#I have this idea that Zuko goes to Katara like:

[comradekatara]

Hello, how would you rank the gaang+fire ladies in a best sense of style to worst of sense of style?

oooh fun! wait, is this modern au or not?? just in case, i’ll do both…

toph is the worst, obviously. she has no sense of style whatsoever. she does have her little pom pom opera headband, which is very cute, and honestly her fire nation fit is the cutest one (sorry katara), but i don’t think she actually gives a shit about any of that, she just happens to slay regardless because she can’t not slay. in modern au she mostly wears large shirts and sweatpants and flip flops, and yet somehow she still looks remarkably good “dressed like a slob” (katara’s words) because she is simply beautiful enough to pull it off.

i don’t think zuko has a bad sense of style, i actually think a lot of his outfits are genuinely cute (i esp love his one tank top in book 1 that’s such a look imo), but like toph, he also isn’t really putting effort in, so it’s not so much a “sense of style” as it is in his nature to serve cunt. in modern au he actively tries to spice up his wardrobe (with katara’s help), but then he never actually wears any of the stuff they bought together because he needs his emotional support favorite cardigan and/or black turtleneck. he can pull it off because he looks cute and cozy, but no is mistaking him for an expert in fashion any time soon.

i always wonder how aang found those monk’s robes in book 3, whether he made them himself, and if so, with which fabrics. so in that sense, he’s actually a diy style icon. but in modern au, he literally dresses like roman roy in the finale, walmart boys’ color block t shirt, so i’m docking points even though, again, he does look adorable and it is a Look in its own right. the light up heelys also add or dock points depending on who you ask.

from book 2 onward, sokka has a nice, simple outfit that is a good cut and a good color without being remotely flashy or complicated, and he accessorizes with weapons, which are both practical and spice up his outfit. “like toph, he also doesn’t give a shit about his looks, it’s just a coincidence that he looks good,” one could argue. but i think he knew what he was doing with that sleeveless top. and besides, he was excited by the fact that his bag matched his belt. in modern au, sokka doesn’t give a shit about style until adulthood, because he and katara just focus on their respective domains and thus katara has the monopoly on fashion, but then he starts figuring out his gender and sexuality and the world of fashion opens up for him. that said, his idea of going crazy is like, wearing a couple rings, so he’s still towards the middle bottom of this list.

azula doesn’t really have a sense of personal style, she just wears what she thinks looks best for her circumstances, and since her goal is to intimidate, she happens to slay. but if she was like, a farmer, she would not be bothering with the winged eyeliner and red lipstick and perfect hair, because that is a product of her environment rather than an internally motivated mode of self-expression. so in modern au, she trades shoulder spikes for shoulder pads, and knee high boots for tastefully high heels, but the effect is the same. respect me, fear me, take me seriously in my navy blue blazer.

suki never really gets to pick her own outfits unless you count the fire nation crop top, which is cute but obviously wouldn’t be her first pick in garb. that said, the kyoshi warrior armor obviously goes so hard and she looks great in it, so she’s a style icon just for that. in modern au, she dresses in a way that is deceptively simple but knows that it makes her look really hot to her target demographic (dykes and sokka). she generally just opts for flannel and cargo shorts, but on days where she’s on a mission, she’ll wear a short sleeved loose button up with half the sleeves undone, some necklaces, and no bra. and she’s a hero for that.

mai’s outfit is actually my favorite in the entire show (like, i would wear it), but there’s something kind of cutesy about her hair style that i feel like was probably imposed on her by her mother. like don’t get me wrong, it still looks good on her, but i can’t see her actually caring to maintain something so elaborate without the presence of external pressures. i can picture modern au mai’s sense of style so perfectly, though. soft flared pants, in a silky fabric; turtleneck tank tops; leather jackets: dark peacoats; dyke boots to stomp around in; mostly in various shades of dark red, dark blue, and black. she keeps it simple and classy, and has the freedom to experiment with hair styles more as well. when she’s alone, everyone is envious of her effortlessly chic steez, and yet, when she is with ty lee, everyone’s like “awww it’s cute that ty lee lets that kind of schlubby girl hang around her.”

ty lee puts effort into her appearance for the purposes of attracting specific results. she knows she’s beautiful, of course, but she also wants to be beautiful in a cute way, harmless and inviting. pink is less threatening than red, showing skin makes her seem vulnerable and desirable, her braid is simultaneously perfect and kind of messy. in modern au, ty lee would similarly be attuned to the cultivation of her aesthetic for a similar purpose. she wouldn’t just wear whatever she felt like, but rather would have an extremely curated wardrobe of outfits that all adhere to the same theme of making her look impossibly beautiful but in a cute and harmless way. idk man. there’s something wrong with her, i think, but also that thing might just be patriarchy.

katara is the only character who canonically takes an interest in fashion for the sake of fashion (iirc), and so that immediately elevates her in my opinion. she clearly cares a not insignificant amount about her appearance, and takes pride in looking good (as she should, because she’s beautiful). i love the idea that she got her book 2 outfit in the northern water tribe and was so excited about getting a new fit that she literally wore it the entire season even though it was springtime and she was sweating buckets. she’s so excited about dressing up in ba sing se, or when they steal clothes in the fire nation, or when she gets to take kyoshi’s clothing in “avatar day,” or when she goes to the spa with toph, or when she’s telling aunt wu about her skincare routine. it matters to her! and i think that as she gets older, and more resources are available, she gets to expand and experiment with her wardrobe more, and that’s really fun for her. and in modern au, she’d also love fashion of course, and would have a lot of opinions on how to participate in fashion ethically. her wardrobe would be kind of all over the place because it’s mostly thrifted, but she’d put so much effort into curating an outfit every day before she leaves the house, and she can go weeks if not months without repeating an outfit, not because she has an unlimited wardrobe, but because she’s really clever and thoughtful when it comes to what she pairs together on any given day. and she sometimes makes her own clothing, or modifies thrifted pieces, and that somehow looks great on her too. my point is, she wins in a landslide.

