#katara got dumped ONCE

[oneatlatime]

The Tales of Ba Sing Se PART 1

Once upon a time in Ba Sing Se, the Gaang got Appa back. The end. Please?

This title sounds rather expositiony, but last episode was already a plot/exposition dump, and a rather dark one at that. So who knows? Not me.

Sokka hun I think you're supposed to shave with a blade slightly less substantial than that.

I am fascinated by the hair loopies. I always thought that they were braided in, but they clip in. Does she have a magnet in her braid that they clip in to? A lego type system?

CAT

Toph's morning routine is uncomfortably close to mine.

I know Toph likes being slobby to stick it to the man, but wouldn't it also help with her spatial awareness if she's always sporting a healthy coating of earth? Maybe she can sense where her limbs are better or something?

"Spa day!" "Do I have to?" UNCOMFORTABLY CLOSE GUYS.

That has got to be torture. How would you like a pumice stone to the eyeballs?

Now THAT'S a healthy coating of earth.

You're not usually into that stuff? You got dolled up last episode.

Are there voice acting awards? Because whoever voiced these guys needs one. I have never in my life heard such perfectly distilled middle school clique bitch impression.

That's cathartic.

Katara's smothering/mothering tendencies usually annoy me, but it's a good thing those means girls happened when Katara was around, because this calls for serious hugs. I almost want to say that it's out of character to see Toph not be 100% sure of herself, but I think it adds character instead.

Do you think anyone's ever told Toph before that she's really pretty? Ever?

That's a good hug.

Is this short stories? Like an anthology? TALES of Ba Sing Se. Like day in the life? Ok. I'm going to break this up for ease of reading/writing.

The Tale of Iroh

If Iroh hadn't distinguished himself by making the best tea in the city, he would have come to everyone's attention anyway by single handedly fixing everyone's personal problems.

Bending soccer. Why didn't I think of that?

His voice is funny in this scene. Also isn't honour a fire nation thing?

One of my absolute favourite things about Iroh is that his philosophical side is always balanced out by a practical side. He's always philosophising but he's also always grounded. Sometimes hightailing it is what needs doing. Sometimes your sister is crazy and needs to go down.

You know you're bad at crime when your poor stance actually offends the guy you're mugging.

I also like how Iroh really doesn't moralise. He'll teach this guy what conditions the moonflower likes; he'll teach this guy how to mug better. Knowledge is for sharing, no judgment attached!

Random mugger speedruns Zuko's arc.

So pretty. It's been a while since there's been good pretty.

oh shit

ok

Now I have questions!

The Tale of Aang

Writers take note: You see this sad face? You see what you've done to my boy? You can reverse it with one simple trick! GIVE HIM APPA BACK.

I love this. Can't help Appa, so Aang helps every other animal in Ba Sing Se instead.

I want to know what this is. Monkey panther?

I didn't realise until now how tall platypus bears were.

CABBAGE GUY! HI!

Actual dragonflies. Punny.

I love these. My nomination for cutest atla animal.

I hope that wasn't required agricultural land. Should have put the zoo near the drill instead. That land already looked close to salted.

This was some Toph level bending. Love to see Aang's skills progress.

Turtle seal's got competition for cutest animal.

Just call this portion the petting zoo and it's a win.

The Tale of Sokka

Something I don't talk about enough is Sokka's supernatural skill with that boomerang. The realistic explanation is that he's spent every spare minute since receiving it honing his skills by chucking it at random piles of snow, but I like to think he's a boomerang bender. Actually wouldn't boomerang bending be a manifestation of latent airbending tendencies?

I make this face at lasagne.

I may have to make another Sokka's Stupid Faces post.

There is nothing oaflike about falling out of a window and into a Haiku. He was even polite about it!

Somebody introduce Sokka to flyting.

Forget about being a warrior, Aang needs to end this war yesterday so that Sokka can go be a poet. Warrior poet. He's way too creative to waste on cannon fodder.

Poetry bouncer. The longer I think about that the funnier it gets.

Betrayed by hubris.

A Poetry bouncer. Who comes up with this stuff? How do you come up with that? I keep thinking about a poetry bouncer and I keep giggling.

I'm breaking this post here as I'm reaching the image limit. Part 2 coming immediately!

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #the tales of ba sing se #airbender Sokka fanfic when?

[the-badger-mole]

For the Days When You're Not Yourself

The day began disastrously. First Katara woke up later than normal, which meant she was scrambling to get breakfast started before Zuko and Aang finished their morning meditation and training. That task was interrupted by the frantic arrival of Sokka to tell her that Suki was sick and needed to be seen to immediately.

Fortunately, Suki wasn't in any serious danger. She would be bed ridden for a few days and the others would have to stay away from her to keep from spreading whatever she had. Excepting of couse Sokka, who had volunteered to care for her, and Katara, who would inevitably be called in to alieviate Suki's physical symptoms. Suki had also thrown up in her bed during the night, so Katara gathered the soiled sheets, adding a surprise laundry pile to her to-do list.

Once she had Suki settled and left her to the care of Sokka, put the sheets in the wash basin to soak, and gotten herself cleaned up, she returned to the kitchen to find Toph, Aang and Zuko finishing up thier breakfast. There was barely enough congee left for half a bowl. She stared at the nearly empty pot in shock.

"What happened?" she asked turning to her friends. "I made double what I normally make." Toph gave a sheepish shrug, and Katara saw that both she and Aang had taken the largest bowls they could find.

"We were hungry," Aang said apologetically. Zuko's brow drew down in consternation.

"Sokka said that you had set aside a bowl for yourself already," he told Katara. She sighed and rolled her eyes hard. She had set aside some breakfast for Sokka and Suki, having decided that congee would be gentle enough for Suki's sensitive stomach. Sokka had helped her carry the food to Suki's room in fact, but somehow had missed the fact that his sister had only made two bowls, not three. He must have spoken with the others while Katara had been busy and told them to help themselves to breakfast. Katara took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden stinging. It was a misunderstanding. Her friends hadn't meant to be inconsiderate.

"You can have the rest of mine." Aang shyly held up his bowl. From where she stood, Katara could see the syrupy sheen of the sugar he'd dumped into his bowl. Katara hid a grimace. How he could stand to eat something that sweet, Katara would never understand. She sighed and shook her head.

"It's fine," she said, gesturing towards the pot. "There's enough for me until lunch." Speaking of which, she would have to make a stop in town if she was going to make sure there was actually something to make for lunch and dinner. And Suki would need medicine. And while she was out, she should see if she could find something for Momo's fleas. The lemur didn't seem to mind a readily available supply of snacks in his fur, but they were beginning to attack Appa and it wouldn't be long until they made their way into the rest of the villa.

"Hey." Katara was surprised to find Zuko standing in front of her. He frowned with a concerned look. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Katara nodded. "It's just been a hectic morning."

"I'll handle the dishes," Zuko offered. Katara smiled gratefully and accepted the offer. Zuko found a bowl and scraped the rest of the congee out for Katara. It was even less than she thought, but, she reminded herself philisophically, she'd gotten by with much less. Toph and Aang finished their meals and then Toph dragged Aang away for his earthbending lesson. Katara managed to get two bites of her own breakfast down before Sokka rushed in asking for a bucket or pot or something in case Suki got sick again. Her breakfast was laid aside and forgotten in her scramble to make sure that she made it to the market before she had to train Aang that afternoon.

Lunch was as big a hurry as breakfast. Katara realized she'd forgotten about Suki's sheets, and she wanted to see that them before they got mildewy. After she'd thrown together a quick lunch and saw to the sheets, Katara went to train with Aang. To her utter frustration, he was messing up on basic techniques. Techniques she had spent weeks correcting him on. Today he seemed to have forgotten everything and needed her to adjust his stance and show him how to hold his arms. She tried to be patient, but her irritation bled through anyway.

"Are you practicing on your own?" She snapped somewhere through the second hour. "The comet is less than a month away. This is not the time for you to be lazy."

"I-I am practicing," Aang stamered, his face bright red.

"Oh, it's very apparent how much work you're putting in," Katara snorted sarcastically. "I can't teach you any of the advanced forms until you get the basics down. Just because you've technichally mastered waterbending, it doesn't mean you don't have to practice. This is the last time I'm going to go over stances with you. Now, put your dominant arm here, and you opposite foot here!" Katara stood behind Aang and moved him into the correct position. Aang flinched at her unusually rough handling, but he did as he was told, and by the end of their training session, Katara was nodding in approval as he went through the foundational stances. Her face was set hard, though, and Aang hurried away from her with his shoulders hunched and cheeks flushed in exertion and embarassment.

Katara's anger didn't fade after the training session. If anything, everything seemed to be conspiring to aggravate her further. Toph and Aang were laughing too loud. The sun was too bright and too hot for this late in the day. Suki had kicked Sokka out because his overly enthusiastic care was making it impossible to sleep, so he decided a better use of his time would be to pester his sister about medicine and teas. Zuko had offered to make dinner, which rubbed Katara the wrong way, as if he didn't think she couldn't handle something as simple as getting dinner on the table. The final straw, though was when she went to go gather Suki's sheets from where she'd left it to finish drying and found that Momo had decided they were there to play with. They were in a heap on the dusty ground and Momo was frolicking in them in all his flea-ridden glory. Katara startled all of her friends to the porch with her enraged shrieks and demands for Momo to stop ruining everything. Aang hurried over and gathered his frightened companion into his arms.

"He was only playing, Katara," he said, reproachfully. "You don't have to be so mean!" Her anger spiked with a frightening flash and momentarily stole all power of speech from her. She pointed to the sheets now in a heap on the ground.

"You're washing those," she hissed at Aang. Then she turned on her heels and stormed inside the villa. A moment later, her friends heard her bedroom door slam shut.

Katara could sense the others tiptoeing around. She couldn't explain how she knew with such certainty that that was what they were doing, except maybe there seemed to be less noise than normal. It didn't matter. She would spend the evening in self-imposed exile as much to give herself space to calm down as to not further subject her friends to her touchy temper. Guilt was a distant, but distinct presence in her mind. She would feel the full weight of the shame of her outburst later, but right then she was just tired. Her limbs felt heavy, and her head throbbed at her temples. She had been fighting tears for the last quarter hour, but she didn't know why. A good cry actually sounded pretty good just then. She had just decided to run a bath and let her emotions out in the priviacy of the luxurious tub when she heard a gentle knock at the door.

"Zuko." Her brows shot up in surprise. She had been expecting her brother, or maybe Aang, but Zuko stood in front of her with a sheepish smile.

"I just wanted to check on you," he said.

"Wanted to make sure I'd finished my breakdown, you mean?" Katara sagged against the door frame with a sardonic smile. A faint wash of pink colored Zuko's neck and face and he shook his head quickly.

"N-no!" he stammered. "What happened out there...listen, from where I'm sitting, it was totally warranted."

"Yeah?" Katara's brow shot up in surprise. "Even yelling at Momo?"

"He knows better than to play in clean laundry," Zuko shot her a smirk. "Aang's washing the sheets. I told him he can't have dinner until he's finished. I figure he should be done by midnight. Oh, speaking of dinner-" Zuko motioned down with his eyes and Katara noticed for the first time that he was carrying a plate of dried fruits and a couple of pieces of toffee.

"This is dinner?" Katara asked, wrinkling her nose dubiously.

"No," Zuko said. "But dinner might take a while to finish and..."

"And?" Katara prompted him.

"It's probably none of my business, but have you eaten today?" he asked. The concern in Zuko's eyes almost staggered Katara. He must have taken her silence for annoyance because he scrambled to add, "I just mean you only had a couple of bites of breakfast, and I didn't see you have lunch. And I know when I'm hungry, I can get a bit...tense." The day passed through Katara's mind, and she realized he was right. She hadn't eaten.

"Thank you." Her voice was unusually small as she accepted her pre-dinner meal. No one ever noticed when she got too busy to eat. She barely noticed. The knowledge that Zuko not only noticed, but thought to do something about it-

"If you want," Zuko started hesitantly, rubbing the back of his neck, "I can handle dinner. You know, just so you're not doing all the chores every day."

"Dinner?" Katara repeated.

"I'd offer to take breakfast, but training Aang ends too late-"

"Zuko." He stopped mid-sentence and bit the inside of his lips. Katara set her plate aside and squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden sting of tears. Then she threw her arms around Zuko's midsection and buried her face in his chest. He stiffened in surprise, but quickly gathered himself and wrapped his arms around her. She was shaking a bit, and he tried not to notice the light sound of sniffles coming from her.

"Thank you," Katara said finally. She pulled away, wiping discreetly at her cheeks and smiled at Zuko.

"Any time," he found himself smiling back. He rocked back on his heels and cleared his throat. "I should- uh- I should go get started on dinner. I can bring you a plate."

"I can join you guys," Katara protested weakly. Zuko shook his head and waved her off.

"If you don't feel like it, it's fine," he assured her. "Besides, it's good for us to miss you every now and then. Remind everyone how much we need you and all."

"Oh..." Katara felt her cheeks heat up. The thought of spending an hour or two in that gorgeous bathtub instead of dodging her friends' awkward silences and tiptoeing sounded wonderful. "Yeah, I'll think I'll hang out in here. Thanks."

"I'll be back later with your plate." Zuko turned and started heading back towards the kitchen. Katara leaned against her doorframe and watched him leave.

"Hey, Zuko," she called when he was halfway down the hall.

"Yeah?"

