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biconickyoshi · 2 months

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

Spoiler-free thoughts first:

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

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

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

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

EP 5: “Spirited Away”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

EP 6: “Masks”

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

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

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

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

- RIP Shyu :/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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i-need-of-a-hobby · 3 months

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on todays episode of i do random shit instead of studying:

rating atla character on how good of a partner theyd be for a group project

aang: 7.5/10, he's a hard worker and i have no doubt that he'd try his best, but if something else needed his attention, he'd be outa there (prolly give you fruit pies as an apology though)

katara: 7/10, she will get you an A ill tell you that. girl is hardworking as fuck and is good at delegating. but she'd also show up at your house/dorm at 3 in the morning to inform you that you used the wrong "there" on slide 6

sokka: 5/10, he's tricky bc he's very intelligent, he's just a dumbass. he has a million ideas and thoughts a second, he just has no way to filter them, so you'd have to reread all of his work bc theres a 50% chance they're pure genius, and a 50% chance they're a caffeine fueled fever dream

toph: 1/10. need i say more

zukko: 4/10 again, very hardworking, ive got no doubt in him, he just needs an absurd amount of reassurance to get anything done. he's terrified of getting you a bad grade so he'd be like "is this good??" after writing a single sentence

suki: 10/10 the literal definition of a perfect team player, no notes, she's amazing

#give you more characters you heathens english lit can suck a dick #atla #avatar the last airbender #aang #katara #sokka #toph #toph beifong #zuko #suki avatar #modern au #i guess

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ultfreakme · 2 months

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Thoughts on Jessie Gender's video on NATLA

I really admire Jessie Gender's videos usually, she's the one whom I usually go to to see videos on gender and queerness in media. I like her stuff a lot and respect their work.

But the NATLA video left me going "no, wait, that's not what happened" a lot. I can't summarize the video, I suggest people go watch it if they want to know but I disagree with practically everything for the most part.

I'm not anybody on the internet. But what I do have is a lifetime of growing up on ATLA, a degree in Sociology and English Literature, coming from a culture that ATLA is based on, studying about colonial rule, researching the cultures ATLA is based on in my spare time and a love for the original. Does that establish some legitimacy? If for some reason you feel like you need to go hate on Jessie for this, DON'T. DO NOT. This is me just critiquing because I think the video content was biased and I want to honestly engage with the points made because everyone has a tendency to demonize the adaption without looking at it on its own merit. With that said:

Point 1: Sokka's sexism is taken out to make the show more palatable and his arc in the Kyoshi Island episode undermines Suki to prop up Sokka.

She says that Sokka's sexism and him addressing it is a show-long arc, and him deconstructing that is him fighting against the colonial sexism of the Fire Nation.

Sokka's sexism is explicitly dealt with in one episode. He's shown to be overtly sexist in the first 4 and never again except for little comments here and there that every other character makes as well and goes unaddressed. His sexism is not because of the Fire Nation- FN is very inclusive of women as warriors. Sokka's sexism is an anomaly because no one but him cares that Katara isn't just sitting home mending clothes(Bato, Hakoda, none of the men on the ship they are on in S3 say a word and she takes off to join Aang in the Fire Nation islands).

If Sokka's sexism is not systematic to the Southern Water Tribe or caused by the Fire Nation, what kind of commentary on sexism is this?

She also says Suki is played down and demured to give Sokka confidence when she's teaching him, taking away her arc as she pines for the new boy who she likes because he's shirtless. Sokka's throughout the episode shows insecurity and a more subtle form of sexism where he's trying ton prove he's as good as her. He's trying to show off his strength to her, and failing miserably and when he realizes she bested him, he walks away. He goes into it assuming he's better than her but walks away realizing shit she is GOOD. Then he goes to her dojo to observe the practice and follows along, Suki invites him in seeing him fucking up the forms outside and teaches him.

Suki falls for a tackle Sokka does in the og and live action. In the OG, it's shown as Sokka ACTUALLY being better. In the live action? He isn't. One lesson doesn't make him better, she transitions from actually teaching him to kinda flirting until she completely stops. She's not weakening herself for him, both of them are expressing romantic interest. How did Sokka, a boy who that morning was defeated by them, get better than SUKI in a spar she put genuine effort in? I think that's frankly more sexist than the live action take.

Additionally, Suki was meant to be a one-off character meant to teach Sokka that sexism is bad. She existed entirely to serve Sokka's character arc and had no independent motivation in season 1. In the live action, we see her talk about wanting to go into the world, and see her growing motivation through Aang's presence of wanting to not just protect Kyoshi Island, but the world. She became what she is only in season 2 and 3. Sokka's sexism arc didn't even pan out well because he never addressed the issue with Katara after that episode, the first and most affected victim of his sexism.

Sokka wearing the armor in the original, is a joke. Aang calls their uniform a dress while laughing (it's not, like it's not even constructed like one, the bottoms are loose pants called Hakama). He isn't put into the uniform to show solidarity, it's a joke, and we are meant to be laughing at Sokka for the most part. Queer fans have reclaimed and redefined that scene to be like drag, but that wasn't the original intention of the show because we get jokes on Aang's masculinity which never actively get refuted from Toph in season 2. Katara of all people points out Sokka wearing a poinytail in a demeaning manner multiple times, a supposedly girly hairstyle. If the original wanted to honor Sokka embracing gender fluidity, they wouldn't consistently mock him for being choosy about buying a bag and wearing a ponytail(which in-universe has cultural importance to him).

All signs of 'femininity' in Sokka are played for laughs in the rest of the show(down to the scene where he draws a rainbow, and his master Piandao simply rolls his eyes).

Sokka is also never once shown as a better warrior in the live action- his story is the opposite. Sokka yearns here to be an engineer, a scientist tinkering away with new inventions. His father Hakoda and the SWT discourages this because there is no value in that for them. Value is shown for them to come from physical strength, which Sokka NEVER has in live action season 1(him having biceps and being shirtless is not a glorification of strength). He's good, but he's nothing special. His true highlight is in his intellect and the show implies pretty well that Sokka doesn't need to be physically strong or a warrior to fight back against oppression.

That's his defining line in the show teasers "you do not need to be a warrior, to be a hero."

Point 2: The sexism arc isn't replaced by anything more nuanced.

It is! It's replaced by the biases against bending. Sokka discourages Katara from bending because the Fire Nation attacked the SWT to eliminate waterbenders. Both Katara and Sokka hold fear for waterbending, a part of their own culture, specifically because of the Fire Nation's hegemony and hierarchical beliefs. Waterbending = preservation of culture and Katara says these exact words in episode 1. Sokka stopping her is him being under the colonial hegemony of the FN because waterbending is what brought Fire Nation soldiers to their shores to kill their mom. That's the new arc and it has follow through to the end. Instead of Sokka telling Katara to kick ass because he isn't sexist anymore, the live action Sokka says it because he's embraced waterbending and his own culture now through seeing Katara grow and letting her choose for herself what's best for her (instead of smothering in his faux warrior persona, which they literally discuss when stuck in the cave). This arc is exclusive to the show, there's no comment on the cultural significance and erasure of waterbending in the original.