#yourlocalamoeba #asks #the gaang and #modern au #ish #to no one’s surprise the katara section is twice as long as everyone else’s

[fanfic-gremlin-ft-trauma]

something something making an item of betrothal in ur bfs culture

#zukka #zuko x sokka #zukka fanart #atla #atla fanart #I have this idea that Zuko goes to Katara like: #hey I wanna marry ur brother but idk dogsht abt how to make a betrothal necklace help pls #and Sokka goes to Iroh like: #heyyy my good boyfriends uncle #wonderful day we’re having #I wanna propose to ur nephew n ur basically god so can u pls help me make a headpiece #anyways mutual zukka proposals My beloveds #(ik it’s divorced zukka time but aidays is gonna hurt me so I need some fluff before that)

[ecoterrorist-katara]

Zutara, romance novels, and the female gaze

Okay so I’ve been thinking about the female gaze a LOT so I checked out a subreddit about romance novels, despite never having read one. I came across this meme (which was initially a Tumblr post and then got posted to Instagram and then to Reddit and I’m now bringing back to Tumblr — Internet telephone, pls never change):

And…what is The Southern Raiders, if not a platonic grovel? Katara’s pain is central to the episode. It’s central to Zuko. Zuko asks Katara what he can do to make up for his betrayal; she demands the impossible. He reads between the lines, cockblocks her brother to get the necessary information, and then waits outside her door overnight (which he also did for Iroh, the one person we know for sure he loves). He basically makes himself a receptacle for her rage, and he holds space for her by coming with her on her revenge quest and carrying their bags and not saying a damn thing about what she should and should not do beyond like…asking her to rest. And obviously the grovel works! She forgives him and then they’re thick as thieves, bantering and fighting and saving each other’s lives, etc.

On a different note, I’ve been told that enemies to lovers is one of the biggest tropes in romance novels, similar to YA lit and fanfic. Here’s something else I found in the romance novel discourse:

And…yeah. In TSR, Katara really does show Zuko her worst self, because she doesn’t feel the need to perform for him. She doesn’t feel the need to perform moral perfection OR cold blooded vengeance. She bloodbends in front of him and he just goes with it. She doesn’t kill Yon Rha and he just goes with it. He doesn’t treat her any differently afterwards. Maybe they talk about it off screen, but I kind of like the idea that they don’t, because Katara doesn’t need to explain anything. And it’s so interesting, because some people in the ATLA fandom have a totally different read on TSR. They think Zuko was encouraging Katara to get revenge (by what, keeping his mouth shut?), and that Aang is the one who acts as her moral compass. I believe that either Bryan or Mike said in the DVD commentary that Aang is the angel on her shoulder the entire time. And this interpretation does make sense if you see it from the male gaze, where Katara as an object of affection is acting in an angry, irrational, threatening way. But if you see it from the female gaze, you recognize that actually it’s probably the most emotionally taxing experience Katara has to go through, and she doesn’t owe it to be nice or perfect to anybody. Katara’s formative trauma literally comes to a head, and she has to make a decision — no, a discovery — about who she is in relation to the tragedy that defines her life and even her identity (as a waterbender, as a parentified child who becomes the mom friend, as a genocide victim), and she’s accompanied by someone who trusts her judgement and validates her feelings.

I’m not saying TSR is explicitly romantically coded, but when it conforms so well to romance novel tropes…is it any wonder that so many people thought “yes this is her man?” And then he takes lightning in the heart for her and reaches for her when he’s literally dying, I will never be normal about that either

#Zutara #Katara #Zuko #the southern raiders #Pro zutara #anti Bryke #I guess #I swear I’m not a Bryke anti but I feel like they just don’t get #The female gaze #and the fact that Zutara is so female gaze is kind of an accident and I find that fascinating #atla fandom critical #The southern raiders turned me into a Zutara shipper #one ep away from the finale #Zutara meta #My meta

[bythepen98]

@zutaramonth Day 3: After all these years ||

I just love the idea of them learning to dance together and being so very cute and awkward about it at first 🥺💕.

Brief backstory:

Although they were busy preparing for the war, they still needed time to have fun and de-stress so a small feast with music and dancing seemed like a good idea. Zuko and Katara were pushed to spend time together by the rest of the Gaang because they've had enough of the weird distance between the two, brought by brewing feelings that both weren't sure about acknowledging yet. At this point, they've already resolved most of their issues and were on track to becoming really good friends until the 'complication' happened.

Feelings can be ass sometimes fr.

Somehow, what started as a one time, peer pressured, clumsy bonding attempt between two hyperaware-of-each-other teenagers ended up lasting longer than expected. Excuses would be made to continue dancing together because once the initial awkwardness has passed, they found that it was actually quite relaxing (especially for two usually hot headed people) just going through the motions and communicating with looks and gentle touches what they had zero courage to say out loud. Both were also restless and couldn't always spend their hours training so dancing felt like fair game. A very pleasant and completely platonic way of passing the time with a good friend, or at least that's what they told themselves.

Then the war ended, feelings were finally acknowledged and returned now that there was enough time to reflect and actually do something about it and time continued to pass. No matter the changes and busy schedules that came with adulthood and bearing the responsibilities of ruling/helping rule a nation, some things remained constant. Though they never broadcasted it, the Gaang knew that Katara and Zuko would sometimes be found at night just swaying in each other's arms while they quietly talked about their day. It became a tradition - their way to bond and reconnect after a busy day. It was also muscle memory at this point and something they would naturally drift to doing when the opportunity arose. If they weren't training, lounging and drinking tea or walking arm in arm along the courtyard for a stroll, they'd be dancing.

Ofc the dances varied. Most of the time it was simple, intimate, and didn't require much energy. It was during festivals and other special events where they'd let loose and swap partners with their friends. They definitely would've taught each other's traditional dances too. Most of the time they stuck to couple dances though.

The two would then make it to their golden years surrounded by friends and family. In this au, Aang, Sokka and Suki are definitely still alive and kicking and they, together with Toph, would reminisc about the good old days and pat themselves in the back for helping get Zuko and Katara together. They would've gotten together eventually anyway but the Gaang just sped up the process and the credit for starting the whole dancing tradition goes to them. Aang isn't afraid to admit that he and whoever he married in this au also partake in said tradition; Sokka and Suki would do so every now and then but they much prefer exchanging swords as their love language; Toph is indifferent and much prefers just sitting back and letting them enjoy themselves.

This is way over due but I'm glad I was able to finish it. Will sadly be the only prompt I'll be able to do for zutara month bc life threw a wrench and made me too busy, though I'm still interested in making the other prompts at a later date. /N

#zutara month 2023 #day 3 #after all these years #zutara #zutara fanart #zuko x katara #zuko fanart #katara fanart #atla #avatar the last airbender #not a writer but I couldn't help including a very brief background that popped while drawing this

[theotterpenguin]

the performative accusation that shipping zutara (and occasionally this criticism is levied at jinko/zukka) is colonialist apologism has been addressed in some excellent posts, explaining the inaccuracies and problematic implications of this logic far better than i ever could - like this post and this one and this one and this one and this one.

and i know this topic has been talked about to death, but if you could indulge my contribution for a moment, i just find it interesting how this sentiment results from the cognitive dissonance of atla fans being unable to reconcile with the idea of their favorite show's political beliefs not lining up with their own.

atla is a largely philosophical children's show that at its core deals with themes of love, redemption, and destiny vs. free-will. atla examines these themes through an anti-colonalist, anti-imperalist lens that deconstructs the idea of racial divisiveness and the idea that people of different ethnicities are inherently different. this is message is pretty explicitly stated by guru pathik:

