#and I love me my baby Azula even when she's not having a great time that poor thing

[ozai-the-bonsai]

Cry for the Moon

| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |

Pairing: Zuko x firebender!reader

Warnings: none

A/N: I did end up writing more, thus we get to see our fav boy Zuko in the upcoming chapter - but I quite enjoyed writing this one and digging deeper into the internal struggles of the reader! I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I did writing it ^.^

Taglist: @annonymatic @yoongiesstar @lost-inthe-v0id @lokigodofmyheart @4l3x1s @potato87123 @asciendo @angelruinz @unamused-boss @junieshohoho @yourlivewire @itszzmoon @coolgirl458 @vyliie

Mai’s raven hair was, just as you had last seen her, partly in two small buns and the rest fell on her shoulders. The dark, sleeveless jacket seemed to be a new one but other than that, her maroon clothing and black, fingerless gloves were the same as always.

As soon as your amber eyes found the slim figure of Mai, an uneasy feeling appeared in your stomach. Even the mere sight of her made you uncomfortable for every time you laid your eyes on her, the fact that you were never going to get your former best friend back hit you like a wall of bricks.

Even after Zuko’s banishment, or after you got together with Shuzi, the raven-haired girl insisted on keeping her distance from you. Not that you would easily forgive her, of course, but you found her stubbornness childish from time to time.

[Flashback]

You found Mai sitting on her swing at the backyard of her parents’ house, moving back and forth ever so slowly. The dull expression on her face became duller, as if it was possible in the first place. You felt the heaviness on your heart growing.

“Mai, I know there is something bothering you.” You said as you approached her carefully, you were afraid she would run away just like a cat. “Please, talk to me.”

Mai shook her head. “No, I don’t want to.” She said, it was obvious that she was trying to hide the sorrow away, but she was so heartbroken that made it almost impossible. “I cannot stand looking at you anymore!”

You felt tears rushing to your eyes, but you quickly sent them back. “Why? What have I done to you?” You asked as you sat next to her on the swing. “Mai, you are my best friend. I don’t want to lose you.”

“It just hurts too much,” she muttered while kicking the stones on the ground. “Seeing you and him together all the time.”

She was talking about Zuko.

“Mai, I…” Honestly, you didn’t know what to say. You were aware of Mai’s obvious crush on Zuko for years, but everyone knew that it was decided long, long ago that you were going to be his future wife. “You know that our parents have decided that when we were just babies.”

Suddenly, Mai stood up from the swing with a furious aura surrounding her. “I love him, okay? I should be the one with him! You… You are just acting that way because of this stupid arranged marriage!”

For the first time in your thirteen years of life, you heard Mai screaming.

You swallowed for a few times to destroy the lump in your throat, you were on the verge of breaking down. “What makes you believe that I don’t love him?” You asked with a low voice, trying to keep your emotions under control.

Mai let out a scornful laughter. “Ah, please. Zuko - he is a fool for you, but you are simply with him for the sake of duty and power. It is obvious.”

Slowly, you felt sorrow turning into fury as you stood up from the swing. “You are wrong.” You said with a cold tone. “I do love him. And if you had been really my best friend, you would have known that. You would have seen that.” As you shook your head, you turned back to leave Mai all alone. “As it turns out, you were only acting to be my friend. Out of duty.”

[Flashback ends]

Mai didn’t even look at you as she put her hands together and bowed slightly towards Azula. “Please tell me you are here to kill me.” She spoke with her usual, dull, emotionless tone. Then, she looked up at Azula with a slight smile on her lips.

Azula placed her hands on Mai’s shoulders as she giggled. “It is great to see you, Mai.”

Ty Lee rushed forwards to give Mai a big hug, ignoring the fact that Mai was not a fan of hugs. The gloomy girl gave Ty Lee an uncomfortable pat on the back. “I thought you ran off and joined the circus.” Mai said as she stepped back from the hug. “You said it was your calling.”

“Well, Azula called a little louder.” Ty Lee said, hiding the sarcasm in her tone skilfully, only you knew what she really meant by that. Once again, you found yourself feeling sorry for the poor girl – she only wanted to follow her passion.

Slowly, Mai turned her head to meet your amber eyes. “Hey,” she said with a small nod, her voice lacked even the tiniest bit of emotion.

You, too, had put on your resting bitch face. “Hey.”

Azula rolled her eyes in an exaggerated way. “Oh, come on! It has been three damn years.” The Princess turned her gaze to Mai, pointing at you with her right index finger. “She has been dating someone else for the last six month and none of you have seen my fool of a brother in over three years!” Azula took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. “Just leave that childish drama behind you already!”

Well, I kind of saw him a few days ago … which caused weird feelings and thoughts to arise …

Before you or Mai could say anything, Ty Lee spoke. “Well, technically, the arranged marriage is still on – as long as Zuko comes back with the Avatar, right?”

You let out a scornful laughter. “Ah, please, as if he stands any chance now that we are on the hunt as well.”

Azula looked at you with a smirk on her lips. “That’s my girl.” You winked at the Princess, who turned her gaze to Mai once again. “I have a mission and I need you all.” She said as she laid her right hand on your shoulder, her eyes wandering between all three of you.

“Count me in.” Mai spoke with an annoyed expression on her face. “Anything to get me out of this place.”

[Time Skip]

You shielded your amber eyes from the sun as you approached the three figures standing on the other side of the road. Two of them, who were standing on the sides, were wearing blue clothing that resembled those from the Watertribes.

The boy on the left was holding a baby, probably Mai’s brother, and had his hair in a stylish ponytail. To the right stood the girl with hair loopies and a water bag. The boy in the middle was, unlike the other two, in yellow-orange clothing with an orange hat-like piece on his head. You raised an eyebrow to yourself upon seeing that he was carrying a staff.

As she was the one responsible to carry out the trade, Mai stood forth and the rest of you waited behind her. Meanwhile, a crane was lowering the metal cage that held King Bumi of Omashu as hostage.

Quickly, you eyed Azula up – you were sure she had another motive behind this trade. A baby for a king, eh? I don’t believe this is something Azula would approve of.

“You brought my brother?” Mai asked. The boy with the staff nodded as he pointed to his left, showing the baby.

“He is here.” The boy said. “We are ready to trade.”

Just as you expected, Azula interrupted. You couldn’t help but smirk. “I am sorry, but a thought just occurred to me.” Azula spoke so naturally, it was impossible to point it out as perfect acting if one didn’t know Azula good enough. “Do you mind?”

Mai turned to Azula. “Of course not, Princess Azula.”

For a moment, it seemed as if Azula was weighing down some options. “We are trading a two-year-old for a king,” she said at the end as she looked up at the King of Omashu with an arched brow. “A powerful, earthbending king?”

The King himself nodded.

Azula’s eyes wandered between you, Ty Lee and Mai. “It just doesn’t seem like a fair trade, does it?”

You kept your chuckling to a minimum to avoid being heard, you had known that exactly this was going to happen. Knowing Azula good enough, it was to await that she would have an ulterior motive in taking the matters in Omashu – or rather New Ozai as the Princess had recently renamed the city – in her own hands.

It was Mai’s call now, she had to decide between family and duty.

“You are right,” Mai said with a voice that lacked even the slightest bit of emotion, even towards her own little brother. Well, one could clearly see that her brother was – at least for now – in good hands since the boy in blue clothing did his best to keep the baby safe and comfortable.

She probably wants to carry out Azula’s part of the plan first.

“The deal’s off!” Mai announced and held up her hand, gesturing the guards to pull the King back up.

However, no one – and especially you – wasn’t expecting the boy in the middle with yellow clothing to start using his glider to fly behind the King. Without even thinking about it, you reacted the same way as Azula and you both sent flames in his direction to block his path. The boy dodged the flames by leaping high into the air.

Did he just… Airbend?

As the boy used his glider with airbending, he lost his hat, leaving his arrow tattoo exposed. You and Azula gasped at the same time. “The Avatar!” You both said simultaneously.

A smug smile formed on Azula’s lips. “My lucky day,” she muttered more to herself, then she called out your name. “Follow me!”

[Time Skip]

The attempt to capture the Avatar in Omashu had, unfortunately, been unsuccessful – but it was something to expect considering that none of you were prepared to face the Last Airbender and a King that could earthbend simply with his face.

As the royal palanquin was being carried out the city; you, Mai and Ty Lee walked besides. You felt yourself sailing from one thought to another, dangerously close to getting lost in the vast ocean that is your mind. Chasing the Avatar made you realise something: you had never thought about how it would make you feel while helping Azula capture the world’s last hope.

You had complicated feelings and thoughts considering the war, the Fire Lord and the Avatar. It was for a fact that you despised Fire Lord Ozai after everything he had done to Zuko and Azula, you held him directly responsible for Azula’s corruption.

Of course, there had been a big Ursa factor as well, but that was a whole different topic.

Even though you were loyal to your nation until the very end, you didn’t really want to see Fire Lord Ozai becoming the supreme ruler over the Four Nations. He was a horrible man, he lacked even the slightest bit of empathy and compassion. A man who was incapable of loving his own children should be, under no circumstances, given such great power over all of humanity and its destiny.

But then, there was Azula.

You had mastered the skill of detaching your emotions from your actions when it came to her, which enabled you to carry out tasks which would otherwise burden you when awake, asleep and even dead. Your loyalty, compassion, and love towards Azula was stronger than everything you had known – well, except for the love you had felt for Zuko, but that was long gone.

You knew you needed more time to reflect upon this dissonance you were experiencing but you believed that standing with Azula was more valuable than anything you could think of at that moment. All these years, you had put in so much effort, time, and tenderness into your relationship with her – even the mere thought of doing the slightest thing to shake her trust brought you on the verge of a break down.

“So, we are tracking down your brother and Uncle, huh?” Mai asked, which caused you to come back to the present moment. You shook yourself.

Ty Lee giggled. “It will be interesting seeing Zuko again,” she spoke teasingly, “won’t it, Mai?”

At first, you kind of waited Ty Lee to divert the same question to you and correct herself but quickly, you remembered that you had been together with Shuzi for over half a year. Whether you would see Zuko again or not didn’t really matter anymore, despite the arranged marriage still not being called off.

“It is not just Zuko and Iroh anymore,” Azula spoke with a serious tone. “We have a third target now. The Avatar.”

You felt knots in your stomach.

As you headed towards the ship to spend the night and plan the rest of your mission, Azula explained Mai and Ty Lee why she decided to leave the royal guards and the navy ship behind. The main problem was to find a means of transportation that was fast, could go over any kinds of terrain without having the need to find a road and was strong enough to overcome any bending.

“What about using a tank train?” You suggested, earning an intrigued look from Azula, who was still sitting in the royal palanquin. “I am sure the army can spare one of them for the Princess’ mission.”

Azula made an approving sound. “That is actually brilliant,” she muttered, more to herself. “They are designed to travel at high speeds over most terrain without the use of tracks, but they can still accommodate many people – we can take some servants with us to run the errands.”

Ty Lee seemed a little bit uncomfortable. “I don’t want to be stuck in a metal machine for days – I need sunlight!” She was playing anxiously with her braid.

“I wouldn’t mind not having to see the sun for a while,” Mai muttered, not much to your surprise. “I don’t like the way it disturbs my eyes.”

“You would rather live in a black hole for the rest of your life.” Ty Lee rolled her eyes at Mai, causing her to shoot an angry glance. You bit the inside of your cheek not to laugh – Ty Lee was more than right in her statement. If you gave Mai a bucket of never-ending black paint and a brush that could be extended as much as one needed, she wouldn’t rest until she painted the whole sky black – setting aside the fact that such a thing is impossible to carry out.

The Princess heaved a sigh. “You can jump onto the roof to do your sunbathing, Ty Lee, as long as the insects flying at your face do not disturb you.” Ty Lee grimaced upon hearing Azula’s words. “And Mai, you are free to lock yourself up in a dungeon, as long as you are there to fight whenever I need you to.”

This time, you couldn’t hold back your laugh. Azula raised an eyebrow as she looked at you, whereas Mai and Ty Lee carried annoyed expressions.

“Do you also have a specific request?” Azula asked you. “And no, you are not allowed to bring your dog to our mission.”

You rolled your eyes at her. “For the last time, Azula, he is not a dog – I am not putting anyone on a leash.” Upon hearing Mai mutter something under her breath, you shot her a warning look and turned back to Azula. “And no, I am completely fine, as long as you leave those two sisters back on the ship.”

It was no secret that you despised Lo and Li, your hatred towards the sisters seemed to both amuse and entertain Azula every time. The Princess let out a small laughter.

[Time Skip]

The whole ship was asleep as you sat on the front porch, watching the night sky while the cool wind played with your hair, which wasn’t in the top not anymore. It was cool outside; you shivered and wrapped your arms tighter around your body – the red gown wasn’t thick enough to keep you warm. Heaving a sigh, you used your breath of fire to get rid of the shivering.

Ever since you had agreed to help Azula on her mission, you found yourself carrying out inner battles more often than usual. They used to be, when Zuko’s banishment was just new, the only thing you had known for a long while; however, after accepting the hard truth, you thought the battles would be finally over.

And they were, for the last two years, you didn’t have to deal with any internal conflict.

Until the thoughts about the Banished Prince and your distant past crept out from the dusty corners of your mind. You thought you had forgot him long ago – everything about him had to be burnt to ashes. As it seems, this had never been the case, the realisation of which was hitting you just now.

