula and the mirror scene

Iroh not wanting to fight Ozai

Azula calling Zuko "Zuzu" is not abusive

"Dad's going to kill you."

Tumblr ask: "Why do you think that so much of the ATLA fandom just violently hates Aang?"

Tumblr ask: The WORST Azula take ever(probably)

The Fire Nation and genocide

New(?) Unpopular Takes

Tumblr ask: Would you mind explaining the mirror scene?

Azula is not an irredeemable spawn of Satan

Part 2 of Azula is not an irredeemable spawn of Satan

Azula and war crimes list from villains wiki

Ghost Azula AU idea

Why the theory that Azula brought Zuko home to use him as a scapegoat makes no sense

Azula defeated herself before her agni kai with Zuko happened

Kya and the Southern Raiders

Iroh encouraging the toxic sibling rivalry between Zuko and Azula

Suki Alone

Sokka's trauma

Zuko was a willing participant in the sibling rivalry between him and Azula

Iroh never told Zuko what the "correct way" was

Azula sketch

Stop downplaying Sokka

Azula the mochi thief: wanted dead or alive

DOBS Kataang kiss

Tumblr ask: Azula slept her way to the top🤮

Sokka training the children of the Southern Water Tribe

Azula and Zuko in the Lost Adventures comics

Azula did not force Mai to join her in Omashu

Atla fandumb thinks that Azula should not have told Ursa what she overheard that night

#atla #my metas #azula

[impossiblycolorfulpanda]

Aang: Hey guys. Zuko and I are gonna need Appa for a while. If anyone wants to come with us, by all means hop on.

Katara: Why? What’s going on.

Aang: Vaatu has Azula. We’re going to get her back.

Katara: You two are still trying to save her? Still trying to fix her? Even after everything she’s done?

Aang: First of all, I don’t like the term ‘fixing,’ she’s a person, not a wind-up toy. Secondly, what are we supposed to do? Just let her suffer and die?

Katara: (shrugs)

Aang: You don’t have to come along, ya know. We all know how much you don’t like her.

Katara: And why do you think that is? She took over Ba sing se, it was her idea to sentence the entire earth kingdom to suffer the same fate as the air nomads, she shot you and Zuko, she tried to shoot me, she attacked Suki, and held a bunch of kids hostage. She’s dangerous and insane. She had plenty of chances to change and rejected them.

Zuko: I won’t let her commit any more war crimes, but I won’t turn my back on her either. I owe her too much.

Katara: I get that she’s your sister, she helped save your life and overturned your banishment, Zuko, but she tried to kill you and corrupt you afterwards and has become viciously psychotic. (To Aang) Don’t you get it? She almost killed you! Another fire nation monster almost took someone else I care about the most away from me! I swore to myself I wasn’t gonna let that happen! Not again!

Aang: This isn’t like with your mom or with your dad, Katara.

Katara scoffed.

Aang: Your mom dying, Vaatu killing your dad, none of that was your fault. Don’t ever tell me that I don’t understand!

Katara: I’m sorry I dismissed your tragedy before. I just don’t get how you can be so easily forgiving. I once told you that I will never forgive Yon Rha, regardless, if Hama killed him or not. As for Vaatu, he’s proven to be the worst of the worst, I, personally, wanna do a lot more than just kill him. I want him to suffer as badly as possible, for everything that he’s done. And he’s going to. But I thought what I said about the southern raiders would teach you something.

Aang: Teach me what?

Katara: That some people don’t deserve to be forgiven. You don’t owe people who hurt you any forgiveness.

Aang: Look, I’m sorry I was demanding and forceful about forgiveness before. I realize that I wanted you to forgive for my sake rather than for your own. But forgiveness is not about deserve, it doesn’t make you weak, it doesn’t make you a doormat. You can still set up boundaries, you can still be concerned for your own safety. Yes, it is hard, but trust me, it’s worth it. Once the threat level of your enemies is neutralized than that’s the moment where it’s recommended to forgive them, not for them but for yourself, if you don’t then they take power over you. Forgive them for your OWN sake.

Katara: You think rescuing her will reduce her threat level and it’ll persuade her to be on our side? Even when she’s good enough of a liar to fool even Toph? You found out that the air nomad philosophy was flawed and sometimes hypocritical. You’ve broken your no kill rule many times and you’ve never even noticed but learned to be ok with it. I bet that means you understand that some people deserve to die.

Aang: Are you saying I should kill her when I get the chance? I don’t need to kill her. I’ve said before, ever since I reopened all my chakras, Azula and I have become more connected than ever. I can see past her lies better than Toph can. Yes, I’ve broken the oath, as did the other monks in a desperate attempt to survive, even when that meant going against their own lessons. It all still haunts me, but it shows that things aren’t as clear cut as I used to believe, and a certain amount of inner darkness is needed for internal balance. My culture’s a part of me but it doesn’t define me, and as the avatar, I’m required to embrace all ideologies, even some completely opposite of my own, I don’t need to trade one for the other.

Zuko: Can we hurry this along? Azula still needs us.

Aang: Clocks ticking guys, anyone who wants to come needs to head on Appa now.

Sokka: We’ll likely run into Vaatu again. You’re gonna need all the help you can get.

Sokka, Suki, Toph, Mai, Ty Lee, Aang and Zuko hopped on Appa. Zuko saw Katara standing there.

Zuko: Katara, please.

Katara clutched his fists, sighed and climbed aboard.

Aang: Yip-Yip.

Appa than launched off.

#atla #atla au #atla headcanons #aang #azula #zuko #katara #sokka #toph #ty lee #suki #mai #this is supposed to be a parallel to the southern raiders #ozai #vaatu #atla book 4 air #ozai is vaatu

[thebluesunflower44]

wow. aang really put appa to sleep for a 100 years too in that iceberg?? that never occurred to me

#was that even healthy man #poor appa must've been so cold #i'd like to know more about this like did that have repercussions?? #did aang's powers take care of appa? #if aang had captured another person in that iceberg with him would they have stagnated too??? #answers pls #aang #atla appa #this is also prob a stupid question that I'll hit myself for tom morning but oh well #blue speaks

[littlegingermochipie]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

the musical scores would be:

a rumour in ba sing se

once upon an agrahāyana

caldera holds the key to your heart

learn to wield it

learn to wield it (dancing dragon reprise)

in the dark of the moonless night

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

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

[jello-in-my-bello]

It’s time that we had a real conversation about Aang...

For the main character of a television series, Aang somehow almost always finds himself under-rated and dismissed in fans’ posts. You see all these posts and, when they do reference him, it’s usually accompanied by the phrases “immature” and “12-year-old boy.” I mean honestly, in some ATLA fans posts, it seems as if Aang’s name is almost synonymous with the word immaturity--and it’s been that way for years. I’ve always wondered why people discredited him. Was it because they saw his age and immediately ruled him out? Is it an excuse for Katara and Aang to have never happened? Was calling him the most immature character a way to bring up their favorite characters? Or did they simply get conditioned to think Aang was immature because everyone just... said he was? Well, I think Aang’s the most mature character (from start to finish) on the show, and Imma tell you why. 

I think that Book 1 Aang is the Aang that everyone has stuck in their head. We get introduced to Aang in a strange way: he’s a boy frozen in an iceberg, and the first thing he asks is to go penguin sledding. Then he boldly explores a fire navy ship after being told it might not be a great idea. This kid’s kinda stupid, we think. Why does he care about penguin sledding? Why does he explore something he is told not to? Then he stops at Kyoshi Island to ride the Unagi, then he stops at Omashu to ride the delivery service, and then he lets the gang stop at other locations—having mini adventures—without worrying about learning waterbending on any sort of timeline. Why does he choose to explore all these different places at first rather than master the four elements? Doesn’t he even care about being the Avatar? Ah... that’s right. He’s only 12. 

Except surmising his entire maturity (or lack thereof) to the fact that he stops for these adventures means that you are ignoring one glaring detail of the show: Airbender and nomad culture. Aang asking Katara to go penguin sledding instead of what year it was and taking his friends to all those random stops in B1 so that he can explore can not be chalked up to immaturity. Because then you are ignoring an entire culture. We don’t get to see a lot of airbenders, and I think that plays into the problem, but from what we do know, we learn that a critical part of their culture is that they travel. A lot. And experience different cultures. A lot. Think about all the different places he’s referenced going to 100 years ago in the series. Then think about all the friends he’s talked about having in these obscure places—and it always sounded like he visited them more than once. Traveling, experiencing different cities, and meeting new people was a part of him and a part of his culture. He wasn’t being a 12-year-old when he stopped to ride the Unagi or the delivery shoots in Omashu, he was being an air nomad

On a similar note, one of Aang’s most notable traits is saying, “Hey, check this out,” excitedly while doing some air bending trick that seems juvenile--like spinning marbles around or doing an air scooter.  People look at him doing this and his previously mentioned traits and go, “Oh, what a kid.” But here’s the thing: we can’t roll our eyes at his persistent need to show people marbles floating in the air or his air scooter. In the episode “Southern Air Temple,” we see Monk Gyatso—an extremely old, wise air bender—throwing cakes on other monks’ heads, and then we’re told throughout the series that Airbenders were known for their playful nature. Airbenders didn’t use their bending the same way other benders do. For example, Waterbenders might show off their skills by creating a giant wave and being like, “Look how cool!” (See: Katara, like every time she learns a new move.) We know Airbenders have some pretty powerful moves--we’ve seen the tornado Aang created, the air body imprint of Aang that slammed Zuko back--but they don’t show off those moves because they’re so combative and not so fun. They show off the good-natured side of air bending (ex: Gyasto’s staff surfing when he was a child).  So those marble/air scooter tricks can’t be watered down to 12-year-old immaturity. Because he’s not being a kid when he does those things, he’s being an Airbender. People also tend to look over the fact that he is a survivor of a genocide. You need to keep in mind that he is a living relic and the only example left of what his race was. So even later in the series when he continues to show people those tricks, he’s showing them not just for fun, but to keep his culture alive. And what do you think he’s going to show them: a tornado with random objects flying around in it or two marbles flying in his hands? Which is a better representation of Airbender culture?

Also, do not forget that Aang earned his arrows. Airbenders are not just regular benders; they are known for being especially enlightened. You don’t just need to be a master at airbending to get your arrows—you also need to be a master at their culture. Aang was an enlightened boi. Look at all the speeches that he gave as the series continued. He didn’t just magically become wise in the course of a few months because he had to fight the Firelord, he just tapped into what was always there and never showed. The maturity was always there, and the receipts are in the arrows. 

