#sokka is best boi so far

[coccinelle-et-chaton]

OK OK I FINISHED BINGING THE ENTIRETY OF NATLA AND I GOTTA SAY IT WAS A GREAT ADAPTATION!!!

Here are my thoughts so far:

The parts where I still had my reservations for the first half were definitely addressed in the second. There were more Kataang beats, especially in the last three episodes.

Please that whole part before the zutara showdown where Aang goes like "go easy, enough ppl have suffered" and zuko is more or less like "lol it's cute u think i'd hold back" and then aang has this proud little smirk like "oh i wasn’t talking to you"😏 Also his proud little smirk when Katara is fighting Pakku PLEASE HE IS GOING TO BE THE PROUDEST BF

They covered the most important points and had a decent few scenes of fan service, loved that.

However, the adaptation is not perfect and there are definitely parts that were lacking, at least to me. Primarily, I think they did our girl Katara a little dirty not emphasizing as much on her arc as opposed to Sokka's, for example, and also the way her ascension to master was pretty telly instead of showy

There was definitely something to love in every episode, but I think the weakest ones have to be Omashu and Spirited Away.

My ABSOULUTE FAVORITE episodes were Into the Dark and Masks. Dallas, Paul, and Gordon did SUCH a great job in them. I cannot WAIT for the proper leaves from the vine scene and also to have more of zuko interacting with aang.

ZUKO IS BABY BOY AND DOES NOT KNOW ANYTHING NOT EVEN ABCs 🥺🥺🥺

My favorite was Zuko by far, yes. I think the performance and the was he was written struck the best balance of that goofiness and tragedy atla is originally known for. That’s not to say the other kids didn't do a good job, but Dallas' Zuko was by far the best imo

I understand now what the showrunners meant by making the show more mature and serious. I cannot say I didn't like it, but I can see it being an acquired taste especially for the part of the fandom that is more purist/demanding. I like that the focus emphasized more on the consequences of war and that it reflected on the cycles of violence and hurt, what they do to a person and how the wounds pass down generationally. I think this emphasis on war, compassion, kindness, all those things are definitely an important message in this time and day. However, it is a little too serious for my taste, PRECISELY because of the times we are living in. Back when the OG came about the world was in a time of relative peace. But now we get pictures of carnage and genocide mixed in with videos of cute puppies, so it's definitely a different place. It was much easier to understand the gravity of the genocidal/bombing scenes imo, almost to a point that they seemed watered down/kid friendly compared to the real thing that we see on our phones everyday. Because of that, I think erring more on the comedy, the balance between what it ACTUALLY means to be hopeful and not just talking about it, is the one thing the show could improve upon for next seasons.

All in all I am VERY pleased with the adaptation. There were moments where I definitely bawled my eyes out, shouted, and laughed the same way I did the first time I watched the show. All I can say is, for those still on the fence about watching it, so long as you go in with an open mind and with the explicit objective of enjoying yourself, it will be a fun watch.

#natla #atla #natla spoilers #atla spoilers #aang #katara #sokka #zuko #kataang #zutara #sukka #suki #uncle iroh #natla review #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender live action #atla live action

[biconickyoshi]

Okay y’all… I was very critical of eps 3 & 4 (especially 4) of NAtLA. Then all of a sudden eps 5 & 6 kinda slapped me in the face with how much better the show suddenly got.

Spoiler-free thoughts first:

Zuko, Iroh, and Aang have cemented themselves as the best parts about this adaptation - which is really funny considering I’m currently writing a longfic AU where Zuko and Iroh discover Aang in the iceberg right after Zuko is banished at age 13 and end up becoming the first members of the Gaang (albeit reluctantly at first lol). Episode 6: “Masks” (the Blue Spirit adaptation) was so good, I’d venture to say that it actually improved and fleshed out some things from the original series.

Episode 5: “Spirited Away”, while not as good as E6, was not as bad as I heard people say it was going to be. I think that the changes they did make didn’t bother me nearly as much as the changes they made in the last episode, and it was actually entertaining.

There were several scenes that made me cry in both of these episodes (moreso in episode 6, which I’ll get into further down in the spoiler section). These are the scenes that I feel like really tapped into the heart of the original show rather than feeling like a soulless remake.

Now for my in-depth thoughts (INCLUDES SPOILERS):

EP 5: “Spirited Away”

- Staring out, I was bummed because I had just rewatched the first two eps of the original animated series lol.

- It was an interesting choice to have all three members of the Gaang get stuck in the Spirit World, but I think it worked.

- Wan Shi Tong just showing up randomly was a bit unnecessary, but I suppose it will be kinda interesting to see him again in S2 since he’s already met the Gaang

- Hei Bai plays a much smaller role in these eps, but I strangely didn’t mind that either?

- Seeing Katara’s last memory with her mom was devastating, especially the fact that she had to witness her death and hide in the igloo with Kya’s charred body :(( she definitely has severe PTSD.

- Even Sokka’s memory made me tear up a bit

- Koh being the villain and a soul-eater or whatever was a bit of an odd choice, but I guess I can see why they did it. I do prefer him just being an asshole who steals ppl’s faces lol

- Appreciated the Fog of Lost Souls reference from the LoK lore

- Aang reuniting with Gyatso made me cry. I know some people didn’t like him being in the Spirit World, but I really liked it. Also, the fact that Gyatso was the first person to tell Aang that it wasn’t his fault the Air Nomads died, and that if he had been there he would have died too? THANK YOU! My poor boy has been berated enough for “abandoning” the world.

- We got some interesting lore about the afterlife for humans from Gyatso and Aang’s convo, which we’ve never gotten in AtLA media before. Idk if it’s just for Air Nomads, but Aang mentions that Gyatso stayed behind instead of “seeking enlightenment”. I know that the end goal in Buddhism is to reincarnate until you eventually achieve nirvana, so I wonder if that’s what they were alluding to (I’m not an expert on religions so pls correct me if I’m wrong)

- Oh yeah, I forgot June is here lmao. As a queer person I loved her (bc beautiful goth woman) but I didn’t like the weird choice to make her hit on Iroh - I guess to contrast the Iroh being creepy towards her thing in the OG series. I wish they would have just had them interact normally tbh, no weird “flirting”

EP 6: “Masks”

- Here we go y’all. The best episode in the show so far and probably the best the show is gonna get this season. I’m still pretty shocked at how good this one was.

- I think the decision to include flashbacks to Zuko’s Agni Kai was a good decision here. It felt like an appropriate episode for them and the flashbacks were very well done.

- In general, Dallas is doing a phenomenal job at portraying a Zuko who is angry and aggressive, yes, but also so very sweet and compassionate at his core. I love when little inklings of his true self shine through.

- Roku was… not what I expected. He was very much more of a lighthearted and jokey person… I didn’t hate it, it was just unexpected lol. I wonder if they did that to contrast him with Kyoshi. Which, speaking of, I’m glad Roku clarified that Aang doesn’t just need to be a merciless warrior (and that he didn’t berate Aang for “abandoning” the world like she did). But I still am annoyed about the mischaracterization of Kyoshi in general.

- RIP Shyu :/

- Thought it was kind of strange how June captures Aang at Roku’s temple lol. Like how did she get on and off the island??

- Zhao continues to feel like a completely different character to me lmao. I think this version is pretty funny, but it’s so weird to see Zhao being portrayed as so goofy and incompetent when he was such an intimidating force and the main villain of Book 1 in the OG series. Just a weird direction they went with his character.

- The Yuyan archers look cool as fuck. 10/10 no notes

- Still not sure how I feel about Azula already being this insecure and jealous of Zuko. I think it makes her feel a bit more realistically like a child, but the whole point of Azula’s character is that she is really good at maintaining this cool and calm persona on the surface, which she uses to scare and manipulate people. I can see her maybe getting to a point later on to where she hardens herself into that though. We’ll see.

- Baby Zuko asking Iroh how he looks and his little smile 😭😭😭😭 I had a physical “aww” reaction to that. THAT’S MY SON (me and Iroh shouting in unison)

- War Room scene was handled very well. No complaints. I like how Ozai tried to test Zuko with battle strategies.

- Blue Spirit break out scene was extremely close to the original, and it was really good. They adapted it almost shot for shot with all the important parts.

- Here’s probably my favorite part of the episode: Zuko and Aang’s talk inside the abandoned house after they escape from Pohuai!!!!!! Gahhhh I could gush about this scene all day. I love how they expanded it to be an actual friendly conversation between Aang and Zuko. Like we get to see Zuko’s true self coming through - the sweet, kind boy we know he is. Zuko and Aang just have such great chemistry as well, wayyy more than Aang has with either Sokka or Katara. Like I adored them bonding over painting and caligraphy!!! I think this is the best acting we’ve seen from Gordon so far, and Dallas did a phenomenal job switching back to that hurt, angry version of himself (of course a trauma response). And the fact that Aang said “sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you” when he blocked Zuko’s firebending attack??? My sweet boy 😭

- The final flashback to the Agni Kai was really well done too. I’d already heard Zuko fights back, which I wasn’t sure I’d like, but I actually didn’t mind it. I really liked that they showed Zuko’s hesitation whenever he did actually have an opening, and that was what angered Ozai the most - Zuko showing compassion, “weakness”. Daniel Dae Kim is of course doing a phenomenal job (no surprises there), and I really liked that Iroh actually attempted to stop Ozai at one point. It also looked like young Azula had tears in her eyes, which I again actually liked because it humanizes her.

- I loved that Aang was still there when Zuko woke up on the boat 😭 he wanted to make sure he was okay!! I full on started crying when we got the “do you think we could have been friends too?” lines from him. Again, Gordon killed it. I love how you can tell that Aang knows Zuko has been hurt and that’s why he acts the way he does. He doesn’t blame him for any of it. 10/10

- the last flashback to Zuko in his bed recovering from the burn… god the tears just kept flowing. I really liked the choice to have Ozai almost give Zuko a chance to like… idk understand why he did what he did, and how compassion is “weak”?? And then Zuko’s response to give people a chance 😭😭😭 as if I couldn’t love him any more!!! And then of course Ozai gets pissed. But seeing baby Zuko just cry in his bed UGH I’m dehydrated at this point

- Of course I can’t finish this review without mentioning the 41st division. What an incredible way to expand upon the source material by making them Zuko’s crew!!! It shows just how much Zuko truly cares about others and it moved me so much (once again to tears).

I don’t have high hopes for the last two episodes, but honestly, if this is what the live action can be, it gives me a bit of hope (at least for future seasons). I really think that Dallas, Gordon, Paul, and Daniel were the stars of this ep and are a big part of what made it so good.

#atla #natla #netflix atla spoilers #natla spoilers #atla live action #avatar the last airbender netflix #avatar the last airbender #atla netflix #atla meta #natla meta #zuko #aang #iroh #ozai #zukaang

[comradekatara]

Based on you own ideas of how the atla characters would develop in the future, in a time travel au which character do you think would be funniest to have wake up as their younger selves right at the start of s1? Sokka i personally think would hate it in a particularly hilarious way but i feel like there is also a lot of potential with ozai or king kuei for they ways it could derail the plot and confuse the shit out of everyone around them

LMFAO okay i am imagining kuei waking up one unspecified day and suddenly just knowing everything about the war while long feng continues to lie to him. this would be a really funny premise for a fanfic if kuei was even like. 20% smarter but unfortunately he’d just expose himself and long feng would have no choice but to imprison or straight up kill him and then claim that kuei contracted tuberculosis or something. ozai waking up back in power but with the knowledge of how he will be deposed is kind of terrifying, but i’m also laughing because that’s literally the plot of madame web. and yeah sokka would be incredibly frustrated because even more than before, he literally knows exactly what to do in any given situation, and absolutely no one is listening to him. and every time he proves his powers of prophecy they’re just like “wow!!!” and then continue to disregard everything he says anyway. the funniest thing about sokka Knowing is his relationship to zuko though, because zuko is the only person he actually does 180 on (unless you count aang, but like, eh), and it’s because zuko genuinely did suck and then he grew to suck a little less. but sokka would finally know what iroh meant by “he has good inside of him” and so he’d find ways to like. torture him. by quoting act 2 scene 3 lines 43-57 of love amongst the dragons while they’re fighting or something like that.

which brings me to the most obvious candidate. zuko is just clearly the forerunner here it’s not even a contest. everyone else grows a lot internally too, but zuko’s external growth is by far the most pronounced across the show. book 1 zuko literally has the opposite goals of book 3 zuko. so when zuko wakes up on his boat and has his stupid ponytail and is just like “what the fuck is going on,” he’s relieved to see that he’s in the south pole so maybe sokka and katara will have answers as to what is happening to him. and due to his lethal lack of tact, he still approaches their village in his giant hunk of metal and crashes through their wall and terrifies everyone. sokka is staring him down, preparing to die, clutching his weapons, and zuko just runs up to him and tackles him in a hug before sokka can even respond. and then he runs up to katara and hugs her too while she shrieks her head off and tries to fight him. and sokka is just standing there utterly humiliated because he couldn’t even defend himself against his attack….. and now he’s got his sister………. he’s a complete failure……… but zuko doesn’t even care that sokka is having an existential crisis and katara is screaming bloody murder, he’s just like “boy oh boy my best friends i sure am glad to see you :)” while they just keep trying to attack him and kill him. yeah, now that’s what i call comedy.