There was no compassion for him left in you, this was the truth; however, your past feelings for Zuko were still enough to confuse you, to distract you. It was like a sweet poison: the embrace of those distant memories felt oh so sweet and familiar – it felt just like home – but when you realised that they were in fact chocking you, drowning you – it would be too late.

I should have never let my mind wander off to those forbidden territories of my own memory. You thought to yourself as you breathed out crimson flames, the gentle touch of the wind was making you shiver once again. I cannot allow myself to get distracted. Not now.

Maybe… Maybe I should just face him.

That particular thought seemed to strike interest and excitement within you. Ever since the Banished Prince abandoned you on the deck when he left the Fire Nation, you secretly had been craving to face him and scream at him, tell him all those wicked things you wished he had heard from you.

Tell him how he broke your heart to a million pieces, burnt all your love to ashes and threw them out into the vast ocean.

And thank him for letting you turn into this thing that could disconnect her emotions from her actions simply by taking a deep breath and thinking about the strong bond she shared with his sister.

“You keep lecturing me about getting enough sleep and yet here you are – not sleeping.”

You chuckled as you turned left to look at Azula, who was standing next to you. She, too, was in a red robe, but hers was adorned in gold around the collar and the sleeves. She had let her dark hair down, which looked absolutely pretty either way.

“Do as I say and not as I do, Princess.” You responded, gaining an eyeroll from her. Slowly, you stood up. “I have trouble sleeping.”

Azula nodded, she also seemed thoughtful. “I understand.” She paused for a moment. “You were thinking about my brother, weren’t you?”

You didn’t see any point in lying – Azula knew you good enough to tell when you were hiding something, just like you could do it with her. “He started messing with my head, again.” You spoke with a low tone, avoiding Azula’s amber eyes as you looked at the dark waters ahead of you.

The Princess laid her hand on your shoulder with a soft manner. “I can understand why his presence would confuse you,” the warmth in her tone caused you to meet her gaze. “But I need you in her best form and mind – distractions are not something we can allow at this moment.”

It was quite rare but sometimes, when it was just the two of you, Azula would let her shields and icy walls down. Every time when such a time came, you couldn’t help but adore how much she trusted you – you doubted that even her own family knew this side of Azula.

You nodded with a small smile on your lips. “I am very well aware of that, and I do not intend to disappoint you, Azula.”

The hints of a smile could also be seen on Azula’s lips as well. “You have given me no reason to think you would disappoint me.”

“I really appreciate your words, sweetheart.” Your amber eyes lit up with happiness. “For the matter of your brother, I think I have found a solution – I am going to put an end to these distractions.”

“Exactly what I was hoping to hear,” Azula said as the edge of her lips curled upwards. Then, she gave your shoulder a small squeeze. “Come on now, we both need our beauty sleep – or you are going to end up having eye rings, remember?”

You grimaced as you followed Azula into the ship. “Nobody wants that.”

#prince zuko #atla zuko #zuko x reader #the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #princess azula #zuko #zuko x oc

[drpoisonoaky]

Therapy homework, fire siblings edition

Azula and Zuko have to share moments from their childhood in order to heal their relationship (therapy homework), even as they are there for each other.

In my own personal Azula’s redemption arc, Zuko is there helping her sister in the same way he got help.

So they talk about everything because they’re healing and they need to do it.

[Turtle ducks]

Zuko: I think those two are playing together.

Azula: Or they’re fighting to decide who will become the Turtle Lord.

Zuko: Don’t project your trauma onto turtle ducks. 

Azula: I was not. It’s a very real and possible situation in the turtle duck world.

Zuko: I am going to ignore that because I was wondering why you hate them.

Azula: I don’t hate them.

Zuko: You threw rocks at them every time we were here.

Azula:

Zuko: What?

Azula: That we never included me, you know? It was more like “Mom and Zuko and, oh, Azula is here”.

Azula: So I guess I want my mother to give me attention, and my child brain said “Let’s make chaos”.

Zuko: Oh… I’m sorry I…I never thought about it that way.

Azula: Don’t punish yourself Zuzu. We were children. It wasn’t your job.

Zuko: But now we can feed them together, right? No rocks, only bread.

Azula: You really are a softie. It’s annoying.

Zuko: Let’s take the bread.

[Children]

Zuko: Do you want kids?

Azula: Not really. You do?

Zuko: One. Only one.

Azula: Did I traumatize you Zuzu?

Zuko: Yes, but no. If I had a kid, I want to focus on them, giving them all of my love and support. Being the Firelord and doing that for more than one child it’s impossible.

Azula: Oh, you really think about this… I hate to say it, but you would be a great dad.

Zuko: Thanks. I appreciate it. Why don't you?

Azula: First of all, it would have to be adopted, so the kid comes with baggage. And with my baggage, I probably couldn’t be there as much as the kid needs. It’s not fair to them. I can’t put the happiness of some child behind my own selfishness.

Zuko: Cool aunt?

Azula: I’m going to spoil your child so much that they’ll be as insufferable as you are.

Zuko: Of course you will.

[Fire resistance]

Katara: Hey firebenders, I have a question. Do you really resist fire better by nature or…?

Azula: Yes and no. 

Zuko: I mean, look at my face. 

Katara: That’s why I’m asking. Why do you resist less than ‘Zula? I swear she could be on fire and not notice.

Azula: We didn’t have the same training. Mother stopped Ozai a lot for the both of us. But when she was gone…

Zuko: I was banished when he started his fire resistance methods…

Katara: but ‘Zula don’t.

Azula: I was burned every day in every place except the face. Well, you saw the marks.

Sokka: Why not the face?

Suki: Don’t be rude.

Azula: It was because I was a princess after all, and you know we had to be pretty and perfect.

Katara: And how do you get high pain tolerance from that?

Azula: I guess some nerves died along the way or maybe my brain learned to ignore that kind of pain…I don’t know. 

Azula: I hate him, but in battle it’s really useful. But yeah, don’t try it at home, kids.

Sokka: So if we try to burn your fac-

Katara: Don’t you dare, asshole.

[Crying]

Katara: Did they cry much when they were babies?

Azula: I bet Zuzu was insufferable.

Zuko: I was a pretty nice baby.

Ursa: You were nice, but you cried a lot.

Azula: See.

Ursa: And you weren't nice at all, young lady. But truth to be told, she didn’t cry.

Zuko: Lack of emotions, I see.

Azula: Not dumbass, it was for the balance between you and me.

Katara: She didn’t cry at all? What would happen if she was hungry or hurt herself?

Ursa: She just waited.

Azula: Of course I did that, crying change nothing. Plus, it wasn’t allowed.

Zuko: What do you mean?

Azula: Oh right, that was one of the points of our “educational differences”.

Ursa: Azula?

Azula:

Katara: Azula?

Azula: Fine.

Azula: Father didn’t really like the tears. He said that water isn’t something that should exist around a firebender. So I didn’t cry.

Katara: …but what if you did by any chance?

Azula, smiling sadly: He turned into my personal dryer. Goodbye tears.

Ursa: *gasp* But when you were a child he neve-

Azula: Don’t worry mother… It's not your fault.

Zuko: We should try to cry together anytime you want. As a therapy exercise, of course.

Azula: I-…thanks Zuzu.

Katara: And I hope he knows that you are around water all the time and he can’t do shit.

Azula: Of course master Katara, best master water bender of all times.

Zuko: Mom, we should go. They had started their own weird flirting thing.

Katara:

Azula: 

Katara: What are you waiting for? Keep going.

[Compliments]

Aang: I know It’s none of my business, but I was wondering why some compliments make you look awkward but on the opposite sides. *Points at Azula and Zuko*

Zuko: What do you mean?

Aang: Like Azula takes it so well when we say something nice about her bending or her looks but she’s weird when it’s not about that. And you get so weird when we compliment your looks or your bending. Like a yin and yang kinda thing.

Azula: Easy. I was praised for everything Zuko isn’t.

Aang: What do you mean?

Azula: I’m a prodigy and a princess. Being an excellent firebender and looking pretty at the same time is or was my job. Zuzu is a mediocre firebender, under Father’s eyes, and he burned half of his face. 

Zuko: And ‘Zula never was praised for being anything else. 

Aang: But that’s awful.

Azula: I didn’t need to be anything apart from that, Zuko was banished. That’s life.

Sokka: No, it’s not. Your father it’s a piece of shit.

Katara: And I hope we never see him again. No offense.

Azula and Zuko: None taken.

[Giving Affection]

Katara, fidgeting with the hem of her tunic: I don’t know if it’s awkward to ask you that.

Zuko: …Go on.

Katara: Okay, so when you get out of the fire nation. Do you flinch?

Zuko: …Did I flinch?

Katara: General affection. 

Zuko: Not really. My mother used to hug me a lot and you know Iroh. 

Katara: …and who hugged Azula?

Zuko: Mom before disappearing, I guess? Me on some special days. I don’t know if our father ever did that.

Azula: Neither of them. Did you go to Zuzu to get information about me? 

Katara: I want to know “your background” from another point of view.

Azula: I hate that that is a logical move. But to answer that, maybe Ty Lee was the only one. And you know Mai.

Zuko: Didn’t Mom hug you?

Azula: Do you remember that little detail that mother hated me? 

Zuko: She didn’t ha-

Azula: Don’t. Please. We already passed that point.

Katara: So it’s decided.

Azula: What?

Katara: I’m now your personal koala, whether you want it or not. Come here.

Azula: But you do more things…

Zuko: And that’s my cue to get out of here.

[Education]

Aang: Wait, really, you know it all?

Azula: Of course, it was part of my education. I need to know history, especially anything related to war, but knowledge is knowledge.

Aang: But Zuko didn’t know anything about the Air Nomads' history.

Azula: We didn’t have the same education.

Zuko: Basically because Azula is a nerd.

Azula: Excuse me.

Zuko: After you did your homework, you started to read about everything, especially history. That’s why.

Aang: So she's more prepared than you.

Azula: I am. While Zuzu cried, I trained or focused on my studies. Time is gold in war.

Katara: You didn’t rest?

Azula: Not really, but sometimes I needed to rest in order to continue. 

Zuko: No you don’t. You can’t count that as resting. 

Aang: What, why?

Zuko: It’s not my call. Sorry. But you should explain it ‘Zula.

Katara: Azula?

Azula: What Zuzu means is that the “rest days” weren’t really optional.

Aang: Oh, they force you to rest?

Azula: Not exactly…I have to rest because I couldn’t move. Training wasn’t always…educational.

Zuko: Call it what it was. That shitty excuse of man made us fight against him and beat us until we faint.

Aang: Spirits.

Zuko: And I guess me being gone didn’t make him less reckless…

Azula: Quite the opposite…that’s why learning was fun. 

Azula: But anyways Zuzu you should learn that so from now on I’m going to teach you history, physics and math. Be aware.

Zuko: Only if we take rest days. Real ones.

Azula: Don’t be lazy.

[Wake up time]

Katara: I can’t beat Azula.

Sokka: But you did remember…Oh, spirits, don’t tell me is a dirty-

Katara: NO. 

Katara: Also not in that way, dummy. I can’t get up earlier than her. It's like every time I wake up early and say “Wow, today I really got up early” she’s already awake and meditating or something. 

Ty lee: I tried for a week. Then I got tired.

Mai: It’s a losing battle. You can’t beat them.

Katara: Wait, does Zuko also wake up early?

Mai: Every day, like if he makes the sun or something.

Azula, arriving from sparring with Zuko: Talking behind my back isn’t new, but still hurts a little. 

Zuko: Same.

Katara: Why do you wake up so early? Both of you.

Azula, raising an eyebrow: Why do you ask?

Zuko: Why do you wake up so late? 

Katara: Don’t answer a question with a question. Both of you don’t know the concept of oversleeping or even slacking. Why?

Zuko: What are you ta-…Oh. 

Zuko: Lala, do you remember the “If you wake up after the sun…

Azula: …how do you pretend to use his flames”. 

Katara: Oh no.

Mai:

Ty lee: That jerk.

Zuko: So we have to stop.

Azula: I’m going to knock myself out every morning, I swear. 

Zuko: Same.

Katara: Or instead of me waking up next to my unconscious girlfriend, you could try not getting out of bed.

Zuko: You mean stay in bed until the sun is up so we can train later?

Katara: I mean yeah. At least until you wake up like a regular human being.

Sokka: But that would imply they are regular human beings and we-AH STOP.

Azula, shooting little lightning at him: Sorry what?

Zuko, burning his butt: We are having difficulties hearing you.

Sokka: KATARA HELP YOU BROTHER.

Katara, ignoring Sokka and talking to Mai and Ty lee: So you two also like to wake up late?

Sokka: KATARA.

Ty lee: Yes, but it doesn’t fit the Kyoshi Warriors’ lifestyle. And that makes Suki angry with me, a lot.

#avatar the last airbender #azula #atla #fire siblings #zuko #katara #azutara #trauma bonding #i guess #they are my babies #my traumatized babies #ty lee #sokka #suki #turtle ducks #aang #ursa #mai #maiko #kazula

[flameohotwife]

So I always thought the canon pairings in AtLA had good writing/development but all the Aang and Mai bashing has made me decide to rewatch the series because shippers of a certain other ship called them "abusive" and Aang sexist. But honestly, I love how Mai calls Zuko out on his jealousy and possessive behavior in "The Beach" and Aang is always supportive of Katara's dreams, even refusing to be trained by Pakku because he's sexist to Katara. I like that Sukka teaches kids watching the show to treat women with respect but also Kataang and Maiko in the examples I mentioned above are also good examples of feminist moments in the show too.