Guru Pathik: "The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same." Aang: "Like the four nations?" Guru Pathik: "Yes. We are all one people. But we live as if divided."

and also by uncle iroh:

"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements and the other nations will help you become whole."

this theme is developed across three full seasons, with the crux of this message culminating in zuko's friendships with the gaang - despite coming from different nationalities and different backgrounds, they have all had their own experiences being hurt by the fire nation and work together to take down the oppressive fire nation government. the question of destiny vs. free will is also explored through zuko's character - despite starting off as an antagonist, he develops into a symbolic representation of how the fire nation's oppression hurts its own citizens. he unlearns the fire nation's imperialist propaganda while simultaneously unlearning his father's abuse. rather than following misguided beliefs of what he thought his destiny was as the heir to the throne, instead he forges his own path.

thus, to claim that zuko can never form a deep and meaningful relationship with any of the gaang because of his nationality goes unequivocally against the themes of the show. and a major part of this is because these are fictional characters being used to analyze different theoretical questions within the show and in some cases, are used as symbolic representations of different philosophical ideas - their friendships and their character arcs serve a purpose within the text that cannot be easily transcribed onto real-life dynamics between people.

it's illogical to criticize fans who are choosing to understand atla at the level of the themes that are presented by the text - who are interested in exploring similar philosophical questions brought up by the show through the context of relationships.

if you don't like the themes of forgiveness and redemption that atla explores, your criticism should be aimed at the writing of the show itself rather than other fans. because you are giving far more thought to the "implications" of a close friendship or romantic relationship between someone from an imperalist nation and someone from an oppressed nation than the writers ever did. (and if you fall in this camp of people, i would hope you wouldn't be reblogging fanart of zuko and the gaang together while simultaneously claiming zuko could can never escape the sins of his ancestors and can never form a deep relationship based on trust and intimacy with katara or sokka or jin - because that would just be hypocritical).

and as a side note, people seem to apply this flawed logic to zutara far more than other ships solely because the show spends the most time exploring the complicated nature of fire nation imperalism in the interactions between zuko and katara in the latter half of b3. this is because they've been juxtapositioned against each other and paralleled with aang since the beginning of the show in ways that toph, sokka, and suki are not, who have mostly been used to examine different themes. there simply isn't enough time to explore these complicated themes with all the other characters, even if they theoretically exist in zuko’s dynamics with these characters, so the writers focus the most on zuko's relationships with katara and aang, and these relationships are given far more narrative weight, so have more content to criticize. but zuko and katara also canonically become friends by the end of the show. if you want to discount the existence of their friendship, claiming that it will always be tainted by the fire nation's oppression regardless of what is shown in the text, then you also have to discount zuko's friendships with aang, suki, toph, and sokka - because even if this isn't shown as a permanent barrier to their friendships in the show, it’s also not shown as a permanent barrier to his friendship with katara. if your logic is solely based on the idea that a person's identity in a relationship as a colonizer or a victim is fixed and unchanging regardless of character development, this would apply to zuko's friendships with everyone else as well.

#zuko #katara #zutara #i have seen people say that the zutara dynamic makes them personally uncomfortable and that's fine - to each their own! #but it's hypocritical to only dislike zuko's relationship with katara while simultaneously exalting his friendships w aang or toph or sokka #just because the show doesn’t take as much time to explore these issues with other characters doesn’t mean the same dynamic doesn’t apply #my post #my meta

[burst-of-iridescent]

i've written before about how fire lady katara isn't an inherently disempowering or racist trope, as have many others, but lately i've been thinking about how arguments against fire lady katara often tend to utilise a surface-level interpretation of colonial trauma.

[edit: this post will use the term "colonial trauma" because those who argue against fire lady katara usually use the same wording or are referring to that concept. but it's important to note that according to show canon, the fire nation did not colonize the southern water tribe and zuko and katara did not have a colonizer/colonized relationship.]

antis who present this argument usually posit that marrying zuko would be a form of re-traumatization for katara, while marrying aang would "protect" her. katara is supposedly more shielded from confronting the impact of colonization in the southern water tribe or on air temple island than she would be with zuko in the fire nation, which contextualizes colonial trauma purely through the lens of physical interaction with the colonial power (ie. living in the fire nation or looking after the people of the fire nation). whether intended or not, this argument inadvertently limits colonial trauma to the geographical boundaries of the colonizing country and implies that it can be reduced or averted solely by minimizing contact with said country.

even leaving aside that we have seen katara in the fire nation (and enjoying herself there), the implication here is that active engagement with a colonial power as a member of colonized peoples is an inherent form of re-traumatization... which i take issue with for multiple reasons.

firstly, katara lives in a world that has been permanently shaped and changed by imperialism, and that's going to affect her no matter where she goes. sequestering herself in the south pole her whole life and never seeing a glimpse of fire nation red again won't allow katara to escape the legacy of colonization or the trauma it has caused her, because its influence is rooted in everything from her family to her tribe to her own bending. believe me, i understand the appeal of a world where women of colour can avoid reckoning with the impact of colonization by simply never setting foot in the colonizing country again, and why people might be uncomfortable with zutara individually as a result - but i can't accept it as a valid argument against the ship, because that's just not how colonial trauma works.

secondly, the idea that this "protects" katara reeks of paternalism because katara is not a character who chooses her path simply based on how safe or comfortable it is. if that was the case, she would never have left the southern water tribe at all! she could've remained there her whole life and likely been safe, since the fire nation had no real interest in the south pole any longer. katara is fundamentally defined by how relentlessly revolutionary she is - over and over, she chooses to do what is right, what is hard, what is unexpected, even at cost to herself. she challenges injustice and discrimination and bigotry; she fights for the downtrodden and speaks for those who can't speak for themselves; she will never ever turn her back on the people who need her. does that truly sound like someone who needs to be hid away and protected from her own supposed re-traumatization?

thirdly - and i fully accept that there are those who might disagree with this - katara actively choosing to engage with her colonial trauma can be empowering just as it can be traumatizing. don't get me wrong: as a woc and a minority in my own country, i understand how tiring it is to do this. i understand the exhaustion of confronting what was done to you and your people, of facing down bigotry over and over. i understand the desire to run away from it all, and why it can be wish fulfilment for others to let katara do so. i really, really do.

but there is also wish fulfilment in letting katara fight, as a brown girl with power and resources that few brown girls in the real world hold. there is a power fantasy in seeing katara head into the belly of the beast and emerging triumphant. there is empowerment to be found in seeing katara struggle with racism and ignorance and mindless hate to enact change - and succeed. i love reading and writing about katara unpacking her trauma regarding the fire nation, about growing to love the place she once hated, about reconciling both her homes and healing from the wounds of her childhood.

and ultimately, i think that's what katara would want for herself. after throwing herself head first into the fight against the fire nation, after facing down her greatest trauma instead of letting it consume her, after helping and protecting the people of the fire nation, after refusing to let the fire nation take anything else from her - i firmly believe that the last thing katara would do is allow herself to be ruled by the fire nation instead of being the one ruling it.

personally, i find that a more hopeful and victorious narrative than one where she remains safe and sheltered away from the fire nation, but forever haunted and dictated by her trauma. would that be realistic? perhaps. but the entire point of foiling katara with characters like jet and hama is to show that she's not doomed to be mired in the pain of her past. that where their stories could only end in tragedy, hers can - and does - end in hope for something better, as she always believed it could.

