#iroh's face is my reaction lol

[aanglican]

natla s1e6 reaction liveblog

zuko flashback with hair

”what is it” “nothing” “tell meeee”

i’m just realizing this is his room

zhao: this is my ship now

we’re at the temple heyyy

this show isn’t unbearably dark but still has a harsh quality to the lighting/color grading that i’m really not loving ughhh [insert nth comment about wishing this looked like house of the flying daggers instead]

lmao roku got jokesss

“anything you need—” “koh.” “anything but that” 💀

“friends can be a liability” oh i’m sure you know that now roku

so there’s no huge fanfare at the fire sage temple and june catches aang instead. we switched out roku possessing aang for kyoshi instead. i guess emphasizing kyoshi over roku was done to avoid giving roku the opportunity to tell aang when the comet is coming. if roku spends any more time with aang then the topic of the comet’s return will be bound to arise, but since the writers don’t know if and when they’re getting a second season then we can’t mention that for now. hence less roku.

love how aang is realizing there’s people who don’t even want him anymore because they would rather live under familiar chaos over the promise of risky liberation

so THAT’S where the chocobo promo still is from

aang psychoanalyzing zuko lol

ozai testing out zuko’s intelligence in front of everybody ouuu

i love dallas’ delivery on “but they’re gonna he lost”

ozai went straight to the agni kai damn okay

“disrespecting me means dishonoring your father”

“ozai was gracious enough to lend them to me” not fire lord? send him to the gulag

they’re not calling it hari bulkan but capital city hmm*

this exchange is so uncle-nephew i love it

zhao thought he ate that… FLOP!

here comes the fire nation supremacist speech.. ken leung slaystress

fire spitting? these fn drinking games get crazy huh

i love this escape sequence

zuko got hit and aang found out it was him under the mask and now he’s saving him ouuuu

THE HAND SLAP LMAO i love this dynamic

when are katara and sokka coming back i just realized it’s been a while

aang asking after zuko’s calligraphy and stationary awww

“the monks are all gone so all i have is your notebook” 😩

AZULA BANGS NAURRR

OZAI AND IROH SCENE

filial piety and feudal hierarchy hitting hard right now

not zuko fighting back

is this a reference to aang’s almost-killing strike on ozai in the series finale?

OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG so zuko’s crew is the same as the new recruits that were bound to die by the machinations of the war room?? the 41st division???

“sometimes the weak can become stronger [if] you gave them a chance” “i have made a mistake”

URSA MENTION

lieutenant jee was gagged !!

one thing about waiting for this remake has done to me is make me a lot more interested in the fire nation royal family

momo keeping guard over katara and sokka’s bodies aw :(

after all the zuko backstory i’ve completely forgot about the hei bai spirit lol

i still don’t understand why koh and wan shi tong are here like huhhhhhh? i guess they wanted to involve comic content and couldn’t find a place to put the mother of faces more seamlessly?

gyatso is gone again 💔 “can we talk about it when we get back?” UGHHHHHH

this is kinda the best episode of the series 🤭🤭

*so i checked wikia: Hari Bulkan,[4][5] also known as Royal Caldera City,[6] a residential district situated within the crater of a dormant volcano hosting the Fire Nation Royal Palace and various homes of Fire Nation elite.

#natla lb #mytext

[goodstuffexe]

Ughhhh I wish the Atla adaptation had more episodes, such a waste damn. Am currently at episode five and baffled at how many episode plots and characters they crammed into 3 & 4. This show and Hazbin Hotel badly needed more than 8, such a hustle. I get that the original had literally 20 episodes in season one and did meander a bit at times but especially Aang needed the development and it just added to the vibe of the show. They gave the time and moments these characters needed to progress and come into their arcs. I like what moments Sokka and Katara get and I also think the relationship between Iroh and Zuko is well done for the most part but Aang is lacking imo, something just feels kinda off about the kid and idk if it is the acting (tho no hate to Gordon Cormier, there are definitely also moments where he captures Aangs character really well) the dialog or the feared lack of Aangs positivity, or maybe all things combined. But I am still not done with the season so, let's keep watching.

spoilers for ep 5 below the cut

Also I am no fan of Sokka and Katara just roaming through the Spirit World with Aang, doesn't that undermine his connection to the spirit world as the avatar!?

So WHY was Wan Shi Tong there in a random forest lol. They spoiled the most creepy spirit in the whole show. Big nono

I rly like Azula's scenes they set her personality and mindset up well in the few moments she has with Ozai. I heard the last few episodes are better structured, so am excited for them

Also here is my live reaction to the rest of the episode haha:

- WOOW Hei Bai looks frikkin cool damn, I am actually pleasantly surprised with the animation.

- Omg the scenes with Katara and Sokka and their parents?!! My poor babies🥺 I might have shed a tear when I saw Sokka cry :')

- They showed the face stealer spirit too? (Cannot remember da name sorry) Damnnn that is kinda cringe, did they just trash the whole 'show emotions and I will take your face'-thing?

- WHY IS GYATSO THERE HUH and he is no illusion what

- Soo he's gonna make the drive-by to the Fire Nation by glider now? Lol

- Ooooh it's the transition to the masked spirit episode with Zhao okay I get it

-Ayayay they did mangle some past avatar stuff around, why was the reason for Aang to go to the Fire Temple and speak with Roku not adapted? He is such an important character as early as this. I bet he gets the info about the comet anyway lol (or maybe not and they really removed any trace of it in the first season like some stated in interviews)

I mean it's not that hard to shove the comet back a few years/months like they said they would, because the actors are gonna age with the show and STILL have Roku be the one who tells Aang now, right. Right?

Anyway my thoughts are all over the place, I will see tomorrow yaay

#atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #atla aang #atla sokka #katara #opinion

[madrone33]

Just watched Natla episode 1! It wasn't the worst. I liked some parts, and was like hmmmm with many others lol. My Mum's kinda traumatised from Sozin RIP. But I have Thoughts!

Note: this is not structured At All lmao. I rapidly jump topics, and then sometimes return later. Also, this is completely my opinion after watching it once, so if you feel differently, that's completely fine! Honestly just wrote this down for myself to structure my thoughts on it, but I'm posting 'cause why not, y'know?

ANYWAY! Onto a rambled compilation of my immediate reactions:

A Lot of exposition. Which. Fair I guess? But they added info that wasn’t needed in that episode specifically. Like Zuko being banished. We didn’t know that until Zhao says it as a taunt in ep3 but here Zuko just outright says it to Iroh? He wouldn’t do that. He’s more ‘no my father loves me, he’s just trying to teach me’. He’s in denial. He wouldn’t just say his greatest shame and fear out loud in a situation that’s not even that high stakes.

Sokka was funny! A lot more than I thought he’d be. I really liked him, though I think he’d need to show his softer, more lighthearted side later and not just stick to deadpan sarcasm and stuff. It works for this episode, because a lot of his humour in the first few episodes are from him being too uptight and stressed.

Katara was very watered down, too passive. First, she’s going in the ship that was forbidden in the original. Then she splits the iceberg by accident, but not from anger. Bending isn’t from intense emotions anymore apparently. And sure she might get mad in later episodes like the waterbending scroll, but the first episode is vital to setting up your characters. It might feel like it comes out of nowhere if we don’t see her being a stressed underappreciated frustrated kid early on.

Aang doesn’t run away, he just goes out to clear his head. This is bad. It takes away his main flaw/regret in the show - he rejected being the Avatar and his people paid for it. Running away and avoiding things is a Big thing of his character. If it wasn’t, then earthbending wouldn’t be such a difficult thing for him to learn, and he wouldn’t feel so much responsibility for abandoning the world. Also it makes Sokka’s line later really unnecessarily mean? Like, if he had run away then, yeah, that line would hit hard. But he didn’t. So calling Aang a coward is just like, whoa bro. That was totally uncalled for.

Sozin wasn’t as imposing. He was too… short and average? None of the shots really hype him up. No imposing shadows on his face, or camera looking up at him, or framing so that he’s in the centre. And he should’ve been behind the fire, not walking around. Where’s the status in that?

Don’t like Gyatso’s death. Why did they hide there? Meaningless. Should’ve been covering the kid’s escape, or at least managed to take out the room of them until Sozin stepped in.

The bending didn’t have a lot of oomph. In the cartoon that’s fine, but for a live action show? Multiple fire blasts to the back and still not dead? Wow. And the airbending! They make it look like it’s the weakest element, as if it just knocks people down but they get back up. Why is no one staying down? Where are the fall damage physics?? People die from slipping in the shower and hitting their heads! Getting blasted backwards and slamming your head into the ground from a wall of air hitting your chest is gonna hurt a lot more than that!

I didn’t like Iroh? He’s way too confronting. Iroh in the cartoon mainly goes along with Zuko in s1, it’s not until s2 that he starts going ‘hey Zuko, maybe your father and the fire nation aren’t something you should be supporting.’ In s1 he’s mostly trying to get Zuko to relax and being gently supportive.

The fishing scene was good! I liked the dialogue. Katara being bitterly resigned that she’s not a good waterbender, feeling like it’s her responsibility to preserve that part of their culture. And Sokka isn’t just disparaging of her skills but scared of them, protective, worried that what happened to their mum will happen to her if people find out.

Ah. Gran Gran is a master exposition-bender I see.

The bending is weird! Not many forms, it’s more concentration. Where’s the martial arts? In the firebending there’s too many unnecessary flourishes, and in the waterbending there’s not enough. Take away the cgi and it looks weird.

The set design was amazing! Glad the trailers didn’t lie. Though the Southern Water Tribe was bigger than I thought I’d be. Isn’t it supposed to be barely standing, ravaged by all their people being slowly taken from them, and then the last of the men leaving in a last ditch effort to help end the war?

A lot of tell don’t show. Didn’t show Aang being a kid with friends, just said he had friends. Which takes away from his line about not wanting the power and responsibility and loneliness; we haven’t seen the kids subtly ostracise him because he’s the Avatar.

Really like the Avatar State effects.

3 episodes smushed into 1. 20 min x 3 into 60 min. So they had the same amount of time, but they added all the Sozin’s Comet stuff, so it was all more rushed.

Zuko’s hair style is better in live action than I thought it’d be.

Sokka’s not sexist, but that takes away from him trying so hard to be a Man and a Warrior, and failing. Also he’s actually a really good leader here? Which is supposed to be another thing he has to grow into. When you remove flaws, you remove the character development.

It takes away from Zhao’s assholeishness if he’s not the one to throw in Zuko’s face about his banishment, and the fact that Zuko’s return is contingent on him capturing the Avatar. He’s gonna be a lot less awful if he doesn’t get to smugly shit on Zuko. And without the comparison of him being So Much Worse, why would we root for Zuko?

WAIT! Someone’s missing from the episode. Someone very important… Where’s Momo?

No boomerang!! Sokka throwing the boomerang isn’t just haha funny, it’s showing how he’s creative, thinks and uses things that are out of the box, and above all, that he never gives up. He’s on his back, beaten down again and again, and still he always keeps going and throws something new at the enemy, and Zuko underestimates him, thinks he’s stupid but then the boomerang comes back and that’s a Win for Sokka! But no. Just have him beaten and that’s it? Ok.

Zuko’s less of an asshole? He doesn’t yell as much - honestly Iroh seems more like the one out of line - and he doesn’t ram into the village. He asks for the Avatar politely, and they actually do have the Avatar in this, unlike in the cartoon where they had no idea wtf he was talking about and he was just threatening grandmas lol.

Sokka’s really fucking brave. But he doesn’t throw the boomerang-

Very static explaining scenes. Flat. When Gyatso tells him he’s the Avatar and when Gran Gran says it’s been 100 years. Also they’re really insensitive, jeez. And neither the audience or Aang is given any time to breathe. It’s always one new piece of info after another. There’s so much exposition blatantly for the audience that it doesn’t feel emotional or personal anymore.

Gyatso doesn’t defend Aang! He goes along with the elders. He doesn’t try to flee with Aang. I don’t like this!

Katara not being the one to calm Aang down is bad. If Aang can snap out of it himself, control the Avatar State himself - the thing he only managed to do right at the last moment in the last episode - then most of the stakes are gone. It’s not a force of nature that overtakes him. And this means it doesn’t set the precedent that Katara is the only one who can comfort him when he’s hurting like that. Plus, Katara telling Aang that she understands how he feels, and promising that she and Sokka were Aang’s family now, was a big bonding moment for the Gaang, which we don’t have in this.