So, I’ve gone over why he’s not as immature as everyone thinks, but why do I think he’s the most mature on the show? It’s because his emotional maturity is freaking through the roof. He’s part of a genocide, his culture is mocked, the few things—his clothing and glider—that he had left from his home were completely destroyed, and he had to do something that severely went against what he believes in. And he almost never loses his shit. In fact, we only ever see him get actually upset (we’re not counting the Avatar state cause that’s a whole different thing) 3 times in the series: when he was telling Katara about how the monks wanted to take him away from Gyatso, the episode when Appa was stolen, and when he was explaining that no one understands the position he is in (in terms of killing Ozai). Think about how much we saw everyone else freak out over the course of the show? About even smaller things.

Katara and Zuko are generally accepted as the two most mature characters of the series. But why? Zuko is continuously snapping at everyone, and, yes, he matured. But he is not completely there yet. He still somewhat believes in revenge (See: Southern Raiders), and it’s only at the last episode of the series that he understands violence is not the answer. And Katara? She acts very mature towards everyone else, but when it comes to her own emotions? She’s a whole basket full of mess. (See: Southern Raiders, again. Or anytime she uses anger as her way to show she’s “passionate.”) A good way to showcase the difference between Aang and these two is realizing that all of them lost a parent from the war and analyzing at how they handled it. (For Zuko let’s focus on the idea that he never really had a father) Katara lost her mother, Zuko his father, and Aang his father, Gyatso. Throughout the series, losing their parent was a huge topic point for both Katara and Zuko so much so that it was as if they thought no one else had ever suffered. (Katara, we see you telling Sokka that he didn’t love your mom the same). Aang, however, acknowledges his pain, tells stories of Gyatso and uses him as an example of what he wants to live up to— eventually coming full circle at the end wearing Gyatso’s beads and an identical outfit. I can’t imagine a more mature way to handle what happened than that.

Basically, what I’m trying to say is, maturity isn’t based on how you have fun, it’s based on how you react to hard situations. And nobody, nobody reacted better in those situations than Aang. So if you watched Avatar and thought it was a story about a young boy maturing, then you misjudged. It wasn’t a story about an immature boy growing up. It was a story of an Airbender becoming an avatar. 

#i just had to get this out #avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar aang #avatar gaang #avatar the legend of aang #atla aang #atla #atla meta #aang #gaang #the last airbender #airbender #avatar rant

[raewritez]

Still

based on this request: I’m thirsty for a love triangle. Maybe Sokka and Zuko fighting for the reader’s affection. And she chooses ____!

warnings: one swear word right there ⬇️, aangst, simping

It fucking hurt.

Sure, Sokka knew Zuko was good now, and he knew that the two of you had history. But he couldn't have prepared himself for the ache that took place in his chest whenever you would choose to sit by Zuko around the campfire, when you would tease him in that playful tone of yours, when you would smile at him and it seemed like the sun beamed a bit brighter. It hurt because Sokka didn't get that anymore. Or maybe he did, but he was too blinded by jealousy to process the fact that you cared about both of them. In Sokka's mind, your gaze was always on Zuko, on his stupid fluffy hair and his oh-so-perfect stupid face. Your hand was always somewhere on him; on his arm, around his shoulder, on his face when you healed the cuts that resulted from your latest skirmish. He could only clench his jaw, standing and storming off to where he could be alone with his misery. He'd feel your eyes on him as he walked away, probably widened in confusion and your head probably tilted in that stupid, adorable way that made Sokka's heart melt every time. But he'd continue, not sparing you a glance. It's not like you cared, anyway.

You did care.

What was his problem? Things hadn't been this tense between you and Sokka since you first met, since he labeled you as the enemy and scoured you with his glares. But that was months ago. You weren't used to this standoffishness, not used to the way he'd turn on you and leave you in the dust. No, you were used to Sokka, your Sokka. The one that held you when you cried when the Earth Kingdom fell and Zuko sided with his sister, the one that teased you mercilessly with that lopsided grin of his, the one that raced you to the top of mulberry trees to see who could get the best fruit. The one that came to you when his mind was racing, face nuzzled into your neck as your fingers pulled his hair loose from his wolf-tail. That was your Sokka, not the stranger that walked away from you now.

Your concerned gaze was broken by a soft tap on your shoulder.

"Hey, you ok?"

You forced a smile, turning to Zuko. "I'm fine. Just tired. Your story put me to sleep."

He scoffed, bumping you and turning away to hide his grin. "Well, it's actually my Uncle's story. You can blame him."

"I'm sure I'd be more interested if Iroh was telling it," you grinned. "Maybe you're just a bad storyteller."

"I'm a great storyteller. You're just a bad listener."

"Mhm. Sure."

He let out a breathy chuckle, eyes darting to your face. Spirits, he'd missed you. This is what he'd longed for those three years; this closeness. Memories of his childhood ran through his mind - memories of playtime and friendship, of two best friends who had nothing to fear but curfews and monsters under the bed. Zuko had fought and struggled, had chosen right and chosen wrong, but all those choices had led him here. Back to you. And now, his body lit aflame by your touch and his heart skipping by the song of your laughter, he'd never been more certain of anything in his life.

He was thrilled to have you back, but it was different. Before, in the painted halls of the Firenation palace and under the maroon quilts of his mother's bed, he'd had you all to himself. Now, he had to share. It was strange, seeing you laugh so boisterously with Toph or hug Aang so closely, seeing you walk arm in arm with Katara as you went into town for groceries. He was in much better standing with the group now - he knew he was forgiven for his mistakes and was welcome to share in the friendship they so generously provided. He was overwhelmingly grateful, but he cherished the moments he spent with you. And they'd have been better, if not for the other boy in the group.

Zuko had no problem with Sokka. Quite the contrary, he admired him for his leadership and laughed at his jokes, and the time he spent with him was something he enjoyed. But he envied him. Zuko saw the way the Water Tribe boy looked at you; like you were the sun itself and had put all the stars in the sky just for him. He saw the fondness in the other boy's eyes when you spoke, saw the comfortability in his movements as he wrapped an arm around your shoulder. He had to remind himself that the two of you were close - that you'd spent months traveling together while he chased you all over the world. He'd guessed you would be close, but it seemed he'd underestimated the power of your love for your friends and this boy. Because you were brighter when he was around, eyes flickering to him as if on instinct whenever he arrived at the campsite. Your eyes grew tender and your voice soft, and Sokka's affection mirrored your own.

Your eyes locked on his, and he felt like he could drown in them forever. Your lips curved into a grin, and his worries and insecurities were washed away as quickly as they came. You stood up, offering him your hand. "Come on, let's get ready for bed."

He took it eagerly, smiling up at you in a way that made your heart warm. You reached up to ruffle his hair, skipping away and laughing at his indignant "Hey!" before he caught up to you and flicked your forehead. You swatted his hand away, glaring up at him. He only smirked before walking ahead of you.

You grabbed your bedroll, laying it out on the dusty ground. Zuko laid his close by. After putting out the fire and bidding goodnight to your friends, casting a sad look to Sokka's figure which sat idly upon the cliffside, you made your way inside and shut your eyes, Zuko not far behind.

///

Yep. Sokka was annoyed. He thought going for a walk would clear his mind, maybe preoccupy his thoughts with something other than you, but he guesses he was wrong. It was impossible when he could hear your laughter all the way from camp, no doubt directed towards the Firebender. He swallowed roughly, picking up his pace. He couldn't stand it; you and him. Sokka had no problem with Zuko. They were friends! Well, pretty much. Zuko had proved himself to be loyal, and there was no reason for him not to be trusted. He was cool - a little awkward albeit, but hey, Sokka can understand where that would come from after spending three years as an isolated, ponytail-wearing, Avatar-obsessed banished prince. He had no problem with Zuko, really. He guessed that he just...missed you.

Katara said he was jealous, something he promptly waved away, dismissing her with a wave. She'd rolled her eyes and called after him, "You can't ignore it forever, Sokka!" Ok, whatever Katara.

He was not jealous. He didn't care about the time you spent with the fire bender, or the way you seemed happier now that he was around. He didn't care that he hadn't talked to you in two days, and he definitely didn't care that your sleeping bag was sidled up cozily next to Zuko's.

"I'm so stupid," he muttered, lowering himself to the ground. He swung his legs over the cliff, feet dangling in the air. He turned his head, catching glimpse of the dying embers in the campfire, Toph's rock tent and Katara and Aang's sleeping figures, and you, asleep with your arms stretched in Zuko's direction. He held his head in his hands, sighing frustratedly. Yeah, maybe he was a little jealous. But really, why wouldn't he be? He used to sleep next to you, he was the one who made you laugh and woke you up in the middle of the night to sneak a ride on Appa. Now what? It'd been days since the two of you had a real conversation, so different from the constant chattering and jokes that had made his time saving the world so much more bearable. He missed you. So, so much. Spirits, what he would give for a day with you, the ones like you used to have. Where you would do whatever you wanted and usually end up scolded by Katara, but those were the days that made him forget the war and the reality of his unfortunate circumstances, when his heart was light and his worries quenched.

Those days meant everything to him, but he was afraid they were expendable. Because now you spent them with Zuko without so much as a glance his way. Sure, it wasn't like he was making much an effort, but still. You'd told him about Zuko; about the friend you'd lost to banishment who'd come out like his father. He'd thought you were crazy when you said with such conviction that he still had some good in him, but had comforted you nonetheless. He sat with you in his arms and told you the story of the time he got beat up by a penguin back home. He felt proud when he made you laugh.

You meant everything to him, but maybe it was different for you. He knew you loved him, although maybe not in the way he was beginning to question his own love as being, but he knew you loved him. You made sure he knew; in your smiles, in your words, in your touch. But he also knew you loved everyone else - the way you talked with his sister and softened her edges, allowing her to rest from the motherly role she put herself in and taking her under your arm instead. The way Toph latched onto you, teasing you with utter fondness and accepting your help without resistance. The absolute adoration that Aang held for you - resting his head on your shoulder and coming to you with his troubles, always searching for your guidance in his trials and relying on your strength and unwavering faith in him.

But it seemed different with Zuko. With him you were unbearably gentle, reassuring him of his value and rekindling the lost friendship of children ripped apart. It was obvious to everyone; the pure affection you held for this boy. It was obvious to Sokka, and, spirits, it stung. Because had you ever looked at him like that? Had he ever made you laugh as loudly as you did for Zuko, who was seemingly not even trying? He didn't know and it ate away at him, clawing at his chest and leaving it burning. Maybe he was in too deep now, too lost in love and bitterness to see the olive branches you offered him and the way your eyes darkened when he turned them away. It was fine. He was perfectly fine and would continue to be fine, even as Zuko's hand reached out for yours. Even as he felt you slipping away, even as he was alone. So terribly, painfully alone.