#zutara #anti kataang #katara #katara meta #fire lady katara

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

something that makes sokka extremely adhd relatable is that he's constantly looking for his Thing, the one Thing he's good at or useful for that makes up for any failings or flaws or ways he just can't measure up to others. at the beginning of the show he defines himself by being the oldest boy in the village & best warrior, but then he gets his ass kicked by zuko and suki and sees aang's raw power and he can't exactly think fighting is his special skill anymore. but he still thinks he has to be defined by fighting ('man of the house' daddy issues) so he calls himself the guy with the boomerang bc that's turned out to be his most useful and versatile and unique weapon, the one that other people can't outclass him at (after all, it's his most successful attack in his fight with zuko). when he loses it in "avatar day" he explicitly says it's like losing a key part of his identity and the moment katara goes "hey you're good at solving mysteries" he's like "yeah! i'm a detective! that's my new thing! and gets a new set of objects to signify it ("i believe in the power of stuff"). but detective sokka doesn't last bc throughout the entire episode he and katara are pretty equally matched in detective skills and he gets his boomerang back anyway. failed experiment.

and throughout all of this, he's figured out that people find his insistance on getting them fed & his grumpy comments funny and so he begins defining himself as the meat and sarcasm guy, and when he's a tough spot in "bitter work", bargaining with the universe to get him help, he offers that up as all he's got to give. it's obviously a Joke that he immediately asks for meat after telling the universe he'll give it up but it's also pretty indicative of how much he clings to these identities. it's all he's got (he thinks), of COURSE he can't actually give it up. they stuck that boy in a hole for 22 minutes and it revealed so much about how he sees himself.

at some point (likely around "the library" when he takes initiative to come up with a fire nation invasion plan) he also becomes the plan guy, the idea guy, and the gaang find themselves looking to him for leadership. this is perhaps the closest to fully encompassing sokka that any of his "[blank] guy" labels get, since coming up with plans involves planning when and how to fight (boomerang guy) & how to get everyone fed (meat), and people not following his plans is a major source of frustration (sarcasm).

this all culminates in "sokka's master", where the show finally names the underlying insecurity driving this quest - that he's a nonbender. katara being the last waterbender meant she was in danger and that keeping her safe was top priority, and even though hakoda and kya wouldn't have played favorites sokka probably felt a little like the unfavorite child for not being special like her. he lacks an ability, and believes his life has less value bc of it. almost like somebody with a disability and internalized ableism

(interesting, one of the people who most consistently mocks sokka for being a nonbender is toph, early on. toph has a lot of internalized ableism herself, a fear of vulnerability bc she doesn't want to perceived as weak like her parents thought she was. her bending is her disability aid, the thing that allows her to be stronger than people think, so she dismisses a nonbender until she learns better.)

piandao's response to sokka's lack of self-worth is not to train him to be great at one thing, but to introduce him to a variety of different arts, show him that his value lies not in having any one skill but in his capacity to learn and grow. there's no single thing that makes him worthy. it isn't even the combination of all of them that makes him worthy. he simply is worthy.

and i don't know if this is a unique narrative in fiction or anything but it really means a lot to me that sokka doesn't have One Thing that "makes up" for him not being a bender. he's of course extremely skilled and prodigious at many things he does in the show but there's no one savant talent that "justifies" him being in the group and i feel like so many disability narratives - especially for kids - go that route and i really appreciate that atla doesn't and simply says people are valuable because they are valuable, not because of their special abilities

#nina's personal log #sokka #seeing 'avatar day' again reminded me i had this in the drafts #ALSO i think toph is a different disability narrative than sokka but also more nuanced than typical this is NOT saying hers is bad #it's very good #nd atla tag

[p0ssywhippedcream]

Hey girlll, it’s me again (at this point file a restraining order LMFAO😭) I quite literally had this idea right now- Zuko, Katara, and Reader (if you need to choose then waterbender?), are fighting Azula together, and reader takes the hit of lightning form Azula instea of Zuko to protect him (they have like A HUGE mutual pining too rn lol).

Later when they won and are at the palace, he visits her and says he wants to talk, and he says he was super scared and wouldn’t know how to live without her and confesses, and she says yes and says similar stuff and like they start dating.

THANK YOU SOO MUCH FOR YOUR WRITINGGGG- TAKE ALL THE TIME YOU NEED, JET LAG SUCKS DUDE, I SLEPT FOR LITERALLY 20 HOURS STRAIGHT ONE TIME LMAO. LOVE YOU GIRLLLL<333

"I'm okay, I swear!" You put your hand over his and it flexes on the bed, "I just need to rest, most of it was deflected by my water bending."

Zuko's thumb crawls out from underneath your palm and gently rubs the top of your hand, "But not all. You- you got hit by lightning, Y/n. You could have died."

You grunt as you shift on the bed, the bandages around your stomach preventing a fully comfortable position. "Yes, but I didn't. You don't have to worry, Zu, I'm not going anywhere."

And something about the way the light from the candle beside your bed catches your expression, casting such beautiful shadows on your reassuring smile, compels a heart-wrenching feeling inside Zuko. He needs you to know, in case he doesn't get a chance to say it again and because his overwhelming gratitude for your kindness towards him needs him to repay your pain with something almost as difficult to do.

"Y/n," He starts and despite the nerves, keeps his fiery gaze locked onto yours, "I- I can't lose you. I wouldn't know what to do."

You're a little taken aback, a rosy blush dancing with the firelight across your cheeks but you remain with that comforting smile of yours, "You'd keep being the good person you are, keep loving."

"I don't know if I could," He confesses with a small shiver down his spine knowing all he can tell you is the truth, "I don't think I can be a person at all without you. I can't live without you."

Your eyes widen, easy grin flattering and Zuko knows that rejection is coming, braces for it like he's in the presence of his father again until your soft hand is pulling his face closer and you're kissing him. You're kissing him slow and gentle, like leaves in a summer breeze but its your lips and it drives him crazy all the same. He presses a little more, molding his mouth against yours when a rushed exhale leaves your nose and he remembers your wound.

He pulls out of your reach, clutching the hand that drew him in as he checks your tummy and makes sure you're alright.

"Zuko," It comes out breathless and accompanied by a laugh, "I'd be more alright if you kiss me again."

