#zuko gets out of his coma and is like

[snogards]

I think it's insane that after the final Agni Kai, Zuko was able to tank a hyper-powered lightning bolt (I mean, tank in the way he was still moving after getting hit, even if it was just groans of pain and slight twitching). He just got healed by Katara for about 5 seconds and was A-OK afterward.

When Aang got struck by lightning, he was in a coma for like what? Almost a month? And you're telling me Zuko gets struck by lightning, and 5 minutes later, is walking around like it never happened? Sorry, I can't believe that.

But Sno, you say, Aang was in his most fragile state. Of course, he was in a month long coma after he basically died. Okay, and I think that Zuko being hit by a lightning bolt 100x more powerful than the one Aang got hit by would also put Zuko in a coma; especially because Katara doesn't have the spirit water to bring him back to life. Unlike Aang, Zuko only gets regular water, not magic water, to heal him.

"But, but Zuko redirected it," you say. Uh no, Zuko wasn't grounded, so that shit still hit him like a damn truck. He redirected some of it, but not all of it. I would probably say that it burnt him from the inside out. It's a miracle that in LOK, that man is still kicking it and being a badass in his early 90s. He should have serious heart issues, if not have died in his 70s at the absolute latest. The man should not be kicking ass in the poles. He should be on bed rest.

In conclusion, Zuko should have been in a coma for like at least a year (realistically he should be dead, but this is a kids show where the main characters aren't allowed to die, so I'll let it slide) and I will stand by that.

If you wanna read how the creators could have worked with comatose Zuko, read under the cut. If not, then I hope you enjoyed my little rant. This post got longer than I thought.

Here's how the creators could have dealt with comatose Zuko and the potential storylines our other favorites could have had at the end of book 3 and a majority of the potential and nonexistent book 4:

Aang is having to deal with the consequences of Ozai being left alive, as I'm sure the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes would not like that fact. As well as their newest Fire Lord currently being in a comatose state. They barely trusted Zuko. Are you telling me they're gonna trust The Dragon of the West? (More on this at the end) And maybe Aang would actually get some character development, unlike in season 3.

I don't think Sokka, Suki, and Toph would have storylines that center Zuko all that much, but they would also definitely be mourning the semi-loss of Zuko along with whatever storyline they get. Maybe Sokka and Suki can have conflict in their relationship now that the war is over and they might physically have to go their own ways. Toph can probably wonder where she can go from here. Will she try and reconcile with her parents again? Will she travel with Aang once Zuko wakes up? Will she stay in the Fire Nation and help Zuko sniff out traitors with her seismic sense? Needless to say, the 3 of them have endless opportunities.

Katara is now dealing with the guilt of not only having put Zuko in that position in the first place, but also not being able to fully heal him (even though he would have done that for anyone, not just her). And if you're a Zutara shipper, like myself, even realizing potential feelings and the conflict that comes with that. Or if we still wanna go through with the canon ending of Kataang, have her navigate her feelings about Aang properly and not whatever that original canon ending was. And if we wanna go the "Katara doesn't need a man" route (my personal favorite despite my shipping tendencies), she could try and navigate where she goes from here, like Toph. Obviously, she'll go back to the Southern Water Tribe and help out there, but what comes after they've recovered? She's not the type to stand by and settle when there are other people who need her help. Will she go to the Earth Kingdom and help rebuild there? Go to the Fire Nation and help out there? Become an ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe to help better relations with the other nations? (My personal favorite) The possibilities are endless for her.

But you know who would be affected the most? Iroh. Not only did he (kinda) lose his nephew, who was his second son, but he now has to deal with the diplomatic repercussions of his past as a general of the Fire Nation. Like I said before, the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes barely trusted Zuko; no way in hell are they gonna trust the man that laid seige to Ba Sing Se for nearly 2 whole years, regardless if he's the reason the city was freed from Fire Nation control. The pressure Iroh would feel from advisors regarding the fact that his only heir is comatose would increasingly get worse as the months go by. We know that Zuko will wake up, but Iroh and the rest of the cast don't. Iroh is dealing with the fracturing Fire Nation and pressure from the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes, all while his son is in a coma. He could see what he was going to have Zuko face by himself with no support around him. What would he do with Ozai? Would be a major question throughout the season.

Of course, in the end, Zuko wakes up because we want a happy ending for them all. But the turmoil we could have gotten in the end would have been *chefs kiss*

#me acting as if zuko died the entirety of the second half of this post #added some zutara because i had to #added some kataang because bryke would have done it anyway #not tagging them because they really aren't that important #zuko #atla #avatar the last airbender #katara #sokka #avatar: the last airbender #aang #iroh #toph beifong #suki #i forgot mai ty lee and azula #mai and ty lee arent important really #iroh puts azula in jail #zuko gets out of his coma and is like #shes my little sister and 14 #into the mental institution you go lil sis #in my reality zuko visits her on the reg and not whatever he does in the comics #really hoping the aang stans dont attack me for saying he didnt have character development

[attackfish]

So everybody here knows that I'm notorious for being a massive defender of Ursa, and that I have no patience for the "Ursa was a bad mother, she favored Zuko, and was abusive to Azula and abandoned her kids, and made Ozai abuse Zuko," narrative. That narrative is vile, victim blaming, and deeply stupid on a number of levels.

With that out of the way, I want to talk about some really really bad parenting we see Ursa do during the series. And it is to be clear really really bad.

In the Book Two episode, "Bitter Work", Zuko and Iroh have a conversation:

ZUKO: So Uncle, I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I want to stand a chance against her. I know what you're going to say, she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her-

IROH: No, she's crazy, and she needs to go down.

This scene is a favorite of a certain type of Azula fan who wants to paint Iroh as a big meanie who didn't wave his magic redemption wand over Azula the way he clearly did over Zuko. See? See? He's writing her off here and calling her crazy.

This of course misses the context of that scene, which is that Zuko is taking care of a severely injured Iroh, who was injured by Azula, in what looked a heck of a lot like a murder attempt. Earlier in Book Two, in the episode, "The Avatar State", Azula unambiguously attempts to murder her brother after failing to capture him, and he is only saved by Iroh's quick reflexes.

But let's leave that argument aside for today because what interests me about this scene in the context of Ursa's parenting, is the line Zuko says right before Iroh's infamous declaration: "I know what you're going to say, she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her."

Because in the context of Zuko and Iroh's situation, where Azula has recently attempted to kill Zuko, and just put Iroh into a coma that Zuko had to take care of him during, in which he has only just woken up from, this line from Zuko actually demonstrates some really warped thinking. It is not a healthy response to the situation at all. And his assumption is that a good caring parent figure like Iroh is going to respond to this situation by telling him that Zuko needs to get along with his sister, who is actively trying to hunt him down and capture or kill him.

So why does Zuko think that? What adult reacted that way to Azula's violence toward her brother in the past? It wasn't Ozai. Ozai is not going to use the language of getting along with one's siblings, when he is so bent on setting them against each other. So who was it?

The show answers this a few episodes before this scene, in the Book Two episode, "Zuko Alone." The answer is clear and heartbreaking: It was Ursa.

The scene in which this becomes plain, starts with Zuko and Ursa walking together. Mai spots them and smiles and blushes. Azula notices, and then turns to Ty Lee, and whispers, "Watch this!"

AZULA: Mom, can you make Zuko play with us? We need equal teams to play a game!

ZUKO: I am not cart-wheeling.

AZULA: You won't have to. Cart-wheeling's not a game, dum-dum.

ZUKO: I don't care. I don't want to play with you!

AZULA: We are brother and sister. It's important for us to spend time together. Don't you think so, Mom?

URSA: Yes, darling, I think it's a good idea to play with your sister. Go on now, just for a little while.

And then Ursa leaves Zuko alone with Azula and her friends.

There is a lot here that I want to talk about. I have in fact talked about this scene before, and what it tells us about Ursa's eagerness to reinforce Azula's seemingly kind and loving behavior: [Link], and even touched on why this is in fact an example of bad parenting from Ursa: [Link], but I think this deserves its own post, where we examine exactly what went on here, what this tells us about Ursa's parenting, and how this affected Zuko, and to a lesser extent, Azula.

In those previously linked posts, I talk about how this is clearly a pattern, that Azula has learned to predict and manipulate, and because we know it's a pattern, we know that this behavior on Ursa's part is repeated, and something her children have come to expect from her. Zuko and Azula know their mother wants her children to get along with each other, and love each other and have a good sibling relationship with each other so much that if Azula she plays into that, Ursa will force Zuko to spend time with his sister, and worse, that time will be unsupervised.

So, to be clear here, what Ursa is doing is giving Azula unsupervised access to her brother, against his will, as a reward for Azula momentarily acting nice. Or in other words, Ursa forces Zuko to spend time with his abuser against his will because she wants them to get along.

I think we can all see how that is some grade A terrible parenting.

And it does have negative effects on Azula. I think that we can see her learning how to manipulate people, learning how to lie and get what she wants from people, and that Ursa by giving her what she wants here, is showing her that this is a thing she can do to get what she wants. That is not a great lesson to teach your kid. I think it also feeds into Azula's possessiveness of her brother, and sense of entitlement towards him. She has learned that even the people who love and care about her brother, won't protect him from her. And she has learned that no matter what she does to him, he is supposed to try to get along with her.

These are some really terrible lessons, and we see some of the effects of them throughout the course of the show, so why is it that the "Ursa is a terrible mother" crowd never bring this up? I mean of course we know why, it doesn't fit their narrative. Their premise is not simply that Ursa is a bad mother, or even that her bad parenting explains Azula's behavior.

In fact frequently it isn't even about finding someone to blame for Azula's behavior, so that the responsibility isn't Azula's. (Which, to be clear is not how it would work anyway, because even if Ursa were exactly the type of horrible mother they said she was, Azula was still making the choices to do Very Bad Things, in the same way that just because Ozai is an abusive father, this doesn't mean Azula stopped being responsible for her own actions). It's more about proving that she has suffered enough that she deserves all the sympathy, and is allowed to be awful to other people, including Zuko, you know, as a treat.