YES! Anon, say it louder for the people in the back! There are so so SO many amazing feminist moments in this show and honestly I loved watching it with my kids (multiple times, haha) for that reason. I don't remember growing up with media that showed SO may instances of how girls/women could stand up for themselves in those types of situations. I love how Katara stood up to Pakku (with Aang's support! His little "Go, Katara!" makes me smile every time) and also how she CONSTANTLY takes boys on in fights, from pirates and Rough Rhinos to the taunting kids that subsequently get frozen where they stand ("oh, a girl has her ways") and anyone who insults Aang. How SHE is the one to defeat Azula in the end. How the WHOLE SHOW starts with her rant against Sokka's sexism. How Suki finally put's Sokka in his place. How Toph had to be played by "a really BUFF guy" in EIP because the Fire Nation couldn't admit to being bested by a tiny, 12-year-old girl. How Mai won't let Zuko treat her like a possession with no agency of her own. How she is the one to save HIM in the end at Boiling Rock (how's that for a damsel in distress?). How Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee are trusted by the Fire Lord to perform tasks even the highest generals can't achieve. How the show is relentlessly turning sexist stereotypes on their heads and making viewers question what they think they know.

Beyond the feminism (which you all probably already know I adore so much), I love that each of the leading boys has learning experiences wrt less-than-ideal behaviors towards girls/women, because in real life boys (and girls, too!) are GOING to make mistakes as they're learning and it's important to show how they can move beyond those mistakes and not forever be defined by them. Zuko learns not to be a possessive asshat like he is in The Beach (at least, we don't see him act that way towards Mai again--he might as well have broken up with her via text and not given her the option to follow him to the "good side," but he never acts possessive again. Baby steps). Aang learns he can't just solve their relationship problems by kissing Katara when she's confused. He gives her space and she clearly thinks he's learned from it by the end (really, by the next episode). Sokka learns not to be sexist and that sometimes girls are going to be stronger/better fighters than he is AND THAT'S OKAY. Good, even! It doesn't make him "less of a man" or anything like that, and we don't hear those sexist ideas come out of his mouth again. ALL of these make great talking points for parents watching the show with their kids, too.

Kids make mistakes. They lean on stereotypes or prior experiences and sometimes that bites them in the butt. AtLA shows that we can teach kids hard lessons. Not only can we fight back against injustice but we can improve ourselves when we've been the ones to mess up. And I really think that's something special.

Thanks for sending in your thoughts, anon! You're so right.

#kataang #maiko #sukka #kataangtag #atla gaang #atla feminism #anon #asks #i know everyone hates EIP but honestly it's my kids' favorite episode and i LOVE the conversations it generates

[inventedsanity]

a 3am essay where i ranted on remarried empress again.... part 1

as a rashta fan, i don't think navier's character is that bad but i do wish they explored it more. like it is interesting to see a person realize they are more than what title they hold, navier had to learn on how she can do other things by just being herself and not an empress. she herself told how much the title empress meant to her and how losing it feels like losing a part of herself, which shows her codependency on this title but in my personal opinion, it felt like the webtoon never explored such themes enough. her character was barely explored or even had that much development. though to be fair, i haven't read the webtoon in a while after i saw how horrible the author was treating rashta and her character. the only thing explored in the webtoon was navier learning to be more in a relationship, the reason why soveishu and navier did not stay together was because of they relecutency to open up to each other even though they were in love with each other, they just failed to open up with each other. and i do wish that the author talked about how even navier has a play in this, im not saying soveishu being cheated should be excused but they should have showed on why not opening up to your partner is not always a good thing in relationships. rashta makes awful decisions for her wanting power just so she can't go back to her horrible past of being a slave, she's tired of being manipulated by the people around her, but during her want for power, she gets manipulated by the viscount who also traumitized the shit out of her by giving her a dead baby. which i also add that he never gets the proper treatment for his awful actions. he is not for once called out for being an asshole. also navier being a classist would also be a great theme to explore in the webtoon, she doesn't even have much of a reaction to the fact slavery happens in the kingdom. in the first few eps, when she finds out rashta was an ex-slave from rumors, she asks soveishu if it is true in such a weird manner like downgrading her? could just be me though duke ergi (i do love him), the guy who manipulated rashta the most after she came into nobility is given the least reprecussions in the webtoon, even the fans applaud him for manipulating her. he is aware of how alone she feels, she can't trust others after what her previous lover had done to her, by what the viscount did, by what her father did. she suffered so much and duke ergi is aware of how isolated she is, and took advantage of it. im not saying the author should excuse her actions, but they should stop downgrading her or making her do stupid actions (which is ooc) just to make navier better. literally in the latest episodes, we see panels of where rashta is sufferring and navier is just living her life and they have similar situations. like rashta sufferring after giving birth to her child and navier finding out shes pregnant. it just shows how the author has blatant favoritism towards the female lead. characters who are literally victims but also bad people at the same time and are so treated by the story are literally my favorite characters (azula from ATLA). i wish rashta got the same treatment as azula. rashta is smart and cunning and i wish the story accepted that. they make her do dumb decisions just to uplift navier to spread the message "navier wouldn't do that", the thing is ofc navier wouldn't do that, she was literally raised in nobility and taught to become an empress from day one but rashta? she was a slave and had to literally use her very limited skills to get a position in nobility, yeah she did do stupid shit but isn't it impressive that with literally no education that she somehow was able to survive in nobility? and navier that took years to study on becoming empress, rashta has done much faster within the limited time she has, obviously she hasn't perfected her studies and even complained on having to study, but i think she has the right. she was literally thrown into this hell fire without any time to prepare.

#rashta #rashta remarried empress #remarried empress #remarried empress webtoon #navier ellie trovi #emoress navier #empress rashta #soveishu #sovieshu vict #rashta isuke #duke ergi #webtoon #manhwa

[thebluemallet]

My Immediate Thoughts on the Latest Avatar: The Last Airbender Trailer

THE SHIP DESIGN FOR THE FIRE NAVY SHIPS! THAT MAST!

This must be the North Pole and leading up to the Siege of the North.

Appa soaring through the skies.

Yeah, they're really going to go and show us the attacks on the Air Temples. On the one hand, I'm excited about the new material. On the other hand, I feel like I shouldn't be excited about witnessing a genocide even if it's fiction.

IS THAT FIRE LORD SOZIN? OR IS THAT JUST A RANDOM FIRE NATION GENERAL?? I THINK IT'S SOZIN??

Aang breaking out from the iceberg seems a lot more violent than the cartoon but it also looks awesome! And if I were Sokka and Katara, I'd be scared shitless seeing that.

I think that's Monk Gyatso voice in the beginning? And he specifically says that the Fire Nation is embarking on a dark path instead of the super vague "storm clouds are gathering" like in the original cartoon. So Aang goes into that iceberg with more knowledge in this adaptation than in the cartoon.

Daniel Dae Kim looks great as Fire Lord Ozai!

Azula with a bow and arrow? Guess she's expanding her skill set.

Blink and you'll miss it, but that is JET that Katara, Sokka, and Aang are talking to before there's a big ass explosion behind them.

WE'VE GOT THE MOTHER EFFIN OSTRICH HORSES, BABY!

IT'S ZUKO COMING TO RESCUE UNCLE IROH WHEN HE GETS CAPTURED BY EARTH KINGDOM SOLDIERS!

Aang, Katara, and Sokka checking out the ruins of one of the Air Temples. Southern Air Temple, maybe, probably?

Water Tribe! Don't know if it's Northern or Southern but it could be the aftermath of Zuko coming to the Southern tribe to find Aang.

Katara coming in with her belief that Aang can save the world.

I'm in love with every shot of Appa flying!

THE AIR SCOOTER!

AND HE CRASHES INTO A STATUE LIKE HE DOES IN THE ORIGINAL OPENING CREDITS!!!!

There you go! You whiny little complainers finally got your sarcastic Sokka. And he definitely has more emotional range than the Sokka in the other project that shall not be named so I approve!

THAT'S ZUKO'S TINY LITTLE WARSHIP CRUISING AROUND THE SOUTH POLE LOOKING FOR THE AVATAR!!!

UNCLE!

That's not Zuko pinning up that picture of Aang. Maybe it's Zhao?

I fucking love the masks on the Fire Nation soldiers!!!!!!!

Zuko, you moody, angsty, traumatized teenager! I love you!

(This better get renewed so we can get awkward Zuko. I want to hear him say, "That's rough, buddy." I want to know how many takes they ruined when they eventualy film that scene.)

ZUKO AND IROH TEAM UP AGAINST THOSE EARTH KINGDOM SOLDIERS!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you know guys, maybe we should hear out what the fire nation has to say?

Nope, sorry, I was distracted by the abs. They should have had him silhouetted because I'm pretty sure this is the AGNI KAI WHERE HE BURNS HIS KID'S FACE!

Avatar "I don't want the responsibility!" Aang.

It's giving "Because I never wanted to be" and "I'm just one kid" energy.

THE FACT THAT I WILL NEVER GET TO CUDDLE APPA IN REAL LIFE IS A CRIME!

Sokka coming in and reminding Aang that he's not alone in this.

Reminds me of early on in the show when he says "Katara and I aren't going to let anything happen to you."

Momo's excellent comedic timing, there.

IT'S JUN! AND NYLA! IT LOOKS SO FREAKING GOOD!

HOLY FUCKING SHIT! IF THAT'S HEI BAI, THEN I'M GOING TO SHIT MYSELF WHEN THEY SHOW KOH!

Oh, Zuko isn't showing up to Kyoshi this time, it's ZHAO!

SOKKA AND SUKI LOOKING AMAZING FIGHTING TOGETHER!

THAT'S TEO AND AANG FLYING AROUND! THAT'S TEO AND AAANG!

I guess one of the big changes from the cartoon is that we'll see Teo and his dad in Omashu instead of the Northern Air Temple because that's DEFINITELY Omashu they're flying around.

AANG! YOU'RE SO PINT-SIZED COMPARED TO SOKKA AND KATARA! AND THE RUNNING HUG! I CAN'T HANDLE THE RUNNING HUGS! THEY'RE MY KRYPTONITE!

BLUE SPIRT! WE'RE GETTING THE BLUE SPIRIT AND AANG FIGHTING TOGETHER!

Aang ready to kick some Fire Nation butt.

I wonder if that's part of the Siege of the North? It looks like Sokka flies him in on Appa and Aang drops in.

I think the next shot is the South Pole when Zuko attacks trying to find Aang?

Aang pulling out the Matrix moves when Sokka lets his boomerang fly!

KING BUMI! They were really accurate with the costumes here.

KATARA FIGHTING OFF ZUKO AT THE NORTH POLE!!!!

Jet looking like a badass and fighting off some fire benders.

I know I've guessed this several times, but THAT WAS DEFINITELY AANG AND ZUKO AT THE SOUTH POLE!

I like we see the glow slowly going over the tattoos as Aang goes into the Avatar state instead of it just going straight to glowing.

AND THE CHANTING! I LOVE THIS MUSIC SO MUCH!!!

I think Aang's last transition to the Avatar State is definitely him at the Southern Air Temple when he finally has to face what happened to the Air Nomads, but I could be wrong.

Anyway. February 22 isn't that far away and there are not enough words to describe how excited I am for this.

#avatar the last airbender #atla #aang #katara #sokka #prin #uncle iroh #fire lord ozai #azula #admiral zhao #suki #kyoshi warriors #appa #momo #king bumi

[juniperhillpatient]

thank you for tagging me @kiki-strike !! <33

10 characters 10 fandoms 10 (ish) tags!