So he does. A couple more times actually. And when you ask him to lay next to you in the bed as you sleep, no matter how red the idea makes him, he blows out the candle and tucks you in anyway. He watches your eyelashes flutter as little snores leave the lips that left him speechless and knows that he gets to watch you breathe in and breathe out, everyday for the rest of his life.

He wants to kiss your forehead but you're a light sleeper from your time with the Gaang so instead, he opts to kiss you tomorrow. And the tomorrow after that, and the one after that too. And he gets to kiss you and hold you and watch you breathe for the rest of his life, knowing how deep the love of yours goes as he traces a lighting bolt into the sheet beneath him.

#zuko #zuko x reader #zuko fluff #atla zuko #atla zuko x reader #atla zuko fluff #alta zuko x reader fluff #zuko x reader fluff #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender fluff #atla fluff #avatar the last airbender zuko #avatar the last airbender zuko x reader #atla x reader #atla x reader fluff #avatar the last airbender zuko x reader fluff #avatar the last airbender x reader fluff #Zuko atla #Zuko fluff #Zuko #Zuko x reader #Zuko x reader fluff #alta Zuko #atla Zuko fluff #oph.anons #oph.peaches #oph.thoughts #oph.posts

[dreamchasernina]

So since the fandom has come back to life and there is not enough Kataang content on this app I will start sharing my two cents. Yay.

I want to start off by saying that as the show was airing, I, as a 10 year old, did kinda ship Zutara. Let’s face it, that scene in the catacombs was a turning point for a lot of shippers. But that was before I saw the final season a couple of years later. When I rewatched the show as a whole, as a teenager I was over Zutara, honestly their interaction kind of felt awkward to me, because they were enemies for so long. So I was all for Kataang. Now, that I’ve rewatched it for like a 1000th time, as a 28 year old, I finally see Kataang for the amazing pairing that it is.

Anyway, I’m not here to hate on anyone, you can ship whoever you like, and I love Zuko so you will not see me slandering his character here. Plus I don't feel the need to hate dump on a character to make my ship feel superior (*cough* unlike some Zutara shippers *cough*).

Ok, so. I feel that when people think of Katara, and her part in the show, they remember her as the responsible one in the group, the "mother" of the group, the sensible and caring one. Yes, when Katara’s mother died she had to step in and take the responsibility of the mother in the family, like Sokka says in the Runaway, and that stayed with her throughout the show. But, I hate that that’s the only thing she’s remembered for, because that’s just the result of her trauma. I feel like most people ignore a very crucial part of her character. Yes, she is the responsible in the group, but when she gets a chance to just be a kid, that's what she is.

People forget about the fun loving side of Katara. The one that goes penguin sledding and remembers how she hasn’t done it in a long time because life hasn’t allowed her to. The side of Katara that gets obsessed with Aunt Wu’s prediction because she is just a regular girl who’s fascinated by her love life, and dreams about what her future husband might be like. The girl that tries flying on the glider with Teo. The girl that relaxes on Appa and lets the hippie girl braid her hair, completely forgetting about the next task in their journey. People forget the side of her that dances in a cave, forgetting about the war and just enjoying life. Let’s not ignore that whenever Katara has a chance, she just enjoys being a kid, not just a badasss waterbender travelling with the Avatar.

And when Katara brings that side out, you know who’s right by her side? Aang. He’s not just by her side, he’s the one initiating those little fun moments. Penguin sledding is his idea, he’s the one to remind her that even though she’s been through a lot, and has a lot of responsibilities, she’s still a kid. He’s the one to organize the dance party, in a middle of a war, in the enemy's terrorory, he still finds a way for them just to be kids. And she’s right there with him, dancing. He’s also taking part in her obsession with Aunt Wu, not belittling or making fun of her faith, but taking part in it. Also sitting right next to her in a flower crown and enjoying the music the hippies play.

You cannot ignore that part of Katara, the part that shines when she’s comfortable, the part that just wants to be a regular kid and have fun. And that’s the part that Aang brings out in her. He’s the Avatar, the weight of the world is literally on his shoulders, but he still finds a way to enjoy life and be a kid, even after going through the worst trauma you can imagine. And he’s there to remind her that even if you’ve experienced the worst, you can still find joy in the little things. She literally says in the first episode - Aang brought something we haven’t had in a long time - fun. And that’s what he brings to her, this light, and that’s why she’s so drawn to him.

Isn’t that what we want for Katara, after the war is over? To just let herself be a kid, not to miss out on that part of her life, now that she doesn’t have to worry about their survival? And the best person to bring this joy and childlike wonder back into her life is Aang. And that’s why I think that Aang is truly the best one Katara could have ended up with.

#atla #kataang #avatar: the last airbender #aang #avatar the last airbender #Katara

[comradekatara]

I just read your rant about zukka and it made me think what if zuko’s obsession with sokka has to do with the fact that sokka in some ways encompasses some of the traits that have been forced on Zuko since he was young like the whole killing without mercy or remorse and the need for control and the strategic thinking. But Sokka uses these skills no to try and rule the world but to help aang stop Ozai. I haven’t watched atla in a while but your analyses help me realize a lot of details that I missed about it was he characters

yeah i’ve talked before about how sokka and azula being so similar must be kind of a mindfuck for zuko because sokka has “a killer instinct that’s just so fire nation” but also he’s literally friends with the bald baby pacifist monk avatar who says shit like “do you think we could’ve been friends too?” and so zuko clearly has no idea what to think. like he and azula were both indoctrinated into this world that valued certain traits and dogmas over others (ie, sokka’s over aang’s) and so azula sees sokka as more of a threat.

it’s funny because obviously sokka and zuko’s first encounter is sokka getting his ass handed to him by a guy who doesn’t even care that he’s in his way, but also that scheme is pretty immediately disrupted by sokka’s boomerang. and then the next time they meet, sokka has actually spent time training under someone (instead of fumbling around in the dark by himself) and can now hold his own far better. and every single encounter after that sees sokka not only rising to zuko’s level, but surpassing him, fighting him, foiling his plans, advocating to leave him for dead, ignoring him, dismissing him.

even at the western air temple, sokka is the liaison who welcomes him into the group (the designated “leadership” role comes with more responsibilities than simply assassinating assassins), but he also makes it pretty clear that he doesn’t care for or trust zuko throughout “the firebending masters,” even if his manner of bullying is far less overtly malicious than katara’s. and yet, zuko cannot discount him. zuko saw him kill combustion man. zuko understands his value to the group. zuko recognizes that quality he and azula share. zuko may have had an advantage over him the first time they met, but it sure didn’t last long. if azula and zuko have anything in common, it’s a mutual respect for sokka.

