#not nearly as much as zuko and haru and jet

[goldrushzukka]

as promised. the first 1k words of aidays10:

“Jet,” Sokka repeats. Nearly chokes on it.

He thinks, fleetingly, terribly, that this must be how wild animals feel before an earthquake. 

“It’s good to finally meet you, Sokka,” Jet says. Something icy prickles up Sokka’s spine at the sound of his name in Jet’s mouth. “Zuko’s told me a lot about you.”

Jet is handsome, athletically built, and his smile drips charm like venom on the fangs of a snake.

Sokka’s gaze shifts to Zuko and finds him looking right back, his cheeks burning red. 

“I would’ve let you know,” Zuko says, uncharacteristically shy, “but we were already running late –”

“And I can’t say no to a party,” Jet – fucking hell, breathe, Sokka – says. “I hope I’m not crashing.”

Sokka can feel everything starting to bottleneck inside him; all the feelings – the shock, the fondness, the anger, the bone-deep wanting – trying to overwhelm him at once. There’s no time to breathe, no time to think through any of it, no time to process. 

The world is ending, and Sokka is still shaking the guy’s fucking hand.

He needs another drink.

“No, it’s, um –” Sokka clears his throat. It doesn’t help. “You said it yourself, man, it’s a party. The more the merrier.”

Jet opens his mouth to speak again, anxiety grips Sokka’s heart in a tight fist –

Someone bumps into Sokka, and he drops Jet’s hand to steady them by the shoulders. Ty Lee giggles as she thanks him. Her lips are the colour of sparkling rosé.

She’s still laughing as she says, “This place looks amazing, thanks so much for inviting us!”

“Thank you for coming,” Sokka says, manners tumbling out on autopilot. He’s not even sure if he means it, it’s just what he knows he’s supposed to say. He needs to get out of here, before he says something stupid – or worse, something he does mean.

“I see you’ve met Jet,” she preens, “isn’t he just a peach?”

She smacks a loud kiss onto Jet’s blushing cheek. He doesn’t wipe away the smear of lipgloss she leaves behind.

“Oh, he’s a charmer,” Sokka says, scanning over her head for a way out, any way out of this nightmare.

Jet starts to say, “Well, I –” when Sokka finally spots an opening. Katara, standing by the bar, waiting to be served. Her fingers tap out a rapid beat on the glass display case.

Sokka puts on the most apologetic smile he can muster and does not look at Zuko. “Would you excuse me? I think my sister needs me for a minute.”

“Oh, I know all about that,” Ty Lee says, and a laugh spills from Jet’s mouth, like it’s an inside joke. 

“Good!” Sokka says, in response to nothing but the anxiety bubbling in his blood. “Great. Thanks. Uh –” He snags Aang by the arm on his way past, presumably also heading for Katara, and turns him to face Ty Lee and Jet and Zuko. “This is my best friend, Aang. He’ll give you guys a tour, okay?”

Aang throws Sokka a bewildered glance over his shoulder, asking with his eyes, I will?

Sokka gives him a pleading look, hoping to high heaven that no one else sees it, and Aang plasters on a crooked grin. Right before he slinks away, Sokka hears him ask, “Did you know the Dance Dance Revolution here has the Star Wars soundtrack?”

Sokka doesn’t falter a single step on his way to Katara, even when he’s sure he can feel eyes on his back. He just throws back the rest of his drink and keeps walking.

Katara is ordering when he reaches her. He tells Haru, “I’ll have what she’s having,” because if he knows his sister at all, she’s having something strong and evil.

“You don’t like what I drink,” Katara says, as Haru sets down four shot glasses. “In fact, I believe the word you use for what I drink is yucky.”

“That’s because what you drink is basically moonshine,” Sokka says. “And moonshine is yucky.”

“Coward,” she says. Haru pours, and she raises a shot glass. “Bottoms up.”

Sokka taps his shot against hers with a quiet, plastic clink, and drinks before he can talk himself out of it. He holds his breath and chases it with the second one.

The burn is cruel and merciless and exactly what he needs. It grounds him. Gives him something to focus on that won’t send him into a spiral of what if and maybe and should have.

He buries his head in his hands.

Katara scoffs. “That yucky?”

Sokka groans and looks up. He glances over his shoulder. Aang is at the concession stand explaining the intricacies of the Suki-related pun names of each menu item to Ty Lee and Jet and Mai, who Sokka swears wasn’t there when he left them, and –

Zuko is looking right at him. 

That spiral starts up again, deeper than before. 

Sokka looks away.

There’s another shot in front of him. He takes it, to clear his head, to cloud his inhibitions.

He turns to Katara.

“Don’t look now,” he tells her, “but the guy listening to Aang talk about onion rings is Jet.”

She ignores his advice, frowning as she cranes her neck to see over the other partygoers. “The one who broke up you and Zuko?”

“We didn’t – we were never together. There was nothing to break up.”

The jacket stretched across Sokka’s shoulders still smells of tea leaves and lilies. A voice in the back of his mind whispers, yes, there was.

Katara looks back at him, eyes rolling. “Forgive me if stopped sleeping together so one of you could try dating another guy and it didn’t work out but you didn’t start sleeping together again because you don’t think he loves you back takes too long to say.”

Sokka puts his head in his hands again.

read and i'll do anything you say (if you say it with your hands) here

#mine #zukka #my writing #aidays #and ill do anything you say #pls enjoy. thank u for ur hard work zukka nation #fic

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

What do you make of the Zuts who claim that Kataang fans are mean to them? Every ship has toxic fans, so I'm not saying it didn't happen, but the worst vitriol generally seems to come from the ZK side of things and KA fans are more frequently defending themselves (and Aang).

They're absolutely right about the Kataang fandom having it's own bad apples. I have seen some of them attacking Zutara fans, unprovoqued, just for liking a popular fanon alternative to their OTP, which is very childish and pathetic.

Here's the thing though. Like you guys know, while I was never into Zutara, also wasn't always into Kataang. During four of my nearly six years of truly being part of the ATLA fandom, I didn't hate either ship, but I didn't really care for them, and I was not shy about saying it.

And not once did I get death/rape threats or "kill yourself" messages from Kataang fans, not even when I was saying stuff like "I don't think their romance would last" or "I think the show would still work if they were just friends" (and that last point I still agree with). Nor was I told I clearly only didn't like Kataang because I had internalized misogyny or was against interacial relationships - like a cartoon couple could have anything to do with real world issues.

Whenever I read a fic that happened to have Kataang as one of the main pairings (like some fics for Maiko, a ship I always liked), the author never went out of their way to make Zuko, or any other character except sometimes Jet, look like an absolute monster just to make Kataang look better, or force a pairing to happen just to "get Zuko out of the way". Same for the metas about the show.

Whenever I saw fanart or fanfics for ships like Toph X Aang or Haru X Katara, I did not see dozens and dozens of "Ew, gross! Kataang 4ever!" or "This is really pretty, too bad is for an awful pairing, it'd be so much better if it was Kataang instead." Not once was I sent a "Even if you don't ship Kataang, this other ship is just objectively awful" ask just minutes after saying "I don't like Kataang, but I do ship Katara with Haru and even Jet"

Not once was did I ever a Kataang fan repeatedly tell me I should stop writting about my OTP and replace it with Kataang, or write both together, after I had already said I didn't like that ship and was not interested in writting anything except my OTP. Not once was any of metas that were COMPLETELY unrelated to Kataang, often not even mentioning either of the two characters, derrailed into being someone's "If you don't support my ship, you make the story worse" post.

More importantly, I could criticize the bad behavior I DID see from some Kataang fans, and be met with support from other Kataang shippers that were also annoyed at it, instead of having them deny it ever happened, or going "But what about what Zutara fans do?" do deflect, or saying "Don't generalize, we're not ALL like that!" even though that was not what I said.

Meanwhile every single one of these things happened when it came to Zutara fans. Repeatedly. To me, to my friends, to friends or my friends, to people I didn't interact with much, to people I didn't like very much. To people that shipped Kataang, Maiko, Jetara, Toko, etc. For God's sake, these people call the showrunners pedophilies just out of spite for not having their OTP become canon.

The Kataang fandom has bad apples, and like any large group, it can sometimes have TONS of bad apples. But a very big portion of that same fandom clearly doesn't approve of it and tries to keep them in check.

The Zutara fandom meanwhile often seems to go out of it's way to have ONLY bad apples, to the point that I constantly get asks from shippers that say they can't engage with the fandom anymore because people "on their side" are a nightmare to deal with. All because they seem to believe they can bully their way into being canon.

The situations are not at all comparable.

#anti zutara #pro kataang

[innocentimouto]

“Aang doesn’t understand or respect Katara’s trauma—”

No buddy, the show doesn’t.

The show—

Made Katara forget the genocide on Southern waterbenders when wondering why couldn’t Haru bend under FN control

Made Katara be absolutely calm when being taken prisoner by the Fire Nation as if this didn’t happened to all the other Southern waterbenders

Made Katara apologize for stealing a waterbending scroll and take blame for the danger that was literally Iroh’s fault

As if her mother didn’t die because she was a waterbender and she had no way of learning because of genocide

Never blamed Aang for Omashu, or the Fire Nation colony

Made Katara talk about her dead mom in nearly the same words, always for the sake of others, never for herself

Couldn’t spare a single scene of Katara missing her dead mom’s necklace

Had Sokka talk when the siege happened but not Katara

Didn’t show Katara being afraid of the siege as if she hadn’t previously experienced it as a child

Didn’t bother having Katara react to temporarily losing her bending when bending was the crux of her character until that point

Played off her suspicions of Jet as a joke or as “an angry ex”

Didn’t show Katara in Sokka’s flashback of Hakoda

Showed Sokka in Katara’s flashback of Kya

Made Katara air out her issues with her dad when the Avatar just ran off

Had no build up to that trauma

Ignored that she almost lost a close friend

Made her anger at Zuko “irrational” as if he didn’t attack her home, threaten her and her family, and try to kill them

Made her threat to kill Zuko seem dark as if he didn’t just send an assassin to kill Aang that season and that he didn’t help his sister fight Aang last season that ended with them losing BSS and nearly losing Aang

The show as a whole didn’t bother with the Water Tribes. And they lost interest in the Air Nomad genocide fairly quickly. Basically Katara’s trauma has never been respected or explored that much and Aang, being the MC, is the vehicle for how the show viewed Katara.

Aang is a sweet and caring character. And when people say ‘no, from the very beginning in Book 1 he never cared--’

YES. The show, from the very beginning, didn’t take Katara’s trauma that seriously. Does it look like caring when she only brought up her mother when someone else brought up their trauma?

Hence Aang being written that way. I don’t see people pointing out how messed up it was for Sokka to always mock Katara for her bending like Kya didn’t die for it.

He did that in the first episode. And again when Katara wanted to learn from the scroll. And then he never apologized for being sexist to her when she snaps at him for it in the FIRST EPISODE and not even when she had to fight sexism in order to learn bending which again is connected to her trauma.

Instead he stood in the sidelines like he’s done no wrong here and like he probably wouldn’t agree with the Northern Water Tribe customs if Yue didn’t exist.

Fighting sexism was a big part of Katara’s arc first season, so Sokka’s actions shouldn’t have been swept away like they weren’t given weight when there’s an episode of her fighting it.

What about Sokka then? People never stop about Aang never apologizing yet Sokka didn't either, and it’s THEIR mom and THEIR culture and HIS little sister.

Sokka and Aang care about Katara, but the show never did, so stop blaming Aang for Book 3′s writing. It had many problems, especially the romance.

#Atla #Katara #Aang #Sokka #my issues with book 3

[rotationalsymmetry]

Gonna write a bit of ATLA meta about Uncle Iroh.

Since I saw a post that rubbed me the wrong way, but in the opposite of the way posts about Iroh usually rub me the wrong way, so I'll need a bit of a lead up to explain why both approaches are wrong. Spoilers ahead.

When people look back on a story, they tend to compress it in their minds, as though everything happened all at once. People have a static image of Camelot that includes both Merlin and Lancelot, even though they were never both at Camelot at the same time.

And I think when people look back at Avatar: The Last Airbender, they look at it knowing that Zuko joins the Gaang in the end, and knowing that, they forget how Zuko looks and what Zuko does at the start of the story. Because Zuko is a pretty unambiguous classic cartoon villain at the start of the story.

He's substantially more powerful than the protagonists (look at how easily he bats Sokka out of the way.) His goals are in direct opposition to the protagonists' goals, and if he is successful it will be disastrous to both them and the world. And like most cartoon villains, he's personally a dick: he's constantly angry/impatient, he lashes out, his introduction isn't quite like Azula's where she tells the ship's captain that she expects him to be more afraid of her than the tides, but he does treat the lives of his crew as disposable in an early episode, when there's a storm. (He gets better at the end of the episode, call that foreshadowing.) He's even got a scar on his face, in the long tradition of physically disfigured villains.

And once you've watched the whole show once, sure, it's hard to see him that way. And you can point to some signs that he was going to come around -- he didn't kill anyone (that we know of), when Aang let himself be captured in exchange for Zuko leaving the village alone, he did leave it alone, rather than backing out on his promise once he could. But so what? Plenty of unrepentant villains have a sense of honor and will keep their word, makes for interesting stories.

The point I'm trying to make is: there is only so much one show can do, only so much story they can get in to one story. And in that finite amount of story, they spent a TON of time showing the audience that no matter how much of a villain someone looks to be at first, that villain is still a person.

And they also spend a lot of time showing other people are people. Random Earth Kingdom civilians like Haru. Random Earth Kingdom guerilla fighters like Jet. When we get to the Northern Water Tribe, we find a bunch of people who are just people: old men who are set in their misogynistic ways but maybe can be coaxed into changing, young men who are kind of jerks (but who still don't deserve to die at the hands of an invasive force), young women torn between their own desires and their sense of duty, people people people. And when we get flashbacks to the Air Nomads, they're people: some more serious, some more fun and flighty, just people. And when we get to the Fire Nation, they're just people.