The narrative that the "Ursa is a terrible mother" crowd are pushing is that Ursa didn't love her daughter, and thought she was a monster, Azula suffered so much, and it's so sad, and this is why she deserves to do very nasty things to everybody else, and no one should ever hold her accountable. Frequently there is some flavor of, "Zuko had a mother who loved him, you guys, unlike Azula, so he doesn't deserve sympathy, not like poor baby Azula!" Which is a deeply warped thought process on many many levels, but we're not going to go into that here.

The point is, that this type of bad parenting that I am pointing out here, doesn't fit this narrative, because this is not the kind of parenting mistake that a mother who doesn't love one of her children, and thinks that child is a monster, is going to make. This is the kind of mistake that a mother who loves her children very much, and wants them to have a good relationship, and doesn't recognize the threat that one of her children poses to the other, is going to make. In fact, the fact that she does it, proves that Ursa does in fact love her daughter and does not think she's a monster. So it does not fit the narrative these people are spinning, so they will never bring it up as an example of how Ursa was a bad mom.

Of course the other reason the "Ursa is a terrible mother" crowd aren't going to bring this part up is because it would mean acknowledging that Zuko deserved to be protected from Azula, and needed to be protected from Azula, when they were both children, which would go against the whole "she's a poor innocent child" thing they like to spin, and also because Azula is getting what she wants here, and Zuko is the one suffering, which is not going to get Azula any sympathy points.

And for the most part, Ursa was an excellent mother, who did the best job she could in horrible circumstances that she had very little control over, but she wasn't perfect, and she did make mistakes, which makes all of this a wonderful example of how even very good parents can make very bad choices that hurt their children and cause serious long-term damage.

I've talked some about the long term damage that Azula faces from this, learning about manipulation, and developing some really nasty entitlement issues with regards to her brother, but Zuko's long-term damage is if anything worse.

When we put this together with Zuko's line from "Bitter Work" quoted earlier, we can see that Zuko learns what Azula learns from the other angle, which is to say that he will not be protected from Azula by anyone, and not only will he not be protected, but he does not deserve to protect himself. Not only can he not defend himself, but he can't even protect himself by avoiding her. That's not allowed either. And in the face of her cruelty and violence towards him, it is still on him to make their relationship work, and to be clear, he should absolutely be making their relationship work. And the adults who love him are going to tell him this, no matter what Azula does to him.

I for one am really glad that Iroh is there to say no, that's a terrible idea, and you do not need to keep trying to get along with your sister who is trying to kill you. And it's significant that throughout Book Two, Iroh consistently protects Zuko from Azula, and teaches him what he needs to fight back.

#Atla Ursa #Uncle Iroh #Zuko #Azula #avatar the last airbender #posts i created #azula needs her own warning #i ship iroh/tea #zuko is a dweeby little turtleduck #mother bear ursa

[muffinlance]

Zuko wakes up from his angst coma after releasing Appa as a sane, rational, and emotionally stable human being

So I keep misreading this as “...after REALIZING Appa is a sane, rational, and emotionally stable…” and I. I cannot be held responsible for my actions.

- - -

“Nephew, I do not believe you are quite so well as you think—”

“I’m fine, Uncle,” said his nephew, who was smiling like this was a good-humored statement, instead of scowling like he was the teenager Iroh knew. “Oh, let’s stop here.”

They stopped. His nephew haggled, with minimum yelling, for an assortment of vegetables and fruits. Perhaps it was time to change tack.

“While I am sure the gesture will be appreciated, this may be a bit sudden. Perhaps we could begin with a note? Sent by courier.” Preferably one that would not be able to tell the recipients just where said note had come from. “I do not believe we are quite on unannounced visiting terms…”

“If they didn’t want people coming to their house, they wouldn’t have put their address on a poster,” said his nephew, who was occasionally capable of catastrophically (in)correct logic.

“Still,” Iroh said, “perhaps in light of past, ahem, acquaintanceships, a more delicate approach may be—”

But Iroh had not been paying enough attention to said addresses. As he realized, when his nephew vaulted over a stone wall, into the courtyard of a modestly appointed upper-ring home. 

There was a low rumble, as if of a ten-ton animal pleasantly surprised. 

Then much shouting, as if of several children, who did not find ‘pleasant’ to be applicable. 

Iroh sighed and, not finding a gate, politely knocked on the stone wall itself. 

The Avatar’s earthbender obliged him a moment later, a gap in the wall opening as easily as a shoji door slid. 

“Hey, Uncle,” the girl said, with a smile toothier than most predators. “Did you misplace your nephew again?”

“I also have tea again,” said Iroh, lifting up the conciliatory basket he’d only just had time to pack before chasing his nephew’s upbeat attitude out the door. 

“Score,” said Miss Beifong, stepping aside. 

“Toph!” barked the Water Tribe boy. “We do not double the Fire Nation’s invasion forces!”

Iroh set out a teacup for him, regardless. Miss Beifong helpfully bent a stone table for him to work atop. Overall, this neither lessened nor greatly increased the level of shouting in the courtyard. 

“I’m not here for you,” his nephew was saying, with familiar levels of scorn. “Move aside, Avatar.”

“You can’t have him!” said the young Avatar. “I just got him back!”

“Who do you think got him back?”

Iroh let both tea and confusion steep. 

“Do you like persimmon-oranges?” asked his nephew, much more hesitantly.

“I… guess?” said the Avatar, before over his head, a great tongue licked the fruit from his nephew’s offering hand. Similarly, the rest of the basket. And then the rest of his nephew, who stared down at his dripping clothes with the same befuddlement with which the Avatar’s group were staring at him.

“Did we all get some kind of crazy fever from the lake water? Or from evil cave mold?” asked the Water Tribe boy. “Is that what this is?”

…That would make more sense than a spiritual fever, perhaps.

#Aang: …You didn’t get ME a gift basket after OUR prison escape #are we even real Break-Out Buddies #Zuko: sorry I can’t hear you over the sound of how awesome your bison is #Avatar The Last Airbender #atla #Zuko #ficlet

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

DC

what goes around by Goldmonger

A civilian accidentally kills the Joker. It’s a confusing time for everybody.

Never Meet Your Heroes by 12pt_timesnewromanfont

Tim’s not snooping, not really. Or, he doesn’t mean to be snooping. But then he hears Superman say the words 'Experiment 13' and he's out of the Cave like a bat out of hell. He has just enough time to tell Kon to get the hell out of dodge before Batman finds him, and a furious Batman is not something he wants to face alone.

Meanwhile, Kon is totally panicking. He, Cassie, and Bart have lost contact with Robin, have cut themselves off from their mentors, and have absolutely no idea what to do. Superman has turned his back on Kon, and the League will always stand with Big Bastard Blue. He's desperate, and Kon only knows of one other person who might give a damn about him.

He'll take what he can get, even if the man is a supervillain on occasion.

let me help you fly this nest by carolinaa

Out causing havoc on date night, Harley notices something's seriously wrong with the new Robin. She's not about to sit idly by and let anyone hurt that tiny kid.

Not even the big, bad Batman.

From Riches to Rags by Vamillepudding

(If Bruce wasn't so busy investigating the Red Hood, he might have realised that, while Jack Drake is in a coma and Tim is grounded from patrol, Drake Industries goes broke. Overnight, the Drakes lose everything, leaving Tim without a cent to his name.

Jason, meanwhile, cannot believe that the Bats haven't noticed yet that something is obviously wrong with the Replacement.)

It’s weird, being poor. At the moment, Tim has precisely eleven dollars to his name. Drake Industries, gone. Their assets, gone. His trust fund, being used to pay for his father’s hospital bills. The house is gone, too. That's okay. Tim is okay. Sometimes, though, he lies awake at night, and he can’t help but wonder. Does Bruce know? He definitely doesn’t, obviously. But, does he?

Just a Moment in Time by Just_A_Poor_Boy

"I am… appreciative.” Damian says slowly. His hand discreetly fists itself in Timothy’s hoodie. Timothy is prone to bolting at the sight of emotional expression and Damian… is grounding himself as best as he can in this moment.

(Just a little glimpse of a moment between Damian and Tim. A bit of drabble to get my writing muscles back in shape.)

ATLA

surrender to the sheer force of the sky by achievingelysium

Half-turned from the door, Zuko looks up. A scarred eye widens, and Zuko reaches for his shirt, pulling it up across his chest.

“Uncle—” he gasps. “You’re here.”

It’s too late. As Zuko draws thin fabric over his chest, Iroh catches a glimpse of what he’s trying to hide. A set of bandages—and a healing wound in the shape of lightning.

(When the war ends, Iroh has only one concern—to see his nephew. Or: Iroh finds out Zuko was hit with lightning in the last Agni Kai.)

eternal and artificial by delectum

Part 1 of Rebel Zuko

After the fateful Agni Kai that changed Zuko’s life, Ozai never gives his son the quest to find the Avatar, banishing him from the Fire Nation with no hope of return. Without a purpose to life, Zuko takes revenge against his father the most spiteful way that he knows how: treason.

The Magnus Archives

Surrender by BeneathSilverStars

Jon doesn’t want to trust his coworkers. He can’t. But after being cursed by a Leitner to obey any command given to him, he might have to.

Clone Wars

Plan Besh by BitterChocolateStars

Dooku Falls too soon. Sidious is there to tempt him away earlier in the timeline. Jango is contracted for the Clone Army ahead of schedule. There is no plan to trick the Jedi into taking command of the Clone army. No trap for them to spring. Sidious steals Force sensitive children to raise along side the clones. When the time comes he will unleash them upon the galaxy. No need to waste time crafting an intricate plot from the heart of the Republic.

The Clones and the people who care for them disagree with Plan Aurek. (See Notes for Plan Besh)

#hopefully this makes your monday slightly brighter x #weekly fic round up #my posts #fic recs #dc recs #sw recs #atla recs #tma recs

[zukaangweirdo]

Private Intermission

It’s not that the play is bad – okay, well, it is. But that’s completely besides the point – or even that it goes out of its way to make Aang and his friends seem like a ridiculous bunch of kids – which they are, but again: besides the point!