like, sokka is the only member of the gaang’s name azula actually says (aang is “the avatar,” katara is “peasant,” toph is [insert blind joke here], and suki is “my favorite prisoner”) and on the day of black sun, she elects to distract sokka first and foremost knowing that he’s their “leader.” and she does clearly respect him more than most people do because she can see herself in him (at least to some extent, i don’t think either of them are actually insightful enough to realize how deep that connection truly goes) and thus can recognize his worth as someone who is in a similar position, albeit on the opposite side.

zuko does say and aang and katara’s names (and appa’s), but sokka’s name is the first he says, and it’s really the only name he uses as a mode of address. and the matter of naming is clearly important to royal heirs, who are defined by their names and titles. we see that especially when zuko confuses ursa’s “remember who you are” with “remember your ancestry,” declaring who he is not as internal identity, but as title. to afford someone the respect of addressing them by name is to implicitly demonstrate respect for them.

this is further demonstrated by the fact that unlike “you just had to pick up the glowing egg” zuko of just an episode prior, zuko really does follow sokka’s leadership and places his complete faith in his abilities. there’s no complaining or backseat driving or undermining of his intentions, which is genuinely anomalous for zuko, who generally refuses to listen to anyone about anything (unless he’s being actively scared into submission, and even then he’s stood up to ozai multiple times). he’s not outspoken in these episodes, however. he is downright docile. and it’s because he genuinely believes sokka to be his superior. which isn’t to say that sokka isn’t better than he is, but like. aang is too and he doesn’t take his knowledge into account! because aang doesn’t represent the values that zuko strove to embody his entire life.

what’s more, i would imagine there’s something kind of satisfying, if not downright intriguing, about knowing someone who basically is what you aspire to be, who you were told you must be your entire life, and seeing that he is just. absolutely fucking miserable. like azula is also miserable, but zuko doesn’t know that (yet), because she hides it better. but sokka is genuinely suicidal (especially in these episodes). meeting this idealized standard of perfection you have always failed to reach and realizing that whatever standards you once (recently) held yourself to are actually deeply unfulfilling. that sokka isn’t “perfect,” that he actually considers himself a failure. and the fact that when he does fail, he considers it the end of the world because he never built up the resilience one gets from being a normal person who doesn’t always succeed on their first try. and zuko’s like “finally, something i have that he doesn’t: intimate knowledge of what it’s like to constantly fail and underperform and disappoint people!”

zuko is really perfectly equipped to support sokka in this situation, because he idolizes him enough to provide him with the unconditional support sokka feels fundamentally undeserving of, and also understands sokka’s misery enough to give him actually meaningful advice when it matters. what’s interesting about how zuko feels about sokka is that it’s not just about uncritically putting him on a pedestal for being Nice Azula or whatever, it’s also about zuko’s genuine desire to help sokka and protect him.

yue inhabits the martyr role that sokka has always envisioned himself in, suki establishes herself as someone who is equally capable of protecting him and he can her, and zuko risks his life to support sokka on his crazy suicide mission, when sokka was so intent on going it alone because he wasn’t thinking clearly didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. sokka doesn’t need someone who treats him like an irreproachable god. in fact, i think sokka would hate nothing more than having a sycophant. he needs someone who understands that he is fallible and vulnerable and needs help like any human being does, and respects and trusts and admires him anyway.

zuko doesn’t have the capacity to recognize azula’s insecurities and shortcomings, or the desire to help her, but he does for sokka. because he never felt like he was in a position where he had to compete for something against him. he’s not trying to usurp sokka’s role as “leader” (except for whatever was going on in “sozin’s comet,” but that’s for another post) and is happy to simply follow him, in a way that is genuinely uncharacteristic for him.

and you can say that it’s because zuko is gay and stupid (which wouldn’t be wrong, per se), but it’s also because sokka embodies everything zuko ever thought he had to be. and it’s because sokka doesn’t even care. it’s the recognition that one person’s idealized model of behavior is another’s burden. that if zuko had been “perfect” like sokka, he never would’ve gained the wisdom to accept defeat and not let it deter him. perfect like azula, who, like sokka, shatters in the face of failure.

zuko says as much in “the siege of the north,” and again in “the western air temple.” the fact that he isn’t a prodigy, the fact that he “had to struggle and fight” to achieve what little he has, is “what made me who i am.” so he’ll respect sokka, of course, because sokka is who he wished for so long that he could be. but he’ll also support sokka, because he has just enough distance from the situation to recognize that he’s not an island (even if sokka himself is convinced that he must be). so it’s not obsession, per se, nor is it simply uncritical admiration that confuses excellence for infallibility. it’s unconditional support born of understanding, a sort of empathy. it’s devotion.

#xxzavier42 #asks #sokka #zuko #azula #sokkaxzuko #azula&sokka #azula&zuko #analysis #at some point i gotta stop saying ‘whoops i wrote way more than i thought i would!!! teehee’ #and recognize that this is simply my modus operandi #i love to ramble …. lol #also when i call sokka the ‘leader’ its with the caveat that I think the designation of leadership is kind of flawed #but that’s definitely how azula and zuko see it #and in the most traditional sense that’s what he is #but not always. #i need to finish and post my essay on katara and sokka gifted kidism…. #anyway. zucchini good 👍🏼

[the-badger-mole]

PLEASE elaborate on dark Aang killing Sokka, I love your ideas

Aang's demonstrated a lack of respect for the SWT customs and culture. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they are more overtly dependent on hunting than the other nations, but also I think there's not a little bit of classism, too. As they get older, and Aang becomes more insistent that the whole world be more like the Air Nomads, it would become a sticking point between Sokka and Aang. Suki would also not trust Aang blindly, which would influence Sokka, too. The tension between them would grow over the years, not at all helped by Sokka's feelings about how Aang treats Katara and her children.

Over time, Aang's support for the soft colonization of the NWT of the SWT would become too much, and Sokka would demand that any NWT transplants are subject to the SWT's laws and customs just like they would be if they immigrated anywhere else. Aang would argue that the more "sophisticated" NWT was having an enlightening effect on the rustic SWT. His thinking is that the NWT's influence would bring the SWT closer in line with Air Nomad philosophies, or at least the philosophies as he understands them. Sokka's not having it, though. One day Aang goes too far and supports what is essentially a coup that would leave Sokka as chief in name only so the the NWT can set up an annex government. Of course Sokka will not stand for that. At this point, the rest of Aang's friends see the problem, too and go to support Sokka. There is a skirmish between the NWT colonial forces and Sokka's warriors. Aang goes into the Avatar State, trying to end the conflict, but he attacks the SWT forces, who are being led by Sokka. Sokka takes a hit and he dies. It's too fast for Katara to even attempt to heal him.

When Aang comes back, he sees the death and destruction he's caused. Sokka  is among the dead, and Aang is at a crossroads. He can either realize that he has failed as the Avatar and become the very thing he was supposed to protect the world against, or he can retreat further into his selfish denial and lament what he was forced to do.