So let's look at the rest of the Fire Nation royal family. Azula's a sympathetic villain: she's scary, she's dangerous, she does appalling things, we see her suffering and the show gives us enough information about her and her family's dynamics, the way their father played them off against each other, to see why she did what she did. Azula ends the story in a situation similar to the one where Zuko is at the start: Zuko starts having lost everything and nearly everyone who ever mattered to him; Azula ends having lost everything and everyone. And we don't see that with Ozai, all we get of a potentially softer side of Ozai is a picture of him as a small child, but it's a short story and there's only so much time and it's not really about Ozai, and surely we can infer that there is something like Azula's story in his, something going on where to him his actions made sense.

Something going on where if you had Ozai's life, his background, his circumstances, his worldview, maybe you would act the same.

What I mean is, Zuko did not become a person because he stopped being a villain. His personhood was there when he was a villain, and was still there when he joined the heroes. And Azula's personhood and her villainhood can coexist. And Ozai's villainhood and personhood, with a little extrapolation, can coexist.

And Iroh. The Dragon of the West, the general of the great siege of Ba Sing Se. He's one person. He doesn't need to be split, either you ignore the harm he did or you decide that the harm he did means he must suffer for it, must be punished for it. He can be a person, and a person who did harm, and a person who did harm for reasons that made sense to him at the time, this is all one thing, it is all there in the story, not all of it is there for Iroh because it is not Iroh's story, but if you look at Zuko's story and Azula's and Chit Sang (guy at the boiling rock they tried to escape with) and Jet and Jeong Jeong and Hama and Yon Rha and Hei Bai, and how things went down with Aang in the Avatar Day episode (ie the town that wanted to punish him for a very old murder that the Avatar did, and they were in the wrong for that even though the Avatar did kill the person they said the Avatar killed) and what happened in The Great Divide (ie that ultimately it didn't matter who was at fault) it's all there in other parts of the story, you can extrapolate.

Iroh doesn't need to be punished, not by anyone else and not by himself in the form of feeling agonized over the harm he caused (much as I love angst in fiction.) Nobody needs to be punished; suffering is bad, causing more suffering does not make other people's suffering less. And he doesn't need to be innocent and pure to not deserve punishment. He's not innocent. He did a lot of harm. We can infer that he caused that harm for reasons that made sense to him at the time, whether they make sense to him in retrospect or not and whether he actually did have better options under the circumstances, which he may well not have. We're all people. We're all people. We're all people.

Like it or not, agree with it or not, ATLA is about forgiveness, about not seeking revenge, about not increasing the amount of suffering in the world by taking an eye for an eye. The story did not punish Zuko for having started on the wrong side, even though he started out as a stereotypical cartoon villain and he would have caused unspeakable devastation to the world if he'd succeeded at his initial goal. And it would not punish Iroh for what he did. And anyone looking for either a way to completely exonerate Iroh -- pretend he has never done anything harmful in his life -- or to criticize the show for not having him punished for his wrongdoing, has completely missed the central theme of the show.

Which is not separate from any imperialism/colonialism is bad messaging you want to draw from it. The show is not claiming colonialism is bad because it sides specifically with the Water Tribe or with everyone-but-the-Fire-Nation. It's against colonialism because...colonialism is bad...for people. Who have inherent value, whose lives have inherent value, whose lives do not stop having inherent value when they harm other people. It's one message.

#atla meta #zuko #uncle iroh #atla spoilers #here I am being a pacifist on main again #aang's refusal to take Ozai's life was not tacked on at the end #it's consistent theming throughout

[talkingperfectly-loud]

Okay! So, I’ve finally watched the Netflix Live Action ATLA and gathered my thoughts! Spoilers under the cut…

Overall score: 7/10

Overall thoughts: I was actually pleased! I wasn’t going in expecting it to be like the original series, and I was really excited to see how they would tell the story, what they would keep, and what they would change. I think that they did a great creative job melding a bunch of story lines together in a way that made sense, but, on a negative note, they did miss some key character beats that ranged from baffling to unforgivable. I loved this cast, and I think they all embodied their characters so well (Dallas Lui as Zuko?!? Hello?! *Chef’s kiss*). Deliveries were a bit stilted (to be expected with young actors just starting out), but I actually found it endearing, and they’ll only get better with practice. The bending wasn’t nearly as punchy or fun to watch in live action (especially the water bending. Oof), but it was leaps and bounds better than the Movie That Must Not Be Named. Below are the major takeaways:

Things I disliked

- Making the discovery and freeing of Aang completely passive. In the animated show, this was brought about BY Katara and Sokka. Their characters and their bickering, which caused Kataras rage, which caused her to waterbend, which caused her to free Aang. In the live action, it just… happens? Randomly? Nothing caused it, and it was a much weaker moment because of it.

- They took away Zuko’s crucial moments of mercy. Yes, they have him save the 41st, and yes, they have him hesitate during his Agni Kai with Ozai… BUT he was about to burn Katara on Kyoshi island? When she was down and unarmed?? At the North Pole, he was about to burn Zhao, who was also down and unarmed?? Absolutely not. No. No way. He wouldn’t even burn Zhao in the original show, because he knows what it’s like to be burned and despite his rage, he is a good person. There is absolutely no way he would be willing to harm someone who is unarmed.

- Sokka not explicitly asking Suki to train him. We NEEDED to see that humility where he asks for their help, not just him staring wistfully through the door and her taking pity. Humble him!!!!

- Sokka not being involved in the Jet storyline. I know that Katara is more obviously the choice to get involved here (love interest, etc), but Sokka and Jet are foils! They are both young men tasked with protecting people they love. Not having Sokka’s moment where his skepticism and independence saves the day is such a loss for his character. This could have even been kept in the Omashu storyline, with Sokka evacuating a building before a bomb goes off, etc.

- Why the literal heck did Bumi himself come to the front of the palace to receive the inventions from Sai?? What the hell even was that scene??

- Cutting the Haru storyline. This episode is crucial for Katara, who has WAY too little to do in this show, tbh. Her rallying the earth kingdom prisoners, and encouraging them to fight back is so so so important. I think they tried to move this to the Northern Water tribe storyline (when she rallies the women) but we don’t SEE it!! It happens offscreen!!!!

- Minor, but the blue spirit mask looked kinda dumb. I wish they had taken inspiration from real kabuki masks and made it more scary.

- I personally feel that Ozai is TOO personable in this adaptation. I’m guessing Daniel Dae Kim probably had a lot of say over the portrayal of this character, but I don’t think they made him dark enough. Ozai is cruel and that is CRUCIAL. He is abusive and manipulative, and hateful. Framing Zuko’s banishment and mutilation as if these were deliberate “learning moments,” rather than cruel, unjustifiable abuse is character assassination.

- Azula isn’t Azula. No shade to the actress, but the script has her written as a hot-headed, temperamental teenager desperate to prove herself. That’s ZUKO! Azula should be able to make grown men per their pants. Do her bidding. She can command armies. She never lets you see her weaknesses or her walls. She is cold, calculating, and terrifying. She is 13 steps ahead of you. Live action Azula loses her temper during a fight, talks back to Ozai (?!?!), and whines to Mai and Ty Lee about her frustrations. That’s not Azula.

- The “ice moon” thing at the North Pole? Why? Why aren’t there any spirits in this world? There’s no need to change that.

- Zhao’s death!?! What the hell was that!?!? No no no no no. Absolutely awful in every possible way. Where was his karmic justice?!? Why introduce the Fog of Lost Souls if you weren’t going to show Zhao getting pulled down into it?!? Where was Zuko, offering him mercy, despite everything? Where was Zhao’s pride, refusing his hand?? Furthermore, you make Iroh of all people a murderer?!? Fine, you could have him intervene and push Zhao into the water like he pushed him down after the Agni Kai in the original series. But to kill him?? Unprompted?! In cold blood?! Zhao wasn’t even his opponent!! Horrifying and disturbing. Unforgivable.

Things I loved

- The order of events. I actually love starting 100 years in the past and not making it clear what is about to happen. I also love that it isn’t clear just how long Aang has been asleep for! I love love love that dramatic irony if you know, and the reveal if you don’t.

- Aang stealing Zuko’s notebook. Finally, it’s explained how the gaang knew Zuko’s name lol

- Aang & Iroh meeting and chatting on the ship when he’s captured! It’s such a small scene, but felt so reminiscent of their conversation from Book 2 that it made me happy.

- Suki being so awkward!! Yes girl!! You have clearly never flirted before and it is obvious! I also loved having her mother be the matriarch of the village. Makes total sense tbh.

- Fleshing out Omashu! I love that they combined Jet & the Mechanist here. It makes Omashu feel more real, and it’s a natural place to put these storylines. I think this was really well done. Also bringing Iroh & Zuko into the story here was seamless, and worked to further both their characters (Zuko choosing Iroh over Aang, Iroh sacrificing himself to save Zuko)

- Having Bumi be an angry old man. This is controversial, but if we put aside Legend of Korra for a second where canon says Aang and him stay bffs, this actually makes a lot of sense. It’s not fair that Aang got to be asleep for 100 years. Bumi, as he said, had to struggle and suffer during that entire time. I’m glad that not everyone is like “it’s okay, it’s not your fault” because it kind of is!! I’m glad they had someone to actually hold him accountable a bit!

- Aang and Zuko connecting during the Blue Spirit episode. Aang making Zuko smile! Them joking! Them feeling pity for each other! The star-crossed friendship of it all! Gorgeous, gorgeous scene.

- Expanding on the theme of friendship vs. isolation. It’s such a key theme in the animated series that flies under the radar, and I really like how they took it and seemed to run with it.

- Azula collaborating with Zhao. It makes so much sense, since Zhao is just some rando tbh?It sets up both the Dai Li storyline and sibling rivalry nicely in season 2.

- Having Zuko’s crew be the division he saved?!?! A stroke of absolute genius.

- No Kataang!! I’m so sorry, but I honestly always felt that any romance in the original series was gratuitous, odd, and oh so Western. This is a story about children at war. I’m glad the romance is taking a back seat.

- Having Pakku see Katara for HER, rather than for her grandmother!! I always hated that in the original show! She fights her damn heart out and he still won’t train her UNTIL he sees her grandmother’s necklace. It always felt like the age-old blight of men not being able to care about a woman unless they have, or can image having, a personal connection to them (What if that was your mother, daughter, etc). I LOVE this change.

- Katara rallying the other women!! Pulling up everyone!! This is such an obvious change I can’t believe they didn’t have this in the original show. As I said, though, I do wish we saw her speech to them. That’s such an important character moment.

#natla #atla #atla live action #atla netflix

[awanderingmuse-fandom]

Book 1: Intertwined Destinies

Chapter 1

Fandom: Avatar the Last Air Bender

Summary: Music night washes over Iroh. The crew’s attention  on each other means no one notices  their allegedly ill prince slipping over the side of the Wani and onto the dock. 

Zuko, as The Blue Spirit, is leaving to meet another White Lotus Bud agent to exchange information on the Earth Armies for similar details on Fire Nation troops. 

The White Lotus Buds are more successful than Iroh expected. Sometimes he thinks the war would end in days if they left the operatives in charge. 

The White Lotus Buds were inspired by Zuko himself. It wasn't difficult to connect The Blue Spirit’s earlier escapades with Zuko. Not once one realized there were connections to make.

Iroh does not know when the sneaking began, though he has his suspicions. Ten year old princes don’t go missing for days on end easily. And there's the  ambiguity surrounding  Azulon’s death and Ursa’s sudden flight. When it started doesn’t truly matter when Zuko will not speak of it.

Shaking off his wandering curiosity, Iroh lets himself be drawn into the singing of an old sea shanty. It helps keep an old man awake, which he will need if he wants to be alert for his nephew’s return later that night.

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Violence, Strong Language, References to Child Abuse, Aftermath of Genocide, War

Characters: Zuko, Katara, Blue Spirit, Painted Lady,Sokka, Aang, Toph, Suki, Iroh, Kanna, Bumi, Ty Lee, Azula, Jet, Paku, Haru, Tyro, The Boulder, Smeller Bee, Jeong Jeong, Teo, Yue, Yugoda, The Wani Crew, Hei Bai, Arnook, Lieutenant Jee, Other Cast, Original Characters, Zhao

Pairings: Zutara, Taang, maybe Tyzula, maybe Sukka

Other Tags:  Cannon Divergent, Cannon Re-Write, Zuko Joins the Gaang Early, Zuko is in the White Lotus, Nearly everyone is in the White Lotus,  There’s like 80 Percent More Lotus Members in this, You get to be a Lotus Member and You get to be a Lotus Member, Spirit Shenanigans, Identity Shenanigans, Spies, Ninjas, Secret Organization actually effecting change for once, Mentions of Jet/Katara, Kanna loves her grandkids, Ozai’s Terrible Parenting, Azula Redemption, You can take the General out of the war…, Zuko is an Awkward Turtle Duck, Protective Katara, Toph Beifong is a Menace, Sokka is the real MVP, Aang is Trying y’all, Jet being an Asshole, Aged-Up Characters, Enemies to Lovers, Love Square - Kinda, No Beta We Die Like Jet, Multiple POV

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Sokka stomps his feet against the  iron deck of the abandoned Fire Nation ship beneath him and pulls the arctic fox-bear skin lower over his face. Until recently he’d thought the mask-hood combo Gran Gran had insisted he keep was ridiculous. He might technically be a White Lotus Bud, but much like being a man of the tribe, it was in name only. Despite his eighteen years he’d never even been ice dodging. 

