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juniperhillpatient · 2 years

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Can you explain to me how it is that Zuko and Jet are foils for each other?

Thank you so much for choosing to ask me, I love rambling about Avatar so much 💖

Hmm, I'm not necessarily sold that Zuko & Jet are truly character foils. It's possible I said that they were in the past, but I don't remember saying it. Having thought about it just now, I think I would say that they're more like characters who have a lot in common. TLDR: Zuko & Jet are very important to one another's character arcs & they have certain parallels, but I would not say they are narrative foils.

Character foils are characters that exist to completely contrast another, & sometimes to show what their foil could be under different circumstances. For example, Katara & Azula are fairly clear-cut (in my opinion) foils. Prodigy benders with less naturally talented older brothers & distant father figures & missing mother figures. The key difference is that Katara got the love & affection Azula never got while Azula got the privilege & opportunities for training Katara never got. Also, their personalities are pretty much opposite with Katara being warmhearted, compassionate, & idealistic & Azula being cold, calculating, & pragmatic (not to even get into what they represent to one another as opposing elements & on opposing ends of the war because already I'm making a question about Zuko & Jet about Azula & Katara lol)

Zuko & Jet don't exactly have that clear-cut character foil relationship, although they are important narratively to each other & they do have parallels. Zuko is a banished prince searching for redemption & honor in his father's eyes. Jet is an orphaned rebel seeking revenge for the loss of his family & his people as well as caring for other orphans. I don't actually see anything with their backgrounds to represent the whole "in another life this could be you" thing. & aside from Jet being charismatic & Zuko being awkward, their similarly violent & angry outlooks on life are too similar for them to contrast one another in that way.

If you ask me, Aang is Zuko's foil. "But Rose, you just said that Jet didn't have enough similarities with his background to Zuko, how does Aang?" Hear me out. The entire narrative of the show focuses from day one on the contrasting values & personalities of Zuko & Aang. Zuko is angry & brash. Aang is soft & kind & carefree. That's to not even get into the fact that Zuko is fire & Aang is air & that Zuko represents the Fire Nation & Aang as a sole genocide survivor represents the harm the Fire Nation has done.

"The Storm" (one of my absolute favorite episodes) is where we really see it drilled in that Zuko & Aang's fates are intertwined & that their stories are connected as more than just enemies. We see in flashbacks as Aang, scared & overwhelmed, runs away from his duty to the world. Meanwhile, we also learn the story of how Zuko was banished. These stories are presented to the audience directly as parallels, showing that the two aren't so different after all. & before anyway says "but they don't show what the other could be in another life" to be clear, I said that could be the role of a foil. But also a foil can just highlight certain traits in a character & contrast their values with another (which - that's Zuko & Aang's entire story even when they reconcile they can't agree on things like murder & revenge)

We also get our first hint in "The Storm" that Zuko can reconcile with his foil & become a more peaceful, better person in both the information that Zuko was burned & banished for wanting to protect innocent lives & Zuko's decision to prioritize his crew's safety over capturing Aang.

Anyway, that was a tangent - Zuko & Jet!

Yeah, I don't think they are foils. Zuko & Jet are two very angry young teens who have suffered more trauma than anyone their age should because of the war. But when they finally meet, it's not to contrast them as people so much as to compare them.

Zuko & Jet meet when they're in similar parts of their character arcs, which is fun. Zuko is starting to consider his uncle's idea of a quiet life in Ba Sing Se. Jet is reconsidering his violent ideals & willingness to hurt people. They meet & both agree to steal food for the other refugees.

Jet experiences shock & betrayal when he begins to suspect that Zuko & Iroh are firebenders. We all know how that goes down with the iconic "I'll give you a show!" showdown :D

...& less fun, we all also know how this entire arc ends up going for both characters. Jet loses his life & it's turned into a cheap joke rather than at least given narrative significance & Zuko gets a redemption arc. What? No, I'm not bitter.

Anyway, I think that Zuko & Jet both experience a lot of anger for very different reasons. They both represent some of the show's not so black & white exploration of morality in war & when it comes to child soldiers. They've both experienced loss (Jet with his family, Zuko with his mother). Their roles in one another's arcs are significant. But that doesn't necessarily mean they are "foils." Actually, I think that their angry personalities & shared penchant for the dramatic (see: their fight scene) make them significantly not foils.