#elfantasmadejanis #asks #zuko #AUs #kuei #ozai #sokka #katara #sokkaxzuko #katara&zuko #ish #he tries to explain himself to them but they both just think he’s clinically insane and needs to be admitted to a sanitarium #but zuko would go into a long disney movie ass speech about how he ‘knows that katara likes to hum while she cooks’ #or that ‘sokka sticks his tongue out when he’s concentrating’ #and sokka’s like ‘everyone does those things. those are just lucky guesses.’ #and katara’s just like ‘OMG HE IS OUR BESTIE FROM THE FUTURE!!!!’ #and then katara and zuko outvote sokka and now they’re stuck with this fucking guy. i guess. #genuinely would read this fanfic it would be so fucking funny

[the-badger-mole]

The Volunteer: Part 3

The next time Zuko went to volunteer, he took his own car. When his sister demanded to know why, Zuko made up some excuse about going to the library afterwards to work on his midterm paper. It was enough to keep Azula from asking him for a ride, thankfully. Zuko arrived a few minutes early, hoping to be able to check in with Hakoda before his sister and her friends showed up.

"Don't tell me your friends dropped out," Hakoda said when Zuko walked in alone.

"No, we just came in separate cars," Zuko explained. "They should be here soon." Hakoda nodded and gave him his assignment for the day, then Zuko went to find Due and the rest of the maintenance crew to paint stairs again.

"Hey! Splotchy!" the men greeted him. Zuko smiled slightly and said his hellos. They handed him a paintbrush and set to work.

The men were far more talkative than Zuko, but none of them seemed to hold it against him. He answered questions politely when asked, steering away from anything too personal. The men were content to tell him all about themselves. Two of them had attended the school before it shut down.

"It was a shame, too," said Due. "Spent some of the best years of my life causing a ruckus in this school. Me and Tho here." Due jabbed his thumb in the direction of the short, stocky man holding the base of the ladder Zuko was standing on.

"Oh we wasn't so bad," Tho insisted. "Only caused a little mischief. And mostly to impress the ladies." He looked up at Zuko and wriggled his brows. "Bet you don't have to work nearly as hard and Due and I did."

"Sure," Zuko scoffed. He turned back to his work and scrambled to find a change of topic. He looked at the third man on the team, a younger guy named Kuyan. "You went to this school, too?"

"How old do you think I am?" Kuyan laughed. "I'm only 23. I was a toddler when this school shut down."

"Sorry," Zuko said. "I didn't mean to offend." Kuyan just waved him off.

"Forget about it." Then he sighed and looked around the stairwell with a distant look. "I do have history with this place, though. I lived here for a year with my mom and sisters when I was in high school. She had left my dad and the people here...they were great. They helped my mom find a job so she could afford to move us. They had counselors for me and my sisters. They helped me find scholarships for college. We would've been just another statistic if it wasn't for this place."

"Wow...that's, great," Zuko said awkwardly, uncertain of what else to say to that. "It-it's great your mom was able to find help getting out of..." He gestured stiffly at nothing in particular.

"It is," Kuyan agreed with a chuckle. "Everyone is thriving, too. My sisters and I have volunteered here for years, but this is going to be my last year."

"Why?" Zuko looked down at Kuyan curiously.

"Kuyan just got accepted to law school," Tho laughed, ruffling Kuyan's hair. "We're all real proud of ya, boy!"

"The school I'm going to is ten hours away," Kuyan told Zuko. "My sisters are at schools that are pretty far, too."

"But you'll stop in to see us from time to time," Due said. "We'll make sure we'll have some work for ya, too. Just for old time's sake."

"You'd better," Kuyan laughed. Zuko found himself smiling with the rest of them.

The door opened a few doors down, and Katara leaned into the stairwell. She was grinning, the first time Zuko had seen looking happy since he'd walked into Hama's Haven.

"Hey, guys!" She called up to them. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good!" Due called back. "We might actually get this done by the end of Splotchy's shift."

"Splotchy?" Katara repeated raising her eyebrow.

"He means Zuko," Kuyan told her.

"Oh. Well, just letting you know, Dad ordered pizza for the staff. It's in the community room. Better hurry up. Sokka's here today."

"I don't need telling twice," Tho said, tossing his paint brush into bucket of water. Everyone dunked their brushes and rollers in and trampled down the stairs to the ground floor. Katara held the door open for them, and she watched Zuko in particular with an impossible to read expression.

Ty Lee was in the community room getting pizza with some of the other workers, and was having what seemed to be a lively talk with boy with long hair and an unfortunate mustache. She spotted Zuko and waved him over.

"Hey, Zuko!" she said cheerily. "This is Haru. He's in the kitchen today, too! Haru, this is Zuko, one of my oldest friends." Zuko smirked to himself. Calling him and Ty Lee friends was a bit of a stretch, but he would never dare tell her that.

"Nice to meet you," Zuko said, shaking Haru's hand.

"Same! So, you and Ty are friends? That's great! She's been amazing in the kitchen."

Zuko kept a polite smile on his face and he blinked. Ty?

"Yep," Zuko "Ty here is a master chef. And she's great with desserts. You should try her cheesecake sometime." Ty Lee preened under Zuko's praise.

"I'll have to," Haru agreed enthusiastically. "Very soon." Ty Lee blushed and giggled, turning her focus on Haru in a way that Zuko interpreted as a polite request that he make himself scarce.

"I'm going to go grab some pizza," he said. "Good talk."

Katara was standing by the table where the food was set out, talking with Due. They stopped when Zuko approached, and Due waved him over warmly.

"Come on over, Splotch!" he said. "I was just telling Kata what a great addition to the team you've been. Ah, he's such a good sport this one. Not much of a talker, but every group needs a good listener, too."

"Thanks," Zuko mumbled. He looked at Katara and was surprised to find her smiling at him.

"Have you eaten yet?" she asked.

"No, I was talking with Ty Lee." Zuko gestured over to where Ty Lee and Haru were deep in conversation.

"Oh!" Due chortled. "I think Haru likes her." He waved his hand trying to get Haru's attention, but Katara jabbed him with her elbow.

"Mind your business, Due," she chided him, jokingly. "He's got it."

"I'm just having some fun," Due said. "Oh! Hey, there's Bato! I need to catch him real quick. I'll see you back on the stairs, Splotch." When he was gone, Katara turned back to Zuko and smirked.

"You should grab some lunch before it's gone...Splotch."

"Please don't spread that around school," Zuko groaned.

"No worries," Katara promised. "Your Haven nickname stays at Haven." She paused a moment while Zuko got his pizza. She grabbed a can of soda and offered one to Zuko.

"Thanks."

"So," Katara cleared her throat. "You...made a pretty good impression on the guys."

"I like them," Zuko said, shrugging. "They've been really nice." Katara was watching him again, with that same inscrutable look on her face, as if she were studying him.

"They're usually pretty good judges of character." There was something about the way she said usually that set Zuko on edge. She looked away to open her soda, releasing Zuko from the hold of her unnerving gaze.

"The painting is almost done," Katara observed after a long stretch of silence. "We'll have to find you another job next week, I think. Do you know what else you want to do here?"

"I'll go wherever you need me to," Zuko shrugged. "I'm not picky." He took a bite of pizza. It was good, and Zuko made a note to get the name of the restaurant from one of the boxes. "What do you do around here?"

"Me?" Katara glanced up at Zuko, as if surprised he would ask. "I do a lot of stuff, but I mostly work with the kids. On the weekends we try to keep them entertained with movies and crafts and classes. Once a month we take them on a field trip." She swirled her soda around the can. "The next trip is coming up in a couple of weeks. We could use a few more volunteers, if you're interested. We're going to the planetarium, and then for food afterwards. It'll knock a solid four or five hours off of your sentence." She smirked again, but it felt more like she was sharing an inside joke than laughing at Zuko.

"Um...sure," Zuko agreed nodding. "That sounds alright."

"Great," Katara said. "You can see if Ty Lee would be interested, too." Zuko pretended not to notice how pointedly Katara mentioned Ty Lee and no one else.

"I think she'd like it," Zuko nodded. "She's really into astrology, and she loves kids, so this should be right up her alley."

"That's good news for Haru, then."

Azula and Mai skulked in some time later. Zuko noted, cringing inwardly, how the atmosphere changed when they entered. Ty Lee had stopped laughing with Haru, and was trying to avoid Azula's thunderous scowl. She said something to Haru and scampered across the room to Azula. Mai didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were narrowed in Zuko's direction. It took a moment for him to realize that she was actually glowering at Katara. Zuko glanced back at his companion just in time to see her roll her eyes at the latecomers.

"I have to head out," she told Zuko. "I'll send you the details for the field trip." Katara drained the rest of her soda and tossed the can in the recycling bin on the way out, watching Azula and Mai smugly as she did. After she left, the rest of the staff began filtering out, too. The low cheerful hum of the room quieted as they went.

Haru paused at the door waving good-bye to Ty Lee, who returned it nervously. Haru frowned, clearly confused and hurt, but Ty Lee was looking down at her shoes as she stood next to Azula.

"They just left the pizza out for anyone to put their grubby fingers on?" Mai looked at the table distastefully. Zuko pointed to the stack of napkins next to the plates.

"Most people were using the napkins to grab their slices," he told her. Mai rolled her eyes and took a slice without a napkin or a plate. She bit into the slice and made a face.

"It's cold," she complained. It had been nearly an hour since word had gone around about the pizza, but Zuko knew better than to point that out. He just shrugged instead.

"What were you talking to Katara about?" Mai asked.

"Nothing," Zuko replied a bit too quickly. "She was letting me know that the painting project is almost over, and she wanted to know if I had any preferences for what I'd be assigned to next."

"Sure," Azula snorted. "I bet she cares so much what you want. People like her- like her dad- just love feeling more powerful than people who better than they are." A lot of responses ran through Zuko's head at that, but he settled on tossing his plate and empty soda can.

"I've got to get back," he said. "My break's over."

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

#atla #zutara #ask box prompt #volunteer work au #part 3 #THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

Avatar: The Last Airbender Live Action Thoughts!

-First of all, ya'll need to leave those child actors alone, they are babies and they didn't write the show, nor was it their idea to do it. I have seen way too many people body shaming children; leave them alone they all did well!

-I think Gordon makes Aang just as cute and small and powerful as I always saw him as!! He manages to joke around and be fun even when the storyline is a lot darker and more serious.

-I really wish Sokka was able to be more of his goofy and silly self. I understand why he isn't, and his humor is more sarcasm and dark jokes, but I saw glimpses of him in there! His excitement when he was with the Mechanist, engineering and getting to do something other than be in charge. Also when he has any older brother convo with Katara or Aang. I'm hopeful with time he'll be able to loosen up!

-(Speaking of the Mechanist, my boy Danny Pudi was SO GOOD, I love him, him and his little son).

-I wish Aang would practice waterbending with Katara :( those scenes of them practicing together were always some of my favorites in the series. Just beautiful kataang moments. I'm glad they addressed it but I missed those moments.

-I don't understand how you guys can't be having fun watching this, I get so excited waiting for little moments of lore, or when Jet and Katara were fighting in the forest I was sitting in front of the TV like "WHERE'S SMELLERBEE AND LONGSHOT. OH MY GOD NO IT'S PIPSQUEAK!" It's just so much fun! The colors are beautiful, the effects are gorgeous, and the plot and characters are entertaining. Think about the piece as it's own thing and enjoy it!

-Adaptations are just that; adaptations, and things will be changed! I think so far I haven't minded their changes, I understand why they've been made. There are things to criticize, but I think this is pretty well done.

-Zuko is fantastic; I think all the child actors are fairly good but Dallas' pissy attitude and the faces he makes are so so fun! I feel for Zuko and I'm scared of him when he shows up, and he's just as annoying and bratty as ponytail Zuko should be. His physical motions are fantastic!

-TEO WAS SO LITTLE?? Oh my god, like as a kid I thought the cartoon version of him was kinda hot so when they wheeled that tiny baby in I was HORRIFIED.

-Idk why YOU ALL weren't scared of Lizzy Yu's Azula, but her little smile in her intro scene gave me a lil chill. Maybe it's because I was away when the show first came out so I saw post after post about how bad she was, but I just.... Thought she'd be worse?? She did really well! Ya'll better be careful though or Gaten Matarazzo will come for you, that's his girl.

-So far the mushing of plots has made sense to me. Yes, I miss the silly filler episodes and the traveling the Gaang did, but it allows us to sit in a scene longer, and to colorize the world better, when we're in one place and one plot for longer. I think that's important for this type of medium and this amount of episodes. They might be able to justify more next season if this show does well enough.

-I am OBSESSED with Zuko and the 41st division oh my god, what a fantastic and well thought out addition. The reveal, and they're bowing for him when he comes back was DEVASTATING.

-They we're GIVING us Sokka and Katara best sibling moments, I loved all of them. They are so cute, they just mean so much to me.

-I don't feel Appa or Momo as characters like I did in the cartoon. I'm hoping this can change, because rn they surprise me every time they get on screen. I'm like "WHAT- oh it's Momo, he's here." How are we going to feel Appa's loss as much as we did in the cartoon if they continue to like barely be in it.