Then he’d received word from Gran Gran that he’d be meeting with another operative, The Blue Spirit himself. To say that Sokka was excited was to put it mildly. The Blue Spirit was a legend in their organization. The top operative the White Lotus had to offer. And Sokka was going to meet him tonight! Though his excitement had waned in the last  three hours and several degrees.

#Avatar The Last Airbender #atla #zutara #sukka #taang #zuko #katara #sokka #aang #toph #suki #azula #tylee #mail #iroh #fanfic #the muse writes #white lotus buds AU #book 1: Intertwined Destinies

[zuko-always-lies]

A Brief Guide to All the Tragic Childhoods of ATLA Children

Zuko: You know what happened to him.

Azula: You should know what happened to her; I’m not going to elaborate here.

Ty Lee: Grew up neglected and ignored by her parents/family, and felt like she had no identity of her own due to having six identical sisters.

Mai: Treated as a political tool by her parents; was repressed and shut down by them whenever she tried to express herself.

Aang: Ostracized by the other air nomad children once they figured out he was the Avatar. Treated like a weapon by some of the monks, who tried to separate him from his father figure. Then had his entire people genocided in a way that led him to think it was his fault, leaving him as the lone survivor of his people. Was frozen for a hundred years and woke up in a changed world with nearly all his friends dead.

Suki: Nothing is known other than having her village burned down by Zuko when she was ~15 or ~16. However, she did start training for combat at 8!

Katara: Her society was the victim of a long genocide. Had her mother murdered in front of her when she was very young.  Carried the burden of being the last Southern Waterbender.  Had to take take over many of her mother’s responsibilities as the oldest daughter from a very young age. Separated from her father for two plus years.

Sokka: His society was the victim of a long genocide.  Had his mother murdered by firebenders when he was very young. Begged to go off to war with his father but was left behind. Carried the emotional burden of protecting his tribe from when he was around 12.

Toph: Repressed and controlled by her parents, who kept her confined, treated her like she fragile, never let her do anything, and generally didn’t treat her like a person.

Yue: Likely lost her mother at some point in her childhood.  Had to base her life around the good of the tribe, to the extent of getting an arranged marriage to someone she didn’t love and who was a bit of a jerk. Sacrificed herself to save the world.

Jet: Orphaned at 8; had to take over the responsibility of keeping his fellow children alive and of fighting the Fire Nation from a young age.

Longshot: Had his town burned down by the Fire Nation, leaving him homeless.

Smellerbee: “Ran away from home when the Fire Nation seized her parents’ land. “

The Duke: Orphaned by the Fire Nation.

Hahn: Died at 17 trying to defeat a Fire Nation invasion of his homeland.

Teo: disabled, lost his mother and left homeless by a “terrible flood” when he was an infant.

Haru: Father was imprisoned years ago, can’t bend his native element without risking imprisonment, briefly imprisoned by the Fire Nation.

Song: had her village raided by the Fire Nation when she was young, had her father captured and disappeared then. Had to become a refugee. Burned by Fire Nation forces.

Jin: Parents were refugees from the Fire Nation.

Ghashiun: Lost his mother to skin cancer.

Lee(from the family in “Zuko Alone”): Brother had to go off to war and was eventually captured by the Fire Nation.

Little Boy(”The Painted Lady”): Has to beg for food, his mother is badly sick, lives in a suffering town.

On Ji, other Fire Nation children: went through the hellscape which is the Fire Nation education system.

Zuko is very much not the only child who has suffered, or who has a very tragic and emotional story!

#Azula #Zuko #Mai #Ty Lee #Haru #On Ji #Ghashiun #Jin #Song #Teo #Hahn #Yue #Princess Yue #The Duke #Smellerbee #Jet #Longshot #Toph #Katara #Sokka #Suki #Aang #zuko alone #Avatar The Last Airbender #ATLA #avatar #Fire Nation #Fire imperialism #Almost every child character we run into #has some sort of tragic backstory

[army-of-mai-lovers]

in which I get progressively angrier at the various tropes of atla fandom misogyny

tbh I think it would serve all of us to have a larger conversation about the specific ways misogyny manifests in this fandom, because I’ve seen a lot of people who characterize themselves as feminists, many of whom are women themselves, discuss the female characters of atla/lok in misogynistic ways, and people don’t talk about it enough. 

disclaimer before I start: I’m not a woman, I’m an afab nonbinary person who is semi-closeted and thus often read as a woman. I’m speaking to things that I’ve seen that have made me uncomfy, but if any women (esp women existing along other axes of oppression, e.g. trans women, women of color, disabled women, etc) want to add onto this post, please do!

“This female character is a total badass but I’m not even a little bit interested in exploring her as a human being.” 

I’ve seen a lot of people say of various female characters in atla/lok, “I love her! She’s such a badass!” now, this statement on its own isn’t misogynistic, but it represents a pretty pervasive form of misogyny that I’ve seen leveled in large part toward the canon female love interests of one or both of the members of a popular gay ship (*cough* zukka *cough*) I’m going to use Suki as an example of this because I see it with her most often, but it can honestly be applied to nearly every female character in atla/lok. Basically, people will say that they stan Suki, but when it comes time to engage with her as an actual character, they refuse to do it. I’ve seen meta after meta about Zuko’s redemption arc, but I so rarely see people engage with Suki on any level beyond “look at this cool fight scene!” and yeah, I love a cool Suki fight scene as much as anybody else, but I’m also interested in meta and headcanons and fics about who she is as a person, when she isn’t an accessory to Sokka’s development or doing something cool. of course, the material for this kind of engagement with Suki is scant considering she doesn’t have a canon backstory (yet) (don’t let me down Faith Erin Hicks counting on you girl) but with the way I’ve seen people in this fandom expand upon canon to flesh out male characters, I know y’all have it in you to do more with Suki, and with all the female characters, than you currently do. frankly, the most engagement I’ve seen with Suki in mainstream fandom is justifying either zukki (which again, is characterizing her in relation to male characters, one of whom she barely interacts with in canon) or one of the Suki wlw pairings. which brings me to--

“I conveniently ship this female character whose canon love interest is one of the members of my favorite non-canon ship with another female character! gay rights!” 

now, I will admit, two of my favorite atla ships are yueki and mailee, and so I totally understand being interested in these characters’ dynamics, even if, as is the case with yueki, they’ve never interacted canonically. however, it becomes a problem for me when these ships are always in the background of a zukka fic. at some point, it becomes obvious that you like this ship because it gets either Zuko or Sokka’s female love interests out of the way, not because you actually think the characters would mesh well together. It’s bad form to dislike a female character because she gets in the way of your gay ship, so instead, you find another girl to pair her off with and call it a day. to be clear, I’m not saying that everybody who ships either mailee or yueki (or tysuki or maisuki or yumai or whatever other wlw rarepair involving Zuko or Sokka’s canon love interests) is nefariously trying to sideline a female character while acting publicly as if she’s is one of their faves--far from it--but it is noteworthy to me how difficult it is to find content that centers wlw ships, while it’s incredibly easy to find content that centers zukka in which mailee and/or yueki plays a background role. 

also, notice how little traction wlw Katara ships gain in this fandom. when’s the last time you saw yuetara on your dash? there’s no reason for wlw Katara ships to gain traction in a fandom that is so focused on Zuko and Sokka getting together, bc she doesn’t present an immediate obstacle to that goal (at least, not an obstacle that can be overcome by pairing her up with a woman). if you are primarily interested in Zuko and Sokka’s relationship, and your queer readings of other female characters are motivated by a desire to get them out of the way for zukka, then Katara’s canon m/f relationship isn’t a threat to you, and thus, there’s no reason to read her as potentially queer. Or even, really, to think about her at all. 

“Katara’s here but she’s not actually going to do anything, because deep down, I’m not interested in her as a person.” 

the show has an enormous amount of textual evidence to support the claim that Sokka and Katara are integral parts of each other’s lives. so, she typically makes some kind of appearance in zukka content. sometimes, her presence in the story is as an actual character with layers and nuance, someone whom Sokka cares about and who cares about Sokka in return, but also has her own life and goals outside of her brother (or other male characters, for that matter.) sometimes, however, she’s just there because halfway through writing the author remembered that Sokka actually has a sister who’s a huge part of the show they’re writing fanfiction for, and then they proceed to show her having a meetcute with Aang or helping Sokka through an emotional problem, without expressing wants or desires outside of those characters. I’m honestly really surprised that I haven’t seen more people calling out the fact that so much of Katara’s personality in fanon revolves around her connections to men? she’s Aang’s girlfriend, she’s Sokka’s sister, she’s Zuko’s bestie. never mind that in canon she spends an enormous amount of time fighting against (anachronistic, Westernized) sexism to establish herself as a person in her own right, outside of these connections. and that in canon she has such interesting complex relationships with other female characters (e.g. Toph, Kanna, Hama, Korra if you want to write lok content) or that there are a plethora of characters with whom she could have interesting relationships with in fanon (Mai, Suki, Ty Lee, Yue, Smellerbee, and if you want to write lok content, Kya II, Lin, Asami, Senna, etc). to me, the lack of fandom material exploring Katara’s relationships with other women or with herself speak to a profound indifference to Katara as a character. I’m not saying you have to like Katara or include her in everything you write, but I am asking you to consider why you don’t find her interesting outside of her relationships with men.

“I hate Katara because she talks about her mother dying too often.” 

this is something I’ve seen addressed by people far more qualified than I to address it, but I want to mention it here in part because when I asked people which fandom tropes they wanted me to talk about, this came up often, but also because I find it really disgusting that this is a thing that needs to be addressed at all. Y’all see a little girl who watched her mother be killed by the forces of an imperialist nation and say that she talks about it too much??? That is a formational, foundational event in a child’s life. Of course she’s going to talk about it. I’ve seen people say that she doesn’t talk about it that often, or that she only talks about it to connect with other victims of fn imperialism e.g. Jet and Haru, but frankly, she could speak about it every episode for no plot-significant reason whatsoever and I would still be angry to see people say she talks about it too much. And before you even bring up the Sokka comparison, people deal with grief in different ways. Sokka  repressed a lot of his grief/channeled it into being the “man” of his village because he knew that they would come for Katara next if he gave them the opportunity. he probably would talk about his mother more if a) he didn’t feel massive guilt at not being able to remember what she looked like, and b) he was allowed to be a child processing the loss of his mother instead of having to become a tiny adult when Hakoda had to leave to help fight the fn. And this gets into an intersection with fandom racism, in that white fans (esp white American fans) are incapable of relating to the structural trauma that both Sokka and Katara experience and thus can’t see the ways in which structural trauma colors every single aspect of both of their characters, leading them to flatten nuance and to have some really bad takes. And you know what, speaking of bad fandom takes--   

“Shitting on Mai because she gets in the way of my favorite Zuko ship is actually totally okay because she’s ~abusive~” 

y’all WHAT. 

ok listen, I get not liking maiko. I didn’t like it when I first got into fandom, and later I realized that while bryke cannot write romance to save their lives, fans who like maiko sure can, so I changed my tune. but if you still don’t like it, that’s fine. no skin off my back. 

what IS skin off my back is taking instances in which Mai had justified anger toward Zuko, and turning it into “Mai abused Zuko.” do you not realize how ridiculous you sound? this is another thing where I get so angry about it that I don’t know how useful my analysis is actually going to be, but I’ll do my best. numerous people have noted how analysis of Mai and Zuko’s breakup in “The Beach” or Mai being justifiably angry with him at Boiling Rock or her asking for FUCKING FRUIT in “Nightmares and Daydreams” that says that all of these events were her trying to gain control over him is....ahhh...lacking in reading comprehension, but I’d like to go a step further and talk about why y’all are so intent on taking down a girl who doesn’t show emotion in normative ways. obviously, there’s a “Zuko can do no wrong” aspect to Mai criticism (which is super weird considering how his whole arc is about how he can do lots of wrong and he has to atone for the wrong that he’s done--but that’s a separate post.) But I also see slandering Mai for not expressing her emotions normatively and not putting up with Zuko’s shit and slandering Katara for “talking about her mother too often” as two sides of the same coin. In both cases, a female character expresses emotions that make you, the viewer, uncomfortable, and so instead of attempting to understand where those emotions may have come from and why they might be manifesting the way they are, y’all just throw the whole character away. this is another instance of people in the fandom being fundamentally disinterested in engaging with the female characters of atla in a real way, except instead of shallowly “stanning” Mai, y’all hate her. so we get to this point where female characters are flattened into one of two things: perfect queens who can do no wrong, or bitches. and that’s not who they are. that’s not who anyone is. but while we as a fandom are pretty good at understanding b1 Zuko’s actions as layered and multifaceted even though he’s essentially an asshole then, few are willing to lend the same grace to any female character, least of all Mai. 

and what’s funny is sometimes this trope will intersect with “I conveniently ship this female character whose canon love interest is one of the members of my favorite non-canon ship with another female character! gay rights!”, so you’ll have someone actively calling Mai toxic/problematic/abusive, and at the same time ship her with Ty Lee? make it make sense! but then again, maybe that’s happening because y’all are fundamentally disinterested in Ty Lee as a character too. 

“I love Ty Lee so much that I’m going to treat her like an infantilized hypersexual airhead!” 

there are so many things happening in y’alls characterization of Ty Lee that I struggled to synthesize it into one quippy section header. on one hand, you have the hypersexualization, and on the other hand, you have the infantilization, which just makes the hypersexualization that much worse. 