It's made more explicit in Katara's arc, where she needs to get past the fear the Fire Nation has put in her of the dangers of her own bending, and embrace that her people wanted to protect it (Kya sacrificing herself, Gran-Gran hiding the waterbending scroll).

Point 3: Showing the genocide of the Air Nomads is disrespectful

In the original, the Air Nomads are nothing but a memory. At all times. We never see the influence of the Air Nomad culture on Aang, or see them alive and thriving at any point. We see them fight back on the live action, and the actual genocide is a few short minutes, interspersed with Aang sinking. It's not a lingering process and it shows the abilities of Air Nomads. Jessie says this is purely aesthetic and to be cool, but there are significant moments that happen here.

Establishing the powers of Air Benders- this is the first and last time we'll get to see Air Bending on this scale and this shows what they can do

There's a scene where two air nomads nod to one another, and the air nomad switches from defensive to an extremely offensive move. It shows that this isn't typical for the Air Nomads, and that they are being pushed to their limits

This is a festival, they were defending themselves and it's important to show that the Air Nomads didn't just go silently without a fight and were ambushed on an important day.

To show the Fire Nation's cruelty and the extent of their power during the comet specifically.

To give weight to WHY everyone Aang runs into is so critical and hateful of the fact that he was gone, and to also show why Aang never refutes them and the weight of what he's lost (and also that even if he were there, he couldn't have done anything)

It's not just to be cool, it's honestly not cool to watch and taking Gordon Cormier, a child's quote to say that's what everyone's impression is, is disingenuous despite the disclaimer given. The kids' quotes always get taken out of context. Reviewers and Avatar fans who went to the premiere were disturbed overall by the violence. They did not think of the Fire Nation as "cool", they saw the Air Nomads like that. Like don't we want people to think of the Air Nomads in a positive light for fighting back?

Their culture gets little to no expansion in the original, and whatever Aang has left of them is actually slowly stripped away in the original.

Aang is made to okay the destruction and modification of the Northern Air Temple when destruction is shown as wrong during his rage and grief in the Southern Air Temple. The new settlers have used the gliders of Air Nomads to device weapons that fly, which were then sold to the Fire Nation. The Mechanist and his people continue this and create more weapons to fight the war in the temples(albeit this time agaisnt the fire nation but the cycle of violence continues using devices and cultures of a peaceful people). A once-peaceful place, is now a center for war innovation and Aang is told to accept this because he must let go of the past to look to the future.

The above, in comparison to Aang simply saying "I should let go of the past and look to the future" is FAR more disrespectful of Aang's culture and past. The live action keeps Gyatso's memory a constant companion to Aang, he is terrified of letting go of the past and it hinders him from simply living.

Point 4: Violence is shown as good and the cycle of violence is perpetuated.

She says Kyoshi demanding Aang to fight back and hit hard is showing that Aang needs to embrace strength and power. That everyone telling him to fight and be alone means strength is given importance, and that the same is shown when Zuko says "sometimes the weak can become strong, sometime you just have to give them a chance."

Kyoshi is wrong. She is willfully portrayed as powerful, but harsh. Roku(though his screentime was small) disagrees with her and tells Aang to find his own way of fighting and that is ultimately what Aang follows.

Kyoshi doesn't come off as correct, she's demanding and harsh, unforgiving. Aang initially lets her take over because he is scared of the power he holds and she promises she can control it to help others. Aang doesn't want power(he literally says 'I don't want these powers'). In the finale, he gives in to the ocean spirit and does what Kyoshi asks; save everyone, even if it costs his own life. But it is shown as a tragedy. Katara calls back for him and tells him he shouldn't have to sacrifice himself, that he has a place in this world as he is no matter what others tell him and he listens to THAT. He says he will save the world not alone, but with his friends, in the memory of the Air Nomads to ensure it never happens again.

Physical strength is only a priority to Katara's character. Sokka doesn't fight in the end, he's begging Yue to not sacrifice herself and is protecting her. He's not some macho man. Aang is also not embracing power.

Zuko says that line not to show that he can grow stronger, but that people should get second chances. He's a hurt kid wishing his father had the compassion to let him grow. But he doesn't and Zuko walks away from it thinking physical strength and bending prowess is important, crushing his compassion. That line on a meta level isn't even about physical strength. It's about mental fortitude and character, and the strength to be compassionate.

Jet was mentioned as being portrayed as more wrong, but in the original he was ready to sink a village of innocents. in the live action he genuinely helped Katara with her waterbending and was justified in wanting to kill the mechanist(who collaborated with the fire nation) and King Bumi (who is neutral, incompetent and has let the Fire Nation run rampant in the city). He's more sympathetic here because he's doing it with a concrete reason, and he didn't even manipulate Katara the way he did in the original. She was genuinely charmed by him.

A big problem I had with Jessie's video was putting in clips from some right-wing channel between critique of NATLA....which....why? Huh? And these were used to say NATLA is leaning into fascist tendencies and smoothing out any critique of colonialism when it really isn't. I think NATLA is very explicitly saying the same message as the original. Not in the same way, but it is. The show actively engages audiences and the characters in discussions of cultural erasure and the problems of valuing power(the latter especially through Zuko and Azula).

There are million issues with the live action (Sokka's casting, ableism in Zuko's burn scar, the writing issues, pacing issues, the lack of screen time for Aang and focus on the Fire family). The ones Jessie Gender discussed though, are not it.

#natla #natla positivity #atla la #atla live action #avatar netflix #jessie gender

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matt0044 · 6 months

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What if I said Makorra was the reason Korrasami took off the way it did?

See... Korra and Mako definately were a couple who cared for and admired each other but weren't exactly equipped for a terribly healthy romance in the long run. Especially when it came to where their loyalties lay in handling the Water Tribe's civil war.

Of course, part of this was a lack of parental guidance over the matters of the heart. Korra being locked up in a compound and Mako looking after Bolin on the streets certainly didn't help.

Thus remaining just friends was the best they could go for.

This crash course in love, in my view, lead Korra to take things more slowly from here out and let the pot boil slowly but surely with whomever struck her fancy next. It helped that Asami's turbulence with Mako helped as she too took things more easy.

No doubt it'd be more explicit of a thing without Nick being obtuse about it (considering their neglect of the show, you'd think they'd shrug it off) but it weirdly uses that "don't show your hand" mandate to it's advantage.

See... I generally stan the romantic subplots of Books 1 and 2 insofar as they are organic to the characters themselves rather than a degree from the author in part of what mentioned above. However, I understand why they're not terribly popular.

Whether you like messy teenage romances or not, there is a sort of dissonance when it comes to marring them with the threat of Amon's Equalists and Unalaq's dealings with Vaatu. The messy matters of the heart don't feel nearly as worth investing interest in compared to, say, saving Republic City from civil unrest turned ugly or the greatest threat to the Avatar itself from centuries past.