This got long it's just that I love talking about what different characters represent to each other - anyway I love Zuko & Jet & I wish we'd seen way more of them interacting. They are narratively significant to each other. I just wouldn't necessarily say they're foils.

#zuko #jet #aang #atla meta #my atla post #i'm not sure how well i explained this #i kept going off on tangents lol #but yeah i think they are narratively significant to each other but not foils

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miyanom · 3 years

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Sweet Tea in the Summer

MASTERLIST | REQUESTED BY: @goodandevil18

GENRE: fluff

PROMPT: “Did you seriously just climb through my window?”

NOTES: I’m so sorry for the long wait! But here is the Zuko oneshot that was requested, I’m hoping to be able to get the Sokka one out soon, but the words for this were just flowing out.

Zuko sat in front of the pond, though his back was turned to the turtle ducks that usually took up all his free time in the afternoon. Instead, his attention was entirely focused on the girl sitting across from Aang and Katara as they all drank tea together in the garden.

During the war, when he was training Aang, it was easier to ignore his blossoming feelings for his old friend as she spent most of her time with Katara or Sokka. But now that she was practically living at the palace with her father as one of his council members, it was harder to ignore that she existed.

Y/N threw her head back in laughter, but Zuko couldn't hear what Aang said. Not that it mattered much to him, not when Y/N looked like an absolute angel with the sun shining down on her like that.

"Zuko, why don't you come join us?" Katara called out, finally snapping the boy out of his thoughts. The Water Tribe girl - who had refused to call him by his official title ever since his coronation - stared at him with a knowing look in her eyes.

"I-" His voice came out fairly squeaky, causing him to quickly avert his gaze as a blush crept onto his cheeks. He cleared his throat with a quiet cough before attempting. "I can't. I have a meeting to get to."

"Oh, come on," Y/N rolled her eyes, a grin taking over her features. "You're Fire Lord Zuko. I believe that means you can stay for one cup of your uncle's new Tea, without your council getting too annoyed."

Zuko's eyes flickered to her for just a second, before he stood up and turned around to head inside. The simple phrase "I'm already late" leaving his lips as he left.

Y/N stared at Zuko's retreating figure with a frown. A sigh escaped her lips as she lifted her cup back up, taking a small sip of the sweet tea Uncle Iroh had prepared for them.

Katara crossed her arms. "I seriously don't know how you put up with him all the time," she grumbled. "I've only been here for two days and I already-"

"Sweetie," Aang spoke up sweetly, his soft smile immediately relaxing Katara.

Y/N's eyes flickered between the young couple, they had been dating for 2 years now. Ever since the war ended. Y/N found their relationship cute, even if Sokka had gotten to the point where hearing "sweetie" one more time would make him jump into Unagi infested waters.

"I don't understand how it was so easy for you two," Y/N muttered. "Going from friends to- to this!" She waved her hand in the direction of the couple who had just shared a kiss right in front of her. "I want it to be that easy for me and-"

Y/N suddenly cut herself off with a fake cough, looking down in embarrassment.

"For you and Zuko," Aang finished for her. "Is that what you wanted to say before you coughed?"

"Yeah, thanks, Aang," Y/N rested her forehead against the palm of her hand, not wanting to look at her friends.

"Oh, come on, Aang. Who else would she be talking about?" Katara giggled.

"I can't believe you two are making me wish that Sokka was here right now."

"What would he do that we can't?" Katara asked, sounding annoyed that her best friend would even suggest wanting her brother's company more than her own. "Sokka gives the worst relationship advice! Just ask Zuko!"

"Zuko asked Sokka for advice?" Y/N lifted her head. "Why? About who?"

"Sweetie!" Aang glanced at Katara, whose eyes widened as she realised what she had said. "No one, Y/N. It was a looong time ago. Right, Katara?"

"Right!" Katara squeaked, nodding her head a few times.

Y/N stared at the two with a raised brow, not believing them for even a second. "You two are the worst liars I have ever met. And I know Sokka!"

"We aren't supposed to say. I'm sorry, Y/N," Aang frowned. "He made us promise."

"Why though? Please, give me something to work off here," Y/N begged.

Realising this might be the only chance she had to convince Y/N to say something, Katara quickly spoke up. "You should tell him how you feel tonight! Before he gets advice from someone better than Sokka."

