a long (don't say I didn't warn you) post about post-finale Avatar characterizations, aka help plz
So I’m trying to write this Avatar fic-or maybe a multitude of them, I dunno, because I keep hitting a roadblock. styromgalleries and I talked about this some the other day, which reminded me that I wanted to do a big post asking for characterizations thoughts on the post-finale conundrum that is canonical Avatar ships.
(Basically, I want to write a Zutara fic that keeps everyone in character, and I’m finding it a bitch. Read on.)
Okay, so here’s what I’m starting off of:
Zuko: Zuko’s not that hard- just see my fic snippet from the other day. Zuko and Mai have broken up, which isn’t such a big deal for them-I can see it happening, either one doing it to the other, although I like the idea of Mai doing it so that Zuko can grouse about that “don’t ever break up with me again!” line.
(Of course, then it’s like, oh, a breakup isn’t that big a deal. And between the time I first started writing this post in my head and the time I actually got my laptop open, I came up with:
“A breakup-what’s a breakup? Two people who used to be together, and then aren’t.” Simon shrugged. “That’s all there is to it.”
“Well, that’s really kinda sad, when you put it that way, don’t you think?” Kaylee said. “I mean, it’s not that clean and surgical, Mr. Medicine Man.” She playfully nudged him, shoulder into arm.
Simon stared down into the tumbler he held, tilting it in circles. “It’s just another kind of ending, that’s all.”
[this originally started with the line “two people who used to be together, and then aren’t,” and then me being like “oh man, that’s a cold way to put it,” and then “really kinda sad doncha think?” and then “oh man, that’s such a Kaylee line” and then “man, Simon would be like, ‘yeah, breakups are no big deal,’ being all manly and tough and logical about them, but he’s probably secretly remembering this one breakup he had, and then like other relationships that break up because of death, because he’s a surgeon,” and now having written this explanatory paragraph I’m going “man, I seem to have a baby!Firefly fic on my hands, DO NOT WANT/omg tragic-death-breakups-+-Simon’s-utter-lack-of-game wait I would never put a death breakup in Simon’s past I’ll give it to like a patient of his while he’s going through his own breakup and then he’s all, ‘no chick I realized the important things in life!’ and she’ll be like ‘too late, see you later loser,’ and then he’ll be depressed and write letters to River and include lines {in between all the formal genius stuff} like ‘and you’re probably totally making fun of me for getting so worked up about a girl’ and then when she replies she makes NO MENTION OF IT AT ALL and he’s like ‘dude what’s up’ AND THEN HE STARTS LOOKING FOR THE CODE” yep trufax: instead of rebounding, Simon went and busted his sister out of top-secret government-assassin-making facility. Now that’s productivity.]
[…also so is plotting out a baby!Firefly fic in the middle of a “I need Avatar fic-writing help” post.]
[…frickin overachievers.]
[it took me like five tries to type “achiever” i before e except after c idiot.])
ANYWAY WHERE WAS I.
Let’s just start over.
I’m very specifically working off the idea of taking Kataang seriously. Which I think is more difficult than some people realize, either because a) they haven’t tried doing it or b) they just don’t bother doing it/don’t realize they’re not doing it. But I really, really want to work off the idea that Katara and Aang are attracted to each other and do care about each other in a romantic sense. (Obviously my problem here is with Katara’s feelings for Aang, because his for her are absolutely unquestioned.)
I also have a few other ideas, such as “the Avatar is supposed to be alone” and “Mai/Earth King is the best ship ever. So. Let’s look at the hypothetical situation a year after the finale (we’ll be generous with ages, say Aang’s almost 14, Zuko’s about 17/8, and Katara’s about 16):
Zuko: Like I said, Zuko and Mai have broken up. I really don’t see much difficulty in justifying this: she wanted younger!Zuko, new!Zuko doesn’t quite fit her bill (again, the Earth King and Zuko really are v. much alike, except EK doesn’t have all of Zuko’s emotional baggage, which is why I think he and Mai are going to rub uncomfortably against each other); new!Zuko likes her well enough, and does care about her, but her focus is different from his, and it’s just not working. (And yes, obviously she cares about him, see Boiling Rock, but they’re different people from who they were even before he dumped her, and that chapter of their lives is over.) Like I said, I like the idea of Mai dumping him; it gives him some turmoil, but also that feeling of freedom (also this feels more like a typical breakup, where you’re depressed and sad and angry, and then you realize, hey, this is doable, and then you are comfortable enough with yourself that you keep moving on, and yes I myself know that these layers are often interchangeable, but anyway), and it’s a break, and he doesn’t have to feel guilty about moving on, because it was her choice.
