my last promo post had all the actually serious and eye-catching moments, so for this one, i just put together all the moments that i found fun:)<3 enjoy some silly excerpts from "all at once, everything is different," AKA kataangled!!!
“Stop where you are, Avatar,” Prince Sokka shouted, his voice echoing between trees over the sound of his horse, Hawky.
The Captain of the Royal Guard, General Toph, did not use nearly as formal language. “When I catch you, you lily livered-”
“Can’t hear you over the sound of Appa outrunning the both of you!” Aang crowed triumphantly, leaning forward to pat the white and grey horse on his arrow-addorred head. On his shoulder, his monkey-lemur, Momo, chittered his agreement, sticking out his tongue at Sokka as he tauntingly waved a small satchel of bean-curd puffs at the prince.
“Toph, are you seeing this?” Sokka’s tone was irate, utterly incredulous. “The little thief’s rat thing took my lunch!”
“‘Little thief?” Aang clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, shaking his head disapprovingly. “I have a formal title, y’know. Or have you both gotten so haughty and royal that you can’t show a commoner any respect?”
Toph snarled, the earth reaching up to meet her as she strode after Aang, cutting through stone and dirt as if it were a still pool. “I’ll give you my respect once you earn it, twinkle toes, and you certainly won't if you keep running from us like this.”
Aang twisted to face them, assuming a meditative stance as he cocked his head teasingly, his tone mockingly pouty. “But I’m just so good at it!”
“Did you see which way they went?” From the sound of his voice, Sokka was both irritated and incredibly embarrassed.
“No.” Toph’s voice was flat, utterly unaffected. “Obviously, I didn’t see which way they went.”
An awkward silence passed as what Sokka had said sunk in.
“Oh. Right. Um, my bad, Toph.”
“Hey, I don’t know who you are, or where I am, if I’m being entirely honest. I genuinely don’t mean to intrude. I was just hoping for a place to lie low. I happen to be…” he trailed off, coughing awkwardly. “On the run from the law, it seems.”
Katara cocked a brow, her tone incredulous. “You expect me to willingly harbour a criminal?”
“You seemed to have no problem with trapping one in your house.” Aang huffed, crossing his arms. “And I’m not some common criminal. I’m a monk. It was more of a steal-bread-to-feed-the-hungry type situation, if you can believe that. And I do have a name, beyond “thief” or “mysterious but devilishly handsome home invader.” It’s Aang.”
It took Aang a day longer than expected, and the moment Aang saw Katara’s face brighten at the sight of him, he absolutely refused to let it go.
“You really did miss me, didn’t you?”
Katara refused to respond, but to Aang, her silence spoke volumes.
“Awe, you really did,” He grinned, reaching to ruffle the top of her head as she swatted at his hands.
“Even if I did miss you-”
“-you did.” Aang interrupted.
“Which I didn’t ,” she huffed, crossing her arms.
Now, standing on the precipice of going against almost every single one of her mother’s wishes, she was beginning to get cold feet. Perhaps Aang could read that in her face, or maybe he just felt like messing with her, because when she hesitated for a few moments longer, he simply pulled her over his shoulder, racing toward the river that pooled by the edge of the clearing, as Katara giggled wildly.
“What are you doing ?” She managed between laughs.
“Grass seemed too scary, so I figured I might as well reconnect you with your birth element.”
“ Aang .” Her voice grew flat as she put two and two together. “Aang! Do not throw me in the-”
“Too late!” He crowed, jumping into the deep end, still clinging onto her.
“We have to get you to a hospital, Aang. I don’t want to risk reopening the wound. Kissing can wait.”
“No, it cannot ,” Aang declared decidedly, dipping her low as he pulled her in again. “19 years was long enough to wait without ever kissing you. Now is the time for kissing.”
“Now is the time for the hospital .”
Aang wrinkled his nose, brutally offended at Katara’s prioritisation of his health. She relented, a soft smile spreading across her lips, as she pulled him in gently, kissing him again.
THE AWE IN HIS EYES IM CRYING ☹️☹️☹️
Commissioned art made by one of the best artists @heyhanibee
what poetry. such prose. idk why i'm writing these gems for free on ao3 when i'm clearly destined to be one of the great authors of our generation 🙄
we all agree that aang would absolutely try to make katara a betrothal necklace, right? and we all agree that he would... definitely not get it right on the first try?
꩜ an excerpt from "i'd marry you with paper rings": ꩜
Monkeyfeathers .
Aang cursed softly under his breath, scrambling to straighten out the fabric under his fingers. Already, his fingertips were stained with the lychee nut, moon peaches, and plums he’d used to dye the scraps of fabric before him, and already, his fingertips had been pin pricked with needles over and over again. Sokka had reasoned that jewellery making couldn’t be as difficult as bringing an end to a war that had spanned nearly a century, and yet, here Aang was, seriously considering using firebending to burn every one of his terrible attempts at a proposal necklace that he was sure would horrify any member of either Water tribe.
That thought, however harrowing, was not enough to stop him from sighing profusely, carefully picking up his latest attempt, and shuffling sleepily over to Sokka, who had passed out hours ago, and had looked increasingly irritated with each attempt of Aang’s to wake him up.
“Hey,” Aang whispered in a hushed tone, “Hey! Psst. Sokka. Sokka. Sokka-”
“What?” Sokka hissed, his eyes shooting open.
“What about this one?” Aang dangled it in front of him, the pale blue stone catching the divots of Aang’s admittedly shoddy craftsmanship. Despite the Airbender’s best efforts, each of his attempts at etching symbols on the smooth surface had ended in pigeon- chicken scratches and wayward lines. He thought that perhaps this one looked a little bit smoother, but as it sparkled with moonlight, illuminating the primitive, childish markings, Aang felt himself wince involuntarily at the sight.
Sokka pulled himself up onto his forearms, peering down through eyes thick with sleep at the necklace Aang had laid along his palm. A moment passed as he scrunched up his eyebrows, tipping his head incredulously. “Why did Momo make Katara a betrothal necklace?”
“Spirits, I’m screwed.” Aang slapped his hand to his head, leaving behind an angry red mark. “It’s awful.”
Sokka, who had gotten used to trying to talk Aang up over the last few days, did his best to pacify him. “It’s not awful .” Sokka, naturally, was lying through his teeth. He was rather certain that were his waterbending ancestors to ever see Aang’s attempts at replicating a traditional water tribe proposal, Katara would almost certainly be plagued by dreams filled with spirits begging her to reconsider wedding such an incompetent carver.
“It’s unforgivable.” Aang sighed dramatically, turning his gaze over his shoulder to the quickly growing pile of failed attempts he had accumulated over the last few days.
“Mm.” Aang whirled back at Sokka, his eyebrows creased as Sokka decidedly didn’t disagree. “Only a little.”