1. Azula ATLA - she's a girlboss. she's a pathetic poor little meow meow. she's a manipulative mastermind. she's a socially awkward wreck. she's a child soldier whose mother left her & who's father treated her like a weapon. she's the most formidable villain the heroes have ever faced. i love her

2. Ashley Graves TCOAAL - a controversial pick MAYBE but I love to see a demon-worshipping cannibal queen winning (committing unspeakable acts but it's ok because her mom didn't love her & also she is baby have u considered that?) i think ashley should be allowed to commit all the atrocities she wants as a treat on the grounds that her parents were so awful they left her to starve to death & before that, pretended not to notice when she & her brother accidentally killed a girl in middle school

3. Natalie Scatorcio, Yellowjackets - 2 cannibal queens in a row I must have a type <3 I love a tragic hero who is also a violent, dangerous & unstable individual. forgiveness is a nice idea but my poor doomed antler queen will never live to see it... she was a gentle soul (ignore the atrocities) who never got to see a single moment of peace or gentleness in her life

4. Sam Carpenter, Scream - it was nearly impossible for me to pick between my best girls Sidney, Emma, & Sam for this list but I have to go Sam. she's the daughter of a serial killer. she enjoys stabbing people. she sees visions of her dead dad telling her to kill but she loves her friends & her sister more than anything. i adore my dangerous & violent but also oh so sweet babygirl

5. Faith Lehane Buffy the Vampire Slayer - listen, Buffy is the obvious choice for the best character in Buffy OFC. but have you considered. faith is broken & hurt & a little crazy with jealousy & obsession with buffy. she's the dark slayer. she has a dynamic with the wacky evil demonic town mayor that mirrors buffy's relationship with her wholesome (mostly. sometimes demon rebelly) librarian mentor as the dark side of the coin. she's never had anyone pick her first & it kills her but she pretends she doesn't care. i'd die for her

6. Baby Firefly - this time not a confirmed cannibal but my girl is into corpse desecration & necrophilia so I think this is a great list that proves I have excellent taste in fictional characters. "there is no wrong. if someone needs to be killed you kill 'em! that's the way :)"

7. Beth Salinger, Hostel 2 - fave final girl my bestie had a hot lesbian enemies to almost lovers to beheading you & playing soccer with the head dynamic with an evil secret society member who tried to lure her to her death. she also cut off the penis of the man who dared to fuck with her & fed it to a dog so like what more can you even want from a character <3

8. Dennis Reynolds IASIP - having dennis as my fave is soo embarrassing he's such a basic fave but genuinely he's SO fucking pathetic & sad beneath the layers of fake manipulative suave cool rich kid that he thinks he conveys (he doesn't). he's literally just a sad little girl who falls apart & curls up on he ground crying when things get overwhelming. everyone who doesn't understand him thinks he's a mastermind serial killer but they are FALLING FOR HIS ACT

9. Katherine Pierce TVD - THEY HATE TO SEE A GIRLBOSS WINNINGGGGGGG (I don't know Scarlet Witch but I think it's funny to steal the description for #9 for Katherine from the person who tagged me in this hehe) anyway it's funny for me to pick Katherine when I named my cat damon & I have a ginormous shirtless poster of ian somerhalder literally over my bed I'm looking at it right now BUT hear me out. Katherine is my real fave. unforgivable villain who always chooses herself first & also mirrors the protagonist & also she was just a girl once too, a pregnant, scared young girl. if the writers cared about me specifically at all we would've gotten a spin off of Katherine & her daughter instead of what we got

10. Annie Edison Community - much like with buffy the vampire slayer & buffy summers, there is a correct answer to which community character is objectively the best & it's obviously abed. BUT my subjective fave that I latch onto is annie. she's just so babygirl. she had a nervous breakdown in high school because she was always too perfect. she's just out of rehab for adderall when we meet her but it's mostly only referenced or flashed back to as a joke. we never meet her parents but the quotes she references from them are deeply disturbing if you turn off the laugh track & pay attention. she has a fucked up relationship with her good older male friend because #daddy issues. she is obsessed with true crime. there's a monkey named after her boobs. she's the ONLY member of the study group who could've EVER lived with troy & abed & incorporated herself into their dynamic the way she does in episodes like foosball & nocturnal vigilantism. my girl is so silly & a little crazy <3

anyway

thank u for the tag i love rambling about my fave characters!!

I tag: @missjessefantastico, @theowritesfiction @dont-leafmealone, @peony-pearl, @stalker-among-the-stars @bearsandbeansart @chasingfictions @hello-nichya-here, @lunaintheskyforever, @gathering0gloom, @jctko, @jet-apologistmybadhomies, @745voiceofthepeople, @prodogg, @matchamarshmallow

ok if you wanted to be tagged please just say I tagged you also no pressure to the people I tagged it's just for fun if u want :)

#tag games #ty <333 #this is in no particular order #i just kinda thought of characters & media I like as I went hahaha

[scamper333]

Azula: Ty Lee

Ty Lee: Yes Zula my love

A: You are not going to believe what I’ve heard from our dear niece, apparently the Avatar Peasant…

TL: Be nice

A: What I have to differentiate between her and The Avatar

TL: What do you call Avatar Roku

A: Great Grandfather

TL: Oh… right, um what about Kyoshi

A: Well (wraps arm around her) when you dress up like her in bed I call her mommy, But I call her Avatar Kyoshi because she was the best. Ok actually I have one Avatar Freezer burn

TL: I like it, it sounds like something you would call her if you knew her growing up. So what happened?

A: Well apparently she did what the Avatar was unable to do and bring back Air Bending, bringing balance back into the world. There have been reports of people seemingly at random developing air bending.

TL: I don’t think it’s rand…ACHOO

Blows Azula across the room, but Azula sticks the landing with blue flames

TL: Me and Aang always suspected I had some air nomad in me

A: You do have the grey eyes and certainly the personality of one. We should test out how long those air bending lungs can hold if you know what I mean

Nips at Ty Lees lower lip

A: I suppose you will need to head towards Air Temple Island to get some training with Baby Avatar

TL: Oh no I’m much to old for that

A: Don’t be ridiculous, you and me both know that if we weren’t forced to retire we would both still be active Kyoshi Warriors

TL: You mean I would

A: Hey as former crowned princess of the Fire nation when Zuzu asks me to help advise the Fire Lord with him you do it

Hugs Ty Lee and kisses her

A: You’ll do great and I bet you will master air bending in half the time the Avatar did, I don’t know how I would feel about the tattoos though

TL: Do you think they will let me get them in pink

A: You are a very important member of the royal family I don’t see why not, just please hold off on shaving your head, even without the tattoos you would look too much like the Avatar for me to sleep with…..Though Avatar Freezer Burn and Avatar Kyoshi on the other hand

Licks lips

TL: you are so bad

Kisses her on the cheek

TL: Where are you going

A: Well Zuzu is going on a trip to check on some things so I’m going to help Zumzum (zoom zoom), I’ll be right back you should get ready for your trip

Hug and Kiss

TL: Ok say hi to Zuko and Izumi for me

A: Of course love you

TL: Love you too

Feel free to expand on this

#atla fanfic #azula x ty lee #legend of korra #azula redemption #azula #ty lee

[roththeprimordial]

Ursa: Wow, that was a good one, Aang!

Aang: Hehehe, yeah, Monk Gyatso taught me that!

Azula: Ugh, please forgive my boyfriend's idiocy, Mother. He never knows when to stop with the stupid jokes.

Aang: Jokes you laugh at behind closed doors.

Azula: Shut up.

Ursa: I'm so happy you two could swing by for a visit... Actually, there's something I'd like to talk to you about, Aang...

(Ursa turns away and calls out for Kiyi)

Ursa: Kiyi! Can you come over here for a moment?

Azula: Hold on! No! If you have something to say to him, then I'll be by his side.

Ursa: It's nothing serious, I assure you. Besides, Kiyi has been wanting to spend time with her big sister. And I think it'll be good for BOTH of you.

Kiyi: I'm here, Mom. Oh, hi Aang, Azula!

Aang: Hi, Kiyi. Geez, your getting tall!

Azula: Oh, hello, Kiyi...

Ursa: Kiyi, your big sister heard about your talent of braiding hair, and she'd love to do it with you!

Kiyi: Really!?

Azula: Pff... Oh please, I'd rather stick my tongue in an ant hil-

(Aang lightly elbows Azula with a smile)

Azula: ... Oh fine!

Kiyi: Yay!

(Azula gets up and walks away with Kiyi)

Ursa: ... Avatar Aang, you have done great things in the world. You SAVED the world... But to me, you've done an even greater deed. You saved my daughter.

Aang: Oh, well, thank you Ursa. But, it's no big deal, I saved her from falling out of the sky once, but that didn't-

Ursa: Hehehe, no. I meant in another way. You saved her from herself. Azula is not perfect. She had a lot of flaws, flaws that her father exploited... Once Ozai saw she had talents, he began molding her. He taught her that kindness was weakness, that showing mercy was weakness. That using violence and fear were the only ways to get what you want. Each time she hurt Zuko, or a classmate, or whoever else of that nature, Ozai secretly encouraged it... I was... Honestly frightened of her. Don't get me wrong, she was my child and I loved her. I just... Didn't show it enough. And because of my weakness, Ozai transformed her into what she later became.

Aang: Ursa, please don't blame yourself. You did everything you could, but, Ozai just had too strong of a grip over her.

Ursa: Thank you for your kind words, Aang. But I don't deserve them. Before and after Sozin's comet, she started to unravel. She lost her grip on reality. But, even after all of that, you were there to pick up the pieces. Despite all she did to you and your friends, you showed kindness to her. You showed her love. Something I wasn't capable of doing... I've never seen her so well off and happy before. You are the light in her life.

Aang: I think your giving me a little too much credit, Ursa...

(Ursa leans forward with a serious expression, staring eye-to-eye with Aang)

Ursa: Aang, I understand how powerful my daughter is. She is one of the most powerful firebenders in the world. Possibly in all of history. But no matter what, she's still my baby, and I love her. Please, please promise me, you'll do whatever you can to keep her safe. Keep her happy. I know I have no right asking you something like this, but as her mother, I want her to live the best life she can. Can you do that for me, Aang? Can you make her happy?

(Aang gave a sincere smile before gently grabbing Ursa's hands and looking her in the eye)

Aang: I SWEAR on my life... I will keep her safe and happy...

Ursa: Thank you, Avatar Aang...

#Atla #Avatar #Avatar the last airbender #Aang #Azula #Ursa #Kiyi #Azulaang

[iseeweirdthings]

Thoughts and Notes on Netflix's 2024 Live Action Avatar the Last Airbender (spoilers!)

Good:

The Casting overall I think is good, I have some problems with characterization but overall everybody looks the part -azula.

The Effects good all the way through actually

Some of the Added Scenes, such where Zuko gets his platoon from

The Score, it's the same score

Bad:

Incredibly Show and Tell, like illude to something, foreshadow something, don't just show me it and explain it right away, not every plot thread has to be on screen.

Pacing, condensing 20 24 minute episodes into 8 one hour long episodes really hurts character moments and overall story progression.

The War!!! 70% of the dialogue is about THE WAR. That's not really what the original story is about, so much focus is about the war and you lose so much of the necessary innocence of the characters

The Live Action why do we doing this.

Nobody seems like friends when the camera is on, the chemistry isn't working sadly, I think it has to do with Dialogue and Pacing of Dialogue, they need to actually talk to each other rather taking turns performing one liners and monologues. There's too much space in between lines.

Every character is playing their trauma as if it's their first card in the deck, and pouring it out to everyone immediately, it's lazy, and unemotional when it should be.

I feel like I just watched 8 episodes of this show and followed this group but I don't know any of them, we're not given time to spend with them.

Character Notes

Avatar (the war) Aang, this isn't a child, he is played by a child but sadly he isn't allowed to be one. He's too weighed down by his trauma and responsibilities that he isn't given the space to have fun, and he does have a nice smile and he does look like Aang but they're playing him as a fucking rock. A Rock who can fly???

Also all the past Avatars give him such shitty advice which he always disagrees with and then when he leaves the spirit world he's like "they're absolutely right!" stand up for your own beliefs baby!

He gets so boiled down to being a hero and having to save everybody that he loses his own essence and appeal.

Katara (the prodigy) It just doesn't feel like the same character, she doesn't feel motherly, she doesn't feel angry, she isn't shown to be hard working, idk she's just there, so much of her original struggle was learning but through some nice words from Aang and Jet she's already a master before she gets to the North Pole.

Sokka (😐 this is the face he's making) I think he just needs to be more expressive and charismatic, I want to like him but he's just too stiff. Get that man high before filming or something idk. Should've been more sexist. it's a plot point.

Appa and Momo aren't characters, they're just there but not even there.

Zuko!! he's cute! I think he might be my favourite casting. He's frustrated and whiney and annoying in all the right ways. He's by far the most rounded character so far and that's helped by more screentime from not only him but Ozai and Azula. But! that's at the cost of their own mystique and characterisation.

He's also not funny enough, like original Zuko's dialogue is 90% "My Honour!!!!" and new Zuko at least to my knowledge doesn't say it one time. Like they're both hyper-fixated on the same task but one is just naturally funnier. idk maybe that's an easier thing to pull off in animation.

And like most people I think adding the platoon he thinks shouldn't be sacrificed as his crew is a good decision, I just wish he made it himself, rather than Ozai gifting/pawning them off to him. would've made it just all that better in my opinion.

Iroh! loved you at first! great casting, but you're allergic to smiling, I get it this first season we're really playing into the RIP Lu Ten but like Zuko is right here and you need to spend time spending time with this kid, show him that war ain't all that. there's joy and love in this world man, and so many amazing wonders. be happy just to live in a world like that. be happy man please. you're too old to not know how to grieve.

I think Azula's casting has yet to prove itself. The young girl playing her just seems like a really nice person, who doesn't at all look crazy enough.

They're also fucking her character, where is her self confidence? where is her unwavering faith in herself? Why is Ozai doubting her?? She's the mother fucking queen? why isn't she acting like it??? She just isn't giving crazy bitch.

Ozai, fine, but why are we seeing ur face??? sit in the chair!!!!

I think overall i want to give this show the benefit of the doubt, you're not doing a terrible job. Just give us more character moments and relaxation, it's not all about the war. it's about kids and growing and friendship and shit. also like write faster dialogue you can get more lines in like always. Especially for Sokka! he's the filler to any dead air. In 50 minute episodes there shouldn't be this much silence.

I'll keep watching, for season 2 I just hope that even as the show gets more serious, they can still create the beautiful moments of quiet and calm and fun. The show needs more fun, and the kids should have more too.

#hi kathryn #im sorry Meli #tumble time #tumble #oh boy oh man #Avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar live action #atla #my expectations werent high but i think the showrunners expectations were lower #natla #tumbles #Aang #Zuko #Iroh #Sokka #Katara #I still had fun watching i think mostly when i had a second thing to do #enough of live action adaptations #its still way more avatar then the movie is #fucking m night shamylan #its the best live action avatar adaptation to date! good thing the bar was on the floor before hand

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Ten Into The Fog (Part 18)

The day of the comet is still on her mind when mother arrives. Azula watches her through the window as more imaginings of her downfall run through her mind. She wishes that she could rid herself of them, could stop coming up with all of these horrid and humiliating scenarios that leave her privately flustered. 