Sokka's death has a ripple effect. Fire Lord Zuko officially voices his dissent of the NWT's occupation of the SWT. Katara takes her brother's place as leader of the SWT, and she leaves Aang, taking her children with her, including Tenzin. With Toph's influence, Gaoling and Omashu both unite with the Fire Nation against the NWT and Aang. Something like the Equalist movement takes shape in the SWT and the Earth Kingdom, and Aang finds himself facing backlash. The people of the world begin to question the actual duty of the Avatar, and how much say he should have in any of the world's conflicts.

#atla #anti aang #anti kataang #dark!aang au #tenzin might not be katara's child #i haven't decided yet

[ash-and-starlight]

Would you have any thoughts about the Gaang in a modern au (either with or without bending), especially jobs? I legit love how there’s never been a consensus of how they’d live, especially job wise, in the fandom — except for Katara, she is absolutely a doctor, surgeon, ER badass. Personally, I love the thought of Zuko as a child protective agent, and Sokka as a high school teacher, not just for the dramatic Zukka potential lol haha either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

aaa ok i love and adore to see how their roles get translated in modern au’s in such clever ways, i loveee your ideas for zukka workplace drama that’s so 🥺 ok i’ll list some of my faves but feel free to add

-doctor katara SO TRUE and activist katara also so true either way she’s helping people and giving all she’s got

-aang also activist monk-turned *insert job that has to do with flying?? or meteorology??* AND i love the silly little headcanon he and zuko are lion dance partners dkfjdj

-toph wwe champion. without question

- jet could also work with kids tbh as either a child protective agent too or teaching martial arts classes for kids as some sort of social program he zuko and toph have an underground fight club every tuesday he and iroh have a wholesome breaking bad situationship going on with banger edibles

- zuko the guy with 294737 job options tbh either as jasmine dragon clerk, firefighter, historian / khon expert and standing authority on the ramakien, parkour guy, sword guy, guy who goes to business school just to learn how to efficiently dismantle dad’s financial empire, and i am extremely partial on muai thay champion-instructor zuko who has like a post-injury gym program just for the zukka of it all of him helping sokka with his leg during rehab 😌

- sokka also guy that can do anything tbh wether working as inventor or in tech/mechanic fixing things, working at a science museum (hi robin), marine biologist (hi kath) working as an astronomer or at the planetarium bc he’s always been fascinated by the night sky and the moon, artist, poet, mythbuster, sword guy as well, all of these at once. most importantly he has an insanely popular food blog on the side

- suki kendo captain of an all-girl club

- florist mai. (specifically ikebana artist) which is comic canon and in context made little sense but i love it it’s beautiful bc it brings me to

- tattoo artist ty-lee 💕

- and azula uhhh nepobaby electrician

#i am kIDDING about azula but also not #*there is not job consensus in the fandom* babe i don’t have job consensus within MYSELF #anyway love to put those guys into situations #love to read about how ppl interpret the canon into the modern concept of Jobs #oh a thing i don’t think i’ve ever seen tho is zuko still being a royal while in a modern au?? #like he’s just some guy but at one point iroh drops the bomb of ‘yeah u know centuries ago our family was part of the royal line 🤪 #i think i would have been the firelord haha ✌️’ #and the whole gaang now just has to live with this information #i think it would be funny ekhfhd #ANYWAY #awesome question sorry for going off and still making no sense with my answer ily #ash replies

[weepingchronicles]

Hiii I’m new to your blog and omggg I’m in love 🥰

You said to request but I have too many ideas 😭

Yandere Zuko somehow getting the reader to fall for him, but he doesn’t believe her until she risks her life to protect him?

Orrr like a dark yandere aang???? Goes into the avatar state over trying to get her back?

Or honestly anything your write 🥹🤧 I’m a sucker for your stuff

ahhh you're so sweet! don't worry I love all your ideas! tysm for liking my blog <3 i decided just to do headcanons for this hope you dont mind

yandere zuko getting the reader to fall for him! tw/cw: yandere behavior, protectiveness, insecurity a/n: he's honestly a cutie patootie i cant lie

he's awkward... but determined!

his 'yandere-ness' is very toned down while he is pining over you and won't actually show until he is in a relationship with you.. at least not to your face!

now when it comes to making you fall for him, he is at a loss

not that you don't like him but he always seems to mess up when he's around you

like accidentally making your tea too hot and burning you because he was just so nervous speaking with you

or when you finally have a conversation with him and gives the same enthusiasm as "that's rough buddy"

he does care! just, doesn't know how to show it

so he seeks guidance from others..

sokka's advice tells him to flirt with you and show off his strength

he does try but he ends up accidently lighting something or someone on fire

uncle iroh tells him to make a romantic gesture, plan a date and drink tea

this plan actually works in the first bit until he realizes he is not very good at conversation and from the mishaps whenever he serves you tea- he decide this is a no-go

toph says to buy you things or whatever girls like but you never accept his gifts!

aang says to just be nice to you but he has a fucking panic attack every time you smile at him

his last resort is katara who begrudgingly tells him to be himself and just tell you how he feels

and he does

you accept his confession much to his(and everyones surprise)

but he doesn't believe that you actually like him? i mean, everyone in his life besides his uncle hates him or used to. what if this is just a ploy and you're secretly making fun of him behind his back?

because of his insecurities, he slowly distances himself away from you. he finally got what he wanted but it doesn't feel real, just yet.

that is, until one day, azula comes back and is looking to hurt.

fights happen but azula gets the better of zuko.

she's right about to give him another burn to the face until you step in.

whether you're a bender or not, you risk your life to save zuko.

zuko is amazed and almost in awe

someone really cared enough to save his life and out of all people, it's you!

he doesn't know why he never saw it before but you really do love him!

and he's going to make sure that you never forget that he loves you back.

after defeating azula, you both escape very injured but zuko isn't worried about his wounds, only you.

you tell him that you're fine and that it was worth it to save zuko

but seeing you hurt... it triggers something in zuko, a rage that makes even his skin hot to the touch.

he promises that you'll never get hurt in his care, ever again.

#yandere #yandere headcanons #yandere x reader #avatar the last airbender #yandere atla #soft yandere #yandere avatar the last airbender #yandere zuko

[emkini]

Consider: showjumping with zukka

Anon you're so fuckin right

Sokka: Grew up riding horses with his family in the Canadian Arctic, so he's very chill and comfortable on a horse. He did a ton of incredibly stupid stunts with Katara as a kid, so when he decided to follow her into competitive horse sports the speed and daring of showjumping came naturally to him. While an extremely competitive guy, he's matured a lot over his short career and makes a point to himself of emphasizing a good time over perfection. Katara is an Olympic medalist in dressage and well on her way to becoming a professional trainer which does not give Sokka an inferiority complex, not even a little bit. well... maybe a little bit, and she and Sokka like to go to fancy events together so they can stand by the buffet and judge people. Like that dickhead Zuko who perpetually looks like he's got a stick up his ass.