Aang brightened, just a bit. “I’ll ask Zuko.”
Sokka raised an eyebrow. “Zuko is not qualified to tell how awful that is. The only time he’s seen a proposal necklace is when he stole Katara's for a few weeks, back when he was hunting us.”
Ignoring Sokka entirely, Aang crawled over to Zuko, dangling the necklace in front of the sleeping boy’s face. “Psst. Zuko. Zuko . Zuko-”
“This is awful.” Zuko’s words were flat as he rolled over, his tone brutally honest and characteristically direct. “I want to burn it.”
꩜ - i'd marry you with paper rings, quillthrills on ao3 ꩜
NOTE: i was inspired by the original 2012 minicomic with the same premise by @ngoziu. check it out here <3
...this is way too cute so i just made this into a fanfic!!:) u can find it here if u would like to read-> i'd marry you with paper rings <3
Aang Makes a Betrothal Necklace. (ln response to this post.)
sokka would throw a temper tantrum if he saw that toph was "strength" and aang was "the world" and his sister was "the high priestess" and he was THE FOOL 💀
sooo.... anyone else ever wondered how different ATLA would have been if aang had been frozen at age 16 instead of age 12?
yeah... me too 😌 my new fanfic "the teenager in the iceberg" follows the events of the show, but with only aang aged up, while everyone else remains their canon age.
also...cmon....how funny is it to switch zuko and aang's iconic dialogue to "you're just a teenager!" "...so are you?"
this idea was originally inspired by the talented @allgremlinart's aged up aang drawings, so please go show them some love!!:)<3
enjoy the excerpts from chapters one and two!
⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩
Aang chuckled, pushing himself up with his hands on his knees. He was… taller than Katara had realised, taller than Sokka. He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, turning to look over his shoulder at the remains of the boulder-sized chunk of ice he had just been blasted out of. “Aang. My name’s Aang.” He hesitated, momentarily seeming to puzzle something over. “And honestly? No clue. Don’t remember how me and…Appa!” He yelped, suddenly scrambling back over the hill of ice and snow. Katara followed him without thinking, and Sokka, grumbling under his breath, followed moments later.
⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩
“So, you’ve brought a monster to invade the village, then? You’re some incognito Fire Nation soldier sent in as an undercover scout? Well, I’ll have you know that I’m the village’s strongest warrior, a-”
“The only warrior,” Katara chimed in, lightly elbowing Sokka’s side, earning herself a responding glare.
“The strongest warrior.” Sokka reiterated. “And I don’t much like firebenders.” He added the words pointedly.
“Ah.” Aang titled his head. “That’s a shame. Some of my closest friends are Fire Nation.”
“Of course they are,” Sokka glared, hunching over into a defensive position and adjusting his fishing spear until it pointed directly at Aang.
⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩
Katara still wasn’t quite sure what to make of Aang. The Water Tribe boys had always been all flashy muscles, seal-jerky breath, and overconfidence, so Katara had never seen someone move, carry themself, the way Aang did.
⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩
Katara had admittedly forgotten how much fun penguin sledding was. “Spirits, I haven’t done this since I was a kid!” she called to Aang as he raced past her, surprisingly skilled considering that he’d never even seen a penguin until half an hour before.
“You still are a kid!” He called back over his shoulder. “A kid who’s losing this race, badly !”
Katara’s competitive streak reared its head, her eyes narrowing as Aang stuck out his tongue. She sat up slightly, no longer gripping the penguin’s fur as tightly. “You wish!” She shouted back the words as she raised her hands, breathing deeply. Her hands moved through the positions she had practised from the few bending scrolls the tribe still held on to, and before Aang knew it, the snow in front of Katara turned to ice, and she shot past him as his own ice trail suddenly became dry snow with too much friction to slide on.
She made it to the bottom of the hill, beaming, breathing heavily. The wind had whipped her hair out of her bun, and she knew without checking that her hair must have looked like a lion-turtle’s mane. She watched as Aang made a show of drying himself off with a gust of wind that he then redirected at her, messing up her curls even more.
“You’re a cheater !” Aang gasped, mockingly clutching imaginary pearls at his throat. “I demand a rematch.”
Katara strode past him, only turning her head to cast him a smug smirk. “Maybe you’re just not as good of a penguin sledder as you thought .”
“Oh, not so fast!” Aang grabbed her wrist, tugging her back towards him, and she internally questioned why the momentary brush of their skin made her heart flip. He tried to trip her, she tried to flip him, and they both ended up on their backs in the snow, giggling, cheeks and noses bright pink from the cold.
⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩
“Trouble sleeping too, huh?” Aang cocked a grin, tilting his head to Katara. She kept her eyes fixed upwards, trained on the moon and the stars, worried that if she looked away, she’d end up staring into his eyes like a weirdo.
“I always feel so awake with the moon’s light on me. Sleeping under the stars has never really been a thing that works. It’s too energising, too… too much. It’s hard to explain.”
“No, no… I get it. I feel the same way in a windstorm, all those breezes and gusts of wind, it feels… exhilarating.” She watched through her peripheral vision as he looked up at the moon. “In times of war, I think we all tend to forget how spiritual bending is at its core. I’d say it’s a good thing that you’re in touch enough with the origins of your abilities to feel the moon’s pull tug at you just as much as it does on the ocean.”
⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩
Aang smiled back. “Now is our time to try to make up for that. I can’t bring back everyone who was hurt in this war, and you can’t bring back your mother, but together, the two-, three of us can make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
“I’d like that,” Katara exhaled, her breath calming down and tears dissipating. The two spent hours talking back and forth, exchanging the stories of their respective childhoods. Katara learned that Aang had invented several new bending moves and had been a big fan of fruit pies, while Aang learned that Katara had always been the bossier one between her and Sokka and that she had almost chipped a tooth on seal jerky when she was six. They continued talking back and forth in increasingly hushed tones until the world faded away under the cover of clouds and sleep.
Katara awoke to the loud shout of her brother.
“Wakey wakey, lovebirds!” he yelped, chucking a rock-hard stick of seal jerky at both of them.
“Ouch, Sokka !” Katara snapped at him, rubbing her head at the spot where she had been hit, before realising that she was leaning against Aang and immediately jumping away, blushing furiously.
˗ˏˋ fic summary: ˎˊ˗
i feel like a lot of people have wondered how different atla as a whole would be if aang had been older, so in this au, aang was frozen at age 16! naturally, i just had to flip aang being after katara from day one to katara now having a crush on aang from the very beginning. essentially, to recap. ATLA aang aged up AU fic. kataang. where she falls first, and he falls harder. also, cmon. i just had to write a new version of the scene where zuko and aang meet. zuko: you? you’re just a teenager! aang: s-…so are you…?
