#yagoda

[milfstalin]

[cotorililika]

[stardust948]

Pursuit of Amethyst

Zutara AU of Pursuit of Jade

During a snowstorm, Katara, a butcher's daughter who was recently orphaned, finds Fire Prince Zuko unconscious and heavily injured with a severe burn wound covering half of his face. Unwilling to let him perish alone, Katara carries him home and nurses him back to help. Zuko assumes a false name, Lee, as he plots how to rally his soldiers and return to the Fire Palace to stop his father Firelord Ozai from starting a war. Meanwhile, Katara restarts her father's pig butchery to provide for her little sister while dealing with the village's scrutiny. Soon, her estranged grandfather Pakku threatened to take the house and shop since it was illegal for a single woman to own property, and Ozai's spies start sniffing around the area for Zuko. Katara and Zuko agree to a marriage of convenience that eventually grows into genuine love.

Katara - Fa Changyu

A strong, both in will and body, butcher who's not afraid to speak her mind. After her parents were killed by bandits, she takes over the household and business. Something unheard of in that era. She's fiercely protective over her little sister Korra and marries Zuko to keep her family together. When war breaks out, Katara goes to the battlefield to protect her loved ones and becomes a skilled warrior.

Zuko/Lee - Xie Zheng / Yan Zheng

Lee appeared to be a beautiful, yet frail and sickly scholar but is actually the fierce Fire Prince Zuko who escaped an assassination attempt from the Firelord. He marries into Katara's family to hide his identity while secretly gathering forces to overthrow his father and this mysterious force (Azula) causing havoc across the nations.

Korra - Changning

Katara's mischievous young sister who is constantly getting into trouble despite her asthma. Adores her big sister and will beat up anyone who talks bad about her. The OG Zutara shipper.

(A commenter on a poll I set up to decide Changning's character suggested Kya II. I liked the idea, but remembered that according to Inuit naming customs (or a least an article I read about it) they name children after past relatives to keep their spirit alive. So I doubt Kya would name her daughter after herself since she had not passed yet.)

Jet and the Freedom Fighters - Jin and his gang

The village's local gang. They broke into Katara's house and tried to rob her but she beat them up and kicked them out. They later tried to destroy her butcher's shop without realizing it was her's. They apologized and Katara made them help out for the day then paid them fairly. Afterwards, they became Katara's gang, backing her up while confronting scammers and other bullies. The relationship turned into genuine friendship, and they accepted each other as siblings in arms.

Jet developed feelings for Katara but kept them secret because she was already in love with Zuko. He did threaten Zuko a few times to get his act together and not fumble her.

Ozai - Wei Yan

Stole the throne after Lu Ten died and Iroh went missing. Sets out to fulfill the former Firelord's plans of launching a worldwide invasion without realizing he played right into Azulon's hands.

Iroh - Grand Tutor Tao

Zuko's uncle and mentor. He went on a spiritual journey after Lu Ten died but was captured by Ozai's spies and sent to a labor camp. He later meets Katara and the Freedom Fighters there and together they escape. Iroh later takes on Katara as a mentee.

Azula - Qi Min

Firelord Azulon ordered her death but thanks to Ursa, she was able to escape and live under a false name. Azula is enraged that her birthright was stolen from her and is determined to reclaim the throne no matter the cost.

Ty Lee - Yu Qianqian

Katara's best friend. Owner and performer in famous circus who, unfortunately for her, catches Azula's eye who becomes processive over her. However, Ty Lee is more resourceful than she looks and uses that information to help defeat Azula.

Mai - Li Huai'an

Prince Zuko's arranged fiancée sent to keep an eye on Zuko, although her loyalties are elsewhere. Didn't like Katara at first but eventually respects her.

Sokka - Gongsun Yin

In this AU, Sokka and Katara don't know they are siblings. Sokka was lost when Hakoda and Kya, pregnant with Katara, had to flee. Sokka was found and raised by Piandao. He became the Fire Palace's military strategist / Fire Academy of Scholars' headmaster and Zuko's close friend. Way too invested in the Zutara slowburn, much to Zuko's annoyance.

Yue - Princess Shu

NWT Princess staying at the Fire Palace as a glorified hostage. Snuck to the Fire Academy of Scholars and fell in love with Sokka. Later snuck to the battle frontlines as a nurse and befriended Katara. Also invested in the Zutara slowburn but makes actual progress with them while juggling her own slowburn with Sokka.

Yagoda and her husband- Mrs. and Mr. Zhao

Katara and Korra's elderly neighbors who look after them and later officially adopt them as daughters.

Scholar Song - Hahn

Katara former entitled fiancé who dumps her after her parents died and are no longer able to pay for his studies. Bullies her for working as a butcher and turned the village against her by labeling Katara as a jinx. He is intimidated by Zuko but is too proud to admit it. His cruel actions very much come to bite him later.

Azulon - late Emperor

Started this whole mess. *spits on his grave*

[miryarts]

Goofy silly ghost game I like it

Reference by mellon_soup (tiktok)

[insomnya2]

Yeah, I’ve decided to share my creations (ahem, memes and edits) on here too. Because why not.

[thesisyphuscycle]

the girl in the iceberg

All Sokka wanted was one normal day, where he could go out and do normal things, like go fishing. But of course, Katara and her magic water had to ruin it, no matter how much she insisted that bending is a sacred art, Sokka, not magic. By the time the sun hit its peak in its arc across the sky, the clouds were torn open by a brilliant white light, and they found a girl frozen in the iceberg.

Sokka wanted to chide Katara for almost breaking his spear, but the girl just blinked her wide, grey eyes up at her and asked her to go penguin sledding before insisting that her bison could fly. Now, Sokka was covered in bison snot and the girl was ten feet in the air, and his mind was cracking open like a gecko-puffin egg.