"I hope you know," Katara's mouth slid into a grin. "You're stuck with me now. If you keep being this helpful, I'll never let you go." Zuko grinned back at her.

"Sounds okay to me."

#atla #zutara #hangry katara #helpful zuko #flirty flirty #aang thinks he's slick #katara gets support #self care queen #fanfic

[old-people-like-avatar]

Netflix Avatar the Last Airbender S1E5: Spirited Away Review [SPOILERS]

Overall, a strong and creepy episode. With its titular callback to Miyazaki, this one had a very different sensibility from the prior episodes, but I liked it. I wasn't so sure about bringing Katara and Sokka into the spirit world, but we got some really important scenes there.

THE GOOD

Katara and Sokka flashbacks in the Spirit World: I was initially skeptical when Katara and Sokka went along with the spirit world journey. But there was a strong emotional character-building payoff with seeing both of those painful flashbacks. The trauma of Katara witnessing her mother's death, and the emotional pain of Sokka's barely passed ice dodging trials -- a new memory of Hakoda that added something to Sokka's character.

Koh the Face Stealer/Fog of Lost Souls: Man, Koh was creepy. The Fog was creepy.

Better placed fan service: The callbacks to the cartoon in this episode were much more organically placed than "my cabbages" and the minstrels from earlier episodes. Sokka referencing Pippin Paddleopsicopolis. The men in the tavern talking about the canyon crawlers ("Great Divide") or battling the volcano ("Fortuneteller"). They were little easter eggs that didn't draw too much attention to themselves. Even the Knowledge Owl ("The Library") had a story-driven purpose, more or less.

THE I-APPRECIATED-WHAT-THEY-WERE-DOING-BUT-NOT-SURE-THEY-PULLED-IT-OFF

Gyatso in the Spirit World: I wanted to like the concept of Aang finding Gyatso in the Spirit World. I liked Gyatso "cheating" at Pai Sho and the warmth that showed. I even kind of liked Gyatso's slightly awful "we do it for the ones you love" exposition speech at the end of the episode, corny as it was. But I felt cheated out of that warmth in the Episode One, when that would have made a difference in emotional heft when Aang discovered his body. Now it just seems... cheap? Because he's back? And it undercuts the weight of the Aang's loss of his entire nation and people.

The thinness of the spirit world barrier: Ultimately, the show had to get these characters into the spirit world, so I don't fault the show for pulling a little "oh I can just feel it" Jedi Knight/Avatar once-over on the audience. On the one hand, this show keeps telling us (not showing us) that Aang 'doesn't know what he's doing.' And then on the other hand, it dumps spirit world mumbo jumbo exposition on us through Aang clearly kind of knowing what he's doing by referencing what "the monks told me." It's kind of jarring. It at once makes him seem wise while undercutting the message they're trying to convey about him not knowing what he's doing.

THE BAD

Clunky dialogue continues: "I also need to help these people..." "The avatar has to do the impossible..." Every time Aang talks about how he should have been there, should have protected the forest, needing to help people, it just feels so forced. Just show him helping people. You don't need to have him announce that he wants to help people.

Talking exposition fox: What the heck?

THE UNKNOWN

Narratively tying Aang, Zuko, and Azula together/Azula: The close of this episode, narrated by Gyatso in corny fashion, drew explicit parallels between the stories of Aang, Zuko, and, surprisingly, Azula. I am not sure whether this is going to pay off yet, as Azula's arc in this show has yet to be fully realized, but it does seem they are taking her in a different direction from the prodigal, "born lucky" daughter from the show. It shows her vulnerable, desperate for her father's approval. I am interested in this take -- and in how Ozai masterfully plays his children against one another -- and want to see more of where it goes.

#avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar: the last airbender #netflix atla #netflix avatar #live action avatar #live action atla #natla #spoilers

[ellakomskaikru]

Zuko betrayed Mai when he left her locked inside a prison cell and Mai still saved his ungrateful ass. The bastard didn’t even talk about her even once after that. And I’m supposed to believe he loves her? Yeah right. He was a horrible boyfriend to her and he would be a horrible boyfriend to Katara too. I hate both Maiko and Zutara for Mai and Katara’s sakes. Zuko should not be inflicted on any girl.

Hello anon!

I disagree that Zuko betrayed Mai. Mai was the one who chose to come to the Boiling Rock just to yell at Zuko for breaking up with her, which endangered the mission he was on. Mai was the niece of the warden and as a prominent noblewoman her presence there would attract attention and by default to Zuko. Mai did not want to understand Zuko’s perspective as when he literally told her, “Stop! This isn’t about you, it’s about the Fire Nation!” Her reply was, “Thanks Zuko, that makes me feel all better.” She didn’t care about the atrocities her nation was committing, all she cared about was the fact that Zuko dumped her.

Mai does seem to grudgingly listen to Zuko after he tells her “That’s not how I see it.” But we didn’t see their full conversation or Mai’s reaction to Zuko explaining why he’s doing what he’s doing. The next time we saw them she was frowning at him, which insinuates that she still didn’t agree with his reasons. Because of this, Zuko probably deduced that Mai was a danger to the completion of the mission, which is why he locked her inside the cell. And he also probably figured that she would be safe in the cell because her uncle was literally the warden of the prison anyways.

So no, Zuko did not betray Mai. Mai was an obstacle to what he set out to do, so he removed her from his path so he could finish his mission without interference. A lot was at stake there, and he is not a jerk for prioritizing getting the prisoners out of the Boiling Rock and ending the war over Mai. Yes, Mai saving Zuko was very brave and the right thing to do. Yes, Zuko should have mentioned her afterwards and he didn’t, which also makes it hard for me to believe that he loves her at all. Their relationship was not convincing at all.

But before that, Zuko was not a horrible boyfriend to her. He had one moment of explosive jealousy, and was rightfully called out for it. But he was thoughtful. He got her a shell because he was trying to please her and she sarcastically rejected it. How is he supposed to know what she likes if she doesn’t tell him? He hasn’t seen her for three years. Mai was not obligated to like the shell, but she should have at least appreciated that her boyfriend was trying to do something nice for her. He also went to get her food without complaint when she literally ordered him to at the party. Then in Nightmares and Daydreams, Zuko does his best to please her by ordering fruit tarts for her. Zuko wasn’t perfect, but he tried to make her happy when he himself was in a really bad place emotionally.

There’s also no evidence that he would be a horrible boyfriend to Katara. When Zuko was with Mai, he was pretending to be someone he wasn’t and was in some deep anxiety. He was not himself with her, and couldn’t be even if he wanted to. And yet still, he tried to make it work with her. When Zuko joins Team Avatar, he is finally his true self. And when he’s interacting with Katara he shows his real personality. He was respectful and supportive towards her. He truly wanted to make up for how he hurt her and was very supportive of her in The Southern Raiders. Zuko also protected her even when she was still angry with him, as he saved her from falling rocks and took the brunt of the fall so that she wouldn’t get hurt.

Zuko and Katara had a good friendship and they enjoyed spending time with each other. Zuko respected her as a fighter as he chose her to come fight Azula with him, and put her life before his own in The Final Agni Kai when Azula shot lightening at Katara and he took it for her instead. Therefore, I see no evidence that he would be a horrible boyfriend to Katara. I think he would always put her first and be supportive of her, and accept her entirely for who she is. Zuko is not perfect, even after his redemption, he has flaws. But he is a good person overall who is empathetic, thoughtful, and supportive. He tries his best and I think he’d make Katara happy. Katara would not have to coddle him and she would be able to be her full self with him.

You’re entitled to dislike Mai.ko and Zutara for whatever reasons, but this why I don’t agree with the view that Zuko is a horrible boyfriend.

Thanks for the ask!

#atla #zuko #katara #Zutara #anti maiko #zuko defense #ella’s original post #atla ask

[bndair]

i just need to share a few more of these incorrect quotes with you guys bc apparently this is all i'm doing for the rest of the night. i threw the whole gaang in there. it's great

aang: Operation no more distractions is a go! *not even 10 seconds later* aang: Oh, look! A butterfly!

katara: aang is too tall for me to kiss them on the lips. What should I do? zuko: Punch them in the stomach. Then, when they double over in pain, kiss them. toph: Tackle them! sokka: Dump them. jet: Kick them in the shin! aang: No to all of those! Just ask me to lean down!!

zuko: You know what I’ve realized? toph: Some thoughts are better left unsaid? zuko: Nice try, anyways-

sokka: I did it! I memorized everything in the book! I'm gonna ace this test! suki: Ok, sokka, I'll give you one more question before you go. What ended in 1918? sokka: 1917. suki: ...You're ready.

toph, in the groupchat: So you guys robbed katara? katara: Yeah, all of them. aang: Lies. suki: Slander. sokka: That’s bullshit. zuko: And we’d do it again.

aang: We might have gotten into a bar room brawl back in the city. zuko: Well, that was entirely predictable. aang: One of them punched a gang member. zuko: suki? aang: toph, actually. zuko: Oh, that was going to be my second guess.

katara: toph and I were crossing the street, and this man drove by and honked at us. suki: What did you do? katara: They chased him to the next red light, and reached into his window, and- toph: *walking in* Who wants a steering wheel?

jet: Dumbest scar stories, go! sokka: I burned my tongue once drinking tea. suki: I dropped a hair dryer on my leg once and it burned. toph: I have a piece of graphite in my leg for accidentally stabbing myself with a pencil in the first grade. katara: I was taking a cup of noodles out of the microwave and spilled it in my hand and I got a really bad burn. aang: I have emotional scars.

suki: Are you tall enough to play basketball though? aang: Are you calling me short? suki: I'm calling you vertically challenged.

aang: Present your best argument for eating bacon. sokka: If animals don’t want to be eaten, then why are they made of food?

sokka: As you know I keep a list of all my friends in order of how likely they are to betray me. aang: Where am I on the list? sokka: Well I can’t tell you that because then you’ll quickly move up or down depending on your reaction.

toph: What does a winner do when life gives them lemons? aang: Um, make lemonade? toph: No, they squeeze them right back into life’s eyes!

aang: You spent all our money on THIS?? sokka, putting tiny raincoats on ducklings: They live outside. They need this.

#𝙤𝙤𝙘 : nonbender #raven and i have just been throwing these at each other for the last hour #what i wanna know is how are they mostly in character tho

[745voiceofthepeople]

Azula, Zuko, and Ty Lee all walk into the Avatar’s base in an obscure mountain top. Prepared for a… dialogue. Or a fight if nothing else. They were excited to finally be going on a mission.

Azula: Okay, let me do the talking, and whatever happens, happens to all of us.

Zuko: Okay!

Sokka (seeing the the three FN fighters walking up to their base): Heyyy! You guys know how To make whiskey on the rocks?

Azula and Zuko: *long suffering sigh

Ty Lee: You put ice in it! It’s pretty easy

Sokka: Really! Hey Katara want to do me a solid? Get it? Solid?

Azula: Oh for Fuck’s sake

Katara (yelling from the other side of the mountain base to team FN): Hey! What the hell do you think your doing?!

Ty Lee (yelling): We’re coming to investigate your base!

Azula (to Ty Lee): What don’t you understand about “let me do the talking”?!

Aang (yelling): Why did the girl with the braid put her tongue on our base before?

Azula (yelling back): It’s a long story!

Katara (yelling): We got nothing but time!

Sokka (yelling): Are you guys the test!

Azula (yelling): A what?!

Sokka (yelling in reply): A test! Were from the United Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom Alliance, and we’re waiting to find out what we’re here for.

Katara ( yelling): ex-alliance!

Katara (continued): We’re not really waiting for anything though, except maybe like a quick, merciful death.

Azula (yelling): Are you the leader?!

Katara (yelling): We don’t exactly have a chain of command anymore! I’m mostly in charge though, because I’m not a complete fucking waste of brain cells! My names Katara! And This (gestures to Sokka) is my brother Sokka and this (gestures to Aang) is our companion Aang.

Sokka and Aang (yelling): Hi!

Azula (yelling): *Azula points to herself* Azula!, (indicates with a gesture of her head) my brother Zuko, and our (indicated with head nod) compatriot Ty Lee! Soldiers of the Fire Nation.

Katara (yelling): Let me guess? You guys got dumped here.

Azula (yelling): Wha-I… How did you know?

Katara (yelling back): Body language!

Katara (continued) That and there’s no reason to come here. For anyone, like ever!

Azula (yelling) Good eye!

Katara (yelling back): Yeah, it’s a fun party trick. Got more of you want!

Azula (yelling): Really!

Katara (yelling back): There used to be a guy interested in you, it didn’t go anywhere since you’ve accepted the fact that you like the ladies!

Azula (yelling in consternation) Wha-! Hey! How did you-?!

Katara: Come on girl, it’s obvious.

Aang (whispering): Maybe you guys can date.

Katara (yelling): *gestures to Ty Lee* and that one got messed up somehow, but she has the most upbeat attitude, so net-net I guess.

Katara (continued) Here, we’ll come over, we can compare notes.

Azula (yelling) Okay!

Katara, Sokka, and Aang walk to the other side of the mountain to base. Coming face to face with Azula, Zuko, and Ty Lee.

———————————————————-—————

Katara: We were the worst soldier of our unit.

Azula: Ha! Us too.

Aang: Sokka here, he once detonated a base, trying to heat up a cup of coffee.

Sokka: Who puts the “Fire all the missiles button” right next to the microwave?