Why can Aang fly without his glider???

The costumes look less like costumes and more like clothes than I’d feared, but they’re still too colourful and new looking, not worn enough.

Bro I can’t believe they just left Appa lol. Also, Aang already has the bison whistle? Huh. And what was Appa doing when Aang was being captured?? Why didn’t he come in and Fight them like he did the shirshu, huh?

I get why they cut the scenes of Aang and Katara going penguin sledding, and then setting off the flare; they didn’t have enough time. But it does take away from showing how Aang really is just a kid trying to have fun, and Katara’s line about Aang bringing hope doesn’t make as much sense, because as far as I could see he didn’t really? He didn’t change much in the village, the kids were having fun fine enough without him.

Lmfao, how did Zuko know that Aang had escaped? I feel like there was a scene in there that they had to cut for time or something, where he goes into his room and finds his book gone, realises what happened and then runs out onto the deck. But instead it’s just like. Wow, you spotted him! That was some really convenient timing there Zuko!

Telling it more chronologically, instead of revealing Aang’s backstory through the flashback Storm episode, is an interesting choice, and switches the pov a lot. In the cartoon, you’re in Katara’s shoes from the start; she says the intro, and then she and her brother find this mysterious boy. In this show, it’s now more from Aang’s pov, which should make you feel like you’re thrust into this strange new future with him, except that they half ass it; the viewer is given more info than he is while he’s unconscious, so we no longer feel like we’re in his shoes, and he’s never even given time to be confused or oblivious - he’s almost immediately told.

Huh. If they’re getting rid of the sexism, then what’s Pakku’s deal gonna be? Or are they just removing that plot point? Also are they removing Yue’s arranged marriage?

I’m glad they only showed flashes of the Southern Raiders. Was worried for a sec they’d just spill the whole backstory right then and there.

Making there be other teenages in the Southern Tribe aside from just Sokka and Katara is more realistic, but it also makes it seem less dire? Sokka trying to get literal five year olds to man watchtowers and fight the fire nation shows just how desperate they are. These are the ‘men’ he is left with to defend his home. They’re just kids. And so is he, but he’s the oldest, and that puts so much pressure on him. Except now, he’s just barely the oldest, and the village seems like it’d be fine without him.

Also, I might’ve missed it, but the guy Sokka leaves in charge? Yeah I can’t remember hearing them ever say his name. He’s just- random watertribe teen #2 lmao

Where is Sozin’s dragon?

Small nitpick, but I don’t like the air nomad elders/council’s room. It’s so dark and enclosed, whereas in the cartoon, it’s very light and open, large with a high arching ceiling.

They also don’t introduce the special doors, which should come back in Roku’s Temple and the Northern Air Temple. Maybe they’ll do it next episode?

In the cartoon, it’s a small detail, but when Aang enters the Avatar State, he blows away everything except Gyatso’s skeleton, like he’s subconsciously protecting it even from himself. I’m… not sure that happens in this one.

Sozin just lighting that guy on fire was brutal.

Remember, no Russian- Oops, sorry, wrong line. (But seriously, fuck Sozin.)

Another big part of Aang’s character that goes hand in hand with my problem of him not running away, is that Aang likes staying upbeat and positive. When he goes to the Southern Air Temple in the cartoon, he doesn’t want to face that all his people may be gone, which is why Gyatso hits so hard. It’s not just that it’s Gyatso, it’s that he finally having to face the genocide of his people. He can’t ignore it, it’s being shoved in his face in the worst way possible. But he doesn’t do that here, he knows, so it almost hits less hard.

I’m sorry he- he has telekinesis? He steals the keys with telekinesis? Yeah sure, call it airbending, but that looks a whole lot like telekinesis to me! Martial arts. Bending is a martial art. You can’t just gesture your fingers and get that kind of delicate manipulation!! That’s not how the Force works-

Yeah, so it was a fun watch, and I'm interested in what the next ones will do! In my opinion, it's not as trash as the movie-that-doesn't-exist-in-Ba-Sing-Se, but it isn't as good as the original. Which is fine! I'm not mad at it, just kinda disappointed and curious. So. Yeah, I might post my reaction when I get round to watching the next epsiode ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#natla #netflix atla #atla #essay #rambles #rants #immediate reaction #my posts #long post

[theowritesfiction]

'The Drill'

Ah, I really love this episode. The drill itself is just such an amazing and ominous piece of machinery and it looks absolutely fantastic.

I love that Azula has these little extra seats next to her center seat on the throne for Mai and Ty Lee. That's more than likely custom made. Would Azula request something like that if she didn't consider Mai and Ty Lee her friends? Also, let's not forget about the moment when Mai just plainly refuses to jump into the slurry pipeline. Mai knows she's not going to face any actual punishment. I think Ty Lee is simply someone who is much more eager to please, while Mai is not. And maybe Ty Lee still remembers the way she was recruited. ;)

I think the arrogant attitudes of the Earth Kingdom generals are very realistic. Their city has stood unconquered for 100 years. It's understandable for it to create a myth of invincibility. They never planned for someone like Azula, though.

Ty Lee taking out a platoon of elite earthbenders is a glorious moment. I really need to remember that this girl can be vicious. And come on, Ty Lee flirting with Sokka when they catch up inside the drill... that's just so cute. I totally should include this ship in one of my future stories.

It's the 13th episode of the season and finally Sokka is being asked to stop being a comic relief and come up with a plan. He gets the idea from Katara, but fair enough, he does develop it into an actual working plan. The plan also works, so Sokka is 1/1 for Book 2. I do love that moment inside the drill when Sokka tells Katara and Aang to work faster, and Katara just gets so pissed she comes within an inch of waterbending at Sokka. <3

More Jetko stuff this episode and oh boy, is Jet chasing Zuko hard. <3 But Zuko is playing hard to get :( Iroh warming his tea with firebending and giving himself away. It's like Zuko says, for a supposedly wise old man it was a stupid move. I'll be honest - Iroh does so many stupid things that it's becoming very hard for me to reconcile it with the idea that he is in any way smart.

Poor Ty Lee probably really regretted jumping into that slurry pipeline though. It was pretty mean of Katara to trap her in that disgusting sludge lol. Katara calling her 'circus freak' was a bit weird, though. She doesn't know Ty Lee has anything to do with circus, and circus would be a fairly alien concept to Katara, so I think this was a writing goof. Sokka telling Katara to 'just bend the water, woman!'... yeah, I'm not going to give him Jerk Points for that. Katara took care of him perfectly herself <3

I love the rare occasions where Azula and Aang get to fight. Aang was usually handling Zuko or any other firebender without much issue. Azula destroys Aang in this fight. Aang just gets cleanly knocked out. I'll be honest - on my original watch of the show, this was the first episode where I was rooting for Azula to win against Aang. She had already won, and I felt like her victory was cheaply and unfairly stolen.

I love the different and telling reactions from the dangerous ladies at the end. Ty Lee is just grossed out by all the sludge, while Azula shows absolutely no reaction to it or to anything else. She is already calculating her next move. Mai's gloomy 'we lost' comment is just so her.

Sokka's ideas about the team nickname... honestly, they should have gone with the boomerang squad, but only spelling it as 'Boomer Aang Squad'. I mean, Aang is 112... total boomer. ;)

No Jerk Points to hand out this chapter. Nobody annoyed me for once. <3

#my atla rewatch #atla book 2 #the drill

[sokkastyles]

In your last post you talked a lot about how Zuko respects Iroh. Could you give some examples of that? Because I'm feeling like Zuko doesn't really respect anyone, he (understandably) has an ego and thinks he's above everyone, even if he's working on

It is such a shame that Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005) was cancelled after two episodes.

Lol, now that I've got that out of my system, I'm gonna assume you aren't just a troll and treat this like you actually want a serious answer, because it gives me an opportunity to meta about Zuko and Iroh's relationship.

I would say that the Zuko we are introduced to has a pretty big ego, yeah, and thinks he's above everyone else. He's incredibly disrespectful to most everyone he meets, including his long-suffering uncle. When I started the show I knew through cultural osmosis that Zuko would get redeemed, and from the first episode I was like "alright, I'm ready to see how the show is gonna make me like this asshole." I especially did have a negative reaction to the way he treats Iroh in the beginning, because Iroh is one of the first characters I loved. I also was sympathetic to Iroh because I'm an adult, and an adult who works with kids. If any of my students said to me some of the stuff that Zuko says to Iroh I'd be like, yeah, okay, detention for you young man.

It's also pretty clear from early on though that Zuko's ego comes from a deep insecurity and low self-esteem. That doesn't make the things he does any better, and yes he is incredibly disrespectful to Iroh, especially when Iroh contradicts him about his mission. That's also related to his deep insecurity and trauma surrounding his father, of course, because Zuko needs to believe that he can win back his father's acceptance to cope with what his father did to him, but that doesn't excuse it.

He says some incredibly nasty things to Iroh. In the first episode we see him respond angrily when Iroh won't teach him more advanced firebending, and Zuko responds, as he does several times, by trying to imitate his father's brand of coercion and intimidation. Iroh is like, not impressed, and he puts up with a lot of crap from Zuko but he also doesn't let it get to him because he's a responsible adult and he wants to support Zuko in the way he can. Which also means telling him off sometimes because dude.

Zuko thinks Iroh is lazy and a failure, and resents the fact that Iroh is keeping him from what he says he is "more than ready" for, and tries to bully Iroh when he doesn't get his way, but then we see in the third episode, "The Southern Air Temple," Zuko's fight with Zhao. We see that for all Zuko's complaining about Iroh's teaching, he does what Iroh taught him to do, he sticks to his basics, and he wins. Iroh says that Zuko is honorable and we see that Zuko appreciates Iroh's support. It's also implied by the way Zhao mentions humiliating Zuko in front of his uncle that Zuko wants Iroh to be proud of him, that it's obvious to Zhao how close they are.

Another example of the show letting us know that Zuko cares more about his uncle than he lets on is when he threatens to leave Iroh behind in "Winter Solstice" but then comes back for him to find him gone, and goes out of his way to search for him, even setting aside his hunt for Aang. Zuko fights the earthbenders to save Iroh and Iroh compliments his form, to which Zuko says Iroh taught him well. This episode does a lot to develop Zuko as a character and his relationship with Iroh because not only do we see that Zuko cares for his uncle, but that, contrary to his rudeness and dismissiveness in episode one, Zuko does respect Iroh as a teacher and a bender.

There's a lot of examples like this where Zuko says one thing but does another, because Zuko is a character who, at the beginning of the story, carries a lot of cognitive dissonance and guards his real feelings about things. His relationship with Iroh is an example. This isn't very surprising because it's pretty common in child psychology. Especially with kids who have been abused, they will rebel against an authority figure and push back in any way they can to see if they can find a breaking point. Iroh's endlessly patient and supportive but solid and firm presence is something Zuko is not used to and doesn't know how to deal with. But it's very clear that Zuko relies on Iroh as a father and mentor, even when Zuko doesn't realize it yet.

"The Avatar State" in another episode that shows how much Zuko relies on Iroh. At the beginning of the episode Zuko is sitting apart and it's implied that he's not happy with Iroh relaxing and getting a massage, but Zuko also opens up to Iroh about his feelings about his father. Zuko also is dismissive and rude to Iroh again in this episode, criticizing Iroh for collecting shells and also insulting Iroh when Iroh contradicts him about going with Azula, but then Zuko is happy when Iroh goes with him to Azula's ship, and we get that flash of the image of Ozai with his hand on Zuko's shoulder. This tells us that Zuko sees Iroh as the kind of mentor figure that he wishes his father were, even if, again, Zuko doesn't quite realize this yet. There are many other examples like this where Zuko is frustrated by not getting Iroh's approval on something because he wants Iroh to be proud of him. Like when he steals the teapot and gives it to Iroh and Iroh is not interested in stolen items. Zuko's clearly hurt by not having Iroh's approval, which is a big part of why he left Iroh, and Iroh knows that Zuko is struggling to find himself but also still needs his support.