So Zuko realizes Katara’s still attractive (for backup of his at-least-baby!crush on her, see his typical-teenager-I’m-not-moving-and-I’m-not-saying-why gameplan in Ember Island Players, always a winner at movie theatres and when picking seats in class), and that he could start falling for her, in a srs sort of way.
So now we have Katara and Aang.
Aang: Thinks the world of Katara. Always has, always will. (For me, this is a PAINFUL TRAGEDY and I really hate it because I do love Aang a lot, and that whole “Avatar is supposed to be alone” thing really sucks for him and I mean I guess he could find someone else but at the same time I want him to find peace doing what he is supposed to do-accepting his destiny in the fullest sense.) They’ve been dating for a year, and it’s pretty much as Katara says: they have a little bit of time together, but he’s always dashing off to solve problems and stuff. He doesn’t really get the feeling that there’s anything wrong with this, as he’s Aang and a boy and oblivious-sure, he’d love to have more time with Katara, but it’s not like she doesn’t come with him a lot of the time (but let’s be honest, they’re probably still at the hand-holding and occasional-kissing stage, having really made out a few times but not really having had a lot of time to devote to it [and who knows, maybe one or the other {probably Katara} is holding back a little on that because it feels strange, but that could just be wishful thinking on my part]), and besides, he loves her. He is never, ever going to let go of her.
THIS IS WHERE THE SNAGS COME IN.
They are, like the tangles in her unbraided hair while flying on Appa, inevitably and painfully attached to Katara.
Katara: Loves Aang. But maybe, she’s starting to think, not in a romantic sense. She’s probably still mothering him some-because who else is going to mother an Avatar fully come into his own, bending-wise?-but neither of them realize it, because it’s always been a part of their relationship (and if I can break them up, it’ll be much more “duh” for them and the way things should be, but anyway). And frankly she’s a little tired of being “the Avatar’s girl,” or “the Avatar’s girlfriend.” Because you know, no matter what she’s done, she’s going to be his girlfriend, Katara of the Water Tribe, and not the other way around.
But she’s also aware of her effect on Aang. He’s probably gotten better with the Avatar State, but I’m not going to accept his mastery of it, and frankly if Katara’s not being put into situations that send him into it, he’s probably going to think he has mastered it, because he’s Aang. He’s learned a lot, yes, but the problem appears to have gone away, so he must’ve done it when he pushed the button, right? Seems reasonable enough. Katara may have tried to address it with him, but I can see him spending a lot of time in the euphoria of victory-sure, there’s still a LOT of work to be done, but they can do anything! That, mixed with his natural loveable optimism…well, you know Aang.
Anyway, so Katara is a) canny enough not to be sucked into Aang’s attempts to cover things, b) willing to go along with him anyway, and c) still aware, in the back of her mind, that if anything happens to her, or if she does anything extreme, Aang may snap. Yes, he’s maturing, and coming a long way from the boy who killed a bug thing after Appa disappeared, but there’s still a lingering sense of…potential problems. And so Katara tries to ignore it, but she knows it’s there.
In other words, she’s not going to leave him unless she’s damn sure she’s got somewhere to go, because the consequences of her leaving could be disastrous. That’s not quite how I want to phrase it, but it will do for now.
So, my problems:
1) Zuko has a crush on Katara, yes. Zuko may even fall in love with Katara. However, Zuko is not going to make a single move while Katara is Aang’s girlfriend, because Aang is one of his best friends, because he wants Aang to be happy, and because you just don’t do that (it would not be, one might say, honorable). Oh, being Zuko, he’ll probably slip up and say things or do things that give him away, but he’ll try to cover them up or pretend they didn’t happen, because
[HOLY SHIT I JUST MADE THE MISTAKE OF CHECKING MY FLIST ALSDKFJA;LDFKJSAF; I GO AWAY FOR TWO DAYS AND THEY DECIDE TO ANNOUNCE THE TITLE OF THE NEXT ATTOLIA BOOK WTF LIFE IS SO UNFAIR]
he doesn’t want to go there or cause temptation or any problems.
2) Aang is never going to dump Katara.