Zuko: His family are wealthy breeders, and the pressure to do well in horse sports is immense. Zuko, the family disappointment, has famously delicate nerves in competition and has never achieved the success of his father and sister. This is definitely because he's just naturally pathetic and not because his dad is the kind of coach who hits his students over unsatisfactory placings. The official story behind his scars is that he got them in a riding accident, although some have pointed out it looks an awful lot like something shattered against his face. He acts like a raging impulsive asshole to cover for the fact that he goes into every competition terrified out of his mind, and the facade works so well even he believes it.

Sokka hates Zuko on principle, because he's a rich shithead, and while Zuko initially didn't even notice his existence he is always ready to fight a bitch. No they are not flirting, Katara, they are engaging in verbal sparring. There's a difference.

I have literally no idea how the actual romance starts so uh. y'all can come up with your own vibes for that part lmao

#atla #avatar the last airbender #sokka #zuko #zukka #zukka modern au #showjumping au #ask #anon #atla fanart #em draws #if anyone wants to piggyback off this be my guest I have no idea how to Romance #do tag me tho if anyone does because 👀

[sokkastyles]

Hi there, here’s a dumb take of the day I’d like to hear your thoughts on:

“Zuko is an asshole for fighting a 14 year old girl who was having a mental breakdown by the end of the finale. It was messed up of him and what makes his arc fall flat at the end. He has to prove himself more than ending the war so he goes for a vulnerable 14 year old!”

My mutual was sending me bad takes in DMs and I found this. ☠️ Thoughts on it?

Thank you for reading, have a great day.

People like this always twist the actual narrative to make Azula look like the victim and it's honestly hilarious.

The person who actually is trying to prove themselves by fighting is Azula:

Zuko isn't picking a fight with her. She is participating in a genocide and needs to be stopped. She responds to this by challenging her brother one on one and gleefully talking about how their fight was "meant to be."

She's also not vulnerable and just because she is having a mental breakdown doesn't mean she isn't capable of causing serious harm and doesn't need to be stopped. If anything, it increases the need for her to be stopped while she's in such a destructive frame of mind.

She also almost kills him and laughs about it so it's ridiculous to act like he somehow took advantage of her.

The thing that really puts the lie to the idea that Zuko just wanted to prove himself by picking on someone vulnerable is that Zuko sacrifices everything to save Katara. He throws himself in front of Azula's lighting and completely risks not only losing the battle and his title as firelord, but his life.

And he's able to do that because he no longer has a need to "prove himself." He does it to save a life and completely humbles himself in the process.

Azula, meanwhile, is so desperate to win that she DOES attack someone vulnerable, she cheats and aims her lightning at Katara. Azula challenges her brother to a duel and then when she realizes she can't win the fight she started, cheats. She is not a victim here.

#azula #zuko #the final agni kai

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Have you noted that no one from Azula's family was shown to express love and affection towards her?

That is mostly true. Ozai's affection is clearly conditional (and full on manipulation at worse, like we see in the finale), Ursa canonically favors Zuko to the point that we never see her spending any alone time with Azula like she did with Zuko, and while Iroh gave her a toy like he did to Zuko the toy in question was so OBVIOUSLY wrong for a kid like Azula that it's comical AND show's he did not really know his niece at all.

But there is a constant exception.

Zuko's relationship with Azula is complicated. He clearly admires her strength and power, but he hates how she uses it. She lied to him many times, was seen apparently cheering Ozai on during the Agni Kai, tried to have him imprisoned and even said she'd celebrate being an only child - and then allows him to come home as a hero after Ba Sing Se, even though SHE had the control of the Dai Li and was not yet aware Aang could have survived, meaning she had nothing to gain from it.

And when she lets him know that if he's caught talking to Iroh people might think he is a traitor too, and explicitly says "Believe it or not, I'm actually looking out for you" Zuko drops his innitial suspicion that she wanted something and that's why she was helping him.

On The Beach, he just follows her when she say their old family home is depressing and they shouldn't waste their time there. When she's asking him who she is angry at, she mentions herself and Zuko explicitly says that is not the case.

He doesn't trust her and know she has a tendency to mock or full on lie to him... yet when he wants to know about Fire Lord Sozin he asks her about it, and lets it slide when she mocks him by saying he should make sure the royal painter got his good side - for a character as quick to anger as Zuko, that is a big deal. In Nightmares and Daydreams he also goes to her to find out if he'll be allowed at the war meeting.

More importantly:

1 - Iroh's infamous "She's crazy and needs to go down" line was only said because ZUKO, without anyone putting that idea in his head before, suddenly went "I know what you're going to say. She's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her"

2 - Zuko only jumped into the fight in Ba Sing Se when Azula was being cornered by Aang and Katara.

3 - Zuko looked genuinely shocked and even distressed when she was falling off that cliff. He just sounded so shaken saying "She's... not gonna make it..."

4 - In the writer's own words, Zuko felt no hate but only pity when seeing her breakdown. Katara tried to comfort him because, canonically, even though Zuko and Azula are enemies, this was never what he wanted because he still sees her as family. That's why the Last Agni Kai's music is not the epic you'd expect from a battle, but a tragic one.

5 - Aaron Ehasz, the lead writter for the show, probably the person with the most influence after Bryke, has REPEATEDLY said that he always felt Azula should have gotten a redemption arc, Zuko being an Iroh figure to give her advice and be the only one still by her side when all else was seemingly lost to her forever.

Even the comics (most of which I HATE, mainly because Azula's storyline checks nearly every box for "the mentally ill are inherently evil/less human, so it's fine if literally every other person on the planet mistreats them") didn't fully abandon their complex dynamic.

Zuko is not a perfect sibling, and for a long chunk of the story he seemed too focused on his own issues for Azula to ever be a factor in his mind (aside from the moments in which she was a potential/explict threat), but he DOES still feel a sense of obligation towards her, to the point that it made him do something no one else in their family had done before or since - actually look at Azula. Not the prodigious daughter/perfect weapon, or the problem child that is difficult to handle, or the pontentially deadly enemy that was in the way, but Azula.

His 14-year-old sister that got on his nerves a lot, was far from the kindest person alive, and that he had a ton of issues with, but that he could never fully hate or even be indifferent to. Because she's family. Because he remembers a happier time in which the gap between them didn't seem so big. Because if things had been slightly different he could have been her. Because he went from wanting to be her to seeing just how miserable her life ended up being - especially compared to the one he now had - and feeling deeply sorry for her.

Now if you guys excuse me, I'm gonna go cry in the corner. Have some wholesome/bittersweet fanart if you wanna cry too.

#azula meta #zuko meta #fire siblings #fire siblings meta