It's sort of something that ATLA avoided with its episodic approach even when it got more plot heavy in Book 3's final half, sort of segmenting any interpersonal drama from major plot developments. Basically, for "Air and "Spirits," having both wasn't the "you got chocolate in my peanut butter" moment they were likely attempting.

So when it comes to Book 3 and 4 having Korrasami being a lowkey build-up, I can see why even the writers gravitated towards it in exploring the pair by letting it simmer as a friendship. They wouldn't try to get together but often find themselves grow close in the moments they shared.

Thus you had Book 4 when Korra writes to Asami mainly and then is the first to greet Ms. Sato. Absense makes the heart grow fonder after all.

It's a weird happy accident when by executive mandate, Korra and Asami's growing relationship was a subplot that was seeding into the narrative when opportunity arose rather than ever feeling like a rogue ingredient.

It's sort of why I don't agree fully with the notion of LoK not being "planned out" when sometimes, letting the chips fall where they may can make for little miracles like these.

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julietwiskey1 · 5 months

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If ATLA had a fourth season, what do you think would have been the plotline of Book 4 and what would likely have been the good and bad parts of it?

If we keep the original three then I think it would have gone into Book Four: Air. Likely seeing Aang work to restore the Air Nation and searching for traces of any survivors. Perhaps he sees that culturally they are dead but their are still people who can bend air. Now Aang’s role in the previous three seasons is flipped upside down, he is no longer the student but the master.

We also probably see Zuko, Azula and the gaang search for Ursa. It would serve primarily as Azula’s redemption and growth arc. Let her heal and find love with Zuko and Ursa, maybe even forgiveness by the gaang. Zuko’s story focusing more on his growth as a leader and facing the problems that beset his people that it’s his job to fix. Not just punching the lone corrupt official but making actual changes to his government.

I think to keep it on theme we would see Sokka and Katara try to find parts of their culture stolen. Perhaps even look for water benders like Hama who still know the southern tradition. Though I see this being the most likely to be cut.

The best part of the season would be its emotional beats. Focusing on healing, coming together and love. It would nail down the hope Aang always inspires. Show him and Zuko leading everyone into that new world of peace and harmony they promise.

I think something like this would struggle to keep everyone together. All of these character naturally want to do their own thing now. So why Zuko and Azula need to search with the gaang would be in question. Why aren’t Katara and Sokka going home to heal their tribe? Shouldn’t Aang be heading off on his own now?

That’s what I think is most likely.

Though I personally think if the show knew they would have a fourth season it would have been better to split season three into two. Season one takes place up until the day of black sun. Have it take place in the colonies. Focus more on Ozai and his role leading the war and the struggles Zuko and Azula face at home. Show him as a villain by showing how two of our previous villains who love him still fear him. The gaang runs into a lot more stories like the headband and Hama. Show the oppression of the colonies and how the Fire Nation exploits the land.

Then with the season four show Zuko earning his way with the gaang as they hide in the Fire Nation Islands (not colonies but Fire Nation proper). Show him slowly earning their trust. But most importantly let him interact with the Fire Nation and learning what has to change about his nation. But I think he needs to also serve as a supporting character in several episodes. Where he’s not the focus, but rather holds up or steps out of the spot light for Katara, Sokka, Toph and Aang to shine.

Aang could also be discovering energy bending or another Ozai solution. Make the reveal of energy bending at the end feel like an earned discovery and not a deus ex machina.

During this fourth season Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee take the secondary story plots. Show the fracture of the friend group. How Azula is struggling under Ozai expectations and how it forces her to act contrary to a teenager with her friends. Give her breakdown time to fester and grow. But also show a girl who is deserving of redemption. Who quite simply currently does not feel or does not see any way out or can fully see what is wrong. Her side story can pair with Zuko’s. When Zuko finds a problem and fixes it give it to Azula and show how constrained she is.

And most importantly show Ozai being the villain beyond Azula and Zuko. Let him personally hurt and burn people. Maybe even give an episode where the gaang nearly runs into him and show how he can take them. Make him a terrifying enemy before the final fight.

#Wiskey answers #anon #atla #avatar the last airbender #hypothetical season four #zuko #Azula #Aang #Sokka #Katara #never really mentioned toph did I #probably can have a few episodes showing her maturing #maybe develop her anti war ideology

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confused-much · 2 months

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I'm on the 5th episode of live action ATLA and so far I enjoy watching it. Is it the perfect copy of the original cartoon? No. Does this make it bad? Also no!

There are changes to the story and characters but for me it doesn't make it that bad. I don't treat this show as the perfect retelling of the cartoon, just a different version of the story. And honestly? With that mindset watching the show is better.

Of course, this show is not without flaws. Zuko's scar is tiny, Aang doesn't really get to be kid that much, Sokka lost his misogyny, Katara lost her anger.

But at the same time, I feel like the change of their character traits works. Aang isn't thinking only about fun because he feels guilty for abandoning the world. From the first episode people tell him that because he was absent, the war went on. Of course Aang will want to help others now. Of course he will think of going to North Pole, especially since Kiyoshi told him to go there.

Sokka lost his misogyny but he still has different traits. He's struggling to be a warrior, he doesn't think that his engineering skills are worthy pursuing. His scenes with Suki are for me at least adorable to watch. They are both awkward in different ways because this is the first time they see someone from their opposite sex from a different nation. Of course Sokka would want to flex. Of course Suki would try to show off her fighting skills - she's a god damned Kiyoshi warrior and a daughter of the ruler of the village, of course skills in a fight will be her major focus.

Katara lost her anger, true. I think the scene with discovering Aang is weak. But she still gets a mini arc about her emotions and grief/PTSD from the night her mother died. She still is shown as brave when she decides to go against Zuko and his crew alone while Aang was talking to Kiyoshi. And she still has her morals during Omashu.

So for every disappointment, I feel we get something in exchange. At least in the first 4 episodes.

I really like how they empathize the war and how cruel it is. And also that even in Fire Nation there are rebels who oppose Ozai. Sozin's attack at Air Nomads was heartbreaking, seeing how the Air Nomads fought but ultimately lost due to comet was chilling. I feel that people blaming Aang and accusing him of running away and disappearing is also well done because that's something that would happen. People would lost hope, people would try to test Aang or accuse him.

Also, as a Kataang disliker, I am SO glad that so far, I don't see any romantic/cute scenes with Katara and Aang. The secret tunnel is great because we don't have implied kiss between Katara and Aang, instead we are shown a sibling love. I hope this trend continues and that Katara and Aang won't have any romantic scenes. I mean, the kid is 12, Katara is 14 and she had to grow up really fast. She's more like an older sister to him than a potential crush.

Overall, so far I like this show. It's not as awesome and true to the source material as One Piece live action (because OPLA IS the best live action adaptation, go watch it!) but it's still a nice watch. I feel like some people just don't want to give this show a chance simply because it's not the original. Like, why we can't have both?