———-

part two?👀

#avatar the last airbender #prince zuko #atla #fire lord zuko #aang x reader #legend of korra #sokka x reader #zuko x reader #avatar #avatar: tla #sokka x y/n #sokka x you #zuko x you #zuko imagine #zuko x y/n #suki #toph #sokka #zuko #zukka #katara #aang #the gaang #sokka oneshot #sokka imagine #backbender #fire bender

[highfantasy-soul]

NATLA - Episode 1: Aang (2/4)

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

An explanation of what I'm doing here and my history with ATLA. Of course, full spoilers ahead. <previous/next>

A core theme is introduced right off with Gyatzo talking to the council about how young Aang is: He makes the point that Aang doesn't even know who he is yet, and if he's going to have all this power, it's important that he knows who he is before everyone starts telling him who he should be.

We see this come up with the various incarnations of the Avatar telling Aang what they had to be, with the leaders at the Northern Water Tribe expecting him to lead the assault for them, etc

And we see the toll this takes on other children who are forced into expectations before they solidify who they are - namely Zuko, Aang's mirror in the series

The concept that power without understanding core moral foundations is again, seen through the series as children are forced to bear the burden of the war - we see it with Jet, Sokka, Azula, Zuko, etc

They are who they are because their identity was formed by the war, not a safe environment where they could grow and learn in a healthy manner - this is what Gyatzo doesn't want to deprive Aang of - especially since the power of the Avatar can easily overcome the individual core of a person (as we see in the very final battle of the animated series) - Aang needs to be strong in who he is or else the Avatar power could overwhelm him.

On a side note, I think this is why I struggled with Korra so much - her entire identity was being the Avatar - she had no other character purpose. All her self-worth was tied up in being the most powerful, the most influential, the most popular and that all stemmed (I believe) from her finding out she was the Avatar at like, 3 years old. It warped her sense of self so innately that, I believe, it turned her into a really, really bad Avatar

We see Aang verbalize his intentions: he doesn't want power, he doesn't want to be special, he just wants to have fun, hang out with his friends, and be a kid - he's a free spirit.

This carries over from the animated series (and later scenes) with Aang just running off to join other kids playing, pretending he's just like them and not special at all - he never invokes his Avatar status to be over the other children - he just wants to play.

Honestly, I like monologues - characters telling someone else exactly what they're feeling/why they're doing things - they're some of my favorite parts of the Daredevil tv show and who can forget Sam's monologue to Frodo in The Two Towers? - so I love Aang pouring out his fears to Appa. I love his little quip about 'The monks won't even trust me to feed the baby bison, how am I supposed to save the world?' - it really shows the stakes Aang used to have, and the stakes that are now forced on him.

Aang's reason for leaving the temple is slightly altered from the cartoon, but I think the effects on him remain the same: He jumped on Appa because he was afraid and he wanted to clear his head, but he did fly off pretty far - far enough that he didn’t even realize the temple was being attacked. Maybe he was just headed to a surrounding island to cruise around before heading back, but the end result is the same: he wasn't there because he was afraid and looking for some level of escape, so he couldn't help defend the temple against the fire nation.

He does deny his responsibility as the Avatar, but I do think something is lost in that Aang didn't make the conscious decision to fully run away from the role of Avatar, specifically, but his guilt at leaving remains because of the effect it had - guilt that is a constant for him through the animated series as well. (also, a 12 year old running away from home is pretty common and they come back like, the same day, so even if teh animated Aang doesn't realize it at the time, it's likely he would have gone back quickly just to be surrounded by people who cared about his well being - even though that would be all over the world during his training)

Aang is constantly emotionally hurt by the fact that he wasn't there to help the Air Nomads, nor the people of the world for 100 years and how long he intended to stay away when he flew off on Appa doesn't really change that.

Bookending the episode with the Air Nomads - first when they're flourishing, then after the genocide, was a great way to hammer home those stakes: the fire nation isn't just a looming threat, they've already accomplished so much violence and oppression.

I already posted a bit about why I specifically loved the live action starting off with the Air Nomads before the genocide, so here it is if you wanted to read it.

#natla #atla #netflix avatar the last airbender #natla spoilers #media analysis

[beifongsss]

threatened by the blind bandit [zuko]

Pairing: Zuko x Beifong!reader (also an earthbender)

Summary: requested by anon. “ hii 👉👈 could we get a nervous, flustered!zuko going to sokka for advice on how to get you to like him back?”. This also takes place during season three sometime during the Ember Island Players. I also made the reader Toph’s older sister because I thought it’d be interesting 🙊

i also kind of changed it a little too much so i hope you still enjoy it anon! <3 sorry :(

~

The first time Prince Zuko had seen you had been the time that Azula had been tracking you and the rest of the Gaang with her mysterious machine. You had gotten there along with your sister, bursting in to help Aang fight against the royal siblings. As Toph ran off to help fight against the princess, you had cornered the prince, a slightly crazed look present in your eyes due to your lack of sleep. He had exchanged glances with his uncle before Iroh stepped forward, his hands raised in surrender.

“We mean you and the avatar no harm,” Iroh had said softly. You had tilted your head to the side, glancing at him before making eye contact with Zuko. His eyes had widened as they met yours, a faint blush spreading up his neck that was only visible to Iroh. Your gaze had hardened as you looked at the prince, backing up slightly before speaking.

“If it were just you, I’d believe your words. But since he’s here, I’m not taking any chances,” you said sharply. Turning around, you waved your hand behind you, causing the ground underneath them to become uneven and send them stumbling against the wall behind them. With another wave, pieces of rock flew towards them, chaining their hands to the wall.

Zuko’s eyes didn’t leave your form as you jumped into battle, fighting his sister with a grace that admittedly made his stomach flip. He was so caught up in watching you that he didn’t realize that Iroh had freed himself until he spoke. “Maybe you should spend less time looking at the earthbender and more time trying to free yourself.”

Zuko scowled as he ripped his gaze from you, settling on shooting his uncle a glare. “Free me.”

Iroh chuckled at his nephew’s words but did as he said. Zuko wasted no time in going after Azula, trying not to get distracted by the way you made bending seem so easy. You didn’t notice him, too busy making sure that Sokka was safe from any stray fire or falling rocks.

Eventually, you became the last thing on his mind. Once Azula had attacked Iroh, his well-being became the only thing that mattered. When he screamed at the Gaang to leave him alone, he felt your gaze on him and he hesitantly glanced up, his vision blurred by the tears welling up in his eyes. You took a hesitant step forward, only stopping when Zuko flinched and looked away, his tears finally spilling.

“We have to go,” Toph exclaimed, grabbing onto your hand and pulling you towards Appa. “Now!”

You allowed your sister to pull you away, throwing one last glance behind you. You felt your heart clench at the sight of Zuko hugging Iroh. You climbed onto Appa and sat next to Sokka in silence as you flew away.

~

You didn’t see the prince again until Azula and her friends infiltrated Ba Sing Se. You and Katara had stayed behind to plan the invasion into the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun while Aang, Sokka, and Toph each embarked on their respective journeys.

“You’ve got company,” a Dai Li agent called out, tossing someone down next to you. You gasped quietly, turning away from the tunnel you had been creating for you and Katara to escape through.

“Zuko?” you questioned, exchanging an uncertain glance with Katara.

Katara stepped forward, an angry expression on her face. “Why did they throw you in here? Oh, wait, let me guess. It's a trap. So that when Aang shows up to help me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches!”

The prince stayed silent as Katara continued her ranting. “You're a terrible person! You know that? Always following us! Hunting the Avatar! Trying to capture the world's last hope for peace! But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood!”

You ran in front of Katara, placing a hand on her arm as you noticed Zuko’s expression. “Katara maybe you should calm down.”

She looked at you incredulously before yanking her arm away from you. You flinched out of instinct, stumbling back and landing on your butt next to Zuko, who immediately helped you up and stood in front of you. “Don’t.”

Noticing the way her arm was raised, and how it had implied that she was going to strike you, Katara took a step back. She brought her arm back down to her side, shooting a worried glance at you. She was surprised at the prince’s actions; she had never seen him be that gentle, not even with Iroh. You kept your gaze down, admittedly feeling safe knowing that Zuko was standing in front of you.

“(Y/N),” Katara whispered. “You know I’d never-”

Her voice faded as she noticed Zuko’s fiery glare. Her tone changed as she addressed the prince. “I’m sorry for yelling at you.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Zuko said, his voice gruff and his eyes never leaving you. Katara opened her mouth to speak only to be interrupted by a loud boom coming from the tunnel you had begun earthbending.

“Aang!” you had exclaimed, running over to the avatar. “Where’s Toph?”

“She went to warn King Kuei about Azula. Sokka’s with her,” Aang replied. Your eyes widened before you began running back out through the tunnel.

“(Y/N)! Where are you going?” Katara asked, stumbling after you.

“To help my sister,” you replied fiercely. “And to make sure that Sokka doesn’t get injured!”

Katara tried to go after you only to be stopped by an enormous wall of crystal. Everyone in the catacombs stared after you as you ran away, amazed by what you had just done. Sure, they had known you were a talented earthbender, but this...this was raw power and it had shocked them into silence.

The silence was broken by Zuko, who was still staring wide-eyed at the tunnel you had escaped through. “Wow.”

Everyone else had turned to look at him, causing his cheeks to burn. Remembering his actions from earlier, Katara’s expression changed into a knowing one as she looked at the blushing prince. He avoided her gaze, instead looking at Aang, who’s face held a wide smile, before finally looking at his uncle, who couldn’t stay silent. “Staring at her again? Prince Zuko, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you are very enamored by the earthbender.”

Unfortunately, Zuko’s response was quickly ignored as Azula entered, two Dai Li agents at her side. Zuko got into a defensive position, forcing himself to stop thinking about the beautiful earthbender.

~

The third time you saw Zuko was when he finally joined the group at the Western Air Temple.

He had received a cold welcome from the group, you and Katara especially. After fleeing from Ba Sing Se, Katara had filled you in on what had happened after you left the catacombs, causing you to feel an ache in your chest for some unknown reason.

Maybe it was because you thought that there was no way Zuko could have been evil, not with the way he had shielded you when you thought Katara was about to strike you. Not with the way he threw himself over Iroh’s unconscious body when Azula has attacked, sobs racking his body. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because a part of you had felt your heart flutter when you noticed the soft way that Zuko had been looking at you in the catacombs.