(of course, sexualizing or hypersexualizing ANY atla character is really not the move, considering that these are child characters in a children’s show, but then again, that’s a separate post.) 

now, I understand how, from a very, very surface reading of the text, you could come to the conclusion that Ty Lee is an uncomplicated bimbo. if you grew up on Western media the way I did, you’ll know that Ty Lee has a lot of the character traits we associate with bimbos: the form-fitting pink crop top, the general conventional attractiveness, the ditzy dialogue. but if you think about it for more than three seconds, you’ll understand that Ty Lee has spent her whole life walking a tightrope, trying to please Azula and the rest of the royal family while also staying true to herself. Ty Lee and Azula’s relationship is a really complex and interesting topic that I don’t really have time to explore at the moment given how long this post is, but I’d argue that Ty Lee’s constant, vocal  adulation is at least partially a product of learning to survive at court at an early age. Like Mai, she has been forced to regulate her emotions as a member of fn nobility, but unlike Mai, she also has six sisters who look exactly like her, so she has a motivation to be more peppy and more affectionate to stand out. 

fandom does not do the work to understand Ty Lee. as is a theme with this post, fandom is actively disinterested in investigating female characters beyond a very surface level reading of them. Thus, fandom takes Ty Lee’s surface level qualities--her love of the color pink, her revealing standard outfit, and the fact that once she found a boy attractive and also once a lot of boys found her attractive--and they stretch this into “Ty Lee is basically Karen Smith from Mean Girls.” thus, Ty Lee is painted as a bimbo, or more specifically, as not smart, uncritically adoring of Azula (did y’all forget all the non-zukka bits of Boiling Rock?), and attractive to the point of hypersexualization. I saw somebody make a post that was like “I wish mailee was more popular but I’m also glad it isn’t because otherwise people would write it as Mai having to put up with her dumb gf” and honestly I have to agree!! this is one instance in which I’m glad that fandom doesn’t discuss one of my favorite characters that often because I hate the fanon interpretation of Ty Lee, I think it’s rooted in misogyny (particularly misogyny against East Asian women, which often takes the form of fetishizing them and viewing them only through a Western white male gaze)  

(side note: here at army-of-mai-lovers, we stan bimbos. bimbos are fucking awesome. I personally don’t read Ty Lee as a bimbo, but if that’s you, that’s fucking awesome. keep doing what you’re doing, queen <3 or king or monarch, it’s 2021, anyone can be a bimbo, bitches <3)

“Toph can and will destroy everyone here with her bare hands because she’s a meathead who likes to murder people and that’s it!”  

Toph is, and always has been, one of my favorite ATLA characters. My very first fic in fandom was about her, and she appears prominently in a lot of my other work as well. One thing that I am always struck by with Toph is how big a heart she has. She’s independent, yes, snarky, yes, but she cares about people--even the family that forced her to make herself smaller because they didn’t believe that their blind daughter could be powerful and strong. Her storyline is powerful and emotionally resonant, her bending is cool precisely because it’s based in a “wait and listen” approach instead of just smashing things indiscriminately, she’s great disabled rep, and overall one of the best characters in the show. 

And in fandom, she gets flattened into “snarky murder child.” 

So where does this come from? Well, as we all know, Toph was originally conceived of as a male character, and retained a lot of androgyny (or as the kids call it, Gender) when she was rewritten as a female character. There are a lot of cultural ideas about androgynous/butch women being violent, and people in fandom seem to connect that larger cultural narrative with some of Toph’s more violent moments in the show to create the meathead murder child trope, erasing her canon emotionality, softness, heart, and femininity in the process. 

This is not to say that you shouldn’t write or characterize Toph as being violent or snarky at all ever, because yeah, Toph definitely did do Earth Rumbles a lot before joining the gaang, and yeah, Toph is definitely a sarcastic person who makes fun of her friends a lot. What I am saying is that people take these traits, sans the emotional logic, marry them to their conception of androgynous/butch women as violent/unemotional/uncaring, and thus create a caricature of Toph that is not at all up to snuff. When I see Toph as a side character in a fic (because yeah, Toph never gets to be a main character, because why would a fandom obsessed with one male character in particular ever make Toph a protagonist in her own right?) she’s making fun of people, killing people, pranking people, etc, etc. She’s never talking to people about her emotions, or palling around with her found family, or showing that she cares about her friends. Everything about her relationship with her parents, her disability, her relationship to Gender, and her love of her friends is shoved aside to focus on a version of Toph that is mean and uncaring because people have gotten it into their heads that androgynous/butch women are mean and uncaring. 

again, we see a female character who does not emote normatively or in a way that makes you, the viewer, comfortable, and so you warp her character until she’s completely unrecognizable and flat. and for what? 

Azula

no, I didn’t come up with a snappy name for this section, mainly because fanon interpretations of Azula and my own feelings toward the character are...complicated. I know there were some people who wanted me to write about Azula and the intersection of misogyny and ableism in fanon interpretations of her character, but I don’t think I can deliver on that because I personally am in a period of transition with how I see Azula. that is to say, while I still like her and believe that she can be redeemed, there is a lot of merit to disliking her. the whole point of this post is that the female characters of ATLA are complex people whom the fandom flattens into stereotypes that don’t hold up to scrutiny, or dislike for reasons that don’t make sense. Azula, however, is a different case. the rise of Azula defenders and Azula stans has led to this sentiment that Azula is a 14 y/o abuse victim who shouldn’t be held accountable for her actions. it seems to me that people are reacting to a long, horrible legacy of male ATLA fans armchair diagnosing Azula with various personality disorders (and suggesting that people with those personality disorders are inherently monstrous and unlovable which ahhhh....yikes) and then saying that those personality disorders make her unlovable, which is quite obviously bad. and hey, I get loving a character that everyone else hates and maybe getting so swept up in that love that you forget that your fave is complicated and has made some unsavory choices. it sucks that fanon takes these well-written, complex villains/antiheroes and turns them into monsters with no critical thought whatsoever. but the attitude among Azula stans that her redemption shouldn’t be hard, that her being a child excuses all of the bad things that she’s done, that she is owed redemption....all of that rubs me the wrong way. I might make another post about this in the future that discusses this in more depth, but as it stands now: while I understand that there is a legacy of misogynistic, ableist, unnuanced takes on Azula, the backlash to that does not take into account the people she hurt or the fact that in ATLA she does not make the choice to pursue redemption. and yes, Zuko had help in making that choice that Azula didn’t, and yes, Azula is a victim of abuse, but in a show about children who have gone through untold horrors and still work to better the lives of the people around them, that is not enough for me to uncritically stan her. 

Conclusion    

misogyny in this fandom runs rampant. while there are some tropes of fandom misogyny that are well-documented and have been debunked numerous times, there are other, subtler forms of misogyny that as far as I know have gone completely unchecked. 

what I find so interesting about misogyny in atla fandom is that it’s clear that it’s perpetrated by people who are aware of fandom misogyny who are actively trying not to be misogynistic. when I first joined atla fandom last summer, memes about how zukka fandom was better than every other fandom because they didn’t hate the female characters who got in the way of their gay ship were extremely prevalent, and there was this sense that *this* fandom was going to model respectful, fun, feminist online fandom. not all of the topes I’ve outlined are exclusive to or even largely utilized in zukka fandom, but a lot of them are. I’ve been in and out of fandom since I was eleven years old, and most of the fandom spaces I’ve been in have been majority-female, and all of them have been incredibly misogynistic. and I always want to know why. why, in these communities created in large part by women, in large part for women, does misogyny run wild? what I realize now is that there’s never going to be a one-size fits all answer to that question. what’s true for 1D fandom on Wattpad in 2012 is absolutely not true for atla fandom on tumblr in 2021. the answers that I’ve cobbled together for previous fandoms don’t work here. 

so, why is atla fandom like this? why did the dream of a feminist fandom almost entirely focused on the romantic relationship between two male characters fall apart? honestly, I think the notion that zukka fandom ever was this way was horrifically ignorant to begin with. from my very first moment in the fandom, I was seeing racism, widespread sexualization of minors, and yes, misogyny. these aspects of the fandom weren’t talked about as much as the crocverse or other, much more fun aspects. further, atla (specifically zukka) fandom misogyny often doesn’t look like the fandom misogyny we’ve become familiar with from like, Sherlock fandom or what have you. for the most part, people don’t actively hate Suki, they just “stan” without actually caring about her. they hate Mai because they believe in treating male victims of abuse equally. they’re not characterizing Toph poorly, they’re writing her as a “strong woman.” in short, people are misogynistic, and then invoke a shallow, incomplete interpretation of feminist theory to shield themselves from accusations of misogyny. it’s not unlike the way some people will invoke a shallow, incomplete interpretation of critical race theory to shield themselves from accusations of racism, or how they’ll talk about “freedom of speech” and “the suppression of women’s sexuality” to justify sexualizing minors. the performance of feminism and antiracism is what’s important, not the actual practice. 

if you’ve made it this far, first off, hi, thanks so much for reading, I know this was a lot. second, I would seriously encourage you to be aware of these fandom tropes and to call them out when you see them. elevate the voices of fans who do the work of bringing the female characters of atla to life. invest in the wlw ships in this fandom. drop a kudos and a comment on a rangshi fic (please, drop a kudos and a comment on a rangshi fic). read some yuetara. let’s all be honest about where we are now, and try to do better in the future. I believe in us. 

#fandom crit #longpost #like seriously long post strap in #misogyny #death tw #murder tw #abuse cw #sexualization of minors #ableism #racism #fandom racism #zukka crit #swearing tw #suki #yue #katara #ty lee #mai #toph #azula

[my-bated-breath]

On Ideals and Idealization

OR: My-Bated-Breath’s interpretation of Aang and Katara’s relationship in The Southern Raiders

When Bryke said that Kataang was in the DNA of ATLA, it was not a complete lie - Katara and Aang, in many ways, are each other’s anchors. For Katara, Aang is hope revived, the Avatar that has come to restore balance to the world. Meanwhile, for Aang, Katara is his guide in a cruel and unfamiliar 100-year war, loving him unconditionally in a world that hates him for abandoning it. As a result, Aang naturally loves her in return.

The narrative itself suggests that Aang’s love for Katara is nearly divine (and it suggests that it’s a love so blinding that it becomes his most selfish attachment). But for a love that appears so pure and untouchable on the surface, the episode “The Southern Raiders” reveals countless fractures lying underneath the surface.

Aang loves Katara, yes, but he is in love with an idealized version of her. In his mind, he holds close the idea of a gentle Katara, a smiling Katara, a compassionate and all-loving Katara. Even though he has seen her darkest moments when she bloodbends Hama - arms bent in disjointed angles, fingers curled as if manipulating puppet strings -  it does not tarnish his image of her because, at this moment, she is not the persecutor, but the persecuted.

After her experience with Hama, Aang is there to comfort her and help her come to terms with the terrifying power she now possesses. With her face streaked with tears and eyes widened with horror, it is clear that this is a power that Katara does not want, that it has been thrust onto her against her own will.

The conclusion that Aang draws from this is that Katara’s inner darkness is a separate entity from her inner light, and he perceives this acquired part of her as a blemish on her inherent goodness. As such, in “the Southern Raiders,” when he witnesses how Katara’s anger and grief drive her to hunt down her mother’s killer, he equates Katara seeking closure to Katara succumbing to darkness, tainting her purity and compassion in the process.

Dialogue from The Southern Raiders

Katara: Ugh, I knew you wouldn't understand.

Aang: Wait! Stop! I do understand. You're feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?

Many have stated valid reasons why Aang cannot possibly understand Katara’s pain in this scenario - he was not there to witness his people’s genocide or the theft of Appa; he has no way of confronting those who were responsible for his loss - but perhaps the reason why Aang thinks that he understands Katara’s pain should be expanded upon as well. As stated before, Aang has seen how bloodbending is a power Hama forced Katara to learn and how “bloodbender” is an identity unwillingly pushed onto her.

Maybe, in the same way that Aang believes that he knows Katara’s pain, he believes that he knows Katara’s inner conflict as well. After all, to take on an unwanted power and identity is something he knows all too well.

Dialogue from The Avatar Returns

Katara: Why didn’t you tell us you were the Avatar?”

Aang: Because… I never wanted to be.

When the sandbenders stole Appa, Aang succumbed to the Avatar state. When he found out what the Fire Nation did to his people, Aang succumbed to the Avatar state. In the Avatar State, Aang forfeits control over himself, loses sight of his pacifistic nature, and in return, he gains the power to hurt the people he cares about.

Aang enters the Avatar State in times of desperation and, as he alludes to in his dialogue, in times of anger. So to see Katara express her rage in The Southern Raiders scares Aang - no, it terrifies Aang - because he is seeing Katara is “giving in” to her own Avatar State, one where she has no control over herself and loses sight of her compassionate nature. 

Dialogue from The Southern Raiders

Zuko: She needs this, Aang. This is about getting closure and justice.

Aang: I don't think so. I think it's about getting revenge.

Katara: Fine, maybe it is! Maybe that's what I need! Maybe that's what he deserves!

Aang: Katara, you sound like Jet.

To be impassioned in her search for her mother’s killers is to be impassioned in her search for revenge, and to want revenge against a war criminal is to want to attack the innocent. As soon as Katara descends into violence, she will slide down the slippery slope where she will become Jet, where she will become Hama.

Only morality is not quite as black and white as Aang depicts it to be, and Katara’s psychology is not as similar to Aang’s as he believes to be. While Aang views Katara’s compassion and rage as a dichotomy in her character (meaning that they are mutually exclusive) or as an internal conflict of good versus evil, in truth Katara’s compassion and rage can often be described as a reciprocatory relationship where one drives the other. I expand upon this concept in much more detail in this meta, but here I will simply quote an excerpt and summarize:

Excerpt from “Rage, Compassion, and the Bridge in Between” (give this a read if you want an analysis on how Katara’s rage and compassion embody the complexity of human emotion) 

“…Katara’s anger and compassion do not simply split themselves into two identities. Instead, they coexist and coalesce into one. They drive each other; they feed into each other; they are two sides of the same coin.”