The girl landed on her feet, falling like a snowflake in a dizzying spiral. "I'm Aanya," she said before sniffling and rubbing at her nose.

Sokka blinked. "You just sneezed and flew ten feet in the air!"

"Really?" Aanya squinted up at the sky with a thoughtful frown. "Felt higher than that."

Katara gasped, eyes lighting up with triumph and awe. "You're an airbender!"

Aanya grinned. "Sure am!"

Giant light beams. Flying bison. Airbenders. This was starting to feel like a story Gran-Gran would tell them before bedtime, the kind Sokka had outgrown years ago. "I'm going home to where stuff makes sense," he declared.

-x-

Zuko had spent three years of his life preparing for this moment. It was like destiny itself was nudging him towards the Avatar, his banishment a blessing in disguise. He would return to Caldera City triumphant, and take the throne with all the pomp and ceremony afforded to the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Between pirates and twiggy old Gurus and the six months he'd spent chasing the Northern Lights, he was finally due a break.

"Looking for me?" The voice belonged to a girl younger than even Azula, younger than even he had been when banished. She was draped in orange, with blue arrows marring her face and hands.

"You're the airbender?" Zuko asked incredulously. "You're the Avatar?"

The half-witted villagers had enough room for logic in their minds to stop gawking and give them a wide berth. This is going to be so easy, he told himself.

"I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training. Meditating. You're just a little girl!" he sneered. Never mind that he hadn't gotten to the advanced set yet. What use would that be against a child?

The girl just stared at him, confused. "You're just a teenager," she pointed out, and Zuko attacked.

-x-

(It wasn't until Zuko found himself crushed between his bed and the steel roof of his room that he began to reconsider this assessment.)

-x-

Katara was the single most beautiful girl Aanya had ever seen. It wasn't just because of her eyes, which were the exact color of the sky right before a storm, though Aanya had to admit they were very pretty eyes. They'd been the first thing she'd seen when she woke up from that iceberg, and they sparkled like snow every time Katara laughed-

"Why are you smiling at me?"

Aanya turned away, her face completely red.

-x-

"According to legend, you need to first master water, then earth, then fire, right?" Katara asked, unable to contain her excitement, words bubbling up from inside her.

Aanya nodded shakily. "That's what the monks told me."

"Well, if we go to the North Pole you can master waterbending!" Wouldn't that be nice? Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe.

"We can learn it together," Aanya added excitedly, now smiling widely. It was a very nice smile, like the tundra unfreezing over fresh grass, or the sun peeking out from behind a cloud. Katara didn't like to think too hard on why she found that smile so nice.

"And Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some firebender heads on the way."

Sokka sighed dreamily. "I'd like that. I'd really like that."

"Then we're in this together," Katara decided. The Avatar and her loyal companions, the saviors of the world.

Aanya produced a map from within Appa's saddle, and though she couldn't understand the language it was written in, Katara was proud to recognize the terrain. "All right, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to," Aanya pointed at the map in random places, "here, here, and here."

"What's there?" Katara asked eagerly.

"Here ," Aanya pointed to the Earth Kingdom, "we'll ride the hopping llamas. Then way over here," she pointed to a spot on the southern Air Nomad islands, "we'll surf on the backs of giant koi fish. Then back over here we'll ride the hog-monkeys. They don't like people riding them, but that's what makes it fun!"

Katara's smile froze on her face. This was either going to be really good or really, really bad.

-x-

(Aanya was right about the hog monkeys. No matter how much Sokka complained about the bite, it was fun.)

-x-

Pakku was a man of tradition. He had grown to recognize that there was a reason people did the things the way they did, that centuries of wisdom stood behind every practice in his tribe. He believed wholeheartedly that a woman had no use for waterbending outside of healing and nurturing.

The villager from the Southern Water Tribe didn't agree. "What do you mean you won't teach me?  I didn't travel across the entire world so you could tell me 'no'!"

"No," he repeated, wishing that she would just shut up.

"But there must be other female waterbenders in your tribe!"

"Here the women learn from Yagoda to use their waterbending to heal. I'm sure she would be happy to take you as her student despite your bad attitude." He wasn't sure if she even had the spiritual acumen to heal, since she appeared to be nothing more than a pent-up ball of undignified rage.

"I don't want to heal, I want to fight!" Katara insisted loudly, and he could feel a really sharp headache coming on.

"I can see that. But our tribe has customs, rules."

"Your rules stink," she snapped.

Aanya had been quiet this whole time, and Pakku was silently cursing the spirits for forcing the Avatar into a female incarnation. She would be emotional about it, no doubt. "If you won't teach Katara," she said quietly, voice oddly inflectionless, "then you won't teach me."

She took Katara's hand and they walked away together, utterly silent.

-x-

(Yagoda did a double take when she found Aanya sitting in her healing hut alongside Katara, trading her saffron robes for a blue tunic, hair done up in the braided loops of the Southern Water Tribe.

"I thought Master Pakku was going to teach you," she frowned.

Aanya just shrugged and grinned. "His loss.")

-x-

The ice walls surrounding the city were melted to nothing by armies of firebenders and their flaming trebuchets. The sea was strewn with mangled armor and sinking ships, the ocean's depths waiting to swallow them all just as it did with every other half-precious treasure. The moon hung in the sky, round and bright, its light illuminating the tears of everyone Princess Yue had left behind.

A monster stood over Agna Qel'a, its shadow covering the shaking bodies of those prostrated at its feet, dark blue skin pulsing with magic. Katara was the only one who didn't look away, the only one who ran towards it instead of to safety. In the end, some things never changed. The Avatar was back, and the world would remember her name forevermore.

[melfmalen]

oh...My wife...

[girlbloggerlenin-moved]

yagoda stress touy