#avatar the last airbender #atla #atla live action #katara #aang #sokka #i didn't talk about zuko #but he's great so far

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bestepisode · 2 months

Text

Tales of Ba Sing Se

A set of vignettes about each of the main characters' adventures in Ba Sing Se, providing a glimpse of their personalities and private lives. Katara and Toph have a girls' day out; Iroh helps people in town before celebrating the birthday of his late son; Aang helps a zookeeper build a new zoo; Sokka accidentally ends up in a poetry club; Zuko goes out on a date; and Momo searches Ba Sing Se for Appa.

The Boiling Rock, Part 2

Sokka, Zuko, Suki, and Chit Sang devise a new plan for escaping the prison, involving Hakoda in their plans. They escape by creating a prison riot and kidnapping the warden. However, problems for the four arrive when Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee visit the prison. As the plan teeters on the verge of failure, Mai helps Zuko and the others escape. Azula attacks Mai for her betrayal, but Ty Lee intervenes. Azula has them both imprisoned. The group returns to the Western Air Temple, and Hakoda is reunited with Katara.

Vote on more episodes here!

#atla #avatar the last airbender #atla best episode #atla best episode 4 #tales of ba sing se #the boiling rock #sokka #zuko #toph beifong #princess azula #ty lee

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comradekatara · 9 months

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This isn’t really a question but more of a musing, but after years of holding it off, I’ve finally started watching tlok and I have to say, while the show has its good moments (the first avatar’s backstory was fascinating and fun to watch), I feel like the show pales way too much in comparison to atla. I’m having trouble believing and please correct me if I’m wrong, that this was the same team who pulled off ATLA.

Im not calling out tlok for being the worst, but at the same time I’m just shocked is all. It had so much potential. Is there some kind of explanation why it feels like it’s a shadow of what ATLA was?

no you're absolutely right. compared to atla, it is shocking how deeply, noticeably flawed it is. as far as i know, some of the writers stayed to work on korra and some changed. i know that korra struggled with network constraints more so than atla did, which is why every season feels more self-contained with the exception of books 3 and 4, which were ordered together. iirc, initially book 1 of lok was meant to be a standalone miniseries, and when another season was ordered, they had no desire to extend book 1 into an overarching narrative, and instead decided to use book 2 as an opportunity to deconstruct book 1, which only sort of worked. (book 2 barely works as a season of television, let alone a deconstruction of its former, somewhat more coherent season.) however, the explanation of "nickelodeon fucked them over" will only get you so far, since the politics of lok are markedly worse in every way.

the way i see it, if atla is very obviously a bush era text, lok is an obama era text. for american liberals who opposed the bush administration's invasion of iraq, resisting us imperialism from within the imperial core had not been so trendy since the vietnam war. atla presented a quite radical text, condemning colonialism, imperialism, and genocide and promoting direct revolutionary action against oppressive governments, that also had the benefit of being very topical and of its time. however, lok was created during obama's years in office, which were marked by progressive neoliberalism, more covert modes of exerting us imperialist power (think obama's staggering record of drone strikes and deportations), and a very heavy emphasis on the importance of identity politics.

lok is a very liberal text, in which centrism, capitalism, and progressive social values are celebrated by the narrative. lok is more ostensibly feminist, as women of all ages and relationships between those women are foregrounded, but even though i do love many of those female characters very deeply (i would never deny how much korra/korrasami means to me, as much as just seeing milves, i love milves), it is a type of girlboss feminism that in its celebration of capitalism, fails to meaningfully, materially condemn patriarchy. (look at this female chief of police! women can do anything a man can do, including being an agent of state violence! yaasss queen exert your power over the working class in your colonial city!) i think it's very difficult to create an excellent, coherent narrative if the politics of the show leave a bad taste in your mouth at best, and actively defile the legacy of its predecessor at worst.

ultimately, while lok does have its moments, characters, and scenes worthy of praise, very few episodes in the show overall are free of its political cynicism and clunky writing. if i brought up every facet worth critiquing i'd be here all day (and i already have plenty in my #lok crit tag), but you are not wrong to consider it a shadow of what atla was. the very venture was doomed to fail. and while i have often considered how i would rewrite lok to make it a coherent extension of atla, the fact of the matter is that atla works best as a self-contained story. it was lightning in a bottle that could not be recreated, and even if lok had been given the proper resources and planned for accordingly, atla was a product of its time, and trying to ignore this fact only leads to a failed attempt to revive its bloated corpse. over and over again.

#sapphichoneymoon #asks #lok crit #analysis #bush era text (complimentary) vs obama era text (derogatory)

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likesunsetorange · 2 months

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Zutara is the best forbidden ship!!!!

zutara was always my favorite atla ship like i watched atla as it was airing as a child so i must’ve been like 6-7 watching it 😭 i think ive watched every episode at least 4-5 times i literally love them so much lol i could go on and on about their parallels i need to rewatch atla the last time rewatched was during quarantine!!! i might watch the live action tho for the zutara crumbs 👀

#atla #atla la #zutara #asks

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hello-nichya-here · 7 months

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https://www.tumblr.com/mostly-mundane-atla/710894569738387456/this-sounds-pretty-accurate-but-there-is-another what do u think ??

Okay, here are the bits I agree with:

1 - Some Azula fans are trying way too damn hard to make her a "Girlboss" that never did anything wrong. This is legitimatelly something I have seen happen A LOT lately and it gets on my nerves SO BAD.

2 - Some Azula fans focus a just a little bit too much on the sad aspects of her character/story, mainly her loneliness and how she felt nobody loved her (Note: I'm being generous here because most of the time people bring that to remind me people that, no, just because she was the favorite child of an ABUSIVE parent it doesn't mean that her life was easy, but I HAVE seen the "character sad, therefore character good" a few times).

The stuff that I don't agree with it AT ALL:

1 - "Cersei Lannister is a character that is like Azula." No. Just no. I know the fandom likes to joke about some simmilarities between both shows or borrow elements from that story to our fanfics, but Avatar is not Game Of Thrones, and Azula is not Cersei. Their personalities are not that simmilar, nor their family situations. Cersei is far more reckless, blood thirsty, downright vile ADULT WOMAN, she never got a single shred of respect from her father or ANYONE, and her main way of manipulating people is to go the Femme Fatale route and seduce them. Not at all like the pragmatic (but not sadistic), prodigious, awkward princess that can't flirt to save her life and that everyone respects/fears. Even the whole "When you play the Game Of Thrones, you win or you die" doesn't really apply because Cersei sacrificed nearly everything to remain the queen, while Azula literally brought Zuko back home, making him the heir to the throne again. They. Are. Not. The. Same. (I won't get into the other characters mentioned because I don't know who they are)

2 - "Azula isn't that well written" Unless we're considering the comics, in which EVERYONE was poorly written, I'm gonna die on the hill that this is just wrong. Azula was not redeemed, yes, and Bryke seems to not understand her, but the way her story and arc went in the show makes perfect logical sense to me - I just don't think that's where or how it should end. We can argue over whether her story is finished, not on if she's well-written character and a deliberately sympathetic villain that was also REALLY good at being a villain.