Katara’s rage fuels her compassion because her relationship with grief and anger is what allows her to sympathize with other people’s grief and anger, which is why she shares the story of her mother’s death with Aang, Haru, and Jet. Then, to quote again from my meta, “Katara’s compassion is what grants her a protective instinct, and her protective instinct is what moves her anger and violence.” To clarify, Katara’s protective violence describes her frightening Fire Nation soldiers in order to protect the Jang Hui village in “The Painted Lady” and her threatening Zuko in order to protect Aang in “The Western Air Temple.”

Thus, to Katara, rage is not always an emotion that causes her to lose sight of herself. Instead, it’s one that incites her to act on her ideals of justice and protection.

Dialogue from the Southern Raiders

Katara: It's not the same! Jet attacked the innocent. This man, he's a monster.

Of course, that is not to say that Katara’s anger does not lead her to violate her morals since she bloodbends the captain of the Southern Raiders despite her previously swearing to never bloodbend again. But while the Southern Raiders shows Katara coming to terms (or at least beginning to come to terms) with the idea of good and bad, justice and revenge, and right and wrong, Aang stalwartly clings onto the notion of two separate “Katara”s - the good and evil, the compassionate and the rage-driven - and unfairly takes on a position of moral authority against the “dark” Katara in hopes of reviving the “light” one.

Excerpt from “On an Immensely Popular Post” (most of the analysis in this one is about platonic-romantic relationships, but I dissect the Aang-Sokka-Katara dialogue from TSR in-depth here):

“While I believe that Aang’s principles of forgiveness are morally sound, the way he pushes his beliefs onto Katara undermines much of her grief. At first, Aang tries to relate to Katara’s experiences by comparing them to his own, but there is a forceful connotation to his dialogue that suggests that Aang considers himself to be the moral authority compared to Katara. Hence, Aang judges Katara (“I think it’s about getting revenge”) without trying to reach out and understand her, forgoing the empathetic common ground in favor of taking on the moral high ground.”

Aang forgoes the common ground because he believes Katara’s morality to be as black and white as his own, and then he takes on the high ground because he thinks he understands Katara’s internal conflict. Except he doesn’t, since what rage means to Aang is vastly different from what rage means to Katara. What he understands as Katara’s ideals stem from his idealization of her, and this crack in their relationship, this masquerade of misunderstandings and attachment and “falling in love” - it all comes to a breaking point in the Southern Raiders where the truth finally makes itself known:

Aang idealizes Katara by rendering her into a dichotomy. Katara draws the agency to act on her ideals from her duality.

#atla #atla meta #katara #katara meta #anti kataang #anti kataang meta #my bated breath analyzes #my bated breath's posts #this is what we mean when we say aang idealizes katara #or at least this is what i mean #also it's 12:47 AM and I'm tired

[natequarter]

ok anyway i feel the need to elaborate on haru finding aang:

instead of the iceberg ending up in the south it just sorta. drifts to the earth kingdom

aang washes up on the shores of haru's village

haru happens to be by the coast that day and finds a fucking glowing twelve-year-old in his village

haru nearly starts screaming and decides to drag him to his mother's house before somebody tries to kill the poor kid

aang wakes up in haru's house and is like hey. wanna play with me?

haru, still internally screaming: so hey actually that isn't gonna work you could be arrested

aang: arrested???? o_o

haru: yes arrested! also are you the avatar? you could die if you don't tell me

aang, freaked out: unfortunately yes

haru, to himself: oh god oh shit oh fuck. oh no i hate it here-

aang: it's ok! i'm sure we can get along-

haru: i hate to break it to you but the world is in the middle of all-out war

aang: WHAT?

haru: um. because. well actually you see-

aang: what?

haru: yourpeoplewerewipedoutbythefirenationandicouldbearrestedifiearthbend-

aang:

haru: sorry that's a lot to take in isn't it

aang: ...yeah

haru: btw it would be really handy if you could. hm. master all four elements and kill the fire lord?

aang: kill???

haru: if that's not too much to ask

aang: wait if the fire nation is waging war how am i meant to find a teacher?

haru: idk. that's rough buddy

aang convinces him to run away with him but not before he starts a bloody (as in the swear not literal blood) revolution and frees tyro and co

they run into jet, who is like. sweet this is the avatar. do you like staging revolutions against the fire nation

aang: hey do you know any waterbenders around here? also yes i just started a revolution

jet: whoa there. you staged a revolution? nice we're adopting you

jet helps haru and aang go north to find a teacher

aang is Unimpressed by pakku

also waterbender yue because i say so that's why

aang manages to help yue waterbend in secret

haru is far more effective at convincing aang to hide himself than katara and sokka are

so eventually the gaang consists of yue aang and haru who have now realised. damn they need a firebender teacher

this could be awkward

haru once again internally screaming

also they now have both princes of the fire nation and the dragon of the west on their heels which is highly awkward, inconvenient, and confusing, because neither aang nor haru nor yue can make head nor tail of iroh's motives

they end up going to ba sing se to see if there are any firebenders there who don't actively want them dead

there aren't

aang gets electrocuted, yue runs into zuko in disguise, haru runs into jet and they're *fingers gun* oh hey it's you (complimentary)

blah blah blah the invasion of ba sing se aang nearly dies and zuko breaks out appa and jet DOESN'T die blah blah blah

jet gets forcefully separated from the rest of the freedom fighters so yue and haru save his life and help them escape with appa

s3 happens please i don't have the energy to do this

they run into suki who has in turn run into sokka, katara, toph, etc. and helped build a secret alliance to fight the fire nation

they team up with this bunch on the day of the black sun

but aang still can't fucking find a firebender

they eventually run into zuko, who agrees to train- oh god i really do not give a fuck about zuko

aang has a crisis after realising he might have to kill ozai

so does haru

jet and zuko really don't give a fuck

'you can't just kill people like that!' - haru, circa sozin's comet

'yes you can actually' - zuko, also circa sozin's comet

the final agni kai

aang confronts ozai

jet cuts his goatee off

and kicks him in the balls

the end

they all lived happily ever after apart from the dealing with ongoing conflicts, trauma, effects of colonisation, and haru's dreadful moustache

#tw genocide #haru #aang #jet #yue #zuko #atla

[canyourscienceexplainthis]

And Your Jokes Are Always Bad

“Okay, guys, what’s the plan for tonight?” Sokka asks, looking through his rearview mirror at Aang and Katara’s shadowed faces in the back, and then over at Suki sitting in the passenger seat. “I thought we were heading over to chill at your place?” Aang questions from the backseat, arm wrapped around Katara and voice abnormally loud so he can be heard over the speakers blaring Rei Ami (it was Suki’s night with the aux).

“We aren’t going back to campus. If I have to go to one more party where everyone is talking about ‘Death of the Author’ or their latest shroomed out epiphany, I’m gonna jump off the roof of the library, I swear to God,” Katara says, rolling her eyes at the thought.

“Yeah, we can go to mine,” Sokka agrees, “but if you guys are expecting drinks or food at all tonight, we’re gonna have to stop somewhere cause my place is currently like an apocalypse shelter that’s running out of supplies.”

“Beer store and sevie it is!” Suki chimes.

With their drinks and snacks of choice acquired, the gang starts heading back to Sokka’s house, which they have affectionately named the shitshack. Listen, Sokka will be the first to admit that his house is a little...run down. “I think should-be-condemned is a more apt description, Sokka,” Katara had countered the first time she visited.

Sure, the foundation is caving in to the point that their bedroom doors couldn’t fully close because of the house’s slant. Yeah, weeds grow through the baseboards in the summer. And yes, he’s pretty sure there’s decomposing rat bodies under the sink cupboards. But he’s a struggling student living in one of the most expensive places in the country, and this place was as cheap as it gets (which is still way too expensive). He had decided long ago that he would rather live in an actual risk-to-human-safety with people that he can stand to be around than be paired up with strangers and live on campus.

“Fuck a princess I’m a king, bow down and kis—”

Just as they’re in the middle of the chorus, Suki’s phone starts ringing, interrupting their psyched-up, loud sing-along. Suki picks up the call but doesn’t unplug the aux, a raspy voice coming through the car’s speakers.

“Sukiii,” the mystery voice greets.

“Hey Zuko! What’s up?”

“Ugh, I’m bored! Come hang out with me,” the voice pleads.

“I’d love to, but I’m kinda on the way to my friend’s house right now…” Suki says, looking over at Sokka.

“Oh,” disappointment evident in his tone, “yeah, no worries, maybe next weekend.”

Suki glances over at Sokka again before saying, “wait, why don’t you come with?

Sokka looks over at her, shrugging his shoulders, silently saying, “the more the merrier, I guess.”

“You sure? Your friend won’t mind?”

“Nah, he’s cool with it. Where are you? We’ll come to pick you up.” At this, though, Sokka shoots Suki a glare. He has no problem with her inviting a friend over, but come on dude, gas is expensive! Suki rolls her eyes at him while waving her hand dismissively.

“I’m up at the school, actually,” he says, and Sokka nearly groans because that’s the complete opposite direction of his house.

“Really?” Suki’s eyebrow quirks. “Okay, we’ll be there in like, fifteen or twenty. I’ll text you when we’re close.”

“Okay, sounds good. Thanks Suki!” The music resumes when she hangs up. Sokka levels what he hopes is a withering stare at her.

“You know, I wasn’t kidding when I said I was going to start charging you guys for gas,” Sokka huffs.

Suki purses her lips, “alright, then I guess I’m going to stop helping you pass literally every single one of your humanities classes.”

Sokka pauses, considering whether or not it’s worth risking his GPA to continue complaining. “Fine, but anyone who isn’t helping me figure out what the fuck Derrida is talking about has to pay up!”

About 10 minutes later (because apparently, Sokka drives like he has a death wish), they’re parked outside Sokka’s first-year dorm. It’s giving him flashbacks to warm summer nights spent chilling in the woods with his friends and scattering into the trees when campus security eventually came to break up their drunken antics.

Thankfully, a light knocking on the passenger side window breaks Sokka’s train of thought before he can start dwelling on any of his more painfully embarrassing memories. It’s too dark out for him to see who knocked on the window, but Suki reaches over his lap to unlock the doors, so he assumes it must have been her friend.

What’s his name again? It starts with a Z. Zuzu? No, Zooko, yeah Zuko, Zuko, he chants to himself.

The door opens, and a shadowy figure slides into the back seat. Sokka pulls out of the parking lot and starts heading back into town. Aang, unbelievably (almost exhaustingly) friendly as always, is the first to introduce himself.

“Hey! I’m Aang. Your name’s Zuko, right?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s me. Nice to meet you.”

“Hey, I’m Katara, and that’s my brother Sokka,” she adds, leaning past Aang’s head and pointing at the back of Sokka’s seat.

“Hey dude,” Sokka says, keeping his eyes on the road but raising his hand to wave at the stranger in the back seat.

“Hey speed racer,” Katara scolds, “both hands on the wheel!”

“Katara, if you can’t handle me at my fastest, you don’t deserve me at my furiousest.” Even though he can barely make out any of their faces in the dim light of his car, Sokka can tell they were all rolling their eyes at his attempt at humour. Except for Zuko, who snorts out a soft laugh. Sokka has a feeling he’s going to like this guy.

“At least Zuko thinks I’m funny.”

“That’s cause he doesn’t know you yet,” Suki scoffs. “He’ll learn to tune you out like the rest of us soon enough.”

The rest of the ride passes with easy conversation and songs that, according to Suki, “just make you feel like a bad bitch.” As soon as he pulls into his driveway, Sokka jumps out of the car, excited to finally be home and able to blow off some steam with his friends. He bounds through the door, bellowing, “Jet! Ruru! I come bearing booze and food!” Sokka drops the bag of snacks on the kitchen table on his way over to the fridge. Opening the door, he thinks it would be pretty apparent that they’re university students by simply looking at its contents; ketchup, leftover takeout that’s been there for who knows how long, and beer. Haru springs into the kitchen and grabs at the snacks, pulling out a bag of all dressed ruffles. “Aww, you got my favourite!”

“Only the best for the best roomie,” Sokka smiles back at him.

“Hey! What about me?”Jet asks, (like the fuck boy he is, Sokka thinks) meandering into the kitchen behind Haru.

“Maybe if you learn how to unload the dishwasher or take out the garbage once in a while, you’ll get surprised with your favourite snacks too.”

Jet frowns up at Sokka, “dick.”

“Yeah fuck you too,” Sokka says, tossing him a beer from across the kitchen.  

The sound of Suki’s music emanating from the living room reminds him that “oh yeah, by the way, Katara, Suki, Aang, and one of Suki’s friends are hanging out here tonight.”

“Hell yeah!” Haru basically skips into the living room with Jet following much less excitedly in his wake. Sokka grabs some mixing bowls and starts emptying the bags of chips and popcorn. The last thing he needs is someone puking on his carpet because they started drinking on an empty stomach. From behind him, he hears a faint, “hey, uh, Sokka?”

“Yeah, what’s—” he starts, looking up.

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

Standing in the middle of his kitchen is who he can only assume to be Zuko. He has long black hair tied up in a half top-knot and gorgeous golden eyes. He’s wearing a black bomber jacket and crimson button-up that contrast with his molten eyes and pale skin in an unfairly beautiful way. He also has on a pair of black skinny jeans that are really working for him and working for Sokka, too, if he’s honest. It’s probably a good thing, Sokka thinks, that he couldn’t see him in the car because he probably would have completely forgotten how to drive and ended up in a ditch.

Good God, Sokka chastises himself. Get your shit together and stop staring at this absolutely stunning man like a fucking creep. Sokka clears his throat and manages to stutter, “y-yeah, what’s up?”