Agni, she’s an embarrassment to even herself. No wonder father thinks so little of her. No wonder he believes that she has fallen for every one of his lies.

What she looks like in her head as she crumbles is very similar to what she had been like the day prior, full of unrestrained tears and screams. Resentfully this leads her to conclude that she can’t entirely put it on her pregnancy; when it comes down to it, when the pressure gets to be too great she breaks. She isn’t as strong as she had imagined.

Or maybe the universe is just exceptionally cruel to her and hands her situations that would leave a weaker person irreversibly damaged.

Azula takes a deep breath and stretches her arms. She stands up and unties her robes to adjust it. It is mightily uncomfortable, digging into her skin and it no longer sits quite right on her belly. This time she ties her robe in a way that the ribbon belt rests above the bump. Sometimes she swears that she gets bigger overnight. She might have to look into getting a new robe and pairs of pants that aren’t comfortlessly snug.

She plucks Chomp from her cage and for it receives a grumpy, sleepy dragon growl. She supposes that she can’t hold it against her, Azula isn’t exactly a bundle of joy in the morning either.

She carries the dragon downstairs. Zuko and Mai emerge only minutes after her. Zuko with bedraggled hair and tired eyes and Mai with disheveled pajamas. At least the two of them make Azula’s own tousled locks look more put together.

“I can’t believe that you forgot that your mother and uncle were coming home today.” Mai mutters. Zuko grumbles something in return. 

Spirits, what kind of firebenders are they to be so cranky in the morning? What happened to firebenders rise with the sun?

In her case, a baby happened. A baby and plenty of stressors. 

And one of those stressors has just walked through the palace’s huge double doors. Azula’s stomach does a little flop. Reflexively she holds Chomp protectively to her chest, knowing deep down that she would much rather have the dragon holding her to its chest. 

Ursa regards them with a warm smile and Azula’s stomach sinks that much further and she isn’t sure which emotion is causing the tickles. It could be fear, sorrow, or some strange sort of happiness.

Mother looks as though she is happy to see her. 

She still loves you. Sokka’s voice echos in her head.

“Can I?” Ursa holds her arms open for a hug. Azula shakes her head and there is a flicker of hurt in mother’s eyes. One that almost compels Azula to just let the woman hug her and get it over with. “Zuko told me that you can’t remember anything.”

“Zuzu is exaggerating. I have some of my memories.” She replies, stiffly. But not the ones she wants. It would have been significantly nicer if she had forgotten the first fourteen years of her life as opposed to the later ten.

“He never mentioned that you have a dragon.” Ursa remarks. “Who is this?”

“Her name is Chomp. I decided that I wanted to call her Kasaitsuki but she only answers to Chomp now.” Dragons, she is coming to find, are as dumb as dogs and humans. At least her dragon is. 

“I haven’t seen a dragon since…”

“Sozin helped massacre all of them.”  Azula grumbles. She finds herself  a spot to sit and fusses with her robes again. A feat made twice as uncomfortable with Ursa’s observing eye and that soft and loving twinkle in her eyes. That understanding.  The woman invites herself to sit next to her.

“Zuko also didn’t mention…” She gestures to the baby bump.

“Apparently Zuko is on a forgetting streak.” Mai rolls her eyes. “You better break that on time for our anniversary.”

“And for you sister’s birthday tomorrow.” Ursa quirks a brow. At least one person has remembered her birthday because Azula herself hadn’t. And then the woman’s attention falls back on the baby bump. Really there’s no sense in trying to conceal it now. Mostly she wishes that it weren’t there at all. She certainly doesn’t like to think much of it. 

“Have you been seeing the physicians?” Ursa asks.

“For what?”

“The baby!” The woman explains. “Spirits, Azula, you can’t just ignore it and hope for the best…”

“It’s been working just fine so far.” Azula shrugs. “Mostly.”

Ursa fixes her with a cross stare. “There are certain foods that you should and shouldn’t be eating. I can have Iroh fix you a cup of red raspberry tea. There are firebending forms that can help prepare you for labor…”

Azula visibly pales. Agni, she doesn’t even want to think about that yet. Ursa takes her hand and she yanks it back. 

“Sorry.” Ursa flinches. “I just…I’m trying to be comforting. I’m not used to…” She frowns. “We were getting very well before your uncle and I went to the Jasmine Dragon and on our vacation.” 

Deep down Azula feels as though she should be the one apologizing for being so foolhardy enough to loose her memories. It is just as things are with TyLee. Amends have been made and yet she feels as scorned and hurt as she ever had.

She wants to remember what it is like to not feel queasy at mother’s affections and kind gestures. She wants to remember what it is like to actually believe and feel like the woman doesn’t hate her–isn’t afraid of her. 

But then, her mother wouldn’t be sitting so close to her if she were terrified. She wouldn’t ask for hugs and give unsolicited advice so feely. “You’re not afraid of me?” Azula asks softly, furrowing her brows. She needs to hear her say it just as much as she needs to demand an answer to why she had abandoned her, why she had made her feel unloved. 

No doubt she has already received the answers to both of those things countless times. 

“Of course I’m not afraid of you. Azula, I love you. I do.” She manages to sneak a quick hand squeeze. 

Azula grits her teeth. “I love you, Azula. I do.” There is a familiarity about those words, about that tone of voice. And that familiarity comes with a tingle of anxiety that she can’t place. It scratches at something in her memories.

She thinks that if she dwells on it just a little bit longer, more forcefully that she might be able to dislodge this memory and shove it into the light. 

Why is it only the bad memories that seem to want to come back to her. 

She can tug this one forward until she has it, sure. But she doesn’t want this one. 

There is a part of her that knows she is being childish and that she is being a coward but she can’t handle in more strife right now. She thinks that she is being perfectly reasonable. At any rate, mother is blabbering again, more advice about the baby. A warning about how, “when I was pregnant with you, you kept kicking your foot into my ribs.”

Azula cringes, sprits, no wonder the woman had such a bone to pick with her.

“Did it hurt?”

“It was more of an ache. I suppose that it hurt sometimes though.” She admits. 

Azula nods. “Mother…?” But she isn’t sure what she wants to ask. There is a part of her that wants to know if mother will be there when she is giving birth,  a part of her that knows that it is only right for her mother to be there walking her through it. The other part of her wants the woman to stop pretending like nothing is wrong…

She squeezes her eyes shut and reminds herself that the woman isn’t pretending at all. But she still needs to know all the same, “why did you leave me?”

Ursa sighs, “I was afraid, Azula. Afraid for you and Zuko and, admittedly, afraid for myself. Your father is a difficult man. He would have hurt Zuko…”

“He did hurt Zuko.”

Ursa shakes her head. “I shouldn’t have trusted him to keep his word about not hurting the two of you. I spent a very long time after getting my memories back, regretting not having taken the two of you with me.”

Azula’s brows scrunch. “You lost your memories?”

“I suppose that you’re going to have to admit that we have a lot more in common than you realize.” Ursa gives her a gentle nudge. “I sacrificed them to get a new face from the Mother Of Faces so that your father couldn’t find me.” 

“Can this mother of faces give my memories back.”

That look of sympathy gives Azula all that she needs to know before mother answers, “the Mother Of Faces can only give back memories that she took.”

“Right.” Azula mutters. 

“Mai and I are going to get breakfast, do you want us to bring you anything?” Zuko cuts in.

Azula nods vigorously. At this, Ursa chuckles. “Zuko had quite an appetite when I was pregnant with him.” She pauses. “Memories like those were hard to give up, Azula. I didn’t make that decision lightly.” 

“You didn’t even say goodbye to me.” 

“I did, dear.” She promises. “Zuko can tell you. You were sleeping heavily so I kissed you on the cheek and went on my way. I knew that I would make my way back to you and Zuko somehow.” 

“You thought that I was a monster. You didn’t treat me like you treated Zuko.”

Ursa laughs, “I treated you differently than Zuko because you’re Azula. Zuko is more sensitive. He needed and still does need gentle words and reassurance.”

So does she! She wants to scream. But no one ever gives that to her because she is apparently ��so strong’. 

“You were always so…” she considers her words. “Self-sufficient.” She pauses. “I guess that that’s why it was so easy to…”

“Forget about me.” 

Ursa flinches. “To assume that you didn’t need special attention. I didn’t think that you wanted it, you always seemed to like it when your father let you do your own thing. When I was a girl I liked to be left alone.”

“All of the time? You wanted to be left alone all of the time?”

“No, I didn’t. I just thought that Ozai was more affectionate with you than he actually was.”

“Father only likes me for my bending.” Azula frowns, giving Chomp a good pet. “He stopped wanting me around when I stopped being useful, at least that’s how Zuko and Sokka make it sound.”

“The fault isn’t with you, Azula. Your father treats people the way that he treats his war machines. He only likes interacting with them when they are working perfectly.” She shakes her head. “You should have seen his face when I told him that I might not have been able to give him an heir. You could have been and probably did do everything right, it only takes one little slip up for him to…” she gestures vaguely.

“And then I had no one, mother.”  She thinks that she can recall it now, just a little. At the very least she has a vague recollection of the feeling.

“You have someone now. You have a lot of people. And you do have me.” Ursa takes her hand again and squeezes it harder. “You can be angry at me all over again if that makes things easier, but I’m not angry at you, Azula. And this time I’ll be here when you’re ready to let go of that anger. I’ll be here even when you aren’t.” 

Azula swallows, the division in her mind only widens. Agni, she is furious with the woman for leaving her the first time. She is here now and she wants to be supportive. And Azula could use every bit of support that she can get. She manages a small nod. “Okay, mother.” 

The woman pats her hand. “If you need anything, you can ask me.”

Really she just wants the women to be patient with her. She just wants everyone to be patient with her as she tries to put the fragments of herself back together. As she tries to navigate a world wherein people care about her…wherein they love her. 

As she tries to navigate a world that isn’t lonely, hopeless, and depressing.

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

[princess-of-the-corner]

Okay so, I'm kinda curious, how long would it take for Hakoda and Zuko to meet in the Avatar!Ty Lee AU, and how would that meeting go down?

Ha!

Physically, Hakoda and Zuko would meet in the inbetween Books 2 and 3.

But Hakoda does hear about the other kids beforehand. First is after Bato meets back up with him after his episode in Book One, where Bato is like 'Hey ran into the kids and they have a bunch of other kids with them now!'

And then also near the end of Book 2 when both Katara and Sokka go to see Hakoda, they tell him about the rest of the group. Including whatever the hell is happing in Sokka's love life.

As for them actually meeting like. Things are hectic as hell from the ending of Book 2 so formal introductions are rushed over.

And like. I just.

So just.

Zuko. My baby boy. Just.

That instilled fear of adult figures from just. His whole life. But /especially/ fathers. Even though he knows. He knows most fathers are nothing like his. He especially can just see that Hakoda is a genuine good person and a great father.

But it makes him jumpy. Especially because we just lost Iroh at the end of Book 2(he's fine but like Canon he was captured). Which means Zuko no longer has the main 'good' adult figure in his life so he's extra spooked and doesn't feel safe.

(And tbh Azula is the same way because haha shared trauma but it manifests differently but like. Just. If Hakoda surprises them, they jump to attention. If he's frustrated, Zuko will flinch and be overly cautious while Azula is ready to either fix the problem or shift blame even if she wasn't the frustration was targeted at)

Hakoda notices that Something is up. Because both those kids are super jumpy around most of the adults but /especially/ around him. And Hakoda doesn't know what's up but he knows that something is, in fact, up.

But he also knows to approach thing cautiously but directly. So Hakoda does ask Zuko about it and is just like 'Hey if I said something that makes you scared of me I'm sorry. Also if you're scared because you're dating my kid then honestly idc you seem like a good kid already so I would like to fix whatever is happening here."

And Zuko is just very ?????? about this whole interaction. An adult? Admitting they might have done something wrong and being willing to fix it instead of blaming him for how he's acting even if they didn't do anything??? An adult and a good parental figure calling him a good kid???? What???

Zuko, low-key trying not to cry, is just kinda like 'Hey totally not you I just. Have bad experiences. With fathers. I mean hey you already know my father isn't the best person since he's the goddamn Fire Lord but that's a whole mess and obviously has nothing to do with you. Just. Just. Thanks for being nice I guess? I'll probably get better over time but it's a LOT right now and I know you're not him and you're not going to hurt me or the others but thirteen years of that nightmare is going to take a while."

And Hakoda is just like 'Hold on I..... I need a minute to process all that information. Go back to the part where your father is the Fire Lord????"

Zuko: '...... You know I really should just start with that instead of dropping it on people weeks after I know them."

And ofc Zuko doesn't go into full detail past that but.... Hakoda is a smart man. He knows why the kid is jumpy now. He sees that scar on Zuko's face and knows that it couldn't have been accidental.

Hakoda is just internally like 'if you weren't about to become a son-in-law I would just straight up adopt you holy shit'.

But he does keep that whole thing in mind when they interact and things do get better the more Zuko(and Azula) gets used to having Hakoda around.

#avatar!ty lee au

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine seeing Ozai’s angels for the first time and being in awe

You’d joined the Avatar and his friends quite early on and had been with them ever since. They’d initially recruited you for protection as despite not being a bender you were a very skilled bodyguard and so you got roped into protecting the avatar. You usually took your job very seriously but sometimes things (or people) could distract you.