3 - "Azula doesn't have a lot going on" Bullshit. Regardless of redemption or not, Azula IS a complex character - yes, even if she is the villain of a Nickelodeon cartoon (WEIRD argument to claim she can't be that deep - this is literally a show about war, genocide and abusive families, which is why it stood out to people because NOBODY expected Nick to go there). We literally see her having a mental breakdown after years of abuse, indoctrination and VERY bad decisions that ruined every relationship she had finally caught up with her. I consider this a lot, just like I consider things like waking up one day and finding out EVERYONE you knew and loved has been gone for a hundred years or dealing with the fact your father is an abusive piece of shit that is totally okay with disfiguring and banishing you because you dared to speak out of turn. For fuck's sake, the existence of The Beach as an episode proves this claim wrong because the whole point of that episode is "These villainous Fire Nation teens have some hidden depths."

4 - "There are better stories with better/more complex characters" Again, weird argument. I think Beauty And The Beast is the best Disney movie and that Mulan is the best disney princess, but I still adore Snow White despite her story being VERY simple. And even though I like these stories that all have endings, I like the dark fantasy and heavy on politics story of Game Of Thrones - and even though I think the books are better, I still like the first half of the show despite the changes made to the story. This is not a "Either this or that" situation. You can think something isn't perfect or deep and STILL like it.

5 - "She's not a real person, she's a character on a show therefore her not needing to 'deserve' redemption is irrevelant because what matters is what benefits the story and Azula's redemption wouldn't do that" Really? You're pulling that shit? In a show like ATLA? The show that said "Everyone is capable of great good and great evil"? The show that repeatedly says "Friendship and kindness are going to save the day?"? The show that had one of the bad guys redeem himself by befriending the good guys and visiting his abusive father in jail and saying "Maybe this will make you have a change of heart?" THIS show would not benefit or stay consistent to it's themes if the villain that desperately craves love and validation learned that the way she tried to get these things was wrong and started being a better person who'd eventually be healthy, loved and accepted? Give me a break.

#asks #azula meta #azula deserved better

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kittyt-hexxed · 9 months

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Hiiii! I’ve been hesitant to ask because I’m not sure if you’re in this fandom, but could you do a fic for Suki from ATLA? Definitely older cause she’s like sixteen in the series, but one where Reader is Katara/Sokka’s older sister and she instantly falls for Suki. (Reader has a thing for women who can knock her out) Have her be a secret water bender (ya know, cause Katara) and like Suki catches her bending. Reader begs her not to tell and Suki is like “only if you let me train you.”

Maybe a smut scene after practice, it’s totally up to you! But I would love it if you wrote this, I love your Arcane work! Oh! And Reader has loooong curly hair like past her butt! Thank you!

Can You Keep a Secret?

Suki x Fem!POC!Reader

Author Note: You don’t understand the excitement I felt seeing an ATLA request! Writing this helped my writer’s block, too, so thank you for that! I am in both fandoms ATLA and TLOK! I have also read the Kyoshi novels for future reference ;)

Warnings: ATLA Spoilers (Season 1, Episode 4), Young & Dumb Sokka, Older Suki, Waterbender!Reader, Accidental flashing, Cute Flirting, Teasing, Playful Training, Suki kicks your ass and you’re into it, First Time, Hickeys, Fingering, Praise/Compliments

Summary: You tried your best to hide your bending, but Suki managed to find out within a few hours. You beg her to keep the secret and she agrees… only if you let her train you.

Your head was spinning from the events that happened within the last few days. Not only did your little sister find the Avatar, but you nearly got a face full of fire! It didn’t help that you were hiding your bending ability. You wanted to drown that stupid kid for attacking your family. He was lucky that Aang came in when he did, or you would have sunk him under the ice. Then there was the heartbreaking revelation at the Air Temple… so, it’s actually relieving to you that Aang wanted to go on a little break. You were also really enjoying traveling by Bison. You really enjoyed feeling the wind in your hair. It also helped that if you found the right spot, you couldn’t hear them talking over the loudness of the wind. It was your favorite place to take a nap until you shifted over.

“Stop bugging her, airhead.” This is the first thing you hear as you tune back into the conversation, causing you to open your eyes, “You need to give girls space when they’re doing their sewing.” You raise an eyebrow at that. ‘Where did he get that from?’

“What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?” Katara asks.

“Yeah, little bro.” Sokka jolts as he realizes you’re awake and listening, “What does being a girl have to do with that?” He’s silent for a moment as he tries to figure out the words to say.

“Simple. Girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that.” He shrugs, “It’s just the natural order of things.” Your eyes feel like they’re going to pop out of their head as you look at your brother in disbelief.

“Really?” You say coldly, “I guess I should stop hunting then since I’m so horrible at it.”

“I’m all done with your pants and look what a great job I did!” Katara says too sweetly, tossing his pants at him. They hit him in the face and he panics, realizing that there’s still a hole in them. He looks to you for help, but you close your eyes and pretend to go back to sleep. What he said concerned you. Where did he get those ideas from when you were the main caretaker of the family? You hunted, gathered firewood, and took care of everyone. That’s why you were so reluctant to leave in the first place. Your people needed you, but Gran Gran was persuasive.

By the time you landed, you wanted nothing to do with the group. Sokka and Katara had been bickering nearly the whole time while Aang kept trying to get your sister’s attention. You found it funny at first, watching this kid try to impress your sister while not knowing how to interact with her. You were silently cheering him on but it was painful.

“I’m going to go over there. Spirits know I need a moment to myself.” You point off to the side where there is a bit more of a private area, “Don’t do anything stupid.” You pointedly look at Sokka.

“Why are you looking at me?!” Sokka protests, “You should be saying that to Katara! She’s already done stupid things!”

“Oh, really?” Katara scoffs, “Like what?” You watch them bicker for a moment before shaking your head. ‘They wonder why I’m always hunting.’

“Don’t you want to see the Elephant Koi?” Aang asks you.

“No, I’m good. I’ll check them out later since we’re camping here.” You give him a reassuring smile. You glance at the two behind him who are still arguing and roll your eyes. There wasn’t a moment where your siblings weren’t at each other’s throats. It got tiring trying to be the mediator so you stopped. You just let them hash it out. You walk away from the group, looking forward to getting a little bit of alone time.

Now in a private place, you pull off your coat and strip down to your undergarments. You would have invited Katara along but between Aang wanting to impress her and your social flame going low, you chose against it. ‘Some peace.’ You smile to yourself. You find a place to sit in the sand and get comfortable. The sand was warm, already heated up from the sun, and felt wonderful on your skin. You sigh in contentment, laying back to enjoy the area's warmth. If you were back home, you would’ve been bundled up to avoid the cold. It didn’t bother you much, but it got frustrating sometimes. Having a chance to show some skin and not have the possibility of freezing to death is wonderful. You were excited to travel the world, even if you’d miss Gran Gran back at home.