Then you have "Bitter Work," the lightning bending, and Zuko's look of total admiration when Iroh is bending lightning and teaching Zuko a move that he invented himself. Like I said before, it's clear that Zuko respects Iroh as a powerful bender. This is also echoed in that scene in the book two finale when Iroh is about to breathe fire and Zuko has this look of "wow my uncle is going to beat you so bad this is going to be great!"

There's also a lot of little stuff in the Ba Sing Se arc that show that Zuko respects Iroh and values him as a mentor figure. He lets Iroh do his hair for his date with Jin! It looks terrible! Zuko has no idea how to behave on a date so he's like um, uncle said to give you this coupon! Look how smart my uncle is! Of course the culmination of that arc is Zuko's fever and his awakening which gives him a renewed respect for Iroh, and he actually makes an effort to show Iroh how much he values him. He still betrays Iroh in Ba Sing Se but it's not the "I hate you and you smell!" thing that the play portrays it as. One of the reasons Zuko was so confused there was because he felt like his uncle was telling him contradictory things, and he couldn't reconcile his uncle's wisdom with what he'd been taught to believe by Ozai.

But it's finally losing Iroh as that pillar of support that makes Zuko truly realize how much he does value his uncle. It still takes him a while to get there, and he again pushes back against Iroh when Iroh won't talk to him in prison and blames him for his own internal turmoil. But when he does finally get there, it's such a slap in the face to Ozai that Zuko on the Day of Black Sun tells him to his face that Iroh is his real father, that Zuko is going to fall to his knees and beg for Iroh's forgiveness, because Zuko has realized that Iroh is the one who really deserves his respect. Not only does Zuko tell Ozai that he, in fact, did not teach him anything about respect, but the respect Ozai tried to get from his son through cruelty and control is something Zuko will freely give to Iroh.

Then Zuko spends the next several episodes constantly talking about how great Iroh is, how much he misses him, how good he is at making tea and telling jokes, how wise he is, and what an ass he, Zuko, had been to him. He follows Iroh's advice and humbles himself because Iroh always said he didn't think things through enough, he works hard to make himself into someone his uncle would be proud of. Then when he does meet Iroh again he asks for forgiveness, but he says that even if Iroh won't forgive him he would try to make it up to him. He's completely humbled himself and it's so satisfying because it's the fulfilment of their relationship arc, and you can feel the love and respect that these two characters have for each other. And it's directly meant to contrast with what Ozai said about respect, because Ozai is full of shit.

And then Zuko just like automatically assumes that Iroh will be the Fire Lord and Iroh's like "Zuko did you forget that you are the crown prince?" And Zuko, bless his heart, is like "but I made so many mistakes."

I'm sorry, but if you're gonna keep arguing that Zuko, at this point, still "thinks he's above everyone else" then you are just being willfully obtuse.

Not to mention the fact that Zuko's crowning moment as Fire Lord is him giving a speech about how he wants to serve others, to heal the world, and even the applause and praise that he, in the beginning, wanted from others is something he doesn't accept. He tells everyone that Aang is the real hero. And Aang is a hero but like, Zuko is a hero, too, by showing heroic qualities like being selfless and humble and caring towards others. And then his last scene is not him as Fire Lord, but serving tea to everyone dressed in Earth Kingdom clothes.

And who does he serve tea to first? Uncle.

#zuko #iroh #atla meta #ozai

[usedtobe-angstyoikawa]

Mask

Zuko x reader (tea shop au)

Summary: you become friends with the two baristas from your favorite tea shop and slowly start to fall for one of them (keep in mind this takes place in the modern day, covid is still around sorry :p)

A/n: I came up with this love story kind of idea while in quarantine since where I’m from things are still pretty messy (not just because of covid but the whole country is a mess lol) so it’s hard for me to imagine love scenarios that are so different from the reality I’m currently living in. That being said, this seemed to be good enough to make my brain enjoy it while also tricking it into believing maybe it could happen to me one day (even though I’m pretty sure I’m gonna die alone :’) Anyways I was thinking of making these a series? Don’t know maybe I won’t finish it I’m too busy but I’ll give it a try

Warnings: none at lest yet

———————————————————————

Being alive during a pandemic isn’t easy, not to mention how stressing it is to be a college student as well. The combination of trying to take care of yourself while also loosing your mind and dealing with anxiety isn’t the best. The student life is already tiring on its own, but the social interaction and good fun memories that come with it makes it a little less dreadful. Of course, that is gone now too, so we’re left with only the overworking-yourself-till-your-body-gives-out part of the experience. It may sound depressing but after a bit more than a year you learn to live with it, you adapt and find new ways to relax and have fun.

That’s why you’ve been visiting the new tea shop near your house. It opened a few months ago and since you first stepped foot in the warm, inviting place you haven’t been able to go a day without their so contagious good vibes (and tea too, obviously). Well maybe you don’t visit it every single day but at least three times a week, on mondays, wednesdays and fridays to be exact. It’s become part of your routine, not only is it good because it implies spending time outside of your room but the friendly, cozy atmosphere of that place also helps you concentrate on your studies and actually get the work done. And yeah maybe having to wear a mask the whole time isn’t super comfortable but it’s worth it, at least the shops were opened again. One of your favorite things about the tea shop is the staff, from the baristas to the waiters to the owner, this last one being the first one you met. This man is incredibly sweet and is capable of lifting your mood with such simple words and a warm cup of tea. Iroh, that being his name, moved to your hometown a year before the pandemic started with no intentions of working at any shop, let alone open one. It was the arrival of his two nephews in need of a helping hand that made him come up with the best idea of his life, and the best thing that happened to you later on. You don’t really know what his relatives coming to town has to do with him opening a tea shop but he never explained, so you never asked. He is very fond of his nephews, specially the older one, a boy named Zuko. The other is a girl named Azula, which you learned is the youngest sibling even though she seems a lot more mature than her brother. Both of them work with his uncle, Zuko as a barista and Azula as the cashier, but sometimes she likes to take and prepare your orders too, just to prove she’s better at tea-making than her brother. Every time she does so you play along with it, nodding to everything she says only to then confess to Zuko that you find his tea to be better warmed than her sister’s. You’d like to say that comments like that one make him blush, but there’s no way of telling with the damned mask covering his face. This place has very strict covid prevention policies, which you are glad of cause not many shops did, so you’ve never seen their faces (or at least not the entirety of them). It’s kind of weird cause you’re pretty sure they do know what you look like since you have to take yours off every time you take a sip of your drink or a bite of your food. You only once saw Azula with her mask off, hanging from her right ear. She was outside standing next to the entrance while smoking a cigarette, she had the prettiest face you’d ever seen. But you don’t know what the faces of her brother and uncle look like, though you try to imagine it from time to time. You’re pretty sure Iroh has a beard, you can see it poking out of the sides of his mask, but what really intrigues you is his smile. He’s one of those people who are able to smile with just their eyes, so you imagine his smile is the phisical representation of happiness itself. Now Zuko’s face was harder to imagine. He wore his dark hair right in front of his eyes, kind of like grown out bangs that covered the upper part of his face. You know his eyes are of this yellowish but also hazel like color, and you’re 99% sure he has dark bags under them. But apart from that you aren’t sure what to think of his facial features, you don’t know if he has a beard or a sharp jawline, nor if his nose is pointed like his sister’s or a bit round like his uncle’s. He could have no nose at all for all you know! This types of thoughts are the ones that roam your mind while you’re trying to solve the algebra problem sitting on the book page in front of you. Maybe it’s time for your you to take a break and order another tea, you think of trying out the new matcha one Iroh added to the list last week but instead you opt for the good old jasmine tea, the old man’s favorite.

You’re surprised when you see Zuko starting on your order instead of his uncle, even though he works as a barista too he usually takes care of the food orders. It’s not that he’s bad at making tea (like his sister states), he’s only extremely good at making a few variety of them and messes up any other order completely. Bobba, black and green tee are his specialties, with oolong and herbal coming right behind them, but jasmine is one of his worst. And you’re gonna have to be the one drinking a whole cup of it. You look to your left and catch Azula’s eyes fixed on his brothers back, then they move to you and even though words aren’t coming out of her mouth you know exactly what she wants to say. Shit, good luck.

“Here you go, a jasmine tea with three sugar’s” his voice breaks your staring contest with the girl next to him and it takes you a good minute and a half to react and take the cup. You really wish you had taken a seat next to the window instead of opting for the counter, now you’ll have to try the drink while he’s standing in front of you.

You can feel Azula’s eyes burning the side of your face, you know she’s either at the verge of tears or feeling sorry for you. Before chickening out you lift the cup and bring it to your lips, letting the liquid in and swallowing. Everyone behind the counter stops, waiting for your reaction. They don’t really know what they’re expecting you to do or say, but it definitely isn’t what is currently going on in your head (and mouth).

“Oh. My. Fucking god. This is amazing.”

a/n: this wasn’t proof read so thank you for making it this far :)

#atla fanart #atla #zuko x oc #zuko x you #atla azula #atla zuko #zuko #azula #zuko and azula #uncle iroh #tea #tea shop #modern au #tea shop Zuko #zuko x reader #modern day atla #fluff

[chaosprince-apollo]

I find it poetic that in some ways Iroh's greatest defeat is ultimately his greatest triumph.

Like I'm not talking directly obviously. We know he was considered to be a great general and after his defeat he was ridiculed and broken because of the death of his son, he had no real place in his own nation due to his failure and outside of his nation he is a war criminal which he is undeniably aware of and he regrets because he knows he wasn't the good guy and his son died in vain. He may act like a buffoon at times but we know and the people in the avatar kingdoms know he is extremely capable and an expert stratergiest (a testament to this fact is people are wary of him and he STILL manages the convince them he's harmless even when the KNOW he's a dangerous man.)

Now to get to my point about why it becomes a triumph. Simple. It's his big turning point or his first big turning point. This failure and subsequent ridicule breaks him away from the expectation of being a great general. Breaks him away from being a model of what a fire nation soldier should be. Iroh is shown to always be a caring father and I truly believe he knew he was doing wrong but that he also loved his nation and the firelord (his brother) and wanted to bring glory/honour not just for himself but for his son. Failing at Ba Sing Se was a blow sure but if he'd succeeded a) more people than had already died would have and being enslaved by the fire nation. b) he'd have never become the man who became one of the cities protectors c) he'd possibly not have been the one to be with Zuko during exile and d) certainly wouldn't have been someone helping protect the Avatar.

Now I say this is one of his turning points because it's also extremely obvious his relationship with Zuko is his other important factor as to WHY Iroh is such a nuanced and well fleshed out character. There's no way Iroh WOULDN'T love Zuko, but his failure and death of his son drives Iroh not only to adopt Zuko as his own but also to understand that Zuko's mission is wrong and is the road to ruin.

Iroh has first hand knowledge what being on the wrong side gets you. He's also one of the only people around Zuko that acknowledges he is literally a 13 year old child (when exiled, 16 during the show) the gaang also make acknowledgement of this but considering they themselves are like 12-15 approximately this acknowledgement doesn't have the same impact as GROWN ASS ADULTS thinking it's okay for the firelord (a powerful force) to fight agni kai against a 13 year old and then exile him for having....an opinion? Like honestly do these people actually know what the agni kai was about and just accept that or are they told Zuko did something terrible...which like even so pretty poor form here y'all (anyway I digress clearly from my point but I have FEELINGS and probably there are other people with in the fire nation that have enough empathy and critical thinking to know that what happened to Zuko was wrong but my point remains) Uncle Iroh is one of if not the only ADULT character that seems to actually be shown as thinking Zuko is a child with feelings instead of that he's dishonoured his family or that he's evil.

(Side note, I know he calls Azula crazy but I also don't think he thinks she's actually evil either but he has no way to help her and even if he tried there's no way in her current mind set she'd ever listen. She wants to be strong and powerful and whilst she's incredibly smart she can't tell she's being manipulated because she's only ever gotten by on manipulation herself and being rewarded for that so it's difficult for her to see her father doing it to her. It's really enforced into her that her brother is weak and worthless because he doesn't have it in him to be like her. In her mind Iroh isn't just a failure as a soldier, he's a failure because he stood by Zuko. Why would she listen to someone so weak and stupid.)