-Ken Leung SLAYED as Admiral Zhao, I watched him go literally insane as the episodes went on.

-Aang's imposter syndrome and feeling of failure being focused on I will always enjoy, even if I hope he can be silly next season too. His entire character arc this season just made me want to cry.

-Bro the coloring during the the Siege of the North was A M A Z I N G. The way the color faded in and out with fireballs and the monster koi passing nearby, just so pretty. It looked awesome.

-Making Yue a waterbender? The best. Her freezing Sokka in place so he can't stop her? Heartbreaking.

-Iroh and Zuko paddling off looking for bestie Lt. Jee?? Okay.

-They really grew this show up for us adults that watched it in 2005 and focused in on the really painful moments, themes, and details.

#listen i just feel like i can tell how much they all care about the series and it makes me want to like it #i'm liking it!!! #it's good! #i love all the children #aang #sokka #the mechanist #katara #jet #smellerbee #longshot #pipsqueak #zuko #teo #azula #appa #momo #admiral zhao #yue #uncle iroh #lieutenant jee #gordon cormier #danny pudi #dallas liu #elizabeth yu #gaten matarazzo #ken leung #avatar the last airbender #live action atla #melissa og

[wileycap]

In depth thoughts about the Netflix trailer:

There are too many shots of Aang looking serious. I hope this isn't representative of the show, because Aang needs to be goofy and hyper and PENGUIN!!! But the one shot of him smiling is great, because he actually looks happy and pure.

Same with Sokka. I have no problem with any other casting decisions other than him. He doesn't look like my goofy, loveable smart guy. The shot of him and Suki felt a little off, and I hope they end up having the same kind of chemistry that they do in the original show, instead of a real basic teen love story.

Katara looks great, but I hope the actress can do Katara's anger well, because it's such a key part of her character. We haven't seen any shots of her being angry or passionate.

Zuko might be my favourite so far out of the main cast. He seems to have that Zuko energy. I can see him being shouty and awkward. But I don't like the scene of him splitting the fire at his Agni Kai - that was perfect in the original, with Zuko explicitly not fighting back at all. And his scar is still too small, but I didn't really expect that to change anyways.

Iroh and Ozai look real good, the landscapes and scenery are A+. The Kyoshi Warriors also look AMAZING, they're probably my favourite part thus far. All in all, they seem to have nailed the vibe of the world, which is a huge green flag.

I need to see more of Appa before I judge, but I will say that my boy Appa is chunkier than that. It adds to his charm. This Appa should also have more friendly chonk energy. Momo was real good, though.

The costuming is still Netflix. It's decent, but definitely lacking in some way. But I will say that at least everybody looks like they're actually from the world of Avatar, which is a huge improvement over the previous live action.

In conclusion: I really want to see them TALK. Until we see them actually be the characters on screen, there's not much to say, except that it all hinges on that. Visually, it looks good, but if they don't manage to actually bring the characters to life, or if the writing ignores the spirit of the show, it's gonna be rough, buddy. I'm worried that this is just going to be "better than the Shyamalan version", instead of "a good show", you know?

I am cautiously excited but nervous. The One Piece live action was really good and I'm hoping that starts a trend at Netflix, but at the same time, Eiichiro Oda was heavily involved in that, while Bryke quit this one. So I guess we just have to hope for the best and prepare for the mediocre.

#avatar the last airbender #netflix avatar #avatar netflix #atla #atla zuko #atla katara #atla aang #atla sokka #atla suki

[ultfreakme]

idk of it's just me but i don't understand, the atla fandom, from all ships existing would just slander zukka out of nowhere. like mf i just want to see my boys being silly and in love in fanwork, why they need to be so mean lmao

I think it's because for close to 20 years, Kataang and Zutara were reining supreme in ship wars and fandom space. Jetko was the main mlm ship before but it didn't have nearly the same popularity. No other ship could even touch those two and those two continued arguing about what's best for canon.

Now though? Zukka's the second most popular ship on ao3- all of those fics and content showed up in 3 years. And suddenly the Netflix actors are pushing for Zukka practically every interview while actively dissuading Zutara(and hinting strongly at Kataang- thanks Gordon & Kiawentiio going "he/she's my.....family, yeah let's say family *wink* *wink*"). They're getting extremely popular and now fucking Netflix, Entertainment Weekly and Deadline are tagging #zukka in the year of our lord 2024(thank you for your service Dallas Liu, braver than the marines). Popular ships unfortunately get hate, especially queer ships, like just as a baseline regardless of if it's a canonically supported or unsupported ship, if it's "morally correct or incorrect".

This 'crackship' that no one took seriously suddenly feels...like a threat to these people??? Like we can joke about hahaha zukka gayyyy but we all know that's just silly gobbledygook right? (Not saying Zukka should or could be canon, but just the fact that people are seriously considering it as a ship option in fandom makes people act weird)

A lot of the the points made for "why Zukka is bad actually" are so funny though, that my initial irritation is fading and I'm just laughing at it. Some highlights that made me actually lose it:

Zukka is misogynist to Katara because, and I shit you not, they think that we think Katara is homophobic sdjfhbbgvh. I was shook when I discovered this was a thing.

Zukka bad because Klance bad (war flashbacks to Voltron)

"Everyone just wants a gay ship smh the chronically ONLINE FANDOM BRAIN HAS ROTTED THE SANCTITY OF HETEROSEXUAL-[EXPLODES]"

Zuko is a colonizer who's oppressing Sokka by dating him (i have no stats but this sounds like a white person trying very hard to sound like they're super inclusive and understand the plights of the colonized and oppressed. and the best way to do it is shit on a fake ship about lines on a page)

Zukka bad because it makes no canon sense

I think people who are Big Mad don't get that we're genuinely just chilling and making silly stuff without thinking too much about what SHOULD happen in canon. Everyone in ATLA fandom takes the show and the fandom far too seriously, like losing a fan discussion is somehow a slight upon their personal morals.

We coasted along without much hate for a good while but the increasing popularity means Zukka as a ship is going to get bashed ;_; I think the best we can do is block and ignore instead of engaging(very hypocritcal of me rn tbh, I'll try to stop).

I don't think you expected this....giant wall of text but thanks for sending me the ask and I totally get your frustration" Just let us enjoy our silly hcs and content!!!

#riki asks #zukka #ship discourse #anti zutara #a little bit

[jasmine-tea-latte]

JTL's long but not as long as it could've been review of Netflix's ATLA

So.

I’ve finished watching the Netflix adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender and I have a lot of thoughts. Because despite some of the more questionable changes, I overall enjoyed this as an adaptation.

I wish I could say that I was surprised by the criticisms I'm seen so far, but unfortunately, I’m not. As much as I adore the OG series for being one of the greatest animated shows (or television shows, period), it’s been placed on a pedestal over the years and any adaptation of it will always be held to an impossibly high standard. And for better or for worse, a lot of fans have their nostalgia glasses on when it comes to the show, so any deviation from the source material is going to receive some form of backlash. I say this as someone who clearly still loves the show 19 years later, otherwise I wouldn't be here writing about it, ya know?

Anyways, if I had to give it a grade compared to the OG series, I’d give it a B- or a C+. If I’m grading it as its own thing, I’d bump that up to a B+ or A-. There are some elements (pun not intended) that definitely should have been kept in, and some changes that I thought were done well.

TL;DR – I had fun watching it even during the parts that made me cry, and the parts that made me say “… well that was a decision.” I’d love to see the last two books be adapted as well, if for no other reason than to meet Toph Mothereffing Bei Fong and see all of Team Avatar together.

(Also because I’d LOVE to see The Ember Island Players, especially if they managed to work in a few fun cameos. Can't you picture Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Play!Toph and thee Dante Basco as Play!Zuko, hamming it up for all it’s worth? Shut up and take my money!)

(And of course, the Last Agni Kai for obvious reasons)

So I’d recommend at least checking it out if you’re interested. I’d also like to recommend that if you do, watch it from a pragmatic standpoint that it’s a condensed adaptation, not a shot-for-shot remake.

Some things that I liked, and some that I didn’t are below the cut:  

(SPOILERS, obvs)

Aang – I really liked this version of him, and though his actor’s still young, I thought he embodied the upbeat, playful side well. I also liked that they removed his one-sided crush on Katara, and – don’t shoot me for this – if they went with Kat@ang later based on how they did their characters in this first season, I wouldn’t be entirely opposed if it’s built on actual friendship and not an unrequited crush. (Still Team Zutara for life, but I don’t think that I’d *hate* it if the show went in this direction.)

Katara – I thought her actress did great when it came to portraying the nurturing, sensitive side. What I didn’t like was them removing nearly all of her feminine rage. Let her be angry! Let her lose her temper and be hot-headed! This post sums it up nicely. That being said, I do think she did well enough with the direction she was given. Here’s hoping we’ll see our girl eff some stuff up if we get Seasons 2 and 3.

Sokka – Fantastic and sarcastic. I really liked his actor’s interpretation of him, and it definitely felt more in line with the character we all fell in love with during the OG show.

Zuko – out of the main cast, I think his performance was the best. He had to step into a major role, taking over from a beloved performance that is still hailed as one of the greatest redemption arcs in modern media with a lot of expectations riding on his shoulders, and I think that his actor knocked it out of the park. It’s different from Dante Basco’s interpretation, obviously. But as I watched each episode, I kept thinking, “there’s our grumpy fire boy.” The scene where he’s throwing the temper tantrum over losing his journal, while Iroh’s standing back and watching? I thought to myself, “this boy is the worst, he’s perfect.” Plus the flashbacks to his life before scarring were done well, and even though I knew what was coming re: the Agni Kai against his father and subsequent banishment, I still got emotional.

Also, regarding the Agni Kai – on one hand, I feel like his absolute refusal to fight back was such an integral part of that scene and understanding who he is as a character. That being said, I didn’t *hate* that in this version he was pushed into defending himself, albeit by holding back. That one shot where he hesitates to attack Ozai, only for his father to use that same move against him moments later… oof.

My ONLY complaint with this version of Zuko is that he didn't say "honor" once.

Other thoughts I had:

🟣 I really liked that we got to see more of the Air Nomads and life at the Southern Air Temple prior to Sozin’s attack. I also liked the explanation the show gave of having all the Air Nomads gathered together for a festival celebrating the comet, which makes more sense if they’re all (allegedly) under one roof.

Additionally, witnessing the genocide itself… I was crying. Especially during the final showdown between Gyatso and Sozin, and the realization that we were witnessing Roku’s (former) best friend slaughter one of his other closest friends.

But why wouldn't they send the children out on the flying bison to escape instead of having them all cornered?!

🟣 I really enjoyed getting to see interactions between Ozai and Iroh, which was one of the biggest missed opportunities in the OG show.

🟣 MY GIRL JUNE. That is all.

The part where she flirts with Iroh was also a nice flip on what happened in the OG show, with his covert pervert crush and all. Plus Zuko’s face when she calls his “dad” cute? Peak Zuzu. Also, poor Iroh hahaha.

🟣 Suki! I really liked the Kyoshi Island episode, plus her awkward flirting with Sokka by kicking his ass.

🟣 I really wish the whole subplot of Kya’s necklace hadn’t been cut, tbh. The flashbacks involving her were good, and as devastating as it was actually seeing her death, it does hammer home the point what a horrifying experience that was (side-eyeing you, everyone making the jokes about Katara always bringing up her dead mother.)

🟣 THE SCARF SCENE. Nice try, Netflix, but I know better than to get my hopes up again from 5 seconds of slow-mo. Did I still screech when it happened, though? Ofc I did!

🟣 The twist with the 41st Division was bittersweet and I may have (okay, definitely) cried.

🟣 Combining Jet’s subplots with the Mechanist’s and putting them in Omashu wasn’t too bad. I do wish the message of “not everyone in the FN is evil” from Jet’s episode had made it into this version, tbh.

🟣 Overall, I liked Jet + the Freedom Fighters. Also, props to his actor for capturing the pretty boy / f*ckboi attitude well.

🟣 Loved Chong and the hippies, of course (SECRET, SECRET, SECRET TUNNEL, YEAH!) and I don’t mind that they were included this early.

🟣 I loved the change to the Cave of Two Lovers and having Oma and Shu be lesbians.

🟣 I feel like if the show’s renewed for a second season and we come back to Omashu, there’s a chance they could revisit the COTL with Katara and Aang this time around.

🟣 The random lady smacking Zuzu with a broom – “how dare you hit that child?!” – was hilarious, and Dallas Liu’s facial expressions of “wtf” and “fml” were a thing of beauty (starts at 1:40 in the video below)

🟣 CABBAGE MAN! I just love that they got the original voice actor, hamming it up and screaming at the sky.

🟣 I LOVED the Blue Spirit episode, and all of the flashbacks, plus the voiceover about masks and seeing past!Zuko contrasted to present!Zuko, as presented in this gifset? RIP my heart.

🟣 The flashback to Lu Ten’s funeral and showing Zuko being the only person to join his uncle, sharing a sweet memory of his cousin while Leaves from the Vine plays? Beautiful. Ditto to the flashbacks of Iroh standing up for his nephew prior to the Agni Kai and the scenes of them getting ready to set sail to search for the Avatar. “I don’t need a babysitter.” “How about a friend?” how about excuse you I did not ask for these emotions how dare you.