But he was the prince of the Fire Nation, and you now knew that the Fire Nation could not be trusted. The only reason you were keeping him around was so that he could teach Aang firebending. Other than that, you were ready to throw him off a cliff, especially when you found out he had burned Toph’s feet.

You spent more time with the prince than you expected, especially after finding out that he was the only other bender that had any training in hand-to-hand combat. Before him, Sokka had been your sparring partner, but you were always hesitant to fight him because you were used to using your earthbending as an advantage and you didn’t want to hurt the nonbender. When you weren’t out sparring with Zuko, you spent your time with Sokka, ranting about said prince.

Sokka found the whole situation amusing. He could tell that Zuko had feelings for you. If the blush that coated his face every time you sparred wasn’t enough of an indicator, the way Zuko would stumble and stutter every time you addressed him was more than enough evidence. It also didn’t hurt that Toph could feel his heartbeat speed up whenever you were around him.

The water tribe boy leaned against a pillar as he watched the two of you spar, wincing slightly when you hesitated to strike and were hit with a fireball. Sokka’s lips twitched as you let out a hiss from where you were sitting, cradling your arm to your chest as you inspected the burn. Zuko ran forward, panic clear on his face as he took in the damage he had caused.

“(Y-Y/N), I-I’m so, so s-sorry,” Zuko stuttered out, crouching next to you as he reached for your arm. You glared at him, pulling your arm away from him as you rose to your feet. “I d-didn’t mean t-to.”

You didn’t say anything to him as you stalked away, deciding to find Katara so she could heal the burn. Once you were out of sight, Sokka stepped towards the prince, clapping slowly as Zuko scowled.

“You know, it’s pretty funny to watch you turn into a stuttering mess when you’re around her,” Sokka said, smiling widely. “I can help you with that.”

“Why would I accept any help from you,” Zuko replied rudely, turning to walk away.

“Because I’m her best friend,” came Sokka’s smug reply. “And trust me, if there’s anyone that knows how to deal with her anger, it’s me.”

Zuko paused, thinking over Sokka’s words before turning back around, a defeated look on his face. “Okay. Help me win her over. Please.”

~

Sokka did end up helping Zuko, to an extent. In return, Zuko had helped Sokka break his father and Suki out of the Boiling Rock. No matter how much the two boys would deny it, breaking in and out of the Boiling Rock had helped them grow closer together, something that annoyed you to no end.

Now, whenever you wanted to talk to Sokka, Zuko was right there next to him. It was like you could no longer avoid the prince no matter what you did.

After Zuko had helped Katara track down her mother’s murderer, she had finally forgiven him, leaving you as the only one who hadn’t welcomed him fully into the group. You did all you could to avoid him once the Gaang had reached Ember Island, spending most of your time with Appa.

~

“You have to get over it sometime,” Toph’s voice broke through the silence, startling you slightly as you turned to face her.

“What?” you asked, pretending to not know what she was talking about.

Toph remained silent as she stared at you, or at least as she stared at where she thought you were. In reality, she was staring at Appa as you stood off to the side. You tried your best to stifle a laugh.

“Why can’t you see he’s changed? Everyone else has, even the Sugar Queen,” Toph continued, crossing her arms. “Besides, I’m getting real tired of the way his heartbeat gets when you’re around. I swear you’re gonna kill that boy.”

You flushed at your sister’s words, opening your mouth to reply before you were interrupted by Sokka’s screaming.

“Let’s go see the play!”

“Look,” Toph said, beginning to walk away. “Just think about it okay?”

You stayed silent as you followed her, wondering when the hell she had grown up so much.

~

The play was set to start in a few minutes so you all decided to me your way to your seats. You were about to take a seat next to Toph when she pushed you away before pulling Katara down next to her. “Sorry this seat’s taken.”

You glared at your sister before sitting next to Katara, stiffening up when you looked next to you to see Zuko sitting there. The two of you blushed as you made eye contact.

“Toph’s a genius,” you heard Sokka snicker from behind you, causing you to sink down in your chair. The play began soon after and as far as plays go, this one was absolutely terrible. Hilarious, but terrible. You and Toph were having the time of your life laughing at the way everyone was being portrayed. You had no idea that the Zuko was paying a lot more attention to you than he was to the play.

Intermission came too soon (at least in your opinion) and you found yourself heading to the lobby to buy some fire flakes.

Back near the doors, Zuko was sitting down with his back against the wall and his head buried in his arms. He glanced up when he heard a set of footsteps approach him only to find Toph standing next to him. He put his head back down.

“You’re pathetic,” were the first words to come out of Toph’s mouth, causing Zuko to look up wildly, disbelief and offense visible on his face, not that Toph could see it.

“What?”

“You heard me,” the Beifong girl stated. “I can’t believe you’re over here wallowing in your pity instead of confessing to my sister.”

Zuko opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Toph. “Don’t deny it! In case you forgot, I can feel your heartbeat and I know that it goes crazy whenever you so much as think about her.”

Zuko’s face burned as he noticed the rest of the Gaang coming back.

“Just man up and tell her how you feel okay fire pants?” Toph spoke again before stomping back inside the theater.

Once everyone was settled back in their seats, the play began once again. After a shockingly accurate portrayal of you and the reveal of Toph as a buff man, the play finally got to when you had been trapped down in the crystal catacombs.

You and Katara shifted uneasily as Actress Katara raised her hand, causing Actor Zuko to step in front of Actress You and stop Actress Katara.

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on her,” Actor Zuko growled.

“What do you care?” Actress Katara replied. “This doesn’t concern you Zuko.”

“Yes it does!”

“Why?”

“Because I love her,” Actor Zuko roared. “Because I love her and I won’t let anyone hurt her.”

You tuned out the play when Actress You also professed her love for Actor Zuko, who then proceeded to kiss Actress You. You could feel Sokka’s stare burning into your head and you sunk low into your chair, turning to glance as Zuko only to find him already looking at you. You swallowed uneasily as you maintained eye contact only to break it when Aang spoke.

“Why are you all silent now?”

Katara glanced at the stage and then at the two of you as subtly as she could, not that you didn’t notice.

“Is it because of the confession?” Aang asked adorably. “It’s not like it’s weird, we already knew that Zuko liked (Y/N/N)!”

You heard Toph and Sokka try to stifle their laughs as you and Zuko sank impossibly low in your seats, flinching when you felt your arm rub against his.

~ It was dark out when you decided it was finally time to talk to Zuko. After searching for him in the house, you noticed flashes of light and you followed them to find Zuko firebending down at the beach.

You observed him for a while before deciding to speak up. “Zuko.”

Zuko flinched and whirled around, losing his footing when he saw you and toppling into the sand. “(Y-Y/N)!”

You smiled softly, offering him a hand. He took it, standing up and coming face-to-face with you.

“W-What are you d-doing out here?” Zuko asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I just thought I should tell you that I’m sorry for being so rude to you and not welcoming you into the group,” you whispered, your eyes never leaving his.

“You don’t h-have to apologize,” Zuko breathed, growing nervous under your soft gaze. “I d-deserved it, after everything I’ve done t-to you.”

“No. I was being unfair to you, even after you proved that you had finally changed,” you retorted, closing your eyes before continuing. “The truth is, I was upset that you had chosen Azula’s side because a part of me...a part of me has feelings for you, and I was angry with myself for letting myself fall for you.”

The silence that followed was deafening and you found yourself regretting your words. What if your sister and Sokka were wrong? What if they were just lying to you? There was no way that they could know how Zuko truly felt abou-

Your racing thoughts were silenced when you felt a pair of lips press against yours. Zuko’s hands trembled as they gripped your waist, pulling you closer to him. You returned the kiss, your hands weaving through his hair and your head spinning as you realized that you were kissing someone that had been considered your enemy for the longest time.

“I left the palace to train Aang,” Zuko said huskily, finally pulling away. His hands didn’t leave your waist. “But I know that I also left because I wanted to see you again and I wanted to prove to you that I wasn’t evil and that having feelings for someone as good as you wasn’t wrong.”

You stared at him before speaking once again. “I never thought you were evil.”

Zuko’s gaze changed to surprised before going back to the soft gaze he had been directing at you. Without saying anything, he pulled you into a hug breathing deeply at your words as a weight lifted off his chest.

“I never did,” you continued, clinging onto him. You stayed like that for a while before Zuko pulled back, staring at you for what felt like an eternity before stealing another kiss from you.

“I’m glad we finally talked,” he mumbled against your lips, causing you to chuckle.

“I can’t believe we have my sister to thank. She basically threatened me into talking to you,” you said, breaking the kiss.

Zuko’s eyes widened before he started laughing. Wrapping an arm around your shoulders, he began to guide you back to the vacation house, pressing a kiss to your temple as he smiled down at you.

“Funny. She threatened me too.”

~

hiiii i hope this was good i kind of struggled with how i wanted this to play out but i hope you enjoyed!!

#prince zuko x reader #atla zuko x reader #zuko #prince zuko #atla zuko #aang #avatar #avatar: tla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar toph #avatar aang #toph #toph beifong #avatar x reader #atla #katara #sokka #appa #zuko x reader #atla sokka #atla katara

[comradekatara]

hey! if you could choose any two characters to swap roles/abilities, who would you choose? (e.g., zuko and aang swap, aang becomes firelord prince/villain-to-be-redeemed charged with hunting zuko, while zuko becomes avatar/boy out of time), who would the characters be? Sorry if you've already been asked this!

well.... i was contemplating about an au wherein sokka is a waterbender and katara is a non-bender, and how that would change their dynamic. and then it got really fucking long. 

...

we open on sokka and katara going fishing. sokka is trying to show katara how to spear a fish. katara scoffs. “i don’t understand why you need a spear to catch a fish when you can literally take it out of the water with your mind.” sokka gets defensive. “freaky water magic isn’t everything, katara. knowing how to use tools and weapons is the more practical approach.” 

katara doesn’t understand how he could call it “magic” when it’s literally a part of him. doesn’t he know that it’s his responsibility to preserve their culture? that he’s the last southern waterbender left? sokka says, “exactly, they kill people like me. i’m not about to advertise it.” 

this argument, apparently, has been a long time coming. 

katara yells, “it’s like you don’t even care that mom died to protect you! this part of you, and this part of our people’s heritage!” 

sokka responds, “exactly! it’s my responsibility to keep our people safe, and i’m not letting anyone else die for me! i’d much rather keep you safe with weapons i know how to use than with magic powers i don’t even understand!” he’s on the brink of tears, wishing for some sort of distraction so that katara won’t notice him subtly use the back of his glove to wipe them away. 

just then, his mysterious magic powers summon a giant, glowing iceberg. that’ll do. “did you do that...?” katara asks, in awe. 

sokka grumbles, “i hope not.” katara barely hears him as she’s already hopping across the ice to get a better vantage point. it’s as if there’s someone trapped inside the ice! she grabs sokka’s club to crack the iceberg open. a giant beam of light emanates through the cracks and into the sky. 

the kid trapped in the ice falls and katara catches him. then he sneezes on sokka. then a gigantic furry monster sneezes on sokka. then the gigantic furry monster swims to their village with the three of them riding on his back. katara thinks it’s so fucking cool that they’ve met a real life airbender. sokka thinks it’s well…. impossible? or, not impossible, but. highly improbable. like, extremely improbable. something just isn’t right. 