So in conclusion after several tangents. Iroh's failure to take Ba Sing Se ultimately leads to his role in it's liberation and the defeat of the fire nation under firelord Ozai. His defeat helps put him on the side of the people and the avatar and gives him chances to make amends for his true failures (besieging the city in the first place leading to deaths including his own son and the failure to bring a stop to his younger brother's ambition and cruelty)

Another tangent fuck sorry, it's being a little while since I've watched and I'm thinking of things as I type and I am totally aware I might be missing stuff or misremembering things or that maybe I just have a different interpretation of certain events or characterisations. ANYWAY Iroh as the older brother was the one in line for the throne and Ozai tried to convince Azulon that Iroh was weak using Ba Sing Se as the reason (Azulon's reaction to this is entirely unfair, and it's hard to feel empathy for his fate at the time of his death even if, like other people of fire nation royalty, he has potential not to be a FUCKING COLOSSAL WANKER.) [Also a pause here to say there's a solid 11 to 12 hours between my thoughts here cause my friend called for me to pick her up from somewhere cause she finished waaaaay earlier than we were expecting so coherency who knows her lol]

I think the point I was making essentially comes down to Iroh's defeat leads Ozai to confront/try to reason with Azulon that Ozai would make a better firelord than Iroh (whether Ozai was wrong or right is a matter of perception ultimately) Azulon didn't like this and demanded Ozai kill Zuko, which I actually don't remember clearly but I looked at the wiki to jog my memory and it says that's what happened. Which was my point earlier about being a wanker, and sure maybe it was actually going to be some kind of test a la abraham and isaac etc but of course he got murked and also like firelords tend to have this follow through of becoming batshit at some point. Or at least the last few the precede our boy Zuko certainly have questionable levels of empathy for anyone outside of their immediate family and even then ... anyway who remembers Zuko's scar? Anyone, anyone at all. Yeah....

So Iroh defeat = Ozai trying to usurp the throne = Azulon's piece of shit death to Zuko demand = Azulon gets murdered, sorry assassinated = Ozai usurping the throne anyway (although I'm not sure Iroh really fought him on that at all? Someone please clarify) = Ozai being firelord when Zuko spoke up = the whole agni kai business = Zuko having his face burnt by his own father and told he's weak and is given a frankly impossible task = Iroh watching on and feeling shame, disgust, guilt, and honestly I ultimately think he felt fear for Zuko and fear of having to acknowledge more than ever before that his younger brother and even the nation he loves are on the wrong path and that power isn't worth the amount of pain and suffering caused, like I'm sure previous to this he knew, he had to have known because we know how incredibly intelligent Iroh is, and we also know he is part of white lotus (which again someone might have to tell me a timeline on that because the white lotus thing seems to have being going on a while so was he white lotus during the ba sing se seige? The first one I mean? OH THOUGHTS BUT I'LL COME BACK = Iroh and Zuko's pirate adventures uh, I mean Zuko tries to capture the avatar and Iroh drinks tea = Iroh having to watch Zuko struggle at an impossible task to regain honour he never actually lost = Iroh being a scheming old man to achieve the goal of giving Zuko a loving father = Iroh going on the journey with Zuko to befriend the gaang = Iroh participating with other white lotus members to liberate ba sing se = leading to help the downfall of an oppressive regime = Zuko taking the throne in a state of empathy and acceptance.

Like let's be real. Even though Iroh probably would have made a formidable firelord he possibly wouldn't have become the Iroh we know even though that man would have been in there and whilst he'd have remained a role model to Zuko it may not have had the same impact as the journey they DO share.

Okay I know I had more thoughts regarding white lotus things but this is so long and it's midnight and exactly 0 people will read this

Anyway I love Iroh thanks for coming to my Ted Talk

(Any mistakes are because my brain just dumped a bunch of thoughts and proofread absolutely nothing)

#uncle iroh #prince iroh #atla #avatar the last airbender #zuko #fire nation #fire lord #fire lord azulon #fire lord ozai #agni kai #white lotus #ba sing se

[stitch1830]

How would the steambabies, bladebabies and the dunebabies react if someone had a crush on any one of their parents?

Hi Anon, thank you for your ask! (And your patience, sorry for dropping the ball on this one!)

I do have already have an answered ask where I talk about the Gaang being called MILF/DILFs Here which is like... a raunchier way of saying they have a crush on their friend's parent LOL. So, I'll answer another question that I kind of thought when I read this one (and if you want another question answered feel free to send another!)

New Question: How does everyone (Gaang and/or Next Gen in general) react when a next gen baby learns someone is crushing on them?

Zutara and Steambabies: Katara would think it's sweet that someone had a crush on her child, and Zuko would probably internally freak out a little bit, but he would be supportive. His initial instinct is to be all "Protective Baba" but once he realizes that there is no threat and a little reassurance from Katara, he will be the silent supporter of whatever his kid wants. (But if his kid said "Baba so-and-so is bothering me," BOOM. Protective Baba jumps into action). The kids would be flattered, but the only one I see being pretty proactive about crushes would be Izumi... I think. She can be pretty flirty, so lots will voice their affection for her. Her execution or response to confessions isn't always successful, but it doesn't stop her or bother her as much as it would Iroh or Kya.

Sukka and Bladebabies: Sokka would be like "Aye that's my boy, someone's crushing on you!" and Suki would hit him for being so silly. If the kids had questions about how to navigate a situation where someone is crushing on them, I think they would turn to their mother for advice, mostly because she is naturally calm and collected in difficult situations. Sokka can be as well... problem is, is that they don't know if they should take all of his suggestions seriously, or none of them. Malek would probably respond better to the person crushing on him more than Kiki would manage her situation, but definitely some outcomes are better than others for our bladebabies lol.

Taang and Dunebabies: Toph probably would joke and say "I could've told you that" based on the elevated heart rates of the kids around her kids, but Aang typically would handle the "feelings" and reaction talk. It's not that Toph would be bad at navigating a situation like this with her kids, but that Aang is better with his words and feelings than Toph, so the kids just naturally go to him for questions or concerns. Lin would be an awkward turtleduck around someone that told her she was pretty or something, Gyatso would be nice back naturally (and probably oblivious to the true meaning of the compliment), Suyin would relish in the attention and play it up, and Kenji would take a more action, 'face it head-on' approach to a crush confessing their feelings.

Okay! Those are my Zutara/Sukka/Taang thoughts for the day. Feel free to send in more asks if you guys have more questions or HCs you'd like to share. Thanks again for the ask, Anon, and I hope you have a great day!

#taang #sukka #zutara #atla #toph #aang #sokka #suki #zuko #katara #dunebabies #steambabies #bladebabies #headcanons #my asks #thanks for the ask! #anon #crushes ooooo #kya II #izumi #iroh II #malek #kiyoko #lin #suyin #oc gyatso #oc kenji

[nerdybookworm25]

#1, #16, and #17 for the Zutara asks? 😁

1- What made you start shipping Zutara?

Ok so it’s kind of a funny story. My brother (age 10) and I were watching Avatar for the first time ever on Netflix. We were watching Book 1, Episode 9: The Waterbending Scroll when he turned to me and said, “What if Zuko becomes a good guy and gets with Katara?” We had never seen the show before so neither of us were sure where Zuko’s arc was going to go. I then looked up who Katara ended up with because my brother had me hooked on this idea and I was severely disappointed. I started reading fanfics as soon as we finished the show back in early July.

16- Do you think Zuko and Katara developed feelings for each other in cannon or post-cannon?

I think that there was a really small spark for them after the Agni Kai and neither of them really thought anything of it. They continued to be best friends but after their relationships ended, they started spending more time together and then got together. So I guess the answer would be a little bit of both lol.

17- How do you think Iroh and Hakoda would react to Zutara?

Well, Iroh would be absolutely thrilled. Like that man would try to order a feast in celebration and Zuko, who’s face would be about as read as his robes, would have to calm him down. Hakoda’s reaction is a bit more tricky for me to sort out. I definitely think he’d have a little bit of that typical dad concern when their daughters date anyone. He just wants Katara to be treated right- it doesn’t really have much to do with Zuko just that Katara is dating again. I feel like he’d see them interact around the rest of the Gaang at some function and would be like ok they seem alright. Then he’d be walking down a hallway and see Zuko wishing Katara a goodnight at the door to her room with a kiss on the hand and then a peck on the lips. They don’t know he’s there so he gets to see Zuko be sweet with her in private too. From that moment on, he has literally no worries about their relationship. (The assassination attempts can stress him out though. Sokka is worried too, but he always reminds Hakoda that Zuko almost have up world peace for Katara and they’d be ok- they can protect each other and themselves just fine.)

Thanks for asking! 😊✨💕

#Zutara #Zutara asks

[callioope]

Continuing my reactions to Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

This post is about Book 2. See my overall impressions and thoughts on Book 1 here.

Quick/General Thoughts

Uhhh pretty wild there is both a solar eclipse and a super comet happening in the same summer… anyways!!!

Ba Sing Se was so messed up omg

Aang

SMH more adults trying to take advantage of Aang. I was furious with the Earth Kingdom general who tried to force Aang to fight the Fire Lord well before he was ready. Clearly he was not ready! And then the audacity for him to attack Aang and then Katara to provoke the Avatar state was whole levels of messed up. 

The Great Appa Kidnapping: Yeah, so, as soon as the sand traders took him, I was like, “Oh no. I’ve heard about this. They are going to be in trouble!” But even then I didn’t know it stretched out over so many episodes. These episodes broke my heart! Aang’s complete distress at having lost Appa. Then the episode from Appa’s POV. Poor Appa! He goes through so much. It’s devastating. And then both Appa and Aang both dream of how they originally met each other? UNFAIR. CRUEL. HOW DARE THE CREATORS DO THIS TO ME. (I’m being facetious I love it I live for this kind of drama this is how i express they were doing good storytelling)

The whole “final chakra” being about letting go of attachments… hmm that felt VERY Star Wars of them… Filoni is this your doing? (Although actually I don’t remember seeing his name on any Book 2 episodes.)

Sokka

My fave continues to be the long-suffering Sokka, just trying to get his family to Omashu, it shouldn’t be this hard!!! This was literally what I wrote at the time of watching “Chapter Two: The Cave of Two Lovers,” and OH LITTLE DID I KNOW!!! [cut to Book 3… lmao… anyways]

Sokka making a map to help keep track of the maze-like cave/tunnel is actually really clever. I can’t believe people think he’s stupid. I mean, sure, it didn’t end up working, but that’s because the cave was magic or whatever, and that is beyond his control!

Side note, but lol at Sokka’s purchases and love for shopping. His ridiculous belt! How excited he was that it matched his bag!

Second side note, I was pretty excited to see that gif where Sokka is making that “I’m watching you” gesture and then goes “Water tribe!”

Katara

Yeah, notice how I don’t have much to say about Katara? It’s not that I don’t like her or that I don’t think she’s interesting, but. I just don’t really have a lot to say about her. 

I was amused by how she handled those bullies. My impression before I started watching was that she was going to be this like, pure and GoodTM character, but she definitely has her flaws and that is better.

I really liked the scene where she is able to calm Aang down while he’s in the Avatar state. There was good build up to that, showing her worry every time he entered it and her awareness of the fact that he only ever enters it when feeling upset. The fact that she was able to do that clearly Meant Something. So again, I suppose, I really feel up to this point that the show is very much like “Aang/Katara Endgame!” it felt very obvious to me. And I knew before starting the show that Zuko and Katara are a thing — but Aang and Katara is just so heavy handed that it was impossible for me to ship them with anyone else. They were just foundational to the show. Like it always felt like a foregone conclusion to me, almost as if they were established from the beginning although they obviously weren’t.

Toph

I spent like, the second half of Book 1 thinking “WHEN TOPH WHEN TOPH!” Imagine my ire that she still isn’t around for the first five episodes of Book 2, which is titled “EARTH” my goodness.

But OH was I delighted by “Chapter 6: The Blind Bandit”!!! I loved her intro, I loved how Aang is just immediately in awe of her skills when he sees her. He knows she’s exactly the teacher he’s been waiting for. “She waited and listened!” he says. Yes. I love it. (But also, lol at Sokka booing Aang.) Despite this, Aang really does not handle that first interaction very well!