If Zuko noticed his gawking, he’s kind enough not to mention it. “Just wondering if I could put these in your fridge,” he asks, raising a six-pack of Strongbow.

“Yeah, for sure!” Sokka manages, voice still a little uneven.

Zuko walks over to the fridge, placing his ciders beside Sokka’s beers, then takes one and cracks it. He turns to face Sokka again, and they both stare at each other for a moment, the only noise being the hum of the bass in the background. Neither one seems to know what to do next. Thankfully for Sokka’s current error 404 brain, Zuko pipes up first.

“You’ve got a nice place. I really like it.” If he were judging by the tone of Zuko’s voice, Sokka would almost think he’s being sincere. However, the evidence proving that this was, in fact, a shithole of a house was literally everywhere.

“Hey, it's okay dude, we all know this house is awful. No need to sugarcoat it,” Sokka chuckles.

“No, really, I mean it. Obviously, it’s got its...flaws,” well that’s putting it mildly, Sokka thinks, “but I like what you guys have done with it. Like,” Zuko points to a Pavement poster hanging on the wall in front of Sokka, “how you’ve decorated it.”

“Are you a Pavement fan,” Sokka asks, eagerness clear in his voice at the prospect of talking to someone about his favourite band.

The edges of Zuko’s lips curl into an almost indistinguishable teasing smile, and his eyes glance down to his drink. “I guess you could say that, if you think going to their reunion show in 2010 counts as being a fan,” Zuko notes nonchalantly. Sokka doesn’t know if he’s ever been more jealous of someone in his life.

“Oh my God! You’re kidding?! I would have killed to have seen that show! Was it incredible?” He asks, humming with excitement.

“If I told you it sucked, would it make you feel better about missing it?”

“It’s worth a shot.”

“Then no, it was one of the worst live performances I’ve ever seen. They completely fucked up Embassy Row.”

Sokka hums, grabbing his chin like he’s contemplating whether or not he’s still upset that he missed the show of a lifetime. “Yeah, I’m still jealous. Guess I’ll just have to catch their thirty-year reunion tour.”

Zuko genuinely smiles then, and any composure Sokka had regained in the last minute goes down the drain. “Yeah, I guess so,” he murmurs.

Suddenly Sokka’s attention is jerked away from Zuko’s breathtaking smile by a loud crash emanating from the living room. Spinning his head in the direction of his exceptionally disastrous friends who apparently cannot be left alone for ten minutes, he yells, “Hey! What the fuck are you guys doing!?”

Katara sprints into the kitchen wearing a slightly guilty expression, clearly searching for something. “Dish towels?”

“What did you guys do now,” Sokka sighs, giving her a handful from under the sink.

“Thanks,” she says, grabbing them, “uh, well, Jet bet Suki a round at the brewpub that he could beat her at beer pong, and they kinda both launched themselves at the table trying to get balls back…”

Sokka crosses an arm over his chest and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Fucking menaces. I thought we all agreed that we weren’t going to let them do shit like this anymore! They’re both way too competitive, and our house seriously can’t stand any more abuse! For real, I’m surprised they didn’t fall right through a hole in the floor!”

“Do you really think there’s anything anyone could do to dissuade them once they’ve decided they’re gonna do something? No. So all we can do is mitigate the damages,” Katara emphasizes her words by holding the towels up to Sokka’s face.

“Yeah, okay, fine,” Sokka concedes, “just tell Jet I said he’s a fucking asshole.”

“That,” Katara mumbles, walking back towards the rest of the group, “I can do.”

Once again, it’s just Sokka and Zuko standing in the kitchen. However, Zuko now looks incredibly amused.

“What,” Sokka levels at him with his patented wiseass smile, “is my living space getting even more trashed funny to you?”

“No, it’s not that. I mean, it’s just...I’m sure I don’t know Suki as well as you guys probably do, and I just met Jet, but he must be a real dumbass to challenge Suki to anything.”

Yeah, Sokka was right earlier; he’s really going to like this guy.

After many rounds of beer pong and even more spilled drinks later, everyone seems to be approaching the more relaxed stage of their typical hangout. Aang and Katara are sitting on floor cushions, leaning into one another, and Sokka can only assume, whispering sickeningly loving things. Likewise, Jet and Haru are having their own coupley moment on the futon in the other side of the living room. He still finds it hard to believe that they’re together, but opposites attract, right? He, Suki, and Zuko are lounging on the couch (which is probably the nicest thing in their house because it’s a hand me down from his dad and Bato, unlike all of their other thrift shop furniture).

Sokka and Zuko are currently monopolizing the conversation, discussing one of their favourite shows that Suki had noted she’d never seen.

“I mean obviously it’s fucked, but it blends misanthropy and humour perfectly into a nice nihilistic package,” Zuko says, his eyes locked with Sokka’s.

“Firstly, agreed. Secondly, how in the fuck are you using words like misanthropy and nihilistic when you’re five drinks down?”

Zuko’s eyes flick with mischief. “I guess I’m just too much of a genius for you to keep up.”

Sokka isn’t sure what to say to that. He’s starting to think Zuko might actually be a genius. That, or he just has excellent taste in music and TV, which, to Sokka, is basically equivalent to having Mensa level IQ. Also, Zuko is probably the hottest person he’s ever seen. All of this put together has him questioning where his brain cells have gone, or if he even had any to begin with.

Suki, taking advantage of the brief lull in their discussion, decides this is her moment to stir shit up. Sitting cross-legged on the corner of the couch and looking down at her nails, she suddenly breaks their conversation, saying, “hey Sokka, did you know Zuko and I were each other’s New Years’ kiss last year?”

In hindsight, Sokka wonders if Suki knew what she was doing. Maybe she just wanted to take Zuko down a peg for his arrogant comment, or she was tired of being left out of the conversation. Probably a combination, he thinks.

His brow quirks up as his gaze flashes back to Zuko, who is staring at Suki with an expression edging on murderous. “Oh yeah?’

“Suki…” the warning tone of Zuko’s voice doesn’t seem to faze her in the slightest.

“Yup,” Suki confirms, unperturbed and grinning wickedly. “Zuko was the only person I knew at the party and I thought, fuck it! So we decided we’d be each others’ kiss.” She looks up from her apparently fascinating cuticles and gazes directly at Sokka, “and he apologized to me after cause he didn’t think he was a very good kisser.”

“OH MY GOD, SUKI!” Zuko sputters, choking on his cider and blush colouring his cheeks.

“What? You did!” She argues, her grin morphing into something truly evil.

“That’s not fair! We were both drunk and, and...I don’t know! But I officially hate you and I’m never covering a shift for you again!”

Zuko looks absolutely mortified. Sokka holds back his laughter at the objectively ludicrous visual if only to save Zuko from even more embarrassment.

Sokka feels bad for him. Really, he does. Suki just blasted him in front of someone he met a couple hours ago. However, Sokka recognizes that she also set him up to bat, so he doesn’t really feel that bad.

“Well, I’ve been told I’m an excellent kisser,” Sokka says, putting on a voice that he hopes resembles something sultry. “I can show you how it’s done. If you want.”

He simultaneously feels very powerful and very vulnerable. Sokka knows that he excels in the kissing arena, but, and he can’t quite put his finger on why, but if Zuko turned him down, he would be really disappointed. Maybe it’s just because Zuko is so pretty, like Sokka wants to draw him like one of his French girls pretty, or maybe it’s because he hasn’t had any action in a while. Either way, he hopes Zuko is either, 1) into the idea, or, 2) lets him down easy.

They stare at each other for a beat, gold eyes meeting blue. Zuko looks down at his hands, curled in his lap, and his blush travels from his cheeks to his just barely visible chest. Sokka wonders if he’s ever seen anything so fucking endearing. Zuko nods so slightly that if Sokka had blinked, he would have missed it.

“Is that a yes?”

“Y-yes, um, yeah, you can do that…” Zuko stammers, looking up at Sokka with both nervous and pleading eyes, “if you want.”

“Yeah, I want.”

Consent confirmed. Sokka wonders if he should hold off because they’ve been drinking, but then he remembers that Zuko just used the word “misanthropy” not five minutes ago in casual conversation. At this moment, he doesn’t know if he could even look at Zuko without spontaneously combusting, so if anything, Zuko would be taking advantage of him, and Sokka is very okay with that. Sokka gently grasps Zuko’s hip with one hand and his waist with the other. He pulls him nearer, noticing how Zuko leans into his grip and silently exhales as the distance between them closes. Their eyes meet again for a fleeting moment. Sokka realizes that Zuko’s pupils are blown so wide that his irises are nothing more than a thin golden ring circling black.

Ever since seeing him in the kitchen, Sokka hasn’t let himself look at Zuko like he wanted to. ‘I’m sure he’s uncomfortable enough in a room full of strangers without you eye-fucking him every five minutes’, he said to himself. But now he can really admire him. Sokka is drinking him in, looking at him like something to be cherished, adored, kissed all over. Fuck. He is gorgeous.

Like Sokka had said, he knew he was a great kisser, but something about Zuko made him want to make this particular make-out session even better than great. Maybe it was because he was supposed to be showing Zuko how it’s done (ugh, nice line Sokka), or maybe it was because Zuko was without a doubt the hottest person Sokka had ever seen in real life. Either way, he knew he had to make the most of this.

Slowly he closes the last couple of inches between Zuko’s mouth and his. He feels Zuko’s shaky exhale on his lips, and damn if that isn’t hot. What feels like ages later, their lips press together. Sokka notes that Zuko’s lips are so deliciously soft, but also hesitant. The kiss is so tender and timid, and delightfully honey-sweet. He leans in farther, moving his hand from Zuko’s hip up his side to cup the back of his neck. Zuko’s mouth opens up in an almost silent sigh, and Sokka takes the opportunity to lick his bottom lip lightly before slotting his tongue alongside Zuko’s.

Sokka can’t remember the last time he’d shared such a delicate kiss.

He dated Yue in first-year, and they had shared some beautiful moments. Being each others’ first relationship, they traversed the adoring, intimate, and sometimes incredibly awkward territory that came with one’s first time. But she had gone to study abroad in Bhutan for a year, saying it was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. Before she left, they mutually decided long distance wouldn’t suit either of them and it would be best to break up.

And delicate wouldn’t be a word he’d use to describe his and Suki’s relationship. Obviously, they loved and respected one another. Still, it was very much just a good friends that hang out every day and sometimes hook up with each other and sometimes hook up with other people kind of deal. Admittedly, Sokka’s brain kind of imploded when he saw Suki sitting on Yue’s lap at a party about a month after she got back to campus. And it doubly imploded when they told him they were dating. He couldn’t say he wasn’t surprised, but he was happy two of his favourite people found someone that makes them happy. What? He loves love, okay?

But this.

This was...different.

Just as Sokka was about to move his attention from Zuko’s mouth to his cheek, neck, chest, anywhere and everywhere else, he was pulled out of the moment for the second time that night by Katara’s shriek of, “Jesus Christ Sokka! I don’t want to see that shit! Get a room!”

For a moment, he truly forgot that there was anyone else in the room. Snapping back to reality felt like waking up from a half-asleep half-awake dream. In the back of his mind he knew where he was and what was going on around him, but it was a hazy awareness, and one that he’d rather not focus on. Feeling feather-light and slightly out of it, Sokka gathered himself the best he could.

“Katara you do realize this is my house, right? Every room is my room!”

#Ok imma leave this one up tonight #please be nice #sorry i deleted it earlier #i got self conscious #atla #sokka #zulo #aang #katara #suki #yue #alt universe #jet #haru

[listless-brainrot]

jet lives au but make it jetru (pt 3)

so for this, considering that the next ep logically would be tales of ba sing se, and keeping this in mind, i think this would essentially replace aang’s tale (i’m sorry you funky little monk boy i still love you) which i don’t want to do but i’m writing this with this in mind

so may i present to you

the tale of jet 

(tw for descriptions of manipulation, this arc is messed up and i won’t mince words about it) (this is also one of the longer ones just because it’s specifically jet-centric)

pt 1 can be read here!

pt 2 can be read here!

-takes place during tales of ba sing se

-picks up right where the previous left off in terms of brainwashing jet

-since we aren’t given much on how it works exactly, a lot of this is headcanoning about the process

-going off of this, i headcanon that the brainwashing is only temporary, as well as subconsciously deep set, and takes multiple sessions to reinforce

-it starts off with jet being dragged to a cell, he appears to be in a tranced state, though when he’s thrown inside he briefly becomes aware of what is going on and begins struggling as they approach the door, unable to talk or move

-the dai li lock him up, leave him there and regroup, going to the area where they fight the gaang under lake laogai, and there they meet long feng

-long feng asks about the newest prisoner, asks for any details on him

-”there are none, sir.” “none?” “none. no profiles, no connections to speak of. the only thing we found on him was this passport.” “is it his?” “we don’t believe so, sir. background checks match it to no one within the walls.” "interesting. is he a citizen of ba sing se?” “he’d been living in ba sing se, but most likely snuck in illegally.” “with the passport, no doubt.” “it’s a possibility, sir.”

-long feng continues to press for details as he strides down the long, empty halls of lake laogai. he learns that he attacked a tea shop as well as its occupants, that witnesses fully believe that he’s crazy for calling them firebenders.

-the more he learns, the more a plan begins to develop in his mind, making him stop in his tracks entirely.

-a boy, with little to no connections to anyone else? a criminal, no less, who knows how to fight? he thinks about his current predicament with the avatar. the dai li may be watching, but would it be enough? the avatar being present is a threat in itself. 

-long feng dismisses the dai li, thanking them for their continued service. once they are gone, he heads back towards the cell, telling those guarding him to let him through.

-here, he finds himself met with an angry boy, with a wild mop of hair and wide, terrified eyes. he watches him scowl and begin to shout, angry words only deafened by the stone covering his mouth.