Katara: Pretty sure they were just expecting us to accidentally fall down a ravine or… blow up our base and save themselves the trouble of a coverup.

Sokka: Stone, cold, hearted, man.

Zuko (deadpan):Tell me about it.

Azula: Agni fucking damnit.

Azula (continued): Fuck my life, seriously. Our one chance at a real assignment and we meet you guys?

Katara: Oh you’re a real charmer, aren’t you?

Aang: Boss, I like her. *lowers voice* Seriously, are you gonna date?

Katara: The long and short of it is, we’re fuck ups. Like you! We’re all stranded here, we’ll all die here, and we’ll all be forgotten.

(Everyone): look down is despair

Zuko: Well, least we can do it together

Sokka: Hey, Yeah!

Ty Lee: Together!!!

Aang: Together!!!

Ty Lee: You Know, I think I just learned something. It doesn’t matter if the rest of the world wants to push you away, as long as you find friendship and-

Ty Lee (continued) Ice spider! *she starts to fire her assault rifle at the ground*

Ty Lee (continued) Oh Agni, it’s going- it’s going up your leg! *Ty Lee proceeds to shoot Aang in the leg*

Aang: Ow! She shot me!

Sokka: You bastards, I’ll kill you!

*Sokka begins firing at Ty Lee*

Zuko: Ty Lee, get under cover! *a bullet goes by Zuko’s head*

Zuko (continued): That’s not cool, man!

Zuko, Ty Lee, Sokka, and Aang proceed to begin a firefight between themselves. Katara and Azula stand in the middle of the chaos. Seemingly ignoring the fight and just staring into one another’s eyes. Blue on gold.

Azula and Katara (at the same time):*sigh deeply as their teammates exchange gunfire*

(Azula) Agni damn it.

(Katara) Tui damn it.

————————————————————————

Katara: This happen often?

Azula: Yeah, but not as often as- * a missile flies by* Never mind.

Katara: Man, I just wanted… I just wanted a chance, you know?

Katara (continued): To be given a mission. To be given a purpose.

Azula: You want a purpose?

Katara: Yeah... I really do.

Azula (laughs incredulously): Me too!

Azula and Katara proceed to gaze into each others eyes (again)

Azula: *Proceeds to raise her gun and shoot Katara in the foot*

Katara hunches over from the blow, her hands immediately going over to her foot. Fortunately, the armor appears to have absorbed most of the damage. That doesn’t make the small pond of red any less disconcerting though.

Katara: Ow, Shit! You shot me! The fuck did you do that for!

Azula: Giving us all a reason to be out here, bitch.

Katara (incredulous): What are you, crazy?!

Azula (flippant): Eh, probably. But I’m done waiting on someone to give me a purpose. I’m making one for myself.

Zuko (yelling): Azula, come on! We have to get out of here!

Katara (narrowing her eyes): You’re going down, sweet-cheeks.

Azula: Aw, that’s the spirit! It’s a shame, though. You actually seem like my type.

*Azula walks away to the now FN side of the mountain base*

*Zuko and Ty Lee are still undergoing a firefight with Aang and Sokka as this goes on*

Azula: Come on guys, let’s roll out.

*firefight has now undergone a temporary pause*

Zuko (angrily): What? What did you do?

Azula (smugly): I just gave us a purpose for being here.

Zuko: Which is?

Azula: To keep an eye on those assholes *nods towards Katara, Sokka, and Aang*

Ty Lee: All I wanted to do was kill the Ice spider.

Zuko: But…! They just said that they aren’t doing anything!

Zuko (continued): Why do we need to watch them?!

Azula: That’s where your wrong Zhu Zhu.

Azula (continued):They are doing something now. They’re watching us. Because now we’ve shot two of them.

Zuko: Seriously? You’re saying that the only reason we need to be here is because they have a base over there, and the only reason they need a base is because we’re here?

Azula (giggles): Yes! We finally have a purpose in life. Isn’t glorious?

Katara (Yelling): You guys are a bunch of psychotic assholes!

Azula (yelling back): You’ll thank me later, fuckface!

Katara (yells back): You’re super uncool! You know that right?! You’re all losers!

Azula (to Zuko and Ty Lee): Yep. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. And that Water Tribe chick? She totally wants me.

Katara (yelling): Fuck you!

Azula: See? She even wants to fuck me. My seduction plan is in full effect!

Zuko: I don’t think that’s what she meant by “fuck you” Azula.

Azula: Don’t ruin the moment Zhu Zhu.

#azutara #incorrect quotes #avatar #source red vs blue #Season 14 #Triplets

[queenofzan]

The Waterbending Master

So as I said, I'm rewatching Avatar: the Last Airbender. And this time, a few little things have struck me as potentially in need of improvement.

Master Pakku, his refusal to teach Katara, and his coming around when he sees she is Kanna's granddaughter.

This is the first culture in the show we have seen be extremely patriarchal (Sokka is supposed to be the man of the southern tribe and all that is left there are women and children, but they also have extremely low numbers, and honestly, it seems like Gran-Gran is as much in charge of the tribe as the chief's mom or mother-in-law as anything else). Kyoshi Island, obviously, has the Kyoshi Warriors and venerates Avatar Kyoshi; the mayor seems to be a man but Suki and the other warriors are considered leaders as well, despite being teenagers. We see several other Earth Kingdom towns and villages that seem mostly patriarchal, but apart from Sokka (and, once, Zuko) we don't hear a whole lot about what women can or can't do. The Fire Nation army and navy seem to be co-ed, although in season one we mostly see male commanders. However, working with women or taking orders from women doesn't seem to bother anyone except Sokka.

Then we get to the Northern Water Tribe, and they seem to have a pretty stratified society, with explicitly sex-segregated bending traditions. But it kind of seems like the writers wanted to have a moral about sexism without actually depicting sexism?

Pakku does say some derogatory things about how Katara's proper place is with Yugoda and the other girls, but he doesn't even hit as hard as Sokka does with the "girls shouldn't be fighting" stuff. He talks about tradition, which is...a really weird argument to make to the sole remaining Southern Tribe waterbender. Surely in the case of cultural extinction, the importance of keeping Southern waterbending alive is more important than sexism based on traditions? Like, are the traditions of the Southern Tribe completely irrelevant here? It wouldn't seem so, because the Chief does make a big deal of welcoming Katara and Sokka from their sister tribe and treating them as honored guests in their own right, not just as the Avatar's friends. So why didn't the Chief say "Pakku, we've failed to help our sister tribe at all in the last hundred years and now they're down to a single waterbender, we have to at least give the appearance of caring about them", especially since, you know, he's got the Southern Tribe's Chief's son and daughter there with the Avatar. Making sure the Southern Water Tribe still has waterbenders seems like a concern for the balance of the world, no?

And since when have sexist pigs become less sexist when presented with evidence that their crushes have been romantically entangled with someone else? Kanna has grandchildren, she got married to someone else and had children and meanwhile, as far as we can tell, Pakku has no family and never married. He certainly has no issue fucking off to help rebuild the Southern Tribe at the end of season one. Like...is it not much more common for sexist jerks to become more obnoxious after finding out they got dumped and forgotten about? Do men who want your number not usually call you a bitch instead of going, "Ah, you're right, I should reflect on my behavior?"

We also have absolutely no textual evidence for Katara's immediate assumption that Kanna couldn't stand the sexist traditions of the Northern Tribe. Apart from raising Katara, who is definitely not sexist, and raising Sokka, who is definitely sexist at the beginning of the show, we know very little about Kanna.

This is actually a pretty simple fix, in my opinion. A: make it clear Kanna does not stand for Sokka's sexist nonsense. I don't think this actually takes that much effort; some lines when Sokka is being sexist early on met with "You wouldn't say that if Gran-gran could hear you" or "Why don't you ever say that to Gran-gran?" implying that Sokka is in fact watching his tongue around his grandmother lets us know that Gran-gran has an opinion more in line with Katara's.

B: reverse Pakku's stated reasons for not teaching Katara. At first he grudgingly agrees, out of kinship and solidarity (and because the Chief pressured him and the Avatar is watching) but then not only is she a disrespectful student (by his standards) he finds out she's the grand-daughter of the woman who spurned him and apparently started a whole different family with someone else, and finds an excuse to kick her out of class. Or he sees her necklace and accuses her of stealing it, or something. Something so that his argument isn't based solely on the weirdly backwards presumption that his Tribe's traditions are more important than hers, despite the fact that hers are actively endangered.

I think we should honestly also see Pakku be more actively sexist, assuming Katara will be unable to match Aang's progress or his progress or something. He should talk more specific shit about how ill-mannered or boyish she is, or blatantly judge her excellent skills more harshly than Aang's. We should see actual sexism, not just "la la la you can't be here" which is like. Annoying but certainly not the most common or most harmful way sexism manifests. I mean, even him claiming Katara would be unable to concentrate on bending because she's at that age where girls only think about boys would be more than he does; we could even have that tie into the betrothal necklace blowup where he's like "You're fucking up because you're thinking about your impending marriage, aren't you?" and she's like "The fuck you talking about, old man?"

I just. I know they were going for a sort of, oh look, he's been reminded of his True Feelings and the sexism was just sour grapes, but that isn't as strong and it doesn't really send any message about sexism? Whereas if we had any indication that Kanna really did specifically hate that part of the Northern culture, if we had any indication Pakku has actually internalized any sexist ideas beyond "this is how it is", and we had any sense of Pakku actually grappling with the idea that the same things he loved in Kanna are the things that annoy him in Katara, and how that means he's changed, this subplot would be a lot stronger.

I also wonder uhhh what the fuck was Pakku going to say, if someone asked him why he was spying on the Avatar? We know the answer, he's literally spying on the Avatar for the Order of the White Lotus, but it looks like he's just stalking a 12 year old student after dark. It's really weird. Is he that obsessed with enforcing the sexist tradition of women not learning combat waterbending? That's also weird, to be honest! He's an old man, he should have other shit going on! Or else everyone should acknowledge that he's being weird!

#atla #cut for length #what is 1 5/6 art degrees good for if not analyzing minor plot beats in decades old cartoons?

[releasemefromthevoid]

MY ATLA LIVE ACTION S1E7 THOUGHTS

EP6 - EP8

We’ve reached the North Pole! It’s a fairly eventful episode, but it felt like it went by fairly quickly. I’ve always liked the Northern Water Tribe storyline, so I’m glad they seem to be keeping it largely the same, though there are definitely some questionable alterations that I’m not sure I can get into without giving spoilers in this section, though I should cover them in the live reactions.

Yue was delightful, though distinctly different in this live action series in a way I don't quite know how to phrase right now. 

My biggest problem with this episode was Katara, I think. She’s just not giving the anger she should have, given the situation. I suppose this version of canon overall really watered down her character’s anger in general, which was a huge staple of the cartoon, but this is the first real time where it’s really fell flat for me.

Live reactions and spoiler under the cut.

i love that zuko now has jee’s loyalty above all others

separating zuko is how we’re getting to zhao’s murder attempt without the pirates, ey? blasting jelly on the life boat

are they gonna let iroh and jee think zuko is dead? iroh was pretty clearly in on it in the cartoon. 

yeah aang. you Haven’t learned any other bending skills. what the fuck. why weren’t you practicing with katara? 

agna q’ela looks great

sorry why does yue look like that. that wig is terrible. it’s not just me right?

oh look at iroh, playing the game. he’s got zhao fooled.

azula once again has an incredible actress playing her

how are they gonna handle this pakku arc? given that the writers really don’t like overt sexism

oh hell yeah they made yue a waterbender! that makes a lot of sense, and it was kind of a missed opportunity that she wasn’t a waterbender in the cartoon

love sokka accidentally stumbling into wooing yue

this yue is definitely not the same yue. i can’t quite put into words how though.

oh shit i was right, the fox in the spirit world “swamp” WAS yue

why is hahn. not insufferable. he’s. nice? 

yeah. pakku is right. it WOULD have been wise to focus on training during your journey aang.

wait lmao this is the first we’ve seen of water healing. this is the first we’ve HEARD of water healing. we didn’t have any time with jeong jeong so that wasn’t a convenient excuse for katara to discover it. i feel like there was some kind of missed opportunity there, let’s not get into the habit of introducing something out of the blue. being fair this was also something i felt the cartoon had a problem with, given the healing showed up out of nowhere in the jeong jeong episode and the ENTIRE lion turtle energy bending thing in the finale

oh so overt sexism IS a plot point. it’s almost like i thought that because they erased sokka’s sexism arc that they’d get rid of the northern tribe sexism arc, since the writers clearly don’t like being overt about sexism. it’s almost like they think sexists can’t have a change of heart 

oh shit yue broke up with hahn?? she’s allowed to do that in Sexist Northern Water Tribe? getting mixed signals here

oooooh kuruk backstory!! love to finally hear about that guy

what’s with the blue contacts kfjhskdjhfs

yeah kuruk’s pretty cool

does yue. remember being the fox?? oh confirmation. ok. not swamp-esque then. i feel like that makes it worse actually.

you’d think that sokka’s most painful memory might also be the day his mom died but. yeah.