“my brother’s a waterbender!” katara tells aang proudly. 

“no way, really?” aang exclaims. “that’s awesome!”

“yep!” katara beams. “the last in our tribe!”

“you’ve gotta show me!” aang says. 

“yeah, I’ll be sure to do that…” replies sokka, still extremely wary of this kid, who probably cut a deal with the fire nation and that’s why he was allowed to live, who is probably an enemy spy, who’s probably looking for a reason to decimate what’s left of their village… the pacifist monk robes are a decoy, obviously. 

lo and behold, less than a day later, aang set off a flare from the old fire nation shipwreck, and now the fire nation’s approaching. the hull of the ship tears down the village wall like it’s nothing. sokka puts on his warpaint and raises his club. he’s been ready for this since the other warriors left. 

the fight is much the same, but instead of using his boomerang, sokka panics and encases zuko’s head in a block of ice. aang swoops in and saves the day, he gets taken by zuko, katara insists on rescuing him, sokka’s already packed. 

they fly to the southern air temple at aang’s insistence. it does...not go well. but they do make a friend, and name him momo. 

their plan is to fly to the north pole so aang can learn waterbending from a master (“and sokka will too,” katara insists). turns out appa takes a lot of detours. aang wants to ride the giant koi on kyoshi island, despite the fact that sokka keeps insisting it’s a massive waste of time. they end up spending a little more time there than any of them had anticipated, thanks to being kidnapped by the kyoshi warriors. 

through suki, sokka learns that women can be warriors too. he gives katara his club and his spear, and tells her that she needs to learn how to protect herself. kataras like “ok you haven’t been listening to me for the past uhhh our whole lives but a cute girl kicks your ass once and now you’re a #feminist??? ok. fucking idiot.” 

they ride the mail slides in omashu, and aang finds an old friend. katara meets a cute boy, and starts a prison riot. (she’d obviously still be just as passionate about the earth kingdom occupation and rights for earthbenders despite being a non-bender.) she loses her mother’s necklace in the process. aang saves a town from a vengeful spirit, who takes sokka into the spirit world. apparently, sokka didn’t care much for the spirit world, and that’s all he’s gonna say on the matter. roku gives aang some grave news. 

with the knowledge that sozin’s comet approaches, aang is unbelievably stressed out. he needs to master all the elements by the end of summer and he doesn’t even know waterbending! “relax,” sokka says. “I can show you some of what I know.” they go find a puddle to splash around in. 

sokka shows aang how to turn water into large frozen cubes and rectangular prisms. that’s how he constructed his beautiful baby, his watchtower. then he shows aang how to make cylinders, which you can use as a telescope. triangular prisms, which refract light. dodecahedrons, which… look cool. aang’s like “okay, now how do I make a water whip?” neither aang nor katara are much impressed by sokka’s geometry lesson. aang decides that instead he’s gonna make a really big wave—at which point he promptly sends all of their supplies downstream. 

katara finds a waterbending scroll at the market, and she’s so excited to have found a tangible piece of her culture, that aang can actually learn off! that isn’t one of sokka’s shapes. (she says this to aang and they both descend into a fit of giggles.) sokka’s like “guys we need to get out of here these guys are Pirates.” his suspicions are confirmed when said pirates chase them all around town for no reason! 

or, well, one reason. turns out, katara stole from them. “it’s not stealing if it’s from pirates!” she insists. they literally steal stuff for a living, and besides, it should belong to them. sokka is the last living waterbender from the south! 

sokka’s like “okay none of that addresses my primary objection which is that if they find us they will kill us.” and then they find them, and try to kill them. sokka takes a bunch of water and freezes it right over their heads, knocking them all out before they even knew what hit em. “see! and you guys mocked my shapes!” 

(“you just hit them over the head! it was so unrefined!” retorts katara, wielding a club.) 

they manage to escape relatively unscathed, and while katara doesn’t get her necklace back, she does manage to re-steal the waterbending scroll. sokka admits that fine, maybe water whips are also useful. but dodecahedrons are sick af and should not be discounted! 

they meet jet. they cross a canyon. sokka goes fishing, unsuccessfully, and katara listens to aang work through his guilt, grief, and trauma. sokka gets sick from getting caught in a storm (katara could’ve told him that much—and she does), and then he gets katara sick and it’s up to aang to find them a cure. he does, but refuses to elaborate on where he found those frogs or why he was gone for so long. 

aang makes katara a new necklace since she lost her old one. they meet a fortuneteller. sokka fights a bunch of flat-earthers. they run into bato. bato takes them ice dodging. some hot girl riding a giant mole seems to be helping zuko. katara gets her mother’s necklace back. 

against sokka’s warning, they attend a fire nation festival in the colonies, and it ends in disaster. they meet jeong jeong, who agrees to teach aang firebending. aang gets a little too eager, and loses control of his firebending, burning katara’s hands. jeong jeong, who saw sokka waterbending while fishing (as much as he hates to admit it, katara was right; it is more convenient) yells at him now. “you there! oaf! heal your sister!” 

sokka’s like “yes of course what plants are nearby?” and jeong jeong’s like “I meant with waterbending you fucking idiot!!!” (he really does not respect sokka, for reasons that are unclear to everyone.) sokka’s like “....I can do that?” 

sokka heals katara’s hands, and it’s a total gamechanger for him. knowing that waterbending can be used to heal suddenly gets him really excited to learn. now he can’t wait to go to the north pole. his giddiness at this must show through, because jeong jeong suddenly respects him a lot more. 

they reach the northern air temple. aang gets rightfully mad. katara swallows some bugs. sokka meets a dude with fucked up eyebrows he actually likes. from then on it’s smooth sailing to the northern water tribe. literal sailing, because appa is tired. 

chief arnook holds a banquet in their honor. sokka meets princess yue. pakku agrees to train aang and sokka at dawn the next day. at first, it’s going pretty well, even if pakku thinks aang and sokka could both stand to have more discipline. aang’s too naturally gifted to be bothered to pay attention, and sokka keeps trying to put his own spin on pakku’s moves. and they keep whispering and giggling to each other. they get on pakku’s every last nerve. 

katara occupies her time by finding where the warriors train. she wants to be as skilled with as many weapons as possible, so that she’s never underprepared. but they immediately turn her away. they tell her that women are not welcome here, since this is a space for men to train to become warriors. katara says, “yes, and I would also like to train to become a warrior!” but they tell her, condescending as ever, that that is simply not how things are done. “so, what?” katara asks, “I’m just supposed to be decoration?” 

“no, of course not!” they insist. of course she plays a valuable role in society! a warrior points to her necklace. see? she’s getting married soon. that means she’s going to have babies, probably in the next year. if they expect this thought to comfort her, they have another thing coming. she challenges them ALL to a duel. there are like 20 guys in the room, and she knows it. 1 v 20. 1 v the whole northern water tribe, if she has to! these so-called “warriors,” versus her club. 

they laugh. okay, they agree, let’s humor her. a couple approach, swinging their weapons around without actually meaning to hurt her. but katara doesn’t hold back, and knocks them all off their feet in seconds. the second round of guys are cocky. they still underestimate her. it’s no contest. the third round is angrier, their pride wounded. but katara is angriest, and she kicks their asses. until it’s just her and hahn, the best warrior in the city. it comes a little closer. he lands some blows. but he’s still young, and has never seen combat. never seen a fire nation soldier’s face up close. katara’s barely scathed. some of the humbler guys vouch for her with arnook, and he orders hahn to train her with the others. 

meanwhile, sokka has learned all the basic combative waterbending moves, and can beat any of the other students in a fight no problem, because they’re all a bunch of prissy city kids who take everything for granted and don’t know how to think for themselves. but what he really wants to learn is how to heal. he assumes it’s a more advanced move, and that’s why pakku wont teach it to him. but when he says, “hey, so when do we learn healing?” all the other guys just laugh in his face. 

“I am not a healer,” says pakku, “and neither are you.”

“yes I am,” says sokka. “I healed katara when she got burned. her hands glowed and everything.” pakku explains that in this tribe, healing is for women only. “well that makes no sense,” says sokka. “if only men are allowed to be warriors, but there are no healers among their ranks, then you’ll lose battles so much quicker. wouldn’t it be more convenient to have warriors who know how to heal themselves?” 

pakku seems to consider this for a second. then his face gets all pinched and puckered like a raisin and he glares and says “NO.” 

sokka wants to beat pakku’s wrinkly ass into the ground for being so unreasonable, but aang tells sokka that he can just find someone else to teach him healing, and sokka’s like “yeah okay. fine. whatever.” 

yue tells sokka that if he goes to yugoda and asks her to teach him, she’s extremely kind and understanding, so she probably won’t turn him away, which is great news! she also tells sokka that she’s engaged, which is less great news. 

sokka learns everything there is to know about healing, not only studying how to heal, but why healing is possible. he reads everything he can find on chi paths, and redirecting bloodflow in the body. “so,” he asks yugoda one day, after their lesson is officially over, “if you can use water in the body to heal, can you also use it as a weapon?” 

yugoda seems alarmed. “what do you mean?” she asks. 