˗ˏˋ sneak peak: ˎˊ˗
In the middle of a field of lavender-lilies, possibly the most sleep-inducing meadow in all of the continent, surrounded by two soundly snoring siblings, the last Airbender found himself entirely and utterly awake. Worse still, rather than snatching scraps of rest from the unforgiving night, he found himself contemplating whether he had the basic common sense to even call himself worthy of the title of Avatar.
On second thought, Aang mused, the sleep deprivation might definitely be making me a bit dramatic.
Aang hadn’t necessarily ever considered himself to be the brightest in the trio of travellers- that title almost certainly went to either Katara or Sokka, both brilliant in their own respective rights, and yet, he couldn’t help but think himself utterly stupid as he flashed back to the moments in which Madame Wu had given him his fortune. He told himself that he wasn’t sure why he had asked about a girl in his reading, but he was at least bright enough to know that that wasn’t exactly the truth either.
Katara. Each time he drifted off into sleep for a few precious moments, he saw her there, stark against the dying embers of the volcano’s rage, as if the flames that had lined her silhouette had emblazoned her image directly onto his eyelids in that instant. Katara. He let his head roll to the side a bit, just enough so that Katara’s sleeping form drifted into his peripheral vision. A soft breeze passed between the two, carrying with it her scent of sea salt, linen, and snowberries.
He blushed when, through his sleepless haze, he registered that his own hands had called the wind.
⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩
˗ˏˋ the teenager in the iceberg ˎˊ˗
˗ˏˋ an author's note: ˎˊ˗
hi lovelies:))) to tide you over, here's a little snippet from the next chapter of TTITI<3 i know that it's been ages, but life gets in the way, you know? i won't make any promises, because i don't want to disappoint anyone, but i do want to get better at making space for the things i love doing this year, and writing is absolutely one of those things for me:)
The moment that the sliding door of their rented room clicked shut behind her, Katara heard shuffling, a groggy voice whispering. “Katara? Is that you?”
“Aang?” She whisper-shouted back, blinking into the darkness. She fumbled around by the door until she managed to grab a sea-moss lantern by the door and tugged off the cover. Immediately, what the lantern illuminated had her in stitches. Aang was there, sprawled across a thin bamboo mat, clearly half-asleep, but for whatever reason, not in the bedroom he shared with Sokka. She settled down onto a floor cushion next to him, still giggling at the way he continued to groggily blink at her. “What are you still doing up?”
He pulled himself up onto his elbows, rubbing at his eyes in a way that reminded Katara of a seal-penguin pup. “I went to check on you before bed, but you weren’t in your room. I wanted to make sure you got home alright.”
She wrinkled her nose at him teasingly. “What, you thought I was kidnapped or something? Joining an illegal street fighting ring? You can trust me to be able to take care of myself, you know.”
“Firstly, you and I both know that with how our sparring went back at Jet’s compound, if anyone is winning a street fight between the two of us, it’s me .” Mock-offended, Katara parted her lips to respond before Aang held up a hand to stop her. “And secondly,” He continued, grinning slightly as Katara stuck out her tongue at him, “I know full well that you can do much more than just hold your own. But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about you, Katara.” She felt her heart beat sporadically for a moment, and instantly wanted to curse at herself.
“So what were you up to, Ms. Street Fighter?”
“For the record, I would have a much cooler fighting name than that,” Katara huffed, reaching up to gather her hair over her shoulder.
-ch8 of the teenager in the iceberg by quillthrills
i absolutely agree with everything said before me! as an atla fic writer, i find it difficult to take these incredible three dimensional characters and transfer them to new scenarios while preserving that original dynamic and personality. i end up re-reading the interactions i write over and over, trying to make sure that i'm keeping the heart of the original characters instead of just inserting quotes that vaguely sound like something they'd say.
interestingly enough, i tend to find zuko the most difficult for me to write, at least personally! its very easy to take him at face value and write him as very closed off, typical surly teen, and i often have to go back and remind myself of the moments of softness that are just as much a part of zuko's character as his rough exterior.
You can answer based on your experience writing fanfiction, what you've noticed from reading fanfics, or just based on what you think based on your understanding of the character.
I would love to see some explanations comments and tags about how and why.
i feel like a lot of people have wondered how different atla as a whole would be if aang had been older, so in this au, aang was frozen at age 16! naturally, i just had to flip aang being after katara from day one to katara now having a crush on aang from the very beginning. essentially, to recap. ATLA aang aged up AU fic. kataang. where she falls first, and he falls harder. also, cmon. i just had to write a new version of the scene where zuko and aang meet.
stuck in her tower for all eighteen years of her life, katara had come to peace with her own lonely, repetitive existence, her only company being her mother, hama. at least, she *was* at peace, until a certain airbending thief happened along her tower, caught her eye, and forever shifted the path of her destiny. OR: kataangled. and yes, i came up with that brilliant wordplay all on my own. for day two of kataang week 2024: protectiveness/ bodyguard
after an upsetting council meeting in which aang is painfully reminded of how little the other nations understand of air nomad culture, katara is there to remind him that he isn't as alone as he thinks OR: aang & katara friends to lovers post-war 👀 for day two of kataang week 2024: cultural exchange/culture sharing/revival of traditions
Katara is tired of the iron grip that Emperor Ozai has over the kingdom of Rosas, tired of watching him spread his influence across the mainland. When Sokka comes home from the palace with the knowledge of an impending tragedy, Katara is left to wish on the stars in hope that they will offer salvation. They do, in the form of the Avatar, a boy transformed into a wishing star almost a century earlier. Her wish for hope is fulfilled, in the form of a boy known to be the embodiment of hope. Will that same hope be enough to stand against a man powered by the dreams and wishes of an entire kingdom?