“hahn is wonderful.” words no one has ever spoken in the cartoon

sokka is the boy of yue’s dreams you heard it here first. and here i thought he had a very natural relationship with suki. this feels a little rushed???

something about this kiss doesn't feel earned, especially after hahn, being a super nice guy in this adaptation, was dumped. she says "he wasn't the boy of my dreams", and that should be fine, but there's something about it. like. you can say you just didn't love him. that's reason enough. the writers didn't have to invent some way for her to know about sokka so she could break up with hahn before they even meet. and to kiss sokka right after saying this? girl you hadn't even met sokka when you decided you loved him what

THERE’S the pakku that pisses me off. missed that guy

is he suggesting. that the southern tribe fell because women also fought?

aang. what the hell. don’t Agree with pakku. i get you want to protect her but what the fuck

eyyyy zuko stowing on zhao’s ship!!

lol they really said “zhao’s not smart enough to attack agna q’ela on his own”

supportive sokka <3

weird choice for the pakku fight to be premeditated like this. i always felt that katara’s impulsiveness in making that choice really worked for the situation. it really sold her anger. and this is a really toned down response compared to that

the pakku fight felt a little underwhelming. unsure why. 

ah, the ashes. already?? katara literally hasn’t had any training yet. neither has aang for that matter.

liking: the fire nation's plots, inclusion of the northern water tribe sexism arc

worried about: the upcoming finale fight, aang and katara's lack of bending training?

disliking: katara's lack of perceived anger, sokka and yue's relationship

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender live action #atla netflix #atla live action #long post #i'm a little nervous for the finale #i sure hope nothing egregious happens

[animeftw10]

AnimeFTW10 Watches and Reacts to Mortal Kombat 1’s Story Mode

The title is self-explanatory. Spoilers under the cut.

Yeah, Madam Bo is dead. Ain't no way an old person, who is also a smoker, can survive that. That test could have gone seriously wrong.

I like how Johnny's first fight foreshadows Nitara. Also, is Katara Vala supposed to look like original timeline Havik?

Bi-Han and Kuai: [silently judging Johnny]

… Liu Kang. You couldn't have just combusted to prove you were telling the truth from the beginning? That would have saved a fight! And Johnny's Hichuli.

This proves that the story is written around the fights, not the other way around. And this chapter system still needs to go.

Bi-Han's face has me thinking that he's pissed that he (and Kuai and Tomas, I guess), who is Lin Kuei, who have been Earthrealm's protectors for centuries, are never chosen as champions, while two farm boys, a Yakuza, and an actor, all who know nothing about anything, are getting a shot. So I can see the frustration building already.

Why do I get the feeling Kung Lao won't see Bi-Han again?*

Also, is that dark-skinned Shaolin supposed to be Kai? I'd like that if that was true.

Why that slo-mo between Johnny and Kenshi?

I think you paved the way for Raiden to win, Liu Kang. I also think that you would have been disappointed if Kung Lao won.

At least Kung Lao can swallow his pride. It also helps that he doesn't have family pressure on him in this timeline.

Sun Do is Outworld's capital now?

I feel like that amulet should be made so that Raiden and Raiden alone can use it. Too much of a risk in the wrong hands otherwise.

Johnny's phone having his name on it is so him. I love details like that.

Mileena, Li Mei is doing her job! Leave her alone!

"Stock villain," indeed. Also, Shao's an Outworld supremacist. Lovely.

That only sounds impressive when Shang Tsung says it.

Okay, I get it, but Sindel, that's being passive-aggressive. I'm beginning to feel sorry for Li Mei.

So Reiko has a reason to follow Shao over Outworld.

Johnny successfully flirted with Kitana? Never thought I'd see the day.

Role reversal!

Which sorcerer, I wonder? [sarcasm]

Mileena went off to see Tanya, and that's how she got Tarkat, didn't she? That's my guess.

Yeah, this is blatantly teasing Raiden/Kitana.

Earthrealm wins. Never would have guessed that. But their victory is a good thing.

Kung family jade jaguar statue! I love details like that!

"May the Elder Gods protect you?" Did you bring them back?**

"Cage Con?" You're that big of a deal? How are you facing money troubles?

I like this Baraka. I wish the circumstances weren't what they were, but he's cool.

Johnny, shut up. Not the time or place.

Once again, all of this could have been avoided if anyone knew how to communicate.

At least it wasn't Shang Tsung's fault Kenshi got blinded this time.

Is… is Quan Chi the Outworld equivalent of Indian? Or South Asian, at the very least?

Quan Chi was a miner before being contacted.

I feel like if Liu Kang gave him and Shang Tsung Bob Smith lives (average, but happy), none of this would be happening. Or at the very least, they wouldn't have jumped at the call right away.

No, Baraka. That's NRS, as no one would want to see you before Tarkat, apparently. Even though I would.

So part of Johnny's outfit is Kenshi's blindfold. That's actually really nice. Keep proving you're a good guy, Johnny. I like it.

Shang Tsung, you dick.

I'm so sorry, Syzoth.

Why are Johnny, Baraka, and Reptile the best-written characters so far?

Sisterhood of Shadow, is it?

Yeah, this is basically an info dump. They couldn't have found a better way to do this?

Megan Fox sounds awful.

Johnny's the best.

Johnny's the one who comes up with the names Flesh Pits and Soulnado?

We actually get to see Ermac's creation!

"That was unexpected," indeed. A bit too easy for Sento to do that.

So that's how Quan Chi gets his skin color in this timeline. Huh.

Hi, Jerrod. I remember that detail about your soul being in the Living Forest.

At least Ashrah gets a happy ending.

Johnny, the movie references are starting to get old.

At least it's not just Mileena that Tanya cares about.

No hammer for Shao? Disappointing.

New lore: Once killed, Titans can't come back. So that can't be Kronika.

Bi-Han, what is your damage? And why do you sound like that unmasked? You smoke ten packs a day?

*Never mind, he did. And he didn't thank Bi-Han for the inspiration.

Bi-Han, are you suffering from boredom, due to a lack of real fights?***

Going by the look on Bi-Han's face, this wasn't intentional. It's the "rock falls from a cliff to show how much of a drop it will be" trope. But the cut back to him leaves it ambiguous.

***So that's a yes.

… They only stayed hidden for TWENTY-FIVE SECONDS! YOU IDIOTS!

Why the slo-mo on Bi-Han hitting his head against the shield? Trying to imply that he now has a concussion?

Using the same words from the prologue? Clever.

Terracotta Army inspiration!

This is happening way too quickly.****

Bi-Han, you're an idiot for revealing that.

Kuai, you really didn't need to do that.

Ah, the inverse of that infamous line. Clever.

Bi-Han, you betrayed Earthrealm, admitted to letting your father die, and you just scarred Kuai. Do you really expect Kuai and Tomas to listen to you now? If so, you are an idiot.

Li Mei and Sindel were friends?

At least Liu Kang knows his limitations.

Shinnok's Amulet!

**Well, he made Shinnok powerless, so the answer is yes.

So did Jerrod and Sindel adopt Rain?

So Ermac's MK9 ending is canon here. I'm glad we actually get to see Jerrod, but this sucks.

Liu Kang didn't mention Bi-Han's betrayal, so Kuai and Tomas didn't bring Bi-Han to him. Did… did they bring him to the Lin Kuei Temple? That's so stupid.*****

Ah, Deception reference. Clever.

Talking needs to stop being a free action. Attack him while he's monologuing, damn it!

I feel like this fight is meant to be NRS's apology to those who didn't like evil Sindel.

RIP Sindel. At least your soul resides with Jerrod now.

*****So that's a yes.

Why not go there and bring Shang Tsung, the guy Bi-Han betrayed you for, with you, so he can explain to Bi-Han what's happening, and how the Lin Kuei needs to help Team Earthrealm? Or has he served his purpose in the narrative, so goodbye? That happened with Baraka, so that's probably it.

Geras is the best. He's improved so much between MK11 and MK1.

So that explains why he likes the jade jaguar. Clever.

The Elder Gods won't protect anything, Liu Kang. You should know this by now.

Gotta love setups and payoffs. I don't think anyone expected the drone to actually show up.

Good plan, Kuai.

Shang Tsung, don't give that look. Like anyone would ever trust you.

Armageddon name drop. Check that off the list.

Did Kenshi level grind offscreen? He just learned how Sento works.

I feel like that dialogue between Raiden and Shang Tsung was meant to be a Mythologies reference, but with better writing.******

This moment is so unearned, and I don't ship it, so I don't care for it.

Because this ship is going to get milked for all it's worth, Kitana.

One of you attack Titan Shang Tsung, damn it!

This is literally Armageddon's opening, but bigger and stupider.

RIP Titan Kitana.

RIP Good Shang Tsung.

Time skip!

Very humble of you, Johnny. No, that's not sarcasm.

******Guess your "good deed" wasn't enough to avoid prison, Shang Tsung. How surprising.

****And now we know why. It's to speed run the Lin Kuei vs. Shirai Ryu rivalry. They just couldn't let that go.

Havik, no.

So that was story mode. Lots of stuff got rushed through, but it's not all bad. Baraka, Johnny, Kenshi, Liu Kang, Mileena, Raiden, Reptile, Scorpion, and Shang Tsung got all the best writing. Everyone else is either fine or isn't. The chapter system needs to go.

As a Lin Kuei fan, I am not a fan of the Lin Kuei subplot. It does what it's intended to do, but I personally do not like it.

#Mortal Kombat 1 #MK1 #Spoilers

[juniperhillpatient]

Winter Solstice: Part 2: Avatar Roku re-watch takeaways :)

This is far & away my favorite of the episodes I've watched so far, & I remember it was around this point in my initial watch with my family over quarantine that I went from "sure, I guess I'll watch this with you guys" to "this show is actually really good & I'm invested." This is where the bigger storyline takes off & Aang is given his mission from Roku & it does not disappoint.

Well - this couldn't possibly go wrong :) The gaang is heading for Fire Nation waters & it's appropriately anxiety-inducing. I like that Aang does attempt to get Sokka & Katara to stay behind just about as much as I love that they don't even consider it, even if they try to talk him out of this plan altogether. If there's one thing that is pretty much a must in "chosen one" type stories, it's the Chosen Saviour character trying to talk their friends out of helping & the friends insisting anyway. It makes everyone more sympathetic & it's just fun.

After a nice little adventure in being likable, Zuko is back on his bullshit. I gave Iroh a lot of shit for confusing & inconsistent motives in the last episode & this is a continued critique I have, but I'll give him this - his one consistent motivator is also his most likable trait: he wants to protect Zuko. Zuko is obviously being a major asshole to Iroh & his crew just pressing forward with a doomed mission & it also goes to show how much he still believes he can be accepted again by his father. Iroh meanwhile gives us some important information: Not only did Ozai banish his own son, but he's also unlikely to be very understanding about his son's valid reasons for re-entering the Fire Nation. Not a terrifying & merciless picture they're painting at all :)

Katara & Sokka's banter continues to be fun, & it's a lot more fun now that they're just annoying each other instead of sexism playing into the mix. I also enjoy Appa & Momo adding some levity. Also - if I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times - Appa is honestly the real hero of the show. Poor guy legit got shot at with fire, was forced to fly faster than usual to get to the Fire Nation in time, AND rescued the gaang from a collapsing temple in the end! Where is Appa's Nobel Peace Prize, just asking?

Shyu also deserves major props. I like how we're gradually learning more & more about the history of the war. The world-building in Avatar is just so consistently well done. And the history never feels like info dumping, because it comes up naturally in the story, like the fire sages having once been loyal to the Avatar but now being forced to work for the Firelord.

I think this is the first time we get to see Sokka's intelligence when it comes to engineering smart non-bending solutions, with his (admittedly failed) plan to get the doors to the secret Avatar room open. Also, Katara is a genius for thinking of the plan to trick the other sages into thinking Aang's already in the room.

And we finally get to meet this guy!

Aang's meeting with Roku did not disappoint. I'm a huge fan of the line "I know you can do it, Aang, because you've done it before." I feel like the first time I watched this episode really helped me understand how this whole "Avatar" thing worked & drilled in the importance of Aang connecting with his destiny & his past selves. Also - Aang now has a mission & the new big goal has been laid out, so that's very exciting. Our boy has to learn all 4 elements by the end of the summer....no pressure :)

Oh, & another thing that was fun about Aang's little Avatar spirit adventure to talk to Roku - we got our first tiny glimpse of Ozai & he's a scary DILF, so that's fun. One thing that I would change about the gaang visiting the Fire Nation & Zuko & Iroh talking about complicated family dynamics, is that I wish there had been a way to sneak in an Azula appearance. No? Maybe? Okay, look, I just wish there was more Azula content & that we'd seen her more earlier on.

Anyway, far & away this was the strongest & most exciting episode thus far in my opinion. For me, this is where things start getting exciting & I'm looking forward to pressing onward in this re-watch :)

#Winter Solstice: Part 2: Avatar Roku #atla re watch #atla #atla book 1 #ids in alt text

[sokkascroptop]

traitor. (sokka x f!reader) pt 26

part 1 | part 25

a/n: no matter how long you have been here, just know i'm extremely grateful for anyone who's read this fic. now here's the latest chapter.

Sometimes it felt like the days dragged on. Each and every hour was laid out just like the day before–the week before. It made time seem endless, even though Y/N knew it definitely was not. Sozin’s Comet was getting closer and closer each day. Y/N didn’t know if it was the anticipation for that long fated day or if it was some buried fire bender gene in her body, warning her of something to come. She could feel it deep within her bones. She woke up earlier and earlier each day, no matter how late her night ended up. And each day the sun greeted her with warm yellow light that made the air a little easier to breathe.

As they moved further south and into Fire Nation territory, Zuko made mention of Ember Island as a place to hide out. The island–or chain of islands, really–were close enough to Caldera City that it would be a good place for them to lay low and wait, as well as uninhabited by enough people that they could lay low.

