Joel's Hands Are Like A Fidget Toy For Ellie! They'll Be At Tommy And Maria's Sitting Around The Kitchen

Thoughts on the idea of Zuko eventually learning to lightning bend post-series because he finally got to the point of being able to fully accept and move past all the awful shit that he went through?

Okay so once more disclaimer, i love how in the show Zuko did not have to learn lightning bending but instead was able to face his father by knowing how to redirect it. Anyhow, I love this idea and it put this scene in my head: 

It was a nice evening, and that despite the fact there was a great thunderstorm coming over Ba Sing Se. Or maybe especially because of that, since it was the reason that Zuko, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki and Toph had interrupted their tour through the town to seek refuge in the Jasmin Dragon together. Seeing his nephew surrounded by his friends, so  relaxed and always with a small smile on his face, never failed to make him happy as well. Iroh watched them from the door frame to the kitchen from where he had juts gotten new tea. Sokka was now pretending to bend the lightning that struck outside from time to time by snapping his fingers.

“You know, that is not how you actually lightning bend, right?” Zuko interrupted his little performance. 

“Well, my deepest apologies you highness if I put dishonor on your high art of beding lighting.” Sokka dramatically took a deep bow. “Would you care to enlighten us on the matter?”

Iroh smiled. Of course Sokka would ask that. That boy seemed to be curious about everything, and never seemed to stop until he fully understood how something worked. He would make a great member of the white Lotus one day, he thought.

“Well, I never said I could it myself. Uncle once tried to teach me but it literally just blew up in face because of my inner turmoil back then” For a moment, Zuko seemed lost in the memory of back then, and a trace of the old pain returned into his his eyes. It quickly vanished, however, as Katara softly put her hand on his shoulder, and he continued speaking new enthusiasm. “But in theory, if you were to do it, you would first have to divide the positive and negative energy to create an imbalance.”

“Like so?” Sokka made a motion that looked like his was slow clapping.

“No, more like this.” Zuko made the required circular motion with his arms “And then you would have to let them collide.” 

At first, Iroh could not believe his eyes. But suddenly, there it was, with no shadow of doubt. A small lightning, flickering around his nephews hands and dipping his surprised face in purple light. He closed his eyes for a moment as he felt tears in them. Yet, he could not prevent one from running down his cheek when he heard Zuko call him, proud like a little kid that had produced his first flame: “Uncle, uncle look! I can lightning bend!”

I don't dislike the name change theory at all because I understand the thought process behind it, with the need to distance yourself from every trace of your abuser and all that. So like I get it. But I very strongly believe in Hunter reclaiming his name. Mostly cuz of scenes like this

It's important to him!! It's the name he uses to distinguish his true self from the persona he's built. It's the name he uses when he wants to be seen as someone other than the Golden Guard. It's the name others use when they want to express that they do see him. The name might have fucked up origins and he's clearly aware of it but being Hunter is the one thing about himself he's certain of right now.

silly advisors with their silly questions

///discourse ///

my pet peeve is azula fanart that draws her sexy af. short schoolgirl skirts and cleavage out and bold lipstick 24/7. and like. i get it. her color is red. she’s intimidating to u. she’s #meangirl #darkacademia #trustfundkid to u. she’s an east asian girl and you’re having some trouble w metacognition right now, to say the least.

but this is a 14yo girl who is TERRIFIED of displeasing her father in any way or any amount. ozai is tyrannical, prone to violence, w black-and-white vision where you’re loyally in or you’re permanently out of his in-group, and prone to taking any actions of his children as personal attacks, statements, embarrassments, and injuries. he is a narcissist who nearly killed her older brother in front of her, then tossed him out to sea for an entirely age-appropriate social mis-step, who inhabited a world of domination and violence, likely displayed some level of domestic and spousal violence in front of and possibly against azula when she was younger. ozai regularly treats and respects azula as a possession of his.

all that and you think 14yo azula is dressing sexy?? azula is wearing dad-approved jeans and plain solid-color t shirts. azula is begging to get her ears pierced. canon azula is dressed, advised, served, and socialized by adults. she has no comprehension of how to do makeup or her own hair. she lives in a massively, toxically radically masculine world of logic, violence, dominated/dominator duality, career-focused, emotionless, loveless lives, and u think that this girl, raised by her violent and possessive father, without a mother or single older woman around, can do anything for her hair besides a ponytail?