Avatar Aang had been told time and time again that to venture across the surface of the sea when the moon had risen and claimed what rightfully belonged to it was to sign your own death certificate. And yet, he found himself here, at the water’s edge, skipping stones, lost in thought. To be the Avatar had once meant something, years before. Before the four tribes had separated, scattered to the ends of the earth. Those who formed fire itself chased the other tribes from the surface lands, those who could move rock and metal burrowed underground, those who flowed with the air sent ships with great sails across the sea until they reached towering mountain spires. Those who bent water, who bent blood… they retreated to the depths of the sea, and with time, they became a part of it. Legend told of the way in which the Water tribes had adapted, two legs smoothed into razor sharp scales and voices twisted into something dark and luring. Now, they were the monsters known as sirens.
aang has only just been crowned as the avatar, the king of all four elements, and already, he struggles to find his footing in a society without any of his people. a dance with princess katara of the water tribe, and a subsequent escape to the palace gardens, helps him find that footing. OR: the first of many kataang regency-era works ♔
after he and katara's escape to the palace gardens the night prior, avatar aang, the king of all four elements, cannot stop thinking of the beautiful dark-haired water princess. misunderstandings and deliberate deception constructed by regent ozai makes the reconciliation of these star-crossed lovers more complicated than necessary. OR: the second of many kataang regency-era works ♔
in which the gaang are in a band, and when it comes time for them to write an original song to submit to the republic city music festival, aang is...suspiciously good at writing love song lyrics OR kataang, if they were in an indie band and aang didn't know how to communicate his feelings except through writing love songs
after aang falls to azula's lightning strike in the caves of the earth kingdom, toph, sokka, and katara are left to pick up the pieces. katara's healing abilities are put to the test in the weeks that follow, but she finds herself seeing aang in a different light as she realizes how much he's endured since emerging from the iceberg only months before. OR: the weeks-long gap between the end of season two and the beginning of season three of ATLA is finally at least partially expanded upon. ALSO OR: a bit of aangst, or kataangst, if you will
Katara's life after saving the world was filled with a whirlwind romance with Fire Lord Zuko that became a loveless, controlling marriage she is no longer happy in. After finding out the extent to which her husband has betrayed her trust, she escapes to find home in the person she has missed most during her time in the Fire Nation. OR: The common Zutara trope of "Zuko helps Katara escape an unhealthy relationship with Aang" is flipped entirely and completely on its head.
The war has been ended, Ozai has been rendered helpless, and Zuko has reclaimed the Fire Nation with the promise of peace. Everything that Aang has been working towards since the moment Katara freed him from the iceberg has been done. He's saved the world. Now, all that's left is to confess to his forever girl. OR Aang wakes up the morning after him and his friends saved the entire world, and the first (and only) thing he can think about is Katara. When they get a chance to talk, the two take a walk down memory lane.
aang being a bad parent is CHARACTER ASSASSINATION and i won't stand for it. i just know that him and katara wouldn't be focused on just passing on bending, but the *teachings* and ideals of both of their tribes to all their children, regardless of bending status. OR, aang and katara become parents and aang finds out that parenting is his proudest achievement, more so than stopping a hundred year war or holding the position of avatar
katara speaks to each member of the gaang individually and finds out that aang has been head over heels with her for years and no one ever bothered telling her. this takes place after the fire lord is defeated, but in my version, they never kissed in the finale:oo katara is basically dumb in terms of love and so is aang and they are peak miscommunication trope and theres too much zutara content and not enough kataang OR katara interrogates each of her friends (toph, sokka, and zuko) and comes to the conclusion that she has lived for years without the kind of love most people wish for their entire lives
a flash-fiction atla modern AU in which yue passes away from cancer early in life, and sokka becomes an astronaut so that he can go to space and be close to the moon she always loved so much ☾
sokka can't stop thinking about yue. she comes to him in his dreams, and try as he might, he just can't move on. inspired by the song "my love, mine all mine" by mitski "moon, tell me if i could send up my heart to you? so, when i die, which i must do, could it shine down here, with you?"
me when i write really flirty aang fics and then read them back and giggle and kick my feet
love rereading some of my writing like damn this person really knows how to write that appeals to all the things I personally love
i'm working on my plot points for the new chapter, but honestly, i'm a bit on the fence. the next three episodes in the TV series are Bato of the Water Tribe, The Deserter, and The Northern Air Temple. Only BOTWT and The Deserter really have moments that i feel like are important for KAs relationship (the burning of katara's hands, aang betraying them), but TNAT is also an important insight into aangs character. i can't guarantee that i'll follow the results of the poll verbatim, but i'm curious to hear your opinions.
Hey I just wanted to let you know I love all your stories💗✨the way you write and bring these characters to life is so amazing. I have an idea for a fic that I believe you would write really well. Its a bodyguard fic. Modern AU. Somehow, Katara’s life is placed in danger that her parents gets a bodyguard for her. She is a rich singer (or someone influential) She doesn't like it all. She stubbornly insists she doesn't need a bodyguard. Her bodyguard is none other than Aang😏 and she falters at how handsome he is when they met. However, she doesn't let her guard down easily, and they butt heads alot..sonetimes over his tight security on her etc (so its an enemies to lovers trope too), or whichever direction you choose. But the main idea is that it's a fic where She falls for her handsome bodyguard. It can be slow burn..and I had the idea that they would be dating in secret without the knowledge of her parents, and of course her overprotective brother lol. Then the plotline will be where ppl are after her. Maybe she has a toxic ex that is stalking her, also a rival in the music industry wants to sabotage her career.. (or where ever you believe the plotline could go). I would really like to see a fic like this materialize, because there is not alot of this premise out there, and I believe you're the best person to write this✨✨I can't write at all for the life of me lol, so I’m wondering if you would do this. I know you are busy, so it don't have to be now. I’m freely giving you this idea because I know you would run with it and write an amazing fic some day. So, what do you say?
oooooh😏 my WIP list is already so long but i will certainly be adding this to the list!!! thank u for the suggestion a bodyguard au would be such a fun thing to try writing :p
my head-canon is that aang would be a rock climber. and how dare you insinuate that i'm only saying that because i'm a rock climber and i love aang with all my heart. i simply think this and i am correct because. no further questions thank u 😌❤️
if my future spouse doesn't want me to walk down the aisle to a strings version of "the avatar's love" then i don't want it
i love writing sokka, so i've thrown some of my favourite lines of his from my fanfic "the teenager in the iceberg" together, so that they can be properly appreciated <3 >:)
---
Sokka continued, his voice both indignant and commanding.“We don’t even know your name, Mr. Walking Ice Cube! What were you doing in there? Were you trying to mimic a snow-man and you got too carried away?”
---
“So, you’ve brought a monster to invade the village, then? You’re some incognito Fire Nation soldier sent in as an undercover scout? Well, I’ll have you know that I’m the village’s strongest warrior, a-”
“The only warrior,” Katara chimed in, lightly elbowing Sokka’s side, earning herself a responding glare.
“The strongest warrior.” Sokka reiterated. “And I don’t much like firebenders.” He added the words pointedly.
“Ah.” Aang titled his head. “That’s a shame. Some of my closest friends are Fire Nation.”
“Of course they are,” Sokka glared, hunching over into a defensive position and adjusting his fishing spear until it pointed directly at Aang.
---
“Appa can give us a lift?” Sokka said incredulously. He gestured at the sky bison, sprawled across the ice and looking as though he could sleep for weeks longer. “If anything, he looks like he needs us to lift him up off the ground.”
---
Naturally, Sokka was still a skeptic. “A pulley system! Hot air from a hidden firebender! Secret underwater sea-vents! Or maybe we all ate something funny and all of this is all in our heads… ” He finished off his sentence by wiggling his fingers as if he was ready to cast a spell.