🟣 I actually liked the inclusion of Ozai and Azula + Mai and Ty Lee. I also loved the opening of Ep. 3, showing how she was able to infiltrate the team of rebels. RIP to Kevin Tran (in advanced placement), though.

🟣 I loved that Katara rallied the women waterbenders and they were able to help during the Siege of the North. I also liked her reaction when she's talking with Yugoda in the healing huts and realizes why she's been sent there. It gave us a glimpse of the fiestier / headstrong Katara we all know and love, and if the show gets renewed I hope we'll get to see more.

🟣 I really enjoyed them giving Aang and Zuko a few minutes to talk / form a connection after he was unmasked as the Blue Spirit. That was nicely done.

and finally...

Nothing else to add, just chef's kiss.

(gif source)

Anyways! I might make a more extensive list of my personal pros and cons, but for now, I’d still recommend giving it a shot.

#long post #avatar the last airbender #netflix atla

[oneatlatime]

The Cave of Two Lovers

I always wanted to be a frog on a leaf.

Does Aang have chaps?

Instructed to hold his arms closer together, Aang immediately spreads them as far apart as physically possible.

Hippies!

Chong's wife is not called Cheech. That's a travesty.

Between the 90s boy band hair and the quadrupedal underwear, Sokka is not looking his best this episode!

Uncle, were you watching? Did you see? Lookit Uncle I even threw in some fist shaking at god and a dramatic tumble. Did you watch? Lookitmeeeeeeee.

Seems like it's Zuko's turn with the brain cell. Iroh plays the dumbass a lot but he can't seriously be contemplating risking poisoning himself while he has zero resources.

Appa getting a turn as the couch rather than the whip. Sweet braids.

"Oh it's a real legend" is a remarkably accurate statement when speaking of oral folklore. Real v. Fake legends are an actual thing!

Did anyone watch Arthur growing up? Anyone remember the Crazy Bus song? I feel like this Tunnel song is what Crazy Bus was trying to be.

I like her skirt. Actually all of their clothes are pretty neat.

Why does Appa hate going underground?

That's got to be watercolour.

The stick is a better catch than the fish. It's a damn good stick.

Zuko actually managing to admit that he needs help! Or rather, that they need help. That's growth! Maybe that's why Iroh poisoned himself? Or maybe he's just having a dumb moment? Two consecutive dumb moments?

Do you think being unwanted in literally every country on earth including his own is going to be enough to convince Zuko that maybe his nation isn't so great?

Her earrings are bells. She probably deafens herself when she walks.

Why is the science guy freaking out about curses?

Chong's necklace flowers keep drastically changing size depending on how close up the shot is.

Average fire nation soldier is superstitious. I bet they can use that. And this guy's hands are huge. Also those flying grappling hook chain things are, in my opinion, the fire nation's greatest combat advantage. Who needs bending when you have those?

The math-defying torches apparently work like strike anywhere matches.

Definitely watching this one on a CRT when I have the chance. Too dark otherwise.

Can you do that? Turn a map of the paths you've taken into a solvable maze? Don't you need to see all possible paths to solve a maze?

Three things: a) I like Song's voice actress. Very pretty voice, matches the face well. b) Zuko being terminally awkward when needing to lie is something that's been consistent since the third episode. He really needs to work on that. c) There's a whole world of visual storytelling in the fact that, when hastily required to look natural, Zuko defaults to parade rest.

The latest fashion in men's neckwear.

I mean technically yeah, Zuko's dad is fighting in the war, but Good Lord are he and Song bonding over traumas from the 100% opposite directions.

They snuck in a Bob Dylan joke!?!?!

Poor Appa is having a time of it this episode.

Sokka would rather die in a self-inflicted rock slide than hang with the hippies. That's a very Sokka thing.

The lighting here is beautiful. All warm and glowy.

Poor Song. It's borderline embarrassing to watch how wrong she is. But at the same time, she's completely right. The Fire Nation did hurt Zuko. But the Fire Nation is Zuko. But Zuko was hurt by the Fire Nation. Zuko's brain must be inside out right now.

No touchy.

Why is Zuko surprised by her burns? Did he think his nation took over most of the world by asking nicely? Seriously, did he?

It's good to finally see more burns. Well, not good, but logical. I think I ranted last episode about why I was so surprised by the lack of burns.

I'm with Sokka on this one. There is a (very limited) time and a (very tiny) place for singalongs, and this isn't it. Also I keep thinking that Momo is wearing an Adidas tracksuit.

The last thing cave walls see before death.

What do you know, it is a real legend.

Pretty. This whole sequence is inky.

I love how this show does badass bitches.

How on brand is it that the city founded by think-outside-the-box badgermole wrassling innovators is now ruled by Bumi? Original thought, badass earthbender, giant murderous rabbit; he fits right in.

No kissing until you're 35. What a face though.

Aang STOP TALKING YOU CANNOT WIN!!!

What's wrong with you is that you're 12. No one is smooth at 12.

According to the episode The Storm, the avatar does in fact represent hope to Zuko, but Song just can't stop putting her foot in it. Literally any other earth kingdom refugee would come away from an evening with Song feeling renewed hope, but she's unintentionally and unknowingly hit pretty much every one of Zuko's sore spots. This must have been a very frustrating evening for him.

In case we forgot that Zuko was the villain, he steals a horse bird. Iroh why are you ok with this?

Ouch.

Where is your chin

Chong was right. All they did need to do was play music. These guys would probably kill me if I tried, but gosh they're so cute I want 5.

How many string instruments does Chong have stashed in his robe? His improv skills are top notch though.

You want me to believe that a couple of millennia of badgermoles rearranging things as they see fit has not altered the path of the crystals?

I feel ya buddy.

Sokka assuming his rightful throne. King of the Badgermoles.

Badgermoles have elf ears.

"Really? We let huge ferocious beasts lead our way." I love this line.

Appa's such a good friend. Settling in for a long listening session.

"So are you guys going to come to Omashu with us?" "Nope." "Ok." *fucks off into the sunset* Now that's how you write out a character.

NOOO BUMI!!!

Do you think the hippies knew? Is that why they didn't want to go to Omashu? It would be totally on brand for them to know the whole time and not tell.

Final Thoughts

Well that was a hell of a bait and switch ending. Supreme goof A-plot, Zuko having his dearly held beliefs dragged through the mud B-plot, and then suddenly *BOOM* overarching plot.

So is this season going to be the 'step on Zuko until he's decent' season? Because he's got a long way to go.

Why was Iroh being so stupid in the beginning? Does he have a blind spot where tea is concerned? He made Zuko look like the reasonable one. That's quite a feat.

At first glance, Sokka got to shine in this episode, but actually it was Chong who was right all along. There was a real legend about a secret tunnel, the solution was to trust in love, both as Aang & Katara did and as Chong's group tried (love songs). And that kid WAS the avatar! Three for Three!

I'm still not a fan of Aang & Katara being involved romantically (mostly because they're BABY), but I love the way they related to each other this episode. Their interactions felt 100% natural. What tween hasn't put their foot in their mouth around their crush?

Someone give Appa a hug. You know what? Give Momo a hug too. He worked hard as a wolfbat early alert system.

Speaking of Appa, are his underside sections furry? Covered in short grey fur? Or are they hard grey armoured plates? Are they shell or skin?

I've noticed that animal noises come in three flavours in this show: Appa grumbles, Momo trills, or wolfbat hisses. Most animals make variations of these three.

Are we sure Song hasn't been hitting the White Jade herself? Those are pretty similar.

Poor Song is really crapped on this episode. All she did was be compassionate and she gets her horse thing stolen. It makes sense that she wouldn't try to retrieve her horse thing, both because she's too kind, and because it's just her and her mom against two fairly rough guys. If this is the season of Zuko improvement, how many more innocents like Song will be crapped on in the name of improving Zuko?

Chong's robe's sleeve kind of hangs off his waist, since he's rocking the one shoulder look. I thought Bato was rocking that same look in his episode, and spent the whole episode looking for where he stashed his sleeve, but I couldn't find it. But now I see Chong with the same look and he definitely has extra sleeve trailing. So did Bato cut off his sleeve? Is he wearing the robe he was wearing when he got injured and his sleeve burned off? Is there a known way to tuck robe sleeves in inconspicuously and the fact that we can see Chong's is a bit of visual storytelling pointing to the hippies' general scatterbrained nature? Am I overthinking this?

I liked this episode! Definitely going on my rewatch list! The hippies are just the right amount of stupid, Zuko gets a break from being a shouty jerk, and Aang and Katara get to be just awkward kids (albeit while trapped in a life or death situation - priorities guys). Poor Sokka, Appa, and Song have a pretty bad time. But Sokka being terrorised by stupidity makes for funny tv.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #the cave of two lovers #avatar the last airbender

[nebbyy]

Omg I’m so excited you’ve decided to start requests!!!

I was wondering if you vibe with the idea of an Aang X f!reader. Where Aang kind of explores his anger? Maybe a little jealousy and rage but still a nice guy. Very much like Percy Jackson being a powerful rage guy but when relaxed he’s like a skater boy with no stress?

Aang x reader - That voice in his head

A/N: thank you so much for the support! I honestly didn't expect for one of the first requests I was gonna receive was gonna be of a fic for any character from AtLA, but I'm not surprised at all because I haven't interacted with this fandom in a long time!! I absolutely LOVE your idea and it was so fun writing it! 

Also really important, the pic I choose for this fic is from pinterest, I have no idea where it comes from, who made it, whether is a photoshop or a cosplayer,.... if you've got any information about who to crediti for the pic lemme know so that I can give credit to whoever made it!

Summary: you and Aang have been together for some time now, and all seems to be absolutely perfect. All, except for that little voice in the back of Aang’s head, one that made him think- overthink actually, and that made him act...

Warning: actions made out of jealousy, Aang acts in a way that might be considered as self destructive but it's nothing worrying don't worry. also the amount of fluff in this one might be considered to be a warning itself lmao

Word count: 2001

The day had started in the best of ways. Having all been so tired the night before, no one even noticed that you and Aang were snuggled up next to each other in front of the small bonfire, wrapped in the warmth of Appa's fur. And so the two of you were able to enjoy some well-deserved rest, in each other's arms.

Waking up had also been sweet as honey, as you had woken up first and had had all the time in the world to prepare a meagre breakfast to share with each other, before your friends and companions woke up as well. And even when they had joined you to eat a little something too, the feeling that reigned in the air was one of pure peace.

Or at least, it was until Sokka approached you, one hand on his hip and the other wielding a spear. "Hey Y/N, do you want to come with me to go fishing for something?" You smiled enthusiastically at your friend, not wasting a moment to follow him towards the body of water that lay not far from your temporary camp. You did not realise that you had left behind you a rather dumbfounded Aang, who watched you with slightly wide eyes as you walked away with your friend.

Aang… didn't understand what he was feeling. He didn't understand that strange twisting of his stomach, as if something was twisting him from the inside. He didn't understand his throat suddenly becoming dry, and his breath becoming heavy coming out of his lungs. He could not put a name to what was happening to him, yet he could put a face to it,….

Sokka.

It had all started a few weeks earlier, when after the umpteenth time he had been forced to call his friend's attention to himself, distracted by gazing into the distance, Sokka abruptly grabbed his friend Aang by the shoulder, forcing him to look him straight in the eye as he spoke to him: "If you don't take the first step with Y/N, I will." An innocent provocation, mainly aimed at spurring his friend to stop wasting time fantasising about the girl and get a move on declaring himself, although Sokka couldn't deny that if it weren't out of respect for his friend's crush, he would have already thrown his shot with you. Aang's face turned red, partly from embarrassment and partly from the growing jealousy within him. "H-hey isn't that cool, Sokka!!! I've liked her the longest, you can't just come and steal her from me like thi-" "Then you better hurry up, genius." And with that mischievous smile of his, which at such times makes you wquasi want to slap him, he turned away from Aang, heading to Katara.

It was not long after that little dialogue that Aang found the courage to declare his feelings, and he later thought he owed some of his luck to those very words Sokka said to him that day. Yet in that moment, as you saw him approach you, he brushed against your back to direct you into the right position to fish more effectively. At that moment he wondered if those words Sokka had said to him were really just a joke to tease him, if there was no ulterior motive, that of warning him that one way or another, he would try to make his move on you.

Aang's hands were clenched into such tight fists that his fingers were already leaving small cuts on his palms, but the strong emotions he was feeling at that moment prevented him from feeling anything other than the frantic throbbing of his head. With his head still clouded by this inexplicable rage, Aang turned away from the scene, marching towards a sort of circle formed by various rocks and trees.

Once he arrived in front of the first boulder, he did not even have time to take a breath to prepare himself for the earthbending, when already his right fist had moved as if by instinct, planting itself on the hard surface of the rock, leaving a groove where the impact had occurred. His fingers pulsed, his knuckles, but he felt as if he felt nothing, if anything that pulsation mixed with all the emotions he was already feeling. And in that pain, which at that moment he was not even able to metabolise, he found a further drive, which made the voice in his head even louder, more insistent. Y/N is gonna choose Sokka over me..

He threw another punch, incredibly even harder than the previous one. Small red cuts were beginning to appear on his hand, but Aang still paid no attention to them. It was as if he refused to see the reality around him, that voice in his head had taken hold of him, was isolating him in a dimension where there was nothing but him, his anger and the image of you with Sokka etched in his eyes.