Y/N visibly deflated at that. "Why would I do that if he likes somebody else?" She let out a sigh as she stared down into her tea cup. "I guess it makes sense, he has been avoiding me recently, and just brushes me off when I do get the chance to speak to him."

Aang and Katara shared a look. Y/N wasn't just overthinking things here. Zuko had been brushing her off recently, but that was because of Sokka's stupid advice. It had nothing to do with Y/N.

"You have to try, Y/N," Katara told her. "You'll only be more heartbroken if you don't. And... and if it doesn't work out, then I guess you can come live with me in the South."

Y/N let out a quiet laugh. She had been pestering Katara about that for weeks now, saying that if her best friend in the Fire Nation had gotten sick of her then perhaps it was time to go visit Katara and Sokka's home for awhile. It didn't hurt that it was currently summer in the Fire Nation, and a refreshing break to the snow would be nice this time of year.

"Okay, but when he rejects me and tells me he never wants to see my face again, then I hope you know that I will never leave the South Pole."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Katara smiled softly.

Zuko sat his desk, his head in his hands. He didn't even have any meetings today, he didn't know why he said that. Honestly, he would've loved nothing more than to join them for tea, to hear Y/N's laugh up close. But Sokka's squeaky voice had weaselled its way into his head, telling him to play hard to get.

So now here he was, wasting the evening away in his office in an attempt to avoid Y/N's judging eyes. Surely by now she would've realised he was lying about the meeting.

Maybe she was too busy with Aang and Katara to remember that she practically had his entire schedule memorised like the back of her hand - he had forgotten one meeting with one of the Fire Nation officials, so Y/N had taken it upon herself to make sure he would never do it again. When he had asked her about it, she told him that it was so he could have at least one stressful thing taken off his shoulders.

It meant more to him than he would ever admit.

Zuko's eyes widened as he lifted his head just in time to see Y/N halfway through the window, obviously having climbed inside.

When their eyes met, a sheepish smile appeared on the girl's face. "So... you come here often?" She asked awkwardly.

Though her stupid question wasn't what he was focused on. "Did you seriously just climb through my window?"

With her feet now touching the ground inside the office, she dusted off her pants. "Yes..." She noticed the dead-pan look her was giving her. "But you gave me no choice!"

"I gave you no choice?" His brows furrowed in confusion as he stood up and pointed at the door. "There's a door right there, Y/N!"

"If the guards announced me, you would've come up with a stupid excuse to leave," Y/N pointed out.

Zuko went silent at that, knowing she was probably right. "I-"

"No. Stop talking," she held her hand out in his direction, signalling for him to stop. "I need to talk. And then I'm gonna climb back out the window and we'll pretend this never happened-"

"Okay?"

"Zuko, what did I just say?" She whined. He couldn't help but smile, though instead of replying, he simply nodded. "Thank you. Now, anyways... Zuko, I think - at least, I hope - I'm not the only one who feels this way. But I really like you, okay? Wait, no... No, I mean I do but it feels like more than that! Maybe- I think I'm in love with you. Wow was that weird to say, how do Katara and Aang do it all the t-"

"You love me?" Zuko stared her in shock, only able to watch as Y/N stopped rambling and took a hesitant step back toward the window.

"Y- yeah, so... so I think I'm gonna climb back out now," she whispered. "Sorry."

Just as she was about to throw her leg over the side of the railing, he quickly rushed forward. Taking her hand into his own, he effortlessly pulled her away from the window until she stood facing him.

They both stared at each other for just a moment, before Zuko whispered. "I love you, too."

Without a second of hesitation, Y/N slowly pulled Zuko's face down closer to hers, their lips pressing together gently as they kissed.

Zuko was beginning to realise something else, he should have never listened to Sokka's advice. If he hadn't, then maybe he could've been kissing her for much longer.

As they pulled away, Zuko found himself saying the first thing that came to his mind. "Is that Uncle's new sweet tea?"

Y/N blinked, before letting out a laugh. "Yeah, I had more before I came. Surprisingly, it helped my nerves."

Zuko smiled softly. "Good. I'm glad you came and told me."

"Me too."

#zuko x reader #zuko oneshot #atla x reader #atla #zuko #atla zuko #zuko fluff #zuko fanfic #avatar: the last airbender

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