It’s the Ba Sing Se bit.

Aang watches his developing friendship with Zuko be reduced to absurd flirting, then watches the blue spirit save Appa, and then he watches as Zuko betrays him and… he can’t watch anymore.

He stands.

“Hey, where are you going?” whispers Katara, but Aang doesn’t just now feel like answering her. She’s always worried like a mother hen, but this is one thing she can’t help him with.

The air outside is cool. It really is the end of summer, and nights are getting colder while daytime still hangs on to the last of the heat. Aang pulls his hat down over his ears a bit more and leans against the railing to look out over the water.

“Pretty night, huh?”

Aang jumps about three feet in the air.

“Don’t do that!” he tells Zuko, who has managed to sneak up behind him as quietly as an airbender. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Sorry,” Zuko says.

He doesn’t look sorry. He looks rather amused, leaning there against the railing in all of his fire nation prince bad boy glory. Not that there’s anything really bad about him. That’s kind of the whole point of him. He’s the sweetest guy ever wrapped in a gloomy disguise.

“Why’d you follow me out here?” Aang asks, turning to look at the water again.

“Well, fake you has just woken up from a coma and is holding an entire speech about how fake me broke his heart and Katara was looking at me all weird, so I figured a break wouldn’t be that bad.”

“Oh.”

“Did you ever tell the others we were friends in Ba Sing Se?”

“No,” Aang says. “It didn’t seem like any of their business at the time, and then you kinda went and helped Azula and it didn’t matter anymore.”

“So you didn’t tell Katara I broke your heart?” Zuko teases.

Normally, Aang would laugh. Probably. Maybe.

He shrugs.

Neither of them speaks for a moment. Then, there’s cheering inside – who knows what’s happening on stage now – and Aang clears his throat.

“Are you really the one who found Appa?”

“Oh. Uh… yeah,” Zuko says.

He looks away from Aang, but Aang doesn’t need to see Zuko’s face to know that he’s blushing.

“I didn’t know that,” Aang says simply.

He thinks back to the weeks before he found Appa – or rather, as he now knows, before Appa was returned to him.

He and Zuko had been getting closer and closer. Zuko was working at the best teahouse in Ba Sing Se, which was being run by his uncle, and Aang had been coming there at least once a week. It’s how they’d come upon each other in the first place.

How many times had Aang told Zuko how much he’d missed Appa? How many times had Zuko listened silently, without a single word of comfort other than the occasional ‘that’s rough’ or ‘that sucks’?

Zuko clears his throat.

“Well,” he says. “We should get back inside, before the others start wondering where we are.”

He begins to turn away.

“Zuko.”

Aang doesn’t think. He doesn’t even stop to breathe after saying Zuko’s name. He just grabs Zuko’s hand, pulls the older boy towards him and smacks their mouths together.

The kiss is uncoordinated and messy, as unexpected to Aang as it is to Zuko. Their teeth clack against each other’s, their lips are sort of smushing together and Zuko’s eyes open wide before they close.

And it’s the most perfect kiss ever.

When they pull apart for air – which Zuko needs a lot more of than Aang because hello? Airbender? Controlled breathing? But okay, Aang is also kind of breathless – Zuko seems to be momentarily speechless.

“What was that for?” he asks.

Aang shakes his head, unsure of what to say, and walks back inside to watch the end of this horrible play.

#zukaang #atla #avatar the last airbender #fanfiction

[animation-cartoon-fan-writings]

Please Don’t Go

Originally written for Zutara Month 2023

The final Agni Kai between Zuko and Azula comes to a head. Zuko is winning. This is the most powerful he has ever felt in his entire life. His entire body was calling on him to egg his sister on, not even realizing the consequences that may come with it. "What? No lightning? What's the matter? Afraid I'll redirect it?," he mocks his visibly unstable sister. In the back of his head, he knows he is playing with fire, and not the type of fire he is used to. Maybe it was the influence of Sozin's Comet going to his head or perhaps it's the adrenaline from the fight. But he was confident he would succeed, not even thinking about the possibility of what was about to happen.

Azula prepares to shoot as Zuko gets into position, ready to redirect whatever she threw at him. A sadistic smile creeps across the princess's face, like she was ready to kill her brother without a slither of remorse. Suddenly, her eyes dart to another direction and shoots a large bolt directly in that direction. Azula never misses. Even on her worst days, every shot was intentional. Realizing what was happening, Zuko turns and sees a familiar shade of blue. Katara. Frozen in fear as the lighting flies across the arena right towards her. Zuko runs to try and intercept the lightening in time, but he is too late. He trips as the lightening reaches the water bender. "NO!," he cries as the bolt hits her in the heart. Time feels like it is going by at a snail-rat's pace as he can only watch the young tribeswoman's body fall to the ground.

"Katara!," Zuko cries as he immediately gets up and runs over to her, hoping against all hope that she was going to be ok. He feels like he is back in that ghost town in the desert, right after Azula shot a bolt into Iroh's shoulder, sending the old man into a coma-like state that lasted for days. As he gets on his knees, kneeling over Katara's body, lying in a pool of blood, he could feel the life slowly slipping from her. "Katara, please wake up," he holds her limp, delicate frame in his arms. "Zuko... I-I'm sorry," her eyes crack open slightly, her voice quiet and strained. "It's ok. I'm here now. It's going to be ok. You're going to be ok. You just gotta stay with me," he assures her through the hot tears falling down his face. "Z-zuko, I-I-I'm so ss-sorry. I c-c-can't-t-t...". Katara's eyes slowly start to flutter to a close.

The fire bender feels her body getting cold, so he heats his body temperature and holds her to his chest, hoping the heat will keep her alive just a bit longer. "Katara, don't worry. I'm heating you up. Everything's going to be ok," he keeps telling her. "I-I c-c-caa-nn't feel y-yyour waa-rmthh," her voice barely going above a whisper. "Katara, no, please stay. Sokka will be here with everyone soon. We'll take you to the healers and you'll be ok. You have to be. Please, stay with me," he pleads with her, even though he knows in his heart it's no use. "D-d-don't-t-t-t w-w-wor-r-ry-y-y ab-b-b-bout-t-t me-e-e-e. I-I-I-II'll b-b-b-be o-o-k-k," she whispers, smiling one last time before her eyes finally close. "No! Katara, please! Don't go! I love you," he sobs as he finally admits how he feels out loud for the first time. "I love you, Katara. Please... don't go".

Zuko holds her limp body close to his chest as he cries out for her to stay with him. “Please, Katara. We need you, I need you. Please wake up,” he begs her through his tears. But it was too late. Katara takes her final breath in the arms of the fire prince.

As the comet finally exits the earth and the dark, nighttime sky blanket over the Fire Nation, Zuko stays on the ground in the arena. Everyone has already left. Azula had been taken away by guards hours ago. The Sages went back to the palace. All that was left was Zuko, sobbing with Katara’s lifeless corpse in his arms. Suddenly, a familiar orange glider flies over the arena, swiftly landing just feet from the prince. Aang had returned. But Zuko was too upset to care anymore. "Zuko, what happened?," the Airbender asks as he runs over to his two friends. "Katara... she's dead. I thought Azula was going to aim at me. I thought I could redirect it. But she aimed at Katara. I ran to intercept the hit. But, I tripped and fell before I could get to it in time. Azula bent lightning to her heart and killed her," the prince replies sadly, still holding her close to his chest, refusing to let her go. "You were going to intercept Azula's lightning?," the Avatar asks. "Yeah," Zuko responds. "Wouldn't that have killed you?," Aang questions.

"Yeah. I wouldn't have cared if it did. As long as she got to live"

Silence falls between the two boys. Zuko doesn't even look away from the girl in his arms. He didn't want to. He would've happily stayed there for the rest of his life if he had to. He couldn't bare to let her go.

Suddenly, Aang gets up and goes to fetch Katara’s bag on the ground nearby. After a few minutes of searching through it, he finds what he's looking for. He takes the vial in his hand and goes back over to sit on the ground beside Zuko. "Here," he presents Zuko with the vial. "What's this?," he asks, confused. "It's the spirit water from the North Pole. I had a feeling there was some left. There's only a little bit, but it just might be enough to save Katara," the Airbender explains, much to Zuko's surprise. "How do you know if it'll work?"

"Azula killed me with her lightning back at Ba Sing Se. It was the spirit water that brought me back."

Aang can feel Zuko was still doubtful of this idea.

"You love her, don't you?," he asks all of a sudden, taking Zuko a back. "Yes, I do," he answers, simply. "Then, let me try and bring her back," Aang offers. The fire bender nods, laying Katara's body down on her back, allowing Aang to bend the tiny amount of spirit water into her heart. With that bright blue light entering her bloodstream, Zuko takes her back into his arms, hoping that it worked.

As if the god Agni himself was truly shining over them all, Katara's eyes begin to slowly flutter open and Zuko feels her breathing starting to beat again. "Z-Zuko...," she speaks again. Tears of joy pour down as he sees his love come back to life, taking her into his arms for a hug. "Katara, you're ok. You came back," he rasps as he feels her hug him back. She pulls back slightly from the hug, smiling up at him with a glimmer in her eyes.

"Zuko... I love you, too," Katara confesses. He couldn't believe his ears. She had heard those last words spoken to her and she felt the same way. Zuko couldn't help himself. In the only way he could respond in that moment, Zuko captures her lips with his own in a passionate kiss. She returns the kiss with equal passion.

It was in that very moment, with Katara by his side, Zuko truly felt invincible

#avatar the last airbender #avatar fanfiction #atla fanfic #canon divergent au #katara #zuko #zutara #zutaranation #zutara fanfic #zutara fic #zutara fanfiction #zutara month #zuko x katara #katara x zuko #fanfiction #oneshot #zutara forever #atla #fanfiction writer #prince zuko #atla zuko #atla zutara

[sophie0197]

For the collective sanity of everyone, here are my ideas for season 5 :

- max is alive, recovers from her broken bones, learns to walk again and is still left blind but that makes her cared for and loved and nurtured and she matters to everyone, meanwhile she can still kick ass. She is the Toph of the gang.