Another punch followed, and another, then another. One by one, the stones arranged in that sort of circle disintegrated from the force of his blows. Aang did not really know how long it had been since he had initially gone there to vent the river that was his emotions, he only knew that the sun was about to set, and that a voice in the distance was calling his name.

It was you, worried sick about the sudden disappearance of your boyfriend.

Aang could not move a single muscle, it was as if your voice had brought him out of his trance state, and now the weight of reality was falling on him all at once. He did not have the courage to answer your call, or even to turn around to look at you properly. He looked down at his hands dripping with his own blood. With the adrenaline diminishing in his body by the second, he began to feel the searing pain of his wounds, finally realising the gravity of what he had inflicted upon himself in that state of rage.

What would you have said seeing him like that? You would certainly be disappointed seeing what he had done, and why. Who knows how worried you'd been about him, maybe you'd been looking for him for hours and he'd been selfishly on his own, voluntarily away from you, as if you were to blame for him feeling that way… even he didn't know how. Or again, you had not come there to know how he was. Maybe you had come to him to tell him that it was over between you, that you preferred Sokka after all, that while you were fishing something had clicked, that he was no longer good enough for you,….

"Good God, Aang what happened?" you run in his direction, taking his bloody hands in yours. You tried to meet his gaze, but he seemed to be working hard to avoid it. You didn't pay much attention, instead throwing your arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "I was really worried about you, you know? You seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth" He didn't answer, but he felt his throat tighten and his eyes become moist. How could you miss him when you had Sokka? "Come on, let's get you fixed up, I bet your hands must hurt like crazy right now, but how did you get them like that?" You began to guide him towards your camp holding him by the arm, careful not to touch his wounds. "I… I-I was training and I think I got the hang of it a bit," he replied in a voice so light that you almost didn't recognise your Aang. There was something underneath that he didn't want to tell you, of that you were certain. But at the same time you couldn't and didn't want to force him to speak, you just wanted to be there for him.

Once you had entered one of the tents, I gestured for him to sit on the stacked blankets, while you took the necessary to take care of his cuts. Your hands worked gently on his skin, the hands you had always loved to hold in yours so much.

It took him a few minutes of tension-filled silence before Aang found the strength to open his mouth, "Sorry, Y/N, I didn't mean to worry you so much. It's just that…" he interjected, swallowing the lump in his throat, "…I don't know, I just had something on my mind" You frowned as you listened to him, intrigued and concerned by his words. You said nothing, and he took that as a signal to continue.

"See, I don't know what I was feeling before, but ever since I saw you with Sokka, in front of that lake, so close, looking like you were having so much fun,… it was like something was eating me up inside, that's it." He made to lower his gaze again, but you wasted no time in gently grabbing his chin to make him look at you. "Aang… were you jealous?" if it wasn't for his injuries and the saddened look in his eyes, you would have found it funny. I mean, how could he think you would ever choose anyone over him, the most handsome, kind, funny, strong and unexpectedly wise guy you've ever met.

He hesitated for a second, before nodding slowly and lowering his head again. His voice came out weak and shaky: "You're not angry with me?" At his words you huffed, completely incredulous at his question. "Why would I be angry about that? Aang, jealousy is something normal, you don't have to feel guilty if you feel that way."

He cocked his head before continuing to speak, "It's not just that, it's… I always take so much care to control my anger, but today… I don't know, it was like I wasn't in control of my body anymore. I was so caught up in my anger that I couldn't contain myself…" A moment of silence, he looked up again to look at you, and you noticed that his eyes were red, as if he was about to cry, "…I'm sorry, Y/N, I know I must have disappointed you-"

"Absolutely not!" you interrupted him, grabbing his forearms. Your eyes were full of concern for Aang, and your tone though stern was full of love and concern for him. "Aang, for as long as I have known you, you have never allowed yourself a moment to vent your emotions. Despite everything that has happened to you, despite the losses, the physical and emotional wounds, you have always tried to keep smiling. But that is not good for you, sweetheart, you are still just a human being and you need to let go, let out all your emotions, even the ones that scare you."

As you continued talking, Aang felt his heart tighten and his chest warm. You did not stop talking, one of your hands coming up to cup his cheek. "I understand that after everyone you have lost you are afraid of losing me too. But I can promise you, you won't get rid of me so easily, you fool." He let out a shuddering sigh and let himself slip gently into your arms. You wasted no time in wrapping your arms around him, resting your cheek against the side of his head. "Thank you baby, this- it means so much to me." After Aang's words, spoken in a soft, hushed tone, a comfortable silence fell.

You stayed like that for some time, then you spoke, chuckling softly, "Maybe next time come talk to me when you're sick before you shatter a dozen rocks and your hands" He moved his head from its place in the curve of your neck to place his lips on yours in a gentle kiss, then pulled away from you to look into your eyes, smiling apologetically, "Yeah, I think you're right."

#fluff #angst #my fic #writers on tumblr #avatar aang #avatar the last airbender #atla aang #atla sokka #aang x reader #aang x yn #reader insert

[transboysokka]

Hm Zuko Sees Sokka Fucked Up For The First Time that one sounds very interesting

OKAY the context for this one is it’s like a tag to @witchering10123’s AMAZING Whumptober series in which Hakoda and Sokka get FUCKED. UP. I loved it so much that I wrote most of this on November 1 and uhhhhh STILL haven’t finished it because Life Gets In The Way

Im just gonna post everything I have so far for this one to get it out of Limbo yay

Zuko took a deep breath before turning the corner into the infirmary. He couldn’t even begin to describe how he was feeling– Excited that Sokka is alive? (He always knew that, he hadn’t let himself believe any differently.) Scared to see what they’d done to him? (More than a little– he’d seen that leg, he’d seen–) The truth was Zuko didn’t know if he could bear to see him right now, but not knowing was somehow even worse.

He steeled himself and stepped into the room.

Katara was already there, hard at work healing the prone figure on a bed that could only be Sokka. Zuko couldn’t see him very well from where he stood, but he met Gilak’s eyes from across the bed as he continued filling Katara in on the state he’d found Sokka in.

It didn’t… sound good.

Zuko’s heart broke as he heard about how difficult it had been for Sokka to walk, how he flinched when anyone came too close to him, how he didn’t want to be touched. How he’d seemed more like a frightened animal than the boy they all knew.

He forced himself to continue breathing deeply. This wasn’t good at all but Sokka would need him, need him to be strong, need him to help him heal. Zuko was probably one of the only people who could even try to understand what Sokka had been through, but knowing that Sokka had suffered far more than Zuko ever had was unthinkable.

He’d assumed it, of course. As the days passed into weeks, as their suspicions grew, as Sokka’s bloody choker and his severed leg had shown up, but now to know it…

“Would you like to see him, Fire Lord?” Gilak’s voice broke through his introspection and Zuko realized he hadn’t even seen Sokka yet. The older tribesman had finished debriefing Katara, still hard at work. Aang stood beside Gilak– Zuko hadn’t even noticed him until now– and fixed Zuko with an understanding look that reminded him too much of his uncle.

Hesitantly, Zuko stepped forward to the bed.

He immediately wanted to scream. And throw up. And hold the poor broken body before him and shut out the world around them. He couldn’t decide which option was best, so instead he just let out a choked sob.

The body before him was almost unrecognizable. The boy on the bed was far too emaciated to be his Sokka. Zuko had seen many bodies like that in the Earth Kingdom during the war, and most of them hadn’t been living. His wrists were heavily scarred and his body was covered in cuts and bruises– Zuko’s eyes lingered on the cuts along Sokka’s cheeks and his blood boiled at the suspicion that the animals had used a muzzle on him.

Zuko made a point to ignore the stump of Sokka’s leg– he already knew it was there, and it was just too painful– as he took in the methodically placed scars Katara was working on healing from Sokka’s chest.

The bastards had straight up tortured him, then…

He was going to be sick. He stumbled back from the bed, looking for any receptacle that would be acceptable to vomit into, when his eyes caught something else he hadn’t noticed yet.

“Aang…” he said weakly. The airbender was already standing close to support Zuko in his obvious distress, “What’s the bandage on his neck?”

“Zuko… This is a lot, I know. Why don’t we go take a walk and–”

“Aang,” his voice was stronger now as he shrugged Aang’s hand off his shoulder, “Take off the bandage. I want to see.”

“Zuko, you really don’t look so good. And I think it’s better for Sokka if we leave it on…”

He was already lunging forward, careful not to directly disturb Katara’s healing, ignoring the protests from Aang and Gilak as he unwound the bandage and…

A hand slapped his as the bandage came away and Zuko’s eyes snapped up to meet Katara’s.

“Are you serious right now?” she demanded, and Zuko could see for the first time how terrible she looked. Her eyes were rimmed with red and bags had already begun to form underneath. He absently wondered how long she had already been healing Sokka before he came in, and how bad things had been before she’d started.

Zuko suddenly felt very stupid.

“I’m sorry, I just–”

“Aang, get him out of here.”

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Katara turned back to her healing and Zuko felt Aang’s hands on his shoulders, pulling him back. As he walked backwards under Aang’s guidance, Zuko’s eyes landed on Sokka’s uncovered neck.

“They branded him?!” Zuko shouted, and Aang’s pulling was suddenly faster and stronger.

They were in the corridor now, but Zuko hardly registered it. His vision was red and it was all he could do to keep from destroying the icy walls around him with his fire. He was faintly aware of Aang talking to him but Zuko kept seeing Sokka’s injuries and running through scenarios in his mind of what could have caused them.

How often was he tortured? Had they kept him alone, or had he at least been with Hakoda. Where was Hakoda? Was the branding torture or a punishment? Had he been muzzled for it, or had they let him scream? Had he been awake when they took his leg? What other injuries did Sokka have that Zuko hadn’t seen yet? Why did–

He couldn’t breathe. Why couldn’t he breathe? He couldn’t—

“Zuko!”

It was Aang’s voice but it sounded far away. He tried to focus on it.

“Zuko, come on! You need to breathe! You’re okay. You’re sitting on the floor in the Water Tribe Palace. You feel the ice? Focus on the ice and the sound of my voice…”

Slowly, painfully, Zuko came back to awareness. He took several steadying breaths and opened his eyes to see Aang’s worried face in front of him.

“Agni,” Zuko groaned, “I’m sorry Aang, I just… I know I’m not the only one feeling this way but it’s so much and I wasn’t there for him and… Why is this so hard?”

Aang sighed and slid down the wall to sit beside Zuko.

“Listen… I know how you feel about Sokka, and you’re right, this is hard for me too. But it probably is harder for you and all of your feelings are valid. But Katara’s in there working herself to exhaustion trying to save one of the only two remaining people in her family, while she doesn’t even know if the other one is still alive…”

Zuko groaned, feeling like an even bigger idiot now. Of course this was harder on Katara…

“I’m not saying this to make you feel bad or guilty,” Aang continued, “But I’m saying that it would probably help Katara right now if we stayed strong for her. And Sokka too, when he wakes up. We don’t know what he’s been through, but it definitely hasn’t been good. He’s going to need you.”

Zuko nodded. Of course Aang was right.

He could do it for Sokka.

Making up his mind, he pushed himself up off the floor and started making his way down the corridor.

“Where are you going?” Aang called after him.

“My room. I still have one of Bato’s bottles I haven’t thrown out yet.”

He was going to need it.

—

Zuko was there when Sokka woke up. He’d promised himself he would be, though he hated to admit he was afraid.

If Sokka hadn’t wanted anyone to touch him when he came back to Agna Q’ela… What would that mean for their relationship? Would Sokka be afraid of him now? There was a lot about what might have happened to Sokka in his captivity that Zuko hadn’t allowed himself to wonder about, but he could certainly imagine a world where Sokka would wake up and not even want to see Zuko.

So he stood back by the door and gave him some space. Still, Zuko couldn’t help but to smile, his heart leaping, as he saw the unsettlingly still form on the bed slowly stir awake. He ignored the fact that this Sokka still seemed like such a stranger compared to who he’d been before…

And when Sokka all but ignored him as he reacted to the room around him, Zuko tried not to let that destroy him. Deep down, Zuko knew. He knew Sokka would just need time. Zuko remembered how mistrusting and jumpy he himself had been after getting his own scar, and what had happened to Sokka was infinitely worse.

So when Sokka volunteered to go with them to find Hakoda, Zuko’s first reaction was to shut that idea down completely. Sokka was clearly already in so much pain, physically and mentally, in the infirmary. It could only get worse by going back to where he’d been held and facing his captors. Zuko almost spoke up to say that to the group but… the look in Sokka’s eye when he spoke with such determination… The willingness to face it head on… It meant the Old Sokka was still in there and that he was going to be okay.

Encouraged, Zuko stepped forward to offer Sokka his staff. When Sokka smiled at him, Zuko’s heart fluttered. That was the confirmation Zuko needed that this would be okay.