So frustrating how her parents were treating her. “She’s fragile and helpless!” what a thing to say about your daughter. [Also you literally named her “tough”?!] And he is basically going to imprison her, wtf. & how do you get off saying “the avatar is no longer welcome here”?! smh children whose parents try to “control” their kids always end up being the most rebellious.

I was amused that “my dad changed his mind” apparently was a popular lie daughters use on this show. *facepalm*

I liked the contrast between how Toph wanted to teach Aang and how Katara thought he should be taught! That was interesting. And yeah, Toph certainly lives up to her name. 

Zuko & Iroh

Spent a good portion of the early part of this season wondering how Zuko and Iroh could possibly be related to the awful Fire Lord (and Azula for that matter — jeez she is nuts!), and longing to know what happened to Zuko’s mom. (Obviously that would be answered soon!)

Knowing that Zuko eventually joins the Aang crew, but also remembering that I never saw Iroh with them, made me SEVERELY worried that something terrible would happen to Iroh. And I spent the entire rest of the series worrying about that. Uh, especially since, apparently Iroh is hopeless at Survival 101. Honestly that was surprising to me. 

Zuko deciding they needed to split up was devastating!!! No!!! I loved the adventures of Zuko & Iroh!! He said, “There's no reason for us to stick together,” and I was like, “Yes there is you idiot! Because you’re family and you love each other!!!” I was so sad. I mean, also Iroh is currently the only person who likes Zuko, so, you know, that might be a good reason to stay with him. Just a thought. 

The last thing Zuko needs is to be alone, that will NOT be good for his issues. And lo and behold, look! Immediately, he’s struggling on his own. But I did like that episode (“Chapter 7: Zuko Alone”) because we get to see Zuko’s mom! (Uh, did she have a name?) Turtle ducks are so cute.

“Everything I’ve done I’ve done to protect you.” THIS. SLAYED. ME!!!!!! I mean, y’all know Rogue One is my jam so this parallel with Zuko’s mom and Galen Erso????? I lost it. I just lost it. Plus, though it isn’t confirmed until later, we can tell she’s sacrificing herself to save Zuko and just. (A) what a completely messed up family, but (B) MY HEART. SHE BETTER BE ALIVE is all I’m saying.

Interesting side note: they never show Ozai’s face in the early seasons. 

If you assumed that I was delighted to see Iroh has been tailing Zuko this whole time, you’d be correct. I had hoped that was the case and was very glad it was. Although *facepalm* again at Zuko. I suppose he had no way of knowing Katara had healing powers but it was so frustrating knowing if he had just listened to them for one minute they could have helped Iroh after Azula blasted him. At least he made him tea and nursed him back to health. 

If the evil advisor of Ba Sing Se had files on everyone and knew everything that went on… I mean… did he know about Iroh and Zuko? 

I didn’t jot down any notes about this at the time, BUT. Man. Did I ADORE Zuko and Iroh’s adventures in Ba Sing Se. I mean it was a nice relief from all the other crazy stuff happening. (Not happy to see Jet though. Ugh.) 

Finally, though, Zuko’s betrayal at the very end of the season totally shocked me. Because of spoilers, I knew he’d join Aang’s crew, and so it was so confusing! And such a regression, I really didn’t understand it and was very worried about what it would mean for his redemption arc — but more on that in the next post, don’t want to get ahead.

Azula

Oh. Boy. Again, I knew she was going to be crazy, but I don’t think I was prepared for just how messed up she is. “Do the tides command this ship. You said they would not allow us…” Jeez that is pedantic in a very bizarre way and obviously not what was meant… Yikes.

Also, Azula is much better at finding Zuko than Zuko is at finding Aang. Just a stray observation.

“Father regrets your banishment. He wants you home.” [insert IT’s A TRAP gif here]

“If the Earth Kingdom finds us, they'll have us killed. If the Fire Nation finds us, they'll turn us over to Azula. Earth kingdom it is.” Yeah, this line was hilarious but also sad. It really said a lot about Azula, and Zuko and Iroh’s relationship with her.

Had no idea Azula had her own crew. It was incredibly clear that Ty Lee felt coerced to join her and didn’t really want to, but that was less clear to me for Mai. Mainly seemed like Mai was bored with where she was and was just like “shrugs might as well do evil stuff.” 

I did know that a character named “Mai” would eventually be Zuko’s love interest (and it is pretty heavily portrayed that she has a crush on him), so at this point, I was very much like, “Hmm. This character is too apathetic and annoying, I don’t want her to end up with Zuko!” Plus, the fact that her name was pronounced “May,” (which was not how I thought “Mai” was pronounced) and I knew Zuko would have a thing with a lady in a tea shop, I wasn’t 100% sure Zuko/Mai were end game. 

“She’s crazy and she needs to go down.” I think Iroh said this. I just don’t know what to say. Why is Azula the way she is? That’s never entirely clear to me. In some ways, it’s implied she was just Like That (in the flashback where mom is like “What is wrong with you?”) and perhaps she’s just her father’s daughter. I don’t need a reason, per se. Idk. I just don’t know what to say to her. She clearly needs help. 

#avatar the last airbender #avatar: the last airbender #atla #a:tla

[starlightandsunshine]

A:tLA First Watch

Now officially half way through book 3, yay!

I’ve finished up until the end of “Day of the Black Sun” and oh my god I don’t even have words.

So in no particular order, just as the thoughts come to me:

I screamed when Zuko confronted his father and can I just say that it was hands down one of my favourite moments in the series so far

Just - he’s come so far and just confronting his father like that

I am so proud of Zuko

Also that moment when he redirected Ozai’s lightning back at him? YES

At what point is Ozai going to realise that he fucked up?

Everything about Azula in the eclipse episodes also deserves an honourable mention because can we just talk about how she held her own with no bending and she still achieved all her goals!

Also noooooooo Suki

I really hope we see Suki again because I’m really scared for her now

The submarines were awesome, just the whole assault was awesome

Also Hakota (sp?)(Sokka/Katara’s dad) continues to be the best father in the series (Iroh is Uncle ok)

I did not expect to end up shipping Zuko and Mai when I started book 3 but I do

Also Mai in general is just really relatable

That Beach episode was the best

Azula had no chill at all

And was I the only one that got really strong jealousy vibes off her when Ty Lee was surrounded by adoring boys? And not jealous of the boys attention either

Just me? cool

Also why did no one at the party realise who Zuko and Azula were

Azula in general continues to be both badass and manipulative

And apparently actually cares somewhat about Zuko

The episode with the other waterbender

That was...

SO I take back everything I said about bending water in living things

That episode was absolutely horrifying

Katara continues to be absolutely badass

But the heartbreak on her face in that episode killed me

Just Hana (sp?) congratulating her

The whole episode just really fucked me up ok

It was a really good episode

I just probably won’t ever watch it again unless I watch the whole series through with someone

So creepy

Aang accidentally ending up in a fire nation school was perfect

And then the dance party at the end?

I laughed the whole way through that ep

Sokka and Katara as his parents? lol

Just everyones reactions was fantastic

And that scene with the one guy posturing over his gf when Aang was just standing there, clearly having no clue over what was actually going on

Katara looks really nice in her fire nation clothes and hairstyle

Aang looks adorable with hair

The episode where Katara was pretending to be a spirit was super great, especially the ending where the gang helped her and added sound effects

Just priceless

The Sokka’s Master episode is probably another one of my favourites

He’s really not doing anything the way the Master expected

But its so great because he just rolls with it

The gang missing him was so sweet and how they all just jumped on him when he came back for their help? awwwwwwwwwwww

They clearly need Sokka

Also that was just one day?

wtf

Is it just a really intense one day course? How does that even work?

Also I totally called both that the attack at the end was a test and that the Master guy was in Uncle Iroh’s tile game club (I can’t remember what it’s called)

And he gave Sokka a tile at the end!

Does that mean that Sokka’s in the club now?

Also I love his new meteor sword

And I’d totally forgotten that he lost his boomerang

I miss him being the boomerang guy

I love that Toph can bend metal now and just ruthlessly uses it to her advantage every time it comes up

Speaking of Toph, the episode with the scams?

Perfection

Also the assassin that Zuko hired is definitely going to come back to bite him as soon as Zuko finds the gang isn’t it?

Although at least Aang will learn firebending now

Hopefully

I hope Zuko teaches him the lightning trick

Also the assassin just looks all around weird

Why does he blow stuff up like that

Why is it coming out of his head

The first episode was not at all what I was expecting and yet somehow exactly right

Also Katara has abandonment issues was not something I expected when I started this show and now I can’t see her without it

I can’t believe that Roku was friends with Sozen (sp?) !!!!!!

I just-

WHAT

Also what was that at the end???

He saves Roku’s life, then gets saved by him and only then does he decide ‘nope going to leave my childhood best friend to die now’

Did anyone else get boyfriend vibes off them

I didn’t realise that they didn’t know Roku was the avatar at the start

And I almost cried when Sozen gave Roku his family heirloom head thingy

Also Roku is Zuko’s other g-grandfather!!!!!!

I did not see that coming!!!!!

Aaaaaaahhhhh

WHAT

The whole Iroh/Zuko interactions in this first half were heartbreaking

Also I stan that one nice guard that Iroh warned

I want her to come back again

Not much to say about the episode with the nightmares

Except that wow you can literally see Zuko deciding to betray Ozai coming

The whole episode does such a good job at building towards it

And at the end you just know that Zuko isn’t loyal to the fire lord anymore

Is there anything else?

Oh yeah, I loved that they brought back so many people from books 1 and 2 to help with the invasion

I can’t remember most of their names anymore but I was so happy that they all came back and helped

Low key disappointed no northern water tribe people came to help or the two people from Jet’s gang that were there in Ba Sing Se (is Jet dead? I’m pretty sure Jet’s dead)

The ending to the eclipse episodes where all the adults had to stay behind?

I cried

Really loved the first half of book 3

Really excited to see how the gang reacts to Zuko

Hope we see Suki again

Also loved how Zuko knew basically instantly that Aang wasn’t dead

And still chose not to share that

With anybody

Also that he immediately went to get Uncle Iroh as soon as he left

But Iroh already broke out during the eclipse

Iroh is badass!

Also yay him for abusing peoples expectations and playing at being mad

Looking forward to Zuko and Sokka interactions and Zuko and Aang interactions and Zuko and Katara interactions

Zuko interactions with basically everyone really

I’d completely forgotten that the fire nation had air balloons that they stole from the northern air temple guy back in book 1 but hey looks like that plot point wasn’t forgotten

I love that they have all this pseudo-modernish tech that’s driven by bending

Ozai does not look like what I was expecting tbh

How is he so young when Iroh is so old

Is Iroh about to do something badass with his tile game club?

Please please please let us see the grown ups that got captured again (no more dead parents!)

Are we going to meet anymore past avatars? Like a water tribe avatar? At some point

The fire nation prisons are kind of horrifying - what with cutting earthbenders off from earth and waterbenders from water

Is the hawk going to come back at some point?

Also teamMum!Katara is my favourite thing

Sokka is kind of teamDad but only sometimes

Other times he’s ‘lets do this stupid idea’ guy and everyone goes along with it

I swear the gang+Zuko have three braincells between them and Zuko is hogging one most of the time

Toph shares another with Katara and the last one bounces around between evreyone

Aang and Sokka are so dumb sometimes its hilarious

But everyone has dumb moments

At least they’re all pretty

Momo is still adorable

I still love Appa

I cannot believe that painted woman spirit from that one ep literally turned up at the end to thank katara

They seem to be heading towards katara/aang endgame

I’m not necessarily opposed but I do love them all as siblings

Although Toph’s crush on Sokka can stay because its adorable

Also yay for Yue coming back even if it was only for 5 minutes

The gang were terrible fake fire nation people

No wonder everyone thought they were from the colonies

Aaaand this got really long again.

(It’s not my fault this series is just so good!)

#atla #a:tla #first watch #thoughts #questions #book 3 #aang #katara #sokka #toph #zuko #iroh #azula #appa #momo #avatar the last airbender

[femmedplume]

Don't mind me! Dropping in from the atla tag! I read your thoughts on the whole Azula going crazy after realizing she has no friends and I was wondering... The creators of the show wanted to have another season where they would work on a redemption arc for Azula, cause let's face it she did some horrible stuff but she was just as much of a victim as Zuko. And she was still basically a kid. What do you think a redemption for her would have been like? And what do you think she would be like after?