Y/N thought it was a little risky to be living in the Fire Lord’s Ember Island house, but Zuko was probably right, this was going to be the last place anyone would look for them. Maybe Y/N was just unsettled about being back, so close to Caldera City, or maybe it was being back on Ember Island for the first time since she was 9.

Somewhere between the temple and the beach house, Y/N tired of training. It just added to the monotony, and so she just…stopped. Instead, she spent her days on the beach, sometimes alone–often with the others though–playing in the tide pools and skim-boarding on the sand. And sometimes, if she felt like she didn’t have enough time on her own to recharge, she’d leave in the night, either through her window or the front door to take a walk on the beach in the moonlight. Only to come back and wake up a few hours later, ready for sunrise.

Today was no different, though the sun was already peeking over the horizon and into her room when her eyes peeled open.

The wooden floors creaked under Y/N’s feet as she crept out of her room silently.

Each board was smooth under her bare toes, not well-worn by many little feet running across them year after year but made that way before they were even built into the house, for no doubt a hefty fee. The beach house was… cold, to say the least. It just felt like each pore of the house seeped something uninviting, reminding them that they shouldn’t be there. It wasn’t just Y/N who felt it, they all spent as little time as possible in the house.

She padded into the kitchen and struck their flint to start a fire under the stove–mostly unneeded since Zuko had joined their group–but wholly necessary when he wasn’t around to be their fire-starter. Y/N didn’t mind doing it this way, it felt nice being able to do something with her own hands for once instead of relying on the others to make clean water or heat up the food. She boiled just enough water for one cup of tea before heading out to the courtyard where she knew at least two of her friends would be awake.

Y/N didn’t like feeling optimistic. It was a terrifying feeling. There was so much riding on their success; she didn’t want to spend so much energy on hoping only to have it all dashed away if things didn’t go their way. It would be too heartbreaking. But watching Aang, she could. They weren’t even sparring and she could see the power behind every blast of fire. And she had hope for their future. She had to; she wasn’t going to lose her friends.

“You’re doing that one wrong,” Y/N said from the shadows on the porch. She held her warm cup to her chest, the breeze blowing in from the ocean was keeping the courtyard chilly until the sun could rise high enough to heat the island.

Aang didn’t seem too surprised to hear her voice. “Doing what wrong?” He asked, confused.

Zuko frowned up at Y/N from his seat on the steps but nodded to Aang. “She’s right, you have to dip further down so when you come up the fire creates more of an arc.”

Aang pushed through a few more poses before Zuko stood up and joined him. Y/N stole his seat and pulled her legs up to cross them. She watched as they moved in tandem, working though the most basic of firebending forms all the way up to a few advanced ones. Memories flooded Y/N’s head so fast it made her dizzy. She remembered sitting just like she was now, watching her two brothers work through their forms when she was younger. On chilly mornings, much like today, she would wrap herself in a blanket nest and sip on tea that was much too sweet as they worked well into mid morning. In a sudden rush of affection she realized she was doing much of the same thing, just years and years later.

Aang had learned fast. That was good. She set down her empty cup as the two boys headed back to her, both sweaty from their training. “Good job, Aang! You’re doing great!”

Aang beamed with pride. “Thanks, Y/N!

“Don’t be so encouraging, he’s still got a lot to learn,” Zuko grumbled, taking a seat on the ground next to her.

Y/N pouted. “He needs encouragement. That’s how he learns.” Y/N learned that from watching the differences between Katara teaching styles and Toph’s teaching styles.

“Speaking of firebending,” Aang kicked his feet against the edge of the steps and looked around like he was avoiding something. “How did you know about the firebending forms?”

Zuko leaned back on his hands. “I’d like to know that too.”

Y/N smiled softly. “I watched my brothers for years, religiously learning all the forms and practicing them on my own. I wanted to be just like them. I guess I still remember them.”

Aang frowned. “It’s not like you couldn’t bend on purpose.”

Y/N was surprised to see Aang look so sad. “I know.” She shrugged and looked away feeling her cheeks redden with both boys staring at her. “I just wanted to be normal so people would stop paying attention to me for the wrong reasons.” She mumbled.

“It made you a better sword fighter,” Zuko said suddenly.

“What?” Y/N asked.

“The discipline and movements. You do the same when you’re fighting.”

“I’ve never noticed, but you’re right, Zuko!” Aang exclaimed.

The thought made Y/N smile. “That was nice of you.”

Zuko rolled his eyes but let the smallest hint of a smile grace his lips.

She looked back to Aang, who still looked a bit hesitant. “Don’t worry about me. How about we go swimming? Before the others wake up!”

Aang perked up immediately. “That sounds great! Let’s go, Zuko!”

Y/N and Aang stood, both looking down at Zuko, who just stared at the ground between his feet. She could already hear him saying no, telling them that he needed to train more or meditate and didn’t have time to run off and play games.

Y/N opened her mouth to tell Aang that the two of them could still go but Zuko spoke up before her. “Yeah, okay.”

Sometimes even on those long, dragging days, it was the little things that made everything better; like playing in the surf with two of your friends.

---

That evening though, Y/N was back where she had started the day, and had decided that everyone in her group of friends, save for maybe Zuko, talked way too much. She craved those moments alone where she just had her thoughts to occupy her. Especially when she had a lot on her mind.

Y/N didn’t want to admit she felt stuck inside with Aang and Katara while everyone else was outside enjoying the evening, but she also felt guilty in turning down their request to help make dinner to just wander around on the beach until sunset. She didn’t help out much with making meals, and she felt obligated to help when she could.

So she was there, sitting on the dinner table, lotus style with a knife and a cutting board and a basket of carrots in need of chopping at her side.

“What else can I do, Katara?” Aang dumped some of the vegetables he was cutting into the stew Katara was currently stirring over the stove.

“Hmm, can you go out and get some more water to make the rice?” Aang grinned and nodded, before running out of the house towards the side of the house where there was a small barrel of collected water.

Y/N smiled to herself at the interaction and continued cutting carrots for Katara, trying not to let her mind wander, but it was hard with the monotonous work and the bad spot she was sitting in.

Just in front of her was the window where she had watched Zuko and Aang train while she made tea that morning, now it showed Zuko and Sokka doing their own training.

Y/N was struggling with more than just feeling like she didn’t belong on the Island. She didn’t know what she was going to say to Sokka, or if she was even going to say anything about her feelings at all. Without the constant traveling and the safety of a hideout, she was able to just stop and let those feelings and thoughts she had been holding back with a dam of fear wash over her.

It was all really confusing for Y/N. And hard to admit.

She didn’t want to face the awkward conversation of asking whether he could always be there for her. She didn’t want to beg him to never leave because she was so insecure. She was so afraid of losing everything and everyone that she was going to do just that because she was afraid of opening up.

What would happen if she never told Sokka she loved him back? Did she even love him back? What did love feel like?

Love with Azula felt like fire, sometimes it burned painfully, but in the good times it filled her with a warmth like never before. Zuko’s friendship felt the same, but it was less like sitting too close to the fire and more like sitting just in the right place where it didn’t dry out your eyes but didn’t make goosebumps grow on your arms. Sokka always felt like a cool breeze, one where you lift your face up to the sky and smile because it always feels like relief. But that’s not what Y/N is used to. How does she know if it’s love if it doesn’t hurt a little bit? How does she know that it's real if she doesn’t have to give all of herself until she is worn to nothing to make it work?

It wasn’t that she was afraid to care for him, she had made it clear that she did. It was just easier on her heart to keep him at a distance for now until she figured they were inevitably part ways. That’s how Y/N saw this all ending. Separated across oceans, back to where they came from, whatever the outcome of the war. Y/N wanted to dream of the possibilities and opportunities where they could be together in the long run, but those were just that, dreams for another lifetime. People from the Water Tribe didn’t marry people from the Fire Nation.

Everything that she learned over the last few months was that nothing was ever set in stone, so why should she and Sokka be.

Y/N stared out the window, pondering when it would all fall apart and sliced downwards on a carrot, but met nothing but the cutting board. She looked down where the knife was closer to her finger than to the carrots. She let out a little inward gasp.

“What?” Katara turned around and asked.

Y/N’s eyes widened. “Nothing.” She motioned to the cutting board. “Do you want these smaller?”

Katara eyed Y/N and then looked to the cutting board. “They’re fine. But pay more attention, I don’t know how to reattach fingers yet.”

“Yeah, definitely.”

Y/N’s eyes didn’t leave the wooden cutting board and her fingers until the others came bustling into the kitchen, all talking at once.

Y/N for the most part ignored everyone, until Sokka reached over and snatched one of the slices of carrots.

Y/N nudged his arm. “Can you wait?! I thought you didn’t like vegetables!”

“Aang got me to like carrots!” Sokka retorted, before quickly reaching around Y/N to grab another and popping it into his mouth.

“Why would you be sitting on the table that we have to eat off of?” Suki wrinkled her nose.

“Uh! Katara said I could!” Y/N stuck her tongue out.

Katara whipped around, hands on her hips. “I never said you could, I just didn’t say you couldn’t.” Katara turned back to stirring the stew before muttering under her breath, “Not like telling you no would have made a difference anyways.”

“Hey!” Y/N picked up a carrot and launched it at the back of Katara’s head.

Aang walked back inside carrying a bucket of water, to a kitchen full of chaos. Vegetables were being thrown across the room at one another, as laughter rang out. Sokka, Zuko and Y/N were sprawled on one side of the kitchen behind and under the table; with Suki, Katara and Toph only edging from behind the safety of the kitchen doorway to throw something.

For the first time in a long time, Y/N could hear the exasperation of a 112 year old monk in Aang’s usually cheerful voice.“Uh, guys, what are we supposed to eat for dinner now?”

---

Y/N was dozing against the headboard of her bed that night, when she heard the knock at her door. At first she thought she imagined it, that is until she heard a voice on the other side of the doorway. “Y/N, are you awake?”

Y/N slid out of bed and cracked open the door. She smiled and leaned against the doorjamb, a familiar feeling in her chest.

“Are you afraid that there are ghosts here too?”

Sokka grinned and nodded. “In this house? Absolutely. But I’m not here for that.”

“Oh?” Y/N raised an eyebrow.

“Come outside with me.”

Y/N chuckled. “Why?”

“Please, just come on. No questions.”

Y/N sighed and reached for an old silk robe she found in one of the closets, but her smile never left her face.

To be fair to Sokka, there wasn’t much to surprise Y/N with on an island she grew up on. But that night, the sky momentarily took her breath away.

Sometimes the simplest things were the most beautiful.

“I thought we could come out here; look at the stars a bit. I used to like doing that at home. Though it’s different. The constellations aren’t the same where I’m from.”

“I guess I’ll just have to teach you some.”

Together they laid side by side on the roof, and Y/N pointed out her favorites. The dragon, the jack-rabbit...

After Y/N had told Sokka the story of the Red Queen, some ancient fable of a powerful Fire Lady that was always one of Y/N’s favorites, they both grew quiet, Y/N asked the question that had been brewing on her mind. She worried that whatever she said would mess up the peaceful night they had been having. It felt like she was intruding on a secret that she wasn’t supposed to know.

“Hey, Sokka,” Y/N asked.

“Hmmm,” She looked over and Sokka looked about half asleep already. Maybe this would be good timing.

“Who’s Yue?”

Sokka’s eyes shot open and he sat up quickly. “What?”

Y/N could feel her face flush. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to know.

“Yue.” The word sounded flat and foreign on her tongue. Maybe that wasn’t how you actually pronounced it? Some of the Water Tribe names and words were hard for Y/N’s mouth to form. If she could, she flushed deeper. “I heard you talking about them when I was hurt. I was in and out of it, so I don’t remember much, but I remember the name.”

Sokka suddenly looked very sad. Which was… odd because Y/N just thought that Yue was a Water Tribe spirit much like the Fire Nation had Agni.

“She’s the moon spirit,” Sokka whispered, his eyes cast down on his wringing hands.

Y/N eyes were wide. Why was he acting like this? “Oh. I figured she was a spirit or something. It sounded like you were praying to her, or something.”

“Yeah,” Sokka choked out. “Something like that.”

That’s when Y/N noticed there were drips of water on Sokka’s hands. Tears.

“Sokka?” Y/N said softly. She reached forward and–yup those were tears, dripping on their hands.

“She was a girl I met at the Northern Water Tribe when we first started traveling.”

“I thought she was…”

“She is.” For the first time, Sokka looked up. The pain in his eyes was unimaginable. “But she was still a girl when I met her.”

Sokka launched into a story that sounded more fantasy than real, but the look on his face, the sadness in his features, Y/N knew he was telling the truth.

“She was blessed by the moon spirit when she was born, it was the only reason she was alive. But when we were in the Northern Water Tribe—Zhao, a Fire Nation commander killed the moon spirit and all the water benders lost their bending, forever.” Sokka shivered. “It was scary, the moon was gone in the sky and we were helpless to fight the Fire Nation. It would have changed the tide of the war.

But she was selfless. She knew that she was the only hope for her tribe—for the world—and she sacrificed herself to save all of us. So now she’s the moon spirit…I guess. I don’t know, she’ll always be Yue to me.” Sokka’s voice trailed off with a sniffle. Y/N didn’t know how to respond.