#atla #zukka #fic #mine

[ssreeder]

yooooo. queer-ie: i love your work and would die for it (this is the queer part) and i just know there’s gotta be scenes that have been deleted. could you possibly tell us about some of those (this is the -ie part)? no pressure tho!! i’ll be hopelessly devoted to you either way.

eyyyyyy-o.

sorry Ive sat on this ask for a while but it tuurns I doooooo have like 4k of of outtakes from RIA & ITF lol.

so here are a few, i’m not sure if this is what you wanted from this ask lol im doing my best. (also none of these are edited or proof read and im sorry about mistakes and grammar and tense and all that other jaz because these were seriously like - ‘i don’t know if im going to trash this orrrrr…..’ then it never made it in & might not even be applicable to the current story.)

im such a good author I know so many details ummmm here is an insert from some point in RIA (I think this was going to be a POV from Hakoda and his men talking and I decided it was a waste of word count. sorry hakoda)

- - -

“I say we kill him.”

“Don’t you think that is a little… <i>extreme</i> Gilak?”

“Not as extreme as the <i>son</i> of the Fire Lord living and breathing in our camp!”

Hakoda felt the specific vein in his forehead thumping against his wrinkled skin that was trying its best to keep it contained. He could feel a headache coming forward the longer they discussed what to do about the situation that Sokka brought to his attention… and so far, they had not one tangible idea.

“Gilak, I have already told you, we can not kill him.”

“I know sir, your son is buddies with him, and we can’t upset Sokka.”

Hakoda shot the larger man a stern look, and he quickly retracted his words.

“I know why we can’t kill him. I just think it would be the simplest solution in this situation.”

Bato jumped to Hakoda’s defense, like he always did.

“This is not a simple situation, so it will not have a simple solution. I think we should speak to Morrak and see what he learned about the boy before we make any decisions. If we kill the Prince of the Fire Nation while he is severely injured and being non threatening we will look like the savages the rest of the world calls us. We have to handle this delicately, like Hakoda said, Sokka trusted us enough to tell us who he is when he could have easily lied. Which means we need to respect that trust and handle it delicately.”

Hakoda cleared his throat, earning the attention from both his men.

“So it is decided. I will talk to Morrak and once I get more information, I will meet back with you both and we can discuss our options at that point.”

“Yes sir.”

“Yes Chief.”

Hakoda was happy when they left his tent, freeing up the stifled air that seemed to stop moving the moment the conversation began. Hakoda felt an intense guilt building from betraying his son’s trust and sharing his friend's identity with the other men… Haoda knew it was the wisest decision for him to make as the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, but it wasn’t helping him be the best dad to his son… Something he was still struggling with every passing moment.

Even now… Hakoda left his son alone in the healer’s tent with the boy he just recently discovered was the Prince of the Fire Nation… A boy bred into fire and violence. Sokka seemed to trust him, which gave Hakoda a tiny bit of hope that maybe there was something good in this boy… But that tiny feeling was smothered by the rest of the overwhelming amount of mistrust and worry he had when he looked at the golden eyed boy who glared at him from the moment he opened his eyes.

Hakoda rubbed his forehead, digging his thumb into his temple in an attempt to push back the stress vein. He needed to speak to Morrak, and after that… He would make a decision on what was the best next step he could make. He needed to protect his tribe and his son, that was his main concern right now… and right now… Sokka was tied to this fire bender in a way that made Hakoda nervous.

Turning towards the entrance of his tent, Hakoda decided not to overthink this situation a minute longer and go find Morrak so they could talk…

Each time Hakoda thought about all the things he didn’t know, or wasn’t understanding, he felt the weight of his decision growing heavier and heavier. If Hakoda didn’t figure out what to do soon, he was going to be crushed and then Sokka would be on his own…

Hakoda couldn’t fail his son again, he had to make the right decision

- -

Ok so this one is right before Zuko gave himself up in RIA. I don’t remember how the final scene went down but we all know how it ended :) <3

Psst… Dad.”

Hakoda frowned in his sleep, caught in the middle of a dream and the reality that awaited him on the other side.

“Dad… Wake up.”

Hakoda opened his eyes and saw Sokka staring down at him.

“Son? What are you doing in my tent in the middle of the night? Are you ok?”

Hakoda sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to see through the darkness he was startled when a tiny flame broke through the void and gave clarity to the room.

Zuko was standing behind Sokka who was kneeling next to Hakoda’s bed, and the Water Tribe man felt a mixture of conflicted feelings. He was instantly happy that Zuko had come back for Sokka, but the dred that followed swallowed any joy he had…. Zuko couldn’t be here. If Quon found him… They would all be in trouble.

“I’m fine… Zuko came back. He… We… Ummm… We are leaving.”

Hakoda thought he would be devastated the day his son told him he was leaving again, so sure that his world would bottom out and Hakoda would feel like he was falling into despair. But when he looked at Sokka, and he thought back to the talk they had about his feelings for the fire bender, Hakoda knew that there was nothing he could say to change his son’s decision.

Just like Hakoda had allowed Katara to leave, he had to do the same with Sokka. His children didn’t belong to him anymore, they were grown and they were bonded to people who they were loyal to… And Hakoda was proud of them. It was a monumental thing to find someone you loved, and staying loyal to them was what kept that relationship strong…. Even if Hakoda didn’t love the idea of Sokka choosing a fire bending boy, he wouldn’t stop him from being loyal to his love.

“I understand, son. Allow me to put on my pants and I will help you two escape.”

Zuko spoke up, “I don’t think that will be necessary. The uhh… The helping us… Not the uhh… The pants.”

Hakoda smirked and Sokka smacked his own forehead. No wonder the boy refrained from using words.

“I would like to make sure you two make it out ok. Is that a problem?”

Zuko seemed to dislike the idea, but Sokka gave him a pleading look that had a splash of assertiveness, which seemed to be their typical dynamic. Now that Hakoda was aware of the romantic nature between the boys it was easier to disfer their interactions.

Hakoda slipped on his pants and slid on his boots, making sure he secured his hunting knife inside. He couldn’t grab any other weapons just in case they were caught, Hakoda couldn’t risk looking like he was prepared for a fight. If they were caught, they would need to make sure that whatever words made up their excuse were good enough to fool whoever found them.

As long as it wasn’t Quon, they might have a chance

- -

RIP Shen, I never realized how fucking funny you and Zuko were until you died. I think this was when they were all sharing intel idk… but Zukos an asshole and I love it. (he and Sokka were sooooo hostile during the SWT arc)

“Nothing… Just…. Fucking drop it. How about Zuko and I switch seats and I will come over and help you with the Fire Nation cruiser information. Bato and Zuko can, I don’t know… Play their tile game or whatever.”

“Fine with me. I fucking love games.” Zuko mumbled as he stood up.

Shen watched with wide eyes, not saying a word, and Hakoda could honestly say he had no words to add to the tension either.

“Good!” Sokka stood up as well and made sure to bump his friend’s shoulder as they switched seats. The fire bender glanced back and Hakoda wondered if he was going to shove Sokka in the back but he didn’t reciprocate the hostile gesture and instead he flopped down next to Bato and crossed his arms with his brow narrowed deep into the center of his face.

Shen leaned back when Sokka came to sit down next to him, and Sokka glanced over at him and scoffed.

“Don’t be dramatic. Let’s just get this thing fucking over with so we can be done here.”

“Whatever you say.” Shen replied as Sokka aggressively organized the parchment and prepared to draw out Shen’s cruiser.

Hakoda watched as Sokka’s anger melted when Shen began to explain what it was like being a soldier stationed on Fire Nation cruiser. He told them about -

- -

TA DAAAAAA idk if this is what you wanted…. but here it is. I don’t have anything from the first book, and only a bit from ITF but I do have more RIA. I rambled a lot in the second book ha but yeah idk what else to say! Thanks for the ask.

#FYI NONE OF THESE ARE EDITED haha so sorry #this ask has been in my inbox for a while #but yeah for small tid bits there was going to be a game the boys played along the way called ‘what would uncle say?’ #because Zuko was always saying shit that didn’t make sense because he was quoting Iroh #and so whenever shit was annoying the boys would say ‘huh I wonder what uncle would say about this?’ #and it would just be stupid shit to make them laugh #but it never happened haha #the eating game took over the light hearted moments #ummmmm #im trying to think I have a lot of notes in my phone too but idk how to organize my thoughts when they are no longer relevant #yeah if you give me a direction I could look lol #nooooo this fic hasn’t consumed me haha #*shuffles through notebooks and documents* #*printed pages of maps and drawings of the prison* #ok im done in the tags #sorry #liab #ria #ITF #ask

[sokkastyles]

Do you know where all these half ironic (?) claims about Katara being homophobic come from? Like I'm sure if there were a solid proof it'd become viral in the fandom (like the panel from "Turf Wars" about the nations' different attitude towards queerness). It seems especially bizarre to me given that Kya II is a canonical lesbian and there were no mentions of possible tension between her and Katara on that ground (as far as I know at least)

They come from certain ZS shippers who exaggerate the conflict between Zuko and Katara for the same reasons KA shippers do, to try and invalidate zutara as a ship. Originally they were less ironic and more serious until they realized how actually misogynistic and homophobic it was to change Katara's legitimate beef with Zuko in canon into "mean old Katara is oppressing him because he's gay." Then they changed it into "actually Zuko is Katara's gay best friend so she gets to make fun of him!" Which is not, in fact, less homophobic.

I've also seen the claim that Katara is homophobic to Sokka because she makes fun of him for his "effeminate" traits, except that the reason Katara makes those jokes is because of Sokka's misogyny. It would not bother Sokka for Katara to call his wolf tail a ponytail if he wasn't openly misogynistic, and she is often the victim of his misogyny, and that is why she does it, not because she herself thinks there is anything wrong with a boy having a ponytail, but because she knows Sokka does. So this is actually Sokka being homophobic, not Katara, and Katara mocking Sokka's homophobia is not an example of Sokka being oppressed.

#the discourse

[comradekatara]

Toko? I’m interested since their dynamic is so under explored despite a lot of potential!

@leantailean asked: Zuko/Toph?

I definitely think that a lot of work has been put into zuko’s flustered blush in the “i’m going with zuko!” moment, but really, if someone you didn’t know very well grabbed your arm and proudly proclaimed that she wanted to spend time with you, you would get flustered too, assuming you were also the awkwardest boy in the whole world.

I do think their dynamic is very interesting in terms of foilage. toph is in a unique position to empathize with zuko not only because she was never subjected to his violence, but because she is also an abused disabled aristocrat who ran away from home to join the avatar. she’s really only heard about zuko through iroh, so she’s positioned to show him far more affection and understanding than the rest of group, who also foil him of course, but in far less materially concrete ways.

I do imagine them eventually developing a lovely friendship postwar, with toph sort of acting as zuko’s personal lie detector (he needs someone to help him pick up on social cues so bad), but as it stands, there isn’t much there wrt their friendship. toph is the one giving every time (empathy, advice, vulnerability), and zuko never actually gives anything back (besides simply burning her feet, which was an accident, he is also quite rude to her on their pseudo-field trip, which is understandable considering how stressed he is, but also, not great). toph is a very understanding and sympathetic person, but if zuko doesn’t make an effort to be kinder to the twelve year old child who has been nothing but gracious and helpful to him, at some point they will hit a wall.

as for romantic potential, this ship has always kind of baffled me because I truly see none whatsoever (sorry i guess). besides just the age gap, which i’ve already discussed as a sort of nonstarter involving many of these ships, and besides the kind of obvious (to me, at least) fact that they are truly the gayest members of the gaang, there’s the fact that zuko would simply be an awful boyfriend to toph, for the reasons i’ve listed above. to be frank, i don’t even think he knows her name.

i’m not saying i ship tokka, but i don’t really understand why anyone who ships toph with zuko (bad bf, doesn’t care about her, very little onscreen development) doesn’t just ship her with sokka (very good bf, her best friend, the central figure in her life, shielded her with his body from falling debris and held her hand with everything he had at the end of the world as they prepared to die together, etc etc) considering the age gap wouldn’t be a barrier (it is to me of course, but ymmv). i think the only real appeal is that people just wanna smash two fan-favorite characters together without really considering whether it narratively makes sense for them to do so. shrug

#prying-pandora666 #leantailean #asks #toph&zuko #toph #zuko #look. i love disabled homosexuals as much as the next disabled homosexual #but their dynamic is kind of go girl give us nothing #and that’s just platonically

[rosie-b]

Sokka the Avatar

In a world where soulmates can't see color until they meet, Zuko believes he will never find his soulmate (or the Avatar). As he journeys through the South, however, he finds both in one day... but it quickly turns out that everything is not as it seems. Or, Zuko mistakes Sokka for the Avatar.

First atla fic, let's go!!!! You can read the full fic on AO3 or below.

It all started on the day that Zuko found the Avatar. 

Despite the nearly three whole years Zuko had spent chasing after him, he was remarkably easy to find in the end. After all, pillars of light such as the one he’d seen in the Southern icebergs earlier that day could only have come from a very powerful source. It was a dead giveaway just who the water tribe was trying (and failing) to hide from him, and the flare they later released made it even easier to find their village’s location.

Today, the Avatar would be his.

So far, everything was going to plan—the boat had landed by an honestly pathetic collection of igloos and crushed a sloppily-made snow wall without any trouble, and Zuko was walking down the gangplank to confront the tiny town which had thought it could conceal the Avatar from him.