azula uses st. ives apricot facial scrub and neutrogena grandma lotion her elderly housekeepers buy for her, she wears ponytails and buns she learned exclusively from youtube tutorials that she watched in secret, she wears practical polo shirts and dark wash jeans that ozai approves of his daughter wearing outside, and for occasions she has a stylist that puts her into designer blazers and adult black dresses. on those occasions she looks so 14 trying to be a real adult, like the soulless and joyless ones that surround her. she’s intimidating in spite of/with her non-sexiness. not because of it.

and i do see azula going high femme as an adult. and i do think when she wants to rebel against ozai, in scenarios where she’s taken in by iroh as well, she goes for daring teenage tiktok looks (“one positive side to my first guardian being put in jail is that apparently my new guardian is willing to let me download social medias, so I have a tiktok now. he even fired the intern in charge of my official instagram and let me be the one to delete it.”)

but like. cmon guys. azula, as we know her in canon, will not rebel an inch. she is safely, terrifiedly sitting in her approved corner, and that’s not where sexy is. where’s that post abt how zuko is an iroh-advised grandpa sweater polo shirt prep kid. real after-school kumon/mathnasium core. that’s azula too. she’s wearing lots of gold jewelry and a halter top in the beach episode but don’t let that fool you. that’s her first time dressing up “to be a normal teen” and she coats herself in the equivalent of head-to-toe gucci because that’s how other #teenz dress, right??

and like. how come the nerdy dorky sheltered traumatized brother is often acknowledged as the grandpa sweater polo shirt prep he is, w thirst traps, as is his human right, but some ppl view azula, who shares most of those traits, as constantly seductive? how come it’s this character, an east asian teen girl, who wears the miniskirt and the red lipstick of the gaang to some of u? let’s think abt it for 2 seconds

okay rant done i have a capri sun now :)

THIS CONCEPT >>>>>

Picture this Zutara fandom… 

Post ATLA one of Zuko’s advisers tries to question his legitimacy to the throne by claiming Katara should have been crowned Fire Lord because she won the Agni Kai against Azula. And the mean advisor gets up in Zuko’s face and is all like: “So unless Master Katara is secretly your wife…” 

And Katara has the biggest smile on her face, before she tells the advisor: “Oh you have no idea.” 

And so begins a 30-chapter slowburn fanfic about how Zuko and Katara bamboozle the more treacherous members of his court and fall in love… 

Yay? Nay? Do we want to adopt this headcanon from Zutara twitter too?  

June 9: Role Swap (Firelord Roku/Avatar Sozin)

As you can see, the avatar's powers are only being used responsibly

Defiantly not used to be taller then your bf

hc that zuko is autistic (he just like me fr) and has a firepit in his bedroom that he keeps lit at night, not for any temperature reasons but because he got used to having noise (of the ocean) when he slept on the ship, and now he can't sleep without it. also he makes popping noises with his mouth and snaps his fingers subconsciously as stims

Artist Zuko really is one of the best things in the world!!😍

HE IS!! I love the idea of it being therapeutic for him (hence his characterization in All the Lights are Shining). I also love the idea of him just being super casual about it. I headcanon that it was something he had to learn as part of his formal education like all of the other noble kids, but he just became exceptional at it. His mother encouraged him (of course) and Iroh continued to do so once Zuko was in his care. So Zuko is just like, “Yeah. This is a skill I was required to learn, but it’s also one of my favorite hobbies and it helps me work through all of my emotions and trauma. And I guess I’m kind of decent at it?”

Also, when the Gaang finds out he can draw, Suki and Toph mercilessly tease Sokka about how much better an artist Zuko is than him. And Katara and Aang want Zuko to teach them how to draw. They keep asking him and he finally relents. It turns out Aang is pretty decent, but Katara is just as bad as Sokka. Zuko is just perplexed by that because Katara excels at so many things, so how is she so bad at this?

(I just have a lot of ideas surrounding artist!Zuko. 🥰)

Aang, surrounded by baffled councilmen, interrupted mid meeting: "ZUKO I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’D DO SOMETHING SO RECKLESS!”

Zuko, half burnt after fistfighting his latest assasin: “It’s not that bad. Besides, you’re like twelve, you don't have to worry about this”

Aang: “only tw—I was the one who—! No, you know what? I’m calling your grandpa!”

The councilmen, thinking of Azulon: “?!”

Zuko: “WAIT NO AANG I’M SORRY!”

Aang, meditating aggressively: “TOO LATE.”

Roku, taking Aang’s place: “ZUKO I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’D DO SOMETHING SO RECKLESS!”

The councilmen, losing their fucking minds: “?!?!?!????!??!???!”