Sokka sent a longing glance upward. The moon was just past full, waning in the far distance but still bright and round in the sky. “I think–I think she heard me that night. And she knew how much you meant to me, even then. And she saved you because…” Now it was Sokka’s turn to flush. “I don’t think I could live without you.”

Those words made Y/N’s chest burn. Her arms and legs tingled in relief as if all the tension in her body began to melt away. Y/N reached out, wiping a stray tear off of Sokka’s cheek. “Me either,” she replied instantly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“’m not. Sad, really. I miss her, but it’s easier to always know where she is. She didn’t have a lot of choice in her life, but this was something she had control over. If she hadn’t become the moon spirit, the war would have ended right there. So her sacrifice meant that, you know, Zuko is our friend now and Aang has a chance at beating the Firelord and you have a place in all our lives. She made all of this possible.”

“Sounds like we have a lot more to be thankful to her for than just saving little old me then, huh?”

“You would have liked her.”

Y/N nodded and peered at the moon above them. “I do like her.”

No one else needed to know that after the two of them went inside and off to bed, that Y/N hung halfway out her window to get one last look at the moon. Y/N swore as her eyes closed and sleep overtook her that the moon shone a little brighter. Maybe that’s how the moon said thank you. Y/N’d never tell anyone that she whispered a small thank you too, to the girl who lived among the stars.

a/n: don't be shy, come talk to me in my askbox and tell me if you liked it

taglist: @myexgirlfriendisthemoon @reclusive-chicken-nugget @astroninaaa @aangsupremacy @beifongsss @crownofcryptids @welovediaaxx @littlefluu @lozzybowe @thebluelcdy @teenbiology @13-09-01 @riespage @davnwillcome @creation-magician @lunariasilver @francesciak @thia-aep @aphrcditeee @solarsuki @my--shitty--art @lovingcupcake51002 @loganrwebb @celia-not-cecilia @treestarrrrrrrr @izzieserra @salsasadd @nataliahaslosthershit @awkwardnesshabitat @lanie103  @im-the-galactic-starfish @charlotteisabella  @sugamonster22  @calumsfringe @whatsuphoesandbros @i-love-superhero @justasukisimp @grouchiest-hufflepuff  @euphoricmads @ivetoldamillionlies @fanficsformyperusal @mikxyu @ladylizzieofdarbyshire @someonekeepstakingmyusernames @earthtokace @justamessandahalf @perfectlyfadingmusic @atlafanforlife @iris-suoh @chilifrylizard2

#sokka x female reader #sokka x y/n #sokka x you #sokka x f!reader #sokka x reader #sokka fics #atla sokka #sokka #atla fics #atla #avatar renaissance #avatar the last airbender #katara #toph #suki #zuko #aang #azula #ty lee #mai #traitor

[oneatlatime]

The Storm

This post was delayed due to dumbass technical issues. I managed to save it from annihilation by the skin of my teeth, and learned an important lesson about saving drafts along the way.

Long time no blog. As it's currently storming where I am, I feel it's time to watch this one.

Aang in the opening credits has his tongue out like a dog on a car ride. Now picturing a car full of airbenders hanging their heads out the window.

It's been long enough since I watched one of these that I forgot that dream sequences tend to be tinted brown. Had a two second panic trying to remember the episode where Sokka learned airbending.

I wanted to see more of Gyatso but not like this!

Appa the morning person.

Hey Zuko's back. Haven't seen him in a few episodes. Pipi Longstocking hair is still doing him no favours. Also is he really pale this episode?

I feel like Zuko's intelligence varies wildly from episode to episode (usually to serve the plot) but this may be a new depth of dumbness: tell the crew to their faces that their lives don't matter. You know, the crew that prevents the thing you're standing on in the middle of the ocean from sinking. The crew that keeps you fed and actually going somewhere. That crew.

On the other hand, Zuko's method for creating mutiny may break a world record for efficiency. He's such a dumb smart guy.

I'm with Katara on this one. I don't like that swishing either. And if they're out of money, why were they in a market anyway?

And with a kick to the rear, this episode's 'violence towards Sokka for laughs' quota is filled.

Never before in the history of humanity's hubristic quest to tame the seas has a wharf ever been this clean.

And I'm with the crewman on this one too. Zuko's actions really do line up with him not caring about anything beyond his own concerns.

Talk about rock and a hard place for Iroh here. From what I've gathered, it's Zuko's ship, which means that Zuko's in charge of everything including keeping order. But, Zuko is also being unreasonable in the face of a very reasonable complaint from the crew. So Iroh has to pacify both while undermining neither, and not appear to be in command. Takes delicacy.

Appa gets a mooring! Also what is that cave back there?

I was hoping the show would bring this up! To anyone who isn't riding along on Aang's adventures, it sure does look like the Avatar disappeared when he was needed most, continued to stay gone no matter how bad things got, and then just reappeared randomly one day with seemingly no plan to set set things right. Did he reappear to fight the firelord? According to rumour, he reappeared to ride giant koi. What would the average person be left thinking? The fisherman is right. And Katara - will you please let Aang fight his own battles for once in his life?

Aang being the bravest person you know? Do you not remember this?

You know, this?

"That fisherman was way out of line."

Poor guy needs a blow dry. Should be possible, what with airbending and all. Didn't know that Appa had a goatee. Actually the facial hair in general in this show is pretty creative.

If this is going to be the exposition dump storytelling episode, we may all need an emotional support Momo.

These air scooter shenanigans are making me think that the first lesson airbenders learn is how to nullify motion sickness.

Is this the first airbending we see by someone that isn't Aang or Appa?

Someone's been taking fashion tips from Narcissa Malfoy.

Oh fuck off that's too much pressure for a kid. Nice Wisteria though.

Isn't the toys thing a thing in the real world? Something to do with the Dalai Lama?

If Avatars have to be told that they're the Avatar, that implies that they don't know instinctively. Theoretically, could an isolated avatar living in peace time go their whole lives without figuring it out?

Oh wise and learned council of airbenders, please tell me how relying on a 12 year old is going to save you from a war?

Baby Zuko! Baby scarless Zuko! He looks like just the prettiest little princess in these shots. Also, either this happened not all that long ago, or Zuko is majorly overdue a growth spurt, because he's maybe one inch shorter in this flashback. Also also, Pipi Longstocking hair doesn't work no matter how much hair you have to put up. Also also also, the whole reverse tonsure look he has going on in the present really downplays how round his face is. He's got chubby baby cheeks. Also also also also, if Zuko is as much of a prince as his title implies, he's right that he needs to know how to rule.

I have picked up over the course of this show the fact that the fire nation seems to prioritise aesthetic. But this is just ridiculous. And a bit on the nose too. A literal wall of fire dividing you from the commoners? Not even the commoners, the highly esteemed generals in charge of your war? How does this guy see or hear anything that's going on?

Katara asking Aang why he wouldn't be excited about being the Avatar seems out of character for me. Why exactly would he be excited about being catapulted to the number one spot on the fire nation's 'enemies of the state' list? It's not like Katara doesn't know what happens to people on that list.

Don't worry about these jerks. They'll all be immolated in a little bit.

Smelly kid jokes. That's some peak 90s comedy right there.

I love Gyatso. Solidly in Aang's corner and happy to advocate for his charge even against grumpy temple elders. Never loses sight of the fact that Aang is just a boy and needs balance.

This Zuko disrespecting old farts stuff is nonsense. Like when you get called in to HR for 'walking disrespectfully past Sherri's desk' or 'aggressive choice of footwear' and you know it's just because they're looking for a bullshit reason to fire you/force you to quit because the owner's nephew wants your job and they don't want to pay for severance or unemployment. If pointing out obvious flaws in objectively stupid plans is an offence worthy of an honour duel (I'm not even going to try and spell the actual name), then this guy needs to be dueled too:

He called bullshit too.

No

No no they're not actually going to

oh fuck no

hang on he doesn't have his scar yet is this going where I think it's going?

Back to idiot monks phew. Another rock and a hard place situation. Aang needs to be a normal 12 year old. The world needs a fully trained Avatar. The best they can do is a half trained 12 year old avatar. That would have ended well I'm sure.

Oh yeah just yank out the remainders of Aang's support system. That will certainly encourage him to quickly develop into a responsible adult, rather than an emotionally disturbed 12 year old with unmatchable uncontrolled powers. What were these monks thinking? Or were they thinking at all? Were they just panicking? Because only Gyatso seems to have his head on straight. Upset avatars destroy things - we've SEEN that - and these monks think the best way to turn Aang into the Avatar they need is to do something that will upset him probably more than any other possible thing? At least they didn't think to take away Appa too.

Katara's right. He does have a right to be angry. I like that this show gives the characters permission to feel.

Indulging my inner pedant for a minute, he never saw Gyatso alive again. His bones were in pretty good condition. Actually, given that firebenders killed him, why weren't his bones covered in scorch marks? Also, is that where all the other airbender skeletons went? Instant cremation?

The fisherman's right - the avatar did turn his back on the world. Aang's right - he did run away. Katara's right - not running away wouldn't have saved anyone. Kudos to a kids' show for not flinching from tackling topics that have no right answers. Yay nuance!

oh god here we go

Free life tip: If you ever see a dependent and/or child assume this position at the feet of their guardian, call the relevant authorities. Quickly.

And of course there's a crowd of hundreds too. Nothing like a little public mutilation of children to flex your power over the masses. This firelord's ego is so fragile.

So that's where the scar comes from. Also the firelord's line about learning respect casts a new light on when Zuko said he'd teach respect to the crewman at the beginning of the episode. Guess he was channelling the firelord.

Big repsect to Zuko for the above. He's never lacked in bravery. This is the opposite of the "shameful weakness" nonsense.

"Things will never return to normal." THANK YOU

Why is Zuko in such a hurry to go home to that anyway? Seems like the only person who likes him is his uncle, and he's travelling with him.

This is odd. I've always felt like I know Aang, and hearing his story this episode just confirms that I do know him, who he is, what makes him tick. And it lets me know him better. I've deepened an already deep understanding of who he is. However, I thought I had a surface (if jumbled) understanding of Zuko, but hearing his story this episode, and especially the final series of shots, the way they frame him as alone in darkness contrasted with brightly lit memories, makes me sure that I've never known Zuko at all. Who is this guy? I feel like this is meeting him for the first time.

There's also definitely something worth examining in the fact that Aang tells his own story but Iroh tells Zuko's (beyond the fact that Aang is the only person left who could tell his story).

Thank god some comic relief. Not a moment too soon.

I didn't know firebenders could do that. Judging by his face, I don't think he did either.

The judgmental energy in this shot is unparalleled.

"I'm not but I still don't wanna!" This old couple has some seriously good lines.

Appa saves the day once again, this time with an assist from the Avatar powers. I swear if Appa's existence was paired with Sokka's brain they could do the Avatar's job no problem.

Zuko apologises. That is good. But is it Iroh he should be apologising to?

"I'm here now and I'm going to make the most of it." A lovely message to conclude a show on. But are we going to gloss over the whole 'father mutilates his son BARELY offscreen' thing?

Appa shakes!

Final Thoughts

This section could very easily devolve into increasingly hysterical ranting about the whole ZUKO JUST GOT HALF HIS FACE BURNED OFF AS A FORM OF COURT ENTERTAINMENT thing. Lord have mercy the fire nation is fucked up. To prevent that, I am going to share one thought, and only one thought on that fiasco:

this is the first time I've really felt that I'm not the target audience of this show. If I had seen this at 8 or 10 years old, I would have been appropriately mad at the firelord for doing such a bad thing, but it would have made perfect sense, because he's a bad guy, and they have to do bad guy things. It's what makes them bad guys. As an adult, with more knowledge in general, but especially about things like power dynamics and the long term consequences of child abuse, I am valiantly fighting not to spiral down a path of horrific implications because I want to be able to sleep tonight. From both a political and a familial point of view, there was no one (who wasn't 12 and frozen) who could have stepped in. It was the firelord who did it; it appears that there is no one above him in the fire nation hierarchy. It's Zuko's father who did it; good luck getting a kid to stand up to a father in front of an audience of hundreds in a culture that obviously worships a bastardised concept of respect (zuko tried though). Iroh couldn't (or wouldn't) interfere on either political or familial grounds. As an adult, seeing a child (because Zuko may be 16 in the show but that boy kneeling is BABY) stuck in such a situation, knowing there's literally no way to get out of it, no hero going to swoop in and save the day, no judicial process to dish out consequences, well that's hard to watch. And that's all I'll say about that.

Here's a thought: did the avatar (not Aang, but the figure/concept of the Avatar) disappearing fail Zuko, and by extension the fire nation, as much as it failed the other three nations? And the natural follow-along to that thought: did the fire nation attacking the rest of the world hurt the fire nation as much as it hurt the rest of the world?

Aang made a mistake many years ago by running away. He gets to redeem himself by not running away and saving Sokka and the fisherman. Zuko made a mistake at the beginning of the episode by undervaluing the lives of his crew (to their faces, no less). He gets to redeem himself by saving the helmsman and letting the Avatar pass in favour of getting the crew to safety. But I don't think these stories are really parallel. Aang's natural impulse was the mistake. He learned from it, modified his behaviour, and did better the next chance he got. Zuko's natural impulse was to act as he should have. He was taught (violently) that this was incorrect behaviour, and modified his behaviour based on his father's teachings. This modification (not valuing the crew) is the mistake. In Zuko's case, learning from the experience and modifying his behaviour actually means unlearning the lesson he was taught and reverting to his former behaviour. Aang's natural state needed modification; Zuko's externally imposed behaviour needed to be forgotten. Not parallel.