---
Sokka nodded sharply. “He’s our responsibility, no matter how much I berated him when we met earlier. We need to find that sky monster of his, it’s the only way we’ll be able to catch up with the ship.”
“Aang called it a sky bison.”
“He also didn’t tell us that he was the Avatar, so I’m not sure if we can take everything he says at face value,” Sokka pointed out as Katara rolled her eyes. He cocked a grin. “C’mon, let's go get the little guy.”
“Aang’s taller than you!” Katara called after him, rushing to keep up with Sokka’s longer strides.
“Sure, in his dreams !” The decidedly-shorter-than-Aang boy called back.
---
“Here’s the deal, bucko.” Sokka said matter of factly, accompanying his words with sharp gestures and exaggerated syllables, as if Appa was deaf. “Your friend needs your help, and WE need YOUR help to get to him. You get the picture?” Without waiting for any kind of affirmation, Sokka nodded briskly then scrambled up to Appa’s back, settling into what appeared to be the driver's seat.
Appa did not move, didn’t even blink.
Sokka blinked, utterly bewildered. “How do we get him to, y’know, go ?”
---
“He’s not gonna-” Sokka started, but as Katara slid onto Appa’s back, they felt him begin to levitate. Sokka huffed, crossing his arms dramatically. “Spirits, I hate when you’re right and I’m wrong.” Too concerned to snap a retort back at Sokka, Katara just settled down into her seat, anxiously picking at the leather of her coat.
---
Katara awoke to the loud shout of her brother.
“Wakey wakey, lovebirds!” he yelped, chucking a rock-hard stick of seal jerky at both of them.
“Ouch, Sokka!” Katara snapped at him, rubbing her head at the spot where she had been hit, before realising that she was leaning against Aang and immediately jumping away, blushing furiously.
---
he's so sassy and funny i love sokka so much
i need opinions because i'm currently workshopping/ editing the next couple uploads of mine for kataang week and for the disguise prompt, i'll be doing a kataang cinderella au (yes i'm doing more disney and no you can't stop me).
i usually title my works with song lyrics that resonate with me/ lyrics that are related to the content, so i'm hoping for opinions on the following lyric options from the songs of cinderella ->
thoughts?? alternate ideas?? feel free to share:)
my last promo post had all the actually serious and eye-catching moments, so for this one, i just put together all the moments that i found fun:)<3 enjoy some silly excerpts from "all at once, everything is different," AKA kataangled!!!
“Stop where you are, Avatar,” Prince Sokka shouted, his voice echoing between trees over the sound of his horse, Hawky.
The Captain of the Royal Guard, General Toph, did not use nearly as formal language. “When I catch you, you lily livered-”
“Can’t hear you over the sound of Appa outrunning the both of you!” Aang crowed triumphantly, leaning forward to pat the white and grey horse on his arrow-addorred head. On his shoulder, his monkey-lemur, Momo, chittered his agreement, sticking out his tongue at Sokka as he tauntingly waved a small satchel of bean-curd puffs at the prince.
“Toph, are you seeing this?” Sokka’s tone was irate, utterly incredulous. “The little thief’s rat thing took my lunch!”
“‘Little thief?” Aang clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, shaking his head disapprovingly. “I have a formal title, y’know. Or have you both gotten so haughty and royal that you can’t show a commoner any respect?”
Toph snarled, the earth reaching up to meet her as she strode after Aang, cutting through stone and dirt as if it were a still pool. “I’ll give you my respect once you earn it, twinkle toes, and you certainly won't if you keep running from us like this.”
Aang twisted to face them, assuming a meditative stance as he cocked his head teasingly, his tone mockingly pouty. “But I’m just so good at it!”
“Did you see which way they went?” From the sound of his voice, Sokka was both irritated and incredibly embarrassed.
“No.” Toph’s voice was flat, utterly unaffected. “Obviously, I didn’t see which way they went.”
An awkward silence passed as what Sokka had said sunk in.
“Oh. Right. Um, my bad, Toph.”
“Hey, I don’t know who you are, or where I am, if I’m being entirely honest. I genuinely don’t mean to intrude. I was just hoping for a place to lie low. I happen to be…” he trailed off, coughing awkwardly. “On the run from the law, it seems.”
Katara cocked a brow, her tone incredulous. “You expect me to willingly harbour a criminal?”
“You seemed to have no problem with trapping one in your house.” Aang huffed, crossing his arms. “And I’m not some common criminal. I’m a monk. It was more of a steal-bread-to-feed-the-hungry type situation, if you can believe that. And I do have a name, beyond “thief” or “mysterious but devilishly handsome home invader.” It’s Aang.”
It took Aang a day longer than expected, and the moment Aang saw Katara’s face brighten at the sight of him, he absolutely refused to let it go.
“You really did miss me, didn’t you?”
Katara refused to respond, but to Aang, her silence spoke volumes.
“Awe, you really did,” He grinned, reaching to ruffle the top of her head as she swatted at his hands.
“Even if I did miss you-”
“-you did.” Aang interrupted.
“Which I didn’t ,” she huffed, crossing her arms.
Now, standing on the precipice of going against almost every single one of her mother’s wishes, she was beginning to get cold feet. Perhaps Aang could read that in her face, or maybe he just felt like messing with her, because when she hesitated for a few moments longer, he simply pulled her over his shoulder, racing toward the river that pooled by the edge of the clearing, as Katara giggled wildly.
“What are you doing ?” She managed between laughs.
“Grass seemed too scary, so I figured I might as well reconnect you with your birth element.”
“ Aang .” Her voice grew flat as she put two and two together. “Aang! Do not throw me in the-”
“Too late!” He crowed, jumping into the deep end, still clinging onto her.
“We have to get you to a hospital, Aang. I don’t want to risk reopening the wound. Kissing can wait.”
“No, it cannot ,” Aang declared decidedly, dipping her low as he pulled her in again. “19 years was long enough to wait without ever kissing you. Now is the time for kissing.”
“Now is the time for the hospital .”
Aang wrinkled his nose, brutally offended at Katara’s prioritisation of his health. She relented, a soft smile spreading across her lips, as she pulled him in gently, kissing him again.
︵‿︵︵‿︵︵day two: protectiveness/ bodyguard︵‿︵︵‿︵︵
︵‿︵︵︵‿︵︵‿‿hosted by @kataang-week︵‿︵︵︵‿︵︵‿‿
summary:
stuck in her tower for all eighteen years of her life, katara had come to peace with her own lonely, repetitive existence, her only company being her mother, hama. at least, she *was* at peace, until a certain airbending thief happened along her tower, caught her eye, and forever shifted the path of her destiny. OR: kataangled. and yes, i came up with that brilliant wordplay all on my own.