You were probably lying down for a total of five minutes before you heard screaming. Your eyes snap open and you jump up from the sand. You’re sprinting back to the group before your mind can even process it. You gasp in shock seeing a giant sea serpent chasing Aang across the water. Your fingers flex, itching to jump into the water and help him as you get to the bank with your siblings. It wasn’t necessary though as Aang comes flying out of the water and collides with Sokka. You flinch as they get thrown back into the trees.

“Sokka! Aang!” You shout, running to them with Katara. You give Sokka a concerned look seeing him slumped against a tree while Aang looked fine.

“What was that thing?” Katara questions.

“I don’t know.” Aang responds, putting his clothes on.

“It might have been a sea serpent of some kind.” You put a hand on your hip, “Dad used to warn me that some hung out in the water near the ice floes. That’s why we didn’t go there for my initiation.” They all look at you as if they just realized you were there before shouting and turning around. You blink in confusion.

“Y-Y-Y/N!” Katara shouts, her face an impressive shade of pink, “Where are your clothes?!”

“I heard screaming. There wasn’t time to put clothes on if something was wrong.” You deadpan, crossing your arms over your chest, “I’ll go get them now that I know you’re all okay.”

“Great! Then we can leave!” Sokka says, not turning back, “I am not sticking around to find out what that creature actually is.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You wave him off, turning around and heading back to where you left your clothes, “I’ll help you get ready to go once I’m dressed.” You leave them by the trees. ‘There is a lot Katara and Sokka haven’t been exposed to.’ You frown. ‘Our age differences have affected them a lot more than I would have liked. I was thirteen when we lost mom. I had more than enough time with her to learn about waterbending or go adventuring with Dad. They’ve been sheltered for far too long.’

You find the area where you left your clothes and pull your tights back on. You exhale, sad that your moment of peace has gone just as fast as it arrived. You bend down to put up your tunic, straightening up to dust the sand off and the next thing you know a figure drops down in front of you. Your feet are swept out from under you before you can react, and the person grabs you by your chest wrappings as you fall. You’re yanked forward by them, but you feel them come undone as they’re not as secure as they should have been. The gang's haste to get into the air the other day didn’t give you the time you needed to do a warrior wrap. The person in front of you gasps as the wraps fall away, suddenly spinning you around and blinding you. You let out a yelp as your chest is exposed to the air, but your tunic is on shortly after. Ropes are tied around your upper body, pinning your arms to your sides. They pick up your body, drape you over their shoulder, and start running. ‘That happened way too fast.’ You think, dazed. That couldn’t have been more than a minute. You don’t even have the words to say, honestly. You were surprised. Very surprised. Who could move like that?! The only time you moved that fast was while ice skating! Were there people who could move that fast normally? Aang didn’t count because he’s the Avatar. Who knows the extent of his abilities.

You weren’t sure how long it took, but your body was tied to something after a while. From the sounds of it, the others were right next to you so at least you don’t have to worry about that. You shift your body, trying to figure out how exactly you’re tied up. You practically jump out of your skin when you hear someone talking.

“You four have some explaining to do.” A man’s voice sounds.

“And if you don’t answer all of our questions, we’re throwing you back into the water with the Unagi.” A woman says after him.

“Show yourselves, cowards!” Comes from your idiot brother somewhere to your left.

“Oh sure, Sokka. Call the people who tied us up” the blindfold is removed from your eyes, “cowards.” You hiss, then go silent as you see a group of girls standing in front of you. The man you heard was with him, but he was the only one.

“Who are you? Where are the men who ambushed us?” Sokka demands.

“There were no men.” The woman in front scoffs, seemingly irritated by that question, “We ambushed you. Now tell us - who are you, and what are you doing here?”

“We-” You try to speak but Sokka speaks over you.

“Wait a second, there’s no way a bunch of girls took us down.” You can hear the amusement in his voice and it makes you want to smack him. How many times do you have to yell at him for him to understand that it’s not just the men in your tribe who do things? Besides, the woman was clearly agitated, and saying that would only make it worse.

“Sokka, you’ve got to be kidding me.” You sigh.

“Bunch of girls, huh?” The woman grabs Sokka by his coat and leans in threateningly, “The unagi is going to eat well tonight.”

“Please ignore my dumbass brother!” You shout, getting her attention, “He does NOT speak for the rest of us!” You glare at him.

“Then, I’m sure you can answer my questions. Since you seem to be the oldest here.” She stands in front of you and you meet her dark blue eyes, “Who are you? What are you doing here?” Her voice was lowered and it was spoken in more of a threatening manner than before.

“We’re from the Southern Water Tribe. We were just passing through and wanted to relax before continuing.” You swallow, feeling intimidated, “That’s all, I promise.”

“It’s my fault.” Aang speaks up, from somewhere past your brother, “I’m sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the Elephant Koi.”

“How do we know you’re not Fire Nation spies?” The man hisses accusingly, “Kiyoshi stayed out of the war so far and we intend to keep it that way.” That makes you scoff in anger. How dare he accuse you of being a spy for that wretched nation! As if you’d want anything to do with the people who destroyed your family!

“This island is named for Kiyoshi?” Aang sounds oddly happy about that, “I know Kiyoshi!”

“How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kiyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She’s been dead for centuries!”

“I know her because I’m the Avatar.” Aang says making your jaw drop. ‘He did not just say that out loud! Why would he tell people that after I told him to keep it a secret?!’ You panic. ‘If these idiots would have let me handle this, I could have gotten us out by now! But, no, don’t let the adult handle this!’

“That’s impossible! The last Avatar was an airbender who disappeared one hundred years ago.” The woman shakes her head as you drop yours in exasperation.

“That’s me!” You can practically hear Aang’s grin. You were going to strangle this kid the moment your hands were free. Avatar or not!

“Throw the impostor to the unagi!” The man commands. ‘So, he’s likely the chief.’ The women snap out metal fans and move closer to surround your group. Your eyes widen and you internally curse that your hands are bound. There was nothing you could do to help your situation.

“Aang, if you’re going to claim that you’re the Avatar you need to prove it!” You tell him, not liking the sight of those fans, “Do some air bending!” There’s a gust of air and you hear the people gasping in awe. Whispers fill the air as Aang floats down and you feel relieved as you hear the Chief say that he believed him. They threw a feast in honor of Aang’s arrival and you were shocked to see so much food on the table. You were hesitant at first, but Aang insisted so you ate until you were satisfied. The Chief and the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors joined your group. Thankfully, Sokka was too engrossed in stuffing himself with food to notice the warrior sitting with you. If he had, you were sure dinner wouldn’t have been as pleasant as it was.

“Hello.” The woman greets you as she takes the seat to your left.

“Hello.” You greet her politely.

“I wanted to apologize and introduce myself to you.” She brushes her hair behind her ear, “I’m Suki, the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. I’m sorry we ambushed you like that. While we live away from the mainlands, people have been begging us to join the war. It’s been going on since before I was a little girl. We’ve been very careful with newcomers.”

“That’s alright. I understand that. My village was raided by the Fire Nation when I was a teenager. After that, the men in the village refused to let anyone who wasn’t from the neighboring villages in.” You reassure her, “You were only protecting your home. I can’t blame you for that when I would do the same. It’s admirable.”