- lumax date at the theater and Lucas describes scenes where they don't talk in the movie to help her follow it, bonus they are loud and annoying everyone at the theater and laugh about it together

- Dustin is now leader of the hellfire club, will and Lucas joined, they spend a lot of time together and become very close friends again. Dustin talks about Eddie "the freak" all the time to will and how awesome he was a'd the love they shared, Lucas also talks about his struggles with max being in a coma and disabled and his love for her, and will ends up feeling safe enough to come out to them and they are the first to know outside his family. Possibly they could know also he likes mike but that's a stretch. And they'd keep it a secret for him the way Steve does with Robin.

- Mike and eleven have a fallout, fight often bc they can't communicate to each other, they struggle but eventually manage to discuss it openly to each other and decide to end their relationship on good terms because they love each other platonically. They recognize the codependency they were having, mike having self worth insecurities and El thinking she has worth only as a superhero. They hug a lot and it's important to notice that they do love each other deeply, but it's about platonic love and it's very important to value it.

- Mike mentions the painting to El. El reveals to him she never commissioned or saw any of will's art. He's shocked and realizes will made that painting for him and meant all the things he said as his own feelings and it hits mike so hard he falls in love.

- Joyce and hopper wedding. Shenanigans with Murray. The byers/hopper family moved in the cabin in the woods and they expanded it together so everyone fits under that roof.

- hopper becomes a dad to will. Teaches him how to work hard for himself no matter what life throws at him, to gain confidence, and to not be lazy and escaping in games and conforts like hopper used to be. Will gets ripped by chopping wood with hopper and expanding the house litterally it's their dynamic. Hopper learns to draw with will too why not.

- hopper also being a dad to El and Jonathan, he is just this kind more patient being and Jonathan is happy and feels at home in this place. Hopper helps him get rid of the addiction to drugs. With El, they go hunt for food together in the woods. Hopper doesn't fully understand El's powers but tries to train her anyway for the battles to come. He is patient and nurturing which improves her abilities somehow. El's powers shifting from a place of anguish and trauma to developing in a supportive and loving home would be good. Think of zuko's firebending type of growth.

- Nancy chooses neither Steve nor Jonathan, she leaves Jonathan and goes on to follow her career dreams and is a girlboss. Jonathan is relieved they finally talk openly to each other too and break up on good terms and this would directly parallel Mike and eleven breaking up by finally opening up and communicating.

- Will gets to hang out regularly with Mike, learns he broke up with El, he stays very polite but we all know this teenager would jump around like a maniac the moment Mike's gone. Let him be happy lmao

- Will and Mike slowly talk more openly to each other about all kinds of stuff. About growing older and wiser mostly. The hints at mike being more and more into will as they grow closer again multiply. The climax hits when he learns about the painting. Suddenly it all make sense to him, will was always the one to give him the love he wanted.

- before he gets to confront will about this, will is in danger again. Becomes a puppet again and the group unites to save will back. It goes full circle. Evil will moments, angst. He is shown nightmares about his homosexuality and has to overcome it.

- Mike's love for will saves him. Litterally they have a full on catradora moment near the end where their love is giving them strength to free will from vecna's grip. Will also has a moment of self love from that btw. Will's love for himself also saves him.

- El's love for every person in this show defeats the upside down. She does not die sacrificing herself because stop it with the unnecessary self sacrifice deaths it's annoying. Her survival despite everything thrown at her is powerful and important. She is a hero because she chooses to, not because it's her duty to the world and she's meant to die for it. She chooses, and everyone is helping her this time instead of watching in the back. Major scene where others are the ones saving her life in a critical moment instead.

- everyone rebuilds the town together. As much trauma as it left them, it was their true home and their community bond is bringing life back into it.

- Mike and Will rebuild castle byers and kiss there it's the only cliché I wanna see lmao.

- Steve has a wife and kids. He invites the party over to his home, each time they visit there is a new kid and they joke about it.

- the show ends in the new year's eve of 1989, they all celebrate together as it turns to 1990.

#Stranger things #Stranger things 4 #St4 #Byler #Mike wheeler #Will byers #Eleven hopper #There's so many more things probably but I can't think clearly enough it's late here #Dustin henderson #Lucas sinclair #Max mayfield #steve harrington #Nancy wheeler #Jonathan byers #Lumax #jopper #Jim hopper #Joyce byers

[bi-demon-ium]

okay but actually constance DEMANDING piggyback rides from post-redemption!curtain all the time, a la toph and zuko. shes just like. chop chop idiot i want to go to the third floor library. and he's like i know you know how to walk. and she's like remember how you put me in a waking coma and he's like for fuck's sake but he's already crouching down

but like then: weirdly soft plot twist. constance really is just getting a kick out of making him carry her around, but like. constance knows that curtain's presence makes her--her "roommate", her mr benedict, happy. she also knows, via annoying psychic abilities, that a) he's secretly a huge bitch just like her and mr benedict, which means he will eventually be tolerable, b) his redemption is, as of now, genuinely and sincerely motivated.

so like. part of it is that she's fucking with him. he did still hurt a lot of people, including people constance doesn't admit to caring about but totally does. she's not like, letting him off the hook for this. maybe it's even partly a test, to make sure she's not wrong. but like... also part of it is this: she wants him to stick around longer, if for only for mr. benedict's sake.

and... well, she knows that everyone watching him, dutifully--with exasperation but also some clear like, visible amount of fondness for his niece--cart her around on his shoulders while she snips at him, is softening them up on him a bit. not only is it harder to stay actively mad at him when there's a pink ten year old sitting on his shoulders bullying him, but it's also obvious he's trying, and not only that, but allowing this obvious poke at his dignity go unchallenged.

(also it makes nicholas smile SO much. he'd love to give her piggyback rides but he is far more likely to fall asleep.)

#constance contraire #ld curtain #nathaniel benedict #nicholas benedict #mbs spoilers #mbs disney #the mysterious benedict society #mbs #tmbs #the question is when does curtain figure this out if ever. #i think nicholas knows so maybe curtain would be like hey does your daughter like. hate me #and nicholas is like what? no. actually i think she likes you.

[shopcat]

zuko really has all the big ones (azula too obv). and i know people try and be like Um actually they're just traumatised/mentally ill/were sheltered/don't know how to talk to normal people and it's like ... okay... and these things are nonexclusive also who cares. like zuko's just like [takes things too literally] [has a one track mind (I Must Find The Avatar)] [hyperfocuses on things] [has to train fine motor skills typical in peers his age harder and for longer (struggles to perform his forms in front of azulon, still going over the firebending basics years later at 16)] [black and white thinking (everything is Good vs Evil, finding the avatar = restoring his honour and doesn't consider any other option or ulterior motive or outcome)] [struggles with rigid morality (41st division)] [struggles emotionally regulating] [can't control his tone or volume level] [doesn't fundamentally understand his peers] [gets along with those typically younger and older than him, not his direct peers (toph, aang, iroh, katara)] [lashes out physically due to emotional dysregulation] [mirrors others (impressions, "look how azula feeds the turtleducks") (also doesn't understand why that was wrong until he's told)] [doesn't understand social situations, rituals or rules and sometimes just barely attempts to follow them at all] [poor sense of self] [scripting (that damn frog)] [high emotionality] [rigid or awkward body language] [doesn't like social touch] [lack of care for his own well-being and mortality] [high pain tolerance] [doesn't like speaking/low speaking episodes] [doesn't consider people might be lying -> "father wants me back?" -> "didn't you hear azula?!"] [enjoys structure and routine] [doesn't like things deviating from those routines] [feels unable to emotionally connect with others] [is prone to overdramatisation and catastrophising ("why are you flirting with my girlfriend!!!!") (lightning breakdown)] [doesn't understand why iroh won't SHOOT LIGHTNING at him] [goes into a literal coma because he makes a decision that's at odds with who he considers himself to be and can't conceptualise the change of it or see himself as one whole] [is fine talking about his own life/feelings/hardships but doesn't know how to respond to others] ["that's rough buddy"] ["hey. zuko here"] [before katara literally threatens his life at the temple he thinks she's just there to say HI 😭] [can be overfamiliar in situations he shouldn't be] [doesnt understand metaphors at all] ["bite into the silver sandwich"] [is blunt/speaks honestly even when he shouldn't]

#🐾 #atp i have these character based autistic traits on fucking lock #☆

[ssreeder]

hi!!

i was just thinking ab ria and i wanted to ask you a question ab liab/ria

how much time passed between sokka being captured in the northern water tribe and the current events in the fic?? since sokka lost track of time im pretty sure it wasnt said how long hes been gone (MAYBE IT WAS AND IM JUST BEING DUMB but i dont remember anything like that 😭) so i was just wondering what the timeline is.

i understand if u havent really thought much ab that/it will be an important part of the fic later on, and u dont wanna say, i totally get how it is w writing

soo yeah that was my question hahahha

BTW I LOVE YOUR FIC and im impatiently waiting for the next update!!! ily

I’m sorry it took me so long to answer this, I was going to draw you up a timeline and do cool dots and shit but I ran out of time and idk I just gave up ahha.

Sooooo here is the timeline I promised you:

I know canon said that aang had “one year” to defeat the fire lord, but they never clarified how many months were in a year…. SO…. I can do whatever I want and it’s fine :D :D

Timeline:

Zuko was captured after the Blue Spirit season 1 episode 13.

He was captured in the forest by Zhao and was taken to the prison camp by caravan. It took one week and he was incarcerated for four months before Sokka arrived.

Sokka was captured in the NWT during the siege and it took two weeks to ship him to the prison camp.

He arrived there and was incarcerated for two months with Zuko in prison.

When they escaped Sokka has been in prison a little over two months and Zuko was locked away for a little over six months.

They were on the run for a month and a half until the RR captured them.

After Sokka’s injury he was in a coma for a week and then continued to be captured by the RR for a little over a week until Bato and the men came to save them. So Zuko and Sokka were captured by the RR for almost 3 weeks

They have now been at the Water Tribe camp for about three weeks, give or take a few days.