Ooh great question!

Hmm. 🤔Well, I definitely think she could have a cool redemption arc, because the ATLA writers have already proved they can write one hell of a redemption arc lol. I think if they did do a redemption arc for Azula, it would be a longer road than Zuko’s -- and I would love it if they explored her abuse trauma like they did with him. 

She’s definitely a victim of her terrifyingly abusive dad. So maybe part of her redemption arc could be her being taken in by a loving family and being actually nurtured and cared for. Not that she never had anyone to try to tell her how to be better, but she never really listened to Uncle Iroh; I don’t think they clicked the same way he clicked with Zuko-- which was in part Iroh’s fault. At the same time, even as a child she was dismissive/disrespectful of him, so it’s clear he probably wouldn’t be the one to get through to her. 

So maybe an Earth Nation family? Like remember that one time she was gloating over how their father was going to murder Zuko, and she taunted him about finding a “nice Earth Nation family” to adopt him? So that would be a great callback/little narrative irony, if she found a family there.  This would be after her arc in the comics so far, of course (where she leans into the insanity and villainy for a while)--

--So maybe an Earth Nation family, who lost their only daughter to the war, takes her in after she’s injured somehow and cares for her.  They have a farm, and she ends up working on it with them while she heals up.

Maybe they have a son, a couple of years younger, fiery and full of hope, who follows Azula around and gives her the admiration she craves so much. She can’t teach him bending, but she can teach him regular combat skills. He introduces her to his friend group, and because she can’t firebend or Princess them into submission, she has to learn how to-- gasp!-- interact like a normal person!

Hilarity ensues, but she figures it out slowly.

And maybe when she acts all high-handed and threatening, her Host Family makes it clear that she can’t force them to do what she wants and that they won’t stand for  “tantrums”--  which would probably be the first time anyone put her behavior into that perspective. 

At first, she’d probably say hurtful things, sneer at them, be ungrateful for their help; because like I said before, Azula has NO tools for emotional expression, and has never had to be grateful for anything. But the Earth family would lead by example, and eventually she’d start trying to be better. She’d also have to re-examine what she’d been taught about kindness being weakness and such.

She’d probably also be having extreme PTSD reactions to failure because of her past-- but the Earth family would give her understanding and gentle care, and help her understand that she doesn’t have to be perfect to earn validation or kindness.  

Meanwhile, she’s living in this Earth Nation village, and learning the same way that Zuko did about the atrocities that the Fire Nation has committed from the victims’ perspectives. Maybe she finds out that she herself is directly responsible for the death of her Host Family’s daughter, and that’s the moment that finally gets through to her--

--because Azula’s biggest flaw is her inability to take responsibility for her behavior. Zuko (eventually) apologizes, tries to make amends, all that, but Azula never gets to that point. So all this time she’s been acting out that Might Makes Right™ Fire Nation MO; but learning that she personally broke the hearts of people she cares about finally breaks through that cultural and personal arrogance and forces her to face her crimes and mistakes. 

AND THEN.

Then the redemption arc can really begin! 

GUILT! 

REMORSE! 

THE DRIVE TO REGAIN HER HONOR!

Azula, too ashamed to face her Host Family, flees the Earth Nation village and wanders from place to place, trying to outrun her guilt. As she travels, she meets people; and for the first time, tries to help those she comes across instead of harming. Tries to make up for the past. Because she is strong, and smart, and capable and determined, she would definitely be successful in helping to rebuild the Earth Nation. Maybe she starts to gain a bit of a reputation-- a good one-- and people learn they can turn to “The Red Pilgrim” (because of her cloak; she still likes Fire Nation red,) in their hour of need.

But! Because the Earth Nation is so mistrustful of firebenders (and she’s keeping a low profile,) Azula can’t use her bending when she’s helping; which forces her to find other ways to make things happen. She draws on what she’s learned from Mai’s cleverness, and Ty Lee’s friendliness, and even Zuko’s strict code of honor-- and ends up discovering that being (relatively) nice and trustworthy gets her the friends and loyalty she’s always wanted in a way that her terrifying powers can’t.

One of the people she ends up helping is a kid whose parent is super abusive, and surprise! The Abusive!Parent is someone Azula befriended earlier; someone who flattered her and agreed with her and liked to laugh at other people’s humiliation like her. A friend who behaves like Azula used to behave, which is super seductive.

Then she sees Parent!Friend verbally/emotionally abuse their kid, which brings up Azula’s own unexplored daddy issues. Finally, finally Azula realizes that Ozai is a bully, and that by emulating him, she’s been a bully her whole life too. In standing up for the kid to Parent!Friend, Azula says all the things that she never even knew she needed to tell Ozai-- and she tells Abused!Kid some things that someone ought to have told Zuko and herself. 

So from there she could return to Host Family and confess her crimes and beg forgiveness, and/or go back to Zuko and try to rebuild their familial relationship. The Host Family might not forgive her, and that would be reasonable--

--but maybe some of the friends she’s made in the village do. Maybe they understand that she’s trying to be better, and give her what encouragement they can.

Zuko would definitely forgive her; their relationship is fraught and tense, but he knows what it’s like to be trying to regain one’s honor.  The most obvious step from there would be for her to try and find a place in the new Fire Nation government, but what I’d love to see is her becoming a teacher... and maybe a priest! Joining a Fire Sage temple, using her experience to help teach new firebenders the right way. Maybe finally finding someone to fall in love with (I low-key ship her with Mai or Ty Lee lol.) 

Growing up, growing old and wise. 

Letting go of her anger. 

Doing her best to balance the bad she’s done with good. 

Becoming Grand Master Azula, the greatest firebending teacher of her generation, thus fulfilling her ambition of being The Best™ at something. 

Making up with Mai and Ty Lee, (although I’m betting Suki and Sokka are not going to be inviting her over lol.)  

Actually getting to know Aang, and realizing Oh My God I Almost Killed This Sunshine Child Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me??

Visiting her Earth Kingdom family regularly, or sending them gifts and letters. Visiting Zuko on holidays. Learning not to be jealous of his Firelord-ishness. Learning to be proud of her big brother for all he’s accomplished. Being Best Woman at his wedding, and Auntie Zula to his kids. Taking a Family Trip to the beach every summer--

--calling him ZuZu in front of Very Important Ambassadors and such, because lol.

REDEMPTION! 

#avatar: the last airbender meta #azula #stitch answers an ask #redemption arc #thevalkyriewarrior

[seyaryminamoto]

Benders not of the 4 elements

Hey, I found your fic a few days ago, and I just wanted to say that I’m really surprised at the quality (in a good way lol.) There’s a few things I disagree with (for example, Iroh’s portrayal - he comes off much more as bumbling to me rather than someone hiding something, as well as the personalities of a few characters, but I won’t go into it here) but generally it’s actually very well written! I do have a question, though: what’s with the mentions to benders that aren’t from the 4 elements? That’s the biggest contradiction to canon I’ve found, and it honestly seems rather confusing, considering that’s it’s not a very significant detail at all to change, but still feels ‘off’ to me, I guess. I’m at chapter 107, so maybe there’s something I’m missing from the later chapters, but I still find it weird especially since I’ve always found the natural symmetry of the four elements rather satisfying.

Thanks for the submission! It’s good to know you’ve enjoyed the story and you consider it’s of good quality :D

We could probably spend a very long time talking about why I portray Iroh as I do, but I could probably just summarize it and then direct you to many analyses of Iroh’s less flattering canon traits, which compelled me to portray him as a much murkier character than canon did...

I can understand why you perceived him that way, but Iroh wasn’t merely bumbling in the show, especially considering he becomes Zuko’s moral spine and acts far more seriously throughout the final season of the show than he did beforehand. He has canonical ties with the White Lotus which, as you have already seen, isn’t portrayed at their most flattering either in my story, since I’m hinting at separate factions and corruption within their very group… and of course, once you pay close attention to Iroh’s actions when you watch the show, you might notice Iroh is not only full of contradictions and several displays of highly hypocritical behavior, but he’s also a complicated character who committed terrible deeds in the past, deeds that the show is happy to gloss over and excuse him for at every opportunity. I’ve turned him into more of a mastermind with his own agenda to give the character a more serious tone, as well as to acknowledge his constant rivalry with Azula in the show, where they were outright portrayed as the two forces battling over Zuko’s soul (a rivalry that, to my utter confusion, seems to go ignored by the majority of the fanbase despite it was a major theme for two whole seasons).

Alright, so, for further analysis of the character: Ursa vs. Iroh in how they handled the sibling relationship between Zuko and Azula, sexist behavior displayed by Iroh during the show that he’s not called out for, Iroh’s not-so-humorous reaction at Zuko’s entitled behavior (a display of his serious side as early as the first episode), analysis on Iroh’s three different “faces” and how they play into viewer’s perception of the character. I figure there’s more... but I’d rather not spend all day digging into my blog’s archives for it xD

In short, my portrayal of Iroh really isn’t gratuitous, or just an attempt to make him more problematic than necessary. Sure, it is a much darker Iroh than seen in canon, or in most other fics... but even in a recently released book, Legacy of the Fire Nation, Iroh is portrayed speaking of Ozai far more sympathetically than he speaks of Azula. He outright blames her, rather than Ozai, for the misfortunes Zuko suffers during his younger years, when it’s plain as day Ozai is the main culprit for most of Zuko’s problems, if not all of them. So, if recently released canon material presents an Iroh that behaves so mercilessly towards his niece, I’d think I’m not that far-off in how I portray him...

Anyways! Closing that point, since that’s not really why you’re here...

The thing with elements is that, despite what you may have thought while watching ATLA, it’s absolutely feasible and possible for there to be more than four. Many cultures have five elements rather than four (Ancient Greece had aether as well as the typical four, I believe Hinduism featured the void, there was Heaven in Japanese culture...), to say one thing.

And then there’s China, they also have five... but they don’t even have air in their five mythological elements.

Those five elements are the ones featured in the Chinese Zodiac’s cycles, for instance. Curiously, the Avatar world’s calendar features the years named after the animals of the Chinese Zodiac (can be seen in the Library episode, specifically): yet, while borrowing their calendar, their four classic elements are different from the five elements Chinese Mythology relies on. Curious, isn’t it? :’)

Avatar wasn’t the first big story I got invested in that featured the elements as the setting’s magic system. I started off by being a huge fan of a particular show where there were no less than TEN elements: Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Metal, Wood, Thunder, Ice, Light and Darkness. In Avatar, some of the elements I’ve described here have turned out to be subsets of other bending skills: Thunder (in Avatar, Lightning) a subset of Fire, Ice and Wood of Water, Metal of Earth. With the background I had, as a fan of that other show, I was quite amused to see elements that other cultures and stories have separated and distinguished from each other tucked into umbrellas of each major bending art of the Avatar world...

In ATLA’s finale, the lion-turtles that are both loved and hated in the fandom showed up with a huge sudden twist: energybending. This has been loved and hated too, and it can be interpreted as though energybending is the superior form of bending, sure... but what the lion-turtle says is:

“In the era before the Avatar, we bent not the elements but the energy within ourselves.”

It virtually proposes that energybending itself created each bending art. Who’s to say, then, that even within LOK’s concept, there couldn’t have been more than four lion-turtles granting bending powers? Or that, if there were more, they might have been able to grant even more powers than the known ones? I’d even go so far as to say that the lion-turtle, by saying “we”, could have even been referring to humans with abilities to energybend, and that this skill wouldn’t have to be relegated to lion-turtles alone. Seeing as, before LOK arrived, the understanding of the matter was that firebenders had learned to bend from dragons, waterbenders from the ocean and moon, earthbenders from badgermoles and airbenders from sky bison, why not assume these lion turtles taught people how to ENERGYBEND, just as all those other animals had taught them how to bend the elements? :’D it was, before LOK, a perfectly acceptable interpretation of this big, last minute revelation. And the implication that the Avatar’s arrival happened AFTER the energybending era was over, could even be read as a hint at another erradicated culture: energybenders themselves.