“That’s a relief. Thank you… but um… that’s not all I wanted to apologize for.” Suki rubs the back of her neck, lowering her voice, “I was the one who jumped you on the shoreline. You looked to be around my age, so I wasn’t sure what training you might have had.” Her words sink in and you begin to feel mortified.

“I saw your chest and I wanted to let you know that wasn’t my intention.” She whispers, and you think you see her face turning pink, “I’m very sorry for that.”

“I-It’s okay.” You frantically wave your hands, “I’m not upset about it at all. At least you had the decency to cover me.”

“O-Of course! I wouldn’t do that to another woman!” Now she’s waving her hands frantically, “Not unless they wanted me to, but that’s not- I’m going to stop talking now.” She facepalms, making you laugh at the absurdity of the conversation.

The mess that was your first conversation didn’t do anything to ruin the rest of them. You found yourself talking to Suki the most as you were sitting next to each other. She listened intently as you talked about your life at home and what you did for fun. Unfortunately, you had to leave out anything that involved waterbending. Katara was the one who talked to Suki about that one. But, you learned about Suki’s life on the island and how it was her dream to become a Kyoshi Warrior. You congratulated her on becoming the leader and she made a soft comment that had you raising an eyebrow, “It’s rewarding to train pretty women like you.”

You weren’t new to flirting. You were lucky enough to interact with people outside of your tribe before your dad left. It’s just been a while since you’ve had a chance. So, you fell into it. You flirted with her, and she seemed to be into it. You couldn’t believe your luck. You’ve been gone from home for such a short time and here was an attractive woman hitting on you! The end of dinner made you a little sad, but you had the itch for some more alone time, so you asked one of the islanders where you could find a quiet cove or something close to it. They directed you to one on the other side of the island that’s past the training building for the Kyoshi Warriors.

It was a good distance to walk, but that meant you wouldn’t be bothered by anyone either. With your siblings and Aang preoccupied, you took the chance to sneak away. It felt like the perfect opportunity to get some waterbending practice in. You let out a slow breath, moving through the meditative poses your mother taught you as a child. It helped not only to relax your body but your mind when it got too unfocused. And, it was definitely too unfocused. There was something about Suki that got into your brain. You couldn’t stop thinking about her. Knowing that she was the one who took you down earlier made you flustered. You’ve never come into contact with anyone who can do something like that.

So, once your body is focused, you let your awareness spread to the rolling waves in front of you. You smile to yourself as you lift the water and bring it towards you. It whirls around your body, the soft whooshing sound of the water bringing you peace of mind.

“Okay, mom.” You exhale, widening your stance slightly, “Guide me through the exercise.” You move through the waterbending techniques your mother taught you, steadily going faster and getting harsher with each re-run of the sequence. Your muscles are used to the movement, due to training over and over again. At some point, you’d have to break the news to Katara. She’d be pissed with you for keeping this a secret, but she wasn’t ready. You couldn’t teach her something that could kill someone if she couldn’t control her anger. You will never forget the day you nearly speared your father with an icicle during an argument.

“You didn’t tell me you were a bender.” A voice comes from behind you, making you shriek. You whirl around, the water following as you whip it at whoever snuck up on you.

“Ouch!” The person yelps, clutching their side and you realize that it’s Suki.

“Oh, Spirits! I’m so sorry!” You gasp as she looks at you with an impressed look, “Are you okay?!”

“It’s okay!” Suki giggles, rubbing her side as she moves closer to you, “I guess we’re even after what happened earlier today.”

“I guess we are.” You chuckle, “Are you sure you don’t want me to check?”

“Well… I’d have to remove everything so…”

“Oh.” You blink, “Then, I’ll take your word for it.”

“Anyway, that was some impressive bending. How come you didn’t bring it up when Katara was talking about it?”

“My brother and sister don’t know. Our mom trained me in secret in case my siblings couldn’t bend. I haven’t told Katara for various reasons.” You sigh, running a hand over your hair. It was the one conversation you were dreading.

“Hmm, is the reason because you’re so good at it?” She says flirtatiously, “If you had fought me with it this morning, I might have been the one retrained.”

“I doubt it.” You flirt back, “I could just freeze you in place.” You demonstrate by sneakily freezing her feet to the ground. She gasps, tugging on her ankles to try and get them unstuck.

“Then you wouldn’t have been able to go anywhere.” You giggle, giving her a playful shove. Suki laughs as she pinwheels, unable to fall.

“You’re interesting, you know that?” She grins, watching as you melt the ice and pull the water back to you.

“Says the woman who took me down in seconds.” You chuckle, “I have never been so confused in my life.” She could take you down that fast and had the strength to lift your body. You found that kind of attractive.

“Will you show me your bending?” Suki questions, leaning forward on her tiptoes, “I haven’t seen waterbending like yours up close before.”

“Only if you keep it a secret.” You get a raised eyebrow in return, “Please, Suki. I can’t have them finding out right now.” You give her a pleading look. She makes a face like she’s contemplating what you said. You bite your lip, wondering if she’d tell them about your secret. She didn’t seem like that kind of person, but you only just met her. She tied you up and planned on murdering you without a second thought, too. It was to protect her people but…

“I’ll keep it a secret.” Suki agrees, a teasing smile on her lips, “But, you have to let me train you. You’ll need to know how to protect yourself.”

“Deal!” You hurriedly agree. That earns you a big grin from Suki and you spend the last of your daylight waterbending for her. She seemed dazzled by what you were doing. She asked you questions and even attempted to do the moves with you. For the first time in forever, you didn’t feel alone while practicing. She made you laugh and even tried to surprise attack you! You managed to hit her away, but you suspected she made it easy for you.

Once the final dredges of sunlight were about to disappear, Suki took your hand and guided you through the woods. She said you could use the actual training building because you’d be the only ones there. With the arrival of Aang, she had given the others the evening off. But, it will be right back to work tomorrow morning.

“This is where you practice?” You gasp. The building was very simple on the inside with a large open space. There were some weapons hanging on the wall and two doors at the back of the building.

“Yup. From sunrise to sunset.” Suki turns to you, putting her hands on her hips, “Now you’ll get the chance to see how we train.”

“So, why did you want to train me?” You question, letting her pull your hair out of its ponytail. You shake it out and blush at the awed look Suki gives you. Your hair was very long. You took great care of it since there wasn’t much to do in your free time.

“If you’re going to keep pretending you’re not a waterbender, you still need to be able to protect yourself.” She retrieves a box and has you kneel before her, “So, I’m going to walk you through our traditions.”

Suki takes the time to get you dressed into the robes the Kiyoshi Warriors wear. You’re almost surprised at how heavy the robes are on your body. If they wore this and managed to move that quickly, they must be inhuman or something! It interested you, and you found the way Suki talked so proudly about it to be cute. You listened to her closely, letting her put the makeup on you as she explained the history behind it. Once that was done, it was time for practice.