I hope this makes sense let me know if it doesn’t :)

I keep things vague because I don’t want to be held accountable for time not exactly adding up haha. If you need anything else PM me :)

#I hope this helps #I know I should add a read more #but I’m in mobile and I’m not going out of the way to do more #I am so sorry this took so much time #I was going to do a cool timeline thingy #and make it official and bad ass #but it was like… so much effort #I LOVE YOU #& I love love love you like liab lol #it makes me so happy #like super happy #zmdd2017 #liab #ria #ask

[dragomer]

Just what did Zuko mean when he said "I have changed!" (to Katara) in Crossroads of Destiny? In what ways did he change if he

✅️still chases the love of the father who he hasn't realized isn't worth it

✅️doesn't care if it's hurting others around him (all the truces and acts of kindness from gaang he's been offered haven't changed him enough to differ his actions enough to treat the gaang any differently, i.e. they're still a target/obstacle to him)

These two "factors" change in book 3, but not at the moment he's said he's changed. Forgive me for my emotional unintelligence but it had been book 1 Zuko who's been given the same choice in those catacombs, how would he act differently from book 2 Zuko (who claims he's changed)?

Like I get it, he's seen, acknowledged and even sympathized with the suffering of other nations that his has caused. In "Earth Kingdom Chronicles" he even recognizes himself as a victim of the war, which does signify a change of his worldview. He's been mulling over on who HE is, what HE wants to do, what HE defines himself through. But his actions speak otherwise regardless.

The only way I can interpret it is that he thinks he has changed because he's cleared out all the doubts and dilemmas and has decided who he is, he wasn't wrong about his destiny, but he needed to go through what he did to decide if it's still the one he wants, he is the prince of the Fire Nation, the heir to the throne.

Zuko was basically referring to his angst coma IIRC.

Thanks for the ask ^^

#atla #avatar the last airbender #zuko #thanks for the ask ^^

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Ten Into The Fog (Part 3)

Ten years ago…

It is a bold claim. She can believe that perhaps a year or two had gone by, maybe a third. But ten. No, she couldn’t have lost so many years. She couldn’t have been asleep for that long. And yet Sokka sits at the edge of her bed sporting a full beard. 

A beard which he could have grown in a year or two…

“I’m going to go get Zuko.” The comment falls on deaf ears. Sokka gets up and heads for the door, under the assumption that he had practically been commenting to himself. 

But why is he here? Why not father? Why hasn’t father come to take her home? It must be that he is furious over her failure at the Boiling Rock. Her stomach plummets; of course Mai and TyLee haven’t come to visit her. 

She is alone, completely so now. 

Everyone is angry with her. 

Everyone hates her.

They are going to leave her to face her confusion alone. Not that she isn’t well accustomed to that much. Right now, she is tired. To exhausted to begin to face it. To drained to wonder why, if she had been in a coma for, presumably, ten years, the wounds still feel so fresh. Why her head is still bandaged and throbbing quite furiously. 

And maybe it is more than just tiredness–maybe she doesn’t want to flirt with this idea that Sokka might be telling the truth. That she truly has put on ten years–ten years that by some means or another mean absolutely nothing to her. Ten blank, colorless, soundless, sensory deprived years. A gaping trench in her mind…

Azula rolls onto her side, stirring up a new partial numbness laced with those pins and needles. She closes her eyes and she is back in that blackness. That cold, uncaring blackness. That merciful, safe blackness. 

.oOo.

“She doesn’t remember anything?” Zuko frowns. 

“Nothing recent.” Sokka confirms.

“Well what’s the most recent thing that she recalls?”

“Fighting you at the Western Air Temple.” Sokka grimaces. “You know, right after we made the prison break that led to…the incident.” He supposes that, that is one perk to her forgetting everything–she doesn’t remember what her father had done after her failure at the Boiling Rock and the following confrontation at the air temple. 

She doesn’t remember that pain but she remembers pain.

Pain and none of the pleasure. None of the love.

She remembers abandonment and dishonor. 

She remembers fear. 

And he has a good feeling that she will know fear better still soon enough. 

Katara must have arrived at the same conclusion because she speaks up with a suggestion. “Maybe we should take her back to the Fire Nation. Republic City will probably be really overwhelming. It’s…a lot to take in and I saw it while it was developing. I can’t imagine what it would be like to just wake up in the middle of all of this new technology..” 

“It’d be like waking up in the Spirit World.” Aang speculates. 

“Plus Yakone is still on the loose and he’s madder than ever. She doesn’t even know that she has this enemy. It makes her a really easy target.” Sokka points out. 

“And she’s the main target now…” Zuko mutters. 

“She and Toph.” Katara adds. 

“At least Toph knows what she’s up against.” Sokka replies. “Azula’s powerful and really smart but Yakone is clever and strong too. And he has the advantage.” 

“Should we get her on a ship to the Fire Nation while she’s still asleep or should we expose her to Republic City?” Aang asks. 

“I can have a ship ready to pick us up in an hour. And I will.” Zuko says. “Of course, Aang and Toph are going to have to stay behind and keep Republic City secure. Katara, I know that you wanted to spend some time with Aang but…”

“Azula needs a healer. I know.” She sighs and casts a somber glance at Aang. “I just get tired of it sometimes, always having dates and good times interrupted for…stuff like this.”

“It’s the price of dating the Avatar.” Aang shakes his head. “For being the Avatar.”

“Azula would hate this…” Sokka winces. “She never liked it when people sugar coated things and tried to protect her. She would want to stay here and face everything.”

“But Yakone is probably expecting her to be here until she’s recovered enough to travel.” Katara says. “The longer she’s here, the longer she’s at risk of being hurt by Yakone or his thugs.” 

Sokka gives the hallway a sidelong glance. Just on the other end of it, Azula is having a fitful sleep. “Yeah, we can’t let him get to her. A trip back to the Fire Nation it is.” Nevermind that bringing her back to the palace will only make it that much easier to pretend like it hasn’t been ten years. Compared to Republic City and Ba Sing Se, the Fire Nation hasn’t had such a massive boom. The nation and its people seem perfectly content to cling to dated traditions and the past even at the cost of innovation.

Azula always has been the very embodiment of Fire Nation mentality.

#Avatar The Last Airbender #Azula #Sokka #Sokkla #Fanfiction

[shinygoku]

CutCat’s ATLA Takes

Here I am, jotting them down before doing a series rewatch. This is gonna be a bit disorganised, so beware!

---

First I guess I oughta put a quick disclaimer in that Zuko is one’a my biggest Blorbos, comparible with Son Goku!  ...so like, you may notice me focusing more on him than other characters or topics or whatever lol

Also I am Not interested in the Comics or Korra series...s. The former for writing that is plain ass bad, and the latter for changing so much of the setting (not for better) and uhm, also less than good writing. If I want bad takes on Communism and Anarchy I can just go look at Twitter or some rubbish. Also I know Kyoshi novels exist. I’m just talking about the OG show, even if select pinpoints of the subsidiary installments have good moments.

This got PRETTY LONG and ain’t particularly coherent, so I’ll put a Cut in here ;3

Overall Show:

Not gonna lie, some’a the Book 1 eps get pretty throughly memoryholed, even what happens in the first two! They ain’t bad, but it does take The Storm for the series to really hit its stride with the delish Backstories.

Following that solid W of an ep is The Blue Spirit, and this is actually one of the best in the entire show. Seems they initially wrote it like it was a season finale to get more eps approved, and it worked! lol

I dig that all the characters get some character focus and growth even early on

...I’m mixed on my stance on Aang’s crush on Katara. If it was a one sided thing that started off quite strong and then de-intensified over the series, I’d find it very cute and endearing. But that sure ain’t the course they took lol, but I guess I’ll sum my thoughts on shipping in its own section later.

The real highlights of S1 are in The Storm, The Blue Spirit, The Northern Water Tribe and the Siege of the North 2-parter. All these have a lot of Zuko, fancy that XD

Also I like how early it’s set up how Built Different he is, especially them last three eps. Dude gets blown up, swim through long underwater tunnels in freezing water, barely wins a fight, treks out into the arctic, gets 1-shot in a fight, and THEN starts another fight, this time with Zhao. His only true weakness really is his mental state and lack of planning, innit!

Book 2 overall kinda bothers me. Objectively it has some of the strongest points, but so much of it feels like it’s dark and dingy or really damn slow to get moving.

Strongest points are of course Toph’s entire existence, the zigzags of Zuko’s arc, and Azula’s anatagonistic omnipresence

The rest of it, myeah... while it’s more focused on a through line plot, it feels a bit monotone until The Library and eventually The Guru and Crossroads

Zuko Alone might be the GOAT episode. It’s not my favourite but DAMN it is firing on all cylinders!!!

I also like Bitter Work a lot. Gotta eat up more Parallels Episodes, babes!

The “Brainwashing” / Sleeper Agents thing feels OP. I get ya need an antagonistic force different to the Fire Nation but myeahhh... not convincing me

But yeah, then there’s Zuko’s continued character thread with the Angst Coma and the dreams and then the REALLY WEIRD turn of him being all smiley and optimistic. It always felt really fake and non-Zuko-esque to me, but I can ‘get’ that given he’s trying hard to shift gears from the status quo of before, overcompensating in the process. What’s odder still is that Iroh doesn’t seem to question it...

Like, sure, he wants to settle down and Tea Shop it up, but even if he could get Zuko to stop pining for the position in the Royal Family, does he honestly believe a day of fever dreams will have had such a profound effect last longer than a few days of re-settling? Zuko’s actions feel like someone having decided to turn their entire life around starting tomorrow and then swiftly burning out as change is a slow and gradual process in reality, and shouldn’t be forced.