Aang = hope is an interesting conclusion. It's only possible for him to represent hope because he dashed everyone's hopes by disappearing and staying gone. If the avatar had defeated the fire nation 100 years ago and prevented a war from ever happening, he would not have been a symbol of hope. I don't know what he would have been a symbol of, but it's the fact that he's been gone long enough for things to get really bad that makes him a symbol of hope in the present. So if Aang was always meant to be hope, then he was always meant to get frozen.

Aang = hope is also interesting in that it positions Zuko on the side of the enemies of the fire nation. If Aang represents hope to the world, and Aang represents hope to Zuko, then Zuko is not on the Fire Nation side of the conflict (whether he knows it or not).

The humour in this episode was minimal but very welcome. The old couple was heaps of fun, Sokka got a couple of good lines (although never enough - still waiting on a Sokka episode), and the juxtaposition of humour and very serious themes was artfully handled. It was never jarring or tonally off. The switching back and forth between the two story threads was well done too, especially how they tied in at the end.

I'm kind of annoyed that Katara got relegated to shouty defender of the actually-a-little-bit-guilty or Agony Aunt. She deserves better. I'm not at all annoyed that Momo filled the role of cuddle administration. That was lovely to see.

It didn't even occur to me to check if the art/animation in this episode was pretty. That's usually a primary concern with me, but I was too wrapped up in the plot to notice.

I can't believe a kids' show went there, but they did. And they did it well. This episode felt much longer than 20-ish minutes, in a good way. It was packed. Definitely going on my rewatch list.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #the storm #avatar the last airbender

[the-badger-mole]

Once again I am thinking about that flying daggers ficlet you wrote and like...thinking about wether or not anyone else knows Aang is cheating. Have they made pointed comments about trust and fidelity? Straight up pulled Aang aside when that (obviously) doesn't work and Aang denies everything (or is too shocked that someone knows to say anything before stomping off)? Do they talk about it with each other? To decide who should tell Mai (though it is pretty clear now that she must know...)?

God what are the rumours saying about it? Mai seems to be a flirt but it's mostly for show, she flirted with the fire lord at his engagement banquet and everyone knows how gone he is on master Katara so it must just be how she is sometimes...but avatar Aang, his eyes rather than his words wander often...

No one knows for sure that Aang is cheating. A few of them strongly suspect (and in Toph's case, very strongly), and there are tons of rumors, but he's usually separated from his friends enough that none of them has hard proof. Sokka always asks "subtle" questions about Aang's relationship. Suki has warned him about what a woman like Mai would do if she pissed him off (and assured him that she wouldn't help). Toph could probably get the truth out of him, but she really doesn't care that much.

Katara doesn't like to get involved in Aang's love life because the last time she expressed concern in one of his relationships (the girlfriend right after her), Aang convinced himself that she was still in love with him. It got...awkward. She keeps her distance from his love life since then. Zuko is the only one who has talked to both of them. Aang is hostile about any love advice from Zuko (who he has drunkenly accused of stealing Katara from him on more than one occasion). Mai just smirked at him and told him that she could handle the Avatar just fine, but that she would be willing to dump him if Zuko was interested again. She brought up that offer again at Zuko's wedding. She is only partly joking.

All in all, Flying Dagger is the collision of two very selfish people sticking together out of sheer stubbornness and a lack of any other suitable distractions

#atla #flying dagger #zutara #aang and mai are toxic together in the most beautiful way #i would watch 10 seasons of a reality show starring them #then quit the show halfway through season 11 and come back for the final season

[a-d-curtis]

Artifacts

“Uh…” Aang looked down at the dilapidated wooden bucket that was placed reverently into his hands. The man bestowing it sank deferentially into a low bow; his head ducked so deeply that all Aang could see was the back of the man’s thin topknot tied far back on his balding head. “Uh… thanks?”

Aang looked down at the bucket in his hands. The bucket was old; that much was obvious. Aang held it up to get a closer look. The metal braid that held the darkened, dried wooden planks together was rusted until it was nearly black. When Aang looked into the bucket, he noted that the plank at the bottom didn’t fit snuggly like it should.

“Do you want me to… um, to help you fix your bucket? If you soak this wood, the planks will expand tightening the planks, and I can straiten out that bottom piece for you… this isn’t very useful if we can’t get it watertight again. But I can always make you a new one, if you, you know… need a water bucket… or something…?” Aang trailed off as the gentleman rose slowly out of his bow, looking at Aang with a look of utter disbelief, as though Aang’s words filling him with dismay.

“What?!” the man sputtered. “Make a new one?! No, no! You must not understand! This is an authentic, an original, air nomad water bucket!” He enunciated each word as though only someone truly obtuse would not see this for the prize that it was.

“Oh, right…” Aang hedged, looking at the beat-up old bucket. “I see.”

Of course Aang knew what this was. He and his friends had carried buckets just like this to and from the stream near the Southern Air Temple everyday. Each monk child would carry one in each hand as they bounded back from the stream, anxious to deliver the water to the cook. It was a mundane thing, something that just needed to get done. The sooner they got through with that chore, the more likely they might be able to squeeze in a quick game of airball before breakfast!

Out of habit, Aang looked behind him, searching for Katara to swoop in and help him navigate this awkward interaction. But of course she wasn’t there, Aang remembered with a slight drop in his stomach that he had come on this trip solo. Katara was still back in Ba Sing Se, busy working on a new project for the museum. Aang didn’t plan to be here in this small village more than a day, so instead of pulling Katara away from her work to come with him as he wanted to, he simply opted to handle this little task alone.

Aang held up the bucket with an importance he certainly didn’t feel and declared, “Why so it is! This is… um, very… special.” He looked at the bucket again, biting on his lip at his choice of words. To him, this bucket looked anything but special.

But the man beamed with delight at Aang’s praise!

“Yes, yes, it is!”

The man in his enthusiasm took the bucket from Aang’s hands and turned it over excitedly. “See!” The man pointed out. “Right here! An Air Nomad symbol!” Again he spoke the words like they were wondrous. “Carved right here on the bottom!”

Aang bent over to look. Sure enough. There it was. Three Air swirls carved (rather poorly, Aang noted) in the bottom wood piece.

“Well,” Aang said, brightening up a little as he took the bucket back from the man. “that would explain why the bottom doesn’t fit!” Aang shifted his staff into the crook of his elbow and turned the bucket upside down under his arm and gave the bottom a firm pound with his fist, knocking the bottom panel right out. The man gave an audible squawk, his hands jumping over his mouth aghast as the piece of wood fell into the dirt.

But Aang kept talking as he picked up the bucket’s base and flipped it over, fitting it back into the bottom of the water bucket. “See we always put the symbol on the inside of the bucket.” After making sure the base was fit in more securely, Aang handed the bucket back to the man. “There! That ought to hold water a lot better now! I still suggest you soak the whole thing, but now it ought to do it’s job just fine!”

The man looked at the bucket shoved so casually into his hands with a gaping mouth for a moment. Then his words began to tumble out of his mouth. “Oh, thank you, thank you, Avatar Aang! Now I know: the symbol goes on the inside! Oh I wish my father was here to see! You see my father acquired this treasure on one of his travels along the Granite Trading Route when he was a young man, bought it off a peddler near Dong Shaan City. This has sat in a place of prominence in my house ever since! My father had a great appreciation of antiques; and he had quite a collection. But this was his most prized – his only genuine Air Nomad artifact!”

The man’s face sobered, his voice taking on a formal tone as he once again fell into a deep bow, holding the bucket out towards Aang reverently. “But I would like you to have it now, Avatar Aang. A way to return it to its rightful place, among its rightful people. It wouldn’t be right for me to keep it, when an Air Nomad still exists to return it to.”

Aang hesitated before taking the old bucket apprehensively. The bucket suddenly felt heavier, and he felt heavier too. Sure he had run into situations like this before, where people felt inclined to present him with gifts. But it was always the most awkward for him when-- like now-- they were gifts recovered from the Air Nomads: a set of long cooking chopsticks, a half-broken glider, a rare item of fragile old saffron clothing. But these items didn’t belong to Aang, and they held no significance to him personally. Like this bucket. It is true that it appeared to be a genuine Air Nomad bucket. But to him, it was just a bucket. Something they had used a dime a dozen when he was a child. A tool. Nothing sacred or important and certainly not something revered. What would he do now with a leaky old bucket?

Wish for a new one, probably. Aang answered his own question ruefully. One that held water better, I’m sure.

He knew Katara would probably be thrilled if she were here. She was always getting excited over every little Air Nomad trinket or knickknack they found. In fact, a new Air Nomad exhibit at the Museum of Natural History is what Katara was working on right now in Ba Sing Se. In addition to working as a consultant for the project, Katara was also donating a great many of the things she had collected to the exhibit, things she had gathered over the past couple of years since she and Aang had begun traveling together.

Aang never objected when Katara would accumulate Air Nomad objects, and he appreciated her enthusiasm. Really. He was touched by how important his heritage was to her. However, there was something about it that more recently had begun to bother him. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but Katara’s tendency to “collect” his people’s leftover things didn’t always sit right with Aang.

Maybe it was something about how collecting these “antiques” made him feel even more distant from his people; each item proof of how long they had been gone, how far removed he was from them. Proof that his family was little more than memories and artifacts now. These items served as a concrete reminder that his people were extinct, gone forever. It made it harder to just forget and pretend he was just on a journey right now. That the others were still out there, just not right here with him.

Aang imagined taking this man’s bucket back to the museum. He imagined it being put behind glass on a display pedestal. What would people gain from observing this bucket? How would a bucket like this make them feel? It certainly wouldn’t make them laugh remembering the time that Dhun got his head stuck in one of these buckets when he’d been showing off for the girls from the western air temple and fell head first into the custodial closet after tumbling off his glider. They wouldn’t imagine the taste of sweet exhilaration from that water fight Aang had started that time when all the kids had decided to dump their buckets on each other instead of delivering them to the cook (they also wouldn’t recall the feeling of raw hands after lugging one of these buckets up the northern chanting tower to scrub every, single, stair as punishment for their water fight.)

What would this bucket teach a common museum patron about Aang’s people? About who they were and how they lived and what they valued?

Nothing. It would mean nothing at all.

And seeing it on display would only solidify the cold, concrete feeling in Aang’s gut that he was also an artifact now. A remnant of a nation dead. And long since, at that. Should he be on display? Did he now fit better in a museum among his people’s remaining relics than anywhere else?

Maybe it was these unspoken apprehensions that spurred Aang to find excuses to leave the museum as often as possible. Aang knew that the Museum Curator would gladly have Aang take up a permanent residence at the museum if he could finagle it, just so the dry little man could pepper him with questions about his people’s agricultural practices, yearly migration habits, and gross national trade products. Katara’s project was a good one, but one that Aang found himself finding more and more excuses not to be a part of.

Aang hadn’t told Katara any of these feelings, so he knew he couldn’t expect her to just know. And sometimes he found himself falling into the same trap, getting excited or possessive of every scrap of his culture they came across. But lately he had been working extra hard, actively trying not to. This was exactly the kind of attachment his people had tried to avoid; placing value on something that was inherently temporary and unimportant.

Aang knew he couldn’t let go of his attachments to the people in his life – a spiritual flaw that he had long since come to accept about himself – but attachment to things was still something he still tried valiantly to avoid.

Aang looked up from the bucket in his hands at the man before him, his head still bowed, although he glanced up apprehensively, evaluating Aang’s reaction to his gift. Aang could see the sincerity in the man’s eyes, his wish to honor the Last Airbender with this gift. But there was pity there too. And maybe even a little guilt? A glimpse of the world’s collective shame at allowing an entire nation to be massacred.

Aang was used to these kinds of looks: looks of pity, shame, guilt. He had lost more than anyone would truly understand, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be pitied all the time for it.

Aang took a fortifying breath, and as he exhaled, he let go of the flare of resentment he’d felt. It was his choice how he would respond. Would he pity himself too? Or would he choose to live in the moment, accepting without clinging to the loss?

Aang smiled and moved the bucket handle onto his arm, and his glider into the crook of his shoulder so he could bow respectfully to the man. “What did you say your name was?” Aang asked warmly.

“Um, I didn’t say, but it’s Shao, sir,” the man replied as he looked self-consciously to the side, his shoulders still hunched in a bow.

“Well, Shao!” Aang said cheerfully as he wrapped his arm around Shao’s shoulder, lifting him from his bow and compelling the man to walk with him. “This is a really nice bucket—I mean a really nice genuine Air Nomad artifact. And I am honored by your generosity and your gift.” Which was true. Aang was honored that Shao would offer something that clearly meant so much to him. “Please consider your gift accepted and appreciated. However,” Aang stopped walking and turned toward Shao, placing the bucket back in his hands, “it would make me happiest if you would keep it. Remember your father when you look at it. The Air Nomads, we gift this back to you.”

Shao looked at the bucket in his hands, stunned before a glow began to lighten his expression leaving a large smile radiating brightly on his face. “Thank you, Avatar Aang! I, and my children, will treasure this forever!”

Aang clapped Shao’s back heartily before walking backwards several jaunty steps.

“Or maybe just get yourself a drink of water with it,” Aang winked before opening his glider and lifting lightly into the sky, flying light and free, unburdened. Remembering his people by being one.

Just a Nomad on the wind.