In all of her eighteen years of gazing out into the same meadow, the same night sky, Katara had never quite managed to piece together why every year, on her birthday, the night sky came alight with glowing lanterns in hues of soft silver and blue. As much as it tugged at her, she didn’t mind the element of mystery too much. After all, a girl who grows up never leaving the confines of her tower is a girl used to looking out into a world of mysteries. Katang spent her days pouring over old scrolls, gleaning bits and pieces about the world from what she could see through her window.
To be entirely honest, it wasn’t all that much. A modest meadow, a bubbling brook, the occasional frog-squirrel or cat deer. Still, it was more than enough for her to feel utterly enchanted by. Each and every time that an animal walked by, Katara would imagine how it would feel to be one of those wild things, chained to nothing, bound by your own will.
Katara certainly wasn’t.
Aang made quick work of the tower walls, the uneven brick providing natural foot and handholds as he scaled the rough, mossy stone. When he finally reached the summit of the spire, he heaved himself over, his breath rough as he dusted off his palms. He tugged off his thin overshift, revealing his one-shouldered monk’s robes as he did. Aang scratched his neck absentmindedly as he took in his surroundings. He was surprised to see that the tower was furnished, lived-in, even. He recognized waterbending forms painted on most of the walls. There were even lit candles softly flickering away in various nooks and crannies, casting warm light over the room.
Wait. Alarm bells rang in Aang’s mind, urging him to further examine the situation he had found himself in.
If the tower is abandoned, then who lit the-
The next sound he heard was a deafening thunk as a thin sword buried itself in the wall next to his head, leaving a deep cut along the shell of his ear.
She wanted a reason to snap back, to make some snide comment, but Aang’s eyes were so open, his expression so… trustable that she simply couldn’t stomach it.
Katara knew that should’ve been telling him to leave. She should’ve asked him to apologise, to be on his way. In all her years of solitude, she’d never dreaded being alone, but something about Aang leaving and her never being able to see him again sent a pang of something like homesickness straight through her.
“I see that you need time to process all of this.” Aang stood, his eyes shining with sympathy that only made Katara feel more guilty over how heartbroken Mother Hama would be were she to find out about her new doubts. “I’m happy to give that to you.” She trailed like a ghost behind him as he strode to the window, tugging a wooden glider from his back before standing atop the edge of the terrace, grinning at her softly as she clung shyly to the carvings of the doorway. “And I understand that you don’t know me, that you have no real reason to believe me.”
He turned to the side, saluting her teasingly. “So I’ll be back, same time tomorrow, so that we can get to know one another a bit better.”
“Aang!” She shouted, rushing to the edge of the terrace as he snapped open his glider, plunging downwards. “No, you will not .”
“I can’t hear you! But I totally agree! I’m looking forward to it as well!” His whoops echoed through the field as he did a couple loop-de-loops.
Aang stepped through her window, right on schedule, with an injury he claimed he had gotten while sparring, Katara’s only response was the word “Again?”
“Hey, If being injured is what it takes for you to let me stay even a few minutes longer, I’ll take it.” Aang grinned, shrugging as he tugged up the end of his top to reveal the bruises patterning his ribs. Katara did her best to focus on the injury itself, and not the muscle rippling over Aang’s side, as she settled into the stool next to him, leaning over to run her hands over the purple-and-blue skin. “I like your company.”
I like you. The response materialised in Katara’s mind before she could suppress it, and the longer it sat there, the more right it felt. I like you.
“So, what else does a thief carry with him in his bag?” Katara had been strangely curious about what Aang considered precious enough to carry around with him in his satchel, but after fishing through playing cards and a set of spinning marbles he’d been very proud of, her interest was considerably less piqued.
“Oh, I don’t think I ever got a chance to explain what I took to end up in your tower.” Aang fished around until he tugged out a velvet box, passing it over to her with both hands. He continued on, talking about the castle security and his plans to pawn the necklace to feed and house children displaced by the ongoing conflict with the Fire Nation, but his words faded away as Katara opened the box.
I know you.
There, nestled in silk, was a pale blue pendant on a deep blue velvet ribbon. Just looking at it for a moment was enough for her to feel entirely off balance. Vague memories hit her, one after the other, of looking up at a ceiling of moon symbols carved in diamond, a hanging mobile of seals and icebergs. The ornate arches of a castle, the corridors and gardens of a grand estate.
I know you.
The world tilted, and suddenly, neither Katara’s will, nor her body, were her own.
to see the rest of the kataang week submissions from the other extremely talented and lovely members of this community, head over to @kataang-week :)<3 thank u so much to the wonderful mods for making all of this possible!
︵‿︵︵‿︵︵day two: protectiveness/ bodyguard︵‿︵︵‿︵︵
︵‿︵︵︵‿︵︵‿‿hosted by @kataang-week︵‿︵︵︵‿︵︵‿‿
summary:
stuck in her tower for all eighteen years of her life, katara had come to peace with her own lonely, repetitive existence, her only company being her mother, hama. at least, she *was* at peace, until a certain airbending thief happened along her tower, caught her eye, and forever shifted the path of her destiny. OR: kataangled. and yes, i came up with that brilliant wordplay all on my own.
In all of her eighteen years of gazing out into the same meadow, the same night sky, Katara had never quite managed to piece together why every year, on her birthday, the night sky came alight with glowing lanterns in hues of soft silver and blue. As much as it tugged at her, she didn’t mind the element of mystery too much. After all, a girl who grows up never leaving the confines of her tower is a girl used to looking out into a world of mysteries. Katang spent her days pouring over old scrolls, gleaning bits and pieces about the world from what she could see through her window.
To be entirely honest, it wasn’t all that much. A modest meadow, a bubbling brook, the occasional frog-squirrel or cat deer. Still, it was more than enough for her to feel utterly enchanted by. Each and every time that an animal walked by, Katara would imagine how it would feel to be one of those wild things, chained to nothing, bound by your own will.
Katara certainly wasn’t.
Aang made quick work of the tower walls, the uneven brick providing natural foot and handholds as he scaled the rough, mossy stone. When he finally reached the summit of the spire, he heaved himself over, his breath rough as he dusted off his palms. He tugged off his thin overshift, revealing his one-shouldered monk’s robes as he did. Aang scratched his neck absentmindedly as he took in his surroundings. He was surprised to see that the tower was furnished, lived-in, even. He recognized waterbending forms painted on most of the walls. There were even lit candles softly flickering away in various nooks and crannies, casting warm light over the room.
Wait. Alarm bells rang in Aang’s mind, urging him to further examine the situation he had found himself in.
If the tower is abandoned, then who lit the-
The next sound he heard was a deafening thunk as a thin sword buried itself in the wall next to his head, leaving a deep cut along the shell of his ear.