So what I think is going on is Iroh himself having become blinded by what he wants, rather than a more realistic outcome. And that could be fab gear writing! A reminder that Iroh too is not immune to bias and oversights, and is indeed a human who sometimes Dun Goofs. If it is what’s intended rather than lazier writing lol

Also yeah, Zuko’s almost- side switching, I’ll save that for later ;3

Book 3 is both a high point but again there’s some episodes that are pretty lame or have less to offer, but I feel more forgiving of this one as sooo much juicy Plot stuff actually unfolds~

Again it takes the Main Plot stepping up for the quality to rise with the Day of Black Sun, and then the episodes after all feature the long-awaited Redeemed Zuko, and those times ae Gooooooood

The stupidest moment I have to complain about though, in the DoBS, is when Azula “proves” she’s an expert liar by... saying she’s a giant purple bear thing? That’s not lying, it’s absurdism, and it’s incredibly easy to say dumb shit like that without any “lying tells” that polygraphs or Toph look for (keep in mind that irl Polygraphs actually suck, they’re a Stress detector but lying doesn’t always stress liars out... LIKE AZULA, but even the biggest ball of anxiety could say “Yeah I’m Barney the Dinosaur” without triggering anything. GRAAAAAGH)

Back on track, my only complaint with Zuko joining so late is that I want mooooore, all the eps with the ‘field trips’ are such fun AND such Character Building

Ember Island Players was a great ep, though I don’t need to see the closing scene used to draw comparisons to the live action movie any more. It’s been like 500 times.

I DON’T THINK AANG SHOULD HAVE KILLED OZAI

That would be proving Ozai’s point that Might makes Right, which of course is WRONG

The show has been leading up to non-lethal ethos

Taking Ozai’s bending is a good out.

BUT. Holy shit they fumbled the ball bad

Energybending has ZERO build up or allusions even when there were chances to sneak it in, like The Library or The Guru

Commenting on a picture of a Lion Turtle and having Lion Turtle background sculptures DOESN’T CUT IT

Because that is ALL we get!!

At least have the Lion Turtle picture say “They’re so ancient they’re rumoured to pre-date Bending” or something to hook interest in

And the Guru coulda been a great way to drop the 5th Element lore in

But they waste all chances they had to set it up despite claiming they knew from the beginning that there would be a peaceful out

The Rock unblocking Aang’s chakra is also pretty bad, but I’m more inclined to forgive a moment of luck if the Energybending wasn’t so bogus

But it could be improved if Aang like, deliberately earthbent the Rock and then used it as acupressure

Both the Energybending and Convenient Rock make Aang’s victory feel less earned, which is a huge shame as we’ve seen him actually try soooo much. But alas, that last hurdle and they resort to lazy ass writing

The lst Agni Kai rules though. It’s beautiful and tragic, showing how much Zuko has grown and Azula fell. And Katara’s finishing the fight so effectively is bodacious and actually feels really smart~

WHERE IS IROH AT THE CORONATION??!?!

The end is a cute scene that is then strangled by the Red String lol, but damn, what a cool ass show

 Characters:

Aang: He’s a cute protagonist, I’ve always liked the Cheerful and Highly Powerful archetype (cough cough Son Goku), though Aang is also heavily defined by his childishness, both a strength and a flaw. As much as I enjoy him, unfortunately I think he got a bit of the short end of the stick writing-wise, he can feel a bit Flat and, worse, like Bryke’s Pet. They lean too hard on letting him get what he wants, and we miss out of the development that coulda followed if the story didn’t twist itself to give him outs. Not unlocking his Chakras properly for selfish reasons should be punished. Finding an alternative to Murder should have had him Proactive. Not getting the Girl would have been a lot more realistic...! See the Shipping section for the latter...

Zuko: Holy rigatoni, man. Zuko is the bar by which Enemies to Friends, Redemption Arcs, Anti-Villains AND Anti-Heroes are all measured. His character has so much incredible nuance!! And yeah, maybe I too am weak to the dark and handsome and yet dorky type’a fella ;3c - I’m in the kinda situation right now where I find it hard to actually phrase everything I dig about him, but that’s from having too many thoughts and they all get crammed in the doorway between my brain and ability to type lmaooo

Katara: This girl is another high water mark (pun unintended) for how to Female Character. She’s the designated Mom of the team, but she ain’t defined by it, also being one’a the most capable fighters, having a hot temper and even a mean streak. It would really suck if she had just been written primarily to Love Interest (as the early drafts seem to imply...), but in the show, she has her own agency and goals that compliment the main quest, and she manages to be both a stable grounding force while having plenty of growth of her own.

Sokka: Again, I really wonder how it woulda turned out if the original plan had been followed; in Sokka’s case he was s’pposed to be the serious, stiffer contrast to Zany Playful Aang and Wide-Eyed Idealist Katara. But his VA is very naturally Funny, and so Sokka as we know him is a bodacious blend of Wacky yet also Level Headed. It’s an odd blend and many have tried and failed to replicate this delicate balance, but Sokka does indeed feel like a real person who seamlessly switches between being the group’s eccentric and also the one making all the plans.

Toph: ANOTHER amazing W for Girl Characters, Toph is such a delight and welcome shaking-up of the existing dynamics. She’s pretty consistently one of the most amusing and Real of the crew, while hilariously OP without it feeling cheap. It’s so weird to think she wasn’t in Book 1 at all, cause once she joins you sure as hell can’t imagine her being absent.

Iroh: Everybody loves this dude, and they’re right! What can I say about him that ain’t already been covered?? Maybe just that I do like that, as wise and benevolent as he is, there are still times where he’s allowed to be wrong or short sighted (see: my previous ramblings about Zuko’s very-un-Zuko behaviour), cause it allows him to feel more Real, and Human. That he’s speaking from experience and not from reading the script. That’s dope, man.

Azula: This is hard... I feel Azula is a massively polarising character, many people enjoy her but there’s too many people who either want to pretend she didn’t do horrible things, too many people who forget she’s also a victim, AND too many people who are just blindly like ‘woo, yeah! What a #Girlboss! Azula’s so cool and automatically wins at whatever”. Like, she’s one of the more nuanced characters but the surface level is indeed of hyper competence, it’s what’s below that veneer which is interesting. I kinda feel like more people oughta talk about the moment where she looks pleased, almost triumphant at Zuko being maimed...

And the rest: Oh god, I can’t talk about every semi-developed character as there’s a lot. Sorry Suki. You’re cool too! But most characters who appear in more that one episode see to be written pretty good, again, like People, rather than just plot devices in human skin. I like that.

...

Shipping:

lol. I think the BEST route would have been to not ‘canonise’ any ships of the ragtag group of kids and teenagers. Alas, we don’t live in that timeline and have dumb ass wars over it. Anyway, here’s my hot take:

Kaatang, while foreshadowed early on from Aang’s side, is a really lame route as Katara seems to have to loose her actual personality for it to work. Also, it jars with Aang’s role as both Avatar (while they’re allowed to Get Freaky, he was s’posed to be able to detach from Earthly attachments to gain the Avatar Powers), and as a totally-not-Buddist Monk, who are NOT allowed to get bizzay. So Aang too loses insteresting notions of Duty and being able to Mature cause he just gets what he wants without having to try. Lame.

Katara doesn’t have many moments where she even looks at Aang as something other than a Friend / Little Brother / Son?? type figure, there’s only brief moments where there is potential moments from her side, and they are far between and seldom deeper than her chemistry with the likes of Jet and Haru. The most I can speak for is the Day of Black Sun, where she’s taken aback by Aang planting one on her, but when he directly and Un-Classy-ly brings it back up in the Ember Island Players, she is quite rightly reserved and when he kisses her again without warning she’s angry! And that’s never resolved!! They just Mandatory Ship them together in the end because Bryke are biased and soooo intent of having their ship even though the writing hasn’t sufficiently built up to it. I don’t dig this, baby!

Maiko is also badly written and the comics make Mai unlikable. [slow sarcastic clapping]

So the ships I do like are:

Zutura - THEMATIC PERFECTION and not because of the red and blue, fire and water juxtaposition, but because Katara and Zuko are fundamentally so similar but coming from opposite sides and thus approaches. Both so kind at their cores but quick to anger or do something stupid on impulse, both so affected by the loss of their mothers and family-motivated. The fake out in Crossroads introduces a fascinating extra crease to their interactions that lasts, and the finale?? HELLO?!?! That’s legit one’a the most compelling Ship Fuel moments ever, baybeee! Other serieses would knaw off their own leg for material that rich!

Also yes, the red/blue, sun/moon, fire/water, and that they are pretty together lol. But still, there’s more in how they are a fantastic combo when on the same side, and also the meta reality that several writers and their own Voice Actors ship it. And they’re right to!

Zukka - The new darling of the fandom and while it doesn’t have as much going for it, I can see it. At it’s worst it feels like people desperately trying to rationalise the red/blue guys from Failtron Legendary Idiot Space Show, but when people who actually care about the characters here in ATLA and draw on their parallels and interactions I find myself enjoying it. Zuko goes well with the Water siblings I guess haha

Sukka - I don’t have much to say, I just like it lol

Also in the past I liked Zukaang but now I wanna redefine it as them being allowed to be Buddies and close friends and teammates, like what the Blue Spirit ep teased at but then didn’t really follow up on outside The Firebending Masters. I want more!! MOOOOORE!!!

...

But man this post is obnoxious and long enough already lol, thanks if ya endured it all~

#I don't think I'll be tagging this for the fandom to stumble across lol #Pre-Rewatch scrawlings

[justanotherthrowaway1950]

Why Katara Healing Zuko's Scar Would Haven't Changed Anything

A popular sentiment among fans of ATLA is that if Katara used the spirit oasis water to heal Zuko’s scar, when faced with Azula’s choice to either join the Gaang or join her, and thus go home with full honors, Zuko would have joined the Gaang out of a mix of gratitude and realizing that any group willing to heal their enemy out of compassion is better than a fraction led by someone willing to burn his son’s face for standing up for soldiers.

However, I disagree, since for Zuko's transformation to be completed he needed to go back, with knowledge of the war, Iroh's love, and the weight of his experiences on his shoulders, so he could realize that Ozai and Azula where abusive, and therefore could never love him, at least in Ozai's case.

Moreover, he needed to go back so he could realize that that power and pleasure that the Fire Nation’s elite had thanks to the war was not worth all the pain and suffering that resulted from the Fire Nation’s war of conquest and genocide. 