“well, if you can slow death by cooling temperatures in the body, or give people energy by adding heat or pressure to a chi path, can you also freeze someone’s heart entirely? puncture their lungs? move their limbs around like a little marionette?” 

yugoda’s like “WELL I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND IT, SOKKA.” 

sokka laughs nervously. “no, of course not,” he rushes to assure. “I just meant it as a hypothetical.” and yet, there are one or two fire nation thorns in his side he’s considered trying this technique out on. 

it’s still a few weeks until the next full moon. katara is quickly becoming the best warrior in her class, being promoted until she’s fighting alongside men well into adulthood—and kicking their asses too. it’s not that they’re incompetent, but she’s quicker, more resilient, more adaptable, and far more determined. she still refuses to learn how to use a boomerang, though, because that involves math, and math is gross. 

sokka is also progressing at an impressive pace with pakku and yugoda. he doesn’t tell pakku or any of the other boys that he’s studying from yugoda, because he knows they’ll mock him at best and ban him from learning from her and get yugoda into trouble for teaching him at worst. aang, katara, and yue know, but otherwise it’s his and yugoda’s secret. 

yugoda thinks everyone who wants to learn healing should be allowed to, she’s just never considered that a boy would want to. in the tribe, they all consider it women’s work—beneath them. it shames sokka to think how easily he could’ve carried that mentality with him and never even learned the best thing about waterbending. he heals katara every night after she comes back from warrior training even though she insists that she’s fine—you should see the other guy—but he’s just so excited that he actually knows how to help and protect his baby sister. 

sokka’s with yue flying on appa when he sees it. the black snow. they fly back to the city to warn the others. the tribe readies for battle. sokka volunteers himself for a very dangerous mission, while aang does everything he can to stop zhao’s fleet. yue takes aang and katara to the spirit oasis so aang can enter the spirit world. who shows up but zuko. katara keeps him on his toes, definitely breaking bones that were already fractured due to being in a ship explosion. but when the sun rises, he overpowers her, grabbing aang and escaping. by the time sokka and yue return, katara is sitting by the spirit oasis in tears, alone. she’s a fully capable warrior, but she still couldn’t protect aang from zuko. she still can’t save the people she loves from the fire nation. 

sokka tells her not to worry. zuko couldn’t have gotten far in this storm. they fly on appa to search for aang. they track aang’s spirit as he returns to his body to a cave that zuko’s hiding out in until the weather passes. when appa shows up, zuko sees katara and smirks. “here for a rematch?” he asks. 

it is not katara, but sokka, who responds. he could say something witty, because zuko’s totally set himself up to look like a fool, but instead, he simply says, “no.” zuko is raised in the air, and then just as suddenly, slumps to the ground. aang insists that they take zuko with them; he won’t survive in the cold. sokka would argue that it makes no sense to let him live, but he sees the way katara is glaring at him suspiciously, and doesn’t protest. 

“what was that?” katara demands as they fly back to the oasis. 

“what was what?” sokka feigns cluelessness. 

“what you did to zuko! you didn’t even use water!” 

“yes I did,” says sokka. “there’s water in his body, isn’t there?”

katara suddenly feels very, very cold. “so you bloodbent him?” she asks. 

“um, okay edgelord,” says sokka, rolling his eyes. “it’s just waterbending, but okay.” 

“did pakku teach you that?” she wants to know. 

sokka snorts. as if pakku could ever be remotely that creative. “yugoda taught me,” he says. it’s not technically a lie. 

the moon turns red. then it disappears completely. 

iroh sends zhao running. aang fuses with the ocean spirit and wreaks havoc on the fleet. yue says goodbye. 

they spend some more time in the north helping repair the damage the army caused, but they’ve all learned all they could from the masters, so they head to the earth kingdom. pakku gives aang some waterbending scrolls as a parting gift. “not that you’ll use them,” he says bitterly. (he’s too myopic to realize that’s a compliment.) yugoda gives sokka a vial of spirit water from the oasis. it can be their little secret. 

aang is afraid of his own power. katara is afraid for aang. sokka stares up at the moon. 

they get trapped in a cave with a bunch of hippies. they go back to omashu, and all come down with pentapox. they meet some dangerous ladies. they get stuck in a swamp. aang goes to prison, and sokka wears a jaunty hat. they meet the blind bandit. they get chased around by said dangerous ladies. toph gets on katara’s every last nerve, and vice versa. toph teaches aang earthbending. sokka gets stuck in a hole. they go to wan shi tong’s library. some sandbenders steal appa. they get trapped in the si wong desert. the sandbenders help them find their way out. they decide to go to ba sing se. instead of boarding the ferry, they have to travel across the serpent’s pass. before they can enter ba sing se, they have to take down a drill azula ordered the mechanist to make to break into the outer wall. she later comes up with a smarter plan.

once they reach ba sing se, they find that this city sucks ass. aang builds a zoo, though, which is nice. they come across jet again, who’s been brainwashed by the dai li. long feng hits him a rock, and he dies. probably. they get appa back, and sokka and aang insist that they capitalize on that momentum to tell the earth king about their invasion plan (katara and toph have their doubts). the earth king is a total moron, so they have to use small words so that he’ll be sure to understand. aang goes to see a guru, sokka goes to see his dad, toph goes to see her mom, and katara and momo stay in the city to help with the invasion plan. 

aang decides he cares too much about worldly attachments to master the avatar state. toph invents metalbending. sokka tries to prove his worth to his dad. katara gets thrown in the catacombs with zuko. 

in a trademark show of compassion, she offers to have sokka heal his face. zuko’s like “um your brother is terrifying I don’t think he’s going to agree to that” and she’s like “THEN I’LL CONVINCE HIM.” which would be a row to be sure. thankfully, she never has to convince him because sokka ends up using that spirit water on aang after zuko betrays her. 

they regroup aboard a hijacked fire nation vessel, where they spend the next three months planning for the invasion (because the earth king forgot to inform them that azula already knew). sokka heals aang while katara watches over his shoulder, and they get in more than a couple fights about katara “pestering” sokka while he works. finally, aang wakes up, and all is forgiven. due to some mishaps, they end up hiding out in the fire nation until the invasion. they get some new fits, and aang becomes the most popular kid in school. 

they arrive at an impoverished fishing village. katara insists that sokka use his waterbending to help them. sokka insists that it’s not practical to spend so much time in one place. hello, they have a schedule to stick to??? they get in a really big fight that results in katara convincing aang to blow up the factory that’s polluting the river with her, and suddenly sokka’s hand is forced and katara’s pretending to be the painted lady, and she’s lauded as the savior of their village. sokka heals their sick, grumbling the entire time. they all pitch in to clean up the river. katara doesn’t understand how sokka could sit by and do nothing when he can heal, when he has the power to blow up factories and take down armies. 

she watches forlornly with her emotional support lemur at her side as her friends put out a giant fire caused by a meteor. she’s sullen and irritable the rest of the day, and sokka can tell something’s wrong. she’s bitter that she doesn’t have cool powers, but what’s more, she’s bitter that all her friends can help people in such amazing, tangible ways, and she doesn’t have that resource. all she’s ever wanted is to be able to help people, and what good is she if she can’t even heal or fight as well as her stupid brother can? 

aang and sokka remind her that of course she’s not useless! she helped those earthbenders from that labor camp because she inspired them. that’s what she does. she just needs someone to remind her how great of a warrior she is. so they get her a sword (a weapon she’s never tried before) and a master to go along with it. “so you don’t mind that I’m a girl?” she asks piandao, who immediately agrees to train her.

“the ways of the sword belong to everyone,” he says, and katara beams. she finally has a teacher who’ll respect her worth. and he does. he gives her the finest sword he’s ever made. she comes back to camp that evening happier than she has been in a while. 

they’re all super excited to see her and ask her how her training went. sokka asks katara if she’ll teach him how to use a sword. she’s like “tf do you need a sword for?? you have bending.” 

sokka rolls his eyes and says, “swords are way cooler than fancy magic water, katara.” 

so she takes him to piandao and is like “this is my brother. he would also like a sword, if you please, master.” 

piandao is just like “hmmmmmm. okay. if you can beat me at pai sho.” sokka picked up the rules while bored one day in ba sing se, and hasn’t played it since. he makes this fact very clear, because it seems like an unfair stipulation. that said, it’s kind of embarrassing that katara just asked piandao to give him a sword, so he’s like “yeah, okay, I guess we’ll…. play pai sho.” 

sokka manages to negotiate that they play best of three, and since he really does seem like such a pai sho novice, piandao decides he’ll allow it. naturally, sokka loses the first round, but the second round is a lot closer, and sokka even wins. and he wins the third round by a landslide. 

but piandao still refuses to give sokka a sword. “instead,” he says, “you will make your own.” sokka thinks it’s hardly fair that he gave katara his favorite sword, but sokka has to forge his himself. but if it means he gets to pick the material, he’s happy. 

katara and sokka leave piandao’s with the two most beautiful swords in the world, and they spar every day. 

then some guy who can shoot bombs out of his head shows up out of nowhere. aang learns about his past life’s past life. toph excludes katara from scamming with her, and they get in a fight. they tell ghost stories to each other in the woods, and an old innkeeper named hama stumbles across them and invites them to stay at her inn. sokka doesn’t trust her. she has bad vibes. katara thinks sokka is a persnickety little skeptic and trusts hama immediately, as if to spite him. 

they find out that she’s from the southern water tribe, and not only that, she’s a waterbender. katara is ecstatic. she can tell them everything about their culture from before the fire nation came! sokka is less sure. how did she escape? why did she never return? but hama insists on teaching sokka everything she knows, and who is sokka to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

hama shows him that water can be extracted from plants, or even from thin air. to which sokka responds, “yeah, and there’s water in the human body, and even in the ocean! extremely helpful bio lesson, thank you.” 

hama’s like, “oh. so. so you know about bloodbending already.”