She wanted a reason to snap back, to make some snide comment, but Aang’s eyes were so open, his expression so… trustable that she simply couldn’t stomach it.
Katara knew that should’ve been telling him to leave. She should’ve asked him to apologise, to be on his way. In all her years of solitude, she’d never dreaded being alone, but something about Aang leaving and her never being able to see him again sent a pang of something like homesickness straight through her.
“I see that you need time to process all of this.” Aang stood, his eyes shining with sympathy that only made Katara feel more guilty over how heartbroken Mother Hama would be were she to find out about her new doubts. “I’m happy to give that to you.” She trailed like a ghost behind him as he strode to the window, tugging a wooden glider from his back before standing atop the edge of the terrace, grinning at her softly as she clung shyly to the carvings of the doorway. “And I understand that you don’t know me, that you have no real reason to believe me.”
He turned to the side, saluting her teasingly. “So I’ll be back, same time tomorrow, so that we can get to know one another a bit better.”
“Aang!” She shouted, rushing to the edge of the terrace as he snapped open his glider, plunging downwards. “No, you will not .”
“I can’t hear you! But I totally agree! I’m looking forward to it as well!” His whoops echoed through the field as he did a couple loop-de-loops.
Aang stepped through her window, right on schedule, with an injury he claimed he had gotten while sparring, Katara’s only response was the word “Again?”
“Hey, If being injured is what it takes for you to let me stay even a few minutes longer, I’ll take it.” Aang grinned, shrugging as he tugged up the end of his top to reveal the bruises patterning his ribs. Katara did her best to focus on the injury itself, and not the muscle rippling over Aang’s side, as she settled into the stool next to him, leaning over to run her hands over the purple-and-blue skin. “I like your company.”
I like you. The response materialised in Katara’s mind before she could suppress it, and the longer it sat there, the more right it felt. I like you.
“So, what else does a thief carry with him in his bag?” Katara had been strangely curious about what Aang considered precious enough to carry around with him in his satchel, but after fishing through playing cards and a set of spinning marbles he’d been very proud of, her interest was considerably less piqued.
“Oh, I don’t think I ever got a chance to explain what I took to end up in your tower.” Aang fished around until he tugged out a velvet box, passing it over to her with both hands. He continued on, talking about the castle security and his plans to pawn the necklace to feed and house children displaced by the ongoing conflict with the Fire Nation, but his words faded away as Katara opened the box.
I know you.
There, nestled in silk, was a pale blue pendant on a deep blue velvet ribbon. Just looking at it for a moment was enough for her to feel entirely off balance. Vague memories hit her, one after the other, of looking up at a ceiling of moon symbols carved in diamond, a hanging mobile of seals and icebergs. The ornate arches of a castle, the corridors and gardens of a grand estate.
I know you.
The world tilted, and suddenly, neither Katara’s will, nor her body, were her own.
to see the rest of the kataang week submissions from the other extremely talented and lovely members of this community, head over to @kataang-week :)<3 thank u so much to the wonderful mods for making all of this possible!
guys it is going to be like two days late atp because i last minute got indescisive and started some heavy editing, but my fic for kataang week day two (the protectiveness prompt) is a rapunzel tangled AU where katara= rapunzel and aang= flynn rider and i am so beyond excited to share it with you lovely ppl!!!
︵day one: cultural exchange/ culture sharing/ revival of traditions‿
︵‿︵︵︵‿︵︵‿‿hosted by @kataang-week︵‿︵︵︵‿︵︵‿‿
summary:
after an upsetting council meeting in which aang is painfully reminded of how little the other nations understand of air nomad culture, katara is there to remind him that he isn't as alone as he thinks OR: aang & katara friends to lovers post-war 👀
Aang typically prided himself on standing strong when it came to upholding the beliefs of his people. It was his responsibility, his burden of loss to carry and his gift.
But if he was being entirely honest with himself, moments such as the one he found himself in now, surrounded by a council of nations in which he was the only Airbending representative, it was difficult to remain pretending as if nothing was bothering him. He’d accepted a seat on the council of nations before fully understanding what it would mean to him, how it would feel . Every other representative was flanked with another member or two of their tribe.
Aang stood alone.
He’d been so sure that he’d kissed her, in the Cave of Two Lovers, and again before he’d entered the Fire Nation. Both times, he’d waited for her to say something, anything, to confirm that those kisses had been just as earthshaking for her as they had been for him, but both times, she hadn’t. He’d pressed her about it only once, and the moment she told him that she felt confused, Aang had felt like an absolute and utter idiot . The idea that he’d made Katara uncomfortable… It was enough for him to do his best to suppress his feelings as much as he could.
That had left them where they were now- on opposite sides of a council room. Two teenagers who could end a war but couldn’t manage to communicate. Aang supposed that there was a bit of comedic irony present there, but truth be told, nothing felt funny to him at the moment.
Not with how the other council members were speaking about his people.
“How can you say that?” Katara ran her hands through her hair incredulously, his jaw set. “Each nation standing on their own and neglecting the balance between our peoples is how the war started. The blood of the Air Nomads is just as much on the other nations for neglecting to remember that, for failing to come to the defence of the remaining Air temples after the first of the Fire Nation raids.” Aang flinched at the visceral reminder, the images it stirred, but regardless, Katara was right. She continued on, her voice dropping in volume but only gaining intensity.
“It’s "every nation on their own" until it was your nation, the one that this “nation of one” defended only months ago.” She spat the last of the words out as if they were laced with venom, her disgust evident as she reminded Hanh of the water spirit form Aang had taken to ward off the invasion of the Southern tribes.
“Aang. There's no precedent for any of this. The scenario you’ve found yourself in… unique feels too simple of a way to put it. None of the monks would judge you for succumbing to moments of grief and anger.”
“ I would judge me. I would not forgive myself.”
“You should.” She smiled softly, shaking her head. “Even the great Avatar, saviour of the world, is not without moments of imperfection.”
Aang chuckled through his tears, his smile turning cocky. “You’d be surprised. I think you’ll find that I’m about as close to perfection as can be.”
“I know,” she said simply, and the genuine quality of her voice was enough to send a blush blooming across Aang’s face. She pushed on, internally berating herself for letting that slip. “And I understand why you feel alone, I really do, but I’m right here, in your corner. Please don’t forget that. You’ll always have me there." She smiled softly, shaking her head as she did. "If you’d escalated the situation back there, if you had snapped completely, I would’ve been right behind you, following your lead.”