“We’re going to move through some motions, so spread your feet apart like this and bring your elbows into your body.” Suki demonstrates. You mimic her and she stares at you intensely as you do. A few seconds pass before she walks over to you.

“You want to come down a bit farther.” She puts her hands on your hips and pulls your body down some more. You feel your breath catch in your throat as she manipulates your body. Although you had no skin exposed, you could feel her touch lingering on your skin. It felt like the air was heating up between you two. She watched your body movements, using her own hands to support you or correct your form. You stopped breathing when her hands moved up your body, feeling dizzy in a different way. Your gazes lingered, and you watched her lips move as she talked.

“You’re doing a great job!” Suki compliments you, “You’re a natural at this!”

“Thank you.” You feel fluttery hearing her say that, “It might just be because I have a great teacher.”

“A great teacher is only made by a great student.” She winks at you, making you giggle.

“Can you show me your moves in action?” You tilt your head, “Slowly, at least. I’d like to be able to see it this time.”

“Okay, get in position across from me.” Suki motions with her hand, and you do as she says. You lock eyes, getting lost in her gaze. A moment passes and then Suki becomes a blur. You gasp in alarm, feeling her grab your arm out of nowhere. You’re yanked forward and you feel your body flip through the air. You let out a grunt of pain as your back hits the floor and Suki pins you to the ground. Your jaw drops as she smirks down at you.

“Was that slow enough?” She asks teasingly.

“Yeah…” You breathe out, feeling an unknown emotion settle in your chest.

“That’s it for tonight, then.” The smirk doesn’t leave her face as she helps you up, “Let’s get you out of that. We’ll take the makeup off first.” You nod wordlessly, still in awe. The two of you head into the changing room where the shelves are filled with extra uniforms. There’s a basin of water there that’s used to remove the makeup, but you feel a little spontaneous.

“Let me remove the makeup for you.” You pull water from the basin and let it stick to your palms, “It’ll be faster this way.”

“Okay.” Suki smiles and sits down, patting the spot on the bench next to her. You get close to her, Suki’s hand on your thigh to steady herself as she lets you carefully run your hands over her face. Little by little, the makeup comes off to reveal her features and you’re taken by her beauty.

“You’re staring.” She whispers.

“Sorry.” You go to back away, but she grabs your wrist.

“I’m okay with staring… but I’d prefer to kiss you instead.” You make a noise in the back of your throat, surprised by her statement.

“If I read this whole evening wrong, you’re more than welcome to tell me no.” She continues, “But if I haven’t… I’d like to kiss you.”

“You haven’t.” You whisper, closing your eyes to remove the makeup from your face. Once you do, you send the water down the little drain next to the basin, “I’d like to kiss you, too.”

Suki didn’t waste a second. Her lips were on yours, soft and sweet from the berry juice in the lip paint. Your heartbeat picks up as she guides you onto her lap, and you rest your hands on her chest. She wasn’t your first kiss, but she’s the first kiss where it was good. Suki knew how to kiss and it showed. The way her tongue found its way into your mouth, not too much to send you running or she’d take a moment to suck on your bottom lip and make you impatient.

“Can I touch you?” Suki asks sweetly, “Have you been touched before?”

“Ah, no, I-I haven’t.” That question wasn’t one you were expecting at all. That made you a little nervous. You haven’t even touched yourself before. How would you know what to do or-

“Hey, don’t worry. We don’t have to do anything.” She brushes your hair behind your ear, “I was just asking.”

“I’d like to… I’ve just- I don’t-”

“You don’t need to do anything.” She giggles, “Let me do it for you.”

“Okay.” You agree.

“Let’s get you undressed then.” Suki waits for you to stand before instructing you to turn around. Piece by piece, she helped you out of the warrior’s uniform while leaving kisses on your neck. Your body felt warm, your heart was racing, and you were slowly getting excited for what was to come. When your robes were off, you helped Suki even though she didn’t need it. Taking your cues from her, you did the same thing and kissed her neck, giving in to the urge to leave little bites as well. You were doing something right by the way you’d hear soft gasps leave her lips. The moment the last piece of her robes were off, she backed you into the wall and hicked your leg up to her hip.

“Kiss me.” You demand, making her chuckle.

“Eager.” She grins before kissing you again. This time you were more intense with this kiss. You weren’t sure why but only that it felt right to be. You could feel her fingers playing at the edge of your underwear and it sends shivers up your spine. Her fingers move across and down, over your covered clit to press against that spot between your legs. You gasp against her lips, wrapping your arms around her to bring her closer to you. She rubs her fingers down there for a bit, continuing to kiss you as you struggle to hold in your moans. Your body is trembling at this point, eager for more stimulation from the gorgeous warrior pinning you to the wall.

“Do you still want me to put my fingers in?” Suki asks after backing from the kiss.

“Yes…” You breathe out. You hold each other’s gaze as you feel her move the cloth aside. Her eyes sparkle in the light, such a deep blue you could always get lost in them. You gasp as one of her fingers slips into you, whimpering as she touches you in a way no one has. It’s all you can focus on. The feel of her touching you so deeply in a place that sent your body tingling with pleasure.

“Suki.” You moan out her name, tilting your head back.

“You’re so beautiful, you know.” She kisses your exposed neck, “It’s a shame you’ve never felt pleasure like this before.”

“You’re the first.” You mutter, not able to speak any louder.

“I’m honored.” She hums, putting another finger in and stretching you out, “You have such a cute pussy. I’m enjoying letting you experience this.” You groan, the soft burning from the stretching not doing anything to distract you from the pleasure. Only a few hours ago, she had tied you up and now she was in an intimate position with you. Who would have thought leaving home would end up with you like this?

“Thank you…” You say breathily, “It feels nice. Really nice.”

“Don’t thank me yet, cutie.” Suki giggles, “I haven’t made you cum, yet.” You weren’t sure what she meant by that, but you couldn’t ask. She had moved her thumb to a bundle of nerves further up and you were too enthralled to talk. The trembling in your body only got worse, except now something was tightening in your abdomen. It kept getting tighter the more she touched you and you didn’t want to tell Suki to stop. You were more aware of her fingers than you were earlier and the pressure in your abdomen had reached its peak. A loud moan left your lips as you felt it snap, your fingers digging into her shoulders in the process.

“Spirits!” You hear Suki exclaim in surprise and then giggle as you feel a liquid run down your legs. She didn’t stop until you could feel your body relax, but your mind was definitely in a different state. You felt a little foggy.

“I didn’t think I’d make you cum that hard.” Suki chuckles, slowly sliding her fingers out, “Are you feeling okay?” She asks.

“Yeah.” You nod, trying to catch your breath, “I am. I just- I’m not quite sure what I’m feeling but it feels good.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll go away soon.” She kisses your cheek, “You did great, cutie.”

“Thank you.” You blush, thinking about kissing her again, “Can I…?”

“Can you kiss me again?” She smirks, making you giggle and nod your head.

“I don’t mind that.” Suki lifts your chin and kisses you.

#atla fic #atla #atla suki #suki x reader #suki x fem reader

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