3) Katara can totally fall in love with Zuko, or at least realize she’s attracted to him and that it maybe could go somewhere. The problem is that I don’t really see Katara leaving Aang-and maybe this is just my utter bewilderment clouding my judgment, but I mean, hell, if she’s convinced she’s in love with him in the finale, I don’t know what’s going to undelude change her mind, aside from the passage of time, but even then, she might not want to lose him/be afraid of stepping away from him inasmuch as we know Katara has issues with separation (understandably) and while she’s a big girl and all about kicking butt in a lot of ways, she can be incredibly vulnerable, emotionally speaking, especially with regard to attachments. So I guess that’s what I mean about being “damn sure,” from her end, because it could be disastrous for both of them-so I don’t see Katara leaving Aang unless she knows Zuko wants her.
4) So you see how 1 and 3 are a problem. Because Zuko’s not going to make a move, and Katara’s going to be stuck in Frustration Land. I mean, I can see her yelling at him and getting him to admit it, or at least provoking a reaction, but I see him refusing to say anything definite because he doesn’t want to steal her away. I see him as being very passive-as in, it has to be her decision to leave Aang because she wants Zuko, instead. God knows he’ll be there, but he doesn’t want to drag her away with him. Again, honor, Bros before Hos, etc. etc. etc. But Katara’s going to want some proof, a sign, something (if I weren’t so anxious about this I would say it would be “fun” in a “writerly” [i.e. torturous] way to play with lingering worry about previous apparent signs that then went south) real, that shows he cares for her, not just a bunch of bullshit about honor and not hurting feelings. If he wants her, he has to at least try to get her, or fight for her, but most importantly he has to be there, and she has to know he’s there, otherwise she’s not going to move. But if he’s doing his absolute best not to show such a thing, because it would just tempt her away (in the direction she wants to go, you idiot), she might think he’s not in earnest. This just goes round and round in my head.
5) Part of me wonders if it’s no better being the Fire Lord’s girlfriend than it is being the Avatar’s girlfriend. Obviously the former is on more equal footing, at least, but you know she’ll still get it. But maybe less of it?
6) If by some miracle Katara and Zuko do get together, how do I handle Aang? Oh God.
So basically, if you have any quibbles with characterization or canon support or plotness, or spot any holes I left uncovered (and remember, I don’t have an actual plot-this is all character stuff), please tell me. I really want to write a fic that doesn’t just break Kataang up for the hell of it, or take place in a universe post-break-up-and maybe I’m not giving post-finale Zutara fandom enough credit (and granted, I haven’t done much searching of the fanfic these days), but I somehow doubt there are a lot of fics that tackle this. But I’m going round and round in circles on this, and so if you see a place I can get onto the straight track, that would be awesome.
(Basically, I want to write a Zutara fic that keeps everyone in character, and I’m finding it a bitch. Read on.)
Okay, so here’s what I’m starting off of:
Zuko: Zuko’s not that hard- just see my fic snippet from the other day. Zuko and Mai have broken up, which isn’t such a big deal for them-I can see it happening, either one doing it to the other, although I like the idea of Mai doing it so that Zuko can grouse about that “don’t ever break up with me again!” line.
(Of course, then it’s like, oh, a breakup isn’t that big a deal. And between the time I first started writing this post in my head and the time I actually got my laptop open, I came up with:
“A breakup-what’s a breakup? Two people who used to be together, and then aren’t.” Simon shrugged. “That’s all there is to it.”
“Well, that’s really kinda sad, when you put it that way, don’t you think?” Kaylee said. “I mean, it’s not that clean and surgical, Mr. Medicine Man.” She playfully nudged him, shoulder into arm.
Simon stared down into the tumbler he held, tilting it in circles. “It’s just another kind of ending, that’s all.”
[this originally started with the line “two people who used to be together, and then aren’t,” and then me being like “oh man, that’s a cold way to put it,” and then “really kinda sad doncha think?” and then “oh man, that’s such a Kaylee line” and then “man, Simon would be like, ‘yeah, breakups are no big deal,’ being all manly and tough and logical about them, but he’s probably secretly remembering this one breakup he had, and then like other relationships that break up because of death, because he’s a surgeon,” and now having written this explanatory paragraph I’m going “man, I seem to have a baby!Firefly fic on my hands, DO NOT WANT/omg tragic-death-breakups-+-Simon’s-utter-lack-of-game wait I would never put a death breakup in Simon’s past I’ll give it to like a patient of his while he’s going through his own breakup and then he’s all, ‘no chick I realized the important things in life!’ and she’ll be like ‘too late, see you later loser,’ and then he’ll be depressed and write letters to River and include lines {in between all the formal genius stuff} like ‘and you’re probably totally making fun of me for getting so worked up about a girl’ and then when she replies she makes NO MENTION OF IT AT ALL and he’s like ‘dude what’s up’ AND THEN HE STARTS LOOKING FOR THE CODE” yep trufax: instead of rebounding, Simon went and busted his sister out of top-secret government-assassin-making facility. Now that’s productivity.]