He might have managed to hide for 100 years, but the Avatar had finally made a mistake. At long last, he’d be delivered to the Fire Nation, just as he should be! At the thought of his quest finally reaching its end, Zuko could feel his rage start to come down from a boil to a simmer. 

He stalked down the gangplank with an intimidating scowl on his face, readying himself for battle with the cowardly, but still dangerous, Avatar.

Then a boy charged towards Zuko and his guards, brandishing a club in his hands. Zuko almost felt bad for him as he kicked the weapon out of the boy’s hand and sent him flying into the snow without even sparing him more than a cursory glance.

He continued marching down to the village, which seemed to be made up of only elders and children even younger than the boy who’d attacked him. 

Except, it seemed, for one girl and her ancient grandmother, who were clutching each other like the doomed fools the boy should have recognized they were.

Perhaps they knew something, Zuko mused.

“Where are you hiding him?”

The question came out loud and angry. There was no way any of them could be foolish enough to deny him an answer, not after they saw how easily he’d defeated what seemed to be their only warrior.

And yet, Zuko was met only with silence. 

Annoyed, he grabbed the grandmother to use as an example. “He'd be about this age, master of all elements?” 

Still no response. He shoved the grandmother back into the angry girl’s arms and shot out a warning jet of flame above their heads.

“I know you're hiding him!”

A war cry rose from behind Zuko, and he turned just in time to catch the same boy as before leading a second doomed charge towards him. He’d picked up his club, and as he ran, he threw a curved stick at Zuko’s head, but missed.

Is this really the best the South has to offer me? Zuko wondered in disdain. 

He ducked under the boy’s wide club swing and rammed into him, shoving him forward. The young warrior landed hard on the snow, scrabbling to get back on his feet as Zuko readied a blast of fire in his hands.

The boy looked up as he scrambled backwards, and his eyes caught on Zuko’s.

And the world burst into color.

It was the most frightening thing Zuko had ever seen. The white of the snow didn’t change, but now the icy world had a new tinge to it, one lighter than black or grey, but more threatening, carrying the freezing nature of this land through his eyes and directly into his heart.

Before him, the boy was as frozen as the rest of his world, staring up at Zuko with a horrified expression on his face. He was still as helpless as he’d been before his failed attack, maybe even more so now. He was pathetic.

And they were soulmates.

No. No, no, no, this was wrong! There was no way this could be happening! It was impossible that he should find his soulmate now of all times, that he would be— well, a he , for one thing, and a simple water tribe peasant, for another! Zuko was the prince of the Fire Nation! The spirits must have made a mistake when they tied him to this peasant, because his soulmate should have been just as important as he was.

Unless.

Unless this boy, who was staring at him in shock and falling still further backwards as the world finished its colorful blossoming, was more than he pretended to be. 

Zuko had heard a story once about two soulmates whose bond was not that of lovers or friends, but of enemies, whose hate for each other outweighed their love for anyone else. It was entirely fictional (and horribly executed, like the rest of the Ember Island Players’ productions), but what if the writers had been correct in hypothesizing that such a bond was possible? What if there was a grain of truth in their miserable tale?

For three long years, Zuko had spent his time chained to a Fire Nation ship, cursed to search the world for the long-lost Avatar. An Avatar whose signal he had finally followed to this very village, who was not in the air temples or the Earth kingdom or the icy world of the North. 

Zuko hated the Avatar, he knew that, but did it really outweigh his feelings for anyone else? For his family, for his friends, for his kingdom?

After three years spent avoiding the painful thoughts of home, growing more and more hopeless and resentful and angry with no one left but the Avatar to blame, perhaps he did. He hated the Avatar more than anyone but himself, that much was certain.

And today, he’d finally seen the Avatar’s signal and followed it to this village, to this tiny town which was protected only by one woefully untrained warrior who just so happened to be Zuko’s soulmate.

Perhaps that boy was the Avatar. Perhaps the Avatar was his soulmate. That was preferable to it being a random, skilless Southern boy, anyway.

But how had the Fire Nation missed all the signs? How had the Avatar cycle been continued, under their very noses, without their knowledge? Hadn’t they ridded the South of all their benders? How was the Avatar’s birth even possible?

But the spirits moved in guileful, unfamiliar ways, and the Avatar was a secret worth hiding, even worth dying for, if they thought he would save them from their foes. Was it really so far-fetched to believe that the Southerners would’ve hidden this boy, even kept him away from the benders of the North and refused to let him hone his own bending, just to give him a chance to grow up undetected by the strength of the Fire Nation?

Was it really so impossible, that Zuko’s soulmate was the one thing that would finally prove his worth? His honor?

As the boy glared up at him and hurried to collect his pitiful weapons, Zuko came to his decision.

This boy, this poorly-disguised Avatar, was indeed his soulmate, and his very worst enemy. 

Literally, as far as his fighting skills went. 

Zuko couldn’t afford to let anyone else know that first fact, but he couldn’t let the Avatar escape him, either, not when he was finally so close to accomplishing what he’d set out to do.

So, he motioned for his guards to come help him defeat and restrain the boy instead of staying back, like they’d planned. The fight was over in mere moments, though the village elders and children gasped and wailed in fear, and a few toddlers threw tiny spears at his soldiers’ backs. 

The Avatar squirmed and twisted around in his grasp, letting out loud, incensed threats, but Zuko only held onto him firmer as he dragged him up the gangplank to the bridge of the ship. He quickly barked out an order, and his soldiers confusedly readied the ship for takeoff.

As soldiers scurried around him, Zuko wasted no time in handcuffing the Avatar. He might be untrained, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous!

Of course, the Avatar didn’t have the honor in him to come quietly. As soon as Zuko dragged him on board, he was already protesting. “Hey! Rude! You’d think even the Fire Nation would know this is no way to treat your—“

Zuko clapped his hand over the Avatar’s mouth before he could announce to the whole ship the real reason he’d been recognized and brought on board so fast.

“Be quiet,” he hissed to the boy. The Avatar huffed, sending a flood of warm air against Zuko’s hand. He wrinkled his nose at the feeling. “I will question him privately. No one disturb us.” He barked out the command as he steered the Avatar towards the stairs, heading deeper into the ship.

Once they reached the prison hold, Zuko shoved the Avatar in and slammed the door behind them. 

“All right, listen,” he ordered in a low, raspy voice, “I don’t know how much you know about soulmates, Avatar, but this setback will not stop me from finishing my mission. I am taking you back to my father, and after that, your fate is up to him.” Zuko paused, noting the Avatar’s strange reaction to being named. “What?”

For some reason, the boy’s nose was wrinkled up like he’d smelled meat that had been rotting for several weeks. “I’m not the Avatar,” he said, almost huffily. He had the audacity to stick out his lower lip in the beginning of a pout.  

It was absolutely infuriating.

Zuko stomped his foot hard on the floor. “What do you mean, you’re not the Avatar? Of course you’re the Avatar! Why else would we be soulmates?”

The boy looked lost and a little bit angered by Zuko’s point.

“Hey, I never wanted to be soulmates with a pouty-faced jerkbender with a scar! How come you get to complain about it, and for Tui’s sake, what made you think I’m the Avatar?”

Zuko rolled his eyes at the insolence. “I saw your signal, oh master of four elements. Only the Avatar is capable of creating such a powerful beacon.”

The Avatar pursed his lips and looked up and to the side in a considering manner. “I see how that would confuse you. But couldn’t it have been a little kid playing crack-the-ice, instead?”

Zuko clasped his hands behind his back. “Don’t patronize me, Avatar, it won’t end well. I know what I saw, and so does my crew. I know you’re the Avatar, just like I know that we are soulmates. It’s unmistakable, and a little disgusting.”

The Avatar scowled. “No arguments there, but I am not the Avatar, jerkbender. Sorry your little signal-recognition trick didn’t work. The South doesn’t even have regular benders, they definitely don’t have the Avatar.”

Zuko’s frown deepened. “Oh, really? Then let’s pretend you aren’t the Avatar. Clearly, someone else is, and that someone has been around here, very recently. That person, the Avatar, is the last defender this tribe has to offer, now that you’re locked up. So, if you insist on being stubborn, we can always burn your village down and see if the real Avatar shows up to save them. That way, we’d know you haven’t been lying.”

The cowardly Avatar blanched whiter than snow at Zuko’s threat. “No, you can’t! They never did anything wrong, they don’t have anything to do with your stupid delusions! You can’t just burn the village down!”

Zuko’s gaze didn’t waver, though his stomach twisted at his threat, even though he didn’t think he’d need to follow through on it. “I’m about to, unless you man up and just admit who you really are.”

He watched as the boy in front of him went through several new shades of colors he didn’t have names for. Disbelief, anger, disgust, and sheer loathing accompanied them, and Zuko noted each pairing.

“Fine,” the boy spat out, “I’m the Avatar. Are you happy now?” His chest heaved up and down, and Zuko relished the fact that there was fear in the Avatar’s eyes, fear of him, even though his words came out bravely.

Zuko allowed himself the smallest hint of a smile. 

“I am. And in exchange for your introduction, I offer my own. I am Prince Zuko, the crown prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne.”

“And you’re my stupid jerkbending soulmate, too,” the Avatar huffed. “Just my luck.”

Zuko fumed . He’d finally accomplished his impossible mission; he wasn’t about to take any disrespect from this cowardly Avatar who’d taken less than a minute to beat!

“Listen to me well, Avatar— uh.” Zuko paused as a sense of horror dawned on him. After all that had happened today, he still didn’t know his quarry’s name! The Avatar had to have a name beside his title!

The boy filled it in for him, looking miffed (even pouty, which seemed to be his default mood for this interrogation).

“It’s Sokka.”

“Avatar Sokka. Listen, I don’t like this any more than you do. But know that as surprising as it is, having an enemy soulmate will not—“

Avatar Sokka’s ocean blue eyes lit up. “Enemy soulmate? You mean like, just that we’re enemies? Or do you mean the bond doesn’t have to be romantic?” He sounded thrilled at the prospect of the second option.

Zuko fought the urge to roll his eyes again. To think he’d spent so long chasing after this disappointment of an Avatar, and he turned out to be not only his ticket home and his soulmate, but the biggest pain in the ass Zuko had had since that unfortunate time at the Air Temple.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t even bother returning home with you if this bond was romantic.”

(Zuko’s parents raised him to know that everyone should marry someone of the opposite gender, and that it was especially important for the royals to do so. It wouldn’t do for them to run out of heirs, after all.)

Avatar Sokka grinned, and a dangerous glint entered his eye. “Good, although I don’t think you’ll be returning home soon, anyway. At least, not in one piece. Because sooner or later, jerkbender, my sister is going to find out that I’m missing. And even though she’s a girl, and younger than me, I kinda pity the guy who she’s gonna blame for me getting kidnapped. Which is you, by the way,” he said, as if that wasn’t obvious.

Zuko wasn’t intimidated in the least. His own little sister was definitely much more frightening than Sokka’s (and he didn’t recall seeing many other people near their age around the village when he’d arrived. Was the Avatar trying to threaten him with a toddler? No, wait, there was that one weepy girl who’d been clinging to her grandmother before he’d used her as an example. Okay, that made the threat a bit better, but not by much.) 

“I’m not afraid of your little sister, Avatar,” he said in a bored tone, to show just how unaffected he was.

“For the last time, Prince Jerky-face, it’s Sokka!” His soulmate scowled at him, and Zuko knew that if his hands weren’t currently cuffed behind him, Avatar Sokka would be crossing his arms like a petulant child.

Zuko scowled back. “It doesn’t matter. Once I get back home, I’m handing you over to my father, and he will take care of you. Then, after three long years, I will finally be free of your shadow, and I’ll never have to remember your Southern peasant name. I’ll never see you again.”

Avatar Sokka raised his eyebrows. “How can we be enemy soulmates, if you’re so sure that your mission’s really going to go so well? We’d only be enemies for like a month, tops, because how long can this boat ride last, anyway?”

He pulled himself together and leveled a gaze at Zuko almost as cold as the spirits-forsaken wasteland he called his home.

“So, no. I don’t think your little kidnapping trick is going to work out so well. If we’re gonna be enemy soulmates, then we’re gonna do this the right way. You and me, our enemyship will last a lifetime.”

And Zuko’s lifetime wouldn’t go on for much longer if Avatar Sokka had his way. The murderous look in his eyes made that very clear. It almost undercut the ridiculous air the Avatar’s word choices gave him. 

Zuko’s frown deepened. “You’re wrong,” he said simply, refusing to give in to his anger and show weakness in front of this boy, who’d already been responsible for so much of his humiliation. “I’ve already won, Avatar. Take as much time as you need to realize it, because the facts will not change.”

He turned his back and walked out the door, gesturing to the guards who were making their way down the hall to take over. As he left, he turned his head over his left shoulder and met Avatar Sokka’s murderous glare one more time.

Yeah, it was just like he’d thought. There would be no comfort coming from Zuko’s soulmate, not in this life.

Zuko continued on his way to the deck. As he reached a corner, he heard a yelp followed by a grunt, and froze as he imagined what was going on. Had one of the clumsier soldiers tripped? Had they already lost their sealegs, after such a short time on land?

Zuko hurried around the corner, fists ready to either burn or help whoever he found.

It was a little boy dressed in the brightest colors Zuko had seen yet.