“yes, and why does everyone keep calling it that? it’s just waterbending.” 

hama’s like, “damn ok fair enough i guess.”

sokka figures out that that’s how she managed to escape from prison, and is honestly more confused as to why more people hadn’t figured it out. it seems really obvious to him? but then again, katara seemed to find it horrifying, and so did yugoda, so maybe it’s kinda taboo. there are a bunch of weird & arbitrary rules when it comes to bending, sokka thinks. probably why it took so long for someone to discover metalbending. unspoken conventions that are just limiting the possibilities. 

sokka still thinks hama has bad vibes, but he doesn’t know why, until he tells toph about her “bloodbending” and toph’s like “oh shit she’s the reason why people have been disappearing every full moon!” those screams she heard under the mountain weren’t just one of her ghost stories. 

sokka’s like, “ha I KNEW she was evil and it’s not just because her super crusty upper lip freaks me out!” 

they rescue the alive prisoners from under the mountain. sokka suggests they leave before hama can find them. katara insists that they stay there and resolve the conflict; aang is the avatar, he can make them come to a resolution. but sokka argues that maybe not everything can be settled, and they probably should just prioritize their own safety. in the end, it’s sokka arguing that hama could bloodbend her that convinces katara to leave. zuko described the sensation to her that day in the catacombs, and the memory still haunts her. she never wants to feel the way zuko did when sokka bloodbent him if she can help it. 

the day of black sun approaches. it all goes according to plan (mostly. sokka butchers a speech) until it suddenly doesn’t, and everything goes to shit. hakoda gets injured, so sokka stays behind to heal him while katara promises to lead the invasion. sokka is terrified out of his mind for his sister, but he’s also watched her grow so much over the past year, and he knows how capable she is. so she, aang, and toph go down the secret bunker the royal family uses for such emergencies, but instead of finding ozai, it’s azula they encounter. she baits them, and they fall for it. the invasion fails. 

they regroup at the western air temple. zuko claims he’s good now. then he burns toph’s feet. so far, his track record still isn’t stellar. combustion man shows up again, and zuko tries to take him down. it’s sokka’s boomerang that actually does the trick, but the fact that zuko put himself in the line of fire is enough to let them consider joining the group. katara is less than pleased, and decides to let zuko know. 

zuko and aang go on a field trip, and return (despite katara’s anxieties that they wouldn’t) with knowledge of firebending that hasn’t been truly known in over a century. sokka feels as if it is his fault that the invasion plan backfired, and he made a promise to his dad, so he asks zuko where pows would be held. zuko insists on joining him at the boiling rock. sokka finds suki first, and comes up with a plan to help them escape by using the cooler as a boat which he can waterbend to shore. that plan ends up being a bust, but hakoda arrives, so it doesn’t matter. they manage to escape thanks to mai. sokka returns to the western air temple with the meat of friendship and fatherhood. 

azula attacks the air temple, so they have to leave immediately. zuko holds her off. sokka makes a joke about zuko’s supposed heroism that katara doesn’t find funny. she and zuko get in a fight, and something in her words strikes a chord with zuko. he interrupts sokka’s moste romantique evening to ask about how their mother was murdered. 

the fact that she died to protect him isn’t relevant to the story, so sokka doesn’t mention it. he really just wants zuko to leave as soon as possible. he spends one glorious night with suki before everything goes to shit the following day. 

zuko has somehow decided that the best way to gain katara’s trust is by tracking down her mother’s killer and getting revenge. aang and sokka reasonably argue that maybe that isn’t the healthiest thing to do? katara yells at sokka that he didn’t love their mother the way she did. she and zuko storm off in one direction, and sokka returns to the privacy of his tent, and sobs. 

suki finds him there and asks him what’s wrong. sokka breaks down. “my mother died to protect me and I can’t even remember her face,” he admits. “it’s my responsibility to carry on her legacy and even katara knows im fucking it up.” 

katara doesn’t wanna talk to zuko about it. she hates him. but she doesn’t wanna talk to aang or sokka either. she’s furious at them. she finds toph. “it’s like sokka doesn’t even care about what’s important,” katara says. she thinks about that fishing village he was far too hesitant to save. she thinks about how he constantly discredits his own bending, his overwhelming powers. “it’s like he’s closed off his heart.”

in a very measured voice, toph responds, “I think sokka does care. a lot. just because he doesn’t react to things the way you do doesn’t mean he cares less. he’s just different.” 

sokka is lying with his head in suki’s lap as she strokes his hair when he comes to a decision. 

he lets aang know that there’s no way katara won’t be sneaking off on appa that night, with or without aang’s permission. aang gives his permission anyway. katara is about to take off when sokka says, “wait. im coming too.”

katara’s eyes widen. “but what you said before…”

“if we’re going to track down the man who killed her, it should be me who does it.” it’s his fault that she’s dead. katara doesn’t deserve blood on her hands for a crime she didn’t commit. 

katara considers this. eventually, she nods, and sokka hops on appa. zuko provides them with directions, and the siblings follow and wreak havoc. but it’s controlled havoc, to be sure. no tidal waves. just sokka’s steady directions in a low, icy voice as they hunt down their target. 

sokka’s cold, calm fury terrifies zuko so much more than katara’s burning rage. her rage almost feels comforting to him, like a second home. he knows exactly what she’s feeling when she yells like that. when sokka gets angry, it chills down to the bone. 

they find yon rha fairly easily, and corner him on the way back from his grocery run. he stares intently into katara’s face, and suddenly he remembers. she’s that little water tribe girl who saw her own mother’s corpse. “she lied to you,” katara yells at him. “she was protecting the last waterbender.”

“what?” yon rha asks, shocked. he can’t believe anyone would sacrifice themselves willingly. he hadn’t even asked her to prove she could bend. all these years and the thought never even crossed his mind. “who?”

“HIM!” sokka, standing behind zuko and katara, walks up to face yon rha. with one hand, he lifts yon rha’s entire body into the air. zuko gasps. katara smiles in twisted satisfaction at the look of horror on his face. 

sokka stares into yon rha’s eyes. the pure, pathetic terror on his weathered face, hollowed out by war. he drops yon rha to the ground. “it’s… not my fault. it’s not my fault she died. it’s your fault. it’s always been your fault. I didn’t kill her; you did.” 

he walks away solemnly. “wait!” yon rha cries out, still shaking. “aren’t you going to kill me?” he has nothing left to live for, so he isn’t scared to ask. 

sokka smiles sardonically. “you want me to kill you?” he asks. 

“well…”

sokka waves his hand with a shrug. “you’re not worth it,” he says, and walks away. 

katara glances at the sword strapped to her side, and then looks at sokka as he walks back towards appa, and decides that maybe he’s right. zuko gives yon rha one last boiling glare before turning away. sokka’s words echo in his mind. “it’s your fault. it’s always been your fault.” 

they ride back to camp in silence. toph, aang, and suki had been playing a very fun game they made up while the other trio was gone, but the rules are too complex to explain you really had to be there yknow? 

katara forgives zuko, and apologizes to aang. she and sokka have a long talk. 

on ember island, they enjoy an evening at the theatre, and a day at the beach. zuko grows closer to sokka and katara. at one point they remark to each other that it might be really weird but they actually kind of adore him? they tell him this while laughing, and he doesn’t understand at all. 

sozin’s comet is approaching, and with it, ozai’s plan to raze the earth kingdom to the ground. they’re all stressed out of their minds. worst of all, aang’s disappeared and no one can find him. not even the hot bounty hunter. they find the white lotus instead. katara and sokka see master piandao again, to their delight. sokka sees pakku (but he doesn’t know that they’re kanna’s grandkids because he never saw katara’s necklace). he also sees jeong jeong and sokka thanks him for teaching him about healing, with a very pointed glare at pakku. and they see bumi too, but neither momo nor aang is there to greet him. 

katara comforts zuko before he walks into his uncle’s tent. sokka spends all night playing pai sho with piandao. the next morning, iroh informs zuko that he’s going to be the next firelord over a bowl of breakfast. katara and sokka exchange a look. firelord??? zuko??? their zuko??? 

he’ll have to fight azula first, but not alone. zuko knows that the easiest way to take down azula is by having a waterbender at his side. he also knows that sokka would just bloodbend her into submission, and while that’s obviously the most convenient approach…. azula is his sister. sokka bloodbending him in the north pole was one of the worst moments of his life, and that’s saying something. he couldn’t stand to see that happen to her. besides, something about katara being by his side to face azula just feels right. like if his life were a play this would be the final act…..or something. 

sokka is relieved he doesn’t have to waste his time on some sidequest, and katara is happy to wipe azula’s stupid smirk off her imperialist face. they part. aang shows up right on time. sokka, toph, and suki hijack the airship fleet. zuko dives in front of lightning for katara. katara fights azula, and uses strategy to win. (i’m picturing some elaborate rope setup like a hunter’s trap and she chains azula to the grate before she can break free. same concept as her initial takedown minus the waterbending. cuz katara would win that fight bending or not and we all know it!) 

they all make it. the war is over. katara and sokka return home with their dad. they both give gran gran a hug. sokka rebuilds his watchtower. and the rest of the tribe. katara leads it, eventually becoming chief. sokka continues to experiment in bending theory for the rest of his life. katara goes to the north pole and carries on the feminist revolution she started when she was fourteen. together they set up a hospital and concurrent education program for those who want to learn how to heal. the uses sokka continues to find for waterbending are often wacky, often downright scary. by the time he dies, the spirits admit that maybe they should’ve given bending to the sister instead.

#rough outline... i said...... 6.4k words later........ #katara&sokka #sokka #katara #AUs #i know the plot of the show stays the same but this rly does change their dynamic so subtly #katara being a waterbender and sokka being a nonbender is so integral to their characters #so yeah.... #wriitng this drove me craaaaaazy #please read it #or dont #doesnt matter to mee! #asks #waterloo-kitchener

[writings-of-a-british-fangirl]

Change Is Good (Zuko x Reader) [Everything Has Changed Part 2]

Title: Change Is Good Summary: You and Zuko follow your destiny, which leads you to Aang and his friends. As you expected, they're not happy. But, can you change this? Warnings: A little bit of angst and a tiny bit of violence Request: One of my lovely followers wanted a part 2 so here it is!

A/N: Part 3 is now out!!

PART 1: EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED PART 2: CHANGE IS GOOD PART 3: CHANGING SPIRITS PART 4: A HEART OF CHANGE

Zuko~Change Is Good

You felt the nerves climb up your body. Sure, you were confident in what you were doing: it was the right thing, but that didn't make the prospect of being caught by the Fire Lord or Azula any less terrifying. Zuko had promised to meet you at the pique of the solstice. Part of you didn't want to think about what he was going to do before that point, but you had some suspicion: he was going to confront his father. That left you with one important thing to do: commandeer a war balloon.

     You began scouting out a war balloon. It had been left unattended unlike the others, and it was the perfect opportunity to steal your get away vehicle.

    Confidently, you strolled over to the balloon. You began to pretend work on the balloon, tinkering around with the edge of the basket. The metal looked fine, but that's not what you were going to tell the soldiers.

    "Hey! You there! What are you doing?" a fire nation soldier yelled.

    "Just as I suspected! It's been perforated!" you exclaimed, "I'm afraid you're going to have to use a different war balloon, boys."

    "What are you talking about?"

    "Your balloon! It's not up to scratch with the others!" you exclaimed, "You better join the others in another balloon- you don't want to miss out on the glorious opportunity to capture and defeat the Avatar do you?"

    "I-No," the soldier said.

    "Well, run along. Princes orders. Can't have any balloons not taking off."

    "Yes, of course."

    Once they moved along, all you had to do was wait for Zuko to arrive. As time more time passed, the more your nerves had crept in. What if Azula had gotten to him? What if his father had? Maybe you should've gone with him? Should've helped him? But, just as you were about to question everything, you heard someone shouting your voice. Swiftly, you turned around.