[…also so is plotting out a baby!Firefly fic in the middle of a “I need Avatar fic-writing help” post.]
[…frickin overachievers.]
[it took me like five tries to type “achiever” i before e except after c idiot.])
ANYWAY WHERE WAS I.
Let’s just start over.
I’m very specifically working off the idea of taking Kataang seriously. Which I think is more difficult than some people realize, either because a) they haven’t tried doing it or b) they just don’t bother doing it/don’t realize they’re not doing it. But I really, really want to work off the idea that Katara and Aang are attracted to each other and do care about each other in a romantic sense. (Obviously my problem here is with Katara’s feelings for Aang, because his for her are absolutely unquestioned.)
I also have a few other ideas, such as “the Avatar is supposed to be alone” and “Mai/Earth King is the best ship ever. So. Let’s look at the hypothetical situation a year after the finale (we’ll be generous with ages, say Aang’s almost 14, Zuko’s about 17/8, and Katara’s about 16):
Zuko: Like I said, Zuko and Mai have broken up. I really don’t see much difficulty in justifying this: she wanted younger!Zuko, new!Zuko doesn’t quite fit her bill (again, the Earth King and Zuko really are v. much alike, except EK doesn’t have all of Zuko’s emotional baggage, which is why I think he and Mai are going to rub uncomfortably against each other); new!Zuko likes her well enough, and does care about her, but her focus is different from his, and it’s just not working. (And yes, obviously she cares about him, see Boiling Rock, but they’re different people from who they were even before he dumped her, and that chapter of their lives is over.) Like I said, I like the idea of Mai dumping him; it gives him some turmoil, but also that feeling of freedom (also this feels more like a typical breakup, where you’re depressed and sad and angry, and then you realize, hey, this is doable, and then you are comfortable enough with yourself that you keep moving on, and yes I myself know that these layers are often interchangeable, but anyway), and it’s a break, and he doesn’t have to feel guilty about moving on, because it was her choice.
So Zuko realizes Katara’s still attractive (for backup of his at-least-baby!crush on her, see his typical-teenager-I’m-not-moving-and-I’m-not-saying-why gameplan in Ember Island Players, always a winner at movie theatres and when picking seats in class), and that he could start falling for her, in a srs sort of way.
So now we have Katara and Aang.
Aang: Thinks the world of Katara. Always has, always will. (For me, this is a PAINFUL TRAGEDY and I really hate it because I do love Aang a lot, and that whole “Avatar is supposed to be alone” thing really sucks for him and I mean I guess he could find someone else but at the same time I want him to find peace doing what he is supposed to do-accepting his destiny in the fullest sense.) They’ve been dating for a year, and it’s pretty much as Katara says: they have a little bit of time together, but he’s always dashing off to solve problems and stuff. He doesn’t really get the feeling that there’s anything wrong with this, as he’s Aang and a boy and oblivious-sure, he’d love to have more time with Katara, but it’s not like she doesn’t come with him a lot of the time (but let’s be honest, they’re probably still at the hand-holding and occasional-kissing stage, having really made out a few times but not really having had a lot of time to devote to it [and who knows, maybe one or the other {probably Katara} is holding back a little on that because it feels strange, but that could just be wishful thinking on my part]), and besides, he loves her. He is never, ever going to let go of her.
THIS IS WHERE THE SNAGS COME IN.
They are, like the tangles in her unbraided hair while flying on Appa, inevitably and painfully attached to Katara.
Katara: Loves Aang. But maybe, she’s starting to think, not in a romantic sense. She’s probably still mothering him some-because who else is going to mother an Avatar fully come into his own, bending-wise?-but neither of them realize it, because it’s always been a part of their relationship (and if I can break them up, it’ll be much more “duh” for them and the way things should be, but anyway). And frankly she’s a little tired of being “the Avatar’s girl,” or “the Avatar’s girlfriend.” Because you know, no matter what she’s done, she’s going to be his girlfriend, Katara of the Water Tribe, and not the other way around.