Meeting Number One: Ty lee

You’d all arrived at Omashu to see if King Bumi could be Aang’s earthbender teacher only to find the whole city had fallen to the fire nation. In your attempt to free all the citizens a fire nation baby had been separated from his parents and Aang arranged a trade. Bumi for the baby. You had your weapons within your grasp and were toying with them as you waited to see who you would be dealing with in this trade. You heard someone approaching and turned to see three beautiful women. You weren’t sure what you’d been expecting but this was certainly not it. The three walked up in formation and you just stared "wow". "What?" Sokka asked from beside you and you shrugged "nothing....just do you think all fire nation girls look like that?”. Sokka shrugged “I guess?”. “I really need to visit the fire nation then” you whistled and Sokka shook his head at you. Aang started talking and you eagerly watched hoping to find out more about this interesting trio. You soon found out the one on the right was a princess and the one in the middle was called Mai but the other one didn’t have a name yet. You thought they were all pretty cool and then when you saw them fight...you were speechless. The princess Azula went for Aang leaving you and Katara with Mai and the other girl. Katara called she’d deal with Mai and so you got the nameless pink lady. She sprang into action and you were very impressed at how quick and flexible she was. “Wow you’re amazing” you cried as she vaulted over you. The girl smiled slightly “thanks”. You blocked her attack but didn’t bother retaliating, you just wanted to see what she could do. She didn’t disappoint. Soon the girl gave you no other option but to react. You defended yourself keeping out of her way and soon found the pattern she fought in. Sensing the fight was rounding to a close you decided to find out more about her while you could. “So you got a name?” you asked. “Ty lee” she replied and you nodded “figures, pretty name for a pretty girl”. The girl smirked at you and you both jumped to hear Katara yell. Mai had successfully pinned her and was watching you two. “Ty lee what are you doing! Get her”. “I’m trying but she’s...interesting”. You smiled at the compliment and Mai sighed “fine i’ll do it”. You grinned as now both the girls fixed their attention on you before realising that was actually a bad thing. Mai raised her knives and you contemplated your life choices when suddenly Appa appeared and knocked them away from you. You rushed to free Katara and then hopped onto Appa’s back, leaving the trio of cool women behind you.

You managed to find Aang and escape but the trio had certainly left an impression. “Still want to move to the fire nation?” Sokka asked you and you nodded “without a doubt, they were the most interesting women i’ve ever seen!”. Katara turned at the pure excitement in your voice and raised an eyebrow “You’re not serious?”. In reply you just shrugged “hey don’t blame me! Angry powerful women are my weakness” you cried. Sokka nodded “that is true, remember in that fight against June? She was useless”. You smiled at the memory “she was so cool....” you stared off into space and the others all rolled their eyes. “Well be that as it may, you have to find a way to stay strong and ignore them, can you do that?” Katara asked. You nodded “yep, totally” but you weren’t sure.

Meeting Number Two: Azula

A few weeks later you’d recruited an earth bender to teach Aang and everything was going great...then a giant tank began chasing you. You were very fed up at the metal tank following you until it opened up and three women exited. “It’s Mai, Ty lee and Azula!” you cried and Katara looked at you “you know you could try to sound less excited when you say their names, they are trying to kill us”. You smirked “sorry?”. “Who?” Toph asked. “Mai, Ty lee and Azula” you grinned “okay so i’ll start with Ty lee, basically she’s this insanely beautiful acrobat who...”. “Maybe save this for later y/n” Sokka called and you nodded “yep good idea” and fled with the others.

The girls continued to pursue you and even you were losing your excitement at the idea. So when Aang decided to end it by confronting them you agreed. You accompanied Aang to an abandoned town to wait for them but they were taking a while. So, bored, you wandered onto the outskirts kicking rocks to pass the time.

You felt Azula before you saw her. You turned and locked eyes with the princess of the fire nation. “The princess Azula” you smiled “do I bow or is that too formal?”. “It wouldn’t hurt?” she shrugged before sending fire at your head. You dodged it with a laugh “not a talker huh?”. “Why would I waste my breath on the likes of you? A petty thief with no home or money, I do my research and you’re worthless”. Your smile didn’t even waver “awww you’re just saying that because we didn’t get to spend much time together last time...you’ll love me once you get to know me. Ty lee warmed up to me”. “I’m not like Ty lee” she replied and carried on attacking you. You had to agree, Azula was not like Ty lee, she was a lot rougher. Whilst Ty lee had been aiming to immobilise you Azula was aiming to seriously injure you at best. “Certainly not as friendly as Ty lee” you agreed “but that’s okay”. “Where is the avatar?” Azula called. “I’d rather talk about you” you replied “princess of the fire nation, that must be fun, it suits you”. “I know, now tell me where the avatar is or I will kill you” the princess retorted. “No you won’t, if you killed me then you’d never know where he is” you grinned. Azula groaned in frustration and threw a large wave of fire at you, knocking you over. She rushed after it and pinned you down on the floor “still not worried I’ll kill you?” she asked. You looked from the fire she’d conjured in her palm back to her face and smiled “damn those fire nation genes are good...I thought your brother was hot but you’re even better”. For just a second, Azula faltered and you used that second to break out of her grip. You threw Azula off you and scrambled up into a run. She was close behind you when you ran around the corner straight into a fight between Aang and Zuko. “Y/n where have you been?” Aang called while Zuko stared “Azula?”. “Brother” she replied. “Sorry Azula and I were spending some quality time together” you said loudly “but we’re here now”. Azula’s eye twitched and she attacked.

You and Aang only managed to get out of the encounter with the help of Sokka, Toph and Katara who all showed up to help. Then the tables turned and you had Azula outnumbered. You couldn’t believe the princess of the fire nation had been out-smarted but of course she hadn’t really. She used a distraction and then ran from the scene. You spotted her fleeing down a back street and smiled, the princess of the fire nation was immaculate and you expected nothing less.

Meeting Number Three: Mai

The next time you came into contact with Ozai’s angels was when they infiltrated Ba Sing Sei by dressing up as the Kyoshi warriors. Aang got a vision Katara was in danger and when you approached the earth king to tell him, the fake kyoshi warriors attack but something was familiar about them.

Toph took one of the warriors and you took the other. While you were sparring with your warrior you kept staring at her...something about the girl was very familiar, but you couldn’t place her. "You look really familiar...have we met before?" you asked. "Good eye" the girl grinned before she threw a knife at you. The minute you saw the knife it clicked and you grinned "you’re Mai the hot knife girl!" before realising you’d said that out loud "ow...". Mai raised an eyebrow and carried on attacking you. Mai was just as impressive as Azula and Ty lee but a lot cooler with a drier sense of humour. You admired her choice of weapon the most and found the way she fought with it strangely captivating, so much so you didn’t fight to immobilise her, honestly you didn’t even try as you just wanted to watch her. Toph had won her fight with Ty lee and rushed to help you, mistakenly figuring you were losing. Toph looked for an opening but as both your choices of fight were close combat she couldn’t attack without possibly hitting you. You and Mai dodged around one another but you knew this couldn’t last forever. "I’m sorry but i have to say it, you’re really good with knives" you grinned as you disarmed her. Mai glared "you literally just disarmed me". "Yeah but you’re seriously the closest a person has ever come to stabbing me!". Mai raised an eyebrow "i imagine a lot of people try to stab you?". You laughed in agreement and Toph and Sokka stared. "What are you doing y/n stop flirting and fight her!" Sokka yelled. "Ow right" you smirked getting back into a fighting stance when Azula appeared "this is over”. You dropped your hands as she held a flame to the earth king’s throat and Sokka and Toph followed suit. “Grab them” Azula called. Mai stepped to you as you were closest and grabbed your arms tightly twisting them behind your back. You blushed as she gripped you roughly and looked away. "Seriously y/n?" Sokka asked and Mai noticed rolling her eyes. "Shut up Sokka you’re embarrassing me" you spat when Mai chimed in “actually you’re doing that all on your own”. “Ow come on, you enjoyed that fight too admit it”. Mai paused and you grinned “knew it” and she yanked your arms tighter “quit talking and walk”. “Whatever you say Mai” you grinned and complied.

You couldn’t stop thinking about Mai in your cell and you shook your head in disbelief “they have to be the coolest trio that’s ever existed! Every single one of them is amazing”. Sokka sighed “y/n could you please try to not be in love with our captors?”. “I can’t help it!” you cried “Ty lee was sweet but powerful, Azula was deadly and impressive and Mai was cool and funny, they’re all knockouts”. “Well great how about we try and get their numbers on the way out?” Toph asked metal bending the door down and you grinned “I mean I wouldn’t say no”.

You, Sokka, Toph and the earth king escaped from your cells and looked for Bosco. You found him in the throne room with Mai and Ty lee and paused. Toph took out Ty lee with earth bending and you locked eyes on Mai. No matter your feelings you had to do this so you got into a fighting stance when Mai rolled her eyes. "Just take the bear" she said annoyed and you smirked "thanks Mai!". The earth king ran to Bosco and your group headed for the door but you paused looking at Ty lee trapped in such an uncomfortable position. “Will Ty lee be okay like that?” you asked and Mai nodded “i’ll get her out”. “Y/n” Sokka yelled and you nodded. “Well bye, hope you get out of that soon Ty lee and tell Azula I said goodbye, she gets jealous when I leave her out. Glad I got to finally meet you Mai” you smiled and with a wink you ran away. You heard Mai groan but Ty lee just giggled. “Bye y/n” you heard Ty lee call and the smile was still on your face when you caught up with the others. “Having fun?” Sokka asked and you nodded “I cannot wait until we see them again!”.

You successfully managed to get Katara and Aang out safely and you laid back on Appa contemplating everything. You knew you were on opposite sides but each of the girls was intriguing and redeemable, even Azula who had almost killed Aang was still only a daughter trying to prove herself to her abusive parents. You could sense there were so many layers to each of them and smiled as you leant back on your arms. Hopefully you’d seen them again soon and who knows...maybe when this was all over things could be different. 

____

So this is basically my literal reaction to seeing Ozai’s angels for the first time. I remember watching them all fight and just fell helplessly in love with all 3 of them. Then I read the Kyoshi novels and realised I just have a thing for fire nation women (Rangi is amazing I love her so much and I’d write for her if she and Kyoshi weren’t the best couple ever, I can’t break them up even fictionally). 

#avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender imagine #atla imagine #ozai's angels #Azula's trio #Azula #Ty lee #Mai #atla azula #atla mai #atla ty lee #avatar azula #avatar ty lee #avatar mai #azula x reader #mai x reader #ty lee x reader #ozai's angels x reader #fire nation #aang #katara #toph #sokka #zuko #ba sing sei #kyoshi warriors #omashu

[xsugarysweetsx]

Request; from @tsundere-cherry-girl

Hello there! I love your writings btw, especially the Levi ones. I’ve seen you write scenarios like this before so I was gonna ask if you could do Zuko x pregnant reader. If you’ve read the comics, she becomes pregnant around the time of the Promise and goes into labor after the final battle in Smoke and Shadow. The child being Izumi. If you haven’t read the comics you don’t need to do that. I just want to see some Zuko and reader with baby Izumi fluff UwU

A/N: I changed it up just a tiny bit to fit the comic but also be it’s own story as well, ALSO! I’m sorry this took so long! 

Warning; Long, had to be cut for length

Please enjoy~🍰

*******************************************************

The night was calm, quiet, and warm. You laid in your husbands arms as you both slept. After so much chaos, hatred and war you were finally able to rest. Well, almost, Zuko has been very jumpy since being crowned fire lord. Although some of his hunches did turn out to be true, he was very set on someone trying to kill him 

“Guards!“ he had woken you from your sleep calling for the guards again, “Someone is here, secure Y/N and search the area!“ he ordered them as he jumped from bed. You following him to bring him back to bed

“Fire Lord Zuko, there is no one here, you’re safe“ one explained rushing to the door where he was ready to fight. Sometimes you thought he had too much trauma as a child that it will forever effect him

“Zuko sweet, please come back to bed. The guards have been here the whole night“ you said laying a hand on his chest attempting to keep him in a calmer state 

“You highness I can assure you no one is here-“

“There have been 5 attempts already on my life! Next thing you know they’ll come for my wife“ he grabbed the guard by the front of his uniform to make the message clear as to how serious he was 

“Sir we’ve-“ just as the guard spoke his head had been hit by an object knocking him out to the floor. Zuko pushes you behind him and gets into his fighting stance ready to defend you 

“Who’s there?! Show yourself“ just as commanded the intruder shows themselves whirling around what seemed to be a metal ball with spikes. Right before your eyes they go at it. Taking swings at each other, sooner than expected Zuko has his opponent at his mercy being taken away by his guards. He comes back to check on you

“Hey are you alright? Are you hurt?” he checks your face, you hands anything that could have gotten a scratch. You were physically okay but mentally you didn’t feel so well. You haven’t been feeling 100% for some time now and you were getting suspicious 

“I’m not hurt but, I don’t feel well Zuko“ you said leaning your head on his shoulder “Can you help me to bed please?“ You ask him, he wraps an arm around you and helps you walk to the bed and lay down. Walking back to the door his guards wait for his order

“I want double the guards here tonight and tomorrow I need the royal healer here for Y/N“

“Yes Sir!“ he closes the door and walks back to your side of the bed. Kissing your head he watches over you through the night. For one, you might not feel well, and the other being of what just happened. It was going to be a very long night....

~~~

The next morning the healer came as asked and took some time to check up on you while Zuko got ready for the day. He had given you some medical tea blends and told you to get rest. Turns out you were pregnant. Now you needed a way to tell Zuko, and with all the stress he’s under you wouldn’t know how to react. You had just finished getting dressed when he had walked in 

“Y/N, I’m heading out into town to settle last nights incident. What did the healer say?“ he asked coming over to where you sat

“Well, it’s nothing to be worried about but, something that will change everything“ you said fiddling with the tips of your hair 

“Well?“ he urges you “Come on Y/N, if I hear you’re okay it’ll make my day better“ he offered a soft smile which he knew, you melted for. You said and take his hands into yours and look into his eyes

“I’m pregnant...“ his jaw went slack almost as if he were frozen in time. It scared you “Zuko...?“ anything, he could just make a sound but you needed to hear him say something. 

“I....I have to go. I’ll see you later.“ he said kissing your forehead and leaving without saying another word. You were, hurt. You didn’t blame him completely because expressing his emotions wasn’t exactly his forte. Instead while he was out you went to the other person you trusted the most.

Knocking softly on the entrance to the garden Iroh was sat drinking some tea. 

“Ah Y/N, good morning come have some tea. I heard Zuko went to town to settle some things“ he said as he poured you a cup “I’ve also heard you’ve got something on your hands“

You simply nod and take the tea he held out to you

“So, why don’t you tell me about it“ he said with a kind smile. Iroh was probably the wisest, kindest soul you knew.