    "Zuko," you smiled, "You made it."

    "Did you doubt me?"

    "Not at all Prince Zuko," you teased.

    "I thought I told you to stop calling me that," he sarcastically replied.

    "Whatever," you murmured, "Just get in."

    You hated to admit it, but you'd missed Zuko. You'd missed the back and forth you were used to. For a long time he was basically your only friend. Since being back in the Fire Nation, you'd barely had any contact with him: it was lonely. But, now it seemed things were going back to normal. Or, at least, there was the possibility of going back to normal in the future.

---

"Do you know what you're going to say to them?" you murmur to Zuko, "When we find them?"

     Zuko was staring off into the distance. Judging by the direction Appa was flying they were heading to the Air Temple. It was familiar to Zuko: he had been there at the start of his journey to capture the Avatar. The irony of meeting the Avatar again here to ask him to join him was not lost him. He hung his head a little and thought about your question: what was he going to say to them?

     "I... I was hoping I was going to think of something on the way there," he told you, "I'm not expecting forgiveness from them but I need them to know I've changed."

    "He might not like it but he needs a fire bending teacher in order to stop this."

     Zuko just nods. He knows you're trying to help; you've always tried to help him, even when he pushed you and Iroh away, even when he didn't deserve it. When he first got back to the Fire Nation, he thought it would all fall into place. He hoped, no he needed, his decisions to be validated. Zuko so longed to fall back into his old life and fit like the last piece in a puzzle. But, even with his father's acceptance, it wasn't right. He couldn't help but think back to his mother, and to you. You were just as protective over his as his mother was. When Azula would pick on his, you'd defend him with loyalty he could only wonder how he earned. And, even after his mother disappeared, he still felt some sort of comfort from you. Of course, as he aged, you became more than family.

    He'd never vocalised that, thought.

    Rejection hurt, and Zuko knew he wasn't strong enough to lose you again. So, for now, you would remain friends. Even if it hurt him to know one day he would have to let go, and let you go into the arms of another.

     What Zuko hadn't realised is that you'd done the exact same thing to you. You'd let him slip away and you saw him slowly get closer to Mai. You saw the way he lit up around her, and you were forced to come to a realisation you'd always dreaded: you were replaceable. Not only were you replaceable, you were forgettable. And, the saddest part? You didn't even mind: if it was anyone you thought deserved kindness in his life it was Zuko. Even if you couldn't be that love in his life, at least he was being loved.

    That's why it felt so odd now: where did you stand? How had he left Mai? Had he even left Mai? Or, when this is all over, would he just return to her again? It was too risky, you had decided, to tell him about how you felt, so you kept quiet.

     "Hey, look, we're here," you hear Zuko say, and you raise your head.

     "I remember how it looked the first time we came here," you say, "Maybe this time we can actually appreciate it. Especially when they'll be an actually airbender to show us around."

     "I don't think we've earned the VIP tour yet," Zuko says, "But, hopefully, we'll at least get to stay."

---

This was going to be a lot harder than you'd thought. Of course, Team Avatar were never going to accept you like welcome guests, but you hoped they would at least see why you were necessary. Aang needed a fire bending teacher: here you were, two fire benders. But, they had refused and you'd gone with Zuko to set up camp for the night.

    "So stupid! Why did I say that?" Zuko complained.

    "Zuko, don't say that-"

    "-No, they were right," Zuko interrupted, "I don't think they're ever going to except us. Except me. I don't know what to do. I've never felt so lost... I know this is the right thing to do but it's so hard."

     You walked closer to him, only a hands' touch away.

    "That only means it's worth doing," you say softly, "You know your destiny, Zuko. We're just going to have to be patient."

    A smile barely ghosted across his face, but you still caught it.

    "What would I do without you?"

    "Crash and burn," you teased, "Literally. Now come on, Prince, get some sleep."

    This time Zuko didn't correct you on his nickname. In fact, he found it quite endearing- not that he'd tell you that. He looked down and away from you so you wouldn't see the blush across his face. He coughed under his breath, and nodded, agreeing to go to sleep. But, he didn't think he'd actually get much sleep.

---

It seemed even when he wasn't trying to be dangerous, Zuko couldn't help his nature. He was startled awake by Toph, and instinctively threw a bolt of fire towards her. It lapped the underside of her feet, burning them on impact. Despite trying to apologise and run after her, he was forced backwards with rocks, and eventually gave up. You stirred when you felt a wave of heart, mostly likely from Zuko.

      "What's going on? What happened?" you asked Zuko as he stood to the edge of your make shift camp, his shoulder hung in shame.

     "I burned her."

     "What? You burned who? How?"

     "Toph," he explained, "She came to speak to us I think... But, I lashed out when I heard noise, and I burnt her. It was an accident I swear! But..."

     He trails off.

     "I don't think they're ever going to accept me. Not after I burnt Toph... And, all the other times I've wronged them," Zuko said, barely audible, "It's hopeless."

      "Don't say that!" you cry out, "We'll- No, I'll go speak to them in the morning when the situation has settled down. I'm sure Toph will understand it's an accident."

       Although it wasn't ideal, Zuko needed sleep. He did his best to fall back asleep, but was only plagued with nightmares. At some point they faded and he began to dream of his childhood, and of you.

      You'd grown up together, despite the fact your family wasn't royalty- far from it, in fact. However, your mother was close to Zuko's mother. Your father was a soldier who died shortly after your birth, so when your mother reached out to her old friend Ursa, and explained her situation, she opened up her heart and her home to you. Ozai barely noticed you and your mother- if it didn't concern advancing his power, he didn't care. So, you did your best to stay out of his way. However, you didn't stay out of the way of his son, Zuko. From an early age, it seemed like you were kindred spirits. He was your best friend, and practically family after your mother died from a severe flu.

      Of course, living in the royal palace didn't come without it's challenges. Zuko's sister was one of them; Azula had it in for you the day you arrived it seemed. You had a suspicion she was jealous of how fond her mother was of you. She liked to pick on Zuko, and revelled in how angry you would get. But, then she would turn her attention to you. Zuko would try and defend you, but you had a fierce spirit and would always push back against her. She scared you but that didn't mean you wouldn't fight back.

      Zuko had always admired that about you. In fact, he admired most things about you. His mother had noticed too. She liked to tease him about it, jesting that she thought the two of you made the cutest little pair. Back then of course, the thought hadn't even occurred to him, but now he couldn't help but think his mother was right.

    When Zuko awoke, you were nowhere to be seen. His first instinct was to panic, but he soon found the note you'd tucked right beside him. It read: 'I've gone to speak to them. Don't worry! I won't be gone long, and hopefully when I'm back we'll have an alliance or at least lunch. ~Y/N.' He read over the note and fell back in his sleeping bag. He hoped you wouldn't be long.

     It had been far too long since you had first left, and Zuko was beginning to get worried. He thought it was just his over thinking when he heard the distinct yell of your voice: you were in danger!

---

"I know you don't trust Zuko-"

     "-Or you," Sokka interrupted.

     "...Or me," you corrected, "But I need you to at least listen to me. We've done some terrible stuff, and I know that we can't make it up to you, but I need you understand he wants to help. I want to help. You don't understand what its like being raised around Fire Nation propaganda-"

    "-We don't care," Katara said.

    "You need to understand-"

    You were interrupted again. Only this time it wasn't Sokka, it was the rumbling of the Air Temple. Your stomach sank- it was Combustion Man. Your heart sank. You didn't come here looking for a fight today, but if that's what you had to do, you would.

     "Everyone take cover!"

     "Why should we listen to you?" Sokka snarked.

     "It's the assassin you idiot! I'm trying to help you!" you yelled, "Now take cover! I'm going to give him something to fire at!"

     The gang watched you as you used your fire to strike at the assassin. You launched yourself into the air, using fire to throw yourself further. With a loud thud, you landed on the cliff edge, adjacent to the assassins. Using a sprint to build up power, you ran at him. You threw fire ball after fire ball, hurling all your power at him. You run was cut short but his hand around your neck; he held you off the ground as you struggled. Your fingers grappled with his, struggling to get him off you. You began to gasp for air. You heat up your hands to a scorching temperature, and ram them down onto his wrist. He flinched back and threw you down beside him. You hit the ground, and felt the wind being knocked out of you. You slid down the small ledge on the cliff, and began yelling for Zuko.

    You felt the ground shift beneath you. The cliff was weakening and was about to break. In your weakened state, you tried to dig your hand into the side of the cliff, but you were far too tired to hold on. The cliff gave way and crumbled beneath you. Your scream was almost deafening.

    "Zuko!" you yell out, scared for your life.

    That's when you feel an arm around you, and your body come into contact with the cliff again. You opened your eyes again: Zuko. He saved you! He had used a vine to swing in and grab you, saving you from falling. You breathe a sigh of relief, but not for long. There was a deadly assassin to take down.

    "Of all the assassins, you had to pick a combustion bender?" you ask Zuko.

    "I can still drop you, you know," Zuko warned.

    You rolled your eyes and began climbing the vine with Zuko's help and guidance.

    As soon as your were stood up again, the winding had almost wore off- enough, at least to fight back. You and Zuko had always made a good team, especially when it came to fighting, and today would be no different. You began creating walls of fire, and forcing them towards him. Zuko doing the same. You were getting pushed back but still prevailing. That's when a boomerang came flying around the corner and hit Combustion Man dead in his third eye, sending him falling backwards, you watched him fall to the ground with a thud.

    "I'm never letting you go off on your own again- you make terrible decisions," you say looking down at the assassin on the ground then back to Zuko.

    "You know what, I'm okay with that."

   "Thank you, by the way," you say, "You know, for saving me."

    You exchanged a look together then made your way over to the gang. They were a little hesitant, which you had expected, but there was a different emotion in Aang's face. You looked to Zuko and then to the group, ready to face their judgement.

    "I never thought I'd bee saying this, but I think you were meant to be my fire bending teacher Zuko."

    You couldn't help but smile a little.

    You listened to Aang as he asked the rest of the group how they felt. Although Katara wasn't happy, you and Zuko were let into the group.

     "I won't let you down!" Zuko exclaimed.

     Zuko watched them leave, and then turned back to you.

    "Is this what doing the right thing feels like?" Zuko asked, "It feels good."

    You nodded, "We should've been doing this all along. Besides I prefer your hair a lot more now than the pony tail you had during your angst phase."

    You laughed at his offended phase before walking after the gang, so they could show you where your room was. Zuko let your comment sink in then protested, jogging after you.

   "Hey! I thought you liked the pony tail!"

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