-bending the ground and forcing him into a sitting position, binding him to the rock, long feng approaches, taking the rock away, ignoring the flurry of confusion and insults that follow.

-”you can cease your infernal shrieking, boy. there’s no one around to hear you. in fact, there’s no reason for you to be shrieking at all.”

-jet doesn’t understand. his head hurts too much to fully comprehend the man’s words. all he knows is that he’s angry and scared. something about this man being here, though, makes him tense.

-”i have a proposal for you, jet. i have a little problem in my humble city that only someone like you can address. you are familiar with the avatar, correct?”

-long feng notes the way his eyes widen, though he says nothing.

-”to the rest of the world, he is their savior; perhaps, even, their god. but here, he is a threat. a real threat- bigger than any silly little firebender.”

-”if it comes down to it... you will be the one to eliminate him.”

-the protests were expected. after being beckoned, the two agents guarding the door enter, and the sight immediately sends jet into a panic. long feng tells the agents to brainwash him again, to make sure it sticks, and turns to leave as they close in.

-long feng is confident. confident that his plan is without fail, without flaw. no one is looking for him. who would miss a criminal?

-cut back to ba sing se, where haru is looking for jet.

-he’d been asking around for days now, and everyone refuses to speak up about the event

-he can’t seem to find any prisons, which is odd for the lower ring

-those who do simply say that the kid got what was coming to him. this rubs him the wrong way and unsettles him deeply

-he doesn’t dare go back to the tea shop yet. there’s always at least a couple dai li agents around, and he trusts them all about as far as he can throw them

-though, they are his only leads...

-he decides to try to find the guards from that night. or just some normal city guards. maybe they’ll be reasonable?

-however they react, he knows that something’s gotta help him find jet. bottom line is, he’s got to find jet, or at least what’s happened to him. this city is giving him the creeps.

-cut back to jet under lake laogai, training to fight the avatar. he hasn’t left the lake in days.

-he hates this. every single attack he makes doesn’t feel right, doesn’t feel like him. nothing feels like him anymore. and yet something in his mind makes him continue.

-long feng works with him specifically. telling him any possible attacks he may dish out, any loops he may throw him for. as if he were working with yet another dai li agent.

-by the end of it all he’s exhausted. he barely has any energy to fight back with. he can barely think of any plans to escape- they always take his swords.

-but he tries to rebel in the little ways he can.

-as he sits alone in his cell, he leans against the wall and whistles. loudly. the guards absolutely hate it. he doesn’t stop. bird call after bird call. seems like he’s learned a new one every day.

-as the guards bang against his door and yell at him to shut up, he smirks. he might be stuck here, but they’re also stuck with him.

-a part of him also hopes that they hear it. maybe they’ll recognize his signal.

-cut back to ba sing se, it’s late at night, and haru’s sitting with guards at a different shop, or perhaps a bar of some sort. he asks them about the kid they saw a few days ago, and tries to ignore how they all laugh at his demise.

-they don’t tell him anything useful- they don’t know where he went, either. so, he decides to ask about the dai li.

-these guards have a pointedly different attitude compared to those in the innermost rings, the main difference being just how grateful they sound.

-”crime’s always been difficult to stay on top of in the lower ring, but with the dai li here, it’s like it just disappears! makes our jobs easier,” “yeah, whatever they do, i hope they keep doing it- the reform work they do is incredible, it’s like you never knew they were criminals in the first place!” “i heard they’ve got this big reform facility somewhere. maybe it’s in the middle ring? they’ve got the money for it there; much more money than what we’ve got, anyway,”

-across from the shop, hidden in the shadows, a single dai li agent watches.

-haru is put off by all this glorification, and tries to ask if they know anything about this ‘reform’. again, they don’t. he comes up short once again. 

-not knowing what else to do, he figures he should start looking somewhere else. he thanks them all and leaves.

-as he leaves, he doesn’t notice the guards being approached by the dai li, nor the guards pointing down the alleyway he’s headed.

-walking alone, he feels this overwhelming sense of being watched. glancing over his shoulder, he catches a glimpse of the dai li agent in the corner of his eye. 

-he picks up the pace. the agent does as well. he’s being followed.

-something tells him to duck, and a stone hand flies right over his head. he only has a split second to react before another follows, nearly snagging his ankle. 

-panicking, he bends. anything to get him out of there.

-the agent is slammed into a nearby wall as haru rounds the corner, using the precious time he bought to try and lose the agent.

-conveniently, the tea shop is right there. however, there are other agents out there on patrol. despite running before, now, he’s got to be inconspicuous.

-just walking up to a door has never been so nerve-wracking.

-it’s past closing time when he enters, and both zuko and iroh are surprised to see him. he hasn’t turned up to work in a while. 

-he’s about to answer when he hears approaching footsteps outside, and he pushes past the two of them cleaning up shop, ducking behind the counter, not having enough time to slip into the back rooms.

-the dai li agent enters, accompanied by the other two on patrol. iroh stands behind the counter, wiping it down, fully aware of the boy hiding behind it as the agents ask if he’s seen anything suspicious.

-knowing his luck when it comes to being sold out by random old people, haru prays that iroh is different.

-to his surprise, iroh really is different, not only keeping him safe, but misleading the agents by telling them he’d snuck past to another shop.

-the utter camaraderie of the exchange is uncomfortable, with iroh treating the dai li with so much respect. luckily though, it’s enough to get them to leave.

-when they do leave, haru doesn’t move from his spot until they tell him he’s gone, and even then, his fear is poignant. he wants to talk, tell them what’s going on, but his words catch in his throat. iroh notices this, telling him to sit down and talk with them in the back rooms. they want to know what’s going on, too.

-mutely, haru accepts their offer. sitting in the back with a cup of calming tea, allowing it to steady his nerves as he tells zuko and iroh about his discoveries. about criminals disappearing, about them suddenly acting normal. they ask why he was tussling with the dai li, and he finally admits that he was looking for jet, and he’s starting to think that the dai li are more involved with his disappearance than he originally thought- he just thought they took him to a prison.

-all this talk about the dai li gets zuko’s attention specifically. if something is going on within the walls and the dai li are connected to it, maybe the city isn’t as safe for them as they thought.

-haru voices this, takin the thoughts out of zuko’s mind, and adds that, if something Is going on in this city, then it makes finding jet even more important.  he could be in danger.

-neither zuko nor iroh fully understand why he’s so desperate to find him. truth be told, haru’s not too sure either. but he still wants to try, especially since no one else will. he begins to speculate.

-”he said there’s traitors here, and he got arrested for it. what if he was right?”

-cut back to jet the following morning, leaving the lake for the first time in days, being escorted by the dai li back into ba sing se. his pupils are dilated and he’s in a daze.

-”what if there’s something important they’re all trying to hide from us?”

-they take jet to this tiny apartment, and begin telling him what he’s going to do. when they leave, he will believe that he’s been living peacefully in the city.

-”the dai li kept watching me- i was just asking about them, and they tried to get me, too. what if that’s why?”

-they hand him back his swords. if the avatar starts doing anything out of line, he’s to mislead them as much as possible.

-”they didn’t like me snooping around. they definitely have something they want to hide.”

-jet simply stands still and listens, nodding as the dai li wrap up their instructions. they tell him he won’t remember a thing about what he’s been put through- the brainwashing, the training. he will simply live the life they want him to.

-”whatever it is, i bet it’s got something to do with jet. and i’m going to find out what it is. i’m going to find him. no matter what it takes.” haru’s fear changes to determinism, and, despite his exhaustion, a fire blazes in his eyes; the same fire that blazed in katara’s when she told sokka and aang of her plan to get arrested for earthbending.

-they tell him he is safe here. always has been. this much he will remember.

-finally, the dai li leave. the moment the door closes, he snaps out of his trance, blinking, swords in hand. sheathing them as he looks around, he faintly recognizes where he is- this is his apartment. he’s been living here peacefully. for some reason, he feels an urge to leave and look for... something. he doesn’t know why, but he’s drawn to the barn that stands nearby. this is... his job? of course it is. he’s been working here. peacefully.

-nothing is wrong in ba sing se. he’s safe here.

#i hate long feng i hate him so much #fuck the dai li too #jetru #harujet #jet #atla jet #jet atla #haru #atla haru #haru atla #long feng #dai li #zuko #atla zuko #iroh #atla iroh #jet lives au #au #original #long post #atla #avatar the last airbender

[amixiifish]

Heat- Chapter 29: Rut

“Here we are!” Aang says as they land in the temple.

“Everyone can have separate rooms. Unless, of course, Zuko wants to make use of his, how do I say this, supplies?” Katara teased.

“Is that an option?” Haru counters.

“Whatever do you mean?” Katara said, saccharine sweetness dripping from her voice.

The Duke laughs. “Do you honestly think that we’re that stupid? You would kill Jet and Sokka before they could look at him that way.”

Katara nods. “True, but my father approves and I know Suki probably will too. I might as well accept it.”

Katara suddenly squeals, surprising everyone. “I could be an aunt this time next year.”

“No! I am not having sex or becoming a mom anytime soon!” Zuko shrieks.

“Mom? Oh, that’s so cute! They’re gonna call you mom,” Toph coos.

Zuko flushes. 

“I want to be called papa. That’s what I called my father,” Jet said thoughtfully.

“I like dad,” Sokka says.

Katara almost says something but doubles over with a hiss of pain.

The scent hit everyone hard.

Rut. The scent of rut permeated the air as Katara grabbed Zuko and pulls him close.

“Wait, Katara you can’t bite him,” Toph says, voice alarmed as Katara scents Zuko.

“She can’t mark me. We have a Guardian Bond. I can spend her rut with her till it gets better. It should only be a day or two,” Zuko explains.The rest nod, unsure, but believing the omega.

“Let’s go get some food to eat,” Haru says, breaking the silence. 

The rest nod. 

In the room Katara sat next to Zuko, body reaching temperatures so low, it burned Zuko to touch her- he gently lights his hands in a small flame and touches it to Katara’s skin.

In any other case, it would have burned her, but for now, it just let out a hiss of steam as Katara warmed up.The alpha sighs in the pleasure of being warmed before cuddling the overly hot firebender close to her.

“Aren’t you supposed to know when these things happen?” Zuko teases.

“Heaters don’t talk,” Katara said, half-coherent. Zuko just smiles at the alpha, running hands through sweat-soaked bangs.

“Get some sleep, Katara,” he says, voice filled with affection. 

Katara hums. This continues for two days, Katara freezing over and then needing to be thawed.

The rest visit one at a time, fearful of Katara’s ire.She nearly bit Sokka, and legitimately snarled at him when he came close to Zuko. 

Sokka nearly pissed his pants in fear and made a feeble excuse to escape. Aang was allowed to touch Zuko to try and help the omega who was starting to go a little cold after spending so much time with the waterbender. Katara’s rut finally subsides but she never apologizes to Sokka, much to his irritation. (He still fears her, though, so he doesn’t risk a confrontation.)

“I feel so much better,” Katara says.

“Yeah, you used me as a pillow so much that my back is broken. You better be happy,” Zuko threatened, stretching his back.

Toph hits him really hard, sending him flying into Haru.The earth bender steadies him and Zuko glares at Toph while Teo laughs beside her.

“Guys,” The Duke says, panic in his voice.He is ignored by the group.

“Man, nothing can mess today up,” Sokka says happily. (He would regret tempting fate.)

“Guys, duck!” The Duke yells and everyone goes to take cover as a huge explosion shocks the group. “Combustion Man,” Jet says, confirming the rest’s fears.

“Haru, take Teo and The Duke and run. We’ll take care of this guy,” Zuko says.

“But-” Haru starts.Zuko sent him a quick glare, instantly shutting him up.

“Yes, mother,” Haru says bitterly. 

Zuko stares indignantly at Haru’s retreating back and scowls at Teo’s mock salute and The Duke’s copy of Haru’s response.

“Told you you’d make a good mom,” Aang says, grinning.

“Shut up, and let’s take this guy down,” Zuko mutters, irritated.

The rest nod as several more explosions come their way.

#jetokko #jetko #zukka #katara #aang #Toph #zuko #sokka #jet #atla #omegaverse #our fic #heat (amixiifish)

[firelxdykatara]

Zuko is such a JERK when it comes to women! Why do you ship him with freakin' Katara after she suffered trauma not only from him but from his country and his deadbeat family?!? If you legitimately think she would just fall in love for him right after hating him, you don't know her character at all! I mean, she barely even knows him toward the end of the show. Most girls won't go after someone they hardly even know.

You know, I was gonna ignore this, cause it’s bullshit and I’m tired, and I almost wanna wait a while to see how many times I can goad you into sending me the exact same message:

(seriously, did you have that copied to your clipboard or something??? lmfao)

but nah, I’m just gonna stop you right here.

First of all, Zuko is not ‘a jerk when it comes to women’. He’s a socially awkward, traumatized teenager, who tried his best to be a loving and attentive boyfriend when he was actually in a relationship, and with the one other girl we saw him date he was kind and gentle and goofy and risked being found out as a firebender just so he could light some candles for her and make her smile. (If you wanna throw Song into the mix, too, he met her at one of the worst points in his life, and he stole her ostrich horse, which was bad–but he also connected with her in a way we would not get to see him do with anyone else until Katara. And, notably, it wasn’t until he met Katara that he actually let someone else touch his scar.)