~~~

Later that afternoon Zuko came back and if anything looked more tired than before. You had a hunch as to where he was but you were hoping it wasn't true. Walking to him you cup his chin with both your hands and make him look at you in the eye

“You need to relax more...“ you said running your thumb over the bags under his eyes “You’re going to be tired before the baby gets here..and stop visiting your father, it’s not good for you“

His larger hands come up to hold yours “I’ll try, and I’m sorry about before...I’m happy” he offered a soft smile 

“Are you really?“ you pout slightly making him peck your lips 

“Yes I am, I know I’m not the best person for a father or husband..”

“Zuko“ you bring his forehead to rest on yours “You are the best person to be my husband and the father of my children. I couldn’t want anyone else“

-

As time went on things only weighed in his shoulders more. You were probably the only thing that kept him sane. You were also starting to show, your baby was growing nicely and very restless as well. On days when Zuko would have trouble sleeping the baby would get restless leaving both of you tired. But he had figured it out, if he lays in bed with you and talks to your bump, the baby calms down.

“What do you think it’ll be Zuko?“ you asked 

“Hmm, I think it’s a girl. They refuse to listen, and gets upset when I don’t talk to it, I’d say it’s you any day“ you gently wack his shoulder causing you both to laugh “I don’t mind what they are, if they’re healthy and we can make them happy is all I care about“

“You’re going to be a great father Zuko“ you said kissing his forehead 

“But...what if-“

“I’m going to stop you ahead of time. You are NOTHING like that man and you will never be. You are the kindest, strongest, best man I have ever met and our baby is lucky enough to have you as a father” 