All so he could reject the war, not because he had no way home, but because it was the right thing to do.

This is because Zuko's biggest scar was not on his face, but in his heart, caused by his family and indoctrination. 

And despite having shaken most of his indoctrination off due to three years spent as a banished prince, and his months as a Fire Nation fugitive forcing him to interact with Earth Kingdom commoners as a peasant, thus causing him to recognize their humanity, the scar left by his abusive family hadn’t healed.

For when Zuko woke up from his spiritual coma and seemingly embraced Iroh as his surrogate father, it wasn’t because he realized that Ozai was a jackass who would only approve of him if he proved to be a powerful bender willing to abandon all of his morals in favor of Ozai’s. 

Or that he realized that Azula would only ever respect and love him if he molded himself to Ozai’s desires, like she had thanks to every decent adult in their family abandoning her to Ozai’s influence, or being powerless to counteract it.

No, it was because Zuko had come to accept that there was no way he would ever be able to capture the Avatar with the lack of resources he had as a fugitive refugee, and therefore accepted his new life as Lee since there was no way he could ever restore his honor in Ozai’s eyes as far as he knew.

Hence, why he chose to join Azula, despite knowing the morally right thing to do, for despite (rightfully) mistrusting Azula, Azula offered him everything that he still desired: her and Ozai’s approval and “love”, as well as the right to go back home as Ozai’s heir. 

And why, If anything, Katara healing him might have led Zuko to never defect.

For Zuko has the emotional IQ of a rock, and so, without having a constant remainder of his father's "love" on his face that also was a constant remainder of the Fire Nation’s barbarism, he likely never would had the realization he had on The Beach on why he was so angry when he came back.

So conclude, as much as fans wish Zuko would have joined the Gaang if Katara healed his scar, I think he would have still joined Azula. 

For the biggest remaining rockblock to his redemption was not his indoctrination, or lack of interaction with nationals from the other nations without his royal status, but instead the fact that he hadn’t realized that his remaining nuclear family would never accept him unless he proved himself to be a powerful bender that had no morals except those in service of conquest and genocide. 

And that without going home, with his facial scarring intact, he would have never realized that his remaining nuclear family was not worth standing by, and therefore would have never joined the Gaang, condemning the world, even if Aang didn’t get killed by Azula’s lightning with no spirit oasis water to revive him.

#zuko #azula #iroh #ozai #katara #aang #the gaang #crossroads of destiny #zuko meta #justanotherthrowaway1950meta

[aether-link]

I’m being THAT person rn because it bothers me lmao. VENT POST BTW.

Steam usage is a fire benders trait. It’s not actually a water benders trait.

“Are you fucking stupid you shit head?!” You say kindly <3

No, because my defence. There are 4 people we see using steam, Zuko, Iroh, Roku and Sozin. Zuko is first seen using it to get himself free from Katara’s ice in the northern siege, blowing the steam out of his nose. The 2nd time is from Iroh. When Iroh was taken hostage by earth kingdom guards, he makes a commotion before blowing steam out his nose onto the cuffs he wears. The 3rd time we see steam usage is when avatar Roku trying to cool down the volcano by using a steam release to reduce pressure. The 4th user soon after Roku in the same episode also doing the same is Sozin, also using a similar technique to help reduce pressure from the volcano.

What do they all have in common?

Their all fire benders.

-

Well then what about the water, dipshit?! Another person asks nicely <3

From what we see from water benders is fog, haze or mist. A water benders trait. These usages reflect from real world things. Like how we see in cold early mornings from a hot morning sun on large body’s of water. The heat and sudden cold creates heavy Vapor or fog or mist or a haze due to vaporisation.

Even swamp benders, another water user type mention fog. Even Wan Shi Tong says himself that he knows the same style.

If steam was a water benders style, imagine how horrific and painful being caught in that “fog”. Imagine the episode where Aang wakes back up from being in a coma, Katara having to use a heavy fog to go under cover, image that fog BEING BOILING HOT AS STEAM. She could possibly burn herself and others on the same boat alive… steam isn’t a joke. Steam is dangerous just as much as fire. It’s a terrible burning feeling if you’ve ever been burnt by it, but hey, what do I know? I’m just a random right? (Yes, I have been burnt by it. It fucking sucks. It’s painful af.) Just yeah, steam has a burning trait. It makes more sense as a fire benders trait.

-

Yes I know of fanarts and such. I’m ok with it, I genuinely love seeing peoples creations and them having fun. It’s just I wish people what take note to on details on what the show, shows us. Attention to detail. It’s just sometimes the fandom things make no sense to me at all and seeing a mass following on the bandwagon… it just feels weird. I do apologise for venting and what I say, I just wanted to share my thoughts on what I’ve picked up from watching the show many of times and from studying Zuko for something to do. Once again, I apologise if this offends anyone.

In my house, steam is a fire benders skill tree. Not water. And no one can’t and can not change my mind.

#i will be muting this post and making it non reblog able #BuT iVe WaTcHeD tHe ShOw!! then what did YOU watch?? #was Zuko blowing out wide water out his nose in your show that you’ve watched?? or was it confetti?? #anyways. hating on main? yes. it’s more likely then you think. #don’t like it? PLEASE BLOCK ME. SERIOUSLY PLEASE. #ITS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD AND ONLINE EXPERIENCE. #PLEASE HAVE FUN. PLEASE KEEP MAKING STEAM BABIES ART THINGS. THEY ARE NICE!!! #i just live in my own delulu world that reflects on science 😭😭😭 #SHUT UP LIIINNNK

[bard-llama]

ATLA WiP List

I'm procrastinating on my final task before my time off for the holidays like an idiot and searching for my inspiration, so figured I'd do a review of all my WiPs. This will be long, but I'm just gonna do the ones that are gen and completely unpublished, though I know a lot of my published ones are WiPs too.

Unpublished Gen Fics

Agni's Little Flame - Agni's POV of being fond of Zuko's spark and showing their displeasure with Ozai

Unyielding - short lil piece about Zuko never giving up without a fight

Zuko collects strays - like, 2 paragraphs of Fire Lord Zuko training at a public park in the FN and people finding that endearing

Zuko adapts other bending techniques - after accidentally using an airbending move, Zuko studies other bending disciplines to see what he can steal.

Fire Control - short piece on how it actually probably takes a lot of control for Zuko to keep his fire from burning wild like Zhao's does

Nightmares - at the Western Air Temple, Katara discovers Zuko having nightmares. She struggles with both her hatred and her compassion each night as she hears him cry out.

Good at Bending - the Gaang to finds out that Zuko's considered kinda bad at bending. They do not agree.

Healing Fire - Zuko doesn't think his fire is anything special. He can't heal, it's just that heat is very soothing for injuries and such. Then, when Iroh gets hit by Azula, his healing is needed to save Uncle's life. The Gaang has some questions.

Sibling Rulers - end goal is for Azula and Zuko to rule the Fire Nation side by side. Zuko's the one that approaches her about the possibility.

Azula and her brother - Basically an Azula study about her relationship with her brother

Zuko breathing fire - Zuko's crew doesn't really like him much, but they gotta admit - him breathing fire in Zhao's face was awesome. The way he continued to flaunt his power was less awesome, and they were not afraid to tell him. So Zuko tries to hold in the fire that wants to naturally come with his breath and ends up burning himself.

Katara hating on Zuko - Katara is completely justified in not trusting Zuko. Being justified doesn’t mean she can’t put her foot in it, though. And it turns out, she doesn’t actually know much about this boy who chased them across the world.

Viva la Resistance - after Zhao steals Zuko's crew, they start to sow the seeds of dissent throughout the fleet

Aang in the Iceberg: Dreams - in Zuko's dreams, he goes to a world that is empty aside from Aang. But Aang's not real. Right?

Aang in the Iceberg: Angst Coma Time Travel - when Zuko goes into his angst coma in s2, he ends up in a weird icy place that has no exit - but does have the Avatar. Only it's the Avatar while he was frozen for 100 years.

Punishment - the first night that Zuko is with the Gaang after Combustion Man's attack, Zuko prepares himself for punishment. The Gaang is horrified at all the implications of that.

Zuko's Odyssey - pre-canon, Zuko ventures across the Western Ocean. AKA a mashup of atla and The Odyssey.

Muzzled - drabble of the Gaang's horror at discovering that Zhao welded a muzzle to Zuko's face after capturing him

The Long Road to Recovery - When the Avatar’s group refuses to let Zuko join them, Zuko goes back to Ba Sing Se, looking for his Uncle. Instead, he gets captured and tortured and somehow has to figure out how to survive and recover.

Trusted with a weapon - Zuko reflecting on trust and how he doesn't deserve it - and yet, when Suki invites him to spar, he discovers that they trust him enough to let him wield a weapon.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words - Zuko knows he needs to do more to apologize than just say he's sorry. He tailors each apology to the specific person he wronged, starting with Toph. She is delighted by his gifts of materials that have unique properties so she can play with bending them.

Spontaneous Combustion - while living in Ba Sing Se, Zuko uncovers a mystery when a young girl he managed to save from burning to death after bursting into flame doesn't even know that she's a firebender.

Early S3 AU - After hearing his Father's plan to burn down the Earth Kingdom, Zuko panics. He finds an excuse to leave the palace because he knows his face will give him away - and ends up touring Fire Fountain City at the same time the Gaang happens to be there fighting Combustion Man.

Toph and Zuko Bonding - okay, this is SUPPOSED to be lava siblings goodness, but then I decided it should be a pre-canon au where they meet as little kids and so far, it's mostly just Ozai's POV of being annoyed that his useless son can't even befriend someone worthwhile.

Choosing Nonviolence: Aang sees Zuko's scars - The evidence of all the ways Ozai has hurt Zuko challenges Aang's vows every day. But he believes in nonviolence and Ozai is not worth breaking his vows. Unfortunately, all Zuko hears is the refusal to kill his abuser.