But she’s also aware of her effect on Aang. He’s probably gotten better with the Avatar State, but I’m not going to accept his mastery of it, and frankly if Katara’s not being put into situations that send him into it, he’s probably going to think he has mastered it, because he’s Aang. He’s learned a lot, yes, but the problem appears to have gone away, so he must’ve done it when he pushed the button, right? Seems reasonable enough. Katara may have tried to address it with him, but I can see him spending a lot of time in the euphoria of victory-sure, there’s still a LOT of work to be done, but they can do anything! That, mixed with his natural loveable optimism…well, you know Aang.
Anyway, so Katara is a) canny enough not to be sucked into Aang’s attempts to cover things, b) willing to go along with him anyway, and c) still aware, in the back of her mind, that if anything happens to her, or if she does anything extreme, Aang may snap. Yes, he’s maturing, and coming a long way from the boy who killed a bug thing after Appa disappeared, but there’s still a lingering sense of…potential problems. And so Katara tries to ignore it, but she knows it’s there.
In other words, she’s not going to leave him unless she’s damn sure she’s got somewhere to go, because the consequences of her leaving could be disastrous. That’s not quite how I want to phrase it, but it will do for now.
So, my problems:
1) Zuko has a crush on Katara, yes. Zuko may even fall in love with Katara. However, Zuko is not going to make a single move while Katara is Aang’s girlfriend, because Aang is one of his best friends, because he wants Aang to be happy, and because you just don’t do that (it would not be, one might say, honorable). Oh, being Zuko, he’ll probably slip up and say things or do things that give him away, but he’ll try to cover them up or pretend they didn’t happen, because
[HOLY SHIT I JUST MADE THE MISTAKE OF CHECKING MY FLIST ALSDKFJA;LDFKJSAF; I GO AWAY FOR TWO DAYS AND THEY DECIDE TO ANNOUNCE THE TITLE OF THE NEXT ATTOLIA BOOK WTF LIFE IS SO UNFAIR]
he doesn’t want to go there or cause temptation or any problems.
2) Aang is never going to dump Katara.
3) Katara can totally fall in love with Zuko, or at least realize she’s attracted to him and that it maybe could go somewhere. The problem is that I don’t really see Katara leaving Aang-and maybe this is just my utter bewilderment clouding my judgment, but I mean, hell, if she’s convinced she’s in love with him in the finale, I don’t know what’s going to undelude change her mind, aside from the passage of time, but even then, she might not want to lose him/be afraid of stepping away from him inasmuch as we know Katara has issues with separation (understandably) and while she’s a big girl and all about kicking butt in a lot of ways, she can be incredibly vulnerable, emotionally speaking, especially with regard to attachments. So I guess that’s what I mean about being “damn sure,” from her end, because it could be disastrous for both of them-so I don’t see Katara leaving Aang unless she knows Zuko wants her.
4) So you see how 1 and 3 are a problem. Because Zuko’s not going to make a move, and Katara’s going to be stuck in Frustration Land. I mean, I can see her yelling at him and getting him to admit it, or at least provoking a reaction, but I see him refusing to say anything definite because he doesn’t want to steal her away. I see him as being very passive-as in, it has to be her decision to leave Aang because she wants Zuko, instead. God knows he’ll be there, but he doesn’t want to drag her away with him. Again, honor, Bros before Hos, etc. etc. etc. But Katara’s going to want some proof, a sign, something (if I weren’t so anxious about this I would say it would be “fun” in a “writerly” [i.e. torturous] way to play with lingering worry about previous apparent signs that then went south) real, that shows he cares for her, not just a bunch of bullshit about honor and not hurting feelings. If he wants her, he has to at least try to get her, or fight for her, but most importantly he has to be there, and she has to know he’s there, otherwise she’s not going to move. But if he’s doing his absolute best not to show such a thing, because it would just tempt her away (in the direction she wants to go, you idiot), she might think he’s not in earnest. This just goes round and round in my head.
5) Part of me wonders if it’s no better being the Fire Lord’s girlfriend than it is being the Avatar’s girlfriend. Obviously the former is on more equal footing, at least, but you know she’ll still get it. But maybe less of it?
6) If by some miracle Katara and Zuko do get together, how do I handle Aang? Oh God.
So basically, if you have any quibbles with characterization or canon support or plotness, or spot any holes I left uncovered (and remember, I don’t have an actual plot-this is all character stuff), please tell me. I really want to write a fic that doesn’t just break Kataang up for the hell of it, or take place in a universe post-break-up-and maybe I’m not giving post-finale Zutara fandom enough credit (and granted, I haven’t done much searching of the fanfic these days), but I somehow doubt there are a lot of fics that tackle this. But I’m going round and round in circles on this, and so if you see a place I can get onto the straight track, that would be awesome.