Bringing it back to Maiko for a second, at my most charitable towards Mai (whom I do not like, as a character, regardless of ships), they were jerks to each other. While Zuko put in effort which Mai notably did not, and while Mai was dismissive of the efforts he did make, he took out his anger on her in ways he certainly shouldn’t have. (Really, The Beach wasn’t a good look for anyone, but Mai wasn’t exactly an innocent victim in the way their relationship continually fell apart. They were remarkably ill-suited for a couple we’re supposed to believe eventually made a life together.) And Zuko wasn’t being ‘a jerk’, he was hurt and angry and lashing out because nothing made sense, and he was so busily trying to warp himself to fit his father’s twisted image of ‘a worthy heir’ that he very nearly lost himself entirely–not a healthy basis on which to build a relationship, no, and part of why Maiko didn’t work is because it was a relationship based on Zuko trying to be something he wasn’t and could never be again. When he finally realized that, and left his father and his family and his corrupt nation behind so that he could find the avatar and make the world a better place? He was so much happier and healthier, and, if you’ll notice, a whole lot nicer–to himself and everyone around him.

That’s what tends to happen when someone stops lying to themselves about who they are and what they want and what they’re comfortable being complicit in. It’s called character development–you should look it up.

Speaking of development!

There’s this funny thing that happens when a former villain or antagonist has this thing called a ‘redemption arc’ (google is your friend, and it could even provide you with examples!!!) and joins forces or even becomes friends with the heroes–relationship development. Do I expect Katara to immediately fall for someone she hates? Of course not. That’s why, in terms of canon, I have always envisioned Zuko and Katara getting together post-series. While a Z/K endgame would’ve been much more earned than the K/A and Z/M ones we got, I actually didn’t want the epilogue of atla to feature a romantic kiss at all! Because the important thing at the end of the series was the gaang, all together, representatives from all four nations coming together in harmony and unity, and symbolizing the future of peace and prosperity that the gaang had finally achieved by removing Ozai from power.

At the end of the series, Katara no longer hates Zuko. That’s just a fact. You don’t have to like it, you don’t even have to admit it, but you know, even if you insist on lying to yourself about it, that they developed an incredibly close friendship and had the strongest bonds of any two members of the Gaang, save, Sokka and Katara. Whether or not you interpret any of their interaction or feelings as romantic, they are close friends by the end of the series, and know a great deal about each other, not to mention everything they went through together.

Zuko made a concerted effort to learn about Katara’s past, to figure out why she hated him so much more than the rest of the gaang–and when he found out that she was projecting her hatred, not just of the Fire Nation but of the man who killed her mother, onto him, he gave her a way to confront it, and he gave her a means of gaining closure which no one else even realized she needed. He helped her heal in a way that no one else did–and, in turn, she helped him face his uncle and come to terms with the fact that what he’d done in the past did not have to define him now, or in the future. Then she helped him confront the last bastion of his father’s power and influence, and in helping him defeat his sister and then saving his life, she protected the future of the entire world at his side.

You don’t have to like it, but none of the other romantic pairs (or even most of the platonic ones, tbh) got the sort of emotional energy and catharsis that Zuko had with Katara.

As to this priceless bit of non-logic, “Most girls won’t go after someone they hardly even know”: were you asleep when Jet was playing? Katara knew Zuko a whole hell of a lot better, by the end of the show, than she knew Jet when she was hardcore crushing on (and kissing) him. She had an attraction to Haru, too, when they first met and she barely knew him. Hell, she knew Zuko better than Aang knew her when he first developed feelings for her! (And, I’d argue, by the end of the series Zuko knows and understands Katara far better than Aang does, but that’s an argument for another day.) Furthermore, have you never heard of infatuation? Instant attraction? Love at first sight or chemistry at first touch? Sure, people don’t usually build long-lasting romantic relationships with someone they don’t know at all, but idk if you know about this great invention called ‘getting to know someone’–which is something that usually happens somewhere in between the initial attraction and the actual relationship!

Anyway, now that you’ve learned a thing or two, think you could run along and bug somebody else? I’m tired and would rather be spending energy on the mountain of WiPs I’ve been steadily building.

#atla #zutara #maiko salt #kataang salt #JUST in case #anonymous #asked

[loopy777]

if you were to rewrite season 3 of atla with taang suprisingly emerging as the main emerging ship, how would you do?

I think you might have checkmated me, here. Given the way the finale of Book Earth goes down, with Katara being described as the love of the Air Nomads reborn, and the way she brings Aang back to life after the issue of his attachment to her, Kataang becomes pretty much guaranteed as endgame. And that's on top of how Katara introduces the whole series in the first episode. I'd sooner reduce Aang's role in the AtLA story than Katara's. Even if I rewrote Book Fire to kill Katara off, it would feel about as natural as any single plot element from Rise of Skywalker.

(Sorry, the RoS novelization is in the news right now, and I’m reminded of how much of an anti-story that abomination is.)

But I’ll give it a go. Note that this isn’t going to work, and it isn’t going to be good, but I’m giving it a try. There are three vectors that need to be handled, and that's the three characters who are involved in this subplot: Aang, Toph, and Katara.

First up, Toph.

This part's easy. We'll say that when Aang nearly got killed but wound up in a coma, Toph realized how much her feelings for Aang have grown. She’s crushing hard on him by the time he wakes up. Instead of blushing and turning away whenever she shows too much concern for Sokka, she’s doing that for Aang. This builds up to the point where, instead of Aang giving Katara a kiss before the Day of Black Sun, Toph makes her move on Aang and kisses him before he leaves. (Yes, she still gets sick on the sub. This is a source of a little humorous tension as she psychs herself up for the big romantic moment and then she starts getting sick.) Aang basically reacts like Katara does, deciding to very quietly Say Nothing for as long as possible. That puts Toph on the right path.

Now let’s get Katara off the path, so to speak.

Even though Katara doesn’t think she loves Aang, by Book Fire she totally loves Aang. It's tempting to try to play up the idea of Aang dying as a reason for her to start emotionally distancing herself from him, but I don't think that rings true. For one, she brought Aang back to life. For another, Jet already died on her, and that certainly didn't derail her life or developing feelings for Aang. I suppose we could kill someone else in her life, but I ain't offing Sokka, and Haru isn't going to cut it.

No, I think we need to force Katara into a choice between her dreams and a romance with Aang, and frame her choice of her dreams as an empowering, correct choice. But we have to be careful not to make the empowering moment a matter of power, because Iroh and the narrative are in agreement that choosing power over love is how you become Ozai. We'll say that bringing Aang back to life interested Katara in all the possibilities of Waterbending and Healing. Then we make 'The Painted Lady' into a major stepping stone for her, where she learns from Sokka how to fight practically. Then, we give her a seperate sidequest spinning out of 'The Puppetmaster'- Katara learns from Hama in some way that there are still Southern Waterbenders being imprisoned, and they're in imminent danger of some kind. Perhaps one of Hama's kidnappings revealed information of this, like she kidnapped someone from the military who recognized Hama as a Waterbender and had the info. This requires a split in the gAang, because the Day of Black Sun is a deadline they can't miss and the Waterbenders are another.

So Katara ends up going it alone.

Or does Sokka go with her? Leaving Aang and Toph alone together for the Day of Black Sun would allow us to concentrate on their dynamic, but at the same time, we're shortchanging some of Sokka's growth by taking him away from the invasion and chance to lead his people. But would he really let his little sister run off into danger by herself? I doubt it.

This? This is why storytellers shouldn't change their minds 2/3 of the way through the show about who the main character is going to marry. It just leaves the whole story a messy, sloppy thing, even if that last third works by itself. The best thing to do is not go hard on the romance and destined lover unless you're 100% sure that you and your audience are going to love the original love interest.

(OH HAI LEGEND OF KORRA.)

Whether or not Sokka goes along with Katara, Aang goes into the Day of Black Sun without his love interest. Ideally, this is where we could clarify the matter of attachments that the Guru brought up in Book Earth. Love isn't bad or an attachment, but blinding infatuation will lead to disaster. Aang recognizes the differences, and while Katara isn't changing the way she feels about Aang, she's avoiding a bad attachment to him. Aang likewise doesn't give up his love for Katara (yet), but he does realize that he needs to keep working on his attachment to her and focus on what he needs to do as the Avatar.

This happens before Toph kisses Aang, by the way. Then the kiss comes, and the back-half of Book Fire.

And that sets up Aang's path through this story.

Once Aang realizes that Toph likes him, he tries to avoid addressing it. Perhaps, after the invasion, he gives Toph a speech about how he's confused just like Katara's in 'The Ember Island Players.' Zuko joins the gAang, and we can do something funny with he tries to give advice to both parties. During all this, Katara comes back to find Zuko a party-member and Aang and Toph all awkward, and she's like, "What have you people been doing while I was away?!" Perhaps that's a lead-in for Aang confessing to her, but something that happened during her 'Katara Alone' arc has her uninterested in any romance; perhaps she had a confrontation with her mother's killer, just like in 'The Southern Raiders' and it didn't resolve as easily, so Katara's in an even more confused state?

Yeesh, this is getting messy. And I've barely talked about Toph. It's all been about Katara.

Well, Toph's doing the Wait-And-Listen approach. Despite her usual aggression and bluster, she's taking it easy on this because even she's not sure what she really wants here. She knows Aang likes Katara, she knows both Aang and Katara are going through a lot right now that has nothing to do with romance, and she's figured out that any advice she's getting from Zuko and Sokka is terrible.

Hm, perhaps that's our finish? Toph finally talks to both Aang and Katara, acknowledges her feelings for Aang, but tells them that they should put all this messy stuff aside and focus on their friendship and their long-term many-year quest to defeat the Fire Lord since we've all decided we're skipping Sozin's Comet, right?

And then Zuko is like, um, what about how my dad's going to burn the whole Earth Kingdom when the Comet comes?

Cue finale.

From there, we just chop out the scenes when Toph was hitting on Zuko, switch Katara's declaration of faith in Aang for an Aang-faith declaration from Toph, and chop out that moment when Katara looks at Avatar Aang on stage while the love-dovey music twinkles in the background. The final scene is similar to what we got in the cartoon, with everyone meeting in Ba Sing Se and Aang kissing his Final Girl, but this time we're doing a time-skip of a year or more, and it's Toph instead of Katara he kisses. We can let the audience assume that everyone sorted out their confusion in the time-skip.

...

I'm sorry, this is awful. I've been plugging away at it for a week, and this is the best I can offer. Full-on AU's are much better for Aang-pairings.

Congrats on finding a rewrite I just can’t make work. ;)

#thekingofwinterblog

[awanderingmuse-fandom]

Book 1: Intertwined Destinies

Chapter 2

Fandom: Avatar the Last Air Bender

Summary: Music night washes over Iroh. The crew’s attention  on each other means no one notices  their allegedly ill prince slipping over the side of the Wani and onto the dock.

Zuko, as The Blue Spirit, is leaving to meet another White Lotus Bud agent to exchange information on the Earth Armies for similar details on Fire Nation troops.

The White Lotus Buds are more successful than Iroh expected. Sometimes he thinks the war would end in days if they left the operatives in charge.

The White Lotus Buds were inspired by Zuko himself. It wasn't difficult to connect The Blue Spirit’s earlier escapades with Zuko. Not once one realized there were connections to make.

Iroh does not know when the sneaking began, though he has his suspicions. Ten year old princes don’t go missing for days on end easily. And there's the  ambiguity surrounding  Azulon’s death and Ursa’s sudden flight. When it started doesn’t truly matter when Zuko will not speak of it.

Shaking off his wandering curiosity, Iroh lets himself be drawn into the singing of an old sea shanty. It helps keep an old man awake, which he will need if he wants to be alert for his nephew’s return later that night.

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Violence, Strong Language, References to Child Abuse, Aftermath of Genocide, War

Characters:   Zuko, Katara, Blue Spirit, Painted Lady, Sokka, Aang, Toph, Suki, Iroh, Kanna, Bumi, Ty Lee, Azula, Jet, Paku, Haru, Tyro, The Boulder, Smeller Bee, Jeong Jeong, Teo, Yue, Yugoda, The Wani Crew, Hei Bai, Arnook, Lieutenant Jee, Other Cast, Original Characters, Zhao  

Pairings: Zutara, Taang, maybe Tyzula, maybe Sukka

Other Tags:   Cannon Divergent, Cannon Re-Write, Zuko Joins the Gaang Early, Zuko is in the White Lotus, Nearly everyone is in the White Lotus,  There’s like 80 Percent More Lotus Members in this, You get to be a Lotus Member and You get to be a Lotus Member, Spirit Shenanigans, Identity Shenanigans, Spies, Ninjas, Secret Organization actually effecting change for once, Mentions of Jet/Katara, Kanna loves her grandkids, Ozai’s Terrible Parenting, Azula Redemption, You can take the General out of the war…, Zuko is an Awkward Turtle Duck, Protective Katara, Toph Beifong is a Menace, Sokka is the real MVP, Aang is Trying y’all, Jet being an Asshole, Aged-Up Characters, Enemies to Lovers, Love Square - Kinda, No Beta We Die Like Jet, Multiple POV  

Chapter PreviewKanna's Grandson was doing a terrible job of hiding his displeasure with his sweet old Gran-Gran. Which was fine by her, let the youth pout and grumble. Kanna was also displeased, but with The Blue Spirit for letting Sokka know that she hadn't informed The White Lotus of The Southern Water Tribe's situation. It simply wasn’t their business.

Sokka refused to understand that telling the organization how close to the brink they were would only have put The Tribe and The Lotus in peril. The Lotus would insist on giving aid, and if the Fire Nation noticed it would be the death of them all. 

For his part Sokka had refused to see it her way and had stormed out of the family tent to make Katara join him on a fishing expedition without so much as a good morning. As if the slight would get her to see that his way was superior. 

#atla #avatar the last airbender #zutara #blutatra #zuko #katara #Blue Spirit #Painted Lady #Sokka #Aang #Toph #Suki #Ty Lee #Azula #Mai #fanfic #the muse writes #white lotus buds au #book 1: Intertwined Destinies