………………

Other works in this series:

Chant

Incense

#ALTA #aang #avatar aang #the last airbender #do I belong in a museum? #air nomads #airbenders #kataang #Avatar the Last Airbender #choose your own reaction #he ain't dead too

[sukifans]

May I request a Zuko x Reader with prompt number 2 from the 50 cliché prompts? I'm desperate for some fluff

SWEATSHIRT // zuko

WC: 1.8k

PROMPT: “your shirt/jumper was in the laundry pile and i couldn’t help but steal it”

WARNINGS: none

A/N: if you want fluff you came to the right place—tooth rotting fluff is my specialty. the title may or may not be a jacob sartorius reference. yall remember when tik tok was music.ly?

⇦ 𝘔𝘈𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘓𝘐𝘚𝘛

Living with Sokka certainly had its ups and downs. On the one hand, he always kept things interesting—you never knew what you might come home to find, and he often made you laugh so hard you had tears streaming down your cheeks. He could also MacGyver just about anything that broke in your apartment (usually broken by him, however). You’d only had to call maintenance once, when you’d found him stuck under the kitchen sink, absolutely drenched, and shouting for help as water viciously sprayed from the pipes and the garbage disposal made some sort of ear-splitting shriek.

On the other hand, his mind moved a hundred miles a minute and he often forgot little things, like closing the kitchen cabinets or starting the dishwasher. One such thing he tended to forget was to finish his laundry. Often you’d find his still-wet clothes in the washer or his clean clothes in the dryer, having finished several hours ago. The two of you had worked out a deal: if Sokka did the dinner dishes and bought the snacks for Movie Fridays, you’d make sure the apartment ran smoothly despite his forgetfulness.

That’s how you found yourself dumping a load of his clothes onto his bed after finding them in the dryer while trying to do your own chores. You picked through the shirts and boxer briefs before settling on stealing a deep burgundy sweatshirt—an unspoken part of your deal was that if you found his clothes, you were allowed to steal a t-shirt or sweatshirt of your choosing because he knew you liked to wear the oversized tops on lazy days.

He came back later that night to find you standing in the kitchen, scrolling on your phone while you waited for your tea to steep. Your wet hair hung around your face and you wore the red hoodie with sleep shorts and thick, fuzzy socks.

“Hey,” he said, dropping his backpack on the ground by the door and kicking off his shoes.

“Hey.” You looked up at him as he bustled around the kitchen, tossing something into the microwave. “How was work?”

“Annoying,” he sighed in irritation, making you grin. He turned to you and frowned, reaching out to tug at the sleeve of your sweatshirt. “Where did you find that?”

“I stole it from your laundry, stupid. You left your stuff in the dryer again. I’ve never seen this one before, did you just get it?”

“Uh... yeah. Thanks for doing that for me.”

“Mhm.” You slipped your phone into the front pocket and cradled your mug. “Why do you ask? Do you want it back?”

“Nah, it’s okay. In fact, keep it. Red doesn’t suit me, I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought it.” He had a smirk on his face that made you very suspicious.

You raised an eyebrow while you slowly sipped your tea. “If you say so, Snoozles.” You flicked his arm as you passed him to retreat into your bedroom for the night. “Don’t forget to pick up your bag. And snacks for Friday night!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he responded through a mouthful of noodles.

You and your friends were gathered in the living room like every other Friday, this week to watch Jurassic Park (yet another classic that neither Aang nor Zuko had seen, much to everybody’s disbelief). Katara and Aang sat together on the armchair, Zuko sat between you and Sokka on the couch, and Toph sat on the floor with her back against the sofa next to her service dog, Badger. You had your legs thrown across the guys’ laps and all eyes (except Toph’s) in the room were glued to the screen. Well, for the most part—Zuko kept looking over at you all night. You tried to keep your attention on the dinosaurs, but you could feel him staring at you. Eventually you caught his eye and raised your eyebrows expectantly. He simply flushed and looked away. You furrowed your brow and turned back to the movie, pulling your hands inside the sleeves of Sokka’s red sweatshirt and sticking them in the pocket.

“Did you guys know that Spielberg wanted the raptors to be taller for the movie and then a few months after they wrapped shooting, paleontologists found a new species of raptor that actually fit the movie portrayal really well? They almost named it after him,” Sokka said with his mouth full of popcorn.

“That’s nice, Sokka,” Katara responded absently, obviously not listening.

“Yeah, and they made the T. Rex sounds with an alligat—oof!” He wheezed when you jabbed your foot into his stomach. “Asshole!”

“Pack it up, IMDB,” you huffed.

“I just thought it was interes—ouch, Toph!” he yelped when Toph punched his shin.

“Stop talking, I can’t hear anything!”

“Just watch it!”

“I can’t!” Toph barked. Sokka crossed his arms and slumped down, grumbling to himself. You and Zuko glanced over at each other and broke out in grins, pursing your lips to hold back your laughter.

As the movie progressed, you noticed the tension in Zuko’s shoulders. He had his jaw clenched throughout the whole scene with the kids trapped in the car with the T. Rex attacking. You nudged him with your knee and he turned to look at you.

“You scared, Zu?” you teased in a low voice, leaning forward to squeeze his bicep. “You want me to protect you from the dinos?”

He rolled his eyes but still lifted his arm, inviting you sit up and tuck yourself into his side. As you leaned against him he seemed to loosen up, settling into his seat and resting his head against yours. Sokka noticed this and looked around Zuko to waggle his eyebrows suggestively and very conspicuously, making your face heat up in embarrassment. Unfortunately, the idiot had caught wind of your crush on his best friend and had been relentlessly tormenting you about it ever since. You glared at him until he sat back, looking disgustingly smug.

After the movie finished, everyone got up to stretch and refill their drinks before the next one started. While talking with Toph in the kitchen, you noticed Zuko standing outside on the balcony by himself. You excused yourself from the conversation and made your way out to him while all your friends hooted in the background. It seemed everyone knew about your attraction to the boy, except for the boy himself.

“Hey,” you said softly, stepping outside. He looked around at you and gave you a small smile that made your head spin. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” he sighed, “just getting some air. It’s getting hot in there with everyone in the room.”

You nodded and stood next to him to lean against the railing. After a few beats of silence, you could feel his stare on you again. You met his gaze curiously. “What’s up, Zu? You’ve been looking at me all night.”

“Nothing, it’s just—“ he narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side as if inspecting you “—is that my sweatshirt?”

You frowned. “No, I took it from Sokka.”

“Lying bastard.” His eyes widened at your offended look when you rounded on him. “Not you! I—um, it is mine. I gave it to Sokka the other day and when I asked for it he insisted he already gave it back to me. The fucker gaslit me over a sweatshirt.”

“Sounds about right,” you giggled. “I’m sorry. I’ll give it back before you leave.”

He pulled at one of the drawstrings. “You can keep it, if you want. It’s, uh—“ he cleared his throat “—it looks better on you.”

You stood facing each other now, barely a breath away from being chest-to-chest. “I can’t take your sweatshirt.”

“You take Sokka’s all the time.”

“Yeah, because he always forgets his laundry in the machine. He owes me.” Zuko laughed a little at that, still fiddling with the string. You could feel your heart racing at his proximity. He sucked in a breath and seemed to brace himself for his next words.

“I kind of like how you look in my clothes, though. Might have to start leaving my stuff around here so you stop wearing Sokka’s.” The confidence in his voice was betrayed by the rising blush on his face that surely rivaled your own as you stared up at him with wide eyes.

Your lips parted to speak, but no words came out. All you could squeak out was a soft, “Zuko,” when he raised his hand to brush a loose piece of hair back behind your ear. You felt frozen, rooted to the spot, when his fingertips grazed your cheekbone. His hand lingered there, palm radiating heat into your already flushed cheeks.

“I—“ he pulled his hand back and chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly “—sorry.”

“For what?” you asked.

“I don’t know.” You grinned at each other and in that moment it could’ve been just you and Zuko left on the planet and it wouldn’t’ve mattered; everything you wanted and needed was right there in front of you, if you were bold enough to take that final step toward it.

“Zuko—“

“Hey, we—oh!“ Both of you whipped your heads around when the door slid open to reveal Aang standing there. His whole face went red and he laughed in embarrassment. “Sorry! Just wanted to tell you guys we were gonna start the movie, but no rush! Take your time!” He started to back away and you felt yourself release from Zuko’s magnetic pull now that your small bubble had been invaded.

“It’s okay, Aang.” You smiled gently at your friend and started to make your way back inside. “We were about to head in anyways.”

Aang shot Zuko an apologetic look before nodding and hurrying away. Zuko couldn’t find it in himself to be bitter about the ruined moment when you reached out towards him and gazed up at him with those warm, bright eyes. “You coming, Zu?”

“Yeah, right behind you.” He took your outstretched hand and laced your fingers together, squeezing his palm against yours.

Maybe you weren’t the last people on Earth, and maybe you hadn’t taken that leap just yet, but something between you two shifted and finally clicked into place out there on that balcony. Everything would work out just fine—he knew it in the way you kept your fingers slotted perfectly between his as Jaws played on the television, and in the way you quickly rose onto your toes to press a kiss to his cheek in the hallway before he left. He couldn’t wipe the dreamy little smile off his face for the rest of the night, even as he laid awake in bed thinking about you.

Yeah; everything would be just fine.

ATLA TAGS: @hotgirlazula @octophopi @simpinforsukka @protect-remus @akiris @sunflowerazula

ZUKO TAGS: @fiantomartell @avatarayeaye @hypercakeiii @sher-lockedmarvel @emeraldpotato @september-ctd

#zuko x reader #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #prince zuko x you #prince zuko x reader #zuko fic #zuko fluff #zuko #mine #requests #avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar fic #atla x reader #x reader #zuko imagine

[arrthurpendragon]

All is Found - Incorrect Quotes

Sokka: We’re kind of missing something guys. Toph: Cohesion? Katara: Teamwork? Aang: A general sense of what we’re doing? Miska: And Zuko is not here. Toph: Oh, and that, yeah.

Katara: We have a problem. Sokka: Let me guess, you caused it? Toph: Gimme a sec, I'm not drunk enough to listen to this yet. Miska: And it's another Tuesday, your point? Aang: Would shooting you solve this problem? No? Then shut up. Zuko: If you're mean the fire, that's our solution to last week's problem.

Miska: The floor is lava! Zuko: *helps aang onto the counter* Katara: *kicks sokka off the sofa* Toph: *lays on the floor* Miska: ...Are you okay? Toph: No.

Toph: Dumbest scar stories, go! Sokka: I burned my tongue once drinking tea. Katara: I dropped a hair dryer on my leg once and it burned. Zuko: I have a piece of graphite in my leg for accidentally stabbing myself with a pencil in the first grade. Aang: I was taking a cup of noodles out of the microwave and spilled it in my hand and I got a really bad burn. Miska: I have emotional scars.

Miska: Zuko is too tall for me to kiss them on the lips. What should I do? Sokka: Punch them in the stomach. Then, when they double over in pain, kiss them. Aang: Tackle them! Toph: Dump them. Katara: Kick them in the shin! Zuko: No to all of those! Just ask me to lean down!!

Katara: Imagine if someone handed you a box full of all the things you lost throughout your life. Miska: It would be nice to have my sense of purpose back... Aang: Oh wow, my childhood innocence! Thank you for finding this. Zuko: My will to live! I haven't seen this in years. Toph: I knew I lost that potential somewhere. Sokka: Mental stability, my old friend! Katara: Jesus, could you guys lighten up a little?

Toph, walking into their house: Hello, people who do not live here. Katara: Hey. Aang: Hi. Sokka: Hello. Miska: Hey! Toph: I gave you the key to my place for emergencies only! Zuko: We were out of Doritos.

Zuko: So, did everyone learn their lesson? Sokka: No. Miska: I did not. Toph: I may have actually forgotten one. Aang: Also no. Zuko: Oh good, neither did I. Katara: *Exhausted sigh*

*Squad reactions to being told ‘I love you’* Katara: Thanks fam! Miska: Oh no. Aang: *cries* I love you too. Sokka: Sounds fake, but okay. Zuko: *A flustered mess* Toph: Can I get a refund?

Aang: Between Toph, Zuko, Sokka, and Miska -- if you had to -- who would you punch? Katara: No one! They're my friends. I wouldn't punch any of them. Aang: Sokka? Katara: Yeah, but I don't know why.

Toph: Who the fuck added me to a fucking group chat? Sokka: >:O language Aang: Yeah watch your fucking language Miska: Okay, who taught Aang the fuck word?! Katara: 'The fuck word'. Zuko: Are you stupid? You guys use the f word all the time Aang: Oh my god they censored it Katara: Say fuck, Zuko. Aang: Do it, Zuko. Say fuck.

Sokka: Christmas lights? Aang: Check. Katara: Thermos of hot cocoa? Aang: Check. Miska: Santa suits? Aang: Check. Toph: Shovel? Aang: Check. Zuko: Alibi and bail money? Aang: Check- wait, WHAT?!

Zuko: Is it still visible? Where Miska slapped me? Toph: Your face looks like a don't walk signal. Aang: Your face looks like a photo negative for the hamburger helper box. Katara: A palm reader could tell Miska's future by looking at your face. Sokka: The phrase 'talk to teh hand cause the face ain't listening' doesn't work for you, because the hand is your face. Zuko: ...A simple 'yes' would've sufficed.

#ocapp #oc: miska #fic: all is found #fd: avatar the last airbender #incorrect quotes