Aang’s nose wrinkled as he laughed at the idea of the pair of them fighting the entire council. Katara shook her head, her eyes fixed on his, her tone dead serious. “Let Sokka, or Zuko, or Toph pull us back to reality. I’m right there with you, in everything .” In life too, if you’d let me, she added silently, her hands itching to pull his hands back to hers.
to see the rest of the kataang week submissions from the other extremely talented and lovely members of this community, head over to @kataang-week :)<3 thank u so much to the wonderful mods for making all of this possible!
Would love to see your take on kataang in their late teens or early twenties just being adorable!
Here's a speedy doodle of them all a little older with some mild kataang, if that suits you, anon c:
The gaang is teaching Zuko how to have friends!!!
i just started two jobs at once to pay for uni & rent and it is absolutely kicking my ass!!! i had to work 24+ hours over 2 days last weekend just so I didn't get double-booked between the two jobs, and in general, i'm super exhausted literally all the time right now 🤧🤍
hopefully this tiredness is not permanent!! i'm still learning how to balance my time around the jobs, so right now, i'm in a bit of a schedule-adjustment period as i figure out how to make time for myself & my hobbies while still working:)
this is pretty much why i haven't been active on tumblr & ao3. over the next week, my work schedule is going to cool down a bit, so i plan to keep at my WIPs and hopefully both release some ao3 updates & make some tumblr scheduled posts so i can keep on top of my fic promo:)
you can expect a new chap of the teenager in the iceberg and a new kataang wish (2023) - inspired oneshot, if happiness were a tangible thing, it would be you, a gift fic inspired by/ for @antizutara coming out in the next week or so!! i promise i am doing my very best to write more as the days go on:))<3 thank u for all the love and hi to the new cool ppl who have followed me even through i dropped off of the internet for a sec hehe!!<3
holy cow to be on a rec list w this many talented people is such a compliment 🤭🤧 so happy ur liking the teenager in the iceberg!!!!
hello! can you recommend your fav kataang fics (preferably not angst since i still need to heal from your fic😭)
yeah sure! i'll try to recommend ones that are happier!
stranger by sycamore17: i've recommended this before and i'll recommend it forever. god tier fic.
apartment 3e by sycamore17: a new girl-esque atla fic with sukka, kataang, and maiko. i looove this fic. it's so fun, and it feels very much like watching a sit-com.
unspoken, undeniable by @flameohotwife: a fake dating au where katara and aang start publicly "dating" because the earth king is on his case about the future of the air nomads. so much fun and the mutual pining is to die for.
old halls, new life by @flameohotwife: parents!kataang i love you. a story that features aang sharing his air nomad culture with each of the cloudbabies over the years.
the plan by the_clockwork_monk: a peek into katara's brain while zuko and sokka are gone during "the boiling rock" episodes. i love fics that tackle katara's denial of her feelings for aang while also having her hardcore pine at the same time. it always makes me laugh.
seeing stars: the atla dating gameshow by @coyotelemon: pure fluff, pure romcom. every moment i was reading this i was squealing wildly into my pillow.
the teenager in the iceberg by @quillthrillswriting: a wip about an au where aang emerges as a teenager from the iceberg. features reverse crush kataang which i looove. such a fun story so far i can't wait to read the rest of it!!!
---
Ozai strode forward into the passage, beckoning to Katara as he did, and she obliged, careful to maintain several paces of distance. After a few moments of marvelling at the detail of the carved wood panels that lined the passageway, the two finally emerged into a larger room, lined with bookshelves and rolling ladders, intricate carvings, detailed spells on scrolls tacked into walls of ancient wood. A thick scent of cinnamon, and soft rain, and morning dew, smells that seemed as though they shouldn’t have fit with the space, but did so perfectly.
And the room’s light.
Spirits. It was lit with a glow that felt familiar, and yet, entirely foreign, the likes of which she had not yet known. Stranger still, it didn’t seem to have a source, or at least, not until she tipped her head skyward.
There you are. It was the only thought that seemed logical, as if she were greeting an old friend. There you are.
Wisps of wind. That was the only way she could think to describe them, although putting mere words to the purest embodiment of hope and dreams felt rather silly and diminutive. Swirling iridescent colours, glowing from within, overlapped and danced with one another. She felt homesickness tug at her heartstrings alongside the flicker of recognition, a memory of sitting nestled alongside Sokka back home as the two watched the Northern Lights flare across the sky. Each and every one of the phantom winds overhead carried possible futures, carried sounds and scents of what could be, what a heart wanted more than anything. Wisps of wind, more beautiful than anything she’d ever seen.
The wishes. They had to be.
---
On the day of the funeral, it rained. It was a good omen, for those of the Water tribe, to have the water spirit La bless one of their people even in death. Katara knew this, and yet, the rain still seemed to make it all feel worse. Drenched, shuddering from the cold and her own sobs, Katara looked away when her mother was finally lowered into the ground. She squinted at the castle, at the balcony lit by candlelight on the very highest floor.
And perhaps it was a trick of the light, perhaps it was her grief warping her sight, but Katara swore that she could see Ozai there, looming in the windows of his study.
Smiling at her.
---
And maybe it was naive hope, maybe it was stupid, but looking up at the stars flying by overhead, Katara closed her eyes and made a wish. She didn’t have the power to stop Ozai and his army. Neither did Sokka. But the Avatar…
The Avatar could save the world.
And so, she wished for him. She wished for peace, she wished for his return, she wished for a way to prevent the oncoming battles and slaughter.
And for a moment, it felt as though the stars spoke back.
---
Once the glow had subsided enough for her to lower her hands, she blinked at the sudden motion as the little orb-thing zipped around her, leaving a trail of stardust. She reached out on instinct with her waterbending, suspending the creature in a bubble in front of her as she leaned in to inspect it.
“Awe,” She sighed softly as a smile spread across her lips. “You’re kinda cute-”
All at once, another beam of light speared the sky, sending clouds of gold billowing around the two like smoke. Katara thrust her water upwards instinctively to protect them, but when the smoke cleared, the little star-ball was gone.
No, not gone. Different.
Because standing in front of her was perhaps the most beautiful boy she’d ever seen.
He levitated slightly off of the ground, glitter and star-dust trickling from his sandals. He looked to be around her age, but she thought perhaps he was older, from the almost-foot of height he had on her. She would have found him rather imposing, with lean muscles rippling through the thin fabric of his one-shouldered robes, were it not for the teasing grin he wore on his boyish face.
“You think I’m cute?”
guys.....guys i'm writing this and it's gonna come out this week....so excited 🤭
kind of obsessed with disney’s wish even though it wasn’t amazing, and i’m thinking of an au where star was human and fell in love with asha. now that i think about it, it’s the perfect kataang au.
katara’s wish is for the avatar to return, to end the war and bring peace.
her wish is granted quite literally—the boy in the sky is the avatar, and he’s there to assist her in her story of saving the world, including her world/home, the southern water tribe.
do you see the vision?