Yes, he was terrified to make the same mistake this father make the same mistake his father made. You knew him better than anyone and if he were half as back as his father, you wouldn’t be there at that moment.

~~~

By the time you were almost due it seemed as if war had never left. From Azula attacking once again, to disagreements and even almost a Fight with Aang. Things were heavy on his shoulders, he’s tightened security because of your baby. The last thing he wanted was for anything to happen to you both.

Finally a day where everything was being settled, calmly he felt some kind of relief. That was until a guard barged into the meeting room to announce you had gone into labor. The funny thing about Zuko is that he’s fast and for some reason no one sees him. As soon as people looked away from the door and back to Zuko, only his chair was in their sight.

“Do you think he left that fast when he heard you were alive?” Sokka asked as the room became quiet

Rushing to the healers room at the door he was told he wasn’t allowed inside.

“What do you mean?! My wife is giving birth to our baby and I need to be with her!” This was going to be an old rule he was going to get rid of...

“I-I apologize sir but it’s been a tradition for generations-“

“ZUKO!!” Next thing you knew one of the midwives came to the door and saw Zuko and said

“The lady wishes for you to be with her Fire Lord Zuko” she said timidly. It took him less than a second to trip of his cape and run to your side. This was it, the end of your pregnancy, labor, the day your baby would finally be in your arms. It was a very difficult day for you, she took all day to be born and finally when the moon was high in the sky she made her appearance. She was just perfect, and for a moment the world seemed so at peace.

“She looks like you“ you whisper to Zuko as you both gaze down and admire her 

“Yeah but, she’s beautiful like you“ he whispered back, he truly felt something he’s never felt. It was happiness, excitement, protectiveness, and everything in between. He doesn’t remember the last time he was this happy, this was the best day right next to your wedding day.

Just as you expected he really was a wonderful father. During the first few weeks he wanted you only on bed rest. At night he would help care for Izumi and calm her when she needed it. He was actually the one who taught her to walk. When Aang and the rest of your friends met her, he was secretly super proud and cocky about it. They couldn’t get over how much she looked like him and just how cute she was.

He also liked to have her sleep in the same bed as you guys while she was still young. When he couldn’t sleep he would just gaze at her and talk to her, even though she couldn’t answer back.

“..and you could be anything you want to be, and you could rule the kingdom your way. If you’re like your mother I know you’ll be a kind and smart ruler. You probably can’t understand me right now but, I love you and your mother so much“ you felt your hear swell while you pretended to be asleep. 

Although your favorite memory was him showing her how to bend when she first made a flame. She was around 6 when she first bended and he felt the flame of pride light in his chest. He showed her how to meditate and control it instead of training. He was always patient and gentle with her. It was very safe to say he was never the same as his father was with him.

Izumi and Zuko were nothing more than the center of your universe, the apples of your eye. And you knew it was the same for Zuko when he looked at you. 

*******************************************************

I hope this was okay!❤️

#zuko x reader #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender x reader #atla x reader #atla zuko #prince zuko #zuko #anime #anime x reader #fanfiction #atla fanfic #atla pregnant

[momsopposed2theoccult]

It’s come to my attention that a good majority of people on this website have a really poor understanding of the conflict between Toph and Katara in “The Chase.” As somebody who loves both characters and their friendship, this irritates me. Without further ado, let’s unpack that in what is in theory supposed to be a meta but turned out more like a rant. 

“Katara was hostile towards Toph because the fact that she’s a gender non-conforming girl made Katara uncomfortable because Katara is obsessed with gender roles.”

Alright, so right off the bat this is just... completely idiotic and clearly fuelled by an agenda (and likely also a lot of projection). First of all, how is Katara of “I don’t want to heal, I want to fight!” fame “obsessed with gender roles?” There’s an entire episode in Book One dedicated to Katara refusing to conform to societal norms for women in the Northern Water Tribe! Katara routinely calls Sokka out on his misogynistic bullshit! (Mind you I adore Sokka but he could be a little twerp at times and Katara was 100% right to challenge him on it) Katara is the feminist icon of ATLA! The fact that people act like Katara is some sort of conservative tradwife who loves gender roles instead of the outspoken feminist and political activist she is makes me incredibly angry.

Second of all, Katara was extremely kind and welcoming towards Toph at first. She gently encouraged her to join in with the group as they all set up camp together as opposed to setting up her own private camp. It’s only when Toph refuses to comply with her that Katara begins to get irritated. Mind you, Toph has her reasons for this, something I’ll get to in a minute, but from Katara’s perspective (key word here is perspective) she’s just being an annoying little stubborn, selfish, lazy, anti-social, entitled brat. Of course we the audience find out later that this isn’t the case at all (or at least in theory we should find out later but apparently some people on here skipped that part), but for all her many talents Katara is not a mind reader and has no way of knowing what’s going on inside Toph’s head, nor does she know her well enough yet to fully grasp the context behind why Toph acts the way she does. Katara is somebody who greatly values community and believes in teamwork, so Toph turning down her warm welcome in favour of “carrying her own weight” likely felt like a slap in the face. Not to mention that she’s already emotionally exhausted from having to constantly mother Aang and Sokka. If I were Katara, I likely would have reacted the same way. 

Oh and I agree that the “the stars look beautiful tonight, too bad you can’t see them, Toph” comment was out of line, but it doesn’t make her a horrible person. It makes her a 14 year old, and 14 year olds can be nasty, especially sleep deprived 14 year olds. Katara is otherwise a very kind and compassionate person. Other characters have said worse than that. Hell, Toph herself has said worse than that. That being said, it was a deeply hurtful comment and I do like to imagine that she apologized for it off-screen. 

“Toph is a lazy, entitled, and classist spoiled rich brat who just didn’t want to do chores and expected other people to wait on her.” 

This is another one that makes me roll my eyes and ask if they even watched the show. First of all, the presumption that Toph is a lazy or entitled person is just... laughable. I feel like people forget that Toph isn’t actually an earthbending prodigy in the way that Azula is a firebending prodigy (I could say more about Azula and how her belief that she was the unshakeable prodigal daughter ultimately caused her downfall and how by the end of the series Zuko is arguably a better firebender than her but this isn’t a meta about Azula and Zuko, now is it?). Nah. Toph was a sheltered kid who discovered she had the ability to earthbend, was told that she could never become great at it because she was blind, and in response said FUCK THAT and decided to work her ass off until she was not only great but the very greatest all thanks to her crazy, stupid, off-the-charts nerve, drive, grit, ambition, and desire to prove people wrong about her. Does that sound like a lazy person to you? Believe me when I say that you do not achieve that kind of skill level by sitting around on your ass and expecting to have things handed to you. And entitled? Don’t make me laugh. Toph hates having things handed to her, that’s one of her defining characteristics. 

As for the implication that she’s classist and enjoys basking in her family’s wealth and being waited on...... are you stupid? Did you even watch the show? Toph absolutely despises everything about her parents’ lifestyle. Growing up like that was traumatizing and restrictive for her. We’re talking about a girl who likes to play around in the mud for fuck’s sake. Toph does not care how much money you have. She never wanted any to begin with. She even says it herself; “I guess I shouldn’t be complaining. They gave me everything I could have wanted. But they never gave me what I actually needed - their love.” Not to mention that she easily could have continued to freeload off her parents wealth but instead chose to sneak out of the house and make her own money doing what she did best; disproving people’s assumptions about her earthbending. Oh and I’ve seen someone point this out before but WWE is generally considered a “low brow” activity that “proper” people frown upon and shouldn’t associate themselves with. Toph fucking loved it. I don’t know how seriously people take the comics, as they often miss the mark when it comes to characterization (Toph’s, however, was generally pretty accurate), but there’s a part in The Rift where Sokka asks her when she’s going to start charging people to learn metalbending and she gets all serious and flat out tells him that she will never do such a thing, because money doesn’t matter to her. Sharing her one true passion with the world is what matters to her. Oh and the part where she basically tells a bunch of rich and sleazy businessmen to fuck off and “stop thinking about money and start thinking about people’s lives” is just... *chef’s kiss* Sorry my thoughts here are so incoherent but this take is so piss poor and makes me so angry that I don’t even know where to start. As for “Toph enjoys being waited on” I just- *sigh* Toph has such a visceral and defensive reaction to any implication that she is unable to take care of herself. Like I said earlier, that’s one of her defining characteristics as well as the reason for her behaviour in “The Chase.” Where are people getting these takes?

You wanna know why Toph acted the way she did in The Chase? Well, first let’s recap her life up to this point. Toph was born the blind daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the Earth Kingdom. From day one her parents treated her like glass due to her disability. She was not allowed to leave her house unsupervised, and even then she was only permitted to walk around the gardens of her home. Every day of her life she was pitied, gaslit, babied, ignored, emotionally neglected, and made to feel ashamed of herself. She was not allowed to make any decisions for herself. She was not allowed to do anything for herself. She was not allowed to talk to other children. She had no friends. Other people didn’t even know she existed on account that her parents kept her locked up in her own home and didn’t tell anybody about her because they were so ashamed to have a blind daughter. Flash forward to “The Chase.” Toph begins to set up her own camp separate from the rest of the Gaang. Considering that she flat out was not socialized as a child and hadn’t even interacted with anybody her own age prior to a few days ago, this is understandable. So then Katara comes up to her and asks her why she isn’t setting up camp with the others as if she’s somehow incapable of taking care of herself (again, this is just what happened from her perspective) like she’s her mom or something and it just angers her because she thought she joined this group to get away from all that and she doesn’t understand how friends work because she’s never had one, all she knows is that apparently this girl thinks she isn’t capable of taking care of herself, and that infuriates her because it’s the exact same bullshit she thought she was running away from.

There’s a lot more I could say about this but I’m sick of typing so yeah in conclusion both of these takes are piss poor and I’m sick of having to read them. Stan Toph, Katara, and their friendship. 

#atla #avatar the last airbender #katara #toph beifong #nora speaks

[headcanonsandcupcakes]

L. Go into as much detail as you’d like about a head canon you have.

Hey there! Thank you for the ask, and I am soooooooo sorry that this is so delayed! I have so many head canons that are always flowing through my mind, but I guess the main one that I will talk about is that I head canon that Iroh II is 40 and Izumi was a young mother who had him much earlier than she would have liked. I kind of want to write a whole fanfic on this, but I'm afraid how it will turn out :P but here you go:

- Izumi got pregnant by a guy who she thought liked her, but really he only wanted to be with her as it was token points for getting in the royal family :(

- She went to a party with her best friend in the Fire Nation, and she thought it was love, but it really wasn't.

- A couple of months later, she starts to notice she isn't fitting into her clothes, she was eating a lot, her face was bloated, and she was late.

- She kept trying to ignore it, but it came to a point where she was afraid that if she was pregnant, she could harm herself or the baby by ignoring it all.

- She radioed Kya shortly after that, who immediately flew to the Fire Nation with one of the Air Bisons from Air Temple Island. It took two seconds for Kya to see her (without any water bending) to confirm that Izumi was indeed pregnant.

- In my head canons, I go back and forth between Mai being alive or what not, but for today, I will say that she is alive and she was the first person that Izumi told.

- Mai was a mix of emotions: shocked, disappointed, upset, mad at the boy who got her pregnant, and worried about what the Nation would think. However, she wasn’t fully surprised, because she had her suspicions that something was up with Izumi anyways. Yet, in typical Mai fashion, she kept a poker face for her daughter and was there to support her. Mai then told her that she would have to tell her father...

- Izumi was terrified to say anything to Zuko, but she knew she would have to. So, she told him one night when he was in his office. He simply stared at her for a couple of moments, and then walked away.

- Izumi cried shortly after that :( and Zuko didn't speak to her for a whole month. It got to the point where he wasn't even allowing her to join in on any meetings whatsoever, which hurt Izumi a great deal. Izumi expressed these concerns to Mai, and it pained Mai to see her daughter like this and see how Zuko was being.

- It took Mai and Iroh to literally slap some sense into him, and he found Izumi sitting by the turtle duck pond. It was an awkward interaction at first, and he realized how much he missed (she had a small bump at this point). He deeply apologized, and just stated to her how he was disapointed, but would be there for her for whatever she needed.

- What Izumi didn’t know is that during the time that Zuko didn’t talk to her, he dressed up as the Blue Spirit and pretty much terrorized the boy who got her pregnant. The boy ended up getting the hell out of the Fire Nation Capital hahaha.

- The rest of the Nation was definitely shocked and upset, which didn't help Izumi's case because she was a non-bender. Zuko and Mai did their absolute best to put Izumi in a good light and stop any strife that was going on because of her situation.

- This didn't help Izumi at all, who already thought of herself as a disappointing burden :( I head canon that this is why she is so serious in LoK, because she had to fix her reputation because of her "scandal" as a 19 year old.

- During this time, her and Bumi had a falling out because he dated her for a time and was heartbroken that he didn't choose her. He couldn't fathom that she was pregnant with someone else's child (don't hate me!)

- However, her best friends, Kya and Jany, helped her throughout the entire pregnancy (as well as Mai, Zuko, Iroh, Kiyi, and Azula) :)

- When Iroh II was born, she was absolutely terrified that her labor and delivery would not be good (she heard of her mother's horror stories), but to everyone's surprise it turned out more than okay :)

- Mai and Zuko were the first to be grandparents, and despite the initial shock and disappointment, they were incredibly proud of their daughter for how she handled everything <3

I am so sorry if I just rambled on you!!!!! I have other asks, but I will post tomorrow :)

#maiko headcanons #atla #atla headcanons #atla ask #ask game #keep the asks coming! #princess izumi #lok izumi #iroh ii #lok kya #atla oc

[whentheynameyoujoy]

Yup, Sure Was a Finale

I had an epiphany. The reason why I never re-watched the final two parts of Sozin’s Comet even though I’ve popped in episodes at random many times over the years isn’t that I can’t bear the sadness of seeing one of the best, most engaging narratives out there come to an end.

It’s simply that the finale isn’t all that good.

Some honorable mentions of what was enjoyable.

(+) This

Just this.

(+) The Church of Zutara has another convert

“Are you sure they don’t get together?” Hubster, 2020

(+) The tragedy of Azula

And the fact that it’s acknowledged as such. I hope Zuko will do his best to get her help and have a relationship with her…

(+) Sokka being a big bro

And the whole airship sequence in general. It’s wonderfully paced and plotted, with moments of humor, real stakes, Toph being both badass and a scared crying kid, Sokka strategizing and protecting, Suki saving the day, and non-benders being instrumental in thwarting the bad guy firebender’s plans. Would be shame if Bryke never portrayed them this capable ever again…

And now for the main course.

(-) Blink and its over

The wrap-up feels too quick (hashtag Needs More ROtK-style False Endings). A part of this is due to how fast the story goes from the thick of the action to hastily tying up a bunch of loose ends, but the larger issue is how Book 3’s uneven pacing comes home to roost. After spending half a season on filler episodes that at best subtly flesh out established characters while dancing around a huge lionturtle-shaped hole, and at worst contradict the theme of “no one is born bad” with “you’re a hot mess because your great-grandfathers didn’t get along too well”, the frantic “go go go” rush of the second half screeches to a halt with “they won and everyone was happy because now the right people have power and it will be all good from now on yup nothing more to deal with baiiiii”.

Yes, I know, it’s a kids’ show. But goddamn, this particular kids’ show has proven so many times it can do better than the expected tropiness. Showing the characters in their roles as builders of a new world was the least that could have been done.

Oh well!

(-) Ursa

We’ll never know. There will never be a story that delves into this. Yup. Shall forever remain but an intriguing mystery. Is good, though. Mystery is better than a story where Ursa shares her son’s penchant for forgetfulness. Imagine how embarrassing that would be. Speaking of which…

(-) What does Mai see in this jerkbender?

Look, I like to harp a lot on the mess of inconsistent writing that’s Mai but let’s unpack this scene from her perspective, shall we?

Zuko forgot about her! It totally slipped his mind that the one person who prioritized the safety of his dumb ass was rotting in the worst prison in the Fire Nation—because of him! And she was rotting there long enough after the final Agni Kai for the news of Zuko’s upcoming coronation to spread and her uncle to feel sufficiently secure to release her. But then the coronation scene is attended by every single member of Gaang & Friends that was imprisoned?

So what this tells me is that either a) the invasion force had the ability to break themselves out the whole time and for some reason decided not to exercise it until after the war was over, b) Zuko forgot about them as well and no one thought to remind him there were prisons full of POWs until Mai arrived, or, and that’s even better, c) Zuko took care to free every single resistance fighter while making sure Mai would be the one to stay behind bars.

Never thought I’d say this but Mai? Honey? You deserve so much better.

(-) “What does Katara want?”

Asked no one in the writers’ room ever, apparently.

This is not so much anti Cataang as anti romance stories that pay attention to the needs, opinions, and wants of only one partner in general. Over the previous 60 episodes, Katara actively expressed romantic interest in Aang exactly, wait for it,

Once.

And it got retconned out of relevance by the following two interactions where the possibility of a romantic relationship came up, making the Headband dance pretty easy to reclassify as just one of those examples where Aang “teaches” Katara to have fun (as if one of the main obstacles to her having fun wasn’t him constantly fooling around and offloading his duties). And because the writers not only didn’t succeed in portraying Katara’s internal state of mind, but also failed to root her reluctance to pursue a relationship in outside circumstances that could change, her sudden state of unconfused once Aang steps into the spotlight has a single canonical explanation that as much as approaches coherency.

The fact is, though, that trying to interpret canon Cataang from a Watsonian perspective is an exercise in foolishness. Because there is no Watsonian justification for the ship and never has been. Bryke simply conceived of Katara as nothing but a tropey prize for Aang, never saw her as anything beyond that, and were perfectly happy to go on and immortalize her as a passive broodmare for the rest of her life.

And I fully intend to die mad about it.

(-) Iroh dips

OK, it’s been long apparent that the show doesn’t intend to do anything about Iroh’s complicity in AzulOzai’s regime in any meaningful way, and that his sole motivation for doing anything whatsoever is Zuko whom he views as a replacement son which is supposed to be good for some reason. But the finale has him abandon even that, and instead turns him full-on YOLO, idgaf anymore. It really throws Iroh’s supposed love for Zuko into doubt when his last act in the entire show is to take a half-educated 16-year old with no political savvy or an heir to secure a dynastic continuity and plomp him on the throne of a war-mongering imperialist regime where the entirety of the militarist and ruling class is guaranteed to fight him tooth and nail for power.

(I sure hope Mai’s ready to start popping out babies by tea-time otherwise the whole country is fukd in about a week)

Christ, how hard would it be to have Iroh keep the throne warm for a few years while Zuko is getting ready to succeed him? Not only would it make the whole FN reformation bit quite likelier to occur, it would require Iroh’s hedonistic ass to actually sacrifice something for once. And not having Zuko ascend to power, instead spending some time bettering and educating himself first, would be a wonderful message that no matter what you endured and overcame, you never stop growing. A kids’ show, remember?

(-) The conquering of Ba Sing Se

Gee, I feel so blessed to have my attention diverted from battlefields which actually matter to an old dude vanity project I would have been perfectly happy to assume resolved itself off-screen.

The White Lotus in general just bugs me. I was fine with the individual characters and their overall passivity when they were portrayed as lone dissenters living under circumstances where it wasn’t really possible for any single person to mount a meaningful resistance. But as members of a far-reaching shadowy organization that’s left the real fight to a bunch of kids for 59 episodes straight and didn’t turn up until a perfect opportunity presented itself to take control of the largest city in the world and bask in the spotlight?

Yeah, no.

Similarly to the lionturtle-ex-machina, the White Lotus represents a huge missed opportunity for a season-long storytelling. Here’s just a brief list of what they could have been doing throughout Book 3:

orchestrating a Fire Nation uprising;

gathering those directly persecuted by AzulOzai’s regime to help Zuko keep his hold on power once he’s crowned;

establishing themselves as a viable alternative to Ozai;

sabotaging Fire Nation’s war efforts from the inside;

countering Fire Nation propaganda (Asha Greyjoy’s pinecones, anyone?);

running a supply network to alleviate the suffering of Earth Kingdom citizens.

Instead, they sit on their asses until the time comes to claim personal glory.

You know what, good on Bryke for making me conclude that in comparison, the Freedom Fighters were perfectly unproblematic, actually.

(-) Fire Lord Dead-by-Dawn

Yes, a kids’ show, I know! But ffs, this is the same kids’ show that came up with Long Feng and portrayed courtly intrigue, kingly puppets, secret police, spy networks, and information wars. Was it really too much of me to expect something other than “enlightened despot solves everything”? Especially if said enlightened despot has persisting anger issues, no personal support system, no base of followers, and no political experience whatsoever?

If Zuko’s actually serious about regaining the Fire Nation’s honor (i.e. by dismantling the country’s military machine, decolonizing the Earth Kingdom, paying reparations to everyone and their lemur, and funding any and all cultural restoration projects Aang and the SWT come up with), then there is no way, no way in the universe that he doesn’t face a civil war, deposing, and execution within a month.

One reason why his future as a Fire Lord seems rather bleak is that little’s been shown about the actual subjects of AzulOzai’s regime. While we get a vague reassurance that “no Toph, they’re not born bad” (le shockings), they largely remain a voiceless uniform mass of brainwashed clapping seals. What is their view on the Fire Nation’s crimes? Do they associate their condition with their country’s war-mongering? How will they react when Zuko starts dismantling the country piece by piece to rebuild it, bringing it to economic ruin? What will they do when noble Ozai loyalists come out of the woodwork and begin rounding them up under the banner of “Make the Fire Nation Great Again?”

I have no idea, and Zuko doesn’t either because he’s unironically more qualified to rule the Earth Kingdom than his own people.

You know what would have been better? Fire Lord Iroh, White Lotus pulling the strings to maintain the regime, and Crown Prince/People’s Champion Zuko travelling the Fire Nation with Aang and an army of tutors to promote the new boss, only to realize that absolute monarchy is kinda crap for the people he’s one day supposed to rule and gaining their support by ceding some power to them.

I’d laser holes into my TV due to how much I’d enjoy watching that.

(-) All hail Avatar Rock

Literally and metaphorically. Aang doesn’t sacrifice anything, gets everything, and the clever solution of going about getting said everything is handed to him on a silver platter, requiring no active participation on his part whatsoever.

He doesn’t work to unblock his chakras, spiritually or physically.

He only speaks to his past lives to get a pat on the back and a bow-tied solution he could mindlessly follow.

Energy-bending doesn’t require any sacrifice from him, leaves no lasting marks, and only serves for the narrative to praise him as the rare individual that’s unbendable and thus so very very special.

The most infuriating thing is, however, that Aang is clearly shown as being able to beat Ozai without either the Avatar state, or energy-bending.

And he chooses not to. From this moment on, Aang no longer fights to save the world. He fights to preserve his beliefs, going directly against the instructions of his past lives and effectively reneging on his duties as the Avatar.

Again.

It’s not like you can’t portray Aang’s faithfulness to his spiritual beliefs as the key to beating Ozai and saving the world. But that’s not what the show did. There is no link between Aang sparing Ozai and securing a better future, quite to the contrary—Ozai’s survival ends up being a massive problem for the continuation of Zuko’s rule, and consequently a threat to the world at large. His survival benefits Aang and no one else.

Aang’s spiritual purity and his status as a savior of the world are allowed to coexist only due to a deliberate stroke of a writer’s pen.

And I hate it.

Welp, nothing to do about it now except to bury myself up to my tits in fix-it fics I guess.

#atla #atla rewatch #meta #zutara #anti bryke #anti-kataang #anti-aang #anti-maiko