An airbender costume. It was a perfect copy; the boy even had a staff!

The boy’s eyes widened when he saw Zuko, and he quickly crafted the wind into a large ball, which he rode around him and down the hall in a flash. Before Zuko could react to this apparent airbending, the boy was blowing air into the lock of the cell the Avatar was in, while another person ran up behind Zuko.

A slap of cold water hit his face and made him start thinking again.

“That’s for kidnapping my brother!” a righteous, feminine voice rang out in Zuko’s ears.

He stared at the girl, who was probably Sokka’s sister. “He’s not the Avatar, is he?” Zuko followed his question up with a blast of fire. He didn’t really want to hear the answer yet, and besides, he had to stop the airbender before he made it off the ship with the Avatar— er, with Sokka!

The girl stumbled backwards, reaching out to grasp something. The water peeled off Zuko’s face and slapped at him again as he ran towards the cell. The girl followed closely behind as Zuko ran down the hall.

They must have gone further in; they don’t know the layout of Fire Nation ships; they’ve trapped themselves!

Zuko dashed around a corner, but skidded to a halt when he heard his soulmate’s voice coming from back the way he’d just come. His sister had stopped following him, too— they’d tricked him! Sokka and the airbender had only made it seem like they had left the prison cell! If they’d already made it through the guards above deck, then their escape route was clear and Zuko had just failed at capturing the Avatar, whichever one of them it was!

(He was painfully sure that he already knew which one it was, and he was never going to live down mistaking a normal water tribe boy for the Avatar. This day would haunt him in his nightmares.)

Zuko ran back to the stairs, chasing the three kids up to the decks. 

“Stop them!” he yelled to any guards he saw. “Get up and fight them! We have to stop them from leaving! They have the Avatar!”

Uncle Iroh was nowhere to be seen, and most of the guards had already been knocked on their backs or frozen to the deck with ice. Just perfect.

Once he was close enough, Zuko launched a tight burst of fire at the air scooter the airbender was riding. The boy was forced onto his feet, and Zuko started catching up to him. He reached forward and grabbed the kid’s ankle, pulling him down onto the deck and ignoring the pain that falling along with him caused. 

“Aang!” The water bender (because one hidden bender wasn’t enough for the South, of course) tugged a wave onto the deck, sweeping Zuko away from the airbender, who got up, pulling the staff off his back and turning it into an air glider. Zuko tried to get up and catch him in time, but the water froze into ice around him, leaving him as helpless as most of his crew, though some were giving a fight against Sokka and his sister. Before long, the airbender was soaring away, landing on the back of an enormous, fluffy animal that appeared from behind an iceberg as the boy took off. It was flying.

Zuko’s jaw dropped.

“What is that?”

“Appa?”

The boy Zuko had once mistaken for the Avatar sounded just as shocked as he was. Zuko looked at him sideways as he wriggled one hand free from the ice and started melting it.

“Yes, he really flies,” the girl said smugly. “You have to believe it now, meathead!”

Sokka used the spear he’d stolen from one of Zuko’s own soldiers to knock another one out. “I can see that,” he said in a measured tone.

The flying bison, whose name was apparently Appa, hovered beside the ship, and the water bender climbed on as Zuko finally freed his legs and staggered to his feet.

There was still a chance. He had to stop Sokka from leaving!

Zuko threw out his fist, sending a wide arc of fire toward his soulmate.  

Then he tripped and fell on a spot of ice he hadn’t seen in time.

As Zuko’s ears burned, he was pretty sure he could hear Sokka laughing, but then Uncle was there, reaching down to help Zuko back on his feet.

“Are you all right, nephew? That was quite the fall you took.”

Zuko glowered. “I’ll be fine, Uncle, just as soon as we stop those kids from taking off! Especially Sok— the one still on our ship!”

Uncle cast a discerning eye towards the spot where Sokka was trapped by two soldiers who had managed to free themselves without slipping and falling back down.

“I see,” he said. “Do you mind me asking how this happened, nephew? I seem to have missed a lot during my little nap.”

Zuko spluttered. “I– I– no! We don’t have time for this! We have to stop them now!” 

Uncle shrugged as he watched the air bison try to stay in place beside the ship as it veered in the opposite direction, manned by one of the smarter of the crew. From below deck, windows screeched open, punctuated by blasts of fire that the bison had to soar above. Even if Sokka won his fight, he’d had a hard time escaping the ship.

But just as Zuko began to relax, Sokka made a leap for it. For a moment, it looked like he’d make it, but then the bison gave out a roar of pain, and moved upwards by an inch or two.

Sokka plummeted into the ocean, and Zuko’s stomach fell along with him. He ran to the edge of the ship, pointing down at the proof of his… well. Not his honor, apparently.

“Get him!” he yelled, just as the water bender let out a cry and made a tugging motion at the ocean, as if it could lift her brother to her.

“Sokka!”

The giant wave she summoned didn’t save her brother, but it did send Zuko plummeting overboard beside Sokka.

Zuko quickly swam up to the surface and gasped for breath. The ship had moved further away, which was good or else he might have been trapped under the hull. However, the bison was that much closer, hovering right over the water, and the Avatar was reaching his staff down to let Sokka grab it and climb on.

“No!”

Zuko swam over to Sokka, grabbing onto his leg as the Avatar and Sokka’s sister heaved him onboard Appa.

Sokka squirmed as Zuko held onto him, only shaking him off as his other foot touched the bison’s back. Zuko began to slip, but immediately grabbed onto the staff, then Appa’s fur as the staff was ripped away from him. He glared at Sokka and the others as strands from his soaked ponytail dripped into his eyes.

Sokka grabbed the staff away from the Avatar and began hitting Zuko in the head with it, which was an unexpected attack when there were two capable benders right there, but it made sense for Sokka, Zuko supposed.

It was admittedly effective, too. Zuko fell off the bison and landed back in the water with a plop.

Avatar Sokka let out a raucous laugh. “Take that, Prince Jerky-face! That’s for the water tribe!” Turning to his sister, he complained, “He wouldn’t even believe me when I told him I’m not the Avatar!”

The bison was already beginning to fly away. Zuko wished it would take his memories of this painful day away with it.

Sokka shot Zuko a shark-tooth grin, cupping his hands around his mouth as he shouted, “You were wrong about me, jerkbender! I’m just Sokka, the Southern water tribe peasant who happens to be your enemy soulmate. Why don’t you bring that tidbit back to your father, the Jerkbender Lord?” 

He sent a mocking salute Zuko’s way, and then the bison was gone.

Zuko didn’t even have time to process how colossally he’d fucked up before his ship was moving closer to him. A soldier tossed down a rope with knots tied into it so that he could climb back to the decks. Zuko was almost able to do it without thinking of how unimpressive he must look, but that was just one more impossible feat he’d attempted that day.

As he accepted his uncle’s help climbing out of the frigid water, Zuko scowled in self-directed anger.

Great job, Zuko. You met the Avatar and immediately lost him and the water tribe boy who’s your soulmate. That went swimmingly well, he thought drily.

Then he froze. First he’d found out his soulmate was a male peasant, then he’d mistaken said peasant for the Avatar, and now he was so out of sorts that he was punning?

Curse you, Sokka! Zuko thought angrily. This was all his fault, after all.

We really are enemy soulmates.

#there’s another ao3 link at the top #zukka #soulmate au #takes place at the start of season one #atla #avatar: the last airbender #atla fanfic #rosie-b writing #everyone like 'why is an atla fanfic on my dash' #it's me i'm the problem. join me in my madness

[my-decade]

my thoughts on Netflix's ATLA live action

As an adult who watched this show growing up and was there for the countdown to the comet (iykyk!!) I have thoughts!

Best: Zuko. angsty, teenage boy depression, father issues, determined to a self-destructive degree. The actor is great at capturing all these facets of Zuko's conflicting, complex character. Really great with the choreography/martial arts too. Its not easy to pull off Zuko's mostly shaven but with a ponytail haircut, but this actor manages it. And yes, the opening scene with him seeing the beam of light from the iceberg and saying, "Finally." did give me some chills. Honestly the actor just captures Zuko really well. Great casting.

Worst: Katara. has the personality of an elegant yet unassuming well watered house plant. Its more because of the writing than the actress… she's doing her best with this depressing egg whites version of Katara she's had thrusted upon her. It's not going to be convincing when Toph comes along next season and calls her sugar queen.

Aang: never has any fun. spends every episode staring into the distance being sorrowful and melancholic. *teardrop rolls down cheek* he is a depressed 40 year old in the body of a 12 year old. He has no fun side to him anymore- an important side for a 12 year old kid to have! Also spends the entirety of season one (you know, titled "water"!) and doesn't learn a lick of waterbending, not even from Katara, who spends a lot of it learning from the waterbending scroll!! Why??? However the actor is doing a great job and I think he captures Aang's essence really well. He is young and I think next season he will improve a lot.

Sokka: I almost forgot to write thoughts down for him, which I think says more than anything else. He's essentially been boiled down to the same old overprotective big brother, but now he comes complete with daddy issues. It's a little hilarious that Katara's worst memory is watching her mom get burned alive by a firebender soldier while Sokka's is hearing his dad say he's disappointed with him. Kind of ruins the moment tbh. They really took all the fun aspects of the main Gaang and dulled them down completely, its sad. At least he's cute though- and imo, the chemistry with Suki's actress was there.

The previous avatars: every single one meets Aang just to berate & yell at him and tell him he shouldn't have friends and where has he been for the past 100 years without giving him a second to speak. What?? Sadly it seems any dignity, grace, or wisdom the previous avatars had in the original, has been completely wiped out in this live action. Also, this idea of them telling Aang about things that are going to happen makes no sense. Did no previous avatar tell Roku his friend was going to betray him, let him die on the island, and start a 100 year long war? Also the idea of Aang being able to communicate ONLY if he's in one of their temples is stupid. What is the point of the avatar state, then? Will Roku be able to teach him anything at all?

Princess Yue: yes I wrote an entire paragraph about her lol. She is one of my favorite minor characters. I think they wanted her to look so accurate to her original counterpart that she just looks too much like a cosplayer, with such a stiff and lifeless looking wig. This is the one and only time I will concede I prefer M. Night's version of Yue as far as costuming goes, though both funnily enough forget her eyebrows shouldn't be dark. The actress was fine. But this version of Yue is quite a different person from og Yue, I can't really compare. Plus, it feels like we see her for a good 10 minutes before she dies for the moon spirit. I couldn't buy into her and Sokka having feelings for each other because it felt like they knew each other for a good 2 hours at most. Ideally, I think these two versions kind of fused together would be perfect.

Azula/Mai/Ty Lee: Grouping them together because. Azula is the most unconvincing out of the characters for me. I don't buy that this girl is supposed to be the princess Azula for a second. I'm neither intrigued nor intimidated, and that's pretty bad as Azula was one of my top favorite characters from the original. The costume is fine, the wig feels cheap, her dialogue is horrendous, the actress can't convince me. Azula isn't smart or cunning, sharp, or collected, and her "working with Zhao" just made her look dumb when the entire plan flopped. She is a whiny, petulant little girl stamping her feet in every other scene. It's not for me. Also, the way her relationship with Ozai is depicted here makes Ozai look like a loser, too. It's like they want us to not be afraid of either of them.

As for Mai and Ty Lee. Ty Lee is fine. She looks okay, the actress is fine for how little we see her. On Mai, the wig is just so bad I don't get what happened. It's like they're struggling on the line of being realistic with the styling, or leaning completely in cartoon-character-came-to-life. I don't think the actress for Mai here was a good choice.

Dialogue: the worst part of this show. When they're not completely quoting word for word from the original, it's.. just bad. Everything is always exposition and thats not good. The few moments that aren't are just... idk.

CGI: not bad. I was expecting worse. Fire, earth, and air all look great. Water feels a little slow, mostly when its just water and not ice but that can be improved I assume. Koh was pretty cool, as was Wan Shi Tong.

Settings: Beautiful!! Omashu looked great. South and North water tribes looked great. Ozai's throne room looked incredible and I was annoyed every time we see it, he is just standing around and not sitting on his throne. It just reminded me how amazing the buildup to Ozai and Azula's reveals were in og season 1.

Costume: Its either a hit or a miss. There's strangley not much in between. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Iroh, June, Ozai, Jet, Suki, the Kyoshi warriors, all look pretty great. Then you have characters like Azula, Mai, or Yue, who just look like half decent cosplayers. It kind of takes you out of the moment when it looks like the person is a cartoon character, rather than just a normal person. For example, compare how Katara looks compared to Azula.

Music: of course it was fantastic. A lot of it (I think most) was from the original show, which has one of the greatest soundtracks an animated show has ever had imo.

Final thoughts: Ultimately, it was kind of what I was expecting. You can't condense 20+ episodes worth of development into 8 and expect it all to flow perfectly. However, there are also a lot of changes that really don't make sense to me. I am very curious to know how on earth they will do seasons 2 and 3, as season 1 is the slowest in pace compared to the next two seasons. The original's finale was split into four episodes! Unless they add more episodes for next season, it's going to be a big jumbled mess of lore being shoved into our faces. I am also concerned about Toph. The Gaang so far has been stripped of their fun/unique personality traits. Is Toph going to be the same?

#atla #avatar the last airbender #netflix's atla #personal