At any rate, I’m pretty sure that I wrote the early chapters of Gladiator, where I first brought up the topic of various other bending skills, long before LOK’s big “Beginnings” episodes had aired, based mostly on that lion-turtle quote and my own previous experiences with other magical-element-based settings. This, paired with the implication that energybending used to be the main bending form of the past, and that it was lost to time, felt like fair basis to suppose that perhaps there could be even more bending arts that could have been lost to time in the Avatar World. I mean, if you think about it, had Aang been killed irremediably somehow in Sozin’s time, an entire bending race would have been gone. Why would it be impossible for previous bending groups before the Avatar’s time, the period the lion-turtle referred to, to be erradicated too?

It was all, of course, conjectures, theories and guesses. But, at that point in time, said conjectures and guesses were perfectly plausible, as, like I said, LOK’s lion-turtle based mythology hadn’t been established properly yet.

There will be some exploration into a certain kind of bending I referred to (namely, lightbending, which will have a different basis than what Azula has heard or read about so far). Still, my idea was basically to propose that a world that has been a victim to so many wars, where there are strange skills that only a few people practice (like combustion bending, or blood bending, or plant bending), it was possible that entire groups who practiced unusual subsets of bending could have been victims of other kinds of wars, just as airbenders were. And that, if the connections of those subsets with their parent elements were lost to time, in contemporary times it could look like those subsets were whole elements of their own that were decimated through warfare.

Soundbending, also mentioned early on in Gladiator, was often debated in the fandom as a possible subset for airbending before LOK was finished airing (there were huge theories on the subject). I featured Azula talking about it once because I thought it might become a thing in the franchise’s future (and then it didn’t :’D). Plantbending seems pretty instinctive to the waterbenders we see using it, yet, as most waterbenders seem to spend their whole lives in the poles, it’s natural that they wouldn’t think to bend plants since they wouldn’t really need to... hence, it’s another perfectly plausible bending skill that could have been practiced in the past, when, presumably, waterbenders fought earthbenders for territory in the large continent. Once the waterbenders settled in the poles, the skill could have been lost easily enough. The bending possibility itself isn’t gone, for it’s a subset of water, but if there were whole tribes (like the Foggy Swamp one) with a culture based around plantbending, wars could have easily seeen them destroyed and their bending art “lost”.

So, in the end, Gladiator won’t end up warping the whole four-element concept, despite canon itself kind of lends for warping by adding the fifth, energy, but I do explore these other possibilities of bending largely inspired by my other experiences in certain stories with more than four elements. I’ll stick to working within the parameters of bending subsets, and I do explore certain strange bending things that have absolutely no connection with anything that happened within the show... yet, while I didn’t start out with a set-plan on how I’d work with these bending possibilities, by now I can safely say the idea is to perceive them as subsets that resulted in small clusters of cultures of their own, cultures that were lost to time and warfare, just as airbending nearly was.

I hope this is a satisfactory and clear enough answer, if you don’t like it that’s fine too, but four elements, while they may sound very instinctive to us in modern times due to how popular it has become to split things in those four (the western zodiac, for instance, divides the zodiac signs in the ATLA four elements, as you probably know), it’s not a given, absolute thing that, when speaking of elemental magic, it has to be those four elements and nothing else. The number of elements can vary in different cultures, the types of elements can vary too, and testing a few bending possibilities beyond canon’s boundaries sounded like a fun enough idea to hint at, as long as I didn’t pull off something completely OP like VOIDBENDING... just imagine that, someone with the ability to create black holes xD sucks their whole world into it and that’s that, story over (?)

#randomguy #as that's what you called yourself in your submission xD #gladiator #sorta complicated worldbuilding questions #... or is it the answer that's complicated? #aaaanyways #as always #if you guys want a read more let me know #this got pretty long #submission

[shewhowasbornlucky]

Let go

Azula always valued her control. She’s just testing what it feels like to let go. 

She thinks she has the upper hand. Well, he’s not letting her win.

“Take off your shirt,” he says flatly, waiting for the color to reach her cheeks.

It doesn’t disappoint, and her huff is a lovely victory. “Excuse me?”

Read on AO3

There is no secret she loves control. She seeks it in even in the most unusual of places and blooms in it. She needs it as much as she needs air to fill her lungs, and water to drink. How on Earth she risked it by a pathetic bet, she does not know. Perhaps it had been the humiliating smirk on Ty Lee’s pink lips, as she laughed at her as if she were naïve. Perhaps it was Zuko’s new loser friends, who always seemed to whisper and point at her as if she were a weird, boring monk– their voices still resonated in her ears, echoing the same whispers she had heard before. That she needed a life. That she was nothing but her firebending. That her every day was, of course, a nightmare, too stiff to even be enjoyed in its simplicity.

Perhaps it was just a small rebellion, now that Father was gone and all her hard work had been for naught, gone to waste in the murmur of what he’d done. She’d always be the daughter of a criminal, and nothing more.

Still, there she was. Eager to prove that she knew how to be spontaneous (and wasn’t it ironic, that she had planned every little second she’d spend at the Tattoo Shop, and what she’d do afterward?). That she knew how to have fun. That she was not a control freak.

Azula was no princess, but she liked to pretend she was. That there was something so inherently special about her, that could never be taken from her. Something that couldn’t be tainted by another’s mistakes. Something that belonged to her, and her alone. Something that she could show off. Something to be cared for; something that made people stay.

Princesses do not go down without a fight, she thought, breathing deeply. Maybe there was no crown over her head – maybe there would never be – but Azula fought nonetheless.

Mai opens the door of the Tattoo Shop, its neon lights blinding. Azula smells heavy smoke coming from inside, and it reminds her a little of Father’s office during Fridays after his business partners had had their meeting.

“Are you sure?” she says in the flattest of voices. If Azula didn’t know her, she’d think she was bored to death – but she does know Mai, and she knows she is giving her an out. Not that she needs it.

“Of course I am sure,” she answers, her brows frowning.

Ty Lee claps overjoyed, and Mai fails at suppressing a sigh.

“Look, Azula, you really don’t have to do this. We get it-you’re so perfect you’re not even scared to mark your body for life. Let’s go back to the dorm, it’s getting cold and—”

“Oh, my. Are you worried about me, Mai? I’m touched,” she says, resting a hand over her heart. She manages a smirk, even if her knees feel shaking.

If she weren’t such a coward, she’d accept. But they are already there, and Father’s rotting away in prison, Mother is long gone, she’s pretty sure Iroh doesn’t even like her, Zuko barely tolerates her, Mai and Ty Lee feel pity towards her, and she only has control over her own body. Let her ruin it as her life is ruined. Let her take her control back.

Mai rolls her eyes, and Azula pretends it is the gesture of a true friend and not one that is with her simply because there isn’t something better to do.

“I’m serious, Azula.”

“I am, too.”

“Hey, I was just kidding – you know how I am,” Ty Lee says, and the weight of her delicate hands on her shoulders should not feel this good, “you don’t have to do something you don’t want to.”

But they don’t get it. She’s always had. It’s like a second nature to her already. She doesn’t care because it doesn’t matter. What is another mark on her body? She is not perfect, and she would never be.

“Let’s get this done with,” she says with a tired sigh, pushing Mai to the side.

Mai shrugs, her eyes hard. Ty Lee is the first to follow Azula, but soon enough Mai is joining them.

The waiting room is warm, and the speakers blast a rock song.

“This place couldn’t be more stereotypical even if it tried,” Mai whispers, taking off her sunglasses and letting them rest atop her head.

“I don’t know, the lights are a nice touch,” Ty Lee comments, a smile on her lips as she takes everything in.

“Azula Huang.”

“Coming,” she says, standing up form the loveseat. She puts her phone back into her purse, and when her eyes finally meet the person waiting for her at the door, her brow frowns.

“You?!” they say, almost at the same time.

“What are you doing here?” she hisses, jaw hard.

“I work here. What are you doing here?”

“I booked an appointment, I—”

“Is there a problem?”

“Not for me, no,” Sokka quickly said, glancing at the bearded man sitting at the desk in the front. The man eyes Azula warily and not without a hint of disdain, and her blood boils.

“I don’t have a problem, either,” she says, and it sounds like poison. “Let’s get this done with.”

She disappears through the door, not bothering to spare a glance at her companions. Sokka curses under his breath before he goes after her.

Ty Lee sighs –actually sighs – and Mai finds herself asking why she doesn’t have other friends, not for the first time. It lasts barely a few moments, before she sighs, too. This is going to be funny.

The door closes at Sokka’s back. Azula has already found its way to the chair, legs perfectly crossed.

“You better hurry. I have an appointment at 6,” she says, eyes hard.

He tries, really tries, not to roll his eyes at her, but she always manages to break his control.

“Look, princess,” he says, and it doesn’t sound soft or sweet. It is a biting insult, and she finds that her cheeks are burning. “I’m gonna be as fast as I can, but I need you to cooperate.”

“Noted,” she says, and she uncrosses her legs. The movement doesn’t make the chair look less like a throne, though. He suspects she hasn’t sat anywhere as if she doesn’t own the place. “What should I do?”

“It says here you wanted…”

“A flame, yes,” she manages to sound exasperated, but he ignores it. “I drew it for you. It shouldn’t be hard to replicate.”

He won’t dignify her jabs with an answer. “On your ribs,” he says instead.

“I recall it is written in the forms I filled, yes.” Her nails toy on the armrest, sharp and pointy.

“It’s gonna hurt,” he says after a while, eyes fixed on the form. “Like a bitch.”

“Of course it’s going hurt. A needle is piercing your skin. I wouldn’t expect otherwise,” she spats, her eyes blazing fire. He feels anger rising into him. She always speaks to others as if they were idiots.

He rolls his eyes. “No. I’m serious. It’s gonna hurt because it is close to the bones,” he explains, trying really hard not to snap at her.

“Well, then let’s make it hurt now. I don’t have much time to lose.”

“Don’t want you crying on my shoulder,” he finally gives in, and she smiles that smirk of hers.

“As if.”

She thinks she has the upper hand. Well, he’s not letting her win.

“Take off your shirt,” he says flatly, waiting for the color to reach her cheeks.

It doesn’t disappoint, and her huff is a lovely victory. “Excuse me?”

“I need free access to the skin. I’m gonna be moving a lot. Unless you want anything less than perfect on your skin, I’d say you’d better do as I ask.”

Something changes in her when he says the word “perfect”, but he can’t place what. They barely knew each other, after all. She was just Zuko’s little sister.

Zuko’s annoying, pretty hot sister.

“It wouldn’t hurt to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, you know?” she whispers, and there is an annoying smirk on her red lips. “I am not a savage you can order around.”

“Treat me like a human and I might actually consider it.”

“Jerk,” she says under her breath, and her hands work fast on the buttons of her silky shirt.

She eyes him, challenging. Her eyes seize him up as if trying to test if he’s worthy or not. He never knew to say no to a challenge, and so his eyes never leave her. Sokka follows her every move, her hands softly disposing of the white shirt and neatly folding it on her lap. It is with such precision that it fails to be seductive, not to say that it isn’t doing the trick on him, of course. But still.

Her choice of underwear is as flawless as she is and who is surprised? but there is something laughable in her wearing white lace. It seems alien against her skin, but he can’t say it doesn’t look nice. Azula almost seems soft, rich jasmine scent and lace. Sokka almost forgets who he is dealing with. She raises an eyebrow as if daring him to say something, to show a reaction. He tries really, really hard not to show what’s on his mind, though. He’d give anything to wipe away the smirk off her face.

“Well?” she asks, and her voice is now a whisper. He knows she’s no longer talking about tattoos.

His throat closes, and he counts to ten.

This is gonna be harder than he thought.

“Let’s get this over with,” he says at lasts. Ok, so. This is the FIRST thing I’ve written for this pair. I don’t even know how I ended up shipping them, but I really, really like the concept of them. And I’ve spent the past year reading mostly fics about them, so… *eye emoji* And what can I say? I love me some crack ships lol

#sokkla #atla #atla fanfiction #my writing

[firelordzukc]

FLAMEO HOTMEN ( plus points to those who understood the reference lol ) !! the resident firelord is brought to you by kirsten ( 21 , she/her ) , who’s currently located in the shitty gmt+8 timezone. this is my first time rping again in months, so i’m excited to be back, especially in such a great group !! you know the drill — smash that like button if you’d like to plot & i’ll definitely hit you up !!  