Choosing Nonviolence: What Is Forgiveness? - set in the Southern Raiders, Zuko asks Aang how he will deal with Ozai, and Aang vows not to kill him. Zuko lashes out, hurt, and Aang reflects on how the world doesn't understand what it means to be an Air Nomad.

Truth Serum - set during The Chase, some weird pollen interrupts their fight with Azula, making them all sneeze and feel woozy. Turns out, the pollen makes them tell the truth. Which mostly turns into the fire siblings fighting each other, much to the Gaang's bemusement.

De-aged Zuko - mid-s1, Zuko gets cursed by a spirit. The Gaang is not expecting to be faced with a literal child - one who is curious about Aang, who doesn't move like any bender he's ever seen.

Flower Language - after Zuko joins him, Aang tries to give Zuko a friendship offering. And okay, maybe that meant playing with flowers when he was supposed to be training - but it's still not okay when Zuko burns the offering. Zuko has no idea how badly he screwed up until The Duke lets him in on flower language.

The Duke Learns to Read - The Duke asks Zuko to teach him how to read.

Mission Fic - Zuko and Aang both get grabbed by human traffickers during season 1. They're forced to work together with each other and the other victims to escape.

Zuko becomes Fire Lord at 13 AU - Zuko fights in the Agni Kai against his Father. This manages to change everything.

Toph joins s1 - the Gaang hits up Gaoling after Omashu and acquires Toph. If Zuko thought the Avatar was hard to fight before, it's nothing compared to now when they have a master earthbender. When they're surrounded, Iroh surrenders, much to Zuko discontent. Which means they then have time to actually talk.

Body Swap - in Ba Sing Se, Aang wakes up in Zuko's body. His day only manages to get worse from there.

Gifts - the Gaang discovers it's Aang's bday before the comet. Each culture has a different way of observing birthdays.

Katara POV of Zuko tortured by Fire Lord - what it sounds like. In an AU where everything went wrong and they were all captured by the Fire Nation before Katara came to trust Zuko, Katara feels guilty about doubting Zuko when she hears the way his own father tortures him. They have to figure out how to escape.

Ozai finds out Zuko joined the Avatar - Ozai's POV of discovering his worthless son not only joined the Avatar, but is now inciting civil unrest with his proclaimed right to the throne.

Kanna - Gran Gran's POV of rendering judgement on Zuko post-canon. When her grandkids bring home the guy who manhandled her and crashed into their village and call him brother, she gets a little ticked.

Apparently that's the max that can fit in one block, so we're restarting the count.

Gyatso runs away with Aang - when the council tries to take his child from him, Gyatso catches Aang's gasp and goes to him before he can run away. They decide to escape together, but a storm makes things difficult and then they wake up to two young Water Tribesmen.

Dad Convo - Zuko asks Hakoda what he would do if Sokka showed him disrespect.

Shaking it up down South - The Southern Water Tribes may not be as strict as the North Pole about the roles men and women should play – but there are still rules about it. The men protect the tribe and the women care for it. That’s just the way it’s supposed to be. So imagine their surprise when they learn that the Southern Water Tribes were actually founded by two women… one of whom became the first Chief.

Something to Live For - When your whole world is pain, having a goal to drive you forward is a necessity of survival. So when Zuko wakes up after the Agni Kai, he needs something to live for – and he finds that in the Avatar, pinning all his hopes on them.

Earthbender Zuko - don't have a lot for this one, but I wanted to try the trope. Zuko can use fire and earth and he doesn't understand why, but it's why he starts researching the Avatar. His father sending him after the Avatar is a slap in the face, because he knows it's an impossible task. He decides to rebel against his father and go find a teacher.

Avatar Zuko - okay, I don't really have anything for this one, but I do wanna do the trope.

Getting Zuko to Sleep - the Gaang has figured out a strategy for how to get Zuko to sleep. It involves cuddling. (Usually. Sometimes Toph is less nice when pinning him down.)

Keeping the Avatar Alive - after accidentally getting the Avatar killed in Ba Sing Se, Zuko knows he fucked up. So when he joins the Gaang, he devotes himself to protecting the Avatar. Possibly slightly obsessively.

Avatar Gossip - in the spirit world, the other Avatars gossip with each other about Aang and the events of canon.

Self-Harming Zuko - Zuko is perhaps a little overly reckless and careless when fighting with his swords (but never with fire. He takes fire very seriously). He doesn't understand why, but every injury he gets while out as the Blue Spirit feels deserved.

Haunted Toy - once, Lu Ten had gifted his little cousin with a toy crow. Somehow, when he dies, he ends up haunting that crow - and only Zuko can hear him.

Animal Transformation: Zuko is a finch-hawk - Zuko wakes up in the wrong body with a broken wing and a too-compassionate Gaang, who are taking care of the injured bird they found.

Time Travel Zuko 2: Electric Boogaloo - During s1, Zuko's chase after Aang is interrupted by the appearance of his future self, who came back to tell him that getting burned was not his fault. He doesn't know what to think.

Toph and Zuko’s Life-Changing Field Trip - when Toph gets an invite from her parents that coincides with the next Earth Rumble, she decides it's her turn for a Field Trip with Zuko and they go to Gaoling together. Only it turns out, Toph's parents actually invited her because they are trying to negotiate her marriage. Neither her parents nor the bachelor's vying for her hand are prepared for the Toph Beifong that slams through the doors, dressed like a prizefighter and with the Fire Lord in tow.

Dress Up - post-canon, the Gaang is hanging out in the Fire Palace when an absent complaint turns into a fun dress up session, made better by the fact that the royal tailors gave them all custom wardrobes (that they've never worn, because they were in the rooms they never stayed in bc they stayed with Zuko).

Nerd Lords - While in Ba Sing Se, Zuko sneaks into the Royal Library. There, he happens to get caught by Kuei, the High King of the entire Earth Kingdom. Kuei just smiles and asks what he's reading. So begins an unlikely friendship.

Fight Club - While traveling across the Earth Kingdom, one of the only things that helps Zuko stay sane is the underground fight rings he joins. He knows Uncle disapproves, but usually, they don't talk about it.

Instinctive Bending - The standard bending forms have always felt a little uncomfortable to Zuko. The movement is not natural for him - but when he does what's natural, his tutors criticize him. On the rare occasion he is able to not worry about getting it right, but just doing it, his fire is decently strong. But when he tries to do it right, it just never works. Maybe the rigid forms of advanced firebending just aren't meant for him.

Southern Water Tribe – why are there so many more men than women? - this one was born out of my mistake with calculating the size of the Southern Water Tribe fleet (I say 200) in comparison to the Southern Water Tribe village (around 30). So like... what happened? When Sokka is reunited with his Dad, he has to be the one to tell them.

Drugged Zuko Rescue - Zuko gets captured by the Dai Li and Iroh goes to Aang and Sokka for help. Drugged to high hell and pretty sure he's hallucinating, Zuko does not appreciate being rescued by his enemies.

Bad (?) Reputation - this came from the question of what Zuko's reputation would actually be like if he sorta helped out villages he came through and stuff. Like, he would come through and root out corruption Blue Spirit style, and a lot of people in port towns hope that Prince Zuko will visit them and take out their asshole bosses/nobles/whatever

Silence - Aang does not do well with silence. When he's silent, then that means there's nothing to distract from his thoughts.

Hidden Communities - AKA all the not-really-extinct groups hide out together. The whole Gaang goes to the Sun Warriors' Island and discover not only living Sun Warriors and dragons, but sky bison and descendents of Air Nomads.

Jeong Jeong - post-war, Jeong Jeong returns to the Fire Nation and tries to figure out this new Fire Lord, who Iroh and even the Avatar believe in so deeply.

Gyatso adopting Aang - Gyatso's POV of how most Air Nomads choose to take on students and he was always seen as odd for not doing so, but none of them felt right - not until the nuns brought a little boy who laughed with the wind, and Gyatso just knew. It's not because he's the Avatar - it's because he's Aang.

Crooked World - Zuko knows that the world isn't like it is in his scrolls. In those stories, sons aren't disappointments to their fathers. In those stories, right and wrong are so clear. Reality isn't like that, not for him.

Time Loop/Loop Zoop - when Zuko's ship blows up, he abruptly wakes up the previous morning and he can't figure out why, but it keeps happening. No matter what he does, his ship blows up with him on it and he wakes up that morning again. But it turns out that the Avatar he chases may be the key to breaking the cycle.

Southern Water Tribe Mixed Children - some years post-war, the Gaang is at an Earth Kingdom port when they run into a Southern Water Tribesman that Sokka and Katara thought had died in the war. A tribesman who married an Earth Kingdom woman and had a child. He wants to bring his family back into the tribe, but they know reactions will be mixed.

Brother - Azula is furious that Toph claims to be Zuko's sister when she's the true sister. But blood does not make one family and she's forced to reflect on what she's willing to do to keep her brother in her life.

Aaaaaand got too long again. This is probably a hint that I have too many WiPs. and these are just the unpublished and gen ones

The Truth About the Air Army - Zuko researched the Avatar extensively and it didn't take long for the Air Army to be proven a lie. Now, after the war, it's his responsibility to make the truth as widely known as possible.

Blue Spirit Reveal - after the Ember Island play, Sokka asks Aang about the Blue Spirit. Zuko gets all shifty about it.

Post-canon Iroh and Zuko - Zuko feels guilty for being upset that Uncle just LEFT HIM to rule the entire fucking country on his own. He wants Uncle to be able to enjoy retirement - but it still feels like abandonment.

Jet Redemption - post-war negotiations end up taking place in Gaipan. Aang, Sokka, and Katara only realize this belatedly. When they run into Jet, it's nothing like they expected.

Aang being worthy of power - Zuko reflects on power and how the Avatar is the ultimate power and yet, Aang is a pacifist who uses that power without the intent to harm.

What is balance? - the Gaang at the Western Air Temple talk a little bit about what the Avatar's job actually entails.

Wow, I think that's all! Only 73 😅 at least it's less than 100? for now

Anyway, if any of these are of interest to you, feel free to drop me an ask and I'm happy to share more about them.

#atla #wip list #wips