(  dylan wang.  20.  cismale.  )  ——  i  just  saw ZUKO  in  town,  from  AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER,  right  ?  HE  has  been  in  town  for  FIVE MONTHS  and  has  gotten  a  job  at  THE JAVA BEAN COFFEE HOUSE.  they  were  born  on  JULY 22,  which  makes  them  a  LEO.  i  can  see  it,  considering  they're  DETERMINED  &  QUICK-TEMPERED.  they've  got  ALL  of  their  memory,  though,  so  let's  see  how  they  do.  

HISTORY.

gonna try to keep this short & sweet for those who haven’t seen atla at all so wish me luck lmao

zuko was the former prince of the fire nation who eventually took his rightful place as the firelord after avatar aang defeated his father, firelord ozai.

his journey to the throne hasn’t always been smooth sailing — he always had a difficult relationship with his father & he lost his mother at the age of 11. after speaking out against the firelord, he was banished at age 13 to find the avatar, who had not been located for a hundred years.

at 16-years old, he crossed passed with avatar aang, and spent a good few months chasing him. after being branded as traitors, zuko & his uncle iroh lived as fugitives, eventually settling in the walled city of ba sing se where he worked serving tea. however, when faced with the avatar, the banished prince chose to return to his old ways to try to retrieve his honor once again.

after an inner struggle with his actions, zuko decided to leave the fire nation to pursue the avatar — instead, to help. from then on, he became aang’s firebending teacher and helped the group defeat firelord ozai by fighting his sister, azula, side to side with katara.

following the war, zuko was crowned firelord with the advocacy of making up for past mistakes and beginning an era of peace. however, three years into his reign, he woke up in toonsville — miles and miles away from the fire nation.

SELF.

one thing that zuko always puts importance on is his honor. he stays true to his beliefs, and assures that they are always translated into his action. when it comes to things he desires, he is resilient in pursuing them. moreover, zuko is caring and thoughtful, and often lending a hand to those in need.

while he may be assertive and headstrong, it comes across at times as controlling and domineering. he has a bad temper which he has a hard time controlling. his good judgment may often be clouded by the jealousy he has for his sister and in addition, he holds some insecurity over the scar that marred the skin over his left eye.

nevertheless, zuko may stick out like a sore thumb at times since he hasn’t been very good at socializing. he tries to crack jokes — though they may fall short at times — and tends to have a dry sense of humor. zuko doesn’t mind being the butt of jokes as long as it means people around him are having fun.

QUESTIONS.

WELCOME  TO  TOONSVILLE,  can  i  have  your  name  ?

“ my name is firelord zuko — or just zuko now, i guess. "

how  are  you  feeling  ?  the  same  as  before  you  arrived  ?  (  does  your  character  have  all,  some,  or  none  of  their  memory  ?  )

“ as of the moment, i’m still trying to process everything that has happened. i wasn't expecting to wake up here. i haven’t found some peace of mind — i still worry about my people back home. "

what  was  your  initial  reaction  to  waking  up  in  toonsville  ?

“ i think it’s safe to say that i was confused. i fell asleep in the chambers of my suite, so i was shocked to see that i woke up in a completely different place. at first, i was enraged — i thought someone had kidnapped me. i was prepared to fight whoever dared to challenge me, then i realized i couldn’t firebend. that made me even angrier. "

how  long  have  you  been  here  ?  did  you  get  a  job  ?  if  so,  what  do  you  do  ?

“ it’s been five long months. i had every intent of spending my time here trying to figure out how to return home, but it was getting tiring to live off scraps. i got a job at the java bean coffee house. when i was around sixteen, i spent some time working as a server at my uncle’s tea shop, so the job seemed fitting. i’m not really the best at it and i still prefer tea over coffee, but it pays the bills. "

what’s  one  thing  you  miss  from  your  home  world  ?

“ i miss my people. i’ve been firelord for three years now, and it feels as if i still have so much left to do. i don’t know what’s happening back in the fire nation, and not knowing who’s governing my people is making me anxious. i worry that it’s going to fall into the wrong hands again. "

have  you  got  any  future  plans  ?

“ i need to get back home as soon as possible. "

and  last  but  not  least,  will  you  try  to  escape  the  island  ?

“ who says i haven’t already tried ? "

#cartoons:intro #a.

[hermitknut]

A:TLA watch, part 10

All of my posts on this are here.

Can’t believe I’m finishing this season already…

Appa’s Lost Days

Oh damn we’re going back in time??? Neat!!

Seriously though how did none of these people go “huh maybe he belongs to the avatar with whom I SHOULD NOT FUCK”

I do NOT like this smarmy guy in the red and yellow

HEY. You HEAR THAT MR MACDONALD I DO NOT LIKE YOU

Loll at appa stealing the cabbages

So has appa ended up with the fire nation, then? Not in ba sing se at all?

Go, Appa, go!!

Awww he’ll get there, I’m sure

DREAMING APPA

AND AANG’S DREAMING TOO <3

Serpents passssss he’s close!

LOL IROH

Appa’s hurt :(

THE FIGHTY LADIES

Aww he looks so much better

NO AZULA FUCK OFF

ARE THEY JUST GONNA LEAVE US HANGING ON THIS ONE

Appa went home :(

This guru dude is an interesting twist!

BA SING SE

NO APPA IT’S A TRICK

Wait THAT’S IT THAT’S THE WHOLE EPISODE

Jesus, RUDE

I love it though XD

  Lake Laogai

By the look of the previously on, we’re back on the main plot!!

“why do you feel the need to do that” I love toph XD

“my own teashop!” lol iroh. I feel like this is a risky proposition lol.

Lol at the manager trying to keep him on staff

Oh no it’s stepford wife lady

“control of the earth king” a-HA

I LOVE KATARA’S REACTION TO JET XD XD she’s prepared to full on drown the dude look at that face

*sing song voice* jet’s been hyp-no-tised

Noooo whale-tale island is a fake. Clever way of trying to get the Avatar out of the city.

“I can tell you’re lying” TOPH

“Jet’s been brainwashed” Nice thinking, sokka!

Uh oh blue mask!!

NICE MOVE ZUKO

Ahhh creepy underground lake place

All the stepford wives in unison, yeurgh

Zuko with appa??

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Hypnotissssssm

Iroh caught zuko!! Lol

GOD the way Iroh lays into zuko JESUS

holy shit is jet gonna die

Silent dude spoke!!

god I am. genuinely frightened rn. Did zuko let appa go??

APPA!!!!

But what about the scroll??

Zuko greeewwwwwww bless him

  The Earth King

FINALLY ARE WE GONNA FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GIRLS (I’m guessing based on the previously on)

Deeply amused that toph calls katara “sweetness”

DAMN at aang blocking the giant rock with one hand without looking at it

LOOK AT THEM FIGHTING HOLY CRAP EVERYONE’S SO BADASS

Special shoutout to toph turning the stairs into a slope

I also love the built-in comedy of Sokka checking doors

Is zuko sick???

“over here!” followed by Aang cheerfully undoing and redoing his rockhandcuffs XD

THEY PUT THE EARTH KING ON A TRAIN

Lolllllllll I’m enjoying the dynamic with the earth king

Hell of a fever dream zuko

“it’s imported” LOL WHAT

It can’t be this simple :/

Idk about this whole invade the fire nation thing, it freaks me out like – eclipses aren’t that long???

Awwww everybody got letters!

“we have to split up” NO WHAT

The goodbyes are giving me feels

DID ZUKO JUST DREAM HIMSELF AS AANG LOL I mean I also have feelings about this but it’s still kinda funny

Sokka WHY would you JINX every body like that

Bad spy guy still in action, naturally

TOPH OH NO!!

A ZU LA HO LTY SHIT FUCK OH NO NOOOO UH OH UH OH [edit: electing to leave this as I typed it mid-episode lol]

…holy shit you guys

you guys I’m not ready

 The Guru

…zuko you’re freaking me out

Sokka and his daaaad I’m gonna cryyyyy

Oh no the plan has been given away to azulaaaa I TOLD YOU I HAD A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS

Man there is so much going on in this episode

“even you can’t bend metal” honestly if you piss her off any more I feel like she’s gonna manage it

I love student!aang

Let’s be honest I love all aangs but

Sokka getting fatherly approvallllll

Zuko’s still scaring the shit out of me I can’t deal with this it’s like he’s been replaced with a robot

So glad aang’s getting some actual emotional support here from an adult, ngl

HOLY SHIT TOPH IS GONNA BEND METAL ISN’T SHE I WAS ONLY KIDDING BEFORE

katara getting tea XD I WONDER WHERE THIS IS GOING XD XD

Lollllllllllll Katara run!!

“why would I choose cosmic energy over katara” I LOVE YOU AANG

Ooooo yikes the way the water spills out and makes it look almost like katara’s bleeding

Look I hate azula but if she can stop zuko from continuing to freak me out I’m kind of here for it

The whole avatar state dream sequence is trippy and beautiful

Aang’s face when he picks up sokka :(

“we’ve been invited to serve tea to the earth king” *facepalm*

HOW IS THE NEXT EPISODE THE END OF THE SEASON. HOW.

I feel like I’m hurtling into ABSOLUTE CHAOS next ep oh god XD

 The Crossroads of Destiny

Totally not a FUCKING OMINOUS TITLE thanks for that

*jittery*

Okay I just watched the previously on and I am literally grabbing my own head in panic

I AM. SO TENSE.

DRAGON OF THE WEST OH MY GOD you just know he thought that up when he was like, twelve, and honestly it’s so beautifully consistent with his character

They locked up zuko with katara XD

You have no idea how hard I’m trying not to make every comment capslocked

“it’s an old friend of mine” HOLY SHIT

“good inside him isn’t enough – why don’t you come back when it’s OUTSIDE him too” can we please give sokka a standing fucking ovation for this line because

“the key to both is proper aging” omg

oh boy this ain’t good

okay azula’s evil but damn is she good at it

lollll aang and zuok glaring at each other from inside the hugs

do you think azula resents that her super cool lightning ability results in her just making finger guns at everyone all the time because

ZUKO’S HERE

ZUKO IS FIGHTING AANG??

KATARA JUST SENT WATER SHARP ENOUGH TO CUT AZULA’S HAIR DAMN

“…just take the bear” LOL

…

…

... 

So I actually stopped typing because I had my hands clamped over my mouth for like the last five minutes of the episode (in a GOOD WAY though)

I then promptly called @1boo and yelled at her for like 20 minutes because HOLY SHIT I could not get organised enough to type anything

After a brief cooldown period, some thoughts:

1. OSUDHFOSUDRHGOSUDGHFOSIDHFGJOSUEHGTIUSHGFOISUEH GOSIUHGFISHSDFHSDOLGFLOSHGOSUHGOSGHD

2. ZUKO JOINED UP WITH AZULA WHAT THE HELL

3. See I know that season 1 is Air, season 2 is Earth, and season 3 is Fire – it’s on the DVD cases. So I really expected Zuko to join up with the others at the end of this season, with the understanding that he and Iroh would teach Aang firebending? BUT NO

4. I’m guessing we need this twist because Zuko’s not ready to fully give up on the Fire Nation as-is yet – so he’s gonna fall in for a while and then, presumably make his decision to leave. Which he needs, because before when he left the fire nation the decision was made FOR HIM and now he needs to make it FOR HIMSELF. idk. it’s just a theory.

5. AANG NEARLY LITERALLY DIED AND I NEARLY DIED WITH HIM OH MY GOD

6. Bascially, I am apparently going into season three with NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT TO EXPECT

7. you think I’m kidding, the only thing I know about the next season is “that’s rough buddy” that’s BASICALLY IT OKAY

8. SOIUDFHSIUGHE9U7GHS9D87FGYE54YHGSVOIUDNXFKJWMSEOGIU VHDGNSURODHGVSOFHBUVSFIUDBDHIUSBFHIUSIUHUI1!!!!!!

...

Right so

I’m going to go take a shower and stare into nothingness while I think about how incredible this show is

See you… next time?

H

#I CAN'T GET OVER THIS OMG #hermitknut watches a:tla #a:tla #